Raptors Plan To Waive Salmons
The Raptors will waive John Salmons if they can’t find a trade suitor for the veteran guard by June 30, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. That is the date that Salmons’ contract becomes fully guaranteed, going from a $1MM cap hit to a $7MM figure. The Raptors are interested in moving both Salmons and Tyler Hansbrough, whose contract is also partially guaranteed at $1MM until June 29. A source tells Wolstat that it is unlikely Toronto finds a willing partner (Twitter link).
The Raptors could snag an asset from a team looking to shed cap space by acquiring and then waiving Salmons, or they could save the $6MM by cutting him themselves. Toronto is preparing to try and re-sign Kyle Lowry, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The point guard already has suitors lining up, and Toronto might need to use any savings they can manage to make their offer sweet enough to keep him around.
Rockets Eye Lowry As Fallback Option
The Rockets will pursue Kyle Lowry in free agency if they fail in their quest to sign a superstar this summer, sources tell Sam Amick of USA Today. While the point guard has been rumored as a potential addition for the Heat alongside LeBron James, Amick suggests that Lowry is likely to be rewarded by a team that misses out on James and is still looking to sign an elite player. The USA Today scribe says that the Rockets’ cap-clearing plans to trade Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin would be pursued in order to secure Lowry, as well as the bigger names on Houston’s radar.
Amick includes the Lakers as a potential landing spot for Lowry, which echoes earlier reports of LA’s interest in the point guard. The Rockets traded Lowry to the Raptors for the 2012/13 season, but tried to reacquire him before the most recent trade deadline. The Raptors were close to sending Lowry to the Knicks, but ultimately retained him and enjoyed a playoff run due largely to his performance.
The ASM Sports client had a career year this season and is expected to net salaries upwards of $10MM per year on any new deal. While Lowry has earned a big payday, he has expressed a fondness for Toronto while surveying his options.
Knicks Trying To Move Dalembert, Larkin
The Knicks are trying to move Samuel Dalembert and Shane Larkin after agreeing to acquire both in a trade with the Mavs today, tweets Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. New York is receiving both players alongside Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington and both of Dallas’s second round draft picks in the first deal.
Herring doesn’t identify any teams New York is targeting with the duo. The Knicks have been seeking a first round pick, as well as cap flexibility for the 2015/16 season. Both Dalembert’s and Larkin’s contracts can come off the books by then, so presumably New York would be seeking a draft pick and not a player out of the pair, although that’s just my speculation. The Knicks could package both players and/or one or both of their newly acquired second-rounders to try and break into the first round.
There is the possibility that the Knicks/Mavs trade signals a shift from the aforementioned strategy in New York, however. Calderon is an upgrade at point guard whose contract will carry into the 2016/17 season, and Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (video link) suggests that the move could be the first of many to turn the Knicks into a playoff team in 2014/15. In that case, a deal from president Phil Jackson could target win-now type pieces.
Larkin was selected No. 18 overall in the 2013 draft, and spent time playing point guard between Dallas and their D-League affiliate throughout the season. He averaged 10.2 MPG in 48 NBA contests. Dalembert has played with different teams in each of the last four seasons, and the center appears on his way to play for his fifth team in five years.
Garnett Plans To Return For 2014/15
Kevin Garnett plans to return for his 20th NBA season next year, a league source tells Ohm Youngmisuk. The Nets have been planning as if the future Hall-of-Famer would not retire, and GM Billy King reiterated as much to reporters including Youngmisuk today. “I think he’s preparing earlier this year than he did last summer,” said King.
Garnett will play out the final year of his contract in Brooklyn, drawing a $12MM salary. Garnett and Paul Pierce were traded to the Nets before the season as the Celtics kickstarted a rebuilding effort, and they helped Brooklyn advance to the second round for the first time since the 2006/07 season. Now the question will become whether this is his final year as a pro, or whether he will consider signing at a significantly lower salary next offseason.
At age 37, Garnett played the fewest games and total minutes of his career under the cautious approach of coach Jason Kidd in the 2013/14 season. While the dip in playing time accounted for decreased production, he was also less effective in the minutes he did play. He turned in a career-low .441 shooting percentage and per-36 scoring average. Still, he remains an elite rebounder and a post defense presence, and is lauded as one of the best teammates and fiercest competitors in the league.
