And-Ones: Dragic, Pelicans, Salary Cap, Brown
- E’Twaun Moore will start for the Pelicans at shooting guard entering the season ahead of lottery pick Buddy Hield, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Moore was one of the first unrestricted free agents to make a commitment in July, agreeing to a four-year, $34MM contract after playing a backup role with the Bulls.
- The projected salary cap for the 2017/18 season has been slightly raised from $102MM to $103MM, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That will give teams a little bit more elbow room as they make roster decisions.
- Shannon Brown has signed with the NBA D-League and will be eligible for its draft, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets. The 30-year-old guard last appeared in the NBA in 2014/15, when he played five games for the Heat.
- Swingman Jordan Hamilton has left the Turkish team Tofas Bursa after just one game, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Hamilton appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans last season. A former first-round pick, Hamilton spent his first few NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but has bounced around since 2014, spending time with the Rockets and Clippers as well as the Pelicans.
Amnesty Clause Unlikely To Remain In Next CBA
There isn’t enough support among NBA owners to retain the amnesty clause in the new CBA, which could impact the Heat’s long-term decision on Chris Bosh, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports.
The amnesty clause was included in the past two CBAs, which allowed each team to waive one of its player contracts and have 100% of the player’s salary removed from the team’s salary for cap and tax purposes. The team still had to pay that player.
Without an amnesty clause included in the next agreement, the Heat would lose one of their best options regarding Bosh. They refuse to medically clear Bosh, whose last two seasons have been cut short by blood clots, leaving Bosh in limbo. Bosh has three years and approximately $76MM remaining on his contract.
The two sides are close to finalizing the new CBA, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier. Windhorst offers a few more tidbits on the negotiations:
- Players are expected to have the ability to sign an extension two years after the date they signed their current contract, rather than three seasons.
- Restricted free agents will be able to agree to offer sheets on the first day of free agency — July 1 — instead of waiting to July 7. The window for teams to decide to match offer sheets would be reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours. That would make it more appealing for suitors to make those offers, since they are often hamstrung financially until a final decision is made.
- Teams would no longer be able to pull qualifying offers from RFAs, which is currently allowed prior to July 31.
Offseason In Review: Houston Rockets
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Houston Rockets.
Free agent signings:
- Ryan Anderson: Four years, $80MM.
- Eric Gordon: Four years, $52.887MM.
- Nene: One year, $2.898MM.
- Gary Payton II: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed.
- Pablo Prigioni: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed.
Pending restricted free agents:
- Donatas Motiejunas: Qualifying offer worth $4,433,683 expired on October 1.
Camp invitees:
- Bobby Brown: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- P.J. Hairston: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Isaiah Taylor: Two years, minimum salary ($50K guaranteed). Waived.
- Kyle Wiltjer: Two years, minimum salary ($275K guaranteed)
Contract extensions:
- James Harden: Four years, $117.965MM. Extension gave him a raise to the maximum salary for 2016/17 and added two extra years to his contract, including a fourth year player option.
Trades:
- Acquired Tyler Ennis from the Bucks in exchange for Michael Beasley.
Draft picks:
- 2-37: Chinanu Onuaku. Signed for three years, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.
- 2-43: Zhou Qi. Will play overseas.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Hired Mike D’Antoni as head coach to replace interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
- Were “really close” to signing Kent Bazemore, who turned down four-year, $72MM offer.
- Met with Al Horford in free agency.
- Hope to sign draft-and-stash Euroleague star Sergio Llull in 2017.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Houston Rockets right here.
It’s easy to forget, considering all the changes the franchise has made over the past year, that the Rockets reached the Western Conference Finals in 2015. They were considered one of the elite teams at this time last year but their season fell apart quickly after a slow start. Right now, it’s difficult to say whether their current roster is any better than the dysfunctional group that finished .500 and barely qualified for the playoffs last season.
When all the smoke cleared this summer, the new-look Rockets headed into training camp with two clearcut leaders: franchise player James Harden and coach Mike D’Antoni. The Rockets made a long-term commitment to Harden, despite his quirky personality and questionable desire to play defense, by restructuring and extending his contract for four years and $118MM.
The disconnect between Harden and the team’s other superstar, Dwight Howard, was evident last season but with Howard out of the picture, Harden is embracing the leadership role. He organized mini-camps and workouts with some of his teammates prior to training camp. “Just trying to shake things up, just trying to make sure we really know each other in and out on and off the court,” he said. “I think that will translate to a better team.”
