Northwest Notes: Kanter, Arthur, Miller, Pekovic
Enes Kanter hoped to stay with the Thunder even as he signed an max offer sheet with the Trail Blazers this summer, creating a tense three days before the Thunder matched, notes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.
“The three days was definitely tough, because I really wanted to be here,” Kanter said. “That three days was really tough, really difficult. I never experienced anything like that before. In the end, it worked out. [I’m] really happy to be here. It’s really nice [to have] your team’s trust in you. It means a lot.”
See more from the Northwest Division:
- Darrell Arthur nearly left for the Clippers this summer before ultimately deciding to re-sign with the Nuggets, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links). “I was pretty close. It was a tough decision to make,” Arthur said. “But with this [Nuggets] team I felt that I could possibly make a difference in trying to help this team make it to the playoffs.” The money couldn’t have hurt, either, as Arthur received a two-year deal worth almost $5.755MM from Denver, about $3.08MM more than the two-year minimum salary offer that the Clippers were limited to.
- Andre Miller visited the Bulls in free agency before signing with the Timberwolves this summer, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
- Nikola Pekovic said he’ll miss roughly the first month of the season, but the Timberwolves expect Ricky Rubio will be healthy enough to play on opening night, even though he’s not quite 100% yet, observes Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press.
- Timberwolves GM Milt Newton expressed a desire to use the D-League more often this season, pointing to No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, but the GM said he’d want the point guard to go to a D-League team that would give him some playing time, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). The Timberwolves, who don’t have a D-League affiliate and would have to send Jones on assignment with another team’s D-League club, haven’t made progress toward their own D-League partner, Zgoda notes.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey expressed optimism about his point guards on Monday, jibing with earlier reports that the team is content for now even without the injured Dante Exum, but he wouldn’t rule out spending to acquire another point guard if the performance at that position is lacking, notes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links).
Central Rumors: Granger, Rose, Bucks
Small forward Danny Granger will not join the Pistons for the start of training camp, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Granger, who was traded to Detroit from the Suns as part of the Marcus Morris deal, will remain in Arizona to continue knee rehab under a mutual agreement with Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, Ellis continues. “I think it’s better for him and for us if he stays right there in Arizona and does his rehab and when he gets to a point that he’s ready to play and compete, then we will bring him in,” Van Gundy said during the team’s media day on Monday. Granger is one of 17 Detroit players with guaranteed contracts so he remains a waiver or trade candidate, Ellis adds.
In other news around the Central Division:
- Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings isn’t close to being game-ready, Ellis writes in the same notebook piece. Jennings, who tore his Achilles tendon in January, is limited to light shooting, jogging in the pool and weight-controlled treadmill work. “We’re hoping sometime in mid-October that he’s be able to start doing drill work out on the floor and then hopefully by mid-November he starts ramping up, actually getting in some five-on-five stuff,” Van Gundy said.
- Derrick Rose made a splash during the Bulls’ media day, saying that he’s already looking toward his next foray into free agency, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter links). Rose, who is signed through the 2016/17 season, expects to remain in Chicago for the long term, Goodwill adds. “You see the way all this money will be passed around in this league. My day [free agency] is coming,” Rose said. But while Rose prefers to stay with the Bulls, the notion of leaguewide increased salaries “makes one pause,” Sam Smith of Bulls.com tweets.
- The Bucks hired longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn as a special consultant, the team announced Monday morning via press release. He will work closely with GM John Hammond, the release adds. Thorn most recently served as the NBA’s president of basketball operations, where he oversaw the league’s day-to-day business under commissioner Adam Silver.
- The Cavaliers allowed the remaining $635,816 portion of their trade exception for Keith Bogans to expire on Sunday, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Cleveland dealt Bogans to the Sixers last September and used part of the exception to acquire Timofey Mozgov in January.
Bulls Sign Jordan Crawford To Camp Deal
SEPTEMBER 28TH, 1:10pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. Combined with the other two signings the team made today, Chicago has 18 players for training camp.
SEPTEMBER 17TH, 7:58am: The Bulls will sign four-year veteran Jordan Crawford to a non-guaranteed contract, giving the former first-round pick a chance to return to the NBA after an injury-riddled year split between China and the D-League, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The Bulls have only 13 contracts that are known to be guaranteed, as our roster count shows, ostensibly giving the Wasserman Media Group client a strong chance to stick for opening night, but Chicago traditionally carries fewer than 15 players at the start of the regular season.
