Jose Calderon

Eastern Notes: Smart, Marshall, Magic, Knicks

Celtics coach Brad Stevens is warning people not to read too much into early preseason lineups.  However, the early readings indicate that rookie Marcus Smart has moved ahead of Evan Turner in the battle to serve as the team’s replacement point guard for the injured Rajon Rondo, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.  More from the Eastern Conference..

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Scott, Prigioni, Parker

While he believes that Byron Scott is a good coach, Tom Ziller of SB Nation doesn’t think Scott will solve the Lakers problems. Ziller also believes Los Angeles made a “typical coaching carousel signing” in picking up Scott, whom Ziller describes as “an undervalued, affordable coach” despite the team’s ability to afford any coach they wanted.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Donatas Motiejunas, when discussing former teammate Chandler Parsons who left the Rockets to sign a three-year, $46.08MM deal with the Mavericks, told Simonas Baranauskas of Lithuania Basket (Twitter link), “He’s a good player, but would it be logical for management to pay him more than James Harden?” Houston declined to match the offer sheet Parsons had signed with the Mavs.
  • With the NBA discussing extending the All-Star break to seven days, Zach Lowe of Grantland (Twitter links) thinks the league should first look to adjust the amount of regular season games played, and doesn’t think the longer break would be a positive if it meant more back-to-back games, or beginning the season at an earlier date.
  • Pablo Prigioni is glad to be re-united with former Spanish League teammate Jose Calderon on the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Prigioni believes Calderon will be able to help New York, saying, “We played together in Spain and we did really well. He is a great player and very good professional, a great 3-point shooting guy. He can run the team and read the game very well and is a good defender. He has all that a good point guard must have.”
  • In the same article, Prigioni also expressed his positive feelings towards Carmelo Anthony re-signing with the Knicks, saying, “When I saw Melo re-sign, the first thing I did was send him a message saying that I was so happy to have a chance to still play with him. And I told him that I’m sure we will play much better next season.”
  • Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders believes that Bucks first-rounder Jabari Parker will have the biggest impact of any rookie this coming season, as well as take home Rookie Of The Year honors.

Knicks, Mavs Swap Chandler, Calderon

7:02pm: The Knicks have officially announced the deal. The only picks changing hands are the two second-rounders for this year moving from Dallas to New York.

4:50pm: The Knicks and Mavs have reached agreement on their rumored trade, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal sends Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, picks Nos. 34 and 51 in Thursday’s draft, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports detailed in earlier reports. It’s unclear if future second-round draft consideration will also head New York’s way.

The Mavs had planned a summer pursuit of Chandler, the center on their 2011 title team, three years after letting him go. Knicks president Phil Jackson seemed to dismiss the notion that he told Felton to expect to be traded, but other reports have indicated the Knicks were in the market for an upgrade at the point, which Calderon provides. Felton slumped this past season, and this week he agreed this week to plead guilty to a felony gun charge in a plea agreement that will allow him to avoid jail time.

The deal removes some of New York’s flexibility for the summer of 2015, since Calderon’s contract calls for him to make in excess of $7.4MM in 2015/16 and more than $7.7MM in 2016/17. J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for 2015/16, but the Knicks otherwise don’t have commitments for that season.  The trade would allow Dallas more cap flexibility for that summer, since Chandler’s contract is up after next season and Felton’s player option for 2015/16 is about $3.95MM.

Dalembert’s approximately $3.867MM salary is partially guaranteed for $1.8MM next season. He also has a 15% trade kicker on his deal that the Mavs would be responsible for paying. Chandler would receive $500K from the Knicks thanks to a trade kicker in his deal.

Mavs, Knicks Close To Chandler, Calderon Deal

4:04pm: The 51st overall pick in Thursday’s draft would go to the Knicks, too, Wojnarowski tweets.

4:01pm: The Mavs would also send the 34th overall pick in Thursday’s draft to New York, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

3:58pm: The deal will be finalized today, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

3:36pm: The teams are on the verge of an agreement, Stein writes in his full story. Wayne Ellington and future second-round draft considerations would also go to New York, Stein adds. The deal could be finalized before July 1st with the inclusion of Ellington, who allows it to meet salary-matching requirements.

3:19pm: The Mavs and Knicks are in advanced discussions on a trade that would send Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert and Shane Larkin, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Dallas would have to give up additional players in order for the trade to become official before July 1st, though it seems likely the teams envision completing the trade after the July moratorium, when it wouldn’t send the Mavs over the luxury tax line and trigger stiffer salary-matching constraints.

Such a proposal in its current form would allow the Knicks to clear a significant amount of salary, though it probably wouldn’t be enough to clear cap room if Carmelo Anthony re-signs. It would similarly crimp the Mavs’ pursuit of Anthony and other top-tier free agents, though it seems reasonable to suspect there may be other players involved.

