Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Should Bledsoe, Monroe Sign QOs?

August 29th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Monday will mark two months since the start of free agency, and still two of the top five players on the 2014 Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings remain unsigned. The restricted free agencies of Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe have dragged on longer than it seemed reasonable to expect, even though teams and their restricted free agents often engage in protracted negotiations, as the Wolves and Nikola Pekovic did last year. There’s little doubting the game-changing ability of either, but the power for Phoenix and Detroit to match all other offers for their respective young stars appears to have effectively short-circuited the market.

Reports have indicated that both Bledsoe and Monroe are prepared to sign their qualifying offers, the standard one-year offers that teams must make at the start of free agency to retain matching rights on their restricted free agents. One report amid a series of dispatches earlier this month indicated that Monroe had already let the Pistons know he would accept the qualifying offer, though other reports conflict with that notion. Bledsoe is insisting that he either receive a max deal or he’ll take the qualifying offer, according to the latest we’ve seen on him.

Signing the qualifying offer would represent a drastic step. Monroe’s QO is worth a shade less than $5.48MM, while Bledsoe would make just $3.727MM this season if he signed his. The Pistons and Suns appear to have made long-term offers that would pay much more than that. Phoenix reportedly has four years and $48MM on the table for Bledsoe, while the Pistons are apparently willing to give Monroe more than $54MM over four years. Still, the max for both would be a five-year, $84,789,500 contract, and it seems neither would be satisfied settling for less. Sign-and-trades remain a possibility, but it doesn’t appear as though there’s much traction toward one for either of the free agents stuck in limbo.

Bledsoe and Monroe could hit unrestricted free agency in a year if they sign their qualifying offers, and while it would seem that both would field more competitive offers from teams who would no longer have to worry that the Suns or Pistons would match, there are no guarantees. Bledsoe has only started 78 games in his career, and it appears few around the NBA regard Monroe as someone worthy of a maximum-salary contract. Only 17 players have signed qualifying offers in the past two decades, and none have carried cachet of either Bledsoe or Monroe, underscoring just what an unusual move it would be.

Let us know whether you think signing the qualifying offer, and the chance to hit unrestricted free agency in a year that comes with it, would be worthwhile for Bledsoe and Monroe, or if you think they should take the more lucrative long-term deals in front of them. Weigh in on your choice in the comments.

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.

Poll: Grade Wolves’ Haul For Love

August 21st, 2014 at 8:18pm CST by Alex Lee

With the pieces of the Kevin Love trade on the verge of becoming official, we can finally begin to think about what this deal means for some of the less-publicized parties involved. We know what it signifies for the Cavaliers, who will acquire their second superstar of the offseason to go with a promising young point guard in Kyrie Irving. I think we can all agree that morphing from the team drafting first in June into the NBA favorite by August is an A-plus offseason any way you slice it.

But how did Minnesota make out in this deal? When all the dust settles on this three-way trade — assuming it’s finalized as is currently being reported — the Timberwolves will have ultimately moved Love, Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (via Twitter), it’s hard to imagine team president Flip Saunders could have acquired a better package for a star player he was probably a year away from losing for nothing. Do you agree?

History has shown us that trading superstars in their prime is risky business in the NBA. Sometimes the package is led by one prized asset and ancillary pieces with upside, as was the case in the deals for Charles Barkley (Jeff Hornacek), Ray Allen (Jeff Green), Kevin Garnett (Al Jefferson) and Chris Paul (Eric Gordon). Other times we see star-for-star swaps, like Tracy McGrady for Steve Francis or Jason Kidd for Stephon Marbury. And occasionally teams are forced to trade their studs for pennies on the dollar, as we saw with Shaquille O’Neal (traded to the Heat) and Vince Carter (traded to the Nets).

What we don’t usually see is a fair return for a superstar player — if it even exists — which leads us back to Minnesota’s haul for Love. In Wiggins, the Wolves will land the first overall pick in a loaded draft before he plays a minute in a regular season NBA game. In Bennett, they’ll land a guy who is a year removed from also being selected at the top of the draft. And finally, in Young, they’ll land a veteran who seems destined to be a tremendous role player on a contender.

With all of that in consideration, what grade would you assign Saunders and the Timberwolves for the Love deal? Feel free to justify your grade in the comments section.

Poll: Best Eastern Team After Cavs, Bulls?

August 21st, 2014 at 9:23am CST by Chuck Myron

The Eastern Conference has been the dominion of the Heat for the last four years, but with LeBron James gone, Miami isn’t favored to make a fifth straight trip to the NBA Finals. LeBron’s new team, the Cavs, shapes up as the front-runner in the East, though a reasonable argument can be made that the Bulls have a clearer path out of the conference, as long as Derrick Rose stays healthy. Of course, Rose’s health is certainly no guarantee, since he’s been available for just a single postseason game in the last three years, and concern bubbled up once more after he sat out Wednesday’s Team USA exhibition.

