Atlantic Notes: Young, Jackson, Sixers
Thaddeus Young said Saturday that he wants to remain with the Nets even though he hasn’t decided on his early termination option for next season, worth as much as nearly $10.222MM, observes Andy Vasquez of The Record. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities can’t envision Young turning down that option and pointed to his earlier report that the forward had requested a trade from the Timberwolves through his agent (Twitter links). Young spoke of a mutual feeling of interest in a continued relationship with Brooklyn, and indeed Nets GM Billy King has said the team will do what it can to retain him, as King apparently sees him as a building block for the team’s future. While we wait to see exactly how Young and the Nets proceed, here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Marc Berman of the New York Post sees signs that Knicks president Phil Jackson will choose to leave the team before his five-year contract is through. The Knicks have fallen flat in Jackson’s first year at the helm, and he hinted to Harvey Araton of The New York Times earlier this season that he isn’t planning a long-term stay in New York.
- Veterans Luc Mbah a Moute and Jason Richardson are favorites of Sixers coach Brett Brown, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, who takes a shot at sizing up the chances that many of the Sixers have of returning to the team next season. Richardson and Mbah a Moute are both set for unrestricted free agency this summer.
- Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga has drawn the eye of George Mason University, which plans to make him a focus of its search for a new head coach, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Larranaga has surfaced as an NBA head coaching candidate in the past and interviewed for the C’s and Sixers head coaching jobs, Wojnarowski notes.
Jazz, Bryce Cotton Talk Rest-Of-Season Deal
The Jazz and point guard Bryce Cotton are making progress as they discuss a deal that would cover the rest of the season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Cotton’s second 10-day contract with Utah expired overnight, so any new deal between the sides would have to cover at least the balance of 2014/15.
Cotton saw only 12 total minutes of playing time for an improved Jazz team during his pair of 10-day stints, and he didn’t go on D-League assignment for any additional burn. Still, the first-year pro saw no shortage of playing time for the better part of the season when he was on a D-League contract with the affiliate of the Spurs. The undrafted 22-year-old out of Providence averaged 22.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists against 2.5 turnovers in 40.3 minutes per game for the Austin Spurs. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey came from the San Antonio organization, so it was no surprise to see him pick up a player who’d spent time not only with the Austin Spurs but with San Antonio’s NBA club during the preseason and the summer league.
The Jazz have the luxury of two open roster spots after their 10-day deals with Cotton and Jerrelle Benimon expired Sunday night, though the team is reportedly set to sign Jack Cooley, a one-time 10-day signee from earlier this season, to another 10-day contract. It would make sense if the primary subject that Utah and Cotton are haggling about is the existence of another year or two on his deal and whether the extra seasons would involve any guaranteed salary, though that’s just my speculation.
Players Eligible For Restricted Free Agency
All but five NBA teams have at least one player eligible for restricted free agency next season, though the number of players who actually become restricted free agents usually isn’t as high as that might suggest. Only 17 players wound up signing NBA contracts via restricted free agency this past offseason, in large measure because teams declined to tender qualifying offers to many free agents they didn’t prioritize keeping. Teams must make qualifying offers to restrict the free agency of their players, but there’s little reason to retain the right to match offers for a player who isn’t in demand, particularly when qualifying offers almost always entail a higher salary than the player saw the year before.
Still, several marquee and second-tier players near the end of their deals will indeed become restricted free agents. Only players who’ve been in the league for three or fewer seasons can be made restricted free agents, with the exception of players on rookie scale contracts, who can be restricted free agents after those four-year contracts run to term.
However, if a team declines a team option on a rookie scale contract, it can’t make the player a restricted free agent, even if the rookie deal ran only two or three seasons. If teams decline their options on non-rookie scale contracts, they can still restrict the player’s free agency. Team options are nonetheless rare for deals that aren’t rookie scale contracts, as most teams employ non-guaranteed salary instead, but if a club waives a non-guaranteed contract, it can’t make the player a restricted free agent no matter how long he’s been in the league.
Here’s a team-by-team look at the players eligible for restricted free agency this year:
76ers
Bucks
Bulls
Cavaliers
Celtics
Clippers
- None
Grizzlies
Hawks
Heat
- None
Hornets
Jazz
Kings
Knicks
Lakers
- None
Magic
Mavericks
Nets
Nuggets
Pacers
Pelicans
Pistons
Raptors
- None
Rockets
Spurs
Suns
Thunder
Timberwolves
Trail Blazers
Warriors
Wizards
- None
* — The Rockets hold a team option on Papanikolaou, but if they decline it, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency. Houston was in the same position last season with Chandler Parsons, and the team declined its option, making him a restricted free agent and choosing not to match when he signed an offer sheet with the Mavs. The market for Papanikolaou is not expected to approach last year’s demand for Parsons, however.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: Who Should Win Executive Of The Year?
