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Injury Notes: Rush, Davis, Turkoglu

November 2nd, 2012 at 10:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

A few injury notes from around the league on Friday night.

Brandon Rush suffered what appears to be a serious knee injury in the first quarter of the Warriors' game against the Grizzlies.
In his second game in the NBA, top overall pick Anthony Davis left with a possible concussion. He will be tested, and it's unclear whether he will miss games (AP link via ESPN.com).
Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu broke his hand in the Magic's season-opening 102-89 win over the Nuggets. It would appear that rookie Moe Harkless, acquired in the Dwight Howard trade, will replace him in the rotation.

Southeast Notes: Camby, Heat, Augustin, Redick

November 2nd, 2012 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will host the Heat in their regular-season opener tonight at Madison Square Garden, and feelings are mixed about whether the game should even be played as New York City continues to recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

"I'm kind of 50/50 on it," LeBron James said, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "I'm happy to be here to play a basketball game, but at the same time, if the people who are here, or people that are helping out with this game, could give their efforts to help this city run or help their families come out of the situation, then I think that's more important."

Here are a few more notes relating to the Heat and their Southeast Division rivals:

Marcus Camby is preparing to face the Heat tonight knowing that he almost ended up signing with Miami this summer, writes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald.
In his mailbag for the Sun Sentinel, Winderman says he doesn't think the Heat would have found much value in Camby if they had paid him more than the veteran's minimum.
With the Pacers in Charlotte to face the Bobcats tonight, former Charlotte point guard D.J. Augustin and current Bobcats president Rod Higgins are trading barbs. Augustin told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he was happy to be out of Charlotte, since he never knew where he stood with the Bobcats, which surprised and disappointed Higgins, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. "I’m not going to go into specifics, but we offered him more than he signed for in Indiana," Higgins said. "I don’t think it would be appropriate to comment further than that."
Augustin stood by his comments, following Higgins' response, as he told Bonnell. "You hear all kinds of stuff – how a bunch of times I was going to be traded," said Augustin. "I didn’t always believe those things. But all through being here, I just never knew what would happen. That’s just how I felt."
J.J. Redick knows he may not finish out the season with the Magic, but he's confident that GM Rob Hennigan will keep him updated if Orlando is considering trading him, as he tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

Eastern Notes: Raptors, Wizards, Harkless

October 30th, 2012 at 9:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast hard, but it won't postpone Thursday's clash between the Knicks and Nets in Brooklyn, as had been feared. That's just one of many intriguing openers this week, including the Celtics' visit to Miami, where the Heat were presented with their championship rings. As the NBA tips off, we'll share some Eastern Conference news to go along with our update from the West earlier this evening.

Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo admitted it's been difficult not to try to speed up his team's rebuilding process, as he tells Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. "We passed on multiple opportunities to bring in players via transactions that would have thwarted our efforts," Colangelo said. "At times, it was tempting. But we had to stick to the plan. There has had to be a patience and strategy to every decision we’ve made. The deals we could have made were more of a tonic than a long-term solution."
Colangelo also shared his feelings about rookie Jonas Valanciunas, saying, "It’s become apparent that in order for us (to get better) Jonas needs to be thrown into the fire. The sooner he develops into a nightly contributor, the sooner we get closer to our goal.”
Wizards coach Randy Wittman said injuries to John Wall and Nene Hilario influenced the team's decision to keep Jannero Pargo and Earl Barron over Shelvin Mack and Brian Cook, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes the Magic should give rookie Maurice Harkless significant playing time this season so they can figure out whether the 19-year-old small forward is a building block for the future.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com notes via Twitter that every player in the three-team trade that brought Courtney Lee to the Celtics has been waived except Lee and Sasha Pavlovic, whose presence on the Blazers roster is helped along by the fact the Celtics are paying his salary.
Carlos Boozer's five-year, $75MM contract obscures the valuable production he brings to the Bulls, argues Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com.
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer saw lots of positives about the Cavs' youth movement in the team's opening-night win against the Wizards.

