Atlantic Notes: Pierce, Lockout, ‘Melo, Johnson
Paul Pierce originally thought he’d wind up re-signing with the Nets, but he tells TNT’s David Aldridge that Brooklyn never made an offer, as Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Pierce said the Clippers looked like Plan B, but the Nets wouldn’t accommodate a sign-and-trade once Doc Rivers used the team’s mid-level exception on Spencer Hawes instead.
“You know what, I didn’t know what to expect,” Pierce said. “Brooklyn’s been, or New Jersey, Brooklyn, they’re a franchise that’s going in a different direction, I think. They said they wanted to cut costs; they felt like they weren’t going to be a contender. Right now, they’re kind of in the middle right now. And I really didn’t want to be in the middle. I didn’t know if they wanted to do a sign-and-trade. I had to make my own destiny. I couldn’t put it in the faith of somebody else. And that’s when I was like, I’m coming here [to the Wizards].”
The reference to New Jersey seems like a subtle twist of the knife on Pierce’s part, given the desire of Nets brass to establish the Brooklyn monicker, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News points out. Here’s more from around the Atlantic.
- Nets union representative Deron Williams believes the league and the players are on a path toward a work stoppage in 2017, noting that preparing for one was the focus of a union meeting in July, as he told reporters, including Bondy, who writes in a separate piece.
- Carmelo Anthony said today that he had no interest this summer in signing a two-year deal, as LeBron James and others did, to take advantage of the influx of TV revenues, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
- The Celtics had hoped to find a way to keep Chris Johnson amid the flurry of transactions surrounding the Keith Bogans trade, notes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The Sixers claimed him off waivers after the C’s let him go.
And-Ones: Nets, Williams, Bucks, Durant
The NBA’s new television deal will help with the Guggenheim-Nets talks, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily notes (Twitter link). Brooklyn could reverse its fiscal issues and become profitable with the new influx of money, which would also serve to increase the overall value of the franchise. The Nets reportedly lost $144MM during the 2013/14 season.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Another development to watch for in regard to the new television deal will be Kevin Durant‘s pending free agency in the summer of 2016, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines (Twitter link). The salary cap is projected to increase significantly by July 1st, 2016, and it could possibly jump from the $63.065MM this season to $80MM for the 2016/17 campaign. The higher cap will not only potentially net Durant a much bigger windfall, it could also increase the number of teams with enough room under the cap to make a play for the “Slim Reaper.”
- Marvin Williams, one of the newest members of the Hornets, received praise from his new head coach and teammates, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. Bonnell also explains how Williams’ role has changed from a scorer to a smart role player, and that Williams has “made peace” with who he is at the NBA level.
- Brian Fleurantin of SB Nation previews the Bucks’ upcoming 2014/15 campaign. Jason Kidd managed an aging group in Brooklyn, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does in coaching a significantly younger core in Milwaukee.
- Alex Tyus, an undrafted center out of Florida, had a chance to display his talents during Tel Aviv’s 107-80 exhibition game loss to the Cavs this evening. Tyus logged 13 points, six rebounds, and five blocks for Tel Aviv. “The NBA is all about opportunity and getting a chance. I never got mine because of the NBA lockout and my pursuit of an Israeli passport,” Tyus told David Pick of Eurobasket. The Heat and a few other teams expressed interest in the 6’8″ 26-year-old this summer, and Miami had considered inviting him to training camp, Pick reports.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: KG, Wallace, C’s, Sampson
Kevin Garnett nearly retired this offseason but Nets coach Lionel Hollins expects him to contribute more than he did a year ago, writes Andy Vasquez of The Record. “I do expect him to play more,” Hollins said on Sunday. “He’s been in great shape. Mentally, he’s very sharp. And we’d like to see him contribute more than 18-20 minutes per game.” Last season, KG played a career low 20.5 minutes per game.
- One might think that Celtics forward Gerald Wallace wants to get out of town and join a contender, but that’s not the case at all, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “It’s fun,” the 32-year-old said. “It’s fun for me. I’m with a great group of guys who are eager to learn, who want to get better. For me, it’s not a bad situation at all. The guys listen. They want to improve. They want to get better as a team. For me, that’s cool. It’s kind of fun.”
