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Weekly Mailbag: 5/7/18 – 5/13/18

May 13th, 2018 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.

Is there a market for the traditional big man? What can Greg Monroe/Enes Kanter expect to get paid on the open market? — Ryan O’Neal, via Twitter

There’s a two-part problem for Monroe, Kanter, DeAndre Jordan and any other traditional center who might be thinking of testing the free agent market. Not only are their contributions being de-emphasized as teams try to stretch the floor, but the few franchises that have money to spend this summer won’t be looking for veteran big men. There’s a very good chance that Kanter [$18,622,514 next season] and Jordan [$24,119,025] look at the market and decide to opt in with their current teams. Monroe’s contract is expiring, so he won’t have a choice, but remember that he wasn’t used much in Phoenix and the demand for him was fairly soft once he agreed to a buyout with the Suns.

How does the top of the draft look for the Dallas Mavericks? — Mark Eiserman

The Mavericks are looking for help in the middle and are very fortunate with this year’s draft class. Arizona’s DeAndre Ayton would be the dream pick, but Duke’s Marvin Bagley III, Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. and Texas’ Mo Bamba could all be future stars. Much depends on the Mavs’ fate in Tuesday’s lottery, where they have a 13.8% chance to get the top pick and a 42.6% shot at landing in the top three. The odds are pretty good that Dallas will emerge from the draft with its center of the future.

Did the Raptors need to make a coaching change after a 59-win season? — J.L., via Twitter

Dwane Casey is one of the most respected coaches in the league and did a phenomenal job during his seven seasons in Toronto, amassing 320 wins and four Atlantic Division titles. However, once coaches reach a certain level of success, they stop being judged on the regular season. The Raptors reached the conference finals just once under Casey and were eliminated in the second round the past two years. It’s a stigma that has been hanging over the organization, and a coaching change is the easiest way to shake things up, whether Casey deserved it or not. If the Raptors had kept Casey and the same roster for next season, is there any reason to think they wouldn’t suffer the same fate again?

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Community Shootaround: Best Coaching Hire

May 12th, 2018 at 8:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Since the regular season ended, the coaching carousel hasn’t stopped spinning. Nine franchises — nearly a third of the league — have conducted coaching searches, and just when it seemed things were slowing down, two more openings occurred this week as the Pistons and Raptors both dismissed their coaches.

When the Hawks introduce Lloyd Pierce at a press conference Monday, they will become the fifth team to officially hire a coach. Let’s take a quick look at those franchises and the new men in charge:

  • Hawks, Pierce — Nobody understands rebuilding better than someone who has endured “the Process.” Pierce joined Brett Brown’s staff in Philadelphia in 2013 and went through some dismal seasons while the team collected young talent. He inherits another young roster in Atlanta, which will have four draft picks in the top 33.
  • Hornets, James Borrego — A longtime assistant, Borrego comes from one of the NBA’s top organizations, spending 10 seasons with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. He also has brief head coaching experience, taking over for 30 games with the Magic when Jacque Vaughn was fired in 2015. He has a veteran roster that could be broken up as Charlotte has a new GM in Mitch Kupchak and pressing salary cap issues.
  • Grizzlies, J.B. Bickerstaff — He’s not new in town, as Bickerstaff held the job for most of this season, but the interim title has finally been removed. He took over a team ravaged by injuries to Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons and Tyreke Evans, and even though his record doesn’t look good at 15-48, the front office was happy with how Bickerstaff developed the team’s younger players. A healthier roster should give him a better chance to compete next season.
  • Knicks, David Fizdale — The hottest free agent on the coaching market landed in New York. Fizdale was a highly respected assistant in Miami before getting the head coaching job in Memphis, which resulted in one playoff appearance and a 19-game stretch this season before being fired. He’ll get a shot at redemption in New York, but walks into a difficult situation with uncertainty about when Kristaps Porzingis might return from a torn ACL.
  • Suns, Igor Kokoskov — He made his reputation as coach of the Slovenian national team before coming to the NBA as an assistant in 2000. Kokoskov has prior experience in Phoenix, helping to guide the organization to some of its best seasons with Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. He will take over a roster that already has one young star in Devin Booker and owns a 25% shot at landing the top pick in the lottery.

