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Eastern Notes: Rose, Stevens, LeBron, Pistons

March 17th, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Charlie Adams

After Derrick Rose tore his meniscus, he was given a six-week recovery timeline that began on February 27th, but Tom Thibodeau said today that the former MVP is “ahead of schedule” in the healing process, notes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Thibodeau also said he was “hopeful” that Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler would return to action this week, but the Bulls coach stopped short of making any guarantees. Here’s tonight’s look at the Eastern Conference:

Celtics coach Brad Stevens is defying stereotypes and proving a coach hired straight out of the NCAA can be effective in the NBA, writes Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops, who points to P.J. Carlesimo, Tim Floyd, Leonard Hamilton, Lon Kruger, Mike Montgomery, Jerry Tarkanian, and Rick Pitino as big names who failed to make their mark at the NBA level.
Pat Riley admitted he was surprised when LeBron James left the Heat to re-join the Cavs, and he regarded the decision made by LeBron a result of the “contemporary attitude of today.” However, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer isn’t shocked in the least at James’ decision and argues that the same attitude is the what led LBJ to originally leave Cleveland in 2010.
The Pistons took a risk when they made a deal to acquire Reggie Jackson, and given Detroit’s 2-10 record in games in which Jackson appears, both the soon-to-be restricted free agent and the team are hoping they can figure out how to effectively mesh during the last month of the season, as David Mayo of MLive details. It’s worth noting that Jackson scored 23 points and dished out 20 assists in tonight’s win over the Grizzlies.

Northwest Notes: Hunt, Neal, Gasol, Tomic

March 16th, 2015 at 10:48am CST by Chuck Myron

The Trail Blazers have never won a Northwest Division title, but they’re seemingly destined to do so this year, since they’re up nine games in the loss column on the Thunder with less than a month to go in the regular season. The last time Portland won a division title, in 1999, the team was in the Pacific Division. Here’s the latest on the teams looking up at the Blazers in the standings:

Nuggets players, and Kenneth Faried in particular, are ecstatic about interim coach Melvin Hunt and would unanimously vote to remove the interim tag from his title, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. However, owner Stan Kroenke is still dissatisfied with a team far from playoff contention, Dempsey also notes.
Timberwolves guard Gary Neal doesn’t regret chasing the money and leaving the Spurs to sign a two-year, $6.5MM deal in 2013 in part because he saw DeJuan Blair go from a starter to signing a minimum-salary contract in short order, as Neal tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Neal will be a free agent again at season’s end.
Kevin Durant has posited that Oklahoma City’s lack of “orchestras and plays” dissuaded Pau Gasol from signing with the Thunder this past summer, but Gasol said this weekend that such cultural attractions weren’t a factor, according to The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. The Bulls big man instead said it was a matter of on-court fit that led him to choose Chicago, as Mayberry relays.
Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic believes the offseason ahead is his last legitimate opportunity to join the NBA, and while he acknowledged that he’s in talks about a new deal with his Spanish team, he won’t rule out a jump to Utah. The 7’2″ center made his remarks to Jesús Pérez Ramos of Mundo Deportivo (translation via HoopsHype). FC Barcelona has a team option on the 28-year-old for next season, but the Jazz are reportedly willing to pay to buy Tomic out of his contract.

Central Notes: Jackson, Bulls, Love, Pacers

March 15th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons are only 1-10 since Reggie Jackson made his debut. The team parted with D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler to obtain the point guard at this year’s deadline and Jackson hasn’t been spectacular since coming to Detroit, especially on the defensive end. However, I believe the team’s woes have just as much to do with losing Singler as they do with Jackson’s struggles. The Pistons did not have much depth before the deadline and making a two-for-one trade further diminished an area of weakness. Detroit sits at 23-43 on the season, which is seven games behind Charlotte for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Bulls have lost four out of their last five games and coach Tom Thibodeau is concerned about how the team is playing, writes Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com. “Everyone is going through the same thing right now, you’re headed down the stretch,” Thibodeau said. “So if your house is not in order now, you’re in trouble.” Chicago currently has a 14-man roster, as our Expanded Roster Counts Page indicates. Adding someone, even on a 10-day contract, to help the team while Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler recover from their respective injuries, may be something the team should look into.
The Cavs‘ recent stretch of success has helped Kevin Love cope with his struggles this season, writes Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. “Everything is easier when you’re winning,” Love said. “So you can have some really good games, and then some tough times. The rotation might be different. But as long as you’re winning, it kind of makes up for everything. And that’s the kind of way it’s been here.” In my latest poll, nearly 60% of Hoops Rumors’ readers believe Love will leave Cleveland in the offseason.
Paul George‘s return may be dominating headlines in Indiana, but the team is focused on making the playoffs with the players currently on the court, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com. “Honestly, we’re not even thinking about Paul right now,” coach Frank Vogel said. “How effective is he going to be having not played in a year? This is a serious injury. He still has a lot of hurdles to pass before he even gets back on the court. We’re trying to become the best possible team we can be without him and if he gets back, that’s just going to be a bonus.” The Pacers own a record of 30-35, which is good for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

