Southeast Rumors: Porter, Williams, Wizards
The No. 2 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Otto Porter, suffered a right hip flexor injury, reports the Associated Press, and was limited in practice. Fortunately for Wizards fans, Nene Hilario and John Wall are healthy, but as Michael Lee of the Washington Post points out on Twitter, Trevor Booker was also limited in practice with a sore right knee.
Here's more on the Wizards and Hawks…
- As J. Michael of CSN Washington summarizes, the Wizards have been suffering from the injury bug as training camps open around the league. Emeka Okafor (herniated disk) and Chris Singleton (left foot/toe surgery) are already out and now Booker and Porter are limited.
- Wall added to Lee's piece that after watching footage from the 2012/13 season, he's confident of the team's success this coming year. "We know what we're capable of as a team," Wall told him. "We just got to play like we did last year, be a great defensive team, be a faster team, get out in the open court," said Wall.
- On the injury front, the Hawks scoring guard (Lou) Louis Williams has no timetable on a return from the ACL tear he suffered last season, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution [subscription only].
- Vivlamore adds that former Hawk Damien Wilkins is liable to make the team if Williams isn't able to go right away. After suffering the torn ACL in his right knee in January, the recovery period is 9-12 months and Williams has yet to participate in any scrimmaging with the team before training camp opens.
- Vivlamore goes on to include that a new coach, Mike Budenholzer, means there will be a new system in place for even the veteran Hawks to learn in this month's training camp.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes that Kemba Walker, after two years of losing in Charlotte, led a "jump-start" on the Bobcats' training camp.
Andy Elisburg Promoted To Heat GM
The Heat have reshuffled their front office and coaching personnel. On the heel of news announcing the move of Juwan Howard from player to assistant coach, now the Heat are declaring a new general manager to assist team President Pat Riley.
Here is what the Heat said in their press release:
The Miami Heat announced today several front office promotions, including Andy Elisburg to Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager, Adam Simon to Assistant General Manager/General Manager Sioux Falls Skyforce, Dan Craig to Assistant Coach/Player Development, Chad Kammerer to Director of NBA Scouting/Advance Scout, Keith Askins to Director of College and Pro Scouting and the hiring of Juwan Howard to Assistant Coach/Player Development.
Elisburg, a Heat original employee of 25 years, will serve as Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager. His duties will include assisting CEO Nick Arison and President Pat Riley in the management of all aspects of the Heat's basketball organization including salary cap administration, talent acquisition, league compliance and the day-to-day business of basketball operations.
[…]
Additionally, the HEAT also named Rich Fernando to Executive Assistant to the Coaches, Eric Glass to Video Coordinator and Tim Hardaway to Scout/Community & Corporate Liaison.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, sent a tweet of the promotion earlier today where he noted that Pat Riley will remain the lead personnel executive despite the promotion. Winderman pointed out in his piece for the Sun-Sentinel that Elisburg's promotion makes him the first person to hold the title of Heat general manager since Randy Pfund in September of 2008.
ESPN basketball scribe Brian Windhorst adds in a tweet that Elisburg is known for his salary cap strategies. With the CBA luxury tax strictures already costing the Heat the 3-point shooting of Mike Miller – who was amnestied earlier this summer – Elisburg should be instrumental in keeping the Heat competing for more championships within the strict luxury tax parameters of the CBA.
Lakers Notes: Bryant, Nash, D’Antoni, Gasol
The health status of Kobe Bryant's Achilles' tendon has been the focal point this summer and that didn't change as the Lakers went through their annual media day this past Friday.
After getting off a transcontinental flight from a promotional trip to Dubai, Bryant told ESPN LA's Dave McMenamin, "I don't think we really have a particular timetable as far as where I should be right now, but I'm feeling good."
Here is more from the Lakers, including updates on Steve Nash and Pau Gasol:
- Bryant also told McMenamin, "Everybody was really concerned about this injury, and so was I, but the procedure and the therapy right afterwards and things like that really got me ahead of the curve." Bryant added, "so it feels like the hard part's over."
- As to whether Bryant will play in the preseason or even make the opener on October 29th against the Clippers, head coach Mike D'Antoni wasn't sure. "I'm not expecting anything," D'Antoni told ESPN on Saturday. "I don't know. He's going to do everything he can to try to get back as soon as he can. No one knows. He's day to day."
- D'Antoni will be under a lot of pressure this season in his first full year as the head coach. When asked by Los Angeles Daily News scribe Mark Medina whether he felt he was on the hot seat this season, he answered "Hopefully I can make it to practice this afternoon" (Twitter).
