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Central Notes: James, Smith, LaVine, Bulls

September 30th, 2017 at 9:24am CST by marksuleymanov

LeBron James‘ future in Cleveland is unclear beyond the upcoming season but he said to reporters during Monday’s media day that his stated intentions to finish his career with the Cavs haven’t changed, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes.

James said he will honor his current deal with the Cavaliers as he attempts to reach the NBA Finals for the eighth consecutive season. James will field questions about his future for the rest of the season but he said that he will handle his fourth free agency next summer.

“And if you guys know me, I don’t know if you know me as much, but I’ve always handled it in the most businesslike way,” James said. “And I will do that with my team, and we’ll handle that in the summertime, as we always have.”

The Cavaliers enter 2017/18 with a restructured roster that no longer has Kyrie Irving but does feature recently signed Dwyane Wade, former NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, and last season’s Eastern Conference scoring leader Isaiah Thomas. Barring a collapse the Cavaliers are favorites to return to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season.

Read up on other news surrounding the Central Division:

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Pacific Notes: Suns, Ball, Randolph

September 29th, 2017 at 9:59pm CST by Austin Kent

The Suns were painfully bad at defense last season, allowing 113.3 points per game and fouling more than any other team in the NBA. This year, experience and the addition of Josh Jackson could change that, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic writes.

With a young core anchored by Devin Booker, Marquese Chriss, Tyler Ulis and Dragan Bender it’s understandable that the team struggled to contain opposing veterans.

“You get hit by these NBA players, these veterans and it pretty much hurts,” coach Earl Watson said. “Your natural reaction is just to grab.”

The bench boss believes that the addition of Jackson, whose calling card is perimeter defense, will hold teammates accountable on that end of the ball.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The legend of Lonzo Ball has grown throughout training camp, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. The rookie point guard is said to have made an impression in his first scrimmage and has impressed Lakers head coach Luke Walton with his defensive work and ability to communicate.
  • Don’t rule out seeing Blake Griffin spend time as the Clippers‘ tallest man on the floor, only to turn around and bring the ball up the court, Doc Rivers tells the Associated Press. Quite frankly, the 28-year-old will do a bit of everything now that Chris Paul is with the Rockets.
  • After a busy summer, in which he says he was wrongfully arrested, Zach Randolph will settle into a new role with a new franchise. Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes that the 36-year-old back-to-the-basket big man will complement the Kings young frontcourt.
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Thunder Notes: Extension, PRP Injection, Recruiting

September 29th, 2017 at 9:06pm CST by Austin Kent

The Thunder locked down MVP Russell Westbrook through the end of the 2022/23 season and it’s not hard to imagine the impact the deal will have on the franchise as a whole. Erik Horne of The Oklahoman broke down the role the extension might have in shaping the team’s roster in the years to come.

First and foremost, the fact that Westbrook will be under Oklahoma City control for the next half-decade could entice Carmelo Anthony to stay with the club after the 2017/18 campaign. Even in a scenario where Paul George could choose to opt out via his player option, Anthony may be inclined to stay in order to continue playing alongside the perennial All-Star.

The move also serves as a message, loud and clear, that the Thunder aren’t afraid to flirt with the luxury tax if the team stands a legitimate chance of being competitive.

Finally, the extension changes the perception that small market teams can’t be a destination for big name players. Anthony’s decision to accept a trade to the Thunder could inspire other players – perhaps during buyout season next February – to consider signing with Oklahoma City.

There’s more from the Thunder:

  • Days before signing his historic contract extension, Russell Westbrook underwent a standard platelet rich plasma injection in his left knee, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes.
  • While there has been some resolution in regards to Russell Westbrook’s future, there’s no guarantee that this super-team-ified version of the Thunder will exist for long considering that both Paul George and Carmelo Anthony could conceivably exit next summer. Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes that fans ought to embrace it while it’s here.
  • He may still be settling into life in Oklahoma City but Paul George is a passionate enough member of the Thunder to recruit for the franchise. “My job is to make this team as good as possible, elevate this team as much as possible. Whatever I can do I will do, and that’s whether I’m on the court or off the court. My job is to try to make things happen,” George told the media, including Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. The forward played a role in recruiting Carmelo Anthony and he tried to convince Dwyane Wade to sign with the team as well.
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Atlantic Notes: Irving, Porzingis, Embiid

September 29th, 2017 at 7:28pm CST by Austin Kent

It hasn’t taken long for Kyrie Irving to gel with his new Celtics teammates, Marc D’Amico of the Celtics’ official website writes. The newly acquired point guard has made an effort to approach his new teammates on the bus and at practice in order to make the transition more comfortable.

