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Avery Bradley Hires Rob Pelinka As New Agent

January 19th, 2016 at 1:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Avery Bradley has hired Landmark Sports agent Rob Pelinka, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Celtics combo guard had been with former NBA player Mitchell Butler of the Vanguard Sports Group and Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports. The move appears to have more to do with Bradley’s off-court career than his playing contract, since he isn’t scheduled to hit free agency again until 2018 after signing a four-year, $32MM deal with Boston in the summer of 2014.

The 25-year-old is averaging a career high 32.5 minutes per game this season, his sixth in the NBA, though he’s running slightly behind his career-best average of 14.9 points per game, which he delivered the season before he signed his contract. He’s made his reputation as a stout defender, though some numbers don’t back that up this season. ESPN’s Real Plus Minus categorizes Bradley as a point guard and places him as the 40th-best defender at that position, while he’s the 64th-best guard overall in Basketball-Reference’s Defensive Box Plus Minus metric.

Pelinka boasts a star-studded list of clients that includes James Harden, the soon-to-retire Kobe Bryant, 2016 free agent Eric Gordon, and Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. Preliminary projections show the salary cap shrinking from $108MM in 2017/18 to $100MM in 2018/19, so Bradley is poised to enter a relatively tough market. Much can change between now and then, however. The Celtics continue to look for a star, so Bradley, like just about everyone else on the roster, isn’t immune from inclusion in a trade.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Sullinger, DeRozan, Colangelo

January 19th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets don’t have enough dissenters within the organization to offset the prevailing opinion, leading the team to make too many ill-advised decisions, as NetsDaily argues. The team hired few people in recent years without some sort of connection to former GM Billy King, and the recent consolidation of ownership that gave Mikhail Prokhorov 100% of the team doesn’t help, NetsDaily adds. Those at the top of the chain of command for the Nets were generally the ones most convinced within the organization that the team would be competitive this season, NetsDaily tweets. Brooklyn is 11-31, which is the league’s third-worst record. See more from the Atlantic Division:

Jared Sullinger triggered the starter criteria on Monday to increase the value of his qualifying offer from $3,270,004 to $4,433,683, as Bobby Marks of “The Vertical” on Yahoo Sports points out (Twitter link). Monday’s start for Sullinger was his 82nd over the past two seasons, meaning he’ll average at least 41 over that span, enough to bring the starter criteria into play. The Celtics now have to tender that higher qualifying offer to retain the right to match competing bids for him in free agency this summer.
DeMar DeRozan is a fan of former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, to whom the Nets are apparently giving strong consideration as they search for their next GM, notes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. DeRozan has made it clear he prefers to stay with the Raptors, though the Nets had reportedly been expected to make him one of their primary offseason targets, at least before they removed King from the GM role. “[Colangelo] gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, you know? And I credit a lot of my success to him,” DeRozan said Monday, as Lewis relays. “[He’s] one of those stand-up honest guys. [He’ll] work extremely hard, and wants the best for whatever organization and players that he’s working for.’’
Kristaps Porzingis has the potential to become the sort of player whom marquee free agents want to play with, and that changes the timeline for the Knicks to return to contention, argues Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. Instead of going for broke this summer to find someone to pair with an aging Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks can afford to wait until 2017, when a much better free agent crop of point guards will be on the market, as Beer details.

Atlantic Notes: Crowder, Johnson, Nets, Porzingis

January 18th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jae Crowder has developed into a productive player on both ends of the court since being sent to the Celtics as part of the Rajon Rondo trade, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Crowder has stepped into more of a featured role in Boston and has responded by making the league’s top 10 in both offensive and defensive plus-minus rating. “He’s gotten better virtually every game,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “It’s no surprise. We loved him here. We got [Dwight] Powell back in the deal. Powell’s a good young player, too. It’s a trade that’s going to work out well for us. Probably better for them because they got some draft picks, too.”

