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Atlantic Notes: Wroten, Durant, Porzingis, Ferry

January 26th, 2016 at 12:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tony Wroten would apparently like to sign with the Knicks, as evidenced by a pair of tweets he issued Monday night from his verified Twitter account. He said he hopes his chances of signing with the team are high, that he’d love to join Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, and that he’s dreamed of playing in Madison Square Garden. That seemingly counters a report that he was unlikely to end up with the Knicks and was looking for a team that would give him a better chance to stick around, but while the Knicks apparently have some interest, they’re reportedly concerned about his gambling style of defense. See more on the Knicks and other Atlantic Division news:

  • Count soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant among the early fans of Porzingis, as Durant said to reporters Monday that he texted Knicks coach and former teammate Derek Fisher during the draft to tell him that he liked the pick, notes Royce Young of ESPN.com. Porzingis has since won plaudits from across the league. “He can shoot, he can make the right plays, he can defend, he’s a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line,” Durant said. “That’s rare. And block shots — that’s like a unicorn in this league.”
  • Nets GM Billy King is indeed stumping behind the scenes in the organization for Danny Ferry, his college teammate at Duke, to become the team’s next GM, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. The team is reportedly consulting King about his successor, but Mazzeo opines that Ferry, shrouded in controversy after the racially charged remarks he read from a scouting report in 2014, would be the wrong choice.
  • The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira and Norman Powell from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). The team sent the trio to its Mississauga-based affiliate Friday.
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Cotton Leaves Spurs’ D-League Team For China

January 25th, 2016 at 8:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bryce Cotton has left the Spurs’ D-League team in Austin and will sign with Xinjiang in China, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports. Dennis Silva II of Monitor News first reported that Cotton, who was averaging 19.3 points in Austin, was headed overseas. (Twitter link). Cotton rejoined the D-League after the Suns waived him earlier this month prior to the leaguewide contract guarantee date.

Cotton signed with the Suns on November 25th but Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek used him in only three games, and he totaled four points, three assists, five steals and five turnovers in 33 combined minutes. The 23-year-old point guard, who went undrafted out of Providence in 2014, was with the Spurs’ D-League affiliate before signing with the Suns. He made $218, 721 during his 44 days with the Suns.

Cotton finished last season with the Jazz after signing a pair of 10-day contracts and a three-year deal. He appeared in 15 games with the Jazz, averaging 5.3 points in 10.6 minutes. That three-year contract didn’t include any guaranteed salary beyond last season, and Utah released Cotton during the preseason, which led him to Austin for his first stint there this season. San Antonio designated Cotton as an affiliate player in 2014.

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Northwest Notes: Roberson, Gallinari, Onuaku

January 25th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andre Roberson will miss at least three weeks with a right knee sprain, The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater reports, and because of the timing of the All-Star break, it means he’s not expected to play again until February 19th at the earliest. The Thunder will seek to find ways to mitigate the loss of Roberson’s defensive prowess in the meantime, with Kyle Singler seemingly his most likely replacement in the starting lineup, Slater writes. The trade deadline is February 18th, one day before Roberson would return. See more from the Northwest Division:

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Central Notes: Blatt, LeBron, Dunleavy, Boatright

January 25th, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

David Blatt‘s camp believes that LeBron James was the sole catalyst for the Cavs coaching change, and the belief is much more than simply a fringe theory among people around the league, reports TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com. Still, plenty of other reasons for Blatt’s dismissal exist, including the team’s poor performance against top Western Conference contenders and the need for immediate results, that suggest that the team isn’t simply serving LeBron’s wishes, Aldridge contends. Regardless, the Cavs cast Blatt back onto the job market, and while the Timberwolves have been linked to Blatt, the team has no intention of pursuing him for a job on interim coach Sam Mitchell‘s staff, league sources tell Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). See more from the Central Division:

  • Mike Dunleavy is targeting a return sometime next month from the back injury that’s kept him out all season so far, notes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. He’s essentially at the same point in his recovery that he was before suffering a setback in late November, but he’s more confident this time that he’ll be able to take the final steps toward getting back to game action for the Bulls, according to Johnson.
  • Ryan Boatright impressed with the Nets during the preseason, but he didn’t carry that level of performance over to his tenure with the D-League affiliate of the Pistons, which waived him last week. Boatright is now poised to sign with Orlandina of Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. The Pistons briefly had Boatright on their NBA roster on the fall, a maneuver designed to secure his D-League rights.
  • The Pacers have recalled Shayne Whittington from the D-League, the team announced. He’s played in just two games at the NBA level this season but has appeared in 19 contests for Indiana’s D-League affiliate after re-signing with the Pacers this past summer.
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Grizzlies Notes: Chalmers, Barnes, Carter, Martin

January 25th, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies are just 25-20, but GM Chris Wallace said he feels “optimistic and bullish” about the team and doesn’t feel compelled to make a deal as the trade deadline approaches, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. The No. 1 priority in free agency this summer for Memphis is re-signing Mike Conley, Wallace confirmed, but the Grizzlies aren’t planning an no-holds-barred attempt to win this season at the expense of the long term, as Tillery details.

