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Use Of Stretch Provision At New High

September 1st, 2014 at 12:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams used the stretch provision with unprecedented frequency this past week as they rushed to beat the deadline to spread salaries for this coming season. GMs turned to the stretch provision four times in the final three days of August, assuming the Kings indeed did so with Wayne Ellington, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported this morning. Prior to this past week, only three players had their salaries stretched since the provision came into being after the 2011 lockout, so the uptick is quite remarkable.

The stretch provision gives teams short-term relief at the expense of a lingering commitment. The Clippers, Grizzlies and Kings, dealing with hard caps for this season, opted for flexibility when they made use of the stretch provision this week, though Memphis and Sacramento seemed chiefly concerned with the tax line, which they had been butting up against. The Bulls were in peril of going into the tax for much of last season, so their decision last summer to spread Richard Hamilton‘s salary proved wise. The stretch affects actual pay as well as cap hits, so teams that use it can issue a larger number of smaller paychecks to the players they excise using this provision.

The stretch provision applies to contracts signed under the current collective bargaining agreement, while any payment schedule revisions to contracts signed before it came into effect are a matter of negotiation between each team and player. That might explain why GMs are just now beginning to put the stretch provision into widespread use, as fewer deals from the old CBA remain. For more information on how the stretch provision works, check out our glossary entry.

Here’s a list of each use of the stretch provision, including when the use took place and how much salary was spread:

Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

September 1st, 2014 at 10:41am 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.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

August 31st, 2014 at 6:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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

  • I took a look back at the trade which sent Stephon Marbury from the Suns to the Knicks.
  • Chuck Myron examined the free agent stock of Antawn Jamison.
  • In a reader poll, Chuck asked if Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe should sign their qualifying offers, to which the majority of you said they both should do.
  • Play nice, everyone.  Read up on our Commenting Policy here.
  • I asked readers to vote on where Rajon Rondo was most likely to begin the season.
  • Chuck examined how rare the lucrative one-year deal has become in the NBA.
  • The Timberwolves reaped a trade exception worth $6,308,194 from Saturday’s completion of the Kevin Love trade, and Chuck Myron explained how trade exceptions work.
  • Cray Allred asked readers to vote on which trade made during the 2013/14 season would have the biggest impact.
  • The Sixers’ rebuilding efforts thus far have been met with mixed opinions. In a reader poll, Alex Lee asked you to vote on how well Philadelphia’s strategy was working, to which many of you responded favorably.
  • Chuck Myron hosted Hoops Rumors’ weekly live chat, and you can view the transcripts here.
  • In an entry into our Extension Candidate series, Chuck looked at the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler.
  • Follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.
  • Cray looked at Kenneth Faried as an extension candidate.
  • In a reader poll, Charlie Adams asked readers who next season’s Rookie of the Year would be, and Jabari Parker was the victor.
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Poll: Where Does Rondo Start Season?

August 31st, 2014 at 12:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There was a report earlier from ESPNBoston.com’s Jackie MacMullan, in which she noted that Rajon Rondo had informed the Celtics that he wanted out of Boston. This conflicted with previous reports that Rondo was content in Boston and that the Celtics were looking to hold onto their point guard at least up until next season’s trading deadline. But if the report from MacMullan is correct, then Celtics GM Danny Ainge may be forced to deal his still-recovering star player, or at the very least, much sooner than he would prefer to.

Rondo is set to make roughly $12.9MM next season, which will be difficult for teams to salary match and provide Boston with players they will agree to take on. Ainge will prioritize cap flexibility, draft picks, and younger players in any deal for Rondo. This means that any team pitching an offer will need to have expiring contracts, first-rounders, and younger players that fit in with the franchise’s new culture, in order to have a shot at nabbing Rondo.

If Rondo is traded, then where might he be headed? The Kings appeared to be the frontrunners to match up as a trade partner with Boston. Sacramento has previously expressed interest in acquiring the 28 year-old guard, who has career averages of 11.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 8.4 APG, and 1.9 SPG. The Kings have a number of intriguing pieces to offer in some combination of Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Nik Stauskas, and draft picks. But the main hold-up would be that Rondo has already said that he would not re-sign with Sacramento when he hits free agency. The Kings were willing to trade for Kevin Love after he made a similar decree, so it’s possible they would make the same concession in dealing for Rondo.

