And-Ones: Howard, Waiters, Johnson, Pacers
Dwight Howard makes several candid comments in an EPIX.com documentary about his departure from the Magic, his year with the Lakers, and the 2013 back injury that one of his surgeons believes had a decent chance to end his career, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Howard also delved into his relationship with Kobe Bryant.
“Before I got to the Lakers, I would talk to him [and] he would really help me out on the [down] low about how to become everything that I said I wanted to be. And I looked up to him and I looked up to everything he, as a basketball player, stood for,” Howard said, as Stein transcribes. “… [By the end of that season] I just felt so hurt and disappointed in the fact that the guy that I was expecting to be somebody who was gonna pass the torch, somebody to say, ‘Dwight, I’ll take you under my wing and I’ll show you how to get it done’ … it was none of that.”
Howard remains a fascinating figure even as his long-term deal with the Rockets has quieted the rumors that surrounded him. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Cavs shopped Dion Waiters this past August but found no takers, according to Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com, who writes in an Insider-only piece. That conflicts with a report from early August that indicated the Cavs weren’t trying to trade the shooting guard.
- Ivan Johnson has drawn offers from NBA teams and clubs overseas, a source tells HoopsHype’s David Alarcón (Twitter link and translation). He plans to make a decision about whom to sign with in the next couple of weeks, Alarcón adds.
- Frank Vogel believes Lance Stephenson would have chosen to re-sign with the Pacers if he’d known Paul George would suffer his broken leg, as Vogel tells Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. “I think he probably — and we probably — would have approached it differently,” Vogel said. “The money would have to have been right, and we would’ve had to figure that out. But he would have had much more incentive to stay.”
And-Ones: Ellington, Mekel, Cavs, Thunder
Wayne Ellington has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the Lakers, the team announced. Ellington’s father was tragically shot and killed this past Sunday. It is unclear if this will affect Ellington’s roster spot, as he has a partial guarantee of $315,646 set to kick in if he remains on the roster past this coming Saturday. The team is reportedly pursuing free agent Quincy Miller, and with their current roster count at the maximum of 15 players, the Lakers would need to waive or trade a player to create room for any signing. Los Angeles was recently granted a disabled player exception worth $1,498,680 in response to the season-ending injury suffered by rookie Julius Randle.
More from around the NBA..
- A number of teams are interested in signing the recently waived Gal Mekel, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Given that the Mavs are on the hook to pay him $1.76MM over the next two years, Kennedy surmises that Mekel might wait for a prime opportunity rather than jumping at the first offer thrown his way.
- Dion Waiters thinks the early season woes that the Cavs have endured will make them a better team in the long haul, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. His new teammate, LeBron James, also cautioned that immediate success shouldn’t be expected when teams first come together, adding that the roster still needs to work on a number of areas.
- Mark Cuban suggested the Thunder might be wise to consider tanking in wake of injuries to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks says he wouldn’t consider such a strategy, as Sean Deveney of Sporting News transcribes. “I don’t really pay much attention to other people’s thoughts on our team,” said Brooks in response to Cuban’s comments. “I know what our organization is about… Tanking is not something that we will consider. I don’t think any teams focus on doing that — you’re a pro team, you get paid to play. You play as hard as you can and do the best you can as a group. So that’s never even been considered.”
- Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com thinks that the Sixers came away with the biggest steal of the 2014 draft in K.J. McDaniels. Taken with the 32nd selection, McDaniels has jumped out to a quick start this season, averaging 9.3 points and 1.7 blocks per night.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Patterson, Wade
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders runs down some possible options the Cavs have to fortify their struggling roster. Given Cleveland’s proximity to the luxury tax line, their spending flexibility is somewhat limited, so Duncan isn’t convinced that extending Anderson Varejao was the right decision.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Earlier this week I ran down the highest paid players in the NBA and Kobe Bryant topped the list with his salary of $23.5MM for 2014/15. Chris Johnson of SI.com took a look at this same topic, but factored in taxes (city/state/Federal), NBPA fees, as well as the cuts that the players’ agents receive. According to Johnson’s new calculations the player who is actually taking home the most cash this season is the Nets‘ Joe Johnson.
