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Central Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Poythress, Bucks

August 31st, 2016 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may make a mutual decision to wait until next summer for contract talks, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit took a similar approach to Andre Drummond last year, but that was to preserve cap space. In the case of Caldwell-Pope, it would be to monitor his development and decide if he’s the long-term solution at shooting guard or if Stanley Johnson is a viable alternative. From Caldwell-Pope’s perspective, he and his representatives may be encouraged by the huge salaries thrown around in free agency this year and decide that he’s likely to top whatever offer the Pistons could make now. The deadline for extensions is October 31st. Langlois notes that regardless of when it happens, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is a huge proponent of Caldwell-Pope and wants to see him signed long term.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Alex Poythress isn’t discouraged about his NBA dream despite being bypassed on draft night, writes Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. The 6’7″ forward, who spent four years at Kentucky, recently signed a partially guaranteed deal with the Pacers and is believed to be ticketed for the D-League. Poythress has been working out in Indianapolis for the past few weeks. “Things are going good,” he said. “Going through the draft process, [the Pacers] really liked me. I’m just trying to make best of this opportunity.”
Even though the Bucks finished 33-49 last season, Matthew Dellavedova believes he is joining a playoff team, relays ESPN’s Jake Michaels. Fresh off a championship season with the Cavaliers, the Australian point guard accepted a four-year, $38MM offer from Milwaukee and was sent there as part of a sign-and-trade deal. Dellavedova said he is looking forward to having a legendary point guard as his new coach. “To be able to learn from one of the greatest point guards of all time in Jason Kidd is going to be cool, and something I’m really excited about,” he said. “I cannot wait.”
The Bucks should locate their new D-League franchise in Sheboygan, argues Adam Johnson of D-League Digest. Sheboygan is one of the finalists for the new team, along with Oshkosh and Racine. The Bucks’ new affiliate will start play in the 2017/18 season.

And-Ones: Huestis, D-League, Nets, Dunn

August 25th, 2016 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The fact that the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets‘ new D-League affiliate, selected the rights to Josh Huestis in Wednesday’s D-League expansion draft raised some eyebrows, since the former first-round pick is currently on the Thunder‘s NBA roster. However, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman explains, the Thunder can still assign Huestis to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, as long as Huestis remains on the NBA roster. If OKC waived Huestis, the team would also surrender his D-League rights, with the Swarm getting first dibs.

Let’s check in on a few other notes from around the league, including more on yesterday’s D-League expansion draft…

Adam Johnson of D-League Digest offers up a few more details on the D-League expansion draft, noting that most players selected won’t end up playing for the teams that drafted them. Still, Kiwi Gardner – selected in the second round by the Windy City Bulls – is expected to play for Chicago’s D-League affiliate this season, his agent tells Johnson.
The Nets clearly value rookie guard Isaiah Whitehead very highly, writes Net Income of NetsDaily. As we noted earlier today, Brooklyn paid $3MM to move up on draft night to nab Whitehead, who was ranked 18th in the team’s 2016 mock draft, per NetsDaily.
Kris Dunn was linked to several teams leading up to – and during – draft night, including a couple clubs that had interest in trading for him. Ultimately, the rookie point guard landed in Minnesota, and he tells Larry Berger of USA Today Sports (video link) that the Timberwolves are a “beautiful organization.”

2016 NBA D-League Expansion Draft Results

August 24th, 2016 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA D-League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s three new teams to add the rights to 12 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 19 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to 10 players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, as Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com explained earlier today.

As we noted on Tuesday, the D-League’s three new franchises this year are affiliates for the Nets (Long Island Nets), Hornets (Greensboro Swarm), and Bulls (Windy City Bulls).

The players those three teams added today won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s somewhat rare for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs, as D-League Digest tweets. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas. Still, the expansion draft gives the D-League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.

Per Reichert, here are the results of today’s expansion draft. The player’s former D-League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:

Long Island Nets (Twitter link)

Gary Forbes (Grand Rapids Drive)
Carrick Felix (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Jamaal Franklin (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
Akil Mitchell (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Peyton Siva (Delaware 87ers)
Alex Kirk (Canton Charge)
Austin Freeman (Westchester Knicks)
Kendall Gray (Iowa Energy)
Lazar Hayward (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
Dwayne Polee Jr. (Reno Bighorns)
Matt Bouldin (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Lewis Jackson (Salt Lake City Stars)

Greensboro Swarm (Twitter link)

Josh Davis (Austin Spurs)
Abdul Gaddy (Maine Red Claws)
Tony Bishop (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
Scotty Hopson (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Toure’ Murry (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
Rodney Williams (Oklahoma City Blue)
Josh Huestis (Oklahoma City Blue)
Ralston Turner (Grand Rapids Drive)
Keanau Post (Raptors 905)
Damien Wilkins (Iowa Energy)
Kris Joseph (Westchester Knicks)
Dee Bost (Raptors 905)

