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Month: November 2024

And-Ones: Rose Rule, Noah, Draft, Roc Nation

May 27th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

Two standout NBA players were significantly impacted by Thursday’s announcement of this year’s All-NBA teams, with Damian Lillard receiving some good news while Anthony Davis got hit with bad news. By earning a spot on the All-NBA second team, Lillard ensured that his max extension, which goes into effect for the coming season, would increase from 25% of the Trail Blazers‘ cap to 27.5%, guaranteeing him an extra $12MM+ over the life of the deal. Conversely, since he missed out on All-NBA honors this year, Davis will have his max extension count for 25% of the Pelicans‘ cap rather than 30%, costing him nearly $25MM over the next five years.

In a column for The Vertical, Bobby Marks takes a closer at Lillard’s and Davis’ situations with the Blazers and Pelicans, respectively, and argues that the NBA needs to revamp what’s known as the Derrick Rose Rule. As Marks points out, the criteria for the Rose Rule hinges on fan and media votes, and it doesn’t seem right that those votes should have such a huge impact on a player’s earnings.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

  • Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders identifies five potential landing spots for Joakim Noah if he leaves the Bulls, starting with Minnesota, where Noah’s former coach Tom Thibodeau is set to take the reins.
  • Chad Ford’s latest Insider-only dispatch at ESPN.com includes plenty of interesting notes on prospects like Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, Marquese Chriss, and others. Among Ford’s tidbits: Chriss is generally viewed as a candidate to be picked in the No. 7-10 range, but teams as high as the Suns (No. 4) are considering the power forward out of Washington.
  • Within an in-depth look at Roc Nation Sports, Jay-Z’s sports agency, Rick Maese of The Washington Post speaks to Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant‘s agent at Roc Nation. “We know this is a big deal and a big moment in his career,” Kleiman said of Durant’s impending free agency. “We also have to be his guiding light in this. We can’t let the pressure of the situation be bigger than it is. Obviously, we understand all eyes are looking at him and looking at his decisions, and people want to see how we’re going to handle it, too.”
  • In a piece for Basketball Insiders, Eric Pincus takes an in-depth look at how the NBA’s playoff pool works, and which teams are benefiting most from the postseason bonus money.
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Wizards Expected To Offer Max Deal To Bradley Beal

May 27th, 2016 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Barring a drastic development, the Wizards are expected to offer shooting guard Bradley Beal a five-year, maximum-salary extension when the new league year opens in July, people with knowledge of the situation tell Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The cap for next season will have to be set before the exact value of such an offer will be known, but it would likely start in the neighborhood of $22MM.

Last week, Beal told Castillo in a phone interview that he believes he’s a maximum-salary player, and that he’ll shop around for an offer sheet from a team willing to pay that price if the Wizards don’t put a max offer on the table: “I feel like I’m a max player and that’s what I’m looking for. If Washington can’t meet that requirement then I may be thinking elsewhere. I’m pretty sure that they probably won’t [let me go].”

As Beal suggested, the Wizards do seem unwilling to let him go. Castillo’s latest report comes on the heels of a story from J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com, who was told that Washington remains “determined” to keep its core group of players intact. Keeping that core together will require making a significant offer this summer to a player who has been plagued by injuries in recent years.

Beal, who turns 23 next month, is a talented scorer when healthy, averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game on 44.9% shooting in 2015/16. However, he also established a new career low in games played this past season, appearing in just 55 contests. The former third overall pick has never played more than 73 games in a season, due to injuries.

Still, as Castillo points out, Beal will be one of the more appealing free agents on the market this year, and with so many teams armed with cap space, a max deal will almost certainly be necessary to keep him in D.C. According to Castillo, the plan for Washington is to reach an agreement with Beal immediately, but to wait to formally sign him to that new deal — because Beal’s cap hold is smaller than his starting salary would be on a new contract, keeping that cap hold on the books for as long as possible would allow the Wizards to maximize their cap space, perhaps even adding another max player to their roster.

With several weeks still to go before free agency begins, it’s possible things could change before then, and a sign-and-trade deal involving Beal is conceivable, Castillo writes. However, a source tells the Post scribe that the Wizards aren’t entertaining that option. The team thinks highly of the young guard’s character, and believes he’s on the brink of breaking out.

