Odds & Ends: Price, Bennett, Warriors
The Knicks and Celtics were among the losing teams on a five-game Tuesday in the NBA, and while those clubs fall farther beneath .500, it sounds like they’re thinking about helping each other out via trade, as Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling detailed tonight. Zwerling has a ton of news from New York and Boston, as well as a couple other NBA teams, in the piece we linked to earlier tonight, and there are still more noteworthy items as a busier-than-usual November continues:
- A.J. Price tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post that the Wizards never made contact with him while he was a free agent this offseason (Twitter link). The point guard had been confident he’d return to the Wizards, according to Lee, but Price signed with the Timberwolves instead.
- Jim Ingraham of The News-Herald worries that the Cavs‘ selection of Anthony Bennett first overall is on its way to becoming a “colossal, franchise-rattling whiff” and believes Cleveland should send Bennett on a D-League assignment.
- Cavs coach Mike Brown remains confident that Bennett will hit his stride in time, observes fellow News-Herald scribe Bob Finnan.
- The Warriors assigned Nemanja Nedovic, Ognjen Kuzmic and the newly signed Dewayne Dedmon to their D-League affiliate today, the team announced.
Ford’s Latest: Raptors, Kings, Cavs, Bucks
Before fielding questions on the NCAA and the 2014 draft, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford addressed a number of NBA inquiries in his latest chat. Let’s dive in and round up a few of the highlights from ESPN’s draft guru….
- Rival general managers tell Ford that Raptors president Masai Ujiri has been active on the phones. However, Ford has heard “mixed responses” from those GMs on whether Ujiri is looking to blow up his roster or trying to improve in the short term.
- The Kings have “a lot of interest” in Derrick Williams, and could be a logical trade partner for the Timberwolves. Ford cites Chuck Hayes and “Jason Williams” as possible trade candidates, though presumably he means Jason Thompson.
- There are “rumblings” that Dion Waiters has been a source of chemistry issues in the Cavs‘ locker room. Still, even if Cleveland were to shop the second-year guard, Ford isn’t convinced the return would be great.
- In Ford’s view, the Cavs will likely need to make a roster move soon to either attempt a playoff push or a run at another high lottery pick.
- When the Rockets explore Omer Asik trades, they’ll likely be targeting a player such as Ryan Anderson or Ersan Ilyasova. says Ford, adding that both of those guys might be available. Asik may not be the right fit for either the Pelicans or Bucks though, according to Ford, so a third team might have to get involved.
- Even though Bucks owner Herb Kohl is known to be anti-tanking, Ford suggests John Hammond should be sending Kohl video of Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, and Jabari Parker every day until he reconsiders. The insinuation there, of course, is that a poor finish this season will be the Bucks’ best chance to land a star.
Eastern Links: Cavs, Nets, Bobcats, Wallace
A 3-7 record is not what the Cavaliers had in mind for a season in which they’re facing owner Dan Gilbert’s mandate to make the playoffs, and the frustration is boiling up to the surface. Cavs players had a heated exchange during a players-only meeting Wednesday, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, and Dion Waiters was one of those involved, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets. It remains to be seen whether the discord will result in a roster move, but Cleveland will probably be a team to watch when the trade deadline approaches. Here’s more on a few teams the Cavs are trying to overcome in the East:
- The Nets have recalled Tornike Shengelia from the D-League, the team announced. Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Paul Pierce are all out for tonight’s game with the Clippers, so Brooklyn is likely making the move to shore up its depth.
- The Bobcats are hiring Matt Carroll for an apparent non-playing gig, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The Pennsylvania native had an informal coaching role with the Sixers in training camp, and now he’ll join the team with which he spent most of his 10 seasons as a player.
- Bonnell also checks in with one of Carroll’s former Bobcats teammates in Gerald Wallace, who’s no longer the player he once was, even though his contract with the Celtics pays him as though he were. Wallace played a key mentorship role for Gerald Henderson, who re-signed with the ‘Cats this summer on a three-year, $18MM deal.
