Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Atlantic Division
Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Atlantic Division:
Bobby Portis, Knicks, 24, PF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $30.75MM deal in 2019
Portis’ career appeared to be on the upswing when he posted solid numbers across the board for Chicago and Washington last season. Like many of the free agents the Knicks signed, Portis has been a colossal disappointment. His shooting percentage has dipped and he hasn’t been a force around the boards. Other than a 28-point outing against Chicago in late October, Portis has done little to justify his salary. Unless he experiences a major turnaround under new coach Mike Miller, the Knicks will decline their $15.75MM option on him after the season.
Brad Wanamaker, Celtics, 30, PG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $1.4MM deal in 2019
Wanamaker’s role has grown in his second season with the Celtics. He’s carved out steady work, averaging 17.9 MPG while appearing in all 24 games. He doesn’t take a lot of shots but he’s above average in those categories (47.1% overall, 40% on threes, 87.5% at the free throw line). He had a 12-point, six-rebound outing against Indiana on Wednesday. Boston can make Wanamaker a restricted free agent by extending a $1.9MM qualifying offer after the season. Thus far, he has given them incentive to retain those rights.
Garrett Temple, Nets, 33, SG (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal in 2019
The Nets made plenty of headlines during the free agent period this past summer by signing Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan. Who would have guessed that during the first two months of the season, the free agent making the biggest impact would be Temple? He’s averaging 13.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 3.6 APG while shooting 39.7% from long range in 34.2 MPG over the past 10 games. The Nets hold a $5MM option on Temple’s contract for next season. As a valuable member of the rotation, Temple is making that decision an easy one.
Jonah Bolden, Sixers, 23, PF (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $7MM deal in 2018
Bolden appeared in 44 games in his rookie year, including 10 starts, but doesn’t have a role on this year’s team. Bolden, who has been bothered by an Achilles injury, has appeared in just two NBA games this season. He’s played eight games with the team’s G League squad, the Delaware Blue Coats, and that’s where he’ll likely spend most of his time this season unless Al Horford or Joel Embiid miss a stretch of games. Bolden’s $1.766MM salary for next season is not guaranteed and even at that modest cost, the Sixers might not keep the 2017 second-round pick around.
Stanley Johnson, Raptors, 23, SF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $7.4MM deal in 2019
The highlight of Johnson’s disappointing NBA career came in his rookie season, when then-President Barack Obama praised his defensive effort against LeBron James in a playoff series. The eighth pick of the 2015 draft has gone from rotation player in Detroit to an afterthought with the Raptors. Currently sidelined with a groin injury, Johnson has only made five brief appearances this season. Fortunately for Johnson, he holds a player option on his $3.8MM salary for next season. At this point, it would be foolhardy for Johnson to opt out in the summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nets Waive Iman Shumpert
3:13pm: The Nets have officially waived Shumpert, the team announced this afternoon in a press release.
10:54am: The Nets will waive veteran swingman Iman Shumpert, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Brooklyn is currently carrying 16 players, but will have to get back down to 15 after this Saturday’s game in Toronto, when Wilson Chandler‘s 25-game suspension ends and he becomes eligible to be reinstated. The Nets, who have posted a 9-4 record since Shumpert entered the lineup, will “reluctantly” release the recently-signed 29-year-old due to their roster crunch, per Charania.
Having signed with the Nets on November 13, Shumpert quickly entered the club’s rotation, averaging 4.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 13 games (18.5 MPG). He didn’t shoot well during his time in Brooklyn (.328/.242/.571), but he provided head coach Kenny Atkinson with another reliable perimeter defender.
Once he’s officially placed on waivers, Shumpert will be eligible to be claimed by any of the NBA’s other teams, since he’s on a minimum-salary contract. Assuming he clears waivers, he’ll once again become an unrestricted free agent and the Nets will be on the hook for the prorated portion of his non-guaranteed salary (about $419K if he’s cut today, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks).
Chandler, David Nwaba, Rodions Kurucs, and Theo Pinson were among the other players the Nets could have considered parting with if they’d wanted to retain Shumpert, but they’ll all hang onto their roster spots for now.
Multiple Teams Doing Homework On Rodions Kurucs
At least two teams are devoting resources to conducting a “full background check” on Nets forward Rodions Kurucs to see if he makes sense as a trade target, sources tell ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link).
Kurucs had a promising rookie season in 2018/19, averaging 8.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 63 games (46 starts) and shooting 45.0% from the field. This season, the 21-year-old hasn’t been a regular part of Brooklyn’s rotation, recording just 2.3 PPG and 2.2 RPG on 39.1% shooting in 10 contests (9.9 MPG).
