Nets Re-Sign Jorge Gutierrez To Two-Year Deal
SATURDAY, 5:45pm: Gutierrez said Friday that his two-year contract isn’t guaranteed for next season, but a source tells Tim Bontemps of The New York Post that there is a “very nominal” guarantee involved (Twitter link).
9:22am: Gutierrez tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that next season isn’t guaranteed, as I suspected (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 8:51am: The Nets have re-signed Jorge Gutierrez to a deal that covers the rest of this season and beyond, the team announced via press release. The terms of the contract are unclear, but since Brooklyn is without cap space and possesses no exceptions that allow for a deal longer than two seasons, it has to be a pact for the minimum salary for the balance of 2013/14 and 2014/15. Next season is most likely not fully guaranteed.
Gutierrez had been on a pair of 10-day contracts with the club, the last of which expired Wednesday night. Earlier that evening he was ejected from Brooklyn’s overtime loss to the Bobcats for committing a flagrant-two foul. Still, the 6’3″ point guard saw more than 19 minutes in that contest, his most during his five-game stint. He’s averaged 3.4 points, 1.4 assists and 0.2 turnovers in 13.4 minutes per game for the Nets.
Brooklyn brought the Arn Tellem client to camp in the fall, but the team released him before opening night, and he spent most of this season with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs. The Nets circled back to him earlier this month when he beat Darius Johnson-Odom in an audition for a roster spot.
Gutierrez becomes the 15th player on the Nets with a guaranteed contract for this season, meaning the team is likely done making moves in 2013/14. They have a disabled player exception worth $5.15MM for Brook Lopez, but it looks like that will go unused. That exception would cover a contract that runs only through the end of the season, so for Gutierrez the Nets are instead using the minimum-salary exception, which provides for deals of up to two years.
Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Barnes, O’Neal, Green
Impatience from the ownership suite is at the root of much of the tension surrounding the Warriors, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The front office is under pressure, and that affects coach Mark Jackson and his coaching staff, according to Kyler, who says the owners often push for roster changes when the team isn’t performing well. The principal owners of the Warriors are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, but Kyler doesn’t specify whether it’s one or both of them or someone else within the ownership group who is putting the squeeze on. Still, Kyler has other specifics about the uneasiness in Golden State, as we detail below amid our look at the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Harrison Barnes was the subject of trade rumors before the deadline, and Kyler hears that Warriors ownership started those talks in hope of flipping Barnes for a veteran big man who could help the team win in the short-term. For what it’s worth, Lacob said in February that he wasn’t anxious to move Barnes.
- Jackson previously denied that there’s dysfunction within the Warriors, and Wednesday he also tried to shoot down the idea that he sought head coaching jobs with the Clippers and Nets, among other teams. Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com has the details.
- Jackson is an ordained nondenominational Christian minister, and that’s a draw for many players, including Jermaine O’Neal, who said it was one of the primary reasons he signed with the Warriors, and Draymond Green, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News observes.
- The Warriors expected to contend for the Western Conference title this year, and if they reach the conference finals, Jackson will “almost certainly” return as coach, but if they lose in the first round, he’s a goner, Deveney believes.
Nets Want To Re-Sign Paul Pierce
Nets GM Billy King told reporters recently that he would make retaining Shaun Livingston his top priority this offseason, but apparently he didn’t mean to imply that the club wouldn’t like to re-sign Paul Pierce, who’s also set for free agency this summer. King said on the “Joe and Evan” show on CBS Radio New York today that the team wants to keep Pierce, but he pointed to Pierce’s Bird rights as an advantage that will make it easier to re-sign him than to bring back Livingston, with whom the Nets have only non-Bird rights. Tim Bontemps of the New York Post passes along King’s remark via Twitter.
The Nets could go up to the maximum salary to re-sign Pierce, though it’s highly unlikely that they’d do so, even given the team’s profligate spending. Still, Pierce’s Bird rights allow the team to re-sign him without dipping into any of its other exceptions, which is just what the team will likely need to do to keep Livingston, whose non-Bird rights only provide for 120% of the minimum salary. The 28-year-old shooting guard has become a starter for Brooklyn, so it appears the team’s only recourse for keeping him will be to use all or part of the taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which would allow for a three-year contract with a starting salary of $3.278MM. It’s because of these financial limitations that Livingston is the team’s No. 1 focus, King also said on radio, as Bontemps tweets.
