Goran Dragic On Suns, Heat, Wade
Goran Dragic expressed regret earlier this week about his comments regarding the Suns prior to the trade deadline, calling them “too harsh.” The guard regretted his comments so much that he reached out to Suns owner Robert Sarver to apologize.
“We had a good conversation—he was always there for me and my family,” Dragic told Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report. “He knew that I was not going to re-sign with them, so I wanted to do something before the trade deadline and hopefully they could get some players or some picks. I really appreciated what he did—trading me.”
Dragic spoke with Zwerling about a wide range of topics this week and the Bleacher Report scribe wrote a lengthy piece from the guard’s perspective going over his time with Phoenix and his transition to Miami. The entire article is worth a read, but here’s a look at a few of the highlights:
On how the Heat tried to acquire him years ago
My No. 1 wish was to go to Miami, who I found out later had tried to get me a couple of years ago when I was in Houston. Miami offered everything—a great market, great players, their championship mentality. They always want to do well, and I think that it was a good fit for me. I was pushing for this situation, but I still didn’t know if the Suns were going to send me there. I was in a tough spot, but things worked out in the end.
On his relationship with Dwyane Wade
I felt that right away when D-Wade texted me as soon as I landed in Miami. He is just unbelievable. He’s a future Hall of Famer and he’s such a nice guy, humble guy. I already have a close bond with him and spend a lot of time talking to him about basketball. I didn’t have a player like that in Phoenix.
On Chris Bosh
After my first game against the Pelicans, which we lost, I sent Chris a text message, “You were missed tonight. Looking forward to playing with you. We’ll do our part here, and when you’re back, we’ll be ready to go.” I haven’t had a chance to talk to him; he’s with his family. I’m looking forward to meeting him in person. I played a lot of games against him and he always gave us problems.
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Thunder, Shaw
After years of heartbreak, the Blazers franchise deserves something special, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com writes. The team has dealt with repeated disappointment on the court and recently the tragic loss of fan favorite Jerome Kersey. Here’s more from the Northwest Division..
- In this week’s mailbag, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes that he likes what the Nuggets did at the trade deadline by getting a first-round choice from Portland and then unloading JaVale McGee‘s salary. Dempsey writes that it was never a realistic expectation for Denver to blow up their roster at the deadline and he expects bigger fireworks to go down when we approach the draft.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown admires how the Thunder were put together, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for [Thunder GM] Sam Presti; I worked with him for many years,” said Brown, who worked with Presti in San Antonio. “In many levels, I pay attention to this program as much as any on how could we learn from the great things that they have done and things that they may have done differently.”
- The Nuggets picked up their second win under interim coach Melvin Hunt when they topped the Wolves 100-85 on Wednesday night. When asked if he expected that kind of energy out of Denver, Wolves veteran Kevin Garnett told reporters, including Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post, “No. To be honest, they quit on Brian Shaw. I thought they’d quit again, A quitter is a quitter. That was my take on that. If you got any kind of self-pride about your future, then you want to anticipate someone playing hard. But, no, I wasn’t really concerned about the Denver Nuggets or how they were going to come out. I was more concerned about us, and us going forward and being better.”
- Pacers forward David West recently said that Shaw was fired because the Nuggets don’t have “grown-ups” on the roster and Denver forward Wilson Chandler doesn’t necessarily disagree, as Chris Tomasson writes for The Denver Post.
- Hunt is excited to be at the Nuggets‘ helm, but this isn’t how he wanted to get his big break, as Jhabvala writes.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Jackson, Celtics
Whether you’re scanning the pages of Hoops Rumors or Pro Football Rumors, one thing is clear: makeovers are very chic right now in the city of Brotherly Love. The Sixers are constantly making deals and the Eagles shipped LeSean McCoy to the Bills, leaving John Smallwood of the Daily News to wonder if the brazen moves will make the local teams soar or sink. Here’s more from the Atlantic..
- Years before Phil Jackson arrived, Donnie Walsh was hired as the president of the Knicks and found a similar level of hype around his arrival. While Jackson is taking some heat, Walsh believes that the Zen Master is approaching the franchise’s latest rebuilding project the right way, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News writes. While some have been critical that his coaching skills haven’t or won’t translate into success as a GM, Walsh feels that his player evaluation skills are just as useful on both fronts. When it comes to the salary cap, he believes that Jackson is smart enough to navigate that and he pointed out that having GM Steve Mills on hand is an asset.
- In his appearance on The Sports Hub, Celtics president Danny Ainge said that a playoff appearance will make his team more attractive to free agents in the offseason, Ben Rohrbach of The Sports Hub tweets. The Celtics are currently 2.0 games behind the Hornets for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, though they have the Pacers and Nets sandwiched in between.
