Month: November 2024

Wizards Eye New Deal With Marcin Gortat

January 24th, 2014 at 1:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:40pm: Stein’s full story suggests the Wizards have made an extension offer to Gortat, though the terms of any such offer are unclear.

12:31pm: The Wizards will make it a priority to re-sign Marcin Gortat this summer if they can’t sign sign him to an extension before his contract runs out at the end of June, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Washington’s brass is “thrilled” with the client of Guy Zucker, according to Stein. The news comes on the heels of a Monday report that the Wizards are interested in fellow big man Greg Monroe and would like to trade for him before the deadline or sign him as a restricted free agent this summer.

Gortat, who’ll turn 30 next month, is averaging 12.0 points and 8.8 rebounds with a 16.0 PER for the Wizards this year after coming over a few days before the season began via trade from the Suns. He’s capably filled the hole created when Emeka Okafor, who went to Phoenix in the same trade, suffered a preseason neck injury that’s kept him out of action ever since.

The Wizards have big man Nene on a contract that pays him $13MM a year through 2015/16, so the team would logically have room for only one of Gortat and Monroe along their front line. Monroe presents a younger option who’s putting up slightly superior numbers as a 23-year-old this season, and he has the hometown appeal of having played for Georgetown University. It’ll probably be difficult to obtain him, since the Pistons will have the right to match offers if they keep him until the summer, and the trade market for promising young big men is always full of competition.

Gortat would figure to come more easily, since he’s already in Washington and the Wizards have his Bird Rights. The seventh-year veteran can re-sign for as much as five years with the Wizards if he hits free agency, but could only add three years to his existing deal if he were to sign an extension, making it more financially sound for him to wait until July, Stein notes.

The Polish Hammer is finishing up a five-year deal that pays him more than $7.7MM this season, but he signed that contract when he was still a backup for the Magic, so I think he’s in line for a raise that would put his annual take at around $10MM. Gortat’s age would suggest he’d like the security of a long-term deal, but I’m not sure the Wizards would be willing to do a fifth year unless he and Zucker agree to a steep discount. Even a fourth year could be an ambitious proposition for the Wizards, though that could be mitigated if they can arrange for the fourth season to be partially guaranteed.

Gortat admits to Michael Lee of The Washington Post that it’s been an adjustment playing aside another big man in Nene and serving as a complimentary player on offense, neither of which he experienced while with the Suns. Still, he believes he’s much more content in Washington than he would have been if he were still in Phoenix.

“Playing in Phoenix was a totally different story,” he said. “I had more space under the basket. I knew that [I] was going to get the ball inside and I was the guy who was going to work. Here, it’s a different story. But I can say, I don’t mind doing that. As long as we’re winning, I don’t mind at all.”

Sacramento Arena Plan Clears Hurdle

January 24th, 2014 at 1:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sacramento City Clerk Shirley Concolino has rejected an attempt to put public funding for the city’s new arena up for vote, reports Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee. A pair of groups called Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP) and Voters for a Fair Arena Deal had collected nearly 23,000 signatures on a petition to put the funding on a June ballot, which would have cast some degree of doubt on the city’s ability to keep the Kings. The groups will likely take legal action to overturn today’s decision, according to Lillis.

“I’ve never seen a petition with as many flaws as this one,” Concolino said.

Seattle investor Chris Hansen, whose agreement to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle was rejected by the NBA this past spring, admitted in August to bankrolling the petition drive. Several reports have since called the legitimacy of the signatures into question. Concolino said today that several different versions of the petition circulated, some with “substantial” variations. None of the petitions contained a clause required by California law that would inform signers that the result of the vote to deny public arena funding would be binding.

If the Kings don’t move into a new arena by 2017, the league may strip the team from Vivek Ranadive’s ownership group and arrange for it to be sold to owners who’ll move it into a suitable building in another city, as The Bee reported in May. The team must also show progress toward the arena’s completion in a timely manner, so a rejection of $258MM worth of public funding for a $448MM arena would seriously jeopardize the future of the Kings in Sacramento. Still, reports have indicated that voters would be supportive of the funding, so even if the measure appears on the ballot, it wouldn’t necessarily be a significant blow to the city’s efforts to keep the team.

