Atlantic Notes: Randolph, Brown, Clark
It would make sense for the Nuggets to claim Shavlik Randolph off waivers today from the Celtics, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com points out (Twitter links). Denver is nearly $1.864MM shy of the salary floor, but claiming Randolph’s $1,227,985 minimum salary would close the majority of that gap. The entire amount of Randolph’s salary would count toward Denver’s team salary as far as the floor is concerned, but the Nuggets would only be on the hook for the last prorated bit of actual pay Randolph is to receive this season. The Nuggets would otherwise have to distribute the entire shortfall beneath the salary floor among their existing players. A waiver claim of Randolph would absolve the C’s from paying the remainder of his salary and take his entire cap figure off their books, though the effect would be negligible compared to what such a move would do for Denver.
It’s unclear if the Nuggets indeed plan on making a claim, so while we wait to see how that turns out, here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Brett Brown wasn’t fully supportive of the deadline trade that sent out Michael Carter-Williams, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, echoing what Carter-Williams said shortly after the deal. Still, the only tension between the coach and the Sixers front office is minimal, Deveney hears.
- Sixers GM Sam Hinkie signaled to Tom Moore of Calkins Media that he has no plans to make significant free agent signings in the offseason (Twitter link). The team hasn’t signed a player to a contract with a total value of as much as $4.5MM in either of the last two summers, as our free agent trackers from 2013 and 2014 show.
- Nets signee Earl Clark will have a $200K partial guarantee on his minimum salary for next season if he remains under contract through October 26th, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets and shows on his Nets salary page.
Eastern Notes: Middleton, Babb, Scola
Bucks‘ forward Khris Middleton has made tremendous strides this season, setting himself up for a nice raise this summer when he can become a restricted free agent, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “Khris is one of the guys who has really improved,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s just letting the game come to him. He’s one of our best scorers and shooters on the floor, and the ball will find him. He’s been able to step up and knock down shots for us. Confidence in this game is big, and I think his confidence is growing.” In 74 appearances this season, including 53 as a starter, Middleton averaged 13.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 30.1 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Chris Babb‘s two-year minimum salary deal with the Celtics calls for him to make $48K for the remainder of this season and $947,276 for 2015/16, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com tweets. Babb’s contract contains no guaranteed money for next season, Forsberg adds.
- Forward Jae Crowder has enjoyed his time with the Celtics since coming over from Dallas in the Rajon Rondo trade, Forsberg writes in a separate piece. The 24-year can become a restricted free agent this summer, but Crowder insists that he hasn’t thought about next season, Forsberg adds. “I just want to make the playoffs,” Crowder told the ESPN scribe. “And once you make the playoffs, everything will take care of itself. I’m not worried about it. Because my goal is to make the playoffs and we are right here where we want to be. I’m just focused on that.” Crowder is averaging 9.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists over 24.2 minutes per game in 53 appearances since arriving in Boston.
- Pacers‘ big man Luis Scola is finally adjusting to his reserve role with the team, and the 34-year-old veteran says he would like to continue playing past the age of 40, Mark Montieth of NBA.com writes. “I don’t feel close to the end, that’s the truth,” said Scola. “I know people don’t play that much longer after 35, but I’m feeling well. I don’t know how fast the process is from the moment you start feeling close to the end versus the actual end. But I’m not feeling close to the end. I’ve got energy and I feel I can still do this and I’m still having fun and I can work out hard and play hard every day. As long as all that’s still there I don’t see me being close to retirement.”
Bucks Sign Jorge Gutierrez To Multiyear Deal
The Bucks have signed Jorge Gutierrez to a multiyear contract, as Josh Weir of The Repository reports (Twitter link) and as the team confirms in a press release. The signing will increase Milwaukee’s roster count to the league maximum of 15 players. It’s unclear if the deal contains any guaranteed salary for 2015/16, though it’s likely a minimum salary arrangement with little or no guaranteed funds.
