Nets Interested In Andray Blatche
2:30pm: If the Nets sign Blatche, the contract probably wouldn't include a guarantee, a source told Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. The team is unlikely to sign anyone else to a guaranteed deal for the rest of the offseason, Mazzeo hears. Nets coach Avery Johnson will be at the meeting with Blatche.
12:39pm: The Nets are set to meet with free agent Andray Blatche in Houston, Texas this weekend, two sources tell Howard Beck of the New York Times. The forward has been working out with a number of other NBA players under the guidance of John Lucas.
The Wizards cut the troubled big man earlier this summer and will be on the hook for the $23.4MM he is owed over the course of the next three years. Given the time he has spent on the open market combined with his up-and-down history, Blatche is widely expected to sign for the veteran minimum where ever he goes.
Odds & Ends: Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, Louisville
The rumor mill has begun to pick up as the calendar turns to September, with news that the Pacers have reached a deal with Blake Ahearn, while the Nets look at Andray Blatche and the Knicks eye Sean Williams. There's plenty more this afternoon, so let's get right to what's happening around the league:
- The Spurs will bring in 6'8" forward Reyshawn Terry to workout next week, agent John Spencer told HoopsHype. Terry was the 44th overall pick by the Magic in 2007, and was in last in an NBA camp with the Mavericks in 2008. That adds to a busy schedule that includes auditions for Derrick Brown, Brian Butch and Warren Carter.
- Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld isn't terribly high on the Bulls after the offseason departures of the Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, and C.J. Watson. In their place, Chicago has installed a bench of Nazr Mohammed, Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Nate Robinson, but Brigham isn't sure how the cast of veterans will gel together.
- Former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy likes the club's offseason acquisitions of Ronnie Brewer and Marcus Camby, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The coach suggested that the duo could even be paired alongside Tyson Chandler in some lineups, though that frontcourt would obviously be short on offense.
- A spokesman for Louisville, Ky. mayor Greg Fischer says, “If an NBA team comes knocking, we want to be able to open the door,” reports Tim Sullivan of the Courier-Journal. Still, Sullivan believes contractual obligations that tie the city's less than two-year-old arena to the University of Louisville would make it difficult, if not impossible, to attract an NBA team.
- Marcus Haislip has signed to play for the DongGuan Leopards of the Chinese league, reports David Pick of Sportando. The Bucks took Haislip 13th overall in the 2002 draft, and he last appeared in the NBA with the Spurs in 2009/10.
Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors also contributed to this post.
Knicks Considering Sean Williams
The Knicks are considering signing forward/center Sean Williams, a source familiar with the Knicks' free-agency plans told Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The big man was waived by the Rockets earlier this week before his $916K salary would have become guaranteed for 2012/13.
Yesterday we learned that the Timberwolves are also interested in Williams' services, though David Kahn is said to be talking to a number of agents. Anthony Tolliver, Mehmet Okur, and Hassan Whiteside are said to be among Minnesota's other targets in the frontcourt.
The report also notes that while there has been some speculation that the Knicks are interested in Josh Howard, a source says that's not the case. The Bobcats and Bulls have also been linked to the 32-year-old, but Charlotte's interest was termed "exploratory" at this stage.
Pacers Sign Blake Ahearn
11:06am: Ahearn's deal is partially guaranteed, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.
10:39am: The Pacers and free agent guard Blake Ahearn have agreed to a deal, a source told HoopsHype (via Twitter). The sharpshooter finished the 2011/12 season with the Jazz on a pair of consecutive ten-day contracts.
The 27-year-old was the D-League's top scorer last season, averaging 23.8 PPG and 5.1 APG in 37 games for the Reno Bighorns. Ahearn saw 30 minutes of play for the Jazz across four games last season, his first NBA action since suiting up for the Spurs in 2008/09. The 6'3" guard is known mostly for his outside shooting which was on display in the D-League last season as he shot 40% from downtown.
Hoops Links: Nuggets, Bucks, Kings, Anderson
On this date in 1966, five-time NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway was born in Chicago, Illinois. Hardaway first established himself in Golden State where he was one-third of Run TMC alongside Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond. In the 1995/96 season, the guard would take his breakaway speed and lethal crossover dribble out east when he was traded to the Heat. With Hardaway at the helm and Alonzo Mourning in the middle, the Heat would go on to be a force in the Eastern Conference, with their most memorable run coming in 1996/97, where they knocked off the hated Knicks in seven games before succumbing to the Bulls in the conference finals.
If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links, then send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- Hoops Addict wonders if the Nuggets can truly break the mold.
- Bucksketball looks at Milwaukee's tough power forward situation.
- The True Fan's Sports Blog has some possible landing spots for the Kings.
- Pounding The Rock bids farewell to James Anderson.
- Hardwood Paroxysm looks back at the top players of the 1952/53 season.
- Canis Hoopus would like to see some consistency in Minnesota.
- Wages of Wins isn't terribly high on George Karl.
- Secret Rival brings us this offseason's imports and exports.
- Red94 tries to define success in Houston.
- NBA 24 7 365 compares the careers of Tracy McGrady and Baron Davis.
- Fear The Sword asks if the Cavs should play for today, tomorrow, or both.
- SLC Dunk tries to motivate the Jazz's young core.
- Basketbawful previews the Raptors.
- Raptors Republic believes in the power of positive thinking.
- The NBA Geek revisits the small ball discussion.