Of course Irving’s performance has wowed a Celtics teammate or two as well. Through training camp, Irving has impressed Al Horford with his uncanny ability to finish shots and frustrated Terry Rozier with his slippery offensive game. “He’s a tough one to guard, probably one of the toughest guys I’ve ever had to guard in my life,” Rozier said.

After putting up 25.2 points and 5.8 assists per game in his final season with the Cavaliers, Irving will look to provide much-needed star power to a Celtics squad eager to take the next step toward contention. Irving may well be the player on the roster with the highest ceiling ahead of the 2017/18 campaign.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

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Glenn Robinson III To Miss Two Months With Ankle Injury

September 29th, 2017 at 6:29pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pacers are expected to be without forward Glenn Robinson III for two months, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The 23-year-old severely sprained his left ankle during a team practice.

Prior to the injury, Robinson III had figured to factor into the team’s rotation in 2017/18 along with free agent acquisition Bojan Bogdanovic. In a career-best year last season, he played 20.7 minutes per game behind starting forward Paul George.

Despite the setback, this season could still mark a new opportunity for the son of Purdue University legend Glenn Robinson Jr. If the youngest Robinson can at least hit the ground running when he returns, he could still piece together a solid campaign from Thanksgiving Day on now that incumbent starter George has moved on to Oklahoma City.

Robinson III was a second-round pick out of Michigan in 2014 and has played for his home state Pacers since the summer of 2015.

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Central Notes: LaVine, Jackson, Calderon

September 29th, 2017 at 5:52pm CST by Austin Kent

The Bulls have had a busy week signing Nikola Mirotic and buying out Dwyane Wade. Now, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes, the team will turn its attention to Zach LaVine, their recently acquired guard currently eligible for a contract extension.

“They [the Bulls and his representation] have had some conversations,” LaVine said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m going to let all that take care of itself. I know I’m a big part of this team and I’m excited to be in negotiations with them. I want to be here for a long period of time. If it’s now or later, I know it’s going to be done either way.”

The guard averaged 18.9 points per game for the Timberwolves last season before tearing his ACL last February. He, along with Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick ended up with the Bulls in the Jimmy Butler deal.

Just yesterday we wrote about how the Bulls’ front office was clear about their intentions to build around a core that featured the 22-year-old dunk contest champion. Whether that means committing to him on the heels of a significant injury before he even suits up for a game, however, is a whole other question.

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • After four months resting and recovering from knee tendinitis, Reggie Jackson has officially returned to contact practice. The Pistons guard was able to get through his most recent test pain-free, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes,  but will need to work his way back into game shape. “I’m happy to be feeling good each and every day. The best thing is to wake up and be pain-free; even if [I’m] sore, it’s really body soreness and nothing with the knee. My legs may be a little fatigued because I’m getting back to the swing of things,” Jackson said.
  • Consider Jose Calderon‘s role with the Cavaliers in danger, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. The Cavs have 16 players on guaranteed deals and the 36-year-old veteran doesn’t have the upside that somebody like Cedi Osman has.
  • The Pacers were among the 28 teams that supported draft lottery reform, Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star writes. Indiana’s support for the new system is particularly interesting considering they’re a small market team perceived to face inherent challenges recruiting talent via free agency.
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Southeast Notes: Hornets, Wizards, Jordan

September 29th, 2017 at 4:35pm CST by Austin Kent

The Hornets struggled to keep leads when their starters – particularly Kemba Walker and Cody Zeller – were on the bench last season. The question ahead of 2017/18 then, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer asks, is whether or not that will change this season.

Gone are all of Walker’s and Zeller’s backups, a veritable laundry list of players from Ramon Sessions, Brian Roberts and Briante Weber to Spencer Hawes, Roy Hibbert and Miles Plumlee. In their place are Michael Carter-Williams and Dwight Howard, both of whom were attained by the Hornets at relative bargains over the summer.

Of course the addition of Carter-Williams will provide size and defense to the Hornets’ second unit but the real draw is Howard, not because of what he’ll add off the bench but because of what his addition to the starting lineup entails.

