And-Ones: D-League, Blazers, Extensions
Whoever the league tabs as a replacement for former NBA D-League president Dan Reed is a very big hire for the NBA and the D-League, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com writes. The hope is to have a new president of the D-League in place before its season begins in mid-November, notes Arnovitz, who believes that it will be difficult to replace Reed’s sense of innovation, which is an important trait if the D-League is to continue to grow.
Here’s the latest from around the association:
- The Trail Blazers and Chris Kaman look to be a good fit, Jason Quick of The Oregonian writes. Kaman and GM Neil Olshey have a history together that extends back to when Kaman was drafted by the Clippers and Olshey was hired as Player Development Coach that same year, notes Quick.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress runs down the top 2015 NBA Draft prospects in the Big East. Headlining the list are Isaiah Whitehead, Chris Obekpa, and Rysheed Jordan.
- In his season preview for the Blazers, Adi Joseph of USA Today predicts another 54-win season and Portland snagging the fifth overall seed in the playoffs.
- For the NBA Draft class of 2011 the deadline to sign an extension is approximately a month away. Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) runs down the contract status of each first-rounder from that draft year.
Eastern Notes: Rondo, Monroe, LeBron, Raptors
Soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo expressed utmost confidence Monday that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge can return the team to contention, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald observes.
“Yeah, I’m pretty smart,” Rondo said. “I know this isn’t a championship team. But we’re going to go out there every night and fight hard. I think if we continue to do the little things and believe in each other and believe in [coach] Brad Stevens, we’ll surprise a lot of people. I have complete trust in Danny. The worst year of my career, in two months we turned it around. So I’m not worried about what he’s capable of doing. He’s done it.”
Rondo also spoke about the frequent appearance of his name in trade rumors, half-kiddingly suggesting that he’d like a no-trade clause in his next deal. It’ll be tough for him to avoid more rumors this season, one in which he seems like the most prominent trade candidate leaguewide. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Pistons aren’t giving up hope that they’ll reach a long-term deal with Greg Monroe, even though his signed qualifying offer means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer, owner Tom Gores told reporters, including Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free-Press. Monroe isn’t ruling it out either, as we noted yesterday.
- Mike Miller confirmed a June report from Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that the Heat‘s decision to amnesty him in 2013 upset LeBron James, as Miller tells Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer. “LeBron thought it was an unnecessary change,” Miller said. “I’m not saying I would have been a difference-maker. San Antonio was unbelievable last year and there are a lot of things that go into a season, but it was difficult for LeBron. It was difficult for all of us. It was difficult for me. I had to uproot my family and move again. It was tough. I think he was disappointed because he understands legacies and he understands what he wants to do in life. That’s what makes him special.”
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri had hoped to find a one-to-one D-League affiliate for this season, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, who writes that the idea remains on the table for future seasons. Toronto will be one of 13 NBA teams sharing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this year.
Western Notes: Papanikolaou, Liz, Ivey, Gay
Kostas Papanikolaou’s two-year deal with the Rockets is non-guaranteed, surprisingly, but this year’s salary of nearly $4.798MM becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through Sunday, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). His second-year salary of almost $4.6MM becomes fully guaranteed if he sticks through September 28th next year, Pincus adds.
Here’s more from out west:
- Dominican Republic guard Victor Liz is working on a deal to re-sign overseas, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Liz had reportedly been offered a training camp invite by the Mavericks.
- Former Hawks player Royal Ivey will be an assistant coach for the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link).
- With Rudy Gay picking up his player option to return to Sacramento, the Kings have stability at the small forward position for the first time in years, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Sanchez, Nets
The Celtics versatile roster offers coach Brad Stevens a wealth of rotation possibilities, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com notes. “If you go through it, like really go through it, there’s about 150 variations of this you can go with. And more so than last year,” said Stevens. “I thought last year we were pretty hard to figure out. It’s been a fun puzzle to think about. But it’s a puzzle that’s going to figure itself out once we start practice.” The Celtics used 24 different starting lineups last season, which isn’t a great recipe for success in the NBA.
Here’s what else is happening in the Atlantic Division:
- If Orlando Sanchez doesn’t make the Knicks opening night roster, one possibility is for him to join the New York’s D-League affiliate in Westchester, Keith Schlosser of SNY.tv writes.