There’s more tonight from the Atlantic Division:

Joe Johnson‘s resurgence could make him an attractive addition for a contending team, but a deal probably won’t happen, according to NetsDaily. The reason is Johnson’s salary — nearly $25MM on an expiring contract — which means the Nets would have to take multiple players in return, with at least one probably extending into next season or beyond. That would take a bite out of Brooklyn’s estimated $40MM to $45MM in cap space, which owner Mikhail Prokhorov is counting on for a “small reset.” “They have to pray to God they can get some free agents next year,” said an unidentified league source, “overpay some guys on one- to two-year deals like Sacramento did, and hope it works out better than it is there. There’s no other way.”
The Nets may want to clear out some of their bench players for next season, but don’t count on that happening either, tweets NetsDaily. Thomas Robinson, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington and Andrea Bargnani all have player options for 2016/17.
Sixers coach Brett Brown has joined the growing fan base of Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Porzingis posted his 16th double-double in today’s victory over the Sixers. “I think he’s going to be really special,” Brown said. “We all look at his height. I look at his competitiveness. He plays hard and appears to really love the game.”

Aldridge on Lee, Ainge, Agents, Beal, Portis

January 18th, 2016 at 6:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Lee seems to have fallen out of the Celtics‘ rotation a year after going through the same experience in Golden State, writes TNT’s David Aldridge in his weekly column for NBA.com. Boston is fully healthy for the first time this season, which has cut deeply into Lee’s playing time as coach Brad Stevens opts for a smaller lineup. “I’ve been through this before, and it turned out OK,” Lee said. The 11th-year forward is making nearly $15.5MM in the final season of his contract and is headed for free agency for the second time in his career.

Aldridge touched on a number of other topics in the piece:

With a little more than a month before the trade deadline, Celtics GM Danny Ainge has to decide whether to deal the team’s excess draft picks to pursue an available star or save the picks and use them to build for the future. Boston owns the Nets‘ unprotected first-rounder this year, along with a Mavs first-rounder that is top-seven protected. The Celtics could potentially get the Wolves‘ first-rounder as well, but it is only top-12 protected, so that’s unlikely. If Minnesota keeps the pick, it will have to give Boston second-rounders this year and in 2017.
Pressure has increased on agents to get not only the best playing contracts for their clients, but TV and movie roles, music opportunities and shoe deals as well. The Wizards‘ John Wall last week became one of a handful of big name players to change agencies recently when he left Relativity Sports, which had represented him since he was drafted in 2010. “The people I was with have been a great partnership the five years I was with them,” Wall said. “They did a lot of positive things for me. It was just a situation where I felt me and my team wanted to go in different ways with how I wanted to build my team.”
Aldridge believes the Wizards still plan to give Bradley Beal a max contract, even though he will probably be under a minutes restriction for the rest of his career. Aldridge contends that Beal can be an All-Star playing 30-35 minutes a night and compares the situation to what the Celtics did when Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were in their final years there or how the Spurs handle their veterans.
Aldridge also sees a bright future for Bulls rookie Bobby Portis, saying he can succeed through hard work despite his limited vertical leap.

And-Ones: Sixers, Gay, D-League

January 18th, 2016 at 3:34pm CST by Will Joseph

The Sixers will listen to offers, but it doesn’t seem like the Philadelphia will be making any deals before the trade deadline, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. This would present a change under GM Sam Hinkie because the Sixers have made trades around this time in each of the last two seasons, Pompey adds. It is worth mentioning that since the Sixers hired longtime NBA executive Jerry Colangelo to serve in their front office, there seems to be a different direction with the franchise more willing to acquire veteran talent.

“We will continue to look for opportunities if there are things that we can do to add players for now and the future,” Hinkie said. “We will look, but I’m not sure it will happen.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Grizzlies can improve their current roster and make a vital move for the future by acquiring Rudy Gay in a trade with Kings, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal suggests in a Q&A piece. It was recently reported that the Pelicans are interest in acquiring Gay. Memphis, however, would benefit from adding Gay because he would bring scoring, versatility and tough defense, Tillery writes. The Grizzlies traded Gay in 2013.
Speaking of Gay, he’s an intriguing possibility for the Pelicans, but his contract would do harm to the team’s cap space and his 3-point shooting and defense have both been inconsistent, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com writes. Gay is owed $13.3MM next season, as Verrier points out. It remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will be collecting assets for an offseason reboot or making a postseason push, Verrier surmises.
The Celtics recalled Jordan Mickey from the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release. Mickey’s recall is for ankle treatment, though, and he won’t be joining the Celtics on their current trip, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald tweets.

