National Basketball Players Association Rumors

And-Ones: Awards, Draft, Agents

April 27th, 2015 at 5:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

The media votes on most of the NBA awards, but the players will have their say with their own set of honors this year. The National Basketball Players Association announced today that it will hand out 10 awards in Las Vegas this July, as voted on by players. They’ll select their own MVP, the best rookie, and the best defender, and they’ll also hand out trophies for “Man of the Year,” “Global Impact Player,” “Hardest to Guard,” “Clutch Performer,” “Coach You Would Want To Play For,” “Best Home Court Advantage” and “Player You Secretly Wish Was on Your Team.” While we wait to see if those honors will have the resonance that the traditional ones have, here’s more from around the NBA:

Combo forward Beka Burjanadze submitted his name for the draft, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). That evidently means the 21-year-old from the nation of Georgia declared before Sunday’s deadline to do so. He’s only the 29th-best prospect from overseas among those born in 1994, according to Givony, who notes in his tweet that Burjanadze is a cousin of Zaza Pachulia.
Former LSU power forward Jordan Mickey has signed with agents Matt Babcock and Adie von Gontard of the APAA Sports Group, Givony reports (Twitter link). Mickey, who entered the draft this year after his sophomore season, is the 49th-best prospect overall as Givony ranks them and No. 50 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com listings.
Rakeem Christmas is going with Stephen Pina of ASM Sports for his representation, according to Cameron Chung of the Sports Agent Blog. Fresh off his senior year at Syracuse, Christmas comes in 52nd in Givony‘s rankings and is 55th with Ford.

And-Ones: HGH Testing, Demps, Simmons

April 16th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA and the NBPA announced today that blood testing for Human Growth Hormone will commence under the league’s anti-drug program, beginning during the 2015/16 NBA season. According to the official announcement, all NBA players will be subject to three random, unannounced HGH tests annually (two in-season, and one during the offseason), and players will also be subject to reasonable cause testing for HGH. If a player tests positive for HGH, he will be suspended 20 games for his first violation, 45 games for his second violation, and he will be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for his third violation.

Here’s more from around the league:

Pelicans GM Dell Demps refuted a report asserting that he and coach Monty Williams were under the mandate this season to make the playoffs or lose their jobs, John Reid of the Times Picayune relays. ”I am hoping to keep the focus on the Pelicans and our playoff run,” Demps said. ”To answer the question, I did not receive a mandate to make the playoffs from ownership or anyone else. That conversation did not happen. Our ownership group has been very supportive, patient and given us all the resources to be successful.”
21-year-old Bosnian forward Adin Vrabac, who is currently playing in Germany, will declare for the 2015 NBA draft, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets. Vrabac, who isn’t currently projected to be picked in June, withdrew from last year’s draft after initially declaring his intent to enter.
The 2016 NBA draft is projected to be a much weaker field than this year’s, Givony told Josh Newman of SNY.tv (Twitter links). The player pool could improve based on which underclassmen decide to return to school this year, Newman adds.
Chris Mannix of SI.com unveiled his initial 2015 mock draft and his top three players are Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and Emmanuel Mudiay.
Despite the 2015 NBA draft still being over two months away, scouts and executives are already turning their gaze toward the 2016 class and Australian Ben Simmons, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. The 6’10” Simmons possesses point guard skills and is the projected No. 1 overall pick next season by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), Beck notes. One NBA executive was so enamored with Simmons’ potential, he said that the player was worth tanking for, Beck adds. Simmons will attend LSU next season.

And-Ones: NBPA, Smith, Orton

March 11th, 2015 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the NBPA voting against the league’s cap smoothing proposal the salary cap is expected to increase significantly for the 2016/17 season, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. The owners had hoped smoothing would appeal to the players because it would allow a bigger portion of the new television money to be spread to a wider group of players, Deveney notes. But now there will be nothing preventing the owners from using all the extra space next summer, which won’t benefit players becoming free agents in 2017 and beyond as much as the NBPA expects, Deveney adds.

A source with knowledge of the thinking of NBPA head Michele Roberts told Deveney, “The union should not have to police how much the owners spend. That’s not the job of the union. All of the caps that are on salaries now, the max deals and the shorter lengths and all of that, it’s all stuff that has been done to protect owners from themselves. Michele has been pretty strong on saying, hey, it’s not the job of the players to protect owners from other owners. Why should that fall on the players?”

