Eastern Notes: Whiteside, Copeland, Thomas
Here’s a look at the latest contract news from the Eastern Conference:
- The $981,348 contract for this upcoming season for Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who will hit free agency next summer, becomes guaranteed on Dec. 1st, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out. The deal is already partially guaranteed for $245,337, and that partial guarantee escalates to $490,674 if he makes it to opening night.
- Chris Copeland‘s one-year deal with the Bucks is worth precisely $1.15MM, as Pincus shows (Twitter link). That means Milwaukee has $1.664MM left on its $2.814MM room exception, Pincus also notes.
- Jorge Gutierrez‘s non-guaranteed minimum salary with the Bucks becomes partially guaranteed for $250K on December 1st, Pincus adds on the same page.
- The deal between Adonis Thomas and the Pistons is a two-year pact for the minimum salary, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Bulls, Pacers, Bucks
Former Bucks lottery pick Joe Alexander is on his way to Italy. Earlier today, David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter) heard from Alexander’s agent that he’ll be heading to Sardinia’s Sassari. Things didn’t work out as planned for Alexander in the NBA, but as he explained in an interview earlier this year, he believes that a dysfunctional regime in Milwaukee hampered him as much as injuries did. Here’s more from the Central Division..
- Instead of making bold moves, the Bulls are keeping their team exactly the same and betting on their rookie coach, Fred Hoiberg, Scott Davis of Business Insider writes. The Bulls handled their biggest priority when they re-signed Jimmy Butler to a five-year, $90MM deal. Now, Chicago is hoping that it was Tom Thibodeau‘s bumpy relationships with some players that kept them from winning it all rather than any shortcomings on their roster.
- With the contracts of Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger expiring after the year and Solomon Hill‘s rookie deal holding an option for his fourth year, the Pacers should have plenty of room to make free agent moves next summer, Mark Montieth of Pacers.com writes.
- The Bucks are equipped to win now and also build toward something greater for the future, Tim Cato of SB Nation writes. Cato also looked at how new addition Greg Monroe will fit in and how big of a step Giannis Antetokounmpo could take this season.
Eastern Notes: Sixers, Bucks, MCW, Magic
Jahlil Okafor is preparing himself to be the focal point of the Sixers, and the rookie has already established himself in Philadelphia, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
“He has brought a whole lot of excitement to this team,” teammate Robert Covington said. “He is a big man who has made his presence known already.”
Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:
- The Bucks‘ ability to convince Greg Monroe to sign with them over teams in bigger markets such as the Knicks or the Lakers signals that Milwaukee should be considered a major player in free agency and a contender in the years to come, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. Monroe should bring some needed offense to a team that ranked 25th in the league in offensive efficiency last season.
- Milwaukee must figure out whether Michael Carter-Williams can be the team’s point guard of the future, Blancarte writes in the same piece. Blancarte acknowledges the point guard’s flaws but believes there is a tendency to overlook the things he does well. MCW has career averages of 15.7 points, 6.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. He will be eligible for a rookie scale extension after the 2015/16 campaign.
- Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider only) believes Mario Hezonja can contribute to the Magic right away, but he realizes that the 20-year-old’s basketball IQ and decision-making could be serious hurdles in his development.
Central Notes: Monroe, Allen, Christmas
- Lavoy Allen new three-year, $12.05MM contract with the Pacers includes a $1.5MM signing bonus, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). That bonus is spread evenly across his cap hits for each season, so the net effect is that if the Pacers trade him, the team acquiring him would pay him $500K less per season, though his cap number would stay the same, as Pincus explains.
- The third season of of the three-year deal Rakeem Christmas signed with the Pacers is partially guaranteed for $50K, and the fourth season contains both a team option and a partial guarantee of $52,064, Pincus tweets. The precise value of the deal is $4.3MM, as Pincus shows on the Pacers salary page, resolving conflicting reports from earlier.
- Shayne Whittington will see the minimum salary on both years of his new deal with the Pacers, Pincus adds (Twitter link).
- The Pistons traded Quincy Miller to the Nets this month because of a roster crunch in the frontcourt, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes in a mailbag column. Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy opted to parlay him for Steve Blake to reinforce the point guard position, given the uncertainty over whether Brandon Jennings, still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, will be ready to start the season. Miller was far from a lock to make the opening night roster in Detroit, Langlois adds.
