Knicks Hire Craig Robinson For Front Office Job
The Knicks continue to re-shape their front office, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that Bucks executive Craig Robinson is accepting a job with New York.
Robinson will fill multiple roles for the Knicks, working in a player development capacity, per Charania. It’s not clear exactly who Robinson will report to, but he’ll work in the club’s new-look front office under president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry.
Robinson, who served as the Bucks’ vice president of player and organizational development, played college basketball alongside Mills at Princeton from 1979 to 1981 and is the brother-in-law of former President Barack Obama.
With Phil Jackson out and Perry and Robinson in, it will be interesting to see what other changes the Knicks make to their front office this summer. Charania’s report suggests that Robinson will take over as the GM of the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate. However, that role is currently held by Allan Houston, and Ian Begley of ESPN suggests Houston will continue to work in that position.
While Houston may not be impacted significantly by the hiring of Robinson, the future of Knicks executive Clarence Gaines – a Jackson hire – is less certain.
NBA Teams Projected To Be 2017/18 Taxpayers
In the wake of 2016’s salary cap spike, the luxury tax line was higher than ever in 2016/17, and only two teams finished the season above it. The Clippers barely crossed over into taxpayer territory, while the Cavaliers blew past that threshold and were on the hook for a big tax bill.
In 2017/18, the salary cap increase was far more modest, and as a result, it appears that several more teams will finish the season as taxpayers, surpassing this year’s $119.266MM tax line. Teams have until the end of the ’17/18 regular season to adjust team salary in an effort to get back under the tax line, but most of those clubs will have little leverage if they try to dump salary, so it won’t be easy to cut costs.
Here’s an early look at the teams likely to finish 2017/18 as taxpayers:
Cleveland Cavaliers
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $139.73MM
No team is further over the tax line than the Cavaliers, and Cleveland will also qualify as a repeat taxpayer for the first time this year, making the penalties levied against the franchise more punitive. Currently, the Cavs’ projected tax bill is approaching $70MM, which explains why the team is interested in attaching an extra contract or two to Kyrie Irving in any trade.
Golden State Warriors
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $135.36MM
Last year’s dominant Warriors team actually didn’t have one of the more expensive rosters in the league, but that will change this time around, with several players signing lucrative new deals. The biggest raise belongs to Stephen Curry, who played out the final season of a four-year, $44MM deal in 2016/17, and will now start a five-year, $200MM+ pact.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $125.99MM
Years ago, the Thunder decided to move on from James Harden when he and the team couldn’t agree to terms on an extension that would have created luxury-tax issues for the franchise. Now, Oklahoma City has the third-highest team salary in the NBA, and a projected tax bill that will exceed $10MM.
Portland Trail Blazers
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $124.25MM
The Trail Blazers managed to slash their projected tax bill significantly a couple weeks ago when they sent Allen Crabbe to the Nets for Andrew Nicholson. Assuming they eventually waive and stretch Nicholson’s contract, as expected, the pair of transactions will save the club upwards of $40MM in tax payments alone.
Washington Wizards
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $123.54MM
Going into tax territory was necessary if the Wizards wanted to match Otto Porter‘s offer sheet from the Nets and bring him back. Fortunately for the club, John Wall‘s new super-max extension won’t go into effect until 2019/20 — his current salary is far below the 2017/18 max, which will save the Wizards from paying more exorbitant tax penalties.
Milwaukee Bucks
Current guaranteed team salary (approximate): $119.38MM
The Bucks currently project to be over the tax threshold by a very small amount, and I’d be surprised if the team doesn’t make every effort to trim payroll and sneak below that line before the season is over. Milwaukee isn’t a big-market team, and the opportunity to be on the receiving end of the luxury tax – rather than the paying end – will be tantalizing.
Outside of the six teams listed above, a handful of other clubs are inching dangerously close to tax territory. Among them: The Clippers, whose estimated guaranteed team salary sits about $100K below the tax threshold; the Pelicans, who are less than $1MM below the tax line; and the Rockets, who only have about $114.75MM in guarantees, but are carrying several million more dollars in non-guaranteed contracts.
Salary information from ESPN, Basketball Insiders, and HeatHoops was used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors’ 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker
With the majority of 2017’s top free agents off the board, and news of contract agreements still trickling in, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason. To that end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, years, salary, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect reported agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data.
- Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in many cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Listed salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
- A restricted free agent who agrees to or signs an offer sheet will be included in the tracker, but the team won’t be specified until his original club matches or passes on the offer sheet, in order to avoid confusion.
- Two-way contracts and draft pick signings aren’t included in the tracker.
- Click on a player’s name for our full report on his deal.
- If you’re viewing the tracker on mobile, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.
Our 2017 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.
Poll: Which Central Team Had Best Offseason?
When we asked last week which Atlantic and Northwest teams have enjoyed the best offseasons of 2017, there were a handful of teams deserving of consideration. Several of the 10 teams from those divisions landed star players or deftly maneuvered the salary cap to upgrade their rosters in other ways.
In the Central division, the candidates are a little less impressive.
