West Notes: Kings, Howard, Gay, Blazers
Here are some notes from around the Western Conference on Sunday night:
- The uncertainty surrounding the sale of the Kings comes at an unfortunate time for a front office that has some important decisions to make, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Dwight Howard is currently operating with the mindset that the Lakers' roster, himself included, will stay intact for the remainder of the season, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. It's clear Howard is waffling once again and if the Lakers don't straighten this season out soon, the Howard situation could escalate. "My mind-set? Nobody's going anywhere," Howard told Amick.
- Stan Van Gundy, talking on an Orlando radio show, said that he had suspicions from the start that Howard may not fit in right away in Los Angeles, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. Van Gundy says that because Kobe Bryant probably isn't willing to adjust his game, that obligation falls completely on Howard. If they don't win and Howard remains an afterthought in the Lakers offense, Van Gundy says, there isn't much reason to expect Howard to remain in Los Angeles.
- Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien says that despite the constant trade speculation, the team is more than likely not going to make a trade before the February 21 deadline, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Despite Levien's words, Tillery says that the team believes it will start to get better offers for Rudy Gay in light of Tuesday's trade.
- Heading into tonight's home-and-home finale with the Clippers, Blazers' GM Neil Olshey sees some positive parallels between his current and former teams, writes Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
Northwest Notes: Olshey, Wolves, McGee, Jazz
The latest news and notes from around the Northwest Division on Sunday afternoon:
- The Blazers, who've lost five in a row, are hamstrung by their substandard bench, but GM Neil Olshey isn't planning to compromise the team's long-term cap flexibillity to improve its depth this season, The Oregonian's Jason Quick writes. Nonetheless, the GM regrets not adding bench strength over the summer.
- Yesterday's 10-day signees Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson made an instant impact for theWolves, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune documents.
- Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post chronicles the slow development of Nuggets center JaVale McGee, who's averaging fewer minutes than all but two other players who, like him, make at least $10MM a season. "He's got to understand that lazy and crazy isn't going to make it work," coach George Karl said. "We want solid and we want fundamental, and we want spectacular but only when it happens, not forcing the action where sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't."
- Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune is impressed with the way Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is magaging is players' minutes.
Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Paul, McDyess, Pacers
HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus examines the depth of the Clippers, and says that the team has received numerous inquiries about reserve point guard Eric Bledsoe. The Clippers won't consider moving Bledsoe until they sign Chris Paul to a long-term contract, Pincus hears, adding that most executives expect Paul, an unrestricted free agent next summer, to stay with the team. There's plenty of other news from around the Association on the first weekend of the regular season, so let's dive right in.
- We heard yesterday that Antonio McDyess is considering a comeback, but he has no interest in joining the Wolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
- In his third season, Lance Stephenson is finally making an impact for the Pacers as he receives minutes for the injured Danny Granger, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. Montieth adds that Granger, who's out indefinitely, could face surgery on his sore left knee.
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com examines the options for the Warriors in the wake of Brandon Rush's season-ending injury, and mentions Mickael Pietrus, Maurice Evans, Josh Howard and Kenyon Martin as "free agent names arising" in case the team goes looking for a replacement.
- C.J. Watson drew interest from other teams that could have offered more money, but he decided to sign with the Nets on a minimum-salary deal instead, notes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.
- Jeff Teague is using the Hawks' decision not to extend his rookie-scale contract this week as motivation, but he isn't upset with the team, the point guard tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
- In the same piece, Greene also checks in with Rockets swingman Daequan Cook, who's looking to prove his worth as a teammate after his inclusion in the James Harden trade caught him off guard.
- Neil Olshey took the Blazers' offer to become GM after owner Paul Allen put it on the table with the condition that Olshey was not to give the Clippers a chance to match, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
- Trey Johnson, who spent 11 games with the Hornets last year, was close to signing with Angelico Biella, but it appears the deal is falling apart, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports.
Odds & Ends: Possible Cavs/Heat Cuts, Olshey
- Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer takes a closer look at the decision the Cavaliers have to make on Sloan and Pargo and lists the pros and cons of keeping both. She also notes that Byron Scott believes one of them currently has an edge over the other, but the coach would not elaborate beyond that.
- Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald took to Twitter to speculate on what he calls the Heat's "no-doubt-about-it cut list," listing Rodney Carney, Jarvis Varnado, Mickell Gladness, and Robert Dozier. He mentions that the last two spots could come down to a competition among Josh Harrellson, Garrett Temple, and Terrel Harris, adding that he would keep the latter two (Twitter link).
- Interestingly enough, although Juwan Howard is not part of Miami's training camp roster, Goodman points out that the former Heat player still has a locker.
- Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge shared a transcript of Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's in-game interview with CSNNW on Friday. Some notable comments include Olshey's thoughts on Will Barton's potential, Nicolas Batum and the team moving forward after his contract extension, and landing J.J. Hickson.
- In response to a report that Stephen Curry will sit out the rest of pre-season, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News tweets that Curry's long-term extension talks with the Warriors are on hold.
Page On New Executives In New Places
Throughout this offseason we've seen dozens of players change teams, but just as important for several franchises was the movement by a few decision makers at the top. Hoopsworld.com's Derek Page took a look at several general managers who were either promoted by other teams or simply decided a new city might be a better fit. Here's a rundown of a few.
Neil Olshey: The former Clippers GM who now finds himself in Portland, Olshey goes from a team in contention for an immediate championship to one that appears to be rebuilding from the bottom up. Olshey's decision to change teams was impacted by the Clippers decision to pay him less than a competitive wage, but it's still a tough move to rationalize when looking at it strictly through a basketball lens.
Rob Hennigan: When you're young and an assistant general manager for a successful team, as Hennigan was for the Thunder, other franchises who're in desperate situations might find you attractive. That's exactly what happened with the Magic and Hennigan, who goes from one of the most promising situations to a long-term project.
Kevin Pritchard: With previous experience as the general manager of Portland, Pritchard heads into this new role alongside former Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh as the two prepare to take a young, small market team and make it a permanent contender.
Bloom On Clippers, Olshey, Del Negro
Earl Bloom of the Orange County Register has a new column that touches on the Clippers' offseason following the departure of GM Neil Olshey.
- Bloom believes the loss of Olshey isn't as big a blow for the future of the Clippers as it had been made out to be, praising the job Vinny Del Negro, Andy Roeser, and Gary Sacks have done in his place.
- The veteran pieces the Clippers have brought in this offseason, including Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, Ryan Hollins, and Ronny Turiaf, could prove to be very valuable, writes Bloom.
- Bloom would not be surprised if one of Del Negro, Roeser, or Sacks succeeds Olshey as general manager, pointing to the fact that Mike Dunleavy previously pulled coach/GM double duty for the Clippers.
Blazers Notes: Stotts, Canales, Olshey
Earlier today, the Trail Blazers held a press conference to introduce newly-minted head coach Terry Stotts to the public. The latest out of Portland..
- Stotts hasn't made a decision on if Kaleb Canales will be the lead assistant on his staff and a decision will be made once the entire staff is complete, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- However, Canales always figured to be a part of the staff as Stotts told him prior to getting the job that he would love to have him on board, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- General Manager Neil Olshey said that hiring Canales as assistant was "absolutely not a prerequisite to [Stotts] being hired," according to Tokito (via Twitter).
- Stotts hasn't set a deadline for assembling his staff but contact with assistant coaching candidates has already begun, Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge tweets.
- Stotts says he's waiting to get permission from some teams to speak with certain candidates, tweets Haynes.
- The new head coach says that his primary focus will be on developing the team's young players, according to the Associated Press. At the presser, Olshey said he spoke with every GM and head coach that Stotts has worked for, and also talked to players including Dirk Nowitzki.
Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady
The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
- In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
- When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).
Latest On Olshey Move, Clippers GM Search
The Clippers were offering former vice president of basketball operations Neil Olshey a one-year contract worth $750K when the Blazers countered with the three-year, $3.6MM offer to become their general manager, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The Blazers deal, which Olshey took last week, includes team options for two additional seasons. Olshey had been making $450K per year on a month-to-month deal with the Clippers since August.
Clippers Notes: Olshey, Griffin, Odom
With the departure of general manager Neil Olshey to the Trail Blazers, the Clippers' offseason has gotten off to a precipitous start with free agency looming. Before addressing the team's roster this summer, the Clippers will need to fill Olshey's role as the search has already gotten underway. The franchise hopes to build on major strides made this season after acquiring Chris Paul from the Hornets and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Here's the latest news and stories making headlines out of the Staples Center…