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Western Notes: Rondo, Jazz, Lawson, Thunder

December 14th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Referee Bill Kennedy revealed that he is homosexual in an interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, and Rajon Rondo is drawing fire for the homophobic slur he directed at Kennedy during a game on December 3rd. The NBA suspended Rondo for one game and doesn’t plan to mete out additional punishment, notes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter), but the apology that Rondo offered in a pair of tweets struck a hollow tone, observe Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck and SB Nation’s Tom Ziller (All Twitter links). Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and GM Vlade Divac condemned Rondo’s use of the slur in a statement that the team released, and Rondo’s words aren’t exactly the most auspicious prelude to his free agency in the summer ahead, opines Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). See more from the Western Conference:

The Jazz are expected to be active in exploring trades when dozens of players across the league become eligible to be traded Tuesday, reports Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (Twitter links). The most likely scenario involves the team absorbing salary via its cap space, Genessy adds. Utah is more than $7MM under the cap.
Ty Lawson‘s game has responded well to Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff‘s decision to bench him upon taking over for Kevin McHale, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com details. “He was trying to so hard to do the right things, I think he was frustrating himself and he got to the point where he said ‘I’m just going to play’ and I think that’s where he is now,” Bickerstaff said in part. The more and more he plays and he’s relaxed, the more that his true talent will shine through. We know what he is, we know what he’s capable of and we just got to get him there.”
The Thunder have assigned Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. It’s the fourth time the former 21st overall pick has gone to the D-League this season and the third time in the past week.

Southwest Notes: Joerger, Simmons, Bickerstaff

December 14th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Stein of ESPN.com points to comments that Dave Joerger made recently as “thinly veiled shots” at Joe Abadi (Twitter links), the liaison between owner Robert Pera and GM Chris Wallace, but Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal interprets Joerger’s criticism as somewhat more subtle. The Grizzlies coach has established a pattern of “muted but direct acknowledgement” of the roster’s shortcomings, and his job is not necessarily in more trouble than any other NBA coach’s job is at risk when the team isn’t performing up to expectations, Herrington contends. The Commercial Appeal scribe’s piece delves more into the changing times in Memphis, and we’ll share more on that amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies have had few reasonable options to forestall the end of their “grit ‘n’ grind” run that countered the league’s small-ball trend, and Joerger’s decision to bench Zach Randolph and Tony Allen on Sunday signals the imminent death of the Grizzlies as we know them, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller opines. Ziller believes Joerger’s decision frees Memphis to explore trades for Randolph and Allen, both of whom have contracts that run through next season.
Jonathon Simmons is showing off his athleticism and has averaged double figures in points over his last four games for the Spurs, and coach/executive Gregg Popovich seems impressed so far, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio News-Express details. Simmons has a fully guaranteed salary this season, but next season’s minimum salary is non-guaranteed.
The Rockets have surged since new coach J.B. Bickerstaff moved Clint Capela and Patrick Beverley into the starting lineup, as the team has gone 7-2 with both of them present for the opening tip, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Western Notes: Howard, Pachulia, Teletovic

December 13th, 2015 at 8:01pm CST by Will Joseph

It’s been an unusually quiet season for Dwight Howard, who can opt out of his current deal after the season and become an unrestricted free agent, as the Rockets center is averaging only 12.7 points per game, the fewest since he averaged 12 as a rookie in 2004/05, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle observes in an explanatory piece. For his part, Howard, as Feigen points out, has had no complaints about his seemingly diminished role in the Rockets’ offense.

“To us, it’s important that Dwight serves his role,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Dwight’s not a one-dimensional player. Dwight knows how to impact winning in a bunch of different ways. He’s not a guy who has to score the basketball to be effective. As long as he understands how important he is to us and his teammates let him know how important he is to our success, I think he’s confident he’ll go out and do what he’ll have to do to help us win.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Zaza Pachulia, in a Q&A with Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype, said he initially had mixed feelings regarding his trade to the Mavs from the Bucks, but warmed up to the idea rather quickly. “Here it’s a totally different situation for me,” Pachulia told Sierra. “I was one of the oldest guys in Milwaukee, now I’m coming here and I feel like I’m one the younger guys. So many veterans around me.”
Nicolas Batum believed the Blazers, as they were constructed last season, had at least another run in them, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes. Things changed, of course, when LaMarcus Aldridge decided to sign with the Spurs. “I understand his choice,” Batum said. “He had done a lot of things for the Portland franchise, but to get a chance with the Spurs to win a ring right away? I think a lot of people would have done the exact same thing. He wanted to go to another place to win a championship, and I respect that. I’m not mad about it, but I was surprised. It was a good run, and it was fun, but it’s time to move on.”
Mirza Teletovic is enjoying a strong bounce-back season with the Suns after inking a one-year deal following his issue of blood clots, Howard Megdal of USA Today Sports details.