Odds & Ends: Nets, McHale, Felix
Shortly after the Nets’ 21-point loss in Sacramento on Wednesday night, Brooklyn GM Billy King had a closed-door meeting with head coach Jason Kidd and Kevin Garnett to presumably discuss (as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News surmises) why almost nothing seems to be going according to plan in Brooklyn right now. In another Nets-related piece, Lenn Robbins of NBA.com writes that the current roster hasn’t shown they deserve a player’s coach like Kidd.
Here’s more of the miscellaneous links to pass along tonight:
- When asked further about why Omer Asik didn’t play during tonight’s game in New York, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said that Asik told him that he wasn’t feeling well earlier (Sean Deveney of the Sporting News via Twitter). It should be noted that this was Asik’s first DNP-CD of his NBA career.
- Cavaliers shooting guard Carrick Felix recently returned to the practice floor after being out with a sports hernia, but head coach Mike Brown made it clear that the 23-year-old rookie would find his minutes in the D-League once he’s ready to play (Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal).
- Zach Harper of CBS Sports details why Andre Iguodala may be the ultimate role player.
- Although Michael Beasley may be a ways away from being a contributor with consistent playing time on the Heat, NBA.com’s Couper Moorhead tells us how the former second-overall pick continues to work hard and has taken a significant step forward to improve his overall game.
- Joseph Lombardo, who founded the investment firm Prim Capital (which previously handled the investments and finances of the NBPA), has been charged with fraud, according to the Associated Press. Authorities say that Lombardo used a signature stamp to forge the signature of a deceased general counsel for the NBPA and another employee that awarded Prim Capital a $3MM fee over five years.
- Nate Duncan of Hoopsworld goes in depth about what to make out of the Timberwolves’ and Pacers’ hot starts this season.
Amico On Asik, Kings, Pistons
Earlier today, we relayed a report that the Kings and Cavaliers have been actively involved in trade talks with each other, although Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio cites a league source who says that there’s “nothing of substance” to that report. In his latest piece, Amico touches upon possible interest Omer Asik around the league in addition to potential teams that could be involved in other trade talks. You can read more below:
- While the Rockets might not be looking to deal Asik at the moment, multiple sources have identified the Raptors as a team that is already highly interested.
- The Kings are considered to be league-wide front runners to make a deal, and Amico notes that the team’s new management explored moving several pieces during this past offseason – including guard Jimmer Fredette. He also adds that Sacramento is likely to field calls leading up to the trade deadline in February.
- There is league-wide speculation that the Pistons are looking to move the expiring contracts of Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva in exchange for more talent and could act soon.
Cavs, Kings Pursuing Trades
The Cavaliers and Kings are actively seeking trades in response to subpar performances so far this season, a source tells HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy (Twitter links). It’s not clear whether they’re close to any deals or if they’re working on a trade with each other, but they appear to be two of the most aggressive clubs on the market.
The Cavs are reportedly under a mandate from owner Dan Gilbert to make the playoffs, but they’re just 3-6 to start the season, and offseason signee Andrew Bynum is doubtful he can return to full health. They have eight contracts fully guaranteed beyond this season, but that total doesn’t include the deals for Bynum and frequently mentioned trade candidate Anderson Varejao, giving Cleveland some flexibility. The Cavs also have three extra first-round picks set to come their way the next two years, so they have valuable assets to burn.
The Kings owe one of those picks to Cleveland thanks to a previous trade. Sacramento has all its other first-rounders, but is short on second-round picks to deal. The new regime in Sacramento is anxious to put a quality product on the floor as it continues to campaign for a new arena, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe has written, and there has been trade chatter surrounding DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette. Nine Kings players have fully guaranteed salaries for 2014/15, but John Salmons is the only one among the team’s seven most highly paid players who doesn’t. The Kings are 2-5 after upsetting the Nets last night in Sacramento.
It could be difficult for either team to pull off a trade for at least another month or so. Players who signed new contracts in the offseason won’t become eligible to be included in trades until December 15th, at the earliest.
