Cavs Notes: West, Waiters, Draft Picks
The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled out of the gate to a 2-7 record, in spite of outstanding play from 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving and a resurgence from Anderson Varejao. Here are a few tidbits on the Cavs on Sunday afternoon:
- The Cavs aren't pleased with the production they're getting out of their bench, but they won't reach out to Delonte West to improve their second unit, and no free agent signing is on the horizon, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer.
- Schmitt Boyer cautions readers that consistency cannot be expected right away from rookie Dion Waiters, and it will take time for the fourth pick in the 2012 draft to get comfortable in the NBA.
- As part of the same mailbag, Schmitt Boyer also breaks down the protection on draft picks owed to the Cavs from the Kings, Heat, and Lakers.
Odds & Ends: Udoh, Howard, Knicks, Warrick
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Bucks center Ekpe Udoh is finding ways to contribute outside of the stat sheet.
- Josh Howard is looking forward to helping the injury-plagued Timberwolves. (AP link via NBA.com)
- Al Iannazzone of Newsday.com writes that the Knicks' age has worked in their favor so far as they've begun the season 6-0.
- The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell believes that Hakim Warrick, acquired this week from the Hornets for Matt Carroll, can help the Bobcats this season.
- Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer writes that the Cavs' Tristan Thompson has been more active this season.
Kawhi Leonard Out 10-14 Days
Kawhi Leonard is expected to be out 10 to 14 days with left knee tendinitis, the Spurs announced in a press release Friday. San Antonio's starting small forward underwent an MRI and the diagnosis was confirmed.
The Spurs will begin a six-game road trip Wednesday, and the second-year forward will not travel with the team. It is expected that Stephen Jackson will start in Leonard's place.
Hornets Notes: Carroll, Gordon
Friday morning, the New Orleans Hornets announced that they have signed GM Dell Demps to a three-year contract extension. Demps commented to the media on a few issues surrounding the team, as reported by Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune:
- The team is still working on a buyout with guard Matt Carroll, acquired earlier in the week from the Bobcats in exchange for Hakim Warrick. Demps gave no timeframe for an agreement being completed, and said Carroll is not violating any rules by having not reported to the team yet.
- Demps was noncommittal when asked about a timetable for Eric Gordon's return. While he said Gordon was working towards a return, he did not have any further details to give on his injury or the nature of the recovery process.
Latest On Andrew Bynum
Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that Andrew Bynum has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from knee surgery that may keep him out longer than anticipated. On Monday, the 76ers announced that they expected Bynum to be cleared to return around December 10th, but it appears that is no longer the case.
In addition to previous issues with his right knee, Bynum now says that his left knee is bothering him as well. Neither he nor the team gave specifics on how far back this development pushes his timetable for return. Sixers GM Tony DiLeo released a statement on this news, which included an indication of what they expect going forward:
He’ll be reevaluated in mid-December, he’ll have another MRI and we’ll see what the progress is. The players have to be confident that they can play. You cannot ask a player to play injured. Whenever he feels confident that he can get out there and he’s healthy and he can help the team, we both want the same goal. We don’t want a player going out there injured and maybe creating more injury or more damage. This is a situation when he feels confident, when the doctors feel confident that everything’s OK, that’s when he’ll be back on the court.
Bynum was acquired this summer as part of the four-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers and former Philadelphia forward Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets. He has yet to make his debut in a Sixers uniform.
Bulls Notes: Bench, Rose, Asik
The latest news and notes around the Chicago Bulls on Friday afternoon:
- Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes that the Bulls' defense is suffering from the loss of key reserves Omer Asik and Ronnie Brewer this summer.
- Jeremy Bauman of Sheridan Hoops calls the Bulls' 5-3 start to the season with Derrick Rose sidelined one of the surprises of the early season.
- Expect to see more poison pill offer sheets in the future like the one Asik received this summer, says Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link). Since the signing team has the option to spread out the cap hit evenly rather than assuming the "poison pill" part of the deal, it makes sense that teams will continue to make things as hard on the free agent's old club as possible. Of course, as ESPN.com's John Hollinger points out (via Twitter), the ability to include a poison pill in an offer sheet only applies to Arenas Rule players, who aren't all that common.
