And-Ones: Skiles, White, D-League, Butler
Despite the Magic being out of the playoff hunt, which gives the team an opportunity to evaluate its younger players for the future, coach Scott Skiles noted that playing time will still need to be earned through hard work and performance, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel relays. “It’s imperative that we get away from just playing guys regardless of what they do. That’s a terrible mistake, in my opinion. I don’t think that’s how guys develop properly,” Skiles said.
“You also have to verbalize it to guys — and it has been a whole bunch of times — we want guys to earn their minutes and understand how you perform is important,” Skiles continued. “If you’re a young player and you have a bad game or something, you certainly don’t want them sulking or getting too down about it. But on the other hand, you want them to have some sense of urgency that, ‘I have to perform. This is big-time pro sports,’ and it’s not just, ‘That’s OK because I’m here to develop and by Year four I’ll magically be [a great player].’ That’s not the way it works.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Suns affiliate player Terrico White has a signed contract to play for Israel’s Nes-Ziona at the end of the D-League season, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter link), bringing clarity to some conflicting reports about his status. White, the 36th pick in the 2010 draft, was on Phoenix’s NBA roster for the preseason this past fall.
- Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler said that he doesn’t think he’ll need to undergo surgery this offseason on his injured left knee, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune relays (via Twitter). Butler also noted that he hasn’t been informed by any doctors that the malady would require going under the knife to repair, Johnson adds.
- The Thunder recalled Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.
- The Celtics have recalled Coty Clarke and James Young from their D-League affiliate in Maine, the team announced. This concludes Clarke’s second assignment to the Red Claws and Young’s 11th.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Philadelphia 76ers
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Philadelphia 76ers, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $63,214,237*
- Remaining Cap Room= $6,785,763
- Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $21,197,863
*Note: This figure includes the $12,000,000 due JaVale McGee, the $10,105,855 owed to Gerald Wallace, the $2,836,768 due Furkan Aldemir, the $750,000 owed to Pierre Jackson, the $200,000 due Scottie Wilbekin, the $845,059 owed to JaKarr Sampson, the $6,178 in salary paid to Jordan McRae, the $222,392 due Christian Wood, the $183,883 owed to Phil Pressey, the $2,179,353 due Tony Wroten, the $6,178 paid to Jordan Railey and finally, the $3,089 paid to J.P. Tokoto, all of whom were waived by the team.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Room= $1,539,424
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $2,400,000
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Week In Review 3/20/16-3/26/16
Here’s a look back at the notable events from around the NBA this past week.
NBA Draft News
- LSU freshman Ben Simmons will enter the NBA draft.
- Yale sophomore point guard Makai Mason will declare for this year’s NBA draft.
- Florida State freshman Malik Beasley will declare for the NBA draft.
- Mississippi State combo guard Malik Newman will enter this year’s NBA draft.
- Washington State junior shooting guard Que Johnson will declare for this year’s draft.
- Providence junior point guard Kris Dunn will enter the NBA draft.
- North Carolina State junior point guard Cat Barber will enter the draft.
- Purdue freshman Caleb Swanigan intends to enter the NBA Draft.
- Providence power forward Ben Bentil will enter this year’s NBA draft.
- University of Washington freshmen Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray intend to enter the NBA Draft.
- Florida State freshman Dwayne Bacon intends to enter the 2016 NBA Draft.
- Every underclassman on the University of Kentucky basketball team intends to test the waters and enter the NBA draft.
- North Carolina State sophomore Abdul-Malik Abu intends to enter the draft.
You can keep track of all the early entrants for the 2016 NBA Draft here.
Signings
- The Grizzlies signed Jordan Farmar to a 10-day deal.
- The Grizzlies signed Ray McCallum to a second 10-day contract.
- Melvin Ejim, who was in training camp with the Magic earlier this season, signed with the Italian club Reyer Venezia.
- The Timberwolves signed Greg Smith for the rest of the season.
- The Nuggets signed Axel Toupane to a two-year deal.
- The Pelicans signed Jordan Hamilton to a 10-day contract.
You can stay up to date on all the 10-day deals handed out with our 10-day contract tracker.
Miscellaneous News
- Anthony Davis was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and a left knee injury. The Pelicans big man will undergo surgery for both and will miss the remainder of the season as a result.
