And-Ones: Gasol, Bryant, Jennings
There is a distinct possibility that Pau Gasol will opt out of his contract after this season with the Bulls because he’d likely get at least two years of guaranteed money by doing so, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes in response to a reader’s question. Gasol has not been featured as prominently in Fred Hoiberg‘s offense as he was under Tom Thibodeau, but since he’s still playing effectively, that should not factor much in Gasol’s decision, Johnson adds. Gasol will be a name to watch, according to Johnson, when the trade deadline nears if the Bulls believe they will lose him for nothing, however.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Kobe Bryant shot down the idea that he would consider coaching after he retires as a player, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “Coaching, me? That’s about the funniest thing I’ve ever heard,” Bryant said, per Bresnahan. A transition to coaching seemed unlikely, anyway, given Bryant’s ultra-competitive demeanor. Bryant has said he plans to delve further into storytelling through different forms of media after this season.
- Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in January, is still three or four weeks away from seeing the court and thus his return is not imminent, coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters, including Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports (Twitter link).
- The two-year contract worth $11MM that the Mavs signed point guard Deron Williams to over the summer is looking like a bargain one month into the season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details. While Williams said he would like to be more consistent, he has shown flashes of dominance, MacMahon writes. Williams is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 assists per game.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Hezonja, Knicks
Joakim Noah, a 2016 free agent, hasn’t started a game, has career lows in nearly every statistic and is not in position to contribute more because the Bulls have changed into more of a 3-point shooting team, Sam Smith of NBA.com notes. While Pau Gasol, who has a player option on the final season of a three-year, $22.3MM contract that brought him to Chicago in 2014, has not struggled as much as Noah has, his production is much lower than it has been in recent years, Smith adds. Both players, of course, are getting up there in age (Noah is 30 and Gasol is 35), but feel healthy, Smith writes, and that adds to the frustration of not being able to help the team more.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Magic rookie swingman Mario Hezonja has shown flashes of the potential that made the Magic select him fifth overall in the draft, but his rookie mistakes on defense have led to a cut in his minutes, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details. To his credit, Hezonja has been willing to learn from his mistakes and has fit in well with the Magic’s young locker room, Robbins adds. “Oftentimes, he’s just not ready,” Magic coach Scott Skiles said. “He’s not aware and he’s not ready. He knows it.”
- The Bulls assigned Cameron Bairstow to the Austin Spurs of the D-League, Chicago announced in a press release. Bairstow is headed to Austin as part of the flexible assignment rule since Chicago is without a one-to-one partnership with a D-League team.
- Carmelo Anthony is not surprised by Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis‘ hot start, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Porzingis has six double-doubles in his first 14 NBA games, as Berman points out. “Man, he’s 7’3″,’’ Anthony said. “There was only concern because people didn’t know and nobody ever saw him before. People were all so upset the Knicks drafted him. When you’re 7’3″, you just put your hands up and block a shot. For him to have seven blocks, it didn’t surprise me. [But] nobody expected [24] and 14, seven blocks. Nobody expected that, but I’ll take it.’’
And Ones: Gasol, Nuggets, Drummond, Hawks
The Bulls‘ Pau Gasol could miss out on a major payday if he doesn’t opt out of his current deal next summer, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Gasol has a player option on the final season of a three-year, $22.3MM contract that brought him to Chicago in 2014. He is owed a little less than $7.77MM for 2016/17, when increased TV revenues are expected to greatly raise the salary cap. Two unidentified executives from rival teams told Johnson that even at age 36, Gasol could land two more years of guaranteed money if he becomes an unrestricted free agent. “I’ll wait to make that decision,” Gasol said. “All I’m focused on now is trying to play the best I can so that if I do opt out and explore, I have options. If I have the best season possible and work on my body and stay healthy and help this team accomplish its goals, I’ll go from there.”
There’s more from around the world of basketball:
- The league has taken steps to reduce the unique home-court advantage the Nuggets possess because of Denver’s location and altitude, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Denver is at least a two-hour flight from nearly all NBA cities, which gives the home team a decided advantage against an opponent playing back-to-back games, especially when the thin mountain air is factored in. “I didn’t like it when I had to come here,” said Michael Malone, who is in his first season as Nuggets coach. “But I love it now.” Dempsey reports that the NBA has tried to cut into that edge by making Denver the first stop for teams traveling from the east and building an off day into the schedule for teams coming from the west.