And-Ones: ‘Outperformers,’ Bryant, Dinwiddie

December 12th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four Western Conference players join Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis on an “Outperform” Team compiled by Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. The columnist honors the players who have most exceeded expectations during the first quarter of the season. The other team members are the Kings‘ Rajon Rondo, the Warriors‘ Stephen Curry, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki and Wolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant addressed his relationship with former teammate Dwight Howard after tonight’s loss in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “My responsibility when Dwight and I played together was to get him to play his best basketball,” Bryant said. “That involves pushing buttons.” Their rocky relationship was believed to be part of the reason Howard left Los Angeles for the Rockets in 2013.
Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie may be headed to the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Sunday, according to Terry Foster of The Detroit News. A slump and injuries have reduced Dinwiddie’s playing time, and he has dropped behind Steve Blake in the point guard mix. Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy suggested that Dinwiddie might benefit from increased minutes in Grand Rapids. “We have tried to use the D-League a little bit so he gets some game time,” Van Gundy said. “I think he has to take advantage of every opportunity he’s got to work and get better.”
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, the team announced via press release. Huestis has played in seven games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.57 blocks.

Southwest Notes: Joseph, Terry, McDaniels, Ennis

December 9th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs “badly wanted” to keep Cory Joseph this summer and rejected attempts by the Raptors and others to trade for him in past years, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Still, they knew that they needed cap space to sign LaMarcus Aldridge, and so they pulled their qualifying offer to him a few days into his free agency, a move that didn’t take Joseph by surprise, since they told him it was a possibility, reports Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. Joseph signed a four-year, $30MM deal with the Raptors.

“Obviously I loved, enjoyed, and had a great time in San Antonio,” Joseph said to Young. “I was there the past four years. Everything was great – coaching staff, players, fans; everybody was amazing to me. But it was time to move on, and you know, take a different direction in my career.”

Joseph has thrived in Toronto, where he’s seeing 26.3 minutes per game, and longtime former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, now Hawks coach and president of basketball operations, is a fan, as Wolstat details. See more from the Southwest Division:

Jason Terry‘s production has tailed off since his injury-hit season with the Nets in 2013/14, but he credits that year for helping teach him how to have continued influence in the NBA, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Terry, 38 is on a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Rockets. “It started in Boston, but continued in Brooklyn, watching [Kevin Garnett] and how he interacted with the team and the guys,” Terry said. “Also, Jason Kidd being the head coach here, he gave me a lot of leeway, gave me a voice to kind of help while I was still playing. Being in Brooklyn definitely helped me in Houston the last two years. I have a huge influence, from breaking down film for individual guys to in-game mental management and to be the hype-man so to speak to keep guys motivated and engaged. It’s easy to be engaged when you’re playing a lot, but sometimes you’re not. You still have to know what’s going on out on the court. That’s where I come in.”
The Rockets have recalled K.J. McDaniels, the team announced (Twitter link). McDaniels has averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 38.5 minutes per game across four D-League appearances so far.
James Ennis is also back from the D-League, as the Grizzlies have recalled the swingman from their affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). The assignment was his second since he came to Memphis in the Mario Chalmers deal. The Heat never sent him to the D-League at any point before trading him.

Clippers Gauge Interest In Stephenson, Smith?

December 9th, 2015 at 7:56am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 7:56am: Rivers denies that he’s reached out to anyone about Stephenson and Smith. The coach/executive addressed the issue in an appearance on “The Fred Roggin Show” on The Beast 980 radio in Los Angeles.

