And-Ones: Simmons, Cuban, McHale
A major reason Kevin McHale was fired by the Rockets on Wednesday was the front office’s belief that he had lost the locker room, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays in response to a reader’s mailbag question. Mannix also notes that McHale’s strength as a coach is not in devising strategies or calling plays, but rather in his ability as a motivator. Houston swingman Corey Brewer has gone on record defending McHale, and emphasized that his former coach did not lose the team, and instead placed the blame for the Rockets’ slow start on the players.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, with an assist from three NBA scouts, ran down the top 10 hoops prospects for the 2015/16 season, including Ben Simmons (LSU), Skal Labissiere (Kentucky), and Brandon Ingram (Duke). The top of next year’s draft could be filled with more international players than usual, Spears notes. “The top three picks might not be from the United States next year,” an NBA scout told Spears. “Blame AAU basketball in America for that.”
- Simmons had the opportunity to play overseas this season rather than in college, but the talented forward wanted to get a head start on acclimating to the U.S. as well as the style of basketball played here, Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News writes. “I felt like it helped me develop my game more,” Simmons says. “I was able to get the chance to experience different teams, different playing styles. For me it was just more going to high school and competing against the best players every day. It helped me mature, living by myself in Orlando while my parents were back home. A lot of different things come into it: new team, new coaches, different style, system, and living in a different country.”
- Mavs team owner Mark Cuban, who isn’t one to mince words, acknowledged that last season’s trade for Rajon Rondo was a risk that didn’t work out as planned for the team, Ben Rohrbach of WEI 93.7 FM relays. “[Expletive] happens, right? There are a lot of risks I’ve taken that have worked out just fine. They’re not all going to work,” Cuban said.
- Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, speaking about his potential retirement during a radio appearance on SiriusXM, said, “If something changes I’ll come back and play next season. If something doesn’t change this is it for me,” Frank Isola of the New York Daily News relays (Twitter link).
Eastern Notes: Durant, World Peace, Smith
The early season play of rookie Kristaps Porzingis coupled with Carmelo Anthony‘s return to health has given Knicks fans hope, not just for this season, but beyond. Another benefit the franchise may glean from exceeding expectations is that team president Phil Jackson will have a far more appealing product to sell Kevin Durant when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News opines.
One issue I have with the Knicks potentially adding Durant is that both Anthony and Porzingis are frontcourt players, and unless Anthony shifted to power forward full-time and Porzingis to the pivot, one of the trio would need to come off the bench. Shifting Porzingis to center would also serve to displace Robin Lopez, who the team inked to a four-year, $54MM deal this past summer, which is obviously not an ideal move for New York given its financial commitment to the big man.
Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:
- Metta World Peace, discussing his relationship with Pacers executive Larry Bird, said that he has tried to rejoin Indiana over the years, but he may have burned too many bridges with his disruptive attitude in his younger days for that to occur, Dave Zarum of Sportsnet.ca relays (Twitter link). World Peace did note that Bird was extremely patient with him during his time with the team, and that Bird would often go out of his way to work with him to improve his game, Zarum adds.
- Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith is feeling much more comfortable in the flow of the team’s offense, something he credits to his increased playing time, Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com writes. “It’s hard to just run up and down the court four or five times, then just get one spot shot, then come out of the game, then go back in the game. Getting in a rhythm early is the most important thing,” Smith said. “It’s not even so much to shoot, just to feel the ball, get the motion, get the ‘camaraderie’ within the system. I think that’s big, not only for me but for everybody. It’s not from a selfish aspect, but to feel the ball, feel the flow of the offense a little better.”
- The Cavaliers have recalled shooting guard Joe Harris from the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. You can keep track off all the D-League assignments and recalls made throughout the season here.
Atlantic Notes: Joseph, McHale, D-League
Cory Joseph has exceeded all expectations that the Raptors had for him when they inked him to a four-year, $30MM deal this offseason, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes. “When you do these things, you try to get good players and you try to figure out,” said GM Masai Ujiri of Joseph. “You do your scouting, you do your analytics, and you try to figure out if the team will fit together. But honestly, until they start playing, we [don’t know]. When we looked at it, we tried to look at two-way players who bring us some kind of toughness and that’s what he is. He’s a two-way player that will pick up the ball full court and put pressure on opposing guards. He knows how to fight people and make people better and score a little bit too. So you hope that it translates to the basketball court.”
