Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Best Eastern Team After Cavs, Bulls?

August 21st, 2014 at 9:23am CST by Chuck Myron

The Eastern Conference has been the dominion of the Heat for the last four years, but with LeBron James gone, Miami isn’t favored to make a fifth straight trip to the NBA Finals. LeBron’s new team, the Cavs, shapes up as the front-runner in the East, though a reasonable argument can be made that the Bulls have a clearer path out of the conference, as long as Derrick Rose stays healthy. Of course, Rose’s health is certainly no guarantee, since he’s been available for just a single postseason game in the last three years, and concern bubbled up once more after he sat out Wednesday’s Team USA exhibition.

So, Cleveland seems like the safest bet, but should James and soon-to-be Cavalier Kevin Love fail to mesh, and Rose struggle to stay on the court, the door would be ajar for a large pack of teams. Injuries derailed the Hawks last season, but with a healthy Al Horford to pair with Paul Millsap in the frontcourt, point guard Jeff Teague, and the sharpshooting Kyle Korver, they’re dangerous, particularly with plenty of flexibility for trades. The Heat spent more than any other NBA team this summer in an effort to make up for losing LeBron, and if Chris Bosh can play like a superstar, Miami will remain a threat. The Hornets made their second splashy acquisition in two summers when they signed Lance Stephenson to go along with Al Jefferson, and Charlotte seems like a fast riser. The Nets lost Paul Pierce, but the return of Brook Lopez and the continued development of Mason Plumlee could give them a potent inside combination like few others. The Raptors largely kept last year’s No. 3-seeded team intact, and DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas are young, improving talents. The Wizards made a run in last year’s playoffs, and they, too, possess a slew of up-and-comers, as well as the newly acquired Pierce.

There are other teams that could end up in the mix, too. The Knicks were the second-best team in the Eastern Conference in the 2012/13 regular season, and while the Pacers are reeling from the losses of Stephenson and Paul George, they otherwise have most of the roster that’s qualified for the last two Eastern Conference finals. Still, for the purposes of this poll, we’ll focus on on the six teams mentioned in the above paragraph. Feel free to choose the “Another team” option if you believe in the Knicks, Pacers or another darkhorse Eastern Conference club, and debate away in the comments.

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Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Should Changes Be Made To Team USA?

August 16th, 2014 at 11:12am CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of Paul George‘s horrific leg injury that he suffered during a Team USA intrasquad scrimmage, there has been talk of making wholesale changes to the current trend of using NBA superstars in international competition. George will most likely miss the entire 2014/15 season as a result, which severely dampens the Pacers’ chances of contending in the Eastern Conference this year.

The Pacers didn’t place the blame on George’s participation in USA Basketball, and correctly pointed out that if George wasn’t playing with Team USA, the injury could just have easily occurred while scrimmaging at a high school gym, or on an outdoor court. But others haven’t been quite so diplomatic.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was one of the harsher critics of players participating in international play, and of FIBA and the IOC in general. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA. We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league would discuss altering the international model this fall. “I don’t anticipate a major shift in the NBA’s participation in international competition,” Silver said. “We will continue to evaluate the pros and cons of participating in international tournaments [and] this will be a topic at our next NBA Competition Committee meeting in September and Board of Governors meeting in October.”

Should the league continue to allow its players to participate in USA Basketball? What are the options they could explore going forward to alter the current international play model? Here are a few possibilities:

The most drastic would be a complete ban for any under-contract NBA player to participate in Olympic and international competition. This would take us back to the pre “Dream Team” years when only amateur players were permitted to compete in the Olympics. The main issues with this approach would be whether or not the U.S. would accept the potential risk of missing out on competing for a gold medal because we declined to send our best players; this would also deprive NBA stars of the Olympic experience. It would place college players’ future careers in jeopardy if they were to be hurt. Unlike the pros, they haven’t been paid for their talents yet, and have a lot to lose if they suffer an injury as brutal as George’s.
The NBA could follow Cuban’s suggestion and form their own international tournament. This wouldn’t prevent injuries from occurring, but the league would have more of a say in the usage of its players, plus provide their own medical and training staffs. The other benefit to the league is that the owners and teams would receive some compensation for the risk their players take on by participating.
Another proposed idea has been putting an age limit on players who participate in international competition. This would allow NBA players to still compete, but limit their exposure to just a few years of international competition, which would protect teams somewhat against older players getting injured, as well as reducing “wear-and-tear” on veterans.

