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Atlantic Rumors: Raptors, Crowder, Embiid

September 29th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Raptors coach Dwane Casey admits he will not be able to replace Bismack Biyombo with just one player, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun reports. Biyombo signed a four-year, $72MM contract with the Magic, leaving the Raptors without an obvious backup to center Jonas Valanciunas. Potential candidates include Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam and Lucas Nogueira. Jared Sullinger could also see time there, Ganter adds. “Somebody in that group is going to step up and protect the paint,” Casey told Ganter. “It’s going to be not just on the bigs, but on the guards and wings to make sure they contain the ball and do a better job of not letting the ball get to the paint, so we don’t put as much pressure on our rim protection and our rim defense.”

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

  • Celtics small forward Jae Crowder believes the high right ankle sprain he suffered in March caused his shooting numbers to take a tumble late last season, Taylor C. Snow of Celtics.com reports. Crowder shots 45.3% from the field and 35.4& from 3-point range during the first 65 games and 32.9% and 24.0%, respectively, following his injury. “My ankle was more fatigued than I really realized,” Crowder told Snow. “The way the season ended really gave me a chip on my shoulder to get better and to get in the lab and work and get better at the things I needed to work on.”
  • Sixers coach Brett Brown is practically giddy over the play of oft-injured Joel Embiid in training camp, Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com writes. Embiid has missed the last two seasons with right foot injuries but the center has shown great desire to get out on the court even while battling flu-like symptoms, Seltzer adds. “You just continually see how much he loves basketball,” Brown said to Seltzer. “He really loves playing basketball. He doesn’t like being pulled out. He wants to play.”
  • Veteran power forward Luis Scola, who signed a one-year, $5.5MM contract with the Nets this offseason, has taken a leadership role during training camp, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports. New coach Kenny Atkinson offered high praise of Scola’s early impact. “I don’t think you can overstate it, everything he brings to the table, how he’s shown our young guys how to work, how to be professional, how to play the game, intelligence, composure,” Atkinson said. “I know it’s early, but he’s been everything, as advertised.”
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Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Olynyk, Sloan, Nets

July 31st, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have focused on keeping as much of their own talent as possible in free agency, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Over the years, Toronto has been a place that star players have left, with the list including Marcus Camby, Damon Stoudamire, Vince Carter and Chris Bosh. This summer, the Raptors didn’t have the cap room to keep backup center Bismack Biyombo, but they held onto DeMar DeRozan as part of a core that is largely tied up with long-term contracts. “The improvement of our team is going to come from inside,” said GM Masai Ujiri. “Kyle [Lowry], DeMar, and Jonas [Valanciunas] and Patrick [Patterson] and Terrence [Ross]. They will probably take it to another level.” The Raptors’ major addition in free agency was former Boston power forward Jared Sullinger.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Celtics will probably wait until next offseason to make a long-term decision on Kelly Olynyk, Washburn writes in the same piece. Olynyk can sign an extension up to the October 30th deadline, but Boston wants to see the 25-year-old big man for one more season before making a commitment. Olynyk has missed 43 games in his first three seasons, and Washburn writes that the Celtics want him to display more “toughness and consistency.”
  • Donald Sloan, who played 61 games for the Nets last season, has reached an agreement to play in China with the Guangdong Tigers, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. His teammates will include former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer and one-time lottery pick Yi Jianlian. The 28-year-old Sloan averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 assists with Brooklyn in 2015/16.
  • The $100K guarantees the Nets gave to Yogi Ferrell and Egidijus Mockevicius are the largest the organization has ever handed out to an undrafted college player, according to NetsDaily. Brooklyn signed both players to partially guaranteed training camp contracts this week, along with Beau Beech, who got $45K in guaranteed money. Brooklyn now has 18 players under contract, and the website projects veteran big man Henry Sims and summer league standout Marcus Georges-Hunt as possibilities if GM Sean Marks decides to go with the league maximum of 20.

