Josh Smith Admits He Needs To Change
Veteran forward Josh Smith wasn’t able to land a free agent deal this summer and with training camps commencing around the league this week, remains unsigned. Smith spoke with Shams Charania of The Vertical about his situation and admitted that if his NBA career is to continue, some internal changes will need to be made.
“I’m not a guy that is oblivious to my surroundings, I know that changes need to be made,” Smith told Charania. “It’s something that I have done wrong to now be figuring out my next move and figuring out what I need to do to be better. Even yoga this summer has helped me become one with my spirit, body and mind. I’ve done things to take steps toward bettering myself, having patience. I have a lot left to give to this game. I’m ready to go now. I feel like I’m in the best shape, and I’ve worked extremely hard this offseason. I’m ready.”
The 30-year-old believes the perception of him around the NBA changed when he was surprisingly waived by the Pistons just one season into his four-year, $58MM contract, Charania relays. “The perception of me seemed to start early on with Atlanta, but after Detroit, it left people completely puzzled,” Smith said. “People didn’t understand how it happened, how I was let go. It just didn’t fit. But wherever I have gone in development situations, I have been able to be on winning teams. When I came to Atlanta, we were at the bottom. Al Horford came, and we made it a consistent playoff team. When I went to Houston [in 2015] after Detroit, we made it to the Western Conference finals, something that they hadn’t done since the ’90s. I played impactful minutes for us to get to those platforms.”
Smith, who is earning $5,331,729 per year through 2019/20, courtesy of Detroit, turned down a lucrative offer to head overseas to China this season, Charania notes. The forward’s desire is to land an NBA roster spot and promises that he’s changed his habits on and off the court, the Vertical scribe adds. “My main goal is that I am an NBA player,” Smith said. “Being able to go overseas, people are professional, but the NBA is what I have built myself to do. I’m still hungry. If I jumped to leave my NBA chances behind, I feel it would’ve been an act of desperation. I’m not a guy who feels like I have to start or play 30 minutes a night anymore. I wish for an opportunity to be able to contribute, to be a positive guy around the locker room. It has been missing from me. I’m not doubting it. I felt I have always showed support for my teammates, cheering for them, but I have to do a better job. I feel I have something to give the NBA, period.”
Over 891 career NBA regular season contests, Smith has averages of 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 blocks in 32.5 minutes per outing. His career shooting line is .453/.285/.632.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.
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.
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Atlantic Notes: Colangelo, Rose, Uthoff, Early
Sixers executive Bryan Colangelo wasn’t a fan of the team’s culture when he was hired, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on his podcast. “There was a losing culture,” Colangelo said of the team before he arrived. “There was a losing mindset. It had been ingrained partly due to the undertaking of rebuilding that they had been going through. It becomes part of the fabric of the team,” Colangelo said. “I think more than anything the mindset needed to shift, the mindset needed to change. And that’s why we’ve been talking about winning. Doing everything we can to promote winning, to promote a culture of excellence.”
Colangelo also told Wojnarowski that he had little interest in working under former GM Sam Hinkie, which was the arrangement first pitched to him by team ownership. “The first time that I met with David Blitzer and Josh Harris I basically told them I’m not the guy for this job. I suggested a few other people, one in particular that I thought would be ideal, to come in and compliment Sam to help take this thing to that next level. They were a little bit stunned at my reaction and my suggestion,” Colangelo said.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The crew over at Basketball Insiders previewed the Celtics‘ upcoming season, with the general opinion being that Boston will finish first or second in the Atlantic Division in 2016/17.
- The Knicks are hoping that Derrick Rose‘s upcoming civil suit involving an alleged sexual assault won’t impact his season, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “I think we’re just going to let the process work itself out,” team president Phil Jackson said when asked about the possibility of Rose missing training camp. “We’re not concerned with it. We understand this is a serious subject we’re talking about. But this has to be done outside of our control. It’s something we can’t control. Derrick has expressed that he’s not concerned with it. I mean, he’s quite aware of it. It’s not keeping him up at night. So we’re going with that, OK?“
- Undrafted free agent Jarrod Uthoff is excited to be joining a Raptors team that made it to last season’s Conference Finals, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders relays. “It’ll be a great chance to learn from experienced NBA guys that play at a very high level,” Uthoff said. “Being around that every day, you can’t replace that. It’s a really professional organization that handles themselves with class in whatever they do. I think that’s showing on the court as well. It starts from the top down. They really created a special organization there.”
- Former second round pick Cleanthony Early won’t be attending the Knicks‘ training camp and the forward remains a free agent, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes.
Pelicans Sign Quinn Cook
1:12pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
12:23pm: The Pelicans are signing unrestricted free agent Quinn Cook for training camp, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the arrangement are unknown, though it is likely a minimum salary pact that may include a small partial guarantee.
The point guard went undrafted out of Duke in 2015 and spent the 2015/16 season in the D-League playing for the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s affiliate. In 43 appearances Cook averaged 19.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 33.8 minutes per outing. His slash line was .466/.382/.863.
Cook participated in the Las Vegas Summer League this offseason, making five appearances and averaging 6.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 27.8% from the field. With Jrue Holiday out indefinitely while he attends to family matters, New Orleans is in need of backcourt depth. The 23-year-old is already practicing with the team, Verrier tweets.
Western Conference Salary Rankings: Centers
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the salaries, separated by conference, for each NBA player by position. We’ve already looked at the point guards of the Western Conference and will now turn our attention toward the conference’s centers.
All told, the teams out west have committed a total of $247,911,928 in cap hits this season to the men who man the middle. The average conference salary for the five spot this season is $5,634,362, with Marc Gasol and DeAndre Jordan topping the list with a more than respectable $21,165,675 to account for on their year-end W-2 forms.
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 won’t make it out of the preseason, while others will be sweating it out until January 10th. 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.
I should also add that not every player listed below will play center this season, as some will likely play power forward. To maintain uniformity, I used their positions listed on the teams’ official rosters to determine which list to include them on. So if you see a player who isn’t expected to play center for his team this season listed below, that’s why.
The Western Conference’s centers are listed below, in descending order of salary:
- Marc Gasol [Grizzlies] — $21,165,675
- DeAndre Jordan [Clippers] —$21,165,675
- Enes Kanter [Thunder] —$17,145,838
- DeMarcus Cousins [Kings] —$16,957,900
- Timofey Mozgov [Lakers] —$16,000,000
- Pau Gasol [Spurs] —$15,500,000
- Tyson Chandler [Suns] —$12,415,000
- Nikola Pekovic [Wolves] —$12,100,000
- Andrew Bogut [Mavs] — $11,027,027
- Omer Asik [Pelicans] —$9,904,494
- Kosta Koufos [Kings] —$8,046,500
- Cole Aldrich [Wolves] —$7,643,979
- Festus Ezeli [Blazers] —$7,400,000
- Tarik Black [Lakers] —$6,191,000
- Karl-Anthony Towns [Wolves] —$5,960,160
- Alex Len [Suns] —$4,823,621
- Alexis Ajinca [Pelicans] —$4,638,203
- Jordan Hill [Wolves] —$4,000,000
- Willie Cauley-Stein [Kings] —$3,551,160
- Anderson Varejao [Warriors] — $3,535,664 *See note below
- Steven Adams [Thunder] —$3,140,517
- Dewayne Dedmon [Spurs] —$2,898,000
- Nene [Rockets] —$2,898,000
- Zaza Pachulia [Warriors] — $2,898,000
- Gorgui Dieng [Wolves] —$2,348,783
- Mason Plumlee [Blazers] —$2,328,530
- Georgios Papagiannis [Kings] —$2,202,240
- Rudy Gobert [Jazz] —$2,121,287
- Jusuf Nurkic [Nuggets] — $1,921,320
- Anderson Varejao [Warriors] — $1,551,659
- JaVale McGee[Warriors] — $1,403,611
- Marreese Speights [Clippers] —$1,403,611
- Nikola Jokic [Nuggets] — $1,358,500
- Clint Capela [Roclets] —$1,296,240
- Damian Jones [Warriors] — $1,171,560
- Greg Stiemsma [Blazers] — $1,139,123
- Robert Sacre [Pelicans] —$1,050,961
- Ivica Zubac [Lakers] —$1,034,956
- Jeff Withey [Jazz] —$1,015,696
- Salah Mejri [Mavs] — $874,636
- Joffrey Lauvergne [Thunder] —$854,860
- A.J. Hammons [Mavs] — $650,000
- Chinanu Onuaku [Rockets] — $543,471
- Diamond Stone [Clippers] —$543,471
Note: Varejao’s salary includes the $1,551,659 he is earning from the Warriors and the $1,984,005 he is being paid by the Blazers, who waived him via the Stretch Provision.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/17/16-9/24/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- We asked readers to do over the 2008 NBA Draft. Here’s who you selected for picks No. 27, No. 28, No. 29 and No. 30 overall.
- We ran down the key upcoming dates and deadlines around the NBA.
- Luke Adams examined Paul George as an extension candidate.
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- We looked at the 2016/17 Salary Cap figures for the:
- Arthur Hill answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- We ran down the salary rankings of the point guards in the Western Conference.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed:
- Will Dwyane Wade ever play for the Heat again?
- Who will become the first NBA player to ink a deal worth $200MM+?
- Which eligible members of the Thunder will sign extensions prior to this year’s deadline?
- Should the Heat allow Chris Bosh to play again despite his blood-clotting issues?
- Our Free Agent Tracker continues to have up-to-date data on this summer’s contract agreements and signings from around the NBA.
- You can stay up to date on any contract extensions agreed to this season with our tracker.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.
Week In Review: 9/17/16-9/24/16
With 2016’s offseason winding down and training camps set to begin, here’s a look back at all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week:
Trades
- The Bucks shipped Tyler Ennis to the Rockets in exchange for Michael Beasley.
Signings/Agreements
NBA
- The Mavericks signed C.J. Williams.
- The Bucks signed Giannis Antetokounmpo to a four-year extension.
- The Bulls signed J.J. Avila and Vince Hunter.
- The Hawks signed Richard Solomon.
- The Wizards signed Casper Ware.
- The Nets signed Chase Budinger.
- The Lakers signed Metta World Peace.
- The Nets signed Jorge Gutierrez.
- The Lakers signed Thomas Robinson.
- The Bucks signed Jabari Brown.
- The Wolves signed Rasual Butler.
- The Pelicans signed Chris Copeland and Robert Sacre.
- The Jazz signed Henry Sims.
- The Bucks signed Jaleel Roberts.
- The Clippers signed Dorell Wright.
- The Cavs signed Dahntay Jones.
- The Clippers signed Xavier Munford.
- The Bulls signed Thomas Walkup.
- The Thunder signed Alex Caruso, Kaleb Tarczewski and Chris Wright.
- The Heat signed Keith Benson.
- The Jazz signed Eric Dawson.
- The Warriors signed Scott Wood.
International
- Trevor Cooney signed with the Spanish team Baskonia.
- Jeff Ayres signed with the Russian team CSKA Moscow.
News/Rumors
- The Knicks reportedly weren’t interested in bringing Jeremy Lin back to New York because of his struggles on the defensive end.
- The Raptors added Patrick Mutombo to their coaching staff.
- The Thunder renounced their rights to Tomislav Zubcic.
- Rudy Gay and his camp informed the Kings that the veteran forward plans to decline his player option for 2017/18 next summer, and is unlikely to re-sign in Sacramento.
- The Warriors announced a promotion for Bob Myers, who was named the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager. The team also reportedly gave Myers an extension and significant raise.
- The NBA plans to open global basketball academies starting in Africa, China, India and Australia.
- Khris Middleton suffered a torn hamstring and is slated to undergo surgery next week. He will miss roughly six months of action as a result.
- Chris Bosh failed his physical exam with the Heat and has not been cleared by the team to participate in training camp.
- Wolves center Nikola Pekovic won’t play for the team this year, and may be bought out.
- Kevin Garnett announced his retirement. The Wolves are expected to waive him in order for the veteran to collect his salary for this season.
Chris Bosh Pledges “Everything Will Work Out”
Heat forward Chris Bosh, who failed his most recent physical and was not cleared by team doctors to participate in training camp, vowed to continue his attempt to make it back to the court, Brian Windhorst of ESPN relays. Speaking in a videotaped segment published online, Bosh called the news “a down moment right now,” while pledging that everything would work out.
“I had the intention of releasing Episode 2 of ‘Uninterrupted: Bosh Rebuilt’ today under the assumption I would be cleared to go for camp,” Bosh said in the video. “Unfortunately that is not the case. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to share my creative side with you guys and hoping that you want to come along on the journey with me. Just because the journey has ups and downs doesn’t mean I will stop sharing with you guys. So I will just continue to share despite what’s going on.”
“Little setbacks happen. But that doesn’t change my intentions and what I want to accomplish,” Bosh continued. “So I hope you continue to watch. I hope you continue to just take in my journey and just come along with me with the ups and downs. So it’s a down moment right now, but everything’s going to be all right.”
This statement from Bosh seems to indicate that he currently doesn’t intend to retire, which leaves the Heat in a difficult spot. Miami currently has 15 players under contract with fully guaranteed deals, including Bosh. If Bosh is unwilling to retire, the team will either be forced to retain Bosh, thus losing a valuable regular season roster spot and hurting its depth, or to waive the player and eat the cap hit. The 32-year-old is set to earn $23,741,060 this season, $25,289,390 in 2017/18 and $26,837,720 the following year, which is the final one in his current deal.
The Heat’s most recent exams discovered “evidence of some continued clotting,” which is thought to be related to one of the previous blood clot episodes that sidelined Bosh for parts of the last two seasons. The clotting complication isn’t viewed as life-threatening, but it will require medication, and the club doesn’t consider it realistic for Bosh to get back on the court and play in his current condition, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reported on Friday.
The primary deadline to keep an eye on regarding Bosh and Miami’s salary cap is February 9th, 2017. If Bosh has been unable to play for Miami by that date, and a doctor jointly approved by the NBA and the Players’ Association rules him medically unable to return, the Heat could remove his current and future cap hits from their books, creating significant cap space. However, if the team made that move and Bosh was eventually cleared to return, he wouldn’t be able to rejoin the Heat. Though, the two sides’ relationship could turn openly contentious by that point and neither party may have interest in a reunion anyway.
Clippers Were Interested In Signing Garnett
The Clippers were interested in signing Kevin Garnett prior to him announcing his retirement from the game after 21 seasons, L.A. coach/executive Doc Rivers told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen. KG and the Wolves have reportedly agreed to a buyout arrangement that will allow the future Hall-of-Famer to retire while still collecting most of the $8MM salary he was due to earn in 2016/17.
Rivers, who previously had declared Garnett his favorite player to coach, told MacMullen that he spoke with the player about his intentions. “He doesn’t want to play,” Rivers said. “I’m sure he won’t play again. I think he realized, ‘Why am I doing this?’ I would have absolutely been interested in bringing him here. You always find a place for a guy like that, whose voice in the locker room is so strong, so clear, so impactful.
He’s such a great teacher in practice. He should start a course in leadership. The NBA should designate who the best player is on each team and then they could bring Kevin in and he could teach them how to be the best player and the best leader. Better yet, they could bring him and Tim Duncan in and they could teach it together and show people how it can be done in two completely opposite ways.”
Minnesota’s firing of interim coach Sam Mitchell and GM Milt Newton at the completion of the 2015/16 campaign played a major part in Garnett’s decision to walk away from the game, MacMullen relays. Garnett was visibly upset when he received the news of the duo’s ouster and his strained relationship with Wolves owner Glen Taylor further deteriorated as a result, league sources told MacMullen.
Taylor acknowledged this week that he hadn’t spoken with Garnett for months and Rivers noted that Garnett’s departure from Minnesota was not what he had envisioned, and his ownership opportunity has all but vanished, MacMullen writes. “It wasn’t a great ending,” Rivers said. “I’m not going to say too much about it, but once Flip passed away it threw a wrench into everything.”
Rivers did add that Garnett feels “really great” and that he was working out as recently as a couple of weeks ago, the scribe relays. His knee issues, Rivers believes, could be handled with the proper regimen of rest and treatment. “The sad thing is he could play another year if he wanted to,” Rivers told MacMullen. “Maybe that’s why he’s retired but not retired. He loves the young guys on that Minnesota team. They’re great listeners and he loved working with them. It’s too bad it’s ending like this for him.”
Garnett does intend to stay in the game in some capacity, Rivers confirmed to MacMullen, and said he’s already thinking up ways to add him to the organization. Garnett does own a home in nearby Malibu, California. “I’m going to offer him something,” Rivers said. “I don’t want to say too much right now. I just know he’d be a great asset to any team.”
Wizards Sign Johnny O’Bryant
SEPTEMBER 24th: The signing is official, per the RealGM transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 10th: The Wizards have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Johnny O’Bryant, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The terms of the deal are unknown, but with Washington well over the cap, it is almost assuredly for the league minimum. The team does still possess its mid-level exception, but it would be surprising if it was used in this case.
The 23-year-old will have his work cut out for him to make the regular season roster, though, he should at least have a legitimate shot to make it to opening night given the team’s current roster composition. The addition of O’Bryant will give the Wizards a preseason roster count of 17, but only 12 of those contracts possess full guarantees. Washington does not have its own D-League affiliate, so designating O’Bryant as an affiliate player is not an option should he fail to make the final cut.
O’Bryant appeared in 66 games for the Bucks in 2015/16, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .411/1.000/.675.