Southeast Notes: Taylor, Wizards, Heat
The Hornets have announced that Jeff Taylor won’t be participating in any team activities while the NBA investigates his part in an alleged domestic violence incident, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter links). The team has spoken with Taylor about their decision and he accepts it, Bonnell notes.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards have one roster spot up for grabs with six players on non-guaranteed deals competing for it. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com analyzes the players and what each can bring to the court for Washington.
- The Heat have placed a priority on maintaining cap flexibility for the 2016 free agent class, which essentially makes this year’s squad a rental team, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. The only two players on Miami’s current roster that are sure to be on the 2016/17 team are Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts, Winderman notes.
- John Denton of NBA.com breaks down the point guards on the Magic‘s roster, and what to watch for from each as training camps are set to begin.
Heat Notes: McRoberts, Deng, Haslem
The Heat enter next season without the talents of LeBron James who returned to Cleveland this summer. But Miami isn’t giving up on contending this season, and with a core of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Luol Deng, GM Pat Riley hopes his offseason moves will pay off with a return to the playoffs. Here are some notes from Miami’s media day:
- Josh McRoberts said that he was drawn to Miami because the team pursued him so hard, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post tweets. McRoberts also added that the deal now gives him multi-year stability.
- In keeping with the theme of being pursued, McRoberts said that he felt wanted in Miami, tweets Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. Goodman wasn’t sure if the statement by McRoberts was a dig at the Hornets, his former team, but he believes it was notable given the context.
- When asked about sacrificing money for the sake of the team’s cap flexibility, Udonis Haslem said, “I never had that money. It was never in my bank account. It’s not about that. I don’t regret it,” Lieser tweets.
- The Pacers tried to entice Danny Granger to return this offseason, tweets Lieser, but Granger said, “It didn’t work out.”
- Deng told Lieser that he forgives Danny Ferry for the comments that he made (Twitter link). “It’s not something I want to hold onto… I believe he’s really sorry for what he said,” Deng relayed.
- Deng also said that he believes Ferry’s remorse is genuine, and added, “I do not think Danny is racist,” tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
- The veteran small forward said that he was actually close to signing with the Hawks, notes Jackson (Twitter link). Deng also noted that Ferry should have read the offensive comments allegedly contained in the scouting report to himself before saying them out loud.
- Deng confirmed to Lieser that he was close to joining Atlanta and that he never got any sense of prejudice from them. Deng also said that he was totally surprised by what he heard when the story was made public, Lieser notes.
Eastern Notes: Garnett, Vogel, Heat, Walker
Kevin Garnett finally dismissed all doubt that he would return for the coming season, telling reporters that while he considered retirement, he’s once more decided to put it off, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). A report in June indicated that Garnett would be back with the Nets, but Garnett hadn’t spoken publicly about his plans. Retirement could be a ways off, as the 38-year-old said he won’t rule out playing beyond this season, the final year of his contract, as Bondy also relays (via Twitter). Still, Garnett’s comments gave Tim Bontemps of the New York Post the sense that he’s planning to hang it up next summer (Twitter link). There’s more from the player once known as The Kid as we detail the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- Garnett was in touch with Paul Pierce as the Wizards signee went through free agency and called his departure for Washington “bittersweet,” as Bontemps chronicles (Twitter links). KG said he was in the dark during former coach Jason Kidd‘s exit from the Nets, however, as Andy Vasquez of The Record tweets.
- Frank Vogel is entering the final year of his contract to coach the Pacers, but he tells Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports that he’d like to remain in the job “forever.” President of basketball operations Larry Bird has suggested that the team is open to negotiating an extension with Vogel before this season begins, as Agness points out.
- The Heat never made offers to veterans Andray Blatche, Ramon Sessions, Jordan Crawford, Wayne Ellington and others, team president Pat Riley and GM Andy Elisburg say, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Winderman surmises that the frustration that many veterans stuck at the end of the Heat’s bench expressed last year made the team wary of adding too many players with expectations of playing time.
- The Hornets are just beginning extension talks with Kemba Walker, but GM Rich Cho indicated to reporters Thursday that he’s pleased with the point guard’s growing maturity, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders points out.
Southeast Notes: LeBron, Bosh, Hornets
LeBron James says it would have been more difficult for him to leave the Heat if they’d beaten the Spurs in the Finals this year and that he hadn’t envisioned returning to play in Cleveland until the end of his career. James made his comments to CNN’s Rachel Nichols, who released a preview of the full interview, which airs Friday (video link).
