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Knicks Eyeing CP3 As Possible Offseason Target?

March 5th, 2020 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

A connection with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose may put Chris Paul on the team’s radar this offseason, according to a pair of reports.

Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link) cited sources who say that the Knicks have been “gathering intel” on Paul and may pursue him in the offseason. Meanwhile, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes that the All-Star point guard “adores” Rose, who was previously CP3’s agent.

After acquiring Paul from the Rockets last summer – along with multiple first-round picks – in a deal that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston, the Thunder reportedly explored flipping the veteran to another team. However, he was considered a negative trade asset at that time, due to the three years and $124MM left on his contract.

Oklahoma City opted to hang onto Paul and he has been impressive in his first season with the Thunder, staying healthy all year, earning a spot in the All-Star Game for the first time since 2016, and leading the club to a 38-24 record so far. That doesn’t mean that his contract – which still has two years and nearly $86MM left on it after this season – won’t still be considered onerous, but CP3 should have more value this offseason if the Thunder want to put him back on the trade block.

Paul wouldn’t exactly be a perfect fit for the rebuilding Knicks, considering he’ll turn 35 years old this spring. Acquiring him would also compromise the team’s cap flexibility for the summer of 2021, which is expected to feature a significantly stronger free agent class than 2020.

Still, the Knicks didn’t have much luck recruiting star free agents in 2019, so if they don’t use their cap room to acquire a player like Paul, they may simply end up spending it on lesser free agents again, or perhaps absorbing unwanted contracts. Attempting to fill their point guard hole by swinging a deal for an All-Star like CP3 could be a reasonable alternative — especially since it might not take a significant package to land him, if OKC wants to move off his contract and move forward with its rebuild.

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Bulls Notes: Presti, Paxson, Boylen, Markkanen

March 5th, 2020 at 11:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Sam Presti has been mentioned as a possible target in the Bulls‘ front office shakeup, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago doesn’t believe the organization is willing to spend heavily on a new executive. He estimates it would take an offer in the neighborhood of $10MM a year to get the attention of Presti, the current president of basketball operations for the Thunder.

Johnson adds that Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf is exploring multiple options, which likely include both Presti and Raptors executive Masai Ujiri. Toronto isn’t expected to let Ujiri leave while he still has a year left on his contract, but because Presti is a close friend with Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett, the feeling around the league is that Bennett wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted to leave the organization. Even so, Johnson expects the Bulls to make several hires for the new front office, rather than investing so much in a single executive.

Johnson believes John Paxson will accept whatever role ownership wants him to and speculates that Paxson is actually behind the management restructuring plan. The Bulls also intend to revamp their scouting department, which Paxson originally proposed.

There’s more from Chicago:

  • Front office candidates will likely be asked to keep an open mind about the future of coach Jim Boylen, Johnson relays in the same piece. Boylen received a contract extension after last season and has kept the support of management despite a poor win-loss record. He recently objected to senior advisor Doug Collins’ presence at coaches meetings, Johnson adds, so Collins’ role in that area has been reduced.
  • Lauri Markkanen played nearly 21 minutes last night after being sidelined since January 21 with a stress reaction in his pelvis, Johnson writes in a separate story. Markkanen posted 13 points and four rebounds and believes he’s ready for more time once he’s cleared by the medical staff. “I thought he tried. I thought he was active. I thought he was moving pretty good. I thought he showed his whole game — inside, outside,” Boylen said. “… He showed his full game in the minutes he played. I think it was a good first showing for him.”
  • Last night’s game between the Bulls and Timberwolves matches two franchises that are currently linked by bad decisions, states Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Those include the shared choices to get rid of Jimmy Butler and coach Tom Thibodeau.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/4/20

March 4th, 2020 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

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

  • The Bucks assigned D.J. Wilson to their Wisconsin affiliate, according to a release from the team. He’s posting an 18.3/7.8/4.0 line in four games with the Herd and has appeared in 30 NBA games.
  • The Thunder shipped Isaiah Roby to Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. He is averaging 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 13 G League games.
  • The Suns assigned Ty Jerome to Northern Arizona, tweets Gina Mizell of The Athletic. Phoenix wanted him to get some playing time after he was pulled from the rotation last week.
  • The Warriors recalled Alen Smailagic from Santa Cruz (Twitter link).
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Bulls Interested In Sam Presti?

