And-Ones: Allen, Green, D-League
There are worse ways to spend your time than checking out some of the Hall of Fame speeches that were delivered by the 2014 class this week. Alonzo Mourning, David Stern, and Mitch Richmond highlight the latest group to be enshrined in the hall. Here’s a rundown of notes from around the league:
- Ray Allen‘s agent disputed a report by Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that his client was leaning toward returning to the court for his 19th season, insisting to Jeff Zillgit of USA Today that Allen’s stance hasn’t changed (Twitter link). Broussard passed along the veteran’s statement from a charity event yesterday. “It’s August and I don’t want to rush to judgment,” Allen said. “I want to get to September and see how I really feel.”
- Draymond Green tells Cory Butzin of MLive that he wasn’t bothered by the trade speculation surrounding him when the Warriors were still in the hunt for Kevin Love. “Everybody always looks at it like being traded is a bad thing, but that means somebody else wanted you,” Green said. “At the end of the day, if I live my life worried every day about being traded, I’d be worried every day because no one is safe. You can’t stop it from happening if you don’t want it to, and you can’t make it happen if you do.”
- Chris Reichert, Scott Rafferty, and Adam Johnson of Ridiculous Upside put together a hypothetical Team USA from D-League players, inspired by the ongoing debate over NBA players’ involvement in international play.
And-Ones: Durant, Shved, Warriors, Love
Kevin Durant has withdrawn from the USA Men’s National Basketball team, the Thunder announced. There’s no indication that the reigning MVP’s decision to pull his name from summer competition has anything to do with the season-ending injury Paul George sustained in a scrimmage earlier this month, but the move will certainly help Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti sleep easier at night. More from around the Association:
- Alexey Shved‘s agent wouldn’t take umbrage if the Wolves struck a deal to move his client, passes along David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter). Reports have indicated that Minnesota has been looking to trade Shved.
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr thinks the makeup of his team is by and large set for the upcoming season, as he tells Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
“All indications are that this is the group we’re going forward with, but you never say never,” Kerr said. “You never know what’s going to happen, and ultimately that’s not my job… but there’s no question that we feel very confident and comfortable with the group that we have.” - At least one Eastern Conference executive credits LeBron James as a major catalyst behind the Kevin Love deal, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “They are putting all these pieces around LeBron, saying, ‘We’re trying to win it now,’” the executive said. “And I’m sure that was part of LeBron’s wish for when he went back there. LeBron has juice in Cleveland.”
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explores why Love’s presence in Cleveland will only further complicate Phil Jackson‘s quest to turn the Knicks into a championship-caliber club.
Pacific Notes: Thompson, Love, Nedovic, Scott
The Warriors’ reluctance to include Klay Thompson in any trade talks with the Wolves allowed Cleveland to beat out Golden State in the Kevin Love sweepstakes. The W’s will put forth a solid group next year nonetheless, but it’s one that will look largely the same as last year’s cast that got bounced by the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Let’s round up the latest from the west coast..
- Dealing for Love would have been a defining moment in Bob Myers‘ tenure as Warriors GM, argues Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News, who isn’t sure the decision to hang on to Klay Thompson was the right course of action. The Bay Area News scribe thinks that if Thompson and Harrison Barnes can develop into stud players, then Myers will have made the right choice.
- Nemanja Nedovic‘s foot injury likely won’t force him to miss extended time, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters, including Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Golden State signed Aaron Craft to a partially guaranteed deal yesterday, presumably as a backup plan if Nedovic isn’t ready for the start of the 2014/15 season.
- First-year Lakers coach Byron Scott wouldn’t go as far as to suggest his team would make the playoffs in the upcoming season, but he spoke on The Dan Patrick Show and said the Lakers were going to surprise LA-naysayers, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Fallout From Kevin Love Trade Agreement
The time between now and August 23rd, when the Kevin Love trade agreement can become an official transaction, makes it possible that the deal could fall apart, but the Cavs and Wolves are under “enormous pressure” to honor the pact, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. A source tells Berger that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would listen if the Warriors decided to offer Klay Thompson, but Golden State has been steadfastly against doing so. The Warriors haven’t spoken with Minnesota for weeks, according to Berger, and Sam Amick of USA Today hears that Golden State doesn’t intend to jump back into the fray (Twitter link). Here are more aftershocks from the Love deal:
- Even if the Warriors did offer up Thompson to Minnesota, it wouldn’t cause the Cavs deal to come apart, as the Wolves prefer what Cleveland is set to send them, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
Earlier updates:
- The Wolves gave the Cavs permission more than two weeks ago to negotiate with Love about a long-term future with the Cavs, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. There are conflicting reports about whether Love has committed to signing a max deal with Cleveland next summer.
