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Longest-Tenured NBA GMs/Presidents

August 24th, 2018 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

When we examined the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches last month, we noted that it has been a year of changes on NBA sidelines, with nearly a third of the league’s 30 teams having named new coaches since the 2017/18 season began. We haven’t seen the same level of turnover in teams’ front offices though — only three teams have replaced their top decision-makers this year, and one of those three clubs likely wouldn’t have made any changes if a series of Twitter burner accounts hadn’t forced their hand.

Although there have been more recent changes in the head coaching rankings than in front offices, the same name tops the list of longest-tenured head coaches and GMs/presidents: Gregg Popovich actually became the Spurs‘ president of basketball operations two years before he took over as the club’s head coach. Still, his place in San Antonio’s hierarchy is one of a handful of situations around the league that’s somewhat difficult to pin down.

While only one person holds a team’s head coaching job, that same team could carry a variety of front office executives with titles like general manager, president of basketball operations, or executive VP of basketball operations. In some cases, it’s not always which clear which executive should be considered the club’s head of basketball operations, or which one has the ultimate final say on roster decisions. That distinction becomes even more nebulous when taking into account team ownership.

For our list of the longest-tenured GMs/presidents in the NBA, we’ve done our best to identify the top exec in each front office. In the case of the Spurs, we’ve listed Popovich as the club’s top man, since he has the final say on basketball decisions, even though GM R.C. Buford plays a huge part in that process too. If there’s any ambiguity in a front office, we’ve added a note below to explain our thinking.

Without further ado, here’s the list of the NBA’s longest-tenured heads of basketball operations, along with their respective titles and the dates they were hired or promoted:

  1. Gregg Popovich, Spurs (president): May 31, 1994
    • GM R.C. Buford has had a significant voice in personnel moves since becoming GM in 2002, but Popovich still has final say on those decisions.
  2. Pat Riley, Heat (president): September 2, 1995
  3. John Paxson, Bulls (executive VP): April 14, 2003
    • GM Gar Forman has played a major part in personnel decisions since his hiring in 2009, but Paxson is believed to still be the head of basketball operations, reporting only to ownership.
  4. Danny Ainge, Celtics (president): May 9, 2003
  5. Ernie Grunfeld, Wizards (president): June 30, 2003
  6. Donn Nelson, Mavericks (GM/president): March 19, 2005
    • Owner Mark Cuban is also heavily involved in basketball decisions and ultimately has final say.
  7. Daryl Morey, Rockets (GM): May 6, 2007
  8. Sam Presti, Thunder (GM/executive VP): June 7, 2007
  9. Dell Demps, Pelicans (GM/senior VP): July 21, 2010
    • Executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis is also in the picture here, but Loomis – who is also the top man in the New Orleans Saints’ front office – seems to let Demps handle basketball decisions for the most part.
  10. Bob Myers, Warriors (GM/president): April 24, 2012
  11. Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers (president): June 4, 2012
  12. Dennis Lindsey, Jazz (GM): August 7, 2012
  13. Ryan McDonough, Suns (GM): May 7, 2013
  14. Masai Ujiri, Raptors (president): May 31, 2013
  15. Tim Connelly, Nuggets (president): June 17, 2013
  16. Chris Wallace, Grizzlies (GM): May 19, 2014
    • Initially named the Grizzlies’ GM in June 2007, Wallace was demoted in 2012 as Jason Levien assumed control of basketball operations. Wallace regained his front office power in May 2014.
  17. Vlade Divac, Kings (GM): March 3, 2015
  18. Sean Marks, Nets (GM): February 18, 2016
  19. Tom Thibodeau, Timberwolves (president): April 20, 2016
  20. Magic Johnson, Lakers (president): February 21, 2017
  21. Kevin Pritchard, Pacers (president): May 1, 2017
  22. Jeff Weltman, Magic (president): May 22, 2017
  23. Travis Schlenk, Hawks (GM): May 25, 2017
  24. Jon Horst, Bucks (GM): June 16, 2017
  25. Koby Altman, Cavaliers (GM): June 19, 2017
  26. Steve Mills, Knicks (president): June 28, 2017
  27. Lawrence Frank, Clippers (president): August 4, 2017
  28. Mitch Kupchak, Hornets (GM/president): April 8, 2018
  29. Ed Stefanski, Pistons (senior advisor): May 24, 2018
    • The Pistons have not technically named a president of basketball operations or general manager to replace Stan Van Gundy, but Stefanski has been making personnel decisions this offseason and serves as the de facto head of basketball ops.
  30. N/A, Sixers
    • Head coach Brett Brown has been the Sixers’ interim president of basketball operations since Bryan Colangelo‘s dismissal, but Philadelphia still intends to hire a permanent replacement.