March 4th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Bulls consider changes to their front office, Sam Presti‘s name is one that has now surfaced multiple times. Discussing the situation last week, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times cited the Thunder‘s head of basketball operations as an example of a big-name candidate Chicago could pursue. This week, David Kaplan said during an appearance on ESPN 1000 that Presti is the Bulls’ top target (Twitter link via Daniel Greenberg).

Kaplan’s comments signal that Cowley’s mention of Presti last week probably didn’t come out of nowhere, so I don’t doubt that the Bulls have interest in the Thunder executive. Still, I’m skeptical that Presti would leave a favorable situation in Oklahoma City – where the team has accumulated more first-round picks than it knows what to do with – for a position in which he’d rank below John Paxson in the Bulls’ organizational hierarchy.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/3/20

March 3rd, 2020 at 9:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

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

  • The Magic have assigned Melvin Frazier to the Lakeland Magic, per the team’s Twitter feed. Frazier was drafted back in 2018 with the No. 35 overall pick.
  • The Thunder recalled Isaiah Roby from the Oklahoma City Blue, per the team’s website. The forward has played in 13 games for the G League squad this season, starting in nine of them.
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How SGA's Breakout Year Affects Thunder's Plans

March 1st, 2020 at 10:01pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s breakout year and budding stardom is giving the Thunder plenty to think about as they contemplate a potential rebuild, writes ESPN’s Royce Young. If Gilgeous-Alexander has All-NBA upside, it likely reduces the odds of the team fully bottoming out in the next couple seasons.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 3/1/20

March 1st, 2020 at 9:00pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from across the NBA G League:

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/29/20

February 29th, 2020 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

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

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Playoff Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 28th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Sunday is March 1, which is the last day that a player can be waived and retain his postseason eligibility for a new team. Although we haven’t heard many buyout rumors this week – beyond a small update on Evan Turner – it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a couple more veterans hit the waiver wire by Sunday night and become free agents next week.

Any team can sign a free agent between now and the end of the season, but teams with open roster spots have a cleaner path to doing so. And those teams are worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks, since even if no appealing targets emerge on the buyout market, those roster spots will likely be filled at some point.

During the regular season, there are benefits to carrying 14 – or even 13 – players for long stretches, particularly for healthy teams with luxury-tax concerns. But when the postseason rolls around, there’s little downside to filling the entire roster, even if it just means adding a 15th man during the final week (or day) of the season.

With that in mind, here are the teams in the top eight in each conference that still have at least one open spot on their 15-man rosters and seem likely to sign a player between now and April 15:

Playoff teams with an open roster spot:

  • Denver Nuggets
  • Houston Rockets
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Memphis Grizzlies *
  • Oklahoma City Thunder

The Rockets are only on this list due to a technicality — Jeff Green‘s 10-day contract expired last night and he hasn’t yet officially signed his rest-of-season deal with the team. Once he does, Houston will have a full 15-man roster.

The other teams are worth keeping an eye on though. I’d guess the Thunder will save their 15th roster spot for two-way player Luguentz Dort, but the Nuggets and Clippers don’t have obvious internal candidates for promotions, so they could target a veteran free agent if they want to add a little more depth.

* As for the Grizzlies, they technically have a full 15-man roster for the time being, but Jarrod Uthoff is on a 10-day contract, so he could be replaced after it expires next weekend.

Playoff contenders with at least one open roster spot:

  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • San Antonio Spurs

Of the teams within five games of a playoff spot, these are the ones with roster openings. The Trail Blazers have tax concerns and may not add a 15th man, but the Suns and Spurs are candidates to do so. Phoenix, in particular, is reportedly keeping an eye on the free agent market in the wake of Kelly Oubre‘s knee injury.

For a full breakdown of the current NBA roster counts, be sure to check out our tracker.

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Dort Shouldn't Run Out Of NBA Days This Season

February 27th, 2020 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams
  • ESPN’s Royce Young reported earlier this week (via Twitter) that Thunder wing Luguentz Dort has 16 days of NBA service time available on his two-way contract. Since Dort is only moving closer to his 45-day limit on days when Oklahoma City actually plays, the team should be able to have him active through March 28, the last day of the G League season. After that date, he can spend the rest of the regular season with the Thunder.
  • As I explained earlier today, Dort won’t be eligible for the postseason unless the Thunder promote him to their 15-man roster. Young suggests (via Twitter) that talks on a standard contract likely won’t pick up until late in the season, since it could be in both sides’ best interests to wait — OKC would save some tax money and Dort could continues increasing his value.
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