Bulls Unsure If They’ll Amnesty Carlos Boozer
Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer has long seemed like an amnesty candidate, but there appears to be only a 50-50 chance that Chicago will use the amnesty clause to remove Boozer’s cap hit from its books this summer, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Sulia link). The Bulls aren’t certain that a top-tier free agent will become available to them this summer, and if that doesn’t happen, they’d be content to keep Boozer and let him play out the final season of his contract next year.
There’s been increasing chatter that the 2015 free agent class will turn out to be more star-laden than this summer’s crop, and it sounds like Chicago is thinking about focusing on 2015 rather than amnestying Boozer and signing second-tier free agents this summer, Kyler writes. Boozer is set to make $16.8MM in 2014/15. He’ll receive that money even if the Bulls use the amnesty clause, since the amnesty only erases a contract from a team’s ledger, rather than its actual payroll. It would make sense if cost-conscious Chicago owner Jerry Reinsdorf decides against setting himself up to pay a player who’ll no longer be on his roster.
The Bulls slipped beneath the luxury tax line with their trade of Luol Deng earlier this month, and that could make it less likely the team will amnesty Boozer, according to Kyler. Had Chicago not escaped the tax for this season, there would have been pressure to avoid what might have been a third straight taxpaying season next year. That would have triggered repeat-offender penalties for subsequent seasons. Now that it doesn’t appear the Bulls will pay the tax this year, there’s not as much motivation to avoid it in 2014/15. Including Boozer’s salary, their commitments already bring them within $13MM of the projected tax line for next season, so it will be hard for them to avoid becoming 2014/15 taxpayers without amnestying Boozer.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, James, Felix
There has been speculation that the Bucks could wind up leaving Milwaukee at some point as they’ve been unable to secure a new arena in the city, but Herb Kohl is working hard to make sure they stay put. Kohl has been insistent that he is only seeking investment partners and doesn’t want to sell the team outright, but today we learned that there are four suitors with “serious interest” in buying the club from him. There’s no word on a frontrunner, but one club is said to be comprised of local investors, which could give them an upper hand should Kohl have a change of heart and sell. More from around the league..
- The Lakers have had to rebuild on the fly before, but their current troubles will be tougher to fix, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Bulls brought Mike James back because he’s the candidate that coach Tom Thibodeau wanted more than anyone else, tweets Mark Deeks of Shamsports.com. The Bulls re-signed the veteran after they traded one guard Marquis Teague to the Nets. It’s not clear at this point if James got a ten-day pact or was inked for the rest of the season.
- The Cavaliers have recalled Carrick Felix from the D-League, the team announced. The six-day stint was the third assignment to the Canton Charge for the 33rd overall pick in the NBA draft this past June.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Nets Swap Backup PGs With Pelicans, Bulls
The Nets have officially announced a pair of trades, acquiring Marquis Teague from the Bulls in a one-for-one swap for Tornike Shengelia, and sending Tyshawn Taylor and cash to the Pelicans in exchange for the draft rights to Edin Bavcic, a 29-year-old big man playing in Greece.
The moves won’t greatly impact any of the teams’ rotations, as none of the active players involved in the trade have averaged as much as 13 minutes per game this season, and each of them has seen multiple D-League assignments. Teague was a first-round pick in 2012, but he struggled to find minutes for Chicago. Shengelia doesn’t figure to be a critical piece for the Bulls, but he is a big body who can potentially provide frontcourt depth off the bench. Shams Charania of RealGM.com tweets the Bulls intend to give him a shot at some minutes. Bavcic was originally a second-round draft choice of the Raptors in 2006, but he’s never played in the NBA, so it appears he’s merely a throw-in.
Sending off Taylor will provide a bit of much-needed financial relief for Brooklyn, which is currently set to face about $80MM in luxury tax penalties in July. Shengelia and Taylor will both earn $788,872 this season, while Teague will make $1,074,720. The move will save the Nets from paying some extra tax dollars this season, but Teague’s contract runs through 2014/15, one year longer than the pacts Shengelia and Taylor are signed to.
Since the Pelicans had an open roster spot and Taylor is on a minimum-salary contract, they can absorb him without giving up a player. Brooklyn creates a vacancy on its roster with the moves, as the Nets had been carrying the maximum 15 players all season.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports was the first to report the trades, which were agreed upon Saturday (Twitter links). Originally, it appeared the Pelicans would send the Nets a heavily protected second-rounder, but it looks like the teams agreed on including Bavcic in the deal instead.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Bogans, Bucks, Nets, Rice
A source tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Globe that Keith Bogans intends to “stick it out” with the Celtics this season, seemingly indicating the guard isn’t thinking buyout (Twitter link). The C’s and Bogans agreed to have the 33-year-old stay away from the team as Boston pursues takers for him via trade. It wouldn’t really be a surprise if Bogans doesn’t want to do a buyout, since that would mean giving up some of his more than $5MM in guaranteed salary for the season, the largest take of his career. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bucks owner Herb Kohl is signaling to the team’s management that he’s ready to give up the pursuit of a playoff berth this season, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in his latest Insider-only “Tank Rank” column. That contradicts what we heard earlier from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who says the team would be “more than willing” to trade for veteran help.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports breaks down the trade agreement between the Bulls, Nets and Pelicans in a piece for SB Nation, noting that the cash Brooklyn is sending to New Orleans will be enough to cover the rest of Tyshawn Taylor‘s contract, which expires at season’s end. He also says the Nets briefly looked into a deal for Jazz point guard John Lucas III, echoing a report from July.
