Odds & Ends: Blazers, Pacers, Heat, Harangody
With six more games yet to be played this Saturday evening, let's take a look at the latest news and happenings from around the league before tonight's action gets underway.
- Comcast SportsNet NW's Chris Haynes tweets the Blazers have not yet interviewed the team's acting general manager Chad Buchanan for an opportunity to secure the position for next season and beyond.
- While the Pacers are on track to secure the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the team hasn't enjoyed the same kind of success with selling tickets to home games this season, writes Benjamin Hoffman of The New York Times. Hoffman points to the fact that the Pacers lack a superstar talent like a LeBron James or a Kobe Bryant that helps drive ticket sales. The team's lack of popularity also exists on the road where fans are more likely to be wearing a Reggie Miller jersey than one featuring Danny Granger's name on the back.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, writing in his mailbag column, believes this offseason will be critical to the Heat's development of Dexter Pittman, Norris Cole and Terrel Harris. The trio will be able to play in the Las Vegas summer league unlike last summer in which the lockout kept basketball from being played in Sin City. Only Cole, as a first-round pick from last year, has a guaranteed contract for next season.
- The Cavs will send Luke Harangody back to the D-League after tonight's game against the Wizards, reports Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer via Twitter.
Odds & Ends: Moore, League, Blazers, Heat
At a presser at the NBA Board of Governors meetings yesterday, commissioner David Stern introduced new Hornets owner Tom Benson and addressed a number of other issues. Here's more news out of the BoG meetings and other links from around the league..
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld looked at the best and worst case cap scenarios for teams in the Eastern Conference this summer.
- The Warriors might be looking at bringing back Mikki Moore, tweets Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside.
- The league expects that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will not only reduce league losses but will actually result in a profit for the 2012/13 season, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- In addition to considering advertisements on jerseys to increase revenue, the NBA will also explore opportunities in the secondary ticket market, Zillgitt tweets.
- Delonte West confirmed to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that his former agent Noah Croom did in fact interview for the Trail Blazers vacant GM job. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first reported the news on Tuesday but Blazers president Larry Miller declined comment.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel looks back at the time Lamar Odom and Antoine Walker spent in South Beach. Odom will be looking for a new team this summer while it's the end of the line for Walker.
- Hornets guard Xavier Henry told John Reid of The Times-Picayune (video link) that the team is happy about new owner Tom Benson. Earlier today we learned that Carl Landry is more inclined to sign a long-term deal with the club now that their ownership situation is resolved.
Southeast Notes: Maggette, Odom, Wade, Wittman
Eastern Conference playoff seeding will be on the line the next two nights, with a focus on Southeast teams. Tonight, the Heat take on the Bulls in what is a must-win game if Miami wants a shot at the East's top seed. Tomorrow night, the Hawks and Magic, who have identical 34-24 records, play in Orlando in a game Dwight Howard is expected to miss. While we await what should be some good on-court action, let's catch up on the latest off-court updates out of the Southeast Division….
- In a press release, the Bobcats announced that Corey Maggette will miss the rest of the season with an ongoing right Achilles injury. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer wonders if Maggette has played his last game for the Bobcats, identifying the veteran as a potential amnesty candidate.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel thinks the Heat could be a good fit for Lamar Odom, if Odom was willing to accept a significant pay cut to come to Miami next season.
- After saying yesterday that he believed players should be compensated for playing in the Olympics, Dwyane Wade backtracked on those comments today. The Heat star released a statement clarifying that he didn't want to be paid to play for Team USA in London this summer.
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman isn't worried about his fate for next season, telling Michael Lee of the Washington Post that "whatever happens, happens."
Southeast Notes: Silas, Wade, Wizards, Seraphin
The Hawks head into Boston tonight on a three-game winning streak and a half-game ahead of the Magic in the Southeast Division. As Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes, it may not be a bad thing for the Magic if the standings hold their current position. Currently the East's sixth seed, the Magic would face the third-place Pacers if the season ended today, and Robbins figures the Pacers are the best matchup for Orlando among the East's present playoff squads.
