Odds & Ends: Camby, Thompson, Cavs
Marcus Camby believes the Knicks have assembled all the pieces they need to dethrone the Heat and win a championship, writes Keldy Ortiz of Newsday.
Here are a few more links from around the league this Saturday evening.
- The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry talks with undrafted rookie forward Hollis Thompson as he gets acclimated with the Thunder organization, the team he signed with in July.
- How can the Raptors improve on their disappointing season last year? Hoopsworld.com's Stephen Brotherston gives six valid reasons why Toronto should make the playoffs this season.
- The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer answers questions from readers regarding Luke Walton's contract and the Cavaliers' new gold colored home uniform.
- Dwyane Wade believes the work he put in this offseason on his jump shot should make him an even better offensive player for the rest of his career, writes Sun-Sentinel.com's Ira Winderman.
- NBA.com's Steve Aschburner makes the Hall of Fame case for longtime coach Johnny Bach.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Isiah, Raptors
Here's a look at the latest out of the Atlantic Division, starting with the return of a familiar name to the back pages of the New York tabloids..
- LaSalle Thompson is a candidate to join the Knicks as an assistant coach, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Thompson was Mike Woodson's teammate with the (Kansas City) Kings and also worked with Tyson Chandler as a Bobcats assistant.
- Knicks owner James Dolan held a business meeting with Isiah Thomas Friday morning at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, a person familiar with the situation told Marc Berman of the New York Post. The pow-wow comes two days after the resignation of MSG sports president Scott O’Neil, who a source says helped convince Dolan that rehiring Thomas wasn’t a smart move for the Knicks brand. Thomas has pushed for a formal to the organization since he was fired as the Florida International basketball coach last spring.
- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) says that Thomas never truly left the Knicks organization and has been in Dolan's ear even after his formal dismissal from the team. Isola also tweets that Thomas had a hand in the team's hiring of Mike Woodson.
- The Raptors have had internal discussions about free agent Mickael Pietrus but are unlikely to sign him as they don't have their bi-annual exception available, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Pietrus' agent insists that his client won't consider a minimum deal but Smith expects the Raptors to inquire on it anyway.
Raptors Expected To Sign Chris Wright
In addition to inviting Jamaal Magloire to training camp, the Raptors are expecting to bring at least a couple more players to camp to give them the opportunity to earn a roster spot. According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, one of those players will be unrestricted free agent forward Chris Wright.
Wright didn't see a ton of playing time in his rookie season last year, but did make it into 24 games for the Warriors, including one start. In 7.8 minutes per game, he averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds, good for an 18.6 PER in a very small sample size. The 24-year-old went undrafted out of Dayton in 2011, and also played 13 D-League games in 2011/12, averaging 17.8 PPG and 8.8 RPG for Maine and Dakota.
With Magloire and Wright on non-guaranteed deals, the Raptors will have at least 16 players in camp, so Wright will have to impress to earn a roster spot.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Raptors, Amare, Celtics
Yesterday, Nets head coach Avery Johnson weighed in on a number of topics, including the uncertainty of this past summer, the move to Brooklyn, and his thoughts on the Mavericks. Here's a look at today's news and notes out of the Atlantic Division..
- MSG Sports president Scott O'Neil is leaving the company, sources tell Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Isola notes that the Knicks exec had strong ties to the increasingly powerful Creative Artists Agency (Twitter link).
- The appointment of Tom Anselmi as the new president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment should have no impact on the Raptors' basketball plans going forward, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. After talking to several people in and around the Raptors, Smith writes that there is no reason to believe that General Manager Bryan Colangelo's job is in any sort of jeopardy.
- One NBA scout told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that Amare Stoudemire's best weapon in a bid for a bounce back season is the newly-acquired Marcus Camby. While Tyson Chandler tends to attract defenders in the low post, Camby is a greater threat to connect from the perimeter, giving Stoudemire room to score down low for the Knicks.
- Paul Flannery of WEEI.com gives us his five takeaways from the Celtics' offseason, starting with the importance of Kevin Garnett's three-year, $34MM contract. While it's a good amount of money to commit to a 36-year-old, it left enough breathing room for the C's to make other moves to improve the roster.
Teams Using Cap Space In 2012/13
For NBA franchises, the idea of having cap space is often more conceptual than it is literal. For instance, the Boston Celtics headed into the 2012 offseason with only a handful of contracts on their books and the opportunity to clear $20-25MM in cap room. However, the team never actually used any cap space during the summer, instead opting to re-sign its own players, use cap exceptions, and complete sign-and-trade deals to fill out its roster.
