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Eastern Rumors: Stoudemire, Knicks, Pistons

March 21st, 2014 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Amar’e Stoudemire envisions remaining with the Knicks organization beyond his playing career, as we noted last night. Still, the 31-year-old hopes he doesn’t leave the court anytime soon, telling Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling that he wants to “play until I can’t walk any more.” Stoudemire says he wants to stay on the Knicks roster, which is indication that he intends to opt in for next season. That wouldn’t be at all surprising, but it sounds he’d also like to re-sign with the club in the summer of 2015. Whether the Knicks will have mutual interest remains to be seen, of course. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

A source tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that new Knicks president Phil Jackson is high on Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Cole Aldrich, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Toure’ Murry. Carmelo Anthony is on that list as well, and Jackson has already publicly expressed his regard for the star.
The Pistons have denied that Isiah Thomas is a candidate to run their basketball operations, but MLive’s David Mayo wouldn’t be “thoroughly and completely shocked” if Thomas ends up in that role, as Mayo writes in his latest mailbag column.
The Sixers and Pacers had nearly identical records over a seven-year span from 2005/06 through 2011/12, but the teams have taken drastically different paths since, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Pacers have distinguished themselves primarily because of their success uncovering gems in the draft, Cooney argues, suggesting much is at stake for the Sixers come June.

Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Billups, Allen, Heat

March 20th, 2014 at 3:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony is full of optimism about what Phil Jackson can do for the Knicks, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com observes. ‘Melo is similarly enthusiastic about what he can learn from Jackson and is glad that the Zen Master wants him to stick around beyond this season.

“I was hoping that I would be part of the future plans,” Anthony said. “I never once said that I wanted to leave New York or anything like that. The only thing I said was I’m going to dabble and try the free agency out, that I was going to opt out and become a free agent. … I’m excited about the opportunity to hopefully work with Phil.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Chauncey Billups says he won’t necessarily retire at the end of the season, but teams have already gauged his interest in joining their front offices, Billups told reporters, including Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. It’s unclear if the Pistons are one of those clubs, but Billups said he’d consider them if they offered a position. The 37-year-old would like to become a basketball executive at some point, adds Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, who notes that Billups and Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars are close.
Ray Allen, a free agent at season’s end, still has affection for Boston, and he’d like to see the Celtics retire his number, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
The Heat have assigned Justin Hamilton to the D-League, the team announced. The center will play in two games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and return to the Heat after Saturday’s contest, according to Miami’s release.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Varnado, Sims, Mirotic

March 19th, 2014 at 8:37pm CST by Alex Lee

If new commissioner Adam Silver gets his wish and changes the NBA draft’s age minimum from 19 to 20, he will have two dissenters in the Pistons‘ Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith, both of whom would have been affected had such a rule been in place when they entered the league. “I just feel like if a kid’s ready, he’s ready to – why two years?” Jennings told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “Then if I’m a kid that’s talented and you expect me to go to college and eat McDonald’s all the time. I’m not rolling.”

Let’s take a look at what else is going on in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday night:

Mississippi State product Jarvis Varnado, who inked a multiyear deal with the Sixers earlier this month, was adamant he’d stick in the NBA earlier this season despite being on a 10-day contract, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, who talked with Varnado in his time with the Bulls.
Henry Sims has been a bright spot for the Sixers since coming over from Cleveland in the Spencer Hawes deal, and may have a future in Philadelphia, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders breaks down the salary cap implications of Chicago bringing over Nikola Mirotic this offseason from Real Madrid, who the Bulls took with the 23rd pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. The move would involve a buyout of over $3MM as well as enough money to entice Mirotic to want to leave Europe.
Al Jefferson signed with the Bobcats just eight months ago, but he’s already prepared to recruit others to Charlotte, as he tells Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. “It’s on me to let other free agents know, ‘Why not Charlotte?’,” Jefferson said.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Jackson, Antetokounmpo