Harden’s 29.0 scoring average last year was second only to the 30.1 averaged posted by Stephen Curry and he could be even more dangerous under offensive guru D’Antoni. The Rockets pursued a number of high-profile candidates to replace interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who took over after the early-season firing of Kevin McHale. They settled on the former Suns, Knicks and Lakers coach, who will put the ball in Harden’s hands as much as possible.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski believes D’Antoni’s scheme perfectly suits Harden’s skills. “When you have plays and reads, it’s the best combination,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s especially good if you have a special player, and they do in James. It will be interesting to see how that develops because James is not just a really good scorer; James is a heck of a passer.”
Howard wore out his welcome in Houston and the front office gladly let him walk after he opted out of the final year of his contract. What the franchise did in free agency was both intriguing and risky.
The Rockets handed generous contracts to two oft-injured players. Power forward Ryan Anderson inked a colossal four-year, $80MM deal and guard Eric Gordon received a four-year, $52.9MM commitment. Anderson seems like a great fit as the stretch four in D’Antoni’s free-flowing attack. The biggest drawback is that Anderson has only once played more than 66 games during his eight-year career because of various ailments.
Compared to Gordon, Anderson is an iron man. His balky knees limited him to 221 games in five seasons with the Pelicans. When he’s on the court, Gordon is a solid, aggressive scorer and 3-point shooter. The pressure on the Rockets’ medical staff to have Gordon wearing a uniform instead of a suit on game nights.
Harden could see a lot of time at the point with Gordon at shooting guard, particularly with Patrick Beverley experiencing knee issues in camp that may require surgery. The Rockets do have some other options at the point, despite renouncing their rights to Jason Terry as well as forwards Terrence Jones and Josh Smith at the start of free agency. Pablo Prigioni was re-signed to a partially-guaranteed contract and Tyler Ennis was acquired from the Bucks in exchange for forward Michael Beasley.
The Rockets also added depth at center behind new starter Clint Capela by signing another player with a long injury history, 34-year-old Nene Hilario, to a one-year contract.
With Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer signed through the 2017/18 season, the Rockets didn’t feel the need to tinker with their small forward position.
They could add more depth at power forward, depending upon how the Donatas Motiejunas saga plays out.
Motiejunas remains the last retricted free agent on the market but long-term concerns over his back have virtually destroyed his bargaining power. The Pistons rescinded a trade for him last winter after their medical personnel examined Motiejunas.
Houston made a qualifying offer to Motiejunas, which expired at the beginning of this month. However, that only strengthens the Rockets’ position. They still have the right of first refusal and Motiejunas no longer has the safety net of signing that one-year QO, which would have allowed him become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Houston didn’t have a first-round pick in the draft and the remainder of its training-camp roster mainly consists of rookies and marginal players trying to make the team.
Undoubtedly, the Rockets should be fun to watch, with Harden leading a quick-paced attack that might lead the league in scoring. But the Rockets finished fourth in that category last year despite all the chemistry issues.
The big challenge is whether the Rockets will defend well enough to become a true contender again. They were 25th in points allowed and 19th in defensive field-goal percentage. They also finished at the bottom in defensive rebounding percentage last season despite the presence of Howard.
Can they protect the rim well enough with the duo of Capela and Anderson, as well as improve their defensive rebounding to get their high-powered offense in gear? Those are questions that will only be resolved as the season moves along.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
CBA Pact Close, One-And-Done Rule Stays
The NBA and the Players’ Association moved closer to a deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement during a meeting on Wednesday with most major items agreed upon, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The controversial “one-and-done” draft rule, in which players must be one year removed from high school to be draft eligible, will remain in place. The league retreated on its desire to revise the draft rule to two years after a player graduated high school, Wojnarowski adds.
The pact will be a seven-year deal, according to sports business expert Scott Soshnick (Twitter link).
The encouraging pace of the negotiations has been the biggest story during this NBA preseason. Both sides are trying to avert the December 15 deadline, when either the owners or players could opt out of the current agreement.
The owners and players believe a finalized deal is inevitable in the next few weeks, league sources told Wojnarowski. The NBPA is eager to sell the rank-and-file on the terms of a deal, which needs to be ratified, Wojnarowski adds.
