Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Clippers
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
Keeping the stars around
Coach/executive Doc Rivers made it clear after the Clippers’ first-round playoff ouster that he isn’t inclined to trade any of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, in spite of remarks he made before the season indicating that he would considering doing so if the team came up short in the playoffs again this year. Injuries had much to do with the latest postseason disappointment for the Clippers, who played without Paul and Griffin for the final two games of their series against the Blazers. It was Griffin’s left quadriceps that ultimately ended his season, but it was the right hand he broke when he punched assistant equipment manager Mathias Testi that brought trade rumors to the forefront. Nearly every team reportedly inquired to see if the Clippers would trade the former No. 1 pick, but Rivers wouldn’t budge, tabling the decision until after the season, and now it appears he’s chosen to ride it out with him. So, Rivers must shift his focus toward finding a way to keep Griffin and Paul in the summer of 2017, when they can both opt out.
Free agency ahead for supporting cast
Paul, Griffin, Jordan and J.J. Redick are the only members of the Clippers rotation who aren’t on expiring contracts, don’t have player options for this summer and aren’t pondering retirement. Paul Pierce, who turns 39 in October, is 50-50 on whether to play another season, and while Rivers feels he has one more season left in him, Pierce seemed to be running on fumes this year. Jeff Green can play the same positions, but he’ll be a free agent in July, and his market value is difficult to peg. The 26.3 minutes per game he saw for the Clippers after they traded for him at the deadline would have matched a career low if extrapolated over a full season.
Jamal Crawford saw an uptick in minutes, and while his production was off, he won his third career Sixth Man of the Year award after restoring Rivers’ faith in him. Crawford wished he was a free agent last year amid trade rumors, and while he said after the season he’d like to be back with the Clippers, it remains to be seen if he’s truly comfortable in L.A. Austin Rivers calls Crawford his favorite teammate, but regardless of whether Crawford stays or goes, the presence of Doc Rivers is probably enough to keep his son in a Clippers uniform, even if he opts out, as his father expects him to do. Doc Rivers also thinks Wesley Johnson and Cole Aldrich will opt out, and while Rivers indicated he’d like to re-sign all the team’s soon-to-be free agents, a group that includes surprise starter Luc Mbah a Moute, it’s reasonable to suspect the Clippers rotation will look different next year, given the volume of players hitting the open market.
Free agent targets
The Clippers will probably be one of the few teams around the league this summer that’ll be unable to open cap space, so they’ll rely on the $5.628MM mid-level and $2.203MM biannual exceptions to sign outside free agents. That will make for slim pickings, with such exceptions becoming progressively less valuable to free agents as the cap surges. So, the Clippers will likely seek players for specific roles, with small forward and a backup big man the most likely needs. Dewayne Dedmon, Jared Dudley, Maurice Harkless, J.J. Hickson, Jordan Hill, Solomon Hill, Joe Johnson, David Lee, Jon Leuer, Nene, Tayshaun Prince, Robert Sacre, Luis Scola, Jason Smith, Marreese Speights, Amar’e Stoudemire, Mirza Teletovic, Lance Thomas and Anderson Varejao are candidates to fall within the Clippers’ price range.
Potential trades
Rivers is reportedly determined to try to convince Kevin Durant to put on a Clippers uniform, a move that would require the team to trade one of Paul, Griffin or Jordan, but short of that long-shot scenario, Rivers’ commitment to his three stars makes it unlikely the team pulls off a significant trade. Redick and Pierce are the only other Clippers with guaranteed salaries of $2MM or more for next season, so the team lacks trade fodder.
Draft outlook
- First-round pick: 25th
- Second-round pick: 33rd
If the Clippers do make a trade, it’ll probably involve one or both of their picks. Rivers said it’s foolish to expect the team to come away with a player at No. 25 who could drastically upgrade the team next season, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times notes. Given the ability of Griffin and Paul to hit free agency in 2017, it’s reasonable to suspect the team might want to trade its tightly bunched selections for a veteran who could pay immediate dividends for a critical season ahead. Barring that, the Clippers seem likely to go with either NBA-ready seniors or draft-and-stash candidates who could prove steals far down the road but would stay off the team’s books in the near term.
Other decisions
Age seemed to finally catch up to Pablo Prigioni, who was the NBA’s oldest-ever rookie when he was 35. He turns 39 this month and is coming off his worst NBA season thus far, so it’s tough to see the Clippers re-signing him. Fellow soon-to-be free agent Jeff Ayres was an insurance policy who saw only two minutes of action in the playoffs even amid all the injuries, so he’s probably a goner, too. Branden Dawson played 29 games in the D-League and just six at the NBA level this season, and while the Clippers can’t afford to ignore player development, he’s no sure bet to stick on his non-guaranteed contract.
