Western Notes: Spurs, Marion, Mayo, Collison
Stephen Curry absolutely went off at the Garden on Wednesday night, dropping 54 points via 11 treys on the Knicks in the game of the night. Despite Curry's efforts, the Warriors still came up short, losing by four. Here are some other notes from around the Western Conference:
- Gregg Popovich says that the Spurs, as always, will do their due diligence in scouring the post-March 1st buyout market, but with their roster already 15 deep, he doesn't expect anything to come of it, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News answered a few questions about the Mavericks roster in a chat on Tuesday. Sefko doesn't see the Mavs dealing Shawn Marion next season just to free up cap space, opining that Marion is still a starting caliber player that warrants something worthwhile in return.
- Sefko also considers re-signing O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison critical to the team's chances of luring whatever big name free agents they'll set their sights on, largely due to their youth. Keeping both players, who have had nice seasons in Dallas, will be difficult without overpaying, Sefko says.
- Pau Gasol, likely still a month from returning, has been cleared to work out on an elliptical machine, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Gasol tore his plantar fascia three weeks ago and the Lakers are sticking to their original timetable of six-to-eight weeks for his return.
Atlantic Links: Gay, Bargnani, Curry
Today has already been a pretty busy day in the Atlantic division. With the Knicks and Raptors underway, let's continue to monitor all news coming out of the division here:
- Toronto head coach Dwane Casey says that Rudy Gay is the exactly the weapon that the Raptors were lacking in crunch time of tight games, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports. Through 11 games in Toronto, Gay is averaging 20.1 points per game, many of which, Casey says, are coming when it matters most. Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that Gay has been a "great fit" since coming over in the deal from Memphis.
- In a separate report, Amico adds that the Raptors will trade Andrea Bargnani in the offseason unless they absolutely cannot find a taker for the two years and $23MM remaining on his deal. Amico hears that the Sixers are very interested, and lists the Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs, Bucks, Jazz, Hawks, Suns and Blazers as other potential destinations.
- Following Doug Collins' rant last night, sources tell Ric Bucher that should Collins resign or be let go, Sixers assistant Michael Curry will not only take over, but be considered a legitimate candidate to coach the team for the long term. Curry was last a head coach in Detroit, where he was fired in June of 2009 after a one-year 39-43 stint with the Pistons.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Oden, Greene, Kings
The news of the night so far in the NBA is that Pacers' Roy Hibbert and Warriors' David Lee have each been suspended one game without pay for their roles in last night's skirmish (Twitter links from Yahoo's Marc Spears). In addition, Lance Stephenson, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were each fined $35,000 for "escalating the altercation." Hibbert already told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he will pay Stephenson's fine for being a good teammate, tweets Wells.
Lee will serve his suspension tonight, as the Warriors visit in the Knicks in one of 10 games on tonight's schedule. Mark Jackson, back in Madison Square Garden as head coach of the Warriors, has already expressed his displeasure with the league's decision, tweets Adam Zagoria of NBA.com. Here are some other odds and ends from around the league:
- Chad Ford of ESPN released his latest draft blog, available to insiders only and complete with an updated top 30. Ben McLemore of Kansas tops his big board but as Ford asserts, this year's top 10 promises to be as ever-changing as any in recent memory.
- Greg Oden will not decide on his next team until July, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports. This agrees with last week's report from Marc Spears of Yahoo that Oden won't sign until the offseason, though it sounds like this came directly from Oden's agent, Mike Conley. Amico writes that Oden came close to signing with the Cavaliers earlier this month, but an agreement couldn't be reached. Conley believes that once Oden works his way into game shape, he will again have All Star potential.
- Free agent forward Donte Greene, now healthy after fracturing his ankle in August, will work out for teams at Eastern Michigan University on Sunday, tweets Marc Spears of Yahoo. Spears reported last week that the Nets, Pacers, Hornets, Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, Magic, Rockets, and Cavaliers have all checked in on Greene, who played the last four seasons in Sacramento. Citing a league source, Nets Daily has reported the Nets are not currently interested in filling their open roster spot by adding Greene.
