Odds & Ends: Magic, Green, Raptors, Mavs
The Magic may be subject to criticism in some areas, but the team's current problems can't be blamed on player development, says Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins looks back at the team's draft picks and projects over the last few years and concludes that the club has done a reasonably good job of developing young talent, even if not all the success stories still play in Orlando. Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Willie Green spoke to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times about joining the Clippers and how the perception of the franchise has recently changed.
- The Bulls top SI.com's Zach Lowe's list of teams whose offseason moves were a little disappointing.
- Raptors coach Dwane Casey downplayed the supposed point guard controversy in Toronto while GM Bryan Colangelo acknowledged that a controversy is inevitable with two starting-caliber players at one position. As Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes, neither Casey or Colangelo indicated that there's any rush or need to trade Jose Calderon to clear room for Kyle Lowry.
- With Joel Przybilla's free agent decision reportedly imminent, Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders if the Mavericks are serious about adding another center.
- Salary cap expert Larry Coon answered plenty of questions in a chat at HoopsWorld.com today.
- There's still plenty of time for the Pistons' Khris Middleton and other second-round picks to be signed, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Odds & Ends: Brewer, Raptors, Blazers, Olympics
As August begins, four deals became official today while another is on its way, as Roger Mason and the Hornets agreed to terms. There's plenty left to resolve this summer, with the Dwight Howard saga continuing to loom as the league's largest story. Two of the most significant plotlines don't involve players. The Blazers cut their list of coaching candidates in half today, while the Clippers continue to operate without a general manager. Here's what's up around the Association tonight:
- In a two–part interview with Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, Ronnie Brewer explains why he turned down offers with more years and more money to sign for the minimum with the Knicks.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun doesn't expect any more offseason movement for the Raptors (Sulia link).
- Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes that Terry Stotts and Kaleb Canales, the remaining candidates to coach the Blazers, are both clients of agent Warren LeGarie, who also represents GM Neil Olshey. Quick adds that since LeGarie represents more coaches than any other agent, it could simply be a coincidence (Twitter links).
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com says it would be shortsighted for the NBA to push for an age limit in the Olympics, arguing the exposure players get on a worldwide stage at the Olympics helps promote the NBA product internationally.
Kyler On Evans, Fredette, Iguodala, Calderon
While Dwight Howard is still the league's most prominent trade candidate, as he has been since Chris Paul was dealt to the Clippers, there are a number of other players that could potentially be on the move in the coming months. In his latest NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler provides updates on a few of those players. Here are the highlights:
- While the Kings were entertaining trades offers for Tyreke Evans around the time of the draft, they've since cooled on the idea of dealing him, according to Kyler. Still, Sacramento may decide to pass on a long-term extension for the 22-year-old. Kyler hears that both Evans and teammate Jimmer Fredette could be open to being moved.
- It's "highly unlikely" that the Sixers will trade Andre Iguodala before the season begins. Sources tell Kyler that any move involving Iguodala is probably something that would happen down the road.
- Kyler hears that Jose Calderon wasn't all that happy with the way the Raptors pursued Steve Nash and Kyle Lowry this offseason, and that Toronto is willing to accomodate a trade. There's not much of a market for Calderon at this point, but the Raps believe they could land an asset for him before the trade deadline.
Odds & Ends: Cavs, Parker, Kirilenko, Fields
Every team in the NBA gets an equal number of home games and road games every year, but that doesn't guarantee equitability. Matt Moore of CBSSports.com goes in-depth on this year's slate, explaining how strength of schedule varies across the league. The Spurs, thanks to their annual rodeo road trip, have only two home games in February. The Clippers will go on an eight-game road trip while the Grammys occupy the Staples Center, but their rival Lakers only play seven road games during that time. The Magic will play the fewest sets of back-to-back games, with 13, while nine other teams have 22 back-to-backs. There's plenty more of note this evening from around the Association:
- Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld notes the Cavs still have the flexibility needed to acquire Andrew Bynum if three-team trade talks with the Lakers and Magic get going again (Sulia link).
- Tom Withers of the Associated Press catches up with Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who's taking a more cautious approach to life following the injury he sustained to his eye as a bystander to a nightclub brawl. Parker doesn't plan on letting the apprehensiveness carry over to his play, however.
- One NBA assistant coach tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that Andrei Kirilenko is a better fit with Wolves coach Rick Adelman's offensive system than he was with former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's (Twitter link).
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld talks to Landry Fields, now with the Raptors after the Knicks declined to match his backloaded offer sheet. Fields reflected on his time in New York and says his new team feels optimistic about making the playoffs this year.
- Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com echoes the comments of former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy on ESPN 1000’s "Waddle & Silvy" show, calling for the Bulls to extend coach Tom Thibodeau's contract.
- Austin Rivers (right ankle) and Xavier Henry (right knee) have undergone surgeries, the Hornets announced on their website, but both will be ready in time for fall training camp.
Raptors Re-Sign Alan Anderson
JULY 27TH: Anderson has re-signed with the Raptors, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). According to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link), it's a minimum-salary deal. It's not clear whether it's fully or partially guaranteed.
