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‘Melo On Knicks, Bulls, Rockets, Mavs, Lakers

November 28th, 2014 at 8:49am CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony met with the Bulls, Rockets, Mavs and Lakers in addition to the Knicks this summer, but in a forthcoming documentary, he makes it clear that his final decision was between the Knicks and the Bulls, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman obtained a preliminary cut of the film, called “Carmelo Anthony: Made In NY,’’ that’s set to air next week on MSG Network, and Anthony’s statements in the movie demonstrate just how close the high-scoring forward came to wearing red-and-black.

“Chicago was the one from Day 1 [and] was something I was very impressed with,” Anthony said in the film. “They were looking for someone like me to come in and take them to the next level. So it was perfect. It was a perfect setup and perfect fit for me in Chicago. But also I had to think about just living in Chicago. Do I want to live in Chicago? Do I want to take everything I created in New York and move all of that? It came down to that. But there was one point in time I was like — oh, I’m going.’’

Berman shared several other revelations from the documentary in his full-length story, and we’ll summarize them here:

‘Melo’s camp concluded that they’d need to have the Knicks sign-and-trade him to Chicago for him to end up on the Bulls with a max deal, Berman writes. Anthony’s manager, Bay Frazier, said in the documentary that the Bulls could offer a total of only $74MM, according to Berman. There were various hypothetical scenarios in which the Bulls could have opened more flexibility, but it sounds like $74MM was the realistic amount on the table.
Anthony spoke of affection for the winning attitude of the Bulls and said that Derrick Rose reached out to recruit him, as Berman details. Rose’s supposed unwillingness to go along with Chicago’s pitch to Anthony was reportedly at the root of tension between the team and its star point guard. “D-Rose is tough. He even hit me [up],” Anthony said. “I’ve been talking to him. Him and [Joakim] Noah. Noah’s more outgoing. But I’m glad we did them first.’’
Anthony said he didn’t want to endure the “culture change” that would come with living in Texas and playing for either the Mavs or the Rockets, Berman notes.
Kobe Bryant and Anthony have spoken about one day playing together, but the specter of changing teams just to find himself in another rebuilding situation made jumping to the Lakers an unappealing choice, Anthony said in the documentary, as Berman relays.

And-Ones: Realignment, Jones, D-League, Draft

November 26th, 2014 at 8:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs owner Mark Cuban has come up with a proposal to level the playing field between the NBA’s two conferences that involves realignment, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports. In Cuban’s plan, the Spurs, Rockets, Pelicans and Mavs would shift to the Eastern Conference, and the Bulls, Pacers, Pistons, and Bucks would relocate to the west. Cuban acknowledged that Dallas could benefit from the shift, but added, “It’s not like it’d be the first time we’ve ever realigned. It’s happened many times before, so there’s precedent and I just think it shakes things up and makes things interesting. It’s not like you’re reducing competition. You keep Cleveland, Washington and other good teams in the East. It kind of shakes things up in terms of not just interest but also in terms of how people rebuild.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants have acquired the rights to Dahntay Jones through the D-League’s waiver process, the team announced today. Jones last appeared in the NBA during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 50 games for the Mavericks, and he spent the preseason last month with the Jazz. His career NBA averages are 5.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
With the Lakers receiving a disabled player exception for the season-ending injury to Steve Nash, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times ran down the long list of players who are mathematically attainable via a trade using the $4.851MM exception the league granted the franchise.
With an increase in higher-profile players entering the D-League’s player pool, it is lowering the incentive for fringe players to remain in the league, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. A D-League team source told Pilato, “If you’re in there right now [player pool] and were either undrafted or cut in camp and not picked up yet, there’s no reason to stay. And with an abundance of guys either coming back early from Europe or deciding that the D-League is the best option, there are just too many new faces coming in to really consider the guys that other teams have already decided don’t have what it takes to play in this league.”
ESPN.com draft guru Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) runs down eight college prospects who have raised their draft stock with excellent early-season play, including Kevon Looney (UCLA); Justise Winslow (Duke); Buddy Hield (Oklahoma); and Kennedy Meeks (North Carolina).

