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.
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Curry, Mayo, Harden
News and notes out of the Southwest Division..
- In a recent chat, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News was asked if the Mavericks cut center Eddy Curry prematurely. Sefko notes that the strong play of Brandan Wright gave the staff enough wiggle room to move on without Curry. Curry’s minutes also would have disappeared once Chris Kaman and Dirk Nowitzki returned to action.
- More from Sefko, who sees the Mavericks retaining O.J. Mayo beyond this season. The guard holds a $4.20MM player option for 2013/14, but he is unlikely to exercise that if his early season play is a sign of things to come.
- Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated isn’t siding with Rockets star James Harden when it comes to his gripe with Thunder General Manager Sam Presti. Harden said earlier today that he was hurt to only be given an hour to think about Oklahoma City’s offer before being traded to Houston.
Odds & Ends: Martin, Jennings, Parker, Gaines
The NBA has issued its first two warnings for flops, as the league's official site outlines today. The league has formally warned the Timberwolves' J.J. Barea and the Cavs' Donald Sloan about flopping, meaning that if either player commits a second offense, they'll be fined $5K. Let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the Association….
- Kenyon Martin may be open to playing for just about any NBA team, but don't expect the Mavericks to make him an offer, says Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- While Brandon Jennings may feel as if he's auditioning for other teams, he certainly remains in the Bucks' long-term plans, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.
- Within his weekly Morning Tip column at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge looks at the post-James Harden Thunder, talks to Tony Parker about why he's been willing to accept a discount to remain with the Spurs, and conducts a Q&A with Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
- Italy's Pallacanestro Cantu may have interest in adding Sundiata Gaines, according to a Sportando report. Gaines, who was cut by the Pacers prior to the season, played for the Italian club back in 2008/09.
- Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal shares a few of his first impressions of new Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. Meanwhile, Pera and new CEO Jason Levien responded to some questions about how they intend to run the franchise.
- Appearing on 98.7 ESPN Radio in New York, commissioner David Stern discussed his decision to retire in February of 2014, and how he feels about the criticisms he's faced (link via Sports Radio Interviews).
Texas Notes: Sessions, Dominique Jones, Harden
All three Texas teams are better than .500 through three games, and the Spurs are the league's first team to go 3-0 this season. The addition of James Harden to the Rockets might give all three Lonestar State clubs a shot at the postseason this year, though last night's loss to the Blazers showed Houston still has some work to do, as we cover below in our roundup of items from the Texas Triangle.
- This summer, the Mavs strongly considered signing point guard Ramon Sessions, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Sessions wound up with the Bobcats instead.
- The Mavs declined their 2013/14 option for Dominique Jones and made multiple efforts to trade him within the last week or so, but last night Jones might have delivered the best performance of his career, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes.
- While Harden seemingly did it all in his first two outings, last night's signs of fatigue demonstrate why the Rockets have to find a complementary scorer, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Colleague Randy Harvey concurs.
- Undrafted Xavier point guard Tu Holloway, whom the Mavs waived right before training camp, has signed to play for Aliaga Petkim in Turkey, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports.
- As we noted earlier, the Rockets were the first team to contact the Thunder about Harden.
Lawrence On Joe Johnson, Hamilton, Sloan
We made note last night of Mitch Lawrence's theory that Mike D'Antoni, whom Lawrence hears is looking to get back into coaching in 2013/14, could be headed to the Rockets, but the New York Daily News scribe shares much more in his four-page weekly roundup. Here are the highlights.
- Rick Sund's decision to step down as Hawks GM this summer may have had an impact on at least two other teams, according to Lawrence. Sund was content to stand pat with the team's core, unlike his successor, Danny Ferry, who shipped Joe Johnson to the Nets quickly after taking the job. Without the Johnson trade, Deron Williams might have signed with the Mavs, opening the door for Dwight Howard to join him in Dallas.
- League revenues declined about $400MM in 2011/12 from the year before, a loss executives were counting on because of the lockout. Though the matter of advertising on jerseys was reportedly tabled at the last Board of Governors meeting, advertising patches will be on jerseys in two years, Lawrence reports, creating an estimated $100MM worth of revenue every season.
- The Bulls aren't finding takers for Richard Hamilton and his $5MM salary this season.
- We heard this summer that Jerry Sloan had removed his name from consideration for the Blazers head coaching job, but before he did, the team offered him the job, Lawrence hears.
Western Notes: Morris, Murphy, Thunder, Thabeet
With news of Steve Nash's leg fracture keeping him out for another week, Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles thinks that this will be a good opportunity for Darius Morris to prove himself, noting that that his potential is what helped the Lakers decide to keep him over recently-cut guard Andrew Goudelock. McMenamin also cited Mike Brown's postgame comments last night about Morris, who also appeared to be encouraged about the second year point guard's ability to change the tempo of the game and apply good defensive pressure (Sulia link). Here are more of this evening's links out of the Western Conference:
- Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram writes that Troy Murphy's familiarity with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle's system made the 6'11 forward an ideal fit with the team. Although Murphy is not yet in 'great' shape, Price says that he will be expected to help stretch the floor with his shooting ability.
- Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK shared a handful of notes from Thunder practice today, mentioning that Kendrick Perkins should be ready to play the Hawks on Sunday after spraining his ankle last night, discussing the growing confidence of Hasheem Thabeet amidst concerns about the team's depth at center, Serge Ibaka's early shooting struggles, and coach Scott Brooks' effort to get minutes for Jeremy Lamb, among other topics.
- Nick Gallo of NBA.com looks at the Thunder's emphasis on protecting the paint this season and how center Hasheem Thabeet can be used effectively in that role against bigger lineups.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweeted that Hornets coach Monty Williams credits Knicks center Tyson Chandler for Anthony Davis' development during the London Olympics this past summer. Williams also weighed in on the league's concussion policy, addressing the notion that Davis could miss several games because of league protocol after suffering a mild concussion yesterday: "It's just that now you treat everybody like they have on white gloves and pink draws. It's just getting old, but it's just the way the league is now…I'm not saying I don't like it; we've got to protect our players…but as a coach I’m a baby about it. I want my guys ready to play.'' (John Reid of NOLA.com reports).
Odds & Ends: Murphy, Mavericks, Crawford, Celtics
Over the weekend, the Mavericks inked forward Troy Murphy to a one-year deal and waived Eddy Curry in order to create roster space for him. The 6'11" big man could provide the Mavs with some outside shooting off the bench, but he may not be ready to start draining threes right away, tweets Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. "I haven’t practiced or anything. I've been running at the local health club, so I don’t know what that translates to," Murphy said. Here's more from around the Association..
- While confessing that he is biased, guard Jamal Crawford said that he believes the Clippers are now the deepest team in the NBA. In addition to Crawford, the Clippers added key veterans such as Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, and Willie Green to the fold this summer.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn't see the Celtics holding a fire sale mid-season, even if they falter somewhat. Coach Doc Rivers will likely ration Kevin Garnett's minutes throughout the season in order to preserve him for the playoffs, so their record may not reflect where they are competitively.
- Mavericks big man Elton Brand says that he'll miss Curry's sizable presence in the paint, Price writes. At the same time, Brand notes that he is excited about the addition of Murphy and the tenacity that he brings.
Mavericks Sign Troy Murphy
SATURDAY 6:39pm: The Mavericks made the signing official in a press release.
FRIDAY 8:04pm: The Mavericks, currently at the maximum roster limit of 15, are working to free up a spot for Murphy, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Dallas would like to make room for the 6'11" forward by trading guard Dominique Jones, but so far they have been unsuccessful.
7:00pm: The Mavericks have agreed to sign forward Troy Murphy to a one-year deal, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Murphy spent last season with the Lakers, but didn't make a tremendous impact in his time with the club.
Murphy wasn't drawing a tremendous amount of interest from NBA clubs this offseason and seemed likely to sign a contract overseas. However, the Mavericks have decided to take a low-risk flier on the sharpshooting big man. Of the remaining late-summer free agents, Murphy had the best 2011/12 three-point shooting percentage with 41.8%.
Last season, Murphy averaged 3.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 59 games with the Lakers. For his career, the 32-year-old has averaged 10.9 PPG and 7.9 RPG across eleven seasons.
Mavericks Waive Eddy Curry
4:37pm: The Mavericks have made the move official in a press release.
10:46am: In order to clear a roster spot for Troy Murphy, the Mavericks are expected to waive Eddy Curry, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Curry was claimed off waivers by Dallas last week after he was released by the Spurs.
The Mavs reached an agreement with Murphy yesterday, but because they were carrying the maximum 15 players, a corresponding roster move is required before the deal is finalized. According to multiple reports, Dallas attempted to find a taker on the trade market for Dominique Jones, but were unsuccessful.
Curry's contract was believed to be fully non-guaranteed, so the Mavs will take a small cap hit for the time he spent on the roster, but won't be obligated to pay his full salary. As Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets, the veteran big man, who has looked decent this fall, is expected to draw interest from other teams. If he clears waivers, he'll be free to sign with any club.
Odds & Ends: Paul, Mavs, Curry, DeRozan
We've got a busy NBA slate lined up for tonight, with the Knicks, Timberwolves, and Hawks among the teams opening up their seasons at home. As we look forward to a 12-game evening, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the league:
- Despite receiving some criticism for giving Chris Paul too much power in the Clippers' decision-making, GM Gary Sacks tells Sam Amick of USA Today he has no problem with listening to "the guy with the highest IQ in the NBA, maybe."
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com examines whether Mark Cuban will be able to rebuild the Mavericks without bottoming out.
- We heard this morning that Eddy Curry will be waived by the Mavericks, and according to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld, a number of teams have already reached out to Curry's camp. The big center figures to join another club soon, says Ingram.
- Grantland's Zach Lowe calls DeMar DeRozan's extension a bad contract, but not a catastrophic one. Lowe prefers the deals signed by Jrue Holiday and Taj Gibson to DeRozan's.
- Responding to the criticism DeRozan's extension has received, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo defended the team's decision, as Eric Koreen of the National Post transcribes.
- Sam Smith's latest mailbag at Bulls.com features discussion on the James Harden trade, Quentin Richardson, and potential Bulls targets.
- A federal court judge has dismissed the claims that agency Priority Sports & Entertainment filed against NBA agent and former Priority employee Aaron Mintz, according to Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal.