Pacific Notes: Suns, Nash, Warriors, Clippers
The Clippers finish off tonight's slate of NBA action as they take on the Jazz at the Staples Center. Chris Paul & Co. are coming off of their fourth straight win after edging the Trail Blazers last night, 98-97. News out of the Pacific..
- Suns guard Steve Nash refuted a recent report which suggested that he was upset over the club's failure to actively pursue former teammate Boris Diaw after he was cut by Charlotte, writes Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports. The 38-year-old will be a free agent after this season and recently said that he wants to see the club make upgrades this summer.
- Meanwhile, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) is hearing that Nash will not rule out the Knicks in free agency, even though his former coach Mike D'Antoni is no longer there.
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com opines that the Warriors shouldn't make a deal to get their top seven protected first-round pick back from the Jazz this year. Owner Joe Lacob has hinted at such a move to regain the pick if it falls outside of the top seven but Steinmetz doesn't believe that it will be worth the sacrifice down the line.
- Clippers guard Randy Foye is in the final year of a $4.25MM contract but isn't worried about his future beyond this season, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
- Longtime Warriors forward Adonal Foyle is now in Orlando's front office and appears to be a GM-in-training, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.
Grizzlies Recall Josh Selby
We'll keep track of tonight's minor moves here..
- The Grizzlies recalled guard Josh Selby from the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the club announced today. In two stints with Reno, Selby has averaged 22.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in six total contests. Selby saw his minutes decrease when the team inked veteran Gilbert Arenas.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Lin, Bargnani, Nets
Here's a look at some items out of the Atlantic division, including some unfortunate news for Knicks fans..
- Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated told CSNNE.com that he can't imagine Duke's Austin Rivers being available by the the time the Celtics pick. The C's currently own the No. 18 and No. 21 picks in this year's draft.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson doesn't expect the club to sign a point guard in the wake of Jeremy Lin's injury, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com. "I haven't had a chance to sit down with [general manager] Glen [Grunwald] and [owner] Mr. [James] Dolan and see. My thinking is that we'll probably go with what we have," the coach said. "I don't think there's a whole lot out there right now who will make a big difference for our ball club."
- Lin's MRI revealed that he will require surgery for a torn meniscus and will be sidelined for six weeks, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks guard was already seeing reduced minutes and will now likely miss the remainder of the season as he looks ahead to free agency. Just a month ago, Lin was a lock to recieve the mid-level exception from the Knicks this summer but that is no longer the case.
- In today's mailbag, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star does his best to quell the concerns of a reader who is unhappy with Andrea Bargnani's poor rebounding. The Raptors forward is averaging just 5.7 boards per contest but Smith points out that rebounds have never been the big man's forte. Bargnani's name has been linked to trade rumors all season long and Toronto expects to have the services of fifth-overall pick Jonas Valančiūnas soon.
- Ben Couch of Nets.com caught up with Dennis Horner, whom the Nets signed to a 10-day contract yesterday. The forward saw D-League teammates Jeff Foote and Jerry Smith get NBA time earlier in the year before getting his opportunity in New Jersey.
Southwest Notes: Johnson, Gordon, Hornets, Ford
Jarrett Jack gave the Hornets 18 points and ten dimes this afternoon but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Lakers 88-85. Here's more out of the Southwest division..
- The last 15 games of the season will determine whether the Hornets re-sign center Chris Johnson in the offseason, team officials tell John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Coach Monty Williams said he's still trying to figure out what the 6'11", 210-pound journeyman from LSU can do.
- The Hornets expect shooting guard Eric Gordon to return from right-knee surgery Wednesday against the Nuggets, writes Reid. Earlier this week, Luke Adams pegged Gordon as the prize of the restricted free agent market in his look at this summer's available shooting guards.
- Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star checks in with former Spurs guard T.J. Ford, who's now a volunteer assistant with the Austin Toros after bringing his playing career to an end earlier this season. "I'm healthy, that's the whole purpose of me retiring," he said. "There really wasn't much else I could prove with my circumstances. I became more a role player coming off the bench. I'd rather now move on to the next phase in my life."
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Kings Sign Terrence Williams For Season
2:14pm: The team has confirmed the move, Jones tweets.
8:13am: Terrence Williams says he has already signed the paperwork to stay with the Kings the rest of the season, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Williams, 24, inked a ten-day contract with Sacramento on March 21.
The former 11th overall pick in the 2009 draft languished on the Rockets' bench this season and saw time in just twelve contests. Houston shopped Williams heavily in early March but wound up waiving him on March 16th. For his career, Williams has averaged 7.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Kidd, Van Gundy, Thibodeau
Linkage from around the Association..
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld wonders if the teams that have yet to use the amensty provision will pull the trigger this summer and looks at some potential candidates.
- Hawks forward Josh Smith had some rough patches with Mike Woodson in Atlanta but says that he's happy for his former coach's success with the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
- Sources close to Jason Kidd told Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that the guard wouldn't be opposed to staying with the Mavericks next season in a reduced role. Kidd also told Kennedy that he would someday like to become a general manager.
- More from Kennedy as a growing number of people within the Magic organization believe that Stan Van Gundy will quit after this season, mainly because he doesn’t want deal with the Dwight Howard circus again next season.
