Sixers Notes: Holiday Brothers, Silas, Brown
The Sixers slipped below .500 with last night’s loss to the Pelicans, but somehow Philadelphia still leads a woeful Atlantic Division. The team’s 5-6 record is the sixth best in the Eastern Conference, so as we ponder whether the mediocrity of their opponents could allow the Sixers to remain in the playoff hunt all season, here’s the latest from Philly:
- Jrue Holiday doesn’t have hard feelings for his old Sixers teammates, but he told reporters Saturday that it took only a “couple minutes” for him to get over his trade to the Pelicans once he realized who his new teammates would be. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details.
- Holiday’s older brother is drawing interest from an Italian team. Vuelle Pesaro is eyeing Justin Holiday, though no deal is imminent, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Justin Holiday played for the Sixers last season and was in camp with the Jazz last month.
- Another shooting guard who had a cup of coffee with the Sixers is also in the mix overseas. Xavier Silas has signed with Maccabi Ashdod in Israel, tweets Sportando contributor David Pick. Silas played a pair of games for Philly at the end of the 2011/12 season and was in camp this fall with the Wizards.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown has brought the player development chops he honed as a Spurs assistant to Philadelphia, observes Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times.
Atlantic Rumors: Celtics, Woodson, Raptors
Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were a star trio for the Celtics well into their 30s, but Allen believes their longevity made it tough for the C’s to decide when to turn their focus toward the future, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe passes along amid his weekly roundup.
“The bad thing probably for the team was that we played so long. Being able to stay healthy and still be able to contribute and play at a high level,” Allen said. “The team at some point had to decide while we’re good and the players still have worth, we’ve got to try and still do something moving forward and build for our next 10 years.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks fans chanted “Fire Woodson” at Madison Square Garden last night, but coach Mike Woodson‘s job appears to be safe, says Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who nonetheless cautions that owner James Dolan’s decision-making is difficult to predict (Twitter links).
- Happy Walters, the agent for Iman Shumpert and Amar’e Stoudemire, took to Twitter on Saturday to give Woodson a vote of confidence (hat tip to Marc Berman of the New York Post). Walters called for an end to chatter about potential Shumpert trades and Stoudemire’s minutes restriction, and said the Knicks coach deserves some slack amid injuries to Tyson Chandler and others.
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star answers readers questions and writes that the pressure to take the hometown guy would more or less force the Raptors to draft Andrew Wiggins if he’s available when they’re picking.
Kris Humphries Would Welcome Trade
Kris Humphries isn’t asking the Celtics to trade him, but he’s anxious for more playing time, and would like it come whether it’s with Boston or another team, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The 28-year-old has only played in six of Boston’s 11 games so far, averaging 11.2 minutes per appearance.
“It’s been tough. I’m here so that’s what I’m focused on,” Humphries told Blakely. “I’m playing some 4 (power forward) now, which I think will help out a little bit. But nothing has ever been easy for me. I’e always had shorter-term deals, always had to prove myself.”
Humphries is in the final season of a two-year, $24MM contract he signed with the Nets in 2012, before Brooklyn traded him to the Celtics in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce deal. Rival executives had doubts that Humphries would be long for Boston even before this summer’s blockbuster became official, and Blakely heard soon after the deal went through that the C’s might look to flip Humphries to another team. There was mutual interest between Humphries and the Knicks in case the Celtics bought him out over the summer, but Boston never cut him loose.
The nine-year veteran spoke in October about the possibility that the Celtics might trade him, though the focus then was on how the threat of a deal might serve as a distraction. Humphries is still trying to put the idea of his future on the back burner, even though it appears he’s open to heading elsewhere.
“That’s why players have agents,” Humphries said. “We just have to as players, focus on what we can control. If you sit there and say, ‘hey I want a trade,’ it’s going to take away from the team and what you’re trying do to.”
Omer Asik Making Weekly Trade Requests
It’s no longer a matter of whether the Rockets will trade Omer Asik, but where they’ll deal him and what they’ll get back, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The center was a healthy scratch for last night’s game essentially because he’s upset over his removal from the Rockets starting lineup, and he’s been begging Houston to trade him nearly once a week since the team signed Dwight Howard, Stein reports. The Rockets have come to grips with the notion that their relationship with Asik is irrevocably damaged.
Rockets coaches and Asik’s teammates challenged him for his lack of engagement following the team’s decision to take him out of the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Sixers, as Stein reveals. He didn’t play at all the next night against the Knicks or last night versus the Nuggets, indicating that the 27-year-old didn’t take well to the challenge. Howard and Chandler Parsons told reporters yesterday that they recognize the situation is difficult for Asik.
