Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Hoops Rumors Originals

Q&A With Former Bulls Guard Craig Hodges

November 5th, 2014 at 11:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Last week, Phil Jackson hired old friend Craig Hodges to serve as an assistant coach for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate in Westchester.  A two-time champion as a player under the Zen Master, Hodges later reunited with Jackson as an assistant coach for the Lakers and added two more rings to his collection.  During his playing days, the guard led the league in three-point shooting percentage twice over the course of his ten-year career and established himself as one of the most consistent long-range threats of his time.

When the Bulls visited the White House after winning the 1992 NBA Championship, Hodges handed President George H.W. Bush a letter outlining his dissatisfaction with the administration’s treatment of disadvantaged black Americans.  That summer, he was waived by the Bulls and, surprisingly, was not picked up by another team, prompting him to later file a lawsuit against the NBA alleging that he was blackballed from the game.  He was unsuccessful in court but the experience hasn’t hardened Hodges and he is still very much an activist for the downtrodden.

When he’s not busy with the Westchester Knicks this season, Hodges will be working on his forthcoming book, which he expects to be released in January.  The NBA champion and the newest member of the Knicks D-League operation was kind enough to take some time and chat with Hoops Rumors on Tuesday.

Zach Links: How did the opportunity to join the Westchester Knicks coaching staff come about?  It was reported that you were initially among the head coaching candidates.

Craig Hodges: It actually was one of those things where it was a basic interview and they didn’t really tell me which job was available. Initially they talked to me in May and asked if I would be interested in working with the D-League team.  I got a call again in August to actually come and interview we’ve been going back and forth since then.   NBA: Utah Jazz at Chicago Bulls

ZL: How often do you and Phil Jackson talk?

CH: Well, with him, even when you don’t talk to him you know you’re still cool with him and I have a cool relationship with him.  He’s a great manager of people and his management style is that he understands what you do well, and if he sees something that you need help with, he’ll help you or find a person to help you. I’ve never felt uncomfortable around him, and I’ve been blessed to be one of the first players to win a championship [with him], and I was a coach on his staff when he won his last one, so hopefully we can make something happen here.

ZL: I know you just joined the staff, but do you have a sense of how closely the Westchester Knicks will work with the main organization?

CH: We’re going to function as their minor league team and we’re going to operate the way that they operate so that they can gauge the pulse of our players.  It’s a great situation and I’m looking forward to it.  We’ll also have an emphasis on getting guys accustomed to the triangle and ready to play in that system.

ZL: The D-League is very youth-centric, but what do you think of it as a tool for veterans to find their way back into the NBA?

CH: I think it’s good for both young guys and vets.  I don’t know how many vets look at it as an opportunity, but they should.  One drawback would be the money, but I think the opportunities that come from it would be worthwhile for guys trying to get back into the NBA and get their games back to that level. I think we have a great thing going in Westchester and, hopefully, guys will see it as a destination location.

ZL: In 1992, you brought a lawsuit against the league when you felt that you were blackballed from playing for expressing your beliefs.  Do you feel like in 2014 a player can take up a cause without repercussions, or do you think that could still be problematic career-wise?

CH: You’re always going to be sacrificing something if you speak out, but I think it’s important for people to do so when it comes to issues that are near and dear to their hearts.  If someone [takes a stand], they need to know that they’ve done critical studies on what they want to speak about.  I was the baby of the movement and my mission then [was], and it continues to be, ‘How can I help people who are less fortunate than me and help them move upward?’  Many people saw that as a militant stand to take, but I look at it as a cultural imperative.  Mentors in my life have always told me that you’re only as strong as the weakest of your people, and when I look at the condition of my people, especially in Chicago where the young people are killing each other and getting killed at a horrible rate, you just have to say something.  We have the opportunity as a nation to take the lead role in getting people to realize how important it is to teach young people.

ZL: Could you tell me a bit about your upcoming book?

CH: It’s not a book to bash anybody, but it’s a book to clear the air as far as the stuff that happened in my career and also what I see going on.  God blesses me and he blesses you with teachings, but not everyone is taught the same way and not everyone is passionate about the same things.  I think God has blessed us with a garden where we can have a lot of good people do a lot of good things and we can change the face of the Earth by doing so.  

ZL: Now that you’re actively working for the NBA again, will you be pulling any punches in the book when it comes to how your career ended, or are you putting it all out there? 

CH: I think it’ll be somewhat cathartic when I put it all on paper.  I’m just putting the facts out there and letting people study things for what they are, it’s not up to me to make judgement calls.  Everyone has their own reasoning and logic. … For me, I just want to make sure that I put it out there as a written history for my sons and my grandbabies, but I also want it out there for the overall legacy of it, man.  I think that it’s important that I took the stand that I did.  My mantra has been to help others ever since I was 8 years old.  My mom was a civil rights organizer who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and those ideals have been on my heart.  They haven’t diminished.

