Western Notes: Mudiay, Davis, West
Lakers coach Byron Scott thinks Nuggets rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay will be “pretty good,” but he had concerns about his three-point shooting and wasn’t as high on him coming into the draft as he was on D’Angelo Russell, whom the Lakers picked second overall, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Discussing what stood out about Russell leading up to the draft, Scott said, “His workouts were extremely good. You saw the leadership qualities that he had. You saw the ability to pass the ball and make other guys better, the ability to get to the basket and the ability to knock down 3s, open jump shots and off-the-dribble shots. He had the total package offensively. Defensively, the one thing I thought he did was he competed.”
Here’s more from out of the Western Conference:
- Unrestricted free agent Glen Davis, who was reportedly garnering strong interest from the Clippers prior to undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments, a cyst, and bone spurs in his left ankle, is expected to resume basketball activities by the end of this month, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter).
- Power forward David West knew that he’d be sacrificing playing time as well as money when he signed with the Spurs this past offseason, a move that he hopes will result in him winning an NBA title, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “If I was worried about that stuff, I would have stayed in Indy,” said West, who is coming off the bench for the first time since his second NBA season. “At this stage, it’s just not about that for me.”
- Mavericks camp cut Jarrid Famous has signed with Fujian of China, as the Chinese outlet LeTV reported last week (hat tip to the Altius Culture agency) and as international journalist David Pick confirms (Twitter link). Famous replaces Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who’s now signed to play in Japan and who was reportedly engaged in a dispute with Fujian, the team with which he signed after his brief comeback attempt with the Clippers, notes Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Morris, Stephenson, D-League, Stretch
Markieff Morris didn’t have a lot to say when asked about playing apart from his brother, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Morris seemingly vacated an offseason trade demand when he arrived at Suns camp in September, nearly three months after Phoenix irked him with the trade that sent his twin to Detroit.
“It is what it is. He’s at work. I’m at work. Same thing,” Morris said.
He also expressed no surprise that Marcus Morris is off to a strong start with the Pistons, Coro notes. See more from around the league:
- Lance Stephenson has pleasantly surprised the Clippers so far, unexpectedly winning a starting job and rewarding the team for its extra diligence during the vetting process for the trade that brought him to L.A., as USA Today’s Sam Amick details. Clippers GM Dave Wohl made 61 calls to people who know Stephenson instead of the standard 20, according to Amick. “I don’t think we’ve ever made more [background] calls for a player in my life,” Clippers coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said before Thursday’s game. “We had to make sure, but I’ve got to tell you that I’m really excited.”
- Cartier Martin, whom the Pistons waived last week despite a fully guaranteed salary of nearly $1.271MM, and eight-year NBA veteran Ronnie Brewer are among the players signing D-League contracts that will funnel them to Saturday’s D-League draft, league sources tell Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter links). In Martin’s case, that means the Pistons elected not to claim his D-League rights. Hornets camp cut Sam Thompson is also signing with the D-League and heading to the D-League draft, a source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). Charlotte won’t have an affiliate until next year and thus couldn’t claim his rights.
- The use of the stretch provision is down this year after a surge in 2014, but a Western Conference GM who spoke with Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com believes that over time, teams will more frequently use the mechanism to spread out the payment schedule for money owed to players. “The stretch provision was something that was really being underutilized until pretty recently. I don’t think some teams understood how it could be used as a benefit,” the GM said. “I think we’ll see it more in the future because with the salary cap going up, it will be easier to fit into your planning.”
And-Ones: Paul, Agent Changes, Leonard
Chris Paul rejects the notion that he’s a poor teammate, an idea that rumors of a rift between Paul and DeAndre Jordan helped fuel this summer, writes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Jordan has downplayed any tension, citing a mutual desire to win, and that’s just what Paul is thinking about as he envisions playing the rest of his career with the Clippers, as Woike details.
“Hell, I never imagined I’d leave New Orleans, but there’s no question this is where I want to be,” Paul said to Woike. “I want to win. Here.”
The earliest Paul can elect free agency is the summer of 2017. See more from around the NBA:
- Agent Michael Tellem, the son of former agent turned Pistons organization executive Arn Tellem, is leaving the Wasserman Media Group for the Creative Artists Agency and taking high-profile client Danilo Gallinari with him, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Mario Hezonja, Bojan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica have dropped Tellem and will continue with Wasserman, Pick adds (on Twitter). The loss of Arn Tellem has proven tough for Wasserman, which also lost Al Horford, LaMarcus Aldridge and Joe Johnson over the offseason. Gallinari, Hezonja and Bjelica all signed new deals earlier this summer, while Bogdanovic remains on a deal with the Nets that runs through 2016/17.
- Extension talks between the Trail Blazers and Meyers Leonard are off to a late start, but Leonard’s preference is to stay in Portland, observes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The deadline for the sides to reach a deal is Monday. “I really, really like and love this city,” Leonard said. “I love the organization and now that a greater opportunity has presented itself, I think a lot more people are embracing me. I’d love to be here. That’s my hope. But I don’t know if I’ll get an extension. I don’t know what will happen after this year. We’ll have to wait and see.”
