Pistons Shopping Jodie Meeks
The Pistons are continuing to shop Jodie Meeks in an attempt to find him a new team, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Keith Langlois of NBA.com reported last month that odds were 50-50 whether the team was going to keep the shooting guard on the roster.
Adding Meeks was one of Stan Van Gundy’s first moves as the team’s president of basketball operations during the 2014 offseason, but the signing just hasn’t worked out. The Kentucky product has missed 101 regular season games due to various injuries since coming to Detroit.
In the 63 games that Meeks was able to play, he averaged 10.9 points and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 35.3% from downtown. Meeks’ availability on the trade market is likely due to a combination of his lack of durability, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s emergence as a legitimate two-way player, and Van Gundy’s propensity to play shorter rotations. The 28-year-old has one season and $6.54MM left on his contract.
Sixers, Shawn Long Agree To Deal
The Sixers have come to an agreement with Shawn Long, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The deal is partially guaranteed and will cover two seasons, Pompey adds.
Long impressed the team during a workout last month. “I call him a stretch five, stretch four,” said VP of player personnel Marc Eversley after the May 16th workout. “He has the ability to go out make a shot.The other thing that he does well is that he can take you off the dribble. He utilizes a pump fake well.”
Long is an athletic center, who spent four seasons at Louisiana Lafayette. The big man tested out his jumpshot while in college, taking 2.4 shots from behind the arc per game and making 34.1% of them. He averaged 18.8 points and 12.2 rebounds last season and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranked him as the 29th best senior in his class.
Philadelphia was shopping both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor leading up to Thursday’s draft, but didn’t come away with a deal for either of them. Long will have a better chance at making the regular season roster should the Sixers ship out one of their centers.
Offseason Outlook: New Orleans Pelicans
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
State Of The Franchise
The Pelicans were decimated by injuries this past season. Eric Gordon was sidelined for 37 games. Anthony Davis missed 21 games, while Tyreke Evans sat out 57. Jrue Holiday missed 17 and was limited in more than half of the contests he did play. The result was a 30-win campaign that exposed the team’s lack of depth.
The team was in that position due to the moves it made in previous offseasons. New Orleans doubled down on the center position last summer, handing out a four-year, $20MM deal to Alexis Ajinca and five-year, slightly less than $53MM deal to Omar Asik. Asik’s contract is one of the worst in the league, though the rising cap should help mitigate having it on the books. Even so, for a team that employs Davis and has plenty of other needs, spending so heavily on the center position was a foolish decision.
Ever since the Pelicans drafted Davis, they’ve been determined to speed up the timeline of putting together a winning team around their No.1 overall pick. They traded two first-round picks for Holiday and dealt another for Asik during Dell Demps’ time as GM. The franchise would have been in better position had it had kept those selections. Nerlens Noel, Elfrid Payton and Sam Dekker were the players selected with those picks. The Pelicans likely would not have made the playoffs last season with those youngsters, and there’s no guarantee that they would have picked all three of those players had they kept the selections. In fact, they likely would been in worse position in the standings over the past several years had they not made the trades, which would have led them to receiving better picks in each of the 2014 and 2015 drafts. Having three developing players on rookie contracts in place of Holiday and Asik would have improved their cap situation going forward as well as given them a chance of injecting themselves into trade talks for potentially available All-Stars such as Jimmy Butler or Jeff Teague.
As it stands, the Pelicans have a core with a limited ceiling. Davis may very well win the MVP award one day and carry his team deep into the playoffs. Beyond him, there arguably isn’t an All-Star caliber player on the roster. Thursday’s draft likely represents the team’s best shot at acquiring a long-term running mate for Davis.
Draft Outlook
- First-round picks: 6th
- Second-round picks: 39th, 4oth
Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray could be targets at No. 6. Either player would fit nicely next to Holiday in the backcourt, though Murray could potentially replace Holiday as the starting point guard down the road, as I outlined in his Prospect Profile. The draft is unpredictable after the No.2 pick, so both players could gone by the time New Orleans is on the clock. The team could also go with Jaylen Brown, and he would be a tremendous addition via the No.6 pick. It’s possible that Hield, Murray and Brown come off the board right before the Pelicans are on the clock, but it’s likely at least one of those players fall to them.
This is a deep draft in terms of the amount of prospects who are projected to become at least rotation-level players. The Pelicans may be able to pick up a couple role players with their two second-round picks, which would benefit the team greatly.
