Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Turner, Bradley
The Suns might not get a discount on Eric Bledsoe this summer after passing on an extension for him last night, but team president of basketball operations Lon Babby would be OK with seeing Bledsoe’s price tag escalate if he has a breakout year. Matt Petersen of Suns.com shares that and more from Babby in the wake of last night’s extension deadline.
“I can’t say that we received an unqualified declaration of [Bledsoe wanting to stay in Phoenix long-term], but I wouldn’t expect that,” Babby said. “That’s part of the issue. He’s only been with us for a short time. But if you’re asking me is there any indication he’s not happy here, absolutely not. I think he’s very, very happy and we’ll do everything we can to make sure he’s happy. He’s an important part of this franchise for a long, long time to come.”
There’s more on a pair of players who’ll also hit restricted free agency this summer as we round up the latest from the Association:
- Evan Turner said earlier that he and Sixers GM Sam Hinkie didn’t have any talks about an extension, and that silence extends to any mention of Turner’s future in Philadelphia, as Turner told reporters, including Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Turner isn’t sure if that future includes the Sixers after seeing the team trade Jrue Holiday, a player he called a “walking legend.” (Twitter links).
- Avery Bradley isn’t concerned that the Celtics passed on what reportedly would have been a four-year extension, telling Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald and other assembled media today that he’d love to stay in Boston.
- We already knew that the Rockets had protected B.J. Young from tonight’s D-League draft, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes the team did the same for fellow camp casualties Jordan Henriquez and Troy Daniels (Twitter link).
- In an interview with the YES Network, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov shared his enthusiastic response when informed of the prospect of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade and explained that his desire for a non-traditional coach led him to Jason Kidd. Newsday’s Roderick Boone has the details.
- Commissioner-in-waiting Adam Silver spoke with Jared Weiss of CLNS Radio about the this season’s leaguewide rollout of SportVU cameras, expressing the league’s desire to create a level playing field in terms of the data and technology available to teams.
Rookie Scale Option Decision Recap
A month ago, there were 57 players on rookie scale contracts eligible to have 2014/15 team options exercised ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Teams picked up all but seven of those options, once more affirming the bargain that the rookie scale provides to clubs. Five of the options were allowed to lapse, while two other eligible players were waived before the deadline. You can find our full, team-by-team breakdown of the option decisions via this link, but a few of the results are more surprising than others.
I examined the decisions teams faced on these options earlier this autumn, separating the likelihood that each option would be exercised into three categories: “no-brainers,” “probables” and “on the bubble.” All 15 of the “no-brainer” options were exercised, and only one of the 32 probables isn’t under contract for 2014/15: MarShon Brooks. The Celtics elected to decline their option on Brooks, and the team’s unfamiliarity with him after he came over from the Nets this summer was part of the reason, according to GM Danny Ainge.
There were 10 “bubble” cases, and only three of those options were picked up. Three of the options that were declined belonged to former lottery picks. The Wizards never formally announced that they’d turned down their fourth-year option on 2011 No. 6 overall pick Jan Vesely, nor did they announce their decision to decline Chris Singleton‘s option and pick up Bradley Beal‘s, but Michael Lee of The Washington Post confirms the moves. The Kings owned up to their mistake on Jimmer Fredette, declining the option of the former tenth overall pick. The Wizards also failed to exercise the option of another lottery selection, waiving 2012 13th pick Kendall Marshall shortly after acquiring him from the Suns in last week’s Marcin Gortat trade.
Royce White also hit free agency prematurely, as the Sixers released him a week before the option deadline. The Nuggets made no formal announcement about their decision to decline Jordan Hamilton‘s option, but he, too, will become a free agent at the end of the season. Jared Cunningham of the Hawks will also be a free agent in the summer, as his was the other option to be declined. Derrick Williams of the Timberwolves, Cory Joseph of the Spurs and Tony Wroten of the Sixers were the only “bubble” players to have their options exercised.
