Eastern Notes: Cavs, Bucks, Sixers, Temple
Another team with a top-three pick has inquired with the Cavs about trading up for the first overall pick, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. That means either the Bucks, currently picking second, or Sixers, at No. 3, would like to see if they can improve their respective draft positions. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference, home to the teams with five of the top six selections in the draft:
- Soon-to-be free agent Garrett Temple says he’ll consider teams that offer an expanded role for him, but he nonetheless adds that he’d “love” to be back with the Wizards, as Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com observes.
- NBA veteran Lance Thomas has dropped out of this week’s Nets workout, tweets Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
- Semaj Christon, Bryce Cotton, Deonte Burton, Russ Smith, Kendrick Perry, Kyle Casey, Reger Dowell and Tim Frazier are the previously unreported players working out for the Celtics today. Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe passes along the list on Twitter.
Nets To Work Out Ivan Johnson, Others
SUNDAY, 10:12am: According to his agent, French SF Yakhouba Diawara has been invited to the Nets mini-camp this Tuesday, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link). Also attending will be Michael Snaer, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. In 27 games with the Italian team Enel Brindisi, Snaer averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.1 APG.
3:28pm: NBA vets Ivan Johnson, Malcolm Lee, Kim English, Kevin Murphy and DaJuan Summers will join Liggins, Greene, Machado, Kennedy and others in working out for the club on Tuesday, the Nets announced. Lance Thomas will also participate, as Adam Zagoria of SNY reported earlier this week.
THURSDAY, 9:56am: Four free agents with NBA experience will visit with the Nets next week, according to Lenn Robbins of Nets.com, who says the team will see DeAndre Liggins, Donte Greene, Scott Machado and D.J. Kennedy (Twitter links; hat tip to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). The Nets are holding a mini-camp soon, so it seems like the foursome will be among those working out for the club.
Liggins has the most recent NBA experience among that group, having played in the NBA this past season on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Heat. The 26-year-old only appeared in one game for a single minute for Miami, but he made 39 appearances for the Thunder in 2012/13 and also saw playing time for the Magic the year before. He’s averaged 1.6 points in 7.1 minutes per game in the NBA since Orlando drafted him 53rd overall in 2011.
Greene, a former 28th overall pick, has the most extensive NBA experience, appearing in 253 games and making 82 starts for the Kings over four seasons, but he’s been out of the NBA since 2011/12, save for a late-season signing with the Grizzlies in 2012/13. He failed to get in a game during his time with Memphis. Machado, an undrafted former Iona standout, split this past season between France and the D-League after stints with the Rockets and Warriors in 2012/13. Kennedy, from St. John’s, has just two games with the Cavs in 2012/13 on his NBA resume, and he spent this past season playing in Israel and France.
Mini-camps at this time of year usually only help teams fill summer league rosters, but these four probably stand a chance at joining the Nets for preseason this fall, given their experience. The Nets, with a bloated payroll and limited flexibility, will have to do most of their free agent shopping with the minimum-salary exception.
Donald Sterling To Sue NBA For $1 Billion
SATURDAY, 11:03am: Sterling has filed the suit in a Los Angeles federal court, reports Tami Abdollah of The Associated Press. Lester Munson of ESPN.com details why Sterling’s efforts are likely futile.
FRIDAY, 4:58pm: The league is confident it has the legal position necessary to ward off Sterling’s lawsuit and transfer the Clippers to Ballmer, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). That also appears to indicate the NBA would approve Ballmer as an owner, though the league has made no public statement to that effect.
4:12pm: Donald Sterling plans to file a lawsuit for $1 billion against the NBA, attorney Max Blecher tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report from Tim Stelloh of NBC News. He’s also considering a suit against wife Shelly Sterling, Blecher says to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles (Twitter link). The league is still planning a hearing on Tuesday to strip ownership of the team from the Sterling family trust in the wake of Shelly Sterling’s deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.
The suit alleges an invasion of Donald Sterling’s constitutional rights, violation of anti-trust laws and breach of fiduciary duty, Blecher says in an email to Shelburne. He’s also seeking recompense for damages brought on by the NBA’s lifetime ban and the allegations the league is bringing against him as it seeks to forcibly strip him of ownership (Twitter links).
Litigation from Donald Sterling has been expected ever since the beginning of the fiasco involving his racially charged statements on a recording. Sterling reportedly agreed earlier this month to let his wife conduct a sale of the team, but he apparently changed his mind, prompting Shelly Sterling to exercise her right to exert sole power over the family trust that owns the Clippers. Donald Sterling’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s Disease earlier this month prompted neurologists to declare him mentally incapacitated, giving his wife control of the trust, as Shelburne reported.