Free Agents
Gordon is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, and he may have played his last game as a Pelican. In 2012, Gordon signed an offer sheet presented by the Suns and claimed his heart was in Phoenix. New Orleans matched anyway and Gordon became a subject of trade rumors for the ensuing four years. Gordon has since backed off those comments and acknowledged that he should have handled the situation differently. From a basketball standpoint, he hasn’t meshed well with Evans and Holiday. That, coupled with his inability to stay on the court, should have the franchise looking for a new shooting guard.
The Pelicans would like to keep Ryan Anderson, but his price tag may keep them from doing so. New Orleans isn’t in position to give Anderson max or near max contract, and if he receives one on the open market, which is a good possibility, he’ll likely be suiting up for a new team next season. Anderson will be eligible for the middle-tier max, which is projected to be approximately $25.4MM. The team simply can’t afford to bring Anderson back on that kind of contract.
Davis’ Extension
Davis signed a max extension last offseason that will go into effect this upcoming year. He had an opportunity this season to trigger the Fifth-Year 30% Max Criteria, which is also known as the Derrick Rose Rule. He wasn’t named to an All-NBA team this past season nor was he voted as a starter in the All-Star game. Davis also didn’t win the MVP award, so he failed to meet any of the criteria and as a result, he will make roughly 25% of the salary cap in the first year of his five-year deal rather than nearly 30%. While I’m sure the team wanted to reward its franchise player with as much salary as possible, it’s now in better position to improve the talent around him because of the cap space it saved.
Free Agent Targets
Adding a top-tier free agent, such as DeMar DeRozan or Mike Conley, probably isn’t going to happen. Nicolas Batum would be a great fit with this team, but he’ll have no shortage of suitors, which will probably lead him to receiving a deal near the max elsewhere. More likely, the team will have to look at the next tier of free agents in order to add talent.
Danny Ferry, whom the team hired as a special advisor earlier this month, was reportedly a big fan of Kent Bazemore during his time in Atlanta. Signing Bazemore is a gamble, as I discussed in the Grizzlies’ Offseason Outlook, but he could grow into the type of player who outperforms his next deal. If the Pelicans can snag the small forward at an annual salary of $12MM-14MM, they could still add a few other pieces via free agency.
Evan Fournier is another option who would fit in with the franchise both on the court and on the cap sheet. I speculate that the shooting guard will command a deal with annual salaries in that $12MM-14MM range. That’s a reasonable price given the league’s current climate, but he’s a restricted free agent, so the Magic could match any offer.
New Orleans should be looking to add a few pieces to its existing core provided it doesn’t trade away Evans or Holiday. Adding a potential starter, such as Bazemore or Fournier, in addition to a couple of role players would make for a successful offseason. Courtney Lee, Gerald Henderson and Mario Chalmers are among the players whom the Pelicans could look at when filling out their bench.
Final Take
Davis is progressing toward becoming one of the best players in the league, and if he reaches that pinnacle, it will overshadow some of the team’s deficiencies. Outside shooting and perimeter defense are areas that the team should address. This offseason needs to be about surrounding Davis with players who can help him elevate this team, but unless the Pelicans can pull off a deal that brings them a second perennial All-Star, the team can only go so far.
Guaranteed Salary
- Anthony Davis ($21,597,000)1
- Jrue Holiday ($11,286,518)
- Tyreke Evans ($10,203,755)
- Omer Asik ($9,904,494)
- Alexis Ajinca ($4,638,203)
- Quincy Pondexter ($3,617,978)
- Dante Cunningham ($2,978,250)
- Luke Babbitt ($200,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below2
- Total: $64,426,198
Player Options
- Alonzo Gee ($1,379,400)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Toney Douglas ($1,315,448)
- Luke Babbitt ($1,027,286) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above2
- Bryce Dejean-Jones ($874,636)3
- Total: $3,217,370
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- James Ennis ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Tim Frazier ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Totals: ($2,360,862/$2,360,862)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Eric Gordon ($23,271,047)
- Ryan Anderson ($12,750,000)
- Norris Cole ($5,770,163)
- Jordan Hamilton ($980,431)
- Kendrick Perkins ($980,431)
- Total: $43,752,072
Other Cap Holds
- No. 6 pick ($2,931,000)
Projected Salary Cap: $94,000,000
Footnotes:
- Davis’ exact salary on his max contract won’t be determined until July. This figure represents an estimation.
- Babbitt’s full $1,227,286 salary would become guaranteed on July 12th.
