Eric Gordon Opts In With Pelicans
THURSDAY, 4:48pm: The Pelicans have officially announced that Gordon has opted in for next season.
WEDNESDAY, 7:50pm: Eric Gordon has decided to exercise his player option for the 2015/16 season and return to the Pelicans, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The move was widely anticipated, as Gordon would likely have had a difficult time topping the $15,514,031 he is scheduled to make next season on any new deal. This sets up Gordon to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and a strong 2015/16 campaign could serve to inflate his value just in time for the salary cap to increase courtesy of the league’s new television deal kicking in. John Reid of The Times Picayune had previously reported that Gordon was likely to opt in.
Besides the obvious payday associated with opting in, Gordon will also have the opportunity to play for Alvin Gentry, who was coach of the Suns when Gordon signed Phoenix’s offer sheet back in 2012, which New Orleans matched, and Gordon is still fond of Gentry, according to Reid. Gentry is known for his offensive expertise, and Gordon could become revitalized in an up-tempo attack. The negative regarding Gordon opting in, is that it defeats any chance that New Orleans had to open max-level cap room for next season without making significant salary clearing trades. New Orleans now has more than $56MM in guaranteed salary committed against a projected $67.1MM cap for next season, which includes Gordon’s option amount.
Gordon appeared in 61 contests for the Pelicans last season, averaging 13.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. His career numbers are 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per night. His career slash line is .437/.383/.809.
Western Notes: Aldridge, Porzingis, Gordon
The Lakers worked out Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays. Porzingis takes issue with scouts labeling him a finesse player or discounting him as another potential European bust, the Yahoo! scribe adds. “I don’t like being labeled soft,” Porzingis told Wojnarowski. “I’m very hungry. I love the game. I’ve got to prove to coaches and GMs that I’m not soft just because I’m from Europe. They need to see that I’m not just some skinny white guy, that I’m going to be there fighting. They’ll need to see that I’m a worker who’s going to play hard, and play tough. There are guys who have had incredible NBA careers – like Dirk Nowitzki and the Gasols [Pau and Marc] – and there are guys who haven’t. They’ll say, this guy is a bust. He’ll be Nikoloz Tskitishvili, this Georgian guy. Andrea Bargnani, Darko Milicic … That’s why I am talking, because I want the fear to go away with me. I want people to get to know me. I don’t want to be the mystery man from Europe.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Despite the reports relaying that Eric Gordon is likely to exercise his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans for next season, the 26-year-old guard has scoured the NBA market for a potential long-term deal outside of New Orleans, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. According to league sources, Gordon has been seeking four or five year contract possibilities with other teams, Charania notes.
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The Lakers are a “distant third” in the running to lure LaMarcus Aldridge away from Portland, behind the Mavs, who are the favorites, and the Spurs, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says in a video report. Bucher cites Aldridge’s strong relationship with former Blazers interim head coach Kaleb Canales, now a Mavs assistant, as reason to think Dallas holds appeal for the power forward, though Bucher speculates that Aldridge will ultimately chooses to re-sign with the Blazers.
- The Jazz held pre-draft workouts today for J.J. Avila (Colorado State), Michael Frazier (Florida), Damarcus Harrison (Clemson), Youssou Ndoye (St. Bonaventure), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), and Travis Trice (Michigan State), the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Clippers will bring in Damontre Harris (South Carolina) and Michale Kyser (Louisiana Tech) as part of a group workout on Wednesday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Gordon, James, Grizzlies
Eric Gordon, who will reportedly pick up his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans, is likely making a savvy financial decision, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes, because there’s a strong chance the guard fetches a more lucrative deal in the summer of 2016, when the salary cap rises. The projected salary cap of $67.1MM for next season is expected to jump to $89MM in 2016/17 before soaring to $108MM in 2017/18, as Reid points outs. There’s a distinct possibility Gordon thrives under new coach Alvin Gentry‘s up-tempo offense, Reid adds, and that would give a boost to his numbers and stock.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Free agent Bernard James has teams interested in signing him, but the center would like to return to the Mavs, the team that re-signed him in March for the remainder of the season after two 10-day pacts, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. James signed with the Shanghai Sharks of China in November after the Mavs waived him just before the season started. “You know, I’ve been talking to my agent a lot, and there’s a few teams interested,” James said. “But, hopefully, I’d like to be back here with the Mavericks. We’ll see what happens in the draft, what’s their needs and whoever [Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle] find for next year. Whatever players they sign, hopefully there’s a spot for me and there’s a niche I can carve out. We’ll see what happens, man, but I’m expecting it not to be quite as crazy as the last two summers.”
