Eastern Notes: James, Millsap, Allen
Cavs superstar LeBron James has been elected as the vice president of the NBPA, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). Chris Paul, the NBPA president, has been pushing for James to join him as the No. 2 man in the player’s union for some time now, Wojnarowski adds. The announcement of James’ election was soon overshadowed by the reports that the NBPA had voted to reject the league’s salary cap smoothing proposal for 2016. This news sets the stage for a potential lockout in 2017, when both the league and the union can opt out of the current CBA, though that is merely my speculation.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Paul Millsap said that the support he has received from Hawks fans and the community in Atlanta would not factor into his decision-making when he becomes a free agent this summer, Nick Powell of NJ.com relays. “It’s a good thing, but I’m not one to base my decision off emotions,” Millsap said. “I base my decisions off of everything else. Where our team is at, can I grow with this team, how’s the coach, how’s the community? There’s a lot of things that factor into it besides emotions.” When asked his feelings about potentially playing in New York, Millsap said, “It’s a good place. I consider myself a guy who could fit in anywhere.“
- When Patrick Beverley was asked about potentially joining the Knicks as a free agent this summer, he stated that his first desire was to remain in Houston, Powell adds. “That’s not up to me, that’s up to my agent and stuff like that,” Beverley said. “I’m extremely happy with Houston, that’s one of the teams that kind of took a chance on me for me getting to the NBA, but at the end of the day this is a business, and I’ll let my agent handle that.” Beverly will become a restricted free agent at season’s end.
- Though the Heat were indeed in contact with free agent Ray Allen last summer, the team never made a contract offer to the veteran guard, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes.
Cavs Notes: James, Harris, Allen
LeBron James‘ decision last summer to sign a two-year contract with a player option after this season was not only motivated by the ability to take advantage of the rising salary cap and make a higher salary but also to give him maximum leverage, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes. Shelburne adds that James and NBPA president Chris Paul will encourage their membership to fight for more flexible contract structures and a greater piece of the league revenue pie when the players union can opt out of the current CBA in 2017. Here’s more from Cleveland:
- The Cavaliers have re-assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This is the sixth trek of the season to Canton for Harris, who has appeared in six games for the Charge this season, averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33.2 minutes per game.
- Cleveland has been in contact with free agent Ray Allen‘s representatives in recent days, but the veteran guard has still not made a decision on where, or if, he will play this season, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal reports.
- James feels a sense of urgency to win a championship this season even though he and Kevin Love, who can opt out of his deal after the season, are expected to remain with the club long-term, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com. The facts that James has hit the age of 30 and has logged more than 41,500 minutes in his career also figure into his thinking.
Jeff Taylor Declines To Appeal Suspension
11:57am: Taylor has decided against appealing the suspension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
11:30am: Roberts expected that the suspension would be only for three or four games, adding that a ban of fewer than 10 games would have been appropriate, as she tells Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter links).
FRIDAY, 8:33am: Roberts feels that the league imposed the lengthy suspension in part to make a public show of toughness on domestic violence issues, as she explained in a memo to union members that USA Today’s Sam Amick obtained. The NBA’s motivation stems from the sharp criticism the National Football League has received for what many feel have been lenient punishments for incidents of domestic violence among its players, Roberts believes.
“Despite having agreed to join the Players Association in focusing attention on ‘prevention’ rather than trying to out-muscle the NFL on ‘discipline,’ the NBA elected to prove its toughness by imposing a 24-game suspension on Jeff Taylor,” Roberts wrote in the memo. “Up until yesterday’s announcement, we had been working with the League to undergo a sober review of our current policies and practices to improve the services available to the NBA family in this area. However, I am disappointed that, as reflected in the sanction imposed against Jeff, the League instead chose to bend to the pressure it feels from the current media spotlight and impose punishment well beyond what is contained in the current CBA or in line with existing precedent.”
