Hoops Links: George, Ginobili, Howard, Thibodeau
Earlier today, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe shared his chat with Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo about the state of the club. In the conversation, Colangelo shares his optimism that mid-season acquisition Rudy Gay will help recruit free agents to Toronto.
“There is a higher level of credibility with Rudy on our team — call it star power the great talent that he is. I’m going to tell you that the guys we’ve had in Toronto love the city, love the way they’ve been treated, and it’s a top five North American city, hands down. Let me tell you something, it’s cold everywhere on the East Coast. And it’s not as north as everyone thinks."
Colangelo is half-right – as anyone living in New York, Philadelphia, or Boston will remind you, it's cold everywhere in this portion of the right coast. However, the addition of Gay does not make Toronto as appealing as those aforementioned cities. Clubs have certainly had success before with using one star to attract others, but for all the offensive talent that he possesses, Gay probably isn't quite dynamic enough to be the star recruiter that Colangelo thinks he'll be.
Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the web..
- Hoops Addict says that the Pacers will have to lean on Paul George.
- Pounding The Rock breaks down Manu Ginobili's struggles on defense.
- Orlando Pinstriped Post says the Dwight Howard trade worked out for both sides.
- Blog A Bull wonders if Tom Thibodeau's coaching has taken its toll.
- Red94 wonders why teams wait for great teams to come to them instead of building them.
- Always Miller Time says the Pacers look lost.
- Hardwood Paroxysm has a new edition of Statistical Anomaly.
- 3SOB wonders if the Grizzlies can hold their ground.
- The Sixer Sense isn't ready to pile on Doug Collins.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Week In Review: 3/11/13 – 3/17/13
Late last week, the Knicks announced that they have re-signed Kenyon Martin for the remainder of the season following the expiration of his second 10-day contract. With Amare Stoudemire and Rasheed Wallace both sidelined with injuries, Martin figures to play a vital role for the Knicks down the stretch. K-Mart waited on the shelf for most of 2012/13 without a deal, but he now finds himself as a important part of a playoff-bound team. Here’s the rest of this week’s recap..
- The Jazz are expected to keep one of their standout big men, but not both.
- The Hawks want to keep Josh Smith and Kyle Korver.
- The Pacers top David West‘s offseason wish list.
- Several teams have their eye on Delonte West. The Knicks, who are eyeing a point guard, are among those clubs.
- Brandon Jennings denied a report that he received a four-year, $40MM offer from the Bucks.
- The Raps lost Andrea Bargnani for the season.
- Speaking of Toronto, they may go after Carl Landry this summer.
- The Hornets added Louis Amundson and waived Henry Sims.
- The Lakers won’t use their disabled player exception.
- The Knicks are would like a reunion with Timofey Mozgov and the interest appears to be mutual.
- The (alleged) proposed Klay Thompson for James Harden deal would have been impossible.
- Kobe Bryant doesn’t plan on playing forever.
- Luke Walton is no longer considering retirement.
- Gilbert Arenas doesn’t plan on returning to the Association.
- The Hawks re-upped Shelvin Mack.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/11/13 – 3/17/13
Here's a look back at the original analysis provided by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Luke Adams ran down the best one-year deals of 2012/13.
- Chuck Myron updated us on Al Jefferson's free agent stock.
- I asked if Josh Smith will land the max contract that he seeks this summer and nearly 62% of you don't see it happening.
- Luke broke down playoff eligibility for late season signings.
- We asked you which guards the Bucks should re-sign and most readers want to see Brandon Jennings and J.J. Redick kept.
- Chuck gave us an early look at rookie scale extension candidates.
- Chris Kaman may have to settle for the mid-level exception, Chuck writes.
- DeJuan Blair is likely to target teams that will give him some significant minutes this summer.
- You can get caught up on our entire Free Agent Stock Watch series here.
- Chuck examined the players that have met starter criteria as described in the CBA.
- Get caught up on all of this year's ten-day deals with our handy tracker.
- Here's an update on the tentative 2013 draft order.
- Hoops Rumors readers are split on whether Derrick Rose should return this season.
- Here's how to keep up with Hoops Rumors on Facebook, RSS, and Twitter.
D-League Moves: De Colo, Shengelia, Taylor
We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page:
- The Spurs have recalled guard Nando De Colo from the D-League, the team announced via press release. The 25-year-old rookie returns from his third stint with the Austin Toros, and like the first two, it only lasted a day. De Colo notched 17 points and 11 assists to help Austin to a win in last night's game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. De Colo has also averaged 11.5 minutes of action in 57 games for San Antonio this year, putting up 3.4 PPG and 1.7 APG.
- The Nets announced that they have recalled forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor from the Springfield Armor of the NBA D-League. Both players were assigned to Springfield just yesterday. Headng into last night's game against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Shengelia posted 26.8 PPG and 9.2 RPG in six D-League contests while Taylor averaged 26.5 PPG and 7.5 APG in four games with the Armor.
Knicks Notes: Mozgov, Martin, Kidd, Anthony
The Nets and Knicks won't meet again in the regular season, but they are still on a collision course all the same, writes Howard Beck of the New York Times. Regardless of how things break for New York, they could find themselves with some difficult matchups in the postseason besides Brooklyn. The Knicks have struggled against the Pacers (1-2) and the Bulls (0-3), while the Nets (2-2) and the Celtics (1-1) have given them trouble. Here's more out of MSG..
- Former Knicks center Timofey Mozgov will be a restricted free agent this summer and he makes no secret of the fact that he enjoyed his time in New York, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “We got the option to choose a team where I can play,’’ Mozgov said. “I can’t say [Nuggets coach] George [Karl] is bad. Of course it’s not a good feeling when you don’t play, but I’m still part of the team. New York is a good city, no question, but there are 30 teams.’’
