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And-Ones: Pistons, Robinson, D-League

December 28th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brandon Jennings declared himself ready to play for the Pistons, but with backup point guard Steve Blake playing so well, the team has a good problem, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “It’s a tough thing to weigh,” coach Stan Van Gundy said of possibly taking minutes away from Blake. “It’s a dilemma a little bit. But Brandon has looked good.” The 35-year-old realizes he will most likely lose minutes once Jennings returns to the rotation, but that is something that was expected.

“That was an understanding of mine coming here,” Blake said. “Coach Van Gundy and I talked about that. There will be times when I’m playing well while he’s injured. When he comes back, the chance of me going to the bench and him playing at some point was an understanding of mine. He’s working his way back to where he wants to be and when that time comes, that’s fine with me. It’s a team thing. I don’t see it as him and I as competition. We’re teammates playing against other people, so when that time comes, that’s totally fine with me.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Pacers like Glenn Robinson III and they can envision the 22-year-old carving out a role with the team, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star writes. Robinson appreciates the team communicating with him about his future. “They’ve done a great job of talking to me. They haven’t really given me a definite timeframe or when it’s going to come, but they’re saying that that point is going to come,” Robinson said. “Just knowing my moment is coming, I think that really locks me in, too. That keeps me going. So that’s a good thing to hear, especially from Larry [Bird].”
  • The Spurs have recalled Ray McCallum from their D-League Affiliate, the Austin Spurs, per the team’s website. McCallum is averaging 18.0 points, 4.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds in five D-League games this season.
  • The Grizzlies assigned forward Jarell Martin to the Iowa Energy, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. This will be Martin’s third stint with Iowa this season.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

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Central Notes: Jennings, James, Hoiberg

December 28th, 2015 at 3:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls VP John Paxson admitted that Fred Hoiberg is still learning how to survive in the NBA, but noted that the team is firmly behind its new coach, Teddy Greenstein of The Chicago Tribune writes. “Fred has a lot to learn,” Paxson said. “He’ll acknowledge that. We all will. The system he wants to implement offensively is taking some time to really come to fruition. And when you don’t have certain players in terms of spacing the floor like [the injured] Mike Dunleavy — and that’s not an excuse it’s just our reality — that can slow the process as well.”

Paxson did add that Hoiberg’s calm demeanor on the sideline has impressed him, Greenstein relays. “I played for Phil Jackson. He sat most of the game. He was laid-back but intense. You see some coaches who are maniacs on the sideline,” Paxson said. “The last thing as a player you need when there’s stressful situations is to look to the sidelines and there’s a guy over there going nuts. I see that in college all the time.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings insists that he’s ready for action immediately, but understands the team being cautious with him as he makes his return from an Achilles injury suffered back in January, Terry Foster of The Detroit News relays. “I’m fine, I’m ready,” Jennings said. “However, this is not my decision. This is my coach’s decision, so I wait and see.” Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy indicated he’s waiting to see how Jennings responds to back-to-back practices before settling on an exact return date for the veteran playmaker, Foster adds. “Our whole team needs work but it’s good for Brandon,” Van Gundy said. “We practiced before but it was more four-on-four. He got up and down. I think this is the first time he will get two practices in a row to get his legs underneath him.“
  • LeBron James has called for more clarity and consistency in the Cavaliers‘ rotation this season, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. “For us to have a full unit, we’ve got to practice, we’ve got to play some games where we know what we want to do, what lineups we want to play out there,” James said. “It’s an adjustment period. It’s not just going to happen – you plug a guy in there, plug two guys in there and it automatically happens. It’s going to be an adjustment period, but we’ll be fine. We’ll be fine toward February and March.“
  • The Pacers have recalled Joe Young and Glenn Robinson III from Fort Wayne, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Indiana also assigned center Shayne Whittington to the Mad Ants, the team noted in the same press release.
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Eastern Notes: Nets, Pistons, Pacers

December 27th, 2015 at 12:53pm CST by ChrisCrouse

During the 2010 offseason, the Nets had dreams of drafting John Wall and luring LeBron James and Chris Bosh via free agency, but the team ended up drafting Derrick Favors and signing veterans Travis Outlaw and Johan Petro, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com details. The Nets ultimately traded 11 first-round picks — including Favors and pick swaps — with the hopes of winning a championship, but the team has won just one playoff series since 2010.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • The Nets hope to make a significant splash in free agency at the end of the season, Mazzeo adds in the same piece. Brooklyn has slightly over $50.5MM in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2016/17 season, as our Salary Cap Projection page shows.
  • The Pistons‘ trade for Ersan Ilyasova has worked out for Detroit, but the team’s best trade during the offseason was for Marcus Morris, David Mayo of MLive opines in his latest mailbag. Mayo believes Morris’ four year, $20MM extension, which he signed while a member of the Suns, will prove to be valuable to the team during its lifetime.
  • The Pacers have assigned Glenn Robinson III and Joseph Young to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. The team also recalled Shayne Whittington from the Mad Ants.
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Central Notes: West, Jennings, Horford

December 21st, 2015 at 7:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

David West felt that staying with the Pacers would have been a risky move because of his desire to get a championship ring, he told Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star during a Q&A session. The veteran power forward shocked the basketball world by declining his $12.6MM player option with the Pacers to sign for approximately $1.5MM with the Spurs during the offseason. But West couldn’t bear the thought of sitting out another postseason. “It really came down to watching the playoffs for the first time in how many years, not being in the playoffs and then ultimately watching the Finals and just saying: ‘[Forget] it, man. You can’t roll the dice next year.’ Because that’s what I felt I would be doing,” West told Buckner.  “People were telling me: ‘Opt in and then demand a trade!’ That’s just not me. I’ve never been motivated by money.”

