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And-Ones: Drummond, Price, Afflalo

April 15th, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons owner Tom Gores gave Andre Drummond a vote of confidence during tonight’s contest against the Knicks, calling the big man a “max player,” David Mayo of MLive.com relays (Twitter link). Drummond, who is set to earn $3,272,091 next season, is eligible to ink an extension this summer, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the Pistons will offer him one, since the team would have the right to match any offer sheet the big man were to sign as a restricted free agent in 2016. Detroit could be wary of taking that chance given how the team is likely to lose Greg Monroe, who reportedly declined to ink an extension of his own with the club, as a free agent this summer, though that is merely my speculation.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Arron Afflalo will let his playoff performance dictate whether he picks up his $7.75MM player option for next season with the Blazers, as a source close to the swingman tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops that he’ll opt out if he plays well.
  • One executive who spoke with Scotto for the same piece pegged Danny Green‘s value at $6MM a year. The Spurs swingman is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Ronnie Price indicated that his desire is to remain with the Lakers, even if it is as a third-string guard, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “I enjoyed being a voice in the locker room. I enjoyed being able to help younger guys. I helped great veterans that can help me. I’d be selfish not to extend that knowledge to players that are younger than me,” Price said. “Of course you want to play. That’s why we do what we do. You want to play. You never know what’s ahead. Whatever role is my role, I’ll embrace it whether it’s being here or the third guard.” Price will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
  • Suns forward Markieff Morris believes that the team needs to add players with more experience to its roster, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic tweets. “Veteran leadership for sure,” Morris responded when asked about Phoenix’s needs. “We have to have more older guys around so we can keep this thing intact.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Pacific Notes: Jordan, Price, Suns

March 17th, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Most people who saw Shaun Livingston‘s brutal left knee injury from eight years ago thought his playing days were over.  Now, as Marcus Thompson II of Bay Area News Group writes, the Warriors guard is in his tenth season, making his highest salary, and playing his most important role.  Here’s more from the Pacific Division..

  • In the latest edition of their A to Z podcast (audio link), Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan told Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports that the incumbent team won’t necessarily have a head start on the rest of the field in free agency.  “I mean I’ve obviously been here seven years, and the past two have been great,” he said. “[Coach Doc Rivers] has been my biggest supporter and the best coach I’ve ever had. The team is great. The guys are great. We have great camaraderie. But the free agency process is definitely going to be a fun one. I want to experience it and see what it’s like because before I was restricted so I just kind of had to wait it out.  I definitely want to experience it, but I’m happy being a Clipper and I’ve been here for seven years, so this is definitely what I’m used to.”
  • Ronnie Price wants to return with the Lakers next season and it sounds like the feeling is mutual, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes.  Coach Byron Scott said that he’s “definitely a guy [the Lakers] will consider” and that the guard has proven himself to be the “type of guy you want on a team.”  The nine-year veteran has averaged just 5.1 PPG off of 34.5% shooting with 3.8 APG, but he’s become a favorite of Scott’s thanks to his toughness  and locker room leadership.
  • Suns owner Robert Sarver made it clear to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (via Twitter links) that he is strongly in favor of playoff reform. “I am in favor of what’s best for the fans and players who do the competing. I am looking forward to seeing the analysis of the pros and cons of a change from the league office,” Sarver wrote to Amick via email.
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Pacific Notes: Karl, Cousins, Price, McAdoo

March 16th, 2015 at 5:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

George Karl acknowledged that he and DeMarcus Cousins started their relationship under trying circumstances and that it will take a while for them to truly build camaraderie, asthe Kings coach detailed in an interview with TNT’s David Aldridge for his NBA.com Morning Tip column.

“I’ve had some really good, serious talks about him,” Karl said of Cousins. “I think it’s hard, because of the skepticism of his agent and all that. It’s a process right now. I’m not saying the trust is with capital letters yet. But I think it’s on the page. That’s all I can ask for. I hope he understands that the process is not going to work coming in the middle of the season, taking a team that was basically a possession, defensive-minded team, and turning it into a running team. I think we’re getting a good pace, but we’re not doing it that well.”

Karl arrived in Sacramento amid Cousins’ frustration with the team’s frequent coaching turnover, and a person familiar with Karl’s thinking apparently told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that the Kings are open to trading Cousins this summer. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Ronnie Price was a revelation for the Lakers this season, becoming a starter after signing a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary in the offseason, and he’d like to come back to the team even if he’d only be a third-stringer, as he told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Price, who seems doubtful to play again this season because of a bone spur in his right elbow, will be a free agent this summer.
  • The Warriors have recalled James Michael McAdoo from the D-League, the team announced. The rookie scored 25 points in 29 minutes for Golden State’s affiliate Sunday the day after the Warriors sent him on assignment.
  • Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob shared his thoughts on Draymond Green, David Lee and more with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, as we passed along earlier today.
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Ronnie Price To Miss Rest Of Season?

February 26th, 2015 at 8:18am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 8:18am: Scott cast further doubt on the notion that Price would return, saying there’d probably be no need to bring him back for the handful of games that would remain on the schedule if he meets the front end of his recovery timetable, Turner notes in a full story.

