Odds & Ends: Granger, Clippers, Henry
Danny Granger should help to bolster the Clippers‘ thin front line, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “He hasn’t played a lot over the last couple of years, but I thought before the trade he was starting to round into shape and starting to make shots,” coach Doc Rivers said of Granger. “What I see in him is length. He’s a long small forward who has the ability to add a different dimension to us. The way I look at it is we can have a post game at the 3 spot as well now, which would be nice for us. If gives us another dimension.” More from around the league..
- The Clippers have one roster spot open and while there are no plans to use it at this time, Rivers didn’t rule out the possibility of a 10-day deal later on in the season, tweets Markazi.
- Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer looks at 10-day contracts and how they can benefit clubs.
- There’s a lot of talk about overhauling the NBA draft, but Sheridan Hoops’ Peter May says it’s fine just the way it is.
- The Mavericks announced that they have recalled Jae Crowder and Shane Larkin from the Texas Legends of the D-League. Crowder and Larkin were assigned to the Legends yesterday and played in last night’s overtime win against the D-Fenders. Crowder had his second triple-double in as many games with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, while Larkin added a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. To keep up with all of this year’s assignments and recalls, check out our running list.
- The Lakers announced that they have recalled Xavier Henry from their D-League affiliate. Henry was on a rehab assignment and spent just a few days in his latest stint.
Eastern Rumors: Butler, Sixers, Jimmer
Heat president Pat Riley says that he made a play for Caron Butler but ultimately things didn’t work out. “We reached out to him. But he was very definitive with what he wanted. I don’t think it’s something we could have promised…We’re pretty deep. When you got James Jones and Udonis Haslem, Rashard Lewis in those positions, they’re waiting,” said Riley, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). More out of the East..
- Within today’s article, Winderman has more from his talk with Riley, including a chat about the future of the Big Three and Dwyane Wade‘s recent emergence.
- Brett Brown knew that this would be a rough season, but the rookie 76ers coach admits that he really didn’t realize how difficult things would be, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “To say I knew it was going to be like this is false,” said Brown. Philly is 15-44 and has lost 13 consecutive games after Saturday night’s home loss to the Wizards.
- Coach Mike Woodson says the Knicks didn’t consider guard Jimmer Fredette before he hooked on with the Bulls, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com gives his early impressions of new Bulls guard Jimmer Fredette. The guard spoke to the media about his time in Sacramento and what he hoped to do now that he’s in Chicago.
- Thanks to the state of the Celtics roster, new callup Chris Babb could see even more burn than he could have possibly envisioned, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Babb, who came up from the Maine Red Claws, says he was caught off-guard by his promotion.
Pistons Considering Isiah Thomas For GM Job?
SUNDAY, 7:03pm: A co-owner of the Pistons denied the report in an email to David Mayo of MLive.com. “He is not a candidate for any job with the Pistons,” Mark Barnhill wrote. Barnhill acknowledged that he, principal owner Tom Gores, and Thomas recently had dinner, but he says that it was only to discuss an event to celebrate the Bad Boys era Pistons.
“If people are gonna manufacture rumors every time we are seen in the same room as someone, it’s gonna be a long few weeks as we head into the Bad Boys reunion and beyond,” Barnhill wrote.
SATURDAY, 4:41pm: League sources say that Pistons owner Tom Gores is seriously thinking of making a major front office shakeup after this season and bringing in former Knicks GM Isiah Thomas to run the team, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Current boss Joe Dumars has taken a lot of heat over the years due to his penchant for firing coaches and his sometimes questionable draft selections, and one league source says Detroit is definitely looking to bring in Thomas once Dumars’ contract expires at the conclusion of the season.
Thomas was in control of the Knicks from 2003 until 2008. His tenure as boss in the Big Apple isn’t generally revered as a very successful one, and his unpopularity with New York fans is well known. In exchange for Eddy Curry, Thomas traded two draft picks to the Bulls that would eventually wind up being LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah. Thomas was involved in the sexual harassment lawsuit that ended up costing the Knicks $11.6MM, to which Lawrence attributes his eventual firing.
If Detroit is to bring in Thomas, Lawrence notes that his ties with likely-to-be-fired Knicks coach Mike Woodson might result in yet another coaching change for the Pistons. Thomas and Woodson were teammates in college and still talk regularly about basketball matters, Lawrence says. Woodson would have to lose his gig in New York, but that certainly isn’t out of the question.
The Pistons looked like a potential playoff team this season after a busy summer landed them a new point guard in Brandon Jennings and an upgraded frontcourt with the addition of Josh Smith. While Detroit still has a shot to sneak into the postseason, not many would argue that the 2013/2014 campaign hasn’t been a disappointing one, so much so that it led to the firing of Maurice Cheeks midway through the year. Ownership could see replacing Dumars as the shakeup Detroit needs to turn into a winning team.
