And-Ones: Mavericks, Corbin, Moore
Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson guested on the SVP and Russillo Show on ESPN Radio (audio link) earlier today, praising Rick Carlisle‘s performance this season and acknowledging that the franchise will have the flexibility to be active in the free agent market this offseason. It’s definitely worth mentioning that Dallas’ first priority, according to Nelson, is to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki and allow him to finish his career with the Mavs. He also said that the team will be looking to add another superstar with the intent of having Dirk eventually become their second-best player.
Though he didn’t specifically mention any other names, Nelson stated that the team has a few of its own free agents that are priorities as well. He’s gone on record before saying that there is mutual interest with Vince Carter in negotiating a new deal and that he plans on keeping Samuel Dalembert this summer.
Here are some more miscellaneous news and notes out of the Association tonight:
- A few days ago, we noted that Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin, along with his staff, will know by the end of this month if they’ll be returning for the 2014/15 season. Corbin’s contract is set to expire this summer, although Jody Genessy of the Deseret News found it interesting that the 51-year-old coach spoke today about working with the players this summer and getting them ready for next year (Twitter link).
- Magic shooting guard and soon-to-be free agent E’Twaun Moore tells Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel that his preference is to stay put: “Most definitely…Orlando has been good to me. It’s great here. We got a lot of young guys and I feel like we’ve grown up together.”
- 6’11 center prospect Nikola Jokic will most likely declare for the 2014 NBA Draft and is expected to make his final decision after the Nike Hoops Summit, per Misko Raznatovic of BeoBasket Sports agency (Twitter link).
- Former Marquette standout Jamil Wilson has signed with Relativity Sports and is currently projected as a second-round pick, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward has had no choice but to step into a leading role for the Jazz this season. Utah cleaned house this past summer, allowing Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Mo Williams and others to leave via free agency, and the team used the cap space to absorb Golden State’s toxic contracts in exchange for two first-round picks and three second-rounders. It was a clear indication that the Jazz are looking down the road, particularly since only one of those picks comes Utah’s way anytime before 2016. The Jazz ensured Derrick Favors would be a part of their future, inking him to a four-year, $48MM extension before the deadline to do so in October. Utah didn’t do the same with Hayward, a fellow 2010 draftee, setting him up for restricted free agency this summer, when he’ll be one of the top 10 players available.
Just how available the 24-year-old will be remains to be seen, since the Jazz have the power to match any other team’s offer and Hayward has said that signing a new deal to stay in Utah is his preference. The comments coming from Hayward, agent Mark Bartelstein and Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey in the wake of their failure to reach an extension deal were universally rosy. Lindsey expressed his admiration for Hayward and Bartelstein, who heaped similar praise on the Jazz. All of the three will surely look out for themselves this summer, but without any reports of private resentment behind their public statements, it seems as though the working relationship between the three is fully functional, at the very least.
The Jazz aren’t the only ones signing Hayward’s praises. Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who doubles as the team’s primary front office decision-maker, said this past autumn that he has a “man-crush” on the former Butler star. The Celtics employ Hayward’s college coach, Brad Stevens, and they showed interest in trading for the versatile swingman before the trade deadline. Many in the league have seen Boston as a strong candidate to pursue Hayward this summer. One NBA GM told Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher before the October extension deadline that “the Jazz had better lock up Hayward,” a signal that there would be leaguewide interest this summer. League executives told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News in February that they generally feel as though the Jazz plan on re-signing him unless they wind up drafting a marquee small forward, in which case they believe that Utah will consider sign-and-trade possibilities.
It’s no secret that the Jazz covet combo forward Jabari Parker, a Mormon who would have inherent popular appeal in Utah, and small forward Andrew Wiggins looms as a possible draft pick for the Jazz, too. Still, Utah has started three small forwards for much of the season, grouping Hayward, Marvin Williams and Richard Jefferson together. Parker could slide in at power forward, and Wiggins, a strong defender, could cover the opposing team’s most potent offensive wing player, allowing the team to hide Hayward. The Jazz give up fewer points per possession when Hayward isn’t playing this season, per NBA.com, and that’s been true three out of the four years he’s been in the league.
Hayward nonetheless contributes in a multitude of other ways. He’s one of only five players in the league to average more than 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per game this season, as Basketball-Reference shows. The others are Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Michael Carter-Williams, putting Hayward in heady company. The opportunity to play outsized roles on teams with poor records surely has to do with the inclusion of Hayward and Carter-Williams on this list, but it nonetheless suggests Hayward’s wide-ranging value to the Jazz.
