Northwest Rumors: Favors, Williams, James
The base salary for Derrick Favors‘ new four-year extension with the Jazz is a little lower than the $49MM+ that was originally reported, according to HoopsWorld’s Eric Pincus (Twitter link). It’s a $48MM deal, with likely incentives that would take it up to $48.733MM, and unlikely incentives that could lift the value to $53.133MM, according to Pincus. There’s that and plenty more coming out of the Northwest Division today, where we’ve also heard the Nuggets may be shopping Kenneth Faried, the Jazz are still interested in signing Jamaal Tinsley, and the Wolves will exercise their 2014/15 option on Ricky Rubio. Here’s the latest:
- The Wolves will pick up their 2014/15 option on Derrick Williams, just as they will with Rubio, and Williams expressed relief today in comments to reporters, including Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. “It helps, (having) the security.” Williams said. “You’re guaranteed at least one more year in the NBA. As long as you have that, I think everything is good.”
- Damion James is the last player without any sort of guarantee on his contract who still remains on the Nuggets roster, and it doesn’t look like he’ll entice the Nuggets into cutting one of their guaranteed deals, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post examines. His best shot to make the team would have been if Quincy Miller struggled in camp, but Miller has impressed new coach Brian Shaw. James has played Jordan Hamilton to a draw this month, but Hamilton’s $1,169,880 guaranteed salary gives him the edge.
- Hamilton will likely make it to opening night, but the decision on whether to pick up his $2,109,294 team option for 2014/15 is not as clear, given the Nuggets‘ depth at small forward, Dempsey observes in the same piece.
- Favors and Enes Kanter have only started one game together in the NBA, but that total figures to grow much larger, especially now that the Jazz have locked up Favors’ for the long term. Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune looks at how Favors and Kanter will fit together, noting that coach Tyrone Corbin sees them as interchangeable parts at center and power forward.
Mutual Interest Between Jazz, Jamaal Tinsley
OCTOBER 22ND: The Jazz remain interested in Tinsley, HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy hears (Twitter link).
OCTOBER 15TH: 3:00pm: Tinsley’s agent, Raymond Brothers, tells Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune that there’s “mutual interest” in a reunion between the Jazz and his client (Twitter link).
12:19pm: Burke has tweeted that four to six weeks is a more likely timetable for his recovery than eight to 12 weeks. In that case, the Jazz may be less interested in seeking out a replacement.
11:20am: With Trey Burke expected to be sidelined for up to two or three months following right hand surgery, the Jazz are weighing their options at the point. At the moment, John Lucas III will likely be penciled in as the starter, but the team could explore a reunion with a free agent who logged significant minutes in Utah a year ago.
According to head coach Tyrone Corbin, the Jazz have “some interest” in bringing back Jamaal Tinsley, who Corbin refers to as “a guy who knows our system” (Twitter link via Bill Oram of the O.C. Register). The 35-year-old started 32 games for Utah last season, and appeared in 66 contests in total, averaging 3.5 PPG and 4.4 APG.
Tinsley reportedly drew some interest from teams like the Mavericks, Bobcats, Rockets, and Suns back in July, and was very much on the Nets’ radar before Brooklyn signed Shaun Livingston. We haven’t heard many rumors on Tinsley lately, though it’s not clear if that’s due to teams’ waning interest, a too-high asking price, or both.
For what it’s worth, Corbin indicated yesterday that the Jazz had kicked the tires on a couple free agents who wanted more money than the club was willing to offer, though there was no indication that Tinsley was one of those players.
Odds & Ends: Clippers, Favors, Pacers, Spurs
The talk of L.A. this week has been Doc Rivers‘ decision to cover up the Lakers’ championship banners with posters of seven Clippers players, including stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. For his part, the Clips coach says that it’s nothing personal. “The culture is changing and we want to be a winner,” Rivers told news reporters, including Sam Amick of USA Today. “And to do that, I think we have to make changes. (The change) at Staples Center is one that I thought we needed to make. We don’t leave a Lakers (playing) floor down, do we? And they don’t play on the Clippers floor. They take it up. That’s all we’re saying. It’s no disrespect and all that stuff. I have an amazing amount of respect for the Lakers. Having said that, I work for the Clippers. When we play it should be the Clippers’ arena.” More from around the Association..