ZL: Do you have a publisher yet?

CH: We’re still shopping it and we have a few meetings over the next few weeks with publishers.  It’s been a cool experience and I’m looking forward to getting the book out there. It’s something I should have done a long time ago.  Having Daniel [Hazan, of Hazan Sports Management] to help me has been great.  I never had an agent for off-the-court matters [before], and looking back on my life, I wish I had an agent for that type of stuff. It would have made things a lot easier.

ZL: Do you have your eye on becoming a head coach in the NBA?

CH: [laughs] Not at all!  That’s the thing, I love what I do as an assistant coach.  The purity of the game is what I love.  I get to help make guys better and do as much as possible with their talent.  That’s what I like doing, so I haven’t thought about moving up the ladder.  I think in general if you do a good job, then opportunities open up, and then you can assess and go from there.  I’ve been trying to live more in the spiritual realm. I’m not looking forward or behind. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Repost Share Send via email

Teams With The Most Roster Stability

November 5th, 2014 at 10:18am CST by Chuck Myron

The two most popular picks to win the NBA title are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the number of players they return from last season. The new-look Cavs only have five players left over from last year’s lottery team, as the return of LeBron James sparked a cascade of movement for GM David Griffin and his staff. The Spurs, who might have touched off that movement when they beat LeBron’s Heat in the Finals last year and made him think harder about leaving for Cleveland, only switched out a single player in the offseason. First-round pick Kyle Anderson is the lone newcomer in San Antonio, having taken the place of Damion James.

Not surprisingly, the eight most stable rosters from the end of 2013/14 to the beginning of 2014/15 are all teams that made the postseason last year. The Pacers brought back 11 players, but the departure of Lance Stephenson and Paul George‘s injury mean more change than simple math would suggest.

The Mavs are near the bottom of this list, though they technically began the season with one more returnee from last year before dropping Gal Mekel to add J.J. Barea. If Mekel were counted, it would pull Dallas even with the Sixers, who have seven players back, including Nerlens Noel. He’s on the list even though he didn’t play a single game last year, since he was nonetheless on the roster. Even Grant Jerrett, who signed so late last season that the Thunder never found an opportunity to put him in the game, counts for the purposes of this register. Jerrett has still yet to make his official NBA debut as he recovers from injury, like so many in Oklahoma City.

Here’s the complete list of the teams that exhibited the most roster stability over the past offseason. They appear in descending order of the volume of returnees, and each returning player is listed.

Spurs (14): Jeff Ayres, Aron Baynes, Marco Belinelli, Matt Bonner, Austin Daye, Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Danny Green, Cory Joseph, Kawhi Leonard, Patty Mills, Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter

Trail Blazers (13): LaMarcus Aldridge, Will Barton, Nicolas Batum, Victor Claver, Allen Crabbe, Joel Freeland, Meyers Leonard, Damian Lillard, Robin Lopez, Wesley Matthews, C.J. McCollum, Thomas Robinson, Dorell Wright

Hawks (12):  Pero Antic, Elton Brand, DeMarre Carroll, Al Horford, John Jenkins, Kyle Korver, Shelvin Mack, Paul Millsap, Mike Muscala, Dennis Schröder, Mike Scott, Jeff Teague

Grizzlies (11): Tony Allen, Nick Calathes, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Kosta Koufos, Courtney Lee, Jon Leuer, Quincy Pondexter, Tayshaun Prince, Zach Randolph, Beno Udrih

Pacers (11): Lavoy Allen, Chris Copeland, Paul George, Roy Hibbert, George Hill, Solomon Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Luis Scola, Donald Sloan, C.J. Watson, David West

Thunder (11): Steven Adams, Nick Collison, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Grant Jerrett, Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, Kendrick Perkins, Andre Roberson, Russell Westbrook

Warriors (11): Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, Festus Ezeli, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Ognjen Kuzmic, David Lee, Nemanja Nedovic, Marreese Speights, Klay Thompson

Wizards (11): Bradley Beal, Drew Gooden, Marcin Gortat, Andre Miller, Nene, Otto Porter, Glen Rice Jr., Kevin Seraphin, Garrett Temple, John Wall, Martell Webster

Nuggets (10): Darrell Arthur, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried, Randy Foye, Danilo Gallinari, J.J. Hickson, Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee, Timofey Mozgov, Nate Robinson

Pelicans (10): Alexis Ajinca, Ryan Anderson, Luke Babbitt, Anthony Davis, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Jrue Holiday, Darius Miller, Austin Rivers, Jeff Withey

Raptors (10): DeMar DeRozan, Landry Fields, Tyler Hansbrough, Chuck Hayes, Amir Johnson, Kyle Lowry, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas, Greivis Vasquez