The Rockets would be another possibility, MacMullan noted, though after dealing Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, and losing Chandler Parsons to the Mavs in free agency, Houston has less flexibility or pieces that could have brought in a third team to provide Ainge with the draft picks that he desires to stockpile. There aren’t many players that Houston would be willing to deal that Boston would want, so Houston seems like a long shot here.

Another team that has previously expressed their desire to acquire Rondo is the Knicks. They had attempted to trade for him last season, but had the same issues then that they do today–no tradeable first-rounders in the immediate future, and a lack of younger talent to deal. The Knicks could potentially offer up some combination of Amar’e Stoudemire‘s expiring contract, Iman Shumpert, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jose Calderon, and Shane Larkin, and try to involve another team to get Boston a first round pick. This package isn’t as enticing for Boston as some others they could receive, though if the Knicks could somehow acquire a 2015 first rounder from another team, that, Hardaway Jr, and another player or two isn’t too bad a fallback haul for Ainge.

In the video, MacMullan also mentioned the Lakers as a possibility for Rondo. Los Angeles could offer some combination of draft picks, Julius Randle, and one or both of Jeremy Lin‘s and Steve Nash‘s expiring deals, plus the Lakers probably could be talked into taking on Gerald Wallace‘s $20MM+ that he’s owed over the next two seasons as well. This wouldn’t be a bad return for Boston, especially if they could rid their books of Wallace’s deal in the process. One major hitch would be convincing Rondo to re-sign with the Lakers, which MacMullan said he wouldn’t be willing to do.

One team that I’ll throw into the mix here is the Pistons. They already have Josh Smith on board, who is close friends with Rondo and there was talk in the past that they would be interested in being teammates one day. This might give Detroit an edge in re-signing Rondo, plus it could also keep Smith happy in the short-term. For Detroit, it would give them a star presence at the point, and if Rondo was healthy it would probably guarantee the Pistons a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference.

Detroit also has a very intriguing piece that might get the deal done in Greg Monroe. Monroe hasn’t signed his qualifying offer yet, which would severely limit his trade possibilities, and this means that a sign-and-trade deal is still very much on the table. Monroe has demonstrated that he has no intention of re-signing with the Pistons after next season, which means Detroit risks letting him leave for nothing in return. Monroe is exactly the type of high-ceiling younger player that Ainge would be interested in, plus the Pistons have a few other pieces they could mix-and-match along with draft picks to get this deal done. As for whether or not Ainge sees Monroe worthy of a long-term, big money commitment, that is uncertain.

There’s no guarantee that Rondo gets dealt prior to the season beginning. The trade market would have been more robust prior to the NBA Draft, when more teams could have gotten involved. But if Rondo has issued an ultimatum to the Celtics, then they may have no other alternative but to find the best offer they can. Vote below for where you think Rondo will begin the season, and then feel free to expand on your choice in the comments section.

Where Will Rondo Begin The Season?
He'll still be in Boston with the Celtics. 29.79% (614 votes)
He'll help bring "Showtime" back to the Lakers. 20.48% (422 votes)
He'll be learning the triangle with the Knicks. 17.37% (358 votes)
He'll be in Motown with the Pistons. 15.38% (317 votes)
He'll be somewhere else altogether. 6.26% (129 votes)
He'll be taking off with the Rockets. 5.92% (122 votes)
He'll be living it up with the Kings. 4.80% (99 votes)
Total Votes: 2,061
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Poll: Which 2013/14 Trade Will Have Greatest Impact?

August 30th, 2014 at 8:51pm CST by Cray Allred

When you look through last season’s trades, you’ll quickly notice that many of the deals revolved around players on the last years of their contracts, second-round draft picks, and other low-impact assets. A good amount of the players traded last year have already moved on from the team that acquired them, and many of the moving pieces failed to significantly help or hinder the fate of the teams involved for 2013/14.

Still, any given trade’s legacy can drag on for many years and in unexpected ways, as Eddie Scarito’s Hoops Rumors Trade Retrospective series has shown. I’ve gathered some of last year’s trades with loose ends and/or ramifications that have already stretched beyond last season.

