Odds & Ends: Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, Louisville
The rumor mill has begun to pick up as the calendar turns to September, with news that the Pacers have reached a deal with Blake Ahearn, while the Nets look at Andray Blatche and the Knicks eye Sean Williams. There's plenty more this afternoon, so let's get right to what's happening around the league:
- The Spurs will bring in 6'8" forward Reyshawn Terry to workout next week, agent John Spencer told HoopsHype. Terry was the 44th overall pick by the Magic in 2007, and was in last in an NBA camp with the Mavericks in 2008. That adds to a busy schedule that includes auditions for Derrick Brown, Brian Butch and Warren Carter.
- Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld isn't terribly high on the Bulls after the offseason departures of the Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, and C.J. Watson. In their place, Chicago has installed a bench of Nazr Mohammed, Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Nate Robinson, but Brigham isn't sure how the cast of veterans will gel together.
- Former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy likes the club's offseason acquisitions of Ronnie Brewer and Marcus Camby, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The coach suggested that the duo could even be paired alongside Tyson Chandler in some lineups, though that frontcourt would obviously be short on offense.
- A spokesman for Louisville, Ky. mayor Greg Fischer says, “If an NBA team comes knocking, we want to be able to open the door,” reports Tim Sullivan of the Courier-Journal. Still, Sullivan believes contractual obligations that tie the city's less than two-year-old arena to the University of Louisville would make it difficult, if not impossible, to attract an NBA team.
- Marcus Haislip has signed to play for the DongGuan Leopards of the Chinese league, reports David Pick of Sportando. The Bucks took Haislip 13th overall in the 2002 draft, and he last appeared in the NBA with the Spurs in 2009/10.
Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors also contributed to this post.
Knicks Considering Sean Williams
The Knicks are considering signing forward/center Sean Williams, a source familiar with the Knicks' free-agency plans told Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The big man was waived by the Rockets earlier this week before his $916K salary would have become guaranteed for 2012/13.
Yesterday we learned that the Timberwolves are also interested in Williams' services, though David Kahn is said to be talking to a number of agents. Anthony Tolliver, Mehmet Okur, and Hassan Whiteside are said to be among Minnesota's other targets in the frontcourt.
The report also notes that while there has been some speculation that the Knicks are interested in Josh Howard, a source says that's not the case. The Bobcats and Bulls have also been linked to the 32-year-old, but Charlotte's interest was termed "exploratory" at this stage.
Latest On Mike Bibby
Mike Bibby is still hoping to catch on with an NBA team within the next few weeks, but he doesn't expect to return to his 2011/12 squad, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports. A source close to Bibby tells Zwerling: "We do expect a need for him [with a team] once camp starts or just before, but we don't think it's going to be with the Knicks."
The news comes as no real surprise, considering the Knicks loaded up on point guards this summer, acquiring Raymond Felton in a sign-and-trade and signing Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni, and Chris Smith to free agent deals. Despite maintaining a solid assist rate for the Knicks last season, Bibby wasn't productive overall, averaging career lows in minutes (14.3), field-goal percentage (28.2%), and PER (7.8), among other categories.
Still, according to Zwerling, Bibby is healthy and has been preparing to play in the upcoming season. Bibby and brother-in-law Eddie House have been training and working out at Bibby's Arizona home over the summer.
Bobcats, Knicks, Bulls Interested In Josh Howard
THURSDAY, 8:31am: Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer classifies the Bobcats' interest in Howard as no more than "exploratory" at the moment.
WEDNESDAY, 6:18pm: It's a little surprising that Josh Howard remains on the free agent market this late in the offseason, considering the 32-year-old former All-Star started three out of four playoff games for the Jazz this spring. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports hears that Howard, a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., has been working out with the Bobcats this week, and is also drawing interest from the Knicks and Bulls (Twitter link).
Aside from the draft, the Bobcats have done little to upgrade the roster that compiled the league's all-time worst winning percentage last season, with Ramon Sessions as the team's only veteran signee. They have about $2MM in cap room available, so Howard's salary could fit into that space. The Knicks would only be able to offer the veteran's minimum, which for Howard, a nine-year vet, would be about $1.229MM. The Bulls seem the unlikeliest team of the three to land Howard, since the team is under a hard cap this year and doesn't even have room to add anyone at the minimum. They'd have to swing a trade to free up the space to bring Howard aboard.