The Bulls and Pacers were on the other end of two of those trades that sent All-Star players to Northwest teams, with the clubs trading away Jimmy Butler and Paul George, respectively. In both cases, the return left something to be desired — Chicago received Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markkanen, while the Pacers landed Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Indiana has at least has made some savvy moves in the weeks since the George trade, picking up Cory Joseph, Darren Collison, and Bojan Bogdanovic on affordable contracts, while the Bulls have only re-signed Cristiano Felicio and added Justin Holiday.
The defending Central – and Eastern – champions may join those two teams soon in having traded away an All-Star player, but for now Kyrie Irving remains with the Cavaliers. Cleveland’s offseason grade is probably incomplete until we see what the team does with Irving, but so far the Cavs’ summer moves have been somewhat underwhelming. The additions of players like Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, Jose Calderon, and Cedi Osman were solid, but they were hardly the sort of transformative moves the clubs envisioned heading into the offseason.
The up-and-coming Bucks showed signs last season suggesting they could be an Eastern Conference force within the next year or two, but with Greg Monroe and Spencer Hawes opting into their respective contracts, Milwaukee’s flexibility to make additions has been limited. Outside of re-signing Tony Snell, the Bucks have essentially been quiet in free agency — the team’s most notable additions came in the draft, when D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown joined the roster.
Of the five Central teams, the Pistons have perhaps been the most active in adding roster reinforcements, though your view of their offseason may hinge on how you feel about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Detroit let its top restricted free agent walk, opting to replace him by signing Langston Galloway and trading Marcus Morris for Avery Bradley. Other minor moves for the Pistons included re-signing Reggie Bullock and adding Anthony Tolliver.
What do you think? Which of the Central division teams had the best offseason? Did any of these teams take positive steps forward with their summer moves? Vote below in our poll and then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts.
Which Central team has had the best offseason?
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Milwaukee Bucks 35% (564)
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Detroit Pistons 24% (392)
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Chicago Bulls 15% (244)
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Cleveland Cavaliers 14% (224)
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Indiana Pacers 11% (179)
Total votes: 1,603
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Previously:
Willie Reed Charged With Domestic Battery
Recently acquired Clippers center Willie Reed was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. In addressing the incident, the NBA will call upon its new policy on domestic violence.
Incorporated in the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, active as of July 1, is a new protocol for investigating and dealing with such situations. While the league hasn’t specifically outlined predetermined punishments, the policy states that potential aggravating factors could influence the disciplinary action taken by the league.
To see the league’s full Policy on Domestic Violence, see Exhibit F of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (PDF hosted at NBPA’s website).
Two things listed as potentially aggravating factors include the player having prior allegations or convictions of prohibited conduct and the presence of a minor. Both apply in the case of Reed, as outlined in Winderman’s piece.
Reed, who played last season with the Heat, was booked in Miami-Dade on Sunday and was bailed out by former teammate Okaro White.
East Notes: Perry, Nader, Irving
In a span of three months, Scott Perry went from being cast aside by a moribund Magic franchise to a sound front office hire for the Knicks. Marc Berman of the New York Post recently wrote about the underdog’s meteoric rise up the executive landscape.
While Perry did little to draw attention to himself under the tutelage of then-Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan, he quickly found himself the executive vice president of a Kings team that desperately needed reinvention.
Perry’s tenure in Sacramento, however, didn’t last. On July 13, three months after leaving the Magic and making a handful of heady decisions for Sacramento, Perry was plucked away from Vlade Divac to be the general manager of the Knicks.
During his brief stint with the Kings, Perry guided the franchise through an impressive draft that yielded the likes De’Aaron Fox, Justin Jackson and Harry Giles. He also landed notable veterans George Hill and Zach Randolph to monitor and mold those youngsters.
“One of the more amazing front-office sagas I can ever remember,” longtime NBA executive Pat Williams told Berman for his in-depth long-read. “Scott’s dismissed in mid-April, within 48 hours he’s talking with Sacramento and ends up hired by the Knicks in probably the most important front-office job in the NBA — GM of the Knicks.”
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- If Abdel Nader is going to score a long-term role with the Celtics, he’ll need to establish himself as a 3-and-D player, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England writes.
- The Knicks are Kyrie Irving‘s first choice, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog. Irving had previously listed four teams that he’d prefer the Cavaliers trade him to last month, the others being the Timberwolves, Spurs or Heat.
- The fact that Pistons general manager Jeff Bower took time aside to work with then-free agent Eric Moreland on his game during summer league influenced his decision to sign a three-year deal with the franchise, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. “I’ve been with like three teams now and they can be down to earth as much as they want but they not about to come out and shoot free throws with you and try to help you and see something you,” Moreland said.
And-Ones: Rookies, All-Stars, Breakouts
A number rookies appear poised to outperform their draft slot, Mike Schmitz of ESPN Insider writes, including one Dennis Smith Jr. whose impressive summer league performance and prime situation with the Mavs have already been discussed ad nauseam.
The scribe makes compelling cases for five other breakout candidates, however, ranging from Jazz lottery pick Donovan Mitchell to the Lakers‘ Kyle Kuzma, selected 27th overall. Schmitz cites Mitchell’s length and defensive ability, arguing that the wing will work his way into Utah’s still-relevant rotation.
