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Important NBA Offseason Dates

By | at May 29, 2012 8:44 am

May 30th is the first date of the NBA offseason we've circled on the calendar, with the 2012 draft lottery set to take place tomorrow night in New York. Many crucial dates will follow, however, so let's examine what the offseason schedule looks like for the Association, as teams prepare for the 2012/13 campaign:

May

June

July

  • 1: 2012/13 salary cap year and July moratorium begin. Free agents become free.
  • 11: July moratorium ends and new salary cap figures take effect. Teams can sign free agents, make trades, and extend contracts. Seven-day amnesty period begins.
  • 16: First-round draft picks become free agents if not offered a contract.
  • 23: Last day to withdraw a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent without the player's approval.
  • 27: 2012 Summer Olympics begin.

August

  • 12: Olympics end.
  • 15: Released players begin staying on waivers for only 48 hours rather than a full week.

September

  • 6: Second-round draft picks become free agents if not offered a contract.

October

  • 1: Last day for a restricted free agent to accept a qualifying offer.
  • 29: Last day of offseason. Roster size reduced to 15-player maximum. Last day to make sign-and-trade transactions, and last day to waive non-guaranteed summer contracts.
  • 31: Last day rookie scale contracts can be extended, and last day option years on rookie contracts for the 2013/14 season can be exercised.

Larry Coon's Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.

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The Relative Value Of Lottery Picks

By | at May 28, 2012 8:59 pm

It's hard to know exactly what's at stake in Wednesday's NBA draft lottery, when the order for the June 28th draft will be finalized. Anthony Davis is the clear frontrunner for the No. 1 pick, but after that, it gets murky. Beyond speculation on who gets picked when and by whom, there's really no telling how any of the draft prospects will turn out once they become pros. The history of the draft is full of stories about "can't miss" phenoms who never fulfilled their ballyhooed potential. Still, history can tell us a little about the relative likelihood of draftees becoming productive NBA players.

Below is the average career PER for players taken with each of the top 14 picks since 2003, when the lottery expanded to 14 teams. PER, or player efficiency rating, is a catch-all metric developed by John Hollinger of ESPN.com to provide a concise per-minute assessment of a player's performance, as Basketball-Reference explains. Like any single statistic, it's not infallible, and overrates some players who don't see much time on the floor. That's one reason why, for instance, Mouhamed Sene and J.J. Redick have the same career per of 13.5. Still, it's interesting to see what it says about a group of draft picks over time.

Most striking is the difference between the average PER for a No. 1 pick and every other position in the lottery. The 20.1 PER for recent No. 1 picks is 32% higher than that of No. 2 picks, and 23% higher than the 16.3 PER for No. 4 picks, the next best average. So, that's one more reason teams will be rooting hard to move into the top position Wednesday. The rest of the top 10 is bunched up, with another drop from there. Here are the numbers:

1st: 20.1 
2nd: 15.2 
3rd: 15.7 
4th: 16.3
5th: 15.3 
6th: 13.6 
7th: 15.0 
8th: 13.0 
9th: 14.8 
10th: 14.2 
11th: 11.6
12th: 11.9
13th: 12.7
14th: 12.6 

Note: We've assigned zeroes for 2011 No. 5 pick Jonas Valanciunas and 2005 No. 11 pick Fran Vasquez, who've yet to play in the NBA. If Valanciunas is left out of calculations, the average PER for the No. 5 pick is 17.2, and without Vasquez, the PER for No. 11 picks jumps to 13.0.

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Teams That Changed Execs, Coaches In Same Year

By | at May 26, 2012 4:58 pm

The Magic will be replacing both GM Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy this summer, and there's a fair chance the Blazers will have a new GM and coach when next season tips off as well. So, let's look at teams that recently changed coaches and player personnel executives in rapid succession and see how they fared. In each instance below, the executive is listed first and the coach second, unless the same man occupied both jobs. 

Knicks, 2008: Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni replace Isiah Thomas: Walsh and D'Antoni may not have led the team back into the title hunt in their time together, but they deserve credit for cleaning up the mess made by Thomas, who went 56-108 coaching his handpicked roster for two seasons in New York.

Nets, 2010: Billy King and Avery Johnson replace Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe: King and Johnson inherited a scorched-earth situation, having gone 12-70 in 2009/10. King pulled off the Deron Williams trade in his first year, and if he can convince him to re-sign this summer, the franchise will keep its positive momentum going.

Sixers, 2010: Rod Thorn and Doug Collins replace Ed Stefanski and Eddie Jordan: The Sixers have been in the playoffs in both years under the new regime, and this year they're in the second round for the first time since 2003.

