Week In Review: 9/23/13 – 9/29/13
We've been expecting it for weeks, but the Pacers finally inked Paul George to a five-year, $90MM+ extension. The 23-year-old was scheduled to become a restricted free agent following the conclusion of the 2013/14 season and but the two sides got a long-term pact done well before the October 31st deadline. Here's the rest of our look back at the week that was..
- The Knicks shocked everyone when they replaced GM Glen Grunwald with Steve Mills.
- DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings reached agreement on a lucrative extension. The big man has had some issues in Sacramento during his young professional career but it sounds like the new regime is confident that they'll be on the same page going forward.
- The Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra agreed to a contract extension. Miami also promoted Andy Elisburg to GM.
- Tracy McGrady already announced his retirement from the NBA and he now says he won't play in China either.
- Corey Maggette is going to training camp with San Antonio.
- Josh Howard is still seeking a camp invite.
- Gilbert Arenas, on the other hand, is going to China. Here's to hoping he and Stephon Marbury will hang out.
- Hedo Turkoglu won't be in camp with the Magic and the buyout is close.
- Shaquille O'Neal bought a small piece of the Kings.
- Warriors 2012 second round pick Ognjen Kuzmic is closing in on a buyout that will allow him to sign a guaranteed deal with Golden State for the upcoming season.
- An extension for Avery Bradley appears unlikely at this point.
- The Knicks officially signed free agent center Cole Aldrich.
- Lou Amundson will camp with the Clippers.
- The Sixers officially signed rookie Michael Carter-Williams.
- As expected, the Blazers waived Terrel Harris.
- The Spurs signed Sam Young.
- The Heat will audition veteran guard Roger Mason Jr.
- Melvin Ely hasn't popped up in a while but he could join the Grizzlies for training camp.
- Pops Mensah-Bonsu will join the Wizards for training camp.
- The Mavs signed defensive specialist Renaldo Balkman.
- The Jazz signed Dwayne Jones to a non-guaranteed deal. They also inked Scott Machado.
- The Jazz waived Marquette product Jerel McNeal but added Justin Holiday.
- Undrafted rookie Adonis Thomas will show the Hawks what he's got.
- Charlie Westbrook will join Miami's loaded training camp.
- The Pacers signed Hilton Armstrong.
- Melvin Ely will try to hook on with the Grizzlies.
- The Bulls are bringing in D.J. White.
- Philly signed a pair of frontcourt players.
- Free agent big man D'or Fischer accepted the Wizards' camp invite.
- Mickael Pietrus wants a guaranteed deal.
- Former lottery pick Ike Diogu is going to camp with the Knicks.
- The Lakers signed big man Dan Gadzuric.
- The Knicks are looking at wing players.
- Xavier Silas will accept a camp invite from the Wizards.
- Larry Drew II will camp with the Heat.
- The Suns are bringing James Nunnally to camp.
- The Jazz signed Nick Covington.
- The T'Wolves inked A.J. Price.
- Justin Brownlee is coming to camp with the Knicks.
- Brian Cook will come to camp with Utah.
- The Warriors added two, including Joe Alexander.
Sixers Rumors: Harris, Bynum, Anderson
While his basketball team stood in stasis, going most of the summer without hiring a head coach or signing a free agent, Sixers owner Josh Harris was busy purchasing the NHL's New Jersey Devils. That's led to speculation that the Sixers could join Harris' hockey team in the Garden State, but Harris seemed to dispel that sort of chatter when he spoke to reporters today, including Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying, "My answer to the fans is that I love the Sixers in Philly. I'm all in it." Pompey, Tom Moore of Calkins Media and Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com pass along more from Harris via Twitter, and we'll hit the highlights here along with other notes on the team most Hoops Rumors readers believe will finish this season with the NBA's worst record:
- Harris deemed last season "a big disappointment," so, "That made me feel empowered to make some changes," he said.
- Andrew Bynum didn't play a game for the Sixers last season, but Harris doesn't regret the trade that brought the center to Philly. "Getting Andrew Bynum was the right decision," the owner said. "I'm a big boy. We made a decision. It didn't work out."
- Harris acknowledges some of the team's other player personnel decisions haven't been sound, but he remains confident that the team can become a winner sooner or later.
- The owner said he's been traditionally more of a fan of basketball than hockey, and he insists he will remain committed to his NBA team even though he has the Devils now, too. "I'm totally focused on the Sixers," Harris said. "It won't change one iota how driven I am to make this a championship team."
- James Anderson is on a non-guaranteed contract, but he's practicing with the first unit and, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News points out, he appears to be the Sixers starting shooting guard for now (Twitter link).
- The team's strategy of overlooking this season's win-loss record might not sit well with fans, but at least the Sixers are doing so as part of a greater plan, Pompey opines.
