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Atlantic Notes: Sullinger, Simmons, Thomas

July 12th, 2016 at 9:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jared Sullinger‘s struggles with his weight and conditioning were the main reasons the Celtics allowed the forward to depart as a free agent after rescinding their qualifying offer to him, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald writes. The big man accepts that he was at fault, according to David Falk, his agent, Murphy notes. “Jared understands that if he had controlled his situation better, his options would have been better,” Falk said. “What happened the last two weeks has been major wake-up call for him. He’s in the gym twice a day. He knows what he has to do. Jared acknowledges that he put himself in this situation, and he has to get himself out of it”

Falk also noted that Sullinger had received interest from a number of teams before he inked a one-year deal with the Raptors, calling Toronto the best fit, Murphy relays. “I’ve always advised my clients not to be a slave to money, and Jared had a deal for twice the money from another team, but it wouldn’t have been as qualitative a situation as going to Toronto,” said Falk. “We turned down an offer of over $10MM. But my feeling is that in this market, when you look at the deals that players like Bismack Biyombo signed, Jared is a $20MM player because of his skill. He was Boston’s best big last year – a regular double-double guy. But first he has to show people. As my dad used to say, [betting on yourself] is the ultimate acid test.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sullinger wasn’t Toronto’s first choice, as the team was in advanced discussions with Pau Gasol, who signed with the Spurs, and the Raptors were prepared to trade Terrence Ross to clear the necessary cap space to ink the Spaniard, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays. Toronto then nearly reached an agreement with the Bulls to acquire Taj Gibson and Tony Snell, but the deal fell through after Dwyane Wade chose Chicago, the scribe adds.
No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons has performed well in summer league play, but if the talented forward is to reach his full potential, the Sixers will need to learn from past mistakes and surround him with solid outside shooters, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer opines. The scribe points to how the lack of such players has hampered the development of Nerlens Noel, pointing to the big man’s improvement once Ish Smith was added to the roster this past season.
Isaiah Thomas‘ deal with the Celtics is an extremely team friendly one given the contracts handed out this summer, a fact that hasn’t escaped the point guard, who says he intends to cash in when he hits free agency in 2018, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “They better bring out the Brinks truck,” quipped Thomas. “They’re paying everybody else. I gotta get something. I’m trying not to worry about it. It’s out there. I’m just being myself and play and hopefully that takes care of everything else.“

Bulls Notes: Noah, Gibson, Gasol, Valentine

June 26th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent center Joakim Noah is putting together a list of possible destinations and seems increasingly likely to leave Chicago, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Noah and his agent, Bill Duffy, are working though a priority list as they search for Noah’s next team, Cowley reports. In order, those are a winning team, a chance to start and finish games and a franchise that will support his foundation, Noah’s Arc. The Knicks’ prospects for landing Noah improved with the Derrick Rose trade, according to Cowley. The Wizards and Timberwolves, under the direction of former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, will also be contenders.

There’s more tonight out of Chicago:

The Bulls have been talking to a few teams about a trade involving Taj Gibson, Cowley writes in the same piece. The 31-year-old power forward will make $8.95MM next season in the final year of his contract. Cowley says the Bulls also seem likely to lose free agent center Pau Gasol, who will turn 36 soon and doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding project.
Denzel Valentine‘s college coach says the No. 14 pick will be fine in the NBA despite concerns about the condition of his knees, relays K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “I think he’ll be great for the Bulls,” said Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. “I know people are worried about the knees. I’m not saying he’s got 20-year-old knees, but the guy played in 144 of 148 games. He missed some practices when he had surgery on it, but that was it. I used to have to drag him out of games. He practiced. He worked out. He loves the game.”
Free agent point guard Brandon Jennings could help fill the void left by the loss of Rose, suggests Kendall Gill of CSNChicago. Jennings averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 assists this season in 48 games with the Pistons and Magic.