Draft Notes: Embiid, Celtics, Trades
Joel Embiid‘s foot injury has shaken up the draft, with split opinions around the league regarding the seven-footer’s prospects for the draft and beyond. One league source tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Embiid’s health concerns place him in legitimate danger of plummeting out of the lottery, while others are confident he will still be selected in the top 10. More draft rumblings:
- Tyler Ennis will have his second audition for the Magic on Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (H/T Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic).
- The international teams for Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic, Nemanja Dangubic, and Vasilije Micic will not put any barriers in place to keep the players from joining the NBA if drafted, per tweets from Yugobasket and Misko Raznatovic (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
- Marcus Smart, Noah Vonleh, and Aaron Gordon are the Celtics preferred group of draftees at No. 6, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
- Boston’s “most likely” scenario for the draft is to keep both of their picks, GM Danny Ainge tells Washburn (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Cavs are making efforts to trade down from the top spot to the No. 3-5 range in the draft, where they think Embiid would still be available, tweets Brett Poirier of Sheridan Hoops. The Magic, sitting at No. 4, have not been contacted by Cleveland, a source tells Poirier (Twitter link). The Sixers and Jazz own the third and fifth pick, respectively.
- The Lakers would consider taking Embiid at No. 7 if he fell that far, a source familiar with their thinking tells Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. Unsurprisingly, LA’s choice would hinge on their confidence in the big man’s recovery.
- The Lakers are more likely to hang on to that seventh pick than deal it, despite their ongoing efforts to explore what they could net for it, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The pick was linked to Klay Thompson as part of the Kevin Love discussions earlier today.
- The Suns are willing to trade away the 27th pick for a future first-rounder, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Jakarr Sampson, Niels Giffey, Glenn Robinson III, and Chane Behanan will work out for the Celtics today, tweets Holmes.
- As previously reported, the Warriors, Blazers, Pelicans, and Knicks are all looking to acquire first round draft picks, but the price tag is extremely high due to the deep draft pool, reports Alex Kennedy (via Twitter). Kennedy says that teams are asking for future picks that are unprotected or barely protected in return for first-rounders this year.
- The NBA has invited 21 prospects to the green room for the draft broadcast, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reveals in two tweets. The invite is a sign of consensus around these players as first round selections. The players invited were Andrew Wiggins Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Dante Exum, Noah Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Doug McDermott, Dario Saric, Gary Harris, Elfrid Payton, Nik Stauskas, James Young, Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Adreian Payne, T.J. Warren, Tyler Ennis, Rodney Hood, and Shabazz Napier.
Bulls Pursuing Trade For Arron Afflalo
12:19pm: The Magic are asking for “a bundle” in return for the shooting guard, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The Hornets remain interested in acquiring Afflalo, a reality that Bonnell notes has been “no secret” for months.
9:39am: The Bulls are pursuing a trade with the Magic to acquire shooting guard Arron Afflalo, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. League executives believe Orlando is prioritizing a trade of Afflalo over reaching an agreement on an extension with the shooting guard. Afflalo has two years and $15MM total left on his contract, but owns an early termination option for the 2015/16 season.
The Bulls are considered a front-runner for landing Carmelo Anthony this offseason, and a trade for Afflalo could complicate that pursuit. Wojnarowski writes that it is unclear how the Afflalo movement in Chicago is affecting their thinking about Anthony. A league source told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that the Bulls are the most likely destination for Anthony, but Chicago would need to shed major salary to acquire Anthony as is, let alone if Afflalo was another permanent piece on the books.
At 29, Afflalo is one of the oldest players on a Magic roster loaded with youth. The Magic are still in the process of a rebuild that started when Dwight Howard departed, and aren’t expected to contend at least for another year. That combination led to Afflalo’s reported openness to being traded to a contender.
Rockets Set To Trade Lin, Asik
The Rockets have deals in place to move the contracts of both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Houston would need to move both deals to make room for either Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James, but they are waiting to part with Lin and Asik until they are sure they could land either superstar this summer. Presumably, a deal for either would bring back limited returns thanks to the bloated payout due each player for the 2014/15 season. If Houston were to part with the burdensome, but productive players only to strike out in free agency, it would weaken their team heading into next season.
