Several Teams Interested In Lou Amundson
There are a number of teams anxiously awaiting Greg Oden's free agent decision today and many of those clubs all seem to have a common Plan B. Some of the same teams that are pursuing the former No. 1 overall pick are also showing interest in free agent Louis Amundson, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
The Heat, Kings, and Mavericks, who are all finalists for Oden, have registered some level of interest in the well-traveled 30-year-old (link). The Hawks, Knicks, and Pacers are also looking into Amundson.
The UNLV product averaged 1.9 PPG in 9.5 minutes per contest for three teams last season. In seven career NBA seasons with eight diffeent clubs, Amundson has career averages of 3.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 12.8 minutes per contest.
Odds & Ends: Harrington, Ebanks, Mo Williams
Al Harrington recognizes that he's a candidate to be traded or bought out by the Magic, but tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he's healthier and believes he can still contribute, wherever he lands.
"Whatever situation I can get to where I can help a team win, that's what I want to do," Harrington said. "I don't want to play 36 minutes or none of that. Play 20, 25 minutes, just help mentor the young guys and stuff like that."
Here's more from around the NBA:
- Former Laker Devin Ebanks has received interest from the Hawks, Bucks, Bobcats, and Nuggets, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- In his latest column on the Suns, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic says that agent Arn Tellem was "five minutes away" from a deal for J.J. Redick with another team before the Suns and Clippers proposed the three-team trade that sent him to Los Angeles. Coro also notes that the Pacers had expressed interest in Luis Scola for months before acquiring him.
- Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien met with Mo Williams today in Memphis, tweets Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- Within an excellent piece on the Thunder, Grantland's Zach Lowe shares a few interesting details on Kevin Durant's max contract and Oklahoma City's cap and tax situation.
Odds & Ends: Scola, Celtics, Heat, Suns
While Jason Kidd shocked everyone by becoming the head coach of the Nets just weeks after retiring, his co-Rookie of the Year in 1994/95 is going to go down a more conventional path. Grant Hill told Johnny Esfeller of IMG Academy that he is looking into a career in broadcasting and speaking with some of the major networks out there. The charasmatic and thoughtful Hill should make for a natural on TV, whether he's on color commentary or a studio analyst. Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- The Pacers' acquisition of Luis Scola makes them an even bigger threat to the Heat, opines Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard noted that Scola isn't just a strong basketball addition, but he should also be a great fit for Indiana's locker room.
- If Rajon Rondo is not ready to go at the beginning of the 2013/14 season, it's possible that the Celtics could slide undrafted rookie Phil Pressey into the starting role as he's the only other point guard on the roster, writes Marc D'Amico of Celtics.com. However, Boston also has two other players on its roster in Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee who can handle the one-guard duties in short order and there's even a chance that Rondo will be in action for opening night.
- The Heat know that the rest of the Eastern conference is quickly catching up them, writes Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.
- The additions of Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee fit the Suns' offseason goal of increasing athleticism across the roster, writes Matt Petersen of Suns.com.
Odds & Ends: Pacers, Billups, Mavs, Reinsdorf
The Mavs have had a busy offseason, since there was so much turnaround after loading up on expiring contracts last season with a chance to nab Dwight Howard or Josh Smith in free agency this summer. Since they failed to land any of the upper-tier free agents, they decided to surround 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki with mid-tier acquisitions in an attempt to get Dirk a second title, but without spending their way out of contending for the free agents next summer when Dirk, Shawn Marion and others have their contract's expire.
Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram listed all the Mavericks from last season who will be playing on different rosters next season (Twitter): O.J. Mayo is on the Bucks, Elton Brand and Jared Cunningham joined the Hawks, Darren Collison signed with the Clippers, Chris Kaman joined the Lakers after they failed to re-sign Howard, and Anthony Morrow joined an improved Pelicans team. Two former Mavs are still unsigned, though, as Price tweets: Rodrigue Beaubois and Mike James.
