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Month: November 2024

Eastern Notes: Sanders, C’s, Heat, Knicks

October 29th, 2013 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, prior to signing a long-term extension with the Bucks, Larry Sanders changed agents, moving from Andy Miller and ASM Sports to Dan Fegan and Relativity Sports. While the switch seemed fairly innocuous at the time, ASM has filed suit against Relativity, claiming that the agency stole Sanders away with “flights on private planes, expensive dinners, invites to pre-ESPY awards parties, acting classes and trips to Disneyland for his family.”

According to Dareh Gregorian of the New York Daily News, ASM Sports is seeking the commission on Sanders’ new $44MM contract with the Bucks, claiming that “even in the hypercompetitive world of sports agents there are rules and boundaries that must be followed.” Sanders’ earnings shouldn’t be affected by the suit, but it’s a peek at what goes on behind the scenes at sports agencies when a big-name player is about to cash in.

As Sanders and the Bucks prepare for tomorrow’s opener in New York, let’s round up a few more items from around the Eastern Conference….

  • Celtics GM Danny Ainge continues to discuss a possible extension with Avery Bradley‘s camp, but won’t extend Jordan Crawford, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Ainge emphasized today that Bradley remains a big part of Boston’s future, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
  • In his latest piece for Grantland, Zach Lowe explores the Heat‘s roster-building options going forward, concluding that, as creative as Pat Riley is, it will be tricky for the team to make significant upgrades around LeBron James in the next couple years.
  • Chris Smith believes he earned his spot on the Knicks with his play, but some rival agents believe he came as a package deal with older brother J.R. Smith, says Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • Responding to criticism from Charles Barkley, Carmelo Anthony said today that he thinks players would love to come play with him in New York, and that he has a “big rolodex” for when the time comes to recruit (Twitter links via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News).
  • According to Gigi Datome‘s agent (Twitter link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), the Pistons didn’t offer the most money to his client this offseason, but they did offer the best opportunity for the Italian sharpshooter.
  • While news of his trade to the Wizards initially caught him off guard, Marcin Gortat is excited to join a team with playoff aspirations, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

October 29th, 2013 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams are permitted to carry 15 players into the regular season, so now that opening night rosters are set, as many as 450 players could be under contract around the league. Instead, only 439 players are currently on NBA rosters, leaving 11 openings spread out among nine clubs. With the help of our roster count tool, here are the teams bringing open roster spots into the regular season:

Two openings:

  • Chicago Bulls
  • Memphis Grizzlies

One opening:

  • Boston Celtics
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Phoenix Suns
  • San Antonio Spurs

Teams carrying a full 15-man roster know that not all 15 players will see regular minutes in NBA games this season. Still, keeping an extra prospect or two under control, perhaps assigning them to the D-League to get them frequent playing time, could pay off in the long run, and has little downside. Many end-of-bench players are still on non-guaranteed contracts, so they don’t adversely affect a team’s roster flexibility, since they can be easily cut if the team wants to make a trade or signing.

The only real downside of carrying 15 players is having to pay 15 players. That’s why we shouldn’t be surprised to see that many of the teams listed above are either taxpayers or clubs hovering dangerously close to tax territory. For teams like the Bulls and Clippers, who are more focused on title contention than player development, carrying a 15th man all season isn’t worth the extra tax penalties. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies, Celtics, Thunder, and Pacers all have $68MM+ in guaranteed team salary on their books, so paying a 15th player would reduce cap flexibility for those clubs, who are looking to steer clear of the $71.748MM tax line.

We’ll be keeping our list of roster counts up to date throughout the 2013/14 season, so if you’re curious about whether or not a team has room to add a free agent or make an unbalanced trade, keep an eye on that page.

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Odds & Ends: D-League, Tanking, Thornton

October 29th, 2013 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

Now that NBA teams have finalized their opening night rosters, free agents and camp invitees who missed the cut could turn to the D-League. NBA clubs are allowed to retain D-League rights for up to three players they had in camp, and many D-League squads will still hang on to players’ rights from last season. Many D-League hopefuls, however, have their sights set on November 1st, the night of this year’s draft. Over at D-League Digest, Gino Pilato has a primer for this year’s draft, while at Secret Rival, Mark Porcaro examines the players we know will be part of the draft pool.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Association:

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Pacific Notes: Fredette, Clips, Bledsoe, Warriors

October 29th, 2013 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have until Thursday evening to exercise or decline rookie contract options for 2014/15, and the Kings‘ decision on Jimmer Fredette isn’t a no-brainer. Since being drafted 10th overall in 2011, Fredette hasn’t made the impact at the NBA level that many were anticipating. I still expect Sacramento to pick up the relatively cheap option (about $3.11MM), but it sounds like the decision will go down to the wire.

