Mutual Interest Between Amir Johnson, Raptors
Two years after leaving Toronto, Amir Johnson will be back on the free agent market this summer, and a reunion with his old team isn’t out of the question. According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, there’s mutual interest between the Raptors and Johnson, as the big man nears free agency.
Johnson, 30, appeared in 80 games (77 starts) for the Celtics in 2016/17, averaging 6.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG with a .576/.409/.670 shooting line. While the veteran power forward was a solid role player for Boston, he likely won’t be back with the club next season. The Celtics figure to bring draft-and-stash prospects Ante Zizic and Guerschon Yabusele stateside and use the savings created on Johnson’s $12MM expiring contract to pursue an impact player.
Although a handful of teams have already expressed interest in Johnson, according to a source who spoke to Deveney, the idea of a reunion with the Raptors is an interesting one. Toronto will likely attempt to retain Serge Ibaka, who is headed for unrestricted free agency next month. But doing so may mean parting ways with Patrick Patterson, another free agent — Johnson could be a cheaper alternative to Patterson.
Assuming the Raptors stay over the cap as they attempt to re-sign players from a free agent group that also includes Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker, they’d have the mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception to spend on outside additions. Those exceptions will be worth about $8.41MM and $3.29MM, respectively.
Adam Silver Talks Age Limit, Tanking, Knicks, Expansion
The league plans on discussing the current one-and-done rule with the NBA Players Association over the next year with the hope of raising the minimum age for draft-eligible players from 19 to 20, Greg Logan of Newsday relays.
“This year, the projection is that we’re going to have 20 one-and-done players coming and actually being drafted. When we first changed the minimum age from 18 to 19, the following year in 2006, we had two one-and-done players. So my sense is that it’s not working for anyone,” Silver said.
Silver added that teams believe players coming to the professional ranks from college after just one season aren’t as well-prepared as they should be. The league and the union agreed to table this issue in order to finalize the CBA this past winter.
Silver also addressed Phil Jackson‘s comments about Carmelo Anthony. Jackson previously said Anthony, who holds a no-trade clause, may be “better off somewhere else.” The players union took exception with the Zen Master’s statement, but Silver said no punishment for the Knicks executive is forthcoming.
“We did not consider disciplining Phil Jackson for those comments about potentially trading Carmelo,” Silver said. “The view of the league is that it’s not reciprocal. Players can’t trade themselves. Teams can trade players. So there’s never been a history of fining a team or disciplining a team executive for talking about trading a player.”
The commissioner also spoke about several other issues, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com passes along. Here are more highlights from his press conference:
- Silver addressed the NBA’s resting issue, calling for owners to be more involved in the team’s decision to rest players. Silver recognized that the league needs to reduce the amount of back-to-back and added that playing less than 82 games will not be considered. “It’s not 82 games, it’s not the length of the season, it’s the time between the games and that there’s a direct correlation between fatigue and injury on the part of the players,” Silver said.
- The commissioner acknowledged that the league has a tanking issue and suggested that changes could be on the horizon. “We’re not at the point where we’re going to have relegation to the Gatorade [Development] League and the way they do in Europe [with soccer],” Silver said. “That would stop it, but we’re not prepared to do that. But I think there’s more we can do to disincentivize teams from that behavior.”
- The league currently has no plans for expansion. “From my standpoint, for the league, you want ultimately a league where 30 teams are in a position where they can ultimately compete for championships and also be economically viable,” Silver said. “From an economic standpoint, we are doing better than we did historically, but we’re still not at a point where we have 30 teams that are profitable. … I also have to look at the potential for dilution of the existing talent we have before we expand. I have no doubt at some point we’ll turn back to it, but at least in my last discussions with our owners on this, most of them said let’s keep focusing on the health of these 30 teams and the quality of the competition. When we feel we’re in a better place with the 30 teams we have, maybe at that point we can look to expand.”