Information from Basketball-Reference was used in the creation of this post.

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Poll: Best, Worst Extensions Taking Effect In 2018/19

August 24th, 2018 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve spent the last month and a half evaluating the best and the worst of this year’s free agent deals, but there’s another series of big-money contracts going into effect this season that have been somewhat overlooked during that time.

Eight players signed contract extensions in 2017 that will begin in 2018/19, as our 2017 extension tracker shows. Those players are as follows:

All of these extensions were completed in September, October, or November of 2017, meaning they’re less than a year old. Nonetheless, it’s fascinating to consider how differently many of them look now, as opposed to when they signed.

Powell, for instance, took a step backward last year for the Raptors, posting new career lows in PPG (5.5), FG% (.401), and 3PT% (.285), among other categories. Now, a signing that initially looked like a savvy move to lock up a promising young wing seems like it could become an albatross.

On the other hand, Richardson – who signed the same deal as Powell – improved his stock in 2017/18, starting 81 games for the Heat and averaging 12.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.9 APG with a .451/.378/.845 shooting line. Richardson looks like a key piece in Miami going forward, and the team looks smart for having extended him early.

The pair of Sixers extensions appear more team-friendly now than they did 10 months ago too. Embiid is coming off a monster season in which he was able to stay on the court for most of the year, and his deal includes some injury protection if the 76ers need it. As for Covington, his extension was technically worth $60MM because he was able to renegotiate a big raise on his 2017/18 salary. Now that the new years are taking effect though, the $46.9MM price tag for the next four seasons looks even more manageable.

What do you think? Which of the 2017 contract extensions taking effect this season do you think is the most team-friendly deal of the bunch?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

On the other end of the spectrum, which of these extensions is the least favorable from a team’s perspective?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hawks Sign Vince Carter

August 24th, 2018 at 12:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 24: Nearly a month after agreeing to terms with the Hawks, Carter has officially signed his one-year contract with the team, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta now has 15 players on guaranteed contracts for the 2018/19 season.

[RELATED: Vince Carter likely to retire after 2018/19 season]

JULY 25: Vince Carter has reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Hawks, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Carter will receive a veteran’s minimum contract worth $2.4MM, adds Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The deal guarantees a 21st season for Carter, who will turn 42 in January. The oldest active NBA player, he spent last season with the Kings, playing about 18 minutes per night and averaging 5.4 PPG in 58 games.

The Hawks envision Carter as a mentor who will be a strong locker room leader for a young roster, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

After six years of playing for contenders in Dallas and Memphis, this is Carter’s second straight signing for a team that has little chance of making the postseason.

A return to the Raptors, where Carter began his NBA career in 1998, might have made a nice story, but it appears unlikely to ever happen, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Lewenberg adds that Carter has gotten opportunities to come back to Toronto, but hasn’t followed through.

The Hawks have used up virtually all of their cap space after completing their acquisition of Carmelo Anthony earlier today, and have committed most of their room exception to Alex Len. As such, it made sense that Carter would receive a minimum-salary contract — it’s all Atlanta could offer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Remaining Offseason Questions: Northwest Division

August 24th, 2018 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps more than a month away, most clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.

We’re in the midst of looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on the key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2018/19 regular season begins.

After focusing on the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast last week, we’ve moved to the Western Conference this week, starting with the Southwest and Pacific. Today, we’re finishing things off by focusing on the Northwest…

Denver Nuggets
Will the Nuggets sign Trey Lyles to a rookie scale extension?