Coach Dwane Casey is also a fan of Joseph’s, but he also admits the play of the 24-year-old playmaker has exceeded expectation, Lewenberg adds. “He has [been a pleasant surprise],” said Casey. “His energy, his toughness wasn’t a surprise but it’s really been glaring. He’s really filled in. I didn’t know how much we could play the two [point] guards together but he plays bigger than he is. He’s not the typical point guard, he can guard twos, he can get down there and wrestle with some threes. If he gets switched off he gets into the big guys’ knees and boxes them out. So he is better than expected.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would like to bring former teammate and fired Rockets coach Kevin McHale to the Celtics in some capacity, even if it’s just in a consultant’s role, Ainge told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The Mavericks are also interested, league sources said to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- The Nets have respect for the coaching of Randy Ayers, whom they recently hired as a scout, though team officials say the organization doesn’t regard him as a coach-in-waiting in case Lionel Hollins is fired, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com.
- The Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier and James Young to the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Powell, Aldridge, Knight
The strong play of Dwight Powell for the Mavericks has given the franchise some enduring benefit from last season’s trade for Rajon Rondo, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Powell has worked extremely hard to develop his game, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated by his teammates, MacMahon adds. “The kid basically sleeps in the gym,” Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters. “He never goes home. It seems like every time I come in, he’s in there working, either lifting or running or shooting. He just wants to get better all the time. Now that he’s got some playing time, he’s still working harder than everybody else.” The 24-year-old is averaging 10.5 points and 8.1 rebounds thus far this season, well above his career numbers of 5.2 PPG and 3.5 RPG.
Here’s more from the West:
- The Suns‘ decision to acquire Brandon Knight from the Bucks last season is finally starting to pay off, with Knight playing some of the best basketball of his young career as he and Eric Bledsoe mesh perfectly together, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation in his analysis of Phoenix’s backcourt duo.
- The Spurs have recalled Jonathon Simmons from their D-League affiliate in Austin, the team announced via press release. Simmons notched 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in one contest on his assignment.
- LaMarcus Aldridge remains happy with his decision to join the Spurs over the offseason, and he is pleased with his relationship with coach Gregg Popovich thus far, Ananth Pandian of CBSSports.com writes. “He’s very particular as far as basketball, you know, doing things right,” Aldridge said about his new coach. “But as soon as the game is over, he’s on to a different thing, making sure we are good as human beings. I think that’s a really good balance. He doesn’t burn you out. He’s not always basketball, basketball, basketball. He actually gives you the time to be free.”
- It’s the play and “aloofness” of James Harden that’s frustrated Rockets teammates, Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today write, clarifying Zillgitt’s earlier tweet that Harden’s “style” had created tension.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Fisher, Vaulet, Rasheed, Huestis
Derek Fisher admits to feeling more comfort as a coach this season, though Knicks team president Phil Jackson hasn’t been working more closely with Fisher, as Jackson said before the season that he would. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News has the details.
“Maybe a couple times earlier in training camp, we had some kind of sat down and talked about some things visually at the same time. So far, it’s our typical mornings-after-the-game conversations or email exchanges,” Fisher said. “Sometimes before practice we’ll visit for a few minutes. But not really any hardcore film sessions together. Although when those opportunities do present themselves, I’ll definitely be happy to participate.”
The Knicks are 6-6, a significant improvement on last season’s 17-65 mark, though Fisher cautions that .500 isn’t the team’s goal. See more from around the NBA:
- Draft-and-stash prospect Juan Vaulet is pleased that the Nets own his NBA rights, citing the way team doctors cared for the stress fracture in his leg, as he said in an interview with ESPN Argentina earlier this month (YouTube link), as NetsDaily relays. Still, the 6’6″, 19-year-old Argentian, who fashions himself a point guard, believes he’s a ways off from signing to play in the NBA.
- Rasheed Wallace, Al Harrington and Keyon Dooling are among the 60 players who’ve so far committed to The Champions League, an upstart minor league circuit with plans to play in the summers beginning in 2016, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. The league intends to pay annual player salaries that average around $200K, league chairman and CEO Carl George told Amick.
- The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced via press release. It’s the second trip to the D-League this season for the small forward, who averaged just 7.0 points in 28.4 minutes per game across two appearances in his first D-League stint this year.
