2015/16 NBA Reverse Standings
The 2015/16 season isn’t quite three weeks old yet, but many scouts and executives around the league are already preparing for the 2016 NBA draft. They’re no doubt cognizant of how their respective NBA teams are doing as they attempt to get an idea of where they’ll be picking, and with our Reverse Standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, you can easily follow along, too. Hoops Rumors will be updating these standings daily to reflect the outcomes of the games that took place the night before.
The Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what the 2016 first-round order would look like with no changes to lottery position. Traded picks are included via footnotes. For instance, the note next to the Lakers’ pick indicates that they’ll give up their pick to the Sixers if they finish outside the top three. The Lakers are currently fourth, so that means the Sixers are in line for both the top pick and the fourth overall pick, depending on how the lottery shakes out.
The existence of the lottery means the teams atop the Reverse Standings aren’t guaranteed to draft in the order in which they finish, but the worse a club’s record, the better shot it has at landing the cream of the 2016 draft class. This year’s group of prospects, which includes Ben Simmons, Skal Labissiere, Brandon Ingram and Dragan Bender, is heavy on frontcourt players, and we’ll be finding out more about them in the month ahead with posts under our 2016 NBA Draft tag.
Our Reverse Standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2016. Be sure to check back often!
The Beat: Ben Bolch On The Clippers
Nobody knows NBA teams better than beat writers, save for those who draw paychecks with an NBA owner’s signature on them. The reporters who are with the teams they cover every day gain an intimate knowledge of the players, coaches and executives they write about and develop sources who help them break news and stay on top of rumors.
We at Hoops Rumors will be chatting with beat writers from around the league and sharing their responses to give you a better perspective on how and why teams make some of their most significant moves. Last time, we spoke with Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post about the Wizards. Click here to see all the previous editions of this series.
Today, we gain insight on the Clippers from Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @latbbolch, and check out his stories right here.
Hoops Rumors: Have you noticed any changes in DeAndre Jordan or the way the team regards him in the wake of his near-defection to the Mavs this summer?
Ben Bolch: Jordan has seemed a touch more serious than in recent seasons, perhaps a sign of his maturity and increased leadership role. His offensive game seems about the same, though, and that’s fine because the Clippers don’t need him to score more than he does. He just needs to continue being the defensive captain and rebound-grabbing force that has made him one of the league’s most coveted big men. His rebounding is down a bit from recent seasons but it’s still too early in the season to think those numbers won’t go up.
Hoops Rumors: Lance Stephenson unexpectedly won a spot in the opening-night starting lineup. What has he done that’s impressed Doc Rivers?
Ben Bolch: Well, he lost that spot against the Pistons and it will be interesting to see whether he starts going forward once the entire roster is back intact. Rivers thought Stephenson was a better fit with the starters and it helped the second unit’s rhythm as well. I’m not sure that’s been the case through the season’s first few weeks. My take is that Stephenson is best with the ball in his hands and the floor spaced so he can attack the basket, something he can’t do with Blake Griffin and Jordan on the court. He might be best utilized with the second unit.
Hoops Rumors: Jamal Crawford‘s minutes are down, but he seems OK with it so far, even though he appeared to hint at dissatisfaction over the summer and is entering a contract year. How have the Clippers convinced him to stay engaged?
Ben Bolch: Crawford’s immense value was never clearer than in the game against the Pistons where he scored 37 points in a spot start. He’s done a great job of staying patient and professional amid the reduced playing time and will be an important part of whatever success the Clippers have this season. It was interesting to note that Crawford’s best game came with Stephenson barely playing — less than two minutes. One of the big questions coming into the season was whether Crawford and Stephenson could coexist as contributors and it hasn’t been answered.
Hoops Rumors: Paul Pierce was a locker room leader for the Wizards, but the Clippers have others to fill that role, Chris Paul in particular. What sort of approach is Pierce taking on this team?
Ben Bolch: He’s been vocal. Doc Rivers said he’s entered the locker room on several occasions to find Pierce addressing the team and saying things that Rivers had planned to say. That’s a big boost for the coaching staff and the players to have that voice of someone who has won a championship. Paul said he welcomes it.
Hoops Rumors: Josh Smith is the only big man off the bench in the rotation thus far, but even he hasn’t seen that many minutes. Have the Clippers had success with all their small ball lineups, or are they just trying to keep up with what their opponents are doing?
