Atlantic Rumors: Green, LeVert, Marks, Williams
Danny Green believes Kawhi Leonard will have a tough time leaving the city of Toronto once he settles in during his first season with the Raptors, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays. Green, who was included in the blockbuster deal that sent Leonard to Toronto, made the comment during an Inside the Green Room Podcast. “The city of Toronto is gonna be hard to turn down after being there. I’ve been going every summer for the past 10-plus years. It’s a great city and the fans are amazing. … I’m getting a great amount of feedback, a great amount of love and all types of different stuff from the fans. So it’s gonna be tough for him to turn down.” Leonard can opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
In other developments around the Atlantic Division:
- LeVert played a total of 30 games at the point last season when D’Angelo Russell was injured, Milholen notes, and posted averages of 13.2 PPG and 4.8 APG in 27.2 MPG. Russell will start for Brooklyn and the Nets also have free agent addition Shabazz Napier at that spot. LeVert can also be viewed as a long-term insurance policy since Russell could become a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension, Milholen adds.
- The early returns on Sean Marks‘ first-round picks bode well for next June’s draft, Jason Max Rose of NetsDaily.com opines. The Nets GM found two valuable assets during the last two drafts in LeVert and starting center Jarrett Allen, even though those picks were in the bottom third of the first round, Rose notes. Thus, Marks and his staff have shown they can not only identify talent but develop players as well, Rose adds. The Nets could have two first-rounders in June, their own pick plus the Nuggets’ top-12 protected pick acquired this summer.
- Dominating at the G League level would make for a successful rookie season for Celtics first-rounder Robert Williams, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. That’s where Williams will spend a good portion of the season, Blakely notes, and the big man must prove the left knee injury he’s dealing with won’t be a major issue. Williams also needs to show more maturity off the court, Blakely adds.
Latest On Dirk Nowitzki: Role, Ankle Injury
Dirk Nowitzki isn’t sure if he’ll start or become the Mavericks’ sixth man during his 21st season in the league, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The free agent addition of DeAndre Jordan would logically push Nowitzki to the bench but he isn’t sure if that will be the case. He could play power forward alongside Jordan if coach Rick Carlisle goes with a biggest lineup.
“Obviously, DeAndre’s going to be our starter at the five position and the rest will just kind of fall in place after that,” Nowitzki said. “If (Harrison Barnes) goes back to the four or we start other ways, I have no idea as of yet. But it’s a great problem to have. We want to be a franchise that is back in the playoffs and plays well and has fun again and doesn’t lose 60 games again.”
Coming off the bench would force Nowitzki to make an adjustment. He’d have to take steps to be ready once his number is called.
“I have no problem with that. I already told (the training staff) if that’s the case, they better keep me loose,” Nowitzki said. “We better get a (stationary) bike ready somewhere because if I warm up and sit somewhere for 15, 20 minutes, that’s going to be an issue. But no, hey, if that’s the role, and we’ll play great with it, then I’m all for it.”
Nowitzki came off the bench six times during the 2012/13 season but has since started every game in which he’s played. He appeared in 77 games last season as Carlisle carefully managed his minutes. He averaged 24.7 MPG last season, the fewest since his rookie campaign in 1998/99.
Nowitzki’s recovery from left ankle surgery has gone well and he’s confident he’ll be 100 percent by opening night, Sefko reports in a separate story. He began scrimmaging last week and felt some discomfort in the ankle but attributes that to the normal recovery process. He underwent the procedure in April.
“There were two bone spurs that kind of blocked me from doing (forward push and lateral movement) things. So they took those bone spurs out and now there’s a lot more movement in the ankle,” Nowitzki told Sefko about the surgery. “But all the tendons in the ankle aren’t used to moving that much now. Every now and then, it’s a little stiff. I scrimmaged a little last week and on Monday and it hasn’t really reacted amazing to it. But we’re positive that it’ll be fine.”
Jonathan Gibson Signs With Chinese Team
Gibson, 30, also appeared in 17 games for the Mavericks during the 2016/17 season but has otherwise spent his professional career playing for a variety of international teams since going undrafted in 2010. His resume includes stops in Turkey, Israel, Italy and Iran as well as China.
News of Johnson’s decision to play in China broke on Monday and the latest Sportando report confirms he’s officially heading overseas.