- Recently claimed off waivers by the Sixers, forward Thomas Robinson has a chip on his shoulder and a desire to prove that he can stick somewhere, Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. “I’m tired of getting treated like a rag doll in this league,” Robinson said. “I just want to prove that I belong here. I’m tired of being treated like I’ve been treated in this league.” The former No. 5 overall pick has been traded three times and is now with his fifth team in the Sixers. Robinson has averaged 9.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG in 16.4 minutes of bench play in his four games with the Sixers, a significant increase from his career averages of 4.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG in just over 13 minutes of play.
Grizzlies Sign JaMychal Green To Multiyear Deal
MONDAY, 5:25pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release. It includes partially guaranteed salary beyond this season, as we passed along earlier from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
“Before first coming to Memphis, JaMychal was the top prospect in the NBA Development League, and he has impressed us both in games and in practice during his tenure with the Grizzlies,” GM Chris Wallace said in the team’s statement. “JaMychal is not only a gifted athlete with tremendous upside but he is a humble, very hard working individual who has quickly earned the respect of his new teammates.”
SUNDAY, 1:05pm: The Grizzlies and JaMychal Green have reached agreement on a three-year deal, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Green completed his second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies on Saturday night.
One has to imagine that the final two seasons are not fully guaranteed, but details of the pact are not yet known. The deal probably called for Memphis to use a portion of its mid-level exception since that’s the only way that the deal could span three years.
Green, 24, averaged 23 PPG and 10.7 RPG in 20 games for the Austin Spurs this season. He didn’t see nearly as much burn in his four games with the Grizzlies, however, notching a total of eight points and five boards in 15 minutes of action. Green first joined the Grizzlies on February 2nd as a free agent after a 10-day stint with San Antonio.
In total, Green has inked three 10-day deals this season between the two with the Grizzlies and his previous stint with the Spurs.
Sixers Waive JaVale McGee
11:25am: The move is official, the team announced, adding in its statement that McGee hit waivers before the end of Sunday, so he is indeed playoff-eligible for other teams.
MONDAY, 7:48am: There’s still been no official announcement from the Sixers, though presumably the move indeed took place late Sunday, since otherwise McGee would be ineligible to appear in the playoffs for another team.
SUNDAY, 11:02pm: The Sixers will waive JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports. Any player waived by the end of March 1st can still compete in the postseason with another team, so McGee should attract interest from winning clubs.
Earlier today, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that a buyout for McGee would be contingent on him finding a suitor if he were to hit free agency. No buyout was reached, but the Sixers have decided to let him go even though it appears that they won’t be saving any money in the transaction. McGee is owed $11.2MM for this season, and $12MM next season. They could spread next season’s salary through 2017/18 with $4MM payments each year using the stretch provision, but it’s unclear if they intend to do that.
McGee, a B.J. Armstrong client, has averaged 8.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG per game in seven seasons. He played in six games for Philly, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 10.2 minutes per contest.
The 27-year-old was acquired last month in a deadline-day deal from the Nuggets along with the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick and the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol.
Over the weekend, Sixers coach Brett Brown defended McGee’s performance and had kind words to say about his locker room presence. In the past, some have been critical of McGee’s attitude.
“He’s kind of maligned in some ways to me where, you know, people view him in a certain way. He’s been a great teammate,” Brown said. “It’s not like I’m starting him. It’s not like I’m giving him 25 minutes. I can’t ask for any more in regards to how he’s fit in, and how he’s just been extremely receptive and coachable.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Butler, Bulls, Dragic, Muscala
Jimmy Butler is headed for an MRI exam on Monday after leaving the Bulls‘ game on Sunday in the third quarter with a hyperextended left elbow, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. From that point, the Bulls should find out how much time Butler will miss, if any. Here’s more from around the Association..
- Johnson also notes that ESPN analyst and former head coach Jeff Van Gundy continued his spat with Bulls management during Sunday’s telecast of Bulls-Clippers. Van Gundy went out of his way to mention executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson‘s trade of LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas.
- For the Heat, the question that should be asked of Goran Dragic is not whether he is a good player, but whether he is the kind of player that can put them ahead of the Eastern Conference’s elite like the Cavs, Bulls, and Hawks in the long-term, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. In a league where there are plenty of capable point guards, one could make the case that the only ones with max salaries should be the ones that are either the final piece to a championship or an MVP-caliber performer. In Hamilton’s estimation, Dragic is neither.
- The Hawks announced that they have assigned forward/center Mike Muscala to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League. In five games with Fort Wayne this season, Muscala has averaged 14.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.2 BPG. He has appeared in 20 games for the Hawks this season with averages of 3.6 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 8.4 minutes per contest. On Saturday night, he tallied four blocks against the Heat.
