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Odds & Ends: Young, Draft, Spurs, Celtics

January 24th, 2014 at 4:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thaddeus Young‘s name figures to be in plenty of rumors between now and the February 20th trade deadline. “There is not a GM in the league who wouldn’t want Thaddeus Young on their team,” an NBA executive tells Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, Young’s contract, with average salaries of more than $9MM through 2015/16, remains a turn-off for would-be trade partners, Pompey writes. The Inquirer scribe takes a stab at sketching the Sixers roster for 2014/15, concluding that a turnaround is still a ways off. Here’s more on a couple of prospects who could be in Philly next year, as well as more from around the NBA:

  • Several NBA scouts are leaning toward regarding Indiana’s Noah Vonleh as a better power forward prospect than Kentucky’s Julius Randle, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who debates the matter with colleague Kevin Pelton in an Insider-only piece.
  • The Spurs wanted someone who could guard small forwards after learning Kawhi Leonard would miss the next three or four weeks, and Gregg Popovich says that led them to sign Othyus Jeffers, observes Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
  • A splintered Clippers front office kept the team from trading for Kevin Garnett at the deadline last year, and that prompted the Celtics to draw back from discussions with the Nets about Paul Pierce, sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The C’s would have been better off had those deals gone down than they are with the package they obtained from the Nets this summer, Deveney surmises.
  • Doc Rivers stuck up for Tom Thibodeau, his former assistant coach, saying that he didn’t think “any right-minded organization” would allow him to leave, as Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. Rumors have suggested the Bulls might let their coach out of his contract so he can take over the Knicks.
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders what more Pierre Jackson must do to convince New Orleans to sign him. The Pelicans hold the NBA rights to the D-League’s leading scorer, but they’ve given Jackson permission to seek a trade.
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Pacific Notes: Suns, Lakers, Collison

January 24th, 2014 at 2:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

Owner Robert Sarver tells Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic that he feels “OK,” but not “great” about his surprising Suns, who sit at 24-17 in seventh place in the West

“We’re a work in progress,” he said. “What I feel really good about, and what I feel, is optimism. It’s optimism that we have some really good pieces, a good coaching staff and a number of assets that, if we make smart decisions, will lead us back to the elite level of play.”

Sarver had much more to say, and we covered his comments on Eric Bledsoe earlier today. We’ll pass along another item of note from Bickley’s interview amid our look at the Pacific Division:

  • Suns president of basketball ops Lon Babby endorsed Jeff Weltman, then with the Bucks and now with the Raptors, for the Phoenix GM job this summer, but Sarver made the decision to hire Ryan McDonough instead, according to Bickley.
  • The Lakers aren’t sure they want to make a significant investment in any free agent other than LeBron James this summer, so they’ll probably instead pursue lower-tier free agents with short-term deals and gear up for 2015, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. Regardless, the team won’t use the draft as its primary vehicle toward contention, according to Ding.
  • Darren Collison‘s success in place of Chris Paul raises the odds that he’ll opt out of his contract, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com surmises. Collison signed his deal with the Clippers when it became apparent to him that the Mavs didn’t want him back, a stance the point guard saw as disrespectful. “As a competitor you look at it that way,” Collison said. “They had their situation. I’m just glad that I fell into a situation like the Clippers that’s given me an opportunity. Now I have a chance to play for a contending team that’s going to try to play for something more special.”
  • Marcin Gortat is grateful to the Suns and says he harbors no hard feelings about their decision to trade him this past fall, though he admits there will be emotions involved as he returns to Phoenix with the Wizards for tonight’s game. Michael Lee of The Washington Post has more.
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Team USA Names Finalists For 2014-16 Rosters

January 23rd, 2014 at 9:51am CST by Chuck Myron

9:51am: LeBron James and Chris Paul will also sit out this summer, Colangelo told media in a teleconference today, though they remain in the mix for 2016.

