Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/24/16
LeBron James is reportedly holding out hope that he can team with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul for at least one season before they all retire. James, 31, and Wade, 34, can hit free agency this summer, but the 30-year-old Paul’s locked in with the Clippers through next season and Anthony, 31, doesn’t have an opt-out in his deal until the summer of 2018. “I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together,” James told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report just before the All-Star break last month. “At least one, maybe one or two seasons — me, Melo, D-Wade, CP — we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that.”
It would be extremely difficult for any team to fit the quartet on its roster within the salary cap, even with the projected increase that is set to take effect this summer. If James truly wishes for this to occur, he would likely be the player who would need to make the largest financial sacrifice. Unless Anthony and Paul were willing to agree to buyout arrangements with their current teams, which is a highly unlikely scenario, LeBron would need to be the player who takes the hit. Wade isn’t a max player any more, unless Miami is feeling deeply sentimental come this offseason, so any sacrifice of income he made would pale in comparison to what James would likely need to give up to make this theoretical grouping of star players a reality.
There also remains the question of where the quartet would play. The only franchise that I could realistically see making this work in the immediate future given the players’ current salaries is the Cavaliers. Cleveland could theoretically trade Kevin Love to the Knicks for Anthony and ship Kyrie Irving to the Clippers for Paul, though in both instances the Cavs would be taking on more salary than they shipped out. It’s also not a given that Los Angeles and New York would agree to such deals, though the Knicks taking on Love in exchange for Anthony isn’t as far-fetched to me as the Clippers flipping Paul for Irving. Then it would be up to Wade to leave Miami, a city where he has played his entire NBA career, for the much colder climate of Ohio, and he’d have to take a pay cut to do so.
Which brings me to the topic(s) for today: Do you think that LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade will ever play together? If so, what team do you think they would suit up for? Would this grouping of stars guarantee an NBA title?
Take to the comments section to share your thoughts, trade ideas and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Eastern Notes: Noel, Antetokounmpo, Pistons
The Pistons as a franchise feel that their core is set and intend to focus this offseason on finding players whose positions and skill sets complement their current roster, David Mayo of MLive writes. “We’ve got to really look at our roster, realistically, and decide where we want to go,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said. “And also, you’re assessing the guys, quite honestly, in terms of value, so that when deals are presented, you’ve sat and talked and have a value on all of your guys.” Van Gundy added that “maybe quicker, more athletic” defenders and off-the-dribble creators are on the team’s shopping list for the summer, Mayo relays.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo is excited at the prospect of being the Bucks‘ focal point on offense and said the added pressure will only make him toil more this offseason, Spencer Davies of AmicoHoops.net relays. “It’s that special. I’ve got a lot of responsibility in my hands, so I’ve got to handle it real well and try to get better — show my coach that I can handle it no matter how old I am,” Antetokounmpo told Davies. “But I feel good enough. I feel proud of myself because I’ve been working hard these past years that I was in the league. Seeing all this, my hard work, paying off — it feels nice. That makes me want to work harder.”
- Sixers big man Nerlens Noel admits all the losses the franchise has endured the past two seasons are starting to weigh on him mentally, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “Yeah, I’m human. So it’s tough,” Noel said. “I can’t lie about that. Sometimes it’s tougher than other times. When you feel that it starts affecting you personally, you do your best to try to make it turn [in the right direction]. But it’s been a long year, especially this one, and dealing with a lot more [losses.]” Philadelphia’s record since Noel was drafted in 2013 is a woeful 46-190 overall.
Meyers Leonard To Miss Remainder of 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, Chris Mannix of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Leonard has missed the team’s past four games after dislocating the shoulder during a contest against the Thunder on March 10th. It’s the second time he’s suffered the ailment this season, so he sought a second opinion this week, which confirmed the need for surgery, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian relays. The surgery is scheduled for April 8th and a timeline for Leonard’s return will be established once the procedure is completed, Freeman adds.
Leonard, who is eligible to become a restricted free agent at season’s end if Portland extends him a qualifying offer worth $4,210,880, appeared in 61 games this season, including 10 as a starter. The power forward’s averages on the campaign are 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.9 minutes per outing. His slash line is .448/.377/.761.
Portland currently has 15 players on its roster, which is the regular season maximum, so the team won’t be able to add another player unless someone is waived. The Blazers aren’t eligible to apply for an extra spot via the hardship provision since Leonard is the only player on the team who is injured and scheduled to miss time.
