Western Notes: Pierce, Mitchell, Howard
Paul Pierce‘s decision on whether to retire after the season may be tied to what Timberwolves power forward Kevin Garnett chooses to do, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports. The former Celtics teammates text each other at least once a week and have frequently considered the possibility of retiring at the same time, Murphy continues. But the Clippers’ veteran small forward admits that he has no idea what Garnett has in mind, Murphy adds. “I never know what KG is going to do, because he said he was going to retire four or five years ago,” Pierce said. “Every year he says he’s done, and every year he keeps coming back. It would be great.”
In other developments around the Western Conference:
- Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor will decide on interim coach Sam Mitchell’s future after the season, according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. While GM Milt Newton will give his input on Mitchell, Taylor will have the final word, as he told Youngblood. “Certainly it starts with Milt. But I don’t want to say it’s his call,” Taylor said. “It’s probably my call.’’
- Dwight Howard switched agents because Perry Rogers doesn’t have a large clientele, he told NBA.com’s David Aldridge in a Q&A session. The Rockets center hired Rogers after parting ways with Dan Fegan. Rogers is also Shaquille O’Neal’s agent and O’Neal brought Howard and Rogers together, Howard goes on to tell Aldridge. “I just felt like he has an opportunity to just focus on me,” Howard said. “Any other agent, they have a lot of different clients and stuff like that. I felt like he was able to just focus on me.”
- Jazz coach Quin Snyder believes fatigue may be the cause of center Rudy Gobert‘s recent swoon, Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News writes. Gobert, who’ll be up for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, averaged just 5.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks during the team’s last recent five-game road trip. “He’s probably hit the proverbial wall and had to make adjustments in season,” Snyder told Sorensen. “Last year after All-Star break was a very finite stretch of time with a completely different mindset in how [opponents] approach him. Last year people weren’t prepared to play against him and now he’s garnering much more attention.”
And-Ones: Timberwolves, Gasol, Kings
Talks between Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and Grizzlies part-owner Steve Kaplan about a would-be deal for 30% of the Minnesota franchise have “hit a wall,” sources told Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. The proposed arrangement, which would reportedly involve Taylor eventually ceding control of the Wolves to Kaplan, isn’t dead, Krawczynski hears, but a source who spoke with Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune suggested no deal may ever come to pass. Kaplan has encountered trouble in his effort to sell his Grizzlies stake, a requirement before he buys into the Wolves, Krawczynski’s sources say. Regardless of what happens on that front, Taylor and Kaplan still must sort through issues about how much say Kaplan would have in hiring for the team’s GM and coaching positions and whether Taylor would indeed eventually give up control, Zgoda writes. For now, Taylor is preparing to make decisions about interim GM Milt Newton and interim coach Sam Mitchell on his own and is actively investigating his options, according to Zgoda. See more on the Wolves amid a look around the NBA:
- The Timberwolves are seeking an athletic wing player for their open roster spot, with Mitchell saying he wants someone with NBA experience who’d have a legitimate chance of making the opening night roster next season, Zgoda reports in the same piece. “We have to improve our athleticism,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think we’re a bad athletic team, but we’re not as athletic as we need to be. We need to look at guys who can defend, a guy who can shoot, and see how this team can look if we can spread the floor a little bit more.”
- The Bulls will have to continue to try to build a contender if they want to re-sign Pau Gasol, as he indicated to Marca.com (translation via HoopsHype), reiterating that he’ll opt out and that, all things being equal, he’d prefer to stay with Chicago. Money won’t be his first priority, Gasol also said, adding that the offer from the Bulls should nonetheless reflect that they value his performance.
- The Kings interviewed former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks on Thursday for a job within their front office, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears (Twitter link). Marks currently works as a writer for The Vertical on Yahoo Sports.
And-Ones: Wolves, Joe Johnson, Rockets, Mavs
The Timberwolves are at a “standstill” in talks with Grizzlies minority-share owner Steve Kaplan about a potential deal that would see Kaplan and his partners take 30% of the Minnesota franchise, Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The sides can’t proceed until Kaplan sells his stake in the Grizzlies, Taylor said to Zgoda, and Memphis principal owner Robert Pera isn’t making it easy, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). The deal had reportedly been on track to be complete by the end of this month, but Taylor, who remains optimistic it will ultimately get done, said it will probably take months, not weeks, Zgoda relays. That arrangement would reportedly involve Taylor eventually ceding control of the Wolves to Kaplan, but Taylor plans to remain the primary owner for another few years, Krawczynski tweets. See more from around the NBA:
- New Nets GM Sean Marks essentially confirmed the reported buyout talks with Joe Johnson today in an appearance on the “Joe & Evan” show on CBS New York radio (Twitter transcription via Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game). Marks said the team would talk to Johnson to see “what he really wants to do,” adding that he thinks the 15th-year veteran has “deserved the right” to go to a playoff team if he wants.
