Notable August Transactions In Recent Years
It's tempting to look away from the NBA this month, with the Olympics in full swing and most of the key free agent signed. Still, there have been several August transactions that have made an impact the past few offseasons. Last year there weren't any because of the lockout, but in 2010 and 2009, teams made some moves that had an impact on the coming season, and some of their effects are still being felt today. Here's a rundown of the trades and signings that have made August headlines in the past:
2010
- August 10th, 2010: Keith Bogans signs with the Bulls for two years, $3.328MM — Bogans started all 82 regular season and 16 playoff games for Chicago in 2010/11, which compiled the league’s best record and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Bogans shot 38.0% from three-point range in the regular season, upping that mark to 42.4% in the playoffs.
- August 11th, 2010: Trevor Ariza traded from the Rockets to the Hornets, Darren Collison traded from the Hornets to the Pacers, Courtney Lee traded from the Nets to the Rockets among other players in a four-team swap — Ariza plugged into the starting small forward role for New Orleans and averaged 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game the past two seasons. Collison spent most of 2010/11 and 2011/12 as a starter for Indiana, averaging 11.9 PPG and 5.0 APG. Lee used 40.4% shooting the past two seasons with Houston to net a four-year, $21.35MM contract with the Celtics this summer.
- August 11th, 2010: Marco Belinelli traded from the Raptors to the Hornets — Belinelli was the starter at shooting guard most of the past two seasons in New Orleans, averaging 11.1 PPG and 39.6% three-point shooting, not a bad return for Julian Wright.
- August 23rd, 2010: Nikola Pekovic signs with the Timberwolves for three years, $11,858,400 — The value of this signing wasn’t realized until this past season, when Pekovic averaged 15.4 PPG and 8.5 RPG on 54.7% shooting in 35 games as a starter.
- August 24th, 2010: Landry Fields signs with the Knicks on a two-year, minimum-salary deal — Fields, the 39th overall pick in the 2010 draft, started all but five regular season games the past two years, and now takes a career rate of 6.5 rebounds per 36 minutes to the Raptors on a three-year, $18.7MM deal.
2009
- August 6th, 2009:Brandon Roy signs a maximum five-year, $82.3MM extension with the Blazers — Portland got only 112 games out of Roy before knee injuries forced him to retire, and the team elected to waive him with the amnesty clause. Roy is coming back with the Wolves next season, costing the Blazers $17MM in insurance money that would have helped offset the full amount of the contract Portland will still wind up paying him.
- August 7th, 2009:Marvin Williams re-signs with the Hawks for five years, $37.5MM — In the three seasons before Williams re-signed, he took 11.0 shots in 34.3 minutes per game, averaging 14.0 PPG. In the three seasons since, he’s taken 8.2 shots in 28.7 MPG and averaged 10.2 PPG. The Hawks traded him to the Jazz this summer for Devin Harris.
- August 7th, 2009:Jonas Jerebko signs with the Pistons on a two-year, minimum salary deal — Like Fields, drafted in the same position the next year, the 2009 39th overall pick made an impact in his rookie season, averaging 9.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 80 games, 73 of them starts. He missed all of 2010/11 with injury and has yet to regain his starting position.
- August 10th, 2009:Glen Davis re-signs with the Celtics for two years, $5MM — Most of Davis’ impact came in year two of this deal, when he averaged 11.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG in 29.5 MPG as a key reserve for Boston.
- August 18th, 2009:Carlos Delfino traded from the Raptors to the Bucks — The most prominent name in the four-player swap, Delfino became a starter and double-digit scorer for the first time in Milwaukee, averaging 10.6 PPG and 36.6% three-point shooting the past three seasons for the Bucks. He’s poised to make news again this August as one of the noteworthy remaining free agents.
RealGM.com and Storytellers Contracts were used in the creation of this post.
Hunter Promises Player Input On Olympic Age Limit
A recent piece written by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested Billy Hunter, executive director of the players union, was "too weakened and distracted" from the recent discord within the union to put up much of a fight against a move to limit the Olympics to players age 23 and under. Hunter, who has a seat on USA Basketball's board of directors, insists the players will have a voice in any discussion of an age limit, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes.
"Whatever the players decide, that's what I'll end up supporting," the union chief said. "They don't want anybody being able to dictate whether they can or cannot do that."
