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.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 14)
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 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’ll finish off the lottery portion of the draft with the Warriors, who held the No. 14 overall pick that year. In the “real world” draft, Golden State nabbed forward Anthony Randolph with its pick. Will he be the pick once again? That’s for you to decide. So cast your vote for who the Warriors should have selected and check back on Saturday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Suns should have taken with the No. 15 pick. 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 — ?? [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Darren Collison Agrees To Plea Deal
The domestic violence case against the Kings’ Darren Collison has been resolved, with the point guard agreeing to a plea deal, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com reports. As part of the arrangement, Collison pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor domestic violence, Ham notes. The 29-year-old received a 20-day jail sentence, which he will serve in an Alternative Sentencing Program, where he will work on community service projects overseen by Placer County. He will not spend any time incarcerated, per the scribe.
In addition to community service, Collison was also sentenced to three years of informal probation and he is required to attend a 52-week “Batterer Treatment” class, which is mandatory by the state of California in all domestic violence convictions, Ham relays.
“Words cannot describe the feelings and regret that I have been experiencing the last few months,” Collison said in a statement. “My family and I found ourselves in such an unfamiliar situation and it has been a difficult few months. This is far from who I am as a person and not something I am proud of. I take full responsibility for my actions. I have apologized to my beautiful wife that I have known and loved since high school. I appreciate and am thankful for the love and understanding from my family, friends and supporters. Now it is time to put this behind us and move forward.”
The Kings also released a statement on the matter, which read: “Domestic violence is a serious issue across our nation and one that runs contrary to our organization’s values. We’re disappointed by Darren’s behavior and today he accepted full responsibility for his actions. He is committed to using this incident to help raise awareness through education of this critical issue in the community. We’re working with Darren and the NBA on the appropriate next steps.”
With Collison now officially convicted of a crime, he will almost assuredly be facing a suspension by the NBA. The previous precedent established for what Collison and Sacramento could be facing was when Jeff Taylor pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic assault charge back in 2014 and received a 24-game suspension from the NBA as a result.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Cleveland Cavaliers
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 Cavs’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Cavaliers currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- LeBron James —$30,963,450
- Kevin Love —$21,165,675
- Kyrie Irving —$17,638,063 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker]
- Tristan Thompson —$15,330,435
- J.R. Smith — $12,800,000
- Iman Shumpert —$9,662,922
- Channing Frye —$7,806,971
- Kyle Korver —$5,239,437
- Richard Jefferson —$2,500,000
- James Jones —$980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,551,659]
- Jordan McRae —$874,636 [Waived by team]
- Kay Felder —$543,471
- Deron Williams —$259,526 [Actual Salary — $410,733]
- Andrew Bogut — $242,224 [Waived by team; actual salary — $383,351]
- Derrick Williams —$230,690 [Actual salary — $268,029]
- Larry Sanders —$207,722 [Waived by team]
- Derrick Williams —$57,672 [10-day contract (Feb 9); actual salary — $67,007]
- Derrick Williams —$57,672 [10-day contract (Feb 22); actual salary — $67,007]
- Dahntay Jones —$18,255 [Waived by team (Oct 24)]
- Dahntay Jones —$5,767 [Actual salary — $9,127]
- Edy Tavares —$5,145
Total Guaranteed Salary= $126,590,164
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $3.5MM ($200K sent to Bucks in Matthew Dellavedova trade; $1.8MM sent to Sixers in Sasha Kaun trade; $750K sent to Hawks in Kyle Korver trade; $750K sent to Hornets in Chris Andersen trade) [Amount Remaining $0]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Trade Exception — $4,837,500 (Mike Dunleavy trade) — Expires on 1/7/18
- Trade Exception — $2,194,500 (Mo Williams trade) — Expires on 1/7/18
- Trade Exception — $1,333,420 (Sasha Kaun trade) — Expires on 8/15/17
- Trade Exception — $980,431 (Chris Andersen trade) — Expires on 2/13/18
- Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception — $433,529 (Used portions to sign Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder)
Total Projected Payroll: $126,590,164
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$32,447,164
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Total Projected Payroll For Tax Purposes: $126,696,581
Amount Above Luxury Tax: $13,409,581
Projected Luxury Tax Bill: $24,773,953
Last Updated: 4/15/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Sebastian Telfair’s Deal In Italy Falls Through
SEPTEMBER 1: Telfair’s deal with Auxilium Cus Torino has fallen through, with the team opting to sign former Georgetown point guard Chris Wright instead, per Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. As David Pick tweets, the team was willing to give Telfair an NBA opt-out until late January, but he also asked for a China opt-out, at which point the club balked.
