Odds & Ends: Nash, Spurs, Barbosa, Hawks
Let’s round up a few Friday odds and ends from around the Association….
- Steve Nash, who is heading into the second year of a three-year deal with the Lakers, may be rested frequently this season due to health concerns, head coach Mike D’Antoni tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. With the Lakers planning to clear as much cap space as possible next summer, Nash’s performance and health this season will likely dictate whether he’s still with the club a year from now.
- In a Spurs notebook for the San Antonio Express-News, Jeff McDonald refers to the release of Sam Young as a “borderline bombshell,” and says Corey Maggette is unlikely to stick with the team into the regular season.
- As he continues to recover from a torn ACL in Brazil, free agent guard Leandro Barbosa still hopes to return to the NBA, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post details.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if NBA teams’ increasing willingness to rest their veterans will open the door for players who would typically be assigned to the D-League to receive more NBA minutes.
- With 20 players still on the roster, the Hawks will have to make cuts soon, but it won’t happen today, tweets Chris Vivalmore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Scott Cacciola of the New York Times takes an in-depth look at new Knicks general manager Steve Mills.
Western Notes: Wright, Burke, Griffin, Gasol
We already covered the East, now let’s check in on what is happening around the league out West tonight:
- Brandan Wright sustained a small, non-displaced fracture to his left shoulder that is unlikely to require surgery, the Mavericks announced today. Wright, who re-signed with the team in July, is entering his sixth year in the league and third with the Mavs. No timetable has been set for his return.
- Rookie point guard Trey Burke is concentrating on making a good impression on his opponents as the Jazz‘s preseason gets into full swing, writes Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. Burke, who the Jazz took in June at No. 9, figures to run the point for a young but talented team in Utah.
- Blake Griffin suffered a bone bruise in his left knee in a Wednesday night scrimmage while attempting to dunk, writes Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times. Griffin’s precautionary MRI showed no structural damage, reports Turner, but the All-Star forward is still likely to miss an undisclosed amount of practice and preseason time.
- If Pau Gasol, more physically and mentally ready than he’s been in years, has the type of season he expects to have in Los Angeles, he believes the Lakers will want to re-sign him in the offseason, writes Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. However, Gasol is unlikely to be willing to accept a significant pay cut to stay in the purple and gold, per Medina. Gasol will make $19.3MM this year.
Western Rumors: Kobe, Jazz, Bledsoe, Spurs
Earlier today, Kobe Bryant addressed reporters at the Lakers‘ practice facility and fielded a number of queries, but wouldn’t answer the million dollar question. “I didn’t say anything,” Bryant said when asked about a potential timetable for returning, according to Lakers.com. “I just keep it all open right now. I don’t’ know why you guys are so hell bent on timelines. When I’m ready, I’m ready.” More out of the West…
- The Jazz have to cut their roster down to 15 players before the start of the season, but there are no signs of that coming just yet, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. There are 20 players on the roster currently, but Marvin Williams (Achilles’ heel) and Brandon Rush (knee) are recovering from surgeries.
- Eric Bledsoe has matured since his rookie year and he’s ready to shine as a main player for the Suns, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Bledsoe came to Phoenix in the three-team deal with the Clippers and Bucks that sent J.J. Redick to L.A.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich endorses European coaches making the transition over to the NBA, but Dan McCarney of the Express News wonders when that will become a reality. Ettore Messina is among several qualified coaches waiting for their chance in the NBA, but the Italian doesn’t believe that offer will come anytime soon.
- Former Mavericks forward and free agent Lamar Odom pleaded not guilty to DUI charges, according to the Associated Press. Odom, who was said to be dealing with a drug problem and other issues, seems pretty far from another NBA run.
Poll: Will The Lakers Make The Playoffs?
A little more than two months into the 2012/13 NBA season, I posed a question that would have seemed ridiculous last fall, asking Hoops Rumors readers whether the Lakers would make the playoffs. The No votes slightly outweighed the Yes votes at the time, but L.A. did eventually sneak into the postseason, only to be quickly dispatched by the Spurs.
