NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/27/16
Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- Forwards Anthony Bennett and Chris McCullough were recalled by the Nets after being assigned to Long Island earlier today for the D-League team’s game against Grand Rapids, the team announced in an email. Bennett had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while McCullough put up 15 points and nine rebounds.
- The Raptors have recalled Jakob Poeltl, Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet from Raptors 905, according to The Toronto Sun. All three had been sent down to participate in Satuday’s game against Maine.
- The Spurs assigned rookie guards Dejounte Murray, Bryn Forbes and Nicolas Laprovittola to Austin, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio News-Express. They are expected to be recalled in time for San Antonio’s game on Tuesday.
- The Pelicans have recalled rookie forward Cheick Diallo from Austin, the team announced in an email. He has played six games in the D-League and just one for New Orleans.
- The Mavericks recalled rookie center A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, according to an email from the team. He was assigned Saturday for a game against Salt Lake in which he scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
- The Bulls have recalled forward/center Cristiano Felicio and guards Jerian Grant and R.J. Hunter from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced in an email.
Blazers, Mavs Flirting With Luxury Tax Line
One side effect of the NBA’s huge salary cap spike this summer was that fewer teams are in danger of paying the luxury tax. The Cavaliers remain well above the tax line, but they’re the only club guaranteed of being a taxpayer in 2017.
The Clippers have the league’s second-highest team payroll so far this season, exceeding $114.74MM. That puts Los Angeles above the tax threshold, which is $113.287MM, but not by much — if the Clips really wanted to avoid paying the tax, they could likely find a trade at the deadline that would allow them to sneak under that line, though it may cost a draft pick or two, depending on whose salary they move.
Of course, the Clippers’ tax bill wouldn’t be exorbitant if their team salary stays where it is now. As our Salary Cap Snapshot for the team shows, we’ve calculated L.A.’s projected tax bill to be worth about $3.633MM, which would hardly break the bank for owner Steve Ballmer. Still, shedding that bill isn’t the only incentive for the team to avoid the tax.
Luxury tax payments are always more punitive for repeat taxpayers, and this would be the Clippers’ fourth straight season in the tax. Teams are considered repeat taxpayers if they’ve been in the tax for at least three of the last four seasons, so perhaps the Clippers – recognizing that new contracts for Chris Paul and Blake Griffin next summer may put them back into the tax anyway – won’t feel compelled to get out for just one season, but it’s still worth considering.
Additionally, the money paid by teams in the tax ends up being partially split up by the clubs below the tax line. In 2016, the 23 non-taxpaying teams each received about $2.5MM in total tax payments from the seven taxpaying clubs. With only the Cavs in the tax this year, that amount would be smaller, but again, it’s a factor worth taking into account.
While it will be interesting to keep an eye on the Clippers’ cap situation over the course of the season, they’re not the only team close to the tax line. Currently, the Trail Blazers and Mavericks are getting dangerously close to that threshold. Here’s a breakdown of how things look for those two teams:
Portland Trail Blazers
Team salary for cap purposes: $112,823,450
Team salary for tax purposes: $113,260,410
Amount below tax: $26,590
Salary Cap Snapshot
Since Tim Quarterman was signed as a free agent, the two-year minimum salary ($980,431) is used in place of his rookie salary ($543,471), bumping the Trail Blazers dangerously close to the tax line. That detail on Quarterman’s contract, along with the fact that his is the only non-guaranteed salary on the team’s books, makes his hold on a roster spot perilous. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him waived on or before the January guarantee deadline.
Still, the Blazers are widely considered one of the NBA’s most likely teams to complete at least one trade this season. ESPN’s Zach Lowe recently suggested he’d be “blown away” if Portland doesn’t make at least one deal. The team would likely have to come close to matching salaries in any deal, but there’s some wiggle room within those trade rules, and if the Blazers can shave off even $1-2MM in a deal, it would create a significant amount of breathing room for a team right up against the tax line.