We want to get your feedback on all the coaching moves. Considering their respective rosters and their expectations for the future, which of the five teams made the best hire? Please share your opinion in the comments section below.

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Poll: Boston Celtics Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

May 12th, 2018 at 3:51pm CST by clarkcrum

Seven months ago, nobody would have been surprised to learn that the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals would pit the Celtics against the Cavaliers. In fact, most probably would have expected these two teams to be where they are.

Yet, after a season filled with drama for both franchises, with the Cavs trading away half of their team midway through the season and the Celts losing both Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving to injuries, the match-up isn’t quite what many would have expected in the preseason.

The Cavaliers, looking to reach their fourth consecutive NBA Finals, are considered to be the favorite by most, as they still have the best player in the world on their side. LeBron James is averaging a ridiculous 34.9/9.4/9.0 so far this postseason and the Celtics and head coach Brad Stevens will have their hands full trying to contain him throughout the series.

The regular season series finished in favor of Cleveland, with the Cavaliers blowing out the Celtics in Boston back in February after the teams each won a game on their home floor earlier in the season.

However, the first game the teams played – in the season opener – was marred by Hayward’s injury, and the win in February by Cleveland saw huge contributions by newly acquired players Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, and Larry Nance – players who have seen their minutes reduced this postseason.

So what do you think? Which team do you expect to represent the East in the NBA Finals? Place your vote, then jump into the comment section below to discuss the series.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 5/5/18 – 5/12/18

May 12th, 2018 at 3:03pm CST by clarkcrum

Every week, we here at Hoops Rumors strive to create interesting original content to complement our news feed. Here are the original segments and features from the past seven days:

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Free Agent Stock Watch 2018: Los Angeles Lakers

May 11th, 2018 at 9:05pm CST by Austin Kent

For better or worse, the Lakers have known exactly what they wanted and how to get it for several seasons now. Now that the 2018 free agency period is upon us, we’ll see if the salary cap posturing was worth it. In an effort to make themselves an appealing destination for LeBron James and/or Paul George the club has neglected and even outright punted up-and-coming talent.

Given what’s at stake, any of Los Angeles’ own free agents will have to wait for dominoes to start falling before they can find out what kind of role – if any – is still available to them with the Lakers. Because of its history and location and all the inherent marketing opportunities that come along with being a celebrity in Hollywood, this organization is capable of things that nobody else is. Love it or hate, we’re going to see that on full display this summer.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, 25 (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $18MM deal in 2017
In today’s NBA there will always be a market for 3-and-D perimeter threats so whether it comes in Los Angeles or elsewhere, Caldwell-Pope should have no problem finding a suitor. That fact that he’s still only 25 years old only makes him all that more appealing. The problem, however – and the one thing standing between him and the max deal he allegedly sought last offseason – is that despite the guard’s legitimately impressive .423 three-point percentage after the All-Star Break, he’s never been a reliable go-to scoring option on a competitive team and appears to have a finite ceiling. Is the two-guard an untapped star or an elite niche player? I’d wager on the latter and caution any team desperate enough to pay him like the former.

Channing Frye, C, 35 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $32MM deal in 2014
Frye saw a reduced role in 2017/18 after serving as a valuable depth piece for the championship-contender Cavaliers the past two seasons. Still, despite seeing his usage trend downward, the veteran is as sneaky dangerous as ever. It’s hard to imagine Frye earning much more than the veteran’s minimum in his 13th season but it’s easy to picture him knocking down critical threes for a contender come the 2019 postseason.

Andre Ingram, SG, 32 (Down) – Signed to a one-year deal in 2018
Ingram had a memorable cup of coffee this season but isn’t likely to parlay the impressive debut into a full-time gig anytime soon. That said, the 32-year-old could find himself on the 10-day radar for depth-hungry teams late next season. That’s an improvement over a seemingly symbolic late-season addition in 2018.