2015/16 Salary Commitments: Bulls

March 13th, 2015 at 8:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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 by taking a look at the Bulls’ cap outlook for 2015/16…

Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:

Pau Gasol — $7,448,760
Taj Gibson — $8.5MM
Richard Hamilton (Stretch Provision) — $333,333
Doug McDermott — $2,380,440
Nikola Mirotic — $5,543,725
Joakim Noah — $13.9MM
Derrick Rose — $20,093,064
Tony Snell — $1,535,880

Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:

Cameron Bairstow — $845,059 ($425K Guaranteed)
E’Twaun Moore — $1,015,421

Players with options:

Kirk Hinrich (Player Option) — $2,854,940

The Bulls’ Cap Summary for 2015/16:

Guaranteed Salary: $60,160,202
Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $4,290,420
Total: $64,450,622

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Central Notes: Sanders, J.R. Smith, Pistons

March 13th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Kyrie Irving exploded for 57 points in an overtime win for the Cavs against the Spurs on Thursday. Even before that, it was clear that Irving has maintained his value as the talent around him has improved, as Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com wrote in an insider-only piece before Thursday’s game. Cleveland signed Irving to a five-year maximum-salary extension this past summer. Here’s more from the Central Division:

There’s been a ton of conflicting information about the precise amount of Larry Sanders‘ buyout and whether the Bucks used the stretch provision, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms that Milwaukee indeed spread the remainder of his deal over seven years (Twitter link). The Bucks will pay him $1,865,546 a year from 2015/16 all the way through 2021/22, which jibes with what Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times reported last week when he said Sanders would receive approximately $1.9MM. That means the Bucks have only about $2.266MM on the books for 2016/17, vaulting them into third place for the most cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, when the cap is set to spike to about $90MM. Sanders is getting $9,005,882 this season, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Bucks salary page. So, he gave up precisely $21,935,296 of his $44MM contract.
J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season, and while he hasn’t decided on whether to exercise that, he seems to want a long-term future with the Cavs, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. “I am enjoying myself more here than anywhere I’ve been,” Smith said. “I want to be here, hopefully we can have the same team next year if everything goes well.”
Pistons owner Tom Gores isn’t dismayed even as his team once more slips from playoff contention, as MLive’s David Mayo relays. “The thing is, Stan [Van Gundy] has a plan,” Gores said. “The guys we lost at the All-Star break, it was hard to lose them. They were part of the culture. But we’re trying to build for the future now and we believe in everything that’s going on.”
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune delves into Tom Thibodeau‘s relationship with Bulls management, among other Bulls-related issues, in a mailbag column.

Central Notes: Pistons, Varejao, Butler

March 10th, 2015 at 9:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

While the Pistons have had to adjust their playing style a number of times this season due to trades and injuries, the one constant has been the team’s focus on the defensive end, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. But it’s Detroit’s defense that has been letting the team down during its current six game losing streak, Mayo adds. The lack of stops, turnovers, and rebounds have led to a dearth of fast break chances, which is hampering the Pistons on the offensive end, Mayo notes.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Jimmy Butler is one of the biggest breakout success stories of the NBA season, and it’s a testament to the swingman’s work ethic that he is in line for a big payday when he hits restricted free agency this summer, Ben Golliver of SI.com writes. The Bulls have indicated that they plan to match any offer sheets that Butler receives this offseason.
Cavs coach David Blatt confirmed that center Anderson Varejao is out for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, but he added that the team is very pleased with Varejao’s rehab progress, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets. Varejao tore his left Achilles tendon back in December.
Derrick Rose‘s quiet demeanor isn’t helping him with Bulls fans, who have grown wary of the star point guard due to his numerous injuries, David Haugh of The Chicago Tribune writes. Though Rose recently sounded optimistic about playing again this season, Chicago fans need a bolder statement regarding his return to action from the player instead of his seeming nonchalance about the matter, Haugh opines.

