Pacific Notes: Lakers, Ulis, Durant
Zach Auguste faces stiff competition to make the Lakers‘ roster, but the team is impressed the forward thus far in camp, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “Zach is relentless on the offensive glass,” Walton said. Auguste’s contract is only partially guaranteed for $60K and Walton admitted that players’ contracts are considered when determining playing time in camp. “We’re going to continue to give the guys who are under [fully guaranteed] contracts the first and second looks, so the reps aren’t always as high [for the non-guaranteed players],” Walton added.
- The Suns believe Tyler Ulis can be part of the team’s long-term plans and they plan to bring him along slowly, Tyler Emerick of NBA.com writes. Ulis may not see many minutes this season because of the team’s backcourt depth, but coach Earl Watson has a plan for the Kentucky product. “He has to be close to our coaches – in the next seat over,” Watson said. “He has to read the play calls of the other team. He has to call them back on the bench and learn the other team’s offense. So when he gets the opportunity, he’s well-prepared mentally.”
- The Lakers have hired Lorena Martin as their Director of Sports Analytics, according to the team’s website. Los Angeles also added Jennifer Swanson as their Head Physical Therapist, Stacey Robinson as their Massage Therapist and Sean Light as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach.
- Kevin Durant is enjoying his adjustment to the Warriors‘ culture, Anthony Slater of the Bay Area News Group passes along. “I’m used to going into practice and having it a certain way,” Durant said. “These guys around here are super loose. But disciplined at the same time. It’s just a fun brand. They make basketball just even more fun than it was.”
Cavs Notes: James, Point Guards, Thompson
Dwyane Wade doesn’t believe it’s possible for LeBron James to surpass Michael Jordan’s legacy, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com passes along. “The only thing you can do is tie it,” Wade said. “You can’t go past it. How can you? That’s as great as it gets, man. The only thing you can do, like I said, is be A-1, A-B. There’s no way higher.” Wade added that he and James have never discussed the legacy comparison.
Here’s more from Cleveland:
- The Cavs needs to improve their backup point guard position in order to give themselves a better shot at repeating as champs, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com opines. Kay Felder and DeAndre Liggins are currently backing up Kyrie Irving.
- With the Cavs in need of point guard depth, Norris Cole could be an option, Joe Vardon of Northeast Ohio Media Group speculates. The Cavs like Felder, but they are hesitant to give the rookie a major role too soon, which could open up the door for Cole. Vardon also names Mario Chalmers as a possibility.
- Tristan Thompson will miss the next two preseason games because of a sore left foot, freelance journalist Chris Haynes reports. Thompson has played in 370 straight regular season games, which currently leads the league.
Wizards Expected To Waive Daniel Ochefu
The Wizards will soon waive Daniel Ochefu, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). Washington signed the forward to partially guaranteed, three year minimum salary deal over the summer.
The franchise entered the day with 18 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Washington bolstered their bench through free agency, adding Ian Mahinmi and Jason Smith in the frontcourt, so the 22-year-old was never expected to make the team.
Ochefu averaged 10.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game for Villanova. He was a major contributor in the Wildcats’ championship run.
Zach Randolph Transitioning To Bench Role
JaMychal Green will start at the power forward position for the Grizzlies, nudging Zach Randolph to the bench, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter links). Green’s placement into the starting lineup almost surely indicates he will make the team. His contract is only partially guaranteed for $200K this season, but his whole salary worth roughly $980K will become guaranteed on January 1, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Randolph has been a regular starter for Memphis since coming to the team in 2009. The 35-year-old understands the change and is putting the team first, as Tillery passes along (Twitter links). “I’m fine with it. You know how I am. Whatever is best for the team,” Randolph said.
New Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale reportedly told Z-Bo that he’s not going to be paid to be a starter anymore, Tillery relays (Twitter link). “Let’s audition you for what you can be for the rest of your career,” Fizdale said. The power forward will make roughly $10.36MM in the last year of his deal before becoming eligible for free agency next summer. That figure is currently fourth on the team.
