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Northwest Notes: Gallinari, Davis, Thunder

September 22nd, 2015 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies looked into trading for Danilo Gallinari around the trade deadline this past season, several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, advancing a report from June indicating that Memphis was pursuing the combo forward as the draft approached. The Nuggets instead held on to him, even though they “absolutely could have” scored first-round picks for Gallinari or Wilson Chandler, Lowe writes, citing league sources. Both signed renegotiations-and-extensions this summer with Denver, a place Gallinari loves, according to Lowe, making him a relative rarity among top-level players and extra valuable to the Nuggets, who aren’t eligible to trade him until February even if they so desired because of the terms of his new deal.

The Kroenke family, which owns the team, has never wanted to strip down the roster, Lowe adds as he examines a Nuggets team stuck far from contention but too talented to bottom out. See more from the Northwest Division:

Ed Davis received the second most lucrative deal that the Blazers handed out this summer, at $20MM spread over three years, and while the former 13th overall pick is anxious to become a full-time starter for the first time since entering the league in 2010, it not a given that will happen this season, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman examines.
Susan Bible of Basketball Insiders, writing in the site’s preview of the Thunder‘s season, likes what extension candidate Dion Waiters and Oklahoma City’s new coaching staff can contribute to the team as it approaches a pivotal year ahead.
Thunder director of strategic planning Jason Ranne is headed back to the Wasserman Media Group, which used to employ him, for an executive position within the agency, as Wasserman announced and as Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal details.
The Blazers have promoted associate video coordinator Jim Moran to assistant coach, the team announced.
See the details on Anthony Bennett‘s buyout deal with the Timberwolves right here, and check out the news on the teams in the running for the former No. 1 overall pick, including the Blazers, in this post.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Parker, KD, Heat

September 21st, 2015 at 1:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Celtics are hoping that their depth will be enough to power them to success since they are lacking in star power, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. Celtics GM Danny Ainge understands the importance of having elite players, but he also pointed to the Spurs’ 2013/14 championship team as a team that won it all while not necessarily having the most talent.

“History has shown us that you need stars — or at least some level of stars,” said Ainge. “But I do believe you can win with really good players. Teams in the past that have won haven’t had the best players.”

Of course, that was a roster anchored by Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, so it’s not as though it was a team of no-names. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference..

The Greg Monroe signing drew a ton of attention this summer, but if the Bucks enjoy success in 2015/16, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders believes that Jabari Parker’s return could be an even bigger factor for Milwaukee. Parker and Monroe, he adds, could consistently combine for 30-40 PPG, something the Bucks sorely missed last season.
Shaun Powell of NBA.com says that the Wizards are right to be setting the table for Kevin Durant in the event that he wants to leave OKC. The Wizards offer more than the comforts of home for OKC, thanks to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and a solid collection of bigs.
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if the Heat could trade Chris Andersen, Mario Chalmers, and a second-round pick to the Pistons for Brandon Jennings. While a healthy Jennings would be a quality a backup point guard to Goran Dragic, Winderman isn’t sure if Detroit will be motivated to move him upon his return.

Northwest Notes: D-League, Wolves, Westbrook

September 11th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The acquisition of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants by the Pacers will certainly change how teams around the NBA without their own affiliates utilize the D-League. The Blazers severed their partnership with the Idaho Stampede, who are now the Jazz‘s affiliate, at the completion of the 2013/14 campaign, but not having a D-League franchise of its own hasn’t hurt Portland’s player development yet, Mike Richman of the Oregonian opines. The franchise was still able to add point guard Tim Frazier last season, who was the D-League’s MVP and Rookie of the Year, despite not having their own affiliate, Richman notes. Establishing its own D-League affiliate isn’t currently a priority for Portland, Richman adds.

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves GM Milt Newton, who’s in charge of the team’s front office while Flip Saunders recovers from cancer, wants to add two more players for training camp and he’ll need to unload one of the team’s 16 fully guaranteed contracts before opening night, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Kevin Durant expressed his admiration for what teammate Russell Westbrook was able to accomplish last season with the rash of injuries the Thunder had suffered, including Durant himself missing a total of 55 contests, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. “It was amazing to see a guy at the point guard position take over the game from all aspects and will his team with his passion, his enthusiasm, his energy on top of his skill,” Durant said. “It was incredible to watch. I was [expletive] I wasn’t out there to help him out. But I could tell he learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence.“
The Nuggets are in for a long, difficult season, but the franchise does possess solid building blocks in Jusuf Nurkic and Emmanuel Mudiay, as well as a revitalized Danilo Gallinari, which should give the team hope for the future, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) in his season preview.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Thunder, Kings, Clippers

