Weekly Mailbag: 12/18/17 – 12/24/17
We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.
What are your thoughts on Nikola Mirotic‘s value before the deadline? — Mike 2k_97, via Twitter
A report earlier this month said the Bulls looked into trading Mirotic and Bobby Portis after their preseason altercation and found a “non-existent” market for both players. That may have changed with Mirotic’s performance during the seven-game winning streak, but now it may be in Chicago’s interest to keep the team together. Mirotic and Portis have put aside their differences and are working effectively as teammates, and neither is all that expensive. Mirotic re-signed for $12.5MM this season with a team option for the same amount in 2018/19, while Portis is still on his rookie contract. Mirotic is putting up by far the best numbers of his career with 17.9 points and 7.6 rebounds and is shooting 48% from 3-point range. However, teams are still wary about his past performance, so his trade value isn’t high. The Bulls might get a couple of draft picks, but nothing too significant, so expect him to stay in Chicago for the rest of the season.
What do you think Lakers can receive by trading Julius Randle before the deadline? — Ralph Lakers, via Twitter
The Lakers are in an uncomfortable position. The rest of the league knows they want to cut salary to make a free agent splash next summer, so other teams are asking for a premium price to help them. Earlier today, we passed along a report that teams want multiple first-rounders or Brandon Ingram in exchange for taking on Luol Deng‘s contract. Randle doesn’t have nearly the negative value that Deng does, but Lakers fans shouldn’t expect anything significant in return for salary dumps. L.A. had preliminary talks with the Mavericks about Nerlens Noel before the Dallas center had thumb surgery, and that’s probably as good as the return is going to get. If Randle is traded, it will be for an expiring contract that won’t affect cap room.
Timberwolves newcomer Jimmy Butler has quickly established himself as the alpha dog over Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. Wiggins signed a max contract extension this year, and Towns is due for one next year. Butler can opt out of his contract the following year. Is it possible for a team to sign three players to max deals? If not, do you foresee the Wolves trading either Wiggins or Towns in order to keep Butler? — Matt Trapp
The Wolves must be budgeting for three max deals or they wouldn’t have given one to Wiggins, who is young and talented but is easily the most expendable of the three. Barring injury, Towns is a lock for a maximum extension when the time comes and Butler became the cornerstone of the franchise when Minnesota traded for him in July. With Gorgui Dieng signed through 20/21 and Wiggins’ extension carrying into 2021/22, the Wolves aren’t going to have cap room to work with anyway. Towns and Butler will both get max deals and management will accept the tax penalties as long as the team keeps winning.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Curry, Bell, Fox
The business side of the NBA may be distracting the Lakers as the trade deadline draws near, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Coach Luke Walton criticized his team’s effort after Saturday’s loss to Portland and suggested that some players were “pouting” on the bench. Veteran center Andrew Bogut, who was part of two financial-related trades last season, said that reaction is understandable.
“Pouting? Possibly. Guys are frustrated,” Bogut said. “There are some injuries right now, different rotations. Guys are frustrated, obviously. You would be lying to say that there are guys that are not frustrated on this team. Everyone knows what is going on with the salary-cap situation next season and all that. That is just distractions that we can’t let affect us. That is part of the league, the business decisions that front offices and coaches make. So if that is distracting guys, that is going to be like that your whole career. That is just the nature of this league.”
The Lakers reportedly want to clear enough cap room to offer two maximum contracts in free agency, which means players with high salaries beyond this season such as Luol Deng and Jordan Clarkson are expendable, along with Julius Randle, who will have a $14.5MM cap hold this summer. Bogut said he has discussed the situation with the team’s younger players and urged them to not let it affect their performance.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Warriors guard Stephen Curry is making progress in his return from an injured right ankle, but won’t be ready for the Christmas Day game with the Cavaliers, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Coach Steve Kerr said the “magnitude” of the game can’t affect the team’s judgment, and it would be “completely irresponsible” to let Curry play.