Blecher tells Shelburne that this suit has nothing to do with the sale of the team, and says to Wojnarowski that Donald Sterling is considering separate legal action to stop the sale (Twitter links). Bobby Samini, another attorney representing Donald Sterling, told Andrea Chang of the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that there could be no sale of the Clippers without Donald Sterling’s signature, in spite of Shelly Sterling’s apparent control of the family trust. Donald Sterling doesn’t intend to sell the Clippers, Samini added.
Central Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Pacers
Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that the team would retain GM John Hammond, assistant GM David Morway and coach Larry Drew for next season, but fellow co-owner Wesley Edens wouldn’t confirm that, according to Woelfel. Edens is the team’s representative on the Board of Governors, which would appear to give him final say. Bucks officials and executives around the league told Woelfel that former owner Herb Kohl became “livid” with Hammond last season, and that Kohl, had he not sold the team, would have fired the GM, Woelfel hears. There’s more on the Bucks amid the latest from the Central Division:
- Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen bid $650MM for the Bucks earlier this year, with plans to move them to Seattle, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Kohl rejected the bid in favor of Edens and Lasry, who’ve pledged to keep the team in Milwaukee, but the indirect role Ballmer played in pushing for new arenas in Milwaukee, Minnesota and Sacramento is part of why the NBA finds him appealing for the Clippers, Windhorst hears.
- Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy calls Andre Drummond and soon-to-be restricted free agent Greg Monroe an “ideal pairing,” but he also points to their shortcomings on defense and the team’s struggles with those two in the lineup together with Josh Smith. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com has that and more from his conversation with Van Gundy.
- The Pistons hired Brendan Malone and Bob Beyer as assistant coaches and cut ties with assistants Rasheed Wallace, Henry Bibby and Bernard Smith, the team formally announced. Beyer leaves the Hornets to take the job in Detroit. John Loyer, who served as the team’s interim head coach last season, remains as an assistant, but there’s a decent chance the team will reassign him, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- The NBA’s revenue sharing system paid the Pacers $15MM last season, multiple sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who also hears that the Grizzlies received that amount, too.
Quin Snyder Among Front-Runners For Jazz Job
Quin Snyder is a leading candidate for the Jazz’s head coaching vacancy, multiple sources tell Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first identified the Hawks assistant as among many in contention for the vacancy last month, but apparently he’s surged close to the head of a shrinking field. The team had planned on interviewing more than 20 candidates, but Snyder is “very high on a short list,” a source tells Genessy, and team president Randy Rigby said on 1280 The Zone that the club is “well into the project” of selecting a coach, Genessy notes.
Adrian Griffin and Alvin Gentry remain in the running for the job, and Jim Boylen, who earlier appeared to be the favorite, is still a possibility, according to Genessy. Utah has interviewed Griffin and Gentry, but it’s unclear if the team’s done so with Snyder and Boylen, or if the club has interviews scheduled with either of them.
Snyder was a candidate for the Sixers, Bobcats and Suns last summer, and was also a candidate for the Bobcats job in 2012, the same summer he was among those in the running for the Magic’s vacancy. The Jazz opening is the only one he appears to be in contention for this time around, but Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and Kobe Bryant share respect for Snyder, who served as a Lakers assistant coach in 2011/12.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey also has ties with Snyder, having worked with him when Lindsey was assistant GM for the Spurs and Snyder was the coach of San Antonio’s D-League affiliate from 2007 to 2010, as Genessy notes. The 47-year-old Snyder also served a season as an assistant for the Sixers and coached under Ettore Messina for CSKA Moscow in Russia. Messina was at one point this spring seemingly a co-favorite with Boylen for the Jazz opening, but Genessy doesn’t mention him among the shrunken field of candidates.
