Bobcats To Work Out Players For Possible 10-Day
THURSDAY, 3:40pm: NBA free agent Chris Johnson is part of the workout session today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, 7:19pm: The Bobcats plan to work out Ike Diogu, Mickell Gladness, and Denzel Bowles on Thursday for a possible 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The Bobcats currently have 15 players on the roster, so someone would need to be released. It’s possible they could let go of Justin Hamilton to make space when his 10-day contract expires tomorrow.
Diogu has been playing with Bakersfield in the NBA D-League. In 30 games he is averaging 16.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 30.2 MPG. The 6’8″ forward was taken in the first-round of the 2005 draft by the Warriors. He last saw NBA action during the 2011/12 season with the Spurs. His career numbers are 6.0 PPG, and 3.1 RPG over 12.4 MPG.
Gladness went undrafted in 2008 and has been playing for Reno in the D-League this season. His numbers in 30 games are 8.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 24.2 MPG. The 6’11” center saw limited NBA action during the 2011/2012 season with the Heat and the Warriors.
Bowles, a 6’10” center who averaged 26.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in the Chinese Basketball Association this season, is seen as a talented project, according to Charania. Bowles also has received interest from the Heat per Charania’s sources.
Pacific Rumors: Nash, D’Antoni, Thompson
No one can accuse Steve Nash of not being honest. When asked by reporters today why he won’t retire, the Lakers guard said, “It’s just a reality. I’m not going to retire because I want the money. It’s honest,” according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter links). “You’re going to have people say he’s so greedy he’s got to take this last little bit…Yes, I do. I have to take this last little bit. I’m sorry if that’s frustrating to some but if they were in my shoes they would do the exact same thing.”
- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni says that he doesn’t think about his job status, despite the constant speculation, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “My job is to finish up as good as we can. Then everybody huddles…and we’ll see what happens,” the coach said.
- D’Antoni also downplayed Kobe Bryant‘s recent criticism of the Lakers organization, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets. There was also a report that Bryant is unhappy with D’Antoni and has no interest in playing for him next season.
- Jason Thompson, the subject of trade talk before February’s deadline, is trying to make the most of his benching by Kings coach Michael Malone, writes the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones.
Sixers Plan To Sign Darius Johnson-Odom
The Sixers plan to sign Darius Johnson-Odom to a 10-day deal, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). He has been playing with the Springfield Armor of the D-League.
Johnson-Odom, 24, auditioned for the Sixers on Tuesday. The shooting guard saw four games of NBA action with the Lakers last season, making him a more familiar name to fans than Scott Suggs, who also worked out for coach Brett Brown & Co. James Nunnally and Kevin Murphy tried out for the team, too.
Johnson joined the Lakers again for camp in the fall and split the season between China and the Nets D-League affiliate. Jorge Gutierrez recently edged out Johnson-Odom for a 10-day contract with Brooklyn, but it sounds like he’s found a (temporary) home elsewhere in the Atlantic Division.
The Sixers have 15 guaranteed contracts on their roster, so they’ll have to cut one of them to make room for Johnson-Odom. It initially appeared as though Philadelphia was looking to replace Jarvis Varnado, who had been on a 10-day contract, but he re-signed Wednesday for the rest of the season.
Southwest Rumors: Miller, Harris, D-League
Here’s the latest out of the Southwest Division..
- Grizzlies swingman Mike Miller will be a free agent at season’s end, but he calls the experience of playing with Marc Gasol “an absolute pleasure,” just as he found it was playing with brother and fellow soon-to-be free agent Pau Gasol. Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling has more from Miller, who expresses his affection for the Heat, a team he can’t sign with until 2015/16 under the terms of last season’s amnesty waiver.
- Mavericks guard Devin Harris, making the minimum salary, is looking like one of the best values in the league right now, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon. Factoring in finances, production, and impact for a probable playoff team, D.J. Augustin of the Bulls is the only backup point guard who could make a strong case for being a better value, MacMahon opines. Harris is averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 assists in 18.6 minutes per game while serving as the Mavs’ best backcourt defender.