- Sanchez is loving the triangle offense that the Knicks are implementing this season, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Sanchez said, “I think my game fits the triangle very well. I’ve picked it up quickly so far. My ability to shoot, handle and pass shows in this offense. I would like to make the Knicks roster out of camp, but I also understand going to Westchester is a possibility. I think it would be a positive situation, because the team will practice at the Knicks facility and I can develop with the coaching staff.’’
- The Nets are bringing 17 players to training camp this year. Reed Wallach of SB Nation runs down the names of the recent invitees and what they bring to the court.
Western Notes: Thunder, Clippers, Bledsoe
The Thunder revealed that the name for their new D-League team will be the Oklahoma City Blue in a press release they issued earlier today. As for why that name was chosen, Brian Byrnes, the Thunder’s senior vice president of Sales and Marketing said, “Blue is one of our primary Thunder colors, but it has become more than just a color for us. It has come to represent the passion, loyalty and unity of our fans and our community in their support for our team. Our players wear it proudly on their uniforms, our fans sport Thunder blue shirts, Thunder blue flags fly across Oklahoma and our statewide Blue Alliance fan groups show their connection to our team and what it stands for.”
Here’s more from out west:
- Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers praised the offseason addition of Spencer Hawes, and said the center turned down larger offers to come to Los Angeles, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register writes. Rivers said, “I thought he was a great fit. Because of salary and where we’re at, I didn’t think we could get him.” The coach also noted in the article that the franchise getting to the point where players will take less money to play there is a positive sign.
- Clippers owner Steve Ballmer hopes to have a team president who will handle day-to-day operations of the team in place soon, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link).
- Ballmer also announced that Eric Miller, former owner Donald Sterling’s son-in-law, has left his position as director of basketball administration, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register tweets.
- The Suns are reportedly set to re-sign Eric Bledsoe to a five-year, $70MM extension, and Steve Kyler and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders debate whether it was a mistake on Phoenix’s part.
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim is no longer with the Kings, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. Abdur-Rahim was the director of player personnel and GM of of the Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ NBA D-League team.
Eastern Notes: Magic, Heat, Knicks
After suffering a torn Achilles tendon almost nine months ago, Bobcats forward Jeff Taylor is working his way back towards full health, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “It’s been a long road,” Taylor said. “With an Achilles injury, you have to be really patient – slowly getting back all your strength, back to what you were.” Here’s more from the East..
- Magic newcomer Luke Ridnour perfectly fits what the team needs, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. The 33-year-old has a mature locker room presence, experience as a reserve guard, and still shows glimpses of solid play. Perhaps more importantly, he can show No. 10 overall pick Elfrid Payton Jr. the ropes.
- The staff at Basketball Insiders previewed the Heat for the upcoming season. Without LeBron James, none of the five writers have Miami winning the division. The consensus seems to be that they’ll be a playoff team, and maybe one with homecourt advantage, but the ceiling doesn’t go much higher than that.
- The Knicks haven’t named their D-League coach yet, but when they do, the final candidate will be familiar with the way Derek Fisher wants to play, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “We’ve talked to a few candidates, very good candidates. We’re not there yet, we’re very close. But this is a very unique position because you want to have someone who is familiar with the way Derek wants to play and the system. But also [someone who is] familiar with the future and the landscape of the D-League and its process,” Westchester Knicks GM Allan Houston said.
And-Ones: Turner, D-League, Rockets
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel ran down the free agent movements thus far, organized by each team’s comers and goers around the league. Here’s a look at the league’s news and notes from tonight:
- A source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that the Celtics will officially complete their signing of Evan Turner before training camp starts at the end of the month (Twitter link). Turner reached an agreement with Boston back in July, but the team is still in the process of shuffling the roster to make room for the former No. 2 overall pick. Not counting Turner, the Celtics currently have 20 total contracts on the books for training camp, which is the maximum allowed.
- Flip Bondy of the New York Daily News takes a look at the open tryout process for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Players truly off the street have a longshot chance at making D-League training camp, and longer odds at an eventual NBA callup.
- The crew at Basketball Insiders previews the Rockets 2014/15 season. They are mostly optimistic about the team, despite GM Daryl Morey‘s misses this offseason.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Beasley, Hawks
Earlier this week, we learned that the Magic are bringing Seth Curry, younger brother of Stephen Curry, in for training camp. Curry had reportedly been weighing overseas opportunities earlier this summer, but he’ll try to stick in Orlando instead. More out of the Southeast Division..
