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Poll: 2017 NBA MVP Race

March 7th, 2017 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to being one of 2017’s most entertaining games – and a potential playoff preview – the matchup between the Rockets and Spurs on Monday night may have represented a turning point in the 2017 NBA MVP race.

For most of the season, James Harden and Russell Westbrook have been viewed as the frontrunners for the award, for good reason. Harden ranks third in the league in scoring and first in assists, while Westbrook is vying to becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double over the course of a full season.

On Monday night though, Harden squared off with Kawhi Leonard, who has flown under the radar for much of the 2016/17 campaign. Leonard proved in the Spurs’ dramatic win over Houston that he deserves to be in the discussion with Harden, Westbrook, and the rest of this year’s contenders for MVP. Leonard’s incredible 39-point night – his fourth straight game of 30+ points – was capped by a last-minute sequence that saw him hit a go-ahead three at one end of the court, then block Harden’s layup attempt at the other end.

While the MVP buzz for Leonard is growing, and Harden and Westbrook remain excellent candidates, it’s not just a three-man race. Over in the Eastern Conference, LeBron James is having one of his best seasons for the Cavaliers (No. 1 seed), Isaiah Thomas is averaging nearly 30 points per game for the Celtics (No. 2), and John Wall has established new career highs in PPG (22.6) and APG (10.8) for the Wizards (No. 3).

Even Kevin Durant, who is currently out with a knee injury, deserves a look — he has been more efficient than ever in Golden State, making 53.7% of his shots this season for the Warriors, though his injury will likely take him out of the running.

What do you think? We’ve still got more than a month left in the 2016/17 season, so things could certainly change in the coming weeks. But if the season ended today, who would be your choice for 2017’s NBA MVP? Vote in our poll, and weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts.

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And-Ones: Officiating Changes, BIG3, D-League

March 6th, 2017 at 10:01pm CST by Milo Taibi

David Aldridge of TNT explored changes NBA referees will face in the future, as well as modifications that have already been implemented. One change that has been met with praise, Aldridge writes, is postgame feedback coaches can write regarding a referee’s performance. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called the addition “very valuable,” adding “Constant feedback in essentially real time throughout the season keeps everyone current.” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry concurred: “I have used it, and it’s good to be able to send in comments about the game so quickly.”

The league has also used four (or five) man referee crews at the D-League level, citing the benefits of “having an extra set of eyes on the floor.” Long Island Nets coach Ronald Nored was neutral toward having extra officials.

“It gave us a very open and low-pressure environment to experiment with it,” Nored said. “From a coaching standpoint, to be honest, there was nothing that stuck out in my mind where I would say it was a bad system or there was something negative.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/6/17

March 6th, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers have recalled rookie guard Kay Felder from their D-League affiliate in Canton, the team announced today in a press release. With Deron Williams now in the mix in Cleveland, there isn’t much of a role available for Felder, who is coming off a 26-point, 10-assist performance for Canton on Sunday.
Rookie guard Malik Beasley has been recalled from the Sioux Falls Skyforce by the Nuggets, according to a press release issued by the team. Denver doesn’t have its own D-League squad yet, so Beasley has been playing for Miami’s affiliate. In his latest stint, he appeared in three games, averaging 16.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 2.7 APG.
Rookie forward Joel Bolomboy, who has been assigned and recalled 16 times this season, is back with the Jazz, the team announced today. Bolomboy posted yet another double-double for the Salt Lake City Stars on Sunday, with 17 points and 11 boards.
The Spurs recalled Davis Bertans and Dejounte Murray from the Austin Spurs, the team announced on its official website (link). Bertans and Murray each received over 30 minutes of court time in Austin’s match-up with the Salt Lake City Stars on Sunday.

Cavs Bench Deeper Than Ever; Williams In Perfect Situation

March 5th, 2017 at 8:20pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers bench is as deep as its been in 47 years of franchise history, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. The addition of Andrew Bogut, who signed Thursday and is scheduled to play Monday, gives the club an impressively qualified 11th man.

Though Vardon acknowledges that many coaches reduce their rotation to seven or eight players in the postseason, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue will have every opportunity to keep his at nine or ten.

“You never know what can happen and now you always got those guys on the bench that are ready to play,” Lue said of the new Cavaliers. “They are veteran guys that can step up, been in big positions and are capable of making good plays in the playoffs. So, that’s always a luxury to have.”

Released by the Heat mid-season, Derrick Williams has already found himself in a “perfect situation” in Cleveland, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Williams’ confidence is surging thanks to the support of his Cavaliers teammates. “When you’ve got guys like [LeBron James] telling you to shoot, the confidence just goes through the roof,” Williams said.

Knicks Notes: Jennings, Griffin, Hornacek, Porzingis

March 5th, 2017 at 10:26am CST by Arthur Hill

Brandon Jennings is still taking shots at the Knicks, even though he’s now in a Wizards uniform, relays Keely Diven of CSNMidAtlantic. After his first game for Washington on Friday, Jennings told reporters the change has been beneficial. “I’m in the same position I was in New York,” he said, “but just in a better system for me personally and with a team that actually plays together.” Jennings was never shy about criticizing the Knicks while he played there, perhaps surprised to see the inner turmoil in the organization after signing a one-year deal worth more than $4.8MM last summer. Jennings agreed to a buyout with New York and signed with the Wizards on Wednesday. He will be an unrestricted free agent again in July.

There’s more out of New York:

Cavaliers GM David Griffin said the team agreed to take J.R. Smith from the Knicks in a 2015 trade involving Iman Shumpert so it wouldn’t have to surrender a first-round pick, tweets Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Griffin recounted the deal Saturday at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Smith and Shumpert both became contributors during the Cavs’ two trips to the NBA Finals, while the Knicks received Lance Thomas, Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk and a 2019 second-rounder.
Coach Jeff Hornacek says defensive lapses, not the triangle offense, are behind the Knicks’ difficulties in closing out games, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Several players have been pointing fingers at the triangle, with Carmelo Anthony saying after Friday’s loss to the Sixers that other teams adjust during the games, but the Knicks don’t. “When we get down, especially in fourth quarters, we want to run something that’s part of a system,” Hornacek said. “The triangle aspects is one of the systems that you can run that hopefully they can’t double, hopefully they can’t switch. It at least gets you organized in a set.”
Phil Jackson’s attempts to trade Anthony and Derrick Rose before the deadline are evidence that the Knicks will eventually revolve around Kristaps Porzingis, Iannazzone writes in a separate story. He suggests that Porzingis should be made the focus of the offense now, even if it means fewer touches for Anthony.

Williams: The Playmaker That Cleveland Deserves

March 4th, 2017 at 3:04pm CST by Austin Kent

All season long LeBron James commented that he’d like the Cavaliers‘ front office to go out and get a playmaker. Little did he know then that one would fall into their laps. In Deron Williams, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, the Cavs got just what they wanted. In his first game with Cleveland, Williams became the first reserve to dish out more than four assists in a game all season (he managed seven).

Cavs Sign Derrick Williams For Rest Of Season

March 4th, 2017 at 12:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

March 4, 12:13pm: It’s official. According to an official press release on their website, the Cavaliers have signed Derrick Williams to a contract for the remainder of the season.

March 1, 8:13pm: Signing for the rest of the season would give Williams $268,029, tweets Bobby Marks of The Vertical. That will count $230,690 against the cap for the Cavaliers and will result in $576,725 in luxury taxes.

7:22pm: Cavaliers forward Derrick Williams will receive a contract for the remainder of the season when his second 10-day deal expires Saturday, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.

The 25-year-old has been productive since joining the team in early February. He has appeared in seven games, averaging 10.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 24 minutes per night. Williams started the season in Miami, where he played 25 games before being waived.

It’s uncertain how Williams’ role in the rotation will be affected by the additions of Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut this week or the eventual return from injury by Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. If he signs just for the rest of the season, Williams will be a free agent this summer for the third straight year.

J.R. Smith Hopeful To Return In “10 Days To Two Weeks”

March 3rd, 2017 at 6:58pm CST by Milo Taibi

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue is hopeful J.R. Smith can return from injury within two weeks, according to a report from Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. Smith recently rejoined the Cavs during their three-game road trip, albeit without the intention of making his on-court return.

“Hopefully the next 10 days to two weeks he’ll be back,” Lue told Ridenour. “They’re saying he’s been looking better and better every day, he had a good workout yesterday, so hopefully we get him back soon.”

Smith’s recovery process from a fractured thumb has been a complicated one. Following a report from Chris Haynes and Dave McMenamin of ESPN that Smith could return in mid-March, J.R. tweeted “Please don’t believe the hype. Still a ways to go.” (Twitter link)

Smith, who last made an on-court appearance on December 20, signed a four-year, $57MM contract over the offseason. Kyle Korver has performed admirably in Smith’s absence, shooting 50.4% from beyond the arc since being acquired from Atlanta.

The Cavs would obviously like to have Smith back as the postseason nears, particularly while Kevin Love recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. In late February, Cavs GM David Griffin announced Smith was progressing “on schedule, maybe slightly ahead of schedule.”

NBA’s Projected Taxpaying Teams For 2016/17

March 3rd, 2017 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that the 2017 trade deadline is behind us, team salaries around the NBA shouldn’t fluctuate too drastically between now and the end of the season. Teams will continue to make minor roster changes, but as of today, a rest-of-season contract worth the minimum salary would count for no more than $237K on a club’s books. That’s a drop in the bucket when the salary cap is over $94MM.

