Odds & Ends: Kobe, Wizards, Draft, Bledsoe
Kobe Bryant continues to make a run at Michael Jordan's number of championship rings and career points, but he doesn't expect to follow in Jordan's footsteps in another area. In a video interview with Bloomberg.com (hat tip to SI.com's Ben Golliver), Kobe said he couldn't see himself owning an NBA team after his playing career is over.
"I’d go crazy," Bryant said. "If a player misses a game because he has a broken fingernail, I’d lose my mind. I wouldn’t be able to take it."
While ownership may not be for him, Bryant did say he hopes to stay around the game after he retires as a player. Here are a few other odds and ends from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have gotten off to an awful start this season, but team president Ernie Grunfeld is still focusing on the big picture, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes.
- NBA scouts and general managers are starting to consider options beyond Nerlens Noel, Cody Zeller, and Shabazz Muhammad as No. 1 picks in the 2013 draft, says ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link). Ford identifies Alex Poythress, Alex Len, and Rudy Gobert as three other possible top picks.
- Even though Eric Bledsoe isn't eligible for restricted free agency until 2014, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com is already wondering if Bledsoe will eventually become to the Clippers what James Harden was to the Thunder — a star-in-waiting that the team may not be able to afford.
- On the heels of last night's big win in Miami, Tyson Chandler praised the moves Knicks GM Glen Grunwald made over the summer, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
- According to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com, while the Grizzlies won't discuss it openly, the absence of O.J. Mayo this year has made the team's offense and locker room happier places.
- David Mayo of MLive.com tries his hand at picking out a few free agents the Pistons could target next summer.
Odds & Ends: 76ers, English, Lowry, Blazers
A few Thursday evening odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Although it doesn't appear the team is considering outside options yet, coach Doug Collins and the 76ers are trying to figure out ways to improve the bench, writes Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com.
- Pistons rookie Kim English is open to the idea of playing in the D-League if that's what the team wants, as he tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: "Whatever is asked of me, I will do."
- Of the summer's offseason additions, Kyle Lowry has been one of the most impressive, writes Mike Ulmer of Raptors.com. The Raptors point guard has been just as productive as many of the league's high-profile point guards, says Ulmer.
- After the Trail Blazers let three longtime front office employees go today, John Canzano of the Oregonian implores owner Paul Allen to commit to the current group and let them do their jobs.
Odds & Ends: Martin, Blatche, Lillard, Gibson
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday evening:
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman writes that Kevin Martin is performing up to expectations since being acquired by the Thunder in the James Harden trade.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks, in hindsight, that the Heat would have been wise to sign Andray Blatche this summer. Miami was held back by concerns about his effect on the locker room, as well as their belief in Josh Harrellson and Dexter Pittman, Winderman adds.
- Joe Freeman of the Oregonian admires the poise of Damian Lillard as the Trail Blazers rookie continues to impress.
- Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com likes what he's seen from Taj Gibson since signing a four-year extension with the Bulls.
- Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times adds to the praise of Gibson while also singling out Jimmy Butler for his defensive impact.
- Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun writes that Raptors bigs Amir Johnson and Ed Davis have not received due attention for their contributions.
- Rick Bonnell of the Oklahoman examines the Bobcats' defensive successes this season.
- Keith Langolis of Pistons.com says that rookie Kyle Singler has made a fan of head coach Lawrence Frank with his work ethic.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle praises Patrick Patterson's improvement.
Odds & Ends: Maggette, Pargo, Harden, Kapono
Although he only turned 33 years old earlier this month, Corey Maggette has been around the NBA for a long time, having made his debut back in 1999. With his contract set to expire next summer, Maggette was non-committal about what his immediate future may hold, says David Mayo of MLive.com.
"Who knows what will happen? Who knows? I might be a guy that might be in a front-office position," Maggette said. "I'm already preparing myself for that as I finish this career. The biggest thing is to worry about what's going on now and let the future take care of itself. We don't even know if we're going to wake up tomorrow."
