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Heat Eye Joe Johnson For Post-Buyout Market

February 2nd, 2016 at 2:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joe Johnson would stir the interest of the Heat if he buys his way off the Nets, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald hears (Twitter link). Johnson said today that he doesn’t know whether he’ll negotiate a buyout but didn’t rule out the idea and added that he’ll have a talk with agent Jeff Schwartz in the next week, as the swingman told reporters, including Andy Vasquez of The Record. The 34-year-old Johnson is making close to $24.895MM, a difficult salary to fit in a trade, and it doesn’t appear as though the Heat see him as a trade target.

The Heat are without combo guard Tyler Johnson, who’s scheduled to undergo rotator cuff surgery this week, for at least two months, and they don’t have an open roster spot to make an addition. Miami could always waive a player and risk eating his salary, but that would be a risky proposition financially. The Heat are faced with either clearing about $5.5MM in salary, likely via trade, or paying repeat-offender luxury tax penalties at season’s end.

Midseason signees usually end up with the prorated minimum salary, though particularly attractive buyout candidates sometimes command more. The Heat have about $2.85MM on their taxpayer’s mid-level exception to spend, but doing so would impose a further financial burden. Johnson is averaging 11.3 points per game, his fewest since the 2002/03 season, and shooting a career-worst 39% from the field, but he put up 13.5 points a night and shot 48.5% in January. Johnson has said multiple times this season that he’ll prioritize finding a winning team when he next hits free agency, and the Heat, at No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, would seemingly fit that bill.

Would Johnson help the Heat? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Kevin Durant Fond Of Warriors; Clippers Loom

February 2nd, 2016 at 12:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors would be “significant” front-runners for Kevin Durant should he leave the Thunder this summer, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, who places emphasis on the word “significant.” Still, the former MVP isn’t leaning one way or another toward staying or leaving Oklahoma City, Wojnarowski adds. The Wizards, Rockets and Heat still loom as likely suitors, but the Clippers are determined to make a push for him and wouldn’t hesitate to trade Blake Griffin to facilitate the acquisition of Durant, as Wojnarowski details.

Durant wants to win titles and create a legacy, Wojnarowski writes, and the Warriors, the defending champions who sit at 44-4 this season, would give him a strong chance to do so. Draymond Green is on board with the move and is expected to recruit Durant this summer, though Stephen Curry, given his talent and personality, would be the most persuasive voice, Wojnarowski adds, nonetheless leaving it unclear whether Curry is expected to go as hard after Durant as Green is.

Golden State has long eyed Durant’s upcoming free agency, Wojnarowski notes, and so has much of the rest of the NBA, of course. The Warriors nonetheless have a reputation for aiming high, and Harrison Barnes, set for restricted free agency at season’s end, looms as a sign-and-trade chip, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group has pointed out.

The Warriors have close to $75MM committed for next season against a salary cap that’s projected to come in at $89MM, and with Durant’s maximum salary projected at $24.9MM, that creates a financial road block. However, Wojnarowski’s Vertical colleague Bobby Marks lays out a hypothetical scenario in which the Warriors trade Andre Iguodala, waive and stretch Andrew Bogut, waive and stretch Jason Thompson, renounce their rights to and elect against a qualifying offer for Barnes and renounce other cap holds to create enough cap room to sign Durant outright.

The Clippers, with close to $78MM in guaranteed salary for next season, would need to perform similar cap gymnastics to open the space necessary to sign Durant, making the sign-and-trade a more viable option. The Thunder wouldn’t go for a sign-and-trade unless they knew Durant was leaving, according to Wojnarowski, who nonetheless points out that Griffin, who starred for the University of Oklahoma, is an Oklahoma native. Teams are already calling the Clippers to inquire about trading for the injured Griffin, but coach/executive Doc Rivers appears set on keeping him and seeing how the team performs in the postseason, Wojnarowski writes.

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Heat Spoke With Agent For John Lucas III

February 1st, 2016 at 1:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat spoke with the agent for point guard John Lucas III during a recent stretch when two of their existing point guards were injured, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. It’s nonetheless unclear if Miami still has interest in the client of Bernie Lee after today’s news that Tyler Johnson is likely to miss at least two months. Johnson and fellow Heat point guards Goran Dragic and Beno Udrih all missed games in January for the Heat, who came close to having enough players who were expected to miss enough time to qualify for a 16th roster spot via hardship. The team doesn’t currently meet the hardship criteria, so signing Lucas or any other player would require the Heat, who have a full 15-man roster, to unload someone else.

