Draft Updates: Pinson, Knicks, Ntilikina, Jeanne
UNC forward Theo Pinson, who had been testing the draft waters, will return to North Carolina for his senior season, the school announced today in a press release.
“It was a dream of mine to play college basketball at the best school and in the best league in the country, and it is a dream of mine to play in the NBA as well,” Pinson said in a statement. “The best path for me to reach the league and have a long career there is to have a great senior season and I am so excited to have that opportunity to play another year for Coach Williams and finish my degree as well.”
Here are a few more draft-related odds and ends, including more news on players withdrawing their names:
- The Knicks are currently projected to pick seventh overall, meaning top point guards like Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr., and De’Aaron Fox may be off the board. However, the Knicks like French point guard Frank Ntilikina and would consider him at No. 7, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, who reports that GM Steve Mills is overseas scouting the 18-year-old this week. Berman also notes that Ntilikina is among the many top prospects who will miss this year’s draft combine.
- Jonathan Jeanne, a 7’2″ center from France, has been invited to the NBA’s draft combine and has tentatively accepted, despite his season not being over, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com. Jeanne, who is the No. 36 prospect on DraftExpress’ big board, is an international early entrant, so he’d have the option of withdrawing his name if he doesn’t get great feedback at the combine in Chicago.
- Randy Onwuasor, a Southern Utah shooting guard, has elected to take his name out of the draft and will return to school for his senior year, coach Todd Simon tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Valparaiso junior Tevonn Walker will also be heading back to school for another year, according to Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports, who reports that Walker is withdrawing his name after testing the draft waters. The 6’2″ guard wasn’t expected to be selected if he’d stayed in the draft.
NBPA Head: Jackson Trying To ‘Shame’ Carmelo Out Of New York
Shortly after Knicks president Phil Jackson suggested in his season-ending press conference that Carmelo Anthony would be “better off somewhere else,” National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts issued a statement objecting to Jackson’s comments, calling them “inappropriate” and voicing her concern to the NBA. With no sign that the league is planning to discipline Jackson for his comments, Roberts explained further to Harvey Araton of The Vertical why she’s unhappy with the situation.
“I think Phil was deliberately trying to shame ‘Melo out of the city,” Roberts said, adding that after she first heard Jackson’s comments, she would have “bet [her] pay check” on the Knicks president being sanctioned by the NBA. Now, she has all but given up on waiting for that to happen.
As Araton explains, Roberts pointed to a September 2015 incident for which Markieff Morris was fined $10K by the league after he tweeted, “My future is not in Phoenix.” The NBA called that tweet a “public statement detrimental to the NBA,” and Roberts feels that label should be applied to Jackson’s comments as well, particularly since they could send a dangerous precedent.
As Roberts puts it, there’s concern that it could become a larger issue down the road if “another GM gets it in his head that it’s OK to treat a player this way because Phil got away with it.”
“The comments do damage to the game because they devalue the player and makes the fans who buy tickets question the value of the investment,” Roberts said. “Our players understand that they can privately complain about how a team is managed but they cannot do it publicly without being subject to sanction. But it has to work both ways. If Phil tells ‘Melo in private that being in New York is not a good fit for him, that’s his right. But these comments were made in public, and it’s very disturbing because Phil gave him the no-trade clause and he has to respect it. He’s got to allow a player to make a decision for any reason – to win a ring, for money, home life, whatever.”
Although Roberts hasn’t spoken to Anthony directly about the issue, she tells Araton that there are NBA players who are “unhappy” that the NBA hasn’t responded to the situation. As for Carmelo, Roberts says she’ll give him space to handle the issue however he decides.
“I feel for ‘Melo, this is a tough time for him and I can only imagine how he’s feeling,” Roberts said. “I know he has been talking to some other people so I’ll let him sort it all out.”
Bulls Notes: Rondo, Hoiberg, Butler, Mirotic
Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman spoke to the media in a Wednesday press conference that lasted the better part of an hour. Although Paxson and Forman didn’t exactly lay out their offseason blueprint, several of their answers provided hints about the Bulls’ next steps.
For one, Paxson praised Rajon Rondo and said there’s a “really good chance” that the team will retain the veteran point guard for next season, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As we outlined this morning in our Offseason Cap Digest for the Bulls, Rondo’s $13.397MM salary is currently only partially guaranteed for $3MM, so Chicago could save more than $10MM by cutting him — but likely won’t.
Here are more items of note from today’s presser, with all links via Friedell unless otherwise indicated:
- Paxson reiterated today that Fred Hoiberg will return as the Bulls’ head coach next season (Twitter link).
