And-Ones: Bachynski, Rubio, Kaminsky
Despite the speculation that the Wolves‘ addition of rookie point guard Kris Dunn will ultimately lead to Ricky Rubio being dealt, Rubio is looking forward to mentoring his younger teammate, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press notes. “Really it’s a challenge. When a young guy like him who has a lot of potential comes, I think we can really play together,” Rubio told the scribe. “But if we don’t [share the floor often], I can really help him.”
Rubio also noted that he’s thrilled about the hiring of Tom Thibodeau as coach/executive and believes the addition will help Minnesota’s young roster, Krawczynski adds. “I think we’ve got all the pieces together to make something happen,” Rubio said. “I’m really excited about the new coach and the new staff. They have a lot of years in their backpack and really can teach us how to reach the next level. I think we have the tools. We just have to put all them together.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Center Jordan Bachynski, who played for the Knicks‘ D-League affiliate last season, has signed with the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins in Japan, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (on Twitter). In 49 games for Westchester in 2015/16, the 26-year-old averaged 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
- Hornets forward Frank Kaminsky acknowledges that he needs to improve on the defense end if he hopes to advance as an NBA player, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays. “I’ve got to be a better overall defender. I was overwhelmed at times,” Kaminsky said. “My preparation, obviously, needs to get better. I so want to be a more consistent player. I’d have a good game and then disappear in the next.”
- Pistons assistant coach Tim Hardaway is contesting drunken driving charges stemming from an April arrest in Oakland County, The Detroit News relays. Hardaway was stopped by authorities in Michigan back in April and he had a blood alcohol level of .17 percent, according to court records. That blood alcohol level more than twice the state’s legal limit of .08 percent.
Heat Notes: Weber, Jankovic, Udrih
The Heat’s roster currently stands at 19 players, which is four over the regular season maximum. This places a number of young players on the bubble, with each of them hoping to be a member of the team when the regular season kicks off, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. The signing of Beno Udrih has made the path to a regular season spot more difficult for Briante Weber, whose contract includes a partial guarantee of $218,659, but the guard hasn’t let that discourage him, Winderman adds. “My mindset is never going change, no matter who’s in front of me, no matter how many people it is,” said Weber. “I’m just going to be me. I’m not going to change anything about how I do my things. I’m not going to try to be a different person.”
Here’s more from South Beach:
- In response to a reader question in his latest “Ask Ira” column, Winderman notes that a strong defensive guard like Weber is something the team could use, given the playing styles of the other members of Miami’s backcourt. “It is surprising that Weber could be squeezed out despite having three-eighths of his 2016/17 contract already guaranteed,” Winderman opined. “One thing the Heat have lacked for years has been a lock-down defensive point guard, one who could pick up full court and wear down an opposing ballhandler. It is not what Goran Dragic does. Not what Beno Udrih does. That’s what has made Briante so intriguing. But what we haven’t witnessed are the Heat’s private drills, and it’s possible that Josh Richardson or Tyler Johnson have turned into such defensive prospects/pests, perhaps reducing the need for a specialist at point guard such as Briante.“
- Stefan Jankovic, another member of the team who isn’t assured of a roster spot this season, was offered a chance to tryout for Serbia’s National team, but declined it because he had already made a commitment to play for the Heat’s summer league squad, Winderman tweets. Jankovic, 23, appeared in eight games this summer for Miami, averaging 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 13.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .444/.333/.786.
Kevin Durant Unsure About 2020 Olympics
Participating in this year’s Olympic Games and helping Team USA secure the gold medal was therapeutic for Kevin Durant, who is still coming to terms with switching teams from the Thunder to the Warriors this offseason, Michael Lee of The Vertical writes. “It was therapy for me after making a big change in my life,” Durant told Lee. “It made my life easier … I knew [a backlash] was coming. It was definitely different for me, but to come here in an environment where people accepted me and didn’t care about anything except being my buddy, that’s what I needed.”
Durant also moved within 25 points of catching Carmelo Anthony, who is the top all-time Team USA scorer, but he’s not sure if he’ll be a member of of the squad when the next summer Olympics are held, Lee notes. “I can’t say right now,” Durant said. “I’ll be 31, going on 32 … .” However, the forward’s competitive fire may ultimately drive him to participate in 2020, with Durant telling Lee, “I want to pass him, for sure. Just because it’s ‘Melo, I would love to pass him. But I don’t know if I’ll play or not. Who knows? We’ll see. You never know what’s going to happen in four years. I’m just going to enjoy this one right now.”
One person who would love for Durant to participate in the 2020 games is USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. With this year’s squad fielding a roster that including 10 first-time Olympians, Colangelo would prefer more continuity moving forward, Stein adds. “We can’t go back again with 10 new players,” Colangelo said. “That’s not going to happen. For me, I’m glad we got past this.”
Do you want to see Durant participate in the 2020 Olympics, or would you prefer an infusion of younger blood on Team USA’s roster? Share your opinions in the comments section below.
Jazz Sign Marcus Paige
The Jazz have signed 2016 second round pick Marcus Paige (No. 55 overall) the team announced. The length and terms of the arrangement are unknown, nor if any guaranteed salary was included. Utah still has approximately $10MM in available cap space, so Paige’s deal wouldn’t be limited to the league minimum. Though, it would be a surprise if it was in excess of that amount.
