Central Notes: Sloan, Blatt, Ennis
Donald Sloan has proven to be a valuable find for the Pacers this season, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. Brigham compares Sloan’s path to the NBA to Hassan Whiteside‘s path. Both players came into the league with Sacramento in 2010, both spent time playing in the D-League and this season, both are playing major roles on their respective teams. Sloan hasn’t quite been as dominant as Whiteside, but the 27-year-old has started 21 games for Indiana this season. The Pacers are 24-34 on the season and currently own the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Sloan will become an unrestricted free agent after this season, in which he is making slightly more than $948K. The Texas A&M product is averaging 13.6 points, 6.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds per 36 minutes this year and with numbers like that, he should expect a raise on his minimum salary arrangement, although that is just my speculation.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Cavs coach David Blatt almost ended up as an assistant on Steve Kerr‘s staff in Golden State, but despite some early season difficulties, Blatt is happy to be in Cleveland, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “Once I had the opportunity to come to the Cavaliers I really didn’t feel any regret,” Blatt said. “It’s really through the good graces of Steve Kerr and the Golden State staff that I had the opportunity to interview for the job and they were willing to let me follow this path. I still hold a really good feeling of appreciation for the way they handled that situation. It’s turned out pretty good for both sides.”
- Blatt heard all of the criticism levied at him when the Cavs began the season slowly, but he never felt the need to validate his coaching credentials, Fedor adds. “I’ve been a head coach for 22 years,” Blatt said. “People overlook that too easily and I think unfairly. I know I’m the new kid on the block in the NBA and I recognize the greatness of this league and the difficulty of this league and the fact that I’ve had to make, and am still going through the adjustment to coach in this league, but I am not now, nor have I been for quite some time, a rookie coach.”
- New addition Tyler Ennis was excited about coming to Milwaukee and is happy with his increased playing time, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Ennis has played 88 minutes in his first five games with the Bucks after seeing only 58 minutes of NBA action during his time with the Suns this season.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post
Central Notes: Sanders, Perkins, Pistons
Larry Sanders had a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to continue to be paid if he didn’t play for the Bucks as long as he received mental health treatment, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Sanders this week acknowledged checking into a hospital to take part in a program for anxiety, depression and mood disorders, but Arnovitz indicates that he’s no longer in that facility, having departed shortly before he arranged his buyout from the Bucks. Before that, Sanders had broken off contact with the team, which nearly suspended him before the league did last month, Arnovitz also hears. One source who spoke with Arnovitz backed up a December report that Sanders was considering retirement, one Sanders quickly denied, though the center this week hinted that he might not play again. While we wait to see if Sanders can overcome his troubles and return to the NBA, here’s more from the Central Division:
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers pursued Kendrick Perkins even after he’d already committed to the Cavs, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said today in an appearance on ESPN Cleveland radio (audio link at 32:10 mark).
- It’s doubtful that Brandon Jennings and Reggie Jackson both remain Pistons long-term, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, who nonetheless believes it’s a distinct possibility that the two of them are still on the team next season.
- The Pistons lavished more money on Jodie Meeks than they did with any of the team’s other free agent signees last summer in large measure for his outside shooting, but the slumping Meeks is knocking down a career-worst 30.1% of his three-point attempts, MLive’s David Mayo notes. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy doesn’t regret failing to hire a shooting coach this summer but said he’ll consider it for next season, according to Mayo.
Cavs Out Of Running For Ray Allen
9:28am: The lack of playing time that Allen would see in Cleveland dissuades him from signing there, and the Cavs don’t want to cut a player to make room, Windhorst indicated, so it appears there isn’t interest from either side (audio link at 36:40 mark).
8:38am: It’s still unclear whether Ray Allen will play in the NBA this year, but if he does, it won’t be with the Cavaliers, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said today in an appearance on ESPN Cleveland radio (Twitter link). The Cavs had seemingly been the front-runners for the 18-year veteran since the summer, but it appears that’s no longer the case. Executives around the league have been growing increasingly pessimistic that the sharpshooter will be back this season to add to his all-time record for the most three-pointers made.
