Pacers Purchase D-League Team
And-Ones: Williams, Davis, Bucks
The Mavericks have seen encouraging signs from Deron Williams during informal workouts, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets. Williams, who appears lean and quick, feels he has a lot to prove, MacMahon adds. Williams signed with the Mavs in July to be their starting point guard after he secured his release from the Nets via a buyout agreement. He received a two-year deal worth $10MM that includes a player option.
In other news around the league:
- Anthony Davis said there was little doubt that he would sign an extension with the Pelicans rather than test the free agent waters, he told SLAM’s Christopher Cason in a Q&A session. “I knew I was going back to New Orleans,” he said. “I love the city, love what the team is doing and I have faith in the coaching staff and my teammates. It was an easy decision for me.”
- An overflow crowd packed a Milwaukee City Hall meeting as the public was given its first opportunity to formally comment on a funding plan to build a new Bucks arena, Greg Moore of the Associated Press reports. Milwaukee Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux laid out how the city plans to generate its $47MM share of public funding for a new arena and entertainment district, primarily through special tax districts, Moore continues. While a majority of those who spoke favored the plan, a group called Common Ground questioned why the city would help pay for the project rather than invest in the neighborhood or school improvements, Moore adds.
- The Celtics extended their exclusive affiliation with the D-League’s Maine Red Claws through the 2017/18 season, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reports. The Celtics became Maine’s lone affiliate and took over its basketball operations in 2012. Last season, the Celtics assigned a total of six players to the Red Claws, Himmelsbach adds.
Sir’Dominic Pointer To Join Canton Charge
Sir’Dominic Pointer, the No. 53 overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, will join the Canton Charge for the 2015/16 season, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. Canton is Cleveland’s one-to-one D-League affiliate. The 23-year-old will not attend training camp with the Cavs and instead will report to Canton once its training camp commences, Haynes’ source informs him.
It’s a wise move for the young guard, with the Cavs already possessing 13 players with fully guaranteed deals. It would be a long shot for Pointer to make the final cut and stick on the NBA roster for the regular season. Cleveland is reportedly intrigued with Pointer’s size (6’5″) and defensive skills, and the franchise sees him potentially developing into a lockdown defender who can guard multiple positions, according to Haynes. Bypassing the NBA for the D-League next season is viewed as the most logical path for both the player and the team given the Cavs’ perimeter depth and Pointer’s need to improve his shooting, the Northeast Ohio Media Group scribe adds.
Pointer averaged 13.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.9 steals, and 2.4 blocks as a senior for the Red Storm during the 2014/15 campaign. His career NCAA numbers are 8.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.3 BPG to accompany his shooting numbers of .477/.193/.681. In five summer league games for Cleveland’s squad he averaged 5.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steal in 18.4 minutes per game.
Pacific Notes: Kobe, Buss, Casspi, Suns
Lakers Executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss believes Kobe Bryant is worth his league-high $25MM salary this season after all he’s done for the franchise and said that while the team is operating on the premise that Bryant will retire at season’s end, he’d welcome him back with open arms if he’s willing to accept a role that fits his age and ability. Buss made his comments as part of an interview with Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, adding that he “feels like we’ve righted the ship” with coach Byron Scott and a new cast of key players, even if the team didn’t sign a star free agent this summer.
“It’s just that it takes time to build a core that guys want to play with,” Buss said to Pincus. “I understand a superstar doesn’t want to come in and say, ‘Oh, we still have two or three years of rebuilding.’ I think with Jordan Clarkson, [D’Angelo] Russell, [Julius] Randle, even [Roy] Hibbert … we’re getting a core of seven or eight players.”
See more on the Lakers amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:
- Buss, also a part-owner of the team, has no regrets about pledging in April 2014 to resign from his basketball operations position if he couldn’t restore the Lakers to contention in three or four years, as he said to Pincus for the same piece. Buss’ sister Jeanie, the primary owner of the franchise, has said she’ll hold him to that pledge if the Lakers aren’t back in the Western Conference Finals by the spring of 2017. Still, the top goal for this season, Jim Buss said to Pincus, is identifying core players for the future, and not necessarily making the playoffs.
- Omri Casspi cited DeMarcus Cousins, calling him the best center in the league in an interview with James Herbert of CBSSports.com, among the reasons why he decided to re-sign with the Kings this summer.
- The Suns officially named Chris Jent the head coach of their one-to-one D-League affiliate, the franchise announced Thursday. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier this month that the sides were finalizing a deal. Jent had been Michael Malone‘s lead assistant with the Kings.
