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Week In Review 2/7/16-2/13/16

February 13th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks fired coach Derek Fisher this past week and named Kurt Rambis interim coach. New York had lost nine of its last 10 games to drop to 23-31, five games back of the Pistons for eighth place in the Eastern Conference at the time of Fisher’s dismissal. Fisher’s record in a season and a half with the team was 40-96, including last season’s 17-65 disaster. The Knicks signed Fisher to a five-year, $25MM deal after the team reportedly encountered difficulty in its negotiations with Jackson’s top choice, Steve Kerr, who chose to take the Warriors job instead. Fisher made headlines during his time with New York for an alleged run-in with Matt Barnes.

League sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that they believe Brian Shaw and Luke Walton, both of whom have ties to team president Phil Jackson, are the team’s top long-term candidates for the position. Former Knicks assistant Tom Thibodeau has always wanted to become the head coach in New York and “would crawl” to Madison Square Garden for the job, a confidant told Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com.

Here’s more from the week that was…

Miscellaneous News

  • Bulls All-Star Jimmy Butler will be out three to four weeks with a strained left knee.
  • Warriors assistant Luke Walton hired the Wasserman Media Group to represent him.
  • Grizzlies center Marc Gasol suffered a broken right foot and will be out of action indefinitely.
  • Hawks director of international scouting Himar Ojeda left the team to accept a position with the German club Alba Berlin.
  • Clippers combo guard Austin Rivers will be sidelined four to six weeks with a broken left hand.
  • Warriors big man Festus Ezeli underwent surgery on his left knee and is expected to be out six weeks.
  • Former Bucks center Larry Sanders plans to attempt an NBA comeback, but says that he wants to address other opportunities first.
  • Former 2007 No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden was released by the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.
  • Some “cursory contact” has reportedly taken place between the Timberwolves and former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
  • Hornets small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder and is likely out for the remainder of the season.
  •  Tyreke Evans will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.
  • Auburn junior point guard Kareem Canty has decided to enter this year’s NBA draft and leave the school.

Signings

You can stay up to date on all the 10-day deals handed out with our 10-day contract tracker.

D-League News

  • Former first-round pick Jordan Hamilton, who finished last season with the Clippers, intends to sign with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate.

You can stay up to date on all the D-League assignments and recalls for the season here.

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Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 2/12/16

February 13th, 2016 at 12:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

It seems as though former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau‘s name is brought up in connection with virtually every new head coaching slot that becomes available. All the interest and speculation surrounding him is a testament to how Thibs’ coaching abilities are respected around the league, and the smart money is certainly on him returning to NBA sidelines sooner rather than later. Some “cursory contact” has reportedly taken place between the Timberwolves and Thibodeau, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, though the talks were not classified as serious. Thibodeau has apparently long wanted the Knicks coaching job, and while that currently appears unlikely to occur, he’s reportedly of interest to the Lakers and Nets as well. It should be noted that Los Angeles still has Byron Scott calling the shots, but his job security appears dubious at best for 2016/17.

There’s no denying that Thibodeau is a solid coach, but his style and system do have their detractors. Thibs was knocked for focusing too much on defense while in Chicago at the expense of the Bulls’ offense. He also had a tendency to overuse his veteran players, which progressively wore them down over the course of long NBA campaigns. Also of concern, especially for teams with youthful rosters, is Thibodeau’s reputation of being extremely hard on his players, which doesn’t always play well with today’s crop of stars. This would be of great concern in a spot like Minnesota, where a young team needs a coach who will nurture and develop that talent and challenge the players to become better.

This brings me to the topic for today: Which team in need of a head coach (or rumored to soon be in need of one) would Tom Thibodeau fit best with?

Do you think Thibs would be a good fit with the Wolves’ young roster, or should he look for a team that has more of a veteran presence given his past resistance to playing younger players when veterans were available to take those minutes? If you don’t think the Knicks, Wolves, Nets or Lakers would be the right match, tell us what post would be the ideal fit for Thibodeau. Take to the comments section to share your opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

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And-Ones: Colangelo, Tavares, Durant

February 12th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers executive Jerry Colangelo indicated that the franchise may take a page out of the Warriors‘ organizational playbook and add more voices to their front office, Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com relays. “[Golden State] proves the point,” Colangelo told reporters today. “If you have the right mix of people you can have a collaborative effort because people respect one another, and usually that comes from people who have had experience, who’ve been around the track. You add all of that to the mix and it could work.”

