Community Shootaround: Were Award Winners Correct?
On Monday night, the NBA announced the winners of its most important yearly awards live on TNT.
As you know, Russell Westbrook came home with the Most Valuable Player award, Draymond Green was named the Defensive Player of the Year, Malcolm Brogdon won Rookie of the Year, Eric Gordon won Sixth Man, Mike D’Antoni is now the reigning Coach of the Year, and Giannis Antetokounmpo won Most Improved Player.
As anti-climactic as it may seem to announce these honors two weeks after the last NBA Finals game and days after the draft, it is never too late to hold discussions over who should have won each award and why. Furthermore, it is a time-honored tradition in sports fandom and analysis to gather around and make one’s arguments about player performance and superiority until one is blue in the face or the keyboard jams. So, I say, let the discourse commence:
Did the right NBA players take home hardware this season? Who was robbed of his rightful award? Which snubbed players deserved to be finalists? We look forward to reading your thoughts and debate in the comments section.
Atlantic Notes: Rose, Zizic, Bradley, Iguodala
The Knicks have legitimate interest in re-signing Derrick Rose, reports Ian Begley of ESPN. At 28 years old, Rose will be a free agent for the first time in his career in the coming days. The report also states that the Knicks are not interested in paying large salaries for any free agents, so that may play a role in whether Rose re-signs with the team. The Knicks are also keen on ensuring Rose’s health, as the point guard’s career has been riddled with injuries both major and minor.
Here’s what else you need to know from the Atlantic division:
- The Celtics‘ 2016 draft pick, Ante Zizic, arrived in Boston and will begin practicing with the team this week, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Zizic was drafted 23rd overall and played the 2016/17 season in the EuroLeague with the Turkish club, Darussafaka Dogus, where he was coached by David Blatt. “I took him downtown last night a little bit,” Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge said. “He’s just doing things like getting workouts in, getting medical stuff, physicals done, all that type of stuff. He’s ready for summer league.”
- Despite being named in several blockbuster trade rumors, Avery Bradley remains unfazed, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England. “I try not to worry about it too much because it’s out of my control at the end of the day,” Bradley said, adding, “It’s part of the business, man. You just got to accept and understand that your name is going to be thrown in trade talk. You can get traded at any time. You just have to be prepared and focus on just being the best player that you can be.”
- As passed along earlier, the 76ers are one of the seven teams from which Andre Iguodala is drawing interest. Iguodala spent the first eight seasons of his career in Philadelphia.
Free Agent Rumors: Lowry, Paul, Teodosic, Pachulia, Heat
Michael Grange of Sportsnet spoke to NBA team sources, as well as longtime player agents, to delve into Kyle Lowry‘s free agency. Grange writes that “it is becoming increasingly evident that Lowry will take the opportunity to test the market.” He also adds that the Raptors are the only team that can guarantee a fifth year in a contract offer to Lowry and can pay more over four years than any other suitor. Grange finds a consensus among his sources that Lowry will not be receiving a max deal out in the market and that “his ceiling will top out at $30 million annually, although that would most likely be on a shorter deal.”
Here are some other relevant free agent rumors:
- According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (link via Twitter), Chris Paul and his agents met with the Clippers on Tuesday and discussed the player’s future. Paul’s camp and Clippers officials will speak again soon.
- Milos Teodosic announced that he will likely leave his Russian team and wishes to play in the NBA, via Novosti by way of Sportando: “I will not stay with CSKA Moscow almost for sure. But I don’t know yet where I will continue my career,” Teodosic said. “Going to the NBA is my wish but when I will know where, I will say that.”
- Zaza Pachulia back with the Hawks? The reunion is an interesting idea that Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution floats, as the team has just one center at present (Miles Plumlee) and Pachulia is an unrestricted free agent and likely to move on from the Warriors. Furthermore, Vivlamore points out that Atlanta’s new GM Travis Schlenk knows Pachulia from his time with the Dubs.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald asks and answers key questions about the Heat‘s free agency. If Miami were to land Gordon Hayward or Blake Griffin, could they still keep James Johnson or Dion Waiters? Jackson says it would be difficult but not impossible. Click through for his detailed answer.
Nuggets Pick Up Coach Mike Malone’s Option
The Nuggets have picked up their option on head coach Mike Malone‘s contract, per Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports (link via Twitter). Dempsey adds that the contract runs through the 2018/19 season.
