Suns Notes: Scola, Harden
The Suns are an interesting team this season, with some observers thinking they'll be one of the worst teams in basketball, and others having faith that they'll fight for a playoff spot. Here's a look at a few recent articles about the team that should give us a clearer view of where they are, and where they're headed.
- In their first post-Nash season, the Suns will hand the keys over to Goran Dragic with the hope that he can run the same up-tempo style of offense, writes Paul Coro of AZCentral.com.
- According to Coro, incoming forward Luis Scola is happy to be in Phoenix, and believes the team has a good mixture of experience and skill to be competitive.
- This offseason the Suns made it clear they weren't afraid to make a financial splash, offering Eric Gordon a maximum offer sheet that was eventually matched by New Orleans. Apparently, they were also very interested in the recently traded James Harden, tweets Coro.
Pistons Notes: Drummond, Prince, Dumars
The Pistons enter this season as a young team looking for an identity, writes MLive.com's David Mayo. Can they compete for a playoff spot this early in the rebuilding process, or do the young pieces need much more time to get acclimated and be competitive?
- Also from Mayo comes a Q&A with the team's general manager, Joe Dumars.
- Incoming rookie Andre Drummond should expect to see a ton of playing time against teams with size and athleticism, writes Detroit Free Press reporter Vince Ellis.
- Also from Ellis comes a piece on Pistons veteran Tayshaun Prince, and how he can help an extremely young team with his veteran presence and savvy work habits.
Atlantic Rumors: Kidd, Knicks, Richardson, Pierce
The seismic NBA news in the last 24 hours has come out of the West, but that doesn't mean the East is all quiet with the season two days away. Here's the latest from around the Atlantic Division.
- Jason Kidd turns 40 in March, but said he wants to play until the end of his three-year contract with the Knicks, and also spoke highly of his time with the Mavericks in a wide-ranging Q&A with Steve Serby of the New York Post.
- Chris Smith was waived by the Knicks this week, but he's rehabbing his injured patella at the team's facility, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- Nate Taylor of The New York Times examines the unlikely training camp success story of 28-year-old rookie Chris Copeland, who made the team's opening-night roster on a non-guaranteed deal.
- Jason Richardson was pleased with the trade to the Sixers, where coach Doug Collins was sold on Richardson after a glowing recommendation from Grant Hill, reports John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Paul Pierce isn't a trade candidate, and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that the team had no serious discussions about trading Pierce last season, either, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes.
- Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, knows he has a long way to go to live up to expectations as he begins his NBA career, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
Thunder Won’t Grant Extension To Eric Maynor
Thunder GM Sam Presti said the team will not give Eric Maynor an extension, a day after trading James Harden because they couldn't reach an agreement on an extension for him, either, as Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman reports (Twitter links). Maynor, 25, will become a restricted free agent next summer, and the Thunder will have the right to match any offer he gets from another team.
Presti spoke of the point guard's value to the club and said the two sides engaged in a "positive discussion" about a deal before talks broke off. Maynor is returning this season after missing all but nine games last year with a torn right ACL. He's battled Reggie Jackson in camp for the role of primary backup to Russell Westbrook, and the rest of this season figures to serve as an audition for that role long-term. Zach Links of Hoops Rumors wrote earlier this offseason that Maynor could get an extension worth about $3.5MM per season, but talks never appeared to get serious between Maynor and the team.
The 6'3" Virginia Commonwealth product has averaged 4.5 points, 3.1 assists in 15.2 minutes per game with an 11.6 PER in his three-year career. He came to the Thunder in a trade early in his rookie season from the Jazz, who drafted him 20th overall in 2009.
Mavericks Waive Ely, Douglas-Roberts
The Mavericks have waived Melvin Ely and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the team announced via press release. The moves come on the heels of a report that team officials have convinced owner Mark Cuban to waive suspended guard Delonte West, whose roster spot Ely and Douglas-Roberts appeared to be competing for. Instead, it seems that spot will go to Eddy Curry. Ely and Douglas-Roberts, like Curry, were on non-guaranteed deals.
It's the second time Douglas-Roberts has been waived this week, as the Lakers let him go Tuesday after he averaged 4.0 points in 8.3 minutes per game over four preseason contests with L.A. Ely is a veteran of eight NBA seasons, but didn't play in the league last year, instead catching on for five games in Puerto Rico. Neither player appeared in a preseason game for the Mavs after signing Thursday.
Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com believes both will wind up with the Texas Legends, the D-League affiliate for the Mavs, as the Legends hold their rights in that league.
Northwest Rumors: Harden, Dorsey, Lawson
The James Harden trade continues to make news, as Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman weighs in with a lengthy list of observations while Ken Berger of CBSSports.com deems the trade a success for the Thunder, the Rockets and Harden. Berger holds it up as an illustration of the bold, proactive moves that small-market teams must make to stay competitive. As the rest of the NBA digests what the move means, here's more news on the Thunder and their Northwest Division rivals.
