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Author: Chuck Myron

What Former No. 1 Overall Picks Are Making

By | at November 24, 2015 12:27 pm

The contractual path for a No. 1 overall pick in the NBA is fairly well-scripted. First comes a bargain rookie scale contract, then a five-year max extension that forestalls restricted free agency, and finally a chance to hit the unrestricted free agent market. It’s that last step that’s proved difficult. Seven of the last eight No. 1 overall picks are still on either their rookie deals or maximum-salary rookie extensions, but only two former No. 1 picks are playing on max deals that they negotiated as unrestricted free agents. Just as many former No. 1 picks are making the minimum salary this season.

That’s partly because not every No. 1 pick turns out to be worth the max, or even worth the full value of a rookie scale contract, as the case of Anthony Bennett proves. The five No. 1 picks taken between Tim Duncan in 1997 and LeBron James in 2003 are no longer playing in the NBA. That says as much about No. 1 picks as it does about the endurance of Duncan, one of five active former No. 1 picks to sign a contract or an extension this past offseason. He probably could have commanded more than what he received from the Spurs this past summer if he were willing to entertain the thought of leaving the only NBA team he’s ever played for.

The list below shows what each active former No. 1 pick is making this season, rounded to the nearest $1K, along with information on the contract that produced that salary. The team listed is the player’s current team, not necessarily the team that drafted him.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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And-Ones: Simmons, Warriors, Pacers, Kings

By | at November 24, 2015 11:00 am

LSU combo forward Ben Simmons made a “major statement” Monday, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress said to Josh Newman of SNY.tv after Simmons had 21 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists in LSU’s loss to Marquette. Simmons is reminiscent of Lamar Odom, as Odom’s name came up in Newman’s story as well as the ones that Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote after the game.
“I think he showed a lot of the same things that we know,” Givony said to Newman. “He’s an elite passer, he’s a tremendous ball-handler, he’s phenomenal in transition, he’s incredibly versatile for his size. He’s a great rebounder.”
Givony has Simmons ranked No. 2 behind Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere, pointing to Simmons’ defense and his failure to attempt a single 3-pointer yet this season, as Newman relays. While we wait to see how Simmons develops over the season, here’s news from around the NBA:
  • The Warriors are leading the small-ball revolution these days, thanks in large measure to the unique capabilities of $82MM signee Draymond Green, who has the skills of a perimeter player and the wingspan of a center, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com examines. The team’s brass admits it didn’t know what it had in Green until Steve Kerr put him in the starting lineup last season in David Lee‘s stead, Lowe notes. GM Bob Myers admits trepidation as late as Game 4 of the NBA Finals last season when Kerr replaced Andrew Bogut with Andre Iguodala and the Cavs sprinted to an early lead before the Warriors caught up and Iguodala won the Finals MVP award.
  • Golden State is prompting front offices to re-evaluate the relative value of big men and wing players, but while Pacers coach Frank Vogel told Lowe he isn’t about to line up Paul George at center, he said the change in philosophy that’s prompted him to give George time at the four predates Golden State’s rise. “It wasn’t even about the Warriors,” Vogel said to Lowe. “It was about not being able to overcome LeBron [James] and Miami three straight years. We couldn’t even throw the ball inside. We had a lot of turnovers just trying to do that.”
  • The Kings recalled Duje Dukan from the D-League on Monday, according to the RealGM transactions log, though neither Sacramento nor its affiliate made a public announcement. The undrafted combo forward from Wisconsin scored 14 points in 34 minutes in his one appearance with the Reno Bighorns.
0 comments 2016 NBA Draft Golden State Warriors Indiana Pacers NBA G League Sacramento Kings

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Sullinger, Brown

By | at November 24, 2015 9:42 am

Shane Larkin spoke of his displeasure with the triangle offense this summer after leaving the Knicks to sign with the Nets, and he feels the results so far this season, in which he’s scored more points in fewer minutes per game than he did last year, prove his point, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post chronicles.

“Yeah, it’s a much better fit for me in a lot of ways,” Larkin said. “You can see my numbers have been better. I’m just playing better overall, because I’m more comfortable in a pick-and-roll system or an up-and-down system, doing different things rather than coming down and setting in the triangle.’’