Dallas has coveted Chandler, whom the team gave up in 2011 after he helped the Mavs to their only NBA title. Knicks president Phil Jackson denied a report that he told Felton to expect a trade this summer, but the point guard is coming off a subpar season and agreed this week to plead guilty to a felony gun charge in a plea agreement that will allow him to avoid jail time. Other reports have linked the Knicks to soon-to-be free agent point guards.

The deal would remove some of New York’s flexibility for the summer of 2015, since Calderon’s deal has him making more than $7.4MM in 2015/16 and more than $7.7MM in 2016/17. Still, it would be the only guaranteed salary on the books for New York past this season, though J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM. Similarly, the move would allow Dallas more cap flexibility for that summer, since Chandler’s contract is up after next season and Felton’s player option for 2015/16 is about $3.95MM.

Dalembert’s approximately $3.867MM salary is partially guaranteed for $1.8MM next season. He also has a 15% trade kicker on his deal that the Mavs would be responsible for paying. Chandler would receive $500K from the Knicks thanks to a trade kicker in his deal.

Eastern Notes: Pierce, Lowry, Pistons

It was an emotional Sunday evening in Boston for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who returned for the first time as Nets players, but it might have been especially awkward for Pierce, who had spent his entire career in green before this summer’s trade. The move devastated Pierce, writes Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com, who says the C’s second all-time leading scorer was near tears almost the entire time she interviewed him this past summer. Pierce told MacMullan that he wondered why the Celtics didn’t allow him to finish his career in Boston.

“I loved it here,” Pierce said Sunday. “Never wanted to leave.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • The sense around the league is that the Raptors are more likely to keep Kyle Lowry than to trade him, but that could simply be a matter of Toronto’s high price tag for the point guard, which no other team has accepted yet, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Lowry will be a free agent at season’s end, and Stein suggests that’s motivation for Raptors GM Masai Ujiri to continue trade talks
  • Jose Calderon says the Pistons never made him an offer to re-sign with the team this summer, observes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free-Press“They were in contact with me, but I think they were waiting for Josh Smith, so I was just waiting and waiting, and Dallas came with a great offer … I couldn’t say no to that,” Calderon said.
  • The Wizards spent their bi-annual exception this summer on Eric Maynor, who’s fallen so far out of the rotation that he isn’t even playing in blowouts, notes J. Michael of CSNWashington. Still, there’s plenty of reason why Maynor and the Wizards won’t soon be parting ways. His guaranteed contract includes a $2.1MM player option for next season, and he probably wouldn’t command as much if he were to become a free agent, Michael points out.
  • The Sixers have assigned Lorenzo Brown to the D-League, the team announced. It’ll be the third time the point guard has gone to the Delaware 87ers this season, but his last pair of D-League stints lasted only a single day.

Odds & Ends: Hayward, Jazz, Nash

While the Jazz and Gordon Hayward fell short of agreeing on a contract extension last week, both Hayward and the franchise are still interested in getting something done eventually. Hayward told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: “(Not reaching an agreement) in no way changes the way I feel about Utah at all…I love being here. I love playing for them…Hopefully (an extension) will get worked out next summer.”

Utah GM Dennis Lindsey had this to say about Hayward’s agent Mark Bartelstein and future negotiations: “Mark’s been one of the best agents in the business because he negotiates hard. He was fair. He played by the rules. He’ll continue to play by the rules. We’ll be fair as well, and we’ll come back and start talking in July…Just because (Hayward) said no to our last offer, his character hasn’t changed. He is an outstanding person…He’s someone we can see being in a Utah Jazz jersey until he retires. That’s our hope. We think we’re great fits.”

We have a handful of miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight, and you can read them below:

  • ESPN LA’s Arash Markazi weighed in on some of the rumblings which suggest that Steve Nash could eventually wind up in Toronto, saying that a deal between the Raptors and Lakers makes sense but isn’t sure if something gets done. Markazi opines that L.A. would like to clear Nash’s salary off their books while the Raptors would enjoy increased ticket sales by bringing the Canadian legend back to his home country (All Twitter links).
  • Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld tweeted a list of players who may be traded this season, including: Omer Asik, Jameer Nelson, Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis, Evan Turner, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Bass, and Gerald Wallace.
  • Kennedy also shared what 76ers rookie Michael Carter-Williams told him about his chances on winning the Rookie of the Year Award: “I think I have a pretty good chance at it. I’m just going to go out there, play my game and hope for the best” (Twitter link).
  • Entering tonight’s game with a record of 1-2 before their win against the Wizards, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade acknowledged that some minor chemistry issues are affecting the team (Michael Wallace of ESPN.com). More specifically, Wade had this to say: “Let me give you an example…If you’re in a relationship with a woman for a long time, you start getting comfortable. You stop doing the little things that you should do, that you did in the beginning. It’s just like a relationship. We got a little comfortable. Now we have to get back on that edge a little bit.”
  • Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes that Knicks forwards Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin will have their own individualized schedules as far as playing or sitting out games, a decision meant to preserve the health of both in the long run.
  • Mavericks point man Jose Calderon appears to be regaining his groove after a sluggish start to the season, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.