  1. Kings and Raptors swap Rudy Gay, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and other pieces. While Quincy Acy, Aaron Gray, and John Salmons are no longer a part of either franchise, Gay, Vasquez, and Patterson are all on the same rosters through at least 2014/15. Toronto became a playoff team after this trade, and Gay played some of the best basketball of his career as a King. Each franchise hopes to have cemented part of its future core with this deal.
  2. Cavaliers and Bulls swap Luol Deng, Andrew Bynum, and picks. Deng is now a member of the Heat, and Bynum is an unsigned free agent. The Bulls are still owed Sacramento’s first-round pick, which is top-10 protected through 2017, along with a handful of others from this deal. Chicago also avoided the tax by waiving Bynum’s partially guaranteed contract, and this deal marked the beginning of a strategy to chisel out enough cap flexibility acquire a marquee talent this summer. The team aimed for Carmelo Anthony, but ultimately signed Pau Gasol.
  3. Sixers and Pacers swap Danny Granger, Evan Turner, and more. The Sixers still own the Warriors second-round pick for 2015, and Indiana re-signed Lavoy Allen after receiving him in this trade. The bigger names in Granger and Turner have both landed in Miami and Boston, respectively. The Sixers bought out Granger after the deal, and the remaining hole at shooting guard plays into Philadelphia’s plans to remain less than competitive for the coming season. Granger was no longer a high-impact player for the Pacers at the time of the deal, although the team struggled mightily after his departure and is now without Paul George and Lance Stephenson for 2014/15, offensive talents that made Granger expendable at the time.

A team’s track record of draft success and player development, combined with the deal’s timeliness, all factor into our expectations. Which trade do you expect to look back on as more than a wrinkle in the NBA landscape?

Which 2013/14 Trade Will Have The Greatest Impact?
Kings and Raptors 60.69% (596 votes)
Cavaliers and Bulls 29.94% (294 votes)
Sixers and Pacers 9.37% (92 votes)
Total Votes: 982
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Extension Candidate: Kenneth Faried

August 30th, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Cray Allred

Kenneth Faried is spending the summer with Team USA, but agent Thad Foucher is surely spending his time angling for a rookie scale extension with the Nuggets. If the power forward makes the leap that some others have made after playing alongside the world’s elite players, it wouldn’t hurt his case. The Nuggets have presumably already met with Foucher about an extension, who are expected to seek at least $10-$11MM in annual salary for their client.

In his first three seasons, Faried’s game hasn’t changed much. A high-energy rebounding force out of college, “The Manimal” immediately demonstrated the hunger and athleticism that led Denver to select him in the first round of the 2011 draft despite his playing for an under the radar mid-major in Morehead State. His career averages of 12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG on .554 shooting have made his selection at No. 22 in the draft very worthwhile.

Faried has been effective, if one-dimensional on offense, taking 82% of his shots inside the paint. Faried is always eager to rise up for an alley-oop or slip in a putback when the defense lets its guard down, but doesn’t look to score outside the lane. While Faried is one of only five players to shoot above .545 in each of the last three seasons, it came on a high volume of inside looks, where Faried was actually rather pedestrian (.586) compared to the league average.

While energy and effort are important characteristics for NBA players to demonstrate, it’s not ideal for a starter to rely solely on those traits for their production. Faried’s efficiency has generally gone up when he plays less minutes, and he’s never cracked 30 minutes a night for a full season. Hefty extensions aren’t typically handed out to players that haven’t been trusted with more than 28.1 minutes a night. In fact, in his first year with the team, head coach Brian Shaw cut Faried’s playing time a bit last season. Despite starting 77 of Denver’s games, Faried saw fewer minutes than many of the league’s bench players, including Kyle Singler, Martell Webster, Matt Barnes, and Nick Young, along with other more heralded sixth men.

Most of Faried’s shortcomings are on the defensive end of the floor. At 6’8″, Faried is often overmatched against the league’s bigger frontcourt players, and he doesn’t have the skillset to slide to the wing. While Faried held opponents to a respectable .494 field goal percentage when defending at the rim, he only challenged 5 attempts there per contest, an underwhelming number for an athlete like Faried in the interior. Worse, Faried came in at 148 out of 169 in defensive rating among players that played more than 25 minutes per game,

Faried’s lack of development likely concerns the Nuggets, especially considering the fact that he played four years in college and will be nearly 26 by the time the first year of an extension would kick in. However, the high-flying big showed polish and effectiveness in the post when given greater opportunity in the second half of last season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe detailed, and he’s earned a starting role thus far for Team USA over the likes of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. If Denver believes in the promise he’s shown of late, waiting for him to bloom next year, likely the front end of his prime stretch, without locking him up could prove more costly than inking him while doubts remain.

