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Remaining Offseason Questions: Pacific Division

September 6th, 2019 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have now completed the brunt of their offseason work, with the draft and free agency practically distant memories. Still, with training camps still a few weeks away, many clubs around the league have at least one or two outstanding issues they’ve yet to address.

We’ve spent the last couple weeks looking at all 30 NBA teams, separating them by division and checking in on a key outstanding question that each club still needs to answer before the 2019/20 regular season begins.

After focusing on the Atlantic, Southeast, and Central last week, we headed West and tackled the Northwest and Southwest this week. Today, we’re finishing things up with the Pacific. Let’s dive in…

Golden State Warriors
Will the Warriors try to create any additional breathing room under the hard cap?

As I noted earlier this week when I took a closer look at teams currently in luxury-tax territory, the Warriors are only about $407K from their hard cap, assuming they intend to retain Alfonzo McKinnie along with their 13 players on guaranteed contracts.

That proximity to the hard cap will significantly limit the Warriors’ roster flexibility this season. The Dubs won’t be able to carry a 15th man until late in the year. They’ll have little ability to replace an injured player on the roster. And they essentially won’t be able to take back more salary than they send out in any trade.

Warriors management would surely love to create some breathing room by cutting costs, but there aren’t many realistic ways for the team to move further below the hard cap. Only six players have cap hits greater than $2MM. Three of them – Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green – aren’t going anywhere, and the other three – D’Angelo Russell, Kevon Looney, and Willie Cauley-Stein – can’t be traded until at least December 15, even if the club wanted to.

In other words, if they want to create any extra room below their hard cap, the Warriors may have to get awfully creative.

Los Angeles Clippers
Who will be the Clippers’ 15th man?

The Clippers are carrying 14 players with fully guaranteed salaries and four with non-guaranteed camp contracts, leaving the door open for one of those non-guaranteed players – Donte Grantham, Terry Larrier, James Palmer Jr., or Derrick Walton Jr. – to claim the 15th regular season roster spot.

While it’s possible that one of those players will become the Clippers’ 15th man, I’d expect a team with title aspirations to be thinking bigger. Leaving that final roster spot open to start the season in case opportunities arise on the trade or buyout market is probably the most likely path for Los Angeles.

Still, it’s possible those opportunities will arise even before the season begins, as they did for L.A.’s other team when the Lakers signed Dwight Howard. Andre Iguodala is likely the Clippers’ top target to fill out the roster, but other veterans may shake loose as teams set their rosters this fall.

Los Angeles Lakers
Do the Lakers have a recovery timetable in mind for DeMarcus Cousins?

Assuming Dwight Howard looks okay in training camp, he’s on track to fill the Lakers‘ 15th regular season roster spot. Like the rival Clippers though, the Lakers are a team with championship aspirations and will want to make sure they’re optimizing all 15 roster spots. That’s where Cousins comes in.

A torn ACL isn’t quite as serious as a torn Achilles, so it’s possible Cousins will be able to make it back before the end of the 2019/20 season. But it’s his third major leg injury in the last two years, so he certainly shouldn’t be in a rush to return.

Cousins’ contract with the Lakers is only for one year, and he’ll receive his full $3.5MM whether or not he spends the whole season on the team’s roster. If the Lakers determine Cousins will miss the entire season, it would probably make sense to waive him and open up that roster spot for someone who could contribute in 2019/20.

While releasing Cousins now would create some added preseason roster flexibility, the Lakers won’t necessarily have to make this decision before the season begins — waiving him in, say, January would still open up opportunities at or after the trade deadline. His contract could also be used for salary-matching purposes in a deal.

Phoenix Suns
Is Devin Booker happy with the Suns’ offseason?

With the 2018/19 season winding down in March, Booker spoke about being involved in the Suns‘ offseason roster moves, suggesting that there was an “understanding” when he signed his five-year contract extension with the club that he’d have a voice in those decisions.