Odds & Ends: Expansion, Wizards, Turner
Even though the NBA has 30 franchises, there are still plenty of North American markets that are deserving of teams. Of course, Seattle is at the top of anyone’s list as the rabid Sonics fan base is starved for a new team. Kansas City has also made a strong case for an NBA club in years past and they already have a ~19K seat NBA-ready arena in the Sprint Center. However, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) says that the league is not going to expand under the current labor agreement. That might change under the new TV deal though, which is currently being worked on. Here’s more from around the Association..
- Speaking of expansion, commissioner David Stern told Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Radio (Twitter link) that the NFL will likely have a team in Europe before the NBA because “it’s relatively easy for a team to play eight home games there.” Stern has said in the past that he is optimistic that there will be a team in Europe in the not-too-distant future.
- Nene and new Wizards center Marcin Gortat have formed a bond in the front court, writes MIchael Lee of the Washington Post. “It’s one thing to have two skilled big men in the block. It’s another thing for those big men to play off each other, and that’s big,” forward Martell Webster said. “When you have big guys down there that have a relationship and a chemistry, it makes it a little bit easier to occupy.”
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld reflects on the four-team deal that sent Nikola Vucevic to the Magic last year. At the time, it seemed like the Lakers (Dwight Howard) or the Sixers (Andrew Bynum) would be the big winners, but it turns out that Orlando got the best haul of anyone.
- The price of winning in the NBA varies, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The 7-0 Pacers are doling out less than $853K per victory while the 2-4 Nets are paying $7MM for each win.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Mary Schmitt-Boyer of the Plain Dealer if the Cavs should give up on the Dion Waiters experiment and trade him. Even though the guard appears to have taken a step back from last season, Cleveland isn’t as down on him as some fans might be.
- While many thought that Sixers GM Sam Hinkie would either deal Evan Turner at the trade deadline or allow his $6.7MM salary to come off the cap next summer, the former No. 2 overall pick is making a case to stay, writes Thomas Moore of the Courier Times. Turner has been a model of consistency, scoring at least 20 points in six of the 4-3 Sixers’ first seven games. Earlier tonight, Sam Amico of FOX Sports suggested that the Mavericks, Thunder, and T’Wolves could be among the teams with interest if the Sixers decide to shop Turner.
- If the Knicks continue to lose, there’s no telling how owner James Dolan might react, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report.
- Magic rookie Victor Oladipo is embracing the challenge of handling the basketball, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t expect Kobe Bryant to return in the next two weeks, writes Pincus for the Los Angeles Times. Kupchak also touches on the ill-fated Chris Paul trade and says that he still hasn’t forgiven Stern for the way things played out.
Offseason In Review: Cleveland Cavaliers
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Jarrett Jack: Four years, $25.2MM. Signed via cap space. Fourth year is partially guaranteed for $500K.
- Andrew Bynum: Two years, $24.79MM. Signed via cap space. First year is partially guaranteed for $6MM. Second year is non-guaranteed.
- Earl Clark: Two years, $8.5MM. Signed via cap space. Second year is non-guaranteed.
- Henry Sims: Two years, $1.7MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. First year is partially guaranteed for $50K. Second year is non-guaranteed.
- Matthew Dellavedova: Two years, $1.31MM. Signed via minimum salary exception. First year is partially guaranteed for $100K. Second year is non-guaranteed.
Trades
- Acquired a 2015 second-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick from the Trail Blazers in exchange for the No. 31 pick in the 2013 draft.
Draft Picks
- Anthony Bennett (Round 1, 1st overall). Signed via rookie exception.
- Sergey Karasev (Round 1, 19th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
- Carrick Felix (Round 2, 33rd overall). Signed via cap space for four years, $3.29MM. Third year is non-guaranteed. Fourth year is team option.