- Al Harrington said in March that he was retiring, but instead the 16-year NBA veteran is joining the Sydney Kings of Australia on a four-week deal, league sources told Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia.
Clippers Exercise Option On C.J. Wilcox
The Clippers have picked up their third-year option on shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, the team announced via a press release. This option is for the 2016/17 season, when Wilcox is scheduled to earn $1,209,600. Los Angeles now has approximately $77.7MM in guaranteed salary already committed for next season.
It wasn’t a sure thing that Los Angeles would exercise Wilcox’s option, with the team having reportedly explored a deal that would have sent Wilcox and Jamal Crawford to Denver in exchange for Wilson Chandler back in June. With the Clippers currently loaded at the wing positions, Wilcox doesn’t figure to see much burn this season unless the team is hit hard by injuries or those ahead of him on the depth chart severly underperform.
The 24-year-old appeared in 21 games for the Clippers during his rookie campaign, averaging 2.0 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in just 4.8 minutes per contest after being selected with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. During summer league play this year, Wilcox notched averages of 14.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 32.0 minutes of action per appearance.
And-Ones: Carlisle, Cap, Rosters, Tskitishvili
A growing sentiment around the league held that Rick Carlisle might leave the Mavericks, given the team’s uncertain future as a playoff contender and the distinct possibility that several attractive coaching jobs will come open next summer, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. It nonetheless appears he’d like to stay put, as Carlisle and the Mavs are reportedly deep in negotiations toward an extension. Mavs owner Mark Cuban essentially confirmed in a radio appearance on ESPN Radio 103.3 in Dallas today that the sides are working toward a deal, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com relays (Twitter link).
“When you’ve got a great coach, you want to keep him around, so we’re working on making that happen,” Cuban said.
See more from around the NBA:
- Many league executives and agents believe the salary cap will escalate to $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. One GM who spoke to Deveney expressed worry that all the money on the line will lead to players looking out for themselves and pointed to this summer’s increase in long-term deals as evidence that teams were looking to avoid that.
- NBA opening night rosters feature 100 players from outside the United States, one off last year’s record total of 101, the NBA announced. The University of Kentucky boasts more former players on the rosters than any other school, with 21, followed by Kansas, with 19, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv points out.
- Nikoloz Tskitishvili, the former No. 5 overall pick who briefly attempted an NBA comeback with the Clippers this fall, is engaged in a dispute with his Chinese team and close to signing with Champville in Lebanon instead, as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia details. Tskitishvili signed earlier this month with Fujian, international journalist David Pick reported.
Western Rumors: World Peace, Clippers, McGee
Metta World Peace not only made the Lakers‘ opening-day roster, but the club also plans to make him an assistant coach after his playing career, league sources told Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania. The veteran small forward, who beat out Jabari Brown for the final roster spot, has been mentoring several young Lakers players, including 2014 lottery pick and power forward Julius Randle, Charania adds. World Peace is excited about the possibility of being a coach, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes tweets. “It would be fun,” World Peace said. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a coach? It’s a great life.”
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Luc Mbah a Moute secured the Clippers’ final roster spot over veteran forward Chuck Hayes because of his defensive prowess, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports. Clippers coach Doc Rivers told Woike that he views Mbah a Moute as a defensive specialist. “He’s one of those guys that can be a great team defender,” Rivers said. The small forward wound up with the Clippers after the Kings voided Mbah a Moute’s free agent deal with the team this summer, claiming he failed his physical because of a shoulder injury, Woike adds.
- Center JaVale McGee is still “weeks away” from being cleared to play but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is encouraged by his progress, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets. McGee is rehabbing from a left tibial stress fracture. Salah Mejri appears to be the main backup to Zaza Pachulia until McGee returns.
- Al-Farouq Aminu has made a strong impression on his Trail Blazers teammates with his defensive versatility, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Aminu was signed as a free agent to a four-year, $30MM deal to be their defensive stopper, Freeman continues. “He’s a jack-of-all-trades, a guy who can do everything,” shooting guard C.J. McCollum said to Freeman. “I think he’s really, really talented defensively. He’s a guy who can guard multiple positions, can guard a point guard, he can get switched on the four or five and hold his own, rebound, block shots, run the floor.” However, he may miss the season opener because of a left hamstring strain, Casey Holdahl of Trailblazers.com reports.
- Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley is ready for the season opener after a hand injury that required surgery prevented him from playing during the team’s postseason run, Jenny Creech of the Houston Chronicle writes. Beverley missed one preseason game with groin soreness, but averaged 7.7 points and 3.7 assists in seven other preseason outings.
Western Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Kings
Lakers coach Byron Scott said a decision will come Monday on the team’s final cut, but offered no further details on whether it will be veteran Metta World Peace or second-year guard Jabari Brown, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Both players practiced on Sunday, Holmes adds.