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- With LeBron gone Chris Bosh will become the focal point of the Heat‘s offense, something the player is greatly looking forward to, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report writes. Bosh’s former coach Sam Mitchell believes his former player will answer the bell, saying “Pat Riley gave him the contract that said, ‘You’re going to be the guy. People think Chris is not that guy. When the offense is running through him, they’re going to find out, I guarantee you. One of those Big Three in Miami had to take a backseat and check his ego at the door. If Chris hadn’t done it, they may not have two championships. Now, I think Chris is going to play even better than he did in Toronto. I really do, because now he has something to prove all over again.”
- Hornets GM Rich Cho said there have been some initial discussions between the franchise and Kemba Walker about a possible extension, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). Walker can become a restricted free agent next summer.
- The Wizards enter the new season with higher expectations than usual, Joseph White of USA Today writes. Coach Randy Wittman embraces the pressure that comes with those expectations, saying, “Listen, as a coach, you want to have these expectations. I’d much rather be sitting here talking about high expectations than you so-called experts thinking we might win 15-16 games. Last year doesn’t mean nothing. Last year we’ve got to use. Are we going to use it as a stepping stone to this year? When I say we’re back to ground zero, everybody’s 0-0 right now.”
- Embattled Hawks GM Danny Ferry is slowly gathering supporters around the league, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. But this support may not ultimately help Ferry keep his job, notes Vivlamore, and the executive’s fate most likely rests with whomever the new controlling owner of the franchise is.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Varejao, Hornets, Heat
The Magic supplemented their coterie of young players with veteran signees like Channing Frye, Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour this summer, but much more significant moves have to happen for the team to become a contender again, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel argues. The team has failed to land marquee free agent talent in recent years, and it’ll be a challenge to contend without the benefit of a No. 1 overall pick, Schmitz writes. Only the Bulls and Cavs look like true title contenders in the East this year, but with the season looming, we’ll soon find out if there are any surprises in store. Here’s the latest from around the East:
- Phil Jackson believes that the Knicks should make the playoffs this year, as he declares in an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post. Jackson also disputed the notion that the Knicks didn’t offer Steve Kerr as much to coach the team as they gave Derek Fisher. The Zen Master added that during negotiations with Carmelo Anthony on his new contract, ‘Melo repeatedly expressed a desire for the team to alleviate some of his scoring burden.
- People close to Anderson Varejao advised him to buck for a trade the past few years, but he says he never wanted to leave the Cavs and can’t see himself playing for another team, as he tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Varejao can hit free agency next summer.
- Hornets signees Justin Cobbs, Dallas Lauderdale and Brian Qvale are all on non-guaranteed contracts for the minimum salary that cover one season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Heat named Phil Weber the coach of their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Weber, a longtime NBA assistant coach, had been serving as a consultant for Miami.
Hawks Sign Kent Bazemore
SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is at last official, the team announced via press release.
SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Hawks and Bazemore finally put pen to paper Wednesday, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. It’s likely that the signing took so long to complete because Atlanta wanted to preserve cap space, though that’s just my speculation. The Hawks could have used cap space to acquire other players and circled back to sign Bazemore using the room exception. As it stands, they’re using cap space to ink Bazemore.
JULY 11TH: 9:50pm: Bazemore’s agent, Austin Walton, confirmed the deal and that it is fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
9:31pm: Kent Bazemore has reached an agreement to join the Hawks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is for two years and $4MM, according to Stein. Shams Charania of RealGM tweets that the deal is fully guaranteed, and contains no options.
The shooting guard was traded along with MarShon Brooks from the Warriors to the Lakers in the Steve Blake deal on February 19th of this year. Bazemore’s career numbers are 4.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG.
The 25 year old who originally went undrafted out of Old Dominion also received interest from the Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors and Celtics.
And-Ones: Cap, Walker, Bledsoe, Rubio, Wiggins
Some teams think the salary cap will jump above $70MM for next season, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, though Lowe’s dispatch from a week ago indicated that the league has told clubs not to get carried away with their projections for the time being. Clarity on the matter will be important, especially for clubs with players up for extensions to their rookie-scale contracts before the October 31st deadline. Lowe’s latest piece centers on one such case, as the Hornets face a decision about whether to extend Kemba Walker, whom rival executives often say isn’t a “championship point guard,” according to Lowe. We’ll pass along another tidbit from the Grantland scribe amid the latest from around the league:
- The Suns haven’t shown much interest in sign-and-trades involving Eric Bledsoe, Lowe hears, advancing Friday’s report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that threw cold water on the idea that Bledsoe would end up with the Wolves.
- The Wolves and Ricky Rubio‘s camp remain in a stalemate in extension negotiations in part because agents Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana know that the Knicks and Lakers can open cap space next summer, writes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter links).