Injuries have plagued Howard after the Mavs traded him to the Wizards midway through the 2009/10 season. He's played in only 65 regular season games since, and averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game last season, with a 10.5 PER. Those numbers are well off his career highs of 19.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 36.3 MPG, all established in 2007/08.
Odds & Ends: Smith, Knicks, Rockets, Suns
On this date in 2004 at the Athens Olympics, Argentina won its first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's basketball and became the first country other than the United States to win the gold medal since 1988. Luis Scola had 25 points as Argentina steamrolled Italy to win it all, 84-69. Here's this afternoon's look around the Association…
- J.R. Smith's brother Chris Smith has a good chance of making the Knicks' roster, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Berman cites Smith's defensive potential and Iman Shumpert's injury as reasons why the younger Smith could be a fit.
- According to a Europa Press report (link in Spanish), Sergio Llull is happy with Real Madrid and has no intention of leaving the club. Llull, who played a major role for Spain at the Olympics in London, expressed a desire to finish his career with Real Madrid despite strong interest from the Rockets, the team that drafted him in 2009.
- As part of the team's offseason makeover, the Suns are putting a greater emphasis on player development, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
- Sixers coach Doug Collins says that he hopes to use Spencer Hawes in a "Pau Gasol role" alongside the newly-acquired Andrew Bynum, writes Max Rappaport of NBA.com. Collins notes that Hawes, like Gasol, has the ability to play on the perimeter thanks to his ability to shoot and pass.
- Zach Lowe of SI.com wonders how Kobe Bryant will mesh with the revamped Lakers roster in 2012/13. Bryant's elite basketball IQ and style of play could make his transition to the Princeton offense a smooth one, but he'll have to work more quickly than he's used to.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry will bring back former coach Bob Weiss to join Larry Drew’s staff as an adviser, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Former Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson has also officially been hired as an assistant coach. Atkinson has been in talks with the club since early August.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Allen, Bynum, Nets
Yesterday, Knicks star Carmelo Anthony weighed in on a number of topics, including the dramatically different climate in the Atlantic Division. Anthony duly noted that the Nets improved, the Sixers upgraded their frontcourt with the addition of Andrew Bynum, and when it comes to the Celtics, "Boston is Boston." The one rival absent from the rundown was the Raptors, who are clearly looking to build for the future. Here's more out of the Atlantic..
- The Celtics' loyalty and pragmatic approach has been on full display this summer, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. Some have questioned the C's loyalty when it comes to Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus, but the club was simply outbid for Allen and Pietrus refused to sign for the veteran's minimum. While the club's commitment to their core players is commendable, Brotherston brings up a very valid comparison between the club's current approach and their unwillingness to disband the big three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish in 1987.
- The 76ers' addition of Bynum will completely change the way their offensive philosophy going forward, writes Anthony Macri of HoopsWorld. Philadelphia will now adjust from being a very perimiter-heavy team to one where their best options should all be in the low post. With Bynum commanding double teams down low, it would help the Sixers' cause if they were able to add outside shooting, Macri opines.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) is surprised to see that Terrence Williams can't seem to hook on with an NBA team. Bondy adds that it's even more amazing that Nets GM Billy King was able to get a first-round pick for him from the Lakers (JaJuan Johnson) in a three-team deal that turned into the pick used to draft MarShon Brooks. The Nets originally tabbed the super-athletic Williams with the eleventh pick in the 2009 draft.
- Earlier today, we checked in on the Knicks and the Nets, who already seem to be gearing up for a spirited East River rivalry.
New York Notes: Nets, Knicks, Machado
When the Clippers traded for Chris Paul last season, on the heels of the Lakers' failed deal for the superstar point guard, it made Los Angeles a true two-team city like never before. The clubs battled for first place in the Pacific Division throughout the season, with the Lakers edging the Clippers for the division title, and home court advantage in the playoffs, by one game. Fans without a stake in the matter can only hope for a similarly tight race between the Knicks and Nets this season, both of whom will be playing in the Big Apple this year. Here's the latest out of the city that never sleeps:
- The Nets agreed to add Donte Greene to their impressive free agent haul this week, and those moves plus the trade for Joe Johnson have some in Brooklyn thinking championship right away, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes.
- Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the team's marketing staff seem to be taking aim at the Knicks, as Bondy observes via Sulia. Yet Carmelo Anthony, who tells Newsday's Roderick Boone he's excited to see the results of Amare Stoudemire's offseason work, and the Knicks don't appear to be fazed. "There's no rivalry between us and Brooklyn right now," Anthony said during his youth camp at St. John's. "It starts on that first game. We'll see what happens with that first game. But as of right now, we are focused on ourselves. We are not really focused on nobody else."
- Former Iona guard Scott Machado drew some second-round consideration before going undrafted in June, and saw some time in the summer league with the Rockets. Now he appears to be drawing interest from overseas, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando indicates.
Quick Hits: Kings, Kidd, Clippers, Musselman
While the Kings appeared to be Anaheim-bound last year, this offseason's relocation rumors indicate that they may be headed to Virginia Beach. Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld wonders why Seattle isn't next in line for an NBA franchise. Investor Chris Hansen has put together a plan with the city of Seattle to build a brand-new, $500MM area to house a team, but they can't break ground on the new facility until a team agrees to come. With all due respect to Virginia Beach, Brigham argues that they can't offer an arena ready to be built and a rabid fan base ready to support their team. Here's more from around the Association..
- New Knicks point guard Jason Kidd says that he hopes to be a facilitator for Amare Stoudemire in the mold of Steve Nash when the two played together in Phoenix, writes Jonah Ballow of KnicksNow.com. The Knicks signed Kidd to a three-year, $9.09MM deal after the point guard was seemingly on the verge of re-signing with the Mavericks.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com (video link) examines how the Clippers might stack up against the new-look Lakers in a seven-game playoff series.
- Former Kings and Warriors coach Eric Musselman hopes to remain in charge of the Venezuelan team when the country hosts the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, according to the FIBA newswire. Musselman's two-year contract expired after the team fell in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Carmelo Anthony Speaks About Knicks Roster
Carmelo Anthony discussed several issues with reporters today, including his views on how the Atlantic Division has shaped itself out on paper, roster moves the Knicks made over the past few months, and what position he sees himself playing this season. ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begely broke down what Anthony had to say here.
On the Atlantic Division: Anthony recognized that almost every team besides Toronto made drastic additions to improve themselves, but he's more focused on what the Knicks are doing than any outside opponent. "It makes it that much more fun. Brooklyn got better. Philly got better with Bynum. Boston is Boston. We'll see what happens. We're worrying about ourselves."
On the Knicks new roster: Anthony appears more than pleased with the veteran names New York acquired this offseason, including Kurt Thomas, Jason Kidd, and Marcus Camby. "Guys that already know how to play the game, that have been through wars, that know how to win. So it's just a matter of putting it all together."
On what position he'd play: Coming off a season where Anthony saw great success at the power forward position, many analysts believe that in the looming small ball era it should be his main focus going forward to learn the four and play it more often. But judging from his words, Anthony sees things differently. "I'm a wingman and everyone knows that. But it's an extra incentive that I can play the four position. It gives us more weapons and more flexibility."
Agent: Baron Davis To Stay Involved With Knicks
As he continues to recover from an ACL and MCL tear, Baron Davis is still hoping to return to the court at some point during the 2012/13 season. Even if that doesn't happen though, Davis will remain with the Knicks this season "in some capacity," his agent tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. According to agent Todd Ramasar, the Knicks have let Davis do physical therapy with their training staff, and have recently approached him about remaining on board in a mentorship role.
"He'll still be around the team and could kind of help some of the younger guys just through his experience," Ramasar said. "The Knicks have been wonderful in terms of just extending support to Baron, whether it be through obviously his physical therapy or just having him involved with the organization going forward. He really loves that team and that organization has done an excellent job with Baron, and Baron feels like that's home. He really, really enjoyed last season with the Knicks."
While Davis still hopes to make a comeback, Ramasar said it's too early to tell whether the point guard will be able to play this season. A 2013/14 return may be more likely. If and when he does come back, it seems as if the Knicks would be Davis' first choice, so it will be interesting to see if there's an opening for him. Raymond Felton's and Jason Kidd's contracts are both guaranteed through 2015, but third point guard Pablo Prigioni is only on a two-year, non-guaranteed deal.