Odds & Ends: Martin, Knicks, Cavs, Andersen
Kenyon Martin is one of many talented NBA veterans who has so far been unable to find a home in 2012/13. That may change soon as the Knicks are showing interest in him, but a source tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that they have only discussed him internally to this point. The Knicks haven't reached out to Martin's representative yet, but that could be around the corner. Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did an on-air interview during the telecast of tonight's game to discuss the current state of the club. While 2012/13 has been difficult for Cleveland thus far, the owner vowed that better days are ahead, according to the Plain Dealer (on Twitter). "This year has not been an easy year…Things will improve. There are better days ahead. We will get through it," said Gilbert.
- One NBA executive told Andrew Perna of RealGM that we likely won't see significant trades go down until February. “There hasn’t really been a lot of talk going around,” the executive said. “There is general chatter, but nothing serious. A lot of teams are trying to figure out what is going on with [the Grizzlies] and all the names that have been thrown around.”
- Nuggets coach George Karl gave Chris Andersen a strong endorsement in an interview with Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (on Twitter). While admitting that the 34-year-old isn't what he once was, he believes that he could be a solid piece for the Heat for 15-25 minutes per night. The forward known as Birdman auditioned for Miami earlier this week.
Dirk Nowitzki Wants To Stay With Mavericks
Late last week, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki questioned some of the Mavericks’ roster building strategies and didn’t seem enthusiastic about their chances of landing a marquee talent after whiffing on both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. However, the big man told reporters tonight that he doesn’t have any desire to be traded.
“I can’t really see myself anywhere else,” said Nowitzki, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (on Twitter).
Nowitzki has become accustomed to winning during his time in Dallas, but the Mavericks were swept in the first round of last year’s playoffs by the Thunder and currently find themselves with a 13-22 mark after tonight’s loss to the Jazz. Regardless, the 34-year-old is under contract through 2013/14 and sounds committed to helping restore the Mavs to prominence.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Warriors, Barnes
Former Sonics coach George Karl is excited about the prospect of basketball returning to Seattle, but the Nuggets coach feels for the Kings fans in Sacramento, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. "There’s a part of me that’s disappointed because I think Sacramento, I’ve enjoyed my times in Sacramento. I think Sacramento is a great town. I’m not going to lie, I’m happy that Seattle is going to have a team…but I am disappointed that Sacramento can’t keep their team.” Here's more out of the Pacific Division, including notes on the Kings..
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea (on Twitter) believes that the Warriors will have to ask themselves if parting with Harrison Barnes would be worth it in a trade for the Grizzlies' Rudy Gay. Barnes has tremendous upside and Steinmetz believes that he could possibly be even better than Gay in five years.
- Sources say there are still a lot of unknowns and uncertainties before the deal putting the Kings in Seattle is finalized, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The early returns on tonight's poll show that more than 88% of Hoops Rumors readers believe that the Kings will ultimately end up in Seattle.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter) has some criticisms of Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and his handling of the newest developments on the Kings'.
Poll: Will The Kings Move To Seattle?
Earlier today, it was reported that the Maloofs were finalizing an agreement to sell the Kings to a Seattle-based group led by investor Chris Hansen. That's certainly cause for celebration for the basketball widows in Seattle, but the deal isn't as close to being completed as first thought.
We've been through this before with the Maloofs. There have been rumors of the team being sold over the years and in 2012 they were being courted by the city of Virginia Beach. Of course, all of that conjecture has yet to manifest itself in the form of a sale or a move. It seems that most NBA fans outside of Sacramento are on board with the Sonics 2.0, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the transaction will go through. When all is said and done, do you think we will see the Association return to the Emerald City?
Will The Kings Move To Seattle?
-
Yes 90% (1,001)
-
No 10% (108)
Total votes: 1,109
Kings’ Evans Wouldn’t Mind Being Traded
Trade demands aren't Kings guard Tyreke Evans' style, but he isn't thrilled about not receiving a contract extension this year and has had other issues with the club's front office. He's not about to make an issue of it, but Evans says that he would be neither shocked nor devastated if he were traded before the February 21st deadline, writes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
Evans is also upset the organization didn't arrange for a second opinion on his sore left knee. Instead, his brothers and his agent were left to schedule a visit with Lakers orthopedist Dr. Steve Lombardo. The visit led to a different prognosis than the first look.
"The Kings need to do whatever they can to help the team win," said Evans, who also admitted that he has been extra cautious about his knee because of his contract situation. "I just want to go out there and play every night. That visit to (Lombardo)? That let me know that I wasn't totally wrong. I just need to get treated right. That was pretty much it."
Voisin writes that the Grizzlies have inquired on Evans and are known to be shopping small forward Rudy Gay. However, a deal involving Gay and Evans would require the Kings to make up the difference in salary on their end with contracts that extend beyond this season. The Lakers, Nuggets, and Celtics have also been interested in the past.
Heat Waive Terrel Harris
The Heat announced that they have waived guard Terrel Harris. Harris' deal would have become guaranteed on Monday's deadline and the move could signal that the Heat are gearing up to sign a big man.
