Heat Notes: LeBron, Carmelo, Allen, Anderson
It remains to be seen whether these are the last days that Miami’s star trio will spend as members of the Heat, but there seems little chance that the team’s run as NBA champions won’t come to an end soon. The Spurs have run the Heat off the floor twice in a row, and San Antonio has three chances to dethrone the champs. Here’s the latest on a downtrodden bunch from South Beach:
- The outcome of the Finals won’t affect the thinking of LeBron James as he faces a decision on whether to opt out of his contract this month, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. That seems to indicate that he’s already made up his mind, though that’s just my speculation.
- James said Thursday that he had no knowledge of reported plans to recruit Carmelo Anthony to the Heat, as Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News details, and Anthony told TMZ Sports that the idea was news to him, too.
- Ray Allen isn’t sure how much longer he’ll play, but while he can envision coaching at some point, he doesn’t want to jump right into the profession after he stops playing, as he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Allen said in February that though he wouldn’t rule out retirement this summer, he’s not planning on it.
- Potential lottery pick Kyle Anderson worked out for the Heat this week, and was impressive in doing so, as Adam Zagoria notes via Twitter.
Joel Anthony Opts In, Will Remain With Celtics
JUNE 12TH: Anthony has indeed opted in, according to the RealGM transactions log.
APRIL 17TH: Joel Anthony intends to exercise his $3.8MM player option to return to the Celtics next season, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The news comes as no surprise, though Haynes hears Anthony “isn’t too thrilled” playing for a rebuilding team in Boston after having spent the past few years on a championship squad in Miami. Still, the guaranteed salary is simply too much for the 31-year-old center to pass up, the source tells Haynes.
The seventh-year veteran saw a career-low 5.6 minutes per game this season, though he logged somewhat more frequent playing time after arriving in Boston in a January trade. Anthony was an integral part of the Heat’s championship team in 2011/12, starting 51 games and averaging a career-high 21.1 MPG, but he came off the bench for most of the playoffs, and he increasingly became an afterthought from then on.
The C’s have slightly more than $44.7MM in commitments for next season, so Anthony’s option will bring that number past $48.5MM. The figure doesn’t include the cap hold for Boston’s own first-round pick, as well as the Nets’ pick the Celtics are receiving via previous trades. Those selections should add close to $5MM to Boston’s books for 2014/15.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, LeBron, Gay, Draft
Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding dismisses the notion that the Lakers will let a superstar free agent direct their coaching search, writing that it’s more likely they’ll select the best fit for Kobe Bryant. If the Lakers somehow land LeBron James this summer, they’d go with the best available coach for winning now, but it wouldn’t be someone James handpicks, Ding adds. There’s more from Ding’s piece amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:
- James is the only player with the potential to become a free agent this summer whom the Lakers regard as being worth the maximum salary, according to Ding.
- The Kings emerged from Tuesday’s meeting with Rudy Gay encouraged about their chances of keeping the forward, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Gay has until the end of the month to decide on his player option for next season, worth more than $19.3MM.
- Kyle Casey, Jarell Eddie and Joe Jackson are among the previously unreported draft prospects set to workout Saturday for the Kings, the team announced.
Jason Richardson Opts In To Remain With Sixers
Sixers swingman Jason Richardson has opted in to the final year of his contract, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The move was thoroughly expected, as it enables him to collect slightly more than $6.6MM next season in spite of a troublesome left knee that hasn’t allowed him to play since January 2013.
Richardson has appeared in only 33 games for the Sixers since he came to Philadelphia as part of the four-team Dwight Howard trade in August 2012. He averaged a career low 10.5 points per game in his lone season of action with the Sixers, well off his scoring average of 17.3 PPG over the course of 12 years in the NBA.
The Sixers still have plenty of cap flexibility this summer, as Richardson’s contract becomes part of only about $26MM in commitments for 2014/15, not counting their pair of first-round picks. It’s unlikely that Philadelphia embarks on a free agent spending spree, but the ability to open plenty of cap space gives the club a mechanism to absorb salary in an unbalanced trade.
Carmelo Anthony Still Plans To Opt Out
Carmelo Anthony is still planning to hit free agency this summer in spite of Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s request that he opt in for the final season of his contract, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Jackson said last month that the star forward was thinking about going back on his longheld intention to turn down his player option for next season, but apparently Anthony is forging ahead with his original plan to become a free agent next month. He has until June 23rd to formally decide on the option.