And-Ones: Rockets, Chalmers, Kilpatrick
The Rockets, who are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, held a players-only meeting to clear the air and work on their communication, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays. “What happens in the room, stays in the room,” center Dwight Howard said. “It was good for us to sit down and talk, but it’s a long season and you can’t get caught up in losing a couple of games and getting upset and so frustrated and feel like it’s the end of the world. It is embarrassing. We hate to lose but at the same time we have a long season and we can’t think negative when we lose. We have to try and find the positive in any situation. You keep thinking negative, then negative things will continue to happen to you. You got to stay positive and fight through it. All this stuff will build our character.”
Star shooting guard James Harden also agreed that the meeting was a productive one for the team, Watkins adds. “It was a good talk for us,” Harden said. “We hadn’t had an opportunity to communicate like that since the season had been going. It was good for us to communicate and each guy basically said what their role was and every single night they’re going to contribute to that role. After the talk we had a really good practice, guys communicated, we worked hard and now it’s about carrying it over. It’s about doing it on the floor.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mario Chalmers has been lighting up stat sheets since the Grizzlies acquired him from the Heat, and the point guard credits his new teammates having confidence in him for his recent output, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “I just try to bring as much energy to the game as possible,” Chalmers said. “It means a lot when your coach and your teammates have confidence and they want you to shoot.” The veteran guard also sees a number of similarities between how Memphis plays defense and shares the ball on offense with the championship squads he played for in Miami, Winderman adds.
- The Delaware 87ers, the Sixers‘ D-League affiliate, have re-acquired Sean Kilpatrick as a returning player, the team announced. Kilpatrick, who was in training camp with the Pelicans, was a member of the 87ers at the end of the 2014/15 season.
Western Notes: Chandler, World Peace, Durant
Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler underwent successful surgery today to repair a labral tear in his right hip, the team announced via a press release. Chandler initially suffered the injury during the preseason and he will be out for the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign. Despite missing approximately 133 games since 2011 due to hip injuries, the veteran, who signed a four-year, $46.5MM renegotiation and extension with Denver back in July, recently told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post that he isn’t contemplating retirement.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Lakers have assigned small forward Anthony Brown the the L.A. D-Fenders, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the first trip of the season to the D-League for Brown, as our D-League assignments and recalls tracker shows. The rookie has appeared in three games for the Lakers this season, averaging 1.7 points in 3.0 minutes of action per contest.
- By not signing Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to rookie scale extensions prior to this season’s deadline, the Warriors have left open the possibility of swinging a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant this offseason, Danny Leroux of the Sporting News posits. Leroux also runs down a number of other scenarios that could result in Golden State potentially trotting out one of the greatest offensive teams of all-time, though the scribe does note that Barnes and Ezeli, both of whom are eligible to become restricted free agents next summer, would have the right to decline any sign-and-trade agreement.
- Lakers coach Byron Scott was worried that Metta World Peace‘s body wouldn’t hold up through training camp, but the 16th-year veteran who just turned 36 says he’s in better shape than when he was with the Lakers the first time, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. World Peace is seeing occasional starting assignments and 19.1 minutes per game. “You have to give him a lot of credit for somebody who was out of the league for a couple of years,” Scott said. “He worked as hard as he worked to get back into the league and be able to be a vital part of what we’re trying to do. It’s been great.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Timberwolves Rumors: LaVine, Rubio, Muhammad
It’s no coincidence that the Timberwolves are giving Zach LaVine minutes at point guard after going back on their decision to make him the starting shooting guard, since Ricky Rubio would become a trade chip if LaVine proves capable running the point, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Rubio and LaVine have played just 10 minutes together so far this season, with Lowe calling it “beyond dumb” that they haven’t shared the floor for more time and Rubio making it clear he’d like to play more often with LaVine. Both Rubio and GM Milt Newton expressed to Lowe that they hope Rubio is the long-term answer at the point, “but he has to stay healthy,” Newton said. Regardless, Newton isn’t in a hurry to make any deals.
“We are cognizant about not rushing it,” Newton said to Lowe. “We don’t want to be a flash in the pan. We don’t want to disrupt our young core. If we do something, it has to be the kind of deal where the majority of that young core is still here, but you get a veteran who is not that old — and can grow with the group.”
See more on the Timberwolves:
- LaVine has shown flashes of brilliance and moments of struggle alike at point guard this season, but his play is making it increasingly apparent that he deserves time at one position or another, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune examines. “I love him,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said Sunday before Minnesota’s game against Memphis. “I’m a big LaVine fan. I think he can really score the basketball. He’s tough to guard. I think he’s still trying to figure out where he is in the league, learn his teammates, where he can go and when it’s not a good time to go. When he learns that? He’ll be a very potent scorer.”
