Eastern Notes: Celtics, Parker, KD, Heat
The Celtics are hoping that their depth will be enough to power them to success since they are lacking in star power, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. Celtics GM Danny Ainge understands the importance of having elite players, but he also pointed to the Spurs’ 2013/14 championship team as a team that won it all while not necessarily having the most talent.
“History has shown us that you need stars — or at least some level of stars,” said Ainge. “But I do believe you can win with really good players. Teams in the past that have won haven’t had the best players.”
Of course, that was a roster anchored by Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, so it’s not as though it was a team of no-names. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference..
- The Greg Monroe signing drew a ton of attention this summer, but if the Bucks enjoy success in 2015/16, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders believes that Jabari Parker’s return could be an even bigger factor for Milwaukee. Parker and Monroe, he adds, could consistently combine for 30-40 PPG, something the Bucks sorely missed last season.
- Shaun Powell of NBA.com says that the Wizards are right to be setting the table for Kevin Durant in the event that he wants to leave OKC. The Wizards offer more than the comforts of home for OKC, thanks to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and a solid collection of bigs.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if the Heat could trade Chris Andersen, Mario Chalmers, and a second-round pick to the Pistons for Brandon Jennings. While a healthy Jennings would be a quality a backup point guard to Goran Dragic, Winderman isn’t sure if Detroit will be motivated to move him upon his return.
Texas Notes: Williams, Mavs, Fredette
Deron Williams‘ falling from the elite point guard ranks in Brooklyn was a result of his injuries as well as his mental state, dialed in league sources told Ken Berger of CBS Sports. Another obstacle was the coaching changes during his time with the team. “The coaching rotating door really hurt him,” a person close to Williams said. “You had a different style offense and defense every year.”
Williams signed a two-year deal worth $10MM with the Mavs this summer and he shouldn’t have to deal with that particular problem in Dallas. The team employs Rick Carlisle, who is the third longest-tenured NBA coach, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined last month.
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Williams will look to rebound from a dismal stint with the Nets, but not everyone is overly optimistic about his chances of recapturing the success he had earlier in his career, Berger writes in the same piece. “I don’t think he’ll be an All-Star again because of how good the West guards are,” one longtime executive told Berger. “I don’t think he’s a top-15 point guard right now, but I think he can eventually get there.”
- Jimmer Fredette believes he fits the system in San Antonio and is eager to earn a role on the team, Dick Harmon of the Deseret News writes. “I’m very excited about the upcoming season,” said Fredette. “I’m coming in with the expectation that I’m going to have to work as hard as I can to get playing time and work my way in the rotation. One thing I do know, if I’m on the team, they do give guys rests. So, I will have the opportunity to play and I think it is my type of basketball. I think I fit in the system really well, and I love the guys. They are really competitive, but they want to help you help them win games. I’m excited to be part of that kind of culture. I couldn’t ask for a better situation and I hope I can continue to work hard and play well.”
Latest On Spurs, 2013 Pick Deshaun Thomas
SEPTEMBER 2ND, 11:03am: Deshaun Thomas, whom San Antonio drafted 58th overall in 2013, would sign with the Spurs if they make him an offer, a source tells international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The 6’7″ combo forward from Ohio State has played in France and Spain the last two seasons. The Spurs have only the minimum salary to give, but they have deals with only 18 players and guaranteed pacts with just 13, leaving open spots beneath the 20-man offseason roster limit and the 15-man regular season limit.
Reports from recent weeks have indicated that San Antonio has shown interest in Rasual Butler and Brazilian center Rafael Hettsheimeir, though it’s unclear where the Spurs see Thomas in relation to them. Thomas wasn’t on the Spurs summer league squad this year, in contrast to the past two Julys.
The 24-year-old former McDonald’s All-American averaged 7.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game with 37.4% three-point shooting for Barcelona of Spain this past season. He was a fairly prolific scorer in college, pouring in 19.8 PPG in 35.4 MPG in 2012/13, his final season with the Buckeyes. Thomas would compete with Matt Bonner, Jimmer Fredette, Reggie Williams, Youssou Ndoye and Keifer Sykes to make it to opening night if he indeed winds up with the Spurs for the preseason.
