Atlantic Notes: Nets, Knicks, Celtics
Nets coach Lionel Hollins, in a Q&A with Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com, likes that Brooklyn was able to get younger and more versatile this offseason. The coach also believes Deron Williams did not play as well as the franchise would have liked him to. Hollins said he also thinks Williams, who signed with the Mavs, will bounce back, though. Without Williams in the fold, Hollins is confident Jarrett Jack can handle the duties of starting point guard for the Nets. In addition, Joe Johnson, who was the subject of trade rumors earlier this summer, will likely start at shooting guard, according to Hollins.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The search for the Knicks‘ new D-League coach is down to Mike Miller, a former associate head coach at Kansas State, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports (Twitter links). Miller also worked for the Spurs’ D-League team, Isola notes.
- Thomas Robinson, who the Nets signed to a two-year deal, wants a “long-term relationship” with Brooklyn after the forward has bounced around in the league, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily writes.
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge believes that Boston coach Brad Stevens will be viewed as one of the all-time coaching greats in the future. “I wouldn’t have brought him in and given him a six-year contract if I didn’t think he was really good and special,” Ainge said during an on-camera interview with Comcast SportsNet (relayed by Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com).
Latest On Luc Mbah a Moute
The National Basketball Players Association plans to file a grievance early next week against the Kings questioning how valid it was for the franchise to void free agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute’s contract over an alleged failed medical physical, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports writes.
Mbah a Moute’s representatives at Wasserman Media Group and NBPA officials, using independent medical examinations that say Mbah a Moute is cleared to play, are disputing the legitimacy of the Kings’ procedure and conclusion, Wojnarowski adds, citing league sources. As Wojnarowski also points out, Mbah a Moute has been medically cleared to play for Team Africa against Team World in the first NBA exhibition game in Africa.
The forward had previously agreed to a one-year, $1.55MM deal with Sacramento, but it was voided when Mbah a Moute failed his physical. The forward has an undisclosed shoulder issue, according to team executive Vlade Divac, which is what caused Mbah a Moute to fail that exam. Mbah a Moute played in 67 games for the Sixers last season, and averaged a career-best 9.9 points per game. Before the report of the planned grievance, the Kings still had some level of interest in signing Mbah a Moute. It is not yet clear if the Kings remain interested.
Pacers Re-Sign Shayne Whittington
1:59pm: The deal is official, the Pacers announced.
“Shayne has been with us for more than a year and shown us a lot of good things,” said Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. “He has grown as a player, has improved and we expect him to continue to do so to be a part of what we do. He’s a hard worker with a variety of skills for a big man.”
JULY 27TH, 10:37am: It’ll be a two-year deal with the first season fully guaranteed, Shade tells Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
JULY 12TH, 7:56pm: The Pacers and forward Shayne Whittington have agreed to a one-year, guaranteed contract, reports RealGM’s Shams Charania, who spoke with Whittington’s agent, Ron Shade (Twitter link).
Whittington is a restricted free agent. In April, the Pacers assigned Whittington to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League. It was the forward’s second trip to Fort Wayne last season.
Whittington, 24, averaged 2.9 points per game and only appeared in 20 games without making a start.
Blazers Acquire Brendan Haywood, Mike Miller
MONDAY, 12:55pm: The deal is official, the Cavs and Blazers announce. Miller receives $428,241 from Cleveland thanks to his 15% trade kicker, though that amount will apply to Portland’s cap, lifting Miller’s total cap hit to $3,283,181, notes former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
8:49pm: The Cavs will not receive draft picks in the deal, Wojnarowski tweets. The Blazers, however, will send cash, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 8:19pm: The Cavs have agreed to trade Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to the Blazers, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Cleveland is set to gain two trade exceptions in the deal — one for $10.5MM and another for $2.85MM — Wojnarowski tweets.
The Cavs are also set to send the better of the 2019 second-round picks that they own from the Lakers and Timberwolves plus their 2020 second-round pick, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst (on Twitter).
Haywood’s contract is non-guaranteed for next season at $10,522,500. It will become guaranteed on August 1st and therefore the Blazers are expected to waive him, Windhorst writes in a full story. The Cavs, of course, had been shopping Haywood and his sizable contract for months to no avail.