Still, Brooklyn’s reserves have been one of the NBA’s least effective bench units statistically, Lewis points out. Sunday’s win over the Celtics, which also saw a strong contribution from fellow former Knick Andrea Bargnani, was an exception, as Lewis details. See more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The best is yet to come for soon-to-be restricted free agent Jared Sullinger, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com in a Q&A. Ainge criticized the fitness level that offseason trade acquisition David Lee had at the start of camp but praised Lee’s work since then, and the exec cited his team’s depth for its strong defensive play thus far, as Forsberg relays. Ainge also referred to coach Brad Stevens as “a keeper.” “Jared has played really well,” Ainge said to Forsberg. “I know what he’s capable of doing. I think Jared is still so young. I think that his best basketball is still ahead of him. But I do see a lot of great progress from Jared.”
  • Sixers coach Brett Brown wishes he sometimes had more of a veteran presence on the team, but he accepts much of the responsibility that would usually fall to experienced players for himself, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Carl Landry is the only Sixer with more than three years of service. “It’s on me,” said Brown, a former Spurs assistant. “I’m privileged to have seen five NBA [Finals] and won four of them. … I like sharing stories like that with my players.”
  • The radical rebuilding plan the Sixers have undertaken comes with no guarantees and requires plenty of patience, but the team has largely controlled what it can as it’s stockpiled the assets necessary to pounce on a superstar when the opportunity arises, argues Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine. Still, it’s possible the team erred when it selected Jahlil Okafor instead of Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 3 overall pick, as Bodner examines.
0 comments Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers

Jimmer Fredette Rejoins Knicks D-League Team

By | at November 24, 2015 8:12 am

Jimmer Fredette has gone back to the D-League affiliate of the Knicks after clearing waivers from the Pelicans, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). The D-League contract that Fredette signed before the Pelicans picked him up remained in effect, but the circuit allows its players out of deals to sign NBA contracts. That same courtesy doesn’t extend to non-NBA contracts, so Fredette would have had to pay a penalty of between $40K and $50K if he’d chosen to sign with an overseas team, as Reichert notes on his D-League FAQ. That would be roughly double what his D-League contract calls for him to make.

Fredette originally signed with the D-League at large after the Spurs let him go from their NBA roster at the end of the preseason. The Knicks snagged his D-League rights with the No. 2 pick in the October 31st D-League draft. Ticket sales were reportedly the primary motivator, and Fredette said nearly a week into his time with the Westchester Knicks that he hadn’t heard from Knicks NBA team president Phil Jackson or coach Derek Fisher, despite an open spot on New York’s NBA roster.

The native of Glens Falls, New York signed with the Pelicans before the Westchester Knicks played their first game of the season. He figures to see much more action on D-League hardwoods than the 13 minutes he saw spread across four games with New Orleans this year.

0 comments New Orleans Pelicans New York Knicks

Central Notes: Copeland, Blatt, Smith, Vogel

By | at November 23, 2015 5:29 pm

The Pacers didn’t try to re-sign Chris Copeland this past offseason, but they still gave him access to their training staff after his contract ended on July 1st, writes Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. Copeland, who signed a one-year deal with the Bucks on July 29th, is grateful for the help he needed to recover from the injuries that he suffered when he was stabbed outside a New York City nightclub in April, as Buckner details.

“I was just blessed to have guys like [Pacers president of basketball operations] Larry Bird and the training staff who stuck with me way past when they had to,” Copeland said. “Legally by July 1st they’re not obligated to do anything, but those guys took care of me. They did more than they needed to. That’s why I’m forever in their debt. I appreciate the type of people that I was [around] for the last two years.”

See more on the Pacers amid the latest from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers made it a point to improve their depth in the offseason, in spite of the tax implications, and they’ve benefited from the strategy in the season’s first month, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “I think that we went through a year last year where we put ourselves in a great position and had a tremendous season and a tremendous opportunity, then at the very end we fell prey to the lack of depth,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “And we addressed it this summer. Obviously up to this point in the season, it’s really paid off for us because the guys that we brought in are major contributors and the guys that stayed obviously are high-level people and high-level basketball players.”
  • J.R. Smith, who re-signed with the Cavs this summer after a midseason trade, credits the team and Cleveland at large for greeting him with a level of acceptance he hasn’t found elsewhere in the NBA, he tells McMenamin for a separate piece, calling it “first place I’ve been where I’ve started off with a clean sheet.”
  • Pacers coach Frank Vogel is pleased with the contribution he’s seeing from the back end of his roster, quipping that Bird “gave me too many good players,” notes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com.
1 comment Cleveland Cavaliers Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks

How 2015 Second-Rounders Are Faring Outside NBA

By | at November 23, 2015 4:46 pm

The majority of the 30 second-round picks from the 2015 draft aren’t on NBA teams. Only 12 of them signed contracts in the offseason, and one of them, J.P. Tokoto, has already hit waivers. Tokoto and the rest of this year’s second-rounders are playing outside the NBA. Here’s how each of those players is faring so far this season:

