Raptors Rumors: Calderon, Bayless, Casey
News and notes on the Raptors courtesy of Mike Ganter and Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun..
- Despite some speculation that the Raptors might use their amnesty clause to rid themselves of Jose Calderon's contract, GM Bryan Colangelo club intends to hold on to the point guard. The 30-year-old is owed $10.56MM next season but Colangelo is impressed by the progress that he has made and his leadership skills. The article adds that the GM even seems reluctant to use the amnesty clause at all.
- Guard Jerryd Bayless said earlier this week that he wants to re-sign with Toronto. Colangelo said that Bayless is a young prospect whom he would be interested in retaining but admitted that he could possibly be moved in a sign-and-trade. Bayless will have a $7.2MM cap hold until he signs a qualifying offer or new contract, which could hinder the club's off-season flexibility.
- Head coach Dwane Casey strongly believes that the club can attract elite free agents north of the border. “All the stuff people say about free agency with Toronto being another country and you’ll have tax problems , all that is crap,” the coach said. “I’m telling you right now. This city is one of the finest cities. It’s a top five city in North America. It’s not even close and I’ve been in all of them. For any free agent who doesn’t think this is a special situation, they are sadly mistaken.” Casey, who just wrapped up his first year with the club, had his third-year option exercised yesterday.
Wolves Notes: Love, Darko, Beasley, Randolph
Timberwolves President David Kahn and coach Rick Adelman spoke with the press on Friday morning and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has the goods..
- Kahn called Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio the team's "cornerstones" and hopes to see the two players retire as lifelong T'Wolves. Outside of that, Kahn promised to be aggressive this year and implied that major changes are on the horizon.
- The Wolves will consider trading the 18th overall pick (from Utah) for a proven veteran but will also evaluate the players that could be available to them. What they won't do, however, is trade down repeatedly to acquire cash and future selections as they did with the 20th pick last year. "That would be a terrible thing to do, and I can assure you that never would we consider that," Kahn said.
- Kahn declined to discuss the futures of Darko Milicic, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, and Martell Webster. Beasley and Randolph will become unrestricted free agents if the team doesn't pick up their qualifying offers. Meanwhile, it's hard to imagine that they'll exercise Webster's $5.7MM option for next season and Milicic, owed $5MM next year, figures to be an amnesty clause candidate.
- Kahn is in talks to bring some of the team's drafted European prospects to Minnesota in June so that Adelman and his staff can evaluate them. That would include forwards Nemanja Bjelica and Henk Norel and center Paulao Prestes. Without specifiying who, Kahn said one of those players might be ready for the NBA. Zgoda says it's likely Bjelica, though he is still probably too soft for the Association.
Odds & Ends: Evans, Lewis, McGee, Bradley
On this day in 1996, the Bulls defeated the Bullets 103-93 to finish the season with a 72-10 record, which eclipsed the 1972 Lakers‘ 69-13 mark. The W also earned Chicago their 33rd road victory, the most ever in a season by an NBA team. Here’s a look at today’s items from around the Association..
- Tyreke Evans‘ agent, Arn Tellem, was in town yesterday for a meeting with Kings president Geoff Petrie and management about his client, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The two sides didn’t talk about a contract extension or a potential trade for Evans but did discuss where he stands with the team going forward.
- Wizards forward Rashard Lewis is a likely candidate to be bought out this summer, but the 32-year-old believes that he has plenty of basketball left in him, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
- There are still times when JaVale McGee misses Washington, but the big man is happy to be with the Nuggets, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. McGee won’t say much about his impending free agency but says that he wouldn’t mind coming back to Denver.
- Avery Bradley has gone from question mark to future cornerstone for the Celtics’ long-term rebuilding project, writes Paul Flannery of WEEI.com.
Cavaliers Sign D.J. Kennedy
The Cavaliers announced that they have signed guard/forward D.J. Kennedy from the D-League for the remainder of the season. In 44 regular season games with the Erie BayHawks, the 22-year-old averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 37.4 minutes per game.
The swingman played four seasons at St. John’s, putting up 11.7 PPG on .436 shooting, 6.1 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 30.4 minutes per contest. Kennedy suffered a major setback in last year's NCAA tournament when he tore his ACL in the Red Storm's quarterfinal loss to Syracuse.
Camby Hopes To Stay With Rockets
Marcus Camby will be an unrestricted free agent after this season but the Rockets big man says that he hopes to stay in Houston beyond the 2012 season, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
“I want to stay…From the coaches and from management and my meetings I’ve had with them, I think they enjoy what I’ve been doing with my play and my leadership. I know from talking to my representative that there’s going to be a lot of suitors at the end of the season, but this is where I want to be. It’s something we’ll definitely address at the end of the season," the 38-year-old said.
The Rockets should have enough flexibility to keep Camby as they have just $41MM on the books for 2013. Camby came to Houston in a deadline deal from the Blazers in exchange for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick. In 17 games with his new team, the veteran has averaged 7.5 points and 9.4 rebounds in 24 minutes per contest.
Hoops Links: Nets, Green, Howard, Bobcats, Gasol
On Monday night, the Nets will play their final game in New Jersey when they host the 76ers in Newark. The club will celebrate 35 years in the Garden State with guest appearances from former players including Albert King, Otis Birdsong, Chris Morris, Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson, Kendall Gill, and Kerry Kittles. During their time in New Jersey, the Nets have compiled a .421 winning percentage and reached the playoffs 16 times.
If you have a great basketball blog piece that you think we should feature, send me an email at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's our look at the best of the web this week..
- Nets Are Scorching looks at the future of the Nets-Knicks rivalry.
- RealGM sat down with Gerald Green to discuss his second chance in the Association.
