Latest On Zoran Dragic
FRIDAY, 8:36pm: Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic adds the Cavs to the list of teams interested in Dragic, and reports that Dragic’s current salary is approximately $1.4MM. It would take upwards of $2MM in annual salary to pry the younger Dragic guard from his current club in Coro’s estimation, considering the earnings and covered living expenses provided by his current team. The Arizona Republic scribe pegs Dragic’s NBA escape clause at $1.1MM, which lines up with an earlier report that the buyout exceeds $971K.
WEDNESDAY, 7:49am: The Suns, Pacers and Kings are the teams most aggressively going after Dragic, Stein tweets, expanding on his report about Phoenix’s heavy pursuit from a few days ago. Talks are expected to intensity now that Dragic’s World Cup obligations are over, Stein adds (Twitter links). Phoenix, Indiana and Sacramento all have the capacity to exceed the minimum salary.
TUESDAY, 4:51pm: The Heat, Magic, Spurs and Mavs are maintaining dialogues with Spanish-league shooting guard Zoran Dragic, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote earlier this week that the Suns were one of the three teams with the most interest in signing the 25-year-old, but it’s not clear if they remain in the running. The Pacers, too, have appeared to be in pursuit of Dragic of late, while the Rockets were reportedly the leading contender for him in May.
Several NBA teams scouted Dragic in the World Cup the past couple of weeks, Charania writes, a run that ended when his Slovenian team lost this afternoon to Team USA. New teams are inquiring about him with each passing day, the RealGM scribe adds. Dragic is the younger brother of Goran Dragic, who appears poised to opt out his deal next summer and hit free agency, and teams are already lining up to try to poach Goran from the Suns.
Zoran Dragic averaged 10.6 points in 20.3 minutes per game for Unicaja Malaga this past season but he reportedly possesses a strong desire to come to the NBA. He’d have to sign with an NBA team by Oct. 5th, according to Charania, and cover a buyout greater than the equivalent of $971K to break free from Unicaja Malaga this year, as Stein wrote in his report this week. That would appear to give the Spurs and Magic an edge on the Heat and Mavs, since Miami and Dallas can’t exceed the minimum salary and thus can’t give him more than the Excluded International Player Payment Amount of $600K toward his buyout.
And-Ones: Deng, Knicks, Dragic, West
The Luol Deng report from the RealGM scouting service that was the source of the racially charged statements that Hawks GM Danny Ferry said aloud in a June conference call contains several tidbits of collateral information on storylines surrounding Deng the past couple of years. One of the anonymous sources quoted in the report points to hard feelings Deng had toward the Bulls as they allegedly pushed him to play through injury and played hardball with an extension offer. The same source cites “major locker room issues” that existed between two Cavaliers during Deng’s tenure there, and while the names are redacted, many accounts have pointed to tension between Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. The report also pointed to interest in Deng from the Hornets, Suns, Mavs and Lakers around last year’s trade deadline. Aside from the most explosive racial comments, the report contains a few mild criticisms of Deng’s ability on the court and his persona off of it, but mostly serves to paint Deng as a valuable player and an upstanding character. While the fallout from the Hawks saga continues, here’s more from other corners of the league:
- Knicks president Phil Jackson tells Scott Cacciola of The New York Times that he and owner James Dolan didn’t speak in August and have otherwise been having only a couple conversations a month as Dolan keeps his promise not to interfere. An agent said to Cacciola that when he appealed to Dolan when Jackson wouldn’t budge in negotiations, he found the owner unwilling to provide recourse behind Jackson’s back, and Dolan insists to the Times scribe that he won’t change his ways if the team starts losing this season.
- Zoran Dragic acknowledged that playing in the NBA appeals to him but said he’s on his way to training camp with Spain’s Unicaja Malaga, as he told Gal Zbačnik of Kosarka.si (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Dragic’s contract with the team reportedly gives him until October 5th to find an NBA deal, and several teams appear to be in pursuit.
- Delonte West has agreed to return to China on a one-year deal with the Shanghai Sharks, reports Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer (on Twitter). West, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2012/13 preseason, spent last year with China’s Fujian Sturgeons.
Cavs Sign Chris Crawford
FRIDAY, 7:56am: The contract runs two years and is partially guaranteed, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’s almost certainly for the minimum salary, since that’s all the Cavs are able to give.
THURSDAY, 11:07pm: The Cavaliers have signed Chris Crawford to a multi-year deal, according to the RealGM Transactions log. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s most likely a non-guaranteed camp deal. This signing brings Cleveland’s pre-season roster count to 18, with 12 of those contracts being guaranteed.
