Eastern Notes: Young, Price, Robinson
Thomas Robinson is making a strong case that he should be a part of the Sixers‘ future plans, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. “I’ve never played this much before and never played this consistently, so this is my first time getting an opportunity,” Robinson said. “You always want that momentum. This time of the year, it’s hard mentally when you know you’re not playing for anything. Us, in this locker room, we want to go out with momentum and know that we’re getting better, and we’ll go into the summer where we’ll know that we have a platform to start on. That’s all that really matters right now.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Celtics have assigned James Young to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Young’s eleventh trek of the season to Maine. The swingman has appeared in 11 contests for the Red Claws this season and is averaging 22.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.2 minutes per game.
- Thabo Sefolosha is expected to make his return to the Hawks‘ lineup on Wednesday night against the Magic, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Sefolosha has been sidelined since January 30th with a calf injury.
- Hornets assistant coach Mark Price has been offered the head coaching position at UNC Charlotte, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports. Sources told Goodman that Price has been offered a five-year deal and is mulling whether or not to accept it.
Western Notes: Gasol, Kings, Jazz, Messina
“The understanding is” that Marc Gasol will indeed be the No. 1 target of the Spurs this summer, depending on the fates of fellow soon-to-be free agents Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, a Western Conference GM told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Gasol has given plenty of signals that he prefers to stay in Memphis, and if he were to leave, he would likely move only to a team that would give him a better chance to win a title, sources also tell Deveney. The Spurs would conceivably fit that bill, but even if they don’t end up with Gasol, one GM expects San Antonio to make a surprise move this summer and hints that it’ll come at draft time, as Deveney details. There’s more on the Spurs amid the latest from around the Western Conference:
- Kings adviser Chris Mullin, reportedly a candidate for the team’s coaching position earlier this season, resisted the recent hirings of coach George Karl and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac, high-ranking team execs tell Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. GM Pete D’Alessandro also resisted the hiring of Divac, who’s technically atop him in the organization, according to Voisin, though D’Alessandro said to Voisin on Tuesday that he and others are pleased to have the former center around.
- The Hornets have three prominent former members of the Jazz, and Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams and Mo Williams all expressed fondness for their time in Utah when their new team came to Salt Lake City for Monday’s game, observes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Mo Williams will hit free agency again this summer, and Jefferson can, too, if he turns down a $13.5MM player option.
- Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina would like to become a head coach in the NBA someday, but he’s content with the Spurs and said he’d ask Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford for advice before pursuing a head coaching job, as Messina told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Western Notes: Griffin, Jordan, Nurkic, Lakers
The Clippers‘ Blake Griffin will return to action soon, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Griffin, sidelined for five weeks with a staph infection in his right elbow, could be ready for Sunday’s game with the Rockets. If not, the team expects to have him Tuesday against the Hornets. A final decision on Griffin will be made Sunday morning, tweets Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
There’s more from the Western Conference:
- Despite a projected jump in the salary cap after the 2016 season, Clippers free-agent-to-be DeAndre Jordan has no interest in signing a one-year contract, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Jordan, one of the favorites for the Defensive Player of the Year award, is likely to get a maximum deal this summer. “I’m not going to be greedy and sign a one-year deal,” Jordan said. “Nah. I’m just focused on getting it over with and focusing on playing again. I’m just trying to win here.”
- Despite being nearly 7 feet tall and weighing 280 pounds, center Jusuf Nurkic fits into the Nuggets‘ running game, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Interim coach Melvin Hunt has increased the tempo since taking over in Denver, and he says Nurkic has no problem keeping up. “Jusuf Nurkic is built to run,” Hunt said. “Don’t let it fool you with the big body he has. He likes a fast-tempo game. Look at the way he guards the pick-and-roll and look how fast his hands are. He has incredible hands and feet. Sometimes he gets a little bored when it’s a slow-tempo game.”
- Lakers coach Byron Scott described his team as “selfish” and “not very bright” after Thursday’s loss to the Knicks, writes Jovan Buha in a special report for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Scott didn’t mention any players by name, but expressed frustration that his team is losing winnable games. “I thought we came in with a lack of respect for a team that had beaten us in New York,” he said. “We can’t afford to look at teams’ records and think, ‘OK, their record is worse than us, so we’re a better team than they are.’”
2015/16 Salary Commitments: Hornets
With the NBA trade deadline now passed, teams are focusing on locking down playoff spots or vying for a better chance in the draft lottery. Outside of the players who are added on 10-day deals, or those lucky enough to turn those auditions into long-term contracts, teams’ rosters are relatively set for the remainder of the season.
We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of taking a look ahead at each franchise’s salary cap situation heading into the summer, and the free agent frenzy that occurs every offseason. While the exact amount of the 2015/16 salary cap won’t be announced until July, the cap is projected to come in somewhere around $68MM, with the luxury tax threshold projected at approximately $81MM. This year’s $63.065MM cap represented an increase of 7.7% over 2013/14, which was well above the league’s projected annual increase of 4.5%.