In other news around the Central Division:

  • Brandon Jennings will not jump into the Pistons’ rotation during their two-game road trip prior to Christmas, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. Jennings still hasn’t regained all of his lateral mobility, despite playing 27 minutes for the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Saturday night. “I think more on the defensive end, I’m still having trouble right now pushing off, trying to get through screens, which is still expected,” Jennings told Langlois. “So my lateral movement is something I have to work on.” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told Langlois that Steve Blake would remain the backup point guard for time being.
  • Pistons center Andre Drummond is averaging 18.2 points and a league-high 16.4 rebounds and Celtics coach Brad Stevens expects Drummond to play in his first All-Star game this season. “He’s an All-Star right now, for sure,” Stevens said last week to the media, including Hoops Rumors. “Eighteen-16 is no joke and he’s doing it against the best of the best. Every time the ball hits the rim, you’re fearful he’s going to get it. And his rim runs draw so much attention off of pick-and-rolls that their shooters get more open looks.”
  • The Cavaliers’ D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, has acquired power forward Jon Horford off waivers, Adam Johnson of the D-League Digest tweets. Horford, the 24-year-old younger brother of Al Horford, signed with the Bucks prior to training camp but was waived in early October.
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Eastern Notes: Pacers, Pistons, Sixers

December 20th, 2015 at 8:29pm CST by Will Joseph

Paul George, viewed by many as the leader of the Pacers, misses having a veteran teammate like David West around, Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star writes. West signed with the Spurs after he turned down a $12.6MM player option with the Pacers.

“I called him Uncle West,” George told Buckner, “just [his] knowledge of the game and the conversations we would have away from the game. For me being 21, 22 years old, that was stuff that stuck with me and has helped me with this unit having younger guys. A lot of stuff that I’m going through now … I was able to vent to David about. About officiating, about play calls, what’s going on out in the court. That was my person I vented to and he was the one who set me straight.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • After a successful rehab game in the D-League, point guard Brandon Jennings believes he has to earn a spot in the Pistons‘ rotation with backup point guard Steve Blake playing well, David Mayo of MLive.com details. Hoops Rumors’ Dana Gauruder recently profiled Jennings as a trade candidate because Jennings has an expiring contract at $8,344,497. “If I’ve got to earn my second spot, then let’s practice for it. Let’s go play for a spot. I’m with it. I’m up for it,” Jennings said.
  • Reserve point guard Tony Wroten supports the Sixers‘ recent string of moves, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. To recap, the Sixers hired Mike D’Antoni as an associate head coach and hired Jerry Colangelo to a front office role. “Obviously the organization is trying to help the situation,” Wroten said. “And you know, talking to guys like Kendall [Marshall] that have played for him, D’Antoni, he loved him. So I’m looking forward it. And Colangelo, I’m looking forward to changes, and things might become better.”
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Southwest Notes: Ellis, Randolph, Neal

December 17th, 2015 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the decision not to make an offer to Monta Ellis over the summer came down to a desire to clear cap space, not because of Ellis’ age (he turned 30 in October) or any thought that he was in decline, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

“We love Monta as a person, his family. It was one of the times where I went back and forth a lot,” Cuban said. “Not just on the basketball side but on the family side. His wife [plans to attend] law school. His wife has an amazing future as a lawyer and it was hard. That’s the down side of this business.”

Ellis instead signed with the Pacers, though he’s still feeling the effects of offseason surgery, as Buckner also reports and as we passed along earlier. See more from the Southwest Division:

  • Zach Randolph, now coming off the bench for the Grizzlies, tells Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com that he’s on board with his reduced role, and Randolph agrees with Jackson’s assertion that a dead-eye shooter in the mold of J.J. Redick is the missing element on the Memphis roster.
  • Gary Neal roots for the Spurs whenever he’s not playing them and has plenty of admiration for the team with which he spent his first three NBA seasons, notes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. Neal is on a one-year, $2.139MM contract with the Wizards.
  • The Mavs‘ inability to trade a first-round pick for any draft prior to 2018 and the lack of value their expiring contracts have in a market full of teams with cap flexibility for 2016 make it difficult to envision Dallas pulling off any swap that significantly upgrades the roster this season, contends Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
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Central Notes: Jennings, Ellis, Bucks

December 17th, 2015 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Brandon Jennings plans to return to the lineup for the Pistons on December 29th in a game against the Knicks in New York, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link), but Jennings said Wednesday that an 80% chance exists that he plays on D-League assignment first, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has appeared to publicly encourage Jennings to accept a D-League assignment, which would require both Jennings and the union to consent because he has more than two years of experience, but the point guard appears willing.

