And-Ones: Rondo, Mavs, Dragic
Years ago, in a fit of rage, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki put a hole in a wall at the Warriors‘ Oracle Arena. Now, Golden State wants to bring that wall with them when they move to a privately financed arena in San Francisco for the 2018/19 season, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. The Warriors want to bring it along because it has been made into a large display that many people inquire about viewing, Howard-Cooper added.
“It’s amazing how many people ask to see it,” said Steve Martin, the production manager for Oracle. “It’s right outside my door, so I hear it all the time. At first, I thought it was just kind of a goof. But as time went on, it’s become a bigger deal.”
Besides not knowing where it would go, Howard-Cooper writes, there is another problem with the idea: since Oracle is owned by the city of Oakland, local government can tell the Warriors no. Here’s more from around the NBA..
- Rajon Rondo is finally starting to mesh with his teammates in Dallas, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. After struggling during most of his time with the Mavericks, Rondo seems to be figuring out how to play the style of basketball that the team is accustomed to. “He was tremendously active, I know that,” Nowitzki said after Friday’s win over the Clippers. “He was out there talking, directing everybody. This was as animated as I’ve seen him. Maybe he’s getting more comfortable.”
- The Mavericks announced via press release that they have recalled center/forward Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends of the D-League. Powell has appeared in 19 games for the Mavericks this season and is averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game. The 6’11” big man scored 28 points in 35 minutes for the Legends on Saturday.
- The Heat have recalled Zoran Dragic from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according the team’s twitter feed. The guard appeared in four games for the Skyforce, averaging 16.5 points, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Chris Crouse and Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Scott, Lin
Lakers coach Byron Scott feels for Knicks coach Derek Fisher. While Scott isn’t a coaching neophyte like his New York counterpart, both men have to deal with rabid fans in a major media market. “I think the New York fans are just like our fans. They say they’re going to be patient but they’re really not,” Scott said, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “They have to be patient. Phil’s going to be very patient with Derek. He knows the type of person that Derek is. It just doesn’t happen overnight.” Here’s more from the Pacific Division..
- With the season winding down, Scott plans put pending free agent Jeremy Lin in the Lakers starting lineup, Medina writes. Lin started the first 19 games of the season only to lose his starting spot in favor of veteran guard Ronnie Price because of Scott’s preference for his defense and floor leadership Now, it sounds like he’ll get more of an opportunity to showcase himself before the end of the year.
- Scott is heaping tons of praise on 10-day signee Jabari Brown, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. “He played extremely well for a guy who is on a 10-day contract,” the Lakers coach said. “He earned the right to play some more.” Brown inked his 10-day deal with Los Angeles on March 10th, so he still has some time left on this current pact.
- Phil Jackson losing out on coach Steve Kerr to the Warriors is well documented, but he’s happy for his success, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “The perfect job for him and perfect situation where he stepped into the right opportunity and made the most out of it,” Jackson said of Kerr. “I don’t give him advice. I’m there to congratulate him.’’
Hoops Links: Raptors, Expansion, Oladipo
On this date in 1992, Cavs coach Lenny Wilkens became only the fifth coach in NBA history (joining Red Auerbach, Jack Ramsay, Dick Motta, and Bill Fitch) to record 800 career victories after the Cavs beat the Nuggets 100-91. The current leaderboard has Wilkens at No. 2 with 1,332 wins, just behind Don Nelson’s 1,335 career victories as a head coach.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- Posterized Basketball looked at the slumping Raptors.
- Kingdome Of Seattle Sports says the NBA can sustain expansion in terms of talent.
- Slam Dunk Zone looked at the league’s under-the-radar players, including Victor Oladipo.
- Posting And Toasting looked at Phil Jackson‘s first year in New York.
- Denver Stiffs spoke with Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess.
- A Wolf Among Wolves talked about the Ricky Rubio effect.
- Hot Hot Hoops wonders if it’s time for Miami to shut it down.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here’s a look at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Eddie Scarito looked at the Hornets’ salary commitments for the 2015/16 season. Eddie also ran down the Nets, Celtics, Hawks, and Bulls.
- Chuck Myron ran down the players eligible for restricted free agency.
- In the latest edition of the NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings, Eddie bumped D’Angelo Russell up from No. 3 to No. 2.