Anthony has throughout the last several months repeated his desire to opt out, having first expressed that intention in October. The Heat are reportedly among several teams planning a pursuit of the 2012/13 scoring champion, though it’s unclear just how motivated they are to sign him. Anthony and Miami’s trio of stars have reportedly discussed the idea of playing together, and Jackson is pitching Anthony on the idea of recruiting LeBron James to play with the Knicks in 2015. ‘Melo also appears to have has the Bulls, Rockets and Mavs in his sights. More and more people around the league believe Anthony will leave the Knicks this summer, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said today on SportsCenter (transcription via Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv), even though the most lucrative path would probably involve remaining with the Knicks.
Jackson has expressed a desire for Anthony to remain “true to his word” about a willingness to accept a discount to remain with the Knicks, but Anthony could make more than $23.333MM if he opts in for next season, a higher 2014/15 salary than he can make in any other scenario. The most he could earn in starting salary on a new contract would be close to $22.5MM, but the Knicks have an advantage over other teams in that regard, too, since they can offer a five-year deal instead of four.
Draft Rumors: Randle, Magic, Eriksson, Capela
Julius Randle and his family deny that there’s anything wrong with his right foot, in spite of a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the potential top-five pick will likely require surgery. Randle issued his denial in a pair of tweets, while his mother and godfather spoke with Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, respectively. The procedure would force Randle to miss six to eight weeks but allow him to start training camp on time, according to Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski’s original report indicated that the surgery wouldn’t affect his draft stock, but later said via Twitter that it was “an issue,” echoing what an NBA executive told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, who suggests the injury could indeed affect his stock. NBA teams are worried that putting off surgery will lead to major problems in the future, Wojnarowski tweets. There’s more on Randle amid our latest on the draft:
- The Celtics, who pick sixth, say Randle has “full clearance” as far as they’re concerned, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
- Tucker’s report adds the Magic to the teams auditioning Randle.
- Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft, agent Andy Miller tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Eriksson is No. 80 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him ranked. There have been no reports of Eriksson setting up interviews or workouts with teams.
- Clint Capela is the leading name in a Raptors workout today that also includes LaQuinton Ross, Jamil Wilson and Markel Brown, the team announced (on Twitter).
- Brown has worked out for the Thunder, a source tells Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Slater also passes along an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Kyle Anderson worked out for the team, and another report from Jeremy Rauch of Fox 19 in Cincinnati that adds the Thunder, Heat and Bulls to the list of teams auditioning Semaj Christon (Twitter links).
- Zach LaVine is among the prospects who’ll show off for the Celtics on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Celtics are auditioning Luke Hancock and Geron Johnson on top of previously reported names today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reveals via Twitter.
Central Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Embiid, Mirotic
The Cavs appear to be making some progress in their head coaching search, even if David Blatt is unlikely to announce he’s taken the job in his press conference today and the team’s contact with Mark Jackson seems preliminary. That’s far from the only storyline in a busy Central Division, as we detail:
- The Bulls are having trouble finding a trade partner as they attempt to package picks Nos. 16 and 19 to move up in the draft, a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago and Denver reportedly had serious talks about a pick swap, but perhaps those discussions are no longer active.
- A poll shows little public support for taxpayer funding of a new arena for the Bucks, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry have said public money will be necessary in spite of a combined $200MM that Edens, Lasry and former owner Herb Kohl have pledged toward the project.
- Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times hears the Cavs don’t want to trade the No. 1 overall pick and have zeroed in on Joel Embiid, but it’s unclear if that information came before or after Embiid’s workout and physical with the team Wednesday (Twitter link).
- Nikola Mirotic appears closer to playing for the Bulls next season than he is to remaining with Real Madrid, writes César Nanclares of TuBasket.com (translation via HoopsHype). Still, he has a nearly $3.4MM buyout clause in his deal that only applies to this summer, as Nanclares points out.
- I examined the Bucks in the latest installment of the Hoops Rumors Offseason Outlook series earlier today.