Here’s more from around the league:

Thunder GM Sam Presti said it was ludicrous to think that the team would consider trading Kevin Durant, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets. It was posited earlier by ESPN’s Tom Penn that OKC would likely trade Durant next season rather than risk losing him in free agency for nothing.
J.R. Smith is happy be a member of the Cavaliers and playing alongside his friend LeBron James, and the guard has indicated that he’d like to remain in Cleveland past this season, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Smith, who has a player option for 2015/16 worth $6,399,750, could be leaning toward opting in for next season with an eye on a larger contract come 2016 when the salary cap is expected to increase significantly, Vardon adds.
The NBA is projecting that the 2016/17 salary cap will be set at $78MM, a figure that many cap analysts believe is a very conservative estimate, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons‘ D-League affiliate, have acquired center Daniel Orton, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). Orton appeared in 22 games for the Sixers last season and averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per contest. The big man was in training camp with the Wizards this season.
Wesley Matthews underwent successful surgery today to repair his torn Achilles, the Trail Blazers announced.

NBPA Rejects Salary Cap Smoothing Proposal

March 11th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

12:49pm: The sides met Tuesday in an attempt to hash out a compromise before ultimately ending the conversation without a deal, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

MARCH 11TH, 12:35pm: The league and the union have reached no agreement on any counter proposal, and the union has informed the NBA that it will not accept any sort of tiered increases to the salary cap, the NBA announced via press release (link to statement via USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter). So, it appears as though a giant leap in the cap for the 2016/17 season is inevitable.

FEBRUARY 13TH: The NBPA voted today to reject the league’s salary cap smoothing proposal, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The owners want to gradually increase the salary cap starting in 2016 when the NBA’s new television contract kicks in. NBPA head Michele Roberts said that the shelf-life for players is limited, and the NBPA didn’t want to impact that in any way moving forward, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post adds (Twitter links). Roberts did add that there could be a counter proposal by the NBPA, but the union hasn’t had a chance to decide whether it will produce one, Bontemps notes.

The TV deal, worth approximately $24 billion, is expected to dramatically alter the financial landscape of player contracts after it takes effect for the 2016/17 season. Many executives around the league have already assumed that the cap would jump to $90MM for that season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe recently wrote, but it’s unclear if that assumption was based on an all-at-once rise to the cap or the tiered increases the league proposed. The NBA thought the union would be fully supportive of its proposal, but the players instead resisted, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

The cap is at $63.065MM this season after having hung between $58MM and $59MM for three straight years, so an influx of revenues had already begun to have an effect even before the NBA and its TV partners struck the deal this past fall. Next year’s cap is reportedly projected to come in at about $66.5MM.

Maximum salaries are tied to the cap, so they’re in line to escalate dramatically as well, but the league and the union predetermined the minimum salaries and the value of exceptions like the mid-level and the biannual when they came to the most recent collective bargaining agreement in 2011, as Pincus points out (Twitter links). Both sides have an opt-out in that agreement in 2017, and it’s likely that either the NBA, its players, or both parties will exercise their right to terminate the deal. That would give them a chance to adjust the minimums and exceptions a season after the cap is set to spike.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: NBPA, Russell, Childress

March 6th, 2015 at 7:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

An attorney for the NBPA has strongly indicated that the union will want the minimum age requirement to enter the NBA lowered in the next round of collective bargaining, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. NBPA general counsel Gary Kohlman said that it is “quite likely the union will be taking a radically different position” than the NBA on the age issue, Reynolds notes. Under the current CBA rules, players must turn 19 years of age in the draft’s calendar year to be eligible, with American players also required to be one year removed from high school, Reynolds adds.

“If they were white and hockey players they would be out there playing. If they were white and baseball players they would be out there playing,” Kohlman said regarding the age requirement. “Because most of them are actually African-American and are in a sport and precluded from doing it, they have to go into this absurd world of playing [in college] for one year. That’s just total complete hypocrisy.”

Here’s more from around the league:

D’Angelo Russell, a projected top five pick in the 2015 NBA draft, has surprised himself and Ohio State coach Thad Matta with how quickly he has shot up draft boards this season, Nicole Auerbach of USA Today writes. “Did I think he was going to be this good, this consistent this year? Probably not,” Matta said. “I told people when D’Angelo was coming, I think he’s the second-best guard I’ve brought here, since Mike Conley. I had that thought in my mind, that he had a chance to be really good. To do what he’s done all the way through the season? Probably didn’t see that one coming.” The freshman is currently ranked No. 3 by DraftExpress, No. 4 by ESPN, and Russell checks in at No. 3 in Hoops Rumors’ Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
Brad Graham of Basketball Insiders interviewed former NBA player Josh Childress about playing overseas, his NBA career, and what the swingman’s future holds. The 31-year-old’s last NBA action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he appeared in four games for the Pelicans.
Andre Emmett, who currently plays for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, intends to leave the NBA D-League to sign a lucrative offer with a team in the Philippines, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando tweets. In 39 games for Fort Wayne this season Emmett is averaging 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 33.5 minutes per contest.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