Because players need 48 hours to clear waivers, the Lakers will be required to pay either World Peace or Brown for two days of salary, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times points out (assuming one is kept and the other is not). The waived player will receive only the two days of pay, so the Lakers will either owe World Peace approximately $18,000 or Brown $10,000, Pincus adds.
Here is more news out of the Western Conference:
- Luc Mbah a Moute earned the Clippers‘ final regular season roster spot over Chuck Hayes mostly because of his defense months after the Kings voided his contract after a failed physical, Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com writes. In regards to the Kings, Mbah a Moute said, “I wish them luck. No hard feelings. I’m excited about the opportunity I have here now,” per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times (
Twitter link). - While the Kings are expected to be better this season than in recent years, the team could just as likely implode with several interesting personalities, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. The vibe around the team, Jones adds, has been positive since training camp.
- Rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay cut down on his turnovers and showed promise in what should be considered a mostly successful training camp for the Nuggets under new coach Michael Malone, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post writes.
Clippers Waive Chuck Hayes, Keep Mbah a Moute
3:37pm: Hayes has officially ben waived, the team announced.
3:18pm: The team will retain Luc Mbah a Moute and his non-guaranteed contract for opening night, Woike also hears (Twitter link). He’s the lone remaining Clipper without a full guarantee, as our roster count shows.
2:55pm: The Clippers will waive center Chuck Hayes, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register reports (Twitter link). Hayes’ minimum salary arrangement was non-guaranteed, so the move won’t cost Los Angeles any funds as a result.
Through 643 career NBA regular season contests, the 6’6″ center has averaged 3.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. His career shooting numbers are .498/.000/.618. Hayes has been in the league 10 seasons after going undrafted out of Kentucky.
This move reduces the Clippers’ roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum.
Pacific Notes: Crawford, Barnes, Ezeli, Hibbert
It took a sell job from Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, but Jamal Crawford is on board with continuing to be a part of a crowded rotation, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register details. Rivers and Crawford spoke about their issues over the summer and again before camp, and while Crawford took to social media this summer to drop vague hints that he was dissatisfied, the two-time Sixth Man of the Year now says it can “easily work” for him in L.A. Rivers said in September he was unlikely to trade Crawford, swatting down rumors. See more from the Pacific Division:
- Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob would like to see the team sign Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to extensions before the November 2nd deadline, but he’d still be OK with them ending up in restricted free agency next summer, as Lacob said in a podcast with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Lacob also made it seem as though it’s unlikely that Steve Kerr will coach the team in the opener as he continues to nurse his ailing back.
- Roy Hibbert is fostering team chemistry in a way that no one did on the Lakers last year, Jordan Clarkson tells Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. The big man doesn’t see it as all that important but thinks that if he can help others perform, it will reflect well on him in the future. Hibbert is poised to hit free agency this coming summer. “When the team wins,” Hibbert said, “everybody wins. So helping them is going to help me on the court in the long run and then that will help whatever contract stuff. So you have to be selfless.”
- Omri Casspi is struggling in the preseason, but coach George Karl isn’t worried about the player in whom the Kings invested $5.8MM on a new two-year deal this summer, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think the way he played at the end of last year, he’s earned the right to be given some freedom and opportunity to figure out what happens this year,” Karl said.
And-Ones: Popovich, Stephenson, Schröder
NBA coaches would like to see one of their own succeed Mike Krzyzewski as Team USA coach after he steps away following the 2016 Olympics, and Gregg Popovich is the No. 1 choice for that gig, a coaching source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Rick Carlisle appears to have a shot, too, and University of Kentucky coach John Calipari has a strong desire for the job, Berger also hears. See more from around basketball:
- Lance Stephenson first targeted his hometown Nets when he found out the Hornets were exploring the idea of trading him last season, but he’s excited about his opportunity with the Clippers, as he tells Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
- Dennis Schröder‘s rookie scale contract runs through 2016/17, and he likes playing in Atlanta, but he tells Sport Bild magazine that he wants to start and will look elsewhere if the Hawks don’t give him an opportunity, as Sport1.de relays (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, and special thanks to Alan Maimon for the translation). “My goal is the starting job,” Schröder said. “If there’s no progress next season, then I’ll have to talk to my people and explore other possibilities.”
- Players on NBA rosters last season have begun receiving checks related to a leaguewide salary shortfall, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The NBA is obligated to distribute $57,298,826, the difference between total team salaries and the 50.39% of basketball-related income that the collective bargaining agreement mandates the players are entitled to. So, players who were on a team’s active or inactive list for 41 or more games get $124,023, while those on one of those lists for 20-40 games see $62,011, and players on one of those lists for one to 19 games receive $31,005, as Zillgitt details.
- Amerileague president Jonathan Jordan has resigned and some agents have their expressed their doubts about the viability of the startup minor league, as Adam Johnson of D-League Digest details in a pair of pieces. Marcus Bass, the league’s director of basketball operations, tells Johnson that concerns are “getting a little overblown,” pledged to maintain a consistent flow of information, and said the league’s draft will go forward as planned Thursday.