Categories:
Sacramento Kings

Magic, Nikola Vucevic Interested In Extension

January 24th, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Chuck Myron

Center Nikola Vucevic hasn’t shown the rapid growth this season that he displayed in a breakout campaign last year, but Magic GM Rob Hennigan nonetheless remains high on the 23-year-old, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links). Vucevic is similarly enthused about a long-term future in Orlando, Schmitz also notes, and he’ll be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension this summer.

“I’d love to be in Orlando for a while,” Vucevic said. “I like the direction of the team. We have a lot of good stuff going forward. I’d love to be a part of it.”

Hennigan is similarly hopeful that he can accommodate the client of BDA Sports Management. Vucevic could sign an extension for up to four years, or five if the Magic are willing to make him their designated player, which would restrict them from handing out another five-year rookie scale extension anytime soon. He could get a starting salary worth as much as 25% of the salary cap, or 30% in the unlikely event he triggers the Derrick Rose Rule provisions. The Magic can sign him to an extension any time between the end of the July Moratorium and October 31st this year. He’d become eligible for restricted free agency if the two sides can’t agree by Halloween.

Vucevic, who’s missed most of this month with a concussion, is averaging 13.0 points and 11.0 rebounds with a 17.8 PER, numbers almost identical to the ones he posted last season. A 6’10” consistent double-double producer is a valuable commodity in the NBA, but it’d be a stretch for him to command the max. He could fit into the $12-13MM range that Al Horford and Joakim Noah make on their deals, though that’s just my speculation.

Suns Will Match Any Offer For Eric Bledsoe

January 24th, 2014 at 11:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Eric Bledsoe is out of action while he recovers from a torn meniscus in his right knee, and while the point guard has left open the possibility he could miss the rest of the season, Suns owner Robert Sarver says it won’t affect negotiations this summer. Bledsoe will be a restricted free agent, and while any team can offer him a four-year deal with a starting salary up to 25% of the salary cap, Sarver appears ready to exercise his right to match any such offer, as the owner tells Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic.

“I think we had a pretty good idea of who Eric was when we traded for him,” Sarver said. “So I wouldn’t say we need to see more of him to match any offer. Obviously, we’d like to see more of him because our team plays better when he’s playing. And we’re competing (now), we’re making a playoff run this year. And I think if we can get him back, not only can we make a playoff run, we have a chance to be a team that can win in the playoffs, too.”

Sarver’s comments echo those of GM Ryan McDonough, who said at the beginning of the month that the Suns would do “whatever it takes” to keep the 24-year-old. Other teams could offer Bledsoe four-year contracts worth a total of approximately $60MM, depending on next year’s cap figure, while the Suns could sign the Rich Paul client outright to a five-year deal for between $75MM and $80MM. McDonough noted the team’s relatively clean books in the years ahead, so apparently the team is willing to turn over a sizable chunk of its cap space to the former 18th overall pick it acquired via trade from the Clippers this summer.

McDonough and coach Jeff Hornacek have said Bledsoe will definitely be back on the court this season, and Bickley thinks Bledsoe’s slightly less optimistic tone may simply be a matter of semantics. Regardless, it appears Sarver has already made his decision, based on Bledsoe’s performance so far this year in his first crack as a full-time starter. He’s put up 18.0 points and 5.8 assists per game with a career-high 20.0 PER.

Celtics Rumors: Rondo, Bayless, Crawford

January 24th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics GM Danny Ainge denied earlier this season that any team had so much as inquired about Rajon Rondo‘s availability via trade, and while that seemed a little far-fetched, he isn’t changing his story much.

“I actually did have a team call me and say, ‘Hey, would you have any interest in trading Rondo?’ Before he even offered me a package,” Ainge said to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. “And I said no. And that’s it. That’s as long as the conversation happened.”

