Southeast Notes: Hardaway, Nene, Harrison
Tim Hardaway Jr. barely played the first two months of the season as Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer kept him either on the bench or on D-League assignment, casting doubt on the wisdom of the decision that Budenholzer, in his role as president of basketball operations, made when he traded for him this past summer. The 23-year-old shooting guard has since found his way into the rotation, and Budenholzer credits his perseverance, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
“I think he really put in time in the weight room,” Budenholzer said. “He missed a little bit of the summer with his [injured] wrist. His athleticism, his pop, which is one of the things that intrigued us about him, has returned. Then, he’s just working defensively. He’s getting over screens, fighting through screens. He just really understands how important it is to be good defensively and you see it when he’s playing. He’s communicating. He’s talking. He’s working. On the offensive end, he’s just letting it come to him.”
Still, Hardaway has seen action in only 12 NBA games this season, and while he’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, that seems a long shot, at best. Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards briefly paired Marcin Gortat and Nene on the floor in Monday’s game, and the inauspicious results showed why the team has been right to avoid putting them together this season, contends J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. Nene, who moved to the bench this year after having started alongside Gortat in years past, is a free agent at season’s end.
- The results of the first half of the season indicate the Heat have a roster that’s better in theory than in reality, with a style of play that doesn’t fit Goran Dragic and an over-reliance on Gerald Green‘s outside shooting, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald examines.
- The Hornets have assigned Aaron Harrison to the D-League, the team announced. He’ll play for the Thunder’s affiliate, since Charlotte doesn’t have a D-League partner of its own. Earlier, I examined previous instances of NBA teams sending players on D-League assignment to the affiliates of other NBA clubs.
The Beat: Jon Krawczynski On The Timberwolves
Nobody knows NBA teams better than beat writers, save for those who draw paychecks with an NBA owner’s signature on them. The reporters who are with the teams they cover every day gain an intimate knowledge of the players, coaches and executives they write about and develop sources who help them break news and stay on top of rumors.
We at Hoops Rumors will be chatting with beat writers from around the league and sharing their responses to give you a better perspective on how and why teams make some of their most significant moves. Last time, we spoke with James Ham of CSN California and CSNBayArea.com about the Kings. Click here to see all the previous editions of this series.
Today, we gain insight on the Timberwolves from Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. You can follow Jon on Twitter at @APkrawczynski, and check out his stories here.
Hoops Rumors: You reported Kevin Martin‘s availability on the trade market about a month ago. Do you have a sense for how motivated the Timberwolves are to get a deal done?
Jon Krawczynski: The Wolves are definitely motivated to move Martin. They want to open up more playing time for Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad and Martin clearly would prefer to be on a team that is more competitive at this stage in his career, and one that has an offense that better suits his skill set. So far, the Wolves have not found a willing trade partner. One of the road blocks is that Martin has a player option on his contract next year. The Wolves have been told by several teams that they would like assurances from Martin that he will waive that option and become a free agent next summer. Corey Brewer made that gesture last year before he was traded to the Rockets, I believe. So far, Martin has not been willing to make that declarative statement, and understandably so. He’s struggled offensively this year so I think he wants to see if he can turn things around and increase his value before giving up a $7MM payday next year.
Hoops Rumors: The Wolves have fallen off sharply since their 8-8 start. Are they surprised they haven’t won a few more games, or was this strictly a developmental year all along?
Jon Krawczynski: This was a developmental year all along. No one in the organization — other than the players — entered the season believing the playoffs were a realistic goal for this season with this much youth. That said, they did show great flashes early in the season of being competitive, and the muddled state of the West from seeds 5-12 or so makes that 8 seed look more attainable to more teams than it has in years. That’s what has made this latest miserable stretch — a league-worst 5-23 since that 8-8 start — doubly frustrating for them. They knew they would go through their struggles. They knew young guys like Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, LaVine and Muhammad would hit bumps in the road along the way. But when you look at several of their losses — at Philly, home to Denver twice, home to Milwaukee, home to Portland twice, at New Orleans the other night — there are some glaring bad games. They have lost five games this year when leading by at least 17 points. A lot of that is youth. But youth can’t explain away all of their struggles. They have talent. Does the franchise believe it should they be 22-22 and in the thick of the race? Probably not. Should they be 13-31 with some of those bad losses? No.
