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Free Agent Stock Watch: Ryan Hollins

September 12th, 2014 at 11:07am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s always a market in the NBA for seven-footers who’ve proven capable of handling one or two specific duties, and the interest that a handful of teams are reportedly showing in Ryan Hollins is evidence. Hollins is to have met with the Heat, with the Kings, Bulls and Spurs having etched his name near the top of their remaining wish lists, too. Many NBA clubs take chances on undrafted rookies and second-tier pros as they fill out their training camp rosters this time of year, holding out hope that they can unearth a hidden gem, and while there’s no such upside with Hollins, there’s little risk involved with him, either.

The former UCLA Bruin fell out of the rotation for the Clippers late last season after the team acquired Glen Davis, even though Hollins was as efficient as ever in the minutes he did see. He put up an 11.9 PER, a number better than in all but one of his eight NBA seasons. That’s well below 15.0, the mark of an average NBA player, but for a career reserve who’s never averaged more than 16.9 minutes per game, that stat is not a discredit. More impressive is his 73.6% shooting percentage, a product of self-awareness as much as any other factor. He took 65.3% of his shots from three feet and in, and he made them count, connecting on 87.2% of those looks, according to Basketball-Reference. Just 4.2% of his shots came from farther away than 10 feet. Hollins, less than a month shy of his 30th birthday, is not part of the new breed of floor-stretching big men, and he knows it.

The Todd Ramasar client also knows to stick close to the rim on the other end of the floor. He blocked 2.3 shots per 36 minutes last season, which put him in a three-way tie with Tim Duncan and John Henson for 14th in the league in that category among those who played at least as many total minutes as he did. There’s a decent chance his block rate was artificially high thanks to a small sample size, since he only racked up 482 minutes over the course of the entire season, but it’s not too far removed from the 1.8 blocks per 36 minutes he recorded in 2012/13, when he hit the floor for 663 minutes.

The Clippers were a significantly more effective team defensively when Hollins played the past two seasons, which is surprising, considering that starting center DeAndre Jordan placed third in Defensive Player of the Year balloting this past spring. They gave up 4.4 fewer points per 100 possessions when Hollins played compared to when he didn’t in 2012/13, as NBA.com shows, and 3.9 fewer in 2013/14. Of course, there are a variety of influences that go into that statistic, and it’s far from enough evidence to suggest that Hollins is a better defender than Jordan, or even in the same class. Still, it points to the notion that Hollins should have an NBA job this year, and he probably deserves a role greater than the one he played in the second half of this past season, when he was largely an afterthought.

Doc Rivers has an opening on his Clippers roster, but Spencer Hawes figures to absorb nearly all of the backup minutes behind Jordan. Hollins would provide an inside complement to Hawes’ long-range shooting, but it’s doubtful that Hollins would want to go into the year with little hope of being more than a third-stringer. The Heat have Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts and Chris Andersen to take the bulk of the minutes at the power positions, and Udonis Haslem will receive plenty of consideration for playing time, too, so Miami might not be the fit that Hollins seeks, even though the Heat lack a true center. The Bulls have Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic crowding the frontcourt. The backup center job for the Kings seems to be a tossup, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the club envisions sliding one of its many power forwards, like Jason Thompson or Reggie Evans, into minutes at center when DeMarcus Cousins sits. Few on the Spurs roster have trouble hitting the floor thanks to Gregg Popovich‘s egalitarian allocation of minutes, but Duncan, Tiago Splitter, and Jeff Ayres are all still around to play center and Hollins is just one of many free agents the team is targeting for its final opening-night roster spot.

There’s no obvious fit for Hollins among the suitors that have so far been identified, so perhaps that explains why he remains unsigned. It’s a distinct possibility that Hollins is better suited to sign after the season begins, when a team might need added depth at center because of injuries. That would allow Hollins to jump immediately into the lineup without having to compete for minutes during training camp. It would also give Ramasar increased leverage in negotiations, since in such instances the team would figure to have greater motivation to make a deal and close on it quickly than most clubs appear to have at this point. In any case, it would be surprising to see Hollins go without an NBA deal this year, and I suspect he’ll sign with a team with playoff aspirations. He’s not the sort of player that a franchise focused on the future would seem to want, but for a club that can’t afford too many mistakes this year, he’d fit right in.

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Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback

September 11th, 2014 at 10:41am CST by Chuck Myron

We value your input on the news we cover here at Hoops Rumors. That’s why we’re passing along some of the best insight from the comments on our posts and on the Hoops Rumors Facebook page. Share your reaction to and insight on the news and rumors around the league, and you’ll have a chance to see your name here.

If you haven’t commented at Hoops Rumors before, it’s easy to sign up and start. First, read our Commenting Policy. Then, scroll to the bottom of any post, and you’ll see the word “Login” on the right side atop the comments section. Click the word and choose whether you want to comment using a Disqus account or your existing Facebook, Twitter or Google account. If you don’t have a Disqus account and you want to create one, just choose that option and click “Need an account?” at the bottom right of the box that pops up.

