Sixers Notes: Simmons, Saric, McConnell
The Sixers lost to the Celtics in Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals and Lavoy Allen believes that if Philadelphia had prevailed in that contest, the franchise would be in a much different position, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays.
“We would have had a couple of more years with [Nikola Vucevic], Andre Iguodala, and a few of the guys,” said Allen. “We would have had some more good years if we would have kept that team together.”
Instead, the team pivoted, making a trade for Andrew Bynum. The big man wasn’t able to stay on the court and a year later, The Process was born.
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
- Coach Brett Brown would like to see Ben Simmons participate in summer league, but it’s unclear if the 2016 No.1 overall pick will be healthy enough to play, Pompey passes along in the same piece. “His health and the judgment of his health rules the day. I don’t know what that looks like when we are talking about the summer league,” Brown said.
- Brown would like to see the Sixers add shooters this offseason, David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News relays. “We need shooters,” Brown said. “That’s kind of the bottom line. We need to get Ben Simmons the ball, we need to have Joel be Joel, and get a bunch of shooters around them.”
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes Dario Saric is best suited for a role off the bench next season. The scribe believes Joel Embiid needs someone who can shoot from behind the arc next to him in the frontcourt and Saric only made 31.1% of his 3-point attempts this season.
- If the Sixers want to win next season, T.J. McConnell may give them the best chance to do so, Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News opines. Hayes is a fan of the point guard’s defense and he believes McConnell will return better immediate value at the position than Simmons or a first-round draft pick would.
Zach Collins Declares For Draft
Gonzaga’s Zach Collins has declared for the draft and will hire an agent, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Goodman tweets that numerous NBA executives feel Collins will be selected in the 8-20 range.
The center helped lead the Bulldogs to their first national championship game appearance this past season. He was first on the team in blocks per game, swatting 1.8 per contest, and he pulled down 5.9 rebounds per game, which was good for third on the team.
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks Collins as the 13th best prospect in the upcoming draft. Givony notes that the freshman had his best game of the season against South Carolina in this year’s Final Four, but cautions that Collins is a prospect that will need some time to develop.
Sixers Sign Alex Poythress For Rest Of Season
The Sixers have signed Alex Poythress for the remainder of the season, the team reports in a press release on its official site. The team has one more game left this season, a matchup against the Knicks on Wednesday.
Previously inked to a 10-day deal because Philadelphia had qualified for a hardship exception, Poythress is eligible to re-sign with the club because that exception was extended.
The Kentucky product has appeared in five games for Philadelphia. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game.
Austin Kent contributed to this post
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/11/17
Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Warriors have recalled Damian Jones from their D-League affiliate, tweets Anthony Slater of the Mercury News.
- The Rockets have recalled Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grand Valley Vipers, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Wiltjer scored 21 points in the Vipers’ win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders on Monday.
- The Thunder have recalled Josh Huestis from the Oklahoma City Blue, per a team press release. In 32 games with the Blue this season, the small forward averaged 14.6 points per game.
Central Notes: George, Udrih, The Palace
If Paul George doesn’t get named to an All-NBA team, he “probably” won’t remain with the Pacers, Steven Ruiz of USA Today writes. Ruiz makes the bold claim while describing how the new collective bargaining agreement ties max contract compensation to personal accolades determined by the media.
Should George be named to an All-NBA team, he’ll be eligible to earn about $70MM more with the Pacers than he would with any other franchise. Such is the case with the new designated player exception. With or without the designated player exception, George will be eligible to sign for a longer term with Indiana than with any other squad.
George got off to a slow start with the Pacers this season but has spent much of the past two months demonstrating why he had previously been heralded as a franchise cornerstone. On the season he’s posted 23.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game but in March he ramped those averages up to 25.3 points and 6.9 rebounds.
There’s no shortage of competent competition with which the Pacers star will be in contention for the award but it’s certainly plausible he gets named to an All-NBA team for the fourth time in five season. Expect him to be held in contrast with players like Draymond Green, Gordon Hayward and Jimmy Butler with the two forward positions on the Third Team up for grabs.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The recovery time for Pistons guard Beno Udrih‘s knee injury is six to eight weeks, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Udrih will be a free agent this summer.