- Jahlil Okafor underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season.
- Trail Blazers big man Meyers Leonard requires surgery on his injured left shoulder and will miss the remainder of the season as a result.
- Chandler Parsons had season-ending surgery to remedy the torn meniscus in his right knee.
D-League News
- Briante Weber, whom the Grizzlies chose not to re-sign when his 10-day contract ended, rejoined the Heat’s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls.
- Orlando Johnson, whose 10-day contract with the Pelicans expired last weekend, rejoined the Austin Spurs.
You can stay up to date on all the D-League assignments and recalls for the season here.
And-Ones: Anthony, Stepheson, Dunleavy Sr.
Cavs shooting guard J.R. Smith feels for his former Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony and the struggles he’s endured, but he firmly believes that ‘Melo wants to stick it out and make things work in New York, Peter Botte of The New York Daily News writes. “I know it’s been hard on him,” Smith said. “It’s one of those situations when you’re a great player in the league and you just don’t have the support system, that cast that you’ve been accustomed to like when we were in Denver or the earlier years when he got to New York. I know it’s been a frustrating process, but if anybody can get through it, it will be Melo.”
“And I know he absolutely wants to make it work here [New York],” Smith continued. “This is everything he asked for, I mean, except for not making the playoffs and stuff like that. But everything he’s doing for the city and for the Knicks, I think it’s harder for him now more than anything. He doesn’t have the whole supporting cast yet, but this year has been better than last year and I think they will continue to improve. And the way I know him, he’s committed there, for sure.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Alex Stepheson has returned to the Iowa Energy, which is the D-League affiliate of Memphis, after the Grizzlies declined to sign him to a second 10-day contract, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (Twitter link). The 28-year-old made four appearances for Memphis and averaged 5.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per outing.
- The fact that Pelicans big man Anthony Davis has played the past three seasons with a shoulder injury makes his performance all the more impressive, though it does raise questions about whether he is more injury-prone than previously believed, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. The scribe posits that New Orleans may need to rest Davis more often in the future to help maintain his health but also points to Dwight Howard, who has dealt with similar shoulder issues since 2013, as a reason to believe Davis can continue to log significant minutes without being coddled.
- Former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. has a verbal agreement in place to become the next head coach of Tulane University, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com reports. Dunleavy has zero college coaching experience but owns a career NBA mark of 613-716 from his stints with the Lakers, Bucks, Trail Blazers and Clippers.
- The Hawks have recalled Lamar Patterson from the D-League, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Patterson was assigned to the Canton Charge, the affiliate of the Cavs, via the flexible assignment rule.
Southeast Notes: Harris, Haslem, Millsap
Being dealt to the Pistons at the trade deadline this season initially stunned Tobias Harris, but he harbors no feelings of resentment toward the Magic, noting that he understands that Orlando’s roster needed a shakeup, John Denton of NBA.com relays. “No hard feelings at all because the situation in Orlando was always like family to me,’’ said Harris. “Getting traded from Milwaukee to over there [Orlando in 2013], I got an opportunity to show what I could do and I got to meet some really great people throughout the city. So no hard feelings at all and I wish them nothing but the best going forward. I still have a great relationship with those [Magic] guys and I got to see a lot of them [on Tuesday], so it’s all love for them.’’
Magic coach Scott Skiles noted that his call to Harris to tell the combo forward he had been traded was an emotional one, Denton adds. “It was hard, very hard. He and I are still in communication,’’ Skiles said. “It’s always hard with any player, but Tobias and I go back even further than the Orlando Magic. Those things are very difficult and it’s the worst part of the business.’’
Here’s more from out of the Southeast Division:
- Udonis Haslem has seen his role markedly diminished for the Heat this season, but teammate Dwyane Wade stuck up for his teammate and noted that the veteran can still play and would be a rotation player on quite a few other teams, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. “Just look at Udonis,” Wade said. “He’s a three-time champion. There’s guys on other teams playing around this league that I would put him against any day, and here he’s not playing and not getting minutes. Think about the pride that takes and the ego that he doesn’t have to still be here and not be asking to get out of here, to not be tearing up the locker room every night. I get it. It’s tough. Special guys like that come around and when an organization has those guys, they try to keep them as much as they can.”
- Paul Millsap spurned other suitors last summer and re-signed with the Hawks because he believed that the franchise was on the cusp of becoming a perennial contender in the East, Michael Lee of the Vertical writes. While the team won’t equal its 60 wins of a season ago, the power forward still believes Atlanta has what it takes to reach the Conference Finals, Lee adds. “I think we do. Record says otherwise. But we don’t care about the record,” Millsap told Lee. “I think the main thing we have to do is stay focused on winning as many as we can. I don’t think we care where we fall. As long we’re in and we have an opportunity to play for a title, it doesn’t matter where we fall. Because at the end of day, we’re going to have to go through everybody. And whoever it is in the first round, hopefully, we’ll be ready.“
Knicks Notes: Afflalo, Calderon, Thibodeau
The Knicks’ decision to shift shooting guard Arron Afflalo to a reserve role was not a punitive one, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “This is not a punishment,” Rambis said of Afflalo’s demotion. “It’s more his natural position. All players want to start — I get that. I’m sure he’d rather be starting.” The team could be sending the veteran a message that if he chooses to exercise his player option for 2016/17, he will continue to come off the bench, Berman notes. The scribe also speculates that the team could be trying to reduce Afflalo’s market value as a free agent, thus making it easier to re-sign him.
Here’s more from New York:
- The Knicks are thinking about using the stretch provision to part ways with Jose Calderon this summer, and the chances of that occurring would be greatly increased if Tony Wroten shows promise in summer league play as he makes his way back from ACL surgery, Berman notes in the same piece. Waiving Calderon would allow the team to open approximately $5MM in extra cap space for this summer.
- Rookie Jerian Grant has replaced Langston Galloway as the first playmaker off the bench and has been working hard in practice to improve upon his woeful 19.7% shooting from three-point range, Berman adds. “[Grant] has been working on the shot all year,” Rambis said. “He knew it was something he had to work on to keep defenses honest. Hand placement. His balance. Just for younger players to learn to shoot from the NBA 3-point line. It’s different than college. He’s working hard on it. He knows it’s part of the game he has to get better.” The Post scribe also relays that the Knicks now view Galloway strictly as a shooting guard and believe that their efforts to convert him into a point guard have failed.
- A number of Tom Thibodeau‘s former players on the Bulls have noted the coach’s affinity for New York, and while they stopped short of saying the Knicks are his preferred destination, their comments seem to indicate that he would jump at the chance to coach the team, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “That’s all we talked about is the New York atmosphere and how he’s had tough-minded New York teams,” Taj Gibson told Bondy. “And that’s something we talked about all the time and that’s what we tried to incorporate the last couple of years. All-around, he’s a good guy. Almost every day we talked about his time in New York. We talked about them battles the Knicks used to have. Just talk about Knicks stuff in general. He loves New York. He always had high praise talking about the Knicks.”
2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Orlando Magic
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Orlando Magic, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $63,515,581*
- Remaining Cap Room= $6,484,419
- Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $21,224,419
*Note: This amount includes the $100,00 due both Jordan Sibert and Keith Appling, the $150,000 owed to Melvin Ejim, the $845,059 due Joe Harris, the $947,276 owed to Jared Cunningham and the $1,150,000 due Chris Copeland, all of whom were waived by the team.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- Room= $1,555,976
- Trade Exception= $7,043,029 (Channing Frye. Expires February 18th, 2017)
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $1,286,686
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/25/16
Dirk Nowitzki declined to say anything definitive when asked recently whether he would leave the Mavericks if they went into rebuilding mode. The 37-year-old who has a player option worth only about $8.7MM for next season fielded the query on the “Ben and Skin Show” on KRLD-FM. “You know, that’s something I’ll focus on from summer to summer,” Nowitzki said. “I’m in the midst of chasing the playoffs here and trying to play well and compete every night. That’s something we’ll revisit this summer. Obviously I still have a year on the contract. I could choose to opt out. I think that’s in my contract. Honestly, I haven’t really spent a lot of thought on that at all. Like I said, I want to really make the playoffs bad. I think our fan base deserves that. It’s always a fun part of the year. The competition is high. We’d love to be a part of that. Everything else we can, you know, come together and talk about after. There’s just not enough thought put into it right now. Hopefully we can squeeze in the playoffs and then we can talk about all that stuff later.”
