Odds & Ends: Pelicans, Cavs, Bennett, Wade
Pelicans owner Tom Benson bought in to the NBA at the right time, writes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune. The Pelicans, purchased for $338MM by Benson in April 2012, are now worth $420MM. It wasn’t an attendance boost that helped fill out Benson’s wallet even further but rather the new Collective Bargaining Agreement which is more owner-friendly than the previous one. More from around the league..
- The Cavs announced that they have recalled Carrick Felix and Sergey Karasev from the D-League. Both players were recalled and re-assigned to the Canton Charge last week but are back in the fold with the varsity squad today. Felix has played in nine games for the Charge this season, averaging 11.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 28.7 minutes per game. Karasev has appeared in six games for the Charge and is averaging 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 28.8 minutes per game.
- Meanwhile, NBA executives are stumped as to why the Cavs won’t demote Anthony Bennett, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft picked up yet another DNP-CD tonight.
- In today’s mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel wonders if Dwyane Wade might take a financial sacrifice for the Heat by opting out and re-working his deal. Instead of taking $40MM over the next two seasons, Winderman suggests a five-year, $60MM deal for the veteran.
D-League Notes: Ledo, Faverani, Celtics
In his latest piece for D-League Digest, Gino Pilato details the story of Curtis Stinson, a 30-year-old D-League veteran who’s never played in an NBA game. It’s an interesting read, and Pilato notes that a veteran presence like the one Stinson provides can be beneficial to the development of young D-League players. Here’s the latest news regarding the NBA’s official minor league affiliate:
- Mavericks rookie Ricky Ledo will see his third D-League assignment this season, the team announced today via press release. He’s averaging 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 29.8 minutes per game for the Texas Legends. He’s started nine of the 15 D-League contests he’s played in.
- The Celtics have assigned Vitor Faverani to the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, the team revealed today in a press release. The move might sound surprising since Faverani has played relatively well for Boston and averages about 13 minutes per game. However, comments by C’s boss Danny Ainge made it clear that it’s only a temporary assignment to help get Faverani some playing time: “This is just a quick assignment to get Vitor some more game action,” said Ainge, “He’ll be back with the Celtics for shootaround tomorrow morning.“
- More from Ainge on the move: “This is a great option for any Celtics player to get more in-game experience without missing any Celtics activities, and we expect there will be more of this type of assignment for Celtics players during the remainder of the season.” We saw Rajon Rondo see a similarly short assignment earlier this month.
- Earlier today, we passed along that the Hawks recalled Jared Cunningham from their D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam.
Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Cuban, Gortat
Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders runs down six things you need to know about the Suns, including their enviable cap position. While some might think that Phoenix would have a hard time landing big free agents, Eric Bledsoe is the kind of guy who other elite players will want to play with because he’s a fierce competitor and unselfish. It also helps that Jeff Hornacek is a player’s coach, being a former player himself.
- Can an NBA owner do a sufficient job while living on the other side of the world? No, says Mavs owner Mark Cuban, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. “Absolutely not,” Cuban said. “Hypothetically speaking — and this only applies to individuals 6-foot-5 and under — you can’t,” Cuban said as an obvious shot at 6-foot-7 Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. “That’s why I sit so close. It’s like trying to run a company and not being able to go to the sales meetings, not being able to go to the customer service meetings or the support meeting.”
- The Hawks announced that they have recalled guard Jared Cunningham from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League. Cunningham, who was re-assigned to Bakersfield on January 1st, has averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes in 17 games (14 starts) over three stints with the Jam this season. He has appeared in three games with the Hawks this year and will be available tonight at Milwaukee. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments and recalls, check out our running list.
- Wizards big man Marcin Gortat says he looks back on his time with the Suns fondly, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Gortat has also found a nice home for himself in Washington and the Wizards are very interested in locking him up long-term.
- Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside has a breakdown of P.J. Hairston’s 40 point performance for the D-League’s Texas Legends. The former UNC standout figures to be a first-rounder in the 2014 draft and could vault himself up the board with more performances like that one.
D-League Notes: Kadji, Bennett, Marshall, Harris
A couple of former D-League players inked 10-day contracts earlier today: Dewayne Dedmon officially signed his second such pact this season with the Sixers, and Othyus Jeffers jumped on board with the Spurs to help provide some depth off the bench while the squad deals with an injury to Kawhi Leonard. Here are a few more D-League-related tidbits:
- Undrafted free agent Kenny Kadji has been acquired by the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, hears Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Kadji spent his training camp playing with the Cavaliers, but he failed to make the opening day roster. The big man out of Miami is still free to sign with any NBA team.
