Hawks, Others Interested In Ivan Johnson
Over the summer, Ivan Johnson waited and waited to find an NBA deal to his liking. When he couldn’t get anything more than the veteran’s minimum, he opened things up to international offers and wound up signing in China. With the end of the CBA season in sight, however, several teams, including the Hawks, are showing interest in welcoming him back to the states, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
In two NBA seasons with Atlanta, Johnson averaged 6.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG to go along with a 15.1 PER in 125 contests. The former Hawk drew interest from the Knicks over the summer and reportedly had preliminary talks with at least six NBA teams in total. It would stand to reason that several of those clubs will circle back around for him once he is available.
At the age of 29, the Oregon product is well-traveled at this point, having spent time with teams in South Korea and Puerto Rico, as well as playing in China in 2011 before coming to the NBA.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Trade Exception, Oden
After parting with Israeli’s Maccabi Ashdod, Xavier Silas is returning to the States in hopes of signing with an NBA team, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. Silas, who went to training camp with the Wizards in October, was an undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois leading into the lockout and has done quite a bit of traveling for a 25-year-old. Silas apparently went AWOL without notifying his Israeli team, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter). While a stop in the D-League is possible, it’s not planned at the moment, his agent tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Here’s more out of the Southeast Division..
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) estimates that the Heat will wind up with a $2.2MM trade exception following the three-team deal involving the Warriors and Celtics. The swap saw Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks head to the W’s, Toney Douglas come to Miami, and Joel Anthony, a Heat first-round pick, and 2016 second-round pick go to the Boston.
- Good news for Heat fans: Greg Oden says his knees feel fine after seeing a handful of minutes on the NBA hardwood for the first time in more than four years, writes Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Miami inked the former No. 1 overall pick to a one-year deal over the summer.
- Former Heat training camp invitee Derrick Byars has reached agreement on a deal with Krasny Oktyabr of the European League, a source told Charania. Byars averaged 5.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in two regular season games with San Antonio in 2012. The 6-foot-7 forward was a second round pick of the Trail Blazers in 2007.
Odds & Ends: Stern, Lottery, Seattle
In what is expected to be his final press conference as commissioner, David Stern defended the NBA’s draft lottery and dismissed speculation that teams may tank games to earn a better chance at a top pick. However, he conceded that the system may need some adjustments, writes Mark Woods of ESPNNewYork.com. “We made it a bit more slanted to the worst teams, and I think it’s maybe time to look at the lottery and maybe tinker a little more,” he said. “But we’ll see what Commissioner [Adam] Silver wants to do on that.” More from around the Association..
- Silver also confirmed that he would be naming a new deputy commissioner within weeks, Woods writes.
- “Under the right circumstances,” Silver said that he would love to see an NBA team back in Seattle, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
- The NBA expects more foreign investors to buy into teams, writes Keith Weir of Reuters. Wealthy groups in China, the Middle East and Latin America have all been mentioned as potential investors in NBA franchises. “We encourage that movement of capital and we think it is inevitable,” Stern said, reflecting on the example set by Mikhail Prokhorov‘s purchase of Nets in 2010. “In addition we also have an operating structure with a salary cap that very much blunts the impact of pure dollars or pounds or rubles,” he added.
Odds & Ends: NBPA, Cook, Bogans
A quick look around the Association..
- With a key hearing approaching in Billy Hunter‘s lawsuit against the National Basketball Players Association, the union has hired one of the defendants in the civil case: Derek Fisher‘s former business manager, Jamie Wior, three people familiar with the situation told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Wior and Fisher, the former union president, are co-defendants in a lawsuit that Hunter filed against the NBPA for wrongful termination. The L.A.-based publicist and business manager played a behind-the-scenes role in the 2011 lockout.
- Former Heat, Bulls, and Thunder guard Daequan Cook has been waived by Ukraine’s Budivelnyk Kyiv, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The former NBA sharpshooter has played eight games with the Ukrainian team (4.8 PPG), four in Euroleague (9.0 PPG) and four in Superleague. He’s already back in the United States, according to Carchia.
- The Celtics announced earlier this evening that guard Keith Bogans has been excused from the team indefinitely for personal reasons but the press release notes that the veteran remains under contract with the club. The veteran has been vocal with his frustration over not seeing playing time in Boston.
Eastern Notes: Raptors, Brown, Cavs
The Raptors have been one of the big surprises of the season and they’ve got two worthy All-Star candidates in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, writes Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. Lowry, who has been the center of trade rumors for much of the season, had a different attitude heading into this season and was in the best shape of his life during summer league play. “Kyle has brought his game to a different level, and maintained it,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Kyle has shown he can be a positive leader. I think that was the biggest question among coaches around the league.” More from the Eastern Conference..
- The Sixers announced that they have assigned guard Lorenzo Brown to the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. This marks Brown’s third assignment to the Sevens this season. He has appeared in six D-League games, averaging 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Brown has appeared in 15 games for the Sixers this season.
- Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of the company that owns the Raptors, said the team will spend as necessary to win and that, “We’re not afraid of the luxury tax at the right time,” notes Michael Grange of SportsNet.
