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Western Notes: Duncan, Jazz, Matthews, Rockets

June 21st, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Several NBA executives believe the Spurs will offer Tim Duncan a two-year deal with a partial guarantee and a player option for the second season, reports Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News. The deal is projected at $6MM to $7MM each year, but if Duncan decides after the first year that he doesn’t want to play anymore he could still get a significant portion of the second season’s salary, making the contract possibly worth more than its face value. The first season of such a deal would have to carry a partial guarantee for the same percentage of the salary as the partial guarantee on the second season covers. “You can call it a ‘wink-wink’ deal if you want to,” an unidentified Eastern Conference executive said. “It’s what they did with [Antonio] McDyess, so why not for Duncan?” The team’s contract with McDyess was partially guaranteed but didn’t involve a player option. Duncan, 39, hasn’t committed to returning for another season, but he made both the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams this year. He is one of 10 Spurs who will become free agents July 1st.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Even though the Jazz won’t pick until No. 12, they are confident that there will be talented players to choose from, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah’s front office is making final preparations for Thursday’s draft, going through innumerable scenarios as they try to figure out who will be available. “We’re getting medical updates by the day and then you have all this information collected and you have to take the time to actually analyze it,” said GM Dennis Lindsey. “… A key piece of information can swing a vote and then, all of a sudden, you’re taking a player that maybe wasn’t the No. 1 candidate going into a process.” Lindsey has a history of dealing to move up in the draft, but Falk speculates that if there is a trade this year, it will be to move down or completely out of the first round.
  • The Blazers‘ Wesley Matthews admits his future was among his first thoughts when he ruptured his Achilles tendon, according to Jason Quick of The Oregonian. Matthews, who will become a free agent July 1, was worried that the injury might scare teams away. “Instinctively, right away I was worried about free agency,” he said.
  • Cliff Alexander of Kansas was part of a group workout for the Rockets on Saturday, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
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And-Ones: Celtics, Bulls, Rodriguez, Frazier

June 20th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are reportedly trying to move out of the No. 28th spot in the draft in an effort to gain more cap flexibility, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link). Earlier today, it was reported that the team would like to move up in the draft in order to select Myles Turner. Boston also owns the No.16 overall pick, so perhaps it could dangle both picks to a team drafting in the back-end of the lottery, which is where Turner is expected to be selected.

Here’s more from around the league on the last day of spring:

  • Sergio Rodriguez is not contemplating the possibility of making the jump to the NBA, barring an offer he cannot refuse, according to Marca.com (Translation by HoopsHype.com). It was previously reported that the point guard planned to try and secure an NBA deal this summer.
  • Tom Thibodeau and his coaching staff reportedly lobbied for Draymond Green to be the No.29 overall selection in the 2012 draft instead of Marquis Teague, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Since taking over for Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg has immersed himself in the Bulls’ draft process, according to Johnson in the same piece. Hoiberg is also working finalize his staff with Pete Myers, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm and video coordinator Charlie Henry.
  • Michael Frazier will work out for the Sixers, Hawks and Rockets, according to Antonya English and Bob Putnam of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Gator has previously worked out for 11 other  teams.
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Western Notes: Tomic, Towns, Lakers

June 17th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic has inked a three year extension with FC Barcelona, Liga Endesa has announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Tomic’s deal runs through June of 2018, and it’s unclear if the arrangement contains an NBA out clause. According to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link), Tomic used the threat of leaving Barcelona for the NBA as leverage to secure a more lucrative contract overseas.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Potential No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns has a meeting scheduled with the Timberwolves this Friday, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear if this meeting will just be an interview, or if Towns intends to work out for the team as well, Charania adds.
  • Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers noted that if the team was to purchase a pick in this year’s NBA Draft, it would likely be a second-rounder so that the team could avoid having to sign the player to a guaranteed contract, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
  • Manhattan forward Emmy Andujar has a workout scheduled with the Rockets, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (on Twitter).
  • The Lakers will attempt to bring back Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor for second looks prior to next week’s NBA Draft, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register tweets.
  • Texas big man Myles Turner has an individual workout scheduled with the Suns today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (via Twitter). In Hoops Rumors’ latest mock draft, Phoenix is tabbed to select Turner with the No. 13 overall pick.
  • Now that the franchise has secured the NBA Championship, the Warriors have numerous roster decisions that need to be made, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. The odds of the current roster remaining intact are slim because of the team’s challenging salary cap situation, Taylor notes. This sentiment is shared by pending restricted free agent Draymond Green, who said back in March, “This is a special group, a special bond, so let’s make the best of it, because this team will probably never be together again. That’s just the nature of this business. One addition, one subtraction, and the team isn’t together no more. So take advantage of it while you’ve got it because I’m sure this team will never be together again.”
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And-Ones: Borrego, Draft, Crawford