Considering the Blazers’ current 2017/18 guaranteed salaries would put them well over the projected tax threshold for next season, staying below the tax this year figures to be a priority for the club.
Dallas Mavericks
Team salary for cap purposes: $110,920,751
Team salary for tax purposes: $112,715,267
Amount below tax: $571,733
Salary Cap Snapshot
Like the Blazers, the Mavs see their team salary for tax purposes increase a little due to free agents with less than two years of experience. Dorian Finney-Smith, Nicolas Brussino, and Jonathan Gibson (who was signed to a guaranteed contract, waived, then re-signed) are among them. In total, Dallas is less than $600K from the tax line, but there are reasons to believe the team should avoid surpassing that line.
For one, Finney-Smith and Gibson are still on partially guaranteed contracts, so they could be waived prior to January’s guarantee deadline to avoid having their full salaries count against the cap.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the Mavs simply don’t look like a contender this season, having started the season with an NBA-worst 2-12 record. Assuming the team doesn’t go on a lengthy winning streak to climb back into the postseason hunt, the front office should be more inclined to sell than buy at this season’s trade deadline.
It’s not clear yet exactly what pieces the Mavs would move if they become sellers, but Andrew Bogut looks like a prime trade candidate. One team executive recently suggested to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that Bogut would draw “plenty” of trade interest if Dallas put him on the block, while Bill Simmons – O’Connor’s boss at The Ringer – tweeted today that the Celtics would be a good fit for the veteran big man. Bogut is earning more than $11MM this season, so if the Mavs were to acquire contracts worth about $8-9MM in return for Bogut, they’d comfortably distance themselves from the tax threshold.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
Mavs Had Been Hoping To Target Dennis Schroder In 2017
- According to Lowe, the Mavericks were among the teams hoping Dennis Schroder would reach free agency in 2017, but his new extension with the Hawks took that possibility off the table.
[SOURCE LINK]
Mavericks Notes: Felton, Nowitzki, Matthews, Harris
Clippers point guard Raymond Felton returned to Dallas tonight, and the shorthanded Mavericks may be wishing they had kept him, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The team is playing without Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris, who have all been sidelined by injuries. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called it a “franchise decision” to let Felton go, but he clearly misses having the veteran guard. “Felton played great for us, and I wish we would have brought him back,” Carlisle said. “He was a big difference-maker for us last year and probably one of the big reasons we got to the playoffs. You look at the whole year and everything that happened start to finish, Ray was filling in and starting. And we were winning a lot of those games because of what he was giving us. He’s a winner and was an ultimate pro here for two years. And the Clippers are very lucky to have him.” Felton, who got a one-year, minimum-salary deal from L.A., said the Mavericks were always his first choice. “I made it clear where I wanted to be,” he said. “Sometimes, things just don’t work out.”
Barea Shortens Estimated Recovery Time
- Mavericks guard J.J. Barea is optimistic about his timetable after a severe calf strain, posts Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Barea was originally projected to be sidelined for two months, but he believes the recovery time will be closer to six weeks.
Mavs Notes: Gibson, Free Agent Targets, Lineup
- Jonathan Gibson looks like a volume shooter through his first few games with Dallas, but considering how much trouble most of the Mavericks – outside of Harrison Barnes – are having scoring, it’s worth keeping Gibson around based on his potential, says Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs have some flexibility with the rookie guard, whose salary won’t become guaranteed until January 10.
- Jonathan Gibson looks like a volume shooter through his first few games with Dallas, but considering how much trouble most of the Mavericks – outside of Harrison Barnes – are having scoring, it’s worth keeping Gibson around based on his potential, says Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs have some flexibility with the rookie guard, whose salary won’t become guaranteed until January 10.
- In a separate Morning News link, Sefko weighs in on early potential free agent targets for the 2017 Mavericks, suggesting that the team ought to have its eye on point guards, even if stars like Stephen Curry and Chris Paul are unlikely to change teams. The team also figures to have a hole at center, but Sefko thinks that could be addressed in the draft.
- Finally, Sefko observes that the Mavericks achieved a rare feat on Monday night, when their starting lineup featured four undrafted players due to the injuries that have plagued the roster.
Community Shootaround: What Should Mavs Do?
The Dallas Mavericks have enjoyed an impressive run of success over the last decade and a half, finishing at or above .500 in each of the last 16 seasons. The last time the Mavs finished below .500 was back in 1999/2000, Dirk Nowitzki‘s second NBA season, when the team had a 40-42 record.
This season, however, the Mavs will face a major uphill battle to get to 41-41. Just a dozen games into the season, Dallas is already eight games below .500, at 2-10. Nowitzki, battling an Achilles injury, has missed time, as have veteran guards Deron Williams, J.J. Barea, and Devin Harris. The club’s top offseason addition, Harrison Barnes, has looked good, but his 21.3 points per game haven’t been enough to get Dallas more than a pair of victories so far.
It’s unclear at this point whether or not the Mavs will enter a full-fledged rebuild, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that the team is definitely keeping an eye on some young players as potential targets. There’s no sense at this time that the Mavericks will blow up their roster, but if they don’t turn things around and some of their veterans want to be traded to contenders, the Mavs could attempt to accommodate them, tweets Kyler.
Meanwhile, in a piece for The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor identifies Dallas as one of a handful of teams that should be tanking this season instead of going all-out to contend. As O’Connor observes, despite having some decent pieces in Barnes, Wesley Matthews, Justin Anderson, Dwight Powell, and Dorian Finney-Smith, the Mavs’ roster “badly needs an infusion of young talent.”
One team executive tells O’Connor that he thinks Dallas would only tank if Nowitzki’s injury issues persist throughout the year. In that scenario, veteran center Andrew Bogut would draw “plenty” of trade interest, according to the exec. The Mavs also hold their own first-round pick for 2017, so a bottom-five finish would give the team a chance at a top prospect.
What do you think? Should the Mavs hope they can get healthy and turn things around, or is it already time to start looking toward the future? If Dallas does decide to focus on next year, which of their vets should be on the trade block, and which ones should be retained as building blocks? Jump into the comments section below to let us know what you think!
Mavericks Notes: Acy, Gibson, Nowitzki, Barnes
The Mavericks’ release of Quincy Acy may not be permanent, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas waived the well-traveled forward on Friday after injuries left the team with a depleted backcourt. A roster spot was needed to bring back guard Jonathan Gibson, and Acy, who had appeared in just six games and was averaging 8.0 minutes per night, was let go. “We tried to get a medical exception, but we didn’t have enough guys injured,” said owner Mark Cuban. “He [Acy] is the best. I told him I’ve paid guys twice and three times in a season before, so be ready. I was heartbroken. We needed point guards. It was just a numbers game.”
There’s more this morning out of Dallas:
- Gibson’s 26-point performance Saturday night was the most by an undrafted player in his first or second NBA game in 24 years, posts Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Gibson, 29, had been playing overseas since being going undrafted in 2010.
- Cuban believesHarrison Barnes is poised to take over as the face of the franchise once Dirk Nowitzki retires, writes Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Nowitzki, 38, has been limited by Achilles soreness and has gotten into just three games this season. He signed a new deal over the summer paying him $50MM for two years. Barnes, who received more than $94MM over four seasons, has become the team’s leading scorer in his absence. “That happens to every franchise,” Cuban said. “Father Time is undefeated and we’ll have to deal with it. I think Harrison [Barnes] is showing a lot of signs that he can be that person. Not to try to put too much pressure on him, but it’s a job he wants and he’s willing to work for it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to add other pieces that are on the same plain.”