- As was rumored yesterday, it appears that Kings minority owner John Kehriotis does in fact intend to submit a "back-up offer" to the Maloofs to buy the Kings, reports Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. Kehriotis apparently has the capital to match the offer from the Seattle group and believes he has the legal right to counter their attempt to buy the team, according to the report.
- Meanwhile, the Sacramento city council voted on Tuesday night to approve the request made by city officials to begin negotiations over the financing of a new arena, reports Bizjak. These negotiations are a crucial element to Sacramento's bid to keep the Kings.
Odds & Ends: Garnett, Rose, Knicks, Blazers
Kevin Garnett made some cryptic comments after the Celtics win on Wednesday night, stating that this weekend's festivities will be his last All-Star game, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Garnett signed a three-year extension with Boston in the offseason, so this statement obviously prompted confusion and resulting questions from media (via Chris Forsberg on ESPN.com):
"Y'all don't know what I know," Garnett said. "So, let's put it like this: I'm more than grateful for going, but I'm not going to act like I've got more All-Star Games in me, so I'm actually going to enjoy this one with some friends and family."
Garnett could obviously be implying that he will decline future All-Star invites, but given his tendency for hinting at walking away from the game, this is something worth following. Here are some other things going on around the league:
- With his knee still bothering him, Derrick Rose told reporters that he "won't mind missing this year" if he isn't ready, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. This was the first time Rose spoke to the media since the start of the regular season, making this a surprising revelation. Rose was originally thought to be aiming for a post All-Star break return, but that sure seems like a long shot at this point. Based on Rose's words, it is clear that he intends to come back on his terms and will only do so when he is entirely healthy.
- If the Knicks are truly inquiring on Luke Ridnour, sharpshooter Steve Novak may be the only piece they can move to get it done, writes Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops. Novak, recently relegated to more of a reserve role, makes $4.05MM — a number that matches up nicely against Ridnour's $4MM for this year and $4.3MM for next. Sheridan writes that Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni aren't real options to play meaningful minutes at the point. Sheridan considers Will Bynum of the Pistons to be the best fit for the Knicks.
- Even if no high profile players are dealt by next week's deadline, look no further than last year to see how much a mid-level trade can make an impact on a franchise. The Blazers trade of Gerald Wallace to the Nets — while it didn't alter the landscape of the league a bit last year — resulted in the acquisition of Damian Lillard via the NBA Draft, and the subsequent expediting of the Blazers rebuilding process, says Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge.
- Asked about the Lakers personnel, Hall of Fame basketball writer Mark Heisler, now of Sheridan Hoops, says via video that the Lakers won't be moving Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol or Kobe Bryant this year. Looking to the future, Hesiler says the team's No. 1 priority is to lock up Howard because, quite simply, he is "the only young player they have who's any good."
Dallas Notes: Cuban, Nowitzki, Jennings
It is pretty clear by now that the constant stream of Mavericks' rumors will not stop until the team makes good on their plan to utilize their cap room to bring in at least one superstar. Until then, we will continue to track everything Mavs here:
- Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com asked Mark Cuban for a comment on the trade rumors swirling around his Mavericks (Twitter link). "If you read about it, it ain't happening, because we don't talk," the Mavs owner said.
- Meanwhile – with regard to the aforementioned quote – fans should be cautious believing Cuban at times like this, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. MacMahon references the Mavs' separate acquisitions of Jason Kidd and Caron Butler as instances when the rumors turned out to be true despite Cuban's best attempts to conceal the team's plans.
- Dirk Nowitzki sat down with Zach Lowe of Grantland on Monday, speaking intelligently about the NBA's collective bargaining agreement and the resulting luxury tax implications (and much more). Nowitzki says he supported Cuban's decision to break up their title team last year, comparing the departure of Tyson Chandler to that of Steve Nash in 2004.
