Pacers Rumors: Marion, Sloan, Tax, George
The Heat lost LeBron James, but it’s the team Miami beat in the last two Eastern Conference finals that seems in line to tumble farther down the standings this year. The Pacers garnered the most votes when I asked Hoops Rumors readers last week to identify which team had endured the worst offseason so far. More than two months remain before opening night, so while Indiana probably won’t find anyone who can deliver the production of Lance Stephenson and the injured Paul George, there’s time left to tinker. Here’s the latest:
- Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird left Monday’s meeting with Shawn Marion with the sense that even though the forward remains undecided, he wants to play for a contender, as Bird said Tuesday to reporters, including Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That confirms what fellow ESPN scribe Marc Stein had been hearing and explains why the Cavs continue to be the apparent front-runners for the 36-year-old. Marion has a positive working relationship with Cavs GM David Griffin dating back to their days together with the Suns organization, as Stein also writes in his piece.
- Indiana intends to keep Donald Sloan past Friday, when his non-guaranteed minimum salary will become fully guaranteed, Bird also said today, as Stein notes (on Twitter).
- Bird reiterated that the Pacers remain steadfast against crossing the $76.829MM luxury tax line, tweets Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star. “We’ll never go over the [luxury] tax,” Bird said. “My owner [Herb Simon] has told me he won’t do that.” Indiana’s team salary is $74,810,552, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports, leaving them $2,018,448 shy of the tax line. The Pacers are applying for a $5.305MM disabled player exception in the wake of the George injury, as Bird confirmed today, Pointer tweets, but they’d have to rid themselves of other salaries in order to use the full amount. Luis Scola and Shayne Whittington are on partially guaranteed contracts, though guaranteeing Sloan’s deal limits Indiana’s flexibility.
- Doctors believe that George will eventually make a full recovery, Bird and coach Frank Vogel said, according to Michael Marot of The Associated Press.
Shawn Marion Leaning Toward Cavs
AUGUST 12TH: The Cavs are still in the lead for Marion even as Indiana continues to push for the 36-year-old, who met Monday with Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
AUGUST 6TH: Shawn Marion is leaning heavily toward signing with the Cavs, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Earlier today, Cleveland was considered merely an “intriguing” option for the forward, who was also being hotly pursued by the Pacers. Wojnarowski reports that Indiana has already moved on from Marion due to his interest in joining Cleveland.
Indiana could have offered Marion a greater role and more salary, assuming their disabled players exception request would have been approved by the league. However, the Pacers expectations are grim following Paul George‘s injury, and the return of LeBron James has made the Cavs a magnet for veteran free agents all summer. Chauncey Billups was the latest player to register interest in playing for Cleveland, and the team has already signed Mike Miller and James Jones.
Joining James has looked even more appealing in recent days, as momentum builds toward a rumored trade sending Kevin Love to Cleveland. If the Cavs gave up Andrew Wiggins in such a deal, Marion would alleviate some of the defensive concerns that scenario has raised. Marion will likely be a better shooter than Wiggins this season, although he wouldn’t create the same athletic dynamic that would have existed between James and the No. 1 pick.
And-Ones: Marion, Rockets, Spurs
With NBA training camp approaching, Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if D-League prospects should sign camp invites or take advantage of offers for guaranteed money overseas. The bigger names, he writes, can probably afford to go through training camp and take a stab at making an NBA team. The lesser-known ones, however, might want to think about going overseas. Here’s more from around the league..
- Free agent forward Shawn Marion had a face-to-face meeting earlier today with Pacers president Larry Bird, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Last week it was reported that Marion was leaning heavily towards the Cavs but the Pacers are hoping that they can sway him.
- Kostas Papanikolaou‘s nearly $4.8MM first-year salary with the Rockets is believed to be the greatest amount any NBA team has ever handed out for the rookie season of a second-round pick, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets.
- In the wake of Mark Davis’ whirlwind tour of San Antonio, sources with knowledge of the visit said Spurs Sports & Entertainment would be against the Raiders, as they are currently structured, relocating to South Texas, write Tom Orsborn and Josh Baugh of the San Antonio Express-News. Spurs shareholder Charlie Amato says that the solution would be for the Spurs’ ownership group to have a controlling interest in the Raiders or perhaps any other franchise that wanted to move to San Antonio.
