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Eastern Notes: Celtics, Monroe, Bass

April 12th, 2015 at 3:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics will rely on the reputation of the franchise and the current framework in place to build a contender as their selling points in free agency, as team owner Wyc Grousbeck tells Jared Weiss of SB Nation.

“This whole thing that we have to beg people and we have our hat in our hand and we’re telling people to please come; well if you don’t want to be a Boston Celtic, you’re not going to be a Boston Celtic. We’re not going to drag you here. We want you to be here and we want you to [choose] us. You’ve got a chance potentially to join a team that is on the way back, hopefully, to being a contender. Hopefully in not very long. We actually want people asking us to possibly consider them,” Grousbeck said.

Boston has surpassed expectations this season and currently owns the seventh seed in the conference. If the playoffs started today, the team would play the Cavs in the first round and the Celtics would welcome that matchup. “I would love to play [LeBron James] in the playoffs somehow and I would love to beat him,” Grousbeck added.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Greg Monroe says neither he or his agent, David Falk, has a deal in place with the Knicks, according to David Mayo of MLive.com (Twitter link). “Y’all have to go ask Frank Isola what he thinks he knows,” the Georgetown product said. Monroe was referring to the Saturday’s report in which a league executive told Isola that a deal between New York and the 24-year-old was “about as close to a done deal as you can get.”
  • Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald believes Brandon Bass‘ consistency has been key to the Celtics’ success. Entering today’s game against the Cavs, Bass, who will become a free agent at the end of the season, has played in 276 straight games.
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Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Thomas, Noel

April 12th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks coach Derek Fisher isn’t hiding his desire to keep Langston Galloway and Lance Thomas, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Fisher praised the young players, who both came to the team on 10-day contracts, after Saturday’s win over Orlando. “To come in and do what they’ve done — they’ve changed our team,” Fisher said. “They’ve changed our culture because they’re great young men. They come to work with the same attitude every day and the same mind-set, and despite our record this season, we’re better off for having had them.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Isaiah Thomas, who came to the Celtics in a deadline-day deal, may be the team’s MVP, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. In the 19 games he has played since coming to Boston, Thomas is the team’s leading scorer at 19.6 points per game and has become the focus of the offense in the fourth quarter. Forsberg states that giving up Marcus Thornton and Cleveland’s pick in the 2016 draft seems like a small price to pay.
  • Nerlens Noel has blossomed into the player the Sixers had hoped he would be, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Noel’s scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks showed dramatic rises in March, and coaches around the league have noticed the difference. “Much more aggressive, offensively,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Definitely, like driving the ball more and looking to post the ball more aggressively. But obviously what he’s bringing to the team that made them play better is his defense — his shot-blocking, his length, his anticipation.” With Noel blossoming and injured rookie center Joel Embiid on the horizon, the Sixers could face a difficult decision if they get a shot to land big men Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor in the draft.
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Atlantic Notes: Noel, Nets, Thomas

April 11th, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nerlens Noel’s rookie season with the Sixers has not established whether he will be in the team’s long-term plans, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. While he has shown offensive improvement by recording double-doubles in 11 of his last 22 games, Noel is shooting just 29% from the field on attempts more than three feet from the basket, Ford points out. Noel has yet to prove he can play power forward and mesh with Joel Embiid, who can only play center, Ford adds. The deadline trade of Michael Carter-Williams shows that Philadelphia is capable of shifting gears despite management claims that Noel is a major building block, Ford concludes.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

