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Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag

January 27th, 2016 at 4:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In addition to our regular weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted every Saturday.

Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.

If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.

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Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript

January 27th, 2016 at 4:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:02pm: We hosted the weekly live chat.

3:00pm: The Cavs set the NBA world abuzz with their coaching change Friday, overshadowing the Josh Smith trade and Steve Kerr’s long-awaited return to the Warriors, both of which happened the same day. A broken hand, reportedly self-inflicted, for Blake Griffin has cast more doubt on the Clippers title hopes, while the Hawks, a year removed from their perfect January of last season, are apparently considering a major move. We can talk about all that and more in today’s chat.

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Team-By-Team First-Round Pick Trade Restrictions

January 27th, 2016 at 12:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

First-round picks are valuable currency on the trade market. They allow teams to make significant talent upgrades for the near term, to clear salary obligations, and sometimes, especially when packaged together, to land a superstar. The picks are valuable in and of themselves, especially given their increased relative cost-effectiveness amid a rising salary cap, and they can also be crucial bargaining chips as executives talk swap this time of year.

Alas, for the Grizzlies, Mavericks and Heat, trading one of their first-round picks isn’t an option. That’s because all three have traded other picks that make it impossible for them to deal a first-rounder that falls within the stipulations of the Ted Stepien rule and other pick-trading regulations.

The Stepien rule is a fairly well-known measure that keeps team from trading consecutive future first-round picks. It doesn’t apply to previously traded first-rounders, so the Pelicans, who traded their first-round pick last year, can trade their 2016 first-rounder. The Stepien rule doesn’t cover trades that happen immediately after the draft, either, so teams barred from trading their 2016 first-rounders now can do so in June. That won’t help much at the February 18th trade deadline, however.

The other key stipulation at play holds that teams can’t trade picks for more than seven drafts in the future. That means picks in the 2022 draft are the latest currently up for grabs, and no team can trade a 2023 pick until after this year’s draft.

Thus, the Heat, who’ve traded their 2016, 2018 and 2021 first-round picks, have no way to trade any other first-rounder. Dealing away their 2017, 2019, 2020 or 2022 pick would entail two traded future first-rounders in a row and run afoul of the Stepien rule. Those four are the only picks the team has left in the next seven years, so in this regard, the Heat are stuck.

So too are the Mavericks, but for a different reason. Their 2016 first-rounder is the only one they owe. That begs the question of why Dallas can’t trade their picks for 2018 through 2022. The answer is that the protection attached to the 2016 pick the Mavs owe the Celtics makes it possible that the pick won’t convey until 2021. The next pick the Mavs could trade in that case would be for 2023, one year too late. Even though the pick could convey any year between 2016 and 2021, the mere chance that it might happen in one of those years prohibits the Mavericks from trading any of their picks in those drafts.

Had the latest possible transfer of that pick been 2020, the situation would be much different. Dallas could simply trade its 2022 first-rounder in that case, or the Mavs could trade a 2018 first-rounder with the condition that it can’t change hands until two years after they actually deliver the pick they owe Boston.

That’s why you see two years on the list for some teams below, with one of them representing the earliest year those teams can trade a pick and the other the earliest those teams can promise that the pick will convey.

All 30 teams are accounted for below, with a brief line of information describing what they can and can’t do with their future first-round picks.

Bucks

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

Bulls

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus an extra one from Sacramento.

Cavaliers

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2018, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2021.

Celtics

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus extras from Brooklyn (2), Dallas, Memphis and Minnesota. (Can also trade swap rights with Brooklyn’s 2017 pick).

Clippers

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2019, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2021.

Grizzlies

  • Can’t trade a first-round pick.

Hawks

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus an extra one from Minnesota.

Heat

  • Can’t trade a first-round pick.

Hornets

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

Jazz

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus extra ones from Golden State and Oklahoma City.

Kings

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2020, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2021.

