Juwan Howard Joining Heat In Advisory Role
Veteran big man Juwan Howard isn't on the Heat's roster, but is traveling with the team in an "advisory role," according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Goodman believes he's being kept around as an insurance policy in case Miami wants to let go of one of its training camp invitees. The Heat have a full complement of 20 players in camp, so they don't have room to add Howard as a player without waiving someone.
Howard and agent David Falk have maintained optimism in recent weeks that the 39-year-old will eventually return in a playing capacity to the Heat, with whom he's spent the last two seasons. Falk said his client strongly prefers the Heat over other NBA clubs and isn't considering retirement. The Heat reportedly wasn't ruling out the possibility of signing him as of last month, and Dwyane Wade has expressed his support for bringing Howard back on board. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel spotted Howard wearing Heat warmup gear as he joined the team today in Atlanta in advance of a preseason game against the Hawks (Twitter link), and Goodman tweets that Howard will accompany the team on its upcoming trip to China as well.
Howard has appeared in 85 regular season games for the Heat the last two seasons, averaging 2.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest. His last significant playing time came for the Blazers in 2009/10, when he saw 22.4 MPG and started 27 games. The Heat only have 13 players with guaranteed contracts, so Howard could wind up getting the nod over Robert Dozier, Mickell Gladness, Josh Harrellson or Jarvis Varnado, the big men in camp on non-guaranteed deals. If the Heat do sign Howard, it would almost certainly be for the minimum salary.
Southwest Rumors: Powell, De Colo, Machado
The Mavericks were the first Southwest Division team to begin preseason play, doing so overseas yesterday with an 89-84 win over Alba Berlin in Dirk Nowitzki's native Germany. Before the game, commissioner David Stern said the league's revamped competition committee was cool to his idea of adopting the FIBA more liberal goaltending rules, noted Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Stern has pushed for changes to the way basket interference is called, so it's interesting to note that the commissioner apparently didn't get his way despite a new competition committee that some believe was restructured to give Stern more influence. Here's the latest from around the Southwest Division:
- It's still a long way until the Spurs have to make a decision, but Josh Powell appears to have an early lead on Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown for a spot on the regular season roster, according to Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News. The competition was thinned a bit Friday when the Spurs waived Sherron Collins, taking their camp roster down to 19 players.
- In the same piece, McCarney cautions readers not to get too caught up in what they saw from rookie Nando De Colo in the Spurs' victory Saturday over Italian club Montepaschi Siena, a slick passing performance that prompted teammate Stephen Jackson to call him "another Manu Ginobili."
- Jason Friedman of Rockets.com shares some observations from Rockets camp, and says rookie guard Scott Machado, with the team on a minimum-salary deal that's partially guaranteed for $237K, is making a strong impression.
- Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune chronicles the unlikely journey of Anthony Davis from a 5'9" eighth-grader in Chicago to the 6'10" Olympic gold medalist and No. 1 overall pick he is today, as he embarks on his first training camp with the Hornets.
Marcus Camby Surprised By Knicks Contract
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News hears that Marcus Camby wasn't expecting to land a contract worth quite as much as the three-year, $13.151MM deal he got from the Knicks as part of a sign-and-trade with Houston this summer. The 38-year-old center reportedly also had talks with the Nets and drew interest from the Heat over the offseason, and considered the Spurs, Celtics and Mavericks as well as the Rockets, with whom he ended the 2011/12 after coming over in a trade at the deadline in March.
The Knicks initially appeared hesitant to use their $3.09MM mini mid-level on Camby, but wound up exceeding that amount by an average of more than $1MM per season to land the veteran big man. New York also gave up Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan and a pair of second-round draft choices in the sign-and-trade, and agreed to pay Douglas' $2.1MM salary for the Rockets.
Camby is out of the Knicks lineup for a week to 10 days with a strained left calf, and Lawrence points to a history of injuries that kept him from playing any more than 63 games in a season during his previous four-year stint in New York that ran from 1999 to 2002. More recently, though, Camby appeared in 59 out of 66 games this past season, and hasn't missed more than 20 games in a season since 2005/06.
