Pistons Notes: Bullock, Caldwell-Pope, Drummond
Swingman Reggie Bullock is still mulling his surgical options after tearing meniscus in his left knee, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Bullock will have the knee re-examined this weekend in Detroit before he makes his final decision, Ellis continues. He will either undergo arthroscopic surgery, which would allow him to come back within a month, or undergo more extensive surgery, which could potentially sideline him the rest of the season, Ellis adds. This refutes a report by The Vertical that Bullock had opted for surgery that would keep him out 2-4 months. Bullock, who suffered the injury November 23rd against the Heat, has already received a second opinion. Bullock, who failed to reach a rookie extension with the club prior to the deadline a month ago, said his decision will not be influenced by becoming a restricted free agent (if he receives a qualifying offer) after the season. “My mind-set is pretty much trying to save my career longevity-wise, not really thinking about free agency and all that come this summer,” he told Ellis.
In other Pistons developments:
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has enhanced his value with his recent play, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. Coach Stan Van Gundy is running more of his offense through Caldwell-Pope and the shooting guard has responded well. He’s averaging 19.5 points over the last six games and has racked up 21 assists over the last four outings. “It’s all about what he sees and the progress I’m making on offense,” Caldwell-Pope told Beard. Caldwell-Pope and the club also couldn’t agree on a rookie extension this fall, which will make him a restricted free agent in the summer. Some projections have Caldwell-Pope’s value at upwards of $18 million per season, Beard adds, and it’s unclear if the Pistons are willing to go that high.
- Andre Drummond was fined $15K but averted a suspension for elbowing Hornets center Roy Hibbert in the back of the head on Tuesday, the league announced via press release. Drummond was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected for the incident.
- Bullock’s injury status has not helped Stanley Johnson regain his rotation spot. Johnson did not play in the team’s 121-114 win over the Celtics on Wednesday, the second time this season he has been benched by Van Gundy. The 2015 lottery pick also missed a game last week when he served a one-game suspension for violating team rules. Darrun Hilliard, the team’s 2015 second-round pick, is currently serving as Caldwell-Pope’s backup.
Eastern Notes: Drummond, Knicks, Wizards
- Forward Lance Thomas is off to a rough start after being re-signed this offseason to a four-year, $27MM deal by the Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post points out. He is averaging 3.3 points on 33% shooting in 20.6 minutes and his defense hasn’t been good enough to make up for his offensive woes, Berman continues. New coach Jeff Hornacek has stuck with Thomas in the rotation even though European rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas might be a better option, Berman adds.
- Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue admits he wasn’t paying much attention during the free agency period, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports. Lue was impressed when he found out about the Celtics’ signing of Al Horford, making Boston of one the main threats to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference, Fedor adds. “Whenever you are able to acquire another All-Star automatically you are going to get better,” Lue told Fedor. “That’s a great piece in going in the right direction.”
- Wizards rookie point guard Tomas Satoransky may have already moved ahead of Trey Burke in the rotation behind starter John Wall, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post. Satoransky played 10 second-half minutes against the Raptors on Wednesday in place of Burke, who was acquired in a trade with the Jazz this offseason, Buckner adds. “It’s definitely something that’s going to be considered,” new coach Scott Brooks told Buckner. “Tomas brings a lot of energy and brings some toughness and has good size and athleticism. He’s played that position his entire life.”
Central Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Bullock, Smith
The Pistons will continue to purse rookie contract extensions with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock until the October 31st deadline, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. A full-time starter in Detroit for the past two seasons, Caldwell-Pope appeared in 76 games last year, averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per night. Bullock played 37 games, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds. The Pistons are over the salary cap, but Beard reports that the team is willing to use its Bird rights to re-sign both players. “We’re all in agreement it’s an atmosphere and environment where they have good thoughts,” GM Jeff Bower said of negotiations. “We’re going to continue to take those talks a little bit further through the month and see if there’s an opportunity to reach an extension now.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- As the longest-tenured player on the roster and with a max contract now in hand, Pistons center Andre Drummond feels like he’s entering a new chapter of his career, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. The 23-year-old has witnessed a lot of turnover in Detroit since he arrived four years ago. He has played for four coaches in that time, but with Stan Van Gundy firmly in place, the Pistons seem ready to commit to their current core. Drummond is happy to be a part of that group. “I signed a five-year deal, so I’m here for the long haul and I’m excited to be here,” he said. “Detroit is now my home and I’m ready to embrace it and try to bring great things to this city.”