8:36am: Carmelo Anthony says he’s certain he won’t play in the World Cup this summer, but he left open the idea that he’d play in the 2016 Olympics, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

8:03am: USA Basketball has officially announced the selection of 28 players who’ll compete for a spot on the squad that will play this summer in the 2014 World Cup of basketball, the event formerly known as the World Championships. Those on the list are also vying for selection to the 2016 Olympic team, though USA Basketball may still make additions to the list.

“This is the first step of building the USA Basketball National Team pool of players for 2014-16. This roster is extremely talented, deep and versatile,” said Jerry Colangelo, the executive director of USA Basketball. “We are very fortunate to have 11 of the 12 members who won gold at the London Olympics wanting to be part of the national team program again. To receive that kind of commitment is remarkable and it demonstrates how much it means to our players to represent USA Basketball and their country.”

The Warriors lead the way, with four players who’ll get a look from Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff. Here’s the complete list:

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Odds & Ends: Pelicans, Burke, Clippers, Pistons

January 19th, 2014 at 10:35am CST by Jonathan Nehring

The Pelicans may be looking to switch things up before the trade deadline according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. With things not going as planned for New Orleans this season it appears everyone but Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis are movable assets for the Pelicans. Sam Amico of FOX Sports points out (via Twitter) that list of movable assets would include Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans.

Other notes on the Pelicans and teams around the league.

  • When the Pelicans waived Lou Amundson it was believed the reason was to bring up Pierre Jackson from their D-League affiliate. It appears the recent acquisition of point guard Tyshawn Taylor squelches those rumors and the rumors of Jackson being allowed to seek a trade are more likely. Jackson told Gino Pilato of D-League Digest “it’s a business, and things happen like that. I’m just going to continue to do whatever I can here in the D-League to help this team win games.”
  • Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune asks fans to not look at Trey Burke as another “one that got away” because the Timberwolves would have never drafted him if they weren’t planning to trade him away. Minnesota had three point guards at the time (Ricky Rubio, J.J. Barea, and Luke Ridnour) and were drafting him purely to acquire Shabazz Muhammad from Utah. It is the belief that Ricky Rubio is the team’s future at point guard and drafting Trey Burke would have conflicted with that belief.
  • It appears the Clippers roster will remain intact for some time. Head coach and senior vice president of basketball operations Doc Rivers told Arash Markazi of ESPN the Clippers aren’t “looking to make changes” right now. This is a team that Rivers likes and he would be fine ending the season with them plus Chris Paul added back from injury.
  • While the Clippers roster may be set, the Pistons are expected to be “really active” as the trade deadline approaches.  Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News discussed (via Twitter) that he anticipates Detroit will make at least one trade prior to next month’s deadline.
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Pacific Notes: Turkoglu, Gasol, Warriors

January 18th, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Zachary Links

A quick look at the Pacific Division..

  • Veteran big man Hedo Turkoglu sees a title opportunity with the Clippers, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.  “Well, if you look at it, they are a great team,” Turkoglu said. “They have a lot of great players. The way they approach the game, or their mind-set, especially after they bring in Doc [Rivers], they really wanted to win. I’ve always been playing good with great coaches and I know somehow I would get an opportunity with Doc and do what I can do in the best way.”
  • Heat big man Chris Bosh feels for underappreciated Lakers center Pau Gasol, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.  Gasol has been mentioned frequently on the pages of Hoops Rumors and that figures to continue between now and the trade deadline if he isn’t moved before then.
  • Warriors newcomers Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks are happy to be on board with a contender, writes Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group.  This is the fourth time the 25-year-old Crawford has been traded, but he’s excited about his opportunity in Golden State.
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Pacific Notes: Warriors, Clippers, Okafor

January 16th, 2014 at 2:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a compelling race going on for the top spot in the Pacific Division, and the playoff seeding priority that comes with it. The Clippers hold a one and a half game lead, but they’re without Chris Paul for about another month, and the Warriors have won 11 of 13 to move to within a game and a half of the lead. The Suns lurk three games back in the loss column, and could be a factor if they can tread water while Eric Bledsoe is out. Here’s the latest:

