Jose Calderon Likely To Miss Rest Of Season
Jose Calderon is likely done for the season after undergoing a procedure on his strained left Achilles tendon, Emilio V. Escudero of the Spanish outlet ABC.es reports (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Calderon had a platelet-rich plasma injection, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link), and not a minor surgery as Escudero indicates. The point guard could return if there were playoff implications for the Knicks, Charania notes, but New York has the league’s worst record. Calderon will be re-evaluated in approximately 10-14 days, the team’s PR staff tweets.
Calderon had a disappointing 42-game stint with the Knicks this season after being traded by the Mavericks during the offseason, averaging 9.1 points and 4.7 assists while shooting a career-low 41.5% from the field. His scoring average was his lowest since 2006/07, his second year in the league, while his assists average matched the second-lowest of his career.
Calderon still has two more years and approximately $15.1MM remaining on his contract, though his status with the team next season is cloudy. Alexey Shved has emerged as a solid contributor at the point during his absence.
With Carmelo Anthony out for the season, the Knicks only have 13 available players despite having a full 15-man roster. That includes Ricky Ledo, who signed a 10-day contract last week which expires after Saturday’s game against Chicago. They are not eligible for a hardship exemption since they have only three current players who have missed three straight games, including Calderon. They would need a fourth to apply for the hardship exception.
Southwest Notes: Gasol, Ellis, Green, Powell
The Knicks have looked like long shots to land Marc Gasol in free agency this summer, but the big man says they and every other team still stand a chance, simply because he hasn’t considered what he’ll do, as he told reporters today, including Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The Grizzlies are in New York to play the Knicks tonight.
“I haven’t ruled anything out because I haven’t thought about anything so it would be [premature],” Gasol said. “The reports and stuff like that, I don’t know where they come from because in my mind I haven’t thought about it. I have no [idea] how they can go there. I don’t know. … We’re in the final stretch of the regular season and we want to get in a good feeling for the playoffs so, trust me, I’m not worrying or thinking about those things yet.”
That jibes with earlier reports that suggest Gasol has an open mind but no plans to leave Memphis, where he has deep roots. Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- People within the Mavericks have been worried for weeks about Monta Ellis‘ moody demeanor and its effect on the locker room even though the team has publicly backed the shooting guard through his slump, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. It’s a sharp turnaround for Ellis, as MacMahon believes his free agent stock is falling each day. Ellis has an $8.72MM player option for next season.
- Jeff Green came to Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger to suggest a bench role, and not the other way around, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal notes. Green simply hasn’t fit into the team’s starting group as well as past midseason wing acquisitions Courtney Lee and Tayshaun Prince have, though continued hot shooting from Green would mitigate the issue., Herrington observes. Green can leave the Grizzlies in free agency this summer, but he’d have to turn down a $9.2MM player option to do so.
- The Mavs have recalled Dwight Powell from the D-League, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The rookie big man acquired in the Rajon Rondo trade went off for 32 points and nine rebounds in 44 minutes Saturday for the D-League Texas Legends.
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
There’s only a bit more than three weeks to go in the regular season, which means several teams will soon shift their focus to the draft and free agency, if they haven’t already. In addition to methods of keeping up with your favorite teams as they plot for the future, Hoops Rumors also provides ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players and soon-to-be free agents. If you want to stay up to date on Kevin Love rumors, you can find Love’s page right here. For intel on where Greg Monroe might end up, go here. Updates on top draft prospect Jahlil Okafor are found on this page.
Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Love’s page is hoopsrumors.com/kevin-love.
You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/kevin-love/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice should enable you to get updates whenever we write about Love. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Warriors fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/golden-state-warriors/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from the Bay Area.
In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. You can keep tabs on news related to this year’s draft right here. Items related to the NBA D-League can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here. Again, you can set up a feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.
Draft Notes: Portis, Mudiay, Winslow
The draft is still three months and two days away, but with just 16 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament, underclassmen will soon start declaring for early entry as the buildup to draft night intensifies. Here’s the latest on some of the top prospects:
- Power forward Bobby Portis said this weekend that he’s leaning toward returning to Arkansas for his junior season, observes Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (hat tip to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress). Portis is the 17th best prospect in Givony’s rankings and No. 14 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Eddie Scarito has him 15th in the latest Hoops Rumors 2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
- Not surprisingly, Emmanuel Mudiay tops the point guard rankings that TNT’s David Aldridge compiles for NBA.com. He played sparingly in China this season, but even NBA teams that didn’t have anyone scout him in person this year believe that he’s the No. 1 point guard prospect, Aldridge writes. A lot of teams saw him at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a Western Conference executive pointed out to Aldridge. Still, there are those who prefer Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, even for the No. 1 pick, as Aldridge details.
