Eastern Notes: Iverson, Monroe, Bucks, Heat
As the Heat prepare to face the Nets for the first time since Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce headed to Brooklyn, LeBron James discussed the ex-Celtics who were critical of Ray Allen signing with Miami a year ago.
“I think the first thing I thought was ‘Wow, Ray got killed for leaving Boston and now these guys are leaving Boston,'” James said, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “I think it’s OK, I didn’t mind it. But there were a couple guys who basically (expletive) on Ray for leaving and now they’re leaving. That’s the nature of our business, man. I don’t know what Boston was going through at the end of the day. I know Ray had to make the best decision for him and his family and his career. Doc [Rivers], KG and Paul did that as well. You can’t criticize someone who does something that’s best for their family.”
As we look forward to a preseason matchup that could be an early preview of an Eastern Conference playoff series, let’s round up a few other items from around the East….
- Confirming that Allen Iverson will indeed announce his retirement later this month, NBA.com’s David Aldridge reports that the former MVP may wind up taking a post-playing job with the Sixers.
- Nothing has changed on the Greg Monroe front, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, who writes that the Pistons and Monroe are still highly unlikely to reach an agreement on a long-term extension within the next couple weeks.
- When it became clear that Brandon Jennings wasn’t interested in re-signing in Milwaukee, the Bucks got what they could for him, and according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a couple of those young players who came over in the deal with the Pistons are looking good so far this fall.
- Even with Greg Oden suffering a setback and Chris Andersen dealing with a foot issue, the Heat aren’t likely to keep a player like Justin Hamilton on their roster, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, pointing to Joel Anthony as the club’s insurance policy.
NBA Hopefuls: Graham, Carr, Addison, D-League
As we creep closer to the time when NBA teams begin to whittle down their rosters, let’s take a look at some NBA hopefuls, current and future, that are presently making news:
- Stephen Graham, currently in camp with the Bucks, is determined to land a contract that keeps him in the NBA this season after floating between the D-League and overseas since the NBA lockout, writes Shams Charania of RealGM, who adds that Milwaukee already has 15 players on guaranteed deals. While he never found a permanent home in the NBA, Graham did spend time on seven teams in six seasons in the NBA before the Nets waived him in 2011.
- Aquille Carr, the 20-year-old phenom from Baltimore who was previously playing in China, has signed a D-League contract for this season in an attempt to prepare himself for the 2014 NBA Draft, writes Gino Pilato of the D-League Digest. As Pilato notes, Carr is following in the footsteps of Glen Rice Jr., who spent a season in the D-League after getting booted from Georgia Tech’s basketball team and ended up being drafted 35th and traded to the Wizards. Commissioner David Stern recently boasted of the improvement of the D-League when it comes to developing young players.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside takes a look at 26-year-old Brian Addison, who was one of a handful of players that stood out to the Knicks at last month’s tryout for their D-League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks. Addison, who went to Buffalo University, has played professionally in Portugal, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- In a separate post, Schlosser reports the names of five players who are set to enter next month’s D-League Draft: Kyle Hunt, Orion Outerbridge, Jamine Peterson, Akeem Ellis and Derick Beltran. Schlosser also mentions Dami Sapara and Ahmad Aasiya-Bey as two talented prospects who have already stated their intentions to join the league.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Celtics, Sixers, Bucks
Mike Dunleavy was one of the first free agents to come off the board this July, inking a two-year deal with the Bulls worth the taxpayer’s mid-level exception. And as he tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, he isn’t regretting his decision.
“Everything I was hoping for, whether it be playing for [Tom Thibodeau] or playing with Derrick [Rose], has been better than I expected,” Dunleavy said. “And I had heard great things.”
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Within that same Tribune piece, Johnson suggests that Mike James is the probable frontrunner to be the Bulls‘ 13th man, while Dexter Pittman is also a candidate.
- The Bulls are prepared to move on from Marquis Teague, who probably could be had for cheap, according to Mark Deeks at The Score. Deeks says that Teague’s increased playing time in the team’s most recent preseason game was meant to be a showcase for potential suitors.
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld examines the Celtics and Rajon Rondo in his latest column, wondering if keeping Rondo through the 2013/14 season could slow down Boston’s rebuilding plan.
- Hollis Thompson is a long shot to make the Sixers on his non-guaranteed deal, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who examines the former Georgetown Hoya’s quest to beat the odds.
- Meanwhile, after tweeting yesterday that Vander Blue and Khalif Wyatt may be battling for a single Sixers roster spot, Tom Moore of Calkins Media goes into more depth on the competition, with quotes on both players from head coach Brett Brown.
- Not only is Larry Drew in his first year on the Bucks‘ bench, but he’ll have to “bring a whole new team together,” as he tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The team has yet to finalize its 15-man roster, but when it does, 11 of Milwaukee’s 15 players figure to be new additions.
- Julyan Stone is making a strong case to be the Raptors‘ 15th man, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Eastern Notes: Aldrich, Anderson, Crawford
Five of the seven teams that are at the offseason roster limit of 20 players reside in the Eastern Conference, so the Sixers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Heat and Knicks will be making plenty of moves between now and October 26th, the deadline for teams to place their camp cuts on waivers. Here’s the latest from the East as cut-down day approaches:
- Cole Aldrich chose to sign with the Knicks over the Bulls, Kings and Pistons, and though coach Mike Woodson has criticized his play and the team appears to be looking for other backup centers, Aldrich is still favored to make the club, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Former first-round pick James Anderson is resurrecting his career and taking full advantage of the opportunity his non-guaranteed contract with the Sixers presents, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer details.
- Celtics teammates and coach Brad Stevens insist Jordan Crawford‘s reputation as a brash ball-hog is off-base, and they’re confident he has the passing ability to thrive as a combo guard as he enters the final year of his rookie scale contract, observes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Grantland’s Zach Lowe notes the high level of optimism surrounding the ex-Wizard (Twitter link).
- Bucks owner Herb Kohl is walking a fine line as he tries to secure public funding for a new arena in Milwaukee, and he and GM John Hammond are being careful to keep the team competitive while still overhauling the roster, as Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel examines.
- Quincy Acy is about to start the last guaranteed season of his contract with the Raptors, and Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun chronicles the 2012 second-round pick’s efforts to crack the rotation before time runs out.
Western Notes: Ridnour, Blazers, Jazz, Mavs
HoopsWorld’s Jabari Davis looks at how five of the most compelling additions to Western Conference teams are already influencing their new franchises just a couple weeks into the preseason. One of them is Eric Bledsoe, who faces extra pressure with a Halloween deadline to work out an extension with the Suns. Phoenix’s front office already has plenty on its hands, needing to get rid of at least one fully guaranteed contract within the next two weeks. Point guard Ish Smith leads a tight race among voters in our poll on which of the 16 Suns with guaranteed deals is most likely to be waived. Here’s more news related to Western Conference teams:
- Luke Ridnour is with the Bucks this season, a fact his former coach with the Wolves regrets, notes Charles F. Garnder of the Journal Sentinel. “We didn’t really want to get rid of Luke,” Rick Adelman said. “We had to make some moves, and he was the one that everybody wanted, and I know why.”
- New Blazers point guards Mo Williams and Earl Watson both spent last season with the Jazz, but neither begrudges the team’s decision not to sign any of its free agents and instead focus on its youth, observes Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Brandan Wright‘s shoulder injury creates opportunities for others on the Mavericks, including Fab Melo and Renaldo Balkman, who are on non-guaranteed deals, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News examines.
Eastern Rumors: Udoh, Clark, Bargnani
Royce White this evening made his first appearance in any sort of NBA game since last preseason, and though the former first-round pick completed a nifty coast-to-coast layup, he committed four fouls in the span of a minute and 26 seconds. It’s questionable, at best, whether the Sixers will pick up his 2014/15 option by the deadline to do so at the end of this month, as Mark Deeks noted yesterday in a piece for SB Nation. Among the latest chatter out of the East, there’s word on another player who’s unlikely to get good news as a contract-related deadline approaches:
- Ekpe Udoh‘s name emerged in trade talks this past summer, which would seem to counter any slim chance he has of receiving an extension to his rookie scale contract before the October 31st deadline. His odds of an extension grew worse today as the Bucks announced that he’ll be sidelined as long as six weeks after undergoing right knee surgery.
- Earl Clark and coach Mike Brown only briefly worked together on the Lakers, but Clark says Brown’s presence in Cleveland was a major reason why the forward decided to sign with the Cavaliers, according to HoopsWorld’s Steve Kyler (Twitter link).
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal believes Andrea Bargnani won’t have any problems fitting in with Carmelo Anthony on the court, and posits that the three draft picks the Knicks gave up in the trade to acquire the former No. 1 overall pick can easily be recouped through future deals. I’d argue that it’s not so easy to acquire draft picks these days, given that the 2013 trade deadline passed without a single first-rounder changing hands.
- We rounded up a few items from the Central Division this afternoon.
East Notes: Bargnani, Cavs, Heat, Antetokounmpo
Let’s round up all of the links coming out of the Eastern Conference on Thursday night:
- In Canada for tomorrow night’s matchup with the Raptors, the Knicks, at this point in training camp, seem thrilled Toronto gave up on Andrea Bargnani this offseason, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post, who tabs head coach Mike Woodson as one of Bargnani’s biggest fans in the early going.
- Woodson also said on Thursday that rookie and No. 24 pick Tim Hardaway Jr. has “put himself in a nice position” to get minutes in the Knicks rotation, writes Al Iannazzone of the Long Island Newsday.