- Patrick Patterson said that he was “very tempted” to sign with the Magic this past summer, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports reports (Twitter link). Orlando’s pitch tried to sell Patterson on an opportunity to be a starter, but in the end the forward wanted to play for a contending team, something re-signing with the Raptors gave him a much better chance at this season, notes Lewenberg.
- Miami’s Dwyane Wade is much happier this season despite the Heat having lost LeBron James to the Cavs via free agency this past summer, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. This isn’t because of any issues Wade had with James, but now Wade gets to have the ball in his hands more often, notes Goodman, something that makes Wade more comfortable as a player.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Price, Cavs, Pistons
The Bulls are in first place in the Central Division, and with the struggles of the Cavs so far this season, that might not change for a while. The same stability could be seen in the division’s cellar, even though the last-place Pacers won Monday for a second time this year, beating the Jazz. Both Cleveland and Indiana have made roster moves in the regular season’s first two weeks, and there’s more on the newest Pacer amid the latest from around the Central:
- The 16th roster spot that the league granted the Pacers is only temporary, but coach Frank Vogel believes that A.J. Price, whom the team signed to fill that slot, deserves a spot on an NBA roster somewhere, notes Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star. Price merely hopes that Vogel is right. “I’m playing for my life, man,” Price said. “I’m staying till they tell me to go or tell me to stay longer, either or.” Price has an offer to play in China, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com, but he’s unsurprisingly eager to stay longer if the Pacers see fit to keep him and offload another player, as the Star’s Autumn Allison tweets.
- The Cavs should be kicking around trade ideas internally, but they shouldn’t be reaching out to other teams at this stage in spite of their .500 record, as Tom Penn of ESPN.com opines amid an Insider-only “Front Office” piece.
- Stan Van Gundy isn’t the first Pistons coach to start poorly in recent years, but the difference with him is that he has the power to change the team’s personnel, an idea that must be increasingly appealing to him, MLive’s David Mayo writes.
Eastern Notes: Waiters, Frye, Thomas, Powell
Dion Waiters may have been moved out of the starting lineup, but Cavaliers coach David Blatt tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that the third-year guard should think of himself as a “second starter.” “I just don’t like the term ‘bench player’ because I don’t think that’s what he is,” Blatt said. “He’s a player who plays important minutes in the game when we need them. To me, whether he begins the game [as a starter] or not is less significant. It’s about the minutes he plays and what he does in those minutes.” Still on his rookie contract, Waiters is under the Cavaliers’ control through the 2016/17 season.
Also in the Eastern Conference:
- The Magic know what Channing Frye can do for them, but his new teammates don’t always know where he is, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “When I’m watching film, he’s open more times than he’s receiving the basketball,” lamented Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. “That’s just guys not knowing where he’s going to be yet, not knowing how the defense is going to play him.” The growing pains are to be expected for the Magic, who brought in eight new players during the offseason. Frye, a big man with three-point range, came to Orlando as a free agent, signing for $32MM over four years.
- Malcolm Thomas, who was waived Monday by the Sixers, has opted to undergo knee surgery, according to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Thomas, who was playing about 14 minutes per game, suffered a left knee effusion and will be out of action for four to five weeks.
- The Celtics‘ Dwight Powell has no complaints about his short stint in the D-League, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Powell, who was recalled by the Celtics Monday, scored 29 points in a Maine Red Claws scrimmage. “It’s very important for me or any player really, to work on your skills,” Powell said. “I’m glad I was able to get down there.” Powell came to Boston this summer as part of a three-team deal with the Nets and Cavaliers. He has yet to appear in a regular-season game for the Celtics.
Eastern Notes: Brooks, Dellavedova, Powell
Bulls guard Aaron Brooks credits coach Tom Thibodeau with rebuilding the confidence that once made him the NBA’s Most Improved Player, according to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Thibodeau quickly became a fan of the 6’0″ guard after he signed a one year deal with the Bulls in the offseason for $915,243. “I came in here lacking confidence,” Brooks admitted. “Even when I doubted myself, he was there to tell me, ‘You know what? I’ve watched you play, you’ve done well’ and just to keep working hard. It’s been a breath of fresh air for me.” Brooks earned the Most Improved Player award with the Rockets during the 2009/10 season, but has since bounced around the league, playing for the Suns, Kings, Rockets again and Nuggets before signing with Chicago.
