Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Best Fit For Pelicans Coaching Position?

May 29th, 2015 at 6:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With today’s announcement that Scott Skiles would be taking over as the new coach of the Magic, there are now currently three coaching vacancies in the NBA: the Bulls, the Nuggets, and the Pelicans. Two of those vacancies may already be filled, with the Bulls rumored to be nearing an arrangement with Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, and Denver reportedly leaning toward removing the interim tag from coach Melvin Hunt. This potentially leaves New Orleans as the lone vacancy still in play for a new head coach.

New Orleans has already interviewed a number of candidates, including Skiles, and more interviews could be on the horizon. I’ve listed below a number of candidates who have either already been interviewed, been mentioned in connection with the post, or who could emerge as candidates in the near future. Take a gander at the list and cast your vote for who you believe would be the best man to lead Anthony Davis and company next season and beyond…

Vinny Del Negro: The former coach of the Bulls and the Clippers interviewed with the Pelicans earlier this week. He owns a career regular season record of 210-184, and a playoff record of 10-19. Del Negro last coached during the 2012/13 season with the Clippers, leading the team to a record of 56-26 before being fired and subsequently replaced by Doc Rivers.
Jeff Van Gundy: The Pelicans interviewed Van Gundy on Tuesday, but the meeting was described as being very preliminary, with the two sides beginning to familiarize themselves with one another. One potential obstacle in bringing Van Gundy on board could be his reported desire for an arrangement similar to the one that brother Stan Van Gundy has with the Pistons in which he coaches and runs the front office. His career regular season coaching record is 430-318, and is 44-44 during the postseason.
Alvin Gentry: The Warriors assistant interviewed with the franchise last week, and will reportedly get a second interview prior to the NBA Finals commencing. Gentry is a veteran of parts of 12 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Heat, Pistons, Clippers and Suns. His career regular season record is 335-370, and his postseason mark is 12-9. Gentry has reportedly drawn interest from the Nuggets and Magic, and was reportedly a front-runner for the Bulls spot, though it would appear that post is Hoiberg’s to lose.
Tom Thibodeau: Prior to his ouster in Chicago, Thibodeau had been mentioned as a possibility for the vacancy, though the Pelicans were reportedly reluctant to give up draft pick compensation in return for Thibs. With Thibodeau free to join any team without compensation, rumors regarding a Thibodeau-Pelicans pairing could heat up. It’s unclear if the negative comments the Bulls’ front office made regarding their former coach’s lack of communication skills, and the well-documented difficulties between he and Chicago’s front office, will lower Thibodeau’s stock around the league. Thibs’ regular season record stands at 255-139, and his playoff mark is 23-28.
Mark Jackson: Jackson’s name hasn’t been mentioned in conjunction with the Pelicans coaching position just yet, but the former Warriors coach could certainly become a candidate in the near future. While Jackson’s communication skills and ability to get along with other coaches and front office personnel came into question after his ouster in Golden State, his 121-109 regular season record should warrant him getting another NBA coaching opportunity at some point. It was reported that Jackson would meet with the approval of Davis, which certainly doesn’t hurt Jackson’s sales pitch for the job.
Michael Malone: Malone has been out of work since being fired by the Kings in December. The coach was reportedly let go because the franchise wanted a faster paced offense, and Malone is known as being a hard-nosed defensive coach. His 39-67 coaching record isn’t all that impressive, but he wasn’t working with a playoff-ready roster in the brutal Western Conference. Malone also reportedly had a good working relationship with center DeMarcus Cousins, who hasn’t cultivated a reputation of being easy to coach, which speaks voumes about Malone’s ability to relate to players. He is certainly a coach who should warrant another shot at a head coaching position, and New Orleans could be a solid match for both sides.
John Calipari: There were conflicting reports regarding Calipari’s potential interest in leaving Kentucky and returning to the NBA. While Calipari appears entrenched at Kentucky, the grind of recruiting, and desire to erase the sting of his 72-112 record while he was coaching the Nets, may nudge him back toward the pros. Plus, coaching Davis, a former player of his, wouldn’t be a bad way to start the next phase of Calipari’s coaching career.