Windy City Bulls (Twitter link)

Wesley Saunders (Austin Spurs)
Kiwi Gardner (Santa Cruz Warriors)
Ralph Sampson III (Maine Red Claws)
Booker Woodfox (Texas Legends)
Jerel McNeal (Northern Arizona Suns)
Akeem Richmond (Reno Bighorns)
Casey Prather (Northern Arizona Suns)
Jon Octeus (Canton Charge)
Justin Dentmon (Texas Legends)
Jamal Jones (Delaware 87ers)
Xavier Thames (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
Ian Chiles (Salt Lake City Stars)

And-Ones: Matthews, Harden, Hunter

August 23rd, 2016 at 9:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wesley Matthews says he is fully recovered from the Achilles tear he suffered in 2015 and predicts much stronger results for his second campaign with the Mavericks, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “I want the season to start now,” Matthews said. “I’m a whole different person. I’m a whole different player, and I’m really just excited to get out there and show it, and just to be who I know I can be and just to continue to grow. Obviously, it was different coming off of an Achilles [injury] and not having four or five months to prepare and all that stuff, and jumping right into the season being physically able to play every single game and play heavy minutes. It took until about after the All-Star break for me to get my legs back, because I play both ends of the court. And I feel better than when I got hurt.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Despite the roster and coaching changes the team has made, the Rockets will only go as far as James Harden takes them, writes Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. The guard is one of the most criticized players in the league, Maroney notes, something that GM Daryl Morey disagrees with. “He’s only a polarizing figure to people who don’t watch,” Morey told Maroney. “Players voted him MVP [in 2014/15] for a reason. He’s had a winning team every season of his career, with multiple Conference Finals appearances.”
The Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s D-League affiliate, named Ryan Gomes and Pat Rafferty as assistant coaches, the team announced via press release.
ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) released his first mock draft for 2017. The current top three, according to Ford, are Markelle Fultz (Washington), Harry Giles (Duke) and Josh Jackson (Kansas).
R.J. Hunter, James Young, John Holland, and Ben Bentil are expected to compete for the Celtics‘ final regular season roster spot, though Hunter appears to have the advantage heading into the preseason, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. Regardless of any advantage he has, Hunter plans on earning his place on the team, Himmelsbach adds. “I’m a competitor, so it’s just absolutely motivation for me,” Hunter said. “I think it just adds an extra competitive spirit to training camp, which is a great way to get the year started. So I’d rather have it that way, because now I have no reason not to be on my toes on every possession and at every practice. So I’ll try to use it to my advantage.”

NBA D-League Affiliations For 2016/17

August 23rd, 2016 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA D-League announced its 2016/17 schedule this week, and once again, the league has officially expanded its list of teams. The NBA’s ultimate goal is to have each of its 30 franchises affiliated with a D-League squad, and the league inched closer to that goal this year.

Three additional NBA teams – the Nets, Hornets, and Bulls – now have expansion affiliates in the D-League, while two more teams – the Suns and Jazz – relocated their affiliates, ensuring that the distance between the NBA and D-League clubs has been reduced. Phoenix’s old D-League team, the Bakersfield Jam, is now located in Northern Arizona, while the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s old D-League affiliate, has moved to Salt Lake City.

Listed below, sorted alphabetically by NBA team, are the 22 NBA D-League affiliates for the 2016/17 season.

2016/17 D-League Affiliations:

Boston Celtics: Maine Red Claws
Brooklyn Nets: Long Island Nets (new)
Charlotte Hornets: Greensboro Swarm (new)
Chicago Bulls: Windy City Bulls (new)
Cleveland Cavaliers: Canton Charge
Dallas Mavericks: Texas Legends
Detroit Pistons: Grand Rapids Drive
Golden State Warriors: Santa Cruz Warriors
Houston Rockets: Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Indiana Pacers: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Los Angeles Lakers: Los Angeles D-Fenders
Memphis Grizzlies: Iowa Energy
Miami Heat: Sioux Falls Skyforce
New York Knicks: Westchester Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder: Oklahoma City Blue
Orlando Magic: Erie BayHawks
Philadelphia 76ers: Delaware 87ers
Phoenix Suns: Northern Arizona Suns (relocated)
Sacramento Kings: Reno Bighorns
San Antonio Spurs: Austin Spurs
Toronto Raptors: Raptors 905
Utah Jazz: Salt Lake City Stars (relocated)

Listed below are the eight NBA teams still without a D-League affiliate. These eight clubs will get to assign players to D-League teams associated with other NBA franchises.