Knicks

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2018.

Lakers

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2020, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2021.

Magic

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus an extra one from the Lakers.

Mavericks

  • Can’t trade a first-round pick.

Nets

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2020.

Nuggets

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus extras from Houston, Memphis and Portland. (Can also trade swap rights with New York’s 2016 pick).

Pacers

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

Pelicans

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

Pistons

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

Rockets

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2018.

Raptors

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus extra ones from the Clippers and either New York or Denver.

Sixers

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus extras from the Lakers, Miami, Oklahoma City, and Sacramento. (Can also trade swap rights with Golden State’s 2016 pick and Sacramento’s 2016 and 2017 picks.

Spurs

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

Suns

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks, plus extra ones from Miami (2) and Cleveland.

Timberwolves

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2020, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2022.

Thunder

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2020, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2022.

Trail Blazers

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2018, and they can’t promise a first-rounder until 2019.

Warriors

  • Earliest first-round pick they can trade is for 2019.

Wizards

  • Can trade any of their first-round picks.

The RealGM future traded pick database was used in the creation of this post.

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Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/26/16

January 26th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

According to a recent report by Russia’s TASS news agency, former Cavs coach David Blatt is “priority one” for the Nets as they seek a new head coach. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders first reported that the Nets were interested in Blatt, but an article by Fred Kerber of the New York Post this past weekend relayed that Tom Thibodeau was Brooklyn’s probable top target. Team owner Mikhail Prokhorov reportedly wants to hire a GM before he hires a coach, and the team’s goal is apparently to have a GM in place before the February 18th trade deadline. Blatt has also been linked to the Lakers and Timberwolves, though both teams have publicly stated that they are committed to their current coaches.

Tony Brown has been serving as Brooklyn’s interim coach since the team fired Lionel Hollins earlier this month. It is highly unlikely that he will land the position on a long-term basis, though that is merely my speculation. Prokhorov, like TASS, is from Russia, and Blatt used to coach the Russian national team, which has received significant financial backing from Prokhorov in the past. That could give Blatt a leg up on his competitors for the position, provided he’s interested of course.

Earlier reports have linked the Nets to Luke Walton, John Calipari, Monty Williams and Chris Mullin, but Prokhorov has so far reportedly balked at Calipari’s price tag. The owner has also expressed a preference for a separate GM and coach, which isn’t the dual role that Calipari is reportedly seeking to make the jump back to the NBA. This brings me to the topic/question of the day: Which of the potential targets for the Nets listed above would be the best hire for the franchise? Why?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Dead Money: Southeast Division

January 26th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Not every dollar of each team’s payroll shows up on the court, as franchises often dish out funds to players who are no longer on their rosters. Players with guaranteed money who are waived, either through a standard waiver release, use of the stretch provision, or when a buyout arrangement is reached, still count against a team’s cap figure for the duration of their contracts, or the amount of time specified by the collective bargaining agreement for when a player’s salary is stretched.

There are even situations that arise, like the one with JaVale McGee and the Sixers, where these players are actually the highest-paid on the team. McGee is set to collect $12MM from Philly, and he won’t score one point or collect one rebound for the franchise this season. The next highest-paid athlete for the Sixers is Gerald Wallace, who was also waived, and he is scheduled to earn $10,105,855 for the 2015/16 campaign. In fact, the total payroll for the Sixers’ entire active roster this season is $32,203,553, which is merely $3,709,857 more than the amount being paid to players no longer on the team!

Listed below are the names and cap hits associated with players who are no longer on the rosters of teams in the Southeast Division:

Atlanta Hawks

Total= $75,000

Charlotte Hornets

Total= $80,000

Miami Heat

  • None

Orlando Magic

*Note: Appling recently re-signed with the team on a 10-day pact, but his original contract still counts as dead money.