Camp Invitees
- DeSagana Diop
- Kenny Kadji
- Michael Lee
- Jermaine Taylor
- Elliot Williams
Departing Players
- Omri Casspi
- Wayne Ellington
- Daniel Gibson
- Kevin Jones
- Shaun Livingston
- Chris Quinn
- Marreese Speights
- Luke Walton
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- Kyrie Irving (4th year, $7.07MM): Exercised
- Tristan Thompson (4th year, $5.14MM): Exercised
- Dion Waiters (3rd year, $4.06MM): Exercised
- Tyler Zeller (3rd year, $1.7MM): Exercised
The Cavaliers sure weren’t afraid to take a few chances this summer. Risk-taking might be necessary for a small-market team to succeed in a league where the Nets are spending $180MM+ in payroll and luxury taxes this season. Maybe it’s part of the team’s plan to show LeBron James they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win as the former Cav eyes potential free agency in the summer of 2014. Whatever it means for the franchise down the road, the team’s bold moves must help the team to the playoffs this season to satisfy owner Dan Gilbert.
The Andrew Bynum signing was the splashier gamble, but the risk with the most long-term consequences for the club could be the decision to draft Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 overall pick. Few anticipated that the UNLV forward would be the choice, and there was speculation on the eve of the draft that he could slide all the way to the Blazers at tenth overall. That same report said the Cavs were deciding between Alex Len and Nerlens Noel, while another dispatch within 10 days of the draft specifically mentioned Bennett as a player the Cavs wouldn’t draft unless they traded down. The Cavs took Bennett even though his injured rotator cuff prevented him from working out prior to the draft and kept him out of summer league, but neither Noel or Len were healthy at draft time, either.
GM Chris Grant seemingly had ample opportunity to trade the top pick, and he appeared willing to seek a deal of some kind for all four of the team’s selections, as a slew of trade rumors linked the Cavs to Paul Pierce, Kevin Love, Luol Deng and Shawn Marion, among others. They ultimately hung on to both of their first-round picks and converted the top pick in the second round into a pair of future picks that will probably fall somewhere in the middle of the second round. They open a playoffs-or-bust season with three June draftees and undrafted signee Matthew Dellavedova, and none of their four rookies are starting.
Grant’s most prominent free agent signing isn’t starting either, and Bynum has already hinted that he may be much closer to retirement than his old All-Star form. Hitching their wagon to Bynum’s creaky knees was a risk, to be sure, but the Cavs at least gave themselves an out, guaranteeing less than 25% of his nearly $25MM contract. The team can write the $6MM guarantee off as a loss if they don’t like what they see by January 10th, but doing so wouldn’t erase thoughts of what the Cavs might have done if they had used their ample cap space to go after another center, either through trade or free agency.
Nikola Pekovic went weeks without signing an offer from the Timberwolves or any other team, and if the Cavs had swooped in, the worst-case scenario would have involved the offer sheet tying up their cap room for a scant three days before Minnesota decided to match. Pekovic’s $12.1MM salary this season is slightly less than what Bynum will get if he remains on the roster past January 10th, so Grant and company probably wouldn’t have had to significantly alter their other free agent plans to come away with Pekovic.
Of course, Bynum’s upside, like Bennett’s, appeared higher than competing options, and Grant made it clear this summer that he would be bold. The GM gambled on another signing, betting that the half-season of helpful production that Earl Clark gave the Lakers was a greater indicator of Clark’s ability than his three and half years spent as a non-factor. I figured Clark would get a deal worth about $2MM a year when I examined his free agent stock in May, but the Cavs gave him double that.
Another of Grant’s moves seemed more on target. I thought Jarrett Jack would wind up with approximately $6MM annually, and that’s just about what the Cavs gave him. Jack is another bench piece, but he, not Stephen Curry, had the ball in his hands for key stretches with the Warriors last season, when Golden State emerged from the lottery to mount a serious challenge in the second round of the playoffs. Grant no doubt envisions Jack doing the same alongside Kyrie Irving this year.