- Answering questions from readers, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News says the Mavs making a move for Brandon Jennings is a "no-brainer" if they think they can keep him. While Jennings is a clear upgrade over Darren Collison, all indications out of Dallas are that Cuban and company are saving their money for elite, cornerstone-type players. While he still is young, I am not sure Jennings fits that criteria.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Sixers, Noel, Exceptions
As we've seen, the Josh Smith rumors have been frequent and plentiful. While Smith is aware of the buzz, the veteran forward seems unaffected, reports Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld via a series of tweets. Per Kyler, Smith has asked his family to refrain from bringing up media reports to him since he attempts to block that stuff out. While he is flattered to hear how many teams are interested, Smith's mind is on the present and he says the Hawks have yet to discuss the situation with him. While it certainly looks like there is a solid chance he will be traded, Smith reminds us that his name has been mentioned in rumors before to no avail. (Kyler tweets are listed here)
Smith's Hawks are in Orlando tonight – one of 12 games on the NBA schedule on Wednesday. Let's round up all the odds and ends from around the league here for the night:
- The Sixers are not interested in trading Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner for Josh Smith, tweets the Philadelphia Inquirer's John Mitchell, citing two league sources. Philly has reportedly been dangling that duo and may be considered sleepers in the Smith sweepstakes.
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times tweets that he keeps hearing Smith will end up as a member of the Celtics.
- In light of the news that Nerlens Noel suffered a torn ACL on Tuesday, Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld drops the Kentucky freshman to No. 4 in his mock draft. Similar to what we heard from Jeff Goodman earlier, Koutroupis suspects that Noel will remain in this year's draft despite the injury, referencing the strength of next year's field. To me, since Noel will likely miss a sizeable chunk of next year with the Wildcats if he were to stay in school, it makes more sense to leave and rehabilitate his knee under NBA trainers if he can go anywhere in the top 10.
- Several general managers still consider Noel a top-5 pick, while one has him slipping to between 10-12 if he comes out, tweets SI's Chris Mannix. Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader, quoting Draft Express' Jonathan Givony, writes that the prevailing wisdom is that Noel is still a lock for the top-5. Givony believes Noel could still go No. 1 overall. Roberts adds that young NBA players that have suffered similar injuries have not had long term effects.
- In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Bradford Doolittle points to the Nuggets ($13MM), Magic ($17.8MM), Grizzlies ($7.5MM) and Bulls ($5MM) as teams with Traded Player Exceptions worth $5MM or more. The Nuggets may just have the urgency (their exception expires March 15) and the ability (it's large enough to acquire a significant piece) to make utilizing their exception worth it, Doolittle says. While Memphis is likely to use their modest exception, Orlando and Chicago will likely refrain.
Poll: Do You Believe Brandon Jennings?
So within the same day, we have a report from ESPN's Chad Ford that Brandon Jennings wants out of Milwaukee and, six hours later, a report from ESPN's Chris Broussard citing texts from the Bucks point guard that deny he hopes to be traded. Which is it? Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel caught up with Jennings at his locker before tonight's game against Philadelphia.
"As long as I'm in a Bucks uniform, I'm going to play every night for the Bucks. I'm trying to get out of this shooting slump that I'm in. Every player goes through it," Jennings said, adding the following:
"Just because I got a new agent, that doesn't mean I'm trying to leave Milwaukee or I'm unhappy. That has nothing to do with it. It was just a time for a change and it was a decision me and my family made. So all these stories coming out about me not wanting to be here and this and that, I never said that. That never came out of my mouth. If anything, I've always said I love Milwaukee."
There are clearly several possibilities here. Jennings could be genuinely upset about the Ford report because he loves Milwaukee and wants to stay. On the other side, the Ford report could be right on and Jennings is refuting it in order to save face with the Bucks fans that have supported him for more than three years now. Or, in what is probably the most likely scenario, the truth is somewhere in between and Jennings has enjoyed his time in Milwaukee and will consider staying, but is definitely also eyeing greener (and bigger) pastures.
What do you think? Feel free to accompany your vote with your opinion in the comments section.
Odds & Ends: Celts, Garnett, Gay, Wolves, Draft
Here are some additional odds and ends from around the Association late Tuesday night:
- Via CSN NE, Dan Shaughnessy and Gary Tanguay debate whether or not the Celtics should move Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett. Shaughnessy seems to think that, with this core's championship hopes all but dashed, the Celtics have no reason not to move one of their stars.
