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Southwest Rumors: Grizzlies, White, Brewer

March 27th, 2013 at 6:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks are one of only two NBA teams sitting the night out, but the Grizzlies appear to be especially busy, juxtaposing a tough road game against the Knicks tonight with reports that they're apparently seeking a point guard. There's more on that and other news from Southwest Division teams, as we round up here:

In a piece chronicling the Mavs' run at a playoff spot, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld wonders whether D-League center Jerome Jordan could be a fit for the Grizzlies. With starting center Marc Gasol back from injury and the team linked to Keyon Dooling and Jonny Flynn, there may not be much call for Jordan in Memphis.
Royce White had his best showing as a pro Tuesday, with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his return to the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers, but he plans on leaving the Rockets' affiliate again when the regular season is over, as he tells David Hinojosa of The Monitor. "I’ll be here until the end of the regular season," the rookie said. "The playoff schedule and how hectic it is in the D-League probably ain’t going be the best thing for me. Going to the playoffs, I want them to have a team that’s going to stick together."
Corey Brewer says he wants to return to the Nuggets as a free agent in the offseason, but the swingman also reveals that he came close to signing with the Spurs before inking his current deal, notes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. The Celtics were also in the running for Brewer before the Mavs scooped him up and later traded him to the Nuggets.
Giannis Antetokoumpo of Greece, who plays point guard despite his 6'10" height and 7'3" wingspan, has drawn interest from Rockets GM Daryl Morey, among others, reports Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com. Bryan Colangelo of the Raptors, Masai Ujiri of the Nuggets, and Sam Presti of the Thunder are the other GMs who've traveled to scout Antetokoumpo, who has an affordable buyout clause in his contract for next season with Zaragoza of Spain, according to Sheridan. While there appears to be some confusion about the spelling of his last name, he's No. 32 on the DraftExpress list of the top 100 draft prospects.

Poll: Western Conference Playoff Matchups

March 21st, 2013 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Heading into tonight's action, the Spurs and Thunder look fairly safe as the top two seeds in the Western Conference. The Spurs have a five and a half game lead on the third-place Grizzlies, while the Thunder remain three games up on the Grizz, even after last night's loss in Memphis.

However, the last several weeks of the season figure to provide a very entertaining race for the No. 3 seed in the West. While the Grizzlies (46-21) currently hold the spot, it's only by percentage points over the Clippers (47-22) and Nuggets (47-22). All three teams are nine and a half games ahead of the sixth-place Warriors.

While the race for the third seed hasn't received as much coverage as the battle for the eighth seed, it figures to be crucial for a team's chances of getting out of the first round. For instance, if the Grizzlies hold onto the third spot, they would host a playoff series against an opponent like the Warriors and Rockets, rather than having to go up against the Clippers and Nuggets right away.

With five Western teams seemingly head and shoulders above the rest of the conference, at least two of those elite clubs will have to play one another in the first round. The Thunder and Spurs almost certainly won't be involved, so which of the other three potential matchups would intrigue you most? A rematch of last year's first-round series between the Grizzlies and Clippers? Or a series involving an entertaining Nuggets team that has won its last 13 games? Weigh in below!

Which Western Conference first round matchup would you most like to see?

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets 60.10% (244 votes)

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Clippers 20.20% (82 votes)

Denver Nuggets vs. Memphis Grizzlies 19.70% (80 votes)

Total Votes: 406

George Karl Talks Nuggets, Lineups, Contract

March 21st, 2013 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Typically, a winning streak like the Nuggets' current 13-game run would be one of the NBA's biggest ongoing stories, but Denver's current stretch has been overshadowed by Miami's streak, which is up to 24 consecutive wins. That's probably fine with head coach George Karl, who is focused on getting his team a top-four seed and home court advantage for the first round of the postseason. Karl spoke to Sam Amick of USA Today about a number of topics, including his contract situation and how the team has evolved since the Carmelo Anthony trade. Here are a few highlights from Karl:

On turning into a contender so soon after moving Carmelo:

"I definitely think that the speed that we've built ourselves back into being a contender in the Western Conference has surprised me. We have one player on the team that played with Melo. The Melo trade was, what, two years ago in February? And you have to remember that one of those years was a lockout year. So probably the team has only played together less than 100 games.

"And then you had the Nene trade last year. Nene was another piece that we changed up. That was kind of the final addition that 'we're going to go with young players.' During the year, we played Kosta (Koufos) and Timo (Timofey Mozgov) a lot more than we played Bird (Chris Andersen) and Nene. We turned it over to all the young guys. The team has evolved. It's worked hard. It has stayed focused … My team even last year always thought they could play with the big boys. Now that they have the consistency to play an 82-game season together and show that they're good enough, that's what we're doing this year."