Budinger Has Knee Surgery, Out Three Months
TUESDAY, 10:50am: Budinger has undergone surgery on his left knee and will miss the next three months, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet that Budinger had the entire meniscus in his knee repaired and that the procedure isn't expect to have lingering effects once he recovers.
SUNDAY, 7:54pm: Minnesota Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger will undergo surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, the team announced via press release (link from the Minneapolis Star Tribune). Budinger injured his knee during Saturday's game against the Bulls. It is unclear how long he is expected to be out, but a timetable will be determined after his surgery.
Between Budinger, Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, and Brandon Roy, the Wolves are dealing with a rash of injuries to key players. Earlier Sunday, it was reported that the team was considering making offers to free-agent wings Josh Howard and Mickael Pietrus. This latest injury would seem to make it more likely that they turn to one of those players or another for short-term help.
Budinger had been averaging 11.8 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 23.5 MPG this season, his first in Minnesota.
Lakers Hire Mike D’Antoni
3:17pm: The Lakers have officially announced their hiring of D'Antoni in a press release.
"After speaking with several excellent and well-respected coaching candidates, Dr. [Jerry] Buss, Jim [Buss] and I all agreed that Mike was the right person at this time to lead the Lakers forward," said GM Mitch Kupchak in the statement. "Knowing his style of play and given the current make-up of our roster, we feel Mike is a great fit, are excited to have him as our next head coach and hope he will help our team reach its full potential."
2:04am: The Los Angeles Lakers have officially hired their new coach, with the team confirming late Sunday night that Mike D'Antoni will replace Mike Brown on the Lakers' bench. Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) first reported the news, adding (via Twitter) that D'Antoni's contract is for three guaranteed years and $12MM, plus a fourth-year team option. The club is expected to introduce its new head coach at a press conference later this week.
Following the firing of Brown on Friday, the Lakers had been pursuing Phil Jackson to return to the team for a third time after his 2011 retirement. According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Jackson was prepared to accept the job if negotiations progressed well on Monday, and was "stunned" to learn the Lakers had chosen D'Antoni (Twitter links).
While there were rumblings suggesting Jackson's demands were too high, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard hears from both sides that rumors of Jackson's exorbitant asking price were overblown (Twitter link). Broussard adds that the Lakers chose D'Antoni over Jackson in part because the team felt the Triangle offense would've been too complex for the team to learn on the fly, and that the system wasn't a great fit for the current roster (Twitter links).
Additionally, TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link) notes that Jackson would have wanted total control over the franchise and all personnel decisions, an arrangement similar to Pat Riley's in Miami. ESPN.com's Arash Markazi also tweets that the Lakers wanted more stability than the year-to-year commitment Jackson would offer.
D'Antoni, who resigned as head coach of the New York Knicks in March of 2012, will be reunited in Los Angeles with Steve Nash, whom he coached as a member of the Phoenix Suns from 2004 to 2008. As Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets, D'Antoni continues to recover from knee surgery in New York, and will require clearance before he can fly to Los Angeles later this week. When D'Antoni eventually takes over from interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, he'll be bringing his brother Dan D'Antoni with him as an assistant, reports Aldridge (via Twitter).
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Odom, Duncan, Johnson, Blazers
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday evening:
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers still aren't sure what contributions they can expect from Lamar Odom this season.
- Tim Duncan is playing like an MVP candidate this season, says Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News.
- David D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledges examines Nets guard Joe Johnson's slow start to the season.
- The Trail Blazers have the least productive bench in the league so far, but Chris Haynes of CSNNW.comthinks the team should give their young reserves more playing time so they can develop and improve.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that the Knicks' J.R. Smith is an early candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has a new mailbag covering various Celtics topics.
- Barry Tramel of the Oklahoman is impressed with new Thunder guard Kevin Martin.
Central Notes: Ilyasova, Stephenson, Scott
The latest news and notes from around the Central Division on Sunday evening:
- Ersan Ilyasova, re-signed by the Bucks this offseason, is off to a slow start, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star discusses Lance Stephenson, one of the wing players the Pacers will count on to fill the void left by Danny Granger's injury.
- John Rhode of the Oklahoman examines the success Cavs coach Byron Scott is having with Kyrie Irving, and points out that Scott has had success with elite point guards both during his playing and coaching career.