Celtics Rumors: Green, Signings, Bremer
Jeff Green said it best a few hours before the long-awaited news of his official signing with the Celtics was announced, taking to Twitter with an emphatic "FINALLY!!!" The 6'9" forward signed a one-year, $9MM deal with the team before last season, but it was voided when doctors discovered he had an aortic aneurysm. Surgery to correct the heart problem forced him to miss the entire season, and after agreeing to a contract last month that gave him four years at the same annual salary he would have made under the deal that was voided in December, Green is poised to return to the Celtics at last. There's more on Green tonight, as well as a few other notes concerning the team that wears green:
- A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com says the Celtics are counting on Green to outperform his contract the way Rajon Rondo has done since signing a five-year, $55MM extension in 2009. Blakely also observes that Danny Ainge, the team's president of basketball operations, left the door open for additional moves between now and training camp. "I don't know the answer to that," Ainge said, when asked whether Green's signing would end offseason business. "It depends on what opportunities are out there, but I like where we are right now."
- It's unclear exactly what delayed the official announcement of Green's signing, but Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com believes the hangup could have revolved around whether to add a contract clause related to his health, as well as more common snags related to contract value and length. There's no word, at least not yet, about the deal including some kind of out for the Celtics if Green has more heart trouble.
- The agent for guard J.R. Bremer says his client will make a decision soon about which overseas team to sign with, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Bremer, now 31, started 41 games for the Celtics in 2002/03, but hasn't played in the NBA since 2003/04.
Pera Brings Locals Aboard In Bid To Buy Grizzlies
Prospective Grizzlies owner Robert Pera has reached an agreement with local investors that will likely keep the team in Memphis for at least the next 15 seasons, report Geoff Calkins and Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
The partners will account for between 30% and 35% of the team's ownership. As part of the deal to bring them aboard, Pera has agreed to give them the right to match any offer Pera receives for his majority stake. The local investors will also be able to buy out Pera's share at its current worth if he wants to move the team, or force Pera to pay a $100MM penalty.
The locals include J.R. "Pitt" Hyde, Staley Cates, Ed Dobbs, Duncan Williams and Billy Orgel. Others are expected to join them. Some have been part of a minority ownership group with current owner Michael Heisley, but that group's share of the team has dropped from 30% to 2% in recent years.
Pera agreed to purchase the team from Heisley in June, but the falling stock of Pera's Ubiquiti Networks has called into question his ability to meet the $350MM purchase price. Pera said in July he was looking for local partners, though he insisted finances weren't the reason. The NBA is vetting Pera's bid as it awaits approval from the Board of Governors. Heisley made it clear that Pera, who lives in northern California, was unlikely to move the team upon buying it, but the addition of the local minority investors and the terms of their involvement solidifies the notion that the Grizzlies aren't going anywhere soon.
Wizards Eye Terrence Williams, Shawne Williams
The Wizards reportedly have interest in Martell Webster, as we heard earlier today, and they're also among a handful of teams in the mix for Michael Redd. Michael Lee of The Washington Post confirms the team's interest in those two and says the team is also considering Terrence Williams and Shawne Williams.
Lee reports the Wizards are watching a number of free agents as they consider whether to add a player to their roster, which stands at 13. They have about $3MM in cap room, but plan to sign someone for the minimum, Lee says. That would make it hard to corral Anthony Tolliver, another player on Washington's radar, since agent Larry Fox has said his client isn't “in the minimum game.”
Terrence Williams hasn't drawn much interest this summer, though a report early last month linked him to the Kings, Pistons and Suns. The Kings signed Williams, the 11th overall pick in the 2009 draft, this past season after he was waived by the Rockets. He put up solid numbers in 20.5 minutes per game for Sacramento, averaging 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 18 contests, but the team elected not to give him a qualifying offer before June 30th, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Shawne Williams opted in to the final year of his contract with the Blazers, worth $3.135MM, but became a free agent last month when the Blazers bought him out last month. Williams missed most of 2011/12 with a left foot injury, and was sent from the Nets to Portland in the Gerald Wallace deal at the trade deadline. He appeared in 25 games before the injury and shot poorly, with a percentage line of just .286/.241/.727 compared to the .426/.401/.837 he put up in 2010/11 with the Knicks.
