A few dozen players are on non-guaranteed, minimum-salary training camp deals with NBA teams, and more will surely follow with camps set to open in two weeks. Friday, I examined where each came from, noting that international circuits, the D-League, college and the pool of unsigned NBA veterans are all nearly equally fruitful sources of camp hopefuls. Since then, the Raptors have reached agreement on a deal with Angola-born shooting guard Carlos Morais, and presumably it's no more than a non-guaranteed camp invitation, too.
I limited that list to players without any sort of guarantee or extra year tacked on to their contracts, so each of them faces an uphill battle to make the regular season roster. Still, each year training camp invitees make teams around the league, and sometimes, as we saw with Chris Copeland of the Knicks last season, they play an important role.
Let us know which of the players who've drawn camp invitations so far this year is most likely to make his respective team. I've singled out a few of the more notable names for this poll, but its often the most unheralded players who emerge out of the pack, so if you think that's the case, choose the "Somebody Else" option. In any case, let us know the reasons behind your vote in the comments.
Yesterday, after more than two months without officially signing a free agent, the Sixers reached deals witha pair of players, agreeing to bring aboard Darius Morris and Khalif Wyatt. That's a whirlwind of free agent activity compared to what's going on in Phoenix, where the Suns still haven't done a deal with any free agent this offseason, even though they've been active in trades.
Both clubs have little if any expectation of competing this year, and they have company. The Jazz stripped down their roster and used their cap space to absorb a few of Golden State's inflated contracts in exchange for draft picks. The Magic drafted No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo, but otherwise did little to add to a team that finished with the worst record in the NBA last season.
These four teams appear to be leading contenders for the worst record in 2013/14, and the inside track to the top pick in a loaded draft that comes with it. Of course, the poorest winning percentage is no guarantee of the No. 1 pick, and the chances of winning a title soon after finishing at or near the bottom of the league are even slimmer. Still, the team that finishes last this season guarantees itself no worse than the No. 4 overall pick in a draft that's set to include Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Jabari Parker and other intriguing prospects.
So, which team do you think has the best shot of coming in with the worst record in the NBA this season? In addition to the teams listed here, perennial also-rans like the Bobcats and Kings could again plumb the depths of the standings, and the Celtics might be in the mix, too, particularly if Rajon Rondo isn't around much. If you think one of that bunch will be the worst, choose the "Another Team" option, and whichever way you vote, let us know more about your view in the comments.
The Heat announced earlier today that they have brought back Michael Beasley, who they let go three years ago after making the Kansas State product the No. 2 overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft. As our Luke Adams indicated today, few scouts question Beasley's natural ability, potentially making him the consummate buy-low reclamation project for a team like the Heat.
Beasley's deal with Miami is non-guaranteed and requires him to make the roster in training camp to secure his one-year minimum contract salary of $1MM, according to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski. Woj agrees that Miami could be a good spot for Beasley, with a strong veteran leadership group and stability in place throughout the organization. He writes that several of the team's key veterans were supportive of the signing.
It certainly seems like many people, including the Heat brass, think this is a no-risk situation for Miami. But is it? Beasley's issues with marijuana are well-documented and his on-the-court statistics are headed in the wrong direction. Not only did the 6-foot-10 Beasley average a career-low in points and rebounds last season (10.1 and 3.8 per game), his PER has dropped every year since his rookie season. Coming off two titles and with one project already on the roster in Greg Oden, is adding the enigmatic Beasley worth the risk for the champs?
September 10th, 2013 at 10:02pm CST by Michael Pina
Earlier today it was reported that the Bulls and Luol Deng have stalled in negotiating a contract extension, suggesting it's a realistic possibility that the 28-year-old two-time All-Star will move onto another team once his contract expires after this season. Should the team let Deng walk? Or should they make sure he spends the rest of his prime in Chicago?
