And-Ones: Age Limit, Marbury, Boone
Lou Williams, who came into the league out of high school, isn’t a fan of the NBA’s one-and-done rule, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “It’s a dumb rule,” Williams said. He added that he wants everyone to be in control of their own path.
“Personally, I understand the NBA and government and all of these things are extremely different,” Williams said. “You can go to war at 18, so you should be able to make a living at 18, especially if college isn’t what you see for yourself. You’re not realistically going there to be a “student-athlete” and wake up at six in the morning and lift weights and then have your day full with study hall and all these things. If you’re really not committed to that process and you’re only there for basketball, then I think that hurts the university as well.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The NBA age limit isn’t changing anytime soon, Tom Ziller of SB Nation argues. Ziller doesn’t believe the proposed zero-or-two rule would require the league to devote more time scouting the high school ranks, something it aimed to move away from when it established the age minimum. The scribe also believes that the D-League is ready to become a serious alternative to playing in the NCAA.
- Stephon Marbury said his time with the Knicks was the “toughest” stretch of his career, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com passes along. “So much turmoil was going on,” Marbury said. Marbury clashed with teammates and coaches during his five years with the team. He agreed to a buyout with New York back in 2009.
- Melbourne United, a team in Australia’s National Basketball League, has signed Josh Boone, Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports reports. Boone last played in the NBA for the Nets during the 2009/10 season.
Pacific Notes: Tucker, Lawson, D’Antoni
The Suns want to become a team with a strong defensive mentality and they feel they have their best unit with P.J. Tucker in the line-up, Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic writes.
“If you go through the NBA and you were to ask every player about P.J. Tucker, I guarantee you everyone would say he’s one of the top defenders in the league,” coach Earl Watson said. “Players have this unwritten and unspoken respect that we have for each other, and you know who can really play and who can’t. P.J.’s been magnificent for us. He plays with his heart.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Ty Lawson is adjusting to his role off the bench for the Kings and coach Dave Joerger believes the point guard can give the team more than a typical reserve can, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “Generally, backups will play 16 to 18 minutes,” Joerger said. “I think he’s way better than that … I want him to know I have the faith in him to play him longer minutes.” Lawson signed with Sacramento on a one-year deal during the offseason.
- Lawson said he was “overthinking” earlier in the season, which led to him struggling, but the 29-year-old is starting to find his game again, Jones adds in the same piece. His teammates admire his aggressiveness in attacking the paint. “He’s the smallest guy on the floor with the biggest heart,” Cousins said. “To get down there and battle with the trees, he does it all.”
- Mike D’Antoni speaks highly of the city of Phoenix and of his time with the Suns, as Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle relays. “Yeah, it’s special, there’s no doubt,” D’Antoni said. “It was special to live here, and the people and the fans. It was a good time.”
NBA To Offer Medical Benefits To Retired Players
The NBA will be the first professional sports league to offer medical benefits to its retired players, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com reports. The benefits will be part of a comprehensive and enhanced retirement package for former players. Youngmisuk adds that both the owners and the NBPA were unanimous on the decision to take care of retired players.
After the passing of Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone, commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts agreed that something had to be done in regards to helping retired players maintain their good health.
“[Malone’s and Dawkins’ deaths] sent shock waves through the whole basketball universe,” said Dwight Davis, the vice chairman for the National Basketball Retired Players Association. “Some of the deaths of retired players could have been avoidable because guys didn’t have insurance and weren’t doing yearly checkups.”
Davis added that the new health insurance plan will provide much needed financial relief to many retired players. “Some of my younger counterparts are guys in their 40s, some of those guys are paying $30,000 a year for health insurance for themselves and families because of preexisting injuries. The abuse our bodies take, it is hard to get affordable insurance as a retired player,” Davis continued.
Michael Jordan was a key advocate of providing benefits to retired players, as were current stars, such as Chris Paul, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
“I’ve said it a number of times: the biggest thing is the health insurance that we got for some of our former players and stuff like that,” said Paul, who is the president of the players’ union’s executive committee. “No question. That was a huge priority. Well, I mean, it was a huge priority to keep the game going, first and foremost, for the fans. But at some point, one time or another, everybody out here is going to be a former player. You know what I mean? I think that shows how connected we are as a body of NBA players.”
The NBA and the players’ union will jointly fund a new health insurance plan, an education/career development program and the increases in pension benefits for retired players. The pensions for former players will increase by as much as $300 per month and players with at least 10 years of service will be eligible to receive health care coverage for themselves as well as their family, Youngmisuk adds. Retired players will also be eligible for tuition reimbursement and career transition programs.