Malone has served as Denver’s head coach for the past two seasons, going 40-42 this past season after posting a 33-49 record in 2015/16. Malone previously captained the Sacramento Kings, but was fired a mere 24 games into his second season with the club after beginning the campaign 11-13. As an NBA head coach, Malone has yet to witness his team qualify for the postseason.
Bulls Notes: Wade, Rondo, LaVine, Butler
Now that Dwyane Wade has opted into the final year of his contract with the Bulls, the team doesn’t appear to have much interest in buying him out, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes, Executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson told reporters today that the Bulls and Wade’s camp haven’t discussed a buyout for the veteran guard, and for the club to consider such a move, it would “have to be advantageous for us.” In other words, Wade would likely have to give back a significant chunk of his $23.8MM salary for the 2017/18 season if he wants out of Chicago.
Here are a few more Bulls-related notes:
- At season’s end, the Bulls sounded committed to bringing back Rajon Rondo, whose contract for 2017/18 is mostly non-guaranteed. However, the team sounds less certain now, and Paxson said that decision is still being weighed. “We’re going to sit down with [Rondo’s agent] Bill [Duffy] and talk through [things],” Paxson said today, per Friedell. “We do understand that veterans are important for a young basketball team. The right veterans. The guys that are good teammates, are supportive of the young guys, and continue to teach them how to be pros. Those are things we’ll be addressing.”
- While it’s possible the Bulls will cut Rondo and try to re-sign him at a lower number than his current $13MM+ salary, that looks like a long shot, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
- Zach LaVine, who was introduced as a Bull today, is optimistic about his rehab process, but doesn’t want to put an exact timetable on his return to the court, writes Friedell. “I’m going to be safe,” LaVine said. “The main thing is always being safe. And I always have to take care of myself and this franchise as well, so I’m going to be safe. I’m going to do everything I can physically to get back, and then when I’m at that point, I’m going to be ready.”
- Shortly after he was traded to the Timberwolves, Jimmy Butler spoke to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Although Butler said he wasn’t mad at the Bulls, he admitted he didn’t exactly love the way the franchise handled the process. “I guess being called the face of an organization isn’t as good as I thought,” Butler added. “We all see where being the so-called face of the Chicago Bulls got me.”
Notable CBA Changes That Will Affect Free Agency
With July 1 just a few days away, the NBA is almost ready to turn the calendar and officially begin the 2017/18 league year. At the same time as the new league year gets underway, the league will also implement its new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and the players’ union.
For the most part, that CBA looks a lot like the previous CBA. There are very few major changes to the way players can be signed or otherwise acquired by NBA teams. However, the new agreement features several tweaks to existing rules, and many of those small changes will be noticeable once the 2017 free agent period officially opens on Saturday.
Below, we’ve rounded up most of the notable CBA changes that will affect this year’s free agent period. This list isn’t comprehensive. For more details, you can check out the NBA’s recap of key changes to the CBA, or – if you have a bit of a masochistic streak – you can even read the full CBA document. The changes we’ve listed below, however, are the ones that should be most important in the next few weeks.
Let’s dive in…
Salary cap management:
- The salary cap and tax line for the new league year will be set by June 30. The cap and tax are currently projected to land at $99MM and $119MM, respectively.
- The July moratorium will end on July 6 at 11:00am CT.
- The tax apron will now be $6MM above the tax line instead of $4MM above the line. The apron represents a threshold that teams aren’t allowed to cross at any time for the rest of the league year if they’ve used the full mid-level exception or the bi-annual exception, or acquired a player via sign-and-trade.
- The cap holds for first-round picks are now worth 120% of their rookie scale amounts, instead of 100%, slightly reducing available cap room for teams with first-rounders to consider. Those figures can be found here.
Restricted free agency:
- Teams will now have two days instead of three days to match an offer sheet.
- Restricted free agents will be able to formally sign offer sheets during the July moratorium. However, the clock for a player’s previous team to match his offer sheet won’t start until the moratorium ends. If a player signs an offer sheet during the moratorium, the player’s previous team will have until July 8 at 10:59am CT to match the offer.
- The deadline to withdraw a qualifying offer to a free agent is now July 13, instead of July 23.