Offseason Outlook: Detroit Pistons
Guaranteed Contracts
- Josh Smith ($13,500,000)
- Brandon Jennings ($8,000,000)
- Will Bynum ($2,915,908)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($2,772,480)
- Andre Drummond ($2,568,360)
- Luigi Datome ($1,750,000)
- Kyle Singler ($1,090,000)
- Tony Mitchell ($816,482)
Options
- Jonas Jerebko ($4,500,000, Player)*
- Chauncey Billups ($2,500,000, Team)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Josh Harrellson ($948,163)**
- Peyton Siva ($816,482)***
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- Charlie Villanueva ($12,870,000)
- Rodney Stuckey ($12,750,000)
- Greg Monroe ($10,216,135)
Draft Picks
- 2nd Round (38th overall)
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $33,413,230
- Options: $7,000,000
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $1,764,645
- Cap Holds: $35,836,135
- Total: $78,014,010
The Pistons took the first steps toward erasing the painful memories of the poor decisions that marked the final seasons of Joe Dumars‘ reign as president of basketball operations when they hired Stan Van Gundy to both coach and run the front office. Just six days later, Van Gundy was greeted with an unfortunate reminder of just how deep a hole the franchise is in, as Detroit slipped to ninth in the draft lottery and had to give up its first-round pick to Charlotte as a result. The opportunity to draft a shooter would have come in handy amid a market in which shooting is so highly valued, and hopes for a quick turnaround took a major hit. Still, the Pistons were going to have to give up a first-round pick to the Hornets anyway as a result of the Ben Gordon/Corey Maggette trade, and the clearing of that obligation gives Van Gundy greater flexibility to make wiser trades with the team’s future first-rounders. It also gives the first-time executive a clearer view of the job ahead of him.
The restricted free agency of Greg Monroe looms as an early test of Van Gundy’s front office meddle. There are conflicting reports about Van Gundy’s willingness to spend on the up-and-coming big man, though he spoke with Monroe and agent David Falk within a day of his hiring. Others appear just as ready to talk with Falk and Monroe as soon as they get the chance to do so on July 1st. The Hornets and Lakers are likely suitors, and a report from January put the Wizards in that category, too. The Warriors had interest in trading for him at the deadline. Hawks GM Danny Ferry has strong ties to Falk, who represented Ferry during his playing days, and the same is true of Hornets owner Michael Jordan. Monroe is already eyeing destinations outside of Detroit, including the Pelicans, who play in his native New Orleans. The former seventh overall pick is still a few days shy of his 24th birthday despite having averaged 15.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game over the last three seasons.
All of that seems adds up to plenty of reason to believe that Monroe will have a chance to sign a max offer sheet. It’s less certain whether he’ll have a chance to sign a max deal outright with Detroit, or whether Van Gundy would match a max offer sheet and yank him back to the Motor City. Much of it hinges on Josh Smith. Van Gundy was cryptic during his introductory press conference about his belief in the efficacy of the Pistons shooting-deficient front line, though he offered high praise for Andre Drummond. The commonly held belief is that the Pistons’ experiment with Smith, Monroe and Drummond in the same lineup is a failure, so presuming Van Gundy agrees with that and judging by his fondness for Drummond, it sounds like there’s room for only one of Smith and Monroe. Still, while a max deal that keeps Monroe in Detroit would seemingly indicate that Van Gundy is confident he can find a trade partner for Smith, there are other plausible outcomes.
Detroit is in line for nearly $38MM in commitments for next season, given Jonas Jerebko‘s intention to opt in. The starting salary in a max deal for Monroe would come in at around $14MM, since he’s only eligible for a max equivalent to roughly 25% of the salary cap. That would give the Pistons 10 players under contract and about $10MM in available cap space, enough leeway to re-sign Rodney Stuckey or go after a shooter with money that would exceed the value of the mid-level exception. Van Gundy, with a five-year contract and plenty of rope from owner Tom Gores, has no mandate to make the playoffs next season, and the team’s chances of doing so would be dicey even if it was an imperative. In his role as coach, Van Gundy could rotate Smith, Monroe and Drummond solely at center and power forward, thus making one of them a reserve, biding time while Smith’s contract creeps toward its midway point, which comes at the end of next season. It will become increasingly easier to trade Smith as his contract draws closer to an end, and 2016/17 would be the only season of overlap between Smith’s contract and a new, more expensive deal for Drummond.
Van Gundy may also simply settle for whatever opposing teams would be willing to give up in a trade for Smith, still just 28 and an intriguing player in the proper context. That might be the quickest way to move on from last summer’s mistake, providing Van Gundy wouldn’t have to surrender a protected first-round pick that could eventually create a repeat of this year’s lottery nightmare.
