Nets Notes: Pierce, Williams, Garnett
Paul Pierce has found the Wizards to be a much better fit for himself than the Nets were last season, Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com writes. Speaking about being in Washington, Pierce told MacMullan, “I’m much happier. It was a tough situation [in Brooklyn] last year. Horrible, really. It was just the guys’ attitudes there. It wasn’t like we were surrounded by a bunch of young guys. They were vets who didn’t want to play and didn’t want to practice. I was looking around saying, ‘What’s this?’ Kevin Garnett and I had to pick them up every day in practice. If me and Kevin weren’t there, that team would have folded up. That team would have packed it in. We kept them going each and every day.”
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The veteran forward also relayed that the player who most perplexed him on the Nets was Deron Williams, MacMullan adds. “Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,” Pierce said. “But I felt once we got there, that’s not what he wanted to be. He just didn’t want that. I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.”
- Pierce indicated he would have remained in Brooklyn this season for the sake of his longtime teammate, MacMullan notes. “I would have stayed in Brooklyn because of Kevin,” Pierce said. “I told him, ‘I don’t really like this situation but I would never leave you if you want me to stay.’ But they decided not to re-sign me so I never had to make a choice. I would never have left Kevin like that.”
- The Nets are currently a half game behind the Pacers for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, but even if the team makes the postseason this campaign still will be considered an expensive failure, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post writes.
Atlantic Notes: ‘Melo, Knicks, Perkins, Kidd
The Knicks are guaranteed to have a record that’s among the worst three in the NBA this season, but Bucks coach Jason Kidd thinks Carmelo Anthony’s presence on New York’s roster could help lure free agents to the Big Apple this summer, relays Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The Knicks will have about $32.4MM in commitments next season, and they’ll surely be looking for an upgrade at almost every position on their roster going forward. We’ve got more from Begley on the Knicks in tonight’s look at the latest from the Atlantic:
- Pacers executive and former Knicks president Donnie Walsh believes Phil Jackson’s influence will eventually turn New York into a winning club, as Begley writes in the same piece. Still, Walsh cautions that Jackson’s approach will likely require patience, and free agents won’t just flock to the Knicks simply because they play in a big market.
- Kendrick Perkins spoke fondly of the Celtics and told Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com that he thinks the C’s are on the right track moving forward. Perkins, a free agent at season’s end, added that he’s proud of the progress his former team has made this season and complimented the play of Avery Bradley.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post explores Kidd’s transition from coaching the Nets to coaching the Bucks.
Atlantic Notes: Noel, Nets, Thomas
Nerlens Noel’s rookie season with the Sixers has not established whether he will be in the team’s long-term plans, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. While he has shown offensive improvement by recording double-doubles in 11 of his last 22 games, Noel is shooting just 29% from the field on attempts more than three feet from the basket, Ford points out. Noel has yet to prove he can play power forward and mesh with Joel Embiid, who can only play center, Ford adds. The deadline trade of Michael Carter-Williams shows that Philadelphia is capable of shifting gears despite management claims that Noel is a major building block, Ford concludes.
In other news around the Atlantic Division:
- Robert Covington‘s scoring ability may have earned him a role with the Sixers next season, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Covington is slated to make approximately $2MM over the next two seasons but the money is not guaranteed. His long-range shooting ability, which creates space for big men Noel and Embiid, may convince the Sixers to keep him around, Pompey opines. “You need people to stretch the floor,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said to Pompey.
- The Nets will need to continue paying the luxury tax to remain competitive and majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to do that, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. The Nets are approximately $11.6MM over the tax line this season and could exceed it again if Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young exercise their player options and the club retains restricted free agent Mirza Teletovic, Bontemps continues. Lacking a first-round pick in 2016, the Nets don’t have the option of selling off assets to remain competitive, Bontemps adds. Prokhorov has shown a willingness to spend whatever is necessary to have a contender and vowed to continue that strategy, according to Bontemps. “If we need to pay a little bit more than any other teams, it’s not an obstacle,” Prokhorov said during a press conference this week.