Booker hasn’t spoken in depth this summer about the Suns’ offseason, so it’s not clear if he pushed for – or voiced support for – any of the team’s acquisitions, such as Ricky Rubio, Dario Saric, Aron Baynes, Frank Kaminsky, or first-round pick Cameron Johnson. We did hear in the spring that Booker had no input in the firing of Igor Kokoskov, and a report during free agency suggested that Phoenix opted not to pursue point guard D’Angelo Russell despite Booker’s advocacy.

The Suns certainly have no obligation to run every move by their star guard, and as long as the on-court results start to improve, Booker should be on board with the direction of the franchise. Still, it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on. Even though he’s several years away from free agency, any sign of tension between Booker and the Suns would be a cause for some concern.

Sacramento Kings
Will the Kings sign Buddy Hield to a rookie scale extension?

With Ben Simmons, Jamal Murray, and Caris LeVert locked up to rookie scale extensions, Hield (along with Raptors forward Pascal Siakam) may be the next in line for a new deal. The Kings have until October 21 to get something done with their young sharpshooter, and GM Vlade Divac confirmed this week they’re working on it.

It will be fascinating to see if the Kings and Hield’s camp can agree on a fair price in the coming weeks. If he replicates or builds upon his impressive 2018/19 season, Hield can reasonably expect to get big-time offers as a restricted free agent in 2020, especially given how weak next year’s free agent class projects to be. He has some leverage, and won’t necessarily have to settle for a team-friendly deal.

The Kings, on the other hand, will have to be careful in negotiations with Hield, since he’s the first of many young players they’ll need to lock up in the coming years — De’Aaron Fox will be extension-eligible in 2020, with Marvin Bagley to follow in 2021. The higher they go for Hield, the less flexibility – and leverage – the Kings will have in those future negotiations.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Buha Poses Burning Questions For Clippers Players

September 5th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Clippers prepared to enter the season as one of the NBA’s top title contenders, Jovan Buha of The Athletic poses a question for each player on the roster. Among Buha’s questions: How much will Kawhi Leonard rest? Can Lou Williams adjust to a reduced role? And is Ivica Zubac the team’s center of the future?

NBA Teams With Full 20-Man Rosters

September 5th, 2019 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Training camps are still several weeks away from opening, but a number of NBA teams have already reached their 20-player offseason roster limits, either officially or unofficially.

Offseason rosters are fairly fluid. Teams will often sign a player to an Exhibit 10 contract to ensure he’ll receive a bonus if he spends time with their G League affiliate, then waive him days later. So the clubs with full 20-man rosters now won’t necessarily bring those specific 20 players to training camp. Still, it appears that at least a handful of teams may be done making roster moves until camps open.

With the help of our roster count tracker, here’s a breakdown:

Officially full 20-man rosters:

Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Utah Jazz

While the Cavaliers are carrying 19 players on standard contracts and just one on a two-way deal, the six other teams listed here have an 18/2 split and probably won’t have their camp invitees compete for a two-way slot.

Still, a few roster decisions are likely in store for some teams on this list. The Grizzlies, for instance, are carrying 17 players with full or partial guarantees, and probably won’t still have Andre Iguodala on their roster by the time they set their 15-man regular season roster.

Unofficially full 20-man rosters:

Charlotte Hornets
Detroit Pistons
Minnesota Timberwolves

Each of these three teams technically has 19 players under contract, with one roster spot still open. However, Kobi Simmons is expected to fill that final spot for the Hornets, Michael Beasley will do so for the Pistons, and Tyus Battle will be the Timberwolves‘ 20th man.

Very unofficially full 20-man rosters:

New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks

The Pelicans have 18 players under contract, but various post-draft reports in June indicated that they’d sign Jalen Adams, Aubrey Dawkins, and Javon Bess at some point. It’s possible one or more of those reports was erroneous, or the agreements fell apart. For now though, we’re assuming some combination of those players will fill out New Orleans’ 20-man roster.

The Knicks are in a similar boat, with 16 players officially signed and five other contract agreements reported. Deals with Kris Wilkes, V.J. King, and Amir Hinton were reported in June, while July and August reports indicated that New York would also sign Kenny Wooten and Lamar Peters. We’re still waiting to see if the team finalizes all those signings.

