Eastern Rumors: Cavs, Kidd, Johnson
GM David Griffin turned the Cavs into a potential championship contender with his in-season moves and unwavering support of first-year coach David Blatt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today opines. Cleveland needed those improvements to be a true contender, Zillgitt continues, and his acquisitions of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov made the desired impact. Griffin also diffused a potentially divisive issue with his public support of Blatt while the team was struggling, Zillgitt adds. Cleveland’s turnaround this season has made Griffin a prime candidate for the league’s Executive of the Year award.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Jason Kidd deserves Coach of the Year consideration after guiding the Bucks to the playoffs one season after they won 15 games, Matt Walks of ESPN.com writes. Kidd had to deal with the season-ending injury losses of Jabari Parker and Kendall Marshall as well as Larry Sanders‘ mental health issues that led him into retirement. Kidd also changed point guards from Brandon Knight to Michael Carter-Williams at the trade deadline, yet the club ranks second in defensive efficiency, Walks points out. The Bucks have a strong young core, provided they retains restricted free agent Khris Middleton, and has the draft choices to add more pieces, Walks concludes.
- Tyler Johnson‘s story offers hope for prospects with seemingly little chance to be drafted, as he went from undrafted to a prominent role in the Heat’s playoff push within a single year, as Shams Charania of RealGM examines. Johnson, who’s averaging 18.4 minutes in 30 appearances, has a non-guaranteed salary for next season that becomes 50% guaranteed if he remains under contract through August 1st.
- The Cavs assigned Joe Harris to their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, the team announced on Monday. The guard has played in 50 games for the Cavs this season, averaging 2.7 points in 9.5 minutes per game. Harris was available to play for the Charge in their postseason game on Monday against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Central Notes: Butler, Monroe, Wiggins
Caron Butler, whose salary ($4.5MM) for the next season is non-guaranteed, would like to remain with the Pistons next season, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Butler adds that if he is released, he would only consider signing with true contenders.
“I’m in a good situation,” Butler said. “So it’s a great opportunity to come back and continue the thing on. Or, if not, obviously the best thing for me is to contend. It’s either one or the other. But I won’t be looking for another situation to start over with some guys and stuff like that again. It’s either do this or contend for it all.”
While President of Basketball Operations and coach Stan Van Gundy has praised Butler for adjusting to his role on the Pistons, he was non-committal about whether the the team will bring back the 35-year-old next season. “A lot of things will determine that, where we think we’re going to be salary structure-wise and everything else,” Van Gundy said. The Pistons only have slightly more than $27.8MM in guaranteed salary on the book for the 2015/16 season, as our Salary Commitment page indicates.
Here’s more from Detroit
- President of Basketball Operations and coach Stan Van Gundy reiterated that he and Greg Monroe have stayed away from business discussions during the season, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “Greg and I have not spent any time talking about that,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t think it would be appropriate, number one, to be focusing on anything beyond the rest of the season until the season’s over.”
- Monroe was slightly surprised he wasn’t able to sign an extension under Detroit’s old regime, Mayo writes in the same piece. “I thought I did enough and conducted myself in a way to at least get an offer. As people always say, it’s one thing if the player says no. But if I was never even offered anything, that says more to me than any explanation. I don’t really need an explanation once you get to that point where there wasn’t even an option for me,” Monroe said.
- Andrew Wiggins appears to be the front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award and Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer reviews his season as well as the seasons for some of the players whom the Cavs have traded away this year.
Executive Of The Year Candidate: David Griffin
The Cavs’ season got off to a rocky start, but the team rounded into form and looks like the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The success this season is a far cry from the team’s results last year. The Cavs still have three games remaining this season, but with a record of 51-28, they already improved their win total by 18 games over last season’s and locked up the second seed in the conference. LeBron James returning to Cleveland was a huge factor in this year’s success, but that shouldn’t exclude GM David Griffin from winning the Executive of the Year award. Pat Riley was the co-winner of the award in 2011 after he successful recruited James in free agency, so there is some precedent involving James. Still, Griffin’s candidacy goes beyond The Decision 2.0.
Griffin was named the acting general manager of the Cavs in the middle of the 2013/14 season. His first trade brought Spencer Hawes to Cleveland in exchange for Earl Clark, Henry Sims and a pair of second round draft picks. Ownership clearly wanted to make the playoffs that season. While the move didn’t bring the Cavs closer to that goal, Griffin was able to follow the ownership’s directives without sacrificing crucial assets that would hinder the team’s ability to make moves in the future.