Poll: Which Fired Coach Lands Next Job First?

May 14th, 2015 at 3:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The pace of coaching changes in the NBA isn’t nearly what it was two years ago, when 13 teams hired new coaches in the 2013 offseason, as I noted last week when I looked at how those 13 coaches had fared since then. Still, five coaches have lost their jobs since the beginning of the 2014/15 season, while a sixth, Tom Thibodeau, hangs in serious limbo.

It’s a reasonable assumption that if Thibodeau were to join the ranks of the coaches let go within the past several months, he would have the best shot among them to quickly land another NBA head coaching job, given his credentials. None of the five who’ve already lost their jobs have found replacement head coaching gigs, despite some impressive bona fides of their own.

Monty Williams just lost his Pelicans gig this week, so of course it would be quite a stretch to have expected him to land a new position so quickly. He’d engineered an 11-game improvement from last year to this season, clinching a playoff berth on the season’s final night. Still, that wasn’t enough to save him from the ax.

Scott Brooks wasn’t let go all that long ago, either, and while his Thunder lost a tiebreaker to the Pelicans for that playoff berth, he compiled an impressive 338-207 record during the regular season in parts of seven years as Oklahoma City’s bench boss. That record had plenty to do with the elite talent surrounding him, and Brooks only made it to one NBA Finals in his time with the Thunder, losing that series to the Heat.

Brian Shaw never sniffed the playoffs in his season and a half with the Nuggets, but he was long a sought-after head coaching candidate before Denver hired him. He has two rings from his time as an assistant under Phil Jackson on the Lakers.

Jacque Vaughn also cut his coaching teeth as an assistant with a team accustomed to long playoff runs, learning under Gregg Popovich with the Spurs. The Popovich head coaching tree has expanded rapidly in the past couple of years, though it lost a member when the Magic fired Vaughn during the season, with Orlando largely stuck in neutral amid the third year of a rebuilding project.

Michael Malone didn’t get a third year in Sacramento, and he barely got a second before the Kings fired him just 24 games into his second season this past December. The Kings were off to a fast start this year before DeMarcus Cousins went down with viral meningitis, and the coach had connected with the sometimes-difficult star.

Vote to let us know which of the five coaches let go since the start of the 2014/15 season you think will be the first to find another head coaching job, and elaborate on your choice in the comments.

Poll: Do Pelicans Need Major Summer Changes?

April 27th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans didn’t win any games in their series against the Warriors, but they showed they could push Golden State at least to a degree, building a 20-point fourth quarter lead in Game 3 while keeping each game against a 67-win juggernaut reasonably close. They have Anthony Davis, a former No. 1 overall pick who’s lived up to his draft position and then some with strong play that’s approaching an MVP level. They won 11 more games than they did a season ago, but the path to the top in New Orleans isn’t clear.

Part of that is because the team plays in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. The Pelicans finished only a game behind the Wizards this year, and Washington just swept the 49-win Raptors in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Still, there isn’t a second star to go along with Davis, unless the team has faith that Jrue Holiday can regain the form that made him an All-Star in his last fully healthy season in 2012/13, much less the third star that so many championship teams have had. There doesn’t appear to be one on the way, either, since the Pelicans haven’t made a first-round draft pick without an agreement in place to trade it since they took Davis and Austin Rivers in 2012. Rivers showed he can compete on a high level for the Clippers on Sunday, but for the most part, he’s been a profound disappointment for a No. 10 overall pick. New Orleans traded him and Russ Smith for Quincy Pondexter and a second-round pick this year, a paltry return on the team’s investment.