“He had a great year last year and to bring in someone over him has to be a little frustrating,” Parsons said. “It is part of the business and you have to be a professional about it and come to work every day. He is on the Rockets, so he has to act like that and come to play and come to win.”
Rockets executives aren’t willing to let Asik go without significant return, and they like the idea of having another elite defender to back up Howard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, Stein writes. It’s unlikely the team finds a trade partner for the Andy Miller client before December 15th, when most players signed this past offseason become eligible to be traded. Still, more than 90% of Hoops Rumors readers believe Houston should send Asik elsewhere.
Latest On Lamar Odom, Clippers
8:53pm: Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLA.com tweets that Doc Rivers had a “good conversation, [but] not much more than that” with Odom.
1:36pm: Lamar Odom appeared on his way to rejoining the Clippers after meeting with the team Friday, but Dan Woike of the Orange County Register hears no deal is likely to happen anytime soon (Twitter link). The league will examine Odom’s personal problems before any signing would take place, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Last night’s reports didn’t indicate that an agreement was imminent, but it doesn’t look like there’s a definitive timetable, or that either the Clippers or Odom’s camp is speeding toward a resolution.
Executives who spoke to Turner believe the 34-year-old Odom could be physically ready to play basketball again “in a few weeks.” Perhaps of greater concern is Odom’s mental state after a summer that included a DUI charge and rumors of drug use, among other tabloid headlines. Odom’s meeting yesterday with Doc Rivers and Clippers executives was more of a check-up than a contract discussion, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Prior to that, the Clippers had made no recent contact with the power forward other than to make sure he was OK amid all the allegations against his personal character. The same had been true for the Lakers, the other team that reportedly maintains interest in Odom.
Odom nonetheless demonstrated to the executives who spoke to Turner that he’s in shape, having worked out on his own for the past month. The client of Jeff Schwartz and Excel Sports Management has been telling confidants that he’d like to sign with a contender, according to Turner, which would give the Clippers an edge over the Lakers.
Eastern Links: Cavs, Nets, Bobcats, Wallace
A 3-7 record is not what the Cavaliers had in mind for a season in which they’re facing owner Dan Gilbert’s mandate to make the playoffs, and the frustration is boiling up to the surface. Cavs players had a heated exchange during a players-only meeting Wednesday, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, and Dion Waiters was one of those involved, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets. It remains to be seen whether the discord will result in a roster move, but Cleveland will probably be a team to watch when the trade deadline approaches. Here’s more on a few teams the Cavs are trying to overcome in the East:
- The Nets have recalled Tornike Shengelia from the D-League, the team announced. Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Paul Pierce are all out for tonight’s game with the Clippers, so Brooklyn is likely making the move to shore up its depth.
- The Bobcats are hiring Matt Carroll for an apparent non-playing gig, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The Pennsylvania native had an informal coaching role with the Sixers in training camp, and now he’ll join the team with which he spent most of his 10 seasons as a player.
- Bonnell also checks in with one of Carroll’s former Bobcats teammates in Gerald Wallace, who’s no longer the player he once was, even though his contract with the Celtics pays him as though he were. Wallace played a key mentorship role for Gerald Henderson, who re-signed with the ‘Cats this summer on a three-year, $18MM deal.
Offseason In Review: Portland Trail Blazers
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
- Dorell Wright: Two years, $6.14MM. Signed via cap space.
- Mo Williams: Two years, $5.42MM. Signed via room exception. Second year is player option.
- Earl Watson: One year, $1.4MM. Signed via minimum salary exception.
Trades
- Acquired the No. 31 pick in the 2013 from the Cavaliers in exchange for a 2015 second-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick.
- Acquired cash from the Thunder in exchange for the No. 40 pick in 2013.
- Acquired Thomas Robinson from the Rockets in exchange for the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou, the rights to Marko Todorovic, the Timberwolves’ 2015 second-round pick, and a 2017 second-round pick.
- Acquired Robin Lopez and Terrel Harris from the Pelicans in exchange for the rights to Jeff Withey (to Pelicans), the Knicks’ 2016 second-round pick (31-37 protected, to Kings), and the rights to swap 2018 second-round picks (to Kings). Harris was subsequently waived.
Draft Picks
- C.J. McCollum (Round 1, 10th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
- Allen Crabbe (Round 2, 31st overall). Signed via cap space for three years, $2.63MM. Third year is non-guaranteed.
- Jeff Withey (Round 2, 39th overall). Rights traded to Pelicans.
- Marko Todorovic (Round 2, 45th overall). Rights traded to Rockets.