Highest Paid Players By Team
Pay does not always match up with performance, as the NBA continually demonstrates. The best player on a team is not always its highest paid, and sometimes a club receives little in return for its most prolific investment.
We've listed each team and its highest paid player below. All it takes is a glance to notice a few names and dollar figures that look out of kilter. John Salmons has been a serviceable NBA player, but after a season in which he averaged 7.5 points and put up a PER of 9.0, well below the 15.0 mark of an average NBA player, he's hardly the kind of guy you'd expect to be a top money-earner. Derrick Rose's name seems much more fitting on the list, but he won't be giving the Bulls any production for their money for at least a significant chunk of the upcoming season as he recovers from knee surgery. Chris Bosh, while an All-Star caliber player, isn't on par with three-time MVP LeBron James on the court, but they signed identical contracts back in 2010.
Perhaps most remarkable, though, is how much turnover there is. Eleven of the 30 players on this list joined their teams within the last 12 months. Three of them were involved in the four-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, though Howard himself isn't on the list, as Kobe Bryant's $27.849MM salary will be the highest in the league this coming season.
Here's the complete list, by division:
Atlantic Division
Celtics: Paul Pierce, $16.790MM
Knicks: Carmelo Anthony, $20.463MM
Nets: Joe Johnson, $19.753MM
Raptors: Jose Calderon, $10.562MM
Sixers: Andrew Bynum, $16.889MM
Southeast Division
Bobcats: Ben Gordon, $12.4MM
Hawks: Josh Smith, $13.2MM
Heat: LeBron James and Chris Bosh, $17.545MM (tie)
Magic: Hedo Turkoglu, $11.816MM
Wizards: Emeka Okafor, $13.49MM
Central Division
Bulls: Derrick Rose, $16.403MM
Bucks: Monta Ellis, $11MM
Cavaliers: Anderson Varejao, $8.368MM
Pacers: Roy Hibbert, $13.669MM
Pistons: Corey Maggette, $10.924MM
Southwest Division
Grizzlies: Zach Randolph, $16.5MM
Hornets: Eric Gordon, $13.669MM
Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki, $20.907MM
Rockets: Kevin Martin, $12.44MM
Spurs: Manu Ginobili, $14.107MM
Northwest Division
Jazz: Al Jefferson, $15MM
Nuggets: Andre Iguodala, $14.968MM
Timberwolves: Kevin Love, $12.922MM
Thunder: Kevin Durant, $16.67MM
Trail Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge: $13.5MM
Pacific Division
Clippers: Chris Paul, $17.779MM
Lakers: Kobe Bryant, $27.849MM
Kings: John Salmons, $8.083MM
Suns: Goran Dragic, $7.5MM
Warriors: Andrew Bogut, $13MM
Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this post.
Celtics Sign Jeff Green
6:02pm: The Celtics have officially announced the signing on their website, finalizing the deal more than six weeks after an agreement was reached.
“We are thrilled to be able to have Jeff back with the Celtics,” Danny Ainge, the team's president of basketball operations, said in the press release. “Jeff’s versatility on offense and ability to guard players out on the perimeter is something that we are looking forward to having on the court this season.”
AUGUST 22ND, 12:34pm: Green's day should finally be made official in the next day or two, Falk tells Sam Amick of SI.com (Sulia link). The agent said that the cap issues holding up the deal were "nothing serious" and that the agreement is still expected to be for four years and about $36MM.
AUGUST 17TH, 8:45pm: Nearly a month after his last update on Green's contract status, Falk told the Boston Globe on Friday that his client's deal should become official next week, reports Washburn (via Twitter).
How Wins And High Payrolls Correlate To Spending
The Lakers' deals for Steve Nash and Dwight Howard coupled with the Heat's acquisition of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, among other moves this offseason, have lent fuel to the sentiment that the NBA's high-dollar marquee franchises can more or less spend at will to bring in talent.
By and large, though, there's little correlation between teams that were successful last year and those that spent heavily this summer, nor is there a strong connection between those that carried high payrolls last year and those that continued to spend in the offseason. The 10 teams that committed the most money to free agents this offseason, per the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Tracker, averaged just 34.3 wins during last year's lockout-shortened 66-game schedule. The top 5 teams in that category averaged 32.4 wins, for a winning percentage just below .500.
The story is much the same if we look at team salaries as they were calculated for luxury tax purposes last season. Just three out of the top 10 teams on that list are also among the top 10 spenders this summer, and only the Celtics appear among the top five teams on both lists.
