- Through the first 51 games of the 2018/19 season, the Raptors have used 14 different starting lineups, Michael Grange of Sportsnet writes. After all that tinkering, head coach Nick Nurse is eager to carve out a rotation that he can stick with. “It would be really nice to figure out exactly who is going to be in there. How we’re going to do it. Who is going to play where, minutes, all that kind of stuff,” Nurse said.
Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Atlantic Division:
Marcus Morris, Celtics, 29, PF (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $20MM deal in 2015
Morris will get a nice bump in pay from the team-friendly contract he signed with Phoenix a few years ago. In the last couple of weeks, he’s been in a shooting slump. He’s 7-for-29 from long range over the last six games and has scored 11 or fewer points in five of them. The Celtics don’t rely on Morris for scoring, as evidenced by their five-game winning streak. He’ll eventually perk up offensively and his defensive versatility and rebounding will keep him in the rotation.
D’Angelo Russell, Nets, 22, PG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $23MM deal in 2015
Has any free agent increased his value as much as Russell in recent weeks? If so, it’s an awfully close call. Russell has blown up this month, averaging 24.1 PPG and 7.7 APG for the surging Nets. In the past two weeks alone, Russell hung up 34 points and seven assists against Boston and 40 points and seven assists against Orlando. He added a 25-point, 10-assist performance against the Magic on Wednesday. Russell will be a restricted free agent and the Nets now have to consider using a chunk of their cap space to re-sign him. It will intriguing to see if any team calls the Nets’ bluff with an offer sheet.
Enes Kanter, Knicks, 26, C (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $70MM deal in 2015
Kanter is still in his prime but he’s been swept into the undertow of New York’s youth movement. Kanter didn’t leave the bench on Wednesday and is now pining for a trade. With the hope of landing a big fish in the free agent pond, the Knicks had no intention of re-signing Kanter. But his diminished role isn’t exactly enhancing his value during his walk year. Kanter puts up solid numbers in the points and rebounds columns but his defensive shortcomings and lack of shotblocking prowess will depress his market.
Kawhi Leonard, Raptors, 27, SF (Up) — Signed to a five-year, $94.3MM deal in 2015
The Raptors essentially gave Leonard a week’s vacation by sitting him out for four consecutive games. They’re treating him with kid gloves with the hope he’ll take off the gloves in the summer and sign the dotted line with them. When he has played, he’s been dynamite. He’s averaging career highs in points (27.6 PPG) and rebounds (7.9), alleviating concerns that the quad injury that limited him to nine games last season would be a long-term issue. The Raptors have played quite well without Leonard but there’s no doubt that their hopes of reaching the NBA Finals rest on Leonard’s shoulders.
Amir Johnson, Sixers, 31 (Down)– Signed to a one-year, $2.39MM deal in 2018
Johnson has carved out a nice career after getting drafted in the second round by Detroit in 2005. His playing time has gradually diminished over the last six seasons and he’s down to 9.3 MPG for Philadelphia this season. Johnson has never been a prolific rebounder but he can help at the defensive end. Lately, he’s dealt with some migraines. If Johnson wants to continue his career going forward, he’ll be looking at a veteran’s minimum contract once again.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic runs down a wide variety of trade scenarios for the Raptors, though they’re also unlikely to make a big move.
The NBA announced the starters and captains for the 2019 All-Star Game on Thursday, with the Lakers’ LeBron James and Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo being named team captains for their respective conferences.
The Western Conference starters are comprised of James, Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Rockets guard James Harden, and Thunder forward Paul George.
Antetokounmpo, Hornets guard Kemba Walker, Celtics guard Kyrie Irving, Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, and Sixers center Joel Embiid were named starters in the Eastern Conference.
James (4,620,809 votes) and Antetokounmpo (4,375,747 votes) received the most fan votes from each conference in the past month, giving them the honors of being captains this season.
James and Antetokounmpo will draft their teams from the list of these starters and reserves on Thursday, February 7, hours after the NBA’s trade deadline. The All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, February 17, with the reserve players set to be announced next Thursday night.
We made our All-Star picks for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference earlier this week.
The Cavaliers have begun searching for a permanent head coach for 2019/20 and beyond, and Larry Drew isn’t believed to be a serious candidate, according to a report from Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. While Drew has served as Cleveland’s interim coach since Tyronn Lue‘s dismissal earlier this season, he’s unsure he’d want to return next season and doesn’t appear likely to be asked, per Vardon and Lloyd.
“I don’t know if I ever want to be a head coach again after this year,” said Drew, who has dealt with a constant stream of injuries since Lue’s ouster, guiding the Cavs to a 9-34 record.
