Atlantic Notes: K-Mart, Knicks, Celtics, DiLeo
Among the NBA free agents still looking for work, Kenyon Martin arguably has one of the strongest career resumés. Given his past production, the former first overall pick has "remained steadfast" in not wanting to sign for the veteran's minimum, according to Alan Hahn of MSG Network (Sulia link). A few teams, including the Knicks and Celtics, have K-Mart on their radar, but New York can't offer more than the minimum, and the odds of Boston signing Martin are "slim to none," according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Here are a few more Atlantic Division notes from Hahn, Blakely, and a handful of other NBA scribes:
- The Knicks are still considering their power forward options, says Hahn, who cites Louis Amundson, Shawne Williams, and Jordan Williams as a few possibilities. Chris Andersen has "pushed the idea" of signing with the Knicks, but that interest isn't mutual, according to Hahn.
- Within Blakely's above-linked piece, he answers plenty of Celtics-related questions that he received from Twitter followers.
- The Celtics haven't ruled out adding another veteran before training camp, but it would almost definitely have to be for the minimum salary, says Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com spoke to Chris Copeland, who is on a non-guaranteed contract with the Knicks, about what he's learned from the team's veteran players during pre-camp workouts.
- The 76ers should give Tony DiLeo the opportunity to take over for Rod Thorn as the club's general manager, opines Neil Hartman of CSNPhilly.com.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Martin, Celtics
Last night, Knicks guard J.R. Smith weighed in on a wide range of topics including Jeremy Lin, his new contract, and his chemistry with star Carmelo Anthony. Here’s more out of Madison Square Garden and other notes from the Atlantic Division..
- Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal takes a look at the Knicks roster, currently at 19 players, and wonders where rumored free agent target Kenyon Martin would fit in. Martin is reportedly the Knicks’ top target of the remaining free agents but the forward is refusing to play for the veteran’s minimum.
- In a Q&A session conducted by Bob Ryan (video link), Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said that recently-acquired guard Courtney Lee will “probably” be in the starting lineup to kick off the season. Rivers also weighed in on the new-look Lakers and downplayed the advantage that they might have in a Finals showdown.
- Hakeem Olajuwon says that he agreed to help the Knicks this summer as a favor to coach Mike Woodson, writes Nate Taylor of the New York Times. Woodson and Olajuwon were teammates with the Rockets from 1988 to 1990 and the older Woodson helped the center mature.
J.R. Smith On Contract, Lin, Carmelo
Around this time last year, J.R. Smith was headed to play for Zhejiang Chouzhou in China, where he was off-limits to NBA teams for much of the season. He came back for the stretch run with the Knicks, and his performance was sufficient for him to turn down a $2.339MM option and re-sign with the team this summer on a two-year deal that gives him a raise, to $2.806MM this season. When Smith re-upped with the Knicks in July, Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors speculated that he might opt out again next summer, which his deal allows him to do, and take advantage of the Early Bird rights he will have earned with the Knicks to get yet another raise. The 26-year-old shooting guard spoke about his value as a player and touched on other topics with Josh Newman of SNY.tv. The entire piece is worth a read, but we'll run down Smith's comments here.
On his contract:
“I think anything is a bargain with me, whether I’m playing for a dollar or $20MM, it’s a bargain because I’m going to play hard no matter what. No matter how much I get paid, it will never affect how hard I play and I think that should be thought about when people see me next year.”
About Jeremy Lin:
“I was on the outside looking in waiting for my deal to get done during that whole thing and just see what pieces we would pick up instead of Jeremy Lin. We got some good pieces. Jeremy is a good player, he was good to me and I have nothing bad to say about him. I wish him the best of luck, but we’re gonna kick their ass next year.”
On playing with Carmelo Anthony:
“Me and Melo have been on the same team for the last six years and ever since we’ve been together, I feel like we’ve had a championship-caliber team. It’s just a matter going out there, passing the ball, playing defense and playing team basketball.”
Odds & Ends: Kidd-Gilchrist, Raptors, 2013 Draft
During a University of Kentucky charity game that he originally wasn't scheduled to compete in, Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist appeared to show no ill effects from a knee injury that kept him sidelined during July's Summer League in Las Vegas, writes the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell.
Here's a look elsewhere around the league this Saturday evening.
