Poll: Which Team Is A New Title Contender?
It's Thanksgiving Day, and based on the first month of action in the NBA, fans of some teams have more reason to be thankful than others. Supporters of the Grizzlies, Knicks, and Clippers, for instance, have to be pleased with the way the season has started.
Heading into the year, the general consensus suggested that the Heat, Celtics, Thunder, Lakers, and Spurs were the big five title contenders. However, a few weeks into the season, that group of legit contenders isn't quite so clear-cut.
The Grizzlies enjoyed an early eight-game winning streak that included victories over the Heat, Knicks, and Thunder. The Knicks knocked off the Heat as well, and beat the Spurs in San Antonio en route to an 8-2 start. And the Clippers' season has already featured two wins over the Spurs, along with victories against the Heat, Lakers, and the aforementioned Grizzlies.
All three clubs have looked better than expected so far, but are you ready to include them in that group of elite teams that have a chance at a championship? Weigh in below with your thoughts.
Which team has the best chance to contend for a title this season?
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Los Angeles Clippers 28% (223)
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Memphis Grizzlies 28% (223)
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New York Knicks 27% (210)
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None of them are legit title contenders 17% (130)
Total votes: 786
Teams With Hard Caps
The Chicago Bulls' cap situation has been under the spotlight since July, with the team's hard cap preventing them from adding another player prior to the season. The Bulls' inflexibility makes them the most-discussed hard-capped club, but Chicago isn't the only team that faces that situation. Any club that committed more than $3.09MM in mid-level money to a player's 2012/13 salary has to deal with a hard cap as well.
In some cases, that hard cap will make no difference. A team like the Hawks, for instance, has more than $7MM in breathing room before they approach the $74,307,000 cap. As such, their flexibility shouldn't be handicapped as the trade deadline nears.
A few contenders though, such as the Celtics, are close enough to the hard cap that it'll be a factor they'll need to consider before making trades or signings later on in the season. While minimum-salary signings are still feasible, trades that involve taking on salary may be a no-go.
Here's the complete list of clubs whose team salary can't exceed $74,307,000 at any time this season, along with their current team salaries (per ShamSports):
- Bulls: $73,548,398
- Celtics: $71,918,029
- Warriors: $71,155,896
- Clippers: $69,866,604
- Spurs: $69,157,865
- Hawks: $66,537,025
Odds & Ends: Redick, Kapono, Brand, Grizzlies
The Wizards will be looking to win their first game of the season tonight, while the Spurs and Grizzlies will aim to be the first teams to nine wins. As we await the evening's seven-game slate, let's check out a few odds and ends from around the NBA:
- J.J. Redick is on an expiring contract and there's been speculation that he's a candidate to be traded, but if it were up to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic would keep Redick and re-sign him at season's end.
- Jason Kapono and Greek team Panathinaikos finalized a contract agreement last week, but the deal may have hit a sang after complications with Kapono's wife's pregnancy, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. The two sides are in constant contact to determine whether Kapono will be able to travel to Greece this week, but there's a chance the contract could be voided.
- Speaking to Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld, Elton Brand talked about the 76ers' decision to amnesty him this summer, noting that the team informed him of its intentions early on and that there are no hard feelings there.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio talked to Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace about putting together a team that's off to the best start in the NBA this year.
- Current Knicks GM Glen Grunwald acquired Tyson Chandler and a number of other players during the last two offseasons, but Donnie Walsh deserves plenty of credit too for the Knicks' turnaround, considering the moves he made before Grunwald took over, says George Willis of the New York Post.
- After all the offseason additions the team made, the Clippers will now have to figure out how to balance minutes and egos, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if Juan Dixon will be the latest NBA veteran to use the D-League as a means of auditioning for NBA clubs.
Pacific Links: Bledsoe, Kupchak, West
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times focuses on Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe's efforts to develop into a true NBA point guard. With the help of assistant coach Robert Pack and the mentorship of both NBA veterans Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul, the third-year reserve has a prime opportunity to redefine his game as he continues to adjust to the position after being drafted as a two-guard from Kentucky in 2010. Nonetheless, Bledsoe has been playing well to start this season, producing 10.6 PPG, 1.5 steals per game, and shooting 49% from the field, compared to his career averages of 5.9 PPG, 1.0 SPG, and 42.4% overall. Interestingly enough, he is only averaging 18.7 MPG this year with increased production, which is nearly 4 minutes less than what he averaged as a rookie in 2010-11. There have been several links to arrive out of the Pacific Division tonight, and you can find a roundup of them here:
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak admits that there was a "real good chance statistically" of Phil Jackson returning as head coach at one point, but also became wary of complying with the daunting public support as opposed to making a decision that felt right for the team. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times discusses how team brass did not want to let outside pressure dictate their decision-making during their head coaching search.
- NBA legend Jerry West offered his thoughts on the team, saying that he sees some flaws and isn't sure yet if Mike D'Antoni is the right coach to lead them to a championship (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
- Warriors coach Mark Jackson isn't concerned about the early shooting woes of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry at this point during the season, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
- The full transcript of D'Antoni's press conference from this afternoon, courtesy of Trevor Wong from Lakers.com.
Odds & Ends: Lin, Crawford, Heat, Cavaliers
As the Pistons and Wizards hit the road in search of their first wins of the season, let's round up the latest odds and ends from around the NBA:
- After his time with the Knicks came to an unexpected and disappointing end, Jeremy Lin is building a better relationship with the Rockets, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes.
- When he was navigating free agency this summer, Jamal Crawford was advised to take his time and consider all his options. But, as he tells Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Crawford had his eye on the Clippers from the start: "When I came here, I don’t know if I should say this or not, but they told me I was their first option at lunch. And I told them at the same lunch that they were my first option. My agent didn’t want me to say that, but I was just being honest and we made it happen."
- In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman fields questions on the possibility of the Heat signing Kenyon Martin and trading Mike Miller.
- If the Cavaliers hope to contend for the playoffs this season, they may need to trade for outside bench help at some point, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- Yesterday's trade between the Bobcats and Hornets that sent Matt Carroll to New Orleans wasn't overlooked in Dallas by the Mavericks, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.
- Within his NBA AM piece at HoopsWorld, Lang Greene speaks to Ian Mahinmi about the sign-and-trade deal that sent him from the Mavericks to the Pacers.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com discussed the Lakers, Royce White, the 2013 draft, and plenty more in a chat with fans earlier this afternoon.
Western Notes: Rockets, Lakers, Clippers, Harden
When Hoops Rumors unveiled its predictions for this season, all of us picked either the Lakers, Thunder or Spurs to come out of the Western Conference, and tonight two of those teams clash as the Spurs look to down the Lakers and run their early-season record to 2-0 against other Western contenders. The Spurs were a conference-best 6-1 coming into tonight, their only blemish a loss to the Clippers, who would love to leapfrog their L.A. rivals into the contending group. Here's the latest on the Tinseltown rivalry and other items out of the West.
- Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald lays the blame for Royce White's latest absence on Rockets executives, tweeting that the team is led by "a bush league front office without a soul."
- The notion that Phil Jackson will wind up with the Clippers is a "conspiracy theory you can expect to now hear a zillion times this season," tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the rise of the Clippers played a role in the Lakers' decision to fire Mike Brown.
- Rockets owner Leslie Alexander hopes new star James Harden will attract others to Houston, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I know it helps," Alexander said. "Even in the brief time I’ve been around him, he always talks, I just spoke to that guy, I just spoke to that guy. He speaks to a lot of major players in the league. It’s a big plus. How big, you really don’t know.”
- Perry Jones III admits he isn't as comfortable now as he was in the preseason, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks isn't alarmed by the rookie's subpar performance in his limited regular season minutes, as The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry chronicles.
- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is "very pleased" with what he's seen out of recent signee Troy Murphy so far, observes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Odds & Ends: Bucks, Revenues, Colangelo, Rose
The Bucks sit atop the Central Division two weeks into the season, and with the Bulls missing Derrick Rose and the Pacers without Danny Granger, there's a chance they might stay in first place for a while. Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis can become free agents next summer, but they're off to a strong start in their first full season as teammates, observes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Nonetheless, Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group predicts Ellis won't be with the Bucks next year (Twitter link). While we wait to see how Milwaukee's situation plays out, there's news on Rose and others on a six-game night in the Association.
- Commissioner David Stern said the league is projecting it will rake in a record $5 billion of revenue this season, a 20% jump from 2010/11, the NBA's last full season, writes Ronald Blum of The Associated Press (via the Minneapolis Star Tribune).
- Jerry Colangelo has been re-elected as chairman of USA Basketball's board of directors through 2016, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Chauncey Billups will also join the board as an athlete representative.
- In the same piece, Zillgitt notes that Colangelo said there's no rush to name a coach to replace the outgoing Mike Krzyzewski.
- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau expects Rose to return at some point this season, writes Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reiterates a point he's made before, suggesting the Raptors ought to trade Andrea Bargnani to bolster a position of weakness.
- Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside passes along details on this season's D-League showcase, which is set to take place in early January 2013.
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker are playing like legitimate building blocks for the 3-3 Bobcats, as Jim Cavan of The New York Times chronicles.
Odds & Ends: Bynum, Rose, Clippers, Jackson
The Sixers will have to wait at least a few more weeks to see the debut of Andrew Bynum in red, white, and blue. The big man is still waiting on his right knee to heal up and isn't expected to be cleared for basketball activity until December 10th. That will put Bynum on track for a return in the weeks that follow, which could mean that he'll be out of commission for the remainder of the calendar year. Some might wonder if Bynum is being extra cautious in his walk year, but he shot that notion down earlier tonight, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Newspapers. Here's more from around the Association, including other non-Lakers items..
- Speaking of injured stars, Bulls guard Derrick Rose has started cutting again as he rehabs a torn ACL in his left knee, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is encouraged by the development but stressed that Rose isn't necessarily ahead of schedule but rather right where he should be in his recovery.
- The Clippers' new found depth is allowing them to rest their stars more this season, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Forward Blake Griffin is extremely appreciative of the strengthened bench and says that he will be benefitting from the reduced minutes.
- Reality is sinking in for the Lakers now that they know Phil Jackson won't be their coach (again), writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Odds & Ends: Odom, Duncan, Johnson, Blazers
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday evening:
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers still aren't sure what contributions they can expect from Lamar Odom this season.
- Tim Duncan is playing like an MVP candidate this season, says Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News.
- David D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledges examines Nets guard Joe Johnson's slow start to the season.
- The Trail Blazers have the least productive bench in the league so far, but Chris Haynes of CSNNW.comthinks the team should give their young reserves more playing time so they can develop and improve.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that the Knicks' J.R. Smith is an early candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has a new mailbag covering various Celtics topics.
- Barry Tramel of the Oklahoman is impressed with new Thunder guard Kevin Martin.
Pacific Notes: Fredette, Kapono, Jackson, Brown
- Kings guard Jimmer Fredette says he "definitely" isn't asking to be traded, and team basketball president Geoff Petrie said he's still in the Kings' plans, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. "I'm torn up because this young man is doing everything he can and not able to get on the floor," coach Keith Smart said. "I've just got to look at it because his efficiency ratings are starting to move up when he's on the floor and he's been a positive. So I've got to try to get him on the floor more."
- Jason Kapono, who last saw NBA action with the Lakers in 2011/12, is discussing a deal with Greek club Panathinaikos for this year, the Greek website Sport-FM reports (translation via Sportando). Kapono could wind up replacing Hilton Armstrong, whom the team wants to release, according to the report.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post asserts that the Lakers would be better off with Phil Jackson coaching them, but they're too talented not to win the Western Conference no matter who the coach is.
- Mike Brown's shortcomings as coach of the Lakers were the same problems that hung over him when he was with the Cavs, observes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- Brown couldn't get the Lakers to buy into his message, but Jackson would command the team's attention, opines Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer lists the rise of the Clippers as one reason Brown is out of a job.