Central Notes: Waiters, Bucks, Young
Here are a few notes from around the NBA's Central Division.
- Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott has told Dion Waiters—who Cleveland selected with the fourth overall pick in this year's draft—he will have to earn a spot in the team's starting rotation, reports FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico.
- NBA.com's Truman Reed believes that if the Bucks can replicate their defensive performance from two seasons ago, then combine it with their offensive output last year, they'll make the playoffs in 2012/13.
- Mark Montieth from Pacers.com writes that the newly acquired Sam Young could embrace a role on the team as a strong wing defender, especially with a player like LeBron James looming in the playoffs.
Bucks, Blazers, Hornets, Bulls Eyeing Eddy Curry
Eddy Curry is trying to resurrect his career in training camp with the Spurs, but if he doesn't make the team, it appears he'll plenty of other options. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears the Bucks, Trail Blazers, Hornets and Bulls all could have interest in the 29-year-old 7-footer if the Spurs cut him loose (Sulia link).
Curry was a surprise addition to San Antonio's roster as training camp began last week, and he was reportedly looking fit after having dropped 15 pounds over the summer. The Spurs only have 12 players on fully guaranteed deals, but DeJuan Blair, who has a partial guarantee, and Gary Neal seem destined to make the team, likely leaving just one spot for Curry and four other hopefuls. The early returns indicate that fellow camp invitee Josh Powell is ahead of Curry for that spot, though three weeks still remain before the regular season.
Wherever Curry winds up, he'll likely be getting the minimum salary, which he made last year on a one-year deal with the Heat. He appeared in only 14 games for Miami, averaging 2.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.9 minutes, and didn't play in the postseason. He's only played 21 games total since his last significant action, which came in 2007/08 when he started 58 games for the Knicks amidst a six-year, $56MM deal.
If he winds up with the Bulls, it probably wouldn't be until late November, when the minimum salary pro-rates down to a figure that would fit under their $70.307MM hard cap. Chicago would have to waive or trade one of its guaranteed contracts to put Curry on the regular season roster before then.
Central Notes: Cavs, Azubuike, Monroe, Ellis
The Cavaliers picked up an extra first-round pick and some extra payroll flexibility when they sent Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga to the Lakers at the deadline for Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, and a first-round pick. However, one downside to the deal is Walton's $6MM price tag for the 2012/13 season. While some might expect the rebuilding Cavs to throw a buyout offer in the forward's direction, he said earlier this week that he has yet to receive one. Here's more on the Cavs and other items out of the Central Division..
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald takes a shot at projecting the Cavs depth chart going into the team's intra-squad scrimmage today, and also lists the players he thinks won't make the regular season roster (Sulia link). Of note, he believes the team will cut Kelenna Azubuike, who has a guaranteed deal, while retaining the partially guaranteed contracts of Daniel Gibson, Samardo Samuels and Michael Eric.
- There was talk of the Pistons shifting Greg Monroe over to power forward after acquiring two centers this summer, but Monroe says that he'll be staying at the five for the time being, writes David Mayo of MLive.com.
- The Bucks were hesitant to part with Andrew Bogut in order to land Monta Ellis last season, but it's already clear that the sacrifice was worthwhile, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Ellis was asked about the perception that he would be an ideal sixth man for a contending team, but he dismissed that notion, saying that he could win a starting job on any club.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Ilyasova, Stevenson, Thunder, Calipari
After inking a lucrative five-year deal, Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova vows that he won't rest on his laurels, writes Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times. While some players have let themselves go after getting money similar to his guaranteed $31.6MM over four years (with an $8.4MM option for year five), Ilyasova plans to do just the opposite. “It doesn’t work that way for me,” Ilyasova said. “That’s not my nature. The thing with this contract … there comes responsibility with it. People are expecting more, so that’s why I spent the summer working with a coach to try and improve myself.” More from around the Association..
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription req'd) writes that a full NBA minor league system would make the draft deeper and help unearth a player like Jeremy Lin more quickly. Currently, NBA teams keep a database of between 100 and 150 players that they actively scout with the idea of narrowing the board down to 60 players. A deeper draft would obviously make use of more scouting reports.
- Hawks veteran DeShawn Stevenson was excited to join the club after coming over in the Joe Johnson trade, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While Atlanta is stocked with shooters, Stevenson is quick to note that he also played with a similar cast in Dallas.
- J.A. Adande of ESPN.com runs down ten things to watch for in the Western Conference this season. Adande cautions that this could be the end of the Thunder as we know them with James Harden's contract situation in limbo. Adande opines that it would make sense for Oklahoma City to lock up Harden, look to win a title with the current group, and trade him down the road.
