Southeast Notes: Magic, LeBron, Beal, Biyombo
All five Southeast Division teams are in action tonight, including the Magic, who are starting Josh McRoberts at small forward against the Timberwolves. It's a lineup move coach Jacque Vaughn admits isn't ideal, tweets John Denton of Magic.com. The team had been using undrafted rookie DeQuan Jones as the starter at that position since Hedo Turkoglu broke his hand in the season opener. Mickael Pietrus, a former Magic player and current free agent who reportedly expects to sign soon, might be a tempting candidate to fill in, but that's just my speculation. In the meantime, there's more about the Magic and their Southeast Division rivals right here.
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports explains how Jones went from being the seventh-leading scorer at the University of Miami last season to starting games for the Magic this year.
- After the Celtics packaged him as part of the Courtney Lee trade this summer, leading to his release by the Rockets, E'Twaun Moore is showing he's more than just an afterthought with his early season play for the Magic, notes Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com.
- Dwyane Wade earlier today revealed his reasons for not signing with the Nets in 2010, and Heat teammate LeBron James, also recruited by New Jersey that summer, said of the Nets that, "It was hard to see where they were at the time," writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Wade and James were impressed by Brooklyn's offseason moves this year, Beck adds.
- Rob Mahoney of SI.com identifies several players who should be seeing more time on the court, including Wizards rookie Bradley Beal and Bobcats second-year man Bismack Biyombo.
Atlantic Rumors: Nets, Wade, Carter, Knicks
Let's round up the latest updates out of the Atlantic Division, where the 3-0 Knicks are the only team to win more than one game so far….
- Nets GM Billy King admits to Howard Beck of the New York Times that many of the roster moves he's completed over the last few months were made with the Heat in mind.
- In advance of tonight's Nets/Heat contest, Dwyane Wade was asked by the media about his free agent meeting with the Nets in 2010. According to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter links), Wade said his biggest takeaway from the experience was that Jay-Z was in attendance at the Nets' meeting with LeBron James, but not with Wade.
- Appearing on TSN 1050 in Toronto yesterday, Vince Carter reiterated something he's hinted at before, saying that he'd be more than open to a reunion with the Raptors down the road if the team was interested. "If (Toronto) gave me the opportunity, I don't even think I'd let them finish the question. Yes. I'm in," Carter said. "Could I see it? Absolutely. I'd leave that up to the franchise. It all started in Toronto, I'd be a fool to ever forget that."
- With the Knicks heading to Dallas to face the Mavericks later this week, Marc Berman of the New York Post points out that Mark Cuban isn't the most popular guy in the Knicks' locker room. Both Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd left Dallas for New York under less than ideal circumstances, as Berman writes.
- Having given up several assets to acquire Andrew Bynum in the final year of his contract, the 76ers are taking a major gamble on the young center and his health, writes ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst.
Southeast Notes: Martin, Heat, Magic, Henderson
As Americans head to the polling stations today and cast their votes, many eyes will be on Florida, one of the swing states that could decide the presidential race. When it comes to the NBA, we're eyeing a pair of Florida teams in this morning's round-up of Southeast Division notes:
- With Kenyon Martin expressing a desire to join an NBA roster, fans of contenders are asking if their favorite teams ought to consider signing the former first overall pick. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel weighs the odds of the Heat going after Martin. Elsewhere, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explores the topic in relation to the Knicks.
- In a piece for Grantland, Zach Lowe looks into whether teams around the league, such as the Thunder, might be trying to "wait out Miami" and peak as a contender when the Heat starts getting older, rather than right now.
- Even after having dealt Dwight Howard, the Magic weren't built to lose a ton of games this season, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Kyler adds that could change if Orlando moves some of its veterans before the trade deadline.
- The Bobcats have announced that Gerald Henderson will miss two to four weeks with a mid-foot sprain. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that it could be worse for Henderson, as there was some concern the foot was fractured. Still, it's a setback for a player who is in a contract year, preparing for restricted free agency next summer.
Eastern Notes: Jennings, Fesenko, Allen, Celtics
When we asked you earlier this afternoon which rookie scale contract extension will work out best for the team locking up its player, one fourth-year guard was notably absent from the list: Brandon Jennings. Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth calls the young Buck the most talented player from the 2009 draft class not to receive an extension from his club, and examines the outlook for the 23-year-old, who admits he's "kind of auditioning for other teams." If that's the case, his audition is off to a good start — Jennings was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the league this afternoon (Twitter link).