- The relationship between James Harden and soon-to-be free agent Dwight Howard is nuanced, but the idea of tension between the Rockets stars is overblown, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com examines.
- The Mavericks didn’t really receive trade offers of picks likely to fall in the middle of the first-round for Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That conflicts with an earlier report.
Kaplan Moving Toward Deal For Stake In Wolves
Private equity investor and Grizzlies minority owner Steve Kaplan is progressing toward a deal with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor that would see him purchase a 30% share of the Wolves and eventually take over a controlling interest from Taylor, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The sides have reached agreement on the 30% stake and the purchase price for it, Zgoda writes, but Taylor cautioned to Zgoda that the deal is not yet done. Kaplan’s side must complete its vetting process, and the sides still need legal documentation and NBA approval, Taylor said to Zgoda. Kaplan must also sell his portion of the Grizzlies, Zgoda adds.
The 30% share is larger than the approximately 20% that the sides were talking about last month, when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first reported the discussion, though that’s no surprise, since the idea of a higher percentage came up in the conversations around that time, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Taylor said shortly thereafter that he was also speaking to other prospective buyers, but he’s negotiating solely with Kaplan and his group now, Zgoda reports. Taylor has said that anyone who would take controlling interest from him must agree to keep the team in Minnesota, as Zgoda points out. It’s unclear when Kaplan would take over controlling interest as part of any would-be deal.
Kaplan had interest in buying the Hawks earlier this year before Antony Ressler purchased the franchise, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Forbes magazine pegged the value of the Wolves at $625MM, second lowest in the NBA, in January, though that number has likely changed since then.
And-Ones: Timberwolves, Draft, Hornets
Former Grizzlies front office chief Jason Levien isn’t involved in Steve Kaplan’s bid to own a partial share of the Timberwolves, as Zach Harper of CBSSports.com reports, and his name hasn’t come up in discussions with Wolves officials, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported earlier that Levien was partnering with Kaplan as part of his effort to get into position to eventually assume full control of the Wolves if owner Glen Taylor relinquishes that. Taylor currently has no plans to sell the team, but he’s preparing for that time to come, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
“It just seems to me if I’m a responsible owner of a team, I should go out there, find someone who is really interested, bring them in and see how it works,” Taylor said. “So if I would die or be in a position where I can’t run it, they’d be in a position to take over and make a smooth transition. I just think it’s something I owe the state because I have the ownership.”
The purchase of a minority ownership, whether by Kaplan or another bidder, doesn’t necessarily guarantee they’ll become majority owners at any point, Krawczynski adds (on Twitter), though the idea of Kaplan owning more than 20% of the team has come up in the talks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. See more from around the NBA:
- LSU small forward Ben Simmons tops the rankings of draft prospects that Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) and Chris Mannix of SI.com compiled for college basketball’s opening day, though disagreement exists beyond that. Ford has Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, Croatian power forward Dragan Bender and Duke small forward Brandon Ingram as his next three, while Mannix’s list goes Ingram-Labissiere-Bender.
- Simmons isn’t the next LeBron James, but his game is stylistically similar to the four-time MVP’s, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece that draws comparisons between some of the top prospects and their NBA counterparts. Labissiere is like LaMarcus Aldridge and Ingram resembles Tayshaun Prince, Goodman posits.
- Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, a pair of Hornets poised to become free agents next summer, are off to strong starts, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders observes in a story that looks at 15 soon-to-be free agents and how they fared during the season’s first two weeks.
