Tyler Hansbrough

Raptors Sign Tyler Hansbrough

JULY 20TH, 9:16am: The first year of Hansbrough's deal in Toronto is worth $3.2MM while the non-guaranteed 2014/15 season could pay $3.32MM, according to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).

JULY 15TH, 2:49pm: The Raptors have officially signed Hansbrough, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 12TH, 9:46am: The second year of Hansbrough's deal will be partially guaranteed, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter).

JULY 10TH, 9:58am: Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets that Hansbrough will earn about $3MM in his first year with the Raptors, while Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes that the forward will earn roughly $3MM per season with Toronto. So it sounds like the deal will be worth in the ballpark of $6MM overall.

JULY 9TH, 7:44pm: Tyler Hansbrough has agreed to terms on a contract with the Raptors, according to a tweet from Yahoo! NBA reporter Marc J. Spears. Rumblings of a possible deal were first reported by ESPN.com's Marc Stein

After spending the first four years of his career in Indiana, the Pacers rescinded Hansbrough's qualifying offer this summer so they could afford re-signing David West. Hansbrough is a career 42.7% shooter who averaged a career-worst 7.0 PPG last season. 

Hansbrough's deal will be for two years, and will come out of the team's mid-level exception, according to the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat.

Tyler Hansbrough Becomes Unrestricted FA

The Pacers have agreed to rescind Tyler Hansbrough's qualifying offer, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). That makes Hansbrough an unrestricted free agent and means there are only 11 restricted free agents left on the market.

The one-year qualifying offer the Pacers extended to Hansbrough prior to free agency getting underway was worth $4,135,391. Even if Indiana has interest in retaining the free agent forward, the Pacers' agreements with David West and C.J. Watson have limited the team's flexibility to continue adding contracts.

Hansbrough will now be free to sign outright with any team, rather than having to sign an offer sheet and waiting to see if Indiana will match.

Pacers Extend QO To Tyler Hansbrough

The Pacers have made Tyler Hansbrough a qualifying offer, The Associated Press reports. The one-year offer is worth $4,135,391 and allows the Pacers to match offers for the power forward in restricted free agency.

Indiana's primary offseason goal will be to re-sign David West, but once that's taken care of, the team will attend to other matters, like retaining Hansbrough, his backup. The Pacers enter the offseason with about $49MM in guaranteed salary, though they'll have Hansbrough's full Bird Rights if they wish to go over the cap to re-sign him.

Hansbrough, the 13th pick in the 2009 draft, was originally in line for a QO worth $4,225,423, but because he failed to meet the starter criteria, his offer is slightly smaller.

Lawrence On Messina, Nets, Pacers

Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News has tons of interesting bits in his latest column and we have the highlights..

  • There has been talk about the Nets looking for a “fresh face" rather than going with an established coach and Italian coach Ettore Messina would fit  the bill, along with Pacers assisstant Brian Shaw.  A group of Russian Nets executives who report to Mikhail Prokhorov is quite familiar with Messina, which could help his candidacy.  Communication also won't be an issue for Messina as he speaks English fluently.  “Players will find that Ettore has the technical mind to do the job, he can do the X’s and O’s, so strategically, it would not be hard for him at all,’’ said Spurs GM R.C. Buford.
  • The Pacers know they need outside shooting help and would love to add Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick. Both players, of course, will be free agents on July 1.  The club's other free agents, Tyler Hansbrough and D.J. Augustin, are expendable, which can give them some extra breathing space this offseason.
  • David Stern plans to step down from the competition committee – which has the power to make rules changes – once he's done being commissioner.  Lawrence's bet, however, is that he’ll still be used by the committee as a consultant. 
  • Lionel Hollins wants to paint Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger like the bad guy if he doesn’t get a new deal in Memphis, but people in the NBA feel that he hasn’t done anything to bounce Hollins and get the job for himself.  The Memphis front office doesn’t want Hollins back unless it’s on the cheap and he starts buying into the club's statistical analysis.
  • New Raptors GM Masai Ujiri wants to hire Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman to be his top assistant. Weltman and former Knick president Scott Layden were up for the Suns gig that went to Ryan McDonough.