There’s no easy answer to this debate. George’s injury was the first major one to be suffered by an NBA player while participating with USA Basketball. Changing the whole system might be an overreaction, but team owners do carry an unrewarded financial risk when their players take part in international competition. All the extra minutes spent in practice and in tournaments add up over time, and could contribute to players breaking down earlier in their careers as well. What’s your opinion? Vote below for the answer you think provides the best solution going forward.

Poll: Will NYC’s Teams Make The Playoffs?

August 15th, 2014 at 8:45am CST by Zachary Links

You can’t walk a block in New York City without seeing an orange-and-blue or black-and-white jersey, but those fans could also be sporting frowns next spring. The Nets and Knicks, for all of their star power both on the court and on the sidelines, aren’t looking all that formidable heading into the 2014/15 season.

The high-priced Nets started to give Mikhail Prokhorov his money’s worth starting in the the second half of last season, but they won’t be bringing the same team back this year. Coach Jason Kidd shocked everyone when he bolted for the Bucks and Paul Pierce quickly followed suit. Pierce was a vocal leader, a solid scoring threat, and the key to the team’s Brook Lopez-less small ball lineup. The Nets get Lopez back this year and while the return of one of the league’s top offensive centers is nothing to sneeze at, it’s worth noting that the team enjoyed greater success with Lopez in a suit and tie. Highly touted draft-and-stash pick Bojan Bogdanovic is finally joining the team, but the Nets will surely miss guard Shaun Livingston, especially with starting one-guard Deron Williams coming off of double ankle surgery.

Meanwhile, the Knicks accomplished their No. 1 goal of retaining Carmelo Anthony but it’s hard to say whether they’ve actually improved from last season. Their biggest transaction of the offseason, aside from re-signing Melo, was trading Tyson Chandler and Ray Felton to the Mavericks for Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, a pair of second round picks (Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo). Later, in a trade with the Kings, the Knicks turned Ellington and Jeremy Tyler into forwards Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw. To oversee this tweaked version of the Knicks, new team president Phil Jackson appointed the inexperienced Derek Fisher as head coach. Fisher believes the Knicks can win 8-10 more games as currently constructed, but not everyone agrees with him.

How do you see things playing out for NYC’s teams?

Poll: Which Departures Will Teams Regret?

August 13th, 2014 at 8:29pm CST by Cray Allred

While many teams were spurned by their players for greener pastures despite their best efforts this offseason (the Heat by LeBron James, the Lakers by Pau Gasol, the Nets by Shaun Livingston) some teams decided not to up the ante when they could have, allowing key contributors to sign elsewhere. We’ll run down a few of the latter, and explore whether these teams will regret their decision:

Lance Stephenson – from Indiana to Charlotte. Had Paul George‘s injury occurred before free agency, the Pacers might have been more willing to meet Stephenson’s demands. Instead, they let arguably their most versatile offensive piece walk, refusing to improve their five-year, $44MM offer before the combo guard signed with the Hornets for three years and $27.4MM. Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles are the incoming guards Indiana hopes can lessen the combined loss of Stephenson and now George. The Pacers also seeking Shawn Marion‘s services, but aren’t expected to win out over the Cavs in that pursuit.
Chandler Parsons – from Houston to Dallas. The Rockets declined an option to retain Parsons for another season on one of the most team-friendly contracts in the league. The team decided to take their chances with the forward’s restricted free agency this summer rather than letting him hit unrestricted free agency next offseason, but ultimately decided against matching the Mavs’ three-year, $46.1MM offer sheet. The Rockets let Parsons go in part because they had already locked up Ariza, who is next on the list.
Trevor Ariza – from Washington to Houston. Ariza bolted from the Wizards after turning in a career year for a team that advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Wizards were unwilling to increase their offer, which equaled Houston’s four-year, $32MM arrangement, but practically amounted to $3MM less due to differences in state taxes. Washington quickly signed Paul Pierce in the wake of Ariza’s departure, and received an exception by signing-and-trading Ariza that was partially spent on Kris Humphries.
Channing Frye – from Phoenix to Orlando. In a surprise signing, the Magic snatched the sharp-shooting Frye away from the Suns, who wanted to bring him back to their surprise-playoff roster. Frye is one of a few bigs that stretch the floor at an elite level, and the team signed another shooter in Anthony Tolliver to make up for Frye’s loss. Orlando’s deal with the 31-year-old was for four years and $32MM.
Isaiah Thomas – from Sacramento to Phoenix. The Kings didn’t see the scoring machine of a point guard in their future, signing Darren Collison while Thomas was still a restricted free agent. Thomas was one of only five players to average 20 PPG and 6 APG last season. Sacramento hasn’t recouped much scoring punch in free agency, but did acquire a $7.2MM trade exception, as well as the rights to Alex Oriakhi, by executing a sign-and-trade sending Thomas to Phoenix.

As with any transaction, these front offices weighed the immediate future against their long-term plans, and tried to make the wisest choice. It might be painful to lose some of these players in year one, but fans might breathe a sigh of relief if the same players are underperforming for their new teams in the future. Then again, a player could blossom into an even stronger producer, compounding any misgivings about the teams’ non-action. What do you think?

Poll: Should NBA Raise Age Minimum?

August 11th, 2014 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Shortly after Adam Silver took over for David Stern as the NBA’s commissioner, it was reported that Silver would seek to bump the NBA’s minimum age from 19 to 20. The league and the union discussed that idea back in 2011 during the last collective bargaining agreement negotiations but the disorganization of the NBPA prevented that from going through. Now that things appear to be settled for the union, the issue of raising the age minimum could go right back to the top of the pile.

There are multiple reasons behind the NBA’s push to raise the age minimum. For starters, teams believe that they will reduce their odds of drafting a bust if the are choosing from a pool of older players who have more high-level basketball experience on their resume. After all, while the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett were ready to go pro straight out of high school, players like Kwame Brown, Robert Swift, and Sebastian Telfair would have either benefitted from some seasoning in college (or, at the very least, they would have had their weaknesses exposed before turning pro). Anecdotally, the idea makes sense, but whether a raised age minimum would actually makes GMs jobs easier is debatable.

Also, boosting the age minimum will keep costs down on stars as players would have to wait an extra year before shedding their rookie contract and the subsequent second contract. Strangely enough, the history of sports labor unions would indicate that the union might actually be on the same page as the league when it comes to this issue. While the union wants to see its stars paid well, there are more players in the lower tiers than at the very top, as Tom Ziller of SB Nation noted earlier this year.

Of course, an age 20 minimum for the NBA wouldn’t necessarily drive everyone to spend two years in college. Players can pursue overseas opportunities as Brandon Jennings did before the 2009 draft and top 2015 prospect Emmanuel Mudiay will do this season. Players might also opt to join the NBA’s ever-growing D-League. While it doesn’t pay well, it’s still something in terms of compensation and would allow players who aren’t all that interested in education to focus solely on playing basketball. The NBA would like to turn the D-League into a full-fledged farm system that can draw significant TV money and adding the nation’s top teenage talent would go a long way towards making it a reality.

The NBA and the NBPA will duke this out down the road, but we want to know what your thoughts on the issue are today.

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Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: WIll Ray Allen Play In 2014/15?

August 10th, 2014 at 7:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Most of this offseason’s high-profile free agents have settled in with their new clubs, but we still have restricted free agents Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe without a home and big names like sharpshooter Ray Allen on the open market. Allen’s unemployment certainly isn’t for a lack of interest.

The incumbent Heat were thinking about bringing him back at one point, but their plans got shaken up a bit this summer and the guard himself has said a reunion is not happening. Former coach Doc Rivers would like to add Allen’s sharpshooting and veteran leadership, but so far that hasn’t yielded an agreement. And, of course, LeBron James and Mike Miller would love for Allen to take his talents to downtown Cleveland, but he might not be so eager to do that.

