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Southeast Notes: Howard, Hawks, Wizards, Heat

January 4th, 2013 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Every Southeast team except the Magic is in action tonight, but before the evening's slate of games gets underway, here are a few Friday afternoon items from around the division:

The Magic don't intend to pursue Dwight Howard in free agency this summer, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, in perhaps the week's least surprising story. Robbins acknowledged via Twitter that Orlando likely wouldn't have had a shot at Howard anyway, but clarified that the team isn't even planning to try.
One Western Conference general manager told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that another Southeast team could be in the running for D12 this July, however. "I have it as Lakers, Dallas or Atlanta for Dwight," said the unnamed GM.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) examined the best possible fits for the Wizards in June's draft, eventually concluding that Shabazz Muhammad probably makes the most sense for Washington right now.
In today's mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addressed the possibility of the Heat acquiring Samuel Dalembert from the Bucks.

Amick’s Latest: Cousins, Evans, Heat, Bargnani

January 4th, 2013 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

In their Friday A-Z piece for USA Today, Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt lead off by examining a number of potential teams and players that could be involved in trade talks in the next few weeks. Most of the juicier rumors come from Amick, so we'll round up the highlights from his section of the piece right here:

Geoff Petrie has said that the Kings aren't interested in trading DeMarcus Cousins, and it seems as if that sentiment is now being conveyed privately as well as publicly, according to Amick. However, the Kings would be open to listening to offers on Tyreke Evans or anyone else besides Cousins.
The Celtics and Mavericks are two teams that could shake things up before the deadline — both clubs are underperforming and have been known to be aggressive pursuing upgrades in the past.
The Heat would like to add a big man, but don't really have the assets needed to make a deal.
Nolan Smith is a good candidate to be moved before the deadline by the Trail Blazers.
The Cavaliers and Clippers won't be eager to move Anderson Varejao and Eric Bledsoe, respectively, but both teams should receive plenty of offers on those players, says Amick, noting that the Cavs' poor record will only increase the pressure to make a move.
Both Amick and Zillgitt identify the Raptors' Andrea Bargnani as the biggest name likely to be on the move by February 21st.

Southeast Links: Heat, Wade, Harkless, Vucevic

January 3rd, 2013 at 8:46pm CST by Alex Lee

While none of the five teams that make up the Southeast division play on Thursday night, that doesn't mean things are quiet. Here are some links from around the division:

Lost in a dominant two seasons plus has been the relative mediocrity of the Heat on the road, writes Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports. While it obviously hasn't significantly hindered their overall success, Miami's players and coaches alike seem to think it is something they need to improve on.
Couper Moorhead breaks down the anatomy of a Dwyane Wade steal in a lengthy story on Heat.com. While his 1.2 steals-per-game average in 2012-13 is easily the lowest of his NBA career, Wade is normally one of the league's best ball thiefs.
Two of the pieces the Magic got for Dwight Howard appear to be, in the short term, headed in opposite directions, according to a story from Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Rookie Maurice Harkless is frustrated as his playing time has been slashed with the return of Hedo Turkoglu. Meanwhile, Nik Vucevic is thriving in his second year, particularly from a rebounding standpoint. The USC product had 20 points and 29 rebounds on New Year's Eve against the Heat.
While we heard earlier that ESPN's Marc Stein thinks DeMarcus Cousins would fit in Dallas, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that Cousins is "the wrong kind of personality" for what the Magic are building in Orlando.

Winderman On LeBron, Lewis, Anthony

January 1st, 2013 at 11:31am CST by Sean Highkin

The defending champion Miami Heat closed out 2012 with a dramatic overtime win over the Orlando Magic. Here are the latest rumors surrounding the team from Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Winderman is not worried about LeBron James leaving Miami in 2014 as a free agent, if the Heat win another championship in the next two seasons.
In a different column, Winderman writes that Rashard Lewis is not frustrated with his lack of playing time, with the veteran stating that he understands his role with the team.
Winderman adds that center Joel Anthony has been happy with his new involvement in the Heat's offense.