“I think that any time you have an opportunity to enhance your organization, and you bring people in to accomplish that, you consider it. Big time. You really do,” Colangelo continued. “And I think in our case we have a very bright young guy in [GM] Sam Hinkie, who holds the title of president and GM, and in his space he’s really strong. One could build a case for saying you’d like to have more people added who have experience in other aspects of those jobs. That’s the kind of conversation that’s going on. “

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Thunder haven’t given any consideration to trading small forward Kevin Durant, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, prior to next week’s deadline despite the uncertainty that revolves around his future, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays. “I never thought about that at all,” Durant said about being dealt by OKC. “I don’t know, man. I don’t want to be moved. I want to finish this thing out with my team. I think we got a really good thing going right now, so I haven’t really thought about it. We never talk about that stuff, me, [GM] Sam Presti, our assistant GM [Troy Weaver]. It’s always about how I can be better for my teammates and with my leadership skills.”
  • Jeff Ayres‘ second 10-day deal with the Clippers expired Thursday night, so he became a free agent. Teams are only permitted to ink any single player to a total of two 10-day pacts per season, and if Los Angeles wishes to retain Ayres, it would have to sign him for the remainder of the season. The Clippers’ roster count now stands at 14 players.
  • The Hawks have recalled center Edy Tavares from the Spurs‘ D-League affiliate where he had been sent as part of the flexible assignment rule, Atlanta announced via press release. Tavares has averaged 9.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 21.1 minutes during his seven D-League assignments this season.
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Celtics, Cavs, Knicks Have Discussed Love Trade

February 12th, 2016 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 3:55pm: Cleveland has made it clear it wants a star in return for Love, not the role players and draft picks the Celtics are offering, league sources tell Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

10:15pm: The Cavs have been shopping Love but the asking price is very high, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe tweets.

FRIDAY, 9:00pm: The Cavaliers and the Celtics have had discussions regarding a trade that would send Kevin Love to Boston, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News reports. Preliminary talk also took place about a three-way deal that would include the Knicks and small forward Carmelo Anthony, Isola adds. Anthony’s contract includes a no-trade clause, which the veteran would have to waive in order for any deal involving him to occur. New York would be in line to receive draft picks and players in return for Anthony, including center Timofey Mozgov, who was part of the 2011 trade with Denver that landed ‘Melo in New York.

The talks involving the Knicks have not progressed, according to Isola, and Anthony remains committed to New York for the time being. Anthony did relay earlier today that if the Knicks were to miss the playoffs this season, he would have to think about his future with the franchise. “That doesn’t sit well with me to know that it can be three years if we don’t pick it up right away,” Anthony said. “I try not to think about that right now but in actuality you have to start thinking about that.”

Anthony has expressed his desire to play alongside another star player, which LeBron James certainly qualifies as if Anthony were indeed to end up in Cleveland. “I think everybody always kind of dreams and hopes that they can play with another great player, another star player,” Anthony said. “It’s a star players’ league. I think that’s what we all talk about every time we get together. ‘I want to play with you. I want to play with you.’ Even here different guys say, ‘Come play with me, come play with me.’ That’s always the mindset. I think everybody that’s in my situation, in my position, they all want the load off, especially the older that they get. You realize that you just can’t do it by yourself. Everybody knows that. You have teams, great teams, great guys — individual guys on the teams — that still haven’t won either. They realize it just doesn’t work like that.”

The Celtics could also look to deal with the Knicks directly if they are unable to land Love, Isola notes. Boston executive Danny Ainge is determined to add a star player and is intrigued by Anthony, the Daily News scribe adds. Boston certainly has assets the Knicks would likely be interested in, including multiple future draft picks and perhaps second-year playmaker Marcus Smart, who could be the answer at point guard for New York, though that is merely my speculation. With their lack of future draft picks thanks to a number of ill-advised trades, the Knicks could benefit from hitting the reset button and building around rookie phenom Kristaps Porzingis.