Brook Lopez, C, 30 (Down) – Signed to a three-year, $63MM deal in 2015
Lopez has done an admirable job developing a three-point shot late in his career and that will likely help him prolong it, but don’t expect him to land another featured role like he had with the Nets anytime soon either. Lopez is on the wrong side of 30 and has never been a particularly feared rim protector. Expect the veteran to contribute meaningful minutes to a contender at a drastically reduced rate; playoff-bound teams don’t have the cap space and the rest shouldn’t even be looking.

Julius Randle, C, 23 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $14MM deal in 2014
Watching the Lakers mishandle Randle over the course of the past two seasons would have been outright inexcusable if they didn’t have a legitimate chance of landing a premier free agent or two this summer. They do, so we’ll let them off the hook, but if any other franchise were to drag an absolute workhorse through the mud for two seasons just because they wanted to keep their options open for free agency, we’d be laughing at them. Randle, a restricted free agent, is going to get paid this offseason and he should, my only hope – for the sake of the young man’s dignity – is that it comes from an organization that hasn’t made it abundantly clear that he’s a third or fourth priority. Fun prediction: Randle makes an All-Star team before any of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram or Kyle Kuzma.

Isaiah Thomas, PG, 29 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $27MM deal in 2014
For a fleeting moment in time, the stars aligned such that Thomas – an undersized, volume-shooting journeyman – was an honest-to-goodness MVP candidate. That, however, doesn’t mean that Thomas is or ever was a max player. While the drop in Thomas’ value here in 2018 can be lazily chalked up to his hip injury and the fact that he’ll be 30 years old by the end of next season, it wouldn’t have even felt right this time last season for a team to commit north of $25MM to a ball-dominant guard with a Napolean Complex. I can see Thomas as a world-class reserve combo guard if his hip holds up into the second-half of his career, I’m just not confident that he would share my vision.

Travis Wear, SF, 27 (Down) – Signed to a one-year deal in 2018
The Lakers brought Wear aboard as a last-season depth add and while he may not break camp with the team next season, he may have shown enough during his brief stint with the franchise to warrant a call-up earlier in the season next year. The Lakers may not have much of an interest in investing substantially in the forward but he’s a familiar face that could end up back in purple and gold eventually.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: Was Firing Casey Right Decision For Raptors?

May 11th, 2018 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

After dismissing head coach Dwane Casey earlier today, Raptors president Masai Ujiri spoke to reporters this afternoon about the decision, calling it “the hardest thing I’ve done in my life” (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).

While Ujiri acknowledged how difficult it was to part ways with Casey after the head coach’s seven seasons in Toronto, he also indicated that sometimes relationships need to come to an end. “We’ll figure a way to move on,” Ujiri said (Twitter link). “New voice.”

While it’s hard to place the blame for another disappointing postseason performance against Cleveland entirely on Casey, he made several questionable calls during the Raptors’ four-game sweep at the hands of LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Toronto struggled all series to contain James and his supporting cast, and Casey kept returning to certain defensive matchups that weren’t working, letting the Cavs exploit constant defensive switches. Additionally, an ill-fated decision to bring in Lucas Nogueira during Game 4 for the first time in over two weeks may have been the dagger in the Raptors’ season — Nogueira was a -10 in less than two minutes of action as the Cavs built a big lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Still, as many observers have pointed out today, firing a head coach for being unable to beat James in the playoffs doesn’t seem fair. After all, no Eastern team has been able to get past a LeBron-led squad in the postseason since 2010, and the Raptors don’t exactly have a superstar capable of matching up with the NBA’s best player.

Casey is coming off a 59-23 regular season, having established a new Raptors record for wins in a season. He hasn’t had fewer than 48 victories in a season since 2012/13, and his club won four playoff series in the last three years. Casey was even recognized by his peers as the National Basketball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year earlier this week.

It’s a strong résumé, and one that has many NBA fans questioning whether the Raptors can really find a coach who will be an upgrade on Casey.