“It will require a perfect storm scenario for me,” said Allen earlier this month. “I’m in great shape, and I’ll continue to be in great shape, but I don’t want to go to a situation where I don’t understand the rhythm of how a coach coaches. He has to be a great coach, a veteran coach.”

New Cavs coach David Blatt, formerly of Maccabi Tel Aviv, has the experience of a veteran, but he’s making his first foray into the NBA this season. From the sound of it, Blatt isn’t the coach that Allen has in mind if he’s going to continue playing in 2014/15. Allen also inferred that he might not settle for the minimum salary, which is all many of the league’s top teams can afford to give.

Allen isn’t the superstar that he was years ago, but he proved himself to be a valuable bench player in recent seasons. Even after a career-worst 12.8 PER last season for Miami, there are at least two bonafide contenders (and probably many more) that would love to add him to their bench. Do you think Allen will bite at one of these opportunities or will he call it a career at the age of 39?

Poll: Will Eric Bledsoe Re-Sign With The Suns?

August 9th, 2014 at 2:26pm CST by Charlie Adams

At one point, it looked like a near certainty that Eric Bledsoe would end up with a lucrative long-term deal that would keep him in Phoenix. Suns management insisted that the team would match any offers that came the restricted free agent’s way, but thus far, no team has come forward and presented the talented young guard with an offer sheet.

This late into the offseason, there aren’t many teams who could even afford to make Bledsoe an offer he’d consider signing. The fifth-year guard is reportedly seeking a five-year, $80MM contract, but the Suns have apparently been reluctant to offer him any more than a four-year $48MM pact. That’s a pretty major discrepancy in both average annual value and total guaranteed money.

The max money contract that Bledsoe is seeking is raising tension between the two sides, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported that it’s looking likely Bledsoe will take Phoenix’s qualifying offer for $3.7MM. Doing so would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, but it would also mean accepting a steep discount in the interim.

The Bucks were one team said to have interest in Bledsoe, but they’d need to clear some cap space in order to give him the type of money he’s looking for. The Sixers possess the cap room to extend a max offer Bledsoe’s way, but they haven’t been reported to have any interest. If he is to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, he’s sure to draw serious attention from teams around the league; it’s just a question of whether or not he’s willing to take a pay cut in the meantime.

It’s getting pretty late into the summer, and it’s still not clear what’s going to happen. Do you think the two sides will eventually come to an agreement? Or is Bledsoe destined to take his qualifying offer and hit the open market next year? Vote below and share your thoughts in the comments section!

Poll: Should Cavs Be The 2014/15 Favorite?

August 8th, 2014 at 9:02pm CST by Alex Lee

LeBron James spoke to the media on Friday night for the first time since announcing he would return to Cleveland. With the arrival of Kevin Love and the potential additions of Shawn Marion and Ray Allen to a roster that already includes the best player on the planet and a budding superstar in Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers are undoubtedly a title contender in 2014/15. But should they be the favorites?

The Las Vegas oddsmakers say yes, and many of them were firmly in that position long before the addition of Love. However, there are plenty of external variables that go into creating those odds, some of which have nothing to do with what happens on the court. So what about from a basketball standpoint? Remember, it took LeBron’s first super squad two seasons to capture a title and that team, with an in-his-prime version of Dwyane Wade, probably had a bit more star power than this group. After all, neither Love nor Irving have played in a playoff game at this point in their careers.

Speaking of LeBron’s former Miami team, they were just dismantled by a Spurs group that looked unbeatable and remains largely intact. When it comes to things like oddsmaking and public perception, small market San Antonio has never been a sexy selection nationally. While few would doubt their potential to repeat, the idea that they aren’t hands down favorites for next season’s title suggests that their triumph in June didn’t have the impact that it should have.

With the injury to Paul George and the always-uncertain status of Derrick Rose, the Cavs might just have a clear path through the Eastern Conference. But as we saw a few months ago, that might not mean much against the loaded West. So what do you think? Does Love rightfully make the Cavs the NBA favorite in 2014/15 or should the Spurs still be the pick? Or is it someone else? Please let us know the reasoning behind your vote in the comments section.

Poll: Which NBA Team’s Offseason Is Worst?

