Free Agent Stock Watch: Josh Howard
It doesn't seem that long ago that Josh Howard was a 26-year-old playing in his first All-Star game after starting for the Mavs in the Finals the season before. That was more than five years ago, though, and it's been a slow descent for the 6'7", 210-pound swingman ever since. He bottomed out during a year and a half in Washington, tearing his ACL four games after the Mavs traded him there. He played in only 20 games over two seasons before he signing this past December with the Jazz. This season he struggled in the playoffs after left knee surgery in March knocked him out for more than a month. Now he faces uncertainty as he heads into unrestricted free agency for the third time in as many years.
He signed a $2.15MM contract with the Jazz before the season, coming off a one-year, $3MM deal with the Wizards in 2010/11. That was a significant paycut after finishing off a four-year, $41.67MM contract. Howard may have been on the way to reversing his trend of declining salaries during a string of 15 games before he hurt his knee this year. He started each of those games, averaging 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and a steal in 27.5 minutes a night, but he wasn't the same after his return, going for just 3.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG as the Jazz were swept by the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
Howard's saving grace might be weak competition among free agent small forwards. He's arguably the best unrestricted free agent at his position, and after Nicolas Batum, the restricted class doesn't look that impressive, either. There's a decent chance Howard winds up back with the Jazz, as GM Kevin O'Connor has said the team is open to bringing him back. It's far from a lock, however, as the team could easily use Gordon Hayward as the starter at the 3 or experiment with DeMarre Carroll in that role, as was the case when Howard was injured this year.
The draft lottery doesn't hold great personal interest for a lot of 32-year-old veterans in the NBA, but it may have a roundabout impact on Howard's destination. If the Warriors' pick falls out of the the top seven, it goes to the Jazz, and if Utah takes a small forward like Harrison Barnes or Terrence Jones, Howard could be on his way out. If the Warriors, a team that will be looking for a small forward this summer, keep the pick, they could take Barnes, Jones or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, eliminating the need to sign a veteran like Howard. The Raptors, another team looking for a small forward, may also choose to do so with a high draft pick instead of free agency.
The Bucks, Timberwolves and Suns are three more teams with money to spend that could have interest in Howard as a starter, but the best situation for him might be as a reserve for a veteran team. He can play limited minutes, minimizing the amount of stress on his body, and he's shown he can be a valuable contributor, if not a primary offensive option, when healthy. I could see him flourishing with the Grizzlies, who might envision him as a cost-effective replacement for O.J. Mayo.
Money Time: Upcoming Free Agents In The Playoffs
With another week of the playoffs in the books, let's check again on how soon-to-be free agents are faring in the postseason. You can catch up on the first and second installments by clicking the links. A number of players on expiring contracts are putting up impressive performances in the second round, but with size always a premium in the NBA, let's focus on three big men who are getting it done:
Winners
Kevin Garnett, Celtics: Garnett turns 36 today, but he's not atop this list because it's his birthday. It's hard to overlook his 3-for-12, nine-point, seven-turnover outing in the Celtics collapse against the Sixers last night, but Garnett's playoff renaissance has been one of the most compelling stories of the past few weeks. His 192 total points in 10 playoff games is more than anyone except Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and teammate Paul Pierce. Garnett's scoring (19.2) and rebounding (11.0) averages are his best in the playoffs since the Celtics' run to the title in 2008. He's protecting the basket, too, averaging 1.8 blocks per game. That's a figure he only exceeded once in the regular season, during his MVP year in 2003/04.
Tim Duncan, Spurs: A few weeks after his 36th birthday, Duncan can't believe how healthy he feels, and that's certainly been reflected in his play. He's led in his team in scoring with 22.0 PPG in two wins over the Clippers, while also averaging 7.5 rebounds, two steals and a block during the series. His 53% shooting for the postseason as a whole is the third-best percentage he's ever had in the playoffs, and his 25.4 PER is the fifth best of anyone on any playoff team this year. It's hard to imagine him leaving the Spurs, but he's probably earned a few extra dollars and another year or two on his next contract with his throwback performance.
Roy Hibbert, Pacers (restricted): He has exploited the Heat's weakness inside to the tune of 14.7 PPG and 13.3 RPG in three games against Miami, with three blocks a night to boot. He's pulled down 14 offensive rebounds in the series so far, and forced Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to start little-used Dexter Pittman in a vain attempt to match up with Hibbert's 7-foot-2, 278-pound size. For the playoffs as a whole, he's averaging 12.4 PPG and 11.8 RPG, and at age 25, he might be the No. 1 center on the free agent market this summer.
Losers
Ray Allen, Celtics: His 1-for-7 performance in Boston's closeout victory over the Hawks in the first round has carried over to the series against the Sixers. Allen is averaging only 9.3 points per game against Philadelphia on 29.4% shooting from behind the arc. That's not much of an improvement over his 27.8% three-point accuracy against the Hawks. Odder still is his 60% postseason free-throw shooting. He says his right ankle feels all right, but you have to wonder.
