Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Hoops Rumors Originals

Community Shootaround: Expansion

May 2nd, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has not seriously looked at expansion in recent years and seems content with its current 30-team setup. The league hasn’t added an expansion team since 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats were created.

That’s a shame for major cities currently without NBA franchises that have the capability of supporting them.

Commissioner Adam Silver recently addressed the topic and doubted that expansion would be coming any time soon. Current owners feel that adding franchises would detract from their global following.

“The way the owners see expansion at the moment is really the equivalent of selling equity in the [league],” Silver said.

Silver also admitted that not all of the current teams are “must-see experiences” and that additional teams would lead to a watered-down product with the top talent spread thin. However, Silver did not shoot down the possibility of expansion.

“I don’t think the there is any doubt that at some point we will turn back to looking at whether we should grow the league,” he said.

That process could be accelerated during negotiations with the National Basketball Players’ Association, which has every incentive to add more high-paying jobs through expansion.

Seattle, which lost its franchise to Oklahoma City, would certainly get serious consideration if the NBA decided to expand. But plenty of other cities can also make strong cases for inclusion. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Buffalo, San Diego, Louisville, Nashville and Kansas City all seem like viable options, as many of those cities previously had NBA or ABA franchises.

Las Vegas has been clamoring for a major pro sports franchise and the NBA could even take an international view. Regular season games have been played in London with an enthusiastic response. Logistics aside, that would be a bold step for a league that has always taken a worldwide view with its product.

This leads us to our question of the day: If the NBA decides to expand in the near future, which city is most deserving of a franchise?

Please take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.

Retweet 4 Share 2 Send via email0

Prospect Profile: Demetrius Jackson (Part Two)

May 2nd, 2016 at 9:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

PROJECTED DRAFT RANGE: There’s an unusually wide gap between where Jackson lands on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Big Board and DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 Prospect list. Ford currently ranks him as a mid- to late first-round prospect at No. 23 overall and No. 5 among point guards. Jamal Murray, Kris Dunn, Dejounte Murray and Tyler Ulis are slotted ahead of Jackson on Ford’s Big Board. Givony has a much more optimistic view, pegging Jackson at No. 11 overall and third among point guards behind only Dunn and Murray. According the updated point guard rankings by NBA.com’s David Aldridge, Jackson ranks sixth among point guards with Kay Felder also ahead of him.

RISE/FALL: As the disparity in his draft range suggests, Jackson could go in the lottery or drop all the way to the second round, depending upon what he shows in predraft workouts. Jamal Murray and Dunn are solidly in the Top 10 but teams are likely to bring in the next level of point guard prospects and see how they fare against each other. Jackson has to show he can overcome his lack of height defensively by using his strength and quick feet. He also has to prove to coaches and executives that he’s an above-average shooter from deep. His stock could simply be dictated by how much teams value a second-unit point guard, since few view him as a starter-quality player, at least for right now.

FIT: Several teams projected at the bottom half of the lottery could take a long look at Jackson. The Kings, who might lose soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo, would fit that group if Dunn and Jamal Murray are off the board. The Bulls might bring in a young point guard to back up Derrick Rose, especially with Rose entering his walk year. There’s also some uncertainty about the Bucks’ point guard situation. Outside the lottery, the Pistons are clearly in the market for a second-stringer behind Reggie Jackson. The Grizzlies may need to protect themselves from the possible free agency loss of Mike Conley and the Rockets need a complementary piece to starter Patrick Beverley.

FINAL TAKE: There seems to be little doubt that Jackson can carve out a career as an energetic second-unit point guard. He might be the most athletic point guard on the board. But a lack of upside could cause him to drop to the bottom third of the first round, or even slide to the second round. As Ford puts it in his most recent take on Jackson, he doesn’t have one skill that stands out, but he has very few weaknesses.

For Part One of our Demetrius Jackson Prospect Profile, click here.

Retweet 2 Share 2 Send via email0

Prospect Profile: Demetrius Jackson (Part One)

May 2nd, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder
Anthony Gruppuso / USA Today Sports Images

Anthony Gruppuso / USA Today Sports Images

OVERVIEW: Demetrius Jackson took over as Notre Dame’s floor leader as a junior and emerged as a first-round prospect. Jackson led the Irish to the Elite Eight despite some struggles offensively during the latter stages of the season. He finished his college career with a 26-point performance against North Carolina and averaged 15.8 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the season. Jackson played steady minutes as a sophomore, though current Knicks point guard Jerian Grant was the team’s primary ballhandler. Jackson was also a rotation player as a freshman after being a highly touted prep star, ranking No. 33 overall in his class, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. At 6’1”, the 21-year-old Jackson is smaller than the prototypical NBA point guard.

