2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Rockets
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Houston Rockets, whose D-League affiliate is the Rio Grande Valley Vipers:
The Rockets made 18 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending four players to the D-League for a total of 89 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Houston for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 11th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (1st) — Recalled November 16th
- Decembe4th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 6th: Assigned Montrezl Harrell (1st) — Recalled December 9th
- December 26th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (3rd) — Recalled December 28th
- December 26th: Assigned Montrezl Harrell (2nd) — Recalled December 28th
- January 7th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (4th) — Recalled January 15th
- January 23rd: Assigned Montrezl Harrell (3rd) — Recalled January 30th
- January 23rd: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (5th) — Recalled January 30th
- January 30th: Assigned Donatas Motiejunas (1st) — Recalled February 1st
- January 30th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (6th) — Recalled February 1st
- February 3rd: Assigned Donatas Motiejunas (2nd) — Recalled February 4th
- February 4th: Assigned Donatas Motiejunas (3rd) — Recalled February 9th
- February 6th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (7th) — Recalled February 9th
- February 19th: Assigned Sam Dekker (2nd) — Recalled February 22nd
- March 1st: Assigned Sam Dekker (3rd) — Recalled March 5th
- March 4th: Assigned K.J. McDaniels (8th) — Recalled March 5th
- March 4th: Assigned Montrezl Harrell (4th) — Recalled March 5th
- March 23rd: Assigned Montrezl Harrell (5th) — Recalled April 10th
Here is how the Rockets’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Sam Dekker: In seven appearances, Dekker averaged 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.2 minutes. His shooting numbers were .418/.237/.667.
- Montrezl Harrell: In 12 games, Harrell averaged 24.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 38.9 minutes. His shooting line was .533/.240/.654.
- K.J. McDaniels: In 16 appearances, McDaniels averaged 15.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 36.1 minutes. His shooting numbers were .469/.353/.780.
- Donatas Motiejunas: In four games, Motiejunas averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 25 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .525/.467/.500.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Kupchak, Suns
Former Kings coach George Karl placed much of the team’s locker room woes on its star players, who never gelled this past season, the coach admitted, according to James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. “There’s no question our locker room had tension,” Karl told Michelle Dapper of KCRA-TV. “There’s no question that our locker room had, whatever you want to call it — disconnect. How I tried to solve it or how we tried to solve it — to be honest with you, I think it’s more on the players as much as it is on the coaches. The stars of the team, I think got to take more responsibility sometimes for the leadership of your team. I think that’s probably where it broke down. I think the coach – me, and I think Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay and Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) were the three guys that we never kinda got together.”
Karl did admit that he didn’t spend much time in the locker room during his tenure, also adding that Sacramento trading away Cousins may be the best move for the franchise in the long run, Ham notes. “I can’t deny that ‘what if coaching this team without DeMarcus?’” Karl said. “It’d be exciting. Some roadblocks would be taken away.”
Here’s the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak indicated that he is entering the summer under the assumption the team will not have a first-round pick, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “That’s how you have to plan, yes,” Kupchak said. “And I’m fine either way. I would love to have the pick. I want to keep the 32nd pick. But you have to look at it both ways, and if it doesn’t work out where we get the [first-round] pick, we get the pick next year and we still have the ability to improve the team this summer.” If the Lakers’ first-round pick falls outside of the top three in the NBA draft lottery, it will go to the Sixers.
- The Suns need to decide which combination of players will form their backcourt of the future with Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Devin Booker all likely to vie for starting slots, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes in his offseason primer for the franchise. Another upcoming decision the front office will need to make is regarding the center position, Marks adds. With Tyson Chandler signed for three more seasons and Alex Len set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, Phoenix may not want to pay both players big money and may need to make a tough call on whom to retain, Marks writes.
Celtics Notes: Draft, Stevens, Ainge
Armed with eight picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, the Celtics intend to work out as many players as is logistically possible, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. “This is always a fun time, just to get to know so many players,” team executive Danny Ainge said. “I think this year is a really unique opportunity for us to get to interview and spend time with and have workouts with so many different players. Often when you’re in the middle or latter part of the first round, you don’t get to evaluate fully the top players in the draft. But with eight picks in this year’s draft, we have a full range of players that we’ll have an opportunity to see. So our draft workouts will be much busier this year than ever before.”
