Odds & Ends: Casey, Lowry, Mavs, Oriakhi
Here are a few late night tidbits from Tuesday:
- With both his owner and his general manager strategically intent on making the team worse in the short term, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey‘s career has become a tightrope walk, writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. Casey is in the last year of his deal and is rumored to be on thin ice in Toronto.
- One way the Raptors will get worse is to move point guard Kyle Lowry, who is reportedly on the trade block. Per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, Lowry was asked about the rumors after tonight’s loss to San Antonio: “That’s part of the business. I’ve been in trade rumors before. I’m still going to go about my business and I’m going to still play my butt off and try to win games for this team.” (Twitter links)
- While they’re likely interested, the Mavericks probably don’t have what it takes to land Omer Asik from Houston given their current asking price, Mavs play-by-play man Mark Followill said on Tuesday in a chat. Followill also suggested that Trevor Ariza would be an intriguing trade target for Dallas if they’re looking to upgrade their bench.
- Former UConn and Missouri center Alex Oriakhi has been waived by Hapoel Holon of the Israeli league after four games with the club, according to Sportando. Oriakhi, who was drafted 57th by the Suns this summer, was also waived by France’s CSP Limoges last month after he signed there in August.
Clippers Sign Stephen Jackson
TUESDAY 10:28pm: The Clippers have officially announced the Jackson signing via press release. Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles tweets that Jackson will be with the team in Boston tomorrow.
MONDAY 5:00pm: Jackson still hasn’t signed his contract, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, but the Clippers hope to make the move official tomorrow (Twitter links).
3:43pm: Jackson’s deal is expected to be non-guaranteed, and it wouldn’t affect the team’s pursuit of Odom, Amick says via Twitter.
3:13pm: Jackson has signed a deal with the Clippers, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Presumably, it’s a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary. The team has yet to confirm the signing.
2:19pm: A deal between Jackson and the Clippers is “very close” but not done yet, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. Last night, Jackson tweeted, “I never lost faith. The wait is over.”
8:30am: Veteran swingman Stephen Jackson is a “prime candidate” to fill the Clippers’ open roster spot, according to Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Coach and senior vice president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said this weekend that he believes mounting injuries will force the team to add a player. A Jackson signing could happen as early as this week, Stein and Shelburne write.
Jackson has been working out independently in Texas will the goal of latching on with a contender, and the Clippers would fit that bill. The 35-year-old didn’t attend training camp with an NBA team, having last played with the Spurs before San Antonio surprisingly released him just before last season’s playoffs. Jackson had asked for a trade and was reluctant to accept a reduced role. He changed agents last month, hooking on with the Interperformances firm.
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com mentioned Shannon Brown as a potential Clippers target this weekend, though much of the team’s focus in recent weeks has been on Lamar Odom. The team’s preference had been to wait until after Christmas to sign Odom, Stein and Shelburne say, since he might not be ready to play until mid-January, but it’s unclear how the Clippers’ plans regarding Odom have changed in the wake of all of their injuries. J.J. Redick, Matt Barnes and Reggie Bullock are among those on the team missing significant time.
The Clippers have a 14-man roster, meaning there’s only room for one more player. They could sign someone to a non-guaranteed contract and release him prior to the leaguewide guarantee date on January 10th to make room for Odom. All of the 14 players currently on the team have fully guaranteed contracts, and while the Clippers could still cut one of those guys, the team probably wants to avoid paying someone who would no longer be around. That’s especially so since the Clippers are a projected taxpayer.
D-League Updates: Gladness, Marshall, Diogu
Here is a look at a few D-League moves that went down on Tuesday:
- The Reno Big Horns have acquired Mickell Gladness in a three-team trade with the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Maine Red Claws, the D-League announced. The Red Claws will receive Zeke Marshall from Reno and a second round pick from Santa Cruz. The Warriors will receive a first round pick from Maine. Gladness averaged 6.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 49 games with the Warriors last year.
- The deal is pending physicals for Gladness and Marshall. As the Red Claws website indicates, Marshall is a rookie out of Akron who most recently averaged 12.7 points and four rebounds in the Taiwanese Super Basketball League. The center is the all-time leading shot blocker in the history of the Mid-American Conference.
- Forward Ike Diogu has been claimed by the Bakersfield Jam, tweets ESPN New York’s Ian Begley. We heard the Arizona State project, who was in camp with the Knicks this offseason, was D-League bound earlier today.