- Isaiah Thomas has significantly improved the Celtics’ pick-and-roll offense and given them a reliable fourth-quarter option, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. Using Synergy Sports Data, Forsberg points out that Thomas ranks in the 93rd percentile among all NBA players as a pick-and-roll ballhandler while the Celtics ranked 28th in that category before the Thomas acquisition. Thomas had also scored a larger percentage of his points in the fourth quarter than any player who has scored at least 800 points, Forsberg continues while using Elias Sports Bureau data. Boston’s offensive rating is significantly better with Thomas on the court and that tends to outweigh his defensive shortcomings, Forsberg adds.
Atlantic Notes: King, Thomas, Ainge, Young
The Nets will be almost certainly be picking 29th thanks to their pick swap with the Hawks as called for in the Joe Johnson trade, but it would appear to be in keeping with owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s philosophy.
“If you analyze a championship team, 20% is draft picks and 80% of it is trades,” Prokhorov said to reporters Wednesday, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
Prokhorov expressed comfort with GM Billy King and praised his “bold” approach, Prokhorov also said, complimenting coach Lionel Hollins, too, seemingly indicating that both will be back next season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. We passed along more from Prokhorov’s chat with the media earlier today, and there’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Lance Thomas has started 33 games this season and 20 with the Knicks, earning praise from team president Phil Jackson, and the New Jersey native signaled a desire to re-sign with New York in unrestricted free agency this summer. Thomas made his remarks in a video interview with Jonah Ballow of Knicks.com. “My experience as a Knick has been great, and I hope it doesn’t end,” Thomas said. “This is my hometown team, and I would love to represent New York, so I’m going to do everything in my power to hopefully make that happen.”
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is impressed with how his roster has performed after all the trades he pulled off, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe details. Ainge named soon-to-be free agents Jae Crowder and Brandon Bass among several he believes have excelled.
- The Kevin Garnett/Thaddeus Young trade has been a steal for the Nets, argues Daniel LoGuidice of NetsDaily, who believes the arrival of Young, and not the resurgence of Brook Lopez, was the true catalyst for Brooklyn’s late-season run for a playoff spot. Bontemps, writing in a separate piece, believes Young’s on-court presence has helped Lopez operate so effectively. Young hasn’t decided on his player option for next season but has said he wants to remain in Brooklyn.
Eastern Rumors: Copeland, Jackson, Nets
Chris Copeland is intensive care in a New York hospital and will remain there for the next two or three days, a source tells ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitlonger link). The Pacers combo forward and soon-to-be free agent was the victim of a stabbing early Wednesday morning, and the attack left him with a punctured diaphragm, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He also suffered lacerations on his left hand, Anderson hears. Copeland didn’t engage in an argument or initiate any altercation, a source tells Buckner. While we hope for the best for Copeland, here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Knicks owner James Dolan expressed continued faith in team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills and again insisted that he wouldn’t meddle with the team as he spoke in an interview with Matthew Belloni of The Hollywood Reporter. “You got to believe, baby!” Dolan said, when asked if Jackson is still worth his $12MM annual salary. “I believe, I believe!”
- The Nets want Brook Lopez back, as owner Mikhail Prokhorov on Wednesday made clear to reporters, including Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Still, the owner acknowledged the primary choice rests with the center, who has a player option worth more than $16.744MM, as Bontemps relays. “We need him,” Prokhorov said. “I think the Brooklyn Nets, it’s his home.”
- Brooklyn would pay the repeater tax if they’re a taxpayer again next season, and the return of Lopez would make that a strong possibility. Still, Prohorov said he’d be willing to do so, Bontemps notes. Prokhorov also insists he never sought to sell a majority stake in the Nets and said that while he’s been approached by 10 people with interest in buying a minority share, there’s nothing on the table for now, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- The Cavs have some interest in Salah Mejri, a center playing for Spain’s Real Madrid, as Chema de Lucas of Gigantes Del Basket hears (translation via HoopsHype). The 28-year-old who went undrafted in 2008 is averaging 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.
Atlantic Notes: Randolph, Brown, Clark
It would make sense for the Nuggets to claim Shavlik Randolph off waivers today from the Celtics, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com points out (Twitter links). Denver is nearly $1.864MM shy of the salary floor, but claiming Randolph’s $1,227,985 minimum salary would close the majority of that gap. The entire amount of Randolph’s salary would count toward Denver’s team salary as far as the floor is concerned, but the Nuggets would only be on the hook for the last prorated bit of actual pay Randolph is to receive this season. The Nuggets would otherwise have to distribute the entire shortfall beneath the salary floor among their existing players. A waiver claim of Randolph would absolve the C’s from paying the remainder of his salary and take his entire cap figure off their books, though the effect would be negligible compared to what such a move would do for Denver.