In the Hoops Rumors Rookie Scale Extension Primer, our own Chuck Myron predicted the Wasserman Media Group client would receive a four-year, $44MM extension before the October 31 deadline. Both Shaw and GM Tim Connelly voiced their hopes that Faried would remain a Nugget for the future, although Denver floated Faried as a trade candidate for much of last season.

It wasn’t long ago when former Denver GM Masai Ujiri signed Nene to a five-year, $65MM contract that proved tradeable even when the big man didn’t factor into the Nuggets’ long-term plans. More recently, Denver inked JaVale McGee to a four-year pact at $12MM per season, with many more questions surrounding his game than Faried’s. Considering Faried’s floor seems to be established as an above-average frontcourt piece, I would expect Denver to be willing to sign him at or below the $11-$12MM range that Larry Sanders and Derrick Favors have received on their own rookie scale extensions. If his representatives push for a salary more in line with the league’s premier frontcourt players, I would imagine Denver will take their chances with restricted free agency, giving themselves this season to see whether his game has reached a level to merit such a contract.

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Trade Retrospective: Stephon Marbury To Knicks

August 30th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Kevin Love trade saga now finally over, fans of all the teams involved are left to wonder whether or not their franchise got the better end of the deal. The Wolves dealt away their franchise player for a number of intriguing pieces, and the Cavs nabbed another star to pair alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, while the Sixers chances to nab the No. 1 overall pick have improved markedly. It’s always a risky undertaking when dealing a top-tier player away, as many past trades have demonstrated. It’s with that in mind that I’ve been looking back at other blockbuster trades and how they have worked out for all involved.

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 traded from the Pelicans to the Clippers; and the trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal from the Lakers to the Heat. Next up is a look at a trade that occurred on January 5th, 2004–the deal that sent Stephon Marbury from the Suns to the Knicks.

I’ll begin by running down the assets involved:

This trade had all the makings of a great story–a hometown star returns to change the fortunes of the Knicks franchise. Marbury was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and was a lifelong team fan. The Knicks were firmly mired in mediocrity, and this trade was intended to be a major step towards reversing the franchise’s fortunes.

Here are the Knicks’ records prior to trade:

  1. 2000/01: 48-34 (Lost in first round to Raptors)
  2. 2001/02: 30-52
  3. 2002/03: 37-45

The Knicks used this trade to acquire the star point guard they desperately needed, plus it also helped correct the less-than-stellar results of the franchise’s big move from the year before. I’m referring to the ill-fated deal that sent the draft rights to Nene; Marcus Camby; and Mark Jackson to Denver for Antonio McDyess and Frank Williams. McDyess was intended to be an anchor for the franchise, but instead he just added to his injury history, and only played in a total of 18 games in New York. Nene and Camby were much more productive over the years, and this trade ended up being one of the more imbalanced ones that you’ll see.

When New York made the Marbury deal, which was the first major move made during the Isiah Thomas regime, the Knicks hoped this would lead to a change in culture and a reversal of fortune. Things didn’t quite work out that way. Here are the Knicks’ records during the Marbury years:

  1. 2003/04: 39-43 (Lost in first round to Nets)
  2. 2004/05: 33-49
  3. 2005/06: 23-59
  4. 2006/07: 33-49
  5. 2007/08: 23-59

Not all the blame can rest on Marbury’s shoulders for the franchise’s lack of success. The Knicks didn’t have much talent around him, and a number of personnel moves ended up backfiring spectacularly during this era. But Marbury didn’t exactly perform up to the levels he did in Minnesota and New Jersey, either. Here are Marbury’s numbers during his time in New York:

  1. 2003/04: 19.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 9.3 APG. His slash line was .431/.321/.833.
  2. 2004/05: 21.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 8.1 APG. His slash line was .462/.354/.834.
  3. 2005/06: 16.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 6.4 APG. His slash line was .451/.317/.755.
  4. 2006/07: 16.4 PPG, 2.9 RPD, and 5.4 APG. His slash line was .415/.357/.769.
  5. 2007/08: 13.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 4.7 APG. His slash line was .419/.378/.716.

