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Central Rumors: Bucks, Stephenson, Jack, Diop

September 30th, 2013 at 9:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks owner Herb Kohl issued an ultimatum at the team's media day today, saying that the city must build a new arena to keep the team in town. "We're going to have both in the future or we're going to have neither," he said (link via The Sports Xchange).

Incoming commissioner Adam Silver recently said the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the team's home since the 1988/89 season, is too small and lacks the amenities necessary for an NBA team. City leaders have considered the idea of renovating their existing building as well as constructing a new one, but with Sacramento having held on to the Kings this year, it looks like Milwaukee is next in line for a fight to keep its team. Here's more on the Bucks and their Central Division rivals:

  • Pacers president Larry Bird acknowledges that it will be a financial challenge to keep Lance Stephenson after this season, when his bargain contract expires, but Bird says the team will do whatever it can to keep him, notes Scott Agness of Pacers.com.
  • Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio passes along comments that Cavs GM Chris Grant made to reporters on media day, including insight on the team's pursuit of Jarrett Jack. "We went into the offseason and knew we needed to get another guard," Grant said. "We also wanted someone with some leadership, some toughness, somebody that could and has made big shots, and somebody that’s played on a playoff team. Obviously, (Jack) fit all those categories."
  • The last time the Cavs acquired DeSagana Diop, they did so with the eighth overall pick in the 2001 draft. He's merely trying to make the team out of camp on this go-around, as Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer examines.
  • The Bucks made a front office move, promoting director of player personnel Dave Babcock to vice president of player personnel, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.

Read more

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Eastern Notes: George, Pacers, Deng

September 19th, 2013 at 7:32pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Hoopsworld's Yannis Koutroupis explores the possible implications from a potential contract extension for Paul George and suggests that Danny Granger has now become an expendable piece. Losing Lance Stephenson - who is coming off of a career year and may have likely played himself out of Indiana's price range next summer – would be a bitter pill to swallow, opines Koutroupis. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference: 

  • Granger believes that Indiana can contend for a title next season and calls the addition of Luis Scola "our biggest free agent pickup" (Scott Agness of NBA.com). 
  • ESPN's Chad Ford (via Twitter) notes that Luol Deng has been working out at BYU-Hawaii over the last several weeks and says that the Bulls forward appears to be in fantastic shape.
  • Erildas Budraitis of RealGM catches up with CSKA Moscow's Jeremy Pargo, who last played for the 76ers and Cavaliers during the 2012/13 season.  The 6'2" point guard admitted that he probably won't think of returning to the NBA for another one or two years and calls his exit from Cleveland "unfortunate."
  • Earlier today, Yahoo's Marc J. Spears reported that Cavs number one overall pick Anthony Bennett resumed playing five-on-five basketball this week. 
  • Nets star Deron Williams is even more eager to get the season started after hearing head coach Jason Kidd and teammate Jason Terry say they expect him to be a part of the MVP conversation in 2013/14 (link via Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report). 
  • Despite NBA commissioner David Stern's recent efforts to quell tension between the Knicks and Nets owners, the players don't seem to be necessarily following suit. When Paul Pierce was asked today about J.R. Smith calling him a bitter person recently, the Brooklyn forward tersely responded with "Who? Who are we talking about right now? Exactly" (Tim Bontempts of the New York Post). 
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Odds & Ends: Billups, Brown, Stephenson, Siva

July 30th, 2013 at 10:02pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league.

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Eastern Notes: Bulls, Knicks, Magic

May 25th, 2013 at 8:26pm CST by Spencer Lund

Following up on the NBA's review of the Dwyane Wade elbow to Lance Stephenson near the end of game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Pacers, we have a couple tweets with more info:

  • Ethan J. Skolnick the Sun-Sentinel says that just because nothing has happened tonight and may not, that doesn't mean the NBA won't take action tomorrow against Wade for the seemingly inadvertant elbow to Stephenson's head (Twitter link).
  • Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida says that because today is a travel day for the Pacers and Heat that might be the cause for the delay in announcements after the NBA's review of the play. (Twitter link).
  • Sports Illustrated columnist, Ian Thomsen, discusses the similarities between this season's Eastern Conference Final and last season's Eastern Conference Semifinal. Last year the Heat lost game 2 and home court advantage too, plus they lost game 3 in Indiana to go down 2-1 to the Pacers. They then rebounded to win three-straight to head to the Finals.

Here are some more notes from around the Eastern Conference..

  • The Bulls' winning percentage when Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose share the floor is 86% writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. That's probably why the Bulls' general manager Gar Forman will keep Boozer and Deng this offseason. 
  • Former Bulls coach, and man-about-town for open GM and coaching positions, Phil Jackson, discussed his new book and his future with the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson. 
  • The Magic are a young team looking to rebuild through the draft with smart moves by their young general manager Rob Hennigan. The Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi writes that's why Magic fans should root for a Pacers–Spurs matchup in the Finals; their presence would prove that small market teams can be successful without "buying championships."
  • Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com with part 1 of the Knicks' offseason notebook. Zwerling discusses who the Knicks might select with the 24th pick in July's draft and which players they may target in free agency, or through the draft, who could fulfill their need for a fast and explosive backup point guard for Raymond Felton. 
  • Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston.com already mentioned  the dozen players the Celtics welcomed over the last two days as they continue to decide where they're headed in an uncertain offseason. A. Sherrod Blakely at CSN New England talks with two of those invites: guard, Shane Larkin of Miami, and Pittsburgh's center, Steven Adams.  
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Heat – Pacers Notes: Wade, Stephenson, Andersen

May 25th, 2013 at 6:10pm CST by Spencer Lund

According to an anonymous source familiar with the situation, USA Today Sports' Jeff Zillgitt reports the NBA is reviewing Dwyane Wade's elbow to Lance Stephenson's face last night in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  

With 4:05 left in game 2, Wade turned the ball over to the Pacers. As he was sprinting back on defense, Wade jumped to avoid Stephenson and hit him in the head with his elbow. Stephenson remained in the game.