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Southeast Notes: Jack, Magic, Cuban, Whiteside

July 30th, 2016 at 4:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Jarrett Jack is looking forward to a “new start” in Atlanta after a torn ACL cost him most of last season, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Jack, who played in just 32 games for the Nets before suffering the injury in January, signed with the Hawks two weeks ago. Jack lives in Atlanta and played at Georgia Tech, so he said the city was an obvious destination. “I was flattered that they called and wanted to take a chance on me, knowing that I’m coming off knee surgery,” he said, “but I’m willing to prove to everybody that I’m more than capable of withstanding the physical challenges of the season and just contributing to the team.” Jack continues to rehab the knee and said he plans to be fully ready by the start of the season. He is about a month away from being cleared for full five-on-five basketball.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

  • Developing chemistry is the next challenge in Orlando after this summer’s huge turnover, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The changes started with the hiring of coach Frank Vogel and continued through a revamped roster that has just six players back from the end of last season. The most notable additions for the Magic were Serge Ibaka, who was acquired in a draft night trade, and Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green, who signed as free agents. “To me, chemistry and togetherness is something you earn, something you achieve and something you work towards by creating this culture where people like to come to work and people are playing for each other,” Vogel said. “You talk about selflessness and a team-first mentality. Whether we’ve been together for five years or are brand new to each other, every year you’ve got to work to achieve chemistry.”
  • Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who lost DeAndre Jordan to a change of heart in free agency last summer, said he never tried to persuade Heat center Hassan Whiteside to reconsider before this year’s moratorium was lifted, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Whiteside was Dallas’ top target in free agency, but he decided rather quickly to stay in Miami. “Never crossed our mind,” Cuban said in an interview with Dallas radio station 105.3-FM. “… We were happy with the direction we were going in and we had made our pitch to Hassan, but we didn’t really think he was going to leave and we didn’t go back to him and even bring it up.”
  • Offseason signings have left the Heat with 11 players who are ineligible to be traded before December 15th, Winderman notes in the same piece. In addition to Whiteside, they are Wayne Ellington, Udonis Haslem, Stefan Jankovic, James Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Willie Reed, Dion Waiters, Okaro White and Derrick Williams.
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Lowe’s Latest: Magic, Vucevic, Oladipo, Sixers

July 26th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In Zach Lowe’s latest column for ESPN.com, he examines the Magic‘s offseason moves, attempting to make sense of some of the club’s unusual decisions. After investing huge money into Bismack Biyombo and sending a significant trade package to the Thunder for Serge Ibaka, Orlando has a roster that appears a little heavy on frontcourt talent, and one that lacks offensive playmakers.

As Lowe details, the Magic may attempt to roll out a lineup that features Biyombo at center, Ibaka at power forward, and Aaron Gordon at the three in a Paul George-type role, per new head coach Frank Vogel. That would give the team impressive length, athleticism, and rim protection in the frontcourt, but it remains to be seen whether it would be effective against NBA teams that are increasingly reliant on three-pointers and perimeter talent.

Lowe’s piece also includes a handful of interesting tidbits of information he has gleaned from league sources, so let’s round those up…

  • Despite the logjam up front, the Magic are in no rush to trade Nikola Vucevic, writes Lowe. Given the team’s lack of pure scorers, but Orlando might want to keep Vucevic around to take advantage of his offensive prowess and his ability to pass in the post.
  • Vucevic believes he should be the starting center, but hasn’t been promised anything yet, and acknowledges that the newly-signed Biyombo is making a few million dollars more per year than him. “Do I wish I were a free agent now?” Vucevic said, referring to new contracts signed by Biyombo and others. “Yes. But I can’t do anything about it. I’m happy guys are getting paid, and in the normal world, it’s still a lot of money. I mean, I’ll never spend all that money.”
  • Victor Oladipo, traded by Orlando to the Thunder in the Ibaka deal, is seeking a maximum-salary contract extension for now, sources tell Lowe. That asking price likely played a role in the Magic‘s decision to move him, if the club was unwilling to go that high to lock him up.
  • Before signing Biyombo, the Magic were “sniffing around” the possibility of signing Joakim Noah at around the same price, according to Lowe. The two veteran bigs ultimately received similar deals, and will both count for $17MM against the cap in year one.
  • As an aside in his story on the Magic, Lowe also provides an update on the Sixers, reporting that most of Sam Hinkie‘s old regime – including his “handpicked analytics crew” – is expected to be gone from Philadelphia by the end of August.
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And-Ones: Big Men, Colangelo, Fortson

July 23rd, 2016 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The emphasis on guard play and the 3-point shot hasn’t depressed salaries for big men, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders notes. High-profile players like Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside and Dwight Howard were paid over $20MM annually in this year’s free agent market but less heralded centers also cashed in, Greene continues. Timofey Mozgov (Lakers) and Ian Mahinmi (Wizards) were both signed to four-year, $64MM deals, even though Mozgov had a diminished role with the Cavs last season, while the Wizards already had an established center in Marcin Gortat. Bismack Biyombo received an even bigger contract from the Magic after playing a limited role with the Raptors much of last season, while the Bucks will pay Miles Plumlee an average of $13MM annually over the next four seasons even through he’s never averaged more than 25 minutes during his career.

