Western Notes: Lakers, O’Neal, Rush
As we noted earlier, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant – who has started at the shooting guard and small forward position over his first two games back, respectively – will now be expected to handle point guard duties while the team’s whole rotation at point guard deals with injuries. His first test will come against Thunder guard Russell Westbrook on Friday, and while Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times isn’t so sure if Bryant will be up to that type of challenge this soon into his return, the team doesn’t seem to have much of a choice.
Here’s more out of the Western Conference:
- Although he listed some names expected to be on the Lakers’ radar earlier, Pincus also tweeted that as of now, the front office hasn’t decided on a course of action yet and will “tough it out” for the time being.
- While it’s not within our scope to focus on injury rumors, it’s still worth noting that Warriors big man Jermaine O’Neal is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Friday to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, and a timetable for his return will be determined after the surgery, the team announced (Twitter links). However, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets that the procedure would likely end the 35-year-old veteran’s season and career.
- Jazz guard Brandon Rush recently met with head coach Tyrone Corbin to hash out some of his frustrations about a lack of playing time, writes Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune: “It’s been really frustrating because I’ve worked hard…I wanted to be able to get some minutes and help the team out… (but) I had a good talk with Coach…He let me know what the deal was.” Corbin later told the media that he’s just trying to get Rush to play without apprehension.
- In another piece, Falk describes how Marvin Williams has been an invaluable role player for Utah when he’s been able to find court time.
Atlantic Rumors: Thibodeau, Rivers, Iguodala
The idea that Tom Thibodeau could become the next coach of the Knicks is centered around the notion that friction between Thibodeau and Bulls management would prompt a parting of ways, but such tension has cooled, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Thibodeau, GM Gar Forman and executive vice president John Paxson cleared the air during several meetings early in the offseason, and while they may not be the best of friends, the relationship is “more than just workable,” Cowley writes. Thibodeau had no comment on the Knicks rumor, and with New York beating Chicago last night, it seems Mike Woodson‘s job is safe for at least another day. Here’s the latest on the Knicks’ rivals in the Atlantic Division:
- Amid a return to Boston as coach of the Clippers, Doc Rivers said taking the Celtics job in 2004 was “the best decision I ever made,” HoopsWorld’s Jessica Camerato notes.
- Andre Iguodala was shocked when the Sixers traded him to the Nuggets as part of last year’s four-team Dwight Howard blockbuster, and tells Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams that he wishes the deal hadn’t come while he was competing in the Olympics. Iguodala also shares his frustrations about playing in front of Philly’s notoriously critical fans and says the constant changes to the Sixers during his tenure with the team hurt his game.
- Nerlens Noel might be done for the season, but he and the Sixers are working diligently on improving his shot, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer details.
- Nets GM Billy King admits that he was involved in the decision to demote former lead assistant Lawrence Frank, notes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- Kyle Korver told HoopsHype’s Jorge Sierra that his ties to King, who as Sixers GM 10 years ago swung a deal to acquire him on draft night, were part of the reason he nearly signed with the Nets this summer. Ultimately, Korver says he and his wife decided to stay in Atlanta.
Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong
1:01pm: Golden State has officially announced the signing.
10:49am: The Warriors will sign big man Hilton Armstrong, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Armstrong has been playing with the team’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Golden State has an open roster spot, so the team won’t have to cut anybody to make room for the veteran of five NBA seasons.
Armstrong was with the Pacers in training camp, but he hasn’t appeared in an NBA regular season game since the 2010/11 season. The 29-year-old has played in France, Greece and the D-League since then, and was averaging 15.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks for Santa Cruz this year. New Orleans made the 6’11” Armstrong the 12th overall pick in the 2006 draft.
Golden State is thin in the middle, where Festus Ezeli and Ognjen Kuzmic are sidelined with long-term injuries and Jermaine O’Neal is questionable for tonight’s game. Armstrong appears to be the team’s latest attempt to bolster its depth with a player from its D-League affiliate after signing Dewayne Dedmon in November, only to waive him last week. Like Dedmon, Armstrong will probably be on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary.
