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Pacific Notes: Poole, Moody, Lakers, Crowder

October 30th, 2021 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors are being supportive of Jordan Poole, who has been erratic in his first experience as a full-time starter, writes Alex Didion of NBC Sports Bay Area. Poole has turned in a mix of good and bad games, and although he’s averaging 14.0 PPG, turnovers have been an issue and he’s shooting just 40.8% from the field and 22.6% from 3-point range.

In a radio appearance Friday, coach Steve Kerr said ups and downs are normal for a third-year player, adding that he “couldn’t be happier” with how Poole is handling his new role. Backcourt partner Stephen Curry echoed those sentiments and said they talk frequently about what it takes to be a consistent NBA player.

“He wants it really bad. He wants to be great in this league. You can see it,” Curry said. “But it takes time, and for him, it’s understanding that you don’t have to press every night, especially when you’re on other teams’ scouting reports and they are going to try to take you away from your patterns and sweet spots.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Moses Moody was recalled to the Warriors today after a one-game stint in the G League, notes Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. NBA playing opportunities have been scarce so far for the rookie guard, but team officials like what they’ve seen. “He’s mature beyond his years, both as a human being and as a player,” Kerr said. “It’s mostly just getting in reps since he hasn’t been able to play much for us.”
  • Frustrated with their early-season defensive effort, Lakers players took steps to fix it Friday night, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “I come in to talk to the guys at halftime and they’re already watching film, talking to each other,” coach Frank Vogel said after Friday’s win over Cleveland. “(Rajon) Rondo was in there, LeBron (James), (Russell Westbrook), (Anthony Davis). They’re all talking and figuring things. We’re looking at our clips that we pull as well. So, they were just motivated. It’s not happening on the defensive side the way we want, but we’re working towards it.”
  • Jae Crowder is serving as a mentor to Suns‘ second-year power forward Jalen Smith, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Smith hasn’t seen much playing time since being taken with the 10th pick in last year’s draft, so Crowder has become his personal instructor. “He does a great job of just telling me what he sees and what he feels,” Crowder said. “What he wants to add to his game and how he wants to try to get on the court. I’m just trying to help. Be a big brother. Be a good teammate. Help my brother out.“
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Williams Not Concerned About Ayton

October 30th, 2021 at 10:46am CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Suns coach Monty Williams isn’t worried about Deandre Ayton‘s focus even though the team didn’t reach an extension agreement with their center, Amick writes in a separate story. In fact, Williams hopes Ayton plays more selfishly as he heads toward restricted free agency. “He probably doesn’t get enough credit for how unselfish he is. We want him to be more selfish,” Williams said. “We want him to be more aggressive, but I don’t foresee that happening. The young man wants to win, and that’s what I’ve seen since I’ve been with him from Day 1.”
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Rookie Scale Option Decisions Due Next Monday

October 26th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Outside of the occasional back-of-the-roster transaction – like Orlando signing Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract earlier today – the first few weeks of the NBA’s regular season are generally a fairly quiet time for roster moves.

However, one noteworthy deadline arrives next Monday — teams have until November 1 to exercise the 2022/23 third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for players who were first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. For instance, the Cavaliers will have to pick up the fourth-year option for 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland, while the Hornets will have to exercise the third-year option for 2020 first-rounder LaMelo Ball.

Typically, the deadline for these decisions is October 31, but that’s a Sunday this year. When the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s moved to the next business day, per CBA expert Larry Coon.

As our tracker shows, there are still a number of options that have yet to be picked up, including Garland’s and Ball’s. However, there’s no suspense about whether those ones – or most others – will be exercised.

Rookie scale contracts for productive rotation players are among the biggest bargains in the NBA. Most teams even pick up their options on players who haven’t cracked the rotation, since controlling a young player with upside is usually worth the modest cost of his option.

Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:

Boston Celtics

Charlotte Hornets

Cleveland Cavaliers

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Utah Jazz

It wouldn’t be a shock if all 18 of these options are ultimately picked up, but there are a few players who are more at risk than others.

Windler, for instance, has been limited to just 32 games since being drafted in 2019 due to health problems and isn’t a lock to have his $4MM option for 2022/23 exercised.

Azubuike logged garbage-time minutes in just 15 games as a rookie and doesn’t project to have a rotation role in Utah anytime soon. Third-year options are rarely declined and Azubuike’s $2.17MM salary would be very modest, but we saw the Clippers turn down Mfiondu Kabengele‘s option at the same price point a year ago.

Langford, Bitadze, and Smith are among the other players whose option decisions won’t be automatic, though I’d be a little surprised if their teams don’t opt in.