Grant Jerrett Tops Field Of D-League Draftees
The Thunder’s D-League affiliate used the No. 1 overall pick in tonight’s D-League draft on Grant Jerrett, allowing the Thunder to closely monitor a player whose NBA rights also belong to them. Oklahoma City traded for Jerrett shortly after the Blazers took him 40th overall in June’s NBA draft. A report in September indicated Jerrett had signed with the Thunder-owned Tulsa 66ers, but as I pointed out at the time, he’d have to enter the D-League draft rather than sign with Tulsa outright. The 66ers pulled off a trade yesterday to acquire the No. 1 pick in the D-League draft, positioning themselves to secure Jerrett’s D-League rights.
The Pelicans didn’t do the same with the second-rounder they picked up in the Jrue Holiday/Nerlens Noel trade. Pierre Jackson, the 42nd overall pick in the NBA draft, went fourth overall in the D-League draft to the Idaho Stampede, the affiliate of the Blazers.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the one-to-one affiliate of the Rockets, took four-year NBA vet James Johnson second overall tonight, while Quincy Douby, who has three years of NBA experience, went at No. 3 to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the affiliate of the Heat. The Texas Legends, who are affiliated with the Mavs, rounded out the top five with their selection of C.J. Aiken, who was in an NBA camp with the Kings last month after leaving St. Joseph’s in the spring.
Ricky Davis was perhaps the most well-known figure selected, as the Erie BayHawks, the affiliate of the Knicks, drafted him in the sixth round, signaling that the Knicks liked what they saw when the 34-year-old worked out for them in September. Other notable picks include former Magic and Thunder swingman DeAndre Liggins, who went to the Skyforce at seventh overall. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the brother of Bucks rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo, went at No. 9 to the Delaware 87ers. Check out the entire list of draftees right here.
Some D-League clubs were involved in draft day trades. The Santa Cruz Warriors came into the draft already stocked with Stephen Curry‘s brother Seth Curry, whose D-League rights Golden State had protected after cutting him at the end of camp. Santa Cruz swapped a second-round pick for Mychel Thompson, brother of Golden State sharpshooter Klay Thompson, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes, giving the Warriors’ affiliate their own version of the big club’s “Splash Brothers” duo.
Players with prior D-League experience who were cut from NBA camps can re-enter the D-League and go back to their old teams without entering the draft. That’s what James Nunnally, fresh off a camp appearance with the Suns, has decided to do, as he’ll return to the Bakersfield Jam, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The Suns are one of five NBA teams affiliated with the Jam, as our list of NBA/D-League affiliations shows.
Northwest Links: Hayward, Hickson, Wolves
The Jazz and Gordon Hayward didn’t reach a deal on an extension last night, but GM Dennis Lindsey can still envision Hayward retiring with Utah and says much of the moves the team pulled off this summer were done with Hayward in mind. Jody Genessy of the Deseret News and Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune have more details, including Hayward’s morning-after input, as we round up the latest from the Northwest Division:
- Hayward echoed Lindsey’s comment that “no ill will” came of the failed negotiations. “I love being in Utah,” he said. “I really wish it could’ve happened. This in no way changes the way I feel about Utah at all. Hopefully it will get worked out next summer.”
- J.J. Hickson is upset with Blazers GM Neil Olshey and some of his former Portland teammates for expressing their desire for an upgrade over Hickson at center this summer, the current Nugget tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes nonetheless hears from a source that the $4MM that Portland paid Hickson on his one-year deal last season was much greater than any other team was willing to cough up at the time.
- Rick Adelman said a couple of weeks ago that the Timberwolves were looking at bringing aboard someone who could shore up the small forward position, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears there’s “nothing brewing” for now (Twitter link).