- Cliff Alexander, Aaron Harrison, Jamal Jones, Kenneth Smith, Corey Walden and Christian Wood will all work out for the Grizzlies on Monday, the team announced in a press release.
Eric Gordon Still Leaning Toward Opting In
Eric Gordon has largely made up his mind to pick up his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans for next season, a source close to the Rob Pelinka client tells John Reid of The Times Picayune. Gordon signaled as much back in March when he referred to 2015/16 as a contract year, and the latest development would come as no surprise even if he hadn’t dropped that hint, since Gordon’s stock has taken a hit since he signed his existing contract, originally an offer sheet from the Suns, in 2012. Gordon told Blake Schuster of the Indianapolis Star a few days ago that he had yet to come to a final decision, but Reid’s source indicated that Gordon would formally make his choice within the next 10 days in advance of the June 29th deadline for him to officially opt in.
New Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was coaching the Suns when Gordon signed the Phoenix offer sheet, which New Orleans matched, and Gordon is still fond of Gentry, Reid writes. The offensive maestro will no doubt try to unlock Gordon’s dormant scoring touch. The former seventh overall pick has seen his scoring average decline each of the past four seasons, from a career high of 22.3 points per game as a Clipper in 2010/11 to this past season’s 13.4 PPG. This year’s blistering 44.8% three-point shooting accuracy, his best mark in seven NBA seasons, is nonetheless cause for optimism.
A Gordon opt-in would close off any chance the Pelicans might have had to open max-level cap room without making significant salary clearing trades. New Orleans has more than $40MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.1MM cap for next season without Gordon’s option.
Southwest Notes: Holiday, Messina, Chandler
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to remove a previously implanted screw from his right leg, the team announced. No timetable was announced for when Holiday could resume basketball activities. The 24-year-old appeared in 40 games this past season for New Orleans, averaging 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in 32.6 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Spurs assistant Ettore Messina is still interested in becoming an NBA head coach, Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “I am seriously thinking about that but I’d ask first [coach] Gregg Popovich and [GM] R.C. Buford for advice,” Messina said. “At the same time I am very happy with the Spurs. I have two years left on my contract with the Spurs. Maybe I finish my contract and I will go back home peacefully.” Messina’s best shot to snag a head coaching position may be to hang on in San Antonio as an assistant until Popovich retires, and then take over the team, McCarney opines.
- Tyson Chandler might be the most attractive asset the Mavericks could pitch to prospective free agent targets, opines Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News in his weekly mailbag. Of course, Dallas will still need to make a decision regarding the 32-year-old big man first. Chandler will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and with the team reportedly interested in signing fellow free agents DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge, there likely won’t be room under the salary cap for all three in Dallas.
- Pelicans guard Eric Gordon still hasn’t made a decision regarding his player option for 2015/16 worth $15,514,031, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. But the 26-year-old does believe that New Orleans has a bright future as a franchise, Reid adds. ”I just believe when you think about winning, people do things and think positive,” Gordon said. ”I’ve just tried to get healthy, do the things that I can do to help this team. The talent is here, it’s all about us being healthy and playing together.We can only get better at this point. It’s all about guys staying on task and getting healthy. I think we can be really good.”
Eric Gordon Plans To Opt In With Pelicans
Eric Gordon gave a clear signal this week that he intends to pick up his player option for next season, worth more than $15.514MM, and stay with the Pelicans, referring to next season as a “contract year” in remarks that John Reid of The Times-Picayune relays. Player option aside, next season is the last on Gordon’s contract. The shooting guard echoed coach Monty Williams, who recently praised Gordon for putting off surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder.
”When I came back, I didn’t want to give up on this year because next year is a contract year for me,” Gordon said. ”I definitely didn’t want to give up on this team. I thought this was a special team and it’s just good to see where we’re at right now.”
