Grizzlies Waive Kalin Lucas
The Grizzlies have waived guard Kalin Lucas, the team announced in a press release. This is now the second time this season that Lucas has been let go by Memphis. The 25-year-old was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night.
Memphis later re-signed Lucas to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. His latest deal was non-guaranteed, so the franchise isn’t on the hook for any additional funds as a result of letting Lucas go. This move reduces the Grizzlies’ roster count to 14 players, one shy of the league maximum. It is unclear if the team intends to sign another player to fill the now vacant slot. With Nick Calathes set to return from his drug-related suspension shortly, it’s possible the team deemed Lucas expendable and intends to keep the slot open in case of an injury, which has been an unfortunate trend in the league this season.
Lucas has not made a regular season appearance for Memphis after playing in all eight of the team’s preseason games, averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 assists in 8.0 minutes per contest. He contributed 17.0 PPG and 3.4 APG in 33.4 MPG during his senior year with the Michigan State Spartans in 2010/11 before logging time in Turkey, Greece and the D-League over the first three years of his pro career.
Week In Review: 11/3/14-11/9/14
One of the unfortunate trends that is defining the 2014/15 season thus far is player injuries. Beginning with Paul George having been lost for the year after fracturing his leg during a Team USA intrasquad scrimmage this summer, training staffs around the league have had their hands full. Among the players currently earning their paychecks while in street clothes are Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, and Marcus Smart. The latest player to fall victim to the injury bug is Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio, who severely sprained his left ankle this past week and is expected to miss seven to eight weeks of action.
Here’s more from the week that was…
- The Lakers are likely to make a run at Rajon Rondo when the point guard hits free agency next summer.
- Free agent guard John Lucas III has had inquiries from the Thunder, Pacers, and Grizzlies, but is maintaining the hope that he can make a return to the Bulls sometime this season.
- The Pacers intended to sign free agent Gal Mekel to a contract, but visa issues prevented the deal from being completed.
- Jordan Hamilton was waived by the Jazz.
- The Pacers signed A.J. Price using the hardship provision that the league had granted the franchise.
- Also decimated by injuries, the Thunder signed Ish Smith using the hardship provision they were granted.
- There were rumors that the Knicks and Pacers were discussing a deal that would send J.R. Smith to Indiana and Chris Copeland back to New York.
- The Grizzlies re-signed training camp invitee Kalin Lucas.
- The Mavs intend to make a run at signing the Blazers‘ LaMarcus Aldridge when he hits free agency next summer.
- The Thunder are among the teams in talks with free agent Dwight Buycks, who reached a buyout agreement with Valencia of Spain last week. There are conflicting reports about whether the Lakers are one of them.
Western Notes: Young, Grizzlies, D-League
Thaddeus Young was one of many veteran players the Sixers rid themselves of as part of their rebuilding through the draft lottery plan, and the forward is finding life with the Wolves much better than he anticipated, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “It was frustrating to go out there each and every day to keep fighting and then you’re not coming up with anything,” Young said of his final year in Philadelphia. “But that situation is over now. I have a new team, new beginning and new chapter so I’m just ready to go out there and continue to play and get better with this team. We have a solid mixture of young guys and a solid mixture of veteran guys, which we didn’t have – the veteran guys – last year in Philadelphia and they don’t have the veteran guys this year as well.”
Here’s more from out west:
- Young also made a statement that would seemingly indicate he hasn’t closed the door on possibly re-signing with the Wolves next summer, Kennedy adds. In discussing the future of the franchise, Young said, “I think the sky’s the limit for this team. If it’s not this year, then it’s the following year. We have really good pieces on this team as far as young guys and we have solid veterans as well. I think we all complement each other very well, enough to go out there and do some things.”
- On the court the Grizzlies are the picture of consistency and lack much in the way of drama, but the team’s front office has been the exact opposite, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes. Powell’s article examines the difficult run the team has had regarding its coaches and front office staff, including Dave Joerger replacing Lionel Hollins as coach two seasons ago, and the issues between ownership and former CEO Jason Levien.