Unsigned Players Who Made $5MM+ Last Year
Richard Hamilton isn’t making any money from professional basketball right now, and that’s quite a change from last season. The three-time All-Star made more than $11MM combined during 2012/13 from his contract with the Bulls and through his buyout agreement with the Pistons, who chipped in more than $6MM of his total take. Corey Maggette raked in more than $10.9MM playing for the Pistons last season, but the 33-year-old failed in his bid to make the Spurs on a minimum-salary contract. It appears Maggette will retire now, meaning he’d go from earning an eight-figure salary to not receiving a dime from pro basketball in the space of one year.
Hamilton, Maggette and Stephen Jackson all made more than $10MM last season playing the NBA, and none of them are signed for this season. Of course, some players who’ve been waived via the amnesty clause saw even larger streams of income dry up this summer once their old contracts finally lapsed, but the focus here is on players who still remained on NBA rosters last season.
There are nine players who find themselves on the shelf this year after making more than $5MM playing in the NBA last season. Hedo Turkoglu figures to join them soon, once the Magic figure out what they’re going to do with his $12MM expiring contract. The deal is only guaranteed for $6MM, but the Magic want to see what they can get on the trade market for Turkoglu rather than release him right away, even though the team has told him to stay home. His $11,815,850 salary last season would put him atop this list, which includes every unsigned player who made more than $5MM while on an NBA roster last season.
- Richard Hamilton, Pistons/Bulls ($11,069,767 — $6,069,767 from Pistons and $5MM from Bulls)
- Corey Maggette, Pistons ($10,924,138)
- Stephen Jackson, Spurs ($10,059,750)
- Lamar Odom, Clippers ($8.2MM)
- Tyrus Thomas, Bobcats ($8MM)
- DeSagana Diop, Bobcats ($7,372,200)
- Drew Gooden, Bucks ($6,687,400)
- Luke Walton, Cavaliers ($6,091,363)
- Brandon Roy, Timberwolves ($5.1MM)
Storyteller’s Contracts was used in the creation of this post.
Jazz, Gordon Hayward Not Close To Deal
10:39pm: According to league sources, the extension talks between Hayward and the Jazz will end without a resolution, reports Wojnarowski. Hayward will become a restricted free agent next July and could command, in Wojnarowski’s estimate, a deal worth four years and more than $50MM.
9:59pm: As we approach an hour before the extension deadline, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets that the Jazz and Hayward are still engaged in talks.
THURSDAY, 11:36am: Hayward and the Jazz “still have a long way to go” if they’re going to work something out by tonight’s deadline, according to Wojnarowski. However, Wojnarowski expects talks to continue into the final hours, and notes that major movement often occurs as the deadline nears (Twitter links).
SATURDAY, 3:13pm: The Jazz and Gordon Hayward have been in talks about a package that would reportedly exceed the $47.7MM base salary of Derrick Favors‘ extension, but the two sides aren’t close to an agreement, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. Thursday represents the deadline for teams and players eligible to receive rookie-scale extensions to sign a deal, and while Amick cautions that the situation could quickly change, it appears as though Hayward is headed for restricted free agency next summer (Twitter link).
There’s “nothing resembling even the baseline for an agreement,” writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski points out that the Celtics and Suns, two teams set to have plenty of cap space next summer, employ coaches with whom Hayward has a history — Brad Stevens in Boston and Jeff Hornacek in Phoenix.
Hayward is drawing praise from around the league, and Doc Rivers‘ “man-crush” on the former Butler standout suggests he’ll have plenty of teams after him if he hits free agency. Still, Hayward started only 27 of his 72 games last season, averaging 14.1 points and shooting 41.5% on three-point attempts. Favors has seen even less time on the floor during his first three seasons, but that didn’t stop the Jazz from committing to him for the long term.
Only about 25% of voters in a Hoops Rumors poll this week agreed that Hayward should receive more money than Favors in an extension. Still, the holdup in Hayward’s case appears to be on his side. He’s likely to see plenty of action this season, and his steady improvement so far suggests a heavy volume of shots and minutes could result in a serious jump in production. He and agent Mark Bartelstein may be anxious to see just how high his value can get.
