Northwest Notes: Fisher, Garrett, Cunningham
Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez has been surprised at how great a fit the city of Portland has been for him this year, both on and off the court, he told listeners of The Jim Rome Show today. “It’s funny, when I was playing in Phoenix, Channing Frye, who had been in Portland, told me if I visited there, if I went there, I was just going to love it. And I was a little reluctant to believe him just because Channing talks a lot of stuff. But it turns out he’s been 100 percent right. I can’t believe how perfectly the fit has been,” said Lopez (transcription via Sean Meagher of Oregon Live). Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- After going undrafted in 2011, bouncing around Europe and the D-League, and making short-lived stops with the Suns and Thunder, Jazz backup point guard Diante Garrett tells Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune he’s hoping to prove himself and find some permanency in Utah. “You try and not think about it all the time because it will weigh you down,” said Garrett, who has an unguaranteed contract for next season at less than $1MM. “Just go out there and do what you’ve been doing all year and put even more effort into it, because there are going to be a lot of eyes watching, a lot of people watching, a lot of people talking.”
- Speculation has tied Thunder guard Derek Fisher to the Knicks head coaching position, but he tells Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman that he hasn’t spoken with Phil Jackson about the gig, and reiterates that he’s not looking to coach next season.
- Caron Butler tells Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman he came to the Thunder following his buyout with the Bucks because he wanted a chance to play a significant part in a championship run. “I wanted to play,” Butler said. “I wanted to be effective. I wanted to have my fingerprints even more on the success of the team.” Butler won a championship with the Mavs in 2011, but sat out that postseason with an injury.
- Dante Cunningham is the only Timberwolves rotation fixture set to become an unrestricted free agent next year, and Andy Greder of St. Paul Pioneer Press wonders if Minnesota will value the forward’s intangibles enough to re-sign him despite his poor on-the-court statistics.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Hopson, Augustin, Heat
The Cavs used the room exception to sign Scotty Hopson on Monday, but because the maximum 4.5% raise permitted via the exception is tied to what he actually makes, rather than the exception’s full value, Hopson isn’t a particularly intriguing trade chip. Mark Deeks of ShamSportsexplains the matter in his latest piece for the Score, noting that Hopson’s salary of about $1.37MM this season and $1.44MM next season is roughly equivalent to what a veteran of 10 seasons or more would make on a minimum-salary deal. Hopson is ineligible to be traded until July 10th, meaning he’s of no use for a draft-night trade.
More news from around the east:
- Since being picked up by the Bulls after Toronto waived him in December, D.J. Augustin has averaged 14.3 PPG on nearly 42 percent shooting, including 41 percent from 3-point range, in 30.4 minutes per contest. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, but would love to return to Chicago, writes Cody Westerlund of CBSChicago.com.
- The Heat‘s “Big Three” of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh can all become free-agents after the season. There has been speculation that one or all three would consider leaving Miami, but before making any decision, the trio plan to sit down together to discuss their options, writes Darren Rovell of ESPN.com.
- Phil Jackson has been to only two of the eight games the Knicks have played since he took over their basketball department. Some say Jackson should be with the team as much as possible to get to know the players and staff and help them in any way he can as they try to make their playoff push, but Carmelo Anthony is not one of them, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Anthony said, “He’s smart. He knows what he’s doing. He’s been in this situation before with fighting for spots and trying to win basketball games. So he knows what to expect, and now he’s on the outside looking in. I guess he’s giving us our space. We’re not really concerned about that.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Irving, Bayless, Hoiberg
Celtics coach Brad Stevens would like to see Jerryd Bayless return to the team next season, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Stevens said, “You don’t know how all the numbers are going to work themselves out and all the different people, but he’s a good guy to have on your team. He’s bright, he thinks about the game on both ends of the floor, he’s physical, and he can score the ball in a flurry. I like him and I’d like to have him. At the same time, I don’t know how all that stuff is going to work itself out. I’m a big fan of Jerryd Bayless; I like him.” In 35 appearances for Boston, Bayless is averaging 9.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 24.7 minutes per contest.
More from the east:
- Kyrie Irving has been cleared to return to practice after missing the Cavaliers last eight games with a biceps injury, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. He can resume full contact immediately, but the team said his status for this week’s games hasn’t been determined. Cleveland is 4-4 since Irving was injured.
- Irving, who is eligible to sign a contract extension this summer, shot down rumors of him being traded, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Irving said, “I’m on my rookie deal. The team that can extend me is the Cleveland Cavaliers, and, you know, for me to even think about getting traded is blasphemy. It’s ridiculous.“
- Fred Hoiberg is being talked about as a head coaching candidate for a number of NBA teams. Sam Smith of Bulls.com looks at some of the possible suitors, and also analyzes whether Hoiberg should leave Iowa State for the NBA. Hoiberg has been mentioned lately as a possibility to take over the Knicks next season, should Mike Woodson not be retained.
- Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News tries to find some positives in the Sixers dismal season. He looks at a number of their young players, and what roles they might play in the team’s future.