March 18th, 2014 at 12:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most league insiders think it’s unlikely LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will opt in for another season on their deals with the Heat, though the same people feel like they’ll all sign new deals with Miami for at least one season, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Many feel as though James will stay with the Heat even if Bosh and Wade leave, with the Cavs as the next in line for his services, and all other teams as dark horses. Amico cautioned that his sources are merely making educated guesses, as James has offered few hints. It appears we’ll have to wait until the summer for clarity on that front, but there’s plenty of other news around the Eastern Conference in the interim:

Phil Jackson strongly encouraged Pistons owner Tom Gores to hire Steve Kerr last summer when Detroit instead tapped Maurice Cheeks as coach, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Jackson has remained an adviser to Gores, though that ostensibly ends with today’s official announcement of the Zen Master as Knicks president.
Most NBA teams thought Giannis Antetokounmpo had a promise from the Hawks that they’d take him with the 17th pick, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri tried “frantically” to trade into the top 15 to draft him before the Bucks snagged him at No. 15. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has the details behind the scramble for the Greek prospect.
Ujiri doesn’t deny that he was close to a deal in December to send Kyle Lowry to the Knicks, observes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, who examines how a better attitude is enhancing the Raptors point guard’s free agent value for this summer.
The Sixers are unlikely to spend a lot of money in free agency this summer, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com, who thinks that’s a reason why the team should hold on to trade candidate Thaddeus Young.

Eastern Notes: Oden, Knight, Kerr

March 17th, 2014 at 5:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if it’s time to worry about Greg Oden. Winderman admits that it’s hard to see the former No. 1 overall pick being a real asset to the Heat during their playoff run. If he is going to to be a real part of their postseason plans, however, now is the time for Miami to figure out how to best utilize their low-risk offseason signing.

More out of the East..

One NBA advance scout told Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times (on Twitter) that it’s obvious the Pistons gave up on Brandon Knight too soon. WIth the Bucks, the Kentucky product has averaged a career-high 17.4 PPG and 4.9 APG in 32.3 minutes per contest. His current per of 17.0 is by far the best of his three NBA seasons.
Steve Kerr is close with Phil Jackson and has said he wants to coach in the NBA someday, but says all the talk linking him to the Knicks is just rumors, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. Kerr said, “It’s crazy, I think people are just connecting the dots because of my relationship with Phil Jackson. That’s all it is, just speculation.” Kerr was asked what he would do if Jackson hypothetically offered him the Knicks job tomorrow. “I have no idea,” Kerr responded. There’s a lot that goes into that. I don’t know, we’ll see.”
Ben Golliver of SI.com writes that Kerr and Jackson have stayed close since their time in Chicago together. In the article Kerr said, “We’ve stayed close over the years. He’s in Los Angeles and I’m in San Diego. I see him occasionally … we email quite a bit. We stay in touch. I played for him for five years. We share that bond and the love for the game. We talk basketball when we get together.” Kerr left little doubt that he wants to try his hand at coaching, but declined to discuss the possibility of him joining the Knicks out of respect for current coach Mike Woodson, Golliver writes.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Gordon, Parker, Wiggins

March 17th, 2014 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has used his insider-only “Tank Rank” column to pass along rumors connected the plans that teams have for this season, but this week’s edition is all about how clubs view the top prospects for the draft. We’ll pass along the highlights from Ford here:

The Celtics and Jazz are high on Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon, according to Ford.
Ford consistently hears that the Pistons would draft Jabari Parker No. 1 overall if they scored the No. 1 overall pick. That seems to assume that Joe Dumars would still be in charge of the team’s basketball operations, which isn’t a given.
The Pelicans believe Parker would be the “perfect fit” for them, Ford writes.
The Cavs envision using Andrew Wiggins, a small forward, as a shooting guard next to Kyrie Irving if they’re able to land the Kansas star, Ford suggests.
If the Magic wind up with the No. 1 overall pick, they’d probably use it on Wiggins, Ford writes, identifying Dante Exum and Marcus Smart as others the team will likely target.
The Lakers appear to have Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Exum as their top three prospects, according to Ford, who pegs Parker fourth and Julius Randle fifth on L.A.’s board.

