Western Notes: Mayo, Rockets, Nuggets, Bayless
Although the Lakers are receiving all the headlines and attention for their slow start this season, another team expected to be a contender in the West has had its own struggles so far, without the injuries or coaching turnover that the Lakers have. The Nuggets pulled their record to .500 last night, however, with a solid win in Detroit, while the Lakers continued to slide, losing to Kyrie Irving and the Cavs in Cleveland. As the Nuggets prepare to play in Minnesota tonight and the Lakers head to New York for a Thursday night TNT showdown with the Knicks, let's round up a few other updates out of the Western Conference:
- "Your odds of winning the Powerball lottery are better" than the odds of O.J. Mayo exercising his $4.2MM player option with the Mavericks next season, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. However, that doesn't mean Mayo won't be a core piece in Dallas going forward.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle looks at how offseason acquisitions James Harden and Jeremy Lin are fitting together with the Rockets.
- Although the Nuggets are off to a slow start this season, the front office continues to express complete confidence in the current roster, Danilo Gallinari tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. Gallinari singled out the Nuggets' extension for Ty Lawson as a confidence-booster for the entire team: "Especially with a player like Ty who is going to play with the Nuggets for a long time. For all of his career. It was very important for us because he’s a great guy and I thought our front office did a very good move in giving him a long contract."
- Within Greene's piece, the HoopsWorld scribe also details how Jerryd Bayless has been making a strong impression with the Grizzlies after signing a two-year deal this summer. Bayless will have the opportunity to opt out and become an unrestricted free agent again at season's end.
- While Virginia Beach City Council voted to continue pursuing a new arena, council members seem to recognize that the current proposal includes too much public money, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee.
Northwest Notes: Love, Lindsey, Blazers, Lawson
The most significant news coming out of the Northwest today was Kevin Love's criticism of the Wolves, and there's plenty of reaction to that along with other notes from the division.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com surmises that Wolves GM David Kahn is at the center of Love's frustration with the franchise, and believes owner Glen Taylor may be forced to choose between the two at some point.
- Taylor remains a fan of Kahn, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who points out the team holds an option on Kahn's contract for next season.
- The timing of Love's comments could have been much better for a team on the verge of creating excitement in Minnesota for the first time in a while, opines Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune agrees with Love's remarks, based on what he's heard from others inside the Wolves organization, and believes that if Love departs in the summer of 2015, it will represent the most significant mistake of Kahn's tenure.
- New Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey is slowly implementing some of the principles he learned while working with the Spurs, but plenty of similarities already existed between the two franchises, as Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune examines.
- Blazers GM Neil Olshey hinted at a move around the trade deadline that would help the team's rebounding, but The Oregonian's Jason Quick doesn't think the Blazers have enough assets for a swap, believing the team must instead look to the draft and free agency (Twitter links).
- Jim Cavan of The New York Times examines how Jrue Holiday, who got a four-year, $41MM extension from the Sixers before the season, has outplayed fellow point guard Ty Lawson, who's fresh off a four-year, $48MM extension from the Nuggets.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Koufos, Nuggets
It was a fairly successful Sunday for Northwest Division teams, as the Thunder and Jazz pulled out wins against the Pacers and Lakers, respectively, while the Nuggets lost a close one to the Knicks in New York. With the Trail Blazers the only Northwest team in action tonight, let's round up a few links out of the division….
- The Trail Blazers weren't just searching for talent and chemistry in free agency this summer. The team was also targeting players with character, GM Neil Olshey tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. "It was very important that we brought in the right guys for the makeup of our team and we've done that," Olshey said. "Damian [Lillard] and Meyers [Leonard] couldn't have a better group of guys to look up to."
- While Kosta Koufos wasn't the best player the Nuggets acquired in the Carmelo Anthony trade, his play this season is proving he wasn't an inconsequential piece in that deal, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
- George Karl has some regrets about the way he handled Raymond Felton's time with the Nuggets, says Fred Kerber of the New York Post.
- Michael Rand of the Star Tribune takes a look at five former Timberwolves that weren't able to stick around around during the team's recent makeover.
Odds & Ends: D-League, Odom, World Peace
- Lamar Odom is starting to get in shape and is displaying flashes of his old Sixth Man of the Year form, as Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News observes.
