Pacers, Paul George Finalizing $90MM+ Deal
MONDAY, 1:15pm: While George has been talking about his extension as if it's a done deal, Pacers president Larry Bird tells Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star that it's close, but not quite finished.
"That’s why I’m not playing golf today," Bird told Pointer, during an appearance before a Pacers Foundation golf outing at Brickyard Crossing. "I’m going back to the office to work on it."
Even as Bird pumps the brakes a little, it sounds to me as if it will just be a matter of days before we hear an official announcement from the team.
SUNDAY, 9:21pm: The Pacers and Paul George are finalizing a five-year deal worth more than $90MM, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. George is represented by Aaron Mintz of CAA Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
George, 23, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent following the conclusion of the 2013/14 season. While there wasn't a ton of concern that George would flee the Pacers, fans were able to breathe even easier thanks to the star's comments over the summer. Last week, George said point blank that a contract extension was "going to get done" between him and the club.
The forward was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for 2012/13, when he set career-highs in PPG (17.4), RPG (7.6), PER (16.8), and several other categories. He also helped lead the Pacers to within one game of the NBA Finals, even without the services of Danny Granger.
George boosted his scoring average from 17.0 PPG in the regular season to 19.2 PPG during the Pacers' playoff run. He made himself a household name in the postseason and he could make himself known even more on a global scale if he's part of USA Basketball's 2014 team and the 2016 Olympic team in Brazil.
With George under contract for the forseeable future, the Pacers can now turn their focus to finishing what they started last season. George will spearhead an improved team this season that will feature a healthy Granger and an improved bench with offseason additions Luis Scola and Chris Copeland off the bench.
Indiana re-signed David West to a three-year, $36MM extension in July and locked up Roy Hibbert with a four-year, $58MM deal last summer. The Pacers had until October 31st to hammer something out with George, but it looks like they can use the next few weeks to go candy shopping instead.
Lakers Have Yet To Start Negotiations With Kobe
While the talk of Los Angeles is how Kobe Bryant will look on the court this season as he rebounds from his Achilles injury, it's possible that the real focus should be on what happens in 2014/15. The Lakers haven't opened contract negotiations with Bryant and will take a wait-and-see approach as he recovers from his injury, a person with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
The Lakers star will earn an eye-popping $30.45MM in his walk year and many have wondered if he would be willing to take a pay cut beyond this season to help give the club the necessary breathing room to build around him. It's a tricky situation for the Lakers on a number of fronts. While the Lakers undoubtedly have Bryant as their top priority, they have no possible way of gauging his readyness after suffering a devastating Achilles injury late last season. Only time will tell what the future will hold for Bryant and it appears that Mitch Kupchak & Co. will take that cliche to heart.
Bryant could receive a maximum 5% raise over his current salary, bringing him to $32MM for 2014/15. However, that would eat up nearly half of the club's cap space for that season as Bresnahan notes that the early estimates have it at $62.5MM. If he took a major pay cut and asked for, say, $10-$12MM, that could give the Lakers enough breathing room to add two strong free agents in the summer of 2014.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Young, D’Antoni, Suns
Jeanie Buss updated her memoirs and over the weekend, the Los Angeles Times published an excerpt from the newest edition of "Laker Girl." In the book, Buss says that she was devastated when Mike D'Antoni was hired over beau Phil Jackson. Here's more on the Lakers and other news from the Pacific Division..
- With Kobe Bryant sidelined, the Lakers have the opportunity to unleash the ultimate gunner in Nick Young, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com. Gunners like Young can fill up a stat sheet with points but they don't do it in the most efficient fashion or get others involved in the offense. Even though Young isn't exactly Pistol Pete Maravich when it comes to dishing the ball, he doesn't turn the ball over often, which bodes well for the offseason addition.
- In an interview with Jamie Maggio of Time Warner Cable Sportsnet, D'Antoni said that he's looking forward to a "normal" season on the bench with the Lakers after the difficulties of last year. The coach also touched on offseason additions Chris Kaman, Wesley Johnson, and Shawne Williams.
- Matt Petersen of Suns.com profiled Suns offseason acquisition Viacheslav Kravtsov.
