Texas Notes: Mavericks, Dwight, Denmon
Mark Cuban of the Mavericks and James Dolan of the Knicks are polar opposites when it comes to their willingness to talk about their teams, but both of them opened up this weekend. The loquacious Cuban went into a lengthy soliloquoy about his roster-building philosophy on his personal blog, as we passed along yesterday, while Dolan consented to a rare 90-minute interview with Shalini Ramachandran of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Dolan held forth on high finance, his Cablevision empire, and even his rock-star experience touring with The Eagles, but said nary a word about his Knicks. So, we'll focus on reflections from Cuban's comments instead, and round up the day's news out of Texas:
- The Mavs have traded away their own first-round pick in every draft since 2007, and SB Nation's Tom Ziller wonders whether Cuban's tactic of unloading those picks just as other teams are so eager to scoop them up will catch on around the league.
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com calls the Mavs inability to sign new Rockets star Dwight Howard a "death blow" to Cuban's plan, and opines that clearing cap space for a run at a superstar is an unreliable strategy.
- Spurs 2012 second-round pick Marcus Denmon spent the past season playing for Chalon in France, and this year he'll play for Tofas Bursa in Turkey, as the Turkish outfit announced on its website (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia).
Notes On Greg Oden
In wake of his decision to sign with the Heat yesterday, here are a few more notes to pass along regarding Greg Oden.
- Sam Amico from FoxSportsOhio.com writes that very few teams in the league had any actual interest in Oden's services, quoting a general manager who said, "If we got him, great…But if not, we sure weren’t gonna cry about it. I don’t think anyone is looking at him as anything more than an emergency backup. That’s nice to have, but it’s not like it’s impossible to find.”
- USAToday offers several reasons why Miami's decision to sign Oden was a good one that'll pay off dividends in the future.
- ESPN's play-by-play announcer Mark Jones tweets that after Miami, the Spurs and Mavericks were Oden's second and third choices.
Odds & Ends: Oden, Thunder, Clippers
The Heat, Spurs and Mavs are the most likely to land Greg Oden when he makes his decision Friday, sources tell Jeff Goodman and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Goodman and Stein are hearing conflicting information on whether the Pelicans, Kings and Hawks remain in the running, but it appears New Orleans has the best chance out of those three. The Cavs, Celtics and Grizzlies have also expressed interest, but they declined to make formal offers, the report also says. Here's more on Oden and others around the Association:
- Whichever team signs Oden once he makes his decision tomorrow won't be committing more than a few million dollars, leading HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy to argue that he's worth the risk. Taking such risks is what shrewd GM's do, SB Nation's Tom Ziller opines.
- The league is reimbursing the Thunder $8MM, or roughly half of the difference between the money the team is shelling out for Kevin Durant and the smaller amount the Thunder agreed to pay when he signed his extension, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets.
- The ESPN.com staff is high on the Clippers, as Chad Ford gives them the only A+ among his Western Conference offseason grades (Insiders only), while the 5-on-5 crew lauds the team's acquisitions of coach Doc Rivers and sharpshooter Jared Dudley.
- HoopsWorld's Nate Duncan profiles six players whom teams may have undervalued this summer.
Greg Oden To Make Decision On Friday
Free agent big man Greg Oden will decide where he'll sign on Friday, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Heat, Kings, Hawks, Pelicans, Spurs, and Mavericks are the teams in the running for the former first overall pick.
Spears initially reported last Tuesday that a decision from Oden was expected to come this week, and has since suggested that the 25-year-old is most intrigued by the Heat and Pelicans. Miami has been linked to Oden for the better part of 2013, and have always looked to me like the frontrunner, though New Orleans and other clubs are making a late push.
Of Oden's suitors, the Pelicans and Kings have the $2.65MM room exception available to offer, while the Heat have their mini mid-level exception worth about $3.18MM. The Hawks could waive some non-guaranteed salaries to clear a chunk of cap space, and the Mavs and Spurs can only offer minimum-salary deals. Of course, just because a team like the Heat has the flexibility to outbid other teams, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll offer that full MLE.