- In examining Derrick Favors‘ new long-term deal with the Jazz, Grantland’s Zach Lowe and Tom Ziller of SBNation.com both point to Favors’ defense and age (22) as key factors in the team’s decision.
- Two members of the Pacers, center Hilton Armstrong and small forward Rasual Butler, know that the end is nigh as the regular season approaches, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Indiana is currently carrying 15 players on the roster, the max allowed, but they’ve made it known that they’ll only carry 13 and Armstrong and Butler are all but guaranteed to be the ones to go.
- After releasing six camp invitees this month, the Spurs are down to 14 players, and don’t plan to add anyone before the season starts, coach Gregg Popovich tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link).
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Gordon Hayward, Jazz Working Toward Extension
The Jazz locked up one of their two young extension-eligible players over the weekend, signing Derrick Favors to a new four-year deal, and have now turned their focus to Gordon Hayward. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein is hearing “strong rumbles” that Hayward will ink a long-term contract with Utah by the Halloween deadline, and that if it gets done, it’ll be worth more than Favors’ deal (Twitter links).
Hayward, 23, has improved in each of his three NBA seasons, setting career-highs last year in PPG (14.1) and PER (16.8), among other categories. He figures to assume a larger role for the rebuilding Jazz this season, with veterans like Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Mo Williams having departed in free agency. As Stein notes (via Twitter), Hayward has plenty of fans in front offices around the league, so he’ll draw significant interest if he makes it to restricted free agency next summer.
While the Jazz have acknowledged that talks with Hayward are ongoing, the team hasn’t revealed more than that, and the 6’8″ forward isn’t discussing the negotiations either. He tells Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune that he’s not concerned about getting something done by October 31st, and was happy to see Favors locked up.
“Extremely happy for him,” Hayward said. “It’s great for the organization, for [Favors]. Couldn’t be happier for him. I’m just playing basketball. I don’t worry about that.”
In addition to Favors, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George, and Larry Sanders have all signed rookie-contract extensions so far this offseason.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Wolves, Jefferson
Is it playoffs or bust this season for the Trail Blazers? It sure sounds like it based on what General Manager Neil Olshey told Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. “We’re looking to take a step forward, but I think probably an accelerated step forward based on some of the offseason acquisitions we were able to make,” Olshey said. “Getting a veteran center like Robin and then building up the bench has kind of accelerated our growth a little bit.” More out of the Northwest Division..
- Don’t expect the Timberwolves to pull the trigger on a trade anytime soon. Coach Rick Adelman says other teams are reluctant to make trades right now. “Everyone thinks they’re going to make the playoffs,” he said, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune (Twitter link).
- That doesn’t mean that the T’Wolves won’t keep trying, however. Adelman also made it clear that the club is looking at out-of-house options at the small forward position, Zgoda writes. The Wolves have expressed interest in free agent Richard Hamilton, but things appear to be stagnant on that front.
- Richard Jefferson is embracing his veteran role on a young Jazz squad, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. “What we’re doing is expected,” he said. “You have a young team, whose roles are expanding. When you have a veteran rearm that’s used to playing in May and June, you come in with a different mindset. You come in with: ‘Hey. Let’s get in shape. Let’s get healthy. Let’s get ready for that long haul.’ This team is more: ‘Let’s set the tone. Let’s start establishing great habits as we move into the future.'” Jefferson came to Utah this offseason as a part of the Warriors’ salary dump.
