2013 August | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Sign Seth Curry

August 23rd, 2013 at 7:10pm CST by Luke Adams

7:10pm: The Warriors have officially confirmed the move, via the team website.

6:34pm: Curry has inked his contract with the Warriors, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

9:17am: So far this summer, multiple pairs of brothers have headed in different directions after playing for the same team a year ago. The Sixers traded Jrue Holiday and cut Justin Holiday, while the Pacers saw both Tyler Hansbrough and Ben Hansbrough sign elsewhere in free agency.

However, it looks like one set of brothers will at least get a chance to play with one another during training camp, as the Warriors are expected to sign Seth Curry to a non-guaranteed contract today, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).

Although he battled injuries for most of the year, the younger Curry had a productive senior season for Duke in 2012/13, averaging 17.5 PPG and shooting 43.8% on three-pointers. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter), the 23-year-old guard turned down an offer from an Italian club in favor of the Warriors' training camp invite. Curry suggested earlier this month that he'd received offers from the Timberwolves, Spurs, and Bobcats as well, but it makes sense that he'd choose the Warriors, given the presence of older brother Stephen Curry.

Golden State currently only has 13 players under contract, including 12 guaranteed deals, so if the former Blue Devil impresses in camp, there should be room for him on the regular-season roster. As we saw with the Sixers, Pacers, and even the Knicks before Chris Smith (J.R. Smith's brother) was injured, NBA clubs have shown a willingness to carry the siblings of established players at the back of the bench, so that should bode well for Curry's chances of making the team.

Extension Candidate: Luol Deng

August 23rd, 2013 at 6:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Luol Deng fits the profile of the rare veteran eligible for a contract extension who might actually sign one. He could be overlooked among the impressive potential class of free agents next summer if he allows his contract to expire, which may make it difficult to secure a long-term deal. Still, he remains a valuable player for the Bulls, the only NBA club he's ever suited up for. Those are conditions that generally favor extension talks, and indeed, Chicago GM Gar Forman says he's begun to discuss an extension for Deng, even though Deng's agent, Herb Rudoy, denies any such conversations have taken place.

The 27-year-old delivers on both ends of the floor, often using his 7-foot wingspan to help him shut down the opposing team's best wing player in Tom Thibodeau's vaunted defense while averaging 16.0 points per game for his career on the other end. He exceeded that mark slightly in 2012/13, when he poured in 16.5 PPG, and added a new wrinkle last season, averaging a career high 3.0 assists per game in the absence of the injured Derrick Rose. He's incorporated the three-pointer into his arsenal since Thibodeau has been his coach, knocking down 35.8% of his 3.1 long-range attempts per game the past three seasons, even though he had an off year from behind the arc in 2012/13.

Last season ended in frightening fashion for Deng, who fell ill and had a spinal tap to test for meningitis. The spinal tap caused a life-threatening infection, knocking him out of the playoffs but thankfully subsiding so he could recover this summer. It was a rare absence from the court for Deng, who not only led the league in minutes per game the past two seasons, but appeared in 89.1% of his team's regular season and playoff games the last four years. Deng has shown durability in the face of taxing minutes and Thibodeau's demanding defensive schemes, and, at 28, he doesn't show signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The South Sudanese native shows up to play, but the emergence of Jimmy Butler last season might have helped fuel Chicago's exploratory talks with the Wizards about swapping Deng for the No. 3 pick and Emeka Okafor. Forman and executive VP of basketball ops John Paxson may also have been influenced by statistics that say the Bulls were better when Deng was off the court last season than when he was on it. Chicago outscored its opponents by 0.9 points when Deng wasn't on the floor, and the team was outscored by 0.2 points when Deng was playing, per NBA.com. Even though Deng played nearly 75% of the 3,966 regular season minutes he possibly could have, that still leaves about 1,000 minutes when he wasn't on the floor, indicating a sample size large enough for study. Of course, the stat isn't infallible — it doesn't account for the other four guys on the floor with him, nor does it factor in the lineups other teams are countering with. Still, it suggests that Deng isn't a linchpin for the team's success. Indeed, the same measurement shows the Bulls were better off without Deng on the floor in 2011/12, too.

Executives around the league have pegged Deng's market value at anywhere between $11MM and $14MM. Deng is entering the final season of a somewhat backloaded six year, $71.06MM contract that he signed under the old collective bargaining agreement. He'd be limited to a five-year deal from the Bulls in free agency under the current CBA, and he can only tack on three extra years via an extension. Just as he couldn't match the length of his current deal, he'd also be hard-pressed to equal his $14.215MM salary for this season. Productive players in their prime don't often take significant paycuts, so that might drive Rudoy and Deng away from the bargaining table in hopes that Deng can land a deal worth closer to $14MM than $11MM in free agency.

