Knicks Rumors: LeBron, Amare, Melo, Grunwald
The Knicks shocked everyone when they fired GM Glen Grunwald this week and brought Steve Mills back to run basketball operations. Last night, we asked Hoops Rumors readers how they felt about the move and nearly 80% of you were against the decision. Here's the latest out of MSG..
- Knicks owner James Dolan may have decided that Mills was better suited for next summer's free agent bonanza, write Nate Taylor and Harvey Araton of the New York Times. Those efforts could include finding a way to shed the final part of Amare Stoudemire’s contract after this season and possibly even make another run at LeBron James when he can hit the open market. Mills could also try to bring a second star to New York to help convince Carmelo Anthony to stay put.
- The Knicks firing of Grunwald in favor of Mills is just the same old Dolan up to his old tricks, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “[Dolan] is comfortable with Steve,” said a person close to both executives. “Steve knows how to work with [Dolan]. They both know what they’re getting into. I think that familiarity helped. This move was [Dolan]’s.” Isola writes that future of Mark Warkentien, the club’s director of player personnel, is also murky at this juncture.
- Rich Kaplan, the agent for Marcus Camby, told Marc Berman of the New York Post that he was less-than-thrilled with the change. “Steve is a great guy, but Glen’s firing is absurd,’’ Kaplan wrote via text. “He did a great job in a challenging environment. Turns out it was a thankless job.’’ Meanwhile, an NBA GM told Berman, “If you’re looking for logic within Dolan’s Knicks, you’re looking in the wrong place.’’
Blazers Sign Dee Bost
SEPTEMBER 27TH: The Blazers have officially announced Bost's deal, along with the rest of their training camp roster, via press release. It's a two-year, minimum-salary deal with $25K guaranteed for this season and nothing guaranteed for 2014/15, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports reported earlier this month.
AUGUST 19TH: The Trail Blazers have signed Dee Bost to a contract, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Freeman hears from a source that the deal is non-guaranteed and that Bost is expected to ultimately land with the Idaho Stampede.
The point guard graduated from Mississippi State last season and averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 assists as a senior. Bost is the school's all-time assist leader with 633 dimes, good for eighth all-time in the Southeastern Conference.
Bost got a training camp invite from the Blazers at the end of July and made a strong impression on the club early. The 23-year-old went undrafted in 2012 and spent last season overseas with Budućnost Podgorica in Montenegro, averaging 8.3 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.3 turnovers in 21.5 minutes per contest.
Reactions To Knicks GM Change
Earlier today, we learned that the Knicks bumped Glen Grunwald as General Manager and brought Steve Mills back to the organization to take his place. The move came without any real warning and at this time, we still don't know what the motive was behind the decision. Here's the latest reaction to the news..
- The timing of the move appears to be illogical as Grunwald just completed the final transaction of the summer, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Meanwhile, coach Mike Woodson has a team option for 2014/15 and he no longer has the allegiance of Grunwald, his former college teammate at Indiana.
- Berman heard that Mills and team owner James Dolan were at the team practice facility today in Tarrytown to talk to the players about the move (Twitter link).
- After talking with Knicks insiders, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) believes that Allan Houston is being groomed as the next GM. The longtime Knicks guard is currently in their front office and is well-respected around the league.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter) guesses that the GM change means that Houston will see an increased role in operations and Woodson has less job security than he did yesterday. In another piece, Begley wonders what this all means as far as Isiah Thomas' ties to the franchise and tries to make sense of why such a decision was made now.
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal finds it strange that the team had moved so abruptly to replace Grunwald, especially since they aren't necessarily hiring someone who has proven to build a teams worthy of competing for an NBA title.
Jazz To Sign Justin Holiday
The Jazz are expected to sign Justin Holiday to a make-good contract, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Holiday was cut loose by the Sixers last month and waited roughly six weeks to hook on with another club.
The 24-year-old saw time in just nine games for Philly after being signed late last season. The University of Washington product, who is the brother of Jrue Holiday, averaged 17.3 PPG in 47 D-League contests.
Holiday picked up significant interest from Italy after being released by the Sixers, but it's not clear if he was ever giving that serious consideration. The guard also auditioned for the Heat, but he likely feels that his best chance at a roster spot will come from Utah.
