Nets’ Caris LeVert Poised For Breakout Season
Despite being linked to a potential trade for Jimmy Butler, Nets guard Caris LeVert is ready for a breakout year in Brooklyn during this, his third season, reports Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
“I feel like it’s definitely my turn to take a big leap,” LeVert said. “It’s obviously good to hear from my teammates, because I feel like I put in a lot of work on and off the court, mentally, physically, and I feel like I’m ready to take that leap for sure.”
LeVert, who averaged 12.1 points and 4.2 assists last season, is expected to improve upon those and other numbers this season, as the Nets are convinced he has far more talent to tap – so much so that they have reportedly already turned down a mid-first-round pick for LeVert and possibly held him out of any potential talks for Butler, per Lewis.
“I focus on myself and getting better every day. I can’t control [trades], so I don’t really focus on them,” said the 24-year-old. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’m very blessed to be in this situation. I love this team. I want to play here for a long time, but I know it’s a business.”
If there’s any one specific thing that will help LeVert take that next step, it’s likely his strength development. He worked all offseason closely alongside Nets’ director of sports science, Dan Meehan, mostly working on lower body strength and conditioning.
“Finishing, defense, every part of my game was lacking with my lower body strength,” LeVert said. “Balance was one of the big things that was lacking for me last year and the year before that. My lower-body strength has definitely helped with that. Finishing at the rim, guarding bigger players defensively, that will definitely help a lot.”
LeVert will likely begin the 2018/19 season coming off the bench in a backup role to D’Angelo Russell and Allen Crabbe. But if expectations come to fruition, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him starting before season’s end.
Heat Now Atop Jimmy Butler’s Wish List?
4:57pm: According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Heat have been the most engaged team with the Wolves on a potential Butler trade. Meanwhile, neither the Clippers nor Nets have gained much traction on a potential deal. Also, the Rockets have apparently joined the sweepstakes, but it will be a significant challenge to pursue Butler without a third team.
8:50am: Jimmy Butler and agent Bernie Lee have informed Timberwolves ownership that the Heat are the 29-year-old’s preferred trade destination, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). It’s an apparent change of course for Butler, whose initial wish list included the Clippers, Nets, and Knicks, but not Miami.
We heard earlier this week that the Heat had been as aggressive as any team in their pursuit of Butler, and Stein reiterates that point today, noting that more than 20 teams have at least inquired with the Timberwolves about their All-NBA wing (Twitter link). According to Stein, the Heat – like many teams – have found it hard to get the Wolves to clearly communicate their intentions and their asking price, but Miami is a landing spot that “strongly appeals” to Butler.
The Heat would be an interesting trade partner for the Timberwolves, whose head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau wants to remain in win-now mode rather than acquiring exclusively draft picks and young prospects in a Butler deal. Miami would like to hang onto Josh Richardson and Bam Adebayo, but could put Justise Winslow and/or a 2019 first-round pick on the table. The Heat are also carrying several veterans whose contracts would align well with Butler’s for salary-matching purposes.
If Miami – or any other team – acquires Butler in a trade, his Bird rights would be dealt along with him, giving his new club the ability to offer a five-year deal worth up to a projected $190MM in free agency next summer.
While a Butler trade still appears likely to happen sooner rather than later, a pair of Tuesday reports indicated that teams with interest in the four-time All-Star have been receiving mixed signals from the Timberwolves on what kind of assets they value. Clubs who have spoken to the Wolves are also confused about whether to deal with owner Glen Taylor or front office execs Thibodeau and Scott Layden, since there’s a perception that the management and ownership groups may not be in agreement on the structure and timetable of a potential trade.
And-Ones: Stoudemire, Bennett, Gambling
After playing in Israel during the 2016/17 season, former Suns and Knicks big man Amar’e Stoudemire announced his retirement last September. Stoudemire has since reversed course though, with Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem confirming this week that the six-time NBA All-Star will play for them again in 2018/19. Stoudemire, who co-owns Hapoel Jerusalem, helped lead the team to an Israeli League title in 2017 and said on Instagram that he’s aiming to do the same this season.
“I am looking forward to returning to Hapoel Jerusalem and bringing home titles,” Stoudemire wrote. “I have a great love for all the people of Israel: past, present and future, and it’s humbling to represent the city of Jerusalem, which has inspired so many around the world.”
