Odds & Ends: Spurs, Diaw, Kaman, Morris
- The Spurs may be looking into the trade market for a point guard, according to Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld.
- Tony Parker spoke about his desire for Boris Diaw to join him in San Antonio should he be granted a buyout from the Bobcats. Interestingly enough, Parker referred to the Knicks as another team that is interested in Diaw.
- Center Chris Kaman says he feels comfortable with his role in New Orleans and would hope to stay with the Hornets, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune.
- Lakers rookie Darius Morris suffered a bruised wrist during a game in the D-League and will be day-to-day, says Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. (Twitter link)
- Greg Oden appears to be preparing to move on from the Trail Blazers. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, a source close to the situation has said that Oden is in the process of selling his home in Portland and has no intention of returning to the team next season.
Warriors Want To Keep Thompson
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears that rookie shooting guard Klay Thompson is one player that the Warriors do not want to part with unless he's included in a deal for Dwight Howard. (Twitter link)
Highly touted for his shooting ability coming out of college, Thompson is averaging 7.8 PPG while shooting 45% from the field and an excellent 46% from three-point range in 17 minutes off of the bench. Should Monta Ellis be dealt at the deadline, Mark Jackson could then slide Klay into the starting lineup and give him in a larger role in his rotation. In a season-high of 27 minutes played on Wednesday against the Grizzlies, Thompson scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Two nights earlier, Thompson poured in 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 4-for-5 from range in 20 minutes during a win against the Wizards.
We wrote earlier that the Warriors are making a play for Bucks center Andrew Bogut, and having Thompson could make Ellis all the more expendable.
Grizzlies Not Likely To Move Mayo
While Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer says that Memphis has been trying to move O.J. Mayo for over a season now, Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld tweeted earlier that the Grizzlies are unlikely to make a move despite having received multiple offers for the fourth-year guard. If Memphis were to be involved in a trade this week, it will be a smaller, money-saving deal. (Twitter link)
Mayo has appeared to be comfortable in his reserve role as a scorer, and Lionel Hollins still manages to supply him with a substantial amount of minutes on the floor. The Grizzlies are 11-3 in their last 14 games, and Mayo's playing time has been near the 30 minute mark in nine of those contests.
Earlier this year, GM Chris Wallace handled the loss of Zach Randolph to injury by dealing guard-forward Xavier Henry for big man Marreese Speights. With Randolph recently being cleared for contact practice and eyeing a return to the court soon (according to The Sports Xchange of CBSsports.com), it would appear that there is no need for Memphis to make another move to add another big to the frontcourt, much less include Mayo in those type of talks.
During last year's deadline, the Grizzlies and Pacers had agreed in principle to send Mayo to Indiana but failed to submit the deal to the league office on time for approval.
Trade Candidate: Terrence Wiliams
While he certainly hasn't taken the league by storm, Terrence Williams appeared talented enough to be selected in the lottery of the 2009 NBA draft, going 11th to New Jersey ahead of Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, and Darren Collison. Now more than halfway into his third NBA season, Williams is struggling to crack the rotation in Houston while the other three players have found success and steady roles with their respective teams.
Senior writer Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld reports that Williams is unsure of his future with the Rockets and implied that he would not be upset if he were to be dealt. Kevin McHale weighed in on the matter of his lack of playing time: “It’s tough. We have a lot of wings. It’s really loaded up in that spot. It’s just a situation where he got some time early. He got some time lately and it’s just a tough situation for a lot of those wings.”
During his rookie season, the former Louisville Cardinal played in 78 games and started in 9 of them, averaging 22.6 MPG, 8.4 PPG, and 4.5 RPG. This season, Williams is averaging 4.5 PPG, and 2.4 RPG and played a total of just 32 minutes in the last 20 games. If given minutes, there is a chance that Williams could be a productive rotation player. In the season opener against the Magic, he scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in 27 minutes. In a January game against the Thunder, he played 23 minutes and shot 5-for-8 from the field en route to 13 points and 3 rebounds.
The 6'6'' guard-forward is on the final year of his rookie contract and accounts for 2.4MM of the Rockets' salary cap. At that number, Williams could either be packaged along in a deal involving Luis Scola (or another big contract) in order to help match salaries or find himself as the next target for teams looking to add wing help for cheap. Taking a chance on Williams would not have too much financial implication, as a team that trades for him could simply let him walk at the end of the season if the situation doesn't work out.
Draft Notes: Harkless, Barnes, 2013
- Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com writes that St. John's freshman forward Moe Harkless is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks concerning whether or not he will leave for this year's NBA Draft. Harkless is currently projected to be the 21st pick by DraftExpress.com.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides her take on Harrison Barnes of North Carolina and lists her projection of the top 10 players of this year's draft.
- Rick Bonnell of CharlotteObserver.com takes a more comprehensive look at Kentucky's Anthony Davis, who appears to have a great chance at being this year's #1 pick if he turns pro.
- Pete Thamel, writing for the New York Times, examines the fevered world around high school senior Nerlens Noel, projected by Draft Express as the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft. He's surrounded by college recruiters aplenty and is being sought by a representative with Creative Artists Agency.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com gives you his updated list of the top 100 prospects of the upcoming draft.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Sixers, Chandler, Lopez
With a few games into the second half of the season, the battle for the Atlantic Division crown and homecourt in the first round of the playoffs should only look to intensify over the next few weeks. The Celtics, riding a four-game winning streak, are only two games behind the Sixers for first place in the division while the Knicks remain just three and a half games out. Today brought more topics of discussion:
- Bradford Doolittle of Basketball Prospectus (ESPN Insider link) examined the Atlantic Division and made some hypothetical trade proposals for both the Sixers and Celtics that could help them address some weaknesses. One deal would involve Philadelphia and Memphis in an Evan Turner-for-O.J. Mayo swap. Doolittle also suggests that Boston could explore dealing Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass, and Jermaine O'Neal to the Hornets in exchange for Chris Kaman.
