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Pacific Notes: Warriors, Booker, Jordan

December 8th, 2017 at 4:46pm CST by Austin Kent

When Stephen Curry and the Warriors brought Kevin Durant to the Bay Area they did so with situations like the one the team is going through right now in mind. Marcus Thompson of The Athletic writes that having Durant available to lead the way while Curry recovers from an ankle injury can be a game changer for the franchise.

Prior to Durant’s arrival, the Warriors struggled to win with Curry on the sidelines, let alone dominate. Having the two available to support each other – as Curry did when Durant was out toward the end of last season – could extend both of their primes.

As Thompson writes, we may not remember this particular stretch of games where Durant filled in for Curry but the fact that we’ve seen the two stars willingly share the offensive load at different times over the course of the past two seasons will benefit the team for years.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • While he’s still expected to miss two-to-three weeks with an abductor strain, Suns guard Devin Booker is already up and walking, Jose Romero of the Associated Press writes.
  • The Clippers may look to move DeAndre Jordan at the deadline if they’re not pleased with their chances of competing in the Western Conference. This ESPN Insider piece explores four possible trade scenarios, including one that would see Jordan land with the Bucks in exchange for Jabari Parker, Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova.
  • Former Raptors coach Jay Triano has the personality to develop young basketball players, something that will come in handy as he serves as the interim head coach of the Suns. DeMar DeRozan witnessed as much during the coach’s tenure in Toronto from 2002-11. “There’s a personality about Jay that’s so positive, it makes you want to be at work, makes you want to do all the things that he asks from you,” DeRozan told Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. “[He’s] kind of a player’s coach. The things he was doing, it was so long ago and I was so young, I didn’t understand. I thought the whole league was like that. Now looking back on it, Jay was definitely one of them guys.”
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Lowry Meets With Casey, DeRozan

June 2nd, 2017 at 4:24pm CST by Austin Kent

Three weeks after officially opting out of the last year of his contract with the Raptors, Kyle Lowry met up with head coach Dwane Casey and two teammates in the Bay Area, Chris Haynes of ESPN reports.

DeMar DeRozan and Norman Powell are said to have joined the coach and point guard, the former even flying in from Los Angeles specifically for the event.

Per a Haynes source, one of Casey’s objectives during the meeting was to expose his players to the culture of the NBA Finals.

At this point, whatever else the group may have discussed is merely speculation but Lowry is expected to attract considerable interest on the market when he hits unrestricted free agency on July 1.

In his season-ending press conference last month, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri spoke about changing the culture in the organization. Some initially interpreted that to mean that a coaching switch could be forthcoming.

Not long after, however – as we outlined on May 11 – Ujiri suggested that he still has faith in the coach and appears willing to give him the opportunity to change the team’s playing style himself.

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Poll: Best Unrestricted Free Agent Point Guard

May 27th, 2017 at 1:32pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Among unrestricted free agents this offseason, point guard is easily the deepest position. Stephen Curry, Kyle Lowry, George Hill, Jeff Teague, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick Rose headline this group. Deron Williams, Darren Collison, and Patty Mills are also unrestricted free agents. In all, there are 28 unrestricted free agent point guards this offseason.

Two-time MVP Curry has scarcely been mentioned as an unrestricted free agent because most take for granted that he will return to the Warriors to dominate the NBA with the likes of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green for years to come.

Probably the second best player in this group, Lowry, will be coming off a breakout season, but he is 31 years old, has a long history of playoff struggles, and the Raptors would need to offer him a 5-year max contract. Still, Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combine for one of the most lethal backcourts in the league, and it is difficult to imagine Toronto not laying out the red carpet for its star point guard’s return.

After seven seasons with the Hawks, Teague played in all 82 games for the Pacers, averaging 15.3 PPG, 7.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG.

Although limited to 49 games due to injury in his first campaign with the Jazz, Hill averaged a career-high 16.9 PPG to go with an impressive slash line of .477/.403/.801.

Holiday shot a career-high 45.4% from the floor for the Pelicans, posting 15.4 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 1.5 SPG.

Rose, a former MVP, averaged 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG, while shooting a stellar 47.1% in 64 games in his first season with the Knicks.

