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Odds & Ends: Lakers, Brown, Shaw

April 23rd, 2013 at 10:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's tonight's look around the Association..

The Lakers have been told they'd get "some" relief from the $6.5MM-$7MM they owe new Cavs coach Mike Brown, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, a league source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) that L.A. won't know how much money they'll save until the Cleveland deal is finalized.
To date, the Lakers maintain that Mike D'Antoni will return as coach next season, but Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times wonders if getting money back on Brown's contract could change their position. However, the actual decision may be tied to what center Dwight Howard wants to do in July and how he feels about D'Antoni.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter) writes that Pacers assistant Brian Shaw deserves a lot of credit for Paul George's improvement and wouldn't be surprised if he gets consideration for a head coaching job soon. Shaw was in the mix for a number of jobs last offseason and it stands to reason that he'll be considered once again this summer as there will be a number of vacancies.

Central Links: George, Pacers, Bulls, Bucks

April 23rd, 2013 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Cavs work toward officially re-hiring Mike Brown as their new head coach, here are a few more Tuesday updates out of the Central Division:

Paul George was named the NBA's Most Improved Player of 2012/13 earlier today, and Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star tweets that a contract extension could be next for the 22-year-old. George will be entering the final year of his rookie deal this summer, making him extension-eligible, and Pacers owner Herb Simon "will be paying up," according to Wells.
David Morway, the former Pacers GM who played a crucial role in Indiana's rebuilding process, talked to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld about the process of rebuilding an NBA franchise, suggesting that there isn't necessarily one specific way to approach the task.
As Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in his latest column, two key contributors to the Bulls' Game Two win in Brooklyn last night, Tom Thibodeau and Nazr Mohammed, had been pursued by the Nets in the past.
Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn't expect the draft, free agency, or a new coach to make a huge impact for the Bucks, and wonders if a new ownership group would provide the sort of shake-up the franchise needs.

Paul George Wins Most Improved Player

April 23rd, 2013 at 9:17am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 9:17am: George has officially been named the NBA's Most Improved Player for 2012/13, according to a Pacers press release. Greivis Vasquez was the runner-up, while Larry Sanders, Nikola Vucevic, and Jrue Holiday rounded out the top five vote-getters.

MONDAY, 9:40pm: Paul George of the Pacers will be named the NBA's Most Improved Player, sources confirm to HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy (Twitter link). The Pacers called a "major" press conference for tomorrow, which initially led Kennedy and others to speculate that it is to announce that George has won the award.

George stepped into the shoes of the injured Danny Granger, the 2009 Most Improved Player who missed all but five games this year, and took over as Indiana's leading scorer this season. His points per game soared to 17.4 from 12.1 last season, and his rebounding and assist production also saw healthy jumps. Still, his shooting and three-point accuracy declined as the Pacers leaned more heavily on him, and his PER held nearly steady at 16.8, after he posted a 16.5 in that category in 2011/12.

George, in his third season out of Fresno State, also made his first All-Star Game this year, and was a part of Indiana's tough defense that gave up 90.7 PPG, second only to the Grizzlies. The 22-year-old opened up the postseason yesterday with a triple-double against the Hawks, though the votes were taken before the playoffs began. He'll be eligible for an extension to his rookie-scale contract this summer.

There are always plenty of candidates for the award, and this year was no exception. Larry Sanders, Greivis Vasquez, J.J. Hickson and Jrue Holiday all made intriguing cases, and we'll see just how close they came when the league reveals the voting.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Wall, Watson, Musselman

April 22nd, 2013 at 8:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have called a "major" press conference for tomorrow morning, leading Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com and HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy to speculate that Paul George will be named the league's Most Improved Player (Twitter links). While we wait to find out exactly what the presser is about, here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

John Wall is eligible for an extension to his rookie-scale contract this summer, and has repeatedly expressed his belief that he's worthy of a max. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote last month that "all the signals" indicate the Wizards would be open to such a deal. Now, Michael thinks Wall's recent comments suggest he'd be willing to take less if it meant greater flexibility for the team to pursue free agents.
C.J. Watson told Stefan Bondy he'd love to return to the Nets next season, though Bondy doesn't believe that will happen (Twitter link). Watson has a player option for the minimum salary next season, but if he opts out, the most the taxpaying Nets could offer would be 120% of the minimum under Non-Bird rights.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio thinks former Kings and Warriors coach Eric Musselman would make sense for the Cavs, and points out that Musselman once offered Cleveland GM and fellow University of San Diego product Chris Grant a job on his staff in Golden State.

