Top 5 Picks Traded While On Rookie Deals
The Timberwolves traded 2011 No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams to the Kings this week, while Dion Waiters, the fourth overall selection in 2012, could be on the move as well. Teams are usually loath to trade away a recent top draft pick because it’s tantamount to admitting a mistake, as HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy notes via Twitter, but that doesn’t mean such deals don’t happen with regularity.
At least one top five pick from all but three drafts since 2000 has been traded while still under a rookie scale contract. One of those three drafts is the 2013 edition, so chances are one of this past June’s most sought-after draftees gets traded in the next few years. There could even be a player traded twice on his rookie scale contract, as happened with 2012 No. 5 overall pick Thomas Robinson and a few others in recent years.
Many of the draftees who wound up in trades were disappointments, but some of them were productive players, like Jeff Green and Devin Harris, while James Harden was a budding star. Financial motivation was at the heart of the Thunder’s decision to trade Harden, while the opportunity to obtain a veteran inside presence in Kendrick Perkins prompted Oklahoma City to part with Green.
Other top draftees wound up parting ways with their teams ahead of schedule for other reasons. Many teams failed to pick up either the third or fourth year options on their rookie scale contracts, while Jay Williams, the No. 2 overall pick from 2002, hit the waiver wire after his debilitating motorcycle accident. The Bulls let Marcus Fizer, the No. 4 pick from 2000, hit the Bobcats expansion draft just days before his rookie scale deal was up.
This compilation doesn’t include players acquired via trade on draft night, since they had yet to sign their rookie contracts or appear in a game, and such swaps are often pre-ordained in advance of the draft.
2012
- No. 5 Thomas Robinson — Kings traded him to Rockets on February 20th, 2013; Rockets traded him to Trail Blazers on July 10, 2013
2011
- No. 2 Derrick Williams — Timberwolves traded him to Kings on November 26th, 2013
2010
- No. 3 Derrick Favors — Nets traded him to Jazz on February 23rd, 2011
- No. 4 Wesley Johnson — Timberwolves traded him to Suns on July 27th, 2012
2009
- No. 2 Hasheem Thabeet — Grizzlies traded him to Rockets on February 24th, 2011; Rockets traded him to Trail Blazers on March 15th, 2012
- No. 3 James Harden — Thunder traded him to Rockets on October 27th, 2012
2008
- No. 2 Michael Beasley — Heat traded him to Timberwolves on July 12th, 2010
2007
- No. 5 Jeff Green — Thunder traded him to Celtics on February 24th, 2011
2006
- No. 3 Adam Morrison — Bobcats traded him Lakers on February 7th, 2009
- No. 4 Tyrus Thomas — Bulls traded him to Bobcats on February 18th, 2010
- No. 5 Shelden Williams — Hawks traded him to Kings on February 16th, 2008; Kings traded him to Timberwolves on February 19th, 2009
2005
- None
2004
- No. 5 Devin Harris — Mavericks traded him to Nets on February 19th, 2008
2003
- No. 2 Darko Milicic — Pistons traded him to Magic on February 15th, 2006
2002
- No. 4 Drew Gooden — Grizzlies traded him to Magic on February 19th, 2003; Magic traded him to Cavaliers on July 23rd, 2004
- No. 5 Nikoloz Tskitishvili — Nuggets traded him to Warriors on February 24, 2005
2001
- None
2000
- No. 3 Darius Miles — Clippers traded him to Cavaliers on July 29th, 2002; Cavaliers traded him to Trail Blazers on January 21st, 2004
- No. 5 Mike Miller — Magic traded him to Grizzlies on February 19th, 2003
RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
Western Rumors: Lakers, Claver, Casspi
The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted today think at least one New York team will make the playoffs this season, in spite of a combined 7-24 record for the Knicks and Nets. That might not be the case if those clubs were in the much tougher Western Conference. The Hawks are in third place in the East with a 9-8 record, while the Lakers have the same mark and sit in 10th place in the West. The imbalance figures to soften to some degree as the season wears on, but it’s still troubling for Western teams competing for a postseason berth. Here’s more from the West:
- Wesley Johnson could have signed for more money and years to play with that Atlanta team and its much easier road to the playoffs, and the Bucks also offered a better deal than the Lakers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system prompted Johnson to instead choose the L.A. and a one-year contract for the minimum salary.
- César Nanclares of TuBasket.com hears that Victor Claver is strongly considering a return to Europe amid disappointment over a reduced role this season with the Blazers (translation via HoopsHype). Nanclares points out the Spanish native’s contract runs through this season and next and that Portland isn’t likely to let him engineer a buyout this season, though the scribe wonders if the Blazers might be willing to cut ties this summer.
