Franchise Notes: Europe, Hawks, Anaheim, Kings
From the possibility of international expansion to an NBA owner making a bid for an MLB team, here are a few updates on the futures of the league and a few franchises:
- Commissioner David Stern said the idea of NBA teams in Europe has been discussed, but it's not realistic for the near future: "It’s not the schedule and the traveling which is the problem. It’s the arenas, the ownership, the television arrangements, the pricing structure and the fan avidity. And it doesn’t pay to take anything for granted. It’s a nice thought. But basketball is not going to vend in Europe quite yet. It’s just growing. And it’s growing slowly but it’s growing nevertheless" (HoopsWorld link).
- Stern added that would-be buyers have interest in the Hawks, but Atlanta's ownership group isn't currently entertaining the idea. The Hawks are "well down" on the league's list of worries, according to Stern.
- Anaheim's Honda Center announced that its multi-million dollar renovation project is underway. As Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles wrote last summer, Anaheim hopes the renovations help attract an NBA team to the home of the NHL's Ducks.
- At one point, the Kings looked Anaheim-bound, and their situation is still tenuous. Tom Couzens of the Sacramento Bee says the Maloofs "are speaking volumes by saying nothing" about financial contribution toward the city's new arena.
- Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is leading one of the groups bidding on the Los Angeles Dodgers, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Up against ten other suitors, Heisley's bid is "solid but a long shot," says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Warriors, Kings, Martin
Each of the three Pacific Division teams in action last night went down to the wire, with no game decided by more than three points. The Suns edged the Bucks, while the Kings and Warriors fell to the Timberwolves and Thunder, respectively. The Clippers are the only Pacific team in action tonight, but we've got a few links to round up….
- Kobe Bryant told 710 ESPN in L.A. that he expects the Lakers' brass to make a move in the coming weeks: "They'll tweak something. I don't know what. But I'm sure they'll do something" (ESPNLosAngeles link).
- Sam Amick has a pair of new Warriors-heavy pieces up at SI.com, including a Q&A with Jerry West. Both are must-reads for Warriors fans, as members of the front office discuss the team's future and the challenges they've faced acquiring talent.
- The city of Sacramento is thought to be seeking approximately $80MM from the Kings and the NBA for its new arena, reports James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom.
- Recently-signed forward Kenyon Martin will make his Clippers debut, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
- D-League star Blake Ahearn would be a good fit for the Clippers, opines Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside (on Twitter). Ahearn is averaging 24.1 PPG and 5.6 APG at Reno this season.
Decisions On Non-Guaranteed Contracts
February 10th marks the day that all players on non-guaranteed contracts will have their deals guaranteed for the remainder of the season. However, if a team wants to meet that Friday deadline, it will need to make its decisions today, allowing its player(s) to pass through waivers in time.
Some non-guaranteed players, such as DeJuan Blair and Jeremy Lin, are in no danger of being waived. However, with a few dozen players on non-guaranteed deals across the league, there will be plenty of cuts before the day is out. Some of those players will sign 10-day contracts shortly after being cut, while others could join the D-League or find a place on our list of current unrestricted free agents.
We'll track all the day's decisions on non-guaranteed contracts right here, with the latest news up top:
- Other players who will have their contracts guaranteed for the remainder of the year: Ivan Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Jerry Stackhouse (Hawks), Cory Higgins (Bobcats), Brian Scalabrine, John Lucas (Bulls), Samardo Samuels, Alonzo Gee (Cavaliers), Sean Williams (Mavericks), Julyan Stone (Nuggets), Vernon Macklin, Damien Wilkins (Pistons), Dominic McGuire, Chris Wright (Warriors), Sundiata Gaines, Keith Bogans (Nets), Steve Novak, Jerome Jordan (Knicks), Ryan Reid (Thunder), DeAndre Liggins (Magic), Lavoy Allen, Francisco Elson (Sixers), Danny Green, Gary Neal (Spurs), Jeremy Evans (Jazz).
- The Jazz will guarantee Jamaal Tinsley's contract, according to Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).
- The Pistons are keeping guard Walker Russell, agent Giovanni Funicello told HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Hornets have waived DaJuan Summers and Carldell Johnson, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- The Rockets waived Jeff Adrien, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The move clears a roster spot for Greg Smith.
- The Wizards have waived Hamady N'Diaye, according to a team release.
- Chris Johnson received a call from Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan this morning saying his contract would be guaranteed, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- The Celtics will hang on to Greg Stiemsma and guarantee his deal, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- The Lakers have waived Derrick Caracter. Caracter broke the news himself, tweeting "It's over before it begun!!! …. On to the next chapter of my life" (Twitter links). The Lakers will hang on to Devin Ebanks, Andrew Goudelock, and Darius Morris, tweets Mike Breshnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Clippers have cut Solomon Jones, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- The Heat have waived Mickell Gladness, the team announced (Twitter link). Miami's other two players on non-guaranteed deals, Eddy Curry and Terrel Harris, look safe, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- The Grizzlies have waived Josh Davis, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- The Spurs announced they've waived Malcolm Thomas, who was assigned to the team's D-League affiliate last week.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Lin, Martin, Kings
Linsanity may be taking over New York, but fans of a couple other teams aren't so excited about Jeremy Lin's recent emergence for the Knicks. The Harvard product was on the Rockets roster during training camp, after Houston claimed him off waivers from the Warriors. As Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group writes, Lin saw some playing time in Golden State last year, but became a cap casualty when the Warriors cleared space to make an offer to restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan.