  • Cedi Osman, Cavaliers (31st overall) — Averaging 6.3 points in 15.1 minutes per game and shooting 45.8% from 3-point range in 24 attempts for Anadolu Efes of Turkey.
  • Guillermo Hernangomez, Knicks (35th overall) — Averaging 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game for Real Madrid of Spain.
  • Juan Vaulet, Nets (39th overall) — Averaging 4.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game for Bahia Basket of Argentina.
  • Olivier Hanlan, Jazz (42nd overall) — Averaging 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game with 38.8% 3-point shooting in 49 attempts for Zalgiris of Lithuania.
  • Andrew Harrison, Grizzlies (44th overall) — Averaging 13.3 points, 5.0 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 34.2 minutes per game with 35.7% 3-point shooting for the Grizzlies D-League affiliate.
  • Marcus Thornton, Celtics (45th overall) — Averaging 15.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per game for the Sydney Kings of Australia.
  • Arturas Gudaitis, Kings (47th overall) — Averaging 8.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game for Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania.
  • Dakari Johnson, Thunder (48th overall) — Averaging 11.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game for the Thunder D-League affiliate.
  • Aaron White, Wizards (49th overall) — Averaging 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game for Telekom Baskets Bonn of Germany.
  • Marcus Eriksson, Hawks (50th overall) — Averaging 5.6 points in 10.4 minutes per game with 37.5% 3-point shooting in 16 attempts for FC Barcelona Regal of Spain.
  • Tyler Harvey, Magic (51st overall) — Averaging 14.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game across just two contests so far for the Magic D-League affiliate.
  • Satnam Singh, Mavericks (52nd overall) — Averaging 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game across just two contests so far for the Mavericks D-League affiliate.
  • Sir’Dominic Pointer, Cavaliers (53rd overall) — Averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game for the Cavaliers D-League affiliate.
  • Daniel Diez, Trail Blazers (54th overall) — Averaging 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds with 38.5% 3-point shooting in 26 attempts for Unicaja Malaga of Spain.
  • Cady Lalanne, Spurs (55th overall) — Averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game for the Spurs D-League affiliate.
  • Nikola Radicevic, Nuggets (57th overall) — Has yet to play for Baloncesto Sevilla of Spain this season because of a hip injury.
  • J.P. Tokoto (58th overall) — Averaging 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 steals in 30.2 minutes per game for the Thunder D-League affiliate. The Sixers gave up his NBA rights when they waived him in the preseason, and they traded his D-League rights to the Thunder.
  • Dimitrios Agravanis, Hawks (59th overall) — Averaging 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game with 46.2% 3-point shooting in 26 attempts for Olympiacos of Greece.
  • Luka Mitrovic, Kings (60th overall) — Averaging 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game with 47.1% 3-point shooting in 17 attempts for KK Crvena Zvezda of Serbia.

Note: The NBA team listed for each player is the one that currently holds his NBA rights, not necessarily the club that drafted him.

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Southwest Notes: Morey, Williams, McGee, Gentry

By | at November 23, 2015 3:31 pm

It’s up to the players to pull the Rockets out of the malaise that cost former coach Kevin McHale his job, according to GM Daryl Morey, but Morey acknowledges to TNT’s David Aldridge that some of the fault lies at his own desk, as Aldridge relays in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.

“Except for Dwight Howard, there really isn’t anybody on the roster playing well, and those are all my decisions,” Morey said. “I can’t hide from that.”

The Rockets won their first game after switching from McHale to interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff but lost both of their games since, and they’re tied with the Kings at 5-9 for 12th place in the Western Conference. See more from the Southwest Division:

  • Chandler Parsons doesn’t understand why Deron Williams has a reputation as a negative locker room force, citing evidence of the opposite to Jake Fischer of SI.com. Wesley Matthews observes a positive attitude from Williams in the face of challenges, like the erosion of his game, a change Williams acknowledges, as Fischer adds. “My days of scoring 20 and 10 are over. I know that,” said Williams, who gave up nearly $16MM to buy his way off the Nets before signing with the Mavericks for $11MM over two years.
  • The return of JaVale McGee puts the squeeze on the minutes of early-season revelation Dwight Powell, notes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The Mavs have until January 7th to decide whether to pay McGee his full salary of $1.27MM or waive him and pay only his $750K partial guarantee.
  • Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was satisfied as the lead assistant for the Warriors last season and didn’t think he’d end up with another head coaching job until New Orleans came calling, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “I was not going to take a job just to have a job as a head coach unless it was a situation that I thought was going to give you an opportunity to win and win big and compete for a championship,” Gentry said. “I really didn’t have any desire just to take another NBA job.”
1 comment Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets New Orleans Pelicans Sacramento Kings

Failed 2014 Extension Talks Led To Change For Many

By | at November 23, 2015 2:30 pm

Players eligible for rookie scale extensions who don’t sign one can end up taking one of several paths, but for most such players from the 2014 extension-eligible class, their paths led to different teams. Only four of the 12 players who failed to sign rookie scale extensions when they were eligible last year are still with the same team. Five of the 12 were traded before the end of the 2014/15 season, and three escaped via free agency.

