Central Notes: Middleton, Lue, Carter-Williams
The Bucks turned down a proposed trade deadline swap with the Timberwolves that would have sent Khris Middleton to Minnesota and brought point guard Ricky Rubio to Milwaukee, a deal the team was wise to nix, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com opines. The scribe cites Middleton’s versatility, solid production and reasonable contract as reason why the Bucks were smart to hold onto the swingman. The Wolves even offered to sweeten the deal with the inclusion of a protected 2016 first-round pick, but the Bucks, who never seriously entertained trading Middleton, declined that offer as well, Lowe notes. The Bucks did submit a counterproposal to the Wolves, offering Michael Carter-Williams in exchange for Rubio, a swap that Minnesota quickly shot down, Lowe adds.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers have gone 12-6 thus far under Tyronn Lue and despite a few bumps along the way, LeBron James is pleased with the job the new coach has done since replacing the fired David Blatt, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. “I think he’s done a great job,” James said of Lue. “He’s even-keel as well. He just wants us to get better every single day and not waste an opportunity. Continue to focus on what needs to be done, the job at hand, and if we do that we’re going to give ourselves a great chance to win. He gets on us when we’re not doing our job and when we’re not doing it to the capabilities that we’re capable of doing it at, so that’s when he’s on us. And he stays on us.”
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy openly expressed his appreciation of the Spurs and how that franchise is able to maintain a championship-caliber roster while not running afoul of the salary cap, David Mayo of MLive.com relays. “There’s no question when you don’t have to pay guys market value it’s pretty easy to build depth,” Van Gundy said. “The salary cap is hard on most of us trying to build depth. But with them, when they’ve got Tim Duncan playing below market value, Tony Parker playing below market value, Manu Ginobili playing below market value, David West playing below market value, when those guys all give up money, well, then it’s easy to add other people and allow you to go out and do what you need to do to build depth. They’ve done a great job of that.“
Financial Impact Of Deadline, Buyouts: Central
The effects of the trade deadline and buyout season are still being felt around the NBA as teams negotiate with new free agents and fill open roster spots. Hoops Rumors will be taking a team-by-team look at the financial ramifications of all the movement. We began earlier with a look at the Southwest and Pacific divisions, and we’ll continue with the Central Division:
Bucks
The trade deadline is usually the last opportunity for disappointing teams like the Bucks to lower their payrolls, but Milwaukee still managed to cut costs even without making a swap, thanks to some help from the Magic. The Bucks were in position to end up adding to their salary obligations when they waived Chris Copeland to sign Steve Novak to a prorated minimum-salary deal, but when the Magic claimed Copeland off waivers, the full $1.15MM salary on Copeland’s one-year contract went from Milwaukee’s books to Orlando’s. That left the Bucks with only their $295,327 obligation to Novak, and it takes some of the sting away from having lost Novak for the rest of the season when he suffered a sprained MCL just days into his Milwaukee tenure.
Bulls
The Bulls made a trade for the first time since July 2014, and in so doing they created a credit that will help them make another swap come the summer. Chicago wound up with a trade exception worth $2,854,940, the equivalent of Kirk Hinrich‘s pretrade salary. That’s even though the Bulls brought in Justin Holiday via the swap. Holiday is on a two-year contract for the minimum salary, so Chicago absorbed him into the minimum salary exception. That allows the Bulls to treat the offloading of Hinrich as its own, “non-simultaneous” deal, in the parlance of NBA trade regulations. The Bulls also realized a savings of $1,907,664 in payroll and $2,861,496 in projected tax penalties, though the $141,068 trade kicker they had to pay Hinrich takes away from that. Chicago took a nibble from its cap flexibility for next season, since Holiday’s $1,015,696 salary is guaranteed.
