Western Notes: Morris, Murphy, Thunder, Thabeet
With news of Steve Nash's leg fracture keeping him out for another week, Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles thinks that this will be a good opportunity for Darius Morris to prove himself, noting that that his potential is what helped the Lakers decide to keep him over recently-cut guard Andrew Goudelock. McMenamin also cited Mike Brown's postgame comments last night about Morris, who also appeared to be encouraged about the second year point guard's ability to change the tempo of the game and apply good defensive pressure (Sulia link). Here are more of this evening's links out of the Western Conference:
- Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram writes that Troy Murphy's familiarity with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle's system made the 6'11 forward an ideal fit with the team. Although Murphy is not yet in 'great' shape, Price says that he will be expected to help stretch the floor with his shooting ability.
- Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK shared a handful of notes from Thunder practice today, mentioning that Kendrick Perkins should be ready to play the Hawks on Sunday after spraining his ankle last night, discussing the growing confidence of Hasheem Thabeet amidst concerns about the team's depth at center, Serge Ibaka's early shooting struggles, and coach Scott Brooks' effort to get minutes for Jeremy Lamb, among other topics.
- Nick Gallo of NBA.com looks at the Thunder's emphasis on protecting the paint this season and how center Hasheem Thabeet can be used effectively in that role against bigger lineups.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweeted that Hornets coach Monty Williams credits Knicks center Tyson Chandler for Anthony Davis' development during the London Olympics this past summer. Williams also weighed in on the league's concussion policy, addressing the notion that Davis could miss several games because of league protocol after suffering a mild concussion yesterday: "It's just that now you treat everybody like they have on white gloves and pink draws. It's just getting old, but it's just the way the league is now…I'm not saying I don't like it; we've got to protect our players…but as a coach I’m a baby about it. I want my guys ready to play.'' (John Reid of NOLA.com reports).
Marc Stein On Mike Brown, Josh Smith, Thunder
The start of the regular season means the return of Marc Stein's Weekend Dime feature on ESPN.com, and as usual, there are a few notable tidbits within the piece. Stein praises Lakers coach Mike Brown for his refusal to run from "ridiculously early" questions about his job security despite the specter of available names like Phil Jackson and Mike D'Antoni. In response to the notion of D'Antoni taking over the team, HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler calls it overreaction (Twitter link), which would seem to carry over to Jackson as well, especially considering the doubts about his desire to coach again. Here's more of what Stein had to say.
- Josh Smith is in the final season of his deal, worth $13.2MM this year, and he could represent an attractive trade chip. Stein nonetheless hears the Hawks will most likely hang on to Smith this year while retaining cap flexibility for what could be an active summer of 2013.
- One of the reasons why the Thunder traded James Harden is because the team is projected to pay, instead of receive, under the league's revenue-sharing model, despite playing in a small market.
- Seven coaches are in the final year of their contracts, including Larry Drew of the Hawks, Avery Johnson of the Nets, Vinny Del Negro of the Clippers, Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies, Scott Skiles of the Bucks and Alvin Gentry of the Suns. Frank Vogel is the other member of that group, though the Pacers hold a team option on his deal for 2013/14.
Northwest Rumors: Budinger, Martin, Westbrook
A rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals was the only game on the NBA's slate Thursday night, but it certainly delivered. After hitting a game-tying three with 28 seconds left, Tony Parker hit a buzzer-beater to give the Spurs an 86-84 win over the defending Northwest Division champions. We've got a few Thunder-related links to pass along this morning as they regroup from last night's loss, along with a couple more Northwest notes:
- Despite not playing his first regular-season game with the Timberwolves yet, Chase Budinger tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities he can already picture himself sticking around Minnesota for a while: "I can definitely see myself here (long-term). It's a great city. You can already see how good the fans are here…. I'm excited for the season."
- Wolfson also tweets that Kenyon Martin's camp has checked in a few times with the Timberwolves, but the T-Wolves have said Kevin Love's recovery is going well and they don't have a need at power forward. Since K-Mart is reportedly seeking the mini mid-level, I'm not sure the Wolves are necessarily a match anyway.
