Pat Riley On LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Tax
Heat president Pat Riley today characterized last year’s amnesty waiver of Mike Miller and the January trade that offloaded Joel Anthony to the Celtics as moves that were about creating cap flexibility for this summer and not about sparing the team luxury tax penalties. James doesn’t see it that way, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who reported yesterday that James feels some bitterness about the maneuvers. Riley pointed to the contracts for Miller and Anthony, which run through next season, as the motivationm and the architect of the past four Eastern Conference champions had plenty more to say in his press conference, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel details. We’ll hit the highlights here:
On the notion that owner Micky Arison wants to curb spending:
“He will do anything to get those guys to come back. There has been a perception he doesn’t want to pay the tax. That’s B.S. He isn’t asking anyone to take a cut to pay the tax. That’s a voluntary thing from the player. We are not asking them to do that. Micky will do whatever he has to do to keep this team together.”
On whether he’d ask James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to take discounts:
“I’m not going to get down on my knees. I wouldn’t do that to a player.”
On the prospect of adding a fourth star:
“That’s a pipe dream. But everybody thought 2010 was a pipe dream, too. I don’t harbor that thought. That’s not where we are headed. That’s not what we’re thinking about.”
On how the team can return to championship form:
“All of a sudden, people say we need to improve at every position. We need to get our core back, OK? We need to organically grow from within. The Spurs, after they lost last year, went home, licked their wounds, went off into the summer and they made one move. They got [Marco] Belinelli, who had a great year for them, didn’t have much impact in the Finals except for one three[-pointer] that he hit against us that was big. But it was Patty Mills from within the organization. It was Boris Diaw from within the organization. It was [Manu] Ginobili being better at [36] years old this year than he was last year. It was Kawhi Leonard all of a sudden, the bloom was off the rose for him from that standpoint. He was given the green light and he showed what he could do. I think first and foremost, we want to try and do that. And whatever and what’s available out there that will complement our players and our style is who we’re going to go after. You can always upgrade your talent. You can never have enough.”
Sixers In Talks To Add Another Top 10 Pick
The Sixers are in discussions with teams about trading for a pick that they’d sandwich between the third and 10th overall selections that they already possess, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who includes the news amid his latest story on Joel Embiid‘s foot injury. Philadelphia has also reportedly inquired with the Cavs about the top pick as it pursues top target Andrew Wiggins, so it seems GM Sam Hinkie is pursuing several options with a week to go before the draft.
There have been rumors regarding trades involving many of the top-three selections, though all of the clubs linked to such chatter are seemingly trying to either move up or find veteran help. Thaddeus Young is the only established veteran of note whom the Sixers have to offer.
Hinkie and company have had their eyes on point guards, with Dante Exum and Marcus Smart under consideration, Wojnarowski writes. Smart isn’t in the mix for the third pick, but Exum is, the Yahoo! Scribe adds.
Walter Tavares Inks Extension With Spanish Club
Potential first-round pick Walter Tavares has signed a three-year extension with Gran Canaria of Spain, the Spanish ACB league officially announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s unclear what kind of NBA escape clauses there are in the deal, but it’s something of an about-face for the Andy Miller client, who had reportedly been moving toward a buyout from the club.
The 7’3″ Tavares is the 33rd-ranked prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings, and he’s No. 39 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Still, several NBA executives told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports earlier this month that the 22-year-old has a strong chance to end up in the first round, and some teams with picks in the 20s had been planning to bring him in for a workout, according to Wojnarowski. The Celtics, whose last pick is No. 17, auditioned him Wednesday and measured his standing reach at 9’10”, the best they’ve ever seen, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. The Pacers, who traded their first-round pick, and the Heat, who pick 26th overall, have also worked him out in the past few weeks.
An NBA team may end up drafting him highly to secure his NBA rights while he continues to play overseas even if his contract wouldn’t let him come stateside anytime soon. He averaged only 6.4 points in 21.5 minutes of play for Gran Canaria this season, so clearly he remains a raw prospect.
Draft Notes: Embiid, Exum, McDermott, Stauskas
Joel Embiid has suffered a right foot injury, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and there’s fear that it’s broken, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs discovered the injury during his physical exam with the team, it’s prompted Cleveland to want to work out Dante Exum, Wojnarowski says (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem tells fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford that Embiid probably won’t be doing any more workouts before the draft (Twitter link). He was to have auditioned for the Bucks later this week, Goodman notes on Twitter, though the Bucks haven’t heard from Embiid’s camp about whether the workout is canceled or not, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). Tellem told Andy Katz of ESPN.com that he’ll know more about the injury on Friday, as Goodman notes in his piece, so while the top of the draft hinges on tomorrow’s news on Embiid’s foot, here’s more on the wider field of prospects:
- Representatives from the Kings, Nuggets, Wolves and Warriors observed Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas work out Wednesday in Chicago, Ford tweets.
- C.J. Fair will audition Monday for the Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- The Magic are bringing Kendrick Perry in for a second workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Perry will also audition Saturday for the Wolves, along with Roscoe Smith, Joe Jackson and Taylor Braun, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
- Isaiah Austin, Aaron Craft, T.J. Bray, Eric Moreland and Daniel Miller are the previously unreported prospects who are showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced via press release. Austin is fresh off an audition on Wednesday for the Clippers, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
- Jabari Brown, Markel Brown, Devin Oliver, Khyle Marshall and Xavier Munford are among those working out for the Celtics today, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Oliver reportedly auditioned for the Celtics last week, too.
- The Kings will audition Michael Dixon on Monday, Scotto tweets.
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Grizzlies Notes: Front Office, Calathes, Gasol
The position of player personnel director that the Grizzlies are seeking to fill would serve as a GM-in-waiting for the club, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. That seems to indicate that Memphis envisions once more transitioning away from Chris Wallace as the head of the front office at some point, though there doesn’t appear to be a timetable for doing so. In any case, Memphis is casting a “wide net” as it conducts its search, Windhorst writes. Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- Nick Calathes is on a non-guaranteed contract with the Grizzlies for next season, but he’s drawing interest from multiple European clubs. CSKA Moscow has matched a three-year, $6.5MM offer from Panathinaikos of Greece for the 25-year-old guard, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, advancing an earlier report from Sport24 (translation via Carchia). Calathes would have to sit out the first 13 games of next season because of a drug suspension.
- Kevin Love‘s ability to hit free agency next year has sparked a glut of trade rumors, but that’s not so for Marc Gasol, another star big man set to hit the market in July 2015. There’s a decent chance that it will the last opportunity for Gasol, who’ll be 30 next year, to cash in with a lucrative long-term deal, but Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal hears that he’ll prioritize winning over money, as Tillery writes in a subscription-only piece.
- Gasol also told Tillery of his affection for the Grizzlies. “You know my relationship with Memphis and my relationship with the Grizzlies,” Gasol said. “I’ve always said Memphis is my home away from home. [Owner] Robert [Pera] knows that. I know that. My teammates know that and that’s all that matters. I live day to day but I don’t see myself anywhere else. Only time will time. But I don’t see a reason to change right now. Why would I change right now?”
Amico’s Latest: LeBron, Sixers, Cavs, Draft
LeBron James said this week that if his family is happy, he’s happy, and Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that James’ wife, Savannah, doesn’t have Miami atop her list of places she’d like to live. Sources tell Amico that she’d rather live in the couple’s hometown of Akron or in San Diego. Of course, neither place has an NBA team, but they’re relatively close to Cleveland and Los Angeles, respectively. One place Savannah doesn’t want to move to is New York, Amico also hears. As the anticipation regarding LeBron’s decision heats up, Amico has more on potential factors in the four-time MVP’s decision-making and other topics, and we’ll hit the highlights:
- The general belief is that Dwyane Wade is likely to opt in to his contract with the Heat, but what he and Chris Bosh decide to do with their deals won’t affect what James decides to do about his option, according to Amico. That’s in spite of James having told reporters that all three stars will meet and discuss their futures.