September 7th, 2013 at 8:36am CST by Zachary Links
The Knicks' top priority this offseason was re-signing swingman J.R. Smith to a new deal. The unrestricted free agent was garnering a good deal of interest on the open market but the Knicks and agent Leon Rose agreed to a four-year, $24.7MM deal on July 4th. Done deal, right? Not quite.
Soon after, it was revealed that Smith would have to undergo offseason knee surgery. Suddenly, what seemed like a no-brainer deal for the defending Sixth Man of the Year was no longer a slam dunk. The patellar tendon surgery and arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee will keep Smith out for at least the first few weeks of the 2013/14 season. After the news of the surgery was disclosed, Smith and Rose got the deal amended to a three-year, $17.95MM pact, which may be a positive for the Knicks, depending on how you look at it.
Yesterday, we learned that Smith will be out even longer than expected after being suspended for a drug violation. After his knee heals up, Smith will have to be sidelined for an additional five games and given Smith's reported proclivity for partying, one has to wonder if this could be a recurring issue.
By the same token, Smith is coming off of a career year in which he averaged 18.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 33.5 minutes per game off of the bench. It's not easy to find that kind of production elsewhere, especially when you don't have cap space to work with. All things considered, is Smith's three-year, $17.95MM deal a good idea for the Knicks?
As our list of players eligible for rookie-scale extensions shows, six NBA teams entered the season with multiple extension-eligible players on their respective rosters. Of those six clubs though, only a couple have more than one legit extension candidates under contract.
The Wizards and Bucks have already locked up John Wall and Larry Sanders respectively, but it'd be a bit surprising to see Trevor Booker or Kevin Seraphin sign a long-term deal with Washington, and Ekpe Udoh seems unlikely to re-up with Milwaukee quite yet. The Celtics and Grizzlies also don't have two genuine extension candidates on board.
But one team that realistically could extend multiple players is the Utah Jazz. By electing not to re-sign Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson this offseason, Utah committed to a youth movement centered around young players like Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter, and Alec Burks. Kanter and Burks are still a year away from being extension-eligible, but Favors and Hayward could be locked up long-term before November.
We heard in mid-August that the Jazz are comfortable heading into the season without new deals for either player, but the team is still engaged in extension talks with both guys, and Hayward tells Zac Keefer of the Indianapolis Star that he'd love to continue his career in Utah. It may also be in the team's best interest to work out deals now, before Favors and Hayward see a huge bump in minutes — and, presumably, in the rest of their numbers.
Utah's books are fairly wide open for the next few years, with no expensive long-term contracts tying up the club's cap space. In a pair of pieces on Favors and Hayward for our Extension Candidate series, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors suggested both players could be in line for deals in the four-year, $40MM+ range, and the Jazz could afford those easily. On the other hand, perhaps the team prefers to wait and see how its young players respond to the increased responsibility and workload before committing too significantly to them. Without extensions, both guys would still be restricted free agents in 2014, so the Jazz would be able to keep one or both if they wanted to.
What do you think? Will the Jazz sign Favors and/or Hayward to contract extensions by the Halloween deadline?
September 5th, 2013 at 10:38pm CST by Ryan Raroque
The spotlight in the Pacific Division will surely be on former Clipper reserve Eric Bledsoe, who will now headline Phoenix's backcourt next to another young talent in Goran Dragic. Bledsoe's numbers last season (8.5 PPG/3.1 APG/20.4 MPG) wouldn't seem very comparable to what will be expected of him in 2013/14, especially considering some of his standout performances when given more than 30 minutes of playing time: 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in 38 minutes against the Celtics, 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 37 minutes against the Rockets, 10 points, 10 assists, and six steals in 39 minutes against the Timberwolves, and a 27-point, 6 rebound, 6 steal, and 3-block performance in 41 minutes against the Magic to name a few. Now equipped with starter's minutes, it will be fascinating to see how the 6'1 guard will utilize his significantly increased role and responsibilities as a leader of a young team.
