Hoops Links: Morrison, Varejao, Harden, Jazz
This past week, the Heat lost to the Wizards (!), Pau Gasol dominated headlines with the trade talk surrounding him in Los Angeles, and the Knicks won their fifth-straight game as they get set to take on Chicago tonight. However, the biggest attention getters in the Association this week were the 5-13 New Orleans Hornets, who are reportedly pushing to change their team nickname to the Pelicans. Fans rushed to Twitter and seemingly every other corner of the internet to mock the proposal, including the club's hometown fans who reside in the Pelican State.
The reaction to the proposed idea brought to mind another name change that nearly took place in the mid-90s. The New Jersey Nets, struggling with attendance and a fan base that seemed to care infinitely more about the cross-river Knicks, pushed to change their nickname to the Swamp Dragons. Think that's bad? Check out the logo that they wanted to run with. I'm not sure what I like better – the dinosaur or the Microsoft Word Joker font that would have accompanied it.
Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record ran down the particulars of the name change that almost was earlier this year and the folks over at NetsDaily dug up pictures of the proposed alternate logos and a central element of the proposed uniforms. So, listen, the name Pelicans may not roll off the tongue for some of you, but please keep in mind that it could be worse. A lot worse.
This week's edition of Hoops Links has more on the Hornets' possible re-branding and much more from around the Association. 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..
- Know Hitter explains why Adam Morrison isn't one of the biggest busts in draft history.
- Stepien Rules puts Anderson Varejao's play in perspective
- Red94 sings the praises of James Harden.
- SLC Dunk looks at trade possibilities for the Jazz.
- Pounding The Rock wonders what the price for Varejao might be.
- Celtics Life defends Danny Ainge.
- The Basketball Post talks Real Madrid.
- Blog A Bull rolled out their latest episode of the Bulls Show.
- HoopTalent previews the Big Ten.
- Hardwood Paroxysm goes into the paint with J.O. Applegate.
- Rufus On Fire examines Ramon Sessions.
- NBA 24 7 365 remembers their favorite Kobe Bryant moment.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Nash Asked Lakers To Keep Gasol Before Signing
On Wednesday, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game heard from a source that the Lakers landed Steve Nash this summer by promising him that he would get to play with Pau Gasol. Earlier tonight, the guard confirmed the story in an interview with ESPN’s Doris Burke, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Nash says that he told Lakers brass “If Pau is staying, I want to come.” In essence, Nash turned down offers from the Knicks and passed on the opportunity to return to Canada with the Raptors because he was promised that Gasol would be in Los Angeles. One has to imagine that the Lakers would be reluctant to trade the forward months after promising Nash that he would stay put.
Speaking to the media today, Wolves GM David Kahn told reporters that he hasn’t had any trade talks with the Lakers. Meanwhile, buzz around the league suggests that teams aren’t eager to trade for Gasol and his $19MM salary.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Blatche, Rubio, Kings
While the Raptors might not be willing to part with Andrea Bargnani just yet, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes that there is plenty of pressure on Bryan Colangelo to win, which might fuel him to pull the trigger on a deal. The Raptors have a lot that makes sense for the Lakers in a Pau Gasol deal beyond the forward too in Jose Calderon and Linas Kleiza. The question is whether Raptors believe Gasol will make them contenders and whether he’s worth taking on $19MM next season. Here’s more Friday night linkage..
- In this week’s mailbag, CSNNE’s Tommy Heinsohn said that Jason Terry knew that he would have a significant role with the Celtics when he signed on this summer.
- Nets forward Andray Blatche is clearly one of the best late offseason signings in the entire league, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. The athletic big man signed a minimum salary deal with the Nets over the summer and earlier today he said that he would like to re-sign with Brooklyn.
- T’Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said that if he had to rate his happiness in Minnesota on a scale from 1-10, he’d give it a ten, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press. Rubio will be extension-eligible in 2014 and can become a restricted free agent in 2015.