Cavaliers
It remains to be seen whether the separate trades that sent out Anderson Varejao and Jared Cunningham and brought in Channing Frye gave Cleveland better production on the court, but it’s certain that they saved the team heaps of money, at least in the short term. Frye’s $8,193,029 pay is $2,392,801 less than the combined total of Varejao’s $9,638,554 salary and Cleveland’s $947,276 obligation to Cunningham. The Cavs saved a whopping 3.75 times that amount in projected luxury tax payments, a figure that comes to $8,973,004. That’s a total savings of $11,365,805 in combined salary and payroll, less the $1,176,824 trade kicker Cleveland had to pay Varejao. Still, the ability to save about $10MM all told explains why the Cavs swallowed hard and traded away Varejao despite his close relationship with LeBron James and long tenure with the team. Frye will still have $15,227,883 over two years left on his contract after this season, while Varejao was only guaranteed $9,361,446 beyond this season and Cunningham was on a one-year deal. So, it’s an investment of long-term money for the Cavs, but it’s understandable, since it’s unlikely they’ll be so deep into the tax in years to come, when the salary cap and tax threshold will be much higher. The Cavs spent a tiny fraction of their savings on a 10-day contract for Jordan McRae, who’ll see $30,888 at a total cost to the team of $146,718 in combined salary and projected tax.
Pistons
The math for Detroit became considerably simpler when the Donatas Motiejunas trade came apart. That left only one swap, and the Tobias Harris deal was about as even an exchange of salaries as can be as far as this season is concerned. The Pistons dropped $244,497 from their payroll when they sent Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova to the Magic for Harris and his precisely $16MM salary, but the long-term effects paint an entirely different story. Harris is due $48MM over three years after this season, while the only guaranteed obligation to the players Detroit relinquished was a $400K partial guarantee for Ilyasova. The Pistons seemed likely to pick up Ilyasova’s full guarantee of $8.4MM had they kept him, but the deal is nonetheless a significant expenditure for the long term. Detroit has been quiet in the buyout market, investing in only a $49,709 10-day contract for Justin Harper.
Pacers
Indiana stood pat through the deadline and buyout season, though the team has reportedly agreed to sign Ty Lawson and is poised to complete a buyout, for an unknown amount, with Chase Budinger.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Western Notes: Garnett, Monroe, Clippers, Kings
Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell won’t rule out the possibility that Kevin Garnett will miss the rest of the season with continued soreness in his right knee, as Mitchell detailed on the “NBA Today” show on SiriusXM NBA Radio (audio link). “It’s kind of a day-to-day, week-to-week thing,” Mitchell said. It’ll be Garnett’s call about whether to return to action this season, notes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Garnett is under contract at $8MM next season, but it’s not set in stone that he’ll continue to play, so it’s conceivable that the 21st-year veteran has made his last NBA appearance. See more from the Western Conference:
- The Trail Blazers made preliminary inquiries about trading for Greg Monroe before last month’s deadline, but such talks didn’t go anywhere, league sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The Blazers were one of four finalists who made maximum-salary offers to Monroe when he was a free agent this past summer.
- Jeff Green sees an extra $250K if his team wins at least 54 games this season, a possibility that appeared remote when he was with the Grizzlies but is solidly in play following his trade to the Clippers, Lowe notes in the same piece. That bonus increases to $450K if the Clips hit 56 wins and $700K if they make 58, according to Lowe. L.A. is projected to pay an additional $2.50 in taxes for every extra dollar Green receives.
- The lack of a ready-built arena hampered Virginia Beach’s pursuit of the Kings in 2013, as did a fragmented television market, as attorney Tom Frantz, who’s part of a push to consolidate marketing efforts among municipalties in eastern Virginia, explained to Paula C. Squires of VirginiaBusiness.com. “The [Kings] looked at Richmond to the oceanfront as one market. … They said it would have been critically important for them to come here to have one sports station covering the Richmond and Hampton Roads [Metropolitan Statistical Areas] to help promote the team,” Frantz said. Plans for a privately owned arena in the area have been approved, Squires notes.