Harris appeared in seven games with the Heat this year, averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per contest. He was a bigger part of Miami's rotation in 2011/12 as he appeared in 22 games and averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.
The move leaves the Heat with 14 men on their roster. Josh Harrellson is the team's only remaining non-guaranteed player.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Amare, Varejao, Heat
Most people seem to think that Kentucky's Nerlens Noel will be the top pick in the 2013 Draft but Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops believes that it's still wide open. UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad has the Bruins on a six-game winning streak following his return to action and the guard is impressing scouts with his outside shooting. Maryland center Alex Len has injected himself into the conversation with surprisingly strong play so far this season. Indiana big man Cody Zeller could even find himself in the mix with a strong finish to the 2012/13 season. Here's more from around the Association..
- Amare Stoudemire made waves this week when he said that Knicks coach Mike Woodson has him playing defense for the first time in his career, but the forward walked those comments back somewhat. Stoudemire told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, that he meant it as a compliment to Woodson and not a shot at former coach Mike D'Antoni.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter) thinks that the Cavaliers might have to give some more thought to moving Anderson Varejao given the strong play of Tristan Thompson in his place. The Cavs' asking price for Varejao at the moment is said to be quite high.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't see free agent Kenyon Martin as the solution to the Heat's rebounding woes as they need a taller big man to help clean the glass.
- The D-League Showcase gets underway on Monday and Ryan Ripley of Ridiculous Upside previews some of the top players auditioning for ten-day contracts. Mike James, who hooked on with the Texas Legends this week, is among the players to watch.
D-League Notes: Sacre, De Colo
Today's D-League assignments and recalls..
- The Lakers have re-assigned Robert Sacre to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Sacre was just recalled from the affiliate last month.
- The Spurs announced that they have recalled Nando De Colo from the D-League. The guard's second stint with the Austin Toros lasted less than 24 hours as he was assigned Friday afternoon. The 25-year-old has seen 11.9 minutes per contest for the Spurs and averaged 3.9 PPG this season.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Cousins, Lee, Gasol
Last night, the Clippers donned their whites and made themselves right at home in their 107-102 victory over the Lakers. Kobe Bryant gave the Lakers 38 points but a team effort from the Clippers – bolstered by Chris Paul's 30 points and 13 dimes – ultimately won out. Here's today's look at the Pacific Division..
- DeMarcus Cousins' 31 points and 20 boards in Friday night's road win over the Raptors puts the exclamation point on the Kings' current preference to hold on to him, writes Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. The Mavericks are interested in Cousins and Brigham theorizes that Dallas could offer some combination of Darren Collison, Chris Kaman, Rodrigue Beaubois, and Jae Crowder. All of those players, except for Crowder, are on expiring contracts.
- David Lee no longer feels pressure to play up to his six-year, $80MM deal and as a result, finds himself as an All-Star candidate this season, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. Lee is averaging 20.2 PPG with 11.1 RPG so far this season.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) opines that the Lakers have to figure things out with Pau Gasol and integrate him into the system as his trade value isn't exactly at its peak right now. After last night's game, Gasol told reporters that he won't be requesting a trade after being left on the bench for most of the final frame.
Hoops Links: Cousins, Bucks, Karl, Bulls, Blazers
In 1995, the NBA took a giant leap forward in international growth when they established a pair of franchises north of the border in Toronto and Vancouver. Almost eighteen years later, commissioner David Stern says that we will see multiple international teams within the next twenty years. This isn't the first time that we've heard one of the big four leagues talk about franchises on another continent, but the NBA might be the one to really see it through.
The NFL started playing one game per season in London, England in 2007 and they will stage two at Wembley Stadium in 2013. The UK games have drawn an average of more than 82,000 fans and subsequently the idea of international expansion is floated about every fall. However, even the most hopeful proponent for football in England knows that they're a long way away from gaining enough of a foothold in Europe to make that happen. Hockey is massively popular in parts of Europe, particularly Russia, but the NHL obviously has some much bigger fish to fry at home. Baseball is expanding its international presence beyond Latin America through the World Baseball Classic, but the tournament is still in its infancy. Some may scoff at Stern's proclamation, but I like Adam Silver's chances of bringing a team or two overseas further into his tenure as commish.
If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature next week, then send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- Bleed Green sees some issues with the Celtics acquiring DeMarcus Cousins.
- Bucksketball writes that there is a method to Scott Skiles' madness.
- Wages Of Wins has a few criticisms of George Karl.
- Blog A Bull looks at the Bulls' one-guard situation.
- Hoops Addict talks about the Blazers' surprising turnaround.
- A Wolf Among Wolves tackles the Kevin Love hate.
- Pounding The Rock is encouraged by Manu Ginobili.
- Rufus On Fire isn't sure about trusting the Bobcats' rebuilding effort.
- NBA 24 7 365 has the goods on Rutgers alum Quincy Douby and his 75 point effort in China.
- The NBA Geek is surprised by the Pistons.
- The Basketball Post gives their pick for the best coach in Europe.
- Celtics Green wants no part of Rudy Gay.
- Utah Sports Net says that assists are the key to the Jazz winning.
- Truth About It thinks the Wizards can land Cousins.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.