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Pacific Notes: Warriors, Suns

February 8th, 2014 at 6:01pm CST by Cray Allred

The Warriors and Suns clash tonight, and the winner will come away with the better record and second spot in the Pacific Division, good for the 6th playoff seed. Let’s look at some of the notes from these Pacific rivals:

  • The opinion of rival executives is that the Warriors would be willing to trade any of their players other than Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut, per Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick says the Warriors have one of the most aggressive front offices in the NBA, and GM Bob Myers acknowledged the possibility of making moves with their “healthy amount of assets” in a Q&A last month.
  • Curry talked to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune  about the 2009 draft, where he was passed up by the Timberwolves for point guards Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. Curry says his first choice to land was actually with the Knicks: “I wouldn’t have known what would have come to pass here or in New York, which is where I kind of had my sights set on going in the draft. I would have tried to make the best of wherever I landed.”
  • Curry also said that playing alongside Ricky Rubio would have been fun, had the Timberwolves chosen him instead of Flynn: “The dynamic of that combination would have been fun, I’m sure. But it didn’t work out that way. Looking back, this is a spot here where good things definitely have happened.”
  • Curry also dismissed the idea that the Timberwolves were hesitant to draft him due to his preference for a warm weather destination: “It is nice to be in the Bay Area, where it’s 65, 70 degrees today. But even in New York and the East Coast, it’s snowy and 12, 20 degrees… I had the same situation here as with Minnesota: I didn’t come work out for the Warriors, met with the GMs back then. I would have been happy to be in the league and not have been some spoiled little brat who manipulated his way into the league somehow. I would have been cool whenever I was drafted.”
  • If the Suns can land a star, they’d prefer a perimeter player, per Amick’s piece. This is one reason Rudy Gay has their attention in addition to the reports of interest in post players Pau Gasol and Thaddeus Young.
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Warriors Owner On Offseason, Iguodala, CBA

October 3rd, 2013 at 6:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Warriors owner Joe Lacob sat down with Sean Deveney of the Sporting News earlier today to disucss several topics, including how he feels about the improvements made during the offseason and how the new collective bargaining agreement will affect his decision-making moving forward. You can read some of the highlights from the Q&A transcript below: 

On how much the team has improved since last year: 

We have improved this team on paper. Perhaps even substantially. We’re still a very young team. We have a young core that hopefully begins to organically grow and get better. We added key free agents, we added size, we added depth. We’re pretty interesting. We have very good shooting, we have very good height and depth. We’re a big team now. We have, at any time, we can put out five individual defenders that are really good defenders. We couldn’t do that a year ago.

On how he thinks the team will stack up against the rest of the Western Conference: 

There are some really good teams in the West. But I think we are right there in that group. We believe we are right there. We feel that, if we stay injury-free, we can be a contender to finish in the Top 4 in the West and get homecourt advantage and from there, you see what happens.

On the significance of being able to add a top-tier free agent like Andre Iguodala: 

We started a process whereby we wanted to make a run at improving through the ways that you traditionally improve a team. Draft, we have bought draft picks all three years we have been involved here. We wanted to have more shots at bringing in players. Free agency, we wanted to be in the conversation every year. (Andre) wanted to come here and came here for less than he would have gotten somewhere else. It was emblematic of the way he sees our franchise and the changes we have made. We have made it clear we want a championship. We will spend the money. I said I would be willing to go into the luxury tax for that, and we would have. It wound up that we did not have to do it that way. 

If he's worried about keeping his young and talented core together under the new CBA: 

As time goes by, we will have some challenges in that regard. We will have to deal with that as those situations occur. Steph Curry is signed up for the long term—the long term is four years in the NBA now. (Klay Thompson) is in his third year, (Harrison Barnes) is in his second year. So it is not an urgent problem right now. But eventually, that could become a problem, how do you keep them? It is not going to be a monetary issue because this ownership is willing to spend whatever it takes to build a championship here and be extremely competitive every year. That isn’t something I even think about, we will spend the money.

