Odds & Ends: Suns, Sixers, T-Wolves, Wizards
Let's check in on a Thursday evening odds and ends from around the Association….
- Wesley Johnson believes a fresh start with the Suns could do wonders for his NBA career, writes AZCentral.com's Bob Young.
- CSNPhilly.com's Nick Menta asks if the Sixers will be undergoing a youth movement and giving their rookies significant playing time this season.
- Timberwolves general manager David Kahn says he thinks his team will make the playoffs next season if they can stay healthy, writes TwinCities.com's Bob Sansevere. Kahn also wouldn't say whether or not his team was finished making moves.
- ESPN.com's John Hollinger lists his offseason winners and losers.
- SI.com's Zach Lowe profiles his winners of the offseason.
- Hoopsworld.com's Lang Greene and Joel Brigham wonder if maybe the NBA would be better if players weren't allowed to demand trades in public.
- The Wizards have two empty roster spots, and will probably keep it that way to preserve flexibility heading into training camp, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee. As far as the recently amnestied Andray Blatche goes, so far there has been no significant interest in his services.
Poll: Which Team Has Had The Worst Offseason?
Last week we asked which team has had the best offseason. Tonight, we go the other way by asking which team has grabbed the shortest end of the stick.
Extension Candidate: Stephen Curry
Throughout his injury-plagued three-year career, Stephen Curry has proven to be one of the sharpest shooters in all of basketball. Two years ago he paced the entire league in free-throw percentage with an astonishing 93.4% mark, and his career three-point shooting percentage of 44.1% makes him a full-on priority for opposing defenses from almost anywhere on the court.
And still, it's because of those aforementioned injuries, specifically Curry's ankles, that the Warriors are unlikely to offer him the five-year extension he currently seeks. CBSSports.com's Ken Berger tweeted in early July that "early indications" suggested the Warriors would not agree to a contract extension this year. Despite Curry's incredible ability to make shots at an efficient rate, guaranteeing him a long-term deal is simply too big of a risk for any team to commit to, especially when you factor in the harsh tax penalties that will kick in through the life of his hypothetical contract.
And yet, one would think Curry is still a major part of the Warriors' future. He wants to play there for the long term, and time and time again the team has reportedly refused to part with Curry in deals for prominent stars like Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul. Then, in the face of a long-standing belief that Curry couldn't successfully co-exist in a winning backcourt with Monta Ellis, Golden State traded Ellis at last year's trading deadline.
For the next two years, the Warriors have eight-figure deals tied into Andrew Bogut, David Lee, and Richard Jefferson. Based on his skill level compared to equally experienced colleagues, Curry could command as much as $14MM on the open market. It's difficult to imagine him and the Warriors parting ways, but it might be even harder to picture a Golden State franchise paying four non-All-Stars annual salaries of over $10MM. All the while, the Warriors still haven't proved to be a playoff team.
One proposed possibility that's reportedly been discussed is an injury clause, which would give the Warriors some leeway in the event that Curry continues to miss significant time, or is forced to have another ankle surgery. It's a delicate situation for Warriors management to tip-toe around, and they only have until October 31 of this year to figure it out. The most likely scenario is the Warriors letting Curry become a restricted free agent, then matching the inevitable max offer sheet proposed by another team—a situation similar to what recently happened with Eric Gordon and the Hornets. This way Golden State saves a year's worth of salary, and Curry gets a hefty second contract.
Bob Myers On Warriors Offseason
Warriors general manager Bob Myers spoke today about several different issues regarding how his team's fared this offseason, and what the expectations are for next year, writes CSNBayArea.com.
On the re-signing of Brandon Rush: Obviously he had a great year shooting the basketball. It also gives us some continuity. There are some new players on the team. Bringing Brandon back—as a player who has been with our coaching staff and some of our other players was important.
On the signing of Carl Landry: We just think he’ll help our core group, and we’re thrilled to have him on our team. It’s nice see a player come to our team and not feel like we had to go crazy financially to get him. So we’re hopefully turning the corner to the playoffs—to where people want to play for us because they think we have a chance to win.
Myers went on to say that promising a playoff berth would be "counterintuitive", and that his team has made moves to improve the roster since last year's trading deadline.
Hornets, Suns, Wolves Agree To Three-Team Deal
FRIDAY, 11:51am: The Hornets' acquisition of Robin Lopez is complete, says Jimmy Smith of the Times Picayune, who adds that New Orleans will end up with Hakim Warrick as well (Twitter links). We'll have to wait for further reports or an official announcement to see how the full deal looks.
THURSDAY, 8:20pm: There won't be a resolution to the deal on Thursday night but the odds of the trade going through have improved, tweets Coro. The Hornets' cap situation is not holding up the deal from progressing further.
1:40pm: Alex Laugan of Bright Side of the Sun provides a fantastic breakdown of why this deal is currently on hold, as the Hornets' side of the transaction needs to be modified to be legal under the CBA. In all likelihood, New Orleans will need to include at least one more player or remove Hakim Warrick from the deal to make it work.
Delonte West Re-Signs With Mavericks
THURSDAY, 5:05pm: The Mavericks have officially re-signed West, according to a team release.
TUESDAY, 6:44pm: According to a tweet from ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Delonte West will re-sign with the Mavericks on Wednesday. Earlier tonight there was a report from ESPNLosAngeles.com that the Lakers were interested in making an offer for West, but it appears the eight-year veteran will forgo that possibility to stay in Dallas.
