Southeast Notes: Magic, Vucevic, Hornets
The slow pace of the Magic’s coaching search may be tied to the Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando hasn’t interviewed anyone for the opening since the season ended, and Robbins notes that many speculate the Magic are waiting to see if Chicago fires Thibodeau after its playoff run ends. The Nuggets are the only other NBA team with a coaching vacancy, and many league insiders say the Magic’s job is considered more attractive in coaching circles. So there is little pressure to fill the job right away, but that could change soon if Dwane Casey is fired in Toronto.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The four-year extension Nikola Vucevic agreed to in October should be a bargain for the Magic once the new television deal takes effect, Robbins contends in a separate story. Vucevic’s contract can be worth up to $53MM, which could be cheap for a productive center with the expected jump in the salary cap. The deal could eventually make Vucevic, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, an attractive trade piece, but Robbins said he’s definitely in Orlando’s immediate plans. “They signed me here for the future, and that’s a responsibility I wanted: to be one of these leaders on the team,” Vucevic said.
- An early-season ankle sprain was a bad omen for the Magic’s Kyle O’Quinn, writes Ken Hornack of Fox Sports Florida. The third-year player missed nearly a month with the ankle and was limited to just 51 games for the season. He will become a restricted free agent in July after making slightly more than $900K this year. “I don’t think that’s the biggest thing I have to worry about right now,” he said about free agency. “My biggest thing is being a better player, becoming more of a student of a game, getting back to where I need to be.”
- The Hornets would like to own and operate their own D-League franchise, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Eight teams currently have that arrangement with their D-League affiliates, while eight others fund the franchise and handle the basketball — but not the business — side of the operation. Charlotte officials have targeted seven cities in the Carolinas: Asheville, Charleston, Columbia, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville (S.C.) and Raleigh. “We think this is a great opportunity for our basketball people to have complete autonomy and control of how that part of the business is run,” said team president Fred Whitfield.
And-Ones: Huertas, NBA Draft, Towns
Brazilian point guard Marcelo Huertas, also known as Marcelinho Huertas, was reportedly eyeing a move to the NBA next season. But it would now appear that the 31-year-old has changed his mind about leaving Barcelona, Ernest Macià of Catalunya Ràdio tweets (hat tip to HoopsHype). Huertas was expected to be in demand this offseason as a potential backup point guard if he chose to head stateside. In 29 games for FC Barcelona this past season, the 6’3″ Huertas averaged 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 21.7 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com released his updated 2015 NBA draft rankings. The scribe’s top three players consist of Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky in the No. 1 slot, followed by Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Emmanuel Mudiay, who played in the Chinese League last season.
- While many draftees require at least a season before they are productive at the NBA level, ESPN.com’s Fran Fraschilla (Insider subscription required) believes there are a number of players in the 2015 class who can buck that trend and contribute immediately. In addition to Towns, the ESPN scribe also predicts that point guards D’Angelo Russell and Jerian Grant will have the opportunity to put up solid numbers early in their NBA careers.
- Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) examined the draft needs of the Magic, Kings, Pistons and Hornets. The duo peg outside shooting and rim protection as the primary needs for Orlando, a wing who can stretch the floor for Charlotte, a solid defender for Sacramento, and both forward positions for Detroit.
Southeast Notes: Pierce, Heat, Hornets
The Wizards are getting exactly what they hoped for from Paul Pierce when they signed him last summer, writes Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders. Pierce helped Washington claim a 3-0 series lead over Toronto with an 11-point fourth quarter in Friday’s Game 3. Davis says Pierce has also brought confidence and professionalism to the Wizards’ locker room. “[Pierce is] not scared of the moment,” said Wizards coach Randy Wittman. “He’s proved he can [still] play.” Washington signed Pierce in July after free agent Trevor Ariza left for Houston.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Pierce understands that the clock is ticking on his NBA career, so he’s enjoying every experience while he can, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. Pierce has a two-year deal with the Wizards, but can opt out this summer. “I know I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “So that appreciation goes up. … At this point in my career, I’m savoring these moments because I don’t know how many more of these moments I am going to have.”
- Although the Heat are likely to have a top 10 pick, team president Pat Riley seems more focused on free agency than the draft, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. “The very, very best teams in this league are playing developed players, who have had three or four years, or five or 10 years of experience,” Riley noted.
- The Hornets are making preparations for the dramatic rise in the salary cap that is expected next summer, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The cap is expected to jump from around $67MM per team to about $90MM, and while that’s generally positive, it raises concerns about competitive imbalance. “There’s going to be a market for a lot of guys,” said Hornets vice chairman Curtis Polk, “and you’re going to have to be selective about who fits with what your team’s culture is as well as how the team is going to play offensively and defensively.”
Southeast Notes: Skiles, Hawks, Jefferson
Scott Skiles is still “very interested” in coaching again but isn’t pushing the issue, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes within his NBA AM piece. Skiles isn’t actively seeking or campaigning for a job with the Magic or any other team, nor would he insist on player personnel power or control if he were to become a team’s coach, league sources told Kyler, a reversal of the narratives from earlier.