Final take
Rivers initially cast this past season as a make-or-break year for the team’s core, but he didn’t expect that the breaks would happen to his players’ bodies. The Clippers seem content to take a mulligan for 2015/16 and make only cursory changes for the season ahead, when it looks like this group will truly get its final chance to make it past the second round.
Guaranteed Salary
- Chris Paul ($22,868,827)
- DeAndre Jordan ($21,165,675)
- Blake Griffin ($20,140,839)
- J.J. Redick ($7,377,500)
- Paul Pierce ($3,527,920)
- C.J. Wilcox ($1,209,600)
- (Carlos Delfino $650,000) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- (Jordan Farmar $510,921) — Salary remaining from buyout via stretch provision
- (Miroslav Raduljica $252,043) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Total: $77,703,325
Player Options
- Austin Rivers ($3,344,106)
- Wesley Johnson ($1,227,286)
- Cole Aldrich ($1,227,286)
- Total: $5,798,678
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Branden Dawson ($874,636)
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Jeff Green ($13,950,000)
- Jamal Crawford ($10,782,500)
- Austin Rivers ($4,044,035) — pending player option
- Cole Aldrich ($980,431) — pending player option
- Jeff Ayres ($980,431)
- Wesley Johnson ($980,431) — pending player option
- Luc Mbah a Moute ($980,431)
- Pablo Prigioni ($980,431)
- Total: $33,678,690
Other Cap Holds
- No. 25 pick ($1,061,600)
- Glen Davis ($980,431)
- Hedo Turkoglu ($980,431)
- Ekpe Udoh ($980,431)
- Total: $4,002,893
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Atlantic Notes: Rambis, Smith, Brown
Multiple executives around the league expect Knicks coach Kurt Rambis to end up having his interim tag removed, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. That’s certainly no shock, since Rambis and team president Phil Jackson are close, and Jackson has reportedly been hoping from the time Rambis became interim coach that he would ultimately prove worthy of keeping the job. The addition of Frank Vogel to the group of available coaches lends a new layer of intrigue to the Knicks coaching search, but it remains to be seen if Jackson will show any interest in the former Pacers boss, as Bondy examines.
See more from the Atlantic Division:
- The pool of free agent point guards is shallow this summer, though the Sixers also have the draft and trades to consider as they ponder whether to re-sign Ish Smith with the intention of keeping him as the starter at point guard, as Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly examines. Regardless, adviser Jerry Colangelo doesn’t doubt the impact that the Tony Dutt client had after the Christmas Eve trade that brought him back to the Sixers. “To me, it’s still amazing that when he showed up in Phoenix an hour before game time [on December 26th] that he put a uniform on and stepped out on the floor and led a team to a win, a badly needed win,” Colangelo said. “That was a shot of adrenaline for sure, and it’s carried over.”
- This year’s Celtics had the best winning percentage of any the team has had since the breakup of the Paul Pierce–Kevin Garnett–Rajon Rondo core, but for Boston to take the next step, another round of wholesale changes are necessary, argues Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, who analyzes the summer ahead.
- All indications are that Markel Brown wants to stay with the Nets as his free agency approaches this summer, according to Anthony Parisi of NetsDaily. The second-year shooting guard saw less playing time this season than he did as a rookie, but he still displayed enough promise to warrant the team making the paltry $1,180,431 qualifying offer necessary to retain the right to match competing bids for him, Parisi contends. Brown’s minutes increased down the stretch after the dismissal of Lionel Hollins, Parisi notes. Brown played only 11 minutes over a 13-game span early in the season, prompting him to talk to Hollins about why he wasn’t seeing the court, as Parisi relays.
Pacers Eye D’Antoni, Jackson, Wittman, Woodson?
3:16pm: Mike D’Antoni, Mark Jackson, Randy Wittman and Mike Woodson are among the names Buckner hears connected to the job (Twitter link).
12:42pm: Bulls lead assistant coach Jim Boylen is also drawing mention, Berger hears (Twitter link). Boylen was a Pacers assistant from 2011-13.
12:26pm: Jeff Hornacek is expected to become a candidate as well, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The former Suns coach is apparently interviewing for the Kings vacancy this week, and the Rockets are reportedly trying to arrange an interview with him, too.