Eastern Notes: Marks, Johnson, Novak
New Nets GM Sean Marks reiterated the need for patience as he attempts to rebuild the franchise, noting the hasty approach is what led the team to its current state, NetsDaily relays. “It may be a little bit different from what we’ve done in the past here in Brooklyn,” Marks said in a video on the team’s website. “I have some empathy for the way they went about it in the past and said, look, ‘He’s committed to winning. He’s gone about it with a willingness to spend money and so forth.’ I’m not saying it’s the wrong way, but it didn’t work! So maybe this time, we’ll go about it in a little bit of a different way. We won’t skip any steps along the way.”
“Mr. [Mikhail] Prokhorov is committed to doing that and that’s what sold me in the interview. When he said, ‘Look, I want to win. I want to put this behind me. You make some of these decisions and you tell me what’s best.’ We talked about the process,” Marks continued. “We talked about this not being, look, in two weeks we’re not going to have a totally revamped organization. It’s going to take time. Its about bringing in the right people at the right time.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Joe Johnson is now a member of the Heat and back in the playoff hunt after signing with Miami, but despite the difficulties that the Nets endured the past few seasons, he still had good things to say about the organization as a whole, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes. “Obviously we had some ups and downs, but I think the good outweighed the bad for me,” Johnson said of his time with the Nets. “I think the changing of the GM and coach, it’s pretty tough but not really. I’ve been through quite a few coaches in my career in Brooklyn, so it was kind of second nature for me. But just losing, us playing hard and losing was probably the toughest part for me.”
- Steve Novak‘s deal with the Bucks is a minimum salary affair that runs just through the rest of the season, so Milwaukee retains a prorated portion of its room exception, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the NBA D-League, the team announced via press release. Patterson will report to the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ affiliate, pursuant to the league’s flexible assignment rule.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Dwight Howard Eyes Bucks?
Dwight Howard said he likes Milwaukee and wanted to go to the Bucks at the trade deadline, according to Bucks television play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, who relayed details of his conversation with the former All-Star center during Monday’s broadcast of the Rockets-Bucks game (video link via Rob Perez of The Big Lead; hat tip to Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk). Johnson said Howard told him the sticking point was that the Bucks wanted him to sign an extension. That’s similar to what Marc Stein of ESPN.com heard when he reported on deadline day that talks between the Rockets and Bucks fell apart because Howard wouldn’t agree to opt in for next season. Howard is expected to turn down his option, worth $23.282MM, in pursuit of a max deal this summer with a starting salary of about $30MM.
The news seemingly pits the Bucks as a free agent contender for Howard. Milwaukee surprisingly landed Greg Monroe last year, a signing that jarred the perception of Milwaukee as an unattractive destination, but the Bucks reportedly made Monroe available before the trade deadline last month. Jason Kidd, who’s apparently been the prime mover of player personnel for the Bucks, appears to be losing influence within the team’s power structure, and Howard recently fired agent Dan Fegan, so both sides seem to be in transition.
Howard is widely expected to leave the Rockets in free agency, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote last month, though the 30-year-old center denies that he asked to be traded, saying that he wants to find success in Houston. He’s also continually downplayed rumors of discord between him and James Harden.
Milwaukee has about $61.6MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $90MM cap, and with at least an additional $2,173,884 in cap holds the Bucks would have to carry, they’re likely a few million dollars shy of the cap space necessary to sign Howard outright to a max deal. Monroe and Howard would be an awkward pairing, particularly with fellow big man John Henson also recently signed to a four-year extension, so it’s quite conceivable another round of Monroe rumors will surface if Howard shows continued interest in Milwaukee.
And-Ones: Len, Brown, Cavs, Roberts
Suns interim head coach Earl Watson has no qualms about pairing up centers Alex Len and Tyson Chandler in the starting lineup, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Watson wants to utilize Len as the team’s primary offensive target the rest of the season and foster his development, Coro continues. “Who’s playing two 7-footers any more?” Watson explained to Coro. “We have this trend of playing small ball and we know the greatest small ball team is the Warriors. We’re not going to catch them. Let’s create a new trend. Let’s let Alex Len get experience.”