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Reader Power Rankings: Midseason Update

February 12th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Prior to the start of the 2015/16 season, we at Hoops Rumors asked our readers to predict how each team would rank by regular season record in a series of polls. While these polls were not necessarily scientific, nor legally binding, with the All-Star break upon us we thought it would be amusing to see just how well our readers can predict the future. Listed below, in descending order, are the 2015/16 preseason power rankings along with each team’s record for comparison’s sake. Feel free to take to the comments section to brag about what you got right, as well as to own up to what you got wrong. Enjoy!

  1. Cavaliers: 38-14
  2. Warriors: 48-4
  3. Spurs: 45-8
  4. Thunder: 40-14
  5. Clippers: 35-18
  6. Rockets: 27-28
  7. Grizzlies: 31-22
  8. Bulls: 27-25
  9. Hawks: 31-24
  10. Wizards: 23-28
  11. Heat: 29-24
  12. Raptors: 35-17
  13. Pelicans: 20-33
  14. Bucks: 22-32
  15. Mavericks: 29-26
  16. Pacers: 28-25
  17. Celtics: 32-23
  18. Suns: 14-40
  19. Jazz: 26-26
  20. Hornets: 27-26
  21. Kings: 22-31
  22. Pistons: 28-25
  23. Magic: 23-29
  24. Trail Blazers: 27-27
  25. Timberwolves: 17-37
  26. Nets: 14-40
  27. Lakers: 11-44
  28. Nuggets: 22-32
  29. Knicks: 23-32
  30. 76ers: 8-45
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Knicks Notes: Jackson, Anthony, Seraphin

February 12th, 2016 at 6:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony dreams of playing alongside another star player and wants team president Phil Jackson to acquire one, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. “I think everybody always kind of dreams and hopes that they can play with another great player, another star player,” Anthony said. “It’s a star players’ league. I think that’s what we all talk about every time we get together. ‘I want to play with you. I want to play with you.’ Even here different guys say, ‘Come play with me, come play with me.’ That’s always the mindset. I think everybody that’s in my situation, in my position, they all want the load off, especially the older that they get. You realize that you just can’t do it by yourself. Everybody knows that. You have teams, great teams, great guys — individual guys on the teams — that still haven’t won either. They realize it just doesn’t work like that.”

Anthony also relayed that if New York misses the playoffs again he would have to think about his future with the franchise, Iannazzone relays. “That doesn’t sit well with me to know that it can be three years if we don’t pick it up right away,” Anthony said. “I try not to think about that right now but in actuality you have to start thinking about that.”

Here’s more from New York City:

  • Despite the reported strong belief that Jackson will wind up back with the Lakers organization and fiancee Jeanie Buss when he is eligible to opt out of his deal during the summer of 2017, Jackson does not have “one foot out the door,” Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.  “He’s totally committed, that’s the type of person he is,” a source close to the Zen Master told Zagoria. “He’s totally committed to the Knicks until he’s not with the Knicks anymore. He doesn’t have one foot out the door or anything like that. He bought a multi-million dollar apartment in New York, he didn’t rent it.“
  • Center Kevin Seraphin hopes that the Knicks’ coaching change will provide him with more playing time than he received under former coach Derek Fisher, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “I don’t have any thoughts. I’m not the general manager,” Seraphin said regarding Fisher’s ouster. “I just hope for more playing time. That’s the goal. It’s a new opportunity for sure. It’s not only me. It’s all the guys on the bench. It’s a new opportunity for us. We have to take it.”
  • Anthony was officially elected Vice President of the NBPA’s executive board, the NBPA has announced (via Twitter).
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Max Contract Scenarios For Kevin Durant

February 12th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant today denied that he’s given thought to signing a two-year deal with a player option when he hits free agency this summer. It’s a contractual strategy that LeBron James has pursued the last two years to provide for the most flexibility and money possible, and given the rapid escalation in the salary cap that’s about to take place and Durant’s relative youth, it would be an even smarter idea for him than it would be for LeBron.