Several other teams still seem interested. Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal wrote as recently as a week ago that the Grizzlies would still like to sign him. Windhorst wrote earlier this month that the Cavs were among a group of teams that included the Warriors, Wizards, Spurs, Heat and Hawks who had kept in touch with Allen’s camp, and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said around the same time that he’d recently spoken to the sharpshooter. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal wrote as the All-Star break began that the Cavs had been in touch with Allen’s reps no more than a few days prior, so it appears Cleveland’s departure from the Allen sweepstakes is fairly recent.
It’s unclear if the Cavs lost interest or if Allen decided he doesn’t want to play for the team. Cleveland, which has a full roster of 15 players whose contracts run at least until the end of the season, is on a roll, having beaten the league-best Warriors on Thursday. It was the 18th win in the past 20 games for the Cavs, who could only offer a prorated minimum salary to Allen even if they were to sign him. Cleveland’s already close to $5MM above the luxury tax threshold, so any deal would only add to a long list of expenditures for owner Dan Gilbert.
Central Notes: Jackson, Perkins, Bulls
Reggie Jackson has embraced his new role as the Pistons’ floor leader but he’s not ready to become the leader in the locker room, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. Jackson, who becomes a restricted free agent after the season, was acquired by Detroit from the Thunder at the trade deadline. “It’s hard, it’s really hard,” Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said in the story. “You don’t have a relationship with guys yet. That’s why I think it’s tough for point guards. And yet, as a point guard, you’re expected to organize and lead and everything else. I think it’s a major challenge when you haven’t been with the team all year.” Jackson has already been organizing post-game restaurant outings with teammates, according to Mayo, which is perhaps an indication that he would welcome the opportunity to sign with the club long-term.
In other news around the Central Division:
- The contract that Kendrick Perkins signed with the Cavs is a minimum-salary affair that runs only until season’s end, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals on his Cavs salary page (Twitter link).
- The Pistons created two traded player exceptions in the deal for Jackson, Pincus tweets. Along with one worth $1.09MM for Kyle Singler, they also created a $796K exception for D.J. Augustin, according to Pincus. That will give the Pistons more flexibility to make trades this offseason.
- The mood around the Bulls is glum in the wake of Derrick Rose‘s latest knee surgery, and there’s concern he may not recover mentally after undergoing three knee operations since the 2011/12 playoffs, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. His teammates took the news particularly hard. “Very tough news, unexpected,’’ Pau Gasol said to Chicago beat reporters. “Heartbreaking in a way because of how much he has been through the last couple of years. Difficult to deal with; we feel for him. He’s definitely a key player for us, as well.’’ Even if Rose is able to return this season, it might difficult for him to be effective because of the intensity level of the postseason, Cowley adds.
- The Bulls could add another player to the roster depending upon the timetable for Rose’s return, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The decision on whether to sign a free agent will hinge on whether Rose is out for the season or not, according to Johnson.
Will Joseph contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Knight, Perkins, Kerr
The Suns were already planning to a hard push for Brandon Knight in free agency before they traded for him at last week’s deadline, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who writes amid a chat with readers. Phoenix was willing to trade the rights to the Lakers’ top-five protected first-round pick to Milwaukee for Knight, but the Bucks decided instead to take a package that included Michael Carter-Williams from the Sixers in what ended up a three-way deal, Ford adds.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- It was tough for Kendrick Perkins to turn down former coach Doc Rivers and the Clippers, but a pitch from LeBron James was too tempting to pass up, notes Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “He was real honest with me,” Perkins said of Rivers. “He told me, ‘I think your best two situations right now is either us or Cleveland.’ So I was like, ‘Doc? Or I have a chance to go play with The King [LeBron James]. Doc? The King? Uh, I choose The King.”
- New Kings assistant coach Vance Walberg is being counted on to bring creativity to Sacramento’s offense, which is something the team was looking for when it fired former coach Mike Malone, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes.