And-Ones: Davis, D-League, CBA

January 17th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Will Joseph

Baron Davis has cleared D-League waivers after going unclaimed by the league’s 19 teams, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). In other words, no team thought he was worth a waiver claim. Davis now goes into the league’s available players pool, Stein adds. With an interesting point, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets that some team would have likely taken a shot on Davis if this situation happened a few years ago, if only for marketing purposes, because the D-League had independent teams then.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Either side may opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement after the 2016/17 season, but commissioner Adam Silver is encouraged by already having direct conversations with the Players Association and is optimistic that a lockout will be avoided, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Jae Crowder is putting up career-best numbers across the board and after re-signing with the Celtics this past summer for five years and $35MM, he is looking like one of the league’s top bargains, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Crowder was the prize in the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to the Mavs and is flourishing this season as the Celtics’ starting small forward, Forsberg adds.
The Hawks recalled Lamar Patterson and Edy Tavares from the D-League, Atlanta announced in an emailed press release.
The Magic will recall Devyn Marble from the D-League, John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com reports (on Twitter).

Atlantic Notes: Ainge, Colangelo, Calipari, Jackson

January 17th, 2016 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge talks weekly with Suns GM Ryan McDonough, as McDonough tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, and it’s clear that the pair maintain a strong relationship from their days in the Celtics front office. Boston and Phoenix hooked up on three trades last season.

“We worked together for a number of years and those guys have become some of my best friends,” McDonough said to Washburn about the Celtics brass. “Sometimes the calls are trade-related, sometimes the calls are social. I have a great relationship with those guys. I appreciate everything that Danny, [owners] Steve [Pagliuca], and Wyc [Grousbeck] did for my career, and regardless where I am the Celtics will always be my second-favorite team.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

It’s obvious that Sixers chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo is doing all the major decision-making now instead of GM Sam Hinkie, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who wonders whether Hinkie will get credit should the team become successful in the near future.
A league source suggested to Fred Kerber of the New York Post that John Calipari will become a more appealing option to the Nets the longer they search for a GM and coach. The team isn’t seriously considering Calipari at this point, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck said Friday. Kerber also names team chairman Dmitry Razumov, board member Sergey Kushchenko, CEO Brett Yormark and Prokhorov’s holding company president Irina Pavlova as members of the team’s search committee. That adds further confusion to an existing set of conflicting reports about who’s conducting the search.
Kristaps Porzingis unsurprisingly gets an A-plus in the midseason grades that Marc Berman of the New York Post hands out for the Knicks, but team president Phil Jackson receives only a C-minus, even though his decision to draft Porzingis has worked out. A record around .500 won’t cut it, and some of the team’s signings, including the addition of Kevin Seraphin that coach Derek Fisher lobbied for, have been duds, Berman opines, justifying the low grade for Jackson.

Heat Rumors: Udrih, Whiteside, Wade

January 17th, 2016 at 11:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Beno Udrih‘s improved play may force the Heat to shake up their rotation once Goran Dragic returns from injury, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Udrih, who was acquired in a November 10th trade with Memphis, has taken over as the starting point guard with Dragic out of action. Dragic was sent home from the team’s current road trip with a calf strain. He will be re-evaluated after the Heat return home tonight, but there is no timetable for his return. Winderman speculates that if Udrih continues to play well, he could turn Tyler Johnson from a combo guard into just a shooting guard and perhaps eat into the minutes of Gerald Green and Justise Winslow.