Lakers Rumors: Odom, Paul, Kobe, Fisher
Earlier today, ESPNLosAngeles.com published another excerpt of Jeanie Buss' updated memoirs, "Laker Girl." In this piece, Buss says that she was less-than-involved in the 2011 trade that jettisoned Lamar Odom from L.A. According to Jeanie, her brother Jim notified her of the trade via text, writing, "Traded Odom to Dallas for first-round pick. I think it might make it easier to make a big trade. Will keep you posted. Have a good night." That wasn't the only significant storyline that Buss touched on, however. Here's more from Buss' memoirs and other items of interest on the Lakers..
- Buss went on to describe the events that led to Chris Paul being traded to the Lakers and the deal being called off shortly thereafter. In Buss' mind, the timing of the deal rubbed the small-market owners the wrong way as they all just got done ratifying a CBA that was supposed to ensure a more even playing field for all teams. Had the Hornets and Lakers waited, say, two days to pull the trigger, it's possible that the deal never would have been reversed by David Stern.
- In an interview in Dubai, Kobe Bryant told Jessica Kahawaty of Yahoo (video link) that he would like to be reunited with a longtime teammate. “My all-time favorite teammate has always been Derek Fisher. He’s been my favorite teammate, I would love to see him back in a Lakers uniform so we could kind of finish out together," Bryant said of the veteran guard.
- General Manager Mitch Kupchak is out there searching for diamonds in the rough, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Pacers Sign Paul George To Five-Year Max Deal
WEDNESDAY, 9:53am: The Pacers have officially announced George's contract extension in a press release. For a breakdown on what the specifics of the deal should look like, check out our write-up from Monday.
TUESDAY, 3:46pm: George and the Pacers have finalized an agreement, and will make it official tomorrow, tweets Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star. The team has sent out a press release announcing an 11:00am press conference.
MONDAY, 1:15pm: While George has been talking about his extension as if it's a done deal, Pacers president Larry Bird tells Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star that it's close, but not quite finished.
"That’s why I’m not playing golf today," Bird told Pointer, during an appearance before a Pacers Foundation golf outing at Brickyard Crossing. "I’m going back to the office to work on it."
Even as Bird pumps the brakes a little, it sounds to me as if it will just be a matter of days before we hear an official announcement from the team.
SUNDAY, 9:21pm: The Pacers and Paul George are finalizing a five-year deal worth more than $90MM, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. George is represented by Aaron Mintz of CAA Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
George, 23, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent following the conclusion of the 2013/14 season. While there wasn't a ton of concern that George would flee the Pacers, fans were able to breathe even easier thanks to the star's comments over the summer. Last week, George said point blank that a contract extension was "going to get done" between him and the club.
The forward was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for 2012/13, when he set career-highs in PPG (17.4), RPG (7.6), PER (16.8), and several other categories. He also helped lead the Pacers to within one game of the NBA Finals, even without the services of Danny Granger.
George boosted his scoring average from 17.0 PPG in the regular season to 19.2 PPG during the Pacers' playoff run. He made himself a household name in the postseason and he could make himself known even more on a global scale if he's part of USA Basketball's 2014 team and the 2016 Olympic team in Brazil.
With George under contract for the forseeable future, the Pacers can now turn their focus to finishing what they started last season. George will spearhead an improved team this season that will feature a healthy Granger and an improved bench with offseason additions Luis Scola and Chris Copeland off the bench.
Indiana re-signed David West to a three-year, $36MM extension in July and locked up Roy Hibbert with a four-year, $58MM deal last summer. The Pacers had until October 31st to hammer something out with George, but it looks like they can use the next few weeks to go candy shopping instead.
Odds & Ends: Jazz, Hawks, Nuggets, Grizzlies
The league and the NBPA are still far apart on a testing policy for human growth hormone (HGH), sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Stern wanted something in place before the start of the 2013/14 season, but that doesn't seem terribly likely at this point. Officials from the league office and the union met earlier this month to continue discussions on the matter, but a person familiar with the talks told Berger, "Nothing is anywhere near being agreed to." Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Forward Joe Trapani is working out with the Jazz this week, a source told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (on Twitter). The 25-year-old Boston College product has been playing in Italy for the last few years.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sat down with Al Horford of the Hawks for a wide-ranging interview. Atlanta is in a rebuilding phase, but the big man says that he trusts GM Danny Ferry.
