Central Rumors: Thompson, Marion, Turner
The Cavs haven’t spoken with agent Rich Paul about an extension for Tristan Thompson, as Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer hears, but it’s not necessarily a sign that the sides don’t intend to strike a deal before the October 31st deadline to do so, Haynes indicates. Let’s wrap up more from the Cavs and the Central:
- Shawn Marion explains that the Cavs‘ acquisition of Kevin Love convinced him to spurn more lucrative offers from other clubs and sign with Cleveland, according to Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal.
- Cavs GM David Griffin admits LeBron James was critical in Cleveland’s success in recruiting other big name players this summer, as Lloyd details in the same piece. “You couldn’t have a better recruiter than LeBron James,” Griffin said. “When you cut LeBron loose in a free agency path, you tend to get results you don’t get otherwise. To say he’s been an amazing partner this offseason would be a gross understatement.”
- The Pacers and Evan Turner never attempted to negotiate a new deal that would have brought the former second overall pick back to Indiana for the 2014/15 season, reports Andrew Perna of RealGM (on Twitter). “We both just decided to go our separate ways,“ said Turner.
- Greg Monroe‘s decision to sign his qualifying offer means he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, but he says that doesn’t necessarily mean that he wants to leave the Pistons, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit News. Monroe also dismissed the notion that he doesn’t like to play alongside Josh Smith, according to Ellis (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Notes: Bogans, LeBron, Marion
The Cavaliers held their media day today, and there was more buzz around the team than in any recent year. LeBron James is back in town, joining holdovers Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Tristan Thompson, and the recently acquired Kevin Love. The front office has also surrounded LeBron with a slew of veteran reserves in their efforts to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland, and to convince both James and Love to stick around the Cuyahoga River area. Here’s some notes from the day’s events:
- The acquisition of Keith Bogans was about “contract flexibility,” Cavs GM David Griffin said today, tweets Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer. That suggests that the team values him more as a trade asset than as a player, though that’s just my speculation.
- When asked if Cleveland would have been a free agency option for him if LeBron wasn’t part of the package, Shawn Marion said, “No. I’m going to be honest. No,” tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Marion also said that James wasn’t enough to sell him on the Cavs, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays (Twitter link). It was the trade for Love that tipped the scales for Marion, according to Shelburne.
- When discussing luring free agents to Cleveland, Griffin said, “You couldn’t have a better recruiter than LeBron James,” Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal relays (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Marion, Gentile, Clark
Shawn Marion said it was difficult to decide where to sign this summer and cited his continued longtime friendship with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, but he also told KRLD-FM in Dallas that the presence of his newborn son, who lives in Chicago, influenced his choice. “It wasn’t about the money,” Marion said, as the Dallas Morning News transcribes. “I got offered more money from different teams. It’s with just a matter of what I’m comfortable with. And also, from Cleveland to Chicago is not that far. It’s driveable and a quick flight.”
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Alessandro Gentile isn’t interested in playing in the NBA for now, and he’s uncertain that he’ll ever do so, as he told the Italian newspaper Leggo, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. The Rockets acquired the NBA rights to the Italian-born small forward, this year’s 53rd overall pick, in a draft-night swap, but he signed a new deal with Italy’s Olimpia Milano in July.
- The pact between the Grizzlies and Earl Clark is non-guaranteed, as Eric Pincus writes for the Los Angeles Times.
- A member of the Spurs staff will be shadowing Livio Jean-Charles, last year’s 28th overall pick, throughout the season as he plays for ASVEL Villeurbanne in France, as Jean-Charles tells Frédéric Dussidour of BeBasket (translation via Jesus Gomez of Pounding the Rock). It continues San Antonio’s practice of keeping close tabs on its draft-and-stash prospects, as Gomez examines.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Sanders, Bucks, Marion, Billups
Murphy’s Law governed Larry Sanders last season after the Bucks signed him to a four-year, $44MM extension, and a report this summer indicated that the team was making him available in trade talk. Still, the Bucks maintain their faith in the 25-year-old, as Milwaukee assistant GM David Morway tells HoopsHype’s David Alarcon.
“Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Larry is in our future plans,” Morway said. “We are hopeful that this year Larry gets back to being the basketball player that he was two years ago. He is a defensive presence and a game-changer on the court. So when you have his length along with Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Jabari Parker, John Henson and then Zaza Pachulia, Damien Inglis, who is very long, and if you play Khris Middleton at the two … We are a fairly long team. We’ve got good experience with O.J. Mayo, Jerryd Bayless … And we like Kendall Marshall. So we are excited for next year.”
The executive had more to say about his club, as we’ll note amid the latest from around the Central Division:
- Morway says the Bucks are “pretty much done” with their offseason moves, as he also tells Alarcon. Morway mentions the presence of 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, though it appears as though Milwaukee only has 14. It’s likely he’s counting Marshall’s non-guaranteed deal in the guaranteed category, given the prominent role that Marshall is set to play, though that’s just my speculation.
