Odds & Ends: O.J. Mayo, Kyrie Irving, Nuggets
The value Andre Iguodala brings to the Nuggets goes beyond the swingman's stat line, writes Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. Thanks to his strong defense and myriad intangibles, Iguodala made the All-Star team during the 2011/12 season even though he averaged just 12.4 PPG. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the NBA…
- Mavs shooting guard O.J. Mayo seems excited about taking his talents to Dallas and is poised for a breakout year, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld. “I felt like Dallas was the best situation for me,” Mayo said. "They have a good team, they have a great player in Dirk Nowitzki, they have a terrific owner with Mark Cuban."
- Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving has been warning rookies about the rigors of head coach Byron Scott's training camp nicknamed "Camp Scott," says Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. "All the warnings don't amount to much until you experience Camp Scott for yourself," Irving said. "You have to deal with it. He's a hard-nosed coach, and he's trying to get the most out of you."
- Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the Nuggets' offseason and analyzes the moves the team made and how the roster looks heading in the 2012/13 season. He predicts Denver will make the playoffs but is not ready to compete for a championship as it doesn't have enough talent at this point.
Odds & Ends: T-Wolves, Griffin, Nuggets, Hollins
- After tearing his left meniscus during a Team USA practise last Wednesday, Blake Griffin was forced to remove himself from the Olympic games. The Clippers forward had successful surgery today, and is still expected to be ready in time for training camp, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
- The Nuggets are considering using their amnesty provision on forward Chris Andersen, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Andersen has two years and $9MM left on his deal.
Earlier updates:
Cavs Notes: Nicholson, Beal, Irving
Here's the latest news and headlines out of Cleveland from The News-Herald's Bob Finnan…
- While much of the buzz surrounding Andrew Nicholson has the former St. Bonaventure star heading to the Celtics or the Thunder, the Cavs are giving the 6-foot-9 power forward a hard look as they determine their plans for the No. 24 pick in the draft, reports Finnan. The team visited Nicholson at his college campus and worked him out to see if he would be a good fit for the rebuilding squad. Checking in at 240 pounds, the big bodied Nicholson has been compared to former Xavier star David West.
- Finnan says the Cavs would love to have former Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal if they end up with the No. 3 pick in the draft especially considering their lack of depth at the position. While listed at 6-foot-5 and a lot closer to 6-foot-3, Beal makes up for a lack of ideal height for a shooting guard with his athleticism that translated to 6.7 rebounds per game for the Gators. Ryan Blake, senior director of NBA scouting operations, predicts that if the Cavs draft Beal, he'll fit in perfectly as the starting two guard for the Cavs to form an imposing backcourt with Kyrie Irving.
- The evolution of Irving as an NBA player excites all those involved with the Cavs organization especially considering he's already one of the top point guards in the league, writes Finnan. "I was always such a shy guy," Irving said. "I came to practice three hours early getting my shots up because I was so nervous to come in, and I wanted to make everything perfect. Everybody knows I am the hardest critic on myself." While winning Rookie of the Year honors may lead to a celebratory offseason for some players, Irving plans to come into camp in even better shape than last season with hopes of taking his game to the next level.
Cavs Notes: Kidd-Gilchrist, Free Agency, Irving
The Cavs head into the offseason with a mix of upside and uncertainty as they finished the season with a 21-45 but featured the NBA Rookie of the Year in Kyrie Irving. The moves made by the team's front office will be critical as they look toward building a strong core around Irving and Tristan Thompson through the draft and free agency. Let's check in with The News-Herald's Bob Finnan who has the latest news and stories making headlines in Cleveland.
- Finnan reports that some NBA insiders think the Cavs should avoid drafting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist due to his poor perimeter shooting, but Ryan Blake, senior director of NBA scouting operations holds a different opinion. "He is a great athlete who has a great motor," he said. "He's a tough, physical defender. He attacks the rim and is a good finisher. He's a good rebounder. When you think about the ability he has, along with his (basketball) IQ and maturity, it's very important."
- The Cavs will have three restricted free agents this summer and need to decide if they will tender the players contracts before the June 30 deadline, writes Finnan. The players currently on the Cavs roster who will become restricted free agents include center Semih Erden and forwards Luke Harangody and Alonzo Gee. Finnan says to look for the Cavs to give Erden and Gee qualifying offers but will probably allow Harangody to become an unrestricted free agent.
- There were countless reasons why Irving took home the NBA Rookie of the Year award, but Finnan points to the grueling practices head coach Byron Scott put the Cavs through during training camp as Irving called them the most difficult part of the season. "Coach Scott is a little crazy in the preseason," Irving said. "It's a certain look he has with that whistle. He's mad at us. There are no basketballs, just running."
Kyrie Irving Wins Rookie Of The Year
TUESDAY, 9:17am: Irving, who received 117 of 120 possible first-place votes, has officially been named the Rookie of the Year at a news conference in Cleveland. Ricky Rubio was the runner-up, with Kenneth Faried (third), Kawhi Leonard (fourth), and Iman Shumpert (fifth) each snagging a first-place vote.
SUNDAY, 4:06pm: According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving will be named the league's Rookie of the Year on Monday. Irving averaged 18.5 PPG and 5.4 APG in 51 games this season, helping establish himself as the Cavaliers next franchise player, and certain point guard of the future.
As Stein mentions in his article, Rookie of the Year is the last major award to be announced for the 2012 season.
Dan Gilbert On Scott, Draft, Irving, LeBron
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert addressed a few topics of interest during today's press conference with local media. Here are a few of the highlights from the afternoon session, courtesy of Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal…..