- Cavaliers coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer, that Anthony Bennett won’t be heading to the D-League any time soon. Bennett hasn’t played in the Cavs’ last five contests and has struggled throughout his rookie season after being selected first overall in last summer’s draft.
- Kendall Marshall is unsure if he will be a member of the Lakers after this season, but he credits the D-League for keeping him in shape and helping him land a spot in Los Angeles (Twitter links via Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders). Marshall signed a deal to play for LA through the remainder of year after a rash of injuries in the club’s backcourt left them without much depth.
- Another tweet from Kyler reveals that Manny Harris praised the D-League for helping him display his skills and eventually get a 10-day deal with the Lakers. Harris, like Marshall, is also unsure of his future in Lakerland, but it was revealed last night that he might be soon receiving another 10-day contract offer from the team.
Odds & Ends: Young, Draft, Spurs, Celtics
Thaddeus Young‘s name figures to be in plenty of rumors between now and the February 20th trade deadline. “There is not a GM in the league who wouldn’t want Thaddeus Young on their team,” an NBA executive tells Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, Young’s contract, with average salaries of more than $9MM through 2015/16, remains a turn-off for would-be trade partners, Pompey writes. The Inquirer scribe takes a stab at sketching the Sixers roster for 2014/15, concluding that a turnaround is still a ways off. Here’s more on a couple of prospects who could be in Philly next year, as well as more from around the NBA:
- Several NBA scouts are leaning toward regarding Indiana’s Noah Vonleh as a better power forward prospect than Kentucky’s Julius Randle, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who debates the matter with colleague Kevin Pelton in an Insider-only piece.
- The Spurs wanted someone who could guard small forwards after learning Kawhi Leonard would miss the next three or four weeks, and Gregg Popovich says that led them to sign Othyus Jeffers, observes Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
- A splintered Clippers front office kept the team from trading for Kevin Garnett at the deadline last year, and that prompted the Celtics to draw back from discussions with the Nets about Paul Pierce, sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The C’s would have been better off had those deals gone down than they are with the package they obtained from the Nets this summer, Deveney surmises.
- Doc Rivers stuck up for Tom Thibodeau, his former assistant coach, saying that he didn’t think “any right-minded organization” would allow him to leave, as Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. Rumors have suggested the Bulls might let their coach out of his contract so he can take over the Knicks.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders what more Pierre Jackson must do to convince New Orleans to sign him. The Pelicans hold the NBA rights to the D-League’s leading scorer, but they’ve given Jackson permission to seek a trade.
Odds & Ends: Stuckey, Teague, D-League
Considering his expiring contract and recent stellar play, Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey could be a hot commodity on the trade market soon, especially for teams looking to add bench scoring or create some cap flexibility this summer, writes Brendan Savage of MLive.com. Despite the likelihood of being included in discussions as we inch closer to the February trade deadline, Stuckey insists that he’s strictly focused on playing basketball:
“Nah, I don’t think about that,..Whatever happens, happens. I’m here to play basketball. I’m a Detroit Piston right now…I have no control over that. My agent will take care of that. It’s up to the organization, what they want to do and what they’re looking at. I don’t think about it at all. I just try to come out every night and compete and try to win.”
Here’s more from around the league this evening:
- Newly acquired Nets guard Marquis Teague said he wasn’t shocked about being dealt from the Bulls and admitted that he didn’t fit well with the style of former coach Tom Thibodeau: “It just wasn’t clicking with Thibs the right way… trying to figure out the system was kind of tough for me. The way they play isn’t really my style, so it’s kind of difficult for me. But I’ve got a new start now, so I’m just looking forward to the future” (Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York).
- As per the team’s official website, the Suns have assigned Archie Goodwin to the Bakersfield Jam.
- The Cavaliers recalled Carrick Felix and Sergey Karasev from the Canton Charge earlier today (Twitter link).
- According to Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest.com, former University of Miami forward Kenny Kadji has entered the NBDL player pool and will likely receive a claim from a D-League team.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun believes that if the Raptors sign Vince Carter as a free agent this summer, it could help the team’s perception with other free agents who may question why the franchise hasn’t honored its most decorated star.
- ESPN’s Marc Stein forecasts the makeup of the 12-man Team USA roster which will compete in this year’s FIBA World Cup. Of the 28 names listed in the USAB’s national team player pool, Stein believes that 10 of them appear to be realistic locks (barring injury), leaving an interesting race for the final two spots.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Jackson, Warriors, Goodwin
Three teams are separated by just two games in the loss column atop the Pacific Division. One of them isn’t the Lakers, of course, but the purple-and-gold are nonetheless the division’s only squad in TNT’s nationally televised doubleheader this evening. While we await tip-off, here’s the latest from the Pacific:
- Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Wednesday made his most definitive statement to date that he won’t return to the bench, as part of an interview on Fox Sports Live (Twitter link). The Zen Master left some wiggle room in previous comments, casting it as unlikely he’d coach again but leaving the door slightly ajar. This time, he made it almost entirely certain. “I’m not going to coach again,” Jackson said, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News transcribed. “I’ve done my coaching and I think I can put that aside.”
- Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob acknowledged that the team’s goal of moving into a new arena in San Francisco by 2017 will be difficult to meet, as he told Gary Radnich and Larry Krueger of KNBR radio Thursday. The hurdles to construction for the proposed bayside arena have long made the timetable seem far-fetched, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle points out.
- The Suns have yet to make an official announcement, but they’ve told Archie Goodwin they’ll send him to the D-League, according to Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com. GM Ryan McDonough says the 29th overall pick in the 2013 draft will play a pair of games this weekend for the Bakersfield Jam before rejoining the Suns. It’ll be Phoenix’s first D-League assignment this year.
Odds & Ends: Wright, D-League
As All-Star Weekend approaches, ideas for improving the All-Star events always resurface. USA Today Sports asked multiple writers to pitch their ideas, which include a one-on-one tournament and a half-court shooting contest. Here are some notes from around the NBA:
- Dorell Wright wanted to join the Thunder this year, but ended up choosing the Trail Blazers because they offered a better contract, he tells Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK. “They couldn’t really do what Portland did for me as far as on the contract end,” Wright says. He decided against playing with former high school teammate Russell Westbrook and took Portland’s offer: “Maybe down in the future, I could probably play with Russ. But I’m pretty happy with the decision I made to come here to Portland.”
- Richard Howell has bought out his D-League contract with the Idaho Stampede, and will be signing on with the Talk ‘N Text team in the Philippines, per Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Howell spent training camp with the Trail Blazers, but didn’t make the regular season roster and hasn’t played an NBA minute.
- The Cavs D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, has acquired Ben Uzoh for a third round D-League draft pick from the Texas Legends, per Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Uzoh hasn’t played in the NBA since short stints with the Cavs and Raptors during the 2011/12 season.
Mavs Notes: Ledo, Free Agency
The Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavs had a tough loss tonight, blowing a 21-point lead to the Raptors while their star sat out for some scheduled rest. Some more notes from Dallas:
- The Mavs recalled guard Ricky Ledo from their D-League affilate Texas Legends, per Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Ledo has played 10 games with the Mavs this year, averaging just 3.3 MPG.
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News answered reader questions in a chat, writing that he expects the Mavs to “shoot for the moon” in free agency again this summer.
- In a chat of his own, Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News agrees. Sherrington says Omer Asik would be a great fit for the Mavs’ needs this year, but doesn’t envision owner Mark Cuban taking on his $14.9MM salary (only $8.4MM of which hits the salary cap) to preserve their flexibility heading into the offseason: “Cuban wants to save all the money he can to make a push for a free agent this summer.”
Central Rumors: Bulls, Green, Scola
The Bulls could take a couple of different paths regarding trade exceptions from Tuesday’s deal with the Nets. Chicago could absorb Tornike Shengelia’s $788,872 salary into the $2,025,000 exception they received in the Luol Deng trade, leaving that exception at $1,236,128 and creating a new exception worth the equivalent of Marquis Teague’s $1,074,720 salary. It seems more likely that they would leave the Deng exception alone and create a tiny $285,848 exception from the difference between Teague and Shengelia’s salaries, simply because a roughly $2MM exception is more useful than two exceptions worth about $1MM. Still, their choice remains unconfirmed. Here’s the latest from the Central:
- Gerald Green isn’t upset with the Pacers for burying him last season or trading him over the summer, and says he has no intention of ever leaving the Suns, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Luis Scola says the memories of his time with the Suns are painful, as Coro passes along in the same story. Scola nonetheless had concerns about how much of a role he’d have on the Pacers when the team traded for him this summer, observes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Frank Vogel assured the longtime starter he’d be a major part of the team, and Scola appears content as a key player off the bench.
- The trade talk surrounding Greg Monroe is starting to bother him, as he tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. “It does, to be honest. We’re still trying to get things right, here,” Monroe said. “To see that stuff … I just focus on what we’re doing here. I’m here. If that changes, then I’ll move forward. If it never does, I’ll focus on playing these games and trying to win these games.”
- The Cavaliers have assigned Carrick Felix and Sergey Karasev to the D-League, the team announced. It’ll be the fourth D-League stint this year for Felix, who just returned from the Canton Charge on Tuesday, and the third for Karasev.
- No other NBA teams made an offer to Mike James, who jumped on a 10-day contract from the Bulls and harbors no ill will toward the team for waiving him earlier this season, as he tells reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.