Heat exercising option to keep Mario Chalmers

mario chalmers

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have exercised their team option on guard Mario Chalmers for the 2013-14 season.

Chalmers appeared in 77 games this season (all starts) and averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 1.53 steals and 26.9 minutes while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range. Among league leaders, he finished 12th in steals-per-turnovers (0.99), 20th in steals per game and 25th in three-point field goal percentage. He made 10 three-point field goals at Sacramento on January 12, tying for the most during a single game in HEAT franchise history with Brian Shaw on April 8, 1993 at Milwaukee.

He started in all 23 postseason games during Miami’s 2013 championship run, averaging 9.4 points, 3.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 28.3 minutes while shooting 41.5 percent from the field. He surpassed Tim Hardaway (80) as the franchise all-time leader in career postseason three-point field goals made on May 8 vs. Chicago, capping the playoffs with 102 total. Additionally, he scored 20 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, vs. San Antonio in Miami’s Game Six win of the NBA Finals.

Chalmers was originally acquired in a draft night trade in 2008, signing with Miami on July 9, 2008 and then re-signing on December 9, 2011.

Cavs mulling options with top pick in NBA draft

Once again, the Cavaliers are facing a major summer ”decision.”

The last one was hard to accept. This one is difficult to make.

And while it doesn’t quite stack up with LeBron James’ infamous announcement that he was bolting from home three years ago and leaving Cleveland heartbroken and short of a title, the Cavs are faced with the challenge of picking another top-flight player to get them back to respectability.

For the second time in three years and third time over the past decade, the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 overall draft pick.

This year, it’s both a blessing and burden.

With no player emerging as the consensus first choice, the Cavs, who also own the No. 19 pick and two second-round selections (Nos. 31 and 33) have spent the past month doing their due diligence by meeting with players, assessing their needs and weighing their many options.

They’ve discussed several trades to rid themselves of the top pick, move down and acquire veterans for one of the league’s youngest teams…

Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Maryland center Alex Len, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo are all in the mix and under consideration by the Cavs, who went 24-58 last season, finished 25 1-2 games out of first place and haven’t sniffed the postseason since James left.

Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

Clippers must now land an agreement with Chris Paul

Chris Paul

Doc Rivers is one of only four active coaches who have won an NBA title — with Boston in 2008. His Celtics also reached the Finals in 2010, losing to the Lakers in seven games.

“Of all the coaches that were available, he was the best in my opinion,” All-Star forward Blake Griffin said by phone from a plane bound for Europe. “I’m really excited about this. I haven’t been this excited in a while. It gives us a strong guidance from a coaching staff.”

With Rivers officially on board, the Clippers’ next priority is to re-sign Chris Paul, who will become an unrestricted free agent Monday. They are expected to offer the All-Star point guard a maximum five-year contract worth $107.3 million. Rivers’ hiring almost certainly enhances the team’s chances of retaining Paul.

When the Clippers and Celtics first began negotiations, the proposed deal had Rivers and forward Kevin Garnett coming to L.A. for Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and a first-round pick.

But NBA Commissioner David Stern rejected that deal, saying it was illegal under the collective bargaining agreement for a player to be traded for a coach.

Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Nets call Celtics about Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett

The Nets have done what likely every team in the NBA has done this week: Put in a call to the Celtics about the availability of Kevin Garnett.

A league source confirmed the Nets have inquired about whether Garnett would be available in a trade in the wake of the Celtics losing coach Doc Rivers to the Clippers and seemingly heading for a full-on roster rebuild and potentially the end of the Big Three Era in Beantown.

Garnett undoubtedly would fill a hole for the Nets at power forward, as well as providing an intimidating defensive presence alongside All-Star center Brook Lopez and giving Jason Kidd one of the NBA’s most respected locker-room presences to aid him in his first season as a head coach. But it’s unclear whether Garnett would be willing to waive his complete no-trade clause for a trade to the Nets — or whether the Celtics would be willing to deal him to a division rival.

The same likely goes for Paul Pierce, who also is expected to be on the trading block.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Sacramento City Council puts aside $6.5 million for Kings arena

There was nothing preliminary about what the Sacramento City Council did Tuesday night.

By a 7-2 vote, the council agreed to set aside $6.5 million in public funding on a new downtown arena for the Sacramento Kings – the first large investment in a facility that city officials have touted as the most significant redevelopment project in the history of downtown.

The decision was the first push forward on a preliminary, nonbinding plan approved by the council in March to help finance a $448 million arena at the Downtown Plaza. That term sheet will not be formalized until the City Council votes on a final spending plan next year, following the conclusion of an environmental review of the arena project.

