International Notes: Zizic, Nunnally, Daniels, Yabusele, Macon
Former NBA first-round pick Ante Zizic, who signed last summer with Maccabi Tel Aviv, will be returning to the Israeli club for another season, the team confirmed today (via Twitter). The 24-year-old previously spent three seasons in the NBA, all with the Cavaliers, averaging 6.0 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 113 games (13.4 MPG).
Maccabi Tel Aviv also recently announced the signing of an NBA free agent, announcing in a press release that James Nunnally was joining the team on a one-year contract with a second-year option. Nunnally has plenty of EuroLeague experience under his belt, but actually finished the 2020/21 season on an NBA roster, having signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans in April.
Here are a few more updates from the international basketball world:
- After announcing the signing of Nicolo Melli last week, Olimpia Milano has added another veteran with NBA experience, inking shooting guard Troy Daniels to a contract, per the team. Daniels, who will turn 30 on Thursday, has played 339 NBA games for seven teams, averaging 6.6 PPG with a .395 3PT%. He last played for Denver in 2020.
- Former NBA first-round pick Guerschon Yabusele, who played in France last season, is headed to Spain for the 2021/22 season. He has signed a one-year contract with Real Madrid, according to a team press release. Yabusele spent two NBA seasons with the Celtics , appearing in 74 games from 2017-19.
- Panathinaikos BC has officially signed former NBA guard Daryl Macon to a one-year contract with a second-year option, the Greek club stated in a press release. A report last week indicated the move was expected to happen. Macon saw a little NBA action from 2018-20 for Dallas and Miami.
Bobby Portis Talks 2020 Free Agency, Giannis, Mirotic, Bulls
Speaking to Shams Charania of The Athletic about his experience as a free agent in 2020, Bucks forward Bobby Portis confirmed that the Knicks offered him a new contract after turning down his $15.75MM team option. However, he didn’t view New York as a “good situation” for him in 2019/20 and was unsure about whether the new leadership group (executives Leon Rose and William Wesley, along with head coach Tom Thibodeau) would change that.
“Obviously, Leon and (Wesley) and those guys were going to come in and try to change it around, but I just wanted to go to a winning culture and where I felt like I can fit in with guys,” Portis said. “I watched the bubble last season and I watched Milwaukee a lot, and I felt like it was a team I really fit on.
Joining the Bucks meant taking a substantial pay cut — Milwaukee had to fit in Portis using the bi-annual exception, meaning he earned just $3.6MM in 2020/21. However, the 26-year-old told Charania that he has saved money throughout his career and that a modest salary “wasn’t the biggest issue” for him, since he hopes to be playing in the NBA for another decade. After years of playing for lottery teams, Portis’ preference was to show he’s capable of contributing to a contender.
“I wanted to use this year as a get-back year for me just to get my name back,” Portis said. “An investment year. And so far, so good. It’s one of the best decisions of my career so far.”
Here are a few more of the most notable comments from Portis’ interview with Charania:
On how he and the Bucks began free agent talks last offseason:
“I actually hit Giannis (Antetokounmpo) up and told him I can come help the team and I can help everyone out. He went to the boss (front office) and told him come and get me.
“… I didn’t know Giannis much. So being able to reach out to him and him responding back was great. He was over in Greece. We were in two different time zones so I had to catch him when he was seven hours. I finally caught up with him, and everything worked out.”
On what changed his mindset and made him want to take a discount to play for a winning team:
“I think last year, the bubble did it for me. Years before, when my team didn’t make the playoffs, I was able to take my mind off of it. Going on a trip with my family or traveling or flying here and working out there. But last year when my team wasn’t invited to the bubble, I think that’s when I had enough of it because I was at home for f—ing nine months from March to November. No NBA games to play in, just straight working out. Watching the other teams that were invited in the bubble from home, that’s what really did it for me.”
On the 2017 incident when Portis punched Bulls teammate Nikola Mirotic in practice:
“Me and Mirotic, we always got into altercations. That wasn’t our first time. The guys in the front office knew that. That one was a little different. Some of the things that got misconstrued was that I sucker-punched him or whatever. The guys that were there at the time, they knew what happened. If it was that serious, they wouldn’t have offered me a contract extension.
“… What’s so crazy is me and (Mirotic) were balling together when he came back from injury. I haven’t talked to him ever since then, but no hard feelings at all my way. I was 22 at the time, and he was 26 or something. So we were both young guys. That’s a blur for me.”
