D-League Moves: Westbrook, N’Diaye, Hawks
Let’s take a look at today’s D-League moves from around the NBA:
- Charlie Westbrook has been claimed by the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. We heard Wednesday night that Westbrook had entered the D-League’s waiver process.
- Kings center Hamady N’Diaye has been assigned to the club’s D-League affiliate in Reno, the team announced today in an official press release. Ndiaye has played 52 minutes in nine games for Sacramento his season.
- The Hawks have swapped out two shooting guards today, assigning John Jenkins to the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League while subsequently recalling Jared Cunningham. A press release earlier today revealed the pair of moves.
Odds & Ends: Mozgov, Hawks, Garnett, Draft
Timofey Mozgov might be the hottest player in the NBA right now and that can be largely attributed to assistant coach Melvin Hunt, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. “All the Russian I know can’t be repeated,” Hunt explained, “because when he gets frustrated and says them, I know they’re bad words.” More from around the Association..
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer doesn’t expect Dennis Schröder to stay in the D-League for long. “My guess is he’ll be back sooner but we’ll see how it’s going down there and how it’s going up there,” Budenholzer said, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Atlanta assigned the rookie guard earlier today.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News attempts to fix the Eastern Conference for all the teams not named the Heat or Pacers. The list, unsurprisingly, starts with the Nets and the struggles of offseason addition Kevin Garnett.
- A few league executives and scouts indicated to Adam Zagoria of SNY (on Twitter) that Glenn Robinson III‘s stock is falling. The Michigan standout is currently slotted to go No. 17 on DraftExpress’ mock draft.
- The Nets and Knicks better hope that they can turn things around this season because they can’t hope to build through the draft, notes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Both NYC teams have mortgaged their futures in an effort to contend in the present.
Eastern Notes: Frank, Bulls, Beasley
The Eastern Conference will have a few chances to improve its dismal record against the West tonight, as the Cavs and Hawks host the Nuggets and Clippers respectively, while the Pacers play in Utah. As we look forward to a night of NBA action, let’s check out a few items from around the East….
- Having been demoted by the Nets, Lawrence Frank will retain “high-powered” legal counsel, likely in the hopes of working out a buyout agreement with the team, a source tells Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. As various reports have noted since Frank’s “re-assignment” yesterday, the Brooklyn assistant signed a lucrative six-year contract with the club this summer.
- In spite of Derrick Rose‘s season-ending injury, the Bulls are still excited about their future, GM Gar Forman said on ESPN Radio on Tuesday. Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com has the key quotes from Forman.
- Along with ESPN’s Scoop Jackson and Doug Padilla, Friedell debates whether the Bulls believe they’ll re-sign Luol Deng next summer, in a separate piece.
- Given the way Michael Beasley has played this season, it’s clear that at least one of the Heat‘s two non-guaranteed players will have his salary guaranteed, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Roger Mason is the other Miami player on a non-guaranteed contract.
- Beasley ranks among the best bargain signings of the offseason, according to Lang Greene of HoopsWorld, who also includes Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll in his list.
D-League Updates: Teague, Schröder, Marshall
The Rockets were upset by the Jazz on Monday, but had won eight of their previous nine games before that, and are comfortably in the playoff picture in a competitive Western Conference. So far though, Houston’s D-League affiliate is off to an even better start. Led by Rockets camp invitee Troy Daniels, as well as assignees Isaiah Canaan and Robert Covington, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers sit atop the D-League standings with a 5-0 record, and have averaged an incredible 133.4 points per game so far.
Here are a few more Wednesday notes from around the D-League:
- Bulls GM Gar Forman indicated yesterday that Marquis Teague wouldn’t have a long-term stay in the D-League, but Forman probably didn’t expect to recall Teague quite so early. The Bulls guard has been recalled from the Iowa Energy due to Mike James‘ knee injury, according to the team. “As soon as I landed they told me to come right back,” Teague told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have assigned rookie guard Dennis Schröder to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The 20-year-old has appeared in just 11 of 19 games for Atlanta this season, so he should see more playing time in the D-League. Schröder will join Hawks teammate Jared Cunningham on the Bakersfield Jam.
