Atlantic Rumors: D-Will, Bogans, Celtics, Rasheed
Commissioner David Stern, speaking to reporters in Milan, said European expansion is a long way off, but believes that when it happens, there should be five teams in Europe rather than just one, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com notes. That would be enough for an entire division. For now, the easternmost division of the NBA is the Atlantic, and we'll roundup up the latest rumblings from that group of five teams here:
- TNT's David Aldridge, as part of a lengthy look around the league, reveals that Deron Williams was recruiting Joe Johnson before the trade that brought Johnson to the Nets, and before Williams spurned the Mavs to re-sign with the Nets as well. "Four or five days before the trade, Deron called me," Johnson said, referring to the swap that the Hawks and Nets agreed to on July 2nd, the second day of free agency. "He said, 'what do you think about coming to Brooklyn?' I was like, 'man, where are you getting this from?' … I don't know what kind of strings he was pulling, but he made it happen."
- Nets trainers worked with Keith Bogans after the team waived him following a season-ending injury last year, and Bogans said that's why he's back with the team, according to NetsDaily. "From the time my ankle broke through the rehab and all the way back, I haven’t been treated the way I’ve been treated here in my whole career," he said.
- The early returns on Jared Sullinger indicate that he could be a steal for the Celtics, John Schuhmann of NBA.com says, while Darko Milicic is making a positive impact as well, as Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com writes.
- With a lack of depth up front and other aging players like Marcus Camby already beginning to break down, Rasheed Wallace will likely be more than an insurance policy for the Knicks if he makes the regular season roster, according to Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal.
Odds & Ends: Sullinger, Wolves, Magic
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday night:
- Doc Rivers is formulating a plan to best utilize Celtics rookie forward Jared Sullinger this season, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that the new offseason additions the Timberwolves made will help ease the loss of Ricky Rubio, who continues to rehab from a torn ACL.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes that, after a strong preseason debut, E'Twaun Moore may have the inside track on winning the spot of backup point guard for the Magic.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Smith, Prigioni, Melo
On this Sunday afternoon, here are a few bits of notes from around the Atlantic Division.
- Rajon Rondo tells CSNNE.com that this year's Celtics team has the most talent of any he's been a part of.
- Raptors rookie Terrence Ross will be expected to push fourth-year guard DeMar DeRozan, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
- After finishing their second preseason game with a better performance than their first, the Celtics are looking like a very strong basketball team, writes WEEI.com's Paul Flannery.
- Being that the Celtics have no true backup point guard on their roster, Jamar Smith has a great chance at making the team if he can fill that role, tweets the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.
- Knicks rookie point guard Pablo Prigioni is ready to put his disappointing Olympics performance behind him as he heads into his first NBA training camp, writes the New York Post's Marc Berman.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if the Celtics would be wise to send Fab Melo to the D-League.
Atlantic Notes: Milicic, Sixers, Brooks, ‘Sheed
The Celtics opened up preseason play with a thud on Friday, losing 97-91 to Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul. It's tough to draw much from the first preseason game for an NBA team when they're going against an overseas squad with greater motivation to win, and despite the loss, the C's had to be encouraged by the play of Jeff Green and rookie Jared Sullinger, who led the team with 16 points apiece. Romain Sato, a 2004 second-round pick by the Spurs, led Fenerbache with 24 points, while Ilkan Karaman, whom the Nets took 57th overall in this year's draft, was held to just four. Here's the latest on the Celtics, as they continue their European tour, and the rest of the Atlantic:
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe passes along a couple of comments from Celtics coach Doc Rivers about the team's management of Darko Milicic's psyche, well-worn from the expectations of being a No. 2 overall pick and an up-and-down NBA career (Sulia link).
- Newcomers Jason Richardson, Dorell Wright and Nick Young give the Sixers a significant boost from three-point territory, points out Bob Cooney of the the Philadelphia Daily News. John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tackles the same issue, noting that coach Doug Collins expects the team to average seven or eight made three-pointers a game.
- MarShon Brooks figures to come off the bench this season for the Nets, a year after serving as the team's second option on offense behind Deron Williams. Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines his adjustment.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson says Rasheed Wallace is still working his way back into shape, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. "He's not ready yet. He's just not there where we want him to be," Woodson said. "But he'll get there."
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nets, Knicks
- Nets rookie guard Tyshawn Taylor is recovering from a strained right quad, but remains anxiously eager to prove himself to the team's coaches. The former Kansas Jayhawk also said that watching the team practice while being sidelined is helping him become acquainted with how the team is expected to run (Tim Bontempts of the New York Post writes).
- According to John N. Mitchell of Philly.com, Spencer Hawes is excited about playing power forward next to Andrew Bynum. The former Washington Huskies big man has mostly been playing center since entering the league, but believes he has the skill-set to mesh well with the former Lakers star.
- John R. Finger of CSN Philly writes about how Maalik Wayns can contribute to the 76ers with his speed and scoring ability. Dei Lynam of CSN Philly says that Dorell Wright has been impressive in camp, especially with his shooting and playmaking ability. Also, Max Rappaport of NBA.com looks at how Dorell, Jason Richardson, and Nick Young form a remarkable combination of viable outside shooters.
- Knicks point guard Raymond Felton has lost 20 pounds since leaving the Trail Blazers and currently weights 207 pounds, according to Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge. Felton admitted that his conditioning issues to start the 2011-12 season significantly affected his play early on.