His first two years with the Knicks were excellent statistically, but he tailed off significantly starting with the 2005/06 campaign. Marbury’s lack of productivity led to him spatting publicly with then-coach Larry Brown.

Brown claimed that Marbury refused to take responsibility for his part in the team’s disastrous 2005/06 season. Marbury responded by saying, “I think it’s personal now. I don’t think it’s about basketball anymore. Now it’s to the point where he’s [Brown] putting his 30-year career against my 10-year career. You know, coach is a great coach is what everyone says. We’re supposed to be better than what we are. Did it happen now? No.”

Brown responded by saying, “So, you’re the best guard in the league and the team is 17-45, yeah, it’s the coach’s fault. I don’t know why you play a team sport and not be concerned about making your teammates better and helping your team win games. That’s the only thing that really matters, and if you’re the best player, surely you’re going to have some effect on the game’s outcome.”

That was Brown’s only campaign on the New York bench, and he was replaced the following season by Thomas, who also ended up clashing with Marbury, whose popularity was on the decline with the Knicks’ fan base thanks to all the issues and losing seasons. This player-coach feud culminated with rumors that Marbury and Thomas had allegedly gotten into a physical altercation at practice. Marbury further angered the organization and fans when he elected to have season-ending ankle surgery in February of 2008, which the team had deemed unnecessary at the time.

The Knicks explored potential trades for Marbury, but there wasn’t much interest in the then-31-year-old guard, who still had two years, and nearly $42MM remaining on his contract. Mike D’Antoni took over as head coach in 2008, and New York signed Chris Duhon as a free agent, and Duhon in turn won the starting point guard job during training camp. Marbury was placed on team’s inactive list. He and the team debated over his role and playing time, and when they were unable to come to an accord on a potential buyout, Marbury was banned from attending any practices or games.

The Knicks and Marbury finally reached a buyout arrangement in February of 2009, and after clearing waivers, he signed with the Celtics. Marbury finished out the season with Boston, averaging 3.8 PPG and 3.3 APG. The Celtics offered him a contract for the veteran’s minimum of for the 2009/10 season, which Marbury declined. He has been out of the league ever since.

Penny Hardaway was a shell of the superstar player he was during his years with the Magic. Injuries had taken their toll on his production and ability to remain on the court. Hardaway hadn’t lived up to the seven-year, $86MM contract he had inked in 1999 as part of the sign-and-trade deal that sent him from Orlando to Phoenix.

Hardaway was productive for the remainder of the 2003/04 season, and he played well in the Knicks’ first round playoff series loss to the Nets, averaging 16.5 PPG, 5.8 APG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.5 steals. After that he would only appear in 41 contests over the next two seasons due to injuries. Hardaway’s numbers with the Knicks were:

  1. 2003/04: 9.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.9 APG. His slash line was .390/.364/.775.
  2. 2004/05: 7.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 2.0 APG. His slash line was .423/.300/.739.
  3. 2005/06: 2.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 2.0 APG. His slash line was .286/.000/1.000.

His time in New York ended in February of 2006 when he was traded back to Orlando, along with Trevor Ariza, for Steve Francis. Hardaway was then waived by the Magic in a cost-cutting move.

Cezary Trybanski only appeared in three games for the Knicks, averaging 0.3 PPG. He was then traded to the Bulls along with Othella Harrington; Dikembe Mutombo; and Frank Williams, for Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams. Trybanski was waved by Chicago prior to the start of the season and he has been out of the league ever since.

The Suns made this deal to free up cap space for the summer of 2004, when they hoped to make a splash in free agency and build around their core of Amar’e Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, and Shawn Marion.

The Suns records prior to the trade were:

  1. 2000/01: 51-31 (Lost in first round to the Kings)
  2. 2001/02: 36-46
  3. 2002/03: 44-38 (Lost in first round to Spurs)

This deal is an odd one in that the Suns gave up the best player, didn’t receive much long term value in return, essentially squandered the draft picks they acquired, yet still came out ahead in the end. This is all thanks to the free agent signing of Steve Nash in July of 2004. All Nash did was win the MVP award in his first season and lead the Suns to the Western Conference Finals.