In news around the league:

  • USA Basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo will not discourage Team USA players from speaking out on social or racial issues, The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears reports. NBA and WNBA players have increasingly taken public stands on hot-button topics, while the league pulled the All-Star Game from Charlotte this week over a controversial North Carolina law. “No, we’re not telling them what to say,” Colangelo told Spears. “We are saying we’re supportive. We’re in fact encouraging and they have to make their own choice. We’re not telling them what to say and what not to say.”
  • Courtney Fortson has signed with the Chinese team Zheijiang Guangsha, international journalist David Pick tweets. Fortson played last season with Banvit in Turkey. The point guard appeared in a combined 10 games with the Clippers and Rockets during the 2011/12 season.
  • The Warriors’ new trio of Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant played two minutes together during Team USA’s exhibition win over Argentina but more often in pairs, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. Team USA had a lot of success with a smaller lineup featuring Green at center and Durant at small forward, according to Windhorst. “Honestly, if you want me to be quite frank with you, I didn’t even notice me, Klay and KD were out there together,” Green told Windhorst.
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Contract Details: Henderson, Biyombo, Kings

July 19th, 2016 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

We’re nearly three weeks removed from the start of 2016’s free agent period, and more and more of the deals agreed to in the first half of July are now official. In some instances, the full details of those contract agreements weren’t reported initially, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders continue to fill in those details for the Basketball Insiders’ salary database. Here are a few noteworthy updates, courtesy of Pincus:

  • Gerald Henderson‘s two-year, $18MM contract with the Sixers is non-guaranteed for the second season. If Philadelphia waives Henderson by June 30, 2017, it will essentially just be a one-year, $9MM deal and the team won’t be on the hook for any second-year salary.
  • Bismack Biyombo‘s four-year, $72MM contract with the Magic actually has annual $17MM cap hits, rather than $18MM. Biyombo’s pact features $1MM in annual unlikely incentives.
  • The Magic signed second-round pick Stephen Zimmerman using cap room, which means the team was able to lock him up to a three-year deal. The first year is guaranteed for $950K, while the next two years are currently non-guaranteed.
  • Two of the veteran free agents signed by the Kings will have small partial guarantees on the second year of their two-year contracts. Anthony Tolliver makes $8MM in each of his two seasons, while Arron Afflalo gets $12.5MM annually, but Tolliver only has $2MM guaranteed for his second year, while Afflalo has just a $1.5MM guarantee in year two.
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Magic Sign Bismack Biyombo

July 2nd, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito
Nick TurchiaroUSA TODAY Sports Images

Nick TurchiaroUSA TODAY Sports Images

JULY 7, 10:18am: The Magic have formally announced Biyombo’s signing (via Twitter).

JULY 2, 2:45pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical tweets that the pact will be worth $72MM over four years.

2:27pm: The contract is estimated at four-years and approximately $70MM, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

2:15pm: The Magic and unrestricted free agent Bismack Biyombo have come to terms on a deal, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (on Twitter). The agreement is for four years, but the amount of the pact has yet to been reported.

Biyombo’s stock rose dramatically during the Eastern Conference playoffs, when his playing time spiked after Jonas Valanciunas was injured. He averaged 5.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while appearing in every regular-season game, then bumped those averages to 6.2/9.4/1.4 in 20 playoff games. He opted out of his deal and the $2.9MM he was set to earn next season and all but assuredly secured himself a hefty raise as a result.

Toronto reportedly wanted to retain Biyombo, but only held his Non-Bird rights, which meant it would have to use cap room to re-sign him. A number of roster moves designed to free cap space would have been needed to make that a possibility. Moves that the team was either unwilling or unable to make.

The addition of Biyombo, coupled with the trade acquisition of former Thunder forward Serge Ibaka certainly gives Orlando and imposing frontcourt defensively. It remains to be seen if these additions will prompt the team to shop center Nikola Vucevic, whose salary of $12,250,000 is looking more and more like a bargain every day.

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And-Ones: Parsons, Humphries, Bass, Howard

July 1st, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unrestricted free agent Kris Humphries, who split time last season between the Wizards, Suns and Hawks, is one of the players the Celtics are considering making a run at this offseason, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays (on Twitter). The Hawks, Nets, Wolves, Spurs and Hornets are also interested in the big man, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.

