Free Agent Stock Watch: Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd is heading to the Hall of Fame soon. We just don't know where he's going on the way there. While both the Mavs and Kidd have reportedly indicated a willingness for him to return as a backup next year, it's unclear whether Dallas will be willing to meet his salary demands. Chris Mannix of SI.com reported earlier this week that Kidd is seeking a deal worth about the mid-level exception amount of $5MM a year. The Mavs figure to have plenty of cap room, but any team would be wary of paying that amount to a player who'll turn 40 before next season ends.
Kidd's skills have been in decline for a while now, and the aspect of his game that appeared to take the most significant step back is his playmaking ability, as he dropped from 8.2 APG to a career-low 5.5 this year. The improved outside shot that allowed him to shoot over 40% from three-point range his first three seasons in Dallas has been absent the last two years, as he's shot just 34.5% on treys. He still rebounds at a high rate for a point guard, grabbing 5.2 per 36 minutes this season, but it hasn't kept him from putting up a career-low PER (13.1) for the second year in a row. Perhaps his saving grace has been the ability to force turnovers. He led all postseason performers with 40 steals last year, and through Saturday he was doing so again this year, with 12 steals in four games. Steals, however, don't necessarily mean you're a quality defender, and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle uses cross-matches or a zone to make sure Kidd doesn't have to defend quick point guards.
It's likely most teams will find Kidd's greatest value is his ability to mentor a younger point guard in a role similar to the one Derek Fisher is playing in Oklahoma City. That's clearly what the Mavs have in mind when they think about bringing him back in the hopes that Deron Williams signs to take over the starting role. Kidd has had a Hall of Fame career and owns an NBA championship ring from last season, so he knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA. Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News group said earlier this week the Warriors will explore signing Kidd, a Bay Area native, but that's probably contingent on the unlikely event that Deron Williams signs with Golden State, too. Tayshaun Prince called upon the Pistons to go after a veteran point guard to mentor Brandon Knight, so maybe Kidd heads to Detroit. The Cavs, with young Kyrie Irving in tow, could use some of their ample cap space to go after Kidd, since even at his advanced age, he probably represents an upgrade over current backup point guard Donald Sloan. Kidd could also wind up as Williams' backup in Brooklyn instead of Dallas, as Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com suggests. Both point guards are clients of agent Jeff Schwartz.
Caplan's story also reports that Kidd would like to play two more seasons, which refutes the report earlier in the week from Mannix that Kidd will retire if he doesn't get that mid-level deal. Kidd doesn't think he'll be waiting too long, telling Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, "I'll land somewhere early, I would think." If that's the case, it suggests Kidd won't wait for Deron Williams to decide where he's going. Judging by his comments this week, my guess is he and the Mavs have talked about a deal and are haggling over specifics. If that's the case, I think Kidd's path to Springfield will continue to detour through Dallas.
Odds & Ends: Kirilenko, Calipari, Bulls, Mavs
Ryan Anderson was a deserving recipient of the 2012 NBA Most Improved Player award, but some of the players further down in the voting results were head-scratchers. Andrew Bogut, who played in just 12 games this season, received a first-place vote from one of the 121 writers tasked with determining the award. Whether that voter mistook Bogut for Andrew Bynum or actually felt that Bogut somehow deserved the award, it's hard to imagine we'll see a worse choice during NBA award season.
Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the league:
- Andrei Kirilenko reiterated to media in Russia that reports of him having agreed to a deal or negotiating with the Nets are inaccurate. NetsDaily.com has the details.
- A return to the NBA for John Calipari is looking increasingly unlikely, for now at least — Kentucky announced today that Calipari and his staff have signed multiyear contract extensions to stay with the Wildcats, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com fields questions from readers in a mailbag, with a focus on Derrick Rose's uncertain recovery timeline and the Bulls' roster next season.
- With the Mavericks on the verge of elimination, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News says Mark Cuban's bad gambles were too much for the team to overcome.
