Western Notes: Lakers, Landry, Blazers, Frye
The Clippers signed Antawn Jamison earlier this week, and Jamison conducted a radio interview with ESPN 710 in Los Angeles on Friday, transcribed and given context by ESPN Los Angeles scribe Ramona Shelburne this morning.
In the interview Jamison spoke about last season under the microscope with the star-studded Lakers, applauded the competitive drive of Kobe Bryant, and discussed his sometimes strained relationship with coach Mike D'Antoni, who removed Jamison from the rotation late in the year. Said Jamison of Bryant:
"I would never count Kobe Bryant out of anything. I've played with some special players. Gilbert Arenas when he was [in Washington D.C], at the top of his game, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal [in Cleveland]. I've played with a lot but never played with an individual player who had the type of mindset, the drive that he has. If [Bryant] says he's going to win a sixth ring, believe me, he's going to do everything possible to get that ring."
Jamison also said there was little communication or rapport between the players and D'Antoni after Mike Brown was fired five games into the season.
"Mike was pretty much put in a difficult situation. There was no training camp where he could get a feel for guys. There was a breakdown of communication when we first got there. And throughout the season it was kind of up and down."
Here's more from around the Western Conference, including a possible D-League addition to the Lakers next season…
- The Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus shares the offseason workout video (via Ryan Ellerbusch of Maximum Exposure) of Lakers summer league standout forward Marcus Landry.
- Landry – younger brother of Carl Landry – averaged 15.2 PPG in 5 games this summer and in February was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2013 D-League All-Star Game.
- Pincus adds that the Lakers are planning to bring 16-20 players to training camp despite having just 12 players under contract. They're expected to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly.
- Sam Tongue of Blazers Edge wonders whether Blazers President Chris McGowan can enhance fan experience by upgrading their digital properties to "talk with the fans, rather than at them."
- The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn tweets that Suns GM Ryan McDonough says they'll know whether Channing Frye will play in 2013/14 in the next few weeks, but he's "optimistic he'll be able to play."
LaMarcus Aldridge On Offseason Trade Rumors
After reports surfaced in July that LaMarcus Aldridge was unhappy with the Trail Blazers, his reps apparently met with Blazers GM Neil Olshey to discuss trade options. Earlier today, Aldridge denied requesting a trade, telling Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears that he “wasn’t ready to make a move yet.”
Later today, Aldridge sat down to discuss the offseason rumors with CSNNW.com’s Chris Haynes.
On the reports claiming that Portland was “too small” and “too boring” for him:
“Nah, that’s not true. I’m a quiet person that keeps to himself, really. Portland doesn’t bother me. I don’t have an issue with the city of Portland. I’ve been there my whole career. I like the smallness of it and the passionate fans. That’s not true at all.”
On how he’s been dealing with the trade rumors:
“I just block it out and go to the gym. That’s it. I can’t do anything about that. I feel like if there was really something serious going on, [Trail Blazers general manager] Neil [Olshey] would have told me but that didn’t happen. I’m a Trail Blazer.”
On whether he ever requested a trade:
“No.”
On what Aldridge told Yahoo! Sports earlier today about giving Olshey a chance:
“I was just frustrated with how we ended the season. I’ve been on a team where we were one of the top four teams in the Western Conference. I know what that feels like and to go through what we went through last season was disappointing. At this stage of my career, it’s all about winning for me. I don’t care where it’s at, I just want to win. But I never asked to be traded. And Neil told me when he came in that we had some holes on the roster and to give him an opportunity to make things right here. I just had to keep that in mind. But it was just a tough season for me last year.”
On whether his agents have attempted to get him moved:
“Agents talk. I don’t know what goes on there. I just worry about playing basketball.”
On the accuracy of the report that if Olshey’s moves weren’t to his liking, he’d like to be moved:
“Yeah, but I don’t have to worry about that because we’ve added some good pieces this summer and I’m looking forward to working with them.”
On the Blazers moves this summer that he liked:
“I think they all were solid. Neil kept me in the loop the entire process, asking me what I thought of certain players. He asked me about [Robin] Lopez and I said he’s good and would be a quality pickup. That’s another thing about this: if Portland was trying to move me, I don’t think they would have been keeping me involved throughout the [free agency] process.”
On his goals for next season:
“Playoffs. I think if we can put the pieces together, we’re definitely a playoff team. It’ll be tough, but I think we got the guys that can get the job done.”