Western Notes: Allen, Grizzlies, McDaniels, Shaw
The Mavericks, who currently hold the sixth seed in a tight Western Conference, must improve their level of play and toughness in order to make the playoffs, opines Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. After losing two straight, the Mavericks will face the Pelicans on Monday in a game Sefko called “urgent,” given the level of competition the Mavericks play against afterward. The Mavericks play winning teams in 10 of their next 12 games.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Ray Allen will not be joining the Grizzlies, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Late last month, Tillery reported that Memphis was still maintaining interest in the veteran guard. Of course, at this stage, it’s not clear if Allen will sign with anyone at all. If he does come back, he apparently won’t be suiting up for the Cavs, either.
- K.J. McDaniels bet on himself last summer by turning down a four-year contract from Sixers GM Sam Hinkie and instead signing for a single season, as Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes. Over the first portion of the season in Philly, the Clemson product was getting tons of playing time and exposure. Now with the Rockets, he’s not seeing nearly as much playing time and isn’t getting a chance to really showcase himself.
- It sounds like the Nuggets players are still restless under head coach Brian Shaw. In the fourth-quarter late into Denver’s 104-82 loss to the Jazz, the team broke a huddle with the phrase, “1-2-3…six weeks!,” according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Of course, there are roughly six weeks to go in the regular season.
Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Monroe, Pistons, Rose
After getting kicked below the belt by James Harden, LeBron James is predictably none too pleased with the Rockets guard. “Obviously that’s not a basketball play,” the Cavs star said, according to Joe Vardon of The Plain Dealer. “Obviously the league will probably take a look at it. I have no idea why he would do that, but you know, just two competitors trying to go at it and he won this one.” Ultimately, it was the Rockets that won the game, 105-103 in overtime. Here’s more from the Central Division..
- When asked if client Greg Monroe will consider the Pistons in free agency, agent David Falk responded, “absolutely, absolutely,” David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Meanwhile, he says that he hasn’t talked free agency with Monroe and only knows that finding the best fit will be the highest consideration. “Only the media discuss this kind of stuff during the season,” he said. “I don’t ever sit down game to game and take his temperature. It’s like the playoffs — the only thing that matters is where is his head at on July 1? We’ve got a long ways to go before we get there. It’s all speculation and he can change his mind 20 times between now and then. So I leave him alone. There’ll be a time for discussion and that time is not now.”
- Pistons coach/exec Stan Van Gundy believes in stats and wants to beef up the team’s analytics staff, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. The Pistons were represented by four front-office members at the weekend’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and SVG was a guest in previous years when he was between coaching jobs.
- Just one day after having a meniscectomy to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, Derrick Rose was back at the Bulls‘ training facility on Saturday beginning his rehab process, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Rose is expected back on the floor within four-to-six weeks.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Robinson, Jackson
Isaiah Thomas has opened eyes with his three point shooting, but there is another aspect of his game that has impressed the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The newly acquired guard, who came to Boston from Phoenix in a deadline-day deal, has eight three-pointers in his first three games as a Celtic. Coach Brad Stevens said his ability to space the floor is just as valuable. “We started the season playing very skilled at the 4 and the 5,” Stevens said, “but I think the ability to get in the paint, again, off of his (Thomas’) creation — but then the next guy getting into the paint because of it — is probably the key.” More from the Atlantic Division..
- The 76ers grabbed Thomas Robinson off waivers to spite the Nets, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. They needed another contract on the books since they’re at the salary floor and wanted to take a closer look at the forward, but GM Sam Hinkie also knew that they playoff-hopeful Nets were interested in his services. Hinkie was at odds with Nets GM Billy King over the handling of Andrei Kirilenko, who was traded from Brooklyn to Philly with the belief that he would be bought out. Instead, the 76ers demanded that he report to the club and then eventually waived him.
- One year later, there are still questions about whether Phil Jackson can build the Knicks into a contender, Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News writes. Jason Kidd‘s young and athletic Bucks, less than a year into Kidd’s time in Milwaukee, are closer to being a real contender for the title than the Knicks are, or might be anytime soon. Knicks fans clamored for the Zen Master in 2014, but it’s now unclear if he’s the answer for them or whether Derek Fisher has what it takes to be a successful coach.
- In a video interview, new Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that he is enjoying his “fresh start” in Boston. He has averaged 12 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games since being traded from the Pistons. “I appreciate Detroit and all they did for me, but it was time for me to move on,” Jerebko said. “I feel great in this new situation. It’s a great organization and I’m honored to play for the Boston Celtics.”
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Hoops Links: 76ers, Jennings, Westbrook
On this date in 1978, John Drew of Atlanta committed 14 turnovers in a game against the Nets in New Jersey, an NBA record. Years later, Suns guard Jason Kidd tied the record by committing 14 turnovers against the Knicks on November 17th, 2000.
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 polarizing 76ers.
- Know Hitter reflects on the Bucks’ savvy trade of Brandon Jennings.
- Slam Dunk Zone talks Russell Westbrook and consecutive triple-doubles.
- New York Sports Guys wonders if OKC is in Tom Thibodeau’s future.
- Green Street says the playoffs are a real possibility for the Celtics.
- Pounding The Rock says the Spurs have nothing left to prove.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.