First, let’s look at what Durant would make if he signs a five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Thunder, based on the NBA’s maximum-salary projections:

  • 2016/17: $24,900,000
  • 2017/18: $26,767,500
  • 2018/19: $28,635,000
  • 2019/20: $30,502,500
  • 2020/21: $32,370,000
  • Total: $143,175,000

He’d see slightly less if he signed a max deal for as many years as he could with another team. Only the Thunder can give him a fifth year, and everyone else is limited to offering 4.5% raises instead of 7.5% raises. Again, the figures here rely on the league’s projection for next year’s maximum salaries.

  • 2016/17: $24,900,000
  • 2017/18: $26,020,500
  • 2018/19: $27,141,000
  • 2019/20: $28,261,500
  • Total: $106,323,000

Signing a two-year deal with a player option after the first season would take him down a more lucrative path, assuming the NBA and the players union don’t significantly alter maximum salaries or contract parameters when they negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement, which will likely kick in for the 2017/18 season. It’s a distinct possibility that they will indeed make changes, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports notes (Twitter link). So, uncertainty exists, but the existing structure makes the short-term deal an intriguing option.

We haven’t seen maximum-salary projections for 2017 yet, but the salary cap is projected to hit a whopping $108MM that summer, a drastic escalation not just from the $70MM cap for this season but also from next season’s projected $89MM cap. The sizes of maximum salaries are tied, though indirectly, to the size of the cap, so using the $108MM projection, it’s possible to estimate how much Durant’s max will be.

The NBA has three different maximum-salary tiers. Players with six or fewer years of experience see a max of roughly 25% of the cap. Those with seven, eight or nine years of experience are eligible for approximately 30% of the cap. And veterans of 10 or more seasons can get as much as about 35% of the cap. Durant is in his ninth season, so he’ll fall into the 30% tier for his free agency this year. That’s reflected in the $24.9MM figure used in the scenarios above. He’d fall into the 35% category after one more season, taking his starting salary in a contract he’d sign in 2017 even higher. I estimated for an earlier piece that the 35% maximum salary for 2017/18 will be $35.603MM, based on the league’s projections and formula for determining max salaries, which Larry Coon explains at the bottom of question No. 16 in his Salary Cap FAQ.

So, with that number in mind, and assuming the next collective bargaining agreement doesn’t bring about drastic change, here’s what Durant could get if he signs a deal with the Thunder this summer that allows him to opt out next year and re-signs on a five-year max deal in 2017:

  • 2016/17: $24,900,000
  • 2017/18: $35,603,000
  • 2018/19: $38,273,225
  • 2019/20: $40,943,450
  • 2020/21: $43,613,675
  • 2021/22: $46,283,900
  • Total: $229,617,250

Durant wouldn’t have the advantage of signing a five-year deal with higher raises with a team other than the Thunder in 2017, even if he signs with that non-OKC team this summer. That’s because he’d need to have been with that team for at least three seasons to accrue full Bird rights. So, here’s what Durant would get if he signs a max deal in 2017 outside of Oklahoma City:

  • 2016/17: $24,900,000
  • 2017/18: $35,603,000
  • 2018/19: $37,205,135
  • 2019/20: $38,807,270
  • 2020/21: $40,409,405
  • Total: $176,924,810

That would give Durant close to $37MM more than he would make over the same five-year period if he simply re-signed for five years at the max with Oklahoma City, even though the Thunder can pay him more than anyone else on a long-term deal this summer. That’s why it would behoove Durant to at least consider the option of signing a short-term deal this year, even given the uncertainty of collective bargaining agreement negotiations ahead. For all we know, the environment for max players could be better under the next labor deal than it is under this one, and with LeBron and Chris Paul, both of whom are currently on max deals, playing prominent roles in the union, that’s certainly not out of question.

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Bulls Notes: Front Office, Gasol, Mirotic

February 12th, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

All indications are Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf remains confident in the front office duo of GM Gar Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, who calls for them to make changes to the roster with the deadline less than a week away. Forman has reportedly signaled that he’s concerned about his future, but it’s instead the immediate situation in Chicago that has others worried.

“We got to find ourselves,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said, according to Friedell. “I challenged them, whatever they got to do over the [All-Star] break, look themselves in the mirror, find a way to get committed to this team where we can come out and go on a run. And that’s all we can do right now is look forward. It’s been a bad, bad stretch of basketball. Hopefully we’ll get healthy and move forward.”