Here are a few more tidbits as the NBA comes up on the end of the free agency period…
- Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets that the Pistons have talked with recent free agent signee Chauncey Billups about joining the front office in Detroit after he retires
- The Pacers are “going for it” with their recent trade for Luis Scola, writes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
- Kyrie Irving has been impressing once again at Team USA tryouts in Las Vegas this past week. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer talked with the 2012 Rookie of the Year about what he's trying to improve as he comes up on his third season in the league with a much-improved Cavs team.
- Melissa Harris and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune profile Bulls COO, Michael Reinsdorf, the son of Bulls owner, Jerry Reinsdorf. The younger Reinsdorf is seen as his father's successor with the team.
- The bizarre Tennesse "Jock Tax" that Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote about a couple weeks ago, is something NBA millionaires can afford, writes Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.
- Pablo Prigioni is "really excited" to come back to the Knicks next year reports Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Pacers Acquire Luis Scola From Suns
2:31pm: The Suns have also confirmed that the trade is official, via their website.
2:06pm: The Pacers have announced the trade in a press release.
"I’m very, very excited to play for the Pacers," Scola said, as part of the Pacers statement. "They are one of the top three teams in the NBA with a good shot to win a championship. I think it’s a great team and this is a great opportunity. I can’t wait."
1:39pm: The Pacers and Suns have reached an agreement on a trade that sends Luis Scola to Indiana, tweets USA Today's Sam Amick. Paul Coro notes that the framework of the deal, reported earlier by Amick and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, will send Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee and Indiana's lottery-protected 2014 first-round draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Scola (Twitter link).
The move strengthens the Pacers as they attempt to overcome the Heat, who've knocked them out of the playoffs the past two seasons. Scola will be of particular help on the offensive end, where he's a career 14.2 points-per-game scorer, and he'll improve a second-unit that lagged far behind Indiana's starting lineup last season. The Suns claimed him off amnesty waivers from the Rockets last summer, and the inexpensive bid helped faciliate the deal with Indiana. Scola will make more than $4.5MM this year, with a non-guaranteed $4.868MM in 2014/15.
Suns GM Ryan McDonough reunites with Green, whom the Celtics drafted 18th overall in 2005, when McDonough was beginning to work his way up Boston's front office chain of command. Green will make $3.5MM this year and next as part of a three-year contract he signed with the Pacers last summer, before he wound up buried on coach Frank Vogel's bench. Plumlee, the 26th overall pick in 2012, was even farther down the Pacers depth chart, appearing in more D-League games (15) than NBA contests (14) last season.
The jewel of the deal for Phoenix appears to be the pick, which will almost certainly be at the back end of the first round. Still, the Suns are in line for three first-rounders in next year's talent-rich draft, including their own, as SB Nation's Paul Flannery points out (Twitter link). Sending the 33-year-old Scola out will allow the team to develop more of its young talent, and perhaps shave a few wins from its total, giving the team a better chance at the top overall pick.
Pacers Nearing Trade For Luis Scola
1:34pm: Green, Miles Plumlee, and a protected 2014 draft pick are the parts headed to Phoenix in the proposal, Wojnarowski tweets. USA Today's Sam Amick tweets that the pick is lottery protected. Marc Stein of ESPN.com notes that the deal is still a proposal at this point, so it looks like a formal agreement has not yet been reached (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 12:56am: The "early word" is that the Pacers will send Gerald Green and draft considerations to Phoenix in exchange for Scola, Stein reports. The teams are still discussing the specifics of the picks headed Phoenix's way (Twitter links).
FRIDAY, 10:50pm: The Suns and Pacers are having "serious" talks about a trade that would ship Luis Scola to Indiana, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The teams are close to an agreement, Wojnarowski also tweets, but the deal won't involve Danny Granger, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
The Pacers have been pursuing Scola for weeks, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), though both front offices have been keeping the news quiet. The Pacers re-signed starting power forward David West this summer, and they also brought in Chris Copeland. Centers Roy Hibbert and Ian Mahinmi are on long-term deals, so there wouldn't seem to be an immediate fit for Scola, unless one of Indiana's big men is headed to Phoenix.