Kyler On Blatche, Daye, Landry, Pacers, Spurs

History was made this morning, as Jason Collins publicly came out as the first active male athlete to announce that he's gay. Collins, who hopes to continue his playing career, will be a free agent this summer, looking for a contract from a team in need of frontcourt help. In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler looked at a few other big men facing free agency, exploring what their respective futures might hold. Let's check out the highlights….

  • Andray Blatche is still being paid by the Wizards through next season, so he won't necessarily be seeking the highest salary offered this summer. However, if he can secure a multiyear deal, he may lean toward that opportunity, says Kyler.
  • Although he's eligible for restricted free agency, Austin Daye is unlikely to receive a qualifying offer from the Grizzlies. Kyler doesn't expect the ex-Piston to be back in Memphis next season.
  • Carl Landry remains likely to opt out of his last year with the Warriors in search of a longer-term contract.
  • The Pacers won't hold full Bird rights on David West, but West's Early Bird rights will be more than enough to make him a competitive offer. Kyler thinks West and the Pacers are likely to work out a deal fairly quickly that will keep the power forward in Indiana.
  • Kyler notes that trading Danny Granger would help give the Pacers the flexibility to bring back both West and Tyler Hansbrough, who is eligible for restricted free agency. Kyler expects the Pacers to issue a qualifying offer to Hansbrough and match any reasonable offer.
  • Antawn Jamison is unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers, and if Earl Clark returns, it will have to be for not much more than the $1.24MM he made this year, says Kyler.
  • Boris Diaw, who has a player option, and Matt Bonner, whose deal is only partially guaranteed, both figure to be back with the Spurs next season. However, Kyler says DeJuan Blair is "done in San Antonio," which echoes what we heard yesterday.

Qualifying Offers And The Starter Criteria

As we explained a year ago when the 2011/12 regular season ended, new details of the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement have slightly modified the usual process for restricted free agency. The qualifying offers teams extend to potential restricted free agents are now based, in some instances, on a newly-defined "starter criteria."

The CBA describes a "starter" as either starting 41 games or playing 2,000 minutes in a season, and rewards players for meeting those criteria. If a player achieved one of those benchmarks in the season prior to his free agency, or averaged one of those benchmarks in the two seasons leading up to his free agency, his qualifying offer will be affected as follows:

  • A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter critera will receive a same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
  • A played picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
  • A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.

Because the 2009 class of first-round picks will be hitting restricted free agency this season, the 2009/10 rookie scale will dictate the qualifying offers received. Using RealGM's rookie scale chart for 2009, we can calculate the qualifying offers as follows:

  • 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick is $4,531,459.
  • 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick is $4,135,391.
  • 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick is $2,785,146.

So which players will be affected by this new rule this summer? Using our list of free agents (restricted FAs are marked with R), the above calculations, and the starter criteria, this offseason's modified qualifying offers are listed below. Teams will have to offer these free agents a one-year contract worth the listed amount to make them restricted — otherwise they'll become unrestricted and can freely sign with any club.

Top-14 picks who failed to meet the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO of $4,135,391 (previously anticipated QO in parentheses):

Players picked between 10th and 30th who met the starter criteria and will now be eligible for a QO of $4,531,459 (previously anticipated QO in parentheses):

Other free agents with three years or less in the NBA who met the starter criteria and will be eligible for a QO of $2,785,146:

  • None. Although restricted free agents like Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves) and Tiago Splitter (Spurs) also met the starter criteria, both players are already in line for higher QOs because they were signed to larger deals using cap space (Pekovic) or the mid-level exception (Splitter).

Pacers Shopping Augustin, Green, Hansbrough

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported this morning that the Pacers are "pushing" D.J. Augustin in trade talks, and according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, Augustin isn't the only player being shopped by the team. The Pacers are also looking to move Gerald Green and Tyler Hansbrough, tweets Wells.

Wells reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers had an offer on the table involving Hansbrough, but the club wasn't thrilled with the return. The Pacers are also a little reluctant to move Augustin in a deal that doesn't net them a point guard, since they're not sure they want Lance Stephenson backing up George Hill at the point, tweets Wells.

As for Green, we heard yesterday that the Pacers wouldn't mind moving him, but with two more years remaining on his contract beyond 2012/13, the swingman doesn't have much trade value at this point.

Broussard On Eric Gordon, Rockets, Pacers, Smith

Already today, we've passed along a few trade rumors from Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Now, it's Chris Broussard's turn, as the ESPN reporter has published a lengthy Insider-only piece on the latest rumblings from around the league. Here's what Broussard has for us:

  • The Hornets have made some calls to gauge Eric Gordon's trade value, but Broussard hears that there's less than a 10% chance he's moved within the next week. The Mavericks, Rockets, and the Warriors are among the clubs believed to have inquired on Gordon.
  • The Rockets still figure to make a run at Dwight Howard this summer, but Andrew Bynum and perhaps a trade for Gordon are the team's Plan Bs. Since Houston is saving its cap space for the summer, the club isn't expected to be too active at the trade deadline.
  • Indiana will likely keep Danny Granger through the deadline, but is willing to move Tyler Hansbrough, D.J. Augustin, or Gerald Green. The Pacers dangled Hansbrough and Augustin when talking to the Magic about J.J. Redick, but Orlando didn't have interest.
  • Three different general managers told Broussard on Wednesday that Danny Ferry and the Hawks have decided not to re-sign Josh Smith this summer and are trying hard to trade him this week. Rival executives don't expect Ferry to settle for the Nets' offer of Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks, however.
  • The Hawks have also discussed moving Kyle Korver and Anthony Morrow.
  • Teams have been calling the Suns, one of the league's most active clubs, about Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris, and Jared Dudley. A deal with the Knicks involving Dudley and Iman Shumpert is "not happening," according to Broussard's sources.
  • As has been the case for many reporters over the last few weeks, Broussard has received mixed reports on whether the Jazz are more likely to trade Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson. The Trail Blazers are one team that likes Millsap, says Broussard.
  • A few executives that have spoken to Broussard have mentioned the possibility of the Clippers trying to trade DeAndre Jordan and Caron Butler to create the necessary cap space to make a play for Dwight Howard this summer. That one sounds awfully far-fetched to me though, considering the team would have to make additional moves to clear enough room, and would have to acquire only expiring contracts in return. Even then, there's no guarantee they could land Howard as a free agent.

Pacers Seeking Sign-And-Trade For D.J. Augustin

8:43pm: Rick Bonnell tweets that a trade sending Augustin to the Pacers is unlikely, while Conrad Brunner of Fox Sports Indiana wonders, via Twitter, if Tyler Hansbrough might be part of such a deal.

7:41pm: The Pacers are pursuing a trade with the Bobcats for restricted free agent point guard D.J. Augustin, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Indiana has considered simply tendering Augustin an offer sheet, but prefer to make a trade, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The Pacers just agreed to take on Ian Mahinmi in a sign-and-trade that sent out Dahntay Jones and Darren Collison.

The Pacers agreed to a five-year, $40MM deal with George Hill already this month, so unless they decide to go small, either Hill or Augustin would come off the bench. The Pacers have apparently had their eyes on Augustin for a while, as Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star says they tried to acquire him as part of a deal that included T.J. Ford a couple of years ago (Twitter links).

The Celtics’ Asking Price For Ray Allen

The Pacers could use an upgrade at two guard, and president of basketball operations Larry Bird knows his old team in Boston has a good one who might be available. But Bird told Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com that the Celtics' asking price for Ray Allen was too high for his liking.

"When [Celtics GM] Danny [Ainge] and I talked about trading for Ray, he wanted Tyler Hansbrough and a first-round pick," Bird said. "If that's the value he's putting on Ray Allen, he ain't getting it. That tells me he's in no hurry to trade him."

While the Celtics' asking price for Allen could drop before next Thursday, Bird predicted that Boston's Big Three would remain intact for the rest of this season. Allen and Kevin Garnett are earning a combined $31MM+ in the final year of their deals, so simply letting those contracts expire would clear a good chunk of cap space for the Celtics this summer.