- Although Carmelo Anthony appears to be completely healthy after battling multiple injuries all season, Knicks teammate Tyson Chandler is becoming bothered by an injured left wrist, writes Ian Begley of ESPN New York.
- A report from HoopsWorld indicates that Nets center Brook Lopez rolled his right ankle against the Bobcats and left the arena in crutches. He will be evaluated again on Monday.
- Former Celtic Jeff Green has been in Boston for the last two weeks, as he is being evaluated after undergoing heart surgery nearly two months ago. Green watched today's game on the Celtics bench and has expressed a desire to return to the team in the future, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
Week In Review: 2/26/12 – 3/3/12
Here's a look back at this past week's most important stories:
- The Maloof brothers reached an agreement in order to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
- Andray Blatche is aggressively being shopped by the Wizards.
- The Nets signed Gerald Green to a 10-day contract.
- The Clippers signed Bobby Simmons to a 10-day contract.
- The Hornets signed Lance Thomas for the remainder of the season and Solomon Jones to another 10-day contract, respectively.
- On Tuesday, we learned that Brandon Roy is contemplating a comeback.
- Mickell Gladness signed another 10-day contract with the Heat.
- The latest on Wilson Chandler's journey back to the NBA.
- Dan Gadzuric earned a stint with the D-League.
- Jamario Moon, who had been part of the deal involving Mo Williams and Baron Davis last year, is headed to the D-League.
- The Suns don't intend to trade Steve Nash, although one writer believes that re-signing him this summer could be a longshot.
- The Celtics are interested in Michael Beasley.
- The Magic have been keeping an eye on Monta Ellis, but the Warriors are not interested in a deal unless it involves Dwight Howard going to Oakland.
- Patrick Mills received his FIBA clearance in order to return to the NBA.
- The Hawks have re-signed Erick Dampier for the remainder of the season.
- According to Sam Amico, it would be "a miracle" if Ramon Sessions was on the Cavaliers past the trade deadline.
- The Cavaliers re-signed Manny Harris to a 10-day contract.
- On Thursday, the latest rumors surrounding Rajon Rondo were examined.
- The Celtics reportedly have interest in Josh Smith, and it seems like any of the big three could be had in the right deal. On Friday, we looked at a few stories in which Smith's name surfaced.
- Billy Hunter offered his thoughts on the future and the next CBA.
- Keith Smart will remain the head coach of the Kings for the 2012/13 season.
- Here are the latest updates surrounding Lamar Odom's enigmatic season.
- Gerald Wallace hopes to re-sign with the Trail Blazers with a long-term deal.
- The Lakers have another list of point guards on their radar in case their main targets can't be acquired.
- Brook Lopez voiced his hopes to stay with the Nets.
- Chris Kaman commented on the trade rumors that have been surrounding him.
- If you missed anything that pertained to Dwight Howard this week, you can find it here.
Crawford Drawing Interest From Several Teams
7:49pm Chris Haynes of Comcast SportsNet Northwest asserts that the Timberwolves and Clippers "are very interested" but can't confirm the other teams being mentioned. (Twitter link).
7:20pm Before the season started, then-free agent Jamal Crawford decided to sign with the Trail Blazers after fielding offers from several teams. With almost ten days before the NBA trade deadline, the 6'5 guard could find himself on the move again, reports Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld.com. While the Timberwolves and the Clippers appear to be the most aggressive in attempting to trade for Crawford, the Bucks, Kings, and Raptors have also sent out their feelers.
The 12th-year veteran is averaging 14.8 PPG, shooting 36.2% from three-point range, and is third in the league in free throw percentage at 92.8%. Crawford possesses a player option for next season and can opt out of his contract this summer. With a recent report of uncertainty brewing within the Trail Blazers' locker room, there is a possibility that Portland deals Crawford for value before the deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing to upcoming free agency.
Thunder Notes: Hayward, Prospects, Aldrich
The Thunder are winners of eight of their last ten games and sitting atop the Western Conference. After falling short to the Hawks on Saturday night, it appeared that Kevin Durant did not want to deal with the thought of losing, writes Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK. The team will have an opportunity to regroup tomorrow night against the Mavericks, but for now there are other noteworthy points of discussion:
- Lazar Hayward has been re-called from D-League, according to NBA.com.
- Mayberry spoke with GM Sam Presti to discuss the statuses of Latavious Williams and Tibor Pleiss, two Thunder prospects who are currently playing overseas.
- In a separate article, Mayberry reports that Cole Aldrich could be making a play toward becoming the team's primary backup center.
Odds & Ends: Rondo, Rockets, Blazers, Mavericks
- Rajon Rondo's stellar game against the Knicks was a display of his value to the Celtics and as a trade asset, writes Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated.
- Ric Bucher claims that the Rockets will have a different roster by March 16. (Twitter link)
- In addition to Nate McMillan's concern about lack of communication on the court, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian writes that Raymond Felton will soon return to the starting lineup for the Trail Blazers.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas reports that the Mavericks have called up forward/center Sean Williams from the D-League after placing Brandan Wright on the injured list. Wright sustained a concussion against the Hornets on Friday.
- A day after Lamar Odom's solid performance off the bench helped the Mavericks beat the Jazz, Eddie Sefko of DallasNews.com believes that the onus is on Lamar to remain consistent for the rest of the season.