Western Notes: Gasol, Brooks, Paul
In using LeBron James‘ decision to bolt from the Heat and join the Cavaliers after the Spurs beat Miami in last year’s NBA Finals as an example, Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal opines that how the Grizzlies fare in the playoffs will impact Marc Gasol‘s free agency decision. Gasol was not at all forthcoming when asked if the playoffs could have an impact on his future. The big man has spent his entire seven-year career with the Grizzlies. “I don’t know,” Gasol said. “Honestly, I haven’t put in my mind what’s going to weigh what, and I really don’t know. I honestly can’t tell you because I haven’t had time to even think about it. So, I don’t know.”
Previously, Gasol cast doubt on the idea that an early postseason exit for the Grizzlies would dissuade him from re-signing. Earlier this week owner Robert Pera expressed a similar view that the playoffs would not have much bearing on Gasol’s decision.
There’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Blazers are decimated by injury, they are facing the Grizzlies — a team that has beat them in all four contests this season — and have several question marks heading into the summer. All of that presents this time period as the biggest challenge since GM Neil Olshey was hired in June 2012, John Canzano of the Oregonian opines. This summer, the team’s top player, LaMarcus Aldridge, will become an unrestricted free agent. Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez will also become unrestricted free agents.
- Embattled Thunder coach Scott Brooks, whom the team is reportedly evaluating prior to making a decision on his future, has received three significant votes of confidence, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Serge Ibaka has joined Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in supporting Brooks, who has guided the team since the 2008/09 season. “Why are you going to fire him?” Ibaka is quoted in a piece by Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. “What has he done? Injuries were not his fault. Why would he go? He has not done anything. He’s not responsible for the injuries. He did his best with the team he had. Would [another] coach do better with a team with so many injuries? What could he possibly do about it? The team is with him. You can’t blame him for what has happened.”
- Chris Paul has never led a team beyond the second round of the playoffs and although the star point guard has never received much backlash for his lack of postseason success, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders opines that if Paul fails to get far this postseason, his name won’t be associated with the transformation of the Clippers.
Jazz, Joe Ingles Mutually Interested In New Deal
There is mutual interest between Joe Ingles and the Jazz in the player returning to Utah next season, Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. The 27-year-old can become a restricted free agent this summer if Utah extends him a qualifying offer worth $1,045,059. This would allow the Jazz to match any offer sheets the forward was to receive this offseason. Ingles is ineligible to ink an extension since his current deal was for a single season, and extensions are only for contracts that cover four or more years. The Jazz hold Ingles’ Non-Bird rights, which means they will only be able to offer the forward 20% above the minimum unless they utilize cap space or another exception.
Ingles arrived in Utah back in October after being released by the Clippers and claimed off of waivers. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey was very complimentary of the Australian, telling Monson, “He’s exceeded our expectations as a teammate and a competitor. He’s an NBA player. He’s proved that this year. Hopefully, his experience has been good enough that he’ll consider us when the time comes.”
The appreciation isn’t one-sided, with Ingles proclaiming himself a fan of the organization. “Being here has been one of the best experiences I’ve had in basketball,” said Ingles. “It’s been great. The guys are unselfish and fun and I’ve had a great time. I love Utah and I’d like to come back. I feel like I’ve found the enjoyment of playing the game again here. Last year, at Maccabi Tel Aviv, was good. This has taken it to another level. I’d love to …”
In 78 appearances for the Jazz this season, including 31 as a starter, Ingles is averaging 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 21.2 minutes per night. His slash line is .422/.362/.750.
Pacific Notes: Cousins, Boozer, Hawes
The Kings have a budding superstar in DeMarcus Cousins, but coach George Karl admits that no one on Sacramento’s roster would be off-limits for the right trade, as Bill Herenda of CSNBayArea.com relays. Obviously, the Kings aren’t looking to trade their best player, but Karl’s comments jibe with what a person familiar with the coach’s thinking told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck in February about Sacramento’s willingness to make deals.
