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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Raptors

December 30th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Will Joseph

The Celtics nearly drafted Kobe Bryant in 1996 because of his immense talent and impressive knowledge of the franchise’s history, but ultimately passed him up, not wanting to take a chance on a 17-year-old coming out of high school, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes in an interesting read. Boston, of course, drafted Antoine Walker — who went on to have a solid career — with the sixth pick that year while Bryant fell to No. 13.

“When I tell you this — and I don’t like to say a lot of good things about the Lakers — but I am absolutely telling you this straight-up: [Kobe Bryant] was unbelievable in the interview,” former Celtics head coach and executive vice president/director of basketball operations M.L. Carr told Holmes. “He was the best interview that I’ve ever been a part of. Kobe knew the league as well as anyone. He knew the Celtics from a historical standpoint. He knew the Celtics probably better than most Celtics did at 17 years old.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early, who will likely be out three months after getting shot early this morning, was a logical candidate to be included in a trade for a point guard, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweets. Early has not been a fixture in the Knicks’ rotation this season. He has scored only seven points in 10 appearances this season.
Bismack Biyombo views the Raptors, the team he signed a two-year deal with in July, as the perfect fit for him in an interview on the team’s website. “Obviously, going back to the draft, they were trying to draft me here so it feels like it was supposed to happen and it finally happened,” Biyombo said. “I just feel like it’s a great opportunity for me and I’m thankful for it and I thank God for it and obviously the organization and the coaches for giving me an opportunity to be here and help the team grow which is something everybody is looking forward to and I look forward to something special.”
Marcus Smart‘s development will have the most profound impact among the Celtics‘ young players on Boston’s reconstruction project, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald opines. Smart, 21, is widely considered one of the top young defenders in the league, as Bulpett notes.

Latest On Cleanthony Early

December 30th, 2015 at 5:35pm CST by Will Joseph

Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early faces a recovery time of six to 12 weeks after getting shot in his right knee early this morning, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter).

Early will not need surgery, however, Charania reports (Twitter links). An MRI revealed no structural damage, Charania adds, and the bullet was not lodged, going straight through Early’s knee. Early is being closely monitored for any infection, a source told Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Early, who will become a free agent this summer, is still in the hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery, though, Charania writes in a full story. Early had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee during his rookie season in 2014/15, as Charania points out. The second-year player has not been a fixture in the Knicks rotation this season. He has scored only seven points in 10 appearances this season.

Eastern Notes: Larkin, Gibson, Wizards

December 30th, 2015 at 1:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets point guard Shane Larkin said that he needed to get away from the Knicks and the triangle offense in order to grow as a player, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “I’m in a pick-and-roll system my third year,’’ said Larkin. “My first year [in Dallas] I was in a pick-and-roll system, but I was coming off a broken ankle, so I missed time with that, didn’t get a preseason, so I was just kind of learning on the fly. Last year wasn’t the best system for me, that year went however it went. And this year I feel like I’m growing every single game and being more comfortable out there and just playing my game. I feel like it’s a good fit.’’ The 23-year-old is averaging 7.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 18.9 minutes of action per game this season for Brooklyn.

Here’s more from the East:

Power forward Taj Gibson is supportive of rookie Bobby Portis, whose play in the wake of Joakim Noah‘s injury has many calling for an increased role for the young player, and potentially making Gibson a trade candidate for the Bulls, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com writes. When asked if the emergence of Portis has given conflicting feelings, Gibson responded, “What do you mean mixed feelings? It’s never mixed feelings. At the end of the day I care about my teammates. I don’t worry about all that. If he plays well it’s good for us, it’s good for the team. I want him to succeed. At the end of the day, we’re millionaires. We play a game.”
Paul Pierce believes that the Wizards, his former team, will be a dangerous team once they get healthy, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. “Right now I think they’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries. I keep up with them when I’m not playing. I’m still good friends with a lot of guys on the team. We chat on the text,” Pierce said. “I just think they’re dealing with a lot of injuries and kind of got off to a slow start. And I think once they get healthy, you’re going to have to watch out for them. They got a lot of depth when they’re healthy. A guy like Alan Anderson can definitely be a positive for them as far as their wing depth. Obviously, they’re missing a lot of their big men so I think once they get healthy, if they get healthy at the right time, they can make a real good run in the East.”
The Heat have assigned shooting guard Josh Richardson to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Richardson’s first sojourn of the season to Sioux Falls.

Knicks Notes: Early, Jennings, Conley

December 30th, 2015 at 8:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early was shot once in his right knee early this morning, Thomas Tracy of The New York Daily News reports. The injury occurred when a taxi Early was riding in was set upon by four to six armed men wearing ski masks, who then robbed the player, according to the Daily News’ report. Early was wounded during the course of the robbery and his injury is reportedly not life-threatening, though no prognosis has been released regarding its potential effect on his NBA career. The Knicks released an official statement on the matter which read, “We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation. We will not comment any further until we receive more information.”

Early is the second Knicks player to have allegedly been targeted by grifters in recent days, with combo forward Derrick Williams having reportedly been robbed of approximately $600K to $750K in jewelry by two unidentified women this past weekend, albeit not at gunpoint. Here’s more from New York:

The Knicks should seek to acquire Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings prior to this season’s trade deadline, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opines. Though Jennings’ season debut on Tuesday night was merely average, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy still believes Jennings can make an impact in the league, Isola notes. “Oh yeah, I don’t think there is any doubt,” said Van Gundy. “Brandon is coming back well off of the injury and he’s a guy who just absolutely loves to play, loves to be in the gym. He’s still young, he’s still 26. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be a starting point guard in this league again.”
Acquiring Jennings could be problematic for New York, Isola adds. The Knicks don’t have much in the way of talent or draft picks to offer Detroit, and the team may want to hold off adding a playmaker since the Grizzlies’ Mike Conley is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Daily News scribe notes. There is no guarantee that Conley will leave Memphis, but his talent level may warrant the Knicks taking a pass on Jennings, Isola writes. It should be noted that Jennings’ contract is set to expire at the end of this season, so there wouldn’t be any salary cap implications for 2016/17 if the Knicks acquired him, unless Detroit insisted on New York taking on a less than desirable contract as part of any trade.

Knicks Interested In Tony Wroten

December 29th, 2015 at 2:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks are one of a number of NBA teams that are interested in potentially signing Tony Wroten, Ian Begley of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link) reports. The point guard cleared waivers over the weekend after having been released by the Sixers last week. Begley didn’t specify the names of the other teams thinking about adding Wroten. The Clippers had expressed some interest in Wroten last season, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register noted (on Twitter), but they don’t have room on their roster to accommodate his addition without making a corresponding personnel move.

New York’s exact level of interest in Wroten is unclear at this point, but Begley’s sources informed him that the club has expressed interest in obtaining a guard via trade or free-agent signing in recent days. The franchise has also been monitoring D-League players as potential additions, Begley adds. The Knicks roster count currently stands at 14 players, meaning the club can add Wroten without trading or waiving another player.

Wroten was in the fourth and final year of his rookie-scale contract and will still collect the remainder of his $2.179MM fully guaranteed salary from Philadelphia. Although he only played in 30 contests last year due to injury, he led the Sixers in points per game, averaging a total of 16.9 per contest. But Wroten struggled this season as he made his way back from injury, appearing in just eight contests and averaging 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 18.0 minutes per night.

Atlantic Notes: Hinkie, Faverani, Fisher

December 29th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers GM Sam Hinkie admits that he has made some mistakes during his tenure with the team, though he is proud of his coaching hires and some player acquisitions that he has made, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I think our record speaks kindly to all that,” Hinkie said. “But I think there are other things we could have handled differently.” One of those issues Hinkie wishes he’d handled differently was the team’s response to Jahlil Okafor‘s recent off the court incidents, Pompey notes. “I think it’s fair during a time when there’s a question about someone that is as important to us as Jahlil, maybe people want to hear from another voice [besides coach Brett Brown],” Hinkie said. “Brett and I have been communicating there and I often let him speak on behalf of the team, and he’s often happy to, he doesn’t mind it and I don’t mind it. Sometimes a different voice helps.”