Suns (10): Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, Archie Goodwin, Gerald Green, Alex Len, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Miles Plumlee, Shavlik Randolph, P.J. Tucker

Bucks (9): Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson, Ersan Ilyasova, Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo, Khris Middleton, Zaza Pachulia, Larry Sanders, Nate Wolters

Celtics (9):  Brandon Bass, Avery Bradley, Vitor Faverani, Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk, Phil Pressey, Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger, Gerald Wallace

Clippers (9): Matt Barnes, Reggie Bullock, Jamal Crawford, Glen Davis, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Hedo Turkoglu

Hornets (9): Bismack Biyombo, Gerald Henderson, Al Jefferson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Gary Neal, Jannero Pargo, Jeff Taylor, Kemba Walker, Cody Zeller

Nets (9): Alan Anderson, Kevin Garnett, Jorge Gutierrez, Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Brook Lopez, Mason Plumlee, Mirza Teletovic, Deron Williams

Pistons (9): Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gigi Datome, Andre Drummond, Brandon Jennings, Jonas Jerebko, Tony Mitchell, Greg Monroe, Kyle Singler, Josh Smith

Timberwolves (9): Corey Brewer, Chase Budinger, Gorgui Dieng, Robbie Hummel, Kevin Martin, Shabazz Muhammad, Nikola Pekovic, Ricky Rubio, Ronny Turiaf

Bulls (8): Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, Nazr Mohammed, Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Tony Snell

Jazz (8): Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Ian Clark, Jeremy Evans, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter

Kings (8): DeMarcus Cousins, Reggie Evans, Rudy Gay, Carl Landry, Ray McCallum, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Derrick Williams

Knicks (8): Cole Aldrich, Carmelo Anthony, Andrea Bargnani, Tim Hardaway Jr., Pablo Prigioni, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Amar’e Stoudemire

Lakers (8): Kobe Bryant, Xavier Henry, Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, Ryan Kelly, Steve Nash, Robert Sacre, Nick Young

Rockets (8): Patrick Beverley, Isaiah Canaan, Troy Daniels, Francisco Garcia, James Harden, Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas

Heat (7): Chris Andersen, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton, Udonis Haslem, Dwyane Wade

Magic (7): Dewayne Dedmon, Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O’Quinn, Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic

Sixers (7): Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Davies, Nerlens Noel, Jason Richardson, Henry Sims, Hollis Thompson, Tony Wroten

Mavericks (6): Jae Crowder, Monta Ellis, Devin Harris, Ricky Ledo, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandan Wright

Cavaliers (5): Matthew Dellavedova, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Dion Waiters

Repost Share Send via email

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

November 5th, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

If you want to keep tabs on all the stories and updates at Hoops Rumors, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. If you prefer to receive only news about your favorite NBA team, we still have you covered. You can even get updates only when teams make a move with our Transactions-only Twitter and RSS feed. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

Atlantic

Central

Southeast

Southwest

Northwest

Pacific

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

Repost Share Send via email

Poll: Which Unbeaten Is The Best?

November 4th, 2014 at 8:22pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Rockets and Heat squaring off in Miami tonight, there will be only three unbeaten teams left in the NBA come morning. But, for now, we still have four. Yes, we’re only one week into the 2014/15 season. But, considering that none of these four teams are among the Vegas favorites to win it all this season, wouldn’t it be fun to see which of them has the best shot? So let’s hear it. Of the Heat, Grizzlies, Rockets and Warriors, which has the best chance at winning the NBA championship this season?

  1. Heat (3-0): Now don’t laugh. LeBron James may have left South Beach, but his departure seems to have energized Chris Bosh. The lefty has averaged over 25 points in the team’s first three games and Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng have worked well as Miami’s second and third fiddles. While the Heat might seem like the worst choice on this list, at least they have the luxury of playing in the Eastern Conference.
  2. Grizzlies (4-0): The Memphis grit-and-grind has risen to new levels through four games. The Grizzlies lead the NBA in scoring defense and rank second in defensive efficiency. They’ve won one shootout (105-101 over Minnesota), one slugfest (71-69 over Charlotte) and two games that were somewhere in between (97-89 and 93-81 over Indiana and New Orleans, respectfully). Throw in Memphis’ toughness and propensity to compete come playoff time, and it might not be a stretch to believe this is the Grizzlies’ year.
  3. Rockets (4-0): Houston might be the logical choice here. Through four games, they seem to have displayed the type of balance that would fare well in the postseason. They rank fourth in defense and fifth in offense in terms of efficiency. James Harden is an elite scorer and many predicted an MVP-caliber season for Dwight Howard this year. Even Trevor Ariza, who was signed in desperation this summer, has been great in the early going (shooting over 57%).
  4. Warriors (3-0): The Warriors have won their first three games by a combined 46 points. As good as Memphis has been defensively, it is Golden State that leads the NBA in efficiency, allowing a ridiculous 89.9 points per 100 possessions. An offseason of trade rumors and a max extension seem to have done a world of good for Klay Thompson, who currently leads the NBA in scoring. The Warriors are undoubtedly the sexiest pic on this list.
Which Unbeaten Is The Best Team?
Golden State Warriors 54.46% (360 votes)
Houston Rockets 27.08% (179 votes)
Memphis Grizzlies 13.16% (87 votes)
Miami Heat 5.30% (35 votes)
Total Votes: 661
Repost Share Send via email

