Odds & Ends: Kings Arena, Kobe, Raptors
The number of signatures necessary to vote on the public subsidy of a new Kings arena in Sacramento appears to be closing in on the minimum needed for the 2014 ballot, reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee.
But the success of that ballot measure hinges on the ability of Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP) to find the thousands of signatures financed by Chris Hansen. Hansen was recently fined $50K for contributing $100K to STOP in an effort curb Sacramento's plan to fund a new arena in an effort to buy the team and move it to Seattle.
Here are some some more links from around the league during a slow Saturday in September as most of the NBA world is watching the Mayweather-Alvarez fight…
- Nike PR Director Heidi Burgett shared a video of a Nike talk, via Twitter, where Kobe Bryant discussed what was going through his head after he tore his Achilles tendon during the April game that ended his 2012/13 season prematurely (h/t SI's Ben Golliver).
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star confirms Angolan media reports that MVP of the African championships Carlos Morais will be in training camp with the Raptors (Twitter).
- Former Mavs and Pistons player Mark Aguirre told the Star-Telegram's Full Court Press blog that basketball on both coasts has shifted with the Clippers overtaking the Lakers in Los Angeles and the Nets overtaking the Knicks in New York.
- Star-Telegram beat writer Dwain Price adds, in a tweet, that when asked about the Heat's chances for a 3-peat, Aguirre said, "I don’t know if any of the other teams that are pushing them 4 the title understand how 2 win the big game.''
- Matt Moore of CBS Sports believes there would have been a more formal investigation if the revelations are true about three members of the 1981/82 Knicks colluding to throw games for their drug dealer.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Delonte West
NBA teams sometimes deem a player untouchable after off-the-court issues make them a risk for any guaranteed contract. Even serious injury problems won't scare teams as much as when players are considered locker-room problems; the Cavs signed Andrew Bynum to a deal where only $6MM of his $12MM contract this year is guaranteed, with a team option for $12.5MM in 2014/15.
But the trend away from troubled players is never more evident than with former Celtics and Cavaliers guard Delonte West. West hasn't appeard on an NBA court since the 2011/12 season when he averaged 9.6 PPG, 3.2 APG and 1.3 SPG in a shade over 24 minutes a night for the Mavs. The 6'4" guard out of St. Joseph's University shot over 46 percent from the field and better than 35 percent from beyond the arc in his last season with a hungover championship team in Dallas.
But West's troubled behavior during his time in training camp last fall led the Mavs to cut him. West signed with the Development League's Texas Legends, but was tardy in reporting and only played in eight games for the team while averaging 10.4 points and 4.4 assists.
West turned 30 years old in July and after the Knicks and Grizzlies expressed interest earlier in the summer, the Knicks' interest waned. Despite the advocacy of Grizzlies guard Tony Allen, nary a whiff has been rumored about West even after he said he was open to a non-guaranteed deal.
The lack of interest is a little peculair considering the positive reactions to his play at Tim Grgurich's camp in Las Vegas in mid-August. But West's mental health struggles — he suffers from bipolar disorder — and his run-ins with the law over the years have scared teams off.
It's worth noting that Delonte's play on the court has never been the problem. He's shot slightly above league average from 3-point range over his eight-year career (37.2%), and he's averaged over 30 minutes a night for multiple playoff teams and title contenders, like the late 2000s Cavs. He plays hard defense and is an unselfish player who can be a contributor off the bench or as an interim starter.
Plenty of teams need help in the backcourt, but there are a lot of available guards still left on the market, including Richard Hamilton, whose free agent stock Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors assessed last week. But while most of the guards available may fall short of the experience and numbers West can bring to the table, the lack of interest from teams this summer leads one to believe teams are wary of West's issues off a basketball court.
Since the rumored interest by the Knicks, they've re-signed Pablo Prigioni and signed Beno Udrih to backup Raymond Felton. The Grizzlies were West's other potential suitor earlier in the summer, but they've already signed Nick Calathes to a two-year deal worth less than $2MM. While Calathes is talented, the Grizzlies still might want to bring West in to take a closer look during training camp.