Gutierrez had inked two 10-day deals with the Bucks earlier this season, appearing in seven games and averaging 3.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He signed his initial 10-day contact on January 28th and a second 10-day pact on February 7th. In 10 NBA appearances for Brooklyn, where he began the season, Gutierrez averaged 1.6 points in 4.4 minutes per game.
The guard also played 15 games this season for the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, and averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 29.8 minutes per contest. Gutierrez opted to enter the D-League after being waived by the Sixers earlier in the season. This was shortly after Philadelphia had acquired him from the Nets in the deal for Andrei Kirilenko.
Eastern Notes: MCW, Sixers, Draft, Walker
Michael Carter-Williams admits he struggled to adjust after being traded, but the Syracuse product is happy to be in Milwaukee, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s good to know I’m going to be here growing with guys and knowing the chemistry,” Carter-Williams said. “I’m a Milwaukee Buck now and I hope I’m here for a while.” The Bucks have gone 7-14 since the point guard made his team debut.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Sixers have several players who have improved over the course of the season and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News believes coach Brett Brown deserves recognition for the progress. Cooney looks at the development of the team’s young prospects, including Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders what the Sixers would do if they landed one of the top two picks in the draft. Centers Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns are widely expected to be the first two players off the board in some order and Philadelphia already has three young frontcourt players under team control in Joel Embiid, Noel and Dario Saric. The Sixers are currently third place in our Reverse Standings with a record of 18-59.
- Kemba Walker doesn’t believe the Hornets‘ struggles this season are coach Steve Clifford‘s fault, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. “It has nothing to do with him,” Walker said. “He does a great job, he’s a fantastic coach. He always does his best to give us the right game plan, to try and get wins. I’m 100 percent behind him. I believe in him.”
And-Ones: Jianlian, McCullough, Draft
Chris McCullough plans to enter this year’s draft despite tearing his ACL in January, but the player is confident he can sell NBA teams on his commitment to rehabilitating the injury, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. “This is the kind of injury that players come back strong from all the time in basketball now, and the process has gone good so far,” McCullough told Wojnarowski. “I’m working hard at the rehab, trying to eat the right foods. I’ll be back on the court later this year.” In 16 games for Syracuse this season, McCullough averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Wizards guard Will Bynum thinks that 2007 Bucks lottery pick Yi Jianlian has improved his game and could play in the NBA once again, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets. Bynum played with the big man in China this season. Jianlian’s last NBA action came during the 2011/12 season when he appeared in 30 games for the Mavs. His career stats are 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 22.2 minutes per night.
- Kentucky could lose as many as seven players to the NBA draft this season, an NBA scout tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “I think all seven leave,” the scout said to Zagoria. “If they win it all, there’s no doubt in my mind all seven of them leave. No doubt. The only ones who would stay [if they lose] would be a Trey Lyles, maybe a Devin Booker. The rest of them are all going, I don’t care if they win or lose. I think if they lose there’s maybe a moment [of pause] by Lyles or Booker. Those are the only two that I think may pause at all.” The other five players whom the scout believes will declare for the draft are Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Andrew Harrison, and Aaron Harrison.
- Knicks GM Steve Mills says that the franchise has already received calls from two opposing teams that are interested in obtaining New York’s first round draft pick, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Ted Stepien Rule prevents the Knicks from trading this year’s pick, but New York could make the selection for another franchise and trade the player’s rights after the draft.
- Team president Phil Jackson says the Knicks won’t solicit offers for their first-rounder, but admitted that they would “sit back and see what comes to them,” Begley adds in another tweet.