Here’s more from the east:
- Matthew Dellavedova has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks of action, the Cavs announced in a press release. The backup point guard is averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 assists in three appearances.
- Celtics forward Dwight Powell has been assigned to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. The rookie has yet to make a regular season appearance after averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game in six preseason appearances.
- The Pacers are doing their best to remain positive despite a spate of injuries affecting their top seven players, according to Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. “It’s almost comical,” point guard Donald Sloan said. “Just how it’s happening. It seems game by game, it’s something. Same story.” The latest victim is center Roy Hibbert, who is day-to-day after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Wizards with a bruised left knee. The spiral for the 1-6 Pacers, who were the East’s top seed last season, began when Paul George suffered a broken leg in August during an exhibition game with the USA Men’s National Team.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: LeBron, Waiters, Jennings, Knicks
LeBron James endorses Dion Waiters‘ new sixth man role for the Cavs, writes Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer. “For the best of the team, that should be Dion’s role,” James said. “Dion comes off the bench and brings us that scoring mentality but more than that, he brings us another defender off the bench, which we need. Someone that’s tough, someone that can guard one through three. It’s a new role, but it’s a good role for him.” Waiters is beginning to embrace his role as well. “I got to do whatever I got to do for the better of the team,” Waiters said. “If it’s starting, if it’s coming off the bench, if it’s the water boy, I got to do it. Whatever is best for the team.” Some have suggested that Waiters was not ready to sacrifice for the betterment of the team; perhaps this is a step in the right direction for the Cavs.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- LeBron’s pleas for patience regarding the Cavs early season struggles go against a number of moves the organization has made this past offseason, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. If Cleveland was truly taking the long-view approach, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett would still be on the roster instead of in Minnesota, and the team wouldn’t have added so many aging veterans, Winderman opines.
- Brandon Jennings doesn’t dwell on his past with the Bucks, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Gardner notes that Jennings could have had more success in Milwaukee if Andrew Bogut hadn’t gotten seriously injured during Jennings’ rookie year or if Monta Ellis hadn’t left the team in free agency. Both players are arguably in better situations than Jennings is after leaving the Bucks, but the point guard is being patient with the Pistons this season. “I’m just staying positive,” Jennings said. “It’s a long season. We’re still trying to find our identity with a new coach, a new system. It’s definitely going to take time.”
- The Knicks‘ early-season struggles are more about team chemistry than learning the triangle offense, opines Harvey Araton of The New York Times. Araton points out that missing Jose Calderon, who was set to be the team’s starting point guard, as well as the team’s lack of long-term options in the frontcourt hinders New York’s ability to implement the offense that Phil Jackson has won 11 titles with. The Knicks have no players at the center or power forward positions signed past this season with Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, Jason Smith, Quincy Acy, Travis Wear and Samuel Dalembert all set to become free agents at the end of the season.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Waiters, Bazemore, Cavs
Despite their win in Denver last night the Cavs are off to a bit of a rough start to the new season. Dion Waiters, one of the players struggling to adjust to his new role, isn’t likely to remain on Cleveland’s roster for the long haul, Steven Ruiz of USA Today writes. The 22-year-old guard isn’t in a rush to win yet, and isn’t quite ready to sacrifice his numbers and potential earning power for the good of the team, Ruiz opines. Waiters could potentially be trade bait to acquire a defensive stopper, something the Cavs sorely need, adds the USA Today scribe.
Here’s more from the east:
- This past offseason Kent Bazemore inked a two year, $4MM deal with the Hawks. In an interview with Paul Garcia of Project Spurs, Bazemore discussed why he chose Atlanta, saying, “It was a good mix, an up-and-coming team, myself, I’m an up-and-coming player. The system is good, how the ball moves, a lot of pick-and-rolls stuff, those play to my strengths; how they play defensively, how active they are defensively and I was in talks with them a lot. They were one of the more persistent teams, that’s what you look for in those type of situations – signs of loyalty, and they were around the entire time, and they worked very diligent with my agent to get a deal done, so what other better place?”
- Bazemore also confirmed that the Spurs were interested in signing him this past summer, Garcia adds. “Yeah,” said Bazemore, “they [San Antonio] reached out to my agent, showed some interest, but I came here [Atlanta], so the second best thing obviously – same system.” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer is a former Spurs assistant, and Atlanta runs a similar offensive system to San Antonio’s.
