And-Ones: Bulls, Harris, Jackson, Powell
In his latest piece for ESPNChicago.com, Nick Friedell discusses with Jon Greenberg and Scoop Jackson what the Bulls’ offseason plan should consist of if they can’t land Carmelo Anthony. Friedell think bringing Nikola Mirotic from overseas makes the most sense, while Greenberg believes Lance Stephenson would be a great fit with coach Tom Thibodeau. Here’s more from around the Association:
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confesses he regrets rescinding a contract offer he made to Devin Harris last summer that would have locked up the former All-Star for three years, reports Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW. Cuban decided to only offer Harris a one-year pact in wake of the news that the point guard would need foot surgery.
- Bill Bradley was Phil Jackson‘s teammate on the Knicks’ two championship teams of 1969/70 and 1972/73, and he sees Jackson as a perfect fit as team president, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I think he’s got an unparalleled record,” Bradley said, “a good head on his shoulders, knows what’s important in building a winning culture. That’s a great combination“
- Gregg Popovich is known for his tendency to blow off reporters, but the Spurs coach had no shortage of words on how beneficial he thought the hiring of Jackson would be for the Knicks, says Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. “To have somebody of Phil Jackson’s stature back in the mix is just a huge plus for everybody involved, so I think it’s great,” said Popovich. “When you put together a group and there’s synergy between the general manager, a president, as he’s going to be, and a coach… He just has to make sure that synergy exists and I’m sure that he will. He’s a smart man. There will be a system and a culture, for sure.“
- ESPN’s 5-on-5 panel breaks down the NBA prospects they find most intriguing, and Brett Koremenos of Grantland writes that while Stanford forward Dwight Powell is often overlooked, a strong tournament showing by him and his team could boost his standing on scouts’ draft boards around the league.
Atlantic Notes: Stoudemire, Jackson, Livingston
The Knicks are riding the second-longest winning streak in the NBA at seven games, and the resurgence of Amar’e Stoudemire has been instrumental in their recent success. Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report sat down with Stoudemire and spoke about the big man’s tenure in New York. Stoudemire touches on why he was initially excited to play for the Knicks and reveals he’s interested in taking on a front office role for the team someday. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- In a piece for Basketball Insiders, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times runs down the 2014 cap situation for each team in the Atlantic Division. The Celtics, Knicks, and Nets are likely to remain over the cap this offseason, while the Raptors and Sixers will probably have the chance to slip underneath.
- New Knicks president Phil Jackson is likely to be a big draw for free agents, but Jeanie Buss doesn’t think he’ll be able to match the allure that the Lakers franchise has, write Pincus and fellow LA Times scribe Mike Bresnahan. “I think the Lakers are a legacy franchise,” Buss told ESPN 710. “Players know when they come here this is the ultimate platform… I’m not worried about that in any way, shape or form.”
- Five analysts discuss Jackson’s hiring in a USA Today piece. Most of them don’t think bringing in Jackson will win the Knicks a championship, but the consensus is that it ultimately won’t harm the Zen Master’s legacy.
- Shaun Livingston was able to recover from a gruesome injury and become a key piece in the Nets’ rotation this season. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today elaborates on the point guard’s career.
Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Billups, Allen, Heat
Carmelo Anthony is full of optimism about what Phil Jackson can do for the Knicks, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com observes. ‘Melo is similarly enthusiastic about what he can learn from Jackson and is glad that the Zen Master wants him to stick around beyond this season.
“I was hoping that I would be part of the future plans,” Anthony said. “I never once said that I wanted to leave New York or anything like that. The only thing I said was I’m going to dabble and try the free agency out, that I was going to opt out and become a free agent. … I’m excited about the opportunity to hopefully work with Phil.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Chauncey Billups says he won’t necessarily retire at the end of the season, but teams have already gauged his interest in joining their front offices, Billups told reporters, including Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. It’s unclear if the Pistons are one of those clubs, but Billups said he’d consider them if they offered a position. The 37-year-old would like to become a basketball executive at some point, adds Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, who notes that Billups and Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars are close.
- Ray Allen, a free agent at season’s end, still has affection for Boston, and he’d like to see the Celtics retire his number, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- The Heat have assigned Justin Hamilton to the D-League, the team announced. The center will play in two games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce and return to the Heat after Saturday’s contest, according to Miami’s release.
Knicks Sign Shannon Brown For Rest Of Season
The Knicks have signed Shannon Brown for the rest of the season, the team announced via Twitter. The tweet notes that the team’s latest deal with Earl Clark has expired. The Knicks inked Clark to a pair of 10-day contracts at the same time they did so with Brown, so presumably that means New York doesn’t plan to re-sign Clark. The Knicks now have 14 guaranteed contracts, so they can add another player to replace Clark if they choose.
Brown first joined the Knicks late last month after the team waived Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih. The eighth-year veteran guard saw fewer minutes for New York than Clark did, but neither received significant playing time. Clark played a total of 70 minutes in nine games, averaging 2.6 points per contest. Brown has only seen the floor for 57 minutes across nine games, notching 1.8 PPG. Still, it appears the Knicks prefer to keep an extra guard instead of a forward like Clark.
