Suns Notes: O’Neal, Scola, Cap Space
The Suns officially finalized their signing of Jermaine O'Neal today, and the veteran big man appears excited about the opportunity to spend the season in Phoenix. According to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, O'Neal chose the Suns because he thought he could "go there and be happy playing basketball again." O'Neal added that his health has improved significantly and that he aims to be an impact player this season (Twitter links).
Coro also published a column last night in which he hears from GM Lance Blanks about the team's summer makeover, so let's check out the highlights from that piece:
- With the Suns seeking a commitment to the franchise from players they target, all of the club's new players had Phoenix as their first choice, says Blanks.
- Blanks on his expectations for the coming season: "We're still in an extended honeymoon. I'm cautiously optimistic about the season. I don't think this is a team you want do much predicting with in terms of numbers. What I can see in the future for this team this year is a team that is fun to watch and plays hard every night. It is a group of guys who will play together because of the type of guys they are."
- Blanks praised Luis Scola's "griminess and crustiness" and said the former Rocket will provide a good example for younger players.
- The Suns will have about $7MM in cap space for an in-season move, and could have about $15MM in space next summer. Blanks stressed the importance of maintaining that financial flexibility, since the team's next star could come via the draft, a trade, or free agency.
Suns Waive Brad Miller, Jerome Dyson
The Suns announced today that they have waived Brad Miller and Jerome Dyson, according to a team release. Miller and Dyson were both acquired from the Hornets in a three-team July deal that landed the Suns Wesley Johnson and a 2013 first-round pick.
Dyson was on a non-guaranteed contract, so the Suns won't take a cap hit by releasing the 25-year-old. Miller, however, had a buyout worth a reported $848K, which the Suns will have to pay. With the veteran big man planning to retire this summer, his contract was used as a trade chip twice this summer, with the Timberwolves sending him to the Hornets, who flipped him to the Suns.
Having waived Miller and Dyson and officially signed Jermaine O'Neal, the Suns now have 13 players on their roster.
Suns Sign Jermaine O’Neal
WEDNESDAY, 11:13am: The Suns have officially signed O'Neal, the team announced in a press release. According to Coro, the deal is for one year at the veteran's minimum ($1,352,181).
FRIDAY, 3:54pm: The Suns have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent big man Jermaine O'Neal, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Salary details aren't yet known, but I'd be surprised if O'Neal was able to land more than the veteran's minimum.
A report earlier this week suggested that "winning a championship is the only goal" for O'Neal, so perhaps he's more bullish on the Suns' short-term prospects than most. Coro suggested as recently as this morning that O'Neal seemed like a long shot for Phoenix, given his desire to play for a contender, so perhaps the Suns were the only team showing serious interest in acquiring the 33-year-old.
The Lakers and Bucks were among the other teams that had watched O'Neal work out this summer. In 25 contests in 2011/12 for the Celtics, the 16-year veteran averaged 5.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 22.8 MPG before wrist surgery cut his season short. Given the reputation of the training staff in Phoenix, the Suns may believe they'll be able to keep O'Neal healthier in 2012/13.
Latest On Greg Oden
Within the last few months, multiple reports have suggested Greg Oden is considering returning to the NBA for the 2012/13 season, and would like the opportunity to play for the Heat. However, talking recently to David Hughes of the Tribune-Star, Oden downplayed his chances of making his NBA return this season.
"I would love to play [in 2012/13], but I’m not going to rush anything," Oden said. "I need to take a year off. What I told [agent] Mike [Conley] was 'Look, I want to get back with a team. I want to play. If there’s a chance that later on in the [NBA] year, if I feel good or if I’m healthy enough to play, I would love to play this year.' That’s the conversation we had. I think some people kinda blew that up and took his words and kinda changed them around. I know I need to get healthy first before I do anything."
According to Oden, teams haven't exactly been burning up his phone line expressing interest in signing him, considering he's still recovering. The former first overall pick added that he doesn't have one specific team in mind as a destination: "I want to go to a place where I can get healthy and with somebody who can believe in me and my skills — somewhere it could be a good fit for the both of us."