The Suns’ records post trade:

  1. 2003/04: 29-53
  2. 2004/05: 62-20 (Lost conference finals to Spurs)
  3. 2005/06: 54-28 (Lost conference finals to Mavs)
  4. 2006/07: 61-21 (Lost in second round to Spurs)
  5. 2007/08: 55-27 (Lost in first round to Spurs)

Howard Eisley finished out the rest of the 2003/04 season with Phoenix, averaging 7.1 PPG and 3.4 APG, then reached a buyout arrangement with the Suns for the remaining two years of his deal. Eisley then signed a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Jazz that summer.

Charlie Ward was waived the day after the trade by Phoenix and was picked up shortly after by the Spurs for the rest of the 2003/04 season, when he averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.3 APG. Ward appeared in 14 games for the Rockets during the 2004/05 campaign, and then retired after the year.

Milos Vujanic was originally selected by the Knicks with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. He never appeared in an NBA game, and played eight seasons in the Euroleague and Italian League before retiring in 2009.

Maciej Lampe was another second-round selection by the Knicks, taken with the No. 30 overall pick back in 2003, but he never appeared in a game while with New York. After the trade Lampe averaged 4.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG for the Suns. Lampe’s time in the desert came to an end in January of 2005, when he was traded along with Casey Jacobsen and Jackson Vroman to the Pelicans for Jim Jackson and a 2005 second-rounder (Marcin Gortat).

Antonio McDyess finished out the 2003/04 season with the Suns, averaging 5.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG. After the season he became a restricted free agent and signed with the Pistons, where he stayed for five seasons, and he became a valuable contributor off of the bench.

Both first round draft picks that the Suns acquired in the Marbury trade were later packaged along with Tom Gugliotta and a 2005 second-rounder (Alex Acker) and sent to Utah for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten. This ended up being a terrible trade for Phoenix, as neither Clark or Handlogten appeared in an NBA game after being acquired by the Suns.

Utah used the 2004 first-rounder to select Kirk Snyder with the No. 16 pick. Snyder was a bust and was traded after one season to the Pelicans. His career numbers in four NBA seasons were 6.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG. Some notable players that Utah could have had with that selection instead of Snyder were Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Martin, Anderson Varejao, and Trevor Ariza.

It’s the other draft pick from the Marbury trade that is more haunting to both Knicks and Suns fans. With the No. 9 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Jazz selected Gordon Hayward. Let’s look at Hayward’s numbers since entering the league:

  1. 2010/11: 5.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG. His slash line was .485/.473/.711.
  2. 2011/12: 11.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 3.1 APG. His slash line was .456/.346/.832.
  3. 2012/13: 14.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His slash line was .435/.415/.827.
  4. 2013/14: 16.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 5.2 APG. His slash line was .413/.304/.816.

Hayward signed a four-year, $62,965,420 offer sheet with the Hornets this summer, which the Jazz quickly matched in order to keep Hayward in Utah for the foreseeable future.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is an odd trade in how it worked out. This became another failed deal during the Isiah Thomas years for the Knicks. The franchise could have benefited long term from retaining those two first-rounders, and saved themselves a number of headaches and public relations hits that resulted from Marbury’s presence on the team.

The Suns came out OK here, despite not receiving any long term assets besides salary cap room. Their signing of Nash away from the Mavs was a turning point in the franchise’s fortunes, and it wouldn’t have been possible if Phoenix hadn’t dealt away Marbury’s and Hardaway’s contracts. But it’s still hard to give them too much credit, seeing as they later gave up the two valuable first rounders they had acquired to Utah for essentially no return.

The Suns win this by default, but it’s interesting to imagine what might have happened had they held on to those picks and nabbed Josh Smith and Hayward instead. That would have truly been a landslide victory for them in regards to this deal, rather than winning it by default. The Marbury trade is a prime example of the risks involved for all franchises when making blockbuster deals. Knicks fans are still feeling the pain from all the misfires during 2000s, which included this one.

