And-Ones: Lakers, Bosh, Collier
Kobe Bryant will return to the Lakers starting five this season, but his supporting cast hasn’t improved much. In his pre-season rankings, Adi Joseph of USA Today predicts that Los Angeles will take a step back in the win column, and finish with a record of 22-60 and end up in the NBA Draft Lottery for the second-straight year.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Undrafted free agent Devon Collier turned down an NBA camp invitation to accept a deal with Israeli team Bnei Herzliya, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Now that LeBron James is in Cleveland and Chris Bosh has become the highest-paid player with the longest contract on the Heat, it’s time for him to become a more vocal locker room voice, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes.
- Alessandro Oliveira has joined the Nets as assistant trainer, replacing Nixon Dorvilien, who followed Jason Kidd to the Bucks, the team announced (twitter link).
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Lakers Work Out Five Players
The Lakers held workouts this past Wednesday for five players, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (Twitter link). Displaying their wares in Los Angeles were Pooh Jeter, Ronnie Price, Wayne Ellington, Jeremy Tyler, and James Nunnally, according to Carchia’s sources. The Lakers currently have 15 players on their pre-season roster, with 13 of those contracts being guaranteed.
The 5’11”, thirty year-old Jeter, played one season in the NBA with the Kings back in 2010/11, and he averaged 4.1 PPG and 2.6 APG. Jeter was reportedly drawing interest from some NBA teams back in March of this year for a possible 10-day contract. With Steve Nash‘s health a question, the team could be looking to add another body behind Jeremy Lin, Roscoe Smith, and Jordan Clarkson.
Price also falls into this possibility, and the 6’2″, thirty-one year-old would provide a bit more NBA experience than Jeter. Price has been in the league for nine seasons, and has career averages of 3.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG. He spent last season with the Magic, and was waived by Orlando in July just prior to his salary becoming guaranteed.
Ellington would provide depth behind Kobe Bryant and compete with Xavier Henry for backup duties. The 6’4″, twenty-six year-old has career numbers of 6.4 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.0 APG. Ellington has been involved in two trades this offseason, and was waived by the Kings last week. Ellington would provide more upside than Jeter or Price, but he hasn’t shown he is capable of handling primary ball-handling duties, which might be a more pressing need for the Lakers.
Tyler, who was also a part of one of the deals involving Ellington, and Nunnally would bolster the Lakers frontcourt. Tyler is more of a power forward than a center, which is already a crowded position with Carlos Boozer, Julius Randle, Ed Davis, and Ryan Kelly being on the roster. This would make Nunnally more of a fit backing up Nick Young and Wesley Johnson at small forward. Nunnally also can man the power forward position if needed, which might give him an edge, despite Tyler’s high upside.
Western Rumors: Livingston, Hayward, Previews
The Clippers scandal that revolved around former owner Donald Sterling may be eclipsed by the Hawks race-fueled turmoil when all is said and done. The latter situation is still developing, and has extended down from the ownership box into Atlanta’s GM and scouting departments. Here’s a rundown of Western news and notes for the night:
- On an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, Shaun Livingston said that he hopes to be able to return to the court by the start of the Warriors‘ season, the channel tweeted (H/T Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group). The veteran guard underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right big toe last month.
- On his personal blog, Jazz forward Gordon Hayward recounts his summer. In addition to waxing about signing a max offer sheet, spending time with Team USA, and an offseason training regimen focusing on strength and shooting, Hayward says that he’s eager to start the new season and play for new coach Quin Snyder.
- The Basketball Insiders crew previewed the 2014/15 season for the Pelicans, Nuggets, Jazz, Lakers, and Kings.
Eastern Notes: Hawks, Harris, Celtics, Knicks
Sports attorney Doug Davis, son of entertainment fixture Clive Davis, is an early candidate to purchase the Hawks, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Vivlamore credits the New York Post as first to reveal that the younger Davis is assembling a potential ownership group. Davis sent out a pair of tweets that hints at his interest in the team (H/T James Herbert of CBSSports.com). Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Former Hawk and current director of player personnel and GM for the Kings D-League affiliate Shareef Abdur-Rahim penned an open letter to Yahoo! Sports regarding the Hawks scandal. Abdur-Rahim recalls his time with Atlanta as a player as having little fan support, pointing out that African-American cheerleaders and fans weren’t the cause for a struggling franchise then, and aren’t now. “I personally interacted with both Bruce Levenson and Danny Ferry on multiple occasions; my experiences with both have always been pleasant,” said Abdur-Rahim. “However, their comments represent a lack of respect and sensitivity for individuals with different experiences and backgrounds than themselves. I pray both individuals learn from this situation and work to regain the trust of the great people of Atlanta.”
- Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds it suspicious that the leaked scouting report on Luol Deng was released after the audio of the conference call was leaked, although he stops short of asserting it was doctored. Schultz thinks the purity of the report is ultimately beside the point, considering Ferry’s failure to filter the offensive comments before reading them in any case. The Journal-Constitution scribe is disappointed in the shifts in the story from team brass, and believes the damage control attempted by Atlanta will ultimately prove to be more harmful than a more transparent approach would have been.
- Tobias Harris tells Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel that he wants to reach an agreement with the Magic on a rookie scale extension, but isn’t sure if a deal will be struck this fall. “Obviously, I want to be here,” said Harris. “I love the fans, the city of Orlando and the guys. Management knows I want to be here. It’s the perfect situation for me…I don’t know. That’s up to [Orlando].”
- A group of Basketball Insiders writers previewed the upcoming season for the Magic, Celtics, and Knicks.
Latest On Zoran Dragic
FRIDAY, 8:36pm: Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic adds the Cavs to the list of teams interested in Dragic, and reports that Dragic’s current salary is approximately $1.4MM. It would take upwards of $2MM in annual salary to pry the younger Dragic guard from his current club in Coro’s estimation, considering the earnings and covered living expenses provided by his current team. The Arizona Republic scribe pegs Dragic’s NBA escape clause at $1.1MM, which lines up with an earlier report that the buyout exceeds $971K.
WEDNESDAY, 7:49am: The Suns, Pacers and Kings are the teams most aggressively going after Dragic, Stein tweets, expanding on his report about Phoenix’s heavy pursuit from a few days ago. Talks are expected to intensity now that Dragic’s World Cup obligations are over, Stein adds (Twitter links). Phoenix, Indiana and Sacramento all have the capacity to exceed the minimum salary.
TUESDAY, 4:51pm: The Heat, Magic, Spurs and Mavs are maintaining dialogues with Spanish-league shooting guard Zoran Dragic, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote earlier this week that the Suns were one of the three teams with the most interest in signing the 25-year-old, but it’s not clear if they remain in the running. The Pacers, too, have appeared to be in pursuit of Dragic of late, while the Rockets were reportedly the leading contender for him in May.
Several NBA teams scouted Dragic in the World Cup the past couple of weeks, Charania writes, a run that ended when his Slovenian team lost this afternoon to Team USA. New teams are inquiring about him with each passing day, the RealGM scribe adds. Dragic is the younger brother of Goran Dragic, who appears poised to opt out his deal next summer and hit free agency, and teams are already lining up to try to poach Goran from the Suns.
Zoran Dragic averaged 10.6 points in 20.3 minutes per game for Unicaja Malaga this past season but he reportedly possesses a strong desire to come to the NBA. He’d have to sign with an NBA team by Oct. 5th, according to Charania, and cover a buyout greater than the equivalent of $971K to break free from Unicaja Malaga this year, as Stein wrote in his report this week. That would appear to give the Spurs and Magic an edge on the Heat and Mavs, since Miami and Dallas can’t exceed the minimum salary and thus can’t give him more than the Excluded International Player Payment Amount of $600K toward his buyout.
Clippers Sign Hedo Turkoglu
6:56pm: Sources confirm to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com that the deal is a one-year arrangement at the veteran’s minimum.
6:31pm: The Clippers have announced the signing in a team release.
“We are happy to welcome Hedo back to the Clippers,” said Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers. “Hedo is a versatile, veteran presence who contributed to the championship culture we are building in Los Angeles.”
5:38pm: Hedo Turkoglu‘s agency, Tandem Sports, tweeted their congratulations on his official signing with the Clippers (H/T J. Michael of CSNWashington.com). The deal hasn’t been announced by the team, but a contract has been in the works since late August.
The final salary agreement is yet to be reported, but the Clippers are among the teams only able to offer the minimum. The one-year, $1.4MM figure reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports when the two sides began nearing an agreement is in line with the minimum for a veteran of Turkoglu’s tenure. It will presumably be a guaranteed contract, which would likely put Los Angeles at 14 guaranteed roster spots, one short of the max to keep for the regular season.
The forward will play his fifteenth season for the Clippers in 2014/15, hoping to contribute more than he has in recent years. As a member of the Magic and Clippers for parts of the last two seasons, Turkoglu has scored less than 3.0 PPG and averaged at or below career lows in minutes, field goal percentage, and rebounds per contest. The veteran has career averages of 11.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG, and his 38.2% career three-point percentage is his most valuable skill at this point in his career.