Here’s the latest out of the Southwest Division:
- The second highest bid for the Hawks came in around $815MM, which includes the approximately $120MM worth of arena debt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. The franchise is awaiting the NBA Board of Governors to approve the sale of the team to the Ressler Group for approximately $850MM, which also includes the arena debt amount.
- The Hornets are relieved that center Al Jefferson has decided not to opt out of his contract for next season and become a free agent, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Charlotte did not want to have to commit to a deal for Jefferson beyond this season, even at a reduced cost, Deveney adds. The organization hopes that the big man can give the Hornets another solid year while the team figures out what its frontcourt is going to look like in the future, adds the Sporting News scribe.
- Kemba Walker was glad to have had surgery during the season to repair a tear in his left knee, Matt Rochinski of NBA.com writes in his season recap for the Hornets‘ point guard. “[The surgery] was something that I had to do and I’m happy I got it done,” Walker said. “I’m feeling good. I won’t do anything different and will still have a pretty good summer [working out and getting stronger], so I’m looking forward to it.” Walker will be entering the second season of the four-year, $48MM extension he signed with the team last October.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Zeller, Gordon
Veteran guard Ben Gordon became the odd man out in the Magic‘s rotation once James Borrego took over as the team’s interim coach, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida writes. Borrego preferred to see what the backcourt pairing of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton could accomplish, which left Gordon on the outside looking in, Hornack notes. Gordon’s $4.5MM salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. In 56 games this season Gordon averaged 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.
Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Hornets big man Cody Zeller had successful surgery today to repair damage to his right shoulder, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. Zeller is expected to resume basketball activities in three months.
- Grant Hill‘s presence as part of the Hawks‘ new ownership group could aid GM Danny Ferry in retaining his position within the organization, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines (Twitter link). Ferry and Hill have ties through Duke University, which both men attended, Bontemps notes.
- Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweeted that Hill’s involvement with the Ressler group should provide a good indicator of how Kevin Garnett could function as part of the Wolves’ ownership when he retires. Garnett has acknowledged an interest in buying the Wolves at some point, and owner Glen Taylor said that his return as a player enhanced his chances of becoming a part-owner.
- Heat rookie point guard Shabazz Napier showed promise during his rookie season, but needs to be a more consistent player moving forward, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida writes in his profile of the player.
Hornets Notes: Jefferson, Stephenson, Biyombo
Al Jefferson, who has a $13.5MM player option for next season and recently said he would likely opt in, is committed to dropping 20 to 25 pounds this summer, Hornets GM Rich Cho said during a media session, transcribed by Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “He [Jefferson] seemed genuinely disappointed in our season both as a team and as an individual,” Cho said. Also during Cho’s availability, the GM stated the obvious about the team’s decision to sign Lance Stephenson to a three-year, $27.405MM deal: “It didn’t work out as we expected it to,” Cho said. “I don’t want to look backwards, I want to look forward. I expect Lance to work hard this off-season and have a better season next year.” Stephenson shot only 17% from three-point range.
Here’s more from the Hornets:
- Cho was mostly complimentary of backup center Bismack Biyombo, who is set for restricted free agency and played regularly the second half of the season, except for 11 games he missed with a bruised knee. “I thought Biz was up-and-down a little bit. He definitely improved,” Cho said. “There were spurts when he was really good, like before he got injured. And then after the injury it took him a while to get back.” There is a distinct possibility that the Hornets won’t make his qualifying offer, which would be $4,045,894.
- During the same media session, Cho said it’s conceivable the Hornets could trade their lottery pick and that Charlotte owns several tools to improve the roster. “We have our draft picks going forward,” Cho added. “We don’t have any bad contracts, long-term. I think we’re in a good position moving forward. … Not this summer, but next summer, we’ll have significant cap room.”
- In a separate piece, however, Bonnell makes the argument that the Hornets are actually very much limited in resources. If Jefferson and shooting guard Gerald Henderson don’t exercise opt-out clauses in their contracts the team has about $65MM in player-salary obligations, which is close to next season’s projected cap, Bonnell points out. Therefore, the most the Hornets could spend on a free agent this summer is the mid-level exception, which is $5.464MM in a first-season salary, Bonnell adds. Bonnell identifies the Hornets’ most glaring need as shooting; they finished this season 29th in field goal percentage and last in three-point shooting. That player, therefore, likely won’t be someone who would demand a high price tag. “We’re not in a position to get a max-level player,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “Nor do we need to.”
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Hornets
The D-League’s regular season is now complete, and the three-round D-League playoffs are underway. The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season.
We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue with a look back at how the Hornets utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Affiliation Type: Shared
D-League Team Record: 28-22
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 2
Total D-League Assignments: 2
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- Jeffery Taylor: 1 assignment, 4 games, 11.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG. .333/.312/.750.
- Noah Vonleh: 1 assignment, 2 games, 7.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.5 APG. .353/.667/.000.
