Southwest Notes: Popovich, Simmons, Gentry
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the franchise used a low-key approach on LaMarcus Aldridge, as it does on all free agents, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Popovich said the Spurs learned a hard lesson about promoting the team to free agents when it tried to lure Jason Kidd in 2003. “If they come, they come,” Popovich said. “If they don’t, I don’t care. Because it’s as simple as that. Especially for a guy who’s been in the league for nine years. You know what he can do, you know what he can’t do. You know what you like, you know what you don’t like. Whatever it might be. But more importantly, he knows who you are, and he knows what team he would like to go to for whatever reasons.” The Spurs’ approach worked on Aldridge, who agreed to a four-year, $80MM deal in July.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Spurs may have found another hidden talent in Jonathon Simmons, according to Quixem Ramirez of SB Nation. Simmons, who scored 9 points in 19 minutes in Friday’s win over the Lakers, spent the last two seasons with the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in Austin. He signed a two-year deal in July with a non-guaranteed salary for the second season.
- Even though his former team is 24-0, Alvin Gentry is happy to be in New Orleans, writes Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. Gentry, who left the Warriors to become coach of the Pelicans, probably would be guiding Golden State in Steve Kerr’s absence instead of Luke Walton if he had stayed. However, Gentry doesn’t second guess his decision, even with New Orleans off to a 6-16 start. “I’m truly a believer in that God has a plan for all of us,” Gentry said. “I truly believe I’m where I’m supposed to be, and Luke’s where he’s supposed to be.”
- The Mavericks have recalled Justin Anderson from the D-League, the team announced today. The 6’6″ guard is averaging 2.3 points in 6.4 minutes of playing time in 16 games with the Mavericks. He has been sent down and called up twice in the past two days, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Anderson’s latest recall was because Deron Williams missed tonight’s game in Washington with an illness (Twitter link).
Western Notes: Curry, Evans, Lakers
The four-year, $44MM contract extension that Stephen Curry signed with the Warriors back in 2012 is one of the most team-friendly deals in NBA history, something that Curry admits he had to make peace with, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports writes. “I had to make a conscious decision and remind myself over and over [to let it go],” Curry told Wojnarowski. “I could’ve had a different perspective and said, ‘I want to get everything that I could get, wait it out, test free agency that next year – and who knows what would’ve happened? But for me, a $44MM contract was plenty for me to be able to provide for my family. When I made a decision to sign an extension, I told myself that was the right decision for the moment. After three years, I’ve still got to remind myself every day. Number one, there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s no point to moaning and complaining and trying to change something that really can’t be changed.”
“I have thought about it occasionally, and understand that, for me, talking to the people in my camp, everything does happen for a reason,” Curry continued. “I’ve tried to just be appreciative of what I have. Obviously a lot of other things have happened off the court that have helped the situation, Under Armour, other sponsors. On the back end, when this is all said and done, things will come around the right way. It’s nice to know that I got a championship out of it, an MVP season out of it, and hopefully setting up for something better down the line.”
Here’s more from the West:
- Byron Scott says that the Lakers learned from their failed recruitment of LaMarcus Aldridge this past offseason, and will adjust the focus of their future free agent presentations, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. “I think we looked at it more as a business presentation. It wasn’t basketball, and that’s probably where we made our mistake,” Scott told Holmes regarding the team’s meeting with Aldridge. “Most of these guys want to know the basketball part of it,” Scott continued. “We’ll change that part as far as most of the meeting, 75 percent of it or more, will be about the basketball part and then the other part will be a little bit about the business part. I think we found from a great player that he was more interested in the basketball on-the-court stuff than anything else.“
- The Mavericks recalled Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri from the Texas Legends today, the team announced via a press release. Both Anderson and Mejri were re-assigned to Dallas’ affiliate after practicing with the team, the Mavs relayed via a second release.
- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said that Evans requested to be assigned to the D-League to aid him in getting more comfortable playing on the perimeter, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (via Twitter). The Mavs needed the consent of Evans and the players union to send him to the D-League since he has more than two years of experience.
And-Ones: Brand, Martin, D-League
The Sixers are now likely to look to add veterans to the roster for additional leadership now that Jerry Colangelo is officially a member of the front office, and one name to keep an eye on is veteran power forward Elton Brand, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com opines. The 36-year-old was pessimistic about his chances for playing a 17th season in the NBA back in August, when he told Al Coqueran of The Examiner News, “I could get in shape if I got the call but this looks like the end of the run for me, right now it is family time.” Brand made 36 appearances for the Hawks last season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.5 minutes of action per contest.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Cartier Martin, who was cut by the Pistons during the preseason and is currently a member of the Grizzlies‘ D-League affiliate in Iowa, is expected to miss several months due to a wrist injury, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter).
