Odds & Ends: Udoh, Howard, Knicks, Warrick
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Bucks center Ekpe Udoh is finding ways to contribute outside of the stat sheet.
- Josh Howard is looking forward to helping the injury-plagued Timberwolves. (AP link via NBA.com)
- Al Iannazzone of Newsday.com writes that the Knicks' age has worked in their favor so far as they've begun the season 6-0.
- The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell believes that Hakim Warrick, acquired this week from the Hornets for Matt Carroll, can help the Bobcats this season.
- Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer writes that the Cavs' Tristan Thompson has been more active this season.
Cavs Eyeing Free Agents To Improve Bench?
While Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao are among the Cavaliers that have looked fantastic so far in this young season, the team's roster hasn't exactly been producing from top to bottom. Cleveland's bench has been one of the league's worst, and head coach Byron Scott hinted today that the Cavs could consider turning to the free agent market to bolster the second unit.
"I think if I said I had the right pieces I'd be lying, from the bench's standpoint," Scott said, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link). "If there's a guy out there that we feel can help us, should we go after him? Yes. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm satisfied with the way our bench has played, because I'm not. If there's a guy who we feel can come in here and help us, yeah, we definitely should pursue that guy. Because the bottom line for me is to continue to improve, and winning. I want to win."
Scott, of course, doesn't have the final say when it comes to roster moves and free agent signings, but if the Cavaliers wanted to make a move, they'd have the flexibility to do so. Although the club is carrying 15 players, only 12 of those contracts are fully guaranteed, meaning there are at least a couple candidates to be waived. Additionally, no team in the NBA has more financial flexibility for this season than the Cavs, who appear to be more than $10MM below the cap.
For an idea of what sort of players the Cavs could pursue, be sure to check out our list of 2012/13 free agents.
Central Notes: Ilyasova, Stephenson, Scott
The latest news and notes from around the Central Division on Sunday evening:
- Ersan Ilyasova, re-signed by the Bucks this offseason, is off to a slow start, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star discusses Lance Stephenson, one of the wing players the Pacers will count on to fill the void left by Danny Granger's injury.
- John Rhode of the Oklahoman examines the success Cavs coach Byron Scott is having with Kyrie Irving, and points out that Scott has had success with elite point guards both during his playing and coaching career.
East Notes: Smith, Drummond, Cavs
The latest news and notes from around the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon:
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes that the historically inconsistent J.R. Smith has actually been one of the most reliable players this season for the Knicks.
- The Pistons are a league-worst 0-7, but coach Lawrence Frank is determined not to rush Andre Drummond into heavy action so early in his career, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com examines.
- Cavs coach Byron Scott isn't sold on analytics, as Bob Finnan of The News-Herald notes.
Pacific Notes: Fredette, Kapono, Jackson, Brown
- Kings guard Jimmer Fredette says he "definitely" isn't asking to be traded, and team basketball president Geoff Petrie said he's still in the Kings' plans, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. "I'm torn up because this young man is doing everything he can and not able to get on the floor," coach Keith Smart said. "I've just got to look at it because his efficiency ratings are starting to move up when he's on the floor and he's been a positive. So I've got to try to get him on the floor more."
- Jason Kapono, who last saw NBA action with the Lakers in 2011/12, is discussing a deal with Greek club Panathinaikos for this year, the Greek website Sport-FM reports (translation via Sportando). Kapono could wind up replacing Hilton Armstrong, whom the team wants to release, according to the report.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post asserts that the Lakers would be better off with Phil Jackson coaching them, but they're too talented not to win the Western Conference no matter who the coach is.
- Mike Brown's shortcomings as coach of the Lakers were the same problems that hung over him when he was with the Cavs, observes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- Brown couldn't get the Lakers to buy into his message, but Jackson would command the team's attention, opines Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer lists the rise of the Clippers as one reason Brown is out of a job.
