Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 9/17/15
One of the Rockets’ most significant offseason moves was the acquisition of Ty Lawson from Denver. But the 27-year-old is not guaranteed a starting spot, according to coach Kevin McHale. Whether or not this is simply a coach being diplomatic remains to be seen, but for now it would appear that Lawson will compete with Patrick Beverley, whom the Rockets re-signed this summer for $23MM over four years, for the starting point guard job.
This brings me to the topic of the day: Who should be the Rockets’ starting point guard in 2015/16?
For a quick comparison, here are the 2014/15 stats for both players:
- Patrick Beverley: 10.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.5 TPG in 30.8 minutes per contest. His slash line was .383/.356/.750.
- Ty Lawson: 15.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 9.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 2.5 TPG in 35.5 minutes per night. His slash line was .436/.341/.730.
Which player will give the Rockets the best chance to win this season? In your opinion, does one fit within Houston’s system better than the other? If your pick is Lawson, do you believe he’ll be able to stay out of trouble throughout the 2015/16 campaign? Take to the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Poll: 2015/16 Team Power Rankings (No. 30)
The start of NBA training camps is less than two weeks away, and teams are in the process of finalizing their preseason rosters. Every new season brings with it the hope for each franchise that it will conclude with the hoisting of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. But for the more jaded fans — or practical, depending on your outlook — not every team has a realistic shot at making the playoffs, much less at being the last team standing when all is said and done and the playoffs have concluded.
We at Hoops Rumors want to know what you, the reader, think about each team’s chances this coming campaign. To help facilitate that, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking you to vote on where in the standings each franchise is likely to end the season. We’ll be going in reverse order, beginning with the question of which team you believe will occupy the very bottom of the standings. So please cast your vote below for the franchise you expect to end the season with the worst overall record, or at No. 30 overall. But don’t end your involvement with the simple click of a button. Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on why you voted the way that you did. We look forward to what you have to say.
The No. 30 Ranked Team For the 2015/16 Season Is...
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76ers 62% (362)
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Knicks 8% (44)
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Lakers 5% (29)
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Nets 5% (27)
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Nuggets 3% (19)
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Trail Blazers 3% (18)
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Timberwolves 2% (13)
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Cavaliers 2% (9)
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Celtics 1% (7)
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Kings 1% (7)
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Mavericks 1% (6)
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Magic 1% (6)
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Warriors 1% (5)
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Jazz 1% (5)
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Pistons 1% (4)
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Suns 1% (4)
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Bulls 1% (3)
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Clippers 1% (3)
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Spurs 1% (3)
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Rockets 0% (2)
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Heat 0% (2)
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Raptors 0% (2)
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Bucks 0% (1)
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Pelicans 0% (1)
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Thunder 0% (1)
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Wizards 0% (1)
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Hawks 0% (0)
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Hornets 0% (0)
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Pacers 0% (0)
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Grizzlies 0% (0)
Total votes: 584
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Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
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.
Top Bloggers: Dave King On The Suns

Anyone can have a blog about an NBA team, but some set themselves apart from the rest with the dedication and valuable insight they bring to their craft. We’ll be sharing some knowledge from these dialed-in writers on Hoops Rumors in a new feature called Top Bloggers. As with The Beat, our ongoing series of interviews with NBA beat writers, it’s part of an effort to bring Hoops Rumors readers ever closer to the pulse of the teams they follow.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 9/16/15
On Tuesday, Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron ran down the list of the longest-tenured primary executives around the NBA. Around the league, head coaches are usually the first ones to shoulder the blame when a season goes awry, sometimes unfairly so, especially given that most NBA coaches aren’t directly involved with the construction of their teams’ rosters. That burden falls to each team’s primary basketball executive, be he a GM, team president, or president of basketball operations. Regardless of their title, these are the men who are tasked with putting together the best roster that they possibly can, and they have to do so within the bounds of the salary cap.
It’s certainly a difficult job, and one that garners constant criticism and scrutiny, not only from the fanbase, but the owners and shareholders as well. While the turnover rate among front office personnel isn’t quite as high as those who represent the coaching ranks, it’s not a job where most executives can expect a multi-decade run with the same franchise. Turnover is inevitable, which segues perfectly into the topic of the day: Who do you predict will be the next primary team executive to be fired?