STRENGTHS: Like most smaller point guards, Jackson relies on his quickness and athleticism. He’s got superior explosion, allowing him to get into the paint and create havoc. That will serve him well in a pick-and-roll reliant NBA scheme. It also works well in the transition game, where he’s nearly impossible to catch as he converts layups or finds trailers for dunks. ESPN Insider Chad Ford credits Jackson for his pass-first mentality, decision-making and a knack for making his teammates better. DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony notes that while Jackson is small, he’s powerfully built and can finish through contact. His outstanding leaping ability allows him to be on the receiving end of lobs. He also moves well without the ball and is a solid shooter off the catch, with Givony pointing out that he made 41% of his shots with his feet set. Turnovers were not a big issue for Jackson, as he averaged 2.2 as a junior while playing 36 minutes per game. Jackson has also impressed talent evaluators with his competitiveness, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge.

WEAKNESSES: Jackson’s 3-point shooting dropped off dramatically when tasked with running Notre Dame’s methodical offense this season. He made 33.1% of his long-range shots as a junior, compared to 42.9% in his sophomore year. Jackson’s lack of height could obviously be an issue when he’s guarding tall point guards, and he’ll be an even bigger liability when he’s forced to switch. Jackson can also be over-reliant on his quickness, rather than playing at a more controlled pace. As one NBA executive told Aldridge, “He always tries to blow by you. It’s like a pitcher that keeps throwing 100 miles an hour.” In contrast to Ford’s evaluation, Givony believes that Jackson has displayed average court vision and misses some easy reads. That’s due to Jackson still searching for the right balance between running the offense and finding his own shot.

For Part 2 of our Demetrius Jackson Prospect Profile, click here.

Retweet 5 Share 2 Send via email0

Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Memphis Grizzlies

May 2nd, 2016 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

The key for the Grizzlies this summer is re-signing Mike Conley, but if Memphis can quickly secure a verbal commitment from the point guard, the team can manipulate his relatively small cap hold to sign other free agents into cap space before circling back to formally sign him. It’s much the same strategy the Spurs employed when they used Kawhi Leonard‘s minuscule cap hold to create room to sign LaMarcus Aldridge last summer and the Pistons plan to execute with Andre Drummond‘s cap hold this summer. Conley isn’t a restricted free agent like Leonard was and Drummond will be, but because he’s on such a bargain contract, his cap hold is much cheaper than the estimated $26MM maximum salary he’s eligible to sign for. So, look for the Grizzlies to keep him unsigned as long as possible, thus maintaining a roughly $14MM cap hit instead of one nearly twice as large. See how the Grizzlies’ cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.

Guaranteed salary

Player options

  • None

Team options

Non-guaranteed salary

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

  • Bryce Cotton ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
  • Xavier Munford ($1,074,636/$1,074,636) — Pending team option
  • Totals: ($2,255,067/$2,255,067)

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

Footnotes:

  1. The Grizzlies can’t re-sign Hairston to a contract with a starting salary worth more than the amount listed here because the Hornets declined their team option on his rookie scale contract before the start of the season. Charlotte subsequently traded Hairston to Memphis, which inherits the restriction.

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

Retweet 5 Share 1 Send via email0

Offseason Outlook: Houston Rockets

May 2nd, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron
Trevor Ruszkowski / USA TODAY Sports Images

Trevor Ruszkowski / USA TODAY Sports Images

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.

Coaching Search

Jeff Van Gundy apparently sits atop the list of Rockets coaching candidates, but interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff will seemingly get a look, at least. Owner Leslie Alexander wants to make sure Van Gundy, who hasn’t coached since 2007, would update his offense, but GM Daryl Morey indicated that he won’t make system a priority in the search, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Dwight Howard‘s future

The decision on a coach will reportedly play a role in any future Howard might have in Houston, and a coach committed to the outside game would seemingly reduce the slim chance the former All-Star center would stay. Still, Howard’s best days were under Van Gundy’s brother Stan in Orlando, where the big man’s presence inside was key to opening space for 3-point shooters. Offenses predicated on movement would ostensibly coax the ball out of the hands of James Harden and allow more touches for Howard.

It’s nonetheless difficult to envision Harden and Howard continuing to coexist, with one Rockets player telling The Vertical’s Michael Lee that they don’t hate each other but simply can’t play together. One team source who spoke with Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com described the chemistry between the star duo as “cordially bad.” Howard is 30 and simply not what he used to be, but the new client of Perry Rogers is still expected to opt out and seek a max deal that would pay him $30MM next season. The Rockets apparently aren’t completely opposed to re-signing Howard, and Morey certainly seems open to it, but it would surely have to be for less money than the max, and at least four other teams are apparently better bets.