On which seed he see’s the Blazers attaining for the playoffs:
“I think eighth or seventh.”
On the chances Aldridge re-signs with Portland when he becomes a free agent in 2015:
“I’m not the kind of person that thinks that far ahead because I feel like you won’t be doing all you can at the current time to help your team. I’m focused on next season and how we can come together to be a playoff team. That’s the only thing on my mind.”
On a statement to Blazers fans:
“That we’re going to try to bring you guys a winning team. They’re the best fans in the world. I know they’ll be behind us.”
Eastern Notes: ‘Melo, Magic, Smith
After J.R. Smith called out Paul Pierce for being bitter after being traded from the Celtics in a piece by ESPN New York's Ian Begley, Begley offered up some additional material from his conversation with Smith.
Begley asked J.R, about Carmelo Anthony's impending decision next summer whether to opt-out of his contract with the Knicks. 'Melo's current deal will pay him $23.333MM for the 2014/15 season. If he does terminate the contract early, as many expect, he'll be eligible to re-sign with the Knicks for a five-year, $129MM deal. Another team could only sign him for $95MM over four years.
Said Smith, via Begley's tweet, "I don't see him leaving, but I said the same thing in Denver so it's up to him." Here's more around the Eastern Conference during a Saturday night when many are watching the opening day of college football…
- In reaction to the same Begley piece from earlier today, CBS Sports' Zach Harper debates whether the NBA could possibly issue a fine after misconstruing Smith's comments as a more deliberate "threat."
- The fine would come on the heels of the news earlier this week that David Stern called a meeting to clear the air last season between Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Knicks owner James Dolan.
- Orlando Sentinel columnist Brian K. Schmitz tweets that the Magic are negotiating with Hedo Turkoglu for a buy-out. The Magic are on the hook for $6MM of Hedo's $12MM 2014/15 salary, and the full amount if he's still on the roster by January 7th.
- But that's highly unlikely since Turkoglu could well be playing in his native Turkey by that time. Can Pelister of TrendBasket.net reported earlier this week that Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker is prepared to make Hedo a substantial offer.
- Schmitz also adds that the Magic are inviting 2nd rounder Romero Osby to training camp as well as four free agents.
Ric Bucher Compares T-Mac to AI & ‘Melo
After announcing his retirement this week, there's been a large debate surrounding the career of Tracy McGrady. That polarization could best be summed up in the split vote in our poll asking whether McGrady should make the Hall of Fame earlier this week. McGrady's peak seasons between 2001-2007 point to a dominant scorer who could also pass the ball and rebound.
T-Mac's 2002-03 season with the Magic saw him post the 16th best PER (Player Efficiency Rating) in NBA history, according to basketball-reference. Despite the numbers and the seven consecutive All-Star game appearances from 2001 through 2007, McGrady never led his team out of the first round of the playoffs.
Grantland's E-I-C, Bill Simmons, wrote a long piece on the Friday before Labor Day weekend in which he blames McGrady's playoff failings almost exclusively on his supporting cast. Radio host for 95.7 The Game Ric Bucher has some thoughts on the matter (Sulia link).
While referencing Simmons' piece — where he spoke with McGrady's former coaches and peers and concluded that McGrady just wasn't hardwired to be a leader — Bucher believes that is a referendum on why McGrady didn't reach his full potential over his career.
Bucher then compares McGrady with a contemporary, Allen Iverson, who also officially announced his retirement this month, and current player Carmelo Anthony:
Bill Simmons, in his wonderfully written and one of the longer dissertations on the subject, acknowledges TMac was not a leader. That's just it — once you state that and acknowledge how talented TMac was, you've outlined the crippling combination that foretold TMac never would be all that his talent promised. Such players aren't all that unique; Carmelo Anthony is another example. One of the absolutes in the NBA is that when the best player doesn't set the work-ethic bar for everyone else, a team has no hope of reaching its potential. Allen Iverson doesn't get to play the I-never-had-enough-talent-around-me card for the same reason. Both AI and TMac were never the defensive players they could've been. And when your effort to be in pristine condition is a question mark, as it was with McGrady, and injuries become chronic and sometimes debilitating, it's not as easy to blame bad luck and weak supporting casts.