Unfortunately, after so many issues completely unrelated to basketball still surrounding West, the talented guard is hovering in absentia after already missing the entirety of the 2012/13 season. If a team does take a chance on him and invites him to training camp, it'll likely they're trying to get a feel for how he meshes with the rigors of NBA life again.
A contender with a strong front office and an experienced coach is the sort of team that seems likely to take a chance on West sometime during the season if he doesn't catch on before training camp. But West's repeated chances to stay in the NBA are slowly dwindling.
Atlantic Notes: Williams, Knicks, Sixers, Guerin
The back-and-forth between the new-look Nets and the Knicks this summer has kept the tabloids afloat. After coming over to the Nets with Kevin Garnett in the mega trade with the Celtics, Paul Pierce appeared to have started the war of words by telling ESPN New York's 98.7 FM he thought it was time "the Nets start running New York."
ESPN New York's Ian Begley asked Nets point guard Deron Williams about the quote, and Williams supported his new teammate, but didn't elaborate much beyond wanting to settle the inter-city rivalry on the court.
"That's my teammate so I'm with him. Of course we want to run New York. The Knicks are our rival. I don't get into too much of the talking. We'll decide all that on the court. We have four games to play against them and then the playoffs so I'll let Paul do the talking and I'll just go out there and play."
Williams also noted that the advanced age of Nets' roster means, "Our time is now," he told Begley. "We have a short window to try to win."
Here's what else is happening around the Atlantic division on a night when most are watching the big fight…
- The New York Post, by way of Ben Golliver at Sports Illustrated, confirmed allegations by Brian Tuohy in his book, Larceny Games: Sports Gambling, Game Fixing and the FBI, that Knicks players were fixing games for their drug dealer during the 1981/82 season.
- According to the Post, the FBI has confirmed the authenticity of the documents cited by Tuohy in his book. The Knicks would not comment on the allegations.
- According to Touhy's book, the FBI "seemed to possess very credible information that three members of the New York Knicks were shaving points as a favor to their cocaine supplier."
- Newsday's Bob Herzog profiles former Knick Richie Guerin after he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last weekend.
- Philadelphia Daily News' beat writer Bob Cooney originally said the Sixers would win 22 games this season, but now thinks it'll be closer to 18 after talking to a team higher-up (Twitter).
Older NBA Rookies: Datome & Christmas
The Suns signed Dionte Christmas this year after former Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough became the Suns GM earlier this summer. Christmas has been playing professionally overseas for a number of years after going undrafted out of Temple in 2009.
The 26-year-old was one of the last cuts during the Celtics' training camp last fall, and Jessica Camerato spoke with him for CSNNE.com about how his connection with McDonough helped him choose Phoenix after he'd received numerous NBA camp offers and overseas deals.
"I think (my relationship with McDonough) played a big role because he knows what type of guy I am," Christmas told her by phone on Friday. "He knows that I work hard. I come in every day, I'm going to give it 110 percent."
Another rookie who has been playing professionally for a number of years before moving to the NBA this summer is Italian import Luigi "Gigi" Datome who signed a two-year, $3.5MM deal with the Pistons in June.
Datome spoke with Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype about what he's expecting during his first season outside Italy. When asked which current player he would compare himself too, Datome mentioned the Heat's Shane Battier in terms of his shooting and all-around contributions to make the team better.
With the Pistons signing unrestricted free agent Josh Smith this summer to team with Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe in their front court, a shooter like Datome will be valuable. Gigi shot 51.5 percent from the floor with Virtus Roma last year and nearly 40 percent from three-point territory when he was named Italian League MVP.