On turning down a four-year contract extension (reportedly worth $40-50MM) from the Bulls prior to his fourth NBA season in 2018:
“If I knew then what I know now, I’d tell my younger self to take the extension. It’s life-changing money, money that can set my family up and generational wealth that can provide for generations to come. I wasn’t looking at it like that. I was looking at it like, ‘Oh, I think my worth is this and that.’ But really at the time, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Sometimes, it works for people. I would’ve told myself to take it. I think it was a great fit for me. I had a very good connection with the Bulls.”
Terence Davis To Seek $9MM Per Year As RFA?
Kings guard Terence Davis won’t accept his modest $1.9MM qualifying offer in free agency this offseason, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, who reports that Davis is expected to seek a new contract worth in the neighborhood of $9MM annually.
Davis, who signed with the Raptors as an undrafted free agent in 2019, earned a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team a year ago, then was traded to the Kings at the 2021 trade deadline. He played some of the best basketball of his career down the stretch in Sacramento, averaging 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game on .439/.372/.784 shooting in 27 games (21.5 MPG).
Near the end of the season, Davis spoke about a desire to re-sign with the Kings, and the team will have the ability to match any offer he receives, since he’ll be a restricted free agent.
Anderson likens Davis’ situation to that of Grizzlies guard De’Anthony Melton, who reached restricted free agency in 2020 after two NBA seasons. Melton – whose offensive numbers weren’t as strong as Davis’ but whose reputation as a defender is stronger – signed a four-year contract worth just shy of $35MM, without a full guarantee on the fourth year. Based on Anderson’s report, Davis will be looking to match or top that deal.
Although the Kings don’t hold Davis’ full Bird rights, they’ll have his Early Bird rights, giving them the ability to sign him directly to a new contract or to match any offer sheet he signs with another team.
A rival suitor could put pressure on Sacramento by backloading a three- or four-year offer via the Gilbert Arenas provision. However, I’d be surprised if bidding on Davis is that competitive — his track record is limited and the domestic assault allegations he faced earlier in his career may make teams wary of investing significantly in the 24-year-old.
NBA Announces 88 Early Entrants Withdrawing From Draft
The NBA issued a press release today announcing that 88 prospects who declared for the 2021 draft as early entrants earlier this year have withdrawn their names from the draft pool.
We’ve passed along updates on most of these players in recent weeks, but the following names on today’s list are ones that we hadn’t written about yet. They’ve pulled out of the 2021 NBA draft and will retain their NCAA eligibility for at least one more year:
- Josiah Agnew, G, Denmark Technical College (SC) (freshman)
- Dalonte Brown, F, Miami (Ohio) (senior)
- D.J. Burns Jr., F, Winthrop (sophomore)
- Lydell Elmore, F, High Point (senior)
- Patrick Greene Jr., G, National Park College (AR) (sophomore)
- Ron Harper Jr., G/F, Rutgers (junior)
- Trevor Hudgins, G, NW Missouri State (junior)
- David Jean-Baptiste, G, Chattanooga (senior)
- Jalen Johnson, F, Mississippi State (senior)
- Jaizec Lottie, G, Flagler (FL) (senior)
- Loudon Love, F, Wright State (senior)
- Issa Muhammad, F, Daytona State (FL) (sophomore)
- Jordan Phillips, G/F, UT Arlington (junior)
- Antonio Reeves, G, Illinois State (sophomore)
- Shawn Royal Jr., G/F, Victory Rock Prep (FL) (post-graduate)
- Maleek Taylor, F, Allen University (SC) (senior)
- Alonzo Verge Jr., G, Arizona State (senior)
- Richard Washington Jr., G/F, San Jose State (senior)
- Keith Williams, G, Cincinnati (senior)
Our unofficial list of early entrants is now up to date, to the best of our knowledge. While the NCAA’s early entrant withdrawal deadline came and went this past Wednesday, the NBA’s own deadline is on July 19, so there will still be a number of early entrants removing their names from the draft in the next nine days — especially international prospects, since the NCAA deadline didn’t apply to them at all.
We’ll continue updating our list of early entrants through the NBA’s withdrawal deadline on July 19, and will eventually provide an official list of this year’s draft-eligible early entrants.
Nets Hire David Vanterpool As Assistant
7:01pm: The team has officially hired Vanterpool, according to a press release.