- The Cavaliers are counting on 33-year-old Mo Williams and second-round pick Kay Felder to replace Matthew Dellavedova, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. In his “Summer Rewind” on Cleveland, Marks says the Cavs made a wise move by orchestrating a sign-and-trade after Dellavedova committed to the Bucks, creating a $4.8MM trade exception in the process.
- Unsigned shooting guard J.R. Smith traveled to Cleveland to watch an Indians game on Thursday and posted “#meetings” on his Instagram account, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. While it’s not a sure sign of progress, Vardon speculated that there has been communication between Smith and the team.
- A rumor that Smith has been negotiating with the Sixers is not true, tweets Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com.
Central Notes: Pacers, Maker, Drummond, Pistons
The Pacers seem ready to re-emerge as an elite team in the Eastern Conference, claims Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Indiana made several key additions this summer, swapping George Hill for Jeff Teague in a three-team deal, trading the 20th pick in the draft to Brooklyn for Thaddeus Young and signing free agent center Al Jefferson. The Pacers also have the security of a healthy Paul George, who showed during the season that he was fully recovered from a broken leg in 2014. In addition, Hamilton notes, Indiana has the flexibility for another major move or two this summer. The franchise is about $12MM under the cap and may have a $2.8MM room exception available. Looking ahead, the Pacers could have up to $50MM in cap room next summer if Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles opt out.
There’s more from around the Central Division:
- The Bucks‘ Thon Maker grabbed attention in the Las Vegas Summer League with Kevin Garnett-like size and Giannis Antetokounmpo-level speed, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. Many observers were surprised when the Bucks drafted Maker 10th overall, but his athleticism may make that gamble pay off. “We thought he wasn’t afraid and had a little toughness to him,” said GM John Hammond. “That was the key to the draft pick — that we enjoyed him so much as a person and had toughness and wasn’t afraid. You don’t know what is going to go from there.”
- The Pistons are reaping the benefits of Andre Drummond‘s decision to put off his extension until this summer, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Because Drummond waited on his big-money deal, Detroit had the cap room to trade for Tobias Harris during the season and then sign free agents Jon Leuer, Ish Smith and Boban Marjanovic. “We either wouldn’t have been able to do Tobias during the year, or if we had done Tobias, we wouldn’t have been able to add the people we added this summer,” said coach/executive Stan Van Gundy. “It goes to Andre’s character, his true commitment to the Detroit Pistons beyond just getting the contract and [owner Tom Gores’] commitment and his relationship with Andre.”
- Marjanovic’s three-year, $21MM contract will pay him $7MM each season, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Smith will receive $6MM each year for three seasons (Twitter link), and Leuer’s four-year, $42MM deal starts at $11MM the first season and decreases (Twitter link). He also has $1MM in unlikely incentives.
And-Ones: Drummond, Seattle, D-League, Griffin
Now that we’re more than two weeks into the 2016/17 league year, Bobby Marks of The Vertical takes a look back at this year’s spending spree and attempts to draw some conclusions about the impact of the $94MM+ salary cap. As Marks outlines, the salary cap spike has resulted in 10 teams with $100MM+ payrolls so far, but has made the luxury tax a virtual non-factor. Marks also observes that if the players’ union had accepted the NBA’s cap smoothing proposal, we likely wouldn’t have seen so much roster turnover this offseason, since more teams would’ve been inclined to keep their own free agents.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the league:
- Andre Drummond‘s new five-year max deal with the Pistons includes an 8% trade kicker, league sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Players earning a max salary can’t exceed that salary via a trade kicker, but with the salary cap set to get another bump next year and in subsequent seasons, Drummond will technically be earning less than his max after the first year of the contract.
- Steve Ballmer, who was part of the group attempting to bring the NBA back to Seattle before he bought the Clippers, doesn’t envision Seattle getting a franchise in the near future. Speaking at the Geek Wire Sports Technology Summit in Seattle, Ballmer said the NBA hasn’t had expansion talks at all recently, and added that the league “has really moved to favor teams staying in their current markets.” Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times has the quotes from the Clippers owner.