Here are the rest of the morning's notes out of the Pacific division:
- Kenyon Martin was flattered by the number of teams and players that reached out to him when he was a free agent, but ultimately decided the Clippers were the best fit, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. In an unfortunate twist, Martin may not get to play with one of his most aggressive recruiters, Chauncey Billups, who could miss significant time with an achilles injury. Martin said he got the "full-court press" from Billups and Chris Paul, tweets Kyler.
- Seattle is trying to bring the NBA back to the city, but that hasn't affected Sacramento's work on a new arena, reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings are thought to be a candidate for relocation if the league goes in that direction.
- Lakers star Kobe Bryant discussed his future and denied a Dwight Howard rumor, as we wrote earlier this morning.
Seattle Working To Land NBA Team
The city of Seattle is working behind the scenes to plan a new sports arena and eventually land an NBA franchise, report Steve Miletich and Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times. Seattle has been without a team since the SuperSonics departed to become the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.
Christopher Hansen, a hedge-fund manager with roots in Seattle, has approached the city about purchasing a team if a new arena can be built.
The logistics of actually bringing a team to Seattle are yet to be determined, but the most likely franchise to be moved is the Sacramento Kings, who are currently embroiled in a fight of their own for a new arena.
Berger On Howard, Williams, Chandler, Nash, GMs
Ken Berger of CBSSports weighed in on the Dwight Howard situation, Deron Williams and several other hot NBA topics. Here is a quick summary of his updates:
- Dwight Howard would already be on his way out of Orlando if he was able to make a decision on a destination, according to a person close to the situation. Rival executives believe that after the All-Star game in Orlando, the Magic will be forced to move him.
- Berger says that despite reports to the contrary, the Lakers are indeed one of Howard's finalists, along with the Mavericks and Nets. The Lakers would prefer to move Pau Gasol in a deal over newly named All-Star starter Andrew Bynum.
- While the Nets are encouraged by Deron Williams' outlook on the team, the team knows that it must complete a Dwight Howard-sized deal to resign the point guard.
- Despite league-wide concern over how the Kenyon Martin situation shook out in China, the Nuggets remain committed to signing Wilson Chandler.
- Steve Nash has not requested a trade, but if he should, the Suns would do all they can to accommodate his request.
- On top of the Lakers interest in Ramon Sessions, the team has also discussed the possibility of adding Gilbert Arenas.
- Berger suggests the following front office members have uncertain futures: Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld, Pistons team president Joe Dumars, Kings team president Geoff Petrie, Raptors team president Bryan Colangelo
Odds & Ends: Sessions, Kings, Mavs, Hornets
On January 31st, 1979, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent Terry Furlow to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Butch Lee and a 1983 first-round pick. Both Furlow and Lee played their last NBA minutes in 1980, but that '83 draft pick ended up in the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, who used it to select Derek Harper. Harper went on to score over 16,000 points in his 16-year NBA career — nearly five times the combined career totals for Furlow and Lee.
As for January 31st, 2012, here are a few items from around the Association:
- Ramon Sessions isn't surprised to hear his name involved in trade rumors, writes Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer. The Lakers have inquired about the point guard's availability and the Cavaliers are receiving interest from other clubs as well.
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links) spoke with Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof who spoke highly of the jobs that GM Petrie and coach Keith Smart are doing. Last night, it was reported that the club could be looking to replace Petrie, who has been with the Kings since 1994.
- After J.J. Barea departed in the offseason, the Mavericks managed to replace him admirably and cheaply, as Jeff Caplan writes at ESPNDallas.com.
- There shouldn't be any sense of security for Hornets players, with a major roster overhaul coming this offseason, or sooner, says John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) checks in on the stocks of a few college players. While Anthony Davis still has a stranglehold on the top spot on Ford's draft board, the rest of the top five is in flux.
- Heat fans may have a love affair with Michael Beasley, but there probably would never have been a Big Three in Miami if Beasley had put it together during his time with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- A few members of ESPN.com's TrueHoop network discussed Dwight Howard and other potential trade candidates.
Pacific Links: Petrie, Smart, Biedrins
Here are a few happenings from the West Coast:
- Josh Childress is finding his way back into the Suns rotation, notes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic.
- The Kings could be looking to replace longtime president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie, sources tell Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty and SBNation.com.
- Former Warriors and current Kings coach Keith Smart "represented a continuation of the Don Nelson era," Golden State co-owner Joe Lacob said, and that's why he had to be replaced, reports J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.
- Andris Biedrins is averaging a career-low 2.9 PPG, and he's unhappy with his role, writes Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN Los Angeles analyzes the potential implications of a Gilbert Arenas signing for the Lakers.