Odds & Ends: Nets, D-Will, Heat, Iguodala

December 31st, 2012 at 6:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets are looking to win their third straight game under P.J. Carlesimo tonight in San Antonio, and whether or not they can pull it out, the team appears to be in no rush to begin searching for a replacement for Carlesimo. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com echoes what we've heard over the last couple days, writing that the interim head coach will get a "legit shot" to finish the 2012/13 season. Phil Jackson remains Brooklyn's "dream hire," but the club recognizes that it's difficult to hire an established coach to take over mid-season (all Twitter links). As the Nets and Spurs play one of the final games of 2012, we'll take a look at a few Monday evening odds and ends:

According to Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops, Deron Williams is "a Ferrari with engine problems" at the moment, which is particularly troublesome after the Nets signed Williams to a five-year, maximum-salary contract over the summer. D-Will says Avery Johnson's dismissal was a big wake-up call for the team as a sign of "what happens when you lose" (Twitter link via Rod Boone of Newsday), so we'll see if the point guard's performance improves in the coming weeks.
Asked about the possibility of the Heat signing Kenyon Martin, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel suggests it's hard to argue that he wouldn't be an upgrade.
Despite being in a potential contract year, Andre Iguodala hasn't had to think about trade rumors this season, which has been a relief, as he tells Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.
The Celtics still have plenty of time to turn things around, and the impending return of Avery Bradley should provide a boost, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.

Odds & Ends: Martin, Roy, Allen, Brooks

December 29th, 2012 at 8:56pm CST by Ryan Raroque

If Kevin Martin has his way, anyone other than the Thunder will have a tough time signing him this summer, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The ninth-year veteran is averaging career bests in three point shooting (45.7%) and free throw shooting (93.2%) in addition to producing 15.8 PPG in 30.0 MPG. He is currently in the final year of his contract, and is slated to make nearly $12.4MM this season. Here are some more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

Despite recent reports that Phil Jackson wouldn't be interested in coaching the Nets, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops talks about why we probably haven't seen the last of the Zen Master just yet.
Cavaliers coach Byron Scott is confident about the front office's patience with him, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler tweeted that an Andrea Bargnani trade is inevitable since he is no longer in Toronto's long-term plans, and that the Raptors will only play him when he comes back in order to prove that he's healthy.
Kyler (via Twitter) also says that the Lakers aren't currently looking to trade any of their bench players and are more focused on continuing to establish rhythm, Bargnani's elbow injury effectively hurts any if not all of his trade value right now, and that the current feeling around Brooklyn is that P.J. Carlesimo will get a chance to finish the season if none of the candidates they want are available.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune shared some of David Kahn's comments on Brandon Roy's decision to undergo non-invasive treatment, noting that it would not be the same Regenokine therapy that Roy underwent last spring and that the upcoming process could take three to four weeks (Twitter links).
Shams Charania of RealGM says that Ray Allen was not contacted by the Bucks during the free agency period this past summer and admitted that he probably would not have considered a return to Milwaukee regardless.
Nets guard MarShon Brooks is hoping to capitalize on what appears to be a fresh start with coach P.J. Carlesimo after not being able to mesh with Avery Johnson, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Without much practice time, Carlesimo will have to rely on much of the same offensive schemes that the Nets players have been familiar with up to this point along with additional help from the assistant coaches as he continues to make a transition into his interim head coaching role (Roderick Boone of Newsday reports).
While the departure of Joe Johnson might have signaled a rebuilding year to some, the Hawks' climb to 3rd place in the East after 27 games has definitely contradicted that notion, writes Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.

