Southwest Notes: Llull, Lamb, Spurs, Wright
Shortly after the London Olympics, in which Sergio Llull helped lead Spain to a silver medal, we heard that the Rockets' 2009 draft pick was hoping to stay long-term with Real Madrid, who had reportedly offered him a six-year extension. Now, it appears that Llull has agreed to that extension. The translation of this report from Encestando.es is rough, but the outlet suggests that Llull has agreed to a contract to keep him with Real Madrid through 2018. It's not clear whether there would be any NBA outs in the deal, but it certainly seems that Llull won't be playing in Houston anytime soon.
Here are the rest of the morning's notes out of the Southwest Division:
- Jason Friedman of Rockets.com talked to Rockets first-round pick Jeremy Lamb about his expectations for the coming season and what aspects of his game he's working on at the moment.
- While Andray Blatche's deal with the Nets isn't finalized yet, the Spurs are definitely out of the running for the big man. Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News notes that the Spurs' frontcourt is looking "just a wee bit thin" heading into the season.
- The Spurs officially announced the hiring of former Jazz assistant Scott Layden as the club's assistant general manager yesterday. The Jazz, meanwhile, are close to finding a replacement for Layden, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- In a piece for Mavs.com, Earl K. Sneed wonders how high Brandan Wright's ceiling is. Another strong year for Wright could put the former lottery pick in strong position when he hits free agency next summer.
Teams With Access To Full MLE In 2012/13
This morning, we looked at the 12 NBA teams that dipped below the cap this summer and used space under the cap to sign or trade for players. Because those teams used cap room this year, they lost access to the full $5MM mid-level exception, along with the $1.957MM bi-annual exception.
Teams that remain over the cap, however, have the option to use their full $5MM mid-level. While this exception is available to any over-the-cap team, using more than $3.09MM of the MLE means the club's payroll can't exceed the tax line by more than $4MM at any point during the season. Because the tax threshold is $70,307,000, the "hard cap" for teams spending the full mid-level is $74,307,000.
The Bulls are one notable example of a team up against that hard cap. Because the team spent nearly $4MM of its mid-level on Kirk Hinrich, payroll can't exceed that $74.3MM cut-off at any point before next July. With over $73.5MM currently committed to player salaries, the Bulls don't have a whole lot of wiggle room.
Chicago is one of 13 clubs that should have access to their full $5MM mid-level exception this season. Here's a look at the franchises that fall into this category:
- Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks used their entire mid-level on Lou Williams, but aren't in danger of approaching the hard cap, as their payroll sits around $65MM.
- Boston Celtics: Taking into account their non-guaranteed players, the Celtics are approaching that hard cap, with a cap hit at approximately $71.9MM. They still have room to use their bi-annual exception though, if they so choose.
- Chicago Bulls: As I mentioned above, the Bulls don't even have the flexibility to sign a minimum-salary player, unless he's a rookie.
- Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets only used a small portion of their mid-level to sign Anthony Randolph, so they aren't hard-capped. Still, with $63.5MM in salaries, they're not about to approach that threshold anyway.
- Detroit Pistons: The Pistons have used just $2.5MM of their mid-level, and have the flexibility to use the rest without approaching the hard cap.
- Golden State Warriors: Like the Celtics, the Warriors are slightly over the tax line, but have some breathing room before they hit the hard cap, and could still use their BAE if they want to.
- Los Angeles Clippers: Sitting about $1MM below the tax line, it's unlikely the Clippers add much more salary and risk becoming a taxpayer.
- Milwaukee Bucks: With $4.35MM of their MLE remaining, and a payroll barely over the cap, the Bucks are a decent candidate to add a free agent for more than the minimum salary. A player like Leandro Barbosa could potentially be a fit.
- Oklahoma City Thunder: I expect the Thunder won't be eager to spend the $3MM+ left on their MLE, preferring to play it safe now and open up the checkbooks later, when extensions kick in for Serge Ibaka and perhaps James Harden.
- Orlando Magic: Orlando still has over $4MM remaining on its mid-level, but will likely be trying to shed salary over the course of the year, rather than adding more.
- San Antonio Spurs: Having signed Diaw for $4.5MM of their MLE, the Spurs will be hard-capped, but still have $5MM+ of breathing room, which should be more than enough.
