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Southwest Notes: Bertans, Green, Popovich

February 18th, 2020 at 10:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Davis Bertans, who was traded to Washington during the offseason, says he still has love for the Spurs, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News relays.

“I am definitely grateful for the opportunity they gave me,” said Bertans. “Coming off two (knee) injuries, a lot of teams might have given up on me after the first one. Just having a chance to go there and learn from one of the best coaches in history, if not the best one (was great). Even though they traded me, I still love them for what they did for me.”

The Spurs initially intended to keep Bertans on their roster. Over the summer, they had the mid-level exception available and had agreed to sign DeMarre Carroll with that tool. Then, Marcus Morris wanted to come to town and the team pivoted to using the MLE on the forward and crafted a sign-and-trade for Carroll that sent Bertans to Washington.

Morris eventually backed out of the agreement, but the deal to send Bertans elsewhere was already in motion.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Jeff Green, who inked a contract with the Rockets, has previously played with both James Harden and Russell Westbrook and he’s happy to team up with them again. “It’s going to be special to see those two guys, the way they’ve grown. It’s been wonderful. As a fan of the game it’s been great to see. I’m excited to be w/ them again,” Green said (via Fox 26 Houston’s Mark Berman on Twitter).
The Spurs‘ 22-year playoff streak could come to an end this season and not everyone is surprised about the potential outcome, as Orsborn relays in a separate piece. “It happens to the best of them,” said Robert Horry, who won two titles with San Antonio. “It happened to the Celtics, it happened to the Lakers. People don’t understand how dominant the Spurs have been over the years, but it was bound to come to an end.”
There has been plenty of speculation about Gregg Popovich retiring from coaching Team USA after the Olympics this summer, but Jerry Colangelo, who is the managing director of USA Basketball, said he hasn’t had any conversations with Pop about it yet. “It’s really going to be how he feels, [with] age, health [factors],” Colangelo said (via Orsborn in the same piece). “This doesn’t pertain to him, but I would say this about most people, most coaches: If you lose your fire, it’s probably time to step away. But as long as you have that desire and fire in your belly, why not [continue]?”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/18/20

February 18th, 2020 at 8:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team announced. Kabengele was the team’s first-round draft pick back in June.
The Rockets have assigned Chris Clemons and Isaiah Hartenstein to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Fox 26’s Mark Berman tweets. Hartenstein, who is one of two seven-footers on the team, has started two games for the NBA club this season.
The Lakers have assigned Talen Horton-Tucker to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. Horton-Tucker was the team’s only draft pick back in June.
The Nets have assigned Dzanan Musa to the Long Island Nets. Musa has appeared in 35 NBA games this season.
KZ Okpala has been sent to the G League by the Heat, per the league’s transaction log. Okpala was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft.
The Suns have sent Jalen Lecque to the Northern Arizona Suns. The rookie has appeared in just four games for the NBA club this season.

Jeff Green Signs 10-Day Deal With Rockets

February 18th, 2020 at 7:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 18, 7:19pm: The Rockets have signed Green to a 10-day contract, the team announced in a press release.

FEBRUARY 17, 6:31pm: Green will initially sign a 10-day contract, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. That will give him a chance to see how he fits in before making a rest-of-the-season commitment, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

FEBRUARY 17, 5:56pm: Free agent forward Jeff Green has agreed to sign with the Rockets, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Green was waived by the Jazz earlier this season.

Green, 33, has bounced around the NBA in recent years, spending time with seven franchises in the past six seasons. While he has been a regular rotation player and occasional starter for every team he has played for, he was off to a slow start in Utah, averaging career lows in PPG (7.8), RPG (2.7), MPG (18.4), FG% (.385), and a handful of other categories. The Jazz let him go in order to sign a younger player, Rayjon Tucker.

With Green joining the fold and DeMarre Carroll expected to sign with the club once he clears waivers, the Rockets will have a full roster as well as fortifying their frontcourt. By adding two forwards rather than a center, Houston is clearly embracing small ball. The club has utilized P.J. Tucker in the middle in recent games since trading traditional center Clint Capela.

Green signed a one year, $2.56MM contract with Jazz last summer. If he signs a minimum-salary, rest-of-season deal with the Rockets, it would fall below $1.4MM, eliminating set-off and allowing Green to double-dip from Utah and Houston, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That would push his total salary for the season to $3.1MM, Marks adds.

Spurs Officially Waive DeMarre Carroll

February 18th, 2020 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have officially waived DeMarre Carroll, the team announced today in a press release. The move opens up a spot on the team’s 15-man roster.