Pacific Notes: Jordan, D-League, Suns
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer stressed that the team’s sale pitch to DeAndre Jordan which included an endorsement deal with Lexus for $200K a year, and subsequently garnered the organization a $250K fine from the league, played no part in the center’s decision to spurn Dallas and return to Los Angeles, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “Today, the NBA announced it has fined the team for violating NBA rules in our presentation to DeAndre Jordan on July 2nd,” Ballmer relayed in an internal team memo (hat tip to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register). “The League’s investigation concluded that the presentation of a potential third-party opportunity had no impact on DeAndre’s decision to re-sign, and having been a part of the process, I can attest to this fact. As we, and the basketball world, observed DJ ultimately chose to stay with the Clippers because he felt it was his best opportunity to win a championship, and because of his desire to remain part of the Clippers family.”
Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- The L.A. D-Fenders, the Lakers‘ D-League affiliate, filled out head coach Casey Owens‘ staff with Paul Woolpert, Brian Walsh, Jermaine Byrd, and Will Scott, who were all named as assistants, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
- The one-year, minimum salary training camp deals that Henry Sims, Deonte Burton, and Cory Jefferson inked with the Suns include no guaranteed salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (via Twitter).
- Lakers 2015 first-rounder D’Angelo Russell believes that he and 2014 second round pick Jordan Clarkson can be an effective tandem playing together in the backcourt, as he told ESPN 710’s Mychal Thompson and Mike Trudell during a radio appearance. “I feel like we’re dangerous for our team,” Russell said of he and Clarkson. “We both rebound. We both can push the break, and we both can run the wing. So if he gets it and I’m running the wing, he can set up the offense or make the right decisions and vice versa with me. I feel like it’s dangerous, and we can play together easily. I think it will just take some time.“
Heat Notes: Stoudemire, Whiteside, D-League
Two months ago, it seemed like the Heat might be on the verge of major changes, with Dwyane Wade pushing for a more lucrative deal than the Heat planned for him and uncertainty surrounding Luol Deng and his player option. Deng ultimately opted in, and while Wade opted out, he re-signed with the Heat on a one-year, $20MM deal. Miami also re-signed Goran Dragic and boosted its depth with the additions of Amar’e Stoudemire and Gerald Green. There’s news on Stoudemire amid the latest from South Beach:
- Stoudemire already feels comfortable with the Heat and said today that while he’ll accept whatever his role with the team might be, he feels he’s capable of playing like an All-Star again, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “From playing against Miami, the thing that you learn is that they always have a competitive spirit,” Stoudemire said. “There’s an aura around here that everyone works hard, that you have to be in top shape which is great because I want to be in the best shape of my life going into this season. I want to surprise the world and have a very, very productive year.”
- Hassan Whiteside, who figures to be a hot commodity among free agents in 2016, will likely see only 20-25 minutes per game most nights this season for the Heat, assistant coach Dan Craig tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. However, Whiteside probably wants to have an expanded role in a contract year this season, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes in a mailbag column. While Craig cited small ball as a reason to keep the big man’s minutes low, the coach also said Whiteside has made progress toward becoming a better small ball player this summer.
- The Heat and the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce formally extended their one-to-one affiliation deal, the Heat announced. The Skyforce have been Miami’s exclusive D-League partner for the past two seasons even though Miami and Sioux Falls are separated by about 1,800 miles.
Eastern Notes: Embiid, D-League, Bulls
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie noted that while Joel Embiid adhered to the prescribed recovery plan for his injured right foot, the team would have liked the center to be more focused at times regarding his rehab, Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes. “He [Embiid] gets thrown into the NBA and the thing you love the most is taken away from you,” Hinkie said. “I found his diligence to be good. At the same time, I’ve had conversations with him that everybody’s got to step up their focus. The stakes are very high. It’s clear to everyone however high they were, they’re higher [now].” Embiid underwent a second surgical procedure on his injured right foot this week, and he is expected to miss the entire 2015/16 campaign.
Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:
- The Raptors have secured the D-League rights to several players via the expansion draft, and a number of recognizable names are up and down the list, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca notes (on Twitter). Some of the better known players selected by the team include Earl Clark, Nolan Smith, Dee Bost, Dahntay Jones, and Ricky Ledo, Grange relays.
- The Bulls chose to stand pat for the most part this offseason regarding making roster moves, with the team still believing that its core has the capability of reaching the NBA Finals, a plan that center Joakim Noah agrees with, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com writes. “I think continuity is gonna be great for us,” Noah told Goodwill. “Even though it’s the same group, it’s still gonna be change at the leadership role as far as coaching. So it’s gonna be very different. So having the same team brings stability as well.”
