Central Notes: Jones, LeBron, Love, Scola, Jackson
LeBron James‘ affection for James Jones runs deep, and the same is true for Kevin Love, who said Jones may well be his best friend in the NBA, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com details. Jones re-signed with the Cavaliers this summer on a one-year, minmum salary deal.
“I told J.J., as long as I’m playing, he’s going to be around,” James said last week. “He’s not allowed to stop playing basketball. So, I’m going to make sure I got a roster spot for him. I love him. He’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever had.”
Jones is 35 and James turns 31 later this month, so it would be tough for Jones to hang in the league for the rest of LeBron’s career, but it’s nonetheless clear that the two are close. See more from Cleveland amid the latest from the Central Division:
- It was watching his Cavaliers teammates doggedly pursue a championship during the finals last summer that served as the last bit of convincing Love needed to make up his mind to re-sign with the team, Love says, according to McMenamin, who writes in separate piece.
- The Pacers and Luis Scola talked a couple of times while he was a free agent in July, but the team didn’t make an offer for him to re-sign, and Scola and agent George Bass got the impression the team didn’t intend to make one, the power forward told Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Scola, 35, signed instead with the Raptors for one year and $2.9MM, and he said to Agness that he’s pleased with Toronto so far.
- Reggie Jackson drew motivation from the commitment that the Pistons showed when they gave him a five-year, $80MM deal this summer, and the deal signaled that the team’s executives “did their homework,” Jackson told TNT’s David Aldridge for his NBA.com Morning tip.
Cavs Want Second-Round Pick For Joe Harris
The Cavs are making Joe Harris available for a trade, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, and they would like to obtain a second-round pick in exchange, Lloyd writes. It appears they’re looking for more than a token, top-55-protected selection, as Lloyd adds that they haven’t explored the option of simply dumping Harris for one of those. Cleveland is showcasing the swingman in the D-League, according to Lloyd, having assigned him to Canton for the fourth time this season on December 2nd.
Fueling the motivation to explore trades for Harris are the emergence of Jared Cunningham and the team’s looming luxury tax bill, as Lloyd explains. Cunningham, who has a non-guaranteed contract, won his way onto the regular season roster with an impressive preseason and has crept onto the fringes of the rotation in the regular season, averaging 13.4 minutes per game in 20 appearances. Harris has seen only 15 total minutes of playing time all season at the NBA level. Trading Harris for a pick and no salary in return would remove his entire, fully guaranteed $845,059 salary from the team’s payroll and roughly four times that amount from the team’s projected tax payment.
The Cavs could also reduce their payroll and tax risk if they waive Cunningham before the end of January 7th so that his salary doesn’t become guaranteed, but it appears they’d like to keep him instead of Harris. LeBron James and Cunningham have become tight off the court, as Lloyd observed earlier this month, though Lloyd posited that it wouldn’t have an effect on whether the Cavs kept Cunningham.
Harris was the 33rd overall pick in 2014 but has yet to make much of an impact in the NBA. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 33.9 minutes per game with 31.7% 3-point shooting in nine D-League appearances so far this season. His contract runs through next season, when his salary of about $980K is non-guaranteed.
And-Ones: Shumpert, D-League, Ross
Iman Shumpert, who made his season debut Friday after breaking his right wrist just before training camp, is viewed by the Cavs as more of a long-term part of the team compared to J.R. Smith, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. That is one reason why, according to Pluto, the Cavs re-signed Shumpert, 25, to a four-year, $40MM deal very early in the summer. The Cavs believe Shumpert can be a significant part of a championship team because he is unselfish and is a solid 3-point shooter, Pluto adds. In comparison, the Cavs did not re-sign Smith until late August. Smith’s deal was a two-year pact with a player option for 2016/17.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from the D-League, the team announced. It was the small forward’s third trip to the D-League this season. The 25-year-old has averaged has 23.3 points in 36.8 minutes in three games in the D-League.
- The Lakers assigned Tarik Black, Ryan Kelly and Anthony Brown to their D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter).