Heat Notes: Durant, Whiteside, McRoberts, Johnson

May 22nd, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are treating Kevin Durant like a long shot and concentrating their free agency efforts on keeping Hassan Whiteside, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami intends to make an offer to Durant, but Jackson says the team’s intentions were clear when president Pat Riley called Whiteside the priority this week.

Miami might have a better shot at signing an outside free agent next summer, Jackson writes, even if Whiteside returns at a max or near-max contract. Dwyane Wade can free up some money if he agrees to another one-year contract or a two-year deal with an opt out after one season. Even if Chris Bosh is able to keep playing and his $25.3MM counts against the Heat’s cap, the franchise could have about $26MM to use next summer, possibly closer to $32MM if it can find a taker for Josh McRoberts. That would be enough to re-sign Wade and add a player such as Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Danilo Gallinari, Taj Gibson, Andre Iguodala, Tony Allen or J.J. Redick.

There’s more out of Miami:

The Heat will gauge the trade market for McRoberts, but the front office recognizes his value in case Bosh can’t play, Jackson writes in the same story. Miami might prefer to keep Luol Deng, who filled in for Bosh this season, but the offers he will get in free agency might be more than Miami can afford. “When you watch players play with [McRoberts], who know how to play with him, they’re very effective,” Riley said. “… We’re still high on him. We’re praying all the time he stays healthy.”
Joe Johnson may not stay with the Heat if he wants a quick decision in free agency, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Winderman expects many variables to play out, including whether coach Erik Spoelstra wants to make Justise Winslow his starting small forward. If that happens, the Heat would prefer to add another shooter to the starting lineup, a role Bosh can fill if he’s healthy. The Heat may want to fill their salary cap with other players first and then offer Johnson its $2.9MM “room” mid-level exception. However, he could get a better offer from another team before that happens.
After passing on Devin Booker to draft Winslow last year, the Heat need to concentrate on finding shooters this summer, Winderman contends in a separate piece. Their 7-for-25 performance from 3-point range in Game 7 against the Raptors underlined the need for improvement, but Spoestra said the team won’t be searching for just one skill. “Teams are built differently; teams can win in different ways,” he said. “… The most important thing is finding the best fits around the players you currently have, and can players bring out the best in each other?”

Central Notes: Hoiberg, Gibson, Vaughn, Pacers

April 1st, 2016 at 7:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has job security despite the team’s disappointing season, claims Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. In a video response to readers’ questions, Wojnarowski says GM Gar Forman and VP of basketball operations John Paxson “could not wait” to hire Hoiberg away from Iowa State last summer, claiming the front office and the coach knew the move was coming months before it was made. Hoiberg still has four years and $20MM left on his contract, and the Bulls are unlikely to absorb that much salary, especially after firing former coach Tom Thibodeau with $9MM left on his deal. Wojnarowski believes Forman and Paxson have no choice but to build a roster that fits with Hoiberg’s style, as their future is now tied to his success or failure.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Hoiberg has a strong defender in Bulls power forward Taj Gibson, who says the coach’s critics need to “shut up,” relays K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “Everybody tries to discredit this man, and it’s rough,” Gibson said. “He’s a rookie coach taking on a veteran group. Give him some slack, man. It’s hard enough as it is to come in. You have the whole city of Chicago on your back. It’s tough. But I think he’s learning, doing a good job, staying with us. And I’m riding with him no matter what.”
Bucks rookie shooting guard Rashad Vaughn is getting his first NBA start tonight, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Coach Jason Kidd gave Vaughn the opportunity partly to keep Tyler Ennis with the reserve unit, but also because of Vaughn’s improved play of late. “Being sent down to the D-League and being asked to play minutes, he’s been a positive since he’s been back,” Kidd said.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for the Pacers‘ late-season collapse, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star. He claims the root of the problem goes back to president of basketball operations Larry Bird’s decision to make Indiana a smaller, faster team with Paul George starting at power forward. George resisted the move and has been a poor leader in general, Doyel claims. Coach Frank Vogel also gets blasted by Doyel, who notes that the Pacers have lost a league-high 20 games that they’ve led during the fourth quarter.

