Western Notes: Suns, Favors, Hayward, Kings
Executives from around the league who spoke recently to Grantland’s Zach Lowe believed there might be only one solid veteran on a poor team capable of enticing another club to give up a first-round pick in a trade. That player was Marcin Gortat, and the Suns indeed extracted a first-rounder from the Wizards when they traded Gortat last week. GM Ryan McDonough acknowledges to Greg Esposito of Suns.com that his team has plenty of “valuable currency” with the potential for six first-round picks in the next two drafts, and that he could use them all or package some of them in a trade for a star. While we wait to see how teams pivot from opening night to the trade deadline, here’s more from the West:
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey wants Derrick Favors to “increase his motor” this season, and Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune believes it’s critical for the team that Favors begin fulfilling his potential now that he has his long-term extension.
- Gordon Hayward is also negotiating an extension with the Jazz, though the sides are far apart on a deal. Favors told Matthew Coles of The Associated Press that it’s a priority for him that Hayward stick around. “Me and Gordon, we’ve been together going on three years now and we went to USA Basketball camp together so we have a good chemistry going. It’s important to keep the core together for the future,” Favors said.
- The NBA isn’t worried about a petition drive to put funding for a new arena for the Kings on the ballot in Sacramento, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com explains (on Sulia). The league is confident that voters would back the funding measure.
- We rounded up more news from the Pacific and Southwest divisions earlier today.
Spurs Pick Up Options For Leonard, Joseph
The Spurs have exercised their 2014/15 options on Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph, the team announced via press release. It’s the fourth-year option for both, meaning they’ll be eligible for extensions to their rookie-scale contracts next summer. Leonard will earn close to $2.9MM in 2014/15, while Joseph will see a little more than $2MM, as our rookie contract option tracker shows.
The move to pick up Leonard’s option is a formality, since he quickly established himself as a key part of the franchise’s future in his first two seasons in San Antonio. I had the decision on Leonard as a “no-brainer” when I looked at pending rookie options last month, but I listed Joseph as “on the bubble.” The 29th pick in 2011 has appeared in only 57 games over his first two seasons combined, though he did serve as the team’s backup point guard for the majority of the playoffs last year, averaging 3.0 points and 1.2 assists in 9.6 minutes per contest.
The moves add nearly $5MM to San Antonio’s payroll for next season, bringing the total amount of the team’s commitments to about $33.5MM. That number is deceptively low, as I pointed out earlier this month, since it doesn’t include $9MM in non-guaranteed salary for Tony Parker and a $10MM player option for Tim Duncan.
Southwest Rumors: Young, Pelicans, Belinelli
The Southwest Division could be the NBA’s toughest this year, with five teams that have legitimate playoff hopes. The two Southwest clubs that played for the conference title last year, the Spurs and Grizzlies, meet for a rematch on Wednesday in the first of a season of key clashes. Here’s more from the Southwest:
- B.J. Young drew interest from the Sixers and Lakers before deciding to join the Rockets for camp, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. He was the first player the Rockets cut from their training camp roster, hitting waivers nearly a month ago, but he’ll sign a deal with Houston’s D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Charania adds. Since he’s apparently signing directly with the Vipers instead of entering the D-League draft, that means the Rockets made him one of the three camp cuts whose D-League rights they can protect.
- Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday are the major new arrivals for the Pelicans this year, and both shared insight on how the team’s new-look backcourt is coming together. Evans also spoke to HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy about his experience as a free agent, comparing it to college recruiting, while Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune points out that Holiday is the fourth starting point guard for the team in as many years.
- Ken Rodriguez of Spurs.com examines the connection between a pair of San Antonio’s offseason signees. Marco Belinelli refers to Manu Ginobili as his “idol,” and it’s worth noting that Belinelli agreed to join the Spurs this summer shortly after the team reached a new deal with Ginobili.
Rockets Release Marcus Camby
MONDAY, 12:09pm: The Rockets have released Camby, the team formally announced today in a press release.
