Western Notes: Redd, T-Wolves, Hollins, Harden
It's Media Day for many NBA teams, which means we're in store for plenty of news and notes today, along with a handful of quotes from players in the "best shape of their lives." In the meantime, here are a few updates from some Western Conference clubs:
- The Timberwolves thought they had landed Michael Redd to a non-guaranteed deal, but the veteran shooter changed his mind, reports Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 (via Twitter).
- Lionel Hollins has only had "limited discussions" with the Grizzlies about a contract extension, but the head coach expects to have a new deal in place before his current contract expires at season's end, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- With just over four weeks until this year's extension deadline, it's beginning to look as if James Harden will hit restricted free agency next summer rather than re-up this month with the Thunder, as Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman writes.
- The Kings haven't found a permanent solution at small forward in recent years, but offseason acquisition James Johnson is the latest candidate for the job, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News profiles one of the Spurs' only offseason additions, Nando De Colo.
Wizards Sign Jannero Pargo
10:55am: The Wizards have formally announced the signing with an official press release.
"Jannero brings us veteran leadership and added depth to our backcourt," said president Ernie Grunfeld. "He is a hard-nosed competitor and proven outside shooter that will fit well with the mix of veterans and young players on our roster."
10:32am: The Wizards have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with point guard Jannero Pargo, according to agent Mark Bartelstein (Twitter link via Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports). The move comes on the heels of the team's announcement that John Wall would be out eight weeks with a patella injury, leaving Shelvin Mack and A.J. Price as the only point guards under contract to start the season.
We had heard late last week that Pargo was expecting to finalize a deal within the next few days, and I was surprised he remained on the market for this long. In part-time action for the Hawks last season, Pargo was an effective backup, ranking among the top scorers, shooters, and distributors on the free agent market when we checked in a month ago. His contract with the Wizards will include a partial guarantee, according to SI.com's Sam Amick (via Twitter).
With the addition of Pargo, the Wizards will have 19 players under contract for training camp. Mack and Pargo appear to each have partial guarantees on their deals, while Earl Barron, Brian Cook, Steven Gray, and Shavlik Randolph are on non-guaranteed contracts.
Suns Sign Ike Diogu
After we heard earlier today that the Suns had added a handful of players to their training camp roster, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic adds another name to the list. According to Coro, Ike Diogu will also be part of the team's camp roster and will compete for a regular-season roster spot.
Diogu, the ninth overall pick in 2005, has appeared in 225 games over his NBA career, averaging 6.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 12.4 MPG for the Warriors, Pacers, Blazers, Kings, Clippers, and Spurs. The former Arizona State star also played for Nigeria at this summer's Olympics, averaging 14.8 PPG and 9.0 RPG for his country.
The signing brings the Suns' roster count to 18 players, including six who are on non- or partially-guaranteed contracts, so Diogu should have a reasonable chance at earning a roster spot.
Pistons Sign Terrence Williams
OCTOBER 1ST: The Pistons have officially signed Williams, according to a team release.
SEPTEMBER 20TH: Free agent guard Terrence Williams, who spent time with the Rockets and Kings last season, has agreed on a contract to attend training camp with the Pistons, tweets Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski. The head coach of the Pistons is, of course, Lawrence Frank, who coached Williams when they crossed paths in New Jersey. Sam Amick of SI.com tweets that the deal will be a "conditional guarantee for one year minimum," meaning that the deal becomes for guaranteed dollars at a certain date.
Detroit worked out Williams last week, and he must have made an impression. After being traded to Sacramento last March, Williams received increased playing time and averaged 8.8 points over 18 games. It was the highest scoring average with one team in one season in his career. At age 25, and only three years removed from being the 11th overall pick, Williams will have to earn a roster spot if he wants to have a chance to fulfill his once-perceived potential.
Pistons Sign Jonny Flynn
OCTOBER 1ST: The Pistons have officially signed Flynn, according to a team release.
SEPTEMBER 23RD: The Pistons have agreed to sign former lottery pick point guard Jonny Flynn to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, reports CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes.
Flynn has disappointed with stops in Portland, Minnesota, and Houston, but he's only 23 years old and holds career averages of 9.2 PPG and 3.9 APG. Flynn heads to a Pistons team that appears to have its backcourt in order with Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Kim English, and Will Bynum.
Our own Luke Adams took a look at possible landing destinations for Flynn earlier this week, naming Detroit as one potential option.
Jazz Eyeing Gal Mekel
After an impressive workout, Israeli point guard Gal Mekel has received an unexpected training camp invitation from the Jazz, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. However, according to Stein, visa issues may make it impossible for Mekel to arrive at camp on time, meaning he'd miss a handful of practices and be at a disadvantage when it comes to earning a roster spot.
Due to those visa issues, the most likely scenario involves Mekel playing in Europe for another season, then arriving in North America next July to participate in summer league action. Mekel, 24, would become Israel's second-ever NBA player, if he were to earn a roster spot with a team this year or next. Cleveland's Omri Casspi was the first.
Mekel played college ball in America at Wichita State from 2006 to 2008 before heading to Israel to play professionally. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gilboa Galil Elyon, winning the Israel Super League's rookie of the year honors in 2009 and MVP in 2011. Last season, the 6'4" point guard played in Italy for Benetton Treviso.
