Western Notes: Gentry, Speights, Bender
The Pelicans are off to a 7-16 start to the campaign, but coach Alvin Gentry isn’t concerned about his job status, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays. “I really don’t give a [expletive] about my job status,” Gentry said. “I’m gonna work hard, and I’m gonna coach until the day they tell me I’m not the coach here anymore. It doesn’t matter. I don’t ever worry about that. That isn’t anything that I spend five seconds worrying about. My worry is how do I get the guys in the locker room to play at the level that I want them to. That’s where all my effort goes. It doesn’t go anywhere else.”
When asked if he ever imagined things would get this rough in New Orleans, Gentry said, “No, I didn’t expect this, no. But we have who we have. And the bottom line is, I don’t care who we have in the locker room. All I expect is them to do is compete and play hard, which they’ve done most of the night, and then we’ve got to try to find a way to execute. And then we’ve got to make some shots. We’ve got to knock down some shots. That’s the bottom line.”
Here’s the latest from out West:
- Clippers forward Marreese Speights was down on the franchise’s perceived culture after the team’s recent drubbing by the Warriors, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register relays. “That’s the scouting report when you play against the Clippers,” Speights said. “It’s always been, especially with the Warriors, you play against the Clippers, you hit them a couple of times, and their spirit is going to be down. That’s what happened, so we’ve just got to find a way to get over that hump.”
- Suns big man Dragan Bender is learning on the job during his first season in the league, a process he discussed with Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. “I’m just growing each and every day, trying to learn,” Bender said. “I know this is my first year and I’m 19 years old and I know it’s going to be tough for me. I’m just going to come each and every day and compete. I’ll try to go against anybody on the court. It doesn’t matter who it is in front of me. I just try to help win the games. My job is to play defense and hit the open shots and deliver the ball at the right time.”
DeMarcus Cousins Expects To Remain With Kings
DeMarcus Cousins has long been a polarizing figure around the league with his copious technical fouls, reported run-ins with coaches and reputation for being a difficult locker room presence. The big man certainly has had his troubles reigning in his emotions during his time in the league, but there is no denying that he is an immensely talented player who could become a superstar in the right environment.
There has been much speculation where Cousins will end up when he hits unrestricted free agency after the 2017/18 campaign, or if he will be dealt by Sacramento prior to hitting the open market. Regardless of the chatter surrounding him, Cousins doesn’t expect to be traded in the near future, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. “Unless you know something I don’t,” Cousins responded when asked if he thinks he’ll remain in a Kings uniform.
“I talk to management a lot,” Cousins told Stein. “We’re on the same page. I’m not worried about it. To know that you’re wanted throughout the league … I’d be worried if nobody wanted me. Then I’d have a situation on my hands. But I’m happy where I am. I’m happy with this team. I’m in a great place.”
Sources with knowledge of Sacramento’s thinking say that the Kings believe it’s still too early to seriously entertain the idea of trading Cousins, even with the clock ticking toward the final season of the four-year extension he inked back in 2013, Stein notes. Interested teams continue to contend that the Kings will be facing the prospect another sub-40 win season prior to this season’s trade deadline and the team will ultimately feel compelled to part with Cousins before he enters his contract year, since keeping him beyond February could make it extremely difficult to receive anything close to equal value for the player, the scribe adds.
The center, who is averaging 28.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season, places the blame on himself for the team’s lackluster record thus far in 2016/17, Stein writes. “I can’t speak for the next man,” Cousins said. “I’m speaking for myself. What can I do better on a nightly basis? I know I can be better every night.”
Cousins is aware of his reputation around the league, but believes that he is misunderstood, Stein relays. “I’m comfortable in my skin,” Cousins told Stein. “So comfortable. I know who I am as a person. I stand by that. I’m a very prideful man. I’m at that point where I could care less what the next person says. I think I get better every year as a player, as a person, as a son, a father, all of that. I think I grow every year. That’s part of life. Absolutely.”
