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Western Notes: Walton, Pelicans, Gallinari, Paul

March 29th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors assistant Luke Walton is reportedly poised to become a top candidate for the Knicks coaching vacancy, and the Lakers, Suns, Rockets and Kings are expected to target him, too, but former colleague Alvin Gentry thinks Walton still doesn’t gets the credit he deserves, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Gentry, now head coach of the Pelicans, was on Golden State’s staff last year with Walton, who inherited Gentry’s role as lead assistant and guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgeries. “Luke did an unbelievable job of managing egos, of rotations he played,” Gentry said. “Everything that happened there, he pushed the right buttons, so I was disappointed when people said anybody can coach that team. That’s not true at all. He has an unbelievable understanding of the game. I think [Knicks president] Phil [Jackson] knows that. [Luke] stayed in the league for a long time because of the basketball IQ he has. He gets along great with players. He’s going to be a terrific coach in the league – I really do think that.”

See more from the Western Conference:

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Cavaliers Rumors: LeBron, Irving, Williams, Lue

March 27th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

After a week filled with speculation sparked by comments that he would like to team up with three of his friends, LeBron James is expressing confidence in the Cavaliers’ chances at an NBA title, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. James said he dreams of joining forces with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul for at least one season before they all retire. That came on the heels of a decision Monday to unfollow the Cavs’ official Twitter account. On Saturday, James, who can opt out of his contract this summer, expressed confidence in his current teammates and indicated his long-term future will be in Cleveland. “I believe in what we have,” he said. “And I know we can win a championship with the group we have. And I’m confident in my abilities to lead this group and everything else is smoke and mirrors and doesn’t really matter to me.”

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

  • The constant hints about his future have turned James into a distraction, contends Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Daily News. Replacing head coach David Blatt with Tyronn Lue was supposed to bring peace to the locker room, but Heisler writes that point guard Kyrie Irving isn’t willing to become a second option to James the way that Wade did in Miami. Irving is seven years younger than James and is signed through 2019, so Heisler thinks he considers himself a cornerstone in Cleveland regardless of what James decides.
  • Backup point guard Mo Williams returned to the court Saturday for the first time in a month after getting an injection in his left knee, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Williams had just started practicing a few days ago, but Lue asked him to help out with Irving sidelined. “I just started on-court stuff Monday,” Williams said. “In my mind it was next week, that’s what I was telling everyone silently. Every situation is different and I’m the ultimate team guy. I’m not going to put our team in a bind.” Williams said he will probably have knee pain the rest of his career but doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
  • Lue resumed coaching the defense after the Cavs gave up 122 points last week in a loss to Miami, Lloyd writes in the same piece. He had given those duties to assistant Mike Longabardi after being named head coach.
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Reaction To Talk Of LeBron-‘Melo-Wade-CP3 Team

March 24th, 2016 at 9:21am CST by Chuck Myron

A meeting between LeBron James and Cavaliers GM David Griffin and conflicting statements from Carmelo Anthony represented some of the fallout from the Wednesday publication of comments that James made shortly before the All-Star break about his desire to play at least one NBA season on the same team as Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul. James has spoken with Cavs management in the past to propose the idea of trading for Anthony, who has a no-trade clause, a source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, though it’s not clear when such talk took place. James and Griffin spoke in general terms Wednesday, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The conversation was “positive and productive,” with James striking an upbeat tone about the Cavs, Vardon writes.

Anthony echoed James’ assertion that he would take a discount to facilitate teaming with the other stars, though he hinted that if it happened, it wouldn’t take place in New York, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The Knicks have Anthony under contract until at least 2018, when he can opt out.

“Everybody has fantasies,” Anthony said. “We’d all have to take pay cuts. I’d take one. I think at that time we’d want to go someplace warm. Later — [close to] retirement.’’

Anthony re-signed with the Knicks in 2014, though he reiterated Wednesday, when the Knicks beat the Bulls, that he came “very close” to signing with Chicago that summer instead, notes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link). Still, Anthony once more restated his commitment to the Knicks during ESPN’s broadcast of the game, McMenamin notes.

“I came here for a reason, which was to win in New York,” Anthony said. “Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case thus far, but I feel like I have unfinished business to take care of. And I feel like, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, if I just get up and run away from something that I started, that I feel a part of and that’s not done yet, then I think I would carry that burden on my shoulders. That’s just me as an individual.”

