Bulls Interested In Re-Signing Nazr Mohammed
Nazr Mohammed has played well in limited minutes during the first three games of the Bulls' first-round series against the Nets, and that appears to have GM Gar Forman hoping the 35-year-old big man will be back with the team next season. Forman told Mohammed on Friday that he should "buy, not rent," as Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune writes. Mohammed, a Chicago native, seemed pleased to hear it, saying he'd love to end his career in the city where he grew up.
Mohammed has averaged 13.3 minutes per game in the playoffs this year, giving the ailing Joakim Noah some rest, and has made six of his nine shots from the floor. That's in contrast to a regular season when Mohammed shot just 36.7% in 11 MPG, his worst field goal percentage since his rookie season. Still, his per-game plus-minus was just -0.2, meaning the Bulls were at least able to tread water while he was on the floor, a decent result for a minimum-salary signee. Despite his age and relatively short 6'10" stature, as centers go, he averaged 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes, better than his career rate of 1.4.
The Bulls probably don't envision bringing Mohammed back on anything more than another minimum-salary contract, especially since he seems motivated to stay in his hometown. If they do give him a raise, they could use his Non-Bird rights to extend him a contract worth up to 120% of his salary this season, which would mean an offer of $1,622,617.
Odds & Ends: NBPA, James, Datome, Love
- Knicks guard Jason Kidd credits Kenyon Martin for "saving our season," writes Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York. It is difficult to imagine where New York would have been without Martin's contributions, especially as the team has dealt with plenty of injuries in their frontcourt.
- Eric Koreen of the National Post outlines the top ten legacies that are on the line during the NBA playoffs.
- Jon Humbert of KOMO tweets that the Longshore Union filed an appeal over the land use challenge for the Seattle arena. Last month, a report from The Seattle Times (via the Associated press) said that the Longshoremen have been in staunch opposition of an arena being built near the Seattle waterfront, due to the congestion of the area that would be caused by athletic events.
- Mike James proved to be a viable pickup for the Mavericks this season, averaging 8.1 PPG and 4.2 APG while helping the team finish 15-8 over their final 23 games. Although James said recently that he'd like to play two more seasons with the Mavs, Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas discusses why the Amityville product doesn't figure to be in the team's long-term plans.
- Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is expected to travel to Rome next week to scout Gigi Datome, according to Sportando.net (hat tip to Il Corriere dello Sport).
- Following up on a hypothetical trade proposed by Grantland's Bill
Simmons, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com examines the possibility of
the Bulls trying to trade for Kevin Love, exploring whether a package of
Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, the rights to Nikola Mirotic, and
Charlotte's first-round pick would be more than Chicago would be willing
to give up. - Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld looks at the evolution of Paul George into an All-Star and a leader in the Pacers locker room.
Kyler’s Latest: Korver, Bulls, Allen, Bucks
In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld on Monday, Steve Kyler explored the upcoming free agencies for a number of point guards on playoff teams. Today, Kyler turns his attention to the shooting guards in the postseason who could be hitting the free agent market this summer. Let's round up the notable tidbits from his piece….
- The Hawks could have interest in retaining Kyle Korver, but he also won't be the team's top priority, so Korver could accept a multiyear offer from a rival suitor before Atlanta is ready to finalize anything with him. I touched on this when I examined Korver's free agent stock last month.
- Marco Belinelli may not be back in Chicago next season, since the Bulls will be looking to upgrade the two-guard spot, according to Kyler.
- Tony Allen has good relationships with Zach Randolph and Lionel Hollins, which could be a factor if he's deciding whether or not to re-sign with the Grizzlies. However, he'd want to know whether Randolph or Hollins are part of the front office's long-term plan in Memphis, says Kyler.
- Kyler suggests that Lance Stephenson and Willie Green, who have non-guaranteed contracts with the Pacers and Clippers respectively, could make for interesting trade chips if their teams decided to pair them with another asset.
- One of the Bucks' reasons for acquiring J.J. Redick at the trade deadline was to give the team insurance in free agency, so that the team can still retain two starting guards if one of Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, or Redick receives an offer Milwaukee doesn't want to match.