- ESPN's Chris Broussard (video link) could see former Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni possibly landing with the Clippers and has also heard his name linked to the Wizards.
- Pacers guard George Hill says that he was emotional when he first learned of the trade that sent him from the Spurs to Indiana, writes Mike Monroe of the Express-News. Hill, 25, is averaging 9.4 points in 23.9 minutes per contest this season.
- The Bulls players hope to see coach Tom Thibodeau get the contract extension that he seeks, writes Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel thinks that the Heat should use their $3MM mid-level exception this summer to add a big man.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Garnett, Knicks, Nets
Last night, Kevin Garnett made it 6-0 against his former team, the Timberwolves. Here's more on the Celtics and the rest of the Atlantic Division..
- During the second quarter of last night's game in Minnesota, a fan hollered at Garnett, "Hey Kevin, please come back next year!" and the forward simply muttered: "No way," according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
- Knicks rookie center Josh Harrellson isn't sure if his former coach at Kentucky John Calipari is suited to succeed in the NBA, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- The Nets pulled out an exciting win in Golden State last night but it will cost them in the draft lottery, writes Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger. The Nets' pick will belong to the Trail Blazers if it falls outside of the top three.
- Former Knicks guard Stephon Marbury helped propel his team to the CBA championship and now hopes to someday coach the Chinese national team, writes Guan Weijia of Sheridan Hoops.
Hoops Links: Olajuwon, Garnett, Pacers, Thibodeau
On this day in 1982, the NBA and the Players Association reached a four-year deal that included a revenue-sharing plan, the very first of its kind in team sports. Under the 1982 deal, players received 53% of revenues starting with the 1984-85 season and payroll minimums and maximums were installed. While that's just the cliffnotes version of the deal, today's Collective Bargaining Agreement is decidedly more complicated. Here's a look around the basketball blogosphere this week..
- The Dream Shake reminds you why Rockets fans are still spoiled by Hakeem Olajuwon.
- Canis Hoopus dares to compare Kevin Love with Kevin Garnett.
- Eight Points In Nine Seconds saw one sequence as a microcosm for the Pacers' recent play.
- Philadunkia wonders if it might be time for 76ers fans to panic.
- Nets Are Scorching knows that the New Jersey has been struggling as of late but would like to remind you that Jordan Williams has been a bright spot.
- A Royal Pain has a bone to pick with Keith Smart.
- A Sea Of Blue argues that NBA talent is just part of the reason why Kentucky is favored to win it all.
- Red94 wants you to know that Courtney Lee is about more than the corner three.
- Hickory-High wrote up a comprehensive scouting report on Utah's Alec Burks.
- The Orlando Pinstriped Post believes that Ish Smith can do big things for Orlando.
- Da Bullz believes that Tom Thibodeau should win Coach Of The Year.
- Raptors Republic also collected some of their favorite anti-tanking plans.
- The Classical doesn't know what to make of Josh Smith.
- Detroit Bad Boys believes that Rodney Stuckey is finally taking the next step.
- Rocky Top Talk attempts to rank the Tennessee Volunteers job nationally.
- Green Street wonders if the Celtics should play for seeding.
- TrueHoop runs down five ideas to solve the tanking problem.
- The Knicks Blog makes the case for why Patrick Ewing should be given a chance at being a head coach.
- Wizards blog Truth About It gave Roundball Mining Company the skinny on JaVale McGee.
- 3 Shades Of Blue runs down some of the Grizzlies' reclamation projects.
- A Wolf Among Wolves sets the record straight on Kevin Love.
- Mavs Moneyball is glad to see Delonte West back in the mix.
- Silver Screen And Roll picks their "beast" and "burden" for the Lakers.
- CelticsHub put together a solid panel to discuss the state of the C's.
- Denver Stiffs looks at the players drafted ahead of and around the current Nuggets.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Spurs Sign Patrick Mills
The Spurs have officially signed former Blazer Patrick Mills, the team announced today. The two sides had reached an agreement earlier, but visa issues held up Mills' arrival. The deal will reportedly include a player option in the second year, worth about $1MM.
According to a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Pistons also wanted to sign Mills. The Rockets were interested in the guard as well, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported. San Antonio had been searching for a point guard after the abrupt retirement of T.J. Ford, who was subsequently shipped to Golden State for financial reasons in the Stephen Jackson–Richard Jefferson deal.
Mills, a 2009 second-round pick out of St. Mary's College, averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in two seasons as a backup in Portland. He signed with a Chinese team earlier this season, but received FIBA clearance to join an NBA team. The Blazers held Mills' rights as a restricted free agent, but renounced them, allowing him to sign with any team.
The agreement was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Sam Amick of SI.com, and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News added details.
Chuck Myron and Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Clippers Sign Bobby Simmons For Rest Of Season
The Clippers announced that they have re-signed free agent forward Bobby Simmons, whose second ten-day contract expired on March 18. Los Angeles decided to make the commitment after an MRI on Mo Williams' injured big toe ruled him out for Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, writes Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.
Simmons, 31, has averaged 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest in 13 games for the Clippers this season.