- The D-League won’t see the same sort of league-wide salary increase that the NBA will in 2016/17, but the D-League is changing its salary structure, and players will earn more on the whole, as Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com details.
- Sam Gardner of FOX Sports takes an in-depth look at former Campbell forward Eric Griffin, whose quest for a spot on an NBA roster was derailed when he was accused of attempted murder — those charges were dropped last month, and Griffin is still looking for a team willing to give him a shot.
Pistons Re-Sign Andre Drummond
JULY 15th, 12:01pm: The signing is official, the Pistons announced via press release.
JULY 1st, 11:40am: The two sides have reached an agreement on a five-year, max deal that includes a player option for the final season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
3:20am: The Pistons and restricted free agent center Andre Drummond are closing in on an agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary contract, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). If it’s a max deal, the exact value won’t be determined until next week when the cap is set, but it’s expected to be in the $125-130MM range.
[RELATED: Pistons, Ish Smith agree to three-year contract]
Drummond entered July as one of the top restricted free agents on the market, along with Bradley Beal of the Wizards. Like Drummond, Beal is nearing a five-year max deal with his team. Stein tweets that both agreements are expected to be finalized later on Friday, then will become official sometime after the moratorium ends.
Drummond, who turns 23 in August, earned his first All-Star nod in 2015/16 and was named to the All-NBA third team. The former ninth overall pick led the NBA in total offensive rebounds for the third consecutive seasons, averaging a career-high 16.2 points and an NBA-best 14.8 rebounds per game for the season.
Although he continued to provide rebounding, rim protection, and efficient offense, Drummond’s one glaring weakness is his free-throw shooting. His free-throw percentage dipped to a career-worst 35.5% in 2015/16 as he was getting to the line more than ever (7.2 attempts per game).
Still, it appears the Pistons are willing to cement Drummond as a long-term fixture in Detroit, despite his free-throw woes. Drummond’s cap hold is currently a modest $8.18MM, so if the team wants to make the most of its cap room, it may hold off on finalizing the big man’s new deal until it uses up all its space. The Pistons hold Drummond’s Bird Rights and can go over the cap to lock him up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Qualifying Offers: Drummond, Beal, Powell
Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents by default. In order to make a player a restricted free agent, a team must extend a qualifying offer to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status. A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. You can read more about qualifying offers here.
Teams don’t always formally announce when they submit qualifying offers, which is the case with a number of players who have already been extended these offers by their respective clubs. The procedural moves listed below have been posted to the RealGM Transactions page, with more sure to follow in the next few days:
- Bradley Beal [Wizards] — $7,471,412
- Andre Drummond [Pistons] — $4,433,683
- Boban Marjanovic [Spurs] — $1,500,000
- Dwight Powell [Mavericks] — $1,180,431
Also receiving a qualifying offer is Magic center Dewayne Dedmon, with Orlando submitting the $1,215,696 required to make him a restricted free agent earlier today, per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
Eastern Notes: Johnson, Blake, Drummond
Former Nets swingman Joe Johnson took some verbal swipes at a number of his former Brooklyn teammates, whom he blames for much of the team’s woes this season, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily relays (via Twitter). “Honestly, this season in Brooklyn I was in a tough situation, playing with a lot of young guys, stat-chasing guys that really didn’t want to win,” Johnson said, “And in an organization that really was trying to put a team around guys like Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young and myself to help us at least fight for a playoff spot. So when I sat back and looked at all that I realized it was no reason to even stick around for the fallout of the situation.” The veteran agreed to a buyout arrangement with the team in February that allowed Johnson to sign with the Heat.
Here’s more from the East:
- Pistons owner Tom Gores reaffirmed the team’s intent to re-sign center Andre Drummond this summer despite his well-chronicled free throw issues, David Mayo of MLive notes. “We’ll talk about it this summer, but we want Andre,” Gores said. “So to me, I don’t think there’s a lot of question about it. Honestly, it’s how we feel about it.” The owner lauded what the 22-year-old center provided for the team rather than harp on Drummond’s anemic 35.5% mark from the charity stripe this season, Mayo adds. “I think he’s had a great year, an All-Star, more double-doubles [than anyone else in the NBA], and when you look at the other centers in the league — everybody’s got something [a weakness], but I’m proud of the 22-year-old man,” Gores said of Drummond. The big man is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, provided Detroit submits a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683, a move that is all but assured judging by Gores’ remarks.