That would be a difficult proposition, since all salaries are guaranteed at this point in the season and the Heat face repeat-offender tax penalties if they can’t decrease their payroll by about $5.5MM by the final day of the regular season. Rookie shooting guard Josh Richardson has the cheapest salary on the Heat, at the rookie minimum of $525,093, but he’s liable to see more playing time with Johnson out.

Lucas, 33, was with the Heat for the preseason, and coach Erik Spoelstra said it was a tough decision to release him before opening night, even though his contract was non-guaranteed. Sixers coach Brett Brown said in December that he spoke with the eight-year veteran, and last month Lucas joined the D-League affiliate of the Pacers. He’s averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.2 turnovers in 37.4 minutes per game across five D-League appearances so far.

The Heat recently made a due diligence check-in with free agent combo guard Tony Wroten, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported. They did the same with combo forward Dorell Wright, Jackson added.

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Southeast Notes: Frye, Skiles, Pargo, Whiteside

February 1st, 2016 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have fielded multiple inquiries on Channing Frye, league sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Interest in the 32-year-old big man is high, an executive from a rival team told Deveney, adding that it looks like Orlando is moving on from him. The 11th-year veteran, who’s making $8.193MM this season, is averaging 17.5 minutes per game, his fewest since the 2008/09 season, save for 2012/13, which he missed entirely due to a heart condition. Coach Scott Skiles recently removed him from the starting lineup, and Frye didn’t appear in Sunday’s win over the Celtics. Sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com before the season that Frye, whose contract runs through 2017/18, was available for little in return, but Magic officials denied that. See more on the Magic and other teams from the Southeast Division:

  • Skiles admitted that he wasn’t effectively conveying his messages to Magic players as they struggled through 12 losses in 13 games before Sunday’s win, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “This is my responsibility,” Skiles said before the game Sunday. “I’ve got to get these guys to understand what it takes to consistently win in the NBA, and I haven’t gotten that done in the last five weeks. For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened. So I’ve got to find a way to get that done.”
  • Former Hornets point guard Jannero Pargo has signed to play in the D-League, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). Pargo has been out of the NBA since Charlotte released him nearly a year ago, midway through his 12th season in the league, while he dealt with a back injury. The 36-year-old has never played in the D-League before, so he’ll go through D-League waivers before landing with a team.
  • The success of the Heat and backup big man Amar’e Stoudemire during the recent absence of Hassan Whiteside raises further questions about whether the soon-to-be free agent Whiteside is a truly a fit for Miami, argues Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel.
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Southeast Notes: Porzingis, Wade, Wizards, Magic

January 29th, 2016 at 11:12am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic were determined to land Kristaps Porzingis in the 2014 draft and GM Rob Hennigan promised to take him with the No. 10 pick if he stayed in the draft that year, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Instead, he withdrew, and as he prepared for the 2015 draft, the Magic realized he wouldn’t slip past fourth, even though the Knicks had talks about swapping the No. 4 pick for a wing player and another first-rounder up until the day of the draft, Wojnarowski adds.

“Rob had a thorough, comprehensive plan,” Miller said to Wojnarowski. “He had invested as much, or more time, into Kristaps as anyone in the league. He really studied him. They had a plan for supplemental training, development. It wasn’t just, ‘Let’s just draft him and see what happens.’ This was a plan. Kristaps knew the plan and just wasn’t ready.”

Porzingis would have had the Magic’s blessing to remain overseas for a year had they drafted him in 2014, but as the 2015 draft approached, Porzingis’ camp wanted him to end up with the Knicks, as the Yahoo scribe details. Agent Andy Miller withheld him from working out or taking a physical for the Sixers, who had pick No. 3, Wojnarowski notes. The Magic wound up drafting Mario Hezonja with the fifth pick. See more from the Southeast Division.