Matt Barnes, Lakers: His appearance on this list has a lot to do with Metta World Peace's return from suspension, but it never helps a free agent's case to become a forgotten man. He's played just 41 minutes so far against the Thunder, taken just seven shots, pulled down four rebounds and has more turnovers (four) than steals (three). The red flags will be flying especially high if he doesn't get much time tonight, with the Lakers playing a rare playoff back-t0-back.
Reggie Evans, Clippers: Evans, too, has seen his minutes cut drastically in the second round, but in his case there's not a clear reason why. Foul trouble might be to blame for his paltry eight minutes in Game 1, but he picked up just one foul as coach Vinny Del Negro went to him for just 11 minutes in Game 2, and his lack of playing time has contributed to an 82-66 advantage for San Antonio on the boards. Evans has seven rebounds in the series so far after bettering that total in six of the seven games against Memphis.
Odds & Ends: Rockets, Hornets, Magic
It was a night of youth over experience, as the young Sixers evened their series with the veteran Celtics, while the up-and-coming Thunder was impressive in Game 1 against the battle-tested Lakers. There were a few stories of interest from off the court as well, so let's take a look:
- The NBA has suspended Rockets scout David Patrick for a year after determining he had impermissable contact with players during the lockout, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweeted. The team will not be punished because the league ruled that Patrick's communication was personal and not part of team business, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Louisiana Senate has passed a bill that includes $36.5MM in tax breaks for the Hornets, Ed Anderson of The Times-Picayune reports. Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to give final approval to the measure that includes the breaks, which were part of the deal between the team and the state that keeps the Hornets in New Orleans through at least 2024.
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld looks at the Magic's offseason plans, and says executives from other teams "openly joke" about the Magic's failure to hold workouts or conduct interviews with recent first-round picks.
Latest On Sacramento Arena Situation
The validity of a letter from Sacramento business leaders that asked the NBA to encourage the owners of the Kings to sell has been called into question, reports Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.
Five of the 21 signatures on the letter were written by proxy, and not the person whose name is listed, according to Greg Hayes, one of the organizers of the letter-signing. Hayes said those five people told him they were supportive of the letter the night before the signing, but didn't show up to put pen on paper. Later, two of the people told Hayes they had "misgivings" about their names appearing on the letter.
Last week, Steve Large of CBS13 reported that the Maloof family, who owns the Kings, hired a retired FBI agent to investigate whether some of the signatures were forged. Bizjak writes that the leader of Think Big Sacramento, mayor Kevin Johnson's arena advocacy group, sent a letter this evening to the U.S. Attorney General's office requesting an examination of whether the Kings are violating any laws covering harrassment or intimidation of the people who signed the letter to the NBA.
According to a tweet from the Bee's Jason Jones, Maloof family spokesman Eric Rose says that Think Big Sacramento is built on "fabrication and deception" and the name of the group should be changed to "Think Big Fraud."
Where Contributors To Playoff Teams Were Drafted
As players eligible for June's draft scramble to move up on teams' boards, it might be important for them to remember there's little connection between draft position and the ability to make an impact on a quality team. Below the jump is a list of the draft position for all the significant contributors to teams that made the playoffs this year. For our purposes, that includes every player who played in at least 10 games, averaged at least 10 minutes per game, and is still on the official 15-man roster. So, that's why Lamar Odom is listed and Jordan Hill isn't. By the name of each team is the average draft position and the number of undrafted players.
Of note:
- The most talented playoff team this year, in terms of draft position, is the Mavs, whose players have an average draft position of 13.1, a pick that would be high enough to fall in the lottery. They had no significant contributions from anyone picked in the second round or any undrafted players. For all that talent, the Mavs failed to win a single game in the postseason.
- The team with the lowest average draft position is the Spurs, at 32.9, a number that would translate to a second round pick. It's remarkable, considering they have Tim Duncan, a former No. 1 overall pick, on the roster, but somewhat unsurprising given the franchise's reputation for developing obscure talent. The number doesn't take into consideration undrafted Gary Neal.
- The East's top two teams in the regular season, the Bulls and the Heat, each had three undrafted players contribute to their success, more than any other playoff team.
Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Pietrus, Deron Williams
As two Atlantic Division teams go at it tonight in Game 2 of the Celtics-Sixers series, let's check on what's happening off the court:
- The Knicks stand to gain if the union prevails on its contention that players claimed off waivers may retain their Bird Rights, but only by so much. If the arbitrator rules in favor of the union, that could allow the Knicks to re-sign Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak while using the mid-level exception on another player. Yet, as Howard Beck of The New York Times points out, the team would have only the smaller taxpayer mid-level exception if retaining Novak and Lin, along with their other free agents, pushes them above the $74MM luxury tax apron. Currently, the team has approximately $58.7MM guaranteed to players next season, with seven free agents and two players on non-guaranteed deals (All Twitter links).
- Mickael Pietrus, a free agent after the season, will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this summer, and hinted that he may re-sign with the Celtics, according to Jackie MacMullan and Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Pietrus underwent the same procedure on the knee during this past offseason.
- At the bottom of this piece by Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, Nets shooting guard Anthony Morrow offers a glimpse into the mind of top free agent target Deron Williams. Among other things, Morrow says that Williams "really likes Brooklyn," and loves the team and his teammates.
