All indications from Philadelphia are that they want to shake things up this offseason. We already know Rod Thorn is more or less out and that Lou Williams has opted out. In his chat today, ESPN's Chad Ford said that he is again hearing Andre Iguodala is being shopped. Ford mentions the Wizards or Bobcats as possible destinations with the Sixers, in return, moving up from pick fifteen. Ford mentions Bradley Beal, Thomas Robinson or Andre Drummond as Sixers' targets. Here are others odds and ends from around the league on Sunday night:
Multiple reports have indicated Lou Williams will be opting out of the final year of his contract with the 76ers, though not necessarily to leave Philadelphia. Williams himself seemed to be laying the groundwork for such a decision yesterday, tweeting "Quick note. Opting out doesn't necessarily mean you're leaving. It's getting out of one contract to begin a new one." The Sixers will be faced with a number of free agent decisions besides Williams this summer, and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has updates on a few of those players and on the executives that will be making the roster moves….
It's time for another look at soon-to-be free agents and their playoff performances as we put a bow on the conference semifinals with the Sixers-Celtics Game 7 tonight. You can find previous Money Time posts by clicking on the tag at the bottom of this entry or by clicking here.
Winners
Danny Green, Spurs (restricted): Last year's D-League refugee doesn't have to worry about NBA job security anymore, especially after what he's done this postseason. In San Antonio's four-game sweep of the Clippers, Green delivered on 11 of 19 three-point attempts , shot 56.3% overall, and was fourth on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
Boris Diaw, Spurs: He's fit so seamlessly with the Spurs that GM R.C. Buford may regret signing Diaw to just a rest-of-the-season deal when he was bought out by the Bobcats. Diaw took over the starting power forward spot next to center Tim Duncan shortly before the playoffs, and really turned it on against the Clippers, averaging 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He had 12 rebounds in Game 1, and shot 7-for-7 for 16 points in Game 2.
Lavoy Allen, Sixers (restricted): He's forgiving about his preseason ranking as the worst player in the NBA by ESPN.com, and he didn't get down when he was benched after starting Game 1 against the Bulls. Allen has instead turned into one of the most important figures for the Sixers in their series against the Celtics, shooting 62.9% from the floor and averaging 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals in 23.5 minutes a game against Boston. He has a chance to make an even more profound impression with a strong performance in Game 7 tonight.
Losers
Kenyon Martin, Clippers: We'll circle back to catch up with one of the many Clippers done in by the Spurs. He averaged 1.5 blocks, but brought down fewer than three rebounds per game in that series, disconcerting for a big man even though he played just 16 MPG. He was nonexistant on offense, shooting just 40% and averaging 4.0 PPG.
Spencer Hawes, Sixers: We had him listed as a winner in a previous installment of Money Time, but he has not carried his encouraging play against the Bulls over to the second-round series with the Celtics. He's the team's eighth leading scorer, at 8.0 PPG, in the series, and has averaged just 24.3 minutes of court time. The Celtics are a poor rebounding team, but the 7'0", 245-pound Hawes is putting up just 5.5 RPG against them.
Leandro Barbosa, Pacers: The Pacers looked to him to spark the team's offense as a reserve, but Barbosa, a double-figure scorer for six of the last seven regular seasons, couldn't get it done. He shot 31.8% against the Heat, and the career 82.3% free-throw shooter went just 3-for-6 at the line. His 6'3", 176-pound frame made him a liability at shooting guard when he was defending Dwyane Wade, and as a 29-year-old who has long used his speed to his advantage, Barbosa's prospects look dim going forward.
The last time Boston and Philadelphia met in the playoffs, Paul Pierce and Tony Battie were starters for the Celtics, Elton Brand had just wrapped up his first season in a Clippers uniform, and Jrue Holiday was only 11-years-old. The matchup featured a duel of scoring prowess between Pierce and Allen Iverson, whereas now, both teams have intriguing matchups at every position. With Game One underway at the TD Garden, here are tonight's rumblings from around the league:
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld writes that the decisions made this summer with regards to coaching, the draft, and free agency will determine the face of the Mavericks franchise for the rest of Dirk Nowitzki's career.
- Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune writes that Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor is advocating patience as the team continues to build during the post-Deron Williams era. Although the Jazz are not at the same level of the elite teams Western Conference, the team is optimistic about their young core and has offseason flexibility in the form of cap space and a $10 MM trade exception.
- Pau Gasol is aware that the fallout of a loss tonight would include the pressure of a potential breakup of the team, but says that it's not something that should be on their minds, says Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- John N. Mitchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer discusses the importance of Spencer Hawes' matchup with Kevin Garnett in the second round of this year's playoffs. Hawes will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so a productive performance against the Celtics could earn him a bigger price tag.
- David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune believes that Luol Deng should pass on the Olympics this summer in order to have surgery on his wrist and allow it to properly heal before next season.
This is the time of year reputations are made in the NBA. A breakout performance or a disappointment at playoff time can change how teams view some of their most important players. The stakes are even higher for players about to head into free agency, since this is their last chance to make an on-court impression before they sign a contract.
With that in mind and a week of playoff action in the books, let's take a look at some upcoming free agents who've played particularly well, and some who've played especially poorly:
Winners
Nick Young, Clippers: He's always been capable of heating it up, and in his first playoff appearance since his rookie season, he hasn't shrunk from the spotlight. He canned three straight treys in the Clippers' amazing 27-point comeback in Game 1, and is the team's third leading postseason scorer at 15.0 PPG on 10 of 16 shooting so far.
Spencer Hawes, Sixers: When he wasn't in the starting lineup for Game 1, it looked like Hawes would have little opportunity to showcase his abilities, and the outlook was pretty grim when coach Doug Collins got visibly upset with Hawes when he got in foul trouble in Game 2. But as a starter in a Game 3 victory for the Sixers, he went for 21 points and nine rebounds in more than 32 minutes on the floor, and was a go-to option down the stretch.