- The Pistons‘ Andre Drummond tops a list of six players exceeding expectations compiled by Jonathan Concool of Basketball Insiders. Drummond was averaging 20.3 points and 20.3 rebounds per game heading into Saturday’s action. Rounding out the list are the Blazers‘ C.J. McCollum, the Pistons’ Marcus Morris, the Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Magic’s Evan Fournier and the Lakers‘ Jordan Clarkson.
- The Hawks will recall Edy Tavares and Lamar Patterson from the D-League Sunday, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Both are expected to be in Atlanta in time for the game with the Jazz.
Jabari Parker Hires New Agent; Gasols Looking
3:53pm: Parker has chosen Dr. Charles Tucker as his new agent, Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago reports (Twitter link).
3:27pm: Parker is leaning toward hiring Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, Pick hears (Twitter link).
1:10pm: Gerald Henderson is also parting ways with Armstrong, a source tells international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The Blazers swingman is in the final season of his contract.
11:28am: Jabari Parker is leaving the Wasserman Media Group and agent B.J. Armstrong, he confirmed to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol are also looking for new agents in the wake of Wasserman super agent Arn Tellem’s departure, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt reports (All Twitter links). Zillgitt doesn’t specify whether the Gasol brothers have left Wasserman just yet, but it’s nonetheless the latest round of disappointing news for the agency that’s lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Horford, Danilo Gallinari and Joe Johnson in recent months. Michael Tellem, the son of Arn and the agent who inherited many of his clients, is reportedly leaving the agency, too.
Each of the Gasols is doing his own search for an agent, and they’re not necessarily a package deal, Zillgitt hears (Twitter link). That makes sense, since they’re in different stages of their contracts. Marc re-signed with the Grizzlies this summer on a five-year max deal, while Pau can opt out of his deal with the Bulls this summer. Marc has said he’ll try to recruit Pau to join him on the Grizzlies. Parker is still close to two years away from the next significant negotiation on his NBA contract, since he won’t be eligible for a rookie scale extension until July of 2017.
Arn Tellem left the agency during the offseason to become the vice chairman of Palace Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Pistons. That’s touched off a whirlwind of movement as many of his former clients have sought new representation. Wasserman isn’t the only agency to suffer high-profile losses of late, with Harrison Barnes and DeAndre Jordan also among those making changes.
Marc Gasol To Try To Recruit Pau Gasol To Grizzlies
Marc Gasol will be part of an effort to convince Pau Gasol to sign with the Grizzlies, as Marc tells the Spanish outlet Europa Press (translation via HoopsHype). Marc signed a new five-year max deal with Memphis in July, but Pau can opt out of his contract with the Bulls next summer. Marc suggests it would be difficult to convince his brother to leave the Bulls, the team he joined just last year, but Marc says that he and the Grizzlies will try.
Pau’s contract with Chicago is team-friendly, particularly in light of his 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this past season, a bounceback year for him and one in which he and his brother started at center for their respective conferences in the All-Star Game. The 2016/17 player option in Pau’s deal is worth slightly less than $7.77MM, and though he turns 36 next July, the free agent market will be flooded with cash as the salary cap jumps to a projected $89MM. The Grizzlies have about $46MM in commitments for 2016/17, though that doesn’t include money for Mike Conley, who’s No. 3 on our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings and whose max salary is a projected $24.9MM.
Power forward Zach Randolph is under contract with the Grizzlies through 2016/17, so the addition of Pau this coming summer would give Memphis a crowded frontcourt. However, Randolph is only one year younger than Pau, and Marc will be 31 by then, so it’s a distinct possibility that age will limit the ability of all three to play heavy minutes anyway. Pau is already in the midst of a frontcourt logjam in Chicago, where he, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and recent first-round picks Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis are all candidates for playing time at the power forward and center positions.