10:04am: The Nets lost a key member of Steve Nash‘s coaching staff when the division-rival Celtics hired assistant Ime Udoka to become their new head coach. However, it appears Brooklyn has already lined up a replacement for Udoka.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Nets are finalizing a deal to hire David Vanterpool as an assistant coach.
An assistant for CSKA Moscow from 2007-12 after spending time with the Russian team as a player, Vanterpool made the move to the NBA in 2012. He served as an assistant coach on Portland’s staff for seven years from 2012-19, then spent the last two seasons as the Timberwolves’ associate head coach, first under Ryan Saunders, then under Chris Finch.
When the Wolves replaced Saunders with Finch during the season, some league observers expressed surprise that the team hired an assistant from another team (Finch had been part of Nick Nurse‘s Raptors staff) in the middle of the season rather than promoting Vanterpool, who has received consideration for other head coaching openings in recent years. Word broke in May after Minnesota’s season ended that Vanterpool wouldn’t stick with the club.
Last month, when seven head coaching positions opened up around the NBA, it seemed as if Nash may be in danger of losing multiple assistants, with Udoka, Mike D’Antoni, and Jacque Vaughn all generating interest. However, Vaughn withdrew from head coaching consideration and it doesn’t appear D’Antoni will be hired by any of the teams still conducting searches. For now, we’re assuming both coaches will be part of Nash’s staff along with Vanterpool for 2021/22.
2021 NBA Offseason Preview: Miami Heat
Just about everything went right for the Heat during the summer restart in the Walt Disney World bubble last summer. Having entered the playoffs as a No. 5 seed in the East, Miami won three consecutive series as the road team, then came within two wins of a championship before falling to the Lakers.
The Heat brought back a pretty similar roster in 2020/21, aiming to finish higher in the standings and make another deep playoff run. But health issues limited the team’s ability to build much momentum during the regular season, and the departures of some key role players (such as Jae Crowder) – along with underwhelming or nonexistent contributions from new additions (including Victor Oladipo) – were major factors in Miami’s lack of postseason success.
With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo locked up for multiple seasons, the Heat have a solid All-Star duo to build around, but president of basketball operations Pat Riley may consider making significant roster changes around that duo after Miami became the only one of this year’s 16 playoff teams not to win a single game in the postseason.
The Heat’s Offseason Plan:
The Heat enter the offseason with only five players under contract: Butler, Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Precious Achiuwa, and KZ Okpala. That gives the team some flexibility to go in multiple directions.
A year ago, the Heat had the ability to create some cap room, but instead chose to re-sign several of their own free agents, operate over the cap, and use the mid-level exception to try to add a role player or two. It’s possible Miami will go that route again this summer.
The team options for Goran Dragic ($19MM+) and Andre Iguodala ($15MM) may be a little higher than the club would like, but both players could be re-signed even if their options are declined, and Miami would have the ability to bring back some combination of Oladipo, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Trevor Ariza, and Nemanja Bjelica too. Dewayne Dedmon could also be re-signed, though the Heat would have to use an exception to do so if he’s seeking more than the minimum, since he’ll only have Non-Bird rights.
On the other hand, if the Heat aren’t convinced that running it back again is a good play, they could let most of those free agents walk and try their luck on the open market — they’d have $20MM+ in cap room even if they retained the modest cap holds for Nunn and Robinson (they could go over the cap to re-sign those two RFAs after using their cap space).
Still, considering this year’s free agent class is somewhat underwhelming and $20MM likely wouldn’t get them a star-caliber player, I’d expect the Heat to operate over the cap and try to land an impact player on the trade market.
Exercising Dragic’s or Iguodala’s team option would give the Heat a sizeable expiring contract to use for salary-matching (they could pick up both options if needed), and while their ability to trade future first-round picks is somewhat limited, they have valuable young players – such as Herro and Achiuwa – who could be dangled as trade chips.
One potential target to keep an eye on is Kyle Lowry, who is close friends with Butler. The Heat pursued Lowry at the March trade deadline, but were reportedly unwilling to part with Herro to make a deal happen. The Heat could theoretically clear enough cap room to make him a strong offer, so if Lowry wants to team up with Butler, the Raptors’ leverage in sign-and-trade talks would decrease. That would allow Miami to negotiate more favorable trade terms and hang onto Herro, possibly for another trade down the road.
Salary Cap Situation
Note: Our salary cap projections are based on a presumed 3% increase, which would result in a $112.4MM cap for 2021/22.
Guaranteed Salary
- Jimmy Butler ($36,016,200)
- Bam Adebayo ($28,103,500) 1
- Ryan Anderson ($5,214,583) — Waived via stretch provision.
- Tyler Herro ($4,004,280)
- Precious Achiuwa ($2,711,280)
- KZ Okpala ($1,782,621)
- Total: $77,832,464
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Goran Dragic ($19,440,000): Bird rights
- Andre Iguodala ($15,000,000): Bird rights
- Omer Yurtseven ($1,517,981): Non-Bird rights 2
- Total: $35,957,981
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
Kendrick Nunn ($4,736,102 qualifying offer / $4,736,102 cap hold): Bird rights- Duncan Robinson ($4,736,102 qualifying offer / $4,736,102 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $9,472,204
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- None
Extension-Eligible Players
- Jimmy Butler (veteran)
- KZ Okpala (veteran)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Victor Oladipo ($31,500,000): Bird rights
- Trevor Ariza ($16,640,000): Early Bird rights
- Nemanja Bjelica ($13,585,000): Bird rights
- Dewayne Dedmon ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
- Udonis Haslem ($1,669,178): Bird rights
- Jordan Mickey ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights 4
- Dwyane Wade ($1,669,178): Early Bird rights 4
- Total: $68,401,712
Offseason Cap Outlook
As noted above, the Heat could create over $20MM+ in cap room by declining all their team options and renouncing all their free agents except Nunn and Robinson. Renouncing Nunn and Robinson would get the team up to $28MM+ in cap space.
But unless there’s an extremely compelling reason to clear that space, I don’t see Miami giving up its rights to so many useful players. The bet here is that the Heat operate as an over-the-cap team and bring back a few of their own free agents.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,536,000 5
- Bi-annual exception: $3,732,000 5
Footnotes
- This is a projected value. Adebayo’s salary will be 25% of the 2021/22 salary cap.
- Yurtseven’s salary will remain non-guaranteed even if his option is exercised.
- Because he has been on a two-way contract with the Heat for two seasons, Vincent is eligible for a standard minimum-salary qualifying offer.
- The cap holds for Mickey and Wade remain on the Heat’s books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- These are projected values. If the Heat approach or cross the tax line, they may forfeit these exceptions and instead gain access to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.9MM). If they decided to operate under the cap, they’d forfeit these exceptions and would gain access to the room exception ($4.9MM).
Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
MRI On Torrey Craig’s Knee Reveals No Structural Damage
Suns forward Torrey Craig exited Game 2 of the NBA Finals in the third quarter on Thursday due to a right knee contusion and didn’t return, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.
While the Suns didn’t provide an official update on Craig’s status after Thursday’s game, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the 30-year-old underwent an MRI on his right knee today. According to Wojnarowski, that MRI revealed no structural damage to the knee, so Craig is being considered day-to-day for now.
That diagnosis is good news for the Suns, who had already been leaning on Craig as a part of their rotation throughout the playoffs and may have wanted him to play a slightly larger role with Dario Saric unavailable. Phoenix acquired Craig from Milwaukee in exchange for cash in a midseason trade.
Game 3 isn’t schedule to take place until Sunday, so Craig will have an extra day off to recover. If he’s not cleared to play in Game 3, Phoenix could turn to Frank Kaminsky or Abdel Nader for a few minutes off the bench or could slightly increase the workload of wings like Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges, and Cameron Johnson.
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Rockets, Spurs, Terry, Grizzlies
People around the NBA believe there’s a good chance the Pelicans will move the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft in a deal that would bring back veteran help, says Zach Harper of The Athletic.
New Orleans already has a young roster and is expected to shop veterans like Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams this offseason in order to create more cap flexibility. Moving Bledsoe and/or Adams would make the roster even younger, perhaps making the Pelicans even less inclined to add another rookie to the mix.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Within his latest mock draft, Harper also says there’s a belief the Rockets have been “fixated” on Cade Cunningham, but are likely unwilling to pay Detroit what it would take to move up to No. 1. Additionally, sources tell Harper that people around the league believe Spurs guards Dejounte Murray and Derrick White could be “gettable” in trades.
- Mavericks guard Tyrell Terry was away from the team for nearly two months during his rookie season for personal reasons. Asked this week about that situation, Terry declined to offer any details, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes. “I had something to deal with personally that I needed to take care of in order for me to come back and be the best version of myself,” Terry said. “The Mavericks were very helpful and supportive in that time.”
