Odds & Ends: Clippers, Jackson, Scola, Cavs
The Clippers had a breakthrough season in 2011/12, but their ability to build on that will be compromised by their offseason health issues, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups are expected to miss the entire preseason, while Lamar Odom, who's working his way back into playing shape, and Blake Griffin figure to be limited training camp participants. That means the Clippers will likely start the season having to play catch-up, Markazi says. That's compounded by Vinny Del Negro's task of having to integrate five new free agent acquisitions in the lineup while also juggling part-time GM duties. Here's more from around the Association tonight:
- Stephen Jackson spoke fondly of his return to the Spurs to Jared Ainsworth of the Beaumont Enterprise, saying, "If things work out in San Antonio I wouldn't mind finishing my career there. But you know it's a business and I'm one of those guys that doesn't mind going to play somewhere else. I've been on seven different teams."
- Luis Scola donned his Suns uniform Wednesday for an introductory press conference and photo shoot, and talked about his adjustment to life in Phoenix and his experience with the Argentinian team at the Olympics, as Stefan Swiat of Suns.com writes.
- The Cavs acquired Jeremy Pargo via trade with the Grizzlies last month, but Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio expects the Cavs to find another point guard to bring to training camp, with Pargo and Donald Sloan currently the only backups for Kyrie Irving (Sulia link). Amico also passes along word that most coaches and executives he's talked to project the Cavs to win between 28 and 35 games.
- Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com grades every team's offseason. The Clippers, despite their injuries, and Lakers get A+ marks, while the Pistons and Magic get F's.
Latest On Michael Redd
After seeing his playing time and production decline significantly due to injuries during his previous three seasons, Michael Redd had a bit of a bounceback year in Phoenix in 2011/12, averaging 8.2 points in just 15.1 minutes per game. Those numbers should be enough to earn him another NBA contract, and according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, there are a number of potential suitors in play. While Amico says the Cavs don't have interest, he lists the Nuggets, Wizards, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Thunder as possible fits (Sulia link).
I outlined yesterday why the Nuggets could use a shooter, and I could see the Wizards and Grizzlies wanting to add a little more size at the two. While we heard of the Bulls' interest earlier in the summer, I can't see them as a real possibility at this point, considering their cap situation — they'd have to trade away a player before they'd even have room to sign Redd. As for the Thunder, they could add one more backcourt player to replace Derek Fisher, as Amico notes, adding that he wouldn't be surprised to see Fisher end up in San Antonio.
Redd is probably unlikely to land more than a minimum-salary deal this offseason, which may limit his earnings, but should open up plenty of options. While a number of teams no longer have cap space or mid-level exceptions available, clubs can use the minimum salary exception as many times as they like.
Spurs Waive Derrick Byars
HoopsWorld reports that the Spurs have waived forward Derrick Byars. The 28-year-old forward played in the last two games of the regular season for San Antonio, averaging 5.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 18.5 MPG. Since being drafted in the second round in 2007, the former Vanderbilt standout has played in Europe and in the NBA D-League.
While he participated in training camp for the Bulls in 2009 and was signed by the Heat last December, Byars was not able to remain with either team before the start of their regular season schedules respectively. Although he had signed a multi-year deal with the Spurs in April, Byars' contract was not fully guaranteed for the 2012-13 season. The roster now stands at 14.
Odds & Ends: Harden, Hornets, James, Olympics
Sad news today as former NBA Deputy Commissioner and Players Association executive director Simon Gourdine passed away at the age of 72. As deputy commissioner in 1976, Gourdine was instrumental in helping to facilitate the merger of the NBA and ABA, which brought the Nets, Pacers, Spurs, and Nuggets over to the Association. Here's more from around the league on this Sunday evening..
- If Eric Gordon is a max player, and Brook Lopez is a max player, reigning Sixth Man of the Year James Harden is certainly a max player, opines Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops. After signing Serge Ibaka to a four-year, $48MM contract extension, the Thunder will have to get creative if they hope to hang on to Harden. Of course, Oklahoma City may opt to trade the super sub to avoid the possibility of having to match a lucrative backloaded offer sheet down the line.
- The Hornets have gone to great lengths to revamp their club this summer and Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com runs down the newest additions to the hive. Eichenhofer notes that the recently-acquired Hakim Warrick may have to shift from power forward to small forward in order to see time in New Orleans.