‘Melo is increasingly expected to opt out and change teams, but his decision to leave the Knicks is still weighing on him, writes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. The Rockets are considered a front-runner to land ‘Melo if he opts out as expected, and the Bulls are their steepest competition. Chicago has been zeroing in on the All-Star since February, making a host of moves to clear the necessary cap space to sign him, per Herring. James appears more likely to remain with his home team in Miami, but should he leave the Heat, both the Bulls and Rockets are preparing to pursue him as well.
The Rockets snagged Lin and Asik away from Chicago and New York before the 2012/13 season with identical contracts that include a balloon payment exceeding the cap hit in the final year, which is the approaching 2014/15 season. Ironically, the deals that pried the pair away from their respective teams in 2012 are now putting Houston at a disadvantage against the same teams in acquiring Anthony.
Wolves Unlikely To Move Love Before Season?
11:39am: The Warriors want to to structure a smaller deal around Barnes and Lee for Love, which is substantially different from Minnesota’s wishes to build a deal around Thompson, Lee, and more pieces for both Love and Martin, writes Kawakami. The inclusion of Lee is understood as a necessity for any deal for both teams, per Kawakami.
11:14am: Wolfson hears that the rumored three-team deal involving Thompson and the Lakers No. 7 pick will not happen (Twitter link). Shelburne tweets that the Warriors have rebuffed calls from LA regarding such a trade.
10:57am: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State deal are indeed at an impasse, write Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. While the Wolves organization is reportedly torn on whether to retain Thompson in a Love deal, Shelburne says there is an “organizational split” in Golden State on whether to give up the shooting guard in a package for Love. Jerry West and Steve Kerr are in opposition to giving up both Thompson and a future first round pick, while others in the organization were prepared to complete a deal that would have sent Thompson, David Lee, and a pick to Minnesota in exchange Love and Martin.
10:40am: The Nuggets offer is likely off the table, now that Denver is “100% certain” that Love would not re-sign with them beyond this season, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). Denver made the offer before knowing Love’s likelihood of re-signing in Denver, per Wolfson. Wolfson tells Hoops Rumors that he doubts the talks between Denver and Minnesota will be completely shut down, however, considering the history between Saunders and Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, who worked together with the Wizards.
9:17am: The Wolves are hesitant to acquire Thompson since he would soon be looking for a big contract, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. Pincus says that the No. 7 pick wouldn’t be enough for Minnesota, so the Warriors would leverage that pick with their other assets in the three-team scenario. The LA Times scribe says that a deal involving the Lakers is not imminent since the Lakers wouldn’t be able to trade their pick until after the draft (Twitter links).
9:00am: Discussions for a three-team deal that would send Thompson to the Lakers, the seventh pick to the Wolves, and Love to the Warriors were recently put on hold, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. The snag was due to disagreement within the Minnesota front office on whether to it would be prudent to retain Thompson as part of a Love trade.
8:40am: The nature of the Wolves trade discussions is making it increasingly unlikely that they strike a deal for Kevin Love before the season begins, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said on an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz radio show. Since the Wolves aren’t in discussions with any teams at the very top of the draft, Wojnarowski said the pressure is off for Minnesota coach and president of basketball ops Flip Saunders to complete a trade prior to the draft, and his potential trading partners are also open to revisiting discussions once the season begins.
Wojnarowski doesn’t think the Celtics have an offer that the Wolves will bite at, and he thinks that Saunders is playing coy with one-sided offers to the Warriors. “Saunders is going around discussing deals that won’t happen, so he can go back to Love and his agent and say, ‘We tried, see you in training camp,’” the Yahoo! scribe said. His sources in Golden State tell him that the Warriors are not “desperate” to acquire Love and will not include both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in a package for the All-Star forward, which is the package Wojnarowski says Minnesota wants. A league source confirmed to Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group that the Warriors will “flat out” not agree to the latest offers from Minnesota, and that Golden State is uninterested in taking back Kevin Martin in a deal as the Wolves are insisting (Twitter links).
