And-Ones: Gasol, Tyler, Crawford, Griffin
Grizzlies big man Marc Gasol still won’t open up about his impending free agency, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. “That’s so far down the line that it’s not on my mind. I just want to do my job every day,” Gasol said. “You never know what might happen in seven or eight months. The franchise might go in a different direction. We’re going to see how we all feel in July. All of the talk now won’t change that fact.” Tillery also mentions the Knicks as a possible suitor for Gasol if he hits free agency, pointing to Phil Jackson’s belief that Gasol would be a perfect fit in the triangle offense.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The contract Jeremy Tyler signed with Shanxi of the Chinese Basketball Association is fully guaranteed, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Tyler, who was released from the Lakers per his request to sign with Shanxi, will have a chance to catch on with an NBA team in March when the CBA playoffs come to a close.
- Guard Jordan Crawford has yet to take off in the NBA and he’s now looking to make his mark in China, writes David Pick for Basketball Insiders. “During the offseason I didn’t think I’d sign in China. I thought I would get a good deal in the NBA, but I was overlooked,” Crawford said. “I knew some players who came over here from the NBA. I work out with Bobby Brown and Pooh Jeter all the time, so I learned a lot from them. One thing I heard were stories of Stephon Marbury and his success in China.”
- After the Thunder parted ways with James Harden over their refusal to give him the max salary, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders wonders what they’re thinking when it comes to Reggie Jackson. Oklahoma CIty has until October 31st to work out an extension with the talented young guard, and Hamilton opines that a team playing for a title can’t afford to allow its young talent to walk out the door.
- Free agent Eric Griffin, recently waived by the Mavs, has agreed to a deal with the Texas Legends of The NBA D-League, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link).
Zach Links and Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Teague, Thomas, Free Agents
The trade that sent Marquis Teague to the Sixers in exchange for Casper Ware allows the Nets to create a $1,120,920 trade exception equivalent to Teague’s salary. The Sixers, who are well under the cap, can’t create an exception since exceptions, by definition, are only available to teams above the cap.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The NBA’s new $24 billion dollar TV deal will bring with it a number of problems, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. With the salary cap expected to increase significantly, the owners likely will try to push for a hard cap during the next CBA negotiations, though commissioner Adam Silver tried to downplay that as not being a make-or-break demand, notes Amick.
- The Thunder have informed Lance Thomas that he will make the team’s regular season roster, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Thomas is the only player remaining on the team whose contract isn’t at least partially guaranteed after Oklahoma City waived Michael Jenkins, Richard Solomon and Talib Zanna earlier today.
- Agents are optimistic about next summer’s free agent market, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News hears. One agent explained to Deveney that he’s confident teams will spend more freely because they know a massive influx of TV money is on its way eventually, even if the league doesn’t work some of the forthcoming revenue into the salary cap for 2015/16. The league’s $66.5MM cap projection is a conservative one, as Deveney writes, having heard from a GM who thinks the cap could go as high as $72MM.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Thunder, Morrow, Martin, Lakers
There are indications that the Thunder are more willing to pay the luxury tax than in the past, USA Today’s Sam Amick writes. That’s in part because expected increases to the salary cap and luxury tax line will make it more difficult to become a repeat taxpayer subject to stiffer penalties, and those repeat-offender rules might not exist in the next collective bargaining agreement, Amick points out.
Here’s the latest out of the west:
- Thunder guard Anthony Morrow has a sprained left MCL and is expected to miss a minimum of four-to-six weeks, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports. With Kevin Durant out for at least six-to-eight weeks with a broken foot, Morrow was in the running to join the team’s starting five.
- The Rockets met with Kenyon Martin earlier today about a possible role on their coaching staff, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Martin appeared in 32 games for the Knicks last season, averaging 4.3 PPG and 4.2 RPG, and was hobbled with ankle issues for the majority of the season. Neither Martin or his representatives have announced that he was retiring yet, so it’s possible that Martin is simply exploring his options rather than looking for his next career.
- Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link) offers a different reason for Martin’s visit with the Rockets. Berman is reporting that Houston was checking on the player’s health for a possible roster spot. It’s quite possible that the team wasn’t encouraged by what they saw, and this led them to claim Earl Clark off of waivers from the Grizzlies instead, though that is just my speculation.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was noncommittal about the team signing another player now that Steve Nash will miss the season, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes (Twitter links). The GM also relayed that he met with Nash and his agent, Bill Duffy, in Las Vegas last night to finalize Nash’s decision.
