Lowe On Clippers, Celtics, Bledsoe, Jazz, Mozgov
Grantland's Zach Lowe looked at several players who became eligible to be traded this weekend, and shares a litany of observations based on his analysis and what he's heard from around the league. Here's a look at some of his rumors:
- Ryan Hollins has fallen behind Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf in the Clippers rotation, and he might be available for a team looking for cheap interior players, suggesting the Celtics, for whom Hollins played last season, as a potential suitor.
- Though Odom and Turiaf are ahead of Hollins, they're still "limited players," according to Lowe, who believes the Clippers could look to upgrade their frontcourt.
- An Eric Bledsoe trade "feels almost inevitable," though it doesn't have to happen this season.
- Lowe expects the Jazz would be more willing to trade Paul Millsap than Al Jefferson, and believes that might make them a fit with the Lakers in a potential Pau Gasol deal, piggybacking on an idea advanced by ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh (Insider only).
- Echoing a Friday report by Mark J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Lowe hears Timofey Mozgov is "among the most available players in the league."
- Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas are the only pieces the Knicks have who are both "useful and tradeable," Lowe contends, adding that the Knicks would be reluctant to unload any of their backlog of bigs onto Eastern Conference rivals.
Atantic Notes: Casey, Teletovic, Meeks
The latest news and notes from around the Atlantic Division on Sunday afternoon:
- Despite rumors that Dwane Casey's job is in jeopardy, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star backs the Raptors coach and notes that perception around the league is generally optimistic about Casey and the team's future.
- Mirza Teletovic was used to being the focal point of his team in Europe, so it's been a challenge for him to adjust to being on the end of the Nets' bench this season, as Newsday's Roderick Boone chronicles.
- Mark Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer talks to Lakers guard Jodie Meeks, who reflects on the 76ers organization where he spent the first three seasons of his career as his new team prepares to play his former one.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Iman Shumpert and Amare Stoudemire are making progress toward returning to the Knicks.
Odds & Ends: Gasol, D-League, Knicks, Nash
There has been much talk that the Lakers should trade Pau Gasol. Ben Bolch from the Los Angeles Times gives five possible trade scenarios that could end up pleasing both parties. .
- Ridiculous Upside's Keith Schlosser writes that former first round draft pick Damion James is currently down in the D-League fighting his way back to the NBA. And he's not the only one. Ryan Ripley tells the same story with Morris Almond.
- ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling writes that Knicks head coach Mike Woodson prefers to push the ball and increase the tempo.
- The Orange County Register's Kevin Ding writes that Lakers fans should be exicted as they await Steve Nash's return.
- Former Bulls backup point guard C.J. Watson says he was "mistreated" in the offseason and had no plans on re-signing with Chicago, writes The Chicago Sun-Times' Neil Hayes. Watson is currently backing up Deron Williams with the Nets.
Atlantic Rumors: Lin, Toney, Bargnani, Turner
Linsanity will be back in New York this week, if only for a few hours on Monday when the Rockets pay their lone visit of the season to the Knicks. Jeremy Lin knows the game will be special, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. "It will be wild," said Lin, whose Rockets also travel to Toronto for a matinee Sunday versus the Raptors, who have a large Asian fan base. "It will be fun. I don’t really know what will happen exactly. We’re going to go out there as a team. It’s not about me or any individual. I’m going to go out there and try to play as hard as I can, have some fun. Whatever the crowds are like, I’m sure there will be a lot of energy."
Here are a couple more blasts from the Knicks' past and other notes from around the Atlantic.
- Lin isn't the only former Knicks point guard on the Rockets this year, and Toney Douglas, who came to Houston from New York as part of the Marcus Camby sign-and-trade this summer, will return to Madison Square Garden on a roll, Feigen notes.
- Andrea Bargnani angrily denied the comments he was reported to have made to an Italian journalist, particulary his supposed assertion that the Raptors are the worst team in the league, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun notes (Sulia link). Bargnani told Raptors beat writers today that what he said in reference to the team's play was, "Nobody is satisfied. Not me, not DeMar, not coach, nobody."
- The Italian reporter, Davide Chinellato of Gazzetta.it, is standing by his story, and says he has a recording of what Bargnani said (Twitter link; hat tip to Sportando's Emiliano Carchia).
- Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com posits that Evan Turner has become the best player from the 2010 draft. While that's probably open to debate, Lynam points to Turner's three-point shooting, which has jumped from 22.4% last year to 47.5% this season, and his ability to step in at point guard, as he did last night for the injured Jrue Holiday.
- In a Q&A with Joe Brescia of The New York Times, Patrick Ewing reiterated his desire to become an NBA head coach and said his son, Patrick Ewing Jr., has his eyes set on a return to the NBA as he plays in Germany for Telekom Baskets Bonn. The younger Ewing got a cup of coffee in the Association with the Hornets in 2010/11.
Eastern Notes: Hawks, Celtics, Asik, Blatche
After rounding up a few Raptors updates earlier this afternoon, let's take a look around the rest of the Eastern Conference:
- One opposing GM points out to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link) that a successful season for the Hawks would make it difficult for new GM Danny Ferry to bring in his own head coach to replace Larry Drew next year, if that's what Ferry wants to do. League sources also question whether Josh Smith fits the profile of a player Ferry would want to retain long-term, according to Bucher.
- The Celtics inquired on Omer Asik over the summer, head coach Doc Rivers tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link). However, the team quickly moved on when it heard Asik's price tag.
- It's looking more and more like Andray Blatche might be this summer's "one [free agent] that got away" from the Heat, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Following up on comments he made last month, Mike D'Antoni clarified to reporters, including Fred Kerber of the New York Post, that he had no regrets about coaching the Knicks, but that he regretted leaving Steve Nash and the Suns.
- In a piece for the Detroit Free Press, Dan Feldman of PistonPowered wonders if Charlie Villanueva is playing well enough to avoid being amnestied next summer.
Poll: Are The Knicks Title Contenders?
This offseason, it seemed as though all anyone in New York wanted to discuss was the departure of Jeremy Lin. Lin staying in New York appeared to be a mortal lock at one point, but when the Rockets extended the guard a heavily-backloaded three-year, $25MM deal, Glen Grunwald decided to go elsewhere. Lin's shadow would continue to loom over the team after the season got underway, but he's hardly a part of the fan discourse now.
Tonight at MSG, the Knicks are cruising to victory over the Lakers, en route to a 17-5 record and extending their home tally to 9-0. It was easy for some to dismiss the Knicks' hot start by pointing to a meager sample size a few weeks ago, but that's a tough case to make at the quarter-mark of the season. The Knicks are firing on all cylinders, and they've toppled quality teams like the Heat (twice), Spurs, and Nets.
How are they getting it done? As John Hollinger noted in one of his last pieces for ESPN.com, they're bombing away from three-point range at a clip that would have made a few ABA teams blush. Free agent pickups like Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni, and Rasheed Wallace are paying off in spades even while Steve Novak seems to have come back down to earth this season. It also helps that they're getting stellar performances from Carmelo Anthony at the power forward position – play that Knicks fans say warrants MVP consideration.
But the question is, can the Knicks keep this up?
Are The Knicks Title Contenders?
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Yes 70% (519)
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No 30% (222)
Total votes: 741
Knicks Notes: D’Antoni, Nash, Felton, Kobe
Things are going extremely well at Madison Square Garden right now, but this Knicks team could have looked extremely different had they signed Steve Nash in free agency. Earlier today, we learned that if the Knicks landed Nash, they likely would have matched the offer sheet to Jeremy Lin as well. Here’s more on the Knickerbockers..
- Mike D’Antoni made headlines when he said that he regretted taking the Knicks job over staying in Phoenix with Steve Nash, but his wife says that’s not the case, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “He would’ve done it all over again in a second. He was talking about not taking coaching [Nash] lightly,’’ said Laurel D’Antoni.
- Way back when he wrote for ESPN.com, John Hollinger argued that the Knicks are a legitimate threat in the East. The Knicks, he wrote, have two legitimate pick-and-roll creators making less than $4MM in J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton.
- Many are wondering if the blue-hot Knicks are real championship contenders, but Lakers guard Kobe Bryant doesn’t seem to be questioning it, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Bryant & Co. are in town tonight in search of road win No. 3 this season.