Pacific Rumors: Thomas, Jackson, Marshall
There will be something on the line for every team in the Pacific Division over the final two weeks or so remaining in the regular season. The Clippers have an outside chance at catching the Thunder for the second seed in the Western Conference, while the Warriors and Suns are fighting for one of the final playoff spots and the Kings and Lakers are jockeying for draft lottery position. Plenty of intrigue will carry over into the offseason, as we detail:
- Isaiah Thomas let his affection for the Lakers be known recently, but the soon-to-be restricted free agent tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he’d prefer to remain with the Kings. The Kings would like to keep him, since they’ve concluded that Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay can form the core of a quality team, Jones writes. “I definitely want to be around when it does turn around,” Thomas said. “I was drafted here. I’ve been welcomed with open arms by the Sacramento community. It just feels like a second home. I can’t control it, though. At the same time, I’m going to do whatever’s possible to be around. That’s all I can do.”
- Regardless of what happens between Mark Jackson and the Warriors, the former Knicks point guard won’t have the chance to return to New York, as Knicks team president Phil Jackson wouldn’t hire him, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob will be the sole decision-maker regarding the coach’s future with Golden State, Kawakami adds (Twitter link).
- Kendall Marshall still holds a grudge against the Suns for trading him just one season after they took him 13th overall in 2012, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Lakers plan to retain Marshall on his non-guaranteed contract next season, as we noted earlier.
Contract Details: Butler, World Peace, Suns
Mark Deeks has updated his salary databases at ShamSports, and, as usual, he’s revealed several nuances about the latest contracts signed around the NBA. We’ll pass along the details we hadn’t previously heard about here:
- Caron Butler gave up $1MM in his buyout deal with the Bucks. He signed for that same amount for the remainder of this season with the Thunder, who dipped into their mid-level exception to accommodate Butler’s $1MM salary.
- Metta World Peace gave up $305,166 of this season’s $1.59MM salary in his buyout deal with the Knicks. All contracts with player options include a clause indicating whether or not the player receives the money for his option year in the event that he’s waived before deciding on the option. It looks as if the clause in World Peace’s deal stated that he would not receive the option-year pay, since Deeks doesn’t list any of World Peace’s $1,931,550 salary for 2014/15 on New York’s books.
- Shavlik Randolph‘s contract with the Suns includes a non-guaranteed year for 2014/15, rather than a team option, as we suspected.
- If the Hawks exercise their team option on the fourth season of Mike Muscala‘s deal, the contract will nonetheless remain non-guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date. It’s similar to the structure of the contracts a handful of Sixers have, including recent signee Jarvis Varnado.
- Chris Johnson also has such a deal with the Celtics, although there are a pair of guarantee dates attached to the third and fourth seasons. The third year becomes fully guaranteed providing he’s not waived on or before September 1st, 2015, and the fourth year becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before September 1st, 2016.
- The Celtics also arranged for a couple of guarantee dates on Phil Pressey‘s three-year contract. Next season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before July 15th, but if the Celtics keep him beyond that date, it’s fully guaranteed. The same happens for the third year of the deal on July 15, 2015.
- The Rockets have a team option on Troy Daniels worth the minimum salary for next season.
- Luke Babbitt‘s two-year deal with the Pelicans is for the minimum salary. Next season isn’t guaranteed, but it becomes partially guaranteed for $100K if he isn’t waived on or before July 22nd.
- The Magic used cap room to sign Dewayne Dedmon to a three-year contract that gives him $300K for the rest of this season, slightly more than what he would have made on a prorated minimum-salary deal. Dedmon is set to make the minimum salary in the other two seasons covered in the pact. Next season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before opening night, when it becomes partially guaranteed for $250K. The final season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before August 1st, 2015, when it becomes fully guaranteed.
Knicks Notes: Love, Calipari, Stoudemire
Yesterday we learned that Kevin Love still considers the Knicks an appealing destination, and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com looks ahead to the summer of 2015 to see what kind of fit Love might have within New York’s roster and salary cap. Here’s more from New York:
- Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com wonders whether it would be worth it for new Knicks president Phil Jackson to commit to a full-on tanking effort next year, citing some Sixers fans’ patience with Philadelphia’s rebuilding process despite their ugly losing streak.
- A friend of Kentucky coach John Calipari tells Steve Serby of The New York Post that Calipari hasn’t indicated that he’s looking for an NBA job, but Serby thinks the Knicks should pursue him anyway.
- The Knicks didn’t expect much from Amar’e Stoudemire this season and acquired Andrea Bargnani as frontcourt insurance in a costly trade, but the former All-Star tells Al Iannazzone of Newsday that he’s had more hope about his long-term health than many of his doubters. “Last year was a very frustrating year. Knowing how much I trained and worked on being a dominant player and then receiving those injuries and coming off the bench, it was one of the hardest years I’ve endured in my career,” Stoudemire said. “I still stayed positive, I stayed optimistic about things and I’ve been an example for a lot of the youth out there that no matter what the situation might be, always continue to work. You have the goals in mind and you know what type of player you want to become; just keep working.”
