Western Notes: Aldridge, Thunder, Blair
Posting up career-numbers in points, rebounds, and assists in addition to leading the Trail Blazers to a current three-way tie for the league’s best record, LaMarcus Aldridge is arguably a strong candidate for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award at this point in the season. Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge relayed some noteworthy comments from Aldridge during an interview with ESPN’s Chris Broussard, and it appears that the 28-year-old forward wants to remain in Portland for the long-term:
“I’m here. I love it here. This team is good and we’re winning. I’ve been here my whole career. I’m in the history books here. I don’t want to leave. I feel this team is good enough to win it all one day and be there.”
Here’s more of what we’ve gathered out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Although some offseason narratives had the Thunder taking a step back this year after losing Kevin Martin to free agency, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix writes about how Oklahoma City’s young bench – in addition to career-best numbers from Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka as well as elite play from Russell Westbrook – has played a major role in keeping the team within title contention this season. Interestingly enough, Mannix points out that the reserves’ combined 34.1 PPG marks the highest output of the entire Durant era.
- Sam Amick of USA Today echoes the same sentiments from Mannix and revisits how the Thunder, facing drastic changes due to the NBA’s harsh new collective bargaining agreement, were able to recover nicely after making the tough call to deal James Harden over a season ago.
- Previously relegated to spot minutes in San Antonio, DeJuan Blair has had tonight’s matchup against the Spurs circled on his calendar for quite some time, says Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, who adds that the 6’7 forward has been a bargain banger since signing with the Mavericks this past summer. Blair, who is currently averaging 8.3 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 20.9 MPG, has made it known on several occasions about being unhappy with the way his 4-year stint with the Spurs had ended.
- According to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, Lakers forward Ryan Kelly has carved out a role in the team’s rotation and earned some public praise from Mike D’Antoni after practice earlier today: “He knows how to play, defensively and offensively…Defensively he’s the first one to get to the right spot. I think that going forward, he can keep earning more time. I’m pretty excited about him.” D’Antoni also suggested that Kelly’s newfound opportunity to earn floor time could come at the expense of Chris Kaman and Robert Sacre‘s rotation minutes.
Western Notes: Lakers, Young, Ellis
Since the NBA’s inception, only one trade and four other NBA transactions have occurred on Christmas Day. Thus, a slower evening of transaction news can be expected. However, a few notes in the Western Conference.
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News explains how the Lakers‘ commitment to re-signing Kobe Bryant and having max flexibility in next summer’s free agent market has allowed for the breakout performances of players such as Xavier Henry, Wesley Johnson, and Nick Young. Medina also speculates what big free agent(s) the Lakers may pursue next summer as well as how they adjust to life beyond Kobe.
- Speaking of breakouts, Nick Young is hoping this season’s performance with the Lakers will provide his future with more financial stability like his former teammate John Wall was given this offseason. Young has played for 4 teams in the 3 years since he signed the Wizards’ qualifying offer on his rookie deal but hopes a team will provide him more security in the near future. He is currently playing for the veteran minimum and has a player option at the end of this season. Young told Michael Lee of The Washington Post that although this is not the security he hoped for, he is embracing playing for his hometown team and learning from one of basketball’s greatest – Kobe Bryant.
- Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram claims the jury is still out on the Mavericks three-year, $25MM free agent Monta Ellis but that early returns are encouraging. The NBA’s most improved player in 2007 signed with the Mavericks this past summer. Ellis is averaging 20.6 PPG and 5.9 APG this season.
Rockets Notes: Rosas, Howard, Canaan
The Rockets are in sixth place in the Western Conference after last night’s loss to the rival Mavericks, but Houston is regaining an asset it lost to Dallas in the offseason, as we detail:
- Former Mavs GM Gersson Rosas is rejoining the Rockets front office, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll serve as executive vice president of basketball operations under GM Daryl Morey. Rosas worked nine years within the Rockets organization before departing this summer for Dallas, where he spent only a few months before leaving amid confusion over his role.
- Mike D’Antoni has presided over plenty of tough breaks in his time with the Lakers, but he doesn’t think there was any more the team could have done to persuade Dwight Howard to pick L.A. over the Rockets. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the details.
- Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle catches up with Isaiah Canaan, whose lengthy D-League assignment finally ended with a recall to the Rockets, paving the way for his NBA debut.
Southwest Rumors: Mavs, Ajinca, Rockets
Southwest Division teams have been at the center of headlines this weekend, as the Grizzlies have added the younger brother of Stephen Curry while news about the Rockets‘ attempts to trade Omer Asik continues to leak. Here’s the latest from the Southwest:
- Point guard Devin Harris suffered another toe injury and won’t return for at least a couple more weeks, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the team isn’t looking to add a replacement, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News observes.
- The Pelicans are optimistic about Alexis Ajinca‘s upside after signing him this week, but the 25-year-old acknowledges he has to deliver on his promise soon to have a lengthy NBA career, writes Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune. “This is my second chance,” Ajinca said. “I know there is not going to be a third chance. I know for sure that it is going to have to happen this year or next year. I’ve been working real hard overseas to get back here. Now I can’t wait to have that opportunity to be on the court and show the world that I have been improving those couple of years.”
- Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley will miss four to six weeks with a broken hand suffered last night against the Pistons, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes via Twitter. Even though Jeremy Lin appears ready to return from back spasms, the team plans to call up Isaiah Canaan from the D-League to bolster its depth, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). Canaan has been on D-League assignment for more than six weeks.
Southwest Notes: Diaw, Ajinca, Williams
There is news coming out of the Southwest Division that doesn’t involve Omer Asik, believe it or not. Houston’s effort to trade its backup center has dominated headlines for the past few days, and will likely continue to do so until the Rockets strike a deal. In the meantime, here’s the latest from elsewhere in the Southwest:
- Boris Diaw tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that it was an easy decision to exercise his more than $4.7MM player option to return to the Spurs this summer. “In the Finals, we were so close,” Diaw said. “I wanted to go again and come back with this team. It’s been a great season this year, and we play a good style of basketball and we’ll get another shot together.”
- The Bobcats, Mavs and Raptors didn’t make the proper investment of time and effort into Alexis Ajinca‘s development during his first stint in the NBA, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports opines in a piece for the Score. That’s left the Pelicans in a position to benefit now that Ajinca is headed to New Orleans, Deeks writes, comparing it to the Spurs‘ acquisition of Aron Baynes last season.
- Reggie Williams is set to join the D-League, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. The four-year NBA veteran is on the Rockets‘ books for about $474K after Houston cut him in a numbers crunch before the start of the regular season. He was among those scheduled to work out for the Grizzlies recently before the team switched gears.
Texas Notes: Mavs, Rockets, Lin, Dalembert
A quick look at the Mavericks and Rockets..
- Multiple GMs tell Alan Hahn of ESPN Radio (audio link) that there’s a strong feeling around the league that the Rockets will move Jeremy Lin if they find a taker (h/t Patrick Harrel of The Dream Shake). If Houston was able to move center Omer Asik for draft picks and deal Lin for an expiring contract, they could have enough room to offer a near-max deal this summer.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is disappointed in what he’s seen out of offseason pickup Samuel Dalembert so far. “I think he can be playing better,” Cuban said, according to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. ” I just don’t think he’s been in a position where he’s been expected to perform to help a team win since his first one or two years…So I think this is a new situation for him and hopefully he’ll perform.“
- In his 2013/14 debut, Brandan Wright picked up right where he left off by shooting 9-10 from the floor, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Bryan Gutierrez. Wright re-signed with the Mavs this offseason on a two-year, $10MM deal. While he put up 19-and-six, Dalembert recorded his first DNP-coach’s decision of the season.
Southwest Notes: Asik, Casspi, Mavs, Thomas
On the heels of last night’s loss in Portland, the Rockets will face another tough test tonight, as they travel to Golden State to face the Warriors. Houston is one of four Southwest teams in action tonight, as the Spurs host the Timberwolves while the Grizzlies play the Pelicans in New Orleans. Here’s the latest out of the division:
- The Rockets will almost certainly move Omer Asik within the next week, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle expects it to be a three-team deal (Twitter link).
- Omri Casspi spoke to Feigen about how a summer voice mail from coach Kevin McHale boosted Casspi’s confidence and acted as a catalyst for his signing with the Rockets.
