Potential Grizzlies Owner Sees Stock Slip Again
The stock price for the company owned by the man who's agreed to purchase the Grizzlies plummeted Thursday after the company warned investors of impact from a counterfeiting scheme, reports Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Robert Pera's Ubiquiti Networks was down to $9.55 per share this evening after closing at $15.01 prior to the release of its earnings report. The company was trading at more than $30 a share in April.
Pera declined comment about the Grizzlies in a conference call discussing the company's report. Pera is reportedly seeking local investors to join his bid. An New York Daily News story in June said a rapid decline of Pera's net worth was endangering his deal with current owner Michael Heisley, but Heisley said shortly thereafter he had no reason to expect Pera would not meet the $335MM purchase price. NBA commissioner David Stern said last month the league's vetting of Pera was on schedule and that he hopes the sale will be finalized in the next couple of months.
Ubiquiti is pursuing legal action against the counterfeiters who are affecting the company's sales. The company said it's likely to continue to feel the effects for the next two quarters. Ubiquiti juxtaposed the news with an otherwise positive sales report, saying revenue in the last quarter was up 40 percent over the same quarter a year ago.
Southeast Rumors: Magic, Wizards, Sichting
Orlando is once again the center of the NBA universe as the Magic are reportedly working on yet another Dwight Howard trade. Sam Amick of SI.com provided an update earlier on the talks, and in his story he passed along a few comments from Magic CEO Alex Martins on how the team will proceed with Howard.
"We have very specific goals as to what we would hope to achieve if we were to trade Dwight, OK?" Martins said. "We acknowledge and are realistic about the fact that you're never going to get equal value in return for Dwight Howard. But if we were to trade him, we have three primary goals that we're trying to achieve and in the end, any deal that's proposed to us I think we've been very clear about the fact about the goals of what we're trying to achieve."
Martins didn't specify what the three goals are, but said the team hasn't delineated from its plan, and added that the ability to acquire "the right combination of pieces" in return for Howard will determine whether they make a deal. We've got more on the Magic and the rest of the Southeast Division here:
- The Wizards have hired Jerry Sichting as an assistant coach, the team reports on its website. Sichting has 24 years of NBA experience as a player, assistant coach, and front office executive, but spent last season coaching Martinsville High School, his alma mater, in Indiana.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News tweets that Harold Ellis, director of pro personnel for the Pistons, is jumping to the Magic to work in a similar capacity. He follows Scott Perry, who left the Pistons in June to become Orlando's assistant GM.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com doesn't think the latest Howard deal makes sense for the Magic (Twitter link). Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com also looks at what each side might get in the deal, and believes the Sixers are the only team that would benefit. The deal remains fluid, though, and some of the players currently said to be part of the deal may not be included.
Delfino To Sign With NBA Team After Olympics
Carlos Delfino is focused on helping Argentina beat the USA tomorrow in the Olympic semifinals, but tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com he'll sign with an NBA team after the Olympics. Stein adds that the Rockets are "actively chasing" Delfino, and says the Celtics would like him but can't afford him, as we heard earlier this week (Twitter links).
The Cavs have also been linked to Delfino recently, but their interest may have cooled after signing C.J. Miles. Delfino has reportedly been seeking multiple years on a deal, and the notion that the Celtics can't afford him suggests he'll sign for more than the minimum salary, and likely more than the $1.957MM biannual exception as well.
Delfino averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season with the Bucks, with an 11.7 PER. He's said he was playing through an injury for part of the season, and expressed disappointment that the Bucks haven't pursued him with more vigor after he was willing to play hurt for them. The 6'6" swingman is putting up 15.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.5 APG in six Olympic games this summer.
Pincus On Howard, Bynum, Gasol, Green, Clippers
Sources tell Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld that the Lakers would be "far more comfortable" building around Dwight Howard rather than Andrew Bynum. If today's rumored four-team trade comes to fruition, the Lakers would get their wish. Pincus has a few more items of note in his latest piece, and we'll hit the highlights here:
- If the Rockets can't land Howard or Bynum, they might have interest in acquiring Pau Gasol if he's dealt to the Magic, Pincus says. Gasol would net the Magic fewer assets than if they dealt Howard to the Rockets, but Pincus believes it would still be a solid haul.
- The Lakers have their $3.09MM taxpayer's mini mid-level exception available, but are reluctant to tie it up with a trade for Howard still in play.
- Pincus has the details on Willie Green's deal with the Clippers, who acquired the veteran shooting guard in a sign-and-trade last month. It's a three-year deal for $4.2MM, but only the first season, at $1.375MM, is fully guaranteed. He also looks at the multiple trade exceptions held by the Clippers, which gave the team a choice when they acquired Green. The team opted to use part of a $2.76MM exception left over from dealing Al-Farouq Aminu in the Chris Paul trade.
Bulls Sign Marquis Teague
WEDNESDAY, 1:05pm: The Bulls have officially announced Teague's signing in a press release.
