NBA GMs Weigh In On 2016/17 Season
NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, asking each of the league’s 30 GMs an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. As John Schuhmann of NBA.com details in his piece announcing the results, it comes as little surprise that NBA GMs are just as bullish on the Cavaliers‘ and Warriors‘ chances in 2016/17 as the rest of us are — those are the only two teams GMs predicted to become this season’s NBA champion, with Golden State getting 69% of the vote and Cleveland getting 31%.
While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more interesting ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…
- LeBron James led the way in votes for 2016/17’s MVP award, but Karl-Anthony Towns was the clear choice for the player most GMs would want to start a franchise with today.
- The Warriors were the only team to receive more than two votes for which team made the best offseason moves — Golden State was the runaway winner at 83.3%, largely due to the signing of Kevin Durant. The addition of Durant was easily voted the move most likely to make the biggest impact this season, and it was also viewed as the most surprising move of the summer, just ahead of Dwyane Wade joining the Bulls.
- The Jazz‘s trade for George Hill received at least one vote for the move likely to have the biggest impact, and it was the winner for the most underrated player acquisition of the offseason.
- Dejounte Murray (Spurs), Kris Dunn (Timberwolves), and Patrick McCaw (Warriors) were considered the biggest steals of the draft by GMs, who voted Milos Teodosic and Sergio Llull as the top international players not currently in the NBA.
- NBA general managers view Tom Thibodeau as the new coach most likely to make an immediate positive impact on his new team, and think Chris Paul is the player most likely to become a future NBA head coach.
- The rules that GMs wants to see changed or modified include the draft lottery system, the number of timeouts per game, and intentional fouling.
Spurs Add Grant, Mensah-Bonsu To Staff
- The Spurs have hired former Cavs GM Chris Grant as a team scout, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports. During his time in Cleveland, Grant was responsible for drafting Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, as well as selecting Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 overall pick.
- The Spurs made another addition to their staff, hiring former NBA player Pops Mensah-Bonsu as an advance pro scout, international journalist David Pick relays (on Twitter).
Bryn Forbes' Shooting Makes Him An Appealing Option
- The Spurs have five players battling for one roster spot, which means Bryn Forbes will have to beat out a handful of other camp invitees to make the team’s 15-man squad. However, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News outlines, Forbes’ perimeter shooting makes him an intriguing option for the team.
Popovich Encouraged Boban To Accept Offer Sheet
Only one restricted free agent in the NBA this season technically signed an offer sheet with a rival team that his previous team didn’t match. That player was Boban Marjanovic, who left the Spurs to sign a three-year, $21MM deal with the Pistons. And according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News, it took a push from head coach Gregg Popovich for Marjanovic to accept that offer, since his first choice was to remain with the Spurs.
“He’s such a good kid, at some point I had to work to get him to understand that $21 million was different than $3 million,” Popovich said, per McDonald. “I said, ‘Get your ass out of here. Go. You’ve got to do it.’ But he felt bad.”
“We knew he was gone,” Popovich added. “It happens to every team. You lose a guy because you have to pay people and you can’t pay them all.”
The Spurs used up their cap room this summer when they signed Pau Gasol to a two-year contract, leaving the team unable to match the Pistons’ offer for Marjanovic. San Antonio could have used its room exception to retain the restricted free agent, but as Popovich notes, such a deal would have only paid about $3MM per year, far less than Detroit offered.
In his rookie season with the Spurs, Marjanovic averaged 5.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG, despite appearing in just 9.4 minutes per contest (54 games). Based on the contract he received from Detroit, the 28-year-old figures to have a more significant role with his new team. While he admits that he would have liked to remain a Spur, Marjanovic says he thinks he “made a good decision” to sign with the Pistons, per McDonald.
Community Shootaround: Duncan, KG, And Kobe
Kobe Bryant‘s final season was one of the NBA’s top stories throughout the 2015/16 season, capped with a 60-point performance in the Lakers’ regular-season finale against the Jazz. However, Bryant wasn’t the only longtime NBA star who called it a career in 2016. Tim Duncan announced his retirement in the summer, and Kevin Garnett did the same this fall.
Bryant, Duncan, and Garnett are three of the most accomplished players of the last two decades, having combined for four MVP awards, 11 NBA titles, and an incredible 48 All-Star appearances. While they were hardly at their best in 2015/16, their career résumés prior to last season were strong enough to ensure they’ll become Hall-of-Famers as soon as they become eligible.
In a community roundtable, the basketball writers at SI.com look at the three retired stars and attempt to determine which one they’ll miss the most. The trio had very different styles of play, with Garnett defined by his intensity on the court, while Duncan was more of a steady, calm presence in San Antonio. As for Kobe, his production was more unpredictable than that of the two forwards, but he also had the ability to put up 50 points on any given night.
As we enter the first NBA season since 1994/95 in which none of these three players will take the court, which one will you miss the most? Bryant, Duncan, or Garnett? Take to the comments section below to weigh in and share your thoughts on the three retiring stars.
Spurs Notes: Ginobili, Lee, Mills, Aldridge
While Manu Ginobili is continuing his career with the Spurs this year, several of his longtime teammates are no longer around. Tim Duncan retired this offseason, Boris Diaw was traded to the Jazz, and Matt Bonner has not been re-signed by San Antonio. As Ginobili noted in an article for Argentinian newspaper La Nacion (link via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype), there has been a real adjustment period for the Spurs this fall without Duncan and others on the team.