Latest On Glen Davis
JULY 31ST: 10:35am: Davis and the Clippers spoke this week, and there’s optimism a deal will get done between them, a source tells Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The Bucks have signed Copeland since the initial report of interest in Davis from Milwaukee (below), so it’s unclear if the Bucks are still in the mix for Big Baby.
JULY 22ND: 2:44pm: The Clippers maintain “high interest” in re-signing Glen Davis, but no deal is close, and the Bucks loom as another interested team, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The Clips reportedly expected to re-sign Big Baby as of two weeks ago, but there hasn’t been much chatter surrounding the John Hamilton client since.
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers reached out to Davis on the opening day of free agency, and they share a lengthy history dating back to their time with the Celtics. The Bucks appeared close to a deal with Chris Copeland on Tuesday, but the Spurs and Thunder are still competing for the former Pacers forward, so perhaps Milwaukee sees Davis as an alternative.
Davis has Early Bird rights with the Clippers to sign for up to $5.739MM, giving the Clips a financial edge over the Bucks, who are limited to the $2.814MM room exception. Still, Davis made the minimum salary last year, so it would be surprising to see him end up with a significant raise, even though he was one of only eight players to average more than 10 minutes per game in the playoffs for the Clippers this past season.
Which team do you think is the best fit for Davis? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Central Notes: Pacers, Allen, Bucks
Earlier this month, the Pacers and Lavoy Allen reached agreement on deal that will keep the big man in Indiana for next season and beyond. Indiana shelled out the money to keep Allen, in part, because they want to pick up the pace on offense.
“That’s one of the main reasons they brought me back was the talk about playing more uptempo,” Allen told Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. “I think that will really benefit us with the people we have — the shooters and bigs who can run.”
Still, Allen is one of six bigs – or seven, counting Paul George at power forward – on the Pacers and it’s not clear how much time he’ll see on the court. Allen, like the Pacers’ fans, says he’s curious to see how it all shakes out. Here’s more from the Central Division..
- Rising sophomore Shayne Whittington envisions the recently re-signed Allen as having a breakout year for the Pacers, Candace Buckner of the Indy Star writes. “I know we brought Lavoy in for a reason, he’s a great rebounder. He’s a great offensive presence, he can shoot the ball very well. Ian is one of our best defensive assets that we have. I personally think that he’s going to blow up this year if he gets that starting spot. His confidence will skyrocket if he gets that.“
- Between the success of the arena plan and the team’s basketball moves, Bucks owner Wes Edens said, “I think our offseason was a 10. We’re undefeated in the offseason,” Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel tweets. On Tuesday, the Bucks’ arena plan cleared a major hurdle.
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) has the details on Rakeem Christmas‘s deal with the Pacers. Christmas’ deal is fully guaranteed for two years with a $50K guarantee in year three and a team option on year four. If that fourth-year option is exercised, then he’ll have a $52K guarantee.
Bucks Sign Chris Copeland
JULY 29TH, 11:23am: Copeland has officially signed with the Bucks, the team announced.
JULY 23RD, 2:24pm: The Bucks and Chris Copeland have a verbal agreement on a one-year deal, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Tuesday that the sides were finalizing a deal, but the Spurs and Thunder remained in the mix, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports revealed shortly afterward. The John Spencer client will see in excess of $1.1MM on his contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). That indicates that he’s receiving a slice of Milwaukee’s $2.814MM room exception, since the minimum salary for the three-year veteran is $981,348.
Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times first identified the Bucks as an interested party nearly two weeks ago, and he heard last week from some higher-ups around the league that Milwaukee had become the front-runner for him. The sides met on Tuesday, Woelfel later reported, and he worked out for the team that day as well, according to Spears.
Copeland just finished a two-year deal with the Pacers that he signed after a surprising season as a rookie for the Knicks in 2012/13. He and Bucks coach Jason Kidd were teammates in New York. The Pacers elected not to make a qualifying offer of more than $3.9MM, so Copeland has been an unrestricted free agent this month.
The 31-year-old was the victim of a stabbing outside a New York nightclub in April that left him with injuries that curtailed his season, one in which he’d fallen out of the Pacers rotation after injuries to others thrust him into use. Normally a strong outside shooter, he made just 31.1% of his three-pointers in 2014/15, and he never made the sort of impact in Indiana that he did with the Knicks.