WEDNESDAY, 1:41pm: Price will miss six to eight weeks, the team announced, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets. The regular season ends in seven weeks. Regardless, the Lakers will still be eligible to apply for an extra roster spot once Price misses three games.

TUESDAY, 3:03pm: Ronnie Price will miss the rest of the season after surgery to repair a bone spur in his right elbow, Lakers coach Byron Scott told reporters, including Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The surgery will take place Wednesday, the team announced (on Twitter). He’s the fourth player on the Lakers roster expected to miss the balance of 2014/15, joining Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Julius Randle. That means the Lakers, with a full 15-man roster, will be eligible to apply for a 16th roster spot via hardship once Price sits out the next three games.

The 31-year-old Price made the Lakers regular season roster on a non-guaranteed invitation to training camp and wound up starting 20 games, more than he’d started in any single season during his previous nine years in the NBA. The newfound playing time has allowed him to average career highs nearly across the board, and he’s been more efficient than usual during that time, posting a 10.2 PER, his first double-digit mark in that category since 2009/10. The injury won’t help the Mike Higgins client as he heads back into restricted free agency, but this season has done much more help than harm to his value.

The deadline to apply for a disabled player exception was more than a month ago, but the Lakers already have two of them, one worth $4,850,500 for Nash and the other worth $1,498,680 for Randle. Still, GM Mitch Kupchak and company haven’t shown an inclination to use those exceptions, which expire March 10th. The Lakers might not even bother with apply for the extra roster spot, given that they’d only have two days to sign someone into that slot if the league were to grant it, and since there’d be little consequence to simply waiving Price, whose salary became fully guaranteed earlier this season. The team let the chance to add a 16th player expire earlier this season.

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Pacific Notes: Kings, Malone, Price

December 15th, 2014 at 6:48pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Suns, Lakers and Clippers in action tonight, let’s take a look at some news and notes coming out of the league’s Pacific division on Monday:

  • Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told reporters, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, that it was his call to fire Michael Malone and that the decision was made over philosophical differences rather than wins and losses (Twitter link).
  • While those differences are easy to point to as the main reason the Kings moved on from Malone, Scott Howard-Cooper writes that the most obvious takeaway from the situation in Sacramento is that the team should never have brought him back for this season in the first place.
  • Malone’s firing is just the latest testament to the lack of job security enjoyed by the majority of NBA head coaches, writes Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report, who adds that unrealistic expectations from ownership tends to be a common driver to early coaching exits.
  • The Lakers guaranteed half of the contract of Ronnie Price today, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Price is now guaranteed $658,405 of his $1.3MM deal, with the remaining portion to be locked in if the point guard is still on the team come January 10th. It was only a few weeks ago that Price seemed to be on the chopping block, but the veteran has since supplanted Jeremy Lin as the team’s starting point guard.
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Western Notes: Lakers, Price, Martin, D-League

November 25th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers are in contact with the NBA about “roster possibilities” in the wake of Xavier Henry‘s season-ending torn Achilles, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The team will probably apply for a Disabled Player Exception for Henry, according to fellow Times scribe Eric Pincus (Twitter link). That’s even though the $541K exception would only be useful to acquire a player making a prorated salary. Here’s more on the Lakers and a few of their Western Conference foes:

  • There’s a strong possibility that the Lakers will cut Ronnie Price to bolster their injury-hit roster, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears (Twitter links). Price’s minimum salary is partially guaranteed for about $329K, and that guarantee jumps to more than $658K if he remains under contract through December 15th.
  • The Timberwolves confirmed today that Kevin Martin had surgery to repair his fractured right wrist that they expect will keep him out about six to eight weeks (Twitter link), echoing an earlier report of that timeframe. The Wolves have considered applying for a 16th roster spot, and if the league grants it, the team would most likely add a post player, as Flip Saunders said Monday to reporters, including Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
  • Dahntay Jones is set to sign with the D-League, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. The 10-year NBA veteran spent the preseason with the Jazz, who cut him before opening night. No D-League team holds the rights to Jones, so the D-League waiver system will determine the identity of his new team, Pilato notes.
  • Tyler Ennis is in a tough position in a deep Suns backcourt, but this year’s 18th overall pick doesn’t mind the stigma of his recent four-day D-League assignment, as he told reporters, including Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.  “A lot of people look at it as a bad thing, D-League, and think it’s something horrible, but it’s not like we’re stuck down there for the year,” Ennis said. “They let us know they want to see us play and see us stay in shape and we thought it was a good thing as far as us going down and playing well. I think I was able to show that I should be on this [NBA] level.”
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Lakers Notes: Clarkson, Henry, Price, Ellington

November 15th, 2014 at 6:54pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Despite Kobe Bryant‘s insistence on playing through fatigue and injuries, head coach Byron Scott has not had a difficult time with Bryant due to his experience coaching elite players with such stubborn mindsets, writes Jovan Buha of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I’ve had the privilege and the honor of coaching a few guys that I think are probably Hall of Famers in Jason Kidd and Chris Paul,” Scott said. “I haven’t had the opportunity to coach anybody at this magnitude — as great as Kobe is — but I have had that opportunity. It hasn’t really been an adjustment for me.”  Scott expects Bryant, who was experiencing flu-like symptoms in Friday’s loss to the Spurs, to play against the Warriors on Sunday. “You’d probably have to amputate his leg for him not to play tomorrow,” Scott said at practice on Saturday.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

