Northwest Notes: Millsap, O’Neale, Burks
The addition of Paul Millsap will give the Nuggets an established defender capable of helping the franchise improve its efforts on that side of the ball, Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders writes. Last season Denver sported the second-worst defense in the NBA.
Grizzard suggests that Millsap’s “humble-yet-forceful” personality could bring out the best in his Nuggets teammates, including Nikola Jokic who already opted out of EuroBasket 2017 to focus on more individual workouts.
Millsap’s efficient low-post game will give Jokic yet more of an opportunity to showcase his playmaking abilities while the versatile Jokic gives Millsap his most skilled frontcourt partner since Al Horford.
He may not be the final piece that the Nuggets need to contend, Grizzard writes, but he certainly fits into the right puzzle.
There’s more from around the Northwest:
- The Thunder elected not to waive Kyle Singler at the stretching deadline yesterday. While that may not mean he’s in for a big role in 2017/18, the veteran forward’s contract could be a valuable asset to include in a mid-season trade, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes.
- It’s no sure thing that Royce O’Neale will stick with the Jazz this season – the club currently has 16 guaranteed contracts – but the franchise saw enough in the versatile wing to offer him a three-year contract with the first season guaranteed earlier this summer. Benjamin Mehic of the Deseret News broke down the 24-year-old’s long journey to the NBA.
- A knee injury sidelined Jazz guard Alec Burks in the middle of last spring’s postseason but the 26-year-old is back at full health. Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Burks will be ready to go without restriction at training camp.
NBA Draft Rights Held By Team For 2017/18
Over the course of this week, we’ve examined the players whose draft rights are currently held by NBA teams, breaking them down division by division.
Some of these players are long retired, meaning their rights hold little value. Others are draft-and-stash prospects who NBA teams intend – or at least hope – to bring stateside at some point in the coming years.
There are also many players who have continued to play international ball since being drafted, and may never end up in the NBA. Those players can be useful when teams look to make trades. A team completing a trade in the NBA has to send and receive something in each deal, so those draft rights often come in handy as placeholders.
We saw a perfect example of the usefulness of NBA draft rights earlier today — the Pelicans had agreed to send Quincy Pondexter to Chicago, along with a second-round pick and cash to sweeten the deal for the Bulls. New Orleans wasn’t getting back any pieces of consequence as part of the swap, but the Bulls needed to send something, so they included the draft rights to 2011 second-rounder Ater Majok.
Having covered all six divisions now, we’ll keep these draft rights lists updated throughout the 2017/18 season if more draft-and-stash players are traded — we’ve already made sure the Bulls’ and Pelicans’ lists are up to date following the Matok swap.
Here’s the full breakdown:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Pelicans Trade Quincy Pondexter To Bulls
SEPTEMBER 1, 2:55pm: The deal is now official, the Pelicans announced in a press release.
In exchange for Pondexter, a 2018 second-rounder, and cash, the Bulls are sending the Pelicans the draft rights to Ater Majok, according to Brett Martel of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Majok, a 2011 pick who is currently playing in Lebanon, had his rights traded from the Lakers to Chicago in last summer’s Jose Calderon swap.
AUGUST 31, 4:52pm: There has been a clarification regarding the trade courtesy of CSN Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill. The Bulls will receive Pondexter and a 2018 second-pick, as well as cash.
4:44pm: The Bulls and Pelicans are finalizing a trade that would send Quincy Pondexter to Chicago for a second-round draft pick, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. An update, however, suggests that it will be New Orleans giving up the pick in addition to Pondexter.
Pondexter hasn’t seen NBA action since 2014/15 when he started 28 games for the Pelicans and 30 contests total. Since then, he’s struggled through a particularly troublesome knee injury, his health remaining in limbo ahead of the 2017/18 season.
While the Bulls may end up ultimately waiving Pondexter, the second-round pick will serve them well as they navigate a long anticipated rebuild. The addition of Pondexter’s $3.9MM contract will presumably be absorbed into Chicago’s $15.3MM trade exception, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Considering New Orleans’ need for a perimeter threat in light of Solomon Hill‘s long-term hamstring injury, the 29-year-old Pondexter would be an extremely valuable asset for the franchise if there was any sense of optimism that he could be healthy for the upcoming campaign. In June, however, general manager Dell Demps spoke about how uncertain the forward’s status was.
We had previously identified Pondexter as a candidate to be waived and stretched before the August 31 deadline, particularly given New Orleans’ proximity to the tax line. However, by finding a trade partner for the veteran swingman, the Pelicans will avoid carrying his cap hit in 2017/18 or stretching it across the next three seasons.
Poll: Boston Celtics’ 2017/18 Win Total
Even before the Celtics finally completed their acquisition of Kyrie Irving late on Wednesday night, it had been an eventful offseason for Danny Ainge and the C’s, who traded the first overall pick in June and then signed one of the summer’s top free agents in July. A year after finishing atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 53-29 record, Boston appears to have an even more talented roster, but the club will be lacking continuity after a busy summer.
Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Jayson Tatum are the big-name acquisitions in Boston, but there are changes up and down the roster, with only four returning players (Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier). Head coach Brad Stevens will have his work cut out for him as he looks to incorporate 11 new players into the mix to start the 2017/18 season.
In addition to Irving, Hayward, and Tatum, the Celtics’ notable additions include Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, and a slew of rookies, including Guerschon Yabusele, Semi Ojeleye, and Abdel Nader. While that’s a solid group, Boston’s departing players shouldn’t be overlooked. The club lost two of its best defenders in Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, and sacrificed some size and rebounding by parting with Kelly Olynyk, Amir Johnson, and Tyler Zeller. Gerald Green and Jonas Jerebko are gone too.
Despite all the turnover on the roster, offshore betting site Bovada.lv is bullish on the Celtics’ chances to once again claim the No. 1 seed in the East in 2017/18. Bovada has placed Boston’s over/under at 55.5 wins, the top projection in the Eastern Conference.
What do you think? Can the Celtics win 56 games or more, or will the team experience some growing pains as all the new players adjust to Stevens’ system and to one another? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Previous over/under voting results:
- Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
NBA Draft Rights Held: Southwest Division
When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.
When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.
However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.
While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.
For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.
This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.
Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Southwest teams:
Dallas Mavericks
- Petteri Koponen, G (2007; No. 30): Playing in Spain.
- Stanko Barac, C (2007; No. 39): Last played in Italy.
- Renaldas Seibutis, G (2007; No. 50): Playing in Lithuania.
- Satnam Singh, C (2015; No. 52): Playing in G League (Texas Legends).
Houston Rockets
- Venson Hamilton, F (1999; No. 50): Retired.
- Serhiy Lishchuk, F/C (2004; No. 49): Last played in Spain.
- Axel Hervelle, F (2005; No. 52): Playing in Spain.
- Sergio Llull, G (2009; No. 34): Playing in Spain.
- Jon Diebler, G (2011; No. 51): Playing in Turkey.
- Marko Todorovic, F/C (2013; No. 45): Playing in Russia.
- Alessandro Gentile, G/F (2014; No. 53): Playing in Italy.
- Isaiah Hartenstein, F/C (2017; No. 43): Playing in G League.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Wang Zhelin, C (2016; No. 57): Playing in China.
New Orleans Pelicans
- Latavious Williams, F/C (2010; No. 48): Playing in Spain.
San Antonio Spurs
- Robertas Javtokas, C (2001; No. 55): Retired.
- Viktor Sanikidze, F (2004; No. 42): Last played in Greece.
- Sergei Karaulov, C (2004; No. 57): Playing in Russia.
- Erazem Lorbek, F/C (2005; No. 46): Last played in Italy.
- Giorgos Printezis, F (2007; No. 58): Playing in Greece.
- Adam Hanga, G/F (2011; No. 59): Playing in Spain.
- Nemanja Dangubic, F (2014; No. 54): Playing in Serbia.
- Nikola Milutinov, C (2015; No. 26): Playing in Greece.
- Olivier Hanlan, G (2015; No. 42): Playing in G League.
- Cady Lalanne, F/C (2015; No. 55): Playing in Italy.
- Jaron Blossomgame, F (2017; No. 59): Playing in G League.
Previously:
Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.
Jazz, Rodney Hood Begin Discussing Extension
The Jazz and Rodney Hood have opened negotiations on a possible contract extension for the fourth-year shooting guard, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. According to Jones, the two sides have only had preliminary conversations so far, but another meeting is expected to take place within the next few weeks.
Hood and teammate Dante Exum are two of 21 players entering the final year of their respective rookie contracts who are eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. Although there’s some internal hope within the organization that Exum is on the verge of a breakout, the Jazz are expected to let him play out his final year and enter restricted free agency, says Jones.
[RELATED: Players eligible for rookie scale extensions in 2017]
However, the Jazz are interested in getting something done with Hood before the 2017/18 regular season begins, and as we heard earlier this week, Hood and his camp are “very open” to that idea. The Duke alum, who will turn 25 next month, has started 155 games during his first three NBA seasons, but will be poised to take on an even larger role in Utah with Gordon Hayward gone.
Sources tell Jones that Hood has been in Salt Lake City for most of the summer working closely with Utah’s coaching staff, and the Jazz are confident that Hood can make a significant leap forward in 2017/18. Still, there have been questions in the past about Hood’s consistency and durability, so it will be interesting to see if the two sides can find a price point that everyone likes.
In 2016/17, Hood averaged 12.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG with a shooting line of .408/.371/.783 in 59 regular season contests (27.0 MPG). He struggled in the postseason, scoring just 8.9 PPG with a .352/.260/.611 shooting line.
Cavs Notes: Irving, LeBron, Goodyear, Gilbert
While he was fairly quiet up until word broke this week that the Celtics and Cavaliers had finally agreed on compensation in the Kyrie Irving blockbuster, the star point guard has issued some public comments on the deal since then. As Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com details, Irving published a video farewell to the Cavs and their fans on Thursday, thanking them for his time in Cleveland.