The Nuggets were left out by Wojnarowski in the discussion of front-runners for Love. Presuming they are still involved in talks for Love, Denver would still fit the profile of the no-rush trade scenario for Minnesota, since they only own the No. 11 pick and are building their offer primarily around developed players.
Grizzlies, Other NBA Teams Eye Sebastian Telfair
THURSDAY, 11:26am: Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger says Memphis has interest in Telfair, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.
TUESDAY, 6:52pm: Sebastian Telfair is planning a return to the NBA next season, and has drawn interest from several teams, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Telfair played in China this year after failing to catch on with an NBA team, despite getting looks from multiple squads last summer. Kennedy doesn’t mention any specific teams in connection with the point guard.
The 29-year-old has been a journeyman over his nine years in the league, never staying with a team longer than two consecutive seasons. When he last saw NBA action in the 2012/13 season, it was as a third string point guard for the Raptors during a 13-game stint after being traded to Toronto by the Suns.
The ASM Sports client was drafted straight out of high school by the Blazers with the 13th pick in the 2004 draft. Telfair hasn’t lived up to what many expected from him as a young phenom, never averaging better than 9.8 PPG or 5.9 APG in a season. Since starting 94 games for the Wolves over the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons, he has only been called on as a starter 16 times with five different teams.
Offseason Outlook: Charlotte Hornets
Guaranteed Contracts
- Al Jefferson ($13,500,000)
- Gerald Henderson ($6,000,000)
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ($5,016,960)
- Cody Zeller ($4,030,560)
- Bismack Biyombo ($3,873,398)
- Kemba Walker ($3,272,091)
- Gary Neal ($3,250,000)
- Brendan Haywood ($2,213,688)
Options
- Josh McRoberts ($2,771,340, Player)*
Non-Guaranteed Contracts
- Jeffery Taylor ($915,243)**
Free Agents / Cap Holds
- Luke Ridnour ($8,208,000)
- No. 9 pick ($2,103,500)
- No. 24 pick ($1,032,200)
- Chris Douglas-Roberts ($915,243)
- Jannero Pargo ($915,243)
- Anthony Tolliver ($915,243)
- D.J. White ($915,243)
Draft Picks
- 1st Round (9th overall)
- 1st Round (24th overall)
- 2nd Round (45th overall)
Cap Outlook
- Guaranteed Salary: $41,156,697
- Options: $2,771,340
- Non-Guaranteed Salary: $915,243
- Cap Holds: $15,004,672
- Total: $59,847,952
The Hornets are looking to turn the page on what was a mostly abysmal chapter played in Charlotte as the Bobcats, hoping to build on a playoff berth and some promising signs from a young roster. They’re set up well to do just that, with two first round picks and cap flexibility this offseason. While the recent resignation of Rod Higgins as president of basketball ops could be seen as a sign of a dysfunctional organization heading into a pivotal summer, owner Michael Jordan explained the move as if GM Rich Cho was going to be handling personnel moves going forward regardless of whether Higgins remained in the front office.
It would be hard to imagine the Eastern Conference putting forth a worse field than it did this past year, but the Hornets have a legitimate chance to move up the ranks even if the teams around them strengthen. As the seventh seed this season, they finished only a game back from the fifth-seeded Wizards, and just five games behind the third-seeded Raptors. While some Eastern foes are desperate to recover and compete next year, there are still plenty of teams due another year of struggling and retooling. Jordan seems to prefer to pursue immediate success, and that mindset will likely frame what kinds of moves the Hornets make this summer.
First-year head coach Steve Clifford was able to turn a roster devoid of many heralded defenders into one of the NBA’s better defensive teams this season. The Hornets ranked sixth in defensive rating, but also found themselves near the bottom of league in offensive rating (per NBA.com). Al Jefferson excelled in the post, but interior offense has become more important as a means to open up opportunities around the perimeter in recent years, and the Hornets haven’t packed much punch on the outside. Kemba Walker improved his overall efficiency while maintaining a 17.7 PPG average, but remained a below-average shooter from distance, making just 33.3% of his three point attempts.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has been a part of the problem on offense. He has been the elite wing defender the Charlotte brass envisioned when they selected him second overall in the 2012 draft, but his lackluster shooting has stuck with him thus far in his career. Charlotte will have to decide whether to pick up his team option, worth slightly more than $5MM, for the 2015/16 season by this fall, but that salary seems perfectly fair for a top-shelf perimeter defender as young and full of potential as Kidd-Gilchrist is.