11:20am: Nate McMillan and Brian Shaw are in the discussion to fill the head coaching vacancy on the Pacers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Frank Vogel‘s contract expired and president of basketball operations Larry Bird decided against re-signing him. McMillan has been Indiana’s lead assistant since 2013 when he replaced Shaw, who left for the head coaching job with the Nuggets.
Shaw hasn’t coached since the Nuggets fired him last year at the end of a disappointing tenure in which he went 56-85. McMillan will reportedly interview for the Kings head coaching job today or Friday.
The 50-year-old Shaw spent two seasons with the Pacers as Vogel’s top deputy after seven years as a Lakers assistant. Incoming Lakers head coach Luke Walton would reportedly like to hire Shaw as an assistant, but many believe executive Jim Buss is wary of those with ties to Phil Jackson, whom Shaw played for and later coached under.
McMillan, 51, has a much lengthier resume as an NBA head coach, having compiled a 478-452 regular season record and a 14-20 mark in the playoffs during parts of 12 seasons with the SuperSonics and Trail Blazers. Portland fired him midway through the 2011/12 season.
Many speculated that former Rockets coach Kevin McHale, Bird’s longtime teammate, would become a candidate for the Pacers head coaching job if the position opened, but Bird said today that he won’t hire him.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets have only about half as much guaranteed salary for next season as the projected $92MM salary cap, but don’t count on them formally opening any cap room this summer. GM Rich Cho wants to keep the team intact, having said he wants to re-sign as many of the team’s free agents as possible. That means Charlotte will probably keep their cap holds on the books until those free agents either re-sign or sign elsewhere, and with the cap holds for Nicolas Batum and Al Jefferson taking up nearly $40MM alone, the Hornets are unlikely to have cap space to use on outside free agents if Batum and Jefferson return. Instead, the team appears poised to stay above the cap and take advantage of the larger mid-level exception afforded capped-out teams, worth $5.628MM, to supplement the roster or simply to re-sign Jeremy Lin, with whom they have only Non-Bird rights. See how Charlotte’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($13,000,000)
- Kemba Walker ($12,000,000)
- Jeremy Lamb ($6,511,628)
- Spencer Hawes ($6,348,759)
- Cody Zeller ($5,318,313)
- Frank Kaminsky ($2,730,000)
- Total: $45,908,700
Player Options
- Jeremy Lin ($2,235,255)
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Aaron Harrison ($874,636)
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Troy Daniels ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Jorge Gutierrez ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Totals: ($2,431,392/$2,431,392)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Al Jefferson ($20,250,000)
- Nicolas Batum ($19,687,961)
- Courtney Lee ($10,782,500)
- Marvin Williams ($9,100,000)
- Jeremy Lin ($2,566,800) — pending player option
- Tyler Hansbrough ($980,431)
- Total: $63,367,692
Other Cap Holds
- No. 22 pick ($1,199,900)
- Jason Maxiell ($980,431)
- Jeff Taylor ($980,431)
- Total: $3,160,762
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Lakers Likely To Target Festus Ezeli
The Lakers will have interest in signing Festus Ezeli this summer, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, citing a source. Still, Ezeli prefers to re-sign with the Warriors, believing he’ll inherit a job in the starting lineup once Andrew Bogut‘s contract expires after next season, a source indicated to Deveney. Golden State has the ability to match all offers for him as a restricted free agent, though several league executives suggested it’ll take a three-year, $50MM deal for any team to secure the 26-year-old center.
It’s nonetheless unlikely Ezeli ends up with a four or five-year deal, Deveney writes, pointing to his history of injuries. The 6’11” former Vanderbilt player has only appeared in 170 regular season games since becoming the 30th overall pick in the 2012 draft. A left knee surgery helped limit him to 46 regular season appearances this year. Still, he’s impressed when he’s made it onto the court, and his performance in Tuesday’s playoff game was vital to Golden State’s win over Portland.
Agent Bill Duffy reportedly talked Ezeli out of signing what would have been a team-friendly extension with the Warriors this past fall, but the center said shortly after extension discussions broke down that he wants to remain with Golden State for his entire career. Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob, the son of co-owner Joe Lacob, suggested in January that the team would be willing to pay whatever’s necessary to retain Ezeli and fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Harrison Barnes this summer.
Still, the Warriors, like the Lakers and just about every NBA team, have aspirations of signing Kevin Durant, and it may well be necessary for the team to let go of Ezeli and Barnes to create enough cap room for the former MVP, given that the Warriors already have more than $73MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $92MM salary cap. Durant is in line for an estimated max of about $26MM for next season.