King said last week that he hadn’t offered an extension to Pierce, though few veterans sign extensions because the terms mandated under the current collective bargaining agreement don’t make sense for many players. Pierce recently expressed a willingness to return to the Celtics, with whom he spent his entire career until the trade that brought him to Brooklyn last summer, and Boston’s second all-time leading scorer has admitted that he never wanted to leave.
Still, the Celtics are a rebuilding team, and they have Rajon Rondo‘s impending 2015 free agency to worry about. The 36-year-old Pierce remains a productive player this season, averaging 13.6 points on 9.7 shots per game with a 16.4 PER. Pierce might have to take a discount to play with Boston, while the Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has shown a willingness to spend whatever necessary to build his team.
Mark Jackson Sought Clippers, Nets Openings
3:29pm: Scalabrine will work with the Santa Cruz Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
1:56pm: Mark Jackson has attempted to become a candidate for several head coaching vacancies over the past several months, including the Clippers and Nets openings, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A dispute over assistant coach Brian Scalabrine is the latest in a series of disagreements between the Warriors and Jackson, who’s come under increased scrutiny from the front office. The coach’s contract runs through 2014/15, but there have been no extension talks, and none are expected to occur, Wojnarowski writes.
The Warriors are reassigning Scalabrine at the behest of Jackson, in spite of the assistant’s popularity with the front office and ownership, Wojnarowski reports. It’s unclear what Scalabrine’s new role will be, but Warriors management wants to keep him within the organization. The Warriors have decided that they want to let Jackson have decision-making power regarding his staff, but Jackson’s struggles to manage the staff and foster a functional working environment threaten his job security, sources tell Wojnarowski. Kings coach Michael Malone, a former Warriors assistant, went weeks without speaking to Jackson last season, Wojnarowski hears.
Jackson has drawn mention as a possible candidate for the Knicks job, but it’s unclear if that holds true now that Phil Jackson is in charge of basketball decisions for New York. Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob recently said there was “pressure” on Mark Jackson, but it’s unclear if he meant to imply that it was related to his job security or just the common, day-to-day pressure inherent with an NBA head coaching gig. Lacob recently told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that he would evaluate the coach after the season.
“I do think our coach has done a good job; we have had some big wins, a lot of wins on the road, and that’s usually a sign of good coaching,” Lacob said to Kawakami. “But some things are a little disturbing; the lack of being up for some of these games at home, that’s a concern to me.”
The Warriors picked up Jackson’s team option for 2014/15 this past July, and Lacob said at the time that he envisioned Jackson remaining his coach for the long-term. That was after the Nets hired Jason Kidd and the Clippers brought in Doc Rivers, but just how much Lacob knew about Jackson’s reported desire for other jobs is not clear.
Atlantic Notes: Brown, Stevens, Thornton, Sims
Sixers coach Brett Brown is a former Spurs assistant, and he has the support of Gregg Popovich and members of the San Antonio roster as Philly endures a 24-game losing streak, observes Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
“It’s not easy for Brett,” Tony Parker said. “They’re trading everybody and their first-round pick [Nerlens Noel] didn’t even play, so it’s not a fair situation.”
Brown’s connection to the Spurs coaching tree, a popular source of sideline bosses among league executives lately, is at least one reason why the Sixers seem highly unlikely to cut ties with him after just one season, as the Bobcats did with Mike Dunlap last year. Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Brad Stevens believes that for players, specialization is more valuable than a broad repertoire, as he tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, who looks at the coach’s plan for his first full offseason with the Celtics.
- Nets trade deadline acquisition Marcus Thornton is experiencing a renaissance in Brooklyn, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com examines.