The Bulls are the most popular choice among Hoops Rumors readers who voted in a poll to identify the team not named the Cavaliers that had the most success this offseason, but reader Brent Nault believes Toronto GM Masai Ujiri and his staff deserve plaudits, too.

  • How about the Raptors? They were able to re-sign their key free agents in Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez, and Patrick Patterson to fairly reasonable deals. Then they went out and turned John Salmons into a much-needed offensive weapon off the bench in Lou Williams, signed the wing defender they so desperately needed in James Johnson and signed a true backup center in Greg Stiemsma. They managed to keep their playoff team from last year together while filling the few holes they had on their roster, all while maintaining substantial cap flexibility for a Kevin Durant run in 2016.

Greg Monroe recently became the most high-profile player to sign a qualifying offer since rookie scale contracts came into existence, and Matt Buys gives his take on what it means for the Pistons:

  • As a Pistons fan, this feels like a decent outcome for the team. Ideally, we would have been able to get some assets for him in a sign-and-trade. The worst-case scenario would have been giving him something like $14 or $15MM a year for the next four or five years. Smart teams can find equal production — and more flexibility — from players who are far cheaper. Monroe is clearly the kind of “good, but not great” player that dumb teams waste mid-level money on because they’re scared of losing them for nothing. Thankfully, Monroe’s persistence to get out of Detroit didn’t allow the Pistons to make that mistake.

The Spurs have preserved their mid-level and biannual exceptions this summer, giving them ammunition in their pursuit of Ray Allen, as rxbrgr points out.

  • One advantage the Spurs have compared to about any other club competing for Allen’s services is they still have BOTH their exceptions left — that means they can offer a LOT more than the minimum if they would so choose. So, if Allen wants to prioritize money AND winning, then maybe the Spurs are his best choice.

Check out what more readers had to say in previous editions of Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback. We appreciate everyone who adds to the dialogue at Hoops Rumors, and we look forward to seeing more responses like these from you!

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Poll: Which Team Had Second-Best Offseason?

September 10th, 2014 at 10:42pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Cavaliers going from owning the No. 1 pick of the draft this past June to being the number one pick to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy next June, it’s safe to say they’re the overwhelming choice as the team that enjoyed the NBA’s best offseason. But who finished second? Believe it or not, there were other transactions that occurred this offseason that didn’t involve LeBron James or Kevin Love. Here’s a rundown of which non-Cavs team fared the best this summer:

  1. Bulls: Despite losing out on the big-ticket free agents, the Bulls signed Pau Gasol, brought Nikola Mirotic over from Europe and wound up with NBA-ready Doug McDermott in the NBA Draft. These are additions to a team already good enough to tally 48 wins last season. Their most positive offseason development, however, has been the health of Derrick Rose, who is currently participating in the Basketball World Cup.
  2. Hornets: Charlotte built on their first playoff appearance in four years by signing ultra-talented Lance Stephenson along with Marvin Williams and Brian Roberts, all to deals that look reasonable compared to some of the monster numbers thrown around this summer. The Hornets also got what looks like great value in Noah Vonleh and P.J. Hairston in the draft.
  3. Mavericks: Where to start? The Mavs stole Chandler Parsons from a division rival, signed veteran point guard Jameer Nelson and reunited with Tyson Chandler. And don’t forget, this was the team that gave eventual champ San Antonio their toughest test in the playoffs. Dallas also retained star Dirk Nowitzki on a very team-friendly deal.
  4. Timberwolves: Bear with me here. If you consider the loss of Love a foregone conclusion going into the offseason, it can be argued that Minnesota did pretty well for itself, as Hoops Rumors readers displayed in a recent poll. If Andrew Wiggins is a star and Anthony Bennett progresses, the Wolves may have dodged a total rebuild. Adding Thaddeus Young in the Love deal and the high-ceiling of Zach LaVine in the draft certainly doesn’t hurt either.
  5. Wizards: Adding Paul Pierce, Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair while subtracting Trevor Ariza and Trevor Booker may not seem like a giant net improvement on paper. However, considering the weakness of the East and the youth and potential on Washington’s roster, you can argue the Wiz positioned themselves as the best of the second tier teams in the conference. Retaining Marcin Gortat was also an important move for Washington.
  6. Someone else: Feel free to offer your opinion in the comments section if none of these five squads would be atop your list as the winner of the offseason’s silver medal. Maybe you think it’s the Spurs for maintaining most of their championship roster, the Knicks for convincing Carmelo Anthony to stay or even the Sixers for trying something just crazy enough to work. Regardless, we want to hear it.
Which Team Had Second-Best Offseason?
Bulls 32.65% (271 votes)
Timberwolves 18.92% (157 votes)
Mavericks 17.59% (146 votes)
Someone else 14.22% (118 votes)
Hornets 10.72% (89 votes)
Wizards 5.90% (49 votes)
Total Votes: 830
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Evaluating Player Option Decisions

September 10th, 2014 at 4:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Declining a player option was rarely proven unwise on this summer’s market. The majority of the players who opted out to hit free agency this year wound up with new deals that will give them more this season than they would have made if they’d opted in. Still, several players who turned down their options for this coming season ended up agreeing to take less in 2014/15. In those cases, most of them signed for long-term deals that give them a total amount that’s greater than they would have made if they’d picked up their options, even though that money is spread over multiple seasons.

