Central Notes: Bucks’ Arena, Pistons’ Guards
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is expected to announce on Tuesday that he is putting together a financing plan to help build multipurpose arena in downtown Milwaukee, according to Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel. A new arena is expected to cost between $400MM and $500MM. The Bucks‘ ownership group has pledged as much as $150MM towards it and former Bucks owner Herb Kohl has pledged $100MM of his own money as well. It’s unclear how much the state’s plan will allocate towards the facility but the franchise is under mandate by the NBA to build a new arena in the city by November 2017 or the league has the right to buy back the team. Such a move would mean the possibility of relocating the Bucks would be back on the table, so the latest development is good news for the city of Milwaukee.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- After the season ending injury to Brandon Jennings, the Pistons are seeking help at the point guard position, but they are not the only team looking for reinforcements, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Amico cites the Cavs as another team exploring the market for a point guard. Cleveland’s current back up at the position, Matthew Dellavedova, has struggled this season and the team could use someone with more consistency in that role. Amico adds that both teams are likely to go the free agent route if they do make acquisitions.
- Jordan Farmar, Marquis Teague and Peyton Siva are some of the players whom the Pistons could target to fill the void in their lineup, writes Amico in the same piece. Siva and Teague are currently playing in the D-League and earlier in the month, Farmar agreed to a buyout arrangement with the Clippers, making him a free agent. Siva and Teague would probably only warrant 10-day contracts from the team, while Farmar might require a contract that runs at least the remainder of the season, although that is just my speculation. Detroit has also been linked to Pablo Prigioni of the Knicks and Lorenzo Brown, who is playing for the team’s D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.
- An internal option for the Pistons would be Spencer Dinwiddie and the team is hoping his play improves by getting regular minutes, writes Brandan Savage of Mlive.com. “I think he’ll do well,” new starting point guard D.J. Augustin said. “Spence is big guard. He played great defense on [Greivis] Vasquez. I think he’s going to get better the more he plays.”
Eastern Notes: Kobe, Wizards, Durant, Lopez
Kobe Bryant wanted to join the Wizards more than a decade ago when Michael Jordan was with the team, Bryant acknowledged to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. While Jordan was playing with the Wizards, Bryant told him several times that he wanted to come to Washington, assuming that Jordan would again head basketball operations for the Wizards as he did before his comeback, sources tell Lee. Jordan was confident he would sign Bryant when he became a free agent in 2004, Lee hears, but the current Hornets owner never got that chance, since then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin decided against letting Jordan run the front office upon his final retirement from playing in 2003. The Wizards missed out on a star then, but they have their sights set on acquiring one a dozen years later, as we detail:
- It’s a long shot but more than a pipe dream that the Wizards would land Kevin Durant when he hits free agency in 2016, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. A D.C. income tax loophole would allow Durant to save more than $700K per year in tax payments if he played for the Wizards instead of the Thunder, as Aldridge explains. However, the Thunder, who hold Durant’s Bird rights, can offer better annual salary raises than the Wizards or any other team can.
- J.R. Smith got over some initial mixed feelings about the trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Cavs and calls playing for Cleveland “the best situation for me as a person,” as he told Aldridge for the same piece. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season.
- Trade candidate Brook Lopez would prefer to stay with the Nets, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes amid his weekly power rankings.
- Scouts, coaches and GMs at the D-League showcase were puzzled when the Sixers signed Larry Drew II, who had been playing for the Heat’s affiliate, to a 10-day contract earlier this month, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest hears (Twitter links). Drew put up strong numbers, with 10.1 assists per game and 40.4% three-point shooting in 21 D-League appearances this year, but there were other, more intriguing prospects, Pilato believes. Drew signed his second 10-day deal with Philly earlier today.
Multiple Teams Interested In Nate Robinson
JANUARY 26TH: The Clips remain interested in Robinson but are looking into other deals first, a source told Spears for his weekly power rankings column.
JANUARY 23RD: The Clippers are still Robinson’s preferred free agency destination, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Doc Rivers, Los Angeles’ president of basketball operations and coach, recently said that the team intends to use its remaining two roster spots to add veteran players next month. Robinson would certainly qualify as a veteran addition, but there have been conflicting reports regarding L.A.’s level of interest in the diminutive guard.
5:09pm: The Cavs won’t pursue Robinson beyond their initial inquiry, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link).
JANUARY 19TH, 11:55am: Robinson reached out to the Heat, but the Heat still hadn’t responded two days after the inquiry, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears. That seemingly conflicts with Spears’ report from Thursday that Miami was interested in Robinson (below).
2:12pm: USA Today’s Sam Amick suggests that the Clippers have cooled on the idea of signing Robinson (Twitter link). The situation regarding the former Slam Dunk champ is “fluid,” Amick says.
