Western Notes: Rockets, Lakers, Clippers, Harden
When Hoops Rumors unveiled its predictions for this season, all of us picked either the Lakers, Thunder or Spurs to come out of the Western Conference, and tonight two of those teams clash as the Spurs look to down the Lakers and run their early-season record to 2-0 against other Western contenders. The Spurs were a conference-best 6-1 coming into tonight, their only blemish a loss to the Clippers, who would love to leapfrog their L.A. rivals into the contending group. Here's the latest on the Tinseltown rivalry and other items out of the West.
- Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald lays the blame for Royce White's latest absence on Rockets executives, tweeting that the team is led by "a bush league front office without a soul."
- The notion that Phil Jackson will wind up with the Clippers is a "conspiracy theory you can expect to now hear a zillion times this season," tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the rise of the Clippers played a role in the Lakers' decision to fire Mike Brown.
- Rockets owner Leslie Alexander hopes new star James Harden will attract others to Houston, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I know it helps," Alexander said. "Even in the brief time I’ve been around him, he always talks, I just spoke to that guy, I just spoke to that guy. He speaks to a lot of major players in the league. It’s a big plus. How big, you really don’t know.”
- Perry Jones III admits he isn't as comfortable now as he was in the preseason, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks isn't alarmed by the rookie's subpar performance in his limited regular season minutes, as The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry chronicles.
- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is "very pleased" with what he's seen out of recent signee Troy Murphy so far, observes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Odds & Ends: Bucks, Revenues, Colangelo, Rose
The Bucks sit atop the Central Division two weeks into the season, and with the Bulls missing Derrick Rose and the Pacers without Danny Granger, there's a chance they might stay in first place for a while. Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis can become free agents next summer, but they're off to a strong start in their first full season as teammates, observes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Nonetheless, Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group predicts Ellis won't be with the Bucks next year (Twitter link). While we wait to see how Milwaukee's situation plays out, there's news on Rose and others on a six-game night in the Association.
- Commissioner David Stern said the league is projecting it will rake in a record $5 billion of revenue this season, a 20% jump from 2010/11, the NBA's last full season, writes Ronald Blum of The Associated Press (via the Minneapolis Star Tribune).
- Jerry Colangelo has been re-elected as chairman of USA Basketball's board of directors through 2016, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Chauncey Billups will also join the board as an athlete representative.
- In the same piece, Zillgitt notes that Colangelo said there's no rush to name a coach to replace the outgoing Mike Krzyzewski.
- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau expects Rose to return at some point this season, writes Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reiterates a point he's made before, suggesting the Raptors ought to trade Andrea Bargnani to bolster a position of weakness.
- Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside passes along details on this season's D-League showcase, which is set to take place in early January 2013.
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker are playing like legitimate building blocks for the 3-3 Bobcats, as Jim Cavan of The New York Times chronicles.
Upcoming Guarantee Dates
Most players on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts have January 15th circled on their calendars. As long as they don't clear waivers before that day, their contracts become fully guaranteed. A handful of others without full guarantees are working on a different schedule, as negotiated with their teams. The contracts for the players below become fully guaranteed if they're not waived on or before the dates listed.
- Suns: P.J. Tucker1 ($762,195, partially guaranteed for $400K) — December 1st
- Bobcats: Cory Higgins ($762,195, fully non-guaranteed) — December 10th
- Wizards: Jannero Pargo2 ($1,229,295, partially guaranteed for $300K) — December 15th
- Bulls: Nate Robinson2 ($1,146,337, partially guaranteed for $400K) — January 1st
1— Tucker has already moved past one hurdle, as the size of his partial guarantee increased from $150K when he made the opening-night roster.
2— The Wizards and Bulls would only be obligated to pay $854,389, the amount equal to a third-year veteran's minimum, if they keep Pargo and Robinson, respectively, past their guarantee dates. The league would pay the rest since both are on one-year minimum-salary deals.
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Pacific Rumors: Nash, Bryant, D’Antoni, Bogut
Steve Nash said he's "thrilled, but definitely shocked" by Mike D'Antoni's hiring as Lakers coach, and expressed a level of disappointment about not getting to play for Phil Jackson, as Sam Amick of USA Today chronicles. "Well I mean, of course. In some ways, I thought it was Phil, and so I was geared up for that, and excited in a totally different respect because of his experience and success, and particularly here with this organization," Nash said. "That would have been a whole different circumstance that I would've been excited for as well. But I'm back with Mike and thrilled." We have plenty more on D'Antoni, his new team, and their Pacific Division rivals right here.
- Kobe Bryant expressed sentiments similar to Nash's, and said he and his teammates all believed Jackson would be the next coach, notes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- D'Antoni laid out the expectations for his team, telling Mason & Ireland of ESPNLA 710 radio, "If we're not at least in the hunt, a serious hunt, then I've failed as a head coach. I'm comfortable with that," as ESPNLA's Ramona Shelburne documents. D'Antoni also indicated he planned to reach out to Nate McMillan about joining his staff.
- Warriors center Andrew Bogut will be out longer than the team's original seven-to-10 day projection, and might not return before January, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. It's unlikely he'll return before December as he nurses his surgically repaired left ankle, Thompson says.
- Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms confirmed a meeting recently took place between him and a representative of an unnamed NBA team, writes Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. According to other reports, the representative was Kings co-owner George Maloof. The mayor said the team believes the area is a "good market."
Kupchak Addresses Lakers’ Coaching Choice
Amidst Lakers.com scribe Mike Trudell's transcript of GM Mitch Kupchak's comments about the Lakers' decision to hire Mike D'Antoni as coach instead of Phil Jackson, Lakers spokesman John Black revealed that if Jackson had made it clear he wanted the job on Saturday, "the process may have gone differently." Kupchak admitted it was difficult to turn Jackson down, since he was clearly the fans' choice. The GM had plenty more to say, as we recap here.
- When Jackson told Kupchak and Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss during their meeting Saturday that he'd get back to them on Monday about whether he wanted the job, Kupchak said he told Jackson he'd have to continue his search and interview other candidates. "He nodded that he understood," Kupchak said. "Maybe herein lies a little bit of the misunderstanding. As it was reported, we never offered a job, and he never indicated he would coach the team."
- Kupchak said the decision to hire D'Antoni "revolved almost completely around the personnel that we have on the team and the style of play we saw going forward for the team," and he and fellow Lakers executives had concerns about the ability of some of their players to learn the triangle in a timely fashion.
- Explaining his decision to wake up Jackson in the middle of the night with the news they were hiring D'Antoni, Kupchak said he felt it would have been the "worst thing to do" to wait until Monday to call.
- In Saturday's meeting, Kupchak, Buss and Jackson discussed the level of personnel input Jackson would have as coach, as well as "the rigors of travel in the NBA," according to Kupchak, who adds there was no talk of Jackson missing games and no conversation about salary.
- Kupchak said he was already familiar with D'Antoni before they shared lengthy conversations this weekend, and is convinced about D'Antoni's plan for the team. "We didn't feel with Mike Brown and the Princeton offense that we were getting the most out of the players we brought in this summer," Kupchak said. "We looked for a coach that could get the most out of the players we brought in this summer, and on top of that the existing players."
- Dwight Howard publicly expressed his backing for Jackson this weekend, but Kupchak said Howard's impending free agency played a "significant" role in the coaching hire. "We look at Dwight as a cornerstone for this franchise going forward," Kupchak said. "Right now, it's Kobe Bryant, and right there are Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, but the cornerstone for this franchise based on talent and age is Dwight Howard going forward. Certainly, a big part of getting the most out of Dwight was important in the search."
Lakers Coaching Rumors: Sunday
As the Lakers zero in on Phil Jackson to be their next coach, Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports that the Lakers are only focused on winning titles this season and next, and plan to make payroll cuts thereafter to curb luxury tax penalties. Here's the rest of what we're hearing, from Ding and others.
- Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that Lakers guard Steve Nash's first two choices for a new coach are Jackson and D'Antoni.
- David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets that D'Antoni is believed to be the Lakers' second choice should they not land Jackson, with Mike Dunleavy third on the list.
- The New York Daily News' Frank Isola believes Jackson's return to the Lakers is inevitable.
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Lakers have not contacted former Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan about the job opening.
- If the Lakers hire Jackson, he would likely make his debut Friday against the Suns, but could possibly coach the team Tuesday versus the Spurs, Ding reports.
- Jackson is expected to give the Lakers an answer about the job on Monday, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. "He's intrigued by the job but not completely sure it's the right thing to do," a source told Broussard.
- Jackson's deal would be for two years, and he would attend a limited number of road games, Broussard reports in the same piece.
- A representative for one of the top coaches on the market tells Broussard the Lakers would have to be especially accomodating to attract a coach other than Jackson given "the initial storm of disappointment" from fans.
- If hired, Mike D'Antoni wouldn't be available to coach for another 10 days to two weeks because of his knee replacement surgery, according to Broussard's report. The Lakers don't plan on meeting with D'Antoni in person after yesterday's phone interview.
- The Lakers confirmed on their website that Jackson met with executive Jim Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak yesterday, with another meeting scheduled for early next week, writes Greg Beacham of The Associated Press (via the Detroit News).
- Everyone at yesterday's meeting has the belief that Jackson is likely to return, report Howard Beck and Mark Heisler of The New York Times, who add Nate McMillan to the list of coaches the Lakers will interview as backup plans that includes D'Antoni and Mike Dunleavy.
- While we heard yesterday that Jackson would command an annual salary of more than $12MM, Beck and Heisler say it's likely he'll earn a bit less than that.
Odds & Ends: West, Allen, Garnett, Stiemsma
Reaction has been largely negative to FIBA's announcement of changes to the basketball World Cup. John Hollinger of ESPN.com characterizes the moves as a "money grab" that degrades the tournament (Twitter link). With qualifiers taking place in the middle of the season instead of during summer, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com believes Team USA may only have non-NBA pros at its disposal for those games (Twitter link). Tom Ziller of SB Nation tweets that Team USA could simply circumvent the qualifiers by winning the World Cup and Olympic gold every time, though that might prove a difficult standard to maintain. While we await more fallout on the international basketball scene, here's what's going on around NBA. circles.