- The Warriors may have showcased their frontline of the future Friday night when rookie Jordan Bell started at center alongside Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, Slater writes in a separate piece. Bell became the first Golden State center in nearly four years to post a 20-point, 10-rebound game, continuing his impressive start since being taken with the 38th pick. “The reason he had 20 and 10 is because he had so much space,” Kerr said. “The Lakers were playing every passing lane, so he was just roaming and had plenty of easy hoops. We were kind of waiting to see that combination.”
- Kings rookie De’Aaron Fox has a partial tear in his right quadriceps muscle, the team announced on its website. Fox suffered the injury December 14 and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The fifth pick in this year’s draft is averaging 9.4 points and 3.7 assists through 29 games.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Stauskas, LeVert
For all the talk about “The Process,” the Sixers are lagging behind several other organizations that started rebuilding around the same time, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The first year of former GM Sam Hinkie’s plan to collect high draft picks was 2013/14, when the team posted the league’s second-worst record at 19-63, trailing only the Bucks. The Magic were next, followed by the Celtics, Jazz, Lakers, Kings, Pistons and Cavaliers. Cleveland has won a title since then, aided by the return of LeBron James, while Milwaukee, Boston, Utah and Detroit have all turned into perennial playoff contenders.
The Sixers, on the other hand, continue to flounder. They lost their fifth straight game Saturday and have dropped nine of their last 10. Center Joel Embiid remains a health risk, with back tightness and knee problems forcing him to miss eight of the team’s first 32 games. While other teams were able to improve through trades and free agent signings, Pompey notes that Philadelphia didn’t receive much in return for lottery picks Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, while the team’s first significant opportunity in free agency is coming next summer.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are hoping to host their first All-Star Game in more than a half century, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The game hasn’t been in Boston since 1964, partly because of concerns that season-ticket holders wouldn’t have access to their regular seats, but Washburn writes that management is proceeding with plans to apply for hosting privileges. “We are going to ask for an application package and we’ll see what happens,” said majority owner Wyc Grousbeck. The next available opening is 2022.
- The trade that brought Okafor to the Nets reunited former college teammates Nik Stauskas and Caris LeVert, writes Tom Dowd of NBA.com. They were part of a talented freshman class that helped Michigan reach the NCAA title game in 2012/13. The former college roommates now have adjoining lockers at Barclays Center. “First class organization,” Stauskas said. “I love it here. I think the thing that I enjoy most is how seriously they take skill development. They’re huge on getting better every day, especially taking care of your body.”
- The Raptors have the second best record in the East and are winning without excess wear and tear on their star players, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Because of an improved bench, Kyle Lowry is playing 32.9 minutes per night, his lowest total in five seasons, and DeMar DeRozan is at 34.3 minutes, the lowest since he was a rookie.
Beno Udrih Signs With Lithuanian Team
Veteran point guard Beno Udrih, who was waived by the Pistons in October, has signed to play in Lithuania, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Udrih will join Zalgiris Kaunas, one of the oldest and most decorated teams in the EuroLeague.
Udrih, 35, played for eight teams during a 13-year NBA career after being drafted by the Spurs with the 28th pick in 2004. His best seasons came in Sacramento, where he was a double-digit scorer for four straight years from 2007/08 to 2010/11.
He was involved in a controversy in February of 2016 when he agreed to a buyout with the Heat that gave Miami enough cap room to sign Joe Johnson after his buyout from the Nets. Udrih was sidelined because of foot surgery at the time and had no chance to catch on with another team. Miami re-signed him in August of that year, but he failed to earn a roster spot.
The Pistons claimed him off waivers and he spent a full season in Detroit, averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 39 games. The team opted to part with him in mid-October, even though it was already down to the roster limit of 15.
“It was still hard for me because I love the guy, and so does everybody out here,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Ansar Khan of MLive at the time. “Good guy, knows how to play, really has a good way about him of helping the young guys and talking to them and teaching them. I’ve seen a lot of veterans who try to help young guys, but they come across as condescending a little bit, like, ‘I know more than you.’ Beno never came across like that. He was able to talk to guys.”