Here are a few more updates from around the Eastern Conference:
- Kyrylo Fesenko had a strong workout for the Hawks, but the team has yet to indicate whether it will sign him, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The big man also isn't ruling out a return to the Bulls, the team that waived him in October, tweets Charnia. Chicago isn't eligible to sign a veteran to a minimum-salary deal for another two weeks.
- Marquis Daniels tells Charania that he feels like stories and rumors of the alleged feud between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen have been blown out of proportion. Daniels, Rondo, and Allen all played in the Celtics' backcourt from 2009 to 2012.
- In order to get Allen the minutes he was promised when he signed with Miami as a free agent, the Heat may have to play him at the point from time to time, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Appearing on WEEI's Big Show in Boston, Celtics president Danny Ainge spoke about the team's offseason, and about the Allen controversy. Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.
- In a piece for the News-Herald, Bob Finnan express some concerns about the Cavaliers' bench.
Odds & Ends: Warriors, Spurs, Allen, Flynn
At 2-1, the Warriors have started off what many believe to be a promising season on the right foot, despite losing Brandon Rush to a torn ACL on Friday night. Because it is so early in the season, the Warriors have the good fortune of having some options if they want to replace him, writes Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area.
One reason they may not need personnel reinforcements has the been the surprising play of Carl Landry, who has provided scoring (20 points per game) and toughness off the bench in the team’s first three games, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
Let’s take a look at what else is going on in the NBA on the first Sunday night of November:
- As the veteran core of the Spurs ages, the roles of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard will continue to grow. Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation writes that right now, Gregg Popovich has told the two youngsters to “bring the energy.”
- Couper Moorhead of Heat.com provides a detailed analysis of the developing offensive dynamic between Ray Allen and LeBron James. Between James’ ability to score efficiently at the hoops and Allen’s lethal stroke from the corner, defenses are forced to make an impossible decision against the Heat, Moorhead says.
- The staff of writers at HoopsWorld goes around the horn to discuss which player was the most underrated offseason acquisition. The results: Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Carl Landry, Antawn Jamison, Andrei Kirilenko, O.J. Mayo, Gerald Green and Nikola Vucevic.
- Jonny Flynn, waived by Pistons in October, has agreed to sign with the Melbourne Tigers, an Australian team, says Daniel Eade of the Back Page Lead. The contract with the Tigers is reported to have an out clause should Flynn get an NBA offer.
Odds & Ends: D’Antoni, Clippers, Lakers
- Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK describes how Kevin Martin is fitting in with the Thunder as he looks to transition from being the main guy in Houston to the sixth man in Oklahoma City.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports that Nets guard Keith Bogans suited up for tonight's game against the Raptors after being out with an injury since February.
- The following three links are all courtesy of the Los Angeles Times: Firstly, Broderick Turner discusses Vinny Del Negro's task of finding minutes for all five of his rotation big men at the power forward and center positions, adding that doing so through the Clippers' first two games was easier because of foul trouble. Secondly, Ben Bolch reflects on current Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's tenure with the Clippers, his departure, and the ties that Olshey still feels with some of their players. Lastly, Eric Pincus says that today's day off for the Lakers was needed, considering that Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Jordan Hill are all trying to play through injuries. Metta World Peace agreed, saying that the team had already gone through seven or eight straight days on their feet and that it had "hurt them a bit."
- Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes about how Nikola Pekovic and his physical play during Timberwolves' practices have played a vital role in the development of Greg Stiemsma.
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune talks about how veteran additions Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko have fared in Minnesota so far.
Eastern Notes: Harkless, Jones, Miles, Young
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel believes that although Magic coach Jacque Vaughn would preferably bring young players along slowly to gradually build their confidence, he may have to expand the roles of rookies Moe Harkless and DeQuan Jones much earlier than he would like now that Hedo Turkoglu is out with an injury. Here is the rest of tonight's edition of Eastern Notes:
- During C.J. Miles' Q&A session with Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer, the Cavaliers swingman touched base on what made him choose Cleveland over his hometown of Dallas during free agency: "I talked to Rick Carlisle the same way I talked to Coach (Byron) Scott, but this just felt like a better fit as far as what I wanted to do as a basketball player. Everybody wants to play for their hometown, but I think it was just a little different situation as far as what I want to become."
- Dei Lynam of CSN Philly writes that whereas Thaddeus Young had been ten pounds lighter than Carmelo Anthony before this season, the 76ers forward bulked up during the offseason at coach Doug Collins' request and is now five pounds heavier than the Knicks star. Philadelphia hopes that Young's speed and added strength will allow them to match up better against a player like Anthony.
- Bucks coach Scott Skiles has been pleased with the impact that Ekpe Udoh has been making for Milwaukee defensively, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
- Heat forward/center Josh Harrellson said that the Knicks will always be a special place to him for providing his first opportunity in the NBA (Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York reports).