What do you think? Did the Raptors need to move on from Casey after its latest playoff defeat, or is this the wrong move, and one the team will regret? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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2018 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Milwaukee Bucks

May 11th, 2018 at 9:45am CST by Luke Adams

After a competitive first-round series against the Raptors in 2017, the Bucks seemed poised to take a step forward into the realm of legit contenders in the East. That didn’t happen, however, as the club struggled to reach its ceiling, firing head coach Jason Kidd midway through the season. Milwaukee may have to count on a new coach – and internal improvement from its current players – to get better results in 2018/19, since the club doesn’t have a ton of cap flexibility to upgrade its roster.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Bucks financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2018:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000

Projected Cap Room: None

  • While trades or cuts could open up some cap room for the Bucks, they’re far more likely to remain an over-the-cap team this summer. Their nine guaranteed contracts, plus Brogdon’s non-guaranteed salary, Parker’s cap hold, and the cap hold for their first-round pick bring the Bucks’ total team salary to $105,373,063, which is over the cap, but comfortably below the projected tax line.
  • While it looked as if the Bucks may have to move a contract or two in order to re-sign Parker and remain below the tax line, that’s not necessarily a lock. Parker wasn’t at his best down the stretch and in the postseason, which may have diminished his free agent stock to some extent. If Milwaukee doesn’t have to pay max or near-max money to retain Parker, staying out of the tax would be much easier.

Footnotes:

  1. Jennings’ exact contract details, including guarantee info, aren’t yet known.
  2. Brogdon’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 1.

Note: Rookie scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hoops Rumors’ 2018 NBA Award Picks: Most Valuable Player

May 10th, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Hoops Rumors

While the NBA won’t announce this year’s award winners until late in June, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards now.

The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our choices below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

We’re wrapping things up today with the award for Most Valuable Player. Here are our selections:

Arthur Hill: James Harden (Rockets)
It seems like Harden has had the award wrapped up since training camp as the best player on one of the most dynamic offenses the NBA has ever seen. The numbers speak for themselves with a league-best 30.4 points per game to go with 8.8 assists, but they don’t fully tell the story of how good Harden has been. He puts pressure on opposing defenses with each trip down court and creates wide open shots for his teammates. He was also instrumental in bringing Chris Paul to Houston, so Harden is most valuable in every sense of the word.

Dana Gauruder: LeBron James (Cavaliers)
James Harden will almost certainly win the award, in part because he finished second to Russell Westbrook last season, but is there really any doubt who is the league’s Most Valuable Player? James ought to be slowing down at this point of his career. Instead, he’s more dangerous and durable than ever. The Kyrie Irving trade left James without a true sidekick (sorry Kevin Love), forcing him to shoulder an even heavier burden. He appeared in every game and dominated most of them. How many wins would the Cavs have without him? He’s an indestructible marvel.

Luke Adams: James Harden (Rockets)
While his game isn’t always pretty to watch, Harden was the NBA’s most effective offensive player in 2017/18. He found countless ways to score, repeatedly getting to the free throw line and utilizing a deadly step-back three-point shot that was virtually impossible to guard. And if defenses sent help his way, he made them pay to the tune of 8.8 assists per game.

Harden won’t be making an All-Defensive team anytime soon, but he has cut way down on his embarrassing gaffes on that end of the court, and the Rockets don’t need him to be an elite defender. With guys like Chris Paul, P.J. Tucker, and Luc Mbah a Moute around to guard opposing teams’ top perimeter threats, Harden did fine with the defensive assignments he was given, and even graded out as a solid overall defender, as Ben Alamar of ESPN.com detailed in March. Given his offensive prowess, that’s more than enough to make him a worthy MVP winner.

Clark Crum: James Harden (Rockets)
Harden was the best player on the league’s best team, often a prerequisite for consideration of this award. Throw in the stats – he led the league in scoring (30.4), was third in assists (8.8), and made 265 three-pointers (9th all time) – and the fact that he led the Rockets to a franchise record in wins (65), and it’s hard to see anyone else winning MVP this season, LeBron James included.

Austin Kent: LeBron James (Cavaliers)
While James sits in a class of five or six NBA masterminds putting forth yearly stats lines that previous generations could have only dreamed of, he sits alone among them as the only one doing so while carrying a genuine contender on his back. A lot of people like to get cute with how they interpret the rule but at the end of the day, only one thing matters: if this is what James is capable of surrounded by Kevin Love and a handful of beet farmers, imagine what he’d be able to do running the floor with Chris Paul in Houston? Or put differently, how much better a team like the Thunder would be with James on board instead of Russell Westbrook?

