2015 February | Hoops Rumors

Financial Impact Of Deadline Trades: Central

February 25th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Last week’s trade deadline was a dizzying affair, with 39 players and 17 teams involved in adozen trades, including a trio of three-team transactions. The day had wide-ranging effects on the salary structures of those 17 teams, and we’ll examine the aftermath for each of them in this multipart series.

Today we’ll look at the Central Division, where a pair of teams made fairly significant moves. The salary figures listed here denote this season’s salaries, though we’ll also discuss salary for future seasons.

Detroit Pistons

In: ($9,912,234)

Tayshaun Prince ($7,707,865)
Reggie Jackson ($2,204,369)

Out: ($10,340,000)

Jonas Jerebko ($4,500,000)
D.J. Augustin ($3,000,000)
Luigi Datome ($1,750,000)
Kyle Singler ($1,090,000)

The Pistons pulled the rare trifecta of lowering their payroll for this season and clearing $3MM from their books for next season while adding a player who’s more well-regarded than any they gave up. Detroit accomplished much of this in its side of the three-team swap with the Thunder and Jazz, relinquishing D.J. Augustin and his $3MM guaranteed salary for next season along with Kyle Singler‘s expiring contract for soon-to-be restricted free agent Reggie Jackson. Of course, the team will have to pay to keep Jackson this summer. However, the way president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower structured the trade left the team with only about $27.9MM in commitments for this summer’s efforts to re-sign Jackson and Greg Monroe.

It also allowed the Pistons to create a trade exception worth the equivalent of Singler’s $1,090,000 salary, since the salaries for Jackson and Augustin are a close match. It also appears as though the Pistons could have created a smaller exception worth $795,631 for the difference between Augustin’s and Jackson’s salaries. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows the Singler exception but no Augustin exception on his Pistons salary page, so it’s possible Detroit wound up without that one. Still, such an asset, which comes to less than the two-year veteran’s minimum salary, would be unlikely to come into play.

Jackson goes to a team willing to give him the starting point guard job he’s coveted, at least until Brandon Jennings comes back healthy next season, and that role carries a side benefit for Jackson, too. The trade makes it highly likely that he’ll trigger the starter criteria to lift the value of his qualifying offer from nearly $3.223MM to almost $4.434MM. He was reportedly willing to sign that qualifying offer while he was a member of the Thunder, but it nonetheless appears as though it won’t come to that for him in Detroit, which just watched Monroe ink his qualifying offer last year.

Detroit’s other trade was a shuffling of expiring deals, with Tayshaun Prince coming in and Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome going out. Any long-lasting financial effect depends on whether the Pistons want to bring Prince back for next season, which his outsized cap hold would complicate.

Milwaukee Bucks

In: ($5,060,640)

Michael Carter-Williams ($2,300,040)
Tyler Ennis ($1,590,720)
Miles Plumlee ($1,169,880)

Out: ($4,469,160)

Brandon Knight ($3,553,917)
Kendall Marshall ($915,243)

The Bucks take a collaborative approach to player personnel, with coach Jason Kidd having as much say as GM John Hammond, but it seems clear that they both understand the value of the rookie scale contract. Yes, Milwaukee gave up a productive player on one of those bargain deals, but they gained three other promising young players, and unlike Brandon Knight, all three new Bucks have at least one season left after this one on their contracts. Knight is headed for restricted free agency this summer, and Grantland’s Zach Lowe estimated in December that he’d wind up with a deal that gives him $10-12MM per year. Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee and Tyler Ennis combine to make $6,170,694 next season. Carter-Williams is under contract through 2016/17, and Ennis, a rookie, can’t elect free agency until 2018, meaning there’s long-term cost-certainty at discount prices.

The flip side is that all three represent guaranteed salary on the books while Knight’s restricted free agency would have given the Bucks flexibility if they wanted to pivot in another direction. Yet that’s offset by the team’s buyout with Larry Sanders. It looks like they reduced his salary to $9MM this season and will owe him only $4.4MM next season and each year through 2017/18, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That’s instead of the yearly $11MM payout he was to receive. Sanders gave up enough in the buyout deal that it appears as though the team eschewed the stretch provision, which would have allowed Milwaukee to take seven years instead of three to pay off his contract.

So, the team entered the deadline with roughly $46.6MM in commitments for next season and emerged from this weekend, when Sanders’ buyout became official, with about $46.4MM in money on the books for 2015/16, essentially a wash. The Bucks, who appear poised to do more than just sneak into the playoffs this spring, have a chance to be a significant player this summer, with near-max money to burn against a projected $68MM cap.

