Southeast Notes: Sessions, Deng, Oden, Scott
Ramon Sessions is growing more comfortable with the Wizards, especially offensively, after a deadline-day trade that brought him to Washington ended a brief and unusual tenure with the Kings, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post details.
“I’ve been around for a while and I’ve been around with a few different teams and it was probably one of the strangest things, to have three coaches by the All-Star break,” Sessions said. “A lot different things you’re hearing from different people and it didn’t really correlate with what was going on on the court. So it was tough. It definitely was tough. Me being an older guy, it was a little easier, but I know for some of the young guys it had to be real tough.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:
- The Suns reportedly had interest in Luol Deng at last year’s trade deadline and during this past offseason‘s free agency, but they didn’t ask about him as they negotiated the Goran Dragic deal with the Heat last month, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports.
- The Heat have been planning a free agency push for 2016, but that’ll be difficult unless team president Pat Riley wants to break up the core he has now, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines.
- Ohio State coach Thad Matta has suggested that Greg Oden will make another NBA comeback attempt, but the former No. 1 overall pick had limited passion for the game last season with the Heat, Winderman writes in the same piece.
- The toe injury that’s sidelined Hawks power forward Mike Scott doesn’t involve a broken bone as previously reported, writes Paul Newberry of The Associated Press. Scott was reportedly expected to miss four to six weeks as of a week ago, but now it’s likely he’ll be back at full strength for the playoffs, according to Newberry. The postseason begins three weeks from Saturday. The team’s 10-day contract with Austin Daye, whom the Hawks signed to offset the loss of Scott, expires overnight tonight.
Metta World Peace Signs To Play In Italy
Metta World Peace has signed a contract with Italy’s Pallacanestro Cantù for the remainder of the season, the team announced (Twitter link). The former Ron Artest’s brother, Daniel Artest, said this weekend that the 15-year NBA veteran would sign with the team, though Cantù’s coach wouldn’t confirm the news, saying only that the club was in talks with World Peace. The 35-year-old forward hooked up with Octagon Europe and agent Georgios Dimitropulos to facilitate the deal, as Dimitropulos tweets (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
It’s the second overseas excursion this season for World Peace, who played 15 games with China’s Sichuan Blue Whales after signing with the team in August. He had reportedly been seeking deals with the Knicks, Lakers and Clippers over the summer, and while the Knicks apparently considered the possibility, no deal materialized, and World Peace made it clear once the season started that he no longer wanted to play for the Knicks or the Lakers. There appeared to be some level of interest from the Clippers in a late-season deal, but coach/executive Doc Rivers downplayed that, and now it appears World Peace is off the table.
World Peace put up 19.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game in China this year after a season of career lows in New York that ended shortly before former coach Phil Jackson took over as team president. The 2003/04 Defensive Player of the Year regretted buying out his contract before the Zen Master arrived in New York, but a reunion never came to pass. A four-year tenure with the Lakers ended in 2013 when the team used the amnesty clause to waive him.
And-Ones: Offer Sheets, Smith, Jazz
Several high-powered agents have warned teams not to discourage potential suitors from signing restricted free agents to offer sheets, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports. The agents are concerned about recent statements made by some teams with a prominent restricted free agent that they would match offer sheets, Kyler continues. The agents will encourage their clients to agree to a qualifying offer, as the Pistons’ Greg Monroe did last summer, and become unrestricted free agents after the 2015/16 season if teams engage in an anti-offer sheet campaign, Kyler adds. With the salary cap projected to increase dramatically after the 2015/16 season, some players may be willing to take that risk, Kyler concludes.
In other news around the league:
- Sixers guard Ish Smith wants to remain with the club next season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Smith, who has played for eight organizations during his five-year career, is averaging 11.4 points, 6.3 assists and 24.7 minutes in 15 games with Philadelphia after being claimed off waivers in February. “Obviously, during the summer you figure all that stuff out,” said Smith, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Many NBA observers believe the league is headed for another lockout after the 2016/17 season, according to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. Both the league’s owners and the NBA Players Association can opt out of the current agreement after that season. It would be a mistake for that to happen, Bucher says, adding that fans and media should boycott the league if a lockout occurs.
- The Jazz’s D-League team, the Idaho Stampede, will remain in Boise, Sea Dubs Central tweets. An announcement will be made on Tuesday regarding a rebranding of the team, rather than a move, the tweet adds. The Stampede had affiliations with four other NBA teams before becoming the sole affiliate of the Jazz this season.
Western Rumors: Lin, Nuggets, Matthews
Jeremy Lin will start the remainder of the season but it probably won’t affect the Lakers’ decision whether to re-sign the veteran point guard, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Oram writes that many people around the league believe it’s a given that Lin, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, will sign elsewhere. Coach Byron Scott told Lakers beat reporters that the team’s draft choices will affect Lin’s chances of returning. “It’s just a matter of what happens in the draft and everything else that determines what we’re going to do with the free agent market,” Scott said.