- Dirk Nowitzki agrees that the Mavericks took a step back this season, rather than a step forward, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
Kyler On Williams, Nash, Gordon, Mayo, Hibbert
In his NBA AM column at HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler shares the latest rumblings on a handful of this summer's top free agents. Here are the highlights:
- It's far from a done deal, but the general feeling around the Nets is that they're in the driver's seat for Deron Williams. Kyler names the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic as other teams that figure to aggressively pursue the point guard.
- Steve Nash continues to tell people that returning to Phoenix is a "real and viable option." Kyler points out that even if Nash ends up elsewhere, the Suns could work out a sign-and-trade to get something out of it.
- It's nearly a lock that Eric Gordon will be retained by the Hornets, but it's not clear how high the bidding will go. The Hornets were unable to agree on an extension with Gordon earlier this season, and while that was due in part to not having new ownership in place yet, there are also questions about the 23-year-old's durability.
- According to Kyler, there's a good chance O.J. Mayo doesn't become a restricted free agent this summer, since a qualifying offer would put the Grizzlies over the tax line. If Memphis doesn't extend a qualifying offer, Mayo would be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
- Kevin Garnett would like to finish his career with the Celtics.
- The Pacers are prepared to match just about any offer for Roy Hibbert, and will let the market set the price for their center.
- The Nets hope to deal with Brook Lopez's free agency after working out some of their other situations, but Lopez could disrupt their plans if he signs an offer sheet with another club early in the free agent period.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Bulls, Magic, Frye
Here are this evening's miscellaneous stories:
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld had his weekly chat with fans tonight. Among the more significant things he talked about were the chances that Tyreke Evans gets shopped this summer, the Nets pursuing Kevin Garnett if Deron Williams leaves, the Hornets matching any offer for Eric Gordon, and Portland being the realistic destination for Goran Dragic.
- With $12MM in cap space before the draft, Bryan Colangelo talked about the Raptors' approach going into the offseason: "If there was going to be a year to make a bigger splash, whether in free agency or utilizing the space to acquire players by trade, I felt that would be better served in a subsequent season and that’s probably this summer" (Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld reports). Colangelo also told Brotherston that he and Ed Stefanski will be very active in terms of placing and entertaining calls with other GMs in the upcoming weeks and months.
- Scoop Jackson, Melissa Isaacson, and Jon Greenberg of ESPN cover a few topics on the Bulls, including how Derrick Rose's injury will affect Chicago's title hopes over the next two years, whether Luol Deng should immediately get surgery and skip the Olympics, and Carlos Boozer's reliability in the playoffs.
- Magic GM Otis Smith traveled to Los Angeles to check on Dwight Howard as he recuperates from surgery, according to Illiana Limón and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. While there had been speculation that Howard is estranged from the franchise, Smith and Magic CEO Alex Martins say that he hasn't asked for a trade.
- Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times provides a "to-do list" for the Nuggets if they are to have any chance at beating the Lakers.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas wonders if the Mavericks should make strategic defensive adjustments on Russell Westbrook or just hope that he starts missing mid-range jumpshots.
- An article posted on Suns.com reports that Channing Frye underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder today.
Nets Not Currently In Talks With Kirilenko
Earlier today, a report surfaced suggesting that the Nets had a verbal agreement in place to sign Andrei Kirilenko to a three-year contract. However, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), that report is inaccurate.
As we heard yesterday, Nets GM Billy King will travel to Istanbul next week to meet with 2011 draft pick Bojan Bogdanovic at the Euroleague Final Four, and Bondy acknowledges that perhaps King could also touch base with Kirilenko there. Right now though, the two sides don't have an agreement and aren't engaged in discussions, says Bondy (Twitter links).
Kirilenko, who signed a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow in Russia during the NBA lockout, is expected to return to North America at some point. His contract includes opt-out clauses at the end of each season, so he could become eligible to sign with an NBA team once the Euroleague season ends.
The Nets were seriously interested in Kirilenko in December, but it's not clear if they'll maintain that same level of interest now that they'll be attempting to re-sign forwards Gerald Wallace and Gerald Green.