August 5th, 2014 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

There are surely a few dissenters who believe otherwise, but by and large the winners of the NBA offseason so far have been the Cavaliers, who vaulted to the top of the list the moment LeBron James chose to return to Cleveland. Just about all doubt about the success of the team’s summer would be erased if the Cavs complete a trade for Kevin Love, a swap they seemingly move ever closer to making.

It’s not as easy to identify the team that’s endured the worst summer. The Heat might be a logical candidate, having lost the league’s best player, but they nonetheless pulled Chris Bosh away from the Rockets and other suitors and convinced Luol Deng to sign a deal for less than market value. Those kinds of signings would be the envy of many other franchises.

The Timberwolves were at the bottom of the list that TNT’s David Aldridge compiled for this week’s Morning Tip column on NBA.com. The specter of a Love trade hangs over the organization, and agent Dan Fegan appears ready to make the Wolves pay a premium rate if they want to sign Ricky Rubio to an extension. Still, it seems there’s a strong chance Minnesota will walk away from a Love trade with Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick from this year’s draft, so it could be worse in Minnesota.

The Blazers are just one step above the Wolves on Aldridge’s list, their presence a product of inactivity outside of the signings of Chris Kaman and Steve Blake to man their bench. But Portland improved mightily after last summer, when Robin Lopez and Mo Williams were the marquee additions.

The Rockets have had the fourth-worst offseason so far, according to Aldridge, sitting one spot in front of the Heat, the very team that snatched Bosh from their clutches. They declined a team option that would have let them have Chandler Parsons for less than $1MM, then watched as the Mavericks gave Parsons a near-max offer sheet that they judged too lucrative to match. Houston missed out on targets James, Bosh and Carmelo Anthony, landing Trevor Ariza in a sign-and-trade as their most prominent addition. Still, Houston retains most of its mid-level exception, and with a trade exception for nearly $8.4MM from the Jeremy Lin deal, the Rockets might not be done yet.

Paul George‘s gruesome injury on August 1st was an unfortunate coda to what had been a disappointing month of July for the Pacers, who lost Lance Stephenson to the Hornets. Signees C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey stand so far as the team’s primary replacements for their premiere wing players. More than two-thirds of Hoops Rumors readers think that’s enough for Indiana to go from two straight conference finals appearances to missing the playoffs altogether this year. Aldridge ranks Indiana’s offseason as the fifth-worst, even though George, who’s under contract through 2019, is expected to return to the Pacers eventually, if not this season.

Let us know which team has had the NBA’s worst offseason so far in your eyes. Check out our Free Agent Tracker, this year’s draft results, and this year’s draft-and-stash signees for reference. You can choose from one of Aldridge’s bottom five, or select the “Another team” option and tell us who you have in mind in the comments.

Poll: Kevin Love And The Cavaliers

August 3rd, 2014 at 9:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Last time we asked you to pick where Kevin Love would start the 2014/15 season, there was a wide field of teams to choose from that did not include the Cavaliers. Boy, how things have changed. The Cavs brought LeBron James home to Cleveland and now Love badly wants to join his friend in Ohio. Finally, months of denials from the T’Wolves organization, owner Glen Taylor finally confessed that he expects to trade the All-Star shortly after August 23rd.

August 23rd isn’t just some random date on the calendar, of course. That’s the date when Andrew Wiggins‘ rookie contract with the Cavs can be moved. It’s not exactly clear what a package for the pending free agent would look like, but it has been said that the Wolves will walk away with at least Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and a future first-round selection. It won’t be easy to replace Love, who turned in a ~27 PER which was good for third in the NBA behind James and Kevin Durant, but two consecutive No. 1 picks and a future first wouldn’t be a bad way to start the rebuilding process.

In the Love poll from two months ago, the Celtics were the leading vote getter followed by the Bulls and the T’Wolves. The Warriors, Lakers, and pie-in-the-sky Kings were among the other clubs receiving votes, but at this stage, Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com hear that Wolves are no longer in serious talks about Love with any team other than Cleveland. So, now we ask you to weigh the Cavs vs. the field. Do you see Love starting the 2014/15 season with any team other than the Cavs? And, yes, that includes the Timberwolves.