Camp Invitees
- Dee Bost
- Richard Howell
- E.J. Singler
Departing Players
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- Meyers Leonard (3rd year, $2.32MM): Exercised
- Damian Lillard (3rd year, $3.34MM): Exercised
- Thomas Robinson (3rd year, $3.68MM): Exercised
The summer of 2012 was about the arrival of star rookie Damian Lillard for the Blazers, while the headlines of 2013’s offseason were more about whether another star would stay. LaMarcus Aldridge gave conflicting statements to reporters about whether he asked GM Neil Olshey for a trade. The power forward entered the summer frustrated with the team after it finished its fourth straight season with a record worse than the one that preceded it. There were no shortage of potential suitors for Aldridge, who’s made the last two Western Conference All-Star teams, but Olshey wasn’t about to move him. Aldridge wants to play on a competitive team, but his remarks as camp began this fall indicated that he’s optimistic the Blazers can fit the bill after seeing the moves Olshey made in the offseason.
The Blazers again pounced on a team willing to give up a chance to strike gold with a young talent. Olshey had acquired the pick that turned into Lillard from the Nets at the 2012 trade deadline, and this summer he landed the player drafted immediately before Lillard, taking on Thomas Robinson from the Rockets in Houston’s rush to clear cap room for Dwight Howard. The price was a relative bargain for a player with such promise, with the draft rights to a pair of overseas players and two future second-round picks going to the Rockets in the swap. Robinson had a trying and tumultuous rookie campaign, having been traded from the Kings to Houston at the deadline, but it’s premature to assume he can’t produce. Robinson’s rate of 4.5 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game last season is an auspicious indicator, and if he develops, he may even be a capable replacement should Aldridge force a trade or bolt in free agency.
Robinson’s acquisition was part of Olshey’s retooling of last year’s subpar bench. The Blazers gave up 1.8 more points per 100 possessions than they scored with Lillard, Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and J.J. Hickson on the floor, per NBA.com. Portland surrendered 4.2 more points per 100 possessions overall, demonstrating that the reserves lagged far behind most other second units.
The Blazers used their lottery pick to help with backcourt depth, drafting combo guard C.J. McCollum, who’d drawn comparisons to Lillard. They brought in another player capable of playing both backcourt spots in veteran Mo Williams, who’s come in handy with McCollum out with a broken foot to begin the season. Olshey snagged Williams for about half of what I figured the Mark Bartelstein client would make when I examined his free agent stock in April. Williams had spent six of the previous seven seasons as a starter, and the 30-year-old even made an All-Star team as LeBron James‘ sidekick in Cleveland, so he’ll be the most significant weapon Portland brings off its revamped bench.
That’s in spite of having spent slightly more money to pry forward Dorell Wright from a handful of other free agent suitors. He led the NBA in both three-pointers attempted and made in 2010/11. A year later the Warriors felt they needed an upgrade at small forward, where he’d been the starter, so they traded him to the Sixers, who put him in a more fitting role as a bench piece. His 37.3% rate of success from behind the arc the past four seasons will help the Blazers, who finished 20th in the NBA in three-point accuracy in 2012/13.
Still, it wasn’t all about the bench for Portland this summer, as Olshey acquired a new starting center with a trade for Robin Lopez. The Blazers didn’t send anything other than second-rounders out in the deal, so the move amounted to an absorption of Lopez’s $5.9MM salary. Olshey used the largest chunk of the team’s roughly $15.5MM in cap flexibility to bring in a traditional 7’0″ center while allowing undersized J.J. Hickson to leave in free agency. Lopez isn’t nearly the rebounder that Hickson is, despite the three-inch height difference, but he’s better at rim protection, as Lopez blocked nearly three times as many shots per minute as Hickson did last season.
The offseason also entailed a purge of three former first-round picks whom Olshey inherited when he took the job. Nolan Smith, Elliot Williams and Luke Babbitt seemed destined to head elsewhere when Olshey declined to pick up their 2013/14 options in the fall of 2012, and while they managed to remain on Portland’s roster throughout last season, the team elected not to re-sign them. The league essentially validated Olshey’s decision not to wait any longer for them to develop, as none of the three made an NBA opening-night roster this season.
