Nick Calathes Suspended 20 Games
SATURDAY, 9:18am: Ron Klempner, the acting player’s union executive director, tells Wojnarowski that the suspension is a “true injustice,” and that the NBPA has and will continue to fight the decision. “Our collectively bargained program failed this player and this case will certainly be recalled when we return to the bargaining table,” Klempner said. “In the meantime, we’ll file an appeal and allow the process to run its course.”
FRIDAY, 6:31pm: Memphis guard Nick Calathes will be suspended 20 games for a violation of NBA’s Anti-Drug policy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The suspension is to begin immediately according to the tweet. The Grizzlies begin their playoff series against the Thunder on Saturday. The suspension will cause Calathes to miss this year’s playoffs.
Calathes allegedly tested positive for Tamoxifen, which was supposedly part of an over-the-counter athletic supplement he had used, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link).
The NBA’s lab results reportedly showed no traces of testosterone or performance enhancing drugs in the supplement, tweets Wojnarowski. “There was no intent here,” a league source told Yahoo! Sports.
Calathes averaged 4.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 16.5 minutes per game this season.
Western Notes: Spurs, Thunder, Bledsoe, Arthur
Spurs owner Peter Holt is stepping down as chairman of the NBA’s Board of Governors, notes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Timberwolves owner and former chairman Glen Taylor will replace him on an interim basis until a new chairman is selected in October (Twitter links)
More from out west:
- Several GMs are convinced that either Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook will leave the Thunder, given the difficulty of sharing top billing in small-market Oklahoma City, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Neither can become a free agent until 2016.
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough is confident the team will be able to re-sign Eric Bledsoe this summer, writes Bob Baum of the Associated Press. McDonough said that the backcourt of Bledsoe and Goran Dragic is as good as any in the league, according to the article. Bledsoe is a restricted free agent and the team has repeatedly said they will match any offer another team may make, but the team hopes to work out a deal prior to the free agency period beginning, writes Baum.
- The Suns front office discussed the team’s season and their future, including the upcoming NBA Draft and the free agent signing period, writes Matt Petersen of NBA.com.
- Darrell Arthur expects to exercise his $3.5MM player option and return to the Nuggets next season, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
- Despite having ample cap space this summer the Lakers might just stand pat during free agency, writes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. It’s possible the team limits itself to possibly re-signing Pau Gasol, hoping to land a good player in the lottery, and waiting until the summer of 2015 to strike in the free agent ranks, opines Koutroupis.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Draft, Bucks, Cavs, Pistons
Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors weighed in on the Eastern Conference playoffs as a guest on The Baseline podcast at Shaw Sports.
More from around the Association and college ranks:
- Kentucky coach John Calipari has no idea if Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison will declare for this year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Calipari said, “They have ‘til the 27th to make a decision. I don’t even know what the NCAA date is because we don’t worry about it. It has nothing to do with us. The only date they have to be concerned about is the 27th, when they have to put their name in or they don’t put their name in.” Draft Express has Andrew ranked as the 39th best prospect and Aaron as the 53rd.
- The NBA Draft Experts at ESPN.com examine the scouting report and draft prospects of Kentucky’s James Young, who has announced that he will enter this year’s draft. Young ranks 15th on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s Big Board.
- Duke’s Rodney Hood also gets profiled by ESPN.com’s draft experts. Hood has declared he’s entering the draft this year, and Ford has him ranked 22nd. You can also check out our prospect profile on Hood.
- Adam Silver doesn’t anticipate any issues affecting league approval of Herb Kohl’s sale of the Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, as the commissioner told reporters today, including Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Silver informed fellow Journal Sentinel scribe Charles F. Gardner that he expects approval to occur within a month (Twitter link).
- Despite the talk that Cavaliers guards Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters don’t get along, Luol Deng has said the two players “love” each other, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
- Part of the reason the Pistons had such a poor season was due to bad chemistry, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis’ article speculates as to what caused this issue.
- Larry Coon of the CBA FAQ Blog (via RealGM.com) is reporting that the 2014/15 salary cap is now projected to be $63.2MM and the tax level is projected to be $77MM. The numbers for 2015/16 are now projected to be $66.5MM and $81MM, respectively. This season’s figures are $58.679MM for the salary cap and $71.748MM for the luxury tax level, so the cap projection for next season is a 7.7% increase over this year’s.
Atlantic Notes: Young, Woodson, Nets
Thaddeus Young is confident that the Sixers would meet any demands he makes on the organization, as he told reporters, including Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Young indicated that he might use the possibility of declining or exercising his player option for 2015/16 as leverage, and he also raised the possibility that he’ll ask for a trade, as we noted last night.
More from the east:
- While many believe that the Knicks firing of coach Mike Woodson is a foregone conclusion, it is likely that the team won’t announce the move until next week, write Chris Broussard and Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Daily News finds it puzzling that Sixers GM Sam Hinkie has been conspicuously absent from the team’s end of season press conferences.
- Nets GM Billy King‘s offseason plans are about to be put to the test now that the playoffs are beginning, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Marcus Lee To Return To Kentucky
Another member of Kentucky’s Final Four team will be returning to school next year. Marcus Lee has announced he will return for his sophomore season. Lee said, “I’ve really enjoyed my college experience and I’m looking forward to continuing to develop as an all-around player. Playing in the Final Four was such an amazing feeling, but I want to come back and help win that final game this year.”
