New York Notes: Lee, Porzingis, Crabbe, Russell
With Tim Hardaway Jr. expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks – and possibly longer – the Knicks’ performance during his absence may go a long way toward dictating the team’s approach to the trade deadline, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. If New York can tread water and remain in the playoff hunt during that time, the front office could stand pat or even attempt to bolster the roster in February. If not, perhaps the Knicks will become deadline sellers.
In the event that the Knicks do decide to move veterans, Courtney Lee is one player to watch. Lee, who scored 24 points on Wednesday, continues to draw interest from opposing teams, league sources tell Begley. Lee’s contract, which is guaranteed through 2019/20 at about $12MM per year, is somewhat onerous, limiting his trade value, but his shot-making ability (.465 3PT%) should certainly appeal to teams around the NBA.
Here’s more on the two New York teams:
- Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis was represented by Andy Miller, who relinquished his certification as an agent this week, but his primary agent is his brother Janis Porzingis, who also works at ASM Sports. As such, Porzingis is expected to remain at the agency with his brother despite Miller’s situation, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.
- Knicks owner James Dolan was named as a defendant in a civil suit filed against movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Begley has the details at ESPN.com.
- Nets guard Allen Crabbe was fined $15K by the NBA after throwing a ball at the basket stanchion on Monday (link via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). Crabbe is set to earn more than $19.3MM this season, so the $15K hit to his salary is a drop in the bucket.
- While Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t provide an official update on D’Angelo Russell‘s recovery timetable this week, his comments suggest that Russell’s return isn’t exactly imminent, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details.
Kings Notes: Hill, Mentoring, Cauley-Stein
The Kings own the second-worst record in the league and free agent signee George Hill isn’t happy with the team’s level of success. He sent out an emotional tweet after a recent loss to the Bucks, though he shoulders the blame for Sacramento’s woes.
“The way that we started the game, down 14-0, just didn’t sit well with me,” Hill said (via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee). “I’m one of the leaders here, so that affected me. I felt like I let my team down.”
Sacramento’s roster is full of inexperienced players, and inconsistent play has been a staple of the team’s season so far. Hill’s never encountered this type of situation at the professional level and he acknowledged that it can be challenging.
“I think on every team I’ve been with, we’ve had that cohesiveness and a lot of veterans that played multiple years in the league, so it was easy to kind of fill in,” Hill said. “I feel like here we’re so young it’s kind of difficult to figure out what’s going to be my direction, what’s going to be my style of play, what’s this guy’s role or my role. We’re still trying to learn those things.”
Here’s more from Sacramento:
- Hill added that many of his teammates are “still babies” professionally and he knows he was brought in to help them develop, Jones writes in the same piece. “Right now we’re just trying to teach the young guys and mentor them,” Hill said. “In the long run, our whole job is try to build this for them to take over and have the keys. It’s not about me, (Vince Carter), (Garrett Temple) or any of us. It’s about how can we develop the young guys to the best of our ability.”
- Willie Cauley-Stein, who will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension after the season, has thrived since being relegated to the bench, Nate Wolf of NBAMath explains. Wolf notes that the success is driven by the team splitting Cauley-Stein and $24MM addition Zach Randolph.
- Currently, Cauley-Stein is sidelined with a back injury, and head coach Dave Joerger said earlier this week that the team will “use caution” when it comes to bringing him back (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of ABC10). That comment suggests that the young center’s absence may extend beyond the Kings’ two-game road trip.
Teams Eyeing Patrick McCaw As Free Agent Target?
Patrick McCaw will be a restricted free agent after the season and the second-year wing is “regarded as a top target” for teams as they look ahead to the 2018 free agent class, Bobby Marks of ESPN.com writes. Opposing teams like McCaw’s age and versatility and he could draw offers despite the restricted status.
Opposing teams can only sign the 22-year-old to an offer sheet starting at an estimated $8.6MM because of the Arenas provision, though a rival could backload to the deal akin to what the Nets did to the Heat with Tyler Johnson and dare Golden State to match.