The primary reason for this appears to be the salary cap. Though the NBA operates under a "soft" cap, with exceptions that allow teams to go over it for a variety of reasons, it more or less keeps spending in line throughout the league. Teams are also obligated to spend a certain amount each year, so there isn't too much disparity among payrolls from top to bottom.
While the Lakers and Heat had two of the top three payrolls from last season, they were just 13th and 24th, respectively, among spenders this offseason. The Lakers acquired Nash via sign-and-trade using the trade exception they acquired when they shipped Lamar Odom to Dallas, and they got Howard in a straight-up four-way swap. The Heat were successful in convincing Allen and Lewis to accept below-market contracts, just as the Lakers did with Antawn Jamison. L.A. and Miami were shrewd, but they weren't spendthrifts.
For a broader look, here are all 30 teams ranked first by wins, then 2011/12 payroll, and finally by their spending this offseason:
Rockets Sign Carlos Delfino
AUGUST 20TH, 1:32pm: The Rockets have officially signed Delfino, the team announced today in a press release.
AUGUST 15TH, 2:57pm: Delfino's deal with the Rockets is worth $3MM in year one, with a second-year option also worth $3MM, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links). Since that amount exceeds the $2.575MM room exception, Houston is using leftover cap space to complete the deal.
The team has reportedly waived Josh Harrellson to clear a spot for Delfino, so the signing should become official any time now.
AUGUST 13TH, 7:29pm: The Rockets have agreed to a two-year deal with swingman Carlos Delfino that includes a team option for 2013-14, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. It's unclear how much the contract is worth, but it's likely for more than the minimum salary, as last week's reports suggested. The Rockets have their $2.575MM room exception available, so the deal could be for all or most of that amount, but that's just my speculation.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Thursday that the Rockets were "actively chasing" Delfino, who said he would sign with a team after the Olympics. The Celtics, Hawks, Pacers and Cavaliers were all reportedly in the running for Delfino at times this summer. The 6'6" Argentinian seemingly had his heart set on a multiyear deal, so the two-year pact with the Rockets offers a compromise of sorts, giving the team an out after this season.
Delfino, who spent the last three seasons with the Bucks, saw his role in the offense diminish last year after two straight seasons of double-figure scoring. His points per game went from 11.5 in 2010/11 to 9.0 in 2011/12, as his shots were cut from 10.5 a game to 8.4. Delfino played with an injured groin the last month of the season that required surgery in May, and was disappointed the Bucks didn't show more interest in re-signing him after he played hurt for them. The Bucks held his Bird rights, so they would have had no trouble bringing him back if they had interest. Milwaukee originally brought him aboard for three years and $10.5MM on a sign-and-trade from the Raptors in 2009.
The addition of Delfino gives the Rockets 21 players on the roster, Zach Lowe of SI.com notes via Twitter. That would seem to make them prime candidates to pull off a trade sometime between now and the start of the season.
Best Under-The-Radar Signings By The Numbers
Splashy, big-ticket free agent signings make headlines, but subtle pickups often make the difference between winning and losing. Players who can be had at bargain prices may be much more valuable than their contracts indicate. Two ways of evaluating that value are PER and win shares per 48 minutes, a pair of metrics designed to go beyond box score stats and evaluate a player's efficiency and contribution to the team.
Using the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Tracker, I've taken the average annual salary that each free agent signed for this summer and compared it to their PERs and win shares per 48 minutes from 2011/12. I divided the average salaries, listed here in millions, by the PERs and ranked the dividends from largest (most valuable) to smallest. For the second chart, I divided salaries by win shares per 48 minutes and ranked the results from smallest (most valuable) to largest.
Not surprisingly, many of these guys are minimum-salary players. The minimum salary goes up for each year of experience a player has, but teams aren't on the hook for any amount beyond the minimum for a player with two years of experience, which is set at $854K this year. The league provides the rest of the money for the players. The salaries that have been adjusted down to the two-year veteran's minimum appear in yellow in the charts below. In cases where a signee didn't play last season, or appeared in fewer than 10 games, I substituted the PER or win shares per 48 minutes from the last NBA season in which he played at least 10 games, and those stats are shown here in gray.