Lakers Abandon Hope Of Luol Deng Trade
The Lakers have given up hope of trading veteran forward Luol Deng, deciding the price would be too steep, Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s Full Court Press. Other teams are aware of L.A.’s desire to unload Deng’s hefty salary and are demanding a lot in return for taking it on.
“You talk to teams around the league, no one is bailing the Lakers out with Deng’s contract,” Wojnarowski said. “They’re not. Teams have asked for multiple first-round picks. They’ve asked for Brandon Ingram. They’ll ask for Kyle Kuzma. The Lakers have essentially given up on the idea that they can trade Deng.”
Deng has two more seasons and $36.81MM left on the four-year, $72MM deal he signed in the summer of 2016. The Lakers have received very little for that money, as Deng was limited to 56 games last season and has only gotten off the bench once this year.
A report this week said the organization is unwilling to part with even one first-rounder to get rid of Deng, so a trade was never realistic. As we outlined on Friday, the most likely step is for the Lakers to stretch the final two years of Deng’s contract. If they do it before August 31 of next year and stretch the money over five seasons, it would provide a $7.362MM cap hit each year. If they hold onto Deng for another year and stretch the final season across three years, it would count $6.27MM annually.
The Lakers are hoping to be major players in the free agent market next summer and would like to clear as much cap room as possible in hopes of offering two max contracts.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/23/17
Here are the G-League moves from around the NBA today:
11:08pm:
- The Grizzlies have recalled Ivan Rabb from their Memphis Hustle affiliate, the team announced on its website. The 20-year-old is averaging 15.8 points and 9.9 rebounds in 15 G League games.
1:29pm:
- The Cavaliers have recalled center Ante Zizic from the G League’s Canton Charge one day after assignment, per an official press release from the team. Zizic scored 23 points on 10-17 (.588) shooting and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Charge in last night’s game against the South Bay Lakers.
11:33am:
- The Hornets announced via press release on Saturday that guard Julyan Stone has been recalled from the team’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. Stone, 29, has appeared in four games for Charlotte this season, averaging 1.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 1.8 APG.
- The Hornets also announced (via Twitter) that two-way player Mangok Mathiang has been transferred to Charlotte from the G League affiliate Greensboro Swarm. Mathiang has appeared briefly in three games for the Hornets this season.
Suns Notes: Canaan, Booker, James, Monroe
Isaiah Canaan‘s playmaking and defense helped him win a roster spot in Phoenix, writes Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. After joining the Suns when they were granted a hardship exception 10 days ago, Canaan has been rewarded with a contract for the rest of the season.
“I wasn’t caught up in how many days and how long I might be around here,” he said. “Make a splash and showcase what I can do. I was going to come in, do what I knew I was capable of doing and what I needed to do to stay around.”
Canaan earned the nod over incumbent starting point guard Mike James, who was waived Friday. The Suns see Canaan as more of a natural point guard than James, Bordow explains, and were happy with how he ran the offense. He also exhibited a willingness to fight through screen-and-rolls and helped Phoenix hold its opponents under 100 points twice in his first four games with the team.
There’s more tonight out of Phoenix:
- The Suns expect Devin Booker back in the lineup Tuesday, Bordow relays in the same story. That will mark exactly three weeks since he suffered a left adductor strain. Booker will participate in Sunday’s practice, then will be medically evaluated to see how he responds. “He’s moving well, but it’s a tough situation because I’m not one of the guys that’s going to make the decision on that,” coach Jay Triano said. “And I think we’re going to be cautious more than anything else. With where we are and where he in this franchise history, I think it makes sense to be cautious.”
- With Booker returning soon and rookie guard Davon Reed expected back around the first of the year, the Suns chose to waive a player from their backcourt rather than seek a buyout with Greg Monroe, Bordow adds. Monroe sat out three straight games before playing 27 minutes Thursday, but was back on the bench tonight. However, Triano wants to keep him around for depth so Tyson Chandler won’t have to play on back-to-back nights.