Offseason Outlook: Milwaukee Bucks
Guaranteed Contracts
- Larry Sanders ($11,000,000)
- O.J. Mayo ($8,000,000)
- Ersan Ilyasova ($7,900,000)
- Zaza Pachulia ($5,200,000)
- Carlos Delfino ($3,250,000)
- Brandon Knight ($3,553,917)
- John Henson ($1,987,320)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo ($1,873,200)
- Miroslav Raduljica ($1,500,000)
- Nate Wolters ($816,482)
Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Khris Middleton ($915,243)*
- Chris Wright ($915,243)
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- Ekpe Udoh ($11,173,870)
- Ramon Sessions ($6,500,000)
- No. 2 pick ($4,108,800)
- Jeff Adrien ($915,243)
- (Marquis Daniels $915,243)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (2nd overall)
- 2nd Round (31st overall)
- 2nd Round (36th overall)
- 2nd Round (48th overall)
Cap Outlook
Guaranteed Salary: $45,080,919
Options: $0
Non-Guaranteed Salary: $1,830,486
Cap Holds: $23,613,156
Total: $70,524,561
Former Bucks owner Herb Kohl probably didn’t walk away with many regrets when he sold the team to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry this spring for $550MM, a record haul for an NBA franchise until Steve Ballmer agreed to pony up $2 billion for the Clippers. Edens and Lasry agreed not to move the team from Milwaukee as a condition of the sale. They also matched the former owner’s $100MM pledge toward the construction of a new arena, helping preserve Kohl’s legacy in Wisconsin, the state he represented in the Senate for 24 years. Still, the Bucks team Kohl leaves behind is a shambles, and the owner’s steadfast commitment to remaining competitive for a playoff spot rather than embarking on a rebuilding project toward loftier goals leaves the club with grim prospects for the future.
Kohl apparently didn’t mean for his tenure as owner to end this way, and he was reportedly so incensed with GM John Hammond this past season that executives around the league figured he would have fired Hammond had he not sold the team. It seems the club’s new ownership is split on committing to Hammond, coach Larry Drew and assistant GM David Morway. Lasry told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that all three would return next season while Edens declined to make such a promise. Edens has guaranteed Hammond’s job only through the draft, ostensibly putting pressure on the GM to prove his worth in the next few weeks.
Hammond and the Bucks had middling luck in the lottery, failing to land the No. 1 overall pick but winding up closer to the top than to No. 4, the lowest selection Milwaukee could have ended up with. That means the team is in line for one of Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, widely hailed as the three most prominent stars of the draft. The Bucks are also reportedly high on Dante Exum, but with Hammond’s uncertain future, the chances that Milwaukee would take a chance on the Australian guard seem even more remote than such a surprise pick otherwise would be.
The embattled GM may also elect to make his mark with a significant trade, and it seems as though Larry Sanders is available and drawing interest from the Kings. Another report suggested the Mavericks are in the mix, too, though dealing Sanders at this point would be a case of selling low. The center was a game-changing defensive force during 2012/13, earning a four-year, $44MM extension. The move looks like a mistake now, after a season in which Sanders missed time because of a broken hand he suffered in a nightclub brawl, received a drug suspension, and spent the final month sidelined with a broken orbital bone. Still, the extension seemed like a fair deal at the time. It remains to be seen whether the next four years for Sanders will entail more of the shortcomings of this past season or the vast improvement he showed the year before. Unless a team is willing to place an overwhelming bet that Sanders will repeat or outdo his most productive season, Hammond need not compound his troubles by trading Sanders at the wrong time.
Hammond has plenty of other options for a trade should he seek one. A report from February cast Brandon Knight, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton as the only untouchables on the roster, but presumably the right offer could pry at least Knight and Middleton from Milwaukee. The Kings have reportedly shown interest in Knight, so perhaps the market for the 2011 eighth overall pick, still just 22 years old, will be robust enough to give Hammond some intriguing options. If not, he’ll face a decision about whether to grant Knight a rookie scale extension this summer or let him hit restricted free agency in a year. Middleton is a former second-round pick, and since he’s only on a three-year contract, he can’t sign an extension. His salary for next season won’t be guaranteed until August, but Hammond almost certainly won’t be waiving him to pocket what would be a savings of less than $1MM. Middleton’s 41.4% three-point shooting this season figures to make him attractive to potential trade partners in a market that’s light on shooters.
Antetokounmpo started just 23 games and averaged 6.8 points as a rookie this past season, but the flashes of brilliance that the “The Greek Freak,” still just 19 years old, displayed are enough to compel Hammond to hang on to the gem he unearthed with the 15th pick last June. It’s difficult at this point to assess just what he’ll accomplish in his career, so he seems as reasonable to label an untouchable as anyone on the Bucks.
