Eastern Notes: Nets, Heat, Dyson, Pistons
There have been plenty of newsworthy items out of the Eastern Conference today, with the Knicks unveiling new uniforms, the Nets possibly having signed Andray Blatche, and the league's most popular 12th man landing a TV gig with the Celtics. Here are a few more Eastern-related links we've yet to cover:
- The Nets plan to hold a free agent workout with forwards Josh Childress and Dominic McGuire early next week, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via Twitter).
- SI.com's Zach Lowe believes that, on a minimum-salary contract, Blatche would be worth the gamble for either the Nets or Heat.
- While we've heard that Mehmet Okur will probably require more than a minimum-salary commitment, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel still thinks he could be a possibility for the Heat.
- Jerome Dyson is the latest player to audition at the Heat's pre-camp tryouts, reports Winderman (Sulia link).
- The Pistons' depth at small forward could mean that a trade is in the team's future, writes David Mayo of MLive.com.
- Former George Washington point guard Tony Taylor Jr. will work out with the Knicks for a second time next week, according to Keith Schlosser of KnicksJournal.com.
- Amare Stoudemire appeared on FOX Sports Radio to discuss a number of topics, including former Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, Jeremy Lin, and the infamous fire extinguisher incident. Sports Radio Interviews rounds up a few of Stoudemire's noteworthy quotes.
- NBA.com's Sekou Smith takes a look at the Bobcats' future after the team set a record for futility in 2011/12.
Odds & Ends: Lillard, Leonard, Reggie
Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge.com offered his thoughts on ProBasketballTalk.com's Kurt Helin making the prediction that Damian Lillard would be a good guess for Rookie of the Year award. Golliver essentially agreed with Helin, mentioning that in addition to the explosiveness he displayed at the Las Vegas Summer League, Lillard already displayed more polish than Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose showed as rookies. Despite the level of point guard play to be substantially better than what Lillard faced this summer, Golliver also mentions that the Trail Blazers' lottery pick is in a prime position to succeed alongside veterans such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum. Here's more of what we're hearing tonight…
- Trail Blazers rookie center Meyers Leonard says that he's become physically stronger this summer and that he's starting to make a good connection with his fellow rookie teammates Damian Lillard and Will Barton, according to Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge.
- Pacers' legend Reggie Miller talked about joining his sister Cheryl in the Hall of Fame and briefly touched upon what his future holds (Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports). In another piece, IndyStar.com provides an interactive timeline of Miller's storied NBA career. Lastly, Mike Wells of IndyStar.com wonders where Reggie ranks in terms of the best NBA shooting guards of all time.
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson believes that the team can still be competitive while Derrick Rose is recovering and also talks about his role for the upcoming season, says Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York writes that Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire joined Allan Houston, Etan Thomas, and Chris Broussard among others in Harlem last Friday to speak about fatherhood.
Odds & Ends: Austin Rivers, Cooper, Stoudemire
John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Austin Rivers is on schedule to be fully healed in time for Hornets' training camp in October after undergoing surgery on his right ankle three weeks ago. The rookie joins a list of teammates, namely Xavier Henry and Robin Lopez, who are recovering from recent surgeries. Regardless, head coach Monty Williams looks to have all three ready by the time the regular season starts. With that aside, here are more noteworthy tidbits from around the Association:
- C.J. Miles elaborated more on the opportunity he has to expand his game with the Cavaliers, especially for a coach like Byron Scott, who believes that Miles has a lot of untapped potential (Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reports).
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that former Timberwolves and Trail Blazers assistant Dean Cooper is headed to the Rockets to join Kevin McHale's coaching staff.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) mentions that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is encouraged about Kelenna Azubuike, who looks like he's moving well and could be a contributor this season.
- Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he'll return to the court "stronger than ever" this upcoming season.
- 76ers GM Rod Thorn acknowledges heightened expectations and says that Philadelphia fans appear to be especially excited because of the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly.
- Jenni Carlson of NewsOK thinks that James Harden is better suited to thrive in a small market city with the Thunder rather than be potentially distracted in what she terms "hot spots."
Stoudemire Talks Olajuwon, Lin, Felton, D12
From offseason back surgery to his brother's death to his injury via fire extinguisher during the first round of the playoffs, last season was "the toughest year of my career," according to Amare Stoudemire. However, heading into 2012/13, he feels "phenomenal," as he tells Zach Braziller of the New York Post. In Braziller's piece and in an interview on KNBR in San Francisco (link via Sports Radio Interviews), the Knicks forward discussed the offseason and the coming year. Here are a few of his more notable comments:
On working out with former MVP Hakeem Olajuwon this summer:
"There’s so many moves that I picked up from Hakeem. Just developing my post [game] has been phenomenal for me. When I came out of high school, I was thrown the ball and [told], 'Do what you do best.' I never got a chance to develop my game as far as [in the] post. Working with Hakeem is going to be a great advantage for me."
On how the departure of Jeremy Lin affects the Knicks:
"Jeremy had a great run for us. He uplifted us a lot last season. To see him leave… it’s never fun to see one of your teammates leave, but again that’s the name of the game. It happens all the time, but the front office did a great job of bringing in players to improve the team and we are looking pretty good."
On new Knicks point guard Raymond Felton:
"Raymond’s going to be awesome. He’s going to be great for us. He’s a player that wants to improve. He always talks about getting better."
On whether it was a surprise to see Dwight Howard leave the Eastern Conference:
"It wasn’t. I figured something was going to happen. There was a lot of talk between Dwight going somewhere else, so we knew something was going to happen. I just hope that his back is healed up and he’s able to come back full strength."