  • The Lakers assigned Jordan Clarkson and Xavier Henry to their D-League affliate, the D-Fenders, according to the team’s Twitter feed.  To date, Clarkson has averaged 4.3 PPG in 11.4 MPG during eight games played in his rookie season. Henry, who will again become a free agent after the 2014/15 season, has averaged only 1.3 PPG in 8.9 MPG during seven contests.
  • The Lakers will guarantee portions of their non-guaranteed contracts with Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington, assuming they aren’t placed on waivers today. Price’s deal is set to become guaranteed for about $329K while Wayne Ellington is in line for a nearly $316K guarantee, as shown on our Schedule of Contract Guarantee Dates and as originally reported by Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Ellington is on an indefinite leave from the team as he mourns the murder of his father.
  • The team had hoped Steve Nash would serve as a mentor and de facto coach for the young players on the Lakers, but Nash’s lack of presence at the team’s facilities has dampened that scenario, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Oram adds that Scott can’t even get Nash to return a phone call. “If my coach would have called me,” Scott said, “I definitely would have called him back.”  Scott later clarified that he is not upset with Nash. “I’ll try him again when I get some more free time tomorrow or Monday or something like that,” Scott said. “I know he’s probably going through a tough time as far as trying to adjust to life without basketball at this particular point.” Nash was ruled out for the 2014/15 season and while many believe he has already played his last game in the NBA, he is technically not retired.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Pacific Notes: Hill, Price, Thomas

October 22nd, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers tied for third among the teams most likely to win the NBA title as the league’s GMs see it, as John Schuhmann of NBA.com details amid the results of the league’s annual GM survey. Still, they figure to receive a strong challenge in their own division from the Warriors. While we wait to see how it plays out, here’s the latest from the Pacific:

  • Jordan Hill confirmed rumors from this past spring that he wouldn’t have re-signed with the Lakers if Mike D’Antoni were still the coach, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Medina adds the Heat, Spurs and Magic to the list of suitors who went after the power forward this summer.
  • Byron Scott stopped short of acknowledging that Ronnie Price is a lock to make the opening-night roster for the Lakers, but the coach said that injuries to the team’s other point guards would make it tough to let him go, Medina notes in a separate piece. “If you look at it that way, we have to [keep him],” Scott said. “Ronnie gets more of an opportunity. So far in my opinion, he has taken full advantage of it.”
  • The Suns told Isaiah Thomas when they pitched him in free agency this summer that they valued him as a starter even though they made it clear they wanted to retain Eric Bledsoe, as Thomas tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thomas isn’t concerned with whether he starts, but he did express continued bitterness toward the Kings, telling Kennedy he wasn’t surprised that they didn’t re-sign him and that he always felt the Sacramento organization underappreciated him.
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Western Notes: Villanueva, Price, Boozer, Jazz

October 20th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Various reports have painted conflicting pictures of Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s willingness to keep Charlie Villanueva‘s non-guaranteed contract into the regular season, but Cuban nonetheless has plenty of praise for the nine-year veteran. Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the details. 

“He’s the prototype of what we like,’’ Cuban said. “A guy who was in a difficult situation and got a bad rap, but when you do your homework he’s really a good guy. He’s great in the locker room, guys love him and he’s putting on a battle for that last spot.”

Villanueva will soon know his status one way or another, since teams have to pare down to no more than 15 players by 4pm Central on October 27th, one week from today. Here’s more from around the Western Conference as that deadline looms:

  • Ronnie Price is looking like a shoo-in for the Lakers opening-night roster, observe Bill Oram of the Orange Country Register and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Price racked up 10 assists Sunday against the Jazz.
  • The Jazz organization remains high on Carlos Boozer, Oram notes (on Twitter). The Lakers can’t trade the former Utah power forward this year, but he hits free agency in the summer.
  • Dahntay Jones appears to have the inside track for the 15th opening-night roster spot on the Jazz if the team elects to keep that many players, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune examines.
  • The Warriors have opened the season with just 14 players two of the last three years, but they’re leaning toward keeping 15 men until at least the leaguewide guarantee date in January based on the impressive play of many in camp, writes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Golden State has 13 contracts with full guarantees, five with partial guarantees, and a non-guaranteed deal with Jason Kapono, as our roster counts show.
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L.A. Notes: Salary Cap, Scott, Young, Rivers

October 6th, 2014 at 7:04pm CST by Charlie Adams

Few teams have a greater opportunity to benefit from the NBA’s latest television deal than the Lakers, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times explains. The new TV agreement means the cap will likely rise significantly in the summer of 2016, when Los Angeles will only have $4.3MM in guaranteed salary. Of course, that number will increase over the course of the next two years, but with several big name free agents slated to enter free agency at that time, the Lakers will have a great shot to capitalize on the higher salary cap. Here’s more from Los Angeles:

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

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