Basketball Insiders Week in Review 7/12

The Otto Porter Opportunity

By Moke Hamilton

With DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge leaving their respective teams and taking their talents to the State of Texas, it is easy to see how the Washington Wizards have been overlooked.

Paul Pierce, a future Hall-of-Famer whose personality evidently became a part of the locker room last season, decided to do like the aforementioned two and return to his home state to presumably play out the remainder of his career. So yes, between the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers, it was easy to overlook the fact that the Wizards may have snuck up on everyone and quietly improved themselves just as much as any other Eastern Conference team.

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Q&A: Kyle O’Quinn Excited to Join New York Knicks

By Alex Kennedy

On Saturday, the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that will send big man Kyle O’Quinn to New York in exchange for cash and a future second-round pick. The three-year NBA veteran has agreed to a four-year, $16 million deal with the Knicks. O’Quinn was born in Jamaica, New York and attended high school in Queens. In the games that O’Quinn started at center for the Magic during the 2014-15 season, he averaged 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and a block.

Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy caught up with O’Quinn to talk about playing for his hometown team, his expectations for next season and what Knicks fans can expect from him.

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Orlando is Turning the Corner

By Lang Greene

As recently as 2012, the Orlando Magic were considered a team on the rise. The franchise was routinely booking 50 win campaigns and had even reached the NBA Finals back in 2009. However, Dwight Howard, the team’s franchise player during this time period, was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers before the start of the 2013 season.

Not surprisingly the team won just 20 games in their first season without Howard roaming the paint and have only posted 48 victories combined the last two campaigns.

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Give Stanley Johnson Some Respect

By Joel Brigham

When Stanley Johnson was drafted eighth overall in June’s draft, some considered it a bit of a surprise considering Justise Winslow was still on the board. However, that showed just how confident Detroit is in Johnson as a pro, and through two Summer League games in Orlando this past week, Johnson already has shown that he’ll likely be one of this year’s most effective rookies.

In his first Summer League game coming off the bench, Johnson managed 13 points, four rebounds and three assists in only 24 minutes. He followed up that performance on Sunday by posting an even more impressive line as a starter: 24 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

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Free Agency – Who Still Has Spending Power?

By Eric Pincus

The NBA will soon announce the salary cap for the 2015-16 season.  The exact figures aren’t likely to be available until late Wednesday, right before the signing period begins on July 9th.

In the meantime, the league’s most recent projection is $67.1 million, although a cbssports.com report suggested that number could climb to $69.1 million.

Teams that go under the cap gain a $2.8 million room exception (RE), but lose their mid-level (MLE) of $5.5 million, bi-annual (BAE) of $2.1 million and any trade (TPE) exceptions.

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Has a Prudent, Patient Phil Jackson Righted the Knicks Ship?

By Tommy Beer

Phil Jackson’s first year captaining the Knicks’ ship was far from pleasant. Choppy waters worsened into a perfect storm of inefficiency, injuries and ineptitude.

However, based on what we have seen over the last few weeks, spanning from the draft on June 25th through the first day free agents can officially sign with their new teams on July 9th, has Jackson successfully navigated the Knicks out of harm’s way? Is there now smoother sailing ahead?

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Dario Saric Wanted to Join Sixers This Summer

By David Pick

Dario Saric, the Philadelphia 76ers’ prized overseas stash, had hopes of making the jump to the NBA this offseason.

“Saric told people he wanted to join Philadelphia now, but couldn’t because his contract had no out-clause,” a source told Basketball Insiders.

Despite the Sixers’ late push to bring him over as soon as possible, negotiations with Turkish finalist Anadolu Efes failed to materialize. Saric is handcuffed overseas until 2016, but it was clear, sources familiar with his wishes said, that he wanted to join Philadelphia.