Hayward and Bartelstein apparently never asked for a maximum-salary extension from Utah, though they and the team were reportedly in talks for a deal worth more than what Favors received. Assuming the team was and remains willing to exceed $12MM salaries, and that Hayward and Bartelstein are still willing to accept less than the max, it would make for a small window of negotiation between $12MM and roughly $14MM. I’d be surprised if they couldn’t get a deal done, though there are a lot of “ifs” in that scenario.
The Jazz have no shortage of cap flexibility in the years ahead, with about $27MM in commitments for next season and only Favors under contract after that. Enes Kanter and Alec Burks will be extension-eligible this summer, but neither is likely to command the same sort of money that Hayward and Favors are about to make, and Utah should be able to keep all four if it wishes. Retaining Trey Burke and this year’s first-rounders might become an issue down the line, but Burke’s second contract would only overlap with the last season of Favors’ deal, so it shouldn’t be that much of a concern at this point.
Hayward is clearly a hot commodity around the league, but it would be a surprising about-face if he doesn’t wind up back with the Jazz, who hold most of the leverage with their right to match offers. Even if they didn’t, Hayward seems to feel comfortable in Salt Lake City and is giving every indication he intends to stay there for years to come.
Northwest Rumors: Wolves, Love, Corbin
Blazers GM Neil Olshey would deserve the NBA’s Executive of the Year award based on his acquisition of Robin Lopez alone, opines Jason Quick of The Oregonian, who believes Olshey scored with upgrades to the team’s bench, too. Coach Terry Stotts is similarly pleased, as Quick notes.
“I’ve said it many times: Getting Robin Lopez was the perfect fit for our team,’’ Stotts said. “Getting Mo Williams was the perfect fit for our team. Dorell Wright gives us the ability to play [him at either forward position]. And the young guys have improved. But those three guys in particular, for what we needed coming into the season … Neil did a terrific job of addressing those needs.’’
I think there are several other deserving candidates for the award, but after recording their 50th win of the season on Sunday, it’s clear that the Blazers have taken a significant step forward after last season’s 33-win campaign. Here’s the latest from elsewhere in the Northwest Division:
- Finding the proper successor to coach Rick Adelman will be critical for the Wolves, and some in the organization believe having the right coach in place will help convince Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece.
- Kyler also suggests that it’s far from certain that Love would sign with the Lakers if he decides to opt out of his deal in 2015, and that other teams would be on his radar (Twitter link).
- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin and his staff will know by the end of the month if they’ll return to the team for 2014/15, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who includes the news in his latest NBA power rankings.
Amico’s Latest: Allen, Battier, Rivers, Kerr
Ray Allen appears unlikely to return to the Heat next season, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. League insiders nonetheless believe that if the Heat’s trio of stars return, there’s a strong chance the team will try to re-sign Allen, too, so it seems his future is contingent on what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do. Indeed, those three will have much to say about what happens in free agency leaguewide, and Amico has more on the summer ahead and another member of the Heat as we highlight here:
- Several teams are expected to court Heat forward Shane Battier for an executive job or a gig related to player development, Amico hears. Battier recently reiterated his plans to retire at season’s end.
- The emergence of Brian Roberts has strengthened the belief around the league that the Pelicans will trade former lottery pick Austin Rivers this summer, according to Amico. Roberts is set to become a restricted free agent.
- Sources tell Amico they wouldn’t be surprised if several teams aside from the Knicks try to convince Steve Kerr to run their basketball operations. Kerr has expressed a desire to coach, but it looks like the leaguewide interest in him is as an executive, the role he held with the Suns from 2007 to 2010.
- Boris Diaw, Luol Deng, C.J. Miles, Marvin Williams, Luke Ridnour, Kris Humphries, Devin Harris and Jimmer Fredette are other free agents who appear unlikely to be back with their respective teams, Amico writes.
Western Notes: Adelman, Barnes, Rockets
Wolves coach Rick Adelman spoke to reporters including Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune on Minnesota’s future, but didn’t include himself as part of the ongoing decision-making (Twitter link). “For the most part we’re still a pretty young team and the success of this franchise going forward is who else can they add,” said Adelman, who many believe will not be back to coach next year. Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer and Zgoda tweeted back and forth, speculating that Adelman’s quote was a tacit admission that he wouldn’t be a part of the Wolves future (Twitter links). Here’s more from out West:
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald says there is growing sentiment that the Warriors will look to trade away Harrison Barnes this offseason.