James isn’t sure that having the four stars on the same team would fly with any owner, given the vast power the players would have in such a circumstance, a source told McMenamin. The former MVP tamped down the notion of playing with his high-profile friends in comments he made Wednesday, as McMenamin relays.

“It would definitely be cool if it happened, but we don’t know how realistic it could be to have us four,” James said. “If you got an opportunity to work with three of your best friends, no matter what, it’s not even about sports, it’s about being around guys that you don’t even have to say nothing, you automatically know. We just have that type of history. Can it happen? I don’t know if it can even happen but it would be cool.”

James had a lingering chat with Wade at halftime of Cleveland’s loss to Miami on Saturday while the Cavs were warming up, and James later apologized to Cavs coach Tyronn Lue for that, Vardon writes. Cleveland was down 21 at the time in a game the Cavs lost by that same margin.

“I just told him we can’t have that, being down like we were and him being the leader,” Lue said to Vardon. “Just me being a competitor, I didn’t like it. We had a long talk about it. It was good. He understood, he apologized, and he’s been great.”

Wade largely brushed off talk of playing with James, Anthony and Paul, as ESPN’s Michael Wallace relays in McMenamin’s story.

“I don’t know, man,” Wade said. “Yeah, I heard it. I read it. I’m not really jumping into the headlines right now. For me, I’m focused on my teammates in here. As cool as the headlines is, that has nothing to do with what we’re trying to do in here.”

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LeBron Longs To Play With Wade, ‘Melo, CP3

March 23rd, 2016 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is holding out hope that he can team with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul for at least one season before they retire, as he told Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. James, 31, and Wade, 34, can hit free agency this summer, but the 30-year-old Paul’s locked in with the Clippers through next season and Anthony, 31, doesn’t have an opt-out in his deal until the summer of 2018.

“I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together,” James said to Beck just before the All-Star break last month in comments that Beck kept under wraps until today (Twitter link). “At least one, maybe one or two seasons — me, Melo, D-Wade, CP — we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that.”

Each is probably powerful enough to force a trade, with most such chatter surrounding Anthony, who has a no-trade clause that he’s been reluctant to consider waiving. Rumors about a three-team deal involving the Knicks, Celtics and Cavaliers emerged before the trade deadline this year, but it never appeared as though Anthony was close to joining James in Cleveland. Anthony once more reiterated his commitment to the Knicks today, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays.

“I know the reason why I stuck it out,’’ Anthony said. “People that really understand it know why I’m sticking it out. It’s odd to question my loyalty at this point in time, especially when you showed and I’ve showed time and time again my loyalty to not just the organization, but New York and vice versa.”

Still, commitments change. That was the case with Anthony and the Nuggets, a team ‘Melo believed in strongly enough in 2006 to resist what James admits were veiled overtures meant to convince Anthony to sign a shorter extension that would allow him to become a free agent in 2010, just as James and Wade did, as Beck details. That was the summer that James and Wade teamed up on the Heat while Anthony and Paul remained under contract in Denver and New Orleans, respectively.

Anthony told Beck in January that he was disappointed that the Pistons passed him up with the second overall pick in 2003, saying that he’d been told Detroit would take him. It’s not clear who told Anthony that the Pistons would draft him instead of Darko Milicic, the center the Pistons fatefully selected when the time came. Regardless, the bond between James, Anthony, Wade and Paul is strong, and it’s made an impression on Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, who’s mentored all of them with the USA Basketball program.

“I think they love one another,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s so damn genuine, and it’s so cool to see. … They have each others’ back, on everything.”

Do you think James, Wade, Anthony and Paul will all play together on an NBA team at some point? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Pacific Notes: Griffin, Booker, Looney

March 14th, 2016 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers did not seem to miss power forward Blake Griffin during the initial aftermath of the quadriceps tendon tear he suffered on Christmas, but that has changed, Andrew Han of ESPN.com writes. Point guard Chris Paul told Han and other reporters after the Clippers lost to the Cavs by 24 points on Sunday that Griffin’s extended absence is taking a toll. “[Playing without him] gets real tough,” Paul said. “They have three, four guys out there that [with a] low shot clock can bail you out. Just all that tension that he brings opens it up for all of us.” The Clippers won their first nine games without Griffin but have stumbled recently, losing by double digits in three of their last five games. Griffin’€s hand, which he fractured in a January 23rd fight with assistant equipment manager Matias Testi, has healed faster than his quad. Once he is cleared for game action, Griffin still faces a four-game team-imposed suspension for that incident.