- Noting that it felt "surreal" to be dealt to a championship contender like the Thunder, another K-Mart, Kevin Martin, tells Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld that he wasn't surprised by the trade. "With next summer being an unrestricted free agent and them in rebuilding mode," Martin said. "I knew it was going to come at some point."
- One "well-placed" NBA executive tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he would've preferred to trade Russell Westbrook than James Harden, if he were running the Thunder (Twitter link).
- Kevin Durant spoke to reporters last night about the Harden trade, and HoopsWorld TV has the video.
Northwest Rumors: O’Connor, Thunder, Kahn
With the Nuggets doling out a four-year, $48MM extension to Ty Lawson and the Thunder ruling out a deal with Eric Maynor, the rookie-scale extension drama is over for Northwest Division teams. Instead, the division's executives are focusing on other methods of building their teams as the season begins, and a couple of them have weighed in with reporters. Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune shares insight from Kevin O'Connor, executive vice president of basketball operations for the Jazz, while Timberwolves GM David Kahn sat down with Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Both pieces are worth a full read, but we'll break down the highlights here.
- O'Connor compared the bounty of interior players the Jazz have to a baseball team with plenty of starting pitching, saying you can never have too much of either. "What it's going to do is help our team," he said. "You can't feelings get hurt because they don't play as well as they're supposed to and somebody else plays, that's not what the coach is concerned. What he's concerned with is how those guys can help us win. But if you look at the teams that won last year, all of the teams that won had pretty darn good depth especially at big guy positions. A couple of years ago you had (Andrew) Bynum and (Pau) Gasol and Lamar Odom. I'm happy that we have that. I'm please that the guys have continued to improve."
- The Jazz executive also spoke about what the James Harden trade meant for the Thunder. "They weren't able to pay him," he said. "They paid three other guys (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka). I think that sends a signal that Oklahoma City does want to compete and does want to win a championship. There's very few teams that can pay everybody. I don't need to mention names but I think you know who they are, that can."
- Kahn addressed the attention the Wolves have received for having only five black players, pointing to the diversity of the roster that includes five players from overseas. "Since I've arrived here, it's been imperative for us to cast the widest net possible in attracting talent, whether the players are domestic or international," he said. "What people are seeing is the outgrowth of that. That's how we've been operating and will continue to operate that way."
- He predicted the recently waived Jonny Flynn, whom Kahn drafted sixth overall in 2009, won't be out of the league for long, and spoke about his own future with the Wolves. "I think they're going to keep me around for a few more days," Kahn quipped. "The ownership has an option to pick up (on my contract) whenever the season ends. I'm operating in the manner that everything we're doing is in the best interest of the franchise on a long-term basis. The owner (Glen Taylor) has encouraged me to feel that way and operate that way. Now that we have begun the turnaround, nothing would please me more than to be here with the collection of players we have for an extended period of time. I'm not thinking of anything but that."
Thunder Re-Sign Daniel Orton
6:41pm: The team officially announced the move in a press release.
10:27am: The Thunder have re-signed Orton to the NBA roster after he joined the D-League's Tulsa 66ers, according to the Oklahoman.
9:15am: Having waived him just a few days ago, the Thunder are expected to bring back Daniel Orton, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter link). Oklahoma City released Orton, along with Andy Rautins and Hollis Thompson, prior to sending four players to Houston in exchange for Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, which opened up a pair of roster spots.
When Orton was released by the Thunder on Saturday, Royce Young of DailyThunder.com wrote that the team was expected to retain the rights to the Oklahoma City native for its D-League affiliate. Assuming Orton officially re-signs with the Thunder, the club could still send him to the Tulsa 66ers, where he'd receive more playing time and a chance to develop.
If and when Orton's deal becomes finalized, Oklahoma City will have one open roster spot left, with 14 players under contract. Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman (Twitter link) doesn't expect the Thunder to fill that spot, given the flexibility it adds, not to mention how close to the tax threshold the team is.
Rautins, Thompson Sign With Tulsa 66ers
A pair of Thunder camp invitees, Andy Rautins and Hollis Thompson, have signed D-League contracts to join the Tulsa 66ers, reports Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman (via Twitter). Both players were released by the Thunder over the weekend, along with Daniel Orton, who is expected to re-sign with Oklahoma City.
Rautins, a second-round pick in 2010, has appeared in just five NBA games in his brief career, while Thompson, a Georgetown product, went undrafted in this year's draft despite having been ranked as a top-50 prospect by ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
Having carried Rautins and Thompson late into the preseason, the Thunder held their D-League rights, meaning the team will get a chance to develop the duo at its affiliate in Tulsa, which isn't shared with another NBA club. Another NBA team could sign either player away from the 66ers during the season, but the team would have to be willing to use a spot on its 15-man roster.
Odds & Ends: Curry, Gibson, Warriors, Thabeet
Stephen Curry didn't want extension talks to go down to the wire, but it appears that's the case, as Curry's comments to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle lead Simmons to conclude that agent Jeff Austin and Warriors GM Bob Myers continue to try to work out a deal (Sulia link). Since Curry left a preseason game after tweaking his ankle ten days ago, we've heard multiple reports suggesting a deal was unlikely. Nothing's final until tomorrow's 11:00pm Central time deadline, and with about 24 hours to go, there's news on another extension-eligible player among notes from the first night of the 2012/13 regular season.
- There's "growing speculation" the Bulls will let the deadline pass without signing Taj Gibson to an extension, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Andrew Bogut believes "a lot is riding on this year" for the Warriors, and Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group says much of that is riding on Bogut's shoulders. Fellow Bay Area News Group scribe Monte Poole goes the other way, suggesting Curry is the focal point of the team.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks has confidence in Hasheem Thabeet, and his performance in the preseason was one reason the team included Cole Aldrich in the trade, as John Rohde of The Oklahoman chronicles.
- The Bobcats are counting on offseason trade acquisition Ben Gordon to be their go-to scorer at the end of games, writes Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer.
- With a year still to go before his five-year max extension kicks in, the Clippers want to make sure Blake Griffin stays healthy for the long haul by incorporating more mid-range shooting into his arsenal, as Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News examines.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reportedly had to be talked into waiving Delonte West, and Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com notes the affection he has for the troubled guard (Twitter link).
- The James Harden trade has the Rockets thinking playoffs, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle documents.
Odds & Ends: Harden, Gay, Wolves, Mavs, Gibson
We're a few days removed from the Rockets' acquisition of James Harden, but that doesn't mean that reaction pieces or additional details have stopped rolling in. Today, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wonders if the Thunder got as much for Harden as the Magic did for Dwight Howard, and DeMar DeRozan talks to Eric Koreen of the National Post about how he, Harden, and other members of the 2009 draft class approach their contract situations. Meanwhile, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game hears from one GM that Sam Presti didn't canvass the entire league for the best deal for Harden, presumably since Presti didn't want to create an avalanche of rumors (Twitter link). And finally, Bill Simmons of Grantland adds that Harden and his agent were seeking a 15% trade kicker as part of extension talks with the Thunder.
Now that we've rounded up today's Harden-related links, let's turn to the afternoon's non-Harden notes:
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld examines a few players who could be trade candidates between now and the deadline, including Rudy Gay, who Kennedy says would be open to a move.
- The Timberwolves have inquired on the recently-waived JaJuan Johnson, but don't figure to be a match, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram spoke to Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson about a number of topics, including the team's chemistry with so many new players on board.
- Extension talks between Taj Gibson and the Bulls are ongoing and are expected to push up against tomorrow's 11:00pm CT deadline, says Ken Berger of CBS Sports (Twitter links).
- Scottie Pippen is interesting in eventually becoming a head coach in the NBA, as he told The Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago (ESPNChicago.com has the details and quotes).