Former NBA Player Ben Gordon Arrested
Ben Gordon was arrested early this morning in Los Angeles for pulling multiple fire alarms in his apartment building, according to TMZ Sports. The publication claims Gordon was locked out of his apartment and decided to pull many of the alarms.
Gordon was taken into custody when the police and fire department arrived to find that there was no fire. He’s being charged with falsely activating a fire alarm, which is a misdemeanor in California.
The 34-year-old shooting guard played for the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate this past season in an attempt to draw NBA interest. He last played in the NBA during the 2014/15 campaign with the Magic.
Cavaliers Notes: Williams, James, Griffin
After spending most of his career as a No. 1 option, Deron Williams has taken a reduced role on the Cavaliers. It’s been an adjustment, but one that he’s willing to take on because of his teammates, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post passes along.
“You’re playing with the best player in the world, arguably the best point guard in the game [Kyrie Irving],” Williams said. “Superstars. It’s a team that was already established. They won it last year, so for me it was an adjustment. It was an adjustment coming over here [after being waived by the Mavericks in February] and learning to play where I did not have the ball in my hands for the whole game, didn’t know if I was going to play 20 minutes or 10 or 15. But after settling in and knowing what they need, it’s become easier.”
Here’s more from Cleveland as the franchise looks to repeat:
- Most people within the Cavaliers‘ organization feel that GM David Griffin will return to the team next season, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops writes. Milwaukee has interest in adding Griffin to the same role, but Cleveland won’t allow him to interview until its season is over.
- Irving knows LeBron James will be the clear leader of the Cavaliers while LBJ remains in his prime and he’s willing to wait for his turn to take over the team, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays. “Whenever that time comes and it’s my time to be the leader of the franchise, then I’ll be well-prepared. But for now, I’m cool with just being — I’m very, very cool with being — a great guy on a great team,” the point guard said.
- James and Irving have a special bond and James believes the two of them will never end up like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal—players who squabbled over roles and egos—McMenamin adds in the same piece. “He’s 25. He’s got at least 10 more years. I don’t. So I want to give him the blueprint and see what he [can] do with it,” James said. “You know, no matter if we’re teammates for the rest of his career or for the rest of my career, listen, it won’t be because we didn’t want to play with each other no more. It will never be that.”
- Five of the players on the Cavaliers‘ roster were acquired via trade, The Vertical’s Bobby Marks notes in a piece that examines how each player came to the organization. Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye and Kyle Korver all arrived in Cleveland in deals from other teams.
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2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Detroit Pistons
Poised to continue building on a 2015/16 season that saw them record 44 wins and land their first playoff berth in seven years, the Pistons instead regressed, falling out of the postseason picture with a 37-45 record. Reggie Jackson was plagued by injuries and was ineffective for much of the season, while Andre Drummond‘s free throw woes continued to make him a liability in late-game situations. Now, the Pistons are virtually capped-out and will have to figure out how to improve a roster that could use reinforcements in several different areas.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Pistons financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Andre Drummond ($23,775,506)
- Tobias Harris ($16,000,000)
- Reggie Jackson ($16,000,000)
- Jon Leuer ($10,497,319)
- Boban Marjanovic ($7,000,000)
- Ish Smith ($6,000,000)
- Josh Smith ($5,331,729) — Waived via stretch provision.
- Marcus Morris ($5,000,000)
- Stanley Johnson ($3,097,800)
- Henry Ellenson ($1,780,800)
- Michael Gbinije ($500,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Total: $94,983,154
Player Options
- Aron Baynes ($6,500,000)
- Total: $6,500,000
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Darrun Hilliard ($1,471,382)2
- Michael Gbinije ($812,611) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Total: $2,283,993
Restricted Free Agents
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($4,958,374 qualifying offer / $9,195,798 cap hold)
- Reggie Bullock ($3,313,542 qualifying offer / $5,639,110 cap hold)
- Total: $14,834,908
Cap Holds
- Aron Baynes ($8,450,000) — If player option is declined
- No. 12 overall pick ($2,759,280)
- Beno Udrih ($1,471,382)
- Total: $12,680,662
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: $1,626,336
- Taking into account their nine guaranteed salaries and cap charges for a first-round pick and two empty roster spots, the Pistons have a team salary of $99,373,664. That would involve renouncing Caldwell-Pope, Baynes, and Bullock, and still doesn’t create any real cap room, making it an unlikely scenario. So unless they make a cost-cutting trade or two, the Pistons will be an over-the-cap team this offseason.