Do you think Copeland will be a part of the rotation for the Bucks this year? Leave a comment to let us know.
Bucks Arena Plan Clears Major Hurdle
2:24pm: Walker said today that he’d sign the bill, note Stein and Journal Sentinel colleague Patrick Marley. Feigen expressed measured confidence and said it’s possible for the funding to be secured in time for an autumn groundbreaking.
12:48pm: The public funding plan for a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee has received approval from the Wisconsin State Assembly by a 52-34 vote, reports Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). The measure passed the state senate two weeks ago and now heads to Governor Scott Walker for his signature. Walker has consistently supported the idea of a new building that would keep the team from leaving town.
Should Walker sign the bill, which seems a likely proposition, Milwaukee County must authorize the purchase of the land for the building and the City of Milwaukee must negotiate a lease, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. State, county and city leaders have been under pressure from the league to make sure an arena is ready by the start of the 2017/18 season, with the NBA having threatened to take the team away from owners Marc Lasry, Wesley Edens and Jamie Dinan and sell it to others who would move the team. The public is on the hook for half of the arena’s expected $500MM cost.
Bucks president Peter Feigin released a statement hailing today’s vote. Still, progress toward the arena has been somewhat slow-going, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wrote in April that the Bucks and civic leaders faced a realistic deadline of June to secure funding. The legislature separated the arena bill from the state budget package last month, a move that bought more time. Windhorst nonetheless indicated that groundbreaking must take place this fall for the plan to remain on schedule.
And-Ones: Bucks Arena, Mavs, Huestis
The $500MM plan to fund a new Bucks arena has enough votes to pass the Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday, Republican Majority Leader Jim Steineke said, according to Scott Bauer of the Associated Press. Under the proposal, half of the cost would initially be paid by state and local taxpayers and the other $250MM would come from current and former Bucks owners, Bauer continues. If approved without any changes by the Assembly, the bill would then head to Governor Scott Walker for his consideration, Bauer adds.
In other news around the league:
- The Mavericks have renounced their rights to Bernard James, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Pincus notes the Mavs did the same thing last summer, then re-signed him. James’ cap hold was $947,276.
- The Spurs’ contract with Reggie Williams is not guaranteed, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Williams would make approximately $1.186MM this upcoming season if he gets paid the full amount.
- The Thunder are saving their final open roster spot for Josh Huestis, Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). Oklahoma City selected the 6’7” forward with the 29th overall pick in 2014 but he spent last season with the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League.
- The Warriors will hire from within regarding their coaching moves and promote Luke Walton and Jarron Collins, Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com tweets.
Eastern Notes: Larkin, Stuckey, Copeland
The Nets believe that the right system can bring out the potential that made Shane Larkin a first round pick back in 2013, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I talked to [GM] Billy [King] and Lionel [Hollins] as soon as free agency started, and they told me they wanted me to come in and just play my game,” Larkin said. “I’m more of a pick-and-roll guy, up and down. “And that’s the thing they told me they wanted me to come in and do. For them to tell me they wanted me to come in push the tempo, bring some energy to the team, that was everything I wanted to hear.”
Larkin admits to having been uncomfortable playing in the Knicks‘ triangle offense last season, Youngmisuk adds. “I mean the triangle is a good offense if you have the type of players that fit within that offense,” Larkin said. “And I don’t feel like it was the best offense for me. I’m not talking bad about it. It’s a great offense. I wish them nothing but the best.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The presence of former teammate Jason Kidd as coach was a major factor for Chris Copeland‘s decision to sign with the Bucks, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes. “The biggest hook for me was Jason Kidd, by far,” Copeland said. “Obviously, he was a friend of mine before all this. He was a great mentor for me in New York and someone I continue to grow under. An incredible mind on and off the floor.”
- The final season of Jordan Mickey‘s four-year pact with the Celtics is a non-guaranteed team option, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Brazilian big man Cristiano Felicio‘s contract with the Bulls is a two-year deal, and he will earn $525,093 in 2015/16 and $874,636 the following season, with both years non-guaranteed, Pincus relays (Twitter link).
- Rodney Stuckey‘s three-year contract with the Pacers will see him earn $7MM each season, and includes a player option for the final year, Pincus relays (on Twitter).