Lakers Rumors: Lopez, Gasol, Marshall
An injury-plagued Lakers team suffered its fifth consecutive loss yesterday, and it was a bad one. The club fell 111-104 at home against the Sixers, who had lost nine of their previous 10 games and hadn’t won the road in nearly two months. The defeat dropped the Lakers to 13-18, good for 13th in the West, but the schedule at least offers a little hope — L.A.’s next two contests are at the Staples Center vs. the 6-24 Bucks and the 9-24 Jazz. Here’s more on the Lakers:
- According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Lakers approached the Nets earlier in the month to see if Brooklyn had any interest in a swap centered around Pau Gasol and Brook Lopez. The exploratory talks, which happened before Lopez’s injury, didn’t go anywhere, as the Nets balked at the idea. However, Stein points out that it’s still noteworthy, since it shows the Lakers might be willing to trade for players whose contracts extend beyond even 2015, which would represent a shift in their philosophy.
- At the same time, Stein cautions that determining how serious the Lakers were about Lopez is tricky, since the team was known to be gauging Pau’s trade value earlier in the season, before pulling him off the market.
- In a piece for the Los Angeles Times, Eric Pincus examines the upcoming contract decisions for the Lakers, who have four players on non-guaranteed deals: Shawne Williams, Xavier Henry, Ryan Kelly, and Kendall Marshall. Williams and Henry, who have each started several games, appear safe, and Mike D’Antoni is a fan of Kelly, but Marshall may have reason to worry about his job security, Pincus writes. The 2012 lottery pick is on a two-year non-guaranteed contract which could be worth nearly $1.5MM in total if he sticks around.
- D’Antoni on Marshall: “He’s trying to find his way in the league. We hope that maybe garbage time in our favor or something would happen that we get a look at him, but I can’t grasp for straws.”
Eastern Notes: Celtics, Williams, Cunningham
It’s been a fascinating year for the Celtics following their blockbuster deal with the Nets. The C’s hit the reset button by shipping Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn and while they’re anxiously awaiting Rajon Rondo‘s return, there’s plenty of reason to believe that the future in Boston is bright. GM Danny Ainge reflected on 2013 with the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett. “It was tough because we had so many injuries during the course of the year,” said Ainge. “I thought that our team was actually better than it ended up showing in the playoffs — without Rondo, without Sullinger, without (Leandro) Barbosa, who was playing really well for us (before be tore his left ACL in February). That was tough to overcome. I think our guys did as good as could be expected with what we had.” More from the East..
- Terrence Williams has no plan to return to the Nets‘ D-League affiliate, the Springfield Armor, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM. The guard, who signed with Turk Telekom in October before parting ways after just two games, is talking to other teams. Williams finished the 2012/13 season with the Celtics.
- The Hawks announced that they recalled guard Jared Cunningham from the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League. Cunningham, who was re-assigned to Bakersfield on December 16, has averaged 18.1 points, 5.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 33.1 minutes in eight games (all starts) in two stints with the Jam this season.
- Arron Afflalo‘s NBA journey has taken him from the Pistons to the Nuggets to the Magic but he says that all of the movement hasn’t affected his development, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Central Notes: Pistons, Copeland, Hill
The failure of Cleveland’s Andrew Bynum experiment has dominated headlines this weekend across the NBA, but while the Cavs have their share of problems, so do most of their rivals in the Central Division. Only the Pacers, with a 24-5 record that’s tied for the league’s best, are any better than four games beneath .500. We’ll pass along a couple of takes on Bynum here amid a larger look at the Central:
- The tension between Josh Smith and Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks that led to Smith’s benching for the second half last night is an ominous sign for the team, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News examines.
- Chris Copeland sought the counsel of his then-Knicks teammates as he contemplated his free agency last summer, and Jason Kidd was particularly helpful, Copeland tells Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. The Pacers forward is confident that Kidd, who’s struggling in his first year as coach of the Nets, has the leadership ability to do the job.
