Eastern Notes: Kobe, Wizards, Durant, Lopez
Kobe Bryant wanted to join the Wizards more than a decade ago when Michael Jordan was with the team, Bryant acknowledged to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. While Jordan was playing with the Wizards, Bryant told him several times that he wanted to come to Washington, assuming that Jordan would again head basketball operations for the Wizards as he did before his comeback, sources tell Lee. Jordan was confident he would sign Bryant when he became a free agent in 2004, Lee hears, but the current Hornets owner never got that chance, since then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin decided against letting Jordan run the front office upon his final retirement from playing in 2003. The Wizards missed out on a star then, but they have their sights set on acquiring one a dozen years later, as we detail:
- It’s a long shot but more than a pipe dream that the Wizards would land Kevin Durant when he hits free agency in 2016, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. A D.C. income tax loophole would allow Durant to save more than $700K per year in tax payments if he played for the Wizards instead of the Thunder, as Aldridge explains. However, the Thunder, who hold Durant’s Bird rights, can offer better annual salary raises than the Wizards or any other team can.
- J.R. Smith got over some initial mixed feelings about the trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Cavs and calls playing for Cleveland “the best situation for me as a person,” as he told Aldridge for the same piece. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season.
- Trade candidate Brook Lopez would prefer to stay with the Nets, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes amid his weekly power rankings.
- Scouts, coaches and GMs at the D-League showcase were puzzled when the Sixers signed Larry Drew II, who had been playing for the Heat’s affiliate, to a 10-day contract earlier this month, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest hears (Twitter links). Drew put up strong numbers, with 10.1 assists per game and 40.4% three-point shooting in 21 D-League appearances this year, but there were other, more intriguing prospects, Pilato believes. Drew signed his second 10-day deal with Philly earlier today.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Teletovic, Celtics
Despite what some may believe, the Knicks‘ goal was never to lose games this season, as Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. “I do believe that we put a lot of hard work in to kind of get to this point,” Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said. “To see the results of winning basketball games after the work we put in, after the chemistry we’re trying to build, the culture that we’re trying to build, just to see us put together a few wins right now is a great feeling.” More from the Atlantic Division..
- Odds are strong Nets three-point shooting specialist Mirza Teletovic will recover from his pulmonary embolism and play at some point next season in the NBA. However, medical experts tell Marc Berman of the New York Post that there are no guarantees this doesn’t turn into a career-threatening episode. Teletovic is a restricted free agent this summer.
- All of the losing will have been worthwhile for the Knicks if they can land Jahlil Okafor, opines Fred Kerber of the New York Post. A scout who spoke with Kerber loved his upside, saying teams “see the next LeBron or Kevin Durant down the road.” Meanwhile, one NBA GM called him “the No. 1 pick without question.”
- The Celtics‘ extreme makeover is nearing the final stretch, writes Jeremy Gottlieb of Boston.com. Gottlieb writes that there’s still more work to be done, however, including trading Brandon Bass and figuring out what to do with Jared Sullinger.
- With Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk out of action, Bass can now improve his trade value, writes Brian Robb of Boston.com.
Atlantic Notes: Plumlee, Nets, Galloway, Sixers
Rival teams keep asking the Nets about Mason Plumlee, the one player they least want to trade, reports Howard Megdal in a special story for USA Today. The second-year center has seen his role expand under new coach Lionel Hollins. “[Former coach Jason Kidd] gave me very specific instructions,” Plumlee said. “He gave me exactly what I wanted, so when I did what he wanted, I stayed on the floor. It jump-started my career. Now on this team, they need me to do more.” Plumlee is under the Nets’ control through the 2017/18 season.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Nets rookie Cory Jefferson could see his minutes rise as the result of the loss of Mirza Teletovic, writes Reed Wallach of Netsdaily.com. The team announced Friday that Teletovic will miss the rest of the season while he undergoes treatment for blood clots in his lungs. Wallach expects Joe Johnson to see more time as a stretch four, but also forecasts an increased role for Jefferson.