Crawford averaged 29.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.5 minutes per game across five appearances for Xinjiang Guanghui in China this past season before suffering an eye injury that lingered for months. He recovered in time to sign with the D-League in March, joining the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, then a shared affiliate, for whom he once more put up strong numbers in a small sample size, notching 22.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 4.5 APG in 35.7 MPG over eight contests. His production was more muted in summer league for the Mavs squad in July this year, though again, that was only a tiny sample size of six games.
The 26-year-old who turns 27 next month had his best moments with the Celtics in 2013/14, when he started 35 games for an injured Rajon Rondo and proved he could handle the point despite having traditionally played on the wing. He put up 13.7 PPG and 5.7 APG against 2.2 turnovers per game in 30.7 MPG, but a midseason trade sent him to the Warriors, who failed to give him much playing time.
Chicago has Cameron Bairstow on a partial guarantee of $425K and offseason signee Cristiano Felicio, both of whom will compete with Crawford in camp to try to win their way to the regular season roster. The Bulls have a crowded backcourt, with Crawford pitted against six guards on fully guaranteed contracts — Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Tony Snell, Aaron Brooks, Kirk Hinrich and E’Twaun Moore — as former Nets executive Bobby Marks points out (on Twitter). That would bode well for Bairstow and Felicio, both of whom are frontcourt players.
Do you think Crawford will stick with the Bulls for the regular season? Leave a comment to tell us.
Bulls Sign Marcus Simmons, Jake Anderson
The Bulls have signed former USC shooting guard Marcus Simmons and former Iowa State point guard Jake Anderson, the team announced via press release. The moves, combined with the official signing of Jordan Crawford, give the Bulls 18 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed contracts.
Simmons, 27, has played overseas and in the D-League since going undrafted in 2011. He was a reserve for the D-League Fort Wayne Mad Ants this past season, averaging 4.0 points in 16.7 minutes per game across 41 appearances and shooting just 28.8% from three-point territory.
Anderson played under new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg in 2010/11. The 28-year-old also has a history with the Bulls organization, having played on Chicago’s summer league squad in 2012. Like Simmons, Anderson went undrafted in 2011, spending his first pro season in the D-League before heading overseas.
Central Notes: Dunleavy, Morris, Bulls
Bulls small forward Mike Dunleavy underwent a successful low back microdiscectomy procedure earlier today at Rush University Medical Center and he is expected to be out of action for 8-10 weeks, the team announced. Dunleavy had experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer which had recently worsened, according to the release. If his recovery goes as planned, Dunleavy will likely miss between 12-15 contests.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Marcus Morris views his new start with the Pistons as a means to finally carve out a niche for himself in the league, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “In Phoenix, I thought I should have started at the three,” Morris told Langlois. “The guy that’s there now [P.J. Tucker] might have been a better defender, but as an all-around three, I thought I was the best we had. And I thought a lot of players thought that, too. But there’s a lot of opportunity here. I have a chance to come in and start right away. I’ve been in the league for five years. It’s nothing new to me. I have started my share of games. It’s not like I’m new to it. The only thing that’s new is that it’s the East Coast now.”
- The Bulls return virtually the same core as last season, and if the change in coaches from Tom Thibodeau to Fred Hoiberg doesn’t nudge the team to the next level, it may be time for Chicago to attempt to pry Carmelo Anthony away from the Knicks, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Friedell does note that the size of Anthony’s contract would be a gamble for Bulls, and the team would likely have to part with a number of talented players to make the deal work financially, which would make such a trade a risky proposition for Chicago.
- If the Cavaliers can remain healthy as a unit and are able to secure home court advantage in the playoffs, the team is likely to secure the NBA title in 2015/16, the crew at Basketball Insiders opine in their season preview.