Not every team used the same approach as Boston this summer though — plenty of clubs dipped below the cap, and took advantage by offering players contracts that they would have been unable to offer using cap exceptions. Listed below are the teams that have used cap space at some point during the 2012/2013 season. These squads are no longer eligible to use the $5MM mid-level exception or the $1.957MM bi-annual exception, and may have renounced traded player exceptions in order to claim cap room. They could still have cap space or the $2.575MM room exception available, however.
- Charlotte Bobcats: The Bobcats' major free agent signing (Ramon Sessions) was only for two years and $10MM, which could have been achieved using the mid-level exception. However, being below the cap allowed them to claim and acquire Brendan Haywood after he was amnestied by the Mavericks. The Bobcats have less than $2MM in cap space remaining, but do still have their $2.575MM room exception.
- Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs haven't taken advantage of their huge amount of cap room yet this season, but their approximate $11MM in space could come in handy later in the year, if they agree to take on a bad contract and acquire assets of value in the process.
- Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks entered the offseason having cleared just enough cap room to make Deron Williams a maximum-salary offer, but when D-Will returned to the Nets, the Mavs used that money to add a handful of other players. Chris Kaman's one-year, $8MM deal wouldn't have been possible without cap space, and neither would the team's amnesty bid on Elton Brand.
- Houston Rockets: At one point, the Rockets were so far under the cap that they appeared to be a frontrunner for Dwight Howard, considering they could take on virtually all of the Magic's bad contracts. Much of that space was chewed up on big deals for Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik though — the two players will earn close to $17MM annually between them.
- Indiana Pacers: Most of the Pacers' big deals this summer involved re-signing players with Bird Rights (Roy Hibbert, George Hill) or acquiring players via sign-and-trade (Ian Mahinmi). Still, it was necessary to use cap space in order to sign both D.J. Augustin and Gerald Green to $3.5MM salaries, something that wouldn't have been possible with the mid-level exception.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves were very active this summer, attempting to clear every last dollar from their books to make a big offer to Nicolas Batum. When the Blazers matched their offer sheet for Batum, the T-Wolves used their plethora of cap room to sign Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, Alexey Shved, and Greg Stiemsma.
- New Orleans Hornets: You could argue that the biggest move of the Hornets' summer was drafting Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers in June, or matching a max offer sheet for Eric Gordon. But their big move with cap space involved acquiring Ryan Anderson from the Magic in a sign-and-trade for four years and $34MM, a figure that wouldn't have been possible without cap room.
- Philadelphia 76ers: I didn't love the Sixers' decision to amnesty Elton Brand and clear cap space when the team ended up using that space to sign Nick Young and Kwame Brown. The Andrew Bynum acquisition makes the team's offseason look much better, but cap room wasn't necessary for that deal. The Young signing was the only move that required the space, since his one-year contract exceeds the $5MM mid-level.
- Phoenix Suns: After employing their cap space to make a maximum offer to Eric Gordon, the Suns turned to Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley, and a handful of other free agents when Gordon was retained by the Hornets. The Suns still have over $8MM in space remaining, so like the Cavs, they could take on salary later in the season.
- Portland Trail Blazers: Like the Suns and Eric Gordon, the Blazers used their cap space to make a failed bid for Roy Hibbert. After that didn't work out, re-signing Nicolas Batum and J.J. Hickson took up a good chunk of their room, leaving them only about $2MM under the cap.
- Sacramento Kings: The Kings slipped below the cap, but didn't appear to have big plans for that space — they re-signed Jason Thompson, which could have been done without cap room, and Aaron Brooks' deal was for a modest $3.25MM.
- Toronto Raptors: The Raptors' cap space was necessary to make a run at Steve Nash. While that bid failed, the team made the most of its space when they acquired Kyle Lowry from the Rockets without sending out any salary, simply absorbing Lowry's deal under the cap. Landry Fields' three-year, $18MM+ contract also wouldn't have been possible without that cap space.
Kyler On Harrington, Thomas, Gibson, Calderon
Sources close to the Magic deny that Al Harrington was included in this month's Dwight Howard blockbuster as a throw-in, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. However, Kyler still believes the Magic will explore the possibility of moving Harrington and his contract before the trade deadline. Harrington has three years remaining on his deal, but the last two are only partially guaranteed, and he's still a serviceable player, so Orlando could find a taker. Here are the rest of Kyler's Thursday morning updates on players that may be on the move prior to the trade deadline:
- According to Kyler, the Bobcats are hoping new coach Mike Dunlap can reach Tyrus Thomas in a way that Paul Silas couldn't. Thomas' contract still looks like an albatross though, and the Bobcats would likely move it in a minute if they could find a taker.
- While Kyler hears a handful of teams have been in contact with Cleveland about Daniel Gibson, the Cavs deny they're shopping the guard.
- The Raptors haven't been able to find a deal they like for Jose Calderon to date, but as February's deadline approaches, the Spaniard may turn into a more viable trade chip, as his contract nears its end.
