And-Ones: Towns, Magic, Raptors
Karl-Anthony Towns has been able to contribute right away for the Wolves and he credits his experience playing for Kentucky for his ability to succeed, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes.
“It feels like I already played a full professional season having been at the University of Kentucky,” Towns told Brigham. “Put that with the amount of away games we had there and we were also never home, so I transitioned well into the NBA with the travel and everything. It just has come easier for me than for a lot of people.”
New additions Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince as well as Kevin Garnett, who came back to Minnesota via trade at last season’s deadline, have also helped Towns avoid a learning curve.
“When you talk about a mentor like KG, for me, [he] just teaches me a lot of the knowledge that he possesses,” Towns said. “That’s a lot more valuable than any of the shots that I might shoot in the gym. His experience, his talent, his ability to do things that so many people in this game have never figured out how to do, having him here to teach me those things is a blessing.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Magic are unlikely to seek out trades or make major changes this year, as they will use this season to figure out which players are long-term pieces, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes. Kyler examines the roster and believes the team is still one major piece away from becoming a real contender.
- Jonas Valanciunas will forgo surgery on his left hand and will instead opt for rehab, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports. The center fractured his hand during Friday’s win over the Lakers and he will miss an extended period of time, though no timeline for his return has been given.
- The Raptors have recalled Lucas Nogueira from the Raptors 905, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. The center played four games during his assignment, averaging 9.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
Central Notes: Noah, Varejao, D-League
Joakim Noah, who will be a free agent after the season, is struggling to find his rhythm and the center believes it’s because of a lack of scoring chances, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes.
“I just got to be more aggressive. I got to be more aggressive offensively and look for my opportunities. Right now, I’m just not really sure where I can get them, but when they come I have to be ready and I have to be ready to score,” Noah said.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Anderson Varejao hasn’t received the playing time that he is accustomed to seeing and the big man admits that it’s not an ideal situation, Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “It’s tough. It’s not easy,” Varejao said. “You never know how much you can do in practice because you never know if you’re going to play or not, but the main thing is stay ready.”
- The Cavs have recalled Joe Harris from the Canton Charge, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. Harris averaged 26.0 points and 9.0 rebounds during two games for the Charge.
- The Bulls have sent Cameron Bairstow to the D-League and the Bucks will do the same with Damien Inglis, according to Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link). Neither franchise has its own D-League affiliate and the affiliates to which they’ve been assigned have yet to be announced.
Warriors Notes: Barnes’ Free Agency, Going 16-0
The Warriors have the best record in the league at 14-0 and they will attempt to tie the record for most wins to start a season when they take on the Nuggets on Sunday. Breaking that record is something the team has its eye on, Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post writes.
“It’s a goal that’s right here and now and it’s something that we want to experience,” Stephen Curry said. “It’d be a huge accomplishment [to set the record for best start] because doing something that hasn’t been done in the history of the league is special. You never know if this opportunity will come back again. There are so many variables that go into winning this many in a row, especially at the start of the season.”
Coming off a 67 win campaign, it seemed like it would be difficult to improve. Yet, the team is looking even better this season and Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examines what the team did over the summer to remain successful and put itself in position to start the season with a record of 16-0.
Here are a few notes out of Golden State:
- Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News believes another team will present Harrison Barnes with an offer sheet that contains annual salaries of over $20MM and assuming the Warriors do not land Kevin Durant, they will match that kind of offer. Such a contract would make Barnes the highest paid player on the team.
- Barnes’ teammates are aware of the forward’s impending free agency and it impacts the team’s play, Darius Soriano of Forumblueandgold.com relays on Twitter. “It’s a contract year for him & we’re going…to try [and] get him as much as possible,” Andre Iguodala said.
Eastern Notes: Stoudemire, Pistons, Sixers
Amar’e Stoudemire believes converting to a reserve role, as he is doing for the Heat, is more challenging than being the focal point of the team, Ethan J Skolnick of The Miami Herald writes.
“Being a franchise player, you just keep getting better at basketball,” Stoudemire said. “Basketball is fun for you to play, you always want to play, you’re a gym rat, you enjoy doing it. So that’s easy. When you’re in this position, you have to put on a coaching hat, you have to train even harder to stay in shape when you’re not playing. Because when you’re playing, you get in shape that way.”
The 33-year-old signed a one-year , $1.5MM pact with Miami during the offseason. The veteran has only appeared in two games for the Heat and he has only played a total of 20 minutes in those contests.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Pistons have four point guards on the roster, but only two power forwards and David Mayo of Mlive.com believes there is a good chance that the team makes a trade before the deadline. Mayo also notes that Brandon Jennings and Steve Blake are both on expiring contracts, which could make it easier to move one of them.
