East Notes: Smith, Drummond, Cavs
The latest news and notes from around the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon:
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes that the historically inconsistent J.R. Smith has actually been one of the most reliable players this season for the Knicks.
- The Pistons are a league-worst 0-7, but coach Lawrence Frank is determined not to rush Andre Drummond into heavy action so early in his career, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com examines.
- Cavs coach Byron Scott isn't sold on analytics, as Bob Finnan of The News-Herald notes.
Odds & Ends: Allen, Pistons, Jazz, Curry, Lawson
While most of the night's news has centered around extensions for a flurry of fourth-year players before the 11pm Central deadline, there's sure to be fallout over the lack of extensions for Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and Jeff Teague, who will headline a class of 2013 restricted free agents that won't be as strong as first expected. In the meantime, there are plenty of other interesting tidbits from around the league.
- Before deciding on the Heat, Ray Allen was serious about joining the Clippers this summer, but believes the Clips thought he was using them as leverage, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- Pistons owner Tom Gores, who won't rule out someday moving the team from the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills to a downtown venue, is anxious for his team to make the playoffs, but said the jobs of basketball operations president Joe Dumars and coach Lawrence Frank aren't necessarily riding on a postseason berth, as David Mayo of MLive.com observes.
- Jazz executive vice president Kevin O'Connor says the team structured its contracts so most of them would end after this season, Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
- Grantland's Zach Lowe examines the extensions for Stephen Curry and Ty Lawson, believing the Warriors could trade Curry if he gets off to a fast start next season, while wondering if the Nuggets will make a cost-cutting move some time next year to fit Lawson's deal into their budget.
- Cavs forward Luke Walton, who played under Phil Jackson with the Lakers, believes his former coach won't return to the sidelines, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
- Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson didn't dismiss the possibility that the team could re-sign Dominique Jones as an unrestricted free agent next summer after deciding against picking up his 2013/14 option, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News notes.
Pistons Notes: Drummond, Prince, Dumars
The Pistons enter this season as a young team looking for an identity, writes MLive.com's David Mayo. Can they compete for a playoff spot this early in the rebuilding process, or do the young pieces need much more time to get acclimated and be competitive?
- Also from Mayo comes a Q&A with the team's general manager, Joe Dumars.
- Incoming rookie Andre Drummond should expect to see a ton of playing time against teams with size and athleticism, writes Detroit Free Press reporter Vince Ellis.
- Also from Ellis comes a piece on Pistons veteran Tayshaun Prince, and how he can help an extremely young team with his veteran presence and savvy work habits.
Central Notes: Pistons, Robinson, Pacers, Cavs
Here are the latest updates from around the Central Division on Saturday night:
- Brendan Savage of MLive.com writes that the Pistons have grown during the preseason and are ready for the challenges the regular season will bring.
- Terry Foster of the Detroit News talks to several Pistons players who believe the team will finish with above a .500 record in 2012/13.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes that new Bulls signee Nate Robinson is working on his ballhandling and decreasing his turnovers during training camp.
- Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star writes that the Pacers are more confident in their bench this season than they were last year.
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Cavaliers are headed in the right direction, even if they don't make the playoffs this season.
Pistons Pick Up Options On Knight, Monroe
In addition to making a pair of roster cuts earlier today, the Pistons have also exercised two team options on players for 2013/14. Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports (via Twitter) that Detroit has picked up Brandon Knight's third-year option and Greg Monroe's fourth-year option.
Knight, who is earning about $2.68MM in 2012/13, his sophomore year, is now set to earn a guaranteed $2.79MM in 2013/14, while Monroe will receive a guaranteed $4.09MM in '13/14. The Pistons will have an additional year of control on Knight, who is eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2015. Monroe, however, will become a restricted free agent in 2014 if he's not extended by Detroit next summer.
To follow all this offseason's decisions on 2013/14 rookie contract options, be sure to check out our tracker, which we'll keep updated as teams officially announce their moves.
Pistons Waive Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn
The Pistons have officially released camp invitees Terrence Williams and Jonny Flynn, according to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News (via Twitter). The cuts leave the Pistons with 15 players under contract.
Both Williams and Flynn were lottery picks in the 2009 draft, but hit free agency a year early after the fourth-year options of their respective rookie contracts weren't picked up by the Rockets last season. While neither player has lived up to expectations since coming into the league, Williams and Flynn had productive stretches as bench players in their three-year careers. Still, it was an uphill battle to earn a roster spot in Detroit, where the Pistons already had 15 guaranteed contract on their books.
If both players clear waivers, they'll become unrestricted free agents, free to sign with any team.
Central Rumors: Bulls, Walsh, Hammond, Pistons
The Bulls figure to have a tough time repeating their success of the past two seasons with Derrick Rose injured and most of their key reserves playing elsewhere. Still, they have the advantage of playing in the NBA's easiest division, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who believes they'll be able to tread water and come up with 46 wins, likely enough for a playoff berth. If Rose is back, a higher seed probably won't want to see Chicago in the first round, but until then, here's the latest on a few teams trying to benefit from the Bulls' misfortune.
