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Eastern Notes: Varejao, Pietrus, Celtics

November 29th, 2012 at 10:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao received as good a vote of confidence as one can get from head coach Byron Scott, who called the Brazilian big man "the best center in the NBA right now." Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio writes that Varejao's statistical production makes Scott's statement a difficult one to disagree with, also mentioning that some fans have wondered if Cleveland should take advantage of his value and trade him. With that being said, Amico asserts that Cavaliers brass currently has no intention of dealing their most tenured veteran. For the rest of tonight's tidbits from the Eastern Conference, you can find them below: 

  • Bill McCandless, the agent of Mickael Pietrus, told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com about the other teams that that had been under consideration while they had waited for the right opportunity in free agency. Whereas the Rockets and Timberwolves were potential destinations in the West, McCandless listed the Bulls and Hawks as the other Eastern Conference teams which had been in the hunt along with Toronto.
  • Celtics coach Doc Rivers offered a poignant comment about Rajon Rondo and the current state of his team, telling reporters: “I don’t know if I want to rally around my 6-foot guard being the enforcer. That’s nice but at the end of the day, if that’s the threat you’re sending, the other team has to feel [good]" (Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com reports). Although we heard Rivers say earlier that the team is in no rush to make any changes to the roster, Petraglia hypothetically mentioned Kenyon Martin as a possible target if Boston decided to look into free agency for help. 
  • Aside from wanting rookie guard Maalik Wayns to become a more accomplished defender, 76ers coach Doug Collins likes the direction of his development, writes Mark Narducci of Philly.com. 
  • Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer points out that Zydrunas Ilgauskas was at the Cavaliers' practice facility on Thursday to help Byron Scott teach forward Tristan Thompson about making quicker decisions and moves offensively to counter shotblockers. 
  • Mary Schmitt Boyer (also of the Plain Dealer) discusses the challenge that Danny Ferry faces in building the Hawks into a playoff contender, just as he had done in Cleveland from 2005 to 2010.  
  • Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes that Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap has taken notice of Jeff Taylor's development as the rookie has stepped in to fill the void left by Gerald Henderson's injury. In another article, Bonnell mentions that the continued lobbying of New Orleans Hornets owners to rebrand their franchise could mean an opportunity for Charlotte to re-acquire the Hornets nickname. 
  • Nate Taylor of The New York Times discusses Tyson Chandler's offensive efficiency as of late, noting that the 7'1 Knicks center is averaging a career best in points (12.0 PPG) and leading the league in field goal percentage at 71.8%. 
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Odds & Ends: Celtics, Raptors, Trail Blazers

November 29th, 2012 at 5:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston heard from head coach Doc Rivers that the Celtics could decide to recall Kris Joseph and possibly Fab Melo up from the D-League while Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox are out of action. More notably, after Danny Ainge told WEEI radio that Rajon Rondo would be given a two game suspension (Twitter link), Rivers gave the impression that the team won't necessarily try to make any subsequent roster moves anytime soon. You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links from the Association here: 

  • HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says (via Twitter) that the Raptors are weighing their free agent options at the small forward position.
  • Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey told Joe Freeman of The Oregonian of his plans to use D-League assignments accordingly for Victor Claver, Joel Freeland, Will Barton, and Nolan Smith. While Olshey thinks that his young players are currently benefitting through their NBA experience, he believes the best time to send them to the Idaho Stampede (their D-League affiliate) would be after they have built a good enough foundation with the coaching staff and need significant minutes to continue developing.   
  • According to Anthony Slater of NewsOK, Thunder GM Sam Presti was spotted at Oklahoma State University's basketball practice to supposedly begin scouting Marcus Smart and Le'Bryan Nash, two college prospects who are currently touted as potential first round picks. 
  • The Nets announced that the right foot sprain which Brook Lopez suffered during last night's game is unrelated to the foot injury he sustained last season, and added that he is only expected to miss the next two games (Howard Beck of the New York Times reports). 
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Atlantic Links: Rondo, Green, Knicks, Kidd, Brown

November 29th, 2012 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

While much has been made about the new, cross-city rivalry between the Nets and Knicks, the Atlantic Division's fiercest rivalry might be between the Nets and Celtics. Things got scrappy between the two teams last night, with Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Kris Humphries, and Gerald Wallace among the players involved in a scrum that spilled off the court below the Nets' basket. While we wait to see what sort of fines or suspensions are in store for the players involved, let's round up a few other items out of the Atlantic….

