DeMarre Carroll

Northwest Notes: Kirilenko, Carroll, Faried, Kanter

While the Thunder's 108-101 win over the Nuggets in Oklahoma City was the only Northwest game action tonight, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty going on within the division.  Here are some other things happening in the Northwest:

  • Blazers coach Terry Stotts said that the team's final roster decisions will not be made until next week, tweets Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge.  The Blazers haven't made any cuts of late, and their roster still stands at 21.  They need to get to 15 by October 31. 
  • David Harkins of the Winnipeg Sun writes that Andrei Kirilenko has begun to get comfortable in Minnesota, and the 6'9" Russian is extremely excited for the upcoming Timberwolves' season.  
  • DeMarre Carroll and his improved jump shot are vying for a spot in the Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin's regular rotation, says Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune.  "Last year, Utah gave me a chance and I took advantage of my opportunity," Carroll said.  "This year, coach has me in the rotation and I want to keep giving him faith that he can put me in the game — at any time of the game."
  • The play of Enes Kanter has been a pleasant surprise for the Jazz this preseason, and at least some of it can be attributed to the mentorship of fellow big man Al Jefferson, writes Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.  Oram adds that with Jefferson set to be a free agent after the season, Kanter's development will be a major factor in what the team decides to do.
  • After a successful rookie season, it is apparent that Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried has the tools and attitude to become one of the NBA's best rebounders, writes Benjamin Hockman of the Denver Post.  Faried averaged 7.7 rebounds in only 22.5 minutes per game, but figures to get increased playing time this season.  In seven playoff games, he averaged 10.0 rebounds in 27.4 minutes.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Iguodala, Blazers

The Northwest Division promises to be one of the most competitive in the league during the 2012/13 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder are looking to defend their Western Conference championship; the Denver Nuggets added Andre Iguodala to an already deep team; and the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves made key offseason changes that should have them in the playoff hunt. Here is the latest chatter from up north on Tuesday afternoon:

  • Mike Sorensen of the Desert News writes that second-year center Enes Kanter is impressing Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin in training camp.
  • Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune has a feature on Jazz second-round pick Kevin Murphy, who is fighting for a roster spot with the team.
  • Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune examines the improved shooting stroke of DeMarre Carroll this offseason.
  • Iguodala has taken on a leadership role in his first training camp as a Nugget, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
  • The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reports (via Twitter) that Blazers coach Terry Stotts will limit all of his players to one half of action during Portland's preseason opener on Wednesday.

Western Notes: Jazz, DeMarre Carroll, Suns

With the regular season set to tip off in less than 90 days, let's head to the Western Conference to catch up on all of the latest rumors, news and stories making headlines…
  • Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor is moving into a new role with Utah as a top executive within the organization and will no longer serve as GM, writes Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. O'Connor will oversee the process of hiring his replacement, which has already begun, as the 2012/13 season quickly draws closer. Troy Weaver of the Thunder and Cavs assistant GM David Griffin were both tied to the job but will remain with their respective organizations, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).
  • Jazz small forward DeMarre Carroll welcomes the challenge of competing with the glut of forwards currently on the Utah roster, tweets Smith. Head coach Tyrone Corbin told Carroll that starting positions are up for grabs heading into the season as the former Missouri star plans to stake his claim to one of the spots. Carroll, 26, averaged 4.5 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 24 contests with the Nuggets and Jazz.
  • Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com takes an optimistic view of the Suns as they move forward without Steve Nash. While the organization may have lost its backbone from nearly the past decade, the team isn't in shambles as they enter the season sans Nash for the first time since 2003, which Howard-Cooper considers to be a good thing. "Eventually there was going to have to be closure," coach Alvin Gentry said. "The organization decided to do it right now, so it's just a matter of us taking that transition and moving into another phase of Suns basketball."

Jazz To Retain DeMarre Carroll, Jamaal Tinsley

8:48pm: The Jazz will pick up its option on Tinsley, Smith confirms (Twitter link).

7:33pm: Smith tweets that the Jazz will pick up Tinsley's option, while Kennedy says via Twitter that the situation is now uncertain despite the team having told Tinsley earlier today that they would decline the option. The two sides will speak tonight, according to Kennedy.

7:29pm: The Jazz will retain forward DeMarre Carroll, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune, while HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets that the Jazz will turn down its $1.35MM option on point guard Jamaal Tinsley. Smith refers to the Carroll move as the team picking up an option, but Carroll's contract was actually non-guaranteed for next season. In any case, the Jazz will have Carroll at the minimum $885,120 for 2012/13.

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Northwest Rumors: Harden, Mohammed, Jazz

Thunder coach Scott Brooks will sit down with the team in the next few days to discuss his return, as we heard earlier. Though a dozen Thunder players already have guaranteed contracts for next season, re-signing the coach isn't the only item on GM Sam Presti's offseason agenda. There are possible extensions to negotiate with James Harden and Serge Ibaka, and the team must decide what it wants to do with backup center Nazr Mohammed, who fell out of the rotation in the playoffs and is now an unrestricted free agent. Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor has plenty of work to do as well, and we have news about both teams.

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Jazz Rumors: Howard, Tinsley, Jefferson, Miles

Following the team's four-game sweep at the hands of the Spurs, members of the Jazz have been conducting exit interviews with local media. Already we've heard that Raja Bell doesn't expect to return to Utah next season. Here are a few other highlights from today's session, courtesy of Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune (all links via Twitter):

Odds & Ends: Jennings, Deng, Spurs

On this date last year, Jerry Sloan stepped down after 23 seasons as coach of the Jazz. Earlier today we passed along the news that at least six teams are trying to convince Sloan to come back to the bench. Here are some more tidbits from around the league today:

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Jazz Sign DeMarre Carroll

Former first round pick DeMarre Carroll has signed with the Jazz, according to an official team press release. Carroll began the season in Denver, where he averaged 3.0 PPG in just four games. He was waived by the team on February 4th.

After being drafted by Memphis with the 27th overall pick in 2009, the 6' 8" Carroll has yet to find a comfortable place in the league. Last year he was traded to the Rockets (scoring 0 points in 11 minutes), splitting time between Houston and the D-League's Dakota Wizards.

During a radio interview Wednesday afternoon, Jazz president Randy Rigby said Carroll was an "insurance policy." He's the Jazz's 14th player under contract. 

Terms of the deal were not released.

Nuggets Waive DeMarre Carroll

The Nuggets have waived small forward DeMarre Carroll, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  Carroll joined Denver as a non-guaranteed training camp invite in December.

Carroll, 25, was drafted 27th overall by the Grizzlies in 2009 but has bounced around the league ever since.  The University of Missouri product appeared in four games for the Nuggets this year for a total of 21 minutes.