Bucks, 2008: John Hammond and Scott Skiles replace Larry Harris and Larry Krystkowiak: Aside from a seven-game challenge of the Hawks in the 2010 first round, the current Bucks leadership hasn't done much to improve over the former. Owner Herb Kohl said earlier this month he has no plans to extend either Hammond or Skiles as both enter the final year of their contracts.

Cavs, 2010: Chris Grant and Byron Scott replace Danny Ferry and Mike Brown: It was a rough initiation to the GM seat for Grant, who had been on the job for just a month when LeBron James skipped town. Still, Grant swung a deal in his first season for what turned out to be 2011 No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving, and under Scott's tutelage, Irving won Rookie of the Year.

Timberwolves, 2009: David Kahn and Kurt Rambis replace Jim Stack and Randy Wittman: The play of Ricky Rubio this year helped soften criticism of Kahn's point guard heavy draft in 2009, but that's little solace for Rambis, who won 28 games in two full seasons and was out of his job before Rubio ever played a game in the NBA.

Clippers, 2010: Neil Olshey and Vinny Del Negro replace Mike Dunleavy and Kim Hughes: Dunleavy lost his GM job a month after his coaching job was given to Kim Hughes on an interim basis. That cleared the way for the current regime that has overseen the emergence of Blake Griffin, the Chris Paul trade and the renaissance of the franchise. 

Hornets, 2010: Dell Demps and Monty Williams replace Jeff Bower: The Hornets made the defending champion Lakers sweat in a 2010 first-round series, but the past year has not been as much fun for Demps and Williams. Still, there's optimism now that league ownership is out of the way and new owner Tom Benson, who has committed to keeping both coach and player, is in place.

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League Announces All-NBA Teams

By | at May 24, 2012 1:12 pm

The NBA officially released its 2011/12 All-NBA teams today in a press release. The selections are as follows:

First team:

Second team:

Third team:

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Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

By | at May 23, 2012 11:50 am

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

Atlantic

Central

Southeast

Southwest

Northwest

Pacific

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

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Traded Draft Picks Who Turned Into All-Stars

By | at May 20, 2012 4:47 pm

Patience is an uncommon virtue around NBA front offices, where the pressure is on to win as soon as possible. That means the future, in the form of draft picks, is often mortgaged for the sake of the present. Of the 60 selections to be made at this June's draft, 19 of them have already changed hands, with another two picks subject to be moved pending the lottery, and one more contingent on a decision by the Lakers. That's not counting picks that could be traded on draft day or shortly thereafter, before draftees sign.

As a result, plenty of talent gets moved around, and that includes future All-Stars. Thirteen guys who played in an All-Star Game during the past three seasons were traded, either as future draft picks or recent draftees, before they ever suited up for the teams that originally held their rights. That list includes Rajon Rondo, whose rights the Celtics traded for, traded away, and eventually reacquired. A similar situation happened with Amare Stoudemire and the Suns. Below is the complete list of recent All-Stars whose draft rights were traded.

LaMarcus Aldridge: Pick traded by Knicks to Bulls; Drafted by Bulls, traded to Blazers
Ray Allen: Drafted by Timberwolves, traded to Bucks
Kobe Bryant: Drafted by Hornets, traded to Lakers
Luol Deng: Drafted by Suns, traded to Bulls
Roy Hibbert: Drafted by Raptors, traded to Pacers
Marc Gasol: Drafted by Lakers, traded to Grizzlies
Pau Gasol: Drafted by Hawks, traded to Grizzlies
David Lee: Pick traded by Suns to Spurs; Pick traded by Spurs to Knicks
Kevin Love:  Drafted by Grizzlies, traded to Timberwolves
Dirk Nowitzki: Drafted by Bucks, traded to Mavericks
Rajon Rondo: Pick traded by Lakers to Celtics; Pick traded by Celtics to Hawks; Pick traded by Hawks to Suns; Drafted by Suns, traded to Celtics
Amare Stoudemire: Pick traded by Suns to Magic; Pick traded by Magic to Suns
Deron Williams: Pick traded by Blazers to Jazz 

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2011/12 NBA Award Winners

By | at May 16, 2012 3:53 pm

We're still awaiting word on this season's All-NBA, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive squads, but all the individual awards have been officially announced by the league. Here's a rundown of the top performers of the 2011/12 season, including the top five vote-getters for each award:

Most Valuable Player:

  1. LeBron James (Heat)
  2. Kevin Durant (Thunder)
  3. Chris Paul (Clippers)
  4. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)
  5. Tony Parker (Spurs)

Sixth Man of the Year:

  1. James Harden (Thunder)
  2. Lou Williams (76ers)
  3. Jason Terry (Mavericks)
  4. Al Harrington (Nuggets)
  5. Manu Ginobili (Spurs)

Defensive Player of the Year:

  1. Tyson Chandler (Knicks)
  2. Serge Ibaka (Thunder)
  3. Dwight Howard (Magic)
  4. LeBron James (Heat)
  5. Kevin Garnett (Celtics)

