Cavs, Spurs To Audition Josh Childress
The Cavaliers and Spurs are the latest teams to schedule workouts for Josh Childress, agent Chris Emens tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.com (Twitter link). Despite the confirmation of the workout, Childress is one of 40 or more players that Cleveland will audition next month as training camp approaches, tweets Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer, so the team may not be especially interested.
Childress has already worked out for the Pelicans and been linked to the Knicks this offseason. He also reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from Greek powerhouse Olympiacos earlier this summer, instead opting to try to latch on with an NBA team. Childress, 30, spent two seasons overseas with Olympiacos but has yet to re-establish himself in the NBA since returning in 2010 with the Suns. It sounds like Childress has a handful of suitors, but as Schmitt Boyer cautions, it is tough to evaluate if he can land an NBA job until we figure out where he will spend training camp.
Pelicans Re-Sign Lance Thomas
THURSDAY, 1:08pm: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Thomas, the team announced today in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 8:10pm: Thomas' deal with New Orleans is partially guaranteed for the first season, reports Shams Charania of Real GM who cites a league source.
6:53pm: The Pelicans have re-signed Lance Thomas to a two-year contract for the minimum salary, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York. New Orleans holds a team option for the second year of the deal. A few weeks ago, rumors swirled that Thomas and the Pelicans were moving towards a deal a month or so after the team waived him in July.
Thomas, a 6-foot-8 forward out of Duke, has spent the first two years of his NBA career with New Orleans. After he averaged 4.0 points in 17 minutes per game as a rookie, his playing time was slashed to 10.9 minutes per contest last season, though he did connect on 50 percent of his field goals as compared to 45.2 in 2011/12.
Pelicans Sign Arinze Onuaku
THURSDAY, 1:07pm: The Pelicans have officially announced the signing of Onuaku in a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 10:16pm: The Pelicans have agreed to sign Arinze Onuaku to a two-year deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The first year of the deal is unguaranteed and the second is a team option.
The Syracuse product has never played in the NBA, but does have 43 D-League games under his belt. He's averaged 11.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for his career in the D-League, which included five games in 2010/11 and a 38 games last season which were good enough to earn him an appointment to the league's 2013 All-Star team. Onuaku will have to prove he belongs in training camp to have a shot to stick on the New Orleans roster.
The Pelicans have had a busy Wednesday night. News broke earlier that the team had inked Lance Thomas to a two-year deal which contained a partial guarantee for the first year and a team option for the second.
Poll: Who’d Make The Best NBPA President?
We learned tonight that Chris Paul will replace Derek Fisher as the president of the NBA Players Association. It is no secret that Paul is exceptionally popular among the NBA's players and fans, as Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes in his story about Paul's new position. Deveney also notes that the point guard has been involved in the union since he was a rookie, which allows him to utilize star power and knowledge in a position and union that desperately need both.
Since rumors of LeBron James eyeing the position surfaced in late July, the idea of a league star as the union front man has been universally advocated after more than a decade without one. But is that advocacy on point? And if so, is CP3 the man to prove it? There are a lot of new faces in new roles this year, from commissioner to NBPA president, so this selection could have legitimate ramifications. Let us know what you think, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section.
Odds & Ends: James, Bowen, Kidd, Lin, Wright
After tonight's announcement from the NBA Player's Association, we can officially shut the door on any talk that LeBron James should assume the union's head position. What we don't know about James, however, are his intentions after the upcoming season, when he can opt out of his current deal with the Heat. James kept quiet about his plans on an interview that aired on the new Fox Sports 1 on Tuesday night, writes HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy, who expects James to keep his options open.
Here are some other news and notes from around the league:
- The Kings have named Ryan Bowen as an assistant coach and assistant director of player development, the team announced today in a press release. Bowen spent the past two seasons as an assistant with the Nuggets, where he spent two stints as a player. He also played in Houston, New Orleans and Oklahoma City in his NBA playing career.
- Jason Kidd is ready to make the transition from player to coach with the Nets, writes Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, who lists Tom Heinsohn, Billy Cunningham and Larry Bird among those who have walked a similar path with success.
- Speaking at a youth conference in Taiwan, Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin said he put too much pressure on himself in his first year in Houston and it resulted in his coaches losing faith in him, according to an ESPN news release. Lin will need to rediscover his confidence quickly considering the expectations in Houston this season.
- Dorell Wright says his trust in Blazers general manager Neil Olshey was a big factor in his agreement to sign with Portland, writes Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. Wright said he envisions himself as a bench player, and that he expects the Blazers to vie for a playoff spot.
Chris Paul Elected As NBPA President
Clippers point guard Chris Paul has been elected as the president of the NBA Players Association, the union announced via Twitter. The NBPA tweeted that Roger Mason Jr., who was also interested in the top position, has been named first vice president.
Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal first reported the surprising announcement via Twitter. The union was expected to announce their decision tonight according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, who tabbed Mason as Derek Fisher's probable successor. Mason announced his candidacy last week.
Paul, previously a union vice president, will be the first star player to head the players' union since Patrick Ewing, who held the position from 1997 to 2001, and the first "in-his-prime" president since fellow point guard Isiah Thomas. As LeBron James indicated when he was considering the position, a player of his or Paul's caliber would likely have a louder voice as president than their predecessors — something the union sorely needs after being shrouded in controversy in the late stages of Fisher's reign. Fisher served as the union's president until his term expired this summer. He was preceded by Antonio Davis and Michael Curry, who, like Fisher, were also role players. James decided he would not pursue the presidency early last week.
