Western Notes: Durant, Rockets, Thompson
The message in HBO’s “Kevin Durant: The Offseason” documentary shows the Roc Nation Sports agency’s heavy hand in Durant’s affairs and paints the reigning MVP as a player who’s eager to win, even if it means leaving the Thunder in 2016, as Ben Golliver of SI.com opines. Even though Durant says as the film’s credits roll that he has “no doubts” about the Thunder’s ability to win a championship eventually, the film makes it clear he’s ready to seek a title elsewhere if any such doubts creep in. We passed along more on Durant this morning, and there’s another Durant-related item amid the latest from the Western Conference:
- The Rockets are among the many teams planning a run at Durant when he can become a free agent in 2016, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com says in a video report.
- The maximum salaries for 2015/16 won’t be known until July, but the league is estimating that the 25% max that Klay Thompson is set to receive in his extension from the Warriors will give him a $15.5MM salary for next season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That would mean $69MM over the life of the four-year deal, as Pincus also illustrates. That’s up significantly from the $14.746MM that 25% max signees received for this season. Kyrie Irving is also in line for the $15.5MM starting salary in his five-year max extension, though he has a better chance than Thompson does to trigger the Derrick Rose rule, which he and the Cavs agreed would give him a max worth approximately 27.5% of the salary cap.
- Cory Joseph acknowledges that it wasn’t surprising when he didn’t sign an extension with the Spurs when he was eligible before the end of last month, and the ever-optimistic point guard looks ahead to restricted free agency as an opportunity. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News has the details.
And-Ones: Cavs, D-League, Temple
Not surprisingly, three of the NBA’s four unbeaten teams reside in the Western Conference, where the Warriors, Rockets and Grizzlies are all 3-0. The East’s lone unbeaten is the franchise that’s won the last four conference championships, but it’s nonetheless surprising to see the Heat back atop the conference standings after they lost LeBron James this past summer. While we wait to see if Miami will continue to reign without King James, here’s the latest from around the league:
- The Cavs feel like they made concessions in their final extension offer to Tristan Thompson, which exceeded $48MM over four years, but neither side has any hard feelings in the wake of the failed negotiations, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- NBA teams kept the D-League rights to 47 players cut during camp this year, the D-League announced, listing all of them. The Mavs, Warriors and Suns used all four spots available to each NBA team to reserve the rights to such players, so they can’t keep the D-League rights to anyone they waive during the regular season, unlike the rest of the teams in the NBA. Renaldo Balkman, Bernard James, Doron Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, Peyton Siva, Malcolm Lee and Earl Barron are this year’s “affiliate players” with NBA experience.
- Garrett Temple refrains from drinking, smoking and tattoos, and he’s convinced the straight-arrow approach has helped him win jobs during his career, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post observes. Injuries to others have thrust Temple into the starting lineup for the Wizards, who re-signed him this summer for two years at the minimum salary.
Cavs Waive A.J. Price, Sign Will Cherry
SUNDAY, 12:20pm: The Cavs have officially signed Cherry, the team announced.
4:54pm: Cherry’s deal will be for two years, Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link), though it’s still unknown if any portion of his salary will be guaranteed.
SATURDAY, 4:28pm: The Cavaliers have waived A.J. Price, the team has announced. Price’s salary was non-guaranteed, so the move won’t cost Cleveland any cash. This reduces the Cavs’ roster count to 14, one player below the regular season maximum. Cleveland intends to use the open roster spot to sign guard Will Cherry, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports is reporting (Twitter link). No contract details were made available, but Cleveland is limited to offering Cherry no more than the minimum salary.
The big shocker here is that the team isn’t signing Ray Allen, who would seem like a perfect fit for a Cavs squad looking to contend in the Eastern Conference. Allen still hasn’t decided on whether or not he is going to play this season, though he has been mentioned as a target for the Spurs as well as the Cavs.
The 6’1″, 23-year-old Cherry averaged 12.8 PPG and 4.0 RPG while logging 25.3 minutes per contest in five games for the Cavs Summer League team in Las Vegas. Cherry also played for the Cavs’ D-League affiliate last season, when he provided 11.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 30.4 MPG. He was waived by the Raptors at the end of training camp last month.
Price hasn’t appeared in either of Cleveland’s regular season games this season. His career numbers are 5.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG. His slash line is .381/.321/.749.
