Warriors Audition D.J. White
TUESDAY, 4:36pm: Warriors GM Bob Myers confirmed on KNBR radio today that the team worked out White, but Myers is unsure if he’s a fit right now, suggesting that the team could invite the power forward to summer league. Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group passes the news along via Twitter.
MONDAY, 5:01pm: The Warriors are auditioning free agent D.J. White today, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The big man has spent time with the Celtics, Thunder, and Bobcats.
White spent time with the Bulls in camp over the summer but didn’t make the cut in the fall and wound up signing with China’s Sichuan Blue Whales. The 27-year-old appeared in 12 games last season for the Celtics and found himself in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster but was promptly cut by the Nets. Although the former first-rounder didn’t see the court much in Boston, he has been reasonably productive in parts of five NBA seasons, recording a career PER of 14.6.
Western Notes: Fisher, Warriors, Barbosa
Thunder guard Derek Fisher has said that he plans on calling it quits after this season, but Kevin Durant plans on speaking with his family this offseason about allowing him to delay his retirement, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) adds that the last time she spoke to Fisher, he joked that retirement was still the plan but he’d “go to Montana for a week after the year, then decide.” More from the Western Conference..
- The Warriors announced that they have assigned guard Nemanja Nedovic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League. Nedovic has appeared in seven games (five starts) for Santa Cruz this season, compiling averages of 15.6 points, 3.7 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.14 steals in 26.6 minutes.
- Leandro Barbosa, who is recovering from a hand injury, doesn’t expect to return until the playoffs, the guard told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The 31-year-old is averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 18.4 minutes per game this season for the Suns.
- The Blazers announced that they have assigned rookie guard Allen Crabbe to the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede. The 21-year-old is averaging 2.0 points, 0.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 4.9 minutes in 12 games for the Trail Blazers this season. Acquired by Portland in a draft day trade with Cleveland, Crabbe was the 31st overall selection in the 2013 NBA Draft out of California
Texas Notes: Ellis, Rockets, Spurs
All three Texas teams have the night off, but we’ve got plenty of news to keep those in the Lone Star state occupied..
- Monta Ellis described his first season with the Mavericks as escaping from “a deep hole,” saying he’s enjoying basketball as much as he has since his second season in the NBA, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “I would have to say my last time feeling like this was 2007, when we made the playoffs,” Ellis said Monday, referring to the eighth-seeded Warriors, who upset the top-seeded Mavs in the first round. “This happy? 2007.“
- The Rockets have been focused on chemistry ever since their busy offseason and coach Kevin McHale believes that the team has made major strides, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “They have much better collective chemistry,” McHale said. “I think that is one of the most underrated things in sports — how well does everybody play with everybody? How well do they know their strengths and weaknesses? And they have a common goal of being really good together and that common goal is overriding any of the little stuff that was happening earlier.”
- The Spurs boast the deepest roster in the NBA, but Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if that’s a good thing.
Western Notes: Jazz, Warriors, Evans
Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group provides an update on the Oakland stadium project that could affect the future of the Warriors. The stadium plans could link Golden State’s fate to that of the NFL’s Raiders and MLB’s Athletics, and Raiders owner Mark Davis is growing frustrated with the city’s slowness in moving them along. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is planning on opening up playing time for some rarely-used youngsters to see where they are developmentally, per Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. This is good news for Malcolm Thomas and Ian Clark. Both have rarely been used, and are working on multi-year contracts that aren’t guaranteed beyond this season.
- Thomas, who has only played in four games with Utah this season, tells Falk that he’s more than ready for the opportunity. “Very anxious,” the power forward said of awaiting his time on the court. “I’ve been working hard on just staying positive and waiting for my turn. It seems like it’s coming now. I just have to be ready when my name is called.”
- Clark hasn’t seen much more burn than Thomas, averaging 7.9 MPG in 12 appearances. “It’s difficult,” the shooting guard said. “Anybody who’s been in my position would say the same thing. You just find ways to deal with it. My way is to not worry about it and just keep working.”
- Falk later tweeted that he envisions the two players alternating active spots in the lineup from here on out. Tonight, Thomas was inactive while Clark received a DNP-Coach’s Decision.
- Former Nets forward Reggie Evans isn’t upset about getting traded away from a playoff contender to the 22-40 Kings, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Instead, he’s embracing his role as a veteran mentor for a young team. “At the end of the day, I’m still living out my dream,” Evans said. “We’ve got a good coaching staff that allows me to do my best to bring some leadership in here. I was in that position when I first got in the league where Rashard (Lewis), Gary Payton and Elden Campbell had to be that leader for me. Now it’s like they’ve passed that torch, and now I can be a leader on a young team. I’m the oldest by age and the oldest by years, and they kind of look for that leadership.”