Leading up to James’ decision, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported that he would insist upon a maximum salary contract. In order for the Cavs to have the means necessary to make the offer to James, they needed to unload salary. Griffin traded Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev to the Nets and Tyler Zeller to the Celtics in a three-way deal. Getting out of Jack’s contract was crucial to Cleveland’s long-term plan regardless of whether James ended up signing with the team or not. The move did carry an additional cost as the team had to send a first-round pick to Boston in the deal. However, given Cleveland’s likelihood of finishing with a strong record again next season, it is unlikely to be that valuable of an asset.
The day after the trade became official, James announced that he was signing with Cleveland. The news would dramatically shift the team’s objectives from hoping to become playoff-bound to winning the franchise’s first championship. That goal seemed to be in jeopardy during the early part of the season. The Cavs were struggling and James missed a stretch of eight games due to neck and back injuries. During that stretch, Griffin made two trades that turned the Cavs’ season around.
The Cavs shipped Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City in a three-way deal that netted the team J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and a future first-rounder from the Thunder. Griffin sent the Oklahoma City pick, along with Memphis’ first-rounder, which the team acquired in the 2013 Marreese Speights trade, to Denver for Timofey Mozgov and a second-round pick. Mozgov helped solidify the team’s defense and Smith and Shumpert gave it the depth necessary to compete with the league’s contenders. The Cavs have gone 32-9, which includes a 12-game win streak, since James returned to play alongside his new teammates.
The wildcard in Griffin’s case for the Executive of the Year award is the Kevin Love trade. The Cavs surrendered Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a future first-round pick to acquire the UCLA product. Wiggins looks like a future star for the Wolves, while Love still doesn’t look completely integrated into Cleveland’s game plan. Love previously expressed his intention to opt in and stay in Cleveland during the 2015/16 season. However, there has been speculation that he will depart Cleveland in the offseason and over half of Hoops Rumors writers who voted in a recent poll believe he will leave town after the season. If executives around the league, who vote for the Executive of the Year award winner from among their ranks, believe that Love will leave in the offseason and Griffin gave up a potential star for a one-year rental, it will no doubt hurt his chances to take home the award.
The race for this year’s Executive of the Year award is unique in that the would-be front-runner for the award is ineligible for the honor. Because of his racially charged comments about Luol Deng, Danny Ferry, whose candidacy I previously examined, has not been nominated by the Hawks. Instead, Mike Budenholzer will be on the ballot for Atlanta, and a league source told Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors that some GMs have spoken about abstaining from the vote because they won’t have the chance to vote for Ferry.
Regardless, some executive will win the award, and with perhaps the strongest candidate out of the running, and the potential that votes that would have gone to Ferry will simply not be cast, the door is open for another candidate to seize the award. Over the 14 months that he has held the GM position for the Cavs, Griffin has adapted to changing objectives, put together a team that has a good chance to win the Larry O’Brien trophy, and cemented himself in the conversation for the Executive of the Year award.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Rondo, Harris, Kaminsky
The career of Mavs point guard Rajon Rondo has included a number of clashes with coaches, and the question persists if Rondo is a good enough player to act out the way that he does, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes in his in-depth look at the player. Rondo is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and Dallas will have to make a difficult decision regarding whether or not to re-sign him, and if so, what the limit will be regarding his salary cap hit. In 43 games with the Mavs since being acquired from Boston, the 29-year-old has averaged 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Joe Harris has been recalled from the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced. The guard appeared in one playoff game for the Charge on his latest assignment, logging 24 points and 11 rebounds. Harris also played in nine regular season contests for Canton, averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 3.2 APG in 31.7 minutes per night.
- Virginia junior swingman Justin Anderson is leaning toward entering the NBA draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The 21-year-old is projected to be a late first round or early second round selection if he chooses to enter June’s draft. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com rates Anderson as the No. 33 overall prospect and Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) places him at No, 36 overall.
- Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky has hired Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports Management to be his agent, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Givony rates the big man as the No. 10 overall prospect and Ford‘s list has Kaminsky ranked 13th.
Latest On Cavs, Salah Mejri
11:35am: Real Madrid has a team option on Mejri for next season, though various Spanish media reports have suggested there’s a decent chance the team will turn down that option, according to Sierra. Mejri is pleased with the club, but he would rather leave if he won’t see playing time, Sierra writes. The Cavs first reached out to the big man’s representatives in December, and though a high-dollar buyout clause kept the talks from getting far at that time, Cleveland has remained in contact, Sierra hears.
9:47am: The Cavs are indeed interested in Real Madrid center Salah Mejri, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype tweets, confirming an earlier report from Chema de Lucas of Gigantes Del Basket. Mejri, his agent and Cavs director of pro player personnel Koby Altman dined together and Altman watched the 7’1″ native of Tunisia in action, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links).
Mejri went undrafted in 2008, so no NBA team holds his rights in any sort of draft-and-stash arrangement. He reportedly was to work out for the Mavericks in 2012, and he saw summer league action with the Jazz the same year. Mejri seemingly continued to draw NBA interest in 2013, but he remained zeroed in on Europe. A lack of playing time has helped keep his numbers low. His overseas production doesn’t paint a picture of an intriguing prospect, and while that’s often the case with European players drawing the eye of NBA teams, who focus instead on upside, Mejri is 28 and turns 29 in June. He’s put up 4.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in just 9.8 minutes per game.
Cleveland has a full 15-man roster, with each player signed through at least the end of the season, so presumably the apparent interest in Mejri is geared toward next season. The Cavs have only about $26MM in commitments for 2015/16, but that doesn’t include salary for four of their five starters, including LeBron James. There’s a strong chance Cleveland ends up above the tax apron, which would give the team only the $3.376MM taxpayer’s midlevel exception to spend above the minimum on outside free agents.
Eastern Rumors: Copeland, Jackson, Nets
Chris Copeland is intensive care in a New York hospital and will remain there for the next two or three days, a source tells ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitlonger link). The Pacers combo forward and soon-to-be free agent was the victim of a stabbing early Wednesday morning, and the attack left him with a punctured diaphragm, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He also suffered lacerations on his left hand, Anderson hears. Copeland didn’t engage in an argument or initiate any altercation, a source tells Buckner. While we hope for the best for Copeland, here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Knicks owner James Dolan expressed continued faith in team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills and again insisted that he wouldn’t meddle with the team as he spoke in an interview with Matthew Belloni of The Hollywood Reporter. “You got to believe, baby!” Dolan said, when asked if Jackson is still worth his $12MM annual salary. “I believe, I believe!”
- The Nets want Brook Lopez back, as owner Mikhail Prokhorov on Wednesday made clear to reporters, including Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Still, the owner acknowledged the primary choice rests with the center, who has a player option worth more than $16.744MM, as Bontemps relays. “We need him,” Prokhorov said. “I think the Brooklyn Nets, it’s his home.”
- Brooklyn would pay the repeater tax if they’re a taxpayer again next season, and the return of Lopez would make that a strong possibility. Still, Prohorov said he’d be willing to do so, Bontemps notes. Prokhorov also insists he never sought to sell a majority stake in the Nets and said that while he’s been approached by 10 people with interest in buying a minority share, there’s nothing on the table for now, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- The Cavs have some interest in Salah Mejri, a center playing for Spain’s Real Madrid, as Chema de Lucas of Gigantes Del Basket hears (translation via HoopsHype). The 28-year-old who went undrafted in 2008 is averaging 4.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.
Cavs, Raptors Eyeing Cory Joseph?
The Cavs and Raptors should be expected to “take long looks” at soon-to-be restricted free agent Cory Joseph, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. The Spurs can match offers for the Toronto native with a qualifying offer of nearly $3.035MM, though they already have a backup point guard on a long-term deal in Patty Mills, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe points out, and Tony Parker signed a three-year extension that kicks in next season. Still, Spurs coach/president Gregg Popovich expressed hesitancy today to take playing time from Joseph, complimenting the 23-year-old’s tenacity, notes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links).
It’s not the first time Joseph has impressed Popovich with his drive, though the Rich Paul client told McDonald a few months ago that he didn’t even ask his agent about a rookie scale extension when he was eligible this past offseason, figuring the team wouldn’t give him one. McDonald speculated when he wrote in January that it would be tough for San Antonio to afford Joseph this summer, considering his increase in minutes and production, though Joseph’s role has regressed since he filled in as a starter when both Parker and Mills were injured in December. The Spurs have Joseph’s Bird rights, though he’ll presumably be down the list of priorities with Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green and Marco Belinelli among the other Spurs set to hit free agency.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has pledged to pursue Canadian players, so it makes sense that he’d at least consider signing Joseph. Toronto has a chance to open up cap space, with only about $49MM in commitments for next season. The Cavs have even less guaranteed salary on their books, but that doesn’t include money for four of their five starters, including LeBron James, and they seem poised to zoom into luxury tax territory. So, Cleveland would have a tough time ending up with Joseph unless the team used the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception or convinced him to take the minimum, though James and Joseph share the same agent.
