Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Melo, Nets
Carmelo Anthony‘s 62-point performance against the Bobcats last night sure was something to behold, right? Well, not if you’re former Knicks center turned Charlotte assistant coach Patrick Ewing. “I’m upset right now because we just lost,” Ewing told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I’m not talking. I have no comment on what happened.’’ He did offer some praise for ‘Melo, but when questions persisted about Anthony, Ewing got impatient, saying, “Man, I’m done.’,’ Man, it’s the morning, so we’re just getting started. Here’s a look at the Atlantic Division..
- With free agency looming, Anthony reminded everyone, and maybe even himself, why he came to New York, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Despite what could be a lost season for the Knicks, the star has been surprisingly reserved about lodging public complaints about the team.
- “Chicago is much more in play for [Anthony] than L.A.,” a source told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports in reference to the Knicks‘ star. The Bulls traded Luol Deng for draft picks and are leaning strongly toward using the amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer. They have the ability to create a maximum contract slot for Anthony, pairing him with Derrick Rose.
- Nets veterans Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are ready to return to Boston for the first time since the blockbuster deal, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
Celtics Sign Vander Blue To 10-Day Deal
WEDNESDAY, 10:26am: The Celtics have officially announced their 10-day contract with Blue.
TUESDAY, 8:53pm: In the wake of Avery Bradley‘s injury, the Celtics are set to sign Vander Blue out of the D-League, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Blue was claimed by the Delaware 87ers one week ago. It’ll be a 10-day deal, according to Wojnarowski’s latest update.
The former Marquette guard was waived by Maccabi Rishon LeZion of Israel just before the New Year and was clearly on the NBA radar. Blue was in camp with the Sixers over the summer and had a partially guaranteed deal, so he received a $55K severance from Philly when he was let go.
The 6’5″ shooting guard helped lead Marquette to the Elite Eight in last season’s NCAA tournament, averaging 18.3 PPG in the team’s four March Madness games. He then left the Golden Eagles one year shy of his expected graduation date.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, James, Felix
There has been speculation that the Bucks could wind up leaving Milwaukee at some point as they’ve been unable to secure a new arena in the city, but Herb Kohl is working hard to make sure they stay put. Kohl has been insistent that he is only seeking investment partners and doesn’t want to sell the team outright, but today we learned that there are four suitors with “serious interest” in buying the club from him. There’s no word on a frontrunner, but one club is said to be comprised of local investors, which could give them an upper hand should Kohl have a change of heart and sell. More from around the league..
- The Lakers have had to rebuild on the fly before, but their current troubles will be tougher to fix, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Bulls brought Mike James back because he’s the candidate that coach Tom Thibodeau wanted more than anyone else, tweets Mark Deeks of Shamsports.com. The Bulls re-signed the veteran after they traded one guard Marquis Teague to the Nets. It’s not clear at this point if James got a ten-day pact or was inked for the rest of the season.
- The Cavaliers have recalled Carrick Felix from the D-League, the team announced. The six-day stint was the third assignment to the Canton Charge for the 33rd overall pick in the NBA draft this past June.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Olynyk, Patterson
Fans who made it out to the Barclays Center tonight are being treated to a competitive game as the Nets are up 46-42 on the Magic at halftime. Joe Johnson, or Joe Jesus as Kevin Garnett calls him, leads the way with 10 points for Brooklyn while Glen Davis has 8 points and 6 boards on the other side. Tonight’s look at the Atlantic..
- The Nets got the rights to Eden Bavcic in the Tyshawn Taylor trade with the Pelicans, but GM Billy King says that we shouldn’t expect to see him in the NBA, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. The 29-year-old is currently plying his craft in the Greek League.
- Peter Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com grades the Celtics at the midway point of the season. Rookie Kelly Olynyk gets a C despite the considerable hype he had coming into the season. Meanwhile, Kris Humphries, who came over in the blockbuster with the Nets, gets a B+ for his play. Recently, Hump said that he wants to remain with the C’s beyond this season.
- The Raptors also got a report card thanks to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Patrick Patterson gets an A- for his work in Toronto even though he struggled for the first part of the season with the Kings. GM Masai Ujiri gets a B for pulling the trigger on the Rudy Gay deal but Wolstat notes that there’s still a great deal of work to be done.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Belinelli, Taylor
Tonight’s look at the Southwest Division as the Pelicans get set to take on the Kings..
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Tom Haberstroh looks at what the teams outside of the “big four” of the Heat, Pacers, Thunder, and Spurs can do to put themselves in contention. The Rockets, according to Haberstroh, have to find a way to upgrade their turnstile perimeter defense. Wesley Matthews of the Blazers would give them a boost in that department and even though he doesn’t offer the same kind of D, C.J. Miles of the Cavs would also be an upgrade.
- Marco Belinelli says he had more lucrative offers than the two-year, $5.6MM deal he signed with the Spurs over the offseason, but the opportunity to play for one of the best teams in the NBA, alongside long-time idol Manu Ginobili, was too good to pass up, writes Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News. “I know money is important,” he said. “But I’m a young guy and I want to improve my game. Money will come. I just want to win.”