Chris Crouse: James Harden (Rockets)
LeBron James is still the best player in the world and after Cleveland’s trade deadline deals, he played like it. He shot 53.9% from the field and nearly averaged a triple double for a two-and-a-half-month stretch, tallying 29.5 points, 9.5 assists and 9.7 rebounds per game since GM Koby Altman brought in a group of young, spry athletes around him. Does that spectacular run of 28 games help to overshadow the month leading up to the trades where he was consistency found stewing on the court, taking a passive approach to the game, and failing to bring inspiration to his team? I’m not sure.

For the first time in his career, James played 82 games, making him one of four players this season (along with Bradley Beal, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Khris Middleton) to average over 20 points per game while not missing a single contest. Harden played in just 72 games because of injury and some rest. The Beard also played in several games that were rendered meaningless for his team, while James’ club had to fight through the end of the regular season to try and secure a top-four seed. Yet. if Cleveland didn’t falter earlier in the season with James’ hand-pick crew, maybe the Land isn’t sweating over seeding during the last week of the season and maybe we’re talking about James as the best player on a top-two team in the East rather than one that came within a two-game losing streak of not even getting home court advantage in the first round.

Harden led his team to the best record in the league while facing an arguably tougher slate out West. According to Win Shares, he’s responsible for nearly 1.5 more victories than James (15.4 to 14.0) despite suiting up for 10 fewer contests. He scored just 60 fewer points on the season in 475 fewer minutes than LBJ did and he bested The King in player efficiency rating. It’s a close race, but Harden gets the nod for me.

Who is your pick for Most Valuable Player? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comment section below!

Previously:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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2018 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Miami Heat

May 10th, 2018 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

After having been unable to lure a star free agent to Miami since LeBron James‘ exit, the Heat decided to invest in good – but not great – players during 2017 free agency. That means lucrative new deals for James Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, and Dion Waiters. With Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson also set to get big raises in 2018/19, the Heat don’t project to have cap room this summer and don’t have their first-round pick, so any major roster changes will have to come in trades.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Heat financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2018:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

  • Jordan Mickey ($1,839,228 qualifying offer / $1,839,228 cap hold)
  • Total: $1,839,228

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000

Projected Cap Room: None

  • Even without re-signing Ellington, Wade, or any other free agents, the Heat project to be way over the cap. Their nine guaranteed salaries, McGruder’s non-guaranteed salary, and cap charges for two roster spots add up to a total team salary of $119,457,662. The Heat are likely headed for tax territory unless they can cut costs in a trade or two.

Footnotes:

  1. McGruder’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.

Note: Rookie scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: Big Move in Philly?

May 10th, 2018 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Do they still trust the process in Philadelphia?

That’s the question to be addressed this summer for the Sixers, who are in position to grow into one of the East’s dominant teams over the next decade. With Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons serving as franchise cornerstones, another young talent in Dario Saric, the top pick in last year’s draft in Markelle Fultz and a probable lottery pick coming from the Lakers, the Sixers can stand pat this summer and still be assured of a bright future.

They also have the assets and the cap flexibility to take the opposite approach. Philadelphia is reportedly high on the list of possible destinations for LeBron James, and it wouldn’t take much cap tinkering to open enough cap room to offer a max contract. Philadelphia has roughly $67.4MM in committed salary for next season, which rises to about $70.6MM if the non-guaranteed contracts of T.J. McConnell and Richaun Holmes are both picked up. With a projected cap of $101MM, it would only take a minor move or two for the Sixers to be able to meet LeBron’s asking price.

If James goes elsewhere, Philly is position to trade for a third star. If San Antonio can’t work things out with Kawhi Leonard, an offer centered around Saric, Fultz and the Lakers’ pick could be enough to at least get the Spurs’ attention.

Even though their season ended in disappointment, there may be no team better positioned for the future than the Sixers. They can keep what they have or swing for the fences, and they figure to be among the top teams in the Eastern Conference either way.

What would you do? Would you let Simmons and Embiid develop as team leaders or try to rush the process and add another star? Jump into the comments section below and give us your feedback.

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