NBA commissioner David Stern told Zillgitt last week that he's in no rush to push for an age limit, and Hunter, who said he met with Stern two days ago, echoed that an age limit is still a long way from becoming reality. There are no meetings scheduled to discuss the topic, though USA basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo wants to begin formal talks shortly following the London Games.
Stern, at the behest of Mark Cuban and other owners who've expressed displeasure about allowing NBA players to take part in competitions that aren't under NBA control, has spoken publicly about engaging FIBA in discussion on limiting player participation in the Olympics and funneling them into the World Cup of basketball, a rebranded World Championships that would take place every four years under some kind of partnership between FIBA and the NBA.
Anthony Tolliver Weighing Free Agent Options
THURSDAY, 2:54pm: The Pacers are also displaying interest in Tolliver, according to Tomasson (via Twitter). Nothing is imminent yet, however.
WEDNESDAY, 7:45pm: Free agent forward Anthony Tolliver said the Wizards have been calling him daily, making them a potential front-runner for the four-year veteran, Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida reports. Tolliver says the Bobcats have reached out to him recently as well, Tomasson writes, and the Timberwolves, who renounced his rights earlier this summer to clear cap space, remain in the running, too. Tolliver is seeking a deal that would give him close to the $2MM he made last year in Minnesota (All Sulia links).
Last month reports suggested the Timberwolves and Cavs were in the lead for Tolliver, but the Cavs have faded from consideration. Tolliver told Tomasson he could still envision a return to the Wolves despite the addition of Andrei Kirilenko, who can play both forward positions just as Tolliver does (Sulia link).
Tolliver's points per game regressed for the second season in a row last year, as he averaged 4.1 PPG in 17.3 minutes a night. His three-point shooting, a strength at 40.9% in 2010/11, dipped to 24.8% this past season. A team willing to give the 27-year-old more than a minimum deal would be banking on a repeat of his production in 2009/10, when he averaged career highs of 11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 31.0 MPG.
Timberwolves Sign Greg Stiemsma
2:10pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that Stiemsma's deal with the Wolves includes a non-guaranteed second year. It will be worth the $2.575MM room exception, says Zgoda (Twitter link).
AUGUST 2ND, 1:35pm: Stiemsma has officially signed with the Timberwolves, according to the team's official PR Twitter feed.
JULY 24TH, 8:00am: The Celtics have withdrawn their qualifying offer to Stiemsma, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. This clears the way for the Timberwolves to sign the big man outright.
JULY 22ND, 4:26pm: The deal is for one year and about $3MM, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
3:59pm: The Timberwolves and Greg Stiemsma have agreed to terms on a contract, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). The deal will be for an amount greater than the $1.957MM biannual exception the Celtics were limited to giving him, Zgoda tweets, and comes after Stiemsma's agent Mike Naiditch set today as the deadline for Minnesota to sign Stiemsma at a rate cheaper than he could get elsewhere. Stiemsma reportedly received a significant offer from another team. A report earlier in the week suggested the Wolves would offer him a deal close to $3MM a year.
Though the Celtics were said to be likely to rescind his qualifying offer as of last night, they haven't done so, meaning he's technically still a restricted free agent. Since the Celtics, who are over the cap, only have non-Bird rights on Stiemsma and can't exceed the value of the biannual exception to keep him, they'll be unable to match the Wolves' offer.
Stiemsma averaged 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a first-year minimum-salary player for the Celtics last season. He went undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2008 and played in the D-League before getting his shot in Boston.
Odds & Ends: Brewer, Raptors, Blazers, Olympics
As August begins, four deals became official today while another is on its way, as Roger Mason and the Hornets agreed to terms. There's plenty left to resolve this summer, with the Dwight Howard saga continuing to loom as the league's largest story. Two of the most significant plotlines don't involve players. The Blazers cut their list of coaching candidates in half today, while the Clippers continue to operate without a general manager. Here's what's up around the Association tonight:
- In a two–part interview with Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, Ronnie Brewer explains why he turned down offers with more years and more money to sign for the minimum with the Knicks.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun doesn't expect any more offseason movement for the Raptors (Sulia link).
- Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes that Terry Stotts and Kaleb Canales, the remaining candidates to coach the Blazers, are both clients of agent Warren LeGarie, who also represents GM Neil Olshey. Quick adds that since LeGarie represents more coaches than any other agent, it could simply be a coincidence (Twitter links).
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com says it would be shortsighted for the NBA to push for an age limit in the Olympics, arguing the exposure players get on a worldwide stage at the Olympics helps promote the NBA product internationally.
Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Lakers, Clippers
We've heard plenty from the Warriors the last several hours, including official announcements of the Brandon Rush and Carl Landry signings, as well as an update on the team's plans for an arena in San Francisco. GM Bob Myers wouldn't promise a playoff berth, as coach Mark Jackson did last year, but said he thinks the team has a better chance of making it to the postseason this time around, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (Sulia link). Rush, for one, will come into camp with plenty of confidence. Despite competition from Richard Jefferson and rookie Harrison Barnes, Rush told reporters he intends to be the starter at small forward, as CSNBayArea notes. There's more from by the Bay to pass along this evening, as well as items on the teams from Southern California:
- Myers gave mixed messages about whether the Warriors are done dealing, saying, "We made our moves and are content with our roster," but also, "We have flexibility. We can go deeper into the tax if we want. Or we can find ways to get out. We’ll keep our eye on that," as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News group documents (Twitter links). Thompson, recapping the busy day for the Warriors, believes the latter quote from Myers indicates the team will look to dump salary come February if it's struggling.
- At the bottom of a piece that further examines last week's news that Andrew Bynum's agent is denying he and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak have talked about an extension for his client, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times says the Lakers are pursuing backcourt help. The team reportedly has serious interest in swingman C.J. Miles.
- Eric Patten of Clippers.com takes a look at the wealth of experience the Clippers' new additions bring to the team's bench.
Central Rumors: Barbosa, Teague, Hamilton
The Bulls have finished atop the Central Division with the league's best record the past two seasons, with the Pacers coming in second both times. With the injury to Derrick Rose and the nearly wholesale turnover of Chicago's bench, the door is open for the Pacers to move into first place this year. There are rumblings tonight about a former Pacer who could be headed to a division rival, and a pair of Bulls:
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that free agent Leandro Barbosa is open to discussing a move to the Cavs, but it isn't clear whether the team has any interest in the 6'3" combo guard. Barbosa, who finished last season with Indiana, is reportedly seeking a multiyear deal.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports examines why Marquis Teague, drafted 29th overall by the Bulls, is the only remaining unsigned first-round pick. He believes the team wants to sign him for less than the standard 120% of the rookie scale amount to avoid paying the luxury tax and to give them more flexibility, since the signing of Kirk Hinrich put them under a $74.3MM hard cap this season.
- Deeks also speculates the Bulls will trade Richard Hamilton during the season to avoid having to pay the luxury tax for the first time in franchise history.
How The Mavs Can Sign Dwight Howard Next Year
- Dirk Nowitzki ($22,721,381)
- Shawn Marion ($9,363,313)
- Vince Carter ($3,180,000)
- Jared Cunningham ($1,208,400)
- O.J. Mayo ($4,000,000*)
The asterisk next to O.J. Mayo's $4MM salary is an estimate based on the amount of cap space the Mavs had when they reached an agreement with Mayo last week. Mayo's reported asking price was $8MM per season, and the second year of his deal is a player option, so if he plays well this year, there's a strong chance he'll opt out and free even more space for the Mavs. The salary listed for Cunningham, the 24th pick this past June, assumes he signed for 120% of the rookie scale amount, which is standard for first-round picks. Marion has an early termination option for 2013/14, but it's unlikely he'll exercise it.
If all those players are still on the Mavs' books by next summer, they'll have about $40.5MM in commitments for 2013/14. That doesn't count cap holds for the contracts that expire after this season or their first-round pick for next season, which goes to the Rockets if it's not in the top 20. Let's say for the purposes of this post that the Mavs finish with one of the league's 10 best records next season and wind up without a first-rounder next year. The salary cap currently sits at $58.044 million, though it's subject to change for 2013/14, and there's been plenty of speculation it could go as high as $60MM. We'll play it conservatively and bump it up by $1MM, to a hypothetical $59.044. If the Mavs renounce the rights to all their own free agents next summer, that leaves about $18.5MM for Howard and seven other players,$3,431,260 of which would be eaten by holds equaling the rookie minimum salary for each empty roster spot. So, the estimated cap room would be a little more than $15MM. If Mayo opts out, that number jumps to about $18.6MM.