- Larry Sanders could be on the trade block for the Bucks, who acquired Samuel Dalembert and Ekpe Udoh, re-signed Ersan Ilyasova, and drafted John Henson within the last few months.
- Kevin Martin and the Rockets and Corey Maggette of the Pistons figure to be trade candidates this season, as veterans with $10MM+ expiring contracts.
- The Spurs are expected to continue trying to find a trade partner for DeJuan Blair, but his health history raises some red flags for rival clubs.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Allen, Bynum, Nets
Yesterday, Knicks star Carmelo Anthony weighed in on a number of topics, including the dramatically different climate in the Atlantic Division. Anthony duly noted that the Nets improved, the Sixers upgraded their frontcourt with the addition of Andrew Bynum, and when it comes to the Celtics, "Boston is Boston." The one rival absent from the rundown was the Raptors, who are clearly looking to build for the future. Here's more out of the Atlantic..
- The Celtics' loyalty and pragmatic approach has been on full display this summer, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. Some have questioned the C's loyalty when it comes to Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus, but the club was simply outbid for Allen and Pietrus refused to sign for the veteran's minimum. While the club's commitment to their core players is commendable, Brotherston brings up a very valid comparison between the club's current approach and their unwillingness to disband the big three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish in 1987.
- The 76ers' addition of Bynum will completely change the way their offensive philosophy going forward, writes Anthony Macri of HoopsWorld. Philadelphia will now adjust from being a very perimiter-heavy team to one where their best options should all be in the low post. With Bynum commanding double teams down low, it would help the Sixers' cause if they were able to add outside shooting, Macri opines.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) is surprised to see that Terrence Williams can't seem to hook on with an NBA team. Bondy adds that it's even more amazing that Nets GM Billy King was able to get a first-round pick for him from the Lakers (JaJuan Johnson) in a three-team deal that turned into the pick used to draft MarShon Brooks. The Nets originally tabbed the super-athletic Williams with the eleventh pick in the 2009 draft.
- Earlier today, we checked in on the Knicks and the Nets, who already seem to be gearing up for a spirited East River rivalry.
Odds & Ends: Team Canada, Harrellson, Magic
A handful of players with NBA ties have been invited to a weekend training camp that will take place soon to give Team Canada officials a first glimpse at candidates for their national team, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reports (Sulia link). Tristan Thompson of the Cavs, Joel Anthony of the Heat, Cory Joseph of the Spurs, Andrew Nicholson of the Magic and Kris Joseph of the Celtics are on the list. Robert Sacre, the 60th pick in this year's draft by the Lakers, remains unsigned, but he's been invited as well. The team has officially named former Raptors head coach and current Blazers assistant Jay Triano as head coach, Wolstat also writes, and Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson will also be an assistant with Team Canada. Lakers guard Steve Nash, serving as Team Canada's GM, said he wouldn't have accepted the position if Triano wasn't coming aboard, too, Wolstat notes. Here's more from around the Association this afternoon:
- The Heat conducted a workout with Josh Harrellson today, as we heard earlier, but the Timberwolves have no interest in the 6'10" University of Kentucky product, as they prefer a center with more length, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes that Harrellson is just one of several big men the Heat are considering (Sulia link).
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the options the Magic have at power forward to replace Ryan Anderson.
- The Bulls, Lakers, Clippers, Timberwolves and Warriors all have some significant injury issues with training camp about a month away, and Sam Amick of SI.com checks in on the status of Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and others.
- Robin Lopez is recovering from left knee surgery that took place a week after the Hornets acquired him in a sign-and-trade, but he's expected to be ready for training camp, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune reports. Lopez expressed his enthusiasm about coming to New Orleans, saying, "I’m excited to be here. We’ve got a young, energetic group. The good thing is we’ve got some youth that has a little bit of experience as well. Hopefully we can parlay that into something special.’’
- Joe Dumars, Pistons president of basketball operations, traveled overseas with assistant GM George David to watch Jonas Jerebko and Slava Kravtsov in FIBA Eurobasket qualifying, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Atlantic
Having already looked at 2012 free agent spending by teams in the Central and Southeast, we're using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker to move on to the Eastern Conference's biggest-spending division: the Atlantic. All five Atlantic clubs spent more in free agency this summer than any team in the Southeast.
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 Atlantic Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
Brooklyn Nets: $243.053MM (Keith Bogans, Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez, Jerry Stackhouse, Mirza Teletovic, Gerald Wallace, C.J. Watson, Deron Williams)
No team threw more money around this offseason than the Nets, whose $98MM+ commitment to Williams dwarfed every other contract signed this summer. Besides spending about $200MM on D-Will, Wallace, and Lopez alone, the Nets handed out deals for Evans, Humphries, and Teletovic worth more than the minimum, and took on Joe Johnson's remaining $89MM via trade. As the team makes its move to Brooklyn, no one can accuse the Nets of being thrifty.