The trade that sent Lyles to Denver won’t exactly go down as one of the great moves in Nuggets history, considering it cost the team the lottery pick that became Donovan Mitchell in last year’s draft. Still, don’t hold that against Lyles, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2017/18, establishing new career bests in PPG (9.9), RPG (4.8), FG% (.491), and 3PT% (.381) as one of the first players off Denver’s bench.

Lyles is eligible for a rookie scale extension up until October 15 this year, and while role players generally aren’t strong candidates for early deals of that nature, it’s a possibility worth considering for the Nuggets. Lyles is still just 22 years old, and if the club views him as one of its long-term building blocks, it could make sense to lock him up now before his role and his numbers increase further.

Unless they plan to exercise Paul Millsap‘s $30MM team option next summer, the Nuggets should have cap flexibility going forward, meaning a Lyles extension wouldn’t hamstring them. With Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, and Will Barton already secured to long-term deals, the Nuggets will have to decide whether they want Lyles to join that group now, or if they’ll take their chances with him in restricted free agency in 2019.

Minnesota Timberwolves
When will the Timberwolves sign Karl-Anthony Towns to a rookie scale extension, and what will it look like?

In the case of the Timberwolves and Towns, the questions isn’t whether or not an extension is coming — it’s a matter of when it will happen, and what it will look like.

Fourth-year players who get offered maximum-salary rookie scale extensions don’t turn them down, and it sounds like an offer of that caliber is on the table for Towns. There’s no rush to finalize it. Last year, Andrew Wiggins didn’t sign his max deal with the Timberwolves until October 11, just days before the regular season got underway.

There may be a little more room for back-and-forth negotiations with Towns than there was with Wiggins, however. While Wiggins signed a standard 25% maximum-salary extension, Towns would be eligible for a starting salary worth up to 30% of the cap if he earns All-NBA honors again next season. His camp and the Wolves may have to spend some time figuring out whether he’ll receive that full 30% if he qualifies, or if there’s a compromise to be reached between 25-30%.

As our early maximum salary projections for 2019/20 show, the total difference between a five-year, 25% max contract and a five-year, 30% max contract figures to exceed $30MM, so the starting point of Towns’ next deal is an important detail for the two sides to work out.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Will the Thunder release Kyle Singler or attempt to trim additional salary?

The Thunder were able to reduce their team salary and their projected luxury tax bill significantly in the three-way trade that (briefly) sent Carmelo Anthony to Atlanta. Still, Oklahoma City’s total team salary remains just shy of $150MM, creating a potential tax bill of $93MM+. In total, the roster projects to cost nearly $243MM.

Team ownership probably wouldn’t mind cutting costs a little more, and Singler is the most logical release candidate. His $4,996,000 expiring salary can be stretched across three seasons if he’s waived by next Friday. In that scenario, assuming the Thunder leave their 15th roster spot open, stretching Singler would reduce the overall cost of the 2018/19 squad by $20MM, taking into account the reduction in team salary and tax.

Although waiving Singler is the most obvious path to trimming salary, it’s possible the Thunder have another move or two up their sleeves. It’s also possible that they’re satisfied with the cost-cutting moves they’ve already made, and are committed to the current roster. Time will tell.

Portland Trail Blazers
Who will the Trail Blazers sign to their two-way contract slots? Will it matter?

Many teams around the NBA used their new two-way contract slots to great effect last season, relying on those two-way players for significant roles and eventually promoting them to a spot on the 15-man roster. That wasn’t really the case in Portland.

C.J. Wilcox and Wade Baldwin signed two-way deals with the Trail Blazers before the season and barely saw any action all season for the NBA club. Wilcox didn’t play a single minute for the Blazers, while Baldwin appeared in just seven games. All but one of Baldwin’s seven appearances came late in the season after he had been signed to a standard NBA contract.

The Blazers are one of just three NBA teams without a G League affiliate of their own, which is one obstacle in the way of maximizing their two-way contracts. If they need an extra body on a given night, it’s not easy to simply transfer a two-way player from their nearby NBAGL squad to the NBA roster. Last year, for example, Baldwin spent most of his time in the G League with the Texas Legends, whose arena is over 2,000 miles away from the Moda Center in Portland.