And-Ones: Deng, Knicks, Dragic, West
The Luol Deng report from the RealGM scouting service that was the source of the racially charged statements that Hawks GM Danny Ferry said aloud in a June conference call contains several tidbits of collateral information on storylines surrounding Deng the past couple of years. One of the anonymous sources quoted in the report points to hard feelings Deng had toward the Bulls as they allegedly pushed him to play through injury and played hardball with an extension offer. The same source cites “major locker room issues” that existed between two Cavaliers during Deng’s tenure there, and while the names are redacted, many accounts have pointed to tension between Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. The report also pointed to interest in Deng from the Hornets, Suns, Mavs and Lakers around last year’s trade deadline. Aside from the most explosive racial comments, the report contains a few mild criticisms of Deng’s ability on the court and his persona off of it, but mostly serves to paint Deng as a valuable player and an upstanding character. While the fallout from the Hawks saga continues, here’s more from other corners of the league:
- Knicks president Phil Jackson tells Scott Cacciola of The New York Times that he and owner James Dolan didn’t speak in August and have otherwise been having only a couple conversations a month as Dolan keeps his promise not to interfere. An agent said to Cacciola that when he appealed to Dolan when Jackson wouldn’t budge in negotiations, he found the owner unwilling to provide recourse behind Jackson’s back, and Dolan insists to the Times scribe that he won’t change his ways if the team starts losing this season.
- Zoran Dragic acknowledged that playing in the NBA appeals to him but said he’s on his way to training camp with Spain’s Unicaja Malaga, as he told Gal Zbačnik of Kosarka.si (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Dragic’s contract with the team reportedly gives him until October 5th to find an NBA deal, and several teams appear to be in pursuit.
- Delonte West has agreed to return to China on a one-year deal with the Shanghai Sharks, reports Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer (on Twitter). West, who hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2012/13 preseason, spent last year with China’s Fujian Sturgeons.
Hawks Rumors: Friday
It had been a quiet offseason for the Hawks, but they wound up making waves in undesirable fashion this week as racially charged language from controlling owner Bruce Levenson and GM Danny Ferry plunged the franchise into turmoil. We’ll track today’s developments here, and any additional updates will be added to the top.
5:03pm update:
- Players union interim executive director Ron Klempner issued a statement acknowledging Ferry’s public apology to Deng. USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt provides a full transcript of the statement via Twitter. “The NBPA deplores the insensitive & thoroughly inappropriate remarks by Danny Ferry,” Klempner said in part. “We are pleased to learn that Ferry acknowledges his statements were offensive, has extended a personal apology to Luol Deng and the other Atlanta Hawks players and that the Hawks organization has determined that discipline of Ferry was warranted.”
3:49pm update:
- Kyle Korver says Deng told him he doesn’t believe Ferry or anyone with the Hawks organization is a racist, and Korver also expressed his own support for the team in an interview with Vivlamore. “My thoughts are, when I got traded to the Hawks, I didn’t want to come here because all I knew was what I had heard, about bad culture and no fans and no excitement in the city,” Korver said in part. “So I didn’t want to come to Atlanta. At all. I was bummed to leave Chicago. But by the next summer, I chose to re-sign and come back to Atlanta. After a year of watching what Danny (Ferry) was doing and the people he was bringing in. Everything I saw, was so attractive to me and I really believed in it. I believed that he was going to turn things around. I saw that Atlanta was an incredible city, and that there was so much potential here to both raise my family and help build a great basketball culture.”
- Ferry is taking an indefinite leave of absence, as we covered in a full story.
2:46pm update:
- The copy of the scouting report, as hosted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that Ferry is to have read indicates that the information came from someone associated with the Cavs. “Con isn’t bad, but it’s there. African-like store front looks great but there’s a black market section in the back,” the report reads in part. It also attributes a “sense of entitlement” to Deng and suggests that Deng held back while with the Cavs last season to protect himself from injury before he hit free agency in the summer, and that Deng “treated Cleveland like a pit-stop.” Still, the report indicates that he’d be welcome to return to the Cavs.
1:17pm update:
- The snippet of the report that Vivlamore has posted closely resembles some of what Ferry said on the recording of the conference call. “He is a good guy on the cover but he is an African. He has a little two-step in him = says what you want to hear but behind closed doors he could be killing you,” the report stated in part.
1:08pm update:
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV in Atlanta have obtained a copy of the scouting report on Deng that Ferry is to have read during the conference call, Vivlamore tweets. So, that further confirms the report’s existence and casts doubt on the notion that Ferry came up with the disparaging remarks about Deng on his own. The report does reference Deng’s African heritage, according to Vivlamore, but it’s not clear exactly what the report said at this point.
12:34pm update:
- An NBA investigator has seen the report from which Ferry is to have read the remarks about Luol Deng that touched off the controversy, a source tells USA Today’s Sam Amick. The league isn’t punishing Ferry, whom the Hawks have already disciplined, and commissioner Adam Silver has said he doesn’t think Ferry deserves to be fired. Thursday’s release of the audio from the conference call in which Ferry recited insults with racial overtones about Deng prompted widespread speculation that Ferry made the comments off the cuff, and that he wasn’t reading from a scouting report. The investigator also heard the audio before it became public, Amick reports.
