Central Rumors: Granger, Rose, Bucks
Small forward Danny Granger will not join the Pistons for the start of training camp, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Granger, who was traded to Detroit from the Suns as part of the Marcus Morris deal, will remain in Arizona to continue knee rehab under a mutual agreement with Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, Ellis continues. “I think it’s better for him and for us if he stays right there in Arizona and does his rehab and when he gets to a point that he’s ready to play and compete, then we will bring him in,” Van Gundy said during the team’s media day on Monday. Granger is one of 17 Detroit players with guaranteed contracts so he remains a waiver or trade candidate, Ellis adds.
In other news around the Central Division:
- Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings isn’t close to being game-ready, Ellis writes in the same notebook piece. Jennings, who tore his Achilles tendon in January, is limited to light shooting, jogging in the pool and weight-controlled treadmill work. “We’re hoping sometime in mid-October that he’s be able to start doing drill work out on the floor and then hopefully by mid-November he starts ramping up, actually getting in some five-on-five stuff,” Van Gundy said.
- Derrick Rose made a splash during the Bulls’ media day, saying that he’s already looking toward his next foray into free agency, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter links). Rose, who is signed through the 2016/17 season, expects to remain in Chicago for the long term, Goodwill adds. “You see the way all this money will be passed around in this league. My day [free agency] is coming,” Rose said. But while Rose prefers to stay with the Bulls, the notion of leaguewide increased salaries “makes one pause,” Sam Smith of Bulls.com tweets.
- The Bucks hired longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn as a special consultant, the team announced Monday morning via press release. He will work closely with GM John Hammond, the release adds. Thorn most recently served as the NBA’s president of basketball operations, where he oversaw the league’s day-to-day business under commissioner Adam Silver.
- The Cavaliers allowed the remaining $635,816 portion of their trade exception for Keith Bogans to expire on Sunday, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Cleveland dealt Bogans to the Sixers last September and used part of the exception to acquire Timofey Mozgov in January.
Nuggets Waive Kostas Papanikolaou
SEPTEMBER 28TH, 7:52am: The move indeed took place Friday, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team still hasn’t made an official announcement.
SEPTEMBER 25TH, 4:12pm: The Nuggets have waived Papanikolaou, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
AUGUST 3RD, 8:01am: Papanikolaou’s camp is unaware of any pending waiver, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Denver’s plan is to keep him until the Eurobasket tournament begins in December, and evaluate him then, sources tell Varlas. Nuggets GM Tim Connelly and assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas are set to head to Europe to scout Papanikolaou and others.
AUGUST 2ND, 3:03pm: Papanikolaou is not being waived by the Nuggets at this time, Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post tweets.
AUGUST 1ST, 2:30pm: The Nuggets will waive Kostas Papanikolaou, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). His $4,797,664 deal was non-guaranteed.
Papanikolaou played for the Rockets last season and was traded to Denver as part of the Ty Lawson swap last month. Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected 2016 first-round pick were also forwarded to the Nuggets in the deal. Houston exercised its option on Papanikolaou in June and his salary would have been guaranteed if he remained on Denver’s roster past October 4th.
With plenty of other forward options, the Nuggets had no intention of keeping Papanikolaou and wanted his non-guaranteed contract in order to shed salary.
The 6’9” forward was a regular part of the Rockets’ rotation during the first half of the 2014/15 season, but the acquisition of Josh Smith cut into the 24-year-old’s minutes and he also battled an ankle injury. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.
Bucks, Josh Powell Agree To Contract
SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2:25pm: The signing has taken place, though the team has made no official announcement, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s for one season at the minimum salary with limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.
SEPTEMBER 5TH, 11:50am: Josh Powell has agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Bucks, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Powell spent last season as the Rockets’ player development coach.
Powell couldn’t pass up the chance to play again, he told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Sports (Twitter link). “I’m just blessed to have any opportunity,” Powell said. “I’m excited to get back on the court.”
The 6’9” power forward turned down multiple offers to play overseas last fall to join the Rockets’ coaching staff. He appeared in a single game for Houston during the 2013/14 season after failing to secure an NBA contract during the previous two seasons.
Powell went into coaching after the Rockets waived him during training camp. At that point, he opted to retire but has apparently put that off while he pursues the opportunity with the Bucks. Powell will face a daunting task to make Milwaukee’s final roster, considering the Bucks already have 15 players with guaranteed contracts and three others with non-guaranteed deals.
The 32-year-old Powell is a veteran of seven NBA seasons, counting his one-game stint with Houston, with career averages of 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game. He has spent time with the Mavs, Pacers, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Hawks and Rockets since his debut in 2005/06.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 9/14/15
At this time last year, very few people anticipated that the Golden State Warriors would be the NBA’s premier team in 2014/15. While the Warriors had a strong young nucleus, they also had a rookie head coach in Steve Kerr. There were plenty of questions regarding their core group after the Warriors lost in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs to the Clippers.