Bucher goes on to write that McGrady chose to go to Orlando and Houston, even if they didn't have the supporting players he could have used to make a larger dint in the playoffs:
The other element either being overlooked or not widely known is that TMac chose to go to both Orlando and Houston, so it's not as if he was some helpless victim cast into inferior situations. Maybe that's how it turned out, maybe management misled him as far as what they intended to do, but he chose those situations over others. I've long said that on pure talent, TMac had more than Kobe; he was one of the rare few who had the pure ability to dominate whatever aspect of the game he chose, no matter who the opponent was. And as personalities go, I can vouch firsthand that few NBA players had a warmer one. All of which makes painting him as a sympathetic figure or a guy who didn't have the luck that so many others enjoyed easy. Dead wrong, but easy.
Odds & Ends: Odom, Brown, Mudiay, Mavs
A number of outlets have relayed the TMZ report last night that 33-year-old free agent forward Lamar Odom has been battling a "hardcore" drug addiction for the past two years. Odom hasn't failed an NBA-mandated drug test since 2001, but the report claims he entered a drug treatment facility in San Diego last summer and was clean during the 2012/13 season with the Clippers before beginning to use again this summer.
Odom averaged a career low 4.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 19.7 MPG while appearing in all 82 games with the Clippers last season. Here's what else is happening around the league during a quiet, late-August Saturday night:
- Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer spent the day with new Sixers coach Brett Brown's family in Portland, Maine.
- Adam Zongoria of Zagsblog.com describes how SMU coach Larry Brown landed the top class of 2014 high school point guard, Emmanuel Mudiay, who announced his decision at halftime of Brooklyn's Elite 24 game tonight. Zongoria opines that Mudiay will be a one-and-done player and a likely lottery pick in the 2015 draft.
- The Trail Blazers made a lot of moves to improve their league-worst bench from last season. One of those additions, Dorell Wright, is profiled by the Oregonian's John Canzano.
- HoopsWorld's senior NBA writer Bill Ingram tweets that the rumors Dwight Howard issued an ultimatum that Mike D'Antoni be fired and Kobe Bryant amnestied in order to re-sign with the Lakers "seem silly" since Howard chose the Rockets early on. Ingram also wonders, via Twitter, what it says about Howard (assuming the reports are accurate) for him to think he has anything on Bryant.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban answered questions on the new "Fox Sports Live" program last night, as transcribed by The Dallas Morning News. He discusses flip-flopping on wanting Dwight Howard in free agency this summer, whether the Mavs are rebuilding this coming year, and the health of 35-year-old franchise star Dirk Nowitzki.
- The Mavs are also one of the eight teams wearing the new GPS tracking devices, reports The Dallas Morning News.
- ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling tweets that former St. John's star Justin Burrell, who has played overseas since graduating in 2011, will play for Italy's Montepaschi Siena this coming season.
Joerger On Grizzlies’ Chances Next Season
After interviewing high-profile head coaching candidates George Karl, Ed Pickney and Alvin Gentry for their vacant head coaching position, the Grizzlies promoted long-time assistant Dave Joerger to be their new head coach.
The team had parted ways with their most successful head coach in franchise history, Lionel Hollins, after disagreements with management – including ESPN stats guru John Hollinger - over the future of the team.
Joerger hasn't ever coached at the NBA level, and now he's expected to lead the Grizzlies in their hunt for an NBA title. His first season as coach will come only an offseason removed from the team's farthest playoff run in franchise history last year when they appeared in the Western Conference Finals.
The Commecial Appeal's Ronald Tillery relates what Joerger told MVP season ticket holders at the FedEx Forum early this morning about his new team's chances next season and what it's like to finally coach an NBA team of his own:
On the biggest difference in being a head coach rather than an assistant this summer:
“The head coaching part of it I’ve gone through. Mentally, you’re always working on the next year,” Joerger admitted. “What’s different is all of the other things that come with it. The stakes are a lot bigger. There’s more media. It’s a bigger organization. Your time gets stretched more than any other time I’ve been a head coach and certainly as an assistant coach.”
On offseason improvements to stay up with other teams in the West:
“I feel like we addressed some of our team needs,” the new coach said. “We’ve added championship experience. We’ve added IQ. We’ve added shooting. We’re trying to grow from within. Those are all very positive. You better be ready to play in the West. Houston got better. Golden State got better. Minnesota got better. And the Clippers have definitely improved themselves. I also feel like we’ve kept up.”