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Just Embrace The Youth Movement, Lakers

By Jabari Davis

While the common narrative about the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers may revolve around their inability to persuade some of the bigger names in free agency to don the ‘purple and gold’ for the next few seasons, the front office has quietly put together a nice stretch of transactions that should improve their roster moving forward. Whether they sort of backed into these deals is somewhat irrelevant at this point, as the team seems willing to finally revert back to a formula that has proven successful for so many years.

Essentially, and fans of the critically acclaimed HBO show ‘The Wire’ would certainly understand and relate to the reference, the front office appeared to lose sight of what they’ve always done best in an attempt to “play away games” rather than sticking to cultivating and developing young talent and assets in preparation to strike when a desired player became available to acquire via transaction.

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DeAndre Jordan Called His Own Shot

By Steve Kyler

Yesterday, after making a verbal commitment to the Dallas Mavericks some five days earlier, L.A. Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan made an abrupt left-turn and agreed to re-sign with the Clippers and execute his new four-year, $88 million contract just after midnight.

In what couldn’t have been scripted better by a Hollywood studio, Jordan is reported to have had second thoughts about his agreement with Dallas and expressed that to his former teammates with the Clippers. In turn those players urged team president Doc Rivers to get involved and a huge party of Clippers players and executives traveled to Houston for a final push at Jordan. That push was enough to sway him back to the Clippers.

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Hidden Gems of the Orlando Summer League

By Cody Taylor

A new crop of rookies are introduced to the NBA during the Summer League games each year in Orlando, Las Vegas and now Utah. The games give those players a chance to begin the transition from college ball to the NBA. They can start working with some of their coaches and begin to learn some basic NBA plays.

In addition to rookies, the games provide a chance for unsigned free agents to make a name for themselves. The Summer League can be a great opportunity for prospective players to earn an invite to training camp, which could eventually lead to a spot on the roster.

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Key NBA Veterans Coming Back for More Next Season

By Jessica Camerato

Each season, a new generation of star players emerge. Anthony Davis, who reached a $145 million contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans, is only 22 years old. With the new wave of talent comes a group of tried-and-true players who are gearing up for another run. Take a look at these veterans (entering their 13th season or higher) who have agreed to return for more during free agency.

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Hidden Gems of the Utah Summer League

By Ben Dowsett

Summer league play in the NBA has multiple points of emphasis. On the one hand are the elite prospects, typically soon-to-be rookies or second-year guys who were drafted highly and are generally expected to be among the better players in the tournament, particularly those in their second summer. Skill development and confidence as team leaders are the important takeaways for these guys, though they sometimes play so well early on that it’s no longer worth it to risk injury by playing them.

On the other end of the spectrum, though, summer play is a time for GMs and executives to identify and analyze talent they may not have seen much of up close. Many guys on summer rosters won’t ever amount to anything, but each year there are a handful who make a big impression and place themselves on the NBA radar.

With Utah Jazz Summer League completed Thursday night, who were a few of the hidden gems making a case for themselves? Let’s take a look.

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Garnett Wants to Build “Something Special” in Minnesota

By Jesse Blancarte

The modern thought in the NBA is that if a team is not a championship contender, it is best to bottom out, get top draft picks and rebuild. The logic makes sense. There’s little value in assembling an expensive roster that is at its best capable of being a seventh of eighth seed in the playoffs. With the way the NBA draft and lottery are structured, there is more incentive to win 20 games and have a shot at drafting a potential superstar than fighting for a likely first-round exit in the postseason.

In furtherance of this prevailing approach to team building, franchises are always looking to make savvy signings that are likely to return nice value, while maintaining future flexibility. However, there are still some instances where teams hand out a contract that doesn’t make a lot of sense given a player’s age, on-court impact and other factors. The most recent example was with the Los Angeles Lakers, who in 2013 re-signed Kobe Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million contract. The Lakers weren’t necessarily rebuilding at the time, but giving Bryant (who was recovering from a ruptured Achilles) that contract took away financial flexibility that could have made a difference these last few offseasons with major free agents.

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