Ainge is optimistic about the talent in this year’s draft, but the team hasn’t zeroed in on whom it would take if the first-rounder coming its way from Brooklyn lands at No. 1 overall, Forsberg relays. “[The talent is] good, but we haven’t really seen it yet. I mean, we’ve seen [the top players] as [college] freshmen, but I think that there’s a lot of change that happens between now and the draft or from when the college season ends in March to the draft also, especially with the young kids,” Ainge said. “So there will be a lot of young kids at the top of this draft, and so I think it’s too early to evaluate. I think that we have a tendency to be more critical of kids and say they’re not this or they’re not that. And then we see them two years later in the All-Star Game. So I’ll reserve judgment on that for now and look forward to the opportunity of meeting the kids at the top of the draft.”
Here’s more from Boston:
- Amid all the coaching turnover that has occurred this season, Brad Stevens gushed about his love for the city of Boston and how lucky he feels to be a member of the Celtics organization, Forsberg relays in a separate piece. “I will say this: Just doing the research before coming here and taking this job, I’m so fortunate to be here and so fortunate to be a head coach here because there’s obviously a lot of movement, but this is a great place to work and these are great people to work for,” Stevens said. “I have felt empowered every single day I’ve been here. That means that you feel like you made a great decision, and I’m very fortunate.“
- The Celtics enter the offseason with a wealth of draft picks and ample cap space, which the team will need to transform into at least one star player if it hopes to move forward as a franchise, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post writes in his offseason primer. The scribe also opines that while Boston has a number of talented players on its roster, none of them project to develop into true stars.
Hoops Rumors Originals 5/1/16-5/7/16
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- If you missed the week’s live chat, you can view the transcript here.
- We looked at the offseason ahead for both the Rockets and Clippers.
- As a part of our Prospect Profile series, we examined Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson.
- I ran down the 2015/16 D-League usage for the Pistons and Warriors.
- Chuck Myron broke down the cap situations heading into the offseason for the Grizzlies, Pistons, Clippers, Hornets and Pacers.
- We gave a refresher on how Non-Bird Rights, Biannual Exceptions and Mid-Level Exceptions work.
- Zach Links highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- If you missed any of our daily reader-driven discussions, be sure to check out the Community Shootaround archives.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
- We reviewed our commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
- Here’s how you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
GM Chris Wallace On Firing Dave Joerger
The Grizzlies made the somewhat surprising move of firing coach Dave Joerger earlier today after he led a patchwork roster that had been decimated by injuries to a record of 42-40 and the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference this season. The relationship between Joerger and Memphis’ front office had reportedly become toxic and contentious, and Joerger’s request to interview for the Kings’ and Rockets’ vacant coaching posts was apparently the final straw between the coach and team. Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace discussed the move to part ways with Joerger on the team’s official website. The entire article is worth a read, but here are some of the highlights:
On why Joerger was fired:
“The decision was made because I believe you need a deeply committed leadership team in order to establish the strong culture needed for sustainable long-term success. I don’t want to get into specifics, but our goal now is to identify the best candidate for our organization. The decision was not about Dave’s in-game coaching. Dave did an admirable job managing games. However, being an NBA head coach is about more than just coaching a 48-minute game.”
On who made the decision to fire Joerger and if team owner Robert Pera was involved:
“This was my decision. I explained my decision to Robert, just as any GM would to their owner, and he was supportive. This was not an easy decision for me and as we all know often the right decision isn’t the easy one. But with that said, I am confident that change was necessary to grow the type of culture that is needed for sustained success.”
On whether parting ways with Joerger will give the perception of organizational instability and hurt the team in free agency this offseason:
“This decision is about ensuring stability for years to come. We are a stable and unified organization and one of only three teams to have made the playoffs for six straight years. We’re planning for sustained success and will find a coach that shares our long-term outlook. Regarding your second question, our core players have re-signed with this organization time after time. We have had success attracting other talent like Brandan Wright and Vince Carter and we will continue to build on this success.”
On whether firing Joerger was motivated by personal reasons, given the reported tension between the former coach and front office:
“Nothing about this decision was personal. Neither I, nor anyone in our front office has anything against Dave as a person. This decision is solely about what I believe is best for the organization. We wish him and his family the very best in the future.”
On Joerger’s claims that he wasn’t given ample input into personnel matters and roster construction:
“We actively sought Dave’s input and thoughts on player personnel decisions, including all drafts, trades and free agency. And frankly, decisions in recent years were made with Dave’s close involvement.“
Offseason Outlook: New York Knicks
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
Coaching Search
It doesn’t appear that team president Phil Jackson is feeling any particular urgency to finalize his decision on who will lead the team next season, with a number of top candidates already landing new posts seemingly without any push from New York to schedule formal interviews. Jackson is said to favor retaining interim coach Kurt Rambis, who is intimately familiar with the triangle offense, a move that would fail to inspire much excitement given Rambis’ career coaching record of 65-164. The team is also reportedly considering former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, who met with the Knicks this week.
New York’s coaching search could become a point of contention between the front office and star forward Carmelo Anthony, who has publicly called for the team to at least listen to candidates other than Rambis. Anthony reportedly preferred Tom Thibodeau, who’s since become the coach and chief front office executive for the Timberwolves. Jackson was nonetheless disinterested in Thibodeau, and the Knicks didn’t contact him, as ESPN’s Ian Begley reported.
Carmelo Anthony’s Future
It would appear that we are entering a make-or-break offseason regarding Anthony and his future with the franchise. The small forward has thus far rebuffed any talk of him waiving his no-trade clause in order to be dealt to a contender this summer, though things could change in a hurry if the Knicks strike out in the free agent market. Anthony reportedly made it clear to the team in his exit interview that it needs to take advantage of the “window that he has” when making personnel moves this offseason.
If New York is unable to land a star player to pair alongside Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, who is arguably a bigger draw for potential free agents than ‘Melo nowadays, then it may be in everyone’s best interests to try and find a new team for the small forward. ‘Melo is 31 years old and has entered his decline phase, so finding a way to get him and the remaining three years and approximately $78.7MM of his contract off the books could be an attractive option for New York, especially given the projected quality of the 2017 free agent class.
Free Agent Targets
The Knicks’ biggest need is for a competent point guard who can take some pressure off Anthony and Porzingis, preferably one who can stretch the floor with his outside shooting. Jackson has minimized the importance of a traditional playmaker in the triangle offense, but with today’s guard-oriented NBA, having a solid point guard is vital to any team’s success. The top two point guards available via free agency are Rajon Rondo and Mike Conley, either of whom would be a major upgrade over the cast of characters New York has trotted out at the point the past few seasons.
Conley, 28, is the younger of the two, and he’s arguably a better option for the Knicks than Rondo is. The Knicks aren’t as high on Conley as they were during the season, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, who noted Jackson’s lack of emphasis on the one spot and the executive’s belief in Tony Wroten, who has yet to play a minute for the Knicks since being signed. Conley is no lock to leave Memphis, but even if he does, his nagging Achilles concerns should give the team pause when thinking about handing out a max deal to the talented playmaker. Rondo would bring with him a new set of concerns, chiefly his lack of outside shooting, advancing age and reputation for being difficult to coach. If New York could swing a short-term deal with Rondo, he would be an intriguing option, though his addition would need to be supplemented with a backcourt mate who can consistently nail his outside shots.
Potential Trades
Outside of Anthony, and assuming Porzingis is untouchable (as he should be), the Knicks don’t have much in the way of tradeable assets. Jose Calderon could be a valuable bench player on a contender, but teams likely won’t be lining up to ship anything of substance to the Knicks in return for the aging guard whose production has steadily been in decline since he arrived in New York.
If the Knicks are unable to sign a point guard this summer, the team could look to acquire one, with the Hawks’ Dennis Schröder and Jeff Teague as well as the Kings’ Darren Collison being prime targets. It’s doubtful New York has enough assets to land either of Atlanta’s playmakers, but Collison is perhaps within the team’s means to obtain. The Knicks have reportedly discussed the possibility of making a play for Collison, but it is difficult to gauge what the Kings’ plan is for anyone on the roster until Sacramento names its new head coach.
Draft Outlook
The Knicks are without a pick this June, which is the final penance the franchise will need to pay from its ill-advised trade with the Raptors for Andrea Bargnani back in 2013. New York’s pick is currently projected to be No. 7 overall, though the Nuggets will swap their pick for the Knicks’ if New York’s ends up higher than Denver’s after the lottery. Toronto gets whichever pick the Nuggets don’t take. Jackson could look to buy a second-round pick, but it’s doubtful that would yield an immediate rotation piece.
Option Decisions
Much of the Knicks’ offseason cap flexibility depends on the decisions made by Arron Afflalo ($8MM) and Derrick Williams ($4,598,000), both of whom possess player options on their respective deals. If both opt out, the Knicks could ink two upper-tier free agents instead of just one. Afflalo is likely to opt out given his dissatisfaction with being relegated to a bench role and the team’s indication that he would again be a reserve if he returns next season. Williams has signaled that he would like to remain in New York, though it isn’t clear if he intends to exercise his option to do so or decline it and attempt to sign a new deal with the team.
Final Take
To say this is a pivotal offseason for the Knicks franchise is an understatement. If Jackson is unable to score big on the free agent market this summer, it could mean the end of Anthony’s tenure in New York and usher in a complete rebuild of the team. Although, that may not be the worst thing that could happen, given that the Knicks, barring some unexpected turn of events, are unlikely to become true contenders before age and wear begin to take a significant toll on Anthony’s game. Whiffing on landing a noteworthy free agent haul could also push Jackson out the door sooner than intended, though given his seemingly laissez-faire approach, that also could be a boon for the franchise in the long run.
Guaranteed Salary
- Carmelo Anthony ($24,559,380)
- Robin Lopez ($13,219,250)
- Jose Calderon ($7,708,427)1
- Kristaps Porzingis ($4,317,720)
- Kyle O’Quinn ($3,918,750)
- Jerian Grant ($1,643,040)
- Total: $55,366,567
Player Options
- Arron Afflalo ($8,000,000)
- Derrick Williams ($4,598,000)
- Total: $12,598,000
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Tony Wroten ($1,050,961)
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Langston Galloway ($2,725,003/$2,725,003)
- Cleanthony Early ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Totals: ($3,905,434/$3,905,434)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Arron Afflalo ($9,600,000) — Pending player option
- Derrick Williams ($5,280,000) — Pending player option
- Kevin Seraphin ($3,376,800)
- Lance Thomas ($2,127,895)
- Lou Amundson ($2,126,119)
- Sasha Vujacic ($980,431)
- Total: $23,491,245
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Waiving Calderon via the stretch provision, a maneuver that’s been the subject of much speculation, would reduce his salary for next season to $2,569,475.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Grizzlies Fire Dave Joerger
The Grizzlies parted ways with head coach Dave Joerger this morning, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter links). Joerger had asked Memphis for permission to speak with other teams regarding their coaching vacancies and Memphis decided to cut its ties with him, Wojnarowski adds. Memphis is still on the hook for Joerger’s $2MM salary for 2016/17, the scribe notes, adding that the coach’s deal included a team option for the 2017/18 season. The Grizzlies intend to pursue former Pacers coach Frank Vogel, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Sacramento had been pushing hard to gain permission from the Grizzlies to speak with Joerger regarding its coaching vacancy, Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter), and Joerger is now at the top of the Kings’ wish list as they seek a replacement for George Karl. Joerger had requested permission to speak with the Kings and Rockets about their coaching vacancies, as Wojnarowski writes in a full-length post. Sacramento’s willingness to give him a long-range deal with annual salaries likely around $4MM made the Kings attractive to Joerger despite their reputation for dysfunction, Wojnarowski notes.
Memphis confirmed that Joerger was let go in an official announcement. “After careful consideration, I concluded that a change was needed to foster the strong culture required to achieve sustainable, long-term success for this organization, the city and our fans,” said GM Chris Wallace. “On behalf of the Grizzlies organization I would like to thank Dave for his work and time in Memphis. We wish Dave and his family all the best and success as he moves forward in his career.”