Last season’s team featured a star-studded starting lineup and championship aspirations, while the expectations for this year’s squad have been scaled back significantly. The Lakers will be without Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, who are now playing in Houston and New York respectively, and they’ll likely start the season without Kobe Bryant, who continues to recover from an Achilles injury.
The Lakers still have Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, and they retooled their roster with a few potential bargains like Chris Kaman, Wesley Johnson, Nick Young, and Jordan Farmar. But as the 2012/13 Mavericks will tell you, relying on veterans and players on one-year contracts isn’t necessarily a formula for a playoff team.
The road to the postseason in the Western Conference will be particularly tough this season, with a number of 2013 lottery teams having upgraded their respective rosters over the summer. In addition to obvious contenders like the Thunder, Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, Warriors, and Grizzlies, clubs like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Mavs will be vying for playoff berths.
ESPN.com projected in August that the Lakers would finish 12th in the West, a forecast that will surely motivate Kobe and the rest of the team this season. So what do you think? A year after an underachieving Lakers squad squeaked into the playoffs, will the 2013/14 Lakers overachieve and finish among the West’s top eight?
Will the 2013/14 Lakers make the playoffs?
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Yes 51% (479)
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No 49% (454)
Total votes: 933
Lakers Waive Dan Gadzuric, Eric Boateng
The Lakers have released a pair of camp invitees, reducing their roster to 17 players, according to a press release. Dan Gadzuric and Eric Boateng have been cut by the team, and will become free agents later this week, assuming they clear waivers.
Gadzuric, 35 last appeared in the NBA in 2011/12, playing in a pair of late-season contests for the Knicks. In 10 career NBA seasons, the 6’11” center has appeared in 527 games, averaging 4.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and recording a 14.4 PER. Boateng, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2010, and has played for multiple clubs in the D-League and overseas since then.
Gadzuric and Boateng had both been considered long shots to make the Lakers’ regular-season roster, despite the fact that the team is only carrying 11 fully guaranteed contracts. Other invitees, like Xavier Henry, have been impressive in camp, while players like Shawne Williams and Elias Harris have partial guarantees on their deals.
Western Notes: Rockets, Kaman, Jazz, Goodwin
The Rockets head into the 2013/14 season considered one of the legit contenders to come out of the Western Conference, but according to GM Daryl Morey, the Houston roster is still a work in progress.
“We’re not all the way there, we’re not a finished team,” Morey told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “We’re going to be experimenting. We want to be a great team by mid-April.”
In his piece, Windhorst points to Omer Asik as the Rockets’ most significant trade chip, suggesting that it wouldn’t be surprising if the club worked out a deal involving the big center prior to the trade deadline. Here are a few more items from out of the Western Conference:
- Chris Kaman was the Lakers‘ “unheralded consolation prize” after they lost out on Dwight Howard in free agency. But Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com explains why the veteran center could play a crucial role in the team’s season.
- After his seeing his role and his production decline during the last several seasons in Golden State, Andris Biedrins says he’s happy to get a “fresh start” with the Jazz, tweets Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Jazz are one of eight NBA teams carrying the maximum 20 players, meaning they’ll need to make at least five cuts before the regular season begins. However, coach Tyrone Corbin says no roster moves are imminent at this point, according to Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).
- Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic takes an extensive look at rookie guard Archie Goodwin, who the Suns hope will become a part of the team’s long-term core.
Western Notes: Henry, Wolves, Jazz, Melo
We’ve heard players like Omer Asik and Marcin Gortat mentioned repeatedly as possible trade candidates for the coming season, and both players earn a spot on Sam Smith‘s list of 10 players most likely to be traded at Bulls.com. Smith also includes a few surprises among his 10 names though, including a pair of power forwards on Western Conference playoff teams: Zach Randolph and David Lee. I’d be surprised to see either player go anywhere, but as we saw a year ago with James Harden and the Thunder, contending teams aren’t always averse to moving key players.
Here are a few more Monday items out of the West:
- Asked if Xavier Henry‘s play this fall is solidifying his spot on the regular season roster, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters, including John Ireland and Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), “I would think so.”
- With CSKA Moscow set to play an exhibition game against the Timberwolves tonight, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities notes that a couple players on the Russian squad – Milos Teodosic and Sonny Weems – could interest the T-Wolves, or have been pursued by the team in the past (Twitter links).
- Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors are both eligible for contract extensions this month, but the Jazz don’t necessarily have to treat them equally, writes Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune. In Kragthorpe’s opinion, Utah should extend Hayward now and wait on Favors.
- It’s not clear if Fab Melo will earn a roster spot with the Mavericks, but the young center doesn’t sound unhappy to be out of Boston. Melo tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the Celtics “didn’t give [him] a chance” last season, “even in practice” (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Vasquez, Abdur-Rahim, Henry
Shaquille O'Neal's purchase of a stake in the Kings last month brings about an odd coda to the rivalry between his current team and the Lakers, the franchise with which O'Neal tormented Sacramento both on the court and off in the early 2000s. This season could be the first since that time that neither the Kings nor the Lakers make the playoffs, so the teams have little to fight over these days, even if some fans still harbor animosity. Here's more on a pair of franchises looking to regain the glory of years past:
- Extension candidate Greivis Vasquez grew up a Kings fan, and he wants to stay in Sacramento for the long haul, The Bee's Ailene Voisin writes.
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the only member of the Kings front office left over from last season, but the team has entrusted him with plenty of responsibility, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.
- Xavier Henry did plenty last night to help his case for a spot on the Lakers opening-night roster, but his 29 points against the Warriors belie his inconsistency during camp, Medina notes as he profiles the former lottery pick's path to L.A.
- Last season, the Lakers allowed the 18th most points per 100 possessions in the league, and they lost a pair of former Defensive Player of the Year winners in Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News examines how some of the team's new additions can help the club overcome its shortcomings on defense.
Odds & Ends: Adelman, Lakers, Knicks, Stevens
Here are a few links from around the NBA on a slow Saturday night that also saw a lot of interesting preseason action…
- Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman told Jerry Zgoda of the Minnesota Star Tribune, via Twitter, that he’s not too happy about playing 4 preseason games in 6 days, but Zgoda tweets that Adelman will play a lot of young guys on Monday against CSKA Moscow.
- Adelman would rather play an NBA team, Zgoda rehashes on Twitter, but he’s anxious to play a game because “I think we need one. You really don’t get a good feel for where you are until you play another team” (Twitter).
- The Wolves' coach also called Robbie Hummel a “ tough kid,” who he could see being a lottery selection if not for the knee injuries (Twitter).
- Lakers assistant coach and "de facto defensive coach" Kurt Rambis tells Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times that defense is a team effort. "Everybody's got to be connected. Everybody's got responsibilities and duties and they have to adhere to those."
- Defense was also the theme on the other coast as Knicks coach Mike Woodson tried to familiarize the Knicks youngsters on Saturday with the proper defensive technique for various offensive looks, writes George Willis of the New York Post.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com spoke with Celtics coach Brad Stevens about his team and getting enough sleep during a hectic NBA schedule Stevens has yet to experience.
Western Notes: Kobe, Carney, Blazers
Kobe Bryant didn't inform Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni of his latest trip to Germany for a blood-spinning procedure on his right knee, and at least one other NBA coach sees that as a sign of disrespect, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News.
Here's more from around the Western Conference…
- The Pelicans announced today in a press release they've waived 6'7" forward Rodney Carney. A product of Memphis, the 29-year-old Carney has been in the league for five seasons, playing in the past for the Sixers, Grizzlies, Warriors and Timberwolves with career averages of 5.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.4 MPG.
- Nicolas Batum told CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes today was the first day Blazers coach Terry Stotts let the projected starting lineup of Batum, Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Robin Lopez play together. He said they played great (Twitter).
- After suffering a minor injury to his left leg during Blazers practice on Wednesday, Aldridge tells Mike Tokito of the Oregonian that he's feeling better after sitting out Thursday's practice. He was back on the court Friday.
- After coming aboard as the Blazers' GM 16 months ago, Neil Olshey has blossomed into a leader and the voice of a Blazers franchise that needed both, writes Joe Freeman at the Oregonian.
- Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside believes Perry Jones III could use another season in the Development League before being called up to the Thunder.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post