Odds & Ends: Anthony, Williams, Hardaway Jr.
It was reported earlier that Carmelo Anthony might be willing to take a pay cut to remain with the Knicks if it would help the team contend for a championship. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com examines what that would mean for the team going forward. According to Begley, it would be of no help to the team in 2014/2015 no matter how much money Anthony left on the table. If Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani remain on the roster by exercising their player options, the Knicks’ payroll would be over the projected salary-cap line of $62.9MM even without ‘Melo on the team. It is during the 2015/2016 season where the team could reap the benefits. If Anthony signs a max deal, his salary that season will be $24,142,789, and the team would have five players under contract at a total of $39,492,533. This is barring any high-priced additions between now and then with contracts that run through 2015/2016. If Anthony takes a pay cut, it would leave the Knicks enough room to pursue Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo, and would allow the team to add more depth to the roster, a necessary element to contend for a title.
More from around the league:
- LaMarcus Aldridge implored his team to make upgrades over the summer, but he doesn’t think the Blazers need to pull off a deadline move to make up for the loss of injured Joel Freeland, observes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). Aldridge believes that Meyers Leonard can fill the void.
- The Lakers may re-sign Shawne Williams to a second 10-day contract, but may wait until their next game to do so, or even until after the trade deadline passes, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
- Despite the pressure to appease ‘Melo by swinging a deadline deal, one of the Knicks few desirable trade assets, Tim Hardaway Jr.has been deemed “virtually untouchable”, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. This was prior to Hardaway Jr. dropping 36 points in the Rising Stars game.
- The Cavs took a four game winning streak into the All-Star break. Kyrie Irving believes the team meeting the players held after GM Chris Grant was fired is a big reason the Cavs are playing looser and enjoying the game again, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Irving stated, “We had a great team meeting and got a lot off our chest, things that needed to be said. I think it started a little bit of a change in our locker room.”
Ersan Ilyasova Requests Trade
Ersan Ilyasova concedes he has some strong emotional attachments to the Bucks organization and to Milwaukee, but he admits his allegiance to the team is being severely tested these days, according to The Racine Journal Times. As the team’s longest-tenured player, Ilyasova has become dismayed about the front office’s penchant for making radical personnel changes. Multiple sources have said that he has expressed a desire to be traded, apparently having had his fill of the Bucks’ continual rebuilding project. For the record, Ilyasova declined to comment on whether he or his agent, Andy Miller, had requested a trade.
Speaking about those personnel changes, Ilyasova noted how the team went to the Eastern Conference playoffs during the 2009/10 season and then made wholesale roster changes the following offseason. The result was a 35-47 record in 2010/2011. Then, after making the playoffs last season, the team brought in 11 new players an have won only nine games this season, and are on the way to the worst record in team history.
The Bucks are still searching for the right team chemistry, and according to the article, are willing to trade anyone on the roster outside of John Henson and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ilyasova is arguably the Bucks’ best trading chip and several teams are believed to be interested in him. For the season, Ilyasova is averaging 10.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, in 27.1 MPG.
Ilyasova isn’t the only player on the team wanting out of Milwaukee. In the same article it was noted that Gary Neal and his agent, David Bauman, have talked to GM John Hammond in recent weeks about the possibility of a trade. Neal wants to play for a contender, instead of coming off the bench for a rebuilding team. Milwaukee remains agreeable to helping Neal move onto a competitive team, tweeted Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He was signed to a two-year, $6.5MM contract this past summer. For the season, Neal is averaging 10.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.6 APG,
Also from the Racine Journal Times post, Pelicans guard Eric Gordon said before Wednesday night’s game that he’s “heard the Bucks have had interest in him for some time.” Gordon is reportedly on the trading block, though his contract for $14.2MM this season, $14.9MM next season, and a player option of $15.5MM in 2015/16 would make it difficult for the Bucks to fit him into their budget.
Eastern Notes: Gilbert, Wyatt, Bobcats
The Cavs are still trying to pick up the pieces in the wake of the firing of GM Chris Grant. Team owner Dan Gilbert is determined to learn from past mistakes, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is 3 1/2 seasons removed from LeBron James‘ departure for Miami and have only Kyrie Irving to show for their troubles. Gilbert is ferocious in his determination not to lose Irving the way he lost LeBron, writes Begrer, and Gilbert says the lessons learned from James’ decision to go to Miami in 2010 will be the guiding force behind his search for an executive to lead the franchise forward.