- David West wants to remain with the Pacers after this year, but he acknowledges the team's other financial commitments could make that difficult, reports HoopsWorld's Lang Greene.
- Ray Allen was open to signing an extension with the Celtics during last season, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn also notes the $12MM final season of the three-year contract Kevin Garnett signed this summer is only guaranteed for $6MM, per ShamSports.
- Greg Stiemsma credits his work with Al Jefferson and Garnett for helping him establish his NBA career, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside runs down a list of seven-footers in D-League camps, while fellow Ridiculous Upside scribe Keith Schlosser observes that the Warriors affiliate is well-stocked with talent.
- Omer Asik is the primary reason for the strong defensive play of the Rockets so far this season, concludes Jason Friedman of Rockets.com.
- A source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that the "odds aren't great" that top 2013 draft prospect Shabazz Muhammad will play for UCLA anytime soon. The NCAA has declared Muhammad ineligible for an unspecified number of games.
Wolves May Reach Out To Pietrus, Howard
The Wolves are concerned about the health of Chase Budinger, who twisted his right knee in last night's loss to the Bulls, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. There's no word on how long he'll be out yet, but the team is continuing talks with agents for other players who might be brought in to replace him, according to Wolfson, who says the team will call on Mickael Pietrus and perhaps Josh Howard along with others should the need arise (Twitter link).
X-rays showed nothing out of the ordinary for Budinger, who is expected to undergo an MRI today, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Replacing him will be a challenge, Wolfson points out, since the team only has the minimum salary at its disposal. Wolfson called Pietrus a long shot for the Wolves a few days ago, given agent Bill McCandless' insistence in July that Pietrus won't sign for the minimum, but the Minnesota is apparently not giving up. Howard seems more likely to bite on a minimum offer, judging by his recent comments about his willingness to find NBA work.
The Wolves have been hit hard by injuries in the early going this year, with Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, J.J. Barea and Brandon Roy all missing time. Rookie Alexey Shved was the team's only healthy shooting guard last night against the Bulls, and coach Rick Adelman used 6'9" forward Andrei Kirilenko to guard Richard Hamilton for significant stretches.
Pacific Notes: Fredette, Kapono, Jackson, Brown
- Kings guard Jimmer Fredette says he "definitely" isn't asking to be traded, and team basketball president Geoff Petrie said he's still in the Kings' plans, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. "I'm torn up because this young man is doing everything he can and not able to get on the floor," coach Keith Smart said. "I've just got to look at it because his efficiency ratings are starting to move up when he's on the floor and he's been a positive. So I've got to try to get him on the floor more."
- Jason Kapono, who last saw NBA action with the Lakers in 2011/12, is discussing a deal with Greek club Panathinaikos for this year, the Greek website Sport-FM reports (translation via Sportando). Kapono could wind up replacing Hilton Armstrong, whom the team wants to release, according to the report.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post asserts that the Lakers would be better off with Phil Jackson coaching them, but they're too talented not to win the Western Conference no matter who the coach is.
- Mike Brown's shortcomings as coach of the Lakers were the same problems that hung over him when he was with the Cavs, observes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- Brown couldn't get the Lakers to buy into his message, but Jackson would command the team's attention, opines Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer lists the rise of the Clippers as one reason Brown is out of a job.
Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Celtics, Bynum, Sixers
The Lakers coaching search is dominating headlines, but the second most talked about story in the NBA right now might be the fast start of the Knicks, especially given New York's media clout. Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News goes over the many reasons the Knicks are enjoying success, and Marc Berman of the New York Post points to the team's defense, allowing a league-low 87.5 points per game. There's plenty more on the Knicks and their Atlantic Division this morning, as we round up here.
- The 4-0 Knicks are blessed with depth, but coach Mike Woodson won't tolerate anyone complaining about a lack of playing time, Berman observes. "I’m not going to deal with guys with bad egos," Woodson said. "If there’s a problem, they got to go. It’s been great so far and will continue to be great because the guys we have are true pros."
- Paul Flannery of SB Nation dissects the shortcomings of the 3-3 Celtics, concluding the defense of the team's undersized power forwards is the most significant problem.
- Sixers GM Tony DiLeo says Andrew Bynum's injury "could be a blessing in disguise" that prompts the rest of the team to up their games while the big man is out, as Flannery also writes.
- Jrue Holiday's extension was the first deal the Sixers made with the input of basketball analytics director Aaron Barzilai, notes John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who discusses Barzilai's role with DiLeo.
- After initially joining the team on a 10-day contract last season, Alan Anderson has settled into the Raptors rotation after spending six years in Europe, Israel and the D-League waiting for another chance in the NBA, recounts Melissa Couto of the Toronto Sun. Playing alongside idol Vince Carter in Toronto would complete Anderson's dream scenario, Couto writes. Carter left the door open to an eventual return in an interview this week.
- Though Nets GM Billy King is touting Gerald Wallace's ability to match up with LeBron James, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News hears the primary reasons the team acquired him from the Blazers last season were to compensate for the failure to land Dwight Howard and persuade Deron Williams to stay.