Here’s a look at how each of the players who turned down a player option for the 2014/15 season fared, sorted by those who most certainly made the right decision, players who gave up money for this year for more in the long term, and a pair who are without NBA deals. The players are listed in alphabetical order within each category, followed by their 2013/14 teams and the values of the player options they turned down.

Clear winners:

  • Alan Anderson, Nets, minimum salary — The Nets re-signed him to a two-year deal worth slightly more than $2.61MM that represents a raise, albeit an incremental one, on what he would have seen on his option.
  • Chris Bosh, Heat, $20.59MM — It seemed there were many ways for Bosh to end up with a lower salary when he opted out, since there were rumors he would take less to help the Heat attract another marquee player. There was also no guarantee the NBA’s maximum salary would go up high enough to exceed the value of Bosh’s option year. But, that’s what happened, and the Heat reeled Bosh back in with a five-year, $118.705MM max deal with a starting salary of $54,400 more than he would have made on his option.
  • Darren Collison, Clippers, $1.986MM — The Kings signed him for three years and $15.041MM, a clear financial upgrade.
  • Channing Frye, Suns, $6.8MM — Frye signed a four-year, $32MM deal with the Magic, so as with Collison, the decision to opt out was smart.
  • Danny Granger, Clippers, minimum salary — The Heat brought Granger in on a two-year, $4.247MM deal that gives him more than the minimum each season.
  • LeBron James, Heat, $20.59MM — James was determined not to take another discount, and while he, like Bosh, gambled that the maximum salary would exceed the value of his option, it did indeed, allowing James to sign his two-year, $42.218MM contract with the Cavs.
  • Josh McRoberts, Hornets, $2.771MM — There’s no mistaking just how well it turned out financially for McRoberts, who wound up with a four-year, $22.652MM deal from the Heat after a career year in Charlotte.
  • Anthony Morrow, Pelicans, minimum salary — He signed with the Thunder for $10.032MM over three years. That means he’ll come away with about three times as much in 2014/15 as he would have if he opted in, and those enhanced paydays will continue.
  • Mo Williams, Trail Blazers, $2.771MM — Williams signed a one-year, $3.75MM deal with the Timberwolves, a raise of almost precisely $1MM.
  • Nick Young, Lakers, minimum salary — The Lakers seemed determined not to let Young get away from them in free agency, opening the coffers for a four-year, $21.326MM deal that validates Young’s opt-out decision many times over.

It depends:

  • Carmelo Anthony, Knicks, $23.333MM — Anthony surely doesn’t have any regrets about signing a five-year deal worth $124.065MM, but his new pact calls for a lower salary for this coming season than he would have seen on the option. That’s because a new pact for Anthony, whose salaries exceed the NBA’s maximum thanks to the built-in raises on his lucrative contracts over the years, was limited to giving him a starting salary worth no more than 105% of what he made last year. His scheduled raise under the old deal would have been for more than that.
  • Glen Davis, Clippers, minimum salary — Davis wound up precisely where he started, since he has a guaranteed minimum salary on his one-year deal after re-signing with the Clippers.
  • Francisco Garcia, Rockets, minimum salary — Garcia agreed to re-sign with the Rockets on a one-year deal for that minimum salary. It’s not quite clear if it’s guaranteed at this point, but if it is, he’ll have broken even, just like Davis.
  • Udonis Haslem, Heat, $4.62MM — Haslem locked in $5.587MM, more than he would have seen on his option, but that amount is spread over two seasons in his new deal with the Heat. If he had picked up his option and signed next summer for the minimum salary, he would have made more.
  • Dwyane Wade, Heat, $20.164MM — Like Haslem, Wade wound up with more than he would have made in the option year, but his $31.125MM will come over the course of a new two-year deal with the Heat. Still, it’s not the drastic annual pay decrease that seemed a distinct possibility, and Wade has a player option for next summer if he regains his superstar form without LeBron around.

Probably should have opted in:

  • Andray Blatche, Nets, minimum salary — His salary would automatically equal or exceed the value of his option if he signs with an NBA team before the season, but he might not find guaranteed salary. In any case, he remains unsigned, so the decision looks poor, at least at the moment.
  • Byron Mullens, Sixers, minimum salary — It’s unclear what he’ll make on his deal to play in China, but heading overseas probably wasn’t the outcome he would have preferred.

Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Extension Candidate: Nikola Vucevic

September 10th, 2014 at 10:44am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a chance that one day the 2012 trade that sent Dwight Howard out of Orlando will be remembered equally as well for having brought another All-Star center to the Magic. Nikola Vucevic blossomed when coach Jacque Vaughn gave him a starting role and 33.2 minutes a night in 2012/13, the Swiss native’s first in Orlando after he spent his rookie season mostly on the bench in Philadelphia. He was a terror on the boards, averaging 11.9 per game, almost as many as Howard, who led the league that season. Vucevic averaged 13.1 points a night and ran up a 17.8 PER, and it seemed like the Magic had snagged a star in the making at the same time they parted with the franchise’s preeminent 21st century figure.

This past season tempered that sort of optimism as Vucevic’s numbers plateaued and the Magic slogged through another sub-25-win year. His scoring average was up to 14.2 PPG in slightly fewer minutes each night, but his shooting percentage was lower. His rebounding dropped to 11.0 RPG, a declined backed up by dips in his per-minute rebounding numbers and his total rebound percentage. The Magic gave up just as many points per possession when Vucevic was on the floor compared to when he sat in 2012/13, according to NBA.com, but the Magic were more porous when Vucevic played than when he sat last season. There were subtle signs of improvement last season, like his 18.8 PER, a point higher than the season before, but his steps backward in other categories seemed to cancel out those gains, at best. Vucevic turns 24 next month, and it’s worth wondering if he’s simply not going to get much better.

A report as early as January identified mutual interest between the Magic and Vucevic in a long-term future together, and a dispatch from earlier this summer indicated that talks would pick up sometime around Labor Day. We’ve come to that point on the calendar, and both sides must reckon with the trick that is determining whether the improvement between his first and second seasons is more indicative of the player he’ll become than what took place between years two and three.

Vucevic and his representatives at BDA Sports Management have the allure of size in their corner, even though Vucevic is somewhat short for a center at 6’10”. That helps explain why he’s never averaged more than a block per game and hasn’t shown signs of developing into a plus defender, never mind the elite stopper that Howard was during his time in Orlando. Still, defense is a strong suit of rookie power forward Aaron Gordon, and that fact surely wasn’t lost on Magic GM Rob Hennigan when he drafted Gordon at No. 4 in June and decided to address his team’s frontcourt before he did so with the backcourt. The chance to have both inside positions covered with promising young players for the foreseeable future is the dream of just about every GM, and it’s up to Hennigan to figure out just how promising Vucevic really is.

The Pistons have faced a similar dilemma over the past year with Greg Monroe, who has a track record of greater production than Vucevic has. Detroit has Andre Drummond to go with Monroe on the interior, but the team complicated that dynamic when it signed Josh Smith for four years and $54MM last summer. Still, the Pistons never seemed willing to meet Monroe’s demand for a max salary, and now he’s poised to slip away in unrestricted free agency next summer after signing his qualifying offer. There’s been no suggestion that Vucevic will similarly hold out for the max, but with the agent for Ricky Rubio having asked for it and the Warriors having budgeted for such a deal with Klay Thompson, it wouldn’t be shocking if Vucevic wants to test his worth on the market.

The Magic have more cap flexibility for the years ahead than the Pistons do, but Orlando also brought in a veteran on a fairly lucrative contract who plays Vucevic’s position, just as Detroit did with Monroe and Smith. Yet there are few other similarities between Smith, whose faulty three-point shooting makes him a focal point for criticism, and Channing Frye, a career 38.5% marksman from behind the arc. Frye is also on a four-year, $32MM deal that’s almost half as expensive as Smith’s, and Frye’s contract is frontloaded, making it less of a burden as years go by.

Still, the Magic must be careful when they hand out extensions, since Vucevic is one of eight Orlando players on rookie scale contracts. They’ll have to be especially judicious when it comes to handing out a five-year extension, which would trigger the Designated Player rule and keep the team from giving out an extension of that length to any of its other guys on rookie scale contracts. It’s unlikely that the Magic will be able to retain every one of those former first-round picks long-term, so tough choices loom.

I suspect that Orlando will pass on an extension for Tobias Harris this year, as I explained earlier. Conversely, I predicted that the Magic would go for a four-year, $48MM extension with Vucevic, similar to what the Jazz and Derrick Favors settled on last fall. There were more unknowns with Favors, who had yet to assume a full-time starting role when he signed that extension, but Utah was in a similar position, with plenty of young players poised to come up for new deals in the years ahead. If either side were to balk at such an arrangement, it would be Vucevic, who might be unwilling to tether himself to a contract that would have the potential to become a bargain even before it took effect if his game takes a leap this year. It’s tough to argue that a player who’s not a prolific scorer or a stout defender is worth more than $12MM a year, but it seems reasonable to think that Vucevic’s decision will come down to whether he’s willing to gamble that he can add at least one of those distinctions to his résumé in the near future.