According to Vardon and Lloyd, the Cavaliers will likely seek a first-time NBA head coach who has experience developing players and/or coaching in the G League. The club hasn’t yet begun reaching out to candidates or their agents, since the search is still in its infancy. However, The Athletic duo identifies six candidates who have ties to the Cavs or GM Koby Altman and could be fits. Those six candidates are:
- Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez
- Hornets assistant Steve Hetzel
- Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin
- Hawks assistant Chris Jent
- Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley
- Jazz assistant Alex Jensen
It’s not entirely clear whether Vardon and Lloyd are just speculating based on the criteria outlined by the Cavs and Altman’s history with those coaches, or if they have inside info on the club’s wish list. Either way, it seems safe to assume that at least a few of those assistants will receive consideration from Cleveland.
For now, Drew is still running the show and the 60-year-old coach admits that he’s happy Lue was let go early in the season — not because he wanted to supplant Lue, but because he believes the Cavs’ struggles this year would have been hard on the team’s former head coach, who battled stress and health issues last season.
“I wouldn’t want to see him go through this,” Drew said. “I wouldn’t want him to go through it from a physical and mental standpoint after some of the things that he went through. He deserves better after having won a championship. He deserves much, much better.”
When the Cavs initially replaced Lue with Drew, he resisted taking on the title of interim head coach until the team gave him a raise and a small financial guarantee for next season. Several months later, he still doesn’t sound like someone who wanted the job to begin with, as Vardon and Lloyd relay.
“I wasn’t looking to do this. I was not looking to do this at all,” Drew said. “But it happened. Ain’t a whole lot you can do about it.”
Kawhi Leonard will sit out his third consecutive game tonight, once again because of “load management,” tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. After playing just nine games last season because of a quad injury, Leonard’s health has been a priority in Toronto ever since he was acquired in an offseason trade. Eric Koreen of The Athletic examines how this decision has affected the Raptors and why it’s the best strategy to keep him healthy enough for the playoffs and maybe happy enough to re-sign this summer.
“I think he said it from day one that health is most important to him, so being attentive, listening, pushing him, all the things you’d want to do with your own health for your long-term future (are important),” GM Bobby Webster said recently. “… Anything we can do health-wise and medical-wise to progress him is great, so I think that’s a big one for us.”
Koreen notes that Leonard is getting considerations that aren’t extended to other players. For more than a month, Fred VanVleet has worn a wrap on his back when not playing, and Kyle Lowry skipped a planned night off last Thursday. However, VanVleet said the players understand the situation and aren’t resentful toward Leonard.
“He doesn’t have to prove anything if there’s three (games) in four nights, back-to-backs,” VanVleet said. “It’s from a health standpoint, from what we are told. He’s important. We’d much rather have him fresh and ready later than wearing him out right now.”
There’s more from Toronto:
- Tax concerns and limited draft picks will affect the Raptors’ options at the trade deadline, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Toronto has the third-highest payroll in the league, which means the third-highest luxury tax bill — projected at $34.7MM without any roster changes. The team sent its 2019 first-round pick to San Antonio in the Leonard trade, which means the 2020 first-rounder is off limits. If this year’s pick doesn’t convey to the Spurs, the Raptors will owe them second-rounders in 2020 and 2023, so those can’t be traded away either.
- Pascal Siakam is a candidate for a Most Improved Player award this spring and for a rookie scale extension this summer. In a separate story, he tells Murphy the extension would be nice, but it’s not what motivates him. “I think it’s bigger just having an impact on kids,” Siakam said. “That’s why I always say I look up to [team president] Masai [Ujiri] and the things he’s been able to do. ‘Cause when people look at [him], they see a reflection of Africa, and I want to be able to be that way.”
- After scoring 13 points in back-to-back games, C.J. Miles is hoping for a turnaround in a nightmarish season, relays Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. Miles has an $8.7MM option for next year that he appears likely to exercise.
As the 2019 trade deadline approaches, more and more reports are surfacing regarding which teams are looking to make additions to their roster ahead of this season’s stretch run. Ken Berger of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Bradley Beal sweepstakes, in which it is revealed that the Raptors may be looking to add an elite shooting guard this season.
The Raptors have been one of the best teams – if not the best team – in the league so far this season and certainly have the ingredients on their roster for a run to the NBA Finals. However, the team’s shooting has slipped in recent weeks as they are down to 34.3% shooting on 3-pointers, good for 24th in the league (they rank 11th in attempts per game).
While it may be hard for the Raptors to enter the Beal sweepstakes (especially if the Wizards aren’t focused on moving him), it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Toronto does make a move to add another shooter to its rotation for the remainder of the season.
Jordan McRae‘s 54-point outburst in the G League probably won’t get him a standard NBA contract even though the Wizards have a roster spot to fill, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. McRae signed a two-way deal with Washington in September, but has only appeared in eight NBA games with minimal playing time.
