Community Shootaround: Tampering Probe
The Lakers and team president Magic Johnson are under scrutiny as the league announced this weekend it was investigating potential tampering between the club and Paul George.
The Pacers, who dealt George to the Thunder this summer, filed the charges. The Lakers and Johnson now face a variety of potential punishments if the league finds evidence of impermissible contact and/or tampering.
George is a unique case in that he publicly stated his desire to sign with the Lakers when he becomes a free agent next summer. That prompted Indiana to shop the four-time All-Star, with the Thunder winning the sweepstakes by dealing away Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out, the Hawks and Kings were fined four years ago for outlining their plans to pursue free agents from other teams. But it’s been 17 years since the league cracked down hard on any team for tampering.
The Timberwolves were fined $3.5MM, lost five first-round picks (though two were later reinstated) and saw their owner and GM suspended. Those penalties were handed down when the league uncovered evidence that the club and forward Joe Smith had a side agreement for a future contract to circumvent the salary cap before Smith became a free agent. Smith wound up signing with the Pistons after Minnesota was prevented from securing his services.
A fine is the Lakers’ most likely penalty if some evidence of tampering is uncovered. However, if the league believes the Lakers and George already have a verbal agreement, they could face penalties similar to the ones doled out to the Timberwolves in 2000. It could also prevent George from joining the Lakers.
The Lakers have hired legal representation and seem confident they will be cleared of the charges.
That brings us to our question of the day: If the league’s tampering investigation involving the Lakers and Paul George uncovers evidence of a verbal agreement, should the Lakers be prohibited from signing George in free agency or acquiring him in a trade? If not, what would be an appropriate punishment?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this hot topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Magic Sign Adreian Payne To Two-Way Contract
The Magic have signed power forward Adreian Payne to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.
Payne, 26, recently declined an offer from Guangdong in the Chinese Basketball Association worth $900K.
The former Michigan State standout has been a disappointment since he was selected by the Hawks with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2014 draft. He played just three games for Atlanta before he was shipped to the Timberwolves during his rookie year. Payne made 22 starts with Minnesota as a first-year player, then saw action in 52 games (including two starts) the following season.
He appeared in just 18 games last season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 7.5 MPG. Payne also spent time with the G-League’s Erie BayHawks.
Payne is the first player to sign a two-way deal with Orlando. The Magic are eligible to sign one more player to such a contract.
Rockets Sign Demetrius Jackson To Two-Way Deal
AUGUST 21, 4:22PM: The signing is official, the team tweets.
JULY 28, 11:08PM: Two weeks after being waived by the Celtics, Demetrius Jackson has found a new home. According to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), Jackson has agreed to terms on a two-way contract with the Rockets.
[RELATED: 2017/18 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]
Jackson, who will turn 23 in September, was the 45th overall pick in the 2016 draft and signed an NBA contract with the Celtics. However, given the crowded depth chart in Boston, the Notre Dame product didn’t see much action for the C’s, briefly appearing in just five games. He did play in 32 games for the Maine Red Claws, averaging 14.8 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 5.1 RPG in the G League.
With the Celtics adding several new players to the roster this offseason, there wasn’t room for Jackson, whose salary was partially guaranteed. His new two-way contract with the Rockets will have a modest starting salary, but taking into account the money he’s still earning from the Celtics, Jackson could end up earning close to the NBA minimum if he spends a portion of the season with Houston’s NBA team.
Jackson worked out earlier this week for the Hornets, who were on the lookout for a possible third point guard.
For more details on how two-way contracts work, be sure to check out our FAQ.
Mavericks Sign Jeff Withey
AUGUST 21: The Mavericks have officially signed Withey, the team announced today in a press release. Dallas now has 19 players under contract, with the final spot on the Mavs’ offseason roster likely reserved for Noel.
AUGUST 18: The Mavericks have agreed to a deal with Jeff Withey, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). The scribe adds that the pact will be for one season.
Withey spent the last two seasons backing up Rudy Gobert on the Jazz and Utah renounced the rights to the Kansas product last month after agreeing to terms with Jonas Jerebko.
Withey was accused of domestic violence this past spring, though authorities said that despite the presence of physical contact between him and his ex-fiancee, he was innocent of wrongdoing since they determined that he was simply defending himself. It’s possible that Withey is handed some sort of suspension for the incident. However, no word of any punishment has been reported.
Withey was selected with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Blazers before being dealt to the Pelicans later that offseason. After two years in New Orleans, where he played just 9.9 minutes per game, he became a free agent and signed with the Jazz.
Dallas currently has a void at the center position, though it’s likely that Nerlens Noel fills that void once the RFA comes to terms with the teams. Withey will likely compete with Salah Mejri for the back-up five spot behind Noel.
