And-Ones: Lopez, Crawford, Holiday
With the way Brook Lopez has played this season, he has plenty of reason to not exercise his $16.7MM player option for the 2015/16 season with the Nets, and instead test free agency, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes. Lopez signed a four-year, $60.8MM deal with the Nets in July 2012. The big man is averaging 16.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game since the All-Star break, so he would likely receive plenty of interest from several teams, Bontemps adds. Lopez played in only 17 games last season because of a foot injury.
“I haven’t thought about that,” Lopez said of the player option. “I want to keep going, keep continuing to get my legs under me, and back to confidently playing basketball and being the player I normally can be. That’s still way out. I always take it one game at a time, so it’s definitely a ways out.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Clippers coach Doc Rivers said “there’s a chance” that Jamal Crawford will not return this season and added that the veteran guard is nowhere near playing, Melissa Rohlin of The Los Angeles Times writes. The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year has a very deep bruise on his right calf, and he’s had to have it drained once in the last 10 days, the Clippers said before Sunday’s game. The Clippers have gone 6-4 since losing Crawford, who is averaging 16.4 PPG this season. J.J. Redick has stepped up without Crawford by scoring at least 20 points in each of his last four games. “Jamal told me he’s feeling better,” Rivers said. “It’s just that it doesn’t seem like it. Honestly, we don’t know. There’s no target date for Jamal, for sure.”
- There’s a strong chance Justin Holiday‘s short run as the Warriors’ starting shooting guard ends Monday if Klay Thompson‘s sprained right ankle is healed, but the journeyman has made strides toward improving his game while playing in an enhanced role, Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group writes.
Poll: Is Draymond Green Worth The Max?
Draymond Green will become a restricted free agent this offseason and a player with his kind of talent is certain to garner much attention. There are reports that the Warriors are hesitant to give Green a higher starting salary than they will give Klay Thompson next season. Thompson won’t receive more than $15.5MM, per his agreement with the team. The maximum salary for the 2015/16 season won’t be known until the offseason since it is a product of the salary cap. There is a chance that the true figure comes in above $15.5MM, which would create a conundrum for the team. However, Golden State had given every indication that they will match any offer sheet presented to the B.J. Armstrong client.
Green is very valuable to the Warriors, as he has become the team’s utility knife. His size and quickness allow him defend basically any opponent. Versatility is an asset in the NBA and having Green on the Warriors allows coach Steve Kerr to get creative and exploit mismatches. Kerr has used Green at different positions in various lineups this season, including one with Green at center surrounded by four shooters, which is virtually impossible to defend. Green has also logged minutes at the both forward positions and has guarded shooting guards, forwards and centers.
While Green’s defense has always been his bread and butter, his improved shooting over the last year and half has been a major factor in his increased role. The 25-year-old’s shooting has risen every year he has been in the league and he is currently shooting 44.0% from the field and 34.2% from three point range this season. Green’s ability to effectively defend the opponents’ big men, coupled with his shooting skills, has turned the Michigan State product into the NBA’s quintessential stretch four. The position is in demand now more than ever and teams are often using underqualified players to play the role.
There will be a plethora of teams interested in the forward’s services this offseason. The Pistons should be considered the favorite, outside of the Warriors, to sign Green as reports have indicated that the Michigan native has “significant interest” in signing an offer sheet with them. Detroit only has $37.6MM on the books for the 2015/16 season, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors points out on our Pistons Salary Commitment page. That figure doesn’t account for cap holds for players like Greg Monroe and Reggie Jackson. I speculate that Monroe will leave Mo Town, while Jackson stays put for a starting salary between $10-13MM. Such moves would give the Pistons cap space for at least one maximum salary contract. The Lakers and Knicks also should have cap space for at least one max contract and those teams are always a threat to steal an opposing team’s free agent.
Green is a budding young talent and many teams will look to secure a meeting with him once free agency begins. Still, this doesn’t mean a maximum salary contract, which is usually reserved for star players, necessarily awaits him. Green, who hasn’t yet made an all-star team, isn’t quite a star in the league, but he is trending in the right direction.
Will Draymond Green Get The Max?
