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Community Shootaround: Hall Of Fame

September 10th, 2016 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted another star-studded class Friday night, headlined by NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming. All three reached the hall in their first year of eligibility, which created a problem for some other players who are hoping to join them.

Former Suns point guard Kevin Johnson was a finalist for induction, but failed to receive enough votes. During a career that lasted more than 12 seasons, Johnson was a five-time All-Star who made five all-NBA teams and turned Phoenix into one of the league’s elite teams.

Johnson’s best opportunity at enshrinement will come next year, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. There won’t be any slam-dunk enshrinees joining the ballot in 2017, but that changes in 2018 when Jason Kidd, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady become eligible.

Johnson will have plenty of fellow contenders when the votes are cast next year. There are several players who have been lingering on the ballot for a long time, and like Johnson, they may be approaching their last really good chance to reach the hall.

Along with K.J., these are the players with the best shot at induction in 2017, according to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders:

  • Jack Sikma — The former SuperSonics and Bucks center has a championship ring and seven All-Star appearances on his resume. All other eligible players who reached the All-Star game at least seven times are already in the hall.
  • Shawn Kemp — He made it to the NBA Finals once and the All-Star Game six times. Kemp had more than 15,000 career points and 9,000 rebounds in 14 seasons. He is one of the greatest players in Sonics’ history and one of the most electrifying dunkers ever to play the game.
  • Mark Aguirre — The first pick in the 1981 draft, Aguirre won two rings with the Pistons’ “Bad Boys” teams. Aguirre was a three-time All-Star and averaged 20 points per game in his 14-year career.
  • Ben Wallace — The defensive anchor of the 2004 champion Pistons, Wallace could become the first undrafted player to reach the hall. He was named Defensive Player of the Year four times and was voted to the All-Defensive First Team five times.
  • Tim Hardaway — A member of the highly regarded “Run TMC” teams in Golden State, Hardaway also prospered in Miami. He made five All-Star teams and was a first-team all-NBA selection in 1996/97. He topped 15,000 points and 7,000 assists in a 14-year NBA career.
  • Chis Webber — He was the top star on the highly successful Kings teams from a decade ago. Webber made five All-Star teams and was a five-time all-NBA selection. He scored more than 17,000 points in 15 years in the league.
  • George McGinnis — An ABA legend and a three-time NBA All-Star, McGinnis is the only eligible MVP from the NBA or ABA who hasn’t reached the hall. McGinnis won two ABA titles with the Pacers and played in the 1977 NBA Finals with the Sixers.

That brings us to tonight’s question: Who is the best eligible player not currently in the Hall of Fame? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Heat Notes: Richardson, Bosh, Chalmers, Cole

September 10th, 2016 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Josh Richardson doesn’t expect any long-term problems from a knee injury that will force him to sit out the preseason, relays the Associated Press. Richardson learned today that he will miss six to eight weeks after partially tearing the MCL in his right knee during a workout Friday. The good news is that doctors don’t believe he will require surgery. Richardson wore a large brace on his leg and walked with the help of crutches as he attended a store opening today in Fort Lauderdale. “When I hit the ground, it was like my knee was on fire,” he said. “I just kind of laid there and my teammates helped me off and carried me off to the training room. I just tried not to think the worst.” The timetable means Richardson could possibly be ready for Miami’s regular season opener Oct. 26 at Orlando.

There’s more tonight out of Miami:

  • Chris Bosh could become the latest in a long line of Heat players to be put on a maintenance program, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. With training camp nearing, Bosh’s status is still uncertain after blood clots cut short his past two seasons. Miami officials are considering a reduced workload to help Bosh adjust to playing while taking blood thinners. Winderman notes that maintenance programs were also set up for Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller, Dan Majerle and others.
  • Former Miami point guard Mario Chalmers wasn’t dropping any hints when he posted an online photo of himself working out in Heat shorts, Winderman notes in the same piece. Chalmers, who spent more than seven years in Miami before being traded last November, remains without a team a little more than two weeks before training camp. Winderman suggests the Cavaliers could be a destination for Chalmers or his former Heat teammate Norris Cole.
  • Little has changed on Bosh’s situation from last season’s playoffs, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Bosh remains convinced that he can play, but the team hasn’t given him medical clearance. Bosh has been working out by himself in Los Angeles while most of his teammates are practicing together in Miami.
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Central Notes: Cavaliers, Smith, Pistons, Allen

