- Greg Stiemsma is among the participants at today’s Jazz free agent mini-camp, while Dwight Buycks and other free agents will work out at a Trail Blazers mini-camp, per Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links).
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Portland Trail Blazers, one of the 11 NBA franchises without their own D-League affiliate:
The Blazers made 2 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 20 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Portland for the 2015/16 campaign:
- March 10th: Assigned Cliff Alexander (1st) [Santa Cruz Warriors] — Recalled March 20th
- March 10th: Assigned Luis Montero (1st) [Santa Cruz Warriors] — Recalled March 20th
Here’s how Portland’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Cliff Alexander: Alexander appeared in four games and averaged 15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 27.0 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .521/.000/.714.
- Luis Montero: Montero appeared in four contests and averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 28.3 minutes per night. His shooting numbers were .412/.385/.783.
- Looking ahead to his restricted free agency and his 2016/17 season, Allen Crabbe acknowledged that he should be in line for a significant raise, as Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com writes. However, the Trail Blazers wing won’t necessarily sign with the team making him the highest offer. “It doesn’t make sense to make a lot of money and go to a team that, if you don’t fit that system, then get paid a lot of money to be frustrated?” Crabbe said. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
- The Trail Blazers have finalized their coaching staff for the 2016/17 campaign, with the team announcing that Dale Osbourne has been promoted to lead assistant and scout John McCullough has been moved to assistant coach.
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead to offseason moves for all 30 teams. We’ll examine free agency, the draft, trades and other key storylines for each franchise as the summer approaches.
Kyle Terada / USA Today Sports Images
Restricted Free Agent Decisions
The first two weeks of free agency will go a long way in determining how the Trail Blazers’ roster will look heading into next season. They have three restricted free agents who were rotation players this past season — shooting guard Allen Crabbe, power forward/center Meyers Leonard and combo forward Maurice Harkless.
The shortening of this year’s July moratorium from 11 days to six puts the Blazers’ front office in a difficult spot. While they have enough cap flexibility to pursue max free agents and blockbuster trades, the Blazers will have to either secure verbal commitments from one or more of them or cut them loose to keep their options open.
Crabbe is expected to receive contract offers exceeding $10MM annually after his breakout season. He emerged as one of the top reserves in the league, averaging 10.3 points in his third season while shooting a healthy 39.4% on 3-point attempts.
Leonard’s situation is complicated by health concerns. His season was cut short by a torn labrum in his left shoulder and he may not be ready for the start of the season. That could limit the market for Leonard, who averaged a career-high 21.9 minutes in his fourth season while mainly coming off the bench.
Harkless’s playing time and production increased after Leonard’s injury in March. That carried over to the postseason, in which he averaged 11.0 points and 5.1 rebounds. That was probably enough to earn him a significant raise from the approximate $2.9MM he made this past season.
Upgrading The Frontcourt
The Trail Blazers surprised a lot of people by making the playoffs and reaching the second round after losing their top frontcourt player, LaMarcus Aldridge, in free agency.
Portland compensated for the loss by featuring their backcourt pieces on offense. Damian Lillard averaged a career-high 25.1 points and C.J. McCollum exploded onto the NBA landscape, averaging 20.8 points in his third season. Crabbe was the team’s third-leading scorer and another backcourt reserve, Gerald Henderson, was its sixth-leading scorer.
Acquiring a consistent frontcourt scoring option to complement the team’s dynamic backcourt is a must. Starting small forward Al-Farouq Aminu simply has too many offensive limitations to fill that role and the players at the power positions — particularly starting center Mason Plumlee, Leonard and Ed Davis — have not shown they can handle added offensive responsibilities.
The team hoped that Noah Vonleh could turn into that player when he was acquired from the Hornets prior to last season but he only averaged 3.6 points despite starting 56 games.
They must also improve their frontcourt defense. Plumlee’s underwhelming 1.04 blocks per game was enough to lead the club in that category. They need a much more imposing rim protector and inside physical presence in order to become a serious contender.
A stretch four would also be on the shopping list if Leonard is not re-signed.
Free Agent Targets
The Blazers acknowledge they are not exactly a prime free-agent destination, though their current status as a playoff team could help their cause.
