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Pelicans, Pistons Discussing Reggie Jackson Trade
The Pistons and Pelicans have discussed a trade that would send Reggie Jackson to New Orleans, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Scotto adds that New Orleans could ship out E’Twaun Moore, Alexis Ajinca, and/or Quincy Pondexter in exchange for Jackson’s services.
Jackson, 27, still has three years and $51MM left on his deal and has been on the trade block since last season’s trade deadline. The Pelicans, who re-signed Jrue Holiday to a five-year, $126MM pact, feel that a Holiday/Jackson backcourt would be successful, per Scotto.
Jackson averaged 14.5 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 2.2 RPG in just over 27 minutes per game for the Pistons last season. However, a knee injury held him to 52 games, his lowest total since his rookie year with the Thunder.
Detroit is in a transitional phase, therefore no roster spot is safe. Aron Baynes has departed for the Celtics and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is set to sign elsewhere in free agency. While the team has acquired Anthony Tolliver, Reggie Bullock, Avery Bradley, and Langston Galloway, it’s clear that the team is focused on shorter commitments and smaller salaries.
In a possible trade, both Moore (three years, $25.9MM) and Ajinca (two years, $10.3MM) have multiple years remaining on their deals; both players provided solid contributions off the bench for New Orleans last season. Pondexter has missed the last two seasons with left knee surgery and has a $3.9MM salary for 2017/18.
Knicks Possibly Out Of Veteran Point Guard Market
After using their room exception to re-sign point guard Ron Baker, the Knicks are possibly out of the running for a veteran point guard, Newsday’s Barbara Barker writes. With Baker in tow, New York’s cap space sits at around $1.5MM, which gives the team little room to sign reported targets such as Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose.
Rondo met with the Lakers earlier today and Rose has been connected to teams such as the Mavericks, Bucks, and Spurs. In Rose’s case, the former NBA Most Valuable Player has made his interest in returning to New York apparent — but there may not been enough money for a reunion.
In Baker’s case, the Wichita State product received a two-year, $8.9MM deal, an impressive total for a player who ended up with the Knicks as an undrafted free agent last year. In 52 games (13 starts) in 2016/17, Baker averaged 4.1 PPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.9 RPG while showing intensity on both sides of the ball. Baker was a personal favorite of since departed team president Phil Jackson.
As Barker notes, it’s not unlikely for the Knicks to enter the season with Baker as the starting point guard. The 24-year-old is the most experienced point guard on the team as 2017 first round pick, Frank Ntilikina will turn 19 years old at the end of the month. The Knicks are unlikely to give their young guard the starting role so soon and that’s the reason the club has been rumored to seek an experienced asset at the position.
Trade talks surrounding the team’s superstar Carmelo Anthony are ongoing and could pave the way for added cap space. However, until Anthony is shipped elsewhere — or bought out — the Knicks have little cash to entice free agents.
Southeast Notes: Wall, Porter, Bosh, Muscala, Riley, Ellington
Wizards star point guard John Wall is making no apologies for his aggressive recruitment of Paul George during free agency, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. Many observers took Wall’s comments as a slight against the team’s current small forward Otto Porter, but Wall explained his comments in a different way:
“Otto’s going to be a great player for us, a great role player for a lot of teams. There’s a difference between a role player and a superstar. It’s a big difference. There’s a lot teams that will make a lot of trades for a superstar. Look at Kevin Love getting traded for Andrew Wiggins, you never know who that player going to turn out to be.”
Buckner also points out that Wall is not in a rush regarding his own extension. Last season Wall qualified for the designated player exception after making the All-NBA third team. Wall maintained that he’s devoted to the city of Washington and plans to carefully consider whether he wishes to remain a Wizard in the long term. An extension could keep Wall in the District for the next six years.
Here’s what else you should know from the Southeast division:
- Former Heat star Chris Bosh penned an open letter to the city of Miami, thanking its residents for the past seven years of support. The 33-year-old power forward credited Miamians for showing him “how to stay strong and push through in the toughest moments,” which has “made [him] a better man, the person [he is] today.” In the letter, Bosh did not broach the topics of his current health or his future plans.