- Rumors as late as the eve of the draft suggested that the Cavs were conflicted about whom to take No. 1 overall, but coach David Blatt insists the team had settled on Andrew Wiggins long before making him the top pick, as Blatt tells Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Cleveland didn’t hold on to Wiggins for long, of course, shipping him to the Wolves in the Kevin Love trade.
- Nazr Mohammed‘s contract with the Bulls is non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and covers just one season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Clippers signee Jared Cunningham rejected a deal from Serbia’s KK Partizan to instead try his hand at making the opening-night roster in L.A. on his non-guaranteed contract, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.
Hornets Sign Brian Qvale For Camp
The Hornets have signed former University of Montana center Brian Qvale, the team announced via press release. The release also included formal announcements of the team’s deals with Justin Cobbs and Dallas Lauderdale. David Pick of Eurobasket.com originally reported the team was set to sign Cobbs, while Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer first had the news on Lauderdale. Terms for all three remain unclear, but while the team has the capacity to give each of them more than the minimum salary, it seems unlikely that’s the case with any of the trio.
The 6’11” Qvale has spent the past three years playing overseas after he went undrafted in 2011. His addition to the Hornets roster is particularly surprising, given that he’s never attended camp with an NBA team before and didn’t take part in summer league action this past July. His career has taken him to Turkey, Belgium and last year to Germany, where he averaged 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game for Medi Bayreuth.
Charlotte’s roster swells to 17 with today’s signings. The team has fully guaranteed pacts with 14 players, leaving Qvale, Cobbs and Lauderdale to fight for the 15th spot on the team’s opening-night roster, providing GM Rich Cho decides to carry a full complement of players into the regular season.
And-Ones: Chandler, Taylor, Heat, Ayon
The Knicks’ Phil Jackson had upset Tyson Chandler with comments he made regarding changing the culture of the franchise and removing any parts that have had a negative influence. But Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders doesn’t believe Jackson’s comments were directed at Chandler, but instead at J.R. Smith and the departed Raymond Felton. Blancarte also notes that Chandler’s issues were with former head coach Mike Woodson, not the franchise, and that Jackson traded Chandler so they wouldn’t lose him for nothing when he left as a free agent next Summer.
Here’s the latest from around the league:
- Miroslav Raduljica‘s contract with the Shandong Lions is for one year and approximately $1.5MM, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports. Raduljica was waived by the Clippers in late August shortly after he came over in the Jared Dudley trade, and he recently signed with the Chinese team.
- Nine months after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in a game against the Pistons, the Hornets‘ Jeff Taylor is healed and ready to compete for minutes with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Lance Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.
- Gustavo Ayon‘s deal with Real Madrid is for three years and 5.2 million euros, David Pick of Eurobasket reports. The contract also comes with an NBA escape clause each Summer, as well as a team option for the third season, notes Pick.
- The Heat will undoubtedly have a new look this season with the departure of LeBron James to Cleveland. Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel looks at ten questions facing coach Erik Spoelstra and the rest of the Miami organization.
Eastern Rumors: Gibson, Taylor, Knicks
We have notes out of each division from the Eastern Conference this evening. Last year, the Southeast Division sent four teams to the playoffs, while the Atlantic and Central sent two apiece. This season, the Atlantic is in danger of dropping to just one playoff entry, as teams like Cleveland, Charlotte, and Atlanta figure to improve while Brooklyn and New York haven’t made clear upgrades this offseason. Here’s a rundown of the East:
- Taj Gibson insisted that he is comfortable with a bench role in Chicago from his personal Twitter account (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The Bulls big was responding to a report that he was privately displeased at the prospect of remaining on the bench for a crowded Bulls frontcourt. Gibson was similarly diplomatic when a potential starting role was fueling rumors regarding Carlos Boozer‘s eventual amnesty.
- Jeff Taylor tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that he is trying to be patient while training following his Achilles surgery this winter, but that his injury is healed and not a concern heading into camp. “It’s the first time I had anything more than a sprained ankle. It’s really hard to hold yourself back,” Taylor said. “I’ve always been that person who thought he could do things others doubted. But in a situation like this, you have to listen.” Hornets coach Steve Clifford had some doubts as to Taylor’s readiness for the season, but the third-year guard is confident that he will be able to compete immediately. “It’s not an injury anymore. It’s healed,” said Taylor. “It’s not weighing on my mind.”
- Jonah Ballow of NYKnicks.com writes that Knicks president Phil Jackson has given coach Derek Fisher plenty room to work so far, despite the temptation Jackson might feel to gravitate back toward the bench.