Randolph had a nice season last year, but the move is more about the evolving NBA than it is with the level of his play. Having two traditional big men on the floor for long stretches isn’t a recipe for success anymore.
The move is also about the Grizzlies trying to manufacture some offense out of their thin bench unit. Without plucking Randolph from the starting lineup, Memphis’ second unit could have been the worst of any team in the league with serious playoff aspirations. Rookie Wade Baldwin may not be ready to play meaningful minutes. New addition Troy Daniels should be solid, but can he be the team’s sixth man? Can a 39-year-old Vince Carter still make plays? How consistent will James Ennis be on a night-to-night basis? The team surely hopes a few contributors emerge in its second unit, but it doesn’t look all that dangerous on paper.
Moving Randolph to the second unit ensures the team will have a least one player on the court who can create some offense once the starters hit the pine. Randolph is willing to do whatever is takes to win. He’s a fan favorite in Memphis and part of the reason is his dedication to the team. “If Coach [Fizdale] wants me to play 10 minutes, I’ll come in and play the hardest 10 minutes,” Randolph said.
Brandon Jennings Plans On Staying With Knicks
Brandon Jennings has only played one preseason game with New York, yet the point guard feels the team is a great fit long-term. “I plan on staying,” Jennings said on his Twitter feed. “[There’s] nothing like being a Knick, I feel the energy already!” (note: Jennings has since deleted the tweet).
The 27-year-old signed a one year, $5MM deal with the Knicks during a busy offseason for the franchise. New York’s plan was to have an experience point guard lead the second unit and be able to step into the starting lineup in the event that Derrick Rose would suffer another injury. Rose is currently healthy, but he’ll be absent from the team to defend himself in his civil trail, so Jennings may get an opportunity to play with the starters this preseason. Jennings, like Rose, will be a free agent next summer and if Jennings plays well this season, he could land himself a salary that’s in line with other starting point guards at the end of the year.
Jennings was drafted by the Bucks with No. 10 overall pick in the 2009 draft. After his rookie campaign, it appeared he was on his way to stardom and there was a case to be made that he was the best guard in his rookie class, one that included Stephen Curry, James Harden and Tyreke Evans. However, his next six seasons didn’t look as promising and when Jennings became an unrestricted free agent over the summer for the first time in his career, there weren’t many suitors lining up for his services.
Jennings was recovering from a torn Achilles injury last season, but he appears to be fully healthy entering this season. He scored seven points and dished out four assists in Tuesday’s preseason game.
Gary Harris Likely To Miss Start Of Season
Gary Harris suffered a partially torn groin muscle and is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). The injury occurred on Monday night during the Nuggets’ first preseason game.
Denver has several options to replace Harris’ production in the starting lineup. Will Barton unexpectedly excelled last season off the bench and coach Mike Malone could insert him into the starting lineup to begin the year. While Barton is certainly qualified to be the team’s starting shooting guard, I’ll speculate that 2016 No. 7 overall pick Jamal Murray gets the nod. Malik Beasley is an excellent shooter and lurks as a candidate to see increased minutes should Harris’ injury linger.
The Bulls selected Harris with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2014 draft and subsequently dealt him to the Nuggets in the Doug McDermott draft night trade. He averaged 8.5 points in 24.1 minutes per game over the last two seasons.
Bucks Waive Jabari Brown
The Bucks have waived shooting guard Jabari Brown, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Brown signed with the team roughly two weeks ago.
If Brown opts to rejoin the D-League, he will play for he Los Angeles D-Fenders since the Lakers’ affiliate owns his rights, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor notes (Twitter link). The 23-year-old played 41 games with D-Fenders over the last two seasons.
The team entered the day with 19 players under contract, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates. Brown had an opportunity for playing time in Milwaukee, as someone needed to fill Khris Middleton‘s void. Instead, it’s likely that new additions Matthew Dellavedova and Jason Terry will see increased usage.
Wolves Notes: Thibodeau, Muhammad, Rubio
Wolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to make too many personnel moves during his first offseason with the team, instead, he wanted a chance to evaluate Minnesota’s talent during the preseason to determine which pieces of the core were going to be in his plans moving forward, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays. “I liked the core of the team. I want to get to know them better,” Thibs said. “I’m going to focus on the players we have. That gives me a better idea of what our needs are. It’s like building a house. We’re still working on the foundation.”