Additionally, Kurucs was arrested during the offseason on a domestic violence charge. The case related to those allegations is ongoing, and the background checks referred to by Marks will presumably focus on determining how credible that accusation is.
The Nets will face a roster crunch within the next few days when Wilson Chandler‘s 25-game suspension comes to an end. The team has been carrying Iman Shumpert as a 16th man, but will have to get back to down to 15 players when Chandler is eligible to be reinstated.
If Brooklyn isn’t prepared to waive a player like Shumpert, Chandler, or David Nwaba, a move involving Kurucs could be a possibility.
Kevin Durant: “I Want To Own And Run An NBA Team”
Count Nets forward Kevin Durant among the NBA superstars who is interested in transitioning to team ownership once his career as a player is over. According to Steven Bertoni of Forbes, Durant expressed interest in overseeing an NBA franchise in a role similar to the one Michael Jordan has in Charlotte.
“I want to own and run an NBA team,” Durant said. “Run day-to-day operations and impact young players coming through the league.”
Bertoni’s profile of Durant focuses more on his business interests than his on-court NBA career, detailing how the two-time Finals MVP took advantage of his time with the Warriors to pursue investment opportunities in Silicon Valley. Bertoni suggests that KD will ultimately make well over $500MM from his basketball contracts and sponsorships by the time his playing career ends and wants to increase that number further through his “expanding collection of startups and media plays.”
“I started down here,” Durant said, gesturing to the floor. “I know there’ll be kids popping up in my family, and I want them to start above this roof. The only way to get there for your family is to create money, and I want to do it in a cooler way, not just being greedy and accumulating as much as I can.”
Durant isn’t the only NBA star that has talked about following in the footsteps of Jordan, who is the controlling owner of the Hornets and oversees the basketball operations department as well. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are among those who have also shown interest in owning NBA teams.
Report: Kevin Durant "Strongly" Considered Knicks In Free Agency
- Kevin Durant did “strongly” consider the Knicks as a free agent destination earlier this year, but when he and Kyrie Irving talked about teaming up, Durant never pushed the Knicks the way Irving pushed the Nets, sources tell ESPN. Shelburne and Wojnarowski also suggest that team owner James Dolan was wary about bringing aboard Durant and his torn Achilles after the Knicks’ experience with Amar’e Stoudemire.
- When Porzingis and his brother (and agent) Janis found out the Knicks were discussing a possible trade with the Mavericks, they hurried a meeting with the team, providing a wish list of four destinations (Nets, Clippers, Raptors, and Heat), according to Shelburne and Wojnarowski. The Knicks turned around and quickly finalized a deal with Dallas, perhaps not wanting to lose leverage when Porzingis’ request leaked. The series of events left more than a dozen teams around the NBA wondering why they didn’t have a chance to bid on Porzingis, and suggested one of two things to rivals, per Shelburne and Woj: Either the Knicks knew Durant and Irving were coming, or they didn’t know how to properly execute a franchise-altering trade.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/10/19
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hornets recalled Cody Martin from the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced. The move concluded Martin’s fifth stint in the G League this season.
- The Rockets have sent Isaiah Hartenstein down to the G League, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston relays (Twitter link). The big man has appeared in eight games for Houston this season.
- The Kings have assigned Wenyen Gabriel to the Stockton Kings, the team announced on its Twitter feed. The power forward has seen action in seven games for Sacramento this season.
- The Magic have sent Melvin Frazier Jr. and Amile Jefferson to the G League, the team’s Twitter feed reveals. Frazier and Jefferson suited up for the Lakeland Magic earlier tonight.
Kyrie Irving Misses Out On $125K Bonus
Kyrie Irving has been ruled out for the Nets‘ Wednesday’s contest vs. Charlotte, which will be the 13th game he has missed this season. As a result, he can no longer play in 70 games in 2019/20, which means he’ll miss out on a $125K bonus in his contract, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (via Twitter).
Irving’s contract with the Nets includes eight separate bonuses worth $125K, which could be worth up to $1MM in total. The other seven are still in play, but some of those incentives are tied to games-played totals as well.
For instance, the Nets’ point guard can earn $125K for committing fewer than 2.4 turnovers per game and another $125K for attempting at least 4.6 free throws per game. But he also must play at least 60 regular season games to receive those bonuses. We have the full details here.
New York Notes: Hezonja, Dinwiddie, Miller, Barrett
Forward Mario Hezonja wanted to return to the Knicks but they never made him an offer in free agency, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Hezonja wound up taking a two-year, minimum salary deal with the Trail Blazers.