- Although Paxson acknowledged that Jimmy Butler doesn’t necessarily fit into Chicago’s desire to play with pace, he said the Bulls “know his value”and that Butler is “far and away our best player” (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune and Friedell).
- The Bulls will sit down with Butler and Dwyane Wade – who has a player option – within the next few weeks to discuss their respective futures (Twitter links).
- Both Paxson and Forman spoke about the importance of establishing more consistent roles for players next season, particularly for the Bulls’ young guys (Twitter links).
- The Bulls value Nikola Mirotic, according to Forman, who made it clear that there’s mutual interest between the two sides in getting a new deal done for the RFA-to-be (Twitter links).
- Asked about coaching staff changes, Paxson said the team is “in the process of looking at everything.” With Hoiberg a lock to return, any changes made would be to the assistant coaches (Twitter links via Johnson).
- The Bulls want to add shooting and athleticism this summer, according to Paxson (Twitter link).
- The Bulls continue to stress the idea of maintaining flexibility for 2018 and beyond. Paxson suggested that it would be “difficult” to make significant changes to the roster this summer, while Forman talked about the advantage of saving cap room rather than committing to multiple long-term deals right away (Twitter links via Friedell and Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com).
Timberwolves Finalize Purchase Of Iowa Energy
The Timberwolves have finalized the purchase of the Iowa Energy, a D-League franchise, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Energy previously had a partnership with the Grizzlies, but we learned back in January that the Wolves would be taking over control of the Des Moines-based club going forward.
In the wake of today’s announcement, it makes sense to take stock of where things stand in regard to NBA teams and their D-League affiliates. In 2016/17, 22 NBA clubs had one-on-one relationships with D-League teams, leaving eight NBA franchises without their own affiliates. However, changes are in store for the 2017/18 season, as the Development League becomes known as the Gatorade League.
Here are the changes expected for the 2017/18 G-League season, including updates on all the teams without affiliates:
- Atlanta Hawks: Will take over the Erie BayHawks, with an affiliate of their own in College Park, Georgia lined up for the 2019/20 season. Previously unaffiliated.
- Denver Nuggets: No concrete plans reported.
- Los Angeles Clippers: Hoping to operate new affiliate in 2017/18.
- Memphis Grizzlies: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Southaven, Mississippi. Previously affiliated with the Iowa Energy.
- Milwaukee Bucks: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Previously unaffiliated.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Will take over the Iowa Energy. Previously unaffiliated.
- New Orleans Pelicans: No affiliation for 2017/18. Intend to own and operate a new affiliate for the 2018/19 season. Search reportedly narrowed to six cities.
- Orlando Magic: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Lakeland, Florida. Previously affiliated with the Erie BayHawks.
- Portland Trail Blazers: No concrete plans reported.
- Washington Wizards: No concrete plans reported.
2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls’ approach to the 2016 offseason was a vexing one, as they stocked up on veteran perimeter players with poor outside shots. Chicago’s questionable roster moves continued into the regular season, when the team sent a pair of rotation players to Oklahoma City in exchange for a point guard (Cameron Payne) who barely got off the bench in the playoffs. With the futures of Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and even trade candidate Jimmy Butler up in the air heading into the summer, it will be interesting to see whether the Bulls double down on their current core or head in a new direction.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Bulls financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Jimmy Butler ($18,696,918)
- Robin Lopez ($13,788,500)
- Rajon Rondo ($3,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Cameron Payne ($2,203,440)
- Denzel Valentine ($2,186,400)
- Jerian Grant ($1,713,840)
- Bobby Portis ($1,516,320)
- Paul Zipser ($1,312,611)
- Isaiah Canaan ($200,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.2
- Total: $44,618,029
Player Options
- Dwyane Wade ($23,800,000)
- Total: $23,800,000
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Rajon Rondo ($10,397,000) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Isaiah Canaan ($1,377,230) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.2
- Total: $11,774,230
Restricted Free Agents
- Nikola Mirotic ($7,228,063 qualifying offer / $10,986,655 cap hold)
- Michael Carter-Williams ($4,187,598 qualifying offer / $7,958,815 cap hold)
- Joffrey Lauvergne ($2,137,149 qualifying offer / $3,248,466 cap hold)
- Cristiano Felicio ($1,671,382 qualifying offer / $1,671,382 cap hold)
- Total: $23,865,318
Cap Holds
- Dwyane Wade ($27,840,000) — If player option is declined
- Anthony Morrow ($6,627,200)
- No. 16 overall pick ($2,247,480)
- Total: $36,714,680
Trade Exceptions
- Taj Gibson TPE ($5,462,000) — Expires 2/23/18
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: $50,872,031
- With only two sizable guaranteed contracts on their books for next season, the Bulls could clear a significant chunk of cap room. However, it would require waiving Rondo and Canaan, not to mention renouncing all their exceptions and free agents, including Wade (assuming he turns down his player option). In that scenario, the Bulls’ remaining guaranteed salary, the cap hold for their first-round pick, and a few cap charges for empty roster spots would total $50,127,969. However, I’d expect the Bulls to hang onto Rondo and attempt to re-sign at least a couple of their restricted free agents, which will limit their cap flexibility. Wade opting in would also reduce their cap room significantly.