Total= $1,195,059

Washington Wizards

Total= $5,823,926

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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Most Frequently Traded Draft-And-Stash Players

January 26th, 2016 at 11:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The trade that sent Josh Smith from the Clippers to the Rockets on Friday didn’t include anyone else currently in the NBA, but it did involve two draft-and-stash players. Maarty Leunen went from the Rockets to the Clippers, while Sergei Lishouk went from the Clippers to the Rockets in the deal, which marked the third time Houston has traded for Lishouk’s rights. It’s six trades overall for the 49th overall pick from the 2004 draft, and still zero NBA games played, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle pointed out (Twitter links). The Ukrainian native has played internationally all the while, as he continues to toil for Murcia of Spain.

Georgios Printezis is the only other draft-and-stash player whose rights currently belong to an NBA team who has been traded more often than Lishouk has, but plenty of others have been dealt more than once. More than a dozen other draft-and-stash players have seen their NBA rights traded traded multiple times and, by definition, they’ve yet to sign a contract with any NBA team. Edin Bavcic, the 56th overall pick from 2006, comes closest. He’s been traded four times, most recently in the 2014 trade that sent his rights to the Cavaliers in a deal that allowed Cleveland to clear the cap space necessary for the return of LeBron James. So, these players, while obscure, aren’t inconsequential.

Here’s a look at every current draft-and-stash player whose rights have been traded more than once:

SEVEN TRADES

Georgios Printezis (2007, 58th overall)

  • Spurs to Raptors
  • Raptors to Mavericks
  • Mavericks to Knicks
  • Knicks to Trail Blazers
  • Trail Blazers to Thunder
  • Thunder to Hawks
  • Hawks to Spurs

SIX TRADES

Sergei Lishouk (2004, 49th overall)

  • Grizzlies to Rockets
  • Rockets to Lakers
  • Lakers to Rockets
  • Rockets to Sixers
  • Sixers to Clippers
  • Clippers to Rockets

FOUR TRADES

Edin Bavcic (2006, 56th overall)

  • Raptors to Sixers
  • Sixers to Pelicans
  • Pelicans to Nets
  • Nets to Cavaliers

THREE TRADES

Cenk Akyol (2005, 59th overall)

  • Hawks to Clippers
  • Clippers to Sixers
  • Sixers to Nuggets

Albert Miralles (2004, 39th overall)

  • Raptors to Heat
  • Heat to Celtics
  • Celtics to Bucks

Emir Preldzic (2009, 57th overall)

  • Suns to Cavaliers
  • Cavaliers to Wizards
  • Wizards to Mavericks

TWO TRADES

Semaj Christon (2014, 55th overall)

  • Heat to Hornets
  • Hornets to Thunder

Tadija Dragicevic (2008, 53rd overall)

  • Jazz to Mavericks
  • Mavericks to Bulls

Roberto Duenas (1997, 57th overall)

  • Bulls to Pelicans
  • Pelicans to Heat

Lior Eliyahu (2006, 44th overall)

  • Magic to Rockets
  • Rockets to Timberwolves

Petteri Koponen (2007, 30th overall)

  • Sixers to Trail Blazers
  • Trail Blazers to Mavericks

Chukwudiebere Maduabum (2011, 56th overall)

  • Lakers to Nuggets
  • Nuggets to Sixers

Milovan Rakovic (2007, 60th overall)

  • Mavericks to Magic
  • Magic to Bulls

Sofoklis Schortsanitis (2003, 34th overall)

  • Clippers to Hawks
  • Hawks to Thunder

Latavious Williams (2010, 48th overall)

  • Heat to Thunder
  • Thunder to Pelicans

RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

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Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/25/16

January 25th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s easy to dismiss the Sacramento Kings, given their recent track record and the volatility of their top players.

Center DeMarcus Cousins and point guard Rajon Rondo have made plenty of headlines over the years for their emotional outbursts aimed at coaches, officials and teammates. Their veteran coach, George Karl, isn’t afraid to speak his mind or criticize his players, fostering the notion that the Kings are a fragile team as presently constructed and could implode at any time.