- As of today, C.J. Miles 2017/18 deal with the Pacers becomes guaranteed at $4.7MM, tweets The Vertical’s Bobby Marks. The veteran guard also holds a player option, however.
- The silver lining of a disappointing Pistons season is that April has given the team a chance to get a good look at Boban Marjanovic and Henry Ellenson. According to Rod Beard of the Detroit News, head coach Stan Van Gundy has given them favorable reviews.
- Michigan has said goodbye to two major facilities in two days and David Mayo of MLive considers what the finales of both the Palace of Auburn Hills and Joe Louis Arena mean to the region. The Pistons will join the NHL’s Red Wings in the Little Caesars Arena next season. With the Palace out of the picture, Madison Square Garden serves as the only NBA venue without a corporately sponsored name.
Mavs Claim DeAndre Liggins Off Waivers
The Mavs have claimed DeAndre Liggins off waivers, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Liggins was waived by the Cavaliers on Sunday.
In Liggins the Mavs get a journeyman two-guard most known for his defense. He played in 59 contest for the reigning champion Cavaliers this season, starting 19 of them at one point while filling in for an injured J.R. Smith.
On the season, Liggins has averaged 2.4 points in 12.3 minutes per game. His deal, Charania notes, isn’t guaranteed for the 2017/18 campaign. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News adds that there’s a team option on Liggins’ deal, so the Mavs will get the opportunity to choose whether they’d like to keep him on board.
By claiming Liggins, the Mavericks will save the Cavs $2.5MM in luxury tax, Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets. That means, as we relayed at the time of Liggins’ release, the 28 other teams that are below the luxury tax will receive roughly $44K less in tax distribution.
The Mavs were the only team with a roster spot open at this point in the season.
Worth noting is that Dallas claiming Liggins precludes them from signing recently retired Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to a one-day deal, as had been speculated.
Though the Pro Bowler will still be honored during the Mavs’ final home game, he’ll be ineligible to see any official court time. Sure, the Mavs had previously said that Romo wouldn’t actually play, but now it’s outright forbidden.
Suns Notes: Chandler, Knight, McDonough
The Suns gave Tyson Chandler the option of being dealt prior to the trade deadline, but the center chose to stay in Phoenix and take on a role as a mentor. Chandler is a huge fan of the team’s young prospects and he expects to return to to the franchise next season, though nothing is set in stone, Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic relays.
“I think it all depends, honestly, on what direction the team is going in,” Chandler said. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s possible for any team just to go young because then you have a roster full of guys just competing with each other. I’ve had a good relationship with the owners here and management and even the coaching staff. There’s no doubt in my mind that whatever happens it will be a common agreement, whatever’s the best for myself and the organization.”
“So for me, I want what’s best for [the young guys on the team]. I’ve accomplished a lot throughout my career. At the end of the day, I want to see those young players grow.”
Here’s more from Phoenix:
- Brandon Knight, who hasn’t played since the All-Star break, may be tough to trade because of his contract, Haller notes in the same piece. Knight has three years and slightly under $43.9MM left on his contract after this season.
- The Suns must figure out what to do with their veterans, Keith P. Smith of RealGM contends. Smith believes GM Ryan McDonough is in a tough spot because a youth movement is a practical route for the team to go, but McDonough may not have the ownership support necessary to progress through that kind of rebuild.
- Year three is when many NBA players go from being good, up-and-coming prospects to great, All-Star caliber players and Devin Booker is on the path to make that transition, Haller opines in a separate piece. Haller believes Booker will become Phoenix’s next big star for years to come.
Draft Notes: Fultz, Ball, Hutchison, 2018
The Knicks currently have the sixth-best odds in the NBA draft lottery, which would give them a modest 6.3% chance to land the first overall pick. Despite those fairly long odds, potential No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz has considered the possibility of playing for New York, and was in attendance on Sunday at Madison Square Garden to take a first-hand look at the team and its triangle system.
As Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News details, Fultz said it would be “amazing” to be drafted by the Knicks, and didn’t express any reservations about the triangle.