Central Notes: Brown, Drummond, Gibson, James

March 18th, 2016 at 5:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dealing with illness and injury in their backcourt, the Pistons signed Lorenzo Brown today as “insurance,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Aaron McMann of MLive. Starting point guard Reggie Jackson is dealing with a viral issue, while reserve Spencer Dinwiddie is recovering from a deep bone bruise in his ankle. With Steve Blake as the only healthy point guard, the Pistons gave a 10-day contract to Brown, who was playing for the Grand Rapids Drive in the D-League. “I watched Reggie the other night and he was sick, and Spencer’s not 100%,” Van Gundy explained. “You start saying, ‘We might want to get that covered.'” Brown was in Detroit’s training camp before the start of last season had two 10-day contracts with the Suns earlier this year. Van Gundy likes Brown’s familiarity with the Pistons’ system, but he doesn’t plan to use him in a game unless there’s an emergency.

There’s more from Detroit and the rest of the Central Division:

Van Gundy lashed out at his defense, especially center Andre Drummond, after surrendering 118 points in Wednesday’s loss to the Hawks, writes David Mayo of MLive. The coach expects better rim protection from Drummond, who will be a restricted free agent this summer after agreeing to pass on an extension. Drummond is considered a virtual lock to stay with the Pistons on a max contract. “He’s not contesting shots at the rim,” Van Gundy said. “You look at the per-minute stuff and he’s 38th in the league in blocks per minute. I mean that’s just — maybe he can’t be in the top three or four but you don’t need to be 38th.”
Taj Gibson, the subject of trade rumors before last month’s deadline, has emerged as a team leader as a wave of injuries has hit the Bulls, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com. “This is where young guys have to be veterans, suck it up and do the job,” Gibson said. That’s the way we’ve been playing the last couple of years and what I am trying to transfer to the young guys now.”
Cavaliers star LeBron James has posted another cryptic Instagram message, according to Luke Kerr-Dineen of USA Today Sports’ For The Win. James put together a montage of photos of him, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and others with the message, “Who cares what others say that don’t agree with decisions we make because it doesn’t matter, this is our journey, the path we was giving and we’ll continue to walk it heads high guarding each others back throughout it all!”

Central Notes: Blake, Motiejunas, McRae

March 11th, 2016 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy downplayed the idea of a Brandon Jennings trade in the weeks leading up to the deadline, but Steve Blake nonetheless readied himself for more playing time in case a Jennings trade happened or a deal that sent Blake himself to another team took place, MLive’s David Mayo notes. Of course, the Pistons traded Jennings to the Magic and kept soon-to-be free agent Blake, who’s glad he’s stuck around.

“I easily could have ended up somewhere else,” Blake said, according to Mayo. “I was praying it wouldn’t happen but I knew it could happen. I knew it was a possibility.”

Reggie Jackson is a fan of his backup, acknowledging that he seeks advice from Blake, a 13th-year veteran, as Mayo also relays. See more on the Pistons amid news from the Central Division.

The Pistons aren’t worried about the implications of a grievance that the union is reportedly giving strong consideration to filing in the wake of the voided Donatas Motiejunas trade, Van Gundy said, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons want to cultivate a reputation as a player-friendly organization, but they don’t think the flap over the failed deal, which prompted some harsh words from Motiejunas, will hurt the team.
Jordan McRae‘s potential to develop was one of the reasons the Cavaliers signed the 58th overall pick from 2014 to a two-year deal this week, GM David Griffin told Sam Amico of Amico Hoops. The sides decided against a second 10-day contract to strike a long-term deal after only a single 10-day stint. “He has fit in well, understands his role and embraces the opportunity he has to improve,” Griffin said. “Jordan has a unique combination of length and scoring ability, and we are intrigued by his versatility and upside.”
The Bulls have fallen flat this season, but injuries have played a major role in that, and the team would be unwise to execute a major overhaul in the summer, argues Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Jimmy Butler is a legitimate centerpiece and Derrick Rose is probably better than anyone they could trade him for, so the Bulls should concentrate on marginal changes instead, using their rookie contracts and Taj Gibson as trade bait, Berger contends.

