Vince Carter Undecided On Future Beyond 2018/19
Vince Carter will turn 42 years old later this month and has tied an NBA record by playing in the league for 21 seasons. However, he’s still not sure that the 2018/19 campaign will be his last, as he told reporters – including Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link) – on Tuesday.
“We’ll see what happens at the end of the year. I feel good,” Carter said. “I’ll weigh my options when it’s done. I’d like to come back and play.”
Carter said back in August that he was “90-something per cent sure” that this season with the Hawks would be his last, but he goes back and forth frequently and said on Tuesday that he still can’t picture himself saying, “This is it” (Twitter link via Lewenberg). He has continued to be a productive role player in Atlanta so far in 2018/19, averaging 7.3 PPG on .409/.374/.769 shooting in 37 games (17.4 MPG).
There’s also another interesting factor at play here. Currently, Carter is tied with four other longtime NBA players – Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki – for career longevity at 21 seasons. If Nowitzki doesn’t return for another season in 2019/20 and Carter does, the former Slam Dunk champion would become the only player in league history to play for 22 seasons.
Setting that record certainly won’t be the only factor Carter considers as he weighs his future, but it sounds like one he’s very aware of, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca observes (via Twitter). Doug Smith of The Toronto Star has the full quote from Carter on that record.
“The only thing that would be new to accomplish at this point — obviously winning a championship, that’s obvious — (is) just the longest career,” he said. “I know now that I’m tied with a few guys and it’s something I wasn’t aware of prior to some years back. I didn’t think of that coming in, playing this long anyway.”
Whether Carter decides to retire later this year or spends another season or two in the NBA, it sounds like he’s not necessarily eager to announce his decision well in advance and go through a year-long retirement tour, as Smith relays.
“It’s always cool to be acknowledged and I think it’s fun for me to do it for other guys, and then when I put myself in the same situation I say, ‘Hmm, we’ll see,'” Carter said. “I think, when it happens, more so internally and personally, it’s that you can say goodbye that way. It’s cool and all, but sometimes it’s a little much.”
Cousins Expected To Make Warriors’ Debut On January 18
JANUARY 9, 12:13am: Speaking tonight to reporters, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed that the team expects Cousins to make his debut soon, but suggested the January 18 date isn’t set in stone (Twitter link via Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area). It could also happen on January 16 (vs. Pelicans) or January 21 (vs. Lakers), per Kerr.
JANUARY 8, 9:39pm: DeMarcus Cousins is expected to make his highly-anticipated debut with the Warriors on January 18, sources tell Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Golden State will play the Clippers in Los Angeles that Friday night and then take on the Lakers two days later at the Staples Center.
Cousins is recovering from the torn Achilles he suffered last season with the Pelicans. He signed a one-year deal with the Warriors with the expectation of hitting the free agent market again in 2019. The team can only offer him a modest raise on his $5.3MM deal, though at least one insider has predicted that Cousins may consider playing on a similar one-year deal during the 2019/20 campaign.
Playing with the Warriors will be different than any team Cousins has ever played on. The pace and real title expectations are unlike anything Cousins has seen since he came into the league.
“They play faster than most other teams. It’s not even about the rust. That’s going to be part of the process. I’m aware of that. It’s about having my body in the best shape possible for an NBA game,” Cousins said last month.
NBA To Review Patrick McCaw’s Deal With Cavaliers
The NBA plans on formally reviewing the Cavaliers‘ signing and waiving of Patrick McCaw for possible salary cap circumvention, Mark Stein of The New York Times reports.
McCaw was a restricted free agent sitting under Warriors team control through most of the season as he sat out and waited for an offer from a rival club. The Cavaliers presented him with a two-year, $6MM offer sheet, which was non-guaranteed, and Golden State chose not to match it, leaving McCaw to join Cleveland.
The swingman was with the team less than a week before he was released, and some around the league suspect the move was designed to help McCaw get out from under the Warriors’ control rather than the Cavaliers actually wanting him on the team. Stein adds that the Warriors requested the investigation.
Stein notes that NBA teams are not allowed to make “unauthorized agreements” based on “expressed or implied” deals or include “promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent, or understandings of any kind” with respect to player contracts. Penalties can include fines in the $3-6MM range and could cost a team draft picks.
However, unless the Cavs or agent Bill Duffy tell the NBA that the two sides intentionally entered their agreement in an effort to eventually get McCaw to free agency, it seems unlikely that the league will come down hard on Cleveland. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic observes, the Cavs have a good alibi for taking a flier on McCaw, in the form of a “roster in shambles.”