Van Gundy’s decision-making regarding his three most prominent frontcourt players overshadows what the team can do with its cap flexibility this summer. It’ll be a player’s market for shooters this offseason, with Kyle Lowry, Trevor Ariza and Jodie Meeks the only soon-to-be free agents within the top 20 in three-pointers made this past season, aside from Carmelo Anthony. Lowry would make an awkward fit with Brandon Jennings around, but Ariza and Meeks would fit within the $10MM in cap flexibility the team is likely to have if it gives Monroe a max deal. That would leave little left over for Stuckey, and while he seems unlikely to see salaries close to the $8.5MM he made this past season, signing Monroe and a starting-caliber shooter would probably spell the end of Stuckey’s tenure in Detroit. I wouldn’t be surprised if Van Gundy renounces the team’s rights to Stuckey to remove his eight-figure cap hold from the team’s books, since even if they want to re-sign him, the Pistons probably wouldn’t need Bird rights to do so.
Van Gundy will probably also elect to decline the team option for Chauncey Billups, as unpopular a decision as it might be, considering the standing that the 2004 NBA Finals MVP has in Detroit. The 37-year-old has given indications that he might simply retire, which would make it easy on the team. The decision surrounding Billups then would center around what sort of front office role, if any, Van Gundy would offer him. There are no shortage of other candidates to fill the GM position the team is creating to give Van Gundy some help, and I’d be surprised if the Pistons gave Billups the chance to fulfill his dream of becoming an NBA GM so soon. The top front office job will be Van Gundy’s for the foreseeable future, so it’s conceivable Billups pursues his future as an executive elsewhere.
Van Gundy’s future as an executive begins now, and the challenges he faces aren’t exactly a dream scenario. He certainly hasn’t been one to shirk a tough situation, and he probably laid out a firm vision for the summer ahead in the 45-page presentation he gave in his interview for the Pistons job. Players have bristled under his coaching, but he’s coaxed them into giving them the performance he wants. That’ll probably continue in Detroit, but the question is whether he’ll be able to impress upon opposing team executives with similar effectiveness.
Cap footnotes
* — Jerebko has stated his intention to opt in and remain with the team next season.
** — Harrellson’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 20th.
*** — Siva’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 12th.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.
Draft Notes: Vonleh, Stauskas, McDermott, Harris
Indiana big man Noah Vonleh looked impressive in a workout this week, and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Magic to the list of teams auditioning the potential top-five pick (Twitter link). There’s news on a few other projected lottery selections among the latest on the draft:
- Nik Stauskas will work out for the Lakers and Celtics, Goodman reports, adding that the same two teams are on Doug McDermott‘s agenda (Twitter links).
- Gary Harris will show off for the Suns and Lakers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- Adreian Payne is set to audition for the Celtics, Suns and Jazz, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
- The Hawks worked out Nick Johnson on Thursday, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Jahii Carson, Justin Cobbs, Cory Jefferson, Artem Klimenko and Akil Mitchell are all performing for the Bucks today, the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Suns will audition Lamar Patterson today, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Phoenix is also getting a look at De’Mon Brooks, according to agent Keith Kreiter (Twitter link).
- The Sixers worked out Patterson, Semaj Christon, Devon Saddler, Casey Prather and Langston Galloway, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Pacers had a look at Galloway, Jabari Brown, Markel Starks and C.J. Wilcox, as Tynes also writes.
- The Celtics and Bulls will audition Kadeem Batts, Sportando’s David Pick tweets.
Knicks Rumors: Kerr, Jackson, Shaw, Felton
Phil Jackson said Steve Kerr told him he’d take the Knicks coaching job the day before the Warriors fired Mark Jackson, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter links). Jackson acknowledged that he told Carmelo Anthony that Kerr would coach the team, Herring also tweets, so Kerr’s decision left the Zen Master in quite a spot. Anthony reportedly supports Mark Jackson as a would-be Knicks coach. However, the man Kerr replaced in Golden State wouldn’t fit Phil Jackson’s desire for a coach with whom he has a prior relationship, a quality which the Knicks president identified today as one he’ll look for, observes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
We passed along Jackson’s comments about Anthony’s contract situation earlier, and we’ll round up the rest from the Zen Master’s confab with reporters here:
- Jackson said he’d be interested in coaching the team himself, but he added that “unless the Lord heals me,” he wouldn’t be physically capable of doing so, as Herring and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com pass along (Twitter links). Jackson added that the notion of coaching for just one season on a temporary basis “doesn’t sit right” with him, as Herring tweets.
- Some “unnamed people” have interviewed with Jackson for the coaching job, but none of them were Derek Fisher or Brian Shaw, the Zen Master said, as Newsday’s Al Iannazzone observes (Twitter link).
- Jackson isn’t interested in trying to pry Shaw from the Nuggets, Herring notes (on Twitter). “Denver has everything we’ve owned [already],” Jackson said.
- Jackson said he has yet to tell any players that they’ll be jettisoned this summer, contradicting a report that he’d informed Raymond Felton that he’s going to trade him, Herring tweets.
Carmelo Anthony Thinking About Opting In
Knicks team president Phil Jackson asked Carmelo Anthony to opt in for next season, and the star forward told the Zen Master he’d think about it, as Jackson told reporters, including Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). Anthony has said several times, since before the start of the season, that he intends to exercise his early termination option and hit free agency, but it appears he’s at least considering the idea of remaining on his deal for next year.
Opting in would be a more lucrative move for Anthony in the short term, since his contract calls for him to make more than $23.333MM in 2014/15 if he did so. The most he could get for next season in a new deal, from the Knicks or any other team, would be close to $22.5MM. Still, it would be a risky move for Anthony, who turned 30 this week, since his chances of scoring a max deal in free agency will lessen as he ages.
The Knicks would almost certainly end up in tax territory if Anthony opted in, and they’d pay the tax for a third straight year if they didn’t clear salary by the end of next season, triggering brutal repeat-offender penalties. Still, New York and owner James Dolan have never shown an aversion to spending, and the franchise has made retaining Anthony its top priority.
Jackson said today that he’s “not losing sleep” over the notion of Anthony leaving in free agency this summer, but added that he’s “definitely concerned” about the possibility, noting that “it only takes one bidder,” as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News observe (Twitter links). Jackson has previously indicated the team is prepared to move forward no matter what happens with Anthony, and the first-time executive expressed hope that Anthony would be “true to his word” about a willingness to take less on his next deal to remain with the Knicks.
It would be a blow to teams looking to make a splash in free agency this year if Anthony were to opt in. The Bulls have appeared to be the strongest contender for his services outside of the Knicks, but the Mavs, Lakers and others seem to have doubts about the wisdom of giving Anthony a max deal. That would provide further motivation for Anthony to take the lucrative payday on his existing contract for next season and hope that a bounceback year for the Knicks will raise his free agent stock. Many teams are planning to eschew a heavy pursuit of free agents this summer in favor of next year’s more star-studded class, so while Anthony might have more competition from his peers, there may also be more bidders.
Fallout From Ballmer’s Deal To Buy Clippers
Steve Ballmer’s $2 billion bid for the Clippers is set to smash the record sales price for an NBA team, set just two weeks ago when the NBA approved the $550MM sale of the Bucks. The deal faces hurdles, including the NBA’s official OK, but the former Microsoft CEO seems ready to take the helm.
“I love basketball,” Ballmer said in a statement, as ESPN.com notes. “And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win — and win big — in Los Angeles. L.A. is one of the world’s great cities — a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness. I am confident that the Clippers will in the coming years become an even bigger part of the community.”
Here’s more in the wake of the deal between Ballmer and Shelly Sterling:
- Bobby Samini, one of many attorneys for Donald Sterling, insisted Thursday afternoon to Andrea Chang of the Los Angeles Times that there will be no sale without a signature from the banned Clippers owner. That’s despite a ruling from mental health experts that Donald Sterling is incapacitated, which transfers power over the Clippers to Shelly Sterling according to the rules of the Sterling family trust.
- All involved with the sale are bracing for a legal challenge from Donald Sterling, but they’re confident the deal will come to fruition, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The arrangement would give Ballmer 100% ownership of the team, but he agreed to let Shelly Sterling continue to associate with the franchise in some capacity other than ownership, ESPN.com reports.
- The Sterlings will have to pay $662MM in capital gains taxes on the sale, accountant Robert Raiola tells ESPN.com for the same piece.
- The deal drew a thumbs-up from some Clippers players, including Blake Griffin, who spoke to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’s a great move for us,” Griffin said. “I think it’s putting the final piece to the puzzle together. It kind of allows everybody to go back to focusing on the real goal, and that’s putting 100% of everything into winning a championship for Los Angeles from our side.”
- Other players around the league, including Ty Lawson and Andrew Bogut, took to Twitter to marvel at the $2 billion price tag and express misgivings about the NBA’s assertion during 2011 collective bargaining agreement talks that teams were losing money (hat tip to Grantland’s Zach Lowe).
- The NBA has wanted Ballmer as an owner since the SuperSonics left Seattle, so the league probably sees this deal as a win, observes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). It’s probably a loss for Seattle, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, as Ballmer was the primary financial backer of last year’s bid for the Kings. Ballmer has said he wouldn’t move the Clippers out of Los Angeles.