Hoops Rumors: Is owner Glen Taylor committed to GM Milt Newton as the head of basketball operations for the long term, or do you think Newton is under pressure this season to make personnel moves that show he can handle the front office?
Jon Krawczynski: Taylor told Newton and Sam Mitchell at the beginning of the season that he would give both of them the year in these roles and then re-evaluate it at the end of the season. He wants to see how they both respond to the increased responsibility and the moves they make. Newton did play a major role in shaping the vision of the franchise, assembling the roster and evaluating talent while Flip Saunders was still around. So he’s done a lot of the work already. Now it’s his show. And it’s up to him to show Taylor, and the new minority ownership group that is negotiating to buy 30% of the team, that he is the right man for the job going forward for the foreseeable future. That he’s already had a hand in assembling a lot of the young talent on the roster will certainly work in his favor.
Hoops Rumors: Ricky Rubio has stayed healthy and his shooting numbers are up somewhat from last year’s abbreviated season, but what he is and what he isn’t seem pretty apparent at this point. Is what he is enough for the Timberwolves?
Jon Krawczynski: I’m a believer in Rubio. Is he the Russell Westbrook/Chris Paul who is capable of carrying an offense on his back? No. But I think if he is surrounded by athletes and shooters who can spread the floor and give him room to operate in the pick-and-roll, you can win a lot of games with him. He’s an elite passer, a very good defender and coming into Wednesday, he’d shot 42% from 3 over the previous 22 games, so he is showing that he can knock down open catch-and-shoot opportunities. Where he has to improve is scoring at the rim (44% this year), becoming more consistent midrange and shooting off the dribble. If you surround him with shooters and guys who can get out and run, he can absolutely be the answer, in my opinion. On a team with Wiggins, Towns, Muhammad and LaVine, all players who want to get their own shots, having a pass-first point guard is a good thing.
Hoops Rumors: The team is no doubt planning for Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns to co-exist for many years to come, so how effective have they been at building on-court chemistry with each other?
Jon Krawczynski: They seem to complement each other well. Wiggins is very quiet, not one to seek out the spotlight. Towns seems more comfortable in front of the cameras and acting as more of a spokesman and they appear to get along well. On the court, they are both dynamic in different ways. Wiggins right now prefers to attack the rim and elevate over defenders, though I think his game will evolve from there. Towns has shown a little more finesse and versatility early, being able to go inside and out. Going forward as they both grow their games the sky is the limit for these two.
Hoops Rumors: Has the idea that Saunders had to sign a veteran mentor for each position group — Kevin Garnett for the bigs, Tayshaun Prince for the wings, Andre Miller for the point guards — been a significant help to the team
Jon Krawczynski: I think they have been. Let’s face it, the group as a whole is struggling right now. It’s been a long stretch of futility. I think KG, Prince and Miller have helped the kids keep their eyes focused forward and on the big picture. Most of these young guys are not used to losing as much as they have here. It can be very difficult to deal with. But I think the older guys have made sure that these hard lessons aren’t going in one ear and out other. The plan was viewed with skepticism by some league observers, but I think Flip and Milt had the right idea by doing it and providing some insulation for the young guys. Hard to put a price tag on that.
Grizzlies Sign Ryan Hollins To 10-Day Contract
THURSDAY, 1:14pm: Memphis has officially signed Hollins to a 10-day contract, the team announced. The deal is set to cover five games.
MONDAY, 11:13am: The Grizzlies will sign center Ryan Hollins, whom Memphis recently waived, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). In adding Hollins, the Grizzlies are expected to let guard Elliot Williams go after his 10-day contract expired Sunday, Charania adds. Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweeted earlier today that the Grizzlies would not re-sign Williams.
This will mark Hollins’ third go-around with the Grizzlies. Memphis waived him on January 7th after signing him on December 29th. Hollins was with Memphis during training camp, but the Grizzlies waived him before the season started. Hollins had a strong showing in training camp, but it just wasn’t enough for the Grizzlies to keep him, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal detailed last month.