Western Notes: Howard, White, Mitchell
The market for Rockets big man Dwight Howard, who is expected to turn down his player option of more than $23.282MM and test the free agent market this summer, is a difficult one to gauge, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com. The scribe cites the diminishing importance of traditional big men in the league as well as concerns about Howard’s health and drive to win as reasons the veteran may find it difficult to land a max salary deal this offseason. If Houston decides not to attempt to re-sign the big man this summer, it may be more about the team utilizing cap space to ink role players and strengthen the bench than any dissatisfaction with Howard, Powell adds.
Here’s more from out West:
- Suns affiliate player Terrico White hasn’t signed with an international team and intends to remain in the D-League, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (via Twitter). It was reported earlier that White backed out of an agreement with Israel’s Maccabi Rishon to sign with rival Nes-Ziona.
- Despite the Pelicans‘ free fall in the standings this season, the team has no intention to jockey for a better lottery position via tanking, coach Alvin Gentry told John Reid of The Times Picayune. ”What we try to do is that when we walk out on the court, we try to play at the highest level that we can,” Gentry said. ”Wherever that gets us in the draft, that gets us in the draft. I’ve never been a guy that thought, ‘Hey lets get some extra pingpong balls or whatever.’ I don’t know how you sell that to your players. So for us every night we step out, we’re going to try to be as competitive as we possibly can.’‘ New Orleans currently has a 6.3% shot at landing the No. 1 overall pick this June, as is shown by our Reverse Standings tracker.
- The Timberwolves are taking a similar approach to how the Thunder built their roster through the draft in order to become a Western Conference power, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post observes. The franchise’s collection of young talent and potential top five pick in this year’s NBA draft have Minnesota primed to become a force in the near future, Bontemps opines. The scribe also predicts that interim coach Sam Mitchell will retain the job for next season, pointing to his closeness to the late Flip Saunders as well as his rapport with veteran Kevin Garnett.
Abdul-Malik Abu To Enter Draft
North Carolina State sophomore Abdul-Malik Abu intends to test the waters and enter the 2016 NBA draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Abu won’t hire an agent right away, Goodman notes, so he’ll retain his college eligibility if he pulls out in advance of the May 25th withdrawal deadline.
The power forward has demonstrated some raw potential as a post player during his two seasons with the Wolfpack, who ended the 2015/16 campaign with a mark of 16-17. Abu appeared in 33 games this season and averaged 12.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.3 minutes per contest to accompany a shooting line of .490/.000/.630.
It’s probably a wise decision for Abu to delay hiring an agent since he’s not a surefire draft pick this season. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks him as the No. 25 overall sophomore, and he doesn’t even appear on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s list of his top 100 players.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
In addition to our regular weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted every Sunday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/23/16
The Sixers face a long climb if they wish to return to prominence in the Eastern Conference. The effectiveness of GM Sam Hinkie‘s rebuilding through tanking plan is certainly debatable given the team’s woeful record the past few seasons. One major critique levied against Hinkie is his failure to build a cohesive roster, a valid criticism given his lack of attention to the team’s backcourt the past two years. The executive has used three lottery picks in a row to select big men, players whose skills don’t appear to complement each other, which will likely become a bigger issue when and if Joel Embiid finally makes his NBA debut.
Hinkie did land point guard Michael Carter-Williams in the 2014 NBA Draft, a player who snagged Rookie of the Year Honors for the 2013/14 campaign. While Carter-Williams’ game certainly has its flaws, he did provide the team with steady production at a critical position. Since dealing away the 24-year-old to the Bucks during the 2014/15 season, the Sixers have struggled to find a playmaker who could run the team as well as help their young big men develop.
Philadelphia made an attempt to fix this glaring roster hole this season with its acquisition of Ish Smith from the Pelicans in December, a move that hasn’t translated into wins, but there is no denying that the Sixers are a better team since Smith arrived. In 39 games since joining Philly, Smith has notched 14.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 31.7 minutes per night. Smith certainly has his negatives as a player, namely his high turnover rate (2.5 per game) and shaky shot selection (39.7% from the field overall), but he has certainly performed better than anyone the team has trotted out at the one spot since Carter-Williams was dealt.
This brings me to the question/topic for today: Is Ish Smith the long-term answer at point guard for the Sixers?
The Sixers aren’t viewed as a free agent destination around the league given their current state, which doesn’t bode well for landing a big name free agent to lead the team this offseason. This means that the team will either need to pin its hopes on Smith, who is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, attempt to upgrade via the draft or to try and strike gold on the free agent market with a lower-tiered player.
So what say you? Should the Sixers look to re-sign Smith this offseason and hand the team over to him, or is he just a placeholder in your eyes? If you don’t believe Smith is the solution, who is a realistic target for the team either via the draft, free agency or the trade market? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
And-Ones: Anthony, Pierce, Grizzlies
Carmelo Anthony noted that the drama surrounding LeBron James and the Cavaliers this season is more trivial than what the Knicks are dealing with, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News relays. “Their drama is more comical,” Anthony said. “It’s more getting off of Twitter. You know what I mean? It’s always something that they blow up; him [James] unfollowing the organization. Him shutting his Twitter down. It’s always something there along those lines. Over here it’s, you know, drama … different type of drama over here.”