With his Capital City team short-handed Friday, McRae took over the offense and poured in the most points in a G League game this season. McRae is averaging 29.5 PPG in the G League and set the league’s single-game record with 61 points in 2016.
Still, the Wizards are more likely to add a player on a 10-day contract than convert McRae’s deal, a source tells Buckner. Washington has been at 13 players since waiving Ron Baker on January 7 and has until Monday to get back to the league minimum.
Financial considerations are also working against McRae. Giving him a standard contract for the rest of the season would increase the Wizards’ projected luxury tax bill by about $1.2MM, Buckner estimates, much more than a series of players on 10-day deals.
There’s more Wizards news to pass along:
- Bradley Beal will be one of the hottest names on the trade market if the Wizards decide to move him, and Ken Berger of Bleacher Report examines the best potential fits. A rival executive told Berger that the Raptors might be willing to offer Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and a first-round pick, while the Celtics could part with Jaylen Brown, a first-rounder and either Marcus Morris or Aron Baynes and the Pacers might get involved with an offer of Darren Collison, Myles Turner and a first-rounder. Washington has denied that Beal is available, but the team’s future tax situation could affect the decision if the Wizards slip further out of the playoff race.
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, who pledged earlier this week that the team will never tank, elaborates on those comments in a story by Buckner and Scott Allen. Leonsis points to the Sixers, who spent several years trying to rebuild by obtaining high lottery picks, and notes that only Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid panned out. “So, you know, that process is pretty risky in and of itself,” he said. “I don’t think you can tell players, coaches, staff: ‘Don’t make the playoffs and tank!’”
- In the same piece, Leonsis addresses fan anger with team president Ernie Grunfeld, who has been running the organization since 2003. “You live with it every day when you own a sports team,” said Leonsis, who also owns Washington’s Stanley Cup-winning NHL franchise. “All I have to do is look at last year with the Capitals. ‘Fire the coach. Fire the GM. Trade Alex Ovechkin. Trade Nick Backstrom.’ And that turned out okay. So, yes, I see all the things on Twitter. I read everything. I’m not all that happy with our performance, but you have to make non-emotional [decisions], what’s right for the franchise, what’s right for the team.”
As NBA teams consider their trade options before the February 7 deadline, it’s worth keeping in mind that two-thirds of the league’s clubs hold traded player exceptions. These traded player exceptions allow over-the-cap clubs to acquire a player – or multiple players – whose salary fits within the TPE without having to send out any salary in return.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Traded Player Exception]
Traded player exceptions can’t be combined with another salary or exception and often aren’t worth much, so most of them ultimately go unused. Still, they can come in handy every now and then, particularly for under-the-tax clubs that don’t mind adding a little more money to their books.
Last season, a total of 16 trades were completed between January 29 and February 8, resulting in 18 outstanding trade exceptions that will expire between January 29 and February 8 of this year.
Here are those traded player exceptions, listed in order of value, with the expiration date noted in parentheses for each TPE:
- Detroit Pistons: $7,000,000 (1/29)
- Utah Jazz: $3,708,883 (2/8)
- Portland Trail Blazers: $3,505,233 (2/8)
- Toronto Raptors: $2,451,225 (2/8)
- Utah Jazz: $2,386,864 (2/8)
- New Orleans Pelicans: $2,300,000 (2/8)
- Milwaukee Bucks: $1,889,040 (2/5)
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1,697,250 (2/8)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $1,471,382 (1/29)
- New Orleans Pelicans: $1,471,382 (2/1)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1,471,382 (2/8)
- Detroit Pistons: $1,471,382 (2/8)
- New York Knicks: $1,435,750 (2/7)
- New Orleans Pelicans: $1,429,818 (2/1)
- Detroit Pistons: $1,331,160 (2/8)
- Los Angeles Clippers: $1,331,160 (1/29)
- Miami Heat: $1,312,611 (2/8)
- Washington Wizards: $1,312,611 (2/8)
For the full list of traded player exceptions currently available, including three Nuggets TPEs ranging in value from $5.9MM to $13.7MM, click here.
- Danny Green‘s free agency decision won’t alter the direction of the Raptors in the same way that Kawhi Leonard‘s will, but Green has been a crucial piece in Toronto this season and is also on an expiring contract. As James Herbert of CBSSports.com writes, Green is enjoying his time with the Raptors and wouldn’t mind staying with the club beyond this season — alongside Leonard. “I hope he sticks around as long as I’m here,” Green said of Kawhi. “And I hope to stick around.”
- Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is doing some in-person scouting in Lithuania, according to Donatas Urbonas, who tweets that Ujiri watched top prospect Deividas Sirvydis this week (hat tip to Sportando). ESPN’s Jonathan Givony had the Lithuanian forward ranked at No. 31 in his most recent mock draft.