September 6th, 2015 at 7:45pm CST by Will Joseph

Despite occasional displays of frustration between Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the two stars have learned to co-exist and stick together with the Thunder, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. A lot of that, Mayberry adds, can be attributed to Durant’s efficiency: Durant has learned how to do more with less so Westbrook could be better with more. Of course, the relationship will be tested when Durant is set to hit free agency next summer.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

With several seemingly combustible elements and a few more characters added, there’s a decent shot that the Kings could have a chaotic season. At the same time, it’s also just as likely that because of those personalities and the players’ level of skill, Sacramento can experience a winning season, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes in a 30 teams in 30 days series.With the saga between DeMarcus Cousins and coach George Karl appearing to have come to an end, the Kings seem like they’re in good position to shed the notion of a dysfunctional franchise, Powell adds. Adding Willie Cauley-Stein and Rajon Rondo will also likely help the franchise move forward, Powell writes.
Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders believes Paul Pierce is in line to see a drop in production with the Clippers this season. Although he provided a key veteran presence for the Wizards last season, Pierce averaged a career-low 11.9 points per game and should see that average drop with a loaded Clippers team, Greene writes. Pierce signed a three-year deal with the Clippers in July.

Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Wolves, Kanter

September 5th, 2015 at 7:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic is sitting out the Eurobasket tournament as he continues to rehab his left knee, though he hopes to be healthy enough to play for the Nuggets at the start of the season or shortly thereafter, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post reports. Nurkic was planning to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina before he underwent knee surgery in May to repair a partially torn left patella tendon, Dempsey continues.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Wolves‘ lottery luck turned around and gave them perhaps the second franchise player in their history, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com. Karl-Anthony Towns, the first player selected in this year’s draft, has the potential for greatness, according to Powell, and he has the good fortune of being tutored by Minnesota’s other franchise player, Kevin Garnett. The writer believes Towns’ addition makes Nikola Pekovic expendable, although his salary of more than $35MM over the next three years may make a deal difficult until at least the trade deadline. Ricky Rubio may also be dealt now that rookie Tyus Jones and veteran Andre Miller are in town. With a wealth of young and inexpensive talent on hand, Powell sees the Wolves as contenders for a top free agent next summer.
Enes Kanter tells Carla Hinton of The Oklahoman that efforts to accommodate his Muslim faith made him feel welcome in Oklahoma City. Kanter, whose four-year, $70MM offer sheet with the Blazers was matched by the Thunder, said the organization set up a prayer room for him at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Extension Candidate: Dion Waiters

August 31st, 2015 at 8:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The top three picks of the 2012 draft have already established themselves as top-level talents during their first three seasons.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Top pick Anthony Davis quickly emerged one of the league’s crown jewels, a budding superstar who agreed to a max entension with the Pelicans at the eve of free agency this summer. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has become the Hornets’ defensive linchpin, and the two parties agreed on a four-year, $52MM extension this summer. Bradley Beal and the Wizards have not come to terms on a extension, but he’s one of the most feared shooters in the league and should eventually receive a contract at or near the max.

The No. 4 pick of that draft, Dion Waiters, finds himself in an entirely different situation after three disappointing seasons to start his NBA career. The Cavaliers thought they had their backcourt for the next decade when they drafted Waiters to pair up with Kyrie Irving. Instead, the duo reportedly failed to click on a personal level and never developed the on-court chemistry that the franchise had envisioned. Cleveland shipped Waiters to the Thunder during last season, offering the 6’4” shooting guard a fresh start.

While Waiters appeared to be more content with his new surroundings, it didn’t translate to on-court success. He averaged 10.5 points in 23.8 minutes while shooting 40.4% from the field and 25.6% from 3-point range prior to the deal last season. With the Thunder, he averaged 12.7 points in 30.3 minutes while shooting 39.2% overall and 31.9% from long range. He regressed from his second year averages of 15.0 PPG, 43.3% overall shooting and 36.8% on threes. His ESPN Hollinger PER rating of 10.93 last season was well below the league standard of 15.0 and 59th among shooting guards.

Other advanced metrics show how much work Waiters must do to improve his game. He ranked 85th out of 91 in ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus rating for shooting guards last season. Waiters’ VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) rating calculated by Basketball Reference was a minus 0.9, compared to minus 0.5 in his rookie season and 0.0 in his second year. His Offensive Box Plus/Minus Rating has been below zero in each of his seasons, including a career-worst minus 2.1 last season. His Defensive Box Plus/Minus Rating was a minus 1.5, though that was actually an improvement over his first two seasons.

Waiters can carve out a niche as a volume scorer but he has to be more efficient and take better shots. His midrange game certainly needs some work. He’s taken just 16.2% of his shots from 3-16 feet during his first three seasons, making just 29.4% from 3-10 feet and 41.3% from 10-16 feet. His 3-point shooting needs to at least return to the form he showed in 2013/14.

