Pacific Rumors: Bledsoe, Hornacek, Warriors
The league has been full of unanticipated performances so far, but the Pacific Division standings come close to expectations. The Clippers and Warriors would be playoff teams if the season ended today, while the Suns, Lakers and Kings would miss out. Of course, Phoenix is 6-6 and just a game behind Golden State, so chaos isn’t far off. Here’s the latest:
- Suns coach Jeff Hornacek says Eric Bledsoe is “probably better than we anticipated,” and the team is surprised with Bledsoe’s ability to see the floor like a true point guard and transcend his reputation as merely a scorer, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
- Hornacek is drawing plaudits of his own from scouts and others around the league for his ability to motivate a team expected to finish near the bottom of the league, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe notes amid his weekly roundup.
- It didn’t take long for Andre Iguodala to fit in with the Warriors on and off the court, as David Lee tells HoopsWorld’s Jabari Davis, who looks back on the series of events that lifted the franchise from perennial lottery team to Western Conference contender.
- Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, Shawne Williams and Xavier Henry are all former top-20 draft picks who wound up on the scrap heap, and now they’re all making meaningful contributions to the Lakers, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times examines.
Odds & Ends: Gallinari, Rockets, Gortat
Significant injuries dominated Saturday’s NBA headlines, and the Nuggets got a mix of good news and bad about a key player who suffered an ACL injury last spring. Danilo Gallinari won’t be back by the end of this month, as he said he would be in September, and he remains “very far away” from returning to the Nuggets, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Gallinari nonetheless tells Dempsey that he isn’t likely to be out all season. Here’s more from around the Association:
- Continued strong play from Terrence Jones could make the Rockets feel more comfortable with targeting the best player regardless of position in an Omer Asik trade, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle observes (on Twitter).
- Marcin Gortat chats with SB Nation’s James Herbert about his adjustment to playing with the Wizards and looks back on his time with coach Stan Van Gundy, whom the center calls the “godfather” of his career. Gortat says he’d like to play for Van Gundy again.
- Even though the Sixers will probably head into next summer armed with a pair of lottery picks and plenty of cap space, fans shouldn’t expect a contending team, according to Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times, who warns that the rebuild will likely take longer than one year.
- Ray Allen criticized David West for prioritizing money over title contention when West spurned the Celtics to sign with the Pacers in 2011. Still, the power forward believed then that the Pacers had the greater long-term championship hopes, as West tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Poll: Will Bulls Ever Win Title With Rose On Max Deal?
It appears Derrick Rose will have two options for surgery on his right knee, and sources tell K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that Rose is likely to choose the one that will keep him out longer. That presents the strong possibility that the point guard could miss the rest of the season, a loss that would likely knock the Bulls out of title contention in 2013/14.
Part of the reason Rose might opt for the surgery that could keep him out this season would be its long-term benefits for his 25-year-old body, since the other procedure could compromise his ability on the court. Still, more than two years removed from the last season in which he played in more than 60% of his team’s games, it’s worth wondering if Rose can ever regain his MVP form.
There are rumors of a rift between coach Tom Thibodeau and Bulls management, while Rose and soon-to-be free agent Luol Deng apparently have their resentments toward the front office as well. Even before Rose’s latest injury, it was been “widely assumed” the Bulls would shake up their roster next summer, Johnson writes. Perhaps those changes will come about sooner if Rose is indeed ruled out for the year, as the Bulls could try to shed salary via trades and slip beneath the luxury tax threshold, though that’s just my speculation.
Still, there’s reason for optimism in Chicago. The Bulls have a first-round pick coming from the woe-begotten Bobcats, and they have the rights to heralded European prospect Nikola Mirotic. Jimmy Butler is coming off a breakout season and could be an emerging star on the wing. Butler nonetheless has a ways to go before he becomes the sort of player that Rose once was.