- Henry Sims has benefited similarly from a trade last month, transforming from afterthought in Cleveland to a starter for the Sixers. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at what the big man has shown in his expanded playing time.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson has endured his share of criticism this season, but he deserves more credit than he’s receiving for New York’s recent eight-game winning streak, opines Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
Eastern Notes: Young, Jackson, Thompson
Sixers coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie have publicly expressed their desires to make Thaddeus Young feel as comfortable in his current situation as he can be, writes Christopher A. Vito of the Delaware County Daily Times. As the team overhauls its roster in preparation for this summer’s draft and the free-agency period, Young is the last remaining high-profile veteran on the roster. Young said, “They’ve been making a conscious effort to continue talking to me, keep trying to keep me on board as far as what’s going on with construction and rebuilding effort.” Young is posting career-best numbers of 17.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG, but he knows that his situation is less than desirable, writes Vito. “This is definitely a situation that, really, nobody wants to take on. Hey, sometimes this is how the cards are dealt to you and this is the situation that was dealt to me,” Young said.
More from around the Eastern Conference:
- According to Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, the best way for Phil Jackson to change the culture of the Knicks is to step in and coach the team himself. Lupica thinks that if Jackson has the energy to work in the front office, then he has the energy to coach. The article also uses the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich as an example. Lupica notes that Popovich’s first important move as the team’s executive vice-president and GM was to hire himself as coach. Years later he made R.C. Buford the general manager and the two of them have been a formidable team for a long time, opines Lupica.
- In addition to working out a contract extension with Kyrie Irving and possibly pursuing LeBron James, another big offseason decision the Cavaliers will have to make is in regards to Tristan Thompson, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Thompson, like Irving, can be extended this summer. He is under the Cavs’ control for next season at $5.4MM, and any extension he signs would kick in for the 2015/16 season. By then Thompson could be in line to command upwards of $12MM a year and the team will need to decide if he’s worth the investment, writes Lloyd.
- Tim Bontemps of The New York Post examines the possibility and cap ramifications of the Nets re-signing Shaun Livingston this summer.
Josh Boone Signs With Iowa Energy
The Iowa Energy in the NBA D-League have signed center Josh Boone, the team has announced. Boone had previously signed a contract to play in the Philippines with Bangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, but only appeared in two contests for the team. In an unusual move the Kings signed former NBA player Kevin Jones to take Boone’s place before he had even appeared in his first game for the team, writes Carlo Pamintuan of Yahoo! Sports.
Boone was the 23rd overall pick by the Nets in 2006. The former Connecticut Husky averaged 5.2 PPG and 4.9 RPG in his four years with the Nets. He played for the Wizards summer league team before they cut ties with him prior to this season.
Boone appeared in two games for the Energy last season, averaging 16.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG before an injury ended his season. Boone will wear number 33 and will available for tonight’s game.
Eastern Notes: Plumlee, Heat, Miller
Brook Lopez recently underwent ankle surgery while sitting out the year for a foot injury, and Kevin Garnett is sidelined for at least a few more games due to back spasms. The Nets frontcourt woes have been alleviated by rookie Mason Plumlee‘s performance at center, writes Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News. “He’s growing each time he takes the floor,” coach Jason Kidd told Bondy. “The more minutes he gets, the better he gets. It’s fun to watch. Mason is a big part of our success right now.” Here’s more from around the East:
- Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel doesn’t think the Heat‘s choice to trade away Roger Mason Jr. has worked out well for the roster. The opened spot was recently filled by Justin Hamilton, but Winderman wonders if the Heat had their eye on a veteran player that didn’t pan out when they sent Mason to the Kings.
- Wizards point guard Andre Miller spoke to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post some more about his falling out with the Nuggets. He maintains that he was unfairly portrayed to the media, and says he was surprised at how long of a process it was for him to get moved. “Yeah, I sat out for a while. But I had some time to reflect on what happened and was pretty much told to keep my mouth closed. I just worked out and tried to keep myself ready for whatever happens,” said Miller.
- Willis Reed says the Knicks “won the lottery” by getting Phil Jackson to come take over their front office, he tells Fred Kerber of The New York Post. Reed was pessimistic about New York’s chances to sign Jackson considering his connections to the Lakers organization, but is happy they did.