“Making it to the locker room and seeing another person in [Duncan’s] place is, without a doubt, odd,” Ginobili said. “It’s been 15 years together; his presence brought a lot of different things. But I insist it’s going to be felt more during the course of the season.
“It also feels strange not having Boris and Matt, who were key too,” Ginobili continued. “Those are big absences. Boris’ is felt on and off the court. Matt’s more off the court because he played less. Those two players made me feel comfortable on a day-to-day basis and everything was enjoyable. I could talk with them about things not related to basketball. I’m going to miss them a lot from a personal standpoint.”
As Ginobili gets accustomed to the new-look Spurs, let’s round up a few other notes from out of San Antonio…
- Discussing his decision to sign with the Spurs, David Lee called it a “perfect fit,” expressing a desire to win a title in San Antonio, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “[Gregg Popovich] called me in the middle of the summer and told me they’d love to have me,” Lee said. “We talked a little bit about the role he thought I’d have, and it sounded great.”
- Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders identifies Patty Mills as one of 20 players entering a contract year who are worth watching in 2016/17. With the salary cap on the rise, Mills may be in line for an eight-figure payday, Greene writes.
- LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs’ big free agent signing in the summer of 2015, is feeling much more comfortable heading into this season, writes Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. As Wright details, Aldridge is much more confident this year, no longer feeling like he has to defer to longtime Spurs like Duncan, Ginobili, and Tony Parker.
Wolves Notes: Thibodeau, Muhammad, Rubio
Wolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau didn’t want to make too many personnel moves during his first offseason with the team, instead, he wanted a chance to evaluate Minnesota’s talent during the preseason to determine which pieces of the core were going to be in his plans moving forward, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays. “I liked the core of the team. I want to get to know them better,” Thibs said. “I’m going to focus on the players we have. That gives me a better idea of what our needs are. It’s like building a house. We’re still working on the foundation.”
Here’s more from Minnesota:
- Thibodeau named Peter Patton the team’s shooting coach in part because he was highly recommended by Chip Engelland, the legendary shooting coach of the Spurs, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune passes along. “He’s had an opportunity to work with a number of our players already. I like his background. I like that he’s worked with Chip before and that’s important to us,” Thibodeau.
- Shabazz Muhammad spent his summer working defense and he believes the arrival of Thibodeau will help me become a more complete player, Youngblood writes in a seperate piece. “It’s crazy,” Muhammad said. “I already feel like I’ve gotten way smarter on defense with just the things Coach has been explaining to us. Just attention to detail, his defensive scheme. This is my fourth year and I’m getting the terms down.” The UCLA product is currently eligible for an extension.
- There have been Ricky Rubio trade rumors all offseason and Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com believes it’s the right time for the Wolves to sell the 25-year-old. Doolittle argues that the team should trade Rubio for some shooting on the wing if rookie Kris Dunn is ready to start at the point.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
Popovich Admits To Missing Duncan
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted that he feels a “little bit lonely” now that Tim Duncan is retired and no longer a member of the team, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com writes. The coach reiterated his desire for his former player to remain with the organization in some capacity, Wright adds. “If he wants to scout a little bit or run a drill one day or take a week road trip with us, we’re open to whatever he wants,” Popovich said. “We’re hoping it will infect him a little bit and he’ll want to do more.”
Players Who Can Veto Trades
No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, and they became even rarer this offseason, when several players with those clauses in their contracts either called it a career or signed new deals. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett, who all opted for retirement, had no-trade clauses last season, and so did Dwyane Wade, who doesn’t have the same protection on his new contract with the Bulls.
Nonethless, while the list of players with explicit no-trade clauses may be dwindling, there are still several players each year who have the ability to veto trades. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year contract with an option clause – is given no-trade protection, and so is a player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team. Players who accept qualifying offers after their rookie deals expire can also block deals, though no restricted free agents signed their QOs this year.
Taking into account that list of criteria, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the 2016/17 league year:
No-trade clauses
- Carmelo Anthony (Knicks)
- LeBron James (Cavaliers): Received no-trade clause on his new contract with Cavs.
- Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks)
Players whose offer sheets were matched
- Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers)
- Tyler Johnson (Heat)
Players accepting qualifying offers
- None
Players re-signing for one year (or two years including an option)
- Lou Amundson (Knicks) (waived)
- Elton Brand (Sixers) (retired)
- Ian Clark (Warriors)
- Alonzo Gee (Pelicans) (waived)
- Manu Ginobili (Spurs)
- Udonis Haslem (Heat)
- Kris Humphries (Hawks)
- Dahntay Jones (Cavaliers) (waived)
- James Jones (Cavaliers)
- James Michael McAdoo (Warriors)
- Steve Novak (Bucks)
- Marcus Thornton (Wizards)
- Beno Udrih (Pistons)
- Anderson Varejao (Warriors)
- Sasha Vujacic (Knicks)
- Metta World Peace (Lakers)
Information from Basketball Insiders and Yahoo! Sports was used in the creation of this post.
Ginobili: "Easy Decision" To Continue Career
Calling it an “easy decision” to continue his career for at least one more year, Manu Ginobili admitted that the 76ers made a big push to sign him. As Fran Blinebury of NBA.com details, Ginobili praised Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown and called the Sixers’ interest “flattering,” but was happy to return to the Spurs.
“I wasn’t sure how important I was going to be for the Spurs,” Ginobili said. “Once the talks started to go one and the Spurs showed great interest and really wanted me back, of course I wanted back, too. Then I made the decision. At the beginning I was very flattered and honored because it was a coach I appreciated and respected a lot and it made me feel really well.”