“I don’t care. I just want to play, man. I just want to get out there and hoop and see where it’s at,” Jennings said, according to Ellis.

A D-League trip for Jennings would represent the fifth time this season that a veteran player and the union have given the OK to a D-League trip. That happened with three Sixers, as I noted earlier this month, and this past weekend with Jeremy Evans of the Mavericks. See more from the Central Division:

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Atlantic Notes: Prokhorov, Sixers, Scola

December 16th, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has approved ownership transfer of 100% of the Nets and the Barclays Center to Mikhail Prokhorov, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com reports. The franchise and the arena were given a combined valuation of $1.9 billion, though the precise breakdown of that amount is unknown at this time, Soshnick adds. This arrangement will give Prokhorov full ownership of both the Nets and the Barclays Center when finalized, the Bloomberg scribe relays. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Despite all the criticism levied against the Sixers‘ rebuilding plan, one major advantage the team had when making trades was the lack of immediate urgency to win, a perk that may now be gone with the arrival of Jerry Colangelo, Derek Bodner of Phillymag.com writes. The inconsistent play of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor played a major role in Philadelphia bringing in Colangelo as well as looking to speed up its timetable to return to respectability, Bodner adds.
  • Raptors power forward Luis Scola likely wouldn’t have been allowed to leave Indiana and sign with Toronto this past summer if it had been up to Pacers coach Frank Vogel, writes Mike Ganter of The Toronto Sun. “One of my favorite players of all time,” Vogel said regarding Scola. “One of them, yeah. Just a guy who has a great approach in the locker room, did his job and it carries over to his teammates and the entire team. He’s just a winner, he plays harder than everybody on the court every time he is out there and it’s no surprise he is helping contribute to their winning culture.” When asked why Scola was allowed to depart, Vogel diplomatically responded, “You would have to talk to [team president] Larry [Bird] about that.”
  • When asked if his expectations for the Nets‘ 2015/16 season have changed in light of their difficult start, Joe Johnson offered little in the way of enthusiasm, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes. “I didn’t really know what the expectations were. I honestly didn’t know,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know how good we would be, I didn’t know how good we would be as a team. So, I just came in and did what I was asked to do, and I’m just trying to help out.”
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Central Notes: Jones, LeBron, Love, Scola, Jackson

December 16th, 2015 at 11:50am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James‘ affection for James Jones runs deep, and the same is true for Kevin Love, who said Jones may well be his best friend in the NBA, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com details. Jones re-signed with the Cavaliers this summer on a one-year, minmum salary deal.

“I told J.J., as long as I’m playing, he’s going to be around,” James said last week. “He’s not allowed to stop playing basketball. So, I’m going to make sure I got a roster spot for him. I love him. He’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever had.”

Jones is 35 and James turns 31 later this month, so it would be tough for Jones to hang in the league for the rest of LeBron’s career, but it’s nonetheless clear that the two are close. See more from Cleveland amid the latest from the Central Division:

  • It was watching his Cavaliers teammates doggedly pursue a championship during the finals last summer that served as the last bit of convincing Love needed to make up his mind to re-sign with the team, Love says, according to McMenamin, who writes in separate piece.
  • The Pacers and Luis Scola talked a couple of times while he was a free agent in July, but the team didn’t make an offer for him to re-sign, and Scola and agent George Bass got the impression the team didn’t intend to make one, the power forward told Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Scola, 35, signed instead with the Raptors for one year and $2.9MM, and he said to Agness that he’s pleased with Toronto so far.
  • Reggie Jackson drew motivation from the commitment that the Pistons showed when they gave him a five-year, $80MM deal this summer, and the deal signaled that the team’s executives “did their homework,” Jackson told TNT’s David Aldridge for his NBA.com Morning tip.
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Eastern Notes: Heat, Bulls, Hornets

December 14th, 2015 at 7:01pm CST by Will Joseph

The early returns on the Heat‘s investment of $90MM over five years in Goran Dragic are not very good because the point guard and Dwyane Wade have been struggling to work together all season, Israel Gutierrez of ESPN.com details. Dragic’s seeming lack of confidence and reluctance to take open shots are not helping to resolve the issue, Gutierrez adds. This is not a new revelation, but Gutierrez expresses concern because many thought the problem would be behind the Heat by now.

“I like seeing guys go through a struggle to see how they respond, and he responded in a very positive way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think it was great to see him show some character when the chips are not going your way. You can grind through it and help your team.”

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

  • The addition of coach Fred Hoiberg was supposed to gin up the Bulls offense, but instead it’s been the mainstay of their defense that has the Bulls in third place in the Eastern Conference in spite of some disconcerting signs early this season, observes TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
  • Hornets coach Steve Clifford did not dismiss the idea that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who has a dislocated right shoulder, would appear in the playoffs, but added there is no timeline for the small forward to return, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets.
  • Ian Mahinmi, who is in the final year of his contract with the Pacers, has solidified his role as a solid shooting center and veteran locker room presence, Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star writes. 
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