Erik Spoelstra Signs Extension With Heat
12:28pm: Spoelstra has signed the extension, a source tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link).
9:00am: The Heat are close to ensuring coach Erik Spoelstra doesn't hit the open market next summer, as they're putting the finishing touches on a multiyear contract extension for the two-time champion bench boss, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Officials from several franchises have suggested to Wojnarowski that they would make a run at the Creative Artists Agency client if he were to become a free agent, so it appears the Heat are averting a bidding war.
Spoelstra's deal had been set to expire at the end of the 2013/14, which will be his sixth as head coach of the Heat. He took over a team that went 15-67 in Pat Riley's final season on the bench and, helped by Dwyane Wade's recovery from injury, guided it to a 43-39 record and a playoff berth. The Heat have finished with a record of better than .500 every year since Spoelstra took over as coach for the team he originally joined as video coordinator in 1995.
The extension will likely be announced before the Heat begin training camp this week. It'll be the second major management-related move for the team in the past few days, after Andy Elisburg's promotion to GM yesterday. In addition, Juwan Howard is joining Spoelstra's staff as an assistant coach.
Maggette Most Experienced Of NBA Camp Invitees
The dozens of players joining NBA teams this week with hopes of turning training camp invitations into full-time jobs come from a diverse array of sources, as I examined earlier this month. Players from overseas, undrafted guys straight out of college, and D-League veterans all make up sizable contingencies. So, too, do players with NBA experience, many of whom are looking to get back in the league after spending 2012/13 elsewhere. Others have spent their entire careers on NBA rosters and find their continued employment in the Association up in the air this month, like Corey Maggette.
No 2013/14 camp invitee has appeared in more NBA games than Maggette has. He's trying to latch on with the Spurs and add to his total of 827 appearances. He's one of a half dozen hopefuls with more than 500 games played, two of whom — Dahntay Jones and Mike James — are attempting to make the Bulls opening night roster. Conversely, there are seven players with fewer than 10 games of NBA experience, including D.J. Kennedy and Xavier Silas, who've seen just two games of action apiece.
For the purposes of this list, a camp invitee is defined as a player who is believed to be on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that covers only the 2013/14 season. The players appear in descending order of regular season games played.
- Corey Maggette, Spurs (827)
- Rasual Butler, Pacers (638)
- Dahntay Jones, Bulls (589)
- Mike James, Bulls (584)
- Damien Wilkins, Hawks (563)
- Dan Gadzuric, Lakers (527)
- Roger Mason Jr., Heat (493)
- Royal Ivey, Hawks (490)
- Brian Cook, Jazz (421)
- Josh Childress, Wizards (387)
- Melvin Ely, Grizzlies (373)
- Michael Beasley, Heat (354)
- Dominic McGuire, Jazz (342)
- Lou Amundson, Clippers (327)
- Josh Powell, Knicks (315)
- Hilton Armstrong, Pacers (277)
- Solomon Jones, Magic (270)
- Sam Young, Spurs (249)
- Stephen Graham, Bucks (239)
- Ike Diogu, Knicks (225)
- Renaldo Balkman, Mavericks (221)
- James Johnson, Hawks (219)
- A.J. Price, Timberwolves (207)
- Darnell Jackson, Pacers (138)
- D.J. White, Bulls (136)
- Xavier Henry, Lakers (133)
- Gary Forbes, Nets (111)
- Patrick O'Bryant, Bobcats (90)
- Cole Aldrich, Knicks (89)
- Dwayne Jones, Jazz (82)
- Manny Harris, Magic (80)
- Joe Alexander, Warriors (67)
- Devin Ebanks, Mavericks (63)
- DeQuan Jones, Kings (63)
- Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Wizards (61)
- Dexter Pittman, Bulls (48)
- Mike Harris, Jazz (34)
- Damion James, Nuggets (34)
- Othyus Jeffers, Timberwolves (31)
- Solomon Alabi, Sixers (26)
- Mickell Gladness, Magic (26)
- Julyan Stone, Raptors (26)
- Chris Wright, Raptors (24)
- Diante Garrett, Thunder (19)
- Kris Joseph, Magic (10)
- Justin Holiday, Jazz (9)
- Chris Johnson, Nets (8)
- Scott Machado, Jazz (6)
- Eric Dawson, Hawks (4)
- Darius Johnson-Odom, Lakers (4)
- D.J. Kennedy, Mavericks (2)
- Xavier Silas, Wizards (2)
Pacific Links: Nunnally, Bogut, Rivers, Lakers
James Nunnally was a sought-after commodity before he agreed to join the Suns for training camp. The Grizzlies also extended a camp invitation, and he went through workouts out for the Spurs, Jazz and Pelicans this month. Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside examines the 6'7" forward's journey from the D-League's Bakersfield Jam to the Suns, one of four NBA franchises that counted Bakersfield as one of their affiliates last season. There's more from Phoenix amid our roundup of the latest from the Pacific Division:
- The Warriors are taking a "wait-and-see approach" to a possible contract extension for a reinvigorated Andrew Bogut, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. An extension doesn't appear to be chief among Bogut's priorities, which is the case for most NBA veterans, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors explained.
