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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/18/16

November 18th, 2016 at 10:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

11:35pm

The Knicks assigned Ron Baker and Marshall Plumlee to their D-League affiliate in Westchester, the team announced (Twitter link). The duo will play in the team’s contest in White Plains on Saturday.
The Clippers have assigned rookie big man Diamond Stone to the D-League, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Since Los Angeles does not have a D-League affiliate of its own, Stone will report to the Santa Cruz Warriors via the flexible assignment rule, Reichert adds.

2:31pm

The Kings have recalled rookie center Georgios Papagiannis from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The first-rounder’s assignment lasted three games, during which he averaged 10.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG for the Reno Bighorns. His fellow first-rounders, Malachi Richardson and Skal Labissiere, remain in the D-League for now.
Rookie big man Ivica Zubac has been recalled by the Lakers from the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the club confirmed in a press release. Zubac, who has appeared in three games for the Lakers, saw 23 minutes of action in his D-League debut on Thursday, and recorded 13 points, three boards, and a pair of blocked shots.

Sterling Settles Suit With League

November 18th, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Clippers owner Donald Sterling has reached a settlement with the NBA in his lawsuit over the $2 billion sale of the team to Steve Ballmer, Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times reports. The suit was filed back in 2014 and alleged that the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver and others engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to remove him as owner of the team, Fenno adds. The details and value of the settlement were not released to the media.

NBA 2016/17 Dead Money: Pacific Division

November 18th, 2016 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The concept of “dead money” on a salary cap isn’t as common in the NBA as it is in the NFL, but it essentially functions the same way in both leagues. Dead money refers to the salary remaining on a team’s cap for players that are no longer on the roster.

For NFL teams, taking on a certain amount of dead money is a common practice, since signing bonuses affect cap hits differently, and big-money players are more likely to be released before playing out their entire contracts. That practice is less common in the NBA.

Still, with the NBA’s salary cap on the rise, teams may be a little more willing to part ways with players on guaranteed salaries, since that increased cap gives clubs more flexibility than they used to have. Within the last month, we’ve seen players like Ronnie Price and Greivis Vasquez, who each had $4-5MM in guaranteed money left on their contracts, waived in order to clear room for newcomers.

We’re in the process of examining each of the NBA’s 30 teams, breaking them down by division. We’ll determine which teams are carrying the most dead money on the cap for 2016/17, and what that information might tell us about those teams. We’ve already examined the Central, Atlantic, Southeast, and Southwest divisions. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the Pacific division.

Here are the 2016/17 dead money figures for the Pacific teams:

1. Phoenix Suns
Total dead money: $2,871,866
Full salary cap breakdown

While the Suns have a modest dead-money cap charge for Michael Beasley ($778K), most of the team’s dead money comes from Archie Goodwin‘s contract, which counts for $2.094MM on the 2016/17 books. Goodwin is still just 22 years old and was a surprise cut last month, having become expendable after the Suns added Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley in free agency. With Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker, Brandon Knight, and Tyler Ulis also in the backcourt mix, Phoenix figured Goodwin wouldn’t have a meaningful role this season.

The Suns remain well below the salary floor, so that decision probably won’t affect them financially. Still, for a team not expected to be contenders this year, it was an interesting decision to spend on Dudley and Barbosa – two veterans in their 30s – rather than exercising a little more patience with the 22-year-old Goodwin.

2. Sacramento Kings
Total dead money: $1,682,829
Full salary cap breakdown

The Kings have a pair of veterans waived via their stretch provision counting against their cap, in Wayne Ellington ($883K) and Caron Butler ($517K). The team also paid $100K apiece to a pair of camp invitees, in Lamar Patterson and second-round pick Isaiah Cousins. However, Sacramento’s most interesting dead-money cap hits might belong to Jordan Farmar, who counts not once but twice on the team’s books, having already been signed and cut multiple times. Farmar’s two cap charges count for about $83K, which isn’t a bad haul for a player who spent six regular-season days on the roster and four on waivers.

3. Los Angeles Clippers
Total dead money: $1,412,964
Full salary cap breakdown

The Clippers, one of eight NBA teams without a D-League affiliate this season, didn’t bother inviting any undrafted rookies to camp, since the team had nowhere to assign them in the D-League, and had its 15-man roster fairly set. Still, while Los Angeles was able to avoid tacking on modest partial guarantees that way, the club is still carrying cap hits for former Clippers like Carlos Delfino ($650K), Jordan Farmar ($511K), and Miroslav Raduljica ($252K). Those dead-money hits total $1.413MM, and the Clippers currently sit $1.453MM over the tax threshold, making those charges even more costly.