More from around the East:
- Also from the Berger article, he writes that the Bobcats will be aggressive buyers at the deadline, and their interest in the Sixers Evan Turner is real. Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie wants a first-round pick for Turner (and the same for Spencer Hawes). The Bobcats can offer their Detroit pick (top eight protected) if they’re serious about making a push, opines Berger. The Bobcats could potentially have two other first-round picks, Portland‘s (top 12 protected), and their own, but that goes to the Bulls if it falls out of the top 10.
- Sixers camp invitee Khalif Wyatt, who signed with the D-League earlier this week, will play for the the Springfield Armor, the affiliate of the Nets, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports. Wyatt entered the NBA D-League player pool after playing in China for Guangdong Southern. In 27 games, he averaged 15.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 4.9 APG.
- With all the talk about whether or not Carmelo Anthony wants to remain with the Knicks, he seems to be sending mixed messages, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.com (via twitter), asked the Raptors DeMar DeRozan if the team has campaigned to keep their core together, and DeRozan said no, but also that he “didn’t think they had to.“
- Larry Brown thinks that Knicks owner James Dolan likes Mike Woodson and will “do the right thing by him“, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Speaking further about the Dolan-Woodson relationship, Brown also stated, “I think he has a great relationship with him. Woody’s a strong human being, man. He just focuses on what he can do to make things better. He doesn’t look at the bad stuff.” Despite Brown’s feelings, Zagoria opines that even if Woodson remains as coach through this season, if the Knicks fail to make the postseason, it’s entirely possible he could lose his job over the summer.
Eastern Notes: Boozer, Ridnour, Nogueira
The general opinion around the league has been that the Bulls will use the Amnesty Provision on Carlos Boozer after the season. But during last nights broadcast of the Bulls/Nets game, TNT’s Craig Sager had a different opinion, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.com. Sager has heard that the team might not Amnesty Boozer after all. Sager stated, “He (Boozer) told me tonight that he has been assured that he will not be traded by next week’s deadline, nor will the team buy out the final year of his contract this summer unless they can land a superstar who is too good to pass up.” If superstar was the word used, writes Brigham, then that could be referring to if the team could somehow lure either LeBron James, or Carmelo Anthony to sign with the Bulls this summer.
More from around the East:
- Several teams have called the Bucks about Luke Ridnour, including Washington and Sacramento, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Bucks are also fielding calls about their young players, as teams aren’t sold that owner Herb Kohl is serious about going through the pain of a youth movement. But the message from the Bucks has been consistent. They have taken the stance that barring a significant offer, their young assets are staying put, writes Berger.
- Also from the Berger article, he writes that the trade dynamics are much more fluid than at recent deadlines, especially in the East. Several teams are on the borderline between pulling back and positioning for a better draft pick or making a move to push for a playoff spot. For example, with 30 losses each, the Bobcats and Pistons are on the cusp of an almost hopeless postseason venture as the seventh or eighth seed, which would almost certainly mean a first-round sweep at the hands of Indiana or Miami. According to Berger, the quandary is that they’re also only five games out of the fourth spot, which could deliver home-court advantage in a winnable first-round series.
- Lucas Nogueira‘s decision to leave the care of Hawks doctors and rejoin his team in Spain was his and not the Hawks’, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription only). Still, there’s no indication that the team is upset with his choice.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Randolph, Goodwin, T’Wolves
The Suns are interested in the Zach Randolph, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com notes. With the Suns looking to be buyers at the deadline, and having Emeka Okafor‘s expiring contract, along with as many as four first-round picks in this year’s draft, they have some ammunition to acquire a significant piece to help them advance in the playoffs this year. The team had been pursing the Pau Gasol of the Lakers, but his recent injury as well as the Lakers’ insistence on receiving a high draft pick have cooled those talks. David Aldridge of NBA.com also weighed in on the possibility of the Suns trying to obtain Randolph. The Grizzlies aren’t shopping him, but that doesn’t mean the right offer couldn’t pry him loose. Randolph is averaging 17.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 2.6 APG.
More from the west:
- In the same article, Kennedy also notes that the Timberwolves would most likely be quiet on the trade front. He referenced this interview from the team’s president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, via the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. According to the article, Saunders and his staff did a study of 189 trades made over the last 10 years. Saunders stated, “Of the 189 trades, teams that were at or below .500, only 14 percent made the playoffs. With teams above .500 making a trade, only 55 percent stayed at the same position or improved.” The math on the study indicated that 45 percent of the teams making trades came out worse in the standings after making a move. The Timberwolves are currently 24-27, and according to the team’s numbers, the odds are against them making a trade.