“I’ve had some great players and I’ve never had one player that I have said is untradeable,” Karl said, as Herenda notes. “You always got to be ready for the possibility of a great trade that could come your way. I know I respect him [Cousins] a tremendous amount … I think our give and take and our communication has been almost on a daily basis … until we can really get to a special place together, I think we’ve got to continue to communicate, what he wants and what I want.”
With the offseason beginning in two days for Sacramento, there’s more on the Kings amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com has begun hearing more speculation about Cousins trades among sources, but Bruski cautions that there’s nothing concrete or in the works (Twitter links).
- Carlos Boozer moved to the bench about a month into the regular season and he hasn’t been the sort of contributor the Lakers imagined when they claimed him off amnesty waivers this summer, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Coach Byron Scott is nonetheless pleased with the way he “hasn’t rocked the boat” since his benching, Medina notes, adding that it nonetheless seems unlikely that the power forward, a free agent this summer, will return.
- Spencer Hawes admits he isn’t having the sort of season he envisioned when he joined the Clippers on a four-year deal for the full value of the mid-level exception this past summer, observes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s been bad,” he said of his performance. “There’s no other way to put it. You just can’t let it defeat you when you go through the low stretches.”
DeMarre Carroll Interested In Knicks
Soon-to-be free agent forward DeMarre Carroll acknowledged interest in the Knicks and hinted that he wouldn’t mind signing with the Lakers or Clippers, either, in a response to a question about whether he would give a great deal of consideration to the Knicks, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The sixth-year veteran who turns 29 in July has blossomed while on a two-year, $5MM contract with the Hawks that expires at season’s end.
“Most definitely,” Carroll said. “When guys talk about playing in certain places — they talk about Madison Square Garden and Staples Center. Those two places. New York has a lot to offer but at the end of the season, I’ll let my agent do that. We’ll keep our options and hopefully it will work out for the best.’’
Knicks coach Derek Fisher likes Carroll, and his defense in particular, a source tells Berman. Carroll is a proficient rebounder, grabbing 5.4 per game this season, but his defense is a minus, according to both ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus and Basketball-Reference’s Box Plus/Minus. Those metrics show him as a better offensive player, and he’s transformed his attack in Atlanta, shooting nearly six times as many three-pointers the past two seasons as the rest of his NBA career put together. He’s made 39.6% of his shots from behind the arc this year and is averaging a career-high 12.7 points per game.
Berman figures the Mark Bartelstein client will command a starting salary around $5MM, but Grantland’s Zach Lowe would be surprised if he doesn’t see more than that (Twitter link). Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal speculates that Carroll’s in line for $6MM salaries (Twitter link). In any case, it would seem he’s due a significant raise on the more than $2.442MM he’s making this season. The Hawks only have Carroll’s Early Bird rights, so unless they use cap space, they’d be limited to a starting salary of a figure that will likely come in just shy of $6MM when the league’s average salary is computed during the July Moratorium. Still, Atlanta, just like the Knicks and Lakers, is in line to open a significant amount of cap room this summer, depending in large measure on what happens with Carroll and Paul Millsap. The Clippers are unlikely to have the sort of cap flexibility it would take to land Carroll.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote more than a month ago that it appeared the Hawks were looking for an upgrade at small forward, where Carroll plays. Still, it would be tough to envision the Hawks not having at least some interest in re-signing a player who has found his niche within their system. The team on Monday awarded Carroll the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy for his work as a community ambassador, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, so clearly the club is high on his character.
Pacific Notes: Karl, Barnes, Lakers
Magic Johnson casts a shadow over the Lakers organization even though he’s no longer a part of it in any way, having sold his minority ownership share, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding examines. Johnson doesn’t have a relationship with any of the members of the Buss family who control the franchise aside from Jeanie, the team’s Board of Governors representative, with whom he remains close, according to Ding. The Busses have always insisted that the team isn’t for sale, but Johnson would be a prime candidate to front a bid for the Lakers if they ever became available, Ding writes. There’s more on the Lakers amid our look around the Pacific Division:
- George Karl admits he has a great degree of fondness for his former players on the Nuggets, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck heard in February that Karl would love for the Kings to acquire Ty Lawson or any of the players he coached on the 2012/13 Nuggets, his last NBA team, but it’s uncertain how much influence, if any, Karl has under new basketball operations chief Vlade Divac.