How Players Fared In Free Agency After Teams Declined Their 2014/15 Rookie Scale Options

November 4th, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

John Jenkins, Shane Larkin, Nemanja Nedovic, Austin Rivers and Thomas Robinson are the five players who began preseason on rookie scale contracts and saw their teams decline their 2015/16 options, setting them up for unrestricted free agency next summer. That’s not quite as many as last year, when teams turned down their options for 2014/15 on six players signed to rookie scale pacts. In any case, the move is almost never a positive sign for a player’s value, and none of the half dozen who saw their options declined last year wound up with a new NBA contract of equal or greater value in the offseason.

Chris Singleton was the only one of those six players who finished last season with the team that declined his option, and he and the Wizards parted ways in the offseason, when he signed with the Pacers. MarShon Brooks, Jimmer Fredette,  Jordan Hamilton and Jan Vesely were all involved in midseason trades last year after their options were declined, while the Hawks waived Jared Cunningham in February. Cunningham, Fredette, Hamilton and Singleton signed minimum-salary deals with NBA teams in the offseason, but Indiana cut Singleton’s non-guaranteed pact before opening night. Brooks and Vesely signed overseas this summer, meaning only half of the six who saw their options declined remain in the league.

Here’s what happened with each player during the offseason:

There were also a pair of players this year who were waived before the October 31st deadline for their teams to make decisions on their options, just like last year. The results from 2013 portend divergent paths for Arnett Moultrie and Marquis Teague, who hit waivers shortly after having been traded last month. Here’s what happened to the two players with rookie scale team options who were released before last year’s deadline:

  • Kendall Marshall — Signed with the Lakers for two years at the minimum salary and claimed off waivers by the Bucks this past offseason. Both years of the contract were non-guaranteed, but the Lakers kept Marshall past last year’s leaguewide guarantee date, and the Bucks guaranteed this season’s salary.
  • Royce White — Signed with the Kings to a pair of 10-day contracts in 2013/14. Remains unsigned for 2014/15.
Repost Share Send via email

Offseason In Review: Toronto Raptors

November 4th, 2014 at 10:39am CST by Chuck Myron

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Extensions

  • None

Trades

Waiver Claims

  • None

Draft Picks

  • Bruno Caboclo (Round 1, 20th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
  • DeAndre Daniels (Round 2, 37th overall). Playing in Australia.
  • Lucas Nogueira (2013, Round 1, 16th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

The results of this past offseason seem rather tame for GM Masai Ujiri, who made his mark with splashy moves in Denver and in his first months in Toronto. Still, it’s not as if the former Executive of the Year award-winner didn’t put in his fair share of work this summer. Kyle Lowry admitted that the Raptors weren’t always the favorite in the race to re-sign him but said that Ujiri’s enthusiasm for bringing him back influenced his decision to stay north of the border. There was a relatively slim field of suitors for the point guard who wound up with a four-year, $48MM deal, with the Rockets, Lakers, Mavs and Heat seemingly the only legitimate competition for Toronto, and reports later in the summer indicated that Miami’s interest was overstated.

NBA: Toronto Raptors at Oklahoma City ThunderThat weak market for Lowry had much to do with a glut of quality point guards around the league, but it also speaks to the uneasiness that comes with projecting Lowry’s performance. Last season was a career year for the now 28-year-old, and while it could be a signal that he’s entering his prime, it could also be a blip on the radar that precedes a regression during the season ahead. Many reports have documented Lowry’s attitude change for the better over the past year, but it remains to be seen if his demeanor is truly the key to his on-court production. The Raptors bet heavily that the 2013/14 version of Lowry more closely resembles the one who’ll be around for the next few years, but in Toronto, where free agents aren’t known to flock, the need to take such risks is higher than it is elsewhere.

The former Villanova standout isn’t the only Raptors point guard who’s back after having been a free agent. Greivis Vasquez made it clear that he longed to stay in Toronto, where he’d spent only a partial season after stops in Memphis, New Orleans and Sacramento during a whirlwind tour of the league on his rookie scale contract. Vasquez is only a season removed from having averaged 9.0 assists in New Orleans during his only full year as a starter. The buyer’s market for point guards surely didn’t help Vasquez, either, though he still probably could have ended up with a starting job somewhere, provided the Raptors didn’t exercise their right to match offers for the restricted free agent. The Raptors paid a premium of a contract valued slightly above the mid-level salary to keep him, but Vasquez is probably worth it, particularly since he gives the team a solid Plan B in case Lowry indeed regresses, and his presence tacitly puts pressure on Lowry to perform.