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Interim coach Melvin Hunt has taken an upbeat approach to improve the Nuggets, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports. Hunt has used positive reinforcement to inspire his players, a stark contrast to predecessor Brian Shaw, who often criticized players in his postgame press conferences, Kyler continues. Ty Lawson told Kyler that he appreciated the change in philosophy. “He is giving everybody confidence,” Lawson said. “He is a very upbeat person. I think he just wants everybody to succeed; you feel it when he walks into the room and when he talks to us. He has us all on the same page, that’s helping us out right now.”
- Wesley Matthews‘ season-ending Achilles injury has had a major impact on the Trail Blazers’ defense, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. Portland has gone 3-5 since Matthews suffered the injury and its defense has ranked 27th in defensive efficiency in those games, allowing 110.5 points per 100 possessions, Richman notes. The Blazers were No. 3 in that category up to that point, Richman adds. While all of the Blazers’ defensive problems cannot be attributed to Matthews’ absence, backcourt partner Damian Lillard tells Richman that he definitely sees a difference. “His ability to lock guys up defensively and kind of spark us at that end of the floor,” Lillard said of what the team is lacking. “His passion. Just the fire that he brought to our team is something that we definitely miss.”
- Jazz coach Quin Snyder is less concerned about making the playoffs than showing improvement the remainder of the season, Ryan McDonald of the Deseret News reports. Utah has made a late run but Snyder isn’t worried about wins and losses, McDonald adds. “I don’t think playoff awareness is necessarily going to improve our play as much as a focus on game to game, moment to moment,” Snyder said.
Central Notes: George, Bucks, Thibodeau
Pacers coach Frank Vogel insists that Paul George is not ready to play, Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star tweets. ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst reported on Friday that George could return within a week but Vogel told Buckner that’s not the case. “There’s a lot of layers to it,” Vogel said. “He’s not ready. He hasn’t reached our level of what we feel he’s ready to play.” In a separate tweet from Buckner, Vogel added that while George is cleared to practice, he’s not cleared to play, though that refuted what president of basketball operations Larry Bird indicated to ESPN.com’s Mike Mazzeo.
In other news around the Central Division:
- Trading Brandon Knight to the Suns has led to the Bucks’ recent struggles, according to Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. The deadline deal had an emotional impact on the team and hindered the team’s offense because replacement Michael Carter-Williams isn’t as proficient as Knight, in Aschburner’s assessment. Coach Jason Kidd did not view Knight as his long-term solution at the point and Knight’s status as a restricted free agent after the season contributed to the decision to deal him, Aschburner adds.
- Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg could be a candidate for the Bulls head coaching job if they part ways with Tom Thibodeau after the season, Chad Ford of ESPN.com speculates. Thibodeau reportedly has a strained relationship with the team’s management and Ford considers Hoiberg the hottest college coach on the market. Hoiberg played in the league, worked in an NBA front office, and has a more laid-back demeanor than Thibodeau, Ford points out.
- The Cavs turned their season around by making trades for Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines. Cleveland started out 19-20 and GM David Griffin fixed its problems by shaking up the roster, which dramatically improved the team’s defense, Pluto adds.
Jose Calderon Likely To Miss Rest Of Season
Jose Calderon is likely done for the season after undergoing a procedure on his strained left Achilles tendon, Emilio V. Escudero of the Spanish outlet ABC.es reports (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Calderon had a platelet-rich plasma injection, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link), and not a minor surgery as Escudero indicates. The point guard could return if there were playoff implications for the Knicks, Charania notes, but New York has the league’s worst record. Calderon will be re-evaluated in approximately 10-14 days, the team’s PR staff tweets.
Calderon had a disappointing 42-game stint with the Knicks this season after being traded by the Mavericks during the offseason, averaging 9.1 points and 4.7 assists while shooting a career-low 41.5% from the field. His scoring average was his lowest since 2006/07, his second year in the league, while his assists average matched the second-lowest of his career.
Calderon still has two more years and approximately $15.1MM remaining on his contract, though his status with the team next season is cloudy. Alexey Shved has emerged as a solid contributor at the point during his absence.
With Carmelo Anthony out for the season, the Knicks only have 13 available players despite having a full 15-man roster. That includes Ricky Ledo, who signed a 10-day contract last week which expires after Saturday’s game against Chicago. They are not eligible for a hardship exemption since they have only three current players who have missed three straight games, including Calderon. They would need a fourth to apply for the hardship exception.
Southwest Notes: Gasol, Ellis, Green, Powell
The Knicks have looked like long shots to land Marc Gasol in free agency this summer, but the big man says they and every other team still stand a chance, simply because he hasn’t considered what he’ll do, as he told reporters today, including Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The Grizzlies are in New York to play the Knicks tonight.
