Celtics Swingman Abdel Nader Undergoes Wrist Surgery
Celtics swingman Abdel Nader underwent a right wrist arthroscopy and ulnar osteotomy on Friday to correct lingering issues from a fracture he suffered in high school, according to a team press release.
Nader is scheduled to return to basketball activities in approximately 2-3 months, and is expected to be at full strength for the start of training camp, the release adds.
Nader, a 2016 second-round selection, appeared in 48 regular-season games this past season. He averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 10.9 MPG. The 6’6” Nader also appeared in 11 playoff games.
Nader is signed for three more seasons, but his $1.38MM salary next season is non-guaranteed.
Thaddeus Young Strongly Considering Free Agency
Pacers forward Thaddeus Young is strongly considering the possibility of opting out of his contract and becoming an unrestricted free agent next month, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Young holds a $13.7MM option on his contract and has until June 29th to exercise it.
By opting out, Young could land a long-term deal in the prime of his career, Wojnarowski continues. His ability to guard multiple positions would make him valuable on the open market.
Yet it’s very possible that Young will wind up with a lower salary next season if he goes into the free agent market in exchange for long-term security.
The Pacers could try to work out a contract extension with Young, Wojnarowski adds. He averaged 11.8 PPG and 6.3 RPG this past season for Indiana, which pushed the Cavaliers to seven games during the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
After the team was eliminated, Young expressed high hopes for Indiana’s future. “Man, I think the sky is the limit for us,” he said. “As a team, we’re already pretty good, but I think we’ll be so much better entering next season because we’ll all have another year of experience under our belt and we won’t be a new-look team that just got together anymore.”
The 6’8” Young, who will celebrate his 30th birthday this month, has been in the league since 2007. He’s also played for the Sixers, Timberwolves and Nets.
Spurs Expected To Give Kyle Anderson Qualifying Offer
The Spurs are expected to extend a qualifying offer to forward Kyle Anderson, which would make him a restricted free agent, Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News reports. The qualifying offer is worth approximately $4.75MM.
San Antonio will probably have to pay significantly more to retain Anderson. As many as seven teams are expected to pursue Anderson’s services, according to Young, even though the Spurs can match any offer if they make the qualifying offer by the June 29th deadline.
The 6’9” Anderson saw a dramatic increase in his playing time during his fourth season, in part due to Kawhi Leonard‘s quad injury that kept him out for all but nine games. Anderson appeared in 74 regular-season games, including 67 starts, and averaged career highs in points (7.9), rebounds (5.4) and assists (2.7) in 26.7 MPG.
Anderson would be even more valuable to the Spurs if they can’t resolve their differences with Leonard. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Leonard are expected to meet as early as this week to determine Leonard’s future with the franchise, Young notes.
Rockets To Revisit Ryan Anderson Trade Options
Ryan Anderson will be a trade candidate once again this offseason, according to Kelly Iko of Rockets Wire, who hears from two sources with knowledge of the Rockets’ thinking that GM Daryl Morey is “intent on moving” Anderson. One source told Iko that the club could explore a buyout if no viable trade options arise.
Anderson, 30, signed a four-year, $80MM contract with the Rockets as a free agent in 2016. In two seasons with the Rockets, Anderson has delivered the kind of outside shooting the club sought from him, averaging 2.4 3PG with a .396 3PT%. However, the floor spacing and three-pointers provided by the veteran forward have been offset by his struggles on the defensive end of the floor.
The Rockets’ defensive rating with Anderson on the court in 2017/18 was approximately five points worse than the team’s rating when he sat. The former Pelican even fell out of Houston’s rotation during the postseason last month, playing less than 29 minutes over the course of the Rockets’ seven-game series against Golden State.
Anderson has been on the trade block in the past and the Rockets have struggled to find a taker. For instance, his inclusion in a potential package was a sticking point when Houston and New York discussed a Carmelo Anthony trade last summer. The Rockets will likely have to include at least two future first-round picks in order to incentivize a team to take on Anderson’s contract, and even that might not do the trick.