On the Grizzlies' offensive struggles last season:
“We do some things really well offensively, Joerger challenged. "I don’t want to lose those things. I want to add to them. On the front end of it, I want to add more pace. I want to add more ball movement. With the ball movement comes a continuation of offense. The ball can’t stop. When there’s eight seconds on the clock, the ball can’t just come out (and get stuck in isolation). We have to keep going. I’m trying to push the basketball. Other guys are going to have to be able to make decisions with the basketball at times. The ball needs to move.”
On rotational differences compared to Lionel Hollins' approach last season:
“I like our roster. I’m hoping we’ve created depth,” said Joerger. “I’m hoping Jerryd Bayless, Quincy Pondexter, Ed Davis and Kosta Koufos keep growing. If they do that and have a good year this year, then we have some really nice depth. We need those guys to make shots. They’ve got to play. And I’m looking forward to having that. I know what Mike Miller is going to give us from the perimeter. Hopefully, those other guys have a big year. I want the bench to be successful. It’s a long season and the West is a gauntlet.”
Western Notes: Bryant, Nuggets, D’Antoni
As fallout from the Ric Bucher revelations about Dwight Howard's demands to remain with the Lakers continues, CBS Sports' Matt Moore looks at how Bucher's quotes have been portrayed in the media. While listing the headlines, Moore shows that they've primarily focused on the Lakers protecting Kobe Bryant in lieu of Howard's stipulation that he not be re-signed next summer.
As we already updated, Howard never explicitly said that he'd re-sign with the Lakers if Mike D'Antoni were ousted as coach. The focus in the media, as Moore shows, was on the back-and-forth between Bryant and Howard: two superstars possessing egos that wouldn't allow them to co-exist on the same roster, and how the Lakers would rather let Dwight walk than entertain the idea of Bryant leaving LA.
Here's some more on the Lakers chances next season, and a report card on the Nuggets tumultuous offseason…
- Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver gives the Nuggets an F in his recent offseason report card grade at SI's The Point Forward blog.
- Golliver compares the offseason of the Pacers with the Nuggets to show how, despite both teams experiencing impressive regular seasons, the Pacers continued to trend up in the playoffs, and the Nuggets failed to keep everything together this summer.
- They lost GM Masai Ujiri – who accepted the Raptors' high-paying GM role – and the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year George Karl – who they did not retain for the final year of his contract.
- Not only did the Nuggets lose their coach and GM, but they also lost free agent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors in a three-team deal involving the Jazz, Nuggets and Warriors.
- Unlike the Pacers – who were able to re-sign David West this summer and significantly upgrade their bench – the Nuggets signed offense-first players like Nate Robinson and J.J. Hickson and allowed others, like defensive wing-stopper Iggy, to bolt the sinking ship.
- HoopsWorld's Jabari Davis put together a plan for the Lakers while pretending to be their GM during a chat with readers earlier today.
- In his plan, Davis said the Lakers should try and land a top 12 spot in next summer's heralded 2014 NBA Draft.
- Davis also discusses the possibility that Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake improve next season, how the additions of Nick Young, Wesley Johnson and Farmer's athleticism will translate well with D'Antoni's uptempo offense and the chances Bryant sits out the full season – similar to Derrick Rose last season with the Bulls – while they attempt to position themselves higher in the the 2014 draft.
- Davis also believes the Lakers can win between 44-47 games next season and finish with a 6-8 seed in the West if Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Bryant all play at least 70 games together.
Poll: Where Will Jason Collins Play Next Season?
In April this year, Jason Collins came out as the first active male homosexual athlete in an American professional sport. So far, he's failed to find an NBA team that can use his defense, size, toughness and veteran leadership.
This isn't so much related to his sexual orientation, but the fact he's a 12-year journeyman big in a league that's increasingly made a backup center somewhat superfluous.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com wrote earlier today that an informal poll of league executives and general managers during Las Vegas' Summer League shows that Collins stands a good chance to land on an NBA roster as a 12th, 13th, or 14th man. The belief is he'll catch on as we progress towards training camp and teams look to flesh out their rosters. The informal poll by Arnovitz mirrors the one ESPN.com's Marc Stein conducted among general managers the day after Collins came out in Sports Illustrated.
Some teams have shown an interest already, but we're still more than a month from the start of training camp, and Collins is unsigned. Here's a look at some of the teams that have expressed interest, but so far failed to sign the veteran center.
