Southwest Rumors: Felton, Powell, Capela, Davis
It’s possible the Mavs don’t activate the injured Raymond Felton prior to the Dallas’ matchup versus the Kings tomorrow, reveals Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Once activated, Felton can begin serving the four-game suspension he was slapped with this summer after pleading guilty to a gun charge. While we wait for the 30-year-old to get healthy enough to begin serving his punishment, let’s have a look at the latest from around the Southwest..
- Josh Powell is committed to his role as player development coach for the Rockets and has turned down multiple offers to play overseas, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports passes along amid his weekly power rankings. Powell appeared in a single game for Houston last year after failing to secure an NBA contract during the previous two seasons.
- The Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Capela, the 25th overall pick in the 2014 draft, will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers after appearing briefly in just one of Houston’s first six contests.
- Ed Davis rejected a long-term rookie scale extension offer from the Grizzlies last October that would have paid him $5MM to $6MM annually, reports Ronald Tillery of the Commerical Appeal in a subscription only piece. The big man found himself in a difficult situation playing for Memphis last year, as he saw few minutes in a stacked frontcourt. Tillery observes that Davis doesn’t hold any ill will against his former team, but the Commercial Appeal scribe’s perceived lack of bitterness from Davis runs in contrast to the words that the 22-year-old had about the Grizzlies, which we passed along earlier tonight.
Eastern Notes: Waiters, Frye, Thomas, Powell
Dion Waiters may have been moved out of the starting lineup, but Cavaliers coach David Blatt tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that the third-year guard should think of himself as a “second starter.” “I just don’t like the term ‘bench player’ because I don’t think that’s what he is,” Blatt said. “He’s a player who plays important minutes in the game when we need them. To me, whether he begins the game [as a starter] or not is less significant. It’s about the minutes he plays and what he does in those minutes.” Still on his rookie contract, Waiters is under the Cavaliers’ control through the 2016/17 season.
Also in the Eastern Conference:
- The Magic know what Channing Frye can do for them, but his new teammates don’t always know where he is, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “When I’m watching film, he’s open more times than he’s receiving the basketball,” lamented Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. “That’s just guys not knowing where he’s going to be yet, not knowing how the defense is going to play him.” The growing pains are to be expected for the Magic, who brought in eight new players during the offseason. Frye, a big man with three-point range, came to Orlando as a free agent, signing for $32MM over four years.
- Malcolm Thomas, who was waived Monday by the Sixers, has opted to undergo knee surgery, according to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Thomas, who was playing about 14 minutes per game, suffered a left knee effusion and will be out of action for four to five weeks.
- The Celtics‘ Dwight Powell has no complaints about his short stint in the D-League, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Powell, who was recalled by the Celtics Monday, scored 29 points in a Maine Red Claws scrimmage. “It’s very important for me or any player really, to work on your skills,” Powell said. “I’m glad I was able to get down there.” Powell came to Boston this summer as part of a three-team deal with the Nets and Cavaliers. He has yet to appear in a regular-season game for the Celtics.
And-Ones: Kobe, Wolves, Extensions, D’Antoni
A work stoppage cost two months of the season the last time players and owners negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement, but union executive director Michele Roberts wants to avoid a repeat come 2017, as she tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
“I don’t want a lockout. I don’t want a strike. What I want is anything any reasonable person would want — and that is labor peace,” Roberts said. “That’s what I hope for, but I’ve got to be prepared for a lockout.”
The specter of the next labor negotiations will continue to grow as they creep closer and as Roberts continues to settle into her role. However, with Roberts and Adam Silver replacing Billy Hunter and David Stern in their respective roles on opposite sides, there’s reason to expect the talks will proceed differently this time around. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Kobe Bryant reiterated to USA Today’s Sam Amick that he can’t envision playing past the end of his contract in 2015/16, and he was even more definitive in his declaration that he won’t ask for a trade, no matter how often the Lakers lose this season. “It’s not going to happen,” Bryant said. “It’s not going to happen. You go through the good times, you’ve got to go through the bad times.”
- Timberwolves executive/coach Flip Saunders has no plans to add another point guard in absence of Ricky Rubio, who’s out up to eight weeks with a sprained left ankle, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Rookie Zach LaVine is starting in Rubio’s place while Mo Williams remains on the bench.
- Saunders and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau are among many who believe the league should have an earlier deadline for rookie scale extensions so that negotiations don’t spill into the season, observes Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
- Mike D’Antoni has been hanging around Hornets practices and games and giving feedback to Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, notes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “I know this: He was in Charlotte for three days, and we had a great time. We talked basketball, like, two or three hours a day,” Clifford said. “He still has a real passion for coaching. I know that.”
- The Grizzlies have recalled rookies Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes from the D-League, the team announced via press release. Memphis assigned the pair on Saturday, in time for Adams to score 20 and Stokes to put up 13 points and 13 rebounds in a preseason game for the Iowa Energy.
