Latest On Paul George, Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook and Paul George have begun the offseason by taking steps to recover from their respective injuries, as the Thunder pass along in a team press release.
Westbrook underwent surgery to repair ligament damage in his left hand. The 2016/17 MVP played the final six weeks of the season with the non-shooting hand injury. Westbrook also had a procedure on his right knee today and is expected to be sidelined for approximately three weeks.
George had elective surgery on his right shoulder to repair a partial tendon tear, per the team. The veteran forward will have another procedure on his left shoulder in the following weeks. He’s expected to miss at least the start of Oklahoma City’s training camp, Adrian Wojnarowski and Royce Young of ESPN.com relay.
George also played with his ailment as the season winded down. According to the ESPN duo, the Thunder went 11-12 after George suffered the injury.
Marc Gasol Undecided On Future With Raptors
New addition Marc Gasol is fitting in with the Raptors, though this could be his only season with the club. The 34-year-old has a player option on his deal worth approximately $25.6MM for the 2019/20 campaign and he has yet to make a decision on his future.
“We’ll see when we get there,” Gasol said (via Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report). “It would be pointless for me to say anything now. Not because I’m hiding anything, but I would be lying, it’s just impossible to know. We’ll have to see what makes sense for everyone. You can’t weigh things on a scale before you have everything to weigh. I much rather focus on the present and make the most of it.”
[RELATED: Five 2019/20 Player Option Decisions To Watch]
The center didn’t ask for his trade to the Raptors but the team has grown on him.
“It’s really well-run,” Gasol said. “All first class.”
Gasol still misses Memphis, the place where he began his NBA career as a second-round prospect. The Grizzlies weren’t in a position to compete at a championship level when they dealt his brother, Pau, to the Lakers and acquired him in exchange for a package that originally brought the younger Gasol to Memphis. They likely won’t sniff contention in the near future, which was part of the reason they made the decision to send Gasol north at this year’s trade deadline.
According to Weitzman, Gasol and Mike Conley assured Grizzlies owner Robert Pera that they could turn around the franchise’s fortunes with some help. However, the team was on the verge of missing the playoffs for the second straight season and Pera could clearly see the writing on the wall. A few weeks later—just hours before the trade deadline—Pera called Gasol to tell him that the Grizzlies and Raptors had completed a deal.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri also spoke with Gasol on February 7. The executive told Gasol that Toronto was “going for it” – in reference to a title – and he believed Gasol could help.
Toronto’s path to a championship has never been clearer. LeBron James is no longer in their way. Kawhi Leonard, who is reportedly warming up to the idea of staying in Toronto, is arguably having the best postseason for any player in franchise history.
Gasol’s arrival gave the Raptors something they were missing. Among other things, it gave them a big man who could battle in the post with the likes of Sixers star Joel Embiid. “[Gasol has] changed who we are,” coach Nick Nurse said. Gasol recognizes the impact that he can make without being the core of the offense.
“We’re not talking about something negative here,” Gasol said of being traded. “As you get older, you understand that this is a game, that we’re fortunate to have a great life. It’s just something impactful.”
Tom Thibodeau Not Expected To Join Lakers’ Staff
In late April, when the Lakers were interviewing candidates for their head coaching job, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted that Tyronn Lue had inquired with Tom Thibodeau about becoming his top assistant in Los Angeles (Twitter link via Showtime Forum).
With Lue now seemingly poised to claim the Lakers’ head coaching job, Frank Isola of The Athletic confirms that the team’s interest in Thibodeau was real. However, the former Timberwolves coach is unlikely to join Lue’s staff.
As Isola details, in addition to Lue’s inquiry, LeBron James let it be known through intermediaries that Thibodeau would be a “huge asset” to the Lakers in a lead assistant role. But Thibodeau is still earning money from his Timberwolves contract and can afford to be patient as he seeks another head coaching job, Isola writes. That echoes what we heard from Woj, who indicated in the wake of his initial report that Thibs would prefer to wait for a head coaching opportunity (Twitter link).
Isola also points out that Thibodeau might be wise to take a “wait-and-see” approach with a team like the Lakers after dealing with an unstable management group in Minnesota.