- There has been little turnover on the Celtics staff and that means better chemistry amongst the coaches, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. Head coach Brad Stevens says that “he’s been able to get a head start on things” because of the familiarity on the bench.
- We haven’t heard much about rookie JaKarr Sampson since he signed a training camp deal with the 76ers and Drew Corrigan of Ridiculous Upside wonders if he might be destined for the D-League’s Delaware 87ers. Sampson left St. John’s after two seasons, to the surprise of some, but the 76ers see potential in him.
Nets, Guggenheim In Talks To Merge Ownership
8:15pm: Robert Windrem of Nets Daily tweets that “a lot” remains to be done on the proposed deal, but reports that both sides want to get it done.
SATURDAY, 10:35am: A source close to Mikhail Prokhorov says the Nets majority owner has no intentions to surrender control of the team, Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News writes. “He’s not a seller,” the source told Abramson. “He wants the Nets and he loves the Nets and he wants to be controlling owner. This is something that he really enjoys.”
FRIDAY, 8:02am: Newsday’s Rod Boone largely seconds the initial reports, having heard that the Nets and Guggenheim are not talking about a “stake sale” but rather a partnership in which Prokhorov would remain in control (Twitter links).
THURSDAY, 10:53pm: Dodgers Chairman and Guggenheim CEO Mark Walter told Ohm Youngmisuk and Darren Rovell of ESPN.com, “I am the controlling owner of the Dodgers and I have no intention of selling the Dodgers or moving them into a new ownership group.” Walter also noted that he had yet to see the Nets’ financials, but added, “they are a terrific franchise and I would be happy to look at their information and any proposal anyone wanted to make to me — as I would with any proposal.” I would speculate that if the franchise’s financials have yet to be combed over, then a sale isn’t likely to be imminent anytime in the near future.
The ESPN article also had a different financial value attached to the franchise, with sources telling them the Nets were estimated to be worth $1.2 billion while the previous reports had the team valued at $1.7 billion. The estimated value of the Barclays Center was consistent with the earlier $1.1 billion figure that was mentioned.
4:40pm: The potential deal could evolve into a straight sale of the team and no partnership, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter links). According to Mannix’s sources, Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov is actively looking to “cash out” and sell his interests in the franchise.
1:32pm: A Nets-Guggenheim partnership would forge a sports empire likely worth $8 billion, a source tells Windrem, who notes that the figure would encompass the Nets and Dodgers franchises, Barclays Center and Dodger Stadium (Twitter links).
12:46pm: Prokhorov didn’t initiate the conversation, and the Nets haven’t shown a willingness or desire to sell, a source cautions to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, high-ranking NBA executives believe Prokhorov will sell his stake sooner rather than later, Wojnarowski adds via Twitter.
12:39pm: Nets owners and representatives from Guggenheim Sports and Entertainment Assets are in talks about a deal that would give the Guggenheim group a stake in the team while allowing Mikhail Prokhorov to remain as controlling owner, reports Robert Windrem of Nets Daily. Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears similar chatter (Twitter link). The sides are working off valuations that have the entirety of the Nets worth $1.7 billion and the Barclays Center worth $1.1 billion, though it’s unclear just how much of a share of both Guggenheim would absorb.
Nets minority owner Bruce Ratner has been looking to sell the 20% stake in the team he holds through Forest City Enterprises, and Prokhorov reportedly has been listening to offers for his 80% interest, though Prokhorov was apparently just trying to gauge what the team was worth. Lowe wouldn’t be surprised if Prokhorov decides to sell soon (Twitter link), but a deal with Guggenheim would entail keeping Prokhorov in charge for the foreseeable future, Windrem hears.
Prokhorov and Ratner had been seeking a $1 billion valuation for the club, so it appears Guggenheim has come in well above that mark. The desire to up the value of the club was apparently behind Prokhorov’s austerity pledge in which he targeted getting the team out of the luxury tax by 2015/16. The Nets already began reeling in spending this summer, allowing Paul Pierce to sign with the Wizards rather than using their Bird Rights on him to top Washington’s offer.