- Both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving threw cold water on the reports that there were chemistry issues between the two Cavs stars, Pat Graham of the Associated Press writes. “We’re two dynamic players and it’s coming along well, I believe,” James said. “It’s going to continue to get better and better. It’s just four games. It’s our first time playing together. Every game is going to be a learned experience for both of us. It’s not just me and Kyrie. It’s myself and the rest of the guys, and Kyrie and the rest of the guys as well.“
Flip Saunders On Love Trade, LeBron, Goals
The return of LeBron James to the Cavs had the greatest reverberations of any offseason move, but the most persistent storyline over the summer involved one of his new teammates. Kevin Love trade talk was a near-daily feature on Hoops Rumors for months on end, and the man at the controls was Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, who also spent time looking for a coach before deciding that he was his own best candidate for the job. Saunders reflected on the trade to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, who shares Saunders’ remarks in his weekly column on leaguewide affairs. The entire piece is worth your time, but here’s a look at Saunders’ most notable revelations:
On how he viewed the chances, as of July 1st, that he would trade Love:
“It was 50-50. We had made up our minds … we knew what we wanted, and I was very comfortable coaching Kevin and [dealing with] everything else. A lot of times, it boils down to the players … it boils down to money. If you can pay somebody $20 or $30MM more sometimes, when it comes down to it they might flinch, but they might end up staying.”
On the effect LeBron had on the trade:
“We were in a situation where if LeBron doesn’t go to Cleveland, do we trade [Love]? Probably not. He’s probably still here. But the way it worked out, LeBron went there, and a lot of pieces started to fall into place for Cleveland and it became a very logical thing for them to try to make a push to try to win a championship to get a guy that, ultimately, is one of the two best power forwards in the league, and that became a reality for them.
On his post-trade goals:
“Then, for us, it became [a situation in which] we wanted to try to maximize what we wanted to do. With Love leaving, I don’t want to say we were in a total rebuild … more of a retool situation. We wanted to get young, athletic talent that we thought had the potential where, in three years, that we could hit home runs and they could be a team that makes a run like the Oklahoma City Thunder and develop like that.”
Eastern Notes: Napier, Dellavedova, Sixers
The Sixers are keeping their eyes open for another big man to sign, Tom Moore of Calkins Media reports (Twitter link), though, according to Moore, no move is imminent. Philadelphia currently has 15 players on its roster so someone would need to be waived or dealt before another big could be added. The top bigs available currently are Dante Cunningham, Rashard Lewis, Ivan Johnson, Jeff Adrien, and Bernard James. With the Sixers in full-on rebuild mode, they may look to the D-League for a player with upside rather than a veteran, though that is just my speculation.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The trade for Shabazz Napier on draft night has worked out very well for the Heat so far, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. While Napier is only averaging 5.0 PPG and 3.0 APG, he’s been the point guard on the floor for Miami during crunch time, which is a strong indicator of his standing on the team, notes Winderman. “The thing about that is that whatever opportunity I get, I’m going to try my best, and I expect a lot from myself no matter what,” Napier said. “And I’m fortunate enough that Coach puts me in the fourth quarter. So I’m going to do whatever I can possible do.“
- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t thrilled with the new experimental rules that are to be tested in the D-League, Winderman writes in a separate piece. Spoelstra isn’t a fan of all the play stoppages the league currently has, and said, “I don’t think any of that stuff matters until we figure out what’s going on with replays. Replays are what’s extending the games 20, 30 minutes each game.” One of the new rules being tested are coaches challenges which would serve to increase the amount of time officials spend looking at replays during games.
- The Bucks have fired Skip Robinson, longtime VP of player development, Gerry Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times reports (Twitter link). The reason for Robinson being dismissed is unknown at this time, Woelfel adds.
- Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova has been diagnosed with a grade two MCL sprain and is expected to miss up to six weeks, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. In three games Dellavedova is averaging 2.7 points, 1 rebound and 2.3 assists. Cleveland recently waived A.J. Price and signed Will Cherry, who will most likely see increased minutes with Dellavedova out for an extended period.
- Former Celtic Leon Powe has been observing Boston’s practices and meetings with an eye on a potential move to a front office position in the future, Scott Souza of the MetroWest Daily News reports (Twitter link).