- Donnie Walsh is back in familiar surroundings as Pacers president of basketball operations after a stint in the Knicks front office, as Harvey Araton of The New York Times examines in a lengthy feature. Walsh admits his recovery from spinal cord surgery, which forced him to meet with LeBron James unprepared and in a wheelchair, affected the team's pitch for the superstar in 2010, and the 71-year-old doesn't envision himself as a long-term solution for the Pacers.
- Though he's not expected to give Brandon Jennings a long-term extension this month, Bucks GM John Hammond is confident his backcourt of Jennings and Monta Ellis can work, and sees the Pacers and Jazz as small-market models to follow, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe details. "The goal today is not to make trades," Hammond said. "The goal today is to try to find a way to keep some of these young pieces together and build with this young nucleus but continue to keep a fair salary structure that will give us flexibility to change and improve this team."
- Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press looks at how the Pistons are moving against the small-ball trend.
- The Pistons' rotation is starting to take shape, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News examines.
- A more competitive on-court product this season is critical for the business side of the Pistons, argues Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press.
Eastern Notes: Heat, Irving, Rasheed, Pistons
We looked at news from the Western Conference already, so here's a trip around Eastern Conference camps, with the start of the regular season just a dozen nights away.
- Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald thought a few days ago that Terrel Harris was a shoo-in for a spot on the Heat roster, but now believes Garrett Temple has a legitimate chance to beat him out (Twitter link). Both guards are on non-guaranteed deals.
- Kyrie Irving did plenty to justify his position as the top pick in the 2011 draft last season, when he won Rookie of the Year honors, but Cavs coach Byron Scott still believes he has a long way to go to realize his potential, as Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes.
- Marc Berman of the New York Post has details on Rasheed Wallace's contract with the Knicks, and confirms that it's without even a partial guarantee.
- Joe Dumars is the league's third-longest tenured executive in charge of player personnel decisions, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors pointed out yesterday, and the Pistons president of basketball operations told Keith Langlois of Pistons.com he's never been as impressed with his players' offseason work as he is this year (Twitter link).
- Nets coach Avery Johnson said he expects free agent signee Jerry Stackhouse, a few weeks shy of his 38th birthday, to make his primary contribution as a locker room presence, a la Juwan Howard with the Heat the past two seasons, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.
Odds & Ends: Stone, Ellington, Pistons, Kings
Julyan Stone, recovering from hip surgery, could be out until January, Nuggets coach George Karl tells Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. Stone's contract is only partially guaranteed for $100K, so it's possible the team decides to cut him, but Hochman stresses that the Nuggets "love" the second-year point guard, suggesting he's still part of their plans going forward. Here are a few more updates from around the NBA:
- Following up on David Aldridge's story on extension candidates that we covered earlier, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says Wayne Ellington won't be extended by the Grizzlies due to the pending change in ownership.
- General manager Joe Dumars has the Pistons on an upward trajectory as the team continues to rebuild, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Kings coach Keith Smart recently appeared on Sacramento radio station KHTK to discuss Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, and changing the culture in Sacramento. Eric Schmoldt of Sports Radio Interviews has the details.
- Jon Pastuszek of NiuBBall.com passes along Chinese reports that indicate the Qingdao Double Star Eagles are still considering signing Jerome Jordan. We'd heard previously of Qingdao's interest in Jordan, but perhaps the seven-footer is more intrigued by the possibility now that Tracy McGrady is on board.
- Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside wonders if Kelenna Azubuike could head to the D-League after being released by the Cavaliers.
Aldridge On Extension Candidates
The latest Morning Tip piece from TNT's David Aldridge is up at NBA.com, and focuses on the first round of the 2009 draft class, most of whom are eligible for contract extensions this month. However, Aldridge doesn't expect many new deals to be inked, since the new CBA doesn't give players a ton of incentive to sign early.
"Now (that) you can only give the same amount of years that they can get next summer, the player isn't as interested," one team executive told Aldridge. "Now, you have no advantage. I used to be able to say 'I can give you a year more today than you can get next year. So let's talk about a deal and maybe the number is more realistic.' But they've taken that away."
Here's what Aldridge has heard on a number of extension candidates:
- The Kings will "probably not" be offering Tyreke Evans an extension, Aldridge hears from a source.
- Things are "pretty quiet" on the Brandon Jennings front, and Aldridge isn't expecting him to work out a long-term extension with the Bucks.
- DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors aren't close to a deal, but have been talking for weeks. Aldridge cautions not to rule out the possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement.
- Aldridge does, however, essentially rule out extensions for Austin Daye (Pistons) and James Johnson (Kings).
- Jrue Holiday's agent will touch base with the 76ers later this week about a possible extension.
- Ty Lawson of the Nuggets is the one player that everyone around the league believes will sign a long-term deal by Halloween.
- The Hawks are talking to Jeff Teague about a new deal, but Aldridge thinks it's unlikely the team commits to anything yet when it could have so much cap space available next summer.
- Agent Mark Bartelstein on Taj Gibson and the Bulls: "They've made it clear they'd like to sign Taj. They're making an effort, and so are we… if we can get something done that everybody feels good about, great. If not, I'm sure he'll have a great year."