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Atlantic Notes: Bynum, Knicks, Lin, Celtics, Green

November 23rd, 2012 at 5:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum trade, like many of the offseason's marquee moves, has yet to pay dividends for any of the teams involved, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Lee thinks the Lakers and Nuggets will turn around their slow starts this season, but he's less optimistic about the Sixers, whom he believes must give Bynum a hefty contract this summer, no matter when he comes back from injury, to justify their involvement in the trade. We've already heard conflicting views on what kind of deal Bynum can expect this summer, and as we wait to find out, there's more news on Philly's Atlantic Division rivals.

Presumably it's GM Glen Grunwald, if not owner James Dolan, calling the shots on Knicks personnel, but coach Mike Woodson said the decision to let Jeremy Lin go this summer was straightforward, as Newsday's Al Iannazzonne observes. "That’s a business decision," Woodson said. "I don’t think it was difficult. We just decided to go in a different direction, based on the guys I thought I liked in terms of Raymond (Felton), Jason (Kidd) and Pablo (Prigioni)."
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, who credits Dolan with making the call on Lin, says he's come around to the owner's side on this one after initially believing the Knicks should have kept Lin.
The Celtics signed Brian Cusworth toward the end of training camp and waived him shortly thereafter so their D-League affiliate could own their rights, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link). We noted earlier today that the Timberwolves carried out the same sort of transactions with Demetris Nichols and Troy Hudson. Cusworth, a 7'0" center from Harvard, is on the roster of the Maine Red Claws for opening night tonight.
Jeff Green remains friends with Kevin Durant, but he has otherwise moved on from his Thunder days as he prepares to take on his old team tonight, he told reporters, including Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
Offseason signee Mirza Teletovic, on the inactive list tonight, isn't seeing much of the court for the Nets, as Josh Newman of SNY.tv chronicles.

Odds & Ends: Rush, Salaries, Green, Draft

November 22nd, 2012 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers! There may be no NBA games scheduled for tonight, but that doesn't mean our coverage will take a break, so thanks for reading. Here are a few odds and ends from a quiet Thursday in the NBA:

Brandon Rush, who tore his ACL and MCL in the season's second game and figures to undergo surgery in December, spoke to Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times about the injury and his player option for next season. "I was just trying to play the season out first," Rush said. "If we were going to win and make it to the playoffs, that was going to help out a lot during free agency next year — if I was to decline the option."
Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld checks in on the salary cap situations for each of the NBA's 30 teams.
After a year in which he underwent successful heart surgery and later signed a lucrative four-year deal with the Celtics, Jeff Green is "thankful for everything," as he tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops submits his early choices for 2013's top 10 draft prospects, with UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad leading the way.

Teams With Hard Caps

November 22nd, 2012 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Chicago Bulls' cap situation has been under the spotlight since July, with the team's hard cap preventing them from adding another player prior to the season. The Bulls' inflexibility makes them the most-discussed hard-capped club, but Chicago isn't the only team that faces that situation. Any club that committed more than $3.09MM in mid-level money to a player's 2012/13 salary has to deal with a hard cap as well.

In some cases, that hard cap will make no difference. A team like the Hawks, for instance, has more than $7MM in breathing room before they approach the $74,307,000 cap. As such, their flexibility shouldn't be handicapped as the trade deadline nears.

A few contenders though, such as the Celtics, are close enough to the hard cap that it'll be a factor they'll need to consider before making trades or signings later on in the season. While minimum-salary signings are still feasible, trades that involve taking on salary may be a no-go.