- The Delaware 87ers made their acquisition of Kendall Marshall official today, sending out a press release to formally announce the addition of last year’s 13th overall pick.
Odds & Ends: Beasley, Wilkins, Claver, Lakers
If it looks like Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is only now starting to formulate a plan for offseason pickup Michael Beasley, you’re not far off, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “With Michael,” Spoelstra said, “it was more about, initially, we felt he was part of our family. We drafted him. We spent a lot of time with him, not only during those two regular seasons, but during the offseasons and we just wanted to open up our arms back into our family,” the coach said. Here’s more from around the Association..
- Damien Wilkins, who was in training camp with the Hawks over the summer, has reached agreement on a deal with Beijing in China, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Victor Claver spoke with El Mundo after the rumors about his future published by Spanish media and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando provides the translation. “Portland is the team where I want to play. But at the same time I want to play more and here I don’t have chances to. The season is very long, let’s see if something will change. Right now I am not thinking about returning to Europe. I have no idea if there is a chance to be traded. But if it happened, I hope it is for the better,” said the Spanish forward.
- Nick Young has jokingly touted himself as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate at times this season, but coach Mike D’Antoni believes the swingman has a legitimate shot at the award, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- D’Antoni is overseeing a locker room with ten players on expiring contracts, but he appears much more effective at building camaraderie with this Lakers team than with last year’s, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times observes.
- In this week’s mailbag, Mary Schmitt-Boyer of the Plain Dealer fields questions on the possibility of the Cavs trading for Luol Deng and more.
Western Rumors: Lakers, Claver, Casspi
The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted today think at least one New York team will make the playoffs this season, in spite of a combined 7-24 record for the Knicks and Nets. That might not be the case if those clubs were in the much tougher Western Conference. The Hawks are in third place in the East with a 9-8 record, while the Lakers have the same mark and sit in 10th place in the West. The imbalance figures to soften to some degree as the season wears on, but it’s still troubling for Western teams competing for a postseason berth. Here’s more from the West:
- Wesley Johnson could have signed for more money and years to play with that Atlanta team and its much easier road to the playoffs, and the Bucks also offered a better deal than the Lakers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system prompted Johnson to instead choose the L.A. and a one-year contract for the minimum salary.
- César Nanclares of TuBasket.com hears that Victor Claver is strongly considering a return to Europe amid disappointment over a reduced role this season with the Blazers (translation via HoopsHype). Nanclares points out the Spanish native’s contract runs through this season and next and that Portland isn’t likely to let him engineer a buyout this season, though the scribe wonders if the Blazers might be willing to cut ties this summer.
- Rockets forward Omri Casspi is leaving agent Steven Heumann of the Creative Artists Agency and will sign with Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports, as Fegan tells Sportando contributor David Pick.
- Former second-round draft pick Chukwudiebere Maduabum has signed with Tin Kalev Tallin of Estonia, Sportando’s Enea Trapani reports. The Nuggets hold the rights to Maduabum, the 56th overall pick in 2011.
Southwest Notes: Asik, Mekel, Randolph
As the Rockets look to pull a half-game closer to the Spurs in the Southwest standings tonight, let’s round up a few of the latest notes out of the division….
- Speaking to reporters today, including Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Omer Asik indicated that he has just been “frustrated” about his role recently, but is looking forward to returning to the court and helping the Rockets win.
- It’s only a matter of time until the Rockets find a taker for Asik, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who says a deal will likely happen after December 15th. Lowe also addresses a pair of hypothetical deals for Asik, involving the Pelicans and Hawks. In Lowe’s view, a trade centered around Asik and Paul Millsap would work so well for Houston that, if it were to happen, rival Western teams would hold it against Hawks GM Danny Ferry “forever.”
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses a pair of Southwest teams in today’s NBA AM column, examining Mavericks offseason addition Gal Mekel and the Rockets‘ situation with Asik. According to Kyler, Houston is believed to be seeking either an impact frontcourt player or a combination of a frontcourt player and unprotected draft picks for Asik.