New Orleans plans a max extension offer for Davis, and, as I outlined when I looked at the offseason ahead for the Pelicans, there’s little reason to suspect that the ‘Brow’s next deal won’t be a multiyear arrangement of some sort that keeps him in New Orleans. There’s no guarantee that GM Dell Demps and Monty Williams will be around to see the end of the next contract that Davis signs, or even to present him with that extension offer when he becomes eligible to sign it this summer. Whomever is making the decisions in New Orleans will have some tough ones in front of them.

There isn’t much the team can do to find a star to complement Davis in free agency this year, given the lack of max cap flexibility that will exist once Eric Gordon formally opts in for more than $15.514MM next season, as he seemingly plans to do. Still, there are trades, and soon there will be the summer of 2016, when just about every team will have tons of cap space but few will have the sort of star who can attract marquee free agents the way Davis could.

The Pelicans probably would have finished well outside of the playoffs if the Thunder had been fully healthy this year. New Orleans had its share of injuries, too, and even Davis only played in 68 of 82 regular season games, but Oklahoma City is a prime example of how quickly a superstar’s time under contract can pass. The Thunder haven’t won a title in eight seasons with Kevin Durant, and only in the past few months, with Durant’s free agency looming in 2016, are they making aggressive win-now moves instead of concentrating on the future and the bottom line.

So, let us know if you think it’s time for the Pelicans to make bold changes, or if you think they’re on the right track, and elaborate on your choice in the comments.

Poll: Should Brook Lopez Opt In Or Opt Out?

April 7th, 2015 at 3:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets appeared close to trading Brook Lopez at least two times before the February deadline, but since coach Lionel Hollins put him back in the starting lineup on March 8th, he’s been sizzling, and the Nets have gone 11-6. He’s averaged 21.9 points and 9.5 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game during that stretch, helping carry the Nets into position for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Those numbers would be career highs if extrapolated over an entire season, and his rebounding is particularly encouraging for a 7-footer who’s somehow managed only 8.1 boards per 36 minutes for his career. He’s put up 26.2 PPG on 61% shooting in his last 11 games, becoming the only NBA player to do that over any 11-game stretch this season, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders points out (Twitter link).

All of this is cast against the backdrop of a crucial decision for Lopez and for the Nets. The 27-year-old has a player option worth more than $16.744MM that, if he were to opt in, would leave Brooklyn with seven players with guaranteed salaries that add up to only about $6MM shy of the projected $81MM luxury tax line for next season. If he opts out, the Nets still wouldn’t have the ability to open significant cap room to replace him, and Brooklyn would be liable to lose the catalyst for its turnaround this season with nothing to show for it.

The stakes are perhaps even more consequential for Lopez. He played in all 82 games his first three seasons in the league, but a broken foot that required three surgeries in three years and forced him to 134 missed games during that span left him with a reputation as damaged goods. He’s started only 39 games this season after playing in only 17 last season, and there’s no telling if his revival and return to health are but short-lived phenomena.

Lopez said last month that he hadn’t given thought to the option, though executives around the league seem to have had it on the minds for some time. Grantland’s Zach Lowe heard in December that most of those execs thought he would opt in. Today, Lowe wrote that the opposite is now true, which echoes what Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck had heard in December, when he reported that many execs expected him to opt in.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said last week that he’s heard estimates that Lopez will draw offers with annual salaries of $13-14MM if he hits free agency this summer. Those figures would give him less next season than he would make on his option, but free agency would likely give him the chance to lock in those salaries on a long-term deal that would ensure him of far more money than the option would. Lopez, a Wasserman Media Group client, also must consider the rising salary cap for 2016/17, and the rising maximum salaries that will come with it. Lopez’s existing deal is a maximum-salary arrangement, and if he opts in and continues playing the way he has the past month, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see him land another max deal in the summer of 2016.

So, let us know what you would tell Lopez to do if you were one of his agents. Should he opt in, take a higher salary than it seems he would otherwise see for 2015/16 and the risk of injury and regression that comes with it, or opt out and cash in while he’s hot, even if it means missing out on a better payday next year? Use the comments section if you’d like to give him more specific advise.