Phil Jackson Rumors: Tuesday

March 11th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Monday it appeared that the Knicks felt they were close to a deal with Phil Jackson, but the Zen Master’s camp didn’t see the talks as nearing completion. We rounded up all the latest from Monday in a single post, and we’ll keep track of today’s updates on Jackson and the Knicks here.

Knicks owner James Dolan has reportedly solicited the help of Bill Bradley as an intermediary in the team’s negotiations with Jackson, says Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Bradley is Jackson’s longtime friend and former teammate.
Isola adds that Dolan and Bradley have been working together to finalize an agreement that would make Jackson the highest-paid executive in NBA history, with a deal that could pay in excess of $15MM annually.
A source close to Jackson indicates that the two sides have had preliminary discussions about Jackson possibly owning a minority stake in the team.

Earlier updates:

The Knicks have competition for Jackson, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who hears that the Pistons are “very much in the mix” for the Zen Master with Joe Dumars unlikely to return. The Cavs have reached out as well, although their interest is “somewhat muddied” at present, Kyler writes.
Still, it’s “highly unlikely” that Jackson will return to the Lakers, Kyler adds.
Steve Kerr reiterated to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv today that he would like to coach in the NBA, though he didn’t address the Knicks specifically. If Jackson hires Kerr, Kyler suggests he’ll go after Cavs interim GM David Griffin to run the day-to-day operations for the Knicks.
Reports that Jackson is strongly leaning toward taking the Knicks job are “greatly exaggerated,” a source close to Jackson tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
The Knicks are “very confident” they’ll finalize a deal with Jackson by the end of the week, though a formal announcement might not come until next week, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. The Knicks don’t feel as though Jackson would take a job with the Lakers or another club at this point. Jackson would gain control of the Knicks basketball operations department, displacing Mills, but Mills would remain an “integral” part of the team even if Jackson is hired, Broussard writes.
A source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that the meeting in which Steve Mills spoke to Jackson about coaching the team was a “disaster.” Jackson doesn’t want to work with Mills, the source says. Mills would retain a role of some sort within the organization if Jackson came aboard, but he wouldn’t be active in day-to-day operations, according to Isola. Mills has been committed to the idea of firing Mike Woodson, though he’s against hiring an interim coach and would prefer to go after marquee names in the offseason. Isola identifies John Calipari, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Tom Thibodeau as likely candidates for a Mills-led search, but it’s unclear if Jackson would go after any of the same.
In any case, it’s clear that owner James Dolan, and not Mills or anyone else in the Knicks organization, is negotiating with Jackson now, Isola writes in a separate piece, adding that the salary on the table for the Zen Master is believed to be $12MM a year. Isola suggests that if Jackson takes the job, he’s “destined” to bring in his own front office staff, including a new general manager to run the day-to-day operations. Isola speculates that Byron Scott and Kurt Rambis could become coaching candidates in this scenario. Still, the Daily News scribe wonders if Jackson is using the Knicks offer to finagle a job with the Lakers, citing general managers from around the league who say that his heart lies with the purple-and-gold.
Marc Berman of the New York Post contradicts Isola with regard to Mills, writing that the current Knicks president and general manager would retain a similar role if Jackson came aboard because of Mills’ aplomb with handling agents. Agents question Jackson’s sincerity, Isola notes.
Berman also writes in his piece that Woodson will probably have to make the second round of the playoffs to keep his job.

Josh Smith Envisions Pairing With Rajon Rondo

March 10th, 2014 at 9:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons forward Josh Smith acknowledges the idea that he’ll join prep school teammate Rajon Rondo on the same NBA team anytime soon is far-fetched, but he’s optimistic that it will happen sometime, as he tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. The two have spoken about the possibility multiple times, Smith says.