While the Lakers aren’t expected to bring Thibodeau aboard, it sounds like another noteworthy former head coach may join Lue in Los Angeles. As we relayed on Monday, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that Frank Vogel is a strong candidate to become the Lakers’ lead assistant, if and when the team officially hires Lue.
Brown: Butler A “Perfect Fit” For Philadelphia
While most of the Sixers‘ stars have struggled to approximate their regular season performances in the second round of the playoffs, Jimmy Butler has been perhaps the team’s best player, averaging 22.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 5.8 APG in four games against the Raptors. Butler’s play has earned him more praise from head coach Brett Brown, as Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com relays.
“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again,” Brown said of Butler on Monday during a media conference call. “I think that how he approaches the game – there’s a physicality, there’s a passion, there’s a toughness – it mirrors the city of Philadelphia. It’s a perfect fit for the city. There’s a leadership that is growing for sure, and in this environment, we need it all.”
With the Sixers all tied up at 2-2, there’s a real possibility that their playoff run will extend another round or two. But if Philadelphia is eliminated within the next two or three games, it will create some fascinating offseason dilemmas for the club.
Butler and Tobias Harris are both facing unrestricted free agency at season’s end, and the widespread belief in recent months has been that Harris is the player more likely to receive a lucrative, long-term deal. That’s not to say that the 76ers aren’t seriously interested in re-signing Butler as well, but he has generally been viewed as the player more likely to head elsewhere — or at least the one less likely to receive a maximum salary offer from Philadelphia.
However, while Butler has been the Sixers’ most effective player against Toronto, Harris has struggled, averaging just 13.0 PPG on .339/.259/.750 shooting. In the club’s Game 4 loss, Harris attempted a team-high 23 shots, and made just seven, including 2-of-13 from three-point range.
The Sixers won’t make major free agency decisions based on players’ stats over a six- or seven-game stretch, but for a team with championship aspirations, playoff résumés are important. It will be interesting to see if – and how – Butler’s leadership during this series could impact the team’s thinking in the summer.
Poll: Kyrie Irving’s Future
Three of the NBA’s four conference semifinals appear very much up in the air, as they head into their respective Game Fives all tied up at 2-2. However, with a second consecutive resounding road victory over the Celtics on Monday, the Bucks took a 3-1 lead and now have up to three chances to end Boston’s season.
If the Bucks can finish off the series at home in Game Five, Monday’s loss might be the last time that fans ever see Irving wear a Celtics uniform in Boston. And if that’s the case, then it wasn’t a particularly memorable end to a short-lived era.
As Jay King of The Athletic details, Irving headed to the Celtics’ locker room before the game was officially over on Monday, with fans in Boston booing the club’s second straight home dud. After the game, Irving bristled when he was asked about his shooting woes (he’s 19-of-62 in the team’s last three games), as Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes.
“Who cares?” Irving said of his slump. “I’m a basketball player. Prepare the right way. Like I said, it’s a little different when your rhythm is challenged every play down. You’re being picked up full court. They’re doing things to test you. The expectations on me are going to be sky high.
“I try to utilize their aggression against them and still put my teammates in a great position, while still being aggressive. I’m trying to do it all. For me, the 22 shots, I should have shot 30. I’m that great of a shooter.”
While Irving isn’t necessarily wrong, his defiant attitude with the Celtics on the brink may not be the best look, according to Forsberg, who suggests that Boston’s star point guard probably should’ve expressed more frustration and disappointment with himself.
A second-round exit looks like a near certainty for the C’s, in which case Irving’s upcoming free agency will be more interesting than ever. Although he vowed before the season that he intended to stick around long-term, Irving backtracked on that promise during a drama-filled season, and it’s hard to imagine he’ll be eager to re-up with Boston after what has been a disappointing year. The possibility of an Anthony Davis trade could entice him to stay, but that’s no certainty.
Appearing on ESPN’s “Get Up” this morning, analyst Jalen Rose declared that Irving is “done in Boston,” adding that his teammates will probably “help him pack,” since they won’t mind seeing him go (video link).
What do you think? Is it premature to assume Irving will sign elsewhere in free agency, or do you agree with Rose that we’re seeing his last games as a Celtic?