- The Wizards assigned Glen Rice Jr. to the D-League today, the team announced (Twitter link). It’s a rehab stint for the rookie as he makes his way back from a fractured right wrist, coach Randy Wittman says, according to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Wittman also says it’s possible the team will send No. 3 overall pick Otto Porter to the D-League at some point, too.
- The Sixers will decide within the next two or three days whether to bring back Dewayne Dedmon on a second 10-day deal, coach Brett Brown told reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). The center’s deal expires after Thursday night.
Bulls Re-Sign Cartier Martin
11:17am: The Bulls hope to sign Martin for the season once his second 10-day deal expires, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
10:30am: Martin’s deal with Chicago is official, the team has announced.
8:00am: The Bulls and Cartier Martin have agreed on a second 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. His first 10-day expired last night.
Martin appeared in three games for an average of 13.7 minutes on his first deal with Chicago, averaging 5.0 points per game with a 15.9 PER over that diminutive sample size. The 29-year-old small forward spent most of the season with the Hawks, for whom he averaged 6.6 PPG in 17.5 MPG, with a 10.1 PER. Atlanta waived him on the final day before his contract would have become guaranteed for the entire season.
The Bulls have only 12 other players, so they’d have had to bring on someone else within 14 days if they weren’t re-signing Martin. Teams can carry fewer than 13 players for no more than two weeks at a time. Martin says he had interest from other clubs before he initially signed with Chicago, so it behooves the Bulls to strike quickly to retain the ASM Sports client.
Odds & Ends: Rondo, Bosh, McCollum
Fallout from the two Nets trades earlier today continues into the evening. Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders provides his analysis to the trades. According to Brigham, the deal “makes sense for everyone involved”.
A few other notes around the league.
- The famous trade that sent Kevin Garnett to the Celtics may have never happened if it wasn’t for Timberwolves‘ owner, Glen Taylor removing his demand for Rajon Rondo. Peter May of The New York Times writes that Celtics’ owner Wyc Grousbeck stayed firm on his offer and wasn’t willing to part with Rondo in any trade with the Timberwolves.
- Regarding current trade possibilities, Chris Bosh has taken a note from Pau Gasol‘s book by trying to find interests outside of basketball when trade rumor volume increases each year. Bosh noted to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he likes how Gasol can be “comfortable in who he is” and not let the constant rumors bother him.
- C.J. McCollum revealed to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders his friendship with fellow Trail Blazer Damian Lillard extends long before becoming teammates this summer. Lillard was someone McCollum wanted to play like and began learning from the guard prior to his last season at Lehigh University.
Odds & Ends: Tanking, Dwight, Bennett, Ledo
It’s been a pretty busy afternoon around the NBA, as we heard the Celtics might be trying to move Rajon Rondo, and we saw the Nets hook up with the Bulls and Pelicans to dump some salary via trade, Let’s round up some miscellaneous notes from Saturday:
- Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders examines the two deals from earlier today, and opines the moves make sense for all three teams that were involved.
- While team executives might be interested in intentionally losing games to help raise draft position, players and coaches never are, at least according to former NBA coach Tom Nissalke. Brad Rock of the Deseret News passed along this quote from Nissalke: “I think organizations tank. I don’t think players do. Players know that they’re being auditioned every time they play. If they’re on a bad team, they know they’re not going to be back the next year. There will be some draft picks, some trades made, so the players are always auditioning — and coaches are too.“
- Rockets center Dwight Howard is happy to have trade chatter behind him. “For me I think it (the trade deadline) was different from a lot of players,” Howard told Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. “A lot of attention was on me and what teams were going to do that day. It’s tough. You have everybody asking what’s going to happen, what you’re going to do, all that stuff. I had a big headache and I was just happy when it was over with.”
- It’s been a disappointing start to Anthony Bennett‘s career, but his former UNLV coach Dave Rice says it’s too early for the Cavaliers to give up on last summer’s number one overall pick. The latest piece by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer passes along Rice’s view on Bennett’s game and how he thinks the forward will develop.