Boston Celtics: $133.606MM (Brandon Bass, Dionte Christmas, Jason Collins, Keyon Dooling, Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green, Courtney Lee, Jamar Smith, Jason Terry, Chris Wilcox)
This total figure for the Celtics is based on a reported four-year, $36MM agreement with Jeff Green, but that deal has, somewhat bizarrely, yet to be finalized. Still, even without that deal, Boston has committed almost $100MM to new deals, including $15MM+ each to Bass, Garnett, Lee, and Terry. With a handful of minimum-salary contracts and partially-guaranteed deals rounding out their commitments, a little money figures to be reduced from the Celtics' offseason bill, but it was still a significant spending free for the club.
New York Knicks: $61.976MM (Ronnie Brewer, Marcus Camby, Chris Copeland, Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Steve Novak, Pablo Prigioni, Chris Smith, J.R. Smith, James White)
Without retaining Jeremy Lin or having any cap space available, the Knicks still managed to do their share of spending over the last few weeks. Novak and the elder Smith were retained with some form of Bird Rights, while Felton and Camby were acquired via sign-and-trades, allowing the team to use its mini mid-level exception on Kidd. New York managed to include just a partial guarantee on Camby's third year, and players like Copeland, White, and Chris Smith didn't receive full guarantees either. Still, the deals for Felton, Kidd, and Novak are all fully guaranteed, significant expenditures for a franchise that balked at Lin's price tag.
Philadelphia 76ers: $32.797MM (Lavoy Allen, Kwame Brown, Spencer Hawes, Royal Ivey, Maalik Wayns, Nick Young)
Prior to acquiring Andrew Bynum, the Sixers' offseason was a curious one. The club amnestied Elton Brand to make room to add free agents, but as the list above shows, that cap room was used primarily on Young and Brown, not exactly the kinds of impact additions you'd expect when you clear an $18MM+ salary from the books.
Toronto Raptors: $26.837MM (Landry Fields, Aaron Gray, John Lucas III)
The Raptors cleared cap room in the hopes of signing Steve Nash, but ended up missing out on the Canadian star, leaving them to spend on other players instead. While Fields at $6MM+ annually was probably an overpay, I like the rest of the Raptors' moves, which included using that aforementioned cap space to absorb Kyle Lowry's salary in a trade with Houston.
Steve Nash Talks Suns-To-Lakers Decision
As SportsRadioInterviews.com documented, Steve Nash recently appeared on KTAR in Phoenix to talk to hosts Burns and Gambo about his decision to leave the Suns for the Lakers in free agency last month. The two-time MVP admitted that prior to the free agent period, he was still considering re-signing with Phoenix, and didn't view the Lakers as an option. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:
On whether he expected the regular season finale to be the last time he wore a Suns uniform:
"Not at all. I wanted to come back, to be honest. One, primarily with my children being in Phoenix, but second, I felt dissatisfied with the last two seasons, not being in the playoffs. And I felt a big part of me wanted to leave the franchise in a better place than it was the last two seasons, and be a part of moving it forward. So not at all, I didn’t know for sure that I would be moving on and in many ways was hoping to come back."
On when he started to shift his focus from the Suns to other potential destinations:
"It started to become apparent in June, and then I guess you could say the writing was on the wall. But I never really gave up on it until free agency actually came and I realized that there wasn’t really an offer and that they wanted to go in another direction. So it wasn’t till late in the game, and it just all kind of came to light at that point."
On the Lakers' unexpected interest in him:
"It was completely out of the blue. Even though you’re not allowed to talk to teams, you kind of know what teams are interested and to a certain degree you can kind of guess what’s going to happen. But the Lakers weren’t an option. I didn’t even realize they had a trade exception for Lamar Odom. There wasn’t really any talk, there wasn’t anything my agent hadn’t spoken about as an option, and then they called shortly after midnight on the 1st and the door swung open."
On deciding to play for the Lakers:
"Going to L.A. was not an easy thing. I think I said a week before free agency it would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey, and I meant that. We’ve gone through some playoff battles and they’re a rival and an enemy to some of the Suns fans, but at the end of the day the Suns were moving in a new direction and in some ways I felt like I couldn’t cut off my nose to spite my face. Chance to go to Los Angeles, be as close as possible to the kids, primarily. And then other than that, a chance to win, to live in a new place and all the things that come with that as well."
On where he'd be playing if Suns owner Robert Sarver hadn't agreed to do a sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers:
"It would’ve been Toronto or New York. Those were the two next teams, and I don’t know. I would’ve crossed that bridge had the Lakers situation fell through."