It’s the first player personnel decision for the Knicks since Phil Jackson came aboard as team president. Brown played for then-coach Jackson for parts of three seasons with the Lakers, winning two championships. Clark also played for the Lakers, but that was after Jackson had stepped down as coach.
Brown has spent much of this season out of the league after the Wizards waived him shortly before the start of the season. He was with the Spurs in February on a pair of 10-day contracts, but San Antonio elected not to keep him for the season. New York’s decision to commit to Brown is a slight boon for the Wizards, who can defray a tiny amount of their remaining debt to the Mark Bartelstein client via set-off rights. Washington released Brown in spite of his $3.5MM guaranteed salary before the season to get down to 15 players after the unbalanced Marcin Gortat trade.
Lakers Notes: D’Antoni, Jackson, Henry
A recent report suggested that Kobe Bryant wants Mike D’Antoni out as Lakers coach, but Bryant didn’t quite put it that way in a radio interview Wednesday. He still said he’s not sure if D’Antoni deserves to return as coach next season, and another Lakers figure is similarly reticent to make that sort of statement, as we note in a look at the latest on the purple-and-gold:
- Mitch Kupchak stopped short of saying that D’Antoni should remain coach of the Lakers, but the GM nonetheless backed the sideline boss in an interview with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “I don’t want to get into that with those kind of questions,” Kupchak said. “He’s done a great job and dealt with a year last year when he was here part-time and a ridiculous amount of injuries this year.”
- Kupchak told Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he never spoke at length with Phil Jackson during the Zen Master’s negotiations to join the Knicks, and Kupchak characterized the New York job as “too good to be true and too good to pass up” for Jackson. Earlier today, we heard that the Lakers initially thought Jackson would merely be taking a consulting gig with the Knicks.
- Xavier Henry, a free agent at season’s end, is playing through pain to solidify his value as an NBA player after his early-season breakthrough, as McMenamin details in separate piece.
Isola’s Latest: Jackson, Lakers, Dolan
Phil Jackson‘s hiring as Knicks president has been one of the most well-documented stories in the NBA this season, but Frank Isola of the New York Daily News has managed to reveal a few fresh angles to the news. We’ll share the highlights of his latest piece here:
- The Lakers believed Jackson was going to take a salary of $2MM a year to join the Knicks as a consultant when New York first began talks with Jackson in December. Instead, he’ll make $12MM a year as team president, though he’ll still spend time in Southern California as well as New York.
- Dolan, in spite of his promise to remove himself from basketball decision-making for the Knicks, still considers himself a “basketball guy” and wants to be remembered for bringing Jackson and Carmelo Anthony together.
- Two of Mike Woodson, Andrea Bargnani and J.R. Smith won’t be with the Knicks next season, and none will be around for 2015/16, Isola writes. It would be no shock if Woodson is in his final days with the Knicks, but Bargnani’s deal runs through next year, and Smith’s goes until the summer of 2016, so it appears that Isola is suggesting the team will trade Bargnani and Smith.
- Woodson, Bargnani and Smith are all Creative Artists Agency clients, but the emergence of Eagles manager Irving Azoff as a trusted confidant of James Dolan has helped diminish CAA’s once-widespread influence at Madison Square Garden.
Phil Jackson Notes: Melo, Woodson, Ewing, Pop
In case you haven’t had enough of the Phil Jackson to New York story, we have more as reactions continue to pour in. Jackson joined the Boomer and Carton show on WFAN New York this morning to explain why he took the job with the Knicks. Here is what he had to say, courtesy of Royce Young at CBS Sports: “I like the city, I like the basketball team, I don’t like all the way they’ve been playing lately, but they’re showing signs of playing like a team again. I think it’s a great time in the NBA to use the flexibility and availability that’s been given to teams in this new CBA between the owners and players … equity is supposed to be the big thing, caps on spending and things like that. But I do think it favors a place like New York.”
Here’s a look at more news and notes stemming from James Dolan’s big hire:
- Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com conducts a detailed examination aimed at determining whether or not Carmelo Anthony can fit within Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. According to Elhassan, Melo could thrive just like his predecessors if the system is run correctly.
- The man to run it, at least for the time being, would presumably be Knicks head coach Mike Woodson, who said on Wednesday that he was capable of teaching it with Jackson’s guidance, reports ESPN New York’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Woodson also seemed unconcerned that Dolan offered Jackson his job. Youngmisuk also includes some words from Anthony, who seemed encouraged that Jackson plans to build around him.
- Knicks legend Patrick Ewing approves of the Jackson addition, telling Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News he’s happy to have “one of our own” taking over the franchise. Ewing, of course, went up against Jackson and his Bulls for years in the Eastern Conference.