- Rockets forward Omri Casspi is leaving agent Steven Heumann of the Creative Artists Agency and will sign with Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports, as Fegan tells Sportando contributor David Pick.
- Former second-round draft pick Chukwudiebere Maduabum has signed with Tin Kalev Tallin of Estonia, Sportando’s Enea Trapani reports. The Nuggets hold the rights to Maduabum, the 56th overall pick in 2011.
Clippers May Have Competition For Lamar Odom
The Clippers might not be the only team pursuing free agent forward Lamar Odom, as Doc Rivers tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. An earlier report indicated Odom would only sign with the Clippers.
“I’m hoping if things work out, yeah,” Rivers said. “But I just don’t know. I know there’s other teams involved, I think. I honestly haven’t focused on it a lot.”
It’s not clear which other teams may be involved. Rivers, who coaches the Clippers and reportedly has the final say in front office matters, adds that he’s more comfortable with the idea of signing the troubled 14-year veteran after speaking with Phil Jackson and Vinny Del Negro, both of whom have coached Odom. Still, Rivers also says there’s no hurry to bring Odom or anyone else on board. This summer was a difficult one for Odom, who faced DUI charges and rumors of drug use, but Rivers was impressed with his attitude and physical condition when they met two weeks ago.
The Clippers and Odom have been talking for a while, but there remains no timeline for him to join the team. The Clippers would like to fill their vacant roster spot, and with no trades on the horizon, a free agent signing or waiver claim appears the best bet, Howard-Cooper writes. The team is also reportedly considering free agent big man Chris Wilcox as an alternative to Odom.
“We’re looking, but it’s not a desperate look right now,” Rivers said. “I do think we need one more player. It could be a big. It could be another point guard, just to have a third backup for the season. But I don’t tend to make moves that’ll make you stronger during the regular season, because then in the playoffs you shorten your rotation and that was a wasted move most of the time.”
Most Partial Guarantees Have Already Been Paid
The timing of the Lakers release of Elias Harris yesterday was financially motivated, and it had to do with the $100K partial guarantee on his contract. It’s the same calculus that would have forced the Cavaliers to release Matthew Dellavedova yesterday if they wanted to avoid paying him more than the $100K partial guarantee on his deal, which was identical to the one Harris signed. Dellavedova has played a key role for his team, unlike the little-used Harris, so Cleveland has seen fit to keep him beyond yesterday’s deadline to waive him so that he’d clear waivers before Tuesday, the day when his accrued salary will exceed $100K.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors explained earlier this month how the proration of salaries comes into play with partially guaranteed deals, pointing to Lance Thomas and his deal with the Pelicans as an example. Thomas had the league’s smallest partial guarantee to start the season, and even though he lasted only a couple weeks before New Orleans let him go, he had already earned more than his $15K guarantee, making the guarantee irrelevant in the team’s decision to waive him.
That’s the case for majority of players with partial guarantees at this point. Eleven of the 18 guys on partially guaranteed contracts have already earned more money than their guarantees cover, meaning they’re on de-facto non-guaranteed contracts. Their teams could waive them at any time and not owe them any extra money.
A handful of players still haven’t accrued as much as their partial guarantees, though the Bobcats and Jannero Pargo are scheduled to cross that threshold this weekend. Charlotte will have to waive Pargo by tomorrow so he’s off the roster by Wednesday, when his earnings will exceed $300K.
Three players have partial guarantees that they won’t exceed until after the leaguewide guarantee date of January 10th. That means the only date that matters to their teams is January 7th, the last day to place those guys on waivers without fully guaranteeing their contracts.
Here’s the complete list, broken down by category:
Already exceeded their partial guarantees
- Hollis Thompson, 76ers
- Henry Sims, Cavaliers
- Mike Scott, Hawks
- Shawne Williams, Lakers
- Josh Harrellson, Pistons
- Julyan Stone, Raptors
- Ronnie Brewer, Rockets
- Dionte Christmas, Suns
- Ryan Gomes, Thunder
- Kent Bazemore, Warriors
- Matthew Dellavedova, Cavaliers (Had to have been placed on waivers yesterday to be off the roster in advance of December 2nd)
Will soon exceed their partial guarantees (player must be waived three days in advance of listed date)
- Jannero Pargo, Bobcats (December 4th)
- Peyton Siva, Pistons (December 20th)
- Ian Clark, Jazz (January 6th)
- Hasheem Thabeet, Thunder (January 7th)
Won’t exceed their partial guarantees until after the leaguewide guarantee date (January 10th)
- Erik Murphy, Bulls
- Andrew Bynum, Cavaliers
- Hedo Turkoglu, Magic
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Signees With The Most To Be Thankful For
It’s Thanksgiving in the United States, where 29 of the NBA’s 30 teams are based, so it seems like the right time to identify the players with the most to be thankful for. There are certainly plenty of worthy candidates, since just making the NBA is an achievement that should provoke gratitude.