September 10th, 2016 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are looking at a reduction in their luxury tax of about 35%, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s luxury-tax payment last season was a hefty $54MM, a figure that was $34MM more than the next-highest team. Even factoring in LeBron James‘ league-high $31MM salary for the upcoming season and the expected re-signing of free agent J.R. Smith, the Cavs are looking at a luxury tax payment closer to $35MM.

Much of the drop corresponds to the huge rise in the salary cap for 2016/17, with an accompanying increase in the luxury-tax threshold to $113.3MM. The threshold was just $84.7MM last season, and the Cavs were joined by the Clippers, Warriors and Thunder with luxury-tax payments topping $14.5MM. Between salary and taxes, Cleveland spent about $160MM to secure its first-ever NBA championship.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

  • In a summer where virtually every big-name unrestricted free agent cashed in, the Cavaliers‘ Smith remains an exception. Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders examines why there has been so little interest in the veteran shooting guard and whether his return to Cleveland is inevitable.
  • The battle between Lorenzo Brown and Ray McCallum to become the Pistons‘ third-string point guard will be among the highlights of camp, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Brown, who joined the team in April, is the favorite because of an impressive summer league performance and his 6’5″ size, Langlois states. But McCallum, who signed a one-year deal with Detroit in July, is expected to put up a fight. Other camp storylines will include fitting new additions Ish Smith and Jon Leuer into the bench unit, developing new leaders after the departure of Anthony Tolliver, Joel Anthony and Steve Blake, and determining how soon second-round pick Michael Gbinije will be ready for the NBA.
  • Lavoy Allen has beaten the odds by carving out a career as a late second-round pick, writes Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders. After being selected 50th overall by the Sixers in 2011, the 6’9″ power forward/center has become a rotation player, first in Philadelphia and now in Indiana. Allen will make $4MM this season, and the Pacers have a team option for $4.3MM in 2017/18.
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Salary Cap Snapshot: Portland Trail Blazers

September 10th, 2016 at 3:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Blazers’ team page accessible here.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Blazers currently stand financially:

Guaranteed Salary

Total Guaranteed Salary= $112,845,579

Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $2,925,000. Sent $2,850,000 to Nuggets in Jusuf Nurkic trade. Sent $75,000 to Magic in Shabazz Napier trade. [Amount Remaining $575,000]

Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]

Payroll Exceptions Available

  • Room Exception — $2,898,000
  • Trade Exception — $407,210 (Mason Plumlee trade) — Expires on 2/13/18

Total Projected Payroll: $112,845,579

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: –$18,702,579

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Total Projected Payroll For Tax Purposes: $113,282,539

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $4,461

Last Updated: 4/15/17

The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.

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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 21)

September 10th, 2016 at 2:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ve arrived at the No. 21 overall pick, which was held by the Nets. The team, which still called New Jersey home at the time, had acquired the pick from Dallas in a trade that February. The specifics of that swap were: The Nets acquired Dallas’ 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop, and Keith Van Horn in exchange for Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright and Malik Allen. In the “real world” draft, the Nets used this pick to nab Ryan Anderson, whom the team already landed at No. 10 in our re-draft.

So cast your vote for who the Nets select and check back on Sunday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Magic should have taken with the No. 22 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

  1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
  2. Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
  3. Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
  4. Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
  5. Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
  6. Knicks — Serge Ibaka  [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
  7. Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
  8. Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
  9. Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
  10. Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
  11. Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
  12. Kings — George Hill  [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
  13. Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
  14. Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
  15. Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
  16. Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]
  17. Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
  18. Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
  19. Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick  — J.J. Hickson]
  20. Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
  21. Nets (from Mavs) — ?? [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

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Western Notes: Garnett, Looney, Hayes

September 10th, 2016 at 1:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the start of training camp being less than three weeks away, the Wolves are still awaiting word from Kevin Garnett on whether or not he intends to play this season, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Kevin hasn’t told me or informed me yet if he’s coming back to play or if he isn’t coming back,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Aschburner “I can only assume I’ll be hearing from him in the next three weeks.” The veteran has one year remaining on his contract and is set to earn $8MM if he suits up for what would be his 22nd season in the league.

Here’s more from out West:

  • The Jazz held free agent workouts on Friday for guard Jermaine Taylor and center Henry Sims, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). Taylor, 29, last appeared in the NBA during the 2010/11 season, while Sims appeared in 14 games for the Nets last season, averaging 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per outing. Sims has also been mentioned as a possible training camp signee for Brooklyn.
  • The Nuggets have named Chuck Hayes as their Associate of Basketball Operations, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (on Twitter).
  • Warriors forward Kevon Looney, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum on his left hip earlier this year, is on track to make his return to basketball activities by the start of training camp on September 27th, Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle relays (subscription required). “I’m really eager,” Looney said. “I’ve been watching, running and doing drills now for what feels like two years. To be able to get on the court and actually be healthy, I’m really excited for that.”
  • In his look back at the Rockets‘ offseason, The Vertical’s Bobby Marks notes that the team’s medical staff will play a vital role this season in trying to keep new additions Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene healthy.
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Josh Richardson Suffers Knee Injury

September 10th, 2016 at 12:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 10th: Richardson has been told that he will miss six to eight weeks due to his knee injury, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (via Twitter).

SEPTEMBER 9th: Heat swingman Josh Richardson has suffered a partially torn MCL in his right knee, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). His return time will depend on how well his rehabilitation efforts go, the scribe adds. Based on Charania’s wording, it does not appear that surgery is currently planned for the player. Richardson suffered the injury during practice when he landed awkwardly after a dunk attempt, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald tweets.

This news is certainly a blow to the Heat, who touted the second-year player as one of their building blocks and defensive leaders. The only consolation for Miami is that the team is deep in the backcourt and were going to have to do some rotation shuffling in order to dole out playing time to the other guards and swingmen on its roster.

Richardson was the No. 40 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and he appeared in 52 games for the Heat in 2015/16. The 22-year-old posted averages of 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .452/.461/.667. His contract for this season, which is fully guaranteed, will pay him $874,636.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/4/16-9/10/16

September 10th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.

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Week In Review: 9/4/16-9/10/16

September 10th, 2016 at 10:15am CST by Eddie Scarito

With 2016’s offseason winding down and the preseason almost upon us, here’s a look back at all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week:

Signings/Agreements

NBA

International

News/Rumors

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2017 NBA Free Agent Power Rankings

September 9th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After losing arguably the top free agent of the 2016 class to the Warriors, the Thunder ensured that they won’t watch their other superstar walk away next summer, locking up Russell Westbrook to a new contract extension earlier in the offseason. Westbrook’s absence from the 2017 free agent list takes a little star power away from the group, but it’s still an intriuging list.

The players who sit at the top of the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings aren’t necessarily expected to change teams next July. It would be a shock to see Kevin Durant leave Golden State after a year, for instance, but he does have a player option for 2017, meaning he could depart, and has to be featured on our list.

Similarly, there are a handful of restricted free agents on our lists who will probably get maximum-salary contracts – or close to it – from their current teams, perhaps even within the next couple months while they’re extension-eligible. For now though, the slim chance that they reach the open market means they have to earn spots on our list.

While this is our first extended look at 2017’s top free agents, it certainly won’t be our last. Injuries, breakout years, trades, or poor performances could affect these rankings significantly over the course of the 2016/17 season, so we’ll be revisiting the list every month or two to make updates and changes.

Our list reflects each player’s expected value on the 2017 free agent market, rather than how we think they’ll perform on the court for the 2016/17 season. For instance, older players like Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph have strong short-term value, but didn’t make our top 20 because they’re unlikely to inspire major bidding wars next summer. In other words, age and long-term value is important.

Here’s the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings:Read more

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