Doc Rivers Says Celtics Could Make Changes
After the Celtics lost their third straight in Detroit on Sunday night, Doc Rivers blasted his team's inconsistency and said that if they don't play better, changes are coming, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston. This recent slide comes on the heels of a six game win streak, but Rivers said on Sunday that he felt the Celtics played poorly in at least two of those six wins.
"I've got to either find the right combination, the right guys, or we’re going to get some guys out of here. It’s the bottom line. Because this group right now, they are not playing right. It’s in them to play right. But right now they haven't been — either because I’m not getting to them, or they are not getting to each other. But at the end of the day, either we've got to do that, or we've got to make changes," Rivers said.
As Forsberg points out in his game story, Rivers eased off his comments a bit towards the end of the press conference, saying he wasn't sure if the team needed changes. But the writing is definitely on the wall for the Celtics, who at 20-20, are capable of looking like a title contender or a lottery team depending on which version of the team shows up. Other than their core four, Boston's roster entered the season with a lot of new faces. Danny Ainge retooled their supporting cast and received high marks from pundits around the league. But nearly halfway through the season, it is clear that the team has yet to mesh.
Whether or not the Rivers and the Celtics can make it work – and finish strong as they did last year – should be one of the league's most interesting storylines heading towards the trade deadline.
Maloofs Reach Deal To Sell Kings To Seattle Group
11:25pm: The 65 percent stake in the franchise is made up of the Maloof's ownership in addition to one minority owner, clarifies Stein, further adding that the NBA is expected to approve in order "to end this saga." Even with all of these details coming in, it is worth noting that Sacramento mayor (and former NBAer) Kevin Johnson was told by David Stern last week that he could present a counter offer for the Kings directly to the league's Board of Governors.
Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee, per a Johnson advisor, tweets that the mayor's camp considered this deal "fairly expected." Jason Jones of the Bee tweeted a statement released by the mayor's office:
"Sacramento has proven that it is a strong NBA market with a fan base that year in and year out has demonstrated a commitment to the Kings by selling out 19 of 27 seasons in a Top 20 market and owning two of the longest sellout streaks in NBA history. When it comes to keeping the team in our community, Sacramento is playing to win. In particular, we have been focused like a laser on identifying an ownership group that will both have the financial resources desired by the NBA and the vision to make the Kings the NBA equivalent of what the Green Bay Packers have been in the NFL."
11:07pm: The $525MM is a valuation of the total franchise, tweets Wojnarowski, meaning that the Seattle group will pay approximately $340MM for their 65 percent stake. While it is far less than $800MM, the $525MM valuation is still significantly more than the $300MM Forbes figure listed below.
10:56pm: Now that the sale is finalized, the NBA's relocation committee will approve the franchise's move to Seattle for next season, tweets Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, calling the process from here a "formality." Wojnarowski adds that the plan has always been to reclaim the "Sonics" name upon returning to Seattle. The deal was struck over the weekend of January 5th-6th, reports Wojnarowski, and by then Kevin Johnson's attempt to halt the process was too late. ESPN's J.A. Adande confirms Stein's report and tweets that the Maloofs will retain a small piece of the team.
10:32pm: The Maloofs have reached an agreement to sell 65 percent of the Kings to a Seattle group led by Chris Hansen for $525MM, reports ESPN's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Stein also tweets that the deal still requires "formal NBA ratification," but should it go through, the Hansen group intends to file for relocation by the league's March 1 deadline. The figure reported by Stein implies the franchise is worth north of $800MM. About a year ago, Forbes valued the Kings at $300MM.
As for the remaining 35 percent of the franchise, Stein's sources tell him that no agreement has been reached and that portion of the ownership is made up of minority investors, which obviously does not include the Maloofs. However, Stein reports that the Maloofs will receive a non-refundable $30MM deposit from the Hansen group regardless of whether sale is approved. According to Tony Bizjak, a reporter from the Sacramento Bee, the Kings have declined to comment.
Odds & Ends: Vucevic, Kings, Rockets, Cavs
Here are some news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday evening:
- With his Magic hosting the Mavericks, Nikola Vucevic says that the career of fellow European Dirk Nowitzki inspired his game and his confidence as he developed his game as youngster, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. After being somewhat of a 76ers throw in in the Dwight Howard blockbuster, Vucevic has been a revelation in Orlando, averging 11.6 points and ranking third in the NBA in rebounding as a 22-year old.
- Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee puts the Kings move scenario into context by providing other similar examples from professional sports, including the 1994 instance where the NBA blocked the Minnesota Timberwolves from moving to New Orleans. As we have seen recently, it appears as if the NBA has sided with Kevin Johnson and the city of Sacramento over Seattle.
- Citing the team's abundance of youth, Daryl Morey says this trade deadline may very well be the first that goes by in his tenure as GM without the Rockets making a move, reports Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets. In addition to their youth, Morey understands that he must land another star to become a realistic contender – the type of star that doesn't appear to be available in the coming month.
- With the franchise committed to building through the draft, Byron Scott is not worried about the Cavaliers 10-32 start, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. Improved toughness and consistency, Scott says, will be the focus of the season's second half for his young team.
Heat Recall Dexter Pittman From D-League
Two days after being assigned to Sioux Falls Skyforce, Dexter Pittman has been recalled by the Heat, according to a team release. Pittman will be available for Miami's home game against the Raptors on Wednesday night.
Pittman was recalled to the Heat on January 17 for one game and was then re-assigned to the D-League. He was initially sent down on December 26 after nearly two months in the NBA. In 12 games for Sioux Falls, Pittman has averaged 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds and was named to the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase Second Team.
Southeast Notes: Seraphin, Hawks, Beal
The Bobcats were the only Southeast team in action tonight, getting torched by the Central-leading Pacers in Charlotte. Let's take a look at what else is going on in the division on Tuesday:
- According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst (via Twitter), Wizards big man Kevin Seraphin has changed agents, hiring Rich Paul. Seraphin, a former first round pick, is under contract in Washington at least this year and next before the team must decide whether to extend him a qualifying offer. He was formerly represented by Bouna Ndiaye.
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today offers his perspective on the job new general manager Danny Ferry has done with the Hawks. After clearing cap space by moving Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, much of the Hawks roster is currently playing on expiring deals. While that can be a tough spot for a coach to be in, Larry Drew has gotten his team off to a solid start despite a recent lull. The Hawks now have the financial flexibility to re-sign Josh Smith this summer as well as go after someone like Dwight Howard, Zillgitt writes.
- In a separate story for USA Today, Zillgitt concurs with much of what we heard yesterday with regard to Bradley Beal; essentially that the Wizards have no plans whatsoever of trading their rookie phenom for Rudy Gay or anyone else. On the contrary, Zillgitt writes that Beal is settling nicely into his role as the team's closer.
Central Links: Cavaliers, James, Pacers
The latest news and notes from around the Central Division on Tuesday night:
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines that even with all the recent LeBron James talk with regard to the summer of 2014, the Cavaliers must put a winner on the floor next year to prove to everyone they're not the perennial doormat they've been of late. We've heard the team will do nothing to jeopardize their 2014 financial flexibility, but Pluto warns against putting all their eggs in that basket.
- Meanwhile, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio writes that while the Cavs aren't remotely banking on James returning to Cleveland, there seems to be a lot of arrows pointing in that direction. Amico says, depending on the development of the pieces in Cleveland, it could be a perfect fit and based on what he hears from around the league, the animosity over "The Decision" won't be nearly as big an obstacle as one might think.
- Grantland's Zach Lowe breaks down the dominant Pacers defense, which he describes as "potentially historically great." However, Lowe says, no team as offensively challenged as Indiana has been this year has ever won the NBA title. The imminent return of Danny Granger should help, but to have a chance at dethroning the Heat, the Pacers will probably need other players, like Roy Hibbert, to step up without losing much on the defensive end of the floor.
Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Most Improved, George
With six games on the NBA docket tonight, let's round up any odds and ends from around the Association here:
- In HoopsWorld's NBA PM column, Alex Kennedy summarizes some of the trade chatter we've heard recently from the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Raptors, Rockets, Lakers, Magic and Jazz.
- Speaking of the Mavs, despite Mark Cuban's recent bold proclamations, Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas writes that it is business as usual in Dallas. While some of the Mavs players admit that swirling rumors can be a distraction, Rick Carlisle says it has always been the norm in his time under Cuban.
- In a Yahoo Sports video, Greg Anthony and Marc J. Spears discuss the leading candidates for the NBA's Most Improved Player award, specifically mentioning Paul George, James Harden, Greivis Vasquez, Nikola Vucevic and Jrue Holiday as the current contenders.
