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Knicks Notes: Jackson, Anthony, Noah, Rose

November 16th, 2016 at 1:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks president Phil Jackson took to social media in an attempt to diffuse the reaction to his controversial comments regarding LeBron James, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Jackson has taken criticism for referring to James’ entourage as a “posse,” drawing reactions not only from James, but also from Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. Jackson re-tweeted a post from team advisor, Clarence Gaines, an African-American, who was promoting the “Posse Foundation,” which was set up to help black students succeed. Jackson refused to discuss the situation with reporters on Tuesday.

There’s more today out of New York:

Jackson’s statements were part of a continued effort to take the focus off the job he has done with the Knicks, contends Mike Vacarro of The New York Post. The writer called Jackson “petty” for focusing on James and Heat president Pat Riley in recent public comments and blasted Jackson for not talking to New York media since September 22nd.
Joakim Noah, one of the team’s prize offseason additions, will continue to start, but may not play much during fourth quarters, Berman writes in a separate piece. The Knicks have been more successful lately with coach Jeff Hornacek’s “small-ball” lineup that has Kristaps Porzingis playing center. Hornacek said Noah, who hasn’t scored in three games and is averaging just 4.3 points per contest, needs to become more “aggressive” on offense. “We don’t mind him taking the little mid-range shot, keeping teams honest if they’re going to stay back,’’ Hornacek said. “We want him to continue rolling to the basket, get low in the dunk area if guys penetrate and a big helps, he gets the dump and can just dunk it. If he stays outside, that’s what another team wants. We want for him to be more aggressive when he does get the ball around the basket.’’
Derrick Rose is seeking $70K in court costs related to his civil trial that concluded last month, according to ESPN. A woman’s $21.5MM suit alleging rape was rejected by a jury, and the law permits winners of civil trials to ask the court to have some of their costs covered by the losers.

LeBron James: I “Had” Respect For Phil Jackson

November 15th, 2016 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

When we passed along some of the highlights from Phil Jackson‘s interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan on Monday, we didn’t include a comment from the Knicks president on LeBron James. Jackson suggested that the reigning NBA Finals MVP “likes special treatment” and “needs things his way” when he discussed LeBron’s 2014 departure from Miami.

“There were a lot of little things that came out of that,” Jackson said. “When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland, and he wanted to spend the night. They don’t do overnights. Teams just don’t. So now [head coach Erik] Spoelstra has to text [president Pat] Riley and say, ‘What do I do in this situation?’ And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers, ‘You are on the plane. You are with this team.’ You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.”

As Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets, James addressed those comments today, telling reporters that he “had nothing but respect” for Jackson as a coach. Asked to clarify his use of the past tense, LeBron confirmed that he no longer has that same level of respect for the Knicks president. The Cavs star also took exception with Jackson’s use of the word “posse” to describe James’ camp.

“To use that label, and if you go and read the definition of what the word ‘posse’ is, it’s not what I’ve built over my career,” James said, per Jordan Heck of The Sporting News (Twitter link). “It’s not what I stand for. It’s not what my family stands for. And I believe the only reason he used that word is because it’s young African-Americans trying to make a difference.”

Maverick Carter, one of LeBron’s business partners, also took exception to Jackson’s comments, according to McMenamin: “It’s the word ‘posse’ and the characterization I take offense to. If he would have said LeBron and his agent, LeBron and his business partners, or LeBron and his friends, that’s one thing. Yet because you’re young and black, he can use that word. We’re grown men.”

While a conflict with a rival player won’t necessarily have any short-term negative impact on Jackson and the Knicks, it’s not a great look for a team executive who will be trying to recruit players in free agency in the summer. It’s also worth noting that Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is close friends with James, and probably wouldn’t be thrilled to be caught between the two.

Fewer Fourth Quarter Minutes For Thompson

November 12th, 2016 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Boban Marjanovic didn’t play at all in his return to San Antonio Friday, which has been a familiar story in his time with the Pistons, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The 7’3″ Serbian came to Detroit this summer when the Spurs elected not to match a three-year, $21MM offer sheet. He has gotten off the bench in just four of the team’s first nine games and is averaging 4.5 minutes in those. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said the team wants to see Marjanovic become more aggressive offensively. “In the preseason, he fit well. He’s a very good offensive player and highly skilled,” Van Gundy said. “He’s unselfish, almost to a fault. There’s times he could use his size and be dominant down there offensively, but he really likes to pass the ball — which promotes good team play — but at the same time, we want him to use his offensive skills.”

