Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Williams, Brown
Knicks owner James Dolan told his team Thursday that no drastic moves are in the offing, but management apparently didn’t get the message, since the front office is reportedly still involved in trade talks and planning for a potential coaching change. Regardless of whether the Knicks pull off any moves, they seem destined to continue to make headlines all season long. There’s more news on another team that could be active at the trade deadline as we check the latest from the Atlantic Division:
- None of the Raptors appear to be off-limits for a trade, and Kyle Lowry might be the most likely to go. Still, he says he and his teammates aren’t letting the talk get to them, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Lowry tells Wolstat that he was flattered to hear Knicks fans in New York chanting his name on Christmas Day, but he remains committed to the Raptors.
- Terrence Williams is headed to the D-League, a source tells Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Williams left his Turkish team last month to deal with a family matter. Williams has bounced around since the Nets made him the 11th overall pick in 2009 and spent part of last season with the Celtics.
- Williams also has experience playing in China, where Bobby Brown scored 74 points in his last outing for the Dongguan Leopards. Brown, who saw summer league action with the Raptors this year, seems destined to return to the NBA later this season when his Chinese deal is up, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Earlier tonight, we passed along a report that suggested head coach Jason Kidd may be losing support from the Nets.
Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Rondo, Brown
Since Knicks owner James Dolan gave Mike Woodson a public vote of confidence on November 20 (while the team sported a 3-8 record), New York has gone 6-11 over their last 17 games. Among those losses include a 41-point defeat to the Celtics at home, a 15-point loss to the Cavaliers two days later, and a one-point heartbreaker at the hands of the Wizards, in which the Knicks failed to call a timeout with ample time left to set up a final play. Ian Begley of ESPN New York writes that no one from the team’s ownership or front office has commented publicly on Woodson’s status over the last few days, although it appears that the players – especially outspoken center Tyson Chandler – still offer their support.
Here’s what we’ve heard out of the Atlantic Division tonight, including more from Begley’s piece:
- Despite the Knicks struggles, Woodson is still confident that the team can and will win the Atlantic Division title: “Eventually, we’ll get healthy and we’ll see how it all plays out. The beauty about all of this that we’re going through is nobody’s running away with it in our division, and I’m pushing our team to win our division still…We won it last year, and I expect us to win it this year.”
- Marc Berman of the New York Post thinks that the four-day break between New York’s upcoming home-and-home series against Toronto and their Texas triangle trip would be the window in which Dolan could make a coaching change if he ultimately decided to. Otherwise, the Knicks owner could wait until the offseason, where names such as Jeff Van Gundy or Lionel Hollins may become available.
- Conditioning is deemed to be the biggest hurdle between Rajon Rondo and his return from rehab. Though Rondo was reportedly “huffing and puffing” after practice, the 27-year-old point guard participated extensively in drills today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston details: “Rondo raced up and down the court during sprint-heavy drills, tried to take charges as teammates attacked in odd-man breaks, and even dunked off his left leg at one point. He seemed to be pushing himself hard as Boston engaged in its first practice after a three-day holiday break.”
- A source confirms to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the 76ers have assigned Lorenzo Brown to their D-League affiliate, the 87ers. Earlier today, we noted that Bob Cooney of the Daily News was the first to relay notice of those plans. You can read the team’s official press release here.
- RealGM’s Shams Charania writes about how Michael Carter-Williams‘ young stardom has reminded Philadelphia of the way Allen Iverson once carried the Sixers franchise. The 6’6 point guard also offered his thoughts about how outside talk of tanking helped motivate him to compete hard this year.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post notes the Nets’ inability to respond when challenged with adversity this season, shifting focus on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce‘s inability to instill the toughness and fortitude expected of them after being acquired from Boston this past summer.
Bulls Send Marquis Teague To D-League
The Bulls announced this morning via press release that Marquis Teague has been assigned to the D-League’s Iowa Energy. Teague has seen limited minutes for Chicago this season and figures to get more playing time as a member of the Energy. This is Teague’s second D-League assignment this season. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes that efforts to trade the 20-year-old Kentucky product have yielded little interest from around the league. However, Nick Friedell from ESPNChicago.com notes that Bulls GM Gar Forman spoke on ESPN Chicago 1000’s “Waddle & Silvy Show” and revealed he hasn’t lost faith in Teague:
“He’s 20 now. And I think we’ve seen potential; he’s a talented kid, he had a really good summer… And our thought was let’s get him to our D-League affiliate and give him some time on the floor. But in our minds, it’s not a long-term thing. And it’s something we may do several times throughout the season.”