He also needs to create more for his teammates. He had 3.0 assists per game in that 2013/14 season, but that dropped to 2.0 last season.

Despite those statistical drawbacks, Waiters has gained a measure of respect from the Thunder organization. They are reportedly willing to give him a rookie scale extension before the November 2nd deadline if he’s willing to offer them a discount. For his part, Waiters has expressed excitement over the hiring of Billy Donovan as head coach and the veteran staff Donovan brought in. Waiters, who will make $5,138,430 this season, believes the new staff will help him expand his game.

Waiters should have a prominent role with the Thunder this season, though it remains to be seen how he’ll mesh with a healthy Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Waiters bristled in Cleveland over his catch-and-shoot role, but he’d have a similar role if he’s in the starting lineup with two of the league’s most dynamic scorers. He’d probably be more comfortable as a sixth man with only one of them off the court, which would afford him more scoring opportunities.

If Waiters doesn’t accept the discount, he may opt to gamble on having a strong season and then become a restricted free agent next summer. With the salary cap spiking upward, he could get a multiyear offer sheet from an offensively challenged club and gain long-term security, whether or not the Thunder decide to match. It’s an interesting choice, or perhaps dilemma, for a player who has not come close to living up his draft status.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Rondo, Russell, Davis

August 30th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Markieff Morris was notably absent as Suns players began gathering for voluntary workouts this week, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Morris, unhappy since his twin brother Marcus was traded to the Pistons July 9th, isn’t expected to attend the sessions. Markieff Morris was irate about the deal and asked the Suns to trade him as well, but Coro notes that it would be nearly impossible for Phoenix to get equal value at this point and the team has no one on the roster to fill his role. The twins are angry because they contend they gave the Suns a break on the extensions they signed last year in hopes of remaining together.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings‘ Rajon Rondo tops Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach’s list of players facing make-or-break seasons in 2015/16. Rondo, who signed a one-year, $9.5MM deal with Sacramento last month, is trying to rebuild his reputation after being shut down early during the playoffs by the Mavericks. Ty Lawson, who was traded to the Rockets July 20th, is second on Rohrbach’s list, followed by Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, Boston’s Jared Sullinger and Oklahoma City’s Dion Waiters.
The addition of D’Angelo Russell has Lakers‘ part-owner Jim Buss excited about the upcoming season, according to Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. The Lakers took a risk by drafting Russell second overall, ahead of Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, and Buss said the front office had about 30 meetings before making its final decision. “It was a long, long process that we decided to go with Russell,” Buss said. “He’s just very impressive. We saw an upside of being a potential superstar in the league.”
Free agent Glen Davis, who has spent the last season and a half with the Clippers, has to convince a team that he can still be an effective scorer, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Nearing age 30, Davis has evolved into an energy player in recent years, averaging just 4.0 points per game last season, down from a career-high 15.1 in 2012/13. Washburn also notes that the Clippers are being selective in possible deals involving Jamal Crawford. They are willing to part with the 35-year-old, but only for the “right return.”

Heat Rumors: Durant, Riley, Chalmers, Bosh

August 30th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

It’s probably a “pipedream” for the Heat to consider joining the Kevin Durant free agency sweepstakes next summer, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami is looking at about $85MM in guaranteed salary for the 2016/17 season, assuming Hassan Whiteside justifies a near-max contact and Dwyane Wade returns at a rate near his current salary. With Chris Bosh making nearly $24MM and Goran Dragic slotted at about $16MM, Winderman estimates Josh McRoberts (if the Heat can’t trade him), Justise Winslow and a few bench players will add about $10MM more. Wade will represent a figure of about $20MM if he continues at his year-to-year rate. The Heat won’t have full Bird Rights on Whiteside, so they will have to work with cap space to re-sign him. With the cap expected to be around $89MM, those deals will leave little room for a run at Durant unless something drastic changes.

There’s more this morning from Miami:

The Heat’s relationship with team president Pat Riley can be described as “all-or-nothing,” Winderman writes in the same story. Even though Riley turned 70 this year, the columnist believes the franchise is counting on having him around for several more seasons. When Riley leaves, Winderman foresees a “re-start,” with another big name being brought in to run the team.
Miami wants to see how Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson perform in training camp before deciding whether to trade Mario Chalmers, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. There have been rumors for months that the Heat would like to unload Chalmers’ $4.3MM salary to get relief from the luxury tax. Johnson, who was recently cleared to play after suffering a broken jaw during summer league, will make $845,059 this coming season. Richardson, the 40th pick in this year’s draft, recently signed a three-year deal at the minimum each year and only the first season guaranteed.
Bosh and McRoberts both looked good in recent workouts with Heat teammates as they battle back from injuries that cut short their 2014/15 season, Jackson writes in the same piece. Bosh was limited to 44 games because of blood clots on his lungs, and McRoberts appeared in just 17 due to knee surgery. That leaves the Heat with no current injury concerns a month before the start of camp.