Odds & Ends: Kobe, Nets, Deron, Anderson
After getting media day out of the way on Monday, the Lakers took to the floor for their first full open practice. While they're not in full scrimmage mode yet, press in attendance did get to see the early stages of the Princeton Offense with one of the system's biggest proponents, assistant coach Eddie Jordan, overseeing everything. The new scheme won't be the only big change this year as head coach Mike Brown says that he wants to cut down on Kobe Bryant's minutes in 2012/13, tweets Mike Trudell of NBA.com. The 34-year-old was asked to play 38.5 minutes per game, but Brown says that the team's improved depth will allow him to give his star guard more rest. More from around the Association..
- Despite the frustrations of last season, Nets point guard Deron Williams is confident that the team will turn things around thanks to their offseason upgrades, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday. Coach Avery Johnson added that Williams seems more focused now that the distraction of free agency is in his rear view mirror.
- Former Wizards forward Andray Blatche is grateful for his new opportunity with the Nets, Boone writes. "Last season with the Wizards, the whole situation that happened there was really a wake-up call to show me that the job of my life, the job I love doing, can be taken from me in an instant. So to see what happened to me, to see that I have another chance, I don't want that to happen again," Blatche said. The Wizards amnestied the 26-year-old and absorbed the remaining $23MM owed to him earlier this year.
- Hornets rookie Anthony Davis already sees the benefit of new arrival Ryan Anderson being on the roster, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune. The sharpshooting forward has the ability to knock down shots from the outside and take attention away from the No. 1 overall pick on the inside.
- The 76ers have hired former Nets scout Jordan Cohn as their new pro personnel scout, writes John Finger of CSNPhilly.com. Cohn spent the previous eight seasons covering the NBA, D-League, and NCAA games in New Jersey. The club is also set to hire an analytics guru in the near future, according to General Manager Tony DiLeo.
- Celtics summer league standout Stephane Lasme has signed with Greek team Panathinaikos Athens, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com.
Atlantic Links: Sixers, Ujiri, Wayns, White, Nets
Before the 76ers promoted Tony DiLeo to general manager last month, we heard a report that the Sixers had made a run at Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri. However, Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said on Monday that Philadelphia's interest in Ujiri didn't get the Sixers far. According to Kroenke, the Nuggets didn't allow the Sixers to even talk to their GM, as Adrian Dater of the Denver Post writes.
"You hire good people for a reason, and sometimes other people take notice of that," Kroenke said. "But we never gave permission to Philly to talk to Masai."
Here are a few more Tuesday updates out of the Atlantic Division:
- 76ers backcourt mainstays Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner both had praise for Maalik Wayns, who grew up a Sixer fan and is excited to be in Philadelphia. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has the details.
- Even though the offseason didn't play out exactly how the Celtics anticipated, team president Danny Ainge feels like "the things that we lost we were able to replace in a big way" (link via CSNNE.com).
- James White tells Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside that he doesn't expect to play in the D-League if he fails to earn a roster spot with the Knicks.
- According to Nets GM Billy King, the Magic were "determined to send [Dwight Howard] west" when Brooklyn was trying to land D12. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes that King has done well to build a contender in the East without acquiring Howard.
- Nets forward Kris Humphries has hired Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media as his agent, according to Bloomberg's Scott Soshnick.
Eastern Notes: Bynum, Celtics, Daye, Magic
Here are a few pieces of news from around the Eastern Conference.
- Pistons guard Will Bynum appears much more comfortable heading into the second season with Lawrence Frank's system in Detroit, writes MLive.com's David Mayo.
- The Celtics aren't worried about their lack of a true back up point guard, writes ESPNBoston.com's Greg Payne.
- The Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis writes that Pistons forward Austin Daye is headed into what could be the third make-or-break season of his three year career.
- Kyrylo Fesenko passed up more than one other offer to join the Bulls training camp, tweets RealGM.com's Shams Charania.
- To the untrained eye, it would appear the Magic are a franchise in rebuild mode, but as the team prepares to begin training camp, Orlando head coach Jacque Vaughn says the word "rebuilding" isn't allowed around his team, writes the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.
Celtics Notes: Rondo, Offense, Rivers, Lee
As they head into the 2012/13 season as a re-tooled, legitimate championship contender, here are a few bits of news regarding the Boston Celtics.
- The Boston Herald has a short piece on who will step up and assume a major leadership role for a team with so many veterans and new faces. Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett are the obvious options, but Rondo said everyone is going to have to step up.
- Celtics.com writer Marc D'Amico believes that the addition of Courtney Lee and Jason Terry will open up the team's offense and create some wonderful opportunities previously unavailable.
- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers says he isn't surprised Rasheed Wallace is coming out of retirement to play for the Knicks, writes ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg.
- Also from Forsberg on ESPNBoston.com, Rivers says his team's identity as a defensive strong unit hasn't changed, but on offense the strategy is all about maximizing possessions and improving an offense that's struggled these last few years.
- Boston Herald beat writer Dan Duggan puts the spotlight on Courtney Lee, who's scheduled to be an opening day starter beside Rondo in Boston's backcourt, yet not too many people are talking about him.
Lee Turned Down Money To Sign With Celtics
New Celtics shooting guard Courtney Lee told reporters today that he turned down more money to sign with Boston in the offseason, writes the Associated Press. Lee was moved in a sign-and-trade deal from Houston that also involved the Trail Blazers.
Lee said the likelihood of the Celtics winning a championship combined with his close relationship with Rajon Rondo made the decision to turn down more money an easy one. He is expected to begin the season as Boston's starting shooting guard as Avery Bradley recovers from offseason shoulder surgery.