- The Sixers have reportedly inquired with the Cavs about the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, but Philadelphia has yet to make a “concrete offer” for the selection, Amico reports. Still, Cleveland is confident that the Sixers will follow through with an offer in advance of the draft, Amico adds.
- The Cavs are exploring the notion of packaging the 33rd overall pick with another asset in an attempt to acquire a first-round pick, and clubs with picks in the back end of the first round have been receptive to the idea, Amico writes.
- Byron Scott has pulled into the lead for the Lakers head coaching job, according to Amico, echoing his Twitter report from late Wednesday.
Offseason Outlook: San Antonio Spurs
Guaranteed Contracts
- Tiago Splitter ($9,250,000)
- Manu Ginobili ($7,000,000)
- Danny Green ($4,025,000)
- Kawhi Leonard ($2,894,059)
- Marco Belinelli ($2,873,750)
- Jeff Ayres ($1,828,750)
- Cory Joseph ($2,023,261)
Options
- Tim Duncan ($10,361,446, Player)*
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Tony Parker ($12,500,000; guaranteed for $3,500,000)**
- Austin Daye ($1,063,384; guaranteed for $250,000)***
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- Boris Diaw ($8,934,750)
- Matt Bonner ($7,495,500)
- (Robert Horry $6,897,000)****
- Patrick Mills ($2,154,505)
- Aron Baynes ($1,115,243 – QO)*****
- (Livio Jean-Charles $924,800)******
- Damion James ($915,243)
- (Tracy McGrady $915,243)
- (Glenn Robinson $915,243)
- (Damon Stoudamire $915,243)
- (Nick Van Exel $915,243)
- (Jacque Vaughn $915,243)
- No. 30 pick ($911,400)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (30th overall)
- 2nd Round (58th overall)
- 2nd Round (60th overall)
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $33,644,820
- Options: $10,361,446
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $9,813,384
- Cap Holds: $33,924,656
- Total: $87,744,306
Three years ago, the Spurs had finished three consecutive seasons without winning a single game in the second round of the playoffs. There was little reason to think then that Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili would be celebrating their fourth championship together in 2014. Now, after having lost in the conference finals in 2012, lost in the Finals in 2013 and won the Finals in 2014, there’s a strong chance that a repeat championship, the lone goal that has eluded the Spurs, is in the offing.
Surely that thought is on the minds of Popovich, Duncan and Ginobili, whose collective willingness to continue is the key to San Antonio’s hopes in 2014/15. Only Duncan left any noteworthy doubt about his desire to play next season, saying that he hadn’t made up his mind. Still, he’s given no indication that he’s been leaning toward walking away. The forward’s other comments have made it seem like he’s operating as though he’ll be back, and that’s been the working assumption of the Spurs. The 38-year-old will cost San Antonio slightly more than originally thought thanks to the NBA’s adjustment of his contract, which had originally been ratified in spite of terms that violated the collective bargaining agreement, but the $361,446 difference doesn’t loom large. He’s still a bargain, just like so many of his teammates.
There’s also a decision of sorts surrounding Parker, but there’s no realistic chance that San Antonio will waive him and pocket the $9MM in non-guaranteed salary on his contract. Doing so would give the Spurs the chance to open more than $17MM in cap room, but it’s doubtful that San Antonio would be able to attract anyone better, and certainly not anyone more knowledgeable of the Spurs complicated system, than Parker.
The Spurs will have the chance to clear about $8MM with Parker on board, but the cap holds for Boris Diaw and Patrick Mills, which the team seems unlikely to renounce, makes it most likely that the Spurs operate as a capped-out team. That means the club can use the mid-level exception — probably the higher, non-taxpayer’s variety — to add a valuable piece to the championship mix. The Spurs split the mid-level on Marco Belinelli and Jeff Ayres last summer, with Belinelli becoming a rotation mainstay and even starting 25 regular season contests. The championship luster adds shine to even the smallest of markets, and Popovich and GM R.C. Buford shouldn’t have trouble finding takers for their free agent money. The caveat, as always, is finding someone with the humility and on-court sophistication necessary to play for San Antonio. Pau Gasol seems to check all the necessary boxes as a skilled passer with an admiration for the Spurs who’ll probably command the mid-level and could add to the club’s unprecedented number of players from outside the U.S., but he’ll have plenty of other suitors. Finding playing time for Gasol or any outside addition will be a challenge on such a deep roster, particularly if Diaw and Mills return.
