Odds & Ends: Union, Turner, DiLeo, Nowitzki
The NBPA has retained Reilly Partners Inc. to help conduct a search for a new executive director to replace Billy Hunter, the union announced today (link via The Associated Press). Steve Mills was reportedly the leading candidate for the position before he accepted the Knicks' GM job this week. According to Brain Mahoney of the Associated Press (via Twitter), the union may want to build a list of about 10 candidates before making a decision. That's far from the only position up for grabs around the league as training camps open. Here's the latest:
- Evan Turner told reporters at Sixers media day today that he "was ready" to be traded at one point and was just hoping it would be to someplace warm, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). It appears as though Turner was bracing for the possibility, rather than hoping for it.
- Former Sixers GM Tony DiLeo is set to become a scout for the Wizards, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Dallas GM Gersson Rosas indicated today that Dirk Nowitzki could play another four or five years in a Mavericks uniform, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. "The vision for us is we want to maximize Dirk's career here,'' Rosas said.
- Rosas, who has experience as the GM of the Rockets D-League affiliate, also wants to make the D-League a key component of his strategy with the Mavs, Price notes.
- Jared Jeffries tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that multiple NBA teams offered him the chance to continue his playing career, but the former lottery pick decided to take a scouting job with the Nuggets that puts him "on the fast track" to becoming a GM.
- Three NBA clubs have shown interest in guard Tre Kelley, agent Giovanni Funiciello tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Kelley is without official NBA experience, but he went to camp with the Thunder in 2009 and the Grizzlies in 2010.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
International Moves: McNeal, Telfair, Wright
NBA training camp spots are filling up fast, and that's prompting a few hopefuls to cast their eyes overseas. Sometimes a relatively fat contract with an international team is too tempting to pass up for a mere training camp invitation, and that appears to be the case for a former member of the Jazz, as we detail:
- Jerel McNeal arranged for his release from the Jazz this week so he could sign a lucrative deal overseas, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reveals that the shooting guard is heading to play in China (Twitter link). Wojnarowski simply says McNeal has a deal with Zhejiang, so it's unclear whether he means the Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls or the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions.
- Several NBA teams have had interest in Sebastian Telfair during the offseason, but he's thinking about signing a deal to play in Europe, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy reports in the same piece.
- Chris Wright will join France's ASVEL Villeurbanne, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). The Chris Wright from Dayton is in camp with the Raptors for the next month, so this is presumably the guard from Georgetown.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Pacific Rumors: Kuzmic, Seth Curry, Kings, Clips
The Clippers, Warriors and Lakers all made roster moves today, but by far the most significant story involving a Pacific Division team to break in the past 24 hours is the Kings' decision to give DeMarcus Cousins a four-year max extension. When I examined Cousins' extension candidacy, I predicted that he'd hit restricted free agency next summer. If he had, the Kings could have matched another team's four-year max offer sheet, one that came with raises of no better than 4.5% of the starting salary. Instead, Cousins will get 7.5% raises for signing with the Kings directly, a more expensive outcome for Sacramento. Here's more from the Pacific:
- Center Ognjen Kuzmic's deal with the Warriors is a two-year, minimum-salary arrangement, reports Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
- Seth Curry is confident that he'll make the Warriors opening night roster, and his faith that GM Bob Myers and company will give him a fair shot prompted him to turn down other offers to head to Golden State, as Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press examines. Of course, the presence of brother Stephen Curry also surely helped influence him to accept his partially guaranteed contract with the Warriors.
- California Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law a bill designed to remove legal hurdles to a new Kings arena in Sacramento, explains Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee.
- Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com takes a stab at predicting the Clippers opening night roster and writes that Byron Mullens is the most likely candidate to emerge as the team's most unheralded signing from the summer.
Poll: Did Knicks Err In Hiring New GM?
The Knicks pulled off a surprise this week, removing Glen Grunwald from the GM position and giving that job, as well as the title of team president, to former Madison Square Garden boss Steve Mills. The move inspired a stream of reaction that prompted us to use multiple posts to round it all up, and much of the chatter paints the Knicks in a negative light. Mills is inexperienced in player personnel matters, while Grunwald acquired Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith, helping to construct the roster that this spring gave the Knicks their first division title since 1994, and their first 50-win season since 2000.
Mills seems to possess a superior personal appeal with players, and, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report wrote today, his connections to the Creative Artists Agency surely endear him to a Knicks franchise that's full of CAA clients. His backers include commissioner David Stern and former Knicks president Donnie Walsh, as Marc Berman of the New York Post points out.
So, would the Knicks have been better off keeping their architect from the past two seasons, or did they make the right move to bring in a new GM? Let us know with your vote, and share more of your thoughts on the changes in New York in the comments.
Did Knicks Err In Hiring New GM?
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Yes, they should have kept Glen Grunwald. 77% (230)
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No, Steve Mills is the right man for the job. 23% (70)
Total votes: 300
Rockets Notes: Morey, Asik, Howard
For the Rockets, "Everything is all-in on right now," GM Daryl Morey said to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and others as training camp begins, hinting that more moves are to come after a summer in which Houston landed Dwight Howard. Here's more from the Rockets boss and other news on the team as it begins training camp:
- "Our young guys have to step up," Morey also said. "We’re not there. We’re not a finished team. We’re not a finished product. We’re focused on we want to be great come mid-April. That’s our focus. We need to get ourselves homecourt in the first round and making sure we’re humming come mid-April with guys stepping up or whatever is needed."
- Omer Asik's summer trade request seemingly makes him a candidate for the team's next move, and the 7-footer offered up a "no comment" today, telling Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com and others gathered for media day that he just plans to do his job (Twitter link).