The Cavs are still interested in making deals with Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova, but at the moment, are set to cut their luxury tax bill from a little more than $32MM to just over $4MM by shedding the salaries of Haywood and Miller, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets.
Latest On Mike Miller
MONDAY, 8:04am: Miller asked the Cavs to move him, one source tells Lloyd, who writes in a full story.
SUNDAY 8:35pm: Mike Miller, who was reportedly traded from the Cavs to the Blazers tonight, will likely be released by Portland soon, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Miller, who is owed $2.8MM in the final year of his contract, is a strong candidate to negotiate a buyout with the Blazers, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter).
The Grizzlies, Thunder and Mavericks are three teams already interested in Miller, Stein tweets. LeBron James was OK with the Cavs dealing Miller, reports the Akron Beacon Journal’s Jason Lloyd (on Twitter), who cites a source who said Miller wanted out and a chance to play again. James was upset when the Heat cut Miller two years ago, as ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst points out (via Twitter), but does not feel that way about this move.
If Miller is waived by the Blazers, the veteran sharpshooter is prohibited from signing with the Cavs for one year, former Nets executive Bobby Marks tweets. Miller is coming off his worst season and only played 13.5 minutes per game in 52 appearances.
And-Ones: Miller, Haywood, Hammon
Mike Miller landing with the Thunder seems like an unlikely outcome, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. Miller was reportedly traded from the Cavs to the Blazers and is expected to be released. Joining the Thunder would be an interesting move because Miller played under new Thunder coach Billy Donovan at Florida between 1998-2000, as Slater points out, and the two are very close friends, Slater adds. However, Miller, 35, who is coming off his worst season, reportedly wanted out from Cleveland because he wants more playing time and that would be hard to find with the Thunder, Slater adds. The team also won’t have a spot on the roster for him, Slater notes.
- The Sixers discussed trading for Brendan Haywood with the Cavs before the big man was reportedly dealt to the Blazers, reports SI.com’s Jake Fischer, who cites a source (on Twitter).
- Spurs assistant Becky Hammon has gained traction as a potentially serious head-coaching candidate, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes after several conversations with league executives. More importantly, from Berger’s perspective, the culture around the league toward a female head coach has changed drastically. One executive from the Eastern Conference told Berger that Hammon “would be high on my list.” Another said, “Why not? She has the qualities necessary, and with an organization’s backing, she could do it. She’s obviously learned under the best.”
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak wanted to meet with Nick Young to tell Young not to consider the signing of Lou Williams a slap in the face, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports (on Twitter). The Kupchak and Young met recently and afterward Young, who has been the subject of trade rumors this summer, said he felt confident he would remain with the team.
Reactions To Shabazz Napier Trade
Earlier today, the Magic agreed to acquire Shabazz Napier from the Heat in exchange for a protected future second-round pick. The only way the Heat will get the Magic’s second-round pick in 2016 will be if Orlando finishes with one of the NBA’s five best records during the 2015-16 regular season. If the Magic’s second-round pick falls anywhere from 31st overall through 55th overall, the Magic would keep the pick. Miami wanted to deal Napier because of luxury tax concerns, according to previous reports. Napier is set to make about $1.3MM this season and has a team option on his salary for the 2016/17 season. Therefore, the reported deal will allow the Heat to create a trade exception worth $1,294,440, the precise value of Napier’s salary this season.
Here are some reactions from around the industry to the move:
- Dealing Napier could be a sign that the Heat is keeping guard Mario Chalmers, who Miami has reportedly been shopping, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. It’s still very possible Miami trades Chalmers, however, Goodman adds, because he is owed $4.3MM next season.
- With Napier gone, Heat fans will have one less reminder of LeBron James, Goodman adds in the same piece. James pushed for the team to draft Napier, who mostly struggled as a rookie. The fact Miami was willing to trade Napier to a division rival means that the team does not view the guard as much of a threat, Goodman concludes.
- From the Magic’s point of view, the deal is a good one because there is no risk involved, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. The Magic benefit because they will acquire a young player with upside, Robbins adds.