- The Pacers have assigned Solomon Hill to the D-League, the team announced. Hill says via Twitter that he asked for the assignment (hat tip to Buckner). Coach Frank Vogel has said that the team didn’t have plans to send Hill down, but the rookie guard has been on the inactive list since Danny Granger returned from injury, Buckner notes (All Twitter links).
- None of the moves the Cavaliers made this past offseason have worked out, including the Bynum signing, and that doesn’t bode well for the franchise after one of the most important summers in its history, opines Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
- Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding argues that Bynum’s free-spirited personality will keep him from once more overcoming his creaky knees and becoming the All-Star he once was, and Ding imparts some of the blame on coach Mike Brown.
Odds & Ends: Magic, Stephenson, Warriors
Shortly after playing in his first game back since he suffered a torn meniscus, Solomon Jones told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel he is enjoying more than being able to return to playing for the Magic. Jones, who is playing on a minimum salary contract this season, has enjoyed living close to his childhood home and his family. Averaging almost eight minutes in the games he has played, it will be seen whether Jones will play his way into another season near his home town.
A few other notes around the league.
- According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter Link), rival NBA executives are predicting that Pacers guard Lance Stephenson will be worth between $7-9MM per season when he enters free agency next summer. While the Pacers and Stephenson have both expressed interest in re-signing with each other next season, a $9MM price tag would almost guarantee they will only be able to re-sign either Stephenson or fellow Pacer free agent, Danny Granger.
- The Warriors have assigned center Ognjen Kuzmic and guard Nemanja Nedovic to their NBA D-League team, the Santa Cruz Warriors. In a team announcement, the Warriors said both rookies will be able to play in tonight’s D-League game. Kuzmic has missed most of this season with a hand injury but has averaged 4.1 MPG in the games he has played with the Warriors. Nedovic has appeared in all but 10 of the Warriors games averaging 6.4 MPG, and 1.1 PPG.
- According to Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal, the Cavaliers biggest need this season is at the small forward position. Former head coach Byron Scott told Lloyd in the summer of 2012 that the Cavaliers have been trying to resolve that position for some time but have not been successful to date. Aware that Cleveland spent their first overall pick on small forward Anthony Bennett, Lloyd still thinks the Cavaliers are looking to fill that hole and could do so in this season’s trade market. The only issue according to Lloyd is every inquiring team wants Dion Waiters in any trade they do with Cleveland which is a move the Cavaliers are unwilling to make.
- Although we knew Brook Lopez‘s season is over, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York reports that Brook Lopez will undergo surgery on his foot January 4th officially ending his 2013/14 campaign. Unless the Nets trade him, Lopez will be back for Brooklyn next season continuing the 4 year contract he signed back in 2012.
Eastern Links: Nets, West, Deng, Shumpert
Nets players are reportedly confused about their roles on the team amid an organizational lack of patience with Jason Kidd, but Deron Williams tells Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that he thinks the players still support their coach.
“If we were losing some close games and he was making some bad decisions, that would be one thing, but that’s not the case,” Williams said. “We got blown out [Wednesday]. He can’t make us outrebound teams, he can’t make us put the extra little bit in to get over the hump. That’s on us as players to come out and play better.”
There’s more news on the Nets amid our look at the Eastern Conference:
- Pacers power forward David West considered signing with the Nets after the lockout in 2011, but the Teaneck, N.J., native tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that the team wasn’t interested because of fears regarding his recovery from a torn ACL.
- The Bulls aren’t keen on the idea of trading Luol Deng and if they did, they’d need a piece that solidifies their future, which means they’d require someone better than Iman Shumpert of the Knicks, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
- The Raptors are looking to the future and would ideally like to build with the draft, but in a strange twist of fate, they’re winning games and they may not get that choice lottery pick, writes Howard Beck of the Bleacher Report. Part of the reason for their success could be that several players — as well as coach Dwane Casey — are in their walk years.
- The Heat are off to a strong start and so is their D-League affiliate, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Noel, Kidd, Knicks, Woodson
Today’s look at the Atlantic Division..