Teams without D-League affiliates:

Atlanta Hawks
Denver Nuggets
Los Angeles Clippers
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers
Washington Wizards

Heat Notes: Bosh, Stoudemire, Stokes

August 13th, 2016 at 6:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

It’s unlikely the Heat will use the stretch provision on Chris Bosh this year, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Teams face an August 31st deadline to trigger that option for the 2016/17 season, and Miami officials don’t appear ready to commit to such a move. The stretch provision is a relatively new rule that allows teams to ease the burden of an unwanted contract by waiving the player and stretching his cap hit for double the number of years left on his deal, plus one. Bosh has three years remaining at $75,868,170, so the Heat could choose to pay him $10,838,750 each year through 2022/23.

One consequence of using the stretch provision is it erases the possibility of a medical retirement, which could happen if an independent doctor rules that Bosh, whose past two seasons have been cut short by blood clots, cannot continue playing in the NBA. That must occur at least one year after a player’s final game, which in Bosh’s case was February 9th, 2016, and would take the entire remaining contract off the Heat’s cap.

There’s more news out of Miami:

Bosh continues to send positive messages to teammates about resuming his career, Winderman notes in the same story. If the Heat decide to use the stretch provision on Bosh, he could immediately sign with any other team, most likely one with fewer objections than Miami about letting him play again.
Amar’e Stoudemire would have preferred more time in the NBA before joining the Israeli team that he co-owns, Winderman adds in the same piece. Stoudemire appeared in 52 games for the Heat last year and became a regular starter by the end of the season. “I started 37, 38 of the last 40 [regular-season] games,” he said at a press conference in Jerusalem. “My stats were pretty good. But teams want to go younger and have a different mindset about basketball.”
Jarnell Stokes, who appeared in five games for Miami last season, hired Priority Sports as his new agent and turned down offers in excess of $500K to play in Europe, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The 6’9″ center/power forward was acquired in a trade with Memphis last November, but spent most of the season in the D-League, where he earned MVP honors. Miami traded him to New Orleans in February, and the Pelicans promptly released him. The Lokomotiv Kuban franchise in Russia is among the teams interested in signing Stokes, according to Sportando.

Eastern Notes: Hoiberg, Muscala, Noah

August 13th, 2016 at 10:40am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls added experience this offseason in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, potentially at the cost of putting a cohesive unit on the court, but coach Fred Hoiberg believes his new look roster can be effective on offense, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com relays. “The biggest thing is we have multiple playmakers now, we have guys who can get in and break down the defense,” Hoiberg said. “That’s the most important thing to have on an NBA roster is multiple ballhandlers, multiple playmakers. Bigs who are gonna set screens and put pressure on the rim.”

“Rondo is a point guard who I think will thrive in the system we like to run and then to get Dwyane, we didn’t have to give up any of the young pieces in the process,” Hoiberg continued. “We’re able to stay competitive with players with championship experience. To pair those two guys with Jimmy Butler, it’ll be a dynamic and exciting backcourt.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

New Knicks center Joakim Noah has no ill feelings toward the Bulls and appreciates the time he spent in Chicago, but is still looking forward to facing his old franchise this coming season, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “I have no anger towards nobody,” Noah said. “If we had a couple rough years at the end, I’m just still so grateful for the opportunity the Bulls gave me. It’s like a family to me. Even though it’s a new chapter for the end of my career to be in New York, I think Chicago is always going to be a home to me.“
With Dwight Howard and Tiago Splitter on the Hawks‘ roster, Mike Muscala is focusing on improving his versatility and outside shooting in an effort to earn more minutes, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I feel like I do have good perimeter skills for a big guy, but just getting more comfortable doing it in a game and really hammering it home and being ready to shoot the ball,” Muscala told Vivlamore. “You are going to have off-shooting days, but you have to be ready to shoot because that’s what the offense needs. It’s getting the right mindset for it, too, and being a gunslinger, being ready to shoot. That doesn’t mean shooting all the time, but having that mindset that if you miss a shot be ready for the next one. Don’t force anything. Don’t overshoot. Play with the pass. But be ready for it. That’s a big thing I’ve been working on.”
The Magic are close to naming Lakeland, Florida as the new home of their D-League affiliate, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).

