Atlantic Rumors: Kidd, Knicks, Richardson, Pierce
The seismic NBA news in the last 24 hours has come out of the West, but that doesn't mean the East is all quiet with the season two days away. Here's the latest from around the Atlantic Division.
- Jason Kidd turns 40 in March, but said he wants to play until the end of his three-year contract with the Knicks, and also spoke highly of his time with the Mavericks in a wide-ranging Q&A with Steve Serby of the New York Post.
- Chris Smith was waived by the Knicks this week, but he's rehabbing his injured patella at the team's facility, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- Nate Taylor of The New York Times examines the unlikely training camp success story of 28-year-old rookie Chris Copeland, who made the team's opening-night roster on a non-guaranteed deal.
- Jason Richardson was pleased with the trade to the Sixers, where coach Doug Collins was sold on Richardson after a glowing recommendation from Grant Hill, reports John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Paul Pierce isn't a trade candidate, and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that the team had no serious discussions about trading Pierce last season, either, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes.
- Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, knows he has a long way to go to live up to expectations as he begins his NBA career, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
Atlantic Rumors: Rivers, Allen, Nets, Knicks
Celtics coach Doc Rivers weighed in on Ray Allen's departure from the team in a radio interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, as Brian Robb of Celtics Hub transcribes (hat tip to ESPNBoston.com), but Allen is anxious to move past his acrimonius departure from Boston, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com writes. Here's the rest of the day's news from Atlantic Division clubs.
- A spokesperson for Mikhail Prokhorov insists the billionaire's return to politics won't have any bearing on his ownership of the Nets, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Deron Williams believes the Knicks got a better point guard when they switched out Jeremy Lin for Raymond Felton this summer, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post documents.
- With Amare Stoudemire sidelined up to five weeks, Rasheed Wallace would seem to be in line for a more significant role than originally planned for the veteran who appears to have made the Knicks on a non-guaranteed deal, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Still, it's unclear whether Wallace will be in condition to play by this week's opener.
- While delivering some parting shots to outgoing commissioner David Stern, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News says the Sixers face as significant a decision as any in the league about whether to re-sign Andrew Bynum, and adds that the team would be "crazy" to commit major money to him right now.
- Andray Blatche has made the Nets opening-night roster on a non-guaranteed deal, but in the wake of taunts from Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, Blatche knows he'll continue to face criticism for last year's subpar play with the Wizards, as Roderick Boone of Newsday examines.
- Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com passes along Rivers' reflections on the last five seasons with the Celtics.
- A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks at how a deep bench could serve the Celtics well.
Knicks Waive Bellfield, Shurna, Thompson, Sims
The Knicks waived four players to get down to the 15-man roster limit today, cutting ties with Oscar Bellfield, John Shurna, Mychel Thompson and Henry Sims, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Shurna and Sims had partial guaranteed of $50K, while Bellfield's and Thompson's contracts were non-guaranteed. The moves likely mean Chris Copeland, who has a non-guaranteed deal, will be on the Knicks opening-night roster.
Odds & Ends: Varejao, Harden, Chandler, Stoudemire
Here are a few bits of news on this Friday evening:
- Hoopsworld.com's Stephen Brotherston wonders if Anderson Varejao will play center for the Cavaliers this season.
- The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry tweets that he believes the chances of James Harden signing an extension with the Thunder are 0.2%.
- According to the New York Daily News' Frank Isola, Amare Stoudemire is seeking a second opinion on his knee injury, and could miss as much as a month of the season.
- On the other end of the spectrum, Knicks center Tyson Chandler is convinced he'll play on opening night after suffering a leg injury this week, writes Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
- Hornets guard Eric Gordon has spent his brief career on the sidelines with myriad of injuries. This season he looks forward to hopefully playing a full 82 games, writes Hoopsworld.com's Bill Ingram.
- The Thunder have one open position left on their opening day roster, and four players—Andy Rautins, Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins, and Hollis Thompson—are fighting for it, reports The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry.
Knicks Waive Chris Smith
The Knicks have officially waived Chris Smith, the team announced today in a press release. The brother of J.R. Smith was brought aboard to compete for a spot on the roster, but suffered a patella injury that will keep him out for three to six months.
Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote a couple weeks back that there was speculation that one of the stipulations when J.R. signed with the Knicks was that his brother would earn a roster spot. However, following the injury, Chris probably wouldn't have been able to contribute until late in the season, if at all. As such, the Knicks were highly unlikely to use a roster spot on him.
The younger Smith's contract was believed to be fully non-guaranteed, so it shouldn't cost the Knicks anything to waive him. According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports, the contract would have become fully guaranteed if Smith had remained on the roster through November 1st.
Steve Nash Talks Free Agency, Raptors, Knicks
Since he agreed to a three-year deal with the Lakers and was signed-and-traded to a division rival by the Suns earlier this summer, Steve Nash has discussed the move with a handful of reporters, explaining his motives for choosing Los Angeles. In a lengthy interview with Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, Nash expanded a bit on his free agent experience, among many other topics. The interview is worth a read in its entirety, but here are the key quotes from Nash on his free agency:
On whether there's been a backlash since he decided to sign with the Lakers:
"From Phoenix? Yeah, a little bit. But I’ve felt some backlash but I’ve also felt an overwhelming amount of support. There are people that are pissed off that I came here to the enemy but, to me, this opportunity ticked all the boxes after Phoenix didn’t want me to come back. That’s the thing that I think some fans don’t realize or don’t understand, an offer was never made…. So am I supposed to pass up an opportunity to play on a great team, be in a great city and be an hour from the kids just because? For me, my kids trump everything."