- Kentucky coach John Calipari told 106.7 the Fan in Washington D.C. that he has no plans to ever return to the NBA, writes Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews. Calipari's last stint in the league came with the Nets where his top achievement was taking the team to the playoffs in the 1997/98 season.
- If Derek Fisher and Raja Bell land in NBA rotations, they are likely to be victims of the new flopping rules, tweets John Hollinger of ESPN.com. Fisher is currently a free agent while Bell continues to work on reaching a buyout agreement with the Jazz.
Odds & Ends: Dwight, Lakers, Warriors, Bucks
The news continues to improve for Dwight Howard and the Lakers, as five-on-five scrimmages appear to be the only part of practices in which the big man in not participating, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com writes. "As much as he’s practicing, to me he’s back," coach Mike Brown told reporters. "Just waiting for the doctors (and) trainers to clear him. When that happens, he’ll go full tilt. But he looks good out there." There's more on the purple-and-gold and others tonight as training camps continue.
- The Lakers are not for sale, but Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, whose name has come up as a candidate to buy the Warriors and the Grizzlies in recent years, says they're his favorite team and hinted to CNBC's Robert Frank that he might like to own them someday (hat tip to RealGM.com).
- The Warriors are taking a cautious approach with Stephen Curry in training camp as the team tries to assess his health as the October 31st deadline for an extension looms, reports Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (via the Charlotte Observer).
- Thompson also sizes up the candidates to start at small forward for the Warriors, concluding Brandon Rush is the most likely to nail down the job.
- It's a jumble at the three spot for the Bucks, too, with Tobias Harris, Mike Dunleavy and Marquis Daniels competing for the starting gig, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines.
- The agent for free agent guard Maurice Evans doesn't expect his client will sign anywhere soon, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- We passed along reaction to the league's new flopping policy earlier this evening, and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News adds word from reputed flopper Manu Ginobili.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel checks in with Arron Afflalo, who figures to take on a larger role for the Magic this year than the one he played with the Nuggets.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com provide more detail on the psychological struggle Royce White faces as he remains absent from Rockets camp. Matt Moore of CBSSports.com and Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld take it a step further, writing about their own anxiety disorders.
Latest On Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, Bucks
When the Bucks acquired Monta Ellis from the Warriors at last season's trade deadline, the compressed 2011/12 schedule meant that the team only had 21 games to see Ellis and Brandon Jennings play together in the backcourt. The Bucks expect to get a better idea this season of whether the duo will be a long-term fixture in Milwaukee, but the club won't have a time of time to assess the situation — Ellis can opt out of his contract at season's end, while Jennings could become a restricted free agent.
According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the "scuttlebutt around the league" suggests that Ellis will exercise his early termination option and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. That wouldn't be a shock — the $11MM salary on his 2013/14 option isn't extravagant, and at age 27, Ellis could probably secure a more lucrative, longer-term deal on the open market. For his part, the former Warrior says he's "just thinking about basketball," and that his agent and the Bucks have only talked once about a possible extension.
While there doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency yet regarding Ellis' contract situation, the Bucks only have until the end of the month to work out a contract extension for Jennings. If the two sides don't reach an agreement, Jennings will have the opportunity to sign an offer sheet with a rival team next July. Like Ellis though, Jennings had little to say this week about a new contract, offering: "I think that’s why players hire agents, so they can take care of that."
Jennings, who will earn about $3.18MM in the last year of his rookie contract, did add that he likes Milwaukee, and he has expressed in the past that he'd be open to a long-term extension. Still, as Woelfel writes, agent Bill Duffy is likely to push for a maximum-salary deal, something the Bucks would probably rather avoid.
Bucks Sign Four To Camp Roster
The Bucks have added four players to their training camp roster on non-guaranteed deals, according to various reports. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported (via Twitter) that the team had signed Orien Greene, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported (via Twitter) the signing of Mustapha Farrakhan, and Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel added Alando Tucker and Eddie Gill to the list of new Bucks (Twitter link).
We had previously heard that Greene, a four-year NBA veteran, and Tucker, a former Wisconsin standout and first-round pick, were auditioning for the Bucks in hopes of landing training camp invites. Farrakhan, meanwhile, played for the Knicks' summer league squad, while Gill hasn't appeared in an NBA game since he played for Milwaukee in the 2008/09 season.
The Bucks already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, so it will be an uphill battle for any of these four players to earn a regular-season roster spot with the team. The team's roster now stands at 19 players.