- New Clippers boss Doc Rivers admits being "wishy-washy" as he recounts the back-and-forth decision process that led him to L.A. from the Celtics in a one-on-one with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Dwight Howard might be with the Rockets now, but he still casts a shadow over the Lakers as they open camp, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details.
- The past 12 months have been unusually disappointing for a Lakers franchise that's been so successful, and with GM Mitch Kupchak's admission that the new CBA makes it difficult to attract free agents, the outlook is bleak for the purple-and-gold, opines Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic looks back on an offseason of sweeping change for the Suns.
Central Rumors: Rose, Butler, Bucks, Bulls
The Bulls opened training camp today, and that meant a return to the practice court with a 100 percent healthy Derrick Rose. The Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson relayed quotes from coach Tom Thibodeau, Bulls starters Carlos Boozer and others proclaiming the old Rose's return.
Rose was attacking the basket during scrimmages with a ferocity not seen when he was cleared to play in the spring.
“I got confidence in my (surgically repaired left) knee,” Rose told the Tribune. “There’s no testing anymore. It’s going out there and playing hard and attacking.”
“He attacked all day, in fact from the start,” Thibodeau revealed. “He made that clear.” Boozer added that "Pooh" – Rose's nickname – "had it going. It was like old times."
Rose is doing one thing differently from before tearing his ACL at the start of the 2012 Playoffs.
“I’m really taking stretching serious before and after — when I wake up, before I go to sleep. I just try to get my body as loose as possible because when you have ACL tears, your hamstrings will be the first things that go especially when you’re fatigued. Me building that tolerance up on my leg, I think that will help me in the long run.”
Here's more on Rose's return to practice, Jimmy Butler's excellent showing and divisional rivals, the Bucks…
- The sentiments expressed by the players and coach in the Tribune's piece on the first practice of the 2013/14 season were echoed by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. Derrick Rose is back attacking the rim, and despite some hard fouls was fine with the contact.
- Rose also offered some insight into his decision not to come back for the playoffs last season after being cleared to play. "I knew I wasn’t ready to take on a double team in the playoffs, so I had to make the decision not to come back," Rose said.
- Another player who impressed coach Tom Thibodeau at the first day of practice, was 6'7" swingman Jimmy Butler. Thibs told the Tribune's Johnson "[Butler is] an excellent athlete, very explosive, very quick to the ball. That tells you how he sees the game. His reaction to the ball is special. He's very quick, strong, can think ahead, very strong."
- The former Marquette player won the starting shooting guard spot last season with Chicago after some blanket defense on the wing, and improved 3-point shooting.
- The Sun-Times' Cowley also paid deference to Butler saying that – other than Rose – he got the most attention after the first day of practice.
- After the Bucks were again eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season, GM John Hammond started the offseason ready to make big changes, writes the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Charles F. Gardner.
- After hiring a new coach – Larry Drew, formerly of the Hawks – the Bucks traded their point guard Brandon Jennings to the Pistons and let their other guard Monta Ellis leave for the Mavs. Hammond will see what a fresh start can do after the largest roster overhaul in his five years as GM.
Jazz To Sign Nick Covington
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets that the Jazz formally offered a training camp invitation to Nick Covington, who has accepted. The 6'2" guard turned 28 this summer, and last played for alma mater Weber State in 2005/06.
For the last three years he's played in the NBA's Development league for Iowa, Sioux Falls and last season with Erie. With the Bayhawks in Erie last season, Covington averaged 9.4 points, 2.6 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 26 minutes of action per game.
In 47 games total, 38 of which he started, he actually shot worse from the field (39.5%) than he did from beyond the 3-point arc (39.9%).
Northwest Notes: Jazz, T-Wolves, Clibanoff
Tyrone Corbin is entering his fourth year as the coach of the Jazz. We mentioned earlier ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan's belief Corbin is on the coaching hot seat this season, with front court nucleus Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson gone in free agency to the Hawks and Bobcats, respectively.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune profiles Corbin as he enters the final year of his contract with the Jazz "where an extension is unlikely." Corbin will shepherd an inexperienced group unlikely to cause much of a ruckus in the tough Western Conference. His place as part of the rebuilding Jazz is murky, at best.
Here's what else is happening around the Northwest division on a jam-packed Saturday night as NBA training camps finally open…
- The Deseret News' Jody Genessy details the 20 training camp Jazz invites, including Justin Holiday, the older brother (Twitter) of Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday.