When Non-Guaranteed Deals Become Guaranteed

October 30th, 2012 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

With the dust having settled on preseason cuts, NBA teams have eliminated most players on summer contracts and non-guaranteed deals from their rosters. However, there are still plenty of players on non-guaranteed contracts who made their respective teams' regular season rosters. Does that means their contracts are now guaranteed for the season? Well, in most cases, no.

In order for most non-guaranteed contracts to become fully guaranteed for the season, the player must remain on an NBA roster until January 10th. If the player's contract doesn't clear waivers on or before the 10th, his full salary will become guaranteed for the season. Until that date, he'll receive either a prorated portion of his salary, or some other previously-agreed-upon set amount.

However, there are a handful of players whose contracts will become guaranteed before that January 10th date. E'Twaun Moore's minimum-salary deal with the Magic, for instance, stipulates that his contract will become guaranteed if he's not waived by October 30th, which means he looks to be pretty safe.

Per Mark Deeks of ShamSports, here are the other players on non-guaranteed contracts who will see their deals become fully guaranteed prior to January 10th:

Julyan Stone (Nuggets): October 31st*
DeJuan Blair (Spurs): November 1st
P.J. Tucker (Suns): December 1st*
Cory Higgins (Bobcats): December 10th
Nate Robinson (Bulls): January 1st

Notes: Stone's contract becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by "opening night," which is assumed to be the Nuggets' opening night, rather than the NBA's opening night. Tucker's guarantee increases to $400K as of opening night before becoming fully guaranteed on December 1st.

Odds & Ends: Harden, Gay, Wolves, Mavs, Gibson

October 30th, 2012 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Western Notes: Harden, Grizzlies, Mavs, Seattle

October 29th, 2012 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

In dealing James Harden to the Rockets, the Thunder ensured that the gold medalist will likely remain in the Western Conference for years to come. In his weekly Morning Tip piece at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge notes that while that may come as a surprise, there weren't many logical fits with Eastern Conference clubs.

The Thunder liked Bradley Beal, but the Wizards weren't interested in dealing the third overall pick. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, meanwhile, tweets that the Magic had some pieces that could have enticed Oklahoma City, but Orlando probably wouldn't have given Harden the max. The Magic ended up not getting involved in the Harden sweepstakes, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

Here are a few more Monday afternoon updates from around the Western Conference, with just over 24 hours until the NBA regular season gets underway:

Within his NBA.com column, Aldridge reports that the final sale price of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera's ownership group was $377MM.
Wayne Ellington remains unlikely to be extended by the Grizzlies before Wednesday, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if carrying so many players in contract years could blow up for the Mavericks.
NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper spoke to Seattle mayor Mike McGinn about the possibility of the NBA returning to his city. McGinn said that he's rooting for Sacramento to keep the Kings, since he knows what it feels like to lose a team, but is still hopeful about professional basketball coming back to Seattle.
Nuggets center JaVale McGee is going to have to learn how to deal with the burden of having a big contract and the attention that brings, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
The Lakers and Clippers both head into the 2012/13 season hoping that revamped benches will help them contend for a title, says Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com believes that, even without Harden, the Thunder are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
Luke Zeller's contract includes a $50K guarantee, so if he opens the season with the Suns, that doesn't mean he'll be with the team all year, says Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links).