- Nerlens Noel is steadily progressing in his rehabilitation from a torn ACL, a source told Shams Charania of RealGM. The Kentucky product has added muscle and weighed in at 223 pounds late last week. However, there doesn’t’ appear to be any urgency to get Noel onto the court this season within the 76ers organization. It wouldn’t make sense to rush Noel back given the club’s current position and the upside that the big man has.
- Andy Vasquez of The Bergen Record wonders if the Nets‘ victory over the Bucks was a product of coach Jason Kidd‘s message finally getting through or the Bucks just being a weaker opponent. Yesterday, it was reported that Kidd is losing the locker room as Brooklyn continues to struggle. If Kidd can’t right the ship, he might be ousted before the February All-Star break.
- Kidd’s not the only New York coach in trouble, of course. Mike Woodson needs to save the Knicks‘ season to save his job, writes Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News. Tyson Chandler points to team fatigue, but Knicks’ management might not give Woodson the benefit of the doubt.
Nets’ Patience With Jason Kidd Running Low?
Patience is running low within the Nets organization on the belief that Jason Kidd can deliver the structure and organization the team needs, writes Adrian Wojnarowski in his latest piece for Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Kidd has “increasingly isolated himself within the locker room and organization” and hasn’t exhibited the ability to handle crises and keep his players’ respect.
While it doesn’t appear Kidd’s job is in imminent danger, he won’t survive until the All-Star break if he doesn’t restore order to the Nets, according to Wojnarowski, who says that players have told Kidd they don’t understand their roles on the team. The Yahoo! scribe also suggests that the removal of Lawrence Frank from his role as Kidd’s top assistant was the result of the first-time head coach wanting to surround himself with “yes men.” The club’s other assistant coaches pleaded with Kidd not to demote Frank, writes Wojnarowski.
The Nets are heavily invested in Kidd, and would certainly rather see him turn things around than have to consider replacing him, but the club is off to a 9-19 start, and the 40-year-old seems to be losing the locker room, according to Wojnarowski.
In a series of tweets, Grantland’s Bill Simmons says players like Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett should shoulder some of the blame for the Nets’ struggles (Twitter links). However, he adds that he keeps hearing that Kidd isn’t working hard, which is a sticking point for the Nets’ veteran players (link). Simmons also says Pierce could soon ask for a trade or buyout, and that Brooklyn would likely replace GM Billy King before firing Kidd (Twitter links). It’s not clear whether all that info is coming directly from sources, but if Simmons is simply speculating, we can assume it’s at least informed speculation.
Several Teams Interested In Luol Deng
6:06pm: Sam clarifies in a pair of tweets that the teams mentioned in his story are more interested in Deng as a free agent than a trade target, since they wouldn’t want to give up assets to rent him for a half-season.
4:59pm: The Cavaliers, Mavericks, Lakers, Raptors, Spurs, Grizzlies and Nets are among the teams interested in Luol Deng, sources tell Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. It’s not clear whether those teams are looking to trade for Deng this season or sign him in the summer, when he’ll be a free agent. The Bulls, while reportedly determined not to trade Deng, would apparently do so if they receive the right offer, and according to Sam, such an offer would involve a productive young player and a first-round pick.
Deng and the Bulls had extension talks this summer, but agent Ron Shade, who represents Deng along with Herb Rudoy, tells Sam that the Bulls never even made an extension offer to his client and says that many were “shocked” that Chicago wouldn’t do so.
“Honestly, I wanted something to be done,” Deng said. “I wanted to be here. I really felt we were going to. I don’t know how the money works. I don’t know what needed to be done. I really don’t know any of that stuff. But after the spinal tap, I went away and everything, I think I was waiting to hear from the Bulls. I was waiting to hear from [GM] Gar [Forman], and I really thought there would be weeks, maybe months of going back and forth, and trying to get it done. I felt like I’ve been here since I was 18. I’ve worked hard. They’ve seen me come in and do everything. But for whatever reason, Gar felt like it wasn’t the time yet.”