- I looked back on the deal that brought Gerald Wallace to the Nets and, eventually, Damian Lillard to the Blazers.
- Chuck asked readers to pick their winner for the 2014/15 Executive of the Year award.
- There are 23 players who were cut in training camp that are currently on an NBA roster, Chuck found.
- In the latest edition of the Free Agent Power Rankings, LaMarcus Aldridge climbed up a spot to No. 4, thanks to Jimmy Butler‘s elbow injury .
- Chuck gave us a team-by-team update on each club’s roster flexibility.
- The NBA granted disabled player exceptions to the Pacers, Lakers, Heat and Cavaliers this season, but only the Cavs put their disabled player exception to use. Several DPEs expired on Tuesday after going unused, and Chuck broke it all down.
- Eddie fielded your questions in this week’s edition of the mailbag.
- The NBA’s hardship rule was little-known and little used when the season began, but the ability for teams to exceed the 15-man roster limit during the regular season has come into play more frequently in 2014/15. Here are the teams that took advantage of it, courtesy of Chuck.
- The Sixers and Celtics made the most trades in 2014/15.
- Chuck gave us an update on traded 2015 first-round picks.
- Eddie asked Hoops Rumors readers if the Raptors should be targeting Canadian players. More than 60% of you said that they should focus on getting players who can win, regardless of where they’re from.
- Seven players have been claimed off waivers since opening night.
- Chuck looked at the midseason signees on multiyear deals.
- Chuck ran down the rookie scale contracts that were traded this season.
- The Sixers and Blazers have $0 of cap commitments on the books in 2016/17, Chuck writes.
- If you missed out on last week’s chat, check out the transcript here.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.
This Date In Transactions History: Gerald Wallace
On this date three years ago, the Nets paid a hefty price to give star guard Deron Williams some additional help. New Jersey, gearing up for their long-anticipated move to Brooklyn, acquired Gerald Wallace in exchange for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a top-three protected 2012 pick. Of course, the trade deadline is typically weeks earlier than March 15th, but the cutoff was pushed up in the 2011/12 season thanks to the NBA lockout, which resulted in an abbreviated 66-game season.
While Crash still had a great deal to offer talent-wise, the deal raised some eyebrows for a lot of people from the Nets’ perspective. For starters, Wallace held a $9.5MM player option for the following season and, theoretically, this trade could have amounted to a ~20 game rental for the Nets, who were certainly not headed to the postseason. Not only were the Nets not playoff bound, but they had the sixth-worst record in the league at 15-29, so they were giving away a highly valuable asset in their first-round pick, even though it was top-three protected. On the plus side, GM Billy King managed to shed Okur’s expiring $10.89MM contract and avoid Williams exercising his $3.1MM option for the following year.
In the offseason, Wallace would decline his player option and the two sides instead inked a brand new four-year, $40MM pact. While Wallace became a fan favorite with his hard-nosed style of play, it was clear that his approach to the game wasn’t the best thing when it came to his longevity. In the following season, Wallace averaged 7.7 PPG (his lowest posting since 2003/04) with an 11.6 PER that put him well below the league average. The Nets finished the 2012/13 season with 49 wins, but they were sent packing early when the Bulls knocked them off in the opening round of the playoffs. Months after that, just one year after the small forward signed that lucrative new deal with the Nets, Wallace was shipped to the Celtics in the blockbuster deal that would bring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Barclays Center. Later on, as a member of the C’s, Wallace would comment on how that deal was also ill-fated.
“It was one of those stories of a get-rich-quick scheme. You either hit it big or you don’t,” Wallace said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “They took a gamble. It backfired.”
The Blazers, in essence, took advantage of the Nets’ desperation to fast forward their timetable for contention while taking on very little ($3.5MM thanks to Williams’ option) in future salary. That first round pick from the Nets gave Portland the No. 6 overall choice in the 2012 draft, which they used to select guard Damian Lillard. The pride of Weber State shot up draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft and he has obviously proven to be worth the hype. Lillard has blossomed into a two-time All-Star and one of the very best point guards in the NBA today. Meanwhile, the Nets have watched Deron Williams decline sharply just three years after signing him to a five-year, ~$100MM deal.
Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Calderon, Celtics
In addition to addressing several Knicks–related topics last week, team president Phil Jackson also touched on the league’s age limit issue, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes.
“When you have 19- and 20 year-old players that are coming in the league, which is what the majority of the draft picks coming into the league right now, it’s really hard to project what that player is going to be in three years, in the first contract situation,” he said. “I think everybody would like to see [an age limit rule] happen, everybody but the agents that are out there making the money. The players’ union is yet to really make a stance in that direction. But they need to do that. I think that’s an important part of it. Once in a while you get a player like a LeBron [James] or a [Kevin] Durant, but that’s few and far between. There are a lot of kids that don’t make it that have to go back and struggle.”
Here’s more on the Zen Master’s team and other items from the Atlantic Division..
- Knicks coach Derek Fisher says the team might shut Jose Calderon down for the season, despite the point guard’s ardent wishes to return to action, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Calderon, who is dealing with a left Achilles tendon strain, will miss his tenth straight game when the Knicks finish their five-game road trip against the Suns. The Knicks have the guard under contract through the 2016/17 season.
- Phil Pressey has rewarded the Celtics‘ faith in him, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. The guard would have been easy to part with given his $816K salary, but he’s still one of the 10 players that remain from the team’s 15-man roster on opening night. The C’s have been so high on Pressey that they’ve parted ways with heftier contracts like that of Vitor Faverani ($2.1MM) and Will Bynum ($2.9MM) in order to keep him in the fold. Now, he’s stepping up big in the absence of deadline acquisition Isaiah Thomas.
- Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside explained how the 76ers struck gold with Robert Covington. Even though the 76ers’ offense has been dreadful on the whole, the D-League standout has had a positive impact on their scoring.
Week In Review: 3/9/15 – 3/15/15
Here’s a look back at the week that was..
- Thunder GM Sam Presti dismissed the idea he’d ever trade Kevin Durant after ESPN analyst and former team exec Tom Penn suggested that he would.
- There’s mutual interest in a new deal between the Pacers and Rodney Stuckey.
- The Bucks are likely to match any offers that restricted free agent Khris Middleton receives during the offseason.
- The union rejected a gradual increase to the salary cap as opposed to a drastic leap for 2016/17.
- Heat president Pat Riley opened up about his reaction to LeBron James‘ departure.
- Despite a projected jump in the salary cap after the 2016 season, Clippers free-agent-to-be DeAndre Jordan has no interest in signing a one-year contract.
- A joint proposal from the NBA, NCAA and the National Association of Basketball Coaches would restore the ability for underclassmen to “test the waters” and retain their college eligibility after declaring for early entry to the NBA draft.
- On Saturday, Bucks coach Jason Kidd said he expected the team to sign Chris Johnson to a second 10-day contract after the first one expires.
- Sergey Karasev is done for the season.
- The Knicks are open to re-signing Andrea Bargnani.
- Rajon Rondo considers it an “honor and a compliment” that Kobe Bryant is trying to recruit him to the Lakers, but the point guard says that his focus is on the present day with the Mavericks.
- Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy hinted at potential interest in Draymond Green.
- The Pistons will sign Quincy Miller to a two-year deal.
- The Nets have backed off their plans to sell.
- There’s mutual interest between the Hawks and Pero Antic in a new deal.
- The Suns signed Earl Barron for the rest of the season.
- The Heat inked Henry Walker to a multiyear deal.
- The Wizards are considering Bobby Brown as they mull options for their lone open roster spot.
- The Lakers signed Jabari Brown to a 10-day deal.
- Jordan Crawford has been acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants via the D-League’s waiver process.
- The Suns signed Seth Curry to a 10-day deal.
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri vowed to add Canadian players to his roster.
- The Bucks will spread the remainder of Larry Sanders‘ terminated deal over seven years.
- The Pelicans signed guard Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract.
- Austin Daye will sign a 10-day contract with the Hawks.
- The Wizards signed Toure’ Murry to a 10-day deal.
- Luke Ridnour is considering retirement.
And-Ones: Johnson, Dragic, Williams, Ewing
The Heat’s Tyler Johnson has been among the most productive players to sign a 10-day contract this season, writes Shandel Richardson of The Sun Sentinel. Johnson had 26-point and 24-point games this week as he has developed into a solid rotation player for Miami. After completing two 10-day deals, Johnson was signed to a two-year, partially guaranteed contract on February 8th. “It’s funny because when people from the outside hear 10-day contract, they almost kind of laugh,” Johnson said. “There’s been quite a few stories of 10-day contracts guys sticking around.”