- The Grizzlies have sent Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Stokes has yet to make an appearance for the Grizzlies this season, and Adams has gone scoreless in his one minute of action.
Ricky Rubio Out Up To Eight Weeks
The Wolves have announced that starting point guard Ricky Rubio will be out indefinitely after injuring his ankle during last night’s loss to the Magic in Orlando, and USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt reports that Rubio is likely to miss seven to eight weeks of action. This was after an MRI taken in Miami revealed what was termed a “significant left ankle sprain.” According to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune, Minnesota will know a more definitive timetable in a couple of weeks once the swelling goes down. The MRI revealed no breaks or tears, which is good news for both the player and his team.
Rubio’s injury is among a rash of early season maladies that have sidelined a number of NBA stars, including Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, and Marcus Smart, who also injured his ankle last night, but is only expected to miss a couple of weeks.
The 24-year-old Rubio recently inked a four-year, $55MM contract extension with the Wolves, which includes $1MM in incentives. So far this season Rubio has averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 10.0 APG. With Minnesota’s roster sitting at the maximum 15 players, it’s likely that Mo Williams will take over starting duties. It is also possible that the team will wait to re-evaluate Rubio in two weeks time prior to making a decision on another roster move, though that is just my speculation.
Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback
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With NBA commissioner Adam Silver is taking pains to adopt a player-friendly approach, one sticking point with a number of teams and fans around the league is the concept of draft reform in order to quell teams’ desires to tank for a shot at the top pick in the draft. Reader Jimmy Willy thinks Silver isn’t taking the tanking issue as seriously as he should.
- Silver fails to see the point; it doesn’t matter whether or not those draftees end up transforming their teams. The fact of the matter is that teams are willing to take that risk and lose as much as they can so that they get a chance to draft the player they want. It compromises the league and the lottery should be reformed.
ESPN basketball analyst Jeff Van Gundy had nothing but praise for the Warriors’ Draymond Green, who is set to become a restricted free agent next summer. Van Gundy opined that Green would command an annual salary in the $10MM-$12MM, a figure that reader Kevin Alberda disagrees with.
- $10MM-$12MM per season for Green seems extremely high. That’s more than Lance Stephenson got this offseason, and I’m not sure you can argue that Green is even as good, let alone better. Even with the cap increase, I wouldn’t go above $7MM per year for a guy like Draymond.
Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders explained that uncertainty surrounding his roster in advance of the Kevin Love trade helped keep him from filling the club’s coaching vacancy with Lionel Hollins, who is much more comfortable with veterans. Reader Sky14 is glad Hollins is in Brooklyn instead of Minnesota.
- Hearing his preference for veterans makes me very glad the Wolves did not hire Hollins. I hate coaches who do not let young players play and develop, it’s very short-sighted.
With Jimmy Butler rejecting the Bulls’ extension proposals, he is now set to become a restricted free agent next summer, something that reader Manchershaw Engineer thinks Chicago had anticipated prior to the draft.
- I think the Bulls figured Butler wouldn’t sign a team-friendly deal, which is why they paid such a high price to move up and draft Doug McDermott. Matching a restricted offer is still a possibility, but the Bulls also have the flexibility to let him go if the offer is an overpay.
Check out what more readers had to say in previous editions of Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback. We appreciate everyone who adds to the dialogue at Hoops Rumors, and we look forward to seeing more responses like these from you!
Eastern Notes: Waiters, Bazemore, Cavs
Despite their win in Denver last night the Cavs are off to a bit of a rough start to the new season. Dion Waiters, one of the players struggling to adjust to his new role, isn’t likely to remain on Cleveland’s roster for the long haul, Steven Ruiz of USA Today writes. The 22-year-old guard isn’t in a rush to win yet, and isn’t quite ready to sacrifice his numbers and potential earning power for the good of the team, Ruiz opines. Waiters could potentially be trade bait to acquire a defensive stopper, something the Cavs sorely need, adds the USA Today scribe.