- In a recent piece for the Los Angeles Times, Paresh Dave outlined the details of the deferred payments on Zach Randolph‘s last two contracts. While it doesn’t affect a team’s cap, up to 25% of a player’s salary can be deferred. In the case of Randolph’s current deal with the Grizzlies, $9.9MM of his $66MM (15%) is deferred compensation.
Southeast Notes: Afflalo, Smith, Magic, Hawks
Sometimes, it’s the moves you don’t make that define your team. The Magic reportedly received “lots of interest” in guard Arron Afflalo, this summer, but ultimately decided to hang on to him. They’ve been handsomely rewarded for rebuffing the advances of other clubs as Afflalo is putting up 21.7 PPG – more than double his career average. Tonight’s look at the Southeast Division..
- Pistons forward Josh Smith told 92.9 FM that the Hawks never came to him with a contract offer this summer, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “No, there wasn’t,” Smith said when asked if there was a contract offer. “During free agency, during that period, there were a lot of guys out in L.A. that were meeting with various teams. I was one of those guys. That’s where I work out in the summertime as well. The only time I saw the Hawks during free agency was when they came to one of my workouts just to say hello. I think they were meeting with Dwight Howard that day. They never came in or sat down with me during the free agency period to offer me anything.”
- Veteran point guard Jameer Nelson is less-than-thrilled about his playing time situation with the Magic, but he’s refusing to blow it up into a major issue, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The 31-year-old wants to contribute, but at the same time, he wants to remain with Orlando for years to come.
- Guys like Afflalo and Nelson have trade value, but their stocks will be even higher around draft time after logging productive seasons, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Southeast Notes: Afflalo, LeBron, Hawks
Only one Southeast team is in action tonight, and while much has been made of the poor performance by Eastern Conference teams so far this season, a win by the Bobcats today would increase the Southeast’s overall winning percentage to a respectable .500. It’ll be a tough task for the Bobcats though, as they play in Chicago against a Bulls team coming off a win against the previously undefeated Pacers. As we look forward to seeing if Charlotte can pull off an upset, here are a few notes from around the Bobcats’ division:
- According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Arron Afflalo drew “lots of interest” over the summer, but the Magic ultimately elected not to move him.
- David Beckham is looking to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Miami, and may end up working with LeBron James, according to Alex Miller of the Daily Mail. While the potential partnership doesn’t mean anything tangible at this point, the fact that LeBron is pursuing a Miami project may bode well for the Heat‘s chances of keeping him beyond this season.
- No NBA team was caught off guard by the incredible collection of talent on display at the NCAA’s Champions Classic in Chicago last week. Nonetheless, seeing all of those prospects in one place could have influenced the plans of an NBA team like the Hawks, as one team executive tells David Aldridge of NBA.com: “The only thing about Chicago that’s interesting is if it changes Atlanta’s plans, or someone’s, who says ‘Ah, screw it, let’s just start selling players.'”
Southeast Links: Williams, Nelson, Chalmers
The Hawks didn’t get the full return on their mid-level investment in Lou Williams last season, as the sixth man went down in January with a torn ACL. Still, he didn’t take nearly as long to come back as Derrick Rose and others who’ve suffered similar injuries, as Williams is playing in Atlanta’s game tonight against his former team, the Sixers. Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:
- Jameer Nelson has never played for a team other than the Magic, and he tells Ian Thomsen of SI.com that he’d like that to remain true when he calls it a career. He acknowledges that he could be traded this season and understands he’s powerless to stop the Magic if they want to make that happen. Nelson envisions being the one making those decisions as a GM once he retires and can also see himself as a coach.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel if impending free agent Mario Chalmers could be playing himself out of the Heat‘s price range with his performance this year. Chalmers, who is making $4MM in the final year of his deal, could be a casualty as the Heat are mindful of luxury tax implications. Miami has already exercised its 2014/15 option on the cheaper Norris Cole.
- Martell Webster finds himself in a familiar position as Trevor Ariza is once again sidelined with a leg injury, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Webster stepped into the starting lineup in Ariza’s place last season and went on to post career-best numbers and earn a four-year, $22MM deal from Washington.
Zach Links contributed to this post.