Odds & Ends: Odom, Novak, Lottery, Sessions
Bob Young from AZCentral.com thinks the Suns should take a long, hard look at signing Lamar Odom this offseason. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has a ton to prove coming off a terrible experiment with the Mavericks.
- Earlier tonight, the Heat defeated the Knicks—who were without starting power forward Amare Stoudemire—87-70. In Stoudemire's place, New York head coach Mike Woodson chose to start Steve Novak. The results were disastrous, writes Newsday's Roderick Boone.
- After the obvious tanking strategy we saw employed by teams like the Warriors and Hornets, the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen calls for the weighted lottery to become a true lottery, giving every team that doesn't make the playoffs an equal chance at the number one overall pick.
- FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico writes that Ramon Sessions ability to fit in with the Lakers has once again made them a championship contender.
- Every team faces tough decisions in the offseason, but this summer the Suns will have an incredibly difficult decision staring them down, as they figure out whether they should continue the Steve Nash era, or finally move on. Hoopsworld.com's Jason Fleming dissects the team's dire situation.
- Melissa Isaacson from ESPNChicago.com writes that a first round loss to the Sixers could have a long-term negative impact on the Bulls.
- After initially believing he might be able to return for Game 4 of his series against the Heat, Jeremy Lin has all but ruled himself out for the early return, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley.
- ESPNChicago.com's Donald Hunt talks about Jrue Holiday's need to keep up his stellar play if the Sixers want to pull off an upset.
- While Shawn Marion is keeping Kevin Durant in check through the first two games of their series, Russell Westbrook has had a field day, and it'll be interesting to see whether the Mavericks choose to change their match-ups as the series moves forward, writes the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend.
- Hoopsworld.com's Eric Pincus talks about how the Lakers should look to bring back Jordan Hill, who's a free agent this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Bulls, Magic, Frye
Here are this evening's miscellaneous stories:
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld had his weekly chat with fans tonight. Among the more significant things he talked about were the chances that Tyreke Evans gets shopped this summer, the Nets pursuing Kevin Garnett if Deron Williams leaves, the Hornets matching any offer for Eric Gordon, and Portland being the realistic destination for Goran Dragic.
- With $12MM in cap space before the draft, Bryan Colangelo talked about the Raptors' approach going into the offseason: "If there was going to be a year to make a bigger splash, whether in free agency or utilizing the space to acquire players by trade, I felt that would be better served in a subsequent season and that’s probably this summer" (Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld reports). Colangelo also told Brotherston that he and Ed Stefanski will be very active in terms of placing and entertaining calls with other GMs in the upcoming weeks and months.
- Scoop Jackson, Melissa Isaacson, and Jon Greenberg of ESPN cover a few topics on the Bulls, including how Derrick Rose's injury will affect Chicago's title hopes over the next two years, whether Luol Deng should immediately get surgery and skip the Olympics, and Carlos Boozer's reliability in the playoffs.
- Magic GM Otis Smith traveled to Los Angeles to check on Dwight Howard as he recuperates from surgery, according to Illiana Limón and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. While there had been speculation that Howard is estranged from the franchise, Smith and Magic CEO Alex Martins say that he hasn't asked for a trade.
- Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times provides a "to-do list" for the Nuggets if they are to have any chance at beating the Lakers.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas wonders if the Mavericks should make strategic defensive adjustments on Russell Westbrook or just hope that he starts missing mid-range jumpshots.
- An article posted on Suns.com reports that Channing Frye underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder today.
Suns May Avoid Major Offseason Spending
According to an ESPN report via the Associated Press, Lon Babby (the Suns' president of basketball operations) said that there is a "distinct possibility" that the team will hold off on any big-time acquisitions this summer if the right situation does not present itself.
The article also says that the Suns are open to the possibility of retaining Steve Nash depending on a number of factors involving Nash and the team's desires.
A quiet summer will likely be enough to put the kibosh on Nash's interest in remaining with the franchise, who recently said that the team has a "great opportunity with the flexibility and cap space it has to improve a great deal" when discussing his thoughts heading into the offseason.