Here’s more from the east:
- This past offseason Kent Bazemore inked a two year, $4MM deal with the Hawks. In an interview with Paul Garcia of Project Spurs, Bazemore discussed why he chose Atlanta, saying, “It was a good mix, an up-and-coming team, myself, I’m an up-and-coming player. The system is good, how the ball moves, a lot of pick-and-rolls stuff, those play to my strengths; how they play defensively, how active they are defensively and I was in talks with them a lot. They were one of the more persistent teams, that’s what you look for in those type of situations – signs of loyalty, and they were around the entire time, and they worked very diligent with my agent to get a deal done, so what other better place?”
- Bazemore also confirmed that the Spurs were interested in signing him this past summer, Garcia adds. “Yeah,” said Bazemore, “they [San Antonio] reached out to my agent, showed some interest, but I came here [Atlanta], so the second best thing obviously – same system.” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer is a former Spurs assistant, and Atlanta runs a similar offensive system to San Antonio’s.
- Both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving threw cold water on the reports that there were chemistry issues between the two Cavs stars, Pat Graham of the Associated Press writes. “We’re two dynamic players and it’s coming along well, I believe,” James said. “It’s going to continue to get better and better. It’s just four games. It’s our first time playing together. Every game is going to be a learned experience for both of us. It’s not just me and Kyrie. It’s myself and the rest of the guys, and Kyrie and the rest of the guys as well.“
Highest Paid Player On Each Team For 2014/15
With the 2014/15 NBA season underway and the majority of teams’ rosters set and players’ contract amounts locked in for the season, it’s time to take a look at who the highest paid player on each squad is. While franchises will still waive and sign players throughout the season, unless there is a blockbuster trade involving upper-tier talent, the top slot on each team’s payroll ledger isn’t likely to change until next summer.
Ideally, the player occupying the largest percentage of a team’s cap space should be its most productive one as well, though that isn’t always the case. There are a number of players whose salary is more indicative of past performance rather than their present contributions. Such is the case for a player like the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire, whose $23,410,988 salary is the second highest in the league, which is no way in line with his current production. But the majority of the players on this list are all-star quality players who are easily among the best at their respective positions, and are compensated accordingly.
With a new CBA on the horizon in 2017, and the league’s new $24 billion TV deal set to begin in 2016, the figures on this list could potentially skyrocket in the coming years, depending on the outcome of the upcoming negotiations between the owners and the NBPA. There is talk of potentially implementing a hard cap, which the owners are said to desire. On the players’ side of the table, they are almost assuredly going to try and get the maximum salary rules tossed, though that is just my speculation. If that occurs many of the numbers on this list could end up seeming like bargains in a few seasons.
The mean highest salary for each franchise’s top-earner this season is $15,742,918, with the Sixers’ Jason Richardson being the “low” man at $6,601,125, and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers topping the list at $23.5MM. Listed alphabetically by team below are the players earning top dollar for the year on their respective rosters.
Note: Players who are still being paid after being waived using the amnesty provision are not included on this list. Only salary that counts against the cap is reflected.