  • Robert Covington‘s scoring ability may have earned him a role with the Sixers next season, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Covington is slated to make approximately $2MM over the next two seasons but the money is not guaranteed. His long-range shooting ability, which creates space for big men Noel and Embiid, may convince the Sixers to keep him around, Pompey opines. “You need people to stretch the floor,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said to Pompey.
  • The Nets will need to continue paying the luxury tax to remain competitive and majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to do that, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. The Nets are approximately  $11.6MM over the tax line this season and could exceed it again if Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young exercise their player options and the club retains restricted free agent Mirza Teletovic, Bontemps continues. Lacking a first-round pick in 2016, the Nets don’t have the option of selling off assets to remain competitive, Bontemps adds. Prokhorov has shown a willingness to spend whatever is necessary to have a contender and vowed to continue that strategy, according to Bontemps. “If we need to pay a little bit more than any other teams, it’s not an obstacle,” Prokhorov said during a press conference this week.
  • Isaiah Thomas has significantly improved the Celtics’ pick-and-roll offense and given them a reliable fourth-quarter option, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. Using Synergy Sports Data, Forsberg points out that Thomas ranks in the 93rd percentile among all NBA players as a pick-and-roll ballhandler while the Celtics ranked 28th in that category before the Thomas acquisition. Thomas had also scored a larger percentage of his points in the fourth quarter than any player who has scored at least 800 points, Forsberg continues while using Elias Sports Bureau data. Boston’s offensive rating is significantly better with Thomas on the court and that tends to outweigh his defensive shortcomings, Forsberg adds.
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2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Celtics

April 10th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League’s regular season is now complete, and the three-round D-League playoffs are underway. The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season.

We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll begin with a look back at how the Celtics utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…

D-League Team: Maine Red Claws

Affiliation Type: One-to-one

D-League Team Record: 35-15

Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 6

Total D-League Assignments: 22

Player Stats While On Assignment

  • Chris Babb: 1 assignment, 45 games, 15.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.7 APG. .432/.375/.793.
  • Andre Dawkins: 3 assignments, 7 games, 16.1 PPG. 2.4 RPG, and 2.4 APG. .386/.329/.818.
  • Dwight Powell: 5 assignments, 4 games, 21.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.5 APG. .593/.000/.696.
  • Phil Pressey: 1 assignment, 1 game, 34.0 PPG. 7.0 RPG, 9.0 APG. .440/.333/.750.
  • Marcus Smart: 1 assignment, 1 game, 6.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 7.0 APG. .083/.000/.667.
  • James Young: 11 assignments, 17 games, 21.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.0 APG. .463/.442/.766.

D-League Signings

Assignment/Recall Log

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Atlantic Notes: King, Thomas, Ainge, Young

April 9th, 2015 at 2:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets will be almost certainly be picking 29th thanks to their pick swap with the Hawks as called for in the Joe Johnson trade, but it would appear to be in keeping with owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s philosophy.

“If you analyze a championship team, 20% is draft picks and 80% of it is trades,” Prokhorov said to reporters Wednesday, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

Prokhorov expressed comfort with GM Billy King and praised his “bold” approach, Prokhorov also said, complimenting coach Lionel Hollins, too, seemingly indicating that both will be back next season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. We passed along more from Prokhorov’s chat with the media earlier today, and there’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

  • Lance Thomas has started 33 games this season and 20 with the Knicks, earning praise from team president Phil Jackson, and the New Jersey native signaled a desire to re-sign with New York in unrestricted free agency this summer. Thomas made his remarks in a video interview with Jonah Ballow of Knicks.com. “My experience as a Knick has been great, and I hope it doesn’t end,” Thomas said. “This is my hometown team, and I would love to represent New York, so I’m going to do everything in my power to hopefully make that happen.”
  • Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is impressed with how his roster has performed after all the trades he pulled off, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe details. Ainge named soon-to-be free agents Jae Crowder and Brandon Bass among several he believes have excelled.
  • The Kevin Garnett/Thaddeus Young trade has been a steal for the Nets, argues Daniel LoGuidice of NetsDaily, who believes the arrival of Young, and not the resurgence of Brook Lopez, was the true catalyst for Brooklyn’s late-season run for a playoff spot. Bontemps, writing in a separate piece, believes Young’s on-court presence has helped Lopez operate so effectively. Young hasn’t decided on his player option for next season but has said he wants to remain in Brooklyn.
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Nuggets Claim Shavlik Randolph

April 8th, 2015 at 11:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

11:59pm: The team still hasn’t made an official announcement, but the move indeed took place, according to the RealGM transactions log.