- Knicks combo forward Derrick Williams indicated that communication between he and coach Derek Fisher isn’t great, which is something he misses about George Karl, who took over as Kings coach late last season, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Williams appreciates the brief time he had under Karl, saying, “He’s a good coach. He wasn’t really tough like that. That was one game. He expects a lot of things out of me. I think that’s always good, when you have a coach that really expects things out of you, wants to bring out the best in you. Myself and him, we talked about it. It was no hard feelings with the quotes. That happens when a coach expects a lot of you. At the end of the day, he wasn’t too, too hard on me. He wanted the best out of me.“
- The Grizzlies have assigned small forward James Ennis to their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced. This will be Ennis’ third stint with the Energy on the season, as our D-League tracker shows.
- The Mavericks have assigned Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri to the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (Twitter link). This is the second jaunt to the D-League on the season for both Anderson and Mejri, while Evans is making his initial trip.
- Mitch McGary has been assigned to the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). This is McGary’s third assignment to the Blue on the season.
- The Pacers have assigned Joe Young to their D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne, the team announced.
Southwest Notes: Cole, Anderson, Pachulia, Jenkins
John Reid of The Times Picayune suggests that it’s doubtful that either Ryan Anderson or Norris Cole will re-sign with the Pelicans as unrestricted free agent this coming summer. The qualifying offer that Cole received from the Pelicans in restricted free agency this past offseason was the best he had, according to Reid, who points out that it still took him until the middle of September to agree to come back to New Orleans. The team is making Anderson available to other teams for a trade, Reid confirms, advancing a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that said the Pelicans would consider dealing Anderson to the Suns for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson signaled he wouldn’t re-sign. The team is looking for a quick fix after starting 5-16, Reid adds. See more from the Southwest Division:
- DeAndre Jordan‘s flip-flop on his decision to sign with the Mavericks led Dallas to trade for Zaza Pachulia, and while Pachulia is no Jordan, he’s had success this season and has won over a key teammate, as Ian Thomsen of NBA.com details. “After we didn’t get DeAndre we moved on pretty quick, and getting Zaza was a really good move,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “He is one of the smartest centers I ever played with. He can pass, he can shoot a little bit, he can put it on the floor. He may be undersized some nights, but he’s got a big heart, he fights and he is very, very smart. He will compete for us and I love him to death.”
- Mavs offseason signee John Jenkins hasn’t put up the same flashy numbers in the regular season that he did during the preseason, but the opportunity Dallas gave him to excel during exhibitions was a key boost, he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was huge,” Jenkins said. “I knew I had that in me. I was just showing everybody else. For me to do that was a lot of fun. They gave me the ball and said ‘Do what you do.’ Which is different. I enjoyed it a lot.”
- Boban Marjanovic credits his recent D-League stint with helping his game, and his Spurs teammates are urging the free agent acquisition to use his 7’3″ size to his advantage on the court, observes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
And-Ones: Matthews, Colangelo, D-League
Mavericks swingman Wesley Matthews is still working his way back from the Achilles tear he suffered last season while a member of the Blazers, but the franchise has confidence that he’ll be a better player than ever once he finds his rhythm, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post writes. “He’s had a rough go here, and the important thing is we all kept encouraging him,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We have a great deal of belief in him. What he’s doing is extremely difficult, coming back from that injury in this timetable. It’s hard, you know? Hard things are hard. It’s just the truth. And along the way, there’s going to be some nights like this, and there’s going to be some nights like the other night, and he just has to keep staying the course and seeing the light. Because, at the end of this process, he’s going to be a better player than he was when he went down last March. I’m not only confident of it, I’m certain of it.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy noted that injured guards Brandon Jennings and Jodie Meeks may benefit from a D-League assignment prior to rejoining the team, David Mayo of MLive writes. “I think it helps with the conditioning because the only way to get in basketball shape is to play basketball,” Van Gundy told Mayo. “We play so many games that practice time is limited, and practice time isn’t that long. Your chance to go get 35 minutes a game, and really get your conditioning back, would be to do something like that. But again, our guys are a little different because they’re veteran guys. It would have to be something they’re willing to do and we haven’t broached that subject yet.“
- The Celtics have recalled power forward Jordan Mickey from their D-League affiliate in Maine, the team announced. This was Mickey’s fifth stint with the Red Claws this season.
- Jim Boeheim, who is a member of Team USA’s coaching staff as well as head coach at Syracuse University, doesn’t believe that Jerry Colangelo would have accepted his new position with the Sixers unless he was going to have total control over the front office, Jake Fischer of SI Now tweets.
- There are several NBA coaches whose jobs are currently in jeopardy, including Lionel Hollins (Nets), George Karl (Kings), Dave Joerger (Grizzlies), and Alvin Gentry (Pelicans), notes Fran Blinebury of NBA.com in his rundown of head men who he opines are on the hot seat.