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports tweets the details on a pair of contract buyouts: Jordan Williams will receive $420K from Atlanta after being waived by the Hawks, while Keyon Dooling will receive $400K from the Celtics following his retirement.
- Dionte Christmas, who was released by the Celtics this month, appears headed for CSKA Moscow, according to Eurohoops.net (hat tip to Sportando).
- A Spurs' second-round pick in 2009, Jack McClinton is hoping to earn a spot in the D-League this year and eventually receive an NBA call-up, writes David Pick at Eurobasket.com.
Kupchak Talks Sacre, Johnson-Odom, Thunder
With the Lakers' scheduled to tip off against the Mavericks tonight to start the 2012/13 season, general manager Mitch Kupchak spoke to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com about the team's roster, its second-round picks, and his thoughts on the Thunder trading James Harden. Here are a few of the highlights from the conversation:
On how the team decided which players to keep on its 15-man roster:
"In conjunction with our coach (Mike Brown) and (executive VP of player personnel) Jim Buss, we hashed it out. There is a strategic approach to what you do involving (positions and salary), and amongst the three of us this is where we ended up. I wouldn't think Robert Sacre (being on the roster) is a surprise to anybody; he certainly showed that he deserved an extended look. On the other hand, he's gotten more of an opportunity than anyone else because of the injury to Dwight (Howard), and if you talked to some guys that have been here, they'd say they wish they'd had that opportunity. With that said, they've been here almost 28 days, and we feel like we know them pretty good. We're not always right, and we had to make decisions, and by and large the decisions have to be done at the end of camp."
On the decision to carry the maximum 15 players, including two second-round picks:
"As a later second-round draft pick like (Darius) Johnson-Odom, that's the lowest number that you can be paid of anybody in the NBA. When you look at our payroll, which is approaching $100MM, as a percentage of payroll, it's really not that much. On the other hand, I don't expect ownership to expand payroll, and these contracts do have some flexibility to them in the fact that they are not guaranteed. (Sacre and Johnson-Odom) are going to have to continue to perform at a high level, but for the time being, it gives us some roster flexibility going forward."
On using the Lakers' D-League affiliate to develop Sacre and Johnson-Odom:
"I'd hope with the D-League coming up soon, we'd be able to put one or both of our second-round picks in that situation. You used to be limited to sending a player down three times, but they can go an unlimited number of times now. You could have them practice with the Lakers every day and then still have them play in every D-Fenders game. We intend to take advantage of the new rule with one or both of those players. It's a good development for us, and you're starting to see some more synergy with the D-League and the NBA."
On how the Harden trade will impact the rival Thunder:
"On the surface, the Thunder had a team that was very successful as a group, as a unit. There's a piece of that group that's moving on, so you might take something from that. At the same time, I think by adding Kevin Martin they have a piece that they can use, that's going to get minutes, and he can certainly score. They picked up a lot of (draft picks), plus a kid (Jeremy Lamb) we all liked in college. So you can argue that this year there may be a ding to their chemistry because they'd been together for three years, but Martin could fit right in and Lamb could have a (positive) impact."
On whether any Lakers stood out in training camp:
"I think you saw some flashes of good play from Jodie Meeks, both with his shooting and the other things he can do like get to the bucket to draw fouls and play defense. I think Devin Ebanks had a good preseason and continues to develop. Sacre has been a pleasant surprise. And with Antawn Jamison, I've seen no decline in his athleticism, which you wonder about when you get older guys."
Thunder Exercise Option On Reggie Jackson
The Thunder have excerised their third-year option on guard Reggie Jackson, according to a tweet from SI.com's Chris Mannix. Jackson was selected with the 24th pick in the 2011 draft, and averaged 3.1 PPG, 1.6 APG and 1.2 RPG in 45 games last season. The option guarantees Jackson $1.33MM for the 2013/14 season.
With the team's presumed backup point guard Eric Maynor set to become a restricted free agent after the season, Oklahoma City might be geared towards playing the more economic option (Jackson) this year.