Other free agency:
- Annual raises on new contracts can now be as high as 8% (Bird or Early Bird contracts) or 5% (all other contracts), instead of 7.5% and 4.5%.
- The amounts of the mid-level, bi-annual, and minimum salary exceptions are increasing significantly. Mid-level and bi-annual figures can be found here, while 2017/18’s minimum salaries can be found right here.
- The “over-36 rule,” which affected a player who signed a contract that extended beyond his 36th birthday, has been changed to the over-38 rule. This change may be beneficial for players like Chris Paul and Paul Millsap.
- NBA teams now have the ability to sign a pair of players apiece to two-way contracts. Full details on these new two-way contracts can be found here.
- Two-way contracts and minimum salary contracts can be officially signed during the July moratorium.
Trades:
- As of July 1, each team will be able to receive and send $5.1MM in trades for the 2017/18 league year. The limit for 2016/17 was $3.5MM. Cash paid and cash received in trades are two separate entities, meaning a team can’t exceed $5.1MM in cash paid by taking back money in another deal — if a team has paid $5.1MM and received $5.1MM, it can no longer use cash in trades.
- The traded player exception will now allow non-taxpaying teams to take back up to 175% of the outgoing salary in a simultaneous trade. However, over-the-cap teams still can’t take back more than the outgoing salary plus $5MM for any amount up to $19.8MM, or more than 125% of the outgoing salary for any amount over $19.8MM.
Contract extensions:
- Veteran players will now be eligible to sign contract extensions if two years have passed since they signed their last veteran contract. Previously, veterans didn’t become extension-eligible until three years had passed since their last signing date.
- Veterans signing an extension are now eligible for an initial raise of up to 20%, instead of 7.5%.
- The Designated Veteran Extension will be available for players who met a specific set of criteria related to years of experience, contract history, and All-NBA (or other award) honors. Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook will be the players to watch for the DVE this summer.
Iguodala Drawing Interest From At Least Seven Teams
Andre Iguodala wasn’t able to take home the NBA’s 2016/17 Sixth Man of the Year award on Monday night, but he’s on the verge of landing a nice consolation prize in the form of a lucrative new contract. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, at least seven teams from around the league are expected to make an effort to pry Iguodala away from the Warriors.
The Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers, Sixers, Magic, Nets, and Jazz are among the clubs with interest in Iguodala, per Haynes. Previous reports have suggested that the Bulls, Suns, and Hawks also may have interest in the veteran swingman, though Chicago has since entered a rebuilding phase, and Phoenix and Atlanta may opt to go in another direction.
According to Haynes, the Timberwolves and Sixers both have interest in Iguodala as a veteran leader for their young squads, while the Jazz view Iguodala as a contingency plan should they lose Gordon Hayward in free agency. The Spurs have internally discussed the possibility of trying to add both Iguodala and Chris Paul, according to Haynes, who confirms that San Antonio has explored trading Danny Green and LaMarcus Aldridge.
As Haynes explains, Iguodala has become one of the hottest free agents on the market this summer because teams view it as a priority to get him out of Golden State. Building a super-team to compete with the Warriors isn’t realistic for most franchises, so chipping away at the Warriors’ core by signing away one of the team’s key contributors is a more logical way to close the gap between Golden State and the rest of the league.
While earlier estimates for Iguodala’s new contract indicated the Warriors might be able to bring him back for an annual salary in the range of his current $11.1MM+ figure, a report from Shams Charania of The Vertical last week suggested that number could be much higher if the 33-year-old heads elsewhere. According to Charania, there’s a belief among teams around the NBA that Iguodala could approach $20MM per year on a new deal.
Outside of the Warriors’ stars, Shaun Livingston and Iguodala represent the team’s most important veteran free agents. Haynes says that Livingston should be popular in July as well, reporting that the veteran point guard may command a salary in the range of $10-12MM per year.
Alex Len, Alan Williams, Shabazz Muhammad Receive Qualifying Offers
Three more players are now officially on track to become restricted free agents on the weekend, per RealGM’s transactions log. The Suns have tendered qualifying offers to Alex Len and Alan Williams, while Shabazz Muhammad has received a QO from the Timberwolves.
Extending qualifying offers to potential restricted free agents is a housekeeping move to ensure that teams retain the right of first refusal on their respective free agents. However, QOs also represent one-year contract offers, so Len, Williams, or Muhammad could opt to accept their offers and sign a one-year deal once the new league year begins.