- The happy-go-lucky James Harden and the rest of the Rockets are a much better fit for Howard on and off the court than the Lakers and straitlaced Kobe Bryant, opines USA Today's Sam Amick.
Brian Cook Agrees To Camp Deal With Jazz
Veteran big man Brian Cook will join the Jazz for training camp, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. He'll be the 19th player on Utah's preseason roster as he seeks to play a 10th NBA season.
The Wizards waived Cook at the end of training camp last year, and he spent the season with the Piratas de Quebradillas in Puerto Rico, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. The Puerto Rican deal had an NBA out, but Cook didn't exercise it before he became a free agent this summer. He switched agents in August, hiring Herb Rudoy of Interperformances.
Cook's last official NBA action came in 2011/12, when he split 32 games between the Wizards and Clippers, totaling just 81 points and 276 minutes. He had a more significant role with the Clips in 2010/11, averaging 4.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game. The former first-round pick has a decent shot at making the Jazz opening night roster, since the team has only 12 fully guaranteed contracts and Ian Clark's partially guaranteed deal.
Blazers Sign Dee Bost
SEPTEMBER 27TH: The Blazers have officially announced Bost's deal, along with the rest of their training camp roster, via press release. It's a two-year, minimum-salary deal with $25K guaranteed for this season and nothing guaranteed for 2014/15, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports reported earlier this month.
AUGUST 19TH: The Trail Blazers have signed Dee Bost to a contract, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Freeman hears from a source that the deal is non-guaranteed and that Bost is expected to ultimately land with the Idaho Stampede.
The point guard graduated from Mississippi State last season and averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 assists as a senior. Bost is the school's all-time assist leader with 633 dimes, good for eighth all-time in the Southeastern Conference.
Bost got a training camp invite from the Blazers at the end of July and made a strong impression on the club early. The 23-year-old went undrafted in 2012 and spent last season overseas with Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 turnovers in 21.5 minutes per contest.
Hedo Turkoglu Won’t Be With Magic For Camp
While most updates this time of year are about non-rostered players who will be with teams for camp, there's one player currently on a roster who won't be with his team in October. The Magic and Hedo Turkoglu have agreed to have the veteran small forward sit out of camp while both sides work toward a buyout agreement, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The arrangement effectively ends Turkoglu's tenure with the Magic, though he technically remains on the roster, as Robbins clarifies via Twitter.
"Our organization has a great deal of respect for Hedo and the contributions he’s made to the team over the years," Magic GM Rob Hennigan said. "We’ve made an organizational decision to move in a different direction. During the pendency of our buyout negotiations, we’ve mutually agreed to have Hedo remain with his family while we work toward an agreement."
Turkoglu's contract calls for him to earn $12MM this season, but a few years ago he agreed to reduce the guaranteed amount on this season to just $6MM. The Jim Tanner client may wind up accepting even less than that to get out of the contract early and take an offer reportedly worth about $3.4MM from Fenerbahce Ulker in his native Turkey.
The Magic have made it clear for a while that they don't see Turkoglu as part of their future, and Turkoglu said in the spring that he'd be surprised if he played for the team in 2013/14. The Magic have yet to waive Turkoglu in part because they hope to find a team willing to trade for him, Robbins writes.
Turkoglu, 35, has spent seven and a half seasons with the Magic over two separate stints. He played in only 11 games last season because of injury and a 10-game suspension that stemmed from a positive test for methenolone.
Central Notes: Pistons, Monroe, Deng, Cavs
With just over one week left until the NBA's preseason schedule gets underway, let's catch up on a few odds and ends from around the Central Division….
- The Pistons and GM Joe Dumars must be prepared to either give Greg Monroe a max deal or trade him, according to Dan Feldman of PistonPowered (link via Detroit Free Press). If Monroe hits restricted free agency next summer, which appears likely, another team will almost certainly offer him a max deal, so the Pistons shouldn't let it get to that point if they don't intend to match, says Feldman.
- Luol Deng told reporters today, including Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, that he doesn't expect to be distracted by his upcoming free agency this season. "Honestly I would rather not talk about [my contract situation]," Deng said. "Everything will take care of itself." (Twitter links).
- The Cavaliers made a couple front office changes, promoting Trent Redden to assistant GM and Koby Altman to director of player personnel, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Knicks Sign Ike Diogu
FRIDAY, 4:32pm: The Knicks have officially signed Diogu, the team announced today (Twitter link).
MONDAY, 10:42am: The Knicks will add veteran forward Ike Diogu to their training camp roster, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday (Twitter link). Diogu will occupy one of the three remaining open spots on New York's offseason roster.
Diogu, 30, was one of several free agents who worked out for the Knicks last week in the hopes of landing a camp invitation. New York is also expected to bring another one of the participants in that audition, Josh Powell, to camp, as we heard over the weekend.
Diogu was drafted ninth overall in 2005 by the Warriors and had a solid rookie season, including 7.0 PPG and a 15.8 PER. However, early in his second NBA season, he was sent to Indiana in an eight-player swap that landed Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson in Golden State. Diogu was traded twice more in the next two years, and never had another season as productive as his rookie year. He last appeared in two games for the Spurs during the 2011/12 campaign.
With Diogu on board, the Knicks will have six players on partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed deals, to go along with their 12 guaranteed contracts. C.J. Leslie, who has a $200K guarantee, figures to be a lock for a regular-season roster spot, while Diogu, Powell, Chris Smith, Toure Murry, and Jeremy Tyler will compete for the last two openings.