- The recent ruling against the NCAA could help the NBA in its efforts to raise the age limit, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. The Ed O’Bannon ruling grants colleges the right to pay players up to $5K per year and one of the big arguments against an age minimum was that would force prospects to play for free in the NCAA. Now, that’s no longer the case, even if the $5K figure is chump change compared to what many of the top collegiate stars should rightfully earning in relation to the revenue that they draw.
Shawn Marion Visiting With Cavs
WEDNESDAY, 12:00pm: The Cavs remain an intriguing option for Marion, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, even amid Tuesday’s report that the Pacers are in heavy pursuit and that the combo forward is scheduling meetings with other clubs.
MONDAY, 5:22pm: As the Cavs gear up for their most highly-anticipated season in years they’re looking into ways that they can bolster their frontcourt depth. With that in mind, the Cavs are hosting Shawn Marion on a recruiting visit today, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Marion, 36, started 76 regular season games for the Mavs last season and also started in all seven games of the Mavs’ losing first-round effort against the Spurs. While Marion would be a natural target for the Pacers in the wake of Paul George‘s gruesome injury, LeBron James‘ presence gives the Cavs the upper hand in the chase (link).
The Heat had been expected to make a push for The Matrix when free agency began, apparently viewing him as the sort of player whose addition could help convince LeBron to stick around. Now that LeBron is in Cleveland, the Cavs are the ones looking to pair Marion with the game’s top player.
The veteran can still play, but he put up a career-worst 13.7 PER this past season, a drop from his 18.0 mark in the year prior. Marion has ostensibly been holding out for something higher than the minimum salary but Cleveland is one of about a dozen NBA teams that can only pay the minimum. Our own Chuck Myron recently looked at the market for Marion, including possible landing spots.
Pacers Making Strong Push For Shawn Marion
The Pacers are looking to make an impact addition in the wake of Paul George‘s injury and today’s development out of Indiana comes as no surprise. The Pacers are making a strong push on free agent forward Shawn Marion and have placed calls on him in recent days, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM. Marion is scheduling further meetings with NBA teams, Charania adds.
Marion, 36, started 76 regular season games for the Mavs last season and also started in all seven games of the Mavs’ losing first-round effort against the Spurs. Yesterday, the Cavs hosted Marion for a visit and it has been said that Marion would like to join forces with LeBron James. Still, the rival Pacers could provide Marion an enticing opportunity and maybe one with greater importance in the wake of George’s fractured leg.
Marion posted a career-worst 13.7 PER this past season, a drop from his 18.0 mark in the year prior. The veteran appeared to be looking for something more lucrative than the minimum salary, but the Pacers are among the clubs that are limited to only paying out the minimum. Indiana could apply for a Disabled Player Exception worth $5.305MM, but doing so would require a formal medical prognosis that would confirm that George is expected to be out for the season. The 36-year-old averaged 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals in 76 games last season.
There are other veteran scorers available that could be of interest to Indiana, including Jordan Hamilton and Jordan Crawford.
Western Notes: Mavs, Bledsoe, Jazz
Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that the Mavs organization had its most positive offseason since it won the title in 2011. After falling short on free agent targets in recent summers, the team has brought in the likes of Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler while losing Jose Calderon, Vince Carter, and likely Shawn Marion. It will be interesting to see if the new pieces make for a greater sum than last year’s exceptional 8th seed Mavs team, as Dallas fans are hoping. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle added to the growing consensus that Marion will not be back in Dallas, telling Price, “Marion’s been a great player for us. I know he’s going to end up in a good situation.”
- Jess Blancarte of Basketball Insiders compares Eric Bledsoe‘s play to other point guards around the league in an effort to gauge his true value. The market has dried up in the Suns favor, as Blancarte concludes Bledsoe is worth around $15MM per year.