- Defense, leadership and career-best 36.7% three-point shooting this year are the hallmarks of what’s been perhaps Matt Barnes‘ best NBA season, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times details. The timing is fortuitous for the Clippers small forward, whose salary of almost $3.543MM for next season is only guaranteed for $1MM.
- Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com examines the conundrum the Lakers face as Rajon Rondo looms as a likely free agent target while incumbent point guard Jordan Clarkson exceeds expectations.
Western Notes: Hudson, Anderson, Kanter
The Clippers’ decision to re-sign Lester Hudson came down to what the guard brought on the defense end, writes Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “I liked his toughness,” President of Basketball Operations and coach Doc Rivers said. “I like his defense. He has a chance to be a really good defensive player in our program.” Rivers also said that Hudson and Nate Robinson were both options for the roster spot and he added that he didn’t believe Robinson was 100% healthy.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Spurs have recalled forward Kyle Anderson from their D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. To date, Anderson has appeared in 31 games for San Antonio, averaging 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
- Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders wonders if the Thunder should re-sign Enes Kanter. Blancarte cites Kanter’s defensive struggles as reason Oklahoma City should hesitate to offer the center a lucrative contract.
- DeAndre Jordan has had an impressive season and the center believes coach Doc Rivers was an integral part of his success, as he tells Jim Rome of CBS Sports Radio. “So much respect, so much respect,” Jordan said of Rivers. “He’s helped me out so much, he really believes in each and every one of us 150 % and when you have a guy like that who believes in you and really thinks you can get it done and knows you can get it done, your confidence is so high you will run through a brick wall for a guy like that.” Last month, Will Joseph of Hoops Rumors examined the market for Jordan, who will become a free agent at the end of the season.
Clippers Sign Lester Hudson To Multiyear Deal
6:32pm: Hudson’s contract includes a partial guarantee for next season, according to Ben Bolch of Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
5:41pm: The signing, which is a multi-year arrangement, is official, according to the team’s website. Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles (Twitter link) reports the contract contains a team option for next season. Next season’s salary is most likely non-guaranteed, since true team options are rare.
5:13pm: The Clippers will sign Lester Hudson on Saturday for the rest of the season, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register tweets. Hudson will fill the team’s open roster spot through the postseason since 10-day contracts are no longer allowed. By signing Hudson, the Clippers have apparently decided not to re-sign Nate Robinson.
The Clippers wanted to re-sign Robinson but the bone bruise in his left knee hasn’t fully healed and they didn’t want to wait any longer, according to a tweet from Arash Markazi of ESPN.com. Concerns over Robinson’s injury kept the Clippers from re-signing him after his two 10-day contracts expired last month. The team signed Hudson while Robinson was injured and Hudson’s 10-day deal was set to expire after Tuesday. Hudson is averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.3 minutes in three games since joining the club.
Hudson had been out of the NBA since 2012 before he inked his 10-day contract. Robinson averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 assists and 0.9 turnovers in 14.0 minutes per game during his nine contests with the Clips. Both played for Rivers when he was the coach of the Celtics.
Latest On Clips, Nate Robinson, Lester Hudson
3:11pm: Robinson’s knee, a factor when the Clippers didn’t re-sign him earlier, is better, but it still isn’t 100%, tweets Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
FRIDAY, 1:31pm: The team will fill its open roster spot before season’s end, Rivers said, and the move is likely to take place this weekend, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Robinson and Hudson are both in the running to re-sign, Markazi adds (Twitter links).
MONDAY, 3:37pm: The Clippers and Nate Robinson plan to talk this week about a deal that would cover the rest of the season and the playoffs, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The sore left knee that kept the Clippers from inking him right after his second 10-day contract with the team expired last month has healed, Charania hears. The team signed Lester Hudson into its lone open roster spot while Robinson was hurt, but Hudson’s 10-day deal is up after Tuesday.