Do you think the Spurs should give Thomas a shot? Leave a comment to tell us.
Lakers Notes: Scott, Kobe, World Peace
The Lakers didn’t land a marquee free agent this summer, but coach Byron Scott is nonetheless impressed with the upgrades the team made, as he explains to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register in a wide-ranging Q&A. The team drafted D’Angelo Russell No. 2 overall, struck deals with seven free agents and traded for Roy Hibbert.
“I don’t look at the summer as a big disappointment, to be honest with you,” Scott said. “We missed on a guy we were after, obviously, in LaMarcus [Aldridge, who signed with the Spurs]. But to get Roy and to get Lou Williams and to get Brandon Bass, I think [GM] Mitch [Kupchak] did a hell of a job of recovering and making it a summer that you kind of looked back and said, ‘Man, that’s a pretty good recovery.’ I’m happy with the roster we have. We’ve got competition it seems like at every position, which I think is going to be fun to watch in training camp. We’re still very, very young, with the exception, obviously, of [37-year-old] Kobe [Bryant], so I’m excited about that.”
Scott pledged to Oram that he’d limit Bryant’s minutes and do whatever he could to ensure the legend can avoid injury and “go out standing” if this is indeed his last season. See more from the coach amid our check on the purple-and-gold:
- Scott is unsure if the Lakers will sign Metta World Peace, reportedly a strong possibility, but Scott seems high on what World Peace has done for Julius Randle in their workouts together so far, as Oram relays in the same piece. “He’s made Julius work which I think is great,” Scott said in part. “Then when the game is over he’s always talking to Julius about certain things that he feels Julius can do better. So he’s been a good mentor for him, he’s been great for the other guys to see him out here playing the way he’s been playing. He’s still in great great shape his body looks fantastic and he’s been great as far as seeing him running up and down the floor.”
- Eric Saar of Basketball Insiders goes along with many of his colleagues who take a pessimistic view on the Lakers for this season, with Basketball Insiders scribe Alex Kennedy opining that there’s “no way” the Lakers can make the playoffs with their existing roster, given the competition. Saar thinks the Lakers have a shot to make the playoffs in a year or two, though that might be enough for executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss, since sister and co-owner Jeanie Buss has said she’ll hold him to his pledge to resign if the team isn’t contending for a title by the spring of 2017.
Spurs Worked Out Carlos Delfino
The Spurs worked out Carlos Delfino earlier this summer, but they didn’t make the nine-year veteran an offer, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link). Delfino, who turned 33 last month, is hoping to return to the NBA, though he hasn’t played since the end of the 2012/13 season, when he broke a bone in his right foot that’s been slow to heal.
The Andy Miller client is still receiving money from the Clippers, who waived him via the stretch provision last summer shortly after acquiring him from the Bucks. Delfino never played for Milwaukee, which signed him to a three-year, $9.8MM deal, with $6.5MM guaranteed, in the summer of 2013, when it appeared he would recover much more quickly from his injury. The Clippers are paying him $650K each season through 2018/19, so they’re probably rooting for Delfino to make it back to the league, since set-off rights could allow them to recoup some of what they owe him if he signs another contract.
San Antonio has deals with 18 players, two fewer than the preseason roster limit, so the Spurs have room to add Delfino if they want to revisit the idea. He averaged 10.6 points in 25.2 minutes per game and shot 37.5% for the Rockets in 2012/13, his last healthy season. All those numbers are better than his career marks.
Will Carlos Delfino ever play in the NBA again? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
And-Ones: Hornets, D-League, Aldridge
The Hornets currently have a roster count of 18 players, a number that isn’t likely to increase, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer relays in a series of tweets. Coach Steve Clifford believes that adding more players would have a negative impact on the practice reps that the rotation players receive, notes Bonnell, with Clifford saying, “Last year I did a poor job of getting our team ready for the season. We were [initially] bad on offense and bad on defense.”
