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Western Rumors: Spurs, Wolves, Pekovic

November 14th, 2012 at 5:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

While it's not uncommon for several members of a team to butter up an opponent before a game, Knicks coach Mike Woodson delivered a theory on the success of the Spurs in advance of their matchup on Friday, as Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express News documents. "So when young guys or any new player comes on their team, they have to buy in because those banners are up there for a reason," Woodson said. "So I think the transition for a lot of the players that come here is easier." The praise of San Antonio seems warranted as they sit on top of the Western Conference at 7-1. Here's the latest on a few of the teams trying to knock them off that pedestal.

  • An agent who is trying to get his player on the Wolves believes the team is trying to make some kind of trade, Darren Wolfson reveals via Twitter. Minnesota is looking for help on the perimeter, and Hoops Rumors readers have so far identified them as the team most in need of a new wing player.
  • HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram calls Nikola Pekovic "the best young traditional center in the NBA," and details his growth as a player as he takes on double-teams with so many of his Wolves teammates out with injury.
  • Phil Jackson's desire for significant organizational power was the stumbling block that kept him from becoming coach of the Lakers, just as it prevented the Knicks from pursuing him last spring, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
  • The Lakers put Mike D'Antoni in a no-win situation by reaching out to Jackson, thus forcing D'Antoni to deal with being seen as Plan B in addition to the heightened expectations that already surround the team, opines Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
  • Deveney, in his wide-ranging piece, also questions the bargaining power of Royce White while noting the success of several other 2012 draftees.
  • Matt Moore of CBSSports.com has been supportive of White in the past, since they suffer from the same anxiety problems, but now Moore takes the rookie to task for his playing-time demands and Twitter outbursts.
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Odds & Ends: Odom, Duncan, Johnson, Blazers

November 11th, 2012 at 10:20pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Sunday evening:

  • Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Clippers still aren't sure what contributions they can expect from Lamar Odom this season.
  • Tim Duncan is playing like an MVP candidate this season, says Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News.
  • David D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledges examines Nets guard Joe Johnson's slow start to the season.
  • The Trail Blazers have the least productive bench in the league so far, but Chris Haynes of CSNNW.comthinks the team should give their young reserves more playing time so they can develop and improve.
  • Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that the Knicks' J.R. Smith is an early candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
  • Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has a new mailbag covering various Celtics topics.
  • Barry Tramel of the Oklahoman is impressed with new Thunder guard Kevin Martin.
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HoopsWorld On Best NBA Contracts

November 11th, 2012 at 4:50pm CST by Sean Highkin

The staff of HoopsWorld.com has posted a new roundtable in which several of their staff writers weighed in on which players have the best contracts in the NBA.

  • Joel Brigham writes that as the best three-point shooter in NBA history, Ray Allen is a steal for the Heat at $3MM per year.
  • Bill Ingram believes the Spurs got an excellent value in Tony Parker. Parker is making $12.5MM this season, considerably less than other elite point guards such as Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
  • Robert Wing calls Kyle Lowry's contract a "complete steal," saying the Raptors got a major upgrade at starting point guard over Jose Calderon for cheap.
  • Eric Pincus thinks the Knicks were able to take advantage of Raymond Felton's low stock after his poor performance in Portland last season to land the point guard for $14.9MM over four years.
  • Alex Kennedy points out that Rajon Rondo would be worth much more on the open market than the five-year, $55MM extension he signed with the Celtics in 2009.
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Odds & Ends: Hill, Martin, Knicks, Celtics, Belinelli

November 5th, 2012 at 10:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Before the Spurs tipped off against the Pacers, coach Gregg Popovich told reporters, including Dan McCarney of San Antonio Express-News that he still keeps a watchful eye on guard George Hill.  “I’ve watched him closely,” Popovich said. “As you very well know, he was a team favorite, a fan favorite, a wonderful community guy. Great competitor. So we’re always pulling for him to be successful. We were jumping out of our seat when he made the shot a couple of games ago to win the game for them. We were thrilled."  The Spurs weren't so kind to Hill's squad tonight as they topped Indiana 101-79.  Here's more from around the Association..

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Odds & Ends: Martin, Jennings, Parker, Gaines

November 5th, 2012 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has issued its first two warnings for flops, as the league's official site outlines today. The league has formally warned the Timberwolves' J.J. Barea and the Cavs' Donald Sloan about flopping, meaning that if either player commits a second offense, they'll be fined $5K. Let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the Association….

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Odds & Ends: Warriors, Spurs, Allen, Flynn

November 4th, 2012 at 10:07pm CST by Alex Lee

At 2-1, the Warriors have started off what  many believe to be a promising season on the right foot, despite losing Brandon Rush to a torn ACL on Friday night.  Because it is so early in the season, the Warriors have the good fortune of having some options if they want to replace him, writes Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area.

One reason they may not need personnel reinforcements has the been the surprising play of Carl Landry, who has provided scoring (20 points per game) and toughness off the bench in the team’s first three games, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on in the NBA on the first Sunday night of November:

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Northwest Rumors: Harden, Thunder, Layden

November 4th, 2012 at 9:31am CST by Chuck Myron

If it weren't for the Lakers' 0-3 start, the Nuggets, also 0-3, might be getting a lot more attention. A trendy pick this season (Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors has the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals over both the Lakers and the Thunder), Denver has struggled in its early East Coast trip, though the team might have scored a signature win against the Heat last night if not for Ray Allen's heroics. The Nuggets will be the last team to make their home debut this season, doing so Tuesday, so perhaps that will help them right the ship. Here's other weekend news on their Northwest Division rivals.