- Dejean-Jones died in May, but his contract will remain on the Pelicans’ books until the team makes a roster move.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Jones, Exum, Smith
Potential first-round pick Damian Jones has undergone surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle, reports Jonathan Givony of The Vertical. Jones suffered the injury while bench pressing in a workout with the Magic. He should be ready to play near the end of training camp for whatever team drafts him.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Dante Exum will not play for the Australian national team in the Olympics this summer, according to the team’s website. Exum was recently cleared for full-contact basketball activity and he is focused on preparing himself for the 2016/17 season with the Jazz.
- Russ Smith, who averaged 27.8 point per game in the D-League this past season, has worked out for the Nuggets, Blazers and Clippers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders passes along (Twitter link).
- The Raptors will workout Trey Freeman, Fred VanVleet, Malachi Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Tyler Harris and Venk Jois on Sunday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Community Shootaround: Derrick Rose On The Knicks?
The Knicks are reportedly having internal discussions about adding Derrick Rose to the team. Point guard is clearly a need for New York, as trotting Jose Calderon out on the floor as the starting point guard when he’ll be 35-years-old next season clearly isn’t a favorable option. If the franchise wants to add a talented point guard this offseason, it could do worse than Rose.
The 2010/11 MVP has one year and $21.3MM left on his deal and although that’s a bit of an overpay based on Rose’s health and level of play these past few seasons, the contract isn’t a hindrance to acquire him. If Rose can stay healthy, New York is easily challenging for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If it doesn’t work out, New York still hasn’t clogged up its cap sheet long-term and can enter the 2017 offseason searching for another option with money to spend.
So here’s tonight’s topic: If the Knicks are going to make an attempt to trade for Rose, what kind of package should they offer the Bulls?
Jerian Grant would probably need to head to Chicago and New York would likely want to offload some salary in the deal. Robin Lopez is a nice player, but Kristaps Porzingis‘ future should be at the five spot, so the Knicks may be open to trading its starting center. The Bulls presumable would want a future first, but if I was New York, I’d only offer a heavily protected pick, possibly one that’s top-20 protected.
Those are my parameters for a Rose-to-New York deal, tell us yours as well as your thoughts and opinions on Rose’s fit in the Big Apple in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Offseason Outlook: Philadelphia 76ers
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
R.I.P. The Process (2013-2016)
After implementing one of the most unorthodox strategies in recent memory, the Sixers brought in Jerry Colangelo to be the team’s chairman of basketball operations. That was followed by Sam Hinkie stepping down with a glorious 13-page resignation letter, although some would say he was pushed out.
Hinkie didn’t produce wins, as the team only won 47 games during his three seasons as the GM (six teams in the Eastern Conference won more than 47 games this season). However, winning games during his first few seasons was never the goal. Hinkie’s focus was constructing a team that could grow and consistently compete for titles, yet there are not many pieces to that quixotic team on the current roster. The upcoming draft should provide at least more foundational piece, but even if Ben Simmons is the next coming of LeBron James, Philadelphia isn’t going claim a seat at the title contenders’ table during the next several seasons given the time it takes even the best prospects to elevate their franchise.
That being said, Hinkie’s tenure should not be considered a failure. He restocked a cupboard that was barren after the ill-fated Andrew Bynum deal and advocates of Hinkie will tell you that he never lost a trade. From the Jrue Holiday trade to the fleecing of the Kings, every deal put the franchise in a better position at least in the long-term. Nevertheless, the team’s array of first and second round picks does Hinkie no good while he’s sitting on his couch.
Colangelo has since shuffled into an advisory role and the team named his son the president of basketball operations and GM. Bryan Colangelo will begin his tenure with as much ammunition as one could reasonably ask for when taking over a struggling franchise.
Draft Outlook
- First-round picks: 1st, 24th, 26th
- Second-round picks: None
It will be shocking if the Sixers don’t select Simmons with the No.1 overall pick. The 19-year-old seems to be the favorite of coach Brett Brown and with his arsenal of skills, it’s easy to see why Simmons should be the pick. He’s a natural on the hardwood with the court vision of a seasoned point guard, as I detailed in my Prospect Profile of the former LSU Tiger. That, combined with his 6″10″, 240lb frame, gives him the ability to play any position on the floor.
Philadelphia will have more of a dilemma with the 24th and 26th picks. The team doesn’t have any young promising players in its backcourt, so adding a play-maker or two should be an objective. Demetrius Jackson or Tyler Ulis could be options. Dejounte Murray would be a nice pick if he’s not selected before the end of the first round. Murray will need some time to develop, but unless Colangelo brings in a batch of veterans, there will be minutes available to allow his game to grow.
The team doesn’t have a second round pick because of the 2012 draft night trade that brought in Arnett Moultrie. Moultrie trudged through two seasons in Philadelphia before being traded to the Knicks.