The team felt a twinge of pain in parting with Kendall Marshall, a move it was reluctant to make, since that cost Milwaukee the Early Bird rights to a 23-year-old former lottery pick who’s only a year removed from having averaged 8.8 assists per game. However, his value presumably took a hit in January when a torn ACL knocked him out for the season, and so long as another team doesn’t sign him to a multiyear deal before the Bucks become eligible to sign him again in July, Milwaukee can just use its cap space if it wants to bring him back.

The Bucks don’t receive any trade exceptions since they’re still under this season’s cap. The team’s amnesty payout to Drew Gooden of more than $6.687MM, which counts toward the minimum team salary, helps ensure Milwaukee will exceed the $56.759MM threshold.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Larry Sanders Casts Doubt On Return To NBA

February 25th, 2015 at 9:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Larry Sanders revealed in a self-authored piece on The Players’ Tribune that he recently checked himself into a hospital where he took part in a program for anxiety, depression and mood disorders, and he used “if” and not “when” in reference to a return to basketball. The former Bucks center is a free agent after clearing waivers Monday from a buyout deal with Milwaukee.

“I love basketball, and if I get to a point where I feel I’m capable of playing basketball again, I will,” Sanders wrote. “I’ve had to make the difficult decision to follow my intuition, and allow myself the space and time to explore my true purpose in life.”

In January, Sanders denied a report from Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that he was thinking about retirement amid an absence that began following his last appearance in a game on December 23rd. The center indicated in the video portion of his Players’ Tribune piece that the Bucks organization wasn’t the impetus behind his desire to depart. The 26-year-old reportedly has no intention to sign with an NBA team this season, though the Mavericks and Clippers were among the teams with at least some level of interest in signing him.

The center signed a four-year, $44MM rookie scale extension with the Bucks in 2013, but it didn’t kick in until this season. He forfeited all but $22,064,705 of it in the buyout deal, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Sanders downplayed the importance of money in his essay and suggested in the video that he has numerous priorities other than basketball.

“I’m a person, I’m a father, I’m an artist, I’m a writer, I’m a painter, I’m a musician, and sometimes I play basketball,” Sanders said.

Once a standout defender, Sanders has encountered a multitude of problems since he signed the extension. He broke his hand in a nightclub fight early last season, and the league has twice given him drug-related suspensions. The latest stretched over 12 games and cost him $1.2MM.

Fallout From Derrick Rose’s Latest Injury

February 25th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Derrick Rose has a torn meniscus in his right knee for the second season in a row, and while there’s no indication yet of how much time he’ll miss, Chicago’s title hopes seemingly hang in the balance. Here’s the latest on the Bulls as they wait to hear the fate of their point guard:

The Bulls are likely to sign another guard into their open roster spot, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Free agent and former Bull Nate Robinson would like to rejoin the team, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears (Twitter link), but it’s unclear if Chicago reciprocates that interest.
Rose was informed upon having season-ending surgery to repair his torn meniscus in 2013 that another tear was a possibility but typical treatment would entail a shorter rehab period of three to six weeks, a source said to Johnson for the same story. Still, it’s too soon to tell whether the injury will be season-ending, two sources close to Rose told Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The point guard is “the definition of untradeable,” but with a pivotal summer ahead, it might be time for the Bulls to reconsider how they regard the former MVP, Mannix opines in the same piece. Rose is due more than $20.093MM next season and in excess of $21.323MM in 2016/17, the last year of his deal.

And-Ones: Daniels, Shved, Towns

February 24th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The amount of cash the Thunder sent the Pelicans in the Ish Smith trade is $801K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The 2015 second-round pick headed from Oklahoma City to New Orleans is Philly’s top-55 protected pick, as Pincus shows on his Pelicans salary page. The 2016 second-rounder headed to the Thunder is the less favorable of Sacramento’s top-55 protected pick and the Pelicans’ pick, according to RealGM.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Hornets gave up Gary Neal two weeks ago in the trade that netted Mo Williams and Troy Daniels, but Steve Clifford can envision Daniels developing into the sort of role Neal has played in the NBA, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bonnell’s piece examines just what the Hornets have in Daniels, who has a fully guaranteed minimum salary for next season.
The Heat sent the Suns $2.2MM in cash in the Goran Dragic trade, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
The Knicks did indeed take Alexey Shved‘s $3,282,057 salary into their $3,637,073 Raymond Felton trade exception as part of their trade with the Rockets, reducing that exception to $355,016, as Pincus tweets. The move allowed New York to create a new $1,662,961 trade exception worth the equivalent of Pablo Prigioni‘s salary, Pincus adds.
A number of NBA GMs and scouts are beginning to view Karl-Anthony Towns as having greater long-term potential than Jahlil Okafor, and the freshman could play his way into being drafted No. 1 overall this June, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Suns Notes: Knight, Granger, Len

February 24th, 2015 at 9:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brandon Knight acknowledged that remaining with the Suns beyond this season is an attractive option for him, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. “They’ve got a lot of good talent, a lot of good pieces here, so I could definitely see myself being here long-term,” Knight said. “A good coaching staff, as well. We’ve just got to see what happens.” The point guard will become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.