There’s more tonight from the Central Division:

Van Gundy is closely monitoring the progress of rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije, who were sent to the D-League during the Pistons’ western road trip, Beard notes in the same story. The organization wanted them both to get expanded playing time, at least 30 minutes per night, during their time in Grand Rapids. Ellenson was told to focus on his defensive development. “He knows [defense] is his ticket to getting on the floor [with the Pistons],” Van Gundy said. “He’s very confident, as we are, in his offensive skills.”
Tyronn Lue‘s lineup juggling is resulting in fewer fourth quarter minutes for Tristan Thompson, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Lue still recognizes Thompson’s value as a defender, but he wants to have more shooting on the floor at the end of games, so Kevin Love has been playing center alongside Channing Frye.
The Pacers’ 4-6 start may be a result of all the roster changers over the offseason, according to Jordan J. Wilson of The Indianapolis Star. Indiana traded for two new starters in Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young and added Al Jefferson, Aaron Brooks and Kevin Seraphin as free agents. The team also hired a new coach in Nate McMillan. “We’re trying to figure out how to play with one another,” Paul George said. “We’ve got guys who don’t want to step on guys’ toes. It might call for that at this point. We need guys to step up and be confident.”

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.

J.R. Smith Wants To Remain In Cleveland For Remainder Of Career

November 8th, 2016 at 9:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

J.R. Smith, who signed a four-year deal with the Cavaliers this offseason, wants to remain in Cleveland for the rest of his NBA career and beyond, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. “It makes no sense to go anywhere else,” Smith said. “To get treated the way we get treated here from the people, from the police, from everybody. There’s nothing but love here. I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.”

Jonathan Holmes To Play Overseas

November 4th, 2016 at 5:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Forward Jonathan Holmes is headed overseas, having agreed to a contract with FC Barcelona, the team announced (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The dollar amount of the arrangement is unknown, but the pact is for two months with an option for the remainder of the season, per the release.

Holmes spent the preseason with the Cavaliers, appearing in six contests and averaging 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 17.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .489/.333/1.000. The forward was waived by Cleveland on October 20th and was seemingly ticked for the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League after Cleveland named him as one of its affiliate players.

The 23-year-old, who played his college ball at Texas, went undrafted in 2015 after his final season with the Longhorns. He joined the Lakers for training camp, and suffered a dislocated right shoulder before the season began. While the injury sidelined him for the next several months, it did ensure that he earned his full salary for the 2015/16 from Los Angeles. Holmes’ minimum salary deal with the Cavs this season was non-guaranteed, so he’s not collecting any salary after being cut by the team.

NBA D-League Affiliate Players For 2016/17

November 3rd, 2016 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.

The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.

There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.

With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:

Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)

Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Jonathan Holmes
Eric Moreland

Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Undefeated Teams

November 2nd, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2016/17 NBA season is now eight days old, and already 25 teams have suffered at least one loss, leaving just five undefeated teams. The Thunder, Clippers, Bulls, and Hawks are 3-0, while the Cavaliers are 4-0.

Of those five clubs, the Cavaliers and Clippers were expected to be title contenders this year, so their hot starts don’t come as a real surprise. However, the other three remaining undefeated franchises had more question marks entering the season. The Thunder and Hawks lost top free agents this summer, in Kevin Durant and Al Horford, and the Bulls’ roster construction led many observers to question whether they’d have enough shooting and spacing to be effective on offense.

While three or four games is hardly enough of a sample size to draw definitive conclusions about any NBA team, it’s worth keeping an eye out for early signs of potential surprises. So today’s Community Shootaround discussion questions center around these five clubs.

Which of the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams do you think will continue to rank among the league’s elite? Are the Cavs and Clippers still the only safe bets among the group, or do the Thunder, Hawks, and Bulls have a good chance to keep up their hot starts and outperform expectations? Are any of these clubs mediocre squads that have been helped in the early going by soft schedules?

Weigh in below in our comments section with your thoughts on which of the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams are for real, and which ones you expect to come back down to earth soon.

Potential Point Guard Targets

November 1st, 2016 at 7:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net runs down some free agents to keep an eye on in case the Cavaliers decide they need more depth at point guard behind Kyrie Irving.

J.R. Smith Rounding Into Form After Contract Standoff

October 31st, 2016 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

Due to a contract stand-off between J.R. Smith and the Cavaliers, the veteran shooting guard missed most of the training camp and preseason. As Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal observes, it has taken some time for Smith to get his legs under him, but he’s starting to round into form.