- The Lakers' decision not to amnesty Metta World Peace before last season is paying off, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that this summer's discovery and treatment of a nerve issue that had been bothering World Peace for four years has reinvigorated his play.
- Nuggets guard Ty Lawson admits he can do better than his slumping performance this season, and Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post outlines what the point guard must do to return to the form that netted him a four-year, $48MM extension in October.
- Despite GM David Kahn's denial of Pau Gasol trade rumors, the Timberwolves "would love" to acquire the big man and play him at center, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
- Finnan also hears from sources within the ranks of media, agents, assistant coaches, GMs and scouts who tell him they are convinced LeBron James will opt out of his contract in 2014.
- Center Solomon Alabi is close to a deal with a Chinese club, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The 7'1" Alabi was let go by the Hornets at the end of training camp. He spent the last two seasons with the Raptors, but saw little playing time, averaging 1.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 7.0 minutes a game over 26 total contests.
Atlantic Rumors: Felton, Brewer, Prigioni
Raymond Felton is glad to be back with the Knicks, the team he didn't want to leave when New York shipped him to Denver in the Carmelo Anthony trade in 2011. He said Saturday he was "sick" during his time with the Nuggets, as Marc Berman of the New York Post documents, though it's unclear whether he was dealing with an illness or simply pining for New York. Felton said he respected Nuggets coach George Karl's decision to put him on the bench in favor of Ty Lawson, but expressed a desire to be a starter somewhere to Nuggets management, who accomodated him with a trade to the Blazers before last season.
A year later, Felton has come full circle as he's back in the starting lineup with the Knicks, and there's news on another pair of Knicks offseason acquisitions and more from the Atlantic Division.
- Ronnie Brewer, with the Knicks on a minimum-salary deal, told Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald that the Bulls never reached out to him this summer about a return (Twitter link).
- Pablo Prigioni was content to keep playing in Spain until Luis Scola, his teammate on Argentina's national team, convinced him to give the NBA a try. Newsday's Barbara Barker has the details.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News credits Mike Woodson, whom the Knicks retained this summer with a three-year extension, with the team's fast start, pointing out that New York is 32-11 since Woodson took over for Mike D'Antoni last season.
- With Sixers coach Doug Collins open to a trade to improve the team's bench play, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News checks in with rookie point guard Maalik Wayns, who's been contributing more to the second unit of late.
- John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines the impact Andrew Bynum could have on the Sixers if the center returns before the All-Star break.
- Howard Beck of The New York Times chronicles the long journey of Reggie Evans from the streets of Pensacola, Fla., where the local community college passed on recruiting him, to his current status as a rebounding savant for the Nets.
Greene On Brewer, Nuggets, Roberts, Williams
Starters generate the most headlines, but valuable bench contributors are often the pickups that prove the ultimate difference-makers for their teams. HoopsWorld's Lang Greene spoke with three reserves either heading into or coming off of free agency about their choices, and we'll highlight his revelations here.
- Corey Brewer will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, but he loves playing for coach George Karl and favors re-signing with the Nuggets. "You know I’d love to be here," Brewer said of Denver. "But you never know what’s going to happen, because it’s the NBA. I just take it day by day and hopefully this will be home."
- As Greene points out, Brewer could be a tight squeeze back onto Denver's roster. The Nuggets will have close to $69MM in salary commitments for next season if Andre Iguodala waives his early-termination option, putting them close to the luxury tax threshold, which currently sits at $70.307MM.
- Rookie point guard Brian Roberts had "several other suitors" after a strong performance for the Hornets summer league squad, according to Greene, but left his German team to sign a partially guaranteed two-year contract with New Orleans. Roberts said he signed with the Hornets out of loyalty stemming from their summer league invitation as well as a promise that the team would give playing time to whoever is producing this season.
- Bobcats guard Reggie Williams is seeing significantly fewer minutes than in any of his three previous seasons in the NBA, which is poor timing, since he's heading into free agency next summer. The 6'6" sharpshooter says his goal this season is to prove he's completely healthy after a torn meniscus in his knee sidelined him for half of last season.