  • Pat Riley said LeBron James never asked him to fire Erik Spoelstra, as previously rumored, as Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald relays, rounding up comments the Heat team president made Thursday. Riley also said he’s proud of Dwyane Wade for “how he has come back and changed the narrative about himself and worked on his body,” Skolnick notes. Wade hits free agency again this summer.
  • A third straight loss that dropped the Wizards to 20-24 prompted a players-only meeting Thursday, as J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic details. Jared Dudley, referring to himself as the spokesperson for the team, implicated the coaching staff in his comments following the meeting, as well as a return to a lineup featuring both Marcin Gortat and soon-to-be free agent Nene, who’s been marginalized most of this season. “The flow has been terrible for us these last couple games. That’s something that players and coaches have to do a better job,” Dudley said. “At times it’s good to play Nene and Gortat together. … What team are we trying to be here? We can’t keep coming into this locker room talking about inconsistency because April 15 [when the regular season ends] we’ll all be back at the crib.”
  • Hennigan last week cited the youthfulness of the Magic roster for the team’s struggles of late, but the team’s players said before the season that wouldn’t be an excuse, observes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. The Magic, tied with the Wizards at 20-24, have evoked memories of last season’s 25-57 disappointment as they’ve lost 11 of their last 12 games, and it indicates little progress under new coach Scott Skiles, who faces a challenge to turn the season around, Schmitz writes.
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Eastern Notes: Stoudemire, Horford, James

January 28th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

New Cavs coach Tyronn Lue has publicly criticized Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving for “worrying too much about their brand,” something that LeBron James says isn’t an issue for himself, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “All I wanted to do is win,” James told Haynes. “I do whatever it takes to win. I sacrifice whatever to win. When you’re younger, you don’t quite know how to do it at this level, but I did experience [winning] at the high school level. It don’t matter what level you are, if you’re able to win and win a championship, or win a national championship or a state championship, you have to make sacrifices. I knew I was a winner at heart and I knew I would put the work in to be a winner. I’m always the guy that understood that there’s no better recipe for your brand or your stature than winning. There’s nothing else better than that. There’s no other way to propel that to the highest level, than winning. So, that’s always been my mindset.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Heat power forward Amar’e Stoudemire believes he still has some basketball left in the tank and isn’t currently contemplating retiring at the end of this season, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post relays. He wants to play two or three more seasons, Lieser adds (on Twitter). “I’ve still got it,” Stoudemire said. “I’m not too far removed from doing that. It’s just a matter of finding a nice balance where I can stay consistent. My body’s been feeling great and strong. I feel healthy, my passion is there. If that continues, I’m just gonna feel better and better and I’m gonna play better and better. There’s a lot more left in me. No question.” The 33-year-old is averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.5 minutes over his 18 appearances this season.
  • The Hawks shouldn’t trade either Al Horford or Jeff Teague this season, Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opines. Dennis Schröder isn’t ready to take the reigns as a full-time starter yet, and Horford fits the team’s system extremely well as a big man, Bradley writes. The scribe also adds that if the Cavaliers falter, Atlanta could be the beneficiary come playoff time, which would make dealing away one or both of the pair a riskier move than normal.
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2016 NBA All-Star Game Reserves Announced

January 28th, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has officially announced the reserves for the 2016 All-Star game, which will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday, February 14th. The names of the reserves were first reported by Carron J. Phillips of The News Journal and confirmed by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (All four Twitter links). The starters for both conferences were announced last week, with Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard voted to tip off the exhibition in the West and LeBron James, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Kyle Lowry slated to represent the East.

While the starters are selected by the fans, reserves are chosen by the coaches in each conference, though they are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Listed below are the reserves for the 2016 NBA All-Star game for each conference:

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Who was the biggest surprise among the All-Star reserves announced tonight? Share your thoughts with a comment.

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Eastern Notes: Skiles, Noah, Winslow

January 27th, 2016 at 5:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Magic coach Scott Skiles, when asked about his tenure as Bucks head coach, said he considered his time there a failure, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel relays. “Any time you’re someplace four or five years, you have friendships,” Skiles said regarding his time spent in Milwaukee. “We have a sailboat on Lake Michigan. We had a good time this summer here — all six weeks of it. That was a fun year [in 2010]. But like all coaches or like anybody in sports, you’ve got to be judged by wins and losses. From a personal standpoint because we weren’t able to sustain that, I look at it as a situation where I failed.” Skiles’ regular season record as Bucks coach was 162-182.

Skiles did add that the lack of All-Star level talent contributed to the Bucks difficulties, Gardner notes. “From year to year, things change,” Skiles told Gardner. “It’s hard. The teams that can sustain it, it’s not a secret why. They typically have two or three All-Stars that stay for a long period of time and a really solid core, and they just plug other guys in. If you don’t have that, it’s very hard, because other teams are getting better. Everybody’s goal is to have those guys, but there aren’t that many of them.” The last Milwaukee player selected to the NBA All-Star game was Michael Redd, way back in 2004.