Central Links: George, Pacers, Bulls, Bucks
As the Cavs work toward officially re-hiring Mike Brown as their new head coach, here are a few more Tuesday updates out of the Central Division:
- Paul George was named the NBA's Most Improved Player of 2012/13 earlier today, and Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star tweets that a contract extension could be next for the 22-year-old. George will be entering the final year of his rookie deal this summer, making him extension-eligible, and Pacers owner Herb Simon "will be paying up," according to Wells.
- David Morway, the former Pacers GM who played a crucial role in Indiana's rebuilding process, talked to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld about the process of rebuilding an NBA franchise, suggesting that there isn't necessarily one specific way to approach the task.
- As Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in his latest column, two key contributors to the Bulls' Game Two win in Brooklyn last night, Tom Thibodeau and Nazr Mohammed, had been pursued by the Nets in the past.
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn't expect the draft, free agency, or a new coach to make a huge impact for the Bucks, and wonders if a new ownership group would provide the sort of shake-up the franchise needs.
Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Knicks, Spurs, McGrady
Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Eric Bledsoe is showing that he's going to be a big money player at some point, even if he doesn't get that payday from the Clippers, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Chris Paul echoed similar sentiments earlier today.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson knows first-hand how tough Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd can be in the playoffs thanks to his time as an assistant coach for the Pistons, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday (on Sulia). “Both of them are still relentless and savvy,” Woodson said. “I go back to that 2004 Detroit team when they had our backs against the wall [in the conference semifinals] big time…That to me was really our championship series."
- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni called Tracy McGrady a "wild card" but Gregg Popovich says that the veteran is "another body" and isn't sure how he'll integrate him into the rotation, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Sulia). The Spurs signed T-Mac shortly after cutting Stephen Jackson.
- Former Bulls veteran Keith Bogans is now an important part of the Nets' defense, writes Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.
Central Notes: Dumars, Frank, Bulls, Scott
As we wait to see if the Central's top two teams, the Pacers and Bulls, will meet in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, here's the latest out of the division:
- As Vince Ellis writes in a pair of pieces for the Detroit Free Press, Pistons owner Tom Gores didn't exactly give coach Lawrence Frank and GM Joe Dumars ringing endorsements, noting his disappointment that the team fell short of playoff contention this season. "I will say I expected better results," Gores said. "I met with Joe and Lawrence (on Sunday) and I let them know that. They’re great guys that know their business, but I’m here assessing everything. My job is to move this franchise forward."
- In Ellis' view, Frank appears to be on the way out in Detroit, but Dumars likely "isn't going anywhere." Gores did express excitement about the way Dumars and the Pistons' basketball operations had set the franchise up financially, with plenty of cap room available this summer.
- Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press argues that Dumars has earned at least one more year with the Pistons.
- In his latest mailbag for CSNChicago.com, Aggrey Sam addresses the future of Luol Deng in Chicago and speculates on whether or not Nate Robinson will be back with the Bulls next season.
- Kyrie Irving told reporters last night, including Rick Noland of the Chronicle-Telegram, that he "absolutely" wants to see Byron Scott return as the Cavaliers' head coach in 2013/14.
Odds & Ends: Bullock, Blazers, Noah, Nowitzki
A few Monday odds and ends from around the Association:
- North Carolina junior Reggie Bullock is "leaning strongly" toward going pro, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Bullock, who is ranked 35th on Jonathan Givony's big board at DraftExpress.com, is expected to finalize his decision today, according to Wojnarowski.
- The Nuggets team that beat the Trail Blazers in Denver last night may serve as a blueprint for the Blazers' rebuilding process, writes Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.
- Bulls big man Joakim Noah will be represented by Bill Duffy and BDA Management going forward, the agency announced today on its website. As our agency database shows, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, and Goran Dragic are among BDA's other NBA clients.
- In other agency news, Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal reports that Jay-Z Roc Nation Sports won't work with any other agencies besides CAA. Roc Nation will hire established agents for multiple sports and will have its own employees, including Jay-Z, certified, Mullen adds (Twitter links).
- Dirk Nowitzki scored the 25,000th point of his NBA career last night, and intends to "be around" long enough to make a run at 30,000, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
- Although it seems as if Doug Collins will coach his last games for the Sixers this week, many of his players would like to see him back next season, as Lang Greene of HoopsWorld details.