And-Ones: Salary Record, LeBron, CBA, D-League

August 12th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s record $24MM television deal is playing out just as predicted, writes Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. With LeBron James signing a three-year, $100MM deal with the Cavaliers, a record 17 teams now have the highest-paid players in franchise history on their current rosters. However, most of them are players who re-signed with their current teams or agreed to contract extensions. The only players who earned that distinction by changing teams this summer are Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, Boston’s Al Horford and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

There’s more NBA-related news this afternoon:

Because James has a player option for the third season of his new contract, he can become a free agent in July of 2018, along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. In March, James made headlines by speculating on the possibility of the four close friends one day joining forces.
A “super max” contract is among several changes the NBA and the players union should consider in a new collective bargaining agreement, suggests Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That provision would allow for a contract that is 40% of the salary cap, but would only count as a normal maximum deal against the cap. It would be available only to a player who remains with his current team and it would not be tradeable. Kyler also would like to see a third round added to the draft to help teams stock their D-League affiliates, a two-way contract with different salaries when players are in the NBA and D-League, and minimum qualifications that players would have to meet before being eligible for maximum contracts.
The D-League will holds its national tryouts Sunday in Manhattan, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Among the players who received invitations are Sterling Gibbs of Connecticut, Jonathan Holton of West Virginia, Chris Obekpa of St John’s and Markus Kennedy of SMU (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: D-League, Sixers Coaches, Celtics

August 4th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets are taking their new D-League affiliate in Long Island seriously and with the team sharing the NBA club’s facilities this season while work is completed on the Nassau Coliseum, it places affiliate players in a somewhat unique situation, NetsDaily writes. “Every time you walk into the practice facility, you should want to work hard because, as you see, throughout our practices now, Coach [Kenny] Atkinson is just sitting here, walking around just to see who is working. So, you never know.” said guard Sean Kilpatrick. “You could be one of the D-League guys in the gym, and Coach just so happens to see you, and is like, ‘Yo, we should give this guy a look.’”

“No other D-League team will operate as we’re operating this year,” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored said. “If you’re a player and you want to get into the NBA, you’re practicing in an NBA facility every single day. Our guys will get world-class treatment, first-class treatment and we’ll have the same opportunities to amenities and things like that, that the NBA guys have. If you can’t appreciate this opportunity, man, there’s another place for you.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers officially announced via press release that the team has named Jim O’Brien and Kevin Young as assistant coaches, John Bryant and Alvin Williams as player development coaches, John Townsend as shooting coach, Chris Babcock as assistant director of player development and Dr. Lance Pearson as director of applied analytics. Philadelphia also relayed that Eugene Burroughs, who spent the last two seasons as the Sixers’ shooting coach, has been promoted to head coach of the team’s D-League affiliate in Delaware.
A panel of NBA writers, facilitated by Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com, weighed in on whom the Celtics will start alongside newly signed Al Horford at power forward. The group was divided, with Amir Johnson narrowly edging out Kelly Olynyk for the starting nod. According to the panel, coach Brad Stevens‘ choice will come down to his preference for Olynyk’s scoring ability versus Johnson’s superior rebounding and defense. Feel free to weigh in on who you’d pick in the comments section below.
We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of breaking down each teams’ cap situation heading into the new season and we’ve already looked at the Celtics and Nets from the Atlantic Division.

And-Ones: Stackhouse, Labor, Olympics, Garnett

August 1st, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are expected to name former All-Star Jerry Stackhouse as head coach of their D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, sources told Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com. Stackhouse, who played for eight teams during a career that lasted from 1995-2013, spent last season on Dwane Casey’s staff. He would replace Jesse Mermuys, who is now an assistant to new Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton. Stackhouse coached the Raptors’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month. Raptors 905 was an expansion team last season and had several players that also saw action in the NBA, including Anthony Bennett, Bruno Caboclo, Delon Wright and Lucas Nogueira, Reichert adds.

In other news around the league:

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts is optimistic a new labor agreement will be reached before a potential lockout, she told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Our teams have been in discussions for some months now and we have made progress and we’re inclined to continue along those lines,” she said. “We have meetings this summer and we’re meeting next week and [consistently] after that. We’re trying to get a deal as quickly as we can, ideally before the start of the season.” Roberts added that if an agreement isn’t reached by the Dec. 15th deadline, the union would likely opt out, triggering the possible lockout following the season.
American fans will get their first look at a lot of foreign players during the Summer Olympics, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. There will be many players whose names are familiar because teams hold their draft rights, such as Croatian star Dario Saric, who recently signed to play for the Sixers next season. Other prominent names include Lithuania’s Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Spain’s Willy Hernangomez, who will both be part of the Knicks; Nigeria’s Michael Gbinije, a second-round pick of the Pistons; China’s Zhou Qi, a Rockets’ second-rounder; Spain’s Sergio Llull, who the Rockets have been trying to convince to come to the NBA, Lithuania’s Domantas Sabonis, who was traded to the Thunder on draft night; and Spain’s Alex Abrines, who recently signed with the Thunder.
Kevin Garnett met with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor but no final decision materialized regarding Garnett’s future, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The 40-year-old Garnett, who appeared in 38 games last season, has one year and $8MM remaining on his contract.
CAA Sports signed NBA free agent guards Sergio Rodriguez and Ish Smith and negotiated deals with their new clubs, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. The Sixers signed the 30-year-old Rodriguez to a one-year, $8MM contract. Smith received a three-year, $18MM deal from the Pistons.