There’s apparently some trepidation in rival front offices about the ability of Diaw and Mills to perform as well outside of the San Antonio system as they did in it. That’s certainly valid given that Diaw played so poorly that the 2011/12 Bobcats, the team with the worst winning percentage in NBA history, agreed to a buyout to cut him loose at midseason. Still, his stint with the Spurs rescued what appeared to be a foundering career, and given that he’s a big man whose insertion into the starting lineup sparked three straight blowout victories, he’ll no doubt command plenty of attention on the market. It’s conceivable that a team that admires his selfless style of play floats an offer akin to the $5.035MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level, but the Spurs, who have Diaw’s Bird rights and paid him almost as much this past season, would probably be willing to shell out similar money to keep him. The sticking point will likely come down to the number of years and the amount of guaranteed money on the 32-year-old Doug Neustadt client’s next deal.
The situation regarding Mills is somewhat more delicate, since unlike Diaw, there’s a report indicating mutual interest between him and another NBA team. That club is the Knicks, but it’s not entirely certain whether Phil Jackson shares the sentiments of the rest of the Knicks brass, who’ve long held the Creative Artists Agency client in high regard. Mills would nonetheless make sense for a team looking for a new starting point guard but with tight restrictions on the salary it can dole out. Mills doubled last year’s scoring average this season, meriting a raise on this season’s $1.134MM salary. The Knicks probably wouldn’t be able to sign him for a starting salary of more than $3.278MM, and while the Spurs have full Bird rights on Mills, it’s worth wondering if they’re ready to nearly triple the salary of someone who averaged just 18.9 minutes per game in the regular season and 15.3 MPG in the playoffs.
The end of Matt Bonner‘s contract will probably help the Spurs clear room for Mills and others. The Red Rocket still made a contribution this past season, but he was overpaid on $3.945MM for career lows of 3.2 PPG and 11.3 MPG. Bonner and San Antonio seem like the proper fit, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him return on a new deal, but probably for the minimum salary or an amount just marginally more than that.
The Spurs will probably approach negotiations for next season with 2015/16 as much in mind as 2014/15, if not more so. A new deal for Kawhi Leonard wouldn’t kick in until after next season, but if there was any doubt that he could command the maximum salary in rookie scale extension talks this summer, his Finals MVP award erased it. The only questions are whether he and his representatives at Impact Sports Basketball will consent to a discount, as many of his teammates have, and if so, what sort of sacrifice the Spurs would ask for. San Antonio only has Tiago Splitter‘s $8.5MM salary on the books for 2015/16, and that combined with rapidly escalating projections for the salary cap and luxury tax line give the Spurs all kinds of long-term flexibility. Leonard is only in line for a max equal to 25% of the salary cap, as opposed to the 30% or 35% that others can make, so the Spurs might do well to make a gesture of good faith and give the 22-year-old a full, five-year max extension. That would make him San Antonio’s Designated Player, but the team doesn’t have any other up-and-comers on rookie scale contracts who’d make the Spurs regret committing that status to Leonard.
Still, the lack of young talent aside from Leonard is a concern, even given San Antonio’s knack for turning castaways into productive players. Splitter, Mills and Danny Green are all key contributors under the age of 30, but moving forward from the retirements of Duncan and Ginobili with a core of those three, Leonard and an aging Parker doesn’t sound promising. The Spurs will have to make the most of their well-honed scouting chops to come up with more gems later in the draft, and Parker’s deal to buy the majority stake in French team Asvel Villeurbanne can only help. That club produced Spurs 2013 “draft-and-stash” first-rounder Livio Jean-Charles, among others, and any edge that San Antonio can gain overseas will be crucial to a franchise that’s thrived on international imports.
