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Odds & Ends: Pekovic, Paul, Ennis, Knicks

August 9th, 2013 at 11:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA teams hit the hardwood again in October, but some of the news tonight concerns courts of a different nature. Cuttino Mobley dropped his lawsuit against the parent company of the Knicks in the hopes that doing so will make it easier for him to play again in the NBA, while lawyers for the former owners of the Kings have allegedly funded an effort to stymie Sacramento's arena plans. While we await more on those legal matters, here's the latest from around the NBA:

  • The Wolves and Nikola Pekovic's camp are making progress toward a deal, president of basketball ops Flip Saunders tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).
  • Four NBA teams invited undrafted Illinois shooting guard Brandon Paul to camp, but he's signing to play in Russia instead, Paul reveals via Twitter (hat tip to Zgoda). Paul doesn't say which Russian team he's joining.
  • Scott Nichols, the agent for James Ennis, tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that there's a good chance the Heat will sign his client at some point this season, allowing him to invoke the opt-out clause in his contract with an Australian club. Ennis turned down "a lot more money" from Russia's BC Nizhny Novgorod and "a little more" from France's Nantere to sign with the Perth Wildcats, Nichols says to Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida. A team from Germany also made a lucrative offer, according to Charania.
  • Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com chatted with readers today, dishing on possibilities for the final spot on the Knicks 15-man roster, and passing along word from a source that Jeremy Tyler's two-year deal makes it less likely that the team will sign Ivan Johnson.
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Odds & Ends: Sixers, West, Gordon, Jamison

August 4th, 2013 at 11:13am CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool appears to have become the leading candidate in the Sixers head coaching search, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Most reports have cited Brett Brown and Michael Curry as the front-runners, but it seems there are still several hopefuls who could emerge with the job. We passed along news from Washburn earlier today on the continuing possibility of a Rajon Rondo trade to the Pistons, and here's more from the Globe scribe as we round up the morning's news from around the NBA:

  • The Knicks and Grizzlies have reportedly been in talks with Delonte West, but the Knicks appear to be out, and according to Washburn, no team has shown serious interest.
  • The additions of Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans make for a crowded backcourt in New Orleans, but Eric Gordon is glad to have his new Pelicans teammates, he tells Washburn.
  • Clippers boss Doc Rivers didn't make an offer to Antawn Jamison when they met for dinner last night, but the Clippers and Jamison's reps plan to talk soon, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • The Hawks waived DeShawn Stevenson on Friday, and in the likely event that he clears waivers and hits free agency, he'd like to sign with the Heat, according to a pair ofdispatches from his Twitter account.
  • Shelvin Mack appears in a tenuous position with the Hawks, since his contract is non-guaranteed and he plays the same position as Jeff Teague and first-round pick Dennis Schröder. If the Hawks waive Mack, he'll be the primary point guard target for Olimpia Milano of Italy, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports.
  • Elston Turner has reached an agreement to become an assistant coach for the Grizzlies, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The defensively minded Turner also spoke about joining the Timberwolves staff.
  • Stefhon Hannah has signed to play with Juve Caserta in Italy, the team announced (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). Hannah worked out for the Knicks this summer, and spent two weeks last fall in training camp with the Warriors.
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Wolfson’s Latest: Pekovic, Aldridge, Redick

August 4th, 2013 at 9:56am CST by Chuck Myron

Agent Jeff Schwartz's initial asking price for Nikola Pekovic was around $15MM per year, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, and Schwartz and the Timberwolves continue to haggle over the amount of money the restricted free agent center will get in his next contract. Schwartz knows he won't get $15MM a year from the team, Wolfson tweets. The Wolves are offering four years and $48MM, and though they're willing to add some incentives, it's "nearly ludicrous" to expect that they'll budge from the $12MM annual base salary, as Wolfson writes in his Scoops column. Wolfson has plenty more on Pekovic and other Timberwolves issues, so let's dive in:

  • It's possible that Pekovic could wind up with a fifth year in his deal, but it appears four years is more likely.
  • A trade that would send Pekovic and Derrick Williams to the Blazers for LaMarcus Aldridge is far-fetched. Minnesota would prefer Kevin Love instead, Wolfson tweets, but Love doesn't appear to be on the market. Schwartz represents Love as well as Pekovic.
  • J.J. Redick was five minutes away from heading to another team before talks revved up on the three-team trade that sent him to the Clippers, but that mystery team wasn't the Wolves. Redick met with Wolves brass and was prepared to sign with them, but talks never got that far.
  • Andrei Kirilenko's claim that Wolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders didn't want to give him a long-term contract is incorrect, writes Wolfson, who hears from two people who say Minnesota offered a three-year, $21MM deal.
  • The Wolves have not invited Seth Curry to training camp, contrary to a report.
  • Lorenzo Brown, Robbie Hummel, Othyus Jeffers and another big man figure to be the contenders for the 15th spot on the Timberwolves opening-night roster. 
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Odds & Ends: Pekovic, Adelman, Johnson, Sixers

August 2nd, 2013 at 11:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders remains optimistic that the club will soon re-sign Nikola Pekovic, and tells Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune that he's trying to explain the thought process behind the team's offer to the big man and his camp. Saunders stopped short of confirming that coach Rick Adelman will be back for this coming season, but echoed owner Glen Taylor's comments from last month, saying that he's optimstic that Adelman will return. There's more from Minnesota and other NBA locales in tonight's roundup:

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Western Rumors: Neal, Miller, Teodosic

July 28th, 2013 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs, like the Thunder last season, have largely stood pat the summer after winning the Western Conference title. The substitution of Marco Belinelli for Gary Neal stands as the most significant change in San Antonio, but, just as Oklahoma City was frequently overlooked in favor of the Lakers in 2012, the Spurs don't appear to be clear favorites to make it back to the Finals. The Thunder are lurking, the Rockets and Warriors have made major upgrades, while the Clippers, Grizzlies and perhaps the Nuggets could also win the West. Here's more on the Spur who got away and other news from the Western Conference:

  • The Timberwolves never spoke with agent David Falk or anyone else from Neal's camp about signing the guard before he reached agreement yesterday with the Bucks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
  • Nikolaos Lotsos, the agent for Serbian-born guard Milos Teodosic, tells Sports.ru that his client rejected an offer from the Grizzlies so that he can continue his career overseas (translation via Sportando).
  • Darius Miller's minimum-salary contract with the Pelicans became fully guaranteed for the coming season when the team elected not to waive him by the end of yesterday. Previously, the deal had been completely non-guaranteed.
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Odds & Ends: Kobe, Pekovic, Goudelock, Cooley

July 27th, 2013 at 12:16pm CST by Zachary Links

While this season is pretty much a write-off for the Lakers, 2014 is the dream season for Kobe Bryant & Co., write Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.  Much of what they can do, however, depends on the type of sacrifice that Kobe is willing to make.  Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan made financial sacrifices in recent years and it remains to be seen whether Bryant is willing to do the same in order to help the Lakers build the best team possible.  The L.A. Times duo has a very out of the box (and illegal) idea for Bryant: sign for the veteran's minimum in 2014/15 and ink a $19.5MM deal with the Lakers (who hold his Bird Rights) in the following year.  Here's more from around the Association..

  • Wolves owner Glen Taylor continues to say that he is confident a new deal with restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic will be reached, tweets Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press.
  • Terms of Andrew Goudelock's deal with Russia's BC UNICS Kazan  were not disclosed, but the offer is worth “considerably more” than his NBA minimum of about $1MM, a source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
  • Jack Cooley is weighing offers from "a half dozen" teams after strong play in summer league, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter).  Cooley averaged 15 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG for the Grizzlies' summer league squad.
  • The Nets' luxury tax penalties for next season bring their total monetary commitment for 2013/14 to just over $189MM, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.  The Nets added to their total after signing Alan Anderson.
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Northwest Rumors: Team USA, Pekovic, Nuggets

July 25th, 2013 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

Two Northwest stars, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love, announced yesterday that they'll play for Team USA in the 2014 World Cup of basketball, but we don't know exactly who'll join them. USA Basketball Executive Director Jerry Colangelo says he'll narrow the pool of prospects to 25 or 30 by January, and he'll have until 48 hours before next summer's event begins to name a final roster, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com points out (Twitter links).

Here's more from around the Northwest division:

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Western Notes: Camby, O’Neal, Jordan, Pekovic

July 24th, 2013 at 7:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Western Conference

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NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2013/14

July 23rd, 2013 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's salary cap is famously known as a "soft cap," allowing teams to surpass the cap threshold using various cap exceptions, sometimes by a significant margin. Last season, the Lakers' team salary exceeded the cap by $40MM, with the team spending about $100MM (plus taxes) on its roster of players.

