Western Notes: Seattle, Suns, Gomes, Mavs
As Labor Day weekend comes to an end in North America (or Labour Day weekend, for our readers north of the border), let's round up a few holiday Monday items from around the Western Conference….
- In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, Gary Payton discusses the probability of an NBA team returning to Seattle and shares his thoughts on Dwight Howard leaving the Lakers.
- Dave King of Sheridan Hoops identifies five things to watch for when it comes to the 2013/14 Suns. Unsurprisingly, the first item on King's list deals with first-time head coach Jeff Hornacek.
- Ryan Gomes, who signed with the Thunder earlier this summer, earned a guaranteed $25K when he remained on OKC's roster past September 1st. As our schedule of contract guarantees shows, Gomes will make another $25K if he's not waived on or before October 1st.
- Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com gives the Mavericks a grade of A+ on their signing of Devin Harris to a one-year, minimum-salary contract.
Odds & Ends: Odom, Dentmon, T-Mac, Minnerath
On the heels of reports that Lamar Odom has been arrested on suspicion of DUI, at least one NBA general manager believes the veteran forward's NBA career is over.
"Just going by what he is giving you on the court, he would have been a risk anyway, maybe someone you give a partial guarantee to just to see if he can turn things around," the GM told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. "But with the circus that’s around him off the court now, no way."
As Odom continues to work through his off-court issues, let's check in on a few more odds and ends from around the Association:
- Justin Dentmon, who briefly played for the Mavericks last season, has signed with Lithuania's BC Kauno Zalgiris, according to the team (via Twitter).
- In his latest lengthy piece for Grantland.com, Bill Simmons examines Tracy McGrady's legacy, which Simmons argues will be marred by T-Mac's underwhelming collection of teammates.
- Undrafted rookie Nick Minnerath, who had previously tweeted that he'd be attending training camp with the Lakers, has officially signed Spain's Obradoiro, the team announced (translation via Sportando). The statement from Obradoiro president Jose Luis Mateo suggests that Minnerath will forgo Lakers' camp.
- Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com likes the signing of Monta Ellis for the Mavericks, giving the team a grade of A- for the move.
- In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Jeff Goodman takes a look at some candidates to become the next mid-major star, following in the footsteps of guys like Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Odds & Ends: Roster Spots, Hunt, Mavericks
ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter) points out that the Lakers, Bulls, and 76ers are the three teams that still need to sign players in order to reach the league minimum of 13 players by opening night, although it's worth noting that L.A. is still yet to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly and Philadelphia is in the same boat with Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. Also, as we pointed out a few days ago, Dexter Pittman accepted a training camp invite with Chicago and could fill that 13th roster spot if they end up offering him a guaranteed contract.
Here are more of tonight's news and notes from around the league:
- Jeff Haubner of ESPN.com offers a two part preview of the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament.
- Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel notes that the Bucks/Suns deal keeps Milwaukee about $1.9MM under the salary cap and saves Phoenix around $5.6MM in cap space. Gardner also has more comments from Caron Butler regarding his happiness with the trade.
- Former 76ers star Charles Barkley isn't happy with the way his former team handled their assistant coaching situation, saying that those who were released upon the Brett Brown hiring had worked for the team the entire summer and therefore didn't have the opportunity to look for another job (Michael Kaskey-Blomain of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
- Keith Schlosser of RidiculousUpside.com takes a look at Kyle Hunt, who while eligible for the D-League draft in the fall is also looking to earn an NBA training camp invite.
- Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW suggests Mavericks fans should be happy with 45 wins and a 7th seed in the Western Conference next season.
- Ben Couch of BrooklynNets.com provides a brief breakdown of the Nets' depth at the center position, profiling Brook Lopez, Andray Blatche, and Mason Plumlee.
- Former Knick and now a member of the Canadian men's national basketball team, Andy Rautins tells Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun about how prepared he and his teammates feel heading into the FIBA Americas tournament.
- NBA.com posted an article from Atlanta-based freelance writer Jon Cooper about Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer. Though he stressed the importance of forming good relationships with each player up to the 15th man, Budenholzer specifically mentioned Al Horford and Jeff Teague as two players that he's very much looking forward to working with.
- Suns.com passes along an article from the archives which delves into the mind of the late former Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.
Western Notes: Wright, Goodwin, Jensen
Let's round up a few links from around the Western Conference on Tuesday night:
- Despite already inking a two-year year deal with the Mavericks last month, Brandan Wright has vowed to return to the court in the upcoming season as a drastically improved player, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Wright averaged career highs in points, rebounds, blocks and minutes last season and shot nearly 60 percent from the field. At only 25, the Mavs are hoping he has finally tapped into the potential that made him a top-10 selection in 2007.