As Roberts pointed out in her public statement, the NBA’s CBA calls for a minimum 10-game suspension when a player is convicted of a felony involving violence, while Taylor pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor domestic assault and property destruction charges. However, the conviction will not be on his record if he fulfills the terms of his probation.
THURSDAY, 5:00pm: Taylor is conferring with his representatives and is expected to issue a public statement tomorrow regarding his suspension, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
4:09pm: The NBPA is ready to file an appeal regarding Jeff Taylor‘s 24-game suspension for domestic violence that was handed down by the league yesterday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). But NBPA head Michele Roberts was clear that the ultimate decision about any action taken by the union will rest with Taylor, who has not yet made his intentions known, Wojnarowski adds.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweeted Roberts’ full statement on the matter, which read:
“The 24-game suspension imposed by Commissioner Silver against Jeff Taylor is excessive, without precedent and a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The CBA contemplates a minimum 10-game suspension in any case involving a conviction for a violent felony, including domestic violence. In contrast, Jeff Taylor was charged with a misdemeanor that is likely to be dismissed at the end of a probationary period.
The 24-game suspension is one of the longest in the history of the league. We have a scheme of discipline that was the result of collective bargaining between the parties that has been applied consistently over the years. While we appreciate the sensitivity of this societal issue, the Commissioner is not entitled to rewrite the rules or otherwise ignore precedent in disciplinary matters. While ultimately this is Jeff’s decision, we stand ready to file an immediate appeal on his behalf.”
If they decide to go ahead with the appeal, the hearing would take place before the league’s grievance arbitrator, and not commissioner Adam Silver, because the punishment is for an off-court matter and stands to cost Taylor more than $50K in lost salary. The 24-game ban would ultimately cost Taylor $199,689 of his $915,243 salary for the 2014/15 season.
This is Roberts’ first big test as head of the NBPA, and it will be an intriguing prism through which to view how the union will operate under her stewardship. It will also be interesting to see if and how this matter will affect how Silver is regarded by the players, who up until now have lauded his actions in regards to the Donald Sterling racism scandal that plagued the league early in his tenure as commissioner, and earned him the nickname, the “players’ commissioner.” It is also very possible that this issue could become a bargaining point in the next CBA negotiations which are more than likely to occur in 2017 when both the players and the owners can elect to opt out of the current agreement.
And-Ones: Bledsoe, Union, Rondo, Mavs, Sixers
Eric Bledsoe says he never worried about the Suns‘ acquisition of yet more high-level point guards in the offseason, but staying healthy was a concern as his contract negotiations dragged on, as he tells Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his Open Floor column.
“I stayed in the gym working out. I just had to make sure I didn’t get hurt,” Bledsoe said. “My agent was calling me, telling me not to go play with everybody. I pretty much wrapped my body in bubble wrap.”
Bledsoe’s numbers are off a bit this year after the summer hiatus, so while we wait to see if he can regain his form once he shakes off the rust, here’s more from around the league:
- Union executive director Michele Roberts has made an effort to forge a relationship with several top agents, in contrast to predecessor Billy Hunter, who kept agents at arm’s length, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. Still, some agents are miffed about her choice of of Roger Mason, who supported her candidacy for the executive director job, to conduct a review of agent regulations, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote earlier this week.
- Rajon Rondo doesn’t see this season as a rebuilding year for the Celtics, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- The Mavs have been paying greater attention to scouting talent for their D-League club as the connection between Dallas and its affiliate grows, as Eduardo Najera, the coach of the Mavs D-League affiliate, tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Sixers have a plan to return to contention eventually, but they are taking a risk that their players will learn to accept losing in the meantime, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News believes.