- Set to face the Lakers, who fired him last season, coach Mike Brown says he’s already begun to feel pressure with the Cavs, but he isn’t letting it get to him and wants to remain with Cleveland “for many years,” observes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Sixers Sign Dewayne Dedmon
TUESDAY, 9:56am: The Sixers have officially announced the signing.
MONDAY, 7:54pm: The Sixers are set to sign Dewayne Dedmon to a ten-day deal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Philadelphia auditioned big men today, including Dedmon and former Heat and Celtics forward Jarvis Varnado.
Dedmon, 24, was with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League after a short stint with the Warriors’ varsity squad. In 15 D-League games this season, the USC product put up 15.2 PPG and 13.5 RPG.
In addition to Varnado, Dedmon also beat out Kyrylo Fesenko and Rutgers product Hamady N’Diaye for the vacant spot. The Sixers had a need for frontcourt depth after waiving Daniel Orton prior to the contract guarantee deadline.
Odds & Ends: Love, Spurs, Lee, Thunder
With the Wolves struggling and Kevin Love‘s frustration level rising, clubs are likely salivating at the chance to land him via trade. However, Sam Smith of NBA.com hears that Love, a free agent in the summer of 2015, favors the Knicks and Lakers. In Smith’s mind, there really isn’t a point to trading for the forward if he isn’t willing to extend his deal or re-sign with your club. More from around the Association..
- The Spurs announced that Danny Green will miss about four weeks with a broken left hand, but the team isn’t likely to sign a replacement, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
- Michael Cohen of the Commercial Appeal chatted with new Grizzlies guard Courtney Lee and those who helped shape his game. “He’s a system guy. He’s not Paul George. He’s not this alpha male-type player. You put him in a specific role on a good team with good players, and that’s where he’s really strong. That’s what we see in him here,” said Stu Lash, Grizzlies director of player personnel and basketball development.
- Thunder GM Sam Presti told a local sports radio station that while he’ll do his “due diligence” on the trade market, he’s happy with where the team is currently, tweets Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman.
- Jerryd Bayless can do more for the Celtics than just help their finances, writes ESPNBoston.com’s Chris Forsberg.
Draft Notes: Exum, Wiggins, Selden
The 2014 draft class is expected to be one of the strongest in modern basketball history and Dante Exum is a virtual lock to join in. The Australian guard, who is projected to be a top five pick, has been meeting with agents for the past few weeks. Here’s tonight’s draft news..
- Exum finished his meetings with eight marquee agencies, leaving the representatives confident that he’ll enter this year’s draft rather than attending college, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. That echoes what we heard about the Australian point guard last week.
- Not everyone is head over heels about Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins, who was thought to be the top talent in this class pretty recently. “There’s zero chance of any team taking anybody before Jabari Parker,” an Eastern Conference official told Mark Heisler of Forbes.com. “And there’s zero chance of any team taking Wiggins before [Kansas center] Joel Embiid.”
- Fellow Kansas standout Wayne Selden is doing well, but scouts say he should stay in school, writes Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.
D-League Notes: Harris, Jazz, Muhammad
Manny Harris, fresh off his second D-League Performer of the Week award, is drawing interest from the Hawks and Lakers, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. NBA interest is nothing new for Harris, who also spoke with Thunder management about a week ago. Here’s more from the D-League..
- The Jazz today officially announced their recall of Ian Clark and Rudy Gobert from the D-League. Jody Genessy of the Deseret News first reported the move yesterday.
- The T’Wolves announced that they have recalled Shabazz Muhammad from the Iowa Energy. The rookie forward is expected to practice with Minnesota today. The UCLA product averaged 24.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in four games. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (on Twitter) notes that Flip Saunders said this would be the plan all along.
- The Pistons announced that they have recalled rookie guard Peyton Siva and rookie forward Tony Mitchell from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Siva averaged 12.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.6 steals in five games (four starts) with Fort Wayne. In six games (five starts) with the Mad Ants, Mitchell averaged 6.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.5 blocks in 22.1 minutes per game.
- The Kings announced that they have assigned rookie guard Ray McCallum to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. McCallum was assigned yesterday and recalled just a few hours later.
- The Raptors announced that they have recalled Dwight Buycks from the Bakersfield Jam. Buycks has appeared in 12 games for the Raptors this season recording a total of 41 points, 10 assists, 20 rebounds and six steals in 121 minutes.
- The Delaware 87ers of the D-League have claimed guard Vander Blue, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Maccabi Rishon LeZion of Israel waived the former Marquette shooting guard just before the New Year.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Sixers Auditioning Four Big Men
MONDAY, 1:59pm: Spears adds Kyrylo Fesenko and Hamady N’Diaye to the list of players working out for Philadelphia today (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 5:11pm: The Sixers are working out free agent big men Monday, including the D-League’s Dewayne Dedmon and Jarvis Varnado, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Philadelphia lost some frontcourt depth last week when they waived center Daniel Orton.
Dedmon is currently with the Santa Cruz Warriors after a short stint with the Warriors’ varsity squad earlier this season. The 7’0” center appeared in four games with Golden State, logging a whopping six minutes. The Warriors flirted with bringing him back at different points since cutting him loose and as recently as last week they were mulling it over.
Varnado, a shot-blocking forward who spent time with the Celtics and Heat last season, is with the Iowa Energy this year. The 25-year-old has averaged 14.5 PPG and 9.9 RPG in 23 D-League games this season.