Poll: Do Thunder Need Upgrades To Win In 2016?

March 27th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant is done for this season thanks to the broken foot that had already limited him to just 27 games, leaving just one season for Durant to help the Thunder to a title before his contract expires. There’s little clarity on whether he’s leaning toward re-signing with the team or not, so uncertainty clouds the summer of 2016, when the salary cap is projected to jump to near $90MM, with most teams possessing enough cap flexibility to lure Durant with a max offer.

What is clear is that the Thunder aren’t trading Durant out of fear that he’ll leave them, with GM Sam Presti having recently referred to the idea as “ludicrous.” That signals that the Thunder will keep trying to build around him, as they’ve done for the past several years to mixed results. The Thunder made it to the Finals in 2012 with a core of Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka, but the decision to trade Harden before the next season began has turned out poorly, and Oklahoma City hasn’t been back to the Finals since.

Harden has developed into an MVP candidate, but so has Westbrook, and Durant won the MVP last season. The Thunder went over the tax threshold to acquire Dion Waiters in January, and while that move hasn’t exactly been a revolutionary upgrade, Presti kept tinkering, sending out Reggie Jackson for fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Enes Kanter and bench help at the deadline. Kanter’s performed well offensively and on the boards, having put up 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in 16 games as a member of the Thunder. Oklahoma City will have to pay to keep the young big man, who turns 23 in May, and with more than $78MM in guaranteed salary already committed for next season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows, the cost of keeping the Thunder together is high.

So, too, would be the psychological and historical cost to the franchise if Durant leaves without having delivered a Larry O’Brien trophy. The Thunder have 13 players on guaranteed contracts for next season, an unusually large number. It would be easy to re-sign Kanter or match another team’s offer sheet for him, bring back everyone else and make a run at the 2016 title with a healthy Durant. But the Thunder probably wouldn’t be the favorites to win it all if they did that, not with LeBron James leading another supercharged Cavs team and the Warriors well-positioned to keep on winning.

So, perhaps Presti should get aggressive this summer. There are trade rumors surrounding DeMarcus Cousins, so maybe the Thunder should see what it would take to shake him loose from Sacramento. The past two No. 1 overall picks and the reigning Rookie of the Year have all been traded with the past seven months, so elite young talent could be available. The Warriors were similarly capped out in 2013 when they worked a sign-and-trade that netted Andre Iguodala, who’s one of the keys to a roster that’s the best in the Western Conference this season. So, the Thunder aren’t necessarily out of the mix for this summer’s top free agents.

Tell us what you think. Should Presti bring back Kanter, keep the rest of the team intact and prepare for one more run with a largely unchanged cast? Or should he be bold and make a play for a better complement to Durant before the star forward’s contract runs out? Let us know, and elaborate on your choice in the comments.

Poll: Is Draymond Green Worth The Max?

March 22nd, 2015 at 1:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Draymond Green will become a restricted free agent this offseason and a player with his kind of talent is certain to garner much attention. There are reports that the Warriors are hesitant to give Green a higher starting salary than they will give Klay Thompson next season. Thompson won’t receive more than $15.5MM, per his agreement with the team. The maximum salary for the 2015/16 season won’t be known until the offseason since it is a product of the salary cap. There is a chance that the true figure comes in above $15.5MM, which would create a conundrum for the team. However, Golden State had given every indication that they will match any offer sheet presented to the B.J. Armstrong client.

Green is very valuable to the Warriors, as he has become the team’s utility knife. His size and quickness allow him defend basically any opponent. Versatility is an asset in the NBA and having Green on the Warriors allows coach Steve Kerr to get creative and exploit mismatches. Kerr has used Green at different positions in various lineups this season, including one with Green at center surrounded by four shooters, which is virtually impossible to defend. Green has also logged minutes at the both forward positions and has guarded shooting guards, forwards and centers.