“You have to look at the different decades, and you look at guys who are in their 40s, guys who have been away from the league for 10-15 years,” Davis said. “They were not making an average of $5 million a year like some of the guys now, and if you have a significant medial issue, a heart problem or organ problem, like the average American, you can become bankrupt.”
Prior to this new package, retired players received a pension from the league, but did not receive health insurance. The new CBA provides this benefit for retired players, but also includes includes other changes to the NBA landscape. Check out our CBA news archive for the latest updates on the new labor deal.
Rockets Notes: CBA, Harden, Capela
The CBA will give the Rockets the ability to sign James Harden to a super-max contract extension next summer due to a provision that allow the shooting guard to sign an extension in back-to-back offseasons. Houston’s front office/ownership initially proposed the rule and then pushed for it during negotiations, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The team obviously wants to keep Harden in town long-term with an unanimous team executive telling Feigen that if the the Rockets could, they “would give [Harden] a 100-year extension.”
Here’s more from Houston:
- The Rockets informal policy is to only discuss contracts extensions with a player once the deadline to do so approaches, though Harden may be the exception to that thinking, Feigen writes in the same piece. Harden could opt to become a free agent
- Harden is thrilled with Houston and the ability to sign an even longer deal with the team, as Feigen relays in the same piece. “I love being here,” Harden said. “We’re going to win a lot. I’m excited to be here. That’s one of the reasons I extended this summer. Obviously, this year’s been great. I’ve been happy, probably the happiest I’ve been since I’ve been in a Rockets uniform. Everybody else is happy.”
- The Rockets are having issues rebounding without Clint Capela in the line-up, Feigen writes in a separate piece. “We miss Clint. There’s no doubt,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. In this week’s edition of Fantasy Hoops, I examined which players are poised to take on a bigger role with Capela missing time.
Players Ratify New CBA
The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement is now official after the players voted to approve it, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Earlier in the week, the NBA Owners unanimously voted to approve the agreement, which left the players’ vote as the last step needed in order to ratify the new deal.
The votes from both sides were always considered a formality since the parties agreed to the term sheet earlier in the month. The new agreement will become effective on July 1, 2017.
For details on the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, including changes to rules surrounding trades, contract extensions, free agency, and more, be sure to check out our CBA news archive, where we’ve been rounding up new updates as they’re reported.
Knicks Notes: Vogel, Rose, Anthony
Frank Vogel had interest in the Knicks‘ coaching vacancy during the offseason, though he’s happy with his current role as the coach of the Magic, John Denton of NBA.com passes along. Vogel said that it was an honor to be interviewed by the Knicks and added that Madison Square Garden has a special feel to it. “It is the mecca and the most famous arena in the world, and I take pride of being here on this stage,’’ Vogel said before Thursday game against New York
Here’s more from the Big Apple:
- Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick Rose are started to mesh nicely and the Knicks appear ready to make the playoffs this season, Fred Kerber of the New York Post writes. However, the team isn’t looking that far ahead, taking it one game at a time instead. “We’re getting there. We’re getting there. We don’t know how good we can become,” Rose said. “The goal is the playoffs. Once we get in the playoffs, we’re going to be a hell of a team to go against, like you don’t know what to expect from us in the playoffs. I think we’re going to be a dangerous team in the playoffs, but the first thing is to get there.”
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News wonders how far the Knicks‘ big three can take them. Offensively, the trio is as good as any in the Eastern Conference outside of Cleveland, but Bondy notes that it seems as if Porzingis and Anthony are taking turns scoring rather than playing in a free-flowing offense.
- Anthony took the high road when responding to George Karl‘s criticism by letting his former teammates speak for him, Kerber writes in a separate piece. “It’s different when you go to bat for yourself, and it’s you against somebody else’s word,” Anthony said. “It’s a big difference when you have guys who were actually in it there and have their own experiences that can speak on it from their own standpoint.”
- In his book, George Karl questioned Anthony’s leadership ability, but coach Jeff Hornacek sees no issue with the small forward, Kerber writes in the same piece. “Carmelo for us has been great. … All I can go by is what I’ve seen out of Carmelo here,” Hornacek said. “He’s been a great leader.”
Goran Dragic Open To Being Traded?
DECEMBER 23, 1:58pm: Asked about the report that he’s open to being moved, Dragic told reporters that it didn’t come from him, and that it’s not true (video link).
DECEMBER 22, 4:00pm: Rival teams have called the Heat about Goran Dragic‘s availability and found that Miami is open to dealing the point guard, sources tell Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Mannix adds that Dragic is also open to being moved. Minnesota is a team to keep an eye on regarding a potential Dragic trade, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com speculates in his latest podcast.