Eastern Notes: Brooks, Dellavedova, Powell
Bulls guard Aaron Brooks credits coach Tom Thibodeau with rebuilding the confidence that once made him the NBA’s Most Improved Player, according to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Thibodeau quickly became a fan of the 6’0″ guard after he signed a one year deal with the Bulls in the offseason for $915,243. “I came in here lacking confidence,” Brooks admitted. “Even when I doubted myself, he was there to tell me, ‘You know what? I’ve watched you play, you’ve done well’ and just to keep working hard. It’s been a breath of fresh air for me.” Brooks earned the Most Improved Player award with the Rockets during the 2009/10 season, but has since bounced around the league, playing for the Suns, Kings, Rockets again and Nuggets before signing with Chicago.
Here’s more from the east:
- Matthew Dellavedova has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks of action, the Cavs announced in a press release. The backup point guard is averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 assists in three appearances.
- Celtics forward Dwight Powell has been assigned to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. The rookie has yet to make a regular season appearance after averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game in six preseason appearances.
- The Pacers are doing their best to remain positive despite a spate of injuries affecting their top seven players, according to Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. “It’s almost comical,” point guard Donald Sloan said. “Just how it’s happening. It seems game by game, it’s something. Same story.” The latest victim is center Roy Hibbert, who is day-to-day after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Wizards with a bruised left knee. The spiral for the 1-6 Pacers, who were the East’s top seed last season, began when Paul George suffered a broken leg in August during an exhibition game with the USA Men’s National Team.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Young, Grizzlies, D-League
Thaddeus Young was one of many veteran players the Sixers rid themselves of as part of their rebuilding through the draft lottery plan, and the forward is finding life with the Wolves much better than he anticipated, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “It was frustrating to go out there each and every day to keep fighting and then you’re not coming up with anything,” Young said of his final year in Philadelphia. “But that situation is over now. I have a new team, new beginning and new chapter so I’m just ready to go out there and continue to play and get better with this team. We have a solid mixture of young guys and a solid mixture of veteran guys, which we didn’t have – the veteran guys – last year in Philadelphia and they don’t have the veteran guys this year as well.”
Here’s more from out west:
- Young also made a statement that would seemingly indicate he hasn’t closed the door on possibly re-signing with the Wolves next summer, Kennedy adds. In discussing the future of the franchise, Young said, “I think the sky’s the limit for this team. If it’s not this year, then it’s the following year. We have really good pieces on this team as far as young guys and we have solid veterans as well. I think we all complement each other very well, enough to go out there and do some things.”
- On the court the Grizzlies are the picture of consistency and lack much in the way of drama, but the team’s front office has been the exact opposite, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes. Powell’s article examines the difficult run the team has had regarding its coaches and front office staff, including Dave Joerger replacing Lionel Hollins as coach two seasons ago, and the issues between ownership and former CEO Jason Levien.
- The Grizzlies have sent Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Stokes has yet to make an appearance for the Grizzlies this season, and Adams has gone scoreless in his one minute of action.
And-Ones: Wiggins, Ariza, Mavs
No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins is only averaging 9.8 PPG after his first four NBA games, but the Wolves rookie is already drawing comparisons to another NBA star, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “He reminded me of Paul George,” an Eastern Conference GM told Scotto. “Paul came in a better off-ball defender than Andrew. He’s [Wiggins] probably a good on-ball defender. Paul had a very difficult time handling the ball when he came in and worked on it and their shooting is similar. I’d say Andrew is a hair better athlete and Paul is a little bigger maybe.” The biggest difference between the two players as rookies is Wiggins is under much more scrutiny and pressure than George was as a rookie thanks to his top slot on the draft board, adds Scotto.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Despite quite a few predictions of a Cavs–Bulls Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors and the Wizards might prove those prognostications premature, Eric Koreen of The National Post writes. Toronto and Washington are taking different approaches regarding the mixture of veterans and younger players on their respective rosters, notes Koreen. The Raptors are building around a younger core, and the Wizards, despite younger stars like Bradley Beal and John Wall, have added a number of long-in-the-tooth veterans this past offseason. Wizards coach Randy Wittman said, “Obviously, talent prevails. You’ve got to have that first. It was important for us to have a mixture of veterans with our young guys,” Koreen adds.
- The Mavs have been affiliated with the Texas Legends of the D-League for five seasons and view the partnership as a way to experiment with new ideas, Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com writes. “There have always been a lot of advantages to having the team in Frisco, but we’re using it more experimentally now,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said. “There are certain things we’ll hopefully unveil that will be different. We’ve been practicing some things, and hopefully they will work. We want to try some things that will hopefully change things up.”
- Trevor Ariza is making it easy for Rockets fans to forget that Chandler Parsons is now in Dallas, Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Thus far, Ariza is averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.2 APG, while shooting a ridiculous 55% from behind the arc for the 6-0 Rockets.
Eastern Notes: LeBron, Noel, Knicks
If LeBron James was indeed trying to send a message to his teammates during the Cavs‘ 101-82 loss to the Blazers last night, it’s a risky move that may backfire, Nate Scott of USA Today opines. James had one of the worst games of his career and immediately passed the ball anytime it came to him during the second half of the game. “I’m just trying to do other things,” James said. “I’m trying to instill what it takes to win. My mission is not a one-game thing. We have to do multiple things in order to win. We have to share the ball. We’ve got to play defense. We’ve got to sacrifice in order to ultimately win. Obviously, when you’re going through the process, it’s not the best part of it. But I’m looking at the end of the tunnel.” Scott believes it might be too early in the season for James to try and light a fire under the rest of the team, and it could end up causing issues in the locker room.