In 24 appearances for the Wildcats, Lee averaged 2.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 0.6 BPG in 6.5 minutes per contest. His slash line was .619/.000/.438. He had a much better NCAA tournament and even made the Midwest Regional All-Tournament team. His best tournament performance came against Michigan where he scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
According to draft experts, Lee would have likely been a second round pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Terrence Williams To Play In Puerto Rico
Former NBA player Terrence Williams has signed a deal to play in Puerto Rico with Brujos de Guayama, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The details and length of the deal haven’t been announced. The NBA veteran has struggled to earn a roster spot and playing time since showing some flashes in 78 games as a rookie with the Nets in 2009/10. His last NBA stint was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 24 games with the Celtics.
Williams has played two games in Turkey with Turk Telekom Ankara and averaged 4.0 PPG this season. He also played in the NBA D-League with Los Angeles D-Fenders scoring 20.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 6.3 APG in 34 games.
In parts of four NBA seasons, Williams’ career numbers with the Nets, Rockets, Kings, and Celtics are 7.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 19.1 minutes per game.
Dexter Pittman To Play In Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rican team Caciques de Humacao announced the signing of Dexter Pittman, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Terms and length of the deal for the 26-year-old center haven’t been released. He was recently let go by the Rockets to make room for them to sign Josh Powell after only being with the team for five days. He didn’t see any action while with Houston.
Pittman appeared in two games for the Hawks this season and averaged 1.5 RPG, but didn’t score a point. He was released by the team on February 27th. Pittman also played seven games in China with Foshan averaging 12.7 PPG.
In 27 games this season in the NBA D-League with the Austin Toros the big man averaged 11.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG.
Pistons Considering Griffin, Zarren, Vandeweghe
With Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars’ announcement that he was “stepping aside”, the speculation as to who would take over his post began. The team intends to conduct a comprehensive search for their next GM, report Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today. According to the article, there are several names are on the Pistons’ radar.
The latest names to be mentioned in connection with Detroit are Cavaliers acting general manager David Griffin, Celtics assistant GM and team counsel Mike Zarren and NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki Vandeweghe.
Other names connected with the search per the article, are Magic assistant GM Scott Perry, who is from Detroit and used to work for the team, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.
It was also reported earlier this week that Grant Hill, a former Pistons player who is now working for Turner Sports, is also a possibility for the post. The Pistons may also look into an arrangement similar to the one Doc Rivers has with the Clippers, the article notes. Rivers is both coach and senior vice president of basketball operations and works with vice president of basketball operations Gary Sacks on personnel decisions.
The other wild card here could be former Pistons great Isiah Thomas, who was reported to be openly campaigning for the job, despite the team shooting down those rumors. There has also been talk that the team may want to hire Chauncey Billups for the front-office, but the exact role hasn’t been revealed.
Currently Pistons director of basketball operations Ken Catanella and assistant GM David George are preparing for the draft and free agency. They report to ownership executives Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth, both of whom are partners is Gores’ private equity investment firm, Platinum Equity, write Zillgitt and Amick.
Rockets Sign Josh Powell
WEDNESDAY, 11:10am: The Rockets have officially announced the deal, via press release. The statement doesn’t mention the team’s reported release of Pittman, but presumably that’s taken place, as well.
10:57pm: Powell passed his physical, signed his contract, and is joining the team soon, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.
12:31pm: It’ll be a multiyear deal that’s non-guaranteed beyond this season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
TUESDAY, 7:51am: Sources tell Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that Powell has received his FIBA letter of clearance, and that he’ll sign with the team on Tuesday as long as he passes his physical.
MONDAY, 11:35am: The Rockets will make a move by Wednesday, but no decision regarding Powell has been finalized, Feigen tweets.
SUNDAY, 4:51pm: Reports out of the Philippines say the Rockets, who were earlier reported to be releasing Dexter Pittman, now intend to sign Josh Powell to take his place on the roster, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Powell had been playing with Barangay Ginebra in the Philippines after signing with the team on March 30th.
Powell was in camp with the Knicks prior to the start of the 2013/14 NBA season, but the team reportedly had no intention of retaining him for opening night, no matter how well he played in preseason. He was waived by the Knicks in October then penned a deal with Guangdong where he averaged 15.0 PPG and 9.9 RPG, before heading to the Philippines.
In six seasons in the NBA he has career averages of 3.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 0.5 APG in 12.5 minutes per contest, but Powell is best known for being a member of two championship winning Lakers teams in 2009 and 2010.
Knicks Move Closer To Signing Lamar Odom
MARCH 15TH: The Knicks and Odom are making progress toward striking a deal before the regular season is over on Wednesday, according to Stein. Odom probably isn’t healthy enough to play in either of the Knicks’ final two games, Stein hears, but the contract would cover 2014/15 with non-guaranteed money, the ESPN.com scribe adds.
MARCH 11TH: The Knicks are considering signing Lamar Odom prior to the end of the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Stein (Twitter link) the team is considering a deal with a team option for the 2014/15 season so they could take the summer to evaluate him and his health.
Odom had recently met with Knicks president Phil Jackson, but the reason for the meeting wasn’t made public. Odom, who played for Jackson when both were with the Lakers, had his NBA comeback stalled due to an injury while signed overseas.
He last saw NBA action with the Clippers during the 2012/13 season. In 82 games he averaged 4.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 19.7 minutes per game. His career averages are 13.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 33.4 minutes a night.