Ben Bolch: The Clippers’ second unit has been hit and miss. They have tried to match up at times and tried to exert their own will at others. The small-ball lineups haven’t terrorized opponents as some thought before the season, but they have been moderately effective in stretches. Wesley Johnson and Smith have been effective at times playing alongside Austin Rivers, Crawford and Pierce. It just hasn’t all come together yet.
Hoops Rumors: The Clippers haven’t gone with a traditional point guard to back up Chris Paul too much this year, either. How well has Austin Rivers handled those duties so far?
Ben Bolch: He’s been solid defensively but a little erratic offensively, especially with the jump shot that he worked so hard to improve during the summer. He hit a big 3-pointer late in the game against Detroit, though, so maybe things are starting to turn in a better direction for him. Austin is usually at his best attacking the basket, something the Clippers hope he does more than becoming largely a jump shooter.
Atlantic Notes: Galloway, Mickey, Rozier, Young
Langston Galloway draws motivation from having begun his pro career as an unheralded D-Leaguer, but the comfort of knowing he would play with the Knicks this season on the two-year contract he signed at midseason last year helped him concentrate on improving in the offseason, he told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
“I think this summer I was more settled because I knew where I was going, where I was going back to,” Galloway said. “And I knew the staff. So it helped out. I could focus on being there. I wouldn’t have to worry about 10 different other things. Like, ‘I might be here, I might be there.’ It definitely helped out, made me more comfortable. [It] made me just work at a more consistent pace.”
Galloway’s salary is only partially guaranteed this season, but he seems in no danger of hitting waivers. He’s set for restricted free agency in the summer ahead. See more on the Knicks and the rest of the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks won a fairly tight game against the Pelicans today, but they’ve otherwise struggled down the stretch, a problem their high roster turnover helps explain, Begley notes in a separate piece. The Knicks and Nets opened the season with eight newcomers apiece, most than any other Eastern Conference team.
- The Celtics recalled all three of the players they had on D-League assignment today, bringing Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier and James Young back to the big club in advance of today’s game against the Thunder, the team announced (Twitter link). Mickey and Young went to the D-League on Thursday, while the C’s had just assigned Rozier on Saturday.
- The Sixers are well-positioned with lots of draft assets, but luck will play a prominent role in how well their rebuilding plan works, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media examines. Lottery picks and success aren’t necessarily correlated, as I observed earlier today.
Warriors Notes: Lacob, West, Walton
This week marked the five-year anniversary of the transfer of Warriors ownership to Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, and Lacob doesn’t apologize for the bold talk that marked his tenure from the start, when the Warriors were still a losing team, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group relays. Thompson, in his wide-ranging interview with the co-owner, asked Lacob if he considers himself a power broker among owners in the league.
“Winning gives you respect amongst your peers,” Lacob said. “People are kind of blown away in the league by how we’ve been able to do it this fast and this well.”
See more on Lacob and his team amid news on the defending champs:
- Lacob is delivering results similar to late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss but doing so with a much different personality, observes Warriors executive board member and front office consultant Jerry West, who’s worked under them both, in a podcast with Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group.
- Phil Jackson first encouraged Luke Walton to explore the idea of coaching while he was still a player, and Walton’s style leans more toward the Zen Master’s than Lute Olsen’s, his college coach, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Still, Walton’s coaching philosophy is changing over time. “I think it’s a natural progression,” Walton said. “It’s probably been developing in me before I even realized I wanted to be a coach just from the coaches I played under. But since I’ve gotten into this coaching business, I kind have spent more thinking about it and trying to pick up as much as I can from different people.”
- Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com wonders what might have been if the Warriors had hired second-choice candidate Stan Van Gundy instead of Steve Kerr, noting that Van Gundy and Kerr both believe in having space and movement on offense and power forwards who can shoot 3-pointers.
Spurs, Hawks Have Fewest Ex-Lottery Picks In NBA
So much of a team’s fate in the NBA is tied to its ability to land superstar talent. So much superstar talent comes through the top end of the draft that many organizations base their rebuilding philosophy around the draft lottery. The success of the Spurs and Hawks largely stands in defiance of that idea.
Every team in the league has at least three former lottery picks on its roster, aside from San Antonio and Atlanta. It’s undeniable that one of those lottery picks on the Spurs, Tim Duncan, is a generational talent and foundational player who helped mold the franchise into what it is today. But Duncan is 39, and while still productive, he’s no longer capable of carrying a team by himself. Offseason free agent signee LaMarcus Aldridge is the other former lottery pick on the Spurs, but the team has compiled its 7-2 record — second best in the Western Conference heading into today — without anyone else with a lottery pedigree.
