Lakers Notes: World Peace, Randle, Bryant
Metta World Peace, whom the Lakers signed in September partially because of his veteran leadership, wants to be a coach after his playing career is over and his goal is to be a head coach, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes in an extensive profile of the small forward’s character evolution. The Lakers, according to Medina, have been thoroughly impressed with the way World Peace has mentored second-year player Julius Randle. World Peace is not ready to hang it up just yet, Medina writes, but many around the Lakers believe his transition to coaching will be “seamless.”
“He’d be a good coach,” Kobe Bryant said, per Medina. “He’s extremely intelligent and communicates very well and is not afraid to hold guys accountable.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- World Peace has become more assertive in instructing Randle about developing a mid-range game and becoming more aggressive consistently on the boards, Medina writes in the same piece.
Randle is averaging 11.5 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game this season. - Speaking of Bryant, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times interviewed several former players about transitioning to life without basketball and the consensus was that the transition might be hard for Bryant, given how much he has devoted to the game. In on-camera interviews, however, (and this is simply my observation) Bryant has appeared at ease with his decision and seems set on pursuing different opportunities like filmmaking outside of basketball.
- Bryant is, in fact, at peace with his decision, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes, since the superstar said he “has known for a while” that this would be his final season. To further drive the point home, Washburn adds that Bryant is no longer interested in the preparation required to play in games.
And-Ones: Gasol, Bryant, Jennings
There is a distinct possibility that Pau Gasol will opt out of his contract after this season with the Bulls because he’d likely get at least two years of guaranteed money by doing so, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes in response to a reader’s question. Gasol has not been featured as prominently in Fred Hoiberg‘s offense as he was under Tom Thibodeau, but since he’s still playing effectively, that should not factor much in Gasol’s decision, Johnson adds. Gasol will be a name to watch, according to Johnson, when the trade deadline nears if the Bulls believe they will lose him for nothing, however.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Kobe Bryant shot down the idea that he would consider coaching after he retires as a player, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “Coaching, me? That’s about the funniest thing I’ve ever heard,” Bryant said, per Bresnahan. A transition to coaching seemed unlikely, anyway, given Bryant’s ultra-competitive demeanor. Bryant has said he plans to delve further into storytelling through different forms of media after this season.
- Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, who is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in January, is still three or four weeks away from seeing the court and thus his return is not imminent, coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters, including Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports (Twitter link).
- The two-year contract worth $11MM that the Mavs signed point guard Deron Williams to over the summer is looking like a bargain one month into the season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details. While Williams said he would like to be more consistent, he has shown flashes of dominance, MacMahon writes. Williams is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 assists per game.
Cavs Notes: James, Mozgov, Harris
Judging by LeBron James‘ comment to Lee Jenkins of SI.com, it seems like the relationship between James and Heat president Pat Riley is slowly starting to improve,
Here’s more from Cleveland:
- Timofey Mozgov‘s right knee is still bothering him after offseason surgery, and it’s affecting his play, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal details. The Cavs aren’t panicking, but they’re concerned, Lloyd writes. Mozgov is in the final year of his contract, but Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer suggests that pressure not from looming free agency but from the no-nonsense atmosphere that James has imposed on his teammates is also detracting from the big man’s performance.
- Free agent Dionte Christmas, whom the Cavs waived shortly before the season started, is set to sign with Hapoel Holon in Israel, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 29-year-old shooting guard averaged 6.8 points in 19.9 minutes per game over four contests in the preseason for the Cavs.
- The Cavs assigned shooting guard Joe Harris to their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Harris has played in five games for the Cavs this season.
Chuck Myron contributed to this report.
Atlantic Notes: ‘Melo, Nets, Sixers
Kobe Bryant was the one who wanted the Lakers to acquire Carmelo Anthony five years ago before the former Nuggets player was traded to the Knicks, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News details. Some players in the past have been outspoken about not wanting to play with Bryant, but, as Isola writes, Anthony was attracted to the idea.
“He did. Kobe did. He wanted it to happen,” Anthony said, per Isola. “I don’t know who was going to be part of that deal. There was a lot of talk of Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Nene. There was a lot of talk during that time. For some reason I was always connected with the Lakers … Maybe it was just Kobe behind closed doors.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Anthony’s strained relationship with Tyson Chandler played a significant role in the center’s trade to the Mavs in June 2014, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report relays on Twitter.
- Shane Larkin, who is one of the few bright spots for the Nets this season, said he passed up more money to sign with Brooklyn over the summer after the Knicks declined the third-year team option on his rookie contract because of the diversity in New York, Steven Simineri of NetsDaily relays. “I grew up in Orlando, Florida, with a lot of different ethnicities, a lot of different cultures and being up here is kind of the same thing,” Larkin, who is averaging 7.2 points per game, told Simineri.
- The Sixers‘ losing culture, often referred to as “tanking,” or the idea of racking up losses to obtain high picks, proves that the league’s draft lottery system is flawed, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report argues. The Sixers entered action Wednesday night with a 1-18 record. While the Sixers are off to one of the worst starts in NBA history, they get rewarded via the lottery and get the Lakers’ first-round pick as long as the Lakers win enough to stay out of the top three in the draft lottery, Ding writes.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 11/30/15
Not many are going to remember Kobe Bryant for his struggles this season. Instead, Bryant will be remembered as one of the all-time greats. Several of his peers have said Bryant is his era’s Michael Jordan.