There’s more Heat-related news today:

An ideal situation for Miami would be for free agent center Hassan Whiteside to accept an Early Bird salary of about $6MM next season and then receive a maximum deal the following year, Winderman writes in the same piece. However, the columnist adds that there’s virtually no chance of that happening, as Whiteside can expect at least an $80MM offer this summer.
That payday will be extra sweet for Whiteside, according to Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders, as the 26-year-old center spent two full years out of the NBA before getting a chance with Miami midway through last season. Now that he has a shot at a huge contract, Whiteside listed a few basic things he will be looking for. “I want to go to a team that’s about winning,” he said. “[A team] that has a good understanding of what it takes to win and a good city with a good fan base.” Blancarte expects the Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Bulls and Lakers to compete with the Heat for Whiteside.
Earning an All-Star spot is still important to Dwyane Wade at age 34, writes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Wade, who signed a one-year, $20MM deal with the Heat last summer and is headed for free agency again, is fifth in the overall voting with two days remaining. He said the results show he has staying power with the public. “I’m turning 34 years old, and the fans still want to see me in the All-Star Game,” said Wade. “It’s a pretty cool thing. Besides my first All-Star, it probably means the most.”

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Nene, D-League Moves

January 16th, 2016 at 11:04am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird admits his team hasn’t figured out whether to play with a smaller or bigger lineup, according to Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star. The team’s inconsistent play has left him baffled, Taylor adds. “I just can’t get a handle on it right now because these guys are up and down,” Bird told Taylor. “I can’t tell you what is best for us right now. We’ve had success with the small lineup, but we’ve had success with two big guys in there. It’s going to take a little bit more time, but I would like to have won more games up to this point. I don’t think any of us feel comfortable with how we’re playing and the way things are going.” Bird wants coach Frank Vogel to continue using the smaller lineup for the time being to create offensive mismatches, even though the bigger lineup is statistically superior defensively, Taylor adds.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Nene is an essential frontcourt piece for the Wizards and he must stay healthy for the team to make a playoff run this season, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com opines. Nene’s passing, movement, screening, deflections and ability to create his own shot are why the Wizards weren’t interested in trading him during the offseason, J. Michael continues. The frontcourt combination of Marcin Gortat, DeJuan Blair and Kris Humphries cannot duplicate his skills and the fact that Nene — who is making $13MM this season — becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer provides the added bonus of not tying up salary beyond this season, J. Michael adds.
The Bulls recalled power forward Cristiano Felicio from the D-League, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter link). The move is related to the shoulder injury suffered by center Joakim Noah on Friday, Johnson adds.
The Celtics assigned shooting guard R.J. Hunter to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, the team tweets.
The Raptors assigned power forward Anthony Bennett, small forward Bruno Caboclo and rookie shooting guard Delon Wright to their D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, the team tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Conley, Lopez, Raptors

January 16th, 2016 at 9:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks and Nets will be “all over” Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley when he hits the free agent market this summer, sources have indicated to the New York Post’s Marc Berman and Fred Kerber. The New York City clubs are two of the few teams searching for a high-level point guard, the story continues. Knicks coach Derek Fisher has an affinity to left-handed point guards like Conley since he was one himself, the story adds. Both teams have ample cap room to sign big-name free agents, as the Knicks have approximately $55.4MM in guaranteed salary commitments for next season while the Nets’ guarantees are slightly under $45.4MM.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

The Nets must decide whether center Brook Lopez is a cornerstone piece while also focusing their energies on acquiring younger players, two parts of a five-step plan outlined by RealGM.com’s Brett Koremenos to revive the franchise. The Nets should use the remainder of the season to evaluate whether they should build around Lopez or unload him, Koremenos opines, but can’t afford to throw away any more assets if they opt to trade him.
Point guard Cory Joseph and power forward Patrick Patterson made major contributions off the bench in the Raptors’ trip to London this week and that bodes well for their bench, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun writes. Both have shown a reluctance to shoot but the club needs more offensive punch from the duo and the game provided a much-needed confidence boost, Ganter adds.