The Cavs have expressed interest in re-signing McCaw to a cheaper deal if he clears waivers. He made roughly $323K during his brief stint in Cleveland.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/8/19
Here are Tuesday’s NBA G League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Pacers have recalled Alize Johnson from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s website. Johnson has been in the G League since December 17.
Market For Kevin Love Appears Sparse
Pinning down Kevin Love‘s trade value is going to be a challenge and pulling off a trade for the big man may be problematic for rival teams, Ken Berger of Bleacher Report relays.
“The problem is: You have a rookie GM [Koby Altman]—who’s a really good guy and has done some really good things and is trying to prove himself. And you’ve got a delusional owner [Dan Gilbert],” a Western Conference executive tells Berger. “And they’re going to think they’re supposed to get something for the guy. You’re not getting an asset for him under any circumstances.”
Love, who remains sidelined with a foot injury, with will make approximately $28.9MM next season in the first year of the extension he signed last summer.
“It’s a lot to ask someone to take on $144 million for a 30-year-old with an injury history,” another executive said. “You’re dealing with a very small, narrow marketplace for him.”
Love isn’t eligible to be traded until January 24, which is the six-month anniversary of him signing his extension in Cleveland. Finding a suitor will be an issue. The Cavaliers will hope that a contending team will be willing to take a huge risk in order to inch closer to the Warriors atop the league’s hierarchy.
The Rockets and Thunder both make sense as landing spots should a trade occur, one Western Conference executive speculated. The Nuggets have Paul Millsap‘s $30MM salary coming off the books next summer and are fans of Love’s game. The Trail Blazers could use a floor spacer and the Pacers may see the upside he provides. The Hornets and Mavericks have eyes for the big man, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops hears, but finding a deal for either team is no easy task.
“It’s going to have to be a playoff team in a non-destination market,” one of the executives tells Berger. “A team that has a couple of stars that isn’t going to get anybody in free agency because they don’t have the room or nobody’s going to go play there.”
The Thunder-Love scenario is intriguing. Love and Russell Westbrook remain friends and have been close since their days at UCLA. Westbrook’s massive deal worth over $200MM runs through the 2022/23 (with a player option on the last year), which is the exact same timeline as Love’s contract. Paul George is under team control at least through the 2020/21 season and with those contracts, as well as Steven Adams‘ $100MM contract on the books, the team isn’t going to have cap room anytime soon.
“[GM Sam Presti] will figure it out in three years when Russell and Paul are coming to the end of their run,” the Western Conference GM said of a potential Love-to-the-Thunder trade.
It’s difficult for OKC to construct a deal for Love that doesn’t involve giving up one or more of the team’s key contributors due to the big man’s $24.1MM salary. Dennis Schroder ($15.5MM), Alex Abrines ($5.46M), and Patrick Patterson ($5.45M) would make up an interesting package, though Schroder has brought much-needed playmaking for the team, taking some of those duties off of Westbrook this year.
Adams’ salary clocks in at slightly under $24.2MM and if the Thunder have confidence that Nerlens Noel can step up into a bigger role (a big if), perhaps trading their enforcer in the middle makes sense.
However, it’s hard to envision why the Cavs would make such a deal beyond Adams’ contract expiring two years earlier than Love’s. Cleveland covets young players and draft picks as it begins a rebuild. Bringing in an additional team on a three-way trade might be the solution should a deal come together, though that is simply my speculation.
Love’s defense adds another risk to a complicated situation, as people within the league believe he is a liability on the defensive end.
“When we need a bucket against Cleveland, that’s who we attack,” an anonymous coach tells Berger. “Guys like him become hard to hide. There’s always been a premium on pick-and-roll defense, but even more so now. Everybody is spreading the floor and driving and kicking and trying to generate something going downhill.”
One executive groups Love’s contract in with John Wall‘s, calling the pair of deals the “two worst contracts in the league.”
“How many teams are really looking for a dinosaur face-up 4-man, or a 5 who can’t switch pick-and-roll?” the exec said of Love (via Berger).
Most of the pessimism comes from Love’s contract. The executive compared Love to Brook Lopez – an offensive-focused player who landed just a one-year $3.4MM deal with the Bucks this past offseason – suggesting that Love wouldn’t receive much on the open market.
The evaluation seems extremely pessimistic. Love still has value; the questions is: what is that value? He can still help a team in the win column and it’ll only take one team willing to meet the Cavs’ demands to make a deal.