Crawford appeared in five games for the Rockets’ entry in the Orlando Summer league, where he averaged 10.2 PPG on 38.8% shooting. He will compete in training camp with John Lucas III and Matthew Dellavedova for a backup guard slot on the final roster.
The 6’4″, 22 year-old went undrafted out of Memphis, where he put up career averages of 8.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 3.3 APG. His career slash line was .391/.367/.753.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Pistons, Cavs, Sixers
Team USA continued their run through the FIBA World Cup with a 96-68 victory over Lithuania earlier today. Kyrie Irving led the way with 18 points and four assists, James Harden and Klay Thompson added 16 points each, and Stephen Curry dropped 13. For Lithuania, Jonas Valanciunas led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks have partially guaranteed the contracts of Travis Wear for $62K, and Langston Galloway for $31K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Both players were recently signed to one-year, minimum salary deals.
- The Cavaliers had the biggest offseason of any franchise with the return of LeBron James and the acquisition of Kevin Love. The crew at Basketball Insiders previews Cleveland’s upcoming season, and the consensus has them finishing first in the Central Division.
- There’s a new regime in Detroit this season with the arrival of Stan Van Gundy. In their season preview, the majority of the staff at Basketball Insiders pick the Pistons to improve slightly and finish third in the Central Division this upcoming season.
- The Sixers might “best” their 2013/14 total of 63 losses this upcoming season, according to Adi Joseph of USA Today. In his pre-season rankings, Joseph predicts Philadelphia will lose 74 games next season, which would eclipse the current NBA record of 73 losses set by the 1972/73 Sixers team.
Central Notes: Sanders, Bucks, Marion, Billups
Murphy’s Law governed Larry Sanders last season after the Bucks signed him to a four-year, $44MM extension, and a report this summer indicated that the team was making him available in trade talk. Still, the Bucks maintain their faith in the 25-year-old, as Milwaukee assistant GM David Morway tells HoopsHype’s David Alarcon.
“Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Larry is in our future plans,” Morway said. “We are hopeful that this year Larry gets back to being the basketball player that he was two years ago. He is a defensive presence and a game-changer on the court. So when you have his length along with Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Jabari Parker, John Henson and then Zaza Pachulia, Damien Inglis, who is very long, and if you play Khris Middleton at the two … We are a fairly long team. We’ve got good experience with O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless … And we like Kendall Marshall. So we are excited for next year.”
The executive had more to say about his club, as we’ll note amid the latest from around the Central Division:
- Morway says the Bucks are “pretty much done” with their offseason moves, as he also tells Alarcon. Morway mentions the presence of 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, though it appears as though Milwaukee only has 14. It’s likely he’s counting Marshall’s non-guaranteed deal in the guaranteed category, given the prominent role that Marshall is set to play, though that’s just my speculation.
- The Bucks had a desire to let Caron Butler play for a winner when they let him out of his contract at midseason last year, as Morway mentions in his interview with Alarcon. Butler joined the Thunder for the stretch run, and while the Pistons are far from contention, the idea that they’ll start winning sometime soon was apparently key to Butler’s decision to sign with Detroit this summer.
- Shawn Marion‘s pact with the Cavs is fully guaranteed, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), who confirms that he’s getting the minimum salary, which is all Cleveland could give him. It’s a one-year deal, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders salary pages.
- The leadership of Chauncey Billups is what led the Pistons to sign him a year ago for what turned out to be his final season, but for most of his career he was the rare player who combined professionalism and All-Star talent, writes Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press.
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Monroe, Marion
Asked if the decision that LeBron James made to return to Cleveland influenced his call to re-sign with the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony told Michael Strahan in an interview for Adweek that he believes that it was the other way around, and that James took a cue from him. That conflicts with the timeline of events, since James announced he was going back to the Cavs before word of ‘Melo’s choice came out, but perhaps Anthony, a New York native, is referring to the 2011 trade that originally landed him on the Knicks. In any case, New York made a pair of much less heralded additions this afternoon, as we noted earlier, and we’ll pass along more on one of James’ new teammates amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- Shawn Marion‘s contract with the Cavs covers just one season, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press.
- The NBA announced a two-game unpaid suspension for Greg Monroe, who pleaded guilty to driving while visibly impaired, a term for a type of drunken driving charge in the state of Michigan. He’ll sit out the first two games for the Pistons this season as a result.
- The Pistons are adding Pat Garrity to their front office as director of strategic planning, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll assist president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Shawn Marion Signs With Cavs
SEPTEMBER 9TH: The signing is finally official, the team announced.