Guggenheim president Todd Boehly met in Moscow last week with Prokhorov, Ratner and Nets CEO Brett Yormark, a source tells Windrem. Guggenheim, along with partner Magic Johnson, also showed interest earlier this year in purchasing the Clippers in the wake of the Donald Sterling scandal.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Eastern Rumors: Vucevic, Knicks, Westphal
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel runs down some of the considerations the Magic will have to make in deciding whether to sign center Nikola Vucevic to a rookie scale extension prior to the October 31 deadline. While Vucevic might not seem like a near-max talent, Robbins surmises that Orlando could regret not securing him in that range if he signs a hefty offer sheet next summer as a restricted free agent. Here’s a look around the rest of the Eastern Conference:
- Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops expects Knicks president Phil Jackson to pursue trading for a star from a rebuilding team this year, shopping Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani‘s expiring contracts as cap-clearing assets for such a deal. Scotto pegs Rajon Rondo as a potential target for New York.
- Carmelo Anthony nodded to his desire for Jackson to add another star to the Knicks roster in the future, telling Al Iannazzone of Newsday that he envisions another elite weapon, along with the team’s new triangle offense, as necessary elements to reduce his scoring load. “For this season right now, we have what we have,” Anthony said. “We’re going to deal with that. That was a big discussion with me and Phil talking about–that was one of my things. I didn’t want to have to do it night in and night out. I wanted some nights when somebody else can pick up the load.”
- Nets assistant coach Paul Westphal tells Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that he returned to the bench primarily to reunite with head coach Lionel Hollins. The pair coached together in Phoenix. “I wouldn’t have [been an assistant] in any situation,” Westphal said. “I wasn’t desperate to go find a situation, but I definitely wouldn’t have said no to Lionel.”
Eastern Notes: Hawks, Sixers, McDaniels, Vonleh
There’s concern around the league that NBA franchises are overvalued, in part out of worry that the union will negotiate a better deal for itself in the next collective bargaining agreement, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details. That “buy low, sell high” mentality helps explain why Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov seems motivated to cash out on at least part of his majority share of the team. There’s more from Deveney’s piece pertaining to another team on the market, as we pass along here:
- Deveney also hears that Hawks owner Bruce Levenson was open to selling his controlling interest in the team even before the discovery of his racially charged email. We rounded up today’s latest on the Hawks sale right here.
- The Sixers only signed two players in free agency this year, both to minimum-salary deals, as our Free Agent Tracker shows, but co-owner Josh Harris insists he’s willing to spend in the future, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter links). “We’ve bottomed out and now together we build,” Harris said.
- Grantland’s Zach Lowe confirms that the deal that K.J. McDaniels signed with the Sixers was indeed the team’s required tender, as I speculated. Teams must offer their second-round picks a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary to retain their draft rights, and those are the terms that McDaniels signed for.
- Hornets rookie Noah Vonleh says he didn’t work out for Charlotte before the draft because his agent didn’t believe he’d still be available when the Hornets picked at No. 9 overall, as Vonleh tells Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer.
Eastern Notes: George, West, Heat, Garnett
The Pacers and Heat have met the last two years for the Eastern Conference title, but chances are they’re not going to do so again this coming spring. The Nets, too, seem to have taken a step back, though there’s still a distinct possibility that all three will make the playoffs. We’ll touch on three Eastern mainstays amid our look around the conference:
- Paul George refuses to rule out the notion that he might return this season, even though the Pacers assume he’s out for the year, though he told reporters Monday that he’s “come to peace” with the idea that his broken leg will keep him out. Mark Montieth of Pacers.com has the details.
- David West said he considered retirement last year and suggested that the thought passed through his mind again after George broke his leg this summer, as he tells Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. The 34-year-old can opt out of his contract at season’s end.
- Shawne Williams made an impression on the Heat during the same workout in which Chris Douglas-Roberts and MarShon Brooks made bids to join the team, notes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
- Kevin Garnett made it clear that he has no intention of coaching after he retires as a player, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News observes (Twitter link).