JaVale McGee, Nuggets (restricted): It looked like he was adding to his lengthy personal blooper reel during an 0-for-6 playoff debut in Game 1. It's easy to get carried away with his 16-point, 15-rebound performance from Game 3, but it's a sign of the potential that makes the 7-footer a commodity. Plus, he had nine rebounds in 24 minutes in Game 2.
Losers
Ryan Anderson, Magic (restricted): He might have won the Most Improved Player of the Year award this week, but his performance in the playoffs has fueled speculation that his regular season play was a product of having a dominant center like Dwight Howard around. He's just 10-for-31 from the field, and has averaged 8.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG. He went to the bench early in the fourth quarter during today's Game 4 against the Pacers, and the Magic rallied from 19 down to force overtime without him.
Steve Novak, Knicks: He's played 67 minutes over three games, but the Heat's defense has only allowed him to shoot seven three-pointers the entire series. Novak has proven he's deadly when he gets the chance to fire away, but he's of little value if he can't get a shot off.
Josh Howard, Jazz: You could excuse him here, since he just came back from knee surgery that originally looked like it would end his season, but he's shot just 3-for-13 and averaged 5.0 PPG as the Jazz have struggled mightily against the Spurs.
When Dwight Howard opted in to the last year of his contract with Orlando last week, the loudest cheer from anyone who’s not a Magic fan probably came from Spencer Hawes. With Howard off the free-agent market, Hawes is now likely the most attractive unrestricted free agent center available this summer.
The 23-year-old University of Washington product has struggled with a strained left Achilles’ tendon this season, which caused him to miss 27 of 28 games before his return last week. When healthy, though, Hawes has been putting up some of his best numbers, posting per-game career highs in rebounds (8.0), assists (2.7) and blocks (1.4) while averaging 10.1 points per game. A 46.6% shooter in his first four seasons, he is making 54% of his shots from the floor this year, and that’s contributed to a PER that’s up to 19.2 from 12.8 last year.
It’s the kind of leap the Kings had in mind when they took him 10th overall in the 2007 draft. When Hawes hadn't sufficiently developed after three years, Sacramento went with DeMarcus Cousins at center instead and traded Hawes to the Sixers. Coach Doug Collins made Hawes a full-time starter for the first time last year, and he signed a one-year $4.05MM qualifying offer from the team as a restricted free agent this past offseason.
He faces competition from restricted free agents Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez and JaVale McGee, but teams going all in on Hawes know there isn’t a chance the Sixers will swoop in to match the offer after the deal is already signed, unlike with the restricted guys. Up-and-coming big men have a long history of getting big contracts and retreating into obscurity, like Jim McIlvaine, Jerome James and Eddy Curry. The Nuggets seemed to quickly get a case of buyer’s remorse on the five-year, $65MM deal they gave to Nene in December, shipping him to the Wizards last week.
Hawes probably isn’t in line for an offer like Nene’s, but he could use DeAndre Jordan’s four-year, $43.04MM contract as a model. Jordan averaged 7.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 1.8 blocks per game in his age-22 season for the Clippers last year before the Warriors signed him to an offer sheet, which the Clippers matched. Hawes has numbers that are similar, if not better, and he could command a deal that’s a little bit more lucrative than Jordan’s. The Sixers, who have $63.5MM committed for next season, would have trouble making that happen unless they moved some money or used their amnesty clause. Other teams in need of a center who don’t want to wait for Howard or don’t feel they could get him could go after Hawes, like the Mavs, Celtics or Raptors. One intriguing possibility is the Blazers, who just cleared a bunch of cap space at the trade deadline, with only $34.9MM now on the books for next year, and are the team closest to his native Seattle.
The rare feat of attending two games in one day has been made possible today thanks to bizarre scheduling by the NBA. With the Knicks taking on the Mavericks in one of the early games (1:00 PM EST), a die-hard fan with deep pockets could easily make it across the Hudson in time see the Nets battle the Bucks at 7:00 PM EST. Let's take a look around the Atlantic Division to see what else is going on before the Jeremy Lin versus Jason Kidd showdown occupies the early afternoon.
- The 76ers need to find some offense if they want to continue their early season success, writes John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mitchell points to the absence of injured 76ers center Spencer Hawes as a major reason why the team has struggled to score points as of late. While the team is balanced in featuring six players averaging double figures in scoring, the team's schedule becomes more difficult as they hit the road more frequently in the second half of the season.
- A late pre-season acquisition by the Celtics has proved to be an excellent move by their front office, says ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg. Mickael Pietrus, 30, has enjoyed success on the court, but his true value to the team may be his affable personality and his ability to mesh well within the organization. As the replacement for the now-departed Glen Davis, Pietrus is averaging 7.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG on the season.
- Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com wonders if NBA commissioner David Stern played a role in steering Lin to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden.
SI.com conducted an interview with 76ers president Rod Thorn this week, touching on a number of trade-related topics. Here are some of the highlights:
- Asked if the current Sixers could win a title with the current roster, Thorn replied, "That’s a leap for us right now…. I think we can compete with anybody, but we have to prove we can play at that level, with those really, really elite teams." The club certainly looked elite in last night's 16-point win over the Bulls.
- The 76ers offered Spencer Hawes a multiyear deal in the offseason, but he decided to accept the team's qualifying offer instead, in an effort to improve his value this year.
- Although he'd likely be willing listen to trade offers on anyone, Thorn hasn't actively pursued an Andre Iguodala deal for "a long time."
- The Sixers would be willing to cross the luxury tax line, but wouldn't do so just to acquire an "OK player."