As we’ve already written, head coach Steve Clifford has already committed to starting Howard when the season begins, that means Zeller himself will be able to work directly with the Hornets’ second unit to help do for them what he did for the starting five in 2016/17.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Wizards will have a number of players to replace Markieff Morris with when the season tips off. The forward is currently expected to miss six to eight weeks with a sports hernia. “We have versatility and we have depth. We can go in many different directions. We can go small. We can throw Kelly Oubre]in there. We can throw Jason Smith in there. Mike Scott we can put in there. There’s a lot of players that we can throw into the mix,” head coach Scott Brooks told Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic.
  • Hornets majority owner Michael Jordan will soon have a stake in another professional sports franchise. Jordan is part of Derek Jeter‘s group that has been approved to buy the Miami Marlins, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.
  • Only time will tell how Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer and new general manager Travis Schlenk mesh over the next few years but the dynamic between the two could be worth watching as the organization’s priorities shift from winning ball games to developing for the future. Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Budenholzer will embrace the rebuild, whether that’s his preference or not.
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Five Notable Veteran Free Agents Still Available

September 29th, 2017 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

While most noteworthy free agents came off the board in July, September brought with it a wave of pre-camp signings that saw the last few restricted free agents locked up, along with veteran unrestricted free agents like Tony Allen, Dante Cunningham, Aaron Brooks, and Shabazz Muhammad.

That wave of pre-camp signings created a scarcity of viable options on the list of 2017 free agents, but the shrinking group of available options still features a handful of intriguing vets. Here’s a breakdown of five names worth keeping an eye on:Deron Williams vertical

  1. Deron Williams, PG: While the former third overall pick is obviously no longer the player he was seven years ago – when he averaged 20+ PPG and 10+ APG – it was just last summer that he received $9MM from the Mavericks to be the club’s starting point guard. For the season, Williams averaged a respectable 11.0 PPG and 5.6 APG, with a .363 3PT% in 64 games for the Mavs and Cavs, but a disastrous showing in the NBA Finals against Golden State diminished his value heading into 2017/18. Still, he’s only 33 years old, and it would be surprising if he didn’t get an opportunity with an NBA team as a backup point guard this year.
  2. Monta Ellis, SG: Ellis is facing a five-game suspension to start the 2017/18 season and is coming off his worst year (8.5 PPG) since his rookie season. He’s not far removed from a 2014/15 campaign in which he averaged 18.9 PPG though, and while he’ll likely never match that figure again, this is only his age-32 season. He should still have something in the tank and could appeal to a team seeking a scorer off the bench.
  3. David Lee, PF: Like Ellis, Lee posted his worst scoring average since his rookie year last season, recording just 7.3 PPG. But Lee’s declining numbers were mostly a result of his new role in San Antonio — his .590 FG% was his best mark in a decade, and his per-minute averages weren’t far off from his career rates. Given how the value of offensive-minded, low-post bigs around the NBA has declined in recent years, however, it’s not a huge surprise that Lee has had trouble finding work.
  4. Derrick Williams, PF: Williams, of course, hasn’t lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he was selected second overall in the 2011 draft. But he was a part of the Cavaliers team that went to the NBA Finals last season, and was solid when he saw action for the team, scoring 6.2 PPG on 50.5% shooting in 25 regular season contests. If former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett can get a training camp invite from an NBA team, it seems like Williams should be on a roster too.
  5. Spencer Hawes, C: Hawes’ contract made him an expendable piece in 2017, first in Charlotte and then in Milwaukee. After acquiring him at the trade deadline, the Bucks waived and stretched him in August to avoid the luxury-tax threshold. Like most of the other players on this list, Hawes’ best days are probably behind him, but his ability to knock down the occasional three-point shot (.350 career 3PT%) and to help out on the glass (9.0 career rebounds per 36 minutes) could make him a target for teams in need of frontcourt help.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Thunder Sign Russell Westbrook To Extension

September 29th, 2017 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

2:50pm: Westbrook’s five-year extension is now official, with the Thunder formally issuing a press release to announce the new deal.Russell Westbrook vertical

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there is no place I would rather be than Oklahoma City,” Westbrook said in a statement, calling Thunder fans “the best in the world.”