- The Raptors are currently entering stage two of the rebuilding process, writes NBA.com's John Schuhmann. Even though the team's big offseason target, Steve Nash, ended up signing with the Lakers, Toronto continues to build around the strength of their talented youth.
- Hoopsworld.com and Draft Express give us their top 100 NBA prospects for the 2013 draft. UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel headline the list.
- HoopsWorld.com gives us a season preview for the Trail Blazers, a team that's either rebuilding or already talented enough to compete for the eighth seed in the West. Also from HoopsWorld.com, a preview for the Bucks.
- The Jazz will enter the 2012/13 season with a new general manager and new faces on the roster, such as longtime Hawks forward Marvin Williams, writes The Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm.
- Chris Smith, J.R. Smith's brother, will fight for a roster spot with the Knicks in this year's training camp, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Latest On Lou Amundson
Free agent power forward Lou Amundson, who spent last year with the Pacers, has been linked to a handful of teams this summer, and according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, he's still in conversation with a number of those clubs, but is "not a favorite" right now (Twitter link). The Knicks and Bobcats appear to be in the hunt, according to reports, and the 6'9" UNLV product has been drawing interest from overseas as well.
Zwerling indicated last month that Amundson was likely to get either the $2.575MM room exception or the $3.09 taxpayer's mid-level exception, but with minimum-salary deals the norm at this point in the offseason, the market might not be so fruitful. He's competing with Kenyon Martin, Chris Andersen, D.J. White and other power forwards for a spot on a team, and Andersen and White put up better PERs than Amundson's 11.5 mark in 2012/13.
Amundson saw just 12.6 minutes per game last season, the least amount of run he's gotten since his breakout season with the Suns in 2008/09. That number shrunk to 8.5 MPG in the playoffs. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in the regular season and 2.5 PPG and 2.1 RPG in 11 postseason games.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Green, Wright, Sixers
Chuck Myron already outlined today the flurry of Atlantic Division activity that has occured this week and it just keeps rolling in. Few would argue that the Celtics, 76ers and Nets have had big offseasons and the talented roster of the Knicks has had one more offseason to jell. This year promises to be an eventful one in the Northeast. Let's round up some of the Atlantic Division links coming in on Friday night:
- Greg Payne of ESPN Boston reports that a bunch of Celtics, including Jeff Green and newcomers Jason Terry, Kris Joseph, Jamar Smith and Dionte Christmas, have been participating in informal workouts at the team's practice facility. Payne adds that Joseph, Smith and Christmas will all be vying for the same job.
- Speaking of Green, the 26-year-old says he has been "cleared for everything" according to ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg. Green's contract was held up most of the offseason by insurance issues stemming from the heart surgery that caused him to miss last season. Green's return is one reason why many think that the Celtics were big winners this offseason. Green said today, "I've really been able to do everything — contact, my movements, my shot is there, my lift is there. Everything is coming along."
- Dei Lynam of CSN Philly continues her offseason look at the Sixers' roster by analyzing sniper Dorell Wright, who the team acquired via trade in the offseason. Lynam thinks that Wright is best suited to come off the bench for Philly while noting that no matter what, the 6-foot-9 swingman will get minutes. The link includes a video with Doug Collins, who says Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday and Andrew Bynum are the only locks to start.
- Max Rappaport of Sixers.com offers his breakdown of the two vacant open spots in the Philly starting lineup. He thinks a shooter on the perimeter next to Evan Turner is vital and that Spencer Hawes has the inside track next to Bynum. It is incredible how different the Sixers team will look from a year ago.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York caught up with four Knicks training camp invitees this week. Oscar Bellfield, John Shurna, Henry Sims and Mychel Thompson are longshots to make the team's roster, but all seem to be in good spirits in their time at the Knicks practice facility.
Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Green, Lin, Brooks
An active offseason for Atlantic Division teams continued this week, with the Knicks bringing in a handful of training camp invites, the Nets finalizing deals with Josh Childress and Andray Blatche, the Celtics signing Rob Kurz, and the Raptors inking Dominic McGuire. The Sixers didn't make any signings, but we heard Tony DiLeo has become a candidate to replace Rod Thorn as GM. Our Transactions page will fill you in on any signings you may have missed, and we've got the latest rumors out of the Atlantic right here:
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com hears the Knicks are prioritizing a big man as they seek to make one more signing, a point he reiterated in a chat today, but Ian Begley, his ESPNNewYork.com colleague, says the team is still deciding between a big and a wing (Twitter link).