Cavs Rumors: Brown, Gilbert, Assistants

April 21st, 2013 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

A majority of Hoops Rumors readers don't believe Phil Jackson will consider coaching the Cavs, even though a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Jackson would "absolutely" listen if the team called. While the Zen Master is far and away the biggest name associated with the team's search, there are plenty of other candidates, and there's news on several of them this morning:

The team has had informal conversations with former coach Mike Brown about a reunion, writes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald, who passes along a report from WKYC-TV in Cleveland that Brown and owner Dan Gilbert will meet Sunday.
A source tells Finnan that Brown would be the top choice for the Hawks if they decide to make a coaching change. That's no surprise, given the ties between Brown and Atlanta GM Danny Ferry.
The Cavs aren't expected to discuss the opening with any college coaches, and the hiring process will move swiftly, according to Finnan.
Finnan adds Melvin Hunt of the Nuggets and Michael Curry of the Sixers to the list of assistant coaches who may receive interviews, which already included Michael Malone (Warriors), Brian Shaw (Pacers) and David Fizdale (Heat).
The Cavs will indeed interview Shaw, just as they did when they hired Byron Scott in 2010, reports Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer.
Flip Saunders, Nate McMillan and Avery Johnson have all either directly or indirectly expressed interest in the position, Pluto also writes.
The Cavs have a chance to make an impression on Kyrie Irving with their coaching hire, so that means much is riding on the team's decision, opines fellow Plain Dealer scribe Bud Shaw.

Qualifying Offers And The Starter Criteria

April 19th, 2013 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

As we explained a year ago when the 2011/12 regular season ended, new details of the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement have slightly modified the usual process for restricted free agency. The qualifying offers teams extend to potential restricted free agents are now based, in some instances, on a newly-defined "starter criteria."

The CBA describes a "starter" as either starting 41 games or playing 2,000 minutes in a season, and rewards players for meeting those criteria. If a player achieved one of those benchmarks in the season prior to his free agency, or averaged one of those benchmarks in the two seasons leading up to his free agency, his qualifying offer will be affected as follows:

A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter critera will receive a same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
A played picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.

Because the 2009 class of first-round picks will be hitting restricted free agency this season, the 2009/10 rookie scale will dictate the qualifying offers received. Using RealGM's rookie scale chart for 2009, we can calculate the qualifying offers as follows:

120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick is $4,531,459.
120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick is $4,135,391.
100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick is $2,785,146.

So which players will be affected by this new rule this summer? Using our list of free agents (restricted FAs are marked with R), the above calculations, and the starter criteria, this offseason's modified qualifying offers are listed below. Teams will have to offer these free agents a one-year contract worth the listed amount to make them restricted — otherwise they'll become unrestricted and can freely sign with any club.

Top-14 picks who failed to meet the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO of $4,135,391 (previously anticipated QO in parentheses):

Tyler Hansbrough, Pacers ($4,225,423)

Players picked between 10th and 30th who met the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO of $4,531,459 (previously anticipated QO in parentheses):

Brandon Jennings, Bucks ($4,330,469)
Gerald Henderson, Bobcats ($4,267,426)
Jeff Teague, Hawks ($3,469,568)
Darren Collison, Mavericks ($3,342,175)
Byron Mullens, Bobcats ($3,293,976)

Other free agents with three years or less in the NBA who met the starter criteria and will be eligible for a QO of $2,785,146:

None. Although restricted free agents like Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves) and Tiago Splitter (Spurs) also met the starter criteria, both players are already in line for higher QOs because they were signed to larger deals using cap space (Pekovic) or the mid-level exception (Splitter).

Eastern Notes: Nene, Sixers, Andersen, Walsh

April 15th, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Eastern Conference first-round playoff matchups have been locked in, and one is particularly intriguing, as the No. 2 Knicks will take on the No. 7 Celtics. The winner of that series will avoid playing the Heat in round two, but could eventually be the biggest threat to Miami in the East. Here are a few of today's notes out of the Eastern Conference:

Ongoing injury woes had Wizards big man Nene considering retirement earlier this season, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post. "Tough enough to think about the end of my career? Yeah, that’s how tough it was," Nene said. "It was so hard to play the way I did it. I thought to end my career because it’s so painful, my body can’t support. I’m glad I finished the season, but the way I suffer, I hope, never again."
With coach Doug Collins seemingly on his way out of Philadelphia, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com suggests some potential replacements for the Sixers to consider.
Chris Andersen hasn't given much thought yet to whether or not he'll remain with the Heat beyond this season, writes Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post.
Donnie Walsh isn't sure if he'll be back as the Pacers president next season, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "I took this job because Larry [Bird] wanted a year off," Walsh said. "If Larry wants to come back, I’m out. I’m leaving. If he doesn’t I don’t know what I’ll do."
Rumors are swirling about the futures of Joe Dumars and Lawrence Frank in Detroit, but Greg Monroe tells David Mayo of MLive.com that he trusts the Pistons decision-makers.