Knicks Notes: Woodson, Houston, Williams, Calipari
After tonight’s 15 point loss to the 8-13 Cavaliers, the Knicks are now 5-15 and have matched the worst start in franchise history, writes ESPN New York’s Ian Begley, who adds that there are serious questions about head coach Mike Woodson‘s job security in New York, as we well know. Here are some additional reactions to tonight’s loss, as well as some speculation as to where the team could go from here:
- Woodson is far more concerned about his job security than he lets on to the media, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein, who openly wonders if the coach will survive tonight’s loss. Stein adds that a coaching change can only result in the Knicks playing harder given the state of the roster. Stein says that momentum is building for assistant general manager Allan Houston to end up as interim head coach. We heard a week ago that owner James Dolan was prepared to make Houston the next coach if the team continued to flounder. (Twitter links)
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated agrees that Woodson’s time in New York could be up, and says that we should expect to hear John Calipari‘s name in connection with the Knicks’ job. Mannix doesn’t understand why the Knicks would name Houston the interim coach over assistant coach Herb Williams, but Stein reminds us that Houston can get a better look at the personnel from up close. (Twitter links)
- Agreeing with Stein’s sentiment, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweets that the Knicks’ problems go way beyond the head coach, essentially implying that night after night of sellouts at the Garden will have fooled Dolan into a cosmetic change if that is, in fact, all that the owner chooses to do.
Odds & Ends: Rivers, Amnesty, Guards, Draft
A day before he returns to Boston as the head coach of the Clippers, Doc Rivers conceded on Boston radio that he essentially walked out on a Celtics team destined for a rebuild, writes Matt Moore of CBS Sports. It must be a strange couple days for the remaining Celtics, who play in Brooklyn tonight against Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce before returning home to host their former head coach and his new team on Wednesday night.
Doc’s emotional return should dominate the NBA headlines tomorrow. Let’s take a look at some odds and ends from around the league tonight:
- Of the 10 eligible names left, only Carlos Boozer and Kendrick Perkins remain as realistic candidates for the amnesty clause after the Kings jettisoned John Salmons in the Rudy Gay trade, writes ESPN’s Marc Stein, who adds that even the Bulls and Thunder are “conflicted” as to whether or not they’d use the clause on Boozer or Perkins.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for the Score, details guards that are currently unsigned or have flexible contracts who could be in-season additions to NBA teams.
- In an Insiders-only piece, ESPN’s Chad Ford and Jay Bilas discuss a number of hot-button issues surrounding the much-hyped 2014 NBA Draft, including the No. 1 selection, sleepers, Kansas’ Joel Embiid and the freshman class of Kentucky.
- Speaking of Embiid, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman evaluates the recent play of the raw-but-talented freshman in another Insiders-only story. According to Goodman — and Ford and Bilas, for that matter — Embiid may be considered for the No. 1 overall selection in June.
West Notes: Augustin, Freeland, Asik, Kings
There are 16 teams in action tonight in what is largely an East Coast-based slate. We do have five Western Conference teams playing, however, including the Suns and Lakers later tonight. Let’s take a look at what else is going on out West on Tuesday night:
- The Timberwolves don’t appear to be targeting D.J. Augustin, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Raptors waived Augustin to make way for yesterday’s trade, and the Bulls are the front runners to land him.
- Joel Freeland looks much tougher than he did last year, and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com wonders if it stems from a fight he and Luke Babbitt had during practice late last season. For what it’s worth, Freeland has become a mainstay in the Blazers‘ rotation, and Babbitt is out of the league.
- The Rockets are targeting a proven veteran small forward in an Omer Asik trade, one of the many kinds of assets the team is looking for as it seeks to deal its backup center, as HoopsWorld’s Steve Kyler notes. Kyler also examines the Thunder’s approach to player development.
- Speaking of Asik, the Rockets center is changing agents, switching from Andy Miller to the high-powered Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, reports Ken Berger of CBS Sports. As Berger details, Tellem must wait 10 days before his representation of Asik becomes official. Assuming the proper paperwork is submitted today, Tellem can take over for Asik on December 20th, which is a day after Houston’s original target trade date of the 19th. It is also worth noting that Miller has taken legal action in the past when his clients have been poached.
- Responding to news that the campaign for a vote on the Kings‘ arena subsidy has turned in up to 40,000 signatures for their cause, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson cautioned the public that the group is “not folks who have Sacramento’s best interests in mind,” reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee.
Atlantic Notes: White, Marshall, Rondo, Knicks
At least three NBA teams are showing interest in Royce White, agent George Bass of AAI Sports tells Sarah Lyall of The New York Times, in comments that jibe with what White said a week ago. The 16th overall pick in last year’s draft recently hired Bass after parting ways with his representatives at ASM Sports. White says he’s ready to play, but when the Sixers waived him before the season, there’s was apparently more to their decision than concerns over his mental health difficulties, Lyall writes.
“They just told me they didn’t want to keep me at this point in time, and that’s pretty much the gist of it,” he said. “There was a lot being said in meetings, and all of it was contradictory — ‘You’re supertalented; you can play; you can be an excellent player in the league, but we don’t want to keep you at this time.’”
There’s more on a player that Philadelphia seems more enthusiastic about in our roundup from the Atlantic Division:
- There were rumors that the Sixers were interested in Kendall Marshall right after the Wizards released him at the start of the season, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Marshall is now with Philly’s D-League affiliate, which makes sense, Coro says.
- Rajon Rondo said today that he’s had “no conversations” with Carmelo Anthony about joining forces, in response to the rumor that Anthony is recruiting the point guard, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Yet saying otherwise would probably constitute tampering, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News suggests (on Twitter).