4. Golden State Warriors
Total dead money: $1,380,126
Full salary cap breakdown

Despite carrying four All-NBA players on their roster, the Warriors don’t rank among the highest team salaries in the NBA, and their dead-money charges aren’t exorbitant either, a sign of solid cap management. Jason Thompson, waived back in February, is responsible for most of the Warriors’ dead money this year, with a $945K cap hit. Outside of Elliot Williams, who got a $250K guarantee but didn’t make Golden State’s regular season roster, the team’s other dead-money charges belong to players currently playing for their D-League affiliate: Cameron Jones ($50K), Elgin Cook ($50K), Scott Wood ($50K), and Phil Pressey ($35K).

5. Los Angeles Lakers
Total dead money: $1,184,636
Full salary cap breakdown

Anthony Brown and Yi Jianlian were initially viewed as strong bets to earn spots on the Lakers’ 15-man roster this season, but Thomas Robinson and Metta World Peace ultimately fit into those openings instead, leaving Brown’s $875K salary and Yi’s $250K guarantee on Los Angeles’ books. Along with Zach Auguste ($60K), those dead money charges cut into L.A.’s small amount of remaining cap room, leaving the team just $530K under the cap. However, adding $1.185MM in extra cap space wouldn’t change much — the Lakers still have their $2.898MM room exception if they want to sign a player for more than the minimum.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Griffin's Friends Aren't Bringing The Thunder

November 10th, 2016 at 10:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Blake Griffin isn’t being wooed by his friends to return to his hometown and join the Thunder next season, according to Andrew Han of ESPN.com. The Clippers power forward becomes an unrestricted free agent in July. “They know that my main focus is this season and this team,” Griffin told Han and other writers. “And they know that I enjoy playing here and I love this team, coaching staff, everybody. So they know that that’s my main focus. So I think they pretty much know not to bring that up.”

Luc Mbah A Moute Provides Steady Presence For Clippers

November 9th, 2016 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

While the small forward position has been a bit of a revolving door for the Clippers over the last few season, the team is currently starting the same player there as it did last year. Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times takes a closer look at Luc Mbah a Moute and the role he plays in L.A., following the veteran forward signing a new two-year deal with the team this summer.

Paul Blames Starting Unit For Offensive Woes

November 3rd, 2016 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have been surprisingly inefficient in the early going offensively and Chris Paul says the starting unit is to blame, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports. The Clippers rank 24th in field-goal percentage and have only exceeded 41% once in four games. “In actuality, our second unit offense has been really good,” the All-Star point guard told Turner. “Our [first] unit, the one that’s usually clicking on all cylinders, I know that that can be fixed. So that’s why I’m optimistic. I’m actually more excited about our defense and how well we’ve been playing defense.”

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Undefeated Teams

November 2nd, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2016/17 NBA season is now eight days old, and already 25 teams have suffered at least one loss, leaving just five undefeated teams. The Thunder, Clippers, Bulls, and Hawks are 3-0, while the Cavaliers are 4-0.

Of those five clubs, the Cavaliers and Clippers were expected to be title contenders this year, so their hot starts don’t come as a real surprise. However, the other three remaining undefeated franchises had more question marks entering the season. The Thunder and Hawks lost top free agents this summer, in Kevin Durant and Al Horford, and the Bulls’ roster construction led many observers to question whether they’d have enough shooting and spacing to be effective on offense.

While three or four games is hardly enough of a sample size to draw definitive conclusions about any NBA team, it’s worth keeping an eye out for early signs of potential surprises. So today’s Community Shootaround discussion questions center around these five clubs.

Which of the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams do you think will continue to rank among the league’s elite? Are the Cavs and Clippers still the only safe bets among the group, or do the Thunder, Hawks, and Bulls have a good chance to keep up their hot starts and outperform expectations? Are any of these clubs mediocre squads that have been helped in the early going by soft schedules?

Weigh in below in our comments section with your thoughts on which of the NBA’s five remaining undefeated teams are for real, and which ones you expect to come back down to earth soon.

Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Clippers

October 31st, 2016 at 11:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Los Angeles Clippers.