- The hiring of Steve Kerr as coach was the final ingredient needed to change the Warriors from a one-and-done playoff team into a title contender, Chris Ballard of SI.com writes. Ballard also runs down how GM Bob Myers constructed the rest of the team’s roster, which is currently an NBA best 44-10.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Sign Kendrick Perkins
TUESDAY, 3:40pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
9:49pm: Perkins will sign with the Cavaliers Tuesday before the team plays in Detroit, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
MONDAY, 4:14pm: Perkins has cleared waivers as expected, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), clearing the way for him to sign with the Cavs.
SATURDAY, 3:30pm: Kendrick Perkins has finalized a buyout arrangement with the Jazz and intends to sign with the Cavaliers if and when he clears waivers, Royce Young of ESPN.com reports. Perkins was dealt to the Jazz on Thursday as part of a three-way trade with the Pistons and Thunder that sent Reggie Jackson to Detroit and Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City. The buyout has not been officially announced by the player or the Jazz as of yet, though Perkins’ agent Arn Tellem has informed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that a buyout had been agreed upon.
The veteran big man was recruited by LeBron James to select Cleveland as his next NBA destination, Young notes. Perkins also drew heavy interest from the Bulls, Clippers, Pelicans, and Spurs, the ESPN scribe adds. The combination of a chance to contend for an NBA title along with an opportunity for playing time pushed Perkins to choose Cleveland over his other suitors, Young relays. The Cavs currently have 14 players on their roster, so no additional move would be required to sign Perkins. No contract details for Perkins have been released, but the Cavs do have a disabled player exception worth $4,852,273 for Anderson Varejao that they could use to sign Perkins for more than the minimum.
Perkins, 30, is making $9.654MM this season and would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. In 51 appearances this season, all with the Thunder, Perkins is averaging 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 19.2 minutes per contest.
Eastern Notes: Kirilenko, Perkins, Young
Recently released Sixers forward Andrei Kirilenko hinted that his NBA career is over in comments he made after joining CSKA Moscow, as Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net relays.
“I am glad to be back to my favorite team, where I played in the beginning of my career, then in the middle of it,” Kirilenko said. “It’s great that I got this chance and I was happy to use it. I understand that the time has come to think about quitting as a pro player and in my opinion it is better to do it in my dear club’s uniform.”
It would have been hard to imagine such an abrupt ending for the 34-year-old in 2013, when he turned down a player option worth $10.219MM from the Timberwolves, but it’s been largely downhill for him since he signed a discount deal with the Nets that summer. Here’s more news related to Eastern Conference teams:
- The Cavs aren’t signing Kendrick Perkins with the thought that he’ll have the same sort of role he played this season for the Thunder, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Instead, he’ll simply be an “insurance policy” in case another big man is unable to play, Lloyd writes. Cleveland is set to ink Perkins today once he clears waivers.
- A desire for more athleticism helped prompt the Nets to swap Kevin Garnett for Thaddeus Young, who’s ecstatic about having been sent to Brooklyn, as Newsday’s Roderick Boone details. Young has an early termination option worth as much as nearly $10.222MM for next season.
- The deadline trade that sent Isaiah Canaan to Philadelphia thrust him into a chance at significant playing time for the first time in his career, and coach Brett Brown is impressed so far, as Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders examines. Canaan, like many on the Sixers roster, nonetheless has little job security, since less than $758K of his minimum salary is guaranteed for next season.
Central Notes: Cavs, Miller, Pistons
Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith are giving LeBron James even more reason to believe in the Cavaliers, Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Shump and Smith shined against their former team over the weekend and no moment encapsulated that better than the alleyop lobbed by the former to the latter in the fourth quarter. “They’ve given us everything we’ve asked, and more,” James said, about the former Knicks. “We love them. I know I do. I love them and I’m happy to have them on board.” More from the Central Division..
