Uncategorized

Offseason Guarantee Dates

Mark Deeks of ShamSports recently updated his NBA salary database, and included in his listings are the particulars on when a host of non-guaranteed contracts becomes guaranteed. By rule, all contracts becomes guaranteed for the season on January 10th, unless the team and player negotiate an earlier date. Some contracts include multiple thresholds that incrementally increase the guarantee as long as the player remains on the roster. Others, like Robin Lopez's deal, include dates that trigger guarantees for multiple seasons. 

With an assist from Deeks, here's a list of the guarantee dates from now until November 1st, sorted by team.

Hawks

  • Mike Scott — $788,872 salary is non-guaranteed until August 15th, when it becomes guaranteed for $100K

Celtics

  • Paul Pierce — $15,333,334 salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $5MM until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Terrence Williams — $947,907 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until June 30th, when it becomes guaranteed for $200K
  • Shavlik Randolph — $1,106,942 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • D.J. White — $1,027,424 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Nets

  • Kris Joseph — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 1st, when it becomes guaranteed for $100K. It becomes guaranteed for $200K on October 29th.

Bulls

  • Richard Hamilton — $5MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $1MM until July 10th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Malcolm Thomas — $884,293 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 24th, when it becomes guaranteed for $250K

Mavericks

  • Bernard James — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 15th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Nuggets

  • Quincy Miller — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $150K until opening night, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Pistons

  • Rodney Stuckey — $8.5MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $4MM until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Slava Kravtsov — $1.5MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $500K until June 29th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Kim English — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 12th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Warriors

  • Dwayne Jones — $1,106,942 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Scott Machado — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Rockets

  • Carlos Delfino — $3MM salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Aaron Brooks — $2.508MM salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Chandler Parsons — $926,500 salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $600K until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • James Anderson — $916,099 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until October 31st, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Pacers

  • Lance Stephenson — $930K salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 15th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Clippers

  • Grant Hill — $2,045,065 salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $500K until July 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Willie Green — $1,399,507 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Lakers

  • Chris Duhon — $3.75MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $1.5MM until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Heat

  • Jarvis Varnado — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until opening night, when it becomes guaranteed for $250K

Timberwolves

  • Greg Stiemsma — $2,690,875 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 17th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Mickael Gelabale — $916,099 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 22nd, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Pelicans

  • Robin Lopez — $5,119,761 salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $500K until July 5th, when it becomes fully guaranteed. $5,340,229 salary for 2014/15, which is non-guaranteed, also becomes fully guaranteed on that date.
  • Jason Smith — $2.5MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $1MM until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Lance Thomas — $884,293 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until September 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Darius Miller — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 27th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Brian Roberts — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 8th, when it becomes guaranteed for $50K. It becomes fully guaranteed on July 20th.
  • Terrel Harris — $884,293 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until October 31st, when it becomes guaranteed for $150K.

Knicks

  • James White — $916,099 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Magic

  • Kyle O'Quinn — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until opening night, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • E'Twaun Moore — $884,293 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until June 30th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Sixers

  • Justin Holiday — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 15th, when it becomes guaranteed for $50K

Suns

  • Shannon Brown — $3.5MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $1.75MM until 36 hours after the draft, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • Hamed Haddadi — $1,397,500 salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $200K until June 29th, when it becomes fully guaranteed
  • P.J. Tucker — $884,293 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until July 1st, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Spurs

  • Matt Bonner — $3.945MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $1MM until June 29th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Raptors

  • Kyle Lowry — $6.21MM salary for 2013/14 is guaranteed for $1MM until July 15th, when it becomes fully guaranteed

Jazz

  • Kevin Murphy — $788,872 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until August 1st, when it becomes guaranteed for $75K. It becomes guaranteed for $200K on November 1st.
  • Jerel McNeal — $884,293 salary for 2013/14 is non-guaranteed until October 31st, when it becomes fully guaranteed.

How Lottery Teams With Best Odds Have Fared

The way the 2003 draft lottery played out, the Cavaliers and Grizzlies were the final two teams with a chance at the No. 1 pick, which would undoubtedly be used to select LeBron James. The pick, and LeBron, went to Cleveland, of course, much to the chagrin of then-Grizzlies GM Jerry West. But, heading into the lottery that night, the team that had the best chance of keeping LeBron from the Cavs was the Nuggets.

Denver and Cleveland tied for the worst record in 2002/03. Under today's rules, a coin flip would have given one team a slight edge, but at the time, the Cavs and Nuggets had equal, 22.5% chances at the top pick. No other team had better than a 15.7% shot. The Grizzlies, with just a 6.4% chance of pulling it off, nearly did so, but the No. 1 pick, and the prize of a clear shot at LeBron, wound up in the hands of the Cavs.

The next year, the Magic converted their league-leading 25% odds into the No. 1 pick and Dwight Howard, but since then, no team with the best chance of winning the lottery has done so. The Magic once more have the best chance, at 25%, of coming away with the top pick, and we'll see on Tuesday whether they break a nine-year jinx for the team in pole position on lottery night.

