Pacific Notes: Patterson, Barnes, Lakers, Warriors
With Sacramento having 14 players with fully guaranteed deals on the books, Lamar Patterson knows he has to have a strong showing during the preseason if he hopes to break camp as a member of the Kings‘ regular season roster, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes in his profile of the swingman.“[I’m] going in prepared and just doing simple things,” Patterson said. “I don’t have to go out there and try to force the issue because that’s not my game, that’s not what I do. I just go out there and take what’s given. Just being able to have that mindset and just work and control what I can control and that’s your work ethic and attitude. Just going into camp I’m really excited by the past few weeks I’ve been in Sacramento with the guys and the way the ball has been flowing. I feel like the opportunity is definitely going to be there and it’s just up to me to take advantage.”
The Kings claimed Patterson off waivers in July, inheriting his $874,636 salary for next season, after he was waived by the Hawks. Patterson made 35 appearances for Atlanta in 2015/16, averaging 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .350/.245/.727.
Here’s more from out West:
- Matt Barnes, who inked a two-year deal with the Kings this summer, almost was a member of the Clippers instead, the forward told J.J. Redick on his podcast (h/t Dan Woike of The Orange County Register). Barnes noted that Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers told him “there’s a spot here for you” at the beginning of free agency, and the two were supposed to meet for dinner, Woike relays. “I was very excited to be coming back to L.A.,” Barnes said. But before the pair could meet, Los Angeles re-signed Wesley Johnson using their mid-level exception, Woike writes. Barnes then reached out to Rivers to see if he was still part of the Clippers’ plan, but Rivers said the Clippers had run out of money, as he told Redick.
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical took a look back at the Warriors‘ offseason, one in which the team added Kevin Durant, David West, Anderson Varejao and JaVale McGee, among others.
- The Lakers made some significant investments this offseason in adding veterans Timofey Mozgov (four years, $64MM) and Luol Deng (four years, $72MM) to the roster. Kurt Helin of NBC.com takes a stab at predicting whether or not L.A. will get its money’s worth out of the duo or if the contracts will hamper the franchise’s rebuilding efforts.
Eastern Notes: Smith, Antetokounmpo, Embiid
Ish Smith, who inked a three year, $18MM deal with the Pistons this summer, believes that Detroit has a legitimate shot to win an NBA title, Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays. “I always ask people, ‘What wakes you up at night?’ For me, now it’s the pursuit of a championship,” Smith said. “That really is what the case is. It’s like, we’ve got a real chance to be champions. And I know that sounds crazy and people think, ‘Naaah. Yeah, you guys got better; not champions.’ But we’ve really got a real legit chance. And as long as we believe it, nobody else matters.”
The point guard noted that he was tempted to remain with the Sixers, but was swayed by coach/executive Stan Van Gundy’s sales pitch on the franchise, Langlois adds. “Through the whole process, I looked at all the teams pursuing me and Detroit just stood out to me,” Smith said. “For the simple fact we were all young, Coach wanted to play with pace, Coach wants tons of pick and rolls. All those things fit into the way I want to play. Defensively, he wants us to climb into people. Getting to the playoffs was a huge goal, so now we have to come – me, [fellow free agents] Jon Leuer, big Bobie (Boban Marjanovic) – and be that help and hopefully we take it to the next level.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Sixers coach Brett Brown confirmed that center Joel Embiid will be on a strict minutes restriction this season and isn’t likely to play on back-to-back nights, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays.
- With his future in Milwaukee secure thanks to his new four-year, $100MM extension, Giannis Antetokounmpo noted that he never had any doubts about being with the Bucks for the long-term, Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel relays. “I can’t imagine me being somewhere else,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t say this just for the media but from the bottom of my heart. I know after this five years, hopefully, we’ll be doing great, and I’ll be here five more years. As I said last summer, I want to be here for 20 years. I don’t like change, anyway.”
- Antetokounmpo could have pushed for a maximum salary extension, but chose to leave some money on the table to help the Bucks maintain future flexibility, Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com writes. “There was a max number out there, and that was discussed, discussed internally and externally,” GM John Hammond said. “And the one thing we asked Giannis to do was take that into consideration as we move forward. Give us every opportunity. We want to become a championship-level team. There’s going to be guys and guys who have done that, players who have given back some. And it’s a little bit of the time, as we move forward, hopefully we’re going to have other guys with the organization willing to do that. Those small pieces can turn into a bigger chunk at some point.“
- The crew over at Basketball Insiders weighed in with their predictions for the Hawks‘ 2016/17 campaign. The writers are divided in their opinions, pegging Atlanta to finish anywhere from first to third in the Southeast Division.
Nets Hold Informal Free Agent Workout
The Nets currently have 18 players under contract, including 15 with fully guaranteed deals, which means the team still has two available training camp spots it could fill. Brooklyn may be moving toward maxing out its preseason roster, holding workouts today for unrestricted free agents P.J. Hairston, Jorge Gutierrez and Kendall Marshall, NetsDaily reports. A league source told NetsDaily that the trio were at the team’s facility just to get some court time and that no decisions have been made on any of them. But, it’s also possible, even likely, that there were others present in what amounted to a last minute free agent mini-camp, NetsDaily writes.
The presence of the two point guards (Gutierrez and Marshall), could indicate that Greivis Vasquez, who is slated to back-up starter Jeremy Lin, may not be fully recovered in time for opening night from surgery to repair a bone spur, the scribe notes. This may also mean that rookie Isaiah Whitehead could be called upon to provide meaningful minutes earlier than anticipated, NetsDaily adds.
Hairston, 23, appeared in 66 games last season split between the Hornets and Grizzlies, averaging 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 19.9 minutes per outing. The former No. 26 overall pick’s shooting line on the campaign was .355/.290/.781. Hairston reportedly worked out for the Lakers back in Au.gust.
Gutierrez, 27, made 12 appearances in 2015/16 for the Hornets, averaging 1.8 points, 0.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 5.3 minutes per night. His shooting line was .545/.000/.909. The point guard also made 22 appearances for the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, averaging 11.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 5.7APG.
Marshall’s best season as a pro came in 2013/14, when he averaged 29 minutes per game in 54 contests for the Lakers. The former UNC standout averaged a career-high 8.0 PPG and 8.8 APG that year, while shooting 39.9% on three-point attempts. Marshall has taken a step back since then, though he was off to a solid start as a backup for the Bucks in 2014/15 before he suffered a season-ending ACL injury. He made 30 appearances for the Sixers last season, logging averages of 3.7 points and 2.4 assists in 13.3 minutes per contest.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 30)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting the 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). We’ve now arrived at the No. 30 overall pick, the final one in our re-draft. That pick was held by the Celtics, who in the “real world” draft, select J.R. Giddens. So cast your vote for who Boston nabs to close out the first round.
Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
- Nets (from Mavs) — Omer Asik [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
- Magic — D.J. Augustin [Actual Pick — Courtney Lee]
- Jazz — Marreese Speights [Actual Pick — Kosta Koufos]
- Sonics/Thunder (from Suns) — Jerryd Bayless [Actual Pick — Serge Ibaka]
- Rockets — Kosta Koufos [Actual Pick — Nicolas Batum]
- Spurs — JaVale McGee [Actual Pick — George Hill]
- Hornets — J.J. Hickson [Actual Pick — Darrell Arthur]
- Grizzlies — Luc Mbah a Moute [Actual Pick — Donte Greene]
- Sonics/Thunder —Anthony Morrow [Actual pick — D.J. White]
- Celtics — ?? [Actual Pick — J.R. Giddens]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Hawks Sign Will Bynum, Ryan Kelly
SEPTEMBER 20: The Hawks have formally signed Bynum and Kelly, according to a press release issued by the team. Atlanta also confirmed its deal with Richard Solomon, which brings the club’s training camp roster to the maximum 20 players.
SEPTEMBER 16: The Hawks have signed unrestricted free agents Ryan Kelly and Will Bynum to training camp deals, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter). Both arrangements are non-guaranteed and for the minimum salary, Vivlamore adds. The addition of the pair brings Atlanta’s roster count to 19, which is one below the preseason maximum.
Atlanta already has 15 players with fully guaranteed contracts on the books for this season, plus one more player with a partial guarantee (Mike Muscala). But the team was reportedly seeking to add another point guard and a frontcourt player to bulk up its roster for the preseason. Mission accomplished, with Bynum a point guard and Kelly a power forward, fitting those needs. If either player is to unseat one of those guaranteed deals and make the regular season roster, they’ll certainly need to play lights-out in training camp and during preseason contests.
A longtime Piston, Bynum has appeared in 360 career NBA games over the course of eight seasons since 2005/06. In that time, the veteran guard has averaged 8.1 PPG and 3.3 APG while playing primarily as a backup. Over the last two seasons, Bynum has played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China — he averaged 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG while shooting 58.0% from the field this past season. The 33-year-old had worked out for the Hawks earlier this week.
Kelly, 25, spent his first three seasons in the NBA as a member of the Lakers after being selected 48th overall in the 2013 draft. He appeared in 36 games in 2015/16, averaging 4.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 13.1 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the year was .369/.139/.685.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Utah Jazz
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Jazz’s team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Jazz currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Gordon Hayward —$16,073,140 [Contract contains 15% Trade Kicker]
- Derrick Favors —$11,050,000
- Joe Johnson —$11,000,000
- Alec Burks —$10,154,495
- George Hill —$8,000,000
- Boris Diaw —$7,000,000
- Dante Exum —$3,940,320
- Shelvin Mack —$2,433,334
- Trey Lyles —$2,340,600
- Joe Ingles —$2,150,000
- Rudy Gobert —$2,121,287
- Rodney Hood —$1,406,520
- Jeff Withey —$1,015,696
- Raul Neto —$937,800
- Joel Bolomboy —$600,000
- Marcus Paige —$125,000 [Waived by team]
- Quincy Ford—$75,000 [Waived by team]
- Henry Sims — $75,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $80,498,192
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $1,600,000 sent to Sixers in Tibor Pleiss trade [Amount Remaining $1.9MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception — $2,898,000
Total Projected Payroll: $80,498,192
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: $13,644,808
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $32,788,808
Salary Cap Floor: $84,729,000
Amount Below Salary Cap Floor: $4,230,808
Last Updated: 1/30/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 29)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting the 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ve arrived at the No. 29 overall pick, which was acquired by the Sonics/Thunder from Detroit in a draft day trade. The details of the swap were: The Pistons received the No. 32 (Walter Sharpe) and No. 46 (Trent Plaisted) from Seattle in exchange for the N0. 29 overall pick. In the “real world” draft the Sonics/Thunder nabbed D.J. White with that pick. So cast your vote for who Seattle/OKC selects and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on the final pick in our first round re-draft.
Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
- Nets (from Mavs) — Omer Asik [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
- Magic — D.J. Augustin [Actual Pick — Courtney Lee]
- Jazz — Marreese Speights [Actual Pick — Kosta Koufos]
- Sonics/Thunder (from Suns) — Jerryd Bayless [Actual Pick — Serge Ibaka]
- Rockets — Kosta Koufos [Actual Pick — Nicolas Batum]
- Spurs — JaVale McGee [Actual Pick — George Hill]
- Hornets — J.J. Hickson [Actual Pick — Darrell Arthur]
- Grizzlies — Luc Mbah a Moute [Actual Pick — Donte Greene]
- Sonics/Thunder — ?? [Actual pick — D.J. White]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Latest On Jodie Meeks
Magic guard Jodie Meeks is progressing well in his recovery from a mid-July surgery to stabilize the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel relays. Meeks will likely be available to play at some point in November, a team official told Robbins, though his exact return date will depend on how well he continues to progress.
Meeks had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the Pistons’ second regular-season game last year. That injury essentially cost him the entire 2015/16 season, with the player undergoing surgery in late October and not suiting up again until Detroit’s final regular season contest. Meeks wasn’t part of the team’s playoff rotation and the Pistons traded him to Orlando in late June. The 29-year-old then underwent a second surgery on July 19th, despite passing his required physical as part of the swap, as Robbins notes.
Orlando will be counting on Meeks to provide a boost with his outside shooting this season, an area the team is sorely lacking in, Robbins adds. The former second-round pick, No. 41 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, owns a career 37.3% mark from beyond the three-point line. Through 418 career regular season games, Meeks has notched averages of 9.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He is in the final year of his current deal and will earn $6,540,000 in 2016/17.
Community Shootaround: First $200MM NBA Player?
The Grizzlies signed Mike Conley to the largest contract in NBA history this summer, locking up the point guard for the next five seasons to the tune of $153MM. Conley hit the open market at the perfect time, with Memphis owning his Bird rights and the league’s salary cap jumping from approximately $70MM in 2015/16 up to $94,143,000 as a result of the new TV deal kicking in this season. With the cap expected to continue its upward trend over the next few seasons, Conley’s deal should soon be eclipsed. Salary cap expert Larry Coon writing for ESPN.com in an Insider only piece, took a stab at predicting who the first player to eclipse the $200MM total value mark will be.
It will require a specific set of criteria for a player to hit that staggering benchmark, according to Coon. A player would need to have 10 years of NBA service time, be 31 years of age or younger and re-sign for five-years with a team that holds his full Bird rights, Coon notes. If you are wondering which players might fit that criteria, Coon has you covered, noting that the likeliest to be in line for that jackpot are:
The next tier of players who could be in line to surpass the $200MM mark, according to Coon, are:
It should be noted that Coon isn’t suggesting that all of these players are worthy of that amount, but merely that they will meet his stated criteria and could be in line to sign five-year, maximum salary deals which could surpass the magical $200MM line.
Also, for those wondering why LeBron James isn’t on this list, he’s currently 31 years old and unless the next Collective Bargaining Agreement does away with the over-36 rule, he’s not eligible. The rule, as explained by Coon, states that: “In an Over-36 contract, the presumption is that the seasons at the end of the contract are likely to come after the player retires. Therefore, the salaries in those seasons are classified as deferred compensation. This is significant because deferred compensation is charged to team salary in the year it is earned, not the year it is paid.”
So here’s the question/topic of discussion for this evening: Which of the listed players do you believe will surpass the $200MM mark on their next contract? Who, if any, do you feel are worthy of pulling down that kind of salary?
Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Latest On Greg Monroe, Bucks
Many have made Greg Monroe the scapegoat for the Bucks’ regression during the 2015/16 season, with the team going from 41 wins the previous year to just 33. Milwaukee has reportedly been actively seeking to deal the big man this offseason, with the general consensus around the league being that Monroe wouldn’t still be a member of the Bucks when training camp begins next week, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times notes. According to league sources, Milwaukee was willing to accept below market value in order to find a taker for Monroe and his $17,145,838 salary for this season, Woelfel adds.
Despite all the rumors, Monroe’s agent, David Falk, says neither he nor his client are surprised the player is still a member of the Bucks, the scribe relays. “There’s been a lot of speculation, but that’s part and parcel for the NBA,’’ Falk said. “You always have rumors and one percent of them come true. I’ve become a cynic to rumors.’’ Falk added that he’s been in constant contact with Bucks officials about Monroe’s situation and that the team’s owners “have been amazingly supportive of Greg.’’
The Bucks have reportedly spoken to the Pelicans about Monroe this summer, according to a July report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe. “I think [the Bucks] got closer than maybe has been reported with New Orleans during either the draft or free agency,” Lowe had said during an episode of The Lowe Post podcast (54:25 mark for the relevant portion). “Monroe’s a New Orleans native,” ESPN’s Marc Stein added. “I think that’s where he wants to end up.” Neither Lowe nor Stein suggested that a deal between the Pelicans and Bucks was necessarily in the works, but Stein expected the big man to eventually be moved. It should be noted that those two clubs also discussed Monroe prior to last season’s trade deadline.
The agent also dismissed the speculation that he or Monroe have lobbied to get the big man out of Milwaukee, Woelfel notes. “Greg is a very mature guy, a very professional guy,’’ Falk said. “He has never asked to be traded on any team.’’ Falk also told the scribe that he doesn’t see Monroe being traded in the near future. “Greg expects to be in training camp with the Bucks,’’ Falk told Woelfel. “He’s looking to have a great season for the Bucks. If anything changes, we’ll deal with it at that time.’’
Falk acknowledged that things didn’t go smoothly for Monroe or the Bucks last season, but noted that all parties are on the same page, Woelfel writes. “He [Monroe] wants to accomplish what they didn’t accomplish this year: making the playoffs,’’ Falk said. “We are trying to make this work. Whether it will happen, I don’t know. But we’re going to try.’’ In 79 appearances for the Bucks last season, Monroe averaged 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .522/.000/.740.