Atlantic Notes: Clarke, Fisher, Wood, Young
Derek Fisher experienced a difficult rookie season as Knicks head coach, but he feels that 2014/15’s growing pains are merely part of the learning process, and Fisher, who defied expectations throughout his playing career, may end up doing the same as a coach, writes Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. “Just continuing to chip away at what my vision is for coaching and teaching and leading,” Fisher told Ding of his approach this season, “Last year, coming in, I was learning and trying to figure out the best leadership styles. How do you work with players? How do you criticize players in a constructive way? All these things were unknowns. Just really learning as I went along. Not that I know the world of basketball a year later, per se, but I’m just more confident in what it is I expect and better able to articulate that to our players. Being really clear about what I want and not so much me trying to find that vision.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Combo forward Coty Clarke, who was waived by the Celtics on Tuesday, will play this season for Boston’s D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest relays (via Twitter).
- Being passed over in this year’s NBA Draft is what is driving Sixers power forward Christian Wood throughout the preseason, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Wood, who is signed to a partially guaranteed deal, believes that he has a solid shot to make the team’s regular season roster, Breen notes. “I want to show every team what they missed out on,” Wood said. “I’m hustling on every loose ball. Giving it my all and giving it my 100% on every possession. I’m lucky to have a shot with the 76ers.”
- Celtics swingman James Young chalks up a hefty chunk of his rookie difficulties last season to growing pains and believes he’s now on the correct path as a player, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “Last year, I just wasn’t thinking straight about the game,” Young said. “Now, I feel like I’m by that and I can just play my game.” When asked what was weighing on his mind last season, Young told Bulpett, “Hesitating, going back and forth to the D-League, off the court issues with my mom, family stuff. Everything’s caught up now, so I’m good.”
Thunder Ink Cobbins, Farrakhan
The Thunder have agreed to deals with power forward Michael Cobbins and combo guard Mustapha Farrakhan, the team announced via a press release. The length and details of the pacts were not announced, but they are both most likely minimum salary arrangements that include little or no guaranteed money, though that is merely my speculation. Both players were likely added with designs on sending them to the team’s D-League affiliate. These additions will increase OKC’s roster count to 17 players, two over the regular season maximum.
Cobbins, 23, went undrafted out of Oklahoma State this year after appearing in 105 career collegiate contests and averaging 5.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game. A two-time member of the Big 12 All-Defensive Team, Cobbins ranked second in the conference in blocks per game (1.83) during his senior season.
Farrakhan, 26, spent the 2011/12 and 2012/13 campaigns in the NBA D-League, averaging 8.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 18.3 minutes in 70 games split between four teams. The University of Virginia product spent the 2013/14 season overseas with Melbourne United in Australia, notching averages of 10.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 20.8 minutes per contest.
Kings Waive David Stockton
7:20pm: Stockton has officially been waived, the Kings announced.
5:58pm: The Kings have waived point guard David Stockton, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Stockton’s contract was non-guaranteed, so Sacramento won’t be responsible for any salary as a result of this move.
Stockton, the son of NBA legend John Stockton, went undrafted in 2014 after four seasons at Gonzaga. The younger Stockton was in training camp with the Wizards last season but didn’t make it onto Washington’s regular season roster. The point guard originally joined the Kings during the 2014/15 campaign when the team inked him to a lone 10-day pact, but Stockton only appeared in one contest while on that deal, scoring one point in seven minutes of action. He later re-joined the team in April, signing a multiyear contract. Stockton spent the bulk of last season in the D-League with the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate. In 43 D-League appearances he averaged a stellar 20.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 9.9 assists.
Parting ways with Stockton reduces Sacramento’s roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum.
Jazz Waive E.J. Singler
The Jazz have waived small forward E.J. Singler, the team has announced. Singler was signed by the team just yesterday, which means that his addition was likely made with an eye on sending him to the D-League for the 2015/16 campaign, though that is merely my speculation.
Singler, 25, is the younger brother of Thunder small forward Kyle Singler. Utah’s Singler went undrafted in 2013 and was in training camp last season with the Trail Blazers. He spent the rest of the 2014/15 season with BC Kalev/Cramo of Estonia, appearing in 60 games, 19 of them starts, and averaging 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 17.2 minutes of action per contest. During the 2013/14 campaign he played for the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s D-League affiliate, logging averages of 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 28.2 minutes in 22 appearances.
Utah now has a roster count of 15 players, including 12 possessing fully guaranteed pacts.
Spurs Sign Julian Washburn
The Spurs have signed undrafted swingman Julian Washburn, the team announced via a press release. The length and details of the deal were not announced, but it is most likely a minimum salary arrangement that includes little or no guaranteed money, though that is merely my speculation.
Washburn, 23, spent four years at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he averaged 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.2 minutes over 130 career games. He finished first in school history in total minutes (4,448), fourth in field goals (592) and sixth in scoring (1,526 points). Washburn played summer league ball for the Warriors this year, making two appearances and averaging a single point per contest.
The addition of Washburn gives San Antonio a roster count of 17 players, including 13 with full guarantees on their pacts. The 6’8″ forward is most likely being inked with an eye on sending him to the team’s D-League affiliate in Austin.
Thunder Waive Qualls, Zanna, Stone, Wells
The Thunder have officially waived Michael Qualls, Talib Zanna, Julyan Stone, and Dez Wells, the team announced in a press release. All four players were in camp on non-guaranteed deals, so Oklahoma City won’t be responsible for any salary as a result of these moves. The team’s roster count now sits at 15 players, all of whom possess fully guaranteed pacts, which is the regular season maximum.
Qualls was considered a second round hopeful before tearing his ACL in the weeks leading up to the draft. Prior to his injury, Qualls, a shooting guard, was listed as the 40th best prospect in the draft by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and the 48th best one by Chad Ford of ESPN.com. He was inked with the intent for him spend the season with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate while he recovers from his injury.
Stone, 26, saw his last NBA action during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in 21 contests for the Raptors and averaged 0.9 points in 5.7 minutes per game. His NBA career also includes parts of two seasons with the Nuggets. Stone’s career NBA numbers overall are 1.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG to go along with a slash line of .440/.211/.722. The 6’6″ guard spent the 2014/15 season playing for Umana Reyer Venezia of Italy.
Zanna, 25, split summer league between the Thunder and Cavs, putting up 6.0 points and an efficient 4.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Indeed, at 6’9″, he showed a touch on the boards in the D-League this past year, pulling down 11.0 RPG to go with 13.3 PPG in 27.7 MPG. It’s a skill he didn’t show as much of in college, where he topped out at 8.6 RPG in 30.3 MPG as a senior.
The Wizards were one of six teams to extend training camp invitations to Wells before he signed with the Thunder. He reportedly turned down Washington’s offer because the Wizards already possessed 15 players on guaranteed pacts and he wanted better odds at landing a regular season roster spot, but the Thunder already had their 15 full guarantees in place when Wells agreed to join them. In 28 appearances during his senior season with the Terrapins, Wells averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists to go along with a slash line of .464/.510/.806.
Fallout From/Reaction To Tristan Thompson Deal
The Cavs began with an offer to Tristan Thompson that was about $70MM and only moved up to $80MM roughly six weeks ago, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer hears. Reports that they were close to an $80MM deal on the first day of free agency were off-base, according to Pluto, who recounts the motivations for all parties involved, including the promise that Dan Gilbert made to LeBron James that he would spent to help the team win.
Here’s more regarding Thompson and the Cavs:
- Cleveland slightly increased its offer in the days leading up to the deal, a source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
- Neither side in the Thompson negotiations came out a clear winner as both player and team stand to reap value from the deal, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
- DeMarcus Cousins appeared to criticize Cleveland’s outlay, taking to Twitter with the message “How much???,” a public statement that was “thoroughly foolish” and “thoroughly revealing” as labor negotiations between owners and the players union loom, McMenamin argues in the same piece.
- Thompson’s new deal illustrates just how willing Gilbert and the Cavaliers organization is to spend money in pursuit of an NBA title, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes.
- With a new labor agreement on the horizon in 2017, there is an excellent chance that Cleveland will have the opportunity to waive Thompson via the amnesty provision if his contract turns out to be an albatross, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation. Ziller notes that amnesty clauses are generally a part of new labor agreements, which would provide the team a means to clear Thompson’s cap hit off its books, though it would still be responsible for any remaining salary owed to the power forward.
- Keeping James happy played a large role in the Cavs signing Thompson, which is an added benefit to retaining the young big man, since James has the ability to opt out of his deal after the season is completed, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes.
Cavs Re-Sign Tristan Thompson
2:02pm: The deal is official, the Cavs announced.
THURSDAY, 1:41pm: Thompson has put pen to paper on his contract, Haynes tweets. The Cavs have yet to acknowledge the signing publicly.
WEDNESDAY, 5:58pm: The Cavaliers and restricted free agent power forward Tristan Thompson have reached an agreement on a five-year, $82MM deal, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports (Twitter link). Rich Paul, Thompson’s agent, has confirmed the agreement with the Cavs to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who also notes that the pact is fully guaranteed. The arrangement includes no options, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets.
This news comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing how the two sides reportedly haven’t been in contact with each other since Thompson let the Cavaliers’ qualifying offer expire at the beginning of October. Cleveland held the upper hand in these negotiations since Thompson’s choices were limited to signing a long term deal with the Cavs, signing an offer sheet with another team, or continuing to sit out. March 1st would have been the last day for him to sign an offer sheet this season, if the drama dragged on that long, and if he held out all season, Cleveland would have had the chance to issue another qualifying offer to renew his restricted free agency next July.
It had appeared on the opening day of free agency that the sides were close on a five-year, $80MM deal, but the power forward instead had reportedly sought the max of around $94MM over five years, though Thompson was later said to prefer a three-year max contract, something that Cleveland had little interest in agreeing to. The full value of a three-year max for Thompson would have been worth precisely $52,914,188. Tim Bontemps of The New York Post had predicted that Thompson would end up re-signing for five years and $85MM, a number not far off the amount reported by Haynes.
The 24-year-old will become the sixth highest paid power forward in the league behind Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap, and David Lee. It’s debatable whether or not Thompson is worth being compensated at this level, especially given the luxury tax hit that will be tacked on. Thompson’s numbers through 306 career NBA contests are 10.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks to accompany a slash line of .488/.000/.633.
The Cavaliers currently possess a roster count of 20 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed contracts, which is the preseason maximum, so a corresponding move will need to be made prior to Thompson’s deal becoming official.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 10/21/15
Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss said that he doesn’t regret signing Kobe Bryant to a two-year, $48.5MM extension back in 2013, regardless of how Bryant’s tenure with the franchise ends, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. “You give Kobe Bryant $50MM for two years,” Buss said regarding the Mamba’s contract. “Are you kidding me? What did he bring us? In this day and age, what did he bring us, for 20 years? And if that isn’t what you’re supposed to do, then I have no idea what life is all about. You pay the guy. You believe in the guy. If he ends up [staying healthy], that’s fantastic. Well everybody [in the media] cut me up for that, but I’d say over 200 fans have come up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much for letting my kid see Kobe Bryant for two more years.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m glad I can see him for two more years.’ ”
Buss also took the time to refute a report by Henry Abbott of ESPN indicating that the organization was anxious for Bryant to depart so it could begin rebuilding properly, Amick adds. “It’s [expletive], that’s exactly what that was,” Buss said when asked about the article. “The organization absolutely loves him. You know why? Because he has made a living, as we [have] with the Lakers for the last 20 years, because of this man. Magic Johnson carried us [to] this part [of their history] … and Kobe Bryant has carried us for 20 years. So every person that works in that organization, why would they hate him? Why would they want him out of there? There’s only a basketball or a Kobe hater that would want that. There’s no other reason.”
This brings me to the topic/question of the day: Do you believe that the Lakers made a mistake in signing Kobe Bryant to an extension back in 2013? What are your feelings on franchises rewarding players for their past performances more so than their current production level?
Should a team pay big money for the twilight years of a player’s career as a way to thank him for past service, or should he be forced to take a pay cut that is in line with the production he currently provides? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on Bryant’s deal, as well as the concept of loyalty contracts in general. We look forward to what you have to say on the subject.
Northwest Notes: Jokic, Kanter, Exum
Rookie center Nikola Jokic is arguably the biggest surprise of the Nuggets‘ preseason, and the young big man will be called upon early in the season to produce with projected starter Jusuf Nurkic out until November, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “Nikola Jokic, he’s a young kid and I’m not saying he’s ready, but he does things every practice that make you say ‘Wow, this kid has a chance to be a [heck of a] player,’” coach Michael Malone said. “For him to be that young and that skilled is really exciting to see. The fact that he’s gotten so much better even from summer league.“
Here’s what else is happening in the Northwest:
- Thunder forward Steve Novak downplayed teammate Enes Kanter‘s feud with the Jazz organization, and suggested that the situation between the two sides was blown out of proportion last season, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. “I’m not really sure what went on there, but Enes is a great guy and Utah is a great organization,” Novak said. “I was here [Utah] with Enes. There was never any big incidents. I think it became a little bit bigger than it was. And I know Enes played to it and got a little bit of what he deserved.” Novak, when asked if he thought Kanter would do things differently with the benefit of hindsight, Novak responded, “I doubt it. He had to get something out and he got it out. He felt good about it. And then he probably felt bad about it and now it’s over with…Enes is very happy and Utah is doing great, so it’s over.”
- Jazz point guard Dante Exum credits a month of grueling prehab work in Utah for helping prepare him for his ACL surgery, and he’s making excellent progress in his recovery as a result, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “The prehab — as much as I hated it, it was really good for me,” Exum told Genessy. “I saw the results coming out of the surgery. I was still able to lift my leg up on its own. The strength was still there as much as I’d lost. That was the biggest thing. It’s helped me to be able to walk sooner, get off the crutches and out of the brace, just because of that.”
- Damian Lillard is excited about being paired alongside Maurice Harkless, and he believes the two of them give the Blazers a formidable backcourt, Mike Richman of The Oregonian relays. Portland acquired Harkless from the Magic this summer in exchange for a protected 2020 second round pick.