The Lakers have much greater flexibility with only $23MM in guaranteed salary. They’ll have an opening at starting center with Roy Hibbert headed into free agency.
Where do you think Ezeli will play next season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Eastern Notes: Fournier, Sixers, Nets, Wall
The Pistons targeted another Magic player before settling on the trade for Tobias Harris in February, and that player was likely Evan Fournier, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes in a slideshow of mostly far-fetched candidates to sign with the Pistons in free agency. Fournier is poised to become a restricted free agent in July, but Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who can match all competing bids for the swingman, expressed determination to keep him, and Fournier apparently wants to stay in Orlando.
See more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Sixers struck deals to hire NBA Associate VP of basketball operations Ned Cohen to a high-ranking basketball operations job and Wizards VP of Scouting Marc Eversley as vice president of player personnel, report The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears (All Twitter links). Cohen and Eversley will presumably report to president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo. Many around the league regard Cohen highly and see him as a future GM, Wojnarowski tweets. Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post previously reported the Sixers were interviewing Eversley, who worked under Colangelo on the Raptors.
- The Nets have added several to their front office, including former No. 5 overall draft pick Shelden Williams, who’ll serve as a pro scout, and U.S. circuit court law clerk Natalie Jay, who’ll work as a cap and contract specialist, as the team details via press release. Spurs staffer Andrew Baker joins the Nets as strategic planning coordinator and Stanford assistant coach Charles Payne will be a pro and college scout for Brooklyn, the team announced. The Nets also said they promoted Ryan Gisriel to director of basketball administration. Gisriel has served the team as an intern, special projects coordinator and as assistant to the GM since his hiring in 2013.
- John Wall has undergone procedures on both knees, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of next season, the Wizards announced.
Kings To Interview Nate McMillan
MAY 5TH, 11:09am: The interview will take place today or Friday, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
MAY 2ND, 8:20am: McMillan will interview soon, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The Pacers are out of the playoffs following Sunday’s Game 7 loss to the Raptors, and uncertainty surrounds the job status of Pacers head coach Frank Vogel.
APRIL 28TH, 10:04pm: The Kings have asked the Pacers for permission to interview assistant coach Nate McMillan for the head coaching job in Sacramento, sources tell Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Sacramento reportedly hopes to make a hire sometime next week, but Goodwill indicates the Kings are willing to wait until Indiana’s playoff run is over to conduct the interview. The Pacers face an elimination game Friday against the Raptors.
Sacramento isn’t alone in its admiration for the former SuperSonics and Trail Blazers head coach, as Knicks team president Phil Jackson respects his “hard edge,” according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. It nonetheless doesn’t appear as though McMillan is a candidate for the Knicks job or any vacancy other than Sacramento’s at this point. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first identified the 51-year-old McMillan among those in the mix for the Kings opening.
McMillan is 478-452 in parts of a dozen seasons as an NBA head coach, with a 14-20 playoff record. He was last a head man for Portland, which fired him in March 2012.
The Kings have the NBA’s most well-populated list of reported candidates. They’ve interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson and would like to do so with Luke Walton, Kevin McHale and Jeff Hornacek, according to various reports. Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick Ewing, David Blatt, Jay Larranaga, Elston Turner and Henry Bibby are the other apparent candidates.
Coaching Rumors: Rockets, Lakers, Pacers
The major story on the coaching front is that the Pacers have parted ways with Frank Vogel, as we covered in detail here, but plenty more news is developing. Track the latest here:
- Lionel Hollins is among the coaches in whom the Rockets have expressed interest, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, who writes in a piece examining Vogel’s candidacy for the job.
9:31am updates:
- Mike D’Antoni has already interviewed for the Rockets head coaching job, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, advancing an earlier report that he would do so this week.
- TNT broadcaster Kenny Smith, whom Stein heard may interview for the Rockets vacancy, said on “Inside the NBA” Wednesday that he’d like to coach under the right circumstances but made it clear that he enjoys his television job, as Stein relays.
- The Rockets are focused on proven NBA head coaches and up-and-coming assistants, sources emphasized Wednesday as they spoke with Stein. That casts doubt on the viability of Smith and college coaches Shaka Smart and Bill Self, who also reportedly intrigue the Rockets.
- It became apparent to former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff that the team wouldn’t formally make him its head coach, and that’s what prompted him to withdraw from consideration for the post, Stein also writes.