Potential Trades
The team could pick up one more draft pick if they decide to trade Jahlil Okafor to the Celtics in exchange for the No.3 pick. In that scenario, Jamal Murray has a great chance to be the selection. The Sixers reportedly believe he has more upside than anyone in the draft and he would be a nice fit for the team, as I wrote in my Prospect Profile of the 19-year-old.
Philadelphia has shopped Okafor and Nerlens Noel to approximately 15 teams, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The front office seems dedicated to having a more balanced roster to start the 2016/17 campaign and trading one of their healthy big men would help achieve that goal.
The rumored Jeff Teague-Noel deal would give them a solid starter at the point guard position. Teague only has one year at $8MM left on his current deal and giving up Noel for a player who can bolt so soon certainly carries risk. However, if you examine the chain of events leading up to this potential trade, it’s an easier risk to take. During the 2013 draft, Philly traded Holiday for Noel and the pick that it used to acquire the rights to Dario Saric. Now, nearly three years later, the team ponders trading Noel for Teague, who has proved to be a better player than Holiday. That would be net win considering the Sixers still have the rights to Saric and they arn’t getting a vastly superior player in exchange for the offensively challenged center.
Derrick Rose is another option for the team to consider should the Bulls look to deal him. As I wrote in Okafor’s Trade Candidate piece, Philadelphia would give Rose a comfortable situation to re-establish himself as a star in this league. Trading a package headlined by Rose may not be enough for the Bulls to bring Okafor to Chicago, but some version of a Noel-Rose deal makes sense for both sides.
Free Agent Targets
With only slightly over $24.5MM in guaranteed salary on the books against a projected $92MM salary cap, the Sixers will likely be more involved in free agency this offseason than in previous years. That figure doesn’t include the non-guaranteed salaries for Robert Covington, Kendall Marshall, Jerami Grant and T.J. McConnell. All four have a good chance to be with the team next season, although Covington reportedly could be dealt to Atlanta in a Teague trade and McConnell or Marshall could be waived if the team brings aboard a point guard or two. Still, even it keeps all four and factoring in the team’s cap holds, Philly will have somewhere north of $46.8MM in available cap space.
Harrison Barnes would be a nice addition and it looks as if giving him a four year max contract will be necessary if an opposing team is going to lure him away from Golden State. The exact figure on Barnes’ potential max deal won’t be determined until July since the maximum salary is tied to the salary cap. The first year of a contract for a player with 4 years experience is roughly 25% of the salary cap. If we use the projected $92MM as that figure, Barnes would make an estimated $23MM during the 2016/17 and slightly under $98.4MM over the four seasons of his max deal. That’s not an ideal contract, but Philadelphia can afford to make such an offer because it doesn’t have any pricey long-term contracts on the books. Also, this offseason is the time to make that kind of risky offer. A potential max deal for Barnes or any free agent would coincide with a rookie deal for Simmons, who can make roughly $5.9MM next season. Simmons’ deal, which could pay him approximately $26.6MM over the next four seasons if selected with the No.1 pick, will immediately be one of the best deals in the NBA because of the cost controlled nature of rookie scale deals. Paying $28.9MM or slightly over 31.4% of your salary cap to Simmons and Barnes doesn’t appear as preposterous when you view the deals as a combined unit.
Joel Embiid‘s Health
Embiid has yet to play a minute of action since entering the NBA. He likely wont take part in summer league, as the team doesn’t want to take any chance that he won’t be ready for the 2016/17 campaign due to a setback. That sounds dreary, but the big man did look good in pregame drills during the latter half of last season when no one was defending him. Stay tuned.
Final Take
After years of trying, the Sixers actually landed the top overall pick and who they select with the pick will shape the franchise for years to come (Surely, there is a chance they select Brandon Ingram, but realistically speaking, Simmons will be the pick). How they decide to surround the No. 1 overall pick will determine how soon they are ready to compete. The team will produce more wins during the 2016/17 campaign than this past season, but that will be more of a testament to how bad Philly was over the last year and how the front office strategy has changed than how good the team actually will be. The future is bright in Philadelphia, but season ticket holders shouldn’t need to allocate funds for playoff tickets just yet.