Still, finding a way to reduce their commitment to Anderson figures to be a top priority this offseason as the Rockets look to re-sign Chris Paul and Clint Capela. New deals for those key free agents would send team salary skyrocketing over the tax line, so moving on from Anderson wouldn’t just get Houston out from under his salary — it would also greatly reduce the team’s projected tax bill.
Five Key Offseason Questions: Washington Wizards
After winning a playoff series and pushing the Celtics to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2017, the Wizards entered the 2017/18 season looking to compete for a spot in the NBA Finals. However, the club battled injuries and inconsistent play through the year, ultimately taking a step back. Washington finished eighth in the East at 43-39, and was quickly dispatched in the first round of the postseason.
With no cap room available in 2018, the Wizards have no clear path to improving their roster, so general manager Ernie Grunfeld will have to get creative as he seeks out potential upgrades.
Here are five key questions facing the franchise this summer:
1. Will the Wizards keep their “Big Three” intact?
It’s not quite LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, but the Wizards have their own Big Three, with long-term, maximum-salary contracts on their books for John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter. The trio counts for more than $70MM on Washington’s cap in 2018/19, and that figure will increase substantially the following year when Wall’s new super-max extension takes effect.
Although modern NBA teams need star players in order to seriously contend for a title, it’s not clear if the Wizards’ trio has quite enough star-power to justify the team’s huge investment. Wall has battled knee issues during his career, and Beal and Porter have combined for just one All-Star appearance between them. As long as those three players remain on the roster, it will be tricky to add productive complementary pieces around them, and they aren’t the sort of superstars who can thrive without those complementary pieces.
It’s fair to wonder if the Wizards will seriously consider the possibility of breaking up their Big Three this summer. Wall’s super-max extension and knee issues cloud his value, while Beal is coming off a career year, so Porter may be the most logical trade candidate of the three. Teams around the NBA covet three-and-D wings, and Porter fits very nicely into that role, having knocked down 43.7% of his three-pointers over the last two seasons.
Porter’s salary is probably a little too high to expect a huge return, but if a team is willing to part with an impact big man for him, the Wizards should listen. One popular hypothetical scenario would see Washington acquiring Wall’s former Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins in a sign-and-trade with the Pelicans, who could use a wing like Porter. However, there are a number of CBA roadblocks that could get in the way of such a deal, even if both teams agreed on value.
2. How will the Wizards address the center position?
Whether or not they explore a major trade, the Wizards will probably try to find a way to make a change at the center spot, where Marcin Gortat and Ian Mahinmi will earn nearly $30MM between them in 2018/19. Gortat and Mahinmi have their moments, but their offensive games are limited, and neither player is the sort of elite defender who can anchor a defense.
If the Wizards keep Porter, their best shot at landing an impact player in a trade might be attaching Kelly Oubre and/or a first-round pick to Gortat’s expiring contract, since Mahinmi’s deal still has negative value. While there may not be a ton of impact centers on the trade market, I’d expect Washington to kick the tires on guys like Hassan Whiteside, DeAndre Jordan, and Jonas Valanciunas, among others.
The Wizards’ ability to go after a center in free agency will be limited, given the team’s lack of cap room, so the draft may be the only other avenue to address the position in a real way. If Texas A&M’s Robert Williams slips out of the lottery to No. 15, he’d be a great fit.
Pistons Hire Dwane Casey As Head Coach
2:23pm: The Pistons have officially announced Casey’s hiring, issuing a press release to confirm the move.
“Dwane is one of the most successful and highly respected coaches in our league,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. “He’s a great communicator and a leader who will connect with our players and accelerate their growth. Having spent many hours with Dwane over the last few weeks, I’m confident he is the right person to get us to the next level.