Protected 2015 Second-Rounders Up For Grabs
The regular season ends a week from Wednesday, and by now most of the playoff spots and non-lottery draft order have been decided. A team’s place in the draft order can mean a lot when there are protections attached to a pick that’s been sent out in a trade. There are two first-round picks that could change hands or stay put based on the final days of the regular season, as we chronicled last week, and there are also second-round picks still up in the air. The protection clauses attached to some of them are complex, so we’ll dive in and analyze each of the three cases individually:
- The Clippers owe their second-round pick to the Lakers if it falls from No. 51 through 55 and the Nuggets if it’s 56th through 60th. The Clips can’t finish with a record outside of the top 10 in the league, which they’d need to do to keep the pick. Still, whether it goes to the Lakers or the Nuggets is anybody’s guess. It would go to the Nuggets as it stands, but the Clippers are only a half-game better than the Spurs, with the Blazers and Cavs right behind them. So if any of those teams passes the Clippers, the pick goes to the Lakers.
- The Wizards owe their pick to the Celtics, but only if it falls from No. 50 to No. 60. Washington would pick 49th if the season ended today, but the Raptors are only one game better, and the Mavericks and Bulls are tied at one game above Toronto. So, while the Wizards could improve their playoff seeding, it could cost them their second-rounder. Washington’s obligation to the Celtics would end if the pick doesn’t convey this year, so it all comes down to the final games of the season.
- The Trail Blazers and Bulls will be giving up their second-rounders this year, but the teams that get those respective picks could switch places. The Magic get whichever pick is better, and the Cavaliers get the other one. Chances are that Chicago’s pick will be going to Orlando and Portland’s to Cleveland, since the Blazers have a four and a half game lead on Chicago. Still, the Bulls aren’t mathematically eliminated from passing the Blazers just yet.
RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
Central Notes: Rose, Pistons, Cavs
Prior to today’s contest against the Cavs, Bulls big man Joakim Noah said that he’s not thinking about how to stifle LeBron James in a possible seven-game series, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. If they clash, however, you can bet that he’ll be doing his homework. The Bulls are 9-9 against James in the regular season since the 2010/11 campaign, but they are just 3-12 against James all time in the postseason. Here’s more out of the Central Division..
- Bulls star Derrick Rose told ABC’s Lisa Salters that he’ll likely return to action “sometime this week” (via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on Twitter). As Johnson notes, Rose was initially given a four-to-six week timeline and Friday would be six weeks to the day of that prognosis. Rose said late last month that he was confident he’d return to action this season.
- The Pistons sent plenty of players down to their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids this year but they never called anyone up, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. The Pistons planned to try more D-League call-ups this season by paring their roster to 14 and using the 15th spot to try different players once 10-day contracts opened in early January. Instead, they brought in Quincy Miller from the Reno Bighorns. Miller, as president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy explained, was the best player available and showed enough to stay on board for the rest of the season. The team also couldn’t keep an open roster spot after Brandon Jennings‘ injury.
- After early season struggles led to speculation about David Blatt‘s job security, James was happy to see the Cavs boss win a Coach of the Month award, Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer writes. “I just think he continues to learn every single day, and I’m so excited that I can be a part of his transition from the euro basketball league to now the NBA,” James told Haynes. “All the hard work he put into coaching, this is a dream of his and for him to be Coach of the Month, I know it’s a validation. Even though he talks about that he doesn’t need a validation to be a part of this league, it gives him even more of validation to say ‘I belong here.’ I’m a part of his first Coach of the Month, so it’s pretty cool.”
Central Notes: Smith, Jackson, Monroe
J.R. Smith is a “wild card” to stay with the Cavaliers this summer, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Smith, who has been an important part of the Cavaliers’ second-half surge, can opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. However, he has expressed an enjoyment for playing in Cleveland, so his plans are unpredictable. Lloyd added that he expects restricted free agents Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert to both be retained.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- An important decision led Reggie Jackson to change his style of play and may have secured his future with the Pistons, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. After wanting for years to be a starting point guard with his own team to run, the early returns after his mid-season trade to Detroit were disastrous. In mid-March he chose to change his approach. “I decided if I’m going to go out and this isn’t going to work, I’m at least going to go out being myself,” Jackson said. His numbers have improved, the Pistons started winning and he seems likely to stay in Detroit when he hits free agency in June.
- Greg Monroe is a good bet to leave the Pistons this summer, opines David Mayo of MLive. He sees little value in signing the unrestricted free agent unless it’s for a long-term contract that will seem like a bargain once the salary cap expands.
- The Bulls‘ Doug McDermott may be frustrated about his lack of playing time, but Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders reports that he found a sympathetic ear from teammate Jimmy Butler. The Bulls’ break-out star and restricted-free-agent-to-be had a similar experience in his rookie season, appearing in just 42 games and averaging eight minutes of action. “He said he didn’t handle it nearly as well as I did,” McDermott said. “He’s got that attitude where it’s him against the world, and he felt like he should have been playing. He said he didn’t have a great attitude about it, that he didn’t go in a lot, wasn’t working on his game enough, but he told me if he were to go back he would’ve done it the opposite way, because that’s the way it works here.”