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com says that the Rockets reached out to point guard Malcolm Delaney to see if bringing him in from overseas this late in the season was feasible. Stein first reported that the Rockets had interest in Delaney, but the news that Patrick Beverley should return for the playoffs has Houston brass leaning against a play for Delaney.
- Stein says the Rockets believe in Sergio Llull as an NBA rotation piece, but that there are major barriers to bringing him in from overseas anytime soon, including Llull’s apparent disinterest in joining the NBA, where the Rockets own his rights.
- Erik Murphy‘s former Bulls teammates are very happy he was claimed by the Jazz, per a tweet from K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “He works too hard,” said Taj Gibson, who had positive things to say about Murphy at the time of his release as well.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey shared what he saw in Murphy to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “Big guys who can step out and shoot can be complementary to our group. And Erik is a super shooter,” said Lindsey.
Northwest Notes: Burke, Dieng, Fisher
Trey Burke‘s rookie season for the Jazz hasn’t featured much winning, but he’s trying to stay positive and make the best of his situation, reports Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “There were a lot of good moments for us this year through all the bad,” Burke said. “It’s pretty tough, coming from high school or college you were winning for the most part, but we’re finding ways to grow as a team and the chemistry is continuing to get better and better.’’ Here’s more on the Jazz and the Northwest:
- The Jazz have given Richard Jefferson an opportunity to play, and he’s proving he’s still capable of contributing, writes Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. The 13th-year forward says he “definitely wouldn’t mind staying” another year in Utah.
- Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune doesn’t believe that Tyrone Corbin will be coaching for the Jazz next season, but he does have faith that Utath will re-sign restricted free agent Gordon Hayward.
- Gorgui Dieng‘s recent strong play has proven he’s capable of starting in the NBA, and as a result, David Thorpe of ESPN.com thinks the Wolves might be wise to try and move Nikola Pekovic (Insider link). Specifically, Thorpe thinks a deal that would send Pekovic to the Thunder for Russell Westbrook would make sense for both teams.
- Although he’s likely playing in his last year, Derek Fisher says he hasn’t thought about coaching next season, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. When asked about the possibility of coaching for the Knicks, Fisher didn’t sound interested. “That is not on my radar or in my scope or anything that I’ve thought about, even coaching in general.“
Jazz Claim Erik Murphy, Waive Andris Biedrins
The Jazz have claimed Erik Murphy off of waivers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Murphy was waived by the Bulls on Thursday, presumably to make room for a perimeter player. We had originally heard that the Bucks might be interested in claiming Murphy, but instead it’s the Jazz who have laid claim to the rookie big man out of Florida. Since the Jazz have a league maximum 15 players on their roster, they’ve opted to waive Andris Biedrins to make room, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
Murphy, the 49th overall pick in last year’s draft, has played only 62 minutes in 24 contests for Chicago this season. His $490K salary will be wiped from the Bulls’ books and added on to the Jazz’s cap total. By getting Murphy’s contract off their books, the Bulls are now going to be able to remain under the luxury tax, even if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah reach their earn bonuses. Waiver claims are a rare occurrence in the NBA, but the Jazz must be intrigued enough by Murphy’s size and skillset to take on the extra cap hit. He’ll be on a non-guaranteed, minimum salary deal next season.
To make the move work, the Jazz have waived Biedrins and his $9MM salary. Biedrins was acquired when the Jazz acted as a third-party in the trade that sent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors, but the veteran big man has faced injury problems and played sparingly during his tenure with the team. Utah will continue to be on the hook for his entire salary, providing he clears waivers, which is a near-certainty.
The Bulls catch a break with Utah’s claim of Murphy, whose cap hit will now come off Chicago’s books. This should give them enough room to sign multiple players to prorated minimum-salary contracts and remain beneath the luxury tax threshold even if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonus clauses in their contracts.
And-Ones: Pacers, Lowry, Raptors, Magic
The Pacers started the season 41-13, but since the trade that brought Evan Turner to Indiana, the team has gone 12-11, and not looked at all like a championship contender, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com. It’s not all Turner’s fault, opines Kaskey-Blomain, and in the article he breaks down what has gone wrong for the team.
More from the east:
- Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders breaks down the true cost of guaranteed contracts in the NBA.