Raptors, Wolves Interested In Pau Gasol
10:51pm: The report connecting Gasol and the Timberwolves is news to the T-Wolves, tweets Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
8:07am: The Raptors and Timberwolves recently attempted to initiate trade discussions with the Lakers about Pau Gasol, but Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has convinced the club to continue to take a pass on offers until Steve Nash returns, as Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne report for ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and Linas Kleiza are among those the Raptors are talking about including in a Gasol deal, according to Stein and Shelburne. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who's told by rival executives that the Raptors are the most likely destination for Gasol, hears that Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is currently unwilling to include Bargnani in a deal. That could change, however, if Colangelo starts to feel pressure to win now.
It's an "open secret" that Wolves GM David Kahn has been after Gasol since last season in attempts to put together a core of Kevin Love and Spaniards Gasol and Ricky Rubio, Stein and Shelburne write. Kahn's trade offers have been built around Derrick Williams and Nikola Pekovic, packages that continually meet with rejection from the Lakers.
Hornets power forward Ryan Anderson, reportedly L.A.'s No. 1 target in a Gasol deal, is a "virtual untouchable" as far as New Orleans is concerned, according to the ESPNLosAngeles.com story. The Hawks, Rockets and Nuggets have no interest in obtaining Gasol, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
The 32-year-old Gasol is making $19MM this year and is due $19.286MM next season in the final year of his deal. He's averaging 12.6 points per game on 42% shooting, both career lows, and has missed the last two games because of tendinitis in both knees.
Western Rumors: Cousins, Brown, Iguodala, Fisher
A matchup of fourth-place teams, as the Mavs travel to take on the Suns, is the only Western Conference tilt on a two-game night in the NBA, but the action off the court is much juicier. We delivered the latest on the Pau Gasol saga earlier this morning, and now here's more from the West.
- Slumping as he begins his third season, DeMarcus Cousins is nonetheless coveted by several teams around the league, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that the Kings remain uninterested in trading the 22-year-old center.
- Mike Brown, still owed $10MM from the Lakers after the team let him go just five games into the season, tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that he'll eventually get back into coaching, but is in no rush.
- Andre Iguodala, who can exercise an early-termination option this summer, is a safer bet to remain with the Nuggets than Carmelo Anthony was as his deal neared an end, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
- Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com, after examining all the other options, believes the Mavs' signing of Derek Fisher was sound (Insider only).
- The Blazers have already declined their 2013/14 option on Luke Babbitt, but they might have to give him another look as an unrestricted free agent next summer now that he's jumped into the rotation, observes Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- Rockets interim coach Kelvin Sampson reached out to Carlos Delfino during the summer and touted the ability for the Argentinian swingman to play a significant role with Houston, helping convince him to sign with the team. Jason Friedman of Rockets.com has the details.
Northwest Links: Rubio, Iguodala, Burks, Jeffries
Here are the latest updates from around the Northwest Division:
- Ricky Rubio practiced with the Timberwolves for the first time since tearing his ACL in February. He told reporters that his knee felt good. (Associated Press link via the New York Times)
- Since coming to the Nuggets, Andre Iguodala's defense has exceeded its already high expectations, observes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
- Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that young players such as Alec Burks have been taking advantage of the minutes opened up by injuries on the Jazz.
- Jared Jeffries has had a positive impact as a veteran presence on a young and rebuilding Trail Blazers team, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
D-League Moves: De Colo, Miller, Tyler
In addition to the Celtics sending down Kris Joseph, three other teams announced D-League moves in quick succession, and we'll detail them here.
- The Spurs assigned Nando De Colo to the Austin Toros. The rookie has appeared in 13 games for San Antonio, averaging 2.5 points on just 30% shooting in 10.4 minutes per game. The 25-year-old Frenchman logged his first NBA start Thursday as the Spurs rested their regulars against the Heat.
- The Nuggets recalled Quincy Miller from the Iowa Energy after sending him down November 13th. The 6'10" Baylor product, the 38th overall pick in this year's draft, has yet to play in a game for the Nuggets this season, but posted 14.0 PPG and 10.7 RPG in 29.3 MPG in three contests for Iowa.
- The Warriors assigned Jeremy Tyler to the Santa Cruz Warriors in a move first reported by Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Tyler played in 42 games, including 23 starts, as a rookie last season, but has seen just 10 minutes of burn in five games for the big club this year.
- To keep up with all the D-League assignments and recalls throughout the year, bookmark our updated list.