Atlantic Rumors: Felton, Brewer, Prigioni
Raymond Felton is glad to be back with the Knicks, the team he didn't want to leave when New York shipped him to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade in 2011. He said Saturday he was "sick" during his time with the Nuggets, as Marc Berman of the New York Post documents, though it's unclear whether he was dealing with an illness or simply pining for New York. Felton said he respected Nuggets coach George Karl's decision to put him on the bench in favor of Ty Lawson, but expressed a desire to be a starter somewhere to Nuggets management, who accomodated him with a trade to the Blazers before last season.
A year later, Felton has come full circle as he's back in the starting lineup with the Knicks, and there's news on another pair of Knicks offseason acquisitions and more from the Atlantic Division.
- Ronnie Brewer, with the Knicks on a minimum-salary deal, told Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald that the Bulls never reached out to him this summer about a return (Twitter link).
- Pablo Prigioni was content to keep playing in Spain until Luis Scola, his teammate on Argentina's national team, convinced him to give the NBA a try. Newsday's Barbara Barker has the details.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News credits Mike Woodson, whom the Knicks retained this summer with a three-year extension, with the team's fast start, pointing out that New York is 32-11 since Woodson took over for Mike D'Antoni last season.
- With Sixers coach Doug Collins open to a trade to improve the team's bench play, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News checks in with rookie point guard Maalik Wayns, who's been contributing more to the second unit of late.
- John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines the impact Andrew Bynum could have on the Sixers if the center returns before the All-Star break.
- Howard Beck of The New York Times chronicles the long journey of Reggie Evans from the streets of Pensacola, Fla., where the local community college passed on recruiting him, to his current status as a rebounding savant for the Nets.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Blatche, Rubio, Kings
While the Raptors might not be willing to part with Andrea Bargnani just yet, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes that there is plenty of pressure on Bryan Colangelo to win, which might fuel him to pull the trigger on a deal. The Raptors have a lot that makes sense for the Lakers in a Pau Gasol deal beyond the forward too in Jose Calderon and Linas Kleiza. The question is whether Raptors believe Gasol will make them contenders and whether he’s worth taking on $19MM next season. Here’s more Friday night linkage..
- In this week’s mailbag, CSNNE’s Tommy Heinsohn said that Jason Terry knew that he would have a significant role with the Celtics when he signed on this summer.
- Nets forward Andray Blatche is clearly one of the best late offseason signings in the entire league, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. The athletic big man signed a minimum salary deal with the Nets over the summer and earlier today he said that he would like to re-sign with Brooklyn.
- T’Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said that if he had to rate his happiness in Minnesota on a scale from 1-10, he’d give it a ten, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press. Rubio will be extension-eligible in 2014 and can become a restricted free agent in 2015.
- Kings assistant coach Bobby Jackson wondered aloud if the club should thinking about breaking up their logjam of guards with Aaron Brooks, Isaiah Thomas, and Jimmer Fredette in the fold, writes Blake Ellington of Bleed Black and Purple
Andray Blatche Hopes To Re-Sign With Nets
It's still early in the season, but for players on expiring contracts, next July is always just around the corner. Andray Blatche, who has a one-year minimum-salary deal with the Nets, hopes next summer's decision will be easy. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Blatche would like to re-sign with Brooklyn, though he acknowledged it's too soon to commit to anything.
"Talk to me after the playoffs," Blatche said of his free agency. "I mean, after we win the championship."
Because Blatche is still being paid by the Wizards, who amnestied him in July with three years remaining on his deal, his earnings on his next contract will be somewhat reduced. Still, while Washington will take back a portion of the salary in his next deal, Blatche still has the ability to double dip, as cap guru Larry Coon explains in his CBA FAQ.
After struggling with the Wizards in 2011/12, Blatche is thriving with the Nets this season. His points per 36 minutes (19.8) and PER (22.9), among other categories, would be career-highs if he maintained those averages all season. As the 26-year-old points out to Bondy, based on how he's fit in Brooklyn so far, "There's no reason not to want to come back." At season's end, we'll see if that interest is reciprocated by the Nets.
Atlantic Notes: Holiday, Blatche, Stiemsma, Sixers
With the first full month of the NBA season in the books, the Sixers' Jrue Holiday looks like the frontrunner for this year' Most Improved Player award, writes Justin Kubatko for the New York Times. After receiving a four-year, $41MM extension from the club on Halloween, the 6'3" guard has been earning his pay bump with 18.2 PPG and 9.3 RPG per game, a significant bump from last season's numbers (13.5 PPG, 4.5 APG). Here's more out of the Atlantic..
- The Nets took a chance on Andray Blatche this offseason when they gave him a one-year deal, and there's no doubt that the gamble is paying off, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Blatche is averaging 10.6 PPG and 6.1 RPG while shooting nearly 47 percent from the field this season. Those numbers have improved since Blatche stepped into the starting lineup in place of Brook Lopez three games ago with 17.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and over 51 percent shooting.
- Former Celtics big man Greg Stiemsma told Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com that he left Boston because he felt that he had a better opportunity with the Timberwolves. It also helped that Stiemsma got a $3MM committment for 2012/13 with the possibility of a second year at $2.575MM.
- The Sixers have had to play without summer acquisitions Andrew Bynum, Jason Richardson, and Nick Young, but head coach Doug Collins isn't making excuses, writes Bob Cooney of the Daily News.
Pat Williams On Howard, Bynum, Nets
The Magic scored a tremendously satisfying win on Sunday when they downed Dwight Howard and the Lakers. Powered on the offensive end by Arron Afflalo and Glen Davis, the Magic employed the "Hack-A-Howard" strategy and forced the big man to try and win the game from the charity stripe. Yesterday, Magic senior vice president Pat Williams spoke with 95.7 The Game to about the post-Howard era in Orlando and Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews has the goods..