“He’s my best friend, especially in the NBA,” Smith said. “We definitely connect. We take family vacations together.”

Smith added that Kevin Garnett joined them for those trips. There was trade talk surrounding Rondo and Smith prior to the deadline, but neither ever appeared close to changing teams. Smith says he’s content playing with the Pistons, who last month reportedly shopped him. A pair of reports this summer from fellow Globe scribe Gary Washburn indicated that Detroit was interested in acquiring Rondo via trade. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge insisted he wasn’t looking to deal the four-time All-Star, and set a steep price tag on him as the deadline approached.

Smith is under contract through 2016/17, while Rondo is set to become a free agent after next season. The Pistons, at this point, have enough cap flexibility for the summer of 2015 to sign Rondo for up to the max if both sides would be willing, but the BDA Sports Management client will surely have plenty of other suitors.

Rondo didn’t speak to Holmes about his relationship with Smith, who was the point guard’s roommate at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Oak Hill coach Steve Smith invoked Rondo’s connection to the school earlier this season when he claimed that Carmelo Anthony, another Oak Hill alum, was attempting to recruit Rondo to the Knicks, but Anthony and Rondo denied those talks.

And-Ones: Lakers, Jackson, Bulls, ‘Melo

March 7th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers are privately concerned about the quality of the free agent market this summer, and they’re worried about the prospect of a third straight season outside of the title picture next year, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Stein’s note comes within a piece in which he and other ESPN.com writers examine the early-termination option decisions facing LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Most of them believe the quartet of stars, all of whom are in the top 10 of our Free Agent Power Rankings, will indeed become free agents. While we look forward to the summer, here’s the latest from around the league:

Phil Jackson “went out of his way” to clarify in an interview with Sam Amick of USA Today that Joe Dumars made the decision last summer to hire Maurice Cheeks as Pistons coach, Amick writes. Jackson served as a consultant during the team’s coaching search last year, and Amick wonders if the Pistons would make a play to replace Dumars with Jackson, who reportedly has an offer to join the Knicks front office.
The Bulls haven’t begun to seriously crunch the numbers for a pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, downplaying the idea that Chicago is gearing up to chase the Knicks star.
League sources tell Berger that Nikola Mirotic will be seeking salaries worth $3-4MM from the Bulls this summer, as Berger writes in the same piece. That’s a surprise, since an earlier report indicated that Mirotic would probably ask for significantly more than the mid-level exception, worth a starting salary of $5.305MM next season.
The Wolves were in deadline talks about trading J.J. Barea, but they aren’t so eager to get rid of him that they’d waive him this summer and use the stretch provision on his more than $4.5MM salary for next season, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cites.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, George, Billups, Thornton

March 6th, 2014 at 10:53pm CST by Charlie Adams

As tonight’s NBA action begins to wind down, let’s take a look at a few tidbits from around the Eastern Conference..

The Heat and Pacers might be fighting for the top seed in the East, but LeBron James is still open to the idea of mentoring Paul George in the offseason, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. George had expressed interest in the possibility of learning anything he could from James this summer to Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders.
The Pistons are no strangers to losing this season, and Chauncey Billups doesn’t think some of his teammates are bothered by their poor play, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. “The thing I hate, to be honest with you, is that losing don’t really hurt to a lot of our guys,” Billups said. “People don’t take it personal, and if you don’t, people will beat you every night. Because everybody needs a win, no matter if you’re on a winning streak or losing streak.”
Sacramento was looking to move Marcus Thornton all season long, and the Nets are happy to have acquired him. Thornton has averaged 13.4 points in just 23 minutes per contest over five games. Brian Lewis of the New York Post breaks down Thornton’s game and explores the value he’s brought to Brooklyn so far.
With Derrick Rose sidelined, the Bulls have had to rely on more production from Joakim Noah. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times thinks Rose’s absence has forced all of the players on the team to improve.