Among the other details that league sources told Wojnarowski:
- The NBA will change the 36-and-over rule that now prohibits players from signing a five-year maximum contract if their 36th birthday occurs within the life of the deal. The NBA and union have tentatively agreed to change the rule to over 38.
- The league will raise rookie-scale, veteran minimum and free-agent exception deals in the 50 percent range over current numbers.
- Two-way contracts between the NBA and the D-League will offer teams the chance to add 16th and 17th roster spots, and pay players differently based upon their assignments in either the league’s minor league or as part of the parent club.
- The NBA and NBPA’s Basketball Related Income (BRI) split will be unchanged.
That’s not surprising, given that the Associated Press reported earlier this month that the BRI would remain in the 49 to 51 percent range. Taking care of retired players is a priority, Cavs superstar LeBron James told the AP recently, and the agreement will include new league-funded programs to help retired players with education and medical expenses. In exchange for those programs, and pending full approval from both sides, the BRI split would remain the same.
Grizzlies Waive Duo, Sign Costello, Dunham
The Grizzlies waived guard Chris Crawford and forward Vince Hunter on Thursday, according to the team’s website. The team then signed center Matt Costello and shooting guard Kellen Dunham, according to a separate press release. The moves leave the Grizzlies’ training-camp roster at 20 players.
Costello was waived by the Hawks on Monday. The undrafted rookie out of Michigan State averaged 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 9.0 minutes during his two preseason appearances with Atlanta.
Dunham played for the Grizzlies’ summer-league team in Las Vegas, making four reserve appearances while averaging 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.9 minutes. He also went undrafted in June after a four-year collegiate career at Butler.
Crawford signed a non-guaranteed contract just before training camp. He has appeared in 64 games for the D-League’s Canton Charge since going undrafted in 2014, and has also spent some time in France with Rouen Métropole Basket. In four preseason appearances, he averaged 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 16.3 minutes.
Hunter was signed 11 days ago after being waived by the Bulls. GM Chris Wallace said when Hunter was signed that the club needed frontcourt depth during the preseason to limit the minutes of his rotation players. In four preseason games, Hunter averaged 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19.4 minutes. He spent last season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate in Reno, as well as Panathinaikos in the Greek League.
Hawks Waive Point Guard Jarrett Jack
The Hawks waived veteran point guard Jarrett Jack on Thursday, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The move was injury related, as Jack has not practiced during training camp because of his continuing recovery from torn right knee ligaments, which he suffered in January while playing for the Nets. The move reduces the Hawks’ current roster to 17 players.
Atlanta was hoping Jack would provide insurance behind new starting point man Dennis Schroder. Jack signed a one-year, veteran minimum contract in July after being waived the Nets. The Hawks will have to eat Jack’s $980,431 deal, which was guaranteed.
Malcolm Delaney, who played the last five seasons in Europe, is Schroder’s current backup and the Hawks still have Will Bynum and Josh Magette on their roster. The Hawks might still cut the latter duo loose and enter the season with just two point guards, Vivlamore continues.
Jack had been looking forward to a “new start” in Atlanta after playing in just 32 games for the Nets last season. It’s been a steep fall for Jack, who came into last season as a starter. He was averaged 12.8 points and 7.4 assists prior to the injury.
Knicks Re-Sign Cleanthony Early
OCTOBER 18: The Knicks have officially re-signed Early, the team announced today (Twitter link).
OCTOBER 13: The Knicks will re-sign forward Cleanthony Early, sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Early will likely start his season in the D-League as he continues his rehab from a hamstring injury, Charania adds.
The 6’8″ Early, 25, has played both of his NBA seasons with New York. He appeared in 17 games last season, including two starts, and averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.1 minutes. During the 2014/15 campaign, he appeared in 39 games, including seven starts, and averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.6 minutes.
The Knicks have mulled bringing back Early for quite some time and ultimately decided to give the former second-round pick another chance. They renounced their rights to him in early July in order to sign high-profile free agents, including Joakim Noah.
Early’s 2015/16 season was marred by an incident in late December which he was shot in the right knee and robbed. He did not return to action until the beginning of April.
Early’s hamstring injury occurred prior to the summer league, preventing him from participating with the Knicks’ entry in Orlando in July, and is apparently still affecting him. He’ll eventually give new coach Jeff Hornacek another option at the small forward spot.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Pistons
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Detroit Pistons.
Free agent signings:
- Andre Drummond: Five years, $127.171MM. Maximum salary contract. Fifth year player option.