- Kings assistant coach Bobby Jackson wondered aloud if the club should thinking about breaking up their logjam of guards with Aaron Brooks, Isaiah Thomas, and Jimmer Fredette in the fold, writes Blake Ellington of Bleed Black and Purple
Stein On Gasol, Harden, Lin, Bobcats
In the weekend version of his column, ESPN.com's Marc Stein wonders if any of the four teams involved in the Dwight Howard blockbuster can call themselves the winner. Right now, it would seem that the Magic are the only club that can claim to feel any sort of satisfaction with its current state of affairs. Coach Jacque Vaughn has looked like a smart hire, center Nikola Vucevic is producing consistently, and last week's win over the Lakers should keep Orlando fans happy for a good while. Stein also checked in with a group of league scouts at the quarter-mark of the year to get their thoughts on this summer's player movement and moves that could be around the bend. Let's take a look..
- An Eastern Conference scout believes that Steve Nash can fix the Lakers' problem upon his return. Nash can obviously run Mike D'Antoni's offense, but Pau Gasol doesn't seem to be the power forward the club needs to make everything work. Even though Gasol has helped the Lakers to two NBA titles, the scout believes they will ultimately trade him.
- After seeing the way the Thunder have played without James Harden, an Eastern Conference scout says that he can understand why they opted to keep Serge Ibaka instead. Kevin Martin has played well in the No. 3 role and will be a major asset in the playoffs if he can help pull defensive attention away from Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. With the aforementioned stars both being capable of closing out games, the scout picks Oklahoma City to win the West.
- A Western Conference scout gave a less-than-stellar appraisal of Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin. "On an average team, he can be a starter. On a good team, he's going to have to be a backup," said the scout.
- The Bobcats may not be able to keep up this level of play all season long but new coach Mike Dunlap is showing that he can get a great deal out of his players, according to one Western Conference scout. The scout notes that Brendan Haywood is taking charges and diving after loose balls more than he was for the Mavs' championship team.
- Stein hears that the Clippers' new director of basketball administration Eric Miller is being groomed for a larger role in the Clips' decision-making hierarchy.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Harden, Gasol, Lakers
Whether you love or hate the Heat, you should appreciate the team while it's still in place, writes Ian Thomsen of SportsIllustrated.com. In 2014/15, the "repeater" tax will kick in and bring the most severe financial penalties for high-payroll teams that the league has ever seen. One rival GM predicted that owner Micky Arison will have to break up the big three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh before that happens. More from around the Association..
- Rockets star James Harden told KGOW in Houston that he's already working towards recruiting another elite player, writes Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews. “One player is not going to win a championship. Nowadays you need two or maybe more. I’ve definitely started the recruiting process. We need more guys to come over here, so we can win. For right now we are going to stick with the players we have and try to run with that,” Harden said.
- Pau Gasol's trade value is falling, one GM who previously had interest in the Lakers forward tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter). "Now you have to wonder if some of his performance issues are knee-related," said the GM.
- The Lakers were right to turn down offers from Gasol from the Raptors and T'Wolves, writes Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports. Minnesota reportedly pitched former No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams and center Nikola Pekovic while Toronto's package centers around Andrea Bargnani.
- Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com (video link) looks at a few trade candidates around the league including Jazz big man Al Jefferson.
Atlantic Notes: Holiday, Blatche, Stiemsma, Sixers
With the first full month of the NBA season in the books, the Sixers' Jrue Holiday looks like the frontrunner for this year' Most Improved Player award, writes Justin Kubatko for the New York Times. After receiving a four-year, $41MM extension from the club on Halloween, the 6'3" guard has been earning his pay bump with 18.2 PPG and 9.3 RPG per game, a significant bump from last season's numbers (13.5 PPG, 4.5 APG). Here's more out of the Atlantic..
- The Nets took a chance on Andray Blatche this offseason when they gave him a one-year deal, and there's no doubt that the gamble is paying off, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Blatche is averaging 10.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG while shooting nearly 47 percent from the field this season. Those numbers have improved since Blatche stepped into the starting lineup in place of Brook Lopez three games ago with 17.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and over 51 percent shooting.
- Former Celtics big man Greg Stiemsma told Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com that he left Boston because he felt that he had a better opportunity with the Timberwolves. It also helped that Stiemsma got a $3MM committment for 2012/13 with the possibility of a second year at $2.575MM.
- The Sixers have had to play without summer acquisitions Andrew Bynum, Jason Richardson, and Nick Young, but head coach Doug Collins isn't making excuses, writes Bob Cooney of the Daily News.
