Central Notes: Monroe, Butler, Osman, Johnson
Bucks GM John Hammond believes the team’s plan for a new arena, which has since cleared all hurdles for public funding, played a role in convincing Greg Monroe to sign with the team, as Hammond told NBA TV’s Dennis Scott and TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Monroe cites advice from former Bucks who became his teammates on the Pistons.
“When I signed, it wasn’t all the way done yet, but now, they have a new stadium coming,” Monroe said. “And I saw how the fans were. We played there, been coming there for years now, multiple times a year in the division. I know what kind of fan base they have. And I talked to a couple of my former teammates in Detroit who played here before, and they had nothing but great things to say about the city and the organization. So with all of that combined, I just definitely felt I made the right decision.”
See more from the Central Division:
- Jimmy Butler thinks new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg will improve the team’s floor-spacing, an element Butler thought was “terrible” last season, but Butler, in an interview with Aldridge for the same piece, identifies Hoiberg’s personal touch as the most significant change from former coach Tom Thibodeau.
- The Cavs spoke with No. 31 overall pick Cedi Osman about a month ago, but he’s planning to remain overseas with Anadolu Efes, where he has a contract that runs through at least 2017/18, for the next two seasons, as Osman writes for Eurohoops.net. “I’m happy that my rights are owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers and I hope that when I go there, I’ll meet LeBron James!” Osman writes. “I have a lot to learn from him!”
- Stanley Johnson was a surprise pick at No. 8 with Justise Winslow still on the board and he struggled in the Pistons‘ open scrimmage Saturday, apart from a highlight-reel play, but he’s otherwise made a strong impression with the team so far, observes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Cousins, Bass, Russell, Clarkson
Weeks before reports surfaced that coach George Karl was trying to trade DeMarcus Cousins and, subsequently, that the Kings were thinking about firing Karl, the coach remarked that he never felt he had a player who was off-limits for a trade. That comment was a mistake, Karl admitted to Kayte Christensen of CSN Bay Area (video link), and the coach apologized to Cousins, as CSN Bay Area’s James Ham notes.
But it’s my responsibility to be smart enough to not say things like that,” Karl said to Christensen, in part. “So I did apologize because I thought that was the only thing, maybe some other things, but really the only thing that got us separated was that comment that then everybody wrote [that] we’re going to trade [Cousins].”
Time will tell if the relationship between Karl and Cousins will remain on solid footing, but winning would probably go a long way toward keeping both of them satisfied, as Akis Yerocostas of SB Nation’s Sactown Royalty recently suggested in a recent installment of our Top Bloggers series. See more from the Pacific Division:
- Metta World Peace is with the Lakers during the preseason in large part to mentor Julius Randle, but if World Peace doesn’t stick for the regular season on his non-guaranteed deal, fellow offseason signee Brandon Bass will still be there for Randle, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times details. Fostering the development of the 2014 No. 7 overall pick part of the reason why Bass, too, is on the Lakers roster this season, Pincus writes.
- Bass is also a fan of Lakers coach Byron Scott, for whom he also played at the beginning of his career with New Orleans, Pincus notes in the same piece. “Coach Scott was someone who inspired me to continue to work hard, to be the player I am today,” Bass said. “My first two years I didn’t play much, so he was very motivating to me, letting me know how hard I have to work to be a pro.”
- D’Angelo Russell was skeptical when Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told him before the draft that the Lakers thought he and Jordan Clarkson could co-exist in the backcourt, but all parties seem on board with the idea now, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “We’re two totally different players,” Clarkson said. “He’s an excellent passer and I’m real aggressive and it just kind of comes together.” Clarkson is set to hit restricted free agency at season’s end.
- The Clippers are so far struggling to incorporate the nine newcomers to the team, observes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
The Beat: Keith Pompey On The Sixers
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 Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman about the Thunder. Click here to see all the previous editions of this series.
Today, we gain insight on the Sixers from Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. You can follow Keith on Twitter at @PompeyOnSixers, and check out his stories right here.
Hoops Rumors: GM Sam Hinkie said that he feels like the difference between where the Sixers are now and where they were two years ago is “night and day.” Is that exaggeration, or do you think the Sixers have really made that much progress?