On managing a deep roster and deciding on crunch-time lineups:

"I have no problem finishing any way I think I can win. Sometimes that ruffles the feathers a little bit of my players. But Corey Brewer is the guy who I think has played well enough to finish a lot of games. I don't do it all the time, and when I don't do it I think it's unfair to Corey, because even though (Andre) Iguodala and Gallo (Danilo Gallinari) are the high-paid dudes, sometimes Corey is the better basketball player. It's not right that we always give it to the guy who gets paid the most money. There should not be an entitlement that because you get paid the most money, that you should finish every game. But if you don't do it, then the agents are going to call and the players are going to mope and so you negotiate that. It's a compromise as a coach."

On whether his track record gives him more leeway with coaching decisions:

"I don't think there's any question that I don't think young coaches can maybe take the risks that I take. But in the same sense, I think my staff and I work very hard on explaining what we're doing. And we have no problem with a player wanting to play, and we have no problem answering a question of why you're not playing — in fact we encourage it, we like it, we want players to want to play, we want them to be angry when they're not playing, but we don't want them to degrade the team or negate the team (with) a negative attitude during the game or during practice or in the locker room."

On whether he's considering retirement:

"Well, I've got one year left on my deal here (after this season), with a three-year option. I don't think I think about retirement, but I don't think about the rat race of what's my next job going to be. It's not in the back of my mind, other than I'm going to probably finish my career — hopefully I finish my career here in Denver. That gives me, again, more balance and probably a more secure perspective on coaching than most coaches have in this business because I think all coaches are always worried about their job a little bit."

Teams Projected To Be Taxpayers In 2013/14

March 19th, 2013 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this month, I looked at Eastern and Western Conference teams that could create room for a maximum contract this offseason. With more punitive luxury-tax penalties on the way, and CBA rules in place that restrict flexibility for taxpaying teams, more clubs are looking to maintain cap space, or at least stay well below the tax line.

Still, there are plenty of teams whose commitments for 2013/14, the first year that those more punitive tax penalties will take effect, already put them well into tax territory. We won't know for sure until the summer what the tax line for '13/14 will be, but it's unlikely to be too much higher than this season's $70.307MM mark.

In addition to facing increased penalties for being in the tax, taxpaying teams will lose the ability to make certain roster moves. Any club that spends more than the taxpayer mid-level exception, uses its bi-annual exception, or acquires a player via sign-and-trade next season won't be permitted to increase its team salary more than $4MM above the tax threshold — those clubs will face a hard cap similar to the one the Bulls have been up against this year.

There's still plenty of time between now and the start of next season for teams to cut salary, whether that means making trades, using amnesty clauses, or reaching buyout agreements with players. But for now, here are the teams projected to be in tax territory for 2013/14:

Boston Celtics: If Paul Pierce chooses to turn down his $15.33MM player option, or the team buys him out for the guaranteed $4MM on that option, perhaps the Celtics can avoid the tax, but both scenarios are improbable. With Pierce's full salary on the books, the C's have $72.77MM committed to 11 players, which will put them slightly over the tax threshold. The C's could be candidates to explore a trade or two that would help them slide back below that line.
Brooklyn Nets: With over $84MM in guaranteed money on their books for 2013/14, the Nets are on their way to becoming perennial taxpayers — incredibly, the club also has $76MM+ committed for '14/15, and potentially close to $73MM for '15/16.
Chicago Bulls: Poised to pay the tax for the first time this season, the Bulls might have to do it again next year if they don't make any cost-cutting moves. The team currently has more than $74MM committed to eight players.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers' current commitments total $77.63MM, which doesn't seem too bad until you consider that a maximum-salary contract for Dwight Howard will likely be added to that figure. If the Lakers don't make any trades or use the amnesty clause, their tax bill will end up being nearly as large as their team salary.
Miami Heat: The Heat will rack up a significant tax bill in '13/14, but ownership should be happy to pay that price for what could be the team's last run together. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all the have the ability to opt out of their contracts in the summer of 2014.
New York Knicks: Interestingly, the six teams that look like near-locks to be in the tax next season are the same six that will be taxpayers this season. Considering the looming repeater tax that takes effect in 2015, some of these clubs have to be prioritizing getting below the tax line by '14/15. It won't be easy for the Knicks to do that though — they no longer have the amnesty clause, and don't have many trade assets. New York has $74MM+ in commitments for '13/14 (assuming J.R. Smith declined his player option) and $76MM+ for the following season (assuming Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire exercise their player options).