TUESDAY, 2:07pm: Teague has signed his rookie contract, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The first-round pick ultimately signed a deal for 100 percent of his slotted salary in the first year, $857K, according to sources. The following years are expected to be at the 120 percent slotted salary.
The Bulls are left with just $758K under the hard cap, meaning that they do not have enough money to add someone at the $857K veteran's minimum.
MONDAY, 8:06am: Marquis Teague is the only remaining unsigned first-round pick, but this weekend the 29th overall selection gave indication that he and the Bulls are nearing a deal. The University of Kentucky product spoke to Kyle Tucker of the Louisville Courier-Journal while assisting with a youth basketball camp at his alma mater.
“I’m about to get it figured out when I go back," Teague said. "We just pretty much came up with something. So as soon as I go back to Chicago, it’ll be done. We’re right there. We’ll figure it out.”
Mark Deeks of ShamSports speculated last week that the sides were hung up over the Bulls' desire to pay him less than the standard 120% of the rookie scale amount, which would be a first-year salary of $1,028,400 in Teague's case. NBA teams almost always give their first-round picks the maximum allowable amount, but there are exceptions. The Bulls are hard-capped at $74.3MM for 2012/13 after using more than the taxpayer's mid-level of $3.09MM to sign Kirk Hinrich, so saving every penny will be a priority for Chicago this season.
Teague averaged 10.0 points and 4.8 assists in 32.6 minutes per game on a loaded Kentucky team this past season. He's the brother of Jeff Teague of the Hawks.
Odds & Ends: Atkinson, Spurs, Macklin, Amundson
Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will be leaving New York and taking the same position with the Hawks, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. Atkinson was a crucial cog in the development of Jeremy Lin. Here's more of what we're hearing from around the Association:
- With a report being released tonight that Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey might be heading to the Jazz to become their new general manager, Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News writes that other teams are gutting San Antonio's front office.
- Vernon Macklin's agent has informed Hoopshype.com that his client is currently drawing interest from the Nets, Suns, Bucks, Wizards, and Lakers. Macklin spent last season in Detroit, and is also drawing interest overseas, in Turkey and Greece.
- Free agent power forward Louis Amundson is in discussions with a number of teams, but has yet to make up his mind, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports, adding that he's likely to sign for a team's mini mid-level exception (Twitter link). It's not clear whether Zwerling means the taxpayer's mini mid-level of $3.09MM or the room exception, a mini-midlevel of $2.575MM available to teams under the cap. However, the list of remaining mid-level exceptions that Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors put together Friday provides a hint. Only the Lakers have all of the taxpayer's mini mid-level available, and they're looking for backcourt help, meaning that if Amundson goes for a mini mid-level, it's likely to be the room exception currently held in full by nine teams.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ponders the merits of Dexter Pittman, 45th overall pick Justin Hamilton and free agent Mickell Gladness as reserve center options for the Heat. As Winderman points out, Pittman will almost assuredly be on the team, since his minimum-salary contract is guaranteed.
- The Jazz starting lineup isn't set in stone, and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News handicaps the team's positional battles.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com catches up with recent Bulls signee Nazr Mohammed, a Chicago native who says he always dreamed for playing for his hometown team.
The Going Rate For Top 10 Assist Producers
Only two players averaged more than 10 assists per game last season, and there's no convenient numerical threshold to assess the salaries for elite passing talent as we've done for the dozen players who averaged 20 or more points last season and the eight who collected 10 or more rebounds per game. So, we've simply taken a look at the top 10 guys on the assist leaderboard from last season. On average, they're paid less than their scoring and rebounding counterparts, and thanks to paycuts for Steve Nash and Andre Miller that aren't completely offset by raises for the others on the list, they'll make even less in 2012/13 than they did last season.
Here are the top 10 assist producers from 2011/12, along with their salaries for the past and coming seasons and what they make for each assist on their nightly average.
Some observations:
- Deron Williams was the only player to finish in the top 10 in assists and scoring average last year, but thanks to the timing of his contract and the new CBA, he won't get the highest raise among players on this list. That distinction belongs to Chris Paul, who was making just as much as Williams did last season and will get slightly more in 2012/13.
- Andre Miller makes more money and was a slightly more prolific assist maker last season, but Nuggets teammate Ty Lawson is the starter and saw more minutes per game in 2011/12.
- Lawson will probably soon make more than Miller when his rookie deal runs out after this season. Lawson, John Wall and Ricky Rubio all made this list on their rookie scale contracts, representing bargains for their teams. Rubio was the only first-year player last season to be either a top 10 assist producer, 20+ PPG scorer or 10+ RPG rebounder.
- The Lakers, Clippers, Nets and Wolves all have a player on this list as well as the scoring and rebounding lists.
Storytellers Contracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.
