And-Ones: Morris, McGary, D-League
Pistons combo forward Marcus Morris can’t hold back from commenting on his brother’s situation with the Suns, and insists that despite Markieff Morris putting a positive spin on things, he still wants out of Phoenix, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays. When asked what is wrong with the Suns right now, Marcus responded, “It’s self-explanatory. You see what’s going on. Sorry to say it, but it’s self-explanatory. I don’t know what’s going on over there. It’s like a [clown] show right now.” Discussing Markieff’s feelings about the franchise, Marcus told Ellis, “One thing about Keef is he’s always positive. Some stuff might happen a little, but he’s always positive. He’s still looking to get out of there, still looking to go somewhere else. Right now he has to be a pro and continue to take care of his business on and off the court.”
When asked if he has advised his brother on what to do going forward, Marcus said, “It’s not like he’s going to read this and say my brother gave me some advice. We talk every day. He knows what’s best for him. We all know what’s best for him, and what’s best for him is to continue to be professional and continue to work hard on his game. I know he’s doing that day in, day out — regardless of the suspension and what’s going on. He’s a hard worker, and so he will continue to be ready when his number’s called. If he gets traded, he’ll be able to contribute to any team in the league.”
Here’s more from around the NBA:
- The Thunder have recalled Mitch McGary from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the big man’s fourth stint with the Blue on the season.
- The Pacers announced that center Shayne Whittington has been recalled from the D-League. This concludes Whittington’s second assignment to the Mad Ants of the season.
- The Bulls have assigned power forward Cristiano Felicio to the D-League, the team announced. Felicio will report to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate, as part of the flexible assignment rule since Chicago doesn’t possess its own D-League team.
- Josh Richardson and Jarnell Stokes, both of whom are currently assigned to the Heat‘s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, will be recalled on Saturday, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel tweets.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Landry, Curry
The Suns miscalculated during the 2013/14 season when the team dealt away Marcin Gortat in an effort to speed up the rebuilding process by bottoming out, but instead won 48 games, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. “We were never trying to lose games,” team owner Robert Sarver told Lowe. “We were trying to play young players who we thought could be part of the next great Phoenix team, and some of them just played a lot better than we thought they would.” It was the unexpected success of that campaign that led Phoenix to chase immediate wins at the expense of long-term team-building, Lowe adds, which is a major reason for the mess the franchise is currently in. The ESPN scribe also opines that coach Jeff Hornacek shouldn’t necessarily be held accountable for the team’s woeful record this season, and for the sake of continuity he should be allowed another opportunity in 2016/17.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Nik Stauskas and Carl Landry, both of whom were traded by Sacramento to the Sixers, say that they harbor no ill will toward the Kings organization for shipping them away, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “There’s no hard feelings,” Landry said. “The organization and the owner [Vivek Ranadive] and the vets, everybody in that organization gave me an opportunity. I am not going to go out there and try to score more points than needs to be scored. I’m just going to go out there and try to get a win. That’s it. Nothing personal.” Stauskas laid the blame for being dealt on himself, Pompey adds. “I didn’t play the way I wanted to my rookie year,” Stauskas said, “and obviously they felt like they wanted to go in a different direction. That’s the way the NBA works.“
- Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has taken some surprising criticism for the way he plays potentially “ruining” young players who attempt to emulate him. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle strongly disagrees, and compares the point guard to Apple visionary Steve Jobs, Michael Florek of The Dallas Morning News writes. “He’s changed the way we live,” Carlisle said of Jobs. “He and Bill Gates have done that. Steph Curry is changing the way the game is going to be played in the future. I’m sure of it. That’s a historic thing. The way AAU coaches and kids coming up are going to view the game, I’m confident it’s going to have a big influence. He’s an exciting guy to watch, and he’s a menacing guy to game plan for.”
Eastern Notes: Marshall, Butler, Bosh
Jimmy Butler notes that he and Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg are learning a lot about each other, and that Hoiberg is holding him accountable for his actions, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. “I still got respect for him,” Butler said of Hoiberg. “I don’t think it’s a different light. Nothing I do is to disrespect anybody. I think he realizes I’m going to be here, I realize he’s going to be here, so we got to deal with each other anyways. I think that he’s holding me accountable for everything. He talked to me whenever I was low energy last game, and I fixed it. That’s the type of guy he is. He has the utmost confidence in me because he continually put the ball in my hand when he didn’t have to.”