The Warriors own McCaw’s Early Bird rights because of the two-year contract he signed back in 2016. As a result, the franchise can offer him a contract up with a starting salary of up to approximately $8.7MM.
Golden State selected McCaw with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2016 draft and he’s carved out a role with the club. He has seen 14.7 minutes per contest over his first 94 games as a pro and he should see additional opportunities with Stephen Curry sidelined. He’s currently in the league’s concussion protocol program after getting hit in the face during Monday’s game against the Pelicans.
Warriors Projected To Spend $1.1 Billion On Salary, Taxes Over Next Five Seasons
The Warriors have built a dynasty, but if they plan on keeping this team together, it’ll come at a great cost, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes.
The franchise is projected to spend over $1.1MM billion on salary and taxes through the 2020/21 campaign, a figure that includes $168MM in salary and taxes this season. One league executive told Marks that “finances are the only thing that will break up this Warriors team.”
The financial dominos begin this summer with Kevin Durant, who will yet again be a free agent if he turns down his player option as expected.
Marks breaks down Durant’s three main options as opting in ($26.3, one-year deal), opting out and signing another one-year deal (one-year, $30MM with another player option for year two), or opting out and signing a four-year pact for the max ($158MM with a starting salary of $35.4MM).
Golden State won’t have the ability to sign Durant to a five-year deal because the franchise only owns his Early Bird Rights. If he takes either of the one-year options, he’ll be eligible for a five-year deal in the 2019 offseason.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Early Bird Rights]
Durant took a discount to re-sign with the team this past offseason, though Marks believes it’s unlikely that he’ll take the same route again since the Warriors won’t be able to use the savings to add additional pieces.
Durant won’t get a Designated Veteran Extension. Every team is only permitted to sign two players to those super-max contracts and Golden State already locked up Curry through the 2021/22 season with one. Durant won’t be eligible for one of these deals since he came to the team as a free agent, which means the Warriors will have to decide whether to give their second DVE to Draymond Green or Klay Thompson.
Assuming Golden State saves the contract for Green and Thompson signs a traditional max deal, the Warriors could be facing a record-high $225MM in tax penalties for the 2019/20 season. That figure also assumes that Golden State brings back Patrick McCaw on a modest deal (Marks estimates $6MM salary in 2019/20).
As Marks notes, the league requires the payment in full – with no installment plan – for luxury tax charges, meaning Golden State’s ownership would have to send the full $225MM to the NBA in the late spring of 2020.
Golden State could shed salary by waiving Shaun Livingston, whose 2019/20 salary only contains $2MM in guarantees, and declining Damian Jones‘ fourth-year option, which is worth $2.3MM.
The Warriors are in a position unlike any other in NBA history both on the court and off of it. They’re the favorites to win the champion this season and it’s easy to envision them maintaining the Larry O’Brien trophy throughout the entire Donald Trump administration.
The costs of keeping the team together will be staggering, though it’s a problem opposing franchises would gladly accept if given the opportunity.
“There are 29 owners that would take this Warriors roster even if the cost was $495 million in luxury tax penalties,” a league executive told Marks.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/6/17
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Jazz have re-assigned rookie center Tony Bradley to their G League affiliate, the team announced today (via Twitter). It’s the seventh G League assignment of the season already for Bradley, who has seen limited action in seven games for the Jazz, but has posted 20.0 PPG and 8.5 RPG in four games for the Salt Lake City Stars.
Devin Booker Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks
Suns guard Devin Booker, who left the team’s loss to Toronto on Tuesday with a left adductor strain, is expected to be sidelined for the next two or three weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter). That timetable would put Booker on track to return to the court sometime before the new year.
While the Suns have looked better under interim head coach Jay Triano than they did to start the season under Earl Watson, it has still been an uphill battle for the club, which has dealt with injuries to multiple rotation players and traded Eric Bledsoe last month. The Suns’ 9-17 record is the fifth-worst in the NBA, and that mark is unlikely to improve while Booker remains out of action.