So, Cleveland seems like the safest bet, but should James and soon-to-be Cavalier Kevin Love fail to mesh, and Rose struggle to stay on the court, the door would be ajar for a large pack of teams. Injuries derailed the Hawks last season, but with a healthy Al Horford to pair with Paul Millsap in the frontcourt, point guard Jeff Teague, and the sharpshooting Kyle Korver, they’re dangerous, particularly with plenty of flexibility for trades. The Heat spent more than any other NBA team this summer in an effort to make up for losing LeBron, and if Chris Bosh can play like a superstar, Miami will remain a threat. The Hornets made their second splashy acquisition in two summers when they signed Lance Stephenson to go along with Al Jefferson, and Charlotte seems like a fast riser. The Nets lost Paul Pierce, but the return of Brook Lopez and the continued development of Mason Plumlee could give them a potent inside combination like few others. The Raptors largely kept last year’s No. 3-seeded team intact, and DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas are young, improving talents. The Wizards made a run in last year’s playoffs, and they, too, possess a slew of up-and-comers, as well as the newly acquired Pierce.

There are other teams that could end up in the mix, too. The Knicks were the second-best team in the Eastern Conference in the 2012/13 regular season, and while the Pacers are reeling from the losses of Stephenson and Paul George, they otherwise have most of the roster that’s qualified for the last two Eastern Conference finals. Still, for the purposes of this poll, we’ll focus on on the six teams mentioned in the above paragraph. Feel free to choose the “Another team” option if you believe in the Knicks, Pacers or another darkhorse Eastern Conference club, and debate away in the comments.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Should Changes Be Made To Team USA?

August 16th, 2014 at 11:12am CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of Paul George‘s horrific leg injury that he suffered during a Team USA intrasquad scrimmage, there has been talk of making wholesale changes to the current trend of using NBA superstars in international competition. George will most likely miss the entire 2014/15 season as a result, which severely dampens the Pacers’ chances of contending in the Eastern Conference this year.

The Pacers didn’t place the blame on George’s participation in USA Basketball, and correctly pointed out that if George wasn’t playing with Team USA, the injury could just have easily occurred while scrimmaging at a high school gym, or on an outdoor court. But others haven’t been quite so diplomatic.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was one of the harsher critics of players participating in international play, and of FIBA and the IOC in general. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA. We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league would discuss altering the international model this fall. “I don’t anticipate a major shift in the NBA’s participation in international competition,” Silver said. “We will continue to evaluate the pros and cons of participating in international tournaments [and] this will be a topic at our next NBA Competition Committee meeting in September and Board of Governors meeting in October.”

Should the league continue to allow its players to participate in USA Basketball? What are the options they could explore going forward to alter the current international play model? Here are a few possibilities:

The most drastic would be a complete ban for any under-contract NBA player to participate in Olympic and international competition. This would take us back to the pre “Dream Team” years when only amateur players were permitted to compete in the Olympics. The main issues with this approach would be whether or not the U.S. would accept the potential risk of missing out on competing for a gold medal because we declined to send our best players; this would also deprive NBA stars of the Olympic experience. It would place college players’ future careers in jeopardy if they were to be hurt. Unlike the pros, they haven’t been paid for their talents yet, and have a lot to lose if they suffer an injury as brutal as George’s.
The NBA could follow Cuban’s suggestion and form their own international tournament. This wouldn’t prevent injuries from occurring, but the league would have more of a say in the usage of its players, plus provide their own medical and training staffs. The other benefit to the league is that the owners and teams would receive some compensation for the risk their players take on by participating.
Another proposed idea has been putting an age limit on players who participate in international competition. This would allow NBA players to still compete, but limit their exposure to just a few years of international competition, which would protect teams somewhat against older players getting injured, as well as reducing “wear-and-tear” on veterans.

There’s no easy answer to this debate. George’s injury was the first major one to be suffered by an NBA player while participating with USA Basketball. Changing the whole system might be an overreaction, but team owners do carry an unrewarded financial risk when their players take part in international competition. All the extra minutes spent in practice and in tournaments add up over time, and could contribute to players breaking down earlier in their careers as well. What’s your opinion? Vote below for the answer you think provides the best solution going forward.

Poll: Will NYC’s Teams Make The Playoffs?

August 15th, 2014 at 8:45am CST by Zachary Links

You can’t walk a block in New York City without seeing an orange-and-blue or black-and-white jersey, but those fans could also be sporting frowns next spring. The Nets and Knicks, for all of their star power both on the court and on the sidelines, aren’t looking all that formidable heading into the 2014/15 season.

