Draft Notes: Ferguson, Blakeney, Berry
Terrance Ferguson has hired Rich Paul of the Klutch Sports Group to be his agent, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The shooting guard opted to play in Australia over attending a university this season and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express pegs him as the 15th best prospect in the draft.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Antonio Blakeney is staying in the draft and he has hired Aaron Turner of the Verus Management Team, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The shooting guard is the 97th best prospect in the draft, according to Givony.
- Joel Berry is withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning to North Carolina, according to the university’s website. “I know I can continue to improve my game and be better prepared for the NBA after another year playing against the best college competition in the country. There’s no reason to rush leaving school,” Berry said.
- B.J. Johnson is will return to La Salle for his senior season, according to the school’s website. Johnson had previously declared for the draft but didn’t hire an agent.
- Elijah Stewart will head back to USC, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reports (Twitter link). Stewart initially intended to declare for the draft without hiring representation, but that didn’t happen because he never submitted the proper paperwork.
Injury Updates: Rondo, Mahinmi, Nurkic
When the Bulls first announced Rajon Rondo‘s thumb fracture on Friday, they indicated that he’d be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days and may not be ready to return at that time. However, with Chicago’s first round series now tied at two games apiece, it sounds like the veteran point guard may be looking to force the issue.
According to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com, Rondo has been ruled out for Game 5 on Wednesday, but was taking jump shots before Tuesday’s practice, with his hand no longer in a hard cast. Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg insisted today that it’s still a “long shot” that Rondo gets back on the court in the series, but he acknowledged that it’s a possibility.
“It’s so early in the process,” Hoiberg said of Rondo’s potential return for the Bulls. “Just watching him wince a little bit as the ball was coming to him makes me think it’s a long shot, but if there’s anybody that can do it, will try to fight through it, it’s Rondo. Just because the competitor that he is and obviously wanting to get back out there. Doing everything that he can to put himself into position, knowing that it’s obviously still a long shot for that to happen.”
Here are a couple more updates on noteworthy injuries from around the NBA:
- Injured center Ian Mahinmi said today that he still hopes to return to the Wizards before the end of the first round series vs. Atlanta, but he has yet to practice with the team, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. While Mahinmi says he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from a strained left calf, head coach Scott Brooks suggests the big man has been ruled out for Game 5, and he’s skeptical about Mahinmi’s availability for Game 6 (Twitter links via Buckner).
- With his Trail Blazers out of the playoffs, there’s no longer any need for Jusuf Nurkic to rush his return. Nurkic said today during his exit interview with local media that he expects his leg injury to take about two to three months to heal, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (Twitter link).
- On Monday, we passed along word that Austin Rivers will return for the Clippers in Tuesday’s Game 5 against Utah. Rivers will be on a minutes restriction tonight.
Olshey: Trail Blazers Won’t Bring Back Festus Ezeli
Festus Ezeli‘s Trail Blazers career will end without him appearing in a single game for the team, according to general manager Neil Olshey, who confirmed today that Portland won’t be bringing back Ezeli for the 2017/18 season (link via Tim Brown of The Oregonian).
Ezeli, 27, signed a two-year deal worth about $15MM with the Blazers last summer, with Portland envisioning him as a rotation player who could provide rebounding and rim protection. However, Ezeli’s troublesome left knee kept him out of action in the preseason and then the regular season as well — the veteran center ultimately underwent a season-ending procedure in March.
As we outlined earlier today in our breakdown of this summer’s salary guarantee dates, Ezeli’s full $7.73MM salary for 2017/18 would become guaranteed if he remains on Portland’s roster beyond June 30. The Trail Blazers figure to waive him at some point before that date, which will leave the team on the hook for just $1MM of next season’s salary.
Although Ezeli will become a free agent when the Blazers officially waive him, he may not catch on with another team anytime soon. His knee surgery, which reportedly involved a cadaver donor, didn’t exactly sound like a routine procedure, but hopefully he’s able to eventually make it back onto the court and resume his playing career.
NBA Confirms 182 Early Entrants For 2017 Draft
With the deadline for early entrants to enter the 2017 NBA draft now behind us, the league has officially released the list of this year’s early entry candidates, and it’s a long one. According to the NBA’s announcement, 182 players have declared early for the draft — 137 college players and 45 international prospects. That’s a new record.
As was the case a year ago, NCAA rules changes allow underclassmen to “test the waters” before officially committing to the 2017 NBA draft. NCAA early entrants can withdraw their names any time up until May 24 while maintaining their NCAA eligibility, as long as they haven’t hired agents. That means that prospects testing the waters can take part in the NBA draft combine from May 9-14 – if invited – and they can work out for individual teams in the coming weeks.