The Raptors were reportedly worried at one point that they wouldn’t be able to keep both Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, their other restricted free agent, but thanks in large measure to the Steve Novak trade, they were able to accommodate new deals for both under the tax line. The only cost of unloading Novak’s nearly $3.446MM salary on the Jazz, other than Novak himself, was a second-round pick that Ujiri had acquired from the Knicks in 2013’s Andrea Bargnani trade. Toronto took back the non-guaranteed salary of Diante Garrett and promptly waived him, opening the flexibility to give Patterson a three-year deal with salaries similar to Vasquez’s two-year pact. Patterson, the last pick of the lottery in 2010, never had the breakout year that Vasquez had, though he’s never had the opportunity to be a full-time starter, except for the first half of the 2012/13 season before the Rockets traded him to Sacramento. Vasquez has done more to merit his deal than Patterson has to earn his, but Patterson is nonetheless a floor-spacing power forward who provides a complement to the inside game of starting power forward Amir Johnson. Fit often trumps talent when it comes to building benches.

The Raptors had enough flexibility left over to bring in a player who once started for them and slot him for a bench role. James Johnson‘s stock had cratered before the Grizzlies signed him last December, but he made it plain that he deserves a place in the league, helping Memphis stay afloat while the team was dealing with numerous injuries. The 16th overall pick from 2009 can play either forward position, and though his lack of three-point shooting makes it a tougher go for him at small forward, Patterson’s floor-stretching ability once more comes in handy, since he and Johnson will likely see plenty of time together. Reports indicated the Rockets had interest while the Grizzlies were split on whether to re-sign him, but that doesn’t suggest there was a robust market for the 27-year-old, making his $2.5MM salaries seem pricey for the Raptors.

They’re still much less than what the Raptors would have had to pay John Salmons, whom Ujiri shipped to Atlanta before his $7MM salary for this season became fully guaranteed. The Raptors are shelling out more this year to the two players they received in return, but the 28-year-old Lou Williams, a double-figure scorer for the past seven seasons, has much more upside than the 34-year-old Salmons. Lucas Nogueira, the raw big man from Brazil whom the Raptors also received in the trade, ostensibly has more upside than Salmons, too, though his potential won’t be realized for a while.

Ujiri is clearly not averse to raw Brazilian big men, as he proved when he made one of the most shocking draft picks in the past several years, taking Bruno Caboclo with the 20th overall pick. Just 18 years old on draft day, Caboclo had spent the past season in the lightly regarded Brazilian league, scoring 5.2 points in just 13.0 minutes per game. There were other teams that reportedly planned to draft him before the Raptors would have had a chance to nab him with their second-round pick, at No. 37, but it’s unclear if those clubs would have had the temerity to go through with such a bold move when their picks came around. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Raptors signed him over the summer, starting the clock on his rookie scale contract and committing two years of guaranteed salaries to him rather than letting him develop overseas. That could pay off if he hits restricted free agency before he truly breaks out, allowing the Raptors to re-sign him at a discount, but there’s certainly no promise that he’ll ever truly pay off for the Raptors or anyone else in the league.

Ujiri filled his team’s final opening-night roster spot with Greg Stiemsma, an experienced backup center who can supplement an otherwise unproven (Nogueira, Caboclo) or undersized (Chuck Hayes) group of reserve big men. Stiemsma beat out Jordan Hamilton and Will Cherry in a spirited preseason competition, and with both Hamilton and Cherry now under contract with other NBA teams, it’s clear the Raptors are paying a premium for using a pair of roster spots on long-term projects. There’s an opportunity for the Raptors to go to the Eastern Conference Finals this season if they play well and catch a break, with Derrick Rose‘s health a question mark and many uncertainties surrounding the way the new Cavs will mesh. Still, the Raptors are at their heart a young team, with DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross still gaining steam and Lowry seemingly just hitting his stride. Ujiri has as much of an obligation to look toward the future as he does to the present, and in that context, the Brazilian big men are just two more examples of Ujiri’s fearlessness.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Repost Share Send via email

Offseason In Review: Boston Celtics

November 3rd, 2014 at 3:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Extensions

  • None

Trades

Waiver Claims

Draft Picks

  • Marcus Smart (Round 1, 6th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
  • James Young (Round 1, 17th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.