As we outlined on Monday, Carroll’s agent Mark Bartelstein successfully negotiated a buyout with the Spurs, despite the fact that the veteran forward still had two years on his contract beyond 2019/20, including a fully guaranteed salary for next season. The exact terms of that buyout haven’t yet been reported.

Carroll intends to sign with the Rockets once he becomes a free agent. Now that his release from San Antonio is official, the 33-year-old is on track to clear waivers on Thursday afternoon, so he could theoretically be in uniform for Houston by the time the club faces Golden State on Thursday evening.

Coming off a couple solid seasons in Brooklyn, Carroll signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Spurs during the 2019 offseason. However, he barely played at all in San Antonio and wasn’t effective in the limited minutes he did see. In 15 games (9.0 MPG), he averaged 2.2 PPG and 2.1 RPG with a .310/.231/.600 shooting line.

It’s not clear yet what the Spurs plan to do with their newly-opened roster spot. The team isn’t required to carry a 15th man, but figures to fill that opening at some point before the end of the regular season.

Paul: Give Tucker An Extension

February 17th, 2020 at 9:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Rockets guard Chris Paul says Houston should give P.J. Tucker a contract extension, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. Tucker, who will earn just under $8MM in the final year of his contract in 2020/21, will be extension-eligible during the offseason. He has been playing center in a very undersized lineup in recent games.

Community Shootaround: Small-Ball Rockets

February 17th, 2020 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA doesn’t return to action until Thursday but the Rockets made some noise on Monday.

They agreed to a 10-day contract with Jeff Green, who could eventually sign for the remainder of the season. It was also revealed that another veteran forward, DeMarre Carroll, intends to sign with them once he clears waivers. Carroll reached a buyout agreement with the Spurs on Monday.

These developments are a clear signal that the Rockets are going all-in on their small-ball approach. They traded Clint Capela to the Hawks, in part to get out from his long-term deal and dodge the luxury tax. But they’ve also seen that they can win games with the likes of P.J. Tucker and Danuel House manning the power positions.

The Rockets have two of the league’s premier guards in former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook and conventional wisdom would say they would be complemented by a quality big man or two. Mike D’Antoni has a couple of traditional big men at his disposal in Isaiah Hartenstein and Tyson Chandler but instead has decided to go with an interchangeable group of forwards. Recently-acquired three-and-D wing Robert Covington is another key piece in this approach.

Houston has championship aspirations but currently sits fifth in the Western Conference standings behind the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Jazz. The Clippers are the only member of that quartet that doesn’t have a dominant big man, though reserve Montrezl Harrell comes pretty close. The Lakers, of course, have superstar Anthony Davis. Nikola Jokic is the Nuggets’ top player and Rudy Gobert collects Defensive Player of the Year awards for the Jazz.

No matter which team the Rockets face, they’ll have to figure out a way to guard those players and hold their own on the boards. Or perhaps they’ll just anticipate they can run and space the floor so adeptly, they’ll neutralize them and force the opposition to go smaller.

Anyway, it should be fascinating how this plays out. This leads to our question of the day: Can the Rockets succeed in the playoffs without a traditional center?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

DeMarre Carroll Reaches Buyout, Looks To Join Rockets

February 17th, 2020 at 5:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward DeMarre Carroll has reached a buyout with the Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. He intends to sign with the Rockets once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The news is not surprising, considering that Carroll had racked up 15 straight DNP-CDs and publicly expressed frustration with his lack of playing time. However, it’s still unusual for a team to agree to buy out a player with multiple years left on his contract.

Carroll agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the Spurs in a sign-and-trade from Brooklyn last summer.

Carroll is owed $2.3MM for the remainder of the season, $6.65MM next season and $1.35MM in guaranteed money for 2021/22, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Even with the buyout, San Antonio will incur a cap hit through the life of the contract.

The 33-year-old did not join the Spurs when they began their eight-game rodeo trip on February 2, as the club looked into moving him by the February 6 trade deadline.

Carroll holds career averages of 9.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 35.9% from deep. With the Spurs, he averaged just 9.0 MPG and appeared in only 15 games. Carroll appeared in 67 games with the Nets last season and averaged 11.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 25.4 MPG.

Carroll’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, negotiated the buyout.