Without further ado, here’s today’s poll question: Beyond Curry and Lowry, who among this group would be most helpful for a team to sign and suit up as their starting point guard next season? Don’t limit yourself to a click of a button. Do you believe someone in the group is better than each of the available options? Are we underrating someone’s potential? Let us know in the comment section below. We look forward to your insight!

 

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No Paul George, Gordon Hayward On All-NBA Teams

May 18th, 2017 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-NBA teams for the 2016/17 season, and neither Paul George nor Gordon Hayward is among the 15 players honored. That’s big news for both players and their teams, since they’ll be ineligible for the Designated Veteran Extension, reducing the amount of money the Pacers and Jazz – respectively – could offer their star forwards in contract extensions this offseason.

Here are this year’s All-NBA teams:

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

All-NBA Third Team

Based on this year’s All-NBA voting results, Wall is now eligible to sign a Designated Veteran Extension this summer, while Leonard is eligible to sign one next summer. Harden, Westbrook, and Curry are also eligible to sign DVEs this summer, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (via Twitter).

Those Designated Veteran Extensions – which are dependent on a player making an All-NBA team in the year before he signs an extension, or in two of the previous three years – apply to players finishing up their rookie scale extensions. They allow a player re-signing with his own team to earn up to 35% of the salary cap, rather than just 30%. So, if we assume a $101MM salary cap for 2017/18, a player like Curry could sign a new Warriors contract with a starting salary of $35.35MM, instead of $30.3MM.

The Pacers and Jazz will still be able to offer George and Hayward larger and longer contracts than any other team, but the advantage won’t be as significant as it would have been if those players had earned All-NBA spots. Teams can offer their own Bird-rights free agents up to five years (instead of four) and 8% raises (instead of 5%).

Hayward figures to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer, while George is expected to reach free agency in 2018. George could still become eligible for the DVE in ’18 if the Pacers hang onto him through next season and he earns All-NBA honors a year from now. However, there’s no guarantee that Indiana will be willing to take that risk.

As for the rest of the All-NBA votes, there weren’t any major surprises, particularly on the first two teams. Perhaps the biggest surprise, in a year which was dominated by four clear-cut MVP candidates, is that Harden was the only player who received 100 out of 100 possible First Team votes. Westbrook and James received 99 apiece, while Leonard received 96.

Note: Hoops Rumors readers voted last month on All-NBA teams, and our squads looked awfully close to the official ones, with a couple notable exceptions. You can check out the results of our voting right here.

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Raptors Rumors: Ujiri, DeRozan, Tucker, Ibaka

May 8th, 2017 at 9:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The easiest way for Raptors GM Masai Ujiri to make a significant change is to fire coach Dwane Casey, Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated opines. Ujiri is in a position to rebuild the roster in the wake of the Cavaliers’ playoff sweep but his track record suggests he won’t take that approach, Golliver continues. In a best-case scenario, Ujiri will trade underperforming forward DeMarre Carroll and guard Cory Joseph while retaining his best perimeter defender, unrestricted free agent P.J. Tucker, Golliver adds.

In other developments regarding the Raptors:

  • With point guard Kyle Lowry and forwards Serge Ibaka and Patrick Patterson also heading into unrestricted free agency this summer, the club faces an uncertain future, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun details.
  • Backcourt partner DeMar DeRozan throws his full support behind Lowry and his decision to opt out, Michael Grange of Rogers Sportsnet tweets. “I don’t want to hinder him or make anything more hectic than it’s going to be,” DeRozan told Grange.
  • DeRozan wants the team to acquire more shooters to complement his talents, Wolstat tweets.
  • Tucker will wait to see if Lowry remains with the club before he decides whether to return, Wolstat reports in another tweet. Tucker wants to play for a contender, Wolstat adds. Ibaka’s decision will be influenced by his daughter, he told Wolstat (Twitter link).
  • Casey says it “would be difficult” for the team to advance deeper in future playoffs without re-signing Lowry, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets.
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Raptors Notes: Offseason Options, Rebuild

May 7th, 2017 at 10:03pm CST by Austin Kent

After suffering a humbling sweep at the hands of the reigning champion Cavaliers, the Raptors are in limbo heading into the offseason, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes. In front of them are several options ranging from full on teardown to attempted recovery.

One of the options Lowe lays out is letting Kyle Lowry sign elsewhere lest the Raptors get bogged down in a five-year, $200MM contract. If that happens, Lowe posits that there isn’t much point bringing Serge Ibaka back either.