The 7-foot center was traded twice this summer before the Grizzlies waived him at the end of August. Oklahoma City shipped him to Orlando in exchange for Rodney Purvis on July 20. Three days later, the Magic sent Johnson and the rights to 2015 second-rounder Tyler Harvey to Memphis for Jarell Martin and cash.
The 48th pick in the 2015 draft, Johnson spent the first two years of his career in the G League with Oklahoma City Blue. He saw his first action for the Thunder last season, appearing in 31 games.
Celtics Work Out Marcus Georges-Hunt
The Celtics are working out free agent shooting guard Marcus Georges-Hunt today, Jay King of The Athletic reports.
The 6’5” Georgia Tech alum appeared in 42 games for the Timberwolves last season, averaging 1.4 PPG in 5.3 MPG, after making his NBA debut with the Magic in 2016/17. Georges-Hunt is well-known in the Celtics organization, King notes. He was on their 2016 training camp roster and then playing that season with their G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, averaging 15.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 4.4 APG.
The 6’5” Georges-Hunt worked out for the Timberwolves last week, even though they made him a free agent by declining to extend him a qualifying offer earlier in the summer. The Cavaliers also brought him in during a free agent tryout last week, while the Nuggets worked him out last month.
The Celtics currently have 15 players on guaranteed contracts but shooting guard Jabari Bird‘s future with the organization is in doubt. Bird was arrested on Friday night in a domestic incident and has been under a guarded watch at a Boston-area hospital.
Sasha Vujacic Works Out For Two NBA Teams
Longtime NBA shooting guard Sasha Vujacic worked out for the Pelicans on Monday, Andrew Lopez of the New Orleans Times Picayune tweets. The Thunder are hosting Vujacic today as he attempts to return to the league, according to RealGM.
Vujacic revealed last month that he was seeking another NBA contract. He spent the 2017/18 season with Fiat Torino of the Lega Basket Serie A in Italy, helping the team win its first even Italian Cup by scoring the deciding layup in the final seconds.
The workouts for Vujacic can be chalked up as teams exercising due diligence with training camp around the corner. The Pelicans have eight wing players on their roster already, though they continue to look for another option at shooting guard. Their offer sheet to restricted free agent Tyrone Wallace was matched by the Clippers a week ago.
The Thunder have a number of options at shooting guard, including Andre Roberson, Alex Abrines, Terrance Ferguson and Hamidou Diallo, though Roberson is still recovering from a knee injury and could remain sidelined until December.
A 10-year NBA veteran, the 34-year-old Vujacic last played in the NBA during the 2016/17 season, appearing in 42 games for the Knicks and averaging 3.0 PPG and 1.2 APG in 9.7 MPG. The highlight of Vujacic’s NBA career was winning two championships with the Lakers.
Vujacic, 34, also had brief stints with the Clippers and Nets.
Wizards Sign Tiwian Kendley To Camp Deal
The Wizards have signed undrafted guard Tiwian Kendley to a training camp contract, according to RealGM.
Kendley, 23, played two college seasons at Morgan State and averaged 25.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 2.2 APG in his final year.
Kendley averaged 9.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 2.0 APG in four summer league games with Washington. While it’s unlikely Kendley will make the 15-man roster, the camp deal would allow the Wizards to designate the 6’5” Kendley as an affiliate player in order to retain his G League rights if he’s waived before the regular season.
The Wizards reached an agreement with guard Chris Chiozza on a similar deal earlier on Monday. The Kendley signing gives them 19 players on their camp roster, one shy of the limit.
Extension Candidate: Stanley Johnson
Twenty-three players became eligible for rookie scale extensions when the 2018/19 NBA league year began in July. One of those 23, Devin Booker, quickly finalized a new deal with the Suns, leaving 22 other players who could sign rookie scale extensions before the October 15 deadline.
In the weeks leading up to that deadline, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the strongest candidates for new contracts.
[RELATED: 2018 NBA Extension Candidate Series]
Our examination of this year’s candidates for rookie scale extensions continues today with Pistons swingman Stanley Johnson. Let’s dive in…
Why the Pistons should give him an extension:
The ability to guard multiple positions has become an increasingly valuable skill in the current NBA. With so many teams going with smaller lineups, defenders must be able to switch onto smaller, quicker players and bigger, stronger opponents alike and still hold their own. Therein lies Johnson’s calling card.