Sixers: Jason Richardson ($6,601,125)
Bucks: Larry Sanders ($11MM)
Bulls: Derrick Rose ($18,862,876)
Cavaliers: LeBron James ($20,644,400)
Celtics: Rajon Rondo ($12,909,090)
Clippers: Chris Paul ($20,068,563)
Grizzlies: Zach Randolph ($16,500,000)
Hawks: Al Horford ($12MM)
Heat: Chris Bosh ($20,644,400)
Hornets: Al Jefferson ($13.5MM)
Jazz: Gordon Hayward ($14,746,000)
Kings: Rudy Gay ($19,317,326)
Knicks: Amar’e Stoudemire ($23,410,988)
Lakers: Kobe Bryant ($23.5MM)
Magic: Channing Frye ($8,579,088)
Mavericks: Tyson Chandler ($14,846,887)
Nets: Joe Johnson ($23,180,790)
Nuggets: Ty Lawson ($11,595,506)
Pacers: Paul George ($15,925,680)
Pelicans: Eric Gordon ($14,898,938)
Pistons: Josh Smith ($13.5MM)
Raptors: Kyle Lowry ($12MM)
Rockets: Dwight Howard ($21,436,271)
Spurs: Tony Parker ($12.5MM)
Suns: Eric Bledsoe ($13MM)
Thunder: Kevin Durant ($18,995,624)
Timberwolves: Nikola Pekovic ($12.1MM)
Trail Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge ($16,256,000)
Warriors: David Lee ($15,012,000)
Wizards: John Wall ($14,746,000)
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
And-Ones: Wiggins, Ariza, Mavs
No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins is only averaging 9.8 PPG after his first four NBA games, but the Wolves rookie is already drawing comparisons to another NBA star, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “He reminded me of Paul George,” an Eastern Conference GM told Scotto. “Paul came in a better off-ball defender than Andrew. He’s [Wiggins] probably a good on-ball defender. Paul had a very difficult time handling the ball when he came in and worked on it and their shooting is similar. I’d say Andrew is a hair better athlete and Paul is a little bigger maybe.” The biggest difference between the two players as rookies is Wiggins is under much more scrutiny and pressure than George was as a rookie thanks to his top slot on the draft board, adds Scotto.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Despite quite a few predictions of a Cavs–Bulls Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors and the Wizards might prove those prognostications premature, Eric Koreen of The National Post writes. Toronto and Washington are taking different approaches regarding the mixture of veterans and younger players on their respective rosters, notes Koreen. The Raptors are building around a younger core, and the Wizards, despite younger stars like Bradley Beal and John Wall, have added a number of long-in-the-tooth veterans this past offseason. Wizards coach Randy Wittman said, “Obviously, talent prevails. You’ve got to have that first. It was important for us to have a mixture of veterans with our young guys,” Koreen adds.
- The Mavs have been affiliated with the Texas Legends of the D-League for five seasons and view the partnership as a way to experiment with new ideas, Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com writes. “There have always been a lot of advantages to having the team in Frisco, but we’re using it more experimentally now,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said. “There are certain things we’ll hopefully unveil that will be different. We’ve been practicing some things, and hopefully they will work. We want to try some things that will hopefully change things up.”
- Trevor Ariza is making it easy for Rockets fans to forget that Chandler Parsons is now in Dallas, Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Thus far, Ariza is averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.2 APG, while shooting a ridiculous 55% from behind the arc for the 6-0 Rockets.
Mark Cuban On Nash, Sterling, Player Issues
Mark Cuban’s outspoken personality and his role on the television show “Shark Tank” have made the Mavericks honcho one of the most recognizable faces amongst all of the NBA’s majority owners. Cuban’s heart-on-his-sleeve comments about the league and its officiating have cost him over $2MM in fines thus far during his tenure in Dallas. The owner and tech billionaire sat down with Kenneth Arthur of Rolling Stone for an interview. The whole piece is worth a read, but here are some of the highlights…
On what his worst move as Mavs owner was:
“Letting Steve Nash go. I learned an expensive lesson. It took me too many years to realize that for some GMs, their number-one job wasn’t winning a championship, it’s keeping their job. It’s easy to look back and see my mistakes today. I wish I would have been smart enough to know better back then. I loved taking risks to win. Unfortunately some of them were not as educated as they should have been.”
On if he empathized with Donald Sterling :
“Did I empathize with him? Yes. Of course I did. This is an elderly man who grew up in a generation that is night-and-day in how it understood race and culture. And yes, I empathized with him because this was a conversation that took place in his kitchen and he had a right to expect privacy in his home. But none of that excused him from the rules of the NBA. He put the business of the NBA at risk. That is a situation that, while I have been fined, I have never found myself in and don’t expect to.”