JULY 17TH: After signing him to a pair of 10-day contracts and then a rest-of-season deal in 2011/12, the Raptors will bring back Alan Anderson in 2012/13, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. It's not clear whether Anderson's previous contract included a non-guaranteed season for the coming year, or if the Raps will re-sign him as a free agent. Either way, I would imagine Anderson will come to camp on a short-term, non-guaranteed contract.
Anderson, 29, saw his first NBA action since the 2006/07 season last year, and turned into one of the more successful 10-day contract signings of 2012. Anderson's efficiency numbers were negatively affected by a slump over the season's final four games, in which he shot just 18-of-59 (30.5%) from the floor. However, in 17 total games with the Raptors, the 6'6" wing started 12 contests, averaging 9.6 points in 27.1 minutes per game.
Raptors Re-Sign Aaron Gray
JULY 27TH: The Raptors have officially re-signed Gray, according to a team release.
JULY 7TH: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that Aaron Gray has agreed to a two-year deal with the Raptors. The six-year veteran started in 40 games for Toronto last season, averaging 3.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 16.6 MPG in a total of 49 games. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweeted that he expects Gray to receive the team's "room exception", which should be about $2.5MM annually.
With former lottery pick Jonas Valanciunas expected to join the team next season, retaining Gray appears to set Dwane Casey's rotation at the center spot. The former center out of Pittsburgh grabbed at least 7 rebounds in 21 games during limited minutes, and could readily take some pressure off of Valanciunas as he gets acclimated with the NBA game.
Gray's most notable games last year include an 11-point, 11-rebound effort in 23 minutes against Dwight Howard in a loss to the Magic and a 12-point, 12-rebound performance in 30 minutes during a win against the Pistons.
Raptors Sign John Lucas III
The Raptors have officially signed John Lucas III, the team announced today in a press release. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week that the two sides were in "serious talks," while Mark Deeks of ShamSports added over the weekend that Lucas' deal was expected to be for two years and $3MM, including a second-year team option.
Lucas, 29, was one of Derrick Rose's backups in Chicago last year, and Rose's nagging injuries meant that Lucas played a career-high 14.8 minutes per game, averaging 7.5 points and 2.2 assists. In Toronto, he'll be behind Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon on the depth chart, though with Calderon on an expiring contract, Lucas could step into a larger role if the Spaniard is traded before or during the season.
The Raptors were able to sign Lucas after finalizing a deal to send James Johnson to the Kings. Clearing Johnson's $2.8MM cap figure from their books gave the Raptors plenty of space to sign Lucas to an annual $1.5MM salary.
Teams That Lost Traded Player Exceptions
To hang onto a traded player exception, a team is required to keep its salary commitments above the $58.044MM cap line. The moment a club uses room under the cap to sign a player, any trade exceptions it previously owned are lost, along with the the team's full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions for that season.
As free agents signed new deals this month, a number of clubs that owned traded player exceptions fell below the cap, renouncing those exceptions. Most notably, the Mavericks lost four trade exceptions, including the $8.9MM TPE they obtained when they sent Lamar Odom to the Clippers last month.
Here's a complete list of the traded player exceptions that were lost without expiring or being used this month. The traded player that initially created the exception appears in parentheses:
- 76ers: $1,536,505 (Marreese Speights)
- Cavaliers: $1,097,520 (Christian Eyenga)
- Hornets: $2,329,805 (Chris Paul)
- Mavericks: $8,900,000 (Lamar Odom), $4,207,837 (Tyson Chandler), $3,059,000 (Corey Brewer), $2,180,443 (Rudy Fernandez)
- Raptors: $7,600,000 (Leandro Barbosa)
- Rockets: $2,500,000 (Samuel Dalembert), $854,389 (Chase Budinger)
You can find our full list of still-existing traded player exceptions right here, or read more on how exactly they work in our glossary entry.
Sham Sports was used in the creation of this post.
Raptors In Serious Talks With John Lucas III
SATURDAY, 9:20pm: Lucas has received a two-year, $3.0MM offer from the Raptors, with the second year of the contract being a team option, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
WEDNESDAY, 4:46pm: The Raptors are "in serious talks" with John Lucas III, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. According to Stein, Toronto is close to a deal to sign Lucas away from the Bulls, with Chicago resigned to losing the 5'11" guard.
The Raptors have been considering signing a third point guard to play behind Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon, and perhaps become Lowry's primary backup if Calderon is traded. While Lucas is hardly a big name, he had a quietly effective season for the Bulls in 2011/12, as we noted earlier today in our list of top remaining free agents by PER. The 29-year-old's 16.3 PER puts him second among available point guards. Lucas also averaged 7.5 points and 2.2 assists in 14.8 minutes per game, all career highs.
Raptors Sign Jonas Valanciunas
The Raptors have officially signed last year's fifth overall pick Jonas Valanciunas, the team announced today in a press release. Valanciunas appears to have finalized his buyout with Lithuanian team Lietuvos Rytas and inked a rookie scale contract to join the Raptors.
"We are very pleased to welcome Jonas to the organization," said Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo in a statement. "We are certain that Raptors fans will soon realize that the year-long process was worth the wait."
Because he signed just a year after he was drafted, Valanciunas will likely receive a first-year salary worth 120% of this year's rookie scale amount for the fifth overall pick. Such an agreement would pay him $3,374,640 in his rookie season.