Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Lakers, Clippers
We've heard plenty from the Warriors the last several hours, including official announcements of the Brandon Rush and Carl Landry signings, as well as an update on the team's plans for an arena in San Francisco. GM Bob Myers wouldn't promise a playoff berth, as coach Mark Jackson did last year, but said he thinks the team has a better chance of making it to the postseason this time around, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (Sulia link). Rush, for one, will come into camp with plenty of confidence. Despite competition from Richard Jefferson and rookie Harrison Barnes, Rush told reporters he intends to be the starter at small forward, as CSNBayArea notes. There's more from by the Bay to pass along this evening, as well as items on the teams from Southern California:
- Myers gave mixed messages about whether the Warriors are done dealing, saying, "We made our moves and are content with our roster," but also, "We have flexibility. We can go deeper into the tax if we want. Or we can find ways to get out. We’ll keep our eye on that," as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News group documents (Twitter links). Thompson, recapping the busy day for the Warriors, believes the latter quote from Myers indicates the team will look to dump salary come February if it's struggling.
- At the bottom of a piece that further examines last week's news that Andrew Bynum's agent is denying he and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak have talked about an extension for his client, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times says the Lakers are pursuing backcourt help. The team reportedly has serious interest in swingman C.J. Miles.
- Eric Patten of Clippers.com takes a look at the wealth of experience the Clippers' new additions bring to the team's bench.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Redd, Warriors
As we wait for basketball action to resume at the London Olympics, let's round up a few of Wednesday's stories out of the Pacific Division….
- Magic Johnson weighed in on the Lakers' offseason moves yesterday, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. Johnson praised the Lakers' acquisitions of Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison, but said the team could still use a shooter.
- Michael Redd, who spent 2011/12 with the Suns, is taking his time and weighing his options in free agency, agent Kevin Poston tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link). According to Tomasson, after showing interest in Redd earlier, the Suns and Bulls appear to have backed off for now.
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News confirms that the Warriors' recent roster moves put them about $400K over the luxury tax threshold. Golden State could trade a player before season's end to dip back under the tax line, but team co-owner Joe Lacob tells Kawakami that he's "prepared to spend money to win."
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com passes along a few comments from Warriors president Rick Welts on plans for the club's proposed San Francisco arena.
Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady
The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
- In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
- When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).
C.J. Miles Drawing Serious Interest From Lakers
In a string of tweets, Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune says that unrestricted free agent C.J. Miles has drawn serious interest from the Lakers and that they currently have the edge among other teams that Miles is strongly considering. The 6'6 guard/forward played in 56 games for the Jazz last season, averaging 9.1 PPG on 38.1% shooting from the field and 30.7% from long range in 20.4 MPG.
According to Smith, the Lakers are offering a one or two-year deal for the mini-mid level exception and that Miles could finalize his decision within the next two or three days.
Extension Candidate: Andrew Bynum
It's impossible to discuss trade rumors involving Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum without noting that both players have just one year remaining on their contracts, and will be eligible for free agency next summer. Typically, when we hear about potential new destinations for either star center, we hear that any team acquiring either player would want a long-term commitment before making a deal.
As we've written many times, star players like Howard and Chris Paul are extremely unlikely to sign in-season extensions, since they'd only be able to add three new years rather than the five they could sign for in free agency. But there are certain instances when signing an extension could make more sense for a star player than signing a free agent contract. And as Larry Coon writes in an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Bynum may be one player that fits that bill.
If Bynum were to wait until next summer to sign a five-year contract, it would mean the following:
- He would have to stay relatively healthy this season to avoid hurting his stock, something he hasn't always been able to do.
- His maximum first-year salary for 2013/14 would be $17,733,450, 105% of his 2012/13 salary.
- He would become a free agent again in the summer of 2018, at age 30.
None of those factors on their own should scare Bynum off of waiting until next summer to sign a new contract, but as Coon explains, there are alternatives that could better suit the 24-year-old. If he were to sign an extension immediately, for instance, he'd eliminate the potential injury risk involved in playing out the season.
Coon proposes that Bynum's best bet may be signing a three-year extension with a player option for the final season. In that case, the Lakers center could hit free agency in the summer of 2015, at age 27, when he has ten years of NBA experience. This would allow for the following:
- By signing a five-year deal in 2015 (or 2016), Bynum could ensure he's locked into a long-term contract before the league or players' union has the opportunity to opt out of the current CBA in 2017. A new CBA could potentially be less favorable for maximum-salary players.
- Because Bynum would be a 10-year veteran in 2015, signing at that point would allow him to earn a first-year salary worth the maximum salary for players with 10+ years of experience, which will almost certainly be higher than the $20,393,468 he'd earn in that season if he were to sign a five-year deal in 2013.
- Signing a five-year deal in 2015 and including a player option for the last season would allow Bynum to opt out in 2019 and perhaps sign one last long-term contract at age 31. As Coon notes, due to the over-36 rule, players who are older than 31 can't sign full five-year deals, so age 31 represents the last opportunity for a maximum payday.
For Bynum, there are pros and cons to signing an extension in the near future, and it's certainly not out of the question that he'll decide he's better off waiting until next summer to ink a five-year max deal that would pay him over $100MM. But whereas it makes little sense for players like Howard and Paul to agree to extensions, there are reasons to believe it could be in Bynum's best interests.
So when we hear that Bynum and the Lakers could be discussing a potential contract extension, don't assume it's a bluff to accelerate Howard trade talks with the Magic. If they don't believe they'll land Howard, locking up Bynum for three more years is the best move the Lakers could make, and it might just be Bynum's best move too.