Chicago's willingness to entertain the idea of trading Deng for a package headlined by the No. 3 pick in a weak draft may show that the team isn't going to consent to an extension for Deng unless it involves a hefty reduction in salary. News of extension talks came out a day after the trade rumor, which might simply mean the Bulls are trying to offer an olive branch to a long-tenured part of their team. Weeks later, Forman said conversations about an extension were continuing, perhaps with the Bulls hoping that Deng would become anxious and accept the guarantee of long-term money rather than play out the season and risk serious injury or a decline in performance. That doesn't seem likely in this case, given Deng's track record of durability, as well as his consistency. Some of the trappings of what makes veteran extensions happen are there with Deng and the Bulls, but I don't think they're enough for a deal.

Poll: Fab Melo Vs. Tony Wroten

August 23rd, 2013 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After a busy month of July in which we saw 13 different trades officially consummated, things have slowed down considerably in August, but we've still seen a pair of deals finalized: The Grizzlies acquired Fab Melo from the Celtics for Donte Greene's non-guaranteed contract and cash, then sent Tony Wroten to the Sixers in exchange for a future second-round pick.

Both Melo and Wroten were drafted a year ago, with Melo going 22nd overall and Wroten going three picks later at No. 25. Neither player contributed much in his rookie season, but not much was expected of either guy right away — Melo was considered a raw project, while Wroten entered the NBA at age 19.

Even so, after a year, both players are already on their second NBA teams. The Celtics had to include $1.66MM in cash to move Melo, though that was more a result of the team's proximity to the tax line than an indicator of the big man's worth. Meanwhile, the second-round pick the Grizzlies acquired in the Wroten deal is heavily protected and may never change hands. In other words, two players drafted in the first round were acquired for virtually nothing just one year later.

Of course, not all first-round picks develop into useful NBA rotation players, but it's probably too early to give up on either Melo or Wroten. So today's poll question is this: Which player would you rather roll the dice on? If your favorite team decided to take a flier on one of the two 2012 first-rounders, would you prefer the former Syracuse center or the ex-Washington guard?

Johan Petro To Sign With Chinese Team

August 23rd, 2013 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

3:36pm: Petro has agreed to terms with China's Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, agent Giovanni Funicello tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. The deal doesn't include an NBA opt-out (Twitter links).

11:32am: An international report surfaced earlier today suggesting that free agent big man Johan Petro may be headed to a team in Spain, but that's not the case, according to agent Misko Raznatovic. Raznatovic tweets that Petro's "next destination is China," suggesting that Petro will sign with a CBA team, though the agent doesn't name the club.

Hoops Rumors' agency database lists Petro as being represented by Excel Sports Management, but Excel has a working relationship with Raznatovic and his BeoBasket agency when it comes to international players and destinations. As such, it makes sense that Raznatovic would have the scoop on where Petro is headed.

After being sent to the Hawks last summer as part of the blockbuster deal that saw Joe Johnson land in Brooklyn, Petro played limited minutes in 31 games for Atlanta last season. Earning $3.5MM in the final year of his contract, the 27-year-old averaged 3.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG, recording a PER of 11.0.

Odds & Ends: SportVU, NBPA, Harrellson, Warriors

August 23rd, 2013 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few Friday odds and ends from around the Association….

A tentative agreement has been reached to install data-tracking camera in each of the NBA's 29 arenas, to be used by all 30 teams, reports Grantland's Zach Lowe. The STATS LLC SportVU cameras had previously been used by half the league's teams, with many of the others holding off in hopes that the NBA would cover the cost (about $100K). The Association has apparently decided to do just that, sooner than many of those clubs expected, according to Lowe.
The NBPA vote that made Chris Paul the union's new president was a close one, writes Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. Prior to the announcement, few people knew that Paul, who was nominated by his peers, was even running for the position, according to Mullen.
Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside examines a few of the best current free agents who played in the D-League last season, including Chris Douglas-Roberts, Lester Hudson, and Kris Joseph.
Josh Harrellson may have been the 15th player added to the Pistons' roster, but he tells Keith Langlois of Pistons.com that he hopes to become more than the team's 15th man at the end of the bench.
In his latest chat at HoopsWorld, Larry Coon addressed a few interesting topics, including Larry Sanders' extension with the Bucks and the question of how the poison pill provision would be applied to a player on a maximum-salary contract.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com hopes that future NBA commissioner Adam Silver takes after David Stern more than NFL boss Roger Goodell.
The Warriors have named Casey Hill the head coach of their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

