Pacific Notes: Kings, Cousins, Lee, Gasol
Last night, the Clippers donned their whites and made themselves right at home in their 107-102 victory over the Lakers. Kobe Bryant gave the Lakers 38 points but a team effort from the Clippers – bolstered by Chris Paul's 30 points and 13 dimes – ultimately won out. Here's today's look at the Pacific Division..
- DeMarcus Cousins' 31 points and 20 boards in Friday night's road win over the Raptors puts the exclamation point on the Kings' current preference to hold on to him, writes Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. The Mavericks are interested in Cousins and Brigham theorizes that Dallas could offer some combination of Darren Collison, Chris Kaman, Rodrigue Beaubois, and Jae Crowder. All of those players, except for Crowder, are on expiring contracts.
- David Lee no longer feels pressure to play up to his six-year, $80MM deal and as a result, finds himself as an All-Star candidate this season, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. Lee is averaging 20.2 PPG with 11.1 RPG so far this season.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) opines that the Lakers have to figure things out with Pau Gasol and integrate him into the system as his trade value isn't exactly at its peak right now. After last night's game, Gasol told reporters that he won't be requesting a trade after being left on the bench for most of the final frame.
Hoops Links: Cousins, Bucks, Karl, Bulls, Blazers
In 1995, the NBA took a giant leap forward in international growth when they established a pair of franchises north of the border in Toronto and Vancouver. Almost eighteen years later, commissioner David Stern says that we will see multiple international teams within the next twenty years. This isn't the first time that we've heard one of the big four leagues talk about franchises on another continent, but the NBA might be the one to really see it through.
The NFL started playing one game per season in London, England in 2007 and they will stage two at Wembley Stadium in 2013. The UK games have drawn an average of more than 82,000 fans and subsequently the idea of international expansion is floated about every fall. However, even the most hopeful proponent for football in England knows that they're a long way away from gaining enough of a foothold in Europe to make that happen. Hockey is massively popular in parts of Europe, particularly Russia, but the NHL obviously has some much bigger fish to fry at home. Baseball is expanding its international presence beyond Latin America through the World Baseball Classic, but the tournament is still in its infancy. Some may scoff at Stern's proclamation, but I like Adam Silver's chances of bringing a team or two overseas further into his tenure as commish.
If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature next week, then send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- Bleed Green sees some issues with the Celtics acquiring DeMarcus Cousins.
- Bucksketball writes that there is a method to Scott Skiles' madness.
- Wages Of Wins has a few criticisms of George Karl.
- Blog A Bull looks at the Bulls' one-guard situation.
- Hoops Addict talks about the Blazers' surprising turnaround.
- A Wolf Among Wolves tackles the Kevin Love hate.
- Pounding The Rock is encouraged by Manu Ginobili.
- Rufus On Fire isn't sure about trusting the Bobcats' rebuilding effort.
- NBA 24 7 365 has the goods on Rutgers alum Quincy Douby and his 75 point effort in China.
- The NBA Geek is surprised by the Pistons.
- The Basketball Post gives their pick for the best coach in Europe.
- Celtics Green wants no part of Rudy Gay.
- Utah Sports Net says that assists are the key to the Jazz winning.
- Truth About It thinks the Wizards can land Cousins.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Pau Gasol Won’t Ask For Trade
Lakers forward Pau Gasol has been involved in heavy trade speculation for the bulk of the season, but the big man says that he won't encourage the Lakers to deal him. After being left on the bench for most of the fourth quarter in last night's loss to the Clippers, Gasol told reporters that he plans to stick things out with his team.
"No that's radical," said Gasol when asked if he'd request a trade, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter). "I still believe and have faith here and I still have faith I can play a big part in helping this team succeed. Right now, I'm not able to do that very often."
Gasol added that while it was difficult for him to sit out most of the final frame, he understands coach Mike D'Antoni's reluctance to change the lineup while things are clicking. While the Lakers' comeback ultimately fell short, they did outscore the Clippers 31-20 in the final quarter.
For their part, the Lakers say they're not looking to trade the Spaniard and word is that they're not looking at deals at all. Even if they have a change of heart, it's hard to imagine them getting a strong return for Gasol given his troubles and bloated contract. Gasol is set to earn $19MM this season and $19.3MM in the final year of the deal next year.
Odds & Ends: Nolan Smith, Beverley, Draft
It was an active day around the Association, and it might be that way for a while. Monday is the start date for 10-day contracts and the final day teams can waive players on non-guaranteed deals in time for them to be off rosters by January 10th, when those contracts would become guaranteed for the balance of the season. Come Monday, we'll also be just two weeks and a month from the trade deadline. As we count down, here's the latest NBA scuttlebutt.