Northwest Notes: Taylor, Leonard, Mudiay, Huestis
The idea that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is looking to sell a minority interest in the team is “old news,” as Taylor put it in a comment to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, confirming that he’s had contact with Steve Kaplan, with whom he’s reportedly engaged in serious talks (All four Twitter links). Taylor said he’s also spoken to others, but some of them want to move the team and Kaplan doesn’t, Wolfson points out. Kevin Garnett is interested in someday owning the Wolves, but Taylor refused comment on any potential involvement for KG, Wolfson relays. Kaplan would really prefer to become a majority owner, but with few teams on the market, it makes sense that he would buy a smaller stake and position himself to purchase the controlling interest later, observes Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). See more from the Northwest Division:
- The dislocated shoulder that Meyers Leonard suffered in Wednesday’s game will probably sideline him for at least four weeks, and it’s conceivable that he ends up having surgery that would knock him out for the season, an orthopedic surgeon without ties to Leonard or the Trail Blazers told Jason Quick of CSNNW.com. The Blazers have yet to release an official timetable for the big man, who recently turned down a “considerable” extension offer to set up restricted free agency next summer.
- Bucks coach and one-time legendary point guard Jason Kidd believes the Nuggets scored with their pick of Emmanuel Mudiay at No. 7 in this year’s draft, predicting that Mudiay will be better than he was, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “He’s better already,” Kidd said. “Being able to run an NBA team at 19 is not easy. You look at some of the greats — Magic [Johnson] was able to do it. And you’re looking at this kid Mudiay, who has the opportunity to do something special. So, I would encourage him to be better than me, and I think he will be at the end of the day.”
- The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced. Huestis spent last season in the D-League in an unusual draft-and-stash arrangement, but this time, he’ll continue to draw NBA paychecks while in the D-League after signing with the Thunder on a rookie scale contract this past summer.
And-Ones: D-League, Printezis, Taylor
NBA D-League president Malcolm Turner says the NBA is moving closer to a 30-for-30 model that would provide each NBA team with its own D-League affiliate, and Turner believes that it is a goal that could be realized within the next five years, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “All those NBA teams who currently don’t have a D-League team, we’re in active conversations with all of them,” Turner said. “Each team is at varying stages in terms of interest, and we’re trying to prioritize actionable interest and opportunities we can act on now. We’re already working on the pipeline of opportunities for 2017/18 and beyond. One of the reasons we’re focused on them so far in advance is 30-for-30 is our No. 1 initiative and we feel like we’re now within striking distance of achieving that goal.”
Turner also acknowledged that increasing player salaries in the D-League to be more competitive with overseas clubs is an important part of allowing the league to grow, Zillgitt adds. “As we grow, we obviously have additional player rosters to fill,” Turner continued. “We want to make sure we’re adding more and better talent to the league rather than less. We are taking a look at any and all opportunities to enhance our value proposition for talent. We’re in the market for top talent to fill our rosters and assessing our overall business accordingly. We have a bright future, and we’re working very hard to realize those opportunities.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Wolves owner Glen Taylor is engaged in serious talks to sell approximately 20% ownership of the franchise to a group led by Grizzlies minority partner Steve Kaplan, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The group’s motivation for purchasing a minority share is that it hopes to position itself to buy the majority stake if Taylor decides to sell the franchise in the future, Wojnarowski adds.
- Greek power forward Giorgos Printezis, whose draft rights went from the Hawks to San Antonio in July as part of the Tiago Splitter trade, is on the Spurs‘ radar, though at 30 years old he is running out of time if he wishes to make the jump stateside, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net writes. “It was good to meet with Giorgos. We traded for his rights last summer and this was the first time I got to spend some time with him. I have never met him before,” said Spurs GM R.C.Buford, who recently scouted the player in Athens. Printezis’ contract with Olympiacos runs through the summer of 2017, according to Barkas. As for the chances of seeing the forward in San Antonio at that point, Buford told Barkas, “I think that a part of this decision belongs to him. For sure we will be following him and if our needs fit his needs, then we will see what happens.”
- The Bucks, who are currently without their own affiliate, are willing to invest in a D-League team, and the franchise will meet later this month to discuss the possibilities, Zillgitt tweets.
Northwest Notes: Chandler, Jazz, Saunders
Taylor also noted that GM Milt Newton and interim coach Sam Mitchell have the authority going forward to make trades and player personnel decisions in Saunders’ absence, Zgoda adds. “We haven’t put anything on hold,” Taylor said. “Milt’s handling it just the way I’d expect him to. He tells me what he thinks, and we talk about things, just the same as I did with Flip. Milt’s just stepped in. Sam has to be his own coach. He won’t do things exactly as Flip does, and I wouldn’t expect him to.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Taylor was re-elected as the chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, commissioner Adam Silver announced at a press conference on Friday (h/t Tim Bontemps of The New York Post via Twitter).