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Free Agent Stock Watch: Antawn Jamison

August 29th, 2014 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Two years ago, Hoops Rumors readers overwhelmingly voted for Antawn Jamison as the best minimum-salary signee in the league soon after his decision to sign with the Lakers for what looked like a steep discount. A year and a half later, Jamison’s stock had plummeted, and he’s been out of the NBA since the Hawks waived him shortly after acquiring him from the Clippers at the trade deadline this past February. No one is immune to the ravages of age, but it’s tough to imagine that Jamison’s skills have eroded so quickly after he scored 17.2 points per game for the Cavs in 2011/12 that he’s become unworthy of a place on an NBA roster.

The 37-year-old Jamison told DeAntae Prince of The Sporting News recently that he has options in free agency, as we passed along, but the one-time No. 4 overall pick didn’t specify whether any of those options included offers from NBA teams. The Wasserman Media Group client has signed with teams that figured to contend for titles the past two seasons. Should the right NBA opportunity materialize for him this year, it wouldn’t necessarily matter if it involved going to a team without a reasonable chance of winning the title, as Jamison also told Prince.

Jamison was reportedly among the players the Knicks were considering in February, shortly after his release from the Hawks, but that was before Phil Jackson took over the team’s front office. The Wizards were eyeing him around that same time, and Washington GM Ernie Grunfeld was in place there for the entirety of Jamison’s five and a half seasons in the nation’s capital. Still, one report suggested Washington’s interest in a reunion was only “lukewarm.” The Hawks and Jamison appeared to share interest in parting ways with each other last season, so it doesn’t seem like he’ll be returning to Atlanta anytime soon, even if he’s more willing to consider teams outside the title picture. Reports have linked the former University of North Carolina star to the Hornets (then Bobcats) in previous offseasons. Charlotte has 14 guaranteed deals, as our roster counts show, and while the team appears to be reluctant to use the final spot on a center, that probably doesn’t apply to a stretch four like Jamison. Still, there’s been no chatter connecting Jamison to the Hornets this summer.

The Spurs were apparently another team interested in Jamison this past February, and they wouldn’t force him to give up his title dreams. However, San Antonio is carrying 14 fully guaranteed pacts and three partially guaranteed deals, and the team still has a qualifying offer out to restricted free agent Aron Baynes, so it doesn’t appear there’s room for Jamison there. The Bulls were also linked to Jamison in that same report, and while the team only has 12 players, Taj Gibson, Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic and second-round pick Cameron Bairstow crowd the power forward position, so Jamison wouldn’t be a logical fit in Chicago, either.

Jamison took 17.5 shots per game in 2011/12 with the Cavs, matching a career high. His PER that season was 16.1, which set a career low at the time. That suggests that his high scoring average was at least in part the product of a stripped-down roster that gave then-coach Byron Scott few other choices for creating offense. Jamison’s efficiency has continued to decline over the past two seasons, coming in at a still-respectable 15.3 in his lone season with the Lakers before bottoming out at 7.8 in the small sample size of his 248 total minutes with the Clippers. There’s no doubt that Jamison is fading, but it’s debatable whether he’s any worse at this point than most of the players taking up space at the back end of NBA rosters.

He’s not going to win another Sixth Man of the Year award, as he did back in 2003/04, but the 6’8″ Jamison is not far removed from having nailed 36.1% of his three-point attempts with the Lakers in 2012/13, the third highest percentage he’s ever recorded. He’s been consistent from behind the arc, making 34.6% of his treys during his career, save for last season’s 8 for 41 performance in his brief stint as a Clipper. Last year might have soured the league’s front offices on Jamison, but in an NBA increasingly obsessed with analytics, I’m not sure his time with the Clippers provided an acceptable amount of evidence.

There’d be little call for Jamison to reprise the high-volume shooting role he played for the Cavs a few years ago, so even as he opens himself to signing with a non-contender, it seems Jamison is best suited to help teams that want to win now. There are plenty of teams with which he wouldn’t make sense, but it only takes one club that believes in him for the two-time All-Star to wear an NBA jersey again. Jamison said in Prince’s report that while he’s not ruling out retirement, he won’t know what he’s going to do next for at least another month, perhaps suggesting that he envisions signing with a team at midseason rather than going to training camp. Waiting a full year to return to the league would be risky, but when teams are allowed to issue 10-day contracts again in January, such a deal would allow Jamison to make at least small slice of guaranteed money while keeping a team’s initial investment minimal. There’s a strong chance that we’ve seen the last of Jamison in sneakers, but don’t bet on it.