Despite the impracticality of shuttling their two-way players back and forth between the NBA and the G League, the Blazers still figure to fill those slots at some point. When they do, it will be interesting to see if they once again favor players with some NBA experience, like Wilcox and Baldwin, rather than developmental prospects that they won’t actually have the opportunity to develop due to their lack of NBAGL affiliate.

Utah Jazz
Do the Jazz need to do… anything before the regular season begins?

It’s fitting that the last of the 30 teams we’ve examined in this series is the one that seemingly has no burning questions to answer before the regular season begins.

The Jazz have their 15-man roster for the regular season virtually set, with Royce O’Neale joining 14 players on guaranteed contracts. They’ve filled their two-way contract slots. They don’t have any extension candidates. They’re not in any trouble from a cap perspective. Their coaching staff and front office is stable. Even their forthcoming rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20 look like simple ones. The Jazz do have one spot on their 20-man offseason roster they could fill, but that’s not exactly a pressing issue.

While there may be some rotation battles to watch during training camp, Utah’s primary focus this fall will be staying healthy — after all, it was Rudy Gobert‘s injury issues that played a significant part in the team’s slow start (19-28) last season. Having finished the regular season on a 29-6 run and won a playoff series, the Jazz will be looking to carry that momentum into the 2018/19 season as they push for a top-three seed in a tough Western Conference.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors’ 2018 NBA Free Agent Tracker

August 24th, 2018 at 11:18am CST by Luke Adams

We’re nearly two months into 2018’s NBA free agent period, and with news of contract agreements and signings still trickling in, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this offseason. To this end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.

A few notes on the tracker:

  • Some of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect tentative agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
  • Similarly, contract years and dollars will sometimes be based on what’s been reported to date, so those amounts could be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
  • A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet won’t be included in the tracker right away. We’ll wait to hear whether the player’s original team will match or pass on that offer sheet before we update our tracker, in order to avoid confusion.
  • If you’re viewing the tracker on our mobile site, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.

Our 2018 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar of our desktop site under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. On our mobile site, it can be found in our menu under “Free Agent Lists.”

The tracker will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the players who have yet to reach contract agreements.

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2018/19 Non-Guaranteed Contracts By Team

August 24th, 2018 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

While most NBA players have fully guaranteed salaries for the 2018/19 season, that rule of thumb doesn’t apply to everyone on a standard NBA contract — not yet, at least.

A number of players who earned regular season roster spots as camp invitees or whose contracts included a non-guaranteed season or two won’t lock in their full-season salaries until January 10, 2018. That’s the day that all players under contract have their salaries fully guaranteed for the rest of the 2018/19 season.

Keeping that in mind, we’re using the space below to keep tabs on the players on each NBA team who don’t have fully guaranteed contracts, using information from Basketball Insiders. The players listed here have non-guaranteed salaries, partially guaranteed salaries, or Exhibit 9 or Exhibit 10 contracts, which essentially function like non-guaranteed deals.

Unless otherwise noted, these players are on minimum salary contracts. Some players on this list have partial guarantees, which we’ve also mentioned below.

Only players who have formally signed contracts are listed below, so if a player has reportedly reached an agreement with a team on a non-guaranteed deal, we’ll add him to our list when that deal becomes official. You can use our roster counts page to find those players whose deals have been reported but not finalized.

Without further ado, here’s the full list of players without fully guaranteed salaries for 2018/19, broken down by team:

Updated 1-8-19 (12:38am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

  • None

Boston Celtics

  • None

Brooklyn Nets

  • None

Charlotte Hornets

  • None

Chicago Bulls

  • None

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • None

Read more

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Teams Have One More Week To Stretch 2018/19 Salaries

August 24th, 2018 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

While NBA teams can use the stretch provision all season long, August 31 represents a key deadline related to the rule. Players who are waived by August 31 can have their current-year salaries stretched, immediately reducing their 2018/19 cap charge. If a player is released after August 31, his current cap hit will remain unchanged, and only the subsequent years of his contract will be stretched.