“I think I could play in any system,” Fultz said. “I’m very versatile, so it was cool to see that. It’s a lot of openings and stuff like that, so that’s why I came to see that in person.”
Let’s round up a few more draft-related items…
- Former UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball is the biggest threat to Fultz for that No. 1 pick, but if he had to choose between being drafted first overall and being selected by the Lakers, Ball would opt for the Lakers, he recently told ESPN (video link). Ball also made the case for why clubs should draft him over Fultz, suggesting that he’s more capable of leading a team than the Washington point guard is.
- Boise State’s Chandler Hutchison will enter his name in the 2017 NBA draft pool, but won’t hire an agent, according to an announcement from the school. “Our coaches have informed me that NBA teams are expressing interest, and I feel that I need to take advantage of the opportunity to be evaluated and find out where I truly stand,” Hutchison said in a statement. The junior shooting guard, who isn’t considered a top prospect by DraftExpress or ESPN, will have until May 24 to decide whether to withdraw his name and return to Boise State.
- Much has been made of the strength of the 2017 draft class, but as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, the 2018 class projects to have several elite prospects at the top too. However, it won’t be as deep as 2017’s class. “[The 2017] class was one of the most talented and deepest I’ve ever seen,” one NBA GM said. “[For 2018], I love three or four guys and that’s about it.” Michael Porter Jr. (Missouri), Luka Doncic (Real Madrid), and DeAndre Ayton (Arizona) are the three players at the top of Ford’s 2018 board.
- Former Green Bay power forward Kerem Kanter, who was said to be testing the draft process before potentially graduating and transferring, has committed to Xavier, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. As such, the brother of Enes Kanter figures to postpone his pro career for another year.
Southeast Notes: Ross, Heat, Batum, Hawks
Having been sent to Orlando from Toronto at this year’s trade deadline, Terrence Ross will get an earlier start to the offseason with the Magic than he has had in recent years with the Raptors. Nonetheless, Ross is looking forward to spending the summer in Orlando to “familiarize himself with the area and work on his game,” according to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com, who notes that the veteran swingman has bought a house in Central Florida.
Ross has also looked more at home on the court for the Magic as of late — in his last 12 games, he has averaged 14.8 PPG, shooting .462/.390/.933. All of those marks except for 3PT% (he shot 39.5% in 2013/14) would be career highs for Ross if he maintained them over a full season, so Orlando has reason to be optimistic going forward.
Here’s more from around the Southeast division:
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel believes it has “become clear” that James Johnson should be the top priority among the Heat‘s 2017 free agents. Dion Waiters looked like that player for much of the season, but Winderman notes that Waiters’ absence in recent weeks has allowed Miami to explore other options at shooting guard, and the results have been solid.
- Veteran forward Nicolas Batum confirmed over the weekend that he won’t play for France in this year’s Eurobasket tournament (video link). Batum will instead dedicate his summer to the Hornets after the team endured a disappointing 2016/17 campaign.
- The Hawks announced today in a press release that front office executive Malik Rose has been promoted and will serve as the general manager of Atlanta’s new D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks. The BayHawks had been Orlando’s NBADL affiliate this past season, but the Hawks will assume control of the Erie club when the Magic introduce a new Lakeland affiliate in 2017/18.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Two-Way Contracts
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement didn’t undergo a significant overhaul during the latest round of negotiations between the league and the players’ union, but the NBA’s new two-way contract represents one major change. The two-way contract will allow clubs to retain the NBA rights for a couple extra players, bumping each team’s maximum roster size from 15 to 17, with those two new spots reserved for players on two-way contracts.
Up until now, teams have had the ability to assign certain players on their NBA rosters to the G League for assignments, but haven’t retained any NBA control over the rest of the players on their NBADL affiliates. Two-way contracts will change that, since they’re essentially G League contracts that allow a player’s NBA team to call him up for NBA assignments and prevent him from being poached by a rival NBA club.
Salary cap guru Larry Coon recently published a primer for two-way contracts over at ESPN.com, so with the help of his breakdown and the new CBA, we’ll present the key details on how these deals work. Let’s dive in…