Southwest Notes: Joerger, Simmons, Bickerstaff
Marc Stein of ESPN.com points to comments that Dave Joerger made recently as “thinly veiled shots” at Joe Abadi (Twitter links), the liaison between owner Robert Pera and GM Chris Wallace, but Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal interprets Joerger’s criticism as somewhat more subtle. The Grizzlies coach has established a pattern of “muted but direct acknowledgement” of the roster’s shortcomings, and his job is not necessarily in more trouble than any other NBA coach’s job is at risk when the team isn’t performing up to expectations, Herrington contends. The Commercial Appeal scribe’s piece delves more into the changing times in Memphis, and we’ll share more on that amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- The Grizzlies have had few reasonable options to forestall the end of their “grit ‘n’ grind” run that countered the league’s small-ball trend, and Joerger’s decision to bench Zach Randolph and Tony Allen on Sunday signals the imminent death of the Grizzlies as we know them, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller opines. Ziller believes Joerger’s decision frees Memphis to explore trades for Randolph and Allen, both of whom have contracts that run through next season.
- Jonathon Simmons is showing off his athleticism and has averaged double figures in points over his last four games for the Spurs, and coach/executive Gregg Popovich seems impressed so far, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio News-Express details. Simmons has a fully guaranteed salary this season, but next season’s minimum salary is non-guaranteed.
- The Rockets have surged since new coach J.B. Bickerstaff moved Clint Capela and Patrick Beverley into the starting lineup, as the team has gone 7-2 with both of them present for the opening tip, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Grizzlies Notes: Conley, Joerger, Chalmers, Gasol
Mike Conley doesn’t seem anxious to leave Memphis, just as Marc Gasol wasn’t last year, but Gasol didn’t make any promises until he re-signed in July, and Conley isn’t either, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
“It’s easy to feel obligated; it’s easy to want to stay,” Conley said to Mannix. “This is where I’ve had my whole career. At the same time I understand this is a business. I have to weigh my options just like [Gasol] did. Hopefully it will be an easy decision, whatever it is.”
Since Conley, No. 3 in our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings, is apparently thinking along the same lines as Gasol, even if he’s reluctant to say he’ll draw the same conclusion, check out what Gasol had to say about what went into his decision to re-sign this past summer amid the latest from Memphis:
- Dave Joerger‘s job wasn’t in jeopardy at any point earlier this month in spite of the rumors, and no indication came forth that owner Robert Pera had grown impatient, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Joerger pushed for the team to trade for Mario Chalmers, and the team did so, indicating the sway Joerger still has within the organization, Tillery notes.
- The Chalmers trade has been a boon for the Grizzlies, opines Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal, who examines what he brings to Memphis, the emergence of JaMychal Green in the rotation, and more in his weekly Pick and Pop column.
- The feeling that he had unfinished business with the Grizzlies helped lead Gasol to re-sign, as he told Mannix for a separate piece. “I think every conversation always led to that. About how much the city means to me, how much my teammates mean to me, how much this franchise means to me,” Gasol said in part. “At the end of the day, I felt responsible for that. There was a lot of attention and a lot of people wanted to talk, but this is where I wanted to be.”
Grizzlies Notes: Joerger, Chalmers, Randolph
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is preaching patience and he defended the job of coach Dave Joerger in the wake of a report questioning his job security, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes.
“When things aren’t going well, there’s always a lot of noise from the outside,” Wallace said. “You can’t let it permeate the air you’re breathing as a team. You just have to keep your head down and do what you’ve done in the past to be successful. I don’t see Dave on the hot seat. We’re six games into the season. We’re struggling right now, but Dave’s a proven commodity and he’s got a talented staff.”
Here’s more out of Memphis:
- Earlier in the week, the Grizzlies were linked to Mario Chalmers, who is on the trade block because of Miami’s tax implications, but Wallace downplayed the idea of a trade happening, Tillery writes in the same piece. “We’re always searching for ways to improve the team. You can’t predict what will happen. But we’ll never operate with the mindset that you have to do a deal. I don’t think the sky is falling. We have the weapons to be a strong team this year. We just have to be who we are and regain our identity,” Wallace said.
