- In the latest installments of their Summer Forecast series, ESPN’s panel projects the Eastern and Western Conference standings and champions for the 2018/19 season. While the teams at the top of those lists aren’t surprising, the playoff predictions in the West are noteworthy — ESPN’s panelists have the Spurs and Trail Blazers outside the top eight.
- The Trail Blazers also show up in Matt John’s list of teams that could regress in 2018/19 in his latest piece for Basketball Insiders. John suggests that the Rockets, Timberwolves, and Sixers could also take a step back.
However, Marc Stein of The New York Times is already reporting matchups for three of the Christmas Day games. The Celtics will play the Sixers, the Knicks will host the Bucks, and the new-look Lakers will travel to Oakland to take on the Warriors. Chris Haynes of ESPN is also reporting that the Jazz will host the Trail Blazers.
Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey doesn’t seem inclined to break up his smallish backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports notes. Olshey recently said he plans to keep his core group together, despite the team’s first-round flameout in the Western Conference playoffs last season. It might be wise to deal one of them for an impact forward but either Olshey has great faith in his guards or he’s tested the market and couldn’t find a worthwhile deal, Feldman adds.
The Timberwolves have given off the impression that they won’t trade Jimmy Butler but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders speculates that a rocky start to the season could make the franchise reconsider its position.
The Western Conference is as competitive as ever and Minnesota is no lock to be a playoff team. Should the Wolves slide in the standings, Butler’s frustration with his teammates could grow and with only one season remaining on his deal, there won’t be much time to mend the relationship.
The front office has tried to get Butler to sign an extension with no success. However, it is worth noting that it’s in the 28-year-old’s best interest to wait and sign a new deal in the offseason rather than inking an extension now since he’s eligible for a larger starting salary this summer.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Trail Blazers have no clear path to improve enough in order to compete with the Warriors for the Western Conference crown and Kyler (in the same piece) wonders whether it will force Portland to consider dealing Damian Lillard. Kyler adds that the point guard is “loyal to a fault,” meaning a lack of success for the franchise won’t result in him demanding a trade.
- The Rockets‘ loss of Trevor Ariza and addition of Carmelo Anthony has critics yet again doubting the team. Coach Mike D’Antoni isn’t worried about the skeptics, as Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle relays. “It’s our job to prove them wrong,” D’Antoni said. “And we did it for two years now.”
- Solomon (in the same piece) notes how many around the league doubted the Chris Paul–James Harden pairing, believing that with only one ball, the two players couldn’t possibly flourish. The Rockets ended last season with a record of 44-4 in games in which both players started and Solomon cautions against writing off the Anthony acquisition without seeing him alongside the team’s stars.
- Trail Blazers fans deserve an explanation for how the team is handling its assets, writes John Canzano of The Oregonian. The latest puzzling move was letting a $12,969,502 trade exception from last year’s Allen Crabbe deal expire. Canzano retraces a history of questionable decisions, including mega free agent offers to Roy Hibbert, Greg Monroe and Chandler Parsons, who all signed elsewhere, and large contracts for Evan Turner, Festus Ezeli and Meyers Leonard that have clogged Portland’s cap space.
After playing for four teams in eight seasons, newly signed Nets forward Ed Davis feels like he has found a place where he’s wanted, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn was quick to pounce on Davis, offering a one-year, $4.4MM deal minutes after free agency opened.
“The main thing is they definitely came out aggressive when July 1 hit. I definitely wanted to go to where I was wanted, so that had a lot to do with it,” Davis said. “Then, I talked to Allen [Crabbe] and Jeremy [Lin] about the coaching staff and how the organization was run, and it was nothing but great things. Then, this team has potential, definitely. We can try to make this push into the playoffs this year. It’s going to be a challenge, but that’s one of the reasons why I’m here.”
Davis topped all NBA reserves in rebounding last season with 575, but the Trail Blazers decided he was expendable. Portland executive Neil Olshey told reporters he was on the phone when Davis when he received the Nets’ offer and advised him to accept it.
There’s more tonight from the Atlantic Division:
- Veteran shooter Jared Dudley, who met the media today following a trade that sent him from the Suns to the Nets, almost came to Brooklyn two years ago, writes Tom Dowd of NBA.com. Dudley said he considered the franchise because of the style of offense that coach Kenny Atkinson runs. “That’s one of my strong suits here in the NBA with reading defenses, moving side-to-side, going to pick-and-rolls,” Dudley explained. “I just think it’s kind of a perfect match.”
- He may be considered a throw-in from the Kawhi Leonard trade, but Danny Green is exactly the type of player the Raptors need, according to Steven Loung of SportsNet. Green will solve some of the team’s spacing issues with his 3-point accuracy, and he’s an excellent defender to match up against opposing wing players.
- The Celtics were able to save some money by trading Abdel Nader to the Thunder instead of waiving him, Bobby Marks notes on ESPN Now. The move saves Boston about $675K in tax penalties and another $450K in salary. Getting rid of Nader leaves the Celtics with 14 guaranteed contracts and a tax bill of $3.8MM if they waive Rodney Purvis, whose $1,378,242 salary doesn’t become guaranteed until January 10.
- While the Trail Blazers may not have been able to bring in as much talent as they had hoped for during this summer’s free agency period in an effort to improve upon last season, Damian Lillard says that he’s ready and excited for the upcoming season and that he has a “deeper connection” with the city of Portland that goes beyond basketball, per Sean Meagher of The Oregonian.
A Trail Blazers traded player exception created in last July’s Allen Crabbe trade with the Nets is set to expire if it’s not used by the end of the day on Wednesday. The exception, which is worth $12,969,502, was created last July 25.
[RELATED: Outstanding NBA Traded Player Exceptions]
As we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, traded player exceptions can be used to acquire one or more players whose salaries fits within the amount of the exception (plus $100K). Using their TPE, the over-the-cap Blazers wouldn’t have to send out any salary if they were to acquire a player earning $13MM.
While most traded player exceptions ultimately go unused, this one is noteworthy since it’s the second-largest TPE in the NBA. Only the Nuggets have a slightly more valuable trade exception.
Additionally, Portland president of basketball operations Neil Olshey suggested back in May that the team had perhaps been too “protective” of assets like draft picks and this trade exception, hinting that perhaps the club would find a use for it this summer.
Still, there has been no indication that a move is imminent, and given the Trail Blazers’ salary situation – they’re currently several million dollars over the tax line – it seems unlikely that they’ll make a significant move this week. Acquiring a player without sending out any salary themselves would cost the Blazers exponentially more in projected tax penalties.
- The Trail Blazers have made a couple of minor roster moves in the past day or so, deciding to retain guard Wade Baldwin and part ways with center Georgios Papagiannis.
The Trail Blazers have waived former lottery pick Georgios Papagiannis, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). It’s the second time this year that Papagiannis will hit the waiver wire.
Papagiannis, the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft, spent a season and a half in Sacramento but played sparingly for the Kings, averaging 4.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 38 games (12.4 MPG). The Kings cut their losses in February, releasing Papagiannis as part of a series of moves at the trade deadline.
The Greek center caught on with the Trail Blazers in March, but never carved out a role in Portland either. While his contract with the team covered the 2018/19 season, his $1,544,951 salary was non-guaranteed, and he always seemed likely to be waived, particularly once the Blazers decided to retain Wade Baldwin as their 15th player.
Papagiannis will become an unrestricted free agent later this week when he clears waivers, but he won’t remain on the open market for long. Wojnarowski indicates that the 21-year-old intends to sign a deal with a Greek team, and that club is expected to be Panathinaikos, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relayed earlier this week.