One general manager that spoke to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link) considers teams like the Spurs, Pacers, and Magic as the eventual favorites to sign Oden, but cautions that that's just his specuation. Amico also hears from a GM (it's unclear whether it's the same one) that teams with cap space, like the Suns or Cavs, could take a flier on Oden toward the end of the season, though the GM thinks it would have to be a minimum-salary contract.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Meeks, Curry, Suns
The Lakers are no stranger to the luxury tax, and with the tax penalties going up in 2013/14 and the team's recent commitments to high-paid veterans, owner Jerry Buss is facing a hefty bill. By my calculations, the Lakers already have $74,831,035 committed for 2013/14, and that doesn't include Dwight Howard, who's likely to command a max contract with a starting salary around $20.5MM. If D12 remains in L.A., salary cap expert Larry Coon estimates the Lakers will owe a record $185MM in salary and taxes (Twitter link). If Buss opens his wallet that wide, expect plenty of complaining from small-market teams whose owners would never dream of spending that much in single season. While we wait to see how high the Lakers will go, there's plenty more from around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers made their signing of Jodie Meeks official today, and the 6'4" shooting guard tells Mike Trudell of Lakers.com that the team's decorated history and the chance to play with multiple future Hall-of-Famers lured him to L.A.
- Stephen Curry is stepping up his rehab from right ankle surgery as he works toward being ready for camp, Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com reports. Curry will spend four days in a row at the Warriors' practice facility, allowing the team a look at the point guard as they decide whether to pursue an extension. Michael Pina of Hoops Rumors profiled Curry's extension candidacy earlier this month.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic recaps the statements James Harden has made in the past few weeks about either signing an extension with the Thunder or considering the Suns in free agency, and shares a few other Phoenix-related observations from the summer.
Odds & Ends: Kobe, Thibodeau, Suns, Sixers
With every NBA reporter alive seemingly grabbing each player, coach or executive they can get their hands on and asking them about the Dwight Howard trade, Kobe Bryant actually offered some helpful and interesting insight. Bryant, soon to be 34, said that he will probably play "two, three more years" with the Lakers and once he is done "the team is his," undoubtedly referring to Howard (via Sean Deveney on Twitter). While hardly definitive, it's notable that Bryant has a retirement time in mind. As the reactions, analysis and quotes regarding the big trade pour in, lets look at them as well as some of the other stuff going on in the NBA:
- Per ESPN Chicago, Doc Rivers said today that he is pulling for his former assistant and now successful Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau to receive a lucrative contract extension from the team. Although "Thibs" has been relatively quiet regarding the contract situation, Rivers said he knows from experience that coaching on a one-year deal can be tough.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic takes a look at what options the Suns have for their final roster spot, which will likely go to a center. While Coro puts together a sizeable list, the pickings are pretty slim.
- Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com takes an inside look at how the Andrew Bynum deal came to fruition for the 76ers, who got involved in the talks with a phone call to Orlando about the availability of Howard. Moore also clarifies, via Twitter, that Philadelphia owes the Heat a first round pick from a draft day trade before they can send one to Orlando. Both future picks are lottery protected.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says that Magic fans shouldn't be piling on new general manager Rob Hennigan for the final outcome of the Howard situation. Schmitz says the ire of the Magic faithful should be rightfully pointed towards Howard for creating the situation in the first place.
- Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets gives his take on where the Rockets went wrong in their D12 pursuit, and where the franchise should go from here.
Odds & Ends: Suns, Courtney Lee, Greene, Mavs
All non-Dwight Howard NBA news is something of an afterthought today, as we wait to see if the four teams involved in Howard trade talks will finally officially consummate a deal, having reached a tentative agreement last night. As we wait, let's round up a few other Friday odds and ends from around the NBA….
- Joking that Howard is now out of the mix for the Suns' backup center and 13th-man opening, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines a few other options for the spot, including Jerome Jordan, Hassan Whiteside, and Shelden Williams.
- Courtney Lee tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com that joining the Celtics was a "no-brainer" for him.
- Former Kings forward Donte Greene was planning a charity game at a college in Sacramento, but the league has forced its cancellation, citing stipulations in the collective bargaining agreeement, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom adds detail, including word from Greene's Twitter account that players who took part without league approval would face suspensions and fines. Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas was one of the players scheduled to take part.
- Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News argues that there would have been just as much risk for the Mavericks to keep their 2011 title team together as there was in breaking up the roster in an effort to land Deron Williams and/or Howard.
Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Kapono, Griffin, Mavs
The Bobcats have been linked to a number of power forwards this summer, including Carl Landry, Antawn Jamison, and Louis Amundson. However, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says (via Twitter) that the idea Charlotte is "desperate" to add another power forward is off base. Here are a few more Thursday afternoon odds and ends from around the Association:
- Jason Kapono turned down an offer to play for Orleans in France, according to Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of Catch and Shoot (French link).
- According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Bulls turned down the Magic when Orlando asked permission to interview Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin for its lead assistant position. The Bulls appear to only be allowing Griffin to interview for head coach openings, says Haynes.
- Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com wonders how the Mavericks stack up against their Western Conference foes, following the team's offseason moves.
- Having signed a three-year deal with the Suns, Michael Beasley is looking forward to getting a fresh start in Phoenix, as he tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld identifies a few teams whose summer acquistions may have them ready to make the leap from the lottery to the playoffs in 2012/13.
Suns Claim Luis Scola
AUGUST 8, 6:05pm: The Suns will pay Scola $4.15MM this year, $4.5MM in 2013/14 and a partially guaranteed $4.87MM in 2014/15, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
JULY 16, 3:49pm: A source tells SI.com's Sam Amick (Twitter link) that the winning bid for Scola was actually $13.5MM for three years. Either way, Phoenix will be paying for the forward between $4MM and $5MM annually.
JULY 15, 9:35pm: An NBA source has confirmed that the Suns' winning bid was $13MM for three years, tweets Mary Schmidt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She also confirmed that the Cavaliers did submit a bid.
Steve Nash Talks Suns-To-Lakers Decision
As SportsRadioInterviews.com documented, Steve Nash recently appeared on KTAR in Phoenix to talk to hosts Burns and Gambo about his decision to leave the Suns for the Lakers in free agency last month. The two-time MVP admitted that prior to the free agent period, he was still considering re-signing with Phoenix, and didn't view the Lakers as an option. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
On whether he expected the regular season finale to be the last time he wore a Suns uniform:
"Not at all. I wanted to come back, to be honest. One, primarily with my children being in Phoenix, but second, I felt dissatisfied with the last two seasons, not being in the playoffs. And I felt a big part of me wanted to leave the franchise in a better place than it was the last two seasons, and be a part of moving it forward. So not at all, I didn’t know for sure that I would be moving on and in many ways was hoping to come back."
On when he started to shift his focus from the Suns to other potential destinations:
"It started to become apparent in June, and then I guess you could say the writing was on the wall. But I never really gave up on it until free agency actually came and I realized that there wasn’t really an offer and that they wanted to go in another direction. So it wasn’t till late in the game, and it just all kind of came to light at that point."
On the Lakers' unexpected interest in him:
"It was completely out of the blue. Even though you’re not allowed to talk to teams, you kind of know what teams are interested and to a certain degree you can kind of guess what’s going to happen. But the Lakers weren’t an option. I didn’t even realize they had a trade exception for Lamar Odom. There wasn’t really any talk, there wasn’t anything my agent hadn’t spoken about as an option, and then they called shortly after midnight on the 1st and the door swung open."
On deciding to play for the Lakers:
"Going to L.A. was not an easy thing. I think I said a week before free agency it would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey, and I meant that. We’ve gone through some playoff battles and they’re a rival and an enemy to some of the Suns fans, but at the end of the day the Suns were moving in a new direction and in some ways I felt like I couldn’t cut off my nose to spite my face. Chance to go to Los Angeles, be as close as possible to the kids, primarily. And then other than that, a chance to win, to live in a new place and all the things that come with that as well."
On where he'd be playing if Suns owner Robert Sarver hadn't agreed to do a sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers:
"It would’ve been Toronto or New York. Those were the two next teams, and I don’t know. I would’ve crossed that bridge had the Lakers situation fell through."