However, under the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are a few instances in which a team can become hard-capped for a season. If a team's salary exceeds the luxury tax threshold ($71,748,000) by $4MM+, that team is not permitted to acquire a player via sign-and-trade, or to use the full mid-level or bi-annual exceptions. As soon as a team completes a sign-and-trade deal, or uses its BAE, or uses more than $3,182,700 of its MLE to sign a player, that club becomes hard-capped at $75,748,000 for the 2013/14 season. In other words, team salary can't exceed that amount at any point before June 30th, 2014.

For some clubs, that hard cap isn't a major concern. For instance, the Pelicans still have about $12MM in breathing room below the hard cap, and seem to be just about done making moves. On the other hand, the Celtics are only about $2MM below the hard cap, so any trades or signings Boston makes for the rest of the season will have to be constructed to ensure team salary doesn't surpass that $75.748MM cutoff.

Here are the clubs who are now locked into a hard cap for the 2013/14 season, along with an estimation (via HoopsWorld) of their current team salaries and the reason(s) why the hard cap was created:

Boston Celtics
Current estimated team salary: $73,638,001
Hard cap created: Acquired Keith Bogans via sign-and-trade

Los Angeles Clippers
Current estimated team salary: $72,361,060
Hard cap created: Acquired J.J. Redick via sign-and-trade; signed Matt Barnes and Darren Collison via non-taxpayer MLE

Toronto Raptors
Current estimated team salary: $70,710,039
Hard cap created: Acquired Quentin Richardson via sign-and-trade

Washington Wizards
Current estimated team salary: $69,883,992
Hard cap created: Signed Martell Webster via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Eric Maynor via BAE

Indiana Pacers
Current estimated team salary: $69,150,000
Hard cap created: Signed C.J. Watson via BAE

Golden State Warriors
Current estimated team salary: $68,333,105
Hard cap created: Acquired Andre Iguodala via sign-and-trade; signed Marreese Speights and Toney Douglas via non-taxpayer MLE

Denver Nuggets
Current estimated team salary1: $66,849,937
Hard cap created: Acquired Randy Foye via sign-and-trade; signed J.J. Hickson via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Nate Robinson via BAE

San Antonio Spurs
Current estimated team salary2: $64,782,127
Hard cap created: Signed Marco Belinelli and Jeff Pendergraph via non-taxpayer MLE

New Orleans Pelicans
Current estimated team salary: $63,347,645
Hard cap created: Acquired Tyreke Evans via sign-and-trade

Minnesota Timberwolves
Current estimated team salary3: $61,158,583
Hard cap created: Acquired Kevin Martin via sign-and-trade; signed Corey Brewer via non-taxpayer MLE; signed Ronny Turiaf via BAE

1  Estimate includes Timofey Mozgov's cap hold
2  Estimate includes Gary Neal's cap hold
3  Estimate includes Nikola Pekovic's cap hold

HoopsWorld was used in the creation of this post.

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Western Notes: Wolves, Gomes, Mavs, Clark

July 23rd, 2013 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote earlier today that there's about a "99.9999%" chance that the Timberwolves work out a deal to bring back Nikola Pekovic. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune also suggests that it's just a matter of time, tweeting that he thinks a deal will be completed next week. Whether or not the Wolves re-sign Pekovic, and it seems like a lock that they will, don't expect the team to have any interest in Greg Oden, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). According to Wolfson, David Kahn had interest in Oden, but Flip Saunders is passing on the former first overall pick.

Here are a few more items from out of the Western Conference:

  • Ryan Gomes, who says he hopes to be a coach one day, has worked out for the Thunder and Spurs as he weighs his options for the upcoming season, he tells Nick Greene of the Hartford Courant.
  • Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on KESN-FM in Dallas to follow up on his comments about the team potentially being better off without Dwight Howard, and the Dallas Morning News has the details.
  • Undrafted free agent guard Ian Clark put up 33 points in the Warriors' championship win at the Las Vegas Summer League, and is drawing interest from NBA teams, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Zillgitt names the Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Jazz as clubs eyeing Clark.
  • A strong Summer League performance also has NBA teams eyeing Dionte Christmas, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The Suns are among the clubs with interest.
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