Latest On Tampering Charges Against Lakers
As we learned over the weekend, the Lakers are under investigation by the NBA for alleged tampering, with the Pacers questioning L.A.’s involvement in the Paul George situation that continues to play out as he nears 2018 free agency. Although the league only confirmed the news on Sunday, the Pacers initiated the investigation around the time of the 2017 draft, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Indiana reached an agreement a week after the draft to trade George to Oklahoma City.
As we wait to see how the situation plays out, here are a few items of interest related to the investigation:
- ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Bobby Marks have a full FAQ on the investigation, exploring how often tampering charges pan out, and what the penalties typically are in those situations. As Marks notes, teams like the Hawks and Kings have been fined for tampering in recent years, while the Timberwolves faced a much steeper penalty when they were found to have entered into an illegal contract agreement with Joe Smith in the late 1990s — Minnesota lost five first-round picks. If the Lakers are disciplined for tampering, I’d imagine the penalty would look much more like the one levied on Atlanta and Sacramento.
- We should stop pretending that the NBA cares about its tampering rules, Kevin O’Connor argues in a piece for The Ringer, pointing out that every team is in contact with player agents before free agency officially opens on July 1. Tom Ziller makes a similar case in an article for SBNation.com., writing that what constitutes tampering is “fuzzy and subjective.”
- Addressing the Lakers/Pacers case specifically, here’s what one agent told O’Connor: “[Lakers GM Rob] Pelinka for sure knows how to tamper without getting caught. Pelinka will do whatever it takes to get players. [President of basketball operations] Magic [Johnson] could easily have done something dumb and got caught for it, though.”
- It will be virtually impossible to prove the Lakers legitimately tampered with George unless the team left a “paper trail,” says Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk.
Steve Kerr Talks Health, Warriors, Myers
Steve Kerr has had to take time off during each of the last two NBA seasons due to his troublesome back, but with the 2017/18 preseason fast approaching, the Warriors head coach reiterates to Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle that he “fully” expects to be back on the sideline for the entire ’17/18 season. Kerr also expects to continue coaching “for many years to come.”
In a two-part interview with Ostler, Kerr also addressed how his back is feeling these days, and ___, among other topics. Let’s dive in and round up a few of the highlights from the Warriors head coach….
On the health of his back:
“It’s all right, it’s all right. I’d love to say that I’m all better, but not the case. I’m feeling better, having a good summer, relaxing. But it’s just been an ongoing thing now for two years. … I’ve definitely gotten better, I’ve made some improvement. But I still feel like there’s improvement to make.”
On keeping in touch with Warriors GM Bob Myers throughout the offseason:
“We talk about players, talk about roles. We talked a lot about Nick Young and [Omri] Casspi before we signed those guys. Talked a lot about our center position. Bob and I talk every day, kind of the first thing in the morning we check in with each other, usually talk for a half hour. We’re really close. He just got back from a great vacation, in Italy.
“[Myers] is right there with Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson, in terms of people who are at a really high level in the NBA but who just get it, who understand what makes people tick. I think that’s one of the reasons we have the culture that we do, is that Bob and I kind of see things in a similar fashion.”
On how the Warriors have avoided the drama that has plagued other franchises:
I just think that’s who we are, who our guys are. They love life. You see what Steph [Curry] is doing this summer, having the time of his life. The world’s his playground. (Kevin Durant) and Draymond [Green] are traveling the world and just enjoying the fruits of being a champion. There’s a license that comes with winning. When you win, if you choose to just keep going, you can just keep going, and people are going to give you a pass for stuff.”
On his outlook for the 2017/18 season:
“I expect us to be in a good groove right from the beginning, based on KD and David [West] and Zaza [Pachulia] having a year under their belt, and JaVale [McGee]. The continuity is so important in this league, and the confidence we’re going to have coming off the championship. We’re going to be in a good groove, but that doesn’t guarantee anything. You’ve got to be healthy, and you’ve got to have the energy and the will and all that when the playoffs start.”
Knicks Sign Nigel Hayes
AUGUST 21: Hayes has officially signed with the Knicks, according to the team. It’s a one-year, partially guaranteed deal.
AUGUST 17: The Knicks have reached an agreement with Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes on a partially guaranteed contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowki of ESPN.
The senior averaged 14.0 points and 6.6 rebounds last season for the Badgers. He was invited to New York’s mini-camp in July and played for the Knicks’ summer league team, averaging 5.2 points, and 5.0 rebounds in five games in Orlando.
New York has 14 players with guaranteed contracts, so Hayes will have the opportunity to win a roster spot in training camp.
Hayes’ deal with the Knicks was first reported in June by ESPN’s Ian Begley.