- Duke small forward Justise Winslow is the elite prospect who helped himself the most in the opening week of the NCAA tournament, Chad Ford of ESPN.com believes, writing in an Insider-only piece that he thinks Winslow would be the first wing player chosen if the draft were today.
Cavs Notes: Love, J.R. Smith, Kaun, Harris
Kevin Love reiterated his plan to remain with the Cavaliers in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show today, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. Rumors that Love will opt out and sign elsewhere this summer have dogged the power forward for months, even though he’s said he plans to opt in for next season and avoid free agency altogether this year. Still, Love stoked the flames in comments he made on Patrick’s show (video link) and on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike (audio link) in which he said he wouldn’t vote LeBron James for MVP and admitted his relationship with James could be better.
“You know, we’re not best friends, we’re not hanging out every day, but we see each other every day, whether we’re at the practice facility, whether we’re on the road or going to a game,” Love said on Mike & Mike. “I think our relationship is also evolving. I could say the same with each and every coach, coach [David] Blatt, and each and every player on the team. But, that’s part of the NBA.”
Most of the Hoops Rumors readers who voted in a recent poll believed Love will be playing for another team next season. Here’s more from around the big man’s current home:
- J.R. Smith has embraced the role of catch-and-shoot three-point shooter that Dion Waiters was reluctant to fill, which is part of the reason the Cavs made the trade that shipped out Waiters and brought in Smith, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. James was fully supportive of the acquisition of Smith and has been key in keeping the mercurial swingman focused, and Blatt is ecstatic with results, Lloyd notes. Smith has a nearly $6.4MM player option for next season.
- Cavs draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Kaun expressed interest in playing in the NBA and having Cavs center and fellow Russian Timofey Mozgov as a teammate in an interview with Leo Savary of Championat (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Kaun wouldn’t confirm an earlier report that he’s already told his Russian team, CSKA Moscow, that he’s leaving.
- Kaun and Mozgov are both centers, and the Cavs haven’t really discussed Kaun since they traded for Mozgov, according to Lloyd, who writes in the same piece, running counter to a report that the team is thinking of signing Kaun this summer. Some speculate that Kaun’s camp is planting the idea of interest from the Cavs to drive up his price for CSKA Moscow, Lloyd adds.
- The Cavs have recalled Joe Harris from the D-League, the team announced. The rookie averaged 10.0 points in 29.0 minutes across two weekend games for the Canton Charge while on the D-League assignment, which began Friday.
Maximum Salaries For Select 2015 Free Agents
The NBA’s maximum salary isn’t just a single number. It’s an individualized figure that depends on a player’s years of experience and prior salary. That’s why it’s quite conceivable that Greg Monroe will receive a maximum-salary contract this summer that gives him less money for next season than what DeAndre Jordan gets for a starting salary on his new deal, even if Jordan signs for less than the max. Monroe will enter the offseason with five years of experience against seven years of experience for Jordan.
That seventh year is the key. The NBA’s maximum salary jumps from a figure of about 25% of the cap to one that’s approximately 30% for players who have between seven and nine years of experience. It goes up even farther, to about 35%, for those with 10 or more years in the league. Depending on league revenues from this season, which determine the maximum for next season, LeBron James could make even more than the 35% max. A player can sign a new contract with a starting salary of up to 105% of what he made in the final season of his previous deal, regardless of experience. So, James’ maximum salary will be at least $21,676,200, regardless of where the league’s maximum for players with his years of experience comes in.
The maximum salaries, like the salary cap, are tied to league revenues, but the NBA uses a formula for determining the maxes that’s different from the one that produces the cap. So, that’s why the 25%, 30% and 35% figures don’t line up precisely with those corresponding percentages of the cap. In most cases, the maxes are less than the true percentages of the cap. For instance, 35% of this season’s cap is close to $22.073MM, but the 35% maximum salary is just slightly more than $20.644MM.
We’ve put together a list of some of the top free agents for next season, categorized by the maximum salary bands in which they’ll fall. The following players are eligible for the 25% max next season, which was $14,746,000 in 2014/15. If the maxes go up by the same percentage that the cap is expected to escalate for next season, when the league projects a $67.4MM cap, the maximum salary for these players will be approximately $15.76MM. All are due for restricted free agency, except those marked with asterisks.