Here’s more from Minnesota:
- Thibodeau named Peter Patton the team’s shooting coach in part because he was highly recommended by Chip Engelland, the legendary shooting coach of the Spurs, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune passes along. “He’s had an opportunity to work with a number of our players already. I like his background. I like that he’s worked with Chip before and that’s important to us,” Thibodeau.
- Shabazz Muhammad spent his summer working defense and he believes the arrival of Thibodeau will help me become a more complete player, Youngblood writes in a seperate piece. “It’s crazy,” Muhammad said. “I already feel like I’ve gotten way smarter on defense with just the things Coach has been explaining to us. Just attention to detail, his defensive scheme. This is my fourth year and I’m getting the terms down.” The UCLA product is currently eligible for an extension.
- There have been Ricky Rubio trade rumors all offseason and Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com believes it’s the right time for the Wolves to sell the 25-year-old. Doolittle argues that the team should trade Rubio for some shooting on the wing if rookie Kris Dunn is ready to start at the point.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Philadelphia 76ers.
Free agent signings:
- Jerryd Bayless: Three years, $27MM.
- Gerald Henderson: Two years, $18MM. Second year non-guaranteed.
- Sergio Rodriguez: One year, $8MM.
- Elton Brand: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed for $1MM.
Draft-and-stash signings:
- Dario Saric: Four years, rookie contract.
Camp invitees:
- Cat Barber: Two years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed)
- Shawn Long: Two years, minimum salary ($65K guaranteed)
- Brandon Paul: Two years, minimum salary ($155K guaranteed)
- James Webb III: Two years, minimum salary (no guarantee)
Trades:
- Acquired Sasha Kaun and cash from the Cavaliers in exchange for the draft rights to Chu Chu Maduabum. Subsequently waived Kaun.
- Acquired Tibor Pleiss, cash, and two 2017 second-round picks (best and worst of Jazz, Knicks, Pistons, and Warriors picks) from the Jazz in exchange for Kendall Marshall. Subsequently waived Pleiss.
Draft picks:
- 1-1: Ben Simmons. Signed to rookie contract.
- 1-24: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Signed to rookie contract.
- 1-26: Furkan Korkmaz. Will play overseas.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Nerlens Noel eligible for contract extension until October 31. Noel also called Sixers’ logjam at center “silly,” expressing surprise that no one has been traded.
- Joel Embiid declared himself healthy.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Philadelphia 76ers right here.
The 2016 offseason brought optimism to the city of Philadelphia. The Sixers won the NBA lottery and landed the franchise player they had been patiently waiting for. Now, after a three-year tanking spree in which the team won just 47 games, it will take a step forward in its quest to move up the standings and become a true title contender.
The Sixers will go as far as Ben Simmons will take them and he has the potential to achieve great things with this team. Simmons had an excellent Summer League and was the favorite to win the rookie of the year award before he fractured a bone in his right foot last week.
The city is numb to terrible basketball news, with Simmons’ injury representing the latest instance of a top draft pick being unable to take the court to begin his first NBA season. Nerlens Noel missed his rookie campaign because of a knee injury and Joel Embiid missed his first two seasons with a foot injury. “There is nobody, sadly, that’s had more experience dealing with injured draft picks than we have.” coach Brett Brown said to Comcast Sportsnet. “Over the course of time, you learn how to best deal with it. I have seen this every year I’ve been here.”
Simmons will likely undergo surgery and he is expected to miss three months of action following the procedure. Still, the team remains optimistic, as there is chatter about how Simmons’ extended absence will allow him to sit in a chair and re-make his jumpshot (hat tip to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly).
The loss of Simmons will open up playing time for Dario Saric, as well as allow Joel Embiid to get more run at the power forward position. Embiid declared himself healthy toward the end of the summer and he has looked explosive in many of the videos of him working out, which he released on his Twitter feed. Like Simmons, Embiid has the potential to be the team’s franchise player. He could become one of the league’s best bigs or he could continue to struggle to stay on the court — no outcome would be particularly surprising for the Cameroon native.
