Cartier Martin Opts In With Pistons
JUNE 30th: Martin has officially opted in, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
JUNE 1st: Cartier Martin is picking up his minimum-salary option for next season, letting the Pistons know of his decision last week, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The small forward who turns 31 in November will draw a guaranteed salary of nearly $1.271MM for next season.
The decision is no surprise after Martin saw little playing time in his sixth NBA season this year. Coach Stan Van Gundy only called on him to appear in 23 games for an average of 8.6 minutes per night after signing him to a two-year deal last summer. It was somewhat surprising to see Van Gundy commit guaranteed money for as many as two seasons to the journeyman, though Martin had a career mark of 38.3% from behind the arc as of last summer, and that surely played into the ASM Sports client‘s deal. Martin didn’t show off that sort of accuracy in limited chances this season, making only six of 33 three-point attempts.
Martin’s option pickup, once official, will leave the Pistons with still only about $29MM against a projected $67.1MM cap. That doesn’t include a new deal for Reggie Jackson, whom the Pistons seem intent on re-signing, or one for Greg Monroe, should he surprise and choose to remain in Detroit.
Hawks GM Danny Ferry Steps Down In Buyout Deal
JUNE 30th, 6:46pm: The Hawks formally announced the promotions of Budenholzer and Wilcox, according to Vivlamore (on Twitter).
JUNE 25th, 10:38am: New owner Tony Ressler confirmed to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter) that he has a “handshake agreement” with Mike Budenholzer to be president/head coach and Wes Wilcox to be GM.
JUNE 22nd, 11:03am: Ferry has stepped down, the team formally announced via press release.
“This season has proved two things,” Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said in the team’s statement. “First, Danny Ferry is a tremendous GM. Danny was the principal architect of the Hawks’ success in Atlanta. From the hiring of Coach Bud to reinventing the roster, Danny’s vision has put us in the tremendous place we are today. Danny acted with integrity and professionalism as he guided the organization through important changes over the last few years. Second, Danny Ferry is not a racist. Danny showed great leadership in stepping aside in the fall so the season could proceed with as few distractions as possible. He has always put the team first despite the great personal difficulties he endured. Now that the team has identified new ownership, the resolution of Danny’s contract with existing ownership is appropriate. We wish Danny and his family only the best moving forward.”
Budenholzer, who’s also quoted in the statement, lauded Ferry’s roster building, and Ferry spoke as well.
“While the past year has been incredibly difficult and humbling, it is critical for me to clear my name and for people to realize that I have always built a culture of respect, diversity, and honesty,” Ferry said. “Now that the key facts have been made known, I am making the difficult decision to step away from this team and this special group of players. I have seen how gracious and forgiving people can be – especially Luol, who had every right to be hurt and angry after being brought into this situation. I thank him for his forgiveness and support. I also greatly appreciate that our players and coaches have been supportive, along with so many friends, old and new. As the Hawks move to a new chapter, I will continue to support the players and wish them the continued success that they and the fans of Atlanta deserve.”
JUNE 20th, 5:05pm: A law firm commissioned by the Hawks to investigate the comments Ferry made in reference to Deng last year found no wrongdoing on the part of the GM, according to a letter the firm sent to Ferry that multiple Atlanta-area media members obtained, including Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We reported the results of our work to the Hawks. In summary, the facts indicated that you repeated comments that were not your own about Mr. Deng from a scouting report during the call, and there was no evidence to indicate that during the call you acted in a manner motivated by negative bias toward Mr. Deng, his race or his country of origin,” the letter read in part. “In fact, you strongly recommended Luol Deng and attempted to sign him for the team. Based on the materials reviewed within the scope of the investigation, we did not uncover facts indicating that your repetition of words contained within a scouting report was improperly motivated by race, ethnicity, or country of origin.”
2:48pm: Ferry will receive “substantially more” through the buyout deal than his contract called for him to make over the remainder of its term, Vivlamore writes in a full story.
JUNE 19th, 1:20pm: The Hawks board of managers approved the buyout deal with Ferry today, Vivlamore reports, adding that an official announcement is forthcoming in a few days (Twitter link).