You know the rest. From start to finish, the Warriors were more than just a contender. They dominated in the regular season, then validated their gaudy 67-15 record by storming through the playoffs and knocking off the hobbled Cavaliers in the Finals.
A repeat would seem to be well within their reach, given that all their starters are back, as well as many of their key reserves. Not only do they have the league’s reigning MVP in Stephen Curry, they re-signed restricted free agent and versatile forward Draymond Green to a long-term contract.
The Warriors had some good fortune last season, as their core players remained relatively healthy throughout the season. An injury to a key performer could drastically change their outlook. As we’ve seen many times before, it’s not easy to remain the top dog in the Western Conference.
The competition is fierce and several teams will be nipping at the Warriors’ heels. The always-dangerous Spurs added prized free agent LaMarcus Aldridge. The Clippers remained a viable contender once free agent DeAndre Jordan changed his mind and spurned the Mavericks to stay in L.A. The Thunder possess the league’s best 1-2 punch in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Rockets reached the conference finals and have their own formidable superstar duo in James Harden and Dwight Howard. The Grizzlies are chock-full of wily, playoff-tested veterans. Even the Pelicans, behind the league’s best young big man Anthony Davis, can harbor realistic dreams of a deep playoff run.
Our topic of the night, just two weeks away from training camp, is this: Which Western Conference team poses the biggest threat to the Warriors’ supremacy?
Take to the comments to share your thoughts and opinions on this topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
And-Ones: Langdon, Wizards, Fournier
The Cavaliers will hire Spurs scout Trajan Langdon as their Director of Player Administration, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He will replace Raja Bell, who is leaving to spend more time with his family, Wojnarowski adds. The change was confirmed by Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, who spoke to Bell. “I had so much fun with those boys and the Cavaliers’ organization, but it was just time to be with my family,” said Bell, who served in that role for one season. “It was the right thing to do right now, but I definitely enjoyed my time there.”
In other news around the league:
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis had reached a tentative deal with Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser to build a $56.3MM practice facility, Jonathan O’Connell of the Washington Post reports. Officials said the city plans to construct and own the facility, which will also include an arena for the WNBA Washington Mystics, while Leonsis would contribute $10MM to aid the surrounding neighborhood, O’Connell continues. Leonsis has been pushing for a state-of-the-art venue to replace the existing practice facility at the Verizon Center in order to attract high-profile free agents next summer, including Kevin Durant, who grew up in nearby Prince George’s County, O’Connell adds.
- Suns forward Markieff Morris and his brother, Pistons forward Marcus Morris, have a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday in Phoenix, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets. They face felony aggravated assault charges for their alleged roles in a January brawl at a Phoenix recreation center. The duo would be suspended a minimum of 10 games if they are found guilty of a felony and could also face a suspension if they’re guilty of a misdemeanor, former NBA executive Bobby Marks tweets.
- Magic swingman Evan Fournier could have competition for minutes and a sixth-man role this season from rookie Mario Hezonja, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Both have similar skills, though playing them together on the second unit is intriguing because it could give Orlando some second-unit firepower, Schmitz continues. Fournier needs to improve defensively and increase his strength to get more playing time, Schmitz adds. He is eligible for an extension until the start of the regular season, and we recently examined his chances of getting it in our Extension Candidate series.
Lakers Rumors: Upshaw, Huertas, World Peace
Robert Upshaw is unlikely to make the Lakers’ opening-night roster, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. The signing of the center on Monday increases the Lakers’ training camp roster to 18 players, though only 12 have fully guaranteed deals. Marcelo Huertas should make the cut, since the Brazilian shooting guard did not sign with the Lakers to play in the D-League or get released, Oram continues. Huertas, who played for FC Barcelona the past four seasons, inked a one-year deal with the team earlier this month. Metta World Peace would be the 15th man on the roster if he’s signed by the club, Oram adds (All Twitter links). There’s a good chance that the veteran small forward, who has been working out at the team’s practice facility, will come to an agreement with the club before camp.
In other news regarding the Lakers:
- Upshaw received a $35K guarantee on his two-year minimum contract, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. His $525,093 salary this season would be fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster January 10th. His second-year salary of $874,636 does not include any guarantees, Pincus adds. The 21-year-old Upshaw averaged 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds with the Lakers’ summer league squad in Las Vegas.
- The additions of Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass are not conducive to the Lakers’ effort to rebuild because they’ll take minutes away from younger players, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines in the website’s preview of the team. After failing to sign a high-profile free agent, the Lakers added those veterans to save face and give the appearance they want to compete this year, in part to appease Kobe Bryant, Kennedy adds. In the same piece, Basketball Insiders’ Eric Saar takes a somewhat more optimistic view, concluding that the growing core of young players gives the franchise a brighter future than it’s had in recent years.