The No. 8 overall pick in the 2015 draft, the 6’7” Johnson has proven he can defend four positions. He’s got the strength to mix up with a LeBron James and the athleticism and quickness to match up with a Kyrie Irving.
For the most part, Johnson is assigned to the other team’s top wing player. Given the composition of the Pistons’ roster, Johnson serves as a complimentary piece to the team’s other top wings, Reggie Bullock and Luke Kennard. Bullock and Kennard are known for their perimeter shooting but aren’t considered noteworthy defenders.
New coach Dwane Casey has indicated he’d like to play Johnson at power forward at certain times, which would allow him to attack taller, slower defenders off the dribble.
Why the Pistons should avoid an extension:
If Johnson has shown any growth offensively, it’s been a very gradual process. In his rookie season, he averaged 8.1 PPG while making 37.5% of his shots and 30.7% from long range in 23.1 MPG.
He experimented with a new release in his second year and regressed even from those subpar figures. Johnson’s offensive woes and questions about his work ethic led to a dip in playing time, as he averaged 4.4 PPG while shooting 35.3% from the field and 29.2% on 3-point tries in 17.8 MPG.
He got back in former coach Stan Van Gundy’s good graces last season but remained a work in progress offensively. Johnson averaged 8.7 PPG on 37.5% shooting whiile making just 28.6% of his threes in 27.4 MPG.
Points of comparison:
Among recent recipients of rookie scale extensions, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist may be the best point of comparison for Johnson. In 2015, the Hornets gave Kidd-Gilchrist a four-year, $52MM deal, mainly due to his reputation as a lockdown defender.
Kidd-Gilchrist has been a fixture in the team’s starting lineup during the first two years of the extension but his offensive numbers have actually gone down compared to his first three seasons in the league. He doesn’t even attempt 3-point baskets, which makes it easier for defenders to load up on Charlotte’s shooters.
Johnson at least provides some hope of developing into a perimeter threat. In six April games last season, he averaged 12.0 PPG and made 36% of his long-distance tries.
Cap outlook:
Due to the acquisition of Blake Griffin and some poor decisions by the previous regime, the Pistons won’t have a lot of flexibility in terms of their payroll next summer.
The trio of Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson alone will eat up $79.6MM of their cap space. The Pistons will still be on the hook for the final years of Jon Leuer‘s and Langston Galloway‘s deals, chewing up another $16.8MM in cap room. And the stretch provision used on Josh Smith will wipe out an additional $5.33MM.
Handing Johnson a deal comparable to Kidd-Gilchrist, i.e. in the $13MM annual range, would leave the Pistons with very little wiggle room to upgrade the roster. They’d have to be convinced that Johnson could expand his game offensively while remaining a bulldog on the defensive end.
It’s not far-fetched, considering Johnson exited college after his freshman season at Arizona. He’s still only 22 and could thrive under the guidance of Casey.
Conclusion:
Under a different set of circumstances, the Pistons might consider locking up Johnson at the right price. He can contribute without being a major offensive factor and the Pistons probably don’t need him to become a 15- or 20-point scorer.
They’ve got two All-Star level frontcourt talents in Griffin and Drummond, an offensively-gifted point guard (when healthy) in Jackson, and some quality 3-point shooters dotting the roster. It’s still difficult to make a long-term commitment to Johnson until he becomes at least enough of an offensive threat that defenders have to pay some attention to him.
It’s even more difficult for the Pistons to lavish Johnson with a multi-year deal given their salary constraints next summer. They can still extend a qualifying offer and see how the market plays out when Johnson becomes a restricted free agent.
It’s unlikely Johnson will develop so dramatically that other teams will be beating down his door with lucrative offer sheets. Better to see if Johnson can make the necessary upgrades in his game before giving him long-term security.
Will Johnson get extended by October 15?
Our prediction: No.
Our estimate: RFA in 2019.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Timberwolves Work Out Paul, Rush, Johnson-Odom
Brandon Paul, Brandon Rush and Darius Johnson-Odom are among the free agent veteran guards the Timberwolves brought in for a workout on Monday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Monta Ellis is also on the list of players Minnesota is looking at, according to Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Paul, a 27-year-old shooting guard, made his NBA debut last season and appeared in 64 total games for the Spurs, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 9.0 minutes per contest. He was waived on July 31.