Keith Pompey: Some not familiar with the 76ers would label Hinkie’s comments as an exaggeration. However, he’s actually right when you consider the Sixers finally have several players that fit into their long-term plan on the floor. They added the shooter they wanted to get with their second first-round pick in the 2014 draft in Nik Stauskas. Jahlil Okafor will be the first top-10 draft pick to play as a rookie. They’re also excited about this summer’s additions to their staff. So yes, they are night and day even though this an inexperienced and young team.
Hoops Rumors: As you alluded to, Jahlil Okafor will become the first top-10 pick to take the floor for the Sixers in the same year that he was drafted since Hinkie took over as GM, barring something unforeseen in the next few weeks. Do you think the Sixers hold him in higher regard than anyone else on the roster?
Keith Pompey: They don’t hold him in higher regard than anyone else on the roster. They see him as one of the core pieces, not the core piece. Noel and Joel Embiid (if healthy) will be the other core pieces in the future.
Hoops Rumors: Do you think the Sixers view Nik Stauskas as likely to develop into a cornerstone piece or as just one of many players on the roster with a vague possibility of panning out?
Keith Pompey: The Sixers hope that he can develop into a cornerstone player. However, they realize that will be up to him. He has a lot to prove this season following his struggles last season in Sacramento. As we learned with the Michael Carter-Williams trade, the Sixers aren’t afraid to part ways with projected cornerstone players that don’t pan out.
Hoops Rumors: A strong chance exists that the Sixers will have four first-round picks in 2016. If it still looks that way at the trade deadline, do you think they would attempt to move one or more of them for an intriguing veteran?
Keith Pompey: Don’t rule out anything. The Sixers have shown that they will make any move to advance the franchise.
Hoops Rumors: The Sixers signed Kendall Marshall for four years and $8MM, a relatively cheap deal that’s nonetheless the most lucrative free agent contract Hinkie has handed out to date. Do you think the Sixers made the expenditure because they believe Marshall has a decent chance to become the long-term solution at point guard, or were they just looking for a stopgap at a position of need?
Keith Pompey: Kendall Marshall will get every opportunity to show that he can become a long-term solution at point guard. Marshall will determine if he’s a stopgap or not. But if the Sixers get a chance to upgrade the position, they’ll do it in a heartbeat. Personally, I see him as a long-term backup.
Hoops Rumors: I’ll ask you this one since you were the reporter Markieff Morris talked to when he made his trade demand: Are you surprised that he now says he wants to be with the Suns?
Keith Pompey: I’m not surprised, because Markieff Morris’ trade value dropped after saying he no longer wanted to play there. His best option was to become a happy camper and make people think things are mended with the organization to drive up his trade value.
Magic Make Channing Frye Available For Trade?
Channing Frye is available for very little in return, sources from around the league tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who nonetheless cautions that Magic officials say that’s not the case as he writes amid a piece on Tristan Thompson‘s situation. A knee injury Frye suffered a year ago plagued him in his first season in Orlando after he signed a four-year, $32MM deal with the team in the summer of 2014. He’ll make more than $8.175MM this season on the front-loaded contract.
Frye, 32, saw averages in points, rebounds and minutes per game last year that were his lowest since the 2008/09 season. Still, he started 51 games and shot 39.3% from three-point range. That marksmanship was the second-best percentage of his career and testament to his value as a floor-stretching 6’11” big man, especially for a team that has trouble with spacing as much as the Magic do. However, his path to more playing time is muddied in Orlando, where Tobias Harris, fresh off signing his new four-year, $64MM contract, Nikola Vucevic, whose four-year, $48MM-plus extension kicks in this season, and 2014 No. 4 overall pick Aaron Gordon crowd the front line.
The Magic appear anxious to win, having fired coach Jacque Vaughn midway through last season, one in which Orlando failed to make a leap forward in the franchise’s rebuilding project, and hired Scott Skiles, who has a history of sparking fast turnarounds when he arrives on a team’s bench. The Magic could open more than $10MM in cap space if they trade Frye for no salary in return, but aside from Thompson, who’s demanding much more than the amount of cap room Orlando could open in a Frye salary dump, the existing free agent market is largely devoid of intriguing options. The Magic could use cap room to position themselves to take on a player via trade, such as Markieff Morris, who makes a salary similar to Frye’s, but it’s unclear if they have any such inclination.