Butler does appreciate the effort that Hoiberg has made to connect with him, Friedell adds. “I think we’re both learning a lot about each other,” Butler said. “He’s probably learning how moody I am on a daily basis, to tell you the truth. And it’s hard, but I think he lets me be who I am. He handles everything that I do very well. I’m not a big communicator, I’m not great at it, but he’s always talking to me. He’s always asking, ‘How are you doing? What can we do?’ He’s always asking my opinion on a lot of things. Yeah, it helped a lot.”
Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- Sixers point guard Kendall Marshall‘s role has been significantly diminished with the team’s acquisition of Ish Smith from New Orleans, but he is trying to remain upbeat despite the team’s woes, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.”It’s not easy,” Marshall said of losing his starting spot. “But it’s part of being a professional. I’ve definitely been in this situation before. I know what it’s like. At the end of day, I have to play better if I want to be on the court. He’s playing extremely well. Obviously our team is playing a lot better. We are in game. When the team is playing better that’s not anything I can be mad about.“
- Chris Bosh believes that the Heat suffer from focus issues and don’t pay enough attention when leads begin to slip away during games, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. The power forward didn’t call out anyone in particular, but did note that the problem includes both players and coaches, Lieser adds. “Yeah, top to bottom,” Bosh said. “I’m inclusive. We’re a team. From me to [coach Erik Spoelstra] to the guys in the locker room, we have to not let that affect our play. We have to move on to the next one. We want to have the No. 1 league defense and the No. 1 league offense, but we don’t have that, so we have to work with what we have and play the game.“
Northwest Notes: Barton, Pekovic, Payne
Nuggets small forward Will Barton is enjoying a breakout season in Denver and his former coach with the Blazers, Terry Stotts, saw this development coming, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “I remember a postseason interview and someone asked me about what player made the biggest improvement or something like that, and in my mind it was Will Barton,” Stotts said. “Year 1, he was a young rookie, and he had a lot to learn. I thought the strides he made in Year 2 as a player and as a person and as a professional was good to see. I’d like to think the success he’s having now is in part because of the hard work he put in while he was here.“
“Since he knows he’s going to be on the court, he has an outstanding feel for the game,” Stotts continued. “Now he’s not pressing. He plays the game. He really is a student of the game, and since he knows he’s going to be out there, he does a little bit of everything and kind of takes what the game gives him.” In 33 appearances this season, with only one as a starter, Barton is averaging 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 47% shooting, and he should certainly be under consideration for the Most Improved Player award for 2015/16 if this production level continues.
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic has been cleared to participate in full contact practices, which is the next step in his return from the surgery he underwent back in April to repair damage to his Achilles tendon, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays. It is unclear how much work Pekovic will need to put in before he is turned loose in game conditions, though Zgoda notes the big man will require at least a few practices before that is likely to occur.
- The Thunder are pleased with the development of 2015 first-rounder Cameron Payne, and they credit his time spent in the D-League for accelerating his learning curve, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “I don’t really look at scoring as much,” said Thunder coach Billy Donovan. “I think the thing to me that was really impressive is how easily he whipped the ball around and got guys shots. Cameron has earned, in my opinion, the right to have confidence because of the time he’s put in the gym.”
2015/16 Salary Rankings: Centers
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. The first spot on the hardwood that we’ll be looking at is the center position, a spot on the floor that has lessened in importance over the years, but one that still remains integral to a team’s success. All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $494,425,900 in cap hits this season to the men who patrol the paint around the league. The average salary for the five spot this season is a respectable $5,886,023, with Dwight Howard topping the list with a whopping $22,359,364 to account for on his year-end W-2 form.
It should be noted that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until January 7th. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of the season. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.