Western Notes: Timberwolves, Vonleh, Warriors
Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell will have his patience tested by flashy point guard Ricky Rubio, David Aldridge of NBA.com opines. While the franchise wants to take pressure off Rubio by making him understand that he’s no longer viewed as its savior, he may be on a shorter leash than he had with coach Flip Saunders, who is out indefinitely while he receives cancer treatments, Aldridge continues. It was Saunders, as the franchise’s president of basketball operations, who gave Rubio a $56MM extension last year, Aldridge points out. In the same piece, Aldridge also reports that many people around the league felt team owner Glen Taylor wanted to bring back Mitchell as the team’s head coach, though not under these circumstances. Mitchell was one of the franchise’s most beloved players and a former NBA Coach of the Year with Toronto, Aldridge adds.
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Noah Vonleh’s size, shooting touch and ballhandling make him an intriguing prospect but he needs to prove he can consistently use those skills against NBA competition, according to Mike Richman of The Oregonian. Vonleh, who was traded to the Trail Blazers from the Hornets this offseason, led Portland’s summer team in scoring (17.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.5) while displaying his ballhandling and ability to take slower forwards off the dribble, Richman continues. A sports hernia injury in training camp sidelined Vonleh early in his rookie season and he got buried in Charlotte’s crowded frontcourt rotation, Richman adds.
- Ian Clark and Jarell Eddie will receive approximately half of their salaries if they make the Warriors’ opening night roster, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Clark, a 6’3” shooting guard, would receive $474K on the contract he signed Monday. Eddie, a 6’7” small forward who also signed Monday, would make $423K.
- The Warriors announced that 1,650 fans were denied access to Oracle Arena last season due to counterfeit tickets purchased from third-party vendors, Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group tweets.
Lakers Mull Signing Metta World Peace
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 2:49pm: It’s more likely that World Peace will join the Lakers than it is that he won’t, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register says he’s been told (Twitter link). That’s in spite of World Peace’s recent comments in which he downplayed the idea of rejoining the team.
6:20pm: A source close to World Peace has informed Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter) that there is confidence a deal with the Lakers will happen.
SEPTEMBER 9TH, 3:54pm: World Peace has been working out daily at the Lakers’ practice facility, and the two sides appear to be inching closer to agreeing to a one-year pact, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports relays (on Twitter).
AUGUST 25TH, 7:56am: The sides have engaged in “casual conversations” about a would-be return for World Peace, an executive told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Bryant would be on board with the forward’s return but the Lakers star will let the front office decide whether to make it happen, another source told Turner.
AUGUST 24TH, 6:54pm: The Lakers are seriously considering signing veteran forward Metta World Peace to a one-year deal, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. There’s no deal in place, Wojnarowski continues, and there are varying degrees of interest within the Lakers organization about bringing him back. World Peace has been in the Lakers’ practice facility this offseason practicing with the team’s players, including 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle, sources told Wojnarowski.
The 35-year-old did not play in the NBA last season. He appeared in 29 games with the Knicks in 2013/14. Last season, he played 15 games for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association before a knee injury sidelined him. He finished out the season with Pallacanestro Cantu in the Italian League, averaging 13.3 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Of course, World Peace has a history with the Lakers organization, playing four seasons with them before joining the Knicks after Los Angeles used the amnesty provision to cut him loose. He appeared in 75 games with them in his last season there in 2012/13, averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while starting 66 games. Overall, World Peace started 270 games during those four seasons with the Lakers, as well as 41 postseason starts.
The Lakers already have 12 guaranteed contracts, along with three partial or non-guaranteed contracts, for the upcoming season. They’d have to dip into their room exception of $2.814MM if it takes more than the minimum salary to sign World Peace. Given the composition of their roster, World Peace would most likely back up Kobe Bryant at small forward if they utilize a young, dynamic backcourt of lottery pick D’Angelo Russell and last year’s breakout rookie, Jordan Clarkson.
A.J. Price Signs With Chinese Team
SEPTEMBER 11TH, 4:53pm: Price has signed with the Sharks, Pick reports (via Twitter).
SEPTEMBER 5TH, 9:15am: A.J. Price is finalizing a contract to play in China with the Shanghai Sharks, international journalist David Pick tweets.
Pick reported in July that Price was mulling a move overseas and that Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade was a possible destination. The journeyman point guard turned down that offer, which led Red Star, also known as Crvena Zvezda, to a deal with fellow NBA veteran Gal Mekel.
Price played for three NBA teams last season. He appeared in 10 games with the Pacers in November, then was waived late that month. He was claimed by the Cavaliers and played 11 games for the Eastern Conference champions before he was waived in early January. He was out of the league until signing a 10-day contract with the Suns in March. Price came off the bench in five games for Phoenix but the Suns declined to offer him another 10-day contract.
The 28-year-old Price also had a 28-game stint with the Timberwolves in 2013/14 and appeared in 57 games, including 22 starts, for the Wizards in 2012/13. The former University of Connecticut guard began his career with the Pacers in 2009/10 and remained there his first three seasons.
For his career, Price has made 261 NBA appearances and averaged 5.8 points and 2.2 assists in 15.1 minutes. He’s a career 38.0% shooter overall and 31.6% from 3-point range.