- Levenson sent a sharply worded response to a letter that co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. sent to him in June in which Gearon called for Ferry’s ouster, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution documents within a timeline of the controversy. Levenson cited “false and misleading comments” within Gearon’s letter, and Levenson expressed reservations about continuing his partnership with Gearon. Levenson announced this past weekend that he’s selling his stake in the team.
- Boris Diaw, Channing Frye, Pau Gasol, Greg Monroe and Thabo Sefolosha were among the other players the Hawks discussed during that conference call, as Vivlamore notes in the same piece. Of those names, Sefolosha was the only one who signed with the Hawks.
Danny Ferry Takes Indefinite Leave From Hawks
3:36pm: Ferry apologized to Deng as part of a statement the Hawks sent out via another press release, one in which he also addressed his leave of absence.
“My focus moving forward is to tirelessly work to rebuild trust with this community and with our fans,” Ferry said in part. “I realize that my words may ring hollow now and my future actions must speak for me. I will maximize my time during this leave to meet with community leaders and further educate myself and others on the extremely sensitive issues surrounding race, diversity, and inclusion. I will find a way to make a positive difference in this area, and further learn from the sensitivity training that I will go through.”
3:04pm: Danny Ferry is taking an indefinite leave of absence from his job as Hawks GM, the team announced via press release. Coach Mike Budenholzer will assume control of the basketball operations while Ferry is away, according to the team’s statement, which CEO Steve Koonin authored.
“This has been an incredibly difficult time for him and his family and it is my hope that this time away from the Hawks organization allows him the privacy he needs to listen to the community, to learn about his mistakes, and to begin the long process of personal healing,” Koonin said in part. “As a human being, manager and friend, I wish him well as he undergoes this process.”
Koonin also hints at the turmoil within the team’s ownership group, which has been wracked with infighting since purchasing the team nine years ago. Co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. has sought Ferry’s ouster and has butted heads with controlling owner Bruce Levenson, who’s selling his stake.
“While the issues related to race are deeply troubling, at the heart of this dispute is an unfortunate disagreement amongst owners,” Koonin said. “That said, we have taken several steps to address what we can do as an organization to be better and stronger, including working with a diversity consultant to examine us and to train us to ensure something like this never happens again, we are committed to hiring a Chief Diversity Officer, and we have and will continue to meet with community leaders in an ongoing way to ensure our values reflect the community in which we play and work. The process of selling the team, which is to remain in Atlanta, is already underway.”
Budenholzer had been preparing to go into just his second season as an NBA head coach after having spent the previous 17 years as an assistant coach for the Spurs. He’s never held a job other than coach in the NBA, save for a two-season stint as video coordinator for the Spurs before he moved to the team’s bench. Atlanta has deals with 15 players, but the team will likely make multiple additions within the next few weeks for training camp.
Koonin has publicly backed Ferry, who received censure from the Hawks for having repeated racially charged statements about free agent target Luol Deng, who’s now with the Heat. Still, Koonin has stood by his decision not to force Ferry out, and Ferry gave no indication he planned to resign when he expressed regret earlier this week about repeating the statements. The NBA has maintained that it doesn’t intend to punish Ferry, and commissioner Adam Silver has said he doesn’t believe what Ferry did should prompt the Hawks to terminate him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
D.J. Stephens To Join Jazz For Camp?
2:34pm: Stephens’ agent tells Sportando that there’s no deal, but that his client will meet with the Jazz as planned this weekend (Twitter link).
2:00pm: D.J. Stephens and the Jazz have struck a non-guaranteed deal that will bring the former Bucks swingman to training camp, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reports. The 23-year-old had been set to work out for the club this weekend, as Boston Globe correspondent Jake Fischer reported earlier today, but either the workout has already taken place or Utah simply decided it already knew enough about Stephens to bring him aboard.
Stephens doesn’t have much of an NBA track record, having appeared in three games for a total of 15 minutes while on a 10-day pact with Milwaukee this past season. That was his only regular season NBA action after he went undrafted out of Memphis, and since he didn’t go to camp with an NBA team last autumn or participate in summer league this year, his only other brush with the league came during summer league in 2013. That year he averaged 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game over eight combined appearances with the summer league squads of the Heat and Mavs.
The APAA Sports Group client has unprecedented hops, as I noted earlier, and he made his mark as a defender in college, winning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. He’ll join 18 others on the Jazz, and he’ll face long odds to last on the roster beyond the preseason, since 17 of his new teammates have at least some guaranteed money on their deals. Still, I had been somewhat dubious that his workout would lead to a camp invitation, so perhaps another surprise is in store.