Title hopes in the NBA fall and rise with superstars, and Rose might not fit into the superstar category anymore. Regardless, he’ll be paid like one through 2017. His maximum-salary deal, a product of the collective bargaining agreement rule that goes by Rose’s own name, still has $77.9MM on it, including this season. As the Knicks are realizing with an injury-ravaged Amar’e Stoudemire, it’s hard to build a championship roster with such a large contract committed to someone who can’t live up to it.
Many picked the Bulls to win it all this year, but less than a month into the regular season, can you see this team winning a title at all while Rose’s current contract is on the books? Let us know, and feel free to elaborate on the issue in the comments.
Derrick Rose Injury Fallout
Second-team All-NBA center Marc Gasol seems destined to miss significant time with injury, but the primary concern around the league seems to be for Derrick Rose, whose worst-case scenario appears more dire than Gasol’s. It’s not another torn ACL as the Bulls feared, but the torn medial meniscus in the former MVP’s knee could have seismic consequences for Rose and his team. Here’s the latest:
- The specter of another lost season for Rose gives Tom Thibodeau less reason to remain as coach of the Bulls and put up with behind-the-scenes discord in Chicago, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Rose is among the players who support Thibodeau in his alleged feud with GM Gar Forman and others in Bulls management, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that the point guard and Luol Deng also harbor some hard feelings for the front office. Thibodeau is a fan of Deng’s, but the team’s braintrust places a higher priority on keeping Jimmy Butler around long-term, Woj says. For the record, Bulls vice president of basketball ops John Paxson denied any turmoil between the coach and management shortly after Wojnarowski wrote about it last month.
- If Rose has the meniscus repaired, he faces about six months of recovery, and while he could opt to remove the meniscus and come back in a matter of days, that could compromise his athleticism for the rest of his career, notes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Whichever choice he makes, Berger figures the Bulls will release a firm timetable rather than let questions linger about when he’ll return, as they did last season.
- Rose may never again be an MVP-caliber player, but the 25-year-old still has plenty left, opines Ian Thomsen of SI.com. A long absence for Rose would probably knock the Bulls out of title contention, but it wouldn’t keep them from the playoffs, Thomsen adds.
Western Notes: Gasol, Nowitzki, Armstrong
The Grizzlies aren’t releasing a timetable for the return of Marc Gasol, who’s out indefinitely with a sprained MCL in his left knee, as the team announced today. That hasn’t stopped reporters from speculating about how long Memphis will be without the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and the consensus seems to suggest he’ll miss at least six weeks. The injury is a blow to the Grizzlies, though there’s no talk of the team looking for reinforcements yet. This summer’s trade for Kosta Koufos, who started at center for the 57-win Nuggets last year, could be about to pay dividends. Here’s more from the West:
- Derrick Rose‘s diagnosis is the big injury news of the day, but Western stars, including Gasol, are being plagued with their share of physical ailments as well. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reports that James Harden of the Rockets is expected to miss at least the next two games with a foot injury, while the Warriors announced that Andre Iguodala is out indefinitely with a strained hamstring. I doubt either injury will result in a roster move.
- Jeff Caplan of NBA.com doesn’t put much stock in Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s revelation that Rockets GM Daryl Morey asked him this summer if he’d trade Dirk Nowitzki. The scribe notes that Cuban has vowed he’ll never trade the former MVP and that Nowitzki has said he plans to re-sign with Dallas next summer. About 70% of Hoops Rumors readers agree that the Mavs shouldn’t even think about trading their star.
- According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), the Santa Cruz Warriors announced that they’ve re-added former NBA veteran Hilton Armstrong to their roster. The big man played for Golden State’s D-League affiliate last season, so Santa Cruz still held his rights.
- We looked back at the offseasons for a pair of Western Conference teams today, covering the Kings and the Jazz. You can find all the Offseason in Review pieces we’ve done so far on this page.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Bulls Not Sure If Derrick Rose Will Miss Season
Derrick Rose will undergo surgery for a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, the Bulls announced, but it’s not clear whether the former MVP will miss the rest of the season. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets that until the surgery is complete, “it’s known” whether Rose will return, likely omitting the “not” as he typed. The team’s release states that Rose will be out indefinitely, though the Bulls are “bracing” for the prospect that Rose won’t be back this season, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
It’s not as severe as the torn ACL that Rose suffered in his left knee in April 2012. That injury knocked him out of the playoffs that season and forced him to miss all of 2012/13. This ailment is nonetheless a blow to a Bulls team that had designs on a title run this year, and it appears Rose will miss at least a significant portion of 2013/14.