In the meantime, here's a list of the teams with the best chances of winning the lottery, the team that actually won the lottery, and the No. 1 pick from each of the past 10 years. Feel free to wonder what it would be like if it were the Heat, instead of the Bulls team they just eliminated, who endured a season without Derrick Rose. Or how well the Grizzlies would be doing if they had secured the No. 1 pick in 2007 and used it on Kevin Durant, the superstar they just eliminated in the playoffs, instead of Greg Oden. Or whether former Timberwolves GM David Kahn, who endured heavy criticism after taking Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn back-to-back in 2009, would have hesitated to take Kyrie Irving in 2011.

Clearly, there's a lot of luck involved in the draft, and never more so than on lottery night:

2012
Best chance: Bobcats (25.0%)
Winner: Pelicans (13.7% — 4th best chance)
No. 1 pick: Anthony Davis 

2011
Best chance: Timberwolves (25.0%)
Winner: 
Cavaliers (2.8% — 8th best chance)
No. 1 pick: Kyrie Irving 

2010
Best chance: Nets (25.0%)
Winner: Wizards (10.3% — 5th best chance)
No. 1 pick: John Wall 

2009
Best chance: Kings (25.0%)
Winner: Clippers (17.7% — 3rd best chance)
No. 1 pick: Blake Griffin 

2008
Best chance: 
Heat (25.0%)
Winner: Bulls (1.7% — 9th best chance)
No. 1 pick: Derrick Rose 

2007
Best chance: Grizzlies (25.0%)
Winner: Trail Blazers (5.3% — 6th best chance)
No. 1 pick: Greg Oden 

2006
Best chance: Trail Blazers (25.0%)
Winner: Raptors (8.8% — 5th best chance)
No. 1 pick: Andrea Bargnani 

2005
Best chance: Hawks (25.0%)
Winner: Bucks (6.3% — 6th best chance)
No. 1 pick: Andrew Bogut 

2004
Best chance: Magic (25.0%)
Winner: Magic
No. 1 pick: Dwight Howard 

2003
Best chance: Cavaliers and Nuggets (22.5%)
Winner: Cavaliers
No. 1 pick: LeBron James 

DraftExpress was used in the creation of this post.

Hoops Rumors On Facebook/Twitter/RSS

With draft season upon us and free agency to follow, Hoops Rumors figures to be busy over the next few months. There are a number of different ways you can follow us to keep tabs on the latest NBA news and rumors this spring and throughout the year.

You can Like us on Facebook, and receive headlines and links for all our posts via your Facebook account. You can also follow us on Twitter to have all our posts and updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. And our RSS feed is located here, if you'd like to follow us using your RSS reader of choice.

If you prefer to receive updates only on roster moves such as signings, cuts, and trades, you can follow our transactions-only feeds via RSS and Twitter.

Lillard Leads All-Rookie Team Selections

Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard was the lone unanimous selection to the NBA's All-Rookie team, the league announced. He received the maximum 29 first-team votes from the league's coaches. All 30 head coaches voted, though Blazers coach Terry Stotts wasn't allowed to vote for a player from his own team. Lillard led all rookies in points, assists and minutes per game.

Here are the results, with the point totals in parentheses (two points for first-place vote, one point for second-place vote):

First team:

Second team:

Fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson, drafted by the Kings and traded at the deadline to the Rockets, was the only player among the first seven picks from last June who didn't make either All-Rookie squad. The second team includes two players, Valanciunas and Singler, taken in the 2011 draft who played overseas for a season before coming stateside this year.

Unlike the voting discrepancies for the Defensive Player of the Year award and All-Defensive Teams, the coaches and media were in lockstep for the rookies. The five members of the All-Rookie First Team were the top five vote-getters in Rookie of the Year balloting

NBA Announces All-Defensive Teams

The NBA has officially announced its First and Second All-Defensive teams for the 2012/13 season, as voted on by the league's 30 coaches. Here are the results, with the point totals in parentheses (two points for first-place vote, one point for second-place vote):

First team:

Second team:

For the second straight season, the voting by the coaches differed significantly from votes cast by the media for Defensive Player of the Year. A season ago, Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler didn't earn a spot on either All-Defensive team, while this season, Marc Gasol was beaten out in voting by fellow centers Joakim Noah and Chandler.

You can check out the top five vote-getters for Defensive Player of the Year and the rest of this year's awards right here.