Warriors Sign Armstrong To 10-Day Contract
4:38pm: The Warriors have officially announced the signing.
11:20am: The Warriors have signed Santa Cruz center Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract, bringing him back to the team at a time when they are short on big men heading into today’s game against the Knicks, reports Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group. Armstrong, 29, played in eight games for Golden State this season and will be on his third stint with the team. He previously was signed in December before being waived later that month. In February, he signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors and returned to Santa Cruz after it expired and the team chose not to re-sign him.
Starting center Andrew Bogut was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Saturday after suffering a pelvic contusion the previous night in a win against Memphis. and power forward David Lee is also questionable to face New York due to a strained right hamstring suffered eight days ago in a loss to the Spurs.
Armstrong averaged 12 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 32 appearances for Santa Cruz and had 19 points and 13 rebounds in a loss at Los Angeles on Saturday. For the year, Armstrong has averaged 0.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 4.4 minutes per contest with Golden State.
Josh Powell To Play In Philippines
According to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link), former NBA player Josh Powell is signing a deal in the Philippines to play with Barangay Ginebra. Powell spent the first half of the season in China playing with Guangdong where he averaged 15.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG. Powell is no stranger to international basketball, having previously played for Olympiakos in Greece in 2012/13, following previous stints in Puerto Rico and China.
Powell was in camp with the Knicks prior to the start of the NBA season, but the team reportedly had no intention of retaining him for opening night, no matter how well he played in preseason. He was waived by the team in October then penned a deal with Guangdong.
In six seasons in the NBA he has career averages of 3.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 12.5 minutes per contest, but Powell is best known for being a member of two championship winning Lakers teams in 2009 and 2010.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Billups, Stoudemire
Isiah Thomas has been campaigning for a position with either the Pistons or the Cavaliers front offices, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Whether those overtures will bear fruit or not will have to wait to be seen, but both those teams really have their eye on another soon-to-be former Piston, Chauncey Billups, notes Windhorst. According to the article, Billups is likely headed towards retirement after knee surgery ended his season, and is the apple of both the Cavs’ and Pistons’ eye for a role in their respective franchise’s leadership. While there might be some interest in getting Billups to follow in Jason Kidd’s footsteps and go right from player to coach, Billups has been hinting openly for years he’d rather graduate to the front office at the end of his career, reports Windhorst.
More from the east:
- The Pistons’ Gigi Datome met with Italian National Team head coach Simone Pianigiani and officially confirmed that he’ll play for Italy next summer, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Datome said, “At the end of the NBA season I will remain in Detroit to work. But next summer I will play for Italy. It is going to be my 14th with Italy and I am proud of that.”
- Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal makes the case that the Cavaliers should re-sign Spencer Hawes this summer and only consider re-signing Luol Deng if he is willing to take something in the $8MM-$10MM a year range.
- In the same article, Finnan also thinks the Cavs will entertain trade offers for Tristan Thompson this offseason. The team has Anthony Bennett waiting in the wings and Thompson could be looking for upwards of $10MM a season this summer when he is eligible to sign a contract extension.
- Marc Berman of The New York Post examines the revival of Amar’e Stoudemire‘s career since he was inserted into the Knicks starting lineup, and what that might do for his trade value this offseason.
Kevin Love Has Interest In Bulls
A source familiar with Kevin Love‘s thinking tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com the All-Star is intrigued by the Bulls as a destination, adding to the forward’s known interests in the Lakers and Knicks. At this point, there has been no indication that the Bulls front office has made any preparations for a Love pursuit, which would have to occur via a trade before the 2014/15 season’s trade deadline, or in free agency before the 2015/16 season, when Love is expected by most to decline his $16.7MM player option.
The Lakers have been considered the favorite to land Love if he were to depart from the Timberwolves either as a free agent or in a pre-emptive trade if Minnesota looks to avoid losing him for nothing. However, Love’s public statements about the Lakers have been less than glowing in recent months. Last night, after scoring a triple double in a beatdown of the Lakers, Love blamed the Lakers speculation on his upbringing in Los Angeles and no more. In an earlier interview with GQ, Love rejected the notion that the Lakers roster is more attractive than the roster he’s surrounded by in Minnesota.
Depending on what the Bulls do this summer, they may not have enough cap flexibility to obtain Love by trade or by signing him if and when he becomes a free agent demanding a max salary. Carlos Boozer‘s contract runs through next season but could be amnestied, Nikola Mirotic could be bought out from his European team and brought to Chicago, and other free agents could be added for next year and beyond, including some improbable scenarios involving Carmelo Anthony. If Minnesota opened a bidding war for Love, the Lakers are set up to have better draft assets to deal over the next couple of years, but don’t have any young pieces as valuable as Chicago’s Taj Gibson or Jimmy Butler.
The speculation around Love’s future has heated up since the All-Star break, as the Wolves have slid further out of playoff contention. The team was built to break into the playoffs for the first time in Love’s six years with the franchise that drafted him, with expectations boosted by free agency acquisitions including Kevin Martin and full, healthy seasons from both Love and Ricky Rubio.