Central Notes: Rondo, Smith, LeBron
Rajon Rondo was in street clothes during the Bulls‘ Monday night loss to the Blazers due to a one game suspension by the team resulting from a a “heated exchange” the point guard had with an assistant coach. Rondo’s teammates are ready to move on from the incident, with veteran guard Dwyane Wade telling Nick Friedell of ESPN.com that Rondo understands what he did wrong and that the team still has full confidence in the playmaker’s leadership. “Let’s play,” Wade said when asked what he told Rondo. “He’s going to have enough messages. Our job is to say, “Let’s go, let’s play.” We got to win the game [Tuesday]. This is about basketball. All those things, it’s not my job to stay on him about. He’s been disciplined, they’ve talked about it, he understands and we’ve moved on.”
“He’s going to have fresh legs,” Wade continued. “Whatever happened, the organization took care of it. As players, we support each other and back each other. It’s an emotional game and guys have emotional moments. [The team] handled it the way they thought was best. Now we move on.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- LeBron James has no desire to sit down with Knicks president Phil Jackson to discuss comments the executive made during a recent interview about the Cavs forward, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays. “Didn’t affect me, just know how much further we still have to go and how far we still have to go as African-Americans, even in the light of today,” James said about Jackson’s opinions. “For me, I’ve built my career on and off the floor on the utmost respect, and I’ve always given the utmost respect to everyone — all my peers, people that’s laid the path for me and laid the path for coaches, players, things of that nature. I’ve always given respect to them, and it’s always, like I told you before, it’s always shade thrown on me, so. It means we got a lot more work to do, myself and the team.“
- The Cavaliers received some good news regarding J.R. Smith, who exited Monday night’s contest against the Raptors after suffering a left knee injury in the first quarter. Smith underwent an MRI today that showed no damage and the guard’s status is considered day-to-day, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter).
- Bulls training camp cut and D-League affiliate player,D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, has been waived by the Windy City Bulls, Chris Reichert of The Step Back reports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old made six appearances for Windy City, averaging 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 11.1 minutes per outing while sporting a slash line of .269/.091/.600.
Western Notes: Calderon, Miller, Durant
With D’Angelo Russell out of the Lakers‘ lineup due to knee woes, Jose Calderon has assumed the role of starting point guard and has pleased coach Luke Walton with his play, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register writes. “He helps stabilize the first unit that has been a different lineup way too many times this year already,” Walton said. “Just having a veteran that knows how to play and can run an offense and knock down open shots, it’s been nice to have him to lean on when D’Angelo is out.”
While he’s happy with his recent bump in playing time, Calderon was content being a mentor to his much younger teammates, Medina adds. “I’m happy with the way things have been going. I’m comfortable out there every day and I’m feeling more comfortable with my teammates. I’m ready for whatever role,” Calderon said. “I’m here to help this team to win. It doesn’t matter what. If I’m on the bench, it’s the bench. If I’m playing five or 30 minutes, I’m good.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Mike Miller, 36, is happy with his role as an older veteran on the Nuggets and says he’s still having too much fun playing to walk away from the game, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays. “I think the one thing you’ve got to learn in this league as you get older, is there’s different roles and responsibilities and you’ll be asked to do different things,” Miller said. “For me, I’m just thankful to be in a position to still be playing this game, and still get to practice against these guys every day, still get in the games, still a lot of fun for me.“
- In a piece by Michael Pina of RealGM, the scribe examined what Eric Gordon brings to the Rockets, his value as a player and what he can do to successfully resurrect his career in Houston this season.
- Warriors offseason signee Kevin Durant is finally getting used to his new home in Golden State, and the forward chatted with Chris Haynes of ESPN.com about a number of the issues and difficulties he faced in relocating from OKC to the West Coast.