Two power forwards poised for restricted free agency

Howard isn’t the only one seemingly on his way out of Houston. The Rockets already pulled off a trade to send Donatas Motiejunas to Detroit, but the Pistons voided the deadline swap. Now, Motiejunas is up for restricted free agency, along with fellow power forward Terrence Jones. Motiejunas returned to Houston’s starting lineup shortly after the trade that wasn’t, and while he proved he could be a consistent presence on the floor after missing most of a calendar year with back trouble, he averaged only 15.7 minutes per game in 21 starts down the stretch. His inability to come anywhere close to the 36.8% he shot from 3-point range last season bodes poorly for his future in Houston, and while he excelled in Houston’s lone playoff win this spring with a 14-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 3 against the Warriors, he otherwise averaged 7.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in that series.

Jones started 71 games for the Rockets in his second year in the NBA, but he fell out of the rotation this season, his fourth since becoming the 18th pick in 2012, and he didn’t play at all in the postseason. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Houston pass on making a qualifying offer to Jones, thus allowing him to hit unrestricted free agency. The Rockets will probably make a qualifying offer to Motiejunas, but they assuredly won’t be afraid to rescind it if that’s what it takes to sign someone else.

Free agent targets

Clearing Howard, Jones and perhaps Motiejunas would give the Rockets about $40MM of cap room to play with, more than enough to sign any free agent. They, like so many others, will go after Durant, and they’ll use Harden, his old teammate, as a selling point, but a reunion appears unlikely. The focus would shift to the next most attractive free agents if Durant says no. Stretchy big man Al Horford and his emerging 3-point game at his max of about $26MM would fit well in Houston. Combining Horford with stretch four extraordinaire Ryan Anderson at around $14MM sounds even better, but that might not be enough for Anderson. The Rockets would have snagged Pau Gasol in the nixed 2011 Chris Paul trade, so perhaps Morey will revisit that idea. Houston could go cheaper and sign Jared Dudley to play the four, leaving money to upgrade the bench.

Potential trades

Houston would surely love to unload Corey Brewer, who had a dreadful year and is still under contract for two more seasons, but that’ll be a tough sell. Better potential for a deal exists deeper on the bench, where young players K.J. McDaniels, Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell could become expendable if the Rockets commit fully to win-now mode. Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley have contracts in the middle of the salary scale, the sort that often make for easy trade fodder, but neither appears destined for a new home unless the Rockets are forced to give them up to accommodate a trade for a star or a second max free agent signing.

Draft outlook

  • First-round picks: None
  • Second-round picks: 37th, 43rd

The Rockets already have three top-40 picks from the last two drafts with guaranteed deals for next season, so unless they offload some of them, it’s tough to see the players at No. 37 and No. 43 both making Houston’s roster come opening night. Look for Houston to trade at least one of its picks.

Other decisions

Michael Beasley was superb after signing a two-year contract in early March, and keeping him on his non-guaranteed minimum salary should be an easy choice. Fellow March signee Andrew Goudelock didn’t have nearly the same sort of impact, so he’ll be expendable. Midseason trade acquisition Josh Smith failed to come close to the production he gave the Rockets during last year’s stint with the team, so he’ll probably be an afterthought at best for Houston in free agency this summer. Jason Terry‘s versatility has value, but he turns 39 in September and the team reportedly wants to explore other options before doing any would-be new deal with the combo guard.

Final take

The Rockets endured a profoundly disappointing season this year, but they still have one of the game’s pre-eminent stars in Harden, and this summer they’ll have not only the chance to hire the right coach but also the flexibility to make significant roster changes and land another star. Houston can rise as quickly as it fell.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

Footnotes: 

  1. The cap hold for Howard if he opts out will be the maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons. The number shown here is an estimate based on the projected cap figure.
Retweet 15 Share 3 Send via email0

Community Shootaround: NBA Finals

May 1st, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The first round of the playoffs wraps up tonight, and if we’ve learned anything about the teams involved it’s that, in the famous words of former NFL coach Dennis Green, “They are who we thought they were.” The Warriors and Spurs still look like teams that tore through the regular season at a record pace. The Cavaliers seem like the only dominant group in the East. The Raptors are still good in the regular season, but shaky in the playoffs. The Heat have the talent to raise their game when they need to. The Celtics have many good players, but not enough stars. And the Clippers remain as snakebit as ever.

There were few surprises in the opening round, but things figure to become more competitive as we move on. The Western Conference has already started second-round play, with Golden State and San Antonio holding 1-0 leads over Portland and Oklahoma City. In the East, Cleveland and Atlanta will tip off their series Monday night, while Miami, which prevailed in a seven-game tussle today, awaits the winner of Game 7 between Toronto and Indiana.