3:11pm: The league is expected to approve the new owners on June 24th, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Ferry had hoped that ties to Grant Hill and Jesse Itzler, partners in Ressler’s group, would save his job, but over time, he realized that wouldn’t happen, Zillgitt reports, adding that Ferry indeed wants to return to NBA work.
JUNE 18th, 1:11pm: Hawks officials and Ferry have reached a buyout agreement that will give Ferry more than what the three years remaining on his contract called for him to make, reports Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. The current owners will assume responsibility for the cost of the buyout, Arnovitz adds. The team’s board of managers will hold a conference call to Friday to approve the buyout terms, according to Arnovitz.
10:45am: No one has told either Budenholzer or Wilcox just yet about any potential changes to their roles, Vivlamore tweets.
9:58am: The Hawks plan to work out deals that install coach and acting GM Mike Budenholzer as president and coach, promote assistant GM Wes Wilcox to GM, and allow the team to part ways with GM Danny Ferry, who’s been on a leave of absence since September, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The plan appears to emanate from the team’s incoming ownership, led by Tony Ressler, who, league sources told Wojnarowski, will make contract negotiations with Budenholzer and Wilcox their first priority upon receiving league approval for their purchase of the franchise. Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in mid-May that the approval process was expected to be finished on a timetable that would finalize the sale sometime between now and early next month.
Higher-ups around the league have lent their support to Ferry, with most believing that he’ll again find work in a team’s front office, Wojnarowski writes. Ferry’s racially insensitive remarks while reading a scouting report about Luol Deng last year led him to take his leave of absence in September, shortly after controlling owner Bruce Levenson said he planned to sell the team amid the revelation of his own racially charged emails. Budenholzer took control of the front office around that time, though as Vivlamore told us, Atlanta’s player personnel decisions continued to be made in a collaborative manner, with Wilcox and others heavily involved.
Budenholzer won the league’s Coach of the Year award and finished third in Executive of the Year voting after the Hawks won 60 games this past season, though some votes that went to Budenholzer were meant as nods to Ferry, multiple executives told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Some executives, who vote on the award rather than media members, were displeased that the Hawks chose to nominate Budenholzer for the honor instead of Ferry, Hoops Rumors reported. Some of them spoke of abstaining from the vote, though all 30 voters ultimately cast their ballots. The Hawks made the vast majority of the moves that brought their roster together before Ferry went on leave.
Jared Dudley Exercises Option To Stay With Bucks
6;15pm: The two sides are working on a long-term extension deal, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter).
4:41pm: Jared Dudley has exercised his option to stay with the Bucks, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Dudley is now scheduled to earn $4.25MM with the Bucks for 2015/16. Since Dudley’s contract was signed before new CBA in November of 2010, his ETO decision date was grandfathered in as June 30th rather than June 29th, Stein adds (link).
Dudley, who turns 30 on July 10th, came to the Bucks in a deal last August with the Clippers. At the time, he wasn’t happy with the move, but he said back in March that he eventually became comfortable in Milwaukee, thanks in part to Jason Kidd‘s coaching style. Dudley also said that he would like a long-term deal with the Bucks and that he was willing to take a discount to sign one. With the Bucks, Dudley also got to show the world what he can do when he’s healthy:
“The trade [to Milwaukee] was the best thing for my career, where I got with a training staff that got me healthy and when I’m healthy, I’m the player you see now and the player you saw in Phoenix,” said Dudley, who claims that he played the entire 2013/14 season with a fracture in his right knee at the request of Doc Rivers.
In 72 games (22 starts) last season, Dudley averaged 7.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.8 APG. Dudley also shot 38.5% from downtown, an improvement over his 36% showing in 2013/14.
Bucks Waive Caron Butler, Shawne Williams
As expected, the Bucks have waived both Caron Butler and Shawne Williams, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Earlier this month, Butler told Racine Sports Zone that he was expecting to get waived by Milwaukee.
