Hoops Links: Collins, Thunder, Kings, Allen
On this date in 1976, the Nets made the worst deal since the island of Manhattan was sold for $24 in wampum. The Nets, in need of money to help facilitate their move from the dying ABA to the NBA, sold Julius Erving to the 76ers for $3MM. Dr. J led the Nets to two ABA titles, but they’ve yet to win an NBA championship to this day. Meanwhile, Erving helped the Sixers capture the 1983 Larry O’Brien trophy.
Got a great blog post that you think should be featured in Hoops Links? Send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s the best from around the basketball blogosphere this week..
- Hoop76 asks if the Sixers should sign Jason Collins.
- Daily Thunder has some questions for OKC.
- Blazers Edge previews the Kings.
- The Brooklyn Game looks at Malik Allen‘s new venture for college recruiting.
- Keep It Cavalier recaps the Cavs’ preseason outing against the Pistons.
- RaptorsHQ looks at Toronto’s most must-see opponents this season.
- Queen City Hoops previews Bismack Biyombo.
- Red94 has some random thoughts on the Rockets’ upcoming season.
- 48 Minutes of Hell talks renewal for the Spurs.
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Spurs Waive Courtney Fells And Dan Nwaelele
The Spurs announced this afternoon that they have waived guard/forward Courtney Fells and guard Dan Nwaelele. Neither player was on a guaranteed contract for San Antonio.
Fells appeared in three preseason games, averaging 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.4 minutes of action. Nwaelele saw action in three preseason games, averaging 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes. Coach Gregg Popovich gave both players minutes during crunch time in preseason action.
The Spurs have now cut five players in five days after axing Corey Maggette, Myck Kabongo, and Marcus Cousin on October 15th. San Antonio now has 14 players on the roster and they’re all on guaranteed deals. GM R.C. Buford & Co. are reportedly comfortable with starting the year one man shy of the maximum roster size.
Week In Review: 10/14/13-10/20/13
This week, the Jazz took care of one of their major offseason priorities when they agreed to a four-year, $49MM+ contract extension with Derrick Favors. With the deal, Favors becomes the fifth eligible player to strike a rookie scale extension this offseason. Next up for the Jazz will be putting a bow on their contract talks with Gordon Hayward. Here’s more from the week that was..
- The Bucks exercised their 2014/15 options on the rookie deals of first-round picks Brandon Knight and John Henson.
- The Pistons exercised the 2014/15 option for Andre Drummond.
- The Warriors and Andrew Bogut are discussing a contract extension.
- Carmelo Anthony doesn’t expect Kobe Bryant to try and recruit him to the Lakers. Meanwhile, Melo says that he wants to test free agency.
- Here’s a look at reactions to the Favors deal.
- The Pelicans officially picked up their 2014/15 options on Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers.
- The Spurs cut Corey Maggette as well as Myck Kabongo and Marcus Cousin.
- Evan Turner and the Sixers haven’t discussed an extension yet.
- The Wolves have discussed signing Hedo Turkoglu internally, but it might not be serious.
- Cory Higgins is headed to Russia.
- The T’Wolves could be considering Richard Hamilton.
- The Nets waived Marko Jaric.
- The 76ers signed Daniel Orton and waived Tim Ohlbrecht.
- Sebastian Telfair will sign in China.
- A day after releasing three camp invitees, the Hawks added another player, signing Cartier Martin.
- There’s mutual interest between the Jazz and Jamaal Tinsley.
- The Kings released camp invitees DeQuan Jones and Brandon Heath.
- The Lakers waived Darius Johnson-Odom and he immediately signed a deal in China.
- Four days after being cut by the Hawks, the Nets signed undrafted rookie Adonis Thomas.
- The Nuggets waived Reginald Becton and Kyle Fogg.
- Washington waived camp invitee D’or Fischer.
- The Jazz officially waived camp invitee Dwayne Jones.
- Carl Landry will be out for a while with a hip injury.
- The Pacers have released Ron Howard and Darnell Jackson.
- Allen Iverson will officially announce his retirement on October 30th.
- The Rockets signed Troy Daniels.
- Toure Murry could be closing in on a roster spot with the Knicks.
- The Nets said goodbye to Gary Forbes.
