Western Notes: Harden, Grizzlies, Mavs, Seattle
In dealing James Harden to the Rockets, the Thunder ensured that the gold medalist will likely remain in the Western Conference for years to come. In his weekly Morning Tip piece at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge notes that while that may come as a surprise, there weren't many logical fits with Eastern Conference clubs.
The Thunder liked Bradley Beal, but the Wizards weren't interested in dealing the third overall pick. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, meanwhile, tweets that the Magic had some pieces that could have enticed Oklahoma City, but Orlando probably wouldn't have given Harden the max. The Magic ended up not getting involved in the Harden sweepstakes, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Here are a few more Monday afternoon updates from around the Western Conference, with just over 24 hours until the NBA regular season gets underway:
- Within his NBA.com column, Aldridge reports that the final sale price of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera's ownership group was $377MM.
- Wayne Ellington remains unlikely to be extended by the Grizzlies before Wednesday, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if carrying so many players in contract years could blow up for the Mavericks.
- NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper spoke to Seattle mayor Mike McGinn about the possibility of the NBA returning to his city. McGinn said that he's rooting for Sacramento to keep the Kings, since he knows what it feels like to lose a team, but is still hopeful about professional basketball coming back to Seattle.
- Nuggets center JaVale McGee is going to have to learn how to deal with the burden of having a big contract and the attention that brings, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
- The Lakers and Clippers both head into the 2012/13 season hoping that revamped benches will help them contend for a title, says Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com believes that, even without Harden, the Thunder are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
- Luke Zeller's contract includes a $50K guarantee, so if he opens the season with the Suns, that doesn't mean he'll be with the team all year, says Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links).
Los Angeles Notes: Clippers, Harden, Hollins, Turiaf
The latest news and notes from Los Angeles on Sunday evening:
- FoxSports.com's Billy Witz writes that while the Clippers' roster is promising, there are many questions that will need to be answered by their performance.
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times talks to members of the Lakers to get their reactions to the James Harden trade.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com has a column which examines the trade's impact on the Lakers' chances in the Western Conference playoff race.
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times examines the bond between new Clippers backup centers Ryan Hollins and Ronny Turiaf.
Lakers Notes: Howard, Kobe, Blake
A roundup of the latest news around the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night:
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports that Dwight Howard has been working hard this summer to improve his free-throw shooting.
- Bresnahan also reports that Kobe Bryant may miss the Lakers' Oct. 30 season opener against Dallas with lingering foot pain.
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Mike Brown is sticking with Steve Blake as his backup point guard, citing Blake's familiarity with the offense as his reason.
Camp Rumors: Magic, Johnson-Odom, Heat
Perhaps the most surprising training camp cut was Quentin Richardson, whom the Magic waived despite $5.438MM worth of guaranteed money on his contract for the next two seasons. The surprising play of DeQuan Jones, who appears to have made the team on a non-guaranteed deal, pushed Richardson out the door, writes John Denton of Magic.com. There's plenty of other news about players coming and going today, in advance of the 4:00pm Central time deadline for teams to let go of camp invitees so that they clear waivers before rosters must be down to 15 players.
- While an earlier report indicated the Lakers were expected to waive Darius Johnson-Odom, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com believes the guard still has a shot to make the team (Twitter link).
- The Heat are at the regular-season roster limit of 15 players, but Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel doesn't rule out the possibility that the team could pick up one of the guys that other teams let go in the past few days (Twitter link).
- John Rohde of The Oklahoman shares insight from Thunder coach Scott Brooks on the team's cuts and its decision to keep DeAndre Liggins. "With DeAndre, we felt that his size, his athleticism, his defensive toughness is something we are intrigued with and we like," the coach said.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio saw Hollis Thompson play Thomas Robinson evenly while both were in college last season, and believes Thompson, whom the Thunder let go today, should wind up with another NBA team (Twitter link).
- The Rockets still must waive three players, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle points to reasons why Jon Brockman, JaJuan Johnson and Gary Forbes could be the ones to go.
- HoopsWorld's Derek Page checks in with Mavs waiver claim Eddy Curry, and wonders whether his 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in Friday's preseason game against the Bobcats might have been enough for him to win a roster spot.
- Shavlik Randolph and Steven Gray are likely out of the discussion to make the Wizards opening night roster, but Earl Barron is making a late push for a spot, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post examines.