- Gilbert "loves" having Byron Scott as the Cavaliers' coach, noting that he brings stability and credibility to the franchise (Sulia link). The Cavs' owner added that he believes the right people are in the front office and on the coaching staff, and now it's just a matter of bringing in the right players (Sulia link).
- This year's draft is "very important" for the Cavs and the team wants to make it their main area of focus heading into the offseason (Twitter link).
- Gilbert specified that the Cavs want to build "with" Kyrie Irving rather than "around" him, perhaps alluding to a mistake the team made with LeBron James (Twitter link).
- Speaking of LeBron, Gilbert was asked how he felt about comments the former Cav made earlier this season hinting at a possible return to Cleveland. "Nothing in the NBA surprises me," Gilbert said.
Team USA Olympic Roster Updates: Thursday
5:38pm: In a statement released to the media, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo has announced that James Harden and Anthony Davis will be added to Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster.
12:31pm: James Harden will likely be added to Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
10:36am: With the 2012 London Olympics less than three months away, Jerry Colangelo and Team USA are inviting new partipants to the U.S. select team. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that John Wall has received an invite for the select team, while Kyrie Irving will also be invited, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
Members of the select team aren't considered finalists for the London roster, but will scrimmage against the Olympic team and will be part of the player pool for future international competition. According to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, DeMarcus Cousins will also be invited to join the select squad.
Given the recent injuries to members of the Olympic player pool, including Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge, Colangelo has said one or two big men could be added to the list of finalists. Anthony Davis is rumored to be one of those additions.
Odds & Ends: Magic, Randolph, Kings, Irving
Earlier this evening, an ESPN report (via the Associated Press) indicated that Stan Van Gundy is prepared to handle the rest of the season and playoffs without Dwight Howard. To make matter worse, forward Glen Davis hyper-extended his right knee today during the first quarter against the Cavaliers and did not return for the rest of the game. Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweeted that Davis is unsure about when he'll be able to play again this year, which currently leaves Daniel Orton as the only true big man on the Magic roster. It should be noted that if the Magic decide to find replacements for their big man rotation through free agency, the only playoff-eligible players at this point are those who have not already played in an NBA game this year. You can find tonight's other significant stories here:
- Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that the determining factor in Anthony Randolph's future with the Timberwolves will significantly hinge on his ability to remain consistent as the team finishes out the year. Randolph is set to become a restricted free agent this summer, and even with his brilliant performance over the last three games, coach Rick Adelman feels that the jury is still out on whether he can be counted on for a full season.
- Ken Berger of CBS Sports writes that a Sacramento group including mayor Kevin Johnson is hinting at proposing new ownership for the Kings. The Maloof brothers had recently pulled out of a deal to finance a new arena with the city, much to the chagrin of the city members who are working hard to keep the team in Sacramento.
- Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott will proceed with caution with regards to the health of Kyrie Irving, says Tom Reed of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Irving is recovering from a sprained right shoulder, and Scott would rather have him focused on being ready for off-season workouts than returning for the team's final weeks.
- Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated examines the role of Chris Bosh as the key to Miami's playoff success.
- Raymond Felton has likely seen his last minutes of the season with the Trail Blazers, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Interim GM Chad Buchanan said that he and Felton agreed that this would be an opportune time to properly evaluate their other young guards, namely Nolan Smith and Jonny Flynn. Haynes also wrote another article in which he asked Kings GM Geoff Petrie about being linked to the Blazers vacant GM position, to which Petrie replied: “That's something I can't really comment on. I have a job.”
- Ten things you need to know about Derrick Favors, according to Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post spoke with coach George Karl to reflect on how he has handled coaching while prioritizing his life during this season.
Odds & Ends: Sessions, Irving, Blazers, Redd
With a full slate of NBA action set to get underway shortly, let's take a look around the league to see what's going on:
- The arrival of point guard Ramon Sessions via trade from the Cavaliers has revitalized the Lakers, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer contends Kyrie Irving is the favorite to take home rookie of the year honors given his outstanding performance thus far this season. Irving, who recently celebrated his 20th birthday, is averaging 18.9 PPG and 5.7 APG through 41 starts this season.
- The Trail Blazers aren't going to give up on the rest of the season even after cutting ties with head coach Nate McMillan and revamping a majority of their roster at the trade deadline, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.
- Michael Redd is slowly rebuilding his career with the Suns after a fall from grace due to injuries that slowed the former Ohio State star, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. Thanks to the outstanding training staff in Phoenix, Redd has been able to find a fountain of youth and channel flashes of his former self.
Central Notes: Irving, Bucks, Lucas
- This article from Cleveland.com highlights Kyrie Irving's impressive performance in the fourth quarter in a recent loss to Atlanta, and follows up with a few miscellaneous Cavaliers notes.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes about Scott Skiles approach to the Bucks' remaining season schedule.
- Although Derrick Rose has been battling injuries throughout the season, the Bulls have managed an 11-4 record without him. An instrumental part of that success can be credited to the emergence of John Lucas III as a solid contributor. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune digs deeper into Lucas' journey up to this point in the season.
- The Pistons completed last week's road trip with a disappointing 1-4 record, two losses which included coming up short to the Clippers in overtime and Ben Gordon missing a potential game winner in Denver. David Mayo of MLive.com writes more about Detroit's inability to finish games, as well as some thoughts from head coach Lawrence Frank.
- Tayshaun Prince is determined to turn things around in Detroit, writes Chris Tomasson of FS Florida.