- Utah Jazz: Randy Foye received $2.5MM of the Jazz's mid-level, bringing the team's total payroll to about $66.6MM.
- Washington Wizards: With only about $55.4MM on their books before signing Martell Webster, the Wizards could have claimed a little cap space by renouncing their MLE and BAE. However, it makes more sense to hang on to those exceptions, meaning Webster's $1.75MM salary should come out of the mid-level.
Western Notes: Jazz, Stephen Curry, Coaches
The Western Conference looks to be even more competitive heading into the 2012/13 season thanks to a series of trades and signings this offseason. While the Thunder should remain the proverbial favorite led by their own Big 3, the Lakers have closed the gap with a flurry of moves including the acquisition of Dwight Howard along with Steve Nash. The Nuggets are another club to watch as the team added Andre Iguodala to its roster as a part of the Howard trade.
Here's the latest news from around the Western Conference…
- Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake City Tribune tracks the unlikely journey Dennis Lindsey took to become the general manager of the Jazz. Lindsey began his path to Utah after playing college ball at Baylor by coaching a variety of different sports at the high school level and serving as a special education teacher. It wasn't until Lindsey turned 27 that he received an entry-level opportunity with the Rockets that had him serve as a video scout, marking the first of 16 seasons of preparing for his new role with the Jazz.
- Stephen Curry's long-term future with the Warriors will be decided by five different factors, opines Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. The fourth-year star's contract status, whether he re-signs or not, should be determined no sooner than hours before the October 31 deadline. Regardless of whether Curry can reach a deal with the Warriors, the former Davidson star will attract attention from around the league.
- The head coaching position in the NBA has been a revolving door for the majority of the league the past few season, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. Beyond the likes of the Spurs' Gregg Popovich, the Nuggets' George Karl and a handful of others, teams are seemingly becoming more likely to pull the plug on a coach in hopes of a quick fix.
Odds & Ends: Buford, Howard, Rockets, Layden
While it's been widely assumed heading into the 2012/13 campaign that the Nets will take the Magic's spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the rest of the East's lottery teams may be expecting a little more turnover than that. Count Jonas Jerebko of the Pistons among those expecting a shake-up in the Eastern standings — asked about the coming season in Germany recently, Jerebko declared that his Pistons are "going to make the playoffs," as James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Undrafted rookie William Buford, out of Ohio State, has signed in Spain with Obradoiro, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes an open letter to Dwight Howard, advising him on how to avoid creating a Dwightmare sequel in Los Angeles.
- Doug Collins believes current Sixers assistant and former Pistons head coach Michael Curry is ready to lead an NBA team again, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press notes.
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld identifies five young players that will be under pressure to take big steps forward in 2012/13, including three recent signees.
- Despite missing out on Dwight Howard and other impact players this summer, the Rockets still hope to contend for the playoffs, GM Daryl Morey tells Fran Blinebury of NBA.com.
- The Spurs will interview Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden for their assistant GM opening, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
C.J. Miles Talks Free Agency, Cavs, Expectations
An August free agent signee, C.J. Miles could be on the market again a year from now, considering the two-year deal he signed with the Cavaliers isn't guaranteed for the second season. For now though, Miles is focusing on the 2012/13 campaign, and making the transition to Cleveland from Utah, where he'd spent his entire NBA career. Miles spoke to Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld about his decision to sign with the Cavs, his issues in Utah with head coach Tyrone Corbin, and his expectations for the upcoming year. Here are a few of the notable quotes from Miles:
On being an unrestricted free agent for the first time:
"It was different. Seven years in the same place, I pretty much knew where I was going to be every summer coming out. This was the first summer I wasn’t restricted so I kind of had more power as far as going into the decision where I was going to be at. With Cleveland it was just about making the right basketball decision for myself. I felt it wasn’t about money; it wasn’t about anything but basketball. I felt like being able to grow more as a player and being able to find a place where they’re building a young core, to step in, help, and grow myself was a complete deal."
On the similarities between the present-day Cavs and the Thunder circa 2008, when Miles signed an offer sheet with OKC:
"It’s a lot like that, I feel. Honestly, I’m a couple years older, but other than that it’s a similar situation. They have similar types of pieces with Kyrie [Irving] there, drafting Dion [Waiters] this year, and drafting Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson, there are a lot of young guys on the team. I’m one of the older guys and I’m 25 so that just lets you know where we stand with that. I think the oldest guy is Anderson [Varejao] and he’s 29."