Jackson, D’Antoni Top List Of Lakers Candidates
10:59pm: TNT's David Aldridge hears the Lakers are pursuing Phil Jackson "like crazy," but he would likely command a salary of more than the $12MM he made in 2009. That would make him the league's highest paid coach by a wide margin over Celtics boss Doc Rivers, who makes $7MM a year. The decision on a coach will be made by owner Jerry Buss, and not son Jim, Aldridge says, adding that Mike D'Antoni would welcome the chance to coach Steve Nash again.
9:34pm: A meeting between the Lakers and Jackson could happen by the end of the weekend, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
8:31pm: Phil Jackson and Mike D'Antoni are the leading candidates for the Lakers head coaching position, Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com report, adding that the two coaches are "neck and neck" in the eyes of Lakers management.
The team is expected to reach out to them and several other candidates as early as Saturday morning. Shelburne hears there's "no ill will" between Jackson and Lakers executive Jim Buss.
8:27pm: Former Jackson assistants Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons are prepared to return to the bench should Jackson get the Lakers job, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
8:13pm: Gary Payton, who played for the Lakers under Jackson, doesn't foresee a return, as he tells Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida (Sulia link). "Because he’d be going back into a situation where they blasted him when he left," Payton said. "You heard all that stuff (from the Lakers) when he left that they didn’t want to hire anybody affiliated with Phil Jackson’s system. That’s why they didn’t hire (Brian Shaw). They fired everybody that was affiliated with Phil."
7:19pm: "Prominent figures" in the Lakers organization want the team to hire Jackson, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger hears Jackson wanted to coach the Knicks this summer before they recommitted to Mike Woodson, and the Zen Master would have brought former assistant coach Kurt Rambis with him. If hired by the Lakers, Jackson would have his choice of assistants to bring on board.
Berger hears other names the Lakers are considering are Mike D'Antoni, Jerry Sloan and Nate McMillan. The Lakers haven't had contact with Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, whose team wouldn't let him walk midseason, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). Cavs coach Byron Scott isn't interested in the position, tweets The Plain Dealer.
6:38pm: The Lakers have compiled a list of four or five candidates to become the team's new head coach, and the list includes Phil Jackson's name, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. McMenamin hears the Lakers have not yet reached out to Jackson, though a source hinted to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News that the two sides have had contact, as we passed along earlier.
Jackson, who finished his second stint as Lakers coach in 2011, is still a frequent visitor to the team's practice facility, McMenamin notes, and his longtime girlfriend is Lakers executive Jeanie Buss, daughter of team owner Jerry Buss. The 67-year-old Jackson has often cited his health as a reason why he wouldn't return to coaching, but McMenamin hears Jackson's health is "getting better and better."
Sources indicate to McMenamin that Jackson would like to bring along an assistant coach whom he could groom as an eventual replacement. Jackson was scheduled to make a speaking engagement at an investor's convention next week in Chicago, but has canceled, according to Financial Advisor magazine.
Odds & Ends: Bogut, Jennings, Rose, Irving, Roy
We learned tonight that the Warriors have shutdown center Andrew Bogut for 7 to 10 days and Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News says that all signs point towards the Aussie big man's absence extending longer than that. Bogut said that he may have pushed it too much and that he would consider himself a liability on the court right now, writes Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times. There are only two games tonight, but still plenty of links from around the league:
- In the early going, the absence of a contract extension has brought out the best in Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings, writes Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen. Since he couldn't come to an agreement with Milwaukee, Jennings will hit free agency this summer.
- According to Russell Westbrook, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will come back from his knee injury this season stronger than ever, writes Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago. Westbrook and Scott Brooks also said that while the Bulls are a different team without Rose, they still must be feared because of the way Tom Thibodeau prepares them to play, says Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.
- Beckley Mason of the New York Times opines that it isn't too early to consider the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving among the NBA's elite point guards.
- After sitting out last year, Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy is rusty, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Roy says his knee are fine, however, and will begin to look more for his shot to try to get his career back on track.