Vote below in our poll, then head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!
Will Kyrie Irving re-sign with the Celtics?
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No 89% (2,539)
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Yes 11% (322)
Total votes: 2,861
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Orlando Magic
The 2018/19 season was widely expected to be a rebuilding season for the Magic, and the team even made the ultimate rebuilding at the move at the trade deadline, acquiring injured prospect Markelle Fultz. However, an All-Star performance from Nikola Vucevic and the eighth-best defense in the NBA helped buoy Orlando to a playoff spot.
Now, the team will have to decide whether to try to build on that success by re-signing key contributors like Vucevic and Terrence Ross, or whether to pivot to a full-fledged youth movement.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Magic financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:
Guaranteed Salary
- Aaron Gordon ($19,863,636)
- Evan Fournier ($17,000,000)
- Timofey Mozgov ($16,720,000)
- Markelle Fultz ($9,745,200)
- D.J. Augustin ($7,250,000)
- Jonathan Isaac ($5,806,440)
- Mohamed Bamba ($5,697,600)
- Melvin Frazier ($1,416,852)
- C.J. Watson ($333,333) — Waived via stretch provision
- Total: $83,833,061
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Wesley Iwundu ($1,618,520)
- Total: $1,618,520
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
- Jerian Grant ($3,763,662 qualifying offer / $7,917,942 cap hold): Bird rights
- Jarell Martin ($3,549,430 qualifying offer / $7,248,666 cap hold): Bird rights
- Khem Birch ($1,818,486 qualifying offer / $1,818,486 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Amile Jefferson (two-way qualifying offer / $1,443,842 cap hold): Non-Bird rights 1
- Total: $18,428,936
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Vucevic ($19,125,000): Bird rights
- Terrence Ross ($15,750,000): Bird rights
- Fran Vazquez ($4,028,400) 2
- No. 16 overall pick ($3,117,000)
- Arron Afflalo ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights 3
- Michael Carter-Williams ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
- Marreese Speights ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights 3
- Troy Caupain ($1,443,842): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $48,319,700
Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000
Offseason Cap Outlook
- Realistic cap room projection: $0
- This projection assumes that the Magic keep either Vucevic’s or Ross’ cap hold on their books in an attempt to re-sign them. Retaining even one of those holds would make Orlando an over-the-cap team.
- If the Magic let both of their top free agents walk, there’s a path to possible cap room. Waiving all their non-guaranteed contracts and renouncing their free agents could create as much as about $19.4MM in space. I’m not sure that’s a likely scenario though. I expect the Magic to try to re-sign at least one of Vucevic or Ross, and even if they don’t, bringing back less expensive players like Iwundu and Birch would also cut into that projected room.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 4
- Bi-annual exception: $3,619,000 4
Footnotes
- The salaries for two-way players don’t count against a team’s cap, but their cap holds do during the offseason.
- Vazquez was the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft. His cap hold (the equivalent to the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft) will remain on the Magic’s books unless the team receives permission to remove it, ensuring Vazquez won’t be signed in 2019/20.
- Afflalo’s and Speights’ cap holds remain on the Magic’s books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- These are projected values. In the event the Magic use cap room, they’d lose these exceptions and would instead would gain access to the $4,760,000 room exception.
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA Announces 80 Players For G League Elite Camp
The NBA has announced in a press release that 80 players are set to participate in its G League Elite Camp next week in Chicago from May 12-14. The event will include 40 prospects who are eligible for this year’s draft, as well as 40 standout prospects from the 2018/19 G League season.
Heading into this spring, the NBA revamped its G League Elite Camp, which in past years has simply showcased some of the NBAGL’s top performers. That aspect of the event will still exist, but G League players will only participate in the first two days of the event.
The second half of the event will feature 40 draft-eligible prospects who aren’t among the 60 prospects invited to the actual draft combine. The list of participants was determined by an NBA team vote, and those prospects will work out and scrimmage during the final two days of the event — there will be no overlap with the G League portion of the event.
As this week’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which takes place from May 15-19 in Chicago.