- The last team he played for, the Wizards, do not appear likely to bring the big man back as he was included in the Jordan Crawford trade primarily to make the numbers work.
- The Nets were also interested in Collins since he last played with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with the Celtics before being dealt to Washington.
- Y! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that when the Celtics traded Collins to the Wizards in February, Garnett was said to have been "extremely frustrated."
- Collins also has a history with the Nets' Jason Kidd and new assistant coach Lawrence Frank, after playing under Frank during Kidd's run with the Nets earlier in the millennium.
- But because Reggie Evans was not ultimately included in the trade bringing Pierce and KG to Brooklyn, the need for Collins to backup KG and Brook Lopez dissipated.
- The Pistons expressed exploratory interest in Collins earlier this month. But after he worked out for them, they elected not to sign the 34-year-old out of Stanford.
- Collins expressed an interest in returning to the Celtics weeks before coming out as gay.
So Collins is still a free agent despite most executives believing he'll find a roster spot before the season starts.
The question remains: where will Jason Collins play next season, if at all?
Odds & Ends: D’Antoni, Durant, Jackson
The Lakers aren't expected to be contending for an NBA title this season after losing Dwight Howard to the Rockets in free agency. Many Lakers fans blame coach Mike D'Antoni for playing an important role in driving him out of town. Plus, the phantasm of former coach Phil Jackson still hovers above the Staples Center court where he's won five rings during his former time on the bench.
As D'Antoni told the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan, it probably will continue to be that way through the foreseeable future.
"I think anybody that comes in here the next 10, 15 years, it's going to be that way," D'Antoni remarked. "I don't think there is any doubt that he was so good and so large and he's still sitting out there. Had that bothered me, I shouldn't have taken the job because you know it's going to be there. I wasn't stupid enough to think that, 'Oh, they won't remember him.' Sure they will. It doesn't really affect what we do day-to-day and how we approach the game."
After getting swept in the the first round of the playoffs by the Spurs this past season, the 62-year-old D'Antoni still has two guaranteed years left on his contract with the Lakers. With Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles tendon and the aging Steve Nash and Pau Gasol representing the backbone of this year's Lakers team, things might not get much better as D'Antoni prepares for the 2013/14 season.
Here's what else is happening around the Association on a quiet Saturday evening, including an update on Jackson's coaching future.
- The Zen Master told Mark Jones of the Williston Herald that he doesn't plan on coaching because "I am still recovering from multiple surgeries."
- In 2005, strength trainer Alan Stein walked up to a 15-year-old Kevin Durant and told him, "Look, man, you have all the tools to be one of the best players in the world, but the only way you can do that is to get stronger," Stein recalled to the Oklahoman's Anthony Slater. “I can help you. Give me a shot.”
- Four-year former Florida Gator Kenny Boynton went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, but he did catch on with the Lakers' Summer League squad before failing to land a contract. Sportando's Emiliano Charchia reports, via Twitter, that Boynton's deal with Barack Netanya of Israel's BSL is now official.
- On that European note, via a re-tweet from Ridiculous Upside's Keith Schlosser, SecretRival.blogspot.com has compiled a list of former NBA players, picks and recent NCAA players who are in the top 10 European leagues.
Poll: Which Western Team Finishes Higher?
After the new five-year $60MM contract Nikola Pekovic agreed to earlier this week, the Timberwolves have their three core players, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Pek, healthy and ready to compete for a Western Conference playoff spot this season. Sam Tongue of Blazers Edge, compared the 'Wolves with another team in a similar spot out West, the Trail Blazers.
During their podcast on Friday, Matt Moore and Zach Harper of CBS Sports (by way of the Dallas Morning News) discussed two more teams that are on the Western Conference playoff periphery coming into the new season: the Pelicans and Mavericks.
With most NBA observers confidently predicting playoff spots (barring a significant injury) for the Rockets, Thunder, Spurs, Grizzlies, Clippers and Warriors out West, that leaves 2 slots open for the rest of the Western Conference's remaining 9 teams.
The Nuggets, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Trail Blazers, Lakers and Pelicans, all either made moves this offseason to improve, or in the case of the Nuggets and Lakers, lost enough personnel to be considered a fringe contender with the rest of these teams despite making the postseason last year.
So which of these teams on the cusp of the Western Conference playoffs, finishes higher during the 2013/14 season?