While I'd be surprised if Maggette retired as a player next year, it seems he's already considering the next stage of his career, having spoken to Pistons GM Joe Dumars and assistant GM George David about the paths they took to their current jobs. Here are a few more odds and ends as we prepare for a light Thursday evening NBA schedule:
- Speaking to USA Today's Sam Amick about his extension negotiations with the Thunder and the trade that sent him to the Rockets, James Harden says the final offer he got from Oklahoma City was for four years and $53MM.
- Jannero Pargo is on top of "several NBA teams' radars," Pargo's agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). Considering the source of the info, it's not clear how much stock we should put in it, but Pargo was recently said to be drawing interest from the Bulls and others, and is hoping to get a deal done soon.
- Jason Kapono, whose agreement with Panathinaikos has been on hold, is expected to join the Greek team on December 10th, according to a Gazzetta.gr report (English translation via Sportando).
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks thinks Jeremy Lamb's D-League assignment is a great opportunity for the rookie to earn some playing time, according to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. "He's going to get great work on the practice floor and game floor," Brooks said. "But we like what he does. He has a very high skill set. He definitely needs to continue to develop his body and his game, but that’s a great position for him to be in."
- If you're curious about which D-League players may be in line for a shot from an NBA team in the coming weeks, keep an eye on four players Ryan Ripley of Ridiculous Upside identifies as hot starters.
- Offseason signee Randy Foye has found a home in the starting lineup for the Jazz, as Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune chronicles.
Eastern Notes: Stoudemire, Evans, Bayless
The Wizards finally broke through tonight, winning their first game in 13 tries with a victory over the Blazers. With a tough stretch ahead, however, it doesn't seem like they'll be catching anyone in the Eastern Conference standings soon. Here's the latest from around the East.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears Amare Stoudemire would accept a bench role when he returns from injury, and that the Knicks are indeed considering making Stoudemire, on a nearly $100MM contract, their sixth man.
- Offseason sign-and-trade acquisition Reggie Evans could earn Sixth Man of the Year consideration if he keeps up his mastery of the boards for the Nets, opines A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
- The Raptors were high on the idea of re-signing Jerryd Bayless, according to coach Dwane Casey, but the point guard decided to go to the Grizzlies instead, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
- The pressure has been on Magic GM Rob Hennigan as soon as he took the job, and after trading Dwight Howard, he must be right about his next big move, argues Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News rates Kyle Singler among the top five rookies, identifying him as a steal for the Pistons on his three-year, $3.135MM deal (Twitter link).
- The Pistons had no idea Brandon Knight would fall to them at pick No. 8 in the 2011 draft, and had been targeting Tristan Thompson and Markieff Morris instead, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reveals via Twitter.
- Nets newcomer Mirza Teletovic said he isn't concerned by his lack of playing time as he spoke about his adjustment to the NBA with Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Sulia link).
- Omri Casspi, in the last year of his rookie deal with the Cavs, is among the league leaders in three-point shooting after working on his shot in the offseason, notes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
Pistons Rumors: Singler, Drummond, Bynum
The Pistons are in New York today for a matinee against the Knicks in a matchup of teams whose seasons have begun to turn in opposite directions. The Pistons started 0-8, but have won three of their last five, while the Knicks, who were 6-0, have lost three out of five. Detroit is hoping the more recent trends continue as we take a closer look at the Motor City's team.
- Kyle Singler helped his Spanish league team to a championship last year, and that experience is helping him in his rookie year with the Pistons, observes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
- Fellow Free Press scribe Mike Brudenell notes that Pistons coach Lawrence Frank is impressed with the development another rookie, Andre Drummond, who recorded his first double-double for the team on Friday.
- While examining the development of starting point guard Brandon Knight, MLive's David Mayo also looks at how backup Will Bynum, in the final season of his contract, has returned to the Pistons rotation.
Pistons Players Questioning Lawrence Frank
The Detroit Pistons are off to a horrendous start to the 2012/13 season, with a 3-10 record tied with Toronto for second-worst in the NBA behind only the winless Washington Wizards. The organization has insisted that head coach Lawrence Frank's job is not in question. However, some of Detroit's players have begun questioning his methods and rotations in the media.