Unlike most contracts that escalate in value from year to year, Camby is set to receive $4.59MM this season and $4.384MM in 2013/14, while his $4.177MM salary in the final year of the deal is only guaranteed for $1.026MM.
Sixers, Jrue Holiday Negotiating Extension
John Finger of CSNPhilly.com hears the Sixers and representatives for Jrue Holiday have had contact about an extension for the point guard. Yesterday, we passed along a report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Holiday was likely to land an extension before the October 30th deadline. A couple weeks ago, Holiday clarified an earlier report that indicated he was seeking a maximum extension, saying instead that he simply has a goal of someday becoming a player worthy of a max deal.
The 22-year-old Holiday would become a restricted free agent next summer if he and the Sixers can't reach an agreement by the end of the month. The market for restricted free agent point guards in 2013 could also include Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison and others, and the competition could drive down Holiday's price. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors took a look at Holiday's extension candidacy in August, he estimated that a four-year, $40MM deal would be a fit for Holiday and the Sixers. He also said he wouldn't be surprised if the UCLA product passed on an extension and banked on continued improvement during the season to help him get a better deal next summer. A maximum contract would give him 25% of the salary cap, or about $15MM a year depending on how high next year's cap is set.
GM Tony DiLeo wouldn't confirm the talks, according to Finger's report. DiLeo was promoted to the GM job on September 21st, taking over day-to-day negotiations from team president Rod Thorn. It's unclear what effect, if any, the front office move has had on negotiations with Holiday.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Lin, White, Mavs
News and notes out of the Southwest..
- One person close to the Sixers believes that Rockets GM Daryl Morey must have been blinded by statistics to have given Jeremy Lin a $25MM deal, writes Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News. The Sixers are going to be using more statistical analysis under new owner Josh Harris, but the Philly insider says that the club isn't going to "be like the Rockets."
- All of Royce White's teammates offered him support in the wake of his request to travel via bus to a portion of the team's road games this year, writes Chris Duncan of the Associated Press. The Rockets rookie has been struggling with an anxiety disorder as well as a fear of flying. He was absent from the start of Rockets camp as he worked to come to an agreement with the club, but the two sides quickly worked things out.
- The newly formed Mavs frontcourt of Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman could be among the best in the league this year if both stay healthy, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld. Also helping their cause is the addition of Elton Brand, who plans to play the role of enforcer for Dallas this year.
Odds & Ends: Warriors, Curry, Kirilenko, Rivers
Saturday night linkage..
- Coach Avery Johnson says that it is now noticably easier to recruit free agents to the Nets since the move to Brooklyn, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday. Veteran Gerald Wallace noted that this is the most talented team that he has been on since his time in Sacramento.
- Stephen Curry and the Warriors agreed to table contract talks until after the preseason are through and coach Mark Jackson will sit the guard for one of the first two games in order to rest his ankle, writes Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. On the surface, it may seem like a conflict of interest to bench the guard as he looks to prove his value, but Curry says that he doesn't see it that way.
- Andrei Kirilenko declined to comment on how close he may have been to joining the Nets this offseason but did acknowledge that he was in touch with Mikhail Prokhorov when he played for his Russian team years ago, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The forward was a member of CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001 before making the jump to the NBA.
- Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune looks at how Greivis Vasquez, battling rookie Austin Rivers for the Hornets starting point guard job, is gaining trust in New Orleans.
Central Notes: Cavs, Azubuike, Monroe, Ellis
The Cavaliers picked up an extra first-round pick and some extra payroll flexibility when they sent Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga to the Lakers at the deadline for Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, and a first-round pick. However, one downside to the deal is Walton's $6MM price tag for the 2012/13 season. While some might expect the rebuilding Cavs to throw a buyout offer in the forward's direction, he said earlier this week that he has yet to receive one. Here's more on the Cavs and other items out of the Central Division..
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald takes a shot at projecting the Cavs depth chart going into the team's intra-squad scrimmage today, and also lists the players he thinks won't make the regular season roster (Sulia link). Of note, he believes the team will cut Kelenna Azubuike, who has a guaranteed deal, while retaining the partially guaranteed contracts of Daniel Gibson, Samardo Samuels and Michael Eric.