On his comments about poor communication in Utah under Corbin, and not knowing what was expected of him with the Jazz:
"With the coach Corbin thing the way it happened, I felt like the things I said were taken (out of context), like everything I said wasn’t said. I just felt like they asked me questions and I answered them truthfully with what I thought. I felt like where you have a situation where everyone is young from the head coach all the way down to the players at the end of the bench, there’s going to be times where people are lost and not know what’s going on. They asked me what I felt like could have been different and that’s what I said."
On his expectations for the Cavs this season:
"I feel like we’re one of those teams where obviously we’re not going to be talked about going into it but as far as players and guys in the league know coming into that gym or playing against us, it’s not going to be an easy game. We’re at that step now where we’re going to be able to take a step where we can fight for the seventh, eighth seed and that first or second team is worried about coming in to play us; worried that it could be an upset because we don’t have anything to lose."
Odds & Ends: Knicks, Nets, Thunder, Jazz
Let's round up a few Thursday odds and ends from around the Association:
- One agent tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) that the Knicks are in no rush to sign any more free agents, while another agent says the Knicks "never do what you would assume."
- Jay-Z's influence on the Nets eclipses his ownership stake, which is just one-fifteenth of 1%, as David M. Halbfinger of the New York Times writes.
- Thunder GM Sam Presti values sustainability, and won't overpay James Harden and/or Serge Ibaka if there are more efficient ways to remain competitive, says Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman.
- Even when the CBA's more restrictive rules for taxpaying teams take effect next summer, teams willing to spend money will find a way to spend it, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
- The Jazz are making progress in contract talks with second-round pick Kevin Murphy and hope to have him signed before camp starts, tweets Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is in talks to buy the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Northwest
After calculating the numbers on 2012 free agent expenditures for teams in the Atlantic, Central and Southeast, we're moving over to the Western Conference. Using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker, our look at summer spending out West starts in the Northwest Division, where a pair of rivals spent a chunk of July battling over restricted free agent Nicolas Batum, who ultimately landed the largest contract in the division.
Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Northwest Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
Denver Nuggets: $63.875MM (JaVale McGee, Andre Miller, Anthony Randolph)
Miller's three-year, $14.625MM deal is only guaranteed for $12MM, so the Nuggets' overall bill may not ultimately be quite so high, but this is still a good chunk of money spent by an over-the-cap team that's not in a top market. Between their trades of Nene and Arron Afflalo though, the Nuggets have exhibited an ability to shed long-term contracts not long after they're signed, without taking long-term salary back in return. It's unlikely that happens with McGee's four-year, $44MM deal, but you never know.
Portland Trail Blazers: $54.572MM (Nicolas Batum, J.J. Hickson, Jared Jeffries, Ronnie Price)
After missing out on restricted free agent Roy Hibbert, the Blazers settled for bringing back their own RFA, Batum, at a cost of $45MM over four years. The team could end up only paying about $6.3MM for their other three signings — Hickson will receive $4MM, Price receives a minimum salary, to which the Blazers will contribute $854,389, and only Jeffries' first-year salary of $1,475,106 is guaranteed.
Minnesota Timberwolves: $45.666MM (Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, Alexey Shved, Greg Stiemsma)
After weeks of cap maneuvering and a failed offer sheet for Batum, the Timberwolves signed Kirilenko to a two-year contract worth $20MM, a deal that looked a lot worse before the Olympics than it does now. Still, of the four players Minnesota signed this summer, only one (Stiemsma) played in the NBA this season, making the club's offseason approach one of the more high-risk, high-reward strategies in the league.
Utah Jazz: $8.000MM (Jeremy Evans, Randy Foye)
It was a modest summer on the free agent market for the Jazz, whose only outside signing so far is Foye, for $2.5MM of the team's mid-level. But Utah made up for its restraint in free agency by taking on plenty of salary via trades, acquiring Mo Williams (one year, $8.5MM) and Marvin Williams (two years, $15.79MM).