- *-Omer Asik
- Patrick Beverley
- Jimmy Butler
- Draymond Green
- Tobias Harris
- Reggie Jackson
- Enes Kanter
- Brandon Knight
- Kawhi Leonard
- *-Wesley Matthews
- Khris Middleton
- *-Greg Monroe
- Tristan Thompson
This next group of players are some of those eligible for the 30% max, which was $17,695,200 in 2014/15. If the maxes go up by the same percentage that the cap is expected to escalate for next season, when the league projects a $67.4MM cap, the maximum salary for these players will be approximately $18.912MM. All are set for unrestricted free agency. Those who have player options are noted.
- LaMarcus Aldridge
- Goran Dragic (player option)
- Marc Gasol
- Eric Gordon (player option)
- Roy Hibbert (player option)
- DeAndre Jordan
- Brook Lopez (player option)
- Robin Lopez
- Kevin Love (player option)
- Paul Millsap
- Rajon Rondo
This next group of players are some of those eligible for the 35% max, which was $20,644,400 in 2014/15. If the maxes go up by the same percentage that the cap is expected to escalate for next season, when the league projects a $67.4MM cap, the maximum salary for these players will be approximately $22.063MM. All are set for unrestricted free agency. Those who have player options are noted.
- Tyson Chandler
- Luol Deng (player option)
- Tim Duncan
- Monta Ellis (player option)
- Kevin Garnett
- Manu Ginobili
- LeBron James (player option) — eligible for at least $21,676,200
- Al Jefferson (player option)
- Dwyane Wade (player option)
- David West (player option)
Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
JaVale McGee Backs Off Player Option Demand
JaVale McGee now prefers a deal that carries only through the end of the season, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who writes in his weekly power rankings. That indicates a turnabout from earlier this month, when he was reportedly seeking a player option for 2015/16 on any deal. That was apparently at the root of failed negotiations with the Celtics, who wanted a team option. Most of the contending teams reportedly inquired about the B.J. Armstrong client earlier this month, and, as Spears reports today, McGee still wants to play for a postseason contender.
It’s unclear if the lack of an insistence on a player option will spark a renewed interest, as chatter about the 27-year-old has slowed considerably after a brief period in which he seemed a prime target following his release from the Sixers. The Mavs were “seriously interested” a few weeks ago, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported then, but Spears reported last week that they were no longer in pursuit. The Rockets, Raptors and Heat also appeared to be teams in the mix for McGee at the time of the strong interest from Dallas, but even at that point, there was “no way” the Raptors would cross the tax line to sign him, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
While Houston, Miami and Toronto likely wouldn’t go over the tax threshold for this season with a multiyear arrangement for the minimum salary, a one-year deal reduces McGee’s cost if he signs for the minimum. That’s because the league would cover the difference between the two-year veteran’s minimum and the minimum for a six-year veteran like McGee if the contract only covered a single season. It would mean a savings of $32,533 for this season for a team that signs him to a one-year minimum deal instead of a two-year minimum deal, and it would come with the cost certainty of knowing that McGee couldn’t force the team to pay him a salary for next season, too.
Central Notes: Middleton, George, Jackson
Khris Middleton refuses to bring up the subject of his impending restricted free agency even with his agent, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “It’s a little awkward” to share an agent with Bucks coach Jason Kidd, Middleton also admits. The forward’s agent is Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management, while Kidd’s relationship with Excel founder Jeff Schwartz has been a flashpoint for controversy. Union executive director Michele Roberts indicated in November that she would take a tougher stance on a rarely enforced rule that bars agents from representing both coaches and players. Kidd also has a significant measure of player personnel control for the Bucks. There’s more on Middleton amid the latest from the Central Division:
- Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird tells Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com that he expects George will play for the Pacers at some point this season, adding that he believes George has received medical clearance to do so (Twitlonger link).
Earlier updates:
- Middleton told Lowe for the same piece that he loves living in Milwaukee but expressed reservations about the Bucks‘ deadline-day trade that sent out Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall and netted Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee and Tyler Ennis. “Yeah. It was tough, man,” Middleton said about learning of the trade. “We had things rolling before the All-Star break. We thought we’d just get back on track rolling after the break, too. But it’s a business. They thought it was a good trade for the team, so, I mean, we’ll see.”
- The Bucks prevailed upon the Pistons to include Middleton in the 2013 Knight/Brandon Jennings trade, and the experience of getting traded left Middleton with some painful feelings at first, as Lowe also details.