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com passed along comments from Celtics forward Jeff Green, who spoke about the perception that he's playing under pressure after signing a sizable, four-year, $36MM deal so soon after heart surgery. "You guys put the pressure on me," Green said to reporters. "There’s no pressure on myself. What I went through, it’s a blessing in disguise, it allowed me to sit back, see things from a different point of view. Now I have to go out there and play basketball."
- Carmelo Anthony says the Knicks are still trying to get over the loss of Jeremy Lin, as the Associated Press reports, via ESPN.com. "I know it was kind of hard for the Knicks to let him go," said Anthony, in Puerto Rico with his charitable foundation. "(The Rockets) played the free agents' market to a T."
- Zwerling checks in with Nets guard MarShon Brooks, who's traveling in Russia as part of the Basketball Without Borders tour. Brooks and owner Mikhail Prokhorov met for the first time as part of the trip, Zwerling reports.
Matt Barnes Signs With Clippers
THURSDAY, 2:23pm: The team confirmed the move via press release on its website, and Berger adds that it's a one-year, minimum-salary deal (Twitter link). For the nine-year veteran, that'll be $1.229MM, but by rule the Clippers are only on the hook for the two-year veteran's minimum of $854,389, with the league reimbursing the rest.
THURSDAY, 2:09pm: The Clippers have officially announced the move, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:49am: Matt Barnes has informed the Clippers that he'll sign with them, according to SI.com's Sam Amick (via Twitter). It was Amick who reported yesterday that Barnes was leaning toward joining the Clippers and that he could finalize a deal with the team by week's end.
Amick's report yesterday indicated that the Heat, Lakers, and Nets were among the other teams in play for Barnes, who also had serious talks with the Knicks, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Agent Aaron Goodwin told Zwerling that he spoke to the Knicks several times about Barnes, but that he believes coach Mike Woodson never got "truly on board" with the idea of adding the veteran wing.
Although the Clippers waived Ryan Gomes via the amnesty provision and let Nick Young walk in free agency, they added Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, and Willie Green, and didn't appear to require more wing help. Still, Barnes will provide the team with added depth and versatility. When I looked at the top rebounders and outside shooters available in free agency a couple weeks ago, Barnes ranked in the top 10 in both categories.
Because the Clippers have already used both their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, Barnes figures to be signing a minimum-salary deal. It's not clear yet whether or not it will be guaranteed.
Atlantic Notes: McGrady, Nets, Sixers, Celtics
The Knicks worked out Tracy McGrady yesterday to see if the 33-year-old could give the club some extra depth with Iman Shumpert and Ronnie Brewer recovering from injuries. A team source told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that even though McGrady appeared to be in good health, it doesn't appear that a signing is imminent. T-Mac also worked out for the Spurs this week and hopes to land a guaranteed deal with a contender. Here's more out of the Atlantic Division..
- While the Nets are still expected to bring two or three more players to training camp, Josh Childress and Andray Blatche are solid bets to be on the roster when they open the season, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Childress fills a significant need for the Nets at backup small forward after Donte Greene, who was set to sign on a non-guaranteed deal, injured his ankle in a pickup game.
- Sixers head coach Doug Collins told Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News that he felt last year's team peaked, necessitating some significant changes this offseason. Collins also insisted that the club did not draft Moe Harkless as trade bait for the Magic but instead truly believed that he was the best player on the board at No. 15.
- Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe profiles center Jason Collins, who hooked on with the Celtics for the veteran's minimum this summer. The C's won't look for a ton of minutes out of the big man with Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox, and Jared Sullinger playing in front of him.
Knicks Continue To Pursue Kenyon Martin
TheKnicks continue to rate Kenyon Martin as the veteran free agent they like the most, but still haven’t sold him on playing for the veteran’s minimum, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Celtics and Lakers are among the other teams that have shown interest in the forward, but like the Knicks, won’t offer more than $1.35MM.
Martin hooked on with the Clippers mid-season last year for the team’s full room exception of $2.5MM. While the 34-year-old offered toughness to the Los Angeles frontcourt, he didn’t light up the stat sheet as he averaged just 5.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG. It’s quite possible that those career-low numbers hurt the veteran’s value heading into this offseason.