As Stein notes, the news originated in Scola's native Argentina, where Juan Sebastia, Scola's publicist, tweets tonight that Scola is headed to the Pacers, and that the deal will become official Saturday. Scola is set to make a little more than $4.5MM this season, with a non-guaranteed $4.868MM on the books for 2014/15. The Suns are under the cap, but the Pacers are over it, so Indiana would have to give up about $3MM in salary to make the deal work if Scola is the only player Phoenix is giving up.
The Pacers could make a straight-up acquisition of Scola work with either Mahinmi or Gerald Green, or they could aggregate the salaries of Lance Stephenson, Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson. West and Copeland are ineligible to be traded until the middle of next season because they signed new deals this summer.
The 33-year-old Scola has been remarkably durable in his six-year NBA career, missing just eight regular season games, all of them in 2010/11. His minutes declined somewhat last year in his first season with the Suns, who claimed him off amnesty waivers after the Rockets cut him in a cap-clearing move. He notched 12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 26.6 minutes per game in 2012/13, with a 16.7 PER that's nearly identical to his career mark of 16.9.
Pacers Notes: George, Granger, Scola
While a healthy Danny Granger undoubtedly makes an already stacked Indiana team even scarier, some outsiders are concerned that his presence will stunt the growth of Paul George. George, however, doesn't see things that way. “Even my second year in the league and my rookie year, we were still able to play off one another,” George told Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. “I didn’t have as big of a role as I do now, but we still did a good job playing off one another.” Here's more out of Indiana..
- With the addition of Luis Scola, the Pacers might have the best team in the Eastern Conference, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. Indiana managed to reach the conference finals and take the Heat to seven games last season despite having a weak bench and any upgrade to that unit goes a long way for them.
- Scola will definitely help the Pacers, but the offense-driven games of the veteran forward and newly-signed guard Chris Copeland give Zach Lowe of Grantland (via Twitter) some pause. The deal for Scola is expected to be finalized today.
- George, who has said that he wants to stay with the Pacers long-term, feels that talks are going well and both sides are on the same page, writes Scott Agness of NBA.com.
Odds & Ends: Hill, Team USA, Cousins
Opting to stick around for youth basketball camps he sponsored in Texas, Pacers guard George Hill understands that his decision to forego his commitment to Team USA training camp on short notice could hurt his chances at future invitations (IndyStar.com). USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo's reacted to Hill's decision: "We expected him here, and he withdrew…Until I really get the answer, I don't know what else to tell you. I just don't think it's fair to comment one way or the other until I have facts, out of courtesy and respect."
Here are a few more miscellaneous rumblings to pass along from tonight:
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter) hears that the Kings will be meeting with DeMarcus Cousins' agent Dan Fegan in the near future to discuss a contract extension.
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets that early next year, Colangelo will announce another pool of 25-28 players for next summer's World Cup competition.
- Though he almost chose the Mavericks at the request of his son, Jermaine O'Neal passed on the chance to return home and ultimately chose to join the Warriors for the opportunity to be a part of something special (Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News).
- Eric Koreen of the National Post introduces us to Bill Bayno, Jesse Murmuys, and Jama Mahlalela – some of the new faces on the Raptors' assistant coaching staff. In another piece, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun gathers some of head coach Dwane Casey's thoughts on Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar DeRozan and their improvement this summer.
- Zach Harper of CBS Sports is puzzled by Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum's statement to Cleveland media that he's never played for a city that really supported their team, coming from someone who developed and enjoyed plenty of success with the Lakers.
NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2013/14
The NBA's salary cap is famously known as a "soft cap," allowing teams to surpass the cap threshold using various cap exceptions, sometimes by a significant margin. Last season, the Lakers' team salary exceeded the cap by $40MM, with the team spending about $100MM (plus taxes) on its roster of players.
