Southeast Notes: Heat, Mack, Webster
Center Hassan Whiteside‘s injury-plagued preseason has prevented the Heat starting five from gaining any continuity, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Miami’s projected starting group of Whiteside, forwards Chris Bosh and Luol Deng, and guards Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic have only played together for one game, Winderman points out. Whiteside has appeared in one preseason game and that has affected the team’s chemistry on the court, Bosh told Miami reporters. “It’s knowing what sets we can go to when things get tight,” Bosh said. “And the only way to kind of do that is to go through what we’re going through, go through different situations, get frustrated, fail a couple of times, and then really go back to the drawing board and be honest with it. But we’re getting there.”
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- Hawks point guard Shelvin Mack had to work himself into playing shape during camp after recovering from shoulder surgery, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Mack, who was cleared for basketball activities at the start of camp, has scored 23 points in the last two preseason games after playing sparingly in the Hawks’ first three games. “I didn’t have a chance to play in the summer; my first day of playing was the opening day of training camp,” Mack told Vivlamore. “I wasn’t able to do a lot this summer.”
- Hawks camp invite Edgar Sosa has reached an agreement with Petrochimi in Iran, international basketball expert David Pick tweets. Sosa, a 27-year-old point guard, played in Germany and Italy over the past two seasons.
- Wizards small forward Martell Webster recently traveled to Nebraska for a second opinion on his ailing right hip, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Webster, who had physical therapy this summer at the same location, hasn’t appeared in any of Washington’s five preseason games and his return remains unclear, Castillo adds. Webster appeared in just 32 regular-season games last season because of a back injury and shot a career-worst 23.3% on 3-point attempts.
Battle For Roster Spots: Southeast Division
Hoops Rumors is taking a team-by-team look at the battles for regular season roster spots going on around the NBA this month, the last before rosters shrink from the offseason limit of 20 to the 15-man regular season maximum. We’ve already checked out the Northwest, Pacific, Southwest, Central and Atlantic division franchises, and now we’ll finish up the series with a look at the Atlantic Division:
HAWKS
13 full guarantees (Smallest full guarantee: Tim Hardaway Jr. — $1,304,520; Edy Tavares and Justin Holiday have smaller full guarantees for this season, but their salaries for next season are guaranteed, too.)
Non-guaranteed players
- Earl Barron
- DeQuan Jones
- Mike Muscala — $473,638 partial guarantee
- Lamar Patterson — $75K partial guarantee
- Terran Petteway — $75K partial guarantee
Analysis: Muscala has long been a “lock” for the regular season roster, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has said, so realistically this is a matter of four players competing for one opening night spot. Patterson has seen far more playing time in the preseason than the other three, as Vivlamore pointed out before this weekend’s game against the Heat (Twitter link), and that still holds true. Patterson, who signed as a draft-and-stash prospect this summer after having been the 48th overall pick in 2014, is averaging 4.0 points in 14.3 minutes per game. Petteway is only logging about half as many minutes per contest, and Barron and Jones have seen fewer than five minutes a night.
HEAT
13 full guarantees (Smallest full guarantee: Josh Richardson — $525,093)
Non-guaranteed players
- Keith Benson
- James Ennis
- Corey Hawkins
- Tyler Johnson — $422,530 partial guarantee
- Tre Kelley
- John Lucas III
- Greg Whittington
Analysis: Johnson seems like a strong bet for opening night, since half his salary is already guaranteed and he is first in line to become the third-string point guard, a key position given the uncertainty surrounding Mario Chalmers. That ostensibly leaves one open spot, though the Heat, in line to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they wind up over the $84.74MM tax threshold at the end of the regular season, could save money and keep a spot free beneath the 15-man roster maximum on opening night. Ennis is leading the six Heat players with non-guaranteed salary in minutes per game so far in the preseason, with 17.0 MPG, but Greg Whittington is not far behind, at 16.1 MPG. Making it tricky is that Ennis’ salary of $845,059 would become fully guaranteed on opening night, though in the long run, he’d be cheaper than the other non-guaranteed players, whose full-season salaries would count as $947,276 for tax purposes if they were to stick for all of 2015/16. At least two other teams are interested in Ennis, scouts tell Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, as we noted earlier, so the Heat might not get the chance to re-sign Ennis later this season if they let him go.