“In our meetings he displayed great insight into what this roster can accomplish, and great passion about our city and the team’s role in bringing people together,” Gores continued. “He’s an outstanding man with impressive character. He embodies our culture and will be a great representative for our franchise.”
10:52am: The value of Casey’s new deal with the Pistons is slightly above $7MM per year, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press, who notes (via Twitter) that it’s similar to the five-year, $35MM contract Van Gundy got from the club.
10:14am: The Pistons are hiring Dwane Casey as their new head coach, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, Casey and the Pistons reached an agreement on a five-year contract for the former Raptors coach.
Having been on the lookout for a new coach since parting ways with Stan Van Gundy last month, the Pistons reportedly identified Casey, Spurs assistant Ime Udoka, University of Michigan coach John Beilein, and TNT analyst Kenny Smith as finalists who met with team ownership. However, Beilein withdrew from consideration and the decision appeared to come down to Casey and Udoka. Detroit opted for the candidate who has spent the last seven years as an NBA head coach.
Casey, who took over as the Raptors’ head coach in 2011, became the winningest coach in team history, leading Toronto to a 320-238 (.573) regular season record during his tenure. The Raps enjoyed the best run in franchise history during the last five years, winning between 48 and 59 games each season and making five straight postseason appearances, but their playoff struggles – particularly against LeBron James and the Cavaliers – ultimately resulted in Casey’s ouster.
While Casey’s teams in Toronto struggled to make deep playoff runs, the veteran coach is well regarded around the NBA for his ability to help build a team’s culture, develop players, and get the most out of his roster. He’ll bring those traits to Detroit, where the Pistons will be looking to get back into the postseason with a roster led by Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson.
Casey was named the 2017/18 Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association last month. In addition to winning that award, which was voted on by his coaching peers, Casey is a finalist for the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, voted on by media members.
The Raptors are now the only NBA team without a head coach in place.
[RELATED: 2018 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Since Van Gundy was the Pistons’ president of basketball operations as well as its head coach, the franchise has also been seeking a new head of basketball ops this spring. While it may seem backwards to hire a new head coach before deciding on a new general manager, newly-hired executive Ed Stefanski led the Pistons’ coaching search and figures to have a strong voice in the basketball operations department in the coming years in his special advisor role.
As they seek a new GM, the Pistons are said to be looking for a young, up-and-coming executive who is capable of being the face of the front office for the next decade. The list of candidates being considered by the club includes several men who were playing in the NBA – or another league – within the five or 10 years. Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon, Hawks manager of basketball operations Malik Rose, TNT analyst Brent Barry, and former Pistons players Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince are among the names that have surfaced in recent weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Durant Says He Could Envision Retiring At 35
While veterans like Vince Carter, Manu Ginobili, and Jason Terry continue their NBA careers into their 40s, Kevin Durant doesn’t sound like he’s planning to play quite that long. Speaking to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Durant said that he can envision himself deciding to retire at age 35.
“This game, your craft, you have to continue studying it,” Durant said. “No matter how much you enjoy it, nobody wants to be in school that long. I know I don’t. At some point, you have to be ready to graduate. Thirty-five, that’s just a number in my mind.”
Durant, who will turn 30 in September, just won his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP and has established himself as one of the top two or three players in the league. While his raw scoring numbers have dipped a little since he arrived in Golden State, Durant has been more efficient than ever with the Warriors, with a shooting line of .525/.400/.882, and has evolved into an excellent defender.
Given Durant’s dominance, it’s hard to imagine he’d opt for retirement in just five or six years. Durant’s business partner Rich Kleiman tells Haynes that the former MVP has talked to him in the past about potentially retiring at age 35, but Kleiman is skeptical.
“I heard him say that, but I’ll believe it when it happens,” Kleiman said.