However, under the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are a few instances in which a team can become hard-capped for a season. If a team's salary exceeds the luxury tax threshold ($71,748,000) by $4MM+, that team is not permitted to acquire a player via sign-and-trade, or to use the full mid-level or bi-annual exceptions. As soon as a team completes a sign-and-trade deal, or uses its BAE, or uses more than $3,182,700 of its MLE to sign a player, that club becomes hard-capped at $75,748,000 for the 2013/14 season. In other words, team salary can't exceed that amount at any point before June 30th, 2014.
For some clubs, that hard cap isn't a major concern. For instance, the Pelicans still have about $12MM in breathing room below the hard cap, and seem to be just about done making moves. On the other hand, the Celtics are only about $2MM below the hard cap, so any trades or signings Boston makes for the rest of the season will have to be constructed to ensure team salary doesn't surpass that $75.748MM cutoff.
Here are the clubs who are now locked into a hard cap for the 2013/14 season, along with an estimation (via HoopsWorld) of their current team salaries and the reason(s) why the hard cap was created:
Boston Celtics
Current estimated team salary: $73,638,001
Hard cap created: Acquired Keith Bogans via sign-and-trade
Los Angeles Clippers
Current estimated team salary: $72,361,060
Hard cap created: Acquired J.J. Redick via sign-and-trade; signed Matt Barnes and Darren Collison via non-taxpayer MLE
Toronto Raptors
Current estimated team salary: $70,710,039
Hard cap created: Acquired Quentin Richardson via sign-and-trade
Washington Wizards
Current estimated team salary: $69,883,992
Hard cap created: Signed Martell Webster via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Eric Maynor via BAE
Indiana Pacers
Current estimated team salary: $69,150,000
Hard cap created: Signed C.J. Watson via BAE
Golden State Warriors
Current estimated team salary: $68,333,105
Hard cap created: Acquired Andre Iguodala via sign-and-trade; signed Marreese Speights and Toney Douglas via non-taxpayer MLE
Denver Nuggets
Current estimated team salary1: $66,849,937
Hard cap created: Acquired Randy Foye via sign-and-trade; signed J.J. Hickson via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Nate Robinson via BAE
San Antonio Spurs
Current estimated team salary2: $64,782,127
Hard cap created: Signed Marco Belinelli and Jeff Pendergraph via non-taxpayer MLE
New Orleans Pelicans
Current estimated team salary: $63,347,645
Hard cap created: Acquired Tyreke Evans via sign-and-trade
Minnesota Timberwolves
Current estimated team salary3: $61,158,583
Hard cap created: Acquired Kevin Martin via sign-and-trade; signed Corey Brewer via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Ronny Turiaf via BAE
1 Estimate includes Timofey Mozgov's cap hold
2 Estimate includes Gary Neal's cap hold
3 Estimate includes Nikola Pekovic's cap hold
HoopsWorld was used in the creation of this post.
Eastern Notes: Brown, George, Raptors, Blair
Although their pursuit of Bobby Brown is said to be gathering "momentum," the Knicks aren't the only team interested in the Euroleague star. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Brown also has offers from Chinese teams, and is drawing interest from other NBA clubs as well. Here are a few more notes from around the Eastern Conference:
- Appearing on 1070 The Fan, Pacers president Larry Bird said the team is prepared to make a "major offer" to Paul George this offseason to try to lock him up before he hits restricted free agency (hat tip to Pro Basketball Talk).
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star hears that the Raptors saved about $2MM in guaranteed money in their buyout agreement with Marcus Camby.
- A report last weekend suggested that the Wizards are interested in DeJuan Blair, and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv confirms (via Twitter) that the interest is mutual. Washington has already used its full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, leaving only the minimum salary to offer, unless a sign-and-trade can be negotiated.
- While Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says Daniel Gibson is very unlikely to return to the Cavs, he names the Bucks and Pacers as potential suitors for the 27-year-old (Twitter link).