SUNDAY, 11:56am: The Rockets will release Marcus Camby on Monday, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. A torn plantar fascia tissue in his left foot has kept him out of action in the preseason, and he tells Mark Berman on Fox 26 Houston that he’s decided to have surgery next week to correct the problem (Twitter link). Feigen adds that the Rockets could look to re-sign him later this season once he’s healthy (Twitter link). The 39-year-old may also transition into coaching or player development with the team, as Kevin McHale would welcome him in any role, Feigen notes (on Twitter).
The move will help the Rockets pare their 17-man roster down to the 15-player regular season limit. Camby’s fully guaranteed salary will remain on the team’s books this season regardless of whether he signs another deal, providing no other team claims him off waivers. Camby will make the veteran’s minimum for players with 10 or more years of experience, which is close to $1.4MM, though Houston is only stuck with $884,293, the equivalent of the two-year veteran’s minimum. The league will pay Camby the rest, since he’s on a one-year deal.
The Rockets have 12 fully guaranteed deals aside from Camby’s, plus partially guaranteed contracts for Ronnie Brewer and Reggie Williams and fully non-guaranteed pacts for Patrick Beverley and Greg Smith. Beverley and Smith are key pieces for the team, so the Rockets figure to owe money to at least one more player who won’t be on the team’s opening-night roster. Aaron Brooks and undrafted rookie Robert Covington are guaranteed only the minimum salary this season, just like Camby, so perhaps they’re candidates to be waived, though that’s just my speculation.
Northwest Rumors: Nuggets, Hayward, Tinsley
Coach Brian Shaw plans to slow down the Nuggets‘ attack, but GM Tim Connelly makes it clear that he won’t mold the roster to conform the Pacers‘ defense-first model that Shaw was a part of in Indiana, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post observes. The Pacers might not have too much of an effect on the front range of the Rockies, but Indiana may have indirectly put a dent in the Jazz‘s plans, as we detail in a look at the Northwest:
- Gordon Hayward and the Jazz are far apart in negotiations on an extension, and Paul George‘s max deal with the Pacers appears to be playing a role, tweets Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Jamaal Tinsley didn’t have a contract with the Jazz over the summer, but he reached out to Trey Burke to let him know he was going to an organization that would treat him well, as Tinsley recounts to Luhm. Now, Tinsley is back with Utah to help replace the injured Burke.
- Serge Ibaka‘s continued rapid growth is key to the Thunder‘s ability to climb the next rung toward a title, The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel writes.
Week In Review: 10/21/13-10/27/13
The Wizards found a replacement for the injured Emeka Okafor via trade, acquiring Marcin Gortat from the Suns for Okafor and a top-12 protected 2014 pick. The Suns also sent Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee to Washington, but that trio is expected to be waived. Fears that Okafor may miss the entire season likely intensified the Wizards’ desire to pull off the deal.
The swap was just one of many roster moves that teams made in a busy week around the NBA as they sought to get ready for the regular season, which opens Tuesday. Here’s a recap, in case you missed anything:
- The Warriors inked Andrew Bogut to a three-year extension with a base salary of $36MM, and incentives that can increase the value to $41.4MM.
- The Lakers and Kobe Bryant are negotiating an extension, and co-owner Jim Buss vows his star won’t hit free agency in the summer.
- Eric Bledsoe and the Suns are also working toward an extension.
- Extension talks have been going on between the Jazz and Gordon Hayward and the Grizzlies and Ed Davis, but it doesn’t seem like either party will reach a deal.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown indicated Nerlens Noel is likely to miss the season, though he tried to walk back those comments later in the week.
- The buzz around the league is Goran Dragic will be the next to leave Phoenix, but Suns GM Ryan McDonough insists he’s not looking to trade the point guard.
- The Suns had yet more business to complete, exercising the 2014/15 options for Miles Plumlee, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris and waiving James Nunnally.
- The Sixers cut Royce White, as well as Vander Blue, Mac Koshwal, Khalif Wyatt, Gani Lawal and Rodney Williams.
