Atlantic Notes: Amare, Raptors, Prigioni, Copeland
Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that Amare Stoudemire isn't quite ready to make his return for the Knicks just yet, citing that he is still "not 100 percent yet." Although he looked active during his scrimmage with the Erie Bayhawks today, Stoudemire feels that he still needs more practices and conditioning work before his return. You can find more of tonight's notable links from the Atlantic Division below:
- Coach Mike Woodson says that although Iman Shumpert took part in conditioning workouts, the young guard is still "a little ways away" with regard to his rehab (Christian Red of the New York Daily News reports).
- Considering the Raptors' recent four-game winning streak, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun is wary of the possible challenges that Kyle Lowry and Andrea Bargnani will create for the team's current chemistry once they return from injury.
- In a brief Q&A Twitter session with followers, renown NBA capologist Larry Coon acknowledged that Knicks rookies Pablo Prigioni and Chris Copeland will be restricted free agents this summer (Twitter link).
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld notes that Raptors big man Ed Davis has made noticeable improvements and is beginning to progress into the talent that Toronto envisioned when they drafted him.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston talks about why Jason Terry belongs in the Celtics' starting lineup.
D-League Moves: White, Copeland, Leuer
We’ll keep track of all the day’s D-League moves right here. As always, you can reference the season’s comings and goings with this post.
- The Knicks have assigned James White and Chris Copeland to the Erie BayHawks of the D-League for a second time this week, tweets Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal. The pair of forwards went to Erie on Tuesday and were called back to New York yesterday in time for both to appear in the Knicks‘ victory over the Nets. Neither played in a game for the BayHawks, and the assignments are simply a measure to get the players more practice time, as Schlosser points out.
- The Cavaliers have recalled Jon Leuer from the D-League, the team announced. Leuer has appeared in six games, all starts, for the Canton Charge since he was assigned to the club two weeks ago. The 6’10” power forward notched 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game and shot 54.5% during his D-League stint.
- Tyler Honeycutt was on the active list for the Kings in their win against the Warriors last night in his first game since returning from the league’s longest D-League stint of the season. Honeycutt was sent down November 7th, the first time an NBA player was assigned to a D-League squad in 2012/13. The 6’8″ small forward averaged 10.9 points and 9.6 rebounds in seven games with the Reno Big Horns.
D-League Moves: Perry Jones III, Liggins, Knicks
We'll be keeping track of all of today's D-League comings and goings in this post. To keep up with the latest assignments and recalls, check out Hoops Rumors' 2012/13 list right here.
- The Thunder announced they've assigned Perry Jones III and DeAndre Liggins to the Tulsa 66ers. It's the second time they've each been sent down. Liggins has averaged 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in three games for Tulsa, while Jones has put up a total of 23 points and seven rebounds in his two D-League contests.
- Forwards Chris Copeland and James White have returned to the Knicks after being assigned yesterday to the D-League's Erie BayHawks, the BayHawks announced via Twitter (hat tip to Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside). Their return was expected when they were sent down, along with Amare Stoudemire, to practice with the BayHawks. Erie is in the midst of a four-day layoff, so none of the Knicks assignees saw game action.
- The Pistons have brought back Khris Middleton and Kim English from the D-League, according to James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press. Both rookies were sent down to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants a week ago. They were in the starting lineup for three games with Fort Wayne, with English putting up 18.0 points, 5.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds per contest, while Middleton posted averages of 11.0 points and 7.7 boards. Neither of them, both second-round picks this past June, have seen significant minutes for the big club in Detroit.
- The Spurs announced that they have assigned Kawhi Leonard to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League for a medical rehab assignment. Leonard has been sidelined with quadriceps tendinitis in his left knee since November 17th. Prior to the injury, Leonard appeared in nine games for the Spurs, averaging 10.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 2.0 SPG in 28.9 minutes. Team doctors will determine a timeline for Leonard's return after he practices with the Toros.
D-League Notes: Motiejunas, Copeland, White
We'll keep track of today's D-League news right here..
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Iman Shumpert could also head to the D-League when he's healthy again, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- The Rockets have recalled Donatas Motiejunas from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced. The 7'0" rookie was assigned on Friday to the Vipers for the second time this season, and he averaged 23.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in two weekend contests.
- The Knicks have also assigned Chris Copeland and James White to the BayHawks so that they can practice with them in Westchester, New York, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Copeland, White, and Stoudemire will be called back up tomorrow.
- Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace told Sports 56 WHBQ that Josh Selby will return from the D-League after two games, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). When Selby returns, Tony Wroten will be sent back to Reno.
- Avery Bradley said the Celtics have talked with him about a D-League stint, but he plans on traveling west with the C's on their post-Christmas trip, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- The Knicks announced that they have assigned Amare Stoudemire to the Erie BayHawks of the Developmental League so that he can get practice reps before returning to the Knicks this weekend. Coach Mike Woodson disclosed yesterday that Stoudemire would practice with the BayHawks, but it wasn't clear if he would be formally assigned to them.
Atlantic Links: Bargnani, Calderon, Bynum, Knicks
Coming into the season, we expected the big summer moves made by Atlantic teams to make the division the toughest in the Eastern Conference. So far, that's certainly been the case. As a division, the Atlantic has a .596 winning percentage in the early going, dwarfing the marks put forth by the Southeast (.438) and the Central (.385). Four Atlantic teams will be in action tonight as the division looks to continue its winning ways. In the meantime, let's round up a few notes out of Toronto, Philadelphia, and New York….
