Cavs Links: Clark, Gee, Miles, Irving, Sims
Our round-up of Sam Amico’s latest rumors and notes this morning included a brief mention of one of the Cavs’ roster battles, between Matthew Dellavedova and Jermaine Taylor. There are a few more Cavs-related items of interest out there this morning though, which we’ll cover right here:
- The Cavs have done a good job overhauling the roster in the last three years, but have yet to find a long-term solution for the position vacated by LeBron James in 2010, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Lloyd takes a look at the contenders for the team’s minutes at small forward, all of whom will essentially be playing for contracts this season — Earl Clark and Alonzo Gee‘s deals are non-guaranteed beyond this season, while C.J. Miles will become a free agent next summer.
- Kyrie Irving spoke to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld about the team’s approach this fall, its expectations this season, and becoming a veteran leader on a young team.
- While Dellavedova and Taylor compete for a roster spot in the backcourt, DeSagana Diop, Kenny Kadji, and Henry Sims look to be vying for a single froncourt opening. Bob Finnan of the News-Herald (Sulia link) details Sims’ quest to earn that spot, with the Georgetown product vowing, “I’ll do whatever is in my power to make sure I’m here.”
Amico On Lakers, Nuggets, Hamilton, Cavs
In Sam Amico’s latest piece for FOX Sports Ohio, he focuses on last August’s Dwight Howard trade, which initially looked like a questionable move for the Magic. Given the fact that Orlando ended up with the best long-term pieces in the deal, it’s an illustration of why we shouldn’t immediately decide whether teams “won” or “lost” a trade or signing, writes Amico. The FOX Sports Ohio scribe also shares a few rumors and rumblings from around the NBA, so let’s check out the highlights….
- An Eastern Conference executive tells Amico that his team has heard from the Lakers recently, and that word around the league suggests L.A. may look to make a “substantial” move before the season begins. Pau Gasol isn’t untouchable, writes Amico.
- Given the questions surrounding Steve Nash‘s health and age, a young scoring point guard may be on the Lakers‘ wish list, though it won’t be easy to obtain one.
- The Nuggets are also potentially willing to make a move or two before the season, and Amico speculates that a trade candidate like Jimmer Fredette or a free agent like Richard Hamilton could be a fit.
- Hamilton, Sebastian Telfair, and Daniel Gibson are among the veteran free agents who may draw interest before opening night.
- The Cavaliers seem to “really like” camp invitees Matthew Dellavedova and Jermaine Taylor, but are unlikely to have the room to keep both on their regular season roster. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team tried to get the odd man out to join the Canton Charge, Cleveland’s D-League affiliate.
Odds & Ends: Wolves, Teague, Sims, O’Quinn
The Timberwolves, like the Jazz, have shown interest at one point or another in Bulls point guard Marquis Teague, a league source tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson doesn’t make it sound as though the Wolves are currently pursuing Teague, but if the Bulls aren’t sold on him, that bodes well for the chances that 38-year-old point guard Mike James makes Chicago’s opening night roster on his non-guaranteed deal. The Tribune scribe checks in with James, who would be the league’s fourth oldest player if he makes the squad, and we’ve got more from around the NBA:
- Injuries have created an opportunity for Henry Sims, who’s more or less functioning as the Cavs backup center for now, writes Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer, who examines the 23-year-old’s thrust to make the opening night roster on a non-guaranteed contract.
- Kyle O’Quinn‘s contract is non-guaranteed, but he’s been starting preseason games for the Magic. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel examines Jacque Vaughn‘s curious decision to start O’Quinn over Tobias Harris.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson says no decision is imminent regarding which of the team’s big men in camp will stick around for the regular season, hinting that it will take most or all of the preseason for the club to make its call, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone notes.
- Spencer Hawes is entering the final year of his contract with the Sixers, just as he was in the autumns of 2010 and 2011, but he says he’s learned from experience and isn’t “psyching” himself out the way he feels he did before, notes Tom Moore of The Intelligencer.
- Renaldo Balkman believes some coaches and GMs hold his troubled past against him, but Mavs coach Rick Carlisle isn’t among them, and Balkman is determined to use his non-guaranteed deal with Dallas to prove that he belongs in the NBA. Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the details.
Central Notes: Rose, Brown, Zeller
After Derrick Rose sat out the Bulls‘ preseason win over the Wizards at HSBC Arena in Brazil, many thought it was the first dint in his road to recovery. But as the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson reports, it was just a precautionary measure by management:
“I’m good,” Rose told reporters in Brazil. “I could’ve played, but the front office made the decision to sit me out. I can’t complain about it. It’s nothing huge. I know that I should be able to go next game.”
GM Gar Foreman was pretty forthright about the decision, but didn’t want to alarm anyone. “If there’s soreness, then we’re going to rest. Any time you’re dealing with any type of injury or soreness you’re concerned. But it’s not a major red flag or huge concern,” he said.