Schmitz also speculates that Justin Jackson will thrive with the Kings considering that he’s a poised perimeter option that doesn’t need the ball in his hands on offense.
Although the profiles are hidden behind Insider’s paywall, they discuss the upside and various situation’s that these first-year players find themselves. In addition to the abovementioned, John Collins of the Hawks and Nets big man Jarrett Allen are also featured.
There’s more from throughout the NBA:
- In a comprehensive account of Darko Milicic‘s life after basketball, ESPN’s Sam Borden revealed that Milicic had made up his mind about never playing in the NBA again when he left the Celtics. It was said, at the time, that he was returning to be with his ailing mother.
- It may be early to speculate about the 2018 NBA All-Star Game but that didn’t stop A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England from stringing together a potential squad. Familiar faces make up the starting lineup but new additions Jimmy Butler and Paul George make the case for qualifying as a reserve ever more difficult for the players in the conference.
- With a new season comes new opportunity and David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders has pieced together a summary of Pacific Division players that he thinks may be able to take the next step in 2017/18.
Poll: Northwest Division Winner
The Jazz made the leap last season, winning 51 games while taking home the Northwest Division crown. After an offseason of change, a repeat is far from certain. Utah lost Gordon Hayward in free agency, something that should knock them down in the standings. Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com projects the Jazz to take home under 45 wins next season.
Pelton predicts that the Wolves will win the division after they brought in 3-time All-Star Jimmy Butler this offseason. Minnesota added several other pieces in free agency, including Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson. Pelton has the Thunder placing second in the division with his model predicting OKC takes home 49.5 wins.
The statistician has the Nuggets finishing third in the division with Utah and Portland behind them. The mathematical model gives Denver 47.2 wins which puts them third in the division and seventh in the conference. Adding a proven veteran like Paul Millsap will certainly increase a team’s chances of making the postseason, something that the franchise hasn’t done in each of the last four seasons. The addition of Millsap, along with the progression of the team’s young nucleus, should also give the team a chance to steal the division’s crown and land a top-4 seed in the Western Conference.
What do you think? Which team will win out in what should be a tight race for the Northwest Division crown? Weigh in below with your vote and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts.
Which Team Will Win The Northwest Division?
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Wolves 42% (776)
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Thunder 37% (690)
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Blazers 8% (152)
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Jazz 7% (127)
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Nuggets 6% (116)
Total votes: 1,861
Latest On The Potential Sale Of The Nets
The Nets’ franchise is drawing interest from potential buyers and owner Mikhail Prokhorov is hoping to garner a $2 billion offer for the organization, Josh Kosman of the New York Post reports. Prokhorov recently attempted to sell a minority stake in the franchise. However, that fell through, leading the Russian billionaire to parse offers for the entire franchise.
Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai reportedly has interest in buying the franchise and Kosman hears that he is trying to “box out others in the sales process.” It’s worth noting that a representative from his office, Blue Pool, has denied the rumored interest.
The Nets would like to find a Chinese backer, Kosman adds. Brooklyn’s executive VP of Global Partnership was in China last month setting up upwards of 20 meetings with potential buyers and partners.
Bucks GM Talks New Position, Antetokounmpo, Parker
Jon Horst, who is entering his first season as the GM of the Bucks, recently spoke with Steve Aschburner of NBA.com to discuss the roster and his role on the team. Here are the highlights:
On the recent ESPN story, which reminded everyone that teams will be lining up to pry Giannis Antetokounmpo away from Milwaukee once he becomes a free agent in 2021:
First of all, he’s our player. He’s under contract with us. And what did Giannis say: “I’ve got loyalty in my DNA?” That was his retort on his own. He said, “This is my team.” So, we, by and large, ignore that.
On Jabari Parker‘s recovery from a torn ACL:
For Jabari and the Bucks, this is not about this year. This is about a 22-year-old kid who is one of the best young talents in the league, and making sure he comes back physically in the right way.
On who will be making the decisions in the front office:
Obviously, ownership is ownership. Jason Kidd is our coach. They’re going to be involved in everything we do. But in taking this job, we talked about these things. Ultimately, I’ve been hired to run the basketball operations for the Milwaukee Bucks, to have the final say and to make the final decisions. I’m going to operate as such, and I have their support in doing that. The only way you can really set aside those concerns is by living it every day and watching the transactions unfold.
On the advantages of being a GM at age 34:
Maybe a level of energy, though I’ve seen people in this type of position who have more years to their name than I do. But the NBA is ever-changing. For instance, when I first started, cap guys were not a thing; everyone had an outside counsel that worked on the CBA and basketball offices were not that in tune with the cap. That’s why I got an opportunity. Shortly after that, analytics became a big thing in our sport and that’s why those people got opportunities.
My point is, with my youth, I think I’m really an open-minded, collaborative person. Not that older people aren’t, but I think it’s a strength of mine. I think that will help us find “the next thing” – what’s “the next thing” that NBA teams are going to find to have competitive advantages? Just like Jason has a young staff and they’re constantly trying to figure out, what’s “the next way” to play basketball? What’s “the next way” to get a competitive advantage on the floor?