Eastern Notes: Wade, Celtics, Bulls
The Heat don’t plan on Dwyane Wade playing under a minutes restriction this season, and coach Erik Spoelstra wants to utilize the veteran shooting guard as much as possible in 2015/16, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. “Dwyane has to be our leader,” Spoelstra said. “He’s grown in that role and with new veteran players, everybody naturally turns to Dwyane as the cornerstone of our franchise and they turn to [Chris Bosh] and they turn to [Udonis Haslem]. He’s fully accepted that responsibility. Dwyane is coming into this season ready for whatever challenges it brings, and I’m not coaching him with restrictions in mind. We’ll adapt and be aware of anything that may come up as the season goes on.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Center Tyler Zeller thinks that the Celtics‘ stocked frontcourt will be a boon to the team, despite him having extra competition for playing time, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I think [the frontcourt will] be good,” said Zeller. “Hopefully we can learn from Amir [Johnson] and David [Lee]. I know David has had a lot of success all over the board in being an All-Star, winning a championship, those kind of things. Hopefully we can learn a lot from him and he can push us in the right direction and help us become a better team. I’m really looking forward to playing with them. I think they are going to be great assets to us and hopefully help us take that next step.“
- The Bulls are expected to have much more freedom on the offensive end under new coach Fred Hoiberg than they previously did under former coach Tom Thibodeau, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. “Obviously it’s going to be different,” swingman Jimmy Butler said of his new coach. “I’ve studied some film with my trainer how [Iowa State] played in college. We go over some of the offensive schemes [Hoiberg’s] told me and my trainer about. So we work that into our workouts, but it’s definitely going to be different. I think it’s not going to be so much concentrated on defense like it was [with] Thibs. I think it’s actually going to be more offense [minded].“
- The Wizards believe that a healthy Bradley Beal and John Wall, along with the team’s stout frontline, give the team potential for significant growth, which is one reason the team held off from making a splash in free agency this summer, the crew at Basketball Insiders write in their season preview of the team. Washington has the capability to make it to the second round of this year’s playoffs, but advancing to the Conference Finals is unlikely with the current roster, the panel concludes.
Eastern Notes: Gibson, Raptors, Jackson
Bulls power forward Taj Gibson was suffering from a torn ligament in his ankle toward the end of the 2014/15 campaign, which explains his lackluster playoff showing during the postseason, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com writes. The true extent of the damage in Gibson’s ankle was discovered when the forward went under the knife in June for routine surgery, Goodwill adds. “I didn’t know I could play with that much pain but I just tried to help my team win,” Gibson told Goodwill. “I think it was a good thing for me to do the surgery. I’ve never been hurt this much. It was good for my career and for myself.”
“We didn’t know it was a torn ligament. It was on the completely opposite side of the foot,” Gibson continued. “When he finally went in during surgery, he was astounded how I was able to still play. He said he never knew anybody who could play through so much pain. I just thought it was normal. He was surprised I was even able to run or lift off it. That’s how bad it was.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Reggie Jackson enters his first training camp with the Pistons feeling much more comfortable in the team’s system and more entrenched with the franchise, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “I feel like I’ve been here. I feel like the guys know who I am and for the most part I know them,” Jackson said. “Even though it was short, I was extremely blessed and privileged to come over here [for the remainder of the 2014/15 season]. It was a tough struggle, but I think it’s going to pay off in the end. I truly believe that. Teammates are all ready to get into camp. It feels like we know each other more than if I was traded in the summer or signed and not coming in new. We did the whole [team-bonding trip] thing in Vegas, I got there and knew everybody vs. trying to meet everybody. I could arrange dinners and didn’t have to worry about knowing a guy’s phone number, what you like, don’t like. It’s already established.”
- The Raptors have officially named Tim Lewis, Nathaniel Mitchell, and David Gale as assistant coaches for their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, the team announced (via Twitter).
- The deals that Sam Thompson and Jason Washburn inked with the Hornets are both non-guaranteed, minimum salary training camp contracts that cover one year, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
Central Notes: Gasol, Gibson, Parker, Love
The Bulls‘ Pau Gasol may have risked a serious injury Saturday in a Eurobasket game against Poland, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. “The doctors told me that Pau couldn’t play more than five minutes straight,” Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo said in his post-game press conference. “But after the first five minutes, when I asked him to come to bench he told me now, ‘I will take the risk,’ he answered me and he had an amazing game.” Gasol scored 30 points in Spain’s victory and expects to play against Greece in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup, Varlas reports.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson said he played despite a torn ligament in his ankle at the end of last season, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Gibson, who had surgery on the ankle, added that everything is on track with his rehab schedule.
