And-Ones: Hawks, Motum, Crawford
Outgoing Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson has the power to force as much as 60% of the team to be sold, even though he and his partners have only 50.1% of the team, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The NBA appears to be pressuring all of the other owners to sell so that the entire franchise can change hands, Vivlamore adds. All of the team’s owners still have yet to meet to discuss how much of the franchise they’re going to sell, and so far, their only action as a group has involved preparation for vetting prospective buyers, though vetting itself has yet to begin, as Vivlamore explains.
Here’s more from around the league:
- When Jordan Crawford signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association for $1.4MM it wasn’t because he didn’t receive any NBA offers. The Kings had tried to sign Crawford this summer, but he wasn’t comfortable with a backup role in Sacramento, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter links). Crawford also relayed that he felt “overlooked” by the league, and that’s what led him to China, Pick notes.
- Brock Motum‘s one year, minimum salary deal with the Jazz is non-guaranteed, as is reflected on the Basketball Insiders salary page for Utah.
- Many of the teams that joined the Sixers in a voting bloc that scuttled immediate lottery reform are nonetheless miffed about Philadelphia’s stripped-down roster, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Teams voted down lottery changes in part because they feel too much is in flux, and that includes the unknown of just how or whether the league will phase in the substantial increase in the salary cap that the league’s enhanced TV revenues will bring about, Lowe adds. Some influential agents oppose the idea of any phase-in, preferring that the cap simply leap in the summer of 2016 based on the idea that teams might be uncertain of how to handle the changed landscape and hand out contracts they’ll later regret, according to Lowe.
- The surging salary cap projections have some small-market teams worried about how they’ll manage in a league where $100MM payrolls are the norm, in spite of the TV money that would make that sort of spending more palatable, as Lowe writes in the same piece. Small-market teams also fear that they’ll become slightly profitable and lose the benefit of tens of millions in income through the league’s revenue sharing program, the Grantland columnist explains. The Lakers handed out $50MM, the Knicks $27MM and the Bulls $17MM in revenue sharing last season, Lowe reports.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Sixers, Lottery Reform
One of the big question marks in New York for the upcoming season is how well the Knicks will adapt to the triangle offense. Former head coach and current broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy doesn’t believe the offensive scheme by itself will be enough to turn around the franchise, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “The triangle itself is just an offense based on freedom of the ball to go to different places, everybody feeling involved,’’ Van Gundy said. “It’s a good thing. It won’t be the triangle itself that will be the reason they win or lose. It’s going to come down to Carmelo Anthony playing exceptionally well. Iman Shumpert and J.R. bouncing back with a big year. J.R. Smith playing well. It’s not going to be because of a system. I think anybody confusing a system with a reason for success is making a huge mistake. Systems don’t win games. Players do.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Paul Pierce was stunned by how quickly things changed with the Nets this offseason, Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News writes. “It just happened so fast,” Pierce said. “I had a chance to talk to Jason [Kidd] and he has his reasons, the way things went down. But like I said, the business — you’ve got to understand the business aspect of it. He moved on. The Nets moved on and people went their different directions. You see that a lot in this business.” Still, Pierce harbors no-ill will towards the franchise, Abramson notes.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown said nothing was etched in stone for Philadelphia’s roster, and that the team would consider signing players waived from other teams, Tom Moore of Calkins Media notes (Twitter link). The Sixers still have 20 players on their preseason roster, but only nine of those players have fully guaranteed deals, and four others possess partially guaranteed pacts.
- Speaking about his thoughts on the lottery reform vote not passing, Brown said that he wasn’t sure which way the vote would turn out, tweets Moore. “Different times I thought it’d go one way. Other times I thought it’d go the other way,” Brown said. The Sixers had a vested interest in the outcome of the vote since their rebuilding plans are tied to striking it big in the next draft.
Adam Silver On Hard Cap, Lottery, CBA
Earlier today the NBA’s Board of Governors voted against changes to the draft lottery, with only 17 teams voting to change the current system, which was six short of the required 23 votes needed to pass the reforms. NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the vote and other issues during a press conference this afternoon, the highlights of which were relayed by Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
- Silver indicated that one third of the league’s franchises are losing money, notes Berger. This is significant because this is happening despite the owners getting the players to accept a 12 percent reduction in their share of the league’s revenues during the last labor negotiations. It could also be the league setting up their bargaining stance for 2017’s pending negotiations.