3:54pm: The Nuggets have claimed forward Shavlik Randolph off of waivers, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). The 31-year-old was waived by the Celtics to accommodate the signing of Chris Babb to a multiyear deal. The addition of Randolph will increase Denver’s roster count to the league maximum of 15 players. No official announcement has been made by the team as of yet regarding the waiver claim.

The logic of why Denver would claim Randolph was posited earlier today by Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Nuggets are close to $1.864MM shy of the salary floor, but claiming Randolph and his $1,227,985 salary will count toward that salary floor, lessening the amount of shortfall the franchise would need to distribute amongst its players. Denver will only be responsible to pay out the last prorated portion of salary that Randolph was due to receive this season. This could mean a savings of roughly $1MM for the organization, certainly worth claiming Randolph and carrying him on the roster for the remaining five contests.

Randolph has appeared in a total of 21 games this season for the Suns and Celtics. His career averages through 146 appearances are 2.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.2 assists. Randolph’s career slash line is .449/.167/.544.

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Atlantic Notes: Randolph, Brown, Clark

April 8th, 2015 at 12:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

It would make sense for the Nuggets to claim Shavlik Randolph off waivers today from the Celtics, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com points out (Twitter links). Denver is nearly $1.864MM shy of the salary floor, but claiming Randolph’s $1,227,985 minimum salary would close the majority of that gap. The entire amount of Randolph’s salary would count toward Denver’s team salary as far as the floor is concerned, but the Nuggets would only be on the hook for the last prorated bit of actual pay Randolph is to receive this season. The Nuggets would otherwise have to distribute the entire shortfall beneath the salary floor among their existing players. A waiver claim of Randolph would absolve the C’s from paying the remainder of his salary and take his entire cap figure off their books, though the effect would be negligible compared to what such a move would do for Denver.

It’s unclear if the Nuggets indeed plan on making a claim, so while we wait to see how that turns out, here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Brett Brown wasn’t fully supportive of the deadline trade that sent out Michael Carter-Williams, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, echoing what Carter-Williams said shortly after the deal. Still, the only tension between the coach and the Sixers front office is minimal, Deveney hears.
  • Sixers GM Sam Hinkie signaled to Tom Moore of Calkins Media that he has no plans to make significant free agent signings in the offseason (Twitter link). The team hasn’t signed a player to a contract with a total value of as much as $4.5MM in either of the last two summers, as our free agent trackers from 2013 and 2014 show.
  • Nets signee Earl Clark will have a $200K partial guarantee on his minimum salary for next season if he remains under contract through October 26th, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets and shows on his Nets salary page.
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Eastern Notes: Middleton, Babb, Scola

April 7th, 2015 at 7:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bucks‘ forward Khris Middleton has made tremendous strides this season, setting himself up for a nice raise this summer when he can become a restricted free agent, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “Khris is one of the guys who has really improved,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s just letting the game come to him. He’s one of our best scorers and shooters on the floor, and the ball will find him. He’s been able to step up and knock down shots for us. Confidence in this game is big, and I think his confidence is growing.” In 74 appearances this season, including 53 as a starter, Middleton averaged 13.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 30.1 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Chris Babb‘s two-year minimum salary deal with the Celtics calls for him to make $48K for the remainder of this season and $947,276 for 2015/16, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com tweets. Babb’s contract contains no guaranteed money for next season, Forsberg adds.
  • Forward Jae Crowder has enjoyed his time with the Celtics since coming over from Dallas in the Rajon Rondo trade, Forsberg writes in a separate piece. The 24-year can become a restricted free agent this summer, but Crowder insists that he hasn’t thought about next season, Forsberg adds. “I just want to make the playoffs,” Crowder told the ESPN scribe. “And once you make the playoffs, everything will take care of itself. I’m not worried about it. Because my goal is to make the playoffs and we are right here where we want to be. I’m just focused on that.” Crowder is averaging 9.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists over 24.2 minutes per game in 53 appearances since arriving in Boston.
  • Pacers‘ big man Luis Scola is finally adjusting to his reserve role with the team, and the 34-year-old veteran says he would like to continue playing past the age of 40, Mark Montieth of NBA.com writes. “I don’t feel close to the end, that’s the truth,” said Scola. “I know people don’t play that much longer after 35, but I’m feeling well. I don’t know how fast the process is from the moment you start feeling close to the end versus the actual end. But I’m not feeling close to the end. I’ve got energy and I feel I can still do this and I’m still having fun and I can work out hard and play hard every day. As long as all that’s still there I don’t see me being close to retirement.”
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Atlantic Notes: Randolph, Young, KG, Raptors