There’s plenty more from Ainge amid our look at the latest on the Celtics:

The Celtics boss also tells Holmes that the trade rumors about Rondo have emanated from outside the organization. “It’s just people, like I think recently, somebody, one of the national media guys, made a comment like, ‘Oh, I was talking with some NBA people on the road and they all think Danny is going to trade Rondo,'” Ainge said. “Well, it’s not like there’s a source. It’s just people that have their own opinion, sitting around, having a Diet Coke, talking about what I’m going to do with Rondo. Which is fine.”
Ainge says he’s hesitant to build around a single player, whether it’s Rondo or anyone else. “Nobody is ‘the future of the franchise,'” Ainge said to Holmes. “A franchise is bigger than any one individual. But we love him. That’s what [the extension offer] explains.”
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines what Rondo could make on an extension if he signed one now, and compares it to the more lucrative alternatives of signing an extension this summer or waiting to ink a deal as a free agent in 2015.
Jerryd Bayless shares his impressions of the Celtics since coming to Boston via trade earlier this month and reiterates his desire to remain with the team long-term in a blog post on his personal website (hat tip to Forsberg).
Ainge let Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald know that part of the motivation to trade Jordan Crawford was to open up more playing time for Phil Pressey. Still, Ainge says he remains high on Crawford and MarShon Brooks, who also departed in that deal, and Ainge added that he’ll keep an eye on both when they hit free agency this summer.
The Celtics have six extra draft picks between this year and 2018, and that’s a reflection of a long-held philosophy that Ainge explains to Bulpett. “I’ve always believed that you build through the draft,” he said. “And whether those drafted players are Al Jefferson, who you love, and Delonte West, who we developed and loved, and then move them for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — or whether those draft picks turn into Rajon Rondo or Paul Pierce and they’re with you forever.”

Sixers Re-Sign Dewayne Dedmon

January 24th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 10:29am: The deal is official, according to the team.

THURSDAY, 7:38pm: According to Moore, the 76ers will re-sign Dedmon to another 10-day contract (Twitter link).

8:25am: Sixers coach Brett Brown has little doubt the team will re-sign center Dewayne Dedmon to a second 10-day contract once his existing deal expires tonight, observes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. The Sixers announced yesterday that fellow big man Brandon Davies would miss four to six weeks with a broken finger, making it even more likely that Dedmon will get another deal, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.The team will make its decision today, according to Brown.

“I like what we’ve seen in him,” Brown said of Dedmon. “There’s a size and an enthusiasm and an energy.”

Dedmon says he isn’t sure of his status, but it appears the Michael Silverman client will be sticking around Philadelphia. The Warriors have also been interested in bringing him back after waiving him earlier this season, though Golden State has a full 15 man roster after acquiring Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks via trade last week.

The rookie has put up 3.6 points in 14.8 minutes per game for the Sixers after appearing for just six minutes total in more than two weeks with Golden State. Philadelphia has 14 guaranteed contracts, so the team will soon have decide whether to commit its final open roster spot to Dedmon. The Sixers would have to sign him for the season or let him go once his second 10-day contract expires.

Marcus Thornton Remains On Trade Block

January 24th, 2014 at 9:37am CST by Chuck Myron

Kings guard Marcus Thornton drew mention in late November as a player the Kings would “love” to move, and two months and two trades later, Sacramento is still trying to deal the 26-year-old shooting guard, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The Kings have maintained an aggressive posture in search of trades throughout the season, engineering a pair of swaps to acquire Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams.

Thornton’s name came up earlier this month as part of a reported proposal the Kings made to the Nuggets for Andre Miller. The Kings inserted Thornton into the starting lineup at about the same time, but he’s averaged slightly less than 24 minutes per game as a starter this month, similar to the amount of playing time he saw as a reserve. His 7.3 points and 7.5 shot attempts per game are career lows by significant margins, and his 9.1 PER is the first below-average mark in that category for Thornton in his five NBA seasons. It’s a stark contrast to the 2011/12 season, when he was Sacramento’s leading scorer.