Hoops Links: Pistons, Lyons, Mills
On this date in 1962, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points, the most ever by an NBA player in a single game, during his team’s 169-147 win over the Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain shot 36-of-63 from the field and 28-of-32 from the free throw line, to go with 25 rebounds. His 50.4 PPG scoring average in 80 games during the 1961-62 season remains an NBA record to this day and it’s hard to imagine it ever being broken.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want featured on Hoops Links? Send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. This week’s spin around the blogosphere..
- Six Championship Drive looks ahead to next year in Detroit.
- Point Guard U caught up with former Arizona Wildcat Mark Lyons.
- No Man’s Land looks at guys who could surprise in the second half, including Patrick Mills.
- Legion Report recaps the buyout period.
- Sean Mason sees the Lakers as a team with no future.
You can send your submissions to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Hoops Rumors Originals
A look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- We turned the spotlight on the best comments Hoops Rumors readers had to offer. If you want to make the cut next time, start weighing in now.
- Eddie Scarito asked readers to vote on the post-deadline move with the most impact.
- Chuck Myron ran down the buyout market guidelines.
- If you missed out on Chuck’s weekly chat, go check out the transcript here.
- If you haven’t already, check out our 10-day contract tracker!
Jahii Carson To Enter NBA Draft
Jahii Carson has played his final home game for Arizona State, coach Herb Sendek told reporters, according to Bob Baum of The Associated Press. The point guard is currently projected as a high-end second round pick by DraftExpress but could work his way up the boards with strong workouts.
The guard offers tremendous explosiveness and a wicked first step, but his height (5’11” or 5’10”, depending on who you ask) is likely to hurt his stock. While his stature could limit his upside at the next level, it hasn’t hampered him in college much. This season, Carson has averaged 18.4 PPG and 4.6 APG. He’s not as efficient as he was last season, however. He shot 47.3% from the floor in 2012/13 but he’s shooting 43.6% from the field so far in 2013/14.
Week In Review: 2/24/14 – 3/2/14
Danny Granger and the 76ers wrestled a bit over a possible buyout but, eventually, the two sides shook hands. While he had interest in a few different contenders, the veteran eventually joined the Clippers, making their roster even more loaded. More from the week that was..
- Caron Butler signed with the Thunder after turning down overtures from the Heat, Spurs, Bulls, and Rockets. The soon-to-be 34-year-old agreed to a buyout with the cellar-dwelling Bucks.
- Jimmer Fredette reached agreement with the Kings on a buyout and, soon after, the Bulls signed him for the year.
- The Grizzlies want to keep Zach Randolph long-term.
- Heat stars might not be willing to give a hometown discount.
- The Pistons are considering Isiah Thomas for their GM job.
- Ivan Johnson is working out for multiple teams.
- The C’s and Rodrigue Beaubois talked about a possible 10-day.
- The Nets made history by signing Jason Collins and they’re likely to re-sign him at the end of his 10-day.
- The Bobcats and Ben Gordon discussed a buyout.
- Bulls VP John Paxson says his coach isn’t going anywhere.
- Stan Van Gundy is unlikely to coach next season.
- The Suns signed Shavlik Randolph and cut Slava Kravtsov loose.
- The Celtics won’t be buying out Keith Bogans.
- The Kings are looking at Royce White.
- Some execs are worried that Dante Exum could try and force his way on the Lakers.
- Gerald Wallace is done for the year.
- Jrue Holiday is done for the season too.
- Ditto for Gustavo Ayon.
- The Grizzlies claimed Beno Udrih.
- The Kings arena plan took a step forward.
- Nene HIlario avoided a season-ending injury.
- The Jazz said no to offers that would have netted them a first-rounder for Marvin Williams.
- The Hawks said goodbye to Dexter Pittman.
- The Wizards signed Drew Gooden to a 10-day pact.
- The Kings gave Orlando Johnson a 10-day.
- The Knicks nabbed Earl Clark as well as Shannon Brown. They also checked out Dahntay Jones.
- A few teams like Lester Hudson.
- Metta World Peace got some bites from the Clippers.
- The Sixers signed Jarvis Varnado to a 10-day deal.
- The Celtics signed Chris Babb to a 10-day pact.
- The Heat signed DeAndre Liggins to a 10-day.
- The Hawks inked Mike Muscala.
