Southeast Notes: Heat, Magic, Bobcats
With the Miami Heat defending their title and the presence of two top-five lottery picks, Washington's Bradley Beal and Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the Southeast figures to be one of the most exciting divisions in the NBA in the 2012/13 season. Here are the latest updates from around the division on Saturday afternoon:
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel passes along word from various scouts on how to stop the Heat this season.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the geographical distance between the Magic and their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls SkyForce. Robbins writes that this may impact their decision to send rookies DeQuan Jones and Kyle O'Quinn down to develop.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer has a new column about the Bobcats' expectations going into this season, which include finding a point guard and maximizing the talent they acquired in the 2012 draft.
- Bonnell also wrote player capsules examining the strengths and weaknesses of every player on the Bobcats' roster.
Atlantic Rumors: Rivers, Allen, Nets, Knicks
Celtics coach Doc Rivers weighed in on Ray Allen's departure from the team in a radio interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, as Brian Robb of Celtics Hub transcribes (hat tip to ESPNBoston.com), but Allen is anxious to move past his acrimonius departure from Boston, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com writes. Here's the rest of the day's news from Atlantic Division clubs.
- A spokesperson for Mikhail Prokhorov insists the billionaire's return to politics won't have any bearing on his ownership of the Nets, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Deron Williams believes the Knicks got a better point guard when they switched out Jeremy Lin for Raymond Felton this summer, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post documents.
- With Amare Stoudemire sidelined up to five weeks, Rasheed Wallace would seem to be in line for a more significant role than originally planned for the veteran who appears to have made the Knicks on a non-guaranteed deal, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Still, it's unclear whether Wallace will be in condition to play by this week's opener.
- While delivering some parting shots to outgoing commissioner David Stern, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News says the Sixers face as significant a decision as any in the league about whether to re-sign Andrew Bynum, and adds that the team would be "crazy" to commit major money to him right now.
- Andray Blatche has made the Nets opening-night roster on a non-guaranteed deal, but in the wake of taunts from Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, Blatche knows he'll continue to face criticism for last year's subpar play with the Wizards, as Roderick Boone of Newsday examines.
- Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com passes along Rivers' reflections on the last five seasons with the Celtics.
- A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks at how a deep bench could serve the Celtics well.
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.
Heat Cut Garrett Temple
The Heat have waived point guard Garrett Temple, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Twitter link). The move brings Miami's roster to the regular-season limit of 15. Terrel Harris, Josh Harrellson, Dexter Pittman and James Jones, all thought to be competing for a roster spot at one time or another, appear as though they've made it to opening night. Winderman believes the good health of starting point guard Mario Chalmers made Temple expendable (Twitter link).
Heat Waive Rodney Carney, Jarvis Varnado
The Heat have cut a pair of camp invitees, waiving Rodney Carney and Jarvis Varnado, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (via Twitter). The move reduces Miami's roster to 16 players, meaning at least one more player will have to be released before Monday.
As Tomasson adds in a second tweet, the news bodes well for Josh Harrellson, who appears to have made the roster. Guards Terrel Harris and Garrett Temple will likely be battling for the final roster spot, with the odd man out being the last player cut. Nothing is set in stone yet, however, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets, noting not to rule out Juwan Howard.
Carney looked strong at times during the preseason with the Heat, finishing with 6.8 PPG in five games. Varnado didn't appear in any of the team's preseason contests due to a hamstring issue. Both players will become unrestricted free agents when they clear waivers.
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.
Odds & Ends: Harrington, Heat, Celtics, Christmas
Six days from today, we'll be gearing up for an opening night that includes a showdown in Miami between the two odds-on favorites in the Eastern Conference. As we continue to count down the days until the 2012/13 regular season tips off, let's round up a few links from around the NBA, including some Heat and Celtics notes….
- Al Harrington probably doesn't fit into the Magic's long-term plans, but his recovery from knee surgery is important for Orlando, since the team likely wants to showcase him in advance of the trade deadline, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
- Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida spoke to a few former Celtics stars about Ray Allen's decision to leave Boston for the Heat.
- While the decisions at the back of the roster may be difficult, the Heat are unlikely to cut a player with a guaranteed contract to make room for a non-guaranteed player, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe takes a look at the acclimation process for the Celtics' offseason acquisitions.
- Dionte Christmas, recently released by the Celtics, is drawing interest from Greek team Olympiacos, according to a Sports24.gr report (translation via Sportando).
- At ESPN.com, David Thorpe makes his picks for the NBA's top five most potent duos (Insider link), while Kevin Arnovitz examines five teams he believes are at a crossroads.