Two seasons ago, the Heat acquired Dragic believing that he was the missing piece needed in order to compete with the Cavs for the Eastern Conference crown. Since then, the team lost Chris Bosh because of his health issues and it lost Dwyane Wade to the Bulls in free agency, which left Dragic to lead a roster of young, unproven players. Mannix argues that if the Heat are going to rebuild around their young core, the team would be better off trading the point guard.
Earlier in the week, Pat Riley said that any rebuild would happen quickly. “We’ve [rebuilt] twice, first with the addition of Shaq back in 2005, then again in 2008,” Riley said. “And we’re in it again. In this league, you need flexibility. And we have that, so we’re able to make a move quickly. We’ve rebuilt before and we’re going to do it again quickly.”
The Heat, owning a record of 9-20, are in the midst of a disappointing campaign, though Dragic has been a bright spot for them. He’s averaging 19.1 points and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 41.6% from behind the arc. He owns a player efficiency rating of 18.2, which is well above the league average of 15.0.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/22/16
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
10:55pm:
- The Nets recalled forward Chris McCullough from the Long Island Nets, the team tweets. McCullough was assigned to the D-League Nets on December 9 and started the team’s last five games. He had 20 points and eight rebounds in 35 minutes against the Grand Rapids Drive on Thursday.
3:50pm:
- The Spurs have recalled Dejounte Murray and Bryn Forbes from their D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. Tom Orsborn of Spurs Nation relays. Both players will be available for tonight’s game against the Clippers.
- The Jazz have assigned Joel Bolomboy to the Salt Lake City Stars, the their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. This will be Bolomboy’s sixth assignment of the season.
- The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet to their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
Sixers Notes: Brown, Noel, Okafor
Earlier in the week, Joel Embiid lobbied for the team to pair him with Nerlens Noel on the court, arguing that the Sixers need to try all options when it comes to playing time. Coach Brett Brown told reporters that he agrees with Embiid, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer passes along (video link on Twitter). “We have these three bigs. We need to experiment. We need to try different things.” Brown said “It’s on Nerlens to get himself back in shape and learn what we’re actually running. It’ll be on [the three centers] to find ways to coexist and me to manage it.” Brown added that he looks forward to seeing the Noel-Embiid pairing among other combinations.
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
[RELATED: Trade Candidate: Nerlens Noel]
- The coach added that the Sixers are going through “one of the most challenging times” since he’s joined the organization, Pompey relays in a separate tweet.
- The Sixers‘ easiest path to clearing up their frontcourt logjam is to trade Noel, but the team shouldn’t make a move just for the sake of opening up minutes for its other big men, Ben Detrick of The Ringer contends. If Philadelphia does deal Noel, Detrick believes Minnesota would be the best fit. The Wolves could put together a package that includes either Ricky Rubio or Tyus Jones along with a protected first-round pick in exchange for the 2013 No. 6 overall pick.
- The Sixers should have traded Jahlil Okafor at the last year’s deadline, Detrick opines in the same piece. The scribe argues that the center’s trade value is hard to gauge now, but he believes the 21-year-old can still be a foundation piece for another team.
- The Ersan Ilyasova-Embiid pairing is the team’s best option, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer contends. Ilyasova is a good 3-point shooter for his position and his presence on the floor opens up the paint for Embiid. The power forward is a free agent at the end of the season, though the Sixers will have plenty of cap space to re-sign him if they choose to do so.
Lowe’s Latest: Lakers, Cousins, Ingram
The Lakers have the pieces to trade for a superstar, but the team isn’t rushing to make any moves, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. “If you grow from within, you control your own destiny,” coach Luke Walton said. “That’s the game plan. We want to see what this group can do. We don’t want to rely on anything else — on free agency, or trades.”
Lowe passes along more in his latest piece. Here are the highlights:
- DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t appear to be available in trade talks because the Kings are in contention for a playoff spot, Lowe relays in the same piece. Sacramento is just one game behind Portland in the win column for the eight seed in the Western Conference
- Rival executives are split on the value of the Lakers‘ young core, according to Lowe. Some would trade D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram for Cousins without hesitation, while others consider such a deal to be outlandish.
- If the Lakers could steal Cousins for a package of Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and a future first-rounder, they should pull the trigger, Lowe opines. Though he adds that should the Kings deal the big man, it will likely be for a better package.
- Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour wasted a year of player development and the Lakers can’t properly gauge the team’s young talent because of it, Lowe contends. Rather than playing and learning in a balanced offense, the team watched Bryant run an inefficient offense. “It was definitely a strange year,” Larry Nance said. “Playing with Kobe was awesome. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But it was a weird season.”
- Ingram will take time to develop, but he’s already comfortable making plays for the Lakers and the team maintains high hopes for the 2016 No.2 overall pick, Lowe adds. “You can’t teach [his] feel,” Walton said. “We feel very confidently about the player he is going to become.”