Odds & Ends: Pacers, Patterson, Evans, Lakers
This year's Hall of Fame induction takes place a week from Saturday, and as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes, the list of presenters, led by Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, threatens to overshadow the inductees, headlined by Reggie Miller. The figures who'll be enshrined are not without their accomplishments, however, and among them is Don Nelson, the NBA's all-time winningest coach. Nelson recently spoke about a missed opportunity to take over as coach of the Celtics in 1983, the origins of his trademark small-ball style, and how his relationship with Sarunas Marciulionis changed the way he coached. Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com has the details, and we've got more from around the Association:
- The Pacers promoted Peter Dinwiddie, the team's director of basketball administration, vice president of basketball operations, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Dinwiddie will assist GM Kevin Pritchard and team president Donnie Walsh.
- Rockets power forward Patrick Patterson says he's ready to assume a leadership role for the team after all the roster turnover this offseason, and talks about the influence of Luis Scola with Jason Friedman of Rockets.com.
- SheridanHoops.com founder Chris Sheridan believes the development of Isaiah Thomas and the signing of Aaron Brooks signal that Tyreke Evans and the Kings will soon part ways.
- The Lakers' acquisition of Dwight Howard has been the story of the summer, but if his back won't allow him to start the season on time, the team will have some lineup shuffling to do, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times.
- Blazers Wesley Matthews and Elliot Williams, who have both spent the summer recovering from injuries, are ready to go for training camp, notes Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge.
- Former first-round draft choice Reece Gaines has given up his pursuit of a return to the NBA and will be an assistant coach at Bellarmine University, an NCAA Division II school, Michael Grant of the Courier-Journal reports. Gaines was the 15th overall pick of the 2003 draft by the Magic, but appeared in only 71 NBA games, the last of which was in 2005/06 with the Bucks.
International Moves: Songaila, Woods, Armstrong
Many of the overseas leagues begin their seasons about a month earlier than the NBA does, meaning international training camps are getting under way. Some of the player movement involves guys with NBA ties, and we'll round up all today's international news here, with the latest on top:
- Darius Songaila has signed with BC Donetsk in the Ukraine, according to the team website (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Songaila, an eight-year NBA veteran, had expressed an interest in returning to the NBA after a strong performance with the Lithuanian Olympic team, but he apparently won't be coming back this year.
- Former first-round draft pick Qyntel Woods confirmed via Twitter that he's heading to Lagun Aro of Spain, Carchia reports. Woods was taken 21st overall by the Blazers in 2002, and spent parts of four seasons in the NBA with Portland, the Heat and the Knicks.
- Hilton Armstrong wants to return to the NBA, but is drawing interest from Panathinaikos of Greece, a source tells Carchia. The 12th overall pick in the 2006 draft by the Hornets, Armstrong hasn't played in the NBA since a 12-game stint with the Hawks in 2010/11.
- We heard last night that guard Sergio Llull is content to remain with Real Madrid in Spain, and the Spanish website Marca.com reports the team has offered him a six-year contract with an option for a seventh season (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). It's not clear whether the contract would include a clause that would allow him to sign at any point with the Rockets, who hold his NBA rights.
Southwest Notes: Mavs, Nelson, Spurs, Rockets
Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson is set to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 7th and tells the Associated Press that he is enjoying his retirement more than he ever anticipated. After enduring the grueling and stressful life of an NBA coach for a number of years, Nelson is happy to be in Hawaii, where he has taken up botany, poker, and of course, golf. Could the eccentric offensive guru be lured out of retirement with an attractive coaching opportunity? ''I'd say I'm retired,'' Nelson said. ''I'm done, I'm cooked. It's over.'' Here's more out of the Southwest division..
- The Spurs announced on their website that former player Ime Udoka has been hired as an assistant coach. The forward spent parts of seven seasons in the Association with three seasons in San Antonio. Udoka, 35, was waived by the Nets just prior to the start of the 2011/12 campaign and hooked on with Spanish ACB League team UCAM Murcia.
- Even though the Rockets like 2009 second-round pick Sergio Llull a great deal, they had no plans to bring him over for the 2012/13 season, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. We learned earlier today that the combo guard is happy playing with Real Madrid and intends to finish out his contract.
- Rockets rookie forward Donatas Motiejunas believes that he is getting a healthy challenge by practicing against the recently-acquired Omer Asik, writes Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The Lithuanian knows that he will have to adjust to the pace of the NBA but says that the cultural adjustment is going swimmingly.