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Eastern Notes: James, Wade, Meeks, Bullock
The partnership of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (along with Chris Bosh, of course) was an extremely successful one for the Heat, resulting in four appearances in the NBA Finals and two league titles. In advance of tonight’s matchup of the Bulls and Cavs, Wade spoke to the media about his time with LeBron in Miami. The shooting guard told Nick Friedell of ESPN.com that he was the one who altered his game the most after James took his talents to South Beach, adding that he wouldn’t change a thing about the time he spent alongside James. “I definitely changed mine more,” Wade said. “It’s not even a conversation. There’s no conversation to have. I definitely had to change mine more.”
“We all knew the sacrifice that was going to be [made],” Wade continued. “Obviously, you sit down and you talk about playing together. You think you know what’s [going to happen], you try to cover things in that moment, but then once you start playing together you realize it’s harder than what you thought. But we all knew we had to sacrifice. Chris Bosh, too. He’s somebody who they don’t talk about, he had to sacrifice a lot too. But at the end of the day, we sacrificed points, article hits, but what we gained was championships, friendships and brotherhoods that last a lifetime. So I’m sure if we could do it all over again we’d do it exactly the same way.”
Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:
- Offseason trade acquisition, Jodie Meeks, is set to make his season debut for the Magic this evening, the team announced. The 29-year-old underwent foot surgery back in July after missing all but three games in 2015/16, and will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
- Staying on the injury front, Pistons executive/coach Stan Van Gundy confirmed that swingman Reggie Bullock will go under the knife on Saturday to repair his torn left meniscus, Rod Beard of The Detroit News relays (via Twitter). Bullock is expected to be sidelined for two to four months following the procedure, per a report by Shams Charania of The Vertical, but Van Gundy did not give an official estimate on when the player may return to action in his statement today, Beard adds.
- Paul George, who has missed six of the last seven Pacers contests with an ankle injury, says he has to reestablish himself as the team’s leader once he is able to return to game action, Nate Taylor of USA Today relays. “I think just sitting out and watching, I’ve got to get back to being the guy for us,” George said. “I’ve got to have the trust of the team, I’ve got to have the trust of the organization. This has been my group, this has been my team. I’ve got to get back to that. That’s what I’m looking forward to, being our leader.” The swingman intends to play in Indiana’s contest against the Clippers on Sunday, Taylor notes.
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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/2/16
Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Clippers recalled forward Diamond Stone from the D-League earlier today, the team announced. Stone appeared in four games for the Santa Cruz Warriors, where he was sent via the flexible assignment rule, and averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 block in 17.0 minutes of action per outing.
- The Sixers sent Nerlens Noel to their D-League affiliate in Delaware earlier today in order for the big man to participate in the 87ers’ practice, the team announced. The center was subsequently recalled this afternoon, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
- The Hawks have recalled small forward DeAndre’ Bembry from the D-League, the team announced via press release. Bembry’s stint in the D-League was spent with the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s affiliate, since Atlanta does not possess an affiliate of its own. The 2016 first-rounder has appeared in seven games for the Hawks this season, averaging 1.3 points on 33.3% shooting.
- Chris McCullough has been assigned to the Nets‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release. McCullough has averaged 18.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 29.1 minutes per contest in six games on assignment with Long Island this season.
- The Pelicans sent rookie forward Cheick Diallo to the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League via to the flexible assignment system, the team announced. Diallo has appeared in six games with Austin already this campaign, averaging 14.3 points on .553 shooting from the floor, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
Stephen Curry On: Durant, Free Agency, Hornets
As a result of the Warriors’ offseason addition of Kevin Durant via free agency, Stephen Curry is no longer leading the team in scoring and is averaging 2.5 less shots per game than he did a season ago. Despite the slight hit his statistics have taken in 2016/17, Curry says he is fine with the arrangement and welcomes the addition of Durant, Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer relays. The point guard is still stung by the Warriors’ collapse against the Cavaliers in last year’s NBA Finals, when Golden State blew a 3-1 series lead, thus, making him more amenable to sharing the spotlight if it helps the franchise regain the NBA title this season, Fowler notes. “It’s something you’ll never forget, just because it was so close and we didn’t get the job done,” Curry told the scribe. “Does it haunt me? I would more say that it motivates me.”
