Week In Review: 1/13/14 – 1/19/14
This week, the Warriors, Celtics, and Heat joined up for a three team deal that sent Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks out west to Golden State. The Warriors sent Toney Douglas to Miami in the deal while the heat shipped Joel Anthony, a first-round pick, and its 2016 second-round pick to the Celtics. More from the week that was..
- Executives believe the Celtics will shop Rajon Rondo at the trade deadline or this summer.
- Dwight Howard says the Magic promised him that he would be traded to the Nets. Whoops.
- The Clippers signed Hedo Turkoglu and released Maalik Wayns.
- The Rockets are likely to keep Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin through the year.
- The Knicks can’t see Carmelo Anthony going elsewhere.
- Jerryd Bayless wants to stay with the Celtics.
- The Heat won’t go after Andrew Bynum.
- Ryan Anderson is probably done for the season.
- Things between the Knicks and J.R. Smith are still messy.
- Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson are drawing trade interest from teams across the league.
- The Bulls and Nets will swap Marquis Teague for Tornike Shengelia.
- Leandro Barbosa got a second ten-day deal.
- Fab Melo is headed back to the D-League.
- Keith Bogans may or may not return to the Celtics.
- Rondo had a two-hour stint in the D-League.
- The Celtics signed Chris Johnson to a ten-day pact.
- The Hawks are among the clubs with interest in Ivan Johnson.
- The Lakers are giving Manny Harris a shot.
- The 76ers signed big man Dewayne Dedmon.
- The Clippers gave Darius Morris another ten-day pact.
- The Sixers are looking for first-round picks.
- Solomon Jones is headed to the D-League.
- Royal Ivey got a ten-day deal from the Thunder.
Suns Re-Sign Leandro Barbosa
JANUARY 18th, 12:30pm: The Suns have signed Barbosa to a second ten-day deal, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Barbosa, 31, has averaged 9.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 2.3 APG in four games for Phoenix.
JANUARY 8th, 4:35pm: The Suns have officially signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Phoenix now has a full 15-man roster.
SUNDAY, 3:28pm: The Suns plan to sign Leandro Barbosa to a 10-day deal, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Teams can start signing players to 10-day deals tomorrow.
Barbosa, 31, spent 41 games with the Celtics last season, averaging 5.2 PPG and 1.4 APG in 12.5 minutes per contest. The veteran was on the Lakers’ short list when they suffered a rash of injuries at the point guard position, a major need for the club before the recent emergence of Kendall Marshall.
The deal brings Barbosa back to the club where he spent his first seven NBA seasons and did his finest work. Barbosa suffered a torn ACL before the trade deadline last season but since then he’s been scorching the Brazilian league and appears fully recovered.
D-League Notes: Melo, Wright, Covington
The latest from the NBA Developmental League..
- A team source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that Fab Melo has entered his name into the D-League player pool. Last season, Melo spent 33 games of his rookie season with the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s D-League affiliate. Melo, who bounced around a bit during his short professional career, is likely headed back to the NBADL with hopes of landing a ten-day contract
- Chris Wright, a current member of the Red Claws, is playing well and hopes to bag a ten-day deal with an NBA team, Pilato writes. On the season, Wright is averaging 21.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. He’s also averaging 36.2 minutes in 20 games so far. A small forward from Dayton, he’s not to be confused with the former Georgetown shooting guard by the same name.
- Rockets rookie Robert Covington is back from the D-League as Houston wants to have plenty of bodies in practice this week, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. However, it’s not clear if this is a prelude to Covington officially getting recalled to the varsity squad.
Pacific Notes: Turkoglu, Gasol, Warriors
A quick look at the Pacific Division..
- Veteran big man Hedo Turkoglu sees a title opportunity with the Clippers, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “Well, if you look at it, they are a great team,” Turkoglu said. “They have a lot of great players. The way they approach the game, or their mind-set, especially after they bring in Doc [Rivers], they really wanted to win. I’ve always been playing good with great coaches and I know somehow I would get an opportunity with Doc and do what I can do in the best way.”
- Heat big man Chris Bosh feels for underappreciated Lakers center Pau Gasol, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Gasol has been mentioned frequently on the pages of Hoops Rumors and that figures to continue between now and the trade deadline if he isn’t moved before then.
- Warriors newcomers Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks are happy to be on board with a contender, writes Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group. This is the fourth time the 25-year-old Crawford has been traded, but he’s excited about his opportunity in Golden State.
Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Garnett, Anthony
The Knicks‘ biggest offseason acquisition could be headed to the pine. Andrea Bargnani has been struggling as of late and coach Mike Woodson won’t rule out the possibility of moving him to the bench, writes ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley. Putting Bargnani on the bench would allow Carmelo Anthony to play power forward. “That’s a possibility,” Woodson said before tipoff on Friday. “I know we were great last year with Melo at [power forward] and Melo hasn’t had an opportunity to play a lot of four this year based on, you know, Bargnani, and having Kenyon Martin and Amar’e Stoudemire. You’ll probably see more four now that those guys are out. Bargnani could possibly come off and back up Tyson at the center spot.” More out of the Altantic..
- Joel Anthony has an opportunity to start fresh with the Celtics, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. As a seven-year, two-championship ring veteran of the Heat, there’s going to be a certain amount of separation remorse, but he also understands that all good things must end.