The NBA hierarchy has undergone a shakeup this season, but it’s tough to identify a front-runner for the Executive of the Year award. There’s still about a month to go before the end of the regular season, and the extra time might make the choice somewhat easier, but the outcome seems destined to be too close to call until the winner is revealed. Here’s a look at five strong candidates, in alphabetical order:
- Danny Ferry, Hawks: Ferry would probably be the clear-cut favorite if not for his racially charged remarks about Luol Deng that prompted him to take an indefinite leave of absence in September, one from which he’s yet to return. The roster that Ferry constructed is running away with the Eastern Conference, though much of the credit for that belongs to coach Mike Budenholzer, who’s running the front office in Ferry’s absence. Ferry nonetheless built the Hawks in the mold of the Spurs, where he’d previously served as an executive, and perhaps no one outside of San Antonio has had as much success with the formula as this Atlanta team has. It’s happened on the cheap, too, as the Hawks are below the salary cap.
- Gar Forman, Bulls: Forman shares front office responsibilities with executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, but Forman seems to handle most of the day-to-day duties. Chicago’s title hopes still largely live and die with the health of Derrick Rose, but the Bulls are less dependent on their point guard than in years past after amnestying Carlos Boozer, a move that cleared the way for Pau Gasol‘s three-year, $22.346MM deal, one that looks like a bargain. Forman and company also brought over Nikola Mirotic, who’s fit right into the team’s rotation, and watched as Jimmy Butler, the last pick of the first round in the 2011 draft, has outplayed many former first overall picks this year.
- David Griffin, Cavs: The widespread perception is that LeBron James is the one who really pulls the strings in Cleveland, but they don’t hand out the Executive of the Year award to players. Even if LeBron was the catalyst for or at least had input on the team’s moves since he rejoined this past July, Griffin deserves credit for acquiring just about every target the team has sought this season. The Cavs wanted Kevin Love, and they got him. They wanted Timofey Mozgov, and they got him, too. The same is true of Kendrick Perkins. They sought an upgrade on the wing, and they traded for both Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. The only major miss was on Ray Allen, but he’s not playing for anyone else.
- Bob Myers, Warriors: Golden State’s front office takes a collaborative approach, and the roster is largely intact from last season. Still, the Warriors have earned praise for their decision not to give up Thompson for Love and to give Thompson an extension that secured him for four more years. The hiring of new coach Steve Kerr has also paid dividends. One of the first moves the Warriors made after promoting Myers to GM was to draft Draymond Green 35th overall in 2012, and he’s proven a steal both for his draft position and his minimum salary.
- Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers: Portland was coming off a 28-38 season when Olshey arrived from the Clippers, and the first major move on Olshey’s Blazers resume was perhaps his most impressive, drafting Damian Lillard. The GM has gradually built around Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, turning the team into a winning outfit that convinced Aldridge to stay after it seemed he was on his way out two years ago. Olshey didn’t make many earth-shattering moves this year, but he should receive consideration based on the sum of his achievements in Portland.
Let us know who you think should win the Executive of the Year award, and feel free to elaborate on your choice in the comments.
Eastern Notes: Ferry, Brand, Kirilenko, Heat, C’s
Hawks executive and prospective owner Dominique Wilkins hasn’t exactly been enamored with Danny Ferry after he tried to block the building of a statue in honor of the Hawks legend, as Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes in a subscription-only piece. Schultz examines the uncertain future of the GM who’s been on indefinite leave of absence since September and the opposition he faces from Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr., who reportedly sought Ferry’s ouster and, according to Schultz, fears the GM’s return. There’s more on the Hawks amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- Elton Brand says he’ll wait until season’s end to decide whether he’ll retire, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Brand also considered retirement after last season before he re-signed with the Hawks on a one-year, $2MM deal.
- It appears that Andrei Kirilenko‘s departure from the Sixers constituted a buyout deal, as his salary was reduced from $3,326,235 to $2,328,365, according to Eric Pincus, who reports via Twitter and shows more detail on his Sixers salary page at Basketball Insiders. Presumably, that $997,870 difference is on top of the money Kirilenko lost during his unpaid suspension.
- Having Hassan Whiteside blossom as he has is “almost like getting a lottery pick” to make up for the first-rounders the team dealt away when it signed-and-traded for LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010, Heat president Pat Riley tells Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick (Twitter link). Riley added that he feels as though Michael Beasley and perhaps Tyler Johnson also have the ability to offset the loss of those picks.