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Lucrative One-Year NBA Deals Increasingly Rare

August 28th, 2014 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Two years ago, Chris Kaman signed a one-year, $8MM contract with the Mavs. No NBA player has approached that kind of money on a one-year deal since. Teams and players seem to have a growing reluctance to do one-year deals for more than the minimum. This summer, there have only been four new one-year deals exceeding $1,448,490, the amount of the 10-year veteran’s minimum, as our Free Agent Tracker shows. Last year, there were six such contracts, as I noted then, and in 2012, Kaman was among a group of eight.

The most lucrative of this summer’s one-year deals carries an asterisk of sorts, since it was Kevin Seraphin‘s qualifying offer from the Wizards. That means the team and the player didn’t negotiate their one-year deal as much as they simply wound up with it as a result of the mechanics of restricted free agency. That scenario might be repeated again this summer if any one of Eric Bledsoe, Greg Monroe and Aron Baynes, the restricted free agents who remain on the market, ink their qualifying offers.

Still, none of those qualifying offers would equal Kaman’s $8MM payday, and as above-minimum one-year deals diminish in number, they’re also reducing in value. Four of the eight most lucrative one-year deals from 2012 were for more than Seraphin’s qualifying offer, and no one’s matched the $4MM that Elton Brand saw from the Hawks in the one-year deal he signed last summer.

It’s difficult to explain the phenomenon in an NBA where more and more teams set themselves up to have cap flexibility every summer, thanks in large measure to the stricter limits on the lengths of deals that the latest collective bargaining agreement imposed. In theory, teams would be turning to one-year deals with increasing frequency, but that’s not happening.

Players who’ve signed above-minimum one-year contracts the past two summers have almost universally failed to re-sign with the same team the next year. Martell Webster, who signed for $1.6MM with the Wizards in 2012, inked a four-year contract with Washington last year, but none of the 13 other above-minimum one-year signees from the past two offseasons have rejoined their teams.

The results for the players from 2012 were mixed, as four of them wound up seeing raises in 2013 and four of them didn’t. Kaman, who signed high-dollar one-year deals in both 2012 and 2013, will see a raise this coming season, but he won’t make an annual salary as high as what he saw on the one-year deal he signed in 2012. He’s the only member of the 2013 class who’s seen any sort of raise, as four of the six have gone without NBA deals this summer.

Here are the one-year deals from each of the past three offseasons that have exceeded the amount of the 10-year veteran’s minimum salary, with details on what the signees from 2012 and 2013 wound up with the following summer. Note that this takes into account offseason signings only, and not midseason signees like Andrew Bynum, who inked a one-year deal with the Pacers this February for more than the prorated 10-year veteran’s minimum.

2014

2013

2012

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

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Poll: Weigh In On Sixers’ Rebuild

August 27th, 2014 at 11:00pm CST by Alex Lee

As our Chuck Myron noted this morning, the Sixers have been a hub of activity over the past few days. From their involvement in the Kevin Love blockbuster, to the Hasheem Thabeet deal, to their agreement with injured rookie center Joel Embiid, the positioning that GM Sam Hinkie and company accomplished has put them in a unique spot from a salary cap flexibility standpoint. Philly seems to have their hands in everything and, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders pointed out earlier tonight, we shouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Whether they’re dumping veterans, hoarding future draft picks or using their current ones on players unlikely to help them now, it’s obvious the Sixers have no intention of competing in the immediate future. Hinkie has the luxury of building his team with ownership’s ultimate confidence, or at least he’s operated as such. However, as careful as he’s been about tipping his hand since arriving in Philly, Hinkie did concede earlier today that trading Thaddeus Young was difficult, perhaps implying that he’s not as narrowly focused on asset collection as it may seem.

The Sixers’ methods are, if nothing else, polarizing in NBA circles. Basketball purists may look down upon what they perceive as tanking while more progressive-minded fans may see a forward-thinking GM taking advantage of a league loophole. So what do you think? A month ago, Hoops Rumors readers thought the Sixers’ rebuild would pay off before that of the Jazz or Magic, implying that there’s a contingent of fans out there who believe in what Hinkie and the Sixers are doing. What about the rest of you? As always, feel free to weigh in via the comments section.

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