For convenience, and with a big thanks to Chuck for compiling, here’s the current list of primary front office executives arranged by tenure:
- Pat Riley, Heat: September 1995
- Mitch Kupchak, Lakers: August 2000
- R.C. Buford, Spurs: July 2002
- Danny Ainge, Celtics: May 2003
- Ernie Grunfeld, Wizards: June 2003
- Donnie Nelson, Mavericks: June 2005
- Daryl Morey, Rockets: May 2007
- Sam Presti, Thunder: June 2007
- John Hammond, Bucks: April 2008
- Gar Forman, Bulls: May 2009
- Billy King, Nets: July 2010
- Dell Demps, Pelicans: July 2010
- Rich Cho, Hornets: June 2011
- Bob Myers, Warriors: April 2012
- Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers: June 2012
- Rob Hennigan, Magic: June 2012
- Dennis Lindsey, Jazz: August 2012
- Ryan McDonough, Suns: May 2013
- Sam Hinkie, Sixers: May 2013
- Masai Ujiri, Raptors: May 2013
- Tim Connelly, Nuggets: June 2013
- Doc Rivers, Clippers: June 2013
- Larry Bird, Pacers: June 2013 (returned to organization)
- David Griffin, Cavaliers: February 2014
- Phil Jackson, Knicks: March 2014
- Stan Van Gundy, Pistons: May 2014
- Chris Wallace, Grizzlies: May 2014 (returned to power)
- Mike Budenholzer, Hawks: September 2014
- Vlade Divac, Kings: March 2015
- Milt Newton, Timberwolves: September 2015 (interim)
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Players Who’ve Signed Qualifying Offers
Countless free agents have had the opportunity to sign qualifying offers since their institution in 1995, but few have actually done so. Norris Cole, who reportedly signed his qualifying offer from the Pelicans, would be just the 20th ever to put pen to paper on a document that commonly serves merely as a placeholder of sorts.
Qualifying offers are the tenders that teams must make to restricted free agents to retain the right to match offers from other NBA teams. The value of the qualifying offer is tied to the rookie scale for former first-round picks, while most second-round picks and undrafted players are eligible for qualifying offers that are based on their previous salaries. They don’t often represent significant raises, and they cover only one season, so no long-term security is involved.
Of course, long-term security isn’t worth what it used to be with the salary cap projected to balloon to $89MM next season. It’s enough of a leap to offset the financial sacrifice that Tristan Thompson would make if he eschewed a reported five-year, $80MM offer from the Cavs to sign his qualifying offer this year if, as his agent believes he can do, he signs a maximum-salary contract with another team next summer.
This July, Greg Monroe became the first player to sign a maximum-salary contract after taking a qualifying offer the year before. Ben Gordon, who wound up with $58MM over five years on his first contract after signing a qualifying offer, had come closest before that. Monroe and Gordon were unlike most, since they inked lucrative deals following their qualifying offers, but both of them changed teams when they did so, which is typical after a signed qualifying offer. Thompson’s agent, Rich Paul, has pledged that will be the outcome for his client in 2016 if he takes the qualifying offer from the Cavaliers this year.
The list below shows each player who has signed a qualifying offer over the years, with information on the value of the offer as well as the next contract each of them received.
- Norris Cole reportedly signed a qualifying offer of $3,036,927 from the Pelicans on 9/16/15.
- Matthew Dellavedova signed a qualifying offer of $1,147,276 from the Cavaliers on 7/25/15.
- Greg Monroe signed a qualifying offer of $5,479,935 from the Pistons on 9/3/14. He signed a three-year, $51,437,514 maximum-salary deal with the Bucks on 7/9/15.
- Kevin Seraphin signed a qualifying offer of $3,898,692 from the Wizards on 7/18/14. He signed for one year, $2.814MM with the Knicks on 8/6/15.
- Ivan Johnson signed a qualifying offer of $962,195 from the Hawks on 9/18/12. He signed a partially guaranteed two-year minimum-salary contract with the Mavericks on 7/29/14, but he didn’t make the opening night roster.