The decision regarding whether to give that roster spot to Robinson or Hudson for the playoffs has been dependent in part on Hudson’s performance, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com suggested, but coach/executive Doc Rivers was complimentary of Robinson. Hudson, who had been out of the NBA since 2012 before he inked his 10-day contract, has seven points on 2 for 8 shooting with two assists and two turnovers in 34 total minutes across three games. Robinson averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 assists and 0.9 turnovers in 14.0 minutes per game during his nine contests with the Clips. Both played for Rivers when he was the coach of the Celtics.
The Clips are in less need of backcourt help now that Jamal Crawford is probable for Tuesday’s game, just a few weeks after Rivers expressed worry that he would be out for the season. Still, it seems likely the club will give the roster spot to someone just in case for the playoffs, since a prorated minimum salary deal for the balance of the season would cost the team less than $50K if it’s signed after Hudson’s 10-day deal expires.
Pacific Notes: Bogut, Green, Suns, Lakers
Trading for Andrew Bogut in 2012 was a turning point for the Warriors, who clinched the league’s best record Thursday, writes USA Today’s Sam Amick. Bogut, who signed a rare veteran extension in 2013, credits the owners and GM Bob Myers for reviving a team that was “in shambles” upon his arrival. That certainly makes it easier to stomach paying the 15% bonus that Bogut appears poised to trigger. There’s more on the Warriors amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- It’s been a “fitful” season for the Suns, as president of basketball operations Lon Babby puts it, and he acknowledges that the team’s deadline trades were made with the long term in mind and compromised the team this season, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Babby also said he continues to support GM Ryan McDonough and coach Jeff Hornacek.
- Myers makes it clear in a long piece from Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams that the Warriors are thinking of soon-to-be restricted free agent Draymond Green as a part of the team beyond the end of his contract this summer. “We really like him,” Myers said. “We believe he’s a core member of our team and we believe he’s a big part of our future.”
- Management, and not Kobe Bryant, is to blame for the inability of the Lakers to attract marquee free agents the past two summers, as Matt Barnes opines to Chris Ballard of SI.com. Barnes spent 2010/11 and 2011/12 with the Lakers before moving on to the Clippers. A report in October cited agents and team sources who said Bryant was driving free agents away from the Lakers.
Protected 2015 Second-Rounders Up For Grabs
The regular season ends a week from Wednesday, and by now most of the playoff spots and non-lottery draft order have been decided. A team’s place in the draft order can mean a lot when there are protections attached to a pick that’s been sent out in a trade. There are two first-round picks that could change hands or stay put based on the final days of the regular season, as we chronicled last week, and there are also second-round picks still up in the air. The protection clauses attached to some of them are complex, so we’ll dive in and analyze each of the three cases individually:
- The Clippers owe their second-round pick to the Lakers if it falls from No. 51 through 55 and the Nuggets if it’s 56th through 60th. The Clips can’t finish with a record outside of the top 10 in the league, which they’d need to do to keep the pick. Still, whether it goes to the Lakers or the Nuggets is anybody’s guess. It would go to the Nuggets as it stands, but the Clippers are only a half-game better than the Spurs, with the Blazers and Cavs right behind them. So if any of those teams passes the Clippers, the pick goes to the Lakers.
- The Wizards owe their pick to the Celtics, but only if it falls from No. 50 to No. 60. Washington would pick 49th if the season ended today, but the Raptors are only one game better, and the Mavericks and Bulls are tied at one game above Toronto. So, while the Wizards could improve their playoff seeding, it could cost them their second-rounder. Washington’s obligation to the Celtics would end if the pick doesn’t convey this year, so it all comes down to the final games of the season.
- The Trail Blazers and Bulls will be giving up their second-rounders this year, but the teams that get those respective picks could switch places. The Magic get whichever pick is better, and the Cavaliers get the other one. Chances are that Chicago’s pick will be going to Orlando and Portland’s to Cleveland, since the Blazers have a four and a half game lead on Chicago. Still, the Bulls aren’t mathematically eliminated from passing the Blazers just yet.
RealGM was used in the creation of this post.