- Andre Iguodala feels that he deserves a good amount of credit for the Nuggets' improved defense last season, writes Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.
- The Grizzlies have officially finalized their coaching staff, announcing the hirings of four assistants, including Elston Turner.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Felton, Noel, World Peace
You love the NBA. You watch basketball almost every single night from Halloween into the early part of summer and read Hoops Rumors religiously. But you've always hoped that the NBA could be more like Vince McMahon's failed football league. Finally, the league office has heard your complaints. The NBA may have the Nets and Heat wear "nickname jerseys" for at least one of their four meetings this season, according to the Associated Press. Ray Allen plans to don a "Jesus Shuttlesworth" jersey, LeBron James is expected to go by "King James," and Nets stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will probably wear "KG" and "The Truth," respectively. As you dust off your sweet He Hate Me throwback, check out the latest from the Atlantic..
- Guard Raymond Felton feels that the Knicks were just too old last season, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “We’re a younger team this year,’’ Felton said. “Kurt Thomas, Rasheed [Wallace], love them like brothers. [But] those guys were 38, 39, 40 years old. Once they got injuries, they’re out and it hurt us last year. We’ve added Metta [World Peace], Andrea [Bargnani], Kenyon [Martin] and Amar'e Stoudemire are coming back. Tim Hardaway Jr. looks great by the way. I’ve been most impressed with him. It gives us depth at that big spot and youth. Those guys are younger."
- Best friends Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams are reunited with the Sixers, writes HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy. The youngsters first became friends on the AAU circuit and are anxious to replicate that success at the NBA level. “I’m looking forward to it,” Carter-Williams said. “I know it’s going to be a learning experience. We’re going to have a lot of young guys, but we’re also going to have some veterans so we’re going to learn from them. We’re just going to try to bring everything together as a team and be the best we can.”
- World Peace is back in New York with a fresh perspective on things both on and off the court, writes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report. MWP joined the Knicks after the Lakers used the amnesty clause to get out from under his contract.
Pacific Notes: Redick, Clippers, Barnes, Shaq
Earlier today, Sam Amick of USA Today spoke with Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who says that he is a fan of DeMarcus Cousins and hopes to get a new deal hammered out with him in advance of next month's deadline. While Ranadive wouldn't handicap the odds of something getting done, Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears that the two sides are on track to agree to an extension in the coming weeks. Here's more on the Kings and other notes from the Pacific Division..
- J.J. Redick spoke with Eric Patten of NBA.com about the deal that sent him to the Clippers this summer. “I have mixed emotions about [getting traded],” Redick said. “For the most part, you essentially accept the fact that it’s part of the job and you’re getting paid to play basketball. Ultimately, I don’t feel Milwaukee with our team last year was… It definitely wasn’t a great fit. We didn’t play particularly well as a team down the stretch. Going into that I hoped we could kind of move up from that eighth spot and we didn’t. It was frustrating to a lot of people last year in Milwaukee.”
- Mark Deeks of HoopsWorld.com ranked the ten best new contracts of the offseason and the Clippers earned two mentions for Matt Barnes and Darren Collison. Both were acquired via the non-taxpayer mid-level exception with Barnes earning $3.25MM with Collison getting the remaining $1.9MM.
- Shaquille O'Neal can offer the Kings quite a bit in the way of marketing after becoming a minority owner, Amick writes.
Knicks Working Out Aldrich, Wing Players
The Knicks are looking to fill out their roster for the upcoming season and they would like to use their final spot(s) to reinforce some positions of need. Center Cole Aldrich will be brought back for a second workout this week after looking strong in his last audition, according to Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Meanwhile, the club is also eyeing some athletic wing players (link) as they will be without J.R. Smith for at least the early part of the season.
A source told Zwerling that the Knicks "are definitely taking a long look at the Kansas product." Aldrich could wind up filling a major role for the Knicks this season as they have no true backup at center. Other notable names that have been linked to the job include DeSagana Diop, Ike Diogu, and Hassan Whiteside.
Meanwhile, the Knicks will comb the open market for athletic wings because they have some questions about undrafted rookie C.J. Leslie in the long-term.