And-Ones: James, D-League, Cousins

February 14th, 2015 at 5:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LeBron James being elected as the vice president of the NBPA means that the union will have another strong voice at the negotiating table, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. A person close to James said that LeBron felt compelled to serve in this role at a crucial and exciting time for the league and its players, Zillgitt notes. James had considered running for NBPA president in the past, the post Chris Paul now occupies, but James had decided that he did not have the necessary free time to devote that the job required, the USA Today scribe adds.

Here’s more from around the league:

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is glad to finally have some stability regarding Sacramento’s coaching situation now that George Karl has been inked to a four-year deal to coach the team, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a coach longer than a year and half maybe,” Cousins said. “It feels good to know I have one for the long haul.“
Gino Pilato of D-League Digest ran down how the NBA affiliate players have performed thus far in the D-League this season. A number of the players whom Pilato lists could be in line for a 10-day contract from an NBA team this season.
With the Chinese Basketball Association’s regular season completed, a number of notable players will now be eligible to return to the NBA. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders runs down some of the more intriguing names who could be difference-makers for teams down the stretch, including Will Bynum, Michael Beasley, Earl Clark, Jordan Crawford, and Al Harrington.

Eastern Notes: James, Millsap, Allen

February 13th, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Cavs superstar LeBron James has been elected as the vice president of the NBPA, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). Chris Paul, the NBPA president, has been pushing for James to join him as the No. 2 man in the player’s union for some time now, Wojnarowski adds. The announcement of James’ election was soon overshadowed by the reports that the NBPA had voted to reject the league’s salary cap smoothing proposal for 2016. This news sets the stage for a potential lockout in 2017, when both the league and the union can opt out of the current CBA, though that is merely my speculation.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Paul Millsap said that the support he has received from Hawks fans and the community in Atlanta would not factor into his decision-making when he becomes a free agent this summer, Nick Powell of NJ.com relays. “It’s a good thing, but I’m not one to base my decision off emotions,” Millsap said. “I base my decisions off of everything else. Where our team is at, can I grow with this team, how’s the coach, how’s the community? There’s a lot of things that factor into it besides emotions.” When asked his feelings about potentially playing in New York, Millsap said, “It’s a good place. I consider myself a guy who could fit in anywhere.“
When Patrick Beverley was asked about potentially joining the Knicks as a free agent this summer, he stated that his first desire was to remain in Houston, Powell adds. “That’s not up to me, that’s up to my agent and stuff like that,” Beverley said. “I’m extremely happy with Houston, that’s one of the teams that kind of took a chance on me for me getting to the NBA, but at the end of the day this is a business, and I’ll let my agent handle that.” Beverly will become a restricted free agent at season’s end.
Though the Heat were indeed in contact with free agent Ray Allen last summer, the team never made a contract offer to the veteran guard, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes.

Cavs Notes: James, Harris, Allen

February 12th, 2015 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James‘ decision last summer to sign a two-year contract with a player option after this season was not only motivated by the ability to take advantage of the rising salary cap and make a higher salary but also to give him maximum leverage, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes. Shelburne adds that James and NBPA president Chris Paul will encourage their membership to fight for more flexible contract structures and a greater piece of the league revenue pie when the players union can opt out of the current CBA in 2017. Here’s more from Cleveland:

The Cavaliers have re-assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This is the sixth trek of the season to Canton for Harris, who has appeared in six games for the Charge this season, averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33.2 minutes per game.
Cleveland has been in contact with free agent Ray Allen‘s representatives in recent days, but the veteran guard has still not made a decision on where, or if, he will play this season, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal reports.
James feels a sense of urgency to win a championship this season even though he and Kevin Love, who can opt out of his deal after the season, are expected to remain with the club long-term, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com. The facts that James has hit the age of 30 and has logged more than 41,500 minutes in his career also figure into his thinking.

Jeff Taylor Declines To Appeal Suspension

November 21st, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Eddie Scarito

11:57am: Taylor has decided against appealing the suspension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

11:30am: Roberts expected that the suspension would be only for three or four games, adding that a ban of fewer than 10 games would have been appropriate, as she tells Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter links).