- The Rockets announced via Twitter that they’ve recalled Robert Covington from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Covington, who has been assigned to the D-League twice this season, will be in action for tonight’s game against the T’Wolves.
- Guard Archie Goodwin has been recalled from the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, the Suns announced. During his second and most recent assignment with Bakersfield, Goodwin appeared in three games, averaging 24.3 PPG on 55.1 percent field goal shooting and 4.7 RPG in 29.7 minutes. The 19-year-old has played in 37 games for Phoenix this season and is averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.5 minutes per contest.
- This time next year, we’ll know how serious the Warriors ownership group is about winning, writes Daniel Leroux of RealGM. By then we’ll have a sense of whether the club is actually willing to pay the luxury tax and what they’ll do with coach Mark Jackson.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Camby, Rookies, Conroy
Going into the 2013 NBA draft, experts had viewed it as one of the weakest in recent memory. There was no franchise savior available, and the lottery was looked on as a guessing game at best. A little more than halfway through the season, the rookie class hasn’t done anything to dispel this notion. Outside of Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, there hasn’t been much rookie production. Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders.com believes there are five rookies who might be able to turn their seasons around. The players he examines in the piece are Anthony Bennett, Cody Zeller, Ben McLemore, Alex Len, and Otto Porter.
More from around the league:
- Free agent center Marcus Camby is progressing in his rehabilitation from foot surgery and expects to be fully healthy by February’s end to join an NBA team, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. The 39-year-old, who would become the second-oldest player in the league behind Steve Nash, averaged 1.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 24 games with the Knicks last season.
- German team Medi Bayreuth and Will Conroy have parted ways, according to an announcement on the club’s official website translated by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 31-year-old, who was averaging 5.2 PPG across nine games, is already working out with another German team and is likely to sign for the rest of the season, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.
- A Western Conference executive tells Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News that he expects more coaches to lose their jobs now that Maurice Cheeks has lost his. That’s a grim sign for Mike Woodson, Lawrence observes.
- It was previously thought that the NBPA would vote on a new union leader in New Orleans during the All-Star break but the latest signals suggest that won’t take place, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. There’s a push from some in the union to start the search over from scratch.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Pistons Fire Maurice Cheeks
1:21pm: The Pistons won’t conduct a search for their permanent coach right away, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
1:04pm: John Loyer will take over as interim coach, tweets David Mayo of MLive.com.
11:07am: The Pistons have fired coach Maurice Cheeks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.com. Despite back-to-back victories on the weekend, general manager Joe Dumars informed Cheeks of his dismissal on Sunday morning, Wojnarowski’s sources said. Wojnarowski writes that Cheeks was in the first season of a two-year deal, but reports when Cheeks was hired indicated that his contract was a four-year deal, with a team option for the final season.
In a season that has fallen short of his playoff expectations, Detroit owner Tom Gores has been pushing for changes. Detroit is 21-29 and a half-game behind Charlotte for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Wojnarowski also suggests that Gores was behind the firing, while Joe Dumars advocated giving Cheeks more time.
This move comes on the heels of Cheeks’ sideline confrontation with Will Bynum, as well as his admission that he should be doing a better job at preparing the team to play. Cheeks’ firing also marks the first coaching change of the NBA this season.
No interim coach has been appointed for the team, but assistant John Loyer is expected to be frontrunner, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Pistons Notes: Lionel Hollins, Cheeks Fallout
With today’s firing of Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks, this has started the speculation as to who their next coach will be. Assistant John Loyer has been named the interim coach, and coaching sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Lionel Hollins is a prime target (Twitter link) for the job. If there was a good time to fire a coach, it was now, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders.com, as there are a number of qualified coaches available on the market. Hollins has a career record of 214-201, and led the Grizzlies to 56 wins in 2012/2013. Greene also notes that Hollins was offered the opportunity to join Cheeks’ staff this season, but declined. Hollins has also made it well-known that he desires to return to coaching, stating that, “I believe that I’ve established myself as a head coach and I’d like another opportunity to show that my success wasn’t a fluke”. Greene also points to Hollins’ success in developing Memphis’ frontcourt players such as Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol as a selling point, considering the Pistons glut of big men.