One of Hinkie’s player acquisitions, power forward Richaun Holmes, had a solid showing in last night’s loss to the Jazz, notching 18 points, three rebounds and adding this highlight reel dunk (video link). Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Former Celtics center Vitor Faverani has reached an agreement with the Spanish club UCAM Murcia, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays (Twitter link). The 27-year-old reached a two-year agreement to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv back in July but was let go due to knee issues. Faverani last appeared in a regular season NBA contest during the 2013/14 season, playing in 37 games for Boston and averaging 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Charley Rosen, who has long been Knicks president Phil Jackson’s confidant, noted that the triangle offense is flawed under coach Derek Fisher’s direction, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. A source close to the Knicks informed Berman that there’s a growing sense among some players in the locker room that Fisher is viewed more as a “preacher’’ and “motivator’’ than an expert in-game tactician. “If you run the triangle, you have to make a total commitment to the triangle,’’ said Rosen. “It’s not like a part-time thing that you just use some of it. If that’s your offense, you got to commit to it. It doesn’t look like they’re really committed to it. They’re running it in a half-[expletive] way. It’s not creating the kind of shots it would normally create.’’

Atlantic Notes: Crowder, Nets, Ross

December 28th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets CEO Brett Yormark recently mentioned Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Bojan Bogdanovic as players to build around, and the team indeed intends to keep those four around rather than using them to replenish their depleted draft assets, NetsDaily hears. Yormark also alluded to some of the team’s younger players as building blocks without naming them, and the NetsDaily report speculates about who they might be.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics are thrilled with the play of Jae Crowder, whom the team re-signed over the summer to a five-year, $35MM deal, especially on the defensive end, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “Jae’s playing at a high level right now on both ends,” said coach Brad Stevens. “But we need him to defend the way he is. The thing about Jae that I think Jae has really improved on throughout the years: being in the right place at the right time from a position standpoint because he’s so … he’s a good physical defender when he’s there.”
Knicks coach Derek Fisher is still struggling to find the right bench combination, and the playing time of rookie point guard Jerian Grant has taken a hit with veteran Sasha Vujacic assuming an expanded role, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “We’re still trying to find a way to have five guys that are playing together, flowing together. Sasha obviously has familiarity and history with what we’re trying to do offensively,” Fisher said. “We continue to search for how to get ourselves organized and we feel like Sasha gave us a chance to do so.”
The recent play of Terrence Ross is justifying the Raptors‘ decision to ink him to a three-year contract extension back in November, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes. “The big word is confidence. He’s playing with a tremendous amount of confidence. He’s seeing the ball go through the basket,” coach Dwane Casey said. “I think his defense has been solid, too. It’s not just his offense that’s been pretty solid, it’s his defense, both phases of the game.” Ross has scored 10 or more points in six straight games and is averaging 15.2 points per game over that span, while shooting 49% from the field and connecting on 47% of his 3-point attempts.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Barnes, D-League, Donovan

December 28th, 2015 at 12:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has suspended Grizzlies small forward Matt Barnes for two games without pay for his role in the off the court altercation with Knicks coach Derek Fisher back in October, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. Barnes is expected to serve the suspension during tonight’s game against the Heat and Saturday’s game at the Jazz. He will lose $64,409 in salary because of the suspension, Wojnarowski adds. The small forward will be eligible to play the next time New York and Memphis square off, which is set for January 16th in Memphis.