- D'Antoni also told Medina, via Twitter, that in an attempt to keep Nash rested and healthy this season he's been debating between resting him on back-to-backs or limiting his minutes all together.
- McMenamin also found time to speak with Pau Gasol, who told him his knees will be fine despite being unable to participate in the start of Lakers' training camp next week. Pau is continuing to recover from procedures he underwent on both knees this offseason: "We're going to get into practices and get a feel of how the knees react and get into training slowly," Gasol said.
- The Lakers big man was cleared by Dr. Steve Yoon of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic this week to continue to "ramp up" his workouts. Gasol told McMenamin, "I haven't done really a lot of basketball stuff. I haven't done a lot of contact yet. So we'll see how it feels. But the goal is to be ready for opening night, and whichever way it takes to get there, that's what we're going to do."
- D'Antoni told McMenamin, "Pau's probably the best offensive center in the league." The Lakers' coach added that "[Pau is] the most talented big guy in the league. So, all of a sudden he's in his natural position where he'll feel good about it."
- The Sporting News' Sean Deveney spoke with new Lakers center Chris Kaman about Bryant's health. “With a healthy Kobe, if everybody stays healthy, I think we have a great opportunity to make a run at the playoffs,” Kaman said.
- Kaman added, "Are we going to be one of the top three or four teams? I don’t know. The big thing—obviously everybody knows, everybody is talking about it, and they’re going to continue to keep talking about it until he comes back—everybody knows a big part is when Kobe returns. That’s a huge added bonus, and the quicker the better.”
Eastern Notes: Juwan Howard, Pistons, Sixers
Juwan Howard has been on the Heat's roster for parts of the last three seasons, but each year, he returns in a more diminished role. In 2013/13, the veteran big man appeared in only seven regular-season games, essentially acting as a player-coach on the bench. For the coming season, it appears that Miami will finally make that transition to coach official for Howard.
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter), Howard is among those expected to join Erik Spoelstra's staff with the Heat. We'll have to wait for further confirmation from Howard and the team, but it appears that, after winning rings in each of the last two seasons, the 40-year-old's playing career may finally be coming to an end.
Here's more from around the East:
- Dan Craig is also expected to be hired to Spoelstra's staff, while Keith Askins will likely assume a non-coaching role for the Heat, adds Winderman (via Twitter).
- Anthony Mason Jr., the son of the former Knicks and Hornets forward, appears set to play for the Knicks' D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks. Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside has the details, via St. John's basketball.
- David Mayo of MLive.com figures that it would take "multiple pieces" in return to prompt the Pistons to trade Greg Monroe, as he writes in his latest mailbag. Monroe is entering the final year of his rookie contract, which will make him eligible for restricted free agency next summer if he's not extended next month.
- Former Villanova standout Curtis Sumpter appears to be in line to join the Sixers' coaching staff, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Hoops Rumors’ 2013 Free Agent Tracker
With training camps around the corner, Hoops Rumors' 2013 Free Agent Tracker continues to follow all the latest signings and camp invitations. Using our tracker, you can quickly browse the offseason's contract agreements, sorting by team, position, contract length, total salary, and a handful of other variables.
For instance, if you want to see all the Clippers' summer signings, you can sort by team and find all of the club's free agent additions listed here. If you're curious to see how many players signed contracts of four years or more, you can sort by contract length and bring up that list right here.
A few additional notes on the tracker:
- Not all of the agreements listed in the tracker are finalized yet. As signings become official, we'll continue to update and modify the data as needed. This also means that many of the dollar figures listed in the tracker won't be 100% accurate yet.
- Contract amounts aren't necessarily fully guaranteed, and are based on what's been reported to date.
- Training-camp invites are included in the tracker. For our purposes, we're considering these so-called "summer contracts" to be any deal with no guaranteed money. Fully guaranteed and partially guaranteed contracts aren't listed as summer contracts, which are marked with a † symbol.
Our Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under "Hoops Rumors Features" or at the top of the page in the "Tools" menu. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Josh Howard Seeking Camp Invite
Josh Howard's 2012/13 season was cut short after just 11 games when he suffered a torn ACL, becoming one of many Timberwolves to miss time due to injury last year. But Howard is looking to return to the NBA, and is hoping to land a camp invite before the preseason gets underway next week, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
We heard back in May that Howard was participating in a workout that included many veteran free agents represented by ASM Sports. There haven't been any reports on potential suitors for Howard since then, but Spears indicates that the veteran forward had "good workouts" for the Spurs and Rockets. It's not clear if either of those teams is interested in bringing him to camp, but it sounds as if he at least showed he was healthy.