Butler, 35, is coming off career lows in points (5.9) and minutes (20.8) per game. He nonetheless shot 37.9% on 2.8 three-point attempts per game last season, so he at least still appears to have value as a spot-up shooter. The Thunder, Bulls, Clippers, Spurs, Lakers, and Knicks reportedly have interest in the veteran.
Milwaukee acquired Butler and Williams in the Ersan Ilyasova trade earlier this month. Butler played for the Bucks during the first half of the 2013/14 season. Williams, 29, played 63 regular season games for the Heat and Pistons last season. He averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 17.3 minutes per contest between the two teams. For his career, Williams has averaged 5.6 PPG and 3.0 RPG in stops with the Pacers, Mavs, Knicks, Nets, Lakers, Heat, and Pistons.
Blazers To Keep Chris Kaman
The Blazers have decided to retain Chris Kaman for the 2015/16 season, according to Jabari Young of CSNNW.com (on Twitter). Portland had until 4 CT to waive the big man before his salary became fully guaranteed for the upcoming campaign. Portland declined to do so, meaning that Kaman will return for a second season.
During his exit interview in April, Kaman said he wanted to return to the Blazers for the 2015/16 season. However, with just $1MM of his $5,016,000 salary guaranteed for next season, that wasn’t quite a given. In 74 games (13 starts) last season, Kaman averaged 8.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG in less than 19 minutes per game. The 7-footer has averaged 11.4 PPG and 7.7 RPG over the course of his 12-year career.
Lakers Decline Team Option On Jordan Hill
JUNE 30TH, 1:24pm: The team indeed passed on his option, so Hill will become an unrestricted free agent, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
4:32pm: The Lakers have told Hill it most likely won’t pick up his option, though the formal decision can wait until midnight, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
JUNE 29TH, 2:08pm: The team has told Hill it won’t be picking up his option, league sources said to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).
JUNE 19TH, 12:11pm: The Lakers are likely to turn down their team option to retain Jordan Hill at a salary of $9MM next season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski cautions that the team has yet to make a final decision, but league sources let him know that momentum is strong toward the Lakers letting Hill enter free agency. The deadline for a formal choice is June 29th.
Declining the option wouldn’t give the Lakers the immediate ability to clear extra cap room, and in fact would infringe on them doing so, since his cap hold would shoot up to $13.5MM. However, the Lakers could renounce their Bird rights to him to wipe that cap hold from the books, even though the Lakers could have interest in re-signing him if they miss out on their star targets, Wojnarowski writes. They’d have to use cap space or an exception to bring him back in that scenario.
Marquee free agents the Lakers would like to sign include LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love and Goran Dragic, Wojnarowski notes. The Lakers have about $35MM in guaranteed salary already on the books, so they wouldn’t have much trouble squeezing one of them under the projected $67.1MM cap if they picked up Hill’s option. However, letting him go would let the Lakers chase a star as well as a secondary target like DeMarre Carroll, in whom they also reportedly have interest. The notion that the Lakers are inclined to let go of Hill gives deference to the idea that the team has zeroed in on Jahlil Okafor as its primary target for the No. 2 pick, assuming the Timberwolves draft Karl-Anthony Towns first overall, though that’s just my speculation.
Hill, a BDA Sports Management client, is coming off a career year. The five-year veteran poured in 12.0 points per game this past season, the first in which he’s put up a double-digit scoring average. His 7.9 rebounds and 26.8 minutes per game, as well as his 57 starts, are also career highs.
Heat Decline Michael Beasley’s Team Option
TUESDAY, 1:22pm: The move indeed took place, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 12:16pm: The Heat have informed Michael Beasley that they will not pick up his option for the 2015/16 season, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Beasley would have made slightly less than $1.3MM had the team opted to pick up his option.
Miami indicated the the decision to draft Justise Winslow was a major factor in the decision to part ways with Beasley, Jackson adds in a full-length article. There was no discussion of Beasley returning to the Heat down the road, according to Jared Karnes, who represents Beasley and spoke to Jackson.