We’ll use NBA.com’s net rating to help us. It measures how many points per 100 possessions a team either gains or loses while a player is on the floor. We’re only counting players who signed a new contract or an extension this past offseason. That leaves out guys like Amar’e Stoudemire, who has a negative 26.3 net rating while drawing nearly $21.7MM from the Knicks this year. He signed a contract for almost $100MM in 2010, and save for his first few months in blue-and-orange, he’s had reason to give thanks everyday since, so Thanksgiving is nothing special.
This list also excludes players who’ve played less than 100 minutes this season. The bar-room brawl that knocked Larry Sanders out for six weeks with an injured thumb gives him more reason for remorse than gratefulness, and there’s plenty of reason to think his negative 28.3 net rating in just 52 minutes this season will improve once he hits the court again. Certainly, the Bucks have $44MM reasons to hope so.
Another qualification is that the player’s team must be at least .500, since it’s a lot easier to accrue a negative net rating on a squad with a poor record. The minus 19.2 net rating that Derrick Favors has put up after signing for four years and $48MM certainly isn’t helping the Jazz, but it’s far from the only reason that Utah is a league-worst 2-14.
There’s also aren’t any minimum-salary players on the list. While even the smallest of NBA paychecks would represent a raise for most, it’s hard to expect much out of a player plucked from the NBA’s bargain bin, like Jamaal Tinsley and his minus 20.2 net rating.
We’re left with four players, enough to gather around a Thanksgiving table. Their net ratings, all of which are worse than negative 10, are listed in parentheses.
- Quincy Pondexter, Grizzlies (-18.0) — signed four-year, $14MM extension
- Marreese Speights, Warriors (-16.4) — signed three-year, $10,972,500 contract
- Dennis Schröder, Hawks (-16.3) — signed four-year, $7,510,862 rookie scale contract
- Tony Snell, Bulls (-11.3) — signed four-year, $6,785,647 rookie scale contract
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Clippers
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Chris Paul: Five years, $107.34MM. Signed via Bird rights. Fifth year is early termination option.
- Matt Barnes: Three years, $10.19MM. Signed via mid-level exception. Third year is partially guaranteed for $1MM.
- Darren Collison: Two years, $3.89MM. Signed via mid-level exception. Second year is player option.
- Byron Mullens: Two years, $2.01MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. Second year is player option.
- Antawn Jamison: One year, $1.4MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
- Ryan Hollins: One year, $1.19MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
Trades
- Acquired the rights to head coach Doc Rivers from the Celtics in exchange for an unprotected 2015 first-round pick.
- Acquired J.J. Redick from the Bucks and Jared Dudley from the Suns in exchange for Eric Bledsoe (to Suns), Caron Butler (to Suns), and a 2015 second-round pick (51-60 protected; to Bucks). Redick was signed-and-traded for four years, $27.76MM.
Draft Picks
- Reggie Bullock (Round 1, 25th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
Camp Invitees
- Louis Amundson
- Brandon Davies
- Mustapha Farrakhan
- JaMychal Green
Departing Players
- Chauncey Billups
- Eric Bledsoe
- Caron Butler
- Grant Hill
- Lamar Odom
- DaJuan Summers
- Ronny Turiaf
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- None
Those who believe NBA head coaches have little effect on the game and are largely interchangeable can’t point to what the Clippers did this offseason as evidence. The team engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth with the Celtics over coach Doc Rivers, with negotiations seemingly stalling at multiple points before Rivers finally settled on heading to L.A. and the Clippers and Celtics agreed on a second-round pick as compensation. Clippers owner Donald Sterling, notoriously thrifty with coaches and executives, no doubt swallowed much harder at the prospect of giving up $21MM over three years in salary for the new coach, who’ll also head up the front office.
Securing Rivers also cost the team any chance it had at acquiring trade targets Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, since the league has banned any further transactions between the clubs this season. Exchanging active players for coaches would be a violation of league rules, and the NBA doesn’t want to open itself to speculation that another swap was always in the works as further compensation for the Celtics’ decision to let Rivers go. Garnett and Pierce wound up with the Nets instead, and while it’s possible they could eventually end up in L.A. via Brooklyn, I wouldn’t be surprised if the league put the kibosh on that, too.