Hoops Rumors Features

August 23rd, 2013 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors passes along the latest news and rumors on NBA player movement 365 days a year, but those aren't the only updates you'll see on the site. On our right sidebar, you'll find a number of additional features and featured posts. Here's a rundown of a few of them:

We're still keeping a close eye on free agency with the help of our list of 2013 free agents. If you want to look ahead to the summer of 2014, we've rounded up those free agents as well. Both lists will continue to be modified as needed.
Our Free Agent Tracker, which features data sortable by team, position, contract years, and contract amount, has been continually updated to include all of this summer's deals.
Free agents aren't the only players signing contracts. This year's draft picks are also inking their deals, and we've broken down the likely salaries for first-round picks, while we continue to follow which prospects have been locked up and which remain unsigned.
Not all the players currently on NBA rosters have guaranteed deals. We've provided a schedule of contract guarantee dates so you can keep track of when teams will have to make decisions on those non-guaranteed players.
As players like John Wall and Larry Sanders lock up new deals with their current teams, we'll continue to examine this offseason's other extension-eligible players in our Extension Candidate series.
Our agency database is a handy reference point for determining the representation for virtually every NBA player.
Using our 10-day contract tracker, you can find any 10-day contract signed since 2007, sorting by player, team, year, and other variables.
On Mondays at 4:00pm CT, I answer readers' questions in a live chat. These weekly live chats are on hiatus for the time being, but will return next month as training camp approaches. In the meantime, you can check out transcripts of our past live discussions here.
Our list of outstanding traded player exceptions is updated whenever a trade exception is created, is used, or expires.
We're tracking teams' amnesty provisions — using our complete list, you can check to see which clubs have used the amnesty clause and which will have it available next summer.
The Hoops Rumors glossary helps explain some of the more complex concepts in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Zach Links rounds up the best of the blogosphere every Sunday in his weekly Hoops Links feature.
If you're looking to catch up on a few days worth of content, our Week in Review posts round up the week's news and rumors, while our Hoops Rumors Originals posts recap the site's original content for the week. Both round-ups are published every Sunday.
Be sure to check out the Featured Posts section on the right sidebar for more original pieces from the Hoops Rumors writing team. Recently, we explored the concept of the salary floor as it relates to the 76ers, examined how the NBA's 30 teams have used their mid-level exceptions, and took a closer look at the league's head coaching carousel.

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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Wroten, Rondo, Machado

August 23rd, 2013 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Many teams around the NBA have completed most or all of their roster moves for the offseason, but the Sixers figure to remain active over the next few weeks. Philadelphia made a small deal yesterday, picking up 2012 first-rounder Tony Wroten from the Grizzlies for virtually nothing, allowing the team to roll the dice on a 20-year-old with some upside and little risk. As I wrote earlier this month, the Sixers would need to add some salary to their books to meet the minimum payroll threshold, but there's also no real penalty if the club doesn't reach that floor.

Here's more on the Wroten deal and a few other items from around the Atlantic:

In the wake of the Sixers' deal with Memphis, Sean O'Connor of Liberty Ballers examines what Wroten brings to Philadelphia, concluding that if Sam Hinkie keeps making moves with little downside, they'll eventually pay off in a big way.
Focusing on a few teams who could be active on the trade market, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes about the Sixers and Celtics in today's NBA AM piece, noting that the C's still seem committed to building around Rajon Rondo, rather than moving him.
Scott Machado tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that a spot on the Knicks' training camp roster was an option for him until the team signed Beno Udrih (Twitter link). Machado has alternatives though, and may spend a year overseas, since he has received four offers from international teams, according to Zwerling.

Largest Pay Cuts From 2012/13 To 2013/14

August 23rd, 2013 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

For some of this summer's free agents, hitting the market meant landing a significant raise, or at least landing another salary in line with a player's previous pay rate. But of course, not all of the offseason's free agents were so lucky.