- The news that the Raptors plan to re-sign Kyle Lowry doesn’t surprise Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Wolstat mentions that there aren’t many eastern teams that have cap space and are in need of a point guard, which would limit Lowry’s options should he want to depart after the season.
- Wolstat also tweeted that while it’s always possible Lowry could depart, the player just built a home, which would make the Lakers a long shot because of the distance. Another team that has expressed interest in Lowry, the Knicks, don’t have the cap space to sign him, notes Wolstat.
- Jazz player development coach Alex Jensen has a bright coaching future in the NBA, writes Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News.
- It wasn’t that long ago when the Magic were a contender in the Eastern Conference, writes Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. Taylor lays out the steps the team needs to take in order for the organization to rebuild quickly.
And-Ones: Adrian Griffin, Young, Murphy
Once a catalyst in the movement that paved a way for players to go from high school straight to the NBA, former NBA All-Star Spencer Haywood ironically supports the idea of raising the league’s age-limit to 20-years-old, details Sam Amick of USA Today. Haywood is currently concerned about the potential effects of the one-and-done rule on college basketball and in the NBA:
“You have no locker room camaraderie…You have no veteran leadership. It’s just young guys making up their own rules as they go. They don’t have the examples to show them what this game is all about. So it’s going to hurt the league, and it’s definitely hurting college basketball.”
Here are more miscellaneous news and notes from around the Association tonight:
- Current Bulls assistant and former NBA player Adrian Griffin spoke with Sean Deveney of the Sporting News about his aspirations of eventually becoming an NBA head coach: “It’s definitely my goal…I have been learning a lot in this role, this is my sixth year. I learned under (Tom Thibodeau), I learned under Scott Skiles and overall, it is great to see how things work in an organization, especially an organization like the Bulls. That’s something I could bring to any team.”
- Griffin may ultimately need more experience as an assistant before landing a head-coaching job, but he could definitely be active on the interview circuit if there are head coaching vacancies this summer, writes Deveney.
- Nick Young‘s agent, Mark Bartelstein, tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News that it still remains presumptuous whether or not his client will opt out of his contract with the Lakers this summer.
- It’ll be surprising if recently-waived Erik Murphy goes unclaimed, as he appears to be drawing interest from around the league (Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports via Twitter).
- The Rockets are not currently seeking a replacement on their coaching staff for former assistant Kelvin Sampson, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- Sacramento city officials plan to unveil key details of an arena deal for the Kings in the next few weeks, leading up to a formal vote on the plan by City Council on May 13, reports Tony Bizjak and Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee.
- Jazz rookie Trey Burke tells Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone that he loves Utah and “plans on staying here for as long as they’ll let me” (Twitter link).
Northwest Notes: Fisher, Garrett, Cunningham
Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez has been surprised at how great a fit the city of Portland has been for him this year, both on and off the court, he told listeners of The Jim Rome Show today. “It’s funny, when I was playing in Phoenix, Channing Frye, who had been in Portland, told me if I visited there, if I went there, I was just going to love it. And I was a little reluctant to believe him just because Channing talks a lot of stuff. But it turns out he’s been 100 percent right. I can’t believe how perfectly the fit has been,” said Lopez (transcription via Sean Meagher of Oregon Live). Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- After going undrafted in 2011, bouncing around Europe and the D-League, and making short-lived stops with the Suns and Thunder, Jazz backup point guard Diante Garrett tells Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune he’s hoping to prove himself and find some permanency in Utah. “You try and not think about it all the time because it will weigh you down,” said Garrett, who has an unguaranteed contract for next season at less than $1MM. “Just go out there and do what you’ve been doing all year and put even more effort into it, because there are going to be a lot of eyes watching, a lot of people watching, a lot of people talking.”
- Speculation has tied Thunder guard Derek Fisher to the Knicks head coaching position, but he tells Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman that he hasn’t spoken with Phil Jackson about the gig, and reiterates that he’s not looking to coach next season.
- Caron Butler tells Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman he came to the Thunder following his buyout with the Bucks because he wanted a chance to play a significant part in a championship run. “I wanted to play,” Butler said. “I wanted to be effective. I wanted to have my fingerprints even more on the success of the team.” Butler won a championship with the Mavs in 2011, but sat out that postseason with an injury.
- Dante Cunningham is the only Timberwolves rotation fixture set to become an unrestricted free agent next year, and Andy Greder of St. Paul Pioneer Press wonders if Minnesota will value the forward’s intangibles enough to re-sign him despite his poor on-the-court statistics.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.