Chicago is about $7.5MM above the luxury tax threshold after having paid the tax for the first time last season. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf is notoriously stingy, so it’s worth wondering if the team may look to unload a few contracts if surgery reveals Rose will miss the season. For the time being, it likely thrusts Kirk Hinrich, who’s on an expiring contract, into a starting role, and the injury could force the Bulls into a decision on second-year point guard Marquis Teague, who emerged as a trade candidate during camp.
Offseason In Review: Sacramento Kings
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Carl Landry: Four years, $26MM. Signed via cap space.
- Hamady N’Diaye: One year, $884K. Signed via minimum salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
Extensions
Trades
- Acquired Greivis Vasquez from the Pelicans, along with the Knicks’ 2016 second-round pick (31-37 protected) from the Blazers and the rights to swap 2018 second-round picks with the Blazers, in exchange for Tyreke Evans (signed-and-traded to the Pelicans).
- Acquired Luc Mbah a Moute from the Bucks in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick (more favorable of Pelicans’ and Kings’ picks) and the right to swap 2019 second-round picks.
Draft Picks
- Ben McLemore (Round 1, 7th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
- Ray McCallum (Round 2, 36th overall). Signed via cap space for three years, $2.29MM. Third year is non-guaranteed.
Camp Invitees
- Brandon Heath
- DeQuan Jones
- Trent Lockett
Departing Players
- Cole Aldrich
- Toney Douglas
- Tyreke Evans
- James Johnson
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- Jimmer Fredette (4th year, $3.11MM): Declined
There isn’t much the Kings could have done this summer to turn off their fans. All that mattered to many in Sacramento was that the Kings weren’t headed to Seattle. The battle to keep the team in town had drawn more headlines than the team’s uninspiring play, and just as it seemed the team was gone, a new ownership group emerged and won NBA approval over the Seattle investors who’d already struck a deal with the Maloof family. New principal owner Vivek Ranadive quickly made his mark, installing Michael Malone as the new coach even before he replaced longtime GM Geoff Petrie with then-Nuggets executive Pete D’Alessandro. It was odd to see the team hire a coach a couple of weeks before bringing a new GM aboard, but it spared D’Alessandro one task among the many he has as he reshapes the roster.
The first decision D’Alessandro made might have been the easiest, as one of the presumptive top six picks in the draft fell to the Kings at No. 7. Ben McLemore is truly a shooting guard, as witnessed by his 42% accuracy from behind the arc during his lone season at Kansas. Outside shooting wasn’t really a need for a team that finished 11th in both three-point accuracy and three-pointers made last season, but there was no reason for the Kings, who won just 28 games in 2012/13, to pass up the most capable player remaining on the board. He averaged 5.2 rebounds per game at Kansas in spite of his 6’5″ frame, and that will come in handy for the Kings, who were 25th in total rebounds last season.
McLemore’s arrival didn’t bode well for the return of incumbent shooting guard Tyreke Evans, and indeed the fourth pick from 2009 wasn’t long for Sacramento. D’Alessandro sent Evans to New Orleans as part of a three-way deal that netted point guard Greivis Vasquez. The Pelicans had extended an offer sheet to Evans while the Kings made a lucrative play for Andre Iguodala, who was hesitant to sign with a non-contender before D’Alessandro hastily withdrew the team’s offer to the ex-Nugget. That seemed at the time to be a signal that the Kings were preparing to match the Pelicans’ offer to Evans, but instead D’Alessandro used a small portion of the cap space that would have gone to Iguodala to absorb Vasquez’s rookie contract. That left plenty of money to go after other targets.