FRIDAY, 8:33am: Roberts feels that the league imposed the lengthy suspension in part to make a public show of toughness on domestic violence issues, as she explained in a memo to union members that USA Today’s Sam Amick obtained. The NBA’s motivation stems from the sharp criticism the National Football League has received for what many feel have been lenient punishments for incidents of domestic violence among its players, Roberts believes.

“Despite having agreed to join the Players Association in focusing attention on ‘prevention’ rather than trying to out-muscle the NFL on ‘discipline,’ the NBA elected to prove its toughness by imposing a 24-game suspension on Jeff Taylor,” Roberts wrote in the memo. “Up until yesterday’s announcement, we had been working with the League to undergo a sober review of our current policies and practices to improve the services available to the NBA family in this area. However, I am disappointed that, as reflected in the sanction imposed against Jeff, the League instead chose to bend to the pressure it feels from the current media spotlight and impose punishment well beyond what is contained in the current CBA or in line with existing precedent.”

As Roberts pointed out in her public statement, the NBA’s CBA calls for a minimum 10-game suspension when a player is convicted of a felony involving violence, while Taylor pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor domestic assault and property destruction charges. However, the conviction will not be on his record if he fulfills the terms of his probation.

THURSDAY, 5:00pm: Taylor is conferring with his representatives and is expected to issue a public statement tomorrow regarding his suspension, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

4:09pm: The NBPA is ready to file an appeal regarding Jeff Taylor‘s 24-game suspension for domestic violence that was handed down by the league yesterday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). But NBPA head Michele Roberts was clear that the ultimate decision about any action taken by the union will rest with Taylor, who has not yet made his intentions known, Wojnarowski adds.

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweeted Roberts’ full statement on the matter, which read:

“The 24-game suspension imposed by Commissioner Silver against Jeff Taylor is excessive, without precedent and a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The CBA contemplates a minimum 10-game suspension in any case involving a conviction for a violent felony, including domestic violence. In contrast, Jeff Taylor was charged with a misdemeanor that is likely to be dismissed at the end of a probationary period.

The 24-game suspension is one of the longest in the history of the league. We have a scheme of discipline that was the result of collective bargaining between the parties that has been applied consistently over the years. While we appreciate the sensitivity of this societal issue, the Commissioner is not entitled to rewrite the rules or otherwise ignore precedent in disciplinary matters. While ultimately this is Jeff’s decision, we stand ready to file an immediate appeal on his behalf.”

If they decide to go ahead with the appeal, the hearing would take place before the league’s grievance arbitrator, and not commissioner Adam Silver, because the punishment is for an off-court matter and stands to cost Taylor more than $50K in lost salary. The 24-game ban would ultimately cost Taylor $199,689 of his $915,243 salary for the 2014/15 season.

This is Roberts’ first big test as head of the NBPA, and it will be an intriguing prism through which to view how the union will operate under her stewardship. It will also be interesting to see if and how this matter will affect how Silver is regarded by the players, who up until now have lauded his actions in regards to the Donald Sterling racism scandal that plagued the league early in his tenure as commissioner, and earned him the nickname, the “players’ commissioner.” It is also very possible that this issue could become a bargaining point in the next CBA negotiations which are more than likely to occur in 2017 when both the players and the owners can elect to opt out of the current agreement.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Union, Rondo, Mavs, Sixers

November 21st, 2014 at 11:02am CST by Chuck Myron

Eric Bledsoe says he never worried about the Suns‘ acquisition of yet more high-level point guards in the offseason, but staying healthy was a concern as his contract negotiations dragged on, as he tells Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his Open Floor column.

“I stayed in the gym working out. I just had to make sure I didn’t get hurt,” Bledsoe said. “My agent was calling me, telling me not to go play with everybody. I pretty much wrapped my body in bubble wrap.”

Bledsoe’s numbers are off a bit this year after the summer hiatus, so while we wait to see if he can regain his form once he shakes off the rust, here’s more from around the league:

Union executive director Michele Roberts has made an effort to forge a relationship with several top agents, in contrast to predecessor Billy Hunter, who kept agents at arm’s length, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. Still, some agents are miffed about her choice of of Roger Mason, who supported her candidacy for the executive director job, to conduct a review of agent regulations, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote earlier this week.
Rajon Rondo doesn’t see this season as a rebuilding year for the Celtics, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
The Mavs have been paying greater attention to scouting talent for their D-League club as the connection between Dallas and its affiliate grows, as Eduardo Najera, the coach of the Mavs D-League affiliate, tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Sixers have a plan to return to contention eventually, but they are taking a risk that their players will learn to accept losing in the meantime, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News believes.