- The Clippers didn't ask forward Kenyon Martin to return, but the former No. 1 overall pick says that he played a pivotal role for the club last season, writes Nate Taylor of the New York Times. “I did what I had to do to help them win,” Martin said. “Without me, I don’t think they would have got out of the first round.”
- Jason Kidd gave an honest answer when he was asked if he was worried about playing without Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. "No matter if they come back or not, we got to figure out how to stop the bleeding," Kidd said. "When they do come back, that doesn't guarantee us anything, because we've had them and we lost. We've got to get out of this funk."
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal explains why Martin has been so much better than expected in New York.
Hawks Re-Sign Shelvin Mack
The Hawks announced via press release that they have re-signed Shelvin Mack to a second ten-day contract. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound point guard has appeared in five games for the Hawks, totaling eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 total minutes.
The Hawks are the 23-year-old's third NBA team this season. He was with the Sixers on a pair of 10-day contracts, but Philadelphia opted not to keep him for the rest of the year after he totaled just seven minutes during stay there. The Wizards, who drafted him 34th overall in 2011, waived him at the end of training camp and brought him back on Christmas.
The Butler product averaged 5.3 points and 3.3 assists in 20.1 minutes per game in seven contests this year for Washington but they dropped him in January, just before his contract would have become guaranteed for the rest of the season.
Odds & Ends: Pistons, Stern, Clippers, Summers
Last night in Indiana, Kobe Bryant was only in action for a total of 12 minutes, but it was enough to give the Lakers a 99-93 road win. The star guard tried to tough it out on his swollen ankle but ultimately wasn't able to stay in the game. Bryant wouldn't just go into the locker room and call it a night, however, as he shouted instructions to his teammates and even busted out the clipboard at one point for Dwight Howard. Here's more from around the Association..
- In pieces for CBSSports.com and HoopsWorld, respectively, Ken Berger and Lang Greene highlight a number of lottery teams, examining the direction those clubs may take this summer. Berger likes the Pistons' core of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, and Brandon Knight. The last time Detroit had cap room, they wasted it on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, but Berger expects them to be much smarter about it this time around.
- David Stern's nearly 30-year reign as commissioner has benefited from the proliferation of dynasties and superteams, opines former NBA center Danny Schayes, writing for SheridanHoops.com.
- The Clippers' DaJuan Summers is looking to make the most of his third stop in the NBA, writes Eric Patten of NBA.com. The 25-year-old former Georgetown standout is the second youngster the Clippers have brought aboard in the last week. Guard Maalik Wayns was signed to a ten-day contract on March 9, and Summers was brought in Friday after second-year forward Trey Thompkins was waived.
Mavericks Sign Chris Wright To 10-Day Contract
12:50pm: The Mavs have officially signed Wright to a 10-day contract, according to a team release.
WEDNESDAY, 7:52am: Mavs GM Donnie Nelson tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he signed his portion of Wright's contract on Tuesday. Wright is expected to officially sign and finalize the deal today, says Price (Twitter links).
SUNDAY, 6:53pm: The Mavericks are set to sign guard Chris Wright to a 10-day contract this week, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Wright will take the place of the recently waived Dominique Jones on the Mavs' roster.
Wright, 23, was a standout at Georgetown but injuries slowed him down along the way with the most notable being a broken bone in his left hand during his senior year. The 6'1" point guard would then travel overseas to Turkey before landing with the D-League's Iowa Energy this season.
Wright has been amongst the most talked about players in the D-League this year and has been connected to several teams looking for a fill-in at guard. In 2012/13, Wright averaged 15.5 points, 7.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game for the Energy.
The Mavs' decision to waive Jones came as a surprise last week but it is believed that they cut him loose over his unwillingness to go to the D-League. Jones has only seen time in five games for the Mavericks in this calendar year.
Lakers Won’t Use Disabled Player Exception
Back in January, the Lakers picked up a disabled player exception for power forward Jordan Hill, who underwent surgery on his left hip. However, a team source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times that the club plans to let their $1.78MM exception expire without being used.
The Lakers didn't use the exception prior to the February 21st trade deadline but they still had the option of using it to sign a free agent. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has repeatedly suggested they will stay put with their current 14-player roster and their push to get an exception for Hill was believed to be a precautionary move from the get-go. Los Angeles' payroll already stands at a hefty $100MM for 2012/13.
Poll: Will Josh Smith Land A Max Deal?
Hawks forward Josh Smith surprised many around basketball earlier this year when he said that he believes he should be in line for a max contract this summer. While the 27-year-old is undoubtedly in line for a lucrative deal, hoping for that amount of money seems overly optimistic. Our own Luke Adams recently crunched the numbers on max contract scenarios for this summer's top free agents and showed that a max deal from the Hawks could pay him $99.7MM over five years and a topped-out deal from another club could be worth $74MM over four years, depending on how much max salaries increase this summer. Smith is a welcome addition to any club, but will he get an annual average of about $20MM from the Hawks or $18.5MM from another team?
So far, the Hawks have maintained that they will not be giving the forward a max contract. Then again, the fact that they held on to Smith at the trade deadline means that there is at least a little room for a change of heart. The high-flying veteran has a better chance of getting a max deal elsewhere and while the chances of that may seem remote as well, there will be a number of teams with cap space to burn this summer. And with all due respect, more than a few of these clubs might be desperate to make waves. The Bucks, Pistons, Cavs, Bobcats, and Jazz are just some of the clubs that will have the breathing room necessary to make a major pickup. Will an advantageous market be enough to net Smith the max deal that he seeks?
Will Josh Smith Land A Max Deal?
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No 63% (557)
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Yes 37% (333)
Total votes: 890