  • The Warriors are about $2.2MM below the luxury tax threshold after adding salary in yesterday’s trade, and GM Bob Myers says ownership hasn’t given him a mandate to stay below that line, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. It would nonetheless take a “special deal” to make the team consider it, Howard-Cooper adds.
  • Myers hinted that additional moves may be coming, telling reporters “Nobody is sitting back and saying, ‘Well, we’re done now. We did our jobs. Let’s see what happens,'” according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • It’s no surprise that the Clippers chose to retain Darius Morris over fellow point guard Maalik Wayns, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who points out that Doc Rivers likes Morris’ defense and Wayns rarely saw the floor (Twitter link).
  • Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy helped sell Rivers on the idea of acquiring J.J. Redick, as Rivers tells Markazi.
  • Insurance would cover about $5.8MM of Emeka Okafor‘s $14.5MM salary for the Suns if he’s unable to return from injury this season, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
  • The Lakers picked the right time to bottom out since, for once, they hold their own first-round pick for a well-stocked draft class, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation.
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Clippers Sign Hedo Turkoglu, Release Wayns

January 16th, 2014 at 12:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:18pm: The Clippers have officially announced the deal. The team’s press release adds that the Clippers have released Maalik Wayns, terminating his 10-day contract, which had been set to expire Friday. The release also announces a second 10-day deal for Darius Morris, but it doesn’t mention the length of Turkoglu’s contract, almost certainly signifying that agent Jim Tanner has secured a deal for the rest of the season for Turkoglu, as had been expected.

THURSDAY, 11:34am: Turkoglu tweets that the deal is official, though there’s been no announcement from the team (hat tip to Sportando).

WEDNESDAY, 9:50pm: The Clippers are set to sign Hedo Turkoglu on Thursday, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Turkoglu was to undergo a physical today, and the team appeared ready to bring him aboard pending the results, as Ismail Senol of NTV Spor in Turkey reported earlier today. The deal will cover the rest of the season, according to Senol.

“He’s another shooter,” Clippers boss Doc Rivers said, according to Markazi. “Sometimes you don’t bring a guy in because a guy is not doing something. You bring a guy in because he does something our other guys do as well. He’s another shooter and can space the floor. He’s very skilled. We would like to take advantage of that.”

Turkoglu, 34, comes to the Clippers after the Magic waived him earlier this month, saving half of his $12MM salary this season before it became fully guaranteed. The Clippers can only offer the minimum salary, but it doesn’t appear they had much competition for the Jim Tanner client. The Lakers and Hawks registered interest in the forward while he was still with the Magic, but the Lakers decided against pursuing him in free agency, and Atlanta hasn’t been connected with him recently either.

The Clippers won’t have to make a roster move if the deal goes down Thursday, since their 10-day deal with Darius Morris will expire overnight. Another roster spot will open with the expiration of their 10-day contract with Maalik Wayns on Friday night, and Rivers indicated the team is still looking for other free agents to add, notes Markazi, who mentions Lamar Odom as a possibility. The team apparently still has interest in Sasha Vujacic, as well.

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Clippers Re-Sign Darius Morris

January 16th, 2014 at 12:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:15pm: Morris has officially signed his second 10-day deal, the Clippers announced. The team will have to decide whether to retain him for the balance of the season or let him go when the contract expires.

8:02am: The Clippers will ink Darius Morris to a second 10-day contract, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. His first 10-day deal expired last night. Wojnarowski doesn’t say when the move will happen, but if it goes down today, it’d be a little surprising, since Doc Rivers said the team will sign Hedo Turkoglu today. The Clippers would have to terminate their 10-day deal with Maalik Wayns a couple days early to accommodate both Morris and Turkoglu today, though the team wouldn’t be on the hook for any additional salary if it cuts Wayns before his deal ends Friday night.