Veteran forward Tayshaun Prince told Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News that he disagreed with Frank's decision to sub out all five players at once during a loss to the Magic:
"If I was Coach, I would've made a decision sooner than he did," Prince said. "A 6-0 run, call a timeout. Bam-bam, we come back out, nothing happens, bam (make a substitution). If you gotta make a choice, you have to make a choice. (He) went too long."
Guard Will Bynum has also expressed his displeasure with Frank's rotations, telling Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that it's been difficult for him to find a place in the many lineups Frank has been juggling:
"I'm having to adjust to everybody. I'm playing with so many different people. First I go from not playing with [Rodney] Stuckey to playing with Stuckey every day. I go from playing with Kyle [Singler] all the time to never playing with Kyle. I'm playing with Tayshaun [Prince]. Early on I was playing with Brandon [Knight] and I never played with him in two years since I've been here. It's all over the place right now."
The Pistons front office reportedly views this season as a rebuilding year and thus isn't prone to letting Frank go. However, this will be an interesting story to keep an eye on if the Pistons' struggles continue.
Central Notes: Pacers, Villanueva, Bulls, Watson
A pair of Central Division cellar-dwellers have winnable games on their schedules tonight, as the Pistons prepare to host the Raptors while the Cavaliers face the Magic in Orlando. The Pacers will have a tougher time making up ground on the division-leading Bucks, with a matchup against the Spurs on tap. As we look forward to a busy evening around the NBA, let's round up a few notes out of the Central….
- The Pacers are off to a slow start without Danny Granger, but head coach Frank Vogel doesn't feel like major changes are needed, as he tells Paul Flannery of SBNation.com. "I like the guys we have on our team," Vogel said. "Obviously we're missing Danny, there's no question about that, but I think we have the pieces to become a really good team and I think we're close."
- Although Charlie Villanueva has only appeared in three games for the Pistons, shooting 1-of-10 from the field, David Mayo of MLive.com still doesn't believe Detroit should have used its amnesty provision to release the forward in July.
- In his latest mailbag on Bulls.com, Sam Smith weighs in on Tom Thibodeau's extension and early-season performance, Taj Gibson vs. Omer Asik, and plenty more Bulls-related topics.
- Smith also adds that the Bulls would've liked to bring C.J. Watson back for the same minimum-salary contract the point guard received from the Nets.
- We're in the midst of examining Central Division teams in our Offseason In Review series, with recaps of the Cavaliers' and Pistons' summers having been published earlier this week.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Pistons
Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team's offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.
Signings
- Kyle Singler: Three years, $3.14MM. Signed via mid-level exception.
- Vyacheslav Kravtsov: Two years, $3MM. Signed via mid-level exception. Second year is partially guaranteed.
Trades and Claims
- Acquired Corey Maggette from the Bobcats in exchange for Ben Gordon and protected 2013 first-round pick.
Draft Picks
- Andre Drummond (Round 1, 9th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
- Khris Middleton (Round 2, 39th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
- Kim English (Round 2, 44th overall). Signed via minimum salary exception.
Camp Invitees
Departing Players
Rookie Contract Option Decisions
- Brandon Knight, $2.79MM: Exercised
- Greg Monroe, $4.09MM: Exercised
There are few quick fixes for perennial lottery teams, and this past offseason for the Pistons serves as primary evidence. The team's most significant move was probably the trade that sent Ben Gordon's contract, which includes a $13.2MM player option for 2013/14 he will almost certainly pick up, to the Bobcats for Corey Maggette, who'll be off the books by next summer. Still, it's a deal that isn't likely to do much for the Pistons this season, when it amounts to swapping one overpriced wing player for another.
The drafting of Andre Drummond was also done with an eye cast beyond the horizon. Drummond, who turned 19 in August, is a raw talent, and the team has displayed restraint against the urge to rush his development despite their immediate need for more production, limiting him to 15.4 minutes per game despite his 23.6 PER. Teams at the top of the draft were scared off by Drummond's lack of production at Connecticut, but the Pistons snatched him up at No. 9, content to wait for him to continue to learn and, they hope, eventually fulfill his potential as the perfect complement to Greg Monroe inside, giving the team a rare combination of talented big men in a small-ball era.