Bryant’s resume will land him a spot in the Hall of Fame. He has won five NBA championships in his 20-year career and currently is third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
Interestingly, Bryant has captured only one MVP award, however. In comparison, Abdul-Jabbar won six and Jordan and Bill Russell each won five. LeBron James already has four. While the league has seen more balanced players than Bryant, few were better scorers.
That brings us to the question for today: Where does Kobe Bryant rank among the all-time NBA greats?
Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what you think. We look forward to learning about what you have to share.
Western Notes: Rondo, Matthews, D-League
Rajon Rondo is enjoying an impressive comeback season after inking a one-year deal with the Kings and therefore is setting himself up for a big payday next summer, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, Rondo’s former coach, attributes a lot of the point guard’s success this season to Kings coach George Karl.
“George has done a great job of putting him in a position where he can really maximize his ability,” Carlisle said. “Somebody’s going to have to back up the truck to get him. That’s how well he’s playing and George has a lot to do with it. He’s a great coach.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the team announced on Twitter. This will be Huestis’ fourth trip to the D-League of the season. McGary, who is headed to the Blue for the first time this season, has played in six games for the Thunder this season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per game.
- The Jazz assigned center Tibor Pleiss to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, per a press release.
- Wesley Matthews has struggled with his 3-point shooting, but he needs to get his offense going in other ways because the Mavs invested four years and $70MM in him during the summer, Sefko argues in a separate piece.
Kobe Bryant To Retire After Current Season
6:00pm: Kobe Bryant announced that this will be his final season in a letter published in The Players’ Tribune.
“This season is all I have left to give,” Bryant writes. “My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind. But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”
Bryant, 37, is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, but injuries in recent seasons have taken a toll on the superstar’s body, as he alludes to in his letter. Bryant has spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers. He has won five NBA championships and earned MVP honors in 2008.
The news does not come as a surprise and confirms widespread speculation that this would be his final season. What’s more, according to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, Bryant signaled to the organization that this would be the end of his storied career back in the spring. Kupchak then publicly said on multiple occasions that the Lakers expected Bryant to retire.
Bryant, 37, in the final year of a two-year deal that will pay him $25MM this season, entered Sunday’s game against the Pacers averaging 15.7 points per game on a career-worst 31.5% shooting percentage. Bryant remains the NBA’s highest-paid player. Not including endorsements, Bryant earned $303,238,062 in his career, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Bryant’s field goal percentage and 3-point percentage both rank last in the NBA among qualified players. Despite his struggles, the Lakers have publicly supported Bryant and coach Byron Scott said the future Hall of Famer would not be benched. “I would never, never, never do that,” Scott told the media after practice on Friday. “That’s not an option whatsoever. No, that’s not an option.”
Bryant was drafted out of high school by the Hornets with the 13th overall pick in 1996 but was traded to the Lakers. He currently is third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 11/29/15
The standings in both conferences after one month look somewhat strange for a few teams. In the Eastern Conference, the Bucks and Wizards are both disappointing. Those teams were picked by many to make the playoffs, but are currently — and surprisingly — on the outside looking in. Over in the Western Conference, the Rockets and Pelicans both can be found near the bottom of the standings.
Obviously, some offseason moves will pan out and some won’t for a variety of reasons, but it’s a bit early to start declaring “hits” and “misses.” With that in mind, teams that were picked to contend that are currently struggling should theoretically be able to turn things around. However, most of the aforementioned teams have few weaknesses and a trade that would fill any small holes and would expedite such a process.
The Bucks have the potential to swing a trade, fix what is not working and get back on track. It’s obvious that Milwaukee is lacking its defensive edge from last season. With Greg Monroe, the Bucks can win now and are still built for the future (they own their future first round picks). It wouldn’t take much to turn things around this season; perhaps acquiring someone who can help defensively on the interior would do the trick.
Here’s the question for today: Which struggling team would benefit the most with a trade and why?
Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what you think. We look forward to learning about what you have to share.
And-Ones: Kaminsky, Draft, Warriors
Hornets owner Michael Jordan liked the experience Frank Kaminsky received as a four-year player at Wisconsin and the team has been satisfied with the rookie’s progress so far, of the Journal Sentinel relays.
“After summer league, you could see what he could become,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Particularly on the defensive end, he’s made such great strides. I think Michael’s big point about him is that so much of the draft now are guys that are freshmen. Frankly, when you’re watching a lot of the college tape, the difficult challenge of the draft is they’re good players, but even on their college teams they’re the third or fourth-best guy.”
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- LSU freshman Ben Simmons, a point forward, who is listed at 6’10″ and 225 pounds, is already gaining traction as a favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Simmons, who is projected to play small forward in the NBA, is averaging 16.2 points, 14.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks through his first five games this season, as Kennedy notes.
- Harrison Barnes will be out at least one week after spraining his left ankle, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group details. The Warriors determined Barnes did not suffer a fracture, Leung adds.
- Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whom the Pistons exercised their team option on for the 2016/17 season last month, continues to earn major minutes because of his defensive ability, David Mayo of MLive.com writes.
Hoops Links: Whiteside, Warriors, Porzingis
Every Sunday, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Then you should send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown…
- The Sports Quotient examines how Hassan Whiteside is punishing offenses.
- The Love of Hoops details the Warriors’ small-ball success.
- The Hardwood Nation takes a look at how Kristaps Porzingis has surpassed expectations.
- Bullets Forever explores John Wall‘s reluctance to attack the rim.
- Mavs Moneyball has five predictions before the All-Star break.
- Bright Side of the Sun discusses the struggles of Markieff Morris.
- Hot Hot Hoops takes a look at the Heat’s use of the D-League.
- CelticsBlog wonder how good the Celtics are this season.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.