First, the PER chart:
Now, the win shares chart:
Some observations:
- Eight players appear on both 10-man lists: Patrick Mills, C.J. Watson, Daniel Orton, Nate Robinson, Chris Wilcox, Ronnie Brewer, Ronny Turiaf and Cartier Martin.
- The only teams to have multiple players on these lists are the Nets and Bulls. There's been criticism of the Bulls for their overhaul of the team's bench this offseason, but the numbers Robinson and Radmanovich put up last season suggest they can provide roughly the same value as departing reserves Watson and Brewer.
- P.J. Tucker's appearance on the PER chart might be something of a red herring, since it's based on a 17-game sample from back in 2006-07 with the Raptors, his only NBA experience. Though he played only 83 total minutes, he made the most of them, averaging 13.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per 36 minutes. He's the only player on either top 10 to make less than the two-year veteran's minimum, since he has only one season of experience, but if we took him off the list, the player to replace him would be Roger Mason of the Hornets. Mason's 2011/12 PER of 12.1 divided by his $854K veteran's minimum salary for next year results in a score of 14.169.
Central Rumors: Bucks, Villanueva, Pacers
Carlos Delfino agreed to sign with the Rockets tonight, and it's no surprise he's leaving the Bucks, who never made a push to retain their incumbent starting small forward. His departure opens up minutes at the three for Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Dunleavy and gives 2011 19th overall pick Tobias Harris a chance to crack the rotation, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We've got more on the Bucks and their Central Division rivals here:
- John Hollinger of ESPN.com wonders if the Bucks will try to turn Delfino's deal with the Rockets into a sign-and-trade, which would create a trade exception for Milwaukee (Twitter link). The Bucks, who hold Houston's 2014 second-round pick, could entice the rebuilding Rockets by offering it back to them, while the Bucks could take back one of the 21 players Houston is slated to bring to training camp. There would have to be a third season tacked on to Delfino's two-year deal per sign-and-trade rules, but that wouldn't be hard for the Rockets to do if they made it a non-guaranteed year, Hollinger tweets.
- The Pistons may look to move Charlie Villanueva or Austin Daye to free up roster space for Ben Wallace to return to the team, Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. The team could also use Villanueva as a trade chip next summer, when he'll be entering the final season of his five-year, $37.7MM deal, but the 6'11" power forward is determined to prove he's worth keeping around.
- The Indianapolis Capitol Improvement Board and the Pacers are in the early stages of negotiations on a new deal to provide money for the day-to-day operations of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the board's approval of a new budget that doesn't specify any payment to the Pacers complicates the issue, as Jon Murray of the Indianapolis Star writes.
- Former Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa is still looking for a job, but Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld argues that he'll be a valuable addition where ever he winds up.
- The Bulls aren't bringing back Brian Scalabrine next year, but the 11-year veteran refuses to end his unlikely NBA career, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com chronicles. He has an offer from a team in Europe, and the Celtics want him to do some TV work, but Scalabrine is holding out for one more chance to play in the NBA.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Meeks, Curry, Suns
The Lakers are no stranger to the luxury tax, and with the tax penalties going up in 2013/14 and the team's recent commitments to high-paid veterans, owner Jerry Buss is facing a hefty bill. By my calculations, the Lakers already have $74,831,035 committed for 2013/14, and that doesn't include Dwight Howard, who's likely to command a max contract with a starting salary around $20.5MM. If D12 remains in L.A., salary cap expert Larry Coon estimates the Lakers will owe a record $185MM in salary and taxes (Twitter link). If Buss opens his wallet that wide, expect plenty of complaining from small-market teams whose owners would never dream of spending that much in single season. While we wait to see how high the Lakers will go, there's plenty more from around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers made their signing of Jodie Meeks official today, and the 6'4" shooting guard tells Mike Trudell of Lakers.com that the team's decorated history and the chance to play with multiple future Hall-of-Famers lured him to L.A.
- Stephen Curry is stepping up his rehab from right ankle surgery as he works toward being ready for camp, Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com reports. Curry will spend four days in a row at the Warriors' practice facility, allowing the team a look at the point guard as they decide whether to pursue an extension. Michael Pina of Hoops Rumors profiled Curry's extension candidacy earlier this month.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic recaps the statements James Harden has made in the past few weeks about either signing an extension with the Thunder or considering the Suns in free agency, and shares a few other Phoenix-related observations from the summer.