And-Ones: Draft, LeBron, Roberts
LeBron James continued his march up the NBA’s All-Time scoring list tonight, passing Celtics great Robert Parish who had 23,334 career points, to take over possession of the 24th spot. The next target on the list for James is Charles Barkley, who sits at No. 23 with 23,757 career points. So congratulations to LeBron on his achievement, but he still has quite a ways to go to claim the top slot from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Using James’ career 27.5 point average as a guide, it would take him roughly 6.6 more seasons at that pace to eclipse Abdul-Jabbar, though with LeBron’s propensity for sharing the ball it would likely take a bit longer, as well as requiring continued good health on his part.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Despite all the hype that the draft class of 2014 received, the top three selections are off to slow starts to their careers, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. There’s no telling if the Sixers‘ Joel Embiid will play this season, Andrew Wiggins is averaging 10 points for the Wolves, and Jabari Parker is logging 10.9 PPG for the Bucks. While all three are likely to develop into excellent players, this should serve as a cautionary tale for franchises looking to improve themselves through “tanking,” Schmitz opines.
- The 2015 NBA Draft class isn’t being as highly-touted as 2014’s group, though there are a number of players with star potential. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News runs down 10 players who NBA scouts are keeping a close eye on, including Jahlil Okafor, Kelly Oubre, and Myles Turner.
- NBPA head Michele Roberts’ recent salvo fired against the concept of the salary cap may needlessly antagonize the owners and make the 2017 CBA negotiations more difficult than they need to be, opines Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. The salary cap isn’t going away anytime soon, something Roberts is aware of, notes Beck, and her statements were more likely intended to gain trust with the players and their agents who have long distrusted the union.
And-Ones: Allen, Thabeet, NBPA
In response to commissioner Adam Silver’s statement that a third of the teams in the league are still losing money, new NBPA head Michele Roberts said, “The NBA’s cries of poverty will not work this time,” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes.”I can say that I was more than surprised,” Roberts told Yahoo Sports. “I am not suggesting that Adam is telling a lie. I am sure that the owners told him that. But it’s difficult for me to believe that, especially after looking at the 2011 CBA negotiations and seeing all the money the players don’t have now. There’s $1.1 billion that the players would’ve been otherwise entitled.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mavs owner Mark Cuban left open the possibility that Dallas could add either Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis later on in the season, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reports. “We haven’t talked to him, but I think he’s doing it the right way,” Cuban said of Allen. “He’s waiting to see who’s doing well. If it comes down to it, we’d always consider it. We’re always open to improving the team. But you don’t want to mess up a good thing, either. That’s when Caron Butler got hurt and Roddy [Beaubois] got hurt. But Peja Stojakovic is a good example of us adding a veteran in season.” In regards to Lewis, Cuban added, “Rashard Lewis is working out here. We’ve stayed in touch with him and worked with him.”
- Hasheem Thabeet has passed on playing in Europe and instead will play for Grand Rapids in the NBA D-League this season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It appears that the Pistons, who had waived Thabeet, will retain his D-League rights as franchises can retain the rights of up to four players that they have waived.
- The NBA D-League Draft is scheduled to be held this Saturday and the crew over at DraftExpress ran down the complete list of eligible players.
- The Bucks will keep working toward an extension with Brandon Knight up until Friday’s deadline, David Alarcón of HoopsHype tweets. It’s unclear how far apart the two sides are in their discussions, but in his look at Knight in our extension candidate series, Chuck Myron opined that the two sides could compromise on a four-year, $41MM arrangement similar to what the Sixers gave Jrue Holiday two years ago.
And-Ones: Hornets, Celtics, D-League
The contracts of Alonzo Gee (Nuggets) and James Ennis (Heat) both became fully guaranteed today, and a partial guarantee of $250K has kicked in for Dewayne Dedmon (Magic), since both Dedmon and Ennis were on their teams’ respective rosters come opening night, and Gee was still on his team’s roster past October 29th, as is shown on our schedule of contract guarantee dates.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Celtics look to improve upon their 25-win season of a year ago, and began their quest at home tonight with a 121-105 victory over the Nets. In his season preview, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com believes Boston’s outlook has improved, and Rajon Rondo will have a strong season as he looks to silence his doubters and maximize his value heading into next summer.