- Paul George insisted today that there is no timetable for his return as he continues to recover from his broken leg, and he denied a report that the Pacers were targeting this week for his comeback, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
- Reggie Jackson says Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is “making it easy” as he’s turned him loose for Detroit, observes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Jackson hinted that he would have been OK with staying on the Thunder, who have a better shot at the playoffs, but he’s glad that his duties are more well-defined on the Pistons, notes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “It’s good,” Jackson said of knowing his role. “That’s one less monkey on my back. Wherever I got my shot was where I was going to get my shot. I was just vocal about what I wanted my shot to be, and some people were mad about that. Some people understood where I was coming from. But it’s always been about getting out there and competing.”
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Ross, Ledo
The Atlantic Division has only one team above .500, but it could send as many as three teams to the playoffs as the Celtics and Nets try to chase down the final two postseason berths in the Eastern Conference. Here’s the latest from around the Atlantic:
- One Eastern Conference executive has trepidation about the Sixers‘ radical roster approach becoming the model for the rest of the league if it’s successful, as that exec expressed to Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Holmes contrasts what Philadelphia is doing to the vastly different approach the Lakers have taken to rebuilding in spite of a shared history of success between the two franchises.
- Terrence Ross took his first free throws in March on Sunday, as Doug Smith of the Toronto Star points out, a remarkable fact given his pedigree and athleticism that’s a disturbing sign for the Raptors, Smith opines. The Star scribe figures GM Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey are already thinking about what they can do in July, when Ross will become eligible for a rookie scale extension and the team can seek alternatives.
- Ricky Ledo hasn’t made much of an impact yet for the Knicks on his 10-day contract, but injuries will likely give him a chance to do so before the deal expires at the end of Saturday, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Andrei Kirilenko Likely To Retire After Season
Andrei Kirilenko, who recently signed to play with CSKA Moscow in his native Russia, is planning to make this season his last in professional basketball, as he said to Canal Plus, a French television outlet, and as Eurohoops.net shares online (YouTube link; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
“It’s probably my last season,” Kirilenko said. “I’m still thinking about next year, but for this moment, I feel like this is the last season. I don’t know yet. There’s a lot of years in front of me. Change my occupation. I’m not going to be a player anymore. I still think I’m going to be connected to the basketball, somehow.”
The 34-year-old forward has appeared in just two games since inking his deal with CSKA Moscow last month, scoring a total of 15 points in a combined 21 minutes of action. He made it into just seven games for a total of 36 minutes with the Nets this season before taking a leave of absence in November to tend to his wife, who reportedly endured a complicated pregnancy before giving birth to a healthy baby boy in February.
Brooklyn traded him to the Sixers in December, and while the Sixers wanted him to report and gave thought to flipping him at the trade deadline, Kirilenko never suited up for Philadelphia. The team placed him on unpaid suspension before releasing him in an apparent buyout deal shortly after the trade deadline passed.
Kirilenko signed with CSKA Moscow shortly thereafter and suggested that it would be the final stop in his career. He spent parts of 13 seasons in the NBA, joining the Jazz in 2001, two years after they drafted him 24th overall in 1999. He spent 10 seasons in Utah, making an All-Star appearance in 2004 and earning a reputation for his versatility and defense. Kirilenko was twice an All-Defensive Second Team selection and a First Team pick in 2005/06. The year before, he led the league in blocks at 3.3 per game, despite standing only 6’9″.
He returned to Europe to play for CSKA Moscow during the 2011 lockout and stayed with the team for the balance of the 2011/12 season. He re-emerged in the NBA the next year with the Timberwolves, but he surprisingly turned down a $10.219MM player option for 2012/13. Instead, he inked a two-year deal for about $6.509MM with the Nets that sparked controversy given the steep discount and the presence of fellow Russian Mikhail Prokhorov as Brooklyn’s owner. The NBA investigated the deal after complaints from at least one other team, but the league found no wrongdoing.
In an unexpected twist, Kirilenko made the contract look burdensome to the Nets as he failed to make the impact in Brooklyn that he regularly made throughout his career. For his career, he averaged 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game with an 18.7 PER and 47.4% shooting. His career NBA earnings came to more than $104MM, according to Basketball-Reference, not including his salary from this season. His buyout brought this year’s cap hit for Philadelphia down to about $2.328MM, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported, but he presumably lost some of that amount because of his unpaid suspension.