Atlantic Rumors: Carmelo, Crawford, Gay
Joakim Noah attempted to sell Carmelo Anthony on the idea of joining the Bulls this summer when the two spoke at the All-Star break, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard. The Knicks star was non-committal, though he expressed admiration for the way Chicago plays, Broussard notes, adding that the conversation began with Anthony asking Noah what it’s like to play for Tom Thibodeau (All four Twitter links). Broussard also hears that Derrick Rose, who’s notorious for refusing to recruit other players to the Bulls, would love Anthony to join Chicago and would reach out to him if the team asked him to (Twitter link). I touched on the possibility of the No. 2 player on the Hoops Rumors 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings joining the Bulls when I examined Anthony’s free agent stock Wednesday. Here’s more on Anthony’s current team as we check the latest from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks have been linked to 2015 free agent Kevin Love on numerous occasions, but if Anthony re-signs, Love’s poor defense and an offensive game that’s too similar to Anthony’s would make him a poor fit, opines Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal.
- Soon-to-be free agent Jordan Crawford has fond memories of his time with the Celtics, who traded him to the Warriors in January, and he greeted Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge warmly before Golden State’s game in Boston on Wednesday. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald has the details.
- Rudy Gay will hear plenty of boos when he returns to Toronto with the Kings on Friday, but Raptors ownership deserves blame for setting up the compromising situation that led to Gay’s acquisition last year, argues Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Pacific Links: Redick, Lakers, Warriors
Every team in the Pacific Division pulled off at least one trade during the season except the Suns, who’d already shaken up their roster with five offseason trades. All of that activity is over for the next couple of months at least, but it suggests that GMs feel the need to be aggressive in an ultra-competitive Western Conference. Here’s the latest from the Pacific:
- Doc Rivers won’t close the door on the prospect of J.J. Redick missing the rest of the season with a bulging disk in his back, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times observes. “I don’t know,” Rivers said. “I haven’t had that fear yet. I don’t want that fear, maybe would be a better way of putting it. But I don’t know. I just keep getting updates. I’m sure there is some thought of that. He’s been out for so long. But we’re just hoping for the best.”
- Wesley Johnson hopes he can re-sign with the Lakers this summer, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “Hopefully it’s a long-term thing,” Johnson said. “But we’ll have to see what happens with what the front office decides and how they move around things. I would like to be here.”
- The Warriors haven’t established themselves as a surefire playoff team in the Western Conference, but Mark Jackson doesn’t deserve the brunt of the blame, argues Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
Bogut’s Bonus Could Push Warriors Into Tax
Andrew Bogut will earn a contract bonus worth $425K if he lands a spot on either of the league’s two All-Defensive Teams this season, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, noting that it would be just enough to push the Warriors over the $71.748MM luxury tax threshold. The Bulls have a similar arrangement with Taj Gibson that would put them into tax territory, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports previously reported, but Lowe reveals that bonuses for Joakim Noah could also knock the Bulls over the line. A bonus that Lowe reports is a part of Serge Ibaka‘s deal wouldn’t force the Thunder to pay the tax, but it might have if the team had used a significant portion of its room under the tax at the trade deadline, as it appeared Oklahoma City attempted to do.
Bogut and a few of his teammates would also receive bonuses worth enough money to force the Warriors to pay the luxury tax if they make the Finals. Golden State has never paid the tax, as Deeks has noted, though co-owner Joe Lacob has said multiple times this season that he would be willing to do so under the proper circumstances.
A Finals berth would probably qualify under Lacob’s criteria, but an All-Defensive Team nod for Bogut during a season in which the team languishes near the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture seems a paltry return on a tax investment. Bogut is third in the league in defensive rating and ninth in defensive win shares, according to Basketball-Reference.com, so there’s a realistic chance he receives the bonus and triggers the tax penalty. The team likely took that into account when it acquired Steve Blake and his $4MM salary at the trade deadline, Lowe observes, figuring that the Warriors sought a cheaper alternative but came up empty.
Noah will make $500K if he earns a first-team All-NBA selection, and with a case to be made that the Bulls center has been as valuable as anyone not named LeBron James or Kevin Durant this season, Noah stands a reasonable shot at receiving the bonus. The money would be more than enough to push the Bulls into the tax regardless of what happens with Gibson. Their recent signing of Jimmer Fredette for the season was an indication the team is betting that Gibson and Noah won’t trigger the bonuses this season, and there’s much at stake. The Bulls paid the tax last season, meaning the team would be in line for backbreaking repeat-offender tax rates if it pays the tax again this year and in 2014/15. Noah would also receive $250K if the Bulls win the title, according to Lowe, though that seems quite a long shot, and that bonus alone wouldn’t be enough to force Chicago to pay the tax.
Ibaka receives $250K if he wins Defensive Player of the Year honors, and while he’s not the favorite to do so, Lowe deems him a candidate, which is no stretch, considering he finished second in voting for the award in 2011/12 and third last season. The Knicks reportedly rejected a deadline offer that would have sent Iman Shumpert to the Thunder in exchange for Oklahoma City’s 2014 first-rounder. The exact proposal is unclear, Lowe writes, but if it was a straight exchange of Shumpert for a pick, it would have left the Thunder a few hundred thousand dollars under the tax even if Ibaka had received his bonus, by my calculations. Ibaka also gets a $100K bonus if he makes the All-Defensive First Team, but the league lists that as a likely bonus, meaning it’s already applied to team salary.