The Blazers are off to a hot start, and all appears well in Portland. Aldridge seems as upbeat as he’s been in at least four years, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets, and while the 28-year-old remains non-committal about his long-term future, there aren’t any alarm bells ringing. Aldridge is under contract for this year and next, and short of the unlikely prospect that he’ll consider an extension, it’s not yet time for the team and the Arn Tellem client to negotiate. Olshey has a window of this season and next to show that the team is headed in the right direction, and it looks like he’s well on his way to doing so. The real test will be in how the Blazers can craft not just a playoff team, but a squad capable of competing for a championship. Aldridge probably won’t be satisfied with losing in the first or second rounds of the playoffs, and neither should Olshey.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
California Rumors: Kobe, Pierce, KG, Warriors
It might be awhile before Lamar Odom is back on the court, though it sounds like he’s moving toward a reunion with the Clippers. A much bigger L.A. star is also making progress toward playing again, as we detail here:
- Kobe Bryant returned to practice today with the Lakers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, though there’s still no timetable for when he’ll make it into a game for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in April.
- Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett remain in regular contact with Clippers coach Doc Rivers, but at one point this summer the ex-Celtics figured they’d both be following their coach to L.A., as Pierce and Garnett tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Garnett and Pierce also expressed doubt that they would have been pleased to play in Boston without Rivers around.
- Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber have made strides in turning the franchise into a team that didn’t have to make a sales pitch to convince Andre Iguodala to come aboard this summer, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle examines. Lacob and Guber may face their stiffest test yet as they seek to build an arena in San Francisco.
- We covered more Lakers rumors earlier this morning in our roundup from the Pacific Division.
Odds & Ends: Jennings, Rondo, Shumpert
Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings admits basketball wasn’t his primary focus during the first four years of his career, but the free agent process this summer jolted him out of complacency, as he tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
“I just wanted a new start,” Jennings said. “Seeing a bunch of my teammates leave, Monta (Ellis), J.J. (Redick), Mike Dunleavy, everybody, the coaching staff I’d been around for four years, everything was different. I felt like they were going in a different direction and I felt like I had do the same.”
Jennings considered signing his one-year qualifying offer from the Bucks to get to unrestricted free agency in 2014, but Milwaukee’s hiring of an unfamiliar coach in Larry Drew dissuaded him from that idea, Jennings says. Still, at least one beat writer doesn’t see him as Detroit’s point guard of the future, as we detail in our league-wide roundup:
- MLive’s David Mayo answers reader questions and expresses confidence that the Celtics will continue to make Rajon Rondo available, and that Pistons president of basketball ops Joe Dumars will keep trying to trade for the All-Star point guard.
- Iman Shumpert didn’t answer a question Thursday about whether he wants to stay in New York, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes. Marc Berman of the New York Post suggests some possible landing spots for the Knicks swingman.
- Wherever Shumpert lands, it probably won’t be in Minnesota, since the Wolves aren’t in on any of the trade talks involving him, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities.
- Andre Iguodala started thinking about joining the Warriors even as he and his Nuggets teammates were facing Golden State in the playoffs last season, HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy writes. Iguodala fits the needs of the W’s even more than Dwight Howard would have, posits Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
- Nets GM Billy King is optimistic about his team and coach Jason Kidd in spite of Brooklyn’s slow start, as he reveals in a Q&A with USA Today’s Sam Amick.
Clippers Nearing Deal With Lamar Odom?
10:38pm: A source tells Stein that a deal doesn’t appear imminent, but that he’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen at some point. Odom has put in a month of encouraging workouts, speeding up his original plan to sign in the second half of the season (Twitter links).
9:36pm: Free agent Lamar Odom met for almost two hours with Doc Rivers and Clippers front office officials today after practice, leaving Clippers players with the impression that the team will sign him soon, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). The players were “shocked” to see him, and the 34-year-old looks like he’s in shape, Spears also tweets.
A report just yesterday indicated the Clippers, as well as the Lakers, maintain interest in the troubled power forward. ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne wrote then that neither team had made recent contract with Odom other than to check on his well-being, but that appears to have changed after today’s Clippers meeting. The ESPN report indicated that Odom would have to prove he’s healthy both mentally and physically before either team would sign him, and that he was eyeing a comeback in the second half of the season. That timetable may have been accelerated.
The Clippers have an open roster spot and have reportedly been considering multiple options for filling it. They’re about $2.4MM shy of their hard cap for the season, but Odom isn’t likely to merit more than a minimum-salary deal.
A source tells Spears that Odom’s presence at the Clippers facility today was indeed shocking, but added that it was “good surprise” (Twitter link). It appears Odom, who faced personal and legal troubles this summer, including a DUI charge and rumors of drug use, could be back on the right path. He returned to Los Angeles last season after a tumultuous year in Dallas in which the Mavericks told him to stay away from the team for the last several weeks of 2011/12. Odom has played 12 of his 14 seasons for one L.A. team or the other, and though the Knicks, from his native New York, reportedly had interest over the summer, Odom seems committed to staying in the City of Angels.