In other news around the Pacific Division:
  • The Clippers are likely to keep their superstar trio of Paul, Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan intact this summer, a panel of ESPN Insider experts opines. As Jeremias Engelmann points out, superstars rarely get dealt unless they request a trade. A majority of the panel also believes the Clippers will be better off when Griffin returns from his injuries and suspension.
  • Rookie shooting guard Devin Booker is often initiating the Suns’ half-court offense, even with the return of point guard Brandon Knight from a sports hernia, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Booker recorded 11 assists against the Warriors on Saturday. “Both of us can bring the ball up the floor, so you get the rest,” Booker told Coro. “If you have to bring it up every time, it’s tough on a team.”
  • Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was instrumental in the Warriors hiring Bob Myers as their assistant GM in 2011, as owner Joe Lacob discusses at length in an interview with Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Myers was promoted to GM the following year.
  • The Warriors recalled power forward Kevon Looney from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to the team’s website. Looney has appeared in 12 games with Santa Cruz this season, including two games during his latest assignment.
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Atlantic Notes: Clarke, Kilpatrick, Marks, ‘Melo

March 9th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics 10-day signee Coty Clarke sought a meeting with D-League coach Scott Morrison earlier this season while he was playing a reserve role for the Boston affiliate, and after the two spoke about Clarke’s role and what the team needed from him, Morrison put him in the starting lineup and Clarke helped the team thrive, as Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor chronicles. The Maine Red Claws went 11-2 before the Celtics called up the combo forward on his 10-day deal this week, a signing that Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines.

“First and foremost, as I told our team [Monday], he was by no means given a 10-day. He was rewarded [for] his great play [in Maine],” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, according to Forsberg. “He really has played great. Our front office has been thrilled about him and thrilled about his play in Maine the whole year. We obviously have a familiarity with him from being here in the fall and so we thought it was a great opportunity to bring a guy on board while we have some practice time to really get a chance to evaluate him within our system, with our team, as the season has progressed.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

  • More Nets moves are to come soon as new GM Sean Marks operates quickly on multiple fronts, NetsDaily hears in the wake of the team’s hiring of Trajan Langdon as assistant GM Tuesday (Twitter link). Brooklyn has a decision to make regarding Sean Kilpatrick, whose 10-day contract expired overnight.
  • Marks has superb people skills, Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer observed, and Chris Paul called him one of the best teammates he’s ever had as both displayed confidence in the new Nets GM, The Record’s Andy Vasquez details. “I’ve never been a GM or anything like that,” Paul said. “But I know his work ethic and what makes him who he is. … I’m biased. Sean’s a friend of mine. I’m rooting for him. I want to see him succeed and, like I said, with his drive and work ethic, I’m sure he won’t sleep until he turns it around.”
  • Interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis has been clearer in communicating what he wants the Knicks to do on offense, while former coach Derek Fisher placed more of an emphasis on player development, as Carmelo Anthony observed this week, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link).
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L.A. Rumors: Bryant, Paul, Griffin, Rivers

February 28th, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Byron Scott’s new motion offense is the latest sign that the Lakers are ready to move past the Kobe Bryant era, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Scott drilled the team this week on the new philosophy, which maximizes the talents of guards D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson and represents a departure from the isolation game that Bryant favors. Bryant announced months ago that he will retire after this season, opening up $25MM in cap room, and the Lakers appear ready to turn the team over to their younger players. “It’s something that I think will help us in the long run,” Scott said. “I was going to wait until next year to do it, but then I said, ‘Why wait?’” However, Scott may not be around next season, as the front office is reportedly divided over whether to let him keep his job past April.