AUGUST 29: Former NBA lottery pick Sebastian Telfair is headed overseas again, having agreed to sign a deal with the Italian team Auxilium Cus Torino, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando reports (on Twitter). The pact will pay Telfair in excess of $300K and includes an NBA out clause that he can exercise in late January, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link).
Telfair had also garnered interest from Pallacanestro Cantù and Cedevita Zagreb over the past few weeks, but Torino made the strongest push for him, Cauchi notes. He had worked out for both the Nets and the Spurs this offseason, though no NBA offer was made for his services, Pick also notes (Twitter link).
The point guard last appeared in the NBA during the 2014/15 campaign, playing in 16 games for the Thunder and averaging 8.4 PPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.9 RPG in 20.4 minutes per contest. The 30-year-old then caught on with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of China, appearing in 22 contests and notching averages of 19.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 28.2 minutes per game. He sat out last season.
Salary Cap Snapshot: New York Knicks
Here’s a breakdown of where the Knicks currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Carmelo Anthony —$24,559,380 [Contract has 15% Trade Kicker//No-Trade Clause]
- Derrick Rose —$21,323,252
- Joakim Noah —$17,000,000
- Courtney Lee —$11,242,000
- Lance Thomas —$6,191,000
- Brandon Jennings —$4,837,318 [Waived by team; $5,000,000 cap hit reduced by setoff]
- Kristaps Porzingis —$4,317,720
- Kyle O’Quinn —$3,918,750
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas —$2,898,000
- Willy Hernangomez —$1,375,000
- Justin Holiday —$1,015,696
- Sasha Vujacic —$980,431 [Actual Salary — $1,410,598]
- Lou Amundson —$980,431 [Waived by team]
- Ron Baker —$543,471
- Maurice Ndour —$543,471
- Marshall Plumlee —$543,471
- Chasson Randle —$143,860
- J.P. Tokoto —$100,000 [Waived by team]
- Chasson Randle —$100,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $102,613,251
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- None [Room Exception used to sign Mindaugas Kuzminskas]
Total Projected Payroll: $102,613,251
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$8,470,251
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $10,673,749
Last Update: 3/3/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Eastern Notes: Bosh, Clifford, Smart
It remains to be seen if the Heat‘s medical staff will allow Chris Bosh, who has missed significant time the past two seasons due to blood clot issues, to take the court this campaign. Regardless of the team’s opinion, the forward has left little doubt regarding his desire to do so, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Bosh posted a video on Snapchat earlier this week showing him working out, as well as posting a message where he said, “I know I’ve been gone for a moment, but now I’m back. Everybody is always asking me am I hooping? Yes, I’m hooping. Absolutely. I’m a hooper.”
Bosh still believes the team should medically clear him to play, though the front office hasn’t given any indication that it will do so, but the team does say that it is trying to find an agreeable solution, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald notes (Twitter links). Miami strongly disputes any notion that it is trying to clear Bosh’s salary of $23,741,060 for this season of its books, Jackson adds.