Due to declining skill, decreasing demand for certain skill-sets, a willingness to take a discount to land in the right situation, or a combination of all of the above, plenty of players signed for a much smaller salary for 2013/14 than they earned in 2012/13. Here's a breakdown of the free agents taking pay cuts of $5MM+ for the coming season:

Devin Harris
2012/13: $8,500,000
2013/14: $1,272,279
Difference: $7,227,721

Manu Ginobili
2012/13: $14,107,491
2013/14: $7,500,000
Difference: $6,607,491

Andrei Kirilenko
2012/13: $9,779,349
2013/14: $3,183,000
Difference: $6,596,349

Beno Udrih
2012/13: $7,372,200
2013/14: $1,272,279
Difference: $6,099,921

Kevin Martin
2012/13: $12,439,675
2013/14: $6,500,000
Difference: $5,939,675

Mo Williams
2012/13: $8,500,000
2013/14: $2,652,000
Difference: $5,848,000

In addition to the players who have already signed deals, a few free agents who earned big salaries a year ago remain on the market, and are mortal locks to take pay cuts of more than $5MM. Here's that list:

Corey Maggette (2012/13: $10,924,138)
Lamar Odom (2012/13: $8,200,000)
DeSagana Diop (2012/13: $7,372,200)

The players listed above represent the guys taking the most significant pay cuts, but there are a few other free agents deserving of an honorable mention — or a dishonorable mention, depending on your perspective.

Andrew Bynum, coming off a $16,889,000 salary, is in line for $12,250,000 if he remains on the Cavs' roster for the full season. That in itself represents a pretty noticeable decrease in salary, but Bynum's pay cut could be even more significant, since only $6MM of his salary is guaranteed. If the Cavs release him before his deal becomes fully guaranteed, he'd be taking a pay cut of more than $10MM, putting him at the top of this list.

A pair of amnestied players are also technically taking major pay cuts this year, as Elton Brand's and Baron Davis' salaries are no longer being paid by their old teams. Still, since Davis was out of the NBA last year, and the Mavericks paid Brand a modest $2,100,500 salary, their salaries for cap and tax purposes aren't undergoing major changes from '12/13 to '13/14.

Other notables include Chris Kaman, Francisco Garcia, Nick Young, and Jose Calderon, who all took pay cuts of $4MM+, as well as Luke Walton and Daniel Gibson, who remain unsigned after earning about $6.09MM and $4.79MM respectively.

Storytellers Contracts and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.

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Western Notes: Batum, Rivers, Clippers

August 22nd, 2013 at 10:28pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In an interview with Jorge Sierra of Hoopshype, Nicolas Batum said he likes what the Trail Blazers have done during this offseason and thinks a playoff berth is the most realistic goal for the team heading into this year. When asked about rumors that LaMarcus Aldridge had privately requested a trade from Portland, Batum had this to say: "I heard that too and I laughed when I read that. He doesn't want to get traded, he wants the team to get better. LaMarcus is a winner

Asked if Aldridge had told him that directly, Batum continued: I mean, I know that's what he wants. We had two bad seasons and missed the playoffs and wants the team to improve. I think he didn't ask for a trade. He wants to stay and win with the Blazers. He just wants a better team around him so we can get back to the playoffs."

Here's more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Helene Elliot of the Los Angeles Times touches base with Clippers head coach Doc Rivers on the team's high expectations this year, how he's reached out to his players this summer, what he wants to carry over from Vinny Del Negro last season, and what he'd like to change.
Kevin Arnovitz and Jordan Heimer of ClipperBlog join ESPN.com's Henry Abbott and Ethan Sherwood Strauss, along with Royce Young of the Daily Thunder to talk about how the Clippers will fare next season (ESPN LA's Clippers podcast).
J.A. Adande of ESPN praises the election of Chris Paul as union president, saying it "signals a level of commitment to the union by prominent players that hadn't existed in recent years." He also looks at what Paul has positively brought to the Clippers organization as a promising sign of how he can effectively lead the NBPA.
Hoopsworld's Jabari Parker believes the Lakers can win between 44-47 games next season and thoroughly discusses how the team and the franchise overall should function in order to get back on track.
The purple and gold also unveiled their new black alternate jerseys for next season (hat tip to USA Today).

Maggette Open To Pistons Return

August 22nd, 2013 at 9:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Late last month, there was talk that free agent forward Corey Maggette preferred to play for a contender and could likely be had for the veteran's minimum. Today, the 33-year-old forward told ESPN.com that he wouldn't mind playing for the Pistons again, according to a staff report by the Detroit Free Press. The 14-year-veteran played sparingly for then-head coach Lawrence Frank last season, appearing in 18 contests and averaging 14.3 MPG.

“Overall, I’m just waiting and being patient and see what opportunity comes…You always got to explore your options, but if the Pistons want me back, it’s great, man. I would love to come back.”

Interestingly enough, we heard back in March of the mutual interest between Maggette and the Pistons about a return for 2012/13, but with the team now carrying 15 players under contract, a reunion doesn't seem all that likely at this point.

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