Of course, it was commissioner David Stern who famously blocked a trade that would have sent Chris Paul from New Orleans to the Lakers, giving the Clippers the opportunity to acquire the All-Star point guard for themselves after the 2011 lockout. The bill came due this summer when Paul hit unrestricted free agency, but he made it clear from the start of the 2012/13 season that he didn’t want it to be his last with the Clippers, who’d begun to give Paul some input on their front office decision-making.
There were some tense moments, as teams like the Hawks and Rockets dreamed of teaming Paul with Dwight Howard, the other prize on the free agent market. If there was any serious doubt about Paul re-signing, it happened when the club let go of coach Vinny Del Negro in the spring. The superstar was reportedly upset when owner Donald Sterling intimated that Paul was behind the coach’s ouster. That tempest didn’t last, and oddly enough, it was when the Clippers hired Rivers, a move Paul seemed to push for, that the point guard’s return to the team finally seemed 100% assured. The Clippers and the 28-year-old veteran of six All-Star games agreed to a max contract on the first day of free agency. It was the rare case of a nine-figure outlay that drew little criticism for being too lucrative, and Paul’s 12.2 assists per game to start the season, which would be a career-high, have done nothing to fuel any skeptics.
Not all of the team’s moves this summer were immune to second-guessing, and even Sterling quickly soured on the next most important transaction the team made this summer. The owner reportedly gave his approval to the three-team trade that netted J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, but revoked it after executives from all three clubs and agent Arn Tellem, who represents Redick, had agreed to the package. That left Tellem, Redick and the executives outraged, and the trade only happened after Rivers pleaded with Sterling to once more change his mind.
The owner got over his fears of committing more than mid-level money to Redick, a player who’s never started more than 22 games in a single season. Sterling also consented to the departure of Bledsoe, whom he was fond of even though Paul’s presence at point guard assured the 23-year-old would never reach his full potential in a Clippers uniform. The owner wasn’t alone in having those misgivings, but Redick and Dudley, whose reasonably priced contract offsets the notion that the team is overpaying Redick, give the team a pair of desirable complementary offensive weapons to soup up an already potent attack. The aging Caron Butler‘s bloated expiring contract and Bledsoe, who’d be nailed to the bench in L.A., was a fair price.
Acquiring two starters for the price of one in that deal allowed the Clippers to use the mid-level exception on their bench. They gave the better part of it to Matt Barnes, whose limited Non-Bird rights wouldn’t have been enough to retain him after his valuable performance as a reserve last season. More than a half-dozen teams were after the gritty small forward, who wound up inking the most lucrative deal he’d ever signed. That’s not an achievement most 33-year-olds are able to pull off, but Barnes is becoming more efficient as he ages, notching career-high 15.5 PERs in each of the past two seasons. His toughness is an asset on a club so worried about being considered a finesse team that it called for an end to its “Lob City” nickname in training camp.
The rest of the mid-level went to Darren Collison, a point guard coming off a disastrous season with the Mavericks. Collison lost his starting job in Dallas to journeyman Mike James, and the Mavs decided against tendering a qualifying offer to the player who’d at one point looked like a steal as the 21st overall draft pick in 2009. The Southern California native returns to familiar surroundings with an old teammate in Paul, whose injury when Collison was a rookie paved the way for the former UCLA Bruin to have a breakout year in 2009/10. The Clippers are banking on Collison to right himself so they don’t feel too much of a squeeze from Bledsoe’s departure.
Another player who’s experienced flameout in Dallas was on the Clippers’ radar this summer, but the team elected not to re-sign Lamar Odom when his off-court troubles made it too risky a proposition. It sounds like he’ll join the team at some point this season, but L.A. brought on veteran Antawn Jamison instead of Odom this summer. Jamison seemed perhaps the best bargain of 2012 when he signed his minimum-salary contract with the Lakers, but the 37-year-old’s steep regression last season made the minimum-salary price tag a fit this time around.