- A Mavericks team press release announced that Ricky Ledo was assigned to the Texas Legends this morning. Ledo has only seen 33 minutes on the floor for Dallas this season so the move will give him the opportunity to see some action on the hardwood. It’ll be his second such assignment this season.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Rondo, Celtics, Bulls, Bennett
Rajon Rondo made his long-awaited season debut for the Celtics last night and played 19 minutes in a 107-104 home loss to the Lakers. It was the first time that Rondo had taken the floor since tearing his ACL last January, and he put up eight points while dishing out four assists. Here’s more on Rondo and the Eastern Conference:
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com opines that the Celtics’ decision to name Rondo captain of the team should help to dispel any trade rumors that involve the veteran point guard. It’s unlikely the club decides to name Rondo captain and then one month later ships him off to another team, Forsberg writes.
- In the same piece, Forsberg mentions that Celtics GM Danny Ainge likes the makeup of his team but feels they still need to develop: “We have a long way to go. There’s a lot of good positive things that are happening with our team and a lot of good development with a lot of our young guys. We have some good veteran guys who have set great examples, hard-workers for our young guys. And I feel like we’re figuring out who we want on the bus.“
- The Bulls created quite a bit of financial flexibility when they dealt Luol Deng to Cleveland, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes that the flexibility will more than likely be used to sign multiple players in free agency, rather than one big name like LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony.
- It’s been a tough season for last summer’s number one pick in the draft, Anthony Bennett. The Cavaliers have yet to get valuable minutes out of the forward from UNLV, and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer notes that the acquisition of Deng will limit his time on the floor even further. Schmitt Boyer hears Cleveland isn’t against the idea of sending Bennett to the D-League, but for now the team believes his time is better spent in the NBA.
Odds & Ends: Embiid, Bynum, Kings, Petro
Many talent evaluators around the NBA wish the talented but raw Joel Embiid would stay in school for another year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who debates the freshman Kansas center with fellow ESPN.com scribe Kevin Pelton for an Insider-only piece. NBA teams usually want to see intriguing collegians enter the draft, so the stance on Embiid is an unusual one, as Ford explains. The 19-year-old is the No. 1 prospect on Ford’s Big Board. Here’s more from the Association:
- Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star doesn’t get the sense that the Pacers will sign Bynum just to keep him away from the Heat, but Kravitz believes Indiana should take a low-risk flier on the big man regardless of where he might otherwise end up.
- An Eastern Conference scout didn’t think the trade that brought in Rudy Gay would go as well as it has for the Kings, telling Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the move has made the team “relevant again.”
- Johan Petro announced via Twitter that he’s left the Guangsha Lions of China, so it appears he’s free to sign with any team (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 27-year-old center spent each of the past eight seasons in the NBA.
- The Bulls had next season in mind when they signed D.J. Augustin, but it’s unclear whether the team or the point guard will want to continue their relationship beyond 2013/14, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com writes in his latest mailbag column.
- Former 11th overall pick Jerome Moiso has retired, reports L’Equipe (translation via Carchia). Moiso spent five seasons in the NBA after the Celtics drafted him in 2000. He finished last season with Piratas de Quebradillas in Puerto Rico.
- Louisiana-Lafayette point guard Elfrid Payton is a fast riser in the eyes of many NBA teams, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Ford has the 6’4″ junior at No. 54 in his ESPN.com rankings, while Payton is No. 64 for Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Bulls Notes: Thibodeau, Augustin, Teague
Last week’s Luol Deng trade has done nothing to worsen the relationship between Tom Thibodeau and Bulls GM Gar Forman, since the coach understands owner Jerry Reinsdorf must approve every move, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Thibodeau feels that Reinsdorf appreciates him, and the owner is usually supportive of his employees, writes Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald, so it appears as though Reinsdorf’s blessing of the trade has been key to Thibodeau’s acceptance of it. There’s more from Cowley, McGraw and other reporters on the Bulls beat here:
- Thibodeau is unlikely to try to force his way out of his contract, and the fact that the Bulls gave him his first shot to be an NBA coach weighs heavily on his thinking, a source close to Thibodeau tells Cowley. On top of that, Reinsdorf wants to keep Thibodeau around, according to McGraw.
- Recent signee D.J. Augustin has lived through Hurricane Katrina, so his NBA struggles don’t bother him much, and he doesn’t resent the way his tenures with the Bobcats, Pacers and Raptors ended, as he tells Sam Smith of Bulls.com. “Toronto, I really don’t know what happened there,” Augustin said. “When I signed with them I thought it would be a good opportunity. It just didn’t work out. Coming here [to Chicago], it’s been a blessing. I love being here, love the city, love coach Thibs, love my teammates.”
- The Bulls recalled Marquis Teague from the D-League, the team announced. The point guard averaged 12.0 points and 4.8 assists per game in eight contests for the Iowa Energy.
- Cowley writes that the Bulls “would love to nab Lance Stephenson” in free agency, but that probably represents a general observation rather than a reflection of the team’s plans for the summer.