Terms of West's deal aren't yet known, but the Mavs still have the cap flexibility to offer the veteran guard more than the veteran's minimum. The one-year pact also allows the Mavs to retain flexibility for next summer, when the team is expected to revisit the free agent market in hopes of landing an impact player.
Tom Penn Frontrunner To Become Sixers GM
WEDNESDAY, 4:31pm: The Sixers may not quite be on the verge of hiring Penn, but he is the frontrunner for the GM job, says Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Still, Philadelphia is expected to meet with former Hornets GM Jeff Bower this week, according to Ken Berger of CBSports.com (via Twitter). Bower was also in the running for front office positions in Portland and Orlando earlier this offseason.
TUESDAY, 2:28pm: The Sixers are close to hiring Penn to be their new GM, according to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. It is believed that if Penn lands the job, current GM Rod Thorn would immediately move to a new advisory role with the club.
SUNDAY, 4:28pm: Former Trail Blazers executive Tom Penn is a frontrunning candidate for the Sixers' general manager position, according to CBSSports.com's Ken Berger. Philadelphia had previously interviewed Danny Ferry for the position, before Ferry took the same job with the Hawks.
According to Berger, Philadelphia's ownership group is expected to consider several candidates to handle the day-to-day duties under Thorn and eventually succeed him as team president. Penn has previously served as an assistant general manager in Portland, and was offered Minnesota's general manager position in 2009 before it was eventually given to David Kahn.
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Hawks, Miles, Brewer
- With only four players remaining on the Hawks roster from last season, new general manager Danny Ferry has managed to clean his team's salary structure while keeping hopes high for the future, writes HoopsWorld.com's Lang Greene.
- C.J. Miles, a free agent who most expected to have found a new team by now, will meet with the Cavaliers this week, writes The Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko.
- The Timberwolves made Ronnie Brewer a "generous" offer, but the free agent forward decided to sign with the Knicks instead, according to TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
- Before signing A.J. Price, the Wizards were interested in signing Jonny Flynn to be John Wall's backup, but decided against it, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee.
- ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling breaks down the Knicks decision to acquire Ronnie Brewer and Pablo Prigioni.
- Mavericks second-round pick Bernard James is expected to sign a contract with the team in the next day or two, reports ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan.
- The Trail Blazers reportedly interviewed as many as 10 candidates to fill their empty head coach position in Las Vegas last week, but have yet to contact any of them to say they were advancing to a second round of discussion, according to The Oregonian's Jason Quick. The process remains in its infant stage.
- Agent Mark Bartelstein tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes Carl Landry and Dominic McGuire will make decisions in the next few days. Those two players, including free agent Brandon Rush, could be part of the Warriors' plan moving forward (Sulia links).
Lakers Interested In Delonte West
The Lakers are interested in signing free agent Delonte West, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin. The 29-year-old West spent last year in Dallas, where he averaged 9.6 PPG and 3.2 APG in 44 games. The team views him as a versatile guard who can fill an important role backing up both Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.
Los Angeles still has its mini mid-level exception to use, which allows the team to sign someone to a first-year salary of $3.09MM, but Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has said there's a chance his club doesn't use it. If this in fact turns out to be the case, expect the Lakers to offer West a one-year offer at the veteran's minimum (about $1.2MM, in West's case).
Earlier today, Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson said he was in negotiations with West, and that he hoped the two parties could work something out. Throughout his eight-year career, West has been involved in several on- and off-court incidents that have prevented him from signing long-term deals with one franchise. The Lakers would be his fifth team.
Week In Review: 7/16/12 – 7/22/12
Here's a list of all NBA related news that occurred this past week.
- Jason Collins is expected to sign with the Celtics.
- The Mavericks signed rookie Jared Cunningham.
- The Timberwolves and Greg Stiemsma agreed to a one-year deal.
- The Celtics signed Jamar Smith.
- The Celtics also acquired Courtney Lee in a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets.
- Jon Leuer was picked up off waivers by the Cavaliers.
- Jordan Hill is set to re-sign with the Lakers.
- The Nuggets have signed Anthony Randolph and used their amnesty provision on Chris Andersen.
- The Suns have brought back Shannon Brown and officially signed Michael Beasley.
- The Mavericks signed second round pick Jae Crowder.
- The Trail Blazers officially matched Minnesota's offer sheet for Nicolas Batum.
- The Nets re-signed Kris Humphries.
- The Sixers officially signed Kwame Brown.
- The Nets re-signed Keith Bogans.
- The Clippers have a verbal agreement with Ryan Hollins.
- The Mavericks signed O.J. Mayo.
- The Bulls have officially signed Vladimir Radmanovic.
- The Trail Blazers have waived Dan Gadzuric.
- The Nuggets re-signed JaVale McGee.
- The Bobcats rescinded their qualifying offer to Derrick Brown.
- The Trail Blazers will sign Ronnie Price.
- The Raptors officially signed former lottery pick Jonas Valanciunas.
- The Nets have agreed to sign Tornike Shengelia.
- The Clippers signed Grant Hill.
- The Celtics officially signed Jason Terry.
- The Clippers amnestied Ryan Gomes.
- Mike Miller will not retire.
- The Wizards amnestied Andray Blatche.
- The Raptors are expected to retain Alan Anderson.
- The Sixers and Royal Ivey have reached terms on a contract.
- The Magic signed Jameer Nelson to a three-year contract.