- There was talk of the Pistons shifting Greg Monroe over to power forward after acquiring two centers this summer, but Monroe says that he'll be staying at the five for the time being, writes David Mayo of MLive.com.
- The Bucks were hesitant to part with Andrew Bogut in order to land Monta Ellis last season, but it's already clear that the sacrifice was worthwhile, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Ellis was asked about the perception that he would be an ideal sixth man for a contending team, but he dismissed that notion, saying that he could win a starting job on any club.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Bobcats Waive Jeff Adrien, Paris Horne
The Bobcats have waived Jeff Adrien and Paris Horne, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Both players were signed to non-guaranteed, make-good contracts in September. Charlotte's roster now stands at 16.
Adrien, 26, saw limited playing time with the Warriors in 2010/11 and the Rockets in 2011/12. The UConn product reportedly drew interest from the the Rockets, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics before agreeing to terms with the Bobcats. The forward also spent time with Orlando's Summer League team in 2010, though there was obviously different personnel in place.
Horne, 25, spent last season in Germany with BG Gottingen. The 6'3" guard out of St. John's made a strong impression on the Bobcats as a member of their Summer League team this year but was unable to crack the final 15. Bonnell notes that Horne was an intriguing player due to his quickness but was still a longshot to hang on.
Southeast Notes: Afflalo, Haywood, Wade
All five Southeast Division teams open preseason play tomorrow, with four of the teams squaring off against each other. The Wizards will play the Bobcats in Charlotte, while the defending champion Heat travel to take on the Hawks. The Magic will be in Mexico City to face the Hornets. That's a matchup of Mexican center Gustavo Ayon's current and former teams, and we heard last night that while Ayon is drawing interest from overseas, he'll remain with the Magic this season. Here's today's Southeast Division scuttlebutt:
- Arron Afflalo wasn't expecting a trade when the Nuggets shipped him to Orlando in the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum mega-deal, but is looking forward to the chance to become the Magic's No. 1 option on offense, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer believes the Bobcats got a fair deal on their amnesty waiver claim of Brendan Haywood, who brings experience and a high basketball IQ to the center position in Charlotte. Haywood will make an average of $2.05MM over the next three seasons.
- Dwyane Wade was among the players featured in a video the NBA released to demonstrate what will draw fines under the new anti-flopping policy this year, but with no in-game penalties, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks the Heat star shouldn't stop trying to fool the refs.
Kevin Martin Hints At Having Made Trade Request
Kevin Martin enters the final season of his five-year, $53MM contract as a trade candidate, and after a year that began with his name a part of the failed Chris Paul-to-the-Lakers deal and a continued presence in trade talks, he admitted he's surprised to still be with the Rockets. The high-scoring guard was coy when asked in training camp this year whether he requested a trade after last season, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.
"You always go through mixed emotions," Martin said in response to the question. "The organization goes through mixed emotions. Things like that we’ll keep behind closed doors. I’m happy now. We’re good."
Martin is coming off a disappointing season in which he missed time with a strained right shoulder and saw his role in the offense decrease. He scored 17.1 points per game, breaking a string of six consecutive seasons of 20.0 PPG or better. Still, the 29-year-old retains high value as a trade chip, in large measure because his $12.44MM salary this season gives his team a chance to clear significant cap room next summer.
Feigen notes that coach Kevin McHale's praise of Martin in this year's camp seems out of place after a season in which there was apparent friction between player and coach. A pair of reports at different points during the 2011/12 campaign indicated Martin's displeasure in Houston, and while Martin is embracing the Rockets' rebuilding effort this year, he says it's "not ideal," as Feigen writes.
While the Rockets seem as anxious as any team to clear cap space, which keeping Martin around this year would allow them to do next summer, I think they'd be willing to listen to offers, especially if Martin and McHale's relationship turns sour again. They'd surely love to get a marquee player in return, as they tried to do last year in trading Martin for Pau Gasol, but they'd probably be willing to settle for draft picks and prospects if it came to that.