Southeast Notes: Camby, Heat, Augustin, Redick
The Knicks will host the Heat in their regular-season opener tonight at Madison Square Garden, and feelings are mixed about whether the game should even be played as New York City continues to recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.
"I'm kind of 50/50 on it," LeBron James said, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "I'm happy to be here to play a basketball game, but at the same time, if the people who are here, or people that are helping out with this game, could give their efforts to help this city run or help their families come out of the situation, then I think that's more important."
Here are a few more notes relating to the Heat and their Southeast Division rivals:
- Marcus Camby is preparing to face the Heat tonight knowing that he almost ended up signing with Miami this summer, writes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald.
- In his mailbag for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman says he doesn't think the Heat would have found much value in Camby if they had paid him more than the veteran's minimum.
- With the Pacers in Charlotte to face the Bobcats tonight, former Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin and current Bobcats president Rod Higgins are trading barbs. Augustin told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he was happy to be out of Charlotte, since he never knew where he stood with the Bobcats, which surprised and disappointed Higgins, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. "I’m not going to go into specifics, but we offered him more than he signed for in Indiana," Higgins said. "I don’t think it would be appropriate to comment further than that."
- Augustin stood by his comments, following Higgins' response, as he told Bonnell. "You hear all kinds of stuff – how a bunch of times I was going to be traded," said Augustin. "I didn’t always believe those things. But all through being here, I just never knew what would happen. That’s just how I felt."
- J.J. Redick knows he may not finish out the season with the Magic, but he's confident that GM Rob Hennigan will keep him updated if Orlando is considering trading him, as he tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Odds & Ends: Allen, Pistons, Jazz, Curry, Lawson
While most of the night's news has centered around extensions for a flurry of fourth-year players before the 11pm Central deadline, there's sure to be fallout over the lack of extensions for Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and Jeff Teague, who will headline a class of 2013 restricted free agents that won't be as strong as first expected. In the meantime, there are plenty of other interesting tidbits from around the league.
- Before deciding on the Heat, Ray Allen was serious about joining the Clippers this summer, but believes the Clips thought he was using them as leverage, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- Pistons owner Tom Gores, who won't rule out someday moving the team from the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills to a downtown venue, is anxious for his team to make the playoffs, but said the jobs of basketball operations president Joe Dumars and coach Lawrence Frank aren't necessarily riding on a postseason berth, as David Mayo of MLive.com observes.
- Jazz executive vice president Kevin O'Connor says the team structured its contracts so most of them would end after this season, Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
- Grantland's Zach Lowe examines the extensions for Stephen Curry and Ty Lawson, believing the Warriors could trade Curry if he gets off to a fast start next season, while wondering if the Nuggets will make a cost-cutting move some time next year to fit Lawson's deal into their budget.
- Cavs forward Luke Walton, who played under Phil Jackson with the Lakers, believes his former coach won't return to the sidelines, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
- Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson didn't dismiss the possibility that the team could re-sign Dominique Jones as an unrestricted free agent next summer after deciding against picking up his 2013/14 option, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News notes.
Buyout Talks Resume Between Raja Bell, Jazz
5:51pm: Charania tweets more from Bell's radio interview, noting that Bell characterized the situation as a "waiting game until [the Jazz] can either get rid of the contract and trade it or we can find a good situation for a buyout." Charania concludes that the situation is fluid, and no one on either side of the dispute is quite sure how it will turn out (Twitter links).
5:12pm: Raja Bell told Jorge Sedano of WQAM in Miami that he and the Jazz are once more working toward some means of parting ways, whether through a trade or a buyout, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com. This comes a week after Bell's agent, Herb Rudoy, told Charania that the two sides had ended buyout negotiations that had dragged on all summer. The report indicated Rudoy and the Jazz were discussing trade scenarios, but Rudoy later denied that part of it to Jody Genessey of the Deseret News.
The 36-year-old shooting guard is due $3.48MM this season in the final year of a three-year, $9.72MM contract. He started 33 of the 34 games he played last season in Utah, but clashed with coach Tyrone Corbin and saw his playing time disappear. Though it's long been clear that the Jazz organization sided with Corbin, their decision to exercise their 2013/14 option on Corbin today is further evidence of where they stand. Bell didn't attend camp with the Jazz after he was told to stay away, and hasn't been with the team at all in the preseason.
Bell attended high school and college in Miami, and last month he identified the Heat as his top choice for his next destination. The Heat currently have 15 players under contract, but Josh Harrellson and Terrel Harris are on non-guaranteed deals.