Central Notes: Parker, Cunningham, Butler
Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler says the team is dealing with frustration differently under new coach Fred Hoiberg than it did under former coach Tom Thibodeau, Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com relays. “The frustrating moments last year was kinda like, Thibs just being a hard-nosed guy,” Butler told Jackson. “He’s gonna yell, he’s gonna say some curse words, he’s going to let you know. With right here, [Hoiberg] is going to be like, “Hey, guys, you gotta do this, you gotta do that,” and then that’s the end of it.”
“It’s two totally different coaching styles,” Butler continued. “Some works for some guys, some works for others. Some guys on this roster can’t take getting yelled at, some guys on this roster getting yelled at gets them going, you know what I mean? And there’s nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day, we as players know what we are capable of and what we have to do. We’re all grown men, and we’ve been playing this game for so long a coach shouldn’t have to tell us, ‘Hey, this is what you have to do to win this game.’”
Here’s more from out of the Central Division:
- The early season changes in the Bucks starting lineup indicate that the team believes its core players can’t shoot or defend well enough as a unit to remain on the floor for long stretches together, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. Milwaukee envisions 2014 lottery pick Jabari Parker evolving into a stretch four, but the team understands it will take him time to adjust to the NBA, Lowe adds. “Jabari will be a really good stretch four in three years,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Right now, he’s not that. And that’s OK. He’s basically a rookie.“
- The Cavaliers have benefited from Jared Cunningham‘s strong perimeter defense when matching up against smaller lineups this season, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Jared is a guy that can defend people and we needed his intensity, his one-on-one defending capability,” coach David Blatt said. “If you’re a young player or if you’re a player that doesn’t normally get a lot of minutes or is looking for a chance to play, you go out there and you defend your man and you hold your ground, then you’re going to earn minutes. And he’s playing because he earned minutes because he was able to do those things for us. And I think that’s a very positive thing.”
- The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from their D-League affiliate in Memphis, the team announced. This was the second stint in Grand Rapids this season for both players.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
In addition to our regular weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted every Saturday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 12/08/15
There have been conflicting reports regarding the job security of Nets head coach Lionel Hollins, whose squad is off to a 5-15 start to the 2015/16 campaign. This is not the first time the coach has been rumored to be on the hot seat in Brooklyn, with conflicting reports also surfacing back in January about Hollins’ job security, mere months after he took over the team, though GM Billy King at the time said Hollins was safe and that he liked his demanding approach. Brooklyn signed Hollins in the summer of 2014 to a four-year deal that reportedly could be worth as much as $20MM if the Nets pick up their team option on the final year.
Despite the team’s denials that Hollins may be on the chopping block, it would hardly be the first time that a coach was dismissed after receiving an endorsement indicating his job was secure. Hollins, who was let go by the Grizzlies back in 2013 after a 56-win campaign that resulted in a trip to the Western Conference Finals, said, “The seat is always hot. It was hot when I sat in it for the first time.” Brooklyn is no stranger to coaching turnover, having had four different head coaches since the start of the 2012/13 season.
This brings me to today’s topic: Should Lionel Hollins be held accountable for the state of the Nets?
There’s no denying that the Nets are a bad squad this season, and the coach is usually the first one to take the hit when his team doesn’t perform well. But Hollins isn’t responsible for the Nets’ personnel moves, including the ill-fated trade to sacrifice a plethora of draft picks to the Celtics in exchange for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, which was an epic failure on virtually every level for the franchise.
But what say you? Is Hollins’ coaching style and system the problem in Brooklyn, and would a change benefit the club at this juncture of the season? Or should the franchise look to lay blame elsewhere and retain the veteran coach? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
And-Ones: NBPA, Ennis, Warriors Arena
The league and the NBPA held preliminary talks today regarding the next collective bargaining agreement, NBA.com’s David Aldridge relays (via TwitLonger). The two parties issued a joint statement regarding the meeting, which read, “Earlier today the NBA and NBPA met to discuss the Collective Bargaining Agreement [CBA]. Meeting participants included NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and representatives of the NBA Labor Relations Committee and NBPA Executive Committee as well as league and union staff. It was a preliminary meeting that included constructive dialogue, and we agreed to continue our discussions.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- New Sixers chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo has said that for this year, he’ll work in less of an active role and more of advisory capacity with Sixers management, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
- According to a recent poll commissioned by the Mission Bay Alliance and conducted by EDC Research, public opposition to the Warriors‘ proposed stadium in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood is growing, NBCBayArea.com relays. The proposal is currently garnering 49% voter support, a 12% decline in support since a Warriors-commissioned poll released in July showed approximately 61% support for the new development, the article notes.
- The league has formed a committee to examine the increase in injuries related to tendon inflammation and pain, Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com writes. “Player health and wellness is our top priority, and the NBA’s research partnership with GE Healthcare is a significant step toward understanding injuries that affect NBA players,” Silver said in the NBA’s official statement. “Both everyday athletes and elite professionals will benefit from our collaboration, and I’d like to thank [GE Healthcare U.S. and Canada President] Marcelo [Mosci] and his team for bold vision and hard work.“
- The Grizzlies have assigned James Ennis to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Ennis’ second sojourn of the season to Iowa.
2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Lakers
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 will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Los Angeles Lakers:
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $26,261,154*
- Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
- Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
- Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $26,264,154
*Note: This amount includes Brandon Bass‘ player option worth $3,135,000.
If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Los Angeles would have approximately $62,735,846 in cap space, or $68,735,846 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.
Los Angeles will also need to make decisions regarding Ryan Kelly, Jordan Clarkson, Tarik Black and Marcelo Huertas, all of whom are eligible to become restricted free agents next summer. If the Lakers wish to retain the right to match any offer sheets these players were to receive the team would need to submit qualifying offers, with Kelly’s being worth $2,155,313, Clarkson’s valued at $1,180,431, Black’s worth $1,180,431 and Huertas’ checking in at $1,074,636. These numbers would merely be a place holders until the players either inked new deals or signed their qualifying offers, which would then set them up for unrestricted free agency the following offseason.
Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Atlantic Notes: Hinkie, Perkins, Young
The reports that the league office and other team owners played a role in the Sixers‘ hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations are troubling and could set a bad precedent for the future, Tom Ziller of SBNation opines. The SBNation scribe also points out that many of the same owners complaining about Philadelphia’s tanking didn’t vote for lottery reform when given the opportunity, and Ziller notes that it’s likely due to those franchises hedging their bets in case they need to rebuild in that manner in the future.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Outside of the Celtics trading him to the Thunder back in 2011, center Kendrick Perkins believes Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, has done an excellent job in rebuilding the franchise, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. “[They’ve done] a great job,” said Perkins. “I can’t recall them really going through a real bad rebuilding process. It’s been steady. Like right now, when they come in, guys are really preparing for them like one of the good teams in the league. They’ve got a nice team. They’ve been playing really well. You can tell they play together like it’s a family.”
- It’s been difficult for coach Brad Stevens to find enough playing time to go around on a deep Boston squad, but the coach believes it’s just part of the Celtics‘ growing process, Bulpett notes in the same piece. “How many guys are on our team, 15?” Stevens told Bulpett. “I’ve talked to all 15 about it. It’s all part of the experience, not only of a normal team but just of our depth, especially in the frontcourt. So you just try to keep those conversations alive. The one thing that I think that these guys know, and I hope they would say this, is that my door is always open to talk.”
- Conventional wisdom will credit Sixers GM Sam Hinkie only partially, if that, should the Sixers’ rebuilding plan bear fruit now that Colangelo is on board, but Hinkie would get all the blame if the plan fails, posits Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Nets combo forward Thaddeus Young has seen how quickly other players’ NBA careers have ended, and he uses that as his motivation to keep working to improve, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders writes. “You see guys come and go each and every year,” Young told Camerato. “I saw how quickly it could become a situation where you don’t know if you’re going to be in the NBA, D-League or overseas. It’s definitely an eye-opening experience. You do see a lot of guys on other teams and you say, ‘Man he was good. Seeing those type of guys being able to play this game and then they’re not in the league anymore, it’s crazy.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Several Teams Interested In Shabazz Muhammad
There are several NBA teams that have expressed interest in acquiring Timberwolves swingman Shabazz Muhammad, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). It is unclear which franchises have checked in on Muhammad, though Wojnarowski’s sources inform him that Minnesota, despite having depth at the wing, is unwilling to trade the 23-year-old.
It’s understandable that the Wolves would be hesitant to deal away Muhammad, who is under contract through the 2016/17 campaign after the team exercised his fourth year option back in October. Young, controllable talent like Muhammad will likely be a valuable commodity in the league once the salary cap increases as expected in time for next season and player salaries jump along with that cap bump. Muhammad would be eligible to hit restricted free agency after the completion of the 2016/17 season, but Minnesota would have the right to match any offer sheet the forward were to sign, provided it submitted a qualifying offer to the player worth $4,237,401.
Muhammad’s NBA career didn’t begin to take off until his second season, when he averaged 13.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game, though it should be noted that was over just 38 appearances, including 13 starts. He’s appeared in all 20 contests for the Wolves thus far this season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per night.
2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Clippers
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 will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Los Angeles Clippers:
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $92,907,003*
- Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
- Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $874,636
- Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $93,781,639
*Note: This amount includes the team option worth $9,405,000 for Lance Stephenson, as well as the player options for Austin Rivers ($3,344,106), Cole Aldrich ($1,227,286) and Wesley Johnson ($1,227,286). Also included in this amount is the $650,000 due Carlos Delfino, the $510,921 owed to Jordan Farmar and the $252,043 due Miroslav Raduljica, all of whom were waived via the stretch provision.
If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Los Angeles would be approximately $4,781,639 over the cap, or would have $1,218,361 in cap room if the salary cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.
Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Brown, D-League, Simmons
The burden of the Sixers‘ long rebuilding process is weighing on coach Brett Brown, who believed the franchise would be further along than it currently is, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. “I do feel the enormity of it from time to time,” Brown told Lowe. “I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I said that I had thought in year three, this was the group I’d be coaching. I didn’t realize the roster would play out like it has — that last year would be almost a redshirt year, with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.”
Philadelphia’s plan of bottoming out and rebuilding through the draft has rankled more than a few executives around the NBA, though no further discussions regarding reforming the draft lottery process are expected to take place until the next session of collective bargaining between the league and the NBPA occurs, which will not happen until 2016 or 2017, Lowe notes in the same piece.
Here’s what else is happening around the league:
- The Pistons have assigned Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard to their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids, the team announced. The moves were first reported by David Mayo of MLive.com (via Twitter).
- LSU forward Ben Simmons tops the latest 2016 NBA draft rankings from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. Simmons overtook Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, who is now third on Givony’s draft board, with Duke swingman Brandon Ingram now slotted second.
- Former Warriors center Andris Biedrins, who last played in the NBA with Utah during the 2013/14 season, said he wasn’t sure if his playing career was officially over during an interview with Leta.lv (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). “I am staying in shape, nothing crazy, but I work out three-four times per week,” Biedrins said. “It’s tough to say if I have put basketball aside. At the moment I don’t have the wish to play. Maybe after half year or a year I will want to play, but not now.” Biedrins also noted he was a big fan of Knicks rookie, and fellow Latvian, Kristaps Porzingis. “Kristaps Porzingis? How you cannot follow him? I am very happy for Porzingis, he has been fantastic. I know how difficult it is. I hope he keeps up like that,” Biedrins added.
- The Thunder have assigned point guard Cameron Payne to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.
Pacific Notes: Bryant, Morris, Thomas
Lakers coach Byron Scott said that he found out that Kobe Bryant intends to retire after this season when the shooting guard informed him during the third quarter of last Saturday’s game against the Blazers, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays. “I said, ‘KB, I played you 20 minutes in the first half. I’m going to cut those minutes down. I’ve got to cut them down,‘” Scott told ESPN. “He said, ‘That’s good, coach. That’s all right. I’m going to announce my retirement after the game.’”
Bryant didn’t intend to inform Scott in that manner, Holmes notes. “I have no idea. I don’t know,” Bryant said on why he told his coach during the game. “It just slipped out. It just slipped out. He was worried about the minutes. I said, it doesn’t matter. I’m not playing next year anyway. He was like [gives an odd stare]. I looked at him at his face, and I realized I said it. He was just shocked. I said, you know what? I’m just leaving him like that. I’m not even going to soften him up. I’m just going to mess with him a little bit. Then after the game, he walks by and he goes, ‘Hey, um, remember what you said during the game?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Did you mean it? I said, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘OK, all right.’ But it just kind of slipped out.”
Here’s more from out of the Pacific Division:
- Markieff Morris disputes his brother Marcus’ assessment that he looks unhappy playing for the Suns this season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “That’s just his opinion,” Morris said. “He knows me and he thinks he knows. Outside looking in, really. It’s his opinion. We don’t really talk too much about it. I’m just trying to get my job done. Missing [expletive] shots. I’m all right. If you didn’t hear it from me, then I’m all right.” The forward also downplayed any notion that he isn’t engaged this season, Coro adds, with Morris saying, “I’ve got to be the same,” said Morris. “Nothing different. I’m good where I’m at and just trying to move forward.”
- Former Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas was disappointed that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to play in Sacramento this season since the teams squared off in Mexico City instead, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “I definitely wanted to go back to Sac,” Thomas said. “It’s always a home for me and always a special place in my heart. When the schedule came out, I was looking for that Sac game and then it was in Mexico, so I was like, I won’t be able to go back to Sac.”