Lakers Cut Goudelock, Will Waive Johnson-Odom
The Lakers have waived Andrew Goudelock, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports the team will also waive fellow camp invitee Darius Johnson-Odom, who has a deal lined up with the Ukrainian club Azovmash Mariupol. The subtraction of both players, who were on non-guaranteed deals, will leave the Lakers with a roster count of 14, one fewer than the regular-season limit.
The Lakers took Goudelock with the 46th overall pick in the 2011 draft, and the 6'3" guard was in the team's rotation early last season, when he wound up averaging 4.4 points in 10.5 minutes per game with an 8.4 PER. A deeper backcourt in L.A. this year squeezed him out, however. Johnson-Odom, also a 6'3" guard, was the 55th overall pick in this year's draft, but didn't get much time in the preseason, averaging just 1.5 PPG in 4.8 MPG over four contests.
The moves appear to signal Robert Sacre, the team's only other player on a non-guaranteed deal, has made the team. The Lakers could opt to carry only 13 players, though, and if they do so, or decide to sign someone else, they could cut Sacre anytime between now and January 10th without being on the hook for a full season's salary.
Johnson-Odom To Sign In Ukraine
Earlier this week it was reported that Darius Johnson-Odom would soon be waived by the Lakers. According to Sportando.net he's going to Ukraine to play for Azovmash Mariupol. The 6'2" guard averaged 18.3 PPG with Marquette last season.
Steve Nash Talks Free Agency, Raptors, Knicks
Since he agreed to a three-year deal with the Lakers and was signed-and-traded to a division rival by the Suns earlier this summer, Steve Nash has discussed the move with a handful of reporters, explaining his motives for choosing Los Angeles. In a lengthy interview with Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, Nash expanded a bit on his free agent experience, among many other topics. The interview is worth a read in its entirety, but here are the key quotes from Nash on his free agency:
On whether there's been a backlash since he decided to sign with the Lakers:
"From Phoenix? Yeah, a little bit. But I’ve felt some backlash but I’ve also felt an overwhelming amount of support. There are people that are pissed off that I came here to the enemy but, to me, this opportunity ticked all the boxes after Phoenix didn’t want me to come back. That’s the thing that I think some fans don’t realize or don’t understand, an offer was never made…. So am I supposed to pass up an opportunity to play on a great team, be in a great city and be an hour from the kids just because? For me, my kids trump everything."
On having had the chance to sign with the Raptors:
"Toronto was a very special opportunity to me because, I mean, when they came to recruit me, it’s Bryan [Colangelo] who I’ve known my whole career; Jay Triano, recruited me in high school and who is a very close friend and our national team coach; Marc Eversley, who was my Nike rep way back and now an executive for the Raptors and very close friend of mine; Johnny Lee, who is a very close friend of mine, manager on the Olympic team. It’s hard when it’s a room full of people you care about to say no to that…. Let alone the fact I love Toronto as a city, it’s home in many ways and I would have been proud to play for the Raptors and in front of those fans and to try to move the ball forward a little bit with that franchise; that was exciting."
On weighing the Knicks' offer against the Lakers' and Raptors':
"The Knicks opportunity was exciting; I’ve been in New York for 10 summers, always wanted to play in the Garden for the Knicks in some way and I have so many friends in the city now living there. Just the challenge of playing the Garden even though it’s been such a tumultuous environment recently, it still was an exciting proposition just to experience it. They have a lot of talent, too…. I would have been happy to go to either and I would have been thrilled to play in Toronto."
On whether his decision was made when the Lakers began to show serious interest:
"It wasn’t over because there were factors. We started talking to the Lakers, had to get them to sign off on a third year (of a contract) and the Suns had to sign off on a sign-and-trade, which was very difficult and took almost two days."
On why the Lakers loading up on stars didn't inspire as strong a backlash as when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami:
"I think it’s a different situation. I think the way that it was handled was different, I think always the first time is the hardest when something like that happens and people get over it. I think it’s slightly different."