One of the biggest dominoes to fall for the Hornets will be the Josh McRoberts contract situation. McRoberts, one of the league’s best passing bigs, has yet to formally decide whether to pick up his $2.8MM player option for next season, though it seems likely that he will opt out. If he does so, he’ll almost certainly attract offers at a higher salary for multiple years. Clifford said his team needs McRoberts, so the Hornets’ cap space will likely shrink if the power forward opts out. Even if they didn’t bring back McRoberts, the only way they could reasonably expect to replace him with a starter at or below his current salary would be through the draft, and finding an impact starter for a playoff-hopeful where Charlotte is drafting is far from a given. The Pistons pick was conveyed to the Hornets at No. 9, so Charlotte possesses the No. 9 and No. 24 selections this month.
Considering Jefferson’s role, the possibility of McRoberts’ return, and the continued development of in Cody Zeller, last year’s No. 4 draft pick, the Hornets would presumably prioritize wing players in looking to improve next season. The Hornets haven’t leaked much about their leanings in the draft, but Doug McDermott is a rumored possibility at No. 9. A player like McDermott, who can shoot extremely well from the wing, would make sense as a fit either in the starting lineup or a heavy rotation piece off the bench.
In addition to McDermott and others, the Hornets have worked out some point guards, including Tyler Ennis. Moving Walker off the ball at least part of the time would be an intriguing strategy of optimizing the team’s offensive weapons, although at 6’1″, Walker could be overmatched against non-point guards on defense to the point that such lineups wouldn’t work. Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer has opined that the Hornets will package their picks in a trade for a veteran contributor. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour were brought in at the trade deadline this season and made positive contributions down the stretch. Both have proven capable of being quality backup guards, giving the Hornets some backcourt flexibility looking ahead. Neal is signed through next season, but Ridnour will become a free agent.
With the salary cap projected to increase to at least $63.2MM next year, the Hornets could clear upwards of $20MM in cap space if they need it to sign a marquee free agent. Various reports have cast Charlotte as a likely suitor for Luol Deng, Greg Monroe, and other notables. Jordan is optimistic about the team’s ability to draw “superstar” free agents to Charlotte, and Jefferson is embracing the role of recruiter. While the likes of Carmelo Anthony and trade candidate Kevin Love have shown no interest in Charlotte, an improving roster and a lottery pick in what is thought to be a loaded draft could help the Hornets land a significant piece, if not an All-Star. Other intriguing players who will be available, either through unrestricted or restricted free agency, include Gordon Hayward, Lance Stephenson and Trevor Ariza. A two-way player like Deng or Ariza could move the needle offensively without sacrificing the team’s defensive identity, while a talent like Hayward or Stephenson could inject life into the offense while fitting into a scheme to limit their deficiencies on defense.
Should the Hornets renounce Ridnour’s rights or re-sign him to a smaller contract, they could free a significant chunk of cap room to devote to McRoberts if needed, or to the pursuit of another team’s free agent. If the Hornets keep and use both of their picks on non-draft-and-stash prospects, the rookie scale will govern that they add nearly $3.8MM in salary for next season, providing they give the draftees the standard 120% of their scale amounts.
Chris Douglas-Roberts is considered likely to re-sign, and could fetch a significant raise for 2014/15. “CDR” played more total minutes this season than he had since 2009/10. Even the veteran’s minimum would amount to an increase on his pro-rated earnings on a minimum deal this year. Jeffery Taylor has a non-guaranteed $915,243 on the books, and Anthony Tolliver and Jannero Pargo could be let go or brought back on modest deals. Tolliver is a competent three-point specialist, and Pargo has bounced around the league as an emergency point guard in recent years.
However the Hornets handle their offseason, they begin it in a position that a majority of teams in the Eastern Conference would envy. A solid coach, a stable of assets, and plenty of cap room will make this team one to watch as summer heats up.
Cap footnotes
* — If McRoberts declines his option, as he’s widely expected to do, his cap hold would be $5,038,800.
** — Taylor’s salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before June 30th.
ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.