There’s more news from Los Angeles:

  • The Lakers still haven’t recovered from the blocked trade for Chris Paul in 2011, contends Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. The three-team deal with New Orleans and Houston would have seen L.A. ship out Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Then-commissioner David Stern stopped it, citing “basketball reasons,” as the league was running the New Orleans franchise due to the financial distress of its former owner.
  • Bryant said he feels like he needs to play every game to satisfy fans who paid to see his retirement tour, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “I always feel terrible when I can’t get out there and play,” he said. “I feel disappointment for the fans when I can’t. If I feel like I can try and give it a go, I think the fans deserve that effort from me.”
  • Clippers star Blake Griffin has been shooting for about a week, but his return still seems far off, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Coach Doc Rivers confirmed Griffin’s activity, but didn’t suggest a date when he might play again. Griffin, who will have a four-game suspension to serve once he returns from his broken hand, hasn’t played since December 25th.
  • Austin Rivers, who was expected to be out of action four to six weeks after breaking his left hand February 5th, hopes to be ready for Wednesday’s game, Woike tweets.
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Western Notes: Durant, Paul, Carter

February 13th, 2016 at 10:16am CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder small forward Kevin Durant said he was shocked that the Knicks fired coach Derek Fisher, who was considered a strong link to the pending unrestricted free agent, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. Durant noted that stability was important to him in an organization, Iannazzone adds. “No matter what profession, you always want to be stable,” Durant said. “You always want to have good people around you. And you always want to work with great people. That’s how it is in Oklahoma City. … Sometimes you can put your spirit in and you can kind of dictate that environment for yourself.”

Durant did add that while he enjoys that stability with the Thunder, he could be a stabilizing force elsewhere, the Newsday scribe relays. “I think I have that ability and that capability of just improving wherever I go, also improving the environment wherever I go,” said Durant. While Durant enjoys the weekend’s All-Star festivities, here’s more from out West:

  • People close to Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki believe he wants to play another two seasons in the NBA before retiring, Chris Ballard of SI.com said in an installment of SI Now (video link; transcription via the Dallas Morning News). Nowitzki has one year remaining on his current deal, which is a player option worth a team-friendly $8,692,184 for 2016/17.
  • Scratch one potential post-NBA career off point guard Chris Paul‘s list, as the Clippers playmaker said he has no desire to join the coaching profession in the future, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post tweets.
  • Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle isn’t surprised that Grizzlies swingman Vince Carter is still productive at 39 years of age, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News notes.  “I’m not surprised,” Carlisle said. “Vince is a great player. He’s established some unbelievable longevity. He’s been a great role player with two different clubs – us and Memphis.” Carter’s salary of approximately $4.264MM for next season is partially guaranteed for $2MM, and Commercial Appeal scribe Chris Herrington suggested recently that the Grizzlies will “almost certainly” waive him this summer and pocket the savings.
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Latest On Blake Griffin

January 29th, 2016 at 9:42am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers think it might take Blake Griffin two months to recover from the broken right (shooting) hand he suffered when he reportedly struck equipment manager Mathias Testi, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. That’s in contrast to the timetable of approximately four to six weeks that the team put forth Tuesday, though coach/executive Doc Rivers later later called that timeframe unrealistic.

Rivers would probably prefer to trade Griffin rather than Chris Paul or DeAndre Jordan if he were to deal one of the team’s three max players, several league sources insisted to Lowe. That partly because Rivers knows Griffin would net the best return among them, Lowe adds. Still, the Clippers boss doesn’t want to trade any of them, according to the ESPN scribe, even though he suggested to Lowe before the season that another playoff disappointment would leave him open to foundational changes. For now, Rivers has indicated that he thinks the Clippers have a realistic shot at the title this year, and he isn’t willing to trade assets of value for first-round picks, Lowe writes.

Griffin is making nearly $18.908MM this season on a contract that runs through 2017/18, which is a player option year. Paul can also opt out in the summer of 2017, while Jordan couldn’t opt out until 2018.

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2016 NBA All-Star Game Reserves Announced

January 28th, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has officially announced the reserves for the 2016 All-Star game, which will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday, February 14th. The names of the reserves were first reported by Carron J. Phillips of The News Journal and confirmed by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (All four Twitter links). The starters for both conferences were announced last week, with Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard voted to tip off the exhibition in the West and LeBron James, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Kyle Lowry slated to represent the East.

While the starters are selected by the fans, reserves are chosen by the coaches in each conference, though they are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Listed below are the reserves for the 2016 NBA All-Star game for each conference:

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Who was the biggest surprise among the All-Star reserves announced tonight? Share your thoughts with a comment.

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