- The Jazz are hoping their first-round selection of Dante Exum will net them a franchise changing talent. Jay Yeomans of Deseret News looks back at the best draft picks in team history.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Texas Notes: Ginobili, Parker, Nelson
The Spurs sent Manu Ginobili a letter prohibiting him from participating in the FIBA World Cup, but the veteran guard held out hope that he would be able to join Argentina at the tournament in Spain, writes Dan McCarney of the Express-News. It was only after Ginoboli started experiencing leg pains related to his fracture during workouts that he realized participation in the tournament wasn’t worth the risk of injury. Here’s more from the Lone Star State:
- The recently extended Tony Parker is excited to remain a member of the Spurs, and he plans on finishing his career with San Antonio, passes along Jeff McDonald of the Express-News. “I’m very happy and I want to play for the Spurs my whole career and be a Spur for life,” said Parker, who will be 36 when his deal ends, “I love San Antonio and want to live here when my career is over. I love the city, I love the people and our great fans. I couldn’t be happier.”
- Jameer Nelson told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that the Mavs’ shot at great success is what drew him to the team. “I’ve dealt with the process of rebuilding, and it’s tough,” said Nelson. “I want to win. I don’t want to sit back and develop anymore.”
- Nelson also mentioned to Robbins that he wishes the Mavs could have worked out an agreement with unrestricted free agent Shawn Marion, implying it’s unlikely the two sides come to terms.
- When asked if there was any truth that Dwight Howard, Nelson’s former teammate in Orlando, had tried to recruit Nelson to the Rockets, the veteran guard laughed and stopped short of addressing the question.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Shawn Marion
The snail’s pace of negotiations for Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe are somewhat explainable, given that both are restricted free agents. It’s a little harder to believe that unrestricted free agent Shawn Marion still remains unsigned. He started 76 games for the Mavs last season and all seven contests during the team’s first-round challenge of the eventual-champion Spurs. The 36-year-old is nearing the end of his career, but he still appears to have a lot left to give.
The Heat had been expected to make a push for Marion when free agency began, apparently viewing him as the sort of player whose addition could help convince LeBron James to stick around. Of course, LeBron ended up elsewhere, and Miami committed its available cash to Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts, Danny Granger and its own free agents, leaving only the minimum salary left to chase anyone else. The Mavs can’t offer Marion more than the minimum, either, having renounced their Bird Rights on the versatile forward, exhausted their cap space, and spent the room exception on Jameer Nelson.
The Dan Fegan client probably would have signed by now if he had been willing to accept the minimum salary, and it appears he continues to hold out for more. That’s in spite of a growing number of teams limited to paying only the minimum. There were 11 such clubs when I ran them down this past Friday, and the Lakers have since joined that group. Similarly, Marion probably would have signed by now if teams with the $5.305MM mid-level exception or better thought he was worthy of that sort of cash, so it seems there’s a disconnect at play. Marion doesn’t appear too worried, recently telling Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that, “It’s only July, man. We got two more months. We’ll just wait and see how it works out.”
Yet teams rarely dole out more than the minimum salary once September rolls around, and if they do, it’s not much more than that. So while there’s no need for Marion to sign now if he intends to play in the NBA next season, there’s urgency if he wants to play on a salary befitting his production.
Marion remains valuable, but there’s no doubt that he’s slowing down. The Mavs outscored opponents by 7.8 points per 100 possessions whenever Marion sat this past season, but they only broke even when he was on the floor, according to NBA.com. He put up a career-worst 13.7 PER this past season, a rather steep decline from his 18.0 mark in 2012/13. His 10.4 points per game in 2013/14 were his fewest since his rookie season, though that was a product of his shot attempts per contest nearing a career low as he played on a Mavs team that could draw its offense from an array of other capable sources.
More encouraging was his three-point stroke, as he nearly doubled his attempts from that distance over the previous season and improved his accuracy to 35.8%, his best mark in 11 years. That percentage is just about average in today’s NBA, but it nonetheless represents growing proficiency in a sought-after skill that’s extended many careers. It’s more difficult to gauge just how strong a defender Marion remains, but suffice it to say that the Mavs entrusted him with holding together their defense in a lineup largely devoid of stoppers.