It’s unclear if the Nuggets indeed plan on making a claim, so while we wait to see how that turns out, here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Brett Brown wasn’t fully supportive of the deadline trade that sent out Michael Carter-Williams, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, echoing what Carter-Williams said shortly after the deal. Still, the only tension between the coach and the Sixers front office is minimal, Deveney hears.
- Sixers GM Sam Hinkie signaled to Tom Moore of Calkins Media that he has no plans to make significant free agent signings in the offseason (Twitter link). The team hasn’t signed a player to a contract with a total value of as much as $4.5MM in either of the last two summers, as our free agent trackers from 2013 and 2014 show.
- Nets signee Earl Clark will have a $200K partial guarantee on his minimum salary for next season if he remains under contract through October 26th, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets and shows on his Nets salary page.
Bucks Sign Jorge Gutierrez To Multiyear Deal
The Bucks have signed Jorge Gutierrez to a multiyear contract, as Josh Weir of The Repository reports (Twitter link) and as the team confirms in a press release. The signing will increase Milwaukee’s roster count to the league maximum of 15 players. It’s unclear if the deal contains any guaranteed salary for 2015/16, though it’s likely a minimum salary arrangement with little or no guaranteed funds.
Gutierrez had inked two 10-day deals with the Bucks earlier this season, appearing in seven games and averaging 3.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He signed his initial 10-day contact on January 28th and a second 10-day pact on February 7th. In 10 NBA appearances for Brooklyn, where he began the season, Gutierrez averaged 1.6 points in 4.4 minutes per game.
The guard also played 15 games this season for the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, and averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 29.8 minutes per contest. Gutierrez opted to enter the D-League after being waived by the Sixers earlier in the season. This was shortly after Philadelphia had acquired him from the Nets in the deal for Andrei Kirilenko.
Poll: Should Brook Lopez Opt In Or Opt Out?
The Nets appeared close to trading Brook Lopez at least two times before the February deadline, but since coach Lionel Hollins put him back in the starting lineup on March 8th, he’s been sizzling, and the Nets have gone 11-6. He’s averaged 21.9 points and 9.5 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game during that stretch, helping carry the Nets into position for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Those numbers would be career highs if extrapolated over an entire season, and his rebounding is particularly encouraging for a 7-footer who’s somehow managed only 8.1 boards per 36 minutes for his career. He’s put up 26.2 PPG on 61% shooting in his last 11 games, becoming the only NBA player to do that over any 11-game stretch this season, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders points out (Twitter link).
All of this is cast against the backdrop of a crucial decision for Lopez and for the Nets. The 27-year-old has a player option worth more than $16.744MM that, if he were to opt in, would leave Brooklyn with seven players with guaranteed salaries that add up to only about $6MM shy of the projected $81MM luxury tax line for next season. If he opts out, the Nets still wouldn’t have the ability to open significant cap room to replace him, and Brooklyn would be liable to lose the catalyst for its turnaround this season with nothing to show for it.
The stakes are perhaps even more consequential for Lopez. He played in all 82 games his first three seasons in the league, but a broken foot that required three surgeries in three years and forced him to 134 missed games during that span left him with a reputation as damaged goods. He’s started only 39 games this season after playing in only 17 last season, and there’s no telling if his revival and return to health are but short-lived phenomena.
Lopez said last month that he hadn’t given thought to the option, though executives around the league seem to have had it on the minds for some time. Grantland’s Zach Lowe heard in December that most of those execs thought he would opt in. Today, Lowe wrote that the opposite is now true, which echoes what Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck had heard in December, when he reported that many execs expected him to opt in.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said last week that he’s heard estimates that Lopez will draw offers with annual salaries of $13-14MM if he hits free agency this summer. Those figures would give him less next season than he would make on his option, but free agency would likely give him the chance to lock in those salaries on a long-term deal that would ensure him of far more money than the option would. Lopez, a Wasserman Media Group client, also must consider the rising salary cap for 2016/17, and the rising maximum salaries that will come with it. Lopez’s existing deal is a maximum-salary arrangement, and if he opts in and continues playing the way he has the past month, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see him land another max deal in the summer of 2016.