Here are a few more basketball odds and ends:
- The representatives for former first overall pick Anthony Bennett have offered the big man to Italian clubs Reggio Emilia and Virus Bologna, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. For now though, the 25-year-old – who played for the Cavaliers, Raptors, Timberwolves, and Nets – is without a home for the 2018/19 season.
- In the wake of the investigation into workplace misconduct within the Mavericks‘ organization, the NBA sent out a memo to all 30 teams encouraging them to hire more women – particularly in leadership roles – and to improve their policies for reporting workplace harassment. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today has the details.
- Professional sports leagues – including the NBA – are largely taking a wait-and-see approach to the legalization of sports gambling, as Mike Fish and David Purdum write for ESPN.com. The ESPN report looks extensively at the lack of information surrounding LeBron James‘ reported hand injury in last year’s Finals and how that would have impacted betting odds if it had been public.
Pacers Exercise 2019/20 Options On Sabonis, Leaf
SEPTEMBER 26: The Pacers have officially exercised their 2019/20 options on both Sabonis and Leaf, the club confirmed today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 24: The Pacers will exercise their options on the rookie contracts of Domantas Sabonis and T.J. Leaf, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. Team president Kevin Pritchard confirmed the moves, which are contingent on both players passing physicals.
Sabonis, who will have a cap charge of $3,529,555 in 2019/20, was a pleasant surprise in his first year with Indiana after being acquired in a trade with the Thunder. He averaged 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds in 74 games, mostly as a reserve. He’ll be extension-eligible as of July 1, 2019.
Leaf, the 18th pick in the 2017 draft, got into 53 games as a rookie, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.5 RPG. He will have a $2,813,280 cap hit for 2019/20. The Pacers will have to make a decision on his fourth-year option next fall.
Five Notable Veterans Not On NBA Camp Rosters
Training camp has begun for all 30 NBA teams, and while there will still be some roster shakeups to come, particularly if injuries start to pile up, most clubs have a pretty good sense of what their 15-man rosters will look like for the start of the regular season.
For veteran free agents, that means there are fewer viable landing spots than ever. Still, whether it happens before or after opening night, there are a number of unsigned players who seem like good bets to eventually sign with an NBA team.
Here are five of the most notable veterans who are without an NBA home for training camps this week:
Jamal Crawford, G: Crawford said last week that he’s “staying ready and staying patient” as he considers where he’ll end up. The Warriors, Celtics, Sixers, and Lakers are reportedly among the teams that have shown interest, but haven’t made contract offers. Since turning down his $4.5MM option with the Timberwolves for 2018/19, the 38-year-old has talked about finding the perfect fit — we’ll see if that happens within the next few weeks.- Nick Young, G/F: Having won his first NBA championship with the Warriors last season, Young is free to prioritize other considerations, whether that means seeking out the most lucrative offer, the most expansive role, or something else. It’s not clear exactly what he’s looking for, but it’d be a surprise if a 33-year-old who has made more than 39% of his three-pointers over the last two seasons doesn’t land somewhere.
- Corey Brewer, G/F: After spending most of last season with the Lakers, Brewer enjoyed a productive run with the Thunder down the stretch, averaging 10.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 2.1 SPG in 18 contests (16 starts) to finish the regular season. So far, that run doesn’t appear to have earned the 32-year-old an NBA roster spot to start 2018/19, but perhaps – like Crawford – he’s holding out for the right fit.
- Joe Johnson, F: Johnson turned 37 years old in June and may not have a whole lot left in the tank — his .406 FG% and .276 3PT% for Utah and Houston last season were the worst marks of his career. Still, it’d be a surprise to see the seven-time All-Star fade away without bouncing back for one last run for a contender.
- Mario Chalmers, G: Even on a Grizzlies team that was in rebuilding mode for much of the 2017/18 campaign, Chalmers earned regular minutes, averaging 7.7 PPG and 3.0 APG in 66 games (21.5 MPG). The 32-year-old is now another year removed from his Achilles tear, but has yet to line up a new NBA job.