“We are not going to do anything — even if it gives us a bump — that will significantly compromise us in the future,” Wallace said. “Part of watching your cap is watching the back end of your roster. We made a decision to fill up the back end of the roster with an eye on the future.”

Wallace praised recent trade acquisitions Mario Chalmers and Matt Barnes, calling Chalmers “best backup point guard we’ve had in the nine years I’ve been here,” Tillery notes. Both are set for free agency at season’s end. See more from Memphis:

  • The current Grizzlies roster might be flawed, but it still may be too expensive for the team to maintain, contends Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal as he takes a broad look at the cap situation for the franchise and the moves that it’ll be able to make financially. Still, don’t expect the Grizzlies to move toward a serious rebuild, Herrington writes.
  • Herrington suggests the team will “almost certainly” use the stretch provision to waive Vince Carter this summer, since the sides essentially agreed to a two-year deal in 2014 that they structured as a three-year contract only to reduce the tax burden for Memphis in the first year, Herrington explains. Carter’s salary is partially guaranteed for $2MM, so the stretch provision would break that into three equal parts each season through 2018/19.
  • Grizzlies camp cut Lazeric Jones has signed with Pinar Karsiyaka of Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Ismail Senol of Turkey’s NTV Spor first reported the move (Twitter link; translation again via Carchia). Jones had been playing with the Grizzlies D-League affiliate in Iowa as an affiliate player.
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Jarell Martin to the D-League, the team announced. It’s D-League assignment No. 4 on the season for the rookie who missed the first two months of 2015/16 recovering from a broken foot.
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And-Ones: Cavs, Wiggins, Nets

January 24th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Will Joseph

The Cavs will add veteran assistant Mike Longabardi to new head coach Tyronn Lue‘s staff, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports. Lue and Longabardi spent four seasons together on Doc Rivers‘ staff in Boston, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes (on Twitter). Longabardi is expected to take over the defensive specialist role that Lue held, Windhorst adds. The Suns fired Longabardi, who is known as a defensive specialist, from his role as assistant coach in late December.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Andrew Wiggins has not spoke candidly about his feelings regarding the Cavs, the team that shipped him to the Wolves as part of the deal for Kevin Love, and instead has preferred to let his play speak for itself, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes. Wiggins has performed particularly well against the Cavs, as Youngblood points out.
  • One of the top assistants in the league, like Sean Sweeney of the Bucks, would be a sensible fit for the Nets‘ coaching vacancy because it would be wise for Brooklyn to avoid the long term implications of a flashy hire, Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders argues.
  • Center Salah Mejri, who was recently coming off the bench in the D-League, found himself starting for the Mavs in place of the injured Zaza Pachulia and is making the most out of his opportunity, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News relays.
  • Arinze Onuaku, who was with the Wolves at the end of last season, will be signing with the D-League, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv released Onuaku, Pick adds.
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Western Notes: Smith, Booker, Jazz

January 24th, 2016 at 9:12pm CST by Will Joseph

Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff expects Josh Smith to be the same key player he was off the bench last season and added Smith thrives with the team because there is a level of trust and comfort, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details. Smith scored 16 points Sunday in the Rockets’ win against the Mavs.

“I feel comfortable. It might have been a little different story if this were my first time here, but being able to get the opportunity to play for the same team, around the same group of guys is awesome,” Smith said, per Feigen. “It’s definitely a comfortable feeling being able to get back. Seeing the appreciation from the fans and my teammates definitely instills confidence that this is where I belong.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

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And-Ones: Bryant, Clippers, Heat, Celtics

January 24th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kobe Bryant still believes that AAU basketball is hurting the game, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. “I hate it because it doesn’t teach our players how to play the right way, how to think the game, how to play in combinations of threes,” Bryant said following the Lakers’ loss to the Blazers on Saturday. The 37-year-old added that he is thankful for his international upbringing. “My generation is when AAU basketball really started [to go downhill],” Bryant said. “I got lucky because I grew up in Europe and everything there was still fundamental, so I learned all the basics.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