- The Grizzlies could have between $20-25MM in cap room this offseason. With that in mind, Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal considers which veteran free agents might make sense as targets for the team.
Spencer Dinwiddie Discusses Upcoming Free Agency
Typically, when an NBA player is asked about his upcoming free agency, he’ll respond in general platitudes rather than speaking openly about how he expects the process to play out. However, appearing on The Crossover with Howard Beck of SI.com (video link) after turning down his 2021/22 player option, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie didn’t hesitate to get into specifics about his free agency.
“For all the fans that think because I opted out I have to leave or something like that, no, this is very much in the Nets’ hands, you feel me?” Dinwiddie said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “I think my full max is like five (years), $196 (million) or something like that. And nobody’s sitting here saying I’m going to get five, $196MM — so before anybody tries to kill me, nobody’s saying that.
“But the Nets have the ability to do something that other people can’t. If the Nets come to the table like that, and they’re being aggressive and are saying, ‘Hey we got five, $125MM for you,’ I would say there’s a high likelihood that I go back to the Nets, you know what I mean? But if they don’t come to the table (like that), and they’re like ‘Oh, we’re going to give you a three for $60MM,’ well, anybody can do that.”
As Dinwiddie alludes to, the Nets hold his full Bird rights, giving them the ability to offer a fifth year and annual raises of 8%. Rival suitors would be limited to four years and 5% raises, and would need to either sign Dinwiddie using cap room or work out a sign-and-trade to give him a salary in his desired range. No such restrictions face Brooklyn.
Still, the Nets are heavily invested in their three superstars (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden), two of whom are guards, meaning they may be reluctant to set themselves up for a massive luxury tax bill by signing Dinwiddie to a lucrative new contract.
For what it’s worth, the five-year, $125MM figure Dinwiddie throws out in his conversation with Beck seems overly optimistic on the 28-year-old’s part, particularly since he’s coming off a partial ACL tear that sidelined him for nearly the entire season. As NetsDaily observes, if Dinwiddie can land a four-year contract in the range of the ones signed by point guards Malcolm Brogdon and Fred VanVleet in recent years ($85MM), he’d be doing very well.
The Heat, Knicks, and Bulls are among the teams that will be on the hunt for a point guard this offseason and have the ability to open up cap space, so they could be among the teams competing with Brooklyn for Dinwiddie’s services. Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News says the Mavericks are also expected to express interest in the veteran guard.
Dinwiddie reportedly wouldn’t mind playing in his hometown of Los Angeles, but the Clippers and Lakers will have limited cap flexibility.
Olympic Notes: Bridges, Washington, Quickley, Stewart, Hernangomez
Hornets forward Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington and Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley are no longer with the U.S. Select Team scrimmaging against Team USA’s Olympic roster in Las Vegas, tweets ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The three players have been removed from the mix due to the coronavirus protocols.
A person with knowledge of the situation told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that one of those three players tested positive for COVID-19, while the other two were deemed close contacts and are being held out for precautionary reasons. According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (via Twitter), Quickley entered the protocols for contact tracing purposes rather than a positive test, which suggests that one of the Hornets forwards was the player who tested positive.
Here’s more on the Olympics:
- The U.S. Select Team is down another player, according to Windhorst, who tweets that Pistons center Isaiah Stewart suffered an ankle injury during a scrimmage and left the game to receive treatment. There’s no indication at this point that Stewart’s injury is a significant one.
- Timberwolves forward Juan Hernangomez, who had been preparing to represent Spain in the Olympics, dislocated his left shoulder during an exhibition game and will miss the Tokyo games, Reynolds writes for The Associated Press. The Wolves put out a statement indicating they’re aware of Hernangomez’s injury, but there’s no timeline yet for his recovery and return to the court.
- Warriors guard Stephen Curry said it was a “hard decision” not to play for Team USA at the Olympics this summer, but he has “no regrets at all” about opting to skip the event, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “You take everything into account,” said Curry, who has won a pair of FIBA World Cup gold medals but hasn’t played in the Olympics. “I take how I’m feeling physically, mentally, what’s happening around the league, all those things. It’s not one specific reason or a part of it, but just knowing at the end of the day do I want to play or not? And the answer was no at the end of the day. And getting ready for next season (with a) relatively quick turnaround is important to me and I have a plan of how to do that and get ready for when training camp starts.”