- Berger asked Silver if all 30 teams aren’t making a profit on July 1, 2017, the date that the current CBA can be opted out of, is that reason enough for another lockout? Silver responded by saying, “No. No, because the caveat has always been, if well managed. And I would also say, if you don’t have a hard-cap system, for example, one of the teams that isn’t profitable are the Brooklyn Nets. That’s an election they’re free to make under our compensation system. They’ve elected to be unprofitable. My preference would be to have a harder cap, where teams couldn’t elect to spend so much more than other teams.”
- When asked if achieving a hard cap in the next CBA will be a take-it-or-leave-it issue, Silver said, “No, not at all. There’s gradations of hardness in terms of the cap as well. I wish our current cap system was harder. It’s what we proposed last time around, but we compromised.”
- Silver called the perception that teams are tanking, “corrosive perception,” notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Silver also added that if lottery reform eventually is adopted, it will come with teams being, “appropriately on notice.” That statement seems to indicate that if any changes were adopted they wouldn’t necessarily take effect for the 2015 draft lottery.
- Silver also briefly addressed the possibility that either the players or the owners would opt out of the current CBA in 2017, saying, “It’s premature for even me to be concerned,” Winderman tweets. It would appear that the league should be at least a little concerned, as the new NBPA head Michele Roberts has already hinted that the players would choose to opt out in light of the new $24 billion TV deal that will begin in 2016.
Thunder Pick Up 2015/16 Options On Four
The Thunder have picked up the third-year team options for Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, as well as the fourth-year options for Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb, the team has announced. These moves are not unexpected as all of the players figure to be a big part of Oklahoma City’s rotation going forward.
Lamb has the largest contract of the group, and is scheduled to make $3,034,356, while Adams will make $2,279,040, Jones will earn $2,038,206, and Roberson will rake in $1,210,800. These moves will increase Oklahoma City’s cap commitment for the 2015/16 campaign to approximately $63.6MM. That figure doesn’t include Reggie Jackson, who can become a restricted free agent next summer and is expected to receive significant interest from other teams.
During his rookie season with Oklahoma City after being selected 12th overall in the 2013 NBA draft, Adams appeared in 81 games and averaged 3.3 PPG and 4.1 RPG while logging 14.8 minutes per night. His slash line was .503/.000/.581. Roberson was originally drafted by the Wolves with the No. 26 pick in the 2013 draft, and was subsequently traded to the Thunder. He appeared in 40 contests last season, including 16 starts, and he averaged 1.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG. Roberson figures to see increased playing time to start the season with Kevin Durant expected to miss a minimum of six-to-eight weeks after breaking his foot.
In his two seasons in the NBA, Jones has appeared in 100 games and averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He was originally drafted 28th overall back in 2012 by the Thunder. Lamb has also been with the team for two seasons after being selected by the Rockets back in 2012. He was included in the James Harden trade, but hasn’t quite developed into the scoring threat off the bench that Oklahoma City envisioned. Lamb’s career numbers are 7.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.2 APG.
Celtics Likely To Waive Will Bynum?
WEDNESDAY, 6:48pm: Mark Bartelstein, Bynum’s agent, told A Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that a decision regarding Bynum will be made by this weekend. “They like Will as a player,” Bartelstein said. “They value him as a player. They just don’t have a roster spot. If they could do something to create an opportunity (to keep him), they would look at that. But right now, they don’t have a roster spot open. So we’ll see what happens in the next couple days.” Bynum is still more likely to be waived than dealt, Blakely notes.
TUESDAY, 11:36am: The Celtics are seeking a trade partner who would take Bynum, but finding one would be a long shot, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. It’s more likely the point guard hits waivers than winds up in a trade, Murphy adds.
SATURDAY, 2:55pm: Mark Bartelstein, Bynum’s agent, says he and Ainge have been in ongoing talks regarding Bynum’s future, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Bartelstein also said that both sides plan to “take a deep breath” before finalizing a decision, Stein adds.
2:08pm: Bynum won’t play in Boston’s final two preseason games, and the Celtics are exploring other possible moves before they would waive Bynum, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). This could include trading another player in order to keep Bynum, Bulpett adds.