- Devin Ebanks signed a qualifying offer of $1,054,389 from the Lakers on 8/13/12. He signed a non-guaranteed training camp invitation from the Mavericks on 9/13/13, but he didn’t make the opening-night roster.
- Luke Harangody signed a qualifying offer of $1,054,389 from the Cavaliers on 7/3/12. Has not signed another NBA contract.
- Darius Morris signed a qualifying offer of $962,195 from the Lakers on 7/2/12. He signed a non-guaranteed training camp invitation from the Sixers on 9/13/13, but he didn’t make the opening-night roster. He later surfaced on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, signed 1/6/14.
- Nick Young signed a qualifying offer of $3,695,857 from the Wizards on 12/19/11. He was traded to the Clippers 3/15/12, and signed for one year, $5.6MM with the Sixers on 7/6/12.
- Marco Belinelli signed a qualifying offer of $3,377,604 from the Pelicans on 12/13/11. He signed for one year, $1.957MM with the Bulls on 7/24/12.
- Spencer Hawes signed a qualifying offer of $4,051,024 from the Sixers on 12/10/11. He re-signed with the Sixers for two years, $13.1MM on 7/12/12.
- Raymond Felton signed a qualifying offer of $5,501,196 from the Hornets on 9/23/09. Signed with the Knicks for two years, $14.56MM on 7/12/10.
- Ben Gordon signed a qualifying offer of $6,404,750 from the Bulls on 10/1/08. Signed with the Pistons for five years, $58MM on 7/8/09.
- Robert Swift signed a qualifying offer of $3,579,131 from the Thunder on 9/11/08. Has not signed another NBA contract.
- Mickael Pietrus signed a qualifying offer of $3,470,771 from the Warriors on 10/1/07. Signed with the Magic for four years, $21.2MM on 7/10/08.
- Melvin Ely signed a qualifying offer of $3,303,813 from the Hornets on 10/2/06. He was traded to the Spurs on 2/13/07, and agreed to sign for two years, $1,893,739 (minimum salary) with the Pelicans on 9/13/07.
- Vladimir Radmanovic signed a qualifying offer of $3,166,155 from the Thunder on 9/19/05. He was traded to the Clippers on 2/14/06, and agreed to sign for five years, $30.247MM with the Lakers on 7/12/06.
- Stromile Swift signed a qualifying offer of $5,993,105 from the Grizzlies on 9/30/04. Signed with the Rockets for four years, $22.4MM on 8/2/05.
- Michael Olowokandi signed a qualifying offer of $6,061,214 from the Clippers on 9/23/02. Signed with the Timberwolves for three years, $16,226,100 on 7/17/03.
- Rasho Nesterovic signed a qualifying offer of $2,436,813 from the Timberwolves on 8/25/02. Signed with the Spurs for six years, $42MM on 7/16/03.
Notes
- Retired team names (Charlotte Bobcats, New Orleans Hornets, Seattle SuperSonics) have been updated to the current names to avoid confusion.
- The Cavaliers and Matthew Dellavedova inserted a trade kicker into his contract, but it is, for all intents and purposes, a signed qualifying offer.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post. An earlier version published last year drew from other databases as listed here.
Poll: 2003 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 20)
Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. While life, and the NBA, doesn’t allow for such opportunities, we at Hoops Rumors decided it would be fun to give our readers a second take at picking players, complete with the benefit of hindsight.
We are in the process of taking you on a journey back to June of 2003, and revisiting a draft that saw the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh available to potentially change the fortunes of a few struggling franchises. Wade was the first of that group to win an NBA championship, though James and Bosh would later join him in Miami and go on to win multiple titles together years later, while Melo is still seeking his first trip to the NBA Finals. Detroit, which owned the No. 2 overall pick that season, chose to go with Darko Milicic, who didn’t work out so well for the Pistons. Not all picks pan out, but that one is especially painful given the talent that the Pistons passed over to select the big man, who owns career averages of 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, and has been out of the NBA since making a single appearance for the Celtics back in 2012/13.