Southwest Notes: Williams, Motiejunas, Jones
Playing in Brooklyn gave Deron Williams the sense that “everybody felt I was the problem,” and he cited his own injuries as well as what he saw as the negative effect frequent coaching turnover had on chemistry for reasons why it didn’t work out with the Nets, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com chronicles. The Nets weren’t pleased with Williams’ attitude, nor his declining production, sources told Mazzeo, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has showered praise on the point guard, who feels much more at home on his new team.
“[Dallas] has been great for me,” Williams said, according to Mazzeo. “It’s been great for my family. [There’s] a lot more positivity in Dallas, and I think I needed that in my life.”
Williams has a player option worth more than $5.621MM for next season. See more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Monday that he wanted every player the Knicks wound up with from the 2015 draft: Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant and Guillermo Hernangomez, a second-round draft-and-stash pick, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The main attraction was naturally Porzingis, the No. 4 overall selection, as Marc Berman of the New York Post details. “We would have traded up in a heartbeat to get that kid,’’ Cuban said. “We loved him. Obviously, people are going to compare him to Dirk [Nowitzki] because that’s what people like to do. When you’re 7’3″, those three inches make a difference.”
- The Rockets are reportedly thinking about trading Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones, but Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM points to their presence in Houston as reason for hope amid the team’s slow start.
- Kendrick Perkins was expected to miss three months when he went down with a right pectoral injury in early November, but a decent chance exists that he returns to play sometime this month, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. Coach Alvin Gentry lauded the big man’s work ethic during rehab, Reid notes, and this weekend Gentry praised Perkins’ locker room influence, as Brett Dawson of the New Orleans Advocate relays (Twitter link). Perkins is with the Pelicans on a one-year deal. “I think he’s the best teammate I’ve ever seen,” Gentry said. “I mean, without a doubt. I really do believe that.”
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Allen, Martin, Adams
The Mavericks have established a tight-knit locker room, and that’s why the team is in no hurry to make deals once most offseason signees around the league become eligible to be traded December 15th, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News wrote last week. The team is 12-9 and, in a surprise, tied for fourth in the Western Conference.
“We’re not exactly sure what we have yet,” said Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, according to Sefko.
The Morning News scribe speculates that backup center is the only spot that might elicit an upgrade, with the still-recovering JaVale McGee limited to no more than 15 minutes per game and unable to play back-to-backs, but the Mavs only have two back-to-back sets the rest of the month, Sefko notes. See more from the Southwest Division:
- Tony Allen remains a starter, but he’s failed to score or play as many as 20 minutes in four straight games, notes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal, who examines the swingman’s changing role for the Grizzlies. Allen is signed through 2016/17.
- Jarell Martin, whom the Grizzlies drafted 25th overall this year, is moving closer to a return from a broken foot, and when he does make his season debut, it’ll be on D-League assignment, Herrington writes in the same piece. Jordan Adams will also probably go to the D-League when he comes back from right knee soreness, Herrington adds.
- Center Mirza Begić, briefly with the Pelicans during the preseason, has formally joined Bilbao of Spain on a deal for the rest of the season, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). J.M. Cortizas of El Correo first reported Begić was close to signing.
Atlantic Notes: Rondo, Lopez, Joseph, Williams
The breakfast meeting between Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant that took place a year ago hastened the trade that took Rondo out of Boston, the point guard believes, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge didn’t indicate that was the case, Rondo concedes, and he wound up signing in the summer with the Kings instead of the Lakers, but Rondo still connects the breakfast and the trade, which happened two weeks apart, Forsberg notes.
“No, Danny never said anything, but I’m pretty sure that, after that, Danny thought he’d lose me for nothing at the end of the year so he made a decision and I understand that,” Rondo said.
People in the Celtics organization, including coach Brad Stevens, are glad to see Rondo playing well again, and Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger both say their former teammate is like a brother to them, as Forsberg details. Rondo is reportedly back in play for a max deal in the summer ahead. See more from the Atlantic Division:
- One reason why Kristaps Porzingis is rebounding so well, to the tune of 12.0 per 36 minutes, is the presence of Knicks offseason signee Robin Lopez, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “When you take a look at Robin in Portland, LaMarcus Aldridge’s rebounding numbers next to Robin were really good,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “Robin does a really good job impacting his guy, boxing out and holding guys away from the basket so other players can get rebounds.’’
- Cory Joseph‘s scoring has been a positive revelation for the Raptors, observes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, who looks at the highlights and trouble spots for the team so far. The inability of fellow free agent acquisition Bismack Biyombo to provide a reasonable facsimile for what the injured Jonas Valanciunas can do on offense helps lead to the lack of ball movement that has plagued Toronto, Smith adds.