During the first two full months of the season, the Kings seemed headed for another forgettable campaign. They entered the New Year eight games under .500 and rumors were abound that Cousins would be dealt.

Rather than rolling over and continuing another slide into oblivion, the Kings have suddenly found a winning formula and there’s a new vibe around the franchise. They have reeled off five consecutive wins and currently hold the eighth and last playoff seed in the Western Conference.

Naturally, the Kings are benefitting from the Western Conference’s general decline, with only seven of 15 teams above the .500 mark. But give the Kings some credit. Karl has them playing with fire and passion, led by the mercurial Cousins.

Cousins has posted strong numbers all season but he’s been a monster this month, averaging 32.5 points and 13.7 rebounds. Rondo is averaging 12.9 assists in January and the team has also received a big boost from rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein, who has solidified their backline defense.

The Jazz are currently the Kings’ closest pursuers for the final playoff berth, with the Nuggets, Trail Blazers and revived Pelicans also in the hunt.

This leads us to our question of the day: Will the Kings make the playoffs this season?

Please take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Unprotected First-Rounders Set To Change Hands

January 25th, 2016 at 4:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Almost every draft pick that’s traded in the NBA these days involves some sort of protection, but for a noteworthy few. Some of those protected picks can still end up becoming the No. 1 overall selection, as the protection in many cases expires after a pick doesn’t convey for a number of years. Pick swaps, another common pick-trading element, also often allow for a team to end up with someone else’s No. 1 overall draft choice. However, trades that involve a straight, unprotected first-round pick are exceedingly rare.

Only four unprotected selections are currently among the dozens of first-rounders that teams owe between now and the 2022 draft, the latest for which teams are currently allowed to trade picks. The Nets gave up two unprotected first-rounders, as well as the swap rights to two others, in the July 12th, 2013 Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster, as Brooklyn fans are ruefully aware. The Nets hold the third position in the lottery as it stands today, meaning a reasonable chance exists that the Nets will have made the ultimate draft sacrifice and be forced to give up the first overall selection. Regardless of where the pick ends up, it seems poised to cost Brooklyn a player of significance who could otherwise have lowered the value of the team’s 2018 first-rounder, which Boston is also getting without protection. The Nets have limited means of improving their on-court product between now and the 2018 draft, so the Celtics are in remarkably strong position, aided also by the right to swap 2017 first-rounders. Here’s a full look at what the teams exchanged in 2013, with the unprotected picks in bold:

Brooklyn wasn’t the only team to give up a pair of unprotected first-round picks via trade in the summer of 2013. On July 10th, 2013, two days before the Nets-Celtics deal became official, the Warriors did the same. The consequences aren’t as severe as the fate that has befallen the Nets, at least with the first of Golden State’s two unprotected first-rounders changing hands. Granted, the Warriors would probably benefit from having Rodney Hood, who’s been unusually productive for a 23rd overall pick, but if Golden State could have a do-over, it would still no doubt have swung the deal to acquire 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. It remains to be seen where the 2017 unprotected first-rounder in this deal will fall, but it’s unlikely to be very high, barring an unlikely Warriors collapse in the next 18 months. Here’s how the trade, which was a three-team with Denver, shook out. Note that all of the many second-round picks changing hands were without protection, too:

  • Warriors get Andre Iguodala (sign-and-trade from Nuggets) and Kevin Murphy (from Jazz).
  • Nuggets get Randy Foye (sign-and-trade from Jazz) and Golden State’s 2018 second-round pick.
  • Jazz get Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson, Brandon Rush, Golden State’s 2014 first-round pick (Rodney Hood), Golden State’s 2017 first-round pick, Golden State’s 2016 second-round pick, Golden State’s 2017 second-round pick, Denver’s 2018 second-round pick, and cash (from Warriors).