On Friday, the Celtics formally introduced Irving alongside Gordon Hayward, and the point guard was asked about his relationship with LeBron James (link via Vardon). While some of Irving’s comments during the press conference hinted that he wanted to get out from under LeBron’s shadow, he had nothing but praise for his former teammate when asked specifically about him, calling it “awesome” to have played with the future Hall-of-Famer: “I’d be telling you guys a lie if I didn’t tell you how much I learned from that guy.”
Here’s more on Irving, along with a few more Cavs notes:
- In a piece for USA Today, Sam Amick examines how the Cavs’ organizational culture and stability (or lack thereof) may have contributed to Irving’s desire to head elsewhere, not to mention the uncertainty about James’ future in Cleveland.
- Within an article about the larger issue of tampering in the NBA, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com notes that it would likely be futile for teams interested in signing James next summer to start courting him now, since LeBron “is known for wanting to have the control rather than be wooed.”
- The Cavaliers’ agreement with Goodyear, the sponsor for the club’s jersey patches, is worth nearly $12MM annually, a league source tells McMenamin.
- The Cavs recently scrapped plans for a $140MM renovation project to Quicken Loans Arena, prompting some speculation that owner Dan Gilbert may be interested in moving the franchise. Gilbert addressed those “silly” rumors on Thursday, assuring fans that he’ll never move the Cavs out of Cleveland (Twitter link).
- Sources outside the Cavs organization believe Gilbert could consider selling the team within the next few years, but a team spokesman said no thought has been given to a sale, per Joe Vardon.
Patricio Garino To Play In Spain
After spending time with the Spurs and Magic during his first professional season, Argentinian swingman Patricio Garino will continue his career overseas. Spanish team Saski Baskonia announced today (via Twitter) that it has signed Garino to a three-year contract.
After going undrafted out of George Washington a year ago, Garino played for the Magic in Summer League last July, then joined the Spurs for training camp. The 24-year-old didn’t earn a spot on San Antonio’s regular season squad, but spent most of the year with the club’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. He averaged 11.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG in Austin, with a .430 3PT%.
Late in the 2016/17 campaign, the Magic opted to take another look at Garino, signing him to a rest-of-season deal that included a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18. However, Orlando’s new management group decided not to carry Garino on the club’s camp roster this fall, waiving him a month ago.
Garino is the third NBA free agent this offseason to join Baskonia in Spain. Former Cavaliers guard Jordan McRae and ex-Lakers guard Marcelo Huertas have also signed with the club.
Bucks Waive Spencer Hawes
SEPTEMBER 1, 11:24am: The Bucks have issued a press release confirming that Hawes has officially been waived.
SEPTEMBER 1, 8:21am: While there hasn’t been any official word from the Bucks on Hawes, a report ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicates that Milwaukee has waived the veteran center. Presumably, the move was finalized on Thursday in order to stretch Hawes’ 2017/18 salary.
AUGUST 31, 4:25pm: The Bucks are likely to waive and stretch Spencer Hawes, David Aldridge of TNT tweets. Today, of course, marks the deadline for teams to part ways with a player while stretching his 2017/18 salary.
By waiving and stretching Hawes, the Bucks would free up over $4MM in cap space this year which would serve them well as they currently sit just above the tax line.
The stretch provision allows teams to spread a waived player’s contract over twice the number of years remaining on the contract, plus an additional year. In Hawes’ case, owed $6MM through one season, his cap hit would become $2MM annually through three seasons, ending at the culmination of the 2019/20 campaign.
Hawes, a 29-year-old center with three-point range, played half a season for the Bucks after moving alongside Roy Hibbert in the Miles Plumlee trade. Hawes averaged 4.4 points per game in 19 contests for Milwaukee but ultimately saw his role reduced by the emergence of Thon Maker.
Pelicans, Wolves, Bucks In On Dante Cunningham
SEPTEMBER 1, 10:45am: The Bucks are now in the mix for Cunningham as well, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Milwaukee is in the market for an inexpensive big man with some range after waiving Spencer Hawes.
AUGUST 29, 5:16pm: The Pelicans are intent on re-signing forward Dante Cunningham, but the Timberwolves have been aggressively pursuing his services as well, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Over the course of the past three seasons, Cunningham has started 108 games for the Pels, establishing himself as a valued rotation player capable of hustling hard on defense and knocking down threes.
Prior to his stint in New Orleans, however, the forward played in Minnesota. Although Tom Thibodeau was still in Chicago the last time Cunningham called himself a Timberwolf, there’s no denying that he’s the type of gritty forward that would thrive in a Thibodeau system.
In 212 total games for New Orleans, Cunningham has averaged 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He earned just under $3MM in 2016/17, the second season of a two-year deal, but figures to be in line for just the minimum should he sign with either the Wolves or the Pelicans.