Ultimately, he continues, it would only make sense to trade DeMar DeRozan as well and fully embrace a tank.

That said, the scribe notes that the franchise could choose to bite the bullet and sign Lowry to a lofty five-year deal and then let Ibaka walk with the intention of replacing him with cheaper, shorter term players.

At the end of the day, Lowe argues that retaining the current core in its entirety would put the club well over the luxury tax threshold, the only problem being that their on-court performance doesn’t necessarily warrant it.

Regardless of the path team president Masai Ujiri chooses to pursue, he’s built up enough goodwill and ownership trust to see it through.

There’s more from the Raptors:

  • In the same piece, Lowe wonders if making a coaching change and letting Dwane Casey go could help “unstick” Toronto’s notoriously disappointing postseason offense.
  • Amid talk of an uncertain summer, DeRozan said that tearing everything down would be difficult. “It’s hard to break down a team that won 50-plus games two years in a row,” he told the media, including Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
  • The Raptors were headed toward a full on rebuild before a late-season surge following the trade that sent Rudy Gay to the Kings in 2014 boosted them into Eastern Conference contention, Scott Stinson writes for the National Post.
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Community Shootaround: Shooting At The Buzzer In Decided Game

April 8th, 2017 at 11:33am CST by Austin Kent

Count Courtney Lee among the latest NBA players to complain about opponents putting up shots in the final seconds of a decided game. On Friday night the Grizzlies laid waste to Lee’s Knicks, culminating in rookie Wade Baldwin IV standing at half-court with the ball and a 10-point lead as the game clock neared expiration.

Just before time ran out, however, Baldwin hoisted a deep three and nailed it. The basket pushed the Grizzlies above the triple-digit mark earning Memphis fans in attendance free chicken.

Lee, unhappy to lose by 10 but considerably angrier losing by 13, went after the rookie but was thwarted by a handful of Grizzlies veterans.

“For him to do that, what are you doing it for, bro?,” Lee told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Think about the people who’s doing it. They got bad luck in this league. … I don’t know what made him want to do it.”

Lee’s reaction is a common one among NBA players but should it be?

Just last week Lance Stephenson incited his own commotion by adding a layup in the final seconds of a win over the Raptors. Then, Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan called the moot field goal “disrespectful to the game“. This, naturally, was followed up by Stephenson exposing an instance of DeRozan’s teammate Norman Powell doing similar to the Sixers earlier this season.

Ultimately, the NBA and fan community that drives it need to decide what is permissible in the waning seconds of a ball game and what’s just sour grapes. In response to the Stephenson/Raptors theatrics, Bobby Marks of The Vertical  tweeted “I’m so tired of these unwritten rules in basketball. If you don’t want a player to shoot at the end of the game then play some D.”

On one hand, it’s easy to empathize with players like Lee or DeRozan who see the unnecessary field-goal attempts as salt in the wounds of a fresh defeat. On the other, its a thin line expecting everybody to subscribe to the same unwritten rules of a game.

Should players adopt Marks’ stance and play defense if preserving a spread is so important to them? Or should players on the winning end know not to shoot when the game is out of reach?

Factors to consider are that some veterans will go so far as to let the shot clock expire before hoisting a shot at the buzzer resulting in their being assigned a turnover. Another is the fan factor, such as that which was in effect for Baldwin IV. Reaching certain point milestones, usually 100 points, can sometimes trigger benefits for fans in attendance. Does this impact the appropriateness of a last second basket?

You tell us in the comments below!

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Atlantic Notes: Ibaka, Raptors, Knicks

February 19th, 2017 at 8:53pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Raptors return from the All-Star Break they won’t have long to incorporate newly acquired Serge Ibaka into their lineup. Team leaders DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are well aware of the fact that they’ll have to hit the ground running, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

“With a veteran like Serge who understands fitting in and everything about the league, I don’t think it should take long,” Raptors guard DeRozan said. “It’s on us to hop out the gate and take advantage. […] It’s given us a jolt.”

The Raptors currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-24 record but a recent slide has pushed the club out of the No. 2 spot that they occupied for the first few months of the season. The decision to ship core guard Terrence Ross to the Magic in exchange for Ibaka raises the stakes for the franchise.

