Eastern Notes: Lowry, Ridnour, Heat
At his introductory press conference, Paul Pierce said that he would be a “glorified role player” for the Nets. Now, as the Nets ascend the standings without the services of Kevin Garnett, it’s clear that he’s much more than that, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Here’s more from around the East:
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suspects point guard Kyle Lowry will re-sign with the Raptors this summer for $7-$8MM per year (Twitter link).
- Luke Ridnour was happy to leave the Bucks and land with the Bobcats, he tells Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. “I was glad to get out of Milwaukee,” said Ridnour. “It’s a good situation here. I’ve only played five, six games here so I’m trying to get used to it. It’s a good city and I’ve been in the playoffs before, and just to be back in the hunt where every game is big, it’s just a lot different feeling… This has been fun.”
- The Bobcats are looking to add a third center now that it appears Brendan Haywood is done for the season, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- In the same tweet, Bonnell says the Heat‘s signing of Justin Hamilton was made due to coach Erik Spoelstra‘s faith in the big man.
- Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel writes that Hamilton’s two-year deal is about the future. Winderman sees Hamilton and 2013 first-rounder James Ennis as having a shot to make the Heat’s roster next year, and notes that Pat Riley is scouting college tournaments in looking ahead.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Bradley, Bynum, Liggins
Celtics guard Avery Bradley missed 32 games last season recovering from shoulder surgery and 16 this season with an ankle injury, but he’s not worried about that affecting his value as he nears restricted free agency, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “I think I’ve [proven my worth] throughout this year because you can’t really control something like [the ankle],” he said. “But the last 16 games or whatever that I come back, I am going to go out there and play hard. This is a game I love to play. We need to go out there and prove to our fans and to ourselves we’re going to fight no matter what.” More out of the East..
- Pacers big man Andrew Bynum says he’s “probably at 80% but good enough to go,” tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Even if Bynum isn’t 100%, it sounds like he’ll be making his Pacers debut sometime soon.
- DeAndre Liggins played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the D-League today and will rejoin the Heat in time for Miami game Monday night, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Liggins who was signed to a second 10-day contract on March 8th, has appeared in one game for Miami, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound. The Heat confirmed the news via press release.
- The Raptors announced that they have recalled rookie Dwight Buycks from the Bakersfield Jam. The guard is averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 28.8 minutes in eight games (two starts) with the Jam. Buycks has appeared in 13 games for the Raptors this season recording 41 points, 10 assists, 20 rebounds and six steals in 124 minutes.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Knicks, Draft, Vasquez
Greivis Vasquez, traded to the Raptors in December, is finally feeling more like himself after undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason and experiencing a dip in production while playing for the Kings early this season, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I’m a little upset because I couldn’t really show the fans what I could really do. Last year, I led the league in total assists and was playing at a high level, and I wanted to do that in Sacramento,” Vasquez said. “I’ve been showing what I can do and getting better. The playoffs are going to buy me more time to show what I can do.” Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Vasquez will become a restricted free agent this offseason if the Raptors extend a $3.2MM qualifying offer. In Jones’ piece, Vasquez says a return to the Kings isn’t out of the question.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers will struggle badly next season, even if they manage to upgrade their talent level through the draft and free agency. Moore is skeptical that massive roster turnover won’t create new challenges, and sees evidence of bad habits taking hold in Philadelphia, including in standout rookie Michael Carter-Williams.
- A former GM tells Al Iannazzone of Newsday that Carmelo Anthony would help the Knicks more by leaving this summer than re-signing with them. The former GM says losing Anthony and enduring one more season at the bottom of the standings is worth it to maintain New York’s cap space for the summer of 2015, when they could take swings at a number of star free agents. “Guys want to go to play in New York. It’s going to hurt for a little bit,” he said. “But if you have cