Jordan Crawford Joins D-League
Jordan Crawford has been acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants via the D-League’s waiver process, the team has announced. The 26-year-old guard had inked a one year deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, but he left the team in November after suffering an eye injury.
The 6’4″ guard out of Xavier appeared in 81 games for the Warriors and Celtics last season, averaging 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per contest. In four NBA seasons, Crawford’s career numbers are 12.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG. His slash line is .405/.306/.828.
Crawford is reportedly drawing strong interest from NBA teams, and the D-League could act as a springboard to a 10-day deal for the guard. No specific teams have been mentioned, though the Heat reportedly had concerns about the 26-year-old’s maturity, which turned the team off to inking the guard.
NBPA Rejects Salary Cap Smoothing Proposal
12:49pm: The sides met Tuesday in an attempt to hash out a compromise before ultimately ending the conversation without a deal, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
MARCH 11TH, 12:35pm: The league and the union have reached no agreement on any counter proposal, and the union has informed the NBA that it will not accept any sort of tiered increases to the salary cap, the NBA announced via press release (link to statement via USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter). So, it appears as though a giant leap in the cap for the 2016/17 season is inevitable.
FEBRUARY 13TH: The NBPA voted today to reject the league’s salary cap smoothing proposal, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The owners want to gradually increase the salary cap starting in 2016 when the NBA’s new television contract kicks in. NBPA head Michele Roberts said that the shelf-life for players is limited, and the NBPA didn’t want to impact that in any way moving forward, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post adds (Twitter links). Roberts did add that there could be a counter proposal by the NBPA, but the union hasn’t had a chance to decide whether it will produce one, Bontemps notes.
The TV deal, worth approximately $24 billion, is expected to dramatically alter the financial landscape of player contracts after it takes effect for the 2016/17 season. Many executives around the league have already assumed that the cap would jump to $90MM for that season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe recently wrote, but it’s unclear if that assumption was based on an all-at-once rise to the cap or the tiered increases the league proposed. The NBA thought the union would be fully supportive of its proposal, but the players instead resisted, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
The cap is at $63.065MM this season after having hung between $58MM and $59MM for three straight years, so an influx of revenues had already begun to have an effect even before the NBA and its TV partners struck the deal this past fall. Next year’s cap is reportedly projected to come in at about $66.5MM.
Maximum salaries are tied to the cap, so they’re in line to escalate dramatically as well, but the league and the union predetermined the minimum salaries and the value of exceptions like the mid-level and the biannual when they came to the most recent collective bargaining agreement in 2011, as Pincus points out (Twitter links). Both sides have an opt-out in that agreement in 2017, and it’s likely that either the NBA, its players, or both parties will exercise their right to terminate the deal. That would give them a chance to adjust the minimums and exceptions a season after the cap is set to spike.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Nets Back Off Sale Plans
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has parted ways with Evercore Partners, an investment banking firm he hired to explore the sale of the team, Darren Rovell of ESPNNewYork.com reports. Prokhorov, who owns 80% of the franchise and 45% of the Barclays Center, hired the firm to take offers on the team after observing Steve Ballmer’s whopping $2 billion purchase price for the Clippers. Prokhorov bought the team in May 2010 for $200MM. Forbes magazine lists the Nets as the sixth most valuable team in the NBA at $1.5 billion, Rovell notes.
This development lends credence to a statement made by Nets CEO Brett Yormark last week. “Nothing has happened and they’ve been talking about it [in the media] for a year,” Yormark said. “So I’d probably say I don’t think anything is going to happen. We have an ownership group that is very committed.”
The investment fund for the government of the nation of Qatar and former interim Clippers CEO Dick Parsons were reportedly interested in purchasing the Nets, a franchise that multiple sports bankers believe would sell for as much as $2 billion, according to Josh Kosman and Claire Atkinson of the New York Post. Kosman and Atkinson also identified “two wealthy U.S. families” as parties potentially eyeing a purchase of the Nets. Others who have been linked to the Nets include investor David Bonderman, former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, hedge fund manager David Einhorn, and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
The Nets are now in the fifth season of Prokhorov’s ownership, which happens to be the same season by which he predicted that the franchise would win an NBA title. Unfortunately for the team and its fans, the Nets are closer to winning the draft lottery (if they owned their first-rounder next season) than they are to raising a championship banner. Much of Brooklyn’s current woes are the result of high-risk trades that mortgaged the franchise’s future for a run at a title, a strategy that backfired and will have the team struggling to recover over the next few seasons, something that new ownership wouldn’t necessarily be able to reverse. But now it would appear that Prokhorov may be around long enough to have to endure the team’s rebuilding years. Of course, the right offer for the team could change everything in a flash, though that is just my speculation.
And-Ones: Franklin, Draft, Matthews
Based strictly on his skills on offense, Jahlil Okafor is likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. The Duke freshman doesn’t project as a good enough defender to become an impact pro on both sides of the ball, and he isn’t a good enough athlete to have an extremely high ceiling, Howard-Cooper adds. “His offensive ability on the box,” one NBA executive said of the draft appeal of Okafor. “I’m not a huge Okafor guy. But I think the general consensus is that he’s the best player in college basketball.” Both ESPN and DraftExpress have Okafor projected to be the first player selected in this year’s draft.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Jamaal Franklin, who currently plays for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, is likely to receive an NBA callup soon, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin appeared in 21 games for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
- Karl-Anthony Towns has overtaken Okafor for the top spot in Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) latest mock draft.
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said that he likes Quincy Miller, who is inked to a 10-day pact, and the team is considering signing him for the remainder of the season, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press tweets.
- Wesley Matthews is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair his torn left Achilles on Wednesday, the Blazers announced. Matthews, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is out for the season courtesy of the injury.
Central Notes: Pistons, Varejao, Butler
While the Pistons have had to adjust their playing style a number of times this season due to trades and injuries, the one constant has been the team’s focus on the defensive end, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. But it’s Detroit’s defense that has been letting the team down during its current six game losing streak, Mayo adds. The lack of stops, turnovers, and rebounds have led to a dearth of fast break chances, which is hampering the Pistons on the offensive end, Mayo notes.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Jimmy Butler is one of the biggest breakout success stories of the NBA season, and it’s a testament to the swingman’s work ethic that he is in line for a big payday when he hits restricted free agency this summer, Ben Golliver of SI.com writes. The Bulls have indicated that they plan to match any offer sheets that Butler receives this offseason.
- Cavs coach David Blatt confirmed that center Anderson Varejao is out for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, but he added that the team is very pleased with Varejao’s rehab progress, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets. Varejao tore his left Achilles tendon back in December.
- Derrick Rose‘s quiet demeanor isn’t helping him with Bulls fans, who have grown wary of the star point guard due to his numerous injuries, David Haugh of The Chicago Tribune writes. Though Rose recently sounded optimistic about playing again this season, Chicago fans need a bolder statement regarding his return to action from the player instead of his seeming nonchalance about the matter, Haugh opines.
Poll: Should The Raptors Target Canadians?
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri indicated that one of the franchise’s priorities is to add a Canadian player to its roster. There are currently 10 Canadian players in the NBA, and they are responsible for $30,511,748 in cap hits, or an average salary of $3,051,175 for the 2014/15 campaign. Ujiri, who’s in the second year of a five-year contract, promised that the team will have a Canadian player even if he doesn’t have a long tenure in charge of the Raptors.
“We are studying it. I even considered last year hiring somebody to concentrate just on Canadian players and I think I’m going to go through with it because the growth of the game here is so big,” Ujiri said. “It’s the fit. We can maybe take our time and study it a little bit so it is the right fit and not do it just to do it. It’s going to come, there is no doubt in my mind. It’s an obligation that I think we have to fulfil. We are a Canadian team and I think to have Canadian players, I think will be phenomenal.”
It’s understandable that the Raptors would like to add an element of national pride to their roster. Having a Canadian to cheer for certainly couldn’t hurt ticket and merchandise sales, but unless the player added something tangible to the team, the idea isn’t necessarily a wise one given how precious each roster spot has become in this day and age. As far as the players are concerned, one advantage that the team would have in luring Canadian free agents or retaining a Canadian player obtained via a trade is that those players would already be accustomed to Canada’s higher tax rate, something that can be a hindrance when competing dollar-for-dollar for NBA talent with U.S. based teams. Though, representing one’s country on the hardwood on a nightly basis could prove to be a daunting task. A player would need to weigh the added pressure and attention versus the desire to play for his country’s only NBA squad.
What do you readers say? Is it a smart idea for the Raptors to target Canadian players? Cast your vote below and feel free to take to the comments section to expand on the topic.
Eastern Notes: Whiteside, Wizards, Teague
There is growing concern within the Heat organization about center Hassan Whiteside‘s maturity and self-control, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. Whiteside was ejected from Monday night’s game, which was the second time in the last five games the big man was tossed from a contest, and it resulted in a one game suspension. When asked if he was disappointed in Whiteside, Dwyane Wade said, “Very. We all are. As a Heat fan you are. In this locker room we are. Everybody. He’s gonna have to learn and he’s gonna learn the hard way. He’s doing it his own way. Hopefully he changes his mentality pretty quick. Players gotta understand how important they are to an organization and continue to understand that moment when you finally got that call-up, how you felt. You would’ve done anything to get that, just to be here. Sometimes you start feeling yourself a little too much. A lot of us are guilty of that. You’ve gotta humble yourself. Hopefully Hassan gets it.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- With Garrett Temple expected to miss at least a week due to a hamstring injury, the Wizards are likely to fill their final roster spot, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets. The team is currently weighing its options on available players, but no signing appears imminent, Castillo adds.
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was the driving force behind Atlanta matching the four-year, $32MM offer sheet that the Bucks had signed Jeff Teague to back in 2013, Lee Jenkins of SI.com writes. Teague is certainly rewarding his coach’s faith this season, averaging 16.8 points and 7.2 assists in 31.2 minutes per contest.
- The trade for Reggie Jackson cost the Pistons two starting players, but the long-term benefits of the trade should outweigh the short-term setback, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “It’s not like we didn’t think about [the present] this year,” Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said. “We knew as far as for this year that it was a gamble. Just because of continuity, we would’ve been better off not making moves. We knew that. We thought we could make those moves and still stay right in the playoff race and we were willing to take that gamble because of what we thought it did for the future.“
Western Notes: Jerrett, Kanter, Brown
It took Lakers coach Byron Scott some time to come around to the merits of Jabari Brown, who inked a 10-day deal with Los Angeles earlier today, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. Scott did not sound as complimentary about Brown when he was on the Lakers’ training camp roster earlier this season, Medina notes. “I thought the first two or three weeks of training camp he wasn’t necessarily going through the motions. But he was trying to find his way,” Scott said. “The last few days and last few games, he started to become a little more aggressive and that’s what I wanted to see from day one. That’s what I told him to when I let him go. I told him, ‘I wished you had started out that way being aggressive. When you’re trying to make a team, that’s what you have to do.’ He didn’t start off that way.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Jazz have excelled defensively and in the standings since trading Enes Kanter at the deadline, having found an identity, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News examines.
- Though the decision to sign Brown was Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak‘s, Scott is glad to have an extra player on the team’s bench, Medina adds. “I’m all for it if that’s what Mitch wants to do,” Scott said. “We talked about Jabari a few days ago and wanted to bring him. We needed a body or two anyway. But it gives us a chance to see if we’d like to have the guy on our summer league team as well.”
- The Jazz have assigned Grant Jerrett to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Jerrett has only appeared in one game for Utah since being acquired from the Thunder on February 19th. He previously appeared in five games for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.4 points in 5.0 minutes per contest.
Atlantic Notes: Williams, Knicks, Green
Raptors guard Louis Williams‘ strong play in the final year of his deal has put him in the running for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. When discussing his past, present, and future with Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com, Williams relayed that his free agent preference this summer is to remain in Toronto. “Absolutely. I already tried to get them to go do it — get an extension,” Williams said. “But at this point in my career, I want to play somewhere where the fans appreciate you, your team is serious about winning and create something special. We have an identity, and I love it. It’s perfect for my personality. I’ve always been the underdog, I’ve always been overlooked. I’ve always been the guy where it was like we’ll see what he does and then we’ll check on Lou. That’s been my career.”
It should be noted that Williams would have been unable to ink an extension with the Raptors since he is currently on a three-year deal. The collective bargaining agreement stipulates that a player can only ink a contract extension if he is signed to a deal of four years or greater in length.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- When asked by Mazzeo about the trade that sent him from the Hawks to the Raptors, Williams said, “I knew it was coming. I just knew my experience in Atlanta was coming to an end. It was either gonna be I was leaving after my contract was up or they were gonna trade me, and that’s just how things were going. We had a coaching change and I had missed the first [eight] games of that season, and the Hawks head coach Bud [Mike Budenholzer], he just was very honest and upfront with me and just said, ‘I’ve gotten more comfortable with this other guy and he’s probably gonna play the minutes.’ I had to respect that because the coach has a job to do.“
- The Knicks may have difficulty luring free agents to New York because of the restrictions that the triangle offense imposes on players’ athleticism, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes.
- Jeff Green, who holds a $9.2MM player option for next season, is still very close with his former Celtics teammates, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays (Twitter link). Green is especially close with Avery Bradley, Blakely adds. It’s unknown if this camaraderie could lead Green back to Boston, or if the team would have any interest in re-signing the forward if he opts out of his current deal.
Sixers Claim Glenn Robinson III
11:59pm: The move is official, the Sixers announced.
4:27pm: The Sixers have claimed Glenn Robinson III off waivers, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (Twitter link). Robinson had been waived by the Timberwolves on Thursday to make room on the roster for Justin Hamilton, who himself had been claimed off waivers by Minnesota. Philadelphia currently has 14 players on its roster, so no additional move would be required to add Robinson to the team. The Sixers will assume responsibility for the remainder of the $507,336 salary owed to the rookie this season.
This isn’t the first waiver claim that the Sixers have made recently. Philadelphia had claimed Thomas Robinson off waivers from the Nuggets back in February, in a move that was reportedly made to spite Brooklyn, who had designs on inking Robinson to a 10-day pact.
The 21-year-old out of Michigan was selected with the No. 40 overall pick by the Timberwolves in the 2014 NBA draft. Robinson appeared in 25 games for Minnesota this season, averaging 1.2 points and 0.6 rebounds in 4.3 minutes per contest.