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Players Who Took NBA’s Largest Pay Cuts

September 9th, 2014 at 10:28am CST by Chuck Myron

It was clear from the start that Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t leaving the Mavericks this summer, and while that also foretold a discount deal, few would have predicted that he’d agree to the league’s sharpest decline in salary. The future Hall-of-Famer let the Mavs lop nearly $15MM off his take from 2013/14, a reduction larger than last season’s entire salary for Emeka Okafor, who remains unsigned and trails only Nowitzki in terms of pay decrease from last season.

The presence of Nowitzki might keep new teammate Richard Jefferson from feeling too regretful about his minimum-salary deal, one that comes on the heels of a more than $11MM payday last season. Five players in the NBA are set to see their salaries dip by more than $10MM, and Jefferson is next on the list after that group.

The Wizards are the only other team with two players among the top 10 in salary declines from last season to next, as Paul Pierce and Kris Humphries, whose eight-figure salaries went the opposite way in the 2013 Celtics/Nets blockbuster, unite for less in Washington. Like the majority of the players in this top 10, Pierce and Humphries will still make more than the minimum salary this year, so it could be worse for them.

Here’s the complete list, with each player’s pay cut in parentheses, followed by his name, his 2013/14 salary, his 2014/15 salary, and his 2014/15 team, if applicable. All salaries are rounded to the nearest $1K:

  1. ($14.747MM) Dirk Nowitzki, $22.721MM — $7.974MM: Re-signed with Mavericks
  2. ($14,488MM) Emeka Okafor, $14.488MM: Unsigned
  3. ($12.158MM) Pau Gasol, $19.286MM — $7.128MM: Signed with Bulls
  4. ($11.944MM) Danny Granger, $14.021MM* — $2.077MM: Signed with Heat.
  5. ($10.028MM) Paul Pierce, $15.333MM — $5.305MM: Signed with Wizards
  6. ($9.598MM) Richard Jefferson, $11.046MM — $1.448MM: Signed with Mavericks
  7. ($9MM) Andris Biedrins, $9MM: Unsigned
  8. ($8.7MM) Ben Gordon, $13.2MM — $4.5MM: Signed with Magic
  9. ($7.869MM) Shawn Marion: $9.317MM — $1.448MM**: Agreed to sign with the Cavaliers
  10. ($7.75MM) Kris Humphries, $12MM — $4.25MM: Signed-and-traded to Wizards

* — Granger’s 2013/14 salary as listed here is the combined salary he made between his original deal and the prorated minimum salary he signed with the Clippers after the Sixers waived him following the trade that sent him to Philadelphia. The amount might be slightly less, depending on whether the Sixers agreed to waive set-off rights as part of Granger’s buyout agreement.

** — Some details about Marion’s deal remain unclear, but the Cavs are limited to giving him no more than the minimum salary.

Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

September 7th, 2014 at 3:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the original reporting and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week…

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Trade Retrospective: Aldridge To Blazers

September 7th, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Eddie Scarito

In professional sports, one of the most exciting things that can happen from a fan’s perspective is a blockbuster trade. These deals can alter not just the fates of the franchises involved, but can shape the direction of the entire league. The biggest deal of this offseason so far was the trade that sent Kevin Love to the Cavaliers for the last two No. 1 overall picks, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins, plus the Wolves also landed Thaddeus Young from the Sixers as part of the transaction.

It will be years before we can accurately judge who won the trade, but if the Cavs hoist the NBA Championship trophy next Spring they will certainly be thrilled with the results. The Wolves haven’t been to the playoffs the last 10 seasons, so for them the deal was about building for the future and trying to change the losing culture in Minnesota.

I’ve been taking a look back at some of the bigger deals that have transpired in recent NBA history. So far I’ve examined the trades that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers; Deron Williams to the Nets; Kevin Garnett to the Celtics; Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks; Chris Paul to the Clippers; Stephon Marbury to the Knicks; and the trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal from the Lakers to the Heat.

Not all big trades involve established players and stars, but they still carry a high risk. Trading away prospects and draft picks ramp that risk up even higher than when dealing away established NBA talent, since it is so difficult to accurately predict how a player’s production will transition from college to the pros. It’s with this in mind that I look back at the June 2006 Draft night trade between the Bulls and the Blazers that landed LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland.

I’ll begin by running down the players involved:

The Bulls were infatuated at the time with Thomas’ athleticism and defensive potential, which led then-GM John Paxson to take a chance and deal Aldridge, whom the Bulls selected with the No. 2 overall pick, for Thomas, who was selected No. 4 overall. The Bulls were more enamored with Thomas’ physical tools and potential, but this trade shows the risks involved when dealing away draft picks prior to seeing them perform at the next level.

The Bulls were just beginning to climb out of the post-Michael Jordan era blues at the time of the trade. Here’s a look at their records in the seasons leading up to this deal:

  1. 2001/02: 21-61
  2. 2002/03: 30-52
  3. 2003/04: 23-59
  4. 2004/05: 47-35 (Lost in first round to the Wizards)
  5. 2005/06: 41-41 (Lost in first round to the Heat)

The acquisition of Thomas was supposed to strengthen the Bulls’ frontcourt and help the franchise take the next step back toward contention, but Thomas never lived up to his potential and has been outperformed by Aldridge every season of their careers.