Buford knows that the retirements of Duncan and Popovich will be “numbing and changing” for the franchise, and he probably feels the same way about Ginobili, too. Yet it seems that those retirements are at least a year away. The Spurs, as ever, are no doubt preparing for the eventuality of them, but for now, the goal is to win back-to-back titles. Popovich doesn’t anticipate major changes to the roster this summer, and there doesn’t appear to be any need for such. The key is retaining Diaw and Mills and adding a rotation-worthy player with the mid-level exception, though none of those tasks appear daunting. Hard work is a cornerstone of the Spurs organization, but coming up with another championship roster for next season won’t be rigorous.
Cap footnotes
* — Duncan’s cap hold would be $15,542,169 if he opts out.
** — Parker’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before June 30th.
*** — Daye’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before June 30th.
**** — See our glossary entry on cap holds for an explanation of why Horry and others listed in parentheses below his name technically remain on the books for the Spurs.
***** — The cap hold for Baynes would be $915,243 if the Spurs elect not to tender a qualifying offer.
****** — The Spurs hold the draft rights to Jean-Charles, who’s yet to sign an NBA contract. He was the 28th overall pick in 2013, and his cap hold is equal to 100% of the rookie scale for the 28th overall pick in this year’s draft. The Spurs can erase his cap hold from their books and still retain the draft rights to Jean-Charles if he and the team agree in writing that he won’t sign during the 2014/15 season.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.
Chris Wallace To Remain As Grizzlies GM
4:28pm: Winger is satisfied with his job in Oklahoma City and has turned down the Grizzlies’ request for an interview, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
4:18pm: Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will continue as GM of the team for the “foreseeable future,” tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The Grizzlies’ search for a GM has “evolved” into a search for a player personnel director, the role Stu Lash held when he acted as second in command to CEO Jason Levien in the front office before both were let go last month, Amick reports (Twitter links). The team has asked for permission to interview Thunder assistant GM Michael Winger for the job, according to Amick. Wallace assumed “interim responsibility” for the Memphis front office when Levien and Lash departed, according to the team’s press release, and today’s news appears to signal that he’s likely to remain in charge of the Grizzlies on a more permanent basis.
Wallace maintained his GM title even as his role was marginalized under Levien, but Amick seems to indicate that he’ll remain in control of the team’s front office in addition to retaining his title. Wallace’s continued employment with the Grizzlies in some form or fashion has long appeared safe, and the mutual willingness of Wallace and the Grizzlies to continue their association even as Wallace spent a year without setting foot in his office supports that. The general sentiment is that whomever the Grizzlies hire as player personnel director will be on a fast track to become a GM, according to Amick, though it’s not clear whether that person would be a GM-in-waiting of sorts for Memphis.
Winger hasn’t drawn much mention in connection to jobs since assuming his role with the Thunder in 2010, though that might have more to do with Oklahoma City’s guarded nature with information. Amick’s tweets indicate that the Grizzlies are vetting other candidates for the player personnel director position, too.
Northwest Notes: Love, Lucas, Smart, Nuggets
No one is sure what the Timberwolves want in exchange for Kevin Love, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com, dismissing the notion that the team prefers veterans over draft picks. The Wolves have been “cagey” about their desires, Mannix writes. As the Nuggets emerge as a leading suitor for Love, here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Jazz are signaling that they won’t waive John Lucas III‘s non-guaranteed contract for next season, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Still, the Jazz can cut Lucas anytime before opening night without paying him any of the $1.6MM he’s set to make in 2014/15, and that salary won’t become fully guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date in January.
- Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin said today that he’s spoken four times with Marcus Smart‘s agent to try to get him to work out for Utah, with no success, notes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). DeAndre Daniels, Jordan McRae, Casey Prather, Langston Hall, Kendall Williams, Mike Burwell and Tristan Spurlock are the previously unreported prospects who did audition for the Jazz today, the team announced (on Twitter).
- K.J. McDaniels and Davon Usher will work out for the Nuggets on Thursday, the team announced via press release.