Odds & Ends: Nets, Knicks, Grizzlies, Waiters
Earlier we passed along Nets GM Billy King's admission that he made roster moves this summer with the idea of taking down the Heat, which surely makes the team's 30-point loss in Miami tonight that much tougher to take. Nets coach Avery Johnson downplayed the idea that his squad is on the Heat's level, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News observes (Sulia link). Bondy juxtaposes Johnson's comments by noting that shooting guard Joe Johnson said earlier that he thinks the Nets can dethrone the champs this season. While Brooklyn's team sorts out its troubles, it's a more upbeat story on the other side of the East River, as we detail among other news on a 13-game night around the Association.
- The moves Knicks GM Glen Grunwald and company made this summer are paying early dividends, even in spite — or perhaps because — of the absence of Amare Stoudemire, as the USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt examines.
- The Grizzlies new ownership group borrowed $125MM from the NBA and another $50MM from a bank to close their deal to buy the team, but that's nothing out of the ordinary, a league executive tells Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- Cavs coach Byron Scott encouraged the organization to use the fourth pick this June on Syracuse sixth man Dion Waiters, who's paying early dividends, at least offensively, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal write.
- Waiters was the choice over Harrison Barnes, who went to the Warriors at No. 7 and hasn't performed as well so far, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer chronicles.
- The Lakers are off to a 1-4 start, but Jordan Hill has been a bright spot, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Yesterday, Vince Carter said he wouldn't mind a return to the Raptors someday, but Doug Smith of the Toronto Star doesn't see that happening anytime soon, arguing that Carter's current skill-set isn't a match for the team's needs.
- The Celtics have hired former player Keyon Dooling as a player development coordinator, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The 32-year-old guard abruptly retired in September.
Eastern Notes: Jennings, Fesenko, Allen, Celtics
When we asked you earlier this afternoon which rookie scale contract extension will work out best for the team locking up its player, one fourth-year guard was notably absent from the list: Brandon Jennings. Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth calls the young Buck the most talented player from the 2009 draft class not to receive an extension from his club, and examines the outlook for the 23-year-old, who admits he's "kind of auditioning for other teams." If that's the case, his audition is off to a good start — Jennings was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the league this afternoon (Twitter link).
Here are a few more updates from around the Eastern Conference:
- Kyrylo Fesenko had a strong workout for the Hawks, but the team has yet to indicate whether it will sign him, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The big man also isn't ruling out a return to the Bulls, the team that waived him in October, tweets Charnia. Chicago isn't eligible to sign a veteran to a minimum-salary deal for another two weeks.
- Marquis Daniels tells Charania that he feels like stories and rumors of the alleged feud between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen have been blown out of proportion. Daniels, Rondo, and Allen all played in the Celtics' backcourt from 2009 to 2012.
- In order to get Allen the minutes he was promised when he signed with Miami as a free agent, the Heat may have to play him at the point from time to time, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Appearing on WEEI's Big Show in Boston, Celtics president Danny Ainge spoke about the team's offseason, and about the Allen controversy. Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.
- In a piece for the News-Herald, Bob Finnan express some concerns about the Cavaliers' bench.
Northwest Rumors: Harden, Thunder, Layden
If it weren't for the Lakers' 0-3 start, the Nuggets, also 0-3, might be getting a lot more attention. A trendy pick this season (Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors has the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals over both the Lakers and the Thunder), Denver has struggled in its early East Coast trip, though the team might have scored a signature win against the Heat last night if not for Ray Allen's heroics. The Nuggets will be the last team to make their home debut this season, doing so Tuesday, so perhaps that will help them right the ship. Here's other weekend news on their Northwest Division rivals.
- Several teams reportedly had contact with the Thunder about James Harden prior to last week's trade, but Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears the Rockets, the last team standing, were also the first to get involved in discussions. Amico adds that the Cavs weren't in on the trade talks.
- In the same piece, Amico defends Thunder GM Sam Presti for making the trade, and believes the Thunder got just as much out of it as the Rockets did.
- Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden isn't upset he wasn't interviewed for the Jazz GM opening this summer, despite strong ties to the Utah organization, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.