Should the Magic cut bait with Frye now or keep him and find a way to make the most of his outside shooting? Leave a comment to tell us.
Kevin Durant Brushes Aside Lakers Rumors
2:14pm: Smith, in his response to Durant, identifies the Thunder and the Lakers as well as the Heat, Wizards, and Knicks as the teams he’s heard Durant is considering (Twitlonger link).
FRIDAY, 12:25pm: Durant made it clear that he finds no truth to the rumor, as he explained to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater. “I don’t talk to Stephen A. Smith at all,” Durant said to Slater. “No one in my family [or] my friends do. So he’s lying.”
THURSDAY, 8:20am: Kevin Durant would prefer the Lakers over other teams in free agency next summer if he is to leave the Thunder, as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith hears (YouTube link; transcription via Glenn Erby of BlackSportsOnline), and as Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports 1 corroborates. Smith also hears that the possibility of Durant teaming up with Kobe Bryant to join Carmelo Anthony is in play, though he suggests that the notion is a long shot. It’s not entirely clear whether that scenario would play out on the Knicks or the Lakers.
Most of the executives who spoke with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com this summer told him they expect Durant will re-sign with the Thunder, with the Lakers, Mavericks and Wizards among the few alternatives with a legitimate chance at the former MVP and the Knicks on the fringe of the picture. Durant said this week that he’s “hit it off” with new Thunder coach Billy Donovan, adding to the idea that the incumbent Thunder are the favorites to put pen to paper with Durant this coming July. Rumors are sure to fly between now and then, but Durant put out a word of caution in August, saying that he’d only be discussing his future with a tight circle of advisers and that if reporters drew from other sources, the information wouldn’t be reliable.
Phil Jackson recently raised the idea of Bryant playing with a team other than the Lakers after this coming season, as Smith points out, but Bryant put the kibosh on that, telling Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports recently that, “I bleed purple-and-gold” and, “I am a Laker for better or worse.” Bryant, 37, is also considering retirement at season’s end. Anthony, the Knicks star, is the only one among himself, Bryant and Durant who isn’t a free agent after this season, as his contract doesn’t allow him to elect free agency until 2018. ‘Melo could waive his no-trade clause if he wants to join the Lakers, though both Jackson and the Lakers would have to agree to a deal for that to happen, a prospect further complicated by the 15% trade kicker on Anthony’s contract that the Knicks would have to pay in the event of a swap.
Durant’s projected maximum salary for 2016/17 is $24.9MM, a figure the Thunder can exceed the cap to pay because they have his Bird rights. The Lakers have less than $20MM in commitments for next season against a projected $89MM cap, and the Knicks have about $55MM, meaning both teams are poised to have enough room to make Durant a max offer.
Where do you think Durant ends up? Leave a comment to tell us.
Northwest Notes: Miller, Kanter, Harkless
Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey won’t back down from the notion of making the playoffs as a goal this season, saying the same is true for all 30 teams, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman relays via Twitter. Still, player development is also a priority, Olshey said, as Freeman notes in a full piece.
“Same way we always do,” Olshey said of the way the team will measure its success this season. “Are our players getting better? Are we building a culture? Are we better at the end of the year than we were at the beginning? And does this roster have the potential to sustain excellence?”
Much has changed for the Blazers, who didn’t re-sign any of their seven free agents from last year. See more from Portland amid the latest from the Northwest Division:
- Nuggets coach Michael Malone is pumped about adding Mike Miller, whom he calls a “deadly shooter” with championship experience who can serve as a mentor to the younger players on the roster, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post chronicles. Miller seemingly had other options, with the Grizzlies, Thunder and Mavericks reportedly interested in him this summer before this week’s buyout from the Blazers, but he quickly agreed to a deal with the Nuggets. “I’m excited,” Miller said Thursday about joining Denver, according to Dempsey. “I’ve always had a great relationship with this organization. I think they do a great job. The fans in Denver are fantastic, which makes it exciting. We’ve got this young team, which they continue to build, and hopefully we’ll have a successful season.”
- Miller relinquished $200K in his buyout, leaving Portland with an obligation of about $3.08MM to him on this season’s books, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Miller signed a minimum-salary deal with the Nuggets, but teams often waive set-off rights when buyouts take place, so it’s unclear if the Blazers will recoup any additional money because of Miller’s Denver contract.