I don’t want to pay the luxury tax, nobody wants to. That’s why it is a luxury tax, it is very punitive. But if it means winning vs. not winning, I choose winning. So that’s not an issue. At the end of the day, all the things we are talking about are important, but the fans care about one thing: Are you winning? Not the luxury tax. If I am not here to win, then I shouldn’t be here. We need to win.

On the risk of signing Stephen Curry to an extension after he had been injured: 

 A lot of people questioned signing him to a long-term deal—I would read it, every day, ‘Will he ever be healthy? Ever?’ He had several years of chronic ankle problems. But I looked at that and thought, ‘I don’t remember an ankle ending a guy’s career.’ I believed with good medical attention, he was going to be able to overcome that. And we probably got a discount relative to what someone else would have paid for him at the end of last year, given the performance he had. At that moment, though, yes, a lot of people wouldn’t have signed him. We took the chance, we signed him and now we look like we’re pretty smart.

Read more

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Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Cuban, Bulls

September 5th, 2013 at 11:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There's hardly a dull moment with Mark Cuban when he speaks with the media, as the outspoken Mavericks owner said on the Artie Lange Show that hiring a head coach is "harder than finding a wife" (hat tip to SportsDayDFW). On a more serious note, Cuban explained why he'll never trade Dirk Nowitzki: 

"Dirk defines our culture. When your best player, no matter how old, is the first one in the gym and the last to leave, and works the hardest and encourages guys the way Dirk does … that has a value that goes far beyond what you see on the court."

Here's a roundup of the rest of tonight's links: 

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Odds & Ends: Paul, NBPA, Butler

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In discussing Chris Paul's election as the new NBPA president, ESPN's Brian Windhorst writes that neither Paul nor former union vice president Jerry Stackhouse would commit to a timetable nor discuss whether a search firm was in place to find a replacement for ex-NBPA executive director Billy Hunter. Stackhouse, who will remain active with the union in an advisory role, said they aren't in a rush but have already identified a number of candidates. Windhorst also says the union would ideally want a new executive director in place by February 1st, when Adam Silver is set to begin his job as the new commissioner. Here are more of tonight's miscellaneous news and notes, along with more from the above piece:

  • Some comments from Paul: "I've been thinking about (running) for a while on and off…I've had a lot of dialogue about it with committee members. I wouldn't have taken on the role if I was going to do it alone."
  • There are a few specific issues that were tabled during the 2011 CBA which still need to be resolved, especially blood testing for performance enhancing drugs (including human growth hormone) and the current age limit to declare for the NBA draft. 
  • Lakers guard Steve Blake and Bobcats forward Anthony Tolliver were added as new members to the executive committee, joining Paul, Roger Mason Jr., Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, James Jones, Matt Bonner, and Willie Green.
  • The union has turned to Deloitte Financial Advisory Services to examine its structure and will make necessary changes, such as adding a human resources and information technology department (J.A. Adande of ESPN.com).
  • Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes that the NBPA has hired Reilly Partners to help with restructuring and forming a job description for the executive director position, and that two names have surfaced as potential candidates for the opening: former NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson and former NBA and Madison Square Garden executive Steven Mills. 
  • Suns forward Caron Butler says he's looking forward to being a mentor to teammate Michael Beasley, gives his thoughts on the Clippers, and talks about how he's approaching the upcoming season in Phoenix. Butler adds that no one from the Clippers front office has spoken to him since he was notified by his agent about being traded, but insists there's no ill will: “I don’t leave with bitterness or anything, but a phone call would have helped the situation…But it’s cool, it’s no hard feelings because that’s the nature of the business" (NBA.com's Jeff Caplan). 
  • Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy looks at a list of 11 of the top 13 players drafted this past June and discusses their chances at winning Rookie of the Year.
  • In the same piece, Kennedy relays a clip from Gary Payton's interview on FOX Sports, in which the Hall of Fame point guard reveals that he may have had something to do with Allen Iverson's "practice" rant on the 76ers several years ago: "(Iverson) asked me…'How do you keep your body is so good of a shape, and don’t get hurt, and stay always on the court?’ And I just told him for real, my coach George Karl didn’t let me practice. So that was it. I said, ‘You have to stop practicing." While watching the actual rant, Payton recalled thinking: ‘Don’t say it like this! Don’t do it like that, Allen…When he said it, I said, ‘No, that was not our conversation.’”
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Warriors Notes: Cap, Lee, Picks, TPEs, Jackson

July 11th, 2013 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group passes along a couple more notes on the Warriors' cap situation, via Twitter.