- CSN NE's A. Sherrod Blakely offers much of what we've already heard on Garnett within this story, adding that trade rumors hardly affect a team with the experience that the Celtics have. Armed with a no trade clause, Blakely says convincing Garnett to agree to a deal would be a "monumental task" for any team.
- Fortunate to have several friends on the Raptors — most notably Kyle Lowry — Rudy Gay will have the freedom to do more in Toronto than he's recently had in Memphis, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld.
- With Minnesota and San Antonio slated to play Wednesday, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that the Wolves — now with six international players on their roster — have followed in the Spurs' footsteps with regard to their personnel strategy.
- Chad Ford and Eamonn Brennan of ESPN debate which college point guard is the best pro prospect. While both concede that Michigan's Trey Burke is the nation's best point guard, the analysts project Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State and Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse as better fits for the pro game.
Poll: Will The Wolves Make A Trade?
The Timberwolves, who have now been without Kevin Love for more than a month, have lost 14 of 16 and are at risk of letting their season get away from them. With Love not expected back for at least another month, there is an increasing likelihood that Minnesota will be sellers come deadline time.
Per Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press, team president Davis Kahn was asked about his team's plans before Monday's loss to the Blazers, telling reporters, "We'll do something if it's in the interest of both the now and the future. We don't feel compelled to do something. But by the same token, we also don't feel that we can afford to just kind of sit it out. We have to really find out what's out there."
The Wolves are reportedly planning to reassess their situation after their current six-game homestand. Kahn has already predictably called Ricky Rubio and Love "untouchable," and has expressed interest in keeping Nikola Pekovic around long-term as well, despite the center drawing interest around the league.
With that considered, it sounds as if Kahn understands the risks of standing pat, the most notable of which being the failure to maximize return on the team's expendable assets. So what type of move will the Wolves make, if any?
NBPA Update: Bryant, Hunter, Fisher, Fehr
With only 10 days remaining until we find out the fate of Billy Hunter, let's check in on any updates from the NBPA with the latest information up top:
- Should Hunter be ousted come All-Star weekend, the NBPA will target B. Todd Jones, the current Minnesota attorney general and acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, reports Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski adds that the NBPA will use an executive search firm to coordinate the process.
Earlier updates:
- Kobe Bryant told Ken Berger of CBS Sports that most NBA players – including himself – need to get up to speed on the issues at hand before they can make an informed decision. "I'm pretty ignorant to what the issues are going to be when we show up, so I don't know," Bryant said on Tuesday. "I'm pretty sure most of the players are, so we'll have to educate ourselves. Will a vote come? Probably. We've just got to make sure we're educated enough to make the right the decision."
- Resigned to the reality that the owners will always have the leverage, Bryant added that he thought Hunter represented the players "as well as he possibly could." Bryant also seemed to think that this situation exemplifies why the league's stars need to be more active with regard to the union. "You always look at your marquee guys, right?" he said. "Back in the day you had Isiah [Thomas] there, you had Magic [Johnson] there, so you're looking at [Kevin] Durant, myself, Chris [Paul] and guys who are faces of the league. Even if you're not representing your team as far as a union standpoint goes, be a little more active."
- As Berger points out, Bryant's noncommital words regarding Hunter's performance come as a surprise given his relationship with NBPA President Derek Fisher, who initiated the review on Hunter. In response to rumors that he wanted Hunter's job, Fisher tweeted the following on Tuesday: "Heard rumors I'm angling for Executive Director. There are people out there better suited for that role than me. No thanks. Not interested."
- In a series of tweets, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal indicates reports that a replacement for Hunter has been agreed upon by "NBA power agents" are false (Twitter link). Additionally, Mullen has a comment from a source close to NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr regarding speculation that he will step into Hunter's position: "Don is very happy in his current role and has absolutely no plans to leave the NHLPA. In the future, should the basketball players seek his guidance due to his vast sports union experience there is little doubt Don would provide that, but he won't be leaving his position at the NHLPA." (Twitter links here).