How New Execs Fared This Summer
The unprecedented head coaching turnover this summer overshadowed the five executives who took over day-to-day basketball operations since the 2012/13 regular season came to a close. Technically, there's six such execs, since the Knicks replaced Glen Grunwald with Steve Mills last week, but Mills hasn't had a chance to make any major moves. So, we'll focus on the five who have as we look back on the debut offseason for the league's new executives:
- Larry Bird, Pacers: Larry Legend returned to the Pacers after a one-year hiatus, and he jumped right into an active offseason. He re-signed free agent David West, made a trade for Luis Scola that was the centerpiece of the team's bench upgrade, and committed a max extension to Paul George. He's also decided against trading Danny Granger, at least so far, preferring to hold on to Granger's expiring contract as the Pacers eye a title run.
- Pete D'Alessandro, Kings: Ben McLemore fell to Sacramento at the No. 7 pick in the draft, but the heavy lifting happened later in the offseason, when D'Alessandro traded former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans to the Pelicans for Greivis Vasquez and acquired Carl Landry and Luc Mbah a Moute. The most important decision might have come last month, when D'Alessandro and the Kings signed DeMarcus Cousins to a max extension.
- Doc Rivers, Clippers: The coach is also in charge of picking the players in Clipperland, but the most significant move the team made may have been acquiring Rivers in the first place, since it helped cinch the re-signing of Chris Paul to a max contract. Rivers reportedly professed affection for Eric Bledsoe, but he OK'd a three-way swap that sent Bledsoe to the Suns and brought J.J. Redick to the Clippers.
- Flip Saunders, Timberwolves: Former Wolves GM David Kahn was noted for his overemphasis on drafting point guards, and Saunders used another lottery pick on a point guard this summer. The difference is that Saunders traded point guard Trey Burke, the No. 9 overall pick, to the Jazz on draft night for Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, the 14th and 21st selections, respectively. Saunders focused on the wings, adding Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer and re-signing Chase Budinger before locking up restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic for five years.
- Masai Ujiri, Raptors: Ujiri quickly made his presence felt, trading Andrea Bargnani — whom previous GM Bryan Colangelo had selected No. 1 overall soon after assuming control of the team — to the Knicks. Tyler Hansbrough was the team's most significant offseason acquisition, so other than the Bargnani trade, Ujiri appears content to see how the team he inherited performs this season.
- Ryan McDonough, Suns: President of basketball operations Lon Babby remains in place, but McDonough had a hand in an offseason in which the team drafted Alex Len fifth overall, acquired Eric Bledsoe, and cut ties with Michael Beasley. There's plenty of work that remains to be done, and the long-term future of trade candidate Marcin Gortat is still unresolved.
Western Rumors: Rivers, Jordan, McNeal, Blazers
It was an oft-repeated story this summer that Doc Rivers didn't want the Clippers to part with Eric Bledsoe as the team negotiated with the Celtics to bring Rivers to L.A. The Clippers wound up trading Bledsoe to the Suns in a separate deal, and now Rivers says he was worried that another Clipper would wind up in Boston. The coach wanted to bring Kevin Garnett with him to L.A., but not if it meant giving up DeAndre Jordan, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. There's more on Rivers and Jordan as we look at the latest from the Western Conference:
- Rivers sees Jordan as a defensive player of the year candidate, as Markazi notes in the same piece. "[Jordan] is just too young and too gifted to let walk out your door, bottom line," Rivers said. "He's a game changer defensively. He can single-handedly change a game with his defense. There's five guys, and that number maybe too high, that can do that single-handedly with their size and athleticism and he's one of them. When you have one of those guys, you want to keep them."
- Former Jazz shooting guard Jerel McNeal has signed with the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls in China, reports Kenya Brown of NiuBBall.com. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last month that McNeal had an agreement with a Chinese team, but it was unclear whether it was with the Golden Bulls or the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions.
- The Trail Blazers have announced the hirings of Rob Werdann and Zendon Hamilton as assistant coaches for the Idaho Stampede. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com first reported the story (Twitter link). The Blazers control the basketball operations for the Stampede, who have a one-to-one affiliation with Portland.
Repeat Camp Invitees Rare
If one of this year's camp invitees doesn't appear in a regular season game this year, don't expect him to wind up as a camp invitee again next fall. Only nine of this year's players on non-guaranteed deals without regular season NBA experience have gone to camp with NBA teams before.