Central Notes: Pacers, Watson, Rose, Bulls
Here's a quick look at the Central Division..
- The HoopsWorld staff previewed the season ahead for the Pacers. In the estimation of Joel Brigham, Indiana's best offseason addition was guard C.J. Watson. Even though George Hill has done better at point guard than most expected, it will benefit them to have a more traditional one-guard, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
- Former MVP Derrick Rose is ready to lead the Bulls once again, the Associated Press writes. The guard will step on to the court after a lengthy absence, but he says he has no doubts about being able to get back to top form. "I put so much into my craft," he said. "I'm working hard. I think I'm one of the hardest workers in the NBA, if not the hardest worker. I think you should see it in my game when I step on the court."
- Earlier today, Chuck Myron checked in on former Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson in the latest installment of Free Agent Stock Watch.
Atlantic Notes: Kidd, Powell, Knicks, Humphries
Count three-time All-Star Mark Aguirre among those who believe Jason Kidd will do a tremendous job as head coach of the Nets, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. “I like it just from the situation and understand that as a player there’s things that you have to learn how to do to manage games,’’ said Aguirre. “There’s quite a few young guys that have an incredible understanding of the game, and J-Kidd is one of them. New blood. A new situation in the game. I like it. I really like it.’’ Here's more out of the Atlantic Division..
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal isn't thrilled with the Knicks' decision to bring Josh Powell to training camp and suggests that DeSagana Diop would have made more sense. Diop, he argues, is a very physical player who can rebound the ball well and is probably an even better shot-blocker. Even though Powell is a serviceable big man, he doesn't bring as much to the table as Diop, in Schlosser's estimation.
- In an interview with Marc D'Amico of Celtics.com, Kris Humphries said that he figures to see some time at center on the small ball Celtics. Humphries came to Boston in the summer blockbuster that sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn.
- Knicks rookie C.J. Leslie could see plenty of time in the D-League in 2013/14, writes Schlosser for Ridiculous Upside.
Hoops Links: Blazers, Cavs, Bayless, Sixers
Twenty-one years ago, USA Basketball announced the "Dream Team" for the 1992 Olympics. Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, and John Stockton were named to the greatest basketball team ever assembled. Christian Laettner and Clyde Drexler would be named to the team in May of the following year.
Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the web..
- True Sports Blog explains why the Trail Blazers will make the playoffs this season.
- Fear The Sword tries to figure out who the young Cavs can learn from.
- Grizzly Bear Blues profiles Jerryd Bayless.
- Hoop76 runs down the most polarizing 76ers of all-time.
- The Two Man Game discussed the Mavs fan experience with some input from Mark Cuban.
- Bourbon Street Shots gets weird in their breakdown of the Pelicans.
- Roundball Mining Co. is ranking the Nuggets from bottom to top.
- Daily Thunder says OKC needs Russell Westbrook.
- Queen City Hoops breaks down offseason addition Al Jefferson.
- Raptors HQ spoke with inRecruit co-founder Joseph Rocco.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Week In Review: 9/16/13 – 9/22/13
Indiana has until October 31st to reach an agreement on a new contract for Paul George, but it doesn't sound like Pacers fans will have to hold their breath from now until Halloween. "[A long-term contract] is going to get done," George said. "There will be a deal signed and sealed on the table before the season. We’re on the same page." Here's the rest of the week that was..
- More than ten weeks after drafting him, the Sixers finally signed rookie Nerlens Noel.
- Donte Greene was waived by the Celtics and quickly signed a deal in China.
- Rick Adelman confirmed that he'll return as Wolves coach this season.
- The Clippers may invite Gilbert Arenas to camp.
- The Wizards are bringing Josh Childress into training camp.
- Two former first-round picks are headed to China.
- Ricky Davis auditioned for the Knicks.
- The Lakers signed Marcus Landry and it sounds like he's got a pretty good chance of making the roster.
- Jared Jeffries decided to retire and join the Nuggets front office. His goal is to become the youngest ex-NBA player to become an NBA GM.
- The Knicks coaching staff wants Earl Barron. The front office? Not so much.
- The Knicks also worked out a bunch of notable names including Ike Diogu, DeSagana Diop, Cole Aldrich, and others.
