Atlantic Notes: Aldrich, Nets, Williams, Covington
Cole Aldrich could have a future with Knicks president Phil Jackson thanks to his ability to play in the triangle offense, a league source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I personally love the triangle, being able to have more opportunities to post up but also have the ball in your hands in the pinch post with the guard coming off,’’ Aldrich said after putting up 18 points and seven boards against the Kings on Saturday night. “There’s a lot of opportunities to get assists and easy buckets down.” More out of the Atlantic..
- The Nets have all but given up on Deron Williams just two years after making him their franchise player, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Williams, who signed a ~$100MM deal with the Nets not long ago, has been benched for Jarrett Jack amid weeks of trade talk surrounding him. Mikhail Prokhorov hasn’t been seen in Brooklyn in a while, but he’s surely unhappy about paying the league’s highest payroll without having a true franchise player to show for it.
- It’s clear the Brook Lopez–Mason Plumlee front court pairing isn’t working for the Nets, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. During the 61 minutes that the duo has played together, the Nets have been outscored by over 17 points per 100 possessions. The team has made Lopez available in trade talks. Plumlee, meanwhile, was brought up by the Kings in recent trade discussions surrounding Deron Williams, but Brooklyn is very reluctant to part with the second-year center.
- Robert Covington is in the midst of a breakout campaign has been particularly impressive lately, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Covington, who is signed to team friendly four-year $4.2MM contract, could be a very interesting trade piece for the 76ers as many teams looking for long distance shooting. The forward is shooting 43.3% from the three-point line, which is good for 11th best in the league.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Celtics Notes: Green, Smart, Sullinger
Jeff Green has been a bright spot for the 10-18 Celtics, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSSNE.com. Earlier in the week, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors looked at Green as a trade candidate. Myron notes that there are no shortage of teams looking for a wing player and he looks at what it may take to make Los Angeles a potential destination for the 28-year-old small forward. Green is having one of his best seasons as a pro, averaging 18.9 points per game while playing 33.6 minutes per game.
Here’s more from Boston:
- The trade of Rajon Rondo would seem to open up playing time for Marcus Smart, but the erratic play of the rookie guard has not led him to see much more court time, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. The depth at the point guard position has made it a little too easy for coach Brad Stevens to call on other players in Smart’s place like new addition Jameer Nelson and second-year guard Phil Pressey. Forsberg notes that in the five games since Rondo was traded away, Smart is averaging 4.4 PPG in 23.4 MPG.
- The Celtics should do their homework on Brook Lopez of the Nets, opines Chris Mannix of SI.com. Although the Celtics have created a logjam in the front court after their acquisition of Brandan Wright, no player on the team has the upside of Lopez. The Nets have made the 26-year-old center available as he makes his return to the court from a back injury that caused him to take a reduced role in recent games. The Celtics and Nets reportedly discussed Lopez prior to the Rajon Rondo trade.
- Power forward Jared Sullinger believes the Celtics need to play with a different mindset, writes Blakely in a separate piece. “Teams are just coming out smashing us in the mouth,” Sullinger said. “We just have to be prepared for that. People feel like we’re sweet, we’re soft. We just have to play tougher.” The third-year big man has seven double-doubles on the season, tops on the team after the departure of Rondo, who had nine.
Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Williams, Celtics, Garnett
The Nets and Celtics discussed Brook Lopez and Deron Williams when the teams spoke about Rajon Rondo prior to the trade that sent Rondo to the Mavs, league sources tell NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem. The Nets have been open to trading Lopez and Williams, as well as Joe Johnson, and some reports have indicated that they’re actively seeking trades for the trio, though that matter is unclear, and it’s unknown whether the Celtics had or maintain interest in either Lopez or Williams. While we wait to see how Boston and Brooklyn try to shape themselves back into contenders, there’s more on those teams amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics and Nets talked about Mirza Teletovic and “some of the younger pieces” that Brooklyn has, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who spoke on CSNNE’s Celtics Pregame Live (video link). However, Windrem hears that wasn’t the case, as he notes in the same piece amid his transcription of Mannix’s remarks.
- Kevin Garnett has been telling people this season is his last in the NBA, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears, but they haven’t necessarily believed him, and one unidentified person tells Bulpett that Garnett is having more fun playing than he has in a while. The 20th-year vet, whose contract expires at season’s end, said publicly this week that he’s not sure about whether he’ll play next season, Bulpett notes.
- Landing Jahlil Okafor in the 2015 draft would help the Knicks attract free agents, as Marc Berman of the New York Post opines amid a look at New York’s woes. The Knicks are just a half-game back of the top slot in the draft lottery, our Reverse Standings show. Okafor, a center, tops the prospect rankings of Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, Chad Ford of ESPN.com and our own Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors.
