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Poll: Best Eastern Conference Coaching Hire

August 8th, 2013 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Since the end of the 2012/13 regular season, an incredible 13 NBA teams have made coaching changes. 12 of those clubs have replaced their old head coach with a new one, while the Sixers' search for Doug Collins' successor continues.

Of the 12 teams to hire a new head coach so far, seven come from the Eastern Conference, including four playoff teams (the Hawks, Nets, Celtics, and Bucks). The East's new bench additions consist of a former college coach (Brad Stevens), respected assistants getting their first chance as head coaches (Mike Budenholzer, Steve Clifford), former head coaches (Mike Brown, Maurice Cheeks, Larry Drew), and even one coach whose playing career had barely ended when he was hired (Jason Kidd).

The seven hirings so far certainly represent a wide variety of philosophies, and will be facing very different expectations in the first season with their new clubs. For coaches like Stevens and Clifford, developing young talent will be crucial, while others, like Cheeks and Kidd, will be tasked with making some serious noise in the East right away.

So, today's poll question is this: Which Eastern Conference coaching hire did you like best? Which new head coach do you think will have the most success with his new team, however that success may be defined?

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Opt-Outs On Two-Year Deals Becoming Common

August 8th, 2013 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

As the free agent signing period slows down, we'll continue to use the data compiled in our Free Agent Tracker to assess the offseason's trends and items of interest. Already, Chuck Myron has examined the most and least active NBA teams in free agency, as well as listing each team's most expensive free agent addition.

Today, we'll turn our attention to the two-year contracts signed so far by this offseason's free agents. Based on reports to date, 47 players have signed two-year deals with NBA teams. However, only a small fraction of those contracts are guaranteed for two full seasons. In most cases, either the player or the team has the chance to opt out after the first year of the deal, or perhaps even before that.

The increasing popularity of this sort of contract shouldn't come as a surprise, considering the league's latest Collective Bargaining Agreement has reduced the length of contracts in general. With teams valuing cap flexibility more than ever, it makes sense that clubs would be interested in locking up a player for one guaranteed season, then re-assessing the situation next summer.

Meanwhile, for players who may have been unable to score the lenghty multiyear deal they were originally seeking, accepting one guaranteed year with a player option is a decent compromise. A successful season will give the player another chance to test the market a year from now, while that option provides some financial security in the event of a down year.

Of the 47 players who have signed two-year contracts this offseason, 14 have a second-year player option. 12 more have a team option or non-guaranteed salary for their second year, after a fully guaranteed first year. Three more only have a partially guaranteed first season to go along with a non-guaranteed second year. Four (Donald Sloan, Ian Clark, Jeremy Tyler, and Elias Harris) are not believed to have fully guaranteed deals, though the exact terms of their agreement aren't yet known. That leaves just 14 of 47 players with two fully guaranteed seasons on their deals.

Interestingly, those fully guaranteed two-year contracts were typically handed out by the same few teams. The Spurs, Pistons, Pacers, Mavericks, and Hawks all signed multiple players to fully guaranteed two-year deals. That doesn't necessarily mean those teams had the same motivations — the Pacers and Spurs appear unlikely to be major players in 2014's free agent period, so perhaps including options for '14/15 was unnecessary. On the other hand, the Mavs and Hawks may not want to go year-to-year with their rosters, constantly using cap space to plug in players on one-year contracts. Or perhaps some of the players these teams signed simply demanded that guaranteed second year, lest they take their services elsewhere.

In any case, while teams may not be handing out lucrative one-year deals as frequently as they used to, it's clear that teams still value the flexibility that de facto one-year contracts provide. Here's the complete list of players who signed two-year deals this summer, broken down by contract type:

Fully guaranteed:

Second-year player option:

Second-year non-guaranteed or team option:

  • Earl Clark (Cavaliers): $8.5MM. $4.25MM non-guaranteed.
  • Samuel Dalembert (Mavericks): $7.57MM. $2.07MM non-guaranteed.
  • Tyler Hansbrough (Raptors): $6.51MM. $2.33MM non-guaranteed.
  • Chauncey Billups (Pistons): $5MM. $2.5MM team option.
  • Jason Maxiell (Magic): $5MM. $2.5MM non-guaranteed.
  • John Lucas III (Jazz): $3.2MM. $1.6MM non-guaranteed.
  • Pero Antic (Hawks): $2.45MM. $1.25MM non-guaranteed.
  • Dwight Buycks (Raptors): $1.52MM. $816K non-guaranteed.
  • Francisco Garcia (Rockets): Minimum salary. $1.32MM non-guaranteed.
  • Ronnie Price (Magic): Minimum salary. $1.32MM non-guaranteed.
  • Omri Casspi (Rockets): Minimum salary. $1.06MM non-guaranteed.
  • Austin Daye (Raptors): Minimum salary. $1.06MM non-guaranteed.

Both years non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed:

  • Andrew Bynum (Cavaliers): $24.79MM. $6MM of first year guaranteed.
  • Reggie Williams (Rockets): Minimum salary. 50% of first year guaranteed.
  • C.J. Leslie (Knicks): Minimum salary. $200K of first year guaranteed.

Details not yet known (believed to be partially guaranteed):

  • Ian Clark (Jazz)
  • Elias Harris (Lakers)
  • Donald Sloan (Pacers)
  • Jeremy Tyler (Knicks)

HoopsWorld and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.

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Trail Blazers Sign Mo Williams

August 8th, 2013 at 11:07am CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 11:07am: The Blazers have officially signed Williams, the team announced today in a press release.

WEDNESDAY, 1:14pm: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a contract with free agent guard Mo Williams, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It'll be a two-year deal worth about $5.6MM, tweets Wojnarowski, while Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com adds (via Twitter) that the second year will be a player option. ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported earlier this afternoon that Williams was expected to make his decision as soon as today.

Williams' decision comes as something of a surprise, since the Blazers hadn't been linked to the veteran in recent weeks — the Grizzlies, Heat, and Knicks had been viewed as a few of his primary suitors. Portland also has plenty of backcourt depth already, with Damian Lillard starting at the point and Wesley Matthews at the two. Earl Watson, C.J. McCollum, Terrel Harris, Allen Crabbe, Will Barton, and even Dorell Wright can also play one or both guard positions.

Still, considering the bench was Portland's Achilles heel last year, adding another veteran contributor like Williams to the rotation can't be a bad thing. I'd assume his deal will actually be closer to $5.42MM for two years, since the team is capped out. If the 30-year-old agreed to sign for the room exception, he'll earn about $2.65MM in 2013/14, with an option worth about $2.77MM for the following season.

In 2012/13 with the Jazz, Williams started all 46 games he played for the team, averaging 12.9 PPG and 6.2 APG to go along with shooting percentages of .430/.383/.882. The Blazers will be the fifth team Williams has played for in his NBA career. The 10-year veteran also had two stints in Utah to go along with stops with the Bucks, Cavs, and Clippers.

The agreement with Williams looks like bad news for Harris, who is on a non-guaranteed deal and facing a drug-related suspension. Williams will be Portland's 16th player under contract, so Harris appears to be the odd man out for when the team finalizes its 15-man roster. Teams can carry up to 20 players during the offseason, so he doesn't need to be cut quite yet, but it'd be a surprise if Harris was on Portland's opening night roster.

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Eastern Notes: Knicks, Udrih, Nets, Teague

August 8th, 2013 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers strengthened their bench, the Nets made a big splash by landing Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Andrei Kirilenko, and the Bulls will have Derrick Rose back. Nonetheless, the Heat remain the favorites in the Eastern Conference for 2013/14, according to Hoops Rumors readers. Nearly half of you named Miami the best team in the East in last night's poll, with Indiana receiving about 24% of the vote, followed by Chicago (about 16%) and Brooklyn (12%). Here are a few more items from around the East:

  • Ivan Johnson has been in talks with the Knicks, but the possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement may be dwindling since Jeremy Tyler signed with the team, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • Before Beno Udrih agreed to sign with the Knicks, the Grizzlies were the other primary suitor for him, and the Sixers also had interest, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). A chance to win with the Knicks was the deciding factor in Udrih's decision, says Begley.
  • Tim Bontemps of the New York Post spoke to future NBA commissioner Adam Silver about the Nets' offseason spending, and Brooklyn's willingness to pay substantial tax penalties. As Silver notes, the league sought a hard cap during 2011's CBA negotiations, in the hopes that "the teams that have disparate resources are all competing with roughly the same number of chips."
  • Jeff Teague tells Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that he realizes his new long-term contract comes with a greater responsibility for the Hawks' success, and that he's ready for a larger role.
  • In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman wonders if a healthy Greg Oden could affect Chris Bosh's role and future with the Heat. Of course, Oden would have to prove he can be healthy and productive before the effect on Bosh could really be evaluated.
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Bucks Nearing Extension With Larry Sanders

August 8th, 2013 at 8:10am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks are in "advanced talks" on a contract extension for Larry Sanders that would keep the young forward locked up long-term, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. While the deadline for rookie-scale extensions doesn't arrive until October 31st, the two sides are already in the final stages of negotiations, says Stein.

According to Stein, the years and dollars the Bucks and Sanders are discussing aren't yet known, but sources say a new deal would likely pay the 24-year-old in excess of $10MM annually. A year ago, five players eligible for rookie-scale extensions signed four-year deals worth between $38MM and $49MM, so it looks like Sanders could be in line for a contract in that range. Any extension would start in 2014/15, meaning a four-year deal would keep him locked up in Milwaukee through 2018.

Sanders didn't appear to be a real extension candidate heading into the 2012/13 season, but enjoyed a breakout year and established himself as a core piece in the Bucks' frontcourt. After averaging 4.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and a 12.0 PER in limited minutes during his first two years in the NBA, Sanders increased those averages to 9.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and an 18.7 PER this past season.

If Sanders and the Bucks were to reach an agreement, he would become the second of 18 eligible players to extend his rookie-scale contract this offseason. John Wall and the Wizards finalized a five-year max extension last week.

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Odds & Ends: Faried, Favors, Henry, Cook

August 7th, 2013 at 9:01pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league:

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D-Fenders Make MacKinnon Head Coach

August 7th, 2013 at 8:06pm CST by Michael Pina

The Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers' D-League affiliate, have named Bob MacKinnon as their head coach, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Pincus. 

MacKinnon will replace former Laker center Mark Madsen at the position (Madsen was recently hired by the Lakers to serve as a player development coach on Mike D'Antoni's staff), and serve as the sixth head coach in the franchise's history.

In a statement, D-Fenders President and Chief Executive Joey Buss cited MacKinnon's ability to develop young talent that could someday contribute for the Lakers as a key reason for why the organization chose to hire him.

 

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Knicks Notes: Udrih, Brown, Hardaway Jr.

August 7th, 2013 at 7:24pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes on the Knicks, a team still in pursuit of more players and finding roles for those already under contract.

  • ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling tweets that Bobby Brown's workout with the team went well, but no offer has been made, and free agent point guard Beno Udrih is still a priority.
  • The New York Post's Marc Berman reiterates Zwerling's report, tweeting the "Knicks may get their man," with regards to Udrih.
  • Berman also tweeted that Andrea Bargnani's preference of socializing with European/foreign players could have an impact on the team's decision to sign Udrih. 
  • Rookie guard Tim Hardaway Jr. says he will be completely healthy in time for the start of training camp, reports ESPNNY.com's Ian Begley. Hardaway Jr. also believes he can fill in for the injured reigning Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith.
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Thunder Sign Ryan Gomes

August 7th, 2013 at 5:14pm CST by Zachary Links

August 7th, 5:14pm: The Thunder have officially announced the signing of Ryan Gomes, according to a press release from the team.

July 29th, 9:05pm: The Thunder reached agreement with Ryan Gomes on a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  The forward spent last season in Germany with the with the Artland Dragons.

Gomes last played in the NBA in 2011/12 for the Clippers and averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 32 games.  The seven-year veteran has career averages of 10.2 PPG and 4.6 RPG for three different teams.

The 30-year-old was released from the Clippers via the amnesty clause, allowing him to cash in on his $4MM salary for last season.  Gomes worked out for the Bobcats and other clubs last fall, but was unable to find a taker in the NBA.  The Spurs also had interest in Gomes during this go-round.

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