Free agent signings:

Jamal Crawford: Three years, $42MM. Third year partially guaranteed.
Austin Rivers: Three years, $35.475MM. Third year player option.
Wesley Johnson: Three years, $17.644MM. Third year player option.
Luc Mbah a Moute: Two years, $4.505MM. Second year player option.
Marreese Speights: Two years, minimum salary. Second year player option.
Alan Anderson: One year, minimum salary.
Brandon Bass: One year, minimum salary.
Raymond Felton: One year, minimum salary.

Camp invitees:

Xavier Munford: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
Dorell Wright: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.

Trades:

Acquired the draft rights to David Michineau (No. 39 pick) and the draft rights to Diamond Stone (No. 40 pick) from the Pelicans in exchange for the draft rights to Cheick Diallo (No. 33 pick).
Acquired Devyn Marble and the Cavaliers’ 2020 second-round pick from the Magic in exchange for C.J. Wilcox and cash ($230K). Marble was subsequently waived.

Draft picks:

1-25: Brice Johnson. Signed to rookie contract.
2-39: David Michineau. Will play overseas.
2-40: Diamond Stone. Signed for two years, minimum salary. Fully guaranteed.

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

Paul Pierce will retire after 2016/17 season.
Met with Kevin Durant in free agency.
Brice Johnson sidelined due to a back injury.
Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and J.J. Redick eligible for veteran contract extensions.
Promoted Lawrence Frank to executive VP of basketball operations.
Exploring new arena possibilities for when lease with Staples Center expires.
Reportedly made contract offer to Greek center Giannis Bourousis.

Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Los Angeles Clippers right here.

Last season ended in familiar fashion for a franchise that has often seemed jinxed. The core of that Clippers team has returned for another run at the title, but this could be their last one together.

L.A.’s playoff hopes went down in flames in April when Blake Griffin and Chris Paul were lost to injuries on the same day. Griffin re-aggravated a partially torn quad muscle and Paul suffered a fracture in his right hand that required surgery. In their absence, the Trail Blazers rallied to win the series and set up a summer of uncertainty in Los Angeles.

Clippers management extended a vote of confidence to this current group by not making any major deals during the offseason and re-signing four significant free agents. A few veterans were brought in to strengthen the bench and put the team in a better position to contend for the title.

There’s definitely a sense of urgency to the new season as Griffin and Paul both have opt-out clauses in their contracts, which could give L.A. two very pricey free agents to re-sign next summer. In addition, shooting guard J.J. Redick will definitely be a free agent and figures to be highly in demand in a league that is placing an increased emphasis on outside shooting. Veteran Paul Pierce, who considered retirement over the summer, decided to return but let the organization know this will be his final season.

The Clippers were one of the suitors to get a meeting with Kevin Durant in July, but when he chose the Warriors, L.A. launched into Plan B, which was to keep its team together. Free agent guard Austin Rivers re-signed for $35.475MM over three years. Small forward Wesley Johnson received $17.644MM over three years and Luc Mbah a Moute got $4.505MM for two years. All three have player options for the final year of their deals.

Also brought back was reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford. At least five teams made pitches to the 36-year-old, who was unhappy with L.A.’s initial offer of $12MM for one season. The Clippers responded with a number more to Crawford’s liking and he re-signed for three years at $42MM. Crawford was the team’s top offensive threat off the bench once again last season, averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 34% from 3-point range.

The Clippers enjoyed what they consider to be a free agent coup when they landed Golden State big man Marreese Speights, who was looking for a larger role than he had with the Warriors. Speights agreed to a two-year, minimum-salary deal with a player option, and coach Doc Rivers was elated to add him to the team.

“I don’t think anyone has a guy like that on their bench, for that matter,” Rivers said. “Golden State had one last year, and now he’s on our team.”

L.A. brought in three other veteran free agents to fortify its bench: power forward Brandon Bass, who averaged 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game with the Lakers in 2015/16, point guard Raymond Felton, who put up 9.5 points and 3.6 assists per night in Dallas and swingman Alan Anderson, who was coming off a season with the Wizards in which he averaged 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.

