Central Notes: Posey, Cavs, Deng, Pistons
Let's round up a few odds and ends from around the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers' D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, has officially hired James Posey as an assistant coach on Steve Hetzel's staff, according to a press release from the Cavs. The longtime NBA swingman last played in 2010/11.
- With the Bulls deciding to put extension talks for Luol Deng on hold, agent Herb Rudoy tells David Aldridge of NBA.com that he fully intends to take his client to free agency. "He loves being there, and he loves playing for [coach Tom] Thibodeau," Rudoy said of Deng. "Loves playing for him. But he has to see what the market is."
- If the Pistons plan to make trades at this season's deadline, the team's potential excess of small forwards and guards could create some opportunities, writes Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press.
Older NBA Rookies: Datome & Christmas
The Suns signed Dionte Christmas this year after former Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough became the Suns GM earlier this summer. Christmas has been playing professionally overseas for a number of years after going undrafted out of Temple in 2009.
The 26-year-old was one of the last cuts during the Celtics' training camp last fall, and Jessica Camerato spoke with him for CSNNE.com about how his connection with McDonough helped him choose Phoenix after he'd received numerous NBA camp offers and overseas deals.
"I think (my relationship with McDonough) played a big role because he knows what type of guy I am," Christmas told her by phone on Friday. "He knows that I work hard. I come in every day, I'm going to give it 110 percent."
Another rookie who has been playing professionally for a number of years before moving to the NBA this summer is Italian import Luigi "Gigi" Datome who signed a two-year, $3.5MM deal with the Pistons in June.
Datome spoke with Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype about what he's expecting during his first season outside Italy. When asked which current player he would compare himself too, Datome mentioned the Heat's Shane Battier in terms of his shooting and all-around contributions to make the team better.
With the Pistons signing unrestricted free agent Josh Smith this summer to team with Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe in their front court, a shooter like Datome will be valuable. Gigi shot 51.5 percent from the floor with Virtus Roma last year and nearly 40 percent from three-point territory when he was named Italian League MVP.
Gigi's marksmanship will help space the floor when the 6'8" shooter replaces Monroe or Smith at either forward spot. Smith, Drummond and Monroe will be drawing the majority of their opponents' attention toward a crowded paint, and none of the three possess much accuracy outside of ten feet, so Datome's accuracy behind the arc should open up driving lanes for another new Pistons acquisition this summer, Brandon Jennings.
Odds & Ends: Pistons, LeBron, Anderson
A panel of HoopsWorld columnists discussed their thoughts on the Pistons' offseason additions, current strengths and weaknesses, and where the team projects to finish in the Central Division standings this year. Count Brandon Jennings among those who seem most eager to get the season started, as he believes that with Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, and Josh Smith, Detroit should be a dominant rebounding force on both sides of the court (Detroit Free Press staff report). Here's the rest of tonight's noteworthy links:
- Ken Berger of CBS Sports believes that with so many variables to consider, there's no way that even LeBron James knows what he's going to do on July 1st next year, when he'll have the ability to exercise his early-termination option and hit unrestricted free agency.
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN (via Twitter) doesn't think it's a guarantee that UCLA's Kyle Anderson will declare for the draft after this year, especially since he's not considered a lock to get selected in the first round at this point.
- Jeff Caplan of NBA.com gives the Trail Blazers a "B" for their offseason report card, highlighting their coaching staff and frontcourt as the team's strongest suits and identifying defense as their weakest one. In another a piece, Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge.com relays Damian Lillard's interview with True Hoop TV's Henry Abbott about his workload and expectations defensively.
- Dan McCarney of Spurs Nation wades through the changes and holdovers of the Northwest Division and touches upon what to expect from each team in 2013/14.
- Moke Hamilton of HoopsWorld held his weekly chat with fans, answering questions about Seattle, the Knicks, how Danny Granger's return from injury could affect Paul George, and the Pelicans' playoff chances among other topics.
Eastern Notes: Wilkins, Smith, Heat, Wizards
A pair of Eastern Conference teams have reached agreements with free agents today, as the Sixers worked to finalize a deal for Darius Morris, while the Bulls signed a pair of players – Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas – for camp. Here's more from around the East:
- Free agent forward Damien Wilkins has been working out for the Hawks in Atlanta, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The 33-year-old, who has played for the Hawks, Pistons, and Sixers in the last three seasons, also worked out for the Spurs last week, says Charania. No deal is imminent, but the Hawks appear to have some interest.
- Two months after he officially signed his deal with the Pistons, Josh Smith tells Keith Langlois of Pistons.com that he feels great about choosing Detroit. "Our team, our roster, is very impressive to me," Smith said. "Everybody wants to get better and everybody wants to do it together. Whenever you are able to be a part of something like that, it’s special."
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel is surprised the Heat would bring back a player like Michael Beasley, who "didn't exactly do things the Heat way," and that the team may give him minutes over guys like James Jones and Rashard Lewis, who have "toed every Heat line."
- Although Mike James has played for several NBA teams since 2009, this will be the first time since then he has participated in training camp, writes Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. James reportedly agreed to a camp deal with the Bulls.
- The Wizards have hired former Raptors executive Marc Eversley as vice president of scouting, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Eastern Notes: Heat, Pistons, Pierce, Williams
We learned earlier today that the Heat are bringing Justin Hamilton to camp, which wasn't a huge surprise since the former LSU big man has been working out at AmericanAirlines Arena for the last few weeks. Hamilton had his moments with the Heat during the 2012 offseason, after he was acquired in a draft-night trade with the 76ers, leading some on the Heat staff at the time to see him as a more promising prospect than Jarvis Varnado. However, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes that Hamilton still faces long camp odds with Greg Oden already something of a long-term developmental project and the Heat possibly keeping the minimum of 13 players to start the year. Hamilton's chances of making the team could also rest on the Heat's ability to move Joel Anthony's pesky contract. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference..