Camp Invitees

  • Tim Frazier
  • Rodney McGruder
  • Christian Watford

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

It was supposed to be the summer of Love in Boston. Alas, Kevin Love‘s early summer visit to the city turned out to be just that — a visit. The Celtics didn’t possess the sort of trade assets the Timberwolves were demanding for their All-Star power forward, and try as president of basketball operations Danny Ainge might, he never acquired them. The return of LeBron James to the Cavs stoked Love’s interest in playing in Cleveland, and once that happened, no team was able to match Cleveland’s package that included consecutive No. 1 overall picks. That left Ainge holding on to the perennial All-Star he already had and again enduring several more months of on-again, off-again Rajon Rondo trade rumors.

NBA: Boston Celtics at Cleveland CavaliersIn a twist of fate, the C’s helped the Cavs clear the cap room necessary to sign James, and in turn trade for Love, when they participated in a three-team trade with Cleveland and the Nets. Boston gave up only a second-round pick that’s so heavily protected it will almost certainly never end up having to surrender it to receive a what’s likely a late first-round pick in 2016 plus Tyler Zeller and Marcus Thornton. It’s debatable whether Zeller, the 17th overall pick from the 2012 draft, or the future pick is the most intriguing asset out of this swap for Boston. In some sense it could be Thornton, a double-figure scorer in four of his five NBA seasons, but his $8.575MM salary this season casts him merely as the booby prize of the deal for now. The C’s might be able to use his Bird rights to re-sign him and turn him into a bargain next summer, but for the time being the presence of his salary stands as an obstacle.

The acquisition of Thornton along with Boston’s decision to re-sign Avery Bradley wiped out whatever cap flexibility the Celtics might have had. The C’s entered the summer with only about $44.7MM in guaranteed salary, not counting their pair of first-round picks. A touch of creativity would have given them enough money to throw a max offer at a restricted free agent like Gordon Hayward, who played for coach Brad Stevens when both were at Butler. Of course, the Jazz proved they were going to match any offer for Hayward when they matched the max deal that the Hornets gave him. Still, in this summer’s wild restricted free agency market, in which Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe idled without contracts for months, that flexibility might have come in handy for the C’s.

Ainge instead decided to retain his own restricted free agent. Bradley was never in line for max money, but an improved shooting season and continued stellar defense helped him earn annual salaries of $8MM a year. The Celtics showed little hesitancy in committing to Bradley on the second day of free agency just months after the sides had failed to come to terms on an extension, suggesting that the former 19th overall pick made a significant impression last season. It was nonetheless an impression that didn’t stop the Celtics from drafting Marcus Smart sixth overall a few days before they reached a deal with Bradley, and the Smart pick prompted Ainge to once more deny rumors that Rondo would be the odd man out in what had become a crowded backcourt.

It nonetheless seems that the notion of a Rondo trade, or at least the concern that he’ll leave via free agency next summer, helped fuel Ainge’s choice to draft one guard and commit $32MM over four years to another. Smart’s rookie scale contract will see to it that Boston isn’t committing an overwhelming sum to its backcourt, but given the star potential of the former Oklahoma State standout, it could quickly become difficult for Stevens to distribute minutes. Perhaps Ainge is taking a cue from former understudy and current Suns GM Ryan McDonough, who’s doubled down on a strategy of stockpiling point guards that worked to surprising success last season, but time will tell if either experiment pays dividends in the playoffs.

James Young, whom the Celtics took at pick No. 17 this year, can also play guard, but he can swing to the small forward, too, and he’s less of an immediate threat for playing time. Jeff Green, who fits the Bradley mold as an above average player on a salary that’s above average as well, holds down the starting job at the small forward, where Gerald Wallace figures to see minutes if the Celtics have any hope of flipping his decidedly player-friendly contract.

The C’s entered the offseason hoping to use the nearly $5.3MM non-guaranteed salary of Keith Bogans as bait in a trade that would have significant consequences, but Ainge instead used it on the eve of training camp to acquire four players and two future second-round picks. Dwight Powell, the only one of the four players who remains on Boston’s roster, holds some intrigue after having been the 45th overall pick in this year’s draft, and the future second-round picks are not without value, either. But the trade exception equivalent to Bogans’ salary is the most intriguing asset from this transaction as far as Boston is concerned, and it essentially gives Ainge another year to turn Bogans into a player who can help the team. The C’s acquired Bogans in the Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade, so coming away with a contributor of some value would serve as a meaningful bridge from the last Celtics championship to the next one.

The Bogans trade did allow the C’s to accomplish one goal they’d set out to do since July, as before the exchange they’d been carrying too many players to consummate their free agent deal with Evan Turner. The stock of the former No. 2 overall pick isn’t what it used to be, as evidenced by a deal that represents a sharp pay cut even from his rookie scale contract, but he’s a versatile swingman who, at age 26, gives Stevens a chance to unlock the potential that’s yet to fully develop. He’s also another candidate for minutes in the backcourt in what shapes up as a season-long complication for the coach.