Here’s more from around the league:

Thunder coach Billy Donovan said that he wasn’t worried about the differences between managing NBA players and college ones when he accepted Oklahoma City’s vacant coaching position this past offseason, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. “I didn’t look at coming here to Oklahoma City under that umbrella of ‘what are all these relationships gonna be like,’ because I think we’re all people,” Donovan said. “I think you communicate, you talk, generally things work themselves out. Everything’s not always gonna go perfect, but I think if you’re working for the same cause, moving in the same direction, things get resolved.” Donovan was responding to a question regarding the difficulties new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is experiencing this season after also making the jump from the NCAA to the pros.
The Rockets have recalled swingman K.J. McDaniels and power forward Montrezl Harrell from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (Twitter link). This was the third D-League assignment on the season for McDaniels and the second for Harrell.
The Celtics have assigned power forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the team announced (via Twitter). This will be Mickey’s eighth jaunt to Maine on the season.

Eastern Notes: Grant, Stokes, Jennings

December 25th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the struggles of Knicks rookie Jerian Grant, the lack of production the Hawks have received from Tim Hardaway Jr. this season makes New York’s draft day acquisition of Grant still appear to be a win for the franchise, Zach Braziller of The New York Post writes. Knicks coach Derek Fisher has praised Grant’s maturity level and work ethic, and he believes the young guard has quite a bit of potential, Braziller adds. “I’ve liked his overall demeanor and composure,” Fisher said. “We loved that about him when we did our due diligence on what type of person he is and his makeup. Not a lot really bothers him. So far, he’s shown the ability to make plays for himself and other people. He really does get a lot of people into the game. He helps us keep our pace up a little bit higher. Defensively, he’s been good. I think he can make a jump there.”

Here’s more from the East:

There is much riding on the play of Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, who is working his way back from an Achilles injury, for both the player and the team, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News. If Jennings can prove he is still capable of being a strong contributor, it will set him up for a larger potential payday in free agency this offseason, according to Foster. Detroit would benefit as well, as a solid comeback from Jennings would serve to boost his trade value in advance of the February deadline if the team decides to deal him, Foster notes.
The Heat assigned power forward Jarnell Stokes to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will mark Stokes’ third trek to Sioux Falls on the season. He is averaging 18.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks in 29.0 minutes of action per contest for the Skyforce thus far.

Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Landry, Zeller

December 24th, 2015 at 2:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

The emergence of rookie Kristaps Porzingis clouds the future of Knicks offseason signee Robin Lopez, surmises Marc Berman of the New York Post, who earlier reported that the team is thinking about taking Lopez out of the starting five. He’s played 20 minutes or fewer in seven of his last nine games, though he’s shown hints of more efficient play and says he’s beginning to get a handle on the triangle offense, as Berman relays.

“I’m starting to see the opportunities,’’ Lopez said. “I’m starting to see when I’m supposed to look for me — on the block. When I’m supposed look for the pick and roll, where the cuts are going to be. I know it will get better. I’m getting a better idea of what I’m supposed to do offensively.’’

See more on the Knicks and the rest of the Atlantic Division:

The Cavs are in first place in the Eastern Conference with J.R. Smith and a now-healthy Iman Shumpert, but the Knicks have seen strong play from Lance Thomas, and coach Derek Fisher doesn’t regret New York’s participation in last January’s three-way trade with Cleveland and Oklahoma City. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News has the details. “Seems like both for J.R. and Shump it’s worked out well. They seem happy,” Fisher said Tuesday. “We like our team as it is at this point.”
Sixers offseason trade acquisition Carl Landry, the only player on the team older than 25, made his season debut Wednesday after a wrist injury cost him the first two months of the season, and he’s embracing a leadership role, observes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. The team has been in the market for additional veteran influences of late.
Tyler Zeller was an extension candidate this past summer, but the Celtics were reportedly interested in a deal only if it would come at a discount to them, and that hesitancy seems wise now that the center is averaging only 8.5 minutes a game. Still, the soon-to-be free agent posted a season-high 14 points Monday, and his lack of complaints about fluctuating minutes reveals a value, coach Brad Stevens contends, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNBoston.com notes. The Celtics organization is “even more endeared” to Zeller because of the way he’s handled the situation, Stevens said, according to Blakely.