Bucks Sign Marquis Daniels
12:29pm: The Bucks have officially announced their signing of Daniels (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 11:02am: Daniels' deal, which is guaranteed, is for one year at the minimum salary, agent Mark Bartelstein tells SI.com's Sam Amick (Twitter link).
THURSDAY, 5:26pm: Unrestricted free agent Marquis Daniels has agreed to sign a guaranteed contract with the Bucks, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Terms of the deal aren't known, but it's unlikely to be more than a one-year contract.
Daniels, who has spent the last three seasons in Boston, worked out for the Bucks earlier this week along with a handful of other free agents in search of jobs. The nine-year veteran is coming off a down year, in which he set career-lows in PPG (3.2), FG% (.364), and PER (8.1), among other categories. Still, the Bucks had just four guards under contract, so Daniels will provide bench depth behind Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings, along with Doron Lamb and Beno Udrih.
While Daniels is only the 15th player on the books for Milwaukee, it appears all 15 Bucks are now on guaranteed contracts, meaning it's unlikely the team brings aboard additional guaranteed deals before the regular-season begins. The Bucks can bring up to 20 players to training camp, so non-guaranteed contracts are still a possibility.
Mickael Pietrus Talking To Pair Of Teams
Free agent swingman Mickael Pietrus spoke to Alexis Boissel of the French-language website BasketSession.com and indicated that he's narrowed his choices down to two teams. He said he would have signed already, but wasn't interested in the money he was being offered, which seems to reinforce the notion that he's holding out for more than the minimum salary.
We heard from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com earlier this week that three teams have displayed significant interest in the 6'6" 30-year-old, with two of those teams "very motivated" to complete a deal. It appears those clubs aren't the Timberwolves and the Celtics, as a pair of reports yesterday downplayed the chances of him winding up with those teams. Haynes also wrote that Pietrus has an offer from an overseas club that includes an out if he wanted to return to the NBA.
The Bucks reportedly had interest earlier this summer, but that has since waned, and with this week's signing of Marquis Daniels bringing the roster to 15 players, all of whom are on fully guaranteed contracts, it would be quite a surprise if Pietrus wound up in Milwaukee. The Raptors had internal discussions about Pietrus, but they can't offer him more than the minimum salary. The Hawks could be a possibility, since they have their $1.957MM biannual exception available and none of their three best fits at small forward have guaranteed deals, but that's just my speculation.
Pietrus, a nine-year veteran, has averaged 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds with an 11.8 PER for his career. He was hampered by a right knee injury last season with the Celtics, when he put up 6.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG and an 8.5 PER, but after a do-over surgery this summer, he appears to feel much better, telling Boissel that his knee problems are behind him and that he is 100%.
Odds & Ends: Bucks, Wolves, McGee, Cook, Mavs
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel checks in with several Bucks who are working out prior to the opening of training camp. Joining the workout are a few hopefuls who are auditioning for a formal invitation to camp, and that group includes Alando Tucker, the 29th overall pick in the 2007 draft, and Orien Greene, a four-year NBA vet who last played with the Nets in 2010/11. It's been a busy night as teams make their final moves before training camp, and we've got several more tidbits here:
- Chase Budinger might be new to Minnesota, but he's no stranger to the Wolves coaching staff, having played under coach Rick Adelman and some of his assistants while they were together with the Rockets, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
- In the same piece, Zgoda adds Anthony Tolliver to the list of players whose agents remain in contact with Wolves GM David Kahn. Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 reported earlier that Kahn was talking to the representatives of Hassan Whiteside and Sean Williams.
- Hakeem Olajuwon has worked with several NBA players, but none have spent more time under his tutelage than JaVale McGee, who re-signed with the Nuggets this summer on a four-year, $44MM deal, as Chris Broussard of ESPN.com writes (Insider only).
- Brian Cook, who re-signed with the Wizards today, was initially apprehensive about getting sent to Washington from the playoff-bound Clippers in a deadline deal last season, but was quickly sold on the move when he realized his new teammates wanted to win, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post notes.
- Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside looks at Josh Akognon's circuitous journey to Mavericks training camp. The 5'11" point guard is set to join the Mavs, likely on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal.
- Mark Montieth of Pacers.com examines the basketball roots of Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard, an Indiana native who played under former Pacers coach Larry Brown in college.
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel gives his take on the alliance of Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard, who are supporting the same local political issue in Orlando months after their acrimonious departures from the Magic.
- The company that owns the Staples Center, home of the Lakers and Clippers, is up for sale, as Walter Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times writes.