Last Year’s Offseason Coaching Moves

There will be at least seven teams changing coaches this offseason, with six current openings to go with the Cavaliers' hiring of Mike Brown. Last summer, the coaching market was much less volatile. Only three clubs changed coaches, while another two removed interim tags from the coaches already in place. With a season's worth of results, here's a look at last year's moves:

  • Mike Woodson began the offseason as interim coach of the Knicks, and the team kept him on board with a three-year deal worth about $12MM. He led New York to its first division title in 19 years. Woodson is the only coach on this list still alive in the playoffs.
  • The Wizards elected to retain interim coach Randy Wittman, giving him a two-year deal. Wittman's name was mentioned among coaches on shaky ground early this season, as the Wizards started 4-28, but the team played .500 ball from that point forward, buoyed by the return of John Wall.
  • The Bobcats made an unconventional choice, hiring St. John's assistant Mike Dunlap for the head coaching job in Charlotte. The team showed improvement from the league's all-time worst winning percentage in 2011/12, climbing out of last place with a three-game winning streak to close the season. Still, Dunlap clashed with players, and the Bobcats fired him after just one season.
  • New Magic GM Rob Hennigan called upon his history with the Spurs to hire San Antonio assistant Jacque Vaughn as Orlando's head coach. Less than two weeks later, Hennigan traded Dwight Howard to the Lakers, and Vaughn was left with a roster that finished with the worst record in the league.
  • The Trail Blazers were another team changing both GM and coach. Front office boss Neil Olshey, fresh off his jump from the Clippers, chose former Mavericks assistant Terry Stotts to coach Portland. The team's bench was a weakness all season, and thanks to a late-season slump, the Blazers finished with a winning percentage (.402) inferior to last year's (.424).

Note that this list doesn't include coaches who were hired at midseason. The Lakers, Nets, Bucks and Suns all made changes while the 2012/13 was in progress.

2012/13 NBA Award Winners

We're still awaiting word on this season's All-NBA, All-Rookie, and All-Defensive squads, but all the individual awards have been officially announced by the league. Here's a rundown of the top performers of the 2012/13 season, including the top five vote-getters for each award:

Most Valuable Player:

  1. LeBron James (Heat)
  2. Kevin Durant (Thunder)
  3. Carmelo Anthony (Knicks)
  4. Chris Paul (Clippers)
  5. Kobe Bryant (Lakers)

Sixth Man of the Year:

  1. J.R. Smith (Knicks)
  2. Jamal Crawford (Clippers)
  3. Jarrett Jack (Warriors)
  4. Kevin Martin (Thunder)
  5. Ryan Anderson (Pelicans)

Defensive Player of the Year:

  1. Marc Gasol (Grizzlies)
  2. LeBron James (Heat)
  3. Serge Ibaka (Thunder)
  4. Joakim Noah (Bulls)
  5. Tony Allen (Grizzlies)

Rookie of the Year:

  1. Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)
  2. Anthony Davis (Pelicans)
  3. Bradley Beal (Wizards)
  4. Andre Drummond (Pistons)
  5. Dion Waiters (Cavaliers)

Most Improved Player:

  1. Paul George (Pacers)
  2. Greivis Vasquez (Pelicans)
  3. Larry Sanders (Bucks)
  4. Nikola Vucevic (Magic)
  5. Jrue Holiday (76ers)

Coach of the Year:

  1. George Karl (Nuggets)
  2. Erik Spoelstra (Heat)
  3. Mike Woodson (Knicks)
  4. Gregg Popovich (Spurs)
  5. Frank Vogel (Pacers)

Executive of the Year:

  1. Masai Ujiri (Nuggets)
  2. Gary Sacks (Clippers)
  3. (tie) Daryl Morey (Rockets) / Glen Grunwald (Knicks)
  4. (tie) R.C. Buford (Spurs) / Pat Riley (Heat)
  5. Bob Myers (Warriors)

Hoops Rumors’ Agency Database

If you missed it when we unveiled it last month, be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' new Agency Database. Over the last several months, we have attempted to identify and confirm the representation for each current NBA player, as well as many players who have appeared in the league recently and others who will enter this year's draft.

Our Agency Database can be found anytime on the right sidebar under the "Hoops Rumors Features" menu. It can also be sorted and filtered by player, team, and agency to easily find a variety of information. For instance, if you're interested in finding the representation for the players currently on the Spurs' roster, you can filter by team to create this list.

We are continuing to work toward making the database 100% complete and accurate, so if you have any corrections or omissions, please email us at hoopsdatabase@gmail.com.

Western Links: Mavs, Wolves, Blazers, Suns

Earlier today, we passed along word that George Karl was named Coach of the Year, rounded up a few notes out of the Northwest Division, and previewed the offseason for the Rockets. Now let's check out a few more Western Conference items:

  • Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if Nate Robinson could be a fit for the Mavericks in free agency this summer or whether Robinson's postseason performance will price him out of Dallas' plans.
  • After taking over as the Timberwolves' new team president, Flip Saunders didn't waste any time instituting some changes to Minnesota's front office. As an Associated Press report (via NBA.com) notes, international scouting coordinator Pete Philo, who helped the team land Ricky Rubio and Alexey Shved, was among the cuts.
  • The Trail Blazers should test the market for a potential LaMarcus Aldridge trade this summer while his value is high, according to John Canzano of the Oregonian.
  • Bob Young of the Arizona Republic has a suggestion for newly-appointed Suns GM Ryan McDonough: Hire Jazz assistant Jeff Hornacek as Phoenix's new head coach.

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

Atlantic

Central

Southeast

Southwest

Northwest

Pacific

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS