Lowe’s Latest: Bledsoe, Knight, Nuggets, Mudiay
Eric Bledsoe is enjoying the best season of his NBA career so far in 2016/17, putting up career-best marks in PPG (21.6), APG (6.2), and several other categories. As Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes, Bledsoe’s impressive season raises the question of whether the Suns should sell high on the veteran point guard or commit to him a part of the team’s long-term future.
Phoenix projects to have a top pick in a 2017 draft that will be loaded with point guards, and Bledsoe has undergone three knee surgeries already, so there’s a case to be made that the Suns would be wise to sell high on him. However, don’t count head coach Earl Watson among those who feels that way. “I can almost guarantee Devin [Booker] and Eric will be on the same team next year,” Watson said, per Lowe.
Here’s more from Lowe’s latest piece:
- As a parenthetical aside in his discussion of Bledsoe, Lowe writes that “nobody wants” Suns guard Brandon Knight. Knight has been mentioned more frequently than Bledsoe as a trade candidate, but if Phoenix hopes to secure a substantial return, it doesn’t sound like moving Knight will accomplish that.
- The Nuggets are “quietly exploring” what sort of return they could get for a package of Emmanuel Mudiay and multiple picks, sources tell Lowe. The ESPN analyst isn’t sure the Suns would be a logical trade partner for Denver though, since Phoenix will have the opportunity to draft a point guard in the summer. Lowe adds that Denver is in no rush to move Mudiay.
- The Suns would have to consider moving Bledsoe if the right team were to offer a “good wing or center, plus a high first-round pick,” according to Lowe. However, he adds that most teams are reluctant to move probable lottery picks at this time of year, when it’s still not clear where they’ll land in the draft.
- Although there’s no indication that the two teams are discussing such a deal, and he acknowledges that there would be roadblocks, Lowe offers his favorite hypothetical Bledsoe deal, involving the Magic: Lowe’s proposal would see Nikola Vucevic, Mario Hezonja, and Orlando’s 2017 pick go to the Suns in exchange for Bledsoe and Alex Len. Per Lowe, the Magic front office remains “divided” on whether or not Elfrid Payton is the club’s long-term solution at point guard.
Pacific Notes: Booker, Lakers, Durant
The Suns haven’t experienced much success this season, but Devin Booker believes the team’s future is bright, as he tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
“We have a really good young core,” Booker said. “Our young players are developing, including myself, very well. Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis have been getting some time now. And then we have a mix of really good veterans, Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Leandro Barbosa, P.J. Tucker; they’re leading us on the right way. Each and every day, they push us every day in practice. They’re patient with us. We’re messing up a lot. That’s what you expect coming into this league, playing against grown men. We’re still learning, but at the same time, I think the future is really bright here.”
Phoenix has a record of 15-33 and currently sits in the second spot in our Reserve Standings. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders examines the trade market for Lou Williams and Nick Young, and finds it difficult to envision the Lakers netting a first-round pick for either of the veterans. Pincus believes Los Angeles could flip one of them for a young player with untapped potential akin to the team’s 2014 Steve Blake trade. In that deal, the Lakers brought in Kent Bazemore, a player who flashed promise once he was given meaningful minutes.
- The Lakers may need to move Williams and Young in order to open up the cap space necessary to sign a max-level player, such as Blake Griffin, Pincus writes in the same piece. Young holds a player option for next season worth slightly under $5.7MM and Williams will make $7MM next season in the final year of his deal.
- Kevin Durant told Stephen Curry to stop trying so hard to incorporate him in the Warriors‘ offense, as Chris Haynes of ESPN.com relays. “I just said to [Curry], ‘Don’t worry about me,'” Durant told Haynes. “I’ll figure it out around you. You’re the engine of this team, and I know that. I’m not trying to come over and feel like everything just revolves around me. Just do you, man. I’m going to play around you. I’ve played this game long enough. I know how to score. I know how to find the ball. Just go out there and play your game.’ And that’s what he’s been doing.”
Southeast Notes: Howard, Beal, Booker, Biyombo
Hawks center Dwight Howard believes he can play for close to another decade, according to Michael Lee of The Vertical. Now in his 13th season, Howard seems to have overcome the back and knee problems that limited him in Houston. He played just 41 games two seasons ago, but has been healthy since arriving in Atlanta. “When I first came in the league, I thought I was going to play forever,” Howard said. “I still want to play until I’m 40, but I thought I was going to play basketball until I was 60. That’s what happens when you’re young. Once you get older, you realize there are lot of things that are important.” The contract Howard signed with the Hawks this summer runs through the 2018/19 season.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards have adopted a “track everything” policy to protect the health of Bradley Beal, writes Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. The star shooting guard, who re-signed over the summer on a five-year max deal, has a history of injuries that limited him to 55 games last season and 63 the year before. He was placed on a minutes restriction last December after doctors discovered early signs of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula. “They have to literally drag me off the floor sometimes because I’ll continue to shoot, I’ll continue to work out in practice sometimes when I shouldn’t be,” Beal said. “They do a good job of watching me.”
