- Taj Gibson has fit nicely into the Thunder‘s starting lineup, and the team’s bench has been more productive since the trade deadline, but questions still remain about OKC’s rotation, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman.
- Michael Pina of Vice Sports makes a case for why Thunder forward Andre Roberson deserves Defensive Player of the Year consideration.
Center Kaleb Tarczewski is leaving the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, to play for Italy’s Olimpia Milano. He is signing a three-month contract to join the Italian champions with an option for next year, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia relays via La Gazzetta dello Sport. As Chris Reichert for The Step Back tweets, this is a big loss for the Blue with the D-League playoffs on the horizon. He was averaging 10.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG for the Blue. Tarczewski went undrafted last June after he averaged 9.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG in his senior year at Arizona.
In other news around the NBA:
- Former Nuggets and Jazz guard Erick Green, who is playing for the Euroleague’s Olympiacos, could get another shot with an NBA team this offseason as a backup point, Trevor Magnotti of FanSided.com reports. Backup point guards will be at a premium this summer, Magnotti continues, and Green is a solid defender who has improved his offensive play. Green is also believed to have an opt-out clause if an NBA club comes calling, Magnotti adds. Green played in a combined nine games for the Nuggets and Jazz last season and 43 with Denver in 2014/15.
- Agent Dan Fegan has been sued by his former employer, Independent Sports & Entertainment, for alleged unfair business practices, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Daily. One of the claims in the suit filed in Los Angeles by Independent Sports & Entertainment is that Fegan operated a side business which steered business away from ISE, Mullen continues. Howard Weitzman, Fegan’s attorney, called the side business claim “a total fabrication,” Mullen tweets.
- A survey of NBA executives puts James Harden ahead of the pack for the MVP race but it’s close, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. The newspaper polled 32 executives, including 20 GMs or team presidents, and 12 voted for Harden. Russell Westbrook received eight votes, Kawhi Leonard garnered seven and LeBron James picked up five.
It wasn’t long ago when Emmanuel Mudiay was being touted as a key component of the Nuggets franchise. One year later, his future with the organization is uncertain, says Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post.
Over the course of the 2016/17 campaign, the second-year guard has seen his role in Denver shrink. In the eight games since the All-Star break, Mudiay has seen action just three times. It’s a precipitous drop for a 21-year-old once taken with the No. 7 pick in the NBA draft but an understandable one considering the stable of young talent on the Nuggets roster.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division.
- The Timberwolves are running out of times to sneak into the Western Conference playoff picture, Jerry Zgoda of the StarTribune writes. With just 17 games left in the season, the Wolves will have to leapfrog three teams and make up 3.5 games in the standings.
- After missing a pair of games with a flu, Nikola Jokic returned to action for the Nuggets. “I can still feel it in my chest, and my throat is a little sore when I start coughing,” Jokic told Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post. “It feels really good to be back.”
- Though he missed six games resting his back, the time off helped Victor Oladipo in more ways than one, Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman writes. “It was amazing for my wrist, actually,” Oladipo said. “I’m not one to complain. It wasn’t 100 percent, but that rest kind of helped it out a little bit. It’s a lot better now.”
Here are Wednesday’s D-League transactions:
- The Spurs have recalled Bryn Forbes from their D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. In 18 D-League games this season, Forbes is averaging 23.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest.
- The Thunder have recalled Josh Huestis from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. The forward is averaging 13.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in the D-League this season.
Jusuf Nurkic‘s presence on the court has opened up the Blazers‘ offense and his energy has helped the team on the defensive end, Mike Richman of the Oregonian writes. Coach Terry Stotts praised the big man after Tuesday’s win over the Thunder.
- Steven Adams, who signed a $100MM extension during the offseason, admits that he’s struggled on the defensive end lately, but added that the Thunder‘s issues go beyond his poor play, as Erik Horne of the Oklahoman relays. “Even though your defensive coverages aren’t perfect or everything, the backside’s still got to be there. It’s literally a five-man thing. It ain’t really on one guy on the team. It ain’t so much scouting. It ain’t scouting at all. It’s our discipline to the defensive system we have going on.” Oklahoma City has lost four straight games.
In addition to being one of 2017’s most entertaining games – and a potential playoff preview – the matchup between the Rockets and Spurs on Monday night may have represented a turning point in the 2017 NBA MVP race.
For most of the season, James Harden and Russell Westbrook have been viewed as the frontrunners for the award, for good reason. Harden ranks third in the league in scoring and first in assists, while Westbrook is vying to becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double over the course of a full season.
On Monday night though, Harden squared off with Kawhi Leonard, who has flown under the radar for much of the 2016/17 campaign. Leonard proved in the Spurs’ dramatic win over Houston that he deserves to be in the discussion with Harden, Westbrook, and the rest of this year’s contenders for MVP. Leonard’s incredible 39-point night – his fourth straight game of 30+ points – was capped by a last-minute sequence that saw him hit a go-ahead three at one end of the court, then block Harden’s layup attempt at the other end.
