And-Ones: Anthony, Mudiay, Draft
The Knicks square off with the Bulls tonight at Madison Square Garden. With New York being eliminated from the playoffs the attention will be fully on Carmelo Anthony and if he re-signs with the Knicks or not. Chicago is one of the teams mentioned as a possible landing spots for ‘Melo if he leaves. Coach Tom Thibodeau had quite a few compliments for Anthony, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Thibodeau said, “He can score so many different ways. He can hurt you a lot of different ways. He can score the ball very easily. It doesn’t take him much to get going.” When asked about Anthony’s reputation as a “selfish ball-stopper,” Thibodeau said, “It’s interesting because with USA Basketball, they talk about him being a playmaker. He scores and if you a guy is open, he passes the ball. I think oftentimes it’s who he plays with. It’s interesting, a lot of the things that you hear about him, I heard about Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and Paul Pierce before they came together and won it. That changes perception. Carmelo has been one of the elite scorers in the league for a long, long time.”
More from around the league:
- Incoming SMU freshman Emmanuel Mudiay will be a big factor in the 2015 NBA Draft according to coach Larry Brown, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Brown said, “He’s going to be a lottery pick if I don’t screw up.” Mudiay is projected as the fifth pick in the 2015 Draft by DraftExpress.com.
- The staff at Basketball Insiders debate the about the best sophomores from the 2013 draft class.
- Adam Zagoria weighs in with his thoughts on last night’s Nike Hoops Summit, and the potential 2015 lottery picks that were on display.
- Sam Amick of USA Today takes a look at what’s next for the Knicks, Celtics, and Lakers.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Jefferson, Cavaliers
With the Knicks missing the playoffs for the first time in three years, the franchise is at a crucial point, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman weighs in on the most pressing issues facing the team this summer, and what he thinks needs to be done to improve the franchise.
More from the east:
- Now that the Knicks season is ending, the hands-off approach by Phil Jackson will be ending as well, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
- Former Bulls first round draft pick Dalibor Bagaric signed a contract in Lybia with Al Ahly Benghazi, reports Enea Trapani of Sportando. Bagaric comes from Zabok, where averaged 8.1 PPG and 4.7 RPG.
- Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders takes a look at the impact that Al Jefferson has had on the Bobcats season and culture. In 71 games, he’s averaged 21.9 PPG, 10.7 PPG, and 2.1 APG in 34.9 minutes per night.
- Terry Pluto of the The Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at the possibility of the Cavaliers re-signing both Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes this summer.
And-Ones: Knicks, Wolves, Silver
Carmelo Anthony was very complimentary when discussing Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Anthony said, “Thibs [Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau] is a great coach. His system kind of reminds me of [Spurs coach] Gregg Popovich’s system. You put anybody in that system and it’s going to work. And that’s what they’ve been doing. They had guys who have been sitting out all season long, guys [have] been in and out the lineup, and they seem to get it done.” The Bulls are one of the teams mentioned as a possible destination for Anthony if he leaves the Knicks this summer.
More from around the league:
- The Knicks have missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. In a separate article, Begley looks at what this means for the franchise.
- There are three major contract situations the Timberwolves will have to deal with this offseason, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. The team will have to decide what to do with Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, and coach Rick Adleman.
- In a separate article, Zgoda looks at the state of the Wolves roster heading into next season.
- Adam Silver thinks the NBA playoffs could benefit from a fresh look, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The call to make changes to the current format is in response to the superiority of the Western Conference.
Central Notes: Villanueva, James, Bulls
The Pacers lost to the Heat last night, losing their grip on the one seed in the East. Here’s the latest from the Central Division:
- Charlie Villanueva‘s role as an impact player has evaporated in recent years with the Pistons, and he tells Vincent Good Will of The Detroit News that he hopes his abilities will keep him in the league as he approaches free agency. “People haven’t seen me play in a while, [so] of course it’ll be tough,” said the 29-year old. “If I have to work out [for teams] to show I still have a lot of basketball left, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes. For sure, though, a lot of teams haven’t seen me play.”
- Recent Bulls addition Mike James had to recover from a mid-season MCL sprain to find his way back onto an NBA roster, but the 39-year-old tells K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune his confidence never waned. “I just stayed motivated,” James said. “I kept believing in myself, knowing I still can play this game. When the opportunity comes, I know I can still stop someone and put the ball in the hole.”
- Tom Thibodeau told Johnson that James, Louis Amundson, and Ronnie Brewer were primarily brought in to boost Bulls practices. “It gives you more depth and energy in practice,” said Thibodeau, “and insurance if you take on an injury. That they’ve all been here before is a plus.”
- We rounded up the Cavs notes earlier today.
Central Notes: Varejao, Bulls, Deng, Pistons
The Pacers, for all their second-half struggles, have a chance to put themselves firmly in control of the race for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a win on the road this evening against the Heat. The Bulls are in a tight race of their own against the Raptors for the No. 3 seed, and Chicago can help itself tonight with a home win against the Pistons. While we look forward to those games, here’s the latest from around the Central Division:
- The Cavs have a choice to make about Anderson Varejao this summer, since only $4MM of his more than $9.7MM salary for next season is guaranteed. The 31-year-old Varejao would be set up for free agency in 2015 even if Cleveland keeps him this summer, but he said he’d like to spend the rest of his career in Cleveland, observes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
- The Luol Deng trade turned out to be a significant offensive boost for the Bulls, as Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times points out, noting that the team has made slight improvements defensively, too.
- MLive’s David Mayo answers reader questions in a Pistons-themed mailbag column, looking back on the death of former owner Bill Davidson as a key turning point in the tenure of Joe Dumars, who plans to resign from the team soon.
Central Rumors: Brewer, James, Cavs, Sanders
The Bulls have made four roster moves in the past week, waiving Erik Murphy and signing Ronnie Brewer, Mike James and Louis Amundson. Still, more meaningful changes seem likely to come from elsewhere in the Central Division, where the Pistons and Cavaliers will probably be searching for new top basketball executives in the weeks ahead. Here’s the latest from around the Central:
- Chicago’s contracts for Brewer and James extend through next season with non-guaranteed salary, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson suggests the Bulls structured those deals with offseason trades in mind, though it’s worth noting that neither is eligible to be traded until after the July Moratorium.
- Cavs interim GM David Griffin believes in the backcourt pairing of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who thinks it’s unlikely that either will be traded if Griffin is formally named GM.
- It was clear that the Bucks had no intention of bringing Larry Sanders back to play this season, writes SB Nation’s Tom Ziller. So, the revelation that the team and the NBA deemed him medically ready, allowing him to begin serving his suspension this year instead of next, shines a light on the league’s tanking problem, Ziller opines.
Bulls Sign Lou Amundson
11:59am: The team has formally announced the signing on its website.
THURSDAY, 8:54am: It’ll be a straight rest-of-season contract, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, indicating that it won’t extend into 2014/15. The signing will take place later today, Charania notes.
WEDNESDAY, 9:03pm: In addition to bringing on Mike James, the Bulls will fill out their roster by signing Lou Amundson in the near future, a league source tells Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Amundson will be signed for the remainder of the season, and will be available for the playoffs.
James’ signing is set for Thursday, but it is unclear yet when Amundson will sign. The eighth-year big was waived in December by the Pelicans, and hasn’t played in the NBA since, despite rumored interest from the Wizards. Amundson has career averages of 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
If Admundson’s signing goes through, Chicago’s roster will be set for their postseason run. After waiving Erik Murphy and bringing in Jimmer Fredette, Ronnie Brewer, and now James and Amundson, the Bulls are set to reach the 15-man roster limit after spending part of the year under the 13-man minimum. It’s believed that the Bulls will avoid paying the luxury tax this season, regardless of whether Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson earn their potential salary bonuses. Trading away Luol Deng and having Murphy’s waived contract claimed by the Jazz dropped the team’s salary obligations enough to create room for the influx of new faces.
Bulls Sign Mike James
THURSDAY, 11:59am: The signing is official, the team announced.
WEDNESDAY, 7:56pm: The Bulls will sign veteran point guard Mike James tomorrow, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The deal will cover the remainder of the season, making James eligible for Chicago’s postseason run. James, a favorite of coach Tom Thibodeau, was expected to sign with the Bulls once Chicago was freed of Erik Murphy‘s salary thanks to a waiver claim of Murphy by the Jazz.
James has played exclusively for the Bulls this season, having his non-guaranteed deal waived early on and, until now, not getting an opportunity to re-sign after a 10-day deal expired in January. James joins recent signings Jimmer Fredette and Ronnie Brewer to bring Chicago’s roster up to 14 players, one short of the league maximum. The Bulls could still add another player now that the team is more comfortably below the tax line for the year.
In his time with the Bulls this season, the Lee Basketball Services client has averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 assists in 7.0 minutes per game. For his career, the 38-year-old averages 9.9 points and 3.5 assists per contest.
Bulls Sign Ronnie Brewer
The Bulls have signed Ronnie Brewer for the rest of the season, the team announced via press release. He and Mike James have been the leading contenders to fill the roster spot vacated when the team waived Erik Murphy last week, though over the weekend it appeared as though the addition of James was somewhat more likely. There’s a decent chance the team signs both, especially now that the Jazz have claimed Murphy off waivers, taking his cap hit off Chicago’s books and making it less likely the team would have to pay the luxury tax if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonuses this year.
Brewer, 29, worked out for the team at its practice facility Thursday, but the Bulls are quite familiar with him, having employed him as a key reserve on a pair of teams that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The swingman left for the Knicks last season and started 34 games in New York, which dealt him to Oklahoma City at the 2013 trade deadline. His minutes declined sharply from that point on, and the Rockets waived his minimum-salary contract shortly after the trade deadline this year.
The Bulls are back up to the NBA-minimum 13 players with the addition of the Creative Artists Agency client. The release simply says the contract covers the remainder of the season, so presumably there isn’t a non-guaranteed year tacked on for 2014/15.
Amico’s Latest: Allen, Battier, Rivers, Kerr
Ray Allen appears unlikely to return to the Heat next season, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. League insiders nonetheless believe that if the Heat’s trio of stars return, there’s a strong chance the team will try to re-sign Allen, too, so it seems his future is contingent on what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do. Indeed, those three will have much to say about what happens in free agency leaguewide, and Amico has more on the summer ahead and another member of the Heat as we highlight here:
- Several teams are expected to court Heat forward Shane Battier for an executive job or a gig related to player development, Amico hears. Battier recently reiterated his plans to retire at season’s end.
- The emergence of Brian Roberts has strengthened the belief around the league that the Pelicans will trade former lottery pick Austin Rivers this summer, according to Amico. Roberts is set to become a restricted free agent.
- Sources tell Amico they wouldn’t be surprised if several teams aside from the Knicks try to convince Steve Kerr to run their basketball operations. Kerr has expressed a desire to coach, but it looks like the leaguewide interest in him is as an executive, the role he held with the Suns from 2007 to 2010.
- Boris Diaw, Luol Deng, C.J. Miles, Marvin Williams, Luke Ridnour, Kris Humphries, Devin Harris and Jimmer Fredette are other free agents who appear unlikely to be back with their respective teams, Amico writes.