The ownership change might allow Hammond to deal a player whose name has perhaps been in more trade rumors than any other on the roster the past two seasons. Kohl reportedly saw Ersan Ilyasova as a star in the making, no doubt helping forestall any trade that sent him away. The Rockets reportedly had interest in a trade involving Ilyasova and Omer Asik, the sort of swap that might allow the Bucks to more easily stomach a deal involving Sanders or John Henson. If nothing else, it would clear some salary for next season, as Asik is entering the final year of his contract, while Ilyasova makes $7.9MM in guaranteed salary each season through 2015/16.
The Bucks have more than $45MM in commitments for next season, not counting the No. 2 pick, and they have more than $32MM tied up for 2015/16. There’s wiggle room for them to add a free agent on an eight-figure annual salary this summer. If the Bucks exercise restraint this year, they can accommodate a maximum-salary free agent in 2015. Of course, max salary free agents aren’t exactly clamoring to go to Milwaukee, so perhaps using the cap flexibility to make trades or to sign players to fungible, short-term contracts makes the most sense. Even a long-term deal for an intriguing middle-tier free agent would help if its along the lines of the team’s four-year, $32MM offer sheet to Jeff Teague last summer, one that the Hawks decided to match. Teague’s performance in the playoffs this year demonstrated his value and helped make Hammond’s case as a keen judge of talent, even if the point guard didn’t ultimately wind up in Milwaukee.
Teague’s deal makes a lot more sense than the one that the Bucks gave to another Hawk. Zaza Pachulia‘s three-year, $15.6MM contract stood as a symbol of the team’s stubborn commitment to mediocrity. It’s unclear just how much Kohl had to do with that signing, as much as his fingerprints seemed to be on it, but presuming Hammond is around this summer and Edens and Lasry give their blessing to a more patient approach, it’ll be interesting to see the choices the GM makes.
The new owners no doubt have little sentimentality about the Andrew Bogut trade and what happens with Ekpe Udoh, the last remaining player of the three the Bucks acquired in the swap that sent away the 2005 No. 1 overall pick. Bogut fell short of the lofty expectations that surround top picks, but Udoh, the sixth overall selection in 2010, has been a more profound disappointment. He averaged a career-low 3.4 points per game this season, and while his qualifying offer is lower than it would have been, since he didn’t meet the starter criteria, $4,268,609 still seems too much to lay out for Udoh, who’s already 27 years old. It seems likely that the Bucks will decline to tender his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Bucks probably have enough firepower to make the playoffs next season, provided the Eastern Conference stays weak, Sanders returns to form, Antetokounmpo, Middleton and other young players continue to improve, and the No. 2 pick contributes in a significant way. That’s a lot of hypotheticals, but the most significant unknown involves the front office and Hammond’s reaction to the pressure placed on him. Most GMs in his position would scramble to make moves that benefit the short term, the very sort of strategy that put the Bucks in the poor position in which they find themselves. While other harried executives strain to make the playoffs, Hammond’s best moves might be those that, at first, make his team no better.
Cap footnotes
* — Middleton’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before August 1st.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.
Northwest Rumors: Love, Abrines, Nuggets
Kevin Love‘s comments Wednesday painted a gloomy picture for the Timberwolves, but he did have some encouraging remarks about Flip Saunders, as Andy Nesbitt of Fox Sports details. Love spoke in response to Saunders’ assertion that the star power forward doesn’t have a right to feel frustrated about Minnesota’s lack of success.
“What some people don’t know is that Flip and I have a great relationship, and we’ve been constantly speaking about my situation,” Love said. “Flip is going to be a tremendous coach again for the Timberwolves; he did a great job last year with our team, even throughout all the injuries and different things that we had. But that’s the way of Flip of getting people motivated, whether it’s me or people you don’t even know about. Am I happy he said those things? I think he’s supposed to come out and say that because it’s a team game, not about one singular player.”
There’s more on Love amid the latest Northwest Division news:
- An executive from a team other than the Timberwolves suggested to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that there’s been some “chatter” involving Love and the Heat (Twitter link). Wolfson doesn’t give much weight to the notion that Miami is pursuing Love, but he believes there is a team in the mix that has yet to be reported.
- The Jazz are reportedly interested in Thunder “draft-and-stash” prospect Alex Abrines, the 32nd pick in last year’s draft, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman, who nonetheless categorizes the prospect of the Thunder sending him to Utah as a longshot. Mayberry, whose piece examines possibilities for the Thunder’s $6.5MM trade exception, speculates that a deal involving Iman Shumpert is the most likely scenario.