The 6’4″ shooting guard is Sacramento’s second-highest-paid player, making slightly more than $8MM this year. He’ll make $8.575MM next season in the final year of his contract. That deal is probably making it difficult for GM Pete D’Alessandro to find takers for Thornton, and the Kings would be selling low if they were to trade him.

Sacramento has Ben McLemore, the seventh overall pick from this past June, seemingly penciled in as the shooting guard of the future, so it doesn’t appear there’s much of a call for Thornton on the Kings. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if D’Alessandro hangs on to Thornton through the deadline and tests the market for him again in the summer, when his expiring contract would probably net more in return.

Blazers To Mull Aldridge Extension After Season

January 24th, 2014 at 8:27am CST by Chuck Myron

Amid an MVP-level performance from LaMarcus Aldridge last night, Blazers owner Paul Allen said the team would wait until after the season to consider an extension for the power forward, who recently expressed a willingness to sign an extension with the club. Allen spoke to media at halftime of last night’s victory over the Nuggets, a game in which Aldridge went for a career-high 44 points and was the only Blazer to score in the final 9:18. Ben Golliver of Blazer’s Edge provides a transcript of Allen’s remarks.

“I talked to [GM] Neil [Olshey] about those things,” Allen said, in reference to an extension for Aldridge. “As you guys know, at the appropriate time we’ll consider all those options. That’s usually when it’s time to look at an extension — after the season is over.”

That’s similar to Olshey’s comment from earlier this month that extension negotiations would not be a “conversation that’s going to play out in the media in January,” a remark he made to Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. Allen nonetheless praised Aldridge’s performance this season and cited his improved leadership skills.

It’s somewhat surprising to see the Blazers put the brakes on extension chatter, given Aldridge’s seeming discontent with Portland in the past, but it’s no shock. They could only add two years to his contract if they signed him to an extension between now and June 30th. Portland can tack three years onto Aldridge’s deal with any extension signed after July 1st. It may also be wise to see if Aldridge can sustain his career-best level of play over an entire season. The Arn Tellem client is under contract until the summer of 2015.

Allen also dispelled the notion that the Blazers would make a major move before the trade deadline to solidify their status as a contender. Rumors linked Portland to Omer Asik when the Rockets were aggressively shopping the center last month.

“I think we’re looking more at internal development, what changes we can make or tweaks we can make,” the owner said. “I don’t think we’re looking at any blockbuster trades or anything like that. Although we always listen.”

Bucks GM On Season, Antetokounmpo, Drew

January 23rd, 2014 at 10:39pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Bucks GM John Hammond participated in a Q&A with the Journal Sentinel and gave his thoughts on the current state of the team. You can find some of his more notable responses below:

On the team’s league-worst record and having to rely on young players:

“We didn’t expect (Carlos Delfino) to potentially be missing the entire season. We didn’t expect Brandon Knight in the very first game, in the first 2 minutes of the game, to go out for an extended period. We didn’t expect (Zaza Pachulia) to have the injuries. We didn’t expect (Ersan Ilyasova) to be hurt. The Larry Sanders issue, Larry being out. We’ve had 10 players, and that leads the league, in games missed. A lot of it has to do with the injury issues.

(Relying on young guys) wasn’t the plan. Sometimes you are forced to change in midstream, so to speak. That’s kind of what happened to us. We’ve put the young players out there. We’re excited about their progress. The most important thing is they continue to improve now as the season progresses.”

On Giannis Antetokounmpo:

“We’re really excited. We talked before the season started that we wanted to expose him (to the league) but not overexpose him. We didn’t want him to lose confidence and have those around him lose confidence in him. Nearing the end of the exhibition season we looked at our stats and realized he was one of our leading scorers, he was one of our leading rebounders. He was our leading shot blocker. He was leading us in free throws attempted. Just little things like that, we started thinking to ourselves, is he even more ready than we realize? Even with that being said, we probably didn’t envision this happening. I know it’s a great opportunity for Giannis and it could be the right thing for our organization. There have been some ups and downs, and they’re probably going to continue. But there’s no greater teacher than actually getting the time on the floor. We feel very good we picked him at 15. I think he’s potentially a keeper piece and a piece you can build with.”