- There are rival executives who believe the Grizzlies will ultimately entertain trading Zach Randolph with an eye on adding youth and athleticism to the roster, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Outside of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, Randolph is the trade piece that would most likely net a difference maker, Stein adds. Randolph signed a team-friendly two year, $20MM extension with Memphis in 2014 that kicked in this season.
Dave Joerger On The Hot Seat?
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger might occupy the league’s warmest seat among head coaches, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Memphis has started the season with a record of 3-3, but it’s the way the team has lost those three games that has people within the organization fearing that owner Robert Pera won’t wait long to make a major change, Stein writes. Sources tell Stein that Pera wants to see guard Jordan Adams get an opportunity to play more, and that he hasn’t forgotten that twice last year the Grizzlies waived Hassan Whiteside, who is off to a tremendous start for the Heat this season.
After the team’s blowout loss to the Warriors last week, Joerger responded with this admission: “There are times when we look a little bit old,” Stein notes. The coach repeated the lament after the loss to the Blazers, a game in which Portland received 23 quality minutes from Ed Davis, a player Joerger didn’t have much use for when he saw a career-low 15.2 minutes per game for Memphis two seasons ago. Stein reads Joerger’s “old” comment as barely concealed criticism of the recent choices from the Memphis front office. The ESPN.com scribe points to the acquisitions of Vince Carter and Matt Barnes as examples of moves that haven’t helped the Grizzlies as much as they might have hoped.
What threatens Joerger more than anything else, according to Stein, are internal questions Pera has raised about Joerger’s leadership in the past and the fact that he nearly fired Joerger once before. Another complication is Pera’s fondness for Tom Thibodeau. Pera has gone after Thibodeau before and might make another go at the ex-Bulls coach before someone else beats him to it, Stein posits. Upper management, and not the team’s basketball operations department, was the catalyst for Jeff Bzdelik‘s ascension to the role of lead assistant this past summer, sources tell Stein.
The Grizzlies have only played six games and the team could easily look like the championship contenders that many thought they would be once we get a larger sample size. The schedule does them no favors, as they finish their five-game road trip with contests against the Jazz tonight and the Clippers on Monday. A pair of poor showings could expedite a shake-up, although that is just my speculation.
Western Notes: Kobe, Morris, Barnes, Davis
The majority of the two dozen team executives, scouts, agents and other figures from around the NBA who spoke with Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com said the Lakers definitely shouldn’t re-sign Kobe Bryant if he decides to play beyond the expiration of his contract at season’s end. Another sizable chunk of respondents said it should depend on his health, while only one said the Lakers should definitely bring him back. Part of the issue involves repeated assertions from people around the league that free agents won’t want to sign with the Lakers and play with their longtime star, as Holmes relays. Bryant has said he won’t play for an NBA team aside from the Lakers, but if he did, few teams would have interest, Holmes hears. One executive mentioned the Knicks as a possibility, and another brought up the Clippers. See more from around the Western Conference:
- Markieff Morris gave further indication Wednesday that he indeed wants to stick around Phoenix, telling reporters, including Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, that he intends to convince local fans he’s on board. “I’ll win them back,” Morris said. “That’s all I can say about that.” Morris last week backed off his trade demand from the summer, and the Suns apparently have no interest in sending him out, even though the Pistons are reportedly interested.
- Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger and Matt Barnes sloughed off the notion that reports that Barnes physically attacked Knicks coach Derek Fisher will have any bearing on the team, and Joerger expressed full support for his player, notes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Barnes said that he hasn’t spoken with anyone from the league office, but the NBA is investigating, Tillery adds. Memphis traded for Barnes this summer, and he’s entering the final season of his contract.
- Ed Davis prioritized the chance for minutes over money when he decided to sign a three-year, $20MM deal with the Blazers this summer, as Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com details. “I was playing well in Toronto my third year, then I got traded to Memphis,” Davis said. “I played behind [Zach Randolph] and Marc [Gasol] for a year and a half, didn’t really get the opportunity. I was playing 13, 14 minutes a game and there’s no way that’s you’re going to be successful in the NBA with those minutes. That set me back for a year and a half. I guess the media or whatever thought I couldn’t play, or whatever it was. Went to L.A. [Lakers] last year, had a decent year and everything turned. Now I’m in a great situation and I’m looking forward to it.”