Here’s more from the East:
- Hornets head coach Steve Clifford is one of the most undervalued assets in the league, Jonny Auping of RealGM posits. The scribe notes that Clifford’s squads have been some of the hardest to score on in the league despite giving heavy minutes to unheralded defensive players like Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker. The strength of Clifford’s system, as well as the positive team chemistry he fosters, could potentially be seen as a draw should Stephen Curry decide to leave the Warriors and return to his home state, Auping adds.
- Marcus Smart is in line to become a bigger part of the Celtics offense now that Evan Turner is no longer a member of the team, something the guard is looking forward to, Logan Mullen of WEEI 93.7 FM notes. “Becoming more aggressive. Becoming more of an offensive threat,” Smart said when asked how he will raise his overall game. “I’m improving and trying to improve every aspect of my game. Trying to become more of a second to third, fourth option on the team in scoring, assists and everything. Just anything I can do to help my team on the offensive end.” Smart also expects to take on more of a leadership role this season, Mullen adds. “I’m ecstatic about it,” Smart said. “This is a great opportunity for anybody, and there’s a lot of people who would die to be in the situation I’m in, so it’s a blessing and I’m ready to step up, like I said. I’m ready for more responsibility, especially as a leader and that role and that aspect. It’s crazy because being able to say that this is a guy who is a leader on the team and it’s only his third year, it’s incredible.”
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 11)
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 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’ll continue on with the Blazers, who acquired the No. 11 pick from Indiana in a draft day trade. The details of the swap were: Portland acquired the draft rights to Jerryd Bayless (No. 11) and Ike Diogu from the Pacers in exchange for the draft rights to Brandon Rush (No. 13), Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts. Since everyone involved in trade is still on the board, we’ll have the swap go through in our draft as well.
So cast your vote for who the Blazers should have selected and check back on Wednesday to see the results, as well as to vote on who the Kings should have taken with the No. 12 pick. 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) — ?? [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Western Notes: Rubio, Arthur, Pelicans
The Kings have likely found their starting point guard to begin the season in Ty Lawson, who agreed to a one-year deal with the team earlier this week. Prior to Lawson coming aboard, Sacramento had been close to acquiring a point guard via trade, with the Wolves‘ Ricky Rubio the most likely target, according to Sirius XM NBA Radio host Mitch Lawrence (Audio link). It appears the addition of Lawson has put a halt to any trade talks for Sacramento at this time, Lawrence adds. There has been some speculation that Minnesota’s addition of rookie point guard Kris Dunn would ultimately lead to Rubio being dealt.
Here’s more from out West:
- Today’s trade of Joffrey Lauvergne will allow the Nuggets to free up some valuable minutes in the frontcourt, with Darrell Arthur the likely recipient of the extra playing time, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Arthur, who inked a three-year, $23MM deal with the team this offseason, has the full confidence of the coaching staff and front office, Dempsey notes. Another player who could benefit from Lauvergne’s departure is rookie Juan Hernangomez, the scribe adds.
- The Pelicans have been aggressively trying to add one of the higher profile free agent guards remaining on the market, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Swingman Lance Stephenson is reportedly going to work out for New Orleans in the near future, and the team had been in contact with Lawson prior to his signing with Sacramento.
- Lakers forward Julius Randle will be out of action for at least 14 days after suffering a laceration to his right hand during practice that required seven stitches, the team announced.
Jason Thompson To Play In China
Unrestricted free agent big man Jason Thompson is headed overseas, having reached an agreement with Shandong of The Chinese Basketball Association, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). The exact length and terms of the pact are unknown at this time.
With the majority of NBA teams having filled their preseason rosters, the odds were stacked against Thompson landing a spot to begin the NBA campaign. Heading over to China will allow him to earn a paycheck and still have the opportunity to catch on with an NBA team later in the season. The Chinese season concludes mid-February, but the playoffs can last until the beginning of March. Thompson would be free to pursue an NBA offer once his team’s playoff run ended, provided it qualifies for the postseason.
Thompson split time during the 2015/16 season between the Warriors and Raptors. In a combined 47 games the forward notched averages of 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 10.0 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the year was .481/.333/.704.