- The Nuggets would like to sign 2013 second-round pick Joffrey Lauvergne this summer, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. Agent Misko Raznatovic confirmed the interest from Denver to Djordje Matic of Novosti (translation via Carchia). Last year’s 55th overall pick is under contract with KK Partizan in Serbia for next season, and the European club’s financial trouble could make it tough for Denver to strike a buyout agreement, Carchia adds.
- It seems unlikely that the Thunder will end up re-signing Caron Butler, Mayberry writes in a separate article, pointing to Butler’s postseason shooting slump and the way his minutes cut into the playing time of Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III.
Latest On Clippers, Sterlings
Donald Sterling’s on-again, off-again battle with the NBA is apparently on again, as the banned Clippers owner apparently intends to push forward with a lawsuit against the league. We’ll pass along updates as they come in, with the latest on top:
- Shelburne clarifies that the September 15th deadline is outlined in Ballmer’s purchase agreement as the date by which the sale must close. Ballmer would have the option of pulling out of the deal if the sale hasn’t been finalized by that date, but he’s given no indication he would do so, sources tell Shelburne.
Earlier updates:
- Shelly Sterling’s deal with Ballmer allows her the option to retain up to a 10% stake in the team that would be controlled by a charitable foundation she runs, report Nathan Fenno and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. She has until June 15th to decide whether to take that option or sell 100% of the club, Fenno and Rainey add. Ballmer would have some input on the foundation, but Shelly Sterling would serve as chair, according to the Times scribes. Ballmer would have the majority interest in the Clippers either way, but the league was reportedly unwilling to OK the sale of the Clippers unless the Sterlings divested themselves of the entire team.
- Shelly Sterling’s request to expedite her probate court hearing was denied, as Donald Sterling attorney Bobby Samini tells Shelburne (Twitter link). The hearing, which will determine whether Shelly Sterling has the power to sell the Clippers without her husband’s consent, will take place from July 7th through 10th, and that’s in advance of a previously scheduled Board of Governors meeting, Shelburne tweets. The NBA could vote to approve the sale to Steve Ballmer during that meeting if the court sides with Shelly Sterling.
- The documents Shelly Sterling filed in court today asked that the hearing be sped up so that the sale of the team to Ballmer could close before September 15th, according to Shelburne (Twitter links). It’s unclear if that deadline is league-imposed or otherwise, but the NBA has threatened to revive its plans to convene the Board of Governors in a special meeting to vote on forcibly stripping the team from the Sterlings.
- Commissioner Adam Silver expressed some anxiety about the timetable in an interview with ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” today (transcription via ESPN.com). “To me, I’m concerned it’s going to delay Steve Ballmer taking over the Clippers,” Silver said. “The team is sort of a little bit in limbo right now. We have Dick Parsons in right now as the interim CEO. He’s a terrific guy. But of course, I can understand from a player’s perspective — they’re going into a draft, they’re going into free agency. The guys want to know where they stand. So we’d like everything to just be clear, so everybody understands how this team is moving forward. That’s my concern, that it just seems unsettled.”
- Donald Sterling would have to challenge his wife in probate court if he were to mount an effective fight against the league, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Max Blecher, one of his attorneys, suggested that he indeed intends to go after Shelly Sterling in probate court, Shelburne adds (Twitter link). Shelly Sterling plans to seek an emergency probate court order to expedite the hearing, Shelburne also tweets.
- Shelly Sterling receives the title of “owner emeritus” of the Clippers, two tickets to all Clippers home games and five parking spots as part of her $2 billion deal to sell the team to Steve Ballmer, reports Scott Cacciola of The New York Times. Sterling also gets three championship rings if the Clippers win a title, Cacciola adds.
- Shelly Sterling’s lawyer was aware when Donald Sterling underwent neurological testing in May of a provision in the Sterling family trust that would allow her to take over if Donald Sterling was found incapacitated, Cacciola writes. Still, Shelly Sterling attempted to persuade her husband to agree to sell the team before she resorted to using the clause in the trust, according to Cacciola.
- Ballmer felt from the start that he’d have to make a bid that was far and away the best one in order to ensure he’d land the Clippers, Cacciola hears. Shelly Sterling made keeping the team in Los Angeles a condition of her deal with Ballmer, the Times scribe adds.
- Ballmer’s initial bid was $1.925 billion, and Shelly Sterling pushed him to add the $75MM that brought it to $2 billion, according to Cacciola. He didn’t know until after that point about the clause in the Sterling family trust that allowed Shelly Sterling to unilaterally arrange for the sale, Cacciola reports.