The Hawks are the same way, thanks in large measure to coach/president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer and former GM Danny Ferry, both of whom have strong ties to the Spurs. Al Horford has been a mainstay, but while Thabo Sefolosha has been a key part of the team’s success, no one would mistake him for a superstar. Those are the only two former lottery picks on the Hawks, and yet they’re 8-3, and began today in second place in the Eastern Conference, the same position in which the Spurs find themselves in the West.
The assortment of teams with a league-high eight former lottery picks demonstrates the capriciousness of the draft. Three of them make sense, as the Clippers, Thunder and Warriors are all expected to contend, and Golden State is threatening to run away with the regular season’s best record for the second year in a row. The Hornets and Trail Blazers are sub-.500 teams with little expectation of winning this year, especially now that Charlotte has lost former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to injury.
Indeed, not all former lottery picks are created equal. Injuries keep some from helping their teams, while age hampers others. No. 1 picks have a greater chance of success than No. 14 picks do. Still, it’s telling that two of the most successful organizations in the NBA can rise to that level almost entirely without players from the lottery.
Here’s a look at the former lottery picks on every team, categorized by the volume of them on each roster:
Eight lottery picks
- Clippers (Cole Aldrich, Jamal Crawford, Blake Griffin, Wesley Johnson, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, J.J. Redick, Austin Rivers)
- Hornets (Tyler Hansbrough, Spencer Hawes, Frank Kaminsky, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Kemba Walker, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller)
- Thunder (Steven Adams, D.J. Augustin, Nick Collison, Kevin Durant, Enes Kanter, Cameron Payne, Dion Waiters, Russell Westbrook)
- Trail Blazers (Al-Farouq Aminu, Ed Davis, Gerald Henderson, Chris Kaman, Meyers Leonard, Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Noah Vonleh)
- Warriors (Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Brandon Rush, Jason Thompson, Klay Thompson)
Seven lottery picks
- Timberwolves (Kevin Garnett, Zach LaVine, Andre Miller, Shabazz Muhammad, Ricky Rubio, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins)
- Wizards (Bradley Beal, Drew Gooden, Kris Humphries, Nene, Otto Porter, John Wall, Martell Webster)
Six lottery picks
- Bucks (Jerryd Bayless, Michael Carter-Williams, John Henson, O.J. Mayo, Greg Monroe, Jabari Parker)
- Bulls (Mike Dunleavy, Pau Gasol, Kirk Hinrich, Doug McDermott, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose)
- Jazz (Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Dante Exum, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Trey Lyles)
- Raptors (Anthony Bennett, Bismack Biyombo, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas)
- Suns (Devin Booker, Tyson Chandler, Brandon Knight, Alex Len, Markieff Morris, T.J. Warren)
Five lottery picks
- Cavaliers (Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Richard Jefferson, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson)
- Heat (Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, Amar’e Stoudemire, Dwyane Wade, Justise Winslow)
- Kings (Caron Butler, Willie Cauley-Stein, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore)
- Magic (Channing Frye, Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton)
- Mavericks (Raymond Felton, Devin Harris, Dirk Nowitzki, Charlie Villanueva, Deron Williams)
- Nets (Andrea Bargnani, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Thomas Robinson, Thaddeus Young)
- Pistons (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Andre Drummond, Brandon Jennings, Stanley Johnson, Marcus Morris)
- Sixers (Joel Embiid, Kendall Marshall, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas)
Four lottery picks
- Grizzlies (Vince Carter, Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Brandan Wright)
- Nuggets (Randy Foye, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Miller, Emmanuel Mudiay)
- Pelicans (Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette, Eric Gordon)
- Rockets (Corey Brewer, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Jason Terry)
Three lottery picks
- Celtics (Kelly Olynyk, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner)
- Knicks (Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick Williams)
- Lakers (Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell)
- Pacers (Paul George, Jordan Hill, Myles Turner)
Two lottery picks
- Hawks (Al Horford, Thabo Sefolosha)
- Spurs (LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan)
And-Ones: Timberwolves, Draft, Hornets
Former Grizzlies front office chief Jason Levien isn’t involved in Steve Kaplan’s bid to own a partial share of the Timberwolves, as Zach Harper of CBSSports.com reports, and his name hasn’t come up in discussions with Wolves officials, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported earlier that Levien was partnering with Kaplan as part of his effort to get into position to eventually assume full control of the Wolves if owner Glen Taylor relinquishes that. Taylor currently has no plans to sell the team, but he’s preparing for that time to come, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
“It just seems to me if I’m a responsible owner of a team, I should go out there, find someone who is really interested, bring them in and see how it works,” Taylor said. “So if I would die or be in a position where I can’t run it, they’d be in a position to take over and make a smooth transition. I just think it’s something I owe the state because I have the ownership.”