On the key to being a successful team owner:
“There are a couple keys. The first is recognizing that although I may be the one responsible for the bills, I don’t really own the team. All of North Texas and Mavs fans everywhere really own the team. Owning a popular sports team is very different than any other type of business. They don’t throw parades when Apple has the biggest quarter in corporate history. People don’t call and email asking for anyone from the team to come visit their sick child. They don’t cry as they request a jersey of their child’s favorite player to be buried with them. They don’t cheer and hug people they don’t know after a game-winning shot. The emotions of a city can rise and fall with a team and the owner has to realize that and cherish it. ”
“The second is luck. I was fortunate to come when Dirk Nowitzki was just really coming into his own. You can’t take a team that doesn’t have a superstar player and get to the Finals twice and win it once. Average teams don’t make it to the Finals. I was lucky to have Dirk and even luckier not to mess it up. Even though at times people thought I had.”
On signing athletes who have had off-the-court issues in the past:
“We have a team psychologist who spends time with all of our guys. While he won’t divulge specifics, we do discuss whether or not there are red flags regarding a player’s personal, professional or social life. We’ve had a functioning alcoholic on the team in the past and we put together plans and programs to help him. We’ve had other issues when we have asked the player to leave the team. We try very hard to be aware of what is going on in a player’s life because like all of us, it impacts our professional life and we want what is best for the person and their family. We try to build a team that has zero knuckleheads. If there is a player who is immature and not able to follow team rules, we might sign them, but the rule is no more than one knucklehead on the team.”
Offseason In Review: Miami Heat
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Chris Bosh: Five years, $118.705MM. Re-signed via Bird rights.
- Dwyane Wade: Two years, $31.125MM. Re-signed via Bird rights. Second year is player option. Includes no-trade clause.
- Josh McRoberts: Four years, $22.652MM. Signed via cap room. Fourth year is player option.
- Luol Deng: Two years, $19.86MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is player option.
- Chris Andersen: Two years, $10.375MM. Re-signed via Early Bird rights.
- Mario Chalmers. Two years, $8.3MM. Re-signed via Bird rights.
- Udonis Haslem: Two years, $5.587MM. Re-signed via room exception.
- Danny Granger: Two years, $4.247MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is player option.
- Shawne Williams: Two years, $2.584MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Second year is non-guaranteed.
- Shannon Brown: One year, $1.31MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
- Andre Dawkins: One year, $507K. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
Extensions
- None
Trades
- Acquired 2014 pick No. 24 from the Hornets in exchange for 2014 pick No. 26, 2014 pick No. 55, Miami’s 2019 second-round pick and cash.
Waiver Claims
- None
Draft Picks
- Shabazz Napier (Round 1, 24th overall). Signed via rookie scale exception to rookie scale contract.
- James Ennis (2013, Round 2, 50th overall). Signed via cap room for three years, $2.333MM. Second and third years are non-guaranteed.
Camp Invitees
- Khem Birch
- Larry Drew II
- Chris Johnson
- Tyler Johnson
- Shawn Jones
- Reggie Williams
Departing Players
- Ray Allen
- Shane Battier
- Michael Beasley
- Toney Douglas
- LeBron James
- James Jones
- Rashard Lewis
- Greg Oden
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- None
When you lose a player who is arguably the best in the world, it’s not exactly a great start to an offseason. But that is the reality that the Heat had to deal with in the wake of LeBron James returning his talents to Cleveland. But alas, life must go on, and there are few folks around the league outside of Miami who feel sorry for the Heat. All things considered, team president Pat Riley managed to recover adroitly from the blow that LeBron’s decision struck, and Riley was able to land a number of useful new pieces while keeping a large part of the team’s core in place.
Miami’s most significant move of the summer was re-signing Chris Bosh to a five-year, $118,705,300 maximum-salary deal. The Rockets heavily courted Bosh, and Houston went as far as to deal away Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin in order to clear enough cap space to allow the team sign him. But in the end, Bosh stayed true to his word that he would return to South Beach, and the fact that the Heat were able to offer a fifth year didn’t hurt their recruitment efforts, either.