- Brew Hoop is still waiting on Brandon Jennings.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Nelson, Spurs, Rockets
Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson is set to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 7th and tells the Associated Press that he is enjoying his retirement more than he ever anticipated. After enduring the grueling and stressful life of an NBA coach for a number of years, Nelson is happy to be in Hawaii, where he has taken up botany, poker, and of course, golf. Could the eccentric offensive guru be lured out of retirement with an attractive coaching opportunity? ''I'd say I'm retired,'' Nelson said. ''I'm done, I'm cooked. It's over.'' Here's more out of the Southwest division..
- The Spurs announced on their website that former player Ime Udoka has been hired as an assistant coach. The forward spent parts of seven seasons in the Association with three seasons in San Antonio. Udoka, 35, was waived by the Nets just prior to the start of the 2011/12 campaign and hooked on with Spanish ACB League team UCAM Murcia.
- Even though the Rockets like 2009 second-round pick Sergio Llull a great deal, they had no plans to bring him over for the 2012/13 season, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. We learned earlier today that the combo guard is happy playing with Real Madrid and intends to finish out his contract.
- Rockets rookie forward Donatas Motiejunas believes that he is getting a healthy challenge by practicing against the recently-acquired Omer Asik, writes Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The Lithuanian knows that he will have to adjust to the pace of the NBA but says that the cultural adjustment is going swimmingly.
- Earlier tonight, we learned that the Rockets waived center Sean Williams rather than guarantee his $916K salary for next season.
Rockets Waive Sean Williams
The Rockets have waived center Sean Williams, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Houston acquired Williams in the three-team Courtney Lee sign-and-trade deal last month.
Houston formally made the move on Monday in advance of August 30th, when his $916K salary would have become guaranteed for next season. Stein notes (via Twitter) that the Heat have expressed interest in Williams in the past and are likely to consider him again as they are in the market for bigs.
Williams, 25, fell to the Nets in the 2007 draft and was tabbed with the 17th overall selection. The shot blocking specialist was considered to be a lottery-level talent but had a number of red flags surrounding him which led to his dismissal from the Boston College basketball program. Williams has since played in China, Puerto Rico, Israel, and the D-League before having cups of coffee with the Mavericks and Celtics.
Northwest Notes: Blatche, T’Wolves, Maynor
Here's a look at some items out of the Northwest division..
- The Timberwolves were in the building to watch Hassan Whiteside work out yesterday and free agent Andray Blatche was also in attendance, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. It's not known if Minnesota scout Milton Barnes was in Houston, Texas to scope out both players or just Whiteside.
- Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld runs down the ten most important role players for 2012/13 and includes Thunder point guard Eric Maynor, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Over the weekend, I looked at what it might take for Oklahoma City to work out a contract extension for the VCU alum. While the Thunder are known to be high on Maynor for his ability to manage a game and high basketball IQ, he may not fit in their budget as they look to find the coin to keep James Harden.
- The Nuggets are on the national radar thanks to their recent acquisition of Andre Iguodala, but David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) believes that the next big star to come out of Denver is backup center Kosta Koufos. Thorpe notes that Koufos is the only center in the league who finished among the top five in offensive rebound rate and in true shooting percentage last season. While Koufos may be poised to break out in similar fashion as Marcin Gortat did with the Suns and Omer Asik for the Bulls (now with the Rockets), the Nuggets wisely signed Koufos to a contract extension that keeps him in Denver through 2013/14 at $3MM per year.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Knicks, Rockets, Suns
On this date in 2004 at the Athens Olympics, Argentina won its first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's basketball and became the first country other than the United States to win the gold medal since 1988. Luis Scola had 25 points as Argentina steamrolled Italy to win it all, 84-69. Here's this afternoon's look around the Association…
- J.R. Smith's brother Chris Smith has a good chance of making the Knicks' roster, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Berman cites Smith's defensive potential and Iman Shumpert's injury as reasons why the younger Smith could be a fit.
- According to a Europa Press report (link in Spanish), Sergio Llull is happy with Real Madrid and has no intention of leaving the club. Llull, who played a major role for Spain at the Olympics in London, expressed a desire to finish his career with Real Madrid despite strong interest from the Rockets, the team that drafted him in 2009.
- As part of the team's offseason makeover, the Suns are putting a greater emphasis on player development, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
- Sixers coach Doug Collins says that he hopes to use Spencer Hawes in a "Pau Gasol role" alongside the newly-acquired Andrew Bynum, writes Max Rappaport of NBA.com. Collins notes that Hawes, like Gasol, has the ability to play on the perimeter thanks to his ability to shoot and pass.
- Zach Lowe of SI.com wonders how Kobe Bryant will mesh with the revamped Lakers roster in 2012/13. Bryant's elite basketball IQ and style of play could make his transition to the Princeton offense a smooth one, but he'll have to work more quickly than he's used to.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry will bring back former coach Bob Weiss to join Larry Drew’s staff as an adviser, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Former Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson has also officially been hired as an assistant coach. Atkinson has been in talks with the club since early August.
Shelden Williams Signs With Elan Chalon
French team Elan Chalon announced that it has signed forward Shelden Williams, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). Williams did not land with an NBA team this offseason, despite being one of the top rebounders remaining on the open market.
The big man hooked on with the Nets just prior to the 2011/12 season and wound up starting 35 games in place of Brook Lopez, who missed the bulk of the year. Williams averaged 4.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 22 minutes per contest, forming a strong rebounding frontcourt alongside Kris Humphries. The former fifth-overall pick in the 2006 draft has spent time with seven NBA teams across six seasons.