Southwest Notes: Butler, Ajinca, Green
The Spurs weren’t the only NBA team interested in Rasual Butler when he signed with San Antonio last month, as a Western Conference suitor lurked, but the 36-year-old finds there’s “no place better to be than here,” reports Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. Butler’s contract is non-guaranteed, but he has a line on a regular season roster spot, according to coach/executive Gregg Popovich, as Young notes.
“He’s a seasoned pro in a sense that he knows himself, he knows what role he can play,” Popovich said. “He’s at a stage in his career where he just wants to be a part of something that’s just positive and good. He obviously can shoot the basketball. If he couldn’t shoot, we wouldn’t be talking to him. You got to have a skill to play. For all those reasons, he’s somebody that’s got a great shot to make our team.”
The Spurs have 13 fully guaranteed contracts, seemingly leaving two available spots on the opening night roster. See more on the Spurs amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- Pelicans backup center Alexis Ajinca will miss the next four to six weeks because of a right hamstring strain, the team announced. New Orleans committed a four-year, $19.5MM deal to Ajinca this past summer, and the team is without any other natural center to play behind Omer Asik, with the possible exception of Anthony Davis. The injury could bode well for power forward Jeff Adrien, the only big man without a fully guaranteed salary on the Pelicans.
- Jeff Green says he was frustrated with the lack of a consistent role with the Grizzlies following the midseason trade that took him to Memphis, but he’s optimistic about this year, and coach Dave Joerger is expecting a breakout season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal details. Green is set for free agency this coming summer after picking up his $9.2MM player option this past June. “It was tough to not be in one role. One day I’d start, one day I’d come off the bench. I was playing the 3 and the 4. It was tough,” Green said. “It’s hard to do. There’s only a few players that can really do that. I’m thankful to be in that position to be able to do that. But when you come onto a team halfway through the year, having to do that is tough because you never get a grasp of what you really need to do for the team. This year, I have an open mind. It doesn’t matter what position I play, I’m going to give it my all.”
- Cory Joseph started for the Spurs most of December last year and wound up seeing only 22 total minutes during the postseason. A similarly occasional place in Sacramento’s rotation has trade acquisition Ray McCallum willing to embrace the same stop-and-start playing time with the Spurs, as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News chronicles. Joseph snagged a four-year, $30MM deal with the Raptors this past summer, and McCallum is due for restricted free agency at season’s end.
Fallout/Reaction To The Jeff Green Trade
The Grizzlies and Celtics had cursory discussions about Jeff Green two years ago when Memphis was nearing its Rudy Gay trade, and the teams engaged in more serious discussions about Green last year, according to Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in a subcription-only piece. The Grizzlies thought they might acquire Green as part of the Courtney Lee swap that took place in January 2014, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Memphis probably isn’t done dealing, though the Green deal seems to have extinguished the chances that the team will give up Kosta Koufos, Herrington believes. The Grizzlies “kicked the tires” on Thaddeus Young, Herrington writes, echoing a hint from earlier report, but they appear to have moved on from that, the Commerical Appeal scribe adds. Here’s more in the wake of today’s three-team deal:
- Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger had a major voice in the trade talks, as he said Sunday to reporters, including Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
- Green isn’t a massive upgrade over what the Grizzlies had at his position, but he’s the right fit, especially given the savings that the team reaps on this year’s team salary and in the long term with the offloading of Quincy Pondexter, opines Ben Golliver of SI.com. It’s also a signal to soon-to-be free agent Marc Gasol that the team is committed to winning, Golliver believes.
- The flurry of trades the Celtics have made in the past few weeks have left the team positioned to clear cap space for the first time in several years, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com points out. The growth of some of the players eligible for restricted free agency this summer makes that cap flexibility all the more intriguing for the C’s, as Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com explains.
- The Pelicans made an upgrade at small forward a priority as they sought Pondexter, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune.
Western Notes: Brooks, Clippers, Waiters
Though he’s unlikely to be fired mid-season, Thunder coach Scott Brooks‘ job is definitely on the line this year, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Tramel cites the Thunder’s disappointing record, and how the team has regressed even after getting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook back from injuries, as major reasons why Brooks’ days in OKC could be numbered.
Here’s the latest out of the Western Conference:
- Toure’ Murry, who was waived by the Jazz earlier this month, was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, the team announced. Rio Grande Valley is the D-League affiliate of the Rockets.