“Shawn brings great versatility, talent and championship experience to the team,” Cavs GM David Griffin said in the club’s statement. “He will impact both ends of the floor and his ability to guard multiple positions will be particularly important for us. Shawn is an accomplished, high-caliber veteran that will help with leadership on and off the court and we’re very happy to welcome him to the Cavaliers family.”
AUGUST 17TH: Shawn Marion has decided to join the Cavaliers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Cleveland can only offer Marion the veteran’s minimum salary, but the opportunity to play with LeBron James and to contend for an NBA Championship was the deciding factor, notes Stein. The Clippers, Pacers, and the Heat had also pursued the 15-year veteran.
Indiana could have offered Marion a larger role and more playing time, with Paul George most likely being lost for the season. The Pacers could have also offered a larger salary as well, with the league already approving the disabled player exception the franchise had applied for. But with James’ arrival, and Kevin Love set to be added as soon as Andrew Wiggins can be traded on August 23rd, the Cavs became too appealing an option for Marion.
Marion’s career averages are 15.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.6 SPG. His career slash line is .485/.332/.811. Last season with the Mavericks, he averaged 10.4 PPG and 6.5 RPG, while appearing in 76 contests.
Eastern Notes: Monroe, Celtics, Saric
There are two remote possibilities for the Pistons to keep Greg Monroe past this season, Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press writes. The first way would be for Detroit to offer Monroe a max contract, something they have been unwilling to do thus far, Farrell notes. The second would be for coach Stan Van Gundy to convince Monroe that his future would be best served by staying with the Pistons, something that can only happen if Detroit starts winning, opines Farrell.
Here’s more from the east:
- Sixers coach Brett Brown was in Spain to check out Dario Saric, the No. 12 overall draft pick that Philadelphia acquired from the Magic in a draft night trade, Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net reports. Saric won’t play in the NBA this season, but when asked what he thought of Saric’s potential, Brown said, “I think he can play [in the NBA] now! I think that in Philadelphia we are about development and about opportunity. He would look around and see a lot of fellow young players that just want a chance to play. Our whole emphasis in Philadelphia is about development and help our players. We are trying to be as good as we can be in sport science and growing up players physically and from a skill perceptive. He is an other one of our young lottery picks that we hope to grow the program with”.
- Celtics team president Rich Gotham is excited for the potential of Boston’s two first-rounders, Marcus Smart and James Young, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I’ve been loving Marcus Smart’s play, because he’s just tough. He goes out there and he competes. I saw James Young for the first time the other day, and I saw him stroke a couple of lefty 3-pointers from a couple feet beyond the arc and I was like, Hmmm, we could use that.”
- One single play may have led to David Blatt becoming the first European coach to make the jump to being an NBA head coach with the Cavs, and Ettore Messina becoming an assistant with the Spurs, Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News writes.
- The crew over at Basketball Insiders ran down their predictions for the Sixers 2014/15 season, and the consensus was that Philadelphia would finish fifth in the Atlantic Division and miss the playoffs yet again.
Poll: Which Coach Will Be On The Hot Seat?
The summer is the season of optimism for NBA fans, with draft picks and signings set to fit perfectly and improve teams all over the league–hypothetically. Once the season begins, however, the goodwill can dry up fast. Last year, blockbuster acquisitions in Detroit and Brooklyn had set expectations high for newly hired coaches Maurice Cheeks and Jason Kidd, but both teams struggled out of the gate, placing both coaches on the hot seat. Kidd survived the season and guided the Nets to the playoffs, but the root of conflict survived as well, and Kidd bolted for Milwaukee in a bizarre power struggle. Cheeks was fired in-season, and remains without a coaching job.
Mike Woodson faced constant speculation about his own job, and lasted through the season only to be let go by incoming team president Phil Jackson. Larry Drew bore the brunt of the Kidd move, and Tyrone Corbin was let go by the Jazz, despite his baby-faced roster performing about as well as expected. Mark Jackson led the Warriors to improvement for a second consecutive season, but pushing the Clippers to a Game 7 in the opening round of the playoffs wasn’t enough to salvage his position in Golden State after some turbulence between Jackson, the rest of the coaching staff, and the front office.
In the NBA, very few jobs are ever truly “safe,” unless your last name is Popovich. Let’s look at some of the coaches who could encounter early traces of job insecurity.
1. Winning Enough? Scott Brooks, Kevin McHale, and Frank Vogel. In parts of 13 seasons combined with their current teams, these coaches have only two losing seasons between them. Brooks receives plenty of flack for his in-game strategy and roster management, despite having coached a young Thunder team to a surprise appearance in the 2012 Finals, and regularly orchestrating dominant regular season performances that have been undercut by postseason injuries to Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. After Oklahoma City’s disappointing series loss to the eventual champions in 2013/14, GM Sam Presti voiced his support for the coach moving forward.