Odds & Ends: Coaches, Mavericks, Pacers

April 13th, 2013 at 9:04pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The NBA has its first official playoff matchup cemented in the postseason schedule, as the Bucks' loss to the Bobcats tonight guaranteed them a first round dance with the Heat. Now that Boston is a lock for seventh place, five of the remaining playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference are still yet to be determined. We've got plenty of miscellaneous links to share tonight, and you can find them below:

Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune thinks Tyrone Corbin will face plenty of scrutiny next season from the Jazz front office. Corbin appears likely to keep his job regardless of whether the team captures the final playoff spot this year.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times figures on at least six coaching vacancies in the offseason, with the Pistons most likely to have one of them. Woelfel hears Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson is already drawing serious consideration from a couple of teams. Sampson was recently linked to the Bucks, where coach Jim Boylan appears on unsteady footing.
According to Paul Franklin of The Times of Trenton, Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan is expected to be announced as the new head basketball coach at Rutgers University. Tom Luicci of the Star-Ledger heard about the possibility earlier this afternoon (Twitter link).
Dirk Nowitzki believes the outcome of the Mavericks' attempt to retool this summer might determine the effectiveness of Mark Cuban's decision to break up his 2011 championship team, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
Even without a superstar, the well-balanced Pacers appear to be primed as a dangerous post-season matchup, writes Zach Schonbrun of the New York Times.
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register tweets that Kobe Bryant will likely seek advice from soccer star and friend David Beckham, who also suffered an Achilles injury but returned after six months. Dan Woike (also of the OC Register) says that Clippers guard Chauncey Billups – who also suffered the same injury last season – is also willing to lend his support (Twitter link). Lastly, the LA Times' Sam Farmer and Broderick Turner gathered some thoughts from NFL star Terrell Suggs, who shed some light on the process of recovery.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.

Danny Granger To Miss Rest Of Season

March 28th, 2013 at 5:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pacers small forward Danny Granger will undergo surgery on his troublesome left knee and will be out for the rest of the season, the Pacers announced via press release. Granger has played only five games this year following a procedure for patellar tendinosis in October.

Granger's inability to return to the court for the team's playoff run this season represents a significant hit to his trade value, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). He'll make $14.022MM in the final season of his contract next season, but even teams that might want to trade for him simply because of his expiring deal could be less inclined to do so after today's announcement, according to Mannix. Granger reportedly drew interest from the Jazz as part of a package deal before the deadline this year, but it seemed then that the Pacers would wait until the summer to entertain offers for Granger. Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard insisted in February that he wouldn't trade the player who entered this season having led the club in scoring each of the past five years.

Granger made his season debut on February 25th, but he hasn't played since March 3rd because of continued soreness in the knee. The injury didn't respond to what the team calls "conservative" treatments, and surgery was decided upon after consultation between Granger, Pacers doctors and renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. The surgery doesn't have a "slam dunk-high success rate," another orthopedic surgeon told the Indianapolis Star.

Largely without Granger's help, the Pacers have maintained their strong play from last season, when they secured the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and gave the eventual champion Heat a stiff challenge in the playoffs. This year Indiana sits at 45-27, again in third place in the East. First-time All-Star Paul George and surprising starter Lance Stephenson have stepped up in Granger's absence, so today's news isn't the devastating blow it could have been. Still, Granger's sizable cap hit for next season could limit the club's flexibility if a trade can't be worked out. The Pacers say in their press release that Granger will be ready for training camp.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Bobcats, Cavaliers

March 26th, 2013 at 7:57pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Eastern Conference on this Tuesday evening.

The Pacers have been hobbled by injuries to key players all season, but recently some more role players have begun to miss time. According to the Associated Press, a few key guys are coming back soon but the knee injury to Danny Granger, who's missed nearly the entire season, should force conversation this offseason regarding what to do with his expiring contract.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer takes a look at the Cavaliers draft prospects in the lottery and Dion Waiters' emergence as a legitimate threat his rookie season.
The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell writes about Bobcats center Bismack Biyombo, who's only 20 years old and still improving each and every game.