GM Neil Olshey recently admitted that he’s not expecting to land a top-level free agent. “Whenever we get that first [high profile] guy to come, it will be unprecedented when you look at the history,” he said.
The Blazers still have to feel out the market and see if they can attract a top-tier free agent, given their frontcourt needs. Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside and Al Horford would make them a much more dangerous playoff team.
More realistically, they could explore the next tier of free agent options. Joakim Noah or Bismack Biyombo would provide the type of defensive force they’re lacking on the interior. Marvin Williams, Donatas Motiejunas or Ryan Anderson would fit the bill in the stretch four category.
Al Jefferson would give them a reliable, if aging, post scorer while Harrison Barnes — should the Warriors let him go — would likely embrace the opportunity of being a bigger part of someone’s offensive scheme.
Potential Trades
If the Blazers strike out in free agency, they’ll have to go the trade route. They could absorb salary to bring in a rotation player with multiple years left on his deal. In terms of trade pieces, they could find a market for Aminu or Vonleh, given that Aminu’s contract now looks a lot cheaper given the impending salary-cap explosion, while Vonleh is still on his rookie deal.
Along with the frontcourt needs, they’ll have to fortify their backcourt if Crabbe or unrestricted free agent Henderson departs, or if they desire a more traditional second-string point guard behind Lillard.
Draft Outlook
The Blazers do not have a pick, unless they trade into the draft. They dealt their first-rounder to the Nuggets in 2015 when they acquired Arron Afflalo and gave up their second-rounder to the Cavaliers a couple of years earlier.
Coaching Outlook
The Blazers have already taken care of one major off-season decision by agreeing to an extension with head coach Terry Stotts. The front office exercised its option on the final year of Stotts’ current deal and the three-year extension will kick in during the 2017/18 campaign.
Final Take
While the Blazers were one of the surprise teams in the league, they can’t rest on their laurels. They were barely above .500 and had good fortune in the first round of the playoffs, when injuries decimated the Clippers. They must improve their frontcourt to take the next step and they’ll also have to find another solid scorer off the bench if they lose Crabbe in free agency.
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard ($21,597,000)
- Al-Farouq Aminu ($7,680,965)
- Ed Davis ($6,666,667)
- C.J. McCollum ($3,219,579)
- Noah Vonleh ($2,751,360)
- Mason Plumlee ($2,328,530)
- (Anderson Varejao $1,984,005) — Salary remaining from release via stretch provision
- Pat Connaughton ($874,636)
- Total: $47,102,742
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Cliff Alexander ($874,636)
- Luis Montero ($874,636)
- Total: $1,749,272
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Meyers Leonard ($4,045,894/$7,689,700)
- Maurice Harkless ($4,045,894/$7,235,148)
- Allen Crabbe ($2,725,003/$2,725,003)
- Totals: ($10,816,791/$17,649,851)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Gerald Henderson ($9,000,000)
- Chris Kaman ($6,520,800)
- Brian Roberts ($3,711,422)
- Total: $19,232,222
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Two standout NBA players were significantly impacted by Thursday’s announcement of this year’s All-NBA teams, with Damian Lillard receiving some good news while Anthony Davis got hit with bad news. By earning a spot on the All-NBA second team, Lillard ensured that his max extension, which goes into effect for the coming season, would increase from 25% of the Trail Blazers‘ cap to 27.5%, guaranteeing him an extra $12MM+ over the life of the deal. Conversely, since he missed out on All-NBA honors this year, Davis will have his max extension count for 25% of the Pelicans‘ cap rather than 30%, costing him nearly $25MM over the next five years.
In a column for The Vertical, Bobby Marks takes a closer at Lillard’s and Davis’ situations with the Blazers and Pelicans, respectively, and argues that the NBA needs to revamp what’s known as the Derrick Rose Rule. As Marks points out, the criteria for the Rose Rule hinges on fan and media votes, and it doesn’t seem right that those votes should have such a huge impact on a player’s earnings.
The NBA has announced its three All-NBA teams for the 2015/16 season, with unanimous MVP Stephen Curry also leading the way in first-team nods (129) and overall points (645). After Curry, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were the leading vote-getters, followed by Kawhi Leonard. DeAndre Jordan also earned a spot on the All-NBA first team.
Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard landed on the All-NBA second team, triggering the Derrick Rose Rule and ensuring that the max extension he signed last summer will be worth more than 25% of the salary cap. Per Danny Leroux of RealGM and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the terms of Lillard’s contract dictate that his extension will be worth 27.5%, rather than the full 30% allowable by the Rose Rule.
As for Anthony Davis, he just missed the cut for the All-NBA third team, so the Rose Rule won’t apply to his max extension with the Pelicans, costing him an extra $20MM+ over the life of his contract.
Here are all three All-NBA teams for the 2015/16 season, with voting point totals in parentheses:
All-NBA First Team:
- Forward: LeBron James, Cavaliers (637)
- Forward: Kawhi Leonard, Spurs (575)
- Center: DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (317)
- Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors (645)
- Guard: Russell Westbrook, Thunder (627)
All-NBA Second Team:
- Forward: Kevin Durant, Thunder (452)
- Forward: Draymond Green, Warriors (431)
- Center: DeMarcus Cousins, Kings (277)
- Guard: Chris Paul, Clippers (353)
- Guard: Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers (217)
All-NBA Third Team:
- Forward: Paul George, Pacers (157)
- Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs (103)
- Center: Andre Drummond, Pistons (173)
- Guard: Klay Thompson, Warriors (164)
- Guard: Kyle Lowry, Raptors (155)
James Harden, Paul Millsap, Anthony Davis, and Al Horford also received more than 75 voting points.
The Warriors will interview Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts today for their top assistant coaching job, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Tibbetts and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas are two of the serious candidates to replace new Lakers coach Luke Walton as Steve Kerr’s right-hand man, Wojnarowski continues. Silas will also be interviewed by the Warriors today during their stay in Oklahoma City for the Western Conference Finals.
Tibbetts interviewed for the Grizzlies head coaching job, while Silas is under strong consideration for the Rockets’ head coaching opening. Tibbetts has been an assistant with the Blazers since 2013 under coach Terry Stotts. He was also an assistant coach with the Cavaliers, as well as head coach of the D-League’s Tulsa 66ers for two seasons.
The Rockets are mulling a coaching partnership with Silas in the top spot and former Grizzlies and Nets head coach Lionel Hollins as associate head coach, Wojnarowski adds. The Rockets are interviewing Magic assistant Adrian Griffin and Spurs assistant James Borrego today, and Sixers assistant coach Mike D’Antoni is also a prime candidate for that job.
Portland also was granted permission Sunday to talk to Silas about being its top assistant, league sources told Wojnarowski.
The Blazers were granted permission Sunday to talk to Hornets assistant coach Stephen Silas about being the top assistant to Portland coach Terry Stotts, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The Blazers have plenty of competition for Silas’ services. Silas will meet with Golden State coach Steve Kerr Monday in Oklahoma City to discuss the top assistant position with the Warriors. Silas also has a growing candidacy to become the Rockets next head coach.
Here’s more out of Portland:
- Allen Crabbe has emerged as one of the most appealing restricted free agents in the league and is sure to receive contract offers exceeding $10MM per year, Haven Kaplan-Miner of RealGM writes. The combination of elite shooting and impressive on-ball defense makes Crabbe stand out, Kaplan-Miner adds. Crabbe’s midrange game, in particular, developed and that opened up the floor for his teammates this year and created the biggest problems for opposing defenses, Kaplan-Miner surmises.
- The Blazers need to target a rim protector in the draft and preferably one who can add some scoring, NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper opines (transcribed by John Canzano of The Oregonian). “It’s not about how many points he’ll score for you, but how many points he’ll save for you,” Cooper said, referring to the Blazers’ need for a big man.
Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey acknowledged that the organization has traditionally had difficulty landing upper-tier free agents, Jen Beyrle of The Oregonian relays. “It’s absolutely a hurdle. Whenever we get that first guy to come, it will be unprecedented when you look at the history,” said Olshey. “I think we’ve gotten good free agents. We’ve gotten guys but they’ve had the right sensibility and we knew that they would work in this market place and would fit with the team.” Olshey noted that last year’s free agent crop elected to join playoff teams, which hurt Portland’s recruiting efforts, but pointed to the team reaching the second round of the 2015/16 postseason as a boon heading into the offseason.