- Despite going undrafted in June, it sounds like Matthew Dellavedova is on track to make the Cavaliers‘ final roster as the third point guard, writes Bob Finnan of the Cleveland News-Herald. The Cavs signed the Saint Mary’s product to a two-year deal with a small guarantee about a month ago.
- Despite a shaky preseason debut on Tuesday, No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett says he is simply trying to find his groove after offseason shoulder surgery, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who adds that the highly-touted rookie is currently concentrated on improving his conditioning.
- Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report breaks down the five candidates in Miami with a chance to crack Erik Spoelstra’s nine-man, championship rotation: Michael Beasley, Rashard Lewis, Roger Mason Jr., James Jones and Joel Anthony. Skolnick also mentions Greg Oden, who may be a factor for the Heat in 2014.
- Greek import Giannis Antetokounmpo, who the Bucks took in June at No. 15, has flashed big-time talent two preseason games into his NBA career, tweets Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, who says some scouts adamantly labeled the “Greek Freak” a bust without giving him a sufficient look (Twitter links here).
Eastern Notes: Humphries, Bucks, Griffin
As preseason action gets underway and NBA teams adjust to new-look rosters, a few news items are trickling out of Eastern Conference camps. Let’s round up the latest….
- Kris Humphries recognizes that he’ll be a trade candidate for the Celtics this season, but tells Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald that he won’t let that be a distraction as long as he’s in Boston. “If you worry about the future, then you lose focus on what you have to do today, and that’s basketball,” Humphries said. “Anyone can be traded at any time unless you have a no-trade clause. That’s what it is.”
- In a piece for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Charles F. Gardner speaks to Bucks GM John Hammond about relying so heavily on free agency to build the team’s roster during the offseason.
- With Eric Griffin looking good in camp, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores the Heat‘s options for keeping Griffin either on the NBA roster or on their D-League affiliate.
- Chris Copeland didn’t go into free agency this past summer expecting to leave New York, but ended up signing with the Pacers for a handful of reasons, including his potential role, the team’s chance to win a title, and a raise in salary. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News has the details.
Central Links: Jennings, Rose, Datome
Pistons guard Brandon Jennings offered a response via the media to former teammate Larry Sanders, who recently said “he has to pass to them first” after being told about how Jennings was excited to play with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond in Detroit: “(Milwaukee) gave him $11 million, so he must be doing something right…Me and (Monta Ellis) had to take those shots. For us to even get to the (eighth) spot in the playoffs, we had to take those shots. It is what it is” (David Mayo of MLive.com). Here's more out of the Central Division tonight:
- According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Bulls superstar Derrick Rose is more pre-occupied about his conditioning in the pre-season opener against the Pacers rather than his surgically repaired knee: "You can run and condition yourself as much as possible, but it's nothing like getting out there and playing a game…I hope it's building my wind for it. In the future, I shouldn't have anything to worry about."
- In another piece from Mayo, Gigi Datome opens up about attending his first NBA training camp with the Pistons and some of his experiences so far: "The best players in the world are here, so everybody's more quick, more fast, more physical, and for sure also skilled…I'm going to get better, for sure, (and) have to get used to this as quick as possible."
- Caron Butler already appears to be relishing his leadership role on the Bucks and is enjoying his homecoming thus far in Wisconsin (NBA.com via the Associated Press).
- Jeffery Taylor hopes to continue the success he had over the summer with the Bobcats this season, writes Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer. Aside from a strong performance for Charlotte's summer league team in Las Vegas, the 6'7 swingman also emerged as Sweden's best player in the FIBA Eurobasket Tournament.
- In another Bobcats-related article, Rick Bonnell (also of the Charlotte Observer) takes a closer look at how forward Josh McRoberts has found his niche with the team.
Eastern Notes: Kirilenko, Bucks, Collins, Magic
Let's round up a few Tuesday items out of the Eastern Conference….
- In a column on the Nets' addition of Andrei Kirilenko, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report details the veteran forward's time on the open market, which initially saw him turn down overtures from the Nets. According to Zwerling, Kirilenko drew some interest from the Warriors and Spurs, and was in talks with three non-playoff teams for larger salaries before he reconsidered Brooklyn's mini mid-level offer.
- Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel rounds up several comments from Bucks owner Herb Kohl about the possibility of a new arena in Milwaukee, the offseason roster overhaul, and his aversion to tanking.
- ESPN.com's Marc Stein explains why Jason Collins isn't in camp with an NBA team, and identifies three clubs that could be fits for the big man once the season gets underway, including the Wizards and Nets.
- Player development is the primary focus in Orlando, but Magic executives tell Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that the team doesn't view developing young players and winning games as mutually exclusive.
- Pistons rookie forward Tony Mitchell is probably headed for a D-League stint at some point this season, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.