The 22-year-old was a member of the Jazz’s summer league squad, averaging 7.0 points, 1.6 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 19.7 minutes of action in nine games. With Utah’s preseason roster count at 16, including 14 players possessing fully guaranteed deals, Paige is likely ticketed for the D-League to start the season.
Paige spent four years at North Carolina, notching career averages of 13.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists to go along with a shooting line of .407/.375/.844. Paige was recognized as an Academic All-American for three of those seasons, including First Team honors following his senior season. He was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in 2015 and 2016 as well as the 2014 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year, per the release.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 4)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We recently finished revisiting the lottery portion of the 2005 NBA Draft, which was one of the weakest in recent memory. In drafts light on impact talent, the GM who can find a diamond in the rough is king. But drafts that have a number of star-potential players can also be difficult and many an executive has made what turned out to be the wrong call. Greg Oden over Kevin Durant immediately springs to mind (sorry Blazers fans), likewise taking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan…ouch!
The 2008 draft, which is the one we’re tackling now, had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ll continue with the Sonics/Thunder, who held the No. 4 overall pick that year. With Westbrook already off the board, having gone No. 1 overall to the Bulls, OKC will have to find a different running mate for Kevin Durant, who the franchise nabbed the previous year. So cast your vote for who the Sonics/Thunder select and check back on Tuesday to see the results and to vote on who the Grizzlies will nab fifth overall. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — ?? [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
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Thunder Sign Semaj Christon
The Thunder have signed Semaj Christon, the team announced via press release. The length and terms of the deal were not relayed. OKC is currently under the salary cap, so the team isn’t restricted to paying Christon the league-minimum.
The 23-year-old was originally selected with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Christon spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, appearing in 44 games and averaging 18.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 35.3 minutes. With Oklahoma City already having 15 players with fully guaranteed deals, there’s a better than average chance Christon begins this season with the Blue as an affiliate player.
Christon spent last season playing in Italy with VL Pesaro where he appeared in 30 games and averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 33.2 minutes. In his two seasons at Xavier, Christon averaged 16.2 points, 4.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 64 contests.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 3)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We recently finished revisiting the lottery portion of the 2005 NBA Draft, which was one of the weakest in recent memory. In drafts light on impact talent, the GM who can find a diamond in the rough is king. But drafts that have a number of star-potential players can also be difficult and many an executive has made what turned out to be the wrong call. Greg Oden over Kevin Durant immediately springs to mind (sorry Blazers fans), likewise taking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan…ouch!
The 2008 draft, which is the one we’re tackling now, had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ll continue with the Wolves, who dealt away the No. 3 overall pick in a swap with Memphis. The actual swap went like this: The Grizzlies acquired the draft rights to O.J. Mayo, along with Marko Jarić, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner, from Minnesota in exchange for the draft rights to No. 5 overall pick Kevin Love, plus, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins. To avoid muddying the waters too much, we’ll assume the trade wasn’t completed (since Love is already off the board), so whomever is selected here will end up in Minnesota.
So cast your vote for who the Wolves select and check back on Sunday to see the results and to vote on who the Sonics/Thunder will nab fourth overall. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. Also, if I fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and I’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — ?? [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Celtics To Sign Marcus Georges-Hunt
The Celtics have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent Marcus Georges-Hunt, Keith Smith of RealGM reports (via Twitter). The scribe terms it a training camp arrangement, so it’s likely for the league-minimum and includes little or no guaranteed salary.
The addition of the undrafted forward out of Georgia Tech will give Boston 19 players on its roster, which is one below the preseason maximum, but four over the regular season limit. So the 22-year-old will certainly have his work cut out for him if he hopes to remain on the roster through tip-off on opening night, especially considering 16 of those players I mentioned possess fully guaranteed deals. In all likelihood, if Georges-Hunt manages to impress the coaching staff, he’ll be ticked for Maine and the team’s D-League affiliate.
Georges-Hunt appeared in 36 games as a senior for the Yellowjackets, logging averages of 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 32.4 minutes per outing. His slash line on the campaign was .454/.342/.823. He played for Brooklyn’s squad in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, averaging 2.8 points and 1.0 rebound in 13.2 minutes per contest over four appearances.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 8/14/16-8/20/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- Arthur Hill examined Giannis Antetokounmpo as an extension candidate.
- We asked readers to do over the 2005 NBA Draft. Here’s who you selected for picks No. 10, No. 11, No. 12, No. 13 and No. 14 overall.
- We also began our trip back to the 2008 NBA Draft, having readers vote for picks No. 1 and No. 2 overall.
- You can stay up to date on any contract extensions agreed to this season with our tracker.
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- We looked at the 2016/17 Salary Cap figures for the:
- Arthur answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- We ran down the largest expiring contracts for the 2016/17 campaign.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed:
- The most anticipated games on the 2016/17 NBA schedule.
- What FIBA rules the NBA should consider adopting.
- Team USA’s chances of winning gold in Rio.
- The merits of a hypothetical Ricky Rubio/Rudy Gay trade.
- Who will be the Most Improved Player for the upcoming season.
- How successful the Pistons’ offseason was.
- Our Free Agent Tracker continues to have up-to-date data on this summer’s contract agreements and signings from around the NBA.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.