Atlantic Notes: Knicks, West, Iguodala, Sixers
The Nets became the third Eastern Conference team to clinch a playoff spot last night, and owner Mikhail Prokhorov issued a statement today suggesting that he's hoping for more from the team than just a postseason berth.
"Of course I'm pleased the Nets have made the playoffs, but I can't say I'm surprised," Prokhorov said in a press release. "We have a lot of talent which is really coming together now and starting to gel. I am confident that the team's best days on the court are still ahead."
Here are a few more notes from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks continue to keep an eye on the D-League in case the team needs to add injury replacements, as Mike Woodson tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Sulia link). "We’re constantly looking at the D-League all the time,'' Woodson said. "We have to gauge where we are and see what happens with these (injured) guys. We still got time. That deadline is still down the road. We go to map out our guys and see where they are going to be physically in the next couple of weeks and then maybe make a decision."
- One D-League player that doesn't appear to be an option for the Knicks is Delonte West. Although New York was said to be monitoring West's D-League debut, the team has not discussed signing him, according to Nate Taylor of the New York Times (Twitter link). Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if West's performance with the Texas Legends so far was a turn-off for the Knicks.
- Andre Iguodala helped the Nuggets defeat his old team last night, and told John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he has no regrets or hard feelings about his time in Philadelphia or the trade that sent him to Denver. Iguodala also expressed hope that the player the Sixers acquired in that deal, Andrew Bynum, recovers quickly from knee surgery.
- In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Lang Greene takes a look at players whose free agent stocks have been hurt by their performances in 2012/13. Greene's list includes a pair of Sixers: Bynum and Dorell Wright.
NBA D-League Assignment Trends
Prior to this season, the rules for D-League assignments were relatively restrictive. Players with two or more years of NBA experience couldn't be sent to a D-League affiliate without their consent, teams were only permitted to have two players on assignment at once, and players couldn't receive more than three assignments in a single season.
All those rules have been modified at least slightly this season, making it easier for teams to use their D-League affiliates as a sort of minor-league system for young players to earn more minutes and more experience. The most notable change came in making the number of D-League assignments unlimited, meaning that a team with a strong geographical proximity to its D-League affiliate can send a player down for a game or two and quickly recall him. As our list of D-League assignments and recalls shows, a number of teams, including the Warriors, Cavaliers, and Spurs have employed that approach with multiple players this season.
Also as a result of the new rules for assignments, a number of young prospects, such as the Rockets' Terrence Jones and the Thunder's Jeremy Lamb, saw enough time with their respective clubs' D-League affiliates to earn D-League All-Star spots last month.
In the first year with the new D-League assignment rules in place, here are the teams that have taken advantage most often, assigning more than two players to the D-League this season:
- Rockets: 7 (Patrick Beverley, Tyler Honeycutt, Terrence Jones, Scott Machado, Donatas Motiejunas, Greg Smith, Royce White)
- Thunder: 5 (Reggie Jackson, Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Liggins, Daniel Orton)
- Cavaliers: 4 (Kevin Jones, Jon Leuer, Samardo Samuels, Josh Selby)
- Spurs: 4 (Aron Baynes, Nando De Colo, Cory Joseph, Kawhi Leonard)
- Trail Blazers: 4 (Will Barton, Victor Claver, Joel Freeland, Nolan Smith)
- Knicks: 3 (Chris Copeland, Amare Stoudemire, James White)
- Lakers: 3 (Darius Johnson-Odom, Darius Morris, Robert Sacre)
- Warriors: 3 (Kent Bazemore, Malcolm Thomas, Jeremy Tyler)
Interestingly, all eight teams that have assigned more than two players to the D-League this season have single-affiliate relationships with those D-League clubs. For example, while D-League teams like the Bakersfield Jam and Fort Wayne Mad Ants act as an affiliate for four different NBA squads, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers are only associated with the Rockets.
It's not a coincidence that NBA teams with their own D-League affiliates are the ones taking advantage of those affiliates most often. Those NBA clubs have a stronger influence over the coaching and development that takes place on their D-League affiliates, so sending a player on an assignment isn't necessarily just a matter of giving him extra minutes — those D-League teams can also coach players in a way that reflects the strategies or philosphies of the NBA club.