Some repeat camp invitees are trying again to make their official NBA debuts on partially guaranteed deals this time around, like Dionte Christmas of the Suns, so a few are able to break through and at least ensure themselves of an NBA paycheck. In many cases, players may not be as willing to accept a second non-guaranteed camp invitation as they were the first time around, since a fruitless October spent with an NBA team can impinge upon opportunities in overseas leagues.
Ron Howard is the ultimate exception to this rule. He'd already been on non-guaranteed camp deals on three different occasions when he accepted yet another invitation this summer, this time from the Pacers. Once more without a guarantee, the 6'5" swingman and longtime D-League standout is competing with three other camp invitees for as many as two open spots on the Indiana roster, hoping that experience will give him an edge.
Players currently on non-guaranteed deals who've yet to play in an NBA regular season game are below, listed by team. Their previous camp teams are listed in parentheses, along with the season in which the camp took place. For the sake of this exercise, we'll include players on fully non-guaranteed multiyear contracts, like Hollis Thompson of the Sixers, as well as those on non-guaranteed one-year camp deals.
- 76ers: Hollis Thompson (2012/13 Thunder)
- Bobcats: None
- Bucks: None
- Bulls: None
- Cavaliers: None
- Celtics: None
- Clippers: Mustapha Farrakhan (2012/13 Bucks)
- Grizzlies: Tony Gaffney (2009/10 Lakers, 2010/11 Celtics), Willie Reed (2012/13 Kings)*
- Hawks: None
- Heat: None
- Jazz: None
- Kings: Brandon Heath (2008/09 Lakers)
- Knicks: None
- Lakers: Eric Boateng (2010/11 Nuggets)
- Magic: None
- Mavericks: None
- Nets: None
- Nuggets: Kyle Fogg (2012/13 Rockets)
- Pacers: Ron Howard (2008/09 Bucks, 2009/10 Knicks, 2011/12 Bucks)
- Pelicans: None
- Pistons: None
- Raptors: None
- Rockets: None
- Spurs: None
- Suns: None
- Thunder: None
- Timberwolves: None
- Trail Blazers: None
- Warriors: Cameron Jones (2011/12 Heat)
- Wizards: None
*— The Grizzlies signed Reed shortly before the end of the regular season this past April, but he has yet to appear in a regular season game.
RealGM.com was used in the creation of this post.
Odds & Ends: Wizards, Karasev, Sixers, West
Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld and coach Randy Wittman are both on expiring deals, and owner Ted Leonsis wants the team to show improvement this year, notes Benjamin Standig of The Associated Press.
"I expect us to be a playoff-caliber team," Leonsis said. "I think our fan base expects that too and that's the pressure I've placed on our organization, that we have to meet the expectations of our fans — and it's time."
Leonsis also said that he believes upgrades to the team's facilities will help the Wizards attract free agents in future offseasons. While Washington strives to leave the lottery behind, here's more from around the Association:
- The Cavs were sold on Sergey Karasev before the draft, and they tried unsuccessfully to trade up from the 19th pick this June, thinking it was necessary to land him, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Instead, Karasev fell to Cleveland at No. 19, and Lloyd believes that the Cavs' claim that they were surprised he dropped so low — an oft-repeated refrain about NBA draftees — rings true.
- The Sixers' decision to keep Royce White at home for their trip to Europe raised a few eyebrows, but he's not the only player the team left off the plane, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The pressure's on Delonte West to produce in China after he did little to woo NBA teams during his D-League stint last season, opines Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
- The Suns have 16 players on fully guaranteed deals and Dionte Christmas on a partially guaranteed contract, so it's no shock that coach Jeff Hornacek says it won't be easy for the team to decide on the opening-night roster. Matt Petersen of Suns.com provides details.
- The market squeezed plenty of productive veterans into bargain deals this summer, and Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com names six whom he thinks will be particularly valuable.
- Mavs camp invitee Renaldo Balkman is trying to overcome the stigma of the violent outburst that led a league in the Philippines to ban him, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News examines.
Daniel Gibson Drawing Interest From Nuggets
A longtime former Cavalier could soon find a new NBA home, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio notes at the end of his latest Cavs-related piece. The Nuggets are debating whether to reach out to Daniel Gibson, Amico writes. It's unclear whether Denver is preparing an offer, or simply wants to bring the seven-year veteran in for a workout, but it appears there's still a market for Gibson, who's never played an NBA game for a team other than the Cavs.