The East feels set up the same way it has been for the past five seasons, with LeBron James‘ team as a heavy favorite. Shooting for his sixth straight trip to the NBA Finals, James and the Cavaliers looked sharp in a first-round sweep of the plucky Pistons. LeBron could be headed for an intense Eastern Conference finals showdown with his former team in Miami if the Cavs and Heat survive the second round.

Out West, Golden State and San Antonio seem destined to collide in the conference finals. The Spurs opened their series with the Thunder with a 32-point pasting Saturday night, and the Warriors followed with a 12-point victory over the Trail Blazers this afternoon despite missing probable league MVP Stephen Curry. Either series will need a dramatic turnaround to prevent a clash of the two superpowers.

That brings us to tonight’s question: Now that we’ve seen the first round of the playoffs, who are your picks to meet in the NBA Finals? Will LeBron make his annual trip to the league’s biggest showcase, or will the Hawks, Heat, Raptors or Pacers find a way to stop him? And are the Warriors and Spurs the NBA’s version of an irresistible force, or will the Thunder or Blazers be able to turn those series around?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.

Retweet 1 Share 2 Send via email0

Community Shootaround: Clippers’ Trio

April 30th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers will enter the offseason earlier than expected after losing the final game in their series against the Blazers on Friday night. The team lost Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to injury during Game 4 of the series and Los Angeles was unable to win another game without two of its stars on the floor.

The arrival of the offseason carries questions for the Clippers. The front office has to figure out if Paul, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan can be the foundation of a championship team and they were hoping to get another postseason to gather more data. Instead, the franchise got three games of postseason play, two of which it won, to evaluate its core and that brings us to tonight’s question. Should the Clippers break up the Paul-Griffin-Jordan trio?

Let us know what you would do if you were sitting in Doc Rivers‘ chair. Which player(s) should be moved? Would you give this core another year and if so, what minor changes would you make? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say!

Retweet 9 Share 2 Send via email0

Hoops Rumors Originals 4/24/16-4/30/16

April 30th, 2016 at 12:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…

Retweet 2 Share 1 Send via email0

Community Shootaround: Evan Turner

April 29th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Evan Turner has never lived up to the expectations that come with being the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, but that doesn’t mean that the swingman doesn’t provide value to his squad on a nightly basis. The 27-year-old is coming off a solid campaign for the Celtics that saw him average 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 28.0 minutes per outing, while primarily coming off the bench for Boston. While Turner’s numbers aren’t necessarily eye-popping, he was a vital cog in the Celtics’ rotation this season and was my choice for this season’s Sixth Man of the Year award that went to the Clippers’ Jamal Crawford.

Turner, who earned $3,425,510 this season, is set to become an unrestricted free agent and could be in line for a starting salary of over $10MM per year on his next contract, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “You hear players talk all the time about doing whatever it takes to win, but he’s doing it,” one NBA executive told Blakely regarding Turner. “Start, come off the bench, play a few minutes, play a lot of minutes. He’s done everything they’ve asked him to do and from what I hear hasn’t grumbled a day about it. Every team needs a guy like that in their locker room.”

“If you’re looking for him to come in and put X amount of points and X amount of assists per game and [shoot] this or that from the field, he’s probably not your guy,” another executive told the CSN scribe regarding the future unrestricted free agent. “He helps you win games. That’s probably his greatest strength.”

This brings me to the topic for today: How much is Evan Turner worth on the open market?

Turner may not put up gaudy statistics and he isn’t capable of being a team’s primary scoring option on a nightly basis, but his versatile skill set certainly allows him to be a solid contributor on a winning team. With the salary cap set to increase significantly next season, the league should see some interesting deals inked this offseason, with quite a few players assuredly set to end up with player-friendly pacts over the summer. But how much will Turner be worth on his next deal and what team would be the best landing spot for him? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

Retweet 2 Share 2 Send via email0

2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Mavericks

April 29th, 2016 at 4:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Dallas Mavericks, whose D-League affiliate is the Texas Legends:

The Mavs made 18 assignments for the 2015/16 campaign, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 20 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Dallas for the 2015/16 season:

Here is how the Mavs’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:

  • Justin Anderson: In seven D-League appearances, the swingman averaged 23.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 38.3 minutes per outing. Anderson’s shooting line was .460/.333/.792.
  • Jeremy Evans: In four contests for the Legends, Evans notched averages of 16.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 35.8 minutes per game. His slash line was .500/.389/.727.
  • Salah Mejri: The center appeared in eight D-League games on the season and averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 23.8 minutes per contest. Mejri’s shooting line was .566/.125/.875.
Retweet 2 Share 1 Send via email0