Southwest Notes: Durant, Famous, Davis
The pending Rockets deals with Michael Beasley and Andrew Goudelock show the team intends to try to outscore opponents rather than address its defensive deficiencies, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. While both players are certainly capable of producing on the offensive end, neither is considered a capable defender, Watkins notes. “We’re trying to get better. [We’re] obviously not satisfied with where we are,” said interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who has more optimism regarding the two additions. “I think the organization has proven time and time again it will do whatever it takes to make the team better and improve the team. Whether it’s late-season additions, whether it’s trades or what have you, the team is willing to do it. By any means necessary, the ownership the front office, everybody is committed to improving the team.”
Houston also thinks it has a legitimate shot to land free agent prize Kevin Durant this summer, Watkins also relays. The franchise believes that offering Durant the chance to play alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard, if he is re-signed, is superior to what the Thunder can offer him, the ESPN scribe adds. Now here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The toe injury that Pelicans big man Anthony Davis suffered on Saturday is not as serious as originally feared, and he should return to the team’s lineup shortly, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays. The power forward says he doesn’t know what caused the injury during warmups, and he was initially fearful because no contact was involved, Verrier adds. “It was just a simple routine that I do, that I’ve been doing for the past four years,” Davis said. “They’re the most scary ones — when nobody’s on you and you just get an injury. When it happened I didn’t really know what was going on, what was going on with my foot. I’m glad it was nothing [serious]. Hopefully I’ll be back on the floor tomorrow.”
- Beasley is happy for the opportunity the Rockets are giving him to play in the NBA again, the combo forward told Mark Berman of FOX 26 Sports. “It’s a blessing for me, another chance to play basketball,” Beasley said. “Just a chance to play basketball, just show who I am and what I can do.”
- Jarrid Famous, who was with the Mavericks for the preseason, has signed with Bucaneros de la Guaira in Venezuela, Hazan Sports Management, which represents Famous, announced (via Twitter). The 27-year-old has played for Yulon Luxgen in Taiwan and Fujian of China since Dallas waived his partially guaranteed contract prior to opening night.
Western Notes: McClendon, Looney, Green
Aubrey McClendon, who was part owner of the Thunder, died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City today, Royce Young of ESPN.com relays. McClendon was indicted Tuesday for allegedly conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma, Young notes. “He pretty much drove straight into the wall,” Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama said. “The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway, and that didn’t occur.”
McClendon owned an estimated 20% of the Thunder and was part of Clay Bennett’s ownership group that relocated the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, the ESPN scribe adds. Here’s more from out West:
- Despite his halftime outburst Saturday that saw him share heated words with Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Draymond Green‘s fiery nature is normally a benefit to his game and the team in general, Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group opines. Green has apologized for his behavior and insists this incident shouldn’t define perceptions of him, Thompson adds. “It’s one thing when you’re going into an arena and they’re booing you and you’re the villain,” Green said. “I love that. But to paint me as a bad guy? I don’t get in trouble off the court. I don’t disrespect people. Your kid doesn’t walk up to me and I’m the biggest [jerk] they’ve ever seen. I don’t get arrested. You can try to paint me as that, but anybody who knows me knows that’s false.“
- Mavs small forward Chandler Parsons is thankful that all the hard work he put in while recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee is starting to pay off on the court, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. “It was just a mess,” Parsons said regarding his rehab. “It was something that was very hard to go through, but I’m glad because all the pain, all the struggle, all the work I put in, I use that every time I step on the floor. I realize no one’s worked as hard as me to get here.”
- The Warriors have assigned combo forward Kevon Looney to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Looney’s third jaunt to Santa Cruz on the season. He is averaging 9.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.9 minutes over five D-League contests.
Wolves Waive Kevin Martin In Buyout Deal
11:28pm: The Wolves have waived Martin, the team announced (Twitter link). Presumably, the official transaction took place before the 11pm Central time deadline, as previous reports indicated it would.
11:11pm: Some pessimism exists about the Mavs’ chances at Martin once he clears waivers, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
10:38pm: The Timberwolves and shooting guard Kevin Martin have come to an agreement on a buyout deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The move comes prior to the 11pm Central time deadline, so Martin will be eligible for the playoffs with any postseason-bound team he might sign with before the end of the regular season. It’s not immediately clear just how much salary the shooting guard gave up to secure his release. Martin is scheduled to earn $7.085MM this season with a $7,377,500 player option for next year. The move will give Minnesota a roster count of 13 players, two under the league maximum.