The purchase of a minority ownership, whether by Kaplan or another bidder, doesn’t necessarily guarantee they’ll become majority owners at any point, Krawczynski adds (on Twitter), though the idea of Kaplan owning more than 20% of the team has come up in the talks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. See more from around the NBA:
- LSU small forward Ben Simmons tops the rankings of draft prospects that Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) and Chris Mannix of SI.com compiled for college basketball’s opening day, though disagreement exists beyond that. Ford has Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, Croatian power forward Dragan Bender and Duke small forward Brandon Ingram as his next three, while Mannix’s list goes Ingram-Labissiere-Bender.
- Simmons isn’t the next LeBron James, but his game is stylistically similar to the four-time MVP’s, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece that draws comparisons between some of the top prospects and their NBA counterparts. Labissiere is like LaMarcus Aldridge and Ingram resembles Tayshaun Prince, Goodman posits.
- Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, a pair of Hornets poised to become free agents next summer, are off to strong starts, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders observes in a story that looks at 15 soon-to-be free agents and how they fared during the season’s first two weeks.
Kings Notes: Cousins, Divac, Karl, Casspi, Dukan
The Kings fined DeMarcus Cousins for his tirade after Monday’s game, though he didn’t aim the outburst directly at the coaching staff, team and league sources tell Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. That’s in contrast to a report indicating that Cousins specifically lashed out at George Karl. Vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac denies that he asked the players in a Tuesday meeting if the team should fire Karl, Voisin adds, and Divac has said Karl will be sticking around until the end of the season. That ties much of the executive’s fate to the coach, as Divac himself is on “little more than a one-year deal” with the Kings and hopes to sign a long-term deal this summer, according to Voisin. The Kings hired Divac in March, shortly after they hired Karl, but Divac recommended Karl to the Kings before they hired the coach, Voisin writes. See more from Sacramento:
- If Cousins wanted the Kings to fire Karl, the coach would already be gone, sources tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. The star center has made it clear to team management that he doesn’t want Karl fired, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reported.
- Karl speaks more with the media than he does with his team, and players find his frank talk with reporters unnerving, sources tell James Ham of CSNCalifornia.com. Players are “confused and frustrated” over Karl’s constant lineup changes, Ham writes.
- Amid the turmoil, Omri Casspi is off to a strong start after re-signing this past summer, in part because of Karl’s system, as Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee examines. “I think he understands flow; he understands the pace of the game,” Karl said. “He’s one of our faster runners and gets in the open court in a good way many times. And he knows how to play off of good players. He knows how to find open shots when Cuz is being double-teamed, or when there’s an isolation with Rudy [Gay]. He knows how to get open by figuring out the player the defense is tilting toward.”
-
The Kings have assigned rookie Duje Dukan to the D-League, the team announced. The undrafted combo forward has yet to appear in a regular season game for Sacramento.
Offseason In Review: New Orleans Pelicans
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees and more will be covered as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Alexis Ajinca: Four years, $19.5MM. Signed via Early Bird rights.
- Omer Asik: Five years, $52.978MM. Signed via Bird rights.
- Luke Babbitt: Two years, $2.328MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. Second year is partially guaranteed for $200K.
- Norris Cole: One year, $3.037MM. Signed qualifying offer.
- Dante Cunningham: Three years, $8.935MM. Signed via mid-level exception. Third year is a player option.
- Bryce Dejean-Jones: Three years, $2.414MM. Signed via mid-level exception. First year is partially guaranteed for $50K. Subsequently waived.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts: Two years, $2.501MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. Subsequently waived.
- Alonzo Gee: Two years, $2.699MM. Signed via mid-level exception. Second year is a player option.
- Kendrick Perkins: One year, $1.499MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
- Nate Robinson: One year, $1.499MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. Non-guaranteed. Subsequently waived.
Extensions
Trades
- Acquired $630K from the Clippers in exchange for the rights to Branden Dawson, the No. 56 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Waiver Claims
Draft Picks
- Branden Dawson (Round 2, 56th overall). Draft rights traded to the Clippers.
Camp Invitees
- Jeff Adrien — Waived.
- Mirza Begić — Waived.
- Sean Kilpatrick — Waived.
- Jerome Jordan — Waived.
