Odds & Ends: Calderon, Timberwolves, Harden, Irving
A few random notes from around the league.
- Pistons point guard Jose Calderon can't join the team until his work visa is cleared, and right now it's unclear when that will be, writes MLive.com's David Mayo. Calderon could miss Detroit's next two games.
- The Timberwolves have talent in their backcourt, but unfortunately they're too small for head coach Rick Adelman's taste, writes St. Paul Pioneer-Press' Ray Richardson.
- James Harden's ability to get to the rim is amazing, but just as incredible is his strength once he gets there, writes the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.
- After scoring 13 points in the final three minutes of tonight's win against the Thunder, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is getting more than a few comparisons to Derrick Rose, writes Ohio.com's Jason Lloyd.
Eastern Notes: Magic, Camby, Cavaliers
Jacque Vaughn, whose quiet approach has been the polar opposite of Stan Van Gundy's, has provided patience and poise to a franchise that has been looking to move on after last year's turbulent atmosphere with Dwight Howard (Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel). Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says that although the Magic are enduring some growing pains, the young club has been showing encouraging signs of development. We have a few more miscellaneous links to share out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Knicks center Marcus Camby has been walking without a boot on his left foot and could be running again in the next two to three weeks, writes Ian Begley of ESPN New York. The 38-year-old center has been inactive since January 10.
- Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott liked what he saw defensively from new additions Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington in Friday's comeback win against the Bucks, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. In another article, Schmitt Boyer notes the warm moment between Kyrie Irving and Scott after the young guard learned he would be a reserve in the All-Star game.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston dissects the minds of the reeling Celtics as they prepare for Ray Allen's return to the TD Garden on Sunday.
Eastern Notes: Bucks, Nets, Cavs, Oden
The latest news and notes from around the Eastern Conference on Sunday afternoon:
- Raptors head coach Dwane Casey tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he is not surprised that Scott Skiles was fired by the Bucks, noting the heavy turnover among coaches in recent years.
- Wes Szafran of the South Jersey Times writes that P.J. Carlesimo has done an excellent job since replacing Avery Johnson as head coach of the Nets.
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert told fans to be patient with the team's rebuild in a recent television interview. Bob Finnan of the News-Herald has quotes.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer writes that Greg Oden deserves a chance to rehabilitate his NBA career, comparing his injury-plagued early years to those of former Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was able to put together a productive NBA career.
- Michael Lee of the Washington Post wonders if top overall draft picks are cursed, citing the recent injuries to John Wall and Kyrie Irving.
- Ryan Anderson tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post that the Dwight Howard drama was a distraction for the Magic players last season.
Cavs Rumors: Irving, Harangody, Jones, Varejao
The Cavaliers have given their fans some thrills the past two nights, upsetting the Hawks on Alonzo Gee's game-winner on Friday and losing a heart-breaker Saturday in double overtime to the Blazers. The excitement in Cleveland is more often coming in the form of close games than in victories, as the absence of Kyrie Irving has prompted the Cavs to fall into a tie with the Raptors for the league's second-worst record. As Cleveland tries to tread water amid Irving's absence, there's more on the second-year point guard, and we've got that along with other news on the team right here:
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald looks ahead to Irving's next contract, and interprets recent comments from Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to indicate the team would trade Irving if he's unwilling to sign an extension when he's eligible in the summer of 2014.
- One agent called the Cavs' qualifying offer this summer to Luke Harangody "a $1MM gift," and the Cavs are now on the hook for that deal, actually worth a little more than $1.054MM, even though the team waived Harangody this week to make room for Kevin Jones, as Finnan documents. The Cavs wanted to snatch up before other NBA clubs got a chance, Finnan also notes.
- It's easy to tell the Cavs aren't thinking about the playoffs this year judging by the free agents they signed this summer, Finnan opines, observing that coach Byron Scott misses Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker.
- Teams that would covet Anderson Varejao in a trade with the Cavaliers are top-tier clubs with late first-round draft picks, making them unlikely partners in a deal, notes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer.
- Omri Casspi is disheartened by his lack of playing time for the Cavs, after having spent the summer working on his game as prescribed by Scott, and the Israeli small forward is looking forward to free agency next summer, as HoopsWorld's Lang Greene details.
- Greene also checks in with DeSagana Diop, the eighth overall pick by the Cavs in the 2001 draft. Diop, now with the Bobcats, is also set to hit free agency in the offseason, but the 30-year-old center wants to stay in Charlotte until he retires, which he figures will happen in a couple of years. "I like Charlotte a lot," Diop said. "I get along with the coach (Mike Dunlap), the general manager (Rich Cho) and the good people of Charlotte. I’m just going one day at a time this season and see what happens this summer."
Central Notes: Bulls, Asik, Cavs
The latest news and notes from around the Central Division on Tuesday evening:
- The Bulls are now eligible to sign a free agent despite being up against the hard cap. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes that their bench is currently a liability, and there's a chance they will look to the free-agent market for help.
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson tells Nick Freidell of ESPNChicago.com that the Bulls are feeling the loss of Omer Asik, but they are not using it as an excuse for their poor play.
- Bob Finnan of the News-Herald writes that the injury to Kyrie Irving will cause a significant setback for the Cavs this season.