Howard, 33, spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Mavericks before stints in Washington, Utah, and Minnesota. He's extremely unlikely to replicate his Dallas numbers again, but he could be a useful piece coming off the bench on a minimum-salary deal, assuming he's back to 100% health.
Heat Rumors: Beaubois, Beasley, Mason, LeBron
The Heat signed Roger Mason Jr. and guard Charlie Westbrook over the weekend to round out their training camp roster, but they'll have their work cut out for them if they plan on making the team. Miami already has 13 guaranteed players under contract and with Michael Beasley almost definitely taking spot No. 14, Mason Jr. and Westbrook will have to vie with Larry Drew II, Eric Griffin, Justin Hamilton, and Jarvis Varnado for the 15th spot. Of course, there's also no guarantee that the Heat will carry 15 players on their roster. Here's the latest out of South Beach..
- The Heat wanted to bring point guard Rodrigue Beaubois in for an audition, but a wrist injury prevented that from happening, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The 25-year-old averaged 7.1 PPG for the Mavericks over the past four seasons.
- Miami could do worse than filling out the roster with Mason and Beasley, but it's probably not what Pat Riley had in mind when he spoke of "cannibalizing" the free agent market late in the summer, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
- More from Winderman, who explains why it wouldn't make sense for LeBron James to sign a new deal with the Heat before the start of the 2013/14 season. Of course, as soon as next summer, LeBron can opt out and return on a brand-new five-year contract. Even if King James went that route, however, it would probably have a series of out clauses like his current deal.
Sixers Sign Solomon Alabi, Mac Koshwal
The Sixers announced that they have signed Solomon Alabi and Nayal "Mac" Koshwal. Terms of the deals are not disclosed but they are almost certainly non-guaranteed training camp contracts.
Alabi, a 7'1" center, was drafted by the Mavs with the 50th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to Toronto. The 25-year-old played two seasons for the Raptors in 2010/11 and 2011/12. Last season, Alabi played for the D-League's Idaho Stampede and Ikaros Chalkidas of the Greek League.
Koshwal, a 6'10" forward/center, spent time in the Las Vegas Summer League before spending time on several minor league teams. The native of Sudan jumped from DePaul after his junior year but went undrafted in 2010.
Philadelphia's training camp roster now stands at the maximum of 20 players.
Heat Sign Charlie Westbrook
The Heat are bringing Charlie Westbrook to camp, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). The guard was in summer league with the Trail Blazers earlier this summer but did not advance further with the team.
The 6'4'' guard out of the University of South Dakota spent last season in Verona, Italy and appeared to be on his way back there this season. The 24-year-old turned down a pair of training camp invites in August to go back to Europe, but he may try and make things happen in the states this season. Westbrook isn't likely to hook on in Miami for this season, but he could make an impression and continue to build on his game in the D-League if he stays in the U.S.
Knicks Rumors: LeBron, Amare, Melo, Grunwald
The Knicks shocked everyone when they fired GM Glen Grunwald this week and brought Steve Mills back to run basketball operations. Last night, we asked Hoops Rumors readers how they felt about the move and nearly 80% of you were against the decision. Here's the latest out of MSG..
- Knicks owner James Dolan may have decided that Mills was better suited for next summer's free agent bonanza, write Nate Taylor and Harvey Araton of the New York Times. Those efforts could include finding a way to shed the final part of Amare Stoudemire’s contract after this season and possibly even make another run at LeBron James when he can hit the open market. Mills could also try to bring a second star to New York to help convince Carmelo Anthony to stay put.
- The Knicks firing of Grunwald in favor of Mills is just the same old Dolan up to his old tricks, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “[Dolan] is comfortable with Steve,” said a person close to both executives. “Steve knows how to work with [Dolan]. They both know what they’re getting into. I think that familiarity helped. This move was [Dolan]’s.” Isola writes that future of Mark Warkentien, the club’s director of player personnel, is also murky at this juncture.
- Rich Kaplan, the agent for Marcus Camby, told Marc Berman of the New York Post that he was less-than-thrilled with the change. “Steve is a great guy, but Glen’s firing is absurd,’’ Kaplan wrote via text. “He did a great job in a challenging environment. Turns out it was a thankless job.’’ Meanwhile, an NBA GM told Berman, “If you’re looking for logic within Dolan’s Knicks, you’re looking in the wrong place.’’