Eastern Notes: Dudley, Monroe, Fisher
Jared Dudley didn’t really want to play for the Bucks after the Clippers traded him to Milwaukee this summer, but his new team’s training staff, Jason Kidd‘s coaching style, and Milwaukee’s competitiveness helped convince him otherwise, as Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details. Dudley has a $4.25MM early termination option for next season, and while he hasn’t said what he’ll do with that, he told Nickel that he’d like a long-term deal with the Bucks and that he’s willing to take a discount to sign one, citing Kidd as his top reason why. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Greg Monroe believes former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars deserves another chance to run a team, as Terry Foster of The Detroit News relays. Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher wrote in January that Pelicans owner Tom Benson had some interest in Dumars, and Monroe, soon to be an unrestricted free agent, is a New Orleans native. “I mean, yeah,” Monroe said when asked if Dumars should have another shot at team building. “He put together a championship team. Obviously he knows what it takes to get it done. For a stretch he had one of the most successful teams in the league. Obviously he is good at that job. I don’t see how that would be a problem to get back.”
- Derek Fisher says he doesn’t have regrets about taking on the Knicks coaching job even with the team in possession of the league’s worst record and added that he talks daily with team president Phil Jackson, notes Peter Botte of the New York Daily News. Coaching colleagues, like Tom Thibodeau, have no shortage of praise for Fisher, Botte adds.
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers believes the Celtics almost had to trade Rajon Rondo this season with his contract running out this summer, as he told reporters, including Brian Robb of Boston.com. Rivers said a rebuilding team like the Celtics, whom he used to coach, can’t afford to risk that a soon-to-be free agent walks and added that he believes Rondo, and not the Celtics front office, was the catalyst for the move, as Robb passes along.
Central Notes: Mozgov, Prince, Bucks
Tayshaun Prince says that he has two or three more seasons left in him, and that he wouldn’t be opposed to returning to the Pistons next season, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays (Twitter links). The 35-year-old, who is earning $7,707,865 in the final year of his contract, says that his preference would be to play for a contending team. Detroit won’t likely fit that description next season. In 16 games for the Pistons this season, Prince is averaging 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per night.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- One of the turning points of the Cavaliers‘ season was the acquisition of center Timofey Mozgov, who has been stellar since arriving in Cleveland, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “I think since Mozgov came to the team we’re fifth in pick-and-roll defense, and it’s just because of his length, his size and him protecting the rim,” LeBron James said. “That’s huge for our team, having someone who can get down, guard pick-and-roll and can protect the rim. And also, at the other end, makes the opposing ‘5’ man respect him.“
- Kendrick Perkins believes that all of the drama regarding how well the Cavs‘ players get along has been overblown, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. “What people don’t understand is that this is not a place that requires you to be best friends,” Perkins said. “I think sometimes people don’t realize that this is work for us. So when you go to work every day, that doesn’t mean your co-worker has to be your best friend. This is our job. You don’t have to be best friends to come out here and work together.”
- Bryan Toporek of BballBreakdown.com notes how poorly the trade for Michael Carter-Williams has worked out for the Bucks. The point guard’s shooting woes are stifling the team on the offensive end, Toporek opines. Since pulling the trigger on the deal Milwaukee has gone 6-13, and Carter-Williams has averaged 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. The 23-year-old is shooting 39.3% from the field, and an anemic 11.1% from beyond the arc.
2015/16 Salary Commitments: Bucks
With the NBA trade deadline passed, teams are focusing on locking down playoff spots or vying for a better chance in the draft lottery. Outside of the players who are added on 10-day deals, or those lucky enough to turn those auditions into long-term contracts, teams’ rosters are relatively set for the remainder of the season.
We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of taking a look ahead at each franchise’s salary cap situation heading into the summer, and the free agent frenzy that occurs every offseason. While the exact amount of the 2015/16 salary cap won’t be announced until July, the cap is projected to come in somewhere around $67.4MM, with the luxury tax threshold projected at approximately $81MM. This year’s $63.065MM cap represented an increase of 7.7% over 2013/14, which was well above the league’s projected annual increase of 4.5%.