Western Rumors: Hayward, Nuggets, Pelicans
The Mavericks are the only Western Conference team left with 20 players, as our roster counts show. Teams can have that many until October 28th, when the regular season limit of 15 kicks in, but unless a club intends to unload some of its extra guys via trade, it needs to waive them by 4pm Central on October 26th — this coming Saturday. The decisions shouldn’t be too hard for Dallas, since the team has 15 fully guaranteed contracts and five others on fully non-guaranteed deals, but there are plenty of other places where intrigue abounds. Impending roster cuts aren’t the only drama playing out, since the October 31st deadline for rookie scale extensions also looms. Here’s more on a team and a player staring down that date and other news from the West:
- The Jazz granted Derrick Favors an extension, but Gordon Hayward and agent Mark Bartelstein are still trying to pry another long-term commitment from Utah. Coach Tyrone Corbin is hopeful that the situation will be resolved soon, observes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s part of the business,” Corbin said. “Gordon understands it. His situation is what it is. There’s talks ongoing and hopefully things get worked out. But he understands. He’s happy for Derrick. … And we love both guys and we hope everything will work out that we can keep [both] guys here.”
- New GM Tim Connelly is bringing a sharper focus on analytics to the Nuggets front office, which includes his hiring of Tommy Balcetis, the team’s full-time analytics manager. Coach Brian Shaw is on board, too, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post details.
- Connelly’s old team, the Pelicans, doesn’t have a single player on its roster older than 28, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe notes in his weekly roundup. Though the club is youthful, GM Dell Demps is confident the Pelicans have enough experience, pointing to the influx of one-and-done college players into the draft that’s made it possible for more guys to accrue NBA service time at younger ages.
Poll: Did The Jazz Overpay For Derrick Favors?
The Jazz locked up one of their promising young players this weekend, signing Derrick Favors to a four-year extension for more than $49MM. The total could exceed $50MM if Favors cashes in on incentive clauses. GM Dennis Lindsey pointed to the 22-year-old’s defense, rebounding and youth as reasons why the team felt comfortable enough to commit more than $12.25MM a year to a player who’s never averaged as many as 24 minutes or 10 points a game.
Favors’ range doesn’t extend any farther than three feet away from the basket. He shot just 29% last year from outside that limited territory, as I pointed out when I looked at his extension candidacy in August. His offensive shortcomings were why I figured that Favors would see a deal similar to the four years and $44MM that the Bucks gave fellow defensive stalwart Larry Sanders in his extension.
Still, executives from around the league told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who broke the news of Favors’ extension, that Favors would have received multiple offers of contracts worth $13MM a year if the Jazz had let him hit restricted free agency next summer. Favors’ ability to finish 13th in the league in blocks per game last season despite playing just 23.2 minutes per contest no doubt intrigues many NBA decision-makers.
Lindsey said yesterday that he’s primarily focused on Favors’ defense, and that the Jazz are willing to wait for his offense to develop, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune notes on Twitter. Favors is set to become a regular starter for the first time in his career this season, so we’ll soon see how the Jazz mitigate Favors’ limited range when he’s on the floor for most of the game. Regardless of how it goes, the Jazz have already committed major money to a big man whose shooting percentage has declined each year since his rookie season. They gave up the chance to see how he performs this season and use it to gauge whether to re-sign him in free agency next summer.
Let us know what you think about the Favors extension with a vote, and explain your position in the comments.
Did The Jazz Overpay For Derrick Favors?
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No, it's a fair deal for both sides. 49% (230)
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Yes, Utah will wind up regretting the extension. 46% (215)
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No, and Favors should have gotten more. 6% (27)
Total votes: 472
Western Notes: Leonard, Hamilton, Blazers, Favors
With Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili all carrying a lot of mileage on their legs after multiple years of long playoff runs, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has taken to resting his old stars during back-to-backs while also limiting their game-to-game regular season minutes.
After the excellent play of Kawhi Leonard in last season’s NBA Finals, it might mean an increased role for the “3 & D” wing entering his third year. The San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff MacDonald shares, in a couple different tweets, that Popovich will be increasing Leonard’s responsibility on offense. McDonald thinks his scoring should jump significantly as a result.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference tonight:
- The Timberwolves have expressed interest in unsigned free agent Richard Hamilton, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that there has been no further movement from GM Flip Saunders.