- Minnesota maintains interest in Thaddeus Young, but the Wolves wouldn’t end up sending Anthony Bennett to Philadelphia if such a deal materializes, Zgoda writes in the same piece. Minnesota hopes instead to ship the 2015 first-rounder it’s acquiring from Cleveland in the Love trade to the Sixers for Young, Zgoda writes. The Wolves would also like to shed J.J. Barea and Luc Mbah a Moute in a deal for Young, according to Zgoda, who speculates that Minnesota might include Shabazz Muhammad, too.
- Kevin Martin was in plenty of Love rumors, but there’s no indication that the Wolves are looking to trade him or Corey Brewer, Zgoda tweets.
- Most around the league believe that the addition of Love will convince Ray Allen to sign with Cleveland at some point before camp, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets that he heard weeks ago that Allen would come aboard if the Cavs traded for Love. Still, Allen has dismissed similar rumors and his criteria for signing with a team appear to exclude the Cavs, as I explained Wednesday.
- The Cavs aren’t looking to trade Dion Waiters, who was one of the first within the Cavs organization to whom LeBron James spoke after he made his decision to return from the Heat, Amico writes in his piece.
- Cleveland is targeting big men, but the team has faith that Brendan Haywood can contribute, as Amico also notes.
Hilton Armstrong To Play In Turkey
Former NBA lottery pick Hilton Armstrong has a deal with Besiktas of Turkey, agent Misko Raznatovic tweets (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Warriors waived Armstrong last week just before his non-guaranteed salary for the coming season was to become fully guaranteed.
The 29-year-old is returning overseas, where he spent parts of 2011/12 and 2012/13 before briefly reviving his NBA career with Golden State this past season. The 12th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft played in France and Greece, and he’s also seen time in the D-League over the past few years. His 15 games with the Warriors last season represented his only NBA regular season action since the 2011 lockout.
Armstrong isn’t the only highly drafted former NBA player heading to Besiktas this summer. Former Celtics power forward and 2011 27th overall selection JaJuan Johnson also hooked up with the club, according to Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival.
And-Ones: Prigioni, Scalabrine, Celtics
The Knicks are trying to trade Wayne Ellington and Pablo Prigioni in order to create roster room and alleviate the overcrowding in their backcourt, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). New York was originally trying to trade Ellington on his own, notes Stein, but have been weighing adding Prigioni to any deal in order to create more interest.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Warriors offered Brian Scalabrine the chance to rejoin the team as an assistant coach this summer after hiring Steve Kerr as head coach, as Scalabrine said today in a radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston (transcription via Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group). Scalabrine, whom the team demoted after a high-profile clash with former head man Mark Jackson, turned Golden State down to instead take a broadcasting gig with the Celtics.
- Agent Marc Cornstein doesn’t foresee having to find a new deal soon for client Chris Johnson, who’s on a non-guaranteed contract with the Celtics. “So far, everything has been positive,” Cornstein told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “We’re well aware of the roster additions. He has a great relationship with the Celtics organization and the coaching staff and as I said, everything we have heard thus far as been positive so we’re cautiously optimistic about his future with the Celtics.“
- Blakely casts the possibility that Chris Babb remains with the Celtics as unlikely, given the guard’s poor summer league showing. Babb is also on a non-guaranteed deal.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Sign James Jones
AUGUST 5TH: The signing is official, the team announced via its website.
JULY 16TH: The Cavs have struck a one-year deal with James Jones for the minimum salary, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). That means another ex-Heat teammate of LeBron James is headed to Cleveland. It’s unclear if the contract will be guaranteed.
Cleveland had been pursuing Jones, a favorite of LeBron’s, in conjunction with Mike Miller soon after it signed the four-time MVP. Cavs GM David Griffin also convinced Miller to take a discount to come to Cleveland, the same place he was reluctant to go last year, and now it seems the team will focus on its attempt to convince Ray Allen, also late of the Heat, to move north.
The Warriors, Wizards, Pelicans and Heat all made offers to the 33-year-old Jones, but LeBron’s recruiting effort led the Miami native to choose the Cavs instead, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). Jones spent the past six seasons with Miami, never averaging more than 19.1 minutes per game, but his 4.9 points per contest this past season represents his second-highest scoring average in a Heat uniform. The Joel Bell client also serves as the secretary/treasurer for the players union.