2:07pm: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has conducted a lengthy Q&A with Warriors owner Joe Lacob about the team's approach to the offseason, and its recent moves. Lacob explains how Golden State identified Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala as its top targets and went about acquiring Iguodala. The entire piece is worth a read, particularly for Warriors fans, but here are a few of the most notable tidbits:

  • According to Lacob, the Warriors decided that now was the time to make a big move and add a major piece to the core, rather than letting contracts like Richard Jefferson's and Andris Biedrins' expire and trying to make a splash next summer.
  • Lacob adds that the team was "never going to part with [its] core." While he doesn't name specific players, I'm guessing he's referring to Steph Curry, Harrison Barnes, and Klay Thompson.
  • The Warriors "were always going to keep" David Lee as well, says Lacob, adding that the club never offered Lee to another team in trade talks.
  • Lacob, addressing the fact that Andrew Bogut's and Lee's names surfaced in trade rumors: "These are NBA players; they know trades happen. It’s part of their lives, part of their business…. We didn’t want to trade any of them or give them up in any way. We wanted to do whatever could to add to them."
  • The two first-round picks the Warriors sent to the Jazz are unprotected, Lacob confirms.
  • Asked if more moves are coming, Lacob says he thinks the Warriors are "done for now."
  • If the club does want to add another player, there should be trade exceptions available from the three-way trade with the Jazz and Nuggets. Lacob's words: "I know we have at least an 11 I believe and a 4. There might be a 9 in there too." By my math, the Warriors created TPEs worth $11,046,000 and $4,000,000, but won't have one for $9,000,000.
  • Golden State is prepared to go into luxury-tax territory going forward, says Lacob.
  • Lacob on possible trade options down the road: "We have a lot of assets at this point, a lot of really good players that people want. Bob Myers gets called every day—we had some amazing offers, people calling, not us calling them, on some really good players."
  • Lacob envisions Mark Jackson as the Warriors' long-term coach, but says there's no specific timetable for extension talks.
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Warriors Increase Efforts To Pursue Dwight Howard

July 4th, 2013 at 11:09pm CST by Ryan Raroque

11:09pm: On the possibility that the Warriors complete some deals and Dwight still decides to sign elsewhere, one source tells Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group that there's no chance of that happening, as Golden State would presumably only follow through with cap-clearing trades if he were to commit to them. Thompson II also says that even if the Warriors were to agree to some deals, they could still cancel them before the moratorium ends if Howard decides to head elsewhere.

9:41pm: Earlier tonight, Heisler (via Twitter) cited a Lakers source who said that the team would consider a combination of Curry, Barnes, or Thompson to go along with Bogut and a number one draft pick in a sign-and-trade for Howard, although Golden State hasn't offered any three of those young players.  

6:52pm: Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times says that the Lakers aren't actively looking for a sign-and-trade and still hope that Howard returns. If he were to be included in a deal, L.A. would want young talent in return and would have to find a third team to take on any expiring contracts. If the Lakers were to complete a trade with the Warriors and take back expiring contracts, they would still be accountable for roughly the same tax bill that they'd face if they were to successfully re-sign Howard, which is why they wouldn't want any expiring deals in return. Pincus adds that the Lakers would rather have Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill constitute their frontcourt than have to pay an additional $50MM in luxury tax in return for dealing Dwight (All Twitter links). 

6:12pm: According to Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN, sources with knowledge of the Warriors' thinking report that Golden State has begun aggressively shopping their players in an attempt to clear enough salary cap space to land Dwight Howard. Stein tweets that although no move would be easy for the Warriors, the team felt "emboldened" by the impression that they made on the free agent big man during their meeting with him this week, enough to where it is believed that they had gained ground on the Rockets and Mavericks.