- The Central Division is one of the most fascinating divisions in the NBA because of the expectations of competitiveness from each team, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com. For the Pistons, their best-case scenario will be seeing Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith become bona fide NBA stars. For the Bulls and Pacers, their ceilings see them as real championship contenders.
- John Havlicek told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Sulia link) that he believes the departed Paul Pierce is the greatest one-on-one Celtics player of all-time.
- Former Nets big man Jordan Williams signed with Spanish club Bilbao Basket last week but was waived over the weekend, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
Cap Details: Grizzlies, Raptors, Bulls, Pistons
Mark Deeks of ShamSports has published his first column for SBNation.com, discussing how the Sixers' proximity to the salary floor has been overblown in recent weeks. As I wrote when I examined the issue last month, there's no real penalty for failing to meet the NBA's minimum payroll threshold, so there's no pressure on the 76ers to add unnecessary salary. However, as Deeks notes, the flexibility could open up a number of trade opportunties for the team.
Deeks also passes along a couple of cap details on other teams in his piece and in his latest update at ShamSports, so let's round up the rest of the noteworthy items….
- The Grizzlies and Raptors stretched the contracts of Fab Melo and Quentin Richardson, respectively, when releasing those players last week. That means that instead of a cap hit of about $1.31MM in 2013/14, Melo will count toward Memphis' books for about $437K for each of the next three seasons. For the Raptors, Richardson's cap hit figures to be about $467K for the next three years, rather than about $1.4MM this season.
- For both the Grizzlies and Raptors, the likely motivation was creating a little flexibility below the tax threshold, potentially accommodating further signings or trades.
- The Bulls also used the stretch provision when they released Richard Hamilton in July, as I suggested earlier today. That doesn't really create extra flexibility for Chicago, but it will reduce the team's tax bill for 2013/14.
- Josh Harrellson's two-year deal with the Pistons is partially guaranteed for $150K in year one, and non-guaranteed in year two, according to Deeks.
Central Notes: Bucks, Pistons, Smith
Here's the latest out of the Central Division..
- Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld notes that the Bucks and Suns basically swapped trade positions by making the Caron Butler deal. Milwaukee went from about $7.4MM to spend to about $1.9MM after acquiring Butler for Ish Smith and Viacheslav Kravtsov. Meanwhile, the Suns went from no cap room at all to $5.2MM under.
- Sean Corp of Sheridan Hoops has five things to watch for with the Pistons following their whirlwind offseason. First on his list is the shot selection of prized acquisition Josh Smith.
- The Pistons have the luxury of bringing top pick Kentavious Caldwell-Pope along slowly, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit tapped the Georgia product with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 draft.
Eastern Links: Heat, Henry Bibby, Pistons, Nets
As we look forward to the Labor Day weekend, let's round up a few end-of-week items out of the Eastern Conference….
- Caron Butler and Lamar Odom are no longer options for the Heat, but neither player was ever a real possibility, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman adds that "there will be other Butler and Odom types that could shake free" over the course of the year for the Heat.
- Former Grizzlies assistant Henry Bibby will join Maurice Cheeks' coaching staff with the Pistons, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- Making small adjustments to teams that already have a core in place is Joe Dumars' strength, so the Pistons GM should be well-positioned to handle the next stage of the team's development, writes Dan Feldman of PistonPowered (link via Detroit Free Press).
- Former Queens prep star Kyle Hunt will work out for the Nets in September, reports Joshua Newman of SNY.tv.
- Over at HoopsWorld, Lang Greene's list of potential training-camp logjams includes positional battles for the Celtics, Cavs, Bucks, and Knicks, among other teams.
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.
Poll: Where Will Jason Collins Play Next Season?
In April this year, Jason Collins came out as the first active male homosexual athlete in an American professional sport. So far, he's failed to find an NBA team that can use his defense, size, toughness and veteran leadership.
This isn't so much related to his sexual orientation, but the fact he's a 12-year journeyman big in a league that's increasingly made a backup center somewhat superfluous.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com wrote earlier today that an informal poll of league executives and general managers during Las Vegas' Summer League shows that Collins stands a good chance to land on an NBA roster as a 12th, 13th, or 14th man. The belief is he'll catch on as we progress towards training camp and teams look to flesh out their rosters. The informal poll by Arnovitz mirrors the one ESPN.com's Marc Stein conducted among general managers the day after Collins came out in Sports Illustrated.
Some teams have shown an interest already, but we're still more than a month from the start of training camp, and Collins is unsigned. Here's a look at some of the teams that have expressed interest, but so far failed to sign the veteran center.
- The last team he played for, the Wizards, do not appear likely to bring the big man back as he was included in the Jordan Crawford trade primarily to make the numbers work.
- The Nets were also interested in Collins since he last played with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with the Celtics before being dealt to Washington.
- Y! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that when the Celtics traded Collins to the Wizards in February, Garnett was said to have been "extremely frustrated."
- Collins also has a history with the Nets' Jason Kidd and new assistant coach Lawrence Frank, after playing under Frank during Kidd's run with the Nets earlier in the millennium.
- But because Reggie Evans was not ultimately included in the trade bringing Pierce and KG to Brooklyn, the need for Collins to backup KG and Brook Lopez dissipated.
- The Pistons expressed exploratory interest in Collins earlier this month. But after he worked out for them, they elected not to sign the 34-year-old out of Stanford.
- Collins expressed an interest in returning to the Celtics weeks before coming out as gay.
So Collins is still a free agent despite most executives believing he'll find a roster spot before the season starts.
The question remains: where will Jason Collins play next season, if at all?