Eastern Notes: Williams, Marble, Tolliver
Nets point guard Deron Williams returned to action today but didn’t start the game out on the court. Williams said that he’s fine with coming off of the bench as long as the starters play well, Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I’m all for the team. It doesn’t really matter to me,” said Williams. “I’m still trying to get my rhythm back and obviously I’m on a minutes restriction right now, so I’m all for it.” Williams has been the subject of trade rumors involving the Kings recently, but he did not want to address the subject, saying, “When a trade is final, then I’ll talk to y’all about trade rumors. How about that? When a trade happens I’ll talk about trade rumors because then it’ll actually be a trade.”
Here’s more from the East:
- The Magic have assigned rookie Devyn Marble to the D-League, the team announced. Marble will join the Erie BayHawks after appearing in just five minutes of action for Orlando all season.
- Cavs big man Anderson Varejao underwent successful surgery to repair his torn left Achilles tendon today, the team has announced. Varejao is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
- Stan Van Gundy called the Pistons’ acquisition of Anthony Tolliver a “no-brainer” and labeled the veteran sharpshooter as a “solid pro with a very good contract,” notes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Smith, Knicks, Caboclo, Nets
The Knicks are the sole representatives of the Atlantic Division on today’s slate of games, and they’ll look to take down a Wizards team that comes into Madison Square Garden having lost two straight contests. We’ll round up the latest from New York and the Atlantic below..
- Despite a beat-down frontcourt, the 5-25 Knicks were not among the teams that were interested in bringing aboard the recently waived Josh Smith, as head coach Derek Fisher indicated to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “It doesn’t impact us much so I didn’t really read into it too much at all,” Fisher told Berman, admitting he wasn’t aware that the Rockets had agreed to a deal with Smith.
- The Raptors have assigned Bruno Caboclo to the D-League, the team announced. The 19-year-old rookie will join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for the first time this season after appearing in three contests for Toronto.
- Andy Vasquez of The Record thinks the Nets would be ill-advised to begin dismantling their roster so early into the new season, especially one in which the Eastern Conference lacks any sort of consistency. Brooklyn is currently holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot, but rumors have suggested that the team is open to moving Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and Brook Lopez.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Clippers, Lakers
The Kings and Nets had more trade talks Wednesday regarding Deron Williams, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes that Sacramento’s desire to pick up Mason Plumlee remains a major obstacle to a deal. “Talks aren’t dead, but nothing’s going to happen with Plumlee involved,” according to an unidentified source. The Kings want Plumlee as a incentive to accept Williams, who has battled a string of injuries and has two full years and more than $43MM left on his contract. Plumlee is still on his rookie deal and is under Brooklyn’s control through the 2017/18 season.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Despite watching Carmelo Anthony and Rajon Rondo slip away, Kobe Bryant tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he still has faith in Lakers management. “We did what we could,” he said. “… It’s not from a lack of effort. It’s not from a lack of smarts, so I trust the process.” L.A. will be awash in cap room and is expected to continue to reach out to the top-tier free agents, which includes LaMarcus Aldridge, Goran Dragic and Kevin Love next summer and Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016. Bryant, 36, continues to insist he will retire after his two-year, $48.5MM contract expires after next season.
- Pau Gasol, who left the Lakers to sign with the Bulls during the summer, expects an “emotional” experience Thursday night when his new team hosts his old team, reports Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Gasol received a two-year deal from Chicago worth more than $14.5MM, with a 2016/17 player option for $7.769MM. In the same game, L.A.’s Carlos Boozer will return to Chicago for the first time since being amnestied.
- The Clippers will likely be making a roster move soon, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. He explains that the team is $788,256 below the NBA’s hard salary cap, which limits its ability to add players. The minimum salary for a veteran with at least two years’ experience would count $915,243 toward the cap, but because of a “nuance” in league rules, a free agent with less than two years’ experience eats up the same amount of cap room. That’s probably bad news for Jared Cunningham, whose salary won’t be guaranteed until January 10th. The Clippers could free up about $600K in cap room by waiving him before that date.
Nets Rumors: Johnson, Lopez, Williams
Brooklyn appears steadfast in its desire to keep Mason Plumlee, who just a few weeks ago was behind minimum-salary signee Jerome Jordan and in third place on the team’s depth chart at center. Plumlee has quickly roared back into prominence, averaging 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds in 35.0 minutes per contest over his last seven games. He’s been starting in place of an injured Brook Lopez, who returned in a limited role Tuesday. Lopez has been in several trade rumors of late, and we’ll pass along more on him and his teammates here:
- The Nets decided months ago that they needed to break up their core, writes Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. The team is reportedly willing to deal Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, but Johnson is likely to stay, according to Beck. Johnson’s salaries of nearly $23.181MM for this season and almost $24.895MM for next year would make any trade challenging to construct, as Beck notes later in his piece, though it’s unclear if that’s the primary reason he’ll probably stay in Brooklyn. In any case, Nets officials are confident that they can deal Williams and Lopez, build around Johnson and remain a playoff-caliber team throughout the process, Beck reports.
- Many executives around the league expect Lopez to turn down his player option for next season, worth more than $16.744MM, Beck writes. That appears to contradict a report last week from Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who wrote that most execs believe Lopez will opt in.
