SH Blog: Thompson’s agent pressures Warriors, Cuban clears Nowitzki for international play, Dwight Howard’s driver’s license suspended

With about six weeks remaining until the Oct. 31 contract extension deadline for 2011 draftees, Klay Thompson and the Warriors are in a bit of a standoff. He wants a maximum-salary contract or close to it, while the team would undoubtedly love to find a friendlier number for their cap future. maybe something like the $44 million, four-year deal they struck with backcourt mate Stephen Curry two years ago.

On the surface, Thompson isn’t a max player yet. Though known first for his offense, he has yet to even post a league-average PER of 15.0 or above in three NBA seasons. His shooting stroke is lethal, but he has issues at times with shot selection and creating off the dribble. He’s also playing beside a clearly superior guard in Curry, who set the team salary bar a little low at $11 million per season.

But Thompson isn’t without his positives, and he and agent Bill Duffy will undoubtedly leverage those to get every last dollar he can — potentially up to the max. For starters, the Warriors obviously believe in Thompson’s ability to make further refinements and do see him as a long-term cornerstone of their team — as evidenced by Golden State’s refusal to include him in Kevin Love trade proposals. There’s also the matter of his strong defense, which Thompson put on display against Chris Paul and the Clippers during the 2013-14 postseason. Duffy believes that versatility separates Thompson from other shooting guards.

Via USA Today’s Sam Amick:

Duffy is known to be demanding a maximum contract that the Warriors would prefer not to pay. His reasoning? He sees Thompson as the best shooting guard in the game.

“I don’t want (Los Angeles Lakers star) Kobe Bryant to go crazy, but there’s some uncertainty as to who he is right now (because of injuries that limited him to six games last season),” Duffy told USA TODAY Sports. “But I think Klay Thompson right now is the top two-way, two-guard in basketball. I think when you look at his body of work, when you look at what he accomplished guarding point guards on a regular basis (last season), I think it’s pretty clear.”

It also helps that Thompson had a strong run at this summer’s FIBA World Cup. Despite coming off the bench, Mike Krzyzewski gave Thompson the second-most minutes per game (23.6) on Team USA, and he responded by giving the Americans plenty on both ends of the floor. He shot 52% from the field and 41% from behind the arc, and his 12.7 points/game trailed only James Harden. On defense, he routinely guarded the opposition’s top perimeter creator, regardless of position.

Is it enough to prove Thompson is worthy of the max? Realistically, no. As our own Chris Bernucca argues, his true value is probably closer to $12 million/year. Thompson needs to be a more efficient player for longer stretches of an actual NBA season to prove max value, especially playing alongside a bargain like Curry.

But negotiations aren’t always about being fair. They’re also about leverage, and between Golden State’s long-term belief in Thompson and a lack of superstar depth at the shooting guard position, Duffy may have just enough to get Thompson a max or near-max deal by the end of October.

CUBAN CLEARS DIRK NOWITZKI FOR INTERNATIONAL PLAY

We all know Dallas owner Mark Cuban isn’t a huge fan of NBA players competing in international basketball, and some assumed that position would only harden when it concerns his own star players like Dirk Nowitzki, who will turn 37 during next summer.

But according to German newspaper SportBild (h/t Pro Basketball Talk), Cuban would allow his star forward to return to the German national team in 2015, should he opt to do so. The NBA-FIBA agreement prevents Cuban from a blanket rejection of Nowitzki’s participation, but Cuban would only need to cite a minor injury to gain needed standing.

But in this case, it seems unlikely. One big reason is that Nowitzki gave Dallas a sweetheart deal upon re-signing in July (3 years, $25 million), in contrast to peers like Kobe Bryant. That allowed Cuban to add other players to bolster his roster — namely, swiping Chandler Parsons from Houston.

So with Nowitzki making an obvious sacrifice for the sake of Cuban and the team, it would be bad form for Cuban to deny Dirk the choice on whether to play for the national team.

The larger question is whether Nowitzki will ultimately decide to re-join Germany. He sat out EuroBasket 2013, and Germany did not take part in the FIBA World Cup this summer. Historically, NBA stars of his age rarely compete internationally. But Nowitzki wants the German basketball team in the 2016 Olympics, and one opportunity to qualify is at EuroBasket 2015.

At 36 and approaching 37, mileage certainly remains a concern for Nowitzki. He hasn’t played more than 34 minutes/game since 2010, and after the addition of Parsons, the Mavericks do appear a likely playoff team in 2014-15 — which could further lengthen Nowitzki’s year. And with his contract running through 2016, the toll of an 82-game regular-season grind, a playoff run and then summer games with the German national team could prove costly.

But it should be Dirk’s decision to make, rather than Cuban — especially considering the sacrifices he’s already made for the Dallas organization. Cuban’s reported clearance would seem fitting.

DERON WILLIAMS SAYS HIS ANKLES ARE FINALLY HEALTHY

Deron Williams says his ailing ankles feel the best they have in years.

Excluding his rookie year, Brooklyn’s point guard posted career lows in points (14.3), assists (6.1) and minutes per game (32.2) during 2013-14. The numbers slipped as Williams dealt with two badly-sprained ankles, with procedures including three PRP blood platelet injections, multiple cortisone injections, and an anti-inflammatory injection in the playoffs.

But after Brooklyn’s season ended in the second round against Miami, Williams underwent surgery on both ankles, and he told the New York Post this week that he feels like a new man:

“[Before the surgery], I was just walking around and my ankles would swell up,” Williams said. “Any time that happens, that’s bad. [Now] they feel good. I’ve been working out hard every day, getting ready to go.”