Eastern Notes: Thompson, Iverson, Knicks
Uncertainty over the future of the salary cap prevented Tristan Thompson from signing an extension with the Cavaliers, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain-Dealer. With a new TV contract taking effect during the summer of 2016, there are estimates that the cap could soar by 25%, dissuading players and teams from committing to long-term deals. Pluto notes that Thompson, represented by Rich Paul, who is also the agent for LeBron James, should have extra value because of the scarcity of quality big men. There’s more on the Cavs amid our look around the Eastern Conference:
- Cavaliers coach David Blatt may be new to the NBA, but that didn’t stop him from tearing into his team following its opening-night loss to the Knicks, as Zach Harper of CBSSports,com details. “He got on us from the time we started our meeting to the time we left,” said Cavs star LeBron James. “And it’s great. For a team like us, we need that.” James said the first-year coach definitely got the players’ attention with his tirade.
- The Celtics have to be encouraged by the play of former second-round pick Colton Iverson in the Euroleague, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of Celtics Insider. The 7-footer had 17 points and six rebounds and hit the game-winning basket for Kutxa Vitoria in a recent victory over Galatasaray Liv Hospital. “That’s my style of play,” Iverson said during his stint with the Celtics’ summer league team. “I’m always gonna be someone who is a pest to play against. I take pride in the way I play physical, and [being] a menace.” The Celtics acquired Iverson’s draft rights on draft night in 2013.
- Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com blames a lack of talent, not the Knicks‘ new triangle offense, for the opening night blowout loss to the Bulls. O’Connor writes that even though the Knicks will be clearing a massive amount of cap room this summer, players such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol are unlikely to leave their current teams. O’Connor speculates that the Knicks could chase Rajon Rondo next summer, or endure another losing season and go after Kevin Durant in 2016.
And-Ones: Varejao, Bryant, Cavs
Given Anderson Varejao‘s injury history, the Cavs signing him to a three year deal might seem risky, but Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer explains why it was a smart move for the team. Pluto cites the team’s desire to win now, Cleveland’s lack of depth at center, and that Varejao’s $10MM per season salary won’t seem that high once the new CBA kicks in and player salaries escalate. Pluto also notes that the non-guaranteed third year of the contract was added because the organization views it as a potential trade chip.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Lakers look to be in for a long season that is more likely to end with a lottery pick than a playoff berth. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel believes that Los Angeles should consider trading Kobe Bryant to the Knicks for Amar’e Stoudemire‘s expiring contract. This would get Bryant’s deal off of the books in time for next summer’s free agent class, as well as reunite Bryant with Phil Jackson, and help the Knicks implement the triangle offense more effectively, Schmitz opines.
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s comments about a willingness to spend whatever it took to put LeBron James back on top, no matter the cost, were a jab at the Heat organization and team owner Micky Arison, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Moves such as amnestying Mike Miller in 2013, or the team declining to use their mid-level exception last season despite a lack of roster depth, were rumored to rub James the wrong way and possibly contributed to him returning to Cleveland, notes Winderman.
- Lorenzo Brown and Josh Bostic agreed to contracts with the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA D-League, David Mayo of MLive reports (Twitter link). Both players were waived by the Pistons who will retain their D-League rights.
Cavs, Tristan Thompson Extension Talks Fail
Tristan Thompson won’t receive a contract extension from the Cavs, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Cavs offered the former No. 4 overall pick more than $48MM, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link), but even though Thompson appeared to be seeking the salaries of around $12MM a year that such a deal would entail, he’s set to hit restricted free agency next summer. The Cavs were limited to offering no more than four years because they gave Kyrie Irving a five-year extension in July, reserving the team’s Designated Player slot for the point guard.
Negotiations between the Cavs and the Rich Paul client were a back-and-forth affair that went up to the final hour, with a Thursday report of optimism surrounding the talks giving way to pessimism earlier today. Still, it appeared the chances of an extension were a toss-up by this afternoon, and Thompson made his case this evening in Cleveland’s overtime win against the Bulls, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Thompson authored that performance coming off the bench, having lost out in a preseason battle for a starting spot against Anderson Varejao, whom the Cavs signed to a three-year, $30MM veteran extension earlier today. A report indicated that Thompson and Varejao would likely have made about the same amount if they’d both signed extensions, but it appears the Cavs were willing to give in excess of $2MM a year more to Thompson. Executives around the league have kept a close eye on the Thompson talks to see just how much power LeBron James has over the Cavs organization, since James and Thompson are both clients of Paul.