Meanwhile, Bob Cooney from the Daily News tweets that a source tells him the 76ers have plans to assign Lorenzo Brown to the Delaware 87ers of the D-League. Brown hasn’t been seeing much playing time in Philadelphia, and with Michael Carter-Williams returning from his injury, there’s not much of a spot for him in the 76ers’ rotation. Brown, a product of North Carolina State, was selected 52nd overall by the Timberwolves last June but was waived and eventually signed on with in Philly during the season.
Rockets Notes: Rosas, Howard, Canaan
The Rockets are in sixth place in the Western Conference after last night’s loss to the rival Mavericks, but Houston is regaining an asset it lost to Dallas in the offseason, as we detail:
- Former Mavs GM Gersson Rosas is rejoining the Rockets front office, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll serve as executive vice president of basketball operations under GM Daryl Morey. Rosas worked nine years within the Rockets organization before departing this summer for Dallas, where he spent only a few months before leaving amid confusion over his role.
- Mike D’Antoni has presided over plenty of tough breaks in his time with the Lakers, but he doesn’t think there was any more the team could have done to persuade Dwight Howard to pick L.A. over the Rockets. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the details.
- Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle catches up with Isaiah Canaan, whose lengthy D-League assignment finally ended with a recall to the Rockets, paving the way for his NBA debut.
Grizzlies Sign Seth Curry
TUESDAY, 12:16pm: The Grizzlies have officially announced the move, via press release.
SUNDAY, 7:59am: The Grizzlies are set to add guard Seth Curry, tweets Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Curry will arrive in Memphis on Monday for a physical and a workout before the team makes the signing official, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter links). The move would bring the Grizzlies roster to the 15-player maximum.
Curry performed well earlier this month in an audition with the Grizzlies, but it’s still somewhat surprising to see that the club is expected to sign him, since a report indicated that Memphis had shifted gears after setting up its auditions for Curry and others. The Grizzlies had apparently begun focusing on long-term replacements for Quincy Pondexter, who’s out for the season, but perhaps they circled back to Curry after finding no better fit on the market.
The deal figures to be for the minimum salary. There are only a couple of weeks left before the January 10th leaguewide guarantee date, so if the arrangement doesn’t include a full guarantee, the Grizzlies won’t have long to evaluate Curry before they must decide on picking up his salary for the entire season.
Curry, 23, went undrafted out of Duke this past June and spent training camp this fall with older brother Stephen Curry and the Warriors. He’s been playing with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League since then, averaging 21.3 points and 7.8 assists in 12 games.
Amico’s Latest: Lowry, Dragic, Cavs
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio leads his latest piece with news about the Bucks making Larry Sanders available in trades, but he passes along plenty more pre-Christmas rumors. Let’s dive in:
- Amico identifies the Magic and Pelicans as potential Kyle Lowry suitors and hears from one league executive who says he’d be shocked if the Raptors don’t deal the point guard by the deadline.
- A report yesterday suggested Goran Dragic is the Suns player most likely to be dealt, but Amico hears that while the Suns would listen to offers, they aren’t looking to trade him.
- The Cavs have been aggressive in their search for “an impact player” on the trade market recently, but they’re not willing to give up Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson to do so, according to Amico. The team might become more willing to include those players in trades at a later point, Amico speculates.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is still talking to other teams about moves that would improve his club, Amico writes, which jibes with earlier reports that suggest Sacramento remains in trade mode.
- Draft prospect P.J. Hairston could soon wind up in the D-League. The University of North Carolina recently dismissed the swingman, but many around the league think he might head to the D-League to help his draft stock. He’s currently No. 32 on the DraftExpress Top 100 Prospects list.
Southwest Links: Asik, Lin, Spurs, Evans
Let’s round up a few of Monday’s notes out of the Southwest Division….
- Following up on a weekend report, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) confirms that the Rockets and Nets discussed Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, and Deron Williams. However, a source tells Beck that nothing came of the talks, which appear to be dead.