Depth has been an ongoing problem during the Griffin-Paul era, along with small forward. L.A. hasn’t been able to find the right complement to an otherwise stellar starting lineup of Griffin, Paul, Redick and DeAndre Jordan. Several candidates have passed through the organization in recent years, but none has been able to hold the job. Pierce, Johnson and ex-Clipper Lance Stephenson all held the starting role at times last year before defensive specialist Mbah a Moute won the job. He enters this season in the starting three spot, but it remains a position of need for Los Angeles if a midseason trade opportunity comes along.

After having no picks in 2015, the Clippers landed two promising young big men and a draft-and-stash point guard this year. At No. 25, they drafted North Carolina power forward Brice Johnson, a first-team AP all-American who averaged a double-double in his senior year with the Tar Heels and set the school’s single-season rebounding record. The Clippers hope he can develop into an effective backup for Griffin, but he suffered a preseason setback with a herniated disc in his back that has him out indefinitely.

The Clippers owned the Nets’ second-round pick at No. 33, but traded Kansas center Cheick Diallo to the Pelicans for two later picks. They used the No. 39 choice on point guard David Michineau, who will spend at least one season in France, and the No. 40 selection on Maryland center Diamond Stone, who made the 15-man roster.

After years of misery, the Clippers have become one of the league’s most successful and entertaining teams over the past four seasons, with at least 53 wins each year. But each of those seasons has ended in playoff disappointment, and gaudy regular season win totals may not be enough to keep this team together.

The front office is looking at some difficult decisions next summer. If this year’s free agency is any guide, tons of cash will be thrown around again, and Griffin, Paul and Redick will all have huge offers to sort through. If the Clippers’ current core wants to remain together for the rest of the decade, this is the year they will have to prove themselves in the playoffs.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rivers Still Juggling Rotations

October 31st, 2016 at 8:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the solid depth the Clippers possess this season, coach/executive Doc Rivers will have his hands full trying to balance his rotations and keep the bulk of his players happy, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes. “Yeah, it’s called coaching,” Rivers said. “No, literally, it’s called coaching. You coach them. You try to get them to buy in. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they say they do and don’t. It’s a process and you just go through it. There’re a lot of teams that can play a lot of different groups, but there’s very few teams that all the players can handle those different rotations when they’re not in on a given night. So, I think that’s the type of team we have and if it does it’ll serve us well.”

Celtics Notes: Hunter, Horford, Smart, Young

October 30th, 2016 at 12:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

When the Celtics waived former first-round pick R.J. Hunter on Monday, they lost their compensation for allowing Doc Rivers to join the Clippers, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. While only Josh Richardson might have been a better choice among available players at No. 28 in last year’s draft, Hunter is still part of an uneven draft record that Boston has produced with its recent wealth of picks. While the Celtics have brought in Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley and Jaylen Brown, they have misfired with Hunter, Fab Melo, and the trade for JaJuan Johnson. They are also haunted by the 2008 selection of J.R. Giddens ahead of DeAndre Jordan, Mario Chalmers and Goran Dragic.

“Right now, the hardest thing is I like R.J. and we’ve invested time in him,” said Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. “I see Jaylen and Terry [Rozier] and Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson and Abdel Nader, who had a terrific summer with us, and the two kids over in Europe that are playing fantastic right now. The draft is the draft, as we all know. You have some good selections and some that don’t fit and don’t work for you. So I’m not disappointed in that regard at all. I’m glad that we have another [Nets] pick next year and we’ll keep taking our swings and trying to find the right guys.”

There’s more today out of Boston:

ABC/ESPN analyst Mark Jackson believes the Celtics will benefit greatly from the free agent signing of Al Horford, Washburn adds in the same piece. “They did a great job of adding Horford, a big that brought to the table what they did not have — a defensive, tough, hard-nosed leader — and you can see that … already,” Jackson said.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was happy to see Hunter find a new team so quickly, relays Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. Hunter signed with the Bulls on Wednesday, shortly after clearing waivers. “I think he’s a really good player,” Stevens said. “His ability to shoot the ball and his ability to pass the ball are two great strengths … I don’t know how he fits from a rotation standpoint; that would be a [Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg] question. But he’s certainly a good player that can help any team.”
The Celtics are taking their time with decisions about extensions for Smart, Rozier and James Young, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The deadline is Monday to pick up the fourth-year guaranteed options for Smart and Young and the third-year option for Rozier. Bulpett believes the team is certain to pick up the $4,438,020 for Smart and the $1,988,520 for Rozier. However, the team is still examining trade options for Young, who would be owed $2,803,507 for 2017/18, and may save that decision until the last minute.