12:45pm: The Celtics are expected to waive newly acquired guard Will Bynum, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reports. GM Danny Ainge is scheduled to meet with the player today, Washburn notes, and the likely outcome is that Boston places Bynum on waivers. Boston still has 20 players on their preseason roster, with 16 fully guaranteed deals, including Bynum’s $2.9MM pact. Bynum is expected to garner interest on the free agent market once he clears waivers, Washburn adds.
The 6’0″, 31-year-old out of Georgia Tech has been in the league for seven seasons, and has averaged 8.2 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 3.3 APG thus far in his career. Bynum has played in a total of 353 games, including 29 starts, and has logged an average of 18.5 minutes-per-contest.
Bynum wasn’t a good fit for the Celtics’ rebuilding roster, and with the team focusing on developing first-rounder Marcus Smart to take over for Rajon Rondo, Bynum didn’t figure to see major minutes once Rondo returns to action from his hand injury.
And-Ones: Wolves, Sixers, Pistons
The Timberwolves still have some decisions to make in order to get their preseason roster down from 17 players to the regular season maximum of 15. Minnesota began the process earlier today by waiving Kyrylo Fesenko. Out of the remaining players, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune believes the two most likely candidates to go are Brady Heslip, who is in camp on a non-guaranteed deal, and Chase Budinger. The Wolves have been rumored to be shopping Budinger, but thus far haven’t been able to work out any deal.
Here’s more from around the league:
- While the Sixers’ rebuilding efforts have been called “tanking” by some, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders argues that GM Sam Hinkie‘s plan is sound, and it could make the franchise a contender in a few years. Kennedy also notes that many of Philly’s fans are also on board with Hinkie’s efforts, and support the long-term outlook the franchise has adopted. “It’s really important not to take your eyes off what matters,” Hinkie said. “And what matters is not feeling great about yourself the 3rd of March, but to give yourself a chance to feel great about yourself the 3rd of June.”
- Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy believes that bringing in outside coaches to watch his team practice can be a valuable tool, David Mayo of MLive writes. Van Gundy finds that going outside for a fresh viewpoint can be enlightening, notes Mayo. Van Gundy added, “They don’t have the knowledge that we have on the inside. Sometimes that’s bad, sometimes that’s good. There’s good things with that, too, because sometimes you see what you expect to see, unfortunately. You try hard not to but we’re all guilty of it. And somebody new, who didn’t see practice and doesn’t have certain things they expect out of each guy, sees it with clear eyes. So I think that kind of stuff’s important.”
- Joel Anthony is excited to be a part of the Pistons because he believes Detroit acquired him for his abilities, not for his expiring contract, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “It makes things easier,” Anthony said. “That first trade [from the Heat to the Celtics] was obviously more difficult because of the history and all the time I spent in Miami. I’ve been fortunate to have those years over there and right now I’m just looking forward to this new chapter in my life as a professional basketball player.”
Kings Waive Bhullar, Burton, Wear
2:12pm: The Kings confirmed that they have waived the trio.
8:43am: The Kings intend to waive Sim Bhullar, Deonte Burton, and David Wear, Sean Cunningham of News 10 Sacramento reports (Twitter link). Burton and Wear were in camp on non-guaranteed minimum salary deals, but Bhullar had a partial guarantee of $35K on his pact which Sacramento is on the hook for unless another team submits a waiver claim. These moves will reduce the Kings’ preseason roster count to 15, with 13 of those agreements being fully guaranteed. No announcement from the team has been made yet.
When Bhullar was signed by the Kings it marked the first time a player of Indian descent joined the NBA. The 7’5″ big man had declared for the NBA draft in mid-April, shortly after he and New Mexico State were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Bhullar averaged 10.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 24.4 MPG while shooting 62.1% from the field as a freshman and 10.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.4 BPG, while shooting 64.8% as a sophomore.
The 23-year-old Burton spent summer league with the Wizards after going undrafted, averaging just 1.8 points in 17.3 minutes per contest, but he put up much better numbers as a senior with the Nevada Wolf Pack this past season, chipping in for 20.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 4.4 assists against 2.0 turnovers in 38.6 MPG.
Wear, a 6’9″ 23-year-old, spent time in the summer league with the Bulls, averaging 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game across five appearances. He didn’t log impressive numbers at UCLA, going for 6.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 22.9 MPG. His playing time decreased each successive year after he saw 28.4 MPG as a sophomore. Wear transferred to UCLA after spending his freshman year at North Carolina.
Eastern Notes: Rondo, Haywood, Lopez, Pacers
The jury is still out on whether or not Rajon Rondo will be in a Celtics uniform beyond this season. One thing that won’t factor negatively against Boston in Rondo’s eyes is the team’s head coach, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald writes. Rondo has nothing but good things to say about second-year coach Brad Stevens, notes Murphy. “He’s very positive — the most positive coach I’ve been around in my career, and it’s hard not to play for a guy like that,” Rondo said of Stevens. “That’s every day — not just in the locker room. He’s that way off the court, with his family. He’s a role model. He has all of the characteristics of a great leader. He’s great at what he does. He’s all about the team.”
Here’s more from the east:
- The Cavs view veteran center Brendan Haywood as a part-time player who can help out when Cleveland faces teams with taller centers, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer writes. Haywood is well ahead of schedule in returning from injury, and the Cavs didn’t expect him to return to the court until January, notes Pluto.
- After Brook Lopez‘s latest injury scare involving his troubled feet, the Nets are ready to move on, with or without the seven-footer, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “I think you have to look at it from the standpoint that the glass is always half-full. I never looked at anything when he did have other injuries that the sky was falling,” GM Billy King said. “That’s why you have a team sport. If it was golf and I was his caddie, I’d be a little more upset because you don’t have a chance to make money. But it’s a team sport.”
- In his season preview for the Pacers, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio writes that it will be a trying season in Indiana without Paul George and Lance Stephenson. If the Pacers are to have any shot at the playoffs, this is the season that Roy Hibbert will need to elevate his game to an elite level, Amico opines.
And-Ones: Mudiay, TV Deal, D-League
The league had better enjoy the windfall of their TV deal while it lasts, because big money deals like this are likely to disappear in the future, Steve Ginsburg of Reuters writes. Smith College sports economist Andrew Zimbalist warns that the point of sports saturation on television in the United States is rapidly approaching. “At the end of the day, we have a lot more sports programming than we’ve ever had,” Zimbalist told Reuters. “And we’ve had pretty much the same number of household television sets. Ultimately what has to happen is that supply and demand have to meet at a lower price.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- David Arseneault Jr. was officially named head coach of the Reno Bighorns, the Kings‘ D-League franchise, the team announced.
- With the NBA’s new $24 billion TV deal set to take effect in 2016 player salaries are likely to reach new heights. For now, the league’s star players will have to continue to make ends meet with the current CBA salary structure, and the crew at FOX Sports Ohio runs down the top 25 player salaries for the 2014/15 season. Topping the list are Kobe Bryant, Joe Johnson, and Amar’e Stoudemire.
- One prospect who NBA franchises will be keeping an eye on this season is Emmanuel Mudiay, who chose to play over in China rather than attend college this season. Mudiay played his first game yesterday and notched 20 points and five assists in 27 minutes. One of his opponents was former NBA player Pooh Jeter, who relayed his impressions of the 18-year-old phenom to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. Mudiay is currently slotted second in Givony’s prospect rankings.
Bulls Waive English, Hansbrough, Jones
The Bulls have officially waived Kim English, Ben Hansbrough, and Solomon Jones, the team announced in a press release. All three players were in training camp on non-guaranteed minimum salary arrangements, so the Bulls aren’t on the hook for any money. All three players signed with Chicago back on September 26th, and were considered longshots to make the final cut on a deep and talented Bulls roster.
These moves reduce Chicago’s preseason roster count to 14 players, with 12 of those deals being fully guaranteed. The lone player remaining with a non-guaranteed arrangement is Nazr Mohammed, but with the Bulls one under the 15 player regular season limit, Mohammed’s spot isn’t in any immediate danger.
Jones appeared in 11 games with the Magic last season, averaging 1.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 7.7 minutes per game before Orlando waived him. The 30-year-old also played for the Knicks D-League affiliate, and also traveled to play in a Chinese league during the summer.
The 2012/13 season is the only campaign that Hansbrough and English spent any time on an NBA regular season roster. Hansbrough averaged 7.2 minutes per game for the Pacers that year and contributed 2.0 PPG. English logged 9.9 MPG in 41 games for the Pistons, averaging 2.9 PPG. Both players have spent time overseas, Hansbrough with Gran Canaria in Spain, while English was with Montepaschi Siena in Italy.