- Both the Thunder and max salary signee Enes Kanter are focused on improving his woeful defense, and the team believes increased production for him on that end of the floor will have much to do with the rest of the team around him, as Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman details. “It was a different system for him coming in. He [was] playing in Utah, where we played a totally different defense than they played last season, so of course there’s gonna be some growing pains,” Kevin Durant said. “Now, he’s focused, he’s locked in a little bit more, and he’s learning just as quickly as we are.”
- Blazers trade acquisition Maurice Harkless has looked strong during voluntary team workouts and the first days of camp, and he’s giving free agent signee Al-Farouq Aminu a run for the starting job at small forward, The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman observes. Harkless is eligible for a rookie scale extension through November 2nd, though no indication has emerged to date that the Blazers are thinking about giving him one. Harkless admits the lack of playing time with the Magic last season was a challenge, but the Blazers plan to give him plenty of opportunities this season, as fellow Oregonian scribe Mike Richman details.
Pistons Notes: Ilyasova, Tolliver, Hilliard
Stan Van Gundy didn’t change the roster much in his first few months with the Pistons, and that was by design, he says, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Now, the process has accelerated, and Andre Drummond, Brandon Jennings and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are the only holdovers from before his tenure.
“You had to be cautious because you hadn’t had time to really have your processes in place to make great decisions and so you were rushed in your decision-making compared to what we have this year,” Van Gundy said, according to Ellis. “We didn’t want to take any big risks. Now we’ve had a chance to go through a year and thoroughly evaluate the draft and thoroughly evaluate free agents and pro personnel.”
See more on the revamped Pistons:
- Van Gundy puts trade acquisition Ersan Ilyasova in a class with only Kevin Love and 2016 free agent Ryan Anderson among those who can both rebound and shoot three-pointers effectively, even though Ilyasova’s per-36-minute rebounding numbers have steadily declined the past few years, MLive’s David Mayo observes. Ilyasova contends that’s only because of a change in the way the Bucks used him, Mayo notes.
- Anthony Tolliver, who like Ilyasova is one of the keys to replacing Greg Monroe‘s rebounding, poured effort into getting himself in shape for the final season of his contract this year, as he detailed on his blog and as he addressed in camp Thursday, as Mayo relays in a separate piece. “I didn’t really train as a basketball player. I trained as an athlete,” Tolliver said Thursday. “I worked on running mechanics, worked on jumping mechanics, speed training, all kinds of different things that I’ve never done before. So I just feel like I’m in a lot better shape than I have been in the past going into this year. It’s going to be a big one for me.”
- The Pistons are making the most of Darrun Hilliard‘s versatility and having him play some point guard in camp, a position that this year’s 38th overall pick, who usually plays on the wing, is ready to embrace in his uphill battle for a regular season roster spot, as MLive’s Aaron McCann details. “Darrun’s a smart guy, knows how to play,” Van Gundy said. “It’s real easy to blend him in with other guys because he really understands how to play with other players easily.”
Bucks Sign John Henson To Extension
The Bucks have signed John Henson to an extension, the team announced. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier that the sides had struck a four-year deal worth about $45MM (Twitter link), and USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt heard that Henson put pen to paper this morning (Twitter link). Henson told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times earlier this week that he and the team were close to a deal. The package will give the Jim Tanner client between $44MM and $48MM, depending on whether he triggers incentive clauses, according to sources who spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). A signing bonus is included and the deal is front-loaded to offset the effect that any work stoppage in 2017 might have, Wojnarowski writes in a full story, though the likelihood of a work stoppage appears to be in decline.
Those figures are similar to the last rookie scale extension Milwaukee signed, when the team gave fellow big man Larry Sanders a four-year, $44MM deal two years ago. That didn’t work out so well for the Bucks as Sanders suffered injuries and a drug problem and lost his desire to play the game, leading to a buyout midway through the first year of that extension. The team is optimistic that Henson won’t travel the same path, and GM John Hammond recently identified the 24-year-old as one of six core players for the franchise. That’s in spite of the limited playing time that Henson has seen. The former 14th overall pick averaged just 18.3 minutes per game this past season.