“We have until Thursday, so we’ll have an internal process and conversation and come to a decision,” Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom. “Obviously, we’ll have to do it by then. So I would think probably we’ll take our time up until the deadline.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

  • Chris Kaman believes the Clippers will never truly surpass prestige of the Lakers, but says Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been “turning over a new leaf” with his newfound willingness to spend money on his team, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Of course, based on what we heard last night about Sterling nearly spiking the J.J. Redick deal, Sterling still appears to have a long way to go.
  • A contract extension for Eric Bledsoe is atop the Suns‘ to-do list, but his recent arrival in Phoenix and his lack of significant minutes make his value difficult to pinpoint, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Coro also wonders how much interest Bledsoe has in an extension, since he hasn’t talked about wanting Phoenix to be his long-term home when given the opportunity.
  • The costs of the Warriors‘ San Francisco arena project are starting to pile up, says John Coté of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee profiles new Kings head coach Michael Malone, who inherits the Sacramento job under new ownership and a new front office.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Hoops Rumors Writers’ 2013/14 NBA Predictions

October 29th, 2013 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

It’s October 29th, which means the offseason has finally ended, and the 2013/14 NBA regular season is officially upon us. The schedule kicks off tonight with a trio of games, but before it does, we wanted to make sure we were on the record with our predictions for the coming season.

As we did last year, when our predictions ranged from the good to the bad to the ugly, we’ve forecast the top eight seeds in each conference, along with the Finals teams and the winners of each of the league’s major awards. Hoops Rumors writers Alex Lee, Zach Links, Spencer Lund, Chuck Myron, Jonathan Nehring, Michael Pina, Ryan Raroque, and I have made our picks.

Click below to peruse our choices, and feel free to join the discussion in the comments section if you have thoughts on our picks or want to share predictions of your own.

Hoops Rumors Writers’ 2013/14 NBA Predictions

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Odds & Ends: Gasol, Jazz, Brown, Bucks

October 28th, 2013 at 11:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni says the way he emphasized Dwight Howard over Pau Gasol in his offense last season “wasn’t fair” to the Spaniard, admitting that “if nobody had names on their jerseys,” the situation would have been different, as USA Today’s Sam Amick observes.

“It was hard to be in that position,” said Gasol, a free agent at season’s end. “I understood the politics of it, and why things were a certain way, but it didn’t make it any easier during the process. But you learn and move on and you grow, and you go to the next chapter. I’m excited about my new position. It’s a different situation, a different team. I’m happy and proud to continue to be here, despite everything. I’m ready to play and have a great year.”

That year is just about to start, with the first games of the 2013/14 season just hours away. Here’s the latest from around the Association:

  • Jazz CEO Greg Miller, coach Tyrone Corbin, and Derrick Favors all conveyed hopes today that Gordon Hayward remains in Utah long-term, a sentiment Hayward himself echoes. Jody Genessy of The Deseret News has the details as Thursday’s deadline for Hayward to sign an extension looms.
  • The Timberwolves aren’t among the teams interested in Shannon Brown, whom the Wizards waived today, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
  • The Wolves announced a deal for renovations to the Target Center today, but Bucks owner Herb Kohl says the NBA prefers there be a new arena in Milwaukee rather than a renovation to the Bucks’ existing home, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
  • Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has changed agents, signing with Steve Kauffman of Kauffman Sports Management Group, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Warren LeGarie had previously represented Hollins.
  • The Bulls signed Kalin Lucas and Patrick Christopher in September and waived them on the second day of training camp. The maneuver allowed Chicago to sign their other camp invitees to summer contracts that gave the team an out in case they suffered an injury, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains in a piece for HoopsWorld.
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Eastern Rumors: Granger, Raptors, Osby

October 28th, 2013 at 10:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

After missing nearly the entire 2012/13 season, Danny Granger is off to an ominous start this season as well. Entering the final year of his contract, Granger will be sidelined for the next three weeks as he recovers from a calf injury, the Pacers announced today. Indiana held off on trading Granger this summer, optimistic that he’d bounce back from an injury-plagued season and help the team overcome the Heat on the way to a title. As we wonder whether that optimism remains for team president Larry Bird and company, here’s the latest out of the East:

  • Sources tell Bruce Arthur of the National Post that Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has talked about trading Rudy Gay, though it’s unclear whether those discussions were within the organization or involved other teams. Arthur also passes along thoughts from Ujiri about setting the Raptors on the right course toward contention.
  • HoopsWorld’s Eric Pincus confirms to Hoops Rumors that the Magic are paying Romero Osby $100K this year, despite his earlier report that Osby’s partial guarantee would only kick in if he made the opening-night roster. The team waived Osby on Friday. Pincus lists the $100K on the Magic’s updated salary page at HoopsWorld.
  • Khalif Wyatt, whom the Sixers released last week, has signed a one-year deal with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News speculates that Thaddeus Young would most likely be the centerpiece of any trade the Sixers make this year. Part of Cooney’s suspicion that an early-season trade might be in the works was based on the team’s roster standing at 14 players, but the Sixers got back up to the 15-man limit when they signed Brandon Davies today.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Western Notes: Suns, Favors, Hayward, Kings

October 28th, 2013 at 7:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Executives from around the league who spoke recently to Grantland’s Zach Lowe believed there might be only one solid veteran on a poor team capable of enticing another club to give up a first-round pick in a trade. That player was Marcin Gortat, and the Suns indeed extracted a first-rounder from the Wizards when they traded Gortat last week. GM Ryan McDonough acknowledges to Greg Esposito of Suns.com that his team has plenty of “valuable currency” with the potential for six first-round picks in the next two drafts, and that he could use them all or package some of them in a trade for a star. While we wait to see how teams pivot from opening night to the trade deadline, here’s more from the West:

  • Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey wants Derrick Favors to “increase his motor” this season, and Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune believes it’s critical for the team that Favors begin fulfilling his potential now that he has his long-term extension.
  • Gordon Hayward is also negotiating an extension with the Jazz, though the sides are far apart on a deal. Favors told Matthew Coles of The Associated Press that it’s a priority for him that Hayward stick around. “Me and Gordon, we’ve been together going on three years now and we went to USA Basketball camp together so we have a good chemistry going. It’s important to keep the core together for the future,” Favors said.
  • The NBA isn’t worried about a petition drive to put funding for a new arena for the Kings on the ballot in Sacramento, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com explains (on Sulia). The league is confident that voters would back the funding measure.
  • We rounded up more news from the Pacific and Southwest divisions earlier today.
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Spurs Pick Up Options For Leonard, Joseph

October 28th, 2013 at 5:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs have exercised their 2014/15 options on Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph, the team announced via press release. It’s the fourth-year option for both, meaning they’ll be eligible for extensions to their rookie-scale contracts next summer. Leonard will earn close to $2.9MM in 2014/15, while Joseph will see a little more than $2MM, as our rookie contract option tracker shows.

The move to pick up Leonard’s option is a formality, since he quickly established himself as a key part of the franchise’s future in his first two seasons in San Antonio. I had the decision on Leonard as a “no-brainer” when I looked at pending rookie options last month, but I listed Joseph as “on the bubble.” The 29th pick in 2011 has appeared in only 57 games over his first two seasons combined, though he did serve as the team’s backup point guard for the majority of the playoffs last year, averaging 3.0 points and 1.2 assists in 9.6 minutes per contest.

The moves add nearly $5MM to San Antonio’s payroll for next season, bringing the total amount of the team’s commitments to about $33.5MM. That number is deceptively low, as I pointed out earlier this month, since it doesn’t include $9MM in non-guaranteed salary for Tony Parker and a $10MM player option for Tim Duncan.

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Wizards Release Brown, Marshall, Lee

October 28th, 2013 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

5:17pm: The moves are now official, as the Wizards confirm them via press release.

1:11pm: The Wizards are the last NBA team to make their roster cuts, but their plans haven’t changed over the weekend, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael reports that Washington will officially release three players acquired on Friday: Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee.

While most NBA teams cut players on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts, the Wizards had been carrying 18 players on fully guaranteed deals following their acquisition of Marcin Gortat. As such, Washington will be on the hook for most or all of the salaries for Brown, Marshall, and Lee, unless they’re claimed on waivers by another team.

A waiver claim may not be likely, but Brown and Marshall are reportedly drawing some interest around the league, and if they sign with another club, the amount owed to them by the Wizards will be slightly reduced. Brown is said to be interested in the Lakers, though he has yet to make any decisions. The Sixers, meanwhile, could be a suitor for Marshall.

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