Ten more noteworthy veterans who remain unsigned:
- Quincy Acy, F/C
- Arron Afflalo, G/F
- Luke Babbitt, F
- Jordan Crawford, G
- Richard Jefferson, F
- Ty Lawson, G
- Jameer Nelson, G
- Willie Reed, F/C
- Ramon Sessions, G
- Jason Terry, G
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southeast Notes: Vucevic, Winslow, Hornets
With Nikola Vucevic entering a contract year and Mohamed Bamba aiming to become the starting center of the future in Orlando, Vucevic looks like a trade candidate for the Magic. However, Jeff Weltman says his club has “no designs on trading anyone right now,” per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
“That’s something that we’ll worry about later,” said the Magic’s president of basketball operations. “Vooch is a high-quality player and an even higher-quality person. He’s very valuable to our team today, and he’s very valuable to what we want to be about going forward. So I wouldn’t even entertain those thoughts yet.”
In a Q&A with John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com, Weltman touched on several more topics, including the Magic’s decision to hire new head coach Steve Clifford, Aaron Gordon‘s new contract, the Bamba pick, and many of the club’s other offseason moves. While Weltman knows that the Magic aren’t expected to make the postseason this season, he doesn’t mind being discounted by the pundits and hopes to see his roster stay healthy and “surprise some people.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Justise Winslow‘s name figures to come up frequently in trade speculation as long as Jimmy Butler is available, but assuming Winslow remains with the Heat, the club intends to explore a possible rookie scale extension. The two sides have yet to discuss financial specifics, but more talks are planned before the October 15 deadline, a team source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
- The Hornets are one of several NBA teams that haven’t filled either their 15-man regular season roster or their two two-way contract slots. That’s by design, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, who tweets that GM Mitch Kupchak is keeping an eye out for possible roster casualties around the league who could fit with the Hornets.
- The Hornets announced a series of additions to their basketball operations staff this week, including adding veteran NBA forward Matt Carroll as a player development assistant. Carroll, who spent most of his playing career in Charlotte, last appeared in an NBA game in 2012.
Suns’ Search For Point Guard Could Overlap With Butler Sweepstakes
The Suns‘ pursuit of a point guard on the trade market could result in them getting involved in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes as a facilitator, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Keith Smith of RealGM.com first reported (via Twitter) that the Suns, like the Kings, were open to the idea of helping facilitate a three-team Butler trade.
As Wojnarowski details, if the Timberwolves and Heat were to make a trade involving Butler and Goran Dragic, it could open the door for Minnesota to send Jeff Teague to Phoenix as part of the deal. The Suns are also known to have inquired on backup Wolves point guard Tyus Jones. It’s not clear how interested the Suns would be in landing Dragic – who has already had two stints in Phoenix – as part of a three-team trade with Minnesota and Miami, but that could also be an avenue the team explores.
[RELATED: Heat Now Atop Jimmy Butler’s Wish List?]
The Kings may make a bit more sense than Phoenix as a third team in a potential Butler trade, since they have $11MM in cap room to work with, putting them in a better position to accommodate an unwanted contract. However, Sacramento would likely be after a first-round pick. The Suns are over the cap and would need to match salaries in any deal, perhaps using expiring contracts like Tyson Chandler‘s ($13.59MM) or Darrell Arthur‘s ($7.46MM).
The Suns have been on the lookout for a point guard since moving Brandon Knight to Houston in a trade last month. Besides Teague and Jones, some of the point guards cited as potential trade targets for Phoenix include Patrick Beverley, Cory Joseph, and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Checking In On NBA’s Camp Roster Counts
With training camps underway across the NBA, most teams have filled their 20-man offseason squads, leaving just a small handful of open roster spots around the league. While teams can carry 20 players for now, they’ll have to trim their rosters to a maximum of 17 players (15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals) before the 2018/19 regular season begins.
Here’s a brief breakdown of each team’s current roster situation:
Teams with 15 guaranteed contracts and two two-way contracts:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Boston Celtics
- Dallas Mavericks
- Denver Nuggets
- Detroit Pistons
- Los Angeles Clippers
While it’s possible that these teams could waive a player on a guaranteed contract or make a change to their two-way contract slots, their rosters look fairly set for the start of the season. The one exception is the Clippers — with Patrick Beverley on a non-guaranteed contract, L.A. will have to trade or release at least one guaranteed salary in order to fit Beverley on the 15-man squad.