- It may be four years away, but LeBron James already says that he hopes to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, according to the Associated Press. James joked that he has "done the math" and is well aware that he will be 31-years-old during those games. Of course, James could only play if there isn't an under-23 age limit applied for USA Basketball starting in 2016.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Southwest
Our look at offseason spending continues today as we examine the fifth of six NBA divisions. So far, we've covered free agent expenditures in the Atlantic, Central and Southeast, and Northwest divisions, using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker. The Southwest division is up next, and it includes a surprising pair of teams at the top and bottom.
Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Southwest Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
New Orleans Hornets: $108.948MM (Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Robin Lopez, Roger Mason)
It wasn't a surprise to see the Hornets match the Suns' max offer sheet for Gordon and bring him back on a four-year deal worth $58MM+. But I wasn't expecting the Hornets to splurge on a couple more free agents, as they did with Anderson and Lopez. To be fair, it appears only the first year of Lopez's three-year, $15MM+ contract is guaranteed, but Anderson's four-year, $34MM deal is fully guaranteed. With Gordon, Anderson, Anthony Davis, and Austin Rivers signing four-year deals this summer, the Hornets' core appears to be in place through at least 2016.
Houston Rockets: $56.248MM (Omer Asik, Carlos Delfino, Jeremy Lin)
It appeared for some time as if the Rockets would use their cap space to absorb salary in a major trade. Instead, they used it to sign a pair of players to offer sheets they may have thought would be matched. The "poison pill" included in both Asik's and Lin's offer sheets won't apply to Houston, since the Rockets have the ability to spread the two players' annual salaries out more evenly (about $8.3MM per year each). Still, the $25.1MM they'll spend on each player is a risky investment.
San Antonio Spurs: $52.697MM (Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Danny Green, Patty Mills)
The Spurs' offseason was fairly quiet, as the team simply re-signed its own free agents rather than exploring the market too extensively. All of these contracts except Green's include a player option in the final year, and all four of them are fully guaranteed, with Duncan's $30MM representing by far the largest commitment.
Memphis Grizzlies: $26.832MM (Darrell Arthur, Jerryd Bayless, Hamed Haddadi, Marreese Speights)
Like the Spurs, the Grizzlies focused primarily on re-signing their own free agents, with one notable exception: Memphis replaced the departing O.J. Mayo with Bayless. Mayo ended up signing for not much more than the two-year, $6.135MM deal Bayless inked with the Grizzlies, so it will be interesting to see if the minor savings are worth it.
Dallas Mavericks: $17.444MM (Chris Kaman, O.J. Mayo, Delonte West)
The Mavericks appeared prepared to offer Deron Williams a four-year, $73MM+ contract, which would have significantly altered their place on this list. But when D-Will opted to return to the Nets, the Mavs took a more cautious approach to free agency, committing to Kaman, Mayo, and West on short-term deals. Given the possibility that Mayo will opt out of his second year and the fact that West is on a minimum-salary deal, the total amount the Mavs spend on this summer's free agents could end up being less than $13MM.
Latest On Greg Oden
Within the last few months, multiple reports have suggested Greg Oden is considering returning to the NBA for the 2012/13 season, and would like the opportunity to play for the Heat. However, talking recently to David Hughes of the Tribune-Star, Oden downplayed his chances of making his NBA return this season.
"I would love to play [in 2012/13], but I’m not going to rush anything," Oden said. "I need to take a year off. What I told [agent] Mike [Conley] was 'Look, I want to get back with a team. I want to play. If there’s a chance that later on in the [NBA] year, if I feel good or if I’m healthy enough to play, I would love to play this year.' That’s the conversation we had. I think some people kinda blew that up and took his words and kinda changed them around. I know I need to get healthy first before I do anything."
According to Oden, teams haven't exactly been burning up his phone line expressing interest in signing him, considering he's still recovering. The former first overall pick added that he doesn't have one specific team in mind as a destination: "I want to go to a place where I can get healthy and with somebody who can believe in me and my skills — somewhere it could be a good fit for the both of us."
One general manager that spoke to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link) considers teams like the Spurs, Pacers, and Magic as the eventual favorites to sign Oden, but cautions that that's just his specuation. Amico also hears from a GM (it's unclear whether it's the same one) that teams with cap space, like the Suns or Cavs, could take a flier on Oden toward the end of the season, though the GM thinks it would have to be a minimum-salary contract.