As I pointed out when I examined Gibson's free agent stock a couple of weeks ago, interest from NBA teams appeared to have dried up after several clubs were linked to him over the summer. Still, I thought his skill set would warrant an NBA opportunity at some point this season, and perhaps that will come in Denver.
The Nuggets have 14 fully guaranteed contracts, plus Quincy Miller's partially guaranteed deal and three camp invitees, so there's already plenty of competition for an opening-night roster spot. The team's interest in Gibson could signal a lack of confidence in Miller, but the 6'9" Baylor product plays small forward, while Gibson is a guard, and the Nuggets will be without starting small forward Danilo Gallinari to start the season.
The team's interest may simply lie in evaluating Gibson as a potential signee later in the season, or the Nuggets might want to see whether he'd accept a non-guaranteed camp invitation. Given the lack of space on Denver's roster, I'd expect Gibson's representatives at ASM Sports to insist on at least a partial guarantee if he were to sign with the team this month.
Pacific Links: Granger, Lakers, Nunnally, Kings
Kings team president Chris Granger had been a candidate to succeed Adam Silver as NBA deputy commissioner before he accepted the Sacramento job this summer, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive revealed, reports Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee. Granger told a gathering of Sacramento business leaders that the city's longstanding support of the Kings weighed heavily on the league as it debated letting the club leave for Seattle. There's more from the Kings among the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Jordan Farmar agreed to a minimum-salary contract with the Lakers on July 10th, and his longstanding friendship with Nick Young inspired Young to do the same the very next day, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times examines.
- The Suns treated James Nunnally well during a two-day tryout last month, and that led the sought-after camp invitee to choose Phoenix, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Nunnally is confident about his chances of making the team.
- Plenty of uncertainty surrounds Jimmer Fredette, a trade candidate whose 2014/15 team option is not certain to be picked up by the deadline at the end of this month. Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee looks at how the new Kings regime views the third-year guard.
Notable Recent Preseason Trades
October's NBA transactions are dominated by training camp cuts, as the pair of players hitting waivers today demonstrate. Still, teams make the occasional trade this time of year, and sometimes those swaps are significant. Last year's James Harden trade is a case in point, and while few recent preseason deals have drawn as much attention, the ripple effects that many of them made have drastically changed the fortunes of teams around the league. Other trades from recent Octobers haven't had long-lasting impacts, but they still involved key members of their respective teams. Here's a look at several notable trades that have taken place between October 1st and opening night around the NBA since 2005, when the most recent former collective bargaining agreement took effect.
- October 27th, 2012: Thunder trade Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Rockets for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, a 2013 first-round draft pick (Steven Adams), a future first-round draft pick and a future second-round draft pick — A salary dispute over an extension for Harden precipitated this trade, so perhaps we'll see one of this year's rookie-scale extension candidates change teams before the season begins.
- October 23rd, 2010: Trail Blazers trade Jerryd Bayless to the Hornets for a 2011 first-round draft pick (Tobias Harris) — Bayless has always been a valuable bench piece, but Harris is showing signs of being more than that for the Magic, one of several teams to hold his rights in one form or another since the Bayless deal.
- October 24th, 2007: Timberwolves trade Ricky Davis and Mark Blount to the Heat for Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien, Antoine Walker and a 2009 first-round draft pick (Ty Lawson) — Davis' best days were behind him, but the gem of this trade was the future draft selection. Minnesota later traded Lawson's rights to Denver, where he's turned into perhaps the best player on the Nuggets.
- October 26th, 2005: Hornets trade Jamaal Magloire to the Bucks for Desmond Mason and a 2006 first-round draft pick (Cedric Simmons) — They're largely forgotten about now, but Magloire and Mason played significant roles, both appearing primarily as starters for their respective teams in the season prior to the trade as well as the one after it. Magloire was just a year and a half removed from playing in the 2004 All-Star Game.
