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Southeast Notes: Chalmers, Fournier, Washburn

November 4th, 2015 at 6:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Evan Fournier says that his focus will not be affected just because he and the Magic didn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension prior to Monday’s deadline, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “My main focus was always just playing good basketball and winning games,” Fournier said. “And then, of course, the contract is going to follow. You don’t have to think about the contract first and then basketball. You have to think about basketball first, and then everything’s going to follow. So I’m just focused on winning, man.” Not reaching an agreement could become a positive for Fournier since the expected increase in next season’s salary cap will mean more teams will be flush with cash, which could serve to drive up the market for the swingman, Robbins adds.

Here’s more from out of the Southeast:

  • Hornets GM Rich Cho said that the contract extensions the team has handed out to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, and Kemba Walker were partially about avoiding the free agent market that could become overheated during the next two summers thanks to the expected rise in the salary cap brought on by the league’s new TV deal, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays (on Twitter).
  • The trade rumors surrounding Heat point guard Mario Chalmers loom as a potential distraction for the team this season, Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald writes. Skolnick also opines that the team needs to address the issue with Chalmers as soon as possible to help avoid it becoming an issue between the player and the team. Chalmers indicated that he learned of the rumors when he arrived at the arena on Tuesday night, and he has not heard from the front office regarding his status with the franchise, the Herald scribe adds.
  • Jason Washburn, who was in training camp with the Hornets this season, has signed a deal in Kosovo with Sigal Prishtina, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando relays. Washburn spent the 2014/15 season overseas playing for Brussels, where he averaged 8.9 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 27 appearances.
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Southeast Notes: Beal, Nicholson, Lamb

November 3rd, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal is relieved that the extension deadline has passed, because now the focus can shift back to on-court matters, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic writes. “It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Beal. “It’s business at the end of the day. We couldn’t reach an agreement. It’s not going to stop me from being the player I am. It’s not going to stop me from continuing to work hard. Or it doesn’t mean I’m not going to be part of the organization. I’m just controlling what I can control and let [GM] Ernie [Grunfeld] and my agent deal with it.” It was reportedly a mutual decision between Beal and the team to table contract discussions until next offseason.

Beal expects to remain with the Wizards for the long haul, Michael notes. “Either way it goes they can match any offer. Hopefully I’ll be here. That’s my goal,” Beal said. “I love being in D.C. I’m a cornerstone of this thing. I want to be part of this for a long time. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get a deal done but [there’s] no hard feelings. There’s no beef between Ernie and I or the organization. We’re still good.”

Here’s more out of the Southeast:

  • The Magic had talks with Andrew Nicholson, just as they did with fellow rookie scale extension candidate Evan Fournier, but they never moved toward a deal before Monday’s deadline for rookie scale extensions passed, sources close to both told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
  • Jeremy Lamb‘s three-year contract extension with the Hornets will see him earn $6.5MM during the 2016/17 campaign, $7MM in 2017/18, and $7.5MM for the final year of the agreement, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).
  • Hornets GM Rich Cho said the team’s decision not to pick up P.J. Hairston’s option for next season was related to the player’s lack of consistency and focus, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “I spoke with P.J. and his agent [Jonathan Stahler]. We just feel like P.J. has got to get more consistent and focused on and off the court,” Cho said. “He knows what he has to do. P.J. has still got a bright future if he continues to work hard.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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NBA Teams Designate Affiliate Players

November 3rd, 2015 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams cut as much as 25% of their rosters at the end of the preseason, but franchises that have D-League affiliates have a way to maintain ties to many of the players they release from the NBA roster. An NBA team can claim the D-League rights to up to four of the players it waives, as long as the players clear waivers, consent to join the D-League, and don’t already have their D-League rights owned by another team. These are known as affiliate players, as our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry details.