Jazz, Raja Bell End Buyout Negotiations
WEDNESDAY, 8:03am: According to Rudoy, while he confirmed that he's no longer talking to the Jazz about a buyout for Bell, he didn't say the team is now working on trade scenarios involving his client.
"Absolutely not," Rudoy told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. "I was asked if we are discussing a buyout and I said 'no.' The rest is pure speculation. There is no trade talk that I know about."
TUESDAY, 2:08pm: The Jazz and Raja Bell are no longer discussing the possibility of the team buying out the final year of Bell's contract, agent Herb Rudoy tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com. According to Rudoy, the two sides have moved past buyout negotiations, and are now talking about potential trade scenarios involving his client.
The week before training camps officially got underway, we heard that the Jazz and Bell's camp had agreed that it was "in the best interest of all parties" if Bell didn't report to the team. With the regular season now just a week away, it doesn't appear that the two sides are a whole lot closer to resolving a situation that worsened last season when Bell clashed with coach Tyrone Corbin.
Bell is owed a guaranteed $3.48MM for 2012/13, the last season of his three-year contract. If the veteran guard and his agent had been able to line up an alternate destination for the 36-year-old, I imagine they would have been able to reach an agreement with Utah on a buyout. The end of buyout negotiations suggests to me that teams aren't exactly clamoring to acquire Bell, and that working out a trade will be difficult, but that's just my speculation.
Charania mentions the Lakers and Heat as potentially "viable destinations" for the 12-year veteran.
Odds & Ends: Rivers, Pierce, Grizzlies, Magic, Heat
The Hornets suffered a scare earlier this evening as rookie guard Austin Rivers injured his surgically-repaired right ankle in the first quarter of tonight's preseason game against the Mavericks. The 20-year-old was helped off the floor and was unable to put weight on the right leg, writes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune. Thankfully, Rivers' postgame X-rays came back negative, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Here's more from around the league…
- Celtics star Paul Pierce confessed to CSNNE's Mike Gorman that he considered moving on from Boston after last year's exit at the hands of the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Pierce now says that he has a hard time envisioning himself in another uniform.
- Robert Pera's bid to own the Grizzlies will be on the agenda Wednesday at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings in New York City, sources familiar with the process told Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal. To finalize the transaction, Pera will need to receive approval three-fourths of the league's majority owners. Pera has already made waves with a celebrity cast of minority partners including Justin Timberlake and Ashley Manning, the wife of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the roster crunch facing the Magic as the deadline approaches. Swingman Chris Johnson and point guard Armon Johnson are near locks to be cut in the coming days. That leaves combo forward Justin Harper, power forward Josh McRoberts and swingmen Christian Eyenga, DeQuan Jones, and Quentin Richardson to battle for the final two spots on the roster.
- Heat guard Dwyane Wade admitted that it's going to be a challenge to get all of the team's new talent to mesh, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. “We have a lot of guys that are so used to being kind of the main focus and not a lot of us are going to be the main focus now,’’ Wade said. “So that’s a challenge to see how we all can incorporate ourselves within our offense and keep each other happy.’’
Odds & Ends: Gibson, Kirilenko, Hawks, Rockets
With just eight days until the NBA regular season officially gets underway in Cleveland, Miami, and Los Angeles, let's round up a few updates from around the league….
- While Taj Gibson is hoping to get a long-term extension worked out with the Bulls, he's preparing for any outcome, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Discussing his free agency with Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld, Andrei Kirilenko explained that a number of factors went into his decision to sign with the Timberwolves: "I’m not just looking at one thing. Here, I found that all the pieces fit together. The contract is great, don’t get me wrong, but the team has made a big improvement from last year, and you know it’s a team on the way up, not on the way down or stuck. They’re growing up."
- The Hawks aren't sure whether they'll keep 13, 14, or 15 players on their roster, as coach Larry Drew tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Of the team's 16 players currently under contract, Vivlamore suggests Anthony Tolliver, Damion James, and James Anderson are the three on non-guaranteed deals. Tolliver's contract was previously reported as being fully guaranteed, so it's unclear exactly what his situation is.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey appeared on KBME in Houston and discussed offseason additions Carlos Delfino and Omer Asik, as Eric Schmoldt of Sports Radio Interviews documents.
- With Spurs coach Gregg Popovich having indicated that Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown are the frontrunners for the team's final roster spot, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News gives the edge to Curry.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel isn't sure if there's a place for Joel Anthony on the Heat's current roster and wonders if a trade might make sense.