- Hardwood Paroxysm examines Dwight Howard in the clutch.
- Cowbell Kingdom weighs in on the Kings' arena situation.
- Know Hitter says that the Celtics will be a scary team this postseason.
- The Basketball Post applauds the Bobcats' efforts when it comes to tanking.
- Euroleague Adventures wonders why Juan Carlos Navarro made the all-Euroleague team.
- 3 Shades Of Blue makes the case for Marc Gasol being removed from the starting five.
- Basketball Prospectus looks at the Blazers' history of injuries.
- Hoops Addict wonders if a lack of postseason experience could hurt the Pacers.
- Cavs The Blog talks Lester Hudson.
- The Good Point thinks that the Raptors are showing some promise.
- Bucksketball writes that Drew Gooden has been playing out of position this year.
- Stepien Rules caught up with Cavs forward Luke Harangody.
- NBA Playbook took notice of a beautiful play ran by the Wizards.
- Portland Roundball Society was in the Blazers' locker room after their final home game.
- Red's Army looks at which Celtics are headed to the rafters.
- A Wolf Among Wolves applauds J.J. Barea.
- Celtics Hub looks at the C's relationship with the mid-range shot.
- The Hoop Doctors wonders what's next for Deron Williams.
- Basketbawful ran down the worst of Wednesday's action.
- Hoop Idea writes that NBA officiating is becoming more transparent.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Moore, League, Blazers, Heat
At a presser at the NBA Board of Governors meetings yesterday, commissioner David Stern introduced new Hornets owner Tom Benson and addressed a number of other issues. Here's more news out of the BoG meetings and other links from around the league..
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld looked at the best and worst case cap scenarios for teams in the Eastern Conference this summer.
- The Warriors might be looking at bringing back Mikki Moore, tweets Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside.
- The league expects that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will not only reduce league losses but will actually result in a profit for the 2012/13 season, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- In addition to considering advertisements on jerseys to increase revenue, the NBA will also explore opportunities in the secondary ticket market, Zillgitt tweets.
- Delonte West confirmed to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that his former agent Noah Croom did in fact interview for the Trail Blazers vacant GM job. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first reported the news on Tuesday but Blazers president Larry Miller declined comment.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel looks back at the time Lamar Odom and Antoine Walker spent in South Beach. Odom will be looking for a new team this summer while it's the end of the line for Walker.
- Hornets guard Xavier Henry told John Reid of The Times-Picayune (video link) that the team is happy about new owner Tom Benson. Earlier today we learned that Carl Landry is more inclined to sign a long-term deal with the club now that their ownership situation is resolved.
Minor Moves: Moon, Harangody
Today's minor moves..
- The Bobcats have called Jamario Moon up from the Los Angeles D-Fenders, sources tell Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated. Moon joined the D-Fenders a little over a month ago.
- The Cavaliers recalled forward Luke Harangody from the Canton Charge of the D-League, tweet Tom Reed and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Notre Dame product saw time in twelve games for the Cavs this season.
Hoops Links: Nene, Bobcats, Aminu, Carter
On this day in 1990, Nets big man Chris Dudley went to the foul line and missed 17 of 18 free throws. To this day, his 0-for-13 start remains the NBA record for consecutive misses from the charity stripe. Here's this week's look at blogs that rarely miss from the charity stripe..
- Denver Stiffs revisited this season's Nene trade from a number of angles.
- Rufus On Fire implores the Bobcats to fill their vacant roster spot.
- Magic Basketball wants you to get familiar with Ish Smith.
- Hornets 247 spoke with Al-Farouq Aminu about his blogging.
- Warriors World sees similarities between Golden State and Utah.
- Red94 looks into the crystal ball to see what the future holds for Chandler Parsons.
- Ridiculous Upside wonders when Zoran Dragic will get his chance to shine.
- Mavs Moneyball likes the idea of Vince Carter at the three spot.
- D League Digest is in favor of the one-and-done format.
- 3 Shades Of Blue praises Chris Wallace.
- Bucksketball doesn't think that being pessimistic makes you a bad person.
- Silver Screen And Roll comes to grips with Kobe Bryant's sudden mortality.
- Know Hitter looks at potential big name deals.
- Truth About It examines how the Wizards and Bobcats are actively trying to tank.
- Detroit Bad Boys isn't sure if Joe Dumars really wants Damien Wilkins back.
- True Hoop looks at Miami's double standard.
- Cavs The Blog profiles Austin Rivers and Dion Waiters.
- The Two Man Game offers up chemistry ideas for Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.
- Eight Points Nine Seconds thinks the Pacers are just right.
- The Basketball Jones lets you know what it's like to be a Nets fan.
- Hoopinion breaks down Ivan Johnson's impressive season.
- Posting and Toasting wants you to do your part to break the Friday Night Knicks curse.
- Canis Hoopus looks at offseason targets for the T'Wolves.
- Raptors Republic gives you a guide for the home stretch of the season.
- Blazers Edge looks at the strange case of Zig Ziegler.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Hornets To Retain Williams, Demps
While New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson will certainly make some changes to the Hornets organization, it seems that he will be keeping his coach and general manager. Benson plans to keep Monty Williams as coach and Dell Demps as general manager, a league source told John Reid of The Times Picayune. Both Williams and Demps were hired by the Hornets in 2010.
With the ownership situation resolved, the Hornets may now have a better chance of keeping forward Carl Landry in the fold. Landry said that he agreed to only a one-year deal last year because of the ownership uncertainty but will now look at committing to the Hornets long term.
"Being a free agent again this summer, the Hornets are a team I’ve been with the last two years and have grown accustomed to. And with the owner now, that definitely will help with re-signing with the team.”
Landry signed a one-year, $9MM deal with New Orleans this offseason.