Howard will make $19,563,360 with the Magic this year, meaning his maximum salary for 2013/14 will be $20,541,528. It's unlikely he'd take a discount, so the Mavs will have to find a trade partner or two willing to take on salary. Sending Marion away would be the most obvious solution, but if that proves impossible, trading both Carter and Mayo and renouncing the rights to their own free agents would give the Mavs about $21.27MM of cap space in our scenario. They'd also have the $2.652MM room exception at their disposal, allowing the team to add Howard and squeeze in the rest of their 2013/14 roster on about $3.4MM.
So while the Mavericks could conceivably get Howard, it seems like a longshot. With so many variables in play, from the Mavs' team salary to possibility that the Magic trade Howard to the Lakers or Nets, with whom he'd likely re-sign, GM Donnie Nelson faces a multitude of obstacles to landing the franchise center. There are other avenues for acquiring Howard next summer, such as a sign-and-trade with the Magic or a parting of ways with Nowitzki, but those seem unlikely.
Even if they do wind up with Howard, a team of D12, a 35-year-old Nowitzki, and low-salaried complementary talent doesn't sound like an automatic contender. If the Mavs miss out on Howard, they could have a shot at Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, James Harden and a host of other All-Star caliber guys, as our list of 2013/14 free agents shows. All of them would command a lower maximum salary than Howard, given their current salaries and years of experience. So, while the news of Howard's fondness for Dallas may let Mavs fans dream, the likely reality of going without him may provide an easier path back to the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Storytellers Contracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Howard, Ferry, Teague
In a piece that calls upon Dwight Howard to act professionally as he seeks to move on from the Magic, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com revisits the big man's decision to waive his early termination option this past March. Broussard says Howard wanted to give the team a chance to improve the roster and was open to staying, but when former coach Stan Van Gundy told the media a team executive had let him know Howard wanted him fired, Howard lost all trust and confidence in the Magic. There are a few other items concerning the Magic's Southeast Division rivals this evening:
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune expects former Wolves assistant coach Jerry Sichting to wind up in that same role for the Wizards (Twitter link). That appears to be the "tweak" to his staff Wizards head coach Randy Wittman was referring to (link below).
Earlier updates:
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio applauds Hawks GM Danny Ferry, hired barely a month ago, for assembling a competitive team for the upcoming season while freeing cap space to make a major move next summer.
- This coming season will be the last of Jeff Teague's rookie contract, and with all the new faces on the Hawks this year, including fellow point guard Devin Harris, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at how Teague can make the most of 2012/13.
- Roger Mason, who agreed to sign with the Hornets today, thought when last season ended that he'd be back with the Wizards, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. With the team drafting Bradley Beal at his position and adding other veterans who can assume his leadership role, the eight-year veteran decided to turn elsewhere.
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman held forth on a number of topics, and Lee has the details. Wittman hinted that the team may keep a roster spot or two open heading into training camp, and said he's still considering another "tweak" to the coaching staff after hiring former Spurs assistant Don Newman earlier this summer.
- In the same piece, Wittman addressed the team's decision to use the amnesty clause to waive Andray Blatche, saying, "I hope and wish the best for Dray. And maybe this can be the best thing for him in turning his career back around and being the player I think we all think he can be."
- Wittman expressed a preference for having three point guards on the roster, and said that's one reason the Wizards signed A.J. Price.
Kyler On Barbosa, Delfino, Howard
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler has taken to Twitter this afternoon, answering questions from followers and dropping some compelling tidbits along the way. Let's check out the highlights here:
- There's been little talk about free agent guard Leandro Barbosa this summer, and that appears to be because he's been holding out for a multiyear deal. Kyler says he's spoken to teams trying to land the speedy 6'3" Brazilian, and hears Barbosa is not entertaining any one-year offers (Twitter links).
- The Hawks, Pacers and Celtics are among teams that have reportedly considered signing Carlos Delfino at different points this past month, and Kyler adds the Rockets to that list. Like Barbosa, Delfino is seeking multiple years. Kyler believes both players will ultimately have to settle for the offers on the table, likely meaning they'll ink the one-year contracts they've been trying to avoid (All Twitter links).
- Kyler shares his take on why Dwight Howard chose to waive his early termination option at the trade deadline. He believes Howard thought doing so would lead the Magic to ship him to the Nets in the offseason, following the model of what the Hornets did when they traded Chris Paul to the Clippers (Sulia link). Kyler says that while Howard loves living in Orlando, it's the Magic organization that has him so anxious to leave, and adds, via Twitter, that agent Dan Fegan didn't force Howard's hand when he opted in.