- According to GM Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks have no plans to add a veteran guard to the roster while they wait for Devin Harris to continue his recovery from toe surgery, writes Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Spurs have recalled Malcolm Thomas from the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. In his two-game stint with the Austin Toros, Thomas averaged a double-double (19.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG).
Odds & Ends: Collins, Augustin, Mavs, Cavs
Jannero Pargo‘s contract with the Bobcats became fully guaranteed when the team didn’t waive him yesterday, and A.J. Price passed his contract guarantee threshold with the Timberwolves this weekend. That means the rest of the players with non-guaranteed contracts won’t have their deals fully guaranteed unless they remain on their teams until the leaguewide guarantee date of January 10th. We’ll continue to track non-guaranteed contracts here until that date. Here’s more from around the league:
- Free agent center Jason Collins told Michael K. Lavers of the Washington Blade that he doesn’t pin the reluctance of NBA teams to sign him on his sexual orientation. Collins, who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since publicly revealing last spring that he is homosexual, says he hopes a team will sign him by March 1st.
- The Bulls are zeroing in on D.J. Augustin, and the move would give them four point guards, not including the injured Derrick Rose. They probably won’t be carrying all four by the end of the season, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- With Devin Harris suffering a setback in his rehab, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News wonders if the Mavericks will go after Augustin.
- The Cavs have assigned Carrick Felix, Sergey Karasev and Henry Sims to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. It’s the first assignment for Karasev, while Felix and Sims are making return trips to the Canton Charge.
- Other teams reportedly expect the Nuggets will soon trade Jordan Hamilton for little in return, but the third-year small forward has earned the trust of coach Brian Shaw, according to Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com.
- Shelvin Mack is making the most of his non-guaranteed contract with the Hawks, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines (subscription required).
Odds & Ends: Casey, Lowry, Mavs, Oriakhi
Here are a few late night tidbits from Tuesday:
- With both his owner and his general manager strategically intent on making the team worse in the short term, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey‘s career has become a tightrope walk, writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. Casey is in the last year of his deal and is rumored to be on thin ice in Toronto.
- One way the Raptors will get worse is to move point guard Kyle Lowry, who is reportedly on the trade block. Per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, Lowry was asked about the rumors after tonight’s loss to San Antonio: “That’s part of the business. I’ve been in trade rumors before. I’m still going to go about my business and I’m going to still play my butt off and try to win games for this team.” (Twitter links)
- While they’re likely interested, the Mavericks probably don’t have what it takes to land Omer Asik from Houston given their current asking price, Mavs play-by-play man Mark Followill said on Tuesday in a chat. Followill also suggested that Trevor Ariza would be an intriguing trade target for Dallas if they’re looking to upgrade their bench.
- Former UConn and Missouri center Alex Oriakhi has been waived by Hapoel Holon of the Israeli league after four games with the club, according to Sportando. Oriakhi, who was drafted 57th by the Suns this summer, was also waived by France’s CSP Limoges last month after he signed there in August.
Southwest Rumors: Grizzlies, Asik, Dalembert
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reveals the details behind the Grizzlies‘ bizarre parting with assistant coach Barry Hecker in the middle of last season’s playoffs. Hecker butted heads with former head coach Lionel Hollins as well as Dave Joerger, who was then a fellow assistant, and he alleges that Joerger was after Hollins’ job as early as two years ago. There’s more on the Grizzlies coaching situation among the latest news from the Southwest Division:
- The Grizzlies front office is beginning to wonder if they made the right hire with their decision to promote Joerger, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports notes in his weekly power rankings. Joerger’s job is nonetheless safe, Spears adds.
- An executive tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio not to rule out the Celtics and Bucks as possible destinations for Rockets center Omer Asik. Other recent reports have also linked those teams to Asik.
- The Mavericks planned to make Samuel Dalembert their starting center when they signed him to a two-year deal this past offseason, but he’s in danger of falling out of the rotation, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- The Spurs recalled Aron Baynes and Nando De Colo from the D-League today, the team announced. De Colo had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Baynes put up 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Austin Toros last night, hours after the Spurs sent them down along with Malcolm Thomas.