We conclude our revisionist history with the Grizzlies, who used the No. 20 pick they had acquired from Boston to select Dahntay Jones. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Memphis’ pick and check back Thursday night for the results. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 20 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
Previous Picks
- Cavaliers: LeBron James
- Pistons: Dwyane Wade
- Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony
- Raptors: Chris Bosh
- Heat: David West
- Clippers: Kyle Korver
- Bulls: Mo Williams
- Bucks: Chris Kaman
- Knicks: Boris Diaw
- Wizards: Kirk Hinrich
- Warriors: Jose Calderon
- Thunder: Josh Howard
- Celtics: Leandro Barbosa
- Thunder: Kendrick Perkins
- Magic: Nick Collison
- Grizzlies: Zaza Pachulia
- Suns: Darko Milicic
- Pelicans: Steve Blake
- Jazz: Luke Ridnour
With the No. 20 Overall Pick the Grizzlies Select...
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Matt Bonner 23% (84)
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Mickael Pietrus 17% (65)
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T.J. Ford 17% (64)
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Carlos Delfino 11% (42)
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James Jones 11% (41)
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Dahntay Jones 4% (16)
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Jason Kapono 4% (14)
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Luke Walton 3% (12)
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Keith Bogans 3% (11)
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Travis Outlaw 3% (10)
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Willie Green 1% (4)
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Sasha Pavlovic 1% (3)
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Žarko Čabarkapa 1% (2)
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Michael Sweetney 0% (1)
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Reece Gaines 0% (1)
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Troy Bell 0% (1)
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Jerome Beasley 0% (1)
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Jarvis Hayes 0% (0)
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Marcus Banks 0% (0)
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Brian Cook 0% (0)
Total votes: 372
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Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript
4:05pm: We hosted the weekly live chat.
3:00pm: Two of the three unsigned Rich Paul clients have agreed to terms in the last two days. Thus, it would seem hope of resolution for Tristan Thompson‘s free agency is as high as it’s been since he and the Cavs were reportedly close to a deal on July 1st. Thompson appears likely to end up back in Cleveland for this season, but his long-term future with the Cavs hangs in the balance of the next couple of weeks, with his qualifying offer set to expire October 1st. Training camps open before that date, so that and other lingering offseason storylines, like the trade demand from Markieff Morris, will soon come to a head.
We can talk about that and more in today’s Hoops Rumors chat. Click here to ask a question!
All Those Traded Celtics: Where Are They Now?
The Celtics have made three trades since the 2015/16 season officially began on the NBA calendar on July 1st, a healthy number but a paltry amount in comparison to the 11 they made in 2014/15. Still, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge seems poised to start dealing again before too long, especially given the team has one more fully guaranteed contract than the 15-man regular season roster limit will allow. Ainge’s penchant for deals is well-known, as the 28 players whom he either traded, traded for, or both last season can attest.
Six of those players are still with the Celtics, but the rest are spread all over the globe. A dozen NBA teams — the Clippers, Grizzlies, Kings, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pelicans, Pistons, Rockets, Sixers, Timberwolves, Wizards and Warriors — all have players on their respective rosters who were part of a Celtics trade at some point since July of last year. Others are playing in China, Russia and Turkey. Four remain in free agency. Chris Douglas-Roberts is technically the fifth free agent, but he reportedly agreed just this week to join the Pelicans on a non-guaranteed deal.
Here’s a look at where each player involved in a recent Celtics trade is now:
- Joel Anthony (traded from Celtics to Pistons, October 17th, 2014) — re-signed with Pistons in July.
- Chris Babb (traded from Celtics to Warriors, July 27th, 2015) — still with Warriors.
- Keith Bogans (traded from Celtics to Cavaliers, September 25th, 2014) — currently a free agent.
- Will Bynum (traded from Pistons to Celtics, October 17th, 2014) — signed to play in China.
- Jae Crowder (traded from Mavericks to Celtics, December 18th, 2014) — re-signed with Celtics in July.
- Gigi Datome (traded from Pistons to Celtics, February 19th, 2015) — signed to play in Turkey.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts (traded from Clippers to Celtics, January 15th, 2015) — reached agreement with Pelicans in September.
- Zoran Dragic (traded from Heat to Celtics, July 27th, 2015) — signed to play in Russia.
- Jeff Green (traded from Celtics to Grizzlies, January 12th, 2015) — exercised option in June to remain with Grizzlies.