Odds & Ends: LeBron, Balkman, Magic, Millsap

December 27th, 2012 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The teams with the best records in the NBA are hosting the only two games on the schedule tonight, as the 21-6 Thunder, facing the Mavericks, will look to bounce back from a Christmas Day loss, while the 22-6 Clippers set sights on their 15th straight win with the Celtics in town. As we look forward to those contests, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:

While many people around the NBA believe that LeBron James is considering an eventual return to the Cavaliers, SI.com's Ian Thomsen doesn't think that would necessarily be the best move for LeBron's career.
Ex-Knick Renaldo Balkman appears on his way to play in the Philippines in the new year, according to agent Sheryl Reyes (link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks back on 12 months of drastic change for the Magic.
Within his preview of a few 2013 NBA storylines, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com focuses on the big decisions coming in Los Angeles and David Stern's last full year as NBA commissioner.
Michael Scotto of RealGM.com talks to Paul Millsap about his contract situation, and speculates about possible suitors for the power forward next summer in free agency.
Russell Westbrook's five-year extension kicks in this season, and The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson argues that his ability to overcome lapses is the key to the future for the Thunder.
Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game takes to Sulia to explore why GMs like the Rockets' Daryl Morey receive more praise than less media-friendly GMs with comparable track records like David Kahn of the Timberwolves.
Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com warns Trail Blazers fans not to get too attached to J.J. Hickson, suggesting the team's best move may involve moving him before the trade deadline. We rounded up a few rumors relating to Hickson and the Blazers this morning.

D-League Moves: Tony Wroten, Dexter Pittman

December 26th, 2012 at 5:35pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll use this space to track the day's D-League assignments and recalls. If you want to keep tabs on all of this season's D-League moves, be sure to check out our complete list.

The Grizzlies have re-assigned Tony Wroten to the Reno Bighorns, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter). It's the second assignment of the season for the first-round pick, who was sent to the D-League on November 27th before being recalled on December 17th.
The Heat have sent Dexter Pittman to their D-League affiliate, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). According to coach Erik Spoelstra, Pittman will spent several weeks with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Pittman, Miami's 32nd overall pick in the 2010 draft, played in 35 games for the club last year, even starting six contests. However, he hasn't been able to crack the rotation this season, appearing briefly in just four of the Heat's 25 games so far.

Latest On DeMarcus Cousins

December 26th, 2012 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings lifted DeMarcus Cousins' suspension on Monday after just two days, but that doesn't mean the big man will immediately return to the court for Sacramento. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter), Cousins is not with the team in Portland for tonight's game, a decision made by coach Keith Smart.

The move seems to signal that Smart wasn't prepared to reinstate Cousins so soon after his "indefinite" suspension ended, something that Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty discussed earlier today. Zeller pointed out that Smart's comments, in which he indicated that Cousins may not play right away, suggested that the coach "isn't on board with bringing D.M.C. out of the corner just yet."

While the Kings figure out what to do with Cousins on the court, there's still speculation that the club could explore trading the former fifth overall pick. In his weekly chat, ESPN.com's Chad Ford predicted that new agent Dan Fegan will be "pushing hard" for a trade, and hears that there's a split between the Kings' front office and ownership about what the team would want in return.

According to Ford, the Celtics are one team that could pursue Cousins, with the Pistons, Heat, and Mavericks among the other clubs that have "a lot of interest."

Southeast Notes: Bosh, Wizards, Varnado, Heat

December 24th, 2012 at 11:45am CST by Sean Highkin

An early roundup of links from around the Southeast Division on Christmas Eve:

Israel Gutierrez of ESPN.com writes that Chris Bosh has proven skeptics wrong after facing criticism when he teamed with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami in 2010.
David Aldridge of NBA.com writes that several Wizards players are frustrated with the team's struggles this season and are questioning whether the team has a direction.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Ira Winderman wonders whether the Heat will regret letting Jarvis Varnado sign with the Celtics if he has more success than Miami's Dexter Pittman.
Winderman has the same question about Wizards signee Garrett Temple, whom the Heat Let go in favor of Terrel Harris.
Shelvin Mack was surprised the Wizards were the team to call him up from the D-League, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post.