- The team has no plans to shut down Nowitzki for an extended period because of the injury, Sefko writes in a separate piece. “We’re just playing it safe with Dirk,” Cuban said. “With so many guys out, there’s no reason to rush him back. The old, ‘If this was a playoff game, he’d be playing.’ But when you’re missing three of your other top six or seven, that puts too much pressure on him.”
- With the Mavericks looking like a lottery team after a league-worst 2-10 start, Adam Grosbard of The Dallas Morning News examines some of the players expected to go early in the 2017 draft.
Parsons Believes Fan Anger Toward Him Is Misplaced
- Jonathan Gibson, who signed with the Mavericks earlier today, turned down offers to play in China while he awaited an NBA opportunity to materialize, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
Chandler Parsons returns to Dallas tonight, which will be his first visit since departing the Mavericks as a free agent this summer, and while the forward expects to be booed, he believes fan anger is misplaced, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. “Houston, I get it. I said some stupid stuff on the way out of Houston [after three seasons],” Parsons told MacMahon. “Dallas, I don’t understand. It’s like getting mad at somebody for getting in a car wreck and breaking their arm. Like, how in the world can you be mad at somebody for getting hurt? It makes no sense. That’s just so wrong to get mad at somebody for getting hurt, like they want to go through the rehab, want to go through the pain, want to go through the misery of not playing. I can never understand that aspect of it. So when it comes to Dallas, you’re going to get mad at me because Dirk Nowitzki decided to take less money to bring in a really good player and then unfortunately he gets hurt? That’s why you’re mad? Sure, boo.”
Chandler Parsons Had Expected To Retire A Mav
With the Grizzlies set to face the Mavericks tonight, Chandler Parsons will be playing in Dallas for the first time as a member of his new team, assuming his troublesome left knee doesn’t act up. With that game just hours away, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon revisited Parsons’ departure from the Mavs this offseason, providing some interesting details and suggesting that the veteran forward was somewhat caught off guard by the divorce.
“Throughout the whole process going into free agency, I always thought Dallas was going to be the place,” Parsons said. “I thought [Mark Cuban and I] had a mutual understanding that I was going to be there for the whole time and I was going to retire a Mav. Obviously, the second surgery gave him a little doubt, and I believe some people got in his head about it.”
Parsons tells MacMahon that he would have been willing to accept “a lot less” than a maximum-salary contract to remain in Dallas, where he was comfortable, despite his agent’s assurances that he’d receive max offers on the open market. In addition to the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers appeared willing to offer Parsons a max deal.
While the Mavs were reportedly never interested in offering Parsons the max, the 28-year-old says Cuban assured him the club was having productive talks with agent Dan Fegan, and that the Mavs owner was confident the two sides could work out a four-term deal. Asked by ESPN about those comments, Cuban shook his head, evidently disagreeing with Parsons’ account, writes MacMahon.
According to MacMahon, the Mavs’ brain trust – including president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, head coach Rick Carlisle, head athletic trainer Casey Smith, and Dirk Nowitzki – “shared a consensus concern” about a long-term contract for Parsons, given his knee problems. Uncertain about a long-term commitment, Cuban and the Mavs encouraged Parsons to pick up his player option, which would have paid him about $16MM for one last season in Dallas, putting him in line for a lucrative multiyear deal in 2017 if he could stay healthy. Parsons considered the suggestion “pretty ludicrous,” per MacMahon.
“Obviously that sounds nice, but why risk it? My concern is the same as them. You’re worried about paying my knee,” Parsons said. “You don’t want to pay me long term. These other really, really good teams do. If it’s too much of a risk for them to pay me for four years, it’s way too much of a risk for me to turn down guaranteed $94MM right now. It would make no sense, and no fan, no human, no one in the right mind would not do what I did.”
For more on the Mavs/Parsons split, Parsons’ role in the DeAndre Jordan saga in 2015, and his decision to sign with the Grizzlies, be sure to check out MacMahon’s full piece, which is chock full of interesting tidbits.