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Warriors, Jazz, Others Discussed James Harden

October 29th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

10:56am: Suns president Lon Babby confirmed to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that Phoenix had been engaged with the Thunder in trade talks for Harden, though he says that no proposal ever gained serious traction.

"We were engaged in discussions on numerous occasions," Babby said. "We most recently met in person when we played them [on October 19th]. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a deal that was workable for both sides."

8:53am: According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, Thunder GM Sam Presti had at least "semi-serious" trade conversations involving James Harden with a number of teams before eventually accepting the Rockets' offer. Lowe says the Warriors, Jazz, Wizards, and Raptors were among the teams that Presti spoke to before sending Harden to Houston. We heard yesterday that the Suns also pursued a trade for Harden.

The Thunder were seeking a sure-thing player who was still in the first year or two of his rookie deal, according to Lowe. That means Presti figures to have inquired on players like Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Bradley Beal, and Jonas Valanciunas. Lowe adds that the Thunder GM likely started the process by reaching out to the Hornets about Anthony Davis, though I imagine that conversation didn't last too long.

Here are a few more Harden-related links, as reactions continue to pour in on one of the year's most surprising trades:

  • Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder made a last-ditch offer to Harden on Friday, proposing a four-year, $53MM extension. The team gave him a one-hour window to accept it, telling him that if he turned it down, he'd be traded to Houston. According to Tramel's sources, Harden said he needed three days to make a decision, but because the Rockets wanted time to negotiate an extension before Wednesday's deadline, Presti stuck to the one-hour window.
  • The pieces the Thunder acquired for Harden are the same sort of assets the team used to initially build itself into a perennial contender, opines Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
  • Members of the Spurs, a team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs earlier this year, were surprised by the deal, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. "It's kind of weird to look at OKC and think of them without their Big Three," Danny Green said. "Things are different. Obviously they're still going to be a good team."
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Hornets Waive Alabi, Wright

October 27th, 2012 at 7:40pm CST by Sean Highkin

John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports that the New Orleans Hornets have released center Solomon Alabi and guard Chris Wright. These moves bring the Hornets' roster down to 14, which means it appears their regular-season roster is set barring a late signing.

Alabi played briefly for the Toronto Raptors last season but spent most of the year in the D-League. Wright played in Turkey last season. Both were signed by New Orleans prior to training camp.

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Odds & Ends: Spurs, Thunder, Cavaliers, Deng

October 25th, 2012 at 10:01pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK lists Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins, Andy Rautins, and Hollis Thompson as the four Thunder hopefuls looking to earn the team's final roster spot. While he believes that Liggins has the best chance considering the bulk of minutes he's played during the pre-season, Mayberry also considers Orton as a strong candidate because of his potential. He adds that a popular idea would be for Oklahoma City to waive or trade a guaranteed contract in order to keep both Liggins and Orton, although such a possibility seems unlikely at this point. With that aside, you can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links below: 

  • Former Memphis Tiger Wesley Witherspoon believes that being around the veteran leadership in San Antonio would be a great place to start his career if he makes the team (Jason Smith of The Memphis Edge reports). On another note, Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation writes that Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard isn't worried about his pre-season shooting slump affecting his shot once the regular season starts. 
  • Fran Blinebury of NBA.com explains why it would be prudent for Oklahoma City to wait on a possible extension for James Harden, most notably to see if he can remain healthy this season and maintain a high level of play. 
  • Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says that the Cavaliers are expected to send recently-signed D'Aundray Brown to the D-League, even though he would still take up a spot on the team's official season roster. He also speculates that three roster cuts are likely to be decided from a group that includes Jeremy Pargo, Kevin Jones, Luke Harangody, and Micheal Eric.
  • Although Luol Deng dealt with a torn ligament in his left wrist last season and ultimately decided against surgery during the summer, the Bulls forward now feels confident enough to play at a high level and said that he hasn't been feeling any pain (Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago reports).  
  • Sean Deveney of the Sporting News explains some of the biggest responsibilities that current deputy commissioner Adam Silver will have once he is set to replace David Stern, including television contract negotiations, collective bargaining, European expansion, and development of the D-League.
  • Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution engaged in a Q&A with Hawks forward Josh Smith about his expectations this season and the challenges he anticipates for the team. In a separate article, Daniel Christian of Sheridan Hoops discusses five reasons to be optimistic about Atlanta this year.
  • Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com talks briefly about New Orleans' confidence in the versatility and scoring ability of Hornets rookie Austin Rivers.
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Southwest Rumors: Martin, Spurs, Aminu, Miller

October 24th, 2012 at 7:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

Four of the five Southwest Division teams are in action tonight, including the Hornets and Rockets, who square off in New Orleans. There's plenty of news out of the division tonight, so let's get right to it.