Still, Tuesday’s vote means the City Manager’s Office will immediately have $1.755 million to spend on a team of consultants as the intense predevelopment stage of the project begins. The remaining $4.7 million would be used on the arena’s eventual design and construction.

Reported by Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

Tyshawn Taylor plays streetball at Dyckman Park despite NBA rules

Despite NBA rules that prohibit players from playing in organized street summer leagues prior to July 1, Brooklyn Nets backup point guard Tyshawn Taylor stepped on the Dyckman Park court Monday night for a handful of minutes.

Taylor, who played opposite New York City high school star Isaiah Whitehead, a Lincoln point guard, said he had no knowledge of such rules. The league office recently levied fines on Lance Stephenson and Kemba Walker for playing in the same city basketball courts where they once honed their games.

“I didn’t know that. That’s my story, I’m sticking to it,” Taylor told ESPNDeportes.com after his squad Taylor Made nearly sent the game into overtime after trailing by 10 points with two minutes left.

The Hoboken, N.J., native who just averaged just under six minutes in 38 games could see extensive time in Brooklyn’s backcourt spelling starter Deron Williams if C.J. Watson opts out of his contract and goes elsewhere.

Reported by Adry Torres of ESPN Deportes

Lakers absolutely want to keep Dwight Howard in NBA free agency

Dwight Howard

Bringing back free agent center Dwight Howard is the Lakers’ top priority this off-season.

“Dwight is in the category of the great of the great,” Kupchak said. “He’s over his back injury and there’s no reason he can’t play seven, eight more years at that position. There’s no doubt in my mind if he does, he’s in the Hall of Fame. Those players are just hard to come by.”

Howard struggled through the first half of the season as he tried to return early from back surgery.

“I don’t think he got as much credit for the season as he should have gotten,” Kupchak said.  “Big men are different. They can’t bring the ball up the court. They really rely on their teammates to make them look good.”

The Lakers can sign Howard for a $118-million, five-year deal in July — if he chooses to stay. Other teams can offer just four years (up to $88 million), but tax advantages in Texas (Houston, Dallas or San Antonio) would help offset some of the lost wages.

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times

J.R. Smith declines option with Knicks

JR Smith

Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith has informed the New York Knicks that he will decline the option in his contract for next season and become a free agent.

A team spokesman also says Tuesday the Knicks extended a qualifying offer to forward Chris Copeland, making him a restricted free agent and allowing them to match any offer he receives.

Smith’s decision was not a surprise given that he can make much more than the $2.9 million he was scheduled to earn next season.

The New Jersey product is happy in New York and is a longtime teammate of Carmelo Anthony so he would likely want to stay with the right offer.

Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Celtics search to replace Doc Rivers begins now

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge thought Doc Rivers was going to be the next Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan or even Red Auerbach – coaches who stayed with one team for decades.

Rivers got the nine-year itch.

”He felt like it was time for a change. He felt like we all needed a change,” Ainge said on Tuesday night after the deal to allow Rivers out of his contract to coach the Los Angeles Clippers was final. ”That was his rationalization, or justification, for going to the Clippers: that this was better for everybody.”

After weeks of negotiations that at one time had Boston stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce joining Rivers in Los Angeles, the Celtics announced on Tuesday that the NBA approved the deal to allow their coach to go to the Clippers in exchange for a first-round pick in 2015. Ainge said in a news conference that he had not begun looking for a new coach because he couldn’t believe until late in the on-again, off-again process that Rivers was actually leaving.

Reported by Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press

Rashard Lewis and James Jones exercise options to stay with Heat

The Miami HEAT announced today that both forward James Jones and forward Rashard Lewis, being smart to stick with a championship team — even one that barely gives them any minutes — have exercised their player options for the 2013-14 season.

Jones, a 10-year NBA veteran, appeared in 38 games with the HEAT this season, and has earned postseason berths in each of his five seasons with Miami, including two NBA Championships. The Miami native has appeared in 246 career games with the HEAT, averaging 4.2 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range. He hit a career-high 123 three-point field goals during the 2010-11 season while capturing the 2011 NBA Three-Point Shootout title. Jones originally signed with the HEAT as a free agent on July 9, 2008.

Lewis, a 15-year NBA veteran, appeared in 55 games (nine starts) with the HEAT this season averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 14.4 minutes while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from three-point range. He scored in double-figures 13 times this season,  including a season-high 19 points twice, first vs. Boston on April 12 and then at Cleveland on April 15. He appeared in 11 postseason games during Miami’s championship run this season totaling 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks while shooting 40 percent from the field in 47 minutes of action. He was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 11, 2012.