Vogel built a defensive juggernaut that gave the Heat one of its stiffest annual challenges in the playoffs, but Indiana struggled mightily for much of the second half of last season, and the team will suffer this year from the losses of Lance Stephenson and Paul George. The Pacers squelched rumors that the coach could be let go after the team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, but Vogel will be coaching on an expiring contract unless the team grants him an extension in the coming months.
McHale has failed to take the Rockets beyond the first round in his tenure, and expectations are that the team is due to build on its success around James Harden and Dwight Howard. The front office in Houston didn’t do McHale any favors this offseason, allowing mainstays Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik to depart while striking out on free agent Chris Bosh.
2. First-Year Coaches: David Blatt, Steve Kerr, Derek Fisher, and Quin Snyder. Blatt was signed to coach a team that failed to reach the playoffs last season, but Cleveland has since become a championship contender with the additions of LeBron James and Kevin Love. It’s rare for a first-time head coach to cut his teeth with such enormous expectations. Kerr takes over for a team that envisions a higher ceiling than they had attained with Jackson. Kerr’s involvement in the decision to withhold Klay Thompson from a potential Love trade could come back to haunt him, especially if the star power forward thrives in Cleveland while the shooting guard’s game doesn’t take off under Kerr’s tutelage.
Fisher and Snyder figure to operate with more patient front offices and fan bases, as both were hired to develop players within their systems with an eye toward the future. Of course, “low-pressure” isn’t typical of any coaching job in the New York market, and Fisher has insisted that his team should make the playoffs this season.
3. The Clock Is Ticking: Jacque Vaughn and Brian Shaw. Vaughn has been at the helm for a rebuilding Magic team the last two years, racking up an understandably poor .262 winning percentage. While Orlando is still far from contending, the team has shored up the rotation with veteran additions and has a number of young players on schedule to provide a bigger impact. A season spent at the very bottom of league standings might be unacceptable to Magic brass, especially if the young pieces fail to pop. Shaw took the reigns for one of the Western Conference’s best teams in 2012/13, but injuries and the departure of Andre Iguodala prevented them from reaching the postseason altogether this spring. The West should be no less fierce this season, but the Nuggets have high hopes that Shaw will be working to meet in just his second year on the sidelines.
4. Anything Can Happen: Jason Kidd and Dave Joerger. Both coaches are entering their sophomore seasons as NBA head coaches after having reached the playoffs on the first try. Aside from their teams’ performances, there are strange off-the-court similarities between the two. Kidd exited Brooklyn in the aforementioned stunner, and Joerger appeared destined to leave Memphis amid a series of puzzling revelations about his relationship with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, before the two eventually hashed out their differences and agreed on a contract extension. Both would appear to have a long leash for the coming season, but the combustible personalities in play have undermined peaceful coaching situations before.
Who do you think will find himself on rocky footing soonest in 2014/15? As we have routinely seen, ongoing success is no guarantee that a coach is in the clear. If you think I’ve failed to mention the most likely name, vote “Other” and leave your choice in the comments.
Which Coach Will Be On The Hot Seat Soonest?
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Scott Brooks 19% (204)
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Kevin McHale 18% (191)
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Frank Vogel 15% (160)
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David Blatt 12% (125)
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Jason Kidd 9% (100)
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Derek Fisher 7% (77)
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Jacque Vaughn 7% (71)
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Brian Shaw 5% (54)
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Steve Kerr 4% (43)
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Other (leave in comments) 1% (14)
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Quin Snyder 1% (13)
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Dave Joerger 1% (12)
Total votes: 1,064
Cavs To Work Out Julyan Stone
The Cavaliers are bringing in free agent Julyan Stone for workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link). Stone has also worked out twice for the Lakers, and has drawn interest from the Clippers, Heat, and Kings, plus has reportedly received two offers to play in China. The market has recently taken shape for Stone, who’s been without a deal for roughly two months after the Raptors let him go in July, shortly before his minimum-salary contract was to have become fully guaranteed.
The Cavs currently have 17 players on their preseason roster, with twelve of those deals being guaranteed, assuming Shawn Marion‘s pact is one of them. If Stone is signed he will compete for minutes backing up Kyrie Irving with John Lucas III and Matthew Dellavedova.
The 6’6″, 25 year-old has been in the league for three seasons after going undrafted out of UTEP. Stone’s career averages are 1.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG. His career slash line is .440/.211/.722.