Hoiberg’s job is in no danger, Friedell confirms, advocating instead for the Bulls to deal away Pau Gasol. Two executives recently told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that they don’t think the Bulls are done testing the trade market for Gasol in spite of injuries to Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic. See more from Chicago, where the Bulls are in seventh place and just a game up on the ninth-place Pistons:

  • Mirotic will remain out for weeks, not days, as he continues to recover from a follow-up procedure to an appendectomy, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The power forward had been targeting a return after the All-Star break.
  • The front office set a destructive tone when it undermined coach Tom Thibodeau last season, and it shows in the way the Bulls have responded on the court this season, contends Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Forman and Paxson told players last season that they didn’t have to buy in to Thibodeau’s coaching because the team planned to move on from him at season’s end, according to Cowley.
  • However, the negative effect Thibodeau had on the work environment in Chicago and the coach’s questionable substitution patterns are some of the reasons why it’s not as if his continued presence would have prevented the team’s problems this year, contends Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. The Timberwolves are the latest team to emerge with apparent interest in the ex-Bulls coach.
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Deadline Deals Involving Recent Signees

February 12th, 2016 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

Expiring contracts draw more talk this time of year, but while their value wanes in favor of long-term deals that give teams security as the salary cap rises, perhaps more attention should focus on trades involving players with freshly signed pacts. Ten of the 39 players under contract who were involved in deadline-day trades last year were in the first year of their respective deals. Chief among them was Isaiah Thomas, who went from the Suns to the Celtics in a swap that’s given Boston an All-Star under contract at less than $7MM a year through the 2017/18 season.

Such trades also illustrate how quickly the league’s perception of a player can change. The Heat signed Shawne Williams for the minimum salary before last season, and he wound up starting 22 games for them. Miami nonetheless shipped him to the Pelicans in the three-team Goran Dragic trade, one that also saw first-year player Zoran Dragic go to the Heat. New Orleans released Williams a few days after the trade, but the Pistons claimed him, played him fewer than 10 minutes per game and traded him in their offseason deal for Ersan Ilyasova. The Bucks waived him shortly thereafter, and he hasn’t been in the NBA since.

Here are each of the players who were in deadline-day trades last year after just having signed earlier in the season:

Note: Terms listed are those in effect at the time of the signing. Contract values are rounded to the nearest $1K.

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

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Northwest Notes: Durant, Lauvergne, Rubio

February 12th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The idea that Kevin Durant will sign a two-year deal with a player option after the first season to align his free agency with that of Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook, whose contract expires after next season, isn’t one that Durant has given much thought, as he said on ESPN Radio today, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).

“Actually that’s probably one of the first times I’ve heard that one, but, no, I haven’t really thought about it, man,” Durant said. “I’m just, with [coming back from] injury and just getting back to playing again, I haven’t thought about contracts or free agency or none of that stuff at all. … I really haven’t thought about that one. I guess I have to.”

Durant would stand to benefit financially from the short-term deal, since becoming a free agent in 2017 would allow him to make a starting salary worth roughly 35% of the salary cap, instead of 30%. The cap is also projected to reach $108MM in 2017 and only $89MM this coming summer. Still, the uncertainty surrounding the next collective bargaining agreement, likely to take effect before 2017 free agency, might mean changes to the sort of contract Durant could sign, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). See more from the Northwest Division:

  • Nuggets coach Michael Malone spoke earlier this week of finding a way for Joffrey Lauvergne to see more playing time, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post observes. The Nuggets reportedly want a late first-rounder in exchange for the center, but Dempsey believes Lauvergne is staying put.
  • The four-year, $55MM extension that kicked in for Ricky Rubio this season is soon to become one of the most team-friendly deals in the league, thanks to the escalation of the salary cap and Rubio’s “electrifying” play, Marks opines. Timberwolves GM Milt Newton denies that he’s received any trade calls on Rubio lately but said he would be obliged to listen if a team did ask about him, as Newton said to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
  • The Wolves allowed a pair of small trade exceptions, one worth $816,482 and the other $500K, to lapse Wednesday. They were vestiges of the team’s swap that sent Mo Williams and Troy Daniels to the Hornets last year.
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