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Pacific Notes: Kings, Heslip, Kobe, Vujacic

December 31st, 2014 at 10:01am CST by Chuck Myron

It seems as though the top eight teams in the Western Conference are in many ways already set, but the Kings aren’t giving up on the idea that they can find a way into the playoffs this year, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck writes. Sacramento will add an impact player if an opportunity arises, according to Beck.

“This league, it’s a league of injuries, it’s a league of things that happen, chemistry,” Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told Beck. “And you’ve seen things happen really fast in this league. So I don’t think we buy into the notion of, ‘Well, it’s locked to eight.’ We really don’t believe that. From our perspective, it’s: How are we getting better? How are we pursuing that spot?”

The Kings are 13-18, four games behind the Suns for the last playoff spot. There’s another Kings-related item amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Brady Heslip has decided against signing with Banvit of Turkey because he believes he’s close to joining an NBA team, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). David Pick of Eurobasket.com reported earlier this week that Heslip, who’s been playing for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, had a deal with the Turkish team. The Kings and Clippers have reportedly held interest in adding the sharpshooter to their NBA rosters.
Kobe Bryant still doesn’t rule out playing beyond his current contract, which expires in 2016, but for now he plans to retire after next season, as he said Tuesday to reporters, including Bill Oram of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). “If you asked me if I’m going to play beyond that, right now the answer is no,” Bryant said.
Sasha Vujacic is leaving Laboral Kuxta Vitoria (aka Saski Baskonia) of Spain, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). He’s next headed to play for Turkey’s Istanbul BSB, Carchia writes. Vujacic, who spent time on a 10-day contract with the Clippers last season, is one of several among 2013/14 10-day signees who are now playing overseas, as I noted Tuesday.
Warriors backup center Marreese Speights said he was especially motivated to beat the Sixers, as Golden State did Tuesday, not because of anyone with the team at current but because he harbors ill will toward Doug Collins, tweets Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Speights saw a career low 11.5 minutes per game under the former Sixers coach in 2010/11.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Rondo, Jackson

December 20th, 2014 at 2:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mark Jackson said that his recent meeting with Chris Mullin, GM Pete D’Alessandro and DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento had nothing to do with the Kings‘ coaching position, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter links). Jackson said the get together was simply to catch up with some old friends. Jackson is one of the names mentioned to be in the running for Sacramento’s coaching vacancy along with George Karl, Vinny Del Negro, and Mullin.

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Kevin Durant has openly praised Kobe Bryant and said that he would love to play alongside the Black Mamba. While Bryant has stated that he has not begun recruiting Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2016, Bryant didn’t rule out trying to lure the Slim Reaper to the Lakers, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “No, I think we know each other pretty well,” Bryant said. “I don’t think it’s a discussion that you have in terms of coming here. But I think it’s more of an understanding how to play with each other. If the opportunity came up, then that’s the time to have that discussion.”
The Lakers were lucky to miss out on acquiring Rajon Rondo, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. Though he believes Rondo is a good player, he isn’t the superstar that Los Angeles needs to build around, and re-signing him this summer, if Rondo was willing, would have eaten into its cap space that could be used to nab a far superior player in the future, such as Durant, Ding opines.
A Lakers official downplayed the reports that the team offered Steve Nash’s expiring $9.8MM contract and a first-round pick to Boston for Rondo, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes.
Goran Dragic, who can opt out of his contract with the Suns at the end of the season and become a free agent, was mentioned as a possible target for the Knicks either via trade or free agency. Dragic responded to the report by saying he would be open to the Knicks — as well as everybody else — when he gets on the market this summer, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports. “Every team that is going to be available is going to be an option,” Dragic said. “New York has great fan base, great basketball organization.”

Pacific Notes: Villanueva, Kings, Kobe, Suns

December 18th, 2014 at 1:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers have won 11 of their last 13 games and sit at 18-7, but they’d still be without home-court advantage in the first round if the playoffs started today. That helps explain why they reportedly remain interested in Corey Brewer, among others, given how high the bar is set in the Western Conference. Here’s more on the Clippers and their Pacific Division rivals:

Rick Carlisle‘s willingness to personally conduct workouts for Charlie Villanueva helped sell the veteran on signing with the Mavs this summer when the Clippers were also in hot pursuit, Villanueva said recently on Google Plus, as the Dallas Morning News transcribes. “Not to take nothing away from what the Clippers and Doc Rivers [are] doing, but it just felt right with Rick,” Villanueva said. “It was just a feeling. I went with a feeling in my gut and I feel like I made the right move.”
TNT’s Kenny Smith is among the names “floating around” for the Kings head coaching job, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, though it’s unclear whether he’s truly a candidate. Smith had conversations with the Kings about a front office position in 2013, as he told Sam Amick of USA Today at that time.
Mitch Kupchak offered a little more wiggle room for the idea that Kobe Bryant would play past the expiration of his contract in 2016 when the Lakers GM spoke this week with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio (audio link), observes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Kupchak earlier this month appeared to dismiss the notion of a prolonged career for Bryant.
Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged that he and Suns owner Robert Sarver have had conversations about a new arena in Phoenix, observes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Sarver raised the issue publicly earlier this year, though Silver on Wednesday cautioned that he doesn’t believe there’s an “imminent” need for a new building, Coro notes.
The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from the D-League, the team announced. It was just a one-day stint for the center, who juxtaposed an impressive five blocks against a paltry three points in 28 minutes of action Wednesday for Santa Cruz.

Western Notes: Crawford, Moreland, Brewer

December 16th, 2014 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is being mentioned quite a bit in exploratory trade talks, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports (Twitter link). According to Amico, the Kings, Nuggets, and Thunder may take a run at acquiring the veteran guard, though no serious discussions are talking place just yet. In 23 appearances this season, Crawford is averaging 16.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.

Here’s the latest out of the West:

The Kings have once again recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was Moreland’s fifth sojourn of the season to Reno, and in seven appearances for the Bighorns he has averaged 13.7 points and 1.4 assists per contest.
For the second time this season the Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate, the team announced. The 6’10” rookie has made four appearances for the Rockets this season, recording a total of six rebounds, one assist, a steal and a block in 12 total minutes of playing time. In his first stint with the Vipers, Capela played in six games averaging 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 14.1 minutes per contest.
The Rockets‘ coaching staff is enamored with Corey Brewer and are still pursing a trade with the Wolves for the swingman, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. No deal is imminent, Wolfson adds.
Kevin Durant refuted the notion that players around the league don’t want to play with Kobe Bryant, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. When asked if this perception is why the Lakers have been unable to make a splash in in free agency lately, Durant said, “Excuse my language, but that’s [expletive]. I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I’d want to play with a guy like that every day. His style may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think [the accusation] is BS.”

Western Notes: Suns, Wolves, Bryant, Kanter

December 14th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns can blame their lackluster defense for their current four game losing streak, opines Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. New addition Isaiah Thomas feels the team’s mentality is reason for the current slide. “We’re just not bringing it every night, plain and simple,” said Thomas. “I don’t know what it is but we’re not bringing it. We’re not playing with that attitude like,’We need this win.’ That’s got to change or we’re going to dig ourselves a hole.” Even with Phoenix’s current struggles, the team resides in eighth place in the Western Conference with a record of 12-12.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Kings assigned Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, according to the RealGM transactions log. Moreland, who has been yo-yoed a bit this season, was with the Kings for just one day on this latest stint.
Although Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders doesn’t agree with Magic Johnson’s plea for the Lakers to lose in order to secure a high draft pick, he understands the benefit to the strategy, writes Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. “I’m never a proponent to just say tank games or lose games. You’re letting players off the hook. Depending on who you have out there, you might not have to worry about it. … I know what Magic is saying, and I’m sure it’s how most people look at it: If you’re not going to be a playoff team, you’re better off getting as high a (draft) pick as you can,” said Saunders during an interview with Rand. Minnesota currently sits in last place in the Western Conference with a record of 5-17.
Kobe Bryant may be on the verge of a huge milestone, being only eight points behind Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer, yet he had bigger plans for the season when he signed his two year $48.5MM extension, writes Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Daily News. Heisler opines that Bryant’s quest for another title is a lost cause due to the team’s current roster and Bryant’s expected retirement at the end of the 2015/16 season. The team certainly thinks this contract will be the last for one of the greatest Lakers of all time. “All indications are to me, from him, that this is going to be it,” GM Mitch Kupchak said. “If somebody’s thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that.”
Center Enes Kanter is making huge strides this season for the Jazz, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Kanter, who is set to become a restricted free agent after the season, enjoys playing under first year head coach Quin Snyder.

Eastern Notes: Davies, Payton, Heat, D-League

December 13th, 2014 at 12:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brandon Davies was asked about the perception that his former team, the Sixers, were tanking in a deliberate effort to land the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Davies denied that was the case amongst the players, and said, “One thing I can tell you in the locker room, we were set on winning. We were just going away. I think the games we played in showed that. We lost some close games against some really good teams.”