Odds & Ends: Pistons, Kobe, Nelson, Nene, Nets
Some Wednesday afternoon items from around the NBA:
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News identifies John Henson as a potential fit for the Pistons in the draft and explores the team's upcoming amnesty-related decision.
- Prior to last season's blood-platelet therapy, Kobe Bryant was seriously questioning his basketball future, says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- In addition to conducting a Cavaliers-centric chat this afternoon, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio examined a few potential NBA coaching openings.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com also answered questions in a chat that featured a number of interesting draft tidbits.
- The Magic and their fans shouldn't let the Dwight Howard saga overshadow Jameer Nelson's future in Orlando, argues Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes about the positive influence Nene had on the Wizards' young players following the deal that sent him to Washington in March. When I previewed the Wizards' offseason yesterday, I noted that finding another strong veteran presence like Nene could have a strong impact on the team's young nucleus.
- Fred Kerber of the New York Post wonders which of the Nets' free agents will be re-signed this summer.
Billy King Talks Nets’ Offseason
Nets GM Billy King took a look ahead to the offseason today, discussing the next steps for his team with a number of beat reporters. Here are the highlights, courtesy of Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, and Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger (all links via Twitter):
- Bondy tweets that King wanted to sign Gerald Green to a long-term contract but could only offer him the veteran's minimum.
- Earlier this morning, Bondy said he thought Deron Williams was leaning toward re-signing in Brooklyn. King also says he feels "pretty good" about the point guard returning to the Nets. The GM identified Williams, Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, and Gerald Green as core pieces.
- The Nets don't expect Wallace to opt into the final year of his contract, and intend to sign him to a multiyear deal. Wallace, who said last week that he doesn't want to play on a one-year deal, has to make his decision official by June 15th, so the team could either extend him or negotiate a new deal in free agency.
- King doesn't know how many of the club's 11 potential free agents will be re-signed, but says the Nets have plenty of cap space and the potential to create even more.
- The goal is to "win now," says the GM.
- King will travel to Istanbul next week to meet with Bojan Bogdanovic. The Nets' 31st overall pick in last year's draft has another year remaining on his contract overseas.
Deron Williams Leaning Toward Re-Signing?
The Nets made their Brooklyn move official this week, and now the summer's big question is whether Deron Williams will be joining them there next season. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), everything he's hearing suggests Williams is "leaning toward" re-signing with the Nets. However, Bondy cautions that there are still plenty of variables in play, including the playoffs, the draft, and other free agent decisions (Twitter link).
Given the Nets' poor season and a handful of comments made by Williams over the course of the year, speculation has increased that the star point guard will be signing with the Mavericks or another non-Brooklyn team. When we asked last week whether Williams would re-sign with the Nets, more than 77% of poll respondents said no.
While it's still too early to say with any certainty what Williams is thinking, there have been some promising signs for Nets fans in the past week or two. The 27-year-old came away impressed after another visit to Brooklyn's Barclays Center, and told Bondy that he doesn't see a perfect situation out there in free agency. Nets coach Avery Johnson also expressed some optimism that Williams would be back next season.
Once he turns down his player option and tests free agency, as expected, Williams figures to have a handful of very interested suitors, but only the Nets could guarantee him a max contract of five years rather than four.
Nets Officially Move To Brooklyn
The New Jersey Nets are no more. At midnight last night, the franchise became formally known as the Brooklyn Nets, with the team's official website and Twitter feed updated to reflect its new identity. The new-look Nets unveiled the logo and color scheme for Brooklyn today, introducing the Jay-Z-designed, black-and-white logo at the Modell's Sporting Goods store across to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Brook Lopez, coach Avery Johnson, and GM Billy King were among the Nets' representatives on hand for the event, as Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger writes. Majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov was not in attendance, but a spokeswoman says he "loves" the team's new look, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York.
The Nets' goal is that the new identity will help attract free agents to Brooklyn. King vowed that the team is "not going to build slowly" and NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver suggested that cementing the franchise's new brand will help with player recruitment. The Nets are expected to have plenty of cap room this summer, though a good chunk of that could be used to try to re-sign Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, and Lopez.