- The Lakers aren’t looking to add another point guard at this time, Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times tweets. The team is happy with Jeremy Lin, Jordan Clarkson, and Ronnie Price, notes Bresnahan. Although, with Price suffering an undisclosed injury in tonight’s preseason game, that could change rather quickly depending on the severity.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Spurs Sign Robert Vaden, Fuquan Edwin
The Spurs have signed Robert Vaden and Fuquan Edwin, the team has announced. The length and terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re likely minimum-salary arrangements with perhaps small partial guarantees. These moves bring San Antonio’s preseason roster count up to 18 players, leaving the team three over the regular season maximum. Both players were likely signed with an eye on sending them to the D-League, as teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players.
The 6’5″ Vaden technically has one year of NBA experience, even though he’s never appeared in a regular season or playoff game. The Thunder signed him to a multiyear deal in the final days of the 2010/11 season and traded him the following preseason to the Timberwolves, who cut him before opening night. He was most recently with Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium where he appeared in 10 games, logging 9.0 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 27 minutes per night. Vaden was originally drafted with the No. 54 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Hornets (then known as the Bobcats). In four college seasons split between Indiana and UAB, Vaden averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG. He also spent two seasons in the NBA D-League for the Tulsa 66ers, averaging 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.
Edwin went undrafted this year after spending four seasons at Seton Hall. In 127 career games for the Pirates, he averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.4 APG while playing 30.3 minutes a night. Edwin played for the Thunder in the summer league, appearing in three games, and notching 1.3 PPG in 7.5 minutes per night.
Thunder Cut Jenkins, Solomon, Zanna
The Thunder have waived camp invitees Michael Jenkins, Richard Solomon and Talib Zanna, the team announced via press release. All three were on non-guaranteed contracts. The moves leave Oklahoma City with 15 players, including a non-guaranteed pact with Lance Thomas. A report earlier this week indicated the team planned to keep only 14 players for opening night, but it appears the Thunder have changed plans, as they’ll keep Thomas into the regular season, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. That’s perhaps because Anthony Morrow has a sprained left MCL, an injury that typically takes four to six weeks to heal, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Jenkins joined the Thunder in late September after agent Daniel Moldovan had said earlier in the summer that the shooting guard would instead be in Nets camp. The 28-year-old who was on his first NBA contract after going undrafted out of Winthrop in 2008 put up 6.0 points in 17.5 minutes per game in seven preseason appearances with Oklahoma City.
Solomon, a power forward, put up 4.7 PPG in 11.9 MPG in three preseason appearances this month after going undrafted out of Cal in June. Zanna, another power forward, showed his strength on the boards, posting 4.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG in 17.4 MPG across seven exhibitions. He was an undrafted free agent who came out of Pittsburgh this year and played with the Sixers in summer league.
And-Ones: Thunder, Raptors, D-League
Although the Thunder have sustained a rash of injuries, the team will only keep 14 players on the roster, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Slater also notes that Michael Jenkins, Richard Solomon, Talib Zanna and Lance Thomas have all played vital roles in the preseason, yet it is unlikely any of them force the team to consider filling their 15th and final regular season roster spot before opening night.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Raptors still have 17 players on their preseason roster, and haven’t decided on who will make the final cut. Head coach Dwayne Casey said the final roster decisions would come down to the wire, Jay Satur of NBA.com reports.
- The Wizards signing of Paul Pierce was a short-term fix with the franchise hoping that Otto Porter can develop into a valuable contributor in the coming season, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. With the injury to Bradley Beal, and with Trevor Ariza departing as a free agent to Houston, Porter may be called upon to log heavy minutes early in the season.
- Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is against maximum individual salaries for NBA players, writes David Mayo of MLive. “If it were more of a free-market system, I think things would change,” Van Gundy said. “I think you’d see greater parity in the league — especially having the (salary) cap and no individual max.”