HORNETS
14 full guarantees (Smallest full guarantee: Troy Daniels, Tyler Hansbrough, tie — $947,276)
Non-guaranteed players
- Aaron Harrison — $75K partial guarantee
- Sam Thompson
- Jason Washburn
- Damien Wilkins
- Elliot Williams — $80K partial guarantee
Analysis: The season-ending injury to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist begat the Wilkins signing, seemingly dampening the chances that any of the other four camp invitees will stick around for the regular season. Wilkins saw nearly 24 minutes of action in his preseason debut, his only appearance with the Hornets so far, taking only three shots and scoring five points. Still, through just one game, he’s managed to total more minutes than any other camp invitee on Charlotte’s roster except for Harrison, who’s averaging 3.8 points in 12.5 minutes per contest across four appearances so far. Harrison has a financial edge thanks to his partial guarantee, though $75K isn’t much to deter the Hornets if they’d prefer Wilkins. Harrison and Wilkins are the same height, but Wilkins has a longer wingspan that would allow him to defend better against small forwards, duties that Kidd-Gilchrist normally assumes.
MAGIC
13 full guarantees (Smallest full guarantee: Dewayne Dedmon — $947,276)
Non-guaranteed players
- Nnanna Egwu
- Melvin Ejim — $150K partial guarantee
- Devyn Marble
- Greg Stiemsma
Analysis: Marble, the 56th overall pick of the 2014 draft who missed much of his rookie season with an eye injury, is averaging 8.8 points in 19.7 minutes, and both numbers are better than any of the other Magic camp invitees so far. None of the others is seeing double-figure minutes, and while Stiemsma comes closest, this weekend’s exhibition against Flamengo of Brazil was his first appearance of the preseason thanks to an Achilles tendon strain that had kept him from playing in the team’s first five preseason games. Ejim has looked sharp in close to 32 total minutes of play across four games, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds, helping justify his status as the only remaining Orlando camp invitee with partially guaranteed money. However, partial guarantees of $100K apiece didn’t preserve the jobs of Keith Appling and Jordan Sibert, whom the Magic waived this afternoon.
WIZARDS
15 full guarantees (Smallest full guarantee: Garrett Temple — $1,100,602)
Non-guaranteed players
- Josh Harrellson
- Jaron Johnson
- Toure’ Murry
- Jaleel Roberts — $10K partial guarantee
- Ish Smith
Analysis: The opening night roster for the Wizards appears to have been settled for a while, or at least since trade rumors connecting Temple to the Jazz died down. The Wizards seem to be fond of Temple, who’s leading the team in preseason minutes per game, and they’d have to either trade or eat at least $2MM in salary if they were to get rid of anyone else among their 15 fully guaranteed players. Temple is posting an impressive 7.0 assists in 24.1 minutes per game so far in the preseason, though Smith is dishing dimes at an even more efficient rate, with 4.2 APG in 12.4 MPG.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Northwest Notes: Presti, Malone, Gobert
Thunder GM Sam Presti is looking to a fresh start in Oklahoma City with Billy Donovan taking over the coaching reins, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Thunder were overwhelmed by injuries last season, particularly to star Kevin Durant, and narrowly missed the Western Conference playoffs. A revival is seen as key this year with Durant becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. “The combination of the transition to a new coaching staff, a healthy team with the benefit of seven years of experience together that is now entering its prime years, and some additions to our roster that fit our age horizon also help fortify the existing culture,” Presti said, “and has created an organizational momentum that has everyone excited about the present but also very optimistic about the future.”
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- New Nuggets coach Michael Malone has brought an emphasis on defense to Denver, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Darrell Arthur said that when he was traded from the Grizzlies to the Nuggets in 2013, he was surprised how rarely defense and communication were taught by former Denver coach Brian Shaw. “It’s the exact same thing, what we did in Memphis to what coach Malone is doing,” Arthur said. “This is the way I was taught to play. I’m pretty sure this is the right way to play basketball.”
- Utah’s Rudy Gobert is among the most likely candidates for Most Improved Player honors this season, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. The Jazz center finished third in voting for the award last season, but Brigham believes he can still get much better by improving his offensive game. Former Thunder guard Reggie Jackson, now with the Pistons, is also on the list, along with the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Sixers’ Nerlens Noel, the Magic’s Victor Oladipo and the Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas.