Odds & Ends: Mayo, Terry, Pacers, Knicks
Reports last season suggested the Celtics were involved in serious trade talks with the Grizzlies that would have sent to O.J. Mayo to Boston. According to one subsequent story, it was Mayo's unwillingness to play for the C's that led to the deal falling apart, but with the Mavericks in Boston last night, Mayo addressed that rumor. The 25-year-old's understanding was that an internal debate in Boston about Ray Allen resulted in the trade not happening.
"I was pretty much set to come here and something fell through at the very last second," Mayo said. "A couple of the guys wanted to keep Ray, and management wanted to make the trade."
Mayo added that he got a call from the Celtics during free agency this summer, but was happy with the way things ultimately worked out. Here are a few more Thursday odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Current Celtic and former Maverick Jason Terry told reporters, including Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, that he would like to take Mark Cuban up on his offer to bring Terry back to the organization once his playing career ends.
- The changes the Pacers made to the bench over the offseason haven't been upgrades, and the team will need to make more moves if it hopes to contend in the playoffs, opines Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
- Steve Nash was close to making a decision to sign with the Knicks in July, which would likely have meant the team re-signing Jeremy Lin as well, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. However, as Berman notes, the team's point guard Plan B of Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton has worked out pretty well so far.
- ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Insider link) identifies a few potential landing spots for Dwight Howard next summer if D12 decides he doesn't want to return to the Lakers.
Odds & Ends: Knicks, Harden, Terry, Draft
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Wednesday night:
- Al Iannazzone of Newsday.com writes that Mike Woodson has been more successful at coaching Carmelo Anthony than Mike D'Antoni was.
- James Harden was indifferent in his reaction to reports that the Wizards had rejected an offer from the Thunder to send him to Washington.
- Jason Terry did not rule out a return to the Mavericks later in his career, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford took a variety of questions from fans relating to the 2013 NBA Draft in a live chat.
- SNY.com's Adam Zagoria reports that Jabari Parker, the second-rated prospect of the 2014 Draft, is down to Duke and Michigan State in his choice of colleges.
- Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports that John Wall will have his knee re-examined on Friday.
- Sam Amico of FoxSportsOhio.com writes that youth is not an excuse for the Cavs' poor play.
- D.J. Augustin has been a disappointment since signing with the Pacers this summer.
- Sean Michael Meager of the Oregonian has an interview with Trail Blazers rookie Will Barton about his recent D-League assignment and the adjustment from college to the NBA.
- Brandon Jennings was perhaps the best player up for a rookie-scale extension who didn't get one, but he's drawing comparisons to Chris Paul and Mike Conley from Bucks coach Scott Skiles for his play this season, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel documents.
- Stephen Curry is feeling happy with his level of play this season and is not disappointed with his contract extension, he tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Atlantic Notes: Kidd, Amare, Bargnani, Raptors
After a tight intra-division game in Brooklyn last night between the Nets and Knicks, the Nets head to Toronto for a matchup with the Raptors tonight. The Air Canada Centre won't have the same energy the Barclays Center did, but at least one team will snap a long losing streak tonight — both Brooklyn and Toronto have dropped five straight games. Here are a few afternoon notes out of the Atlantic:
- Tyson Chandler tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that he called former Mavericks teammate Jason Kidd a few times over the summer in an attempt to recruit him to the Knicks. "I told him, 'We have some other guys that we may get in free agency, so this could be a really deep roster and we need a guy like you.'" Chandler said. "I felt like he could be the key to put us over the hump."
- Kidd also said on the radio that Amare Stoudemire could be back by the end of the month, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley (via Twitter).
- Andrea Bargnani has been ruled out indefinitely with an elbow injury, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. The injury will likely curb the Bargnani trade rumors and speculation at least temporarily.
- There are some within the Raptors organization who say that Dwane Casey's job status has been discussed, but president Bryan Colangelo flatly denies it, says Bruce Arthur of the National Post.
- Colangelo's tenures with the Suns and Raptors have been polar opposites, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
- Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com points out that even without Andrew Bynum, the Sixers have the most wins of the four teams involved in the Dwight Howard trade this summer, a point of pride for coach Doug Collins.
- Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com tweets that Collins is no longer planning to send rookie Arnett Moultrie to the D-League.