The high-priced Nets started to give Mikhail Prokhorov his money’s worth starting in the the second half of last season, but they won’t be bringing the same team back this year. Coach Jason Kidd shocked everyone when he bolted for the Bucks and Paul Pierce quickly followed suit. Pierce was a vocal leader, a solid scoring threat, and the key to the team’s Brook Lopez-less small ball lineup. The Nets get Lopez back this year and while the return of one of the league’s top offensive centers is nothing to sneeze at, it’s worth noting that the team enjoyed greater success with Lopez in a suit and tie. Highly touted draft-and-stash pick Bojan Bogdanovic is finally joining the team, but the Nets will surely miss guard Shaun Livingston, especially with starting one-guard Deron Williams coming off of double ankle surgery.

Meanwhile, the Knicks accomplished their No. 1 goal of retaining Carmelo Anthony but it’s hard to say whether they’ve actually improved from last season. Their biggest transaction of the offseason, aside from re-signing Melo, was trading Tyson Chandler and Ray Felton to the Mavericks for Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, a pair of second round picks (Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo). Later, in a trade with the Kings, the Knicks turned Ellington and Jeremy Tyler into forwards Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw. To oversee this tweaked version of the Knicks, new team president Phil Jackson appointed the inexperienced Derek Fisher as head coach. Fisher believes the Knicks can win 8-10 more games as currently constructed, but not everyone agrees with him.

How do you see things playing out for NYC’s teams?

Poll: Which Departures Will Teams Regret?

August 13th, 2014 at 8:29pm CST by Cray Allred

While many teams were spurned by their players for greener pastures despite their best efforts this offseason (the Heat by LeBron James, the Lakers by Pau Gasol, the Nets by Shaun Livingston) some teams decided not to up the ante when they could have, allowing key contributors to sign elsewhere. We’ll run down a few of the latter, and explore whether these teams will regret their decision:

Lance Stephenson – from Indiana to Charlotte. Had Paul George‘s injury occurred before free agency, the Pacers might have been more willing to meet Stephenson’s demands. Instead, they let arguably their most versatile offensive piece walk, refusing to improve their five-year, $44MM offer before the combo guard signed with the Hornets for three years and $27.4MM. Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles are the incoming guards Indiana hopes can lessen the combined loss of Stephenson and now George. The Pacers also seeking Shawn Marion‘s services, but aren’t expected to win out over the Cavs in that pursuit.
Chandler Parsons – from Houston to Dallas. The Rockets declined an option to retain Parsons for another season on one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league. The team decided to take their chances with the forward’s restricted free agency this summer rather than letting him hit unrestricted free agency next offseason, but ultimately decided against matching the Mavs’ three-year, $46.1MM offer sheet. The Rockets let Parsons go in part because they had already locked up Ariza, who is next on the list.
Trevor Ariza – from Washington to Houston. Ariza bolted from the Wizards after turning in a career year for a team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Wizards were unwilling to increase their offer, which equaled Houston’s four-year, $32MM arrangement, but practically amounted to $3MM less due to differences in state taxes. Washington quickly signed Paul Pierce in the wake of Ariza’s departure, and received an exception by signing-and-trading Ariza that was partially spent on Kris Humphries.
Channing Frye – from Phoenix to Orlando. In a surprise signing, the Magic snatched the sharp-shooting Frye away from the Suns, who wanted to bring him back to their surprise-playoff roster. Frye is one of a few bigs that stretch the floor at an elite level, and the team signed another shooter in Anthony Tolliver to make up for Frye’s loss. Orlando’s deal with the 31-year-old was for four years and $32MM.
Isaiah Thomas – from Sacramento to Phoenix. The Kings didn’t see the scoring machine of a point guard in their future, signing Darren Collison while Thomas was still a restricted free agent. Thomas was one of only five players to average 20 PPG and 6 APG last season. Sacramento hasn’t recouped much scoring punch in free agency, but did acquire a $7.2MM trade exception, as well as the rights to Alex Oriakhi, by executing a sign-and-trade sending Thomas to Phoenix.

As with any transaction, these front offices weighed the immediate future against their long-term plans, and tried to make the wisest choice. It might be painful to lose some of these players in year one, but fans might breathe a sigh of relief if the same players are underperforming for their new teams in the future. Then again, a player could blossom into an even stronger producer, compounding any misgivings about the teams’ non-action. What do you think?

Poll: Should NBA Raise Age Minimum?

August 11th, 2014 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Shortly after Adam Silver took over for David Stern as the NBA’s commissioner, it was reported that Silver would seek to bump the NBA’s minimum age from 19 to 20. The league and the union discussed that idea back in 2011 during the last collective bargaining agreement negotiations but the disorganization of the NBPA prevented that from going through. Now that things appear to be settled for the union, the issue of raising the age minimum could go right back to the top of the pile.