Here’s more from the East:

Nets coach Lionel Hollins was disappointed that the Sixers waived Jorge Gutierrez, whom they had acquired along with Andrei Kirilenko on Wednesday, Pompey tweets.
When the Magic drafted Elfrid Payton with the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft it appeared the plan was to play him and Victor Oladipo alongside each other, which hasn’t occured much this season, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. But according to coach Jacque Vaughn, things can change as Payton continues to develop, notes Howard-Cooper. “I think overall we’ll see how this combination finds its way,” said Vaughn. “The great thing is I have my eyes, which I always listen to, and I also have stats these days, which I can look at and see how that pairing is doing. A lot of detail will go into it. But there’s no rush from the standpoint of ‘This has to happen now.’“
The Heat‘s two young big men, Justin Hamilton and Hassan Whiteside, are beginning to impress coach Erik Spoelstra, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “They both do some nice things and they both do it in a different way,” Spoelstra said. “Justin is a very intelligent, in-the-right-place type of weak-side defender. He does a lot of things that don’t show up in a box score. He reminds me a little bit of a Shane Battier, does a lot of those intangible things. Whiteside is big and he has that great gift of blocking shots, so you know somebody is in there.”
The Heat have assigned Whiteside and Shabazz Napier to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the first trek of the season to the D-League for both players.
With both the Lakers and the Knicks struggling mightily this season, and both franchises’ future prospects looking equally bleak, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony should find a way to become teammates, Paul Newberry of The Associated Press opines. Newberry does acknowledge that the players’ respective contracts would make this a difficult proposition.

Jeanie, Jim Buss On Kobe, Trade, Tanking

December 12th, 2014 at 11:05am CST by Chuck Myron

The shine is off the NBA’s most glamorous franchise these days, as the Lakers failed to land a star in free agency last summer and bring up the rear in the Pacific Division this season with a 6-16 record so far. Atop the organization are Jeanie Buss and Jim Buss, the most notorious of the six Buss siblings who together own the team. Jeanie is the team’s controlling owner, while Jim oversees the team’s on-court matters as executive vice president of basketball operations. They failed to see eye-to-eye two years ago when the Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni to coach the team instead of Phil Jackson, Jeanie’s fiance. Jeanie tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that any conflict between them is in the past, though it seems clear that the feelings from that decision are still raw. Shelburne has much more from her interview with the brother-and-sister duo, and her entire transcript of the conversation is worth a read, especially for Lakers faithful. We’ll pass along a few highlights here:

Jeanie Buss on Kobe Bryant‘s two-year, $48.5MM extension, which runs through 2015/16:

“I think there’s maybe a handful of guys in the league that are worth as much as he is and we’re lucky to have him. I think he’s worth every penny.”

Jim Buss on what the extension represents:

“I think it does send a message. We’ve been sending that message for 30 years. We take care of our players. For me, I believed in Kobe’s ability to play at a high level. He deserves it.”

Jim Buss on whether there’s a chance the Lakers would trade Bryant:

“No. I love Kobe Bryant. I think L.A. loves Kobe Bryant. I don’t envision him going anywhere. I don’t see it.”

Jeanie Buss on the same topic:

“I don’t want to see Kobe Bryant leave. But we understand the realities of the sports world. Take [Shaquille O’Neal], for example. He was traded and played for several other teams. But once he retired, he asked us to retire his jersey. He wanted to be remembered as a Laker. So while I get attached, I know what the realities are in this business. It’s never going to change what we’ve accomplished together. But I don’t look forward to the day that Kobe Bryant’s not in purple and gold.”

Jeanie Buss on tanking:

“The teams that use tanking as a strategy are doing damage. If you’re in tanking mode, that means you’ve got young players who you’re teaching bad habits to. I think that’s unforgivable. If you’re tanking and you have young players or you keep a short roster, you’re playing guys out of their position or too many minutes, you’re risking injury. It’s irresponsible and I don’t think it belongs in any league.”

L.A. Notes: Kobe, Dudley, Rivers, Wohl

December 10th, 2014 at 10:24am CST by Chuck Myron

Both Los Angeles teams enter their next games having come off wins, with the Clippers having dusted off their eighth straight on Monday against the Suns and the Lakers topping the Kings on Tuesday. Still, the dichotomy between the two Staples Center tenants couldn’t be more stark. Here’s the latest from L.A.