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No 63% (470)
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Yes 38% (282)
Total votes: 752
College Notes: Hoiberg, Russell, Johnson
Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg was the victim of an upset loss in the NCAA tournament, but he’s been a popular head coaching candidate in NBA circles of late, and the sense around the league is that he’ll be selective and won’t take just any NBA job, tweets Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. He was a leading candidate for the Warriors job this past offseason, but once the team’s brass interviewed him, they shifted their focus to Steve Kerr, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
Here’s more from the NCAA:
- D’Angelo Russell has had a monster season, and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders believes the point guard should declare for the draft. The freshman had previously expressed uncertainty about whether or not he would leave Ohio State after this semester. Kennedy compares Russell’s impending decision to the decision that Jabari Parker made last season. Parker ended up being selected by Milwaukee with the No. 2 overall pick. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors has Russell as his second best player in his latest Prospect Power Rankings.
- Dakari Johnson hasn’t received much attention due to the amount of talent on Kentucky’s roster, but Ryan Wolstat the Toronto Sun believes the center could become a star. Wolstat mentions several prospects, including Johnson and fellow Wildcat Trey Lyles, that may be available late in the first round, where the Raptors‘ pick is projected to land.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Robinson, Goodwin, Kuzmic
Nate Robinson‘s energy off the bench played a vital role in earning his second 10-day contract, which he signed on Tuesday, writes Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. The guard hasn’t played his best lately, but he believes he can contribute to the team without touching a basketball. “Doc [Rivers] gave me a great opportunity to come in and showcase my talent and be here for these guys and be a veteran leader,” Robinson said. “That’s what I’m working on now, maturing myself and my game and helping our younger guys and leading by example by just playing hard. Everything else will take care of itself.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines the development of 2013 29th overall pick Archie Goodwin, who’s seeing more playing time for the Suns of late, a couple of months after he vented about his lack of minutes. The Suns drew trade suitors for Goodwin but let them know that he remains a significant part of their plan.
- The Warriors have assigned Ognjen Kuzmic to their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to the team’s Twitter feed. To date, the 7’1″ center has only played in 16 games this season, totaling 72 minutes of NBA action.
- Chris Paul elevated his game and kept the Clippers afloat in the Western Conference while Blake Griffin was out due to an injury. Tom Ziller of SB Nation believes Paul deserves to receive the NBA’s MVP award. Ziller points out that in addition to scoring 18.4 points per game, the point guard creates 23.4 points per game off of his assists. This, along with Paul’s low turnover rate and quality defense, makes the 29-year-old a dark horse contender in the wide open MVP race.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Clippers, Green, Stokes, Rondo
Doc Rivers confirmed to reporters, including Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, that the Clippers could look to add another small forward in wake of the hamstring injury to Matt Barnes (Twitter link). Los Angeles has been reportedly keeping a close eye on the health of Jordan Hamilton, who sprained his ankle on the last day of his second 10-day deal with the club, as well as monitoring Eric Griffin, who’s currently playing in the D-League. While we wait to see if either player inks a deal with the Clippers in the near future, we’ll round up more from out West..
- Earlier reports suggested the Warriors have given “every indication” that they’ll match any offer sheet presented to restricted free agent Draymond Green this summer, and Mychal Thompson – Klay Thompson’s father – spoke with a team executive whose testimony jibed with that notion (Twitter link via Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group).
- The Grizzlies are sending Jarnell Stokes on his sixth D-League assignment this season, the team announced via press release. Stokes will re-join the Iowa Energy, with whom he’s averaged impressive marks of 18.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in six games.
- Although Rajon Rondo hasn’t put up All-Star-caliber numbers for the Mavericks thus far, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News argues that a package consisting of Jameer Nelson, some bench pieces, and a first-round pick wasn’t too high of a price to pay for player with Rondo’s pedigree.
Pacific Notes: Jordan, Price, Suns
Most people who saw Shaun Livingston‘s brutal left knee injury from eight years ago thought his playing days were over. Now, as Marcus Thompson II of Bay Area News Group writes, the Warriors guard is in his tenth season, making his highest salary, and playing his most important role. Here’s more from the Pacific Division..
