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Wade: Nuggets Did “Unbelievable Job Of Recruiting Me”

November 22nd, 2016 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

While most NBA observers didn’t believe Dwyane Wade would leave the Heat in free agency, Denver seemed like a particularly far-fetched landing spot for the former Finals MVP. When rumors surfaced in July suggesting Wade and the Nuggets were having serious talks, it was viewed by many as a leverage play. However, as he prepares to take on the Nuggets as a member of the Bulls, Wade tells Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links) that he seriously considered signing with the team.

“We had a lot of discussions toward the end. And it came down to Denver and Chicago,” Wade said. “I chose to go back home, but definitely was something that I didn’t go into free agency thinking was a possibility. They did an unbelievable job of recruiting me. The first call I got was from them on July 1.”

Wade acknowledged that the Nuggets were an unlikely home for him, one that he hadn’t considered at all prior to his free agency. However, he also pointed out that no one anticipated he would leave Miami for Chicago either, adding that unexpected things happen in free agency when you’re making major decisions about your future. As Dempsey notes (via Twitter), Wade was impressed by the “family atmosphere” within the Nuggets’ organization, and suggested that it should help the franchise land a marquee free agent in the future.

“I think they have a lot to sell, and I thought they did a great job for me,” Wade said. “They’ve got a lot of young talent here as well. As a free agent you never know where you’re going to go, what kind of free agent is going to come help the team with these young guys and kind of veteran guys. I know they’re not going to stop working, but I know they’re looking for the right person as well to come here and not just get anyone.”

The Nuggets currently have about $58MM on their books for 2017/18, not counting Danilo Gallinari‘s player option, so they should have plenty of flexibility to make a run at another free agent or two in the summer if they choose.

Check out Dempsey’s full piece at The Post for more quotes from Wade on the Nuggets and head coach Michael Malone.

Chemistry Problems Solved In Chicago

November 20th, 2016 at 7:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have solved the chemistry issues that plagued them all last season, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. A power struggle ended when Derrick Rose was traded to the Knicks and Joakim Noah joined him there as a free agent, leaving Jimmy Butler as the clear leader in Chicago. He helped the team replace its lost talent by recruiting free agents Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. “We all enjoy each other’s company, man,” Butler said. “Even when we’re not playing basketball. Even if we’re throwing a football, if we’re playing cards or just sitting there talking. Everybody’s locked in. Everybody’s having fun and everybody wants to get to know each other a little bit better. I think that’s the major difference. We spent a lot of time off the floor together, which I didn’t know could help so much, but it really does.”

Is Jimmy Butler An MVP Candidate?

November 19th, 2016 at 3:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jimmy Butler is averaging career highs in points, rebounds and steals per game while ranking among the top-10 in player efficiency rating this season and Sam Smith of NBA.com wonders if the 27-year-old could realistically win the MVP award. The Bulls are 8-4 this season with impressive wins over the Jazz and Blazers this past week.

Grant Emerging As Vital Part Of Rotation

November 18th, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

After starting the season on the inactive list, guard Jerian Grant is emerging as a vital piece in the Bulls‘ rotation, writes Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com. The player said his time on the sidelines motivated him to improve his game, Goodwill adds. “When you’re inactive you feel like you’re the last guy on the team,” said Grant. “Everybody else is out there suited up, so I wanted to prove to myself, to everybody out there that I’m not the last guy. I’m a guy that can contribute to this team.”

McDermott Could Sit Out Entire Road Trip

November 17th, 2016 at 9:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls small forward Doug McDermott could miss the team’s entire six-game road trip because of a concussion, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com relays. McDermott entered the concussion protocol for the second time this season after a hard fall on Saturday. McDermott has appeared in nine games this season, averaging 10.6 points. Nikola Mirotic will need to be a bigger factor with McDermott sidelined.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/14/16

November 14th, 2016 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA. This list will be updated throughout the day as new moves are reported or announced.

11:55am:

The Spurs have recalled Davis Bertans, Bryn Forbes, and Dejounte Murray from the Austin Spurs, the team announced today in a press release. All three players appeared in Austin’s season opener on Sunday, with Bertans and Murray combining for 40 points.
R.J. Hunter has been recalled from the D-League by the Bulls, according to a press release from the team. Hunter averaged 17.0 PPG in two games for the Windy City Bulls this weekend, but will likely travel with Chicago on the team’s upcoming road trip.
The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo from the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Toronto’s D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, doesn’t open its season until this Friday, but once the team’s schedule begins, Caboclo could start spending more time in the D-League.