When Durant does eventually move into the next stage of his career, he’s expected to remain involved in basketball. The star forward has previously talked about his desire to own an NBA team, but admits to Haynes that his post-playing career could take a different direction.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Durant said. “That’s the beauty. I’d hate to say, ‘Man, I don’t want to do this, do that’ when I’m done playing. I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m going to still be in love with the game and want to be around it every day. Who knows? I might want to be a coach or a GM or an owner or somebody that works guys out or somebody that’s trying to tell basketball stories like Kobe [Bryant]. Who knows?
“I feel like I have options,” Durant continued. “I’m young, I’m still learning life and about basketball. I have a whole life ahead of me that I’m excited about, and I thank basketball for opening up so many doors for me.”
Western Notes: Clippers, Nuggets, Bjelica, Musa
The Clippers will bring in some first-round candidates for a pre-draft group workout on Wednesday, league sources tell Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Scotto, Miles Bridges (Michigan State), Kevin Knox (Kentucky), Aaron Holiday (UCLA), and Mitchell Robinson will participate in the session.
The Clippers currently hold the 12th and 13th overall picks in the draft, presenting a number of potential opportunities and directions for the club. Bridges and Knox are viewed as two potential lottery picks who may still be on the board at No. 12, while Holiday and Robinson are ranked slightly lower on most big boards.
Let’s round up a few more Western Conference notes…
- Speaking last week to reporters, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the team will target a strong defensive player with two-way versatility with the No. 14 pick, and didn’t rule out the possibility of trading or waiving highly-paid players to maintain cap flexibility. Matt L. Stephens of The Denver Post has the story and the quotes.
- The Jazz and Suns are among the teams that could show interest in power forward Nemanja Bjelica this summer, a source tells Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Bjelica is eligible for restricted free agency, so the Timberwolves have the chance to match any offer he receives, assuming they extend a qualifying offer.
- Bosnian wing Dzanan Musa, a potential first-round pick who will be keeping his name in the 2018 NBA draft, has workouts on tap with the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Jazz, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports.
- Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News passes along word of a few more of the players who participated in the Timberwolves‘ veteran mini-camp on the weekend, tweeting that that Hollis Thompson, Dorell Wright, and Jordan McRae took part, among others.
- Veteran guard Rodney Stuckey is participating in a free agent mini-camp with the Trail Blazers, a league source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Latest On Kevin Love
While the Cavaliers’ roster appears very much in flux following the team’s second consecutive NBA Finals loss to the Warriors, Kevin Love says he would like to remain in Cleveland alongside LeBron James if possible.
As Matthew Florjancic of WKYC.com details, Love said after Friday’s loss that he likes playing for the Cavs and “always wanted to win here.” However, James’ free agency decision figures to dictate the direction of the organization, which Love recognizes.
“It’s something where I’m sure he will spend time with his family and when that time comes to make a decision, he will be in a good frame of mind,” Love said. “Obviously, I’d love to play with LeBron the rest of my career, but that will be a choice that he makes.”
Even if James decides to stay in Cleveland, there’s no guarantee that Love will be back too, since he could become a trade chip. However, the likelihood of the Cavs shopping Love would increase significantly if LeBron leaves, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Appearing on The Hoop Collective, Windhorst said there’s not “one player on that roster who is guaranteed to be back next year.”
“They start over (if James leaves),” Windhorst said, per RealGM.com. “They fully make Kevin Love available. I bet they would look for a first-round pick in that trade. He’s on the last year of a deal so they don’t want to take on money.”
Technically, Love remains under contract for two more years, but the final year of his deal in 2019/20 is a player option worth approximately $25.6MM. Love will be 30 years old next summer, and could decide to opt out and secure a longer-term contract, but his decision may hinge on how the 2018/19 season plays out. At this point, it remains unclear which team Love will be playing for by the time he becomes eligible to reach free agency.
Free Agent Stock Watch 2018: Cleveland Cavaliers
The 2017/18 season was an exhausting one for the Cavaliers and it ended the only way it possibly could: in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Warriors. While LeBron James put forth an historically impressive showing this year, the squad just wasn’t nearly deep enough to put another dent in Golden State’s dynasty.