Odds & Ends: Hayward, Mavs, Kings, Knicks
The season is just two days old, but we may already have seen its most surprising result. The Sixers pulled off a stunning victory against Heat tonight — not too shabby for a team that’s still about $5MM shy of the minimum team salary, as HoopsWorld’s Eric Pincus notes in his look at teams with cap space remaining. Here’s more from a busy 14-game night:
- The Jazz remain in talks with Gordon Hayward about an extension, with just one day left before the deadline for him to sign one, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Mark Cuban doesn’t intend to replace former Mavs GM Gersson Rosas, who resigned yesterday, reports Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- On “David Stern Day” in Sacramento, the commissioner weighed in on the NBA’s approval of the Kings‘ new ownership group instead of Seattle’s bid for the franchise, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com shares via Twitter. “… The owners did the right thing. They had a vote to cast and they cast it in favor of Sacramento,” Stern said.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post hears from a source who says too much was made out of a report earlier today that said owner James Dolan expects the Knicks to win the title this season. Dolan was merely attempting to express his confidence in the team’s players, the source tells Berman.
- Knicks GM Steve Mills isn’t looking to hire any more people to work under him in the team’s front office, but he does intend to restructure some of the roles of his existing staff, as Berman passes along in the same piece.
- Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com points to Spurs second-round pick Deshaun Thomas as an example of why the NCAA need not allow early draft entrants back on their college teams if they don’t make an NBA roster. The agent for Thomas says he’ll make $150K on his contract with JSF Nanterre in France this season, Parrish notes.
Knicks GM, Carmelo Agree Not To Talk Contract
Knicks GM Steve Mills said he and Carmelo Anthony have agreed not to discuss a possible extension or Anthony’s upcoming early termination option, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. It’s unclear whether the pact between Mills and Anthony covers the entire season, but it could mean Mills won’t even offer Anthony an extension when he becomes eligible in February, Berman writes.
“Carmelo and I, the first day of training camp, we both agreed we wouldn’t have any more conversations about his ability to opt out or us negotiating an extension,” the GM said. “I’ll stick to what I had agreed to and not talk about his contract status.”
It’s unlikely in any case that Anthony would sign an extension, as he did when he came to the Knicks from the Nuggets in an extend-and-trade deal at the 2011 trade deadline. The new CBA put in place later that year gives players like Anthony much greater incentive to hit free agency, as our Luke Adams explained when he detailed what Anthony could make in his next deal. Anthony has made it clear he wants to become a free agent, which he can do next summer, so the idea that he wouldn’t discuss an extension isn’t a surprise.
Still, it seems odd that Mills won’t at least be talking to Anthony about his plans for free agency, especially considering Mills’ ties to the Creative Artists Agency that represents Anthony. Part of the reason Mills was hired was to help keep Anthony in New York, Berman notes.
Anthony said today that he intends to try to recruit players to the Knicks this summer, a possible sign that he intends to stick around, as Berman surmises, so perhaps Mills and the Knicks are confident they can re-sign the star forward.
Central Links: Cavs, Pistons, Bulls, Quinn
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert held court with Cleveland-area reporters before tonight’s opener, touching on a variety of topics, as we noted this evening. Gilbert said he has yet to begin talking about a contract extension for Kyrie Irving, who’ll be eligible for one next summer. Of course, we’re a year and a day away from the deadline for the Cavs and Irving to strike a deal, so Gilbert has plenty of time. Here’s more from another NBA owner as we look around the Central Division:
- Pistons owner Tom Gores followed up on his comments to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News with an address today before the media, including MLive’s David Mayo. He expressed support for Joe Dumars but says he doesn’t want to discuss an extension to the GM’s contract, can’t envision selling the Pistons at any point, and isn’t keen on the idea of moving the team downtown.