Odds & Ends: Favors, LeBron, Leslie, Smart
With Derrick Favors now locked up, Gordon Hayward is the next domino to fall for the Jazz, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation. Extending Hayward would further cut into Utah’s cap space for 2014, but ZIller notes that if they don’t work out a new deal with him, he’ll also affect their flexibility with an $8.6MM cap hold. Here’s more from around the Association..
- A veteran NBA scout told Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he doesn’t see the Heat staying on top forever as he expects LeBron James to bolt at some point.
- As C.J. Leslie fights for a roster spot with the Knicks, coach Mike Woodson told reporters that he views the forward as a project, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “He is a project,” Woodson said after Leslie saw no playing time in Thursday’s preseason contest. “No doubt about that. Right now the game is somewhat quick for him in terms of catching on to what we’re doing. I’ve seen that over the years since I’ve been coaching, a lot of young guys they struggle early because you throw so many things at them, it’s too fast. So we’re trying to slow it down a little a bit, spend more time with him in the classroom.” Leslie has a reported guarantee of ~$200K.
- Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart says that he’s motivated by people crowning Andrew Wiggins as the best player in college basketball before he has even played a game, writes Eric Prisbell of USA Today. Wiggins is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft while Smart is currently No. 5 on DraftExpress‘ mock draft.
- Ryan Gomes is pushing for a job with the Thunder and he says that he is encouraged by the support he has gotten from GM Sam Presti, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
Pistons Exercise Andre Drummond’s 2014/15 Option
The Pistons announced that they have exercised Andre Drummond‘s third-year option worth $2.5MM. The move was expected for the No. 9 overall pick in the 2012 draft.
Drummond, 20, averaged 7.9 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 20.7 minutes per game during his rookie season. The UConn center made ten starts on the year but mostly came off of the bench. Drummond also missed significant time around the midway point of the season with a stress fracture of the fifth lumbar vertebra in his back.
Drummond shows plenty of promise, but he also has a good deal to work on, including his free throw shooting. The big man shot just 37% from the charity stripe in 2012/13, a percentage low enough to make Chris Dudley wince.
Central Notes: Rose, Taylor, Middleton, Gibson
After watching Derrick Rose put up 32 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds against the Pacers in preseason action last night, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes that the Bulls have their closer back. For his part, the former MVP sounds ready for the 2013/14 season. “God is good, man. God is good,” Rose said. “I’ve been working hard, man. Super hard. I think that I’m one of the hardest-working guys in the league, if not the hardest. During the summer, I work out three times a day and really concentrating on everything I’m doing and really taking care of my body, so I’m just trying to make the game easy and just trying to do anything individually to help my team.” The latest from the Central Division..
- Jermaine Taylor is fighting to hang on with the Cavs, writes Bob Finnan of the News-Herald. Taylor has impressed the coaching staff with his relentless style and scoring ability, but he would have to make the Cavs’ roster at the expense of either Matthew Dellavedova or Carrick Felix, both of whom the front office likes a lot. Both rookies also have some guaranteed money in their contracts.
- Offseason acquisition Khris Middleton, who stands at 6’7″, is being slotted at power forward for the Bucks, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel. So far, the former Pistons forward looks comfortable in his new role.
- In this week’s mailbag, a reader asks Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer if Daniel Gibson could return to the Cavs. While she sees the guard hooking on with someone before the end of the season, she doesn’t envision it happening in Cleveland.
Southeast Notes: LeBron, Bosh, Asik, Temple
LeBron james took to Twitter last night for a quick Q&A session with his fans. According to the transcript from Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, James is leaving the door open for a stint on the gridiron. When asked if he would consider playing in one game of pro football at any level, King James responded, “I wanna play one NFL game before it’s over.” As you daydream about LeBron lining up at tight end, check out the latest from the Southeast Division..
- In today’s mailbag, Winderman downplays a recent ESPN the Magazine article that claims the relationship between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade isn’t as close as most people believe. Of course, both men can opt out of their deals following this season.
- Winderman is also asked if a swap of Rockets center Omer Asik for Chris Bosh is a possibility for the Heat after the thought was mentioned by ESPN’s David Thorpe. However, the Heat are highly unlikely to go for a major shakeup before they see how 2013/14’s championship bid shakes out. Besides, they’ve done alright for themselves without a true center.
- Garrett Temple won’t start 36 games for the Wizards again, but Washington is extremely happy to have him back in the fold, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “He’s like a great utility player in baseball,” coach Randy Wittman said of Temple. “I want guys who are very versatile in what they do. It gives you different options in the course of the game, gives you different options when you have injuries.” The Wizards re-signed Temple to a one-year, guaranteed deal this offseason.