- Veteran point guard Steve Blake isn’t ready to retire just yet, having indicated that he would like to play in 2016/17, as Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays (via Twitter). Fellow unrestricted free agent Anthony Tolliver also said that he wants to return to the Pistons and “put down roots” in Detroit, Ellis adds.
Eastern Notes: Bazemore, Pistons, Whiteside, Lin
The Hawks‘ Kent Bazemore stands to significantly increase his $2MM salary as he heads toward free agency, but he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he has been too busy to think about it. “Honestly, I haven’t had time,” Bazemore said. “It’s been a very aggressive year as far as scheduling, as far as the physical and mental load. I think in December, I had already played 300 more minutes than I had the whole last year. So physically, it was a lot.” Bazemore probably attracted a lot of suitors by averaging 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in his first full year as a starter with the Hawks. He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder. Although he can expect to get plenty of offers this summer, Bazemore’s first choice is to remain in Atlanta. “Being able to be out there and play through your mistakes and have a coach [Mike Budenholzer] who takes it personal to coach you,” Bazemore said. “He loves my competitiveness and I love how competitive he is. It’s a match made in heaven.”
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Cleveland’s 3-0 lead over the Pistons in their playoff series has helped expose some of the changes that need to be made this offseason, according to David Mayo of MLive. The team could use another player who can create off the dribble, Mayo writes, along with more shooters and a reliable backup point guard. The Pistons will also look at what Tobias Harris has brought to the team since he was acquired in February and see how to compensate for the weaknesses in Andre Drummond‘s game.
- The Heat were hurt by not having the taxpayer’s mid-level exception available last season, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. Miami had to use its room mid-level, which limits contracts to two years, to sign free agent center Hassan Whiteside. He emerged into a player who may demand a max contract this summer, and the Heat don’t own his Bird rights because he only had a two-year deal.
- The hiring of coach Kenny Atkinson, who was Jeremy Lin‘s mentor with the Knicks, could give the Hornets point guard a reason to come to Brooklyn, according to NetsDaily. The Nets need backcourt help and may be interested in Lin, who passed on a $3.5MM mini-mid level offer from Brooklyn last season.
Central Notes: Kidd, Brown, Jones
Bucks coach Jason Kidd said the franchise’s biggest need this offseason was to acquire outside shooters who can stretch the floor for the team’s big men, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel. “In today’s game, two is not going to beat three,” Kidd said. “The three is so important. We didn’t have enough guys that could make the three. There’s no tricks. I’m not going to sit here and make up something that we’re going to have to shoot a higher percentage of twos. You’ve got to be able to shoot the three. Everybody is shooting them. You’ve got to have guys on the floor who can stretch the floor and are threats to make a three.”
GM John Hammond shot down the rumblings that he and Kidd don’t have a solid working relationship, Gardner notes. “We just finished our second season together, and I think we have a very good working relationship,” Hammond said. “We talk together, we spend time together. We have a business relationship; we have a social relationship. With what we do, the season ends but it stays busy. We jump right into the draft until the end of June, and then we begin free agency and summer league. You’re stuck together in the season and in the offseason. It’s part of what we do and we love it.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said the team inked Lorenzo Brown in order to have enough bodies to practice heading into the playoffs with Reggie Jackson needing rest to recover from an abdominal injury, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
- Andre Drummond is pleased with how his relationship with Jackson is developing as well as what the point guard has brought to the Pistons franchise, David Aldridge of NBA.com relays. “You know, getting Reggie last season at the trade deadline, I didn’t know what to expect,” Drummond told Aldridge. “He came off the bench for OKC. I didn’t know what he’d be like as a starter. When he came, I spoke him, told him these are the different things that I’m going to need from a point guard. He embraced it. And he’s been playing great for us. He’s building, and we’re working together.”
- The Cavaliers have added Damon Jones to Tyronn Lue‘s coaching staff for the playoffs, relays Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group. The team believes it can benefit from Jones’ experience and rapport with players in its quest to return to the NBA finals, Haynes adds. Jones spent the season as an assistant with the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s D-League affiliate.