“That free agency was ‘call me and I’m coming back (to the Knicks),'” Hezonja said. “I don’t care (that) there’s a lot of perception people make about playing in New York. But I had never had problems with you guys (media). Media was great always great. Everyone from the front office was great to me. Fans are the best in the world. … I loved every single thing about my entire time out there. It didn’t work out in the summer.”
We have more on the New York teams:
- Spencer Dinwiddie has played so well as the Nets’ starting point guard that coach Kenny Atkinson will have a pleasant dilemma when max player Kyrie Irving returns to action, Brian Lewis the New York Post writes. The Nets are 9-3 with Dinwiddie in the lineup, compared to 4-7 before a shoulder injury sidelined Irving. “It’s a good [situation]. It just adds to our depth and adds to our talent, and I just see it as a good thing,” Atkinson said. “Now I’m thinking about what is that going to look like rotation-wise. What does that look like with Spencer: Start or come off the bench? So those are good problems. I’m excited — our staff is excited — about making that work.”
- New Knicks coach Mike Miller focused Monday’s two-hour practice on changing the team’s defensive coverage, Berman writes in a separate piece. Miller is looking for more consistent effort from the struggling squad. “We were working on the things that we need to do and really get a good feel, continue to work with our consistency of how we play possession to possession,’” Miller said. “That’s what our focus is. … Let’s lock in these areas where we’ve shown we can be pretty good. Let’s do it for longer stretches.”
- Knicks rookie RJ Barrett has to adjust a coaching change in the early stages of his career but he’s taking it in stride, Steve Popper of Newsday relays. “This is a business,” Barrett said. “We’re pros. Stuff will happen. We have a whole season to go and move on.”
Atlantic Notes: Irving, Silver, Knicks, Brown, Shumpert
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson is hopeful that Kyrie Irving could return to practice within the next week or so, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Irving has missed the past 12 games due to a shoulder impingement.
Over the course of those games, Brooklyn has accrued a 9-3 record, including a 105-102 home victory against the Nuggets on Sunday.
“I think the plan is to continue to ramp up his individual on-court work, and I think from there it’s starting to integrate him in the next week or two into team practices,” Atkinson said, as relayed by Lewis. “Like I always say, that could be a planned practice or us making one up if the game schedule so dictates.”
The Nets have struggled through clear growing pains with Irving this season, owning a 4-7 record when he’s active. Brooklyn is expected to sport a formidable roster when fully healthy, pushing a core that includes Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan and others, which will only improve with Kevin Durant‘s return next season.
Brooklyn has upcoming games scheduled against Charlotte on Wednesday, Toronto on Saturday and Philadelphia on Sunday. Through a small sample size of 11 games this season, Irving has averaged 28.5 points and 7.2 assists per contest — both of which would be career-high marks if they hold.
Here’s more from around the division:
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has no plans of getting involved in the Knicks‘ ongoing internal chaos, a process that’s been stretched over several years, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “I wouldn’t. It’s not my role,” Silver said. “Of course, I work for 30 teams. And the 29 other teams want to beat that team. That’s not to say me getting involved (would be good) and that I’m in any better position to know what to do. We set the rules. And then we try to have a level playing field for the teams to compete.”
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston examines how Jaylen Brown has won over Celtics fans in the early stages of the season. Brown has put forth his best campaign to date, holding per-game averages of 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals while helping the Celtics obtain a 16-5 record. “When [Brown] has it going, he definitely gives us a lot more options,” teammate Kemba Walker said. “He’s been playing well all year. I’m excited for him. He’s put in a lot of work each and every day, and it’s showing on the court.”
- Iman Shumpert‘s impressive play is leaving the Nets with a difficult roster decision to make, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Brooklyn has to waive or trade a player by next Sunday to clear a roster spot, with Wilson Chandler‘s 25-game suspension set to expire that day. “He’s been a sparkplug,” coach Kenny Atkinson said of Shumpert. “He’s really what we ask for: We ask for a perimeter defender, a guy that can really guard multiple positions. And then he’s got a great spirit in the locker room.”
Jordan, Allen Working Together In Brooklyn
- When the Nets signed DeAndre Jordan this summer, they weren’t sure how he was going to fit with Jarrett Allen, but the centers have made the pairing work, observes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Jordan and Allen are the only teammates in the league who rank in the top 10 in effective field goal percentage and rebound percentage. “During the summer, there could’ve been a lot of negative thinking in my head,” Allen said. “… But I took it as a positive. They brought him in, and he’s a great person to learn from — first-team All-Defense — he had a great background and I just tried to learn from him as much as I could.”