Bulls, Raptors Talk Taj Gibson, Patrick Patterson

February 18th, 2016 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 1:10pm: The Raptors continue to make offers to teams that include both Patterson and the first-round pick the Knicks owe them in an effort to upgrade at the four, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

8:03pm: One source who spoke with Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com cast doubt on the idea of a Gibson trade, saying he isn’t going anywhere.

1:54pm: Chicago asked for the lesser of the Raptors’ two first-round picks, a source told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, who adds that it’s not clear whether the Bulls initiated the talks or the Raptors did. Presumably, Johnson’s referring to the pair of 2016 first-rounders the Raps have, and not the two 2017 first-round picks they also possess.

WEDNESDAY, 9:33am: The Bulls have proposed a swap that would send Taj Gibson to Toronto and bring Patrick Patterson to Chicago, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. However, the Raptors love Patterson and GM Masai Ujiri doesn’t appear to feel as strongly about any of the available power forwards who might bump Luis Scola from the starting lineup, Lowe adds in a different portion of his wide-ranging trade deadline column. Ostensibly, that signals Ujiri’s preference for Patterson over Gibson, though that’s not entirely clear. The Raptors would have a strong chance to re-sign Al Horford if they traded for him, sources tell Lowe, but it would take just about all Toronto has to give to wrest him from the Hawks, and a Horford-to-Toronto swap is unlikely, Lowe writes.

Gibson is making $8.5MM this season, with $8.95MM due in 2016/17, so he’d be a more expensive option than Patterson, whose contract runs the same length of time and gives him close to $6.269MM this year and an even $6.05MM next season. The Raptors are barely above the salary cap for this season, which would give them plenty of flexibility to make such a move, though it would add to the nearly $70MM in guaranteed salary they have for 2016/17, a figure that doesn’t include a new contract for DeMar DeRozan. A swap of Gibson for Patterson straight up would conversely represent a key savings for the Bulls, who are about $4.7MM above the tax threshold. It would cleave about $3.3MM from Chicago’s projected tax bill.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports first reported Gibson’s availability, though that was before Joakim Noah went out for the season and Nikola Mirotic had two surgeries related to appendicitis. Chicago would have preferred to have traded Noah rather than Gibson, Marc Stein of ESPN.com recently wrote. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors examined Gibson as a trade candidate.

Many teams are high on Patterson, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, and Patterson’s name emerged as a figure in a rumored proposal between the Raptors and Nets.

Bulls Push To Trade Pau Gasol?

February 17th, 2016 at 1:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:56pm: The Bulls have turned down some offers for Gasol, so they’re not trading him for the sake of trading him, Johnson writes.

12:50pm: Johnson indicates Chicago’s asking price for Gasol is the same as it is for Gibson: a rotation player and a first-rounder (Twitter link).

12:44pm: Sources who spoke with Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com dispute the idea the Bulls are aggressively shopping Gasol, saying instead that the Bulls have merely fielded calls about him (Twitter link).

12:16pm: The Bulls are aggressively shopping Pau Gasol, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical On Yahoo Sports. However, the team is insisting on a first-round pick and a player in any deal involving Taj Gibson, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Gasol is almost certain to opt out this summer, while Gibson doesn’t have a player option on a contract that runs through next season. Chicago wants to extract value from Gasol, lest he simply walk away in free agency, Wojnarowski writes.

The Bulls offered Gibson to the Raptors for Patrick Patterson, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com heard, though Johnson alludes to conflicting reports on which team initiated that idea (Twitter link). Chicago had been determined to find an upgrade on the wing, as Wojnarowski reported when the team began to make Gibson and Joakim Noah available, but that was before Noah went out for the season with a shoulder injury and appendicitis forced Nikola Mirotic to the sideline, weakening the team’s frontcourt. The Bulls apparently measured the market for Gasol around that time but were more focused on Gibson and Noah. Now it seems their focus has changed.

Gasol said earlier this season that he’s very likely to opt out, making those comments in December, when the Bulls were reportedly poised to make a strong push to re-sign him this summer. Brother Marc Gasol has said he’d like to lure him to the Grizzlies, but whichever team Pau finishes the season with would only have Early Bird rights to re-sign if he indeed opts out.

Central Notes: Noah, Anderson, Turner

January 29th, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls would have preferred to have traded Joakim Noah rather than Taj Gibson, hoping to extract value of some sort from Noah before he has the chance to depart in free agency this summer, executives from around the league said to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The injuries to Noah and Nikola Mirotic have made a Gibson trade even less likely, sources confirmed to Stein. Noah is expected to be out four to six months while Mirotic isn’t likely to return until after the All-Star break.

Here’s the latest from out of the Central Division:

The Pistons have interest in Ryan Anderson as a free agent this summer but not as a trade candidate, preferring not to have to relinquish assets to snag him, sources tell Stein in a separate piece. ESPN colleague Zach Lowe of ESPN.com previously reported that Detroit was eyeing the Pelicans stretch four.
The Pacers have elected to go with a bigger lineup after experimenting with a small-ball approach earlier in the season, a move that has benefited 2015 draftee Myles Turner, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star notes. “You don’t know when you’re dealing with a rookie, a 19-year-old player, how soon it’s going to come,” coach Frank Vogel said. “There’s going to be some ups and some downs but if you look at this at what we think Myles can be. … This is what this team should look like out there.“
The Bulls‘ backcourt tandem of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler are still working on developing on-court chemistry, since the two haven’t shared much time on the floor together thanks to Rose’s many injuries, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. Butler is excited about the potential of the duo, telling Johnson, “I love playing with him [Rose]. He’s super aggressive. He’s taking great shots. That’s what we need. As long as I follow his lead in that attacking style, we’re going to be really good.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Cavs, Bulls, Pistons

January 24th, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Will Joseph

Knicks reserve center Louis Amundson, who spent time with the Cavs last season, in citing a poor locker room atmosphere, wasn’t overly surprised that Cleveland fired coach David Blatt, Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. Amundson said Blatt lacked the experience of coaching in the NBA, which he added is necessary to succeed. The Knicks’ locker room felt more like a team than the Cavs’ to Amundson, Berman writes.

“It didn’t feel like it should feel,’’ Amundson said. “A team with championship aspirations, that’s not how it was supposed to feel. Teams go through ups and downs, but I just think the atmosphere and energy wasn’t there. It wasn’t a healthy atmosphere. Teams go through issues, but it still feels you work through stuff being productive. In that disagreement, it didn’t feel like that. But they did manage to get it together.’’

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

Taj Gibson is the most likely player to be traded from the Bulls because Chicago would already have a replacement in rookie Bobby Portis, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com details (Insider subscription required). It is still unclear if the Bulls view themselves as buyers or sellers as the trade deadline nears, Doolittle adds. If Chicago is looking to add, Luol Deng or Joe Johnson would be sensible targets, Doolittle writes. With Joakim Noah out with an injury, he is almost certainly off the market, according to Doolittle.
It isn’t crazy to think that the Pistons will be playing in their own arena in downtown Detroit in less than 10 years, David Mayo of MLive opines. Pistons owner Tom Gores confirmed last week that such a move is being considered, but everything is still in the preliminary stage. In the short-term, however, the Pistons are committed to The Palace of Auburn Hills because they own it debt-free and attendance has been consistent, Mayo writes.