While Green’s defense has always been his bread and butter, his improved shooting over the last year and half has been a major factor in his increased role. The 25-year-old’s shooting has risen every year he has been in the league and he is currently shooting 44.0% from the field and 34.2% from three point range this season. Green’s ability to effectively defend the opponents’ big men, coupled with his shooting skills, has turned the Michigan State product into the NBA’s quintessential stretch four. The position is in demand now more than ever and teams are often using underqualified players to play the role.

There will be a plethora of teams interested in the forward’s services this offseason. The Pistons should be considered the favorite, outside of the Warriors, to sign Green as reports have indicated that the Michigan native has “significant interest” in signing an offer sheet with them. Detroit only has $37.6MM on the books for the 2015/16 season, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors points out on our Pistons Salary Commitment page. That figure doesn’t account for cap holds for players like Greg Monroe and Reggie Jackson. I speculate that Monroe will leave Mo Town, while Jackson stays put for a starting salary between $10-13MM. Such moves would give the Pistons cap space for at least one maximum salary contract. The Lakers and Knicks also should have cap space for at least one max contract and those teams are always a threat to steal an opposing team’s free agent.

Green is a budding young talent and many teams will look to secure a meeting with him once free agency begins. Still, this doesn’t mean a maximum salary contract, which is usually reserved for star players, necessarily awaits him. Green, who hasn’t yet made an all-star team, isn’t quite a star in the league, but he is trending in the right direction.

Poll: What Will Reggie Jackson Make Next Year?

March 20th, 2015 at 9:53am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s been a discombobulated season for Reggie Jackson. It began under the shadow of extension negotiations with the Thunder that ultimately failed to produce a deal, seemingly in part because some teams reportedly believed he’d draw offers of $13-14MM in free agency and because Jackson made it clear he wants to be a starting point guard. That sort of role wasn’t going to come open for him in Oklahoma City, at least on any long-term basis. Still, the 24-year-old had a brief chance to audition for the sort of job he sought when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both missed most of November.

Jackson averaged 20.2 points and 7.8 assists against 3.3 turnovers per game in 13 contests without both Durant and Westbrook in November, a stretch during which the Thunder went 3-10. He also grabbed 5.2 rebounds a night, displaying all-around talent that nonetheless came amid a high volume of 17.9 field goal attempts per game, 27.0% three-point shooting, and Oklahoma City’s losing record. The poor outside shooting was no shock for the career 28.8% three-point shooter, and neither was the regression in his stats to 10.2 PPG, 3.1 APG, 3.6 RPG and 9.3 shot attempts per game from the time Westbrook made his return through the trade deadline.

Still, there was enough potential there for Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy to pull the trigger on a deadline-day deal that cost Detroit D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and a pair of second-round picks in return for Jackson. It wasn’t a dire price to pay, but it seems there’ll be a steeper cost for retaining Jackson when his contract is up this summer.

Jackson has so far compiled a decidedly up-and-down track record for GMs around the league to evaluate in his brief tenure as the starting point guard for the Pistons. He put up an eye-popping 23 points and 20 rebounds against a Grizzlies team without Mike Conley on Tuesday and followed it up with a triple-double against the Sixers the next night. He nearly recorded a triple-double against the Cavs in just his second game as a Piston, posting 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. The next game he shot just 5 for 24 against the Knicks, and his two-point, 1 for 9 performance against the Lakers is another red flag. Most disturbingly, the Pistons are just 2-11 when Jackson plays.

It’s the same Pistons core that went 12-4 in between the day the team waived Josh Smith and the time Brandon Jennings missed his first game with his season-ending Achilles tear. The presence of Jennings, who’ll be on an expiring contract next season, further complicates Jackson’s impending free agency for Detroit.