“Not true,” Rivers said of the initial report. “It’s amazing how silly this stuff is. I don’t comment on it much obviously but I can tell you, I think I’m the president of basketball and I’ve yet to have a conversation with any team about anyone right now. These reports come out and there’s nothing you can do about it.

An NBA executive told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times that the Clippers indeed placed calls about Stephenson and Smith but that they were exploratory and routine for this time of year (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 8:30am: The Clippers measured the trade market for Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith last month, league sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, but they’ve withdrawn from that effort more recently amid a spate of injuries, Spears adds. The team doesn’t have anyone on its injury report currently, but it’s unclear if trade talks will resume. Spears also suggests the Clippers remain open to trading Jamal Crawford, a frequent subject of trade rumors in the offseason, though coach/executive Doc Rivers said in September that he’d be “very surprised” if Crawford doesn’t remain a Clipper throughout the season. Smith becomes eligible for inclusion in trades a week from today, while Stephenson and Crawford are already trade-eligible.

Two NBA executives indicated to Spears that the Clippers probably found a weak market for the pair. One exec suggested that the two are more likely to work buyouts than end up in trades, further speculating that Stephenson ends up back on the Pacers, his original team. The other executive who spoke with Spears alleged that Stephenson and Smith have negatively affected team chemistry in L.A. Smith recently shouted back and forth with assistant coach Mike Woodson following a loss, Spears reports. The second executive also said he believes it’ll be tough for the Clippers to find trade partners for either Smith or Stephenson since few had interest in either before they joined the team, Spears adds.

Still, the Kings, Mavs and Rockets were reportedly interested in signing Smith as a free agent this past summer, when he took a discount and joined the Clippers on a one-year, minimum-salary deal. The Nets apparently talked about trading for Stephenson on two different occasions last season, when he was with the Hornets, and the Heat were apparently among the teams with interest last year, too. It’s unclear if those teams were still eyeing him when the Clippers struck a deal to acquire him in June. He’s making $9MM this season and has a $9.405MM team option for next season.

What teams do you think would be strong fits for Stephenson, Smith and Crawford? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Southwest Notes: Williams, Motiejunas, Jones

December 8th, 2015 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

Playing in Brooklyn gave Deron Williams the sense that “everybody felt I was the problem,” and he cited his own injuries as well as what he saw as the negative effect frequent coaching turnover had on chemistry for reasons why it didn’t work out with the Nets, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com chronicles. The Nets weren’t pleased with Williams’ attitude, nor his declining production, sources told Mazzeo, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has showered praise on the point guard, who feels much more at home on his new team.

“[Dallas] has been great for me,” Williams said, according to Mazzeo. “It’s been great for my family. [There’s] a lot more positivity in Dallas, and I think I needed that in my life.”

Williams has a player option worth more than $5.621MM for next season. See more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Monday that he wanted every player the Knicks wound up with from the 2015 draft: Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant and Guillermo Hernangomez, a second-round draft-and-stash pick, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The main attraction was naturally Porzingis, the No. 4 overall selection, as Marc Berman of the New York Post details. “We would have traded up in a heartbeat to get that kid,’’ Cuban said. “We loved him. Obviously, people are going to compare him to Dirk [Nowitzki] because that’s what people like to do. When you’re 7’3″, those three inches make a difference.”
The Rockets are reportedly thinking about trading Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones, but Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM points to their presence in Houston as reason for hope amid the team’s slow start.
Kendrick Perkins was expected to miss three months when he went down with a right pectoral injury in early November, but a decent chance exists that he returns to play sometime this month, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. Coach Alvin Gentry lauded the big man’s work ethic during rehab, Reid notes, and this weekend Gentry praised Perkins’ locker room influence, as Brett Dawson of the New Orleans Advocate relays (Twitter link). Perkins is with the Pelicans on a one-year deal. “I think he’s the best teammate I’ve ever seen,” Gentry said. “I mean, without a doubt. I really do believe that.”