Len, 24, was the fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, but hasn’t developed into a true impact player for the Suns. In 77 games (34 starts) last season, the 7’1″ center averaged 8.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 20.3 minutes per contest. Williams, an undrafted free agent big man, played a similar role in Phoenix, averaging 7.4 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 15.1 MPG (47 games).
As for Muhammad, the 24-year-old continued to play part-time minutes on the wing for the Wolves, having averaged 9.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and a .338 3PT% in 78 games last season.
Len and Muhammad, having failed to meet the starter criteria for RFAs, will receive qualifying offers worth $4,187,598. Williams’ QO will be worth a more modest $1,671,382.
Celtics Working To Land Both Hayward And George
With the free agent period fast approaching, the Celtics are pursuing an “aggressive” plan that would include signing Gordon Hayward and acquiring Paul George in a trade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The plan – first reported by Adam Kaufman of 98.5 The Sports Hub (Twitter link) – would require specific sequencing, and would hinge on getting a commitment from Hayward.
As Wojnarowski explains, the Celtics would want to get a verbal commitment from Hayward before attempting to finalize a deal with the Pacers for George. However, Indiana won’t necessarily be operating on the same schedule as Boston, and could look elsewhere in an effort to get something done with George while the C’s are waiting on Hayward.
Hayward is expected to start taking meetings with the Celtics and Heat on July 1, and the Jazz continue to fight to hang onto their star forward, according to Wojnarowski. The Vertical’s report indicates that Utah is exploring alternative offseason plans should Hayward leave, but is also working to upgrade its roster before July 1.
The Jazz have approximately $16MM in cap room that will expire on July 1, so that space could be used to accommodate a significant acquisition. For instance, ESPN’s Marc Stein has tweeted that Utah is among the teams to express trade interest in Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio. With their available cap room, the Jazz could absorb Rubio’s entire $13.5MM+ salary without having to send out any contracts.
If Hayward ultimately chooses Utah or Miami, the Celtics may look to substitute Clippers big man Blake Griffin in his place in an effort to land both Griffin and George, writes Wojnarowski. Griffin is also eligible for unrestricted free agency and can earn the same maximum starting salary as Hayward.
The Celtics and Pacers were said to be in “serious” talks involving George on draft night before those discussions stalled. As Wojnarowski points out, Boston is probably the Pacers’ preferred trade partner, since the C’s have a huge stockpile of young prospects and picks that would aid Indiana’s rebuilding process. Meanwhile, the Celtics also have a “growing confidence” that they could sign George to a contract extension and make him more than a one-year rental, which is “fueling” the team’s willingness to part with some of its assets, per The Vertical.
If the Celtics were to acquire George, he’d be eligible to sign an extension, but Boston would have to clear out even more cap room in order to renegotiate his contract and give him the sort a raise that might convince him to postpone his free agency. Like the rest of the Celtics’ plan, that wouldn’t be impossible, but there are a lot of moving parts involved that could complicate the situation.
Knicks Resisting Engaging In Buyout Talks With Carmelo Anthony
With the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony seemingly at a stand-off when it comes to a potential trade, there has been increased speculation in recent weeks that the two sides could explore a buyout. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links), Anthony’s camp has indeed attempted to engage the Knicks in buyout discussions, but the Knicks have thus far been resistant to going down that road.
Anthony has stated all year that his preference is to remain in New York, and Stein notes that Carmelo’s camp has acknowledged that preference even as they attempt to engage the Knicks in potential buyout talks. Since he holds a no-trade clause, Anthony has plenty of leverage in the situation — even if Phil Jackson wants to move his leading scorer, Carmelo has to give his approval in order for a deal to be finalized.
If the Knicks were to buy out Anthony, Carmelo would have the opportunity to join the team of his choice without that club giving the Knicks any assets in a trade. Stein’s report says that a buyout would clear the way for the veteran forward to sign with the Cavs, so it’s possible that joining LeBron James in Cleveland would be Anthony’s preferred option, should he reach free agency.
As Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets, the Knicks would obviously prefer to trade Anthony and view releasing him or buying him out as “unfavorable” options. If Anthony remains unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to accommodate a deal though, New York will have to seriously consider whether it makes more sense to buy out the 33-year-old or to hang onto him during the club’s rebuild.