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Odds & Ends: Curry, Hornets, Hollins, Bulls

April 20th, 2012 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

As the NBA season enters its final week, the race for playoff berths and the jockeying for seeding will be the primary storylines. For out-of-contention teams though, the jockeying for draft spots and lottery balls will be the main focus of these last few games. Be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' tentative draft order to keep tabs on the shuffling standings this week.

Here's a grab-bag of links from around the Association:

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is interesting in having Eddy Curry return to Miami next season, but Curry isn't sure whether he'll re-sign with the team, says Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune examines a number of decisions facing the Hornets in the offseason, including the free agencies of Chris Kaman and Carl Landry and the possibility of amnestying Emeka Okafor.
Both the Grizzlies and Bobcats passed on Lionel Hollins after he interviewed for their coaching openings in 2007, but Memphis didn't make the same mistake twice, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Sam Smith fielded a number of questions on the Bulls and the rest of the league in a lengthy mailbag for Bulls.com.

Odds & Ends: Magloire, Curry, Hudson, Stiemsma

April 19th, 2012 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

A few Thursday odds and ends from around the Association….

The Raptors hope to bring Jamaal Magloire back next season, coach Dwane Casey tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
Stephen Curry told reporters, including Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, that "it would be great" if he and the Warriors could work out a contract extension this year. However, he acknowledged that it may be difficult for the two sides to agree on his value right now, given his injury-plagued 2011/12 campaign.
Lester Hudson's second 10-day contract with the Cavaliers has expired and Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer wonders if he'll be re-signed. It's believed that Hudson is drawing interest from teams besides Cleveland, says Reed.
If you're going to tank to score a good draft position, this is the year to do it, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.
Greg Stiemsma is "absolutely" interested in returning to the Celtics next season, as he tells Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com.
Hornets GM Dell Demps and coach Monty Williams deserve to be retained by new ownership, writes John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Odds & Ends: George, Chandler, Pistons

April 18th, 2012 at 8:18pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Orlando is currently sixth in the East and owns a four game lead over the seventh place Knicks. A New York win against the Nets and an Orlando loss versus the Celtics tonight would reduce the lead to three with four games left to play. For both teams, the stakes involve avoiding a first-round matchup with Miami or Chicago. The Clippers have a chance at the third seed in the West with a win against Denver and a Lakers loss to Golden State. Those are just a few of the many storylines to follow as the NBA inches closer to its conclusion within the next week and a half. With that aside, here's the latest news from the world of basketball:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports that the Pacers' Paul George has signed with Creative Artists Agency, the same organization that represents LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul to name a few (Sulia link).
Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler is expected to miss the rest of the season, says Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. Chandler had tried to play through pain on Sunday, but decided after the game that it would be best to shut himself down for the rest of the season.
Don't expect to see the Pistons participating in the annual Las Vegas Summer League this year, as coach Lawrence Frank has opted to send his team to Orlando Magic Summer League instead (David Mayo of MLive reports). Frank cites the organizational structure and condensed schedule as the deciding factors.
Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune writes that Jazz guard Blake Ahearn hopes to earn a second contract with the team and finish the rest of the season, as his initial contract is set to expire today. GM Kevin O'Connor says that he won't make a decision until after tonight's game against Portland.
Lang Greene of HoopsWorld engaged in his weekly chat with fans tonight. A few thought provoking points included his assessment of Harrison Barnes as a player who won't be a franchise changer for a lottery team, the possibility that Austin Rivers slips in the draft, and Kendall Marshall as a player who belongs in the 16-20 pick range, among other topics.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune examines the emergence of Nikola Mirotic, a 6'10 sharpshooting forward for Real Madrid whose draft rights are currently owned by the Bulls. Johnson also writes that Mirotic could have a legitimate shot to make the Spanish team for this year's Olympics.
Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune reports that the Louisiana State of Exposition District board of commissioners has approved a long-term lease extension for the Hornets through 2024.
Billy Witz of Fox Sports takes a closer look at Jerry Colangelo's criteria for assembling Team USA amidst a season of injuries and uncertainty for a number of players who are in his selection pool. Colangelo doesn't appear fazed, implying that the pool is deep enough to counter the potential unavailability of some of his choices for summer.