While we wait to see how the playoff seeding shakes out, let's check in on the latest from the Southeast….
- Bobcats coach Paul Silas hasn't heard indications from Charlotte management whether he'll be back on the team's bench next season. Silas tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he's okay with the uncertainty, but would like to continue coaching the club because he "wouldn't want to leave things as they are" (Twitter links).
- Echoing comments made by Ray Allen, Heat star Dwyane Wade told Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that he also believes players should be compensated for playing in the Olympics.
- Discussing the recent contributions from Cartier Martin and James Singleton, Wizards coach Randy Wittman joked that next year all his players will be on 10-day contracts, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Earlier this afternoon, I named Martin and Singleton as two of the best 10-day signings of 2012.
- Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis wrote the following on his blog, Ted's Take: "A lot of general managers around the league are now asking; 'How did we not draft Kevin Seraphin and how did he fall so far in the draft?' Kudos to our scouts. And congratulations to Kevin Seraphin for taking advantage of his minutes and playing with hustle and showing off his gifts. Both Kevin Seraphin and Jordan Crawford were a part of our series of transactions around the Kirk Hinrich trades."
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Brooks, Heat
Beyond the Knicks playing host to the Bulls this afternoon, the Heat will take on the Pistons while the Celtics defend their homecourt against a struggling Sixers squad. The Heat have played exceptionally well at home as they hold the best record in the NBA at 23-3 when they get to play their games in Miami. Let's take a look around the Eastern Conference to see what headlines are being made on this Easter Sunday.
- No longer in playoff contention, the Cavs will be tinkering with their lineup as the season winds down with hopes of figuring out which players will have a long-term future with the team, writes Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer. Equipped with four picks in the upcoming draft, the remainder of the season will be used to give players an opportunity show what role they may be best suited for heading into next season. This may ultimately spell decreased minutes for a veteran like Antawn Jamison, who's future with the club remains uncertain.
- Colin Stephenson of The Star-Ledger reports Nets guard MarShon Brooks would have been a part of a potential deal for Dwight Howard that was on the table at the trade deadline. While Brooks says that he didn't let any rumors affect his play, knowing that he will remain with the Nets at least for the rest of the season is a comforting feeling. The 23-year-old former Providence star has had an up-and-down rookie campaign in which he is currently averaging 12.3 PPG.
- The lack of a quality backup point guard has hurt the Heat especially when dealing with more athletic guards who can get to the basket quickly, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Turiaf Discusses Heat, Celtics, Pietrus, Wilcox
It was a busy March for Ronny Turiaf, who was traded from the Wizards to the Nuggets in the Nene/JaVale McGee blockbuster, then was waived by Denver. After clearing waivers, Turiaf reportedly drew interest from than ten teams before he ended up signing with the Heat, where he saw his first on-court action since January 1st.
Turiaf spoke to Peter May of ESPN Boston before yesterday's Heat/Celtics contest about how close he came to choosing Boston over Miami, along with a few other topics:
- Turiaf chose the Heat after narrowing his options down to "two or three teams." The Celtics were one of those finalists and the big man strongly considered choosing Boston: "Boston was a team I was very, very interested in by the simple fact of the way they play defense, that they are being coached by a future Hall of Famer coach and they have Hall of Fame basketball players on their squad. It was very appealing to me."
- It would have been "very special" to play with fellow Frenchman Mickael Pietrus in Boston, says Turiaf. Perhaps the two friends will get a chance to play together in the future. Pietrus is on an expiring contract, while Turiaf has a small player option with Miami that he may turn down.
- After they missed out on Turiaf, the Celtics signed Ryan Hollins, waiving Chris Wilcox to clear a roster spot. Turiaf says he's been meaning to reach out to Wilcox, who underwent surgery for a heart ailment: "That’s something that’s very, very important to me. I have talked to many, many people about what it’s like to go through this ordeal."