Western Notes: Cuban, Pleiss, Sterling
In the wake of Paul George‘s terrible injury Friday night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban blasted the IOC, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Cuban hopes the injury will spur the NBA into creating its own international tournament where the league has more control as well as receives the benefits of holding such competitions. Cuban also said, “I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA (International Federal Basketball Association). We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. (We) just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”
Here’s more from out west:
- Thunder 2010 draft-and-stash pick Tibor Pleiss is expected to sign a two-year deal with Barcelona, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Oklahoma City had made an attempt to bring the German big man to the NBA this season but his buyout amount became an issue, but the team was still hoping to work out a deal for the 2015/16 campaign. Details of Pleiss’ potential deal with Barcelona and buyout amount haven’t yet been announced.
- Sam Cassell is leaving the Wizards to join Doc Rivers‘ coaching staff with the Clippers, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Los Angeles’ bench had recently lost Tyronn Lue to the Cavs and Alvin Gentry to the Warriors.
- Donald Sterling built an empire but words were his undoing, write Nathan Fenno, Kim Christensen, and James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times. The trio profile the seemingly soon-to-be former Clippers owner’s rise and fall.
Wolves Owner Expects He’ll Trade Kevin Love
Wolves owner Glen Taylor tells Charley Walters of St. Paul Pioneer Press that the team expects to trade Kevin Love shortly after August 23rd, when Andrew Wiggins‘ contract with the Cavs can be moved. “I’m saying it’s most likely because Kevin has made it pretty clear that that’s what he wants to do,” said Taylor, who would still prefer Love to remain in Minnesota.
Walters reports that while Cleveland is still the front-runner to acquire Love in a trade, the Warriors and Bulls are still pitching offers to the Wolves as well. The Sixers are expected to facilitate a three-team deal, should one occur. While the acknowledgment points to Wiggins as Minnesota’s primary target in a Love trade, it’s unclear if the Wolves are assured that the No. 1 pick will be made available by Cleveland. There have been conflicting reports as to Cleveland’s willingness to part with Wiggins, as well as some suspicion regarding Flip Saunders‘ leaking tactics.
Previously, Taylor had insisted it would possible to keep Love in Minnesota for at least this season, but the owner’s statement adds to the growing sentiment that the power forward has played his last game for the Wolves. A trade to Cleveland has been described as “when, not if,” and Love has reportedly made his preference to join LeBron James as a Cavalier known to the Minnesota front office. A trio of James, Love, and Kyrie Irving would immediately make Cleveland one of most dynamic offensive teams in the league, at least on paper.
And-Ones: Parker, Brewer, Melo
The minimum salaries for Khris Middleton and Draymond Green became fully guaranteed at the end of Friday when they remained on the rosters of the Bucks and Warriors, respectively, according to the salary data that Mark Deeks of ShamSports compiles. Justin Hamilton of the Heat earned a partial guarantee of $408,241 when Miami kept him through Friday, while Cavs power forward Erik Murphy wound up with a partial guarantee of $100K.
Here’s more from around the league:
- This has been a whirlwind offseason with numerous players changing teams. Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders looks at five players who will benefit most from their change of scenery.
- Brazilian big man Fab Melo is returning home to sign with Paulistano of his native country, the team announced Friday (hat tip to Sportando). The Celtics selected Melo with the 22nd pick in 2012, but the seven footer only played six games in the NBA in 2012/13 and bounced around the D-League last season after failing the make the Mavs roster in training camp.
- Former NBA player Darius Johnson-Odom has signed with Acqua Vitasnella Cantù of the Italian League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Johnson-Odom appeared in three games for the Sixers as well as seeing stints in China and the NBA D-League last season.
- Spurs GM R.C. Buford indicated that the team and newly-extended point guard Tony Parker had a mutual interest in an agreement, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links here). “His play warranted the commitment of the organization,” Buford said. “He made a commitment to our organization, too, by doing this now and taking himself out of a free agency opportunity a year from now. It was important to him and us to capitalize off the momentum this year creates and not have to worry about it at a later date.”
- The Timberwolves aren’t willing to move Corey Brewer in any deal involving Kevin Love, reports Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Brewer is staying in Minnesota, writes Krawczynski.
Chuck Myron and Alex Lee contributed to this post.