The small forward is growing tired with those who question his loyalty to the Knicks and the constant questions regarding if he would waive his no-trade clause this summer, Isola adds. “I know the reason why I [re-signed],” Anthony said. “And the people that really understand it know why I’m sticking out. I think it is odd to question loyalty at this point and time especially when I’ve shown time and time again my loyalty to not just the organization but to New York and vice versa. At this point I just go out and play basketball and try not to worry about it.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Grizzlies coaching staff deserves credit for keeping the team in the playoff hunt despite having to use 27 players this season because of the rash of injuries that have befallen the roster, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. Coach Dave Joerger also credits the team’s veteran players with holding things together amid all the lineup and roster changes, Adande adds. “It’s crazy,” Joerger said. “It’s a couple of things, though. First of all, it’s veteran leadership. It’s Matt Barnes, Vince Carter, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph. Those guys have really been helping our younger guys, taking them under their wing. Our staff has done a great job with the young guys and new guys and helping them get acclimated. Our guys have accepted each other for who they are as individuals.”
- Sixers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce was interviewed on Tuesday for the vacant head coaching post at Santa Clara University, his alma mater, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (Twitter link). Pierce played for the Broncos from 1998-2002, then served as an assistant coach from 2003-2007 before joining the Cavs as coordinator for player development prior to the 2007/08 season. He’s been with the Sixers since 2013.
Western Notes: McCollum, Sampson, Ingles
The Trail Blazers have benefited from their decision to allow Wesley Matthews to depart as a free agent last summer because it allowed C.J. McCollum to take on a larger role, one that he has taken full advantage of this season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “Some players aren’t ready for the drastic change,” McCollum said. “I was ready. The opportunity increased, and my game rose with the increase. I knew what I was capable of. I just needed the opportunity to play.” The team isn’t surprised by McCollum’s breakout season, MacMahon notes. “If C.J. doesn’t get hurt in his rookie year, and by the time he comes back we were 22-4, we’d probably be talking about a three-year starter now,” GM Neil Olshey said. “This wouldn’t be year one of a Lillard-McCollum backcourt. We always believed in C.J.”
Despite their faith in McCollum’s abilities, he wasn’t the reason that the Blazers elected not to re-sign Matthews, MacMahon adds. “I don’t think that was by any means the motivating factor or deciding factor in what we did,” coach Terry Stotts said. “We knew. Neil drafted him. We were very confident in what he could do.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Nuggets combo forward JaKarr Sampson has fond memories of playing in Philadelphia and said he was surprised when he found out the Sixers had waived him, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Sampson was released in order to clear a roster spot for Joel Anthony, but the team lost out when the trade was voided. “Even though I was on a non-guaranteed [contract], I was expecting to be there longer than what I was,” Sampson said. “A lot of that had to do with I like Philly. I fell in love with the city. I loved how the city supported us. They still support us even though we are going through struggles, and we have been going through struggles for like three years.“
- Joe Ingles‘ role with the Jazz has been reduced this season, but he’s remained positive and has contributed when called upon, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “It’s not easy. It’s not something that obviously every player wants to play as much as possible,” Ingles said. “So it’s difficult sometimes, but at the end of the day, the bigger picture obviously is to win games and hopefully to push toward the playoffs.” The 28-year-old is only averaging 14.7 minutes per contest this season after logging 21.2 in 2014/15.
- The Rockets have assigned rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell to the D-League, the team announced. This will be Harrell’s fifth jaunt to Rio Grande Valley on the season.
Dwayne Bacon To Enter NBA Draft
Florida State freshman Dwayne Bacon intends to test the waters and enter the 2016 NBA Draft, reports Jon Rothstein of CBSSports (Twitter link). He won’t hire an agent right away, Rothstein notes, so he’ll retain his college eligibility if he pulls out in advance of the May 25th withdrawal deadline.
Bacon isn’t guaranteed to be drafted this June, which makes his decision to hold off on hiring an agent a wise move. The 20-year-old is currently ranked as the 74th overall prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, coming in at No. 19 among freshmen, according to the scribe. ESPN’s Chad Ford pegs Bacon as a late second-rounder at best, so his predraft workouts will be vital if he hopes to make the leap to the NBA for next season.
The small forward appeared in 34 games for the Seminoles and averaged 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.8 minutes per contest. His slash line on the campaign was .447/.281/.714.