International early entrants can also withdraw their names from the draft pool within the next several weeks. The final draft list will be set after the early entrant withdrawal deadline for international and other non-NCAA players passes on June 12.
A year ago, a whopping 162 NCAA and international players declared their intent to enter the draft early, but 91 of those players eventually withdrew. This year should follow a similar pattern, so the group of eligible draftees for 2017 figures to be reduced significantly by June 12.
Listed below are the current early entrants, according to the NBA. Players whose intent to declare wasn’t previously reported on Hoops Rumors are listed in italics.
NBADL Announces All-NBA D-League Teams
The NBA Development League has announced its All-NBA D-League teams for the 2016/17 season, headlined by league MVP Vander Blue. While Blue didn’t play in the NBA at all this season, many of the players on the NBADL’s three All-NBA D-League squads received call-ups throughout the year, and some of them finished the season on an NBA roster.
Here are this year’s 15 All-NBA D-League players, many of whom will have a decent chance of finding their way onto an NBA roster next season:
First Team:
- Vander Blue, G (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Quinn Cook, G (Canton Charge)
- Keith Benson, C (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Dakari Johnson, C (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Edy Tavares, C (Raptors 905)
Second Team:
- Josh Magette, G (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
- Briante Weber, G (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Abdel Nader, F (Maine Red Claws)
- Alex Poythress, F (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
- Shawn Long, F/C (Delaware 87ers)
Third Team:
- Marcus Georges-Hunt, G (Maine Red Claws)
- Axel Toupane, G (Raptors 905)
- John Holland, G (Canton Charge)
- Jalen Jones, F (Maine Red Claws)
- Eric Moreland, F/C (Canton Charge)
2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Indiana Pacers
The Pacers made some big splashes on the trade market and in free agency a year ago, but the new-look roster didn’t take the step forward the team was hoping for. Heading into the 2017 offseason, Indiana finds itself in a tough spot, with the future of star forward Paul George – who has just one guaranteed year left on his contract – up in the air.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Pacers financially, as we kick off our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Paul George ($19,508,958)
- Thaddeus Young ($14,996,348)
- Monta Ellis ($11,227,000)
- Al Jefferson ($9,769,821)
- Lance Stephenson ($4,180,000)
- Myles Turner ($2,569,920)
- Georges Niang ($100,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Rakeem Christmas ($50,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.2
- Total: $62,402,047
Player Options
- C.J. Miles ($4,772,675)
- Total: $4,772,675
Team Options
- Lavoy Allen ($4,000,000)
- Total: $4,000,000
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Kevin Seraphin ($1,974,159)3
- Glenn Robinson III ($1,471,382)4
- Joe Young ($1,471,382)5
- Rakeem Christmas ($1,421,382) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.2
- Georges Niang ($1,212,611) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Total: $7,550,916
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Cap Holds
- Jeff Teague ($13,200,000) — UFA
- C.J. Miles ($8,708,555) — If player option is declined
- Lavoy Allen ($7,600,000) — If team option is declined
- Aaron Brooks ($3,240,000) — UFA
- No. 18 overall pick ($2,028,360)
- Total: $34,776,915
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: $32,491,518
- If the Pacers were to waive all their players on non-guaranteed salaries, decline their team option on Allen, have Miles turn down his player option, and renounce their UFAs, they would have $64,430,407 on their cap for seven roster spots (six guaranteed salaries and a first-round pick). The team would also have to account for five minimum-salary roster charges for empty roster spots. The total on their books in that scenario would be $68,508,482.
Footnotes:
- Niang’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after either July 1 or July 15 (conflicting information available).
- Christmas’ salary becomes fully guaranteed after either July 1 or August 1 (conflicting information available).
- Seraphin’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 1.
- Robinson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 1.
- Young’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 1.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
Pelicans Narrow NBADL Affiliate Search To Six Cities
The Pelicans intend to own and operate an NBA D-League franchise starting in 2018/19, and have received preliminary proposals from six cities in or near Louisiana, the team announced today in a press release. Representatives from those six locations will have until June 7 to submit a “complete and comprehensive proposal” for a D-League team to the Pelicans.
The six cities to express interest in housing the Pelicans’ new D-League affiliate are Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; St. Tammany Parish, LA; and Shreveport, LA.
“We are excited to the see the excitement which this process has generated among the six locations,” Pelicans owner Tom Benson said in a statement. “All of them have stepped forward with legitimate and sincere interest and are going to make a case via their proposals for why they would like to be the home of our NBA G League team in 2018-2019. The process is underway and we know that this will be a very significant addition for a city/parish near us as it will add global exposure and bring professional basketball to their town.”