- Kris Humphries (signed-and-traded from Celtics to Wizards, July 19th, 2014) — still with Wizards.
- Jonas Jerebko (traded from Pistons to Celtics, February 19th, 2015) — re-signed with Celtics in July.
- Perry Jones (traded from Thunder to Celtics, July 14th, 2015) — still with Celtics; eligible for rookie scale extension this fall but also liable to be cut.
- David Lee (traded from Warriors to Celtics, July 27th, 2015) — still with Celtics.
- John Lucas III (traded from Cavaliers to Celtics, September 25th, 2014) — currently a free agent
- Erik Murphy (traded from Cavaliers to Celtics, September 25th, 2014) — currently with Besiktas of Turkey.
- Jameer Nelson (traded from Mavericks to Celtics, December 18th, 2014; traded from Celtics to Nuggets, January 13th, 2015) — re-signed with Nuggets in August.
- Dwight Powell (traded from Cavaliers to Celtics, September 25th, 2014; traded from Celtics to Mavericks on December 18th, 2014) — still with Mavericks.
- Tayshaun Prince (traded from Grizzlies to Celtics, January 12th, 2015; traded from Celtics to Pistons, February 19th, 2015) — signed with Timberwolves in August.
- Shavlik Randolph (traded from Suns to Celtics, January 15th, 2015) — signed to play in China.
- Austin Rivers (traded from Pelicans to Celtics, January 12th, 2015; traded from Celtics to Clippers, January 15th, 2015) — re-signed with Clippers in July.
- Nate Robinson (traded from Nuggets to Celtics, January 15th, 2015) — currently a free agent, thinking about playing in China.
- Rajon Rondo (traded from Celtics to Mavericks, December 18th, 2014) — signed with Kings in July.
- Isaiah Thomas (traded from Suns to Celtics, February 19th, 2015) — still with Celtics.
- Malcolm Thomas (traded from Cavaliers to Celtics, September 25th, 2014) — currently a free agent.
- Marcus Thornton (traded from Nets to Celtics, July 10th, 2014; traded from Celtics to Suns, February 19th, 2015) — signed with Rockets in July.
- Gerald Wallace (traded from Celtics to Warriors, July 27th, 2015) — flipped to Sixers on July 31st.
- Brandan Wright (traded from Mavericks to Celtics,December 18th, 2014; traded from Celtics to Suns on January 9th, 2015) — signed with Grizzlies in July.
- Tyler Zeller (traded from Cavaliers to Celtics, July 10th, 2014) — still with Celtics, eligible for rookie scale extension this fall.
Which of the players who isn’t still with the Celtics do you think they should have kept? Leave a comment to tell us.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 9/15/15
The Bucks announced yesterday that they have extended the contract of GM John Hammond through the 2017/18 season. Hammond’s deal was originally set to expire at the end of this coming campaign. “A great deal of our team’s success and progress is due to the vision and hard work of John,” Bucks owner Wes Edens said of his GM. “He’s assembled a talented and competitive roster and we’re very pleased that he will continue to lead basketball operations.”
Hammond has been the team’s GM since April of 2008, and during his tenure the franchise has an overall regular season record of 240-318. During his tenure Milwaukee has made three playoff appearances, all resulting in first round exits, but the Bucks are certainly a franchise on the rise, and the roster is packed with young, talented players who have intriguing upsides. All of these players were either drafted or acquired on Hammond’s watch, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, who the team outright stole with the 15th overall pick back in 2013. But before I praise Hammond too much for being a draft whiz, he was also the man who made the call to take Joe Alexander with the No. 8 overall pick back in 2008. That was Hammond’s first draft as a GM, so I’ll cut him some slack on that pick, though I’m not so sure Bucks fans will be so quick to forgive. The GM is also responsible for landing one of the bigger free agent prizes of this offseason in Greg Monroe, who surprised quite a few people when he announced his decision to join the Bucks.
This is a good spot to segue into the topic of the day: What are your feelings on John Hammond’s contract extension with the Bucks, as well as the job he has done thus far with the team?
Are you a believer in Hammond and his ability to shape the Bucks into a title contender? Or are you on the other side of the debate, and question if he is the right man for the job? What were his best and worst moves since arriving in Milwaukee? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