Clark has opened the season as the starter at small forward, but all of the other additions for the Cavs this season are to the team’s bench. The eight players who departed the team were reserves, too, but Cleveland didn’t lose 58 games last season simply because its bench was substandard. The team’s first string has to improve for it to make the playoffs, and unless Bennett, Bynum or another player currently not in the starting lineup nabs a spot at some point, it seems the Cavs had a summer of lateral movement. The return of Anderson Varejao will certainly help, but his injury history cautions against banking on a full season from him. The pressure’s on Irving, Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson to show marked improvement this year. The former top-five picks certainly seem capable of doing so, but an improvement of 17 wins, which would bring the team to .500, is not an easy leap.
The specter of LeBron returning to the team he left behind will tempt Cleveland all season, even if he refuses to talk about his ability to opt out of his contract with the Heat. The Cavs will be able to clear enough space to welcome him back to northeast Ohio with a max deal, and they’ll have plenty of talented young players with upside to surround him. But unless Grant continues to upgrade the roster with in-season trades, it’ll be a stretch for the Cavs to demonstrate to LeBron that they can put a playoff-caliber roster around him.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Sixers, Bynum, Knicks
The Bobcats, Magic and Sixers all entered the evening tied for third place in the Eastern Conference with 3-2 records. While we wait to see how long the two losingest teams from last season and the club widely considered to be this year’s worst can keep it up, here’s more from the East:
- Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young all have “sky high” trade value, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio opines on Twitter. NBA execs who spoke to ESPN’s Chris Broussard about the Sixers aren’t so sure about that, as we passed along earlier.
- About three-quarters of Hoops Rumors readers think Cavs center Andrew Bynum will retire early, but Turner was impressed with what he saw from a still-recovering Bynum in the big man’s lone practice with the Sixers last season, observes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer.
- Mike Woodson suggested to reporters, including Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, that the primary reason the Knicks aren’t going to sign anyone for the frontcourt right now is because there just isn’t a talented enough big man available.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News quotes a coach from another team who echoes Woodson’s sentiments about a lack of quality bigs, supporting the Daily News scribe’s claim that Woodson, not GM Steve Mills, is the Knicks‘ best talent evaluator.
- Paul Millsap is leading the Hawks in scoring so far this season, but the team signed him for his leadership as well as what he can contribute on the court, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details in a subscription-only piece.
- Patrick Hayes of PistonPowered, writing for the Detroit Free Press, believes Greg Monroe will sign a max deal in restricted free agency next summer. Still, Hayes thinks the Pistons aren’t likely to receive a worthwhile trade offer for him this season.
Bynum Considered Retirement, Unsure Of Future
Earlier today, we relayed a report out of Cleveland which revealed that Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum had considered retirement in the past and still thinks about it occasionally. Taking a closer look at the original piece from Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, it appears that those thoughts stem from the frustration of not enjoying the game because he currently isn’t the player he once was:
“(Retirement) was a thought, it was a serious thought,..At the moment, it’s tough to enjoy the game because of how limited I am physically. I’m still sort of working through that…I’m a shell of myself on the court right now, I’m struggling mentally. I’m trying.”
Bynum, taken tenth overall by the Lakers during the 2005 NBA Draft, also revealed that there weren’t any discussions about re-signing with the 76ers this past summer after he had missed all of the 2012/13 season. Lloyd writes that this was the first instance in which Bynum had spoken about contemplating retirement, and adds that Cavs head coach Mike Brown hasn’t had any conversations with the 7’0 center on that subject. While Lloyd says it was difficult to determine just how serious Bynum was about his comments or if he’d just been having a bad day, it was clear that the one-time All-Star is mentally exhausted from having to deal with his physical limitations:
“Battling pain is annoying…I’m not able to do the things I used to be able to do and it’s frustrating…I feel like I can still be a double-double guy in this league, but it’s just going to take some modifications to my game and whether or not I want to accept the challenge and do that.”
Through four of Cleveland’s first five games thus far, the New Jersey native is averaging 5.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.3 BPG in 12.8 MPG. He is currently signed to a partially-guaranteed contract with the Cavs through 2014/15.