If Drummond pans out, the Pistons will have come away remarkably well from a stretch of three consecutive seasons in the no man's land of the middle of the lottery, where they've picked seventh, eighth and ninth the last three years, respectively. That would soothe the sting of parting with the protected first-round pick in the Gordon/Maggette trade, one that seems likely to head to Charlotte in either 2014 or 2015. The inclusion of the pick in that deal suggests that president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and company expect by the team to have improved by then. The protection only covers the top pick in 2015, and it becomes unprotected in 2016, so a downturn in fortunes could be extra painful.
The team is getting surprising play from Kyle Singler, the 33rd pick in the 2011 draft who spent last season in Europe. Vyacheslav Kravtsov, an undrafted signee from the Ukraine, hasn't seen the floor in the regular season, but the Pistons were reportedly pleased with his work in camp. The onus is on coach Lawrence Frank and his staff to develop a hidden gem or two to compensate for the lack of high lottery picks and established stars.
The Pistons also took no-risk fliers on a pair of wayward lottery picks, inviting Jonny Flynn and Terrence Williams to camp on non-guaranteed deals. The team already had 15 guaranteed contracts, forcing Flynn and Williams to be especially impressive to earn a spot on the regular season roster. They weren't, and wound up getting cut, but the moves demonstrated one more avenue Dumars is pursuing to try to bring talent aboard.
The bittersweet backstory to the offseason was the closed door the team showed to center Ben Wallace, one of the last remaining links to the 2004 championship team. He said he wanted to retire last season and changed his mind over the summer. With 15 guaranteed deals, the Pistons no longer had room for the 38-year-old, and the Pistons reportedly didn't extend him a training camp invite to avoid the indignity of having to cut him. Wallace hasn't latched on with anyone else.
The final judgment on the offseason won't come anytime this season. Handcuffed by their regrettable signings of Gordon and Charlie Villanueva three years ago, there wasn't much more they could do this summer. The Pistons see this year as one of development for its young players, and aren't panicking after a slow start. The Gordon/Maggette deal was a step in the right direction, since it will give the team more than $10MM in cap room a year sooner than it would have otherwise freed up. As long as the first-round pick in that trade doesn't come back to bite them, this verdict on offseason will likely come down to Drummond's eventual impact, and the Pistons can only hope the early returns are indicative of the final result.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Stein On Gasol, Hawks, Smith, Frank, Harden
Leading off his Weekend Dime piece at ESPN.com, Marc Stein follows up on yesterday's tweet about the possibility of the Hornets and Matt Carroll reaching a buyout agreement. According to Stein, New Orleans "immediately commenced" buyout talks with Carroll upon acquiring him, meaning the ex-Bobcat should be on the open market soon. Here are the other highlights from Stein's Weekend Dime:
- While some pundits, including Grantland's Bill Simmons, continue to speculate about the Lakers trading Pau Gasol to the Hawks, Atlanta has no interest in sending Josh Smith to Los Angeles in a deal for Gasol, says Stein. The Hawks have "not been in enticed in the least" by the prospect of moving Smith, and are telling interested teams that they value the 26-year-old highly.
- Atlanta's stance doesn't mean that the Lakers haven't spoken internally about the possibility of making a run at Smith, adds Stein. But it looks like an unlikely fit unless another team or two gets involved.
- Even if the Pistons hadn't snapped a winless streak that saw them open the season 0-8, head coach Lawrence Frank likely wouldn't have been in immediate danger, according to Stein. Detroit views this season as a developmental one for its young core, and player development is considered one of Frank's strengths.
- Stein also passes along details on the final year of James Harden's max contract, via Mark Deeks of ShamSports. As we heard earlier this week, that fifth year is only 50% guaranteed. However, it would become fully guaranteed if Harden makes even one All-Star team from 2013/14 to 2016/17. There are other conditions related to personal statistical benchmarks and the Rockets' postseason performance that would also guarantee that final year for Harden. You can check out the complete details at ShamSports.