Here are the list of draft-eligible prospects who are expected to participate in the 2019 G League Elite Mini Camp, per the NBA:
- Tyus Battle (Syracuse)
- Bennie Boatwright (USC)
- Phil Booth (Villanova)
- Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
- Bryce Brown (Auburn)
- Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State)
- Chris Clemons (Campbell)
- Amir Coffey (Minnesota)
- Tyler Cook (Iowa)
- Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
- Aubrey Dawkins (Central Florida)
- Javin DeLaurier (Duke)
- Mamadi Diakite (Virginia)
- CJ Elleby (Washington State)
- Tacko Fall (UCF)
- Robert Franks (Washington State)
- Jared Harper (Auburn)
- Ethan Happ (Wisconsin)
- Dewan Hernandez (Miami)
- Amir Hinton (Shaw (NC))
- DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa)
- Sagaba Konate (West Virginia)
- Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep (Canada))
- Terance Mann (Florida State)
- Caleb Martin (Nevada)
- Cody Martin (Nevada)
- Luke Maye (North Carolina)
- Trey Mourning (Georgetown)
- Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
- James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska)
- Josh Perkins (Gonzaga)
- Reggie Perry (Mississippi State)
- Jalen Pickett (Siena)
- Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
- Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
- Marial Shayok (Iowa State)
- Max Strus (DePaul)
- Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
- Kenny Wooten (Oregon)
- Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra)
Here are the 40 G League players set to participate in the G League Elite Camp:
- Josh Adams (Raptors 905)
- Jaylen Barford (Greensboro Swarm)
- Amida Brimah (Austin Spurs)
- Jared Brownridge (Delaware Blue Coats)
- Antonius Cleveland (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Charles Cooke (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Cody Demps (Stockton Kings)
- Aaron Epps (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue)
- John Gillon (Greensboro Swarm)
- Kaiser Gates (Windy City Bulls)
- Isaac Haas (Salt Lake City Stars)
- Johnny Hamilton (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Dusty Hannahs (Memphis Hustle)
- Zak Irvin (Westchester Knicks)
- Peter Jok (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Matt Jones (Stockton Kings)
- Marcus Lee (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Zach Lofton (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Tahjere McCall (Long Island Nets)
- Brandon McCoy (Wisconsin Herd)
- MiKyle McIntosh (Raptors 905)
- Jordan McLaughlin (Long Island Nets)
- Jaylen Morris (Erie BayHawks)
- Mychal Mulder (Windy City Bulls)
- Malik Newman (Canton Charge)
- Retin Obasohan (Northern Arizona Suns)
- Chinanu Onuaku (Greensboro Swarm)
- Norvel Pelle (Delaware Blue Coats)
- Darel Poirier (Capital City Go-Go)
- Billy Preston (Texas Legends)
- Desi Rodriguez (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario)
- Kenneth Smith (Grand Rapids Drive)
- Richard Solomon (Oklahoma City Blue)
- Emanuel Terry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Juan Toscano-Anderson (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Dakarai Tucker (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
- Andrew White III (Maine Red Claws)
- Thomas Wimbush (Long Island Nets)
- Todd Withers (Grand Rapids Drive)
And-Ones: Summer League, Stretch Candidates, Sloukas
The NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League now features all 30 of the league’s teams and is the epicenter of NBA activity in July, but it’s not the only Summer League that remains active.
According to a press release, the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Cavaliers will join the Jazz for the 2019 Salt Lake City Summer League, which is scheduled to take place in Utah from July 1-3. Each of the four participating teams will play the other teams once, for a total of three games, before moving onto Vegas.
While Utah’s Summer League generally flies under the radar, it will represent an opportunity for young players and recent draftees on those four teams to get a head start on their professional careers. If the Cavaliers luck out in the lottery, we could even see a top prospect like Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, or R.J. Barrett make his debut that week in Salt Lake City.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Which players around the league are the best candidates to be waived and stretched this offseason? Danny Leroux of The Athletic identifies several of them, including players with small partial guarantees – such as George Hill and Avery Bradley – and vets with overpriced contracts, like Tyler Johnson and Bismack Biyombo.
- Jeremy Woo of SI.com takes a closer look at the stability of the eight remaining playoff teams, exploring which of those clubs could be in for major changes this summer once they’re eliminated from the postseason.