- In a separate article, Blakely looks at the top five players who changed teams and donned new uniforms this summer. Blakely also examined the five best rookies making their debuts this season, including Elfrid Payton, Jabari Parker, and Marcus Smart.
- Hornets owner Michael Jordan believes that the addition of Lance Stephenson gives his team a legitimate shot to contend in the Eastern Conference, the Associated Press reports. Jordan especially likes Stephenson’s “fight,” saying, “One of the reasons why I admire his game is he takes on challenges. For us to get any place in the East, we need someone to challenge LeBron. He challenged LeBron.”
- Former Sixers coach Larry Brown slammed the organization’s rebuilding through “tanking” plan, John N. Mitchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I hate what’s going on in Philly,” Brown said. “They don’t have a basketball person in the organization. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
- Malcolm Turner of Wasserman Media Group has been hired as the president of the NBA D-League, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
- Roger Mason has been hired as the NBPA’s director of player relations, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report tweets. It is unclear if accepting this position would prevent Mason from continuing his playing career. The 34-year-old Mason made 25 appearances for the Heat last season, averaging 3.0 PPG in 10.4 minutes-per-game.
Adam Silver On Hard Cap, Lottery, CBA
Earlier today the NBA’s Board of Governors voted against changes to the draft lottery, with only 17 teams voting to change the current system, which was six short of the required 23 votes needed to pass the reforms. NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the vote and other issues during a press conference this afternoon, the highlights of which were relayed by Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
- Silver indicated that one third of the league’s franchises are losing money, notes Berger. This is significant because this is happening despite the owners getting the players to accept a 12 percent reduction in their share of the league’s revenues during the last labor negotiations. It could also be the league setting up their bargaining stance for 2017’s pending negotiations.
- Berger asked Silver if all 30 teams aren’t making a profit on July 1, 2017, the date that the current CBA can be opted out of, is that reason enough for another lockout? Silver responded by saying, “No. No, because the caveat has always been, if well managed. And I would also say, if you don’t have a hard-cap system, for example, one of the teams that isn’t profitable are the Brooklyn Nets. That’s an election they’re free to make under our compensation system. They’ve elected to be unprofitable. My preference would be to have a harder cap, where teams couldn’t elect to spend so much more than other teams.”
- When asked if achieving a hard cap in the next CBA will be a take-it-or-leave-it issue, Silver said, “No, not at all. There’s gradations of hardness in terms of the cap as well. I wish our current cap system was harder. It’s what we proposed last time around, but we compromised.”
- Silver called the perception that teams are tanking, “corrosive perception,” notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Silver also added that if lottery reform eventually is adopted, it will come with teams being, “appropriately on notice.” That statement seems to indicate that if any changes were adopted they wouldn’t necessarily take effect for the 2015 draft lottery.
- Silver also briefly addressed the possibility that either the players or the owners would opt out of the current CBA in 2017, saying, “It’s premature for even me to be concerned,” Winderman tweets. It would appear that the league should be at least a little concerned, as the new NBPA head Michele Roberts has already hinted that the players would choose to opt out in light of the new $24 billion TV deal that will begin in 2016.
And-Ones: Roberts, Spurs, Vucevic, Rubio
After his sit down with Michele Roberts, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post doesn’t get the feeling that the new NBPA head is on board with the idea of a gradual increase in the salary cap starting in 2016 (Twitter links). The alternative is to allow the cap to jump up after the 2015/16 season — Bontemps estimates a spike to over $90MM — due to the injection of the money from the league’s new TV deal. That increase, of course, could coincide with the free agency of superstar Kevin Durant.
Let’s take a look at what else is going on around the league on Tuesday:
- It would be shocking if any of Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis or JaMychal Green were to end up on the Spurs’ final roster, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Cotton, Davis and Green all have partially guaranteed deals, but as our Expanded Roster Counts show, the Spurs already have 15 fully guaranteed contracts on the books.