For our purposes, Nets-related posts will be tagged with "Brooklyn Nets" from now on. The URL to find Nets rumors remains the same, as do the addresses for our Nets pages on Twitter and Facebook.
Assessing The 2011/12 Waiver Claims
The vast majority of players placed on waivers go unclaimed and become free agents, but this year, there have been more waiver claims than usual, including a pair of players claimed after their previous teams waived them using the amnesty clause. Last month, Luke Adams provided a rundown on how teams can claim players off waivers, so now let's take a look at how this season's waiver claims have worked out.
- The most prominent example is Jeremy Lin, who was twice claimed off waivers this season after originally being let go by the Warriors. The Rockets claimed him December 11th, waived him a couple weeks later, and the Knicks made their claim December 27th. Left knee surgery will likely keep him out for the rest of the season unless the Knicks make a deep playoff run, but he'll wind up averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.2 APG, not too shabby for a player twice on the NBA scrapheap.
- Knicks GM Glen Grunwald struck gold with yet another waiver claim in Steve Novak, whom they picked up December 21st. Novak’s rise coincided with Lin’s, as he broke loose for 19 points in Lin’s first start, and has kept up his consistent long-range bombing even without Lin on the floor. He led the league in three-point percentage at 47.2%, but his shooting has never been in question. The difference this year was that he did enough in other phases of the game to warrant significant playing time. A career 4.9 PPG scorer, he averaged 10.4 PPG in 21.7 MPG beginning with that 19-point game on February 6th. We can only imagine how much better the Spurs would have been had they not waived him December 19th.
- Waiver claims are so infrequent that teams will sometimes agree to terms with players before they clear waivers. That’s what appeared to happen in March, when J.J. Hickson was dressed in Warriors gear and ready for a shootaround with Golden State when word hit that the Blazers had claimed him. We’ll never know how it would have worked out for him with the Warriors, but Hickson has thrived since joining Portland on March 21st, more than tripling the scoring average he put up in the first half of the season with the Kings (15.1 PPG to 4.7 PPG). He averaged 17.6 PPG and 10.6 RPG as a starter over the final eight games, and will be a sought-after commodity this summer, particularly if the Blazers fail to extend a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
- Chauncey Billups warned teams not to claim him when the Knicks amnestied him before the season, hoping he could sign with a contender as a free agent, but the Clippers claimed him anyway December 12th. It all worked out, as the Clippers became the sort of contending team Billups wanted to play for anyway when they traded for Chris Paul a few days later. Billups slid over to shooting guard and adjusted smoothly to his new position, averaging 15.0 PPG before going down with a season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear on February 6th.
- The Kings had much less success with claiming an amnestied player, saddling themselves on Dec. 17th with Travis Outlaw for $12MM over the remaining four years of his contract. He was even less of a factor in Sacramento than he was for the Nets before they waived him, averaging just 4.3 PPG in 12.8 MPG, his worst numbers since he was a rookie in 2003/04.
- The Warriors tried to replace Jeremy Lin when they claimed Ish Smith, another backup point guard, off waivers from the Grizzlies on December 16th. Smith was there for only six games and 63 total minutes before the Warriors put him back on waivers on January 14th. He went unclaimed this time, and was signed as a free agent February 2nd by the Magic, with whom he’s played the rest of the season.
- The Blazers quietly let go of backup big man Chris Johnson at the trade deadline, and amid rumors the Celtics were interested, the Hornets snapped him up off waivers March 19th. Depleted as the Hornets were along the front line this year, Johnson still only saw 82 total minutes over seven games before New Orleans put him back out on waivers April 18th. He remains unsigned since.
- Rod Higgins, the president of basketball operations for the Bobcats, gave son Cory Higgins quite a present on Christmas Day when the team claimed him off waivers from the Nuggets. The undrafted 22-year-old rookie from Colorado stayed on the Bobcats roster the entire season, averaging 3.9 PPG in 11.1 MPG.