  • If the Clippers are going to trade away Chris Paul, the only plausible scenario would be sending him to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com argues in a piece that examines the team’s most valuable trade assets.
  • Lance Stephenson is the Clipper who is most likely to be traded, Pelton opines in the same piece. The shooting guard has played just a total of 41 minutes in the month of January and the team reportedly feels it would be better off in the long run if it could unload the 25-year-old. Pelton suggests that the team look to deal Stephenson to the Suns for P.J. Tucker or to the Blazers for Gerald Henderson.
  • Making a push for the playoffs is the only option for the Heat, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel argues. The team will send its first-round pick to the Sixers if it falls outside the top 10. If the pick does not convey, Philadelphia will receive Miami’s 2017 first-round pick regardless of where it lands, and Winderman believes that is a scenario to avoid due to the uncertainty surrounding this team during the upcoming offseason. Hassan Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent. Dwyane Wade, who will turn 35 next season, will also be a free agent and it’s unclear how much of a burden that he will be able to carry should he re-sign with Miami.
  • The Celtics have recalled R.J. Hunter, Terry Rozier and James Young from the D-League Maine Red Claws, per the team’s Twitter feed.
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Clippers Rumors: Ayres, Smith, Aldrich, Prigioni

January 23rd, 2016 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jeff Ayres‘ trip back to the NBA took him to China and then Idaho in the D-League before he signed a 10-day deal with the Clippers, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. After being let go by the Spurs in the offseason, the center/forward signed with a Chinese team, but said it “ended up not working out.” He was taken with the first overall pick in the D-League draft and became a star with the Idaho Stampede, averaging 16.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. “It’s not what people think, that everybody here isn’t very good,” Ayres said. “A lot of D-League guys are very good. D-League is full of talent. Everything you hear as a rookie in the NBA about, ‘You were the man when you were in college but not no more here.’ It’s the same thing here.”

There’s more Clippers new from Los Angeles:

  • Ayres is ready to accept whatever role the team has for him, tweets Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. Ayres said his agent woke him up with the news of the signing (Twitter link). “I was halfway asleep,” Ayres said. “It was awesome. It was great news to wake up to.”
  • Coach Doc Rivers had nothing bad to say about Josh Smith, who was dealt to the Rockets Friday after a frustrating half-season with the Clippers, writes Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. Rivers said that after Blake Griffin‘s injury, the Clippers started winning when they made Cole Aldrich and Pablo Prigioni regular members of the bench rotation. That left little playing time for Smith, who has struggled to get minutes since mid-December. “He was very good, a good teammate and all that, but it just didn’t work,” Rivers said of Smith. “So we wanted to go in another direction.”
  • Several former Knicks have helped make the Clippers contenders in the West, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Aldrich, Prigioni and Jamal Crawford have all become important parts of L.A.’s rotation after spending time in New York, and former Knicks coach Mike Woodson serves as an assistant to Rivers.
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And-Ones: Del Negro, Lue, D-League

January 23rd, 2016 at 4:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The rash of injuries the Heat have suffered this season are taking a toll on the players, who have been asked to log significantly more minutes than normal as a result, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “The toughest part about it is that you always worry about the health of your teammate, first and foremost,” Chris Bosh said. “You always want guys to be as healthy as possible, but when it’s another guy going down, it’s just tough. Two weeks ago, we were going into a West Coast road trip, really trying to prove ourselves with a whole roster and now we’ve got six guys out. It’s just a tough pill to swallow.”

While the situation is far from ideal, Bosh did note that the team’s younger players were benefiting from the increased playing time, Kennedy adds. “We’re constantly just trying to digest what’s going on, take the hit on the chin and then regroup,” Bosh continued. “Our young guys are trying [to fill in], but they’re inexperienced and they’re really learning on the fly. I think the best part about it is it’s going to help us in the long run because these guys are getting minutes under stressful situations, and that’s how it’s going to be later on.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Celtics big man Jared Sullinger is a big fan of new Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, and he raves about the former Boston assistant’s demeanor and knowledge, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “I like Ty Lue,” Sullinger told Blakely. “He knows a lot about the game. He helped me out big-time when he was here, as far as helping me stay calm, staying confident and just staying ready at all times.”
  • Vinny Del Negro expects to coach in the NBA again, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports in an appearance on the “The Vertical” podcast. Del Negro confirmed that he has had interviews with the Pelicans, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Cavaliers since the Clippers let him go in 2013, adding that he had extensive player personnel duties in his final year with L.A. “From Jamal Crawford to Matt Barnes to Chauncey [Billups] to Grant [Hill] to everyone, doing the sign-and-trade for Willie Green, everything that was involved. All the front office did was the paperwork,” Del Negro said (audio link, scroll to 28-minute mark).
  • The Rockets have assigned Montrezl Harrell and K.J. McDaniels to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Harrell’s third trek to Rio Grande Valley and McDaniels’ fifth on the season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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