- The swap likely results in a trade exception worth $2,445,480 for the Thunder, an amount equal to Cole Aldrich's salary, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors observes. The Rockets seem to be in line for an exception worth $2,354,236, based on a portion of Kevin Martin's salary. Both exceptions expire one year from yesterday, as noted on our list of trade exceptions for every NBA team.
- The Thunder and Blazers could be interested in former NBA forward Joey Dorsey, whose status with the Greek club Olympiacos is in limbo, reports Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside.
- Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post believes the Nuggets overpaid for JaVale McGee, putting the onus on the need to rectify the move by giving Ty Lawson an extension worth no less than $48MM over four seasons.
- Will Conroy's contract is partially guaranteed for $100K, and according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, he'll likely remain on the Timberwolves roster until Ricky Rubio proves he's healthy.
- It's the first season with a full training camp for Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin, who could use a successful year to influence the Jazz to pick up the team option on his contract for 2013/14, as Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune observes.
Reaction To James Harden Trade
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who first reported news of the James Harden trade last night, reveals that Rockets GM Daryl Morey initiated talks, and has been calling Thunder GM Sam Presti for months to check on Harden's availability. The trade disappointed some members of the Thunder, but didn't devastate them, and Russell Westbrook, in particular, is high on what Oklahoma City got in return. Many in the organization believed Harden, whose sulking about a lack of shots following the Thunder's Game 1 victory in the Finals this June drew rebuke from Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher, wouldn't have performed well under the pressure of having to play for a fat contract next summer. As the impact of the trade sinks in around the league, here's what people are saying.
- Presti didn't want to deviate from a precedent of having players sacrifice at the negotiating table for the betterment of the team, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News believes the Thunder might not be done dealing, since Martin's $12.44MM expiring contract would be an attractive trade deadline asset, a sentiment echoed by HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler (Twitter links).
- John Hollinger of ESPN.com thinks the Thunder did the best they could under trying circumstances, while the Rockets, who could afford to sign another player to a maximum-salary deal next summer, have vastly strengthened their position as a destination for marquee free agents (Insider only).
- Royce Young of DailyThunder.com says the deal was unnecessary for the Thunder and reveals the "ugly, nasty and deceitful" side of pro sports. For CBSSports.com, Young looks at the deal's winners and losers.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com gives the Thunder a grade of D for messing with a team that could have won the title this year, and the Rockets a B for acquiring a star, even if there are questions about whether he can be a No. 1 option. Moore also examines how Harden will fit on the court in Houston.
- Presti wound up being punished for drafting too well, Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News opines.
- The deal was simply all about money for the Thunder, observes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun took the Thunder to task via Twitter for a "horrible" trade, while criticizing Harden for valuing money over championships (All Twitter links).
Bobcats Waive Josh Owens, DaJuan Summers
The Bobcats have waived training camp invitees Josh Owens and DaJuan Summers, the team announced. Both were on non-guaranteed deals, and their departures leave the team's roster at 14 players. Cory Higgins is the only player with a non-guaranteed contract remaining in Charlotte.
Owens, a 6'8" power forward who ranked 83rd on the list of the top 100 draft prospects this year by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only), went undrafted out of Stanford, but wound up on the Bobcats' summer league team before getting the camp invitation. He appeared in just two games over the summer, however, and didn't see any preseason game action.
Summers, also 6'8", was the 35th overall pick in 2009, but hasn't made much of an impact in three NBA seasons, averaging 3.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game for his career. He put up 2.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG over 7.5 MPG in six preseason contests for the Bobcats this month.
Central Notes: Pistons, Robinson, Pacers, Cavs
Here are the latest updates from around the Central Division on Saturday night:
- Brendan Savage of MLive.com writes that the Pistons have grown during the preseason and are ready for the challenges the regular season will bring.
- Terry Foster of the Detroit News talks to several Pistons players who believe the team will finish with above a .500 record in 2012/13.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes that new Bulls signee Nate Robinson is working on his ballhandling and decreasing his turnovers during training camp.
- Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star writes that the Pacers are more confident in their bench this season than they were last year.
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Cavaliers are headed in the right direction, even if they don't make the playoffs this season.
Lakers Notes: Howard, Kobe, Blake
A roundup of the latest news around the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night:
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports that Dwight Howard has been working hard this summer to improve his free-throw shooting.
- Bresnahan also reports that Kobe Bryant may miss the Lakers' Oct. 30 season opener against Dallas with lingering foot pain.
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Mike Brown is sticking with Steve Blake as his backup point guard, citing Blake's familiarity with the offense as his reason.