“We ain’t got time. You know that,” Lowry said. The Raptors return to action Friday.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

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Who Should The Raptors Target At The Trade Deadline?

February 10th, 2017 at 7:16pm CST by Milo Taibi

The current owners of the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference, there’s every reason to believe the Raptors will be active buyers at the trade deadline. But who will team president Masai Ujiri and GM Jeff Weltman target? As things currently stand, the Raptors will enter the second half with their 2015/16 rotation in place, sans Bismack Biyombo.

DeMar DeRozan has been vocal in his push for Toronto’s front office to acquire help; telling Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star “help is a great word with any team. Anybody could take help any day if it makes you better, a team better, anything.” DeMarre Carroll echoed DeRozan’s sentiments, noting that the team’s starting unit has been stretched thin amid a playoff run.

One form of help (albeit a flashy one) could come in the form of Serge Ibaka. This past week, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders indicated the Raptors as a potential “long-term fit” for Ibaka’s services. Ibaka’s in the final year of a four-year, $49MM contract, but the Magic’s asking price is believed to be high. Provided Dwane Casey and the Raptors don’t need to sell off rotation players to acquire him, Ibaka would be a considerable upgrade over Patrick Patterson and Pascal Siakam in Toronto’s frontcourt.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN doubled-down on the team’s need to pursue a trade, citing the team’s recent struggles (Toronto has gone 4-6 over their last 10 games). While the team had offseason acquisition Jared Sullinger tabbed for a starting role, the former Celtic is still working to get in shape after suffering a fractured right foot in October. The Raptors have long admired Paul Millsap‘s game, Lewenberg writes, but the Hawks appear unlikely to deal him amidst their pursuit of a four-seed.

Ryan Wolstat of the National Post cited Ibaka and Millsap as ideal fits, while throwing Taj Gibson, Trevor Booker, and Wilson Chandler in the mix as potential trade targets. While Booker isn’t a “sexy name,” compared to Ibaka or Millsap, he has quietly enjoyed a productive for the 9-44 Nets. Averaging 10 points with 8.7 rebounds, the 29-year-old Booker is in the first year of a two-year, $18.375MM pact. Booker’s “doggedness,” on each end of the court is a trait the Raptors could use, Wolstat notes.

What do you think? Which target makes the most sense for Ujiri and Weltman to pursue? What’s Toronto’s ceiling for a 2016/17 playoff run?

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Atlantic Notes: Porter, DeRozan, Vasquez, Holiday

February 9th, 2017 at 7:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets could land Wizards small forward Otto Porter if they offered him a max deal, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Porter will likely be at the top of the Nets’ wish list from what he’s heard around the league, Lewis continues. The Nets have the cap room to make a substantial run at the restricted free agent. Brooklyn could have as much as $39.4MM in cap room by renouncing its free agents this summer and the Wizards may be unwilling to max out Porter with nearly $97MM already ready on their books for next season, Lewis speculates.

In other developments around the Atlantic Division:

  • Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan wouldn’t mind a roster upgrade, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter links). DeRozan told Lewenberg he would welcome some reinforcements, adding: “Help is a great word, with anything. Anybody could take help if it’ll make you better, a better team.” Lewenberg indicated that DeRozan said the team didn’t need any help prior to previous trade deadlines. The Raptors have slipped to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and are just one game ahead of the sixth-place Pacers in the loss column.
  • Point guard Greivis Vasquez hopes to return to the Nets next season, David Alarcon of Hoops Hype reports. Vasquez’s career has been sidetracked by ankle injuries the past two seasons. He signed a $4,347,826 contract with Brooklyn during the offseason, then was waived in November after appearing in just three games and injuring the ankle again. Vasquez said he’s been in contact with Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, who invited Vasquez to continue his rehab from ankle surgery with the team after the season ends. “He left the door open for me. He offered me to come back in April or May to work with them,” Vasquez told Alarcon. “I told him that I accepted his offer, and I will work with them with no strings attached. … Brooklyn is a very attractive team in a very attractive city.”
  • The cost of acquiring point guard Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans would likely be higher than the reward for the Sixers, Derek Bodner opines on his website. Philadelphia is reportedly interested in bringing back Holiday, who becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season. While there are valid reasons to make the move, including the benefit of seeing how he meshes with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, there’s no guarantee Holiday would stick around after the season, Bodner adds.
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