“I haven’t ruled anything out because I haven’t thought about anything so it would be [premature],” Gasol said. “The reports and stuff like that, I don’t know where they come from because in my mind I haven’t thought about it. I have no [idea] how they can go there. I don’t know. … We’re in the final stretch of the regular season and we want to get in a good feeling for the playoffs so, trust me, I’m not worrying or thinking about those things yet.”
That jibes with earlier reports that suggest Gasol has an open mind but no plans to leave Memphis, where he has deep roots. Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- People within the Mavericks have been worried for weeks about Monta Ellis‘ moody demeanor and its effect on the locker room even though the team has publicly backed the shooting guard through his slump, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. It’s a sharp turnaround for Ellis, as MacMahon believes his free agent stock is falling each day. Ellis has an $8.72MM player option for next season.
- Jeff Green came to Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger to suggest a bench role, and not the other way around, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal notes. Green simply hasn’t fit into the team’s starting group as well as past midseason wing acquisitions Courtney Lee and Tayshaun Prince have, though continued hot shooting from Green would mitigate the issue., Herrington observes. Green can leave the Grizzlies in free agency this summer, but he’d have to turn down a $9.2MM player option to do so.
- The Mavs have recalled Dwight Powell from the D-League, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The rookie big man acquired in the Rajon Rondo trade went off for 32 points and nine rebounds in 44 minutes Saturday for the D-League Texas Legends.
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
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Draft Notes: Portis, Mudiay, Winslow
The draft is still three months and two days away, but with just 16 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament, underclassmen will soon start declaring for early entry as the buildup to draft night intensifies. Here’s the latest on some of the top prospects:
- Power forward Bobby Portis said this weekend that he’s leaning toward returning to Arkansas for his junior season, observes Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (hat tip to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress). Portis is the 17th best prospect in Givony’s rankings and No. 14 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Eddie Scarito has him 15th in the latest Hoops Rumors 2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
- Not surprisingly, Emmanuel Mudiay tops the point guard rankings that TNT’s David Aldridge compiles for NBA.com. He played sparingly in China this season, but even NBA teams that didn’t have anyone scout him in person this year believe that he’s the No. 1 point guard prospect, Aldridge writes. A lot of teams saw him at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a Western Conference executive pointed out to Aldridge. Still, there are those who prefer Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell, even for the No. 1 pick, as Aldridge details.
- Duke small forward Justise Winslow is the elite prospect who helped himself the most in the opening week of the NCAA tournament, Chad Ford of ESPN.com believes, writing in an Insider-only piece that he thinks Winslow would be the first wing player chosen if the draft were today.
Cavs Notes: Love, J.R. Smith, Kaun, Harris
Kevin Love reiterated his plan to remain with the Cavaliers in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show today, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. Rumors that Love will opt out and sign elsewhere this summer have dogged the power forward for months, even though he’s said he plans to opt in for next season and avoid free agency altogether this year. Still, Love stoked the flames in comments he made on Patrick’s show (video link) and on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike (audio link) in which he said he wouldn’t vote LeBron James for MVP and admitted his relationship with James could be better.
“You know, we’re not best friends, we’re not hanging out every day, but we see each other every day, whether we’re at the practice facility, whether we’re on the road or going to a game,” Love said on Mike & Mike. “I think our relationship is also evolving. I could say the same with each and every coach, coach [David] Blatt, and each and every player on the team. But, that’s part of the NBA.”
Most of the Hoops Rumors readers who voted in a recent poll believed Love will be playing for another team next season. Here’s more from around the big man’s current home:
- J.R. Smith has embraced the role of catch-and-shoot three-point shooter that Dion Waiters was reluctant to fill, which is part of the reason the Cavs made the trade that shipped out Waiters and brought in Smith, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. James was fully supportive of the acquisition of Smith and has been key in keeping the mercurial swingman focused, and Blatt is ecstatic with results, Lloyd notes. Smith has a nearly $6.4MM player option for next season.
- Cavs draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Kaun expressed interest in playing in the NBA and having Cavs center and fellow Russian Timofey Mozgov as a teammate in an interview with Leo Savary of Championat (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Kaun wouldn’t confirm an earlier report that he’s already told his Russian team, CSKA Moscow, that he’s leaving.
- Kaun and Mozgov are both centers, and the Cavs haven’t really discussed Kaun since they traded for Mozgov, according to Lloyd, who writes in the same piece, running counter to a report that the team is thinking of signing Kaun this summer. Some speculate that Kaun’s camp is planting the idea of interest from the Cavs to drive up his price for CSKA Moscow, Lloyd adds.
- The Cavs have recalled Joe Harris from the D-League, the team announced. The rookie averaged 10.0 points in 29.0 minutes across two weekend games for the Canton Charge while on the D-League assignment, which began Friday.