The Pelicans initially announced in late March that they intend to launch a D-League affiliate to begin play for the 2018/19 season. By that time, of course, the league will have re-branded itself — it’s set to become the “G-League” later this year in honor of its partnership with Gatorade.
[RELATED: NBA D-League to become NBA Gatorade League in 2017/18]
At the time of New Orleans’ initial announcement, the organization indicated that it would send a Request for Proposal to 11 cities, including seven in Lousiana and four in nearby states. It appears that about half of those cities responded to the Pelicans’ request, showing interest in landing a team. We should hear more in the coming months about which locations are the frontrunners to host the Pelicans’ NBADL affiliate.
With the Pelicans poised to acquire a D-League club of their own, the only NBA teams without an affiliate – or a plan in place to add one – are the Nuggets, Clippers, Trail Blazers, and Wizards.
Poll: Which 2-2 Series Will End In Upset?
Last year’s NBA Finals combatants, the Cavaliers and Warriors, made quick work of their first round playoff opponents, dispatching the Pacers and Trail Blazers respectively in four games apiece. However, many of the other first round series around the NBA remain very much up in the air.
Currently, four series are tied at 2-2, with two of those Game Fives scheduled for tonight, and two more on tap for Wednesday. The Clippers and Jazz have each split their home games, resulting in a 2-2 tie, while the No. 7 seeded Grizzlies won two home games over the Spurs following David Fizdale‘s post-Game 2 “take that for data” rant, pulling even in that series. Those four teams will be in action tonight.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seeded Celtics find themselves tied with the No. 8 Bulls in an unusual series in which road teams are 4-0 so far. Meanwhile, the Hawks ripped through the Wizards‘ defense in two games in Atlanta, evening that series at 2-2. Both of those series will resume on Wednesday.
In each of those four series, the higher seed maintains the advantage, with two of the final three games on their home court. But most of those higher seeds don’t look as formidable as they did entering the postseason.
What do you think? Will any of these series result in upsets? If the Jazz are able to knock off the Clippers, should that series even be viewed as a legit upset, given the absence of Blake Griffin and the teams’ identical regular season records?
Vote below on which lower seeds will make it through the first round — you can pick as many as you want. After placing your vote, share your thoughts in the comments section!
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/25/17
Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- In what could be the last D-League assignments of the season, Bruno Caboclo, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet have been sent to the Raptors 905 by the Raptors, the team announced today (Twitter link). Toronto’s D-League affiliate will look to extend the NBADL Finals to a third and deciding game with a win tonight, and VanVleet – who appeared briefly at the end of the Raptors’ win over Milwaukee on Monday – will Caboclo and Siakam as added reinforcements.
- The Raptors 905’s opponent in the D-League Finals, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, likely won’t make any moves today — Kyle Wiltjer, Chinanu Onuaku, and Isaiah Taylor have been assigned to the Vipers for the last 10 days and will presumably remain with the Rockets‘ D-League affiliate as the club looks to clinch the NBADL title.
Central Notes: D-Will, Teague, Pacers, Pistons
After LeBron James called for the Cavaliers to add a playmaker back in January, the team didn’t make a major move for the next several weeks, as the trade deadline came and went without that so-called “playmaker” joining the team. The Cavs lucked out in the buyout market though, landing veteran point guard Deron Williams after he was cut by the Mavericks, and according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Williams is getting increasingly comfortable in Cleveland and is looking like that playmaker the club sought.
Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com conveys a similar sentiment in his latest piece, noting that Williams is receiving praise from the players whose assessment of the Cavaliers roster matters most: LeBron. “Every day he’s getting more and more comfortable with what we want to do,” James said of the veteran point guard. “We needed him. We’re happy we got him.”
As LeBron, D-Will, and the Cavs look ahead to the second round of the playoffs, let’s round up a few more notes from around the Central division…
- Within a piece examining the Pacers‘ upcoming offseason decisions, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders cites league sources who believe that free-agent-to-be Jeff Teague could be in line for a contract worth $15-17MM annually, or even more than that if other top point guards quickly re-sign with their own teams.
- With the Pacers facing an uncertain future, Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star argues that team president Larry Bird deserves some criticism for a handful of questionable decisions and roster moves.
- Following a disappointing season for the Pistons, Rod Beard of The Detroit News makes five suggestions for ways the team could potentially improve this summer.
- Boban Marjanovic didn’t play much for the Pistons in the first season of his three-year deal with the team, but his audition will give Stan Van Gundy plenty to consider as the club weighs how to use Marjanovic going forward, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Boban could become a more crucial piece of Detroit’s rotation in 2017/18 if Aron Baynes departs in free agency.