- In the same piece, Robbins points out that Napier’s arrival might very well be bad news for Keith Appling, who the Magic agreed to sign last week to a two-year deal that includes a small guarantee. The contract will give Appling a chance to participate in the Magic’s training camp, but Napier’s presence likely will make it difficult for Appling to make the regular-season roster, Robbins writes.
- The trade has a lot to do with the Heat’s depth chart, considering Miami also has Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson as guards, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). The Heat could save more than $4MM with the deal, but that only would be the case if the team chooses to carry only 14 players, Winderman tweets.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Mudiay, Blazers
The Jazz have a logjam at point guard behind Dante Exum that they must sort out prior to next season’s opener, Randy Hollis of the Deseret News reports. The trio of Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton and Raul Neto could be fighting it out for two roster spots during training camp, though GM Dennis Lindsey indicated that it’s possible the team could carry four point guards into next season, Hollis continues. Cotton’s quickness and entertaining style make him a candidate to be the second-stringer and displace Burke, a lottery pick whose shooting issues have pushed him to the bench, Hollis adds. The logjam could be broken by trading Burke, who is rumored to be on the block and doesn’t seem to fit coach Quin Snyder’s system, Hollis concludes.
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets’ lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay will be the starter at point guard, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post opines. While Denver has a safety net in veteran Jameer Nelson, it’s clear that the Nuggets are committed to making Mudiay their floor leader in his rookie season, Dempsey adds. The only concerns are monitoring his workload and allowing him to work through his mistakes, something Nuggets GM Tim Connelly addressed with Dempsey. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Connelly said. “He’s a 19-year-old kid. We saw some good in summer league and we also saw some bad. I thought that he struggled shooting the ball. We’ve got to improve his free throw line percentage. But I think you see things like positional size, natural playmaking ability, and kind of the will and the approach to be great that excites us.”
- Blazers coach Terry Stotts spent a sizable portion of the summer league evaluating five players under contract with the team — Allen Crabbe, Noah Vonleh, Luis Montero, Pat Connaughton and Tim Frazier — and was particularly pleased with Crabbe and Vonleh, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. The Blazers added nine new players and are entering a transition season after LaMarcus Aldridge‘s departure. Portland does have some young and athletic talent, however, which has Stotts optimistic, Richman adds.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Cavs, Jackson, Hilliard
The Cavs would benefit from bringing back unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith and the guard would benefit from a return to Cleveland after testing his luck in free agency, Bud Shaw of the Northeast Ohio Media Group opines. Smith, who is expected to meet with the Cavs soon, left $6.4MM on the table when he declined his player’s option with Cleveland in June. The reunion would make sense from a basketball standpoint, Shaw writes, because the Cavs would not need Smith to carry the load of a top scoring option and Smith is at his best off the bench and playing loose.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80MM deal with the Pistons does not carry any options and will pay the guard $13.9MM in the first year and $18.1MM in the final year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It was recently reported that despite widespread criticism, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy still likes the contract.
- Darrun Hilliard, who the Pistons drafted at No. 38 and later officially signed to a three-year deal, received $600K guaranteed in the first year of his contract with Detroit with the second and third years of his deal at the minimum salary, Pincus tweets.
- The final year of the two-year deal E’Twaun Moore signed in September with the Bulls became fully guaranteed on July 15th, Pincus tweets. The combo guard will be paid slightly more than $1MM this upcoming season. Moore’s production fell last season as he made 56 appearences and averaged only 2.7 points per game.
Nikola Milutinov Signs To Play In Greece
Nikola Milutinov, who the Spurs drafted with the No. 26 overall pick, has signed a three-year deal with Olympiacos of Greece, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports.
Carchia initially reported negotiations between Milutinov and Olympiacos on Friday. The Spurs were not going to sign him, anyway, this season. The Spurs have already filed paperwork with the NBA stating that he won’t sign this season so that the team could remove his cap hold.
The big man had reportedly been close to a deal with Panathinaikos, another Greek team, but Panathinaikos landed Miroslav Raduljica instead. Milutinov spent this past season with KK Partizan in his native Serbia.