9:43am:

The Sixers have assigned Jerryd Bayless to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Veterans typically aren’t sent to D-League squads, but Bayless is recovering from a left wrist injury, and joining the Delaware 87ers is part of the veteran guard’s “ongoing rehabilitation program,” according to the Sixers. The move signals that Bayless should be nearing a return to the court.

NBA 2016/17 Dead Money: Central Division

November 11th, 2016 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The concept of “dead money” on a salary cap isn’t as common in the NBA as it is in the NFL, but it essentially functions the same way in both leagues. Dead money refers to the salary remaining on a team’s cap for players that are no longer on the roster.

For NFL teams, taking on a certain amount of dead money is a common practice, since signing bonuses affect cap hits differently, and big-money players are more likely to be released before playing out their entire contracts. That practice is less common in the NBA.

Still, with the NBA’s salary cap on the rise, teams may be a little more willing to part ways with players on guaranteed salaries, since that increased cap gives clubs more flexibility than they used to have. Within the last month, we’ve seen players like Ronnie Price and Greivis Vasquez, who each had $4-5MM in guaranteed money left on their contracts, waived in order to clear room for newcomers.

Over the next week, we’ll examine each of the NBA’s 30 teams, breaking them down by division, to figure out which teams are carrying the most dead money on the cap for 2016/17, and what that information might tell us about those teams. We’ll start today with the Central division, before tackling the other five divisions from Monday to Friday next week.

Here are the 2016/17 dead money figures for the Central teams:

1. Detroit Pistons
Total dead money: $5,398,678
Full salary cap breakdown

The Pistons had a pair of camp invitees with modest guarantees, in Nikola Jovanovic ($30K) and Trey Freeman ($25K), and a last-minute change of plans at point guard meant that they were also on the hook for nearly $12K when they waived Ray McCallum. However, the majority of dead money on Detroit’s books belongs to Josh Smith. The Pistons cut Smith with so much guaranteed salary left on his contract that he’ll count for about $5.332MM against the cap this year — and for the three years after that.

2. Milwaukee Bucks
Total dead money: $1,865,547
Full salary cap breakdown

The Bucks are one of eight NBA teams that entered this season without a D-League affiliate, so they didn’t have a ton of incentive to hand out partial guarantees to camp invitees — they wouldn’t have been able to assign those players to a D-League squad anyway. As such, it comes as little surprise that Larry Sanders is responsible for Milwaukee’s only dead-money cap charge this season. Sanders will continue to count for $1,865,547 annually against the Bucks’ cap through the 2020/21 season.

3. Indiana Pacers
Total dead money: $1,387,667
Full salary cap breakdown

The Pacers were smart about the dead money they added to their cap this fall, paying out partial guarantees to a handful of players they wanted to join their D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne, including Ben Bentil, whose D-League rights they snatched from the Celtics for $50K. Julyan Stone ($50K), Alex Poythress ($35.4K), and Nick Zeisloft ($25K) also got modest guarantees, while Jeremy Evans ($1.227MM) was the only fully guaranteed salary the team cut. The Pacers can’t put the $3.2MM they received from the Mavericks when they acquired Evans toward their salary cap, but that cash ensures that the club actually came out ahead after waiving the forward.

4. Chicago Bulls
Total dead money: $69,500
Full salary cap breakdown

The Bulls have a D-League affiliate for the first time this season, but only one camp invitee – and eventual Windy City Bulls player – required a partial guarantee. That one player was Thomas Walkup, who got $69.5K from the team. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls are any more liberal about handing out partial guarantees to recruit top undrafted rookies to their D-League affiliate in future years.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers
Total dead money: $18,255
Full salary cap breakdown

The Cavaliers didn’t pay any guaranteed money to their camp invitees, and ultimately assigned only two of their cuts to the Canton Charge rather than the maximum four. The team also isn’t carrying any dead money on its cap from players released in previous years, resulting in a cap sheet that is nearly entirely clean. The one exception? An $18K cap hit for Dahntay Jones, since he cleared waivers two days into the 2016/17 season rather than being cut earlier.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Wade Still Hasn't Talked With Pat Riley

November 9th, 2016 at 8:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The revamped Magic have sputtered out of the gate, but new coach Frank Vogel isn’t ready to make lineup changes, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Vogel has used the same starting five in each of Orlando’s games this season, including a blowout loss to the Bulls Monday that had him considering a shakeup. But Vogel decided to be patient with the group he has in place. “I’m not a knee-jerk coach,” Vogel said before tonight’s game. “If it’s needed, we’ll see it. I wouldn’t expect it anytime soon.”