Thunder To Sign Talib Zanna For Camp

August 28th, 2015 at 3:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have agreed to bring Talib Zanna to camp for a second consecutive autumn, as Shams Charania of RealGM cites sources who say they’re reached a one-year, non-guaranteed deal (Twitter link). The power forward, who went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2014, spent this past season with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate, furthering the team’s familiarity with the Relativity Sports client. RealGM’s player page for Zanna lists him as under contract with OpenJobMetis Varese of Italy, so it would appear as though that deal has an NBA out.

Zanna, who turns 25 in October, split summer league between the Thunder and Cavs, putting up 6.0 points and an efficient 4.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Indeed, at 6’9″, he showed a touch on the boards in the D-League this past year, pulling down 11.0 RPG to go with 13.3 PPG in 27.7 MPG. It’s a skill he didn’t show as much of in college, where he topped out at 8.6 RPG in 30.3 MPG as a senior.

Oklahoma City has 15 fully guaranteed contracts, and they reportedly have camp deals with shooting guards Dez Wells and Michael Qualls. That would make it tough to envision Zanna breaking through and sticking on the roster for the regular season. Still, it’s an opportunity for the Thunder to continue their relationship and get a closer look at him, perhaps with a late-season 10-day contract in mind.

Neil Olshey On Aldridge, Batum, Aminu, Kanter

August 27th, 2015 at 1:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey was coy when Grantland’s Zach Lowe asked him why he signed Enes Kanter to a max offer sheet but hasn’t done so with Tristan Thompson, but Olshey expressed contentment and optimism about the roster he’s built even amid the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge. Olshey, speaking on The Lowe Post podcast, believes the revamped Blazers have the potential to grow like the group he had with the Clippers in 2010/11 that featured Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu, all of whom were 22 or younger.

Aminu, who turns 25 next month, is one of the new Blazers, and Olshey talked about the forward’s four-year, $30MM deal, Aldridge’s exit, and a host of other offseason topics. His entire conversation with Lowe is worth a listen, especially for Portland faithful, and we’ll round up a few highlights here:

On the fluctuation of the team’s chances to re-sign Aldridge:

“I think, honestly, because of how unhappy LaMarcus was when we all joined the Trail Blazers, myself, [coach] Terry [Stotts], our regime, it wasn’t like we were put on notice, Zach, but I think we were all aware that it was going to be an uphill battle, and I think it was an uphill battle that we had fought and won right up until [Wesley Matthews] was injured. … We were 100% confident in LaMarcus right up through the trade deadline, and then when Wes got hurt, and we weren’t playing as well, and we realized our margin for error with that group was more narrow than we would have liked to have believed, I think we felt like, you know what? We’re going to have more of a battle on our hands than we had anticipated in terms of keeping LaMarcus.”

On the Nicolas Batum trade, which Olshey said was made independent of Aldridge’s decision to walk:

“There was a three-fold approach there. One, we felt like if we brought in another starter, then Gerald Henderson would have strengthened the bench. We got a bright, young prospect in Noah Vonleh who we were really high on in the draft, and we created a positive variance in our favor in terms of our cap position to go and be more aggressive in free agency to continue to build with the group that was there. So, that deal was done absent anything with LaMarcus other than the fact that he was aware of the deal prior to us making the decision to move forward with Noah and Gerald in lieu of Nicolas.”

On those who would laugh at the team’s financial outlay in the the Al-Farouq Aminu deal:

“If they’re laughing, they haven’t seen him play, and they haven’t realized that in two years, the cap’s going to be $108MM, so you’re basically talking about a deal that’ll be less than what the mid-level was on previous caps. So, this is a guy that I know well. I drafted him. I had him for a year with the Clippers. He’s tracking up. I think his growth was accelerated by playing for Rick Carlisle in Dallas. I think that was like a three-year tutorial crammed into nine months. He’s a better player today than he was then. Look, we had moved Nic Batum. We wanted to get younger at that position and we wanted to get an athletic guy if we chose to push the floor. We felt like, at that point, he could play in multiple roles with LaMarcus or without, depending on what his decision was, and I really believe, look, when you look at a way a contract is structured, we had a lot of cap room this year [and] it’s a descending deal.”

On whether he truly wanted Kanter on the team:

“We did. We absolutely did. We pursued him. Look, it’s not the first time we went down the road of restricted free agency for a starting center and maybe won the recruiting battle but lost the war in terms of adding him to our roster, and that situation played out. You know, look, we’re really happy with the guys we have right now.”

What do you think of the way Olshey has positioned the Blazers for the post-Aldridge era? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.