Odds & Ends: Collins, Augustin, Mavs, Cavs
Jannero Pargo‘s contract with the Bobcats became fully guaranteed when the team didn’t waive him yesterday, and A.J. Price passed his contract guarantee threshold with the Timberwolves this weekend. That means the rest of the players with non-guaranteed contracts won’t have their deals fully guaranteed unless they remain on their teams until the leaguewide guarantee date of January 10th. We’ll continue to track non-guaranteed contracts here until that date. Here’s more from around the league:
- Free agent center Jason Collins told Michael K. Lavers of the Washington Blade that he doesn’t pin the reluctance of NBA teams to sign him on his sexual orientation. Collins, who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since publicly revealing last spring that he is homosexual, says he hopes a team will sign him by March 1st.
- The Bulls are zeroing in on D.J. Augustin, and the move would give them four point guards, not including the injured Derrick Rose. They probably won’t be carrying all four by the end of the season, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- With Devin Harris suffering a setback in his rehab, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News wonders if the Mavericks will go after Augustin.
- The Cavs have assigned Carrick Felix, Sergey Karasev and Henry Sims to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. It’s the first assignment for Karasev, while Felix and Sims are making return trips to the Canton Charge.
- Other teams reportedly expect the Nuggets will soon trade Jordan Hamilton for little in return, but the third-year small forward has earned the trust of coach Brian Shaw, according to Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com.
- Shelvin Mack is making the most of his non-guaranteed contract with the Hawks, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines (subscription required).
Bulls In Lead To Sign D.J. Augustin
WEDNESDAY, 4:20pm: Augustin has cleared waivers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 11:49am: The Bulls are the clear leaders to sign D.J. Augustin when he clears waivers Wednesday, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Augustin was a victim of a numbers crunch in Toronto, where the Raptors had to release a player to fit under the 15-man roster limit to accommodate yesterday’s Rudy Gay trade.
Augustin is on a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $1.267MM, not much more than what the minimum salary for the five-year veteran would be, so it’s conceivable a team could claim him off waivers. The capped-out Bulls can’t make a claim, so they’d likely sign him to a non-guaranteed pact for the minimum-salary if he hits free agency. Perhaps another club could resort to a waiver claim to thwart Chicago’s attempt to sign him, though that’s just my speculation.
Derrick Rose‘s injury has left the Bulls shorthanded at point guard, where the backups to Kirk Hinrich are disappointing second-year man Marquis Teague, whom the Bulls shopped in trade talks before the season, and 38-year-old journeyman Mike James. James hasn’t played in more than a week as he recovers from a sprained knee, and with two roster spots available, the team is looking to bolster its depth at the position, Wojnarowski writes. Augustin has had his own struggles the past two seasons, flaming out as a backup for the Pacers in 2012/13 before averaging just 8.2 minutes per game in 10 appearances for the Raptors this year.
The Raptors would benefit if a team claimed Augustin off waivers, since they’ll otherwise be on the hook for the contract they signed with the Thad Foucher client. They could still see some relief if he becomes a free agent and signs with the Bulls or another team, since that might allow Toronto to defray the cost of its contract with Augustin via set-off rights.
Knicks May Make Run At Tom Thibodeau
The Knicks might attempt to pry Tom Thibodeau out of his contract from the Bulls, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who gets the sense that current Knicks head coach Mike Woodson will only last until owner James Dolan can find a splashy replacement. Soon-to-be free agent Carmelo Anthony wouldn’t object to the move, Stein also hears. Thibodeau, like Anthony, is a client of the Creative Artists Agency, a firm with close ties to the Knicks.
Thibodeau has two seasons remaining on his deal with Chicago, but he’s reportedly feuding with Bulls GM Gar Forman. It would nonetheless be hard to convince the Bulls to let him go, Stein writes, but the ESPN scribe figures the Knicks stand a better chance of pulling that off than they do of landing marquee names like John Calipari, Phil Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Stan Van Gundy.
The Knicks are also apparently considering assistant GM Allan Houston as a possible replacement for Woodson. Houston played for the Knicks when Thibodeau was an assistant coach for the team. Perhaps Houston could serve as an interim if the Knicks decide to replace Woodson during the season, with a pursuit of Thibodeau happening in the summer, but that’s just my speculation.