Rush, a 33-year-old shooting guard, played with the Timberwolves in 2016/17, appearing in 47 games, including 33 starts. Rush signed a 10-day contract with the Blazers last season but did not appear in a game and the team declined to give him a second 10-day deal.
Johnson-Odom hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2013/14 season. Johnson-Odom, 28, played in Italy last season.
Ellis, 32, was out of the league last season after the Pacers waived him in July 2017.
With the addition of forward Luol Deng, the Timberwolves have 13 players with guaranteed deals and James Nunnally‘s partially guaranteed pact and are holding open auditions for last spot or two if they don’t retain Nunnally. They brought in wing players Nick Young, Arron Afflalo, and Corey Brewer last week.
They also reportedly would have interest in Joakim Noah should the center hit the open market. Like Deng, Noah previously played under coach Tom Thibodeau when he was coaching in Chicago.
Devin Booker Undergoes Surgery, Out Six Weeks
Suns shooting guard Devin Booker underwent surgery on Monday to repair his broken right hand and will require approximately six weeks to recover, the team announced in a press release.
With Phoenix’s regular-season opener scheduled for October 17 against the Mavericks, Booker is unlikely to be available at the start of the campaign. The second or third week of the schedule is a more reasonable target.
Technically, Booker had fifth metacarpophalangeal joint in his right hand fixed by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles.
Booker initially injured the hand last March, causing him to miss the final 12 games of the 2017/18 season. It’s uncertain why Booker waited until the brink of training camp to get the hand repaired.
Booker, who inked a five-year contract extension this summer for an estimated $158MM, averaged a team-high 24.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 4.7 APG in his third season, though he only played 54 games due to injuries.
Unless they swing a deal before opening night, the Suns will have an unimposing assortment of options at the guard spots until Booker returns. Phoenix has been hunting for a point guard since it dealt Brandon Knight to the Rockets.
The Suns have Elie Okobo, Shaquille Harrison and Isaiah Canaan competing for the point guard job until further notice. Rookie Mikal Bridges, Troy Daniels, Davon Reed and two-way George King are potential fill-ins for Booker at shooting guard.
Community Shootaround: Heat Rotation
There’s still a lot of uncertainty regarding Dwyane Wade‘s status for the upcoming season. A report late last month indicated that Wade was ‘inclined to play’ another season and if he does, it will be with the franchise he’s played for most of his career.
Even if Wade doesn’t return, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra will have a lot of tough decisions to make regarding his rotation during the upcoming season. Miami’s roster is filled with solid but unspectacular players and Spoelstra will have to sort out which are most deserving of steady minutes.
Thanks to team president Pat Riley basically standing pat with his roster this summer, there aren’t a lot of players with clearly defined roles.
Point guard Goran Dragic seems like the only sure thing in terms of the backcourt. Tyler Johnson is the listed backup but Dion Waiters could get some playing time there, as well as Wade if he re-signs.
The shooting guard spot has a major logjam whether or not Wade is added to the equation. Along with Waiters coming back from an ankle injury, the Heat have Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Wayne Ellington and Josh Richardson vying for minutes there.
Richardson could start at small forward but Justise Winslow will also be in the mix, along with summer league star Derrick Jones. Richardson led the team last season in minutes played per game but that was partly due to the injuries sustained by Waiters and McGruder, who started 65 games two seasons ago. Ellington led the team’s rotation players last season with his 39.2% shooting from beyond the arc.
Winslow will also play the ‘four’ in smaller lineups but Spoelstra also has to figure out a way to juggle Hassan Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk, Bam Adebayo and James Johnson at the center and power forward positions. Whiteside brooded about his reduced playing time last season and he won’t be happy with the status quo. But Adebayo’s role should expand in his second season while James Johnson, Olynyk and Winslow all played between 23-27 minutes on average last season.
That’s an awful lot for Spoeltra to sort out.
That leads us to our topic of the day: If you were the Miami Heat coach, what would your starting lineup look like? Which players should get the most minutes off the bench and which should be out of the rotation?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.