Amick On Olympics, Martin, Mason, Harden
You might expect Thunder GM Sam Presti to fall in line behind Mavs owner Mark Cuban in calling for limits on the participation of NBA players in the Olympics, considering Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all playing in London after a long postseason run this spring. Sam Amick of SI.com writes that while Presti is officially neutral on the issue, his enthusiasm for the benefits of international play is apparent, as he harked back to the growth he saw in Durant and Westbrook after the 2010 World Championships. "I think it's really helpful for them to play under different circumstances; it only rounds them out as players and makes them better," Presti said. "What we observed from the World Championship was just the mental endurance that it takes to go through an international competition and the training camp that leads up to it in medal-round play just to get there." The comments made by Presti, a product of the Spurs front office, seem to echo what Spurs GM R.C. Buford has said about the issue. Amick has plenty more in today's piece, and we've got the highlights here:
- The market for remaining frontcourt players is being held up while teams wait for Kenyon Martin to sign, Amick hears. The Lakers and Nets are among teams he's considering, but the willingness of many others to settle for the minimum salary so far this summer has eroded Martin's leverage. Martin is reportedly uninterested in a deal for the minimum.
- Amick takes a closer look at how NBA teams are being more cautious in handing out deals under the new CBA, along with the rise in minimum-salary deals. Luke Adams compiled a list of pacts for the minimum through August 1. The contract Roger Mason signed this weekend with the Hornets is another minimum deal, Amick reports. He also notes that players union president Derek Fisher and vice president Maurice Evans, two key figures in last year's lockout, remain unsigned.
- Emptying his notebook, Amick passes along a James Harden quote from last month that gives indication he's confident about his prospects for an extension with the Thunder. "I'm pretty, a hundred percent, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be in Oklahoma City," Harden said. "I'll let my agent and Mr. Presti and [Thunder owner Clay] Bennett discuss all that, so I'll let them handle that and stay out of it for right now and worry about the USA Olympics."
Magic Searching For Third Point Guard
MONDAY, 10:08am: Ish Smith is expected to take part in training camp with the Magic, tweets HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler, though no deal between Smith and the club has been reported. Smith spent the latter part of 2011/12 with the Magic after signing in February for the rest of the season.
SATURDAY, 4:26pm: Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel breaks down the remaining offseason priorities for the Magic. Resolving the Dwight Howard situation is high on the list, of course, but so is finding a third point guard to slot behind Jameer Nelson and Chris Duhon. Robbins says the team will "definitely" have another point guard on the roster by the start of the season, and adds that bringing back Ish Smith to compete with Duhon for the backup role is a possibility.
The Magic have the full $5MM mid-level exception at their disposal, but it's doubtful they'd use all of it sign someone from the paltry list of remaining unrestricted free agent point guards. No restricted free agent point guard are left. They could go with a veteran option, like Mike Bibby or Jannero Pargo, or turn to a younger player like Jonny Flynn or Armon Johnson. Gilbert Arenas is still on the market, but since the Magic used the amnesty clause to waive him before the start of last season, he's ineligible to sign with the team until 2014/15, after his contract with the Magic was to have expired.
Sundiata Gaines, who averaged 5.1 points and 2.2 assists in 13.9 minutes as a backup for the Nets last season, could be the best option. He's the only unsigned free agent point guard who put up a PER of at least 15.0, the mark of an average player. That's decidedly better than the 5.6 and 8.4 PERs Duhon has compiled in his two seasons with the Magic after signing a four-year, $13.25MM contract. Still, all of this is just my speculation, as the Magic haven't been linked to any of these options.
The Magic could also acquire a point guard via trade, but it seems like any such move would be on the backburner until the team figures out what it's going to do with Howard.
Atlantic Rumors: Garnett, Delfino, Knicks, Teletovic
It's not uncommon for NBA players to own a stake in other sports. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are joint owners of a racehorse, and LeBron James is a part of Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of baseball's Boston Red Sox and English soccer club Liverpool FC. Nonetheless, the NBA will not permit Kevin Garnett to invest in AS Roma, an Italian soccer team, because Celtics minority owner James Pallotta is already one of the club's owners, as Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe reported this weekend. We've got more on the C's and their Atlantic Division rivals here:
- Celtics coach Doc Rivers tells the Argentinian website Ole (translation via HoopsHype) that the team has looked into signing Carlos Delfino and wishes they had the money to get a deal done. The Hawks, Pacers, Rockets and Cavaliers have also been linked to the 6'6" swingman, who's reportedly seeking a multiyear deal.
- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News hears Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson is nearing a deal to take a similar position with the Hawks. Atkinson is the lone remaining holdover from the staff of former Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni. Jeremy Lin credited Atkinson for helping him to his sensational play this past season.
- Nets signee Mirza Teletovic spoke to Drago Perko of Kosarka.si, a Slovenian website, about his decision to come to Brooklyn (translation via NetsDaily). The 6'9" forward said he held off on jumping to the NBA for two or three years, and is focused on winning championships. He paid a $2MM buyout to Caja Laboral of Spain to get out his deal overseas and sacrificed close to another $2MM to sign for the taxpayer's mid-level exception instead of the full mid-level with the Nets so the team wouldn't be hard-capped this season.