- In today’s mailbag, a reader suggests to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that former Heat forward Michael Beasley could become a superstar under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich if he signs in San Antonio. The Spurs have found a way to make things work with guys like Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson that didn’t fit elsewhere, so Winderman could see Beasley enjoying a career renaissance in San Antonio.
- The Hawks have dominated NBA headlines in recent weeks but in-fighting amongst their ownership has been going on for years, as Mike Tierney of the New York Times writes. Tierney noes that a year after the current ownership group took over, managing partner Steve Belkin blocked a trade for Joe Johnson that had been negotiated by GM Billy Knight and was favored by Belkin’s colleagues. The dispute wound up in court and Belkin finally sold his share of the team after five long years of bickering.
- Even though the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, is still without a head coach, recent hires Chris Quinn and Octavio De La Grana figure to have a hand in the club’s operations, writes Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
And-Ones: Thompson, Moore, Oden
Klay Thompson was one of many Warriors players who expressed support for Mark Jackson in the days leading up to Golden State’s firing of its former coach, but the extension-eligible Thompson tells USA Today’s Sam Amick that he’s optimistic about working with Steve Kerr. “It was tough seeing Coach [Jackson] go, but at the end of the day the front office did what they felt would be best for us to win,” Thompson said. “They’ve made great moves in the past, so no reason not to trust them on this move. I’ve talked to Steve and he seems really good, like a guy who is really going to open it up for us. I’m excited to work with him.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The salary in the second season of E’Twaun Moore‘s deal with the Bulls will become guaranteed if he remains on the roster beyond a certain date in July 2015, writes Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Executives with two NBA teams were optimistic that Greg Oden could still prove a useful NBA player after seeing him with the Heat last year, as they told Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Still, his chances of finding work in the NBA anytime soon are in serious doubt as he faces a felony domestic violence charge stemming from an incident last month, as another exec tells Wallace.
- The Celtics have hired Scott Morrison, the longtime coach at Lakeland University in Canada, to coach their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
D-League Affiliations For 2014/15
The system of partnerships between NBA and D-League teams will take on a new look this year, with 17 of the D-League’s 18 clubs in one-to-one setups with their NBA parents. For the 13 NBA teams without a direct affiliate, new rules will help them accommodate the players they wish to send on D-League assignment this season, the league announced.
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the only D-League team that’s not in a one-to-one partnership, serve as the affiliate for those 13 NBA teams. They’re allowed to carry a maximum of four NBA players on D-League assignment and two at any one position. Should the Mad Ants be unable to accommodate a player on assignment from one of their 13 NBA partners, the D-League will allow the NBA team to pick from a pool of other D-League clubs that volunteer to accept the player. If no D-League teams volunteer, the D-League will hold a lottery to determine the player’s destination.
It appears to be a complex system that could slow the process of sending a player on assignment and make it especially difficult for any NBA team without a one-to-one affiliate to liberally shuttle players back and forth. Still, there’s a wide dichotomy in the use of the D-League, as some NBA teams pull players back and forth multiple times each week while others go entire seasons without sending anyone down.
As we wait to see how the revamped system works out, here’s each NBA team and its affiliate for the coming season. Teams without a one-to-one affiliation are marked with an asterisk.
- *Atlanta Hawks — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Boston Celtics — Maine Red Claws
- *Brooklyn Nets — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- *Charlotte Hornets — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- *Chicago Bulls — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Cleveland Cavaliers — Canton Charge
- Dallas Mavericks — Texas Legends
- *Denver Nuggets — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Detroit Pistons — Grand Rapids Drive
- Golden State Warriors — Santa Cruz Warriors
- Houston Rockets — Rio Grande Valley Vipers
- *Indiana Pacers — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- *Los Angeles Clippers — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Los Angeles Lakers — Los Angeles D-Fenders
- Memphis Grizzlies — Iowa Energy
- Miami Heat — Sioux Falls Skyforce
- *Milwaukee Bucks — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- *Minnesota Timberwolves — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- *New Orleans Pelicans — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- New York Knicks — Westchester Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder — Oklahoma City (nickname TBA; former Tulsa 66ers moved to Oklahoma City)
- Orlando Magic — Erie BayHawks
- Philadelphia 76ers — Delaware 76ers
- Phoenix Suns — Bakersfield Jam
- *Portland Trail Blazers — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Sacramento Kings — Reno Bighorns
- San Antonio Spurs — Austin Spurs
- *Toronto Raptors — Fort Wayne Mad Ants
- Utah Jazz — Idaho Stampede
- *Washington Wizards — Fort Wayne Mad Ants