- Mike Miller‘s role on the court with the Cavs has been reduced quite a bit, but he believes that he still has a place on the team and in this league. Miller has a $2.8MM player option for the 2015/16 season and as of now he says his intentions are to pick up that option, Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer. “I would say yes. I am coming back, but it’s a long year,” Miller said. “I’m going to see how this one goes. All I’m focused on is what we do here. We’ve got 25 games here and then a playoff run. We’ll see how that goes. Where I’m at now, I’ve been blessed to do 15 years. It’s a year-by-year basis. I love what I’m doing.”
- The Pistons were reluctant to trade Kyle Singler at the deadline, Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Detroit knew he was about to hit restricted free agency, however, and more importantly they really wanted to land Reggie Jackson.
- More from Ellis (link), who says that despite what’s being said, it’s hard to see Brandon Jennings remaining with the Pistons after next season. Jennings is out for the remainder of this campaign after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. He makes $8MM this season and has one more year worth nearly $8.344MM left on his deal.
Central Notes: LeBron, Prince, Knicks
It was obvious to Frank Isola of the Daily News that LeBron James wasn’t being entirely honest when he announced his return to Cleveland in July. “I’m not promising a championship,” James wrote in Sports Illustrated. “I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010.” Now, however, it’s clear that the Cavs are gunning to win it all. Here’s more from the Central Division..
- Some have speculated that Tayshaun Prince would ask the Pistons for a buyout, but coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t see that happening, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. “I don’t think it’s a case of that,” Van Gundy said. “You guys can talk to him. I think what happened is, quite honestly, he expected one thing and it didn’t happen. It takes a little bit to adjust, but we talked today and I think he’s ready to go and will be a big help to us down the stretch.”
- If LeBron were ever to leave the Cavs for the Knicks, it would be to team up with Carmelo Anthony and not because he wants to play in the Garden, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. James once again professed his love for MSG as the Cavs came to town to take on the Knicks this weekend.
- When the Knicks traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers, the idea was addition by subtraction, but they have become vital cogs for the title-contending Cavs, Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal writes. “Both of those guys have come in with such great attitudes and given us such great play,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said on Saturday. Still, Beaton writes that it’s not clear if the duo could have found that same success in New York as they might have needed a change of scenery.
- Smith is silencing critics with his play with the Cavs, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes.
Eastern Notes: Canaan, Sixers, Wizards, Sanders
It didn’t take Sixers coach Brett Brown long to name his new starting point guard, according to Mark Macyk of The Inquirer. Isaiah Canaan, who came from Houston to Philadelphia along with a second-round draft pick on Thursday in exchange for K.J. McDaniels, has been chosen to replace the traded Michael Carter-Williams. “I’m excited to coach him,” Brown said of Canaan. “I think that there’s a youthful spirit and a competitiveness, along with what he’s really known for, which is his shot.”
There’s much more from the Eastern Conference:
- The parting of Carter-Williams and the Sixers was best for both parties, writes Keith Pompey of The Inquirer. Pompey charges that Carter-Williams is a poor shooter, often holds the ball too long, commits too many turnovers and is injury prone. He also cited two public disagreements with the coaching staff during lopsided Sixers’ losses.
- The Wizards followed Friday’s embarrassing loss to the Cavaliers with a “spirited” film session on Saturday, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. The team discussed defensive breakdowns, post-game squabbles and the generally awful effort that led to a 38-point loss on national television. “When you got good guys like we got on the team, guys speak up and let guys know what need to be done,” said newly acquired guard Ramon Sessions. “As a pro you don’t look at that and take that in the wrong way. You take that in a way to make the team better. We’re going to be fine.”
- Larry Sanders gave up a lot of money Saturday in accepting a buyout from the Bucks, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick wrote that Sanders received about $15.2MM of the $38MM left on his contract, in addition to what he already earned this season.
- Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that he “wasn’t the right fit” for the Knicks‘ triangle offense. Smith and Iman Shumpert were traded from New York to Cleveland on January 5th. “It was tough from a mental standpoint,” Smith said. “You start second-guessing yourself and your talent to a certain point. So many guys thrived in that triangle, and you want to put yourself in that class. Not living up to it is kind of disappointing.’’