Oklahoma City Thunder: $7.598MM (Daniel Orton, Hasheem Thabeet, Hollis Thompson)
While other Western Conference rivals like the Lakers practically overhauled their entire rosters, the Thunder have had a remarkably quiet summer, and will rely on their young core to continue to improve. Oklahoma City's 2012 free agent bill figures to amount to significantly less than the $7.598MM listed above — of the three multiyear contracts they've inked, only Thabeet's is fully guaranteed for 2012/13.
Jazz Tried To Acquire Ryan Anderson
Restricted free agent Ryan Anderson became a Hornet over a month ago, sent to New Orleans by the Magic in a sign-and-trade deal for Gustavo Ayon. Before the two sides completed that trade, however, the Jazz were in talks with the Magic to acquire the sharpshooting Anderson, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Smith reports that the Jazz likely would have had to give up Paul Millsap in order to land Anderson, but that Utah eventually backed out of talks for last year's Most Improved Player. The Jazz ultimately acquired another forward in Marvin Williams, and signed an outside shooter in Randy Foye. It's not clear whether the four years and $34MM that Anderson will earn with New Orleans was more or less than he could have received from Utah.
For the Magic, the traded player exception they earned from the Anderson sign-and-trade allowed them to absorb Josh McRoberts' and Christian Eyenga's salaries in last week's Dwight Howard blockbuster, which helped create a massive $17.8MM trade exception in the move. If, rather than Ayon, Orlando had acquired Millsap and his $8.6MM expiring contract for Anderson, it may very well have impacted what the team was willing to give and take in the Howard deal.
Odds & Ends: Bulls, Josh Howard, Deng, Heat
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter) points out that the Bulls are specifically $758,642 below the luxury tax apron and that the league minimum salary for sophomore players is $762,195. This definitely factors into the situation of Malcolm Thomas, who put on a standout performance as a member of their summer league roster and more importantly is entering his second year in the league. Deeks still doesn't think that Chicago is willing pay the tax, adding that the team isn't in any rush to make moves that would incidentally put them over the apron. Here are more of tonight's links from around the NBA…
- Matt Moore of CBS Sports gives the Bobcats a grade of "C" for their work this offseason.
- Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com talks about the plenty of backcourt options that the Mavericks have for the upcoming season.
- Australia's David Andersen hopes that Wednesday's game against Team USA is enough to make an impression as he hopes for an opportunity to return to the NBA, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The 6'11 forward/center played in Italy last year and was a member of the Hornets during the 2010-11 season. Andersen says he will continue to play in Europe if he doesn't receive an offer from an NBA team.
- Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the top 20 remaining free agents and groups them by position.
- Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Jazz are expected to re-engage in talks with free agent Josh Howard soon.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN LA clarifies that although the Lakers are interested in Jodie Meeks, the shooting guard isn't quite open to signing for the veteran's minimum. Also, Kamenetzky notes that while the team has placed a priority on adding a backcourt or wing player, they won't use their mini-mid level exception to overpay for a player they feel isn't worth that much. Earlier today, Brian joined his brother Andy to discuss some names in free agency that are worth considering, including Carlos Delfino, Tracy McGrady, and Terrence Williams in addition to Meeks.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Nets, Meeks, Blazers
After previously looking at the biggest winners and losers of the NBA offseason, SI.com's Zach Lowe ran down the most intriguing teams of the summer. Among them are the Nets, who have unquestionably upgraded their roster in the short-term, but may have hampered themselves in the long run. The Nets now have roughly $65MM committed annually to four players across the next four years and may not be able to build on their roster if they can't swing a deal for Dwight Howard in January. Here's more from around the Association..
- A source told HoopsHype (via Twitter) that the Lakers are working out Rashad McCants and 2009 second-round pick Patrick Beverley today. Beverley, 24, was named MVP of the Eurocup last season.
- Jodie Meeks' agent, David Bauman, says that his client won't sign for a minimum contract, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times. Bauman added that there are four or five teams looking at Meeks, including the Lakers.
- Even though the Blazers have ushered in a rebuilding period, guard Nolan Smith isn't sold on the perception that Portland will be lottery-bound for the second-straight year, writes Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. Smith also supported Kaleb Canales returning as head coach but expects him to stay on with the organization in an important capacity regardless.
- Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com likes the Jazz's hire of Dennis Lindsey as their next General Manager and tip his cap to the organization for conducting a swift and productive search for Kevin O'Connor's replacement.