How’s this year going without Dwight Howard? How’s the transition going?
Well, it cleared up very nicely [Sunday] night in Los Angeles. Oh boy, Orlando Magic fans were dancing in the street last night. That was a beautiful win for us. We’ve been struggling up to that point. The Dwight thing has calmed down. It was tumultuous for 12 months, really, and just difficult. What are you going to do when your great player and top guy says, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore?’ Move me on. It’s extremely difficult and we had to deal with it the best we could. We tried to convince Dwight to stay here and this could be his long-term home and he was … far better off being here, but he didn’t buy it. And New York or L.A. seemed to have the lure for him. We made the best deal we could and it was a big one — a four-team trade and one of the biggest in NBA history. We ended up with six players and five future draft choices. It was a massive trade, but I think it settled here and the fans’ position was if Dwight didn’t want to be here, so be it and we move on and let’s start fresh. So that’s really what we’ve done, and I think we’ve got a nice, young ball club. I think we are going to be OK.”
What made Dwight Howard change his mind last summer after he said in March he wanted to stay with the team?
“Dwight is a pleaser at heart. Deep down he really is a good guy. He had a lot invested here in eight years out of Central Florida and I think the pressure got to him. It was building and building and building. It was trade, trade and trade. As we got to the trade deadline, I think Dwight was just panic-stricken. Where was this all going to lead? The simplest way was just going to be sign this extension. I don’t think his agent had anything to do with it. I don’t think anyone would have advised him that because it was just a few months from free agency, and I just think the pressure was so great that the safest way to break it was just to sign the one-year extension and take the pressure off, and he made a little press conference and a little speech saying, ‘I love Orlando.’ Then, the next thing you know, this back injury takes place and then he disappears and we never saw him or hear from him again until the middle of the summer. We did meet with him and went out to see him and tried to convince him to stay. … It made no headway. It was not on his agenda and it turned out Brooklyn was his first choice. That all didn’t work, and finally the L.A. trade. Now he’s still a free agent after this year, so who knows what’s going to happen or where he is headed next?”
Why didn’t the deal for Dwight Howard with the Brooklyn Nets work out for Brook Lopez?
“I guess there were a lot of ins and outs with that. I just want to say that one of the fears with him was the tendency, as he got hurt, that he’s got a history with feet and ankle problems. He’s out again now. I think that was a big part of it, and then of course people say then, ‘Why not Andrew Bynum? Why didn’t you get Andrew Bynum?’ Well, I don’t think we’d be real happy with Andrew Bynum right now. If he were sitting here it would be a mess. We made the best deal we could with these other pieces that came from around the league, and I think it was the best deal we could have made based on potential of injury and what was best for our team.”
Atlantic Notes: Brooks, Lee, Green, Copeland
The last-place Raptors are the only Atlantic Division team playing this evening on a six-game night in the NBA, as they take on the Nuggets in Denver. Toronto is also the division's only sub-.500 team. That doesn't mean every Atlantic squad is pleased with its record so far, though, since the Celtics would surely wish for better than 9-8. There's plenty of season left, though, and in the meantime, here's a roundup from the league's best division so far.
- MarShon Brooks exceeded expectations in his rookie year, but the Nets put him on the trading block over the summer, and now the second-year player finds himself out of the mix as minimum-salary addition Keith Bogans has been the better fit so far. Tim Bontemps of the New York Post has the details.
- Celtics offseason acquisition Courtney Lee credits a meeting with coach Doc Rivers and a cameo in the starting lineup for his improved play following a slump, observes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Coming off the bench has proven a challenging adjustment for Lee and Jeff Green, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com points out.
- Mike Kurylo of The New York Times outlines the improvement of Chris Copeland, a surprising addition to the Knicks out of training camp who's been seeing more playing time of late.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com shares 10 observations about the Knicks from the season's first month, and the team's new faces figure prominently.
- One of the most effective offseason moves for the Knicks was behind the scenes, as new shooting coach Dave Hopla has made a difference, notes Jeremy Bauman of SheridanHoops.com.
Atlantic Rumors: Turner, Melo, Williams
The latest rumblings from around the Atlantic Division on Sunday evening:
- Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com doesn't think Evan Turner would merit an extension along the lines of Jrue Holiday's new four-year, $41MM deal if the decision were due today, but if Turner keeps up his improved play all season, his price tag next summer could be higher than Holiday's.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com writes that Carmelo Anthony is earning early MVP consideration.
- Howard Beck of the New York Times writes that Deron Williams is still getting in rhythm leading the new-look Nets.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Knicks, Blatche
A few notes from around the NBA's Atlantic Division.
- CBSSports.com's Zach Harper takes a long look at Nets center Andray Blatche, a big, talented player who nearly found himself out of the league after getting amnestied by the Wizards just a few months ago.
- Newsday's Al Iannazzone believes the Knicks will be an even better basketball team once Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert return from their injuries.
- The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat credits the Raptors bench for producing in increased roles.
Odds & Ends: Popovich, Lopez, Wizards, Bucks
The latest news from around the NBA on Friday evening:
- CBSSports.com's Ken Berger reports that the NBA is considering instituting a new policy on resting players following Gregg Popovich's controversial decision on Thursday.
- Howard Beck of the New York Times writes that Brook Lopez' foot is not seriously injured, despite indications to the contrary.
- The New York Times' Dan Duggan writes that the Wizards are trying to put their horrific start to the season behind them.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Bucks have still not set a time for Luc Mbah a Moute's return.
- Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com writes that Hawks GM Danny Ferry has turned the team around faster than expected.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer writes that Cavs rookie Kevin Jones is not expected to find his way into the rotation anytime soon.
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Raptors, Trail Blazers
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).