- Daryl Morey‘s rebuilding of the Sixers could ultimately start with the draft, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers own the No. 21, No. 34, No. 36, No. 49 and No. 58 picks in the draft, which is set to commence on Wednesday.
As we detailed on Wednesday, there has been increasing chatter as of late about the possibility that the Spurs will have an active offseason. Addressing that possibility within his latest mock draft, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reports that San Antonio is shopping point guard Patty Mills and is also “looking to unload” veterans LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan.
All three players are entering contract years in 2020/21, with Mills set to earn $13.3MM, Aldridge to make $24MM, and DeRozan on the books for $27.7MM.
According to O’Connor, the Bucks and Sixers are among the teams that have expressed interest in Mills. If the Spurs were to make a deal with Philadelphia, Josh Richardson would likely head to San Antonio in the swap, O’Connor notes.
As for Aldridge and DeRozan, O’Connor confirms that there is buzz – first reported by ESPN’s Zach Lowe – about the possibility of the Warriors pursuing Aldridge in a deal that would involve the No. 2 pick in the draft. It’s not clear exactly what such a trade would look like, but Andrew Wiggins would presumably have to be included for salary-matching purposes.
Meanwhile, O’Connor has also heard that the Lakers have some interest in acquiring DeRozan, suggesting that Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma would be part of a hypothetical deal. In order to match DeRozan’s $27.7MM cap hit, the Lakers would have to add a few million more dollars to that package.
The Spurs typically don’t make major splashes on the trade market unless their hand is forced, as in the case of 2018’s Kawhi Leonard blockbuster. However, with virtually all of their veteran players – including Rudy Gay – expected to be on expiring contracts next season, the team could have some interesting options available as it looks to pivot to building around its younger generation of players.
NOVEMBER 11: Nelson’s hiring is now official, with the Delaware Blue Coats announcing he has joined the team as its assistant general manager and will also assist the 76ers in their scouting efforts.
OCTOBER 21: Former NBA point guard Jameer Nelson is poised to join the Sixers‘ front office, according to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, who hears from sources that the 76ers are hiring Nelson as a scout and as the assistant GM of the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate.
The 20th overall pick in the 2004 draft, Nelson spent 14 seasons in the NBA, averaging 11.3 PPG and 5.1 APG across 878 regular season contests, earning All-Star honors for the Magic in 2009. He last appeared in the league during the 2017/18 season, when he played a total of 50 games for the Pelicans and Pistons.
About a month before the 2019/20 season began, Nelson said he hadn’t given up on the idea of making an NBA comeback and was putting off retirement for the time being. However, after not catching on with a team over the last year, it sounds like he’s prepared to transition into the next stage of his career.
Nelson’s agreement with the Sixers will represent a homecoming of sorts for the 38-year-old. Nelson grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania and played his college ball at Saint Joseph’s before going pro.
The Sixers have been making an effort to revamp their front office around general manager Elton Brand this offseason, with Nelson’s hiring representing the latest part of that effort. The team is also bringing aboard Peter Dinwiddie as executive VP of basketball operations and Prosper Karangwa in a key scouting role.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have reached an agreement on an amended Collective Bargaining Agreement in advance of the 2020/21 league year, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps. The league and union issued a press release confirming the news.
As a result of the agreement, free agency will begin on 6:00 pm eastern time on Friday, November 20, less than 48 hours after the November 18 draft. After a brief moratorium, signings will officially be permitted starting on Sunday, November 22 at 12:01 pm.
Here are several of the other highlights of the new deal:
- As expected, the regular season will begin on December 22 and there will be a 72-game schedule. The full schedule will be released at a later date.
- The salary cap will once again be $109,140,000 and the luxury tax line will be $132,627,000. Those are the same numbers as in 2019/20. As a result, figures like minimum and maximum salaries and mid-level/bi-annual amounts will remain the same.
- The NBA will reduce the luxury tax bill of taxpaying teams at the end of 2020/21 season by the percentage amount that the league’s Basketball Related Income falls short of its initial projections. For instance, a 30% decline in BRI would result in a 30% reduction of a taxpayer’s bill — say, from $10MM to $7MM. This should benefit projected taxpayers such as the Warriors, Nets, Celtics, and Sixers, among others.
- The cap will increase by a minimum of 3% per year and a maximum of 10% per year through the rest of the current CBA. For 2021/22, that means the cap will be at least $112,414,200, and could be as high as $120,054,000.
- The standard 10% of player salaries will continue to be held in escrow for the time being. Any necessary salary reductions will be spread out over next season and the following two seasons, but players can never have more than 20% of their salaries withheld in a single season.
The NBA’s transaction freeze remains in place for now, but the expectation is that it will be lifted early next week, perhaps two or three days before the November 18 draft, according to Bontemps and Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Once that freeze ends, teams will be permitted to formally finalize trades and other roster moves.
The league is also expected to soon announce new dates and deadlines for player/team option decisions, certain salary guarantees, qualifying offer decisions, and the expiration of trade exceptions.
The Sixers have officially announced Doc Rivers‘ new coaching staff, confirming today in a press release that Dave Joerger, Sam Cassell, Dan Burke, Popeye Jones, and Brian Adams have been hired as assistants. All five assistant coach additions were reported in the past few weeks.
In addition to those five hirings, the 76ers are retaining Eric Hughes as an assistant, hiring Pete Dominguez as a coaching associate, and giving Todor Pandov the role of assistant coach/performance director.
“After taking this job, one of my top priorities was forming the best staff in the NBA,” Rivers said in a statement. “I’m thrilled with the way it came together as this group boasts years of valuable NBA experience, both playing and coaching, and each member brings a championship-level mindset to the table. I’m confident in my staff’s ability to best support our players and look forward to getting into the lab with our team as soon as we get the green light.”
Joerger, Cassell, and Burke are the most notable additions to Rivers’ staff. Joerger is a former NBA head coach, having compiled a 245-247 (.498) record with the Kings and Grizzlies from 2013-19; Cassell is a veteran assistant who was a member of Rivers’ staff in Los Angeles and received some head coaching buzz this year; and Burke is a highly respected defensive specialist who spent the last two-plus decades in Indiana.
Former Pacers assistant Popeye Jones will join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff in Philadelphia, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. A Sixers source confirmed the news to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Jones, who had been with Indiana since 2013, becomes the second former Pacers coach to work under Rivers, joining defensive specialist Dan Burke, who was hired last month. Sam Cassell, Dave Joerger and Brian Adams have also been added to Rivers’ staff.
Jones turned to coaching after playing 11 years in the NBA. He started as a player development coach with the Mavericks in 2007, then got his first job as an assistant with the Nets in 2010. He spent three years there before joining the Pacers.
Levick cited a 2019 interview in which Jones talked about his coaching influences.
“You try to take something away from each guy you played for, and that you worked for as a coach,” he said. “There’s Dick Motta, my first coach — I take a lot from him. I played for Doug Collins, who I love, who’s a perfectionist. I take a lot from him. I worked for Rick Carlisle for a year. I worked for Avery Johnson, who came out of the San Antonio system under (Gregg Popovich). Frank Vogel, who was great in Indiana, I learned from him. And then there’s Nate (McMillan) … all those guys have been instrumental in developing me as a coach.”
The Mavericks have made the No. 18 overall pick in this year’s draft available as they search for immediate help, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that the Mavericks will likely be active in trade talks this offseason. A previous report suggested that Dallas would like to upgrade its roster prior to the 2020/21 season rather than waiting until 2021 to make a splash, once the team can open up some cap space.
The Mavericks don’t have a ton of expendable assets that would interest potential trade partners, having surrendered a pair of future first-round picks when they acquired Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. But the team does have the 18th and 31st picks in the 2020 draft, which will be of interest to teams looking to add young talent.
Here’s more from Woo on the draft:
- Expect Florida State big man Patrick Williams to be drafted ahead of his former college teammate Devin Vassell, says Woo. Williams’ “raw skill set” and potential upside are viewed favorably by teams, Woo adds.
- While it’s widely known that Golden State and Minnesota have interest in moving down in the draft, there are plenty of other lottery teams viewed as trade-candidates too. Woo says the Bulls (No. 4), Cavaliers (No. 5), Hawks (No. 6), and Suns (No. 10) are all worth keeping an eye on.
- The Sixers have five picks in this year’s draft, starting with No. 21, but probably aren’t “married” to any of them and are a strong candidate to be active on draft night, per Woo.
- Woo also confirms a pair of items that were previously reported by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, writing that the Hornets have interest in Onyeka Okongwu and that teams expect Tyrell Terry to be drafted in the mid-to-late teens.
- Industry sources estimate that Daryl Morey‘s salary on his new five-year contract with the Sixers is worth over $10MM per year, according to Stein, who adds that some people insist Morey’s new annual salary may even exceed $12MM. Morey had been planning to take a year off after leaving the Rockets this fall, but such an aggressive offer from Philadelphia would certainly have been a factor in his decision to change course.
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The Sixers are among the teams expected to show interest in and pursue a trade for former MVP James Harden this offseason, reports Shams Charania of Stadium (video link). However, according to Charania, any teams inquiring on Harden can expect to receive “an emphatic no” from the Rockets. The idea of a trading the superstar guard is a non-starter for Houston at this point, Charania adds.
While Charania’s report does confirm that the Sixers and other clubs will show interest in Harden, most of this information isn’t new. Last week, after word broke that longtime Rockets GM Daryl Morey would be hired as the 76ers’ president of basketball operations, there was speculation about a potential Philadelphia pursuit of Harden. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said that Houston’s answer would be a “firm no.”
The Rockets are undergoing major changes this offseason, with Morey and head coach Mike D’Antoni both departing, having been replaced by new GM Rafael Stone and new coach Stephen Silas. It makes sense that teams across the league would poke around to see if Houston wants to make some major roster changes as well, but it doesn’t appear that’s in the cards for this fall.
Stone was a longtime Morey lieutenant in the Rockets’ front office, so this isn’t a case of an outside executive coming in and wanting to reshape a roster based on his philosophies — Stone’s vision likely isn’t too dissimilar to Morey’s.
Additionally, team owner Tilman Fertitta has stated that the Rockets have no plans to “blow up” their roster anytime soon. The plan instead is to try to make upgrades around the current core in the hopes of contending again in 2021.
If the Rockets take a step backward next season, the idea of trading Harden could become more palatable, and the Sixers – who have a pair of All-Stars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons – would be an intriguing potential trade partner. But it seems unlikely that there will be any action on that front within the next few weeks.
The Sixers’ new president of basketball operations, Daryl Morey, insisted during his introductory press conference that he views Joel Embiid as the leader of a championship team rather than a trade piece, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com relays.
After the longtime Rockets executive embraced small ball with his former team, there’s been speculation that Embiid’s days in Philadelphia might be numbered. Morey says that’s way off base.
“Joel is a dominant, dominant big man. I’m excited to get back to that,” he said. “I worked with Yao Ming and we got very close [to a title] in Houston with Yao Ming. I think we can go all the way with Joel.”
While Embiid is often colorful and sometimes controversial, Morey sees the oft-injured center as the leader of the team. Morey noted that Embiid has been in the team’s practice facility twice a day working out and getting his body in top condition for next season.
“I’ve talked to him, Elton (Brand) obviously knows him well, Doc (Rivers) has talked to him, he wants to win a championship,” Morey said. “He’s a smart player who knows you only have so many opportunities. He pushed everyone to improve the organization, improve the roster, and frankly I’m excited to go on this journey with Joel and Ben (Simmons) moving forward.”
Morey also addressed a number of other topics:
- Morey originally planned to take a year off after leaving Houston but, somewhat to the dismay of his family, the Sixers’ lobbying efforts won him over, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “Elton and Doc and Josh were relentless, just relentless, as soon as I stepped away. (Rivers) and I have been chatting a lot, and the more you dig into the players that are here, the more you get excited about what this team can do.”
- The Sixers won’t play the same system as the Rockets, who tried to win a championship without a traditional center after trading Clint Capela. “It’s not to take your talent and hammer it into a particular system,” he said. “It’s to try to get the most out of who you have.”
- He didn’t specifically address his controversial tweet about Hong Kong which drew the wrath of the Chinese government but Morey won’t shy away from social issues, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “I do believe a lot in using this platform to push things that are important,” he said.
- Morey admits the roster needs to be reshaped in order to produce a true title contender, Pompey adds in another tweet. “Our championship team probably is not going to have the same players that we have now,” he said.
- Philadelphia’s pursuit of Morey two years earlier never led to serious negotiations, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. Morey said the talks did not go beyond the preliminary stages and the timing wasn’t right for him to make the move.