Eastern Notes: Bosh, Beasley, Rose, Love

March 9th, 2015 at 8:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chris Bosh is expected to resume full basketball activities next September, the Heat announced. It’s great news for the 30-year-old big man, who admits he initially had doubts he’d ever return to the hardwood when he found out about the blood clots in his lungs, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com details. We’ve got more on the Heat within tonight’s look around the Eastern Conference:

Michael Beasley does not feel like he has a roster spot locked up with the Heat despite his recent strong play, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Beasley, who is on his second 10-day contract with the club, is averaging 10.5 points and 4.2 rebounds since returning to the NBA after a stint in China. “You’re talking to a No. 2 pick. One of the best players in college basketball — not to toot my own horn. But to go from there to now be on a 10-day is definitely humbling,” Beasley said to Lee. “They always say, it could be gone tomorrow.”
Derrick Rose expects to return to the Bulls from his latest knee surgery sometime this season, but he offered no assurances that will happen, Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports. Rose was expected to miss four to six weeks after tearing meniscus in his right knee last month. “Whenever I’m ready to back, I’ll come back,” he said to a contingent of reporters on Monday.
Kevin Love may not receive a maximum salary offer from the Cavs, even if he wants to stay with the team next year, Sam Smith of Bulls.com opines. The power forward, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has been mainly employed as a three-point shooter and his averages of 16.9 points and 12.9 shot attempts are his lowest since the 2009/10 season, notes Smith, who also adds that Love also rode the bench during crunch time against Toronto last week. Love recently expressed his unhappiness about being labelled a stretch four and will have plenty of suitors on the open market.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Beasley, Gasol, Mo Williams, Cavs

March 9th, 2015 at 4:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

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.

Clippers Sign Nate Robinson To 10-Day Pact

March 7th, 2015 at 2:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:04pm: The signing is official, the Clippers announced.

1:04pm: The Clippers have signed free agent Nate Robinson, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The two sides reached an agreement after meeting earlier this morning, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. The deal is a 10-day contract, and not one for the remainder of the season, Spears adds in a separate tweet. The Clippers have an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary in order to bring Robinson aboard.

The diminutive point guard became a free agent after reaching a buyout arrangement with the Celtics, who had acquired Robinson from the Nuggets in return for Jameer Nelson. The Clippers were reportedly the 30-year-old’s preferred destination. The Heat, Wizards, Bulls and Cavs were also mentioned as possibilities to ink Robinson.

In 33 games for the Nuggets this season, Robinson averaged 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. His career numbers over nine seasons in the league are 11.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His career slash line is .424/.360/.796.

No Deal Between Celtics, JaVale McGee

March 5th, 2015 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

2:47pm: Things are dead between the Celtics and McGee and talks will not be revived, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).

2:23pm: In addition to previously mentioned suitors like the Warriors, Mavs, Raptors, and Heat, Wojnarowski writes that the Spurs and Bulls also have expressed interest in McGee.

2:10pm: The Raptors are one of several teams that plan on circling back to McGee, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Toronto GM Masai Ujiri is familiar with McGee from their time together in Denver.

1:42pm: Multiple playoff teams remain interested in McGee, Wojnarowski tweets. He doesn’t want to give up his freedom for next season, however, and he wants a player option for 2015/16 in his contract.

Most contenders called on McGee, Wojnarowski adds (link). It’s easier to list the playoff teams that haven’t called on McGee, Wojnarowski tweets, and that includes the Clippers, Thunder, and Cavs.

1:20pm: There will be no deal between the Celtics and McGee after all, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (on Twitter). The two sides ultimately could not reach agreement on a contract.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears that the C’s wanted a team option for the 2015/16 season while McGee’s camp was pushing for a player option.

8:32am: Team president Danny Ainge confirmed that Boston is on the verge of signing McGee, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Ainge told Toucher and Rich of The Sports Hub that he’s optimistic about what McGee can bring to the table, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI (on Twitter). “He hasn’t lived up to his potential yet, and we’re hoping that he can under Brad Stevens. We think he’s in a good place,” Ainge said.

8:30am: The Celtics are close to signing JaVale McGee, multiple sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal would take the big man through next season.

Multiple teams expressed interest in McGee after he was waived by the Sixers, but we haven’t heard much of the Celtics’ potential interest in him. The Mavericks were said to be “seriously interested,” the Warriors expressed serious interest, and the Raptors were weighing things, though they were skittish about crossing the $76.829MM tax line.

If and when McGee joins the Celtics, he’ll be putting on his third uniform of the season and, in fact, his third jersey in about a month. The Nuggets shipped McGee to the Sixers in a deadline deal and rumors of a potential buyout started swirling almost immediately. Both sides denied that they wanted to hammer out a buyout of his contract ($11.25MM in 2014/15 and $12MM in 2015/16), but those talks eventually took place. A buyout wasn’t agreed upon, but just prior to the deadline for playoff eligibility the Sixers waived McGee.

McGee, a B.J. Armstrong client, has averaged 8.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG across seven seasons. He played in six games for Philly, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 10.2 minutes per contest.

While the Celtics were never named specifically as a team with interest in the 27-year-old, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported earlier this week that a third of the league was eyeing McGee.