Northwest Notes: Afflalo, Blazers, Timberwolves
The Nuggets re-signed Arron Afflalo to a five-year, $43MM deal six days before the season began, and have since watched him lose a point off his scoring average (11.6 PPG this year) and turn the ball over a career-high 1.3 times a night. He's had a pair of his best performances of the season the last two times he stepped on the floor, lending credence to the idea that his unsettled contract situation and resulting lack of preparation time led to his poor early-season play, says Aaron J. Lopez of NBA.com.
Here's more from the Northwest Division:
- After hinting that lineup changes could be coming, Blazers coach Nate McMillan said he's sticking with his current starting five, reports Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Fellow Oregonian writer John Canzano suggests that, in the wake of Jeremy Lin's surprising play, McMillan should find more minutes for young, unproven talent like Nolan Smith and Elliot Williams.
- The Timberwolves, who have been starting Luke Ridnour, a point guard, at the two, are likely to acquire a true shooting guard via trade, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Nets Close To Signing Andre Emmett
The Nets are set to sign D-Leaguer Andre Emmett within the next few days, Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside reports. Emmett, a second-round pick by the Sonics in 2004, is averaging 23.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.4 APG for the Reno Bighorns. The 29-year-old's only NBA experience is eight games with the Grizzlies in 2004/05.
The Nets currently have the maximum 15 players on their roster, so someone would have to be released in order for Emmett to join the team. The move would run counter to a report three days ago that the Nets were not looking to sign anyone else despite a rash of injuries, including season-ending surgery for recent signee Keith Bogans. Shelden Williams, Sundiata Gaines and Bogans are all minimum-salary players whose contracts are up at the end of the year, making them the most likely candidates to go.
Atlantic Notes: Turner, Valanciunas, Lin
The Sixers, who once looked as though they might run away with the Atlantic Division title, shouldn't look behind them now. The Celtics have gone 10-3 since starting 5-9, and entered the night three and a half games back. The Knicks, infused with Jeremy Lin's mojo, have won five straight and are six games back. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is just 3-3 in its last six games. Here's what's going on as the race tightens:
- Behind the smiles surrounding the Sixers' fast start is the worry about getting worthwhile returns from the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. Evan Turner's minutes have been in decline. Coach Doug Collins says it's a result of other wing players performing well, and not a slump on Turner's part, reports Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Turner believes he's on the wrong end of supply and demand, saying, "There's a recession, baby. We're like the stock market with playing time."
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun details how Raptors coach Dwane Casey almost signed Lin for the Mavericks a couple of years ago when Casey, a former Dallas assistant, was running a summer league team.
- The fifth pick in the 2011 draft, Raptors pick Jonas Valanciunas, just scored some new hardware, notes Wolstat in the same report. He's FIBA Europe's Young Player of the Year, joining Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Jan Vesely, all of whom won the award in the past. Valanciunas recently met with Raptors GM Brian Colangelo for the first time since last summer as the two move closer to a deal to bring the 6-foot-11 center to Toronto next year.
Minor Moves: Selby, Ford, Sallie
The Grizzlies have assigned point guard Josh Selby, who has struggled to see playing time behind Mike Conley and Jeremy Pargo, to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, the team announced. Selby, a former Kansas Jayhawk, was selected 49th overall in the second round of the 2011 draft. He averaged 2.9 PPG and 1.4 APG with the Grizzlies this year.
Elsewhere around the fringes of professional basketball, where everyone dreams of becoming the next Jeremy Lin:
- Former Suns forward Sharrod Ford was part of a D-League trade Monday, heading to the Canton Charge in exchange for Frank Hassell, who goes to the Erie Bayhawks.
- Roburt Sallie, who played collegiately at Memphis, was cut by his Spanish team after a male-enhancement drug resulted in a positive test for doping. Sallie disputed the claims to Royce Young of CBS Sports, and says he chose to leave the team, and not the other way around.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday
Dwight Howard felt excluded from the offense in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game against the Bucks. That's prompted coach Stan Van Gundy to reiterate his confidence in the big man, saying, "I don't know if there's anything stopping him," as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Van Gundy also said there are plenty of players on the Magic who want the ball late in games, and that it's up to the coach to decide who gets it.
Here's the rest of what's happening around D12 and the Magic City:
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld spotted a Pacers scout in Orlando tonight, which is striking considering the Magic has already played the Pacers three times, and the teams don't meet again until March 11. The Pacers haven't been a part of Howard rumors so far, so they may be looking at other players in case the Magic want to make a separate move.
- If the Magic decide to trade Howard, the Nuggets and Jazz provide a blueprint of what to do when dealing away a superstar, while the Hornets demonstrate the opposite, writes Austin Link of ESPN Chicago.
Pacific Notes: Fisher, Bryant, Martin
The Lakers have been seeking a point guard in the trade market this season, as 37-year-old Derek Fisher, whose 5.2 PPG is his lowest since his rookie season, appears to be in decline. Fisher's role as head of the players union during the lockout has drained him, says Patrick Ewing, who went through the same experience in 1999, as Mitch Lawrence examines for the New York Daily News.
Here are a few more notes from the Pacific Division:
- The Kamenetzky brothers of ESPNLosAngeles.com wonder whether Kobe Bryant, who recently told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith he doesn't want to play at a diminished capacity, will retire when his contract ends in 2014.
- Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com notes, in the fifth item of this story, how recent free-agency signee Kenyon Martin is already getting comfortable with the Clippers.
Central Notes: Varejao, West, Pistons
Despite inquiries from a few teams, the Cavs insisted earlier this week they're not trying to trade Anderson Varejao, and a right wrist fracture reduces the chances of a deal even further. There's no official timetable, but Sam Amico of Fox Sports tweets that he'll be gone at least a week, and he could be out for longer, tweets Bob Finnan of The News-Herald of northern Ohio. Reed Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said he doubts the Cavs will sign anyone to replace Varejao while he's out. (Twitter link)
Here's what going on elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Free-agent signee David West enjoys playing with a post threat like Roy Hibbert and has been surprised by the Pacers' commitment to defense, he tells Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld in this video.
- Rookie Brandon Knight has fueled the transformation of the Pistons, who've won four straight, from a plodding pace to an up-tempo attack, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Latest On Jeremy Lin
It's safe to say the Knicks' acquisition of Jeremy Lin is the most successful waiver claim the NBA has seen in some time. Lin has scored 89 points in his first three NBA starts, the most for any player since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, as Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld points out. Statistician Nate Silver looks at the numbers to compare Lin to several players in a piece for The New York Times. Here are a few more notes on the second-year sensation:
- Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated wonders whether Mark Jackson did his due diligence in evaluating Lin before the Warriors let him go. (Twitter link)
- There's confusion over how much money Lin can make on his next contract. Salary cap guru Larry Coon said in a stream of tweets that he's not sure if Lin qualifies as an "Early Bird" free agent. Howard Beck of The New York times reported earlier that Lin does. If he does have Early Bird rights, the Knicks could re-sign him for up to 175% of his previous salary or th e average player salary, whichever is greater. There have also been reports that Lin will be limited to receiving the full mid-level exception. What is clear is that he will be a restricted free agent, meaning he can sign a deal with any team, but the Knicks would have three days to match the offer.
- Count Tyson Chandler as one who doesn't think Lin will soon fade back into obscurity. He believes Lin's performance is "not a fluke," as Tom Pedulla and Rachel Shuster of USA Today report. The story also notes how Lin believes the difference between his production in New York this year and Golden State last year is all about opportunity.
- Lin's popularity may force Time Warner cable, in a carriage battle with the MSG network, to put the channel that shows Knicks games back in the lineup, writes Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News.
Poll: When Will Dwight Howard Leave Orlando?
This week's Jeremy Lin mania aside, Dwight Howard's impending free agency has been the dominant storyline of the NBA season so far. The Nets, Lakers and Mavs are the leading contenders for his services, along with his current team, the Magic. The Magic are considering fulfilling his request to be traded this season so they can get assets back in return, but may be hesistant to do so before the All-Star game, which is on Feb. 26 in Orlando this year. That leaves about a two-week window before the March 15 trade deadline to get a deal done. If that doesn't happen, and the saga continues into the summer, Howard could invoke a player option of more than $19.5MM to stay with the Magic for one more season before committing anywhere for multiple seasons.
So, with so much attention surrounding where Howard will go, the question of when is just as relevant.
When Will Dwight Howard Leave Orlando?
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After the All-Star game, but before the March 15 trade deadline 54% (499)
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In the summer of 2012 30% (279)
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None of the above; Howard will re-sign and stay with the Magic for years to come 10% (90)
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Before the All-Star game 3% (27)
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In the summer of 2013 3% (24)
Total votes: 919
Odds & Ends: Jennings, Deng, Spurs
On this date last year, Jerry Sloan stepped down after 23 seasons as coach of the Jazz. Earlier today we passed along the news that at least six teams are trying to convince Sloan to come back to the bench. Here are some more tidbits from around the league today:
- Bucks GM John Hammond told Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he was caught off guard by what Brandon Jennings said about possibly leaving the team for a larger market. While Jennings is under team control until the summer of 2014, Ersan Ilyasova will be an unrestricted free-agent at the end of this season. There's a strong possibility Ilyasova, from Turkey, may favor a return to Europe, as HoopsWorld's Stephen Brotherston examines.
- Luol Deng's selection as an All-Star reserve vindicates the Bulls for hanging on to him amidst many trade rumors over the years, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- Manu Ginobili's return, set for Saturday against the Nets, creates a rotation puzzle for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to figure out, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
- When Tyson Chandler went to the Knicks, the Mavs championship defense supposedly went with him, writes Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News. But, Gosselin opines that the team's ability to play defense even without last year's shot-blocking center will help them defend their title. (Subscription link)
- DeMarre Carroll, who was picked up Wednesday by the Jazz, was close to signing with Utah before the season started, Salt Lake Tribune writer Brian T. Smith tweets. Carroll signed instead with the Nuggets, who waived him Feb. 4.
- Chicago, the hometown of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, has also produced Anthony Davis, who is projected as the top overall pick this June, and Jabari Parker, the consensus No. 1 high school player. That makes the Windy City the center of the hoops universe, opines ESPN's Scoop Jackson.
- Dirk Nowitzki, who watched Ricky Rubio in Europe, didn't think the Wolves rookie sensation would have quite the impact he's having in the NBA, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.