- The Jazz signed Jamaal Tinsley and released five other vets: Brian Cook, Dominic McGuire, Justin Holiday, Lester Hudson and Scott Machado.
- The Spurs signed Josh Howard, then turned around and waived him. He’ll likely wind up with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate. The Spurs also released Courtney Fells and Dan Nwaelele.
- The Bobcats waived Patrick O’Bryant.
- The Bucks released Stephen Graham, Trey McKinney Jones, and Olek Czyz.
- Camp invitees Dexter Pittman and D.J. White didn’t make the Bulls.
- The Cavaliers picked up the 2014/15 options of Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, and waived DeSagana Diop, Kenny Kadji, Jermaine Taylor and Elliot Williams.
- The Celtics released DeShawn Sims, Damen Bell-Holter and Kammron Taylor, and they didn’t hang on to Chris Babb, either.
- Lou Amundson failed to make the Clippers, who also let go of Brandon Davies.
- The Grizzlies cut Andre Barrett, Melvin Ely, Tony Gaffney and Willie Reed.
- James Johnson, Royal Ivey and Eric Dawson didn’t make the cut for the Hawks.
- The Heat waived Jarvis Varnado, Larry Drew II and Charlie Westbrook, as well as Justin Hamilton and Eric Griffin.
- Trent Lockett came up short in his bid to make the Kings.
- C.J. Leslie, Ike Diogu, Josh Powell, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Tyler were the camp casualties for the Knicks.
- The Lakers waived Marcus Landry.
- The Magic exercised their 2014/15 options on Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris and Andrew Nicholson, and the team waived Mickell Gladness, Manny Harris, Kris Joseph and Romero Osby.
- Renaldo Balkman, Fab Melo, Devin Ebanks, D.J. Kennedy didn’t make the Mavs, and neither did Mickey McConnell.
- The Nets released Jorge Gutierrez, Chris Johnson (the one from Dayton) and Adonis Thomas.
- The Chris Johnson from LSU also hit the waiver wire, courtesy of the Timberwolves. Minnesota also cut Othyus Jeffers and Lorenzo Brown, and picked up their 2014/15 options on Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio.
- The Nuggets waived Damion James.
- The Pacers let go of Hilton Armstrong, but they’ll keep Rasual Butler.
- Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross will remain under contract with the Raptors through 2014/15, after the team picked up their options. Toronto also released Carlos Morais and Chris Wright.
- The Rockets released Marcus Camby and let go of Troy Daniels, too.
- The Thunder picked up the 2014/15 options for Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III. The team also cut Diante Garrett and Rodney McGruder.
- Dee Bost, E.J. Singler and Richard Howell came up short in their quest to make the Trail Blazers.
- The Warriors exercised their options on Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, and waived Joe Alexander, Dewayne Dedmon and Seth Curry.
- The Wizards decided to exercise Bradley Beal‘s 2014/15 option, but they won’t pick up Jan Vesely‘s or Chris Singleton‘s. The team also released Josh Childress, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and Xavier Silas.
Latest On Marcus Camby
Agent Rick Kaplan insists client Marcus Camby will return to play this season after undergoing surgery to repair torn plantar fascia tissue in his left foot, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The Rockets are set to waive the 39-year-old on Monday, and the surgery he’ll have next week will keep him out for two or three months, Kaplan tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
“Without a doubt, Marcus plans to rehab next few months and come back and play this season for the Rockets or somebody,” Kaplan said to Feigen.
Camby himself suggested to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that he would resurface as a player once he’s healthy (Twitter link). The big man would prioritize inking with another championship contender if he doesn’t re-sign with Houston, as Kaplan indicated to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (on Twitter). Camby said to Berman that he plans on sticking with the Rockets organization as he heals (Twitter link), and earlier it seemed as though he might join the team in a coaching or player development role. Camby indeed wants to coach once he retires, but he intends to continue his playing career for a couple more years, Zwerling tweets.