- Earlier tonight, we learned that the Rockets waived center Sean Williams rather than guarantee his $916K salary for next season.
Rockets Waive Sean Williams
The Rockets have waived center Sean Williams, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Houston acquired Williams in the three-team Courtney Lee sign-and-trade deal last month.
Houston formally made the move on Monday in advance of August 30th, when his $916K salary would have become guaranteed for next season. Stein notes (via Twitter) that the Heat have expressed interest in Williams in the past and are likely to consider him again as they are in the market for bigs.
Williams, 25, fell to the Nets in the 2007 draft and was tabbed with the 17th overall selection. The shot blocking specialist was considered to be a lottery-level talent but had a number of red flags surrounding him which led to his dismissal from the Boston College basketball program. Williams has since played in China, Puerto Rico, Israel, and the D-League before having cups of coffee with the Mavericks and Celtics.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Knicks, Rockets, Suns
On this date in 2004 at the Athens Olympics, Argentina won its first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's basketball and became the first country other than the United States to win the gold medal since 1988. Luis Scola had 25 points as Argentina steamrolled Italy to win it all, 84-69. Here's this afternoon's look around the Association…
- J.R. Smith's brother Chris Smith has a good chance of making the Knicks' roster, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Berman cites Smith's defensive potential and Iman Shumpert's injury as reasons why the younger Smith could be a fit.
- According to a Europa Press report (link in Spanish), Sergio Llull is happy with Real Madrid and has no intention of leaving the club. Llull, who played a major role for Spain at the Olympics in London, expressed a desire to finish his career with Real Madrid despite strong interest from the Rockets, the team that drafted him in 2009.
- As part of the team's offseason makeover, the Suns are putting a greater emphasis on player development, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
- Sixers coach Doug Collins says that he hopes to use Spencer Hawes in a "Pau Gasol role" alongside the newly-acquired Andrew Bynum, writes Max Rappaport of NBA.com. Collins notes that Hawes, like Gasol, has the ability to play on the perimeter thanks to his ability to shoot and pass.
- Zach Lowe of SI.com wonders how Kobe Bryant will mesh with the revamped Lakers roster in 2012/13. Bryant's elite basketball IQ and style of play could make his transition to the Princeton offense a smooth one, but he'll have to work more quickly than he's used to.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry will bring back former coach Bob Weiss to join Larry Drew’s staff as an adviser, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Former Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson has also officially been hired as an assistant coach. Atkinson has been in talks with the club since early August.
Odds & Ends: Buford, Howard, Rockets, Layden
While it's been widely assumed heading into the 2012/13 campaign that the Nets will take the Magic's spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the rest of the East's lottery teams may be expecting a little more turnover than that. Count Jonas Jerebko of the Pistons among those expecting a shake-up in the Eastern standings — asked about the coming season in Germany recently, Jerebko declared that his Pistons are "going to make the playoffs," as James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Undrafted rookie William Buford, out of Ohio State, has signed in Spain with Obradoiro, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes an open letter to Dwight Howard, advising him on how to avoid creating a Dwightmare sequel in Los Angeles.
- Doug Collins believes current Sixers assistant and former Pistons head coach Michael Curry is ready to lead an NBA team again, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press notes.
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld identifies five young players that will be under pressure to take big steps forward in 2012/13, including three recent signees.
- Despite missing out on Dwight Howard and other impact players this summer, the Rockets still hope to contend for the playoffs, GM Daryl Morey tells Fran Blinebury of NBA.com.
- The Spurs will interview Jazz assistant coach Scott Layden for their assistant GM opening, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
Pincus On NBA Spending Power
We've gone over team spending here on Hoops Rumors before, but today, Hoopsworld.com's Eric Pincus broke down the remaining cap space that teams have across the league, including how much they've already spent and their current situation with regards to various exception levels. Some interesting notes from his piece:
- Before their reported agreement with Martell Webster, the Wizards were the only team left with their full $5MM mid-level exception. The Bucks have nearly all to spend, but fall just short with $4.35MM.
- Despite what appears to be a never ending spending spree that's lasted the entire summer, the Lakers still have $1.59MM left on their mini mid-level exception. They're also nearly $30MM over the tax line.
- The Hawks still have their Bi-Annual Exception, but should they choose to re-sign Ivan Johnson, will need to spend it on him.