The relative stability of team payrolls ensures that we can start looking ahead to assess which teams around the NBA will end up in luxury tax territory at season’s end. As it did in free agency last summer, the huge spike in the league’s salary cap continues to have an impact when it comes to taxpayers. Typically, at least a handful of teams pays the tax every year — last season, seven teams did. This season, however, since going into tax territory requires spending more than $113MM on team salary, only two clubs have crossed that threshold.

It’s possible that could change by the end of the 2016/17 season. The Trail Blazers, for instance, are only about $434K below the tax line, so if they need to make some roster changes in the coming weeks, they could get dangerously close to going over the threshold. But at this point, I don’t think Portland will be eager to sign anyone new to replace an injured player or two, since it’s simply not worth it for a club with a 25-35 record to risk becoming a taxpayer this late in the season.

No team besides Portland is all that close to going into the tax. The Mavericks had been about $1MM away prior to the trade deadline, but dumping Andrew Bogut‘s salary in the Nerlens Noel swap with Philadelphia didn’t just help the Sixers reach the salary floor — it also helped Dallas move comfortably away from tax territory.

So which two teams are likely to be the NBA’s only taxpayers this season? Well, the first one comes as no surprise…

Cleveland Cavaliers

Team salary for tax purposes: $127,262,331
Amount above the luxury tax line: $13,975,331
Projected tax bill: $26,188,328

The Cavaliers actually project to go even further into the tax this weekend, once Derrick Williams‘ second 10-day contract expires and the team locks him up to a rest-of-season deal. However, it could be worse. Cleveland’s January trade that sent Mo Williams and Mike Dunleavy to Atlanta in exchange for Kyle Korver actually reduced the team’s salary and tax bill noticeably.

Prior to that move, the Cavs had been more than $15MM above the tax line, meaning they were a tier-four taxpayer, accruing $3.25 in taxes for every dollar spent. Now that they’re back in the third tier, their tax bill is slightly more manageable.

Los Angeles Clippers

Team salary for tax purposes: $114,740,032
Amount above the luxury tax line: $1,453,032
Projected tax bill: $3,632,580

The Clippers were always close enough to the luxury tax line that it seemed plausible they could duck below it at some point this season by dumping a little salary in a trade. However, doing so almost certainly would have meant parting with a rotation player, and Doc Rivers has seemed perfectly content to stand pat — the Clippers haven’t made a single signing or cut all season.

While the Clippers won’t be on the hook for nearly as big a tax bill as Cleveland, the fact that the team remains in the tax isn’t great news. It’ll be the fourth consecutive year that Steve Ballmer‘s club has been a taxpayer, and with lucrative new contracts for Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and J.J. Redick potentially on tap this summer, the Clippers likely won’t be cutting costs in 2017/18. If they’re in the tax again next season, the Clips will continue to fact the more punitive penalties for repeat taxpayers.

Salary data in this post is based on our own math, plus contract figures from The Vertical and Basketball Insiders.

Cavs Notes: Bogut, Williams, MVP

March 3rd, 2017 at 2:28pm CST by Austin Kent

The Cavaliers were quiet at the trade deadline but have made two significant moves since adding recently waived veterans Andrew Bogut and Deron Williams. Chris Mannix and Bobby Marks of The Vertical discussed the signings in a recent video.

Not only do the March moves shed light on why the club didn’t make a drastic move at the trade deadline — they also tie into the previously reported LeBron James “playmaker” demands. The Cavs knew that they had March 1 in their back pocket all along. While they may not have known specifically that Bogut or Williams would fall to them, it would have been reasonable for general manager David Griffin to assume that the reigning champions would at least be on the short list of any new veteran free agent hoping for a playoff run.

Limited tradeable assets and draft picks gave the Cavaliers little other choice, Marks argues, but they can rest assured that they’ve bolstered their lineup with some solid depth. Mannix mentions Williams’ possible impact in particular. The Cavs have been without a veteran backup at the point guard position since Matthew Dellavedova signed with the Bucks and Mo Williams abruptly retired.

“The gap between the Cavaliers and everybody else in the Eastern Conference just got a little bit wider,” Mannix says.

There’s more from Cleveland:

Once again, LeBron James is making a case to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Veteran forward James Jones spoke about James’ bid for yet another award and why his case sometimes gets overlooked. “Sometimes they get bored with what they know is coming, even if that’s still the best option out there.”
Agents have substantial influence on the waiver wire, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Vardon suggests that NBA front offices would be wise to heed an agent’s request to not put in a bid for a veteran player going through the waiver processes, lest they want to damage their chances of doing business with the agency in the future.
Veteran Kyle Korver spoke about his recent return to Atlanta and Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal published video of the conversation. “It felt like I was on a really long road trip and I came back,” he said. The forward speaks fondly of his time with the Hawks but is grateful for his opportunity in Cleveland.