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is much more pleased with his club now than he was two months ago, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com observes.
Nets Notes: Sale, Karasev, Prokhorov, 2016
Evercore Partners, an investment banking firm Mikhail Prokhorov hired to help facilitate a prospective sale of the team, made the decision to end their relationship with the Nets, and not the other way around, as previously indicated, according to Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com. Prokhorov and company would prefer to sell a minority stake in the club, as Robert Windrem of NetsDaily reported previously and as Ozanian reiterates, calling it the primary holdup for the sale of any portion of the team. The “sale process was a mess,” a sports banker tells Ozanian, who also hears that interest from would-be buyers has been weak. There’s plenty more on the Nets, as we detail:
- The Nets anticipate that Sergey Karasev will be healthy in time for training camp next season, the team announced. The 2013 19th overall pick underwent season-ending surgery on his right knee.
- Prokhorov is much less of a presence around the Nets than he used to be, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, who cites all the shortcomings of the team as he goes over reasons why the owner might want to hide.
- Almost every team is set to be able to open cap room for a maximum-salary contract in the summer of 2016, but Tim Bontemps of the New York Post believes free agents are more likely to choose the Nets and Knicks over small market clubs that lack contending cores.
Team-By-Team Roster Flexibility Update
Fewer than five weeks remain in the season, but teams are still making adjustments to their rosters as they prepare for the playoffs, or, in some cases, get ready for next season. With the help of our Expanded Roster Counts, which Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors maintains, here’s a look at each team’s roster flexibility for the stretch run.
Nearly half the teams in the league have 15 contracts that run through season’s end, so the following clubs are the ones that are least likely to make any moves. They’d have to eat the remaining salary on one of their contracts to add someone else, assuming whomever they waived wasn’t claimed off waivers. However, as the end of the season approaches, it’s decreasingly costly to take the hit for the salary that remains on an expiring contract and sign another player to a prorated deal.
- 76ers
- Cavaliers
- Celtics
- Grizzlies
- Hornets
- Magic
- Mavericks
- Pacers
- Raptors
- Rockets
- Spurs
- Thunder
- Timberwolves
- Warriors
These teams also have 15 players on their roster, but one of those players is on a 10-day deal, allowing the clubs to retain a modicum of flexibility:
- Bucks
- Hawks
- Heat
- Wizards
Now we get to a group of teams that wouldn’t have to make a corresponding move and risk being on the hook for any salary at all if they signed a player. These clubs have 14 contracts that run through the end of the season, leaving one open roster spot. The Pistons are marked with an asterisk because while they technically only have 14 players, they’ve reportedly agreed to a multiyear deal with Quincy Miller. So, Detroit will soon join the group at the top with 15 contracts that carry through at least the end of the season.
- Bulls
- Kings
- Knicks
- Nets
- Pistons*
- Trail Blazers
These two teams don’t have any immediate open roster spots, but they have two 10-day contracts and only 13 players signed through the end of the season, leaving plenty of flexibility:
- Clippers
- Jazz
The following pair of clubs takes that even further, with 13 players signed through season’s end and only one 10-day contract. The Suns are marked with an asterisk since they’re apparently about to leave this group, having reportedly agreed to a deal with Earl Barron that covers the rest of the season.
- Pelicans
- Suns*
No team has more roster flexibility than the Nuggets, who have but 13 contracts guaranteed through the end of the season and no one on a 10-day contract, leaving two open roster spots. The Lakers are a one-of-a-kind case, too. They have 15 deals that run through season’s end and, thanks to the hardship exception, they also have Jabari Brown on a 10-day contract, giving them 16 players. Nick Young has missed the past eight games, and if doctors deem that he’s not expected to return for a while, the Lakers would qualify to apply for a 17th roster spot, though there’s been no indication of whether they plan to do so.
Knicks Notes: Free Agency, Jackson, Larkin
The Knicks have the league’s worst record this season, and even with a high lottery pick and plenty of cap flexibility on their way this summer, coach Derek Fisher isn’t under any illusions that the team will jump into title contention in 2015/16, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays.
“I don’t think we can somehow look to next season and say we’re supposed to win a championship,’’ Fisher said, according to Berman. “We’re at the very bottom or below the ground level for the type of work we have to do to turn this around. We have to continue evaluate everything we do.’’