Coaching transactions between teams are rare, but the Knicks once received compensation for letting Pat Riley go to the Heat, and this summer’s Doc Rivers swap is the most recent example. The Celtics acquired a 2015 first-round pick in exchange for letting Rivers out of his deal so the Clippers could hire him, but the earliest first-rounder the Knicks can surrender is their 2018 pick. The NBA prohibits teams from exchanging players for coaches, so it would indeed be difficult for the Knicks to bring Thibodeau back to Madison Square Garden.
Odds & Ends: Rivers, Amnesty, Guards, Draft
A day before he returns to Boston as the head coach of the Clippers, Doc Rivers conceded on Boston radio that he essentially walked out on a Celtics team destined for a rebuild, writes Matt Moore of CBS Sports. It must be a strange couple days for the remaining Celtics, who play in Brooklyn tonight against Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce before returning home to host their former head coach and his new team on Wednesday night.
Doc’s emotional return should dominate the NBA headlines tomorrow. Let’s take a look at some odds and ends from around the league tonight:
- Of the 10 eligible names left, only Carlos Boozer and Kendrick Perkins remain as realistic candidates for the amnesty clause after the Kings jettisoned John Salmons in the Rudy Gay trade, writes ESPN’s Marc Stein, who adds that even the Bulls and Thunder are “conflicted” as to whether or not they’d use the clause on Boozer or Perkins.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for the Score, details guards that are currently unsigned or have flexible contracts who could be in-season additions to NBA teams.
- In an Insiders-only piece, ESPN’s Chad Ford and Jay Bilas discuss a number of hot-button issues surrounding the much-hyped 2014 NBA Draft, including the No. 1 selection, sleepers, Kansas’ Joel Embiid and the freshman class of Kentucky.
- Speaking of Embiid, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman evaluates the recent play of the raw-but-talented freshman in another Insiders-only story. According to Goodman — and Ford and Bilas, for that matter — Embiid may be considered for the No. 1 overall selection in June.
Cavs Owner Wants To Keep Dion Waiters
Dion Waiters has emerged as a trade candidate within the past couple of weeks, as a report late last month suggested the Cavs were shopping last year’s No. 4 overall pick while the team insisted it was merely fielding calls for him. Still, there appears to be little motivation at the highest level of the organization to trade Waiters. Owner Dan Gilbert is fond of the shooting guard and wants to keep him, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
Broussard also notes that the relationship between Waiters and backcourt mate Kyrie Irving is improving. The ESPN scribe reported last month that rumors of a fight between Irving and Waiters were false, though Waiters and Tristan Thompson apparently engaged in a heated argument during a recent team meeting.
The Bulls, Knicks and Sixers have been among the teams rumored to be in the mix for Waiters, who turns 22 on Tuesday. Rival executives have expressed disbelief that the Cavs would give up on Waiters so soon, though the majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted believe Cleveland should trade him away.
Odds & Ends: Bulls, Hayward, Sanders
With league action on the court beginning for the evening, some action around the league occurring off the court.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com doesn’t think the Bulls will apply for the Disabled Player Exception worth 50% of Derrick Rose‘s salary. With the Bulls already in luxury tax territory, adding a player under this exception would still cost Chicago double what they pay that player and no available player is worth that money to the Bulls.
- With the departure of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap this past offseason, the Jazz have turned to Gordon Hayward as their “go-to-guy”. The Jazz use Hayward 25% of the time he is on the court and have increased his playing time by 10.5 MPG more this season than his career average of 26.4 MPG. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today discusses whether this increase in playing time could hurt the Jazz since they were unable to reach a contract extension before this season allowing Hayward to become a restricted free agent next season.
- Following a breakout season last year, Larry Sanders earned himself a contract extension with the Bucks this offseason. Wondering if that contract extension will pay off, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times asked (via Twitter) an NBA exec the trade value of Sanders, who has only played three games this season due to thumb surgery. Combining the surgery with his new contract, the exec speculates few, if any, teams would want him at the moment.