Here’s more from out of the East:

  • Bulls center Joakim Noah has dealt with injuries and having his playing time drop this season, the last on his current deal, but he hopes to show the league he can still be a valuable contributor going forward, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. “It’s not easy, but I know there’s people out there who it’s a lot harder for, so I’m not complaining,” Noah said of his pending free agency. “These are my cards right now. And it’s all about how you bounce back. I just want to prove that I have a lot more basketball in me.“
  • The Heat want to continue to expand the role of rookie Justise Winslow and view him as player who can be utilized at multiple positions, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Winslow, for his part, embraces the variety, Winderman adds. “I mean, that’s the type of player I was growing up, and at Duke, especially, versatile, just trying to do everything,” Winslow said. “I had a post up [Tuesday], knocking down a 3-pointer and playing a little point, just doing a little bit of everything.” The 19-year-old is averaging 5.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists over his 43 appearances this season.
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Eastern Notes: Durant, Anderson, Heat, LeBron

January 27th, 2016 at 10:19am CST by Chuck Myron

Some executives around the NBA expect that the Knicks will at least “get an audience” with Kevin Durant, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, who points out that New York will likely have to maneuver to create enough cap space to place a max offer on the table for him. Durant praised the Knicks’ roster construction, mentioning Kristaps Porzingis, Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams, as well as coach and former Durant teammate Derek Fisher, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but in spite of Durant’s much-publicized “unicorn” comment about Porzingis, the Thunder have a strong roster and a unique player of their own in Russell Westbrook, observes Royce Young of ESPN.com. See more on a few of New York’s Eastern Conference rivals:

  • Alan Anderson is expected to return to game action around the All-Star break, a source told Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The Wizards signed the swingman in the offseason thinking he’d be ready to start the season on time, but he wound up needing a second surgery on his injured left ankle, and he’s yet to suit up for the team.
  • Heat majority owner Micky Arison has been trying to buy out minority share owner Ranaan Katz for years, and Heat employees have long been barred from talking with him, according to Dan Le Batard of ESPN, who adds that the assertion that LeBron James tried to have Erik Spoelstra fired is untrue (Twitter links). Katz reportedly made that assertion, but he denies that, claiming that what he said on a radio show hosted by Ofira Asayag on ONE.co.il’s 102 FM in Israel was incorrectly translated from Hebrew to English, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). For what it’s worth, international journalist David Pick provided a full transcription for Bleacher Report, which depicts Katz saying that Riley’s refusal to fire Spoelstra was the primary reason James returned to Cleveland and that the Heat drafted Shabazz Napier in 2014 because James wanted them to. Katz also denies that he said LeBron was the catalyst for the Cavs firing David Blatt, as Pick notes in an addendum to the transcription.
  • James said today that he never hesitated to give his opinion but that he’s never undermined a coach, adding that he’s never met Katz, note Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter links). James has indeed met Katz, counters Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, who points out that Katz sits next to the visitors bench for every Heat home game (Twitter link).
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Dead Money: Southeast Division

January 26th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Not every dollar of each team’s payroll shows up on the court, as franchises often dish out funds to players who are no longer on their rosters. Players with guaranteed money who are waived, either through a standard waiver release, use of the stretch provision, or when a buyout arrangement is reached, still count against a team’s cap figure for the duration of their contracts, or the amount of time specified by the collective bargaining agreement for when a player’s salary is stretched.

There are even situations that arise, like the one with JaVale McGee and the Sixers, where these players are actually the highest-paid on the team. McGee is set to collect $12MM from Philly, and he won’t score one point or collect one rebound for the franchise this season. The next highest-paid athlete for the Sixers is Gerald Wallace, who was also waived, and he is scheduled to earn $10,105,855 for the 2015/16 campaign. In fact, the total payroll for the Sixers’ entire active roster this season is $32,203,553, which is merely $3,709,857 more than the amount being paid to players no longer on the team!

Listed below are the names and cap hits associated with players who are no longer on the rosters of teams in the Southeast Division:

Atlanta Hawks

Total= $75,000

Charlotte Hornets

Total= $80,000

Miami Heat

  • None

Orlando Magic

*Note: Appling recently re-signed with the team on a 10-day pact, but his original contract still counts as dead money.

Total= $1,195,059

Washington Wizards

Total= $5,823,926

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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