- Terrence Ross, who signed a three-year, $31MM extension with the Raptors last month, has not been able to string together consistent performances since inking the deal, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. Toronto has tried in a variety of ways to spark Ross, including having him come off the bench, but nothing seems to stick, Koreen adds.
Eastern Notes: Irving, Porzingis, Zeller
Kyrie Irving is ready to play, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, but Cavs coach David Blatt told reporters the star point guard won’t see the court Tuesday. Despite Irving practicing well and looking good, according to Blatt, the Cavs prefer to use extreme caution with Irving, McMenamin details. While it was reported that Irving would play before January, a Cavs source told McMenamin that the he wouldn’t mind if Irving sat out until February if it meant Irving’s chances of being healthy for an extended playoff run would increase.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Cody Zeller, whom the Hornets exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option in November, is thriving in the role of center after playing his first two years in the league as a power forward, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.
- Kristaps Porzingis has likely hit a rookie wall, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines. The Knicks‘ European sensation went scoreless for the first time in his NBA career on Saturday and finished a three-game road trip with averages of 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 24% shooting, Bondy writes. Porzingis played in only 50 games last season in Spain over nearly seven months, and he is already more than halfway toward reaching his minutes total from last season, according to Bondy.
Central Notes: Hill, Cunningham, Antetokounmpo
Solomon Hill is one of Pacers coach Frank Vogel‘s favorite players because of his versatility and work ethic, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. That’s in spite of a report last week that Indiana has made the swingman available for a trade and the lack of playing time Hill has seen since the team declined his rookie scale option for next season.
“He knows the fact that he’s not in the rotation to start the season does not mean his days are numbered here,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We made that very clear that we’re going to give some other guys looks at that position to give us an offensive boost. We’re trying to improve on the offensive end this year and he’s got to stay ready. There are going to be times when he’s needed and he’s going to have an opportunity to get back into the rotation at some point.”
Hill’s best work comes on defense, so the notion that at least some of the Pacers braintrust isn’t sold on him is another sign of the team’s shift toward more offense, Buckner posits. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- LeBron James has quickly formed a bond with Jared Cunningham off the court, but it’s unlikely to play much of a role when the Cavs must decide next month whether to guarantee Cunningham’s salary for the rest of the season, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
- The Bucks gave Greg Monroe a max deal and Khris Middleton a new five-year, $70MM contract, but the executives and scouts who spoke to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times are higher on Giannis Antetokounmpo than any other player on the Milwaukee roster. Antetokoumpo, making slightly less than $1.954MM this season, becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer ahead.
- Bulls management basically said this summer that they believe they have a roster with a real chance to win the championship this year, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes in a mailbag column, one in which he says he doesn’t think the team will make a trade this season.
Jorge Gutierrez Joins Cavs D-League Team
7:17pm: Gutierrez has officially joined the Charge, the team announced.
10:40am: Former Nets, Sixers and Bucks point guard Jorge Gutierrez has signed with the D-League affiliate of the Cavaliers, a league source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. Milwaukee waived his non-guaranteed contract in October, before the start of the regular season. He remains eligible to sign with any NBA team.
Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, has had Gutierrez under contract for part of each of the last three seasons, so the Charge are able to sign him directly. Gutierrez would have been subject to D-League waivers and up for grabs among all 19 affiliates if not for the Charge’s returning player rights on him.
The former University of California standout who turns 27 later this month has played a limited role during his two NBA seasons, compiling 3.3 points, 1.5 assists and 0.7 turnovers in 12.0 minutes per game across 35 total appearances. Friday is the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent him, along with Andrei Kirilenko, from Brooklyn to Philadelphia, but the Sixers waived Gutierrez the next day, reportedly while he was sitting on the team bus and even though they’d assured him that they’d keep him. He resurfaced in the NBA later in the 2014/15 season on a pair of 10-day contracts with Milwaukee, which ultimately signed him to a deal that covered the balance of the season with a non-guaranteed salary for 2015/16.