Southeast Notes: Bobcats, Wizards, Meeks, Jardine
Earlier today we learned that the Bobcats missed out on free agent forward Carl Landry, whom they've been eyeing for quite some time. Ultimately, the player regarded as the best remaining free agent decided to ink a two-year, $8MM deal with the Warriors. A sign-and-trade with the Hornets was a rumored possibility but that proved to be difficult after the club renounced his rights. More from the Southeast division..
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter) says there is no telling if the Bobcats will bring in another power forward after missing out on Landry. It's possible that Charlotte will stand pat and instead go with the bigs that they already have. That strategy would mean that the club is betting heavily on Tyrus Thomas bouncing back after he averaged 5.6 PPG last season.
- The Wizards, along with the Lakers and Bucks, are among the frontrunners for free agent Jodie Meeks, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. “There are five or six teams, but those three are at the forefront right now because I’ve been talking to them the most," said the soon-to-be 25-year-old. Kennedy adds that Meeks seems likely to sign this week.
- Scoop Jardine, who broke his right foot three days before the draft, will likely receive an invitation to training camp with the Bobcats, a source told John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The guard was hardly a lock to be drafted before the injury but was said to have impressed the Sixers.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Warriors, Howard
The famed "Princeton Offense" has powered a number of NBA teams, most notably Mike Bibby's Kings and Jason Kidd's Nets, in recent years, and Kobe Bryant is now pushing for the Lakers to use it this season, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Bryant hopes that it will help create space for him on the floor by keeping defenses honest. "There's so many threats, so many options, it's very tough to defend. Against the type of defenses that teams play nowadays, they load up on one side and are constantly coming with help from the weak side. The Princeton offense makes it very, very tough to lock in on one particular player," Bryant said. Here's more on the Lakers other items out of the Pacific..
- Jordan Hill's contract with the Lakers will pay him $3.5MM in each of the next two seasons, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter). The big man's deal was initially reported to be in the neighborhood of $8MM.
- Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter) estimates that the Warriors have about $3.15MM below the tax line to sign Brandon Rush if the first year of Draymond Green's deal is pegged at $800K. Green agreed to a three-year, $2.6MM contract with the final year ($900K) partially guaranteed, but the exact breakdown is not known.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com explains why he believes the Lakers should continue their pursuit of Dwight Howard. Lakers fans by-and-large seem to be sick of the prolonged "Dwightmare" but Kamenetzky argues that from a basketball standpoint, there's no reason to close the door on the deal.
- Suns forward Jared Dudley (via Twitter) watched Jermaine O'Neal work out and insists that the free agent will get signed if he has the chance to audition for an NBA team. Recently, we learned that the Bucks had an eye on the veteran.
Raja Bell Close To Buyout With Jazz
JULY 30: Bell's buyout with the Jazz hasn't been finalized and there's a holdup in negotiations, a league source tells Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). Utah would like to sign off on Bell's buyout and move on from last season's drama while Bell's camp has yet to agree to the terms, Smith tweets.
JULY 8: Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets that Raja Bell is on the verge of a buyout with the Jazz. The 6'5'' shooting guard averaged 6.4 PPG and shot 39.1% from three point range in 34 games last season. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via Twitter) says that Bell could be interested in returning to his hometown to play for the Heat. The Lakers could also be a possibility, as the 35-year-old guard would be reunited with former-Suns teammate Steve Nash.
Smith also mentions that Bell holds no ill-will toward the Jazz and greatly respects GM Kevin O'Connor. The 12-year-veteran elaborated further on his current situation with Smith (Sulia link):
"We typically play it pretty close to the vest. [Agent] Herb [Rudoy] and I are pretty private. But, in essence, [I'm] pretty much a free agent. I don't think the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed. But we've been given the greenlight by Utah to go ahead and find something that works for us. We've agreed to the terms. So I think it's safe to say now we are in the market again and we're entertaining our options at this point."
During the summer of 2010, Bell signed with Utah despite heavy interest from the Bulls and Lakers. In May of this year, we documented Bell's intentions of moving on from the Jazz and recalled the tension brewing between him and head coach Tyrone Corbin over the course of the season. Although Utah made the playoffs this year, Raja did not play in any of team's postseason games.
Mayberry On Howard, Thunder, Lakers
As the Dwight Howard saga drags on, Lakers, Rockets, and Mavericks have emerged as the teams with the best chances of landing the superstar center from the Magic. The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry has posted two new columns on Howard's future:
- In the first column, Mayberry writes that landing Howard would be contradictory to the Thunder's long-term plans.
- In the second column, Mayberry argues that Howard ending up in Los Angeles will be bad for Oklahoma City's title chances in the next several years.
Amico On Latest Dwight Howard Rumors
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio has the latest news and rumors on Dwight Howard as the saga drags on with the calendar set to turn to August on Wednesday. Here are the highlights…
- Several sources told FOX Sports Ohio that Howard may be moved by the end of the week now that the Magic have named a head coach. The team presumably wants to create a less chaotic atmosphere for Jacque Vaughn, who was hired on Saturday after spending time coaching in the Spurs organization. The trade partners in a potential Howard deal remain the same as Orlando is expected to once again reach out to the Lakers, Cavs and Rockets.
- Andrew Bynum would still be the major piece in a deal with Los Angeles as sources close to the Lakers big man state that Bynum may be open to a trade. The issue with Bynum is that like Howard, he will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2012/13 season. It would seemingly be foolish for the Magic to acquire Bynum without first getting a pulse on whether he would sign a long-term deal with the team.
- While the Magic will attempt to move Howard before the season starts, some sources say that the team may wait until the February trade deadline to move the All-Star center. A deal halfway through the season would probably net Orlando a lesser package than it would receive now, but more trade partners may come to fruition and provide the Magic with a variety of options.