A source close to Kobe Bryant says the Lakers star was “adamant” this past offseason about retiring in the summer of 2016, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Bryant hasn’t publicly ruled out the idea of playing beyond next season, even as he’s signaled that he has no plans to do so.
The Lakers would be hard-pressed to build a championship-level team before the time that Bryant is poised to walk away, but the Black Mamba believes there’s a decent chance that the team’s fortunes will change in a hurry, as he tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post. “I’ve been in this situation before. I don’t fret about it. I don’t think nothing about it,” Bryant said. “I’ve seen, where it seems like this organization is in dire straits and then all of a sudden, we make a couple of moves, make a couple of trades and boom, we’re right back in it. So I just stay patient.”
The Bucks didn’t make the best offer to the Clippers for Jared Dudley and the first-round pick that the Clips wound up trading to Milwaukee this summer, but Doc Rivers and his staff felt they had to act quickly, multiple sources suggested to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Arnovitz’s insider-only piece delves into the front office dynamics for the Clippers, where executives and agents rely on GM Dave Wohl as a conduit to Rivers, Arnovitz hears.

Lakers Notes: Kobe, Scott, Lin

December 8th, 2014 at 6:23pm CST by Alex Lee

After showing signs of life last week with consecutive wins over the Raptors and Pistons, the Lakers have since lost three straight and now sit at a disappointing 5-16. They don’t play tonight, but that never prevents the Lakers news from flowing out of Hollywood. Here is the latest on the purple and gold:

Byron Scott thinks the Lakers will be “right back where we belong” for the 2016/17 season, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, and in position to try to convince Kobe Bryant to stay past his contract, which runs through 2015/16. GM Mitch Kupchak isn’t optimistic that Kobe will keep playing, as he says in Aldridge’s weekly Morning Tip column for NBA.com. “All indications are, to me, from him, that this (two-year contract) is going to be it,” Kupchak said. “If somebody’s thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that. Don’t wait. Do it this year.”
Kupchak and Lakers part-owner Jim Buss have told Scott that his first two years as head coach might be difficult as the team rebuilds, Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune writes in a profile of Scott. According to Smith, Scott had long wanted to return to Los Angeles, where he grew up and played professionally, but was leading the franchises in New Orleans and then Cleveland the previous two times the Lakers had head coaching vacancies.
Kupchak had wanted to bring offseason acquisition Jeremy Lin to the Lakers for the entirety of the point guard’s career, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Lin, born in Los Angeles and raised in Northern California, has had a rocky start to his stint in L.A. and was recently removed from the starting lineup. The Lakers acquired the fifth-year guard from the Rockets this summer.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Notes: Bryant, Rondo, Nash

December 4th, 2014 at 4:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers would probably be able to trade for Rajon Rondo if they gave up a pair of first-round picks and Steve Nash‘s expiring contract, tweets Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com, though it’s unclear if that’s merely speculation. Rondo and Kobe Bryant have spoken in the past of their admiration for one another, and they created something of a stir this morning when they had breakfast together in Boston, as Holmes captured in a photo embedded in his tweet. Chris Mannix of SI.com reported a month ago that the Lakers are likely to pursue Rondo in free agency this summer.

Here’s more from the land of “Showtime”:

The Lakers can “absolutely” still attract star free agents, coach Byron Scott insists, saying that GM Mitch Kupchak and executive VP of basketball ops Jim Buss gave him “very clean insight” about their rebuilding plan when they interviewed him this summer. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News has the details.
Bryant has been quoted as saying that the 2015/16 campaign will likely be his last season in the league, but Scott believes that Kobe doesn’t look like a player ready to retire, Adi Joseph of USA Today reports. When asked about Bryant’s potential retirement after his contract expires next season, Scott said, “We’ll talk about that. Listen, you guys have watched him play. He’s got a lot left in the tank. And I think if we put something together that excites him, I think we have a real good chance of saying, ‘Play another year, give it another shot.’ And that’s what we plan to do.”
For his part, Bryant recently stressed that his thought process regarding when to end his career will strictly entail how his body feels, and if he’s up to the maintenance work required to ensure a productive season, Medina writes in a separate article. “If I want to play, I’ll play. I tend to make my own decisions. If I don’t want to play, I won’t play,” Bryant said. “It’s just a feeling on if I want to go through the process of being ready every single day and the amount of commitment that it takes. It’s nuts. If I want to continue to do that, I will. If I don’t, I don’t.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.