JANUARY 16TH, 7:45am: The Clippers are “running unopposed” atop Robinson’s wish list, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
JANUARY 15TH, 7:37pm: Washington won’t make a roster move until it knows what Ray Allen‘s plans are, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com tweets.
7:32pm: Robinson would like to play for the Wizards, but the team isn’t currently interested in his services, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports (Twitter link). This conflicts with Spears’ earlier report that Washington was indeed interested in Robinson’s services.
7:04pm: The Clippers are still the frontrunners to land Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
5:49pm: The Wizards and the Heat are also interested in Robinson, Spears tweets.
5:42pm: The Cavaliers have also expressed interest in Robinson, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
4:18pm: The Clippers are likely to sign Robinson now that he’s reached a buyout agreement with the Celtics, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter link).
3:33pm: The Clippers have interest in Nate Robinson, who’s agreed to a buyout deal with the Celtics, and they’d still like to sign him once they complete the Austin Rivers trade, tweets Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested earlier this week that the Clippers were a possible suitor, and Bolch indicates that’s indeed the case. The Clippers had spoken with the Nuggets about acquiring the 5’9″ guard via trade before the Nuggets instead sent him to Boston this week, Wojnarowski also wrote.
Clippers president of basketball operations and coach Doc Rivers was Robinson’s coach when Robinson was with the Celtics for parts of 2009/10 and 2010/11, including Boston’s run to the 2010 NBA Finals. Robinson, whose seeing a career-low 14.1 minutes per game, reportedly wants to have a chance to showcase his talents in advance of this summer’s free agent market as well as to again play with a contender.
The Clippers would give him a crack at another title, but their backcourt is fairly crowded, with Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick in prominent roles. Backup point guard Jordan Farmar has averaged almost precisely as much playing time this year as Robinson did with the Nuggets, and Farmar has apparently been wanting more. Farmar doesn’t appear likely to head to Boston in the Austin Rivers trade, but Kings have reportedly discussed swapping Ramon Sessions for Farmar.
The Clips’ roster is at 15 players, including Dahntay Jones, whom the team signed to a 10-day contract Wednesday, though much remains up in the air. The Clippers are less than $1MM shy of the hard cap as it stands, and it’s not quite clear what they’ll relinquish in the Rivers trade and where they’ll stand in relation to that $80.829MM hard cap once the trade goes through, but they’d need roughly $450K available to sign Robinson anytime soon to a prorated minimum salary for the rest of the season.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com suggested this week that the Cavs are in the mix for Robinson, too. The Celtics have yet to officially waive Robinson, though Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders indicated Wednesday that they were waiting on Jameer Nelson to complete his physical with the Nuggets, which would put a bow on the trade that sent Robinson to Boston (Twitter link).
Central Notes: Mozgov, Pistons, Bulls
The Cavaliers are suddenly the hottest team in the Central Division, and with their sixth straight win Sunday, over the Thunder, they own the NBA’s longest winning streak aside from the Hawks and their 16 wins in a row. Here’s the latest from Cleveland and the rest of the Central:
- The record will show that the Cavs gave up two first-round picks in their deal to acquire Timofey Mozgov, but in the original structure of the trade, Cleveland never would have held one of those first-rounders, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. The Mozgov swap was supposed to have been part of the team’s three-way deal with the Knicks and Thunder involving Dion Waiters, Haynes reports. A scheduling conflict on Denver’s end broke what would have been one four-team transaction into separate trades, and the Thunder’s protected 2015 first-rounder that was destined for Denver wound up with the Cavs for the two-day period in between swaps, according to Haynes.
- Stan Van Gundy acknowledged that the Pistons are looking for a third point guard to go with D.J. Augustin and Spencer Dinwiddie in the wake of the season-ending Achilles injury to Brandon Jennings, TSN’s Josh Lewenberg tweets. Detroit is looking either to swing a trade or sign a D-Leaguer, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The D-League option would jibe with the team’s reported interest in Lorenzo Brown.
- Van Gundy’s brother, ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy, accused Bulls management on Friday of trying to undermine coach Tom Thibodeau, and Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson shot back Sunday, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. “Tom Thibodeau isn’t being undermined at all,” Paxson said. “What’s being undermined is the entire Bulls organization by [Jeff] Van Gundy, who has an agenda against our organization for whatever reason and has for years. I guess he thinks he’s trying to protect his friend, but he’s doing just the opposite. It’s pretty pathetic when you think about it, and truth be told he owes Jerry Reinsdorf an apology for his disparaging remarks.”
D-League Notes: Harris, Green, Capela
A report earlier today indicated that the Pistons are mulling the prospect of signing D-League standout Lorenzo Brown. While we wait to see if Detroit makes a move to supplement its ailing backcourt, let’s round up the latest news pertaining to the D-League..