Thunder, Bulls, Hawks May Pursue Nolan Smith
The Trail Blazers aren't going to re-sign Nolan Smith, but sources close to the combo guard tell Joe Freeman of The Oregonian that the Bulls, Hawks and Thunder lead a pack of teams that are likely have interest this summer. The Blazers drafted Smith with the 21st overall pick in the 2011 draft, but after his rookie season, they declined the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him an unrestricted free agent at season's end.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks is Smith's godfather, Freeman points out, and Brooks has expressed confidence in Smith's ability to make it as an NBA player, despite the former Duke standout's inability to consistently become a part of Portland's rotation. Still, Oklahoma City seems well-stocked with backup guards, as they have Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb on guaranteed contracts for next season, along with DeAndre Liggins on a non-guaranteed deal. The Thunder will need to either re-sign or replace Kevin Martin, but Smith probably isn't someone they'd want to fill Martin's sixth-man role.
The Bulls and Hawks will probably have more room for Smith, who could have trouble commanding a salary much higher than the minimum. He's averaged just 3.3 points in 9.9 minutes per game for his career, numbers that have dipped to 2.8 PPG and 7.2 MPG this year. A team may be willing to use a portion of its mid-level exception on him, given his potential as a former first-round draft pick and first-team All-American in college, but he can't expect too much of a raise on the $1.366MM he's earning this season.
Bulls Won’t Sign Nikola Mirotic Until 2014
There's "no possibility" the Bulls will sign 2011 first-round draft pick Nikola Mirotic this summer, GM Gar Forman said today on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 radio. ESPNChicago.com rounds up Forman's comments about Mirotic, who's currently playing in Spain for Real Madrid. Forman said the Bulls will wait until the summer of 2014 because the rookie-scale amount the team would be limited to offering this summer wouldn't match what he's making overseas.
Mirotic was the 23rd overall pick in 2011, so if he signed this summer, he could get a first-year salary of up to 120% of the $1,038,900 rookie-scale amount for this year's 23rd pick. That would come to $1,246,680. But, if the Bulls wait until next summer, three years after they drafted him, the collective barganing agreement would allow them to ignore the rookie-scale amounts and use whatever cap space or exceptions they have at their disposal.
The Bulls see the 6'10" Mirotic as a power forward in the NBA, and Forman called the 22-year-old's ceiling "incredible." Mirotic has won the Euroleague's Rising Star Award two times, and Forman said he's about to win the honor again.
"He shoots it from 3, can handle it, good mobility," Forman said. "And he's a tough, tough kid."
The Grizzlies faced off against Real Madrid in the preseason, and after the game, Zach Randolph said Mirotic reminded him of Dirk Nowitzki and, to a lesser degree, Danilo Gallinari.
Eastern Notes: Young, Lowry, Bulls, Heat
With just a handful of games left in the 2012/13 regular season, only one postseason club in either conference is locked into its playoff seed — the East's top team, the Heat, remain a comfortable 10 games up on the second-place Knicks, despite the fact that New York has won 13 consecutive contests. The Bucks aren't locked into that No. 8 seed in the East yet, but they'll likely end up there, meaning last night's game in Miami, in which the Heat beat Milwaukee 94-83, figures to be a playoff preview.
Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:
- When he hits free agency this summer, a long-term contract will be a priority for current Sixers guard Nick Young, as he tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
- Kyle Lowry called his first year with the Raptors frustrating and disappointing, but believes the team has the talent to bounce back next season, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. As Smith notes, Lowry's contract for 2013/14 is mostly non-guaranteed, but after giving up a likely lottery pick for Lowry and trading Jose Calderon, the Raptors are a mortal lock to bring back the former Rocket next season.
- Given Jimmy Butler's emergence, the Bulls should "think long and hard" this offseason about whether to consider shopping Luol Deng, says Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com.
- Earlier this week, Heat president Pat Riley suggested that he wants to keep Miami's Big Three intact for years to come and "have one of those 10-year rides." Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores Riley's comments in his latest mailbag.
- Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, who may be on the hot seat this summer, expressed some annoyance to Terry Foster of the Detroit News about the way many of his coaching colleagues are criticized.