Martin was available for a trade prior to the February trade deadline, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press first reported, but potential suitors were apparently reluctant to take him on without knowing what he’d do about his player option for 2016/17. GM Milt Newton said after the deadline passed without a Martin trade that a buyout discussion would probably take place between Martin and the team in the near future, and that’s apparently come to fruition.
The veteran scorer shouldn’t be out of work for long with a number of teams reportedly showing interest. The Mavericks, Cavaliers, Hawks, Heat, Rockets and Thunder are all potential suitors for the shooting guard, though the Spurs are reportedly the favorites to sign him, as Stein reported last week. The Spurs remain in front, with the Mavs, Rockets and Hawks in pursuit, according to Stein’s latest dispatch (Twitter link). San Antonio currently has the league maximum of 15 players on its roster, so a corresponding move would be required if the team inks Martin.
The 33-year-old has appeared in 39 games for Minnesota this season, including 12 starts. Martin is averaging 10.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.4 minutes of action per appearance. His career numbers through 698 games are 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists to go with a shooting line of .438/.385/.870.
And-Ones: Oden, Sampson, Lee
Mavs power forward David Lee struggled to get into shape this season following the Warriors‘ NBA title run of last season and turned some heads when he said that he finally committed himself to getting fit when he fell out of the Celtics‘ rotation in preparation for joining another team, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Despite the negative implications of Lee’s remarks, Boston coach Brad Stevens isn’t upset with his former player, Forsberg notes. “I don’t know if that is semantics or how he meant to say it,” Stevens said. “I think the biggest thing that he was probably saying there was that, when you’re not playing, you have to find other ways to stay ready. And maybe I’m wrong. But I think that he certainly took [to his] diet, he worked out hard — he worked out hard enough that if he would have played, he would have been gassed in the games. Sometimes you can’t do that if you’re going to be playing 15 minutes per night. He was going two or three times hard per day during that stretch. So, no, I wasn’t frustrated by it. In fact it set a pretty good example for the other guys that weren’t playing.”
Stevens also acknowledged the difficult spot Lee was placed in with him not being in the team’s regular rotation, Forberg writes. “That was hard. That was really hard. And it was harder on [Lee] than anybody else, but we talked about it a lot,” Stevens said. “We didn’t have hardly any injuries with our bigs and we had a lot of bigs that, especially at the end of games, were going to be relatively the same position. And so it put a lot of guys on the bench. And it was different guys at different times. To his credit, when we eventually settled on playing others, he handled it really well. Kudos to him. I’m happy he’s doing well.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Former NBA top pick Greg Oden was released by the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association recently, but he appreciates the opportunity that the club gave him, Joshua Bateman of USA Today writes. “It was a great opportunity for me to come and just play basketball, which I haven’t been able to do for awhile,” Oden said. “They got me playing. For me, that’s all I can say. I’ve had a lot of years where I actually just couldn’t play and this year I’m actually able to be out there on the court and play 25 minutes when I never thought I would see over 20 minutes in a game. And I’m playing three games a week. For me, that’s just something I didn’t even think I would ever be able to do.”
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has released his latest mock draft and his current top three players are Ben Simmons of LSU, Duke’s Brandon Ingram and Croatian big man Dragan Bender.
- JaKarr Sampson‘s contract with the Nuggets doesn’t contain any guaranteed salary beyond this season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals (Twitter link), resolving earlier reports that conflicted. It’s a two-year pact for the minimum salary.
- Joe Johnson gave back exactly $3MM in his buyout from the Nets, reports Pincus relays (Twitter link).
- Kris Humphries agreed to forfeit precisely $1MM as part of his buyout with the Suns, Pincus also notes (Twitter links)
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Dallas Mavericks
The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades now past and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now upon us, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Dallas Mavericks, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:
- 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
- 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
- Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $73,096,861*
- Remaining Cap Room= –$3,096,861
- Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $11,091,228
*Note: This amount includes the $315,759 owed to Gal Mekel, the $525,094 owed to Maurice Ndour, the $1,499,187 due Samuel Dalembert, plus the $50K owed to both Jamil Wilson and Brandon Ashley, as well as the $10K owed to Jarrid Famous, all of whom were waived by the team.
**Note: Charlie Villanueva‘s salary for tax purposes is $1,499,187.
Cap Exceptions Available:
- None
Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000
Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $3,400,000
Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Magic To Aggressively Target Chandler Parsons
The Magic loom as the most significant threat to the Mavericks to sign Chandler Parsons to a new contract this summer, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Parsons is a virtual lock to turn down his $16.023MM player option for next season with the salary cap moving sharply upward, and he’s expected to receive a maximum-salary contract, MacMahon writes. Sources who spoke with MacMahon anticipate an aggressive pursuit from Orlando and expect the Heat, Lakers, Nets, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Rockets and Nuggets to come after the 27-year-old, too. The Thunder, would also have interest if Kevin Durant bolts, MacMahon adds, pointing to the presence of Billy Donovan, Parsons’ college coach, in Oklahoma City.