While the MVP buzz for Leonard is growing, and Harden and Westbrook remain excellent candidates, it’s not just a three-man race. Over in the Eastern Conference, LeBron James is having one of his best seasons for the Cavaliers (No. 1 seed), Isaiah Thomas is averaging nearly 30 points per game for the Celtics (No. 2), and John Wall has established new career highs in PPG (22.6) and APG (10.8) for the Wizards (No. 3).
Even Kevin Durant, who is currently out with a knee injury, deserves a look — he has been more efficient than ever in Golden State, making 53.7% of his shots this season for the Warriors, though his injury will likely take him out of the running.
What do you think? We’ve still got more than a month left in the 2016/17 season, so things could certainly change in the coming weeks. But if the season ended today, who would be your choice for 2017’s NBA MVP? Vote in our poll, and weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts.
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Expiring contracts are a popular form of currency at the NBA trade deadline when teams are looking to get deals done and create future cap flexibility. In some cases, that means including a player like Andrew Bogut, who has an $11MM expiring contract, can be advantageous for both teams involved in a trade — by moving Bogut, the Mavericks avoided pushing up against the luxury tax, while the Sixers reached the salary floor.
Bogut was waived shortly after being traded to Philadelphia though, so his 2017 free agency wasn’t impacted in a real way by the deadline deal. However, there were several players moved in the hours, days, and weeks leading up to last month’s trade deadline who will be free agents in 2017 and whose change of scenery will significantly impact their situation this summer.
Here’s a closer look at five players eligible for free agency in 2017 who were affected by being traded in February, including one player who was involved in that Sixers/Mavs swap along with Bogut…
Nerlens Noel, Mavericks (RFA)
For much of the 2016/17 season, Noel’s long-term outlook was cloudy. The Sixers certainly had no shortage of future cap room, which would have made it easy for them to match any offers Noel received in restricted free agency and retain him for several more years. It’s possible that – if they hadn’t found an acceptable trade offer at the deadline for Noel – they would have done just that this summer, rather than losing him for nothing.
But the Sixers never seemed like a logical long-term fit for Noel, with Joel Embiid in place as the team’s franchise center and Jahlil Okafor and Richaun Holmes also in the mix. While the club may have found a way to make an Embiid/Noel pairing work if the former sixth overall pick had remained on the roster, Noel reportedly preferred to be dealt to a team where he’d have the starting center job to himself.
In Dallas, he’ll have exactly that, and the Mavericks like Noel enough that they’re expected to match any offer sheet he signs this summer. Pursuing Noel in restricted free agency might have saved Dallas a couple second-round picks and the rights to Justin Anderson, but there was no guarantee the club could have pried him away from the Sixers or another team. Now, the Mavs will be the overwhelming favorites to retain Noel for the next few seasons.
Serge Ibaka, Raptors (UFA)
Ibaka is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so where he finishes the season isn’t as significant as it would be for a restricted free agent like Noel. Still, for rival suitors hoping to land Ibaka, his move from Orlando to Toronto is a big deal.
When reports first began swirling about the Magic’s efforts to move Ibaka, several sources suggested that the odds of the big man re-signing in Orlando were slim. The Magic held Ibaka’s Bird rights at the time, giving them the opportunity to offer five years instead of four, with slightly larger raises, but with Orlando headed for the lottery, Ibaka seemed likely to seek out a team closer to contention.
Having been sent to the Raptors, Ibaka has found a team that fits that bill. GM Masai Ujiri has long coveted the former Thunder power forward, and all signs point to Toronto making a strong effort this summer to lock up Ibaka. Before (and after) the trade, the Raptors were in no position to open up a real chunk of cap room this summer, barring a major roster overhaul. So the fact that they now hold Ibaka’s Bird rights, giving them the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him, means they’ve gone from being a non-contender for his services to the new frontrunner.
Taj Gibson, Thunder (UFA)
Like Ibaka, Gibson is an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s also not a candidate for a maximum salary offer or a five-year contract, so the fact that the Thunder hold his Bird rights isn’t as important as it would be for some other free agents.
Still, when an NBA veteran has spent the better part of eight seasons with a single franchise and that team trades him a few months before he hits free agency, the odds of him returning to that team probably aren’t great. During the last couple weeks, we’ve seen Gibson wear a different NBA uniform for the first time in his NBA career, and it’s possible that he’ll put on a third uniform later this year.