  • The Spurs have had interest in Kenyon Martin in the past, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, who wonders whether the team may have interest in signing him later this season. Martin continues to hold out for more than the veteran's minimum.
  • Of the two players the Spurs waived Tuesday, McDonald thinks Derrick Brown was a more surprising cut than Eddy Curry (Twitter link).
  • The Hornets have a week left to decide whether to pick up the fourth-year option on Al-Farouq Aminu's rookie deal, but the eighth pick in the 2010 draft appears unlikely to begin the season as the team's starting small forward, tweets John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Lance Thomas, with the team on a non-guaranteed deal, is starting over Aminu for the second straight game.
  • Darius Miller, unlike other second-round draft selections, has a guaranteed deal for this season, and Hornets coach Monty Williams cites his maturity from four seasons of college ball as reason why he's pleased with this year's 46th overall pick, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com tweets.
  • Elton Brand feels he has a lot to prove after he was amnestied by the Sixers last season, and wants to do so by fitting into the team concept with the Mavericks, as The Associated Press reports (via the Dallas Morning News). "I don't think there's too many teams with more cap space than right here," Brand said of the Mavs. "So if you want to audition, play right and play the right way."
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Western Notes: Jordan, Lakers, Suns, Blazers

October 24th, 2012 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, when we asked Hoops Rumors readers for their Rookie of the Year pick, over 44% of about 1,050 voters selected Anthony Davis, making him the top choice by far. Davis is off to a promising start, averaging a double-double in five preseason games and making a strong impression on Hornets coach Monty Williams.

"He’s just a coach’s dream," Williams said, according to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. "He handles the situations with wisdom that’s beyond his years. He listens, he’s humble, and yet he still has an edge…. He’s going to be pretty special if he continues to work and allow himself to be coached the way he has so far. He’s just an amazing kid."

Here are a few more of today's notes from around the Western Conference:

  • A number of recent reports have linked Jerome Jordan to teams in China, but for now Jordan is still hoping to make the Grizzlies' regular season roster, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "I know my agent has been talking to a bunch of teams. You know, as a worst-case scenario," Jordan said. "I don't know if there's a deal, per se, in China. But it's about making it in the NBA this year. I'm about trying to make it in the league and establish myself. I want to be around a long time."
  • The Lakers are expected to waive second-round pick Darius Johnson-Odom soon, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
  • Making an educated guess, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic predicts that Luke Zeller and Diante Garrett will earn spots on the Suns, and explains his reasoning.
  • Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if two players under contract with the Spurs, Wesley Witherspoon and JaMychal Green, will be released soon to join San Antonio's D-League affiliate.
  • Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts says he expects to keep Nolan Smith as the team's backup point guard over Coby Karl, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets. Karl himself indicated this week that he's bracing for news of his release.
  • ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) wouldn't be surprised if the Blazers consider moving Wesley Matthews at this season's trade deadline.
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Odds & Ends: Rivers, Pierce, Grizzlies, Magic, Heat

October 22nd, 2012 at 9:50pm CST by Zachary Links

The Hornets suffered a scare earlier this evening as rookie guard Austin Rivers injured his surgically-repaired right ankle in the first quarter of tonight's preseason game against the Mavericks.  The 20-year-old was helped off the floor and was unable to put weight on the right leg, writes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune.  Thankfully, Rivers' postgame X-rays came back negative, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  Here's more from around the league…