Here’s what else is happening around the Central division including more on Rose:
- Johnson tweets that Rose is trying to stay upbeat after experiencing soreness in the knee on Friday towards the end of practice. But Rose says, “You wouldn’t expect it to happen...I’m trying to stay positive.“
- Cavs coach Mike Brown tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that he’s determined to make the Cavs better on defense this year, something they’ve struggled with since Brown was let go the same summer LeBron James fled south.
- The last year Brown helmed the Cavaliers, 2009/10, they ranked 7th in the league on defense. In the three years after he departed, they’ve finished in the bottom 5 each season, including last year’s woeful 27th place finish.
- Cavs forward Tyler Zeller is out indefinitely after having his appendix removed.
Eastern Rumors: Nets, Irving, Hawks
Deron Williams has yet to appear in a preseason game for the Nets, despite being the fulcrum for their $102.211MM payroll this season. If he’s kept out of the rest of the preseason, Nets coach Jason Kidd tells Rod Boone at Newsday that Deron might not be ready, conditioning wise, for the start of the season (Twitter).
Boone added, via Twitter, that Williams hasn’t had any setback with his rehabilitation, Kidd and team officials are just being cautious by keeping him out.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving is coming up on the end of his rookie-scale contract, and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal notes that staying healthy this season – Irving hasn’t played more than 60 games in either of this first two seasons – will go a long way towards the Cavs offering him the maximum allowable 5-year, $80MM contract next summer when he becomes eligible.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry was in Spain today to check up on 44th overall pick Mike Muscala, according to Chema De Lucas of Gigantes.com (Twitter link; hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution). Muscala signed with Spanish club Obradoiro in the offseason, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. Atlanta retains his NBA rights.
- The AP reports Bulls point guard Derrick Rose sat out today’s preseason action against the Wizards due to “left knee soreness.”
- Keith Bogans will be out “a couple weeks,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told media today (Twitter). A. Sherrod Blakeley of CSNNE.com reports, via Twitter, Bogans had an MRI this morning that confirmed a right thumb strain. He’ll be re-evaluated this Monday.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Rumors: Udoh, Clark, Bargnani
Royce White this evening made his first appearance in any sort of NBA game since last preseason, and though the former first-round pick completed a nifty coast-to-coast layup, he committed four fouls in the span of a minute and 26 seconds. It’s questionable, at best, whether the Sixers will pick up his 2014/15 option by the deadline to do so at the end of this month, as Mark Deeks noted yesterday in a piece for SB Nation. Among the latest chatter out of the East, there’s word on another player who’s unlikely to get good news as a contract-related deadline approaches:
- Ekpe Udoh‘s name emerged in trade talks this past summer, which would seem to counter any slim chance he has of receiving an extension to his rookie scale contract before the October 31st deadline. His odds of an extension grew worse today as the Bucks announced that he’ll be sidelined as long as six weeks after undergoing right knee surgery.
- Earl Clark and coach Mike Brown only briefly worked together on the Lakers, but Clark says Brown’s presence in Cleveland was a major reason why the forward decided to sign with the Cavaliers, according to HoopsWorld’s Steve Kyler (Twitter link).
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal believes Andrea Bargnani won’t have any problems fitting in with Carmelo Anthony on the court, and posits that the three draft picks the Knicks gave up in the trade to acquire the former No. 1 overall pick can easily be recouped through future deals. I’d argue that it’s not so easy to acquire draft picks these days, given that the 2013 trade deadline passed without a single first-rounder changing hands.
- We rounded up a few items from the Central Division this afternoon.
Poll: Will The Cavaliers Make The Playoffs?
Since LeBron James left Cleveland in free agency in 2010, the Cavaliers have won just 64 games in three seasons — that’s two fewer wins than LeBron’s Heat accumulated last season alone. But with a pair of No. 1 picks (Kyrie Irving, Anthony Bennett) on board, as well as an All-Star center (Andrew Bynum), there’s some optimism about the Cavs’ chances headed into the 2013/14 season.
In spite of the talent on the Cavs’ roster, however, there are plenty of concerns as well. Irving has missed time with injuries in each of his two NBA seasons, and he still doesn’t qualify as nearly the injury risk that Bynum does. Bennett, meanwhile, was the first overall pick among a class considered by draft experts to be the weakest in years. Throw in the fact that Anderson Varejao is coming off a lost season, and that the team will be relying on Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters to take major steps forward, and the question marks begin to add up.
With five legit contenders at the top of the Eastern Conference (or four, if you’re not bullish on the Knicks), there should be three playoff openings up for grabs in 2014. Many of the conference’s lottery teams, such as the Pistons, Raptors, and Wizards, will be looking to grab one of those spots, and 2013 playoff clubs like the Hawks and Bucks expect to return to the postseason.