Gigi's marksmanship will help space the floor when the 6'8" shooter replaces Monroe or Smith at either forward spot. Smith, Drummond and Monroe will be drawing the majority of their opponents' attention toward a crowded paint, and none of the three possess much accuracy outside of ten feet, so Datome's accuracy behind the arc should open up driving lanes for another new Pistons acquisition this summer, Brandon Jennings.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Nicholson, Zeller
J.R. Smith was not in attendance at the Gary Forbes Foundation Strike Out Diabetes Celebrity Softball Tournament in Brooklyn today. But his brother Chris Smith was, and when he was asked about his brother's five-game suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy, he told the New York Daily News:
"I mean it is what it is. Stuff happens. It’s a little setback, but it’s not the worst thing going on in sports.”
Here's more from around the NBA on a slow September Saturday night less than a month before training camps open in October…
- During Mary Schmitt Boyer's mailbag for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a reader asks her about the Cavs' big man Tyler Zeller. Boyer thinks that Andrew Bynum will start this season at center - if he's healthy – with Zeller as a dependable back-up.
- Boyer also discusses the status of Daniel Gibson, who is still an unclaimed free agent, and she mentions the Sixers' interest in the off-guard.
- Boyer also discusses Dion Waiters' poor shot selection. She says it improved as his rookie season wore on, but he appeared to have regressed during summer league.
- As mentioned previously, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun says that Magic 6'9" power forward Andrew Nicholson was one of the only players to impress during Canada's loss to the Dominican Republic tonight in the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament.
2013 NBA Hall Of Fame Inductee Notes
This weekend will see 12 new members inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: 6 players (including one international star, Oscar Schmidt, and one woman, Dawn Staley), 2 contributors and 4 coaches (including one female coach, Sylvia Hatchell) will be enshrined in the Springfield, Massachusetts Hall. Here are a few links surrounding three of the 2013 inductees.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post details the posthumous election of former NYC playground legend Roger Brown. Brown was a go-to scorer for three Indiana Pacers ABA championship teams, a four-time ABA All-Star and three-time All-ABA selection as well as a member of the All-Time ABA Team.
- Pacers.com's Mark Montieth also wrote a two-part tribute to Brown's legacy as a Pacers great [Part 1; Part 2]
- Despite never playing professionally in the NBA or ABA, Brazil's 6'9" scoring forward, Oscar Schmidt, appeared in five Olympics for Brazil and was elected to the Hall by the International committee.
- Scott Howard-Cooper talked with Schmidt for the NBA.com's Hang Time Blog and Schmidt tells him he would have been one of the 10 best players in NBA history if he'd gotten a chance to play in the NBA.
- After leading the NBA in scoring during the 1984-85 season, forward Bernard King suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, torn knee cartilage and a broken leg towards the end of his most dominating season as a pro. Doctors said he'd never play again, but King made the All-Star team for the fourth time in his career during his last full season with the Bullets in 1990/91.
- Andrew MacDougall details at Newsday how – of all his accomplishments – King is most proud of his grueling comeback from that knee injury.
- Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News also contributed a piece about King's induction this weekend.
Suns Notes: Dragic, Gortat, Beasley
The Suns will be running an uptempo offense under new head coach Jeff Hornacek next year. That's good news for ostensible starting point guard Goran Dragic writes Suns.com's Matt Peterson. Though Dragic could face some competition in the back-court from former Clippers backup Eric Bledsoe, who the Suns acquired in a three-team trade involving the Clippers and Bucks earlier this summer.
Goran has teamed with his brother Zoran Dragic for an impressive opening with the host country of Slovenia at EuroBasket 2013. After today's 72-68 win over Georgia, the Slovenian team is 3-0 during the European tournament – including an upset of defending champion Spain earlier this week. Dragic is a large reason why, and his play in the open court could fit nicely with Hornacek's plans for the offense next season.
- Dragic isn't the only Suns player performing for his home country during EuroBasket 2013, but his teammate, Marcin Gortat, isn't faring as well.
- Playing for the country of Poland, Peterson reports that Gortat recorded 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks during their a loss to Croatia that pushes them to a dismal 0-3 in the European championship tournament this year.