- Bo McCalebb — Waived.
- Corey Webster — Waived.
Departing Players
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- None
The Pelicans roster was a jumble to start the season, though it’s difficult to pin blame on executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis or GM Dell Demps. Injuries either knocked out or limited six Pelicans during the preseason, not including offseason signee Kendrick Perkins, who recently went down with a right pectoral injury that’s expected to cost him three months. The other injured Pelicans should be back by then, if they’re not already, but the spate of injuries nonetheless altered the composition of the team and has seemingly had much to do with a disappointing 1-7 start.
This was to be the season that New Orleans solidified itself as a postseason certainty for the present and years into the future. No longer were the Pelicans to sneak into the playoffs on the final night of the regular season, as they did this past spring. The continued improvement of Anthony Davis and the offensive bona fides of new coach Alvin Gentry were supposed to lift the team into the Western Conference elite, and though it’s early, it takes only a few losses to exceed the thin margin for error in the West. Still, the team is in a better spot than it was at the end of last season thanks largely to a move that eases the consequences of any shortcomings this year.
Davis is firmly entrenched as a Pelican in the wake of his new five-year extension, and the swiftness with which he agreed to sign it, in the first hour of his extension-eligibility window, speaks to his satisfaction with the direction of the franchise. Of course, the extension was the sensible financial play for the Wasserman Media Group client, since it’s a five-year max deal. Still, if Davis yearned to play elsewhere, the second jump in the salary cap, from a projected $89MM in 2016/17 to a $108MM projection for 2017/18, would have given Davis a chance to offset a significant portion of the financial sacrifice he’d undertake if he signed his qualifying offer next summer. Davis could also have pursued that strategy to stay in New Orleans but only on a series of two-year contracts with player options, a la LeBron James with the Cavs, a leverage play that Davis’ vast talent would probably have granted him if he wanted it.
Instead, he’s tied up for the long haul, and so too is Gentry, though the coach is just on a four-year deal with a team option on the final season. Gentry nonetheless seems well-positioned, given his role in Golden State’s 67-win championship team last season and the possibilities that abound with Davis and the team’s other offensive talents. The Pelicans reportedly interviewed Jeff Van Gundy, and Tom Thibodeau was frequently mentioned in connection to the job, though Demps was apparently in no mood to knock heads with such a hard-charging personality as the ex-Bulls coach. The Pelicans were instead reportedly looking for an exciting, up-tempo approach, and even before his tenure with the Warriors was over, Gentry got the New Orleans job.
The Pelicans clearly felt as though the switch from ousted former coach Monty Williams to Gentry, along with continued improvement from Davis, was the jolt the team needed to take the next step, since New Orleans made retaining the bulk of its roster a priority over the summer. The team’s only trade involved the divestment of second-round pick Branden Dawson in exchange for cash, and the Pelicans re-signed five out of their seven free agents. Chief among them was Omer Asik, whose presence allows Davis to play power forward. Asik has sharp limitations offensively, and while he has a strong reputation as a stout defender, he ranked only 38th among centers in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus Minus metric. He’s nonetheless on a deal that’s fairly cheap for a starting-caliber center, with an average of little more than $10MM per season, only about $2MM more per year than top-flight backup Kosta Koufos will make on his deal with the Kings.
New Orleans also invested in Asik’s backup, Alexis Ajinca, further underscoring their commitment to using Davis at the four. A salary of about $5MM a year to a player who saw just 14.1 minutes per game last season, and only 10 minutes total in the playoffs, is a steep price. His playing time has declined in both of his full seasons in New Orleans since the Pelicans signed him in the middle of the 2012/13 season and gave him his first NBA action in nearly three years.
The Pelicans wound up with a relative bargain to back up at another position, as point guard Norris Cole signed his qualifying offer after lingering in restricted free agency until September. It wasn’t entirely surprising to see the Rich Paul client stay on the market so long, nor was it a shock that he took the qualifying offer, a tool that will allow him to reach to unrestricted free agency in 2016 and the rising salary cap that comes with it. The Sixers, Knicks and Lakers were reportedly interested suitors, but it appears no long-term proposals came about either from them or from the Pelicans that Cole deemed strong enough to dissuade him from going the short-term route. Comments from Gentry and Davis and the team’s lengthy deals with Asik, Ajinca and Dante Cunningham suggest the Pelicans would have preferred to sign him to a longer contract, though, as John Reid of The Times Picayune wrote, the team was only willing to go so far to re-sign him.