Pacific Notes: Dragic, Bogut, Kings, Iguodala
Many around the NBA believe Goran Dragic will be the next player the Suns trade away after Friday’s Marcin Gortat deal, but Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough insists that won’t be the case, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes. “He’s a good player on a good contract and a great guy,” McDonough said. “So, no, we’re not looking to move Goran Dragic.” Andrew Bogut is another player who probably won’t be traded this year now that he’s signed his extension, and he’s glad to stick around the Warriors, as we explain amid our look around the Pacific:
- Andrew Bogut understands he could have snagged a better payday if he had held off on an extension and performed well this season, but he tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he didn’t want to play the season as a trade candidate on an expiring contract. Bogut says he’s put his anger about the Warriors‘ pursuit of Dwight Howard behind him and encourages his teammates to take discounts on their next deals so the team can stay together.
- The Kings face a Thursday deadline for decisions on Jimmer Fredette‘s fourth-year option and extensions for Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, and GM Pete D’Alessandro remains circumspect, observes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “We’re still looking at things and evaluating before making a decision. … I think there’s some spirited conversations going on about all the guys near the deadline,” D’Alessandro said.
- The moves that D’Alessandro and company have made so far during their brief tenure aren’t above reproach, but the key is whether their long-term investment in DeMarcus Cousins works out, The Bee’s Ailene Voisin opines.
- Carl Landry should be out a few more months with his hip injury, so camp invitee Hamady N’Diaye could remain with the Kings for a while, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Andre Iguodala‘s arrival to Golden State raises the expectations for the Warriors, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle examines.
Pacers Will Keep Rasual Butler
The Pacers had been expected to carry just 13 players on their roster to begin the regular season, but the team has changed plans and decided to keep Rasual Butler and his non-guaranteed contract, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Part of the motivation may be tied to Danny Granger, who’ll miss at least the first two games with injury, Buckner tweets, so if Granger comes back quickly, Butler’s reprieve might be brief.
Butler, 34, signed a one-year camp deal for the minimum salary with the Pacers in early September after the 10-year veteran played for Indiana’s summer league team as he sought to revive his NBA career. He spent last season, his first out of the Association since his rookie campaign in 2002/03, with the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League. He last played NBA ball with the Raptors, who waived him in March 2012. His last significant role was with the 2009/10 Clippers, for whom he averaged 11.9 points in 33.0 minutes per game.
The Pacers are a couple million dollars below the tax line, so they likely had financial considerations chief in mind when they thought about going with the league minimum of 13 players. Butler probably won’t see meaningful minutes, and unless he proves himself valuable while Granger is recovering, he remains expendable. His contract won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10th.
Grizzlies Unlikely To Extend Ed Davis
Ed Davis is a longshot to receive an extension from the Grizzlies before Thursday’s deadline, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. The two sides have been negotiating a deal, but for now, it doesn’t appear they’ll reach an agreement. Extension talks are prone to fits and starts, as Amick noted yesterday when he reported the stall in progress toward an extension for Gordon Hayward, but for now, it appears Davis is headed for restricted free agency in the summer.
Memphis acquired the 6’10” left-hander from the Raptors in last season’s Rudy Gay trade, and Amick reported shortly thereafter that the Grizzlies saw Davis as part of their future. Still, there hadn’t been much chatter about an extension until the past week, when Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that talks have been taking place this month.
The Raptors drafted Davis 13th overall out of North Carolina in 2010, but his minutes per game have declined each season since he saw 24.6 MPG in his rookie year. The Grizzlies significantly reduced his role after the trade, plugging him in for only 15.1 MPG in the regular season and 6.0 MPG in the playoffs, preferring Darrell Arthur as the primary backup big man.
Memphis traded Arthur for Kosta Koufos in the offseason, but Koufos will likely see plenty of time backing up Marc Gasol, making it difficult to envision much of a jump in minutes for Davis. The 24-year-old’s value doesn’t figure to escalate if he’s tethered to the bench, so the Grizzlies probably stand to benefit from waiting to do a deal.