Hornets Sign Darryl Watkins, Waive Chris Johnson

April 18th, 2012 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed Darryl Watkins to a 10-day contract and waived Chris Johnson, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (via Twitter). John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported earlier today that the injury-ravaged Hornets were expected to replace Johnson with another big man.

Watkins, 27, only played nine regular-season games in his NBA career, way back in the 2007/08 season with the Kings. He has received training-camp invites from a few teams, including the Hornets in 2010. In recent seasons, Watkins has played in the D-League and in various leagues overseas. With less than 10 days remaining in the regular season, The Syracuse product will be eligible for the rest of the Hornets' games, with Chris Kaman and Emeka Okafor out of the lineup with injuries.

Johnson was released by the Trail Blazers along with Greg Oden at the trade deadline to make room for Portland's incoming players. The Hornets claimed Johnson off waivers, but the big man appeared in just seven games for New Orleans before suffering a concussion on April 1st. He hasn't played since.

As Hoops Rumors' 10-day contract tracker shows, Watkins is the sixth player to receive at least one 10-day contract from the Hornets this season.

Southwest Rumors: Hornets, Allen, Mayo, Kidd

April 18th, 2012 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's check in on a few Wednesday updates out of the Southwest Division….

The Hornets are expected to waive Chris Johnson and sign another big man to replace him, reports John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. With Chris Kaman and Emeka Okafor likely done for the season, New Orleans is lacking in frontcourt depth, and Johnson hasn't played in over two weeks since he suffered a concussion.
Following up on the Ray Allen/O.J. Mayo trade rumor from Yahoo! Sports, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says he heard the Celtics' asking price also included Mike Conley, Dante Cunningham, and Josh Selby in a large deal that included draft picks. The Grizzlies didn't want to give up so many assets to rent Allen, says Tillery.
Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld examines whether or not Mayo has a place in the Grizzlies' future.
Asked if he could see Jason Kidd becoming a coach when his playing career ends, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle replied, "He'll probably be an owner" (Twitter link via Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Odds & Ends: Howard, Draft, Hornets, Blazers

April 17th, 2012 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Tuesday afternoon links from around the NBA….

David Pingalore of Local 6 in Orlando, who reported earlier this month that Dwight Howard had asked the Magic to fire Stan Van Gundy, says Howard no longer wants to play for Van Gundy. This situation may end up working itself out: Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel argued yesterday that the Magic should shut down Howard for the rest of the year, and Van Gundy is unlikely to remain the team's coach for next season.
The latest mock draft from ESPN.com's Chad Ford has received plenty of feedback from NBA scouts and executives, Ford writes. Mississippi State's Arnett Moultrie and Dion Waiters of Syracuse were among the players Ford's sources felt were ranked too low — the latest ESPN.com mock had them coming off the board at 19th and 23rd respectively.
North Carolina's John Henson has hired Jim Tanner as his agent, reports Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (via Twitter). The junior forward announced in late March that he was entering the NBA draft.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld explores the direction of the Hornets now that the team is under new ownership.
Having been officially eliminated from the playoffs, the Trail Blazers now look like a good bet to score two lottery picks, as Mike Tokito of the Oregonian writes.

Odds & Ends: Celtics, Raptors, Brown, Draft

April 16th, 2012 at 10:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's an eventful night in the NBA with 11 games, many of which have playoff implications. There's been plenty of draft news as well, as teams look past the playoffs, and one item concerning the distant future, with the NBA announcing the Hornets will host the 2014 All-Star Game, just six years after hosting the 2008 event. The new ownership of Tom Benson had plenty to do with that, though he's already come up short in his quest to get the Jazz nickname back from Utah, as Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune notes. If Benson ditches the Hornets name, it'll be a while before Charlotte could use it again, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. While nicknames won't be moving for a while, there's plenty of movement on other fronts, and here's the latest:

A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com doesn't think free agents Roy Hibbert and Eric Gordon will switch teams this summer, but says the Celtics have interest in both (Twitter link).
Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun breaks down the Raptors' roster and predicts who'll be there next season and who won't.
Longtime coach Larry Brown is pursuing the Blazers GM job even as he zeroes in on the SMU coaching gig, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford discusses the possibility that Kentucky senior Darius Miller, currently projected as a second-rounder, could climb up the draft board and make it six first-round picks for the Wildcats (Insider only).
Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday rounds up Carmelo Anthony's comments on multiple radio shows today about the way new Knicks coach Mike Woodson has held him accountable (Sulia links).
Mavs cast-off Lamar Odom leads Sam Smith's list of the biggest disappointments this year on NBA.com
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida shares the results of an informal survey of 11 former MVPs, who give a slight edge to Kevin Durant over LeBron James in this year's race. The former players won't have official votes for the award; instead, writers and broadcasters will make the selection.
Roland Beech of 82games.com crunches the numbers and determines Gilbert Arenas, taken in the second round by the Warriors in 2001, was the shrewdest draft choice in recent years (hat tip to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld).

Odds & Ends: Boykins, Sixers, Frank, Heat

April 15th, 2012 at 12:28pm CST by Daniel Seco

Let's catch up on the latest news and happenings from around the league as Sunday's afternoon action gets underway…

Mark Berman of FOX 26 Sports reports the Rockets have signed Earl Boykins for the remainder of the season.
The Sixers have reached the do-or-die moment of the season where they are fighting for their playoff lives, writes John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press says Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank is excited for his young players to have the opportunity to further their leadership skills during the NBA Summer League.
Changes may be coming for the Heat depending on how the team does during the playoffs, suggests Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
According to an official press release from the Cavs, the team has assigned Luke Harangody to the Canton Charge of the D-League after appearing in Saturday night's victory over the Wizards.
There was no way NBA commissioner David Stern was going to let the city of New Orleans lose another professional basketball team, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune.
Frank DiGiacomo of the New York Daily News says Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov fully supports forward Kris Humphries as the Russian billionaire ripped rapper Kanye West for stating in a song that he could get Nets minority owner Jay-Z to cut Humphries from the team.

Odds & Ends: Moore, League, Blazers, Heat

April 14th, 2012 at 12:46pm CST by Zachary Links

At a presser at the NBA Board of Governors meetings yesterday, commissioner David Stern introduced new Hornets owner Tom Benson and addressed a number of other issues. Here's more news out of the BoG meetings and other links from around the league..

Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld looked at the best and worst case cap scenarios for teams in the Eastern Conference this summer.
The Warriors might be looking at bringing back Mikki Moore, tweets Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside.
The league expects that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will not only reduce league losses but will actually result in a profit for the 2012/13 season, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
In addition to considering advertisements on jerseys to increase revenue, the NBA will also explore opportunities in the secondary ticket market, Zillgitt tweets.
Delonte West confirmed to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that his former agent Noah Croom did in fact interview for the Trail Blazers vacant GM job. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first reported the news on Tuesday but Blazers president Larry Miller declined comment.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel looks back at the time Lamar Odom and Antoine Walker spent in South Beach. Odom will be looking for a new team this summer while it's the end of the line for Walker.
Hornets guard Xavier Henry told John Reid of The Times-Picayune (video link) that the team is happy about new owner Tom Benson. Earlier today we learned that Carl Landry is more inclined to sign a long-term deal with the club now that their ownership situation is resolved.

Hornets To Retain Williams, Demps

April 14th, 2012 at 8:49am CST by Zachary Links

While New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson will certainly make some changes to the Hornets organization, it seems that he will be keeping his coach and general manager. Benson plans to keep Monty Williams as coach and Dell Demps as general manager, a league source told John Reid of The Times Picayune. Both Williams and Demps were hired by the Hornets in 2010.

With the ownership situation resolved, the Hornets may now have a better chance of keeping forward Carl Landry in the fold. Landry said that he agreed to only a one-year deal last year because of the ownership uncertainty but will now look at committing to the Hornets long term.

"Being a free agent again this summer, the Hornets are a team I’ve been with the last two years and have grown accustomed to. And with the owner now, that definitely will help with re-signing with the team.”

Landry signed a one-year, $9MM deal with New Orleans this offseason.