“We’re thrilled to get this deal done to keep John in a Bucks uniform for years to come,” Hammond said in the team’s statement. “Since we drafted him in 2012, John has made an impact on this team, especially on the defensive end, and he is an integral part of our future. We’re looking forward to continuing to watch his development as we work to become a championship-caliber team.”
The vagaries of front-loading and the attached incentives make it tricky to peg just how much Henson will make in 2016/17, when the extension kicks in, but the Bucks otherwise have only about $49MM in commitments for that season, assuming they pick up $13.3MM in pending rookie scale team options. That leaves no shortage of room underneath a projected $89MM cap. Coach Jason Kidd pointed to Henson’s ability to mesh with others.
“We’re excited for John and for our organization as we continue to build a consistent winner,” Kidd said in the statement. “John is a great teammate, plays unselfishly and has worked very hard to develop into a top-tier defender. We look forward to many great years together with him.”
Talks surrounding an extension for Henson appeared to be gathering momentum in July and were still on track as of August, though it took until after the start of training camp for the sides to strike a deal. That’s still well in advance of this year’s deadline, which is November 2nd instead of the usual October 31st because that date falls on a Saturday. Miles Plumlee, whom the Bucks acquired from the Suns at the trade deadline in February, is also eligible for a rookie scale extension between now and November 2nd, but no reports have emerged indicating that the team is considering one for him.
Henson has drawn interest from other teams who’ve wanted to trade for him over the years, as Stein notes in a full story, and while Milwaukee was reportedly offering him around at the deadline this past winter, it seemed he was only available if a suitor was willing to pay a hefty price. He averaged 2.0 blocks per game this past season in spite of his limited playing time, though other numbers raise doubt about his value, as I noted when I looked in-depth at Henson’s extension candidacy. I nonetheless concluded that speculation from Grantland’s Zach Lowe that Henson would end up with eight-figure salaries wasn’t unreasonable, and as it turns out, that’s just what he’ll get.
Do you think the Bucks are making a wise move with Henson’s extension? Leave a comment to let us know.
The Beat: Anthony Slater On The Thunder
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 John Reid of The Times Picayune about the Pelicans. Click here to see all of the previous editions of this series.
Today, we gain insight on the Thunder from Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthonyVslater, and check out his stories right here.
Hoops Rumors: Kevin Durant seems like such a low-key guy. How do you think he’s going to handle all the questions he’ll face about his future this season as next summer’s free agency approaches?
Anthony Slater: Proactively. He’s already laid some of the ground work. At summer camp with Team USA, Durant told reporters that if sourced stories didn’t come from him, his best friend and manager Charlie Bell or his agent Rich Kleiman, then they aren’t true. Then he announced a partnership with The Players Tribune, giving him a potential outlet to handle circulating rumors and his eventual decision. That, of course, won’t stop the free agency stories from surrounding his entire season. There’s no way to avoid it. Every major market the Thunder visit, media packs will be awaiting Durant with these questions. I expect him to answer all inquiries with a “I’m focused on this season, I’ll worry about free agency when it gets here” type of approach.
Health Situation Becomes Dire For Flip Saunders
Changes to way that Flip Saunders‘ body has responded to chemotherapy for Hodgkins’ Lymphoma have placed him in a life-threatening situation, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, who writes in a chat with readers. The team called the ailment a “very treatable and curable form of cancer” in August, when it announced his diagnosis along with the news that Saunders would continue his duties as head coach and president of basketball operations. A shift occurred last month, when Saunders took a leave of absence. The team said at that point that he’d experienced complications related to the treatments he was receiving and that he was undergoing tests and further treatment at a hospital.
Zgoda suggests that doctor might have found more cancer in Saunders. The scribe also speculates that Saunders won’t return to coach at all and that a decent chance exists he won’t return to his executive role either, though he labels those ideas as opinion. GM Milt Newton is running the front office and assistant coach Sam Mitchell is the interim head coach, but Zgoda finds it difficult to envision owner Glen Taylor allowing either to make major decisions until the future of Saunders is sorted out.
Saunders, 60, received his cancer diagnosis in June but continued to work for about another three months. Taylor affirmed in mid-June, around the time of the diagnosis but before it became publicly known, that Saunders was to remain the team’s coach, dismissing speculation that he would drop back to an executive-only role. Saunders owns a minority share in the franchise.