Central Notes: Scola, Bucks, Butler

November 26th, 2014 at 12:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James still hasn’t hit his 30th birthday, which comes next month, but there’s evidence to suggest that he’s already past his prime, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher examines. The four-time MVP hasn’t been able to carry the Cavs to the sort of performances they were expected to have so far this season, but he’s not the only one struggling for Cleveland, which is just 6-7. Here’s more from the Central Division:

Pacers power forward Luis Scola still thinks of what might have been if the Spurs, who drafted him in 2002, hadn’t traded his rights to the Rockets in 2007 before he joined the NBA, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details. Playing with San Antonio would have meant pairing with Tim Duncan, whom Scola calls “my biggest hero,” and fellow Argentine Manu Ginobili. All three are set to hit free agency this summer, but there’s retirement talk surrounding Duncan and Ginobili, and Scola spoke of the chance to play with them as though it wouldn’t come again.
The Bucks are facing an 2017 deadline to break ground on a new arena, lest the league seize control of the team, but commissioner Adam Silver downplayed any urgency surrounding the situation as he visited Milwaukee on Tuesday. Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details. “I didn’t come here to announce deadlines,” Silver said. “We want to work in partnership with the city and the state to get a new arena built. We’re always going to be reasonable.” Silver, who advocated for the repeal of a “jock tax” in Tennessee, expressed measured support for such an arena funding source in Wisconsin, where a jock tax is under consideration, as Walker notes.
Jimmy Butler rejects the idea that he’s a marquee player, but Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is the latest to gush about the swingman poised for restricted free agency this summer, observes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. “He’s been incredible,” Thibodeau said. “He’s a star, and he does it on both ends of the floor. He’s just an amazing player. We’ve had him play the point, we’ve had him play the 2, the 3, and [Tuesday] he played the 4. And he hasn’t had any opportunity to practice the 4. So he just got out there, he’s smart, he’s tough, he does whatever the team needs, and he found a way to help lead us into coming back and having a shot at the end.”

Eastern Notes: Whiteside, Beal, Butler, Cavs

November 25th, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

League executives are confident that Bradley Beal will command a max extension from the Wizards, RealGM’s Shams Charania hears. Washington has made it known around the league that it intends to do whatever’s necessary to secure the shooting guard for the long term, Charania adds, echoing a report from last month indicating that the Wizards were already planning to ink Beal to an extension when he’s eligible for one in the offseason ahead.

Here’s more from the east:

The Heat see new signee Hassan Whiteside as a prospect they can develop for the long term, coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters, including Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The center had worked out two times in three years for the team, including an audition last week, as Jackson writes in a separate piece.
Whiteside’s free agent deal with the Heat is for two years, and includes partial guarantees for each season, Charania reports (Twitter link). It’s presumably a minimum salary arrangement, since the Heat are limited to giving out no more than that.
The Bulls and Jimmy Butler failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension, setting him up to become a restricted free agent next summer. But Butler isn’t letting his contract situation distract him and is continuing to work hard, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes in his profile of the swingman. “I feel like I’ve never been the best player,” Butler said. “I’ve never been highly recruited, so I’ve always had all the chips stacked up against me and I’ve always found a way to make things happen. [The contract talk] is just another obstacle, another hurdle. But I think I’m in the right direction and if I keep my eye on the prize I think I’ll end up successful.”
Not all “superteams” are created equal, and it takes great sacrifices to make a combination of superstar players work, something the Cavs are finding out the hard way, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. “I tell people all the time that it’s easy to say the word sacrifice,” veteran swingman Mike Miller said. “But to sacrifice, whether it’s playing time, shots, things like that, without knowing the outcome, it’s scary. And that’s what you’re asking players to do here in Cleveland again. You got young, talented players that are asked to sacrifice without knowing what the outcome could be. If you don’t win a championship, is it worth it?“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Butler, Knight, Gray

November 25th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Few would have imagined that the Bucks, who had the worst record in the NBA last year, would have a better mark nearly a month into this season than LeBron James and the Cavs do, but that’s the case, with Milwaukee at 7-7, a half-game clear of 6-7 Cleveland. Still, it won’t be difficult for the Cavs to climb back into contention for a high playoff seed, since they’re only two games back of the Central Division-leading Bulls in the loss column. Here’s the latest from the Central:

Jimmy Butler tells Ben Golliver of SI.com that it was difficult to pass on an extension with the Bulls last month but that he turned down Chicago’s offer because he believed in his ability to improve his offensive game after a step back last season. Butler has proven wise so far, averaging 20.8 points per game on 49.7% shooting this season compared to 13.1 PPG and 39.7% shooting last year.
Brandon Knight has had three coaches in his four NBA seasons, but his relationship with new Bucks coach Jason Kidd has been positive so far, and a desire for stability is one reason why Knight wants to re-sign with the Bucks this summer, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines.
Aaron Gray won’t play this season because of a heart ailment, and he acknowledges that there’s a chance that he’ll never be healthy enough to return, as he says to MLive’s David Mayo. Still, he’s not giving up hope, and a couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday, Gray is serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Pistons, who waived him last month in part because of his health, as Mayo details. “They brought me here for a service,” Gray said. “Even though I’ve been waived, the type of guy I am, I’m still getting paid for two years. I just wouldn’t feel right not contributing as much as I possibly could.”