- Devin Booker, a breakout star with the Suns during his rookie season, lobbied the Magic to draft him in 2015, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, which held the fifth pick, opted for Mario Hezonja, who averaged 6.1 points and fewer than 18 minutes per game as a rookie. Booker cracked the starting lineup in Phoenix, averaged 13.8 points per night and was a First Team All-Rookie selection. “It was funny,” Booker said. “They had a top-five pick. Obviously, I wasn’t being rated that high. But I’m good friends with [team owners] the DeVoses because we’re both from Grand Rapids, Mich. I was telling them, ‘I need to come to Orlando.’ But I knew it wasn’t going to happen. It was a long shot. I’m happy where I’m at.”
- Bismack Biyombo has brought the shot-blocking and energy that the Magic expected when they signed him this summer, Robbins writes in a separate piece. Biyombo is averaging 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes to go with 9.0 points and 13.3 rebounds. “To me, it’s about knowing your job and doing your job, really,” Biyombo said. “I don’t do anything out of what I know I can’t do, and I do what I think the team’s gonna need to win a game each and every night.”
Pacific Rumors: Thompson, Warriors, Cousins, Casspi
The anatomy of a bad trade rumor was on display earlier this week, as CSNNE analyst Brian Scalabrine suggested during a radio appearance that he’d heard a possible deal involving the Warriors, Klay Thompson, and the Celtics could be on the table. As it turns out, Scalabrine was simply passing along speculation he had read on a blog, rather than reporting anything substantial.
As Sam Amick of USA Today writes, a source quickly shot down the idea that the Warriors are entertaining any trade talks involving Thompson with the Celtics or anyone else. Meanwhile, one team executive told Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link) that his club had talked to Golden State about Thompson, but that exec didn’t get the impression that the Warriors had any interest in moving him. The Dubs could use some defensive help, particularly around the rim, but the idea of trading one half of the Splash Brothers to beef up that interior defense appears to be a non-starter — for now, at least.
Here’s more from around the Pacific division:
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a closer look at the trade rumors surrounding Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins, concluding that neither the Warriors nor the Kings are likely to make a move with their stars anytime soon. Regarding the Warriors, Kyler says that the team’s plan for this season is to keep its core together, potentially adding a small complementary piece at some point.
- Although he has denied a report suggesting he asked the Kings to trade him, Omri Casspi admits he’s somewhat frustrated by his new role – or lack thereof – under head coach Dave Joerger, per Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I didn’t think I’d go from playing 27 minutes to being out of the rotation,” Casspi said. “It is what it is. I’ve got to be a pro about it. … What goes through my mind is I can help this team win. I might be here today, and I’ve got to stay ready. I might be somewhere else. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.” Casspi was reportedly scheduled to meet with GM Vlade Divac on Monday to discuss his status.
- The Suns didn’t have massive expectations for Devin Booker when they selected him 13th overall in the 2015 draft, but just a year and a half later, the future of the franchise is tied to the young guard’s development, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
Suns Exercise 2017/18 Options On Booker, Warren
The Suns have officially exercised their 2017/18 options for guard Devin Booker and forward T.J. Warren, the team announced. Booker will earn $2,319,36 in what will be the third year of his rookie scale contract, while Warren will make $3,152,931 in what will be the fourth year of his current deal.
Booker was an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection in 2015/16 after making 76 appearances, including 51 starts, averaging 13.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 27.7 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .423/.343/.840. The 19-year-old ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring this preseason, averaging 19.6 points in five appearances, including a 34-point performance at Portland on October 7th.
Warren, 23, made 47 appearances for Phoenix a season ago, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists on 22.8 minutes. His slash line on the campaign was .501/.400/.703. The third-year player started all six of the Suns’ preseason games, averaging 12.5 points on 46.6 percent shooting and 4.2 rebounds.