The Mavs realize they’ll need to once more put on a recruiting effort for the versatile small forward they signed to a loaded offer sheet in 2014, but they nonetheless appear to be the favorites for him again this summer, according to MacMahon. That’s because of the loyalty he feels toward owner Mark Cuban and teammate Dirk Nowitzki, as well as the fondness Parsons has for Rick Carlisle, having advocated for the five-year extension the team gave the coach earlier this season, the ESPN scribe writes. The relationship between Parsons and Carlisle is nuanced, MacMahon explains, with Parsons wary of whether Carlisle fully trusts him on the court, but Carlisle this week referred to Parsons as “a franchise-caliber player in the making” in a message to MacMahon.
The Magic opened enough cap flexibility in trades last month to sign two players to max contracts this summer, with only about $36MM in guaranteed salary on next season’s books against a projected $90MM cap. Orlando and soon-to-be free agent Al Horford reportedly have mutual interest, and Horford went to the University of Florida, just as Parsons did.
Parsons is in his fifth season, so he’ll be eligible for the lowest of the three maximum salary tiers, likely with a starting salary approaching $21MM. The Mavs will have only his Early Bird rights this summer, though they’ll function essentially as full Bird rights would for Parsons because his projected max is within 175% of his nearly $15.362MM salary for this season. The only difference will be that the Mavs can only offer four years instead of the five that they could with full Bird rights. Dallas will still have the opportunity to give him 7.5% raises instead of the 4.5% that the Magic and others will be limited to. That would mean a difference of some $4MM over the life of a four-year deal. Still, Parsons will value comfort and on-court opportunity over money as he decides where to sign, sources familiar with his thinking tell MacMahon.
In any case, the Mavericks appear committed to doing what they can to keep Parsons. Cuban indicated as much about a month ago to MacMahon, referring to Parsons and Wesley Matthews as a “crushing tandem on the wing.”
Southwest Notes: Howard, Thornton, Dekker
The Mavericks have no interest in signing Rockets center Dwight Howard if he opts out this summer, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Sefko touched on two other free agent centers, stating that Dallas is concerned about “off-court issues” involving Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, while Atlanta’s Al Horford would be a nice fit between Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons. In a question-and-answer session, Sefko also said the Mavericks may pursue Harrison Barnes if Parsons opts out, but he believes Barnes will stay with the Warriors.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Former Rockets guard Marcus Thornton cleared waivers this afternoon, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Houston released Thornton on Friday after he was sent to Detroit in a deal at the deadline that was later voided because of health concerns involving Donatas Motiejunas. Despite trading for Thornton, the Pistons don’t have any interest in signing him.
- The Rockets have recalled rookie combo forward Sam Dekker from their D-League affiliate, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston made Dekker the 18th overall pick in last summer’s draft, but he has only appeared in three games for the Rockets because of back surgery. A Wisconsin native, Dekker was called up just in time for the team’s trip to Milwaukee on Monday. “That’s just how it worked out,” he said. “… Now I get to go home, see my family. … I’m sure there will be a lot of Badger fans in Bradley Center tomorrow.”
- The versatility of Lance Stephenson, who was acquired in a draft day trade with the Clippers, has helped the Grizzlies deal with the loss of Marc Gasol, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. There were concerns that Memphis might collapse after Gasol’s broken foot, but the team was averaging 108.6 points in five games without their center before Saturday’s loss at Phoenix. “It’s a whole new identity for us with different groups, different guys,” coach Dave Joerger said. “I’m trying to play Lance at four different positions. Matt Barnes is playing two different positions, sometimes three. We can struggle defensively, but we’ll just keep working at it.”
Southwest Notes: Lee, Pachulia, Stephenson, Miller
The addition of David Lee could cut into the playing time of Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Lee signed with Dallas as a free agent Monday after agreeing to a buyout with the Celtics, and he’s been productive, posting a 14-point, 14-rebound performance on Friday. Meanwhile, Pachulia’s numbers are declining. He’s shooting just 35.8% from the floor in February, while averaging 6.2 points and 9.7 rebounds. “One of the reasons we wanted to bring Lee on board was we wanted to alleviate a few of his [Pachulia’s] minutes,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “We’ll look at trying to keep everybody as fresh as possible. The thing about Zaza is he’s been a real important chemistry guy for us all year long. I think he’s ready.” Pachulia is making $5.2MM this season in the final year of his contract.