As we detail in our glossary entry on the subject, the stretch provision is a rule ensuring that any player waived with at least $250K in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract will have the payment schedule of that money spread across multiple years. Teams also have the option of spreading his cap charges across the same number of years.

That schedule is determined as follows:

  • If a player is waived between July 1 and August 31, his remaining salary is paid over twice the number of years remaining on his contract, plus one.
  • If a player is waived between September 1 and June 30, his current-year salary is paid on its normal schedule, with any subsequent years spread over twice the number of remaining years, plus one.
    • Note: If a player in the final year of his contract is waived between September 1 and June 30, the stretch provision does not apply.

For instance, as the Knicks mull whether or not to waive Joakim Noah, here are the options they’ll consider:

Year Leave contract as is
 Stretch by 8/31/18
 Stretch after 8/31/18
2018/19 $18,530,000 $7,565,000 $18,530,000
2019/20 $19,295,000 $7,565,000 $6,431,666
2020/21 – $7,565,000 $6,431,667
2021/22 – $7,565,000 $6,431,667
2022/23 – $7,565,000 –

In Noah’s case, there’s essentially no incentive for the Knicks to waive and stretch him by August 31. The team – well over the cap for 2018/19 – wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the extra cap flexibility this season. As such, it makes more sense to keep him on the roster for now and to start considering the possibility of his release sometime after September 1.

The same logic that applies to Noah and the Knicks applies to most teams around the NBA. Outside of perhaps Rodney Hood, there just aren’t many free agents left who are worth using cap room on, so teams aren’t clamoring to create additional space for the 2018/19 season. In other words, we shouldn’t expect to see many players on expensive contracts hit waivers in the next week.

There are a couple of potential exceptions worth watching. The Kings, for instance, have about $11MM in cap room and are currently carrying 16 players on guaranteed contracts. If they decide they want to waive a veteran like Iman Shumpert to get down to 15 players for the regular season, it might make some sense to stretch him by August 31. That would reduce his $11MM+ cap charge to just $3.67MM for 2018/19, opening up another $7MM+ in cap space for Sacramento.

Again though, unless the Kings have a use in mind for that cap room, they’ll likely be reluctant to add extra salary to their cap for two subsequent seasons by stretching Shumpert’s 2018/19 salary. The same can be said of the Suns, who are currently hovering just below the $101.869MM salary cap in terms of total guaranteed salary.

Phoenix is reportedly expected to buy out Darrell Arthur, and if the team does so within the next week, it could trim his $7.46MM cap hit to about $2.49MM, opening up additional cap room. Like the Kings, the Suns would have to have a clear purpose in mind for that space in order to justify adding extra money to their books for two future seasons.

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And-Ones: Kobe, C. Randle, Seattle, Ball Family

August 23rd, 2018 at 9:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kobe Bryant retired from the Lakers two years ago, but his days of competitive basketball may not be over. BIG3 founder Ice Cube plans to make a strong push to get Bryant involved in his three-on-three league of former NBA players, relays Nina Mandell of USA Today.

“To me he’s the biggest name out there for us to get and he’s going to have to get a restraining order on me to leave him alone about this,” Ice Cube said.

BIG3 co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz started the rumor mill earlier this week by indicating in a conference call that Bryant had interest in joining the league, but a spokesperson for Bryant later issued a denial. Bryant, who turned 40 today, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and underwent knee surgery late in his career.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