Jazz Notes: Perimeter Needs, Donovan’s Long-Term Outlook
The Jazz had a disappointing start to the season, but there’s a belief in the league that the team will ascend up the Western Conference standings and land a solid seed in the postseason. However, Utah may be one piece away from competing with the top of the conference.
“The one thing about the Jazz is that they’re short an athlete,” an anonymous Eastern Conference scout tells Marc Stein of the New York Times (via his latest newsletter). “They’ve been exposed a little bit there. They’re short a disrupter on the perimeter — someone who gets that deflection, gets that extra ball, creates some easy baskets for them. They’ve been exposed a little bit by athletic teams.”
The team will be without a few contributors over the next few weeks. Ricky Rubio will miss approximately two weeks as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Thabo Sefolosha is expected to miss several games with a hamstring injury of his own and Dante Exum will be out a few weeks with a sprained ankle.
Here’s more from Utah:
- Donovan Mitchell hasn’t been able to duplicate the success he found during his rookie campaign and it might be because the league has figured him out, as one scout tells Stein (same piece). “He’s not the new kid on the block anymore, so teams are able to guard him a little better,” the scout said. “He’s in a good situation where they have complete trust in him. They’ve given him the keys to the city. And if he has a bad game, they’re going to go to him again the next time. The Jazz are lucky to have him, but he’s lucky to be there, too.”
- Mitchell will have to work on his game to become a more complete player, the same aforementioned scout tells Stein. “He isn’t a pure shooter like Damian Lillard…And he’s not as crafty in his game like C.J. McCollum,” the scout said. “Donovan is trying to develop that — those Tony Parker floaters, those McCollum shots. I think it’ll happen. The real chapter will be written on him next season. Last year he was the savior. This year it’s, ‘What happened?’ Next year will be the stock market correction of where he really is — and I would guess it’s going to be somewhere in the middle. He’s a good player, but he’s got some work to do.”
- The Jazz have just 16 road games left while every other Western Conference team has at least 20 remaining, Brad Rock of the Deseret News writes. Still, Rock cautions that this team may not kick it up a notch in the second half of the season as it did last year. The 2018/19 version of coach Quin Synder’s squad has yet to win more than three straight games.
Fantasy Hoops: Examining The Nuggets’ Rotation
The Nuggets remain atop the Western Conference standings despite a bevy of injuries and constant shuffling of their lineup. This week, Denver provides a little more fantasy value to players in season-long leagues, as this squad is the only team to have five games scheduled this week.
During the Nuggets’ first game of the week against the Rockets on Monday, coach Mike Malone started a lineup of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Torrey Craig, Paul Millsap, and Nikola Jokic. The team brought Harris (hip injury) and Millsap (toe) along slowly, but their insertion into the starting lineup indicates the club plans to give both players their original roles back despite several players stepping up in their absence.
Harris left the game after 27 minutes of action with a hamstring injury and it would be surprising if he plays on the second night of a back-to-back tonight. 
Millsap, who hasn’t quite been his diverse fantasy-self lately, admitted over the weekend that he’s still recovering from the toe injury which sidelined him for eight games.
“It’s still broke, but it doesn’t really bother me at all,” Millsap said (via Mike Singer of The Denver Post). “Tape it up, and I just get out there and play.”
Mason Plumlee performed well during the 11 starts he made over the last month, accumulating 8.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 57.1% from the field. He also averaged a block and steal per contest. He’s probably worth rostering this week with the extra games, though his long-term value is tied to Millsap. I’d bet on Millsap over Plumlee for the season if both are able to stay on the court.
Jokic is obviously the top fantasy contributor on the team. He ranks seventh overall on ESPN’s Player Rater over the last 30 days with Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns as the only two center-eligible players ahead of him. Earlier in the season, Joel Embiid ranked above Jokic in terms of long-term season value but that’s no longer the case with Jimmy Butler joining him in Philadelphia.
While Will Barton is getting closer to a return, we won’t see him on the court for a few weeks, as Malone recently announced. Barton is worth a stash and if someone else already has him, he’s a good trade target provided you’re in good position to make the playoffs.
Monte Morris and Malik Beasley are fine streaming options this week due to volume and Barton’s delayed return. Ditto with Craig, though none of the three should be considered a must-own for the season. If I had to pick one, it would be Beasley.
Murray, Jokic, Barton (even with the injury), Millsap and Harris are all players that should be rostered in 100% of leagues. There’s plenty of fantasy basketball value in Denver despite the ever-evolving circumstances.
Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.