- The Sixers‘ winless season is taking a toll on coach Brett Brown and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News wonders if Brown will be the coach when the team finally starts to compete again. Cooney also adds that he doesn’t believe management could fire Brown because they haven’t seen him coach with a full cast of NBA talent.
Western Notes: Waiters, Henderson, Pelicans
Dion Waiters is denying the report that he wants to play for his hometown Sixers, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman passes along.
“[Don’t] Believe everything y’all hear lol I guess this what the world coming to [shaking my head], especially if it didn’t come from me,” Waiters tweeted. “I [don’t] need or want the attention I never been that guy…I’m not worrying about money I’m chasing a championship with my bros…#ThunderUP.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Gerald Henderson is building chemistry with the Blazers and his team is embracing the veteran’s presence, Mike Richman of the Oregonian writes. “We understand his game. He likes to get those couple dribble pull ups, slight fade like Kobe,” teammate C.J. McCollum said. “So he’s going to be able to get those shots all day long, especially if he’s in the game with Dame or I because the amount of attention we’re going to get offensively. It’s going to open things up for him and he’s going to help us, make the game easier for us.” Henderson came to Portland in the Nicolas Batum trade this summer.
- The Pelicans don’t have much talent around Anthony Davis and one reason for that was the lack of return in the Chris Paul trade, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines (Twitter links). New Orleans netted Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al Farouq and Austin Rivers in that trade and only Gordon remains on the team. Although the original CP3 trade that was vetoed by former commissioner David Stern wasn’t much better, the Pelicans would have least added Goran Dragic, Bondy adds.
Knicks Notes: Anthony, Fisher, Grant
Carmelo Anthony is a fan of the team around him and despite a 4-6 record, he believes the Knicks‘ roster will stay intact, George Willis of the New York Post writes.
“Right now this is a group we could be seeing for a long time, at least this whole season and a couple of years after that,” Anthony. “This is something we can build on. We’re just talking about the first couple of weeks of an NBA season. Hopefully, when January comes along we’ll be sitting back and looking at these games and seeing how much better we’ve gotten.”
Here’s more from New York:
- Anthony has bought into the culture that president of basketball operations Phil Jackson has instilled, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “What we’ve seen is I think a willingness to kind of fit into what we’re trying to do,” coach Derek Fisher said. “[He’s] trying to give other guys space to operate out there.”
- The Knicks added scoring options this offseason, but the team is still relying too heavily on the offense of Anthony, Begley writes in a separate piece. “We’re trying to make sure that [Anthony] and the guys understand that just giving [Anthony] the ball and saying go make a shot, that’s not the way we’re going to win games in the fourth quarter,” Fisher said. “It has to be done through all five guys. And that goes both ways, and that’s not easy to do. Melo’s been asked to do that on a lot of teams that he’s played on. We’re asking everybody not to play that way, first through fourth quarter, but it’s just not easy to do.”
- Rookie guard Jerian Grant has struggled lately because teams have figured out how to defend him early in the season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. “It’s just called welcome to the NBA. People watch us play, the same way we watch them play,” Fisher said. “Some guys have made adjustments to how they’re defending him. He’ll learn how to still do what he does best in terms of getting penetration. Becoming a part of this league — and certainly sustaining it — allows you to embrace your weaknesses, the things you don’t do so well.”
Dion Waiters Wants To Be A Sixer?
12:53pm: Waiters took to Twitter to deny the report. More on that here.
10:15am: Dion Waiters, who is a Philadelphia native, wants to play for the Sixers next season, a source tells Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He wants to come home,” the source told Pompey. “Plus, he knows that he could be the missing shooting guard [they] need. And he could possibility get a max contract with the Sixers.”
The Thunder were open to an extension over the summer, but only if he would concede to a discount. Waiters turned down a team-friendly deal with the team and the sides agreed to table contract talks until July. Waiters’ camp hopes that the rise in the salary cap improves the market for the shooting guard, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported earlier this month.
Despite not reaching an extension, Thunder GM Sam Presti indicated that mutual interest in a long-term deal exists. “Dion has made it clear that he feels he has found a basketball home in Oklahoma City and is committed to being a part of the culture that exists, and the team sees him as someone who has his best basketball in front of him and has the potential to be a contributor for years to come with more time to develop in our program,” Presti said in a statement to the media after the extension deadline passed without a deal.
Waiters is gambling on having a strong season, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors speculated could be the case in his extension candidate piece. The guard is having a solid season thus far, averaging 11.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 26.1 minutes per game. He is also shooting 50% from 3-point range, albeit on only 22 attempts.