- Nolan Smith has fired agent Joel Bell, who asked the Blazers to trade his now former client, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports. Smith said he has never asked for a trade himself, and as we passed along earlier, he also spoke with Haynes about his upcoming free agency, professing his love for Portland in the process. Sam Amick of SI.com identified Smith as a trade candidate earlier today.
- Sean Deveney tweets financial details on Patrick Beverley's $850K buyout from Spartak St. Petersburg. The Rockets, who are expected to sign Beverley, paid the maximum $550K while Beverley chipped in the rest out the $700K in earnings he had already drawn on his $1MM contract with the Russian club.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com mentions Kansas freshman shooting guard Ben McLemore as a darkhorse for the No. 1 pick and ranks the top 20 draft prospects for June, with Kentucky center Nerlens Noel atop the list.
- Hornets coach Monty Williams said the team wants to have the flexibility to bring in new players at small forward, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune notes, and presumably that's why New Orleans waived Dominic McGuire today. Williams has been unpleased with the play of the team's threes since before McGuire signed last month, and now the coach is calling for improvement from Al-Farouq Aminu, who'll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer because the Hornets declined his fourth-year option prior to the season.
Pacers Rumors: Young, Lee, Johnson
The Pacers fell out of sole possession of first place in the Central Division tonight following their loss to the Celtics and the Bulls' win over the Heat. We rounded up the latest out of Chicago earlier this evening, and now we'll do so with the other team atop the Central, courtesy Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
- Sam Young suffered a sprained ankle in practice yesterday that could cost him his job. The 6'6" swingman's minimum-salary contract is guaranteed for $25K, and it will become fully guaranteed if he doesn't clear waivers before Thursday. As Wells notes, the Pacers would have to waive him by Monday to avoid the full season tab, and they'll consider doing just that over the weekend when they receive further information on Young's injury. The prognosis at this point has Young missing two weeks.
- Courtney Lee, who signed a four-year, $21.35MM deal with the Celtics last summer, gave thought to signing with the Pacers instead, since he's an Indianapolis native and friends with George Hill. When the Pacers signed D.J. Augustin and Gerald Green, though, Lee knew it probably squeezed him out, and as Wells writes, Indiana was turned off by his agent's asking price. "It just didn't pan out right," the shooting guard said. "I was kind of laid-back with that situation. I wasn't really too much into it. I was trying to relax and take my mind off free agency as much as possible and have my agent handle things."
- Orlando Johnson, recalled today from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, was supposed to have a longer stint in the D-League, but Young's injury forced the team to bring him back early to provide depth for the big club.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Magic, Vucevic, Carlesimo
Lakers coach and former Knicks boss Mike D'Antoni was a little thrown by Amare Stoudemire's recent assertion that he was never taught defense before this year, as Newsday's Al Iannazzone documents. D'Antoni, who coached Stoudemire in New York and Phoenix, said he didn't think Stoudemire meant to be malicious, but still found the comment "mind-boggling" and implied that Stoudemire threw him and his assistant coaches with the Knicks under the bus. Here's more from around the Eastern Conference.
- We heard earlier today that the Magic, unsurprisingly, will not try to sign Dwight Howard in the offseason, and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports that the team isn't interested in acquiring fellow Dan Fegan client DeMarcus Cousins, either.
- Schmitz also writes that Nikola Vucevic is off the market unless a team "blows away" the Magic with a proposal (and a Cousins offer wouldn't qualify). Still, Schmitz wonders if Orlando could swap him for a marquee talent when he gets closer to the end of his rookie deal in 2015.
- HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis checks in with Nets interim coach and former Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo, who has admiration for the San Antonio model but doesn't think it's one that can be applied in Brooklyn.
- In a video attached to the same piece, Nets swingman MarShon Brooks, who's been seeing more playing time under Carlesimo, predictably gives the coach his stamp of approval, and brushes off trade rumors.
- Former Raptors small forward Gary Forbes had his sights set on an eventual return to the NBA when he signed with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in China in November, but his next move will be to Puerto Rico, where he'll play for Atleticos de San German, reports Manolo Rodriguez of Tiro Al Blanco (translation via Sportando).
Warriors Likely To Pay Tax, Keep Kent Bazemore
The Warriors aren't desperate to get under the tax threshold this season, and they probably won't let go of Kent Bazemore and his partially guaranteed contract before the deal becomes fully guaranteed on Thursday, a source tells Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. Letting go of Bazemore, who has a meager $25K guarantee on his minimum-salary deal, wouldn't get the Warriors under the $70.307MM tax threshold, as Thompson points out. That's because the Warriors are more than $900K over and Bazemore is only owed $300K for the rest of the season.