Still, Deng insists Forman “didn’t do anything wrong,” and remains open to staying with the team. The Bulls could have plenty of competition if they don’t deal him, Sam writes, believing that Deng could become the most sought-after free agent of the summer if marquee stars like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony decide not to opt out of their deals.
King: Nets Won’t Break Up Roster At This Point
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Nets GM Billy King was asked on Tuesday if he would consider blowing up Brooklyn’s expensive roster amidst the team’s struggles and Brook Lopez‘s season-ending injury: “Not at this point…We’re not there.”
Despite King’s comments, Bondy thinks the team could still reach that point by the February trade deadline, regardless of whether or not King and/or Jason Kidd will still be around by then. There’s also the matter of Mikhail Prokhorov having the final say, and it’s worth noting from the above piece that the Nets’ billionaire owner has remained silent since sending an e-mail to the New York Times earlier this month in which he advocated patience.
Brooklyn hasn’t kept out of the spotlight this season as far as trade rumors are concerned, especially with reports about being in the running for Kyle Lowry not too long ago. Although those talks with Toronto didn’t seem to include anything other than young players, draft rights, and draft picks, the recent Nets’ discussions with the Rockets about a potential (but now defunct) trade involving Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik for Deron Williams suggests that Brooklyn has already considered being a big time seller.
The combined contracts of Williams and Joe Johnson alone account for roughly 68% of the team’s salary cap for the 2013/14 season, and considering that both are under contract with the Nets simultaneously through 2016 (as well as progressive increases in their annual salaries respectively until then), it’d arguably be in the team’s best interests to see what the market can offer this year if things don’t turn around soon.
Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Rondo, Brown
Since Knicks owner James Dolan gave Mike Woodson a public vote of confidence on November 20 (while the team sported a 3-8 record), New York has gone 6-11 over their last 17 games. Among those losses include a 41-point defeat to the Celtics at home, a 15-point loss to the Cavaliers two days later, and a one-point heartbreaker at the hands of the Wizards, in which the Knicks failed to call a timeout with ample time left to set up a final play. Ian Begley of ESPN New York writes that no one from the team’s ownership or front office has commented publicly on Woodson’s status over the last few days, although it appears that the players – especially outspoken center Tyson Chandler – still offer their support.
Here’s what we’ve heard out of the Atlantic Division tonight, including more from Begley’s piece:
- Despite the Knicks struggles, Woodson is still confident that the team can and will win the Atlantic Division title: “Eventually, we’ll get healthy and we’ll see how it all plays out. The beauty about all of this that we’re going through is nobody’s running away with it in our division, and I’m pushing our team to win our division still…We won it last year, and I expect us to win it this year.”
- Marc Berman of the New York Post thinks that the four-day break between New York’s upcoming home-and-home series against Toronto and their Texas triangle trip would be the window in which Dolan could make a coaching change if he ultimately decided to. Otherwise, the Knicks owner could wait until the offseason, where names such as Jeff Van Gundy or Lionel Hollins may become available.
- Conditioning is deemed to be the biggest hurdle between Rajon Rondo and his return from rehab. Though Rondo was reportedly “huffing and puffing” after practice, the 27-year-old point guard participated extensively in drills today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston details: “Rondo raced up and down the court during sprint-heavy drills, tried to take charges as teammates attacked in odd-man breaks, and even dunked off his left leg at one point. He seemed to be pushing himself hard as Boston engaged in its first practice after a three-day holiday break.”
- A source confirms to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the 76ers have assigned Lorenzo Brown to their D-League affiliate, the 87ers. Earlier today, we noted that Bob Cooney of the Daily News was the first to relay notice of those plans. You can read the team’s official press release here.
- RealGM’s Shams Charania writes about how Michael Carter-Williams‘ young stardom has reminded Philadelphia of the way Allen Iverson once carried the Sixers franchise. The 6’6 point guard also offered his thoughts about how outside talk of tanking helped motivate him to compete hard this year.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post notes the Nets’ inability to respond when challenged with adversity this season, shifting focus on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce‘s inability to instill the toughness and fortitude expected of them after being acquired from Boston this past summer.