- Gores also believes his own recruitment of free agents “has made a difference, in terms of folks coming on board, in knowing that ownership does care and we don’t just use our basketball players as assets.”
- We heard from Shams Charania of RealGM.com earlier that Patrick Christopher will join the Bulls‘ D-League affiliate after failing to make Chicago’s opening-night roster, and the same is the case for Kalin Lucas, who’ll also play for the Iowa Energy, Charania reports. The Bulls waived both on the second day of training camp, leading Mark Deeks of ShamSports to speculate that the team signed them only to facilitate an out in case its other camp invitees got injured. It seems now that Chicago didn’t entirely view them as pawns, since the team apparently wants to keep an eye on their development.
- The Cavs waived Chris Quinn this summer after he briefly reappeared in the NBA last season, and it looks like the 30-year-old is transitioning into his post-playing career. He’s joined the coaching staff at Northwestern, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Spurs Lead West With Twelve Returnees
Success has bred stability for the San Antonio Spurs. They have the league’s longest-tenured head coach, its fourth-longest-tenured GM, three players leftover from their championship squad from more than 10 years ago, and a Western Conference-leading dozen players back from last year’s Finals. That’s more than any other team in the league except the Heat, who also bring back 12 of the guys who edged the Spurs for the championship in June.
The Nuggets have 11 returnees from the end of last season, just one fewer than the Spurs, but nearly every other part of Denver’s basketball operations is new, including GM Tim Connelly and coach Brian Shaw. The Thunder hemorrhaged more talent this summer, losing Kevin Martin just months after trading away James Harden, but they, too, kept 11 of the players from last year’s disappointing playoff exit.
The Rockets made the offseason’s most noteworthy addition in Dwight Howard, but they’ve otherwise remained relatively stable, keeping 10 players. All four Western Conference teams with 10 or more holdovers made the playoffs last season, in contrast to the Eastern Conference, where three of the four teams who returned at least 10 players were in the lottery.
A pair of Western teams that didn’t make the playoffs were particularly active in turning over their rosters. The Mavericks bring back just six guys from the team that made a late-season run at a playoff berth last year, while the Suns have only five players left from their worst season in 44 years. Five is also the number of trades new Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough has pulled off since he assumed his post in May.
Here are each Western Conference team’s holdovers from the end of last season. We also ran down the Eastern Conference returnees earlier this week.
Spurs (12): Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Nando De Colo, Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, Aron Baynes
Nuggets (11): JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Andre Miller, Timofey Mozgov, Ty Lawson, Anthony Randolph, Evan Fournier, Kenneth Faried, Jordan Hamilton, Quincy Miller
Thunder (11): Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha, Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka, Jeremy Lamb, Reggie Jackson, Hasheem Thabeet, Perry Jones III, Derek Fisher
Rockets (10): Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, Francisco Garcia, James Harden, Aaron Brooks, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Chandler Parsons, Greg Smith, Patrick Beverley
Grizzlies (9): Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince, Tony Allen, Jerryd Bayless, Ed Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Jon Leuer
Kings (9): John Salmons, Marcus Thornton, Chuck Hayes, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Travis Outlaw, Jimmer Fredette, Patrick Patterson, Isaiah Thomas
Pelicans (9): Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jason Smith, Austin Rivers, Lance Thomas, Darius Miller, Brian Roberts
Clippers (8): Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins, Maalik Wayns
Timberwolves (8): Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Nikola Pekovic, Jose Barea, Ricky Rubio, Alexey Shved, Dante Cunningham, Chase Budinger
Trail Blazers (8): LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Damian Lillard, Joel Freeland, Meyers Leonard, Victor Claver, Will Barton
Warriors (8): Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Stephen Curry, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Kent Bazemore
Jazz (7): Marvin Williams, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Jeremy Evans, Jamaal Tinsley
Lakers (7): Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill, Jodie Meeks, Robert Sacre
Mavericks (6): Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Bernard James
Suns (5): Goran Dragic, Channing Frye, Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, P.J. Tucker