In other developments around the Western Conference:
- Swingman Jabari Brown, who played with the Lakers last season, is joining the team’s D-League D-Fenders after returning from China in recent days, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. Brown, who appeared in 19 games with the Lakers as a rookie, was the last player cut in training camp when the club decided to keep veteran Metta World Peace.
- A coaching change that’s produced only an 11-6 record so far and the inability to land Joe Johnson are among the problems that ail the Cavaliers, as TNT’s David Aldridge examines in his Morning Tip for NBA.com. Internal carping from players about their respective roles, shots and ability to mesh on the court with LeBron James has also been a factor, Aldridge hears.
- Point guard Brian Roberts, whom the Trail Blazers recently acquired from the Heat, believes he’ll land an NBA job next summer when he enters the free agent market, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders reports. Roberts passed through the Heat organization via the Hornets after he was included in the three-team deal that sent Courtney Lee from the Grizzlies to Charlotte. “I feel like I’m a guy that whatever opportunities I get I’m going to make the most of it,” he told Brigham. “I’m reliable, and that’s what it comes down to in this league. If you can be dependable every night, you’ll have a job.”
- Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson will be a prime target for the Mavericks in free agency, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News opines. Anderson’s ability to stretch the floor would make him a very good fit but he’ll be in heavy demand, Sefko notes.
- The Grizzlies recalled rookie power forward Jarell Martin from the Iowa Energy, the D-League club tweets. Martin, a first-round pick, averaged 18.3 points over three games in his latest assignment there. He made his fourth appearance with Memphis on Monday night.
- The Bucks recalled small forward Damien Inglis from the D-League’s Westchester Knicks, Milwaukee announced through its website. Inglis played 13 games for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate, averaging 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.4 minutes.
Wolves, Rockets Interested In Chris Copeland
The Timberwolves have had internal discussion about Chris Copeland, and the Rockets also have a level of interest in the stretch forward who’s twice hit waivers in the past week, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Minnesota’s brass is also talking about other would-be additions, and no signing is close, Wolfson adds. That jibes with coach Sam Mitchell‘s comments from this weekend, when he said the team would likely wait awhile to make a move even as he called the Wolves “awfully thin” up front.
Minnesota has an open roster spot in the wake of Andre Miller‘s buyout and has reportedly engaged in advanced discussions with Kevin Martin about a buyout of his own that would give the Wolves a second opening. The Rockets are in a similar position, having opened one vacancy with Friday’s release of Marcus Thornton while reportedly exploring the idea of a buyout with Ty Lawson, but it appears as though Lawson will likely be sticking around.
Copeland failed to have much effect for the Bucks on the one-year, $1.15MM deal he signed this past offseason, appearing for only 6.5 minutes per game over 24 contests and sticking just 10 of 36 3-point attempts. That’s well beneath his 36.5% career rate of accuracy from behind the arc. Milwaukee waived him a week ago to make room for Steve Novak, and Orlando claimed him off waivers only to release him the next day in a move designed to help the Magic reach the salary floor.
Steve Novak Out For The Season
The Bucks have announced that Steve Novak will miss the rest of the season with a sprained MCL, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The newly acquired small forward suffered the injury during Saturday’s game with the Pistons.
Novak was sent from the Thunder to the Nuggets as part of a deal at the trade deadline for Randy Foye. Denver released him last week, and he signed with Milwaukee on Monday after clearing waivers. Novak played in just three games for the Bucks before the injury, scoring 7 points in 20 minutes of action.
The Bucks don’t have any roster openings and don’t have enough injured players to qualify for a hardship exception. Milwaukee is Novak’s ninth franchise in his 10-year NBA career. He will become a free agent again this summer.