- Justin Holiday, Genessy adds via Twitter, is one of 7 players who will be in Jazz camp with non-guaranteed deals, as well as the 13 players (Twitter) already with guaranteed deals.
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune details the five major issues facing the Timberwolves as they enter training camp. The primary issue is health with their nucleus of Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, all missing time last season as the 'Wolves again failed to reach the playoffs.
- Zgoda also goes through the uncertain contract status of power forward Derrick Williams. If the 'Wolves don't exercise their option paying him $6.33MM next season, the former No. 2 overall pick will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
- With the 'Wolves facing a lot of contract unknowns in the near future Williams place with them is uncertain.
- The Timberwolves' Chase Budinger may miss 6-8 weeks as swelling and discomfort continue in the same left knee that sidelined him for all but five games last season, Zgoda reported earlier today. An MRI revealed, according to coach Flip Saunders, "a little something in there." The news comes fresh after Budinger re-signed with the 'Wolves for three years and $15MM this summer.
- Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman asked Thunder players Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka what nicknames they'd put on their jerseys if the NBA allowed the practice.
- Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the Nuggets have hired Jim Clibanoff as Director of Scouting. Previously, Clibanoff ran a respected private scouting service.
Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Kidd, Sixers, Knicks
Despite the Knicks having their best year since the 1990s, their coach, Mike Woodson, is on the hot seat, writes ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan [subscription only]. Elhassan goes through five coaches entering the 2013/14 campaign on the hot seat, where their team's success could determine whether they're brought back for the 2014/15 season.
The other four coaches mentioned include Mike D'Antoni of the Lakers, Monty Williams of the Pelicans, Tyrone Corbin of the Jazz, and Randy Wittman of the Wizards.
Conversely, when Roderick Boone of Newsday spoke with new Nets coach Jason Kidd, the new face in Brooklyn told him there was "exciting nervousness" as the team entered training camp. It will be the first training camp for Kidd as a head coach and the first training camp he hasn't begun as a player since the summer before he entered the league in 1994.
Kidd went on to explain to Roderick why he's lucky to start as the coach with the veteran-laden Nets:
"The nice thing about this opportunity with this team is guys being able to sacrifice," Kidd told Boone, "and that's another thing with these guys. Maybe sacrifice a shot or two. Maybe even some of the younger guys will say, 'Yeah, I don't mind not playing the fourth quarter,' and that's sacrifice. It's less minutes and less shots and it gets us a win."
Here's more from around the top-heavy Atlantic division…
- Woodson's challenge with the Knicks this season could be even harder if they don't get healthy as Al Iannazzone writes about for Newsday on the eve of training camp.
- ESPN New York's Ian Begley has a power forward preview for the Knicks. Though Carmelo Anthony played a lot at the 4 last season when the Knicks went small, all their offseason moves — acquiring Andrea Bargnani in a trade with the Raptors, picking up Metta World Peace after he cleared amnesty waivers and signing Kenyon Martin as a free agent – mean the Knicks will have a lot of depth to spell Anthony while also avoiding injuries for their reserves.
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal has more on the Knicks' decision to promote Steve Mills to GM while demoting Glen Grunwald.
- The Sixers had a low-key first day of practice as they opened training camp today, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Tom Moore of the Intelligencer agrees that new Sixers coach Brett Brown was smart to start things slow in his first official practice as coach.
- The Sixers aren't expected to compete for anything but a lottery pick this season after trading Jrue Holiday to the Pelicans on draft day, but at least they have a plan opines Pompey.
Suns Bringing James Nunnally To Camp
The Suns have added shooter James Nunnally to their camp roster, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The UC-Santa Barbara grad shot 63 percent from 3-point range for Miami during summer league.
Coro adds in his Arizona Republic post that new GM Ryan McDonough believed the Suns needed more perimeter shooting even before trading Caron Butler and Jared Dudley this offseason. McDonough explained the decision to Coro:
“We brought him (Nunnally) in a for a two-day workout recently and we were impressed with him on and off the court. It was competitive with other teams interested in signing him and we recruited him. We were able to get him with the opportunity that he will have here.”
The 23-year-old shot 58 percent from the field and averaged a team-high 13.0 PPG during summer league with Miami. He made quite the impression when he was 5-for-6 from long range for a 21-point second half in a losing effort to the Suns in that time.
Nunnally averaged 15.7 PPG from 2009 to 2012 with California-Santa Barbara and averaged 10.3 PPG and shot 41 percent from 3 last season for Bakersfield, the Suns' D-League affiliate. He'll be the 18th addition to the Suns' training camp, which runs Tuesday through Sunday next week. They won't have to cut down to between 13 and 15 players until the night before the regular season.