The veteran big man later clarified his comments, saying that he intends to opt in with Dallas for the 2016/17 campaign and adding that he’s envisioned playing the rest of his career with the Mavs ever since they won the 2011 title. But Nowitzki also reiterated that he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding effort. “If I’m not mistaken, the question was, if we’re going through a rebuilding phase, is what they asked me yesterday, and obviously I want to compete,” Nowitzki said. “I want to compete at the highest level. I always want to make the playoffs, and even more. So, if that’s what the Mavs are going to do is rebuild, then, you know, well, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
The idea that Nowitzki sees rebuilding as distasteful ostensibly leaves the door open for him to leave Dallas at some point, but his willingness to make financial sacrifices means the Mavs have an easier financial path to surrounding him with top-flight talent, making it less likely they rebuild, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron noted earlier today. The power forward has been the textbook definition of a loyal player, accepting a salary well below his market value to remain with the Mavs and to allow the team to sign other players. It would be almost impossible to fault him if he decided he wanted one last shot at an NBA title with another franchise. While it’s certainly difficult to picture Nowitzki in a different uniform, there have been numerous other players throughout the years who have signed on with other clubs in order to chase a ring in the twilight of their careers.
This brings me to the topic for today: Should Dirk Nowitzki opt out of his deal this summer and sign on with a team that has a better shot at winning a title than the Mavericks do?
If you believe that Nowitzki should indeed leave Dallas, where would be the best landing spot for him in 2016/17? Would you support him in such a move, or would he be vilified in your eyes for abandoning the Mavericks? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Pelicans Sign Jordan Hamilton To 10-Day Deal
FRIDAY, 11:14am: The signing is official, the team announced, acknowledging that the deal came via the hardship provision. Frazier’s 10-day contract runs through the rest of today, so the Pelicans have 17 players for now, two above the usual limit. Hamilton’s pact covers five games, against the Raptors, Knicks, Spurs, Nuggets and Nets.
THURSDAY, 7:22pm: The Pelicans plan to sign swingman Jordan Hamilton to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is currently playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate. New Orleans currently has 16 players on its roster, including Tim Frazier, whose first 10-day pact with the team expires on Friday. It’s unclear if the Pelicans will decline to ink the point guard to a second 10-day arrangement or if the team will be adding Hamilton via a second hardship allowance.
New Orleans should have little difficulty being approved for a 17th roster spot, having been besieged by injuries this season. The team is currently missing Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter, all of whom are out for the remainder of the campaign. Adding to the team’s woes, Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson are both expected to be out of action through the weekend. In order for a team to be granted an extra roster spot, it must have three players who have missed at least three straight games because of injury or illness, plus a fourth player who is also unable to perform.
Hamilton, 25, had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktyabr, aka Volgograd, back in August but parted ways with the team in November. He joined the Rockets’ D-League affiliate in February and has appeared in 14 games, averaging 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.2 minutes per contest.
The 6’7” Hamilton appeared in 14 games for the Clippers during the 2014/15 season, averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.7 minutes per game. His career numbers through parts of four NBA campaigns are 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists to accompany a slash line of .405/.366/.671.
Nuggets Ink Axel Toupane To Two-Year Deal
FRIDAY, 10:40am: The signing is official, the Nuggets announced via press release. The team also acknowledged it on Twitter. It will pay $61,776 this season.
THURSDAY, 3:21pm: The Nuggets have reached agreement with Axel Toupane on a two-year deal, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). Next season’s salary is non-guaranteed, Charania adds. Denver only has the prorated minimum salary to give, so the rookie will see no more than $64,864 this season, with the precise value dependent on when he formally signs the contract. The non-guaranteed pay for next season is $874,636.
The shooting guard’s second 10-day pact expired overnight, so Denver had to make a decision about whether to sign him or let him walk. The Nuggets have a roster count of 15 players, the league maximum for the regular season, so inking Toupane will limit Denver’s roster flexibility the rest of the campaign. The team is dealing with a number of injuries, with Wilson Chandler lost for the season, Danilo Gallinari on the shelf until April with ankle woes and Kenneth Faried struggling with back issues.
Toupane has appeared in 11 games for the Nuggets and is averaging 3.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 13.8 minutes per outing. His shooting line is .263/.292/.857.