It’s certainly no surprise that the Rob Pelinka client would choose to opt in, even though he’s played better since returning from the injury in January. His 13.3 points per game this season represent a fourth straight year of decline in his scoring average, and though his shot attempts have also gone down each of those years, his PER of 12.7 indicates that he’s not playing efficiently. He’s not the star that many thought he’d become when he was the jewel of the trade package New Orleans received for him in the Chris Paul deal. That reputation helped him earn the offer sheet, a four-year maximum-salary arrangement, that he signed with the Suns in the summer of 2012 and that the then-Hornets matched even after he’d played only nine games in 2011/12 because of injury.
The 26-year-old shooting guard is nonetheless draining 45.3% of his three-pointers, a career-best mark by far for the career 38.0% three-point shooter, and, as Reid points out, he’s been turning it on of late, scoring 16 points or more in five of his last six games. Williams is optimistic that Gordon is turning a corner, Reid notes.
“This is the guy that we thought we were going to have fortunately; he had so many injuries and it was hard for him to get the work in,” Williams said. “I think you are starting to see a part of it but not all of it. I think Eric, because A.D [Anthony Davis] is playing so well and Tyreke [Evans] has the ball a lot, he doesn’t get as many opportunities. I’ve got to find more ways to get him the ball. The thing I like about Eric is he tries to make the right play. Eric has so much in his game that people haven’t seen what all he can do with his ability to score and play off the dribble.”
Gordon expressed regret this week for saying when he signed the offer sheet that “Phoenix is just where my heart is now,” Reid notes. It’s the latest step Gordon has made to distance himself from that comment, an effort that began soon after New Orleans matched the offer. Regardless, it appears he’ll remain with the Pelicans for at least one more season. New Orleans would have about $55.8MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.4MM salary cap next season if Gordon were to indeed opt in.
Western Notes: Wiggins, Chandler, Booker
The Raptors are reportedly already planning a run at Andrew Wiggins, and there are apparently whispers that he’d love to play for his hometown Toronto team someday, even though he can’t elect unrestricted free agency until 2019. Still, Wiggins said today, in advance of tonight’s Timberwolves-Raptors game, that he’s quite content in Minnesota, making his remarks to reporters, including Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link).
“I love Minnesota,” he said. “They treat me nice up there. I plan to be there a very, very, very long time.”
That’s no doubt the plan for the Wolves, too, who acquired the 2014 No. 1 overall pick this year in the Kevin Love trade. Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Tyson Chandler knew the Mavericks were trying to trade for him this past summer, but he didn’t think it would happen, as he tells Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. “I think the Knicks had rejected every possible trade that they offered,” Chandler said. “I didn’t think I was going from New York. The Knicks had visited me to teach me the triangle offense two days before I got traded. So I definitely didn’t think [a] trade was in the works.”
- The Jazz are 11-2 since the trade deadline, when the deal that sent Enes Kanter out created more playing time for Trevor Booker. The ex-Wizards power forward didn’t expect Utah to play this well when he signed with the Jazz in the offseason, and he wants to remain with the team, as he tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Only $250K of his $4.775MM salary for next season is guaranteed.
- Pelicans coach Monty Williams praised Eric Gordon for putting the team above himself when he decided not to have surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder, a move that would have helped ensure he’s 100% for next season, the last on his contract, observes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. Gordon can hit free agency as soon as this summer if he chooses, though he’d have to turn down a player option worth more than $15.514MM to do so.
Southwest Rumors: Rondo, Conley, Pelicans
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has given Rajon Rondo more play-calling responsibilities and their relationship appears to be improving, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Rondo, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, is developing better chemistry with his teammates as he gains more freedom to call plays, MacMahon adds. Rondo was suspended one game by the club in late February after he argued with Carlisle over play-calling issues. “He’s really developed a good sense for our team — when to just push it, when to get into something,” Carlisle said to Dallas beat writers. “He really understands the guys that he’s playing with.” Rondo said recently he is willing to return to the Mavs, though it’s unlikely they will meet his asking price.
In other news around the Southwest Division:
- Mike Conley had a difficult time dealing with the breakup between coach Lionel Hollins and the Grizzlies in 2013, he told Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com in a Q&A. Conley called Hollins, whose contract was not renewed by the Grizzlies, “a second father figure almost for me.” Conley, who has one year and approximately $9.39MM remaining on his contract, adds in the interview that he is still grateful he has played his entire career thus far with Memphis.