Southeast Notes: Blair, Oubre, Wilkins, Frye
DeJuan Blair is looking forward to repairing his reputation in Washington, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Blair had a disappointing first season with the Wizards after agreeing to a sign-and-trade from Dallas, appearing in just 29 games and averaging 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. But Blair, who still has two years and $4MM left on his contract, expects to get more playing time this season with Kevin Seraphin gone to the Knicks. “It’s my body [that’s the difference],” said Blair, who dropped 30 pounds over the summer. “Last year was a big wake-up call coming from Dallas, went from playing in the playoffs to not playing at all … This year I worked all over the summer.”
There’s more news from the Southeast Division:
- A rash of injuries to wing players may force Kelly Oubre Jr. into the Wizards‘ rotation sooner than expected, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Free agent addition Alan Anderson will miss a big part of the season after ankle surgery this week, his second procedure in five months. He joins an injured list that includes Martell Webster [arthritic hip], Garrett Temple [sore hamstring] and Jared Dudley [back surgery]. That leaves Oubre and Gary Neal as the only healthy wings off the bench. “Every day I’m just trying to work, and I’m trying to find myself on the court and make sure the game comes easier for me,” Oubre said. “I never really had expectations on playing time or anything like that. I’m just all in on the team.”
- NBA veteran Damien Wilkins, signed by the Hornets after an injury to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that he understands his place on the team. “I’m not going to come in and try to be MKG. There is only one him – that’s why he makes the big bucks,” Wilkins said. “I’ve just got to be myself and provide some leadership and experience, make plays on both ends of the floor.” Kidd-Gilchrist is expected to miss the season after dislocating his right shoulder in a preseason game.
- Channing Frye has become more agile and aggressive as he prepares for an expanded role with the Magic, according to John Denton of Magic.com. Frye was mainly a three-point shooter in Jacque Vaughn’s offense last season, but new coach Scott Skiles wants him to play a more complete game.
Southeast Notes: Splitter, Hardaway, Richardson
Tiago Splitter knew that the Spurs were planning a major play in free agency and says he expected that he would be traded this past summer, observes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Sure enough, the Spurs sent him to the Hawks, and Splitter admits that leaving San Antonio was difficult to accept at first, as McDonald relays. Spurs coach/president Gregg Popovich struggled with the decision but is optimistic it’ll work out for all involved, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It was very difficult,” Popovich said. “When someone is with you for a while you get close to the family. That’s the business side of the situation that shows its ugly head once in a while. If we wanted to add the talent that we added, you had to do something. You can’t pay everybody. Tiago being here in Atlanta is a perfect fit for both parties.”
The center says he’s since warmed to Atlanta, according to McDonald. See more on another player the Hawks brought in via trade this summer and other items from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks traded for Tim Hardaway Jr. because he offers a combination of upside and experience and because they needed a backup shooting guard behind Kyle Korver, Vivlamore writes in a separate piece. He’s following Korver’s lead as he adjusts to Atlanta’s offense, which is quite different from the triangle he played in last season with the Knicks, as Vivlamore details.
- Justise Winslow isn’t the only Heat 2015 draftee making a strong impression in camp, as second-rounder Josh Richardson is showing his scoring touch and meshing with Justise Winslow, observes Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. The Heat were shocked when Richardson, whom they pegged as the 24th-best prospect in the draft, slipped to No. 40, Lieser notes. “He’s a very competitive two-way player and you just don’t see those types of guys that often that really want to take on the challenge defensively,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Richardson. “He’ll guard multiple positions and stick his nose in their for loose balls. And offensively, he’s got nice poise.”
- Paul Pierce left a leadership void in Washington when he opted out of his Wizards contract and signed with the Clippers, and while trade acquisition Jared Dudley believes he can fill it in one regard, he likes John Wall‘s leadership by example so far, as J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic details.
Eastern Notes: Monroe, Robinson, Harrellson
Co-owner Marc Lasry’s confident demeanor and relationship with Jason Kidd sold Greg Monroe and agent David Falk on the Bucks, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com details. Lasry had never pitched a free agent before, but he led Milwaukee’s presentation, assuring Monroe that Kidd would be the team’s coach for the long-term, which helped sway the big man after years of coaching turnover in Detroit, Windhorst writes.
“He was very down to earth, but also passionate, and he connected with Greg,” Falk said of Lasry. “We didn’t need parades or balloons; this was a business decision. Marc treated it that way. What they had already put in place was strong, and he sold that.”