Eastern Notes: Fredette, Silver, Stoudemire
Commissioner Adam Silver not only defended the Sixers, but praised the organization’s strategy for attempting to build a championship contender, writes Jason Wolf of USA Today. This comes a day after former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy slammed the Sixers’ apparent willingness to field a non-competitive team and tank a season to improve its draft stock. “I don’t agree with Coach Van Gundy at all,” Silver said. “I just came from the locker room, I just spoke to the coach. It’s an insult to the entire league to suggest that these guys are going out on the floor and aren’t doing their very best to win games.” Tom Moore of Calkins Media tweeted that Silver said the team isn’t tanking, but rather “building from the ground up.” Silver also told Moore (Twitter link) that he “doesn’t believe a team has to go all the way to the bottom to get to the top.”
More from around the east:
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald relays why he thinks Jimmer Fredette would have been a bad fit with the Cavs. He cites the player’s size and lack of defensive ability making him a poor mesh with Mike Brown‘s system, in addition to the presence of Dion Waiters and C.J. Miles, who would limit Fredette’s minutes.
- Fredette will be available to play today against the Knicks, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Fredette put up a career high 24 points against them last month. Johnson also tweets that coach Tom Thibodeau doesn’t want to pre-judge Jimmer’s defensive abilities.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link) asked Fredette if the Knicks had shown any interest, and Jimmer said they hadn’t contacted him or his agent. Mike Woodson had indicated the Knicks didn’t want to wait on him, and they made their moves earlier with the signings of Earl Clark and Shannon Brown.
- With the Cavs Luol Deng set to become a free agent after the season, Bob Finnan of the News Herald thinks the team would be better served to re-sign Spencer Hawes instead. He cites Hawes’ production since arriving, as well as the age difference between the two. Finnan also notes that Hawes should come cheaper than Deng, which would allow for more cap flexibility.
- Brett Pollakoff of NBCSports.com discusses why the Knicks couldn’t deal Amar’e Stoudemire‘s expiring contract to a team that still hasn’t used its amnesty provision.
Bobcats Waive Ben Gordon
12:09pm: With Gordon being waived after the date to be playoff eligible, he’ll have to choose between going to a non-postseason team or sitting out until he hits free agency this summer, tweets Adrian Wojnarowksi of Yahoo! Sports.
10:55am: The Bobcats have announced via press release that they have officially requested waivers on guard Ben Gordon. This move comes a day after the cutoff for players to be eligible to appear in the postseason when signing with a new team. The announcement was made by President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins. Higgins stated, “With the recent acquisition of additional backcourt depth to our roster, we believe this is in the best interests of both parties. We want to thank Ben for his contributions over the past two seasons and wish him the best as he moves on in his career.”
Gordon was originally acquired from the Pistons along with a future first-round draft pick on June 26th, 2012, in exchange for Corey Maggette. Gordon appeared in 94 games for the Bobcats and averaged 10.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.7 APG over 19.6 minutes per contest. Gordon played in 19 games this season, averaging 5.2 PPG, 1.4 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 14.7 minutes.
The Raymond Brothers client doesn’t want to hook up with any team that wouldn’t allow him to hit free agency this summer, as he’s currently scheduled to do. The Bulls, Clippers and Rockets had apparently been dangling two-year offers (Twitter links), but with the Bulls signing Jimmer Fredette, and with the Clippers’ recent signings of Danny Granger and Glen Davis, it is unknown if they would still have any interest. The Thunder have also been mentioned as a possibility for Gordon’s services.
Silver On Draft, Playoffs, Age Minimum
New NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently spoke at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and he might be open to bringing about some innovative alterations to the game, writes Royce Young of CBSSports.com. Silver addressed his willingness to implement significant changes, including switching up the NBA playoff format and changing the draft if some of the complications could be ironed out.
Some topics Silver touched on:
- He admitted to being “fascinated” by the idea of a play-in tournament to the playoffs. Silver said, “By having a seven-game series, you reduce the randomness of the outcome. I think what’s so exciting about college basketball — and I’m a huge college basketball fan — is the single-elimination tournament, the NCAA tournament. There, statistically, you’re gonna have a lot more upsets. So, I think for us, well, I have mixed views. In the case of certain teams where star players were injured for a portion of the season or the team didn’t jell until later in the season, that team can become competitive. Right? I like that idea.“
- Silver also discussed the “wheel concept” for changing how the draft order is determined, and said he thinks it’s a good idea. One sticking point would be the possibility that college players could plan and dictate where they might be drafted.
- He also stated that if he could change one thing about the league right now, it would be to raise the minimum draft age to 20. “Maybe the 20-year-old is a shorthand,” Silver said. “I would just say a better integration of AAU, youth, high school, college basketball and NBA basketball. This is the sport of the 21st century. We have enormous opportunity.”
- The commissioner also talked about installing human growth hormone testing, as well as tougher drug policies.