  • In a G League trade, the expansion Capital City Go-Go acquired the rights to Chasson Randle from Westchester, according to a tweet from the Knicks. Randle agreed to a training camp deal last month with the Wizards, who are the parent team of the Go-Go. Randle, 25, had brief stints with the Sixers and Knicks during the 2016/17 season. In return, Westchester received the rights to center Stephen Zimmerman, who was selected in Wednesday’s expansion draft.
  • In a separate deal announced by the Knicks (Twitter link), Westchester acquired the G League rights to Duje Dukan from Capital City, Wisconsin received the rights to Travis Trice and the Go-Go got the rights to Josh Davis.
  • The NBA’s return to Seattle will be televised by ESPN, relays Jordan Ramirez of NBA.com. The Kings and the Warriors will square off October 5 in the first NBA game at Key Arena since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City a decade ago.
  • The Ball family didn’t make a good impression during its four months in Lithuania, according to Steve Gardner of USA Today. LaVar Ball pulled his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo off their BC Prinai-Skycop team with two games remaining in the season and left a lot of animosity behind. In a press release issued today by the team, coach Virginijus Seskus claims the Ball brothers were “nowhere near the level of the LKL (Lithuanian league)” and “they had no inner drive to become better.” BC Prinai-Skycop also claims that LaVar Ball took back his financial support from the team, along with shooting machines that were presented as gifts.
  • In the latest installment of her five-part series on mental health issues in the NBA, Jackie MacMullan of ESPN talks to referees about the stress they face. Joey Crawford, one of the game’s legendary officials, discusses his experience with counseling after being suspended following a 2007 confrontation with Tim Duncan.
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Community Shootaround: Proposed Rule Changes

August 23rd, 2018 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

There may be some new rules for NBA fans to get familiar with when the new season starts in October. The league’s board of governors is expected to vote on three proposed changes when it meets September 20 and 21, with each new rule needing a two-thirds majority for approval.

The new regulations, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, involve resetting the shot clock to 14 seconds instead of 24 after offensive rebounds, redefining a clear-path foul and expanding what can trigger an instant replay to determine whether a “hostile act” has been committed.

Fans of the international game are likely familiar with the 14-second rule, which is designed to speed up play and create more opportunities for losing teams to rally late in a game. In addition to FIBA, the rule has also been used by the G League, the WNBA and the NBA in its summer league contests.

Wojnarowski states that the changes to the clear-path rule would apply to these conditions:

  • “A personal foul is committed on any offensive player during his team’s transition scoring opportunity.”
  • “When the foul occurs, the ball is ahead of the tip of the circle in the backcourt, no defensive player is ahead of the offensive player with the scoring opportunity and that offensive player is in control of the ball or a pass to him has been released.”
  • “The defensive foul deprives the offensive team of a transition scoring opportunity.”

A clear-path violation would still result in two free throws plus another possession for the team with the ball.

The league wants to expand the “hostile act” rule beyond its current limitation of player vs. player. If approved, a hostile act could also involve threatening behavior by players toward referees, coaches or fans.

We want to get your opinion on these proposals. Should the board of directors approve all three of them, and will they help improve the NBA product? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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Beverley’s Return Sparks Optimism For Clippers

August 23rd, 2018 at 7:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers transformed their team with last summer’s trade of Chris Paul, but they barely got to enjoy the benefits of one of the key pieces of that deal. Patrick Beverley played just 11 games before microfracture knee surgery ended his season. Now recovered, the 30-year-old guard feels like he has a lot to prove, relays James Blancarte of Basketball Insiders.

“I’m really ready. I like to go out there, put my game on the line and that’s more than just talking,” Beverley said. “I’m feeling really, really strong, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life and we’re going to see soon.”

He isn’t a lock to make the team, though, if his health remains an issue. His $5MM salary won’t become fully guaranteed until January 10, the league-wide date to guarantee salaries.

Beverley was a defensive catalyst for five seasons in Houston before the Rockets included him as part of the package to acquire Paul. Beverley plans to bring that same energy to L.A., saying he wants to create a “Clamp City” identity in place of the former “Lob City.” The Clippers ranked 19th last season with a defensive rating of 107.7 and lost shot-blocking center DeAndre Jordan in free agency.

Beverley and Avery Bradley, who was acquired at midseason, could be an imposing defensive tandem in the backcourt. They will also serve as mentors to first-round pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose wingspan makes him a potentially dangerous defender.

The Clippers were hampered by injuries last season as Beverley was among several players who missed significant time. They got only 21 games from Danilo Gallinari, 45 from Milos Teodosic and 61 from Austin Rivers, who has since been traded to the Wizards. Blake Griffin played in 33 games before being dealt to the Pistons in late January.

“If you look at this team, our backcourt is loaded. It is loaded,” said Jerry West, who serves on the team’s executive board. “I feel a hundred percent sure last year, if we didn’t have all the injuries we had, would have made the playoffs.”

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