Texas Notes: Oden, Mavs, Manu, Rockets
Earlier today, Chuck Myron ran down each team's most expensive signings from this summer. The Rockets were among the league's heavyweights with their four-year, $88MM committment to Dwight Howard. Meanwhile, the Mavericks had high hopes for this offseason but their heftiest contract went to Jose Calderon, who got a four-year, $29MM deal. Here's the latest out of the Lone Star State..
- A Friday report indicated that the Mavs had sent representatives to Indianapolis to watch Greg Oden work out, but Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that it isn't the case. Dallas still remains among the teams interested in the oft-injured big man, whom Stein hears is looking lean and moving well as he auditions for teams. Stein expects teams to make formal offers early this week in advance of Oden's decision by the end of the week (Twitter links).
- Manu Ginobili is glad to be back in black (and silver), writes Mike Monroe of the Express News. Ginobili celebrates his 36th birthday today and he is sure that the two-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Spurs this offseason will be his last.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey doesn't view the raiding of his front office as a sign of success, writes Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle. "I don't feel we accomplished much, yet," Morey said. "I'll take more pride when we've actually had more results than before. It's a results league. It should be. Everyone, including ourselves, will be looking at what should be a step forward this year in hopefully a big way. … I'm trying to make sure we actually have some results before we get too excited."
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Camby, Oden, Bynum
The Raptors' buyout of center Marcus Camby will save the club $2MM in 2013/14, according to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The veteran had a guaranteed $5.4MM between this year's salary and the $1MM partial guarantee on 2014/15 and he agreed to part ways with Toronto for $3.4MM. The Raptors will take a cap hit of $2.8MM for the coming season and $646K for 2014/15. Here's more from around the Association..
- In addition to the Hawks, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Spurs and Pelicans also have representatives at Greg Oden's latest workout audition in Indianapolis.
- It's no secret that the Andrew Bynum deal didn't work out for the Sixers and yesterday, new CEO Scott O'Neil apologized to fans for how it turned out, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- There are two main questions to consider when weighing the idea of the Wizards giving point guard John Wall an extension, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
- The Raptors announced that they have filled out their coaching staff with assistants Bill Bayno and Jesse Mermuys.
Southwest Rumors: Neal, Jackson, Ellis, Dalembert
Yesterday, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that the Spurs were in the "process of" withdrawing their qualifying offer to Gary Neal. The RealGM transactions log indicates that the move indeed took place, and if that's so, the timing is key. Yesterday was the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw qualifying offers without having to get the player's consent. Teams that pull QOs after the deadline also automatically lose Bird rights to those players. So, the Spurs have not only saved themselves the trouble of getting Neal's permission by presumably withdrawing his QO yesterday, but they've also given themselves more flexibility to re-sign him, if they choose. Here's more on Neal and other notes involving Southwest Division clubs:
- It's been a couple weeks since Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times mentioned that the Bucks were among the teams interested in Gary Neal, but today Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio indicates that Milwaukee remains in the running (Twitter link).
- It appears that this year's 42nd overall pick will play in France. Pierre Jackson, whom the Pelicans acquired as part of the Jrue Holiday/Nerlens Noel trade, has agreed to sign with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, according to Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of Catch-and-Shoot (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
- Now that the Mavs' signings of Monta Ellis and Samuel Dalembert are official, Mark Deeks has provided contract details for them on the Mavs page at ShamSports. Ellis has a three-year, $25.08MM deal with a player option in the final season, and Dalembert gets two years and $7,568,030, with only a $1.8MM guarantee in year two. Dalembert also has a 15% trade kicker.