  • As the Celtics' star, Rondo should be avoiding confrontations like last night's, not instigating them, says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • Appearing on WEEI this morning, Celtics coach Doc Rivers expressed some disappointment in Jeff Green's play so far (link via ESPNBoston.com). As Grantland's Zach Lowe tweeted this morning, Green's PER (8.3) and salary ($8.385MM) are nearly identical, an indication that big four-year deal Green signed this offseason isn't off to a great start.
  • Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders what the Knicks' best offseason move was, with a number of the team's decisions paying dividends already.
  • One of the Knicks' summer additions, Jason Kidd, continues to be sidelined with back spasms, but Tyson Chandler recognizes that it's important for the team to have a healthy Kidd later in the season rather than rushing him back now. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News has the story.
  • Sixers center Kwame Brown tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he's modeled himself after players with longevity rather than continuing to try to live up to the expectations of being a first overall pick.
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Derek Fisher Expected To Sign Soon

November 28th, 2012 at 7:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:58pm: A report 10 days ago by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News said the Mavs weren't interested in Fisher, but Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if they might be, since the team is exploring "tweaks" to its roster and coach Rick Carlisle has expressed admiration of Fisher in the past.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe believes the Celtics may have a pressing need for a point guard if Rajon Rondo is given a lengthy suspension for his involvement in a fight during tonight's game against the Nets (Twitter link).

6:48pm: Derek Fisher is expected to sign with a team in the next several days, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, who says the point guard is considering three teams and will likely make a decision by Thursday. Fisher hasn't been seriously linked to any teams since training camps began, though he's been working out with the Lakers. While it was initially thought Fisher couldn't sign with the Lakers, since they traded him away last year, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last month that they can ink him to a deal, since he didn't exercise the 2012/13 player option on his contract before the Rockets bought him out in March.

The Lakers have been playing with third-stringer Darius Morris as the starting point guard with Steve Nash and Steve Blake sidelined, though Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game hears Nash could be back in seven to 10 days (Sulia link). Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets news that Blake will miss two more weeks, with Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times believing that he won't be back for nearly another month. 

Fisher could only get a minimum-salary deal from the Lakers, who would have to waive someone else to fit him on the roster. This year's second-round picks, Robert Sacre and Darius Johnson-Odom, both of whom are currently assigned to the D-League, are on non-guaranteed deals.

There's no word that the Lakers are on Fisher's list of three teams, though they'd fit the profile of a contender, and Windhorst writes that the veteran is looking to sign with a team in the title hunt. Speculation linked him to the Celtics back in September, and while Boston seemingly filled its need for a backup point guard with Leandro Barbosa, the C's do have an open roster spot, as do the Thunder, for whom Fisher played last season. The Clippers and Grizzlies are also underneath the 15-man roster limit, according to our list of NBA roster counts.

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Atlantic Notes: D-Will, Carmelo, Nets, Lowry, 76ers

November 27th, 2012 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony matching up in Brooklyn for the first time last night, Ken Berger of CBS Sports takes a look back at the February 2011 trade deadline. Nets general manager Billy King believed he had a chance to acquire Anthony right up until the moment he got the call saying Carmelo had been sent to the Knicks, says Berger. The CBS scribe speculates that, if things played out a little differently at the '11 deadline, Anthony and Williams could still be cross-town rivals now, with 'Melo in Brooklyn and D-Will in Manhattan.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the Atlantic:

  • Also from Berger's piece, King spoke about his three top targets when he assumed the role of Nets GM: "I got the job and I knew there was… the potential for three guys to be available. I made a run at Chris [Paul], [the Hornets] said no right away, and then I made the run at Carmelo. I figured if I got him, then I could go after Deron as a free agent. Really, I was getting Carmelo to get Deron."
  • According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, while King was "privately maligned" by rival GMs for the March 2012 trade that sent out a lottery pick for Gerald Wallace, the Nets GM recognized that Williams needed a veteran addition to help him get through the final few months before free agency.
  • The Raptors love the toughness and swagger of new point guard Kyle Lowry, and would like those traits to be part of the team's identity, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
  • Despite Andrew Bynum's injury woes, the Sixers are better off having made the blockbuster deal that brought him to Philadelphia, argues Danny Pommells of CSNPhilly.com.
  • With the Mavericks set to play in Philadelphia tonight, Elton Brand will get a chance to see family in the area and to reunite with his old head coach Doug Collins, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.
  • Speaking to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Jeff Green says it was a "no-brainer" to sign with the Celtics this offseason.
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Eastern Notes: Wizards, Bobcats, 76ers, Barbosa

November 26th, 2012 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The game that was supposed to kick off the Nets' new era in Brooklyn nearly a month ago will finally take place tonight. Initially scheduled for November 1st, the Knicks' first visit to the Barclays Center was postponed by Superstorm Sandy. Besides being the first time the crosstown rivals will face one another in Brooklyn, the game also has signifigance in the standings, where the 9-3 Knicks and 8-4 Nets are atop the Atlantic Division and trail only the Heat in the Eastern Conference.

As we await the evening's battle of New York, here are a few odds and ends from around the East:

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Kyler On Gasol, Rockets, Celtics, Knicks, Gortat

November 26th, 2012 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler addresses the Pau Gasol trade rumors that have been floating around recently, and touches on a couple other topics around the league. Let's dive in and round up the highlights….

  • From a financial standpoint, the Lakers would love to move Gasol's contract for younger players and smaller deals, says Kyler. However, having explored his market value for the last couple years, the Lakers realize there's not an obvious fit out there. The Lakers aren't actively looking to move Pau — they just need him to play better.
  • Although the Rockets have had interest in Gasol in the past, that depended in part on the players they felt they could add around the Spaniard. With those players no longer available, Houston's interest in Gasol has lessened.
  • The Celtics have also had previous interest in Gasol, but aren't currently motivated to pursue him, according to Kyler.
  • Lakers and Knicks sources both tell Kyler that a Gasol/Amare Stoudemire swap is highly unlikely.
  • Following up on news that Marcin Gortat turned down an extension offer from the Suns, Kyler says that sources close to the Suns big man jokingly asked this summer: "If Brook Lopez is worth $62MM, what’s Gortat worth?"
  • Despite some indications that Gortat has been frustrated in Phoenix this season, the Suns are far more inclined to try to make him happy and keep him long-term than to trade him.
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Atlantic Notes: Shumpert, Sixers, Celtics

November 25th, 2012 at 2:47pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the Atlantic Division:

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Odds & Ends: Warriors, Dwight, Davis, Brewer

November 24th, 2012 at 3:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's an eight-game night in the NBA, and while not much attention will be focused on the Bobcats–Wizards tilt, it's certainly a change to find the 6-5 Bobcats on the other side of a game in which a team is starving for a win. While we wait to see if Washington can get its first victory in 11 tries this season, here's more from the Association.

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Atlantic Notes: Camby, Lin, Celtics, Nets

November 24th, 2012 at 8:24am CST by Sean Highkin

An early roundup of the latest happenings from around the Atlantic Division on Saturday morning:

  • Marc Berman of the New York Post wonders whether Marcus Camby regrets not re-signing in Houston given how infrequently he has played for the Knicks this season.
  • Moke Hamilton of SheridanHoops.com believes the Knicks were right to let Jeremy Lin leave, as proven by his poor play in Houston to begin the season.
  • Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com takes a look at how Doc Rivers and the Celtics are managing Kevin Garnett's minutes as the star forward advances in age.
  • Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes that Nets coach Avery Johnson is still tinkering with the team's rotations for the season.
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