- Iman Shumpert has been the subject of trade rumors for months, but the Knicks guard says that he hasn’t lost confidence over it, Begley writes.
- Prized offseason acquisition Kevin Garnett is more than OK with limited minutes, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Green, Roberson
What will you remember Sam Cassell for? His infectious enthusiasm? His long run as one of the better starting point guards in the league? His two NBA rings? Well, for some, it’s “the Sam Cassell dance” (We’re a family-friendly blog, so if you don’t know what we’re talking about, please look it up on YouTube). Everyone from Kobe Bryant to Andray Blatche has done the boogie, and Jameer Nelson of the Magic was the latest to join in, writes Ken Hornack of FOX Sports. While Jameer tries to shake off that $15K fine, let’s take a look around the Association..
- Enjoy the royalty of the Heat while it lasts, writes Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer. If Dwayne Wade’s decline doesn’t do them in, the opt-out clauses will, Sorensen opines.
- It’s been a bumpy road for NBA veteran Gerald Green, but he’s finally found a home with the Suns, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.
- The Thunder announced that Andre Roberson has been assigned to the Tulsa 66ers, in time for their game this evening against the Bakersfield Jam. To keep up with all of this seaosn’s D-League moves, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
- The National Basketball Players Association could name an executive director during All-Star weekend, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. It is also possible a short list of candidates is presented to players for discussion and consideration, and a vote would come at a later time.
Kobe Won’t Sit Out For Rest Of Season
Some people, including Lakers legend Magic Johnson, have said that Kobe Bryant should shut things down for the remainder of the season given his injuries, health, and the Lakers’ position at this stage of the year. However, the Black Mamba told reporters today, including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter), that he has no plans of spending the rest of the year on the sidelines.
Bryant said that he will be reevaluated in February and could be back on the hardwood if he gets the greenlight from doctors at that point, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. The Lakers could drift well below the .500 mark between now and then but Bryant says that “his job” is to play, period, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
Bryant and the Lakers agreed to a two-year, $48.5MM extension back in November.
Celtics Rumors: Rondo, Ainge, Trade
The latest on the Celtics as they take on the Lakers tonight in Rajon Rondo‘s big return..
- Rondo is set to make his return from a torn ACL for the Celtics tonight, but the Celtics aren’t just showcasing him for a trade, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The C’s have kept in contact with their point guard about their long-term plan, which focuses on the summer of 2015, according to Deveney. That’s when Rondo can become an unrestricted free agent, and he’s relishing the chance to take over as the unquestioned star of the Celtics, Deveney hears.
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge describes this week’s trade as a “building block,” and explains to reporters, including Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, what the deal accomplishes for Boston. “They are not the deals that are going to turn the franchise around,” Ainge said. “I think this is just one of those. It opens up opportunities for other guys to play and it gives us some assets to draft players, such as Big Baby [Glen Davis] or Leon Powe that we’ve gotten with second-round picks in the past, or second-round picks that we’ve traded to unload contracts, as we’ve done recently or move up in the draft. Draft picks are very important assets and they are always tradeable, no matter how well they play.”
- Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders wonders how Rondo will look once he’s back on the hardwood.
Odds & Ends: Nets, Aldridge, Heat, Bogut
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov believes in the importance of positive thinking. “I still think we have a chance to be a championship if, of course, stars align,” Prokhorov said before the Nets beat the Hawks, 127-110, at O2 Arena in London today. “I think we like sport because it is really unpredictable. So it’s unpredictable, but possible.” Tim Bontemps of the New York Post has more from the Nets’ charismatic owner’s chat with reporters today. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..
- The Blazers are having fun playing together and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (on Twitter) hears LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Damian Lillard have discussed their plans to play together long-term. Recently, Aldridge expressed openness to signing an extension with Portland.
- Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) breaks down the three-way deal between the Warriors, Heat, and Celtics and what it means for all parties involved.
- His health history is iffy, but Andrew Bogut has been the Warriors‘ iron man this year, writes Carl Steward of the Mercury News. The big man inked a three-year, $42MM extension with Golden State back in October.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Smith, Deng, C’s
Can the Knicks make the playoffs? Chris Broussard of ESPN.com checked in with four Eastern Conference scouts to find out what they think of New York’s chances going forward. Two scouts say the Knicks can get home court advantage in the postseason, one scout sees them getting in the lower half but not getting far, and the other scout says their recent success is a product of the Eastern Conference’s weakness. More out of the East..
- Mike Woodson said if J.R. Smith isn’t with the program, he should get used to sitting at the end of the Knicks‘ bench, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “Put it this way, he’s going to have to be with it if he’s going to want to be a part of it,” Woodson said. “As a coach, it’s my job to make sure that that happens.’‘ It sounds like the Knicks would like to move the outspoken guard, but that could prove to be difficult.
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald says that the newly-acquired Luol Deng is filling the bill at small forward for the Cavs.
- Caron Butler is happy to be playing for his hometown Bucks, but he wants more playing time, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel. “The information I received before coming here is that ‘You’re going to play a lot,‘” said Butler, who thought being traded from Phoenix to Milwaukee would signal more playing time. “And I want to play. I want to be out there to help the situation.“
- Going from least valuable to most valuable, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) looks at the Celtics‘ trade assets. No surprise here, but the worst trade asset the C’s have is the cumbersome contract of Gerald Wallace.