If they stay healthy, the Cavaliers have as good a chance as any of those playoff hopefuls to earn a spot. But injuries are a real concern, and this is still a very young team. So what do you think? Will we see the Cavs return to the postseason next spring for the first time since 2010?
Will the 2013/14 Cavs make the playoffs?
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Yes 72% (384)
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No 28% (147)
Total votes: 531
East Notes: Bargnani, Cavs, Heat, Antetokounmpo
Let’s round up all of the links coming out of the Eastern Conference on Thursday night:
- In Canada for tomorrow night’s matchup with the Raptors, the Knicks, at this point in training camp, seem thrilled Toronto gave up on Andrea Bargnani this offseason, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post, who tabs head coach Mike Woodson as one of Bargnani’s biggest fans in the early going.
- Woodson also said on Thursday that rookie and No. 24 pick Tim Hardaway Jr. has “put himself in a nice position” to get minutes in the Knicks rotation, writes Al Iannazzone of the Long Island Newsday.
- Despite going undrafted in June, it sounds like Matthew Dellavedova is on track to make the Cavaliers‘ final roster as the third point guard, writes Bob Finnan of the Cleveland News-Herald. The Cavs signed the Saint Mary’s product to a two-year deal with a small guarantee about a month ago.
- Despite a shaky preseason debut on Tuesday, No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett says he is simply trying to find his groove after offseason shoulder surgery, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who adds that the highly-touted rookie is currently concentrated on improving his conditioning.
- Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report breaks down the five candidates in Miami with a chance to crack Erik Spoelstra’s nine-man, championship rotation: Michael Beasley, Rashard Lewis, Roger Mason Jr., James Jones and Joel Anthony. Skolnick also mentions Greg Oden, who may be a factor for the Heat in 2014.
- Greek import Giannis Antetokounmpo, who the Bucks took in June at No. 15, has flashed big-time talent two preseason games into his NBA career, tweets Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, who says some scouts adamantly labeled the “Greek Freak” a bust without giving him a sufficient look (Twitter links here).
Eastern Notes: Mason, Irving, Cavs, Magic
It took a while for Roger Mason Jr. to land with an NBA team this offseason, as Mason didn’t sign with the Heat until late September. However, that doesn’t mean there was no other interest in the veteran shooter. According to Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report (via Twitter), Mason had also been considering the Bulls before a 45-minute conversation with Ray Allen sold him on Miami.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- When asked by a young fan at a community event if he’d leave Cleveland like LeBron James did, Kyrie Irving said he wouldn’t, as Sean Highkin of USA Today details. While we probably shouldn’t assume that’s set in stone, it’ll likely be a while before the Cavs guard hits the open market anyway. Irving still has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract and will be a strong candidate for a long-term extension a year from now.
- While some observers believe that DeSagana Diop has the inside track on securing a reserve roster spot with the Cavs, Kenny Kadji is making a pretty strong case for the job, writes Bob Finnan of The Plain Dealer (Sulia link). We heard yesterday from another Cleveland scribe, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, that Henry Sims may be Kadji’s primary competition for a roster spot.
- The Magic see Jacksonville as a good location for a potential D-League affiliate, but it’s not the only possibility, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The Magic’s D-League affiliate for the 2013/14 season is the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, a team they share with the Bobcats, Pistons, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks.
- New Celtics big man Vitor Faverani isn’t the most verbose guy in the league, but he offers Boston a lot in the way of physical play and pick and rolls, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Camp Notes: Cavaliers, McGuire, Thomas
Currently, only the Bulls and Pistons are carrying 15 or fewer players, meaning that at least 28 NBA teams will be making cuts before the regular season gets underway later this month. As players continue to compete for roster spots, let’s check out some Wednesday links related to those end-of-the-bench openings….
- Camp invitees Kenny Kadji and Henry Sims are likely battling for a single roster spot with the Cavaliers, but Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal says not to read too much into either player’s performance or usage in yesterday’s exhibition game.
- Dominic McGuire, who has bounced around among several teams in recent years, is looking to stick around longer with the Jazz than he has in his last few stops, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Since being amnestied by the Bobcats in July, Tyrus Thomas hasn’t been able to land an NBA job, and isn’t in camp with a team this fall. However, Mark Deeks of TheScore.com writes that Thomas’ physical tools will likely convince another team to take a chance on him, in spite of the holes in his game.
- As noted above, dozens of players will be cut from NBA rosters over the next several weeks as teams trim their rosters down to 15 or fewer players for opening night. Most of those new free agents will weigh a variety of options, including the D-League and international leagues. As Daniel Curtin of Three Eye Sports tells Keith Schlosser in an interesting piece at Ridiculous Upside, that decision isn’t always an easy one.