- The Nuggets have in the past asked for either two first-round picks or a first-rounder and a young player in exchange for Wilson Chandler, league sources told Grantland’s Zach Lowe, and while Lowe thinks it’s conceivable that price comes down, he still doesn’t believe a Chandler trade is likely. Meanwhile, the chatter surrounding the idea of a Kenneth Faried trade that’s been going on for the past two years hasn’t stopped, Lowe adds.
- The Jazz intend to utilize their wing players as playmakers this season, which will influence a number of the team’s roster decisions, Aaron Falk of The salt Lake Tribune writes. “I think we’ve got good ball handlers on the wings, and you get to a point where you have to make tough decisions,” coach Quin Snyder said. “… We have Joe Ingles. We have Alec Burks. We have Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward. Those guys can all handle the ball and make plays.”
- Mitchell and Newton indicated that the Wolves still intend to continue with the youth movement put in place by Saunders, who is on a leave of absence while he battles Hodgkins’ Lymphoma, writes Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. “Most definitely the vision is still to develop our young players. We’d love to make the playoffs, but we’re not going to circumvent the process that it’s going to take to be a perennial playoff team,” Newton said. “You have to win to learn how to win, but overall the vision is to develop that young core we have to become that perennial playoff team.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Northwest Notes: Faried, Bennett, Kaman
People close to the Nuggets have indicated that Kenneth Faried played a larger role in the downfall of former coach Brian Shaw than publicly known, according to Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders. Trade rumors surrounded Faried for much of the past year, and many people around the league expect Denver will deal him away. Still, Dowsett takes Shaw to task for his performance as a coach last season and calls the hiring of Michael Malone the team’s best offseason addition. See more from the Northwest Division:
- Anthony Bennett looked strong playing for the Canadian national team during the summer, and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor downplayed the idea that the Wolves will trade the former No. 1 overall pick, telling Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, “We shouldn’t assume he’d go” (Twitter link). The Wolves have reportedly been willing to move Bennett for the right return.
- Chris Kaman would probably fit best on a contender, but he enjoyed playing for the Trail Blazers last season, and Kaman’s level of contentment has had much to do with whether he’s been successful over the past few seasons, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman examines. Kaman will make $5.016MM this season in the last year of his contract.
- The exodus of so many of last season’s Trail Blazers has C.J. McCollum excited about the more prominent role he’s poised to take on this year, one reminiscent of his time as a scoring force in college at Lehigh, as he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. McCollum is hopeful that he can continue to work with Steve Nash, who helped him with his game this summer, even though Nash is reportedly finalizing a deal to become a part-time player development consultant for the Warriors.
Northwest Notes: Nelson, Robinson, Saunders
This season’s first 50-point scoring performance came from an unlikely source, as Mo Williams dropped 52 on the Pacers to help the Timberwolves to a rare victory Tuesday. The 32-year-old who’s on a one-year deal is still averaging only 12.4 points per game, even with the 52 taken into account. While we wait to see if Williams can stay hot and boost his stock, here’s more from around the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets gave Jameer Nelson assurances about minutes and style of play to help him overcome his initial hesitation to head to Denver, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (on Twitter). The Celtics shipped Nelson to the Nuggets late Tuesday in exchange for Nate Robinson.
- Robinson had tired of his sharply limited playing time prior to the trade and was at times a distracting force in the locker room for the Nuggets, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. The guard, who’s reportedly reached a buyout deal with Boston, is seeking a chance to showcase his talent as he approaches free agency this summer and would prefer to sign with a contender, Dempsey writes.
- Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor hasn’t spoken with Flip Saunders about whether Saunders will coach the team again next season, as Taylor tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Saunders and Taylor reached a deal that’s “open-ended” in terms of length this past offseason when Saunders, who also serves as the team’s president of basketball operations, agreed to coach the team.
- Taylor recently rebuffed interest from a suitor looking to buy the Wolves, as he also tells Walters (Twitter link).
- The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson, Darnell Mayberry, Anthony Slater and Berry Tramel speculate on the future of Reggie Jackson, possible deadline moves for the Thunder, and more.