- October 4th, 2005: Bulls trade Eddy Curry, Antonio Davis and a 2007 first-round draft pick (Wilson Chandler) to the Knicks for Jermaine Jackson, Mike Sweetney, Tim Thomas, a 2006 first-round draft pick (LaMarcus Aldridge), a 2007 first-round draft pick (Joakim Noah), a 2007 second-round draft pick (Kyrylo Fesenko) and a 2009 second-round draft pick (Jon Brockman) — This was the most significant preseason swap until the Harden trade, and perhaps this one had an even greater effect. Curry, just like Harden, wound up with a lucrative deal as a result of the swap, receiving the six-year, $60MM contract from the Knicks that shortly thereafter turned him into perhaps the most overpaid player in the league. The Bulls got back their center of the future in the draft pick they used on Noah, and they could have used this deal to form an imposing frontcourt if they didn't wind up trading Aldridge to the Blazers on draft night.
- October 4th, 2005: Raptors trade Rafer Alston to the Rockets for Mike James — The Rockets and Raptors swapped point guards, and both took over as starters for their new teams.
RealGM.com and Basketball-Reference.com were used in the creation of this post.
Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Bogans, Novak
The Sixers made a couple of moves today, reaching a deal with Gani Lawal and waiving former Raptors center Solomon Alabi to make room. Here's the latest on how a few other additions to Atlantic Division clubs stand to benefit their new teams:
- The Knicks have 14 players with at least a partial guarantee, and coach Mike Woodson indicated today that the final spot is more likely to go to a big man than a wing or a point guard, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. That's an auspicious sign for Cole Aldrich, Josh Powell and Ike Diogu.
- Keith Bogans is perhaps the most overpaid player in the NBA this season, thanks to sign-and-trade rules, but Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com looks at the ways that Bogans and his inflated deal can help the C's. They could either dangle him as a trade chip, use the trade exception his inclusion in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett swap facilitated, or both.
- Steve Novak is the only asset the Raptors received in the Andrea Bargnani trade who'll be on the team's roster this year, and Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun examines how the former Knick can help north of the border.
- Players drafted at the end of the first round are often non-factors as rookies, but Tim Hardaway Jr., whom the Knicks took 24th overall this year, has a chance to parlay J.R. Smith's five-game suspension into meaningful minutes this season. Fred Kerber of the New York Post examines the issue.
Sixers Cut Solomon Alabi
The Sixers were at the 20-man preseason roster limit when they reached an agreement Gani Lawal today, meaning someone had to go. The unlucky Sixer is Solomon Alabi, whom Philadelphia has waived, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Alabi's tenure with the Sixers lasted less than a week, as the team announced his signing this past Saturday. He was presumed to be on a non-guaranteed camp deal, so Philly won't have to pay his salary now that he's off the roster.
Alabi was attempting a return to the NBA after a two-year stint with the Raptors ended in 2012. He spent last season with Ikaros in Greece, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. The 7'1" center went to Greece after spending camp last fall with the Pelicans (then the Hornets), so perhaps he'll once more head overseas.
Just like the Rockets and Jordan Henriquez, who was also waived today, the Sixers used cap space to sign Alabi to a three-year deal. As I explained this summer, doing so gives a team subtle advantages if it wants to re-sign the player when his contract ends. In this case, Alabi won't be sticking around, but the cap space he occupied goes back on Philly's books, and the Sixers will presumably use it for Lawal's contract.
Rockets Waive Jordan Henriquez
The Rockets have cut center Jordan Henriquez, tweets Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The 6'11" former Kansas State Wildcat signed a three-year deal with the team in July, but it was entirely non-guaranteed, so Houston isn't on the hook for any of his salary. The move drops the team to 17 players, down from the 19 who began October with the team. The Rockets waived B.J. Young on Wednesday.
Henriquez went undrafted this past June, but he worked out with the Knicks prior to the draft, and saw some run with the Rockets summer league team. He showed enough to earn a brief training camp stint, but presuming another NBA team doesn't claim him off waivers or show interest soon, Henriquez appears destined for the D-League or international ball this year. The Rockets have the option of protecting the D-League rights of up to three of their camp cuts, so perhaps they'll do so with Henriquez in an effort to get him to stay stateside, where they can more easily scout him.
Since Henriquez's deal was for three years, rather than one or two, the Rockets couldn't use the minimum-salary exception on him and instead spent some of their cap room. Still, it was a small investment, since he was only set to make the $490K rookie minimum, and because the deal was non-guaranteed, the money goes back toward Houston's cap space.
Patrick Beverley, Ronnie Brewer, Greg Smith and Reggie Williams, all NBA veterans, are the only remaining Rockets without fully guaranteed deals. Houston has 13 players with full guarantees on their contracts, so two of the four vets are in danger of finding themselves without an NBA job on opening night.