Cleveland only has about $31MM in commitments for next season, including Varejao’s extension, but that number is artificially low because it doesn’t account for player options worth more than a combined $38.3MM for James and Kevin Love. Both would likely command greater amounts were they to decline their options, perhaps sending Cleveland’s 2015/16 team salary north of $70MM. A salary of greater than $12MM for Thompson would probably put the team into tax territory, making it harder for the Cavs to upgrade their roster, as Cray Allred of Hoops Rumors pointed out when he examined Thompson’s extension candidacy.
Extension Rumors: Thompson, Cavs, Butler
Tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie scale extensions is fast closing in. Here’s the latest on talks around the league, with any additional updates that come in throughout the evening added to the top:
- Final-hour talks are taking place between the Cavs and representatives for Tristan Thompson, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). The team has offered more than $40MM, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter). A deal was a 50-50 proposition as of this afternoon, as Amico heard (Twitter link).
- Butler struck a somewhat different tone before the Bulls‘ game against the Cavs tonight than his agent did when he indicated that talks were through (below), as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays. “We still want a deal,” Butler said. “I still want to be here. I still want to have nothing to worry about. So we have until 11:59 [Eastern time] to figure it out. I’m not a personal guy. I don’t take everything to heart. I understand it’s a business. I just have to be a great basketball player. I think this team is really good, championship caliber. I am a part of this team; I am going to produce. I’m going to guard. I will take care of myself. I think there’s not too much I can do right now. I’m done talking about it.”
- Still, Bulls GM Gar Forman said that both sides had agreed to end discussions for now and pick back up again in restricted free agency next summer, Smith notes.
- Butler also said that he believes he’ll remain with the Bulls whether it entails signing an extension or a new deal next summer, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
5:40pm updates:
- Butler has rejected the Bulls‘ “final offer” and plans to enter restricted free agency next summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Butler’s agent, Happy Walters, said, “All the [rookie extension] deals done so far have shown that teams are building around their stars of the future, and they’re compensating those players as such. I was under the impression Jimmy was also viewed as one of those future building blocks with the Bulls. We tried like heck to get something done, but ultimately, the Bulls wanted a ‘hometown’ discount. While understandable, I doubt their GM or coaches give Mr. Reinsdorf a discount when negotiating their own deals.”
- Butler had told his teammates that he was willing to play out the season unless the team upped their “final” offer, K.C. Johnson tweets.
- The Wolves and Rubio are making progress on a four-year extension, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski’s sources, there’s optimism, but no deal in place yet.
3:58pm updates:
- The Wolves are now willing to go higher than $52MM in four-year offers to Ricky Rubio and the team is on board with a deal as long as Rubio is, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune believes that a deal would have to be for at least $55MM over four seasons (Twitter link).
- The Bucks and Brandon Knight weren’t too far apart in extension talks before ending them today, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- Conversely, the gap appears wide between the Bulls and Jimmy Butler, and the chances of a compromise don’t appear to be high, as Goodman also hears (Twitter link). Chicago has been willing to consider a player option in his deal, something the franchise doesn’t ordinarily do, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter), but talks aren’t progressing, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).
Eastern Notes: D-League, Jenkins, Magic
Chris Babb, Tim Frazier, Rodney McGruder and Christian Watford are joining the Celtics D-League affiliate, the team announced (Twitter links). The Celtics are using their ability to retain the D-League rights to up to four camp cuts to keep Frazier, McGruder and Watford out of the D-League draft, but they don’t have to do so with Babb, since he played for Boston’s D-League team last season.
Here’s more from the east:
- The Magic‘s D-League team has signed Seth Curry, Peyton Siva, Kadeem Batts and Drew Crawford, the club announced, The Magic waived the foursome last week.
- The first two years of Anderson Varejao‘s extension with the Cavs are fully guaranteed with the third year being a team option, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
- Varejao will make $9,638,554 the first year; $10,361,446 the second year of the deal, with $9.36MM guaranteed; and the third season is set at $10MM, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). If Varejao is on the Cavs‘ roster past August 1st, 2017 then $4.5MM of the third year will become guaranteed, adds Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- John Jenkins admitted he’s upset that the Hawks decided to decline his rookie scale team option for 2015/16, but he called it “part of the game” and a potential blessing in disguise, observes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- While it’s still a bit too early in the season for any coaches to truly be on the hot seat just yet, Fran Blinebury of NBA.com takes a look at eight coaches who are under the most pressure this year, including David Blatt (Cavs), Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), and Derek Fisher (Knicks).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Sign Anderson Varejao To Extension
The Cavaliers and Anderson Varejao have officially signed a contract extension, the team announced. The extension is believed to be for three years, and approximately $30MM, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Thursday (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group added that the plan was for the sides to sign the extension today, though the October 31st deadline that applies for rookie-scale extensions didn’t matter with Varejao. The 32-year-old becomes just the fifth player to sign a veteran extension under the current collective bargaining agreement, joining Andrew Bogut, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker and Zach Randolph.
“Anderson represents how this franchise wants to approach the game of basketball, both on the court and off,” Cavs GM David Griffin said in the team’s statement. “He has been a key part of our foundation for years and we are very happy that he will continue to be part of our Cavs family as we work towards our goals at the highest level. Andy is, and has been, a tireless worker, an incredible teammate and a great competitor that plays with a rare combination of energy and intensity that makes him truly special.”
This news doesn’t come as a surprise since it was reported earlier that both sides had a mutual interest in keeping Varejao in Cleveland for the foreseeable future. The Brazilian-born center said recently that he wants to finish his career with the Cavs, and he has a close relationship with LeBron James, with whom he’d been teammates for six years before James took his talents to South Beach.
Varejao nonetheless had some incentive to wait until he became a free agent to sign a new deal with the Cavs. The starting salary in a veteran extension can be no more than 107.5% of the salary in the final season of the existing deal, and in Varejao’s case the extension could only have run through the 2017/18 season. If Varejao were to have waited to become a free agent, he could sign up to a five-year contract for nearly 35% of the salary cap, though he wasn’t a candidate for max money, nor a deal of that length. With his history of injuries and advancing age, signing an extension to stay in Cleveland and gaining some level of financial security was clearly appealing for Varejao, and it comes with the benefit of allowing him to continue to play for a team that’s shaping up to be an annual title contender.
This news also casts some doubt as to the future of Tristan Thompson in wine-and-gold. A report earlier today indicated that there was pessimism surrounding Cleveland’s extension talks with Thompson, who is subject to today’s 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie scale extensions. Thompson is seeking a new deal in the $12MM per year range, which is a bit pricey for a backup center.
The Cavs had only about $21.5MM in commitments for 2015/16 before signing the Varejao deal, but that doesn’t include James’ player option for $21,573,398 or Kevin Love‘s for $16,744,218. Varejao’s extension doesn’t leave the Cavs front office much flexibility to ink Thompson and continue to surround the core of James, Love, and Kyrie Irving with the role players needed to contend.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wojnarowski On LeBron, Rich Paul, Jackson
The leverage that LeBron James has with his player option for 2015/16 has been overstated, since his reputation and brand simply couldn’t sustain the negative publicity that leaving Cleveland a second time would engender, opines Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs’ upset loss to the Knicks in James’ first regular season game in Cleveland since his return this summer was a sobering affair for the wine-and-gold, and Wojnarowski’s column further dampens what had largely been a feel-good narrative for the team. Wojnarowski shares more than just his beliefs in his piece, and we’ll pass along the newsworthy tidbits here:
- At least one executive from a team believes that when clubs met with agent Rich Paul during James’ free agency this summer, the agent was just stringing them along, as the exec tells Wojnarowski.
- Paul doesn’t negotiate contracts for his Klutch Sports clients, instead delegating that task to Mark Termini, according to Wojnarowski. The agency wouldn’t exist if not for the financial support of James, Wojnarowski writes, describing Paul’s role as a “personable frontman” and as a deputy recruiter under James.
- Klutch represents James and extension-eligible teammate Tristan Thompson, and the agents for the rest of the Cavs are on “full alert” as they try to keep their clients away from Klutch, as Wojnarowski details. The Klutch agency is selling the idea that if players join, the Cavs are likely to sign them to a deal, according to Wojnarowski.
- People around the league are closely monitoring Klutch client Mark Jackson, though the general belief is that James wouldn’t want Jackson to coach his team, based on what the Yahoo! columnist describes as Jackson’s penchant for self-promotion, Wojnarowski hears. That same self-promotion nonetheless keeps Jackson on the radar, Wojnarowski believes.