Western Rumors: Thunder, Young, Booker, Nuggets
Rookie Domantas Sabonis appears to be the early leader for the Thunder’s starting power forward position over veteran Ersan Ilyasova, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman reports. Sabonis passed and shot the ball well in the Thunder’s preseason games in Spain last week, Horne continues. He’s also shown unusual maturity for his age, Horne adds. “In terms of defensively where he’s supposed to be, remembering plays, doing his job, being in the right spots, the right positions, (being) a competitive guy, he’s reliable,” coach Billy Donovan told Horne. “Really reliable.”
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Lakers swingman Nick Young appreciates the way new coach Luke Walton has delivered his message of getting Young to improve defensively, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Young often bristled at the way former coach Byron Scott criticized him publicly, Medina notes, but Walton has tried a more positive approach. “You have a coach that is telling you to shoot the ball and has confidence in you,” Young told Medina. “All he wants you to do is play defense and do whatever you want on offense. That gives yourself a lot of confidence.”
- Suns coach Earl Watson believes shooting guard Devin Booker is a star in the making, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays. Booker lit up the Trail Blazers for 34 points in three quarters this preseason and Watson marvels at his scoring ability, Coro continues. “He scored every way possible, so you like everything that he did,” Watson told Coro. “You can tell 19 years of age and his maturity and patience in the half-court and the way he can score is very unique. I’m not sure there’s a lot of people his age or a lot of people in the NBA who can do that.”
- Jusuf Nurkic has been so impressive this preseason that he is practically forcing Nuggets coach Michael Malone to name him the opening-night starter at center, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Nurkic has played with determination in the preseason, Dempsey notes, while averaging 18.0 points and 13.3 rebounds. If Nurkic continues to play this way, Malone’s biggest decision will be to choose between Nikola Jokic and Kenneth Faried as the starting power forward, Dempsey adds.
Western Notes: Knight, Diop, Douglas
Suns coach Earl Watson has already named his starting lineup for the regular season and second-year player Devin Booker received the nod at shooting guard, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports. This means that Brandon Knight will shift into the sixth man role, Coro adds. “That’s the starting lineup for the season,” Watson said. “We’re not wasting time. We’re not lingering with inner-competition. Brandon Knight is not a bench player. He’s a starter in this league. He’s sacrificed the most for our group. He took it like the pro he is because he understands the opportunity that we have to be special. Do players like coming off the bench? No, and we embrace that. That’s the inner-competitive nature that we need.”
“I knew at one point in my career I’d be a starter,” Booker told Coro. “I didn’t know it’d be this soon but I have put in that work to be one.” Here’s more from out West:
- The Pelicans waived Chris Copeland earlier today in an effort to free up more minutes for players who are on the bubble to make the team’s regular season roster, according to coach Alvin Gentry, Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate relays. New Orleans had two healthy scratches, Robert Sacre and Alonzo Gee, in its preseason opening victory over the Mavericks on Saturday, the scribe notes.
- The Jazz have hired former NBA player DeSagana Diop as a coaching associate, the team announced. As a coaching associate, Diop will assist the Jazz coaching staff in a variety of capacities including work on the court during practices and individual player workouts, video editing and analysis, and other team preparation, according to the press release.
- Toney Douglas, who signed with the Cavaliers earlier today, also drew interest from the Nuggets and the Suns, Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net relays (via Twitter).
Pacific Notes: Booker, Suns, Griffin, Huertas
At age 19, Suns guard Devin Booker could still have upwards of two decades of his NBA career ahead of him. For now though, he envisions playing his whole career in Phoenix, if given the opportunity to do so, as he recently told Jeramie McPeek of SLAM Magazine.
“I love it in Phoenix and I want to be one of those guys that gets drafted by one team and stays there the whole time,” said Booker, the Suns’ 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft. “You know, they turn around the franchise, and they get love for that in that city like they’re the mayor… People still wear Steve Nash jerseys here. That’s definitely something I want to be.”
Of course, a player’s career goals at age 19 could end up being much different than his goals at age 29 or 39, so it will be interesting to see if Booker does indeed stick with the Suns for most or all of his career. He’s under contract through the 2018/19 season, and will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension in ’18.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- In a recent interview, Clippers head coach and president Doc Rivers essentially called trade inquiries on Blake Griffin a non-starter, suggesting that the star forward isn’t going anywhere. Still, rumors persist that the Thunder – and other teams – will target Griffin in free agency in 2017, or even before then. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders examines those rumblings, exploring whether the Clippers will have to consider their options with Griffin prior to the 2017 trade deadline.
- Now that Marcelo Huertas‘ two-year deal with the Lakers is official, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided the specific details on Huertas’ contract. The point guard will earn $1.5MM guaranteed this season, then has a $1,567,500 non-guaranteed salary on the books for 2017/18.