Booker, 21, had been enjoying a career year for the Suns so far this season, establishing new career highs in PPG (24.3), APG (4.1), RPG (4.5), FG% (.453), 3PT% (.383), and several other categories, despite not playing fewer minutes per game than he did last season.
Booker joins Alan Williams, Brandon Knight, and Davon Reed on the injured list for the Suns, but even with four players sidelined, Phoenix won’t immediately qualify for a hardship provision, which would allow the team to temporarily carry a 16th player on its roster.
The rules for the hardship exception dictate that Booker would have to miss at least three consecutive games before Phoenix becomes eligible. So while the Suns may eventually apply for an injury exception, they won’t be able to use it immediately to convert Mike James‘ two-way contract to an NBA deal, as GM Ryan McDonough confirmed today (Twitter link via Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic). James is set to reach the 45-day NBA limit for two-way players.
And-Ones: A. Miller, Bennett, N. Robinson, Rookies
As we outlined earlier today, ASM Sports president Andy Miller has relinquished his certification as an agent after his agency was raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into college basketball corruption. Miller’s roster of NBA clients features a number of notable names, including some All-Stars, so what’s next for them?
According to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter links), Miller’s clients have been told that their contracts with Miller are no longer in effect, allowing them to sign new deals with other certified NBA agents. As Mullen notes, there’s usually a 15-day waiting period when a player changes agents, but that 15-day period is waived when an agent relinquishes his certification. As such, players like Kyle Lowry, Kristaps Porzingis, and Serge Ibaka will be free to hire new representation immediately.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Although he’s widely viewed as one of the biggest NBA draft busts of the last decade, former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett hasn’t given up on his efforts to get back into the league and make an impact. Bennett recently spoke to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders about his career and about playing in the G League.
- Veteran NBA guard Nate Robinson is looking for an opportunity to return to the NBA, suggesting that a team like the Bulls could use him, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando details.
- While Lonzo Ball and Markelle Fultz stole most of the pre-draft headlines, many of the stars of this year’s rookie class came off the board a little later. Alex Squadron of The New York Post examines some of the more unsung rookie standouts of the 2017/18 season, including John Collins (Hawks), Lauri Markkanen (Bulls), and OG Anunoby (Raptors).
- Former Grizzlies guard Xavier Munford, who was in camp with the Bucks in October, has hired agents Happy Walters and George Langberg of Catalyst Sports for representation, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Munford has played well for Milwaukee’s G League affiliate this season, averaging 24.4 PPG and 5.3 APG with a .551/.641/.737 shooting line for the Wisconsin Herd.
Danilo Gallinari Set To Return For Clippers
Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari is set to get back on the court after missing a month due to a strained left glute, he confirmed on Wednesday (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times). Gallinari, who suffered the injury in a November 5 game against the Heat, will make his return tonight against the Timberwolves.
Gallinari, acquired via a three-way sign-and-trade in July, was the Clippers’ most noteworthy free agent addition this offseason, but he has been one of many of the team’s newly-added players who has faced health problems so far. Point guards Milos Teodosic and Patrick Beverley have missed time too, with Beverley’s knee injury sidelining him for the rest of the season. Blake Griffin, who signed a new five-year contract with the Clips over the summer, is also on the shelf.
DeAndre Jordan has been the Clippers’ lone starter who has stayed healthy throughout the year, a fact he alluded to today after word broke that Gallinari is set to return. “We’ve got a starter back,” Jordan said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “That makes two of us.”
With the Clippers plagued by the injury bug and struggling to an 8-14 record, there has been increasing speculation that the team could become a seller prior to the trade deadline. Perhaps Gallinari can help right the ship in Los Angeles, but even if the Clips continue to struggle, it’s hard to imagine the club moving the former Nugget this season. Gallinari, who becomes trade-eligible on December 15, is one of just two Clippers (Griffin is the other) whose salary is fully guaranteed through 2020, so he appears to be part of the team’s long-term plans.