- Opposing front office personnel were initially dismissive of the late Flip Saunders‘ decision to sign so many veteran mentors this summer, but some of them have warmed to the notion that re-signing Kevin Garnett and adding Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince was shrewd, Lowe writes in the same piece.
- The Timberwolves almost chose Giannis Antetokounmpo over Shabazz Muhammad in the 2013 draft, several sources tell Lowe. The Jazz officially drafted Muhammad, but they had already agreed to trade the pick to Minnesota by the time they went on the clock, so evidently the Timberwolves were telling the Jazz whom to take, as is often the case behind the scenes with draft-night deals.
- If Steve Kaplan, the Grizzlies minority owner who’s reportedly in talks to buy a share of the Timberwolves, were to purchase a controlling interest in the Wolves at some point, he’d probably include Garnett in the ownership group, Lowe hears from sources.
- Sean Kilpatrick, who was with the Timberwolves on a 10-day contract this past spring, has re-signed with the D-League affiliate of the Sixers, the team with which he ended last season, the D-League club announced.
And-Ones: Hunter, Doncic, Sterling
Attorneys for former NBPA executive director Billy Hunter filed an amended complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, seeking a jury trial on four breach of contract claims related to his 2013 termination, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The new complaint removes claims against former NBPA president and current Knicks coach Derek Fisher and his business manager and also clarifies the compensation claims, Berger continues. The amended complaint, obtained by CBSSports.com, includes a copy of Hunter’s 2010 contract, which called for him to be paid the balance of his salary and benefits through the end of the contract term if fired without cause, and through the end of the applicable calendar year if fired for cause. The complaint alleges that Hunter has not been paid since his termination, Berger adds.
In other news around the league:
- Luka Doncic has carved out a role with European power Real Madrid and the 16-year-old forward could be a high lottery pick when he’s eligible, according to Bleacher Report’s international expert David Pick. Hawks overseas scout Himar Ojeda told Pick that the 6’8” Doncic will be the best European of his age group when he enters the draft.
- A California appeals court on Monday rejected former Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s attempt to reverse the $2 billion sale of the team, Brian Melley of The Associated Press reports. The court ruled that Sterling failed to show that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge who approved the sale last year committed any legal error. Sterling’s estranged wife sold the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
- The Spurs assigned small forward Jonathon Simmons to their D-League affiliate in Austin, the club announced via press release. Simmons made his NBA debut on Saturday, playing nine minutes against the Sixers. Simmons has played in 94 games with Austin over the past two seasons.
Northwest Notes: Garnett, Kanter, Blazers
Top draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns says he learns something every day from his Timberwolves teammate and mentor Kevin Garnett, he revealed during a Q&A session with NBA.com’s David Aldridge published in Aldridge’s weekly column. Garnett has been teaching Towns how to protect his body so that he doesn’t wear down during his first season. The rookie power forward also told Aldridge that Garnett has instilled him with three tenets: “Work harder. Play defense. And continue to compete.” Garnett’s influence on his young teammates is far-reaching, even though he denies he’s a coach on the floor, according to Marino Eccher of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Garnett was spotted during Monday’s practice showing power forward Nemanja Bjelica how to guard pick-and-rolls in a one-on-one session, Eccher continues. After practice, Garnett provided teammates and coaches with insights on everything from defensive techniques to trash-talking, Eccher adds.
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder could overwhelm opponents in the first quarter if they started Enes Kanter at center, Matt Moore of CBSSports.com opines. While Steven Adams has earned the starting job, Kanter’s defensive shortcomings are more of a liability when he plays with the second unit, Moore argues. Oklahoma City’s firepower with Kanter playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant would mask those shortcomings and the club could still close games with Adams in the middle, when defensive stops become more essential, Moore concludes.
- The task for the Blazers this season is to find out which of their players around Damian Lillard are keepers and which aren’t, and games like Sunday’s clunker against the Hornets, after which coach Terry Stotts questioned his team’s effort and focus, can play a role in that process, as Jason Quick of CSNNW.com examines.
- The Timberwolves are continuing to engage in talks about finding a D-League affiliate for next season, though they aren’t close yet, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
(Chuck Myron contributed to this report.)