Winderman On Cole, Bosh, Free Agency
The Heat head to Boston on Sunday afternoon to take on the Celtics in what could potentially be a playoff preview. Today's game marks the first of three between the two squads during the month of April after the Heat knocked off the Celtics at the beginning of the season. Let's check in with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman for the latest on the Heat.
- Winderman says that the Heat have made the right decision by sticking with backup point guard Norris Cole during his rough patches rather than turning to an unknown entity like Terrel Harris. Cole, a rookie out of Cleveland State, has struggled to run Erik Spoelstra's offense this season while still managing to score 7.1 PPG in just under 20 minutes per contest.
- While the Heat lack a true center, Winderman contends the easiest path to a championship is taken by accumulating the best players possible rather than considering their respective positions. As such, trading a player like Chris Bosh for a mid-level center would not be the best move the Heat could make to move them closer to achieving their goal of a winning a ring.
- There's been a great deal of talk recently from upcoming free agents expressing interest in joining the Heat. From Steve Nash to Jason Terry, the desire to come to South Beach is there, but Winderman questions whether it's really just talk once it comes down to actually signing a contract for less than market value.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Kidd, Van Gundy, Thibodeau
Linkage from around the Association..
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld wonders if the teams that have yet to use the amensty provision will pull the trigger this summer and looks at some potential candidates.
- Hawks forward Josh Smith had some rough patches with Mike Woodson in Atlanta but says that he's happy for his former coach's success with the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
- Sources close to Jason Kidd told Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that the guard wouldn't be opposed to staying with the Mavericks next season in a reduced role. Kidd also told Kennedy that he would someday like to become a general manager.
- More from Kennedy as a growing number of people within the Magic organization believe that Stan Van Gundy will quit after this season, mainly because he doesn’t want deal with the Dwight Howard circus again next season.
- ESPN's Chris Broussard (video link) could see former Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni possibly landing with the Clippers and has also heard his name linked to the Wizards.
- Pacers guard George Hill says that he was emotional when he first learned of the trade that sent him from the Spurs to Indiana, writes Mike Monroe of the Express-News. Hill, 25, is averaging 9.4 points in 23.9 minutes per contest this season.
- The Bulls players hope to see coach Tom Thibodeau get the contract extension that he seeks, writes Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel thinks that the Heat should use their $3MM mid-level exception this summer to add a big man.
Rasheed Wallace Unlikely To Play This Season
Barring "a sudden change of heart," it doesn't appear Rasheed Wallace will come out of retirement to sign with a contender, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
Wallace worked out for the Heat earlier this season, and at one point was rumored to be on the verge of joining the Lakers. Miami used its final roster spot to sign big man Ronny Turiaf — the Lakers still have an empty spot, but don't seem to be actively looking to fill it.
Wallace last appeared in an NBA game in the 2010 Finals for Boston against the Lakers. While he hasn't played in the league in almost two years, The 37-year-old was still moderately productive during his final season with the Celtics, averaging 9.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 13.1 PER in 22.5 MPG over the course of 79 games.
Odds & Ends: Terry, Hill, Parker, Bulls
Let's round up a few Friday morning links….
- According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Jason Terry won't be willing to take a discount to stay with the Mavericks. Terry, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would prefer to remain in Dallas, but at a fair market price, says Kyler. Terry said yesterday that he'd be interested in signing with the Heat this summer, so I wonder if the no-discount stance applies to them as well — as a taxpaying team, Miami couldn't make Terry a very significant offer.
- Suns forward Grant Hill will undergo minor knee surgery and could miss the rest of the regular season, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Retirement is becoming a distinct possibility for Anthony Parker, says Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. As he has said before, the veteran Cavalier will weigh his options, including retiring, at season's end: "It's not something I've decided on. Obviously, it will be decided after the season."
- In a mailbag for Bulls.com, Sam Smith fields readers' questions on Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Joakim Noah, and more.