Glen Taylor Talks Kirilenko, Roy, Beasley, Batum
Last month, Twin Cities Business Magazine published a feature by Britt Robson on Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. While the piece touched on some basketball and roster issues, many of those details were not included. Now, Robson has posted a few of Taylor's more interesting quotes related to the T-Wolves' offseason moves and last season's roster. Here are the highlights from the Wolves owner:
On the team's additions of Andrei Kirilenko and Chase Budinger:
"[Rick Adelman] says, ‘This is the guy I want (Kirilenko). He never talks about scoring, he talks about passing and he talks about defense. I need that player in my system to be successful.’ So that one was clearly the coach…. And Chase Budinger, that’s the coach. Rick knows him. He says, ‘I can put him in the game, he’s going to be smart; he’s not going to be the greatest defensive player, but he can do it. He isn’t going to make mistakes.'"
On signing Brandon Roy:
"You might think that is the coach, but that is more David [Kahn]. I think it is David saying, ‘Let give this player to Rick and get the backup in place in case it doesn’t work out.’ Because Rick keeps saying to me, ‘I don’t know if he can play!’ And I tell him, ‘Rick, I don’t know if he can play either!’ So the Brandon Roy thing is a risk."
On what Adelman thought of Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph:
"What Rick said about Michael was, ‘Yes, Michael has been good. I get along with him. But I don’t think we’ll be a championship team with him. If I put Michael in, Michael can score, but he doesn’t play any defense and he forgets the other offensive players, and I just can’t tolerate that under my system because the other players are just standing around'…. The coach would have put up with Randolph if we had gotten rid of Beasley. He said Randolph isn’t really a problem, he just can’t remember things. When was going down his list and got to Randolph, he said, ‘I think he should be off the team. But if these things were taken care of and I had to deal with it, I can deal with a kid like him because he is more of an introvert, he’s not a nasty kid.’"
On the team's recruitment of Nicolas Batum:
"Batum recruited us about as much as we recruited him. He was one of a number of guys who said they are interested in coming to us because of Ricky [Rubio]. He said, ‘I like your coach and I like Ricky and Kevin [Love]. I think I can fit in. I don’t need to score a lot; that isn’t what drives me. I like being on the court with players who share the ball.’ There were three teams he was interested in — New Orleans and Toronto were the other ones — but he said they weren’t as far along as we were and that we were his preference right now."
On what the Wolves offered Portland for Batum in a sign-and-trade:
"It never ended up being that we offered [Derrick] Williams. I said to David, ‘We’re not going to offer Williams,’ so I know David never did it. And as far as we know, we never got beyond [offering] one first-rounder. It never got stretched that far because Portland wouldn’t say what they wanted."
On whether a trade could still be in the works for Minnesota:
"There is room to do more [trading] but not right now because of Ricky’s injury. There are like, five guys at the two guards, so I think logically we could do something — and there is something out there — but until we know for sure that Ricky is going to come back healthy, I think you are going to see us set with this group."
Suns To Sign Zeller, Jeffers, Garrett
In addition to signing Solomon Jones for their training camp roster, the Suns will add a few more players to the mix to compete for a roster spot, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. According to Coro, Luke Zeller, Othyus Jeffers and Diante Garrett have also received training camp invites from the Suns.
Zeller, the older brother of Tyler Zeller and Cody Zeller, has played overseas and in the D-League since going undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2009. Coro views the big man's outside shooting ability as a skill that could give the 25-year-old a leg up on the battle for a roster spot.
Jeffers, 27, has appeared in 31 career NBA games for the Jazz, Spurs, and Wizards, and has exceled in the D-League in the past. He received a qualifying offer from the Wizards last offseason, but tore his ACL during July workouts, preventing his return to the NBA.
Garrett was ranked by ESPN.com's Chad Ford as the 61st-best player in the 2011 draft class, but went undrafted. The Suns have kept an eye on the point guard though, working him out prior to the 2011 draft, and giving him a spot on their summer league squad in Las Vegas this offseason.
With the new additions, the Suns are now carrying 17 players, though Channing Frye is expected to miss the entire season with a heart condition, leaving room for Zeller, Jeffers, and Garrett to compete for roster spots. Jones' and P.J. Tucker's contracts also aren't fully guaranteed, though I'd imagine they're stronger bets to make the team than the three new additions.
Trail Blazers Sign Coby Karl
The Trail Blazers have added another player to their training camp roster, officially signing Coby Karl, according to the team's official Twitter feed. The 29-year-old Karl is the son of Nuggets' coach George Karl.
Karl, who went undrafted out of Boise State in 2007, has appeared in just 24 total NBA games for the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Warriors. Since being waived by the Nuggets in August 2010, the 6'5" shooting guard has played overseas in Spain and Italy, and was also part of the Timberwolves' 2012 summer squad in Las Vegas.
The signing of Karl bring Portland's roster to 19 contracts, including at least four that are non-guaranteed. Adam Morrison, Dallas Lauderdale, Demonte Harper, and Karl appear to be the odd men out unless they make a significant impact in camp and preseason action. Sasha Pavlovic's contract is also believed not to be fully guaranteed.