The Bulls and the Rockets are the teams other than the Heat and the Mavs to have been linked to Marion this month. Chicago, like Dallas and Miami, has only the minimum to offer, but Houston would be an intriguing suitor if its efforts intensify. The Rockets have most of their non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception to spend, as well as their $2.077MM biannual exception. It would surely please Rockets GM Daryl Morey to poach the Mavs’ starting small forward after Dallas had done the same to Morey’s team with a near-max offer sheet to Chandler Parsons. It’s worth wondering if Fegan, who represents Marion as well as Parsons, harbors ill feelings toward Morey and company, given the acrimony surrounding Parsons’ cross-Texas move. Still, that probably wouldn’t forestall a deal in the end, especially since the Rockets employ star Fegan client Dwight Howard.
There are other seemingly attractive teams with either the cap space or the exceptions to give Marion a fair deal, including the Spurs, Hawks and Nuggets. Still, none have appeared to show interest. It’s conceivable that the market for Marion will soften once the fates of Bledsoe and Monroe are resolved. He’ll have opportunities, and it would be surprising if he doesn’t field multiple offers for better than the minimum. The questions are whether those offers will be for substantially more, just how long the deals would run, and just which teams will come to his doorstep. It seems as though Marion has ideals in mind for each, and, as he indicated, he doesn’t feel the need to compromise now, regardless of whether he’d ultimately be better served by doing so.
Mavericks Notes: Marion, Aminu, Lewis
Mavericks president Donnie Nelson is still open to signing Shawn Marion, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This isn’t any different from what Nelson said in a radio interview roughly two weeks ago, when he said that the team wouldn’t close the door on attempting to bring the 6’7 forward back to Dallas. It’s worth noting that the Mavs still had their $2.7MM room exception at that point; however, Nelson said that Marion’s value in the free agent market was much more than the team could afford. Now that the team used the room exception to sign Jameer Nelson, it seems even less likely that a reunion with “The Matrix” would materialize.
Here’s more out of Dallas tonight:
- Donnie Nelson admitted that the team had originally considered signing Al-Farouq Aminu with their room exception, according to Price (Twitter link). The Mavs were fortunate to land the young forward on a veteran’s minimum deal instead.
- Price also heard Donnie Nelson say that the Mavs may consider signing Rashard Lewis after he undergoes knee surgery (Twitter link). The team recently voided their one-year, $1.4MM offer after learning that Lewis needed an operation on his right knee.
- Price (via Twitter) passes along that Donnie and the rest of the team expect Raymond Felton to have a bounce-back year this season.
- Ivan Johnson‘s contract with the Mavs is a two-year arrangement, a source tells Sportando’s Enea Trapani (Twitter link), and both years are partially guaranteed, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. It’s almost certainly a minimum-salary deal, as Chuck Myron explained earlier.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Bledsoe, Jazz, Barton, Scott
Eric Bledsoe made his first public comments regarding his free agency status to Fox TV Birmingham, saying he feels the Suns are “using rules against me” (hat tip to Jude LaCava of Fox 10 Phoenix, Twitter link), Bledsoe’s remark further indicates a seemingly sour feeling between the two camps. Here’s a look at the latest from all three of the Western Conference’s divisions:
- The Jazz are set to hire Patrick Beilein to work as an assistant coach on Quin Snyder‘s staff, reveals Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Beilein is the son of University of Michigan head coach John Beilein.
- Will Barton‘s $900K deal with the Blazers is now fully guaranteed, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Portland had until July 25th to waive Barton without being on the hook for his entire salary but chose to keep the combo guard on their roster.
- Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders recaps the path that the Lakers took en route to negotiating terms with Byron Scott on a head coaching gig. Davis also examines how Scott’s coaching style might mesh with the current state of Los Angeles’ roster.
- While former Mavs forward Shawn Marion would like to secure a deal with a team for the upcoming season, he doesn’t want to force the issue and land in an undesirable situation, passes along Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “If I see something really comfortable, then I’ll do it,” Marion told Sefko. “Right now, I’m just staying with my [newborn] son and relaxing. It’s only July, man. We got two more months. We’ll just wait and see how it works out.”