- As noted earlier, the Blazers‘ starting five have yet to appear on the court together this preseason due to multiple injury issues. The lack of time playing together means they haven’t gotten a chance to “gel” as a team, writes the Oregonian’s Mike Tokito.
- Grantland’s Zach Lowe spoke with Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey about the Derrick Favors extension, and mentions in a tweet that Lindsey repeatedly mentioned the Bulls as a model for the Jazz franchise.
- After the Jazz officially confirmed the four-year, $49MM+ extension this morning, everyone’s pretty happy writes the Deseret News’ Mike Sorenson.
- Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune says Favors earned his extension with his defensive prowess for the Jazz.
Northwest Links: Favors, Jazz, Blazers, Orton
Derrick Favors is relieved to have signed his four-year, $49MM+ extension with the Jazz, and he hopes someday to retire in Utah, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune notes (Twitter links). Retirement is a long way off for Favors, who’ll still be two weeks shy of his 27th birthday when the extension runs out in 2018. His youth is a major plus, as GM Dennis Lindsey conveyed to Falk.
“He’s still 22,” Lindsey said. “Literally, I’m scouting 22-year-olds right now in college and internationally.”
Here’s more on the Favors extension and other Northwest-related news:
- Lindsey said the Jazz’s familiarity with Favors was a factor in deciding to grant the extension, according to fellow Tribune scribe Steve Luhm, and the GM believes the big man is on par with Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah as a defensive anchor. (All four Twitter links). “Very rarely do you get a 6’10”, 260-pound young player saying, ‘Hey, I’m a defender. I’m a rebounder. … That’s what I want,” Lindsey said. “If he can be our Bill Russell, we’d be very pleased.”
- The Blazers made a nod to tradition with their acquisition of classic center type Robin Lopez to complement LaMarcus Aldridge, but if second-year man Meyers Leonard or Thomas Robinson, another new Blazer, sees more time next to Aldridge, it will represent another step in the evolution of big men, opines Sam Tongue of Blazer’s Edge.
- Blazers coach Terry Stotts is “somewhat” concerned that all five starters have yet to appear together at the same time on the court this preseason, tweets the Oregonian’s Mike Tokito.
- Former Thunder center Daniel Orton played more than twice as many games with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate as he did with the big club last season, but OKC’s decision to waive him last week may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The 23-year-old signed with the Sixers three days ago, and he has a chance to crack the rotation, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Spencer Lund contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Favors, LeBron, Leslie, Smart
With Derrick Favors now locked up, Gordon Hayward is the next domino to fall for the Jazz, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation. Extending Hayward would further cut into Utah’s cap space for 2014, but ZIller notes that if they don’t work out a new deal with him, he’ll also affect their flexibility with an $8.6MM cap hold. Here’s more from around the Association..
- A veteran NBA scout told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he doesn’t see the Heat staying on top forever as he expects LeBron James to bolt at some point.
- As C.J. Leslie fights for a roster spot with the Knicks, coach Mike Woodson told reporters that he views the forward as a project, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “He is a project,” Woodson said after Leslie saw no playing time in Thursday’s preseason contest. “No doubt about that. Right now the game is somewhat quick for him in terms of catching on to what we’re doing. I’ve seen that over the years since I’ve been coaching, a lot of young guys they struggle early because you throw so many things at them, it’s too fast. So we’re trying to slow it down a little a bit, spend more time with him in the classroom.” Leslie has a reported guarantee of ~$200K.
- Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart says that he’s motivated by people crowning Andrew Wiggins as the best player in college basketball before he has even played a game, writes Eric Prisbell of USA Today. Wiggins is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft while Smart is currently No. 5 on DraftExpress‘ mock draft.
- Ryan Gomes is pushing for a job with the Thunder and he says that he is encouraged by the support he has gotten from GM Sam Presti, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.