  • Several teams reportedly had contact with the Thunder about James Harden prior to last week's trade, but Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears the Rockets, the last team standing, were also the first to get involved in discussions. Amico adds that the Cavs weren't in on the trade talks.
  • In the same piece, Amico defends Thunder GM Sam Presti for making the trade, and believes the Thunder got just as much out of it as the Rockets did.
  • Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden isn't upset he wasn't interviewed for the Jazz GM opening this summer, despite strong ties to the Utah organization, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. 
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Western Notes: Meeks, Tinsley, Roy, Blazers

October 30th, 2012 at 8:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA released its annual report on the growing international presence on its rosters, noting the Spurs have a record eight players from overseas, notes Art Garcia of Fox Sports Southwest, and that includes players from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy points out (Twitter links). The Timberwolves have five of the league's international players from four different countries, according to the team (Twitter link). As the league continues to attract talent from around the world, here's what's going on around the Western Conference. 

  • Jodie Meeks couldn't be more content with his decision to sign with the Lakers, even though the Wizards and Bucks offered him more money this summer, Kennedy reports.
  • In the same piece, Kennedy also checks in with Jamaal Tinsley, whose deal with the Jazz is non-guaranteed, as we learned last night. The backup point guard is enthusiastic about Utah's veteran offseason additions, but Brad Rock of the Deseret News believes the team's younger players are the key.
  • Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at how the Timberwolves plan to use Brandon Roy this season, noting that the plan is for him to see 30 to 32 minutes per game, down from his career 35.6 MPG average.
  • The Blazers hired Chris McGowan as team president last night, but he'll take a hands-off approach to the basketball operations side of the franchise, reports Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
  • No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis is set to make his debut for the Hornets on Wednesday against the Spurs, and Davis believes he gained much from going against Duncan as the Hornets conducted voluntary scrimmages against the Spurs in the summer, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune.
  • The focus is on the present in Memphis, where Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace largely stood pat over the summer with a roster on the fringes of contention amid the ownership transfer from Michael Heisley to Robert Pera, as Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines.
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When Non-Guaranteed Deals Become Guaranteed

October 30th, 2012 at 4:19pm CST by Luke Adams

With the dust having settled on preseason cuts, NBA teams have eliminated most players on summer contracts and non-guaranteed deals from their rosters. However, there are still plenty of players on non-guaranteed contracts who made their respective teams' regular season rosters. Does that means their contracts are now guaranteed for the season? Well, in most cases, no.

In order for most non-guaranteed contracts to become fully guaranteed for the season, the player must remain on an NBA roster until January 10th. If the player's contract doesn't clear waivers on or before the 10th, his full salary will become guaranteed for the season. Until that date, he'll receive either a prorated portion of his salary, or some other previously-agreed-upon set amount.

However, there are a handful of players whose contracts will become guaranteed before that January 10th date. E'Twaun Moore's minimum-salary deal with the Magic, for instance, stipulates that his contract will become guaranteed if he's not waived by October 30th, which means he looks to be pretty safe.

Per Mark Deeks of ShamSports, here are the other players on non-guaranteed contracts who will see their deals become fully guaranteed prior to January 10th:

Notes: Stone's contract becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by "opening night," which is assumed to be the Nuggets' opening night, rather than the NBA's opening night. Tucker's guarantee increases to $400K as of opening night before becoming fully guaranteed on December 1st.

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Warriors, Jazz, Others Discussed James Harden

October 29th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

10:56am: Suns president Lon Babby confirmed to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that Phoenix had been engaged with the Thunder in trade talks for Harden, though he says that no proposal ever gained serious traction.

"We were engaged in discussions on numerous occasions," Babby said. "We most recently met in person when we played them [on October 19th]. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a deal that was workable for both sides."

8:53am: According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, Thunder GM Sam Presti had at least "semi-serious" trade conversations involving James Harden with a number of teams before eventually accepting the Rockets' offer. Lowe says the Warriors, Jazz, Wizards, and Raptors were among the teams that Presti spoke to before sending Harden to Houston. We heard yesterday that the Suns also pursued a trade for Harden.

The Thunder were seeking a sure-thing player who was still in the first year or two of his rookie deal, according to Lowe. That means Presti figures to have inquired on players like Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Bradley Beal, and Jonas Valanciunas. Lowe adds that the Thunder GM likely started the process by reaching out to the Hornets about Anthony Davis, though I imagine that conversation didn't last too long.

Here are a few more Harden-related links, as reactions continue to pour in on one of the year's most surprising trades:

  • Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder made a last-ditch offer to Harden on Friday, proposing a four-year, $53MM extension. The team gave him a one-hour window to accept it, telling him that if he turned it down, he'd be traded to Houston. According to Tramel's sources, Harden said he needed three days to make a decision, but because the Rockets wanted time to negotiate an extension before Wednesday's deadline, Presti stuck to the one-hour window.
  • The pieces the Thunder acquired for Harden are the same sort of assets the team used to initially build itself into a perennial contender, opines Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
  • Members of the Spurs, a team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs earlier this year, were surprised by the deal, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. "It's kind of weird to look at OKC and think of them without their Big Three," Danny Green said. "Things are different. Obviously they're still going to be a good team."
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