- Confidence has helped Langston Galloway make the switch from the D-League to the Knicks‘ starting lineup, according to Jonah Ballow of Knicks.com. Galloway received the first D-League callup in team history on January 7th, shortly after guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were traded to Cleveland. He quickly became a fan favorite and helped the floundering Knicks to a three-game winning streak. “He is playing with a confidence,” said teammate Carmelo Anthony. “He’s been playing like that when he was down in the D-League and he’s carrying it over to us now.”
- The Sixers will have plenty of cap room this summer, but don’t expect them to use it on a big-name free agent, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Moore expects GM Sam Hinkie to pass on players like Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard and stick to the strategy of rebuilding through the draft.
Eastern Notes: Heat, Kidd, Fisher, Harris
Heat team president Pat Riley denies a report from last week indicating that the team proposed a deal that would send Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts to the Nets for Brook Lopez, notes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Riley insists the Heat haven’t made any offers to any team, and that while the Heat have had conversations with other clubs, they aren’t active on the market, as Jackson transcribes in a second piece. The executive doesn’t feel the team needs an upgrade to make the playoffs and indicated that he would only commit to salary beyond next season for a star, Jackson adds.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bucks coach Jason Kidd doesn’t believe that Kobe Bryant‘s latest injury will be a career-ending one, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. Kidd also spoke about how his own career ended, which he says was on his own terms, Gardner notes. “I would say, yes, in a way I did get to go out on my terms, but I had no gas left in the tank,” Kidd said. “It was an easy call. I got to make the call, but the car had no gas. A lot of times for athletes, we want to be able to go out on our own and not with an injury. You want to play and you want to leave feeling you’ve given everything to the game.“
- Knicks rookie coach Derek Fisher didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to get his players emotionally ready to compete, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Probably what jumps out the most is you still have to work pretty hard to motivate and inspire guys at this level,’’ Fisher said. “Something a guy who came into the league in 1996, that wasn’t required. If you weren’t self-driven and self motivated, you couldn’t get on the floor. As a player for 18 years, my brain worked that way. It’s one area that continues to evolve — find ways to help my guys be more inspired and more motivated.’’
- With the highly touted NBA draft class of 2014 not quite living up to the hype thus far, David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) looks at a number of rookies who have stood out. These players include Nikola Mirotic (Bulls), Jerami Grant (Sixers), and Elfrid Payton (Magic).
- The Cavs assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Mirza Teletovic To Miss Rest Of Season
Nets forward Mirza Teletovic will miss the rest of the season while he undergoes treatment for multiple blood clots in his lungs, the Nets announced. The 29-year-old left Thursday’s loss to the Clippers after experiencing shortness of breath. He’ll remain hospitalized for the time being, and he’ll go on blood thinners that will make it impossible for him to return in 2014/15, according to the team.
It seemed as though Teletovic had averted major trouble when he said on Twitter overnight that everything was OK following a “small problem,” and he had attributed the issue to fatigue, as Robert Windrem of NetsDaily tweets, but the issue is apparently more profound than he thought. The third-year veteran had been seeing more minutes per game this season (22.3) than in his previous two NBA campaigns, though his playing time had been receding with each passing month.
The Nets have an open roster spot, as our roster counts show, but they’re limited to handing out the prorated minimum salary to any free agents, and as a tax team, the cost of any signing would be multiplied. The deadline to apply for a disabled player exception was last week.
There were conflicting reports on whether Teletovic’s name came up in conversation between the Nets and Celtics when they apparently discussed potential Rajon Rondo trades earlier this season. The native of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the final year of his contract, making slightly more than $3.368MM, and he said in the fall that he planned to listen to offers from the Nets as well as others after the season. The Nets can make him a restricted free agent if they extend a qualifying offer worth more than $4.21MM.
Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Kidd, Robinson
The Nets weren’t as close to trading Brook Lopez to the Thunder as they seemed, a league source tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, adding that Brooklyn simply didn’t want Lance Stephenson, who would have come from Charlotte in a three-way proposal, or Kendrick Perkins. Still, a Lopez trade remains a possibility, Bucher writes, and the Nuggets are expected to make another run at him, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, just as they did when they reportedly spoke about a package with JaVale McGee as the centerpiece. There’s more on the Nets amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:
- “High ranking sources” in the Nets organization dispute to Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News that Mikhail Prokhorov wants to sell his majority interest in the club, but those same sources tell Abramson that it’s not out of the question that Prokhorov will give up the team.
- The management for Jason Kidd‘s ownership stake in the Nets has asked the NBA for more time to find a buyer, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. Kidd owns one-sixth of 1% of the Nets, Soshnick notes, but he’s required to divest himself of that share, worth $2.5MM based on the Forbes valuation of the franchise, since he’s now coaching the Bucks instead.
- Nate Robinson gave up $689K of this season’s salary of nearly $2.107MM in his buyout agreement with the Celtics, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Knicks and Sixers both have dreadful records this season, but only in Philadelphia’s case is that according to any sort of plan, as Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines.
Pacific Notes: Goodwin, Green, Jordan
Suns reserve shooting guard Archie Goodwin is frustrated with his lack of playing time amid Phoenix’s continued addition of guards, as he tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Goodwin cautioned that he understands all the guys ahead of him on the team are talented players and that he wants to maintain a professional attitude. Still, the 20-year-old is putting up a strong performance while on D-League assignment, and he tells Deveney that he won’t tolerate a limited NBA role next season.
“I don’t know what they’re doing,” Goodwin said. “Honestly, I really don’t. I guess they know what they’re doing — I can just play ball and let them make the decisions. I don’t know what the purpose is for it, but there is nothing I can do about it.”
Indeed, there isn’t much recourse for Goodwin, since his rookie scale contract runs through 2016/17, but he’s not the only one dissatisfied in Phoenix, even as the Suns have won 13 out of their last 17. Here’s more from Phoenix and elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Gerald Green isn’t pleased with his decreased minutes this season for the Suns, as free agency looms in the summer, but there’s “no way” Phoenix will trade the swingman this year, sources tell Deveney for the same piece.
- J.J. Redick foresees a max contract for Clippers teammate DeAndre Jordan this summer, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Jordan is No. 9 in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
- Shaun Livingston isn’t seeing nearly as much playing time with the Warriors this season as he did with the Nets last year, but the 29-year-old, who signed as a free agent with Golden State this past summer, prefers this year’s situation because it offers a legitimate chance at the title. Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group has the details.
- Tony Mitchell, whom the Suns released to make room for Brandan Wright, is drawing offers from European teams, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Mitchell’s stay in Phoenix was brief, as he came over in last month’s Anthony Tolliver trade with the Pistons.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Embiid, Millsap
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has shown no hesitation to make major moves, as Josh Smith‘s release made clear, and Van Gundy also pulled off a trade last month, swapping Tony Mitchell for Anthony Tolliver. The Lakers have apparently inquired about Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings and the Pistons are reportedly shopping Luigi Datome, but Van Gundy doesn’t sound like he wants to make a move with the team having won 11 of its past 13.
“I’m really, really happy with the guys we have here right now,” Van Gundy said. “I’m really, really happy with our culture and how guys are working. We’ve got the right things going for our future.”
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference as the Pistons clash with the first-place Hawks, who’ve won 12 in a row:
- It’s believed that the Sixers would be content with 2014 No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid missing the entire season, just as Nerlens Noel did last year after he went sixth overall, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Some inside the Sixers organization question Embiid’s work ethic, and the former Kansas big man has clashed with a member of the Sixers’ training staff, Pompey hears. A source tells Pompey that Embiid’s weight has ballooned to 300 pounds, but Embiid denied that to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com.
- Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today imply that there’s mutual interest in a new deal this summer between the Hawks and soon-to-be free agent Paul Millsap. Atlanta was eyeing a longer deal than the two-year pact Millsap signed in 2013, but the power forward who turns 30 next month, wanted to engineer a shot at another payday not long into the future, Zillgitt hears (Twitter link).