Central Notes: Gasol, Gibson, Parker, Love
The Bulls‘ Pau Gasol may have risked a serious injury Saturday in a Eurobasket game against Poland, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. “The doctors told me that Pau couldn’t play more than five minutes straight,” Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo said in his post-game press conference. “But after the first five minutes, when I asked him to come to bench he told me now, ‘I will take the risk,’ he answered me and he had an amazing game.” Gasol scored 30 points in Spain’s victory and expects to play against Greece in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup, Varlas reports.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson said he played despite a torn ligament in his ankle at the end of last season, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Gibson, who had surgery on the ankle, added that everything is on track with his rehab schedule.
- Also bouncing back nicely from injury is the Bucks’ Jabari Parker, according to The Journal Times. Parker’s rookie season was cut short when he tore the ACL in his left knee in a December 15th game. The Bucks aren’t commenting on when Parker might return and allegedly ordered a TV cameraman to stop filming a recent workout. However, many in the organization are privately saying Parker is ahead of schedule and is expected to be ready for opening night.
- Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is recovering quickly after shoulder surgery, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Love was expected to be out of action four to six months after being hurt in an April playoff game, but Pluto says he has been working with a team trainer at an Olympic facility in Utah. Love said Friday on Late Night with Seth Meyers that he thought he was about a month to a month and a half away from returning to action (video link; transcription via HoopsHype). Pluto adds that Love never gave serious consideration to leaving Cleveland before signing a new max contract in July. Love has been talking to LeBron James over the offseason about adapting his role in the offense.
Central Notes: Hill, Bulls, Whittington
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- While Pau Gasol understands the Bulls‘ reasons for firing former coach Tom Thibodeau, he doesn’t believe that simply revamping the team’s offense is enough to take the next step toward an NBA title, Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald relays. “Offense wasn’t too much of an issue last year,” Gasol said. “We can work on our offense all we want, but defense is going to make a difference in how we’re going to beat other teams.“
- The Bulls also face the challenge of fielding a roster loaded with big men in a league trending toward more scoring and smaller lineups, McGraw adds, but Gasol believes the team can benefit from its roster continuity. “We have a great opportunity,” Gasol said. “We have a very strong team. There were very few changes made as far as our roster and our players. We can build on what we had last year, so we have all the tools to be a much stronger team than we were and learn from our mistakes from last year. I think we have to understand we have talent offensively and we have to play with a better flow offensively. I think we’re going to have more freedom to play in transition and exploit our abilities as individuals. As long as we understand that defense is what wins championships and makes the difference … we should be fine.“
- Shayne Whittington is part of the Pacers‘ current frontcourt logjam, but he believes his ability to guard multiple positions will set him apart, Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com writes. “Honestly, I think the one thing that really will set me apart from anybody at the four and five is if I can start guarding guards on a consistent basis,” Whittington said. “If I start doing that, then, then you never know, I’ll be at the four quite a bit. We’ll switch a lot; I can actually guard those guards; [Coach Frank Vogel will] feel comfortable with me out there guarding people. If your President of Basketball Operations feels comfortable with you guarding guards out there, you’re going to be on the court, especially if you’re 6’11”. Playing defense, rebounding the ball — that’ll get me on the court.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
James, Curry, Harden Lead All-NBA Teams
LeBron James and Stephen Curry finished atop the voting for the All-NBA Teams, with James Harden, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol joining them on the first team, the league announced via press release. Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Paul, Pau Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins comprise the second team. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Tim Duncan, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving make up the third team.
Curry, the league’s MVP, and James each received 645 points through a system in which five points are awarded a first team vote, three points go for a second team vote and one point is given for a third team vote. The duo garnered 129 first team votes each, making them unanimous first team selections. They were followed closely by Harden, with 125 first team votes and 637 points, and Davis, who had 119 first team votes and 625 points. Marc Gasol, who’s heading into free agency, wasn’t as widely seen as a first-teamer by the media members who cast their ballots, rounding out the squad with 65 first-team votes and 453.
Every member of the second team received at least one first team vote, and Thompson and Irving were the only members of the third team not to get a first team vote. Al Horford also received a first team vote even though he didn’t make any of the teams. The NBA will soon display the votes of each media member on its website, but the league has already distributed the information via press release, so click here to check it out in PDF form.
Southwest Notes: Smith, Ginobili, Gasol
Josh Smith has found contentment in Houston after enduring much criticism elsewhere, and the Rockets share that feeling of satisfaction with the partnership, as Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams examines. There’s mutual interest between Smith, who hits free agency again this summer, and GM Daryl Morey in a new deal, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last month, and Morey made it clear to Abrams that he values the 29-year-old.
“I’m not sure what we’d do without him,” Morey added. “He’s been critical to getting us where we are right now.”
Houston will have Smith’s Non-Bird rights to give him a 20% raise on the $2.077MM salary he signed for via the Biannual Exception in December. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:
- Manu Ginobili suggested that he’s never pondered retirement quite so seriously before and said that Tim Duncan‘s decision about whether to play again next season will affect his own, as the swingman wrote for La Nacion’s Canchallena.com and as Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News translates. In any case, Ginobili, whose contract with the Spurs expires this summer, said he’ll take the rest of the month to decide whether to return.
- Concerns about whether Ginobili, Duncan and Gregg Popovich would remain over the course of a three-year deal were in Pau Gasol‘s head when he decided against signing with the Spurs, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes in a lengthy piece on the Bulls, whom Gasol chose instead.
- Dirk Nowitzki confirmed that there was no vote that took place when the Mavs decided to divvy up playoff shares without giving one to Rajon Rondo, as he said on KTCK-AM this week (transcription via the Dallas Morning News). “No, we actually didn’t vote. It was just the guys who were there that day got a playoff share,” Nowitzki said. “What we usually do is give a lot of weight to the guys that work for you all season long; the locker room guys, the equipment guys, the trainers, the massage guys [or] whoever you feel helped you get through the season. We usually divide it up and then give them a lot of money. I think that got blown out of proportion. It’s not like it was that much money. I don’t think Rondo would have cared either way.”
Kupchak On Buss, Kobe, Free Agency, Draft
The Lakers finished the season 21-61, their worst winning percentage of all-time, but GM Mitch Kupchak is just a year removed from having signed an extension that takes him through at least the 2016/17 season. Kupchak wishes last offseason had gone somewhat differently, telling reporters Thursday that he wishes the team had been able to Pau Gasol, who’s experiencing a renaissance in Chicago, notes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Still, the GM believes the Lakers can quickly right themselves in spite of “a terrible year,” notes Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com. He confirmed the team wants to retain Ed Davis, who plans on opting out but would like to return to the Lakers, Holmes also notes, and he had plenty more to say about the months and years ahead for the purple-and-gold. Holmes, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) relay Kupchak’s comments, and we’ll pass along a few of the GM’s most noteworthy remarks here:
On the pledge Jim Buss made last year to step down if the team didn’t make the Western Conference Finals within three years (Kupchak said he wasn’t aware of the remark):
“What’s my sense of being in the conference finals within three years? I think it’s possible. But what if you get to the conference semifinals, you lose in seven [games] and you have a great team that you know is going to get better and better? So I don’t think there is anything etched in stone that would determine any change in direction. Three years from now is forever.”
On Kobe Bryant and retirement:
“I have assumed that he has one year to go and is 36 now. That’s all I can plan on. That’s all he’s planning on. A year from now, maybe different. But right now, that’s all we’re planning on.”
On summer spending plans:
“We’re not going to use cap room just to use cap room and maybe improve. I can use the expression 20 games because we won so few games this year. We don’t want to end up using our cap room and winning 40 games. That year doesn’t get you in the playoffs. Oklahoma City won 45 games, and they still didn’t make it in the playoffs. You work hard to create a future, whether it’s draft picks or an opportunity to make a trade or free agent dollars, and you don’t want to give it away just because you have it. But you do have to weigh anticipation and your fans wanting to see some improvement. That is a challenge. That’s not to say the only player we’ll spend our money on is a max player. There may be better opportunities out there. We don’t know that right now. We do have to balance how you use that money, and two years from now there’s a dramatic change in the landscape in terms of the cap.”
On the draft:
“This would be a good draft to participate in. Two months out, I’m pleased with the players that will be in this draft.”