Here’s more from Phoenix:

The Suns created a $5.5MM trade exception in their three-team trade with the Heat and Pelicans, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It’s equivalent to the difference between the salaries of Goran Dragic and John Salmons.
Danny Granger and the Suns have engaged in “positive and open talks” regarding if the veteran will remain with Phoenix or pursue a buyout arrangement so that he can join a contender, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets.
One major bright spot for the Suns this season is the play of Alex Len, whose potential has Phoenix’s front office and coaching staff excited, Ben York of NBA.com writes. “He continues to grow every single day,” coach Jeff Hornacek said about Len. “That’s why we’re so high on him for the future – a 21-year-old kid, the things he’s doing already. He’s going to get bigger, stronger and a better post-up game as these years go on. You’re going to look three to four years down the road – I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but [he has a chance] to be an All-Star.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Clark, Garnett

February 24th, 2015 at 8:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers waiver claim of Thomas Robinson will drop the Nuggets to approximately $2.6MM beneath the NBA’s salary floor, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). This means that Denver would have to pay its players the difference between their team salary and the league’s minimum amount if the team doesn’t raise its payroll above the salary floor prior to the end of the season.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz have assigned Ian Clark to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This will be Clark’s first trek of the season to Idaho.
At the press conference welcoming Kevin Garnett back to the Wolves, Garnett discussed what led him to waive his no trade clause so that he could return to Minnesota, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. Garnett said, “I figured if LeBron James can go home, [expletive], why can’t I?“
Garnett relayed that he had no desire to become a coach when his playing career was over, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets. “Heeeeell no. A coach is what I won’t be … you can’t pay me enough to coach,” Garnett said.
The veteran big man says that he is in it for the long haul with the Wolves, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press relays (Twitter link). Garnett says he wants to become part of Minnesota’s ownership and help the team claim an NBA title.
Garnett declined to commit to playing beyond this season, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link). KG said that he would listen to what his body tells him and seek his family’s input before deciding his future, Kyler adds.
The Blazers‘ Steve Blake said that he plans to exercise his player option for 2015/16 worth $2,170,465, and that he is hoping to play another “year or two” after that, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com writes. “I’ve thought about it for sure,” said Blake of retirement. “I know I’m in the back stretch, that’s why it’s so important for us to be so good. I want a championship really bad and I’m hoping we can get to that level. I only have a few years left to try and get it.”

Eastern Notes: Williams, Hawks, Garnett

February 24th, 2015 at 6:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons claimed Shawne Williams off waivers to offset the loss of Jonas Jerebko, who was traded to Boston last week, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “We’re a little thin up front and Shawne played very well in Miami this year, got put in that trade to New Orleans, New Orleans waived him before they got everybody hurt, so we got some luck there,” Stan Van Gundy said. “So we got a little luck there. But we needed a little depth and he’s a guy that comes in, again, on a value contract, and he’s got a non-guaranteed contract for next year. So it gives us a lot of flexibility.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards are sending $839K to the Kings as part of the Andre Miller for Ramon Sessions trade that occurred last week, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
There’s a decent chance the sale of the Hawks won’t be complete until May or June, a person familiar with the deal told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Today is the deadline for prospective owners to submit preliminary bids, Vivlamore reports.
Newly acquired Goran Dragic has become a fan of his new team already, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays (Twitter link). Speaking about the Heat, Dragic said, “They take care of players. I feel I’m spoiled here. So much great stuff.“
Kevin Garnett said that it was difficult for him to leave the Nets mid-season because of his loyalty to the organization, but he believed that returning to Minnesota was a great opportunity, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes.
The Knicks are counting on oft-injured Andrea Bargnani to help make up for the scoring the team lost with Carmelo Anthony being out for the season, Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News writes. “Well, he has the skillset and the versatility to do those things,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Whether he can average the same amount of points [as Anthony], we’ll see. He’s capable of it. I think if he can stay healthy and just continue to get a comfort out on the floor again, playing basketball, competing hard every night, the physical and mental grind that exists in doing that – which is different when you haven’t done that for a year, which is basically what it’s been for him.“

Pistons Claim Shawne Williams

February 24th, 2015 at 6:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

6:18pm: The Pistons have claimed Williams off waivers, the team has announced.