Morris has played 27 minutes over a total of four games so far with the Clippers, scoring five points and dishing out four assists. The 23-year-old Brian Dyke client is in his third NBA season after the Lakers made him the 41st overall pick in 2011. The 6’4″ point guard is serving as a backup to Darren Collison, who’s set to start at the position for about another month or so as Chris Paul‘s injured shoulder heals.

The Clippers have used other ball-handlers at times during Morris’ stint, and Turkoglu has proven a capable leader of an offense during his career. Rivers, who’s in charge of the team’s front office, nonetheless seems to want to keep Morris around, perhaps as insurance. The Clippers have been linked to Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic, though it seems neither will join the club in the immediate future.

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Western Notes: Fisher, Jackson, Turkoglu

January 15th, 2014 at 7:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Derek Fisher is breathing a little easier today with the news that the judge, Huey Cotton, who is presiding over Billy Hunter’s wrongful termination lawsuit had dismissed most of the allegations against Fisher, and all against his former business manager, Jamie Wior, writes Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com. Hunter had alleged that the two conspired to oust him and seize control of the NBPA during and after the 2011 lockout. Cotton ruled that Hunter’s claims against Fisher regarding breach of contract and intentional interference with contractual relations may go forward, but struck 12 other allegations against the former NBPA president from the lawsuit, including defamation. The judge also ruled that Hunter must pay legal fees for Fisher and Wior related to the claims that were dismissed. The rest of Hunter’s lawsuit is cleared to continue against the NBPA.

Here’s some other notes from around the Western Conference:

  • Pierre Jackson still hasn’t been able to reach a deal with the Pelicans, who hold his rights after drafting him 42nd overall in last year’s draft. Not long before Jrue Holiday was ruled out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right tibia on January 10th, Jackson’s representatives requested and received permission to explore trade opportunities. Jackson’s agents, who also represent Holiday, met with Pelicans general manager Dell Demps this week, but Jackson still doesn’t have a contract with the team. This has Jackson and his camp disappointed, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Jackson is currently the D-League’s second-leading scorer at 29.9 PPG, and feels his production warrants some NBA playing time.
  • The Warriors will be keeping MarShon Brooks, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Brooks was acquired as a part of today’s three-team trade involving Boston and Miami. An earlier tweet by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe had indicated the team might waive Brooks.
  • Spurs guard Nando De Colo‘s agent denied reports that the player was attempting to return to Europe and play for Fenerbahce, as he told French newspaper L’Equipe (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). De Colo is currently averaging 2.0 PPG in limited action.
  • The Clippers continue to have interest in Sasha Vujacic even as they near a deal with Hedo Turkoglu, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
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Clippers Close To Deal With Hedo Turkoglu

January 15th, 2014 at 8:09am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 8:09am: The Clippers plan to sign Turkoglu for the rest of the season pending the results of his physical, reports Ismail Senol of NTV SPOR in Turkoglu’s native Turkey (Twitter link). The 34-year-old forward has been seeking more than a 10-day contract, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, so it appears he’s in line to get his wish.

TUESDAY, 1:23pm: Clippers boss Doc Rivers indicated today that he’d like to sign Hedo Turkoglu soon, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times notes via Twitter, and the move could come before they begin a road trip on Thursday, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Turkoglu impressed the team Friday during his audition, and shortly thereafter Rivers expressed interest in signing him, though at that point he didn’t give a timetable.

The team is at the 15-man roster limit with a pair of players on 10-day contracts. Their deal with Darius Morris is set to expire Wednesday night, and Maalik Wayns‘ pact expires Friday night. Teams can terminate 10-day deals at any time without owing any extra salary, so neither Morris nor Wayns is necessarily an obstacle to signing Turkoglu.

The Magic waived Turkoglu in advance of the leaguewide contract guarantee date, allowing them to save 50% of his $12MM contract. The 34-year-old is intent on reviving his NBA career with a contender, and while he drew interest from the Hawks and Lakers before the Magic waived him, the Lakers have since cooled on him, and lately there’s been no talk of him heading to Atlanta.

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