Missed an earlier edition of Fantasy Hoops? Check out the entire series here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pelicans Waive Andrew Harrison
The Pelicans have waived Andrew Harrison, the team announced via its website. The guard landed in New Orleans in early December via a two-way deal.
The franchise now has 16 players under contract. Trevon Bluiett is the only player on a two-way deal, so the Pelicans will have until January 15 to fill its open two-way slot.
Harrison appeared in six games for the Pelicans, seeing just 6.3 minutes per contest. The former Kentucky Wildcat has previously had NBA stops in Memphis and Cleveland.
Amick’s Latest: T. Chandler, Walton, Joerger
Before he signed with the Lakers, Tyson Chandler gave legitimate consideration to joining the division-rival Warriors instead. As he tells Sam Amick of The Athletic, Chandler loves Golden State’s style of play and was told the team would be interested in adding him, but he knew there may not be much of a role for him when DeMarcus Cousins returned.
“For me, it became (a question of), ‘Where would I make the most impact?'” Chandler said. “Do I want to go there and — back-to-back champs — just a well-oiled machine, be one of the guys, maybe be that vet on the bench after DeMarcus comes back? Or do I want to come to the Lakers, where they were teeter-tottering a little bit, struggling at the time, but I’d seen it coming alive, and I’ve always loved the draft picks and the young players that they had here, and then (LeBron James) coming here, and then (Rajon) Rondo, and then having those vets? I’m like, let me go ahead and hop in that dogfight.”
Amick’s wide-ranging article on The Athletic also touches on several other topics, including whether or not Kevin Durant should (and would) shoot more three-pointers, Austin Rivers‘ adjustment to Houston, and more. Here are a few other highlights:
- The dynamic between Lakers head coach Luke Walton and team management is complicated enough that it’s worth keeping an eye on for the rest of the season, says Amick. However, a source close to the situation tells him that there are “no signs of imminent danger” for Walton.
- There has been speculation that Dave Joerger could be a good candidate for the Timberwolves‘ head coaching job since he’s a Minnesota native and has fans within the organization. There’s no indication that it’s likely though, according to Amick, who hears from sources that Joerger is still extremely high on the Kings‘ young core.
- Previous reports, including a couple from Amick, have suggested that there’s tension between Joerger and Kings assistant GM Brandon Williams, but that situation appears “more tenable” as of late, per Amick. Sources tell The Athletic that Williams spent a lot of time on the road during the weeks after Joerger asked him to leave a November shootaround, in a concerted effort to relieve tensions. All signs now point to Joerger remaining safe in Sacramento at least through the end of the 2018/19 season, Amick adds.
- For what it’s worth, here’s what Joerger told James Ham of NBC Sports California when asked about the Timberwolves‘ job: “Obviously I’m a Minnesota kid, so it’s interesting, but at the same time, my focus is right here, right now. I mean, we’re having a great time with our guys. We’re watching them grow every day. I feel like I’ve worked my tail off, I know the players have and the coaching staff — to put us in a position where we have tremendous chemistry.”
Jazz Point Guards Rubio, Exum To Miss Time
3:19pm: Today’s MRIs for Rubio and Sefolosha came back clean, sources tell Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, Rubio is still expected to miss about two weeks, while Sefolosha will likely be sidelined for 10-12 days.
9:17am: The injury bug is hitting the Jazz, with league sources telling Tony Jones of The Athletic that backup point guard Dante Exum is expected to miss “a few weeks” after badly spraining his left ankle on Saturday.
After straining a hamstring in that same game, Thabo Sefolosha is scheduled for a Tuesday morning MRI, according to Jones, who reports that there’s “some optimism within the organization” that Sefolosha could return to the rotation within a few weeks.
On top of those two injuries, starting point guard Ricky Rubio suffered a strained hamstring of his own on Monday night and will also have an MRI today, Jones notes. The Jazz are hoping Rubio’s injury isn’t serious, but it appears they’ll enter Wednesday’s game against Orlando with Raul Neto as their only healthy point guard. While Neto’s role will increase substantially, Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles also figure to take on more of ball-handling and play-making responsibilities in that game, Jones writes.
At 20-21, Utah is outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference at the season’s halfway mark. The Jazz can’t afford to slip any further back in the standings, so it will be interesting to see if they turn to the trade market for possible point guard help if Rubio has to miss more than just a game or two, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports.
Signing a player to a 10-day contract would also be an option for the Jazz, though they don’t have an open roster spot to accommodate a new addition. The club also has until January 15 to replace one of its two-way players, if it so chooses.