The Heat attached only top-seven protection to the 2017 first-rounder they gave to Phoenix in the February 19th, 2015 Goran Dragic trade, and they also relinquished the potential gem of their 2021 unprotected first-round pick. It’s too far in the future to predict with any accuracy whether that pick will resemble the ones that Brooklyn is giving up or merely the late-round selections Golden State is relinquishing. Still, it’s a disconcerting situation for the Heat to have seen Dragic underwhelm so far this season, considering not only his five-year, $85MM contract but also the draft assets Miami gave up. Here’s the full scope of the deal:

The RealGM traded draft pick database was used in the creation of this post.

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Trends Involving Three-Team, Four-Team Trades

January 25th, 2016 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The volume of trades in the NBA has been relatively light so far this season, with only four moves having taken place since opening night. None of the trades that have taken place since July 1st, the official start of the 2015/16 season, have involved more than two teams, either. That’s in sharp contrast to 2014/15, when 10 three-teamers took place, more than any season to date in the 2010s.

Still, the 2014/15 season was the second in a row that passed without a four-team trade. The last four-teamer was the blockbuster August 2012 deal that sent Dwight Howard from the Magic to the Lakers, with the Sixers and Nuggets involved as well. That one didn’t turn out all that well for any of the four teams, as the Lakers seriously underwhelmed the following season, the Sixers were never able to put Andrew Bynum on the floor, the Nuggets only had one season with Andre Iguodala and the Magic still haven’t reached the playoffs in the wake of the deal.

It would probably be a stretch to say that’s the reason no four-team trade has taken place since, though identifying a clear-cut explanation is difficult. The long-term effects of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, which imposed greater tax risk for teams and made it more difficult for taxpayers to match salaries and engineer sign-and-trades, probably has to do with it, and the rising salary cap may well play a role, too. The NBA recently placed a greater emphasis on making sure trades involving three or more teams feature a legitimate exchange between all of the teams, and not just a draft pick that has little chance of being conveyed or a draft-and-stash prospect who’s almost certain never to play in the NBA. Still, none of this had a chilling effect on the number of three-team trades last season.

In any case, here’s a look at the number of three- and four-team trades since the 2010/11 season. For more details on each transaction, click the team names.

2015/16

  • Three-team trades: 0
  • Four-team trades: 0

2014/15

2013/14

2012/13

2011/12

2010/11

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Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/23/16

January 23rd, 2016 at 11:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt wasn’t out of work for 24 hours before rumors of other teams showing interest began to emerge. The Nets, Wolves and Lakers have all been linked Blatt, who was canned Friday in Cleveland despite having the Cavaliers on top of the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record.

Blatt reached the Finals in his only full season as an NBA coach, but complaints about his style could be heard in the locker room and throughout the organization. There were rumblings that he couldn’t relate to players and that he wasn’t willing to challenge LeBron James or point out the star’s mistakes. James and his agent reportedly had been trying to get Blatt fired since last season.

Blatt’s coaching brethren have been speaking out to defend him and denigrate the Cavs’ decision. Kings coach George Karl calls it “embarrassing,” tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Former Cavaliers coach Paul Silas says Blatt should have been allowed to hire his own assistants, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer tells Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he hopes Blatt gets another chance to coach in the NBA. The harshest criticism has come from Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, who said to David Mayo of MLive about the Cavs, “We have jobs, maybe, because our front offices aren’t quite as crazy as theirs, but that’s about it.”

Blatt has been successful everywhere he has gone. He won Israeli League Coach of the Year honors four times and captured the same award in the Russian Super League and the Euroleague. Coupled with his brief NBA success, there’s sure to be a job waiting for Blatt somewhere.

That brings me to the topic for today: Where do you think Blatt will be coaching next season?

Could he be the answer for Brooklyn, Minnesota or L.A.? Is there another job ready to open that Blatt might be more suited for? Or is his best option to return to Israel or Europe?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

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