Clippers Sign Donte Grantham To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 29th, 2019 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have filled their 20-man offseason roster by signing free agent forward Donte Grantham. According to RealGM’s transactions log, the deal was finalized on Tuesday. Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets that it’s an Exhibit 10 contract, giving Grantham the opportunity to compete for a roster spot in training camp.

Grantham, 24, went undrafted out of Clemson in 2018 and then spent most of his first professional season on a two-way contract with the Thunder. Although he played just two total minutes in three NBA games for Oklahoma City, the 6’8″ forward was a regular starter for the OKC Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate, averaging 10.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG on .404/.372/.804 shooting in 34 contests (26.5 MPG).

Grantham’s two-way deal included a second season, but the Thunder opted to go in a different direction, waiving him last month.

The Clippers are now carrying 14 players on guaranteed contracts, two on two-way deals, and four with non-guaranteed salaries. If the club plans to keep a 15th man on its roster to open the season, Grantham figures to compete with fellow camp invitees Derrick Walton Jr., Terry Larrier, and James Palmer Jr. for that spot.

Joe Johnson To Work Out For Sixers; Other Teams Interested

August 28th, 2019 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before playing in Sunday’s BIG3 championship game, Joe Johnson will work out for the Sixers tomorrow, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Johnson is also expected to get workouts with the Clippers, Bucks and Nuggets, a source tells Spears.

The Pelicans are also keeping their eyes on Johnson, Spears adds (Twitter link). Head coach Alvin Gentry and executive VP David Griffin showed up for a first-hand look last week when the BIG3 was in New Orleans.

Johnson, 38, captured MVP honors in his first BIG3 season, the league announced Tuesday. He led the league in points, (a league-record 175), assists (31) and field goals (63) and was the only player to sink four 4-point shots.

Johnson’s performance created talk of a comeback after sitting out the entire 2018/19 season. His last NBA experience involved brief appearances during the Rockets‘ 2018 playoff run after splitting the year between Utah and Houston.

Interest in Johnson has been growing throughout the summer, writes Frank Isola of The Athletic. He shares a story from Celtics TV analyst Brian Scalabrine, who said he recently asked president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, “Do you know who should be in the NBA?” and Ainge responded, “Joe Johnson.”

Scalabrine adds that Johnson does yoga every day and is keeping himself in “excellent shape.”

“Joe Johnson will play a game in the NBA next season,” he said. “I guarantee it. If he wants to – and I think he does – he’ll be playing in an NBA game.”

The Sixers have a roster spot open if they decide to add Johnson, as we track in our Roster Counts. Philadelphia has 17 players under standard contracts (14 fully guaranteed), along with both two-way slots filled. The Clippers are in the same situation, while Milwaukee is already at the league limit of 20 and Denver has three openings.

And-Ones: Loyd, MVP Race, Bucks, Sterling

August 26th, 2019 at 3:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Jordan Loyd views his upcoming season in the EuroLeague as an opportunity to showcase his talents before returning to the NBA, Blake Murphy of The Athletic reports. Loyd played on a two-way contract with the Raptors last season and feared he’d get stuck on a similar deal if he stayed in Toronto. The Raptors waived him after he agreed to a one-year contract with Valencia Basket.

“This year, I have a one-year deal, and then try to get back to the league, man. I think it’s gonna help me, honestly,” he said. “I look at it as a year to better myself and to get back to the league. I feel like I am an NBA player, but I’m not naive enough to sit there and let great opportunities pass me by overseas.”

We have more from the basketball world:

The Most Valuable Player race for the upcoming NBA season looks wide open, according to a panel of ESPN experts. While reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is favored to win it again, former MVPs Stephen Curry and LeBron James as well as Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic and Kawhi Leonard are all logical candidates for the top individual award.
The Bucks’ biggest challenge will be handling the pressure of high expectations, Malika Andrews of ESPN writes. Not only will they have a target on their backs but it will be a pivotal season in terms of whether they can retain Antetokounmpo long-term. A group of ESPN writers examines the strengths and biggest question marks looming over seven contenders.
ESPN took a deep dive into the saga of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who was forced to sell the team after making racially insensitive statements. Perhaps the most eye-opening revelation by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne was that the league nearly shut down during the 2014 playoffs until commissioner Adam Silver took swift and bold action. “I was all-in. Like shut down the whole season,” then-Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said. “Maybe that was too far, but as far as that game that day, you can reschedule it, you gotta sort this thing out, because there’s some deep-rooted stuff with him that had to be addressed.”