- The Cavs recalled Joe Harris from the D-League this morning, the team announced. This was the rookie guard’s second stint with the Canton Charge this season, though he’s still yet actually log any minutes with Cleveland’s minor league club.
- Erick Green‘s trip to the D-League has come to an end, as the Nuggets announced that the rookie guard has been recalled to the NBA. Green performed well with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, averaging 21 points per game across a pair of contests.
- The Rockets recalled Clint Capela from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, the team announced via Twitter. Capela, the 25th overall pick in last June’s draft, averaged 14.9 points and 8.7 boards across 18 games for Houston’s minor league affiliate.
Cavs Interested In Will Bynum, Bobby Brown
SUNDAY, 9:18am: The interest between Brown and the Cavs is mutual, reports Jorge Sierra of Hoopshype. “I will say this about Cleveland: How could anyone not want to play with LeBron [James]? First off, he is the best player in the league and second, you have a chance to be a part of a championship team. Plus, playing in Europe, I was a big fan of [David] Blatt] and always wanted to play for him. Also, I have known [David Griffin] since I was in the draft and have always been a huge believer in him,” Brown said.
SATURDAY, 8:43am: With the Cavaliers still seeking to add depth at the point guard spot, Will Bynum and Bobby Brown are two players whom Cleveland is keeping an eye on, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal reports. Both are currently playing in China, and neither will be available until after the Chinese Basketball Association’s playoffs conclude in March, Lloyd notes. If the Cavs are unable to land a player via a trade before then, either Bynum or Brown could be brought aboard, Lloyd adds.
Bynum, 32, is a seven year veteran who will likely have a number of NBA offers to choose from, Lloyd writes. The Cavs will only be able to offer the guard the prorated veteran’s minimum, but a shot at an NBA title could be a strong draw for Bynum, Lloyd notes. Bynum has been playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers since early December after being signed to replace the injured Emmanuel Mudiay, who is a likely 2015 lottery selection.
The Celtics had waived Bynum and his guaranteed contract, worth nearly $2.916MM, in order to free up roster space shortly after acquiring him from the Pistons in a preseason trade. Bynum’s career numbers in 353 NBA appearances are 8.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. His career slash line is .443/.280/.800.
Adding Brown would be a more complicated matter for the Cavs, Lloyd notes. The 30-year-old still has two years remaining on his contract with DongGuan, but there have been reports that Brown’s deal contains an NBA out clause. Brown went undrafted back in the 2007 NBA draft, and he has played for four NBA teams during his career. Brown had worked out for the Lakers prior to the season, but he had already inked his deal to head overseas prior to that display. Brown’s NBA averages over 113 career games are 5.1 points and 1.8 assists. His career slash line is .384/.311/.810.
Eastern Notes: Jennings, Waiters, Patterson
The Pistons‘ Brandon Jennings will be evaluated Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with pain in his left leg, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter links). There are fears that it is an Achilles injury, but nothing can be certain until he undergoes some tests. Jennings said he felt like he had been kicked in the back of his lower leg. “It doesn’t look good,” said Detroit coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, who expressed concern that Jennings will be out of action long-term. The Pistons have an open roster spot and can sign a player to a 10-day contract to replace Jennings.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Dion Waiters may have a productive NBA career, but it was time for him to leave the Cavaliers, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland had been listening to offers for Waiters for more than a year, according to Lloyd, but couldn’t find the right deal until the January 5th trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. LeBron James was a defender of Waiters when he returned to the Cavaliers, but gave up by the end, Lloyd writes. “I ain’t really care what nobody say,” said Waiters, who will return to Cleveland with the Thunder on Sunday. “It ain’t affect me. I slept good every night.”
- The Hawks and Lamar Patterson are still watching each other closely, reports KL Chouinard of Hawks.com. Patterson, a second-round pick by Atlanta last year, is spending this season in the Turkish Basketball League. He still talks to many of the Hawks players and hopes to eventually be part of Atlanta’s team. “I’m over here working, just trying to become the best player I possibly can,” Patterson said. “Hopefully I can suit up in a Hawks uniform next season.”
- Former Buck Carlos Delfino hopes to resume his NBA career next season, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Delfino, who also played for the Pistons, Raptors and Rockets, underwent foot surgery in December of 2013. Milwaukee traded his rights to the Clippers on August 26th, 2014, but Los Angeles waived him three days later.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Terry, Mavericks
What are the Rockets‘ chances of luring free-agent-to-be Goran Dragic? As good as anyone’s, the Suns’ guard tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “Every team in the NBA is an option to me, because it is a privilege to play for any team in the NBA,” Dragic said. “When the time comes I’m going to sit down with my family and my agent and try to make the best decision for myself.” Dragic, who is expected to opt out of a $7.5MM player option and become an unrestricted free agent this summer, insists he has no resentment toward the Rockets for letting him go in 2012.