Turner’s contract, which fits within the taxpayer’s mid-level exception rather than the full mid-level, also speaks to Boston’s salary crunch, one the team alleviated only slightly in sending Joel Anthony‘s larger salary to Detroit in a one-for-one deal for Will Bynum. Boston is only about $2MM clear of the tax line, and that will present a challenge not just as the Celtics scour for midseason pickups, but also as Ainge tries to construct trades involving Rondo and/or others. This clearly isn’t the sort of team that Wyc Grousbeck and his fellow owners would deem worth paying the tax for, barring the unlikely event that Ainge can strike gold with with a swap.

Such “fireworks” simply failed to launch this summer, to borrow a term from Grousbeck and Ainge, and the reality is setting in that the moves that brought Garnett and Ray Allen to Boston in 2007 are exceptions rather than the rule in the NBA. The Celtics are stuck in no-man’s land, too strong to have a decent chance at the top pick, and too weak to make the playoffs. They possess one key to unlocking the door that leads out of that territory in the form of Rondo, the sort of legitimate star whom successful teams almost always have. Whether the C’s can get where they’re going with him and a team of good-but-not-great players is the key decision that Ainge must make in the months ahead, and it will probably determine whether Rondo remains in Boston for much longer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Repost Share Send via email

2014 Camp Invitees Who Remain On NBA Rosters

November 3rd, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Players face a daunting challenge when they arrive at NBA training camps without guaranteed money on their contracts. Most teams enter October with all but one or two of the spots on their opening-night rosters already spoken for. Camp invitees can occasionally convince a team to eat a guaranteed contract to open up an extra spot, as was the case with Charlie Villanueva and the Mavericks this year, but for the most part, regular season jobs are limited to those who proved their worth long before the preseason began.

Still, Villanueva is one of more than a dozen NBA players who remain on NBA rosters after signing non-guaranteed contracts in the offseason. Villanueva is like most such players in that he has extensive NBA experience. Few rookies made it to opening night on non-guaranteed deals, in part because teams often slip nominal partial guarantees of $100K or less to younger players to entice them sign on the premise that they’ll be cut and end up with the team’s D-League affiliate. That’s often a less lucrative route for those players than signing overseas would be, so the extra cash of a partial guarantee helps offset that difference.

Knicks longshot Travis Wear might be the most notorious of this year’s training camp long shots who stuck around for the regular season, but his $62K guarantee keeps him off the list below. The same is true for Rockets rookie Tarik Black, who’s surprisingly emerged as Dwight Howard‘s backup. There had been some confusion about whether his contract was partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed, but multiple sources tell Hoops Rumors that Black’s salary is partially guaranteed for $50K this season.

Long-tenured veterans rarely end up in the D-League, so they aren’t usually afforded the same small guarantees given to rookies or players with limited NBA experience. Still, there are a few rookies who are on NBA rosters without guaranteed salary, including Joe Ingles, who appeared to have come up short in his quest to make it to opening night before the Jazz claimed him off waivers from the Clippers. K.J. McDaniels, the 32nd overall pick in this year’s draft, had a leg up on most non-guaranteed rookies, given his draft position, and he’s only on a non-guaranteed deal because he signed Philadelphia’s required tender after rejecting a long-term deal from the club.

Alonzo Gee‘s salary is fully guaranteed, but it was non-guaranteed throughout the preseason as he battled to remain on the Nuggets roster. The same was true for Nets center Jerome Jordan, who earned a $100K partial guarantee when he stuck around. Those two are on this list, but A.J. Price isn’t. Price made it to opening night on his non-guaranteed contract with the Cavs, but he didn’t last much longer, as Cleveland cut him loose to sign Will Cherry this weekend. Players who signed prior to this past offseason on multiyear deals that included non-guaranteed salary for 2014/15 don’t appear on this list, either, owing to the benefit that incumbency gave them on their newly signed teammates.

Caveats aside, here are the players who are still on NBA rosters after signing non-guaranteed deals this summer:

Repost Share Send via email

Second-Round Picks On NBA Rosters

November 2nd, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In today’s NBA, the value and importance of second-round draft picks is extremely high. With more and more teams trying to form trios of superstars, franchises need ways of filling out their rosters with inexpensive talent that has upside potential. This is one way way that second-rounders can be absolutely invaluable to GMs around the league.

As opposed to first-round draft choices, teams aren’t assigned cap holds for their second-round picks. So if a team is dangerously close to exceeding the cap, or even worse, the luxury tax line, then a second-round pick can be a valuable tool. A team can select a player and take a look at him in the summer league, and if the front office likes what it sees, second-round picks commonly sign for close to the minimum salary, if not the minimum salary itself, often with little or no guaranteed money involved. If the player doesn’t work out, the team’s financial commitment is negligible.

