Positional Notes: Davis, Acy, Sixers
With the season right around the corner, tons of speculation surrounds positional rotations on several teams. Here are a few recent articles that shine a little light on where certain players currently stand on their team's respective depth charts.
- Terry Pluto from The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Samardo Samuels will be fighting for a spot in the Cavaliers front court next season, but with the addition of Tyler Zeller and the return of Anderson Varejao from injury, it'll be difficult.
- The Toronto Star's Doug Smith believes that with six players in front of him, rookie Quincy Acy will have a very difficult time cracking the Raptors front court rotation.
- With the Sixers offseason addition of Andrew Bynum at center, former center Spencer Hawes will be forced into a role as the team's power forward, writes the Philadelphia Inquirer's John Mitchell.
- Kent Williams of SheridanHoops.com has a few notes worth discussing, including Glen Davis' status as the Magic's starting power forward and J.J. Barea's rapidly decreasing role with the Timberwolves.
Latest On NBPA
FRIDAY, 12:56pm: The NBPA has informed players that the law firm selected to review the union's business practices requires more time to finish its report, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports. That subject was one of many discussed in a series of conference calls with the executive committee and player representatives, says Berger.
Among the other topics discussed was the competition's committee's recent talks about a handful of issues, including flopping. The competition committee has yet to formulate an official recommendation on flopping to take to the league's Board of Governors, according to Berger.
WEDNESDAY, 7:08pm: According to SI.com's Sam Amick, a conference call is scheduled to take place on Thursday regarding several pertinent union issues. From a recent memo: "We will provide an update of current union business and cover matters including the distribution of 2011-12 group license funds, implementation of the new annuity program, and proposed rules changes from the competition committee."
Hanging over the head of all these discussion topics is the status of the union's two most important figures: Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher, who have been at serious odds over the union's financial situation since shortly after last year's CBA resolution. Amick reports that no resolution is expected regarding Fisher and Hunter's issue, and Suns' representative Jared Dudley says the situation "smells funny." Fisher's contract is up in two seasons while Hunter's expires in 2016.
Poll: Most Likely To Be Extended?
Given Rick Carlisle’s recent comments about this being the season Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois‘ finally “puts it all together,” we at Hoops Rumors are wondering which of the listed players entering extension eligibility are most likely to stay with their current teams. Earlier this month I posted a poll asking which higher profile player was most likely to change teams, but here the question is inverted.
Odds & Ends: Curry, Knicks, Jones, Trail Blazers
It appears Warriors guard Stephen Curry's ankles are either 100% or very close to it. Earlier today Curry tweeted that he was finally able to participate in scrimmages with his teammates, and CSNBayArea.com's Matt Steinmetz later confirmed the tweet by writing that Curry indeed played five-on-five at the team's downtown Oakland practice facility.
Here's some other news from around the league.
- Current Nuggets forward and former member of the Knicks Danilo Gallinari said that the fact New York is rumored to bring Isiah Thomas back into their front office is why they'll never win, writes KnicksJournal.com's Keith Schlosser.
- Rockets rookie forward Terrence Jones sat down with Rockets.com's Jason Friedman for an informative Q&A.
- Houston Chronicle reporter Jonathan Feigen analyzes what San Antonio's new uniforms could mean for the rest of the league.
- SpursNation.com's Dan McCarney talks about what the recent sale of AEG might mean for some other teams across the league, including the Spurs.
- In an in-depth season preview for the loaded Northwest Division, NBA.com's John Schuhmman says that the Trail Blazers might be the worst defensive team in the entire league next year.
- Lakers head coach Mike Brown recently stated on ESPN Radio that he's excited about the upcoming season, for obvious reasons, writes ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- NBA.com's Earl K. Sneed quotes Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle as saying that this is the year Rodrigue Beaubois puts it all together.
Free Agent Notes: Fisher, Gilder, Joyner
With preseason action right around the corner, several teams are holding informal workouts in an attempt to figure out their training camp rosters. Of them are the Lakers, who've begun bringing in newcomers in El Segundo, writes CBSLA.com. One semi-surprising player in attendance was former Laker point guard Derek Fisher, who was traded by the team to the Rockets last season.
Here are a few other free agency related notes floating around the league this Wednesday evening.
- Forward Trey Gilder has been invited to the Jazz's training camp, writes The Salt Lake Tribune's Brian T. Smith. The 27-year-old Gilder spent last season in the D-League where he averaged 19.2PPG and 7.7RPG in 34 apperances. He's expected to compete for a roster spot with the team.
- Terrence Joyner is weighing training camp options from several teams, tweets Hoopsworld.com's Alex Kennedy. If he doesn't take any offers, Joyner will play in the D-League.