- The Pelicans and Grizzlies are seeking one-to-one D-League affiliates for next season, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Kyler reiterates an earlier report that the Magic are looking for the same.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Varnado, Ainge
Early-season fear that the Atlantic Division champion wouldn’t deserve its automatic high seeding in the playoffs has subsided, with the Raptors holding the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. The fast-charging Nets are three games back, but the most compelling stories out of the Atlantic seem to come from the teams that are below .500. Here’s news on the Knicks, Sixers and Celtics:
- A source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that Phil Jackson plans to live “in New York 35% of the time and make it look like 50%” (Twitter link). In contrast, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck hears from Jackson confidants who say he wouldn’t be taking the Knicks job if he didn’t intend to move to the Big Apple.
- Analytics fascinate Jackson, who’ll probably further the use of advanced metrics in a Knicks front office that’s been slow to adopt them, Beck writes in the same piece.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown is enamored with Jarvis Varnado, and it’s because of his defense, observes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Sixers, who signed Varnado on Wednesday to a multiyear contract, give up the third most points per possession in the league, according to NBA.com.
- Pacers coach Frank Vogel believes the Celtics provide the right environment for friend Brad Stevens. Vogel is particularly high on president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, saying he’s “at the top of that list” of executives a coach would want to work for. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald has the details.
Lakers Rumors: Kobe, D’Antoni, Kupchak
The Lakers made plenty of news Wednesday, and Kobe Bryant was at the center of it, as usual. The team announced he was out for the season, and the Black Mamba was sharply critical of management at an afternoon press conference. The story that Bryant wants the team to get rid of coach Mike D’Antoni emerged later. There’s still more on the purple-and-gold, as we detail:
- Bryant has yet to meet with management to express his feelings about D’Antoni, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who adds that those talks with happen after the season (Twitter links).
- Bryant wants aggressive moves, but GM Mitch Kupchak isn’t sure he’ll use all of the cap space the Lakers can open up this summer, telling David Leon Moore of USA Today that he’s wary of signing the wrong players and locking the team into mediocrity. “Patience is the key,” Kupchak said. “With the new collective bargaining agreement, there are no quick fixes. You cannot outbid teams for star players.”
- Lakers co-owners and siblings Jeanie and Jim Buss aren’t much closer than when they weren’t speaking to each other before the death of their father, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding, who examines the Lakers as they reach a nadir in their storied history.
Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback
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This week, we’ll start with a team that has it’s eyes squarely on the future. The Sixers have lost 18 in a row and are closing in on the pole position for the draft lottery. Reader Zak Arn disagrees with the assertion that the Sixers will be just as woeful next season. Zak’s optimistic take was lengthy, so we’ll share a portion of it here:
- I don’t see the Sixers’ struggles this year translating to struggles next year. They’re almost guaranteed to get one of Jabari Parker/Andrew Wiggins with their first pick and they’ll get one of Marcus Smart/Rodney Hood/Doug McDermott/James Young. What they need to focus on in free agency is a legit four. Chris Bosh isn’t opting out. Pau Gasol/Al Harrington are too old. Zach Randolph will want too much money. I think they should go add a guy like Glen Davis on a one-year deal to place hold for 2015’s free agent class of LaMarcus Aldridge/Kevin Love.
Speaking of Love, Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal recently argued that the Timberwolves star and rumored Knicks target would be a poor fit next to Carmelo Anthony. Commenter alphakira doesn’t see it that way.
- *sigh* They say ‘Melo can’t play with Rajon Rondo because he can’t hit a jump shot and now they say ‘Melo can’t play with Love because he only can hit jump shots. Which is it? Many people (myself included) thought LeBron James and Dwyane Wade couldn’t co-exist because there’s only one ball … that worked out pretty well for them.
Charles Barkley is in favor of changing the lottery so every non-playoff team would have an equal chance at the No. 1 pick. ManBearPig618 weighs the pros and cons of Barkley’s idea and Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren‘s “wheel” proposal.
- I’ve always felt the “Barkley plan” would be a better option than the “wheel” rotation proposal. It doesn’t even need to be one ball per lottery team. I think the NBA only needs to make the odds close enough so that teams wouldn’t have major incentive to flat-out tank. However, I guess this could end up pushing the “tank” status to fringe playoff teams. As a .500-ish team vying for the eighth spot, would you rather make the playoffs or have a fairly decent shot at a top-five pick?