- The Bucks had a desire to let Caron Butler play for a winner when they let him out of his contract at midseason last year, as Morway mentions in his interview with Alarcon. Butler joined the Thunder for the stretch run, and while the Pistons are far from contention, the idea that they’ll start winning sometime soon was apparently key to Butler’s decision to sign with Detroit this summer.
- Shawn Marion‘s pact with the Cavs is fully guaranteed, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), who confirms that he’s getting the minimum salary, which is all Cleveland could give him. It’s a one-year deal, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders salary pages.
- The leadership of Chauncey Billups is what led the Pistons to sign him a year ago for what turned out to be his final season, but for most of his career he was the rare player who combined professionalism and All-Star talent, writes Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press.
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Monroe, Marion
Asked if the decision that LeBron James made to return to Cleveland influenced his call to re-sign with the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony told Michael Strahan in an interview for Adweek that he believes that it was the other way around, and that James took a cue from him. That conflicts with the timeline of events, since James announced he was going back to the Cavs before word of ‘Melo’s choice came out, but perhaps Anthony, a New York native, is referring to the 2011 trade that originally landed him on the Knicks. In any case, New York made a pair of much less heralded additions this afternoon, as we noted earlier, and we’ll pass along more on one of James’ new teammates amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- Shawn Marion‘s contract with the Cavs covers just one season, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press.
- The NBA announced a two-game unpaid suspension for Greg Monroe, who pleaded guilty to driving while visibly impaired, a term for a type of drunken driving charge in the state of Michigan. He’ll sit out the first two games for the Pistons this season as a result.
- The Pistons are adding Pat Garrity to their front office as director of strategic planning, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll assist president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Shawn Marion Signs With Cavs
SEPTEMBER 9TH: The signing is finally official, the team announced.
“Shawn brings great versatility, talent and championship experience to the team,” Cavs GM David Griffin said in the club’s statement. “He will impact both ends of the floor and his ability to guard multiple positions will be particularly important for us. Shawn is an accomplished, high-caliber veteran that will help with leadership on and off the court and we’re very happy to welcome him to the Cavaliers family.”
AUGUST 17TH: Shawn Marion has decided to join the Cavaliers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Cleveland can only offer Marion the veteran’s minimum salary, but the opportunity to play with LeBron James and to contend for an NBA Championship was the deciding factor, notes Stein. The Clippers, Pacers, and the Heat had also pursued the 15-year veteran.
Indiana could have offered Marion a larger role and more playing time, with Paul George most likely being lost for the season. The Pacers could have also offered a larger salary as well, with the league already approving the disabled player exception the franchise had applied for. But with James’ arrival, and Kevin Love set to be added as soon as Andrew Wiggins can be traded on August 23rd, the Cavs became too appealing an option for Marion.
Marion’s career averages are 15.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.6 SPG. His career slash line is .485/.332/.811. Last season with the Mavericks, he averaged 10.4 PPG and 6.5 RPG, while appearing in 76 contests.
Western Notes: Heslip, Marion, Spurs
The NBA season won’t officially start until Tuesday, October 28th, when the Spurs begin their season against the Mavericks. An expert poll over at ESPN.com has picked San Antonio to repeat as NBA champs, with the Cavs coming in second, and the Thunder rounding out the top-three. The Heat were the last franchise to go back-to-back, winning titles in 2012 and 2013, while the Spurs have never accomplished that feat.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Wolves were impressed with undrafted point guard Brady Heslip‘s performance for their summer league team, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Heslip recently changed agents, hiring Bernie Lee, and is attempting to land an NBA training camp invitation, Wolfson adds.
- The Thunder have named Mark Daigneault as the new head coach of their D-League team, reports Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. Daigneault spent the last four seasons as an assistant on Billy Donovan‘s staff at Florida, and replaces Darko Rajakivic who accepted a position on Scott Brooks‘ staff with the Thunder. Speaking about the hire, GM Sam Presti said, “Mark has placed a high value on development throughout his career and we feel that he is well aligned with the goals of our organization. His experience at Florida under Coach Donovan has provided him the platform to apply his intelligence and relationship skills to help strengthen the program. We are excited about Mark joining the organization and continuing his professional growth.“
- When Shawn Marion left the Mavericks as a free agent this summer to sign with the Cavaliers, he did so knowing that he would come off the bench and play fewer minutes than he had in Dallas, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. In regards to Marion leaving, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said, “It’s different when you’re going back to your same team as supposed to going to a new team. I think there’s a different dynamic and different expectation.” Marion placed the opportunity to contend for a championship above monetary and playing time concerns in making his team selection, notes MacMahon.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Raptors, Sixers, Wolves, Marion
Based upon the initial reaction in the Toronto media, it seems like Raptors CEO Tim Leiweke will be missed after news broke this week that he will eventually leave the organization. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun partially credits Leiweke with landing current GM Masai Ujiri, who last season built the first Raptors team to make the playoffs in six years. Wolstat also points to the 2016 All Star Game, which Toronto will host, and the team’s new practice facility as coups that have Leiweke’s fingerprints all over them. Meanwhile, Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post lauds the CEO for cultivating the organization’s relationship with hip hop star Drake and also writes that Leiweke played a role in retaining star guard Kyle Lowry.