Meanwhile, Sam Amick of USA Today reports (via Twitter) that the final year of Westbrook’s extension will be a player option.

2:18pm: The Thunder have reached an agreement on a contract extension with Russell Westbrook, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that the new deal is a five-year pact projected to be worth about $205MM. The extension will replace Westbrook’s player option for 2018/19, running through the 2022/23 season.

Westbrook’s new deal is a Designated Veteran Extension, similar to the ones signed by Stephen Curry, James Harden, and John Wall earlier this offseason. However, Curry’s DVE took effect this season, while Harden’s and Wall’s won’t begin until 2019/20, so the final numbers on Westbrook’s extension will look a little different.

Westbrook’s starting salary will be worth 35% of the 2018/19 salary cap. Based on the NBA’s latest projection, that would work out to $35.35MM in year one, and $205.03MM in total. Taking into account Westbrook’s $28,530,608 salary for 2017/18, the reigning MVP will be locked up for about $233.56MM over six years, which would be the largest contract in NBA history.

It’s appropriate that Westbrook would ink a historic contract at this point in his career, since he’s coming off one of the most impressive individual seasons in the history of the league. In 81 games for the Thunder last season, the star point guard averaged a league-high 31.6 PPG to go along with 10.7 RPG and 10.4 APG, making him the first player to average a triple-double since Oscar Robertson accomplished the feat in 1961/62.

Despite Westbrook’s heroics, the Thunder were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last spring. However, the team added significant reinforcements in the offseason, acquiring Paul George from the Pacers and Carmelo Anthony from the Knicks.

Westbrook’s decision to sign an extension with Oklahoma City will make things interesting for George and Anthony, who both have the opportunity to reach unrestricted free agency in 2018. Westbrook will have a full season to convince George – who will likely decline his player option – to stick around for the long term in OKC. As for Anthony, he’s a better bet to pick up his player option if he enjoys his time with the Thunder, since it’s worth nearly $28MM, a figure he’s unlikely to match on the open market.

While Westbrook’s extension won’t have an impact on this year’s cap for the Thunder, it could create some difficult decisions down the line for the franchise. If we were to pencil in Westbrook’s projected 2018/19 salary along with Anthony’s option-year salary, the Thunder would have nearly $117MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for next season, and that number doesn’t include George or any of the Thunder’s other pending free agents or non-guaranteed players.

Still, Oklahoma City’s management and ownership groups will likely worry about future team salaries and tax payments at a later date. For now, the Thunder are presumably thrilled to lock up Westbrook, about 15 months after failing to get a similar commitment from Kevin Durant.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: Memphis Grizzlies’ 2017/18 Win Total

September 29th, 2017 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have been a mainstay in the Western Conference playoffs for the last seven seasons, but their hold on one of those top eight seeds has gotten a little more precarious within the past couple years. After posting a .629 winning percentage over the course of those first five seasons, the Grizzlies have won just 42 and 43 games, claiming the No. 7 spot in the West for two consecutive years.

The Grizzlies’ roster also looks quite different now than it did during most of that stretch. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, the key pieces of Memphis’ core, are still in the picture, but grit-and-grind mainstays like Zach Randolph and Tony Allen signed elsewhere this offseason.

Memphis has worked to replace its veterans with younger, more dynamic players, but injuries have been a major issue. After he signed a maximum salary deal with the Grizzlies last summer, Chandler Parsons saw his first season with the franchise derailed by health problems. And this offseason’s most notable free agent addition – Ben McLemore – already sustained a foot injury expected to sideline him into the regular season.

As long as Conley and Gasol stay healthy, there’s little chance of the Grizzlies bottoming out entirely, but the battle for playoff spots will be fiercer than ever in the Western Conference this summer — teams like the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Pelicans, and Timberwolves will all be looking to leapfrog Memphis in the standings, while higher seeds like the Rockets and Thunder got even better. If the Grizzlies don’t get much out of guys like Parsons, McLemore, and Tyreke Evans, missing the postseason is a real possibility.

Oddsmakers expect the Grizzlies to continue to slip in the standings this season, with offshore betting site Bovada projecting their over/under to be just 37.5 wins.

What do you think? Are the Grizzlies poised to endure their first sub-.500 finish since 2009/10, or is there still enough talent on the roster for Memphis to be a playoff contender once again in 2017/18? Vote below and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

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