Warriors Notes: Lacob, Small Forwards, Draft
While the Warriors await the May 30th draft lottery with crossed fingers, hoping they don't slide below their projected seventh slot and lose their pick to the Jazz, there are a few items of note from the Bay Area:
- The team has promoted Kirk Lacob, son of co-owner Joe Lacob, to assistant GM, according to a statement. He previously served as director of basketball operations for the Warriors and general manager of the Dakota Wizards, the team's D-League affiliate. Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle provides detail.
- A "big" upgrade at small forward is on tap this summer, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. It's increasingly clear that the team has soured on Dorell Wright, Kawakami says, and the team will seek a replacement who can have an impact on both sides of the floor.
- In the same piece, Kawakami says the draft is the most likely means the team will use to get a new starter at the 3, and mentions Harrison Barnes, Terrence Jones and Perry Jones as possibilities at No. 7, with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in play if the team moves up into the top three picks. If they make a deal to move into the middle of the first round, they're high on Meyers Leonard, Kawakami reports.
- San Francisco mayor Ed Lee, along with all 11 city supervisors, sent a letter to the Warriors that said the city would cooperate to help the team return to San Francisco by 2017, according to Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. The city, home to the Warriors from 1962-71, is likely seeking a privately financed arena near the Bay Bridge. The news comes on the heels of the state's demand that Oakland return $3.5MM it had hoped to spend on planning for a new arena.
Union Seeks Ruling On Bird Rights, Waiver Claims
The player's union is challenging the NBA's declaration earlier this year that players who are claimed off waivers lose their Bird rights, Howard Beck of The New York Times reports. The union is seeking an arbitrator's ruling by July 1, which would have significant impact for several free agents and their teams.
If the union is successful with their challenge, it will be easier for many of the teams who claimed players off waivers this year to re-sign their players. The most prominent examples are the Knicks with Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak, the Clippers and Chauncey Billups, and the Blazers and J.J. Hickson. All of those players were claimed off waivers this season and are at the end of their contracts. If the union's challenge is successful, the teams will be allowed to retain those players using either Early Bird, in the case of Lin and Novak, or full Bird rights, as with Billups and Hickson. There were an unusually high number of players claimed off waivers this year, but the other four players on that list were either waived for a second time this season without being claimed, or have contracts in place for next year.
The league clarified its interpretation of the rule earlier this year, shortly after Lin became a sensation for the Knicks. It cited a clause in the collective bargaining agreement that said players lose their Bird rights when they're waived, regardless of whether a team claims them. The union contends that because everything else about a player's contract remains intact if he's claimed off waivers, the Bird rights should remain as well. Bird rights are tied to the number of years a player spends with a team. He must have finished at least two seasons with a team to have Early Bird rights and three for full Bird rights. Beck says that the union's case also compares a waiver transfer to a trade, arguing that because Bird rights are retained in trades, when players are sent to another team against their will, the same should be true when they're waived and claimed, also against their will.
The union and the league must select an arbitrator before the matter can proceed. Since, as Beck writes, much of the union's case centers around the spirit of the law, and the league is going off specific language in the CBA, it seems unlikely the arbitrator will rule in the union's favor. Still, it will be interesting to see how the pending case will affect teams as they prepare for the draft, which takes place three days before the date by which the arbitrator has been asked to rule.
Coaching Rumors: Brown, Woodson, Jackson
- Warren LeGarie, the agent for Lakers coach Mike Brown, feels confident his client will return to the bench next season after LeGarie spoke with GM Mitch Kupchak about comments former minority owner Magic Johnson made suggesting Brown would be fired if the team didn't win tonight, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). Spears also tweets that the Lakers are expected to release a statement in support of Brown, and pointed out that Brown has two more guaranteed seasons left on his four-year, $20MM deal.
- Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA tweets that Brown's job is not dependent on the result of Game 7 tonight, according to a source with knowledge of the Lakers' thinking.
- Brown said earlier today he was unfazed by what Johnson said, and had no indication there was any truth to it, tweeted NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper.
- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News scolds Knicks coach Mike Woodson for giving into owner James Dolan's wishes regarding his choice of agents.
- With Phil Jackson feeling better, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld speculates about where he might coach next if he returns to the bench, mentioning the Knicks, Thunder, Bulls, Mavs, Magic and Lakers.
- Rachel Shuster of USA Today wonders if the Bobcats might also be a landing spot for the Zen Master, since the owner is Michael Jordan, Jackson's first star pupil.
International Moves: Kirilenko, Lorbek
We'll track today's news from overseas here in this post, with the latest updates on top:
- Former Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has been named the 2012 Euroleague MVP and winner of its Best Defender Award as well, according to a Euroleague press release (via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Earlier today we heard that though the Nets do not have a deal in place for Kirilenko, Brooklyn has been keeping an eye on him, while the Jazz remain Kirilenko's top choice among NBA teams. Former NBA center Nenad Krstic and 6'10" Erazem Lorbek, who's reportedly "very close" to a contract with the Spurs, were also selected to the All-Euroleague First Team.