Suns Very Likely To Match Offers For Robin Lopez
His brother's contract situation with the Nets may be receiving more attention, but Robin Lopez will also be facing restricted free agency this summer. While the Phoenix center is expected to explore his options, he appears unlikely to be switching uniforms. President of basketball operations Lon Babby told Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that the Suns are "quite likely if not certain" to match any offers for Lopez (Twitter link).
To make Lopez a restricted free agent, the Suns would need to extend him a qualifying offer worth about $4MM. Bidding for free agent seven-footers generally exceeds that amount, so even though Lopez has averaged just 5.8 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 242 career games (14.4 MPG), Phoenix figures to have some competition for the 24-year-old's services.
With just over $30MM in guaranteed money committed to their 2012/13 payroll, the Suns will have the flexibility to lock up Lopez even if they're able to re-sign Steve Nash.
Atlantic Rumors: Injuries, Celtics, Raptors, Nash
While the Sixers lost the first playoff game of the season this afternoon, their chances against the Bulls may have just gotten a boost after yet another injury to Derrick Rose, who'll have an MRI on his left knee after limping off in the final minutes this afternoon. That's not the only injury impacting an Atlantic Division team, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports Ray Allen is doubtful for the Celtics tomorrow in Game 1 versus the Hawks. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets that Allen will have surgery to remove bone spurs in his right ankle after the season, and that could impact his free agent stock this summer. Plus, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert was helped off the floor after suffering an injury against the Heat. Here's the rest of the day's news from the Atlantic:
- A. Sherrod Blakely examines the unlikely contributions of Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma, two under-the-radar pickups by Celtics GM Danny Ainge.
- Earlier today we passed along some Raptors rumors courtesy of the Toronto Sun, and Eric Koreen of the National Post adds to that with comments from coach Dwane Casey, who wants to see the team add shooting, and GM Bryan Colangelo.
- In spite of the presence Jeremy Lin, who is progressing well enough in rehab to perhaps make it back in time to play in the first round, as Howard Beck of The New York Times writes, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News believes the Knicks should make it a priority to sign Steve Nash in the offseason (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Cavs, Deron, Suns, Iverson
While we try to survive the first day in two months with no NBA games, let's check in on some odds and ends from around the league:
- Chris Grant spoke to Cleveland media today about the Cavaliers' future and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has a pair of interesting quotes from the GM. Grant says the team will have about $20MM in cap space but will be careful about how they use it, and adds that the Cavs "love" this year's draft.
- Asked if there was a perfect situation for him in free agency, Deron Williams replied, "No, not with enough cap space to sign a max player" (via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News).
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic talked to a handful of Suns facing free agency, all of whom expressed some interest in returning to Phoenix.
- Allen Iverson, currently in China for an NBA Legends Tour, didn't rule out the possibility of playing in the CBA next year, says Jon Pastuszek of NiuBBall.com.
- Scottie Pippen told ESPN 1000 in Chicago that he could see Phil Jackson returning to coaching and thinks he'd be a great fit for the Knicks. ESPNChicago.com has the details.
- Restricted free agent D.J. Augustin would like to return to the Bobcats, telling Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) that he loves "the city, the people and the organization."
- With the draft odds set, ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider-only) takes a look at some potential targets for the lottery teams.
Atlantic Notes: Lottery, Knicks, Novak, Davis, Nets
Typically, a matchup between a pair of 22-43 clubs doesn't make for appointment viewing, but fans of the Nets and Raptors will be watching the last game of the season with interest tonight. Of course, most of those fans will be rooting for a loss. With lottery positioning at stake, the loser of tonight's game could climb as high as third in the lottery standings, while the winner could "fall" as low as eighth. Here are Hoops Rumors' lottery standings as we head into the regular season's final evening, and here's the latest out of the Atlantic:
- Glen Grunwald, the Knicks' new permanent GM, gave interim coach Mike Woodson a ringing endorsment yesterday and appears to be leaning toward bringing Woodson back next season, says Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Glunwald didn't want to specifically address staffing decisions, but said Woodson has done a fantastic job: "I can't give him enough credit for the job he's done. Normally, coaching changes don't result in such a dramatic improvement in the team performance, so I think that speaks very well of him."
- Steve Novak seems to have found his niche with the Knicks this season, but Steve Kerr always wanted to bring Novak to Phoenix when he worked in the Suns' front office. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com has the details.
- Ed Davis is expected to see a lot of playing time in the Summer League this year. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun says the Raptors will use the opportunity to get a better of idea of whether Davis is part of the team's long-term plans.
- Rich Calder and Tim Bontemps of the New York Post report that the alleged Brooklyn Nets logo that leaked yesterday is indeed the real deal.
Latest On Steve Nash
During the fourth quarter of last night's regular-season finale in Phoenix, Suns fans chanted "We want Steve!" and were eventually rewarded with a curtain call from Steve Nash. After eight years as a Sun, Nash's future is up in the air, and many pundits don't believe he'll be back in Phoenix next season.
J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today tweeted that Nash "isn't coming back to the Suns," adding that Phoenix needs to rebuild and the veteran point guard wants to join a contender. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld agreed (via Twitter), noting that Nash was "likely playing his final minutes as a member of the Phoenix Suns."
Nash himself remained noncommital on his future in a Q&A session with Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Asked about the odds that he'll remain in Phoenix, the 38-year-old replied, "Honestly, I have no clue. I couldn’t predict. I don’t know what the future holds at this point. And I’m actually OK with that. I think now’s the time to maybe get some distance from it and try to find a clear perspective on where I am. Until I do that, I couldn’t put a number on it or take a guess on what the chances are on whether I’ll be back or not."
While Nash's scoring average fell to 12.5 PPG this season, his lowest mark since 1999/2000, he continues to be efficient as ever. He also dished out 10.7 APG, posted an incredible .532 FG%, and matched his career average with a 20.2 PER. The two-time MVP wants to play for three more years, and given his continued excellence, it wouldn't surprise me at all if one of his suitors was willing to offer the three-year deal he'll be seeking.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, World Peace, Nash, Kings
The Pacific Division hasn't been decided yet, but the magic number is down to one. If the Lakers win the final game of their season in Sacramento, or the Clippers lose in either Atlanta or New York, the Lakers will clinch the division. The consolation for the Clips? A win against either the Hawks or Knicks would at least earn them first-round homecourt advantage. Either way, the Staples Centre will be hosting of plenty of postseason contests starting next weekend.
Here's the latest out of the Pacific:
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News put the Warriors' odds of retaining their first-round pick at about 20-25% after they beat the Timberwolves yesterday. Golden State's pick is top-seven protected, and as our tentative draft order shows, the team is currently the league's eighth-worst.
- Warriors fans shouldn't sweat it if the team loses its first-rounder, says Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com.
- J.A. Adande of ESPN.com argues that Metta World Peace should be suspended for two games more than James Harden misses. World Peace's elbow during yesterday's game resulted in a concussion for Harden, and will certainly mean a suspension for the Lakers forward — Las Vegas has set the over/under at 7.5 games (Twitter link). In a poll yesterday, 58% of respondents said the Lakers would still win at least one playoff series without the man formerly known as Ron Artest.
- With Steve Nash facing free agency, Eric Koreen of the National Post examines the pros and cons of a few potential destinations for the Suns star.
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty ponders whether the Tyreke Evans era could be nearing an end for the Kings.
- Sacramento officials will return a portion of the $200K the NBA sent the city for pre-development work on the Kings' arena, reports Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.
Pacific Notes: Nash, Robinson, Kings, Williams
It appears 2012 will be yet another year without a Pacific Division title for the Clippers, who fell to the Suns last night to slip a half-game in the standings. While the Clippers are only a game behind the Lakers, the Lakers hold the tiebreaker, so with just three games left, the Clips look ticketed for a second-place finish in the Pacific. Still, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes, one more win would clinch the Clippers' best winning percentage in team history.
Here are a few more Friday morning notes out of the Pacific:
- TNT's David Aldridge told Arizona Sports 620 that he believes there's a good chance Steve Nash stays with the Suns next season. Vince Marotta of ArizonaSports.com has the details.
- Nate Robinson would like to re-sign with his Warriors but isn't getting his hopes up, says Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
- Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee has the latest details on why the Kings' owners rejected the Sacramento arena proposal.
- Terrence Williams has impressed in his late-season audition with the Kings, writes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. Williams, who was waived by the Rockets last month, will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Kings decide to extend him a $1.06MM qualifying offer.