- Incoming Lakers head coach Luke Walton counts Brian Shaw among the assistant coaching candidates for his staff, but executive Jim Buss was opposed to Shaw as a head-coaching option and many around the league are skeptical that Buss wants a Phil Jackson disciple like Shaw around, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Shaw served as a Lakers assistant under Jackson.
- Belief around the league is rising that the Pacers will let go of Vogel, Stein writes. President of basketball operations Larry Bird has a press conference scheduled for 10am Central today, and it appears likely he’ll lend clarity to Vogel’s future at that time. The coach’s contract with the Pacers has already expired, as Wojnarowski indicates, citing league sources. Many coaching contracts carry until the end of June, as player contracts do, but apparently that’s not the case with Vogel, who made approximately $2.5MM this past season, according to Wojnarowski. The Vertical scribe speculates that Vogel could double that annual salary in his next job. Bird had yet to speak with Vogel about a new contract as of late Wednesday, league sources told Wojnarowski.
Pacers Dismiss Frank Vogel
The Pacers are letting go of coach Frank Vogel, as president of basketball operations Larry Bird revealed in a press conference streamed via the team’s website. Vogel’s contract had already expired, as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported and as Bird confirmed, saying he wouldn’t give him a new deal.
“I’ve decided that it’s time for a new voice around here,” Bird said, as the team’s Twitter account relays (Twitter link). “… This is one of the toughest things I’ve done.”
Bird said he won’t replace Vogel with Kevin McHale, his former teammate and the subject of much speculation as a candidate for the Pacers coaching job. McHale earlier withdrew from the running as a candidate for the Kings job, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported.
“I would not do that to Kevin, to have him work for me,” Bird said, as TNT’s David Aldridge relays via Twitter. “That’s not fair. I respect him too much.”
Bird reiterated that he wants more scoring and that his expectations for the Pacers this season were higher than most, The Vertical’s Chris Mannix notes (Twitter link). It appeared a philosophical difference had emerged earlier this season when Bird spoke of his desire for more of an up-tempo attack and Vogel’s fondness for a traditional lineup with two big men. Bird said today that he started thinking about making a coaching change around the All-Star break but felt Vogel deserved a chance to finish the season, Aldridge tweets. Vogel tried to talk Bird out of parting ways with him this morning, Bird said, as Mannix relays (Twitter link), though Bird added that he didn’t meet with Vogel face-to-face, only speaking to him on the phone.
“We’re Hoosiers, we treat people — other than today, we usually treat people pretty good,” Bird said, as Aldridge relays (on Twitter).
Vogel would get a positive recommendation from Bird, the executive said, indicating that he simply believes coaches have a limited shelf life with any team, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star and Mannix note (Twitter links). However, Bird said he doesn’t believe Vogel lost the locker room, Mannix adds.
The Pacers went 250-181 in parts of six seasons under Vogel, who inherited the head coaching job, his first in the NBA, when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien in January 2011. That record doesn’t include Vogel’s 31-30 postseason mark. Indiana made back-to-back conference finals under Vogel’s watch in 2013 and 2014. The Rockets have reportedly wanted to interview him, just as they did before they hired McHale in 2011, and opportunities are available on the Knicks and Kings, too.
Top Target McHale Pulls Out Of Race For Kings Job
The Kings made Kevin McHale their top target as they seek a new coach, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link), but McHale has withdrawn his candidacy, league sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The ex-Rockets coach had reportedly had extensive discussions with Sacramento about the opening, if not a formal interview, though doubt about his willingness to ultimately take the position has existed for weeks.
McHale’s withdrawal comes shortly before a 10am Central time press conference that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird has scheduled. Coach Frank Vogel‘s job is in jeopardy, and belief around the league is rising that the Pacers will let him go, Stein writes. McHale and Bird were Celtics teammates from 1980-92.
Sacramento also reportedly had interest in Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks, Kenny Atkinson and Luke Walton, but all have since taken head coaching jobs with other teams. Still no shortage of Kings candidates remain. Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and Mike Woodson have already interviewed, according to earlier reports. The same appears to be true of David Blatt and Mark Jackson. The team reportedly has plans to interview Ettore Messina, James Borrego, Henry Bibby, Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson, Nate McMillan, Jeff Hornacek and Corliss Williamson.
Sacramento has reportedly received permission from the Grizzlies to interview assistant Elston Turner, but USA Today’s Sam Amick reported Monday that he’s a candidate to serve as lead assistant for the Kings, casting doubt on the idea that he’s in the running for the head coaching job. Jay Larranaga, Brian Shaw, Ime Udoka, Jeff Van Gundy and Monty Williams are the other reported head coaching candidates for Sacramento.