- Jason Maxiell‘s bruising style of play will help the Magic this season, writes John Denton of Magic.com. Orlando inked Maxiell this summer after he spent the previous eight seasons in Detroit.
Raptors Notes: Leiweke, Ujiri, Valanciunas
Raptors head coach Dwane Casey is high on offseason pickup Dwight Buycks and says that he’s better than any of the guards selected in the late first round or second round of June’s draft. If that’s true, the Raptors made a heck of a deal when they gave him a deal worth $700K in July. The Marquette product has bounced around France, Belgium, and the D-League, but it looks like he has a home in Toronto. Here’s more on the Raptors.
- Raptors president Tim Leiweke is confident that the club is headed towards becoming a serious and relevant franchise, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. “We’ve made it clear to all of our players, we’re going to win championships here,” Leiweke told season ticket holders. “I believe in Masai [Ujiri]. My trust, my faith is in this man. He’s going to lead us to the next level, and he will lead us to a championship here in Toronto.”
- Meanwhile, Ujiri says that the club will make more of an effort to scout Canadian basketball because it has improved so much. Of course, the top prospect in the 2014 draft, Andrew Wiggins, comes from north of the border.
- In today’s mailbag, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star is asked if the Raptors need to fix their backup center situation with Jonas Valanciunas still developing and uninspiring play from Aaron Gray. Smith would like to see a new backup 5 in Toronto, but he’s not sure where they could find a quality young big since they’re generally unavailable.
- Zach Lowe of Grantland (Twitter links) wrote that Casey is on the hot seat this year, but he believes that he’s the victim of circumstances and likes him as a coach.
New York Notes: Garnett, Pierce, Hardaway, Nets
If there’s one thing Knicks coach Mike Woodson loves, it’s some healthy competition on his roster. If there’s two things that Woodson loves, it’s competition and double negatives. “Ain’t nothing guaranteed on our team,” said the coach this week when asked if the injured Jeremy Tyler‘s job was safe. That’s bad news for Tyler but potentially good news for center Cole Aldrich, who is fighting for a roster spot. Here’s tonight’s news out of New York..
- The Nets‘ offseason additions of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have given them a major culture change in addition to a tremendous influx of talent, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Star guard Deron Williams has said in recent months that he feels the veterans will give the club some edge, something they were in sore need of in their first round series against the Bulls.
- Tim Hardaway Sr. has been told that his son, Tim Hardaway Jr., has been having a really strong camp with the Knicks, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. The rookie has reportedly impressed with his poise, but he’ll have his work cut out for him if he wants to be able to make an impression on a deep Knicks roster.
- The Nets figure to get even more of an energy boost from their new-look bench this year, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. “It’s better,” Williams said. “A lot better. It’s better than it was in the playoffs. We’re going to be together this year. We had a lot of stuff going on internally last year. People [ticked] off about not playing … normal stuff, but we’re not letting that happen this year.”
Western Rumors: Kobe, Jazz, Bledsoe, Spurs
Earlier today, Kobe Bryant addressed reporters at the Lakers‘ practice facility and fielded a number of queries, but wouldn’t answer the million dollar question. “I didn’t say anything,” Bryant said when asked about a potential timetable for returning, according to Lakers.com. “I just keep it all open right now. I don’t’ know why you guys are so hell bent on timelines. When I’m ready, I’m ready.” More out of the West…
- The Jazz have to cut their roster down to 15 players before the start of the season, but there are no signs of that coming just yet, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. There are 20 players on the roster currently, but Marvin Williams (Achilles’ heel) and Brandon Rush (knee) are recovering from surgeries.
- Eric Bledsoe has matured since his rookie year and he’s ready to shine as a main player for the Suns, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Bledsoe came to Phoenix in the three-team deal with the Clippers and Bucks that sent J.J. Redick to L.A.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich endorses European coaches making the transition over to the NBA, but Dan McCarney of the Express News wonders when that will become a reality. Ettore Messina is among several qualified coaches waiting for their chance in the NBA, but the Italian doesn’t believe that offer will come anytime soon.
- Former Mavericks forward and free agent Lamar Odom pleaded not guilty to DUI charges, according to the Associated Press. Odom, who was said to be dealing with a drug problem and other issues, seems pretty far from another NBA run.