California Rumors: Gay, Kings, Clippers, Warriors
Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee suggests the Kings will engage in extension talks with Rudy Gay if he’s productive and fills the team’s longstanding void at small forward. That’s similar to the stance former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo took after he acquired him last season, and Colangelo tells Voisin that he thinks Sacramento’s Gay trade signifies the Kings’ clear intention to increase their talent-level, rather than sell off assets. It’s a bit surprising, considering some GMs feel Gay wouldn’t be worthy of even the midlevel exception, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote Monday. There’s more from Voisin’s piece among our glance at California’s teams:
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro suggests that his team is indeed lacking enough talent, Voisin notes. “We’re not kidding anybody,” D’Alessandro said before Monday’s victory over the Mavs. “We’re a long way from being a completed product. We have five wins. We need players here.”
- The NBA probably would have allowed the Clippers to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett as well as Doc Rivers this summer if they hadn’t been so transparent in their attempts to obtain all three at once, several sources tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Rivers says his job this year would be easier if Pierce and Garnett were around, and Beck hears that Rivers “absolutely” wanted to bring the two former Celtics with him to L.A.
- Rivers explained why the Clippers are ready to add Stephen Jackson and offered a strong hint that the pact will be non-guaranteed, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times passes along. “He’s had his issues. There’s no doubt about it,” Rivers said. “He’s breathing and living and I think if that’s true, you should always give a guy another chance.…The good news is contractually, if it doesn’t work, we’ll walk.”
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group bats around a few possible upgrades to the Warriors bench, surmising that GM Bob Myers and company are more likely to look for cheaper options than ones that push them into tax territory.
California Rumors: Lakers, Lee, Fredette
Injuries to Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar have left the Lakers short on point guards, and they planned to assess the progress of Nash’s recovery in practice this week before exploring the idea of a roster move. Nash isn’t rushing his return, but another player who’s back to health might fit the bill. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni tells reporters that Kobe Bryant will see time at the point when he makes his season debut Sunday against the Raptors (Twitter link). Here’s more from the state with the most NBA teams:
- The Warriors place a high value on David Lee, and his bloated contract, worth nearly $44.4MM through 2016/17, virtually ensures the team won’t find offers worthwhile enough to trade him, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
- James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom hears from a source that there was nothing substantial to a recent report that the Raptors were talking to the Kings about acquiring Jimmer Fredette, and spoke to Fredette about being the subject of trade rumors.
- The Kings recalled Hamady N’Diaye from the D-League in time for tonight’s game against the Jazz, according to a press release. N’Diaye appeared in just one game for the Reno Bighorns during his assignment, contributing to a win over the Santa Cruz Warriors by recording seven points, seven boards, and four blocked shots.
- The Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, announced their acquisition of former Cavs swingman Manny Harris in a trade (on Twitter). Harris was in an NBA training camp this fall with the Magic.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Western Links: Trail Blazers, Bogut, Mavericks
Beckley Mason of the New York Times examines the chemistry and cohesiveness that have galvanized the Trail Blazers this season, prompting LaMarcus Aldridge to call this the ‘happiest time in his career’: “Guys are playing so (unselfishly) — our team chemistry is unreal right now…Coach Stotts gives us the freedom to play loose and make plays, and guys aren’t abusing it.”
Veteran point guard Earl Watson also weighed in: “Everyone accepts their role, and the roles were never defined. It’s the truth of our team, the DNA of our team. The way we fit together, it’s like the perfect storm, so to speak.”
Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com provides a roundup of the latest links coming out of Portland (including Mason’s piece).
- Andrew Bogut is well past the the talk of the Warriors’ efforts to acquire Dwight Howard this past offseason and doesn’t think it’s worth discussing anymore since he’s shown team brass the type of production that he’s capable of, says Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News.