Cavaliers Notes: Thomas, Thompson, James, Wade
Injured Cavaliers Isaiah Thomas and Tristan Thompson participated in a four-on-four scrimmage this morning, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Coach Tyronn Lue and his assistants were watching, along with some of the front office. Rookies Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic also played, along with four members of the player development staff.
Thompson has been sidelined since November 1 because of a strained left calf muscle, and the team is hoping he can return this week, although he has already been ruled out for tonight’s game. Thomas hasn’t played since last season’s Eastern Conference finals due to a torn labrum and other issues with his right hip. Vardon says the Cavaliers would like to have him back for their Christmas game with Golden State.
“At the end of the day it’s all about the next day,” LeBron James said. “When they say they feel good the next day after a workout session, that’s great to know.”
There’s more news out of Cleveland:
- James is using a video game to help him adjust to teaming with Thomas, Vardon adds in the same story. James said he has been able to imagine what it will be like to join forces with the former Celtics star “because I play a lot of [NBA]2K.”
- Fitting Thomas into an already-successful lineup may be a difficult transition, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. After stumbling through the early season, the Cavs have strung together 12 straight wins and have found a winning combination with Jose Calderon as the starting point guard and Dwyane Wade running the second unit. However, Thomas, who averaged 28.9 PPG in Boston last season, is used to controlling the ball and may not fit as well with the other starters as Calderon. He is also considered a poor defender because of his size and may reverse the team’s progress in that area.
- Wade is providing an example of an aging star gracefully moving into the late stages of his career, writes Bill Livingston of Cleveland.com. After starting the first three games of the season, Wade asked the coaching staff to make him a reserve for the first time since he came to the NBA. He has responded by doing a lot of unglamorous things, ranking second on the team in blocks and assists and third in rebounding and steals.
Northwest Notes: Favors, Jerebko, Thunder, Crawford
Now that Rudy Gobert has returned from after missing 11 games with a right tibia contusion, the Jazz should consider trading Derrick Favors, contends Brad Rock of The Deseret News. Favors played well in Gobert’s absence, averaging more than 16 points and nine rebounds per game, and has been more effective as a center than a power forward. They were on the court together for just three minutes during Gobert’s first game back. Favors is making $12MM this year on an expiring contract and could bring back a nice asset or two for Utah on the trade market.
“Favors has been terrific, obviously, in Rudy’s absence, and we will keep looking at ways to get Favors in the lineup as a [center], because that lineup has been good to us,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We’ve got to figure out how to continue to adjust with different lineups in the game.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Injuries also provided an opportunity for free agent addition Jonas Jerebko, who moved into the Jazz starting lineup with Gobert and Joe Johnson sidelined, notes Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. He returned to a reserve role this week, but gained confidence from his time as a starter. “I’m feeling like I’m playing the best basketball I ever played,” said Jerebko, whose $4.2MM salary for next season doesn’t become guaranteed until July 9. “I put in the work this summer to do it so I’m just excited to be with the Utah Jazz and to be able to do it.”
- Snyder is among the believers that the Thunder’s mix of talent will eventually be successful, relays Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News. Early results have been disappointing in Oklahoma City after offseason trades teamed Paul George and Carmelo Anthony with Russell Westbrook, but OKC extended its winning streak to three games by beating Utah last night. “Any time you have a new teams it takes time to develop cohesiveness and an indentity,” Snyder said. “They’re a heckuva team. It’s a mistake to judge any team at this time of the year.”
- Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau will eventually put more trust in free agent addition Jamal Crawford, predicts Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Crawford has seen his minutes drop to 17.5 per game with Minnesota after averaging 26.3 with the Clippers last season. “I think things will change a little bit as we get used to each other, and this is having been together two months,” Crawford said. “I’m not sure Thibs has had a Sixth Man of the Year type guy [before] … so that’s different as well. I remember [Clippers coach] Doc [Rivers] told me that when I first [had] him … It was kind of the same thing – maybe not as extreme with the minutes, but just that he had to figure out how to do it.”