- It's been two months since he was selected with the 29th pick in the draft, but Suns rookie Archie Goodwin says his existence as a player in the NBA has yet to sink in, writes Matt Petersen of Suns.com. Goodwin, 19, was the youngest American player to declare for the draft and second youngest overall behind Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was drafted by Oklahoma City and then traded twice before ending up in Phoenix, where he signed on in July.
- Despite his long list of Utah ties, Alex Jensen was added to the Jazz coaching staff on merit alone according to general manager Dennis Lindsey, writes Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune. Jensen, the reigning D-League Coach of the Year, was hired last month by Utah as a player development assistant. Before coaching in the D-League, Jensen spent four years on Rick Majerus' staff at Saint Louis University. He played for Majerus at Utah and grew up in the beehive state.
Odds & Ends: Turkoglu, Plumlee, Heat, Mavs
For now, Hedo Turkoglu remains under contract with the Magic, with the team currently on the hook for $6MM of his $12MM salary. Turkoglu's full salary will become guaranteed if he's still on the roster beyond January 7th, but there's virtually no chance that happens, and it appears the veteran forward may not even be in the NBA by that point. According to reports out of Turkey, confirmed by Can Pelister of TrendBasket.net (via Twitter), Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker is pursuing Turkolgu, and is prepared to make him a substantial offer (hat tip to Sportando).
The Magic would need to grant Turkoglu his release before he could finalize a deal overseas, but it may just be a matter of time until that happens. Here's more from around the NBA:
- 2012 first-round pick Miles Plumlee may end up being the Suns' "understated prize" of the trade that sent Luis Scola to the Pacers, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel breaks down the Heat's salary details for 2013/14, player by player.
- While the Mavericks likely outbid the market for Jose Calderon, the team's need for a pure point guard still makes it a solid signing, opines Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com, who gives the Mavs a B+ for the move.
- In today's NBA AM piece, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld examines potential trade options for the Mavericks, Nuggets, and Pistons.
Odds & Ends: Brewer, Bucks, McGrady, Heat
Ronnie Brewer considered signing with the Bulls, Jazz and Lakers before ultimately choosing the Rockets, the 28-year-old swingman tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. He also reiterated his assertion from June that the Thunder were in play to re-sign him, too, but Houston's up-tempo style of play helped sway him. Despite having only a partially guaranteed deal on a team with a league-high 19 players under contract, he's not worried about getting cut. "If I come in and I do what I'm supposed to do, all of that goes out the window," he said to Berman. As Brewer gets set to officially sign his contract, here's more on the league's comings and goings with about a month to go before training camp:
- The Bucks have hired David Morway as assistant GM and Jim Cleamons as the team's top assistant coach, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
- So much of Tracy McGrady's talent vanished long before he announced his retirement today, and he went underappreciated in Orlando during his peak years, as John Denton of Magic.com argues. The Magic, Raptors and Rockets are all left wondering what might have been, the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat writes.
- Toure Murry still hasn't committed to the Knicks nearly a month after the club extended him a training camp invitation, but the 6'5" guard is expected to pick a team later this week, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman discusses the Heat's luxury-tax situation, their mid-level exception, and the possibility of the team signing Richard Hamilton.
- Now that 14 NBA teams have one-on-one relationships with their respective D-League affiliates, the remaining 16 teams are sharing three D-League clubs. Nonetheless, those squads with five or six NBA affiliations can still help young NBA players develop, as Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside outlines.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Mavs, Kings, Hansen, Blazers
Western Conference teams gave out the two most lucrative contracts by average annual value this summer, but the next four spots belong to players who signed to play in the East. The Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets, the three Western teams with the best records last season, didn't hand out any of the 25 deals on that list. Whether that signals a shift in the balance of power remains to be seen, but in the meantime, here's the latest from the West:
- The Mavs' two most expensive offseason additions have known plenty of coaching instability throughout their careers, but the firmly entrenched Rick Carlisle figures to change that for Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Kings announced that they've hired the architectural firm AECOM to design the construction of a new arena in Sacramento, a story that Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee originally reported. Team president Chris Granger said he expects construction to begin about a year from now.
- The anti-arena campaign in Sacramento is still free to use the petition signatures that Seattle investor Chris Hansen bankrolled, but Hansen could also wipe those signatures out, a move that would help him engender some much-needed goodwill, The Bee's Marcos Breton argues.
- Chris Lucia of Blazer's Edge sizes up the effect that new starting center Robin Lopez and an upgraded bench will have on the Blazers rotation.