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Leonard, Harrell, Sterling

August 25th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

On one July night, the Clippers went from a fringe playoff contender to title favorites. Now it’s up to coach Doc Rivers to make all the pieces fit, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Clippers won a three-team race to sign Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and they made it happen by trading for regular season MVP finalist Paul George. Rivers has experience in molding elite talent into a championship team from his days with the Celtics.

“It’s not the superstar power. I don’t care about that,” he said. “It’s about having a team that you really think can compete for a title. Having a team with superstars that you don’t believe can compete for a title is nothing. There’s a difference. Because there are teams we all have seen that, and been around and had, you may have that one superstar but you’re not winning it.”

Rivers has coached a few disappointing teams in L.A., with his “Lob City” groups repeatedly falling short in the playoffs. Even though the new version of the Clippers has little championship experience outside of Leonard, Rivers welcomes the favorite’s role.

“Teams are going to try to come after us,” he said. “I think that’s a good thing. I think we need that. It will teach us hopefully every night you have to be ready.”

There’s more Clippers news to pass along:

Rivers tells Washburn that Leonard reminds him of a less-talkative version of Kevin Garnett and he welcomes the challenge of coaching him. “I don’t go into it knowing one way or another,” Rivers said. “My job is to get to know him first and how he plays, what makes him play better and how well he makes the team play better.”
Montrezl Harrell is trying to develop into more of a perimeter threat, relays Jovan Buha of The Athletic. All the Clippers received a list of skills from the coaching staff to work on during the summer, and outside shooting was the focus for Harrell and fellow center Ivica Zubac. “I feel confident in my game and where I’m at,” Harrell said. “We worked extremely hard on being able to create my shot and knowing my shot.”
Tom Ziller of SB Nation examines the most interesting revelations to come out of the new podcast series about former Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Bucks Expressing Interest In Jodie Meeks

August 24th, 2019 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks are the latest team to show interest in Jodie Meeks, tweets Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops. We told you earlier this month that the Clippers and Hornets have both reached out to the 32-year-old shooting guard, and it appears the market is expanding.

Meeks has a history in Milwaukee, starting his career there after being taken with the 41st pick in the 2009 draft. He was traded back to the Bucks last October while serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Milwaukee waived him in November when that suspension expired.

He signed with the Raptors late in the season, getting into eight games during the regular season and 14 in the playoffs.

Milwaukee already has the league limit of 20 players under contract for training camp, including 14 with guaranteed contracts, so someone would have to be moved to make room for Meeks.

Terry Larrier Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Clippers

August 23rd, 2019 at 9:45am CST by ChrisCrouse

AUGUST 23: The signing is official, according to the Real GM transactions page.

AUGUST 17: The Clippers are bringing in Terry Larrier on an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Larrier is a long shot to make the roster for Los Angeles, though he’ll likely play for the club’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers.

Larrier was not selected during the 2018 draft. The 6’8″ guard made his collegiate debut at VCU before transfering to UConn and spending two season with the school.

He most recently was with the Spurs for this offseason’s Summer League. He played in the event for the Grizzlies in 2018.

Trevor Booker Working Out For Teams

August 22nd, 2019 at 9:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Trevor Booker, who is among the notable players available on the free agent market, recently worked out for the Nuggets, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The big man has scheduled workouts with the Bucks and Clippers as well.

Booker last played in the NBA back in the 2017/18 season when he started the year with the Nets. He was dealt to the Sixers as part of the Jahlil Okafor trade early in the season and he was subsequently waived before catching on with the Pacers.

Booker was the No. 23 overall pick in the 2010 draft, originally drafted by Minnesota before the organization traded his rights to Washington. He spent four seasons with the Wizards before departing to Utah, where he played for two years. The eight-year veteran will turn 32 in November.