“It’s been a pretty natural transition,” Curry said of the addition of Durant. “Early in the preseason, we had to find the flow, and just trying to figure out how the ball moves and whatnot. …But with the unselfishness of everybody on our team, and obviously the talent, the ball has been hopping. We’re getting everybody involved. It’s been very, very unforced.”
When asked about how big an adjustment Curry had to make now that Durant is his teammate, coach Steve Kerr told Fowler, “He [Curry] spent most of the preseason sitting back and letting Kevin score and get acclimated and get comfortable. And then maybe the last preseason game or two, he really got aggressive again. But I don’t think his game has changed a whole lot. He [Curry] came into the season realizing that we’re going to play the same way, but he’s probably going to take maybe a couple fewer shots per game and score a couple fewer points. That’s about it.”
The 2016/17 campaign is the only one that Durant and Curry are guaranteed to be teammates, with Curry set to hit unrestricted free agency in July and Durant possessing a player option for 2017/18, Fowler writes. While Curry will assuredly be in wide demand next offseason, re-signing with Golden State appears to be his preference, Fowler adds. “Obviously I love it here in the Bay Area,” Curry said. “It’s all I’ve known in the league. And if the situation is right going forward, this is a place I would love to play.”
One competitor for Curry’s services will be the Hornets, with the guard having grown up in North Carolina. Charlotte already has Kemba Walker at point guard, but Curry could conceivably play alongside him at shooting guard, Fowler opines. When asked if he would consider playing for the Hornets, Curry told Fowler, “I don’t know.” Curry did note that joining Charlotte would have been a greater possibility earlier in his career, Fowler relays.
“Obviously I had a strong tie to Charlotte and would have loved to play there. I’m very comfortable in that city. It’s hard to say exactly what the situation will be this summer,” Curry said. “[Free agency] is on my radar, but it’s not really on my mind as much day-to-day. I’m just trying to enjoy what this season is going to bring.”
Latest On Grizzlies’ Point Guard Situation
With Mike Conley expected to miss at least six weeks of action due to fractures in his lower back , the Grizzlies have a major hole to fill at point guard. It was relayed earlier that Memphis could look to sign Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole or Xavier Munford to boost its depth at the one spot, and now Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical has added a few potential targets to that list — Kendall Marshall, Toney Douglas and Will Bynum. Also, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com has thrown some cold water on the possibility of the Grizzlies signing Chalmers, since the guard is not physically ready to play at this time.
Marshall, who turned 25 this past summer, has played for the Suns, Lakers, Bucks, and Sixers since entering the NBA as a lottery pick in 2012. He was sent from Philadelphia to Utah in an offseason trade, and was promptly cut by the Jazz in August before his salary for 2016/17 became guaranteed. Marshall, who has averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.9 APG in 160 career NBA contests, has been a free agent since then, and is currently playing in the D-League after being claimed by the Reno Bighorns.
Douglas began his NBA career in 2009 with the Knicks. After spending three seasons in New York, the point guard has bounced around, playing for the Rockets, Kings, Warriors, Heat, and Pelicans. The 30-year-old averaged 8.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, to go along with a shooting line of .411/.399/.848. He was waived by the Cavs during the preseason to clear a roster spot for the re-signing of J.R. Smith.
Bynum, 33, has appeared in 360 total regular season NBA games for three different teams since 2005, though, he hasn’t played in a regular season contest since the 2014/15 season. For most of the last two seasons, Bynum has played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China. He averaged 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG for the CBA club in 2015/16. The guard was among the Hawks’ final preseason cuts this year.