Waiters will be a restricted free agent after the season, meaning the Thunder can match any offer sheet that the guard receives. A contract approaching the max might be a stretch for Waiters, but if the Landmark Sports Agency client receives that type of offer sheet, the Thunder should pass on matching, although that’s just my speculation.
Heat Rumors: Andersen, Johnson, Deng
While Miami may have dreams of landing Kevin Durant or another marquee free agent, the team will likely have to use all of its resources just to keep the current roster intact, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel argues. Winderman believes Hassan Whiteside, who has been playing at an All-Star level so far this season, could command an annual salary of over $20MM. The team will also have to worry about a new contract for Dwyane Wade and possibly a new contract for Luol Deng, who will be a free agent at season’s end.
Here’s more from South Beach:
- The Heat would still like to move Chris Andersen to reduce their tax bill, but the team isn’t optimistic about finding a trade partner, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passes along.
- The emergence of Tyler Johnson played a key role in Miami trading Mario Chalmers and the team has faith that the 23-year-old can handle an added role, Ethan J. Skolnick of the Miami Herald writes. “He has emerged,” Dwyane Wade said. “We’ve all seen it. When we got into this season, we all looked at each other and said, this guy’s made a big jump. He’s going to be important to us.”
- While there may be value in moving Deng before the trade deadline, keeping the veteran is the right move due to key role he plays on the team, Winderman opines in a separate piece.
D-League Notes: Bulls, Hawks, Celtics, Sixers
GM Gar Forman said the Bulls haven’t used the D-League that frequently because they wanted the players “in our culture,” K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune passes along via Twitter. Earlier today, the Bulls formally announced that they will have their own D-League team starting in the 2016/17 season, so that concern will no longer be an issue.
Here’s more D-League news to pass along:
- Edy Tavares is headed to the D-League affiliate of the Spurs, the Hawks announced today, confirming Tuesday’s report from Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Atlanta was sending the rookie on assignment. The Hawks don’t have a D-League affiliate, so it wasn’t initially clear where he’d end up, though it’s no surprise to see him head to the Austin Spurs, given the ties between the Atlanta and San Antonio organizations.
- The Sixers sent point guards Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten to their D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, the team announced via press release. The duo aren’t expected to play in any D-League games, but they will work out with the team as they recover from their respective injuries, per John Finger of CSNPhilly.com. These are the first D-League assignments of the season for Philadelphia.
- The Celtics assigned James Young to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, and later recalled both him and Jordan Mickey, the team announced (Twitter links). Both players were sent to Maine to log more practice time. It was the third D-League assignment of the season for Young, and the second for Mickey, as our assignment and recall tracker shows.
- The Rockets have assigned swingman K.J. McDaniels to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the first D-League assignment of the 2015/16 season for both the player and team.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
Western Notes: Russell, Aldridge, Capela
Rookie D’Angelo Russell is obviously in the Lakers‘ long-term plans, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to take on a huge role just yet, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes.
“I’m not just going to put him out there to put him out there,” Coach Byron Scott said. “If I do that and he’s not prepared and he’s not learning, then I’m preparing him to fail. And I’m not going to do that. I think this kid is too valuable to us.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t going to get caught up in his decision to leave Portland when the Blazers host the Spurs tonight, Jason Quick of CSNNW passes along via Twitter. “I’m not going to get into all of that. What is done is done. I feel like both sides kind of have what they want. Now, I’m here,” Aldridge said.
- Clint Capela is proving he belongs in the NBA and Rockets GM Daryl Morey has high expectations for the big man, as he tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. “Sky’s the limit for him.” Morey said. “To do what he’s doing at 22 is amazing in the NBA against the talent in the league and to come from playing mostly in the D-League last season, to start a few games for us, and in games that we’ve won, is huge. His ability to protect the rim, run the floor, rebound — we really feel like he’s got a chance to be a high-level player.”
- Capela has seen some added playing time this season with Dwight Howard not playing in both games of back-to-backs and there is no urgency to change the game plan, Morey tells Watkins in the same piece. “It’s going to come down to the doctor’s advice,” Morey said. “He has not played back-to-back and he’s played at an extremely high level. So I think the doctors are looking at that and feeling like that’s the smartest course at this point. If he gets to no symptoms whatsoever and playing at a high level, I think they might mix him in at some point. For now and the foreseeable future, I think they want him to sit out back-to-backs.” Howard can hit free agency this summer if he elects to turn down his player option, which is worth slightly more than $23.28MM.