Here are Thomas’ career stats:

  1. 2006/07: 5.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 1.1 BPG. His slash line was .474/.000/.606.
  2. 2007/08: 6.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, and 1.0 BPG. His slash line was .423/.167/.741.
  3. 2008/09: 10.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.0 APG, and 1.9 BPG. His slash line was .451/.333/.783.
  4. 2009/10: 9.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.0 APG, and 1.6 BPG. His slash line was .462/.000/.687.
  5. 2010/11: 10.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.7 APG, and 1.6 BPG. His slash line was .471/.000/.787.
  6. 2011/12: 5.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 1.1 BPG. His slash line was .367/.333/.759.
  7. 2012/13: 4.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.7 APG, and 0.6 BPG. His slash line was .353/.375/.839.

The Bulls’ records for the seasons that Thomas was on the roster were:

  1. 2006/07: 49-33 (Lost in second round to the Pistons)
  2. 2007/08: 33-49
  3. 2008/09: 41-41 (Lost in first round to the Celtics)
  4. 2009/10: 41-41 (Lost in first round to the Cavs)

Thomas was injured four games into the 2009/10 season, and he missed nearly six weeks with a fractured forearm. During this stretch he was replaced in the starting lineup by Taj Gibson, who performed well enough to make Thomas expendable. On February 18, 2010, Thomas was traded to the Hornets for Flip Murray; Acie Law; and a 2014 first-rounder (Jusuf Nurkic).

That offseason the Hornets signed Thomas to a five-year, $40MM deal. Thomas would spend another three seasons with Charlotte, averaging double-figures in points only once. His time in Charlotte and his NBA career would come to an end on July 10, 2013 when the Hornets waived Thomas using the amnesty provision to make room for the franchise to sign Al Jefferson.

Murray only appeared in 29 games for the Bulls, and averaged 10.1 PPG and 2.9 RPG. This was his last season in the league and he’s since split time between the NBA D-League and playing overseas.

Law appeared in just 12 games for the Bulls, averaging 5.5 PPG and 1.3 APG. After the 2009/10 season he became a free agent, signing a one-year deal with the Grizzlies, who would release him after 11 games.

The first-rounder that Chicago had acquired from Charlotte was part of the 2014 NBA Draft night trade with the Nuggets that sent the rights to Doug McDermott and Anthony Randolph to the Bulls for Jusuf Nurkic, Gary Harris, and the least favorable of the Bulls’ pair of second rounders in 2015 (Chicago has both its own second-round pick and Portland’s second-rounder that year).

Viktor Khryapa didn’t provide much of a return for the Bulls. In parts of two seasons with the franchise, he appeared in a total of 42 games, averaging 2.9 PPG and 1.9 RPG. Khryapa only played an average of 9.3 minutes per contest while in Chicago.  He expressed to management his frustrations about his lack of playing time, and in February of 2008 he and the team reached a buyout agreement. Khryapa has been out of the NBA ever since.

From the Bulls’ side of things, this is a deal that I’m sure they would like to change if they could. It’s hard to predict what the team’s won-loss records would have been the first two seasons after the trade was made, and if Chicago would have still been in line to draft Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose in 2007 and 2008, respectively, if it was Aldridge and not Thomas manning the power forward position. But when simply comparing the assets that changed hands, the Bulls have to regret this deal when looking back.

The Blazers were floundering as a franchise in the seasons prior to this trade. Here’s a look at their records prior to acquiring Aldridge:

  1. 2001/02: 49-33 (Lost to the Lakers in the first round)
  2. 2002/03: 50-32 (Lost to the Mavs in the first round)
  3. 2003/04: 41-41
  4. 2004/05: 27-55
  5. 2005/06: 21-61

Portland had quite a busy draft night back in 2006, acquiring Aldridge as well as Brandon Roy in a separate deal with the Wolves. Roy would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors for the 2006/07 season, when he averaged 16.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 4.0 APG. Aldridge didn’t begin his career quite as successfully, but by his second season he already began to show flashes of being the star player that he has evolved into.

Here are Aldridge’s career numbers:

  1. 2006/07: 9.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 0.4 APG, and 1.2 BPG. His slash line was .503/.000/.722.
  2. 2007/08: 17.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.2 BPG. His slash line was .484/.143/.762.
  3. 2008/09: 18.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.0 BPG. His slash line was .484/.250/.781.
  4. 2009/10: 17.9 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 0.6 BPG. His slash line was .495/.313/.757.
  5. 2010/11: 21.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.2 BPG. His slash line was .500/.174/.791.
  6. 2011/12: 21.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 0.8 BPG. His slash line was .512/.182/.814.
  7. 2012/13: 21.1 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.2 BPG. His slash line was .484/.143/.810.
  8. 2013/14: 23.2 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.0 BPG. His slash line was .458/.200/.822.