Let’s see what else is going on around the NBA on Thursday evening:
- As Tom Moore of Calkins Media points out (via Twitter), Luc Mbah a Moute is slated to make about $4.4MM for the Sixers in 2014/15 while Alexey Shved will make about $3.2MM. Meanwhile, Thaddeus Young will earn around $9.2MM this season for the Timberwolves and has a $9.7MM player option for 2015/16.
- Assuming the trade is finalized as reported, Moore reminds us that Jason Richardson, still recovering from a knee injury, and Arnett Moultrie are now the longest tenured Sixers, appearing in 92 games combined. Hollis Thompson, who has played 77 games in Philly, will have the most time on the court (Twitter link).
- Appearing on ESPN 103.3 in Dallas on Thursday, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban discussed Shawn Marion‘s decision to sign with the Cavaliers. “He wanted to go to somebody that he thought, and this was all prior to signing Chandler Parsons and everything, that he thought was closer to a ring particularly in the Eastern Conference. He decided to go that route and we wish him nothing but the best,” Cuban said. (quote via The Dallas Morning News)
Eastern Notes: Pacers, Irving, Carter-Williams
Indiana lost out on Shawn Marion this weekend, and the Pacers also let a degree of flexibility lapse when Donald Sloan‘s non-guaranteed minimum salary became fully guaranteed. President of basketball operations Larry Bird said last week that the team had no intention of waiving the point guard before his deal became guaranteed, so it was no shock. It wasn’t surprising to see the Knicks keep Quincy Acy and his minimum salary past his guarantee date on Friday, either, since that was reportedly part of the team’s deal to acquire the power forward via trade from Sacramento. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Pacers indeed offered Marion more than the minimum salary that the Cavs are limited to doling out, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Marion reportedly decided this weekend to sign with the Cleveland.
- Kyrie Irving is the primary focus of Charania’s piece, and while there were plenty of rumors that suggested his extension talks wouldn’t be easy, he acknowledged to the RealGM scribe that the choice to sign a max deal with the Cavs last month was a simple one. Irving also insists that he had no influence on the team’s coaching search this year.
- Michael Carter-Williams is ready to step up and be a leader for the Sixers if Thaddeus Young is traded this coming weekend, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
- Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Furkan Aldemir has officially signed a new three-year deal with Galatasaray of Turkey, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The sides came to agreement back in May on the $5.3MM deal that includes an option for the final season. Whether it’s a team or player option and what sort of NBA buyout clauses exist are unclear.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Marion, Barbosa, Curry
Team USA defeated Brazil 95-78 in an exhibition game at the United Center last night. The game not only featured Derrick Rose returning to action on his home court, but also strong performances from the Pelicans‘ Anthony Davis and the Rockets‘ James Harden. Davis recorded 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, while Harden scored 18, along with five rebounds and five assists.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Clippers are now showing interest in Shawn Marion, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Spears adds that the Cavs, Pacers, and Heat remain interested in the small forward as well.
- Leandro Barbosa has had discussions with a few NBA teams about a possible free agent deal, and is hoping to use the upcoming FIBA World Cup to further prove his health, writes Shams Charania of RealGM. Barbosa said, “I don’t know what owners think about the World Cup, but hopefully I do a great job over there and a team sees. I feel healthy and my body is feeling healthy. If I have free agency in my mind, I won’t be able to be myself on the court. Hopefully, I sign a contract and I’ll be happy.” Barbosa appeared in 20 games with the Suns last season, averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.9 PPG, and 1.6 APG, while playing 18.4 minutes a night.
- In an interview with Beckley Mason of the New York Times, Warriors star Stephen Curry was asked about playing for yet another new head coach in Steve Kerr. Curry responded by saying, “This is one that I haven’t gone through before. This is my fourth coach going into my sixth year. Last three coaching changes, we were a bad team trying to become competitive. Now we have a lot of talent. Pretty much the same team back, with some additions, but a new coach. It’s a different experience. The expectations are already high, and we have to deal with that. Thinking about it, it will kind of be similar to last year. People thought we were a 50-win team, and we accomplished that, but it still didn’t feel like we accomplished as much as we should have. That’s basically the theme I have in my head thinking about what’s going to happen next year. Just in training camp, in that locker room, that adjustment with Coach Kerr and setting his system up. I think we’re going to be able to adjust well.”
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.