Pacific Notes: Bynum, Warriors, McGuire, Kings
The Lakers are on a four-game winning streak, but haven't been able to pull away from their cross-town rivals — the Clippers have won four straight too, remaining within a single game of first place in the Pacific Division. The Clips have five games to make up the ground and potentially avoid a first-round matchup with the Grizzlies, but it won't be easy. The Lakers hold the tiebreaker, so their lead is essentially two games. Still, the Lakers face the Spurs twice and the Thunder once in the next week, so the Pacific race is far from over.
Here are a few of the latest updates out of the division:
- Taking an in-depth look at Andrew Bynum's recent "youthful rebellion," Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com says locking up the young center long-term won't necessarily be an automatic decision for the Lakers.
- Warriors coach Mark Jackson would like to solidify the small forward position heading into next season, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The Warriors have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut locked in as starters at the other four positions.
- Dominic McGuire believes his all-around game makes him a strong candidate to start for the Warriors next year, assuming they re-sign him, as he tells Thompson: "You put me around four scorers like that, you’ll see more from me."
- Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee and Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty continue to provide updates on the Kings' arena situation, which doesn't have a clear direction at this point.
Dominic McGuire Hopes To Re-Sign With Warriors
Dominic McGuire is playing on his fourth team in as many NBA seasons, but he has no desire to join a fifth next year. If it were up to him, he'd return to Golden State for 2012/13, as he tells Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
"Hell yeah," said McGuire when asked if he'd like to remain a Warrior. "Without a doubt. No question about it. I would like to be back here. Hopefully I found a home. We’ll see what happens."
McGuire's season-long numbers (3.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, .448 FG%) don't look overly inspiring at first glance, but the 6'9" forward has received increased minutes in the last month and has responded on both ends of the floor. In last night's game against the Lakers, the versatile 26-year-old spent time running the offense and defending Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, and Ramon Sessions, impressing coach Mark Jackson.
"It’s shocking to me that a guy like him was at home waiting for a phone call without a job," said Jackson. "Anybody that wants to win and wants to develop a culture of winning — the phone should have been busy every time you tried to call…. He’s an absolute winner. We are fortunate to have him and hopefully we can keep him around."
McGuire, who signed a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Warriors in December, will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end.
Decisions On Non-Guaranteed Contracts
February 10th marks the day that all players on non-guaranteed contracts will have their deals guaranteed for the remainder of the season. However, if a team wants to meet that Friday deadline, it will need to make its decisions today, allowing its player(s) to pass through waivers in time.
Some non-guaranteed players, such as DeJuan Blair and Jeremy Lin, are in no danger of being waived. However, with a few dozen players on non-guaranteed deals across the league, there will be plenty of cuts before the day is out. Some of those players will sign 10-day contracts shortly after being cut, while others could join the D-League or find a place on our list of current unrestricted free agents.
We'll track all the day's decisions on non-guaranteed contracts right here, with the latest news up top:
- Other players who will have their contracts guaranteed for the remainder of the year: Ivan Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Jerry Stackhouse (Hawks), Cory Higgins (Bobcats), Brian Scalabrine, John Lucas (Bulls), Samardo Samuels, Alonzo Gee (Cavaliers), Sean Williams (Mavericks), Julyan Stone (Nuggets), Vernon Macklin, Damien Wilkins (Pistons), Dominic McGuire, Chris Wright (Warriors), Sundiata Gaines, Keith Bogans (Nets), Steve Novak, Jerome Jordan (Knicks), Ryan Reid (Thunder), DeAndre Liggins (Magic), Lavoy Allen, Francisco Elson (Sixers), Danny Green, Gary Neal (Spurs), Jeremy Evans (Jazz).
- The Jazz will guarantee Jamaal Tinsley's contract, according to Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).
- The Pistons are keeping guard Walker Russell, agent Giovanni Funicello told HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Hornets have waived DaJuan Summers and Carldell Johnson, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- The Rockets waived Jeff Adrien, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The move clears a roster spot for Greg Smith.
- The Wizards have waived Hamady N'Diaye, according to a team release.
- Chris Johnson received a call from Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan this morning saying his contract would be guaranteed, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- The Celtics will hang on to Greg Stiemsma and guarantee his deal, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- The Lakers have waived Derrick Caracter. Caracter broke the news himself, tweeting "It's over before it begun!!! …. On to the next chapter of my life" (Twitter links). The Lakers will hang on to Devin Ebanks, Andrew Goudelock, and Darius Morris, tweets Mike Breshnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Clippers have cut Solomon Jones, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- The Heat have waived Mickell Gladness, the team announced (Twitter link). Miami's other two players on non-guaranteed deals, Eddy Curry and Terrel Harris, look safe, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- The Grizzlies have waived Josh Davis, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- The Spurs announced they've waived Malcolm Thomas, who was assigned to the team's D-League affiliate last week.
Zach Links contributed to this post.