The addition of Hollins signals that Mike Conley’s return is imminent, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal tweets. Hollins is averaging 1.7 points and two rebounds per game this season, which includes five games with the Wizards and four with the Grizzlies. Hollins signed with Washington following his initial release from the Grizzlies, but the Wizards waived him December 23rd.
Jason Kidd To Return To Bucks Next Week
12:43pm: Kidd hopes to be at practice Monday and coach in Tuesday’s game versus Orlando, a source indicates to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
9:36am: Bucks coach Jason Kidd will return to the team next week, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Kidd has been away on a leave of absence for the past month as he’s recovered from surgery on his right hip. He’s coming back ahead of schedule, Stein writes, though he initially reported that Kidd would be out an estimated four to six weeks, a timetable that appears to have proven accurate. Stein says Kidd will retake the reigns once the Bucks return from their road trip, which concludes with games Friday at Houston and Saturday at New Orleans. Milwaukee plays at home Tuesday against the Magic.
Kidd also exerts player personnel control, though it’s unclear if he ceased his front office duties while on leave from coaching. Assistant coach Joe Prunty has been serving as interim head coach, and he’s said that he and the rest of the coaching staff have kept in close contact with Kidd during his absence.
Milwaukee appeared the likely destination for trade candidate Caron Butler at the time Kidd went out, but the Bucks have reportedly cooled on Butler in the meantime. Kidd and GM John Hammond reportedly met with Carlos Boozer shortly before Kidd’s leave began, and while it appears the team more recently took a second meeting with the veteran power forward, he remains unsigned.
The Bucks are a disappointing 19-25 this season, but they’re 8-7 under Prunty and have won three in a row. They’re three and a half games behind the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Heat Check On Tony Wroten, Dorell Wright
The Heat have reached out to Tony Wroten and Dorell Wright, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, who cautions that the team was merely performing due diligence with both and hasn’t made any offers. Wroten became a free agent last month after the Sixers waived him while Wright is playing in China and won’t become available until at least next month. Several other teams have greater interest in Wright than the Heat do, Jackson adds.
Miami already has 15 players, but the team is eligible to apply for clearance to add a 16th player via the hardship exception because Josh McRoberts, Goran Dragic, Chris Andersen and Beno Udrih have all missed the past three games, as salary cap expert Albert Nahmad points out (on Twitter). However, Dragic and Udrih have talked about the possibility of playing Friday, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, and the NBA wouldn’t grant the hardship if their injuries aren’t expected to linger (Twitter link).
The Knicks reportedly have interest in Wroten, too, though it’s unclear if that interest in much stronger than Miami’s. It appears Wroten would be unlikely to go to New York anyway, preferring a destination that would better suit a long-term stay.
Wright had talks with the Heat this summer before he signed to play in China, Jackson reported then. The 30-year-old who spent his first six seasons in the NBA with the Heat is averaging 21.2 points in 29.5 minutes per game across 30 appearances for Beijing after having spent the past two years with the Trail Blazers.
And-Ones: Pelicans, Conley, Magic
It’s widely known that the Pelicans want to shake up their roster, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick, who says in a video report that sources tell him New Orleans has been much more willing to trade Eric Gordon than Ryan Anderson. Of course, the broken right ring finger that’s likely to keep Gordon out for the next four to six weeks complicates that situation. The Kings reportedly turned down an offer from New Orleans of Gordon and Alonzo Gee recently amid talks about Rudy Gay, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported last week. See more from around the NBA:
- Mike Conley gave strong indication that he’d be hard-pressed to sign with any team other than the Grizzlies in free agency this summer, pegging the difficulty of leaving teammate Marc Gasol as an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10 in response to a question from Matt Moore of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). We recently discussed Conley’s impending free agency in Tuesday’s Community Shootaround.
- The Magic have lost eight of their last nine games, and GM Rob Hennigan pins it on inconsistency that stems from having a roster laden with young players, as he told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Hennigan said he accepts blame for building a roster that perhaps has too much youth and suggested that he’s been trying to make moves to add experienced hands. “We’ll continue to be extremely selective with the types of veterans we pursue. But rest assured we’ll aggressively pursue any and all players that we feel fit the character of our team and can help push the team forward,” Hennigan said as part of a larger interview with the Sentinel scribe.
- Hennigan also hinted that he played a role in the team’s decision to bench former No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo earlier this season and praised coach Scott Skiles, citing the need for patience with the first-year coach even though it’s not his first NBA head coaching gig, as Robbins relays. The GM indicated a strong desire to retain soon-to-be restricted free agent Evan Fournier, countering the idea that the team isn’t entirely sure about re-signing him. “We really value Evan,” Hennigan said to Robbins. “We’ve said that all along, and I’ll say about Evan what we said about Tobias [Harris], which is it’s our intention that he’ll be here for many years to come. We really, really like him and think he’s a great piece to continue to grow with our team.”
Cavs Notes: Love, LeBron, Blatt
The Cavs held a meeting before practice Tuesday to clear the air following Monday’s blowout loss to the Warriors, and Kevin Love had a major bounce-back performance Wednesday, posting 17 points and a whopping 18 rebounds in 31 minutes as the Cavaliers rolled to victory over the Nets, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com details. It came on the heels of a miserable performance Monday in which he had only three points and six rebounds, and Love said Wednesday that he didn’t intend for a comment he made following the Warriors game in which he appeared to call out LeBron James to be perceived as a shot at the four-time MVP, McMenamin notes.
“All I meant was that LeBron is our leader and we follow him at the end of the day,” Love said. “We all got to be better for each other, him, our fans, our organization, each and every player on this team, our coaches.”
James said he believes Love’s contention that he didn’t mean to be critical, according to McMenamin, but the fallout from Monday’s wake-up call of a loss remains. See more:
- Love was at a loss for words after Monday’s game when asked about what his role on the team is, and he’s not an easy fit on the Cavs roster, argues Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Cleveland already has fellow power forward Tristan Thompson, who, like Love, is just starting a five-year deal, and James, who also excels at power forward, as Bontemps points out.
- David Blatt‘s continued employment as coach of the Cavs depends largely on how well Love performs down the stretch this season, opines Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- James isn’t as singularly dominant as he once was and his teammates aren’t giving him the on-court support he needs, contends Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, who believes James simply isn’t as relevant on the NBA landscape as he has been in the past. Still, a disappearance from center stage would suit James just fine, he said Wednesday, as McMenamin relays in his story. “I actually wish they continue to forget about us. Completely forget about us,” James said. “For the first time in my career I could fly under the radar. For us, we as a basketball team, we just got to go out and prove it to ourselves. It’s not about what everybody else thinks. We need to be with each other and get better every night. I think tonight it was very easy to look each other in the face and know that we got better out there.”
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/20/16
Rockets center Dwight Howard is widely expected to turn down his player option for next season, which is worth $23,282,457, in pursuit of a long-term deal. Many league executives and agents believe that the NBA’s salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, which is a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season. As a result of this increase there will be significantly more teams with enough available cap space to offer maximum salary deals, something that is not likely lost on Howard and his representatives.
Members of Houston’s front office told Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle prior to the disappointment of the season setting in that they had no intention of letting the big man depart this summer, but GM Daryl Morey said to Smith more recently that he’s not thinking too far in the future at this point. “We’re just focused on this season. So is Dwight,” Morey said. “If … he as a player play[s] like we know he’s capable [of] … all that stuff takes care of itself.”
The Rockets are clinging to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, and even if they do indeed make the playoffs a deep run isn’t likely given the talent present in the West. Howard is having a bit of a down year statistically, but that is due more to him receiving fewer touches in the team’s offense than him performing poorly. At this point in his career, Howard has almost assuredly peaked as a player, and he will likely never again become the dominant force that he was during his time in Orlando.
This brings me to the topic/question for today: Should the Rockets re-sign Dwight Howard to a long-term deal this offseason if the center opts out of his contract?
Houston has the look of a franchise that needs to hit the reset button, and if that is indeed the case, it has to decide if the 30-year-old Howard should be a part of its future. The team currently is projected to have approximately $7MM-$10MM in cap space this summer, a number that includes Howard’s 2016/17 salary. If the team decides to re-sign Howard, provided he opts out, that will prohibit the Rockets from adding a significant piece via free agency unless some salary is cleared via trade. The big man has had injury issues and he’s not likely to grow more durable with age, which makes any long-term deal a risk. But he’s also one of the more talented centers in the league and would be an extremely difficult player to replace.