The Clippers aren’t deep at center and there are questions about whether they can get defensive stops when necessary, but the 2013/14 team is as well-positioned for a title run as any in franchise history. Paul, perhaps the best point guard in the game, is surrounded with Blake Griffin and a strong starting five, with capable backups at nearly every position and a coach with championship pedigree. Any organization tied to a pair of max contracts that are guaranteed through 2016/17 will have concerns about its flexibility, but neither of them will turn 30 until 2015, so there’s no reason to expect a drop-off in their games anytime soon. Unless the Lakers can convince LeBron James to sign with them in the near future, the best basketball in Staples Center will be played on a red-and-blue court for years to come.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Nowitzki, HGH, Biedrins
The Heat‘s visit to Cleveland tonight brought the specter of LeBron James hitting the free agent market next summer to the forefront, but Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com argues that the four-time MVP should stay in Miami if he wants to continue winning championships. The Heat are a strong draw for other free agents, too, and it’s no surprise that players take discounts to come to Miami, which offers an up-tempo system, the chance to play with LeBron, and title contention, Tjarks writes. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is confident Dirk Nowitzki won’t seek too much money from the team in contract negotiations this summer, and says the Mavs are “going to do all we can to keep him forever,” notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Cuban also told reporters that the NBA is open-minded about studies on the use of human growth hormone for helping athletes recover from injury. Cuban intends to fund the research, but that sort of HGH use in the NBA would first require U.S. government approval. Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com has the details.
- Andris Biedrins admits impending free agency is on his mind, and the Jazz center hinted at retirement, saying in part that, “I know this is my last year,” as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune passes along. Of course, Biedrins could be referring to the last year of his contract, rather than his career.
- Gerald Green has fit in surprisingly well in Phoenix, writes Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld, who sees potential for him to be a long-term piece for the Suns.
- Kim English has signed to play in France with Chorale Roanne, the team announced (translation via Sportando). Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported the deal for the Leon Rose client and former Pistons guard.
- Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld doesn’t expect the Heat‘s Big Three to hit the open market next summer, but offers up a list of plenty of other potential free agents for teams to consider in 2014.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Latest On Bulls, Luol Deng
The Bulls ended their four-game losing streak with a win against the Pistons tonight, but they remain a team in flux. The “sense around the league” since the Bulls and Luol Deng stopped their extension talks in the summer has been that he would be available for the right offer, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Derrick Rose‘s injury might mean the Bulls would be willing to accept less in return for Deng, Johnson surmises.
The soon-to-be free agent brushed off a reporter’s question about whether he wants to stay with Chicago now that the team no longer has a realistic chance of winning the title this year, as Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times observes.
“I don’t even have to answer that,’’ Deng said. “If you think I want to leave, you think I want to leave. If you think I want to stay, I don’t really need to answer that. I think people know where my heart is.’’
Johnson points to Deng’s repeated statements in the past about wanting to remain with the Bulls for his entire career. Coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t worried about all the trade talk getting to Deng, but the small forward believes the uncertainty could hurt the team, Cowley notes in the same piece.
“It’s definitely, I don’t know if you’d call it a distraction, it’s disturbing,’’ he said. “It’s going to create a tension, right reason, wrong reason, whatever it is.’’
Reaction To Dion Waiters Trade Chatter
ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported this afternoon that the Cavs are trying to move Dion Waiters and that the second-year guard is open to a trade. The Cavs insist they’re merely fielding offers for Waiters, who says he’s content to remain in Cleveland. While we track the major developments in the story here, there’s also some background info to pass along, which we cover below:
- This wouldn’t be the first time the Cavs have offered Waiters in trade discussions, according to HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy. It’s odd to see a player drafted so highly on the block so soon, Kennedy says, adding his speculation that there’s more to the story than has been reported so far (Twitter links).
- Cavs coach Mike Brown says he’s unaware of any trade talk the team might be having about Waiters, and answered “yes” when asked whether he wanted Waiters on the team, as the Plain Dealer notes via Twitter.
- Character issues made Waiters a “huge gamble” for the Cavs when they drafted him fourth overall last year, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who figures that if he knew about Waiters’ off-court matters, the Cavaliers must surely have known, too.
- The Cavs and Waiters may be denying the rumors, but Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio nonetheless believes there’s at least some truth behind the reports.
Arinze Onuaku Signs With D-League’s Charge
Former Pelicans power forward Arinze Onuaku has signed with the D-League’s Canton Charge, the team announced (hat tip to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio). The Charge have a one-to-one affiliation with the Cavs, but Onuaku’s D-League contract doesn’t constitute any agreement between him and the NBA team. The 26-year-old remains eligible to hook on with any NBA club, including the Cavs.
Onuaku was allowed to sign directly with the Charge rather than go through the D-League’s waiver process, as Kendall Marshall must do, because he played with Canton before. The one-time member of the Syracuse Orange averaged 12.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in 38 games with the Charge last year, and participated in the D-League All-Star Game.
That performance led to a summer-league stint with the Suns this year and a training camp invitation from the Pelicans. New Orleans briefly carried him on its regular season roster before waiving him a couple of weeks ago, just three games into his NBA career.