Odds & Ends: Bryant, Rose, Crawford, Hawes
Kobe Bryant took to Facebook to announce he will make his long awaited season debut this Sunday, rejoining the Lakers to face the Raptors in Los Angeles. Bryant has been sidelined since last April but that didn’t stop him from signing a controversial $48.5MM extension late in November. Here are a couple more tidbits from Friday afternoon:
- Recently injured Bulls superstar Derrick Rose has yet to decide whether or not he will play for Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. “I haven’t really thought about it,” Rose said. “That would be a good idea, but if I’m not ready, there’s no need.” The Bulls have said they would support him playing in the FIBA World Cup if it aided in his rehabilitation process. K.C. Johnson from the Chicago Tribune has the details.
- Trading Jordan Crawford represents an alternative to dealing away Rajon Rondo if the Celtics are adamant about deflating this season’s record and pursuing a high draft pick, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examines in an Insider piece.
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News figures Spencer Hawes will see $8MM in annual salary on his next contract if he maintains his performance from the first month of the season.
- Kenny Kadji has inked a deal to play in Germany with the New Yorker Phantoms, notes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Kadji went undrafted out of the University of Miami and failed to make the Cavaliers‘ opening day roster out of training camp.
- Dale Kasler from the Sacramento Bee has the latest on the Kings’ project for a new arena. City officials will vote on whether or not to suspend bid requirements for the arena, saying competitive-bid procedures will impede the current construction schedule. Kasler points out that if the construction falls behind more than one year, the NBA reserves the right to relocate the Kings from Sacramento.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Trade Candidate: Luol Deng
Luol Deng looks like a polarizing force in Chicago, where coach Tom Thibodeau is reportedly much more enamored with the 10th-year small forward than the front office is. Deng apparently remains somewhat bitter over the failure of extension talks this past offseason, and acknowledges that the likelihood he’ll be traded increased when Derrick Rose suffered his latest season-ending injury.
Deng, at 28, is averaging career highs in points and assists, and is close to his career-best mark in rebounds per game. A player who is experiencing such success in the prime of his career doesn’t usually find himself on the trade block. That’s nonetheless the situation he appears to be in, with the latest rumor connecting him to the Cavaliers in talks for Dion Waiters. Deng has never played with any other franchise and says he wants that to continue to be the case until he retires, but Deng’s agent, Herb Rudoy, insists his client will test free agency in the summer. Rival executives have estimated Deng’s market value to be anywhere between $11MM and $14MM, and if he continues his strong play this season, he could wind up on the high side of that range. That could have the cost-conscious Bulls scrambling to find some kind of return for him by the trade deadline instead of watching him depart for nothing in the summer.
The Bulls front office is reportedly enamored with Jimmy Butler, and there’s plenty to like. He’s shown ability on both sides of the ball and is averaging 4.8 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per game, not shabby for a 6’7″ shooting guard. Best of all, he’s on a bargain rookie deal this season and next, though Chicago will have to decide on an extension this coming offseason. It’s easy to see how the Bulls could let Deng walk and insert Butler as their starting small forward, making do with a cheap replacement at shooting guard as they’ve done in the recent past with Keith Bogans and Richard Hamilton. Still, deleting a long-tenured Thibodeau favorite who’s made the last two All-Star Games isn’t a move most championship contenders would make.
Bulls management is privately expressing intent to re-sign Deng this summer, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, but that may be easier said than done. The Bulls have about $64.1MM committed for 2014/15, not including salaries for their own 2014 first-round pick and the first-rounder that could come their way via the Bobcats. That plus a potential Nikola Mirotic signing could add about $4MM to their commitments. Take away $16.8MM with an amnesty of Carlos Boozer‘s contract, and the Bulls are left with $51.3MM, leaving plenty of room under the projected $75.7MM tax threshold for a new Deng contract. The thornier problem is 2015/16, when the Bulls would have roughly the same amount of existing commitments. That would be the first year of a new, potentially lucrative contract for Butler, demonstrating the possible either-or choice the Bulls face.
Chicago just paid its first luxury tax bill in 2012/13, and I’d be surprised if the team made it a habit. That will probably motivate GM Gar Forman and company to get what they can for Deng at the deadline. The Bulls are reportedly looking for a steal, prioritizing a young player and draft picks, if they trade Deng to an Eastern Conference team. Waiters is a depressed asset who hasn’t lived up to the promise the Cavs saw in him when they drafted him fourth overall last year. Cleveland would have throw more into that deal to make the salaries match, but there could be a workable trade there, at least from Chicago’s standpoint. Waiters would represent the sort of cheap shooting guard option the Bulls have had success with in the past, but unlike Bogans and Hamilton, he’d have upside. I’m not sure if he’d qualify as a steal, at least at this point, but he is a young player who might turn into one.