We’ll continue onward by taking a look at the Hornets’ cap outlook for 2015/16…
Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:
- Troy Daniels — $947,276
- P.J. Hairston — $1,201,440
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — $6,331,404
- Brian Roberts — $2,854,940
- Lance Stephenson — $9MM
- Noah Vonleh — $2,637,720
- Kemba Walker — $12MM
- Marvin Williams — $7MM
- Cody Zeller — $4,204,200
Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:
- N/A
Players with options:
- Gerald Henderson (Player Option) — $6MM
- Al Jefferson (Player Option) — $13.5MM
The Hornets’ Cap Summary for 2015/16:
- Guaranteed Salary: $46,176,980
- Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $19.5MM
- Total: $65,676,980
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Eastern Notes: Beasley, Gasol, Mo Williams, Cavs
Michael Beasley signed his second 10-day contract with the Heat on Sunday, a move that the Heat had no hestitation in making, according to coach Erik Spoelstra, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald observes.
“He stepped out of his comfort zone and was fantastic in that zone,” Spoelstra said of Beasley’s play during his first 10-day deal. “I feel very comfortable with Mike. We have gotten to know each other extremely well over the years. We felt it was a no-brainer. We’ve been running the majority of our offense through him, a la Chris Bosh. He’s a close facsimile in our system.”
That would seem to bode well for Beasley’s chances of receiving a deal through at least the rest of the season once his latest 10-day deal runs out. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Pau Gasol said Sunday that the Thunder and Spurs were his other top choices this summer before he made his decision to sign with the Bulls in what he described as a “close call,” as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays.
- Mo Williams has been sensational for the Hornets since they traded for him a month ago, averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 35.4 minutes per game, but coach Steve Clifford anticipates a regression to the mean, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Williams will be a free agent at season’s end.
- The Cavs‘ January overhaul, featuring a pair of significant trades, has resulted in a team that takes more non-corner three-pointers and fewer point-blank looks, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal examines. The results have been successful, though coach David Blatt has concerns about the preponderance of outside looks that LeBron James doesn’t appear to share, Lloyd notes.
And-Ones: Johnson, Dragic, Williams, Ewing
The Heat’s Tyler Johnson has been among the most productive players to sign a 10-day contract this season, writes Shandel Richardson of The Sun Sentinel. Johnson had 26-point and 24-point games this week as he has developed into a solid rotation player for Miami. After completing two 10-day deals, Johnson was signed to a two-year, partially guaranteed contract on February 8th. “It’s funny because when people from the outside hear 10-day contract, they almost kind of laugh,” Johnson said. “There’s been quite a few stories of 10-day contracts guys sticking around.”
There’s more from a busy day around the basketball world:
- The traditional numbers don’t do a great job of accurately portraying Goran Dragic’s value, but SportVU data helped to show exactly how much of an impact the Heat guard can have when he has the ball in his hands, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. That data, in part, shaped how Dragic was viewed at the deadline.
- Former lottery pick Terrence Williams told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter) that he has signed with Vaqueros De Bayamon in Puerto Rico. Williams worked out for the Kings in July and again in late October.
- In a piece for USA Today Sports, Howard Megdal wonders why Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing can’t land an NBA head coaching job. Ewing started coaching as an assistant for the Wizards back in 2002 and at this point, he’s been a coach for nearly as long as he played for the Knicks. Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has his own theory on why Ewing hasn’t landed a head coaching gig, telling Megdal that the big man isn’t enough of a “self promoter.”
- Guard Carlos Arroyo has decided to finish the season in Puerto Rico, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter). Back in September, Arroyo indicated that he wasn’t receiving interest from NBA teams, and it’s not clear if that has changed over the last several months.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: O’Quinn, Stephenson, Dragic
Despite being healthy, Kyle O’Quinn, who’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, has played only about six minutes combined in just two games for the Magic since the All-Star break and the big man said the transition to less playing time has been hard, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “It’s tough,” O’Quinn said. “But, you know, the team is making strides. I’m still a part of the team. To see the team grow, I’m still a part of that. So it feels somewhat good still.” The second-round pick out of Norfolk State played his best basketball this season in January when he averaged 8.6 PPG while getting consistent minutes.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The three-year, $27MM deal Lance Stephenson signed with the Hornets over the summer no longer looks like the steal it originally was thought to be and the guard is actually hurting the team’s playoff chances, Chris Mannix of SI.com writes. The Hornets are more than seven points per game worse when Stephenson is on the floor, points out Mannix, who outlined why the team is being hindered by the guard. Charlotte entered action Friday clinging to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
- Goran Dragic told reporters, including Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter), that he has no issue with the Heat sending his brother Zoran Dragic to their D-League affiliate. The elder Dragic feels that it’ll be good for Zoran to get some additional playing time in Sioux Falls.
- Cameron Schott of RealGM gave a scouting report on Jarell Eddie, who recently inked a 10-day deal with the Hawks after impressing in the D-League. Eddie, he believes, can be a solid contributor as a shooter off the bench for Atlanta.