There’s more on the team’s rebuilding project amid the latest from Madison Square Garden:
- Phil Jackson indicated Thursday that he believes the triangle offense will help sell free agents on the Knicks, but the triple post has plenty of critics, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com details. Fisher offered a vague hint that the Knicks will move away from the triangle next season, Berman observes in the same piece linked above, but he also defended the system, as Berman also notes.
- The Tyson Chandler/Jose Calderon trade was a mistake for the Knicks, and Jackson failed to convince Carmelo Anthony to take a discount of much significance, as Begley opines in a separate piece in which he examines Jackson’s first year as Knicks team president.
- Jackson and the Knicks probably won’t re-sign Shane Larkin this summer, Begley surmises in the same piece.
- Fellow ESPNNewYork.com scribe Ohm Youngmisuk takes a Knicks-focused look at the implications of the union’s rejection of gradual increases in the salary cap in favor of an immediate spike for 2016/17.
Pacers, Rodney Stuckey Interested In New Deal
Pacers coach Frank Vogel said Thursday that the team’s plan all along has been to keep Rodney Stuckey for the long term, and the 28-year-old combo guard is enthusiastic about returning to Indiana next season, reports Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. Stuckey signed a one-year deal for the minimum salary with the Pacers this past summer.
“I love it here, man,” Stuckey said. “I’m staying in the city, close to everything. I love it here. My family loves it here. I love the people in this organization. Definitely, I want to come back. That’s a no-brainer. Having a guy like Paul George here, of course I want to come play with an All-Star. Who doesn’t? Definitely want to be back here.”
The eighth-year veteran started 36 games for the Pacers this season but lately, he’s embraced a sixth-man role as Indiana has won seven in a row. Stuckey is pouring in a career-best 39.8% of his three-point attempts, and his 13.1 points and 26.6 minutes per game are close to his career averages.
Montieth speculates that Stuckey is in line for a raise, but the Pacers only have his Non-Bird rights, meaning they’d have to use another exception or open cap space to pay him more than 120% of the minimum salary he’s making this season. Indiana has only about $36MM in guaranteed salary on the books against a projected $68MM salary cap for next season, but that figure for the Pacers doesn’t include a total of more than $28MM in player options for Roy Hibbert and David West. If they opt in, it’ll be difficult for the Pacers to dip below the cap, so it would seem the biannual and mid-level exceptions are the team’s likeliest avenues for giving Stuckey a significant raise.
Stuckey is in his first pro season away from the Pistons, who drafted him 15th overall in 2007, but he harbors resentment about his parting from the team, as Montieth details. Stuckey believes someone in the Pistons organization was spreading the idea that he was a poor teammate, had character problems and wouldn’t be a fit on a winning team, according to Montieth. No team offered him more than the minimum last summer, Montieth writes, linking the dearth of more lucrative offers to the defamation that Stuckey alleges.
“It’s just unfortunate,” Stuckey said. “I’m not going to say names, but I know who it was. It’s just unfortunate for that person to throw me under the bus.”
Central Notes: Sanders, J.R. Smith, Pistons
Kyrie Irving exploded for 57 points in an overtime win for the Cavs against the Spurs on Thursday. Even before that, it was clear that Irving has maintained his value as the talent around him has improved, as Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com wrote in an insider-only piece before Thursday’s game. Cleveland signed Irving to a five-year maximum-salary extension this past summer. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- There’s been a ton of conflicting information about the precise amount of Larry Sanders‘ buyout and whether the Bucks used the stretch provision, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms that Milwaukee indeed spread the remainder of his deal over seven years (Twitter link). The Bucks will pay him $1,865,546 a year from 2015/16 all the way through 2021/22, which jibes with what Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times reported last week when he said Sanders would receive approximately $1.9MM. That means the Bucks have only about $2.266MM on the books for 2016/17, vaulting them into third place for the most cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, when the cap is set to spike to about $90MM. Sanders is getting $9,005,882 this season, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Bucks salary page. So, he gave up precisely $21,935,296 of his $44MM contract.
- J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season, and while he hasn’t decided on whether to exercise that, he seems to want a long-term future with the Cavs, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. “I am enjoying myself more here than anywhere I’ve been,” Smith said. “I want to be here, hopefully we can have the same team next year if everything goes well.”
- Pistons owner Tom Gores isn’t dismayed even as his team once more slips from playoff contention, as MLive’s David Mayo relays. “The thing is, Stan [Van Gundy] has a plan,” Gores said. “The guys we lost at the All-Star break, it was hard to lose them. They were part of the culture. But we’re trying to build for the future now and we believe in everything that’s going on.”
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune delves into Tom Thibodeau‘s relationship with Bulls management, among other Bulls-related issues, in a mailbag column.