Odds & Ends: Odom, Brown, Mudiay, Mavs
A number of outlets have relayed the TMZ report last night that 33-year-old free agent forward Lamar Odom has been battling a "hardcore" drug addiction for the past two years. Odom hasn't failed an NBA-mandated drug test since 2001, but the report claims he entered a drug treatment facility in San Diego last summer and was clean during the 2012/13 season with the Clippers before beginning to use again this summer.
Odom averaged a career low 4.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 19.7 MPG while appearing in all 82 games with the Clippers last season. Here's what else is happening around the league during a quiet, late-August Saturday night:
- Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer spent the day with new Sixers coach Brett Brown's family in Portland, Maine.
- Adam Zongoria of Zagsblog.com describes how SMU coach Larry Brown landed the top class of 2014 high school point guard, Emmanuel Mudiay, who announced his decision at halftime of Brooklyn's Elite 24 game tonight. Zongoria opines that Mudiay will be a one-and-done player and a likely lottery pick in the 2015 draft.
- The Trail Blazers made a lot of moves to improve their league-worst bench from last season. One of those additions, Dorell Wright, is profiled by the Oregonian's John Canzano.
- HoopsWorld's senior NBA writer Bill Ingram tweets that the rumors Dwight Howard issued an ultimatum that Mike D'Antoni be fired and Kobe Bryant amnestied in order to re-sign with the Lakers "seem silly" since Howard chose the Rockets early on. Ingram also wonders, via Twitter, what it says about Howard (assuming the reports are accurate) for him to think he has anything on Bryant.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban answered questions on the new "Fox Sports Live" program last night, as transcribed by The Dallas Morning News. He discusses flip-flopping on wanting Dwight Howard in free agency this summer, whether the Mavs are rebuilding this coming year, and the health of 35-year-old franchise star Dirk Nowitzki.
- The Mavs are also one of the eight teams wearing the new GPS tracking devices, reports The Dallas Morning News.
- ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling tweets that former St. John's star Justin Burrell, who has played overseas since graduating in 2011, will play for Italy's Montepaschi Siena this coming season.
Western Notes: Ginobili, Beasley, Hansen, Blair
Let's check out a few Wednesday items from around the Western Conference….
- J. Gomez of SBNation's Pounding the Rock passes along and translates an interview Argentinian newspaper La Nación conducted with Manu Ginobili, which includes plenty of questions about retirement. According to Ginobili, frustration with health issues had him considering retirement this year, but once he improved physically, he realized he wanted to keep playing. The 36-year-old signed a new two-year deal with the Spurs last month.
- The Suns have yet to publicly reveal their plans for Michael Beasley after the troubled forward's recent arrest, as Bob Young of the Arizona Republic writes. Young rightly points out that if the Suns plan to release Beasley, they have until September 1st to take advantage of the stretch provision, which would allow the team to stretch the cap hit over several seasons.
- Chris Hansen's $100K donation to an anti-Kings-arena effort derails his credibility, but doesn't necessarily ruin Seattle's chances of receiving an expansion team in the next few years, says Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
- Wilson Chandler is looking forward to reuniting with former Knicks teammate Nate Robinson in Denver, as Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com details.
- DeJuan Blair is motivated and expects to make a difference in his first year with the Mavericks, according to Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com.
Western Notes: Mavs, Fredette, Childress, Meeks
The Mavericks had to go to Plan B this season after missing out on Dwight Howard and Chris Paul in free agency, but coach Rick Carlisle is no stranger to adapting to his roster, notes NBA.com's Jeff Caplan. Carlisle will be at the helm of a Dallas team that looks quite different than last year's incarnation, but he says he's comfortable with that.
"I just made a conscious decision that I’m not going to be a coach that’s limited to a certain system," Carlisle said. "I’m hanging my hat on my ability to adapt each year to potentially a roster that’s quite different, and with the new CBA we’re going to have more of that in this league. I’ve done a lot of it in my career leading up to now anyway, so it’s always challenging in those situations, but it’s also exciting."
Here's more from around the Western Conference:
- Appearing on KSL's SportsBeat Sunday, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee said the Kings aren't actively shopping Jimmer Fredette, but have fielded calls and will move him in the right deal (link via KSL.com). There have been some conflicting reports this offseason about Sacramento's willingness to move Fredette, but Jones' explanation of the team's stance makes sense to me.
- Josh Childress will work out in New Orleans for the Pelicans this week, agent Chris Emens tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- Jodie Meeks left the 76ers last summer in free agency for a chance at a ring with the Lakers, but he has yet to take on a significant role with the club. After battling injury in 2012/13, the 26-year-old guard is ready to make his mark in L.A., writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- After being included in two draft-night deals as a salary throw-in, Malcolm Lee has been working hard to prove he deserves a spot on the Suns' roster, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
Zach Links contributed to this post.