Over the long term, Embiid should play center. However, he’ll likely spend much of his rookie campaign playing the four so the team can evaluate how he meshes as a frontcourt partner with either Jahlil Okafor or Noel. The team already knows the Noel-Okafor pairing doesn’t work. It was disastrous last season, as Philadelphia was outscored by 18.7 points per 100 possessions when the duo shared the floor together. That figure was the worst in the league for any pair of teammates that didn’t include Roy Hibbert (the Hibbert-Kobe Bryant combination was the worst in the league, followed by the Hibbert-Julius Randle combo).
There was speculation all summer suggesting Philadelphia would move one of its centers in a deal, but nothing materialized, which leaves a logjam at the center position. In the days leading up to training camp, Noel called the logjam “silly” and added that he doesn’t see “any way of it working.” While Noel didn’t demand a trade, I’ll speculate that he’s the player the Sixers will ship out, should they make a deal. With all three centers on their rookie deals, Philadelphia doesn’t necessarily have to make a trade right now, though Noel is currently eligible for an extension. President of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo insisted that the team isn’t in a rush to make any moves and it’s likely the the health of Embiid will dictate if and when a deal is made.
The atmosphere surrounding the team will be a little different this year after Colangelo added several veterans, something that pleases coach Brown. New addition Sergio Rodriguez, who has 10 years of professional basketball experience, has impressed the head coach thus far in camp. “He just has a real gift for understanding especially offensive tempo,” Brown said. Rodriguez will compete with new addition Jerryd Bayless for the team’s starting point guard position, but both players will see plenty of minutes and how they run the offense will be paramount to the development of the team’s young frontcourt.
The addition of a few veterans helps ensure that Brown will have a full rotation of NBA-caliber players at his disposal, something that the franchise hasn’t had for a few seasons. While those acquisitions are nice, they won’t help the team drastically improve in the win column. Philadelphia could have gambled on young talent with much more upside in free agency — Harrison Barnes was a feasible option, as I discussed in the team’s Offseason Outlook. Instead, Colangelo resisted throwing huge sums of money at non-stars, resulting in a conservative summer overall for the new administration.
The 2015/16 Sixers lost 39 games by 10 points or more and only managed to win a total of 10 games. The Colangelo administration responded to the historic campaign with an impressive, meticulous offseason that started with the drafting of Simmons. This season, Philly will likely be on the losing end of blowouts less often, and the club should be able to bring home somewhere between 20 and 30 wins. It may be a modest step forward, but the team looks to have a bright future, with a more defined direction than in previous years.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Will James Young Remain With The Celtics?
The Celtics face some tough decisions in filling out the back-end of their roster and former first round pick James Young could potentially be the odd man out, A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet writes. “We’ve got some tough decisions at the end of the month,” team president Danny Ainge said. “We have about five guys fighting for two spots.”
Young hasn’t impressed in limited minutes with Boston over the last couple seasons. In 60 career games, he’s averaging 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in just 8.9 minutes per contest. Blakely notes that he looks solid thus far in camp, showcasing his skills as a play-maker within coach Brad Stevens’ system.
As the No.17 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Young carries a guaranteed salary of roughly $1.8MM for the 2016/17 season and he’ll make slightly more than $2.8MM if the team picks up his option for the 2017/18 season. In many situations, players on the roster bubble with guaranteed deals have an advantage when it comes to making the team, but that isn’t the case in Boston. The Celtics brought 20 players to camp, as the team’s depth chart at Roster Resource indicates, and 16 of those players have guaranteed contracts. Even if the team keeps Young, it will still have to waive a player with a guaranteed deal to get to a 15-man opening night roster.
Young is aware his spot on the Celtics isn’t secure, but he remains focused on improving his game during training camp. “I haven’t been thinking much about it,” Young said. “I know the system very well. It’s just about playing basketball. That’s the main thing; just try to contribute.”
Let us know your thoughts on James Young and his chances to make the team in the comment sections below. We look forward to what you have to say!