4:27pm: The Pistons have submitted a waiver claim for Shawne Williams, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Williams had reached a buyout arrangement with the Pelicans after he was acquired as a part of the multi-team deal that sent Goran Dragic to Miami. Detroit currently has 14 players on its roster, which means no additional move would be required to add Williams.

It’s unclear how much salary Williams relinquished in his buyout arrangement with New Orleans, but the team won’t be on the hook for any remaining funds to the player if the Pistons indeed claim Williams. Detroit would then be responsible for the remainder of the $1,227,985 the 29-year-old forward is earning this season. Williams is also under contract for 2015/16, though the $1,356,146 he is scheduled to earn is non-guaranteed.

Williams had appeared in 44 games for the Heat this season, and averaged 6.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 21.0 minutes per game. His career numbers over seven seasons are 5.8 PPG and 3.1 RPG. His career shooting percentages are .407/.345/.848.

Sixers Claim Thomas Robinson, Release Frazier

February 24th, 2015 at 5:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:39pm: The Sixers have claimed Robinson and released Frazier, the team announced in a press release.

4:33pm: Chances are slim that Philly will waive Robinson, a league source tells Windrem, noting that he wouldn’t be playoff-eligible for another team if he hits waivers again after Sunday (Twitter link).

4:23pm: The league has informed the other teams that the Sixers have indeed claimed Robinson off waivers, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).

4:20pm: A league source suggests to NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem that the Sixers don’t have much interest in Robinson and simply did the move to reach the salary floor (Twitter link).

4:15pm: Philly’s initial plan is to keep Robinson and take an “extended look” at him, a league source told Wojnarowski for his full story.

4:04pm: The Sixers have claimed Robinson and released Frazier, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Philadelphia has yet to make a public announcement, however. If the team has indeed let go of Frazier, he immediately becomes a free agent and isn’t subject to waivers, since he was on a 10-day contract.

3:53pm: Philadelphia has indeed submitted a claim, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link), so he’s poised to join the team after the top of the hour.

3:27pm: The Sixers are likely to claim Thomas Robinson off waivers from the Nuggets, spoiling Brooklyn’s deal to sign him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). That’d be a boon to Denver, which would have his entire salary of more than $3.678MM wiped from its cap, rather than simply the amount that Robinson agreed to relinquish in their buyout deal. It would also send the Sixers over the $56.759MM minimum team salary, meaning they wouldn’t have to pay their existing players the difference between their team salary and the minimum. Philadelphia would have to waive a player to make the claim, since it has a full 15-man roster, though Tim Frazier is on a 10-day contract. The deadline to submit a claim is 4pm Central time.

Robinson had reportedly agreed to sign a 10-day contract with the Nets, though Wojnarowski wrote that the Nets were expected to eventually sign him for the rest of the season. The former No. 5 overall pick went from the Blazers to the Nuggets in a deadline-day trade. He’s been set for unrestricted free agency this summer ever since Portland declined the fourth-year team option on his rookie scale contract this past fall. The Sixers would be unable to re-sign him to a starting salary of more than the approximately $4.66MM value of that option if they claimed him off waivers.

The Nets have reportedly been interested in bringing back Andray Blatche, so missing out on Robinson would seemingly reopen that possibility, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Still, a league source tells Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that the Nets have no immediate plans for their lone open roster spot, which Robinson was expected to fill (Twitter link).

Cavs Sign Kendrick Perkins

February 24th, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 3:40pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

9:49pm: Perkins will sign with the Cavaliers Tuesday before the team plays in Detroit, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

MONDAY, 4:14pm: Perkins has cleared waivers as expected, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), clearing the way for him to sign with the Cavs.

SATURDAY, 3:30pm: Kendrick Perkins has finalized a buyout arrangement with the Jazz and intends to sign with the Cavaliers if and when he clears waivers, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports. Perkins was dealt to the Jazz on Thursday as part of a three-way trade with the Pistons and Thunder that sent Reggie Jackson to Detroit and Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. The buyout has not been officially announced by the player or the Jazz as of yet, though Perkins’ agent Arn Tellem has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that a buyout had been agreed upon.

The veteran big man was recruited by LeBron James to select Cleveland as his next NBA destination, Young notes. Perkins also drew heavy interest from the Bulls, Clippers, Pelicans, and Spurs, the ESPN scribe adds. The combination of a chance to contend for an NBA title along with an opportunity for playing time pushed Perkins to choose Cleveland over his other suitors, Young relays. The Cavs currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional move would be required to sign Perkins. No contract details for Perkins have been released, but the Cavs do have a disabled player exception worth $4,852,273 for Anderson Varejao that they could use to sign Perkins for more than the minimum.

Perkins, 30, is making $9.654MM this season and would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In 51 appearances this season, all with the Thunder, Perkins is averaging 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 19.2 minutes per contest.

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