NBA teams allocated 46 affiliate players to the D-League at the beginning of the season last year, and this year, that number has risen to 56, according to the list the D-League announced today. These players are going directly to the D-League affiliate of the NBA team that cut them and weren’t eligible for the D-League draft that took place Saturday. Teams that designated fewer than the maximum four affiliate players retain the ability to snag the D-League rights of players they waive during the regular season, but for now, this is the complete list:

Boston Celtics (Maine Red Claws)

Cleveland Cavaliers (Canton Charge)

Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

Detroit Pistons (Grand Rapids Drive)

Golden State Warriors (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)

Indiana Pacers (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)

Memphis Grizzlies (Iowa Energy)

Miami Heat (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

New York Knicks (Westchester Knicks)

Oklahoma City Thunder (Oklahoma City Blue)

Orlando Magic (Erie BayHawks)

Philadelphia 76ers (Delaware 87ers)

Phoenix Suns (Bakersfield Jam)

Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

San Antonio Spurs (Austin Spurs)

Toronto Raptors (Raptors 905)

Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Also, several players who were on NBA preseason rosters are on D-League rosters through means other than the affiliate player rule. Most of them played under D-League contracts at some point within the last two years, meaning their D-League teams have returning player rights to them. Others entered through last weekend’s D-League draft, while others saw their D-League rights conveyed via trade. Most of these players aren’t with the D-League affiliate of the NBA team they were with last month, with a few exceptions.

Roster information from Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor and freelancer and Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro was used in the creation of this post.

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Hornets Opt In With Zeller, But Not With Hairston

November 2nd, 2015 at 4:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:31pm: The team isn’t planning to pick up Hairston’s option barring an 11th-hour change of heart, a league source told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). If so, the Hornets couldn’t re-sign Hairston next summer for more than the value of his option.

3:16pm: The Hornets have exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option on Cody Zeller, the team announced (on Twitter). The team has yet to announce its intentions regarding P.J. Hairston, who also has a pending rookie scale team option, seemingly a signal that Charlotte will decline that option. The Hornets face a deadline of 11pm Central tonight to opt in with Hairston. Zeller’s option is worth more than $5.318MM, while Hairston’s is in excess of $1.253MM.

“We are excited to keep Cody Zeller as a part of our core for another season,” Cho said as part of a press release from the team.  “We have been very pleased with Cody’s development on both ends of the floor and look forward to him continuing to expand his game as a member of our roster.”

Zeller, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, started about half the season for Charlotte last year, though his 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game from 2014/15 hardly justify his draft position. The 23-year-old’s scoring is off but his rebounding is up so far this season. He’s come off the bench in all three of Charlotte’s regular season games.

Hairston was the 26th overall pick in 2014, but unlike the more highly drafted Zeller, he’s started all three of Charlotte’s games this season, in part because of the absence of the injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The 22-year-old Hairston has put up only 4.3 points in 19.3 minutes per game so far this year, a slight uptick from the 15.3 minutes per game he averaged as a rookie last season.

The addition of Zeller’s option gives the Hornets only about $39MM in salary commitments for 2016/17, not counting the team’s three-year, $21MM extension with Jeremy Lamb. Agents and executives around the league reportedly believe the salary cap will go up to $95MM this summer. Charlotte’s cap figure for next year doesn’t include any money for Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum, who come off the books at the end of this season, though it would still be somewhat surprising if Charlotte indeed elects not to pick up Hairston’s option. I considered both options as generally likely to be exercised when I took a leaguewide look at options in September.

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Hornets Sign Jeremy Lamb To Extension

November 2nd, 2015 at 3:02pm CST by Will Joseph
Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

3:02pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

“We were thrilled with the opportunity to add Jeremy Lamb to our roster this past summer,” Hornets GM Rich Cho said. “Through the preseason and start of our regular season, Jeremy has proven to be the type of player and professional we seek here in Charlotte.  We’re excited to have him as a part of the Hornets for years to come.”

MONDAY, 10:30am: The sides have an agreement in principle, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

SUNDAY, 8:39pm: The Hornets and Jeremy Lamb are closing in on a three-year extension for around $21MM, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports.

Lamb is under contract for 2015/16, the final season on his rookie-scale contract, at a salary of $3,034,356. The 23-year-old shooting guard has long been considered to have high upside because of his athleticism and solid outside shooting ability. At 6’5″ and 185 pounds, Lamb also has good size for his position.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports recently touted Lamb’s potential but added that he needs to develop his drive game and get to the paint in order to take full advantage of his opportunity with the Hornets. Much of that has been said about Lamb ever since the Rockets drafted the former UConn player with the 12th pick of the 2012 draft. Houston then traded him to the Thunder as part of the James Harden deal.

Lamb was acquired by the Hornets from the Thunder in June in exchange for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round pick. In 47 appearances last season he averaged 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. Lamb was never able to consistently crack the Thunder’s rotation, and while he displayed range, he was also an inconsistent shooter. Thus, it is a risky move for Charlotte. Still, while $21MM may seem like a lot right now, it’s worth keeping in mind the expected rise in salary cap next year.

The league officially projects that the cap will leap to $89MM for 2016/17, though Sean Deveney of The Sporting News recently heard from many agents and executives around the league who believe it will end up at $95MM. Prior to the Lamb deal, Charlotte had been carrying about $34MM in guaranteed salary for 2016/17. Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum, the team’s two most highly paid players this season, are on expiring contracts.

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Southeast Rumors: Heat, Fournier, Batum, Wizards

October 31st, 2015 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even though they’re facing a large luxury tax bill, the Heat should hold on to Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen, writes Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald. He notes that although both players are drawing salaries beyond their expected contribution — $4.3MM for Chalmers and $5MM for Andersen — they have value for a Miami team that will need depth to become a threat in the East. The columnist points to Chalmers’ familiarity with the system, which gives him an advantage over younger guards like Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson, and Andersen’s durability, which will come in handy if new addition Amar’e Stoudemire gets injured or cannot overcome his defensive lapses. Skolnick cautions that the Heat shouldn’t make moves that could be perceived as “skimping” while they’re trying to build a contender.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

  • Magic guard Evan Fournier can already feel a difference under new coach Scott Skiles, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Even though Orlando is off to an 0-2 start, Fournier said the team’s role has been clearly defined. “I feel like we have an identity right now,” he said. “We are a defensive team and we share the ball offensively.” When asked about the team’s identity last season under coaches Jacques Vaughn and James Borrego, Fournier said, “We didn’t have one. We were basically looking for it throughout the whole season.”
  • The Hornets want their offense to run through Nicolas Batum, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte traded for Batum in  June with the confidence that he could handle a playmaker’s role. “He comes across as a very quiet player, but he’s one of the most intense, competitive kids we had in our time in Portland,” said Hornets assistant GM Chad Buchanan, who worked with the Trail Blazers while Batum was there. “He internalizes that competitiveness. But he’s very driven to win, very team-first. He has a very high IQ, always knows what everyone on the court has to do and where they’re at. Such a student of the game.”
  • After being ousted from the playoffs last spring, the Wizards identified four strengths and tried to add players to complement them, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The team was rebuilt around John Wall‘s speed and passing, Bradley Beal‘s shooting, Otto Porter Jr.‘s cutting and Marcin Gortat‘s willingness to run the floor and get to the rim on pick-and-rolls.
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And-Ones: Morris, Stephenson, D-League, Stretch

October 30th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Markieff Morris didn’t have a lot to say when asked about playing apart from his brother, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Morris seemingly vacated an offseason trade demand when he arrived at Suns camp in September, nearly three months after Phoenix irked him with the trade that sent his twin to Detroit.

“It is what it is. He’s at work. I’m at work. Same thing,” Morris said.

He also expressed no surprise that Marcus Morris is off to a strong start with the Pistons, Coro notes. See more from around the league:

  • Lance Stephenson has pleasantly surprised the Clippers so far, unexpectedly winning a starting job and rewarding the team for its extra diligence during the vetting process for the trade that brought him to L.A., as USA Today’s Sam Amick details. Clippers GM Dave Wohl made 61 calls to people who know Stephenson instead of the standard 20, according to Amick. “I don’t think we’ve ever made more [background] calls for a player in my life,” Clippers coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said before Thursday’s game. “We had to make sure, but I’ve got to tell you that I’m really excited.”
  • Cartier Martin, whom the Pistons waived last week despite a fully guaranteed salary of nearly $1.271MM, and eight-year NBA veteran Ronnie Brewer are among the players signing D-League contracts that will funnel them to Saturday’s D-League draft, league sources tell Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter links). In Martin’s case, that means the Pistons elected not to claim his D-League rights. Hornets camp cut Sam Thompson is also signing with the D-League and heading to the D-League draft, a source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). Charlotte won’t have an affiliate until next year and thus couldn’t claim his rights.
  • The use of the stretch provision is down this year after a surge in 2014, but a Western Conference GM who spoke with Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com believes that over time, teams will more frequently use the mechanism to spread out the payment schedule for money owed to players. “The stretch provision was something that was really being underutilized until pretty recently. I don’t think some teams understood how it could be used as a benefit,” the GM said. “I think we’ll see it more in the future because with the salary cap going up, it will be easier to fit into your planning.”
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Southeast Notes: Clifford, Sefolosha, Magic