- A strong showing in 2014/15 would have likely netted Nikola Vucevic a more lucrative deal next summer than the one he agreed to earlier tonight, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. However, Lowe believes Vucevic’s shortcomings on the defensive end add risk for the Magic while also conceding the deal should be a fair one considering the rising cap (Twitter links).
- Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, also pointing to the increasing salary cap, writes that Vucevic’s extension compares favorably to the four-year, $48MM deal Utah’s Derrick Favors inked last October. Golliver adds that the pact eliminates any chance of a bidding war over Vucevic for the Magic next summer which could have resulted in an overpay.
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities expects Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to soon become more involved in extension talks for point guard Ricky Rubio (via Twitter). The Wolves reportedly upped their offer to four years, $48MM shortly after we heard that Rubio and Taylor had spoken several times on the phone. Wolfson, who speculates that a total offer of $52-54MM might do it, adds that Taylor’s loyalty to Rubio could “change the dynamic” of the talks (Twitter links here).
Michele Roberts On Union, Salaries, Age Limit
New NBPA head Michele Roberts seems to be making the media rounds after stepping into the role vacated by Billy Hunter. She recently sat down with Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to discuss several topical issues that she is sure to address in her tenure as the executive director of the NBPA. There is a little overlap with her conversation last week with Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops, but the entire story is still worth a read. Here are some of the key quotes from Roberts:
On the status of the union:
“But I think what is equally important, for me, is to repair what has been a foundation that has been subjected to some injury by, unfortunately, my predecessor. What we don’t have, and what we will have, is a management structure that is both able to interact with our counterparties with the league and elsewhere, but a structure that allows the players to do unequivocally what they want to do, and that’s run their own union…. They didn’t hire me, and they were not interested in hiring, someone to run things for them, to simply let them know what’s going on.”
On having a max salary rule:
“I’ve had conversations with guys who have said, ‘Look, when I go to play in New York, I’m not selling out the Garden. I can get on the subway and no one knows who I am. But when LeBron goes to the Garden, he’s selling it out, and he can’t get on the subway because he’ll be mobbed’ … so there’s an appreciation of what we all realize is true. The LeBrons of the world, the Durants of the world, the Kobes of the world, they make a ton of money for this league and empower everybody. So I don’t hear players complaining about max salaries or getting rid of max salaries. Because, frankly, everyone gets it.
On the NBA minimum age:
“It sounds trite, but you can go to war and you can’t make a living. If I had my way, you could work at 14, and whenever someone is prepared to hire you. If people say, ‘They’re not yet members of the union, why should we care?’ Michele cares that anybody that’s able to work can. The notion that the union shouldn’t be concerned about people who will one day become members of the union, that’s nonsense. We may not legally be able to do anything about that, but to not care about people we know are going to become members of our union, of course we care about them, and we should consider any policy that’s going to impact our future members. Michele needs a better argument with respect to why that policy needs to be increased from 19 to 20, but I’ll find out from my bosses what they think, and I’ll let you know.”
On the 2017 labor talks:
“The only way that happens is when people have not been engaged in the process going forward. In other instances [I’ve been in] where there have been multiple stakeholders who have had interest in the outcome but internally and there has been a dissension in the ranks, it’s always been when people are lied to or had a complete misunderstanding of what the goals were.
“I can’t say what happened in 2011 because I wasn’t there, but I was told there was internal dissension, and I can imagine there was a communications breakdown. There’s no sort of magic bullet you can have, but you can certainly minimize the possibility of that happening.
“But if you get people engaged and involved in the discussion as early as possible, and if you have a common agenda and everyone knows this is what we’ve agreed we’re going to do and try to accomplish, it would minimize — I think dramatically — the possibility of people fighting internally. It could happen, but it will not happen because I don’t get people I needed to be in the room in the room, and so we’re going to start getting people in the room right now.”