Bonnell also thinks the team has created some healthy competition for playing time, especially at power forward and backup shooting guard, and he believes that this year’s training camp will be a more competitive one overall than last year’s, especially among the 14 players possessing fully guaranteed pacts. Bonnell also praises the addition of Jason Washburn, noting that the team has no true backup for starting center Al Jefferson, and the Charlotte Observer scribe also likes Aaron Harrison‘s chances to make the regular season roster. Harrison’s two-year deal is only partially guaranteed.
Here’s more from around the league…
- The D-League is undergoing changes, and what happens in the NBA’s minor league can have significant consequences, as Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders points out amid his look at the best players ever to have emerged from the D-League. Danny Green, who re-signed with the Spurs for $40MM over four years this summer, is No. 1 on Brigham’s list.
- With the 2015 NBA Draft in the rearview, Jonathan Wasserman of BleacherReport took a look ahead at a number of questions relating to 2016’s draft. The talking points touched upon by Wasserman included who the likely No. 1 overall pick will be, with the scribe predicting it will come down to LSU’s Ben Simmons or Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere. Wasserman also runs down a number of prospects who could be selected in the lottery, including Jaylen Brown (California), Jamal Murray (Kentucky), and Brandon Ingram (Duke).
- Though there will be a mutual period of adjustment, LaMarcus Aldridge will fit in just fine with the Spurs this season, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland.com. “LaMarcus will be different,” said GM R.C. Buford. “And we’ll be different than we were before LaMarcus. We have to figure out how LaMarcus will play within our group, and produce at levels that he’s capable of — and that are important to him, and to our success.” Lowe’s piece also includes a detailed look at how Aldridge can thrive within San Antonio’s system that is well worth a look.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Langdon, Wizards, Fournier
The Cavaliers will hire Spurs scout Trajan Langdon as their Director of Player Administration, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He will replace Raja Bell, who is leaving to spend more time with his family, Wojnarowski adds. The change was confirmed by Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, who spoke to Bell. “I had so much fun with those boys and the Cavaliers’ organization, but it was just time to be with my family,” said Bell, who served in that role for one season. “It was the right thing to do right now, but I definitely enjoyed my time there.”
In other news around the league:
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis had reached a tentative deal with Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel E. Bowser to build a $56.3MM practice facility, Jonathan O’Connell of the Washington Post reports. Officials said the city plans to construct and own the facility, which will also include an arena for the WNBA Washington Mystics, while Leonsis would contribute $10MM to aid the surrounding neighborhood, O’Connell continues. Leonsis has been pushing for a state-of-the-art venue to replace the existing practice facility at the Verizon Center in order to attract high-profile free agents next summer, including Kevin Durant, who grew up in nearby Prince George’s County, O’Connell adds.
- Suns forward Markieff Morris and his brother, Pistons forward Marcus Morris, have a court appearance scheduled for Wednesday in Phoenix, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets. They face felony aggravated assault charges for their alleged roles in a January brawl at a Phoenix recreation center. The duo would be suspended a minimum of 10 games if they are found guilty of a felony and could also face a suspension if they’re guilty of a misdemeanor, former NBA executive Bobby Marks tweets.
- Magic swingman Evan Fournier could have competition for minutes and a sixth-man role this season from rookie Mario Hezonja, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Both have similar skills, though playing them together on the second unit is intriguing because it could give Orlando some second-unit firepower, Schmitz continues. Fournier needs to improve defensively and increase his strength to get more playing time, Schmitz adds. He is eligible for an extension until the start of the regular season, and we recently examined his chances of getting it in our Extension Candidate series.