- Tom Moore of The Burlington County Times asked Sixers coach Brett Brown whether second year guard Tony Wroten can overcome some of his decision making deficiencies and earn a long term place with the team. “I don’t know. It’s his development. We talk to him and show him. We try to teach him. He has shown subtle signs of improvement. But the magic word or coaching trick to have him not do that entirely — I do not know,” said Brown. Philadelphia holds a $2.2MM team option for Wroten’s 2015/16 season.
And-Ones: Donovan, Union, Heat, Kidd
Florida Gators coach Billy Donovan has enjoyed great success at the college level. He’s on the way to his fourth consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA tournament, but he isn’t ruling out a potential jump to the NBA one day, revealed an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com). Donovan accepted a head coaching position for the Magic in 2007, but changed his mind shortly after and returned to continue coaching Florida. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Roughly two dozen players and agents would like to see the NBA player’s union push back their selection of a new executive director to July, passes along Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. We had previously heard that David White and Michele Roberts were the two finalists for the role, but the opposing group wants the candidates to be reconsidered, possibly widening the fielding by “starting from scratch.”
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel thinks the Heat would be wise to alter their draft strategy in light of the impending enforcement of the repeater tax. It’s important to secure young talent at the rookie-scale price rather than relying on expensive free agent contracts to build a team, says Winderman.
- Nikola Pekovic won’t appear in 70 or more games this year, so he won’t receive the bonus he would have drawn for doing so, notes Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Wolves signed Pekovic to a five-year, $60MM deal last summer that had up to $8MM in potential incentives.
- Nets GM Billy King doesn’t think Jason Kidd is getting the credit he deserves for turning Brooklyn into a winning team, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. King notes Kidd was receiving flak when his club was struggling, but few people credit the rookie coach for his instrumental role in their recent success.
- The report that the Nets are prioritizing a signing for Shaun Livingston next summer might mean the team is confident they’ll re-sign Paul Pierce, tweets Bondy. Another tweet from Bondy reiterates that King has not offered Pierce an extension and hasn’t discussed next season with Kevin Garnett.
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times runs down how the round of 64 in the NCAA tournament affected the draft stocks of many of the best college players. Jabari Parker and Marcus Smart were two top prospects who saw an early exit from the tourney yesterday.
Atlantic Notes: Young, Babb, Johnson, Knicks
While Thaddeus Young is focused on finishing the Sixers dismal season on a high note, he admits to Christopher A. Vito of The Delaware County Daily Times that his player option for the 2015/16 season has crossed his mind. “It’s a lot of money to leave on the table. At the end of the day, I’m not a guy that spends a lot of money,” Young said Friday. “Obviously, I want to be winning on a championship team. At the end of the day, like I said, it’s a card that could be played.” Young added that coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie have done their best to include the power forward on board with the rebuilding process. Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that the recently signed duo of Chris Babb and Chris Johnson were brought in to add character to the locker room and enhance practices with their good attitudes, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Babb and Johnson both hooked onto Boston with multi-year deals after each seeing a pair of 10-day contracts.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines the likelihood that the Celtics re-sign Jerryd Bayless for next season. Bayless will need to work on his defense if he wants to be in Boston long-term, says Forsberg.
- Steve Mills’ new role in the Knicks organization will likely turn out to be only ceremonial, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Team president Phil Jackson will look to bring in a different GM to handle day-to-day operations for the club, and Lawrence lists Kurt Rambis, Jim Cleamons, Ronnie Lester, and Mike Dunleavy as possible candidates for the job.
- Crafting his front office team is only one of the tasks Jackson will face in the early stages of his new role for the Knicks. Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders discusses the other challenges the Zen Master will deal with in the early stages of his tenure in New York.
- Harvery Araton of the New York Times thinks that the Knicks’ move to bring in Jackson has overshadowed the impressive recovery that the Nets have been able to make over the second half of the season. Brooklyn sits just one game back from third place in the East after an underwhelming start to the 2013/14 campaign.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.