- The Celtics, Nets, Knicks, Grizzlies, Clippers, and Heat are unable to add any players unless it's through a trade or signing someone to the veteran's minimum.
- The Rockets have 20 players on their current roster, but could get between $6 and 7MM underneath the cap after waiving a few non-guaranteed players, as they recently did with Josh Harrellson. (The limit is 15 players by opening night.)
- The Cavaliers boast $11.1MM of cap space, the most in the league.
Odds & Ends: Team Canada, Harrellson, Magic
A handful of players with NBA ties have been invited to a weekend training camp that will take place soon to give Team Canada officials a first glimpse at candidates for their national team, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reports (Sulia link). Tristan Thompson of the Cavs, Joel Anthony of the Heat, Cory Joseph of the Spurs, Andrew Nicholson of the Magic and Kris Joseph of the Celtics are on the list. Robert Sacre, the 60th pick in this year's draft by the Lakers, remains unsigned, but he's been invited as well. The team has officially named former Raptors head coach and current Blazers assistant Jay Triano as head coach, Wolstat also writes, and Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson will also be an assistant with Team Canada. Lakers guard Steve Nash, serving as Team Canada's GM, said he wouldn't have accepted the position if Triano wasn't coming aboard, too, Wolstat notes. Here's more from around the Association this afternoon:
- The Heat conducted a workout with Josh Harrellson today, as we heard earlier, but the Timberwolves have no interest in the 6'10" University of Kentucky product, as they prefer a center with more length, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes that Harrellson is just one of several big men the Heat are considering (Sulia link).
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the options the Magic have at power forward to replace Ryan Anderson.
- The Bulls, Lakers, Clippers, Timberwolves and Warriors all have some significant injury issues with training camp about a month away, and Sam Amick of SI.com checks in on the status of Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and others.
- Robin Lopez is recovering from left knee surgery that took place a week after the Hornets acquired him in a sign-and-trade, but he's expected to be ready for training camp, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune reports. Lopez expressed his enthusiasm about coming to New Orleans, saying, "I’m excited to be here. We’ve got a young, energetic group. The good thing is we’ve got some youth that has a little bit of experience as well. Hopefully we can parlay that into something special.’’
- Joe Dumars, Pistons president of basketball operations, traveled overseas with assistant GM George David to watch Jonas Jerebko and Slava Kravtsov in FIBA Eurobasket qualifying, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Odds & Ends: Austin Rivers, Cooper, Stoudemire
John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Austin Rivers is on schedule to be fully healed in time for Hornets' training camp in October after undergoing surgery on his right ankle three weeks ago. The rookie joins a list of teammates, namely Xavier Henry and Robin Lopez, who are recovering from recent surgeries. Regardless, head coach Monty Williams looks to have all three ready by the time the regular season starts. With that aside, here are more noteworthy tidbits from around the Association:
- C.J. Miles elaborated more on the opportunity he has to expand his game with the Cavaliers, especially for a coach like Byron Scott, who believes that Miles has a lot of untapped potential (Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reports).
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that former Timberwolves and Trail Blazers assistant Dean Cooper is headed to the Rockets to join Kevin McHale's coaching staff.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) mentions that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is encouraged about Kelenna Azubuike, who looks like he's moving well and could be a contributor this season.
- Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he'll return to the court "stronger than ever" this upcoming season.
- 76ers GM Rod Thorn acknowledges heightened expectations and says that Philadelphia fans appear to be especially excited because of the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly.
- Jenni Carlson of NewsOK thinks that James Harden is better suited to thrive in a small market city with the Thunder rather than be potentially distracted in what she terms "hot spots."
Southwest Notes: Mavs, O’Brien, Rockets, Hornets
Let's round up a few items out of the Southwest, which was the NBA's second biggest-spending division in free agency this summer, as we outlined earlier today.
- The Mavericks have agreed to hire Jim O'Brien, former head coach of the Celtics, Sixers, and Pacers, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. O'Brien will be Rick Carlisle's top assistant in Dallas.
- In other coaching news, former Rockets VP of player personnel Dean Cooper will rejoin the club as an assistant coach, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston.
- A handful of former NBA players that spoke to John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune were positive about the Hornets' direction and future.
- Darryl Watkins received a shot from the Hornets near the end of the 2011/12 season, but after playing just a few games with the team, it appears he'll be heading overseas for the coming year. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passes along a report suggesting that Watkins has agreed to sign with a team in Bulgaria.