More on the Pistons coaching change:
- It should be embarrassing to the team that the players had to find out via Twitter, writes Sean Highkin of USA Today. Judging by the reactions he posts in the article, the players were blindsided by the news.
- Hollins has already sounded off on the possibility of him taking the Pistons job, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW (via Twitter). Hollins told him, “Of course I’m interested“, though Hollins also said he had not been contacted yet. Haynes also writes that it’s only a matter of time before the Pistons reach out to Hollins.
- Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter) has also supported the idea of Lionel Hollins coaching the Pistons.
- Brandon Jennings tweeted his support for departed coach Maurice Cheeks.
- Cheeks took the fall for a disastrous run of decisions by GM Joe Dumars, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation.com. Ziller details a number of moves that have derailed the organization, including the Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon signings, the hiring of John Kuester, trading Arron Afflalo, and signings of Josh Smith and Jennings.
Odds & Ends: Trade Deadline, Roberson, Smart
Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders.com looks at three teams that will definitely be buyers at this years trade deadline. The Suns could look to add a big man, such as Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, Omer Asik, or Carlos Boozer. Acquiring a quality big could push the Suns into the second round of the playoffs, according to Ingram. The Knicks will try to add another star quality player to add alongside Carmelo Anthony, and aren’t likely to deal Anthony despite all the speculation. Ingram believes a point guard, such as Rajon Rondo or Kyle Lowry will be their primary target. He also thinks they will attempt to deal Amar’e Stoudemire to the Celtics. Lastly, he writes that the Bobcats will be looking to upgrade their wing position, and could deal Ben Gordon or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to facilitate a deal.
More from around the league:
- The Thunder have recalled Andre Roberson from the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League, the team announced via a press release. During his most recent assignment, Roberson averaged 20.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest. In 21 NBA games with the big club in Oklahoma City, the power forward has averaged 1.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 7.2 MPG.
- Former NBA player Johan Petro is set to sign a deal early next week to play in France, according to Matthieu Marot of Le Populaire du Centre (Twitter link; translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). A report yesterday indicated he was close to an agreement. Petro last saw action in the NBA during the 2012/13 season, when he averaged 3.6 PPG in 31 games for the Hawks.
- Last night’s incident in which Marcus Smart shoved a fan is unlikely to result in his draft stock falling, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Smart would have been a top-3 pick if he had entered last year’s draft, but shooting woes and a wealth of talent in this year’s draft have him as the second or third-ranked point guard, behind Dante Exum and possibly Tyler Ennis. Recent mock drafts have him being taken in the 6-10 range now, writes Zagoria. Smart is averaging 17.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 4.3 APG, while shooting 42% from the field and 28% from 3-point range.
Cavs Notes: Gilbert, GM Candidates, Coaching
Dan Gilbert’s basketball people have failed him, which left him no choice but to step in, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. The players aren’t responding to coaching, nor giving maximum effort, which is on them. But at some point, something will have to be done to change the culture, and that could result in the firing of coach Mike Brown, writes Amico. The main issue is that Brown hasn’t gotten them to play his style of defense, which was one of the primary reasons for the hire. The team is currently ranked 25th in points allowed. Amico also writes that the Cavs immediately went from going through the motions to going on a 33-game audition after GM Chris Grant was let go. This goes for all the players, as well as interim GM David Griffin.
More on the Cavs:
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald & The Morning Journal runs down some possible candidates to fill the Cavs GM spot if Griffin doesn’t keep the job. Finnan also traces much of what has gone wrong in Cleveland to their recent drafts. Out of their most recent players selected, only Kyrie Irving has achieved the production level expected from such a high draft pick. Tristan Thompson (No. 4 overall pick in 2011) and Dion Waiters (No. 4 overall in 2012) have been starters, at least occasionally in the case of Waiters, and Anthony Bennett (No. 1 overall in 2013) has struggled mightily.
- Also weighing in on some possible GM candidates is Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com.
- In her weekly Q&A roundup, Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at a number of issues facing the team. She believes that Mike Brown won’t be fired before the end of the season as coach. She also believes that Dan Gilbert’s playoff-or-bust edict placed undue pressure on Brown and the team. Also unlikely, according to Schmitt Boyer, is an acquisition of Greg Monroe, or the hiring of Akron coach Keith Dambrot as a replacement for Brown.