D-League Signings
- Elliot Williams (Santa Cruz Warriors-Golden State affiliate): Signed 10-day contract on February 4th.
Assignment/Recall Log
- December 27th: Assigned Noah Vonleh (Recalled December 31st)
- December 28th: Assigned Jeffery Taylor (Recalled January 9th) *
*Note: Taylor was assigned to the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s affiliate.
Southeast Notes: Fournier, Henderson, Heat
Al Jefferson indicated earlier today that he would likely opt in and remain with the Hornets next season. Swingman Gerald Henderson also has player option for 2015/16, his being worth $6MM, but Henderson says that he hasn’t thought about free agency yet, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. The 27-year-old did say that he would prefer to remain with Charlotte, Bonnell adds. Henderson appeared in 80 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest.
Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:
- After a difficult first campaign with the Hornets, Lance Stephenson vowed to return next season much improved and with his confidence back, Bonnell notes. “My 3-point percentage was the lowest ever in history. That’s terrible,” Stephenson said. “It’s confidence – just wanting the shot to go in so bad and then you lose your confidence. That plays a major part when you don’t have confidence in your shot. This summer I’m going to find my confidence.” Stephenson’s 17.1% three-point accuracy wasn’t quite the worst ever, but it was a sharp drop from last season’s 35.2%.
- Evan Fournier is eligible to sign an extension this summer, and the swingman loves playing for the Magic, but he acknowledged that contract extensions are usually reserved for star players, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets.
- Dwyane Wade says that he won’t be recruiting Luol Deng and Goran Dragic to remain with the Heat next season, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. “Nope,” Wade said about playing recruiter. “They know. If they want to be here, they’ll be here.” Both Deng and Dragic possess player options for the 2015/16 campaign.
- Magic GM Rob Hennigan fully expects restricted free agent Tobias Harris to be with Orlando next season, John Denton of Orlando Magic.com relays (Twitter link). “I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season,” stated the GM.
Al Jefferson Says He’ll Likely Opt In
1:16pm: Jefferson elaborated on his thinking, making his decision seem even more set in stone. “I’ve got unfinished business here,” Jefferson said when asked whether he’d opt out, as Bonnell relays via Twitter. “That’s not even an option for me.”
12:10pm: Al Jefferson said today that it’s highly unlikely he’ll turn down his $13.5MM player option for next season, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Most formal decisions on options aren’t due until June 29th, but the news is nonetheless a blow for teams in the market for a big man this summer. The 30-year-old Jefferson is the 14th-ranked free agent in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings one year removed from a career season.
Jefferson regressed this year amid injuries, but he still played in 65 games and averaged 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game. He was only the third leading scorer for Charlotte, but he nonetheless remains a key part of the Hornets, and coach Steve Clifford expressed continued faith in the 11-year veteran, saying it’s not a given that he’ll continue to struggle with injuries, Bonnell tweets. Owner Michael Jordan indicated before this season that he’d want to keep Jefferson if he elected free agency, given the chance the big man took when he signed with a downtrodden Charlotte team in 2013.
Should Jefferson indeed opt in this year, the Jeff Schwartz client would be positioning himself to hit free agency just as the salary cap rises sharply after next season. It’s a gamble that he’d have a bounce-back performance in 2015/16 and that teams wouldn’t look askance at his advancing age.
An opt in from Jefferson would give the Hornets almost $60MM in commitments against a projected $67.4MM salary cap, not counting Gerald Henderson‘s $6MM player option. The team will likely be limited to the mid-level and biannual exceptions to pay free agents more than the minimum, but Clifford doesn’t think the Hornets need to make a splashy upgrade, as Bonnell relays (on Twitter). “We’re not in a position to get a max-level player. Nor do we need to,” Clifford said today.
Southeast Notes: Frye, Hornets, Heat
Channing Frye is hoping to stay with the Magic, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team gave Frye a four-year, $32MM contract as a free agent last summer, but the team reportedly saw him more as a complementary player than as a star. Frye was traded in 2007, and he hopes it won’t happen again. “It’s been a tough year, but it’s been an awesome year because I’ve grown, I think, a lot more in being patient, not just assuming guys know certain things, being able to communicate better,” Frye said. “I hope to be back here, and I really do enjoy my time here. I love these guys. No matter who’s here, who’s not and who’s coaching or who’s not, I feel like we’re going to go in the right direction.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Shooting should be a priority for the Hornets if they don’t win the draft lottery, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The team drafted P.J. Hairston last year and brought in Marvin Williams and Brian Roberts to improve its three-point shooting, but the Hornets have sunk to a league-worst 31.5% this season. Two possibilities Bonnell mentioned are Croatian Mario Hezonja and Kentucky’s Devin Booker.
- With their playoff hopes all but gone, the Heat should be focused on a less exciting goal, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami will keep its first-round pick in June only if it lands in the top 10. If it’s 11 or higher, the selection could go the the Sixers. The draft pick swap was part of the sign-and-trade that brought LeBron James to Miami in 2010. Miami is currently 10th in the Hoops Rumors Reverse Standings.