- Lamar Patterson, who inked a two-year pact with the Hawks this offseason, hopes that shedding 22 pounds of weight from his 6’5″ frame will help him earn a regular season roster spot, Jake Fischer of SI.com writes. The guard spent last season with Tofas Bursa of Turkey, averaging 11.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game. Patterson, who turns 24 next month, led the Hawks in scoring at the Las Vegas Summer League with 13.1 PPG to go along with 5.1 RPG in 25.8 MPG.
And-Ones: Turner, Vandeweghe, Horford
Hawks big man Al Horford is entering the final season of his current deal and will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. But Horford’s eye is on the coming season, and he won’t discuss his future until next summer, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays. “My focus right now is to get better individually and help our team be the best team that we can be,” Horford said. “I have the same mindset and that is to help our team win and put us in a good position and try to be better. As far as the contract stuff, I’m going to wait until the season is over. I’m not going to let that linger and be a distraction. The focus is to be on the Hawks, on our team and getting better. Once the season ends, we’ll be able to sit down and talk and figure out all of that.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The NBA officially announced today that Kiki Vandeweghe has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations for the league, a move that had seemed likely for months. He moves up from vice president of basketball ops and replaces the retiring Rod Thorn. Vandeweghe’s new position puts him in charge of player discipline, among other duties. “Kiki is one of the sharpest basketball minds in the NBA,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “In addition to his storied UCLA and NBA playing career plus his extensive experience as a general manager, coach, and TV analyst, he has most recently helped drive innovations in analytics that are reshaping the league in areas such as scheduling, game statistics, and player health.”
- Myles Turner has transformed from an injured high school junior who was an afterthought to college recruiters into a candidate to start at center for the Pacers this season, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details. This year’s No. 11 overall pick performed well at summer league, leading to some thought of him as a Rookie of the Year contender, but coach Frank Vogel has reminded the big man not to get carried away, as Turner tells Kennedy.
- The Rockets have officially hired Matt Brase as the coach of Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (via Twitter). Brase replaces former coach Nevada Smith, who spent two seasons with the Vipers and compiled an overall record of 60-46, including a mark of 27-23 last season.
And-Ones: Heat, Holmes, Jent
No team spent more cash in trades during the 2014/15 season than the Heat did, sending a total of $2,539,424, just shy of last season’s $3.3MM limit, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders examines Conversely, the Pelicans raked in $3,299,959, just shy of the $3.3MM cap on the amount of money teams could receive via trade. Both limits have increased to $3.4MM for this season.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Jonathan Holmes has a $100K partial guarantee on his minimum-salary deal with the Lakers, agent Zach Kurtin of Priority Sports tells Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The final season on the two-year contract becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through the fourth day after the conclusion of next year’s summer league, Pincus adds.
- The Suns are close to completing a deal to hire Chris Jent as head coach of the Bakersfield Jam, the franchise’s NBA D-League affiliate, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Jent had previously been an assistant on former Kings coach Michael Malone‘s staff, and he replaces Nate Bjorkgren, who was promoted to be the Suns’ player development coach, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets.
- The National Basketball Referees Association has officially ratified its new seven-year contract with the NBA, the NBRA announced (via Twitter). The new agreement takes effect this season, replacing the final year of the existing contract, and runs through 2022. “The NBA takes great pride in our world-class referee program and we are pleased to extend the league’s partnership with the NBRA for another seven years,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement regarding the new pact
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Rose, McGee, Jordan
The Hawks have hired former NBA player Malik Rose as their manager of basketball operations, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter). Rose confirmed the news via his personal Twitter account. Rose will report to coach Mike Budenholzer, who remains in charge of player personnel as president of basketball operations. The 40-year-old spent 13 seasons in the NBA as a player with the Hornets, Spurs, Knicks, and Thunder.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The first year of JaVale McGee‘s deal with the Mavericks is partially guaranteed for $250k, with another $250k becoming guaranteed if he remains on the roster past September 29th, and an additional $250k will become guaranteed if he is still on Dallas’ roster past October 27th, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The second season of the arrangement is non-guaranteed, Pincus adds.
- McGee is still undergoing rehab for his injured leg, but the Mavs remain confident that he will be ready to play in time for training camp, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com relays (on Twitter).
- Former St. John’s University shooting guard Rysheed Jordan is considering playing overseas or joining the NBA D-League for next season, Keith Schlosser of SBNation writes. “I don’t know yet. It’s either overseas or the D-League, two options,” Jordan told CityofBasketballLove.com. “It depends whether I would prefer to go far or stay local.” Jordan departed the Red Storm after his sophomore season, and back in June said, “Playing professional basketball has always been a goal of mine. I believe I am ready to take the next step in my basketball career and plan to work hard to achieve my dream of playing in the NBA. I am thankful for the opportunities and support St. John’s University has provided to me. This decision was made with my family’s best interests in mind.“