- Brooklyn is more likely to deal Williams than either Lopez or Johnson, and talks with the Kings date back to last season, a source tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. That conversation might be on the back burner, but it isn’t truly finished, Bondy hears, which jibes with the latest reports on that discussion.
Eastern Notes: Monroe, Nets, Embiid
A number of league insiders believe that Greg Monroe, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, will end up with the Knicks, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “I could see $48MM for four years. I don’t think he’s a max [contract] guy, but he is pretty good. He might get more based on who is left on the board. I could see New York overpaying him,” a league executive told Scotto.
An Eastern Conference scout also believes that Monroe and the Knicks could be a fit down the line. “I think the Knicks are a possible free agency destination,” the scout told Scotto. “He has above-average passing ability, which makes him attractive for the triangle. If the Knicks strike out on the so-called top-tier guys, I think it makes sense.”
Here’s more from the East:
- Jorge Gutierrez has been acquired as a returning player by the Canton Charge of the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Gutierrez was recently waived by the Sixers after they acquired him from the Nets in the deal for Andrei Kirilenko.
- According to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is to blame for the mess that the franchise has become. Prokhorov’s push for “star power” to be added to strengthen the team’s brand during the move to Brooklyn led to a number of questionable decisions, as well as the team stripping itself of future draft picks and tradeable assets, Beck opines.
- While Joel Embiid isn’t likely to suit up for the Sixers this season, coach Brett Brown is still counting on the rookie to become a leader on the team, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes. “We’re really trying to go overboard and help him understand what leadership is,” Brown said. “I’m desperately trying to build something that’s not top-driven. I don’t want it to be top-driven down. It needs to be the team dictating some rules and habits. And what is culture? What’s the behavior we want amongst our players? And I think the most powerful way to do that is something that’s player-driven.”
Cavs Eye Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez
The Cavs have interest in twins Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez, but their respective salaries mean the acquisition of either is unlikely, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Brook Lopez makes more than $15.719MM and has a player option worth in excess of $16.744MM for 2015/16. Robin Lopez is set for free agency this summer after he earns nearly $6.124MM this season. The Nets are reportedly willing to trade Brook Lopez, who’s also drawn interest from the Hornets, but there are no such rumors surrounding Robin Lopez, who’s set to miss several more weeks with a broken hand. Robin Lopez also recently indicated a contentment with playing in Portland.
Cleveland continues to search for help at center, as the Cavs are one of the teams in the mix for Kosta Koufos, and they tried over a period of months to pry Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets. However, the Cavs and Nuggets haven’t spoken about Mozgov recently, a source tells Amico. Cavs GM David Griffin and company have reportedly made several passes at the Blazers for Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez’s teammate, but Cleveland doesn’t have as much interest in the shooting guard as previously indicated, Amico writes. The Cavs have used 35-year-old backup center Brendan Haywood sparingly this season, but Amico hears that other teams have expressed their interest in him because of his contract, an unusually valuable asset, as I explained earlier.
The Cavs also had talks about acquiring Corey Brewer, though they never became serious, league sources tell Amico. Minnesota wanted draft picks and likely a player in return, Amico adds, which falls in line with what the Wolves received when they shipped Brewer to Houston instead.
Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Sixers, Powell, Nets
Carmelo Anthony gave a familiar answer to a familiar question Saturday, insisting that the Knicks‘ losing won’t drive him out of New York, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The Knicks are off to a disastrous 5-24 start, but Anthony says he isn’t second-guessing his decision to re-sign with the team as a free agent last summer and won’t demand to be traded. “I won’t do that,” he said. “As long as I can go out there and play, I always feel like any game that I’m in, we have a chance to win the basketball game. So I would never start thinking like that.”
There’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers will continue their strategy of winning by losing, especially if they can keep collecting draft picks, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey defends the team’s two most recent deals, which brought Philadelphia more second-round picks but cost the team Alexey Shved and Brandon Davies. He notes that Shved had been unhappy because of decreased playing time, while Davies was likely to lose minutes to the now-healthy Jerami Grant and the newly signed Furkan Aldemir.
- Rajon Rondo wasn’t the only player the Mavericks coveted from the Celtics in Thursday’s blockbuster trade, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. After watching center Dwight Powell in draft workouts last season, Dallas was determined to get him on the roster. “He can shoot threes, he can rebound, he can defend,” said Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. “He’s a stretch four in a lot of respects, a stretch five in a lot of respects, … and so that’s why he’s here. That’s why we wanted him.”
- He might be the only one who considers it “fun,” but Nets coach Lionel Hollins is embracing the challenge of trying to win with an injury-limited lineup, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Brook Lopez is expected to miss his eighth straight game Sunday against the Pistons with a strained lower back, while Deron Williams is out with a right calf strain. “We’re working hard, we’re playing together, we’re laying a foundation,” Hollins said. “We’re just [shooting] ourselves in the foot sometimes with poor decisions. We got to get better at that, more disciplined on defense in our schemes, but I’m happy with our effort.”