- The Warriors were one of the Wolves‘ most aggressive suitors for Kevin Love prior to him being dealt to Cleveland, but Love still isn’t sure how close he was to heading to Oakland, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle writes. “I know that they were a team that was in talks,” Love said. “But that’s really as far as it got.” Love definitely appreciates just how talented a squad Golden State has, Simmons adds. “They’re a great team,” Love said. “They’re a fun team to watch. They get up and down the floor. They shoot the three ball really well. They have a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things.”
- Dion Waiters said that he learned that he had been traded to the Thunder after the starting lineup had been announced and the Cavs’ game against the Sixers was just about to begin, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports notes (Twitter link). Waiters still wanted to play in the game, but wasn’t permitted to for obvious reasons, Spears adds.
- In light of president of basketball operations Neil Olshey‘s brand new contract extension, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders looks at the success that Olshey has had during his tenure with the Blazers.
- The Clippers sent $300K to the Sixers as part of the Jared Cunningham deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
- Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger isn’t happy that trade talks have leaked to the media, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal tweets. “It’s a major distraction,” Joerger said. “Things like that should be kept behind closed doors. It ticks me off.“
Southwest Notes: Parsons, Jefferson, Joerger
The Mavericks didn’t sign Chandler Parsons to a three-year, $46.08MM deal for him to turn into a “poor man’s Kyle Korver,” something that Parsons has been thus far this season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Parsons is still finding his way in Dallas’ system, something that both Parsons and head coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged, notes MacMahon. “I think people don’t kind of understand how difficult it is to play on a new team with a new system and new guys on the team,” Parsons said. “It takes time, and it’s a process. People look at my stats and see that they’re lower than last year, but my role is kind of different from last year. I’m shooting a lot more jump shots. I don’t have the ball in my hands as much this year, but I think all that will come.”
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva have needed to accept reduced roles on the Mavs this season, something not necessarily ideal for the veterans, but both are producing when called upon, Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. Jefferson was informed by Carlisle prior to signing with the team this summer that he was being brought in for a smaller role than he was used to, notes Price. “When you hear that for the first time in your career, it can be a bit frustrating,” Jefferson said. “And I’m not going to lie, the first couple of weeks were tough, not being able to contribute, especially I felt like I came in [to training camp] in shape and had a good preseason, and did everything. I didn’t really feel like there was anything else that I could do — I just was kind of out the mix, but I’m at ease with it right now. I’m very comfortable with my role and I embrace it.”
- Villanueva is also embracing his new role with the Mavs, Price adds. “I learned that in being in my situation in Detroit that whenever the opportunity comes, take advantage of it,” said Villanueva. “I don’t get discouraged at all. I’m a professional at the end of the day, so I’ve just got to stay ready at all times. I think I prepared myself for that, so I’m just going with the punches now.”
- Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger, who was named NBA coach of the month for November, credits the Memphis players for the honor, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. This is Joerger’s third such award since becoming the Grizzlies head man.
Coaching Rumors: Vogel, Joerger, Hoiberg
Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird today called Frank Vogel a “perfect fit” for the team, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star notes (Twitter link), one day after Indiana granted an extension to the coach whose job appeared in serious jeopardy a few months ago. Much has changed for the Pacers since then, and Vogel’s task this year will be different than in years past, when he was in charge of a team on the rise. While we wait to see just how much Vogel can squeeze out of his depleted roster, we’ll pass along more on his deal and other news from NBA coaching circles.
- Indications are that Vogel’s extension runs until the summer of 2017, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who also notes that Vogel is likely to have received a raise on the $2MM average annual value of the extension he signed in 2013.
- Dave Joerger‘s contract calls for him to make about $2MM each season through 2017/18, as Deveney also relays in the same slideshow. The Grizzlies this summer added the 2017/18 season onto the deal as a team option.
- Warriors GM Bob Myers acknowledged that the team engaged in discussions with Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg this spring before hiring Steve Kerr, but Myers downplayed the significance of the inquiry as he spoke to reporters, including Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune. “We focused on some other guys that had been around and got a pretty early indication from Fred that he was happy where he was,” Myers said. “We weren’t the first team to kind of at least put a phone call in. Mine was much more informal from our side just because I have a previous relationship with him so it wasn’t anything formal. I got the sense he’s very happy where he is.”