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Eastern Notes: Bucks, 76ers, Okafor, Heat

May 27th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

While an Oshkosh wealth management firm is in talks with the Bucks about potentially bringing a D-League team to the city, Milwaukee doesn’t expect to have a D-League franchise in place until at least the fall of 2017, and other midwestern cities are in play, writes Nate Beck of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. The firm, along with local stakeholders, will submit plans to the Bucks by the end of June, and the plan is to fund the project entirely with private money. If Oshkosh is ultimately chosen as the location for the Bucks’ D-League team, it would be the first professional sports team to play in the city since the Wisconsin Flyers, a minor league basketball team, disbanded in 1987.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Appearing on 97.3 ESPN, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (link via Andrew Kulp of CSNPhilly.com) suggested that he doesn’t expect to see Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor both return to Philadelphia next season. In Ford’s view, the 76ers will gauge the trade value of both players, perhaps with a slight preference to keep Noel over Okafor.
  • With the possibility of an Okafor trade in mind, John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com examines potential destinations for the Sixers big man, concluding that Boston, Phoenix, Denver, and the Lakers would probably be the best fits.
  • In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he doesn’t see Mike Conley as a great fit for the Heat, and why Mario Chalmers probably isn’t all that likely to return to Miami.
  • The odds of Kevin Durant joining the Celtics in free agency this offseason are long, but New England Patriots defensive lineman Terrance Knighton, who is friends with the Thunder star, says he’ll be “in [Durant’s] ear a lot” once the season ends, trying to encourage him to come to Boston. Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com has the quotes and the details on Knighton’s recruiting efforts.
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And-Ones: Noah, Nets Mini-Camp, Jovanovic

May 26th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the reports that Joakim Noah is ready to leave the Bulls when he becomes a free agent this summer, talks between the big man and the team have resulted in a “positive dialogue” about a new contract, a league source tells Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Noah had reportedly told teammates in recent weeks that he’s done with the organization once free agency begins, adding that he “has no trust in the front office getting this in the right direction.” The big man’s agent disputed the reports, adding that his client has “great respect” for the city of Chicago, Bulls fans, and the organization. “Joakim and I speak on a daily basis about his future,” Duffy said. “There has been zero indication he doesn’t wish to return to Bulls.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Nets are planning on holding another free agent mini-camp next month and the invitees will include Quinn Cook, Alex Stepheson, Scotty Hopson, Jerrelle Benimon, Alex Kirk, Kwame Vaughn and McKenzie Moore, international journalist David Pick reports in a series of tweets. Moore is also scheduled to work out for the Mavericks, Pick notes.
  • USC junior big man Nikola Jovanovic has hired Bill Duffy of BDA Sports Management to represent him, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today relays (via Twitter). The 22-year-old is no lock to be selected this June and isn’t among the top 100 players, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
  • Former Oklahoma shooting guard Isaiah Cousins has a workout scheduled with the Raptors on May 31st, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Cousins is a potential second-rounder, with Givony slotting him No. 67 overall.
  • D’Andre Downey (Stillman College) and Alec Wintering (Portland) have withdrawn from the 2016 NBA draft and are returning to school, Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com relays.
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2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Thunder

May 26th, 2016 at 9:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose D-League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue:

The Thunder made 27 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 98 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Oklahoma City for the 2015/16 campaign:

Here’s how Oklahoma City’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:

  • Josh Huestis: In 25 appearances Huestis averaged 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 32.1 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .397/.312/.474.
  • Mitch McGary: In 26 appearances McGary averaged 14.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .457/.239/.763.
  • Cameron Payne: In two contests Payne averaged 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 34.0 minutes per night. His shooting line was .439/.429/.833.
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Atlantic Notes: Hornacek, Noah, Bender

May 26th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The biggest beneficiaries from the Knicks hiring of Jeff Hornacek may be the team’s young point guards, Jerian Grant and Tony Wroten, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Hornacek, whose offense depends on strong point guard play, should immediately improve the team’s woeful backcourt production, Lewis notes. “Jeff played in the league for years, coached in Phoenix,” Grant’s father, Harvey, said of the new coach. “His system was mostly pick-and-roll. Jerian, once he learns the system, he can flourish in that system. And Jeff can tell him the ins and outs of being a guard in this league.”

“Jerian, this guy gets in the gym and he puts the work in,” the elder Grant continued. “You have to be on the floor, you have to be on the floor and you’ve got to work through your mistakes and get that confidence. The last 12, 14 games, the fans in New York got to see what Jerian can do.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Jordan Ott, an assistant coach with the Hawks and former assistant at Michigan State, is joining new Nets coach Kenny Atkinson‘s staff as an assistant coach and manager of advanced scouting, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
  • If Joakim Noah decides to leave the Bulls this summer, the Knicks would have interest in signing him, provided it was at a discounted rate, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report relays (Twitter links). Beck points to Noah’s New York roots and the mutual respect between the big man and team president Phil Jackson as reasons the two parties could come together, but adding that Noah’s potential desire to start could prove problematic.
  • Celtics personnel, including president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, took a recent trip to Israel to scout potential top three pick Dragan Bender, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter). In a recent poll, Hoops Rumors readers predicted that Boston would select Bender with the No. 3 overall pick.
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Western Notes: Howard, Felton, Thomas

May 26th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets guard Jason Terry doesn’t believe that center Dwight Howard is a lock to opt out of his deal this summer and test free agency, as he told Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He has yet to opt out,” Terry said. “Again, it’s just going to depend on if you get the right coach in there. At this point in his career, he’s not going to be the focal point offensively. They’ve made that clear. He’s gonna have to, if he remains in Houston, buy into the role fully, commit himself to setting screens, rebounding, running the floor, blocking shots and working on his free throws, obviously.” Terry’s comments were made prior to the reports that Mike D’Antoni would be the team’s new head coach, which may significantly impact Howard’s thinking given the two did not mesh well together in Los Angeles.

Here’s more from out West:

  • The Mavericks could benefit by re-signing Raymond Felton this summer after his solid 2015/16 campaign, though the team should only do so if he is willing to accept the salary of a backup player, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Felton made 80 appearances this season, including 30 starts, and he averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27.4 minutes per outing.
  • Former NBA player Adonis Thomas will attend mini-camps with the Rockets, Spurs and Jazz, his agent Travis King informed Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype (Twitter link). The 23-year-old swingman appeared in six games during the 2013/14 campaign for the Sixers and Magic.
  • If Kevin Durant leaves the Thunder as a free agent this offseason, he will also be leaving behind Russell Westbrook, whose presence has played a significant part in Durant’s success thus far in his career, Ben Alamar of ESPN.com writes.
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Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 7)

May 26th, 2016 at 5:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

The Pelicans’ choice came right down to the wire, with Kris Dunn narrowly edging out Jamal Murray. Nearing the lottery’s halfway point, we’ll continue on with the Nuggets, whose roster is relatively set for next season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Denver’s pick and check back Friday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Kings will select with the No. 8 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 7 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

  1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
  2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
  3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
  4. Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
  5. Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
  6. Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
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Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Los Angeles Lakers

May 26th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour complete, the Lakers are set to clear his massive cap hit from their books, freeing up a significant amount of cap room and creating major flexibility for the coming offseason. Of course, it’s not just Bryant’s monster cap number that will be expunged — assuming the team doesn’t intend to bring back Roy Hibbert, his $15MM+ salary (and $23MM cap hold) can be cleared as well. With only about $23MM in guaranteed money owed to players for 2016/17, the Lakers will have the freedom to splash around in free agency this summer, either adding veterans to a young core that includes D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and this year’s No. 2 overall pick, or using some of those attractive, affordable pieces to try to acquire pricier stars.

See how Los Angeles’ cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • None

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Other Cap Holds

  • No. 2 pick ($4,401,400)

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

Footnotes:

  1. The cap hold for Bryant will be the maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons. The number shown here is an estimate based on the projected cap figure.

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

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Curry, LeBron, Westbrook Headline All-NBA Teams

May 26th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced its three All-NBA teams for the 2015/16 season, with unanimous MVP Stephen Curry also leading the way in first-team nods (129) and overall points (645). After Curry, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were the leading vote-getters, followed by Kawhi Leonard. DeAndre Jordan also earned a spot on the All-NBA first team.

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard landed on the All-NBA second team, triggering the Derrick Rose Rule and ensuring that the max extension he signed last summer will be worth more than 25% of the salary cap. Per Danny Leroux of RealGM and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the terms of Lillard’s contract dictate that his extension will be worth 27.5%, rather than the full 30% allowable by the Rose Rule.

As for Anthony Davis, he just missed the cut for the All-NBA third team, so the Rose Rule won’t apply to his max extension with the Pelicans, costing him an extra $20MM+ over the life of his contract.

Here are all three All-NBA teams for the 2015/16 season, with voting point totals in parentheses:

All-NBA First Team:

  • Forward: LeBron James, Cavaliers (637)
  • Forward: Kawhi Leonard, Spurs (575)
  • Center: DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (317)
  • Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors (645)
  • Guard: Russell Westbrook, Thunder (627)

All-NBA Second Team:

All-NBA Third Team:

James Harden, Paul Millsap, Anthony Davis, and Al Horford also received more than 75 voting points.

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