- While the “villain” tag followed Kevin Durant around this summer following his decision to sign with the Warriors, head coach Steve Kerr called that notion “absurd” during an interview with Michelle Beadle and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “This is one of the most likeable people in this league. He’s just an awesome human being. What he did in Oklahoma City was just amazing for that community,” Kerr said. “Circumstances kind of dictate, I guess, that some people are going to see him as a villain. But it’s only because he decided to go elsewhere to play. He wanted to change his scenery, he wanted a new challenge.”
Western Notes: Hollins, Parsons, Booker
The obvious choice as to who should become the Grizzlies new head coach is Frank Vogel, whom the Pacers dismissed last week, Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal opines. Vogel has the track record of success and experience with younger players that the organization is seeking, Calkins writes. However, there should be some concerns regarding Vogel’s offensive acumen, which was one of the franchise’s issues with former coach Dave Joerger, and it isn’t clear if the former Indiana coach would be interested in joining a team that may well be on the decline, Calkins adds.
The scribe also notes that while GM Chris Wallace and Lionel Hollins met Monday night at a Memphis restaurant, it would be very surprising if the team were to rehire its former coach. After the issues the front office reportedly had with Joerger, it’s doubtful Memphis would hire another coach who butted heads with the front office during his tenure with the team, Calkins adds. The Grizzlies went 214-201 in parts of seven seasons under Hollins.
Here’s more from out West:
- Despite showing that he is capable of being a building block for the Mavericks, Chandler Parsons‘ injury history should give the team pause if the forward opts out of his deal and Dallas looks to re-sign him this summer, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes in his offseason primer for the club. The Mavs would be wise to put in injury-protection language pertaining to Parsons’ balky knee in his next contract, Marks adds, but it may be difficult to get the forward to agree to that given the amount of teams with ample cap space that are likely to compete for his services.
- The Suns highly value the predraft interview process and believe that how a player performs under that type of pressure carries over to how well he responds to adversity on the court, writes Matt Petersen of NBA.com. The team was extremely impressed last year when it spoke with Devin Booker, whom it selected with the No. 13 pick, assistant GM Pat Connelly told Petersen. “He definitely stuck out in the interview,” Connelly said of Booker. “It’s not an easy thing to go into a room with a bunch of people you don’t know. We’re just one of the teams there. We had our early prep feel for Devin, but he came in and he was very confident. He answered questions really well, never got flustered in a situation. Some of the stuff you saw on the court with him now – walking into a new situation or being put in a new situation and looking like he was comfortable – it was the same thing there.”
Southeast Notes: Winslow, Green, Antic, Sefolosha
Heat rookie Justise Winslow may not have entered last year’s draft if Duke hadn’t won the national championship, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The 6’7″ small forward, who is averaging 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 72 games, was selected 10th overall after leaving school as a freshman. “It depended how we would have done in the tournament — losing early, how I was playing,” Winslow said. “But I wasn’t guaranteed or I didn’t go into college saying I’m going to be one and done without a doubt.” Without Winslow in the draft, Winderman speculates that Miami may have used its pick on Kentucky sharpshooter Devin Booker or Texas big man Myles Turner.
There’s more news from the Southeast Division:
- Gerald Green had plenty of motivation for breaking out of a long slump with 30 points Friday in Miami’s win over the Kings, Winderman writes in a separate story. The 30-year-old Green, who will be entering free agency this summer, has seen his playing time cut dramatically since the Heat signed Joe Johnson in late February. “Every day, I go to the gym at night, I run, I read y’all comments, and go back to the gym, read y’all comments, go right back to the gym,” Green said. “So I’m just motivated. My teammates motivate me. So I’m just doing whatever I can to just keep myself together.”
- Former Hawks center Pero Antic has filed a civil rights suit against the New York Police Department in connection with an incident from April 2015 outside a New York nightclub, tweets Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. He adds that Thabo Sefolosha, who is still with Atlanta, plans to formally file his lawsuit this week. Sefolosha suffered a broken fibula and ankle ligament damage in the scuffle and had to miss last year’s playoffs. He was cleared in October of charges of resisting arrest and obstructing the administration of government. Antic is now playing for Fenerbahce in Turkey.
- The Hornets‘ effort to fix their shooting problems through offseason moves has been successful, writes Mike Prada of SB Nation. Charlotte was last in 3-point percentage a year ago, but has improved with the additions of Spencer Hawes, Frank Kaminsky, Jeremy Lin and Nicolas Batum.