- Pelicans coach Monty Williams is unsure about the role that newly-acquired guard Tyshawn Taylor will fill for his club, writes John Reid of the Times-PIcayune.
Draft Notes: Embiid, Parker, Smart
Jabari Parker is universally regarded as the top talents in the 2014 draft class, but the Duke star may not enter his name into the mix at all. Executives around the league are reportedly starting to wonder if he might take an extra year with Coach K & Co. while his father says that he has yet to make up his mind. Here’s tonight’s latest draft notes..
- The 2015 draft could actually shape up to be better than the highly-anticipated 2014 draft, writes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insider. With Parker and Kansas center Joel Embiid reportedly on the fence about jumping in this June, they could help bolster a draft that features five big men with All-Star potential in Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Myles Turner (Undecided), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Trey Lyles (Kentucky) and Karl Towns (Kentucky).
- Parker and Embiid appear undecided on entering this year’s draft, but it’s common for players in their position to have some doubts, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes. Kyler figures there’s little chance either will pass up the chance to start drawing NBA paychecks next season.
- Today on ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d), five draft experts battled it out over some hot draft topics. The group looks at how Marcus Smart would fit alongside Magic rookie Victor Oladipo, who could fall out of the lottery, whether Andrew Wiggins would make the Cavs playoff contenders, and more.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Dirk Nowitzki Will Likely Re-Sign With Mavs
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is one of many big names who will hit the open market in 2014, but don’t expect him to change uniforms in the fall. Nowitzki told Sport1 in a recent interview that he will likely re-sign with Dallas on a two or three year deal, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter).
“In the summer I will be free agent and likely extend the contract for two or three years,” Nowitzki told the German TV outlet, according to Sportando’s translation. “As long as the body supports me, it is still fun to play basketball. After the new contract I will be 38 or 39 and I will probably stop. For a few years it will work out all right.”
Recently, outspoken Mavs owner Mark Cuban said that he didn’t expect Nowitzki to ask for too much money on his next contract and added that he would do everything in his power to keep him “forever.” The former regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP also touched on his relationship with Cuban in the interview.
“It is clear that our relationship is amicable. We had so many ups and downs together. The championship was the best part. Mark has always supported me. Even when things were not going well, he has always told me: ‘You are and will remain my franchise player,'” the 35-year-old said.
The 7-footer is averaging 21.2 PPG with 5.8 RPG per contest this season and is showing no signs of slowing down. Nowitzki’s PER of 23.5 is his best in years, even edging his 2010/11 mark.
Hoops Links: Marshall, DeRozan, Smith
On this date in 2000, Michael Jordan, who led the Bulls to six NBA championships as a player, returned to the NBA when he joined the Washington Wizards as part owner and President of Basketball Operations, overseeing all aspects of the team. In 2001, No. 23 made his return to the hardwood with the Wizards.
Do you have a great basketball blog post that you want featured on Hoops Links? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. This week’s links..
- Lakerholicz is impressed with Kendall Marshall.
- Dime Mag explains why DeMar DeRozan should be an All-Star.
- It’s Boston Sean says the Knicks knew what they were getting into with J.R. Smith.
- 48 Minutes Of Hell believes that the Spurs are the best in the West.
- Warriors World looks at the Mark Jackson situation.
- Long Distance Jayhawk delivers an after battle report.
- Hawks Hoops is on All-Star watch for Jeff Teague.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, email it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Hoops Rumors Originals
A look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Chuck Myron examined Danny Granger as a trade candidate.
- Chuck explained how the three-way deal worked out financially.
- Which Sixer is most likely to be traded? Hoops Rumors readers say it’s Thaddeus Young, but Evan Turner isn’t far behind.
- It might be time to sell high on Young, Chuck writes.
- Chuck looked at first round picks struggling for playing time.
- In Cray Allred’s poll, most of you said Andrew Bynum won’t sign anywhere this season.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds.
- Did you miss out on Chuck’s weekly chat? Don’t worry, you can get caught up here.
- Check out the Hoops Rumors ten-day tracker.
D-League Notes: Roberson, Thomas, Hairston
The Thunder announced that they have recalled forward Andre Roberson from the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League. During his most recent stint with the 66ers, Roberson averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 3.0 steals, 2.5 blocks and 40.5 minutes while helping the team to a pair of road wins at Bakersfield and Los Angeles. Over three assignments this season, the forward is averaging 16.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.3 blocks in 37.1 minutes in seven games (all starts). Here’s more out of the NBADL..
- The Spurs today announced that they have recalled forward Malcolm Thomas from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. In 10 games with the Toros this season, Thomas is averaging 15.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.40 blocks in 32.6 minutes. The San Diego State product was signed by the Spurs on Dec. 3.
- Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside recaps P.J. Hairston‘s D-League debut. The former UNC forward led the way with a team-high 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
- Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside checked in with Red Claws coach Mike Taylor to discuss Rajon Rondo‘s recent workout with the team, his relationship with Celtics coach Brad Stevens, and some of Maine’s impact players.