Footnotes:
- Gbinije’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 15.
- Hilliard’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 1.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
Latest On Bucks’ GM Search
Milwaukee will begin formal interviews for its open GM position on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports.
The team has been granted permission to speak with Blazer assistant GM Bill Branch, Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, and Pistons assistant GM Pat Garrity, according to Wojnarowski.
The scribe adds that the Bucks have reached out to the Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon about the opening. Hammon has been working under coach Gregg Popovich for three seasons.
Milwaukee previously reached out to Indiana and gained permission to speak with the team’s VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie. Wojnarowski adds that the franchise also has permission to speak with Denver assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski and Hawks special advisor Wes Wilcox.
Justin Zanik, who is currently running the team as its assistant GM, remains a strong candidate for the position. Zanik is gathering “significant support” inside and outside the organization, Wojnarowski writes. He joined the team with the expectation that he would be the GM-in-waiting once John Hammond‘s contract expired. Hammond recently left the franchise to become Orlando’s GM.
Kings Waive Anthony Tolliver
Sacramento has waived Anthony Tolliver, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Tolliver’s $8MM contract was only guaranteed for $2MM unless he remained on the roster past today, The Vertical’s Bobby Marks tweets. The Kings will save $6MM from the move.
Marks adds that the team could choose to stretch the $2MM cap hit over the next three seasons. In that scenario, the Kings would have approximately $667K on each season’s cap sheet.
Tolliver, who turned 32 today, signed a two-year, $16MM deal with the Kings last offseason. He played in 65 games, scoring 7.1 points per contest during his lone season in Sacramento.
Pistons Interested In C.J. Miles
The Pistons have interest in adding C.J. Miles this offseason, a source tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Miles will reportedly opt out of his deal with the Pacers to become a free agent this summer.
Ellis cautions that any additions will depend on what happens with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock. Detroit already has nearly $95MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season, so even if the team lets each one of its free agent wings walk, it won’t have much flexibility to add a sizable deal.
KCP and Bullock are both restricted free agents, so it’s likely coach/executive Stan Van Gundy opts to retain at least one of the two. If the team goes over the salary cap, which is projected to come in at $101MM, it will have the $8.4MM mid-level exception to work with and a new deal for Miles could fit into that slot. The swingman would have made roughly $4.77MM had he decided to stay on his deal with Indiana.
Miles, who spent the last three seasons with the Pacers, shot 43.4% from downtown on 8.5 attempts per contest last season. Detroit will certainly look to add shooting after making just 33.0% of its shots from behind the arc as a team last season, a figure which ranks 28th in the league.
Poll: Which Team Will Win NBA Finals?
After a week without basketball, the Cavaliers and Warriors will square off tonight in Game 1 of the 2017 NBA Finals. While the lengthy layoff between the end of the Conference Finals and the start of this series provided plenty of opportunity to hype up these Finals, that hype is warranted.
This will be the third straight season that the Warriors and Cavaliers have met in the Finals. The two teams are a combined 24-1 in the postseason so far, and the series features seven 2017 All-Stars and three former MVPs. In spite of the Warriors’ dominance this season and in the playoffs so far, the Cavs appear capable of giving them all they can handle.
So which teams takes home the 2017 championship? Place your vote below!
Which team will win the 2017 NBA Finals?
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Golden State Warriors 61% (1,267)
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Cleveland Cavaliers 39% (819)
Total votes: 2,086
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.