We’ll continue passing along all of these option decisions as they’re reported over the next week, so be sure to keep an eye on our tracker for the latest updates.

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Cameron Payne Out At Least One More Week

October 26th, 2021 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns point guard Cameron Payne, who missed Saturday’s game in Portland due to a right hamstring strain, has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Sacramento and will be re-evaluated in a week, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

Barring an unexpectedly early return, that means Payne will also miss Saturday’s game vs. Cleveland, with his status for next Tuesday’s contest vs. New Orleans up in the air.

Payne, 27, averaged 8.4 PPG and 3.6 APG on .484/.440/.893 shooting in 60 games (18.0 MPG) for the Suns last season. He parlayed that strong 2020/21 performance into a new three-year, $19MM contract this offseason and entered the fall as Chris Paul‘s primary backup at the point.

With Payne sidelined, the Suns figure to lean more heavily on third-string point guard Elfrid Payton for minutes off the bench. Payton had a solid game on Saturday, with 14 points, six assists, and four rebounds in 25 minutes.

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Bagley III Could Be Intriguing Trade Target

October 25th, 2021 at 6:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chris Paul gave Deandre Ayton advice after the Suns center failed to receive a max extension prior to the opening-night deadline, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports writes. Paul told Ayton if he has a strong season, he’ll give himself plenty of leverage as a restricted free agent next season.

Paul is also impressed by the vibe in the locker room as the Suns try to defend their conference title.

  • Kings forward Marvin Bagley III could be an intriguing trade target for the Suns, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic speculates. Bagley, who has fallen out of favor in Sacramento, could man the power forward spot on the second unit and veterans like Paul and Jae Crowder could have a positive influence on him. He’d also have the incentive of delivering a strong season as he heads toward free agency, Rankin adds.
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Pacific Notes: Ayton, Kuminga, Dowtin, Bagley

October 23rd, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns didn’t work out a rookie-scale extension with Deandre Ayton before Monday’s deadline, but that doesn’t mean the center is on the trading block, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy. Phoenix wasn’t willing to offer Ayton a maximum deal over five years, but the team isn’t looking to make major changes after reaching the NBA Finals last season.

“That is definitely not the case yet,” a rival general manager told Deveney. “The Suns still have a lot of the leverage in this. But if they really don’t think the situation is going to change, then yeah, they’d have to consider maybe making a move sooner than later.”

The Suns can make Ayton a restricted free agent next summer by submitting a qualifying offer, which would give them the opportunity to match any offer he receives. However, no team will be able to give him the contract he wanted from Phoenix, which would have covered five years at an estimated $172MM+.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Rookie forward Jonathan Kuminga is making “good progress” with a strained right patellar tendon and will be re-evaluated on Friday, the Warriors announced (via Twitter). Kuminga suffered the injury in an October 6 preseason game.
  • Jeff Dowtin modeled his game by watching Stephen Curry, so he’s thrilled to be on the same team as his favorite player, per Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. The Warriors claimed Dowtin off waivers Monday and put him into one of their two-way slots. “Honestly, I haven’t wrapped my mind around the fact that we’re teammates,” Dowtin said. “Right now, I’m just kind of focused on playing basketball.” Dowtin has already talked to Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson, who both earned regular roster spots after starting as two-way players, to get advice on how to follow that same path.
  • After sitting out the season opener, Kings forward Marvin Bagley III saw 10 minutes of action Friday night, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Bagley, whose agent criticized the team this week for keeping Bagley out of its rotation, was pressed into service because Maurice Harkless missed the game with soreness in his left hip. “We’re here to win games,” coach Luke Walton said. “So, Moe goes down, next man up, and Marvin, I thought, he’s had a good week of practice. He stayed ready and I thought he went in there and did some nice things for us tonight.”
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NBA Preparing For Bombshell Report On Suns’ Sarver?

October 22nd, 2021 at 5:02pm CST by Luke Adams

5:02pm: The Suns have issued a statement:

“We understand that an outlet is considering publishing a proposed story that makes completely baseless claims against the Suns Legacy Partners, LLC organization concerning a variety of topics. Documentary evidence in our possession and eyewitness accounts directly contradict the reporter’s accusations, and we are preparing our response to his questions. We urge everyone not to rush to judgment here. Especially based on lies, innuendo, and a false narrative to attack our organization and its leadership.”

The team has also put out a longer statement from Sarver himself. It reads as follows:

“I am wholly shocked by some of the allegations purported by ESPN about me, personally, or about the Phoenix Suns and Mercury organizations. While I can’t begin to know how to respond to some of the vague suggestions made by mostly anonymous voices, I can certainly tell you that some of the claims I find repugnant to my nature and to the character of the Suns/Mercury workplace and I can tell you they never, ever happened.

“First and foremost, I reject any insinuation of personal or organizational racism or gender discrimination. I despite language that disrespects any individuals, regardless of race, gender, preference, or choice. Such language has no place in business or at home in what I consider Suns and Mercury families. I am proud of our record of diversity and inclusion on both teams — whether on the court or in the front office.

“I don’t begin to know how to prove that something DIDN’T happen, and it is difficult to erase or forget ugly accusations once they are made. Even hints of racism or sexism in our culture today are toxic and damaging and should not be lightly raised. I categorically deny any and all suggestions that I used disparaging language related to race or gender. I would like to think that my actions and public record regarding race, gender, or discrimination of any kind, over a lifetime in business and community service, will adequately answer any questions anyone might raise about my commitment to equality and fairness.”

Additionally, Phoenix published a brief statement from general manager James Jones, who said the allegations don’t describe the “the Robert Sarver, I know, respect, and like.” In a longer statement, team president and CEO Jason Rowley took aim at the ESPN reporter working on the story, claiming he has “shown a reckless disregard for the truth” and that his tactics have been “without any basis in journalism ethics or even morality.”

Again, it’s worth noting that no report has been published yet, so it remains unclear what sort of specific accusations or incidents Sarver and the Suns are denying.

4:09pm: The NBA is preparing for a “massive story” accusing Suns owner Robert Sarver of racism, sexism, and sexual harassment, sources tell veteran reporter Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). According to Schultz, a “series of incidents” are expected to be described in the forthcoming story.

If there’s enough evidence to support those claims, there’s a real chance the NBA would wrest control of the Suns from Sarver, according to Schultz. The league took that approach when recordings surfaced in 2014 of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments, forcing Sterling to sell the team and banning him from the league for life.

It’s premature to speculate about whether the NBA will take the same path with Sarver, since we have no idea yet what the accusations will look like or how much evidence there will be to back them up. Until the full report Schultz alludes to is published, we’ll be in wait-and-see mode.

For what it’s worth, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link) hears that over 50 people were interviewed for the story, adding that Baxter Holmes of ESPN may be the reporter working on it.

Sarver became the majority owner of the Suns in 2004, when he purchased the franchise for a then-record $401MM. When Forbes released its annual NBA franchise valuations in February of this year, the outlet estimated that the Suns are worth $1.7 billion.

The Suns made it to the Western Conference Finals three times in Sarver’s first six years as the team’s owner, but experienced a lengthy playoff drought following that third Western Finals appearance in 2010. Phoenix finally ended its 10-year drought earlier this year when the club came within two wins of a title.

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Ishmail Wainright Signs Two-Way Deal With Suns

October 22nd, 2021 at 6:32am CST by Dana Gauruder

OCTOBER 22: Wainright has officially joined the Suns on a two-way deal, per the team (Twitter link).

OCTOBER 21: Ishmail Wainright is signing a two-way contract with the Suns, his agents Jim Tanner and Deirunas Visockas told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). 

Wainright, 27, was in the Raptors’ training camp. Toronto waived him on Saturday. Wainwright had some partial guarantees on his minimum-salary contract with Toronto, as he’ll collect $250K from the Raptors this season and $125K in 2022/23.

Wainright, who went undrafted out of Baylor in 2017, played for a number of international leagues prior to this season. In 2020/21, he suited up for Strasbourg in France, registering 11.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.8 SPG on .485/.320/.726 shooting in 36 games (28.1 MPG). He’s considered a solid defender, and could carve out a niche role with the Suns.

With Wainright joining the defending conference champions, the Magic are the only team with an unfilled two-way spot. Chandler Hutchison holds Phoenix’s other two-way contract.

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Details On Starter Criteria For 2022 RFAs

October 21st, 2021 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s rookie scale, which determines the salaries first-round picks earn during their first four seasons, also dictates how much the qualifying offers will be worth for those players when they reach restricted free agency after year four. However, the value of those qualifying offers can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player has met the “starter criteria.”

Here’s how the starter criteria works in a typical year:

  1. A player who is eligible for restricted free agency is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.
  2. A player can also meet the criteria if he averages either of those marks in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency. For instance, if a player started 50 games one year and 32 the next, he’d meet the starter criteria, since his average number of starts over the last two seasons is 41.

The first method of meeting the starter criteria will remain unchanged this season, but that second method will look a little different due to the truncated nature of the 2020/21 season.

For starter criteria purposes, the number of starts and minutes a player logged last season will be prorated upward by 82/72 to account for the 72-game schedule, Hoops Rumors has learned.

For example, Suns center Deandre Ayton started 69 games last season. Typically, Ayton would require 13 more starts this season to meet the starter criteria, since 82 total starts would get him to the required average of 41 over the last two seasons.

However, Ayton’s 69 starts last season came in just 72 regular season games. Prorated across a typical 82-game schedule, he would’ve made 78 starts. That means he’ll only need four starts this season to meet the starter criteria. In other words, he should get there next Wednesday, barring an injury.

Hornets forward Miles Bridges, meanwhile, only started 19 games last season, but he played 1,932 total minutes in Charlotte’s 72 games. That works out to 2,200 minutes when prorated across an 82-game schedule, meaning he’d require just 1,800 more this season in order to meet the starter criteria. Since he’s part of the Hornets’ starting five now, Bridges could also meet the criteria by simply getting to 41 starts in 2021/22.

A player’s ability or inability to meet the starter criteria can affect the value of the qualifying offer he receives as a restricted free agent, as follows:

  • A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 15th overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
  • A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the ninth overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
  • A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 21st overall pick would receive if he signed for 100% of the rookie scale.
  • For all other RFAs, the standard criteria determine the amounts of their qualifying offers.

In most cases, a qualifying offer is a mere placeholder that allows a team to retain its right of first refusal on a restricted free agent — very few players actually accept the one-year offer. Still, a player who fails to meet the starter criteria could have his free agency reshaped by an adjusted qualifying offer.

For instance, Kings big man Marvin Bagley III would be in line for a qualifying offer worth $14,762,309 if he meets the starter criteria or just $7,228,448 if he doesn’t.

Bagley would need to start 35 games this season in order to meet the starter criteria, which might be a long shot, given that he’s out of the rotation for now. Still, a $7.2MM qualifying offer could be more palatable to the Kings – or whichever team has him on its roster by the end of the 2021/22 season – than a $14.8MM one would be. Somewhat paradoxically, Bagley may have a better chance of actually receiving his QO if he starts fewer games this season.

Collin Sexton (Cavaliers), Lonnie Walker (Spurs), Donte DiVincenzo (Bucks), and Josh Okogie (Timberwolves) are some of the other top candidates to meet the starter criteria this season. We’ll be keeping an eye on them and the rest of 2022’s RFAs-to-be over the next several months.

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Pacific Notes: Bagley, Ayton, G. Payton, Wiseman

October 21st, 2021 at 12:14pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Kings decided to remove Marvin Bagley III from their rotation to open the season, agent Jeff Schwartz took the unusual step of issuing a statement to call out the team for its handling of his client. However, head coach Luke Walton doesn’t expect the public nature of the dispute between the team and agent to be a distraction for his players.

“Nope, not with our group,” Walton said, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “We’ve got a tight group. We’ve talked about it, whether it’s trades from last year or anything else, we don’t concern ourselves with outside issues. We’re a tight group. You can ask any of the players. They believe in what we’re doing and they’re working hard and we’re in a good place.”

The Kings used just nine players in their opening-night win over Portland on Wednesday, with Richaun Holmes and Tristan Thompson sharing the minutes at center, while Harrison Barnes and Maurice Harkless handled power forward duties.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • Fourth-year center Deandre Ayton admitted he was “obviously” disappointed not to reach a rookie scale extension agreement with the Suns by Monday’s deadline, but said on Wednesday that playing on an expiring contract won’t bother him, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “I’m still trying to get us back to the Finals. I’ve still got to represent the team and myself as well. I’m just a competitor, man,” Ayton said. “Just like to compete to the best and every time I’m in between those lines, that’s what you’re going to see out of me. Nothing else.”
  • Sam Vecenie of The Athletic loved the Suns‘ four-year, $90MM deal with Mikal Bridges, but was baffled by the decision not to extend Ayton. While general manager James Jones said Phoenix would have done a three- or four-year max, three high-ranking executives in other organizations told Vecenie they would’ve been willing to offer the big man a fifth year.
  • Gary Payton II‘s new minimum-salary contract with the Warriors includes a $350K partial guarantee, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Payton, who was waived and re-signed within the last week, would have received a $659K partial guarantee if he had made the opening-night roster on his previous deal. By cutting him and then bringing him back, Golden State saved some money while still rewarding Payton for making the team.
  • Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle explores how the Warriors are adjusting their approach to James Wiseman‘s development in the center’s second NBA season.
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