On Larry Drew‘s performance as the head coach so far:

“I think Larry has done the best job he can do in a very difficult situation. When Larry came here as coach, we didn’t hire him and say, “Oh, by the way, we’re going to go through this rebuilding process.” Our hope was to have a competitive team, a playoff team. We made some moves in the off-season and we included Larry in those decisions. Signing Carlos, signing Zaza, signing O.J. Mayo, trading for (Luke Ridnour) and (Caron Butler), you make those moves because you’re trying to put a competitive team on the floor. That was the plan going into the season. It’s easy for me to sit here and talk about changing in midstream but very difficult for the coach when he’s on the floor facing it every night. I think he’s done an excellent job in a very difficult situation.”

On how the situations of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings turned out in addition to dealing for Knight:

“Monta was unrestricted so (leaving) was his decision. Brandon was restricted (free agent). We had a decision to make there, to bring him back, to extend him, to have him come back and play the final year, or try to find an opportunity for ourselves we think could help us. And we made the move with Detroit and acquired Brandon Knight. Brandon has been very good for us. And I’m happy for Brandon Jennings. He’s playing well in Detroit. (Knight) is a man of outstanding character, an extremely hard worker. He’s still a young player, only 22 years old. I think he’s got plenty of time to continue to develop and grow as a player.”

On some veterans recently voicing their frustration and whether or not it’s a cause for concern:

Look, I understand. I understand completely. You have guys nearing the end of their careers and they want to continue to play. You have other guys at the midpoint of their careers and they want to keep their value at a certain level. I hate the fact that some of them are going through that. But we’re not the only team in the league with these sorts of situations. It happens. It is important to have guys who want to be here and understand the process we’re going through. For the most part this season, I think the veterans, even though frustrated, have been supportive through the process.

Poll: Will Knicks Keep Woodson After 2013/14?

January 23rd, 2014 at 10:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Since the 1946/47 season, the Knicks have topped the 50-win mark 13 times. Last year, Mike Woodson led New York to 54 wins, joining Jeff Van Gundy, Pat Riley, Rick Pitino, and Red Holzman as the only five head coaches in Knicks history to accomplish such a feat. The 2013/14 season offers nothing but a stark contrast in comparison to last season’s success, as Woodson’s club stands 15-27 and would have to go 35 and 5 over the remaining 40 games in order to reach 50 wins again.

Earlier in December, after a nine-game losing streak sent the Knicks to a 3-13 record over the first 16 games, Carmelo Anthony publicly admitted that he, along with a few other teammates, became worried about Woodson’s job security (Ian Begley of ESPN New York):

“Yeah, we’re worried about (Woodson’s job). But then again, we’ve got to worry about playing basketball…We can’t worry about the speculation that’s going on outside this building and we shouldn’t…And as a leader of this team, I’ll try my best not to allow that.”

Although a 6-1 record over the new year’s first seven games briefly brought the Knicks into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, the team’s recent five-game losing streak erased most, if not all of that momentum. It’s also worth noting that Anthony and co-captain Tyson Chandler publicly made comments about lack of adjustments and being “out-schemed” respectively in recent losses to the Pacers and Nets (Marc Berman of the New York Post). Though Chandler would later insist that his comments weren’t a knock on Woodson, Anthony told Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “…whatever’s happening is going to happen and it’s out of my hands and it will get dealt with.”

Whether or not those comments allude to Woodson’s job security can be left to interpretation, though it doesn’t seem that the team’s current situation is any better than it was when Anthony had been worried about the Knicks head coach in early December. With the possibility that the Knicks star exercises an early termination option this summer, it can’t be too far-fetched to wonder if New York would consider severing ties with Woodson if it meant helping their chances at retaining Anthony, especially if the Knicks missed the playoffs or suffered an embarrassing playoff exit. What are your thoughts? At this rate, do you think Mike Woodson will be retained beyond this season?

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