On having had the chance to sign with the Raptors:
"Toronto was a very special opportunity to me because, I mean, when they came to recruit me, it’s Bryan [Colangelo] who I’ve known my whole career; Jay Triano, recruited me in high school and who is a very close friend and our national team coach; Marc Eversley, who was my Nike rep way back and now an executive for the Raptors and very close friend of mine; Johnny Lee, who is a very close friend of mine, manager on the Olympic team. It’s hard when it’s a room full of people you care about to say no to that…. Let alone the fact I love Toronto as a city, it’s home in many ways and I would have been proud to play for the Raptors and in front of those fans and to try to move the ball forward a little bit with that franchise; that was exciting."
On weighing the Knicks' offer against the Lakers' and Raptors':
"The Knicks opportunity was exciting; I’ve been in New York for 10 summers, always wanted to play in the Garden for the Knicks in some way and I have so many friends in the city now living there. Just the challenge of playing the Garden even though it’s been such a tumultuous environment recently, it still was an exciting proposition just to experience it. They have a lot of talent, too…. I would have been happy to go to either and I would have been thrilled to play in Toronto."
On whether his decision was made when the Lakers began to show serious interest:
"It wasn’t over because there were factors. We started talking to the Lakers, had to get them to sign off on a third year (of a contract) and the Suns had to sign off on a sign-and-trade, which was very difficult and took almost two days."
On why the Lakers loading up on stars didn't inspire as strong a backlash as when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami:
"I think it’s a different situation. I think the way that it was handled was different, I think always the first time is the hardest when something like that happens and people get over it. I think it’s slightly different."
Atlantic Links: Allen, Copeland, Chandler
- Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com thinks that 28-year-old rookie Chris Copeland has presented a strong case to make the Knicks roster.
- Despite leaving last night's pre-season game early after hurting his knee during a collision with Nets forward Gerald Wallace, Knicks center Tyson Chandler could be available for the season opener, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. An MRI revealed that Chandler did not suffer any structural damage.
- While Celtics coach Doc Rivers notes that having days off could have an effect on a team's ability to remain sharp, he likes having a week for his players to recuperate before the season starts (says A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com).
- Brian Daly of the Toronto Sun writes about Kris Joseph earning a spot on the Celtics roster and what it means for Canadian basketball.
Atlantic Notes: Copeland, Rasheed, Bynum
We rounded up a host of Celtics news earlier, but there's more out of the Atlantic Division this evening, as the Nets and Knicks face off in the final preseason game for both teams.
- Reports have been optimstic about camp invitee Chris Copeland's chances of making the Knicks regular season roster, and SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria and Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com give further indication the power forward will remain with the team for the start of the regular season.
- Rasheed Wallace is likely to get the team's other open roster spot, Zwerling reports in the same piece, adding that the Knicks aren't in pursuit of free agents Kenyon Martin, Chris Andersen or Josh Howard to fill in for the injured Amare Stoudemire.
- The Sixers have no timetable for the return of Andrew Bynum, who continues to be held out of practice. John Finger of CSNPhilly.com and Zach Lowe of Grantland.com examine what the team will do as long as its marquee offseason acquisition can't play.
Knicks Notes: Amare, Copeland, Point, Prigioni
Carmelo Anthony makes his return to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse tomorrow night when they take on the Sixers in their fifth preseason game. The Knicks currently stand at 2-2, but announced today that Amare Stoudemire will miss two to three weeks with a ruptured cyst behind his left knee. While the time period isn't devastating, it is another medical issue for the oft-injured Stoudemire. Here are some other notes from the Knicks preseason:
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York posts his reaction to the Stoudemire news, reiterating that it is not a serious injury and the time off may help a knee that was still recovering from a bone bruise on October 10. Zwerling also says to expect Kurt Thomas to start and Chris Copeland to make the team.
- Keith Schlosser of KnicksJournal.com mentions Copeland and Steve Novak as two candidates to step up in Stoudemire's absence. On Saturday night, Copeland exploded for 34 points in Boston on 11-for-18 shooting and has impressed throughout the preseason.
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld takes a look at the Knicks point guard situation, where the team has replaced Jeremy Lin with a trio of veteran guards that have 42 combined years of pro hoops experience in Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
- Speaking of Prigioni, Nate Taylor from the New York Times writes that Suns big man and fellow Argentinian Luis Scola gave him the final push that he needed to come over from the Euroleague and join the Knicks. Prigioni, at 35, is the oldest rookie to enter the NBA in the last 40 years.
Eastern Notes: Barbosa, Raptors, Pistons,Wilkins
Here's a look around the Eastern Conference on this Sunday afternoon.
- According to ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg, Leandro Barbosa had talks with the Lakers before signing with the Celtics.
- The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat writes that the Raptors could have a great second unit this season.
- Pistons.com writer Keith Langlois writes that the speedy pace Pistons coach Lawrence Frank wants to employ this season with his team could be a huge benefit.
- With a slew of veterans on board, the Knicks have a ton of pressure to advance far in the playoffs this season, writes the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.
- The Philadelphia Inquirer's John Mitchell believes veteran forward Damien Wilkins could have a positive influence on the young Sixers roster.
- Chris Vivlamore of AJC.com writes about the Hawks open small forward position.