Monroe, who signed with Milwaukee for three years at the max, called his meeting with the Bucks “something I will never forget.” See more from the Eastern Conference:
- Thomas Robinson said the Nets showed “heavy interest” in him before the 2012 draft, when he went fifth overall, and the longstanding connection made it an easy choice for him to sign with Brooklyn this summer, as he told Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. “I’m glad I’m here a few years down the road, after the stuff I’ve been through. I’m more mature now than I was when I probably wanted to come here,” Robinson said in part. “[I want to] take advantage of all of my opportunities. I feel like I’m right back where I was getting drafted again … now it’s just time.”
- The Wizards signed Josh Harrellson because they like his shooting and wanted someone who would help them work on their new, more perimeter-oriented offense in practice, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Harrellson’s contract is non-guaranteed and the Wizards have 15 full guarantees. He’s taking a realistic approach, treating the preseason as a showcase for the 29 other teams while hoping to make a strong impression on the Wizards for another chance in the future, as Castillo explains.
- The Sixers should let go of Furkan Aldemir, who’s ceiling is already apparent, and instead keep undrafted rookie Christian Wood for the regular season because of Wood’s superior upside, opines Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Such a move would entail a financial sacrifice, since Aldemir has a fully guaranteed salary of nearly $2.837MM while Wood is only assured of $50K, as Moore points out. Aldemir also shares agent Misko Raznatovic with Dario Saric, Moore concedes (on Twitter).
Eastern Notes: Sefolosha, Rose, Harrellson
While he was originally expected to be cleared to return to basketball activities this week, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is now going to miss the remainder of the preseason, and his availability for the regular season opener is also in doubt, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “They still want him to be a little bit careful just with the swelling, make sure his vision is back to where it was before he got hit, before they want him to get anything going on with his blood pressure spiking is how I understand it,” coach Fred Hoiberg said.
“So he’s probably at least a week away from that happening, from where he’s able to get out and work up a sweat, and then hopefully it’s full go from there to where we can get him out into some contact drills, get him back out there running our offense, and hopefully get him ready to play,” Hoiberg continued. “So I think it’s still yet to be determined if we’re going to have him for the opener. But the good news is he’s progressing, he’s getting better. His vision is getting better, and hopefully we’ll get him back soon.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- There was concern among Hawks officials who saw Thabo Sefolosha‘s X-rays regarding his basketball future after his incident involving the New York City police, for which he was recently cleared of any wrongdoing, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. The April scuffle left Sefolosha with a broken leg that prematurely ended his season and limited the Hawks in the playoffs, where Atlanta fell in the Eastern Conference Finals. Sefolosha, who is entering the second year of a three-year, $12MM contract, expects to be 100% recovered in time for the season.
- Josh Harrellson, who is signed to a non-guaranteed deal with the Wizards, believes his ticket to a regular season NBA roster spot is his ability to make three-pointers from the power forward position, J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic.com writes. The 26-year-old credits former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni for helping him develop that part of his game, Michael adds. “I shot a lot of threes in my rookie year with D’Antoni because that’s how he played,” said Harrellson. “He spaced the floor with one big so he was the first coach to start playing that style. I thrived in that offense. How the NBA is going I think I can start thriving again.“
Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Lamb, Hawks
John Wall believes the Wizards will be able to play with a faster tempo now that aging small forward Paul Pierce has joined the Clippers, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports in his weekly column. The Wizards’ floor leader feels that with Otto Porter at that spot in place of Pierce, the club will be able to rely much more on its transition game. “We kind of wanted to be a halfcourt team because he couldn’t get up and down the floor,” Wall told Aldridge. “He’s not the young Paul any more. And he helped us out a lot in so many other ways, making big shots and being a leader. But now it’s going to be an opportunity to let Otto exhale, running the floor, being able to create off the dribble, him slashing to the basket, and just anybody that comes into that position.” The Wizards were just 16th in pace last season but coach Randy Wittman wants more possessions, Aldridge adds. “If you have the ball, and you have an open shot, you’re shooting it,” Wittman said to Aldridge. “If you don’t, you’ve either got to pass, or dribble penetration. You can’t hold it and dribble and dribble.”
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- Shooting guard Jeremy Lamb has the most upside among the Hornets’ offseason acquisitions, Ken Berger of CBS Sports opines. With Michael Kidd-Gilchrist likely out for the season, Lamb could be a starter on the wing alongside small forward Nicolas Batum. But Lamb either has to display an improved jump shot or develop his drive game and get to the paint in order to take full advantage of the opportunity, Berger continues. The Hornets’ front office tried to acquire Lamb long before he was finally made available by the Thunder, Berger adds. Lamb was dealt in June to Charlotte for Luke Ridnour and a protected second rounder.