Gutierrez averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists and 2.5 turnovers in 29.7 minutes per game across 15 appearances for Canton last season in between his NBA stints. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he’s made his mark on defense. He was a D-League All-Defensive First Team selection in 2013 and 2014 and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, his final collegiate season.
Central Notes: Parker, Cunningham, Butler
Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler says the team is dealing with frustration differently under new coach Fred Hoiberg than it did under former coach Tom Thibodeau, Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com relays. “The frustrating moments last year was kinda like, Thibs just being a hard-nosed guy,” Butler told Jackson. “He’s gonna yell, he’s gonna say some curse words, he’s going to let you know. With right here, [Hoiberg] is going to be like, “Hey, guys, you gotta do this, you gotta do that,” and then that’s the end of it.”
“It’s two totally different coaching styles,” Butler continued. “Some works for some guys, some works for others. Some guys on this roster can’t take getting yelled at, some guys on this roster getting yelled at gets them going, you know what I mean? And there’s nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day, we as players know what we are capable of and what we have to do. We’re all grown men, and we’ve been playing this game for so long a coach shouldn’t have to tell us, ‘Hey, this is what you have to do to win this game.’”
Here’s more from out of the Central Division:
- The early season changes in the Bucks starting lineup indicate that the team believes its core players can’t shoot or defend well enough as a unit to remain on the floor for long stretches together, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. Milwaukee envisions 2014 lottery pick Jabari Parker evolving into a stretch four, but the team understands it will take him time to adjust to the NBA, Lowe adds. “Jabari will be a really good stretch four in three years,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Right now, he’s not that. And that’s OK. He’s basically a rookie.“
- The Cavaliers have benefited from Jared Cunningham‘s strong perimeter defense when matching up against smaller lineups this season, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. “Jared is a guy that can defend people and we needed his intensity, his one-on-one defending capability,” coach David Blatt said. “If you’re a young player or if you’re a player that doesn’t normally get a lot of minutes or is looking for a chance to play, you go out there and you defend your man and you hold your ground, then you’re going to earn minutes. And he’s playing because he earned minutes because he was able to do those things for us. And I think that’s a very positive thing.”
- The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from their D-League affiliate in Memphis, the team announced. This was the second stint in Grand Rapids this season for both players.
Central Notes: Portis, J.R. Smith, Pacers, Bairstow
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg says Bobby Portis will have a chance to play extensive minutes at some point this season, likely soon, but this year’s 22nd overall pick has seen just 22 total minutes all season, observes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Portis admits it’s difficult to sit on the bench but understands the level of talent in front of him, which includes Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, Johnson notes. Portis is anxious enough to play that he’d welcome a D-League assignment.
“People hear D-League and think, ‘Oh, man, he’s in the D-League,'” Portis said, according to Johnson. “It’s not about the D-League. It’s about getting reps and getting ready. The D-League’s great for getting better.”
The Bulls are instead making other D-League moves, as we detail amid the latest from the Central Division:
- J.R. Smith says it’s not time for the Cavs to panic yet, but he’s nonetheless concerned, with the Cavs having lost three straight and four of their last six, as he explained to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The team was without the resting LeBron James in Saturday’s loss, but it’s a matter of competitiveness, and not roster composition, Smith contends. “Just overall competing,” Smith said to Haynes. “We have all the talent. We got all the skills. It’s just competing.”
- Indianapolis and Fort Wayne are close enough to allow the Pacers to frequently shuttle their D-League assignees back and forth, but they’ve instead kept Rakeem Christmas, who’s the D-League Performer of the Week, and Shayne Whittington in Fort Wayne from November 2nd on, notes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest. That’s a longer stretch of time than any other NBA player has spent on D-League assignment this season, and it’s helped Christmas and Whittington gain a sense of consistency, as Pacers D-League GM Brian Levy told Johnson. “Giving the players the greatest chance to succeed in turn gives the team the greatest chance to succeed,” Levy said. “The Pacers have embraced that idea.”