June 16th, 2015 at 10:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Walter Pitchford, a center from Nebraska, and Gardner-Webb combo forward Jerome Hill are the two U.S. players who withdrew from the draft in advance of Monday’s deadline to do so, the league announced. The deadline to withdraw while still maintaining college eligibility was more than two months ago, so neither is able to return to NCAA ball. Neither had much chance to be drafted this year, so the outcome of their respective decisions Monday, at least as far as next season is concerned, is likely the same, with either the D-League or overseas play probably in the future for them. Still, both will have the chance to go through the draft process again next year, when they’ll be automatically draft-eligible.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Also withdrawing from the draft were Spanish small forward Alberto Abalde and Oriol Pauli, Ukrainian centers Vladislav Korenyuk and Sergiy Zagreba, Lebanese point guard Wael Arakji, Greek shooting guard Eleftherios Bochoridis, Georgian forward Beka Burjanadze, Senegalese center Moussa Diagne, Croatian shooting guard Ognjen Dobric, Spanish shooting guard Marc Garcia, Spanish forward Juan Alberto Hernangomez, Slovenian point guard Aleksej Nikolic and Kazakhstani power forward Alexandr Zhigulin, the league announced in the same press release. Several other overseas prospects also withdrew, according to Monday reports that the league confirmed.
  • Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw has been cleared to resume workouts after his heart issue scare, Reid Forgrave of FOXSports.com relays (Twitter link). Upshaw has already worked out for the Mavericks, and will show his wares for the Rockets on Wednesday, Forgrave adds.
  • Clippers guard Jamal Crawford has hired Wasserman Media Group to represent him, Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Crawford was previously with Andy Miller of ASM Sports.
  • Former Magic interim coach James Borrego is finalizing a deal with the Spurs to join coach Gregg Popovich‘s staff as an assistant, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
  • The Hornets held workouts today for Treveon Graham (VCU), Alan Williams (Santa Barbara), Trevor Lacey (NC State), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Shannon Scott (Ohio State), and Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), the team announced (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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And-Ones: Martin, Boatright, Vaughn

June 13th, 2015 at 4:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LSU big man Jarell Martin has a mid-first-round draft promise from a team and will likely shut down all workouts, league sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Martin is currently the No. 29 ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots the 21-year-old as the 41st best player in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • UConn point guard Ryan Boatright told Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links (Twitter link) that the Clippers, Blazers, and Nets are high on him as a potential draftee. Boatright worked out for Portland earlier this week, is in Los Angeles today, and has a workout scheduled with Brooklyn on Monday.
  • Duke point guard Tyus Jones has a workout scheduled for Wednesday with the Bulls, a second workout for the Rockets on Friday, and a showcase for the Suns on June 22nd, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. You can view our full prospect profile for Jones here.
  • With the free agent signing period looming on the horizon, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) runs down the ideal free agent fits for teams in the Eastern Conference. Doolittle didn’t neglect the other half of the league,  you can view his thoughts on the Western Conference here.
  • UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn has a workout scheduled for today with the Hawks, and will show the Timberwolves what he is capable of this Monday, Jon Krawczysnki of The Associated Press relays.
  • Greg Whittington has taken an unorthodox path to the NBA thus far, and the former Georgetown Hoya hopes to overcome his injury woes and hear his name called on draft night, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.“He’s kind of chosen a difficult path but he has some talent,” said Austin Ainge, the Celtics’ director of player personnel. “So we thought we’d check him out.” A torn ACL ended the big man’s college career, and saw him play in the NBA D-League last season for Westchester, the Knicks‘ affiliate, Blakely adds. “Feeling good,” Whittington said when asked about his recovery. “The knee is better now. It’s been two years since I played. Getting back into this is big.”
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2015/16 Roster Counts: Houston Rockets

June 13th, 2015 at 12:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.

With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Rockets’ roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Houston’s roster.

(Last Updated 3-9-16, 6:00pm)

Fully Guaranteed (15)

10-Day Contracts (0)

  • None

TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (15)

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Rockets To Pick Up Papanikolaou’s Option

June 12th, 2015 at 10:19am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets will exercise their team option to keep Kostas Papanikolaou under contract for next season, sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Still, Papanikolaou’s salary of nearly $4.798MM wouldn’t become guaranteed until October 4th, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first revealed, even if Houston indeed picks up its team option by the deadline to do so later this month. That deadline is June 29th, unless the sides negotiated an earlier date.

Thus, the move to keep him under contract for now comes as no surprise, as declining the option wouldn’t give the Rockets much more benefit than they could otherwise reap. The Rockets would have Non-Bird rights to re-sign him if they declined the option and could make him a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of close to $6MM, but that qualifying offer would entail guaranteed salary. Even if the Rockets didn’t extend a qualifying offer, his cap hold would be more than $5.757MM unless they renounced his rights. In short, picking up the option would give the Rockets the most flexibility possible while still allowing them to have the final say on whether Papanikolaou plays for them next season.

Carchia suggests a trade is a possibility, and indeed, a non-guaranteed salary as large as Papanikolaou’s represents a useful trade chip for salary matching purposes, particularly if Rockets GM Daryl Morey does business with a team that wants to clear cap room. Houston made a lucrative bet on the Greek forward last summer, and while he cracked the rotation in the first half of the season, the acquisition of Josh Smith cut off most of his playing time, as Carchia points out. Papanikolaou averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.