Here's the complete list of clubs whose team salary can't exceed $74,307,000 at any time this season, along with their current team salaries (per ShamSports):

Bulls: $73,548,398
Celtics: $71,918,029
Warriors: $71,155,896
Clippers: $69,866,604
Spurs: $69,157,865
Hawks: $66,537,025

Atlantic Notes: Evans, Celtics, Kidd, Nets

November 21st, 2012 at 10:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nets big man Reggie Evans today became the first, and assuredly not the last, player to draw a fine under the league's new anti-flopping measures, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported and the league confirmed with a link to the video of Evans' violation (hat tip to Howard Beck of The New York Times). If the league's video review catches Evans flopping four more times this season, he'll be suspended for a game, but it's not as if the Nets are in any danger of losing his services soon. We'll round up the rest of the night's items from the Atlantic Division here.

We heard on separate occasions before the Celtics waived Darko Milicic that they weren't looking to immediately fill his roster spot should he leave, and now that the big man's gone, Celtics coach Doc Rivers reiterated that there have been no discussions about a replacement, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Rivers hasn't spoken to Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge on the matter. "Danny’s out looking at college players, so that tells you how much of an urgency (filling the roster spot is) for us right now," Rivers said. "We’re not thinking about it at all; we haven’t talked about it at all."
Jason Kidd picked the Knicks over the Mavs because he thought New York had a better chance to win, and the veteran's presence betters the Knicks chances, writes Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
Kidd was looking forward to mentoring Jeremy Lin, but is just as pleased about the chance to do so with Raymond Felton, as Iannazzone documents.
Nets Daily shares Mikhail Prokorov's comments about his Nets on Russian radio station Echo Moskvy.

Celtics Waive Darko Milicic

November 21st, 2012 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Darko Milicic has officially left the Celtics to attend to his ill mother in Europe. The Celtics announced today in a press release that they have officially waived Milicic, reducing their roster to 14 players.

"Darko has asked us to release him so he could deal with a personal matter," said Celtics president Danny Ainge. "The whole Celtics family wishes Darko and his family well."

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported on Monday that Darko was considering leaving the Celtics. In addition to wanting to be with his mother, the former second overall pick was also reportedly upset with the lack of playing time he was receiving in Boston.

It's not known whether or not the Celtics and Milicic worked out a buyout, or whether the C's will take the full cap hit for Darko's minimum-salary contract. Either way, Boston should have the financial flexibility to offer another player at least the veteran's minimum. Kenyon Martin has been mentioned as a potential replacement, though multiple reports have suggested it's more likely the team keeps its 15th roster spot open for now.

Offseason In Review: Boston Celtics

November 20th, 2012 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team's offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Jeff Green: Four years, $36.24MM. Signed via Bird rights. Fourth year is player option.
Kevin Garnett: Three years, $36MM. Signed via Bird rights. Third year is partially guaranteed.
Brandon Bass: Three years, $19.5MM. Signed via Bird rights.
Jason Terry: Three years, $15.675MM. Signed via mid-level exception.
Jason Collins: One year, $1.35MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
Chris Wilcox: One year, $1.35MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
Leandro Barbosa: One year, $1.23MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
Darko Milicic: One year, $1.23MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.

Trades and Claims

Acquired Courtney Lee from the Rockets in exchange for JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Sean Williams, Sasha Pavlovic (sent to Trail Blazers), Bobcats' 2013 second-round pick, 2013 second-round pick (sent to Trail Blazers), and Timberwolves' 2013 second-round pick (sent to Trail Blazers). Lee was signed-and-trade for four years, $21.35MM.

Draft Picks

Jared Sullinger (Round 1, 21st overall). Signed via rookie exception.
Fab Melo (Round 1, 22nd overall). Signed via rookie exception.
Kris Joseph (Round 2, 51st overall). Signed via minimum salary exception.

Camp Invitees

Dionte Christmas
Micah Downs
Rob Kurz
Jamar Smith

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Avery Bradley, $2.51MM: Exercised

For most of last season, GM Danny Ainge and the Celtics were inundated with questions about whether 2011/12 would be the Big Three's last run in Boston. With Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen on expiring deals, there was a chance the core of the Celtics team that won the NBA Finals in 2008 would be dismantled, with an eye toward rebuilding, or at least retooling, the roster.