There are multiple reasons behind the NBA’s push to raise the age minimum. For starters, teams believe that they will reduce their odds of drafting a bust if the are choosing from a pool of older players who have more high-level basketball experience on their resume. After all, while the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett were ready to go pro straight out of high school, players like Kwame Brown, Robert Swift, and Sebastian Telfair would have either benefitted from some seasoning in college (or, at the very least, they would have had their weaknesses exposed before turning pro). Anecdotally, the idea makes sense, but whether a raised age minimum would actually makes GMs jobs easier is debatable.

Also, boosting the age minimum will keep costs down on stars as players would have to wait an extra year before shedding their rookie contract and the subsequent second contract. Strangely enough, the history of sports labor unions would indicate that the union might actually be on the same page as the league when it comes to this issue. While the union wants to see its stars paid well, there are more players in the lower tiers than at the very top, as Tom Ziller of SB Nation noted earlier this year.

Of course, an age 20 minimum for the NBA wouldn’t necessarily drive everyone to spend two years in college. Players can pursue overseas opportunities as Brandon Jennings did before the 2009 draft and top 2015 prospect Emmanuel Mudiay will do this season. Players might also opt to join the NBA’s ever-growing D-League. While it doesn’t pay well, it’s still something in terms of compensation and would allow players who aren’t all that interested in education to focus solely on playing basketball. The NBA would like to turn the D-League into a full-fledged farm system that can draw significant TV money and adding the nation’s top teenage talent would go a long way towards making it a reality.

The NBA and the NBPA will duke this out down the road, but we want to know what your thoughts on the issue are today.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: WIll Ray Allen Play In 2014/15?

August 10th, 2014 at 7:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Most of this offseason’s high-profile free agents have settled in with their new clubs, but we still have restricted free agents Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe without a home and big names like sharpshooter Ray Allen on the open market. Allen’s unemployment certainly isn’t for a lack of interest.

The incumbent Heat were thinking about bringing him back at one point, but their plans got shaken up a bit this summer and the guard himself has said a reunion is not happening. Former coach Doc Rivers would like to add Allen’s sharpshooting and veteran leadership, but so far that hasn’t yielded an agreement. And, of course, LeBron James and Mike Miller would love for Allen to take his talents to downtown Cleveland, but he might not be so eager to do that.

“It will require a perfect storm scenario for me,” said Allen earlier this month. “I’m in great shape, and I’ll continue to be in great shape, but I don’t want to go to a situation where I don’t understand the rhythm of how a coach coaches. He has to be a great coach, a veteran coach.”

New Cavs coach David Blatt, formerly of Maccabi Tel Aviv, has the experience of a veteran, but he’s making his first foray into the NBA this season. From the sound of it, Blatt isn’t the coach that Allen has in mind if he’s going to continue playing in 2014/15. Allen also inferred that he might not settle for the minimum salary, which is all many of the league’s top teams can afford to give.

Allen isn’t the superstar that he was years ago, but he proved himself to be a valuable bench player in recent seasons. Even after a career-worst 12.8 PER last season for Miami, there are at least two bonafide contenders (and probably many more) that would love to add him to their bench. Do you think Allen will bite at one of these opportunities or will he call it a career at the age of 39?

Poll: Will Eric Bledsoe Re-Sign With The Suns?

August 9th, 2014 at 2:26pm CST by Charlie Adams

At one point, it looked like a near certainty that Eric Bledsoe would end up with a lucrative long-term deal that would keep him in Phoenix. Suns management insisted that the team would match any offers that came the restricted free agent’s way, but thus far, no team has come forward and presented the talented young guard with an offer sheet.

This late into the offseason, there aren’t many teams who could even afford to make Bledsoe an offer he’d consider signing. The fifth-year guard is reportedly seeking a five-year, $80MM contract, but the Suns have apparently been reluctant to offer him any more than a four-year $48MM pact. That’s a pretty major discrepancy in both average annual value and total guaranteed money.

The max money contract that Bledsoe is seeking is raising tension between the two sides, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported that it’s looking likely Bledsoe will take Phoenix’s qualifying offer for $3.7MM. Doing so would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, but it would also mean accepting a steep discount in the interim.

The Bucks were one team said to have interest in Bledsoe, but they’d need to clear some cap space in order to give him the type of money he’s looking for. The Sixers possess the cap room to extend a max offer Bledsoe’s way, but they haven’t been reported to have any interest. If he is to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, he’s sure to draw serious attention from teams around the league; it’s just a question of whether or not he’s willing to take a pay cut in the meantime.

It’s getting pretty late into the summer, and it’s still not clear what’s going to happen. Do you think the two sides will eventually come to an agreement? Or is Bledsoe destined to take his qualifying offer and hit the open market next year? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments section!

Load More Posts