April 7th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Shavlik Randolph doesn’t want to sign a non-guaranteed deal for next season, and he indicated in an interview with Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders that it was part of the reason the Celtics let him go Monday. 

“As much as I would have loved to finish the season and playoff run with this team, I just wasn’t willing to commit to a non-guaranteed deal for next season,” Randolph said. “So they had to do what was best for them, which I completely understand.”

Randolph spoke with team officials Monday afternoon, according to Camerato. He was on an expiring contract and ineligible to sign an extension, so aside from giving a non-binding verbal promise that he would re-sign a non-guaranteed deal with the team this summer, it’s unclear what the team was proposing. Conceivably, the C’s could have waived him and signed him back once he cleared waivers to a deal for the rest of this season that included non-guaranteed salary for next season, but that would have been an unusual maneuver. In any case, there’s more on Randolph amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

  • Randolph also told Camerato that there remains a level of mutual interest between him and the Celtics, but he’s considering a return to China, where he’s played in the past, to help boost his stock for an eventual NBA return, as Camerato details.
  • The Thaddeus Young/Kevin Garnett deadline trade didn’t come together quickly, as Nets GM Billy King had been working toward it all year, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
  • Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey will tinker with the roster, but between now and the end of the season, the team can’t fix its defensive flaws, opines Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. The Raps were on the verge of a teardown early last season, so considering that so little time has passed since then, the team is about as strong as it could be, Smith argues.
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Atlantic Notes: Amundson, Clark, Celtics

April 6th, 2015 at 9:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Louis Amundson plans to play in Europe if the Knicks do not re-sign him, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. The 32-year-old power forward, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, has played on 10 NBA teams and doesn’t want to look for another if New York declines to make him an offer, Berman continues. “I would like to play. I’ve been in this league, so I know what that’s like,” Amundson told Berman. “So, I think going overseas would be a new experience for me I think I’d enjoy. I’d get an opportunity to play. So yeah, everything’s on the table.’’  Knicks GM Steve Mills told season ticket holders last week that the team was interested in bringing Amundson back, Berman adds.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

  • The Knicks should also consider offering Andrea Bargnani a veteran’s minimum contract, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com opines. While Bargnani has generally been a disappointment in his two years with the Knicks, his play since the All-Star break has made coach Derek Fisher take notice, Begley adds. Bargnani becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season and the club has indicated it would consider making a minimum-salary offer to him. “I think the way he’s finishing this season is not only showing us, but also showing other teams as well, that he’s a very capable player still at this point in his career,” Fisher said to New York reporters. “I think he’s trying to prove that to everyone, including us.”
  • Earl Clark’s new contract with the Nets is non-guaranteed for next year, with a partial guarantee if he makes the opening-day roster, a source told Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game (Twitter link), The team announced on Monday that it had reached a two-year agreement with the 27-year-old forward. Clark has appeared in six of the team’s last seven games, including Monday night’s victory over Portland.
  • The Celtics, who made several trades this season with an eye toward the future, are now scoreboard watching as they fight for a playoff spot, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports. Boston controls its playoff destiny and the players want to experience the postseason, Forsberg adds. “Even when we’re playing, I’m trying to look at the [out-of-town] scores throughout our game,”  Isaiah Thomas said to Boston beat reporters. “And then, after the games, I’m looking at the standings. It’s fun, but it’s hectic a little bit.”
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