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Southwest Notes: Ellis, Llull, Duncan, Collins

June 11th, 2015 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs won’t prioritize re-signing Monta Ellis if he opts out in search of a raise, as expected, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Ellis, who made $8.36MM this season, had a negative effect on team chemistry this past season because of his moodiness and selfish behavior, a source told MacMahon. The Mavs prefer to spend on either a combination of LaMarcus Aldridge and Tyson Chandler or DeAndre Jordan and a three-and-D wing player, MacMahon adds. That’s in part because the Mavs believe Chandler Parsons will be better off without Ellis’ on-court and off-court influence, as MacMahon details. Still, the Mavs are liable to change their minds based on unforeseen scenarios, just as they did when they decided to up their offer when they signed Ellis two years ago, MacMahon cautions. I looked further into Ellis scenarios when I examined the offseason ahead for the Mavs. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

  • The Rockets have let Sergio Llull know that they’re willing to offer him a three-year deal worth $15-18MM, sources tell Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Houston GM Daryl Morey batted down a similar report from Javier Maestro of Encestando.es in March, but coach Kevin McHale recently made it clear that the team would like to sign the draft-and-stash point guard. Still, there’s a pricey $4MM buyout attached to Llull’s contract with Real Madrid, Varlas writes, adding that if Llull doesn’t end up in Houston for next season, the team would push to sign draft-and-stash center Marko Todorovic.
  • Attorneys for Tim Duncan today requested that a trial in his lawsuit against a former financial adviser of his take place next summer so that he won’t miss playing time, tweets Guillermo Contreras of the San Antonio Express-News. That doesn’t necessarily signal that the Spurs star intends to play next season, only that he isn’t ruling it out, writes Express-News scribe Jeff McDonald, though it’s an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
  • Chris Mannix of SI.com has heard Jarron Collins‘ name bandied about as a possible assistant coach for new Pelicans head man Alvin Gentry (Twitter link). Collins, like Gentry, has spent this past season as a Warriors assistant coach.
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Draft Notes: Okafor, Russell, Lyles, McCullough

June 10th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Duke center Jahlil Okafor was atop most draft rankings for most of the season, but Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns eclipsed him during the NCAA Tournament, and now Ohio State combo guard D’Angelo Russell has leapfrogged him for No. 2 on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider Board. There isn’t unanimity on Russell’s ascension, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him going fourth to the Knicks, with the Sixers taking Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis third. More clear is that this year’s draft isn’t hurting for intrigue with two weeks and one day to go before teams start picking. Here’s the latest:

  • The Pistons, who hold the eighth selection, are the team picking highest among those interested in Kentucky power forward Trey Lyles, Ford hears and writes within his rankings (linked above). There’s almost no chance that Syracuse power forward Chris McCullough slips past the Nets at pick No. 29, Ford also hears.
  • Slovenian center Ziga Dimec has worked out for the Sixers and will do so for the Mavericks, Celtics and Bucks, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Dimec, who’s automatically draft-eligible as a 22-year-old from overseas, is Ford‘s No. 96 prospect, but he’s outside the top 100 for Givony, who has him as the 19th-best international prospect born in 1993.
  • Josh Newman of SNY.tv adds the Jazz, Nuggets, Rockets, Wizards, Cavaliers and Bulls to the list of teams reportedly working out Syracuse big man Rakeem Christmas.
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Southwest Notes: Barea, Grizzlies, Hanga, Jones

June 10th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks have interest in re-signing J.J. Barea, but only to a point, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com examines. Barea is seeking a multiyear deal with an average salary around $3MM, as MacMahon reported earlier, while the Mavs want him to sign another minimum salary contract. MacMahon predicts that the sides will settle on a two-year deal with a starting salary close to the value of the $2.139MM biannual exception. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

  • Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace admits that the player the team takes with the 25th overall pick probably won’t be a factor for Memphis next season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays in a subscription-only piece. “When you see what’s going on with the rookies and their usage with the playoff teams, how many rookies play for a playoff team?” Wallace said. “So you’re building your base of talent. You’d love to have a rookie come in and play right off the bat but you can’t draft on that premise. You’re drafting for overall talent, who is going to have the best career and who can provide the most value for that pick down the road.”
  • Small forward Adam Hanga tells BB1.hu, a website in his native Hungary, that he’ll attend a Spurs mini-camp in San Antonio but prefers to remain overseas (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The draft-and-stash prospect whose NBA rights belong to the Spurs added that he wants to play again for Laboral Kuxta, the Spanish club that loaned him to Italy’s Avellino this season.
  • Former Duke point guard Tyus Jones has returned to action from a back injury, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had speculated that the injury was actually a ruse to cover up a promise from the Rockets, but Jones’ workout with Houston was cut short, according to Wolfson, apparently because of his back. In any case, the Timberwolves are interested in auditioning Jones but haven’t scheduled a workout with him yet, Wolfson adds.
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