On the Knicks' prospects for 2012/13:
"Training camp is very, very key for us. We get full training camp, get that chemistry down, we’re going to be golden."
Odds & Ends: Richardson, Sixers, Mavs, Green
Jason Richardson is excited to play out the final three years of his contract on a team that's headed up instead of down, writes Philly.com's John Mitchell. The 31-year-old is especially looking forward to playing with another dominant center who's capable of drawing consistent double teams.
Here's a look around the rest of the league.
- In a chat with his readers, Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Sherrington writes his belief that the Mavericks are wasting Dirk Nowitzki's prime by going after a big name free agent that may never sign in Dallas.
- Philly.com's Marcus Hayes thinks that the Sixers would be wise not to sign Andrew Bynum to a max extension until they know the full extent of his health.
- After making the most of his opportunity with the Nets last season, Gerald Green received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract offer with the Pacers this summer. Green's feel good story has been well documented, but he's perfectly content coming off the bench and providing a spark next season, writes Pacers.com's Scott Agness.
- One of Raymond Felton's new teammates next season with the Knicks will be Kurt Thomas, who joined Felton in an offseason trade from Portland that landed the pair in New York. Thomas says Felton is "definitely motivated" for his second stint with the club, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. He better be, because the scrutiny will be high due to the fact that he's perceived to be Jeremy Lin's replacement.
- While down in Houston working with Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, Amare Stoudemire recently said he believes Lin will be a perfect addition to the Rockets, reports Fox 26 reporter Mark Berman.
Odds & Ends: Pacers, Stoudemire, Williams
Happy birthday to Knicks legend Patrick Ewing as he turns 50 today. New York has won exactly one playoff game (2012 against the Heat) since the Hoya Destroya's 38th birthday. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league…
- With an eye on building stronger team chemistry, the Pacers will be getting together for a workout later this month in Los Angeles, tweets Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star. They'll meet up again three weeks before training camp to do the same thing.
- Amare Stoudemire begins training today in Houston with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon to work on his game, says Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). The value of working with Olajuwon can be seen in the play of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who have had the opportunity to work with the big man in the past.
- Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams has done all the right things this summer by losing 15 pounds and playing relatively well during the NBA Summer League, but Minnesota isn't convinced that the former Arizona star can effectively play small forward this season, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov believes his investment in the organization has at least doubled since he purchased a majority stake in the team in 2010, writes Daniel Massey of Crain's New York.
Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady
The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
- In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
- When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Shaw, Bower, Claver
A handful of tonight's coaching search updates came in the form of tweets. TNT's David Aldridge reported that Brian Shaw had an interview in Charlotte today, but was not offered the job. Yahoo's Marc Spears also confirmed that no offer was made, adding that Portland and Orlando are still on Shaw's radar. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, who broke the news about Sloan's withdrawal from Charlotte's head coaching race, thinks the Trail Blazers have a better chance of landing Shaw than the Magic do.
We've got more on Orlando's GM search and highlights from HoopsWorld chats with Mark Nugent and Tommy Beer…
Knicks Rumors: Nash, Lin, Fields, Novak
Following New York's Game Five loss in Miami last night, we rounded up a few Knicks-related notes, but the news and rumors keep coming. Here's the latest as the Knicks prepare for an eventful offseason:
- Amare Stoudemire would love to play alongside former Suns teammate Steve Nash in the Big Apple next year, as he told Frank Isola and Kevin Armstrong of the New York Daily News. "Everyone knows that Steve loves New York and that New York loves Steve," Stoudemire said. "I love Steve. It would be great to have him here next year."
- It's long been rumored that the Suns will offer Nash a two-year, $20MM deal, but Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld believes the point guard will leave money on the table to join a contender (Twitter link). The above-linked Daily News report suggests that if if Nash were to sign for the veteran minimum, he'd only go to a title contender. I'm not sure why he'd have to settle for the minimum though, no matter where he signed.
- Jeremy Lin endorsed Knicks coach Mike Woodson, and told Marc Berman of the New York Post he'd like to remain in New York. According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, as many as six teams could be preparing to make a run at Lin, though as I explained yesterday, the Gilbert Arenas provision will allow the Knicks to match any offers.
- Landry Fields and Steve Novak were among the other Knicks free agents to express their desire to return next season. Fields told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com he'd "love" to be back, while Novak said there's no place he'd rather play, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. I think Fields will be re-signed, but the team may not have the financial flexibility to hang on to Novak.
- Despite their early exit from this year's postseason, the Knicks are on the right track, says Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. Stoudemire also sees better days ahead for the team, as George Willis of the New York Post writes.
Knicks Notes: Lin, Stoudemire, Woodson
Amare Stoudemire looked great in his return to the New York lineup yesterday, but another Knicks' starter, Jeremy Lin, may not make it back before the end of the first round. Coach Mike Woodson told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, that Lin isn't in great shape and that he's not counting on the point guard to return for Game Five. Here are few more of the latest Knicks items:
- Even if Lin doesn't return this season, Iman Shumpert is confident his teammate will be back in New York next season, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com writes. "Oh yeah, oh yeah," Shumpert said. "We all miss him. But if he's not able to come back this year, next year I'll be back with him, so we'll all be back together again."
- In his latest column for Bulls.com, Sam Smith tries to find potential trade partners for the Knicks and Stoudemire. Meanwhile, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post says Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony showed in Game Four that they can thrive playing alongside one another in New York.
- TNT's David Aldridge gives his opinion on 10 up-in-the-air offseason situations, including the Knicks' head coaching job. According to Aldridge, the Knicks should give Woodson a contract extension rather than pursuing Phil Jackson.