Here are the players that have received the most D-League assignments this season:
- Jeremy Lamb: (7 assignments)
- Daniel Orton (7)
- Kevin Jones (6)
- Perry Jones III (6)
- Terrence Jones (6)
- Miles Plumlee (6)
- Kent Bazemore (5)
- Cory Joseph (5)
- Kris Joseph (5)
- DeAndre Liggins (5)
- Fab Melo (5)
- Tornike Shengelia (5)
- Jeremy Tyler (5)
- Dexter Pittman (4)
- Tyshawn Taylor (4)
D-League Moves: Terrence Jones, Jarvis Varnado
We'll follow today's D-League assignments and recalls in this space, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Rockets have re-assigned Terrence Jones to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today in a press release. Houston's D-League affiliate, which lost one power forward today, will add another in Jones, who has averaged 18.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG in 17 games with the team this season.
Earlier updates:
- The Heat have sent Jarvis Varnado back to the D-League, following last night's win over the Cavs, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The move was confirmed by the Heat in a press release. In 15 D-League games so far this season, Varnado has nearly averaged a double-double, with 12.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, and 3.7 BPG.
Spurs Recall Aron Baynes From D-League
Here are today's D-League assignments and recalls, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Spurs have recalled Aron Baynes from the D-League, the Spurs announced today in a press release. Baynes played in a pair of games for the Austin Toros over the weekend, during his third stint with the club, averaging 11.5 PPG and 7.0 RPG.
D-League Moves: Thunder, Kevin Jones, Nets
We'll round up today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page:
- The Thunder have recalled Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Liggins and Daniel Orton from the D-League, the team announced via press release. All three, along with Perry Jones III and Reggie Jackson, have frequently shuttled back and forth between Oklahoma City and the Tulsa 66ers this season, as the Thunder have taken advantage of their nearby single-affliate D-League club. Among the players returning to the Thunder today, Lamb has put up the most impressive numbers with the 66ers, averaging 21.4 points in 20 games.
- The Cavs have recalled Kevin Jones from the D-League's Canton Charge, according to the Plain Dealer (Twitter link). The power forward had been on his sixth D-League assignment this season after Cleveland signed him in late November. Jones is averaging 22.4 points and 11.2 rebounds in a dozen games for the Charge. He's appeared in 19 games for the Cavs, but has seen just 8.9 minutes per contest.
- The Nets have assigned Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to the D-League for the second time in the past week, the team announced via press release. The pair are headed down to the Springfield Armor again after a one-day stint on Friday. Taylor delivered 21 points and eight assists while Shengelia had 15 points and five rebounds for the Armor that night in a win against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, though both players struggled with turnovers. Taylor gave the ball away nine times and Shengelia committed five giveaways. Both players will be in uniform for the Armor's game Tuesday, so their D-League stays should be at least slightly longer this time around.
Odds & Ends: Stuckey, Monroe, Macvan
The last time the Pistons earned a trip to the postseason was in 2008-09, when they drew the first-seeded Cavaliers led by LeBron James and were subsequently swept. Of the 12 active players on Detroit's playoff roster that year, only three remain today – Will Bynum, Jason Maxiell, and Rodney Stuckey. While Stuckey has a partially guaranteed contract in 2013-14, Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News says that "nobody would be surprised" if the 6'5 guard is traded before next season, particularly before the draft in June. Here's more of this evening's miscellaneous links:
- Lakers big man Pau Gasol encountered some soreness in his foot after participating in a game of two-on-two at the team's practice facility today, writes Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times. The cause and extent of the of the soreness weren't clear, and he plans to visit a foot specialist on Sunday.
- In the above piece, Goodwill adds that Greg Monroe, who is set to become a restricted free agent after next year, remains confident that GM Joe Dumars is capable of turning the struggling team around.
- The Cavaliers have no plans of bringing Milan Macvan – their 2011 second round draft choice – on board anytime soon, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. The 23-year-old Serbian big man is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey.
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy provides a list of D-Leaguers at every position who could be in line for a callup, with eight D-League players having already inked with NBA teams in March (Sulia link).
- One scout tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that this year's NCAA tourney will have a major impact on determining the order of the players selected in June. Citing how weak he believes the upcoming draft class is, the scout also tells Amico that a star from a small school could wind up being selected in the lottery again, the same way Damian Lillard emerged out of Weber State last year.