- Rondo would be an awkward on-court fit with Anthony and many of the current Knicks, opines Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal.
- Knicks owner James Dolan met with Mike Woodson right after Sunday’s 41-point loss to the Celtics for a conversation that “must have been as pleasant as root canal” for the embattled coach, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. At least one player was also in the meeting, Isola adds.
Poll: What Will Rudy Gay Make On His Next Deal?
Rudy Gay is in Sacramento after yesterday’s trade, the second swap he’s been a part of in an 11-month span. He’s the anti-hero of basketball analytics, a player with a 7’3″ wingspan who fits the classic profile of an elite small forward but doesn’t look quite so appealing under the bright glare of advanced statistics. Traditional numbers show averages of 19.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game since 2007/08, but they belie the lack of a consistent outside shot. Gay seems to attempt to make up for that by simply shooting more often, and his field goal attempts this season are at a career high just as his field goal percentage is at a career low.
The Kings nonetheless believe in him. Owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly coveted him for months. GM Pete D’Alessandro thinks Gay’s shooting will at least return to the level he displayed in Memphis now that he’s again playing with a first-rate inside force in DeMarcus Cousins. Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee suggests that the team might be planning to offer Gay an extension if he performs well this season. It’s not clear if the team is truly considering that, and even if the Kings are, an extension wouldn’t have to include salaries resembling Gay’s nearly $17.9MM payday for this season, or his $19.3MM player option for 2014/15.
Still, it’s clear the Kings value him more highly than the executives from other teams who recently told Grantland’s Zach Lowe that they wouldn’t sign Gay to a deal for as much as the mid-level exception if he were a free agent. Gay sparks much debate, with front offices across the league seemingly assigning him drastically different valuations. Let us know what you think Gay will wind up with, and feel free to be more specific in the comments. Bear in mind that this poll asks what you think Gay will receive on his next deal, not what he should get.
What Will Rudy Gay Make On His Next Deal?
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$10MM to $14,999,999 per year 57% (592)
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$5MM to $9,999,999 per year 31% (316)
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$15MM or more per year 9% (91)
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Less than $5MM per year 3% (35)
Total votes: 1,034
Minor Moves: Diogu, Nogueira, Kennedy
It’s been an active past couple of days in the Association, and there are plenty of rumblings on other circuits, too. Here’s the latest on players with NBA ties:
- Knicks training camp invitee Ike Diogu will join the D-League, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Diogu, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, last appeared in an NBA regular season game with the Spurs in 2011/12, though the Knicks reportedly considered bringing him back last month after Tyson Chandler‘s injury.
- Lucas Nogueira has exercised a provision in his contract with Spanish club Estudiantes to suspend the deal while he seeks outside medical opinion on his ailing knees, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Hawks retain the NBA rights to Nogueira, the 16th pick in the draft this June.
- D.J. Kennedy has left Gravelines of France and is on the radar of Italy’s Reggio Emilia, reports Prima Pagina (translation via Carchia). The Italian team may view him as a replacement for Coby Karl, who appears to be on the outs with the club. Kennedy was in camp with the Mavs this fall.
- Kevin Murphy and French team SIG Strasbourg are in negotiations about a split, according to a L’Équipe report passed along by Catch-and-Shoot (translation via Carchia). Murphy signed with the club in August, shortly after the Warriors let him go.
California Rumors: Gay, Kings, Clippers, Warriors
Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee suggests the Kings will engage in extension talks with Rudy Gay if he’s productive and fills the team’s longstanding void at small forward. That’s similar to the stance former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo took after he acquired him last season, and Colangelo tells Voisin that he thinks Sacramento’s Gay trade signifies the Kings’ clear intention to increase their talent-level, rather than sell off assets. It’s a bit surprising, considering some GMs feel Gay wouldn’t be worthy of even the midlevel exception, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote Monday. There’s more from Voisin’s piece among our glance at California’s teams:
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro suggests that his team is indeed lacking enough talent, Voisin notes. “We’re not kidding anybody,” D’Alessandro said before Monday’s victory over the Mavs. “We’re a long way from being a completed product. We have five wins. We need players here.”
- The NBA probably would have allowed the Clippers to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett as well as Doc Rivers this summer if they hadn’t been so transparent in their attempts to obtain all three at once, several sources tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Rivers says his job this year would be easier if Pierce and Garnett were around, and Beck hears that Rivers “absolutely” wanted to bring the two former Celtics with him to L.A.
- Rivers explained why the Clippers are ready to add Stephen Jackson and offered a strong hint that the pact will be non-guaranteed, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times passes along. “He’s had his issues. There’s no doubt about it,” Rivers said. “He’s breathing and living and I think if that’s true, you should always give a guy another chance.…The good news is contractually, if it doesn’t work, we’ll walk.”
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group bats around a few possible upgrades to the Warriors bench, surmising that GM Bob Myers and company are more likely to look for cheaper options than ones that push them into tax territory.