Starting small forward Luol Deng has a player option worth more than $10.15MM for the upcoming season and the team hopes he sticks around for at least one more season. Assuming Deng is on the roster next season, along with Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts and Winslow, the team shouldn’t have a major need at either forward position. Beasley played minutes at both the three and the four spot while averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4% from the field during his third stint in Miami.
LeBron James Opts Out
TUESDAY, 1:17pm: James has officially opted out, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
SUNDAY, 2:53pm: LeBron James will opt out of his contract with the Cavaliers and become a free agent for the second straight summer, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that James will not visit other teams and will re-sign with Cleveland later this summer (Twitter link). A report earlier this week said James will take his time and see what moves Cleveland makes before becoming “the last domino to fall.”
James, who turned down more than $21.5MM for next year, is expected to sign another one-year contract with a player option and then command a longer deal once the cap rises with the new TV contract in 2016, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Kennedy reassures Cavs fans that they shouldn’t worry, saying James’ plan from the start has been to maximize his earnings potential and power within the franchise (Twitter link). A source close to James said, “I expect him to sign back,” according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. The deadline for James to agree to the option on his current contract was Monday, and the earliest he can sign a new deal is July 9th.
Cleveland GM David Griffin said recently that the team had been in contact with James about roster decisions since the NBA Finals ended, Windhorst writes. However, he cited sources who said James will remove himself from the free agency process while the Cavaliers make decisions on Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and others. James’ new deal will be worth around $22MM, but the exact amount won’t be determined until the July moratorium ends.
The potential value of a long-term contract should escalate dramatically in 2016, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. If James had accepted a full max deal when he left Miami for Cleveland last summer, it would have been four years at about $89MM. By waiting until next summer, those figures will be five years and $170MM (Twitter link), although the amount is just an estimate.
David West Opts Out From Pacers
JUNE 30TH, 1:12pm: The Pacers didn’t receive paperwork indicating that West would opt in by Monday night’s deadline for him to do so, so he has officially opted out, the team confirms, as Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports reports (Twitter link).
JUNE 24TH, 2:07pm: David West has decided to turn down his $12.6MM player option, reports Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). President of basketball operations Larry Bird wouldn’t confirm the report, telling Buckner that he hasn’t spoken with West or agent Jeff Austin (Twitter link). His choice gives the team the chance to open the cap space necessary for a legitimate run at Monta Ellis, in whom the Pacers reportedly have interest.
Mystery had surrounded West’s intentions with the option, just as it does with Roy Hibbert, who possesses a player option worth more than $15.514MM, though Pacers coach Frank Vogel said this spring that he had a gut feeling that West would opt in. That proved incorrect, and now West, who turns 35 in August, is free to seek out a new team or see if he can pry more salary, a longer deal, or both from Indiana.
The Raptors reportedly pursued West via trade at the deadline, and Toronto still appears to have a need at power forward. Indiana appeared reluctant to part with him as it chased a playoff berth last season. Bird has made it clear he wants to change the team’s style of play to a more up-tempo attack, and while he seemed to push Hibbert to opt out, it would be tough for the Pacers to implement a small-ball style if Hibbert opts in and West re-signs.
Pero Antic Signs In Turkey
11:48am: The signing is official, the team announced (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
TUESDAY, 9:00am: Antic is indeed signing with Fenerbahce on a two-year contract that includes an option for a third season, agent Misko Raznatovic tweets (hat tip to Carchia). It’s unclear whether that’s a player or a team option.
MONDAY, 4:09pm: Hawks big man Pero Antic will sign with Fenerbahce of Turkey, as Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net reports and Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia confirms (Twitter link). Carchia last week reported the team’s interest in luring the Macedonian away from the NBA. The news is a blow of sorts for Atlanta, which reportedly had interest in re-signing him.
Antic, who turns 33 next month, had reportedly let the Hawks know he wanted to return, too, but circumstances appear to have changed. The Hawks are in a salary crunch as they seek to retain Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, so seemingly the possibility existed that Atlanta would decide against tendering the $1.563MM qualifying offer necessary to make Antic a restricted free agent. The right to match offers only extends to NBA teams, so Atlanta will be powerless to keep Antic from officially signing overseas come Wednesday.