So what say you? Should the team look to keep Howard no matter the cost, or should the Rockets look to use their cap space in a different manner and let him depart? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Western Notes: Parsons, Favors, Looney
Mavs small forward Chandler Parsons has been spending quite a bit of crunch time sitting on the bench, something the player understands is better for the team, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. “I get paid to play basketball,” said Parsons. “Coach gets paid to make decisions and make substitutions. Whenever my number is called, I’ve got to be ready to play. I don’t really worry about things that are out of my control. I just try to do whatever it takes to help our team win games.” Parsons is still trying to regain his explosiveness after undergoing knee surgery last March.
“Of course, I want to be out there. I want to play,” Parsons continued. “It’s the most exciting part of the game, the most important part of the game. Nothing’s unconditional. I’m not saying every game I deserve to be out there at the end of the game, but obviously as a competitor and a player, you want to be out there and you want to play when it matters in crunch time.”
Here’s more from the West:
- Jazz power forward Derrick Favors, who has missed the last 15 contests with a back injury, is making his way closer toward a return to the court, Aaron Falk and Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune note. “With Derrick, it’s all a part of a process,” coach Quin Snyder said. “Back injuries are tricky. Some days you feel good, and you feel like you can play. Other days, you don’t feel so good. Above anything, we just want him to be healthy. But it’s a process, and we have to take it one day at a time.”
- Warriors 2015 first-rounder Kevon Looney is driven by his fall from being a projected lottery pick to the No. 30 overall pick, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. Looney’s drop was due to concerns over his hip, which he underwent surgery to correct back in August, Howard-Cooper notes. “I feel like they missed out,” Looney said of the teams that bypassed him back in June. “I’ve been waiting to show them, to come back from an injury and show my whole game, take some of the labels off of me and show my talent and show I can really contribute. I want to show everybody. A lot of people have already written me off, saying, ‘I can’t wait to see you next year.’ Like it’s over for me and I had no chance of playing. But that’s not my plan. Hopefully I’ll get in this year and I’ll make a contribution and show everybody.“
Eastern Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Gortat, Noah
Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who engaged in a shouting match with coach/executive Stan Van Gundy after the player was ejected from Monday night’s contest, says their relationship is fine, David Mayo of MLive notes. “We’re good,” Caldwell-Pope said of he and his coach. “We had a talk before we got to Houston, so we’re good. Everything’s squared away. Everything was in the heat of the moment. We talked about it and squared it out.”
For his part, Van Gundy wasn’t concerned about the incident, Mayo adds. “I don’t care about that,” Van Gundy said. “Look, I used to go through that with guys a lot more than this. I’m worried about how they play and what kind of people they are. The guy was really frustrated. If you’re going to say something to a guy, in a situation where he’s already frustrated, any of us would do the same thing. I mean, I shouldn’t have said what I said to him. No, I shouldn’t have, because it wasn’t the time, it wasn’t productive, because I couldn’t keep him in the game. He and I had a good talk yesterday. Look, he’s a great guy, he works his [tail] off, he’s not a hothead or anything like that. He had a bad day in terms of that and he got frustrated, and that’s all it was. He yelled something back at me and that part was actually meaningless. The tough part was him getting thrown out.”
Here’s more from the East:
- The Wizards have been hit hard by injuries this season, something that center Marcin Gortat says the players are to blame for, Gene Wang of The Washington Post writes. “It’s not easy,” Gortat said. “We’ve got a lot of vets. We’ve got a lot of older guys. They’ve got to take care of their bodies. At the end of the day it’s the players’ responsibility. I personally can’t understand how this is possible, how people can get constantly hurt. You’ve got to do something. You’ve got to change something in your routine to become a bigger pro, to become a better player and more professional about stuff you do.”
- No player better epitomizes Chicago sports than Joakim Noah, whose pending free agency could see him playing elsewhere next season, writes David Haugh of The Chicago Tribune. The Tribune scribe also opines that the Bulls‘ worst-case scenario involving Noah is that he makes a full recovery and joins Tom Thibodeau, who is reportedly on Brooklyn’s radar for its next coach, with the Nets.