- John Rohde of The Oklahoman takes a look at some of the players the Thunder could get with the lottery pick they're expected to receive from the Raptors this year.
- The team that wins the Las Vegas Summer League, which is reportedly switching to a tournament style format this year, will have the cost of its additional tournament games reimbursed by the league, sources tell Ric Bucher of CSNBayArea.com.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
D-League Moves: De Colo, Shengelia, Taylor
We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page:
- The Spurs have recalled guard Nando De Colo from the D-League, the team announced via press release. The 25-year-old rookie returns from his third stint with the Austin Toros, and like the first two, it only lasted a day. De Colo notched 17 points and 11 assists to help Austin to a win in last night's game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. De Colo has also averaged 11.5 minutes of action in 57 games for San Antonio this year, putting up 3.4 PPG and 1.7 APG.
- The Nets announced that they have recalled forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor from the Springfield Armor of the NBA D-League. Both players were assigned to Springfield just yesterday. Headng into last night's game against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Shengelia posted 26.8 PPG and 9.2 RPG in six D-League contests while Taylor averaged 26.5 PPG and 7.5 APG in four games with the Armor.
D-League Moves: Hudson, Douglas-Roberts, Spurs
We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- Lester Hudson has joined the Austin Toros of the D-League, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets. The former NBA guard spent most of the season playing in China, where he averaged 27.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 15 games for the Dongguan Leopards. The 28-year-old Hudson is a veteran of three NBA seasons, and played a total of 16 games for the Cavs and Grizzlies last year.
- In a piece on Delonte West, who's expected to make his debut this weekend for the D-League's Texas Legends, Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside notes Chris Douglas-Roberts has continued to work with officials from the Legends and their NBA parent club, the Mavericks, after the Mavs waived him in January. Douglas-Roberts isn't on the roster of the Legends or the Mavericks.
Earlier updates:
- Aron Baynes and Nando De Colo have been assigned to the Austin Toros, the Spurs announced in a press release. Both players will be on their third D-League assignments of the season, and will be in uniform for the Toros' game tonight against the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
- The Nets have assigned Tornike Shengelia and Tyshawn Taylor to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Both players have excelled in their brief stints with the Springfield Armor this season, as Shengelia has posted 26.8 PPG and 9.2 RPG in six D-League contests, while Taylor has averaged 26.5 PPG and 7.5 APG in four games with the Armor. Based on the players' previous assignments, this one likely won't last long, but both guys will be in uniform tonight against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Dominique Jones Joins Springfield Armor
Several days after clearing waivers, Dominique Jones has signed a D-League contract and will join the Springfield Armor, agent Michael Hodges tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Jones was released last weekend by the Mavericks.
Jones, 24, averaged just 9.3 minutes per game in 80 contests during nearly three season with the Mavericks. Dallas explored trades for Jones on multiple occasions, but was unable to find an acceptable deal. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported (via Twitter) last Saturday that the Mavericks' decision to waive Jones was motivated in part by his reluctance to accept a D-League assignment, so assuming that report was accurate, it's a little ironic to see Jones end up on a D-League squad.
Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said earlier this week that the playing time Jones was seeking wasn't available in Dallas, so the stint with the Armor will at least give the 6'4" guard an opportunity to log increased minutes. According to Charania, Jones remains open to signing a rest-of-season deal with an NBA team, particularly if it includes a partially-guaranteed team option for 2013/14.
Knicks, Others To Monitor Delonte West
It's been nearly two months since Delonte West was added to the roster of the D-League's Texas Legends, but it appears West is finally ready to make his debut. After not reporting to the team for several weeks, West recently joined the Legends and is expected to play tomorrow, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
If and when West debuts for the Mavericks' D-League affiliate, there figure to be a number of NBA teams monitoring his progress. We recently heard West cited as a potential target for the Knicks as the club considers adding another point guard, and Stein confirms (via Twitter) that the Knicks will indeed be one of the teams keeping an eye on West.
Regardless of how West performs in the D-League, there will likely still be concerns about his off-court presence and his locker-room influence. But if he shows that he can still contribute on the court, I'd expect at least a couple teams to express some interest, thinking that the pros will outweigh the cons.