We appreciate everyone who adds to the dialogue at Hoops Rumors, and we look forward to seeing more responses like these from you!
Manny Harris To Play In Turkey
Former Lakers and Cavs shooting guard Manny Harris is leaving the Lakers D-League affiliate to play in Turkey with Turk Telekom Ankara, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The deal likely means the 24-year-old who scored 19 points in his final game with the Lakers last month will spend the rest of the season overseas.
Harris was with the Lakers on a pair of 10-day contracts this year, and he spent parts of 2010/11 and 2011/12 with Cleveland. The former Michigan Wolverine has averaged 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 17.6 assists per contest over his NBA career, which spans 89 games.
It’s the second straight year the Henry Thomas client will spend time in international ball, having played in Ukraine last season. The Turkish team is no doubt giving him a raise on his salary in the D-League, where he had a strong performance this year, pouring in 31.6 PPG and grabbing 7.9 RPG for the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
And-Ones: Draft, Dragic, Neal
The NBA draft is still more than three months away but the debate on who will be the first player taken rages on. According to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, scouts have told him that if the draft were held today, the first overall selection would either be Kansas center Joel Embiid or Duke forward Jabari Parker. While Embiid and Parker represented the top tier in this poll and Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Dante Exum represented the second tier, the six through ten choices were all over the board according to the article. There is a chance that neither Embiid, if his back proves too problematic, or Parker, if he decides to play one more season as he’s hinted, will even declare for this year’s draft.
More from around the league:
- According to La Opinion de Malaga (translated by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando) Slovenian guard Zoran Dragic is weighing his options in regards to entering the NBA next season. Dragic is averaging 11.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.3 APG this season with Unicaja Malaga.
- Bobcats guard Gary Neal was held out of tonight’s game against the Wizards for an “internal team matter”, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. About the benching, Neal said, “I made a mistake, me and coach talked about it and we’ll move forward from there.” According to Bonnell, head coach Steve Clifford said that this would not affect Neal’s minutes going forward.
- It wasn’t his health that made Chris Duhon break the contract he signed with JuveCaserta of the Italian League, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The reason, it turns out, is that Duhon’s wife, Andrea, was pregnant with twins, and Duhon decided he needed to remain near her rather than make the trip across the Atlantic. It turned out to be a sound decision, as last week, Andrea Duhon gave birth two months premature. According to Deveney, Duhon still intends to return to basketball, but it is unclear if that will be in the NBA or overseas.
Western Notes: Mavs, Lakers, Presti
It doesn’t matter whether the Mavericks go one-and-done, miss the playoffs or end up in the conference finals, the offseason game plan is the same, writes Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News. He says they are going to figure out a way to use the $34MM dollars of cap space they anticipate having to try and add a premier small forward and/or center. Sefko floats the possibility of Luol Deng and Marcin Gortat being their prime free-agent targets. The article also mentions that the deeper the team goes in the playoffs, the more appealing they will become to any free agent, including LeBron James, though Sefko admits that landing LeBron is a long shot at best.
Here’s some more from out west:
- With the news from earlier that Kobe Bryant wants Mike D’Antoni gone, it seems that he’s not the only Lakers player that would feel that way, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. He mentions that Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill would also like to see a new coach next season.
- Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times supports Bryant calling out Lakers management. He hopes the star player’s comments bring about the needed changes in the organization. Plaschke also thinks that it’s a good thing for the team that Kobe is done for the year as it will help them secure a higher lottery pick. The article also questions the decision to re-sign Bryant when they did. Plaschke believes that Bryant would have signed for less now in order to free up cap space to help the team sign players to make a run during his final years.
- Thunder GM Sam Presti shared his thoughts on tanking with Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Presti said, “Oddly enough, I think it’s a narrative that was created to tweak the league office, and they are showing to be quite reflexive to it. I’m actually a bit surprised they have fed into it and devoted so much public energy to it given the lack of evidence. The records of the teams in the bottom four of the league are in line with those over the last 20 seasons. If anything, they are actually slightly above those averages. I’m missing the epidemic on this, really. I would hope we’d focus our attention on a lot of the great things our players are ding and that the league has in place now.“