The Warriors believe the 6'5" Bazemore, who went undrafted out of Old Dominion last summer, has a future in the league, according to Thompson's source, so the benefits of keeping him outweigh the dollar-for-dollar tax penalty. It also means the Warriors haven't changed their stance on the merits of Bazemore versus Dominic McGuire since November, when Thompson reported they weren't interested in waiving Bazemore to bring aboard McGuire, who was a part of Golden State's rotation last year. McGuire was waived by the Hornets today, but the Warriors can't add him or anyone else without cutting someone, since they're at the 15-man roster limit.
Golden State is in the rare position of having more money on the books for next season than it does for this one. The team is set to come in slightly over the tax apron for 2013/14, which is a line $4MM above the tax threshold. Teams above the apron have limited flexibility, as Thompson details. The precise threshold for next season won't be defined until July, so there's a chance the Warriors could keep all of their commitments for next season and still wind up below the apron. At that point, they could revisit the idea of keeping Bazemore, since the next season on his deal also comes without a full guarantee.
Bulls Rumors: Cook, Deng, Radmanovic
It's an active Friday for Chicago. The Bulls zeroed in on their first in-season signing, as they're set to bring Daequan Cook aboard, and they're taking on the Heat in Miami tonight. A win and a Pacers loss could leave them in a tie for first place in the Central Division, even with Derrick Rose still on the shelf. Amid that sort of optimism, here's the latest out of the Windy City.
- The Rockets shopped Cook in trades before waiving him, but couldn't find anyone willing to take on his $3MM salary, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reveals.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports took to Twitter to break down the ramifications the Cook signing will have on Chicago's space under the $74.307MM hard cap. The Bulls will have $235,917 available if, as expected, Cook inks for the prorated minimum salary, enough for four 10-day contracts. They could instead add another minimum-salary player for the rest of the year starting March 3. A third option is to acquire a player via trade, and the Bulls can now only take back an additional $1,235,916 in a swap, which Deeks believes they'll try to use in a deal that sends out Richard Hamilton.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com dips into his mailbag to answer reader questions, and says he isn't expecting much movement for the Bulls between now and the trade deadline, particularly regarding Luol Deng, who is "probably as solidly entrenched with the team" as he's ever been. Smith notes that the Bulls were offered high draft choices for Deng last season, but they didn't pursue them aggressively.
- With Cook, a shooter, on his way to Chicago, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wonders why the team hasn't given outside-shooting big man Vladimir Radmanovic more playing time. Responding to a question about whether Radmanovic or Nazr Mohammed, both on minimum-salary deals, Deeks says it would complicate the already difficult task the Bulls would have in pulling off a trade, given their proximity to the hard cap (Twitter links).
Christian Eyenga Leaving D-League For China
Former first-round pick Christian Eyenga has bought out his contract with the Texas Legends of the D-League so he can sign with the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The former Cavs and Lakers swingman first hinted at the move on his own Twitter account a few hours ago. Eyenga will replace another former NBA player on Shanxi's roster, Marcus E. Williams, who a few days ago became the first Chinese league player suspended for drugs after testing positive for marijuana.
Eyenga appeared in 14 games for Texas this season, but started only one of them, averaging 16.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. He was let go at the end of training camp by the Magic, who got him from the Lakers as part of the Dwight Howard trade. L.A. had acquired him from the Cavs via the Ramon Sessions trade at the deadline last year. The Lakers reportedly had an affinity for the 6'5" swingman from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but they're ineligible to re-sign him until next July.
Cleveland drafted him with 30th overall pick in 2010, but after a rookie season in which he averaged 6.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 21.5 minutes per contest, including 18 starts, he's seen action in only 14 NBA games. Since the Chinese season ends in February, he could still find his way back to the NBA in 2012/13.
Southeast Notes: Howard, Hawks, Wizards, Heat
Every Southeast team except the Magic is in action tonight, but before the evening's slate of games gets underway, here are a few Friday afternoon items from around the division:
- The Magic don't intend to pursue Dwight Howard in free agency this summer, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, in perhaps the week's least surprising story. Robbins acknowledged via Twitter that Orlando likely wouldn't have had a shot at Howard anyway, but clarified that the team isn't even planning to try.
- One Western Conference general manager told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that another Southeast team could be in the running for D12 this July, however. "I have it as Lakers, Dallas or Atlanta for Dwight," said the unnamed GM.
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) examined the best possible fits for the Wizards in June's draft, eventually concluding that Shabazz Muhammad probably makes the most sense for Washington right now.
- In today's mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addressed the possibility of the Heat acquiring Samuel Dalembert from the Bucks.