Nuggets Notes: Malone, Oubre, Turner
- Malone’s deal with the Nuggets is a four-year arrangement, including a team option on the final season, Dempsey reports (Twitter link).
- The new coach doesn’t expect the roster to be the same when next season begins, Dempsey notes in his full story, and that should indeed be his hope, as fellow Post scribe Benjamin Hochman opines, believing that no coach would be able to turn the current Nuggets into contenders.
- Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre and Texas center Myles Turner were the headliners at today’s Nuggets workout, as the team detailed on Nuggets.com. Joining them are point guards T.J. McConnell of Arizona and Keifer Sykes of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Georgetown power forward Greg Whittington and Delaware State big man Kendall Gray, according to the team.
- The Nuggets previously worked out Arizona small forward Stanley Johnson, as MLive’s David Mayo relays via Twitter.
Salaries For 2015 First Round Picks
Soon-to-be free agent Jimmy Butler aside, the last pick in the first round rarely ends up playing to the level of the first overall pick. That’s reflected in the rookie scale, which features widely varying salary amounts from pick No. 1 down to the 30th choice.
Teams almost always pay their first-round picks 120% of the scale amount, the maximum they’re allowed to give. That results in an even greater disparity, since an extra 20% of the higher scale amount for the top picks is greater than 20% better than the 30th scale slot. The upshot is that the Timberwolves, picking first overall, can expect to pay their choice more than $26.6MM over his four-year rookie scale deal, while the Warriors, who hold the last pick of the first round, are limited to dishing out slightly less than $5.776MM.
Here, via the scale amounts listed on Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ, are the expected salaries for each pick of this year’s first round at the standard 120% of scale. Each season in the four-year rookie contracts is reflected as well as the total:
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Lance Stephenson Trade Fallout/Reaction
- Rivers backed out of a proposed trade with the Hornets during the season that was similar to the deal that went down Monday, sources told Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Rivers and his staff called people around the league this past week to gauge their opinions on Stephenson, Markazi writes.
- The 15% trade kicker in Hawes’ deal gives him an additional $1,698,926 that’s spread over the 2014/15 season as well as the next two for the Hornets, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details (All four Twitter links). The $1,698,926 bonus is equivalent to 15% of his salary for 2015/16 and 2016/17, which is the remaining guaranteed salary on his contract, though because it’s still technically the 2014/15 season until June 30th, the bonus is spread over this season, too.
- The Hornets wisely cut their losses with Stephenson, and the team’s desperation to rid itself of Stephenson was clear, opines Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, who doesn’t have faith that the former Pacer will resurrect his career with the Clippers.
- Some people at the ownership level in Brooklyn wanted to trade for Stephenson this past season, but GM Billy King never felt comfortable about bringing him on, tweets Robert Windrem of NetsDaily. The Nets and Hornets reportedly discussed Stephenson proposals multiple times.
And-Ones: Lockout, Gentry, Pointer
- Warriors GM Bob Myers admits that if there hadn’t been such a lengthy break before the start of the NBA Finals, the team might not have allowed Alvin Gentry to have the second interview with the Pelicans that led New Orleans to hire him as head coach, as Myers tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com.
- The Lakers, Wizards and Sixers are the upcoming teams on the predraft workout docket for St. John’s small forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, reveals Josh Newman of SNY.tv.
- St. Bonaventure center Youssou Ndoye, if drafted, is willing to sign overseas and become a draft-and-stash prospect if an NBA team so desires, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Ndoye faces long odds to hear his name called on draft night, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him. He worked out for the Clippers on Monday and is set to do so for the Jazz today after showing off for the Knicks last week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Charania adds the Sixers, Mavericks, Heat, Spurs and Wizards to the list of teams working him out, which includes previously reported auditions with the Nets and Grizzlies.
- Shooting guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who took the unconventional route of playing collegiately in the Philippines rather than the U.S., will work out for the Mavericks, Hawks and Celtics in addition to previously reported workouts with the Nets and Jazz, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details.
Hornets GM Rich Cho On Stephenson Trade
GM Rich Cho has been in full control of the Hornets front office for barely a year, following the resignation of former president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, and his two most significant moves involve Lance Stephenson. Last summer’s acquisition of the shooting guard didn’t go so well, and now Cho is hoping that Monday’s trade that sent Stephenson to the Clippers brings better results. Cho said in a conference call with media after the deal that owner Michael Jordan didn’t order him to ship out Stephenson, though the GM said he does agree with the owner’s philosophy that it’s important to move on from mistakes. Cho had plenty more to say, and while Cho didn’t acknowledge that the team is likely to waive Matt Barnes, he focused his remarks much more heavily on Spencer Hawes, the other player the team received in the deal. We’ll round up the highlights here from the transcription on Hornets.com.
On the trade in general:
“We are really excited to acquire Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes in this deal. Spencer gives us a veteran game – he has proven himself in this league and adds a lot of experience to the locker room. He has the ability to face the floor in offense as an outside shooter and is a great passer as well. He has a high basketball IQ and we’re really excited to have him on the team. As far as Matt, we’re still evaluating our options with Matt. But before I end, I would like to thank Lance for all his hard work during the year and being a professional last season.”
More on Hawes:
“He didn’t have a very good year last year with the Clippers, but I think he just needs to have a comfort level. I just talked to him a little bit ago and he’s really excited to be here. I know our coaches are really excited to have him as well. We’re just looking forward to getting him here and getting him accustomed to our offense and defense and then having him work with our coaches.”
On Stephenson and his struggles this past season:
“I thought Lance handled it really well, actually. I think it was kind of a shock to the system when wasn’t playing as much. He got out of rotation a little bit, but he handled it professionally and I thought he was a great teammate and I don’t have anything bad to say about Lance.”
On team chemistry:
“I do think we had really good chemistry two years ago and for whatever reason, we probably didn’t have as good of chemistry last year. I wouldn’t put that all on Lance. I do think Spencer is very good locker room guy. I’ve known Spencer for a long, long time, just being from Seattle. I’m also very close with his uncle on his mom’s side. I know Spencer is a solid person and he’s going to be a good locker room veteran presence for us.”
Hornets Likely To Waive Matt Barnes?
8:49pm: Hornets GM Rich Cho specifically mentions Barnes in the club’s official announcement of the trade, praising the forward’s extensive experience in the league. While the kind words certainly don’t serve as evidence that Charlotte intends to retain Barnes, they do indicate there’s at least a chance he isn’t waived.
8:13pm: The Hornets are likely to waive Matt Barnes after the team’s deal to acquire him from the Clippers becomes official, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Barnes is poised to go, at least temporarily, to Charlotte as part of the Lance Stephenson trade agreement, but it appears as though the Hornets prefer to cash in on the savings they’d reap if they release Barnes on or before July 1st. His salary is partially guaranteed for $1MM through that date, but is fully guaranteed for almost $3.543MM after, as Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link).
The trade agreement itself means a net addition of $86K to Charlotte’s ledger for 2015/16, but if the team releases Barnes by that July 1st guarantee date, the two moves put together would take $2.457MM off of Charlotte’s cap for next season. The Hornets would still be hard-pressed to open cap space, with Al Jefferson opting in and Gerald Henderson having $6MM reasons to do so himself. Still, it would give the team additional flexibility to make other deals and spend the full $5.464MM mid-level exception.
Barnes enjoyed his most productive sustained stretch the past three seasons with the Clippers, averaging 10.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game. He started a career-high 74 games for L.A. this past season, but he’d have a tough time starting in front of former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in Charlotte.
Clippers Acquire Lance Stephenson
8:34pm: The move is official, the Clippers and Hornets have announced.
8:19pm: The NBA has approved of the deal, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, although neither team has yet to officially announce the transaction (Twitter link).
7:22pm: The teams have agreed to the trade, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The trade is on track to be completed as early as tonight, Stein also tweets. The deal would make Stephenson a Clipper in exchange for Hawes and Barnes. The move indicates that Rivers believes DeAndre Jordan will return to the team, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets. The Clippers lost confidence in Hawes, and Rivers was never high on Barnes, Markazi also tweets.
6:25pm: It’s Doc Rivers‘ call now, as the Hornets are ready to move forward with the deal, tweets Bonnell, who cites multiple sources.
5:45pm: A decision on the potential deal is expected within the next 48 hours, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets. While the Hornets are ready to pull the trigger, the Clippers are still deliberating, according to Broussard.
5:30pm: The idea goes back to the trade deadline, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. It’s unclear whether that’s a reference to Wojnarowski’s report about the Clippers scouting Stephenson around that time or if the clubs were indeed talking as far back as February.
5:05pm: The Clippers and Hornets are discussing a trade proposal that would send Lance Stephenson to Los Angeles for Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The conversation has been ongoing for several days, but no deal is imminent, Wojnarowski cautions. Such a trade would provide the Hornets a chance to escape from their contract with Stephenson, though it would give Charlotte relatively little in return. Stephenson would afford the Clippers the sort of depth and upgrade on the wing that their playoff collapse against the Rockets exposed as a need, providing he returns to the form he displayed with the Pacers, as Wojnarowski notes.
The salaries would match nearly perfectly, whether or not the Clippers and Hornets swap those players this month or in July, when next season’s salary figures take effect. Hawes and Barnes are scheduled to make a little more than $9.086MM next season after combining for about $8.701MM this year. Stephenson is on the books for $9MM this season and another $9MM in 2015/16, with a $9.405MM team option for 2016/17 that would give the Clippers an out after only one season if the mercurial shooting guard can’t reboot his career in L.A., as Wojnarowski points out. In any case, the chance to reap much higher upside for about the same money no doubt intrigues Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers.
