Tim Hardaway Sr.

And-Ones: Bachynski, Rubio, Kaminsky

Despite the speculation that the Wolves‘ addition of rookie point guard Kris Dunn will ultimately lead to Ricky Rubio being dealt, Rubio is looking forward to mentoring his younger teammate, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press notes. “Really it’s a challenge. When a young guy like him who has a lot of potential comes, I think we can really play together,” Rubio told the scribe. “But if we don’t [share the floor often], I can really help him.

Rubio also noted that he’s thrilled about the hiring of Tom Thibodeau as coach/executive and believes the addition will help Minnesota’s young roster, Krawczynski adds. “I think we’ve got all the pieces together to make something happen,” Rubio said. “I’m really excited about the new coach and the new staff. They have a lot of years in their backpack and really can teach us how to reach the next level. I think we have the tools. We just have to put all them together.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Center Jordan Bachynski, who played for the Knicks‘ D-League affiliate last season, has signed with the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins in Japan, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (on Twitter). In 49 games for Westchester in 2015/16, the 26-year-old averaged 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
  • Hornets forward Frank Kaminsky acknowledges that he needs to improve on the defense end if he hopes to advance as an NBA player, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays. “I’ve got to be a better overall defender. I was overwhelmed at times,” Kaminsky said. “My preparation, obviously, needs to get better. I so want to be a more consistent player. I’d have a good game and then disappear in the next.”
  • Pistons assistant coach Tim Hardaway is contesting drunken driving charges stemming from an April arrest in Oakland County, The Detroit News relays. Hardaway was stopped by authorities in Michigan back in April and he had a blood alcohol level of .17 percent, according to court records. That blood alcohol level more than twice the state’s legal limit of .08 percent.

And-Ones: Smith, Motiejunas, Ross

The Pistons are in advanced talks with Otis Smith to coach their NBA D-League team, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Smith was the GM of the Magic during Stan Van Gundy‘s coaching tenure with Orlando, and had stepped down from his position in May of 2012, on the same day Van Gundy was fired as head coach of the team, notes Stein. This continues Van Gundy’s trend of hiring his former associates and players. Tim Hardaway was already brought in as an assistant coach, and Quentin Richardson was hired as director of player development.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Chaz Williams has signed with Oline Edirne Basketball of the Turkish League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The 5’9″ point guard went undrafted this year out of Massachusetts, after averaging 15.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 6.9 APG as a senior. Williams had worked out most recently for the Wizards, with hopes of securing a training camp invite from the team.
  • During an interview with Zip FM radio, Donatas Motiejunas was asked where he’d like to play if he were to leave the Rockets, and his preference was the Lakers, the Basketball Insiders article notes (hat tip to Talkbasket.net). Motiejunas said, “Most likely in Los Angeles because there are no serious bigs and I would likely get chances to play. I mean the Lakers, not the Clippers.
  • Former Ohio State forward LaQuinton Ross has signed with Consultinvest Pesaro of the Italian League, the team reported via their Facebook page (translation by Carchia). Ross went undrafted after averaging 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds as a junior. Ross had been projected as a possible second-round draft pick this year, but showed up 15 lbs. overweight to the scouting combine, and didn’t perform especially well. He played for the Lakers in the NBA Summer League, but only appeared in three games, and totaled just nine points, six rebounds and four turnovers in 31 minutes.

And-Ones: Parsons, Heat, Southerland, Pistons

Chandler Parsons was an all-around contributor for the Rockets, averaging 16.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists this past season, but that sort of production isn’t why the Mavs gave him a near-max offer sheet that Houston declined to match. They’re confident he can be a “far better” player than he was with the Rockets, as owner Mark Cuban said, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. While we wait to see whether Parsons proves worthy of Cuban’s investment, here’s more from around the league:

  • The Heat will likely sign a center for the reserve role that Greg Oden played last season, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Andray Blatche is available, but the Heat have shied away from him in the past because they’ve disliked his maturity level and behavior, according to Jackson, who seconds the notion that the Heat are unlikely to re-sign Oden following Oden’s arrest Thursday.
  • The contract that James Southerland signed Thursday with the Blazers is a one-year, non-guaranteed pact, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. That means it’s a summer contract, as I speculated. It also fits the stipulations required to make it an Exhibit 9 contract, though it’s not necessarily one.
  • Former NBA players Tim Hardaway Sr. and Malik Allen will serve as assistant coaches for the Pistons next season, the team announced. The Pistons also announced the hiring of former Knicks executive Jeff Nix as assistant general manager. He’ll serve alongside fellow assistant GM Brian Wright underneath president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower.

Southeast Notes: Hardaway, Hawks, Heat

After helping lead Michigan to the Final Four in April and being drafted by the Knicks in June, Tim Hardaway Jr. is making more headlines than his father this year, but Tim Hardaway Sr. remains involved in the NBA, and is hoping to eventually land a larger role, as he tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. Currently a scout for the Heat, Hardaway says he'd like to become the team's general manager down the road.

"That's my goal," Hardaway said. "That's why I'm here every day…. Everything is realistic. You just got to believe and make connections."

Let's round up a few more items from out of the Southeast division….

  • The Hawks' waiver claim of Gustavo Ayon makes it likely that first-round pick Lucas Nogueira will spend the 2013/14 season in Spain, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Second-round pick Mike Muscala will probably play overseas as well, according to Vivlamore.
  • In order to create the space necessary to claim Ayon, the Hawks renounced their rights to Ivan Johnson, tweets Jason Walker of Peachtree Hoops. The team can still re-sign Johnson, but no longer holds any form of Bird rights.
  • In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that it may make sense for the Heat to hang onto their mini mid-level exception through the summer and into the season.

Odds & Ends: Mavs, Brown, Telfair

Amin Elhassan of ESPN (hat tip to SportsDayDFW) spoke about the Mavericks' signing of Samuel Dalembert, calling him a player who will be well-suited for a role as an impact player on the defensive end. Elhassan also doesn't think that bringing Dalembert on board will impact the team's pursuit of Greg Oden, who could be "the steal of the century" if healthy. Here are some more news and notes from around the Association this evening: 
  • Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown addresses his relationship with LeBron James and his stint as coach of the Lakers in part one of an interview with Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
  • The Knicks, Heat, and Thunder have shown interest in Sebastian Telfair, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets.
  • Kennedy, as part of his NBA PM piece, passes along comments from Chris Douglas-Roberts, who's confident that the Lakers will bring him to training camp for a second straight year. 
  • Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York tweets that contrary to reports, the Bulls, Clippers, and Rockets are all front runners for Marcus Camby, and that the 39-year-old center is still weighing opportunities. It isn't clear as to what reports Zwerling is alluding to, as his list of frontrunners hasn't appeared to change much from this past week (with the exception of the Heat). 
  • The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer touches on LeBron James and Andrew Bynum and a broad spectrum of Cavs-related topics in her mailbag column.
  • Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway Sr. networked with several teams in Las Vegas about potentially joining an NBA coaching staff and is optimistic about his chances. 

 Chuck Myron contributed to this post.