- Monroe hasn’t given up hope of returning to the rotation and has played pretty well when given the chance, Bordow notes in a separate piece. He is averaging 11.2 points and 8.3 rebounds and is shooting better than 60% from the field in 11 games since being acquired from Milwaukee. “I want to play,” Monroe said. “But I’m just trying to control what I can. That’s all I focus on. But it definitely is hard. I’d definitely like to be playing consistently.”
Community Shootaround: Are The Bulls For Real?
Through the early part of the season, the Bulls were headed in a predictable direction. After trading Jimmy Butler, not re-signing Rajon Rondo and negotiating a buyout with Dwyane Wade, last year’s “Three Alphas” were gone and Chicago seemed headed for a high lottery pick with a 3-20 record.
But things changed quickly when Nikola Mirotic returned from facial fractures he picked up in a preseason skirmish with teammate Bobby Portis. The Bulls put together a seven-game winning streak that included a victory over the East-leading Celtics. That streak has been stopped with back-to-back losses at Cleveland and Boston, but Chicago entered the night just six and a half games out of a playoff spot with plenty of time left to make a run.
Another key to the turnaround has been point guard Kris Dunn, one of the pieces acquired from Minnesota in the Butler deal. He’s averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists on the season and has hit double figures in scoring in 12 of his last 13 games. Dunn is showing flashes of the player he was expected to be when the Wolves took him with the fifth pick in the 2016 draft.
Among the believers is Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who raved about Chicago’s improvement before tonight’s game. “The last 10 games they’ve been unbelievable,” he said. “Like, they’ve been fun to watch and their half-court offense has been the best in the NBA.”
Looming on the horizon is the Chicago debut of Zach LaVine, the high-flying guard who was also acquired in the Butler deal. The Bulls have been cautious about his recovery from a torn ACL last season, but he is expected to be ready in early January. LaVine was posting a career-high 18.9 points per game before the injury.
With Chicago suddenly playing like a contender, we want to know what you think. Do the Bulls have enough talent to challenge for a playoff spot or will they fade back to the bottom of the East? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Lakers, Mavericks Discussed Randle-Noel Swap
The Lakers and Mavericks had “initial” trade talks involving Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel, according to Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN’s Full Court Press special.
Discussions broke off after Noel suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery. The team didn’t offer a timetable for recovery after the December 6 operation, but Noel said doctors told him four to six weeks. That would have him back around mid-January, which is well in advance of the February 8 trade deadline. It remains to be seen if the Lakers will still be interested.
Both teams have obvious motives to make a deal. The Lakers are trying to clear cap room in hopes of offering two max contracts in next summer’s free agency, and Randle will have a $12.5MM cap hold. L.A. chose not to extend Randle’s rookie contract in October, and a report last month said it’s “unlikely” he will remain with the team beyond this season. Noel would bring an expiring contract, which is what the Lakers are looking for. Randle, a Dallas native, might have interest in signing long-term with the Mavericks when he becomes a restricted free agent in July.
Noel has been a disappointment in Dallas since being acquired from the Sixers at last year’s trade deadline. He was averaging 4.0 points and 4.1 rebounds through 18 games and had fallen out of the rotation before his surgery. Because he signed a $4.2MM qualifying offer to return to the Mavs this season, Noel has the option to refuse any trade.
Nikola Vucevic Breaks Bone In Hand, Out 6 To 8 Weeks
Magic center Nikola Vucevic fractured the first metacarpal on his left hand in tonight’s game, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The injury occurred midway through the first quarter of the contest at Washington, and Vucevic was taken to the locker room for X-rays that revealed the fracture.
Vucevic is expected to have surgery on the hand and miss six to eight weeks, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Vucevic has started all 33 of Orlando’s games heading into tonight and was averaging 17.8 points and 9.6 rebounds. He joins Aaron Gordon, Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier as members of the Magic’s opening-night lineup who are out with injuries, Robbins notes (Twitter link).
Vucevic’s absence should result in more playing time for backup center Bismack Biyombo, who is seeing just 15 minutes per game this season, down from from 22 a year ago. Averaging 4.0 points and 4.4 rebounds, Biyombo still has two years and $34MM left on the contract his signed in the summer of 2016.