Ranadive and Malone were both involved with the Warriors last season, and the Kings took on an even stronger Golden State feel when they poached free agent Carl Landry from their Northern California rivals. The Kings exercised their superior financial flexibility to outbid the Clippers, who were also in pursuit, and give the power forward more than the Warriors could. I’m not sure any other teams would have spent quite as freely to land the 30-year-old even if they had the means. Landry will see a guaranteed $6.5MM each season through 2016/17, quite a commitment for a player who’s never been a full-time starter or a serious contender for Sixth Man of the Year.
By contrast, Luc Mbah a Moute spent most of the last five seasons as the starter at small forward for the Bucks. He’s on a contract that owes him slightly less than $9MM for this season and next, but Milwaukee was willing to give him up for just a pair of second-round picks. The five-year veteran isn’t seeing heavy minutes to start the season, but Mbah a Moute and his 7’1″ wingspan could provide the team with a relatively inexpensive way to improve its ability to stop opposing teams. The Kings gave up 108.6 points per 100 possessions last season, the 29th worst mark in the league.
The Kings were even worse when DeMarcus Cousins was on the floor, per NBA.com. That didn’t stop the team from going all-in with the hot-tempered former fifth overall pick, giving him a four-year, maximum-salary extension a month before the October 31st deadline to do so. D’Alessandro and company were willing to go even farther and give Cousins a fifth year on the deal, which would have made him the team’s designated player, but the 6’11” center preferred the shorter arrangement. Cousins has plenty of talent, as his scoring (17.1) and rebounding (9.9) averages last season attest, but the Kings are gambling that he can improve defensively and achieve the sort of dominance at his position that would make him the centerpiece of any contender. He’s shown glimpses of his capability of attaining that status, and while that alone makes him a commodity, there are plenty of doubts about whether he has the focus and drive necessary to fulfill his promise. There’s at least one executive from a rival team who believes the Kings might look to trade Cousins if he doesn’t show progress this season, but the decision to give him a max contract will likely be the defining move for the Kings’ new regime for years to come.
The Cousins deal overshadowed extension talks with Vasquez, who finished third in the league in assists per game as part of a breakthrough performance last season. The Kings looked past the defensive shortcomings of Cousins, but Vasquez’s inability to stop opponents surely played a role in the team’s decision not to extend the point guard’s deal. The 26-year-old also turned the ball over plenty last season, and it seemed that the Kings weren’t convinced that he’s the sort of top-flight point guard that last year’s assist numbers suggest, since he had to battle Isaiah Thomas in preseason for a starting job. Still, the team reportedly plans to match any offers he gets in restricted free agency next summer, so perhaps D’Alessandro simply didn’t want to bid against himself.
The Kings, unlike every other team in the NBA except the Wizards, had a third player eligible for a rookie scale extension, and while there were talks with Patrick Patterson, D’Alessandro passed on a deal with him, too. Yet the most galvanizing choice the Kings front office made at the Halloween deadline was turning down Jimmer Fredette‘s 2014/15 option, which will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. D’Alessandro called it an “agonizing” decision, but the former BYU sharpshooter has yet to give the NBA a taste of the scoring touch that made him a star in college and convinced Petrie to use the 10th overall pick on him in 2011. Fredette draws frequent mention as a trade candidate, and the ability to offer him to other teams as an expiring contract probably played into D’Alessandro’s decision not to pick up the option.
A trade of some sort appears to be on the horizon for Sacramento, whether it involves Fredette or someone else, since the team has reportedly advanced past preliminary talks with multiple other clubs. The Kings are aggressively seeking young prospects and draft picks in exchange for their veterans, and the front office wants to do a deal well in advance of the trade deadline in February. D’Alessandro knows he doesn’t have a finished product, and he probably won’t even after his next move. The jubilation over the team remaining in Sacramento won’t last forever, and the Kings face a long climb after years of losing and failed lottery picks. D’Alessandro has made Cousins the face of the franchise, proverbial warts and all, but fans might not recognize the rest of the team before too long.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
International Rumors: Cook, Landry, Johnson
It’s been an active day on the international market, and for Chinese teams in particular. China has been a hub for players fresh off NBA rosters of late, and there’s news linking the country’s Chinese Basketball Association to three more NBA veterans, while a fourth appears to be headed elsewhere. Here’s the latest:
- Six-year NBA veteran Daequan Cook has agreed to play for Budivelnyk Kyiv, a Ukrainian club, as Basket.com.ua reports (translation via Sportando). BDA Sports Management handles Cook’s representation, as our Agency Database shows.