Knicks Sign Jamel Artis To Partially Guaranteed Deal
AUGUST 21: The Knicks have officially signed Artis, the team announced in a press release. It’ll be a one-year deal, and will likely end up with Artis joining the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate.
JUNE 24: The Knicks have agreed to a partially guaranteed contract with undrafted free agent Jamel Artis out of Pitt, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now.
The 6’7″ senior swingman will be part of the Knicks’ summer league team and will be given a chance to earn a place on the roster in training camp. He averaged 18.2 points per game with the Panthers this year and had a season-high 43 against Louisville.
New York has already promised training camp deals to Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes and Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet, so the competition for the final roster spots will be intense. In addition, Florida’s Canyon Barry will be auditioned during summer league for a possible training camp invitation.
O.J. Mayo Has Interest In Playing Overseas
Former third overall pick O.J. Mayo has now been out of the NBA for a full season, having been banned for two years for violating the terms of the league’s anti-drug program. However, as Ben Golliver of SI.com details in an in-depth look at Mayo’s current situation, the veteran shooting guard received FIBA clearance last November and has interest in playing for a team in China, Spain, or Israel.
Despite that interest, Mayo has not yet fielded offers from teams in those countries and leagues. In the meantime, the 29-year-old has been working with skills and development coach Chris Johnson and strength and fitness trainer Travelle Gaines in the hopes of getting back into game shape. If no international opportunities materialize, Mayo is expected to continue his training program with Johnson and Gaines in Minnesota, where the duo will work with Jimmy Butler.
Mayo, who acknowledged that abuse of a prescription pain medication triggered his two-year ban from the NBA, said that not being able to play basketball last season was “probably the closest thing to jail that I’ll get to,” adding that it was the low point of his life.
“The shellshock of not being in the NBA,” Mayo said. “All my peers are playing and I’m not because of boneheaded mistakes. Take the ball away, what is there to do?”
Mayo will be eligible to apply for reinstatement to the NBA on July 1, 2018, and his return must be approved by both the league and the players’ union. As Golliver notes, a number of factors will go into that decision, and Mayo will have to show that he hasn’t failed any marijuana or drug tests for a year prior to his reinstatement. If he does get the chance to play in the NBA again, the former Buck suggests he might like another chance to prove his worth in Milwaukee.
“I want to go back to what I left [in Milwaukee],” Mayo told Golliver when asked about his dream destination. “I was real close with [head coach] Jason Kidd. That was the best relationship I had with a coach besides [AAU coach Dwaine Barnes]. I had great relationships with Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Khris Middleton. I was comfortable there. I felt like I let them down, cheated them for two years. They paid me $8 million to be, in my eyes, a subpar player. They invested millions of dollars for me to be on top of my s–t, and when you’re not on top of your s–t, it shows. I’ll be 30 next summer. If they just give me the chance, I can make it up. I owe them.”
Decisions On 2018/19 Rookie Scale Team Options
Under the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the deadline for teams to sign fourth-year players to rookie scale extensions has been moved up from October 31 to the last day before the regular season begins, but Halloween remains an important date on the NBA’s calendar. It’s the last day that clubs can exercise team options on the rookie scale contracts of former first-round picks.
All the players whose options will be exercised or declined by October 31 are already under contract for the 2017/18 season. Their teams will have to make a decision on whether they want to lock in those players’ contracts beyond the coming season, picking up or turning down team options for the 2018/19 campaign.
For players who signed their rookie scale contracts in 2015 and have been in the NBA for two years, teams must decide on fourth-year options for 2018/19. For players who just signed their rookie deals last year and only have one season of NBA experience under their belts, teams will already be faced with a decision on third-year options for ’18/19.
In many cases, these decisions aren’t hard ones. Rookie scale salaries are so affordable – particularly with the salary cap poised to surpass $100MM next summer – that it usually makes sense to exercise most of these team options, even if a player isn’t a key cog on the roster. And for those players who do have a significant role on a team’s roster, the decision is even easier — it’s not as if the Knicks would even consider declining their option on Kristaps Porzingis. In fact, they’ve already picked it up.
Still, we’ll wait for a trusted reporter, the NBA, a player (or his agent), or a team itself to confirm that an option is indeed being exercised or declined, and we’ll track that news in this space.
Listed below are all the rookie scale decisions for 2018/19 team options that clubs must make by October 31. This list will be updated throughout the rest of the offseason, as teams’ decisions are reported and announced. The salary figures listed here reflect the cap hits for each team — players’ actual salaries will be a little higher, since recent first-round picks received pay bumps as a result of the new CBA.
Here are the NBA’s rookie scale team option decisions for 2018/19 salaries: