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Odds & Ends: Curry, Knicks, Jones, Trail Blazers

September 19th, 2012 at 8:31pm CST by Michael Pina

It appears Warriors guard Stephen Curry's ankles are either 100% or very close to it. Earlier today Curry tweeted that he was finally able to participate in scrimmages with his teammates, and CSNBayArea.com's Matt Steinmetz later confirmed the tweet by writing that Curry indeed played five-on-five at the team's downtown Oakland practice facility.

Here's some other news from around the league.

Current Nuggets forward and former member of the Knicks Danilo Gallinari said that the fact New York is rumored to bring Isiah Thomas back into their front office is why they'll never win, writes KnicksJournal.com's Keith Schlosser.
Rockets rookie forward Terrence Jones sat down with Rockets.com's Jason Friedman for an informative Q&A.
Houston Chronicle reporter Jonathan Feigen analyzes what San Antonio's new uniforms could mean for the rest of the league.
SpursNation.com's Dan McCarney talks about what the recent sale of AEG might mean for some other teams across the league, including the Spurs.
In an in-depth season preview for the loaded Northwest Division, NBA.com's John Schuhmman says that the Trail Blazers might be the worst defensive team in the entire league next year.
Lakers head coach Mike Brown recently stated on ESPN Radio that he's excited about the upcoming season, for obvious reasons, writes ESPNLosAngeles.com.
NBA.com's Earl K. Sneed quotes Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle as saying that this is the year Rodrigue Beaubois puts it all together.

Bobcats To Sign Jeff Adrien, Eyeing Three Others

September 19th, 2012 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

4:44pm: The Bobcats have agreed to terms with Adrien on a non-guaranteed contract, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears, the Rockets, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics also showed interest in the forward.

3:53pm: Looking to bring at least 17 players to their training camp, the Bobcats are finalizing agreements with a handful of players expected to compete for a spot on the team's roster. According to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, Paris Horne, Josh Owens, Jeff Adrien, and DaJuan Summers are expected to be added to the Bobcats' roster in the near future.

Horne, 25, played in Germany last season after graduating from St. John's in 2011. He's a 6'3" guard. Owens, a 6'9" forward out of Stanford, was eligible for this year's draft and was ranked as a top-100 prospect by ESPN.com's Chad Ford, but went undrafted. Both players were part of the Bobcats' summer league squad.

Adrien and Summers both have previous NBA experience. The 6'7" Adrien, a UConn product, received limited playing time for the Warriors in 2010/11 and the Rockets in 2011/12. Summers, meanwhile, was drafted 35th overall in 2009 and has since played for the Pistons and Hornets. The 24-year-old forward has averaged 3.4 PPG in 81 career contests.

If the Bobcats finalize deals with these four players, they're likely to be non-guaranteed contracts. With 13 Charlotte players on guaranteed deals, there could be a roster spot or two available on the team for players who impress in training camp.

No-Trade Clauses In New KG, Duncan Contracts

September 19th, 2012 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA's collective bargaining agreement includes certain scenarios in which a team needs a player's approval to trade him, it's rare that an actual no-trade clause is negotiated into a deal. Heading into this summer, only Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki had official no-trade clauses in their contracts.

However, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports, the number of no-trade provisions in the Association doubled this offseason. Deeks tweets that both Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan have no-trade clauses in their new deals with the Celtics and Spurs, respectively. Both players inked three-year contracts this summer, so they can't be included in trades until those deals expire in the summer of 2015 (or 2014, for Duncan, if he declines his third-year player option).

Of course, it's unlikely that either Garnett or Duncan would have been in danger of being moved even without the no-trade provisions. Duncan has been a Spur for his entire career, while Garnett recently reiterated that he intends to retire as a Celtic.

Southwest Notes: Cunningham, Mayo, Lin, Spurs

September 18th, 2012 at 9:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most training camps don't start until October 1st, though a few begin September 29th. Still, many players are getting a jump on the league calendar by organizing workouts with their teammates. We've got news on a few who changed teams this summer and are getting in some extra work for Southwest Division clubs:

Jared Cunningham, the 24th pick in the draft this June, didn't suit up for the Mavericks in summer league because of a right hamstring injury, and is anxious to get going as he works out with several of his new teammates, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. In a crowded backcourt, Cunningham will compete for playing time at both guard spots, Sefko says.
Many with the Mavericks, including owner Mark Cuban, have high hopes for O.J. Mayo this year, as Sefko notes in a separate piece. “I think he can be a star and I think O.J. knows that this is his make-or-break, who-am-I-really-going-to-be-in-this-league year," Cuban said."And Coach [Rick Carlisle] is going to give him that opportunity. We’ll see what happens.”
The Associated Press (via The New York Times) checks in with Jeremy Lin as he settles into Houston for workouts with the Rockets. It's the second straight year Lin has been in Rockets camp, but circumstances are much different this time around.
John Hollinger of ESPN.com is rolling out his projections and scouting reports for each player in the league, releasing two teams each day. Today, it's the Spurs and the Celtics (Insider only).

Free Agent Rumors: Oguchi, Howard, Tucker

September 18th, 2012 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Over two and a half months since 2012's free agent period began, a number of players are still seeking contracts with NBA teams, even if those deals are just non-guaranteed camp invites. Here's the latest updates on a few of the players still on the market:

Nigerian swingman Chamberlain Oguchi, who was said last month to be drawing NBA interest, has been updating his Twitter account with news on his workouts. Oguchi has worked out for the Spurs and Heat, and recently had a second workout with Miami, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes (Sulia link). According to George Akpayen of SuperSport.com, Oguchi could be nearing an agreement with the Heat on a non-guaranteed contract.
The Heat also haven't ruled out a camp invite for Juwan Howard, who continues to work out with the team, says Winderman (Sulia link).
Former first-round pick Alando Tucker is working out with the Bucks today and tomorrow, according to Tucker's Twitter feed (hat tip to Sportando).
Agent Tyler Glass tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link) that free agent guard Lester Hudson was dropped by his agency after failing to show up for a workout with the Bobcats.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports shares an interesting new detail on a free agent contract signed earlier this offseason: Nate Robinson's deal with the Bulls isn't fully guaranteed, tweets Deeks. In a second tweet, Deeks explains that $400K is guaranteed, with Robinson receiving his full salary if he's not waived by January 1st.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Jazz, Bell, Wallace, Heat

September 16th, 2012 at 10:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Sunday night linkage..

Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com breaks down Dwight Howard‘s full interview with colleague Ric Bucher. In the interview, Howard says that he doesn’t plan on toning down his jovial behavior with the Lakers and while that has rubbed some the wrong way, Kamenetzky doesn’t think that will hurt his play.
Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune writes that Raja Bell‘s issues with the Jazz go back to two years ago when he was butting heads with Deron Williams and coach Jerry Sloan. Bell’s buyout theoretically should be a simple one as he is owed $3.5MM for the final year of his deal. The veteran has come close to accepting the buyout offer at several points but talks have now stalled.
In a piece for the Detroit Free Press, Dan Feldman runs down the five best landing spots for Ben Wallace. The veteran-friendly Celtics and Spurs come in at No. 5 and 4, respectively, with the Clippers at No. 3 as they could use a forward in place of Kenyon Martin. The Pistons are second to the Heat in Feldman’s eyes because Detroit won’t be a contender in 2012/13.
The Heat are bringing 6’6″ swingman Chamberlain Oguchi in for another workout, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter). Oguchi starred for the Nigerian national team this summer and has previous experience in the D-League.

Trade Candidate: DeJuan Blair

September 16th, 2012 at 7:09pm CST by Zachary Links

DeJuan Blair was a regular in the Spurs rotation last season, averaging 21.3 minutes per contest and starting 62 of 64 games. However, once the Spurs reached the postseason, the forward’s minutes greatly diminished. Blair saw just 7.6 minutes per contest in the Spurs’ ten playoff games and as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News wrote, he was less-than-thrilled with his reduced playing time.

“I love the Spurs, but they’ve got a lot of ‘bigs,’ and they’re bringing somebody else from overseas, so where am I going to fall at?” Blair said in July. “I was out of the rotation at the end of the season, so imagine next year…. That’s something I really don’t want to go through again, because it tore me down.“

Blair really appeared to be on the outs in San Antonio as Erazem Lorbek was widely rumored to be making the jump to the NBA, but the center wound up re-signing with Spanish club Regal Barcelona. While the 6’11” Slovenian won’t be in the states to take minutes away from Blair, offseason acquistion Boris Diaw should see a good amount of time after inking a two-year, $9MM deal. Matt Bonner will also return in 2012/13 after averaging more than 20 minutes per contest across the last two seasons.

For now, Blair still figures to be a key part of the Spurs’ rotation to open the season. What remains to be seen is if he’ll continue to get major minutes as the season wears on and if he’ll also see the same kind of burn in the postseason. If Blair is not seeing significant time to start the season, the forward will very likely look to force the trade issue again. The former Pitt start will earn just a shade over $1MM in his final year under contract and could be extremely attractive to a team looking to pick up a cheap – and highly motivated – rebounder off the bench.

Latest On Josh Howard

September 16th, 2012 at 3:36pm CST by Michael Pina

3:36PM: Josh Howard still has interest in signing with the Jazz, but the team's unresolved issue with Raja Bell makes it so he'll likely sign with a different team, according to a tweet from the Salt Lake Tribune's Brian T. Smith.

1:40PM: Free agent forward Josh Howard is scheduled to visit the Spurs on Monday, according to a tweet from Yahoo! Sports reporter Marc J. Spears. Earlier this summer we heard that Howard had narrowed his search down to five teams (the Jazz, Pacers, Nets, Knicks, and Warriors), but the Spurs were obviously not one of them.

Howard has also been given a look at by the Bobcats and Bulls, but Charlotte's interest qualified as nothing higher than "exploratory." The 32-year-old forward is a former All-Star coming off a year in which he started for the Jazz in their opening round playoff loss to the Spurs, and it's a bit strange that no team has been willing to bring him aboard yet.

Texas Rumors: Mayo, Brand, Collison, Spurs

September 14th, 2012 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

"The Texas Triangle" has long been the NBA's equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle, as teams have rarely gone undefeated on a three-game swing through Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. It might not be as much of a challenge this year, with the Rockets in flux, but if road-weary teams have to go to Houston on a back-to-back after facing the Spurs or Mavs, the Rockets could pick up a few extra wins this year. Here's the latest Lone Star news:

Chauncey Billups, recalling his growth under coach Rick Carlisle when they were together with the Pistons, persuaded O.J. Mayo to sign with the Mavs, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes.
Elton Brand is entering the final year of his deal after the Mavs claimed him off amnesty waivers from the Sixers, but he told the Ben and Skin show on ESPNDallas 103.3 that he'd be willing to come off the bench, something he's done only 30 times in 860 career regular season games.
Mavs point guard Darren Collison, also heading into a contract year, spoke about his goals for the season with HoopsWorld, as part of a larger roundup by Bill Ingram.
The Spurs announced via press release that the Austin Toros, their D-League affiliate, have hired Taylor Jenkins as head coach.
Carmelo Anthony gives the Rockets front office credit for snaring Jeremy Lin away from the Knicks, as we noted earlier.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Mavericks, Cuban, Davis

September 13th, 2012 at 10:17pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation interestingly points out that eleven NBA teams either have a coach, general manager, or both that have strong ties to the Spurs franchise. Former San Antonio assistant GM and current Thunder GM Sam Presti acknowledged t RC Buford, Gregg Popovich, and owner Pete Holt and the important role they played in his development as a front office executive, saying, "(They) have created an infrastructure that has afforded many of us tremendous learning and development opportunities…It is important to acknowledge that they generally have an even more profound impact on their people on a personal level than simply professionally.”

Here are other rumblings from the Southwest Division tonight…

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW writes that both Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo are ready to take advantage of their new opportunity with the Mavericks. Mayo has already started working out with head coach Rick Carlisle for the last month.
Sefko also documented some thoughts from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who implied that it's refreshing to observe practices and finally see centers on the team, namely Kaman and Elton Brand, being able to knock down a mid-range jump shot. Cuban also commented on the Lakers, adding that he's not sure "if all their guys want to be there."
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated relayed Maurice Evans' take on Hornets number one pick Anthony Davis, saying that the hype surrounding the former Kentucky star has been "over the top" (Sulia link).