- Deron Williams‘ shooting percentage and scoring are up, and Lionel Hollins, his former coach, attributes that to his escape from the spotlight of the New York metropolitan area, notes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Williams gave up nearly $16MM in salary as part of a buyout of the final two years of his contract with the Nets before signing a two-year, $11MM deal with the Mavs this past offseason. “He’s played well. I said he’d play well, he’d be more comfortable out of New York,’’ Hollins said. “I said that he’d go down and play in a little different system, but mainly be out of New York and be away from the New York spotlight and expectations that were really unnatural. So I expected him to play better.’’
Southwest Notes: Hill, Bickerstaff, Lawson, Lee
Coach Alvin Gentry refused to directly address rumors that the Pelicans are interested in the Pacers’ Solomon Hill, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. It was reported Friday that Indiana is making Hill available for a deal, and New Orleans is believed to be among the suitors. ”I’ve got enough problems coaching the team,” Gentry said today. ”We got really competent guys with [GM] Dell [Demps] and his whole group that handle all of the personnel part of it.When it comes time or a situation where they are going to do that, they always talk to me about it. As of right now, all my energy and everything is going towards trying to figure out how we can get this whole thing straightened out.”
There’s more news from the Southwest Division:
- Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons believes J.B. Bickerstaff has a bright future as a head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Parsons, a former Rocket, worked closely with Bickerstaff during his time in Houston and says the coach has what it takes to be successful. “The biggest thing with a coach is how to manage players, how to get along with players, how to manage egos,” Parsons said. “He’s going to have respect from his guys. X’s and O’s he was always great. Time outs when I had him he was always able to draw something up on the fly. I think he’s going to be a really, really good young coach in this league.”
- Kings coach George Karl says things will get easier for Ty Lawson in Houston, Feigen writes in a separate story. Karl coached Lawson in Denver and contends the point guard just needed to make it through the adjustment period. “Ty is one of these guys, he needs a comfort zone,” Karl said. “I don’t think he’s found it yet. Once he finds it, you’re going to see a much better player than you’re seeing so far.”
- Courtney Lee has turned into a productive reserve for the Grizzlies, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. After shooting 34% from the field and 19% from three-point range in the season’s first 10 games as a starter, Lee has improved those numbers to 48% and 31% since moving to the bench. “It’s part of being a professional,” said Lee, who will be a free agent next summer. “Throughout your career, everybody has a role either as a starter or they come off the bench. It’s just about how you handle it.”
And-Ones: Gasol, D-League, Terry, Cousins
Bulls big man Pau Gasol, who possesses a player option worth $7,769,520 for 2016/17, has said that he’s leaning toward opting out, but he did note that he would like to remain in Chicago beyond this season, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com relays. Responding to whether or not he’d like to stay with the Bulls, Gasol said, “Yes, of course. But when the time comes we’ll evaluate it. I’ll see how the season went. Where are the team’s interests, where are my interests, what options do I have? But most important is for me and the team to focus on what we have this season to make the best out of it and give ourselves a chance to win the title.”
Gasol was also asked if he missed anything about former head coach Tom Thibodeau and told Friedell, “I appreciated a lot of things that Thibs brought to the table. I think his intensity. Sometimes it could be a little bit overwhelming. I think [I miss most] his intensity and his passion and dedication for the game.” The veteran also noted that he appreciates the freedom and versatility of coach Fred Hoiberg‘s system, the ESPN scribe adds.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Jason Terry, who re-signed with the Rockets this past offseason, said he planned to join the Mavericks along with DeAndre Jordan, but Terry’s plans changed when Jordan decided to return to the Clippers, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News relays. “For me it was like a package deal,” Terry said. “If he [Jordan] came, I definitely was coming. Because that automatically made us a contender.” Terry also noted that he was shocked when Jordan reversed course and backed out of his verbal agreement with Dallas, Townsend adds. “When that happened, I kind of pushed the reset button,” Terry said. “Because I didn’t want to start over. I don’t want to be in a rebuilding phase. I don’t know if Dallas, at the time, knew if they were rebuilding or were they retooling. They were trying to see what was out there.“
- The Spurs have sent Boban Marjanovic and Ray McCallum to their D-League Affiliate in Austin, the team announced. This is the first D-League assignment of the season for both players.
- The Rockets have assigned swingman K.J. McDaniels to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the second D-League trip of the season for McDaniels, as our assignments and recalls tracker illustrates.
- Kings coach George Karl believes that despite the rumored difficulties between he and center DeMarcus Cousins, the big man wants to remain in Sacramento, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
- James Ennis has been assigned by the Grizzlies to their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced.
- The Clippers have assigned Branden Dawson to the D-League, and since the team does not have its own affiliate, Dawson will report to the Pistons’ squad in Grand Rapids, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.