- The Raptors aren't looking into trading Andrea Bargnani, but if that stance changed, the team believes there'd be a market for him, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
- Stephen Brotherson of HoopsWorld wonders if Jose Calderon is too valuable to the Raptors for the team to trade him.
- J.A. Adande and Israel Gutierrez of ESPN.com debate what Andrew Bynum's health setbacks mean for his future with the 76ers and his impending free agency.
- Although Knicks head coach Mike Woodson didn't commit to plugging Amare Stoudemire right back into the club's starting lineup when he gets healthy, he did tell reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, that he believes Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony can thrive on the court together.
- In a piece for RealGM.com, Michael Scotto talks to Knicks rookie Chris Copeland about life as a 15th man in the NBA.
- We also rounded up a few Celtics items earlier today.
Knicks Waive Bellfield, Shurna, Thompson, Sims
The Knicks waived four players to get down to the 15-man roster limit today, cutting ties with Oscar Bellfield, John Shurna, Mychel Thompson and Henry Sims, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Shurna and Sims had partial guaranteed of $50K, while Bellfield's and Thompson's contracts were non-guaranteed. The moves likely mean Chris Copeland, who has a non-guaranteed deal, will be on the Knicks opening-night roster.
Atlantic Links: Allen, Copeland, Chandler
- Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com thinks that 28-year-old rookie Chris Copeland has presented a strong case to make the Knicks roster.
- Despite leaving last night's pre-season game early after hurting his knee during a collision with Nets forward Gerald Wallace, Knicks center Tyson Chandler could be available for the season opener, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. An MRI revealed that Chandler did not suffer any structural damage.
- While Celtics coach Doc Rivers notes that having days off could have an effect on a team's ability to remain sharp, he likes having a week for his players to recuperate before the season starts (says A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com).
- Brian Daly of the Toronto Sun writes about Kris Joseph earning a spot on the Celtics roster and what it means for Canadian basketball.
Atlantic Notes: Copeland, Rasheed, Bynum
We rounded up a host of Celtics news earlier, but there's more out of the Atlantic Division this evening, as the Nets and Knicks face off in the final preseason game for both teams.
- Reports have been optimstic about camp invitee Chris Copeland's chances of making the Knicks regular season roster, and SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria and Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com give further indication the power forward will remain with the team for the start of the regular season.
- Rasheed Wallace is likely to get the team's other open roster spot, Zwerling reports in the same piece, adding that the Knicks aren't in pursuit of free agents Kenyon Martin, Chris Andersen or Josh Howard to fill in for the injured Amare Stoudemire.
- The Sixers have no timetable for the return of Andrew Bynum, who continues to be held out of practice. John Finger of CSNPhilly.com and Zach Lowe of Grantland.com examine what the team will do as long as its marquee offseason acquisition can't play.
Knicks Notes: Amare, Copeland, Point, Prigioni
Carmelo Anthony makes his return to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse tomorrow night when they take on the Sixers in their fifth preseason game. The Knicks currently stand at 2-2, but announced today that Amare Stoudemire will miss two to three weeks with a ruptured cyst behind his left knee. While the time period isn't devastating, it is another medical issue for the oft-injured Stoudemire. Here are some other notes from the Knicks preseason:
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York posts his reaction to the Stoudemire news, reiterating that it is not a serious injury and the time off may help a knee that was still recovering from a bone bruise on October 10. Zwerling also says to expect Kurt Thomas to start and Chris Copeland to make the team.
- Keith Schlosser of KnicksJournal.com mentions Copeland and Steve Novak as two candidates to step up in Stoudemire's absence. On Saturday night, Copeland exploded for 34 points in Boston on 11-for-18 shooting and has impressed throughout the preseason.
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld takes a look at the Knicks point guard situation, where the team has replaced Jeremy Lin with a trio of veteran guards that have 42 combined years of pro hoops experience in Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni.
- Speaking of Prigioni, Nate Taylor from the New York Times writes that Suns big man and fellow Argentinian Luis Scola gave him the final push that he needed to come over from the Euroleague and join the Knicks. Prigioni, at 35, is the oldest rookie to enter the NBA in the last 40 years.
Odds & Ends: Nolan Smith, Allen, Rondo, Paul
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com wonders whether Nolan Smith's preseason troubles for the Blazers might be due in part to the pressure of the looming October 31st deadline the team has for picking up the third-year option on his rookie contract. Blazers GM Neil Olshey told Haynes he's going to wait as long as possible to make a decision. Stay up to date on this month's rookie-scale option decisions with the Hoops Rumors Rookie Contract Option Tracker, and check out the latest notes from around the league right here.
- The root of the hard feelings between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen stemmed from a phone call Allen made to his then-teammate to get him to lobby against a trade that would have sent the pair to the Suns in 2009 for Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa and a 2010 draft pick, Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reveals.
- Chris Paul was instrumental in recruiting Jamal Crawford and others to the Clippers, and doesn't give the look of someone who wants to leave L.A. as he enters the final season of his deal, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes (Sulia link).
- Marvin Williams is paying early dividends for the Jazz after coming aboard in an offseason trade, as Mike Sorenson of the Deseret News and Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune examine.
- Coach Doug Collins pointed to four Sixers whose minutes he wants to limit during the season, and all of them are offseason acquisitions, as Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com chronicles.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com and Newsday's Al Iannazzone share the opinion that a cyst in Stoudemire's left knee that will keep him out two to three weeks boosts the chances that Knicks non-guaranteed camp invitee Chris Copeland will make the team (Twitter links).
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks Garrett Temple, Josh Harrellson and Dexter Pittman will all be on the Heat roster come opening night.