Magic Notes: Afflalo, Vucevic, Nelson, Turkoglu

October 28th, 2012 at 6:37pm CST by Sean Highkin

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has posted several position-by-position breakdowns of the Orlando Magic's roster as the team gears up to start the season. Here are the highlights, as well as some other updates on the Magic from Robbins:

Robbins writes that Arron Afflalo, whom the Magic acquired in the Dwight Howard trade, has brought a strong work ethic to the Magic.
Robbins expects to see improvement from second-year center Nikola Vucevic, who was acquired from Philadelphia as part of the Howard trade.
The newly re-signed Jameer Nelson is expected to bring steady veteran leadership to a young and inexperienced Magic locker room, Robbins writes.
Robbins writes that Hedo Turkoglu must prove this season that he's worth keeping for 2013/14, as the final year of his contract is only partially guaranteed.
Going into his second year with the Magic, Glen Davis is expected to be another positive veteran presence in the locker room, Robbins writes.
Robbins also has an article on DeQuan Jones, an undrafted rookie who made Orlando's final regular-season roster.
Robbins looks at other teams expected to compete with the Magic for a top lottery pick, pointing out that landing a top player in the draft is not something fans should take for granted.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Magic, Bobcats

October 27th, 2012 at 6:17pm CST by Sean Highkin

With the Miami Heat defending their title and the presence of two top-five lottery picks, Washington's Bradley Beal and Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the Southeast figures to be one of the most exciting divisions in the NBA in the 2012/13 season. Here are the latest updates from around the division on Saturday afternoon:

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel passes along word from various scouts on how to stop the Heat this season.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the geographical distance between the Magic and their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls SkyForce. Robbins writes that this may impact their decision to send rookies DeQuan Jones and Kyle O'Quinn down to develop.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer has a new column about the Bobcats' expectations going into this season, which include finding a point guard and maximizing the talent they acquired in the 2012 draft.
Bonnell also wrote player capsules examining the strengths and weaknesses of every player on the Bobcats' roster.

Camp Rumors: Magic, Johnson-Odom, Heat

October 27th, 2012 at 3:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Perhaps the most surprising training camp cut was Quentin Richardson, whom the Magic waived despite $5.438MM worth of guaranteed money on his contract for the next two seasons. The surprising play of DeQuan Jones, who appears to have made the team on a non-guaranteed deal, pushed Richardson out the door, writes John Denton of Magic.com. There's plenty of other news about players coming and going today, in advance of the 4:00pm Central time deadline for teams to let go of camp invitees so that they clear waivers before rosters must be down to 15 players.

While an earlier report indicated the Lakers were expected to waive Darius Johnson-Odom, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com believes the guard still has a shot to make the team (Twitter link).
The Heat are at the regular-season roster limit of 15 players, but Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel doesn't rule out the possibility that the team could pick up one of the guys that other teams let go in the past few days (Twitter link).
John Rohde of The Oklahoman shares insight from Thunder coach Scott Brooks on the team's cuts and its decision to keep DeAndre Liggins. "With DeAndre, we felt that his size, his athleticism, his defensive toughness is something we are intrigued with and we like," the coach said.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio saw Hollis Thompson play Thomas Robinson evenly while both were in college last season, and believes Thompson, whom the Thunder let go today, should wind up with another NBA team (Twitter link).
The Rockets still must waive three players, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle points to reasons why Jon Brockman, JaJuan Johnson and Gary Forbes could be the ones to go.
HoopsWorld's Derek Page checks in with Mavs waiver claim Eddy Curry, and wonders whether his 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in Friday's preseason game against the Bobcats might have been enough for him to win a roster spot.
Shavlik Randolph and Steven Gray are likely out of the discussion to make the Wizards opening night roster, but Earl Barron is making a late push for a spot, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post examines.

Magic Exercise Option On Nikola Vucevic

October 27th, 2012 at 9:51am CST by Ryan Raroque

SATURDAY, 9:51am: The Magic formally announced the move via press release.

THURSDAY, 6:40pm: Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Magic GM Rob Hennigan plans to exercise the team's 2013/14 option on Nikola Vucevic this weekend. The second-year center is slated to make nearly $1.79MM during the 2013/14 season and has a $2.75MM team option for 2014/15.

Vucevic averaged 5.5 PPG, 4.8 PPG, and shot 45% from the field in 15.9 MPG for the 76ers last season before being dealt to Orlando in August.