Raptors Assign Quincy Acy To D-League
The Raptors announced that they have assigned forward Quincy Acy to the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam. Acy will stay on the Raptors’ roster but will be placed on the team’s inactive list.
The forward has appeared in 21 minutes across three games with the Raptors this season, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds. Acy, the sixth Raptor to be assigned to the D-League in club history, was selected with the 37th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Baylor.
Odds & Ends: Kings, West, Thunder, Raptors
The Kings are reportedly exploring options for a potential move and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson appears to be running out of patience. "I don't like not being able to fight and not being able to determine the outcome," he said. "The Kings and the owners have to want to be here." The Kings have reportedly spoken with officials in Seattle, San Diego, Kansas City, and St. Louis in recent weeks. More from around the Association..
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes that the Heat should look into signing free agents Kenyon Martin and Delonte West. Both players have picked up less-than-sterling reputations in recent years but would provide Miami with some badly needed defense off the bench. Earlier today we learned that the Celtics haven't checked in on K-Mart despite speculation to the contrary.
- While the Jazz haven't been off to a hot start, they are likely to keep their core in place so long as they are in the mix for the playoffs, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Utah currently sits at 9-10 after losing 105-104 to the Clippers on Monday night.
- It looks like the new-look Thunder are going to be much better than anyone expected them to be, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland.com. Luxury tax concerns were the main reason for the James Harden trade but the club hasn't lost a step thanks to their increased defensive focus.
- It's time for the Raptors to trade Andrea Bargnani in order for both parties to get a fresh start, opines Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. However, Wolstat notes that league chatter indicates that the market for the former No. 1 pick is underwhelming.
- The Lakers' justifications for firing Mike Brown and hiring Mike D'Antoni aren't holding up, writes ESPN.com's J.A. Adande. D'Antoni insists that things will improve upon Steve Nash's return, but Adande points out that he won't help solve their defensive woes.
Rockets Notes: Morey, Lin, Sampson
Last night in Houston, the Rockets employed the “Hack-A-Howard” system to perfection as they beat the Lakers 107-105. The Lakers had a 16-point advantage at one point but let it slip away as the Rockets picked things up in the second act. The Rockets’ stars were underwhelming but Toney Douglas and Greg Smith picked up the slack with a combined 43 points off the bench. Here’s more on the Rockets..
- Chris Ballard of SportsIllustrated.com profiled Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey and his unorthodox approach to the game. Some observers would say that the Rockets landed James Harden simply by being in the right place at the right time, but in reality they were able to make the trade because they had the right pieces stockpiled.
- Jeremy Lin has struggled in the early goings with his new club, but Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni believes that the amount of criticism he has received is unfair, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “He’s not Linsanity, but everybody goes too crazy one way and too crazy the other way,” D’Antoni said. “He’s a very good point guard in a tough league. A very good point guard. I think he’s been playing well of late. I think as he goes on, he’s going to play even better.”
- Interim coach Kelvin Sampson‘s opportunity in Houston has come under horrible circumstances, but he is showing that he can be a future head coach in the NBA, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Sampson previously served as the head coach of the University of Oklahoma and Indiana University before allegations of NCAA violations pushed him to the NBA.
Latest On Pau Gasol
Despite building chatter that the Lakers will trade forward Pau Gasol, the club may opt to keep him to satisfy guard Steve Nash. The club landed Nash this summer by promising him that he would get to play with the Spaniard, a source tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (via Twitter).
Nash, the source says, turned down offers from the Knicks and passed on the opportunity to return to Canada with the Raptors because he was promised that Gasol would stay. It’s possible, of course, that Nash re-thinks his position if the team continues to struggle upon his return.
Agreements such as this aren’t unheard of in the league as Chris Paul made similar personnel demands as part of his agreement to be dealt to the Clippers. Paul demanded that the Clippers would do whatever was necessary to retain restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan.
Yesterday we learned that General Manager Mitch Kupchak recently spoke with Gasol’s representatives and explained that the team will have to explore trade possibilities if his play doesn’t improve. The forward missed last night’s game against the Rockets due to tendinitis in both knees but benching had nothing to do with an impending deal.