As currently constructed, the Warriors chances at landing the star center primarily involved convincing the Lakers to agree to a sign-and-trade, although Windhorst and Stein make note that Los Angeles would prefer to let Dwight walk and preserve cap space for next summer – in addition to not being so open to helping him land on a division rival. With that in mind, Golden State is now trying to shop expiring contracts to teams with cap space in order to create enough room to sign Howard outright. Such expiring deals include those of Andris Biedrins ($9MM), Richard Jefferson ($11M), and Andrew Bogut ($14MM), and sources say that the franchise has tried to unload all three this week.

It is reported that Golden State would be willing to include a future first round pick in order to sweeten a potential deal, but they may also have to consider dealing away some of their promising young players – such as Harrison Barnes or Klay Thompson – in order complete a trade. Stein and Windhorst write that when the Warriors had tried to attempt to offload a large contract last year, prospective trading partners tended to include Barnes or Thompson into the discussion. 

Mark Heisler of Sheridan Hoops (via Twitter) cites a source who indicates that if a sign-and-trade were to materialize between the Lakers and Warriors, L.A. would insist that Stephen Curry, Thompson, or Barnes would have to be involved. According to Stein and Windhorst, a source close to the situation says that Dwight is expected to make his decision by tomorrow. All things considered, it'll be quite intriguing to see if and what the Warriors can try to come up with until then. 

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Odds & Ends: Shaw, Kings, Curry, Raptors, Allen

June 5th, 2013 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

You could make a convincing argument that no head coaching candidate has a higher stock than Brian Shaw right now. The Pacers assistant has been linked in one way or another to all four teams currently without a head coach, and his agent Jerome Stanley tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) that several teams have contacted Indiana about interviewing his client. While no interviews have been formally scheduled yet, Shaw intends to explore all the opportunities available to him, according to his agent (Twitter links).

Let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the Association….

  • According to veteran NBA reporter Peter Vecsey (via Twitter), Larry Bird is meeting with Kings ownership today. Bird has been mentioned as a possible Sacramento target for the position of head of basketball operations.
  • Stephen Curry tells Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer that he can't picture himself playing for any team besides the Warriors.
  • New Raptors head of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is making a "hard push" to bring Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman to Toronto as part of his team in the front office, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
  • Ray Allen remains undecided on his $3.23MM player option for next season, but will address it after the Finals, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
  • Manu Ginobili hopes to see fellow Argentine Pablo Prigioni continue to play in the NBA next season, rather than returning overseas, as he tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. "I think the last time he talked to the media (on Argentine radio) he was intending to get back in the (NBA)," Ginobili said. "If he wants to, he’ll be here."
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Odds & Ends: Wizards, Orton, 76ers

May 30th, 2013 at 11:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here's more of tonight's miscellaneous links: 

  • J. Michael of CSN Washington hears that despite the Wizards owning three draft picks next month, the team doesn't want to add three rookies and will try to at least deal one pick (or possibly both second rounders) in a package to land a veteran player. 
  • As much as Thunder big man Daniel Orton enjoys being on a championship contender, he tells John Rohde of NewsOK that he's open to a change of scenery if it provides an opportunity for more playing time. Orton has two more non-guaranteed years with Oklahoma City. 
  • Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com wonders why 76ers GM Sam Hinkie hasn't hired a coach yet, making the argument that it will be counterproductive if they wait to name a coach after significant roster decisions – such as selecting a player in the draft – have been made.
  • Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio took to Twitter to have a brief chat with readers, noting that there "absolutely" is interest in Rockets forward Thomas Robinson, the Cavaliers might be able to consider Danny Granger a real possibility as a trade target, Byron Scott looks to be the leading candidate for the Clippers head coaching job, and that the Celtics may go after Josh Smith if Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are done in Boston (All Twitter links here). Interestingly, Amico also tweets that Beantown could be in play for Andrew Bynum if they decide to gut the roster. 
  • Though he had originally been disappointed that he didn't land with the Knicks on draft night four years ago, Warriors star Stephen Curry now happily has the keys to the city in Golden State and wouldn't have it any other way (Will Leitch of Sports On Earth). 
  • Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles points out that not only was Michael Malone the only coaching candidate being considered by Vivek Ranadive, but notes that Jerry West – currently a consultant for the Warriors – has been counseling Ranadive throughout the hiring process. 
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside notes that D-League guard Tony Taylor Jr. has an opportunity-laced summer to catch the attention of NBA executives, as the young guard will participate in a free agent camp for the Magic before joining the Thunder and Heat at separate times on their respective summer league teams. 
  • Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that Chris Paul makes much more sense for the Mavericks than Dwight Howard.
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Re-Examining Stephen Curry’s Extension

May 7th, 2013 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Last October, on the final day before 2012's extension deadline, the Warriors and Stephen Curry reached an agreement on a four-year, $44MM deal. As we watch Curry put up one memorable postseason performance after another for the Warriors this spring, it's easy to forget, but at the time the move was viewed as a significant risk for Golden State. Curry was coming off an injury-plagued 2011/12 season and had just reinjured his ankle during camp.

Six months later, it's not as if the Warriors are entirely in the clear, considering the extension hasn't even officially kicked in yet. But if Curry's long-term contract was a high-risk, high-reward move for Golden State, the team is certainly reaping the rewards at the moment.

Earlier today at SBNation.com, Tom Ziller noted that the Warriors saved themselves a significant amount of money by extending Curry when they did. Let's take Ziller's point one step further and take a closer look at exactly how much money the Warriors may have saved, and how the decision to get something done last fall affected Curry's potential free agency and Golden State's long-term cap situation.

First, here's how Curry's actual extension breaks down:

Curry

It's safe to assume that if Curry had reached restricted free agency this summer, he would have received at least one maximum-salary offer. The Warriors could have offered Curry a five-year max with 7.5% raises, or matched a four-year max (4.5% raises) offer sheet from a rival team. We won't know the exact amount of next year's maximum salaries until July, but we should be able to make a decent guess. A year ago, maximum salaries for players with 1-6 years of experience increased by 5.77%. If they increase by the same rate this year, these would have been the potential max scenarios for Curry:

Curry2

For our hypothetical scenario, let's say the Warriors, having been reluctant to extend Curry last fall because of knee troubles, were once again reluctant to commit huge money to him for five years and simply matched a four-year offer sheet from a rival club. That would still put Curry on the books for about $61.74MM over the next four seasons, rather than $44MM. That's an increase of between $4-5MM in annual salary for every season between now and 2016/17.

Would that $4-5MM have made much difference for the Warriors? By '16/17, maybe not, but in the short-term, it would have had a huge impact on the team's cap situation. Assuming Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins, and Brandon Rush exercise their player options for next season, the Warriors already have about $69MM committed to guaranteed salaries for 10 players. That doesn't leave much wiggle room below the tax line for the club to bring back Jarrett Jack or Carl Landry, or to add further reinforcements.

Now imagine if the team had to pay Curry a max salary of more than $14MM next season. That would put the Warriors' salary commitments over $73MM, meaning the club would already be in tax territory before even filling out the rest of its roster. Deadline deals this past year allowed the Warriors to avoid being a 2012/13 taxpayer, but barring a more significant trade, they won't be as fortunate in '13/14. Paying the max to Curry would have pushed the club even further into the tax, in a season when CBA changes ensure that tax penalties will become even more punitive.

The Warriors haven't always made the smartest roster decisions — the presence of Biedrins and Jefferson on next year's books is proof of that. But extending Curry when they did looks like a stroke of genius at this point. Not only is the fourth-year guard shooting the Warriors into legit contention in the Western Conference, but his affordable salary next season and beyond should significantly reduce Golden State's tax bill and allow for additional cap flexibility down the road.

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Western Notes: Timberwolves, Mavericks, Curry

May 4th, 2013 at 10:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In a video interview, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune says that he isn't exactly sure what the hiring of Flip Saunders means for Rick Adelman. Zgoda also mentions that Saunders' offseason goal is to add perimeter shooters and "balance the roster," which he interprets to mean that the Timberwolves will try to land a shooting guard with good size and see what they can get for Derrick Williams. You can find more notes out of the Western Conference tonight below:

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