Odds & Ends: Wiggins, Howard, Bynum, Kings
With David Stern's retirement at the forefront of talks this week at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings, a number of other topics being pushed to the back burner. One such subject, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, is the issue of advertising on uniforms. The NBA's owners have agreed to table the issue for now, and likely won't revisit it until the board meets again in April, says Berger (Twitter links). Here are a few more odds and ends from around the league:
- Andrew Wiggins' father tells Eric Prisbell of USA Today that he expects his son to reclassify and play college basketball next season (hat tip to RealGM.com). Wiggins would then be eligible to enter the 2014 NBA draft, where he's expected to be perhaps the No. 1 pick.
- Appearing on 98.7 FM in New York, Dwight Howard confirmed that he "really wanted" the Magic to trade him to the Nets last year. Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com has the details.
- The Sixers need a healthy Andrew Bynum over the long term, which means that in the short term, it's wise not to rush him back into action, says Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- A 7% stake in the Kings, held by bankrupt Sacramento developer Bob Cook, is expected to be auctioned off, reports Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. It will be available to any of the team's current owners, including the Maloofs, or an outsider.
- Even though it was amnestied off the Magic's cap, Gilbert Arenas' contract still ranks at the top of Justin Verrier's ESPN.com list of the 10 worst contracts in the NBA.
- With the deadline for rookie-scale option decisions looming, Rob Mahoney of SI.com looks at five second-year players in need of a turnaround this season.
- In his daily mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman explains why the Heat haven't been seriously linked to free agent big man Mehmet Okur.
Western Notes: Blazers, West, Sacre, Iguodala
According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is hoping Nicolas Batum can increase his scoring this season like Eric Gordon did in his third year, when his PPG jumped from 16.9 to 22.3. If Batum can take that sort of step forward, Olshey says he has reason to be optimistic about the Blazers' future.
"I'm not putting a number on Nic, but if Nic can make a jump, if Wes [Matthews] can make a jump, if L.A. [LaMarcus Aldridge] can just be L.A., and Damian [Lillard] can be who we think he has the ability to be, we're not that far away," Olshey said. "And having a lottery pick potentially, and three second [round picks], and having $13MM in room potentially, is a pretty good position to be in eight months from now."
Here are a few more updates from around the Western Conference:
- The Mavericks have indefinitely suspended Delonte West again for conduct detrimental to the team, the club announced today in a press release. As Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets, it seems likely this suspension will last longer than West's last one did.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News thinks Mavericks rookie Bernard James, the third pick of the second round this June, could use some D-League seasoning.
- Robert Sacre is moving closer to locking up a spot on the Lakers roster, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post believes Andre Iguodala, who can invoke an early termination option for 2013/14, will instead sign a long-term deal with the Nuggets.
- Even after waiving Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown, the Spurs won't necessarily keep Josh Powell on their regular season roster, but Powell tells Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he thinks he's shown the team enough to warrant consideration.
Western Notes: Jordan, Lakers, Suns, Blazers
Back in August, when we asked Hoops Rumors readers for their Rookie of the Year pick, over 44% of about 1,050 voters selected Anthony Davis, making him the top choice by far. Davis is off to a promising start, averaging a double-double in five preseason games and making a strong impression on Hornets coach Monty Williams.
"He’s just a coach’s dream," Williams said, according to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. "He handles the situations with wisdom that’s beyond his years. He listens, he’s humble, and yet he still has an edge…. He’s going to be pretty special if he continues to work and allow himself to be coached the way he has so far. He’s just an amazing kid."
Here are a few more of today's notes from around the Western Conference:
- A number of recent reports have linked Jerome Jordan to teams in China, but for now Jordan is still hoping to make the Grizzlies' regular season roster, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "I know my agent has been talking to a bunch of teams. You know, as a worst-case scenario," Jordan said. "I don't know if there's a deal, per se, in China. But it's about making it in the NBA this year. I'm about trying to make it in the league and establish myself. I want to be around a long time."
- The Lakers are expected to waive second-round pick Darius Johnson-Odom soon, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Making an educated guess, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic predicts that Luke Zeller and Diante Garrett will earn spots on the Suns, and explains his reasoning.
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if two players under contract with the Spurs, Wesley Witherspoon and JaMychal Green, will be released soon to join San Antonio's D-League affiliate.
- Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts says he expects to keep Nolan Smith as the team's backup point guard over Coby Karl, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets. Karl himself indicated this week that he's bracing for news of his release.
- ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) wouldn't be surprised if the Blazers consider moving Wesley Matthews at this season's trade deadline.