- Hawks big man Mike Muscala viewed his return to Atlanta as a “no-brainer,” writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Last week, Muscala agreed to a two-year, $10MM contract to remain with the Hawks.
- Heat president Pat Riley opined on various Heat players, with his comments about Wayne Ellington particularly effusive: “It would have killed me to see him go. He committed himself unlike anybody else. And just like James Johnson and Dion [Waiters], changed everything about how he played…And he’s so in, so committed, and he can see what did for himself with our help, and how it improved his game. He’s one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the league.” Riley goes on to mention that the team has Early Bird Rights on Ellington and credits the player’s loss of 20 pounds with yielding many benefits on the court. Ellington’s $6.3MM contract was guaranteed on Friday.
Lakers Meet With Caldwell-Pope, Rondo
The Lakers met with unrestricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on Tuesday, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Also today, Lakers team president Magic Johnson met with free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (link via Twitter).
According to Windhorst, several teams that were initially reluctant to engage on Caldwell-Pope have become more involved since the Pistons withdrew his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. Meanwhile, multiple teams with some cap room are exploring ways to create more in order to make a competitive offer, per Windhorst.
The Lakers have roughly $17MM in cap room left. The team will also be able to offer $4.3MM with its room exception once its cap space has been used. L.A. has been unwilling to offer multiyear deals that would compromise its cap flexibility for 2018.
Regarding the Rondo meeting, Mark Medina of The L.A. Daily news tweets that the Lakers expressed “serious interest” in the point guard and plan to follow up soon. The team has been on the lookout for a veteran point guard to pair with Lonzo Ball, serving as a mentor for the No. 2 overall pick.
Community Shootaround: Eastern Conference Favorite
LeBron James and the Cavaliers have dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs for three consecutive seasons, advancing to the NBA Finals with ease each year. King James himself has represented the East for the past seven seasons in the the league championship.
Last season, however, the Celtics finished with the best record in the conference and have enjoyed a productive offseason. Boston landed prized free agent Gordon Hayward and drafted Jayson Tatum. In addition, Danny Ainge traded for Marcus Morris and signed Aron Baynes. While Boston did trade key two-way player, Avery Bradley, and lost Kelly Olynyk in free agency, the team may be prepared to contend for its first NBA Finals berth since 2010.
For Cleveland’s part, it re-signed Kyle Korver this offseason, inked veteran Jose Calderon to a one-year contract backing up Kyrie Irving at point guard, and brought in another vet in forward Jeff Green. Over their past three Eastern Conference Finals series, the Cavaliers have won 12 of 15 games.
Will the Cavs’ recent playoff domination continue or have the Celtics suddenly emerged as the favorite to represent the East in the Finals? Which team will finish with the better record this season and what, if anything, will home-court advantage mean if the teams face off in the postseason?
We look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments section.
Cavs Sign Jeff Green
JULY 11: Jeff Green has officially signed with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team announced the signing in a Tuesday evening press release.
JULY 7: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with forward Jeff Green, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the deal in place is a one-year pact worth $2.3MM.
After signing a previous one-year, $15MM deal with the Magic last offseason, Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The considerable pay decrease on the heels of a career worst season comes with a drastically improved chance of playing for a winner and is a low-risk, high-reward move for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
The 30-year-old has bounced around since coming into the league in 2007/08, some of his best years coming early in his career with the Thunder, and as a result it’s been difficult to truly assess what he’s worth. That, perhaps, has never been more evident than when one compares the contrasting deals the forward signed this summer versus last.
International Notes: Marbury, Randolph, Austin, Vesely, Goudelock, Griffin
Two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury will reportedly sign with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beikong Fly Dragons, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (link via Twitter). This will be Starbury’s ninth season playing in China.
Marbury had played for the Beijing Ducks since 2011, but is now set to join his fourth different Chinese team. Since coming over to China, the star point guard has won three CBA championships, made six all-star teams, and been named both a CBA Foreign MVP and a CBA Finals MVP.