The union also tweeted that it will add Steve Blake and Anthony Tolliver as vice presidents and executive committee members. As USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reports (via Twitter), Jerry Stackhouse has resigned as first vice president and will accept some sort of special advisory role within the NBPA. The league will also hire an executive director in the near future to replace Billy Hunter, who was ousted earlier this year. With Paul and a new executive director in place, it could be an interesting first year for commissioner Adam Silver.
Sixers Notes: Brown, Hinkie, Ownership
After the longest head coaching search in recent memory, the Sixers finally introduced Brett Brown as their guy today at a press conference at the Wells Fargo Center. Here are some reactions to what Brown and general manager Sam Hinkie had to say, as well as some other Sixers news:
- Brown and Hinkie have a huge mountain to climb to bring the Sixers back to respectability, but because of the commitment the team made to Brown, it is appears that they are in for the long haul together, writes Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer. With the Sixers roster in the shape its in, Brown prioritized the guarantee of four-year pact.
- In the short term, both Brown and Hinkie, as well as Sixers fans, will have to exhibit a level of tolerance and patience, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Brown, of course, came from San Antonio where the Spurs haven't had a losing season since 1996/97, which led to them landing Tim Duncan.
- While Brown's introductory press conference was a long one, Max Rappaport of Sixers.com was able to sit down with the former Spurs assistant afterwards for a one-on-one interview. The team's website also has the press conference in its entirety in three different pieces.
- Team owner Joshua Harris is in negotations to buy the NHL's New Jersey Devils, which has some paranoid Sixers fans expressing concern that the New York City-based Harris could attempt to move the team north to Newark's Prudential Center, which no longer houses an NBA team with the Nets in Brooklyn. Hinkie alleviated some of those concerns today after the Brown presser, telling Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com, "Josh Harris is more committed than ever to owning the Sixers and the fans of Philadelphia and keeping the Sixers here forever."
- Brown's job this year is to see what he has, Moore writes, adding that next summer will go a long way to deciding the fate of the Sixers under Brown. With significant cap space and two potential lottery picks in a loaded draft, Philly could quickly become an appealing destination for free agents.
Knicks Interested In Earl Barron
The Knicks and free agent center Earl Barron have mutual interest in reuniting, reports Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York, who cites a source close to Barron. Barron spent a brief amount of time with New York late last season, appearing in only one game, and also played with the team in 2009/10. He has played for six other NBA teams, including the Wizards early last season.
Zwerling says the signing of Jeremy Tyler may not preclude them from bringing in Barron as well, especially with the Nets and Pacers both beefing up their frontcourts. The source indicates that Barron has received five other NBA camp invites and has international options, but will wait to hear from the Knicks before deciding anything and would accept a minimum salary offer from them. Barron and the Knicks have met several times this offseason, according to the source.
Odds & Ends: Joseph, West, Delany, Wiggins
Here are a few odds and ends from around the NBA on Wednesday night:
- Kris Joseph, who was waived last month by the Celtics, is weighing international offers in Italy, Russia and France as well as a few NBA invites, tweets Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest.
- Haynes also tweets that free agent guard Delonte West has impressed at a coach's camp in Las Vegas. West, who spent some time in the D-League last year, hasn't played in the NBA since his 2011/12 campaign with the Mavericks. West has also played with the Celtics and Cavs.
- The Heat have named advance scout Pat Delany the head coach of their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM evaluates the prospects of the eight 2010 first-round picks that are currently not on NBA rosters – Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry, Luke Babbitt, Craig Brackins, Elliot Williams, Damion James, Dominique Jones and Lazar Hayward.
- Andrew Wiggins has the potential to single-handedly turn around an NBA franchise, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, adding that his ceiling has teams lining up to better their chances for his services. Kennedy names the Sixers, Magic, Suns, Bobcats, Kings and Jazz as the six teams who have positioned themselves for Wiggins, and Celtics and Raptors as outside possibilities.
Odds & Ends: Ariza, Wiz, Udrih, Howard, Jackson
Here are some odds and ends from around the NBA on this Thursday night:
- The Wizards had a busy offseason, which kicked off with Trevor Ariza informing them that he planned to exercise his $7.7MM player option for 2013/14. Ariza didn't foresee this offseason as a good one to test free agency, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post, who sees Ariza ahead of rookie Otto Porter Jr. on the Wizards depth chart based on the team's summer league.
- Lee adds that if the Wizards plan to add a big man, they'll like only be able to offer a minimum salary. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is willing to become a tax-paying team, per Lee, but would rather do so once he has a contender on his hands.
- Keith Schlosser of the Knicks Journal examines the addition of Beno Udrih to the Knicks' backcourt, arguing that Udrih is of borderline starter caliber. The Knicks got another bargain, Schlosser says, writing that Udrih's acceptance of a minimum salary implies he is on board with the "win now" mentality of the New York locker room. Filling a clearly defined role, previously occupied by Jason Kidd, should facilitate Udrih's transition, Schlosser opines.
- In an interview with ESPN Radio in Los Angeles, Lakers executive vice president Jeanie Buss said that the team would have had a much better chance to keep Dwight Howard if her father, the late Dr. Jerry Buss, had been healthy and involved, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA. Buss called her father "the best closer in the business" and also stated that her husband, former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, still has the itch to coach, but stopped short of implying anything about a return to the Lakers. Hear the full interview here.