Central Notes: Monroe, Butler, Bullock, McCallum
Bucks coach Jason Kidd is defending his decision to use center/forward Greg Monroe off the bench, writes SB Nation’s Paul Flannery. Monroe was Milwaukee’s prize offseason addition, but the team’s disappointing season has led Kidd to shake up the rotation. Monroe was placed in a reserve role, along with former Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams. “Our bench has gotten better with Michael and Moose,” Kidd said. “You start those two and our bench gets really thin. With those two guys being unselfish and knowing that they want to start, and we all know they do, for the betterment of the team right now we need those guys to come off the bench.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The Bulls got some good news Saturday about injured shooting guard Jimmy Butler, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. The latest MRI on Butler’s sprained left knee “looked good,” said coach Fred Hoiberg. “The swelling is significantly down and now it’s just a matter of Jimmy getting back out there, getting his timing back, getting his conditioning and getting comfortable,” Hoiberg said. “He still hasn’t exploded off the one leg, he’s done some two-foot jumping. He’s done some lateral slides, now it’s about getting him out there in scrimmage-type situations and getting him ready to play.” Butler hasn’t played since hurting the knee on February 5th. He was orginally projected to be out for three to four weeks.
- Reggie Bullock may have revived his career in Detroit with a 16-point outburst Wednesday, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Bullock, who came to the Pistons from Phoenix in the Marcus Morris trade, was used in 10 of the season’s first 15 games, but offensive problems forced him out of the rotation and eventually to D-League assignments. “Reggie always plays to his strengths and he knows who he is,” said coach/executive Stan Van Gundy. “He’s got to defend and he’s got to make open shots. He certainly made open shots [Wednesday]. Those are the two things that really make him a good player.”
- Van Gundy has a long friendship with University of Detroit Mercy basketball coach Ray McCallum Sr., which may give the Pistons some interest in McCallum’s son if the Spurs release him, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The younger McCallum will likely be waived to make room for the signing of Andre Miller.
Central Notes: Van Gundy, Monroe, Johnson
The Pistons are still thin in the frontcourt after the trade for Donatas Motiejunas was voided over medical concerns, but there currently aren’t any players available who fit what the team is seeking, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. “So far, nothing on any of the guys who have been bought out or waived,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said. “There hasn’t been anybody that we’ve seriously talked to.” While there are a number of guards who are available, the backcourt isn’t currently an area of need for the team, Beard notes. “Where our real need is right now obviously is up front. It’s hard to say [whether we’re interested in guards] because you’d have to weigh quality,” Van Gundy continued. “It depends. If you had a great wing option, that would outweigh certainly a mediocre big. Our need is more up front.”
Van Gundy also acknowledged that the team will be limited financially in its free agent pursuits and could be outbid for any potential targets, Beard adds. “Some teams have money; there are teams that are under the cap and have money to offer. It all depends on what certain guys are looking for,” Van Gundy noted. “If they’re looking for an additional payday, there’s places they can go to get it. If they’re looking to get to the best team, they can. They all have different goals in what they’re trying to do.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Greg Monroe says he still feels that he has the support of the Bucks‘ coaching staff despite being shifted to a reserve role and being mentioned in trade deadline rumors, Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. The big man also believes that the team can turn around its fortunes prior to the end of the season, Mannix adds. “Everyone has kind of given up on us, everyone except for us in this locker room,” Monroe said. “We can be a good team. We have balance. We have players on the floor who can make plays. With me and Michael Carter-Williams coming off the bench, we can score. We just need to keep the focus, keep fighting. We just need to keep trying to find ways to win.”
- LeBron James confirmed the Cavs’ interest in Joe Johnson, who is expected to sign with the Heat when he clears waivers today, but added that he did not reach out to the veteran swingman to make a recruiting pitch, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon notes. “He knows that we want him,” James said. “If he decides to come here, it’d be great. If not, then we’ll continue to move on with what we have. He’s a great piece for any team. If we’re lucky enough to get him, he would mean something to us. If not, we have enough here to compete.”