The trust between Joerger and the front office had eroded over the past several months, Wojnarowski notes, and tensions escalated between the coach and team management. The organization was frustrated with Joerger publicly making disparaging comments about the roster and his own limited role in player personnel, a league source told the Vertical scribe. Joerger had reportedly grown increasingly belligerent to many within the organization, believing the team was setting him up to fail in 2016/17, Wojnarowski adds.
The Grizzlies are quite high on Joerger’s coaching ability, but they failed to see eye-to-eye on personnel matters, with Joerger believing the team didn’t take his opinions seriously and the team convinced otherwise, as Wojnarowski details. Joerger was pushing for either a long-term deal from the Grizzlies or a way out, and that’s what led to his dismissal, according to Wojnarowski.
In three seasons as the Grizzlies’ head coach, Joerger’s record was 147-99 (.598), including a mark of 9-13 in the playoffs. Memphis reached the conference semifinals in 2015, losing to the eventual champion Warriors. The coach arguably did his best work this season, leading a patchwork roster that had been decimated by injuries to a record of 42-40 and the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference.
Week In Review 5/1/16-5/7/16
The Pacers dismissed head coach Frank Vogel this week. “I’ve decided that it’s time for a new voice around here,” team executive Larry Bird said. “… This is one of the toughest things I’ve done.” Bird reiterated that he wants more scoring and that his expectations for the Pacers this season were higher than most. It appeared a philosophical difference had emerged earlier this season when Bird spoke of his desire for more of an up-tempo attack and Vogel’s fondness for a traditional lineup with two big men. Bird noted that he started thinking about making a coaching change around the All-Star break but felt Vogel deserved a chance to finish the season. Vogel tried to talk Bird out of parting ways with him the morning that his dismissal took place, Bird said, conceding that he didn’t meet with Vogel face-to-face, only speaking to him on the phone.
The Pacers went 250-181 in parts of six seasons under Vogel, who inherited the head coaching job, his first in the NBA, when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien in January 2011. That record doesn’t include Vogel’s 31-30 postseason mark. Indiana made back-to-back conference finals under Vogel’s watch in 2013 and 2014.
Here’s a look back at more of the notable events from around the NBA this past week…
NBA Draft News
- The NBA released the complete list of players who have been invited to the annual scouting combine, which will be held in Chicago from May 11th-15th.
Withdrawals
- Notre Dame junior small forward V.J. Beachem.
- Iowa State junior guard Deonte Burton.
- Villanova combo forward Kris Jenkins.
- North Carolina center Kennedy Meeks.
- UConn junior point guard Rodney Purvis.
- Florida State combo guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
- Creighton junior point guard Maurice Watson Jr..
Workouts
- Abdul-Malik Abu has a workout scheduled with the Wolves.
- Josh Adams worked out for the Jazz.
- Ryan Anderson worked out for the Jazz.
- Jaron Blossomgame worked out for the Jazz and Celtics.
- Trevon Bluiett has workouts planned with the Timberwolves and Celtics. He also has a workout on tap with the Pacers.
- Isaiah Briscoe worked out for the Spurs and has workouts planned with the Clippers and Lakers.
- Charles Cooke worked out for the Celtics.
- Matt Costello worked out for the Jazz.
- Vince Edwards worked out for the Wolves and has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Grizzlies and Celtics.
- A.J. English worked out for the Jazz, Spurs and Rockets and has workouts planned with the Bucks, Cavs and Wizards.
- Yogi Ferrell has workouts scheduled with the Lakers and Clippers.
- Dorian Finney-Smith worked out for the Celtics.
- Quincy Ford worked out for the Celtics.
- Trey Freeman worked out for the Jazz.
- Marcus Georges-Hunt worked out for the Celtics.
- Marcus Gilbert worked out for the Jazz.
- Josh Hagins worked out for the Jazz.
- Alex Hamilton worked out for the Jazz.
- Derrick Jones has workouts scheduled with the Nets and Celtics.
- Jalen Jones worked out for the Jazz.
- Jordan Loveridge worked out for the Jazz.
- Sheldon McClellan worked out for the Celtics.