Of course, if Rose comes back from injury for the playoffs, that could change Chicago’s equation, putting the team back in the title hunt. Perhaps the Bulls would trade with Indiana for Danny Granger, a deal that could give the Bulls a potentially useful veteran player who could help them this season and might be willing to re-sign on the cheap this summer. That’s just my speculation, of course. But financial constraints require creativity, and a that’s what will be required of the Bulls to pull off the right sort of Deng trade.
Eastern Links: Rose, Sanders, Anderson
Derrick Rose was asked to comment on the idea that the Bulls should look to move on without him after his latest injury, and he had this to say: “What do you mean?…You can be a fool if you want to…I know I’m going to be alright…I know I am (going to be the same player). A better player…If anything, this should even me out. When I think about it, the injury, I just turned and this happened, kind of like a freak accident. I put all I had into coming back and if this was to happen 10 more times I’d be able to deal with it” (Sam Smith of Bulls.com).
Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Earlier today, we made note that Rose wouldn’t rule out a return to the court if he managed to get healthy in time for the postseason. On the other hand, head coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t seem willing to entertain the thought of looking that far ahead: “To me, he’s out for the season…If something changes along the way…We want him to be completely healthy before he moves forward…We can’t worry about whether he may come back. Right now, it’s been determined that he’s out for the season, so that’s the way we’re going to approach it” (Sean Highkin of USA Today).
- In responding to one of his Twitter followers, Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld said that the notion of dealing Larry Sanders for a lottery pick next year would not even be a consideration (Twitter link).
- Keith Pompey of Philly.com talks about how James Anderson has excelled in his reserve role as of late after beginning the season as a starter for the 76ers.
- We’ve relayed quite a bit from the Knicks and Nets this evening, and five ESPN writers decided to chime in on why both teams have been playing poorly, who has the hotter seat between Mike Woodson and Jason Kidd, which team will be worse in April, and which has a rougher future ahead.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry voiced his support for Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, telling FOX Sports Ohio’s Sam Amico: “(Brown’s) a relentless worker and a quality, high character person. He is a good teacher and holds players accountable. His will and passion for defense will always give any team a strong chance to be successful. This will have such a strong impact for a team establishing a foundation for years to come.”
- There may have been a chorus of boos for Kidd tonight at the Barclays Center during the pre-game introductions, but the Nets coach gets a vote of confidence from his former teammate J.R. Smith: “Criticism is going to come…He’s a first-year coach and he’s a great basketball mind. Just unfortunately, he’s going through it early. Some coaches have success early, some struggle early. He just happens to be struggling right now…I think he’s the best fit for that job and he knows how to get out of it. He’s got a great core of vets, so he’ll be fine” (Roderick Boone of Newsday).
- The Celtics sit atop the Atlantic Division, but the team isn’t letting their early success get to their head and remains focused on continuing to work hard (Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com).
Derrick Rose Won’t Rule Out Return For Playoffs
This afternoon, Derrick Rose sat down and addressed the media for the first time since undergoing surgery on his right knee. The Bulls’ star guard, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season, says that he could potentially return for the postseason, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com (on Twitter). Rose says that if he’s “healthy and the situation is right” he would come back and play in the playoffs, but if he doesn’t feel ready, he won’t.
Last season, Rose took a good deal of criticism from people around basketball after he opted to sit out of the playoffs despite having his left knee cleared by doctors. This time around, Rose says that he’s confident the rehab will be quicker (Friedell tweets).
Bulls fans are concerned about much more than the 2013/14 season, however. With mounting speculation that the team could look to rebuild or go in another direction, Rose fired back at naysayers, warning that “you can be a fool if you want to, I know I’m going to be all right,” (link). Some have wondered if the Bulls might be willing to move Luol Deng, a pending free agent, for the right package between now and the All-Star break.
One thing is for sure though, Rose is still insistent that he won’t recruit other players to come to Chicago (Twitter link). It’s a curious stance for the former MVP to take considering what other superstars have accomplished by working the phones in the summer months.