Rookie of the Year:

  1. Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)
  2. Ricky Rubio (Timberwolves)
  3. Kenneth Faried (Nuggets)
  4. Kawhi Leonard (Spurs)
  5. Iman Shumpert (Knicks)

Most Improved Player:

  1. Ryan Anderson (Magic)
  2. Ersan Ilyasova (Bucks)
  3. Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves)
  4. Andrew Bynum (Lakers)
  5. Greg Monroe (Pistons)

Coach of the Year:

  1. Gregg Popovich (Spurs)
  2. Tom Thibodeau (Bulls)
  3. Frank Vogel (Pacers)
  4. Lionel Hollins (Grizzlies)
  5. Doc Rivers (Celtics)

Executive of the Year:

  1. Larry Bird (Pacers)
  2. R.C. Buford (Spurs)
  3. Neil Olshey (Clippers)
  4. Gar Forman (Bulls)
  5. Kevin O'Connor (Jazz)
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NBA Introduces New Competition Committee

By | at May 16, 2012 11:36 am

Last month, the NBA's board of governors voted to change the composition of the league's Competition Committee to include two owners, four general managers, three coaches, and one representative of the players' association. Today, the league announced the members of the new committee. The NBPA has yet to designate its representative, but the rest of the members are as follows:

  • Dan Gilbert, owner (Cavaliers)
  • Joe Lacob, owner (Warriors)
  • Bryan Colangelo, GM (Raptors)
  • Mitch Kupchak, GM (Lakers)
  • Kevin O'Connor, GM (Jazz)
  • Sam Presti, GM (Thunder)
  • Rick Carlisle, coach (Mavericks)
  • Lionel Hollins, coach (Grizzlies)
  • Doc Rivers, coach (Celtics)

The Competition Committee will be responsible for suggesting format or rule changes to the league's board of governors, which will then vote on whether or not to implement the recommendations. Previously, the committee was made up of the NBA's 30 general managers — that group has been reconstituted as the General Managers Committee, and will meet annually to discuss the state of the game and competition-related matters.

"The Board decided that the inclusion of owners and head coaches on the Competition Committee would add valuable perspectives to discussions about our game and how it might be improved," said Joel Litvin, NBA president of league operations. "At the same time, we will continue to receive input on competition and rules matters from all 30 teams through the General Managers Committee."

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Where Contributors To Playoff Teams Were Drafted

By | at May 14, 2012 9:11 pm

As players eligible for June's draft scramble to move up on teams' boards, it might be important for them to remember there's little connection between draft position and the ability to make an impact on a quality team. Below the jump is a list of the draft position for all the significant contributors to teams that made the playoffs this year. For our purposes, that includes every player who played in at least 10 games, averaged at least 10 minutes per game, and is still on the official 15-man roster. So, that's why Lamar Odom is listed and Jordan Hill isn't. By the name of each team is the average draft position and the number of undrafted players.

Of note:

  • The most talented playoff team this year, in terms of draft position, is the Mavs, whose players have an average draft position of 13.1, a pick that would be high enough to fall in the lottery. They had no significant contributions from anyone picked in the second round or any undrafted players. For all that talent, the Mavs failed to win a single game in the postseason.
  • The team with the lowest average draft position is the Spurs, at 32.9, a number that would translate to a second round pick. It's remarkable, considering they have Tim Duncan, a former No. 1 overall pick, on the roster, but somewhat unsurprising given the franchise's reputation for developing obscure talent. The number doesn't take into consideration undrafted Gary Neal.
  • The East's top two teams in the regular season, the Bulls and the Heat, each had three undrafted players contribute to their success, more than any other playoff team.

Read more

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NBPA Wants Perks For Age Limit Change

By | at May 10, 2012 11:02 pm

The NBA's players association wants the draft age limit to return to 18 years old from 19 but will listen to commissioner David Stern's desire to increase it to 20 only in exchange for significant concessions, writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz.  For that to happen, the union will seek changes to the rookie wage scale and an incentive program for players who stay in school longer.

"The NBPA's position on the age limit has been consistent," said union spokesperson Dan Wasserman. "An overwhelming majority of the NBPA's members support the ability of potential NBA players to freely pursue their livelihood by allowing high school graduate-age players to apply for the draft. As a practical matter, we recognize that any change to the current rule must sufficiently balance both the league's and players' interests."

The NBPA would love for the minimum age to return to 18 but knows that it would have to concede something to the owners.  Because that is unlikely to happen, they will look to gain ground in other areas if they agree to the age being bumped up to 20.  The NBPA wants the owners to give first-year players more money and a quicker path to free agency if they stay in school.

The minimum age for draft eligibility was raised from 18 to 19 in the 2005 collective bargaining agreement. 

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