- Jon Leuer: Four years, $41MM.
- Boban Marjanovic: Three years, $21MM. Signed to offer sheet; Spurs didn’t match.
- Ish Smith: Three years, $18MM.
Camp invitees:
- Trey Freeman: One year, minimum salary (no guarantee)
- Nikola Jovanovic: One year, minimum salary ($30K guaranteed)
- Ray McCallum: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
Trades:
- Acquired Cameron Bairstow from the Bulls in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie. Subsequently waived Bairstow.
- Acquired a 2019 second-round pick from the Magic in exchange for Jodie Meeks.
Draft picks:
- 1-18: Henry Ellenson. Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-49: Michael Gbinije. Signed for three years, $2.606MM. Second year partially guaranteed. Third year non-guaranteed.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Reggie Jackson to miss six to eight weeks due to knee and thumb injuries.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock eligible for contract extensions until October 31. Pistons have engaged in extension discussions with both players.
- Reportedly met with Al Horford during free agency.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Detroit Pistons right here.
When Stan Van Gundy evaluated the Pistons organization after becoming their head coach and president of basketball operations, one of his first orders of business was to beef up the scouting staff. That wasn’t limited to college and international scouting. He wanted scouts closely monitoring every NBA game and identifying players who could fill a need on his club.
That decision has led to a nearly complete overhaul of the roster, with only two players — center Andre Drummond and starting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — surviving the purge. They added two starters during the last two trade deadlines, acquiring point guard Reggie Jackson from the Thunder and combo forward Tobias Harris from the Magic.
Armed with the evaluations from their scouts, Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower drew up a shopping list this offseason that included three major items. They wanted a bigger power forward, a backup point guard and a third center who could eventually play a larger role.
Ideally, they would have checked off boxes 1 and 3 with the same player. They were one of a handful of clubs who landed a meeting with coveted free agent Al Horford. The Pistons felt Horford’s defensive versatility and shooting range would complement Drummond’s interior prowess. Alas, Horford opted to go to a club he felt was closer to championship contender and signed with the Celtics.
In the meantime, the Pistons quickly landed one of the point men they coveted in Ish Smith. He was one of three point guards, along with former Piston D.J. Augustin and Ramon Sessions, on the wish list. Detroit’s offense stalled the second half of last season when aging Steve Blake entered the game for Jackson. The Pistons included Brandon Jennings in the Harris deal, leaving them thin at point guard.
According to the Pistons’ analytics, Smith is one of the top pick-and-roll point guards in the league. Detroit relies heavily on pick-and-rolls, making him an ideal backup to Jackson. Smith will have an even bigger role at the start of the season, replacing Jackson in the lineup while Jackson recovers from knee tendinitis and a thumb injury.
“What you want with all of your backups, one of the things you ask is can those guys start,” Van Gundy said. “You can’t look at somebody and say he’s OK as a 16-, 18-minute a game guy because it can quickly become more than that. The fact he has that experience and did well (with the Sixers last season), yeah, that’s a big thing.”
The Pistons surprised some people by handing journeymen Jon Leuer a rich four-year, $41MM deal but they view him as a rotation player who can back up Harris and also play center in smaller lineups. Leuer not only provides more size that last year’s backup, Anthony Tolliver, he’s also more brings more offensive versatility than Tolliver, who was mainly a 3-point shooter.
When Horford struck the Pistons off his list, the deal with Leuer was finalized.
“Once Al made his decision, it was, ‘OK, let’s figure out how we can get this done,’ ” Leuer said. “We actually came to an agreement before he even landed, so it was more of a celebratory lunch than a meeting.”
Detroit went big, really big, to secure the final item on their shopping list. They structured a three-year offer sheet to restricted free agent Boban Marjanovic that they knew the Spurs would almost certainly not match. The 7’3” Marjanovic doesn’t have the agility defensively to play heavy minutes but can be a matchup nightmare for opponents because of his low-post skills. He also provides insurance in case second-string center Aron Baynes opts out of his contract after this season.
Another under-the-radar signing that could pay some dividends was handing Ray McCallum a non-guaranteed contract. McCallum could back up Smith the first month of the season if he wins a preseason battle with fellow point man Lorenzo Brown for a roster spot.
Prior to all those moves, the Pistons were pleased how the draft unfolded. Outside the lottery for a change, the Pistons weren’t expecting to get an immediate contributor at pick No. 18. They did get a pleasant surprise when power forward Henry Ellenson fell into their lap.