The Clippers scouted Stephenson shortly before the trade deadline and did some legwork on him earlier in the season, as Wojnarowski reported then, but it didn’t appear as though L.A. was interested in making a play for him just yet. The Nets and Hornets reportedly discussed proposals involving the Brooklyn native on at least two different occasions this past season, but no deal came to fruition. The Heat were apparently among the teams with interest back in December.
Hawes is also coming off a disappointing season, and his contract, which has three years and more than $17.347MM left on it, including a player option for 2017/18, could prove too rich for Charlotte’s tastes, though that’s just my speculation. Barnes’ salary of nearly $3.523MM is only guaranteed for $1MM next season, however.
Nuggets Hire Michael Malone
6:44pm: The move is official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.
1:03pm: The Nuggets and Michael Malone have reached agreement on a deal that will make him the team’s new head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Malone won over GM Tim Connelly and team president Josh Kroenke in his interviews, convincing the Nuggets to pivot from interim coach Melvin Hunt, who had earlier emerged as the favorite to keep the job, as Wojnarowski details. The move is somewhat surprising, given Denver’s hiring of former Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro to a front office position last week. Reports painted conflicting pictures of whether it was D’Alessandro or Kings owner Vivek Ranadive who was the catalyst for Sacramento’s decision to fire Malone as Kings coach in December. Denver’s desire for an up-tempo attack also conflicts with Malone’s defense-first style.
Long-ago Nuggets coach Mike D’Antoni also reportedly interviewed for the Nuggets job, and Wojnarowski earlier this month referred to him as a strong candidate, along with Malone and Hunt. Wizards assistant Don Newman and Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool also reportedly interviewed, but Malone was the only one reported to have interviewed twice.
Malone had the Kings off to a 9-5 start, but a bout of viral meningitis for DeMarcus Cousins sent the team into a tailspin, and the Kings fired Malone with their record at 11-13. The coach remained an in-demand commodity, joining the Timberwolves to assist them in an informal capacity at least three different times this past season. The Magic were expected to consider him for their vacancy, a prospect in which he apparently had interest, but it didn’t appear as though Orlando, which ultimately hired Scott Skiles, regarded Malone as highly as it did other candidates.
The Kings were only 39-67 in Malone’s season and change at the helm, though he was well-regarded as an assistant before taking the Sacramento job. He worked as the top aide to Mike Brown with the Cavs, Monty Williams in New Orleans and Mark Jackson in Golden State before ending up with the Kings.
Denver is coming off two disappointing seasons after a 57-win campaign in 2012/13. The Nuggets let go of coach George Karl, who’s now in Malone’s old job in Sacramento, after that season, replacing him with Brian Shaw, but the move didn’t pan out, and Denver fired Shaw on March 3rd. Hunt connected with players as the interim coach, clearing winning their support as he compiled a 10-13 record in his brief time with the team, a higher winning percentage than the club had during the 2014/15 season under Shaw, who went 20-39 this year.
The coaching choice resolves one part of a muddied picture for the Nuggets, with Hoops Rumors readers who voted in a recent poll having been split on whether Hunt, D’Antoni or Malone would end up with the job. The Nuggets will now likely turn their eyes to what Kroenke called “a period of transition” ahead as major changes seem on the horizon for the roster, as I examined in a look at the team’s offseason.
The news also brings an apparent end to NBA head coaching changes this offseason. Denver’s vacancy was the last during a spring and summer in which the Bulls, Magic, Pelicans and Thunder also replaced their bench bosses.
Southeast Notes: Griffin, Heat, Hornets
The Magic and Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin have agreed to a deal that will make Griffin the lead assistant on Orlando’s bench, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune first reported that the Magic were considering Griffin.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Myles Turner of Texas worked out for the Heat, owner of the 10th overall pick, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.
- The Hornets worked out Shane Heyward of Columbus State, instead of Jonathan Holmes of Texas, as had been reported, in their six-man workout today, the team detailed via press release.
- Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post adds Bobby Portis to the list of players working out for the Hawks (Twitter link). Portis will do so on Friday, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- Sam Dekker worked out for the Hawks today, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Quinnipiac forward Ousmane Drame replaced LSU’s Jarell Martin in a workout for the Wizards today, as reflected in a team announcement that showed Drame’s name, and not Martin’s among today’s workout participants for Washington. Martin’s name appeared on the list the team posted on Friday, as we noted. That lends credence to a report this weekend from Kennedy that Martin is shutting down all of his workouts after receiving a promise from a team picking in the middle of the first round that they’ll draft him.
Will Joseph contributed to this post.