Players taken in the second round aren’t subject to the rookie pay scale. This can also mean significant financial savings for teams. As a case in point, the cap hold for the first overall draft pick this season was $4,592,200, and the 30th pick’s was $911,400. First-rounders usually sign for 120% of those amounts. Compare that with the minimum salary for a player with no NBA experience, set at $507,336 for this season, and it’s easy to see how second-round picks can be beneficial.

The fact that second-rounders aren’t subject to cap holds also makes them valuable trade chips for teams looking to snag picks in the late first round. Take, for example, a team that’s teetering on the edge of the luxury tax line and owns the 26th pick in the draft. For the 2014/15 season this would mean an automatic cap hold of $958,100. If there wasn’t a player whom the team’s brass was absolutely in love with at that spot, the club could trade out of the first round, save itself the cap hold, and if the team acquired a second-rounder in return, try to strike gold on a much less costly investment. There isn’t a drastic difference between players taken in the late first round and the early second round in many cases, so dropping into the second round can be a wise strategy.

To begin the 2014/15 season there are 102 former second-round draftees on regular season rosters, out of a total of 447 players. That works out to 22.8% of the league. And no, Sixers fans, they aren’t all on your team, though Philadelphia is set make as many as 12 second-round picks from 2015 through 2019 thanks to all of the selections the team has acquired since GM Sam Hinkie came aboard in 2013. Here’s the breakdown by team of the former second-round picks in the league:

Sixers

Bucks

Bulls

Cavaliers

Celtics

Clippers

Grizzlies

Hawks

Heat

Hornets

Jazz

Kings

Knicks

Lakers

Magic

Mavericks

Nets

Nuggets

  • Erick Green

Pacers

Pelicans

Pistons

Raptors

Rockets

Spurs

Suns

Thunder

  • Grant Jerrett

Timberwolves

Trail Blazers

Warriors

Wizards

Repost Share Send via email

Teams With Dead Money Against The Salary Cap

November 2nd, 2014 at 7:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for the 2014/15 season is set at $63.065MM and the luxury tax line at $76.829MM. Not all the money that teams pay out in player salary goes toward the players currently on their regular season rosters. When players with guaranteed contracts are waived, their teams are still on the hook for any dollar amount that fell under a full or partial guarantee. The player is removed from the franchise’s roster, but their salary still counts against the team’s salary cap figure.

Teams are already on the hook for approximately $40.627MM in “dead money” this season to players who won’t score a point, grab a rebound, or even warm a spot on the bench for the teams writing their checks. The Magic are the biggest spenders in this category, owing $14,705,259 in salary to players who no longer wear their jersey, or approximately 23.3% of this year’s cap amount.

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders recently took a look at the salary owed to players no longer on rosters around the league, and since then, millions more in dead money accumulated as teams made a flurry of cuts to set their opening-night rosters. Listed below are the players who are owed “dead money” from their former teams for the 2014/15 season. Please note that these amounts do not include any cash owed to players who were let go using the amnesty provision. Teams that amnesty players are still responsible to fulfill the contracted dollar amounts, but that money doesn’t count against the salary cap.

76ers

Total=$5,194,920

Bucks

  • None

Total=$0

Bulls

Total=$333,333

Cavaliers

  • Chris Crawford ($20K)

Total=$20K

Celtics

Total=$3,015,908

Clippers

Total=$950K

Grizzlies

Total=$600,376

Hawks

Total=$1MM

Heat

  • Khem Birch ($50K)
  • Larry Drew II ($25K)
  • Tyler Johnson ($75K)

Total=$150K

Hornets

  • None

Total=$0

Jazz

Total=$1,011,482

Kings

Total=$958,780

Knicks

Total=$1,764,326

Lakers

  • None

Total=$0

Magic

Total=$14,705,259

Mavericks

Total=$1,090,243

Nets

  • None

Total=$0

Nuggets

Total=$185K

Pacers

  • None

Total=$0

Pelicans

  • None

Total=$0

Pistons

Total=$1,227,985

Raptors

Total=$671,609

Rockets

Total=$2,130,486

Spurs

  • Bryce Cotton ($50K)
  • Josh Davis ($20K)
  • JaMychal Green ($60K)
  • John Holland ($20K)

Total=$150K

Suns

Total=$777,778

Thunder

  • None

Total=$0

Timberwolves

Total=$4,519,500

Trail Blazers

Total=$30K

Warriors

  • Aaron Craft ($35K)
  • Sean Kilpatrick ($35K)
  • James Michael McAdoo ($35K)
  • Nemanja Nedovic ($1.1MM)
  • Mitchell Watt ($35K)

Total=$1.24MM

Wizards

  • None

Total=$0

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

Repost Share Send via email
Load More Posts