- Greek guard Kostas Sloukas is said to be drawing interest from a pair of NBA teams, tweets journalist George Zakkas (hat tip to Sportando). Sloukas, who went undrafted back in 2012, has had an impressive career with Olympiacos and now Fenerbahce — the 29-year-old has three EuroLeague championships and three Turkish League titles under his belt.
- The NBA recently issued a press release announcing that its 2019 Global Camp will take place in Monaco from May 30 to June 2. The event is a pre-draft showcase focusing on the top draft-eligible prospects from outside America.
Pistons Notes: Curry, Free Agency, Drummond
The Pistons have Seth Curry on their list of potential free agent targets for this offseason, league sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. It’s already the second time this month that we’ve heard Curry linked to Detroit — Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press wrote last week that Stephen Curry‘s brother would likely be of interest to the Pistons.
The younger Curry, of course, won’t cost as much as his two-time-MVP brother, but he still could eat up a good chunk of the Pistons’ available resources this summer if the team goes in that direction, writes Edwards. Having spoken with an NBA agent, Edwards believes Curry will command an annual salary in the $5-8MM range, and it’s possible the Pistons would have a tough time signing him at the lower end of that estimate.
“Especially if his agent is seeing the (Langston) Galloway deal on the books … ‘You’re trying to tell me Seth is worth $2MM per year less?'” an agent told Edwards. “It would be hard for me to see the Pistons be able to get him for $5MM per year.”
Detroit will be over the cap and will only have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available, which are projected to be worth approximately $9.25MM and $3.62MM, respectively. In other words, if the Pistons seriously pursue Curry, he’d likely end up being their primary free agent addition for 2019.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- Having traded away Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson during the season, the Pistons will be in the market for a wing or two this offseason, especially if the team turns down Glenn Robinson‘s team option. Rod Beard of The Detroit News explores some potential targets on the free agent market for the club.
- After a fairly quiet first offseason with the Pistons in 2018, de facto head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski will have more tools at his disposal in 2019, including the team’s first-round pick, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. While Detroit won’t be contenders for top free agents, the franchise won’t be relegated to the bargain bin either, Langlois contends.
- Virtually every player on the Pistons’ roster had nothing but praise for the job head coach Dwane Casey did in his first year with the franchise, but Casey’s impact on Andre Drummond may have been his most notable achievement, Ellis writes for The Detroit Free Press. “He’s given me a confidence that I haven’t had in a very long time,” Drummond said. “He’s given me so many different tools to use, parts of my game that I haven’t got to use in so many years. He’s given me the chance to use it and it’s only going to grow from here. It’s been a pleasure playing for him.”
Raptors Making Progress In Kawhi Sweepstakes?
The Raptors have made “pretty good progress”in their efforts to retain Kawhi Leonard, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said on his podcast. (Hat tip to RealGM)
While the Clippers have long been considered the frontrunners when Leonard hits free agency this summer, the Raptors’ gamble by trading for Leonard last offseason might pay long-term dividends. Toronto’s success in the playoffs thus far and the bonds Leonard has formed with the team has improved the Raptors’ chances of re-signing Leonard.
“They put themselves in it,” Wojnarowski said. “And when Kawhi showed up there, I’m not sure he imagined any future in Toronto. I do think it’s a serious consideration now.”
The season-long courtship has been facilitated by the emergence of young forward Pascal Siakam and Leonard’s good relationship with point guard Kyle Lowry. However, the Raptors’ main selling point is their ability to win with the group they have. The Raptors tied their conference semifinal series with Philadelphia 2-2 behind Leonard’s 39-point eruption on Sunday.
“Toronto is selling winning on him,” Wojnarowski said. “They can’t sell geography to him, I don’t think. I don’t think they can’t sell weather on him. There’s nothing they can do about that. When you have that kind of organization, you sell winning and again, the chance to make the most money.”
Leonard gave up an opportunity for a super max deal in the vicinity of $219MM when he asked out of San Antonio and was granted his wish. He can sign a five-year deal with Toronto for approximately $189MM or head elsewhere on a four-year, $141MM contract.