Atlantic Notes: Bogans, Garnett, Grant, ‘Melo
There’s no guarantee that Keith Bogans will play a game for the Sixers this season, as Philly GM Sam Hinkie suggested to reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link), that the Sixers might choose to waive Bogans’ recently acquired non-guaranteed contract rather than keep him around to mentor the club’s young talent. There’s more on the Sixers below amid tonight’s look at the Atlantic:
- The contract that Jerami Grant signed with the Sixers is a multi-year pact, according to the RealGM transactions log. Financial terms still haven’t been disclosed, but Grant is likely in line to receive the minimum salary.
- Kevin Garnett admitted that while he considered retirement two summers ago, the idea of hanging it up didn’t cross his mind this offseason, as Robert Windrem of Nets Daily passes along. Garnett will enter his second campaign with the Nets, and his 20th season in the NBA.
- Although Carmelo Anthony admits that he would have had a better shot to win a title this season if he had signed with another team, he says that leaving the Knicks would have left a bad taste in his mouth, notes Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “From a basketball standpoint it probably would’ve been maybe the greatest thing to do, but for me personally I wouldn’t have felt right with myself,” ‘Melo said, “knowing that I wanted to come here, I kind of forced my way here to New York and I have some unfinished business to take care of.”
Atlantic Notes: Turner, ‘Melo, Shumpert, Nets
It’s media day for 25 of the NBA’s 30 teams, thus making it one of the busiest news days on the NBA calendar. We’ll round up the latest from the Atlantic Division amid the rush:
- Evan Turner‘s contract with the Celtics is for two seasons and he’ll make $3.278MM this year, the value of the taxpayer’s mid-level exception, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). It’s fully guaranteed with no option clauses, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The C’s still have the capacity to give out an additional $2.027MM via their mid-level, but by keeping Turner’s money to the equivalent of the taxpayer’s amount, Boston isn’t subject to a hard cap of $80.829MM this season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out (on Twitter).
- Carmelo Anthony acknowledged that he would have had a better chance to win if he’d signed elsewhere, but told reporters, including Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that it “wouldn’t have felt right” if he had left the Knicks for another team (Twitter links).
- It doesn’t look like the Knicks are going to grant an extension to Iman Shumpert, but the fourth-year guard doesn’t seem dismayed, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays (on Twitter).
- Lionel Hollins made his mission statement for the Nets clear when chatting with reporters late last week, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes. “I’d like us to be tougher,” Hollins said. “[Be] more aggressive, compete harder every moment that they’re on the court, persevering through everything. “I want them to be tougher mentally. There’s a lot that goes into being a good team, and that’s the type of foundation that we’re gonna lay.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Nets, Knicks, Butler, Magic
When center Brook Lopez was asked if he knew how many different people had coached the Nets since the team picked him in the 2008 draft, he wasn’t too confident in his answer. “Seven?” Lopez asked reporters, including Andrew Keh of the New York Times. “Or eight? Are you counting interim?” The number, interim coaches included, is indeed seven, and the Nets are hoping that new coach Lionel Hollins will stick around for some time. Here’s more from around the league..
- The Knicks appear to be more stable than they did a year ago, and seem to have a clear plan on how they want to build towards being a championship contender, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. “I think it feels much better now,” executive vice president Steve Mills said. “I think the addition of Phil to the team adds a different look in terms of creating a culture. I think that was important to Carmelo and I think it’s important to how we move forward as a unit. So I think there’s a lot more stability. I see the rhythm to how we need to build the team.”
- If Jimmy Butler does sign a long-term extension with the Bulls, it’ll probably come at the last minute as it did with Taj Gibson two years ago, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. It’ll be an especially crucial year on an individual level for Butler if he doesn’t ink a new deal. Butler will look to his long-distance shooting which dipped to 28% last season thanks in part to playing a grueling 38.7 minutes per night.
- The Magic have until October 31st to reach contract extensions with Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic, but it wouldn’t be a crisis if deals aren’t struck, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
- With training camp set to open for the Mavericks this Tuesday, Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gives a quick rundown of Dallas’ roster and what each player brings to the court.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.