- Teams are finding ways to get around the D-League’s individual maximum salary restrictions to entice players to sign with their affiliates, writes Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). This preseason, many NBA teams have signed players to their active roster only to release or waive the player shortly thereafter. By doing this, the team obtains the player’s D-League rights and the player can sign a partially guaranteed contract that trumps the D-League maximum salary which is slightly less than $26K per year. Elhassan points out this loophole would motivate fringe NBA talent to play in the D-League rather than take international offers.
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links) disputes the notion that the Kings had interest in Jordan Crawford prior to him heading over to China to play. The two sides never had serious discussions, and if Sacramento was interested in signing a veteran shooting guard they would have preferred MarShon Brooks, who played well for them in Summer League, Jones notes.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Blazers, Covington, Jackson
Thunder GM Sam Presti said the team wants Reggie Jackson to remain a piece of the franchise’s puzzle, Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press writes. “I think we’ve been really clear about his importance to the team, that we see him as a core member of the team, as a core member of the organization,” Presti said. “We’re going to put our best put forward, and I believe he will as well. We’ll see if we can figure something out.” If he and the Thunder don’t sign an extension by the end of next week, Jackson can become a restricted free agent next summer and could command big money on the open market. It remains to be seen if Oklahoma City would match any offer sheets that Jackson inks with other teams. The Thunder’s cap commitment for the 2015/16 campaign is already approximately $63.6MM.
Here’s more from out west:
- The Rockets still haven’t waived Robert Covington, despite the player not being with the team for the last two weeks, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Covington is currently weighing some guaranteed offers to play in Europe, Feigen notes.
- The remaining players on the Grizzlies‘ preseason roster all fit the team’s system rather well, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. This includes Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas, the team’s lone remaining players in camp whose deals aren’t fully guaranteed, notes Tillery. Both players are likely headed to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, according to Tillery.
- The Blazers still have decisions to make regarding their 2015/16 team options for C.J. McCollum, Thomas Robinson, and Meyers Leonard. Portland has until the October 31st deadline to exercise those options or the trio will become unrestricted free agents next summer. Joe Freeman of The Oregonian examines what the Blazers might do regarding each player’s contract.
- Donald Sterling’s lawyers have begun talks with the NBA about dismissing Sterling’s federal antitrust lawsuit against the league, as Sterling attorney Maxwell Blecher revealed in a declaration filed in U.S. District Court today, reports Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. The former Clippers owner has sought more than $1 billion in damages in the suit, which became the primary thrust of his legal efforts against the league when he recently withdrew a different suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the NBA, his wife and Adam Silver.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Thunder Pick Up 2015/16 Options On Four
The Thunder have picked up the third-year team options for Steven Adams and Andre Roberson, as well as the fourth-year options for Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb, the team has announced. These moves are not unexpected as all of the players figure to be a big part of Oklahoma City’s rotation going forward.
Lamb has the largest contract of the group, and is scheduled to make $3,034,356, while Adams will make $2,279,040, Jones will earn $2,038,206, and Roberson will rake in $1,210,800. These moves will increase Oklahoma City’s cap commitment for the 2015/16 campaign to approximately $63.6MM. That figure doesn’t include Reggie Jackson, who can become a restricted free agent next summer and is expected to receive significant interest from other teams.
During his rookie season with Oklahoma City after being selected 12th overall in the 2013 NBA draft, Adams appeared in 81 games and averaged 3.3 PPG and 4.1 RPG while logging 14.8 minutes per night. His slash line was .503/.000/.581. Roberson was originally drafted by the Wolves with the No. 26 pick in the 2013 draft, and was subsequently traded to the Thunder. He appeared in 40 contests last season, including 16 starts, and he averaged 1.9 PPG and 2.4 RPG. Roberson figures to see increased playing time to start the season with Kevin Durant expected to miss a minimum of six-to-eight weeks after breaking his foot.
In his two seasons in the NBA, Jones has appeared in 100 games and averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He was originally drafted 28th overall back in 2012 by the Thunder. Lamb has also been with the team for two seasons after being selected by the Rockets back in 2012. He was included in the James Harden trade, but hasn’t quite developed into the scoring threat off the bench that Oklahoma City envisioned. Lamb’s career numbers are 7.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.2 APG.
Latest On Draft Lottery Reform
9:37am: The Heat and Pelicans are thinking about voting “no” or abstaining, though they remain undecided, according to Lowe (Twitter links).