Keeping all this in mind, Bledsoe should undoubtedly be among the favorites within the whole league to have a breakout season. With that aside, it was unquestionably a summer of shakeups for the rest of the Pacific Division, as each of the other four teams will feature new key rotation players in 2013/14. Let's take a look at some of the other new faces looking to make a lasting impact on their respective clubs:
Marreese Speights, Warriors – The 6'10 power forward is entering his sixth year in the league and will be playing for his fourth NBA team after signing with Golden State this past July. Following a trade from Memphis to Cleveland halfway through last season, Speights averaged 10.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 18.5 MPG in 39 games and one start for the Cavaliers. Although Sean Deveney of the Sporting News and NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper have reported that the team is currently expecting Andrew Bogut and David Lee to be healthyenough to play without limitation, head coach Mark Jackson could possibly rely on Speights for extended minutes on some nights in order to preserve some of his older frontcourt veterans.
Considering his production in a limited amount of minutes last season, the former Florida standout could prove to be one of the most important reserves on a playoff contender this year and may open some more eyes in the process.
Byron Mullens, Clippers – Fresh off of career highs in points, rebounds, and minutes last season with the Bobcats (10.8/6.4/26.9), it remains to be seen just how Mullens' minutes and role will be handled in Los Angeles. The 7'0 big man put together a flurry of attention-grabbing performances last season, averaging 12.9 PPG/8.2 RPG/33.0 MPG in November and 10.0/7.3/28.6 in December before being sidelined with an ankle injury. Following a 19-game absence, Mullens picked up where he left off, posting 14.6/7.9/32.1 in February.
Although his overall shooting percentages were less than desirable last season (.385/.317/.636), one thing to consider is the possible improvement in the quality of shot attempts as a by-product of playing with a superstar playmaker in Chris Pauland his solid distributing backup, Darren Collison. Byron's confidence in attempting perimeter shots is far from lacking, as nearly four of his 10.6 shot attempts per game last year were taken from beyond the arc. With that being said, Mullens may very well be a viable threat who can stretch the floor provided he can improve his shooting efficiency and have better opportunities created for him. If given the minutes, he's shown that he can definitely put up some numbers.
Wesley Johnson, Lakers – Despite his lack of floor time for the first four months of 2012/13, the 6'7 swingman made the most of his situation after being given consistent starter's minutes in the final two months of the season, averaging 13.2 PPG/1.2 SPG/30.3 MPG in March along with 12.9 PPG and 27.3 MPG in April respectively. He did well enough that despite the Suns opting not to exercise his fourth year option, there was still mutual interest in a return to Phoenix this summer. Ultimately, the former lottery pick out of Syracuse wound up with the Lakers, where he should have his fair share of opportunities as an athletic player in Mike D'Antoni's system. With Johnson playing on a one-year contract, it'd certainly be in his best interest to continue his momentum from last season and perform well enough to earn a lucrative contract next summer, whether it'd be in L.A. or somewhere else.
Greivis Vasquez, Kings – It's more than reasonable to deem 2012/13 as a breakout year for Vasquez. The 6'6 point guard rose to the occasion in New Orleans, producing an impressive 13.9 PPG and 9.0 APG stat line in 34.4 MPG and 78 games played/started. It's important to note that he'll be entering a contract year, and one significant question is how Vasquez's numbers will fare with an entirely different cast of teammates, especially with the surplus of guards on the roster – namely Isaiah Thomas, Ben McLemore, Marcus Thornton, and Jimmer Fredette. Although the former Maryland star displayed his capabilities as a distributor and a tertiary scoring option last season, it appears that another major improvement within reach would be to raise his shooting percentages (.433/.342) as well as the amount of times he gets to the line (2.0). Following his career-best season to date, Vasquez will surely have to deliver in his most important one yet.
After Bledsoe, who would you expect to be the most improved player in the Pacific Division?
Michael Beasley was officially released by the Suns yesterday after the two sides negotiated a buyout, meaning the 24-year-old forward will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow. He'll be able to sign with any NBA team at that point, and generally a player with his talent would have no trouble landing a new contract. However, Beasley's history of off-court issues raises questions about how much NBA interest he'll receive.
As Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details in his latest piece on Beasley, the former second overall pick was in a rehabilitation center in 2009, was arrested for marijuana possession in 2011, and was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession again this summer, resulting in the Suns citing "standards of personal and professional conduct" when they announced the move.
As his off-court troubles have persisted throughout his NBA career, Beasley's play on the court has declined. In each of the last two seasons, the Kansas State product has established career-lows in PPG, PER, and FG%, among other categories. And during the 2012/13 season, the Suns were a significantly worse team when Beasley was on the court (-11.4 points per 100 possessions) than when he wasn't (-4.5 points per 100 possessions), according to 82games.com.
So what do you think Beasley's future holds? Would you like to see your favorite team pick him up? If you were an NBA GM, and you could sign Beasley to an inexpensive contract, would you roll the dice, or does the risk outweigh the potential reward at this point?
September 1st, 2013 at 7:50pm CST by Zachary Links
I'm not sure if you heard, but the Nets made a few changes this summer. After playing to a 49-33 record in the regular season, securing the No. 4 seed in the East, and getting bounced in seven games by the Derrick Rose-less Bulls, interim coach P.J. Carlesimo was canned the next day and Brooklyn refused to stop there. Months later, the Nets pulled a deal straight from the Dodgers' playbook, acquiring Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, and a whole lot of luxury tax.
Many see the souped-up Nets as the best team in the Atlantic and possibly one of the league's elite teams in 2013/14, but don't try telling that to Knicks swingman J.R. Smith, who says that the Nets "weren't good" when he returned to the league in February 2012 and took great pains to point out that they're still "not good." What will propel the Knicks ahead of their cross-borough rivals? Take it away J.R..
“I feel comfortable. People ruled us out last year early, too. We added some great pieces. Unfortunately, we got rid of some good pieces. But we added Andrea [Bargnani], Beno [Udrih], Metta [World Peace]. We have to consistently play like we did the first 20 games last year the whole season. We can’t have a middle-of-season lapse. We have to consistently play the same way,” Smith told ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, despite their acquisitions, it looks like they'll be without Smith for at least the first week or two of the season. When they are at full strength, they'll be jockeying for position in the Atlantic against a starting five of Deron Williams, Pierce, Garnett, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez. The Nets also boast an improved second unit, spearheaded by small forward Andrei Kirilenko. The Knicks should still be a playoff team by any measure, but it looks like they'll have their work cut out for them. We know what J.R. thinks, but now we want you to weigh in. Who wins the battle of New York in 2013/14?
Dorell Wright is one of the newest members of the Blazers and he's understandably excited about his fresh surroundings. How stoked is the 27-year-old sharpshooter? He says that the Blazers can be a playoff team this season in the ulta-competitive Western Conference.
"Yeah, why not?” Wright told Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. “We’ve got the guys. We’ve got a star point guard that can be an All-Star next year. LaMarcus Aldridge was an All-Star last year, and you’ve got guys around them like [Nic] Batum and Wes Matthews that are solid players as well.”
A team headlined by a sophomore Damian Lillard, Aldridge, and Batum can undeniably do some damage. The Blazers also bolstered their second unit – a definite weakness last season – by adding Wright, Mo Williams, No. 10 overall pick C.J. McCollum, Thomas Robinson, Earl Watson, and Allen Crabbe. Wright, who is among the best shooters in the Association, should be a major help to Portland after they finished 20th in three point field goal percentage (35.3%) in 2012/13.
The case against the Blazers, of course, is the rest of the field. The fact of the matter is, there just aren't a lot of openings for a team like Portland – certainly good, but definitely not great – in this year's Western Conference. Barring something unforeseen, one has to imagine that the Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Warriors are going to the postseason. That leaves quality teams like the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Mavs, Lakers, (the dramatically improved) Pelicans, and Blazers to duke it out for the final two seeds. Is Dorell delusional or is he Wright on the money?