There’s more from a busy day around the basketball world:
- The traditional numbers don’t do a great job of accurately portraying Goran Dragic’s value, but SportVU data helped to show exactly how much of an impact the Heat guard can have when he has the ball in his hands, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. That data, in part, shaped how Dragic was viewed at the deadline.
- Former lottery pick Terrence Williams told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter) that he has signed with Vaqueros De Bayamon in Puerto Rico. Williams worked out for the Kings in July and again in late October.
- In a piece for USA Today Sports, Howard Megdal wonders why Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing can’t land an NBA head coaching job. Ewing started coaching as an assistant for the Wizards back in 2002 and at this point, he’s been a coach for nearly as long as he played for the Knicks. Hornets head coach Steve Clifford has his own theory on why Ewing hasn’t landed a head coaching gig, telling Megdal that the big man isn’t enough of a “self promoter.”
- Guard Carlos Arroyo has decided to finish the season in Puerto Rico, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter). Back in September, Arroyo indicated that he wasn’t receiving interest from NBA teams, and it’s not clear if that has changed over the last several months.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Northwest Notes: Hunt, Afflalo, Exum
Rockets forward Corey Brewer spent two seasons in Denver when Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt was an assistant and believes he will succeed as a head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I’m not saying for sure it’s going to be [with the Nuggets], but I’m certain he’s going to be a good head coach,” Brewer said. “He just has to get a chance. He knows his players. He knows how to coach. And he has a system. It’s a great system, kind of like George (Karl’s) system. You can watch them play fast, get up and down, and guys play hard.“
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- It’s not always sexy to go with the guy who’s holding down the fort, but that doesn’t mean that Hunt might not be the right guy for the job, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Hunt is running a system similar to Karl’s and that’s a game plan that has been proven to work.
- The loss of Wesley Matthews is unfortunate, but fortunately, Blazers GM Neil Olshey traded for shooting guard Arron Afflalo right before last month’s trade deadline, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. He’ll be counted on to replace much of Matthews’ production, but what isn’t clear is how much he’ll adopt Matthews’ role, or if he’ll continue to play his usual game.
- Jazz rookie Dante Exum said his biggest adjustment to the NBA has been the constant schedule of games and travel, according to Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. The Australian said there were more breaks between games in his homeland. “We had a game Tuesday in Memphis and didn’t arrive at the hotel until 3 a.m. (Wednesday in Boston),” Exum said. ” Just trying to deal with that and having to step back out on the court and play another NBA game, it’s just one of the challenges in the NBA. I learned that I can sleep a lot. Here, that’s the biggest thing. I have to get rest when I can.”
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Jennings, Knicks, Antetokounmpo
Pistons guard Brandon Jennings says he’s three weeks ahead of his recovery schedule and expects to be able to walk without a boot in two weeks, David Mayo of MLive.com tweets. Jennings suffered a torn Achilles tendon in January and will miss the remainder of the season. Jennings is set to earn ~$8.34MM in 2015/16 before hitting the open market. More from the East..
- Knicks coach Derek Fisher says the team is considering filling their open roster spot with unsigned second-round pick Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The shooting guard is playing for the Westchester Knicks of the D-League after declining a deal from an Italian team. Fisher hinted that he’d like to see the roster spot filled, but said that it’s a decision that’s up to front office brass.
- Keith Schlosser of SNY.tv is worried that Knicks president Phil Jackson won’t be able to add talent to his roster this summer. The Knicks have a good deal of flexibility, but top free agents Marc Gasol and Goran Dragic appear to be unlikely options at this point. LaMarcus Aldridge is a possibility, but how likely such a union is remains to be seen.
- Since being traded to the Celtics in February, Isaiah Thomas has averaged 8.7 points scored in the fourth quarter and has taken on the role of a go-to guy, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.
- Khris Middleton, a pending restricted free agent, is going to see a healthy payday this summer, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 23-year-old (24 in August) is averaging 12.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG in 28.2 minutes per contest for the Bucks this season.