And-Ones: Leonard, Lawson, Kings
Kawhi Leonard, who re-signed with the Spurs in July for five years and an estimated $90MM, ranks favorably among the best small forwards in history at similar stages of their careers, according to advanced stats, Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News writes. For example, in his fourth year, Leonard had a better Player Efficiency Rating (22.0) than Scottie Pippen (21.5), Bernard King (19.8), Alex English (19.7) and John Havlicek (19.2) did in their fifth, as McCarney points out. What’s more, he had more win shares per 48 minutes (.204) than those four as well as Rick Barry (.155) and Dominique Wilkins (.197), McCarney adds.
Here’s more news and notes from around the league:
- The Kings‘ decision to sign Rajon Rondo to a one-year deal worth $10MM was a bad move because Rondo is a limited player and even if he does post a quality season, the contract does not provide any future control for the team, writes SI.com’s Ben Golliver in an analysis of Sacramento’s offseason. On the other hand, the Kings’ deal with Kosta Koufos is a good one, Golliver writes, because Koufos is a dependable, unselfish producer.
- Ty Lawson, in reply to a comment on his Instagram account, criticized Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, owner Stan Kroenke and president Josh Kroenke (h/t Jeffrey Morton of Denverstiffs.com). Lawson was traded to the Rockets during the summer after continued alcohol issues. In response to a comment that labeled Lawson a disappointment in Denver, Lawson replied, “lol I wasn’t a disappointment…. I did my job.. Tim Conelly [sic] and the kronke [sic] are bad owners and gm’s.”
Pelicans Work Out Rasual Butler
Free agent Rasual Butler worked out for the Pelicans at their practice facility Wednesday, sources tell John Reid of The Times Picayune, who writes at the bottom of a story about the team’s signing of Sean Kilpatrick. Before this, the Spurs were the last team with interest linked to the 36-year-old, with Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops reporting that San Antonio continued to eye Butler after The Oregonian’s Jason Quick first identified the Spurs as an interested party in early July. The swingman would like to play for the Heat, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote a few days ago, though it’s unclear if Miami wants that to happen.
Butler expressed a desire this past spring to return to the Wizards, with whom he played last season after making the regular season roster on a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary, and he appeared eager to join the Blazers after they became interested soon after free agency began this summer. Portland reportedly shifted gears away from him soon thereafter, however.
No movement appears to be taking place in negotiations between the Pelicans and lingering restricted free agent Norris Cole, Reid notes, leaving the team with 13 fully guaranteed contracts, plus partially guaranteed deals for Kilpatrick and undrafted shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones, as our Pelicans roster page shows. The team also worked out shooting guard Corey Webster, a prospect from New Zealand, as Niall Anderson of The New Zealand Herald reported and as Reid confirms.
Do you think Butler would be a fit for the Pelicans? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Pelicans In Mix As Sean Kilpatrick Nears Camp Deal
One-year NBA veteran shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick is closing in on signing a deal for training camp, and the Pelicans are squarely in the mix, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The 25-year-old who was with the Timberwolves on a 10-day contract last season was a participant in recent workouts with the Pelicans, Hawks, Spurs and Lakers.
New Orleans has plenty of roster flexibility, with 13 fully guaranteed salaries and a partial guarantee for Bryce Dejean-Jones the team’s only commitments so far. They were reportedly to have worked out shooting guard Corey Webster, a prospect from New Zealand. The Hawks and Spurs also have only 13 full guarantees apiece, but they have plenty of others on non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed arrangements. The Lakers have a dozen full guarantees but are similarly stocked with multiple players who are without fully guaranteed salary.
The 6’4″ former Cincinnati Bearcat averaged an impressive 18.2 points in 28.7 minutes per game in summer league for the Bucks this year, but Milwaukee has 15 full guarantees and it’s unclear if the team has interest in him for camp. The Timberwolves have 16 fully guaranteed deals, so Kilpatrick would seemingly have a tough time making the regular season roster in Minnesota despite his experience there. The Wolves signed Kilpatrick in large measure because he was in close proximity to New York when they were short a player before a game against the Knicks, but he saw plenty of playing time in his brief stint with Minnesota, putting up 5.5 PPG in 17.9 MPG.