- Alec Peters worked out for the Rockets and Celtics.
- Malik Pope worked out for the Clippers. He also has workouts scheduled with the Celtics and Jazz.
- Ryan Spangler worked out for the Thunder.
- Mike Tobey worked out for the Celtics.
- Thomas Walkup worked out for the Jazz.
- Jameel Warney worked out for the Celtics.
- Andrew White worked out for the Jazz.
Miscellaneous News
- The Nets hired Jacque Vaughn to be the team’s top assistant coach on Kenny Atkinson’s staff.
- John Wall underwent procedures on both knees, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of next season.
- The Jazz signed coach Quin Snyder to a contract extension that carries through the 2020/21 season.
- The Grizzlies named Matt Woodley as the head coach of their D-League affiliate in Iowa.
Community Shootaround: Festus Ezeli
The Lakers reportedly have interest in signing Festus Ezeli, who is set to become a restricted free agent this offseason. While the big man could likely garner more playing time elsewhere, Ezeli prefers to re-sign with the Warriors, believing he’ll inherit a job in the starting lineup once Andrew Bogut‘s contract expires after next season, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Golden State has the ability to match any offer for Ezeli, though several league executives have suggested that it will take a three-year, $50MM deal for any team to secure the 26-year-old center.
While Ezeli remains a solid option off the bench, the 6’11” former Vanderbilt player has struggled with injuries throughout his career, only appearing in 170 regular season games since becoming the 30th overall pick in the 2012 draft. A left knee surgery helped limit him to 46 regular season appearances this year. Still, he’s impressed when he’s made it onto the court, and his performance in Tuesday’s playoff game was vital to Golden State’s win over Portland.
Ezeli’s agent, Bill Duffy, reportedly talked him out of signing what would have been a team-friendly extension with the Warriors last fall, but the center said shortly after extension discussions broke down that he wants to remain with Golden State for his entire career. Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob had suggested in January that the team would be willing to pay whatever is necessary to retain Ezeli. The Warriors may find it difficult to keep him, given they already have more than $73MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $92MM salary cap. The Lakers have much greater flexibility with only $23MM in guaranteed salary. Plus, they will have an opening at center with Roy Hibbert hitting free agency.
This brings me to the topic for today: How much do you think Festus Ezeli is worth for his next contract?
The center has career averages of 4.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and one block per game in 14.1 minutes per appearance. His career shooting numbers are .513/.000/.557. While those numbers aren’t earth-shattering, they represent a small sample size of what Ezeli may be capable of if given additional playing time. But is his potential worth the risk of signing him to a long-term deal for upward of $14MM-$16MM per season? That is the question that prospective suitors will need to ask themselves, and the same is true for the Warriors, who could benefit by keeping their roster as intact as possible, given the team’s success and stellar chemistry.
But what say you? Is Ezeli a starting-caliber center in your eyes? What do you believe a fair contract would look like for the big man? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Draft Notes: Purvis, Edwards, Jacobs, Bluiett
Here are the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 23rd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York:
- Purdue sophomore small forward Vince Edwards worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday, has scheduled a workout with the Celtics for next Friday and is expected to work out for the Grizzlies in the near future, Nathan Baird of The Lafayette Journal & Courier reports. Edwards is the ranked as the 24th-best sophomore by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
- Xavier small forward Trevon Bluiett has a workout scheduled with the Pacers, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (on Twitter). The 20-year-old is the No. 19 overall sophomore in his class according to Givony.
- UNLV freshman swingman Derrick Jones, who is ranked No. 99 overall according to Givony, has a workout scheduled with the Nets on May 18th and another with the Celtics on May 20th, Zagoria reports (Twitter link).
- USC junior point guard Julian Jacobs intends to hire an agent and will forgo his remaining year of NCAA eligibility, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The 22-year-old is certainly taking a risk, since he is no lock to be selected in June’s draft. Jacobs is the 75th best junior overall per Givony’s rankings.
- UConn junior point guard Rodney Purvis is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and will return to school for his senior campaign, Goodman reports (via Twitter). Purvis, who is ranked No. 79 among juniors, averaged 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists this past season for the Huskies.