That’s not to say the Thunder should be ruled out as a candidate to sign Gibson though. Oklahoma City projects to remain over the cap this summer, so holding Gibson’s Bird rights could be important — if he proves to be a solid fit in OKC, the team would be able to go over the cap to re-sign him.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Wizards (RFA)
Despite playing in New York City, Bogdanovic was toiling in relative obscurity on the NBA-worst Nets this season. Now he’s a key contributor on the No. 3 seed in the East, and he has gotten off to a scorching start in Washington, making 3.3 three-pointers per game at a rate of 58.8% so far. He won’t stay that hot all season, but if he continues to make big shots and remains productive in the playoffs, he’ll improve his free agent stock much more than he could have in Brooklyn.
Bogdanovic’s move from Brooklyn to Washington also could create some interesting new scenarios when it comes to offer sheets. The Nets have plenty of long-term cap flexibility and could have matched any offer for Bogdanovic if they’d wanted to. The Wizards, on the other hand, have already committed major money to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Ian Mahinmi, among others, and they’ll likely have to go up to the max – or close to it – to re-sign Otto Porter this summer. Will the team be willing to spend on Bogdanovic as well? That remains to be seen.
Mason Plumlee, Nuggets (RFA)
After re-signing three restricted free agents last offseason, the Trail Blazers apparently had no interest in going through the process again this year, and sent Plumlee to a team that has more flexibility to retain him this summer — Denver only has about $55MM in guaranteed salary on its 2017/18 books, as opposed to an incredible $132MM+ for Portland.
After starting every game he played in for the Blazers this season, Plumlee is coming off the bench in Denver, but that shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that the Nuggets don’t like him. Having sent a first-round pick to Portland in the deal, the Nuggets presumably intend to match any offer sheet Plumlee gets as a restricted free agent, even though he’ll be a second-stringer behind Nikola Jokic. That’s discouraging news for any rival teams that had been hoping to swoop in and steal Plumlee away from the cap-strapped Blazers later this year.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
After appearing in four games with Minnesota earlier this season, Lance Stephenson appears likely to rejoin the team on a second 10-day contract. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press, Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said Stephenson is “coming along” in his recovery from an ankle sprain and should sign a new contract soon (Twitter link). Injuries have sidelined Stephenson’s 2016/17 campaign; “Born Ready” has played in a combined 10 games with the Pelicans and Wolves.
More from around the Northwest…
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes that Gordon Hayward is “one of the most coveted upcoming free agents” that no one is noticing. Hayward, who is expected to decline his 2017/18 player option, has averaged a career-high 22.1 points per game, helping the Jazz maintain a comfortable hold on the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Hayward doesn’t register on casual fans’ radars, O’Connor writes, but the seventh-year wing “might be the key to unlocking Utah’s title chances.
- Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman answered some questions about the Thunder for his online chat. Tramel called Domantas Sabonis “one of the few bright spots” in a recent loss to the Suns, with the caveat that he will soon be moved to the bench. Similarly, Tramel forecasts a move to the bench for Alex Abrines once Victor Oladipo returns from injury. When it comes to the offseason, Tramel writes “OKC doesn’t have the flexibility to sign a big free agent. It would have to do some kind of sign-and-trade deal, and the Thunder doesn’t have the kind of assets (draft picks) to pull that off. Plus, you have to convince free agents to come. So the likelihood is not strong that the Thunder can change the roster via big-name free agent.”
- Festus Ezeli‘s season-ending surgery will involve tissue from a cadaver donor, Tim Brown of The Oregonian writes. Per Brown, Ezeli received bone marrow injections in his left knee in August, with the intention of helping him play in 2016/17. It would be pretty surprising to see the Trail Blazers exercise Ezeli’s $7.733MM option for 2017/18.
- Norris Cole, who has scored 13 points over three games with the Thunder, is “learning on the job,” Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. “I think for him, being pressured and coming into a new system and a new style and having to be a point guard and run the team, it was a difficult task for him,” Billy Donovan said of Cole. “These are the moments I think that will probably help him get better. He’s a veteran guy. He’s smart, he’s bright and he’ll be able to get better from this.”
- The recent signing of Norris Cole gives the Thunder a reliable veteran to back up Russell Westbrook at the point, writes Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman. “[We] just need him to run our team when he’s in there, make good decisions, defend,” says head coach Billy Donovan, “All the things he’s done for most of his career.“
Veteran point guard Norris Cole is thrilled to be back in the NBA after nearly a year away from the league, writes Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman. The Thunder signed Cole for the rest of the season on Wednesday, giving them a veteran point guard to back up Russell Westbrook. The job belonged to rookie Semaj Christon when the season started while Cameron Payne was rehabbing from a foot injury. Christon got it back again when Payne was traded to the Bulls last week. Now Oklahoma City has a more experienced option in Cole, who saw plenty of playoff action during his three and a half seasons in Miami. “I think he understands what he’s walking into and what he’s got to do,” said coach Billy Donovan. “And it will take some time. I think he understands that. Just need him to run our team when he’s in there, make good decisions, defend – all the things he’s done for most of his career.”