- Former Suns forward Michael Beasley has reportedly drawn interest from the Heat, and Blazers Edge's Sam Tongue asks: "When are a player's off-the-court issues worth dealing with for NBA teams?"
- Tongue compares Beasley to the early 2000s Blazers, who featured a host of players involved in off-the-court incidents like Beasley. Despite the behavior, players like Rasheed Wallace, Zach Randolph and Damon Stoudamire, got it done on the court.
- But Tongue lumps Beasley in with three other "Jail" Blazers, Bonzi Wells, Ruben Patterson and Qyntel Woods, who weren't as productive as the first three mentioned, and who largely underperformed throughout their careers.
- But RealGM columnist Jarrod Rudolph disagrees and tweets that Beasley is an All-Star talent who's a high reward, low risk addition in the right situation, which may be with the Heat.
Magic Notes: Harkless, Nicholson, Canada
Hoops World's Alex Kennedy wrote about the young core Rob Hennigan has acquired since his term as Magic general manager started in 2012. The Magic's roster has been growing closer this offseason, akin to the young Thunder team Hennigan worked for before joining the Magic.
The youthful Magic players mentioned in the piece, Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic, rookie Victor Oladipo, Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O'Quinn, and Doron Lamb only took a couple weeks off after the season concluded in April before returning to Orlando.
Once in town, they all work out, lift weights and scrimmage five-on-five together before hanging out off the court to grab food, play cards or watch TV at someone's house at night.
Said Harkless of all the time spent together, “I think it’s really important. We pretty much spend all of our time together, whether it’s in the gym or just hanging out at a guy’s house playing video games, watching TV or playing Spades. We just spend a lot of time together. I think it’s really good. It’s going to help us build chemistry, on the court and off of the court.”
It's that same chemistry Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green, James Harden and Eric Maynor developed while they were all growing together in Oklahoma City with Hennigan looking on. Whether the Magic go on to reach the upper-tier as one of the NBA's true title-contenders, remains to be seen, but Magic fans have to like the growing bond between their young players.
- This summer, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Magic were going to pick up the options on four of the players mentioned in Kennedy's piece who are all on their rookie-scale deals: Harris, Vucevic, Harkless and Nicholson.
- Picking up the options on all four – they have until October 31st, but Robbins believed the options could be picked before the 1st of October – means they'll be under contract in Orlando through the 2014/15 season. Next summer, the Magic will decide on fourth-year options for Harkless and Nicholson and an extension for Vucevic.
- Nicholson played well for team Canada tonight during their 81-74 loss to the Dominican Republic at the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament, tweets the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat. Nicolson's play was one of the only bright spots in the game for Canada (Twitter).
- According to another Wolstat tweet, Canada needs Puerto Rico to beat Venezuela tonight and Mexico tomorrow while Canada also needs to defeat Argentina tomorrow to grab a spot in the 2014 FIBA World Championships in Spain next summer.
Gary Payton On The End In Seattle
The now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics team of the 1990s featured a dynamic point guard out of Oregon State University named Gary Payton. "The Glove" played his first 13 seasons with the Sonics, ending, during the only losing season while he was featured on the roster, mid-way through the 2002/03 season.
During that final half-year in Seattle, Payton was traded to the Bucks at the February deadline and went on to play for four more teams in the NBA before retiring in 2007 after capturing a championship with the Heat the year before.
Tonight Payton will be officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA as part of the class of 2013. Payton sat down with the Sporting News' Sean Deveney to talk about the end of his tenure in Seattle and the conclusion of pro basketball in the state of Washington, at least until the NBA decides to return to a city itching for a professional basketball team.
On being inducted as a SuperSonic:
"This will smooth a little bit off of it," Payton revealed. "A lot of Seattle fans traveled up here, I am seeing a lot of stuff on Twitter and Instagram and all that stuff. It has really helped me. And then people had the galls to ask me what I am going to in as. I said, 'Really? You got the galls to ask me that?' Like I would go in as a Laker? How many All-Stars did I make as a Laker? You see me, 13 years, playing for them Seattle SuperSonics. You didn't see nothing else, you just seen that Sonic on my jersey. So it is really gratifying for Seattle. I can't disrespect that."