Mavericks Notes: Calderon, Nowitzki, Dalembert

The Mavericks made some surprising news today, parting ways with GM Gersson Rosas, who apparently wanted more power over the team’s player personnel than the team was willing to give him. Rosas might not have been the proper fit in Dallas, but he figures to be a hot name in front office circles now that he’s back on the market. The Spurs were reportedly after him before he took the Mavs job, and Rosas drew mention as a possible candidate for the Nuggets GM opening this summer. Here’s more on the team he leaves behind:

  • The Mavs feel Jose Calderon is the caliber of point guard they’ll need when they return to contention, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who wonders how long it will take the club to get back to the top. Calderon fit the bill this summer as Dallas prioritized finding a ball-handler who didn’t commit too many turnovers, as Price examines.
  • Dirk Nowitzki will be 36 when he hits free agency in July, but Mavs owner Mark Cuban doesn’t think he’s close to the end of his career, Price notes in the same piece. “He’s disciplined enough that I think he sees guys like Ray Allen and others who are going later and later and later,” Cuban said. “So who knows? I won’t put a limit on him.”
  • Rick Carlisle identified Samuel Dalembert as the player who improved most from the start of training camp to the end, observes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com, who writes that the Mavs’ playoff hopes hinge on the performance of the 6’11” free agent signee.
  • The Mavericks haven’t given Carlisle much to work with in the seasons since he guided the team to a championship, but he tells Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News that he’s prepared to stick it out “for the long haul” in Dallas.

Mavericks Notes: Calderon, Melo, Free Agents

A few notes about the Mavericks:

  • Former Celtics center Fab Melo is excited for his fresh start with the Mavericks, writes the Star-Telegram’s Dwain Price.
  • Mark Cuban has long held the belief that acquiring a player in a contract year is smart business because he’ll be looking to give maximum effort in his attempt at locking up a long-term deal. But this season the Mavericks decided to go a different route, signing Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon, and others to multi-year deals, writes Dallas Morning News reporter Eddie Sefko.
  • According to The Dallas Mornings News’ Eddie Sefko, point guard Jose Calderon will be held out of the preseason’s next two games as he deals with a strained hamstring. Calderon has yet to play a minute with the team. With several incoming players in their backcourt, it’ll be interesting to see if any new faces can take advantage of an increase in playing time—perhaps enough so to make the team.

Southwest Notes: Calderon, Grizzlies, Evans

A few notes from around the Southwest Division.

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Contract Details: Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Nuggets

In addition to new contracts being finalized and signed, there are a few more cap details worth keeping an eye on throughout July. We won't be updating our traded player exceptions list to reflect all the latest deals until the dust has settled a little and each move has been officially completed, but as our list shows, the Bulls had their $5MM Kyle Korver TPE expire overnight.

There are also a number of 2013/14 salaries becoming guaranteed this month, including Kyle Lowry and Lance Stephenson earlier this week. Mavericks second-year big man Bernard James also appears to be guaranteed for the coming year, since he wasn't waived by July 15th, per Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.

Here are a few more of the latest contract and cap details worth noting, courtesy of Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld:

  • Mike Dunleavy's two-year deal with the Bulls is worth the team's full mini mid-level exception, for a total of about $6.51MM. Meanwhile, Chicago second-round pick Erik Murphy gets a two-year, minimum-salary that's not fully guaranteed for either season.
  • The Bulls also used the stretch provision on Richard Hamilton, allowing the team to spread his guaranteed $1MM over the next three seasons (Twitter link).
  • The Cavaliers signed Jarrett Jack for a flat $6.3MM per season, while Earl Clark received a flat $4.25MM per year (Twitter links).
  • Jose Calderon's starting salary with the Mavericks is $6,791,570 (Twitter link). With annual 4.5% raises, that works out to exactly $29MM over four years. Additionally, Gal Mekel's three-year contract with the team is for the minimum and is fully guaranteed.
  • J.J. Hickson gets the full mid-level for three years from the Nuggets, which works out to about $16.15MM overall.
  • Two players who were involved in the same sign-and-trade transaction have had their numbers confirmed. Randy Foye receives $3MM from the Nuggets in each of his first two seasons before a $3.135MM 2015/16 salary, which isn't fully guaranteed. Andre Iguodala, meanwhile, signed with the Warriors for exactly $48MM over four years, but his salaries will decrease from $12.87MM this season to $11.13MM in the fourth season (Twitter link).
  • For the record, that gap between Iguodala's and Foye's first-year salaries should represent the value of the trade exception created by Denver: $9,868,632. I wonder if Iguodala's salary starts so high in part to help the Nuggets create a larger TPE.