Honorable mention:

Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets' position in relation to the tax will depend in large part on Andre Iguodala's contract situation. If Iguodala were to pick up his player option or sign a long-term deal with a similar starting salary, Denver would be up to nearly $68MM in commitments for 11 players, meaning minimum-salary players might be necessary to fill out the roster and avoid the tax.
Golden State Warriors: Player options will also have a significant impact on the Warriors' team salary, as Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson, and Brandon Rush all appear to be near-locks to opt in. If Carl Landry does too, Golden State's salary would be about $73MM for 11 players, making it tricky to get out of the tax.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Avoiding becoming a long-term taxpayer was a primary motivation in the James Harden trade, so one would assume the Thunder will do everything they can to stay out of the tax next season. Still, if the team hopes to bring back Kevin Martin, they'll have to add him to a roster that already includes $65MM+ in salary commitments.
Toronto Raptors: Currently projected to be in the tax, the Raptors could easily avoid it by amnestying Andrea Bargnani ($10.75MM), but will likely amnesty Linas Kleiza ($4.6MM) instead. That should be enough to sneak below the tax line, but it won't give them a ton of flexibility to make additional moves without going back into tax territory.

Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this post.

Knicks Links: Carmelo, Nets, Stoudemire

March 13th, 2013 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

One reunion between a star player and his former home court received plenty of fanfare yesterday, as Dwight Howard put up a monster 39-point, 16-rebound line in his return to Orlando. Tonight will feature another star playing his former team, as Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks face the Nuggets in Denver. Because of the 2011 lockout, the Knicks didn't travel to Denver in a shortened '11/12 season, making this time the first time Carmelo has played in Denver since being traded in February 2011.

Here are a few Wednesday morning Knicks notes, with a focus on that Carmelo trade:

Discussing his desire to be traded to New York, Anthony tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that a number of Nuggets players at the time were on expiring contracts, and he was facing the possibility of being on a rebuilding team. "People didn't really know the business side of the situation we were in," Anthony said. "Everybody's contract was up. They had plans of going younger. People from the outside looking in didn't really get it."
When the Nuggets and Knicks finalized the blockbuster deal, it was one of two options on the table for Denver GM Masai Ujiri. According to Spears, an offer from the Nets was also available, which included Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Troy Murphy, and three draft picks. The Nets ultimately sent a similar package to the Jazz for Deron Williams.
Sunny Saini of ESPN Stats & Info and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com each explore the question of who "won" the 'Melo trade between the Nuggets and Knicks. Begley reaches the same conclusion I would, arguing that both sides would likely do the deal again.
Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com believes that, as bad as Amare Stoudemire's contract looks for the Knicks, it was a necessary evil, since it contributed significantly to the team becoming relevant again.

Western Notes: McGuire, Iguodala, Kings, Mavs

March 12th, 2013 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to an eight-game evening slate that includes Dwight Howard's return to Orlando, let's round up a few of today's stories relating to Western Conference clubs….

The Warriors elected not to sign Dominic McGuire after the trade deadline using one of their open roster spots at least in part because coach Mark Jackson didn't want McGuire taking minutes away from rookie Draymond Green, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Sulia).
Andre Iguodala admits to Paola Boivin of the Denver Post that his 2013/14 player option is in the back of his mind, but says he won't make a concrete decision on whether or not to exercise it until after the season.
Despite David Stern's insistence that the Kings sale won't result in a bidding war, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the Sacramento group may be in trouble if the Seattle group "keeps pushing up the price."
Part of the reason the Mavericks released Dominique Jones was to give him an opportunity to find playing time with another club, as GM Donnie Nelson explains to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "The playing time that Dominique probably deserves wasn’t here and available," Nelson said. "Hopefully that presents itself with another team some place."
Darren Collison isn't complaining about coming off the bench for the Mavericks, but when he becomes a free agent this summer, he'll hit the market believing that he's capable of being a starter somewhere, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

Odds & Ends: Bulls, Gasol, Nuggets, Kings

March 10th, 2013 at 10:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's tonight's look around the Association..

The Bulls may have the best trade package for the Lakers if they try to trade for Pau Gasol, but Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) can't really see the big man playing for coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Nuggets roster has been shaped by the club's blockbuster Carmelo Anthony deal of 2011, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "It was a great trade," said former NBA guard Steve Kerr. "The pieces all fit really well with a coach who is renowned for player development and up-tempo basketball… In the end, it's not as if the team was winning in the playoffs with Carmelo anyway."
There's an eight-figure gap between the bids being put up by the Sacramento group and the Seattle group for the Kings, sources close to the situation tell Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
The Mavericks cut guard Dominique Jones over his unwillingness to go to the D-League, but Dirk Nowitzki hopes that Jones finds new work rather quickly, according to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram (on Sulia).
Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Sulia) hears from sources that the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is adopting an NCAA tournament-style elimination format.