- The Hawks are experimenting with a big lineup of Tiago Splitter at center, Al Horford at power forward and Paul Millsap at small forward but the results have been mixed thus far, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. “Obviously, we have a lot of good big guys,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told Vivlamore. “We are trying to figure out a way to play them together.” The Hawks were 28th in the NBA in rebounds last season and the big lineup could help improve that figure, Vivlamore adds.
- The Magic have not found any superstars with their recent lottery picks but they could all contribute the team’s revival, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Cavs Lead With 16 Free Agent Signings
The Cavaliers have drawn plenty of attention the past few months for a free agent they haven’t signed, but even though Tristan Thompson lingers in free agency, Cleveland has taken care of more free agent business than any other team in the league during the 2015 offseason. They signed 16 free agents, three more than the Spurs, the team that recorded the next most free agent signings. The Cavs just made their latest signing this weekend, replacing Michael Dunigan with Dionte Christmas on the camp roster.
It might be easy to presume a direct correlation between free agent activity and success, given the teams at the very top and bottom of the list below. The Cavs and Spurs are strong bets to win their respective conferences this season, while the Jazz, Timberwolves and Sixers are nowhere near the title picture. The presence of the Warriors and Thunder on the bottom half of the list and the Kings and Nets close to the top debunk that theory, however. It has more to do with the fact that the Cavs had only four players signed for 2015/16 when they ended last season, while the Jazz had 13. Cleveland simply had more jobs to hand out.
Still, other factors are at play, since free agent signings don’t encompass draft picks, draft-and-stash signings, trades or waiver claims. The Trail Blazers made significant changes to their roster, but they did much of their work via trade instead of free agency. The Rockets had 10 players under contract on July 1st, but they still wound up making 11 free agent signings.
Here’s a look at the number of free agent signings for each team. Click the team’s name to see the names of each of their signees via our 2015 Free Agent Tracker.
- Cavaliers, 16
- Mavericks, 13
- Spurs, 13
- Kings, 12
- Knicks, 12
- Nets, 12
- Pelicans, 12
- Rockets, 11
- Clippers, 10
- Grizzlies, 10
- Suns, 10
- Heat, 9
- Pacers, 9
- Raptors, 9
- Bulls, 8
- Hawks, 8
- Magic, 8
- Wizards, 8
- Bucks, 7
- Celtics, 7
- Hornets, 7
- Lakers, 7
- Nuggets, 7
- Warriors, 7
- Pistons, 6
- Thunder, 6
- Trail Blazers, 6
- 76ers, 5
- Timberwolves, 5
- Jazz, 4
Eastern Notes: Oubre, Watson, Sloan, Johnson
Kelly Oubre is off to a rough start in his first preseason action, but despite their status as an upper-tier Eastern Conference team, the Wizards view this year’s No. 15 overall pick as a long-term project, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
“He’s a young kid, a rookie, first time out, and he’s learning,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “And I love his attitude. He hasn’t put his head down. He hasn’t, I’m sure, got off to the start that he would want to get off, in terms of numbers and how he’s playing. But he’s out there fighting. He hasn’t put his head down or anything like that so that’s a good thing. And he’s in here every day. He’ll be in here tomorrow ready to get better.”
See more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Magic had tried multiple times years ago to try to acquire C.J. Watson, and while new coach Scott Skiles wasn’t around for those attempts, recommendations from two of his assistants have him excited about the backup point guard who signed with Orlando this summer, as John Denton of Magic.com chronicles. “We just felt like his ability to shoot the three and play behind Elfrid [Payton] would be good for us because he’s always been a solid, heady player,’’ Skiles said. “A couple of our coaches – Adrian Griffin has had him before and Mario Elie has been around him and they swore by the kind of person that he was. We were able to go and get him and we’re glad to have him.’’
- Judging by their relative performances and playing time so far, Donald Sloan appears to have the edge on Ryan Boatright for the third point guard job on the Nets, observes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Sloan’s partial guarantee is $50K and Boatright’s is $75K.
- Four of the five rookies among those Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders singles out as the most impressive so far in the preseason hail from the Eastern Conference, including Stanley Johnson of the Pistons, who leads all rookies in preseason scoring even though he was a surprise pick at No. 8 overall.