Zillgitt believes the hit by Wade appears "too nebulus to warrant a suspension," but the office of NBA vice president Stu Jackson is reviewing the specific play in question.  Some other notes from the Eastern Conference Final entrants:

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Kyler’s Latest: Korver, Bulls, Allen, Bucks

April 24th, 2013 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld on Monday, Steve Kyler explored the upcoming free agencies for a number of point guards on playoff teams. Today, Kyler turns his attention to the shooting guards in the postseason who could be hitting the free agent market this summer. Let's round up the notable tidbits from his piece….

  • The Hawks could have interest in retaining Kyle Korver, but he also won't be the team's top priority, so Korver could accept a multiyear offer from a rival suitor before Atlanta is ready to finalize anything with him. I touched on this when I examined Korver's free agent stock last month.
  • Marco Belinelli may not be back in Chicago next season, since the Bulls will be looking to upgrade the two-guard spot, according to Kyler.
  • Tony Allen has good relationships with Zach Randolph and Lionel Hollins, which could be a factor if he's deciding whether or not to re-sign with the Grizzlies. However, he'd want to know whether Randolph or Hollins are part of the front office's long-term plan in Memphis, says Kyler.
  • Kyler suggests that Lance Stephenson and Willie Green, who have non-guaranteed contracts with the Pacers and Clippers respectively, could make for interesting trade chips if their teams decided to pair them with another asset.
  • One of the Bucks' reasons for acquiring J.J. Redick at the trade deadline was to give the team insurance in free agency, so that the team can still retain two starting guards if one of Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, or Redick receives an offer Milwaukee doesn't want to match.
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Jazz Discussed Millsap Deals With Pacers, Clippers

March 9th, 2013 at 8:02am CST by Sean Highkin

The Utah Jazz did not move Paul Millsap before the February 21 trade deadline, but Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports that they discussed deals for the forward with the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers, neither of which ended up coming to fruition.

Kennedy tweets that the Jazz and Pacers discussed a trade that would have sent Millsap and Alec Burks to Indiana for Danny Granger and Lance Stephenson. In a separate tweet, Kennedy reports that the Jazz and Clippers discussed a trade of Millsap and DeMarre Carroll for Eric Bledsoe and Lamar Odom.

Millsap, 27, is averaging 15.2 PPG and 7.4 RPG this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

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Central Notes: Thibodeau, Ellington, Stephenson

March 7th, 2013 at 7:00pm CST by Michael Pina

Last night was a tough one for the Central Division, as both the Bulls and Pacers lost competitive battles against the Celtics and Spurs. The exception to the rule was Kyrie Irving and his Cavaliers, who defeated the struggling Jazz at home. Here are a few notes from around one of basketball's toughest divisions. 

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Odds & Ends: Draft, Oden, Greene, Kings

February 27th, 2013 at 7:01pm CST by Alex Lee

The news of the night so far in the NBA is that Pacers' Roy Hibbert and Warriors' David Lee have each been suspended one game without pay for their roles in last night's skirmish (Twitter links from Yahoo's Marc Spears).  In addition, Lance Stephenson, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were each fined $35,000 for "escalating the altercation."  Hibbert already told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he will pay Stephenson's fine for being a good teammate, tweets Wells. 

Lee will serve his suspension tonight, as the Warriors visit in the Knicks in one of 10 games on tonight's schedule.  Mark Jackson, back in Madison Square Garden as head coach of the Warriors, has already expressed his displeasure with the league's decision, tweets Adam Zagoria of NBA.com.  Here are some other odds and ends from around the league:

  • Chad Ford of ESPN released his latest draft blog, available to insiders only and complete with an updated top 30.  Ben McLemore of Kansas tops his big board but as Ford asserts, this year's top 10 promises to be as ever-changing as any in recent memory.
  • Greg Oden will not decide on his next team until July, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports.  This agrees with last week's report from Marc Spears of Yahoo that Oden won't sign until the offseason, though it sounds like this came directly from Oden's agent, Mike Conley.  Amico writes that Oden came close to signing with the Cavaliers earlier this month, but an agreement couldn't be reached.  Conley believes that once Oden works his way into game shape, he will again have All Star potential.
  • Free agent forward Donte Greene, now healthy after fracturing his ankle in August, will work out for teams at Eastern Michigan University on Sunday, tweets Marc Spears of Yahoo.  Spears reported last week that the Nets, Pacers, Hornets, Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, Magic, Rockets, and Cavaliers have all checked in on Greene, who played the last four seasons in Sacramento.  Citing a league source, Nets Daily has reported the Nets are not currently interested in filling their open roster spot by adding Greene.
  • As was rumored yesterday, it appears that Kings minority owner John Kehriotis does in fact intend to submit a "back-up offer" to the Maloofs to buy the Kings, reports Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.  Kehriotis apparently has the capital to match the offer from the Seattle group and believes he has the legal right to counter their attempt to buy the team, according to the report. 
  • Meanwhile, the Sacramento city council voted on Tuesday night to approve the request made by city officials to begin negotiations over the financing of a new arena, reports Bizjak.  These negotiations are a crucial element to Sacramento's bid to keep the Kings. 
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Eastern Notes: Bobcats, Rose, Garnett, Knicks

December 30th, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Michael Pina

According to a tweet from FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico, the Bobcats might be preparing to make an offer for Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. 

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