- The Bulls have recalled Cameron Bairstow from the D-League, the team announced. The second-year big man was with San Antonio’s affiliate since Chicago is without a D-League team of its own. Bairstow, whose salary is partially guaranteed for about half its value this season, averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game across five contests for the Austin Spurs.
And-Ones: Jones, All-Stars, Draft Picks, Inglis
The Timberwolves have assigned rookie point guard Tyus Jones to the D-League, the team tweeted tonight. The former Duke star was drafted 24th overall by the Cavaliers in June and then shipped to Minnesota in a draft-night trade. He has played just 14 minutes in two games with the Wolves, with 1 point, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Minnesota officials had previously announced their intention to have Jones spend part of the year in the D-League to get more playing time. Jones will be sent to the Idaho Stampede, the affiliate of the Jazz. Wolves GM Milt Newton will address the situation Sunday, according to a tweet from the team.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Pistons center Andre Drummond heads a list of most likely first-time all stars compiled by Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. With Drummond averaging more than 18 points per game and leading the league in rebounds, Brigham considers the fourth-year center a shoo-in for the February 14th contest in Toronto. Potentially joining him from the Eastern Conference are Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, the Hornets‘ Kemba Walker, the Celtics‘ Isaiah Thomas and the Heat’s Hassan Whiteside. Brigham’s five picks for the Western squad are the Warriors‘ Draymond Green, the Spurs‘ Kawhi Leonard, the Suns‘ Eric Bledsoe and/or Brandon Knight and the Jazz’s Derrick Favors.
- LSU’s Ben Simmons looks like the clear No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, Brigham writes in a separate story analyzing the top six contenders for that honor. Brigham cites the Australia freshman’s versatility on offense, where he possesses the skills of a point guard but the 6’10” frame of a power forward. Also on Brigham’s list are Kentucky freshman Skal Labissiere, California freshman Jaylen Brown, Duke freshman Brandon Ingram, Providence junior Kris Dunn and Utah sophomore Jakob Poeltl.
- The Bucks recalled Damien Inglis from the Canton Charge of the D-League, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He was sent to Canton on November 22nd.
- The Raptors recalled Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright from Raptors 905, the team tweeted today. Neither was active for today’s game with the Warriors.
Eastern Notes: Redick, Patterson, Monroe
The Cavaliers have been hit hard by injuries to begin the season and have struggled a bit as a result, but the team would be remiss to believe that the return to health of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert will cure all that ails them, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. LeBron James apparently shares Haynes’ opinion, saying, “I hope we don’t think that way. It’s never that way. When you get your guys back, you prepare just as you prepare before. There’s only one guy ever in the world that everything will be all right when he comes back and that’s Jesus Christ. Other than that, you can’t bank on nobody being OK.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick was shocked when the Magic dealt him away to the Bucks in 2013, and though he is happy playing in Los Angeles he still has fond memories of his time in Orlando, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “If you have a family, if you have a wife, it’s just a great place to play,” Redick said. “L.A. can be a little more stressful in that regard. My wife and I joke all the time, like, ‘Man, life was simple in Orlando. The rent was so low. We didn’t have to deal with traffic or state income tax.’ There’s all these other things out here. But playing in Los Angeles, playing in a big market, playing for a high-profile team — those are things that I wanted in free agency. I wanted the chance to win. So I’m happy, man.“
- The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the D-League, and he will report to the Spurs’ affiliate in Austin as part of the flexible assignment rule, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays (via Twitter).
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy appreciated the abilities of Greg Monroe, who departed as a free agent and inked a deal with the Bucks this past offseason, but he couldn’t justify tying up a large chunk of the franchise’s cap space between Monroe and Andre Drummond, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes. “I think Greg played some at the four obviously and was good, but his best position is at center,” Van Gundy said. “He knew that. We knew that. What of your resources are you going to tie up at basically one position? Or were you willing to play with two centers in a league that’s going the other way? It didn’t have anything to do with the person, really. It was the situation where we had to make a decision. I miss Greg, I do…. He’s a great rebounder, and a great competitor and teammate.“