There are probably almost as many question marks about Jackson among other teams as there are for the Pistons. So, let us know the sort of starting salary you think the Aaron Mintz client will end up scoring on his next deal, and elaborate on your choice in the comments.

Poll: Who Should Win Executive Of The Year?

March 13th, 2015 at 2:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA hierarchy has undergone a shakeup this season, but it’s tough to identify a front-runner for the Executive of the Year award. There’s still about a month to go before the end of the regular season, and the extra time might make the choice somewhat easier, but the outcome seems destined to be too close to call until the winner is revealed. Here’s a look at five strong candidates, in alphabetical order:

Danny Ferry, Hawks: Ferry would probably be the clear-cut favorite if not for his racially charged remarks about Luol Deng that prompted him to take an indefinite leave of absence in September, one from which he’s yet to return. The roster that Ferry constructed is running away with the Eastern Conference, though much of the credit for that belongs to coach Mike Budenholzer, who’s running the front office in Ferry’s absence. Ferry nonetheless built the Hawks in the mold of the Spurs, where he’d previously served as an executive, and perhaps no one outside of San Antonio has had as much success with the formula as this Atlanta team has. It’s happened on the cheap, too, as the Hawks are below the salary cap.
Gar Forman, Bulls: Forman shares front office responsibilities with executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, but Forman seems to handle most of the day-to-day duties. Chicago’s title hopes still largely live and die with the health of Derrick Rose, but the Bulls are less dependent on their point guard than in years past after amnestying Carlos Boozer, a move that cleared the way for Pau Gasol‘s three-year, $22.346MM deal, one that looks like a bargain. Forman and company also brought over Nikola Mirotic, who’s fit right into the team’s rotation, and watched as Jimmy Butler, the last pick of the first round in the 2011 draft, has outplayed many former first overall picks this year.
David Griffin, Cavs: The widespread perception is that LeBron James is the one who really pulls the strings in Cleveland, but they don’t hand out the Executive of the Year award to players. Even if LeBron was the catalyst for or at least had input on the team’s moves since he rejoined this past July, Griffin deserves credit for acquiring just about every target the team has sought this season. The Cavs wanted Kevin Love, and they got him. They wanted Timofey Mozgov, and they got him, too. The same is true of Kendrick Perkins. They sought an upgrade on the wing, and they traded for both Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith. The only major miss was on Ray Allen, but he’s not playing for anyone else.
Bob Myers, Warriors: Golden State’s front office takes a collaborative approach, and the roster is largely intact from last season. Still, the Warriors have earned praise for their decision not to give up Thompson for Love and to give Thompson an extension that secured him for four more years. The hiring of new coach Steve Kerr has also paid dividends. One of the first moves the Warriors made after promoting Myers to GM was to draft Draymond Green 35th overall in 2012, and he’s proven a steal both for his draft position and his minimum salary.
Neil Olshey, Trail Blazers: Portland was coming off a 28-38 season when Olshey arrived from the Clippers, and the first major move on Olshey’s Blazers resume was perhaps his most impressive, drafting Damian Lillard. The GM has gradually built around Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, turning the team into a winning outfit that convinced Aldridge to stay after it seemed he was on his way out two years ago. Olshey didn’t make many earth-shattering moves this year, but he should receive consideration based on the sum of his achievements in Portland.

Let us know who you think should win the Executive of the Year award, and feel free to elaborate on your choice in the comments.

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Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Should The Raptors Target Canadians?

March 10th, 2015 at 8:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri indicated that one of the franchise’s priorities is to add a Canadian player to its roster. There are currently 10 Canadian players in the NBA, and they are responsible for $30,511,748 in cap hits, or an average salary of $3,051,175 for the 2014/15 campaign. Ujiri, who’s in the second year of a five-year contract, promised that the team will have a Canadian player even if he doesn’t have a long tenure in charge of the Raptors.