- In the latest edition of their A to Z podcast (audio link), Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan told Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports that the incumbent team won’t necessarily have a head start on the rest of the field in free agency. “I mean I’ve obviously been here seven years, and the past two have been great,” he said. “[Coach Doc Rivers] has been my biggest supporter and the best coach I’ve ever had. The team is great. The guys are great. We have great camaraderie. But the free agency process is definitely going to be a fun one. I want to experience it and see what it’s like because before I was restricted so I just kind of had to wait it out. I definitely want to experience it, but I’m happy being a Clipper and I’ve been here for seven years, so this is definitely what I’m used to.”
- Ronnie Price wants to return with the Lakers next season and it sounds like the feeling is mutual, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Coach Byron Scott said that he’s “definitely a guy [the Lakers] will consider” and that the guard has proven himself to be the “type of guy you want on a team.” The nine-year veteran has averaged just 5.1 PPG off of 34.5% shooting with 3.8 APG, but he’s become a favorite of Scott’s thanks to his toughness and locker room leadership.
- Suns owner Robert Sarver made it clear to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (via Twitter links) that he is strongly in favor of playoff reform. “I am in favor of what’s best for the fans and players who do the competing. I am looking forward to seeing the analysis of the pros and cons of a change from the league office,” Sarver wrote to Amick via email.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Cousins, Price, McAdoo
George Karl acknowledged that he and DeMarcus Cousins started their relationship under trying circumstances and that it will take a while for them to truly build camaraderie, asthe Kings coach detailed in an interview with TNT’s David Aldridge for his NBA.com Morning Tip column.
“I’ve had some really good, serious talks about him,” Karl said of Cousins. “I think it’s hard, because of the skepticism of his agent and all that. It’s a process right now. I’m not saying the trust is with capital letters yet. But I think it’s on the page. That’s all I can ask for. I hope he understands that the process is not going to work coming in the middle of the season, taking a team that was basically a possession, defensive-minded team, and turning it into a running team. I think we’re getting a good pace, but we’re not doing it that well.”
Karl arrived in Sacramento amid Cousins’ frustration with the team’s frequent coaching turnover, and a person familiar with Karl’s thinking apparently told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that the Kings are open to trading Cousins this summer. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Ronnie Price was a revelation for the Lakers this season, becoming a starter after signing a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary in the offseason, and he’d like to come back to the team even if he’d only be a third-stringer, as he told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Price, who seems doubtful to play again this season because of a bone spur in his right elbow, will be a free agent this summer.
- The Warriors have recalled James Michael McAdoo from the D-League, the team announced. The rookie scored 25 points in 29 minutes for Golden State’s affiliate Sunday the day after the Warriors sent him on assignment.
- Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob shared his thoughts on Draymond Green, David Lee and more with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, as we passed along earlier today.
Warriors Co-Owner On Green, Lee, Luxury Tax
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob takes an aggressive approach to running his team, and it’s paid off, with Golden State a half-game in front of the Hawks for the league’s best record. His bold approach extends even to his plans for a new arena in San Francisco, though he told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that he now finds a 2017 opening date for that building unlikely and is instead focused on 2018. Lacob had plenty more to say, including a remark in which he expressed his hope that Stephen Curry is “a Warrior for life,” in a podcast taped Friday with Kawakami, who transcribes 20 of Lacob’s responses in a full story. The entire interview is worth your time, particularly if you’re a Warriors fan, but we’ll share three of Lacob’s remarks here:
On Draymond Green, set for restricted free agency this summer:
“I obviously have to choose my words carefully here — we’re not trying to make any claims or anything like that. He will go through the restricted free agency process; I’m sure he’ll get offers from other teams. And he’ll have an offer from us, obviously. Look, he’s very much a part of the core here. That’s the way we view him. He just turned 25 years old and along with Steph and Klay [Thompson] and Harrison [Barnes] we have our sort of core young four, if you will, along with a lot of other really good players. All I can say is we’re going to do everything we can to convince him to stay and be a Warrior for a long time. Of course we have the ultimate [choice] in all that — we can match any deal he gets.”