In retrospect, speculation about the end of an era in Boston was probably overblown. Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, who both had bigger roles on the club than Allen, weren't going anywhere, and it was hard to imagine Garnett retiring after putting up the numbers he did in '11/12. Allen headed to Miami in July, but you could easily argue that if there was still a "Big Three" in Boston, Allen was no longer a part of it.

With most of the team's key pieces returning, the potential cap space the C's could have gained by letting its major free agents walk didn't materialize, which may have been for the best. Rather than fighting for players on the open market, the C's looked to their own free agents, armed with the Bird rights to players like Jeff Green and Brandon Bass. Neither forward is a star, but both have proven to be very useful complementary players alongside the bigger names. The price for Green was a little high for my liking, but committing less than $20MM for three years of Bass is a solid investment.

Having managed to stay below the tax threshold, the Celtics also had the full mid-level exception at their disposal, allowing them to lock up Jason Terry. Not only can Terry do many of the things that made Allen a good fit in Boston, but he has the ability to handle the ball and create his own shot, something Allen didn't bring to the table.

Even after signing Terry, the Celtics had enough assets to bring aboard another player at a mid-level price, sending out four players and three draft picks, none of which were exceptionally valuable, to land Courtney Lee. Along with Leandro Barbosa, who signed a minimum-salary contract, Lee helps provide the Celtics with the sort of dynamic scoring backcourt the team didn't have a season ago.

There's not much upside to be had with Jason Collins, Darko Milicic, and Chris Wilcox, who all signed minimum-salary deals to bolster the Celtics' bench. However, in Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo, the team added youth to its frontcourt through the draft. Sullinger, who slipped to No. 21 due to a medical red flag, is ready to contribute immediately and could be a steal. Melo is too raw to enter the rotation right away, but having plenty of bodies to play NBA minutes allows the C's to develop the young center in the D-League for now.

The Celtics' original Big Three may not still be intact, but Ainge certainly didn't go until rebuilding mode this offseason in Boston. Retooling mode though? Sure. Only five players that finished last season with the Celtics returned to the club this year, meaning there figures to be a bit of an adjustment period while the new players adjust to Doc Rivers' system and Rivers figures out which groups of players best complement one another.

Once the Celtics work through that adjustment period though, this is a deep, talented team that looks better on paper now than it did when it took the Heat to seven games in last year's Eastern Conference Finals. They'll need to stay healthy and establish chemistry, but if they do, the Celtics are poised to make a deep run again in the playoffs in 2013.

Darko Milicic Considering Leaving Celtics

November 20th, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 12:35pm: It "doesn't look like" Darko will be coming back to the Celtics, according to coach Doc Rivers (Twitter link via Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe).

MONDAY, 8:05pm: If Milicic leaves the Celtics, the team would be in no rush to fill his roster spot, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, confirming our earlier suspicions.

1:42pm: The Celtics may soon be without Darko Milicic, as the Serbian big man is "leaning toward" leaving the team for the season to be with his ill mother in Europe, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Milicic recently met with coach Doc Rivers, who advised him to take time to make a decision on his family and future.

Milicic, 27, was amnestied by the Timberwolves early in the summer, and weighed his free agent options for much of the offseason before eventually landing in Boston. The Celtics locked him up on a one-year, minimum salary contract.

While Milicic's decision could leave the Celtics with one fewer body in their frontcourt, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the team's rotation, barring injuries. So far, Darko has appeared in just one game for the C's, playing less than five minutes against the Bucks back on November 2nd. Wojnarowski indicates that the seven-footer's frustration with his lack of role in Boston may also play a part in his decision.

If Darko were to leave the Celtics, there's a chance Boston would look into signing Kenyon Martin, according to Wojnarowski. The team considered Martin earlier in the offseason, and some of the C's veterans have been pushing for the club to sign him. However, it's more likely that Boston would simply keep the 15th roster spot open to see who else might become available.