Teams with 15 guaranteed contracts and at least one open two-way contract slot:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
The 15-man rosters for these clubs look fairly set, but they each still have a two-way opening to fill, perhaps with one of their camp invitees.
Teams with 13 or 14 guaranteed contracts and two two-way contracts:
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76ers
- San Antonio Spurs
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
All of these teams are carrying 14 guaranteed contracts except for the Timberwolves – who have 13, plus James Nunnally‘s partially guaranteed deal – and the Spurs, who still technically have Manu Ginobili under contract as their 15th guaranteed salary.
With Nunnally a near-lock to make Minnesota’s roster, and Ginobili certain to be waived at some point, those two teams will find themselves in the same situation as every other team on this list, with 14 roster players and a pair of two-way guys. Some of these clubs will carry a 15th man, giving some of their non-guaranteed players a chance to compete for that spot. Others will keep their 15th roster spot open to start the season in order to save a little money.
Teams with fewer than 15 guaranteed contracts and fewer than two two-way contracts:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Phoenix Suns
- Toronto Raptors
There may be multiple roster spots up for grabs on some of these teams, such as the Pelicans, who only have 12 fully guaranteed contracts and one two-way deal. The Rockets, meanwhile, also have just 12 fully guaranteed deals on their books – though Michael Carter-Williams has a substantial partial guarantee – and are one of the only NBA teams without a two-way player signed so far.
For a full breakdown of the roster counts for each NBA team, be sure to check out our roster counts page, which is updated daily. Our lists of non-guaranteed contracts and two-way contracts by team may also be useful reference points.
Pacers Notes: Turner, Young, Roster, Contracts
Myles Turner is eligible for a rookie scale extension and Thaddeus Young has the ability to sign a veteran extension, but new deals don’t appear imminent for either player, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. Turner isn’t talking much about his situation, suggesting that his focus is on “winning games,” but Young expressed a desire to remain with the Pacers for the long term.
“I’ve always said I want to remain here and my family likes it here. They ask me every day, ‘Are we leaving?'” Young said. “They understand that I’m on the last year of my contract. They love it here. They want to stay here. I want to stay here. It’s just a matter of just trying to figure things out. I’m not really worried too much about that.”
Young could have opted out of his contract and tried to negotiate a new deal with the Pacers over the summer, but chose to pick up his player option in the hopes that he’ll be able to work out something with Indiana during the 2019 offseason. As for Turner, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next July if he and the Pacers don’t agree to terms on an extension by October 15.
Here’s more from out of Indiana:
- The Pacers have a potential opening on their 15-man roster and will be on the lookout for a second two-way player as well, after C.J. Wilcox went down with a season-ending Achilles tear. According to president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, Indiana will be “watching the waiver wire” for potential fits before the season gets underway. J. Michael has the details in another article for The Star.
- Seven of the Pacers’ nine highest-paid players are entering contract years, but the club doesn’t intend to let those contract situations impact its chemistry, as Mark Montieth of Pacers.com writes. “We’re not going to get caught up in individuals playing for contracts,” head coach Nate McMillan said on Tuesday. “That’s not going to happen. You’ll be an outcast if you play that style of basketball.”
- Back at The Indianapolis Star, J. Michael breaks down the impact that newcomers Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott, and Kyle O’Quinn could have on the Pacers this season, as the team looks to build on last season’s 48-win showing.
- In case you missed it, the Pacers indicated earlier this week that they intend to pick up the 2019/20 rookie scale options for Domantas Sabonis and T.J. Leaf.
Trade Exceptions Expire For Grizzlies, Clippers, Knicks
Three teams had modest traded player exceptions expire this week, as the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Knicks declined to use their respective TPEs. The exceptions ranged in value from $1.58MM (Clippers) to $3.41MM (Grizzlies), with the Knicks’ $2.38MM TPE falling in the middle.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, traded player exceptions can be used to acquire one or more players whose salaries fits within the amount of the exception. They expire one year after being created if they haven’t been used.
The three trade exceptions that expired this week were created in deals consummated right before training camps opened in 2017. The Grizzlies’ TPE was created when they sent Troy Daniels to the Suns, while the Clippers created theirs by sending DeAndre Liggins to Atlanta. The Knicks’ TPE was generated as a result of the Carmelo Anthony trade with Oklahoma City.
All three clubs still have at least one traded player exception in hand, as our full list shows.