There’s much more from the Southwest Division:
- At age 37, Rockets guard Jason Terry has no thoughts of retirement, Feigen reports. “I think I can play until the age 40,” Terry said. “That’s my goal, something that I set out to do when I first came into the league. My idol is Gary Payton. He played 20 years. Hopefully I can do the same.” Terry is making nearly $6MM this season and will become a free agent in July.
- The uncertainty currently surrounding the Pelicans‘ ownership is just the latest example of the instability that has plagued the franchise, Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune writes. The intra-family dispute regarding who will be in charge of the team could potentially scare off prospective free agents from signing long-term deals, Smith opines. With the franchise bereft of draft choices for the immediate future, New Orleans’ growth as a team could be severely hampered as a result, Smith adds.
- Forbes valued the Mavericks franchise at $1.15 billion, good for 10th highest of any NBA team, but Mark Cuban thinks the figure is off by “about 150%,” as Corbett Smith of the Dallas Morning News details. Still, Cuban adds that any valuation is irrelevant since the team isn’t for sale.
- Cuban said former Maverick Shawn Marion can have a job with the team when his playing days are over, Smith reports in a separate story. Marion, now with the Cavaliers, said Wednesday he will retire when this season is over.
Charlie Adams contributed to this report.
Cavs Notes: Mozgov, Smith, Blatt, Waiters
David Griffin‘s pursuit of Timofey Mozgov began just weeks after becoming the Cavs’ GM, and LeBron James told Cleveland’s front office late in the summer to swing a deal for the 28-year-old Russian if at all possible, as Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer details. Mozgov has quickly developed a close relationship with James, observes Pluto, who also notes that the big man’s arrival has benefited David Blatt by providing the first-year NBA coach a player who he’s had experience coaching in the past. There’s more from Pluto below amid our latest look at what’s happening in Cleveland..
- The Cavs’ front office had concerns about J.R. Smith‘s past legal troubles, but the team elected to pull the trigger on the deal to bring him to Cleveland after LeBron and Kyrie Irving, two players who knew Smith, urged Griffin and company to complete the trade, according to Pluto.
- Prior to the acquisition of Smith and Iman Shumpert, there were serious concerns about the Cavs’ lack of depth within Cleveland’s locker room, as one anonymous player tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. One more player told Haynes that the issue was never a collective lack of faith in Blatt, who was rumored to have lost the attention of his players.
- LeBron hasn’t reached out to Dion Waiters since the third-year guard was shipped to Oklahoma City, but Waiters doesn’t appear to be devastated by the lack of communication, as Haynes passes along in another piece. “Man, he had his chance to reach out,” Waiters told Haynes. “I’m not losing any sleep… Both teams are doing great. [We’re both winning]. Everybody seems at ease now and that’s what it’s about.“
Eastern Notes: Heat, Kidd, Fisher, Harris
Heat team president Pat Riley denies a report from last week indicating that the team proposed a deal that would send Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts to the Nets for Brook Lopez, notes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Riley insists the Heat haven’t made any offers to any team, and that while the Heat have had conversations with other clubs, they aren’t active on the market, as Jackson transcribes in a second piece. The executive doesn’t feel the team needs an upgrade to make the playoffs and indicated that he would only commit to salary beyond next season for a star, Jackson adds.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bucks coach Jason Kidd doesn’t believe that Kobe Bryant‘s latest injury will be a career-ending one, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. Kidd also spoke about how his own career ended, which he says was on his own terms, Gardner notes. “I would say, yes, in a way I did get to go out on my terms, but I had no gas left in the tank,” Kidd said. “It was an easy call. I got to make the call, but the car had no gas. A lot of times for athletes, we want to be able to go out on our own and not with an injury. You want to play and you want to leave feeling you’ve given everything to the game.“
- Knicks rookie coach Derek Fisher didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to get his players emotionally ready to compete, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Probably what jumps out the most is you still have to work pretty hard to motivate and inspire guys at this level,’’ Fisher said. “Something a guy who came into the league in 1996, that wasn’t required. If you weren’t self-driven and self motivated, you couldn’t get on the floor. As a player for 18 years, my brain worked that way. It’s one area that continues to evolve — find ways to help my guys be more inspired and more motivated.’’
- With the highly touted NBA draft class of 2014 not quite living up to the hype thus far, David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) looks at a number of rookies who have stood out. These players include Nikola Mirotic (Bulls), Jerami Grant (Sixers), and Elfrid Payton (Magic).
- The Cavs assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.