Footnotes:
- Rondo’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.
- Canaan’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
Central Notes: Pistons, Baynes, Shumpert
At the end of the Pistons‘ season last month, president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy vowed that changes were coming for the team, but there’s not necessarily an obvious path for the team to make personnel changes, contends Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
In Langlois’ view, it’s obvious that the Pistons need to add some scoring punch, perhaps in the form of three-point shooting. However, the team’s top three-point shooter – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – will be a restricted free agent, and re-signing him will likely limit Detroit’s ability to add another impact scorer, since most of the team’s other rotation players are under contract.
One Pistons regular not under contract for next season is Aron Baynes, and his player option decision will play a part in how the club approaches the offseason. According to Vince Ellis of The Detroit News (Twitter link), Baynes’ agent said today that his client figures to mull his decision on that option right up until the June 20 deadline.
Here’s more on the Pistons and a couple of their Central rivals:
- In a separate piece for Pistons.com, Langlois details the recent history of “mystery men” in the first round of the NBA draft, and wonders if the Pistons might be the team to roll the dice on a relative unknown this June.
- The trial date for Cavaliers swingman Iman Shumpert is set for June 26, meaning it won’t happen until after the season is over, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Shumpert is facing charges of driving while under the influence of marijuana, and would face a penalty from the NBA if it’s not his first offense.
- Gretchen Ehlke of The Associated Press (link via The Journal-Sentinel) provides an update on the Bucks‘ new arena, which is currently under construction and remains on track to open for the team’s 2018/19 season.
- On Tuesday night, we passed along word that Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue reached out to Kevin Garnett during the regular season about the possibility of an NBA comeback.
Cavs Reached Out To Kevin Garnett About NBA Comeback
The Cavaliers’ search for a viable big man during the regular season led the defending NBA champions to future Hall-of-Famer, Kevin Garnett, Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue revealed on ESPN’s NBA Lockdown Podcast.
Garnett, 40, retired following the 2015/16 campaign after 21 NBA seasons; he joined the TNT’s Inside The NBA program as an analyst and holds a role as a consultant for the Bucks and Clippers. However, when Andrew Bogut — whose Cavaliers debut lasted less than one minute — suffered a fractured left tibia, ending his season, Lue made a call to the Timberwolves legend.
“I was like, ‘Man, you should come back and play for me.’ He was like, ‘Man, you all have a lot going on over there,‘” Lue said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “That was before we hit our stride like we’re playing well now. He was like, ‘If you and [James] Posey were still playing, I would come.’ But he said, ‘But y’all are coaching and y’all are going through what you’re going through.’ He said, ‘Ah, I’m going to sit this one out.’ I said, ‘OK. We’ll call you next year.’”
With Garnett not interested, the Cavaliers ultimately turned to Larry Sanders, who left the NBA two years prior due to personal issues. His Cleveland tenure lasted just five games (13 minutes) and was mostly spent with Cleveland’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. On the final day of the regular season, the same day they waived Sanders, the Cavaliers signed Edy Tavares to fill the void. The team finished the season with a 51-31 record, good for second in the Eastern Conference.
The former NBA champion initially expressed interest in returning for a 22nd campaign in the offseason but Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor explained to NBA.com that Garnett was unsure his body would hold up.
“Then he said, ‘I don’t know if I can,‘” Taylor said. “I asked him, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know.’ So I asked the question but I didn’t get an answer that helped me. Yes, theoretically, he’d like to play. But he has some doubts of his knees holding up. I believe he told me exactly the truth.”
While it was a no from Garnett this season, Lue’s admission that he would call KG next season leaves the door somewhat ajar for an NBA return. For now though, Garnett seems to be enjoying his new role(s) and hasn’t expressed any public interest in making a comeback.
Tatum, Monk, Other Top Prospects To Skip Combine
10:09pm: V.J. Beachem, Nigel Hayes, Peter Jok, Derrick Walton and Chris Boucher, originally alternative invitees, have now made the official NBA combine list, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter).
9:19pm: Lonzo Ball won’t be the only top prospect skipping this year’s NBA draft combine. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter), a handful of other standout prospects expected to be top-10 picks won’t participate in the event next week in Chicago.
[RELATED: Lonzo Ball to skip combine]
Jayson Tatum, Malik Monk, Josh Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, Jonathan Isaac, and Dennis Smith Jr. will skip this year’s combine, Charania reports. While none of those players are quite as highly regarded as Ball, most are in the tier right below him — DraftExpress, which has Ball at No. 2 on its big board, ranks those six players between Nos. 3 and 9.
The mass exodus from this year’s combine leaves Markelle Fultz and De’Aaron Fox as the only elite prospects whose status for the event hasn’t been reported. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either player – particularly Fultz – skip the combine, as more and more players in recent years have passed on attending and haven’t seen their draft stocks suffer as a result.
For a player like Ball, there’s little upside to attending the combine, since he’s already viewed as a near-lock to be a top-two pick. The event has more appeal to prospects whose stocks aren’t as high, since they could potentially move up a few spots on teams’ draft boards if they have a strong week in Chicago.
As Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets, the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement indicates that the NBA and NBPA have agreed to work on a solution to address this issue.
NBA D-Leaguers To Represent Team USA In Qualifiers
The 2019 Basketball World Cup will serve as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and players from the NBA’s Developmental League will comprise most of the early Team USA men’s basketball roster leading up to that tournament, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.
The American team announced a six-member committee on Tuesday to select players — mostly from the D-League — to suit up for the USA team that will fight to qualify for the 2019 Basketball World Cup. If the roster of minor leaguers can get Team USA past that round, a Gregg Popovich-led roster of NBA talent will resume the action in the actual 2019 World Cup.
“This will be an excellent opportunity for NBA D-League players to showcase their talent and experience meaningful and important international competition while representing the United States,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said in a statement.
In the past, qualifiers and international events have been held during the NBA offseason, but some of the qualifying games for the World Cup in China will take place during the NBA season, Mahoney notes. With NBA players unavailable during that time, USA Basketball will look to become one of the 32 clubs that qualifies for the World Cup, even without its A-Team.
Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Jackson, Raptors, Johnson
The Knicks are focused on trading Carmelo Anthony and becoming a younger team, but scarce financial resources may prevent the team from landing a max free agent, ESPN’s Ian Begley writes. Free agents Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague are potential targets for New York, league sources tell Begley. However, with eight players on guaranteed contracts for next season, team president Phil Jackson said during a recent a press conference that the current team has “a dozen players that we’re very confident can support and be a part of a team. So we feel pretty good about that.”
Upgrading via free agency may be contingent on the Knicks trading Anthony, whom Jackson indicated “would be better off elsewhere” during the aforementioned presser. Begley notes that a hypothetical Melo trade could clear about $5MM in cap room, giving the Knicks $24MM — the team’s current cap space calls for $19MM available for the Knicks to spend.
However, a lot of Begley’s hypothetical offseason spending includes the Knicks not re-signing any of their young players. So if the Knicks intend on upgrading, players such as Jrue’s older brother Justin Holiday, Ron Baker, Maurice Ndour, and Chasson Randle may suit up elsewhere in 2017/18.
In other news around the Atlantic division.
- The Nets maintain interest in Euroleague guard Edwin Jackson, according to Nets Daily. An earlier report indicated the club’s interest in the 27-year-old guard, who is averaging 21.8 points in 30 games for Movistar Estudiantes of the Liga ACB in Spain. The 6’1″ French guard has never suited up for an NBA team but he was in Nets camp three years ago, per Nets Daily. Jackson has indicated he would come stateside for a guaranteed NBA deal or seek a lucrative offer in Europe.
- Nets Daily compiled a list of potential European targets for Brooklyn in addition to Jackson. Milos Teodosic, 30, Nicolo Melli, 26, and 2011 second-round NBA draft pick Tyler Honeycutt, 26, — who revived his career in Turkey — are listed as potential free agent options; Latvian-born Rodions Kurucs, 19, and Anzejus Pasecniks, 21, are both listed as possible draft targets.
- In an attempt to contain the Cavaliers’ offense, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey may start Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals with Jonas Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll on the bench, SportsNet’s Michael Grange writes. Both men — who were major signings by team president Masai Ujiri — have underperformed this postseason and Casey is “desperate” to jumpstart his team. Norman Powell and rookie Jakob Poeltl are likely to see significant playing time if Casey goes in that direction.
- As he heads for free agency, Amir Johnson remains positive despite dwindling playing time for the Celtics, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe relays. While Johnson got the start for Boston tonight in Game 2, he has been a liability on both sides of the court for most of the postseason. Johnson led the Celtics in games (80) and starts (77) in the regular season and maintains he’s trying to work out of his slump. “If things aren’t working out for you, you know you’ve got to do the next thing,” Johnson said.