October 29th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat‘s starting five is both a source of optimism as well as concern for the team, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Dwyane Wade said of this starting group, each of whom averaged double figures in scoring last season. “We don’t know how shots are going to be passed out. We don’t know how it’s going to affect someone’s confidence when they’re not getting the opportunities they’re used to. The only thing that scares me about it is that we’ve got a lot of guys who are offensively minded … in that first unit. There’s not a lot of role players in that first unit. It’s a good thing to look on paper saying we’ve got scorers, so you don’t necessarily have to rely every night on one or two guys. But that could be a bad thing, too, because maybe there’s no one willing to sacrifice. When you have a lot of [scoring] depth, sometimes guys like to individually will it.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Thabo Sefolosha suffered ankle ligament damage in the incident in which he also suffered a broken leg at the hands of police outside a New York City nightclub in April, as the Hawks swingman writes in a first-person account for GQ.com. He lost 15 pounds in the month leading up to training camp from worry over his trial, in which a jury ultimately found him not guilty on charges that Sefolosha says could have landed him in jail for two years. The testimony that coach/executive Mike Budenholzer made in that trial sticks in Sefolosha’s mind, as the 2017 free agent makes clear. “It was emotional, hearing him say those things, me feeling that I let the team down and him having my back like this,” Sefolosha wrote about Budeholzer. “He was incredible throughout the whole ordeal.”
  • Hornets coach Steve Clifford is in the final year of his contract with the team, but he indicated that he wants to remain in Charlotte long-term, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports writes. Speaking about his coaching future, Clifford told Wojnarowski, “I hope it works out. I really like this place. [Owner] Michael [Jordan] has been great to me. I like the people here. And I love the players. I remember when I first got into the league with the Knicks, seeing the fan-base here. It’s terrific. If we become a consistent contending team, or a playoff team, we can get those fans back and have that same type of environment.”
  • The Magic enter the season needing to determine if their young nucleus can be successful together, or if the team needs to head in another direction with its roster, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “Because of the lack of wins so far we have to also be in evaluation mode and see who going forward are guys who can truly be built around,” coach Scott Skiles said. “And that’s hard to know when you’re not winning enough games. It’s really hard to know. We’re high on all the guys. We like all the guys. We think we have good, young talent. All that stuff I’ve said many times before. But until you go out and perform in crunch time and win big games, go on the road and win games — that’s when guys really show themselves to you.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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2015/16 Salary Cap: Charlotte Hornets

October 29th, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from this past season, and the luxury tax line will be $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM.

With the October 26th cutoff date to set regular season rosters now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of running down the current salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Charlotte Hornets, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:

  • 2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
  • 2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
  • Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $76,187,752
  • Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments=  $155,000*
  • Non-Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $450,093
  • Total Salary Cap Commitments= $76,792,845
  • Remaining Cap Room= -$6,792,845
  • Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $7,524,972

*Note: This amount includes the $80K owed to Elliot Williams, who was waived.

Cap Exceptions Available:

  • Mid-Level Exception= $5,464,000

Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000

Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $3,400,000

Last updated: 10/29 @ 8:30pm

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

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Hornets Formally Add D-League Team For 2016/17

October 27th, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The D-League will expand for the 2016/17 season to include a one-to-one affiliate for the Hornets in Greensboro, North Carolina, the D-League and the Hornets jointly announced today via press release and in a press conference. The news is no surprise, as Jeff Mills of the Greensboro News & Record reported this weekend that Greensboro would be the location for the D-League club, and the Hornets had targeted 2016/17 as their timetable for partnering with a D-League team. Charlotte is one of 11 NBA teams without a D-League affiliate this season.

“This is an important step for our franchise,” Hornets owner Michael Jordan said in the team’s statement. “Having our own team will allow us to use the NBA D-League in a more efficient and worthwhile way. By operating our own club, it will be a seamless transition for our players, coaches and front office when we assign a player because the NBA D-League team will follow the same principles and run the same sets as the Hornets. Placing the team in Greensboro also allows us to expand the Hornets’ brand to another city in our region that has a great basketball tradition.”

Charlotte used the D-League sparingly last season, making only two assignments. They signed D-Leaguer Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract in February, but otherwise, the Hornets had no other D-League ties as they shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with a dozen other NBA franchises.

The new Hornets affiliate will be the 20th D-League team, though a decent chance exists that the league will add more before the start of 2016/17, since several other NBA teams have expressed a desire to have one-to-one affiliates. The Hornets will run both the business and basketball operations for the club, becoming the 11th NBA franchise to own a D-League team outright.

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