- In a piece for SBNation.com, Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com argues that the Rockets‘ leverage in Asik trade talks could actually improve as the trade deadline approaches, as rival teams feel more pressure to make a move. Deeks also points out that keeping Asik and giving him minutes that may otherwise have gone to Greg Smith will help keep Smith’s value down as he approaches restricted free agency, which should help the Rockets keep him.
- The Spurs have recalled Malcolm Thomas and Nando De Colo from the D-League, according to a press release from the team. Thomas and De Colo appeared in just one game during their stint with Austin, combining for 53 points to help the Toros blow out the Delaware 87ers on Saturday.
- Although he’s a Pelican now, Tyreke Evans keeps an eye on his old team, and tells Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee that he was happy to see the Kings remain in Sacramento “after all the uncertainty.”
Eastern Notes: DeRozan, Magic, Nets, Heat
The Raptors‘ decision to trade Rudy Gay earlier this month may have looked on the surface like a signal that the team was giving up its shot at the playoffs. Instead, the new-look Raps have reeled off their best stretch of the year, handing the Thunder their first home loss of the season last night. Toronto may not be done making moves, but ESPN.com’s Marc Stein says that the latest indications suggest DeMar DeRozan isn’t being “overtly shopped.”
Here’s more from around the East:
- According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, league sources characterize the Magic as “value shoppers” in the trade market. The team wouldn’t be opposed to moving players like Jameer Nelson and Glen Davis, but doesn’t appear to be actively engaged in finding deals. As we heard earlier today, the Magic also continue to turn away inquiries on Arron Afflalo.
- The Nets have recalled Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The duo appeared in a pair of games for the Springfield Armor this weekend, with Shengelia’s 23 points on Sunday helping to lead the Armor to a victory over the Maine Red Claws.
- Since the Nets may not have their own first-round pick for the next five years, it doesn’t make sense to bottom out, meaning the team will need to find a way to field a competitive roster, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
- Responding to an inquiry on whether the Heat should explore trading for Kyle Lowry as an upgrade on Mario Chalmers, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel suggests Chalmers represents an ideal fit for the team, since he understands his role and doesn’t push for more minutes or shots.
Southwest Rumors: Mavs, Ajinca, Rockets
Southwest Division teams have been at the center of headlines this weekend, as the Grizzlies have added the younger brother of Stephen Curry while news about the Rockets‘ attempts to trade Omer Asik continues to leak. Here’s the latest from the Southwest:
- Point guard Devin Harris suffered another toe injury and won’t return for at least a couple more weeks, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the team isn’t looking to add a replacement, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News observes.
- The Pelicans are optimistic about Alexis Ajinca‘s upside after signing him this week, but the 25-year-old acknowledges he has to deliver on his promise soon to have a lengthy NBA career, writes Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune. “This is my second chance,” Ajinca said. “I know there is not going to be a third chance. I know for sure that it is going to have to happen this year or next year. I’ve been working real hard overseas to get back here. Now I can’t wait to have that opportunity to be on the court and show the world that I have been improving those couple of years.”
- Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley will miss four to six weeks with a broken hand suffered last night against the Pistons, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes via Twitter. Even though Jeremy Lin appears ready to return from back spasms, the team plans to call up Isaiah Canaan from the D-League to bolster its depth, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). Canaan has been on D-League assignment for more than six weeks.
D-League Moves: Jazz, Spurs, Nets
Today marks the end of the first month of the D-League season, and so far 13 NBA teams have sent players on assignment, as our tracker shows. Four of those 13 made moves involving seven players today, as we detail:
- Ian Clark and Rudy Gobert are back from their D-League assignments, the Jazz announced. Utah sent both to the Bakersfield Jam a week ago, and Gobert had the more impressive performance, averaging 14.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.3 blocks over three games.
- The Spurs have sent Nando De Colo and Malcolm Thomas to the D-League, according to the team. De Colo is making his third trek to the Austin Toros this season, while Thomas, whom the Spurs signed less than three weeks ago, heads to Austin for the second time.
- Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengelia are back on D-League assignment, the Nets announced. Both second-year players are familiar with the Springfield Armor, having spent time there last season and during training camp this year.
- The Warriors recalled Nemanja Nedovic from the D-League today, as we noted earlier.