- Chandler Parsons believes that he had a critical influence on Dwight Howard's decision to sign with the Rockets, as the big man's new teammate tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Kyler On Jennings, Henderson, Blair, Mozgov
When I asked a week ago how Brandon Jennings' free agency would play out, over 41% of you predicted that he and the Bucks would ultimately work out a sign-and-trade agreement that sends him to another team. However, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, while some sign-and-trade scenarios have been explored, the Bucks aren't about to "sandbag their season" by moving Jennings in a deal that doesn't land them a starting-caliber point guard. Here's more from Kyler's latest NBA AM piece:
- The Bucks and Jennings continue to maintain a dialogue, and Kyler thinks a deal in the $8MM-per-year range could be worked out, but something that pays Jennings $11-12MM annually is unlikely.
- Mo Williams is considering a few scenarios, but is still hoping to land a "solid multiyear offer." If one doesn't materialize, he may be willing to take a small one-year contract to join a contender, as we heard last week.
- Like the Bucks with Jennings, the Bobcats are waiting for a rival suitor to set Gerald Henderson's price. According to Kyler, several teams would be willing to do mid-level type offer sheets for Henderson, but the Bobcats would almost certainly match such an offer. Kyler adds that it appears likely Henderson will return to Charlotte on a multiyear deal, rather than signing his qualifying offer or being traded.
- "Most of the league" has called about DeJuan Blair "in some capacity," writes Kyler. It sounds as if plenty of clubs would be willing to do one-year, low-money deals, but Blair is still seeking a multiyear pact, or a sign-and-trade that would allow him to keep his Bird rights.
- Timofey Mozgov's destination remains unclear, with Kyler suggesting that the Spurs may be interested in the Nuggets' restricted free agent.
Odds & Ends: Flopping, Neal, Blazers, Faverani
NBA commissioner David Stern says the league's anti-flopping rules were working well and the competition committee recommended no changes to them, but not everyone is on board. The NBPA is now seeking an arbitration hearing on the matter, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. "We are now in the process of scheduling a case with our arbitrator to determine whether the NBA is allowed to unilaterally impose discipline in an area that exceeds the commissioner's authority without the consent of the union," NBPA interim executive director Ron Klempner said. "It's a subject they need to bargain with us, and we hope that the arbitrator will find that any type of discipline must be collectively bargained." Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Gary Neal wouldn't be an option for the Bobcats without a sign-and-trade with the Spurs, but that scenario hasn't been discussed yet, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- Tom Ziller of SBNation.com questions whether the amnesty clause and more punitive luxury-tax penalties have really helped level the NBA playing field.
- Mike Tokito of The Oregonian spoke with ex-teammates of new Blazers additions Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson, Dorell Wright, and Earl Watson.
- The Celtics used $2MM of their mid-level exception on Vitor Faverani and now have $3.15MM left, tweets Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The Brazilian big man agreed to a two-year, $6.3MM deal that became official yesterday.
Greg Oden Decision Expected Next Week
6:44pm: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro, and representatives from the Pelicans watched Oden workout today, sources close to the situation told Jeff Goodman and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Oden will put his skills on display again Thursday for Hawks officials before a private meeting with the Pelicans later this week in Las Vegas. One source close to the process told the ESPN.com duo that teams in the Oden hunt are still in the information-gathering stage and no offer has been made yet.
4:14pm: Greg Oden is expected to make a decision next week on where he'll sign for the coming season, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears (via Twitter), the former first overall pick will be choosing from a list of suitors that includes the Heat, Spurs, Pelicans, Kings, Mavericks, and Hawks.
Oden was said to be working out today for a group of teams, including the Pelicans, Kings, and Heat. New Orleans' interest in Oden has seemingly ramped up lately, as multiple reports have indicated the team plans to make him an offer in the $3MM range. It appears as if the Pelicans are out of cap room, so perhaps the offer would be for the $2.65MM room exception, which could be used to hand out about $5.42MM over two years.
Despite the Pelicans' interest, reports continue to suggest that the Heat and Spurs remain the frontrunners for Oden. San Antonio has already used its mid-level exception, and doesn't have its bi-annual exception available this summer, so anything more than a minimum-salary offer is unlikely. Miami, on the other hand, could offer part or all of its taxpayer mid-level exception.
Zach Links contributed to this post.