Here’s how the Blazers have fared since acquiring Aldridge:

  1. 2006/07: 32-50
  2. 2007/08: 41-41
  3. 2008/09: 54-28 (Lost in first round to the Rockets)
  4. 2009/10: 50-32 (Lost in first round to the Suns)
  5. 2010/11: 48-34 (Lost in first round to Mavs)
  6. 2011/12: 28-38
  7. 2012/13: 33-49
  8. 2013/14: 54-28 (Lost in the second round to the Spurs)

Aldridge has been a big part of the turnaround in Portland, which has had a few setbacks, most notably the selection of Greg Oden instead of Kevin Durant back in 2007, and Roy’s retirement due to injuries back in 2011. Aldridge is on track to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season, and even if the Blazers don’t re-sign him, they still win this deal.

The second-rounder that Portland acquired from Chicago was used in a trade with the Knicks, which saw New York receive Zach Randolph; Dan Dickau; Fred Jones; and the pick that was used to select Demetris Nichols. In return, the Blazers received Steve Francis; Channing Frye; and a 2008 second-rounder that was used to select Omer Asik.

As far as trades go, the Aldridge one wasn’t a multi-player deal involving numerous teams, but it was still a rather important one–especially for Portland. The Blazers haven’t advanced past the second round during Aldridge’s tenure in Portland, but it’s difficult to argue that he is the cause. The Bulls most likely lament this deal, especially since Thomas is out of the league altogether, while Aldridge is entering his prime and has made three consecutive All-Star games. But in all fairness, had Derrick Rose not fallen under the injury bug, Chicago may well have won an NBA title in the last few years.

It’s interesting to see the difference in production each franchise received from players taken a mere two selections apart. It also makes one wonder which of this year’s draft night trades will be looked back at as being steals or huge misfires. Will the Cavs regret dealing away Wiggins? If Cleveland fails to win the title, Love doesn’t perform up to his previous levels, or if he leaves as a free agent after the season, then they absolutely will. But if they finally hang a championship banner from their rafters, then they will consider it absolutely worth doing.

As for some of the other teams that took a gamble this year, time will tell if the Nuggets will regret trading McDermott to the Bulls, or if the Magic will rue dealing Dario Saric to the Sixers for Elfrid Payton. As the Aldridge-Thomas trade has demonstrated, a few spots in the draft order can yield remarkably different results down the line. It’s a risk anytime a deal is made, and sometimes it’s even more so when gambling with draft selections. Cleveland certainly better hope that Wiggins doesn’t become a superstar, or they need to win at least a couple of titles if he does. Otherwise, there will be some angry Cavs fans in a few years.

Note: If there’s a particular trade that you would like to see me take a look back at, please feel free to sound off in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter at @EddieScarito.

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Poll: Which Coach Will Be On The Hot Seat?

September 6th, 2014 at 7:44pm CST by Cray Allred

The summer is the season of optimism for NBA fans, with draft picks and signings set to fit perfectly and improve teams all over the league–hypothetically. Once the season begins, however, the goodwill can dry up fast. Last year, blockbuster acquisitions in Detroit and Brooklyn had set expectations high for newly hired coaches Maurice Cheeks and Jason Kidd, but both teams struggled out of the gate, placing both coaches on the hot seat. Kidd survived the season and guided the Nets to the playoffs, but the root of conflict survived as well, and Kidd bolted for Milwaukee in a bizarre power struggle. Cheeks was fired in-season, and remains without a coaching job.

Mike Woodson faced constant speculation about his own job, and lasted through the season only to be let go by incoming team president Phil Jackson. Larry Drew bore the brunt of the Kidd move, and Tyrone Corbin was let go by the Jazz, despite his baby-faced roster performing about as well as expected. Mark Jackson led the Warriors to improvement for a second consecutive season, but pushing the Clippers to a Game 7 in the opening round of the playoffs wasn’t enough to salvage his position in Golden State after some turbulence between Jackson, the rest of the coaching staff, and the front office.

In the NBA, very few jobs are ever truly “safe,” unless your last name is Popovich. Let’s look at some of the coaches who could encounter early traces of job insecurity.

1. Winning Enough? Scott Brooks, Kevin McHale, and Frank Vogel. In parts of 13 seasons combined with their current teams, these coaches have only two losing seasons between them. Brooks receives plenty of flack for his in-game strategy and roster management, despite having coached a young Thunder team to a surprise appearance in the 2012 Finals, and regularly orchestrating dominant regular season performances that have been undercut by postseason injuries to Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. After Oklahoma City’s disappointing series loss to the eventual champions in 2013/14, GM Sam Presti voiced his support for the coach moving forward.

Vogel built a defensive juggernaut that gave the Heat one of its stiffest annual challenges in the playoffs, but Indiana struggled mightily for much of the second half of last season, and the team will suffer this year from the losses of Lance Stephenson and Paul George. The Pacers squelched rumors that the coach could be let go after the team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, but Vogel will be coaching on an expiring contract unless the team grants him an extension in the coming months.