- Eric Gordon’s improved health has made him a better fit with the Pelicans, Jesse Blancarte of BasketballInsiders.com opines. Gordon, who can exercise a player option of approximately $15.5MM in the final year of his contract next season, is averaging 15.6 points while shooting 51.1% from 3-point range over his last 14 games. The injury-prone Gordon is finally playing the way New Orleans hoped when they matched the Suns’ four-year, $58MM offer sheet following the 2011-12 season, Blancarte adds.
- The Mavs reassigned Dwight Powell to their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, on Saturday, the team announced. Powell has appeared in 19 games for the Mavs this season, averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.
Southwest Notes: O’Neal, Howard, Gordon
Veteran center Jermaine O’Neal may be one step closer to making a comeback and playing this season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. O’Neal posted pictures on Instagram of himself getting treatment on his knees in Germany, which is a strong indication that he’s planning to return to the NBA this season, MacMahon opines. The Mavs are reportedly the front-runners to ink O’Neal after their acquisition of Rajon Rondo, but O’Neal is also a potential target for the Warriors and Cavaliers as well.
Here’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Rockets big man Dwight Howard doesn’t look like the same player this season, according to Pau Gasol, his former teammate with the Lakers, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Gasol opined that Howard seems to have a reduced role in Houston’s offense this season, and doesn’t have the aggressiveness he displayed while the two were both playing for Los Angeles. “I haven’t really kept an eye on him,” Gasol said. “I think the team has more weapons now. We’ll see. I watched a couple games of him. He doesn’t seem to be as aggressive in the post or get as many touches as he used to be maybe, but he’s always a big factor in the games. He’s capable of having huge nights.”
- Pelicans guard Eric Gordon practiced for the first time since tearing his labrum back in November, and he is expected to play in tonight’s contest against the Wizards, RealGM.com reports. Gordon has missed New Orleans’ last 21 games due to his injury.
- Tyson Chandler marvels at the job that Mark Cuban has done in turning the Mavs from a laughingstock into one of the best organizations in the NBA during the 15 years that he’s owned the team, Dwain Price of The Star-Telegram writes. “To take this business where he’s taken it in 15 years, I think if you start any business and you look up and 15 years you’ve grown and had as much success as this business has, any businessman would be happy with the success,’’ Chandler said. “I think he’s one of the best, if not the best, owner in the league as far as his innovation and what he’s brought to the game. The excitement, the in-arena things that he brings, always keeping the fans engaged. He puts on a helluva show.’’
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Franklin, Chandler
Despite their early-season success, the Pelicans‘ core isn’t likely to become a championship-contending one, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders opines. One of the main issues with the current roster is the lack of talent on the perimeter, and with Eric Gordon likely to exercise his $15.5MM player option for next season, it will be difficult to upgrade the roster until the summer of 2016, notes Duncan. One option Duncan suggests for the Pelicans to rid themselves of Gordon’s deal earlier is for New Orleans to package its 2016 first-rounder in a trade along with Gordon in order to encourage a team to take on his expiring contract, though the Pelicans owe a protected 2015 first-round pick to Houston, so they would have trouble sending out a 2016 first-rounder, thanks to the Stepien Rule.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Duncan also added that re-signing Omer Asik this offseason will be an organizational priority because of that protected first-round pick that the Pelicans surrendered to the Rockets in order to acquire him.
- Jamaal Franklin recently agreed to a one month extension to his contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin’s original agreement with the team was for two months, and this extension will still allow him to return to the NBA in January when teams are able to sign players to 10-day contracts, Wojnarowski adds. The 23-year-old shooting guard appeared in 21 contests for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
- It’s possible that if Tyson Chandler had not broken his leg last season, New York’s 2013/14 campaign wouldn’t have been such a disaster and the Knicks wouldn’t have traded the big man to the Mavericks, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Chandler is happy to be back in Dallas and while he stops short of being thankful for the injury, he is pleased with how things turned out for him this offseason, MacMahon adds. “I look at life as like everything happens for a reason,” Chandler said. “There’s no mistakes made. At the time, [the injury] was devastating clearly, but I feel like everything happens for a reason.”
- The Iowa Energy have acquired former first round pick Jordan Hamilton via waivers, the team has announced. Hamilton reportedly worked out for the Lakers last week after a brief stint with the Jazz earlier this month. Though he’ll play for the Grizzlies‘ D-League affiliate, Hamilton is free to sign with any NBA team that would desire his services.