Now Bosh will get the opportunity to remind the league of his years with the Raptors when he was that franchise’s No. 1 option and averaged more than 22 points per game for five consecutive seasons. None of the “Big Three” sacrificed their games for the betterment of the Heat as much as Bosh did, and Bosh was suitably rewarded with his new deal. The 30-year-old forward has lived up to his end of the bargain thus far, averaging 24.2 PPG and 11 rebounds per game through the team’s first five contests.
Riley also re-signed franchise icon Dwyane Wade this summer, though I’m not as bullish on this deal as I am on Bosh’s, since Wade hasn’t appeared in more than 70 games in a season since the 2010/11 campaign, and he isn’t close to being the dominant force that he was during his prime. The $15MM that Miami will pay Wade this season isn’t a problem, but next season’s $16.125MM player option could hamstring Miami’s efforts to acquire another upper-tier player.
Also re-signing with Miami this summer were Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, and Chris Andersen. All three are valuable role players for the franchise, though I feel that the team overpaid for Chalmers, who had a brutal postseason last year, and with first-round pick Shabazz Napier showing enormous potential, having Chalmers and his $4.3MM salary on the books for next year could be unnecessary. As for Haslem and Andersen, both are valuable rotation pieces who bring an enormous amount of energy and tireless work ethic to the court, but both are over 34 years old and have had numerous injury issues the past few seasons. The frequency of injuries usually doesn’t abate as players age, and that’s especially true with big men. Their salaries aren’t excessive, but fully guaranteeing the second years for both could end up being problematic.
Miami already has $41,185,835 in guaranteed salary committed for 2015/16, plus another $28,447,077 in player options, totaling $69,632,912. With the injury risks for Wade, Haslem, Andersen, and the oft-injured Danny Granger, whom Riley signed on the cheap this summer, Miami could be looking at a large chunk of its salary cap sitting behind the bench in street clothes for long stretches over the next two years. The team will probably enter next summer without cap space, and depending on what it wants to do with Norris Cole, who went without a rookie scale extension and is poised for restricted free agency, perhaps close enough to the tax threshold to keep it from using the full mid-level exception. With LeBron gone, so likely are the days when veterans would be willing to take pay cuts to come to South Beach in return for a shot at a ring.
The team made a pair of other important moves during the offseason, chief among them the signing of Luol Deng. Much of LeBron’s numbers will have to be made up by aggregation, but it’s not only on the offensive side where Deng can help the team compensate for James’ departure. It is Deng’s defense and fiery demeanor that will benefit the team the most. Deng, who has a player option, may only stay in Miami for a season, depending on how strong a year he has, and how he feels about the direction of the team, but he is an excellent addition nonetheless.
I’m not particularly fond of the deal the Heat gave to Josh McRoberts, however. This signing was made prior to LeBron announcing his free agent destination, and a large part of me feels that if Riley had known he wouldn’t have James next season, he wouldn’t have done this deal. McRoberts would have been an excellent rotation piece on a contending team fronted by James, but as a starter who will be counted on for more than just spreading the floor, a four-year, $22,652,350 deal seems like a gross overpay for a 28-year-old forward who has career averages of 5.7 PPG and 4.1 RPG. The Hornets made a much wiser signing to replace the departed McRoberts with Marvin Williams, who has significantly better career numbers and has been more consistent over the course of his time in the league.
The Heat made the best of a trying situation this offseason, though a number of the deals they made could come back to haunt them next season. Riley proved his worth as an executive once again in being able to field a competitive team in spite of having been spurned by James. Miami is also lucky to reside in the Eastern Conference, so the team should factor into the playoff picture this year. Still, it’s next season when the Heat will truly feel the weight of the salary cap pressing down upon them, and absence of LeBron will begin to sting more sharply.
Photo courtesy of USA Today. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post. Chuck Myron contributed to this post.