McHale has failed to take the Rockets beyond the first round in his tenure, and expectations are that the team is due to build on its success around James Harden and Dwight Howard. The front office in Houston didn’t do McHale any favors this offseason, allowing mainstays Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik to depart while striking out on free agent Chris Bosh.

2. First-Year Coaches: David Blatt, Steve Kerr, Derek Fisher, and Quin Snyder. Blatt was signed to coach a team that failed to reach the playoffs last season, but Cleveland has since become a championship contender with the additions of LeBron James and Kevin Love. It’s rare for a first-time head coach to cut his teeth with such enormous expectations. Kerr takes over for a team that envisions a higher ceiling than they had attained with Jackson. Kerr’s involvement in the decision to withhold Klay Thompson from a potential Love trade could come back to haunt him, especially if the star power forward thrives in Cleveland while the shooting guard’s game doesn’t take off under Kerr’s tutelage.

Fisher and Snyder figure to operate with more patient front offices and fan bases, as both were hired to develop players within their systems with an eye toward the future. Of course, “low-pressure” isn’t typical of any coaching job in the New York market, and Fisher has insisted that his team should make the playoffs this season.

3. The Clock Is Ticking: Jacque Vaughn and Brian Shaw. Vaughn has been at the helm for a rebuilding Magic team the last two years, racking up an understandably poor .262 winning percentage. While Orlando is still far from contending, the team has shored up the rotation with veteran additions and has a number of young players on schedule to provide a bigger impact. A season spent at the very bottom of league standings might be unacceptable to Magic brass, especially if the young pieces fail to pop. Shaw took the reigns for one of the Western Conference’s best teams in 2012/13, but injuries and the departure of Andre Iguodala prevented them from reaching the postseason altogether this spring. The West should be no less fierce this season, but the Nuggets have high hopes that Shaw will be working to meet in just his second year on the sidelines.

4. Anything Can Happen: Jason Kidd and Dave Joerger. Both coaches are entering their sophomore seasons as NBA head coaches after having reached the playoffs on the first try. Aside from their teams’ performances, there are strange off-the-court similarities between the two. Kidd exited Brooklyn in the aforementioned stunner, and Joerger appeared destined to leave Memphis amid a series of puzzling revelations about his relationship with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, before the two eventually hashed out their differences and agreed on a contract extension. Both would appear to have a long leash for the coming season, but the combustible personalities in play have undermined peaceful coaching situations before.

Who do you think will find himself on rocky footing soonest in 2014/15? As we have routinely seen, ongoing success is no guarantee that a coach is in the clear. If you think I’ve failed to mention the most likely name, vote “Other” and leave your choice in the comments.

Which Coach Will Be On The Hot Seat Soonest?
Scott Brooks 19.17% (204 votes)
Kevin McHale 17.95% (191 votes)
Frank Vogel 15.04% (160 votes)
David Blatt 11.75% (125 votes)
Jason Kidd 9.40% (100 votes)
Derek Fisher 7.24% (77 votes)
Jacque Vaughn 6.67% (71 votes)
Brian Shaw 5.08% (54 votes)
Steve Kerr 4.04% (43 votes)
Other (leave in comments) 1.32% (14 votes)
Quin Snyder 1.22% (13 votes)
Dave Joerger 1.13% (12 votes)
Total Votes: 1,064
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Unsigned Former Lottery Picks

September 5th, 2014 at 3:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hasheem Thabeet went unclaimed after the Sixers waived him this week, putting the No. 2 pick from 2009 on a free agent market in which he has plenty of company. Lottery picks are supposed to turn into stars, or at least players capable of holding NBA roster spots. Still, there are dozens of lottery picks since 2000 who are out of the NBA, and perhaps more surprising is how many of them had NBA contracts just within the past 12 months.

It’s no shock not to see names like Luke Jackson and Julian Wright on NBA rosters, since that’s been the case for years now. Still others are like Thabeet, who’s consistently remained in the NBA up until now, and are left to scramble for contracts of some kind as the offseason grows short.

Greg Monroe stands out among those on this list, but his continued presence on the market has more to do with the fact that he’s a restricted free agent than any on-court shortcomings. All the other names below are unrestricted free agents, so teams are free to scoop them up if they see fit. That simply hasn’t been the case for Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum, Charlie Villanueva, and others.

The list would grow further if we took it back a few more years, and it would include 1999 No. 1 overall pick Elton Brand, who’s still unsigned after spending last season with the Hawks. Still, Brand, like all the other lottery picks from the 20th century, is nearing retirement, so his continued free agency isn’t earth-shattering.

Here are the lottery picks since 2000 who remain free agents after having been on regular season or preseason NBA rosters within the past 12 months:

Five more veterans from the 2013/14 campaign have struck deals to play overseas:

Shane Battier, the No. 6 pick from 2001, started 56 regular season games for the Heat this past season, but he retired after the Finals in June.

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