Here’s more from the east:
- James realizes that many of his new teammates in Cleveland haven’t had experience with winning in the NBA, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. “There has been a lot of losing basketball around here for a few years,” James said. “A lot of guys who are going to help us win ultimately haven’t played a lot of meaningful basketball games in our league. When we get to that point where every possession matters, no possessions off, we have to share the ball, move the ball and be a team and be unselfish, we’ll be a better team.”
- Knicks second round draftee Thanasis Antetokounmpo said it was a call from team president Phil Jackson during the summer that sealed his decision to play in the NBA D-League rather than overseas, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
- Nerlens Noel is the early leader for Rookie of the Year honors, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes. The Sixers‘ big man is attempting to duplicate Blake Griffin‘s feat of winning the award after sitting out his first year due to injury, notes the Philly.com scribe. In four games Noel is averaging 8.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.0 BPG.
And-Ones: D-League, Okafor, Extensions
The NBA has announced a number of new rules that the D-League will test out this season. One of these new rules will allow coaches to challenge officials’ calls, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link). These challenges will allow the officials to review personal fouls, shooting fouls, and offensive fouls, notes Mannix. Other rules being tested include coaches having an opportunity to advance the ball and make substitutions without using a timeout, and the number of fouls before teams shoot free throws will increase. Seeing as the league often uses the D-League to field test new changes, it’s possible that some of these new rules may find their way into the NBA if successful.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Chris Alpert, the D-League’s vice president of basketball operations, thinks the changes “will have a positive impact on speeding up the game” and improving the flow in the final minutes, notes Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. However, if speeding up the pace of the game is the end goal, increased use of instant replay would seem to clash with that design.
- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is under no illusions that highly touted 2015 draft prospect Jahlil Okafor will stay at the school an extra year, notes Stephen Wiseman of The Herald-Sun (Twitter link). Okafor is the top prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings as well as those of Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
- While the 2011 NBA Draft class was regarded at the time as one of the weakest in recent memory, this group has secured the most extensions out of any crop of draftees since 2004’s draft class, notes Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Moreland, Green, Lucas, Hancock
There are six Western Conference teams in action tonight on a slate that includes a matchup of unbeatens between the Rockets and Heat, who also went head-to-head in the pursuit of Chris Bosh this past offseason. Let’s take a look at what’s going on out west before tonight’s action gets underway:
- The Kings have assigned undrafted rookie forward Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns, the team announced today. Moreland, who signed a three-year deal with Sacramento in July, had yet to touch the floor in four games for the Kings after impressing this summer. His contract is guaranteed for $200K this season and is non-guaranteed for the two years beyond that.
- Draymond Green, who will become a restricted free agent next summer, has switched agents, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). Green was previously represented by Herb Rudoy of Interperformances, as our Agency Database shows, and will now be under the care of B.J. Armstrong and Arn Tellem of the Wasserman Media Group, according to Amick. Green originally signed a three-year pact with the Warriors as a rookie, the third year of which became guaranteed on August 1 when he remained on the Golden State roster.
- The Grizzlies’ deal with Kalin Lucas, struck earlier today, is non-guaranteed for one year but will become fully guaranteed at some point in January, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter). Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms it is a minimum salary deal worth the prorated amount of $486,446 (via Twitter).
- Luke Hancock, who was waived by the Grizzlies in October, signed with Panionios B.C. of Greece, the team announced today (translation via Sportando). Memphis brought Hancock into camp on a non-guaranteed deal in September before parting ways with the undrafted rookie out of Louisville.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Cavs, D-League, Temple
Not surprisingly, three of the NBA’s four unbeaten teams reside in the Western Conference, where the Warriors, Rockets and Grizzlies are all 3-0. The East’s lone unbeaten is the franchise that’s won the last four conference championships, but it’s nonetheless surprising to see the Heat back atop the conference standings after they lost LeBron James this past summer. While we wait to see if Miami will continue to reign without King James, here’s the latest from around the league:
- The Cavs feel like they made concessions in their final extension offer to Tristan Thompson, which exceeded $48MM over four years, but neither side has any hard feelings in the wake of the failed negotiations, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- NBA teams kept the D-League rights to 47 players cut during camp this year, the D-League announced, listing all of them. The Mavs, Warriors and Suns used all four spots available to each NBA team to reserve the rights to such players, so they can’t keep the D-League rights to anyone they waive during the regular season, unlike the rest of the teams in the NBA. Renaldo Balkman, Bernard James, Doron Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, Peyton Siva, Malcolm Lee and Earl Barron are this year’s “affiliate players” with NBA experience.
- Garrett Temple refrains from drinking, smoking and tattoos, and he’s convinced the straight-arrow approach has helped him win jobs during his career, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post observes. Injuries to others have thrust Temple into the starting lineup for the Wizards, who re-signed him this summer for two years at the minimum salary.