Kyrie Irving To Miss Four Weeks
Kyrie Irving will miss four weeks with a broken left index finger, the team announced. The point guard sustained the injury, described as a hairline/non-displaced fracture, in Saturday's game against the Mavericks. He played last night against the Sixers, but was unusually ineffective, scoring just nine points on 4 of 14 shooting. The news puts the Cavs in a tough spot, to say the least, since Irving was off to a strong start, averaging a team-high 22.9 points a game, and played an even greater role in the offense than he did as Rookie of the Year last season.
The Cavs have only Donald Sloan and Jeremy Pargo as point guards on the roster behind Irving, and the poor play of the team's bench has already led coach Byron Scott to hint at a possible move. The Cavs have a full complement of 15 players, but only 12 have guaranteed contracts. Sloan's contract is the only fully non-guaranteed deal, as Samardo Samuels can be bought out for $200K, while Daniel Gibson's $4.79MM contract can be let go for just $2.49MM. Nonetheless, Sloan is one of the two true point guards on the roster, while Samuels has been a part of the rotation, averaging 16.7 minutes per game. Gibson has been seeing minutes, too, and he's played the point at stretches during his career, so there's no obvious answer about whom to let go.
The Cavs, with a payroll of just $47.666MM, have the most cap room in the league with more than $10MM. Yet they could be wary of too significant an expenditure, since they're on the hook for $12.25MM to Baron Davis, whom they amnestied last year, even though that amount does not count against the cap. Few on the list of available free agents would command much more than the minimum salary, however, and though we noted yesterday that they're not interested in reaching out to former Cav Delonte West, their position could change in light of the news about Irving. Cleveland could also pursue a trade, though that might be an uphill battle, since most teams aren't looking to deal at this time of year, and GM Chris Grant and company may be reluctant to make long-term changes to the roster to solve a problem that will last only a month.
Central Notes: Ilyasova, Stephenson, Scott
The latest news and notes from around the Central Division on Sunday evening:
- Ersan Ilyasova, re-signed by the Bucks this offseason, is off to a slow start, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Curt Cavin of the Indianapolis Star discusses Lance Stephenson, one of the wing players the Pacers will count on to fill the void left by Danny Granger's injury.
- John Rhode of the Oklahoman examines the success Cavs coach Byron Scott is having with Kyrie Irving, and points out that Scott has had success with elite point guards both during his playing and coaching career.
Odds & Ends: Bogut, Jennings, Rose, Irving, Roy
We learned tonight that the Warriors have shutdown center Andrew Bogut for 7 to 10 days and Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News says that all signs point towards the Aussie big man's absence extending longer than that. Bogut said that he may have pushed it too much and that he would consider himself a liability on the court right now, writes Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times. There are only two games tonight, but still plenty of links from around the league:
- In the early going, the absence of a contract extension has brought out the best in Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings, writes Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen. Since he couldn't come to an agreement with Milwaukee, Jennings will hit free agency this summer.
- According to Russell Westbrook, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose will come back from his knee injury this season stronger than ever, writes Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago. Westbrook and Scott Brooks also said that while the Bulls are a different team without Rose, they still must be feared because of the way Tom Thibodeau prepares them to play, says Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.
- Beckley Mason of the New York Times opines that it isn't too early to consider the Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving among the NBA's elite point guards.
- After sitting out last year, Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy is rusty, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Roy says his knee are fine, however, and will begin to look more for his shot to try to get his career back on track.
Cavs Exercise Options On Irving, Thompson
The Cavaliers have officially picked up their 2013/14 options on Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, the team announced today in a press release. Both Irving and Thompson are currently heading into their sophomore seasons, so the Cavs will have an additional team option on both players in 2014/15.
Considering both Irving and Thompson were top-five picks in 2011, with Irving earning Rookie of the Year honors last season, exercising their third-year options was a formality for the Cavs. Irving is now slated to make a guaranteed $5.61MM in 2013/14, while Thompson will earn about $4.06MM.
Be sure to check out Hoops Rumors' option tracker to follow which rookie-scale players have had their 2013/14 options picked up so far this offseason.
Cavaliers Notes: Irving, Varejao, Jones
Here's the latest out of Cleveland on a Cavs team that Kyrie Irving thinks is ready to contend for the playoffs:
- Appearing on ESPN 850 WKNR in Cleveland (link via Sports Radio Interviews), Irving talked about his expectations for the team: "I have high hopes for us. Obviously our number one goal is to make the playoffs this year and we’re definitely going to attain that as long as we continue to get better and as long as we compete every single night."
- Irving added that he's excited about the players the front office drafted and acquired in the offseason, and that he's looking forward to starting to play with them.
- Several sources tell Bob Finnan of the News-Herald that they believe Anderson Varejao will be traded by the Cavs at this season's trade deadline.
- Varejao, for his part, said yesterday that he wants to remain a Cav, though he recognizes he doesn't have much control over the situation: "I'm still here. I can't control that. If they trade me, they trade me…. I'm happy in Cleveland. I love the city and I love the fans."
- The Cavs aren't worried about replacing Antawn Jamison's 17.2 points per game, according to head coach Byron Scott.
- Kevin Jones signed a three-year pact with the Cavs, but only $50K of his 2012/13 salary is guaranteed, as Finnan writes. Our list of non-guaranteed contracts shows that a number of Cavs players have partial guarantees on their deals.