- James Johnson signed a deal with the Hawks.
- James White is taking a flight to Italy.
- Troy Daniels will camp with the Bobcats along with former lottery pick Patrick O'Bryant.
- The T'Wolves might offer a deal to A.J. Price.
- The 76ers will sign Vander Blue.
- Royal Ivey will be in camp with the Hawks.
- The Heat have interest in Von Wafer and others.
- Olek Czyz turned down a deal overseas to go to camp with the Bucks.
- Andrew Bynum will be out for the preseason.
- The Pelicans expect to add more players before the start of camp.
- The Lakers signed second round choice Ryan Kelly.
- The Magic will bring Solomon Jones and four others to camp.
- Tony Gaffney is going to camp with the Grizzlies.
- Junior Cadougan will join the Bucks in camp.
- Jeff Pendergraph is now Jeff Ayres.
- The Knicks are bringing Josh Powell to camp.
- Damien Wilkins is returning to Atlanta on a training camp contract.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here's a rundown of the original content produced by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Luke Adams examined the 76ers and the salary cap.
- Chuck Myron gave us a rundown of the league's discarded trade acquisitions.
- Here's Hoops Rumors' up-to-date rundown of the 2015/16 free agent class.
- Chuck Myron found that Italy leads the world in deals for ex-NBA players.
- Most of you see Paul George signing a five-year max extension with the Pacers.
- The overwhelming majority of you also feel that George will be the first extension candidate to ink a new deal.
- Oh, and George is more deserving of an extension that John Wall, according to Friday's poll. If you all love Paul George so much, why don't you marry him?
- Lou Amundson is still seeking an NBA gig, but Chuck suggests that the best thing for him might be to find a deal with an NBA out clause or a deal in China, where the season ends early.
- Luke looked at the teams that have 15 or more guaranteed contracts.
- Daniel Gibson is still out there for a team to sign and Chuck wonders if the Hawks might be a landing spot for him.
- Using the Hoops Rumors Agency Database, Chuck listed the highest paid client of each agency.
- There's not much in the way of contract incentives for many players this season.
- The Nets, Knicks, and Bulls have the most $10MM salaries, according to Chuck.
- Here's how you can follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.
Odds & Ends: LeBron, Mavs, Lopez, Hamilton
The Cavs made a bit of a boo boo this week when they put together their list of all-time Cavs players by number. One would think that No. 23 would be a slam dunk choice for a guy by the name of LeBron James, but the nod instead went to Tyrone Corbin, as noted by Sean Highkin of USA Today. Meanwhile, the Cavs reached out to the Plain Dealer (on Twitter) to explain that the list was not meant to reflect the best player to wear each number. Here's more from around the Association..
- The Mavs bench production was the best in the NBA last season but it could be even more formidable in 2013/14, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. This summer, Dallas added Wayne Ellington, Devin Harris and DeJuan Blair to support their starting five.
- Nets center Brook Lopez, who had a screw replaced in his surgically-repaired right foot over the summer, says he's totally healthy and ready for camp, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
- HoopsHype runs down the best remaining free agents available. Richard Hamilton has the top spot followed by Stephen Jackson, Lamar Odom, and Sebastian Telfair.
- Commissioner-in-training Adam Silver doesn't see the value in tanking, but Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld says that it's not going away anytime soon.
Southeast Notes: Heat, McGrady, Battier, Miller
Here's today's look at the Southeast Division..
- In today's mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if he thinks the Heat's Big Three could dissolve after winning a three peat to prove themselves individually elsewhere. In Winderman's mind, there is no way anyone of consequence leaves if Miami wins a third straight title, except for older players who might retire.
- Former Magic star Tracy McGrady is done playing in the NBA but the possibility still exists that he might continue his career in China, writes Mary Perez of the Sun Herald. "I got a lot of fans over there, so we'll see," said the 34-year-old. We heard earlier this month that there's mutual interest between McGrady and the Sichuan Jinqiang Whale of China, so that could be T-Mac's landing spot if he continues his career overseas.
- While Shane Battier was sad to see Mike Miller leave the Heat after being amnestied, he feels that Miller is in a better situation where he can find more minutes with the Grizzlies, Winderman writes.