The league’s centers are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Dwight Howard (Rockets) — $22,359,364
- Marc Gasol (Grizzlies) — $19,689,000
- DeAndre Jordan (Clippers) — $19,689,000
- Brook Lopez (Nets) — $19,689,000
- Enes Kanter (Thunder) — $16,407,500
- Greg Monroe (Bucks) — $16,407,500
- DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) — $15,851,950
- Roy Hibbert (Lakers) — $15,592,216
- Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers) — $14,260,870
- Andrew Bogut (Warriors) — $13,800,000
- Al Jefferson (Hornets) — $13,500,000
- Joakim Noah (Bulls) — $13,400,000
- JaVale McGee (Mavericks) — $13,270,964 (Includes the $12MM owed from the Sixers, who waived him)
- Tyson Chandler (Suns) — $13,000,000
- Nene (Wizards) — $13,000,000
- Robin Lopez (Knicks) — $12,650,000
- Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves) — $12,100,000
- Al Horford (Hawks) — $12,000,000
- Nikola Vucevic (Magic) — $11,250,000
- Marcin Gortat (Wizards) — $11,217,391
- Anderson Varejao (Cavaliers) — $9,638,554
- Omer Asik (Pelicans) — $9,213,483
- Tiago Splitter (Hawks) — $8,800,000
- Kosta Koufos (Kings) — $7,700,000
- Boris Diaw (Spurs) — $7,500,000
- Ed Davis (Trail Blazers) — $6,980,802
- Aron Baynes (Pistons) — $6,500,000
- Spencer Hawes (Hornets) — $6,110,034
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves) — $5,703,600
- J.J. Hickson (Nuggets) — $5,613,500
- Brandan Wright (Grizzlies) — $5,464,000
- Tim Duncan (Spurs) — $5,250,000
- Zaza Pachulia (Mavericks) — $5,200,000
- Chris Kaman (Trail Blazers) — $5,016,000
- Chris Andersen (Heat) — $5,000,000
- Timofey Mozgov (Cavaliers) — $4,950,000
- Jonas Valanciunas (Raptors) — $4,660,482
- Joel Embiid (Sixers) — $4,626,960
- Jahlil Okafor (Sixers) — $4,582,680
- Alexis Ajinca (Pelicans) — $4,389,607
- Cody Zeller (Hornets) — $4,204,200
- Ian Mahinmi (Pacers) — $4,000,000
- Alex Len (Suns) — $3,807,120
- Willie Cauley-Stein (Kings) — $3,398,280
- Drew Gooden (Wizards) — $3,300,000
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) — $3,272,091
- John Henson (Bucks) — $2,943,221
- Tibor Pleiss (Jazz) — $2,900,000
- Bismack Biyombo (Raptors) — $2,814,000
- Kevin Seraphin (Knicks) — $2,814,000
- Tyler Zeller (Celtics) — $2,616,975
- Joel Anthony (Pistons) — $2,500,000
- Steven Adams (Thunder) — $2,279,040
- Kelly Olynyk (Celtics) — $2,165,160
- Miles Plumlee (Bucks) — $2,109,294
- Festus Ezeli (Warriors) — $2,008,748
- Larry Sanders (Waived by Bucks via stretch provision) — $1,865,547
- Lucas Nogueira (Raptors) — $1,842,000
- Jusuf Nurkic (Nuggets) — $1,842,000
- Joffrey Lauvergne (Nuggets) — $1,709,719
- Kendrick Perkins (Pelicans) — $1,499,187
- Gorgui Dieng (Timberwolves) — $1,474,440
- Mason Plumlee (Trail Blazers) — $1,415,520
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) — $1,300,000
- Sasha Kaun (Cavaliers) — $1,276,000
- Boban Marjanovic (Spurs) — $1,200,000
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz) — $1,175,880
- Cole Aldrich (Clippers) — $1,100,602
- Edy Tavares (Hawks) — $1,000,000
- Robert Sacre (Lakers) — $981,348
- Hassan Whiteside (Heat) — $981,348
- Samuel Dalembert (Waived by Mavericks) — $947,276
- Dewayne Dedmon (Magic) — $947,276
- Mike Muscala (Hawks) — $947,276
- Jeff Withey (Jazz) — $947,276
- Tarik Black (Lakers) — $845,059
- Shayne Whittington (Pacers) — $845,059
- Salah Mejri (Mavericks) — $525,093
- Aaron Gray (Waived by Pistons via stretch provision) — $452,049
- Fab Melo (Waived by Grizzlies via stretch provision) — $437,080
- Miroslav Raduljica (Waived by the Clippers via stretch provision) — $252,042
- Robert Upshaw (Waived by Lakers) — $35,000
- Ryan Hollins (Waived by Grizzlies) — $16,034
- Jaleel Roberts (Waived by Wizards) — $10,000
- Jordan Railey (Waived by Sixers) — $6,178
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Atlantic Notes: Early, D-League, Sixers
With the shooting of Knicks forward Cleanthony Early on Wednesday, plus a number of other unfortunate player incidents over the past year, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opined that free agents may avoid signing with New York based franchises going forward. Nets point guard Jarrett Jack acknowledged that living and playing in New York is different than many other NBA locales, and believes players are targets because of the popularity of the sport in the area, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “Since being in New York for a couple years, and how seriously sports are taken in this city, you’re a lot more visible than your typical team. When the Knicks draft somebody it’s headline news, or when they trade for somebody it’s headline news,’’ said Jack.
“That’s where New York separates itself from a lot of cities. That can be good and bad, but I think you’ve just got to understand what it is and just take it for what it’s worth. Whenever I go somewhere … day or night, we always survey the crowd,” Jack continued. “We always understand what the crowd is wherever we’re going. Like I said, no matter where you go, no one deserves for that to happen. A lot of people want to say ‘It’s his fault, he [Early] shouldn’t have been [out]. How is it his fault?”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers coach Brett Brown is still trying to figure out how too best utilize Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, and admits the answer to this particular riddle still eludes him, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays.”The four-five, five-four you know it’s still a mystery right now,” Brown said of deciding where to play the two big men. “It really is. And I think we are going to have this conversation throughout the whole year. Trying to grow those two guys is a challenge. So for me, it ends up more matchups than this overwhelming responsibility where it hurts the team. You know we want to win games. How I navigate that is a challenge.“
- The Celtics have assigned power forward Jordan Mickey, point guard Terry Rozier and shooting guard R.J. Hunter to their D-League affiliate in Maine, the team announced. This will be Mickey’s ninth stint with the Red Claws on the season, the fourth for Rozier and the first for Hunter.
Eastern Notes: Larkin, Gibson, Wizards
Nets point guard Shane Larkin said that he needed to get away from the Knicks and the triangle offense in order to grow as a player, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “I’m in a pick-and-roll system my third year,’’ said Larkin. “My first year [in Dallas] I was in a pick-and-roll system, but I was coming off a broken ankle, so I missed time with that, didn’t get a preseason, so I was just kind of learning on the fly. Last year wasn’t the best system for me, that year went however it went. And this year I feel like I’m growing every single game and being more comfortable out there and just playing my game. I feel like it’s a good fit.’’ The 23-year-old is averaging 7.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 18.9 minutes of action per game this season for Brooklyn.
Here’s more from the East:
- Power forward Taj Gibson is supportive of rookie Bobby Portis, whose play in the wake of Joakim Noah‘s injury has many calling for an increased role for the young player, and potentially making Gibson a trade candidate for the Bulls, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com writes. When asked if the emergence of Portis has given conflicting feelings, Gibson responded, “What do you mean mixed feelings? It’s never mixed feelings. At the end of the day I care about my teammates. I don’t worry about all that. If he plays well it’s good for us, it’s good for the team. I want him to succeed. At the end of the day, we’re millionaires. We play a game.”
- Paul Pierce believes that the Wizards, his former team, will be a dangerous team once they get healthy, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. “Right now I think they’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries. I keep up with them when I’m not playing. I’m still good friends with a lot of guys on the team. We chat on the text,” Pierce said. “I just think they’re dealing with a lot of injuries and kind of got off to a slow start. And I think once they get healthy, you’re going to have to watch out for them. They got a lot of depth when they’re healthy. A guy like Alan Anderson can definitely be a positive for them as far as their wing depth. Obviously, they’re missing a lot of their big men so I think once they get healthy, if they get healthy at the right time, they can make a real good run in the East.”
- The Heat have assigned shooting guard Josh Richardson to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Richardson’s first sojourn of the season to Sioux Falls.
Western Notes: Morris, Jones, Leonard
Suns power forward Markieff Morris apologized to his teammates and the coaching staff and was allowed to return to the team after serving his two game suspension for throwing a towel at coach Jeff Hornacek during a game last week, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays. “We kind of put it out there what we wanted from him, what we expected,” Hornacek said. “He’s been good for us in the past. We want him to get back to playing like he did last year. It’s been a struggle this year. We basically tried to get a feel if he was good for that. He said he wanted to get back and help his teammates and help us win.”
”We definitely had a successful meeting and I’m just happy to be back,” Morris said. The forward also indicated that he regretted the comments he made over the summer regarding his desire to be traded, Coro notes. “I could’ve did that different based on the fans,” Morris said. “I think I owe the fans an apology for saying some of the stuff I said. They deserve better.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Wolves point guard Tyus Jones is hopeful that his time spent in the D-League this season will translate into more minutes at the NBA level, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. “You do go down there trying to prove a point,” Jones said. “Trying to make a statement. I think I played pretty well down there.” The rookie is averaging 24.7 points and 5.0 assists in six contests for the Stampede this season.
- After re-signing with the Spurs this past offseason, small forward Kawhi Leonard has taken on an increased role in San Antonio’s offense, much to the delight of coach Gregg Popovich, writes Fran Blinebury of NBA.com. “He’s a lot more demonstrative scoring-wise,” Popovich said. “When he gets the ball, he tries to make opportunities for himself. I don’t have to call his number. In transition offensively, he’s looking for situations where he can post up. Mismatches more. Those are probably the main things. More aggressive offensively and understanding that he can do some things that people can’t guard very well. And yeah, there’s been a incremental increase in the volume of his language.”
- The Kings need to suspend center DeMarcus Cousins for his latest outburst that resulted in his ejection from Monday night’s contest against the Warriors, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee opines. Voisin believes that the organization needs to stop treating Cousins with kid gloves and force him to mature, and she also believes that any suspension should be initiated by the organization and not the league if it is to truly register with the big man.
2016/17 Salary Cap Projections By Team
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.
The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors broke down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise. Listed below and separated by conference and division are the links to the projection for each team:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
Knicks Notes: Early, Jennings, Conley
Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early was shot once in his right knee early this morning, Thomas Tracy of The New York Daily News reports. The injury occurred when a taxi Early was riding in was set upon by four to six armed men wearing ski masks, who then robbed the player, according to the Daily News’ report. Early was wounded during the course of the robbery and his injury is reportedly not life-threatening, though no prognosis has been released regarding its potential effect on his NBA career. The Knicks released an official statement on the matter which read, “We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation. We will not comment any further until we receive more information.”
Early is the second Knicks player to have allegedly been targeted by grifters in recent days, with combo forward Derrick Williams having reportedly been robbed of approximately $600K to $750K in jewelry by two unidentified women this past weekend, albeit not at gunpoint. Here’s more from New York:
- The Knicks should seek to acquire Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings prior to this season’s trade deadline, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opines. Though Jennings’ season debut on Tuesday night was merely average, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy still believes Jennings can make an impact in the league, Isola notes. “Oh yeah, I don’t think there is any doubt,” said Van Gundy. “Brandon is coming back well off of the injury and he’s a guy who just absolutely loves to play, loves to be in the gym. He’s still young, he’s still 26. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be a starting point guard in this league again.”
- Acquiring Jennings could be problematic for New York, Isola adds. The Knicks don’t have much in the way of talent or draft picks to offer Detroit, and the team may want to hold off adding a playmaker since the Grizzlies’ Mike Conley is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Daily News scribe notes. There is no guarantee that Conley will leave Memphis, but his talent level may warrant the Knicks taking a pass on Jennings, Isola writes. It should be noted that Jennings’ contract is set to expire at the end of this season, so there wouldn’t be any salary cap implications for 2016/17 if the Knicks acquired him, unless Detroit insisted on New York taking on a less than desirable contract as part of any trade.