- Count Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich among those expecting big things from Jackson in New York, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding on Twitter. Asked Wednesday for his thoughts, Pop had the following to say: “Fantastic. It’s wonderful for everybody concerned. Definitely great for the league.” With regard to Jackson adjusting to a management role, Pop said: “He’ll figure it out. He’ll get it going.” (Twitter links)
Western Notes: Lakers, Suns, Lowry, Jordan
The NBA has parameters in place to ensure the relationship between Lakers president Jeanie Buss and now-Knicks president Phil Jackson doesn’t become an issue, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Shelburne the following: “The Knicks’ hiring of Phil Jackson is subject to the league’s conflict of interest rules. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict, we have addressed the issue with the Knicks and Lakers to ensure that the relationship between Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson will not affect how the teams operate.”
We heard yesterday that Buss recently met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on this very topic. Shelburne followed up on Twitter, adding that Buss and Silver had similar conversations last year when Jackson considered working for Toronto or a new Seattle franchise. In short, because Buss’ role with the Lakers is on the business side, the league approves, Shelburne says, an explanation that agrees with what we heard from Buss earlier today.
Let’s take a look at what else is going on out west:
- In an interview with Zach Lowe of Grantland, Goran Dragic conceded that he was baffled this offseason when he heard the Suns acquired Eric Bledsoe, but his agent and Suns’ management swiftly assured him that the team envisioned an all-point guard backcourt not unlike the early ’90s Phoenix duo of Kevin Johnson and (current head coach) Jeff Hornacek.
- Two seasons after shipping him to Toronto, Daryl Morey unsuccessfully attempted to bring Kyle Lowry back to the Rockets at the trade deadline, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Villanova product, who also nearly ended up in New York, is playing his way into a big-time contract this summer, when Lowry becomes a free agent. We heard earlier tonight that he could be a fit in Dallas.
- A lot of the credit for DeAndre Jordan‘s progression with the Clippers should go to Doc Rivers, writes Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated. Rivers, in his first year with the Clips, did his homework on the talented but underacheiving center prior to arriving in Los Angeles, and the results have been more than encouraging.
Western Notes: Kobe, Mavs, Johnson
Kobe Bryant endorses the Knicks hiring of Phil Jackson despite his well-documented disappointment with the Lakers front office for not bringing Jackson back to Los Angeles. In an article by Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles, Bryant said, “I just think his mentorship shifts. I think it goes from having a direct influence on the players themselves to having a direct influence on the coaching staff, which he’s accustomed to doing because that’s how he coached as well. He really had a great rapport with his coaching staff and he was really a great mentor for them, and I’m sure he’ll do the same thing and it will just kind of trickle down from there. It’s really no different from what Pat [Riley] has been able to do in Miami with [Erik] Spoelstra.” According to the article, Bryant also believes that Jackson will be able to help Carmelo Anthony improve as a player. On what Phil can do for ‘Melo, Bryant said, “Phil will be able to provide that knowledge and he’ll learn more about the game and open up dimensions of the game that he never saw before. So, he’ll just continue to improve.”
More from out west:
- The Kings had appeared likely to keep 10-day signee Orlando Johnson for the season, but the team has decided against doing so, notes Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee. Johnson’s second 10-day contract expired Monday.
- The Warriors have assigned Nemanja Nedovic and Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League the team has announced. Both players had just been recalled from the D-League yesterday and played in last night’s victory over the Magic.
- If the Mavericks are able to sign a proven big man after the season, the player most likely to lose his roster spot is DeJuan Blair, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Sefko also says that proven big man target is most likely to be Marcin Gortat.
- In a separate article, Sefko writes that he thinks the Mavs would be well served to pursue Gortat as well as Luol Deng after the season. Both players will be free agents and would fit nicely in the team’s system. Sefko also thinks that Kyle Lowry will be another player the team will take a look at signing, and believes he is ready to be a lead guard on a “top-shelf” playoff team.
And-Ones: Bucks, Dedmon, Gooden, Pelicans
A source tells Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Bucks owner Herb Kohl is receiving considerable nationwide interest from investors who’d like to buy at least a minority share of the team, and many of them are in close proximity to Milwaukee. Kohl is reportedly close to selling a majority stake in the franchise, but Walker hears that no deal is imminent. Sports business experts say the team would be more valuable in another market, Walker writes, but Kohl has been insistent that the team stay in Milwaukee. Here’s more from around the league:
- Dewayne Dedmon‘s latest contract with the Magic gives him the chance to make the team’s roster next season, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, so presumably that means the deal covers 2014/15 with a non-guaranteed salary.
- The Wizards didn’t bring Drew Gooden aboard until last month, but they’d been monitoring him since December, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Gooden followed a pair of 10-day contracts with a deal Tuesday for the rest of the season.
- The Pelicans have more than $54MM in commitments for next season, and GM Dell Demps acknowledged that it’s unlikely the team will be a major player on the free agent market, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune observes. Demps also said he doesn’t regret last summer’s Jrue Holiday trade, even though there’s a strong chance it could cost them another lottery pick this year.
- The Bulls may have to make a few creative cap maneuvers to entice Nikola Mirotic to sign this summer, depending on the dollars-to-euros exchange rate and Real Madrid’s willingness to negotiate the amount of Mirotic’s buyout. Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders has the details.
- Twelve-year NBA veteran Ricky Davis had been attempting a comeback with the D-League affiliate of the Knicks, but the Erie BayHawks announced that they have cut him loose.