Carroll could play both forward positions in Houston’s small ball lineup. The Rockets have two open roster spots and need to add at least one player, so Carroll could fulfill that obligation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Exciting Early Returns On Robert Covington

February 13th, 2020 at 8:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The early returns on the fit of new Rockets power forward Robert Covington are encouraging, at least to Covington and defensive coach Elston Turner, according to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko. “Still getting comfortable with everything but I feel really confident and we’ve been playing well the past couple [of] games,” Covington said.

Roster Moves Required Soon For Hornets, Rockets, Clippers

February 13th, 2020 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement requires teams to carry at least 14 players on their rosters during the regular season, not counting two-way players. However, clubs are allowed to dip below that line for up to two weeks at a time.

At the February 6 trade deadline, with so many players on the move, a handful of teams around the league fell below that 14-player threshold, meaning they’ll have to get back up to 14 later this month.

Here’s a breakdown of which teams must make at least one roster move shortly after this weekend’s All-Star Game:

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets had a quiet trade deadline, but completed a pair of buyouts a couple days later, officially releasing Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on February 8. They’ll have until February 22 to add at least one player to their roster.

Since the 18-36 squad is well out of playoff contention, Charlotte is far more likely to sign a G League prospect than an NBA veteran. By the end of the season, I’d expect the Hornets to fill both their 14th and 15th roster spots with young players on multiyear deals, in the hopes that one or both of them prove to be keepers.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets had been carrying 14 players since waiving Gary Clark last month. On February 5, they dipped to 13 when they acquired Robert Covington and Jordan Bell (later flipped for Bruno Caboclo) in a deal that saw them send out Clint Capela, Gerald Green, and Nene. They’ll have to add a new player before they resume play next Thursday.

Houston is closely monitoring the buyout market, but if there’s no one that interests the team now, I’m not sure that’ll change within the next week. I could see the Rockets signing a player to a 10-day contract to give them some flexibility to continue keeping an eye on the buyout market for the rest of the month.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers were carrying 15 players leading up to the trade deadline, but moved Maurice Harkless, Jerome Robinson, and Derrick Walton last week while only getting Marcus Morris and Isaiah Thomas back. Thomas was waived on February 8, reducing the team’s roster count to 13. Like Charlotte, the Clips will have until February 22 to add a 14th man.

Since they’re also a contending team, the Clippers figure to join the Rockets in scouring the buyout market for veteran help in the coming weeks. With the possible exception of Tyler Johnson, I’m not sure any recently-waived vets will attract much interest from L.A., so a stop-gap option on a 10-day deal is a possibility after the All-Star break.

Forbes Releases 2020 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 11th, 2020 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have had a miserable 12 months, finishing the 2018/19 season with a league-worst 17 wins, missing out on their top free agent targets, and then firing head coach David Fizdale and president of basketball operations Steve Mills during the 2019/20 season.

None of that seems to have had a noticeable impact on the team’s market value though. Once again, the franchise is considered the most valuable of any of the NBA’s 30 clubs, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes. The Lakers and Warriors aren’t far behind, having both surpassed the $4 billion mark for the first time this year.

For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1.3 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. Every team’s value increased by at least 6% since Forbes put out their 2019 valuations last February, with a handful of franchises jumping by 20% or more.

The NBA-wide average of $2.12 billion per team in 2020 is also a new record — that league-wide average surpassed the $2 billion mark for the first time. NBA franchise values are up almost sixfold over the last decade, according to Badenhausen.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

New York Knicks: $4.6 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $4.4 billion
Golden State Warriors: $4.3 billion
Chicago Bulls: $3.2 billion
Boston Celtics: $3.1 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $2.6 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $2.5 billion
Houston Rockets: $2.475 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $2.4 billion
Toronto Raptors: $2.1 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $2 billion
Miami Heat: $1.95 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $1.85 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $1.8 billion
Sacramento Kings: $1.775 billion
Washington Wizards: $1.75 billion
Phoenix Suns: $1.625 billion
Denver Nuggets: $1.6 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $1.58 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion
Utah Jazz: $1.55 billion
Indiana Pacers: $1.525 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.51 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
Orlando Magic: $1.43 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.375 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion

The Raptors are among this year’s big “winners,” with their value rising 25%, from $1.675 billion a year ago to $2.1 billion this year following their first NBA championship. The Clippers also had a noteworthy bump, moving from ninth place on Forbes’ list to sixth after landing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George last summer.

Although every franchise’s value increased, the Nets had the smallest jump, just 6%. The Magic‘s modest 8% increase resulted in the team slipping from 23rd on last year’s list to 27th this year.

It’s worth noting that when a franchise has been sold in recent years, the price often exceeds Forbes’ valuation, so these figures are just estimates.