Guaranteed Salary
- Carl Landry ($6,500,000)
- Joel Embiid ($4,826,160)
- Jahlil Okafor ($4,788,840)
- Nerlens Noel ($4,384,490)
- Nik Stauskas ($2,993,040)
- Richaun Holmes ($1,025,831)
- Total: $24,518,361
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Hollis Thompson ($1,015,696) — salary non-guaranteed even if option picked up
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Kendall Marshall ($2,048,257)
- Robert Covington ($1,015,696)
- Jerami Grant ($980,431)
- T.J. McConnell ($874,636)
- Total: $4,919,020
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Isaiah Canaan ($1,215,696/$1,799,824)
- Christian Wood ($1,045,059/$1,045,059)
- Totals: $2,260,755/$2,844,883
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Elton Brand ($980,431)
- Ish Smith ($980,431)
- Total: $1,960,862
Other Cap Holds
- No. 1 pick ($4,919,300)
- Dario Saric ($1,931,900)
- No. 24 pick ($1,105,800)
- No. 26 pick ($1,026,300)
- Charles Jenkins ($980,431)
- Byron Mullens ($980,431)
- Total: $10,944,162
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
And-Ones: Love, Knicks, Turner, Butler
If the Cavaliers are going to make a major change this offseason, it’ll be Kevin Love on the trading block, reports Chris Mannix of The Vertical. “If they go out like this, I’m betting on a Kevin Love auction,” one league executive tells Mannix. Love had just five points in 21 minutes during Sunday night’s blowout loss to the Warriors.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Knicks are rumored to have interest in Evan Turner and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears that the interest in mutual (Twitter link). Turner will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Bulls forward Jimmy Butler has a strong desire to play in the Olympics despite hearing about all the players who will sit out, Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet tweets.
- Nick Minnerath has worked out for the Clippers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnerath, who formerly played for the Canton Charge of the D-League, will also attend free agent mini-camps with the Pistons and Mavs later this month.
Community Shootaround: Cavs Winning The Finals?
The Cavs lost their first two games of the NBA Finals by a combined 48 points. Neither Klay Thompson nor Stephen Curry had monumental games for the Warriors. Instead, it was the team’s depth that mechanically wore down Cleveland. Perhaps there are some adjustments that coach Tyronn Lue can make, but it seems unlikely that this team can compete with all the talent that Golden State has.
So that brings us to tonight’s topic: Is there any way the Cavs can wins this series?
Could they decide to dust off Timofey Mozgov and attempt to recapture some of the success they had during last year’s finals where they went big and governed the paint? Kevin Love is talented, but he’s hasn’t played like a traditional big man since he was in Minnesota. Is it time to reduce his minutes? Love has the ability to be a major force and perhaps the Cavs can make adjustments in order to benefit from their $110MM big man without sending him to the bench. Perhaps there are better solutions to make this series more competitive.
Should Richard Jefferson being playing meaningful minutes at this point in his career? That’s where I’d begin if I were tasked with mustering up a comeback performance for Cleveland during these finals. Tell us what you would do. What adjustments would you make if you were in control of the Cavs?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Draft Notes: Bender, Labissiere, Pelicans
Dragan Bender has workouts scheduled with the Celtics, Suns and Wolves, international journalist David Pick passes along via Twitter. Pick notes that these workouts will take place in the United States. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors named the Suns as the team most likely to select Bender in his Prospect Profile.
Here’s more from the upcoming draft:
- Skal Labissiere met with the Magic and the Rockets after his pro day workout and nearly every top-10 team has scheduled a workout with him, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Labissiere says being physical will be a major part of his game in the league, Kennedy relays via Twitter. “I’m back to 220 lbs. I take it very seriously. Getting stronger will help me,” the former Wildcat said. Will Joseph of Hoops Rumors listed strength and toughness as an area where Labissiere needs to improve in his Prospect Profile of the center.
- In addition to the No.6 overall pick, the Pelicans have the 39th and 40th pick in the draft and John Reid of The Times Picayune examines several prospects whom could be a nice fit for New Orleans in the second round. Anthony Barber of North Carolina State and DeAndre Bembry of St. Joe’s are among the players he mentions.
Community Shootaround: Jeff Teague To The Sixers
Earlier this week, we learned that the Hawks and Sixers discussed a deal that would involve Jeff Teague going to Philadelphia and Nerlens Noel going to Atlanta. It was reported that Nik Stauskas and/or Robert Covington could also be on the move in the potential deal.
In tonight’s shootaround, tell us what you think about the rumored Teague-Noel deal and let us know your thoughts from each team’s perspective.
Should the Sixers bring aboard Teague in exchange for Noel and possibly other pieces or should they look to acquire a younger player who may better fit with the rest of the team’s core? Philadelphia reportedly has been shopping Jahlil Okafor and Noel with the goal of locating the best deal. Is this Teague trade it?
As for the Hawks, are they getting enough in return for an established veteran who was an All-Star last season and helped the team win three playoff series over the last two campaigns?
Please take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.