Williams is already working out at the team’s practice facility alongside most of his teammates, and he hopes that will put him in a better position to succeed going forward.

“Last year was tough,” he said. “I missed all of training camp, most of the preseason. … I practiced one time, played nine minutes in a preseason game and was thrown into the fire at 60 or 70 percent.

“It’s definitely different this year, and I think it’s great. I’ll be able to participate in training camp. I’ll be practicing with the guys right now, and I’m able to play with the guys before training camp, which is great.”

The Nets owe Williams over $60 million in guaranteed money over the next three seasons, so his return to form would certainly be welcome news. With the team unlikely to have any cap room until at least July 2016, due in large part to the big contracts handed out to Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez, any improvement needs to come from internal, organic growth.

OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE NBA

The Kings are retiring the #16 jersey of former small forward Peja Stojakovic. In a team news release, the Kings said that “during his eight seasons in Sacramento, the fan-favorite played more games for the Kings than any player during the Sacramento era and had an immeasurable impact on the community both on and off the court”.

“Peja Stojakovic was instrumental in putting Sacramento on the map on a global scale,” said Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé. “As one of only a select group of Serbian players in the NBA, Peja helped carve out a place for basketball players from all over the world. Recognizing his leadership will be a special moment for fans and the entire Kings organization, as well as a great reminder of the kind of success we are building in Sacramento.”

Stojakovic, drafted 14th overall in 1996, ranks first in Kings franchise history in three-pointers made (1,070) and attempted (2,687), and in free throw percentage (.893). He’s also ranked second on the Kings all-time scoring list with 9,498 points scored, third in field goals made (3,352) and attempted (7,269), and fifth in steals (543). Stojakovic also ranks in the top 10 in NBA history in career free-throw percentage and 3-pointers made.

“My time in Sacramento was the best years of my career and truly some of the best years of my life,” said Stojakovic, whose best Sacramento team advanced to Game 7 of the controversial 2002 Western Conference Finals before ultimately falling to the eventual champion Lakers.

The Kings will retire the jersey during a Dec. 16 home game against Oklahoma City.

The Rockets are expected to officially complete their trade for Jason Terry on Wednesday, according to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen. Houston, which will also acquire two second-round picks in the deal, is sending the unguaranteed contracts of Alonzo Gee and Scotty Hopson to Sacramento in exchange for the Terry-led package. The Rockets did not acquire Gee and Hopson until mid-July, and based on league rules, had to wait a minimum of 60 days before being eligible to trade those players in a larger deal. The Rockets are also planning to finalize their long-announced agreement with Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou this week, Feigen reports. Once Papanikolaou signs, the always trade-hungry Rockets will not be able to move him for at least 30 days.

Markieff and Marcus Morris told teams before the 2011 draft that they would take less money to stay together, reports Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The Suns, of course, acquired Marcus Morris from Houston during the 2012-13 season, but it’s his twin brother Markieff — who has been with Phoenix all along — that is the bigger priority. As with Klay Thompson, the extension deadline for the pair is Oct. 31. Markieff played in 81 games for the Suns last season, scoring 13.8 points along with 6 rebounds in 26 minutes/game, and generally was one of the team’s best interior finishers on offense. Marcus Morris, meanwhile, is more of a stretch forward without the same sort of interior strength, scoring 9.7 points and shooting over 38% from behind the arc in 22 minutes. With contentious negotiations with Eric Bledsoe still ongoing (he wants the max) and Goran Dragic expected to opt out in July 2015 in search of more money, the Suns need to save money wherever they can. The opportunity to get a sweetheart deal from both twins could be leverage Phoenix needs.

The Spurs are open to signing-and-trading restricted free agent center Aron Baynes, according to Yahoo’s Marc Spears. Baynes has a qualifying offer from San Antonio of one-year, $1.1-million that he can accept until October 1, though he reportedly has been shopping for a bigger deal overseas. But after playing well for Australia in the World Cup (16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds in 27 minutes/game), he could have renewed interest in NBA circles, and the Spurs want to explore if there’s a landing spot for Baynes that could also net them something in return. The Spurs already have 17 players on their current roster entering training camp, so the numbers don’t appear favorable for Baynes returning to San Antonio in 2014-15.

Another star on Team Australia was 6-foot-8 swingman Joe Ingles, who is signing a one-year deal with the Clippers. Ingles scored 11.4 points in 31 minutes/game in tournament play, including a blistering 23-of-33 (69.7%) from the field and 6-of-9 from three. Ingles has spent his career in both the Spanish League and the Israeli League, last playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013-14.

Dwight Howard’s car allegedly ran 10 red lights in 2.5 years in Florida. As a result, the Rockets’ star center had his driver’s license temporarily suspended, according to a report from TMZ Sports. The violations were captured by red light cameras in Orange County, Florida, starting in 2012, when his car was caught nine times in 10 months. Houston sources say the car was in Howard’s name but given to his brother to drive. Howard then went roughly a year-and-a-half without a violation on the vehicle, before the 10th infraction was recently processed. His brother, not Dwight, was said to be the driver of the 2014 violation, which occurred on April 14 — when Howard’s Rockets were home in Houston hosting the San Antonio Spurs.

Records show a $345 fine was paid and the license was reinstated..

Ben DuBose is a veteran Houston-based sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.