With free agency now underway, here’s the latest happening from around the league:

  • The Trail Blazers intend to make a strong push to ink both Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard this offseason, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Parsons and Howard were former teammates with the Rockets and have remained friends, the scribe notes.
  • The Hawks made a strong impression on Howard during their meeting with him today, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. The scribe adds that the possibility of D12 joining Atlanta is gaining traction.
  • The Warriors are looking to bolster their bench and have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Andrew Nicholson, who spent the past four seasons with the Magic, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
  • Former Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt is joining Rick Carlisle‘s staff with the Mavericks, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Former Nets forward Sergey Karasev signed a three-year deal with the Russian club BC Zenit Saint Petersburg, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 22-year-old made 40 appearances for Brooklyn this season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.0 per contest while shooting .405/.297/.929 from the field.
  • Former Wizards forward Chris Singleton has signed with the Greek club Panathinaikos, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter). Singleton last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 season.
  • The Wolves have reached out to free agent power forward Brandon Bass to gauge interest, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN tweets.
  • With the Pacers reportedly reaching an agreement with Al Jefferson, unrestricted free agent big man Ian Mahinmi won’t be returning to the team next season, Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter).
  • The Mavericks have no immediate plans to target Bismack Biyombo or Howard after missing out on Hassan Whiteside, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link).
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FA Rumors: DeRozan, Biyombo, Nets, Noah, Kings

June 27th, 2016 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

With DeMar DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo facing free agency, the Raptors may not have the cap flexibility to bring back both players. However, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, Biyombo has “very real interest” in re-signing in Toronto, even if that includes waiting out DeRozan’s free agency and navigating cap challenges to make it all work.

Whether that will be a realistic outcome remains to be seen. Assuming the Raptors don’t trade any of their players, and the salary cap lands in the $94MM neighborhood, the team won’t be able to offer Biyombo anything close to the $15MM salary he may be able to land on the open market. Still, the 23-year-old center has indicated he’d be open to a “hometown discount” to remain in Toronto, and he doesn’t intend to rush into an agreement with another team when the free agent period opens.

As for DeRozan, he reportedly has no plans to meet with any teams besides the Raptors, and Amick suggests the All-Star guard may even be willing to accept a little less than the max from Toronto if it helps the team accommodate a new deal for Biyombo. If DeRozan does explore the market though, he’ll have no shortage of suitors. Amick lists the Clippers, Warriors, Heat, Knicks, and Magic as clubs with interest in DeRozan.

Here are a few more free agent rumors from around the NBA:

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Atlantic Rumors: Simmons, Sixers, Knicks, Raptors

June 16th, 2016 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The fact that Ben Simmons isn’t working out for the Sixers shouldn’t be viewed as a decision that reflects poorly on the franchise or one that will have a huge impact on Philadelphia’s choice at No. 1, writes Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com. As Bodner points out, it appears that Simmons won’t be working out for any teams, so his decision is likely more about playing it safe and not hurting his stock, rather than trying to manipulate his landing spot.

Bodner also examines Bryan Colangelo‘s recent assertion that the Sixers’ decision regarding the first overall pick “changes every day,” suggesting that the GM’s statement sounded somewhat flippant, and probably shouldn’t be taken literally. For what it’s worth, multiple league sources continue to tell Bodner that Simmons is the “prohibitive favorite” to be Philadelphia’s pick to kick off the draft next Thursday.

Let’s round up a few more items from out of the Atlantic….

  • The Knicks don’t have a pick in this year’s draft, but they plan to acquire one, and continue to bring in prospects for pre-draft workouts. According to a pair of reports from Ian Begley of ESPN.com, New York worked out Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), Cat Barber (N.C. State), and Chris Fowler (Central Michigan) on Wednesday.
  • New Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek is eyeing Raptors assistant Andy Greer as a potential addition to his staff in New York, says ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). According to Stein, Toronto is making a strong effort to hang onto Greer, who has also drawn interest from the Timberwolves.
  • Doug Smith of The Toronto Star doesn’t expect the Raptors to make a trade to clear the cap room necessary to re-sign Bismack Biyombo, and he doesn’t expect the free-agent-to-be to take 50 cents on the dollar to remain in Toronto. In Smith’s view, the Raptors and their fans to accept that they’ll bidding adieu to Biyombo soon.
  • A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com presents five reasons why the Celtics may not be inclined to make a trade push for Kevin Love this summer.
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