On the possibility of trading David Lee:
“This is really for [GM] Bob [Myers] to figure out and our basketball ops team. We’re going to figure out how to put together the team for next year. And let’s wait to see how the season ends, first. … You don’t know what’s going to happen. … Sometimes you change your view by the end of the year. Look, if that’s the way it works out, he’s an expiring contact and if it’s better for him to move on somewhere else, maybe that might happen. But it might not. I think we have to wait until the end of the year and assess everything when the season’s over.”
On paying the luxury tax:
“No one should be comfortable with that because the penalties are obviously quite severe. We’d always prefer not to. I can’t sit here and lie and say that I would love to pay the luxury tax. No one would love to pay the luxury tax. But we always have known that there could be a time when it’s required, when the team is at such a point, to keep it together, maybe it’s just that point where we have overlapping contacts that add up … where we have to pay the luxury tax to do that, to keep our long-term plan intact. So the answer, without going on and on, is that we are prepared to pay the luxury tax, yes, if we have to. That’s just a part of the business. It’s not something we want to do. And we’ll all see what happens. A lot depends on what other teams do and how free agency goes and so on. There’s really quite a few factors.”
And-Ones: Rondo, Mavs, Dragic
Years ago, in a fit of rage, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki put a hole in a wall at the Warriors‘ Oracle Arena. Now, Golden State wants to bring that wall with them when they move to a privately financed arena in San Francisco for the 2018/19 season, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. The Warriors want to bring it along because it has been made into a large display that many people inquire about viewing, Howard-Cooper added.
“It’s amazing how many people ask to see it,” said Steve Martin, the production manager for Oracle. “It’s right outside my door, so I hear it all the time. At first, I thought it was just kind of a goof. But as time went on, it’s become a bigger deal.”
Besides not knowing where it would go, Howard-Cooper writes, there is another problem with the idea: since Oracle is owned by the city of Oakland, local government can tell the Warriors no. Here’s more from around the NBA..
- Rajon Rondo is finally starting to mesh with his teammates in Dallas, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. After struggling during most of his time with the Mavericks, Rondo seems to be figuring out how to play the style of basketball that the team is accustomed to. “He was tremendously active, I know that,” Nowitzki said after Friday’s win over the Clippers. “He was out there talking, directing everybody. This was as animated as I’ve seen him. Maybe he’s getting more comfortable.”
- The Mavericks announced via press release that they have recalled center/forward Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends of the D-League. Powell has appeared in 19 games for the Mavericks this season and is averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game. The 6’11” big man scored 28 points in 35 minutes for the Legends on Saturday.
- The Heat have recalled Zoran Dragic from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according the team’s twitter feed. The guard appeared in four games for the Skyforce, averaging 16.5 points, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Chris Crouse and Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Scott, Lin
Lakers coach Byron Scott feels for Knicks coach Derek Fisher. While Scott isn’t a coaching neophyte like his New York counterpart, both men have to deal with rabid fans in a major media market. “I think the New York fans are just like our fans. They say they’re going to be patient but they’re really not,” Scott said, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “They have to be patient. Phil’s going to be very patient with Derek. He knows the type of person that Derek is. It just doesn’t happen overnight.” Here’s more from the Pacific Division..
- With the season winding down, Scott plans put pending free agent Jeremy Lin in the Lakers starting lineup, Medina writes. Lin started the first 19 games of the season only to lose his starting spot in favor of veteran guard Ronnie Price because of Scott’s preference for his defense and floor leadership Now, it sounds like he’ll get more of an opportunity to showcase himself before the end of the year.
- Scott is heaping tons of praise on 10-day signee Jabari Brown, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. “He played extremely well for a guy who is on a 10-day contract,” the Lakers coach said. “He earned the right to play some more.” Brown inked his 10-day deal with Los Angeles on March 10th, so he still has some time left on this current pact.
- Phil Jackson losing out on coach Steve Kerr to the Warriors is well documented, but he’s happy for his success, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “The perfect job for him and perfect situation where he stepped into the right opportunity and made the most out of it,” Jackson said of Kerr. “I don’t give him advice. I’m there to congratulate him.’’