What else do you need to know from the international basketball scene?:
- Former NBA player Shavlik Randolph will be joining Marbury with the Fly Dragons, as he has signed a contract with Beikong, tweets 247 Basketball (link via Sportando).
- Former NBA prospect Isaiah Austin has also signed with a Chinese team, the Guanxi Rhinos, reports David Pick (Twitter link). The Rhinos play in the National Basketball League, which is the second-tier league to the Chinese Basketball Association. In November of 2016, Austin was medically cleared to return to basketball after his career had been on hold due to Marfan syndrome.
- Three-year NBA veteran Jan Vesely is close to making a final decision that will keep him playing in Turkey despite NBA interest in him this offseason, according to Nikos Varlas of EuroHoops.net.
- Former Lakers guard Andrew Goudelock announced on Twitter that he will be joining Olimpia Milano for next season, via Sportando. As first reported by EuroHoops, the deal is expected to be for two years.
- Eric Griffin might opt out of his deal with the Italian team, Pallacanestro Cantù, as a result of the significant interest he is receiving from several NBA teams, including the Jazz, according to David Pick (Twitter link). Last season, Griffin was an Israeli Premier League All-Star.
Clippers Sign Jawun Evans
The Clippers have signed rookie guard Jawun Evans, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN (link via Twitter). Although the team hasn’t yet made a formal announcement, the NBA’s transactions log suggests the move is official.
Evans was drafted by the 76ers with the 39th overall pick in the second round and then traded to the Clippers for cash considerations. In his first three games of the Las Vegas Summer League, the Oklahoma State product has averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG on 50% shooting.
Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but with no cap room available, the Clippers will have to either offer a minimum salary or use part of their mid-level exception to lock up Evans. A minimum salary deal would be limited to two years, while the mid-level could be used to offer more years and a little more money. The club used $6MM of its $8.4MM MLE to sign Milos Teodosic.
For comparison’s sake, Diamond Stone – 2016’s 40th overall pick – received a fully guaranteed, two-year minimum salary contract when he signed with the Clippers last year.
Contract Details: Teodosic, Curry, Durant, Harden
Milos Teodosic‘s new contract with the Clippers is worth $6MM in year one and $6.3MM in year two, with the team using a chunk of its mid-level exception to complete the signing, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). As Pincus explains, however, the deal isn’t quite that simple. It also features a 15% trade kicker, a partial guarantee of $2MM in year one, a partial guarantee of $2.1MM in year two, and a second-year player option (Twitter links).
What does that mean in practical terms? Well, Teodosic’s first-year salary will become guaranteed in a matter of days. It only features a partial guarantee initially so that a partial guarantee could be included on the second year as well. That second year will now function as a mutual option of sorts — if Teodosic picks up his option, the Clippers would still have a window to waive him and only be on the hook for a third of his salary ($2.1MM of $6.3MM).
Here are more details on new contracts from around the NBA, with all information via Pincus:
Western Conference:
- The new super-max contract signed by Stephen Curry (Warriors) includes a 15% trade kicker and has no options (Twitter link). Kevin Durant‘s two-year deal with the Warriors also features a 15% trade kicker, though he’s even less likely than Curry to be dealt (Twitter link).
- As for James Harden‘s super-max extension with the Rockets, the final year of that deal (2022/23) is a player option (Twitter link).
- The Rockets signed undrafted rookie Cameron Oliver to a two-year, minimum salary contract that includes $300K in guaranteed money (Twitter link).
- George Hill‘s deal with the Kings is frontloaded, with a $20MM cap hit in year one and $19MM in year two. Hill’s third-year salary of $18MM is only guaranteed for $1MM (Twitter link).
Eastern Conference:
- J.J. Redick would earn an even larger salary on his one-year contract with the Sixers if he’s traded this season. The $23MM pact includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter link).
- The Magic signed Shelvin Mack to a two-year contract worth an even $6MM annually, but only $1MM is guaranteed in year two (Twitter link).
- Undrafted free agent Alfonzo McKinnie signed a two-year, minimum salary contract with the Raptors that features a $100K guarantee (Twitter link).