D-League Moves: Hardaway Jr., Spurs, Ennis

December 6th, 2015 at 3:02pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks recalled Tim Hardaway Jr., Edy Tavares and Lamar Patterson from the D-League, as Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported they would. The moves were announced in an emailed press release. The Hawks do not have their own affiliate. Pursuant to the flexible assignment rule, Hardaway Jr. and Tavares played games with the Canton Charge (the Cavs‘ affiliate) Friday and Saturday and Patterson played with the Austin Spurs Saturday. It will be particularly interesting to see how Hardaway, who was acquired in an offseason deal with the Knicks, fares in a return to the Hawks. He has appeared in only four games for Atlanta, averaging 2.5 points. In two games with the Charge, as Vivlamore writes, Hardaway averaged 17 points in 32.7 minutes.

Here are some more D-League moves today:

The Rockets assigned rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell to their D-League affiliate. Harrell was the 32nd overall pick in the draft. He has appeared in 15 games with one start for the Rockets this season.
The Spurs recalled Boban Marjanovic from their D-League affiliate. The center averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds per game (two games) with the Austin Spurs. On Saturday, the Spurs recalled Ray McCallum, according to the RealGM transactions log.
The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release. It was the second-year player’s first D-League stint.
The Pistons announced they recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from their D-League affiliate.

Western Notes: Marjanovic, Motiejunas, Curry

December 6th, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs are leaving Boban Marjanovic in the D-League for a while so he can see more time on the court, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. The rookie center has produced back-to-back productive games in Austin, posting 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks on Friday, then following that up with 34 points and 12 boards on Saturday. “He just needs playing time,” said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. “He needs to play and get used to the league, and not just sit there and watch us play.” The 7’3″ Marjanovic has appeared in 10 games with the Spurs, averaging 3.8 minutes.

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

The Rockets‘ Donatas Motiejunas saw his first playing time of the season in Saturday’s win over the Kings, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Out since April with back issues, Motiejunas had just one practice before seeing game action. He went scoreless in six minutes of playing time. “We’ll have to figure out how we’re going to work him in alongside the other guys who are playing well,” said Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “It’s always good to have too much talent. We’ll figure it out.”
Seth Curry appears headed toward a larger role with the Kings, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Curry is taking advantage of a recent opportunity for more playing time and impressing coach George Karl with his shooting, defense and toughness. The Kings gave Curry a two-year guaranteed contract over the offseason after he caught the eye of GM Vlade Divac during the Las Vegas Summer League. “I knew Seth could shoot,” Divac said, “but it wasn’t until seeing him in the summer league that I realized he could pass and make plays for teammates. I want players like that.”
The Thunder have recalled Josh Huestis, Mitch McGary and Cameron Payne from their D-League affiliate, the team announced today.

Southwest Notes: Hill, Bickerstaff, Lawson, Lee

December 5th, 2015 at 8:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Alvin Gentry refused to directly address rumors that the Pelicans are interested in the Pacers’ Solomon Hill, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. It was reported Friday that Indiana is making Hill available for a deal, and New Orleans is believed to be among the suitors. ”I’ve got enough problems coaching the team,” Gentry said today. ”We got really competent guys with [GM] Dell [Demps] and his whole group that handle all of the personnel part of it.When it comes time or a situation where they are going to do that, they always talk to me about it. As of right now, all my energy and everything is going towards trying to figure out how we can get this whole thing straightened out.”

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons believes J.B. Bickerstaff has a bright future as a head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Parsons, a former Rocket, worked closely with Bickerstaff during his time in Houston and says the coach has what it takes to be successful. “The biggest thing with a coach is how to manage players, how to get along with players, how to manage egos,” Parsons said. “He’s going to have respect from his guys. X’s and O’s he was always great. Time outs when I had him he was always able to draw something up on the fly. I think he’s going to be a really, really good young coach in this league.”
Kings coach George Karl says things will get easier for Ty Lawson in Houston, Feigen writes in a separate story. Karl coached Lawson in Denver and contends the point guard just needed to make it through the adjustment period. “Ty is one of these guys, he needs a comfort zone,” Karl said. “I don’t think he’s found it yet. Once he finds it, you’re going to see a much better player than you’re seeing so far.”
Courtney Lee has turned into a productive reserve for the Grizzlies, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. After shooting 34% from the field and 19% from three-point range in the season’s first 10 games as a starter, Lee has improved those numbers to 48% and 31% since moving to the bench. “It’s part of being a professional,” said Lee, who will be a free agent next summer. “Throughout your career, everybody has a role either as a starter or they come off the bench. It’s just about how you handle it.”