Wizards Notes: Tolliver, Singleton, Blatche
The Wizards are looking to round out their roster with low-cost options and Michael Lee of The Washington Post has the latest on the club's top targets..
- While it's probably a longshot, the Wizards are one of a handful of teams who have expressed interest in Josh Childress, a source told Lee (via Twitter).
- Washington continues to pursue forward Anthony Tolliver but the Wizards so far have only offered him a minimum contract. Tolliver's agent Larry Fox confirmed that the interest is mutual but says that his client isn't “in the minimum game.” The Pacers, Bobcats, and Timberwolves are also said to be in talks with the 27-year-old. Fox is certain that Tolliver will get more than that minimum and says that he is in no rush to sign.
- James Singleton shot down the Wizards' offer of a one-year, minimum contract and now says that he is considering four offers from China. No matter where he signs, the forward plans to make it a two-year deal. While Singleton, 31, enjoyed his time in Washington, he says that he expected a more lucrative offer out of the club.
- The Spurs and Heat have both reportedly expressed exploratory interest in former Wizard Andray Blatche but neither club has made a serious pitch to sign him, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Spurs Still Looking To Trade DeJuan Blair
On draft day, the Spurs were reportedly looking to find a new home for forward DeJuan Blair. More than a month later, Blair remains in San Antonio but the big man told Douglas Farmer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is still being shopped.
“Hopefully, I stay a Spur, but if it doesn’t happen, life moves on,” Blair said. “They’ve got me on the trade market and they’ll do the best to get me in the greatest situation possible.“
Despite seeing more than 20 minutes per regular season game in his time with the Spurs, Blair has hardly seen the same kind of burn in the playoffs. The forward averaged just 7.6 minutes per game in last year’s playoffs, making him largely expendable for the perennial contenders. The Warriors have been said to have interest in Blair but are unwilling to give San Antonio the first-round pick that they seek in return.
Odds & Ends: Atkinson, Spurs, Macklin, Amundson
Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will be leaving New York and taking the same position with the Hawks, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. Atkinson was a crucial cog in the development of Jeremy Lin. Here's more of what we're hearing from around the Association:
- With a report being released tonight that Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey might be heading to the Jazz to become their new general manager, Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News writes that other teams are gutting San Antonio's front office.
- Vernon Macklin's agent has informed Hoopshype.com that his client is currently drawing interest from the Nets, Suns, Bucks, Wizards, and Lakers. Macklin spent last season in Detroit, and is also drawing interest overseas, in Turkey and Greece.
- Free agent power forward Louis Amundson is in discussions with a number of teams, but has yet to make up his mind, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports, adding that he's likely to sign for a team's mini mid-level exception (Twitter link). It's not clear whether Zwerling means the taxpayer's mini mid-level of $3.09MM or the room exception, a mini-midlevel of $2.575MM available to teams under the cap. However, the list of remaining mid-level exceptions that Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors put together Friday provides a hint. Only the Lakers have all of the taxpayer's mini mid-level available, and they're looking for backcourt help, meaning that if Amundson goes for a mini mid-level, it's likely to be the room exception currently held in full by nine teams.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ponders the merits of Dexter Pittman, 45th overall pick Justin Hamilton and free agent Mickell Gladness as reserve center options for the Heat. As Winderman points out, Pittman will almost assuredly be on the team, since his minimum-salary contract is guaranteed.
- The Jazz starting lineup isn't set in stone, and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News handicaps the team's positional battles.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com catches up with recent Bulls signee Nazr Mohammed, a Chicago native who says he always dreamed for playing for his hometown team.
Heat, Spurs Discussing Andray Blatche
SUNDAY, 8:35am: Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Heat are doing background work on Blatche, even though Miami may not be a good fit for the former Wizards player. While the move would give the Heat an inexpensive yet potentially effective piece off the bench, Blatche may have a greater opportunity to earn playing time on a different roster.
SATURDAY, 6:20pm: ESPN's Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are two of the teams that have expressed interest in signing Andray Blatche. Blatche was waived by the Washington Wizards on July 17 using the amnesty clause. No team placed a bid on the remaining three years and approximately $23.4MM on his contract, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.
Blatche, 25, averaged 8.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG for the Wizards during the 2011/12 season. He appeared in just 26 games during the season, in which he battled various injuries.