The Magic are facing the Timberwolves and new coach/executive Tom Thibodeau tonight, which brings back fond memories for reserve point guard D.J. Augustin, Robbins notes in the same piece. Thibodeau was Augustin’s coach with the Bulls in 2013/14, and was an important influence on his career. “He gave me an opportunity to play and play a lot of big minutes,” Augustin said. “He gave me confidence. And that’s exactly what he’s probably doing with those young guys over there, and you could tell by the way they’re playing.”
Bulls guard Dwyane Wade reiterated to reporters tonight that he hasn’t had any contact with team president Pat Riley since leaving the Heat in free agency, relays Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Wade, who is preparing for his first game back in Miami on Thursday, said he’s not sure if he will try to contact Riley before the contest. “I know who Pat is,” Wade said. “It’s no secret to me. I was there 13 years, I’ve seen a lot of players come and go. I know how he is. If you’re not with him, you’re against him. That’s just the way he is. You got to understand that, man. And I’m cool with it. I’m fine, 100 percent. I was there 13 years so I’ve seen a lot of video tributes, seen a lot of players come in and go out. And I’ve seen the way he’s responded to them. And I know if you’re not with him, you’re against him.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/8/16

November 8th, 2016 at 10:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls:

10:35pm:

The Knicks have assigned Ron Baker and Marshall Plumlee to their D League affiliate in Westchester, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. The duo are expected to participate in the team’s scrimmage against the Nets’ affiliate on Wednesday, Begley adds.
The Thunder have recalled Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release.

2:51pm:

The newest member of the Bulls, R.J. Hunter, has been assigned to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, according to a press release. Hunter signed with Chicago during the first week of the regular season after being cut by Boston, but has yet to appear in a game for the Bulls.
For the second time in two days, the Nets assigned Chris McCullough to the Long Island Nets to practice with the D-League squad, then recalled him later in the day, the club announced in a pair of press releases. McCullough is expected to be active for Brooklyn’s game tonight against the Timberwolves.
Josh Huestis, who recently changed agents, was assigned to the Oklahoma City Blue today by the Thunder to participate in the D-League team’s practice. The Thunder issued a press release confirming the move.

Dwyane Wade Explains Why He Left Miami

November 8th, 2016 at 5:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwyane Wade and the Heat had different priorities in free agency, which is what led to a messy breakup of their 13-year relationship, writes Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago. When Wade announced in early July that he was accepting a two-year, $47MM offer from the Bulls, it marked the end of a long process in which he felt he didn’t get the respect he had earned for his accomplishments in Miami. Or as Wade puts it, “I found out very quickly that this is a business.”

The Heat set two priorities in free agency — re-signing Hassan Whiteside and reaching out to Kevin Durant. They needed to be able to offer max deals to both players, which limited the amount that was left to offer Wade. “At the end of the day,” Wade said, “I talked to those guys and I told them, ‘It’s free agency. I understand y’all have a job to do, and I have a job to do as well.’ I let it be known I was going to be a free agent and I wasn’t waiting by the phone for them to call me.”

The Heat were able to re-sign Whiteside on the first day of free agency and were one of five finalists for Durant. When he chose the Warriors, many assumed it was a formality to bring back Wade, but too many bridges had already been burned. Privately, the Heat front office was concerned about giving a max deal to a 34-year-old player, even one with Wade’s history. And Wade felt disrespected by being third in line.

“I did my homework because I understand Hassan was a priority, which he should’ve been,” Wade explained. “I understood that they were trying to go out and get KD, because that’s something they wanted to do. But I had to look out for myself and put myself in a situation that I wanted to be in if things didn’t work out the way I wanted them to work out, and they didn’t.”

Wade’s return to Miami in a visiting uniform will take place Thursday night. He insists that he still has a good relationship with the Heat organization and has talked with everyone except team president Pat Riley. But whatever emotions may accompany his homecoming, Wade made it clear that he has already moved on with his basketball life.

“I don’t know how many more years I have left to play this game,” he said. “It’s about doing what I want to do at this moment. Not saying I didn’t do what I wanted, I always did what I wanted, but it’s continuing to have the ability to do that. And I did. I put myself first for once. I didn’t say, hey, I waited on Miami to come to me. At the end of the day, I could’ve come back to Miami and made great money. The contract they offered me was good. By the time it got to me, my heart was somewhere else.”