- The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman gives his top 20 remaining free agents. (Sulia link)
- Maccabi Tel-Aviv has waived Pops Mensah-Bonsu due to a lingering knee injury, reports Sportando.net.
Week In Review: 9/10/12 – 9/16/12
Here's a look back at all the week's NBA related news.
- The Grizzlies are set to sign Flip Murray and Jerome Jordan.
- The Lakers signed Darius Johnson-Odom.
- The Jazz signed their second round pick, Kevin Murphy.
- Matt Barnes signed with the Clippers.
- The Wizards are close to a deal with Brian Cook.
- Ivan Johnson is set to sign a qualifying offer from the Hawks.
- The Warriors are close to signing Alex Renfroe.
- Tony DiLeo is considered a top replacement option for the Sixers general manager position.
- The Suns are not pursuing Leandro Barbosa.
- The Heat signed Garrett Temple.
- The Celtics signed Rob Kurz.
- The Nets signed Josh Childress.
- Ryan Gomes is working out for the Bobcats.
- Manny Harris signed with a team in the Ukraine.
- The Grizzlies are set to sign Ronald Dupree.
- The Nets officially signed Andray Blatche.
- The Thunder sign DeAndre Liggins.
- The Raptors signed Dominic McGuire.
- The Timberwolves are set to sign Will Conroy.
- The Wizards are set to sign Shavlik Randolph and Steven Gray.
- The Hawks have agreed to terms with Damion James.
- The Wizards agree to sign Earl Barron.
- Hassan Whiteside worked out for theHeat.
- The Knicks signed Henry Sims, Mychel Thompson, and Oscar Bellfield.
- The Mavericks are set to sign D.J. Mbenga.
- The Thunder are set to sign Andy Rautins.
Latest On Josh Howard
3:36PM: Josh Howard still has interest in signing with the Jazz, but the team's unresolved issue with Raja Bell makes it so he'll likely sign with a different team, according to a tweet from the Salt Lake Tribune's Brian T. Smith.
1:40PM: Free agent forward Josh Howard is scheduled to visit the Spurs on Monday, according to a tweet from Yahoo! Sports reporter Marc J. Spears. Earlier this summer we heard that Howard had narrowed his search down to five teams (the Jazz, Pacers, Nets, Knicks, and Warriors), but the Spurs were obviously not one of them.
Howard has also been given a look at by the Bobcats and Bulls, but Charlotte's interest qualified as nothing higher than "exploratory." The 32-year-old forward is a former All-Star coming off a year in which he started for the Jazz in their opening round playoff loss to the Spurs, and it's a bit strange that no team has been willing to bring him aboard yet.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/10/12 – 9/16/12
Here's a look back at all the original content produced by our team of writers last week.
- Chuck Myron goes over all the 2012 offseason trades.
- I asked between the Lakers and Clippers, which team won the offseason arms race.
- How will the Thunder proceed with James Harden's contract situation?
- Chuck Myron takes a look at roster sizes in the western conference. He then inspects the east.
- Zach Links gives us his weekly Hoops Links feature.
- A transcript of our weekly Hoops Rumors chat.
- Luke Adams looks at the NBA's roster limits.
Poll: Lakers/Clippers Arms Race
The Lakers and Clippers have each spent the offseason competing in a blatant arms race to takeover the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers made the two biggest splashes, trading for Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, but the Clippers improved their depth, signing multiple free agent veterans like Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, and Matt Barnes.
Which team do you think won the offseason battle, and heads into the 2012/13 season as the better team?
Odds & Ends: Kidd-Gilchrist, Raptors, 2013 Draft
During a University of Kentucky charity game that he originally wasn't scheduled to compete in, Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist appeared to show no ill effects from a knee injury that kept him sidelined during July's Summer League in Las Vegas, writes the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell.
Here's a look elsewhere around the league this Saturday evening.
- The Raptors are currently entering stage two of the rebuilding process, writes NBA.com's John Schuhmann. Even though the team's big offseason target, Steve Nash, ended up signing with the Lakers, Toronto continues to build around the strength of their talented youth.
- Hoopsworld.com and Draft Express give us their top 100 NBA prospects for the 2013 draft. UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel headline the list.
- HoopsWorld.com gives us a season preview for the Trail Blazers, a team that's either rebuilding or already talented enough to compete for the eighth seed in the West. Also from HoopsWorld.com, a preview for the Bucks.
- The Jazz will enter the 2012/13 season with a new general manager and new faces on the roster, such as longtime Hawks forward Marvin Williams, writes The Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm.
- Chris Smith, J.R. Smith's brother, will fight for a roster spot with the Knicks in this year's training camp, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.