- A trade that would have sent Lance Stephenson to the Nets appeared close last week until the Nets grew skittish about him, but the Brooklyn native isn’t anxious to leave the Hornets, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “I want to be here,” Stephenson said. “I feel I can definitely help this squad… It’s really not up to me.”
- Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, has been “sniffing around” the idea of making a run at purchasing the Nets, sources tell Robert Windrem of NetsDaily. She was part of a group that came up short in pursuit of the Clippers, as the NetsDaily scribe notes.
Northwest Notes: Robinson, Nelson, Burks
Nate Robinson and his agent pushed for the January 13th trade that sent him from from the Nuggets to the Celtics, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey noted that Robinson wanted more minutes on a different team to help him earn a contract next season. Plus, he was a scorer on a team that needed a playmaker, which is why Denver exchanged him for Jameer Nelson. Robinson was waived by the Celtics Thursday in a buyout deal and is searching for a new team.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Nelson and the Nuggets had some mutual interest last summer, Dempsey writes in a separate story. The free agent guard briefly considered coming to Denver before signing with the Mavericks. “Obviously the Nuggets had some guards, a lot of guards here,” Nelson said. “They didn’t know how many minutes I would play. So, I just felt like Dallas was the best spot for me.”
- Jazz guard Alec Burks managed to find a bright side to his season-ending shoulder injury, reports Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. For the first time since he was a teenager, Burks’ shoulder will be 100 percent healthy when he returns to basketball next season. Utah is hoping Burks will be ready for the start of training camp in the fall. He signed a four-year $42MM extension in October, with incentives that could push the value as high as $45MM.
- The Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb would have been the key pieces in a trade for Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, according to Anthony Slater of NewsOK.com. The Nets backed off from the deal, at least for now, but it’s an experience that many players will go through as the February 19th trade deadline draws closer. “They’re human beings, so it’s tough hearing your name in trade talks,” said Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. “But we also know it’s a business. You know what you’re getting into. We got a lot of veteran guys that can help guys get through that.”
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Embiid, Celtics, Nets
The Sixers may be dreaming of the top selection in June’s draft, but Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes that picking Jahlil Okafor could lead to other problems. The Duke center is the consensus choice to be the first player chosen, but Philadelphia already has injured rookie Joel Embiid and second-year big man Nerlens Noel, both of whom are low-post players. “I don’t think they can play together,” an unidentified NBA source said of Okafor and Embiid. “They’re both low-post centers. It doesn’t make sense.” He later added, “The combination of Noel and either one of them doesn’t make sense.” The Sixers currently occupy the third spot in Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Embiid now weighs nearly 300 pounds and the Sixers are displeased with his commitment to conditioning, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He reportedly clashed with assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis and was sent home early from a recent West Coast trip. Embiid is still recovering from foot surgery he had before last year’s draft, and his workouts are limited to things such as an antigravity treadmill and long walks to stimulate his heart rate. An unidentified source claims the rookie has skipped some conditioning drills.
- Another team looking to rebuild through the draft is Boston, which could have five first-round picks in June, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. In addition to their own selection, the Celtics have a top 12 protected pick from the Timberwolves, a top 14 protected choice from the Sixers, the Clippers’ pick that came as compensation for coach Doc Rivers and a top 4-14 protected pick from the Mavericks in the Rajon Rondo deal. In 2016, Boston has the rights to two more first-round selections, along with its own. “Draft picks are always tradable; players are not,” said Celtics president Danny Ainge. “Draft picks are always assets.”
- Steven A. Cohen has decided not to make a bid for the Nets, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News (Twitter link). The billionaire hedge fund manager reportedly had meetings with the group handling the sale, but elected not to pursue the team. Cohen has a net worth of approximately $10 billion, but recently pleaded guilty to insider trading charges. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has claimed he hired a group called Evercore simply to assess the team’s value, but many believe he would sell at the right price.