  • Celtics star Paul Pierce confessed to CSNNE's Mike Gorman that he considered moving on from Boston after last year's exit at the hands of the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Pierce now says that he has a hard time envisioning himself in another uniform.
  • Robert Pera's bid to own the Grizzlies will be on the agenda Wednesday at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings in New York City, sources familiar with the process told Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal.  To finalize the transaction, Pera will need to receive approval three-fourths of the league's majority owners.  Pera has already made waves with a celebrity cast of minority partners including Justin Timberlake and Ashley Manning, the wife of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the roster crunch facing the Magic as the deadline approaches.  Swingman Chris Johnson and point guard Armon Johnson are near locks to be cut in the coming days.  That leaves combo forward Justin Harper, power forward Josh McRoberts and swingmen Christian Eyenga, DeQuan Jones, and Quentin Richardson to battle for the final two spots on the roster.
  • Heat guard Dwyane Wade admitted that it's going to be a challenge to get all of the team's new talent to mesh, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.  “We have a lot of guys that are so used to being kind of the main focus and not a lot of us are going to be the main focus now,’’ Wade said. “So that’s a challenge to see how we all can incorporate ourselves within our offense and keep each other happy.’’
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NBA GMs Weigh In On 2012/13 Season

October 22nd, 2012 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

The results are in on NBA.com's annual survey of the league's general managers, with all 30 NBA GMs weighing in on dozens of questions about the 2012/13 season and the 2012 offseason. We won't round up all of their answers here, so feel free to check out the full results at NBA.com, but here are a few of the more notable responses:

  • 70% of respondents believe the Heat will repeat as NBA champs, while 96.7% think Miami will win the Eastern Conference. Since GMs aren't allowed to vote for their own teams, that means the rest of the league's 29 GMs picked the Heat to come out of the East.
  • The Lakers are the favorites to come out of the West, earning 60% of the votes. The Thunder (36.7%) and Nuggets (3.3%) were the only other teams mentioned.
  • LeBron James is the player most GMs would start a franchise with, earning 80% of the votes.
  • 86.2% of GMs believe the Lakers made the best offseason moves, with Dwight Howard (70%) and Steve Nash (20%) earning the most votes for the summer addition who will make the biggest impact. Los Angeles' sign-and-trade for Nash was also voted the summer's most surprising move.
  • Besides the Lakers, the other teams receiving votes for the best offseason roster moves were the Nets, Hawks, and Warriors.
  • The Nets (62.1%) ran away with the votes on which team will be most improved, while Andre Iguodala (16.7%) topped the choices for most underrated acquisition — the Celtics' duo of Jason Terry and Courtney Lee also received support in that category.
  • Anthony Davis (76.7%) and Gregg Popovich (80%) were the runaway picks for rookie of the year and the NBA's best coach, respectively.
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Hornets Notes: Demps, Williams, Anderson

October 21st, 2012 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Hornets enter the season as one of the league's most intriguing teams, having drafted No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, re-signed Eric Gordon to a max deal, and pulled off a sign-and-trade for Most Improved Player award-winner Ryan Anderson, among several other moves. Here's what's happening in the Big Easy as the new-look Hornets get ready for their regular season debut.

  • Hornets GM Dell Demps was quick to praise the stewardship of commissioner David Stern as he spoke to Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune, despite his refusal to allow Demps to trade Chris Paul to the Lakers last year. Still, Demps is glad for the stability new owner Tom Benson brings. "And even last season, a lot of decisions we were making were based along the lines of you wanted to make the team attractive to a new owner," Demps said. "And so we had some short-term and long-term plans in place last year that really set us up for this year."
  • Coach Monty Williams said he's been working with Demps as the team rebuilds, as Smith documents in the same piece. "Dell and I talk a lot about the roster and where do we see ourselves in the future," the coach said. "It's been set up in a way that it gives us even more flexibility next summer to spend some money. Then once we spend that money next summer, I'm thinking 'That's our team.'"
  • Anderson signed a four-year, $34MM contract this summer, but the new Hornets sharpshooter has struggled in the preseason, as HoopsWorld's Lang Greene examines.
  • Greene also checks in with Brian Roberts, a point guard in Hornets camp with a deal that's partially guaranteed for $100K. 
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Western Notes: Lakers, T-Wolves, Spurs, Speights

October 17th, 2012 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Only three of the 12 NBA teams in action last night were Western Conference clubs, with the only intra-conference matchup coming between the Jazz and Lakers. After a 34-point Jazz victory dropped L.A.'s preseason record to 0-4, it was no surprise that new point guard Steve Nash told Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register that the new-look Lakers are still a "work in progress." Here are a few more Wednesday updates from out west:

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Western Notes: Thunder, Brewer, Sacre

October 14th, 2012 at 10:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque
You'll find tonight's miscellaneous links from the Western Conference here: 
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