11:01pm: Two new teams are considering joining Philly, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee in an attempt to block the measure, Lowe reports, adding that some last-minute lobbying could take place before tomorrow’s vote (Twitter links).
1:55pm: Proposals that would give all 14 lottery teams equal shots at the top pick or teams with the eighth- through 14th-worst records equivalent chances are also “on the table,” writes Marc Berman of the New York Post, though it’s unclear how seriously the league is considering either idea.
1:22pm: The Sixers and Thunder continue to advocate caution as the Board of Governors is poised to vote Wednesday to approve a measure that would reduce the chance that the worst team in the league will win the lottery, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, executives from both teams have abandoned hope of gathering enough support to block the reforms, according to Wojnarowski, though the Bucks have joined their side, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee would still need to gather five more “no” votes to block the proposal, which would pass with the approval of 23 of the league’s 30 teams.
The new system would likely take hold in time for the 2015 lottery, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reported earlier. It would give the teams with the four worst records in the league each a 12% chance to win the lottery, longer odds than the ones currently in place for the three losingest teams. Clubs with the fifth and sixth worst records would have 11.5% and 10% chances, respectively, Wojnarowski reports, filling in gaps in the outline of the structure that Lowe described earlier this month.
At least one GM whose owner has already decided to vote “yes” expressed trepidation about the proposal to Wojnarowski, and the pitch that Thunder GM Sam Presti is making centers on the effect the changes will have on small markets. Presti argues that small-market teams have a disadvantage in free agency and trades, helping large-market teams win more often, as Wojnarowski details. Allowing teams with superior records greater chances at leapfrogging to the top spot in the draft would cause further imbalance, Presti argues. Supporters of lottery reform prioritize the discouragement of tanking, Wojnarowski notes. Still, the Oklahoma City GM isn’t campaigning as much for “no” votes as he is simply trying to express his concerns about what would happen in small markets if the measure passes, execs tell Wojnarowski.
The Board of Governors are also discussing revenue sharing, with small-market franchises eyeing a share of the league’s increasing income, Wojnarowski notes. Blazers owner Paul Allen, a small-market advocate, and large-market stalwart Mark Cuban verbally clashed during meetings this week, Wojnarowski hears.
Still, the matter of lottery reform isn’t a question of market size for every team, as some will vote based on short-term concerns involving the protected picks they either owe or have coming to them, Lowe tweets. The focus is on the short term because of a feeling that the league will change the rules again before too long, Lowe adds (on Twitter).
And-Ones: Kobe, Lottery, Bosh, Hawks
Henry Abbott of ESPN The Magazine hears from agents and team sources who say Kobe Bryant‘s rough-edged personality is driving free agents away from the Lakers. The Buss family receives more income from the team’s local TV deal if ratings are better, and that helped persuade the team to sign Bryant to his lucrative two-year extension 12 months ago and to eschew an aggressive rebuilding project, Abbott hears. Bryant’s popularity with powerful front-row celebrities also played a role, and co-owner Jim Buss is just “waiting for [Bryant] to leave,” a source tells Abbott, fearful of engaging in a public spat with the superstar. Steve Nash nearly decided against approving his sign-and-trade to the Lakers and Paul George signed his extension with the Pacers in part because of Bryant, sources tell Abbott. Chris Bosh was one of the Lakers’ missed free agent targets this summer, and there’s more on him amid the latest from around the league:
- The Thunder will join the Sixers in voting against the changes to the lottery, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but Wojnarowski seconds Lowe’s report (below) that the measure still has enough support to pass.
Earlier updates:
- Bosh spoke of a desire to be paid at his full market rate as he explained his decision to turn down a four-year max deal from the Rockets for five years at the max from the Heat to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “It’s always business,” Bosh said. “Nothing is ever personal. I think 100% of those dudes would have taken the deal I took.”
- Another NBA team has joined the Sixers in opposition to the league’s lottery reform proposal as the Board of Governors meet today, but the measure is still expected to receive approval, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports (Twitter links).
- Players union secretary-treasurer James Jones is an opponent of shortening games and believes, as teammate LeBron James does, that players would instead like to see fewer games on the schedule, as Jones tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
- Former Hawks All-Star Dikembe Mutombo has met with a group of investors about joining their effort to buy the team, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.