- Also bouncing back nicely from injury is the Bucks’ Jabari Parker, according to The Journal Times. Parker’s rookie season was cut short when he tore the ACL in his left knee in a December 15th game. The Bucks aren’t commenting on when Parker might return and allegedly ordered a TV cameraman to stop filming a recent workout. However, many in the organization are privately saying Parker is ahead of schedule and is expected to be ready for opening night.
- Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is recovering quickly after shoulder surgery, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Love was expected to be out of action four to six months after being hurt in an April playoff game, but Pluto says he has been working with a team trainer at an Olympic facility in Utah. Love said Friday on Late Night with Seth Meyers that he thought he was about a month to a month and a half away from returning to action (video link; transcription via HoopsHype). Pluto adds that Love never gave serious consideration to leaving Cleveland before signing a new max contract in July. Love has been talking to LeBron James over the offseason about adapting his role in the offense.
Los Angeles Rumors: Bryant, Hibbert, Young, Pierce
Kobe Bryant’s continued presence on the Lakers’ roster has kept the franchise in a holding pattern, Shaun Powell of NBA.com opines. Bryant’s $25MM contract this season hampered them from signing a top-level free agent and none of them wanted to join the Lakers anyway just to play one season with Bryant, Powell continues. Bryant, who might retire at the end of the season, could play a valuable role in the rebuilding process by mentoring his younger teammates, Powell adds.
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
- Roy Hibbert’s lack of speed could be a larger liability in the Western Conference, argues J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. The Lakers acquired Hibbert from Indiana in a July 9th deal, sending a future second-round draft pick to the Pacers in return. While Hibbert may increase the Lakers’ talent level, his plodding style of play could leave him lagging behind other teams in the conference, and Michael fears that coach Byron Scott may be stubborn enough to try to match him up with players such as the Warriors’ Draymond Green.
- Nick Young of the Lakers and Paul Pierce of the Clippers are among the players projected to decline next season by Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Greene expects Young’s minutes, shots and overall role to regress with the addition of Lou Williams and D’Angelo Russell as well as Bryant’s return from injury. The writer expects Pierce, who left the Wizards to sign with the Clippers as a free agent, to have his first season averaging below double figures in scoring. Also on Greene’s list are the Pistons’ Brandon Jennings, the Nets’ Joe Johnson, the Bulls’ Pau Gasol, the Hawks’ Kyle Korver, the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili, the Raptors’ Terrence Ross and the Heat’s Dwyane Wade.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.
Central Notes: LeBron, Hibbert, Bulls
The Cavaliers and Bulls looked like the two clear-cut favorites in the Eastern Conference a year ago, and while the Bulls’ roster is still largely the same, the Cavs zoomed past them in the playoffs and other Eastern Conference contenders appear to have gained ground. The Heat, Wizards, Raptors, Hawks and perhaps even the Bucks, whom Chicago dispatched in the first round this spring, all appear capable of posing a threat and then some to the Bulls this coming season. While we wait for training camps to open later this month to see how it all unfolds, there’s more on the Bulls and Cavs amid the latest from the Central Division:
- LeBron James has structured his past two deals with the Cavaliers to give himself a chance to exit every summer, but the Cavs don’t think he’d dare to leave Cleveland a second time, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher said recently in a video and as Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk notes. That falls in line with a suggestion that Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports made last October, though Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer heard in December that James would be prepared to leave the Cavs if he felt it would be the “appropriate business decision.”
- The Pacers agreed to trade Roy Hibbert to the Lakers with the caveat that the Lakers would pull out of the deal if they signed a marquee free agent center, Lakers Executive VP of Basketball Operations Jim Buss told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. “[Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird] was fine with that,” Buss said. “Bird wanted to put the kid into a spotlight like this.” Hibbert praised Bird for having been up front with him, though David West cited the Pacers’ handling of their desire to move on from Hibbert as one of the reasons he opted out.
- Sam Smith of NBA.com, writing in a mailbag column, wonders about the lineup choices new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg will make and looks at whether the season ahead will have as little roster movement for Chicago as the summer did.
- We asked for your input on the Pistons roster dilemma as part of Tuesday’s Community Shootaround.