Southeast Rumors: Harrington, Bobcats, Pargo

March 8th, 2013 at 6:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

We've had a couple interesting items come out of the Southeast Division already today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the Hawks nearly engaged in a three-way deal at the deadline that would have sent Josh Smith to the Celtics, while the Heat are expected to give 40-year-old Juwan Howard a second 10-day contract. There are other notable stories involving Southeast teams this evening, and we'll round up them up here:

Magic power forward Al Harrington isn't wistful for his days with the Nuggets, as Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida notes via Twitter. "It was cool being there, but I’m not going to look back wishing I was somewhere that they don’t want me there," Harrington said.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer thinks the Bobcats, without much depth at point guard, should look in the D-League for someone to bolster that position on a 10-day contract (Twitter link). Backup Ramon Sessions is out for two to four weeks with a sprained left knee.
If Charlotte were to sign a veteran point guard, perhaps one option could be Jannero Pargo, who spent time with the Wizards and Hawks this season. Pargo's agent insists several teams have interest in the 33-year-old, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes Nikola Vucevic could command $10MM on the open market right now. Though the Swiss center isn't scheduled to hit restricted free agency until 2015, Schmitz argues the Magic should start planning by saving enough room on the payroll to retain him.
In the same report, Schmitz notes that newly acquired Magic guard Beno Udrih has no interest in playing for the Slovenian national team in the Euro championships this summer.
The Hawks, Bobcats and Magic could all have enough cap room to sign a maximum-salary player in the offseason, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed today.

Odds & Ends: Dieng, Iguodala, Howard, Kennedy

March 6th, 2013 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NCAA tournament approaching, it won't be long before we begin to receive reports on college underclassmen declaring their intent to enter this year's NBA draft. One player who may leave school early is Louisville junior Gorgui Dieng, who I profiled back in December. As Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reports, Louisville coach Rick Pitino is nearly certain that Dieng will enter this June's draft class.

"If he is projected as a first-rounder, he is leaving," Pitino said. "And I'm almost sure he'll be taken in the first round."

Here are a few more Wednesday afternoon odds and ends:

"Every indication" is that if Andre Iguodala opts out of his contract this season, he'll do so to lock up a long-term deal with the Nuggets, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Iguodala has a 2013/14 player option worth about $16.15MM.
Count George Karl among those who is hoping the Kings remain in Sacramento, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. "I think everybody knows I'm a Seattle guy and I want basketball back in Seattle, but I don't want basketball out of Sacramento," the Nuggets coach said. "It's a politically correct answer, but it's a truthful answer on how I feel."
Dwight Howard told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, that he'd thought "plenty of times" about how the season may have played out if he hadn't returned from back surgery so quickly. However, Howard doesn't regret his decision to come back early. D12 also mentioned that he has received encouragement from Phil Jackson via text messages.
Ian Thomsen of SI.com ranks the top ten most powerful people in the NBA, with David Stern beating out LeBron James for the No. 1 spot.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (the Rockets' D-League affiliate) have acquired D.J. Kennedy in a five-player trade, as Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside details. Kennedy, who had a brief NBA stint at the end of last season with the Cavaliers, had been having an excellent year for the Erie BayHawks, averaging 18.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 5.5 APG.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford fielded exclusively draft-related questions in his usual Wednesday chat.

Nuggets Expected To Target Korver In Offseason

March 4th, 2013 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets stood pat at this year's trade deadline, electing to move forward with their current roster. However, the team figures to try to add a shooter this summer, and Kyle Korver is expected to be one of Denver's top targets, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.

Dempsey compares the Nuggets' interest in Korver to the club's interest in Andre Iguodala a year ago. Although Denver was interested in Iguodala at last season's trade deadline, it wasn't until August that the Nuggets eventually worked out a deal to acquire the veteran forward.

In Korver's case, a trade won't be required, since the sharpshooter is in the final year of his contract with the Hawks. It's not clear what sort of salary the 31-year-old will command, but he's earning mid-level money ($5MM) this season, in what has been one of the best years of his career. Korver is hitting a career-high 2.8 three-pointers per game at a league-leading 46.2% rate, and has posted a career-high 14.6 PER.

Although it's too early to predict where Korver will land this summer, he indicated last week that he'd be open to signing with the Jazz, so it sounds as if he'll consider smaller-market teams as well as big-market contenders.