- Lakers training camp casualty Marcus Landry is a primary target for the Shanghai Sharks of China, who are seeking a replacement for the injured Von Wafer, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 28-year-old Landry is the younger brother of Kings power forward Carl Landry.
- Former Timberwolves center Chris Johnson has signed a one-year contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in China, as Shams Charania of RealGM.com confirms. Sportando contributor David Pick first reported the deal was in the works (via Twitter). Johnson had a guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Timberwolves, who nonetheless cut him at the end of camp. Depending on how much money the Eric Fleisher client’s new contract is worth, it could trigger set-off rights that would allow Minnesota to pay slightly less than the $916K they owe him. Multiple teams from overseas appear to have been interested in the 6’11” center from LSU, as Charania writes that he was “scouring offers” on the international market.
- D.J. White has officially signed with China’s Sichuan Blue Whales, Sportando reports (on Twitter). Stein reported earlier this week that the Blue Whales and the Jeff Wechsler client had agreed to the deal. The Bulls cut White at the end of the preseason.
Blazers Have Engaged Rockets About Omer Asik
The Blazers have been talking to the Rockets about acquiring Omer Asik, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, who passes along the news amid his league roundup. Portland’s lack of an outside-shooting power forward, the sort of asset the Rockets are seeking, is a stumbling block, according to Lawrence.
Blazers management is cognizant that much of the team’s 11-2 start has been accomplished against a relatively easy schedule so far, prompting them to seek improvements to the roster. Lawrence speculates that Portland could give up Robin Lopez, and his cap hit, though more than $2MM less than Asik’s, is close enough to accommodate a one-for-one swap. There’s no indication Lopez is a part of the talks, however.
Asik is one of the league’s primary trade candidates, and has reportedly made weekly trade requests since the Rockets acquired Dwight Howard in the summer. Still, the Rockets appear to be in the early stages of sorting through trade possibilities for their backup center.
One team that apparently won’t be in the mix for Asik is the Bulls, as Lawrence writes that owner Jerry Reinsdorf is “dead set against” bringing the 27-year-old back to Chicago, since doing so would likely push the team further into luxury tax territory. The Bulls could probably find some sort of package, perhaps involving a third team, that would allow them to trade for Asik without taking on salary, but it sounds like no such deal is on the table.
Odds & Ends: Cunningham, Odom, Fisher
No one expected either the Suns or the Sixers to have half a dozen wins less than a month into the season, but both teams captured their sixth victories tonight. Stories about tanking have been few in the wake of their success, but there’s plenty other news to pass along:
- The Spurs and Lakers inquired with the Timberwolves about Dante Cunningham in the offseason, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who figures those teams will be after him again when he hits free agency next summer (Twitter link).
- Neither the Clippers nor Lamar Odom are rushing toward a deal, and after a few weeks both sides will probably have a better idea of whether he’ll join the team, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Derek Fisher re-signed with the Thunder for just the minimum salary, but he’s played an outsized role for the team so far, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry examines.
- Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com looks ahead to next summer for Jimmy Butler, who’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension. Sam speculates that the Bulls will offer Butler a deal for about $8MM a year, and the scribe registers a few more guesses about what other top wing players approaching free agency will see on their next contracts.
- The Mavericks made lots of changes to their roster in the offseason, and several newcomers are playing key roles in the team’s fast start. One of them is Jose Calderon, who discusses the smooth transition with HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy.
- The Wolves renounced their rights to former second-round picks Tanguy Ngombo and Loukas Mavrokefalidis, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links).