- In the New York Times' Off The Dribble blog, Jim Cavan writes that the Pacers have been one of the few teams that has arguably benefited from losing a superstar to injury this year, citing the emergence of Paul George as a franchise player in Danny Granger's absence as the reason.
Poll: What Should The Jazz Do?
Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote an interesting column today regarding the current state of the Utah Jazz. Despite having a roster filled with talented young pieces and valuable veterans, a variety of factors have the Jazz trapped in NBA mediocrity.
Most important, they simply aren't good enough as currently constructed and will likely be a fringe playoff team. Additionally, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are both unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. Utah has never been a traditional landing spot for big name free agents, nor has it had a great track record of keeping its best players (see Deron Williams). So what should the Jazz do?
The easy answer is to move Millsap and Jefferson this season for draft picks and/or young assets, especially when you consider that the team's best young players – Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter – play similar positions to them and would receive valuable bumps in playing time. That is essentially what they did with Williams. But compiling a team of 20-to-24 year olds, while it looks good on paper, is a risk in itself. For every Oklahoma City Thunder type result, there are teams that spend a decade in the lottery taking this approach.
Should Utah decide to make a run at a playoff spot, they could keep their big man duo and either attempt to re-sign one or both of them after the year or look to replace them with other free agents. But again, the Jazz have had limited success luring any free agents to Utah, much less impactful ones.
Every option comes with a certain level of uncertainty. So what would you do if you were running the Jazz? And please, feel free to expand on your selection in the comments section, especially if you selected "Other."
Southeast Links: Heat, Wade, Harkless, Vucevic
While none of the five teams that make up the Southeast division play on Thursday night, that doesn't mean things are quiet. Here are some links from around the division:
- Lost in a dominant two seasons plus has been the relative mediocrity of the Heat on the road, writes Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports. While it obviously hasn't significantly hindered their overall success, Miami's players and coaches alike seem to think it is something they need to improve on.
- Couper Moorhead breaks down the anatomy of a Dwyane Wade steal in a lengthy story on Heat.com. While his 1.2 steals-per-game average in 2012-13 is easily the lowest of his NBA career, Wade is normally one of the league's best ball thiefs.
- Two of the pieces the Magic got for Dwight Howard appear to be, in the short term, headed in opposite directions, according to a story from Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Rookie Maurice Harkless is frustrated as his playing time has been slashed with the return of Hedo Turkoglu. Meanwhile, Nik Vucevic is thriving in his second year, particularly from a rebounding standpoint. The USC product had 20 points and 29 rebounds on New Year's Eve against the Heat.
- While we heard earlier that ESPN's Marc Stein thinks DeMarcus Cousins would fit in Dallas, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that Cousins is "the wrong kind of personality" for what the Magic are building in Orlando.
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Cousins, Gordon, Duncan
ESPN's Marc Stein was on ESPN Radio in Dallas today to discuss all things Mavericks. The Dallas hosts made note of Stein's positive relationship with Dirk Nowitzki, and pressed him on the power forward's mindset six games into his return. Stein said that, amidst the team's 13-20 start, it will be hard to judge how Nowitzki feels about what has transpired in Dallas until after this offseason when, in theory, the Mavs still have the space and motivation to add a Dwight Howard should he or a player of similar stature be available. So while Dirk will play nice for now, Stein says the activity in Dallas will again be a big storyline this offseason.
Here are some additional Southwest Division notes from Stein and other writers around the league:
- Stein adds that a player like DeMarcus Cousins is an ideal target for the Mavericks, given the strength of their organization and pieces to go around him. With Chris Paul content in Los Angeles, Dwight Howard may be the only big chip in play. If the Mavs don't land Howard, Stein says they have to use their cap space by making a trade for a guy with a big contract or a "distressed asset" like Cousins. However, Dallas may not have the assets to land Cousins now, and therefore must hope he is still available come summertime.
- In the wake of Eric Gordon sitting out Wednesday night's game against Houston, John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Hornets fans should expect to see their team ease the shooting guard back in until he gets back into game shape. Head coach Monty Williams indicated that while Gordon is fully healthy, he has yet to display the physical shape necessary to withstand the grind of the NBA schedule.
- With the Spurs in New York, Jim Cavan of the New York Times takes a look at the season and career of Tim Duncan. Duncan sure makes an interesting contrast to the flash and dazzle of Madison Square Garden and the Knicks' big-name roster.