So, let us know what you would tell Lopez to do if you were one of his agents. Should he opt in, take a higher salary than it seems he would otherwise see for 2015/16 and the risk of injury and regression that comes with it, or opt out and cash in while he’s hot, even if it means missing out on a better payday next year? Use the comments section if you’d like to give him more specific advise.
Should Brook Lopez Opt In Or Opt Out?
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He should opt out. 68% (253)
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He should opt in. 32% (119)
Total votes: 372
Draft Notes: Kentucky, Johnson, Jones
Kentucky coach John Calipari acknowledged Monday that Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison are all likely to declare for the draft, as Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal relays. Devin Booker and Dakari Johnson are still weighing their options, according to Calipari, Tucker notes, adding that the coach expects that Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee will decide to stay. Calipari later addressed the idea of his own departure for the NBA, downplaying the idea in a piece on his own website, wherein he said he doesn’t have a desire to prove himself in the NBA. A recent report indicated that Calipari “desperately” wants an NBA job, and he apparently still has supporters within the Nets organization. Here’s more on those potentially making the college-to-NBA leap:
- Projected lottery pick Stanley Johnson is on the fence as he decides whether to enter the draft this year or return to Arizona for a sophomore year, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, with one source describing him as “really torn.” The small forward is the No. 9 prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 11 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
- NBA personnel who spoke with Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com are in wide agreement that Final Four Most Outstanding Player Tyus Jones would go in the final third of the first round this year if he entered the draft, as Goodman writes in an Insider-only piece. Those sources also tell Goodman that the freshman point guard’s stock is peaking and that he wouldn’t benefit from staying at Duke another year, and even Jones’ father is encouraging him to declare. The Pistons, Pelicans, Sixers and Magic are among the NBA teams focusing on the Minnesota native, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- Brice Johnson is returning to North Carolina, multiple sources tell Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The junior power forward was No. 50 in Givony‘s rankings, while Ford had the power forward 82nd.
Lowe’s Latest: Lopez, Biyombo, Davis
Most executives around the league expect Brook Lopez to turn down his player option for next season, worth more than $16.744MM, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe. That’s on the heels of his surge over the past month, as he averaged 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in March, and he’s upped those numbers to 22.8 PPG and 9.8 RPG so far in April. Lowe wrote in December that most execs thought Lopez would pick up the option, so it seems his hot streak has changed thinking around the league. Still, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck wrote just a week after Lowe’s report in December that he had heard from many executives who expected even then that Lopez would opt out. The Nets center said a few weeks ago that he hadn’t thought about what to do with the option, so there’s some mystery here. Lowe has more rumors from his latest column, which focuses on players with decent chances of becoming this year’s version of what DeMarre Carroll was in 2013, when he signed a two-year, $5MM pact that wound up a bargain deal for the Hawks.
- Bismack Biyombo will almost certainly see the value of his qualifying offer from the Hornets shrink from more than $5.194MM to nearly $4.046MM thanks to the starter criteria that he has virtually no chance of meeting. Executives are “nearly unanimous” that he wouldn’t command annual salaries of that nearly $5.2MM amount in free agency this summer, according to Lowe, though while most people believe a team could snag him for about $4MM a year, no one is sure about that, Lowe adds.
- Ed Davis rejected a multiyear contract offer from the Grizzlies this past summer, several league sources tell Lowe. He instead signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal for the minimum salary with a player option that he’s said he plans to decline in search of a long-term deal this summer. Davis turned down a rookie scale extension in the fall of 2013 that would have given him annual salaries of $5-6MM beginning this season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reported this past October.
- Derrick Williams doesn’t intrigue front offices as much as he did a year ago, Lowe writes. He, too, is in line for a reduced qualifying offer from the Kings for failing to meet the starter criteria.
- Lowe identifies the Spurs as a team to watch on Mirza Teletovic, though it’s unclear if that’s just speculation. The Nets can match offers if they extend a qualifying offer of more than $4.21MM.