Van Gundy was so sure that Ellenson wouldn’t be available at their pick that he barely watched any film on the Marquette University product. The Big East Rookie of the Year will spend this season developing but could push for a rotation spot as early as next season.
The only other order of business this preseason is whether to sign Caldwell-Pope to a rookie-scale extension. There has been no signs in camp thus far that they’re close to an agreement.
If the Pistons had somehow convinced Horford to come their way, they could have been lumped among the next tier of Eastern Conference teams behind the Cavaliers. With the help of those scouts, the Pistons did add much-needed depth by signing some unheralded free agents. Whether that’s enough to get them past the first round of the playoffs this season remains a big question mark.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of Raj Mehta (USA Today Sports Images).
And-Ones: Parsons, CBA, Pierce, Delfino
Chandler Parsons has been lobbying the Grizzlies to give him medical clearance to play but his new team is playing things cautiously, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports. Parsons is rehabbing from March knee surgery and the Grizzlies don’t want him to have any setbacks when he returns to the court, MacMahon continues. Parsons received a four-year, $94MM contract despite the injury he suffered while playing for the Mavericks last season. “He’s definitely making great progress,” Grizzlies coach David Fizdale told MacMahon. “He’s doing a lot of drills with us right now where he’s not hitting, per se. It’s just very scripted, but he’s moving full speed. … I’d rather have him for 75 games than four and he’s out.”
In other developments around the league:
- Taking care of retired players is a priority in the Collective Bargaining Agreement talks, Cavs superstar LeBron James told Jon Krawczynski and Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The NBA and its players have agreed that the next CBA will include new league-funded programs to help retired players with education and medical expenses, four people with knowledge of the situation told the AP. In exchange for those programs, and pending full approval from both sides, the split of basketball-related income would remain the same “50-50” deal as it is in the current agreement, the AP story adds. “We’ve all built this league together,” James said told the AP. “No matter how big of a guy you were or if you were the 15th guy on the bench, we all built this league into what it is today. But it’s not just my idea. I’m not taking any credit for that.”
- Paul Pierce isn’t a fan of Kevin Durant‘s decision to join the Warriors, as he discussed on a Sirius XM Radio interview that was relayed by NBA.com. The Clippers forward believes Durant should have stayed with the Thunder, rather than join the franchise that vanquished his former team in the Western Conference playoffs. “I understand when you have great players on losing teams who are tired of losing, struggling in the playoffs every year,” Pierce said. “You’re the lone star. I’ve been in that position. I could have left Boston years ago, but I stuck it out. I just feel like when you’re that close, as a competitor, you don’t go join the team that just put you out.”
- Fortitudo Bologna in Italy is still hopeful of signing ex-NBA swingman Carlos Delfino, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Delfino, 34, last played in the NBA in 2012/13, when he appeared in 67 games for the Rockets.
Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Carroll, Knicks, Celtics
- Raptors small forward DeMarre Carroll is determined to deliver on his sizable contract after his injury-marred first season with the club, according to Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. Carroll signed a four-year, $60MM contract in the summer of 2015 but appeared in just 26 regular-season games because of knee and foot injuries. He hasn’t had any setbacks this preseason and is eager to return to the form he displayed with the Hawks that made him a coveted free agent, Ganter adds. “To me, I still feel like I’ve got a chip on my shoulder,” he told Ganter. “Really, I’ve got a log on my shoulder. It’s bigger than a chip. I feel like last year I came in and started off thinking I was going to have a great season and then all of a sudden I get injured.”
- The Knicks may send an assistant coach to Los Angeles to keep Derrick Rose up to date on offensive and defensive schemes during his ongoing civil sexual assault trial, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Rose missed his fifth practice since heading to California last week and coach Jeff Hornacek is worried about keeping his starting point guard up to speed, Berman continues. “We’re right now trying to think of if we should send somebody out there with him,’’ Hornacek told Berman. “We haven’t added a lot of new stuff from the time he left. We’re talking to him about the stuff we’re doing. He’s watched the games to try to see it.”
- It’s highly unlikely the Celtics will be able to add Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines. Utah’s unwillingness to part with Hayward, who can opt out of his current contract at the end of the season, is the main reason. His trade kicker, and the cost of retaining him long-term, also foster the notion that Hayward isn’t coming to Boston.