There’s more from the Western Conference:
- Although the Rockets have an open roster spot, it’s unlikely that shooting guard Kevin Martin will come to Houston, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Martin is a candidate for a buyout with the Wolves before Tuesday, but the Spurs are considered to be the front-runner to sign him. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the Rockets are looking at options to fill the open spot and could sign someone currently playing overseas (Twitter link).
- The Grizzlies‘ Lance Stephenson blames an inability to “fit in” for his failures with the Hornets and Clippers, writes Peter Edmiston in The Commercial Appeal. Memphis has a team option on Stephenson’s contract and can bring him back for another season at $9.405MM. “I’ve definitely got something to prove,” Stephenson said. “I just want to get back to my old self, get back to playing in a rotation and helping my teammates win. God is good, so wherever He guides me, I’m going to try my best to figure it out.”
- The expected addition of point guard Andre Miller gives the Spurs the two oldest players in the league, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. At 39, Miller is the oldest, 37 days older than center Tim Duncan.
And-Ones: Ashley, Williams, Thomas
During an appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Suns GM Ryan McDonough admitted that he’d erred in trading away point guard and 2016 NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas last February. “I think in retrospect trading Isaiah Thomas when we did was a mistake. I think sometimes in the recruitment process things sound better in July [luring Thomas in free agency] than they do in November,” McDonough said. “He wanted more. He wanted a bigger role and I understand why: He’s a talented player. In retrospect, we should have carried him into the summer. If there’s one [decision] that stands out, if I could get a mulligan, that’d be it.” In 58 appearances for the Celtics this season Thomas is averaging 21.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists with a slash line of .422/.348/.898.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mavs affiliate player Brandon Ashley has signed with the German club Alba Berlin, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (on Twitter). The exact terms of the deal are unknown, but international journalist David Pick (Twitter link) notes that Ashley’s deal includes an option for 2016/17, though it is unclear if that option belongs to the player or the team.
- Thunder coach Billy Donovan indicated no date has been set for assistant coach Monty Williams to return to the team, John Reid of The Times-Picayune writes. Williams is still mourning the tragic loss of his wife Ingrid in a car accident earlier this month. ”I don’t have really know the answer to that,” Donovan said regarding Williams’ return.”We haven’t talked about when he’ll be coming back. It’s been more of how he and his children are doing; just them adjusting to life without Ingrid and just getting the kids settled and back in school. I haven’t really talked to him about that, but whatever he decides to do I’m behind him on that 100% because the one thing I know and respect about Monty is that he’s going to put his family and children first. Those decisions I think will be made once he gets to a point when he can get them into some kind of rhythm and routine after what happened.”
- If the Rockets sign another player this season, he will likely be a power forward who is a solid defender, which probably rules out any interest in Joe Johnson, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com tweets. The Nets waived Johnson earlier today as part of a buyout arrangement.
- Tim Frazier, whom the Blazers waived last week, is expected to rejoin the Maine Red Claws in the coming days, Reichert relays (via Twitter). Maine is the Celtics‘ D-League affiliate, though Frazier will be free to sign with any NBA team that were to come calling.
And-Ones: Wolves, Joe Johnson, Rockets, Mavs
The Timberwolves are at a “standstill” in talks with Grizzlies minority-share owner Steve Kaplan about a potential deal that would see Kaplan and his partners take 30% of the Minnesota franchise, Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The sides can’t proceed until Kaplan sells his stake in the Grizzlies, Taylor said to Zgoda, and Memphis principal owner Robert Pera isn’t making it easy, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). The deal had reportedly been on track to be complete by the end of this month, but Taylor, who remains optimistic it will ultimately get done, said it will probably take months, not weeks, Zgoda relays. That arrangement would reportedly involve Taylor eventually ceding control of the Wolves to Kaplan, but Taylor plans to remain the primary owner for another few years, Krawczynski tweets. See more from around the NBA:
- New Nets GM Sean Marks essentially confirmed the reported buyout talks with Joe Johnson today in an appearance on the “Joe & Evan” show on CBS New York radio (Twitter transcription via Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game). Marks said the team would talk to Johnson to see “what he really wants to do,” adding that he thinks the 15th-year veteran has “deserved the right” to go to a playoff team if he wants.
- The relationship between James Harden and soon-to-be free agent Dwight Howard is nuanced, but the idea of tension between the Rockets stars is overblown, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com examines.
- The Mavericks didn’t really receive trade offers of picks likely to fall in the middle of the first-round for Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That conflicts with an earlier report.