The biggest story in Cleveland this summer will obviously be James’ forthcoming free agency. It’s no secret that the 33-year-old will have multiple realistic options to mull over this summer and the Cavaliers will have little choice but to wait and see what he decides before they set out with the rest of their plans.
To general manager Koby Altman‘s credit, the franchise was impressively proactive at the trade deadline, adding several players who could be a part of a rebuild for years to come. And to team owner Dan Gilbert‘s credit, he promoted Altman, a general manager he wanted, when there was pressure from James’ camp to retain David Griffin.
Expect the Cavs to welcome James back (and all the ensuing baggage) if the future Hall-of-Famer decides in earnest to end his career where it started, but my read of the situation is that Gilbert and company won’t exactly grovel if the King starts leaning toward taking his talents elsewhere.
Jose Calderon, PG, 36 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to imagine Calderon signing on for anything more than the veteran’s minimum at this stage in his career, but a solid enough 2017/18 campaign in which he started 32 games for the Cavaliers should be enough to earn him another contract. The Cavs won’t have much use for the 36-year-old if they blow things up, so expect any decision regarding Calderon to come a little later in free agency.
Jeff Green, PF, 31 (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal in 2017
It’s hard to gauge Green’s value considering he went from making $15MM in 2016/17 to the league minimum in 2017/18. Still, there’s no denying he was a bargain for the Cavaliers at just over $2MM. Despite a limited ceiling, Green is a solid role player and could be an affordable depth piece for a competitive team in Cleveland or elsewhere.
Rodney Hood, SG, 25 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $6MM deal in 2014
Less than a year ago, Hood was in line to take over scoring duties for the suddenly Gordon Hayward-less Jazz. The swingman showed on a number of occasions in the first half of 2017/18 that he was capable of being a semi-reliable primary option on offense, but injuries and the rise of Donovan Mitchell complicated the restricted free agent’s big contract year. A slow start in Cleveland, coupled with a lousy postseason and one particularly bad decision will limit his value even further. That said, if Hood draws an offer sheet in the $10MM-$14MM range this offseason, he could end up being a bargain.
LeBron James, PF, 33 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $100MM deal in 2016
Despite rampant speculation about James’ upcoming free agency, there’s no clear indication about what the superstar will do. The growing narrative is that James doesn’t have the supporting cast to compete with the likes of the superteams around him. While I’ll submit that he and his representation are partly to blame considering their insistence on leveraging James in order to land players like Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith albatross contracts, there’s no denying that the Cavs’ roster looked empirically overwhelmed by the vastly deeper Warriors in the NBA Finals.
James, who looks more formidable than ever now as a 33-year-old, will earn every single penny available to him wherever he signs, but while there will be considerably more pennies available to him if he stays in Cleveland, it’s hard to imagine that somebody with a net worth of $400MM will base his decision entirely on wealth. Narrowing down where the King might land, then, comes down to figuring out his motives. If James wants to win rings he could either sign with the Sixers or squeeze his way onto the Rockets. If he wants to set himself up for life after basketball he should probably pack up the family and head over to join the Lakers. Of course, if James wants to preserve his uniquely complicated legacy, he should think long and hard about staying in Cleveland.
Kendrick Perkins, 33, C (Down) – Signed to a two-year deal in 2018
The Cavaliers added Perkins to their big league roster in the waning days of the regular season, but seem unlikely to pick up his option for 2018/19. While the veteran was brought on to provide an additional veteran voice in the locker room, his only notable feat in the postseason was getting into sideline altercation with Stephen Curry and Drake. Perkins is relatively young to be a symbolic elder statesmen, so there’s always the possibility that he signs on with another contender in a similar enforcer-turned-unofficial coach role, but don’t forget that he’s only seen action in one NBA contest since the 2015/16 season. His career could just as easily be over.