Odds & Ends: Knicks, Dragic, Mavericks
This summer, the Knicks will have a load of expiring 2015 contracts, including Tyson Chandler, who could be used as a pawn in a trade bid for Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (Marc Berman of the New York Post). One league source didn’t mince words when commenting about New York’s chances at dealing for the 6’10 big man, telling Berman: “They’re selling New York fans land in New Mexico.’’
Carmelo Anthony recently spoke about Love’s game, and when specifically asked about the similarities between them as stretch-fours, Anthony didn’t see a comparison: “I didn’t know we had similarities…He’s a guy who became a stretch 4 but never was a stretch 4. He worked on his shot, his 3-ball and stretching the floor and spreading the floor out. He can also go inside. He’s one helluva rebounder. He’s a big load. He’s gotten better every year since been in the league and still is.’’
Here are more miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight:
- Former NBA coaches George Karl, Avery Johnson, and P.J. Carlesimo weighed in on the state of the Knicks, the Warriors‘ title hopes, and who should have been moved during the trade deadline, among other topics (ESPN Insiders only).
- The Suns are poised to make their first postseason appearance since the 2009/10 season, thanks in large part to an All-Star caliber season from Goran Dragic. The 27-year-old point guard recently shared his thoughts on the season with Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, speaking with the confidence one would ideally expect from a seasoned veteran: “I’m more relaxed…I know all of the situations I’m put in and I know how the opposing teams are going to guard me. I’m just more relaxed. It feels like I’m playing basketball with my friends back home, with no pressure. I just go out there and do my job. I’ve gotten some great support from my teammates and I’m just having fun. It’s not like I’m thinking too much or anything. I’m just having fun.”
- Luol Deng and Marcin Gortat are two players that the Mavericks should go after in free agency this summer, opines Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW.
- Brad Stevens’ emphasis on establishing a winning culture along with the players’ continued commitment toward playing hard is proof that the Celtics haven’t given up on the season just yet, explains Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston.
Pacific Notes: Nash, Granger, Armstrong
The Clippers have a comfortable lead of four and a half games for first place in the Pacific Division, but the Warriors and Suns are separated by just half a game in their battle with the Mavericks and Grizzlies for one of the final three playoff spots in the Western Conference. There’s plenty at stake at the bottom of the division, too, where the Lakers and Kings are in a three-way tie with the Jazz for the worst record in the West and the improved draft lottery chances that come with that distinction. Here’s the latest from the Pacific:
- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni doubts that Steve Nash will return this season, but the 40-year-old point guard remains intent on coming back for 2014/15, notes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders indicated earlier this week that Danny Granger is on a deal for just the rest of this season with the Clippers, but he actually signed a two-year deal with a player option for next season, Pincus clarifies (on Twitter). It’s a minimum-salary contract, and I’d be a little surprised if Granger picks up that option, since he could probably command more as a free agent this summer.
- The Warriors don’t anticipate re-signing Hilton Armstrong to another 10-day contract, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The center made it into only a single game for just seven minutes while on his 10-day deal Golden State, which expired Monday night. The Warriors have invited Armstrong to rejoin their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, where the 29-year-old has made 23 appearances this season.
Pacific Rumors: Nash, Granger, Warriors
Steve Nash, who’s likely out for the season, doesn’t think GM Mitch Kupchak‘s recent comment that it would be “unethical” for the team not to let the point guard determine his own future with the club is a guarantee he won’t be waived. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News has more. “You never know what the case is in a month or two weeks physically from a club standpoint and from my standpoint,” Nash said. “When you’re looking at potentially the last few months of your career, I didn’t want that to slide by without getting back on the court. It motivated me. Who knows now.” More from around the Pacific Division..
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) confirms that Danny Granger‘s deal with the Clippers is a one-year pact for the prorated minimum. It was widely assumed that this was the case after Granger and the Sixers agreed to a buyout, springing him loose for the rest of the season and postseason.
- Warriors veteran Jermaine O’Neal is taking one last shot at winning a ring, writes Diamond Leung of the Mercury News. The Warriors big man says he can envision a scenario this offseason in which he can’t get into the proper frame of mind to start training for another season.
- The Warriors and the San Francisco Giants could team up to get a new basketball arena built near AT&T Park, write Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. The W’s say they’re still going “full steam ahead” with the Piers 30-32 project, but they’re also considering fallback options.
- The Warriors announced that they have assigned Nemanja Nedovic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Nedovic has appeared in five games (all starts) for Santa Cruz this season, compiling averages of 19.0 points, 3.6 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.60 steals in 29.2 minutes.