We’ll continue onward by taking a look at the Bucks’ cap outlook for 2015/16…
Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo — $1,953,960
- Jerryd Bayless — $3MM
- Michael Carter-Williams — $2,399,040
- Tyler Ennis — $1,662,360
- John Henson — $2,943,221
- Ersan Ilyasova — $7.9MM
- Damien Inglis — $855K
- O.J. Mayo — $8MM
- Johnny O’Bryant — $845,059
- Zaza Pachulia — $5.2MM
- Jabari Parker — $5,152,440
- Miles Plumlee — $2,109,294
- Larry Sanders (Stretch Provision) — $1,865,546
Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:
- None
Players with options:
- Jared Dudley (Early Termination Option) — $4,250,000
The Bucks’ Cap Summary for 2015/16:
- Guaranteed Salary: $43,885,920
- Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $4,250,000
- Total: $48,135,920
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Central Notes: Love, Jackson, Bucks, Mirotic
Several sources tell Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that LeBron James is frustrated with the failure of Kevin Love to mesh with the Cavs this season, but James isn’t upset that Love believes Russell Westbrook, and not James, has the edge for MVP, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Love said Wednesday that he believed his comments, which he made on The Dan Patrick Show (video link), were widely taken out of context and that James “could very well be the MVP,” McMenamin adds. Many executives and players don’t think that Love can accept the limited role he’s played on this year’s Cavs team again, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post, who nonetheless believes that it probably doesn’t matter much that James and Love aren’t the best of friends. As the Love story continues to take on a gossipy edge, here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pistons plan an all-out push to re-sign Reggie Jackson this summer, and Jackson is hinting that he’s already planning to return to Detroit with comments about playing alongside Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the future, MLive’s Brendan Savage observes.
- The Bucks could have signaled to other players that they would reward those who developed in their system if they’d hung on to soon-to-be restricted free agent Brandon Knight and re-signed him, but trading him set the franchise back, opines Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. Still, coach Jason Kidd told reporters that it’s all part of a plan for the long term. “It’s something much bigger than that that you guys are going to have to wait and write about,” he said. “We’re here to build something, not to do something in six months. There’s a bigger picture. We feel we have a core here that will be around for a long time and have success.”
- Chicago made Nikola Mirotic this season’s highest-paid rookie with a three-year deal worth more than $16.631MM, similar to what the Rockets are reportedly prepared to offer draft-and-stash prospect Sergio Llull. The move is paying off for the Bulls, as Mirotic is making a late push for Rookie of the Year, as ESPN’s Michael Wilbon examines.
Central Notes: Love, Mozgov, Bulls, Bucks
No one involved in the process believes Kevin Love will pick up his $16.744MM player option to remain with the Cavaliers as he’s said he plans to do, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Love nonetheless spoke of a strong camaraderie amongst the Cavs to Ananth Pandian of CBSSports.com, countering a narrative that he’s not getting along with his teammates, an idea that Love seemed to stoke when he said his relationship with LeBron James and other Cavs could be better. Rumors surrounding the No. 2 free agent on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings have intensified, and Michael Rand of the Star Tribune wonders if Cleveland, like Minnesota, will be in the power forward’s past soon. Here’s more from around the Central Division:
- The Timofey Mozgov trade has worked out splendidly for Mozgov, whose offensive numbers are up, and for the Cavs, who’ve taken off since the deal, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio examines. Cleveland has a $4.95MM team option on Mozgov for next season. “When we made the trade, everything that he brought is what we needed and wanted,” James said. “He’s going to be huge for our team. Very, very skilled offensively and understands defensively. He’s just a smart basketball player and it’s great playing with him.“
- Nikola Mirotic and Jimmy Butler, a pair of late-first-round picks from 2011, are playing key roles for the Bulls, and trading for the rights to Mirotic took particular effort, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details. “We were bidding against somebody,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said. “Significant money was being laid out. And that’s when [owner Jerry Reinsdorf] really stepped up and included a good chunk of money to make that happen.”
- No team surged higher from last year’s ESPN Insider Front Office Rankings to this year’s than the Bucks, who jumped from 29th to 15th. Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in another Insider-only piece, credits the work of assistant GM David Morway, who joined the team in the summer of 2013, for having been instrumental in the rise.