Cavs, Wizards, Bulls, Spurs Still Eyeing Ray Allen

November 24th, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:00pm: The Cavs remain the “undisputed favorites” to sign Allen, providing he decides to play again, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

3:35pm: The Wizards haven’t checked in on Allen recently, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t still interested in him, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

12:59pm: The Cavs, Wizards, Bulls and Spurs are among a group of seven teams that maintain interest in signing free agent Ray Allen, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Allen has been spending time in Miami and continuing to stay in shape, Broussard adds, but while it’s not entirely clear whether the Heat are one of those seven, the 39-year-old sharpshooter has reportedly ruled out a return to the franchise with which he’s spent the past two seasons.

The four teams Broussard identifies in his latest dispatch have all been linked to Allen over the past several months, with Cleveland most frequently mentioned in connection with the Jim Tanner client. A report earlier this month indicated that the Bulls remained in contact with Allen’s representatives, and Cavs GM David Griffin was reportedly speaking with Allen’s camp in early October, with the Cavs still seemingly the front-runners at that point. The Cavs maintained belief as late as mid-September that Allen would eventually sign with them, but Tanner denied a couple of weeks later that a deal between Cleveland and his client was imminent. That was one of several occasions since the start of free agency that Allen’s camp has shushed rumors, and whether Allen even wants to continue playing at all is still unknown.

The Spurs have the most flexibility to pay Allen among the teams Broussard lists, since San Antonio still has a $3.228MM slice of its mid-level exception left after using part of it to re-sign Aron Baynes. The Spurs would nonetheless need to unload a player on a fully guaranteed contract to sign Allen. The Wizards, Bulls and Cavs are limited to the minimum salary, but they all possess players on non-guaranteed contracts, and Chicago has an open roster spot, as our roster counts show.

And-Ones: Thompson, AK-47, Nets, Mirotic

November 23rd, 2014 at 9:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

After agreeing to an extension with the Warriors last month, Klay Thompson got some words of wisdom from his father, reports Billy Witz of The New York Times. “I told him, with a contract extension like that comes a lot of responsibility,” said Mychal Thompson, a former overall No. 1 draft pick and now part of the Lakers broadcast team. “Now you have to prove to people that you’re underpaid. That means showing up every night and playing at the highest level. Now you have to prove that you’re worth that.” More from around the NBA..

The Warriors gambled by holding on to Thompson instead of trading for Kevin Love. Right now, it looks like that gamble is paying off, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Meanwhile, Thompson was happy to get an extension done. “It was great,” Thompson said. “It was a big relief, but it was cool to see just how much the Warriors believe in me, and believe I’m a building block. It makes me want to go out there and play hard every day.”
There are “hints out there” that the market for Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko may be broader than reported, both in terms of teams interested and what Brooklyn could get in return, according to Robert Windrem of Nets Daily.
Nets guard Deron Williams wishes his team had the same approach to team building as the Spurs, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “[San Antonio] is a team you envy, because they’ve had a system, they’ve had a coach and pretty much the same group of guys for a long time,” Williams said of the Spurs.
Sam Smith of NBA.com is impressed with the play of Bulls rookie Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic is a tremendous shooter at 6’10” and also boasts the ability to pass off the dribble.
Comparisons to James Harden might be a bit much, but basketball people are high on Duke star Justise Winslow, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “Top ten,” one veteran NBA scout told Zagoria “He is getting better, a little more experienced and he will slow down a little and soften his shot and watch out.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Smith, Moreland, Sampson

November 21st, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Minnesota is the latest team to be besieged by injuries, with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin out indefinitely and Ronny Turiaf also expected to miss time. Also among the Timberwolves to sit on the sidelines in street clothes tonight is Nikola Pekovic, who has a sprained wrist. With the league-maximum 15 players on their roster, the Wolves would not be able to sign another player without being forced to release someone. But if at least three of the players miss three consecutive games and an independent physician declares that they and a fourth player are likely to continue to miss time, Minnesota could apply to the league for a hardship provision that would grant them the ability to temporarily carry a 16th player. Still, “they don’t hand those things out like candy,” as Flip Saunders noted of the league’s willingness to grant 16th roster spots, in spite of recent allowances for the Thunder, Pacers and Grizzlies, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Kings have sent Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns, the team announced. This will be Moreland’s second assignment to the D-League this season. The 22-year-old power forward has yet to make a regular season appearance for Sacramento
The Sixers have assigned JaKarr Sampson to the Delaware 87ers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Sampson’s first trip to the D-League this season, and the rookie is averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in nine NBA appearances.
Former Blazers first round pick Nolan Smith is headed back to the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports. Smith had cut ties with Turkey’s Galatasaray back in October and intends to use the D-League to showcase his talents for NBA teams, Pilato notes. The D-League will assign Smith to one of its teams through its waiver system. The 26-year-old point guard spent 2011/12 and 2012/13 with Portland, averaging 3.3 PPG and 1.2 APG in 9.9 minutes per contest. Smith had received partially guaranteed offers from the Bulls and the Thunder this summer but instead chose to try his luck in Turkey.

Bulls Notes: Gasol, Butler, Point Guards

November 21st, 2014 at 7:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Kirk Hinrich out indefinitely with a chest injury, the Bulls are hoping that Derrick Rose can return to action by this Monday, or else the team will consider signing another point guard, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter link). Rose has been sidelined with ankle woes leaving Aaron Brooks the only healthy point guard on the team. Chicago currently has only 14 players on its roster so no additional move would be required for the team to add another body.

Here’s more from the Windy City:

One of the best free agent signings of the summer not involving a player named LeBron James was the Bulls locking up Pau Gasol on a three-year, $22.3MM deal. Gasol left Los Angeles because he felt that he needed a change of scenery, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Just a gut feeling that I needed to move on,” Gasol said. “I needed something different. I needed to be in a different position where I could be assimilated, where I could be motivated every single day, where I could be rejuvenated.”
Besides his on-court production, Gasol is also paying dividends in his mentoring of rookie Nikola Mirotic, Aschburner adds. “All the things Nikola is going through, Pau has gone through,” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “More importantly, it’s what he does. There are a lot of guys who say all the right things and do none of them. Pau does all the right things. He comes in every day, takes care of himself. He studies. He prepares. He practices hard, he practices well, and then he goes out there and he executes. And he plays for the team — he’s not one of those guys pounding his chest, ‘Look at me, look at me.’ He’s one of those guys who’s ‘Let’s look at the team.’ “
In his weekly mailbag, Sam Smith of NBA.com opined that Jimmy Butler should have accepted the Bulls’ extension offer despite how well Butler is currently performing. Smith cites Butler’s young age and the need for long-term security, using Jay Williams’ career-ending injury as an example of how quickly things can change. Smith also added that it would be different if Butler had already had a big money deal during his career, but since he is only being paid rookie scale wages, taking the eight-figure deal would have been the safer play.

Eastern Notes: Anthony, McDermott, Haywood

November 20th, 2014 at 9:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In an interview with Eli Saslow of ESPN: The Magazine (hat tip to Marc Berman of The New York Post), Carmelo Anthony said that coming to New York to play for the Knicks distorted his reputation and did not enhance it. “I’m more misunderstood than most people,” Anthony said. “As an athlete, you don’t really have a voice. Everything you say or do, people have a million opinions about it, so it doesn’t really get heard the way you want it to get heard. People are putting things on you and shaping your reputation, and you don’t really have control. People say I am all about more money, but it’s not like that. It’s about having the appearance of someone with success. Image and reputation matter to me. If you’re being honest, they matter to everybody. Money is about people thinking of you as someone who does well.”

Here’s more from the east:

Anthony also added that he isn’t fond of critics opining before each season on whether he will finally prove himself as a winner. “People say every year is the one that will determine if I’m great or terrible, if I’ve met expectations or been a disappointment,” Anthony said. “To be honest with you, I’m tired of it.” With the Knicks‘ record a disappointing 3-10, it doesn’t look like this will be the season ‘Melo silences his critics.
Despite entering the league with four years of college experience and having won numerous awards during that time, Doug McDermott admitted that it’s not easy being a rookie and that he is still trying to find his way with the Bulls, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. “I’m still kind of establishing a role to be honest,” McDermott said. “It’s still really early, and I’m just trying to get my feet wet and learn more things defensively and the playbook, and everything’s coming along great. So I’m making steps, but I think it’s still early and I think I can have a really good role on this team, not just as a shooter, but overall just a good role.”
Brendan Haywood understands that the appeal of his non-guaranteed contract for next season makes him a more valuable trade asset than on-the-court contributor for the Cavs, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I don’t worry about it because at the end of the day, I can’t do anything about it,” Haywood said. “If somebody views my contract as an asset or the team feels they can get something in that can help them or shed salary, they’re going to do what they’re going to do because that’s what they have to do.”