On the beginning of the end in Seattle when Barry Ackerley sold the team in 2001:
"When the Ackerleys sold the team, it went from being a family team to being a business then. The people who took over the team ran their team like a business, like how they made their money. And you can't do that. The Ackerleys ran the team like a family. When we had problems, they would call us in and talk to us. They would call us in and ask us, 'What's the problem?' Not try to trade you, not act like, 'No, you don't need a new contract.' They would work it out. They would call you and say let's work it out this summer, come to my home in the summer, we will go on a trip together, let's work things out."
On the ownership reign of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who bought the team from Ackerley and eventually sold the team to the man who moved them to Oklahoma City:
"[Schultz] did a lot of moves that wasn't the best moves," said Payton. "He made a lot of silly moves and those silly moves, first, was getting rid of me. I wasn't asking for a lot. I didn't never ask for a contract, I played all my contracts out. I was in the last year of the deal. All I asked was, are we going to get an extension? He made it seem like, 'I don't care about you no more, you're nothing.' That's what happened. He seen that wasn't the right way. Then the team and the whole franchise went downhill from there."
On the end of his time in Seattle:
"It was time to go. I didn't want to be working for this guy. He knew it and I knew it. He made the move and he had the consequences. But, the consequences came and he messed that franchise up."
Odds & Ends: Seattle, Kyrie, Sixers, Wiggins
Earlier this month it was discovered Chris Hansen, the venture capitalist behind the Seattle group bidding for the Kings franchise, had funded an Anti-Kings-Arena group. Many believed the news would derail any future NBA franchise in Seattle. While others wrote that it would not affect a future team in the former home of the Supersonics.
Today, 95.7 The Game radio host Ric Bucher spoke with an influential NBA owner about whether the Hansen discovery would have any bearing on Seattle landing an NBA franchise. The anonymous owner's response, via Sulia, "none."
But, Bucher goes on to write – with an important caveat that the translation might have been altered in the text – that the Seattle group might have to write a $1 billion check for the expansion fee.
Bucher adds that he did not think expansion was going to happen during the Sacramento-Seattle back-and-forth, but that the $1 billion cost lining the coffers of the NBA owners would be hard to pass up if Hansen and his group agreed to pay. If the Seattle group balks at the price, then no harm no foul – and, no 31st team.
Here's what else is happening around the league as we come up on just a month remaining before training camps start…
- Moke Hamilton of HoopsWorld believes the future is now for the Cavs and it's time for Kyrie Irving to lead them to the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James donned the No. 23.
- Marc Porcaro of Secret Rival went through the short- and long-term futures of the Sixers and Suns on Twitter tonight, discussing their current draft picks over the next three offseasons, and possible changes to their current rotations.
- At the FIBA Americas tournament in Venezuela, tournament favorites Puerto Rico beat Canada after a strong fourth quarter, reports the Toronto Sun's John Chick.
- If Canada qualifies for the FIBA World Cup in Spain next summer, Andrew Wiggins' AAU coach Tony McIntyre told SNY.tv (via ZagsBlog.com) Wiggins will play along with fellow Canadians: No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk and incoming Syracuse freshman point guard Tyler Ennis.
- J.R. Smith tells Newsday's Will Sammon he doesn't know whether he'll be ready for the Knicks' training camp in the first week of October.
- Jonathan Givony of Draft Express posted part 1 of his detailed scouting reports on the top of the 2014 high school class. The first part focuses on point guards like Tyus Jones and Australian Emmanuel Mudiay, the latter of whom may skip college to declare for next summer's NBA Draft.
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman tweets that DeAndre Liggins was arrested in Oklahoma City tonight on complaint of domestic abuse. Liggins is on a non-guaranteed minimum contract this season, so he'll have to make the team to earn that money.