Celtics Rumors: Darko, Martin, Cap Situation

November 20th, 2012 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

We heard yesterday that Darko Milicic is considering leaving the Celtics to return to Europe to be with his mother, who is ill. It doesn't appear that Darko has made a definitive decision on his future yet, but we have a few notes on the subject, along with some other Celtics links:

With three young children here, Darko's decision involves much more than just basketball, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Bulpett adds that if Milicic were to return to Serbia, the Celtics likely wouldn't immediately fill his roster spot unless it was with someone Doc Rivers would use regularly.
Rivers will support whatever decision Milicic makes, as he told WEEI during his weekly appearance on the Boston radio station. "He has some family issues, more his [ill] mom, and not playing and being in another country," Rivers said. "The NBA hasn’t exactly gone great for him over his career. So it’s a lot of reasons for him to want to leave. I understand that, and I told him that. I pretty much left it up to him. He has my blessing either way" (link via ESPNBoston.com).
The Celtics need more energy from their bench, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, who hints that Kenyon Martin could be an option, as we heard yesterday.
Also at ESPNBoston.com, Chris Forsberg examines where the Darko situation stands.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld notes that the Celtics still have their bi-annual exception available, but points out that the team is also about $2MM into the luxury tax. Boston would likely reduce team salary slightly if Darko leaves (I'd assume a buyout would be negotiated). However, like the Bulls and a few other clubs, the Celtics remain hard-capped and are reluctant to use their BAE, reducing their flexibility when it comes to adding another player.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Turner, McGuire, Darko

November 19th, 2012 at 9:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

None of the Atlantic Division teams are in action tonight, which might come as a relief to the rest of the league. Four of the five clubs are over .500, while the fifth team, the 3-7 Raptors, is coming off a win last night, albeit against the lowly Magic. Nonetheless, teams making an East Coast road trip this year don't figure to have an easy time of it. Here's more from what might be the NBA's toughest division.

Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com goes in depth on the Knicks' top-ranked defense, noting the contributions of offseason signees J.R. Smith, Ronnie Brewer, Pablo Prigioni and Rasheed Wallace.
CSN Philly's Dei Lynam details how consistency is the key for Evan Turner, who's averaging a career-high 32.9 minutes per game this season, the last before the Sixers must decide whether to extend his rookie contract.
The Raptors' decision to bring Dominic McGuire in on a minimum-salary deal is paying off for both player and team, observes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Rich Levine of CSNNE.com had much higher hopes for Darko Milicic, who may leave the Celtics to care for his ill mother after just five minutes of action this season.

Atlantic Notes: Bynum, Wilcox, Banks, Felton

November 18th, 2012 at 8:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andrew Bynum on Sunday confirmed reports that he hurt his left knee while bowling, admitting that the activity, which isn't specifically prohibited in player contracts, probably wasn't wise. "In hindsight, I guess you really shouldn’t go bowling but it’s not anything more than what I’ve done in my rehab," Bynum said to reporters, including John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I’m kind of taking the position that if that happens bowling, what happens while dunking?" As Mitchell writes, that's the question the Sixers have been waiting to have answered all season. Here's more on Philly's Atlantic Division rivals.

Even though his conditioning is still not right after heart surgery in March, Chris Wilcox has filled a frontcourt need for the Celtics and might be the team's most pleasant surprise, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Wilcox is one of five Celtics on minimum-salary deals, as we detailed earlier.
Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside catches up with former Celtics lottery pick Marcus Banks, who recently signed to play with Panathinaikos in Greece two years after his last NBA action, which came with the Raptors in 2010/11.
Pacers president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh, formerly in charge of the Knicks front office, said Raymond Felton was the player he most regretted giving up in the Carmelo Anthony deal in 2011, and the executive is glad Felton has returned to the team, notes Mark Berman of the New York Post (Sulia link).
We passed along more from Walsh's chat with New York media today and a few other Knicks items this afternoon.