- The 7th or 8th seed should remain a goal for the Mavericks, writes Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW, who adds that tanking wouldn’t really guarantee anything for them.
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (via Twitter) reports that the Thunder have named Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson as their NBPA team player representative and alternative player rep, respectively.
- Matthew Coles of the Associated Press discusses the notable difference that Trey Burke has brought to the table for the Jazz from a point guard standpoint (hat tip to The Detroit News).
- Paul Coro of AZcentral.com talks about the competitive Western Conference playoff chase that lies ahead as it pertains to the Suns.
Warriors Waive Dewayne Dedmon
The Warriors announced that they have waived center Dewayne Dedmon. The 24-year-old was originally signed as a D-League callup on November 18th.
The 7’0” center appeared in four games with Golden State, logging a grand total of six minutes. During his time with the Warriors, Dedmon also appeared in one game with Santa Cruz while on assignment to the D-League club, registering 23 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in a 117-103 victory over the Austin Toros on November 24th.
The Warriors inked Dedmon at a time when they were desperate for frontcourt help in the wake of Jermaine O’Neal‘s injury. The club even considered asking assistant coach Brian Scalabrine if he would come out of retirement to give the club an extra big.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Iguodala, O’Neal, Morris
Tonight’s look at the Pacific Division..
- Warriors GM Bob Myers told reporters, including Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News, that he’s not looking to make any changes at this stage, given Andre Iguodala‘s injury. “No, I think we want to see. It may be one game, two games, three games where we’ve actually been healthy. I think it’d be way too rash to start looking at something until you’ve actually seen the team for a good, extended period of time,” said Myers.
- Not much was expected from 18-year vet Jermaine O’Neal when he inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Warriors, but he’s proven to be a pivotal part of the team, writes Marcus Thompson of the Mercury News.
- Turkish team Trabzonspor made an offer to former Lakers guard Darius Morris, according to a report from Djordje Matic passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Morris averaged 6.9 PPG in 12 games for the 76ers this season before he was waived along with Kwame Brown in November.
Pacific Notes: Bryant, Morris Twins, Warriors
Chris Paul exited early from the Clippers’ Wednesday night game against New York, but Broderick Turner of the LA Times reports that Paul plans on playing and starting in Friday night’s divisional match up versus the Kings. Sacramento currently resides in the cellar of the Pacific Division, but the Kings are hoping that recently acquired Derrick Williams will help turn their fortunes around. Let’s take a look at a couple tidbits from the Pacific..
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News suggests the value Kobe Bryant brings to the Lakers goes beyond his production on the hardwood. Goodwill states that Bryant is the face of the Lakers in the same way that Michael Jordan was the face of the Bulls, and that his ability to draw fans to games is a valuable asset. Bryant signed a controversial two-year, $48.5MM extension on Monday.
- Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris are both seeing career highs in MPG and PER for the Suns this season, and their increased production is an important part of Phoenix’s solid start to the year. Paul Coro of AZCentral sports details how it was the advice of Bill Self that brought the duo together in Phoenix.
- The offseason departures of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry have hurt the Warriors’ depth, and Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News writes that Toney Douglas and Marreese Speights have yet to prove they can sufficiently replace them. With Andre Iguodala sidelined indefinitely, Thompson suggests Stephen Curry is left as the team’s sole reliable playmaker.
D-League Notes: Lakers, Warriors, Curry
Let’s round up today’s D-League updates, including a pair of assignments and a pair of recalls out of the Pacific….
- Ryan Kelly and Elias Harris have been re-assigned to the D-League by the Lakers, according to the Los Angeles D-Fenders (Twitter link). It’s already the third assignment of the season for both players, so it looks like they’ll be shuttled back and forth throughout the year.
- The Warriors have recalled Dewayne Dedmon and Nemanja Nedovic from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The duo helped lead the Santa Cruz Warriors to a victory last night, combining for 54 points.
- Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group checks in on Seth Curry‘s development with the Warriors‘ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.