Still, money followed stability. The three 2014 extension-eligibles who reached restricted free agency this past summer and signed the most lucrative contracts did so with the same teams they failed to come to terms with last fall. The wait for Tristan Thompson and the Cavs to reach a deal was especially lengthy, but he ultimately came back to Cleveland.

This year, 15 players could have signed rookie scale extensions but didn’t, a group that includes Andre Drummond and Bradley Beal, who seem like strong bets to remain on the Pistons and Wizards, respectively. It also includes Evan Fournier, who rejected a four-year, $32MM extension offer from the Magic, as Shams Charania reported this afternoon, and whose future is murkier. Indeed, evidence from the past year suggests that Fournier and others like him shouldn’t get too comfortable with their surroundings. Here’s a look at how each player who was eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2014 but failed to sign one fared in free agency this summer.

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Eastern Notes: Fournier, Embiid, Brown, Nene

By | at November 23, 2015 1:29 pm

Evan Fournier turned down a four-year, $32MM extension offer from the Magic before this month’s November 2nd rookie scale extension deadline, league sources told Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Orlando and the Bouna Ndiaye client reportedly never came close to a deal, and Fournier is poised for restricted free agency this summer.

“To be honest, I did not even expect to be extended,” Fournier said. “I had no pressure about that. If there was something good, I will take it. If not, I can wait until the summer. I don’t have to worry about it and make the wrong decision. I have confidence in myself and the season that I’ll have. The contract will take care of itself. You can’t go on the court and think about a deal. You must be focused and you must have the right mindset.”

Fournier doesn’t have his sights set on becoming a No. 1 option for a team, but he’s motivated to put his days as an afterthought behind him, as Charania examines. See more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Joel Embiid appears to be carrying himself with more maturity and seriousness than before, knowing he must commit to his rehabilitation, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Sixers had reportedly been concerned about his conditioning, among other worries about the former No. 3 overall pick, but he’s been keeping himself in shape, Aldridge writes. It’s a dose of positive news for the 0-14 Sixers, who remain committed to their loss-laden rebuilding plan, as Chris Crouse of Hoops Rumors wrote as he examined the team’s moves from the past several months.
  • Sixers coach Brett Brown wondered if his job was in jeopardy a year ago amid an 0-17 start for the team, but GM Sam Hinkie assured him then that he’s a major part of the plan, and the coach has earned respect within the organization for his persistence, Aldridge writes in the same piece.
  • Nene has been a starter for most of his career and has expressed disdain for playing center in the past, but so far, he’s accepted his role as backup center on the Wizards, and his team-leading 18 points Sunday helped show his value, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Nene is set for free agency at season’s end.
1 comment Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers Washington Wizards

Special Trade Eligibility Dates

By | at November 23, 2015 12:29 pm

A subtle NBA deadline passed on Wednesday last week, the date exactly three months before the February 18th trade deadline. Free agent signees aren’t eligible for trades until at least three months have passed from the time they put pen to paper. That means any player who signs at any point during the rest of 2015/16 regular season can’t be included in a trade until after it’s over. If a team signs a player using draft rights anytime between now and January 18th, it can trade him this season, but such a scenario is unlikely.

The passage of the three-months-to-go mark in advance of the trade deadline leaves teams with few avenues to pursue swaps until December 15th, the date that most of the players who signed this past summer become eligible to be traded. However, a sizable chunk of those signees won’t be trade-eligible for a while longer than that. January 15th is the first day for trades involving free agents who re-signed with their teams via Bird rights or Early Bird rights and received a starting salary greater than the minimum salary and at least 20% more than what they made last season, as long as their teams were over the cap when the signings took place. That’s a lengthy set of stipulations, but it still encompasses two dozen players.

Several others have trade-eligibility dates that come up on the three-month anniversaries of their signings. Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler weren’t free agents this summer, but because the renegotiations-and-extensions they signed in the offseason were larger than what would be allowed in extend-and-trade transactions, they can’t be traded until the respective six-month anniversaries of their new deals.

Note that the list below doesn’t include players who can veto trades or players who have special restrictions on where and how they may be traded, like Mario Chalmers, who may be traded again any time but whose salary can’t be aggregated in a trade until January 10th, two months after the deal that sent him to the Grizzlies. It simply serves as a reference that shows the dates (aside from December 15th) between now and the February 18th trade deadline when certain players become eligible for inclusion in trades:

December 22nd

December 24th

December 25th

December 27th

December 28th

December 30th

January 11th

January 15th

January 22nd

January 30th

February 2nd

February 4th

February 5th

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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