Cole’s decision to take the one-year qualifying offer may turn out to help the Pelicans more than they would have figured, as waiver claim Ish Smith has stepped in more than admirably while Cole is out with a high left ankle sprain. Smith is fourth in the league in assists per game so far, with 8.4, a continuance of his strong late-season performance with the Sixers last year. It’s early, and Smith is also on a one-year deal, but the Pelicans may well have picked a gem out of the dust they kicked up amid their many preseason moves.
Their fellow Western Conference heavies in Memphis have already swung a trade this season and appear to have quickly grown concerned about their poor start, but the Pelicans can afford to be patient. They have a 22-year-old superstar and a new coach with championship credentials. It probably won’t all come together for the Pelicans this year, but that’s OK after an offseason in which they bought some time.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of it.
What do you think of the offseason the Pelicans had? Leave a comment to tell us.
Northwest Notes: Taylor, Leonard, Mudiay, Huestis
The idea that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is looking to sell a minority interest in the team is “old news,” as Taylor put it in a comment to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, confirming that he’s had contact with Steve Kaplan, with whom he’s reportedly engaged in serious talks (All four Twitter links). Taylor said he’s also spoken to others, but some of them want to move the team and Kaplan doesn’t, Wolfson points out. Kevin Garnett is interested in someday owning the Wolves, but Taylor refused comment on any potential involvement for KG, Wolfson relays. Kaplan would really prefer to become a majority owner, but with few teams on the market, it makes sense that he would buy a smaller stake and position himself to purchase the controlling interest later, observes Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). See more from the Northwest Division:
- The dislocated shoulder that Meyers Leonard suffered in Wednesday’s game will probably sideline him for at least four weeks, and it’s conceivable that he ends up having surgery that would knock him out for the season, an orthopedic surgeon without ties to Leonard or the Trail Blazers told Jason Quick of CSNNW.com. The Blazers have yet to release an official timetable for the big man, who recently turned down a “considerable” extension offer to set up restricted free agency next summer.
- Bucks coach and one-time legendary point guard Jason Kidd believes the Nuggets scored with their pick of Emmanuel Mudiay at No. 7 in this year’s draft, predicting that Mudiay will be better than he was, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “He’s better already,” Kidd said. “Being able to run an NBA team at 19 is not easy. You look at some of the greats — Magic [Johnson] was able to do it. And you’re looking at this kid Mudiay, who has the opportunity to do something special. So, I would encourage him to be better than me, and I think he will be at the end of the day.”
- The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced. Huestis spent last season in the D-League in an unusual draft-and-stash arrangement, but this time, he’ll continue to draw NBA paychecks while in the D-League after signing with the Thunder on a rookie scale contract this past summer.
Southeast Notes: Riley, Anderson, Patterson
Heat team president Pat Riley tried to convince LaMarcus Aldridge to take Miami’s mid-level exception on a one-year deal this summer with the idea of re-signing him for the maximum salary using cap space in 2016, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). That conflicts with an earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who heard that Riley was selling Aldridge on the idea of signing a one-year deal with the Trail Blazers so that he could be available in 2016. The mid-level plan would have been a tough sell, especially since the Heat are limited to just the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level instead of the full $5.464MM. Aldridge ultimately wound up signing with the Spurs on a max deal that pays him $19.689MM this season. Next year’s maximum salary for Aldridge would be a projected $29.3MM, thanks to the rising salary cap and the fact that Aldridge would be a 10-year veteran and eligible for the highest maximum-salary bracket. Still, he ultimately decided against trying to recoup the losses of a financial sacrifice this season with a more lucrative max deal in 2016. See more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards have struggled on defense, ranking just 24th in defensive efficiency according to NBA.com, but coach Randy Wittman thinks the team’s newcomers are better defenders than those they replaced, notes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Alan Anderson, one of the team’s offseason signees and a key part of the team’s defensive upgrade, is out until December, though John Wall credits him for his voice in the locker room that’s helped keep the team from panicking amid its disappointing 3-4 start, as Michael details.
- The physicality of the NBA caught Hawks rookie Lamar Patterson by surprise, but he’s already had his moments, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders examines. Patterson has been in and out of the rotation already this season for Atlanta, though he hasn’t played in the past three games. The Hawks inked the 2014 No. 48 overall pick this past summer as a draft-and-stash signee.
- Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer won’t be coaching tonight in the team’s game against the Celtics in Boston, since he’s returned to Atlanta to attend to a family matter, the team announced via press release. It’s unclear how long he’ll be away. Assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will be in charge for tonight’s game, the team says.