Zach Links contributed to this post
And-Ones: Williams, Curry, Green, Draft
Since being acquired in a February trade, Mo Williams has been thriving with the Hornets, who have won three straight and are currently clinging to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, writes Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. The Hornets are planning on playing both Williams and Kemba Walker together once Walker, who has been cleared to resume all basketball activities, returns to the lineup, Taylor adds. Williams, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is averaging 21.6 points and 8.9 assists in 35.0 minutes per game, and, as Taylor notes, his leadership has been valued by Hornets coach Steve Clifford.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Venezuelan club Marinos de Anzoategui tried to sign former NBA lottery pick Eddy Curry, but visa issues scuttled the deal, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (Twitter link). The 32-year-old big man last played in the NBA for the Mavs during the 2012/13 campaign.
- JaMychal Green‘s three year deal with the Grizzlies will pay him $134,295 for the remainder of this season, $845,059 in 2015/16, and $980,431 for the 2016/17 season, Eric Pincus of Basketball insiders notes (Twitter link). Green’s deal comes with a partial guarantee of $150K for next season, Pincus adds.
- Texas freshman center Myles Turner’s decision to play for embattled coach Rick Barnes has hurt the NBA prospect’s draft stock, writes Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.
- University of Wisconsin sophomore forward Nigel Hayes might be headed to the NBA, writes Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. Woelfel has heard Hayes is viewed as a late first-round pick with upside. Hayes is not currently listed in the top 100 players by DraftExpress, and is the No. 80 prospect on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) big board.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Walker, Heat
Hornets guard Kemba Walker has been cleared to resume all basketball activities, moving him closer to a return from knee surgery, as The Associated Press writes. “I’m excited. I’ve been anxious,” Walker said. “I’ve been working hard trying to get back to competing with my teammates. And I got some great news, so I’m excited.” Coach Steve Clifford said the team will practice again Saturday and Walker’s return to action will depend on how the knee responds to an increased workload. Here’s more from the Southeast Division..
- Lance Stephenson is having a poor first season in Charlotte, but Clifford thinks that the 24-year-old needs some more time to adjust to his new surroundings, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes. ““I think first of all, in some ways expectations were a little out of whack,” the Hornets said of Stephenson, who inked a three-year, $27MM deal with Charlotte over the summer. “I think secondly, he’s a young player, and unlike a guy like Mo Williams, who has played for seven coaches, seven systems and is used to adapting to new teammates and new cities, this is the first time.” The Hornets shopped Stephenson at the deadline but they were unable to find a suitable deal.
- Jarell Eddie, who has inked a 10-day deal with the Hawks, took a path similar to Danny Green on his way to the NBA, Lorne Chan of Spurs.com writes. Green carved out a role for himself by knocking down shots from long range, but also doing the little things well. Eddie is now the third member of the Austin Spurs to reach the NBA this season after JaMychal Green and Bryce Cotton.
- David Pick of Basketball Insiders looked at the unusual path taken by Henry Walker, who just inked his second 10-day deal with the Heat.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if he believes the Heat will take advantage of the $2.65MM exception they have as a result of Josh McRoberts‘ knee surgery. Miami has until March 10th to use it, but Winderman doesn’t see them veering into tax territory to aid in a fight for the No. 7 or No. 8 seed.
Southeast Notes: Beasley, Webster, Mo Williams
Michael Beasley has promised to reform in the past, but he knows there’s a decent chance his 10-day contract with the Heat represents his final opportunity in the NBA, observes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel. The former No. 2 overall pick’s deal expires at the end of Saturday.
“I’m still the same guy, but it’s desperation for me,” Beasley said. “This is my last chance, my last shot. It’s either play or sit down and I’m not ready to play at `The Y’, not ready for open gyms. I’m playing to eat right now, and I got kids. It adds that much more.”
While we wait to see if Beasley’s third career contract with the Heat will lead to a fourth, here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Nets would have had to take Martell Webster if they’d traded Jarrett Jack to the Wizards at the deadline, and the deal would have involved the teams swapping future first-round picks, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. Those Jack proposals appeared to be contingent on Brooklyn’s failed Reggie Jackson-for-Brook Lopez talks, as Lowe points out (on Twitter).
- Mo Williams says he took his time on successful Cavs teams earlier in his career for granted and is grateful for last month’s trade that sent him from Minnesota to the Hornets and gave him a chance to compete for a playoff berth again, as he tells Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. The soon-to-be free agent signed with the Wolves knowing they wouldn’t be contenders, but it seems his focus has changed. “I just want to win. It’s as simple as that — just win,” Williams said. “I’m at the point at my career where I’ve made a lot of money, been an All-Star, and one thing I haven’t experienced is playing at the highest level and that’s winning a championship. That’s everybody’s goal.”
- Re-signing Trevor Ariza would have helped the Wizards better overcome their recent struggles, but that was a sacrifice the franchise was willing to make to save cap flexibility for a shot at Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016, as Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com examines.