“We are studying it. I even considered last year hiring somebody to concentrate just on Canadian players and I think I’m going to go through with it because the growth of the game here is so big,” Ujiri said. “It’s the fit. We can maybe take our time and study it a little bit so it is the right fit and not do it just to do it. It’s going to come, there is no doubt in my mind. It’s an obligation that I think we have to fulfil. We are a Canadian team and I think to have Canadian players, I think will be phenomenal.”

It’s understandable that the Raptors would like to add an element of national pride to their roster. Having a Canadian to cheer for certainly couldn’t hurt ticket and merchandise sales, but unless the player added something tangible to the team, the idea isn’t necessarily a wise one given how precious each roster spot has become in this day and age. As far as the players are concerned, one advantage that the team would have in luring Canadian free agents or retaining a Canadian player obtained via a trade is that those players would already be accustomed to Canada’s higher tax rate, something that can be a hindrance when competing dollar-for-dollar for NBA talent with U.S. based teams. Though, representing one’s country on the hardwood on a nightly basis could prove to be a daunting task. A player would need to weigh the added pressure and attention versus the desire to play for his country’s only NBA squad.

What do you readers say? Is it a smart idea for the Raptors to target Canadian players? Cast your vote below and feel free to take to the comments section to expand on the topic.

Will Kevin Love Stay In Cleveland?

March 8th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by ChrisCrouse

In a clash of Eastern Conference powers, the Hawks beat the Cavs on Friday night by a score of 106-97. Kevin Love, who took 11 shots from behind the arc in the loss but only amassed 14 points, seems to be uneasy about his role on the team, as he tells Chris Hayes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “I heard some people calling me that but I know I’m not a stretch-four,” Love said. “I’m a post player who can shoot. Right now I’m just doing what I’m called to do. For good, bad or indifferent, I’m playing my role and doing what’s asked of me.”

Hayes’ article prompted Grantland’s Bill Simmons to ask where Kevin Love is going to live in Boston next season and suggest rental properties in the area (Twitter links). While Simmons, who is a well-known Celtics fan, was obviously being frivolous and a bit partial, he points a spotlight on Love’s situation. The 26-year old is experiencing one of his worst seasons as a pro. Love has been playing a good chuck of his minutes away from the basket, causing his rebounding numbers to drop to 10.2 per game, his worst mark since his rookie year. He isn’t getting many post up opportunities and it has hurt his offense. He is only scoring 16.9 points per game, the lowest amount since the 2009/10 season.

Although the Celtics are planning to target Love in the offseason, along with other marquee free agents, it doesn’t mean the power forward will be heading to Boston if he does decide to leave town. There will be no shortage of suitors for the UCLA product. Los Angeles and New York are both projected to have cap room for at least one maximum level salary contract and they both would likely get meetings with Love should he hit the open market. The Suns could potentially be another team to enter the Love sweepstakes. After clearing nearly $12.4MM from next season’s payroll with the trades at this year’s deadline, Phoenix will only have about $41MM in commitments for 2015/16 against a projected $68MM salary cap, which as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors notes, is more than enough to dangle a maximum salary contract offer at a free agent.

Love’s first season as a Cavalier has been a roller coaster ride. When he was traded to the Cleveland for a package of players, including No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins, he undoubtedly knew the team’s philosophy would be centered around LeBron James and even incumbent star Kyrie Irving. Yet, Love probably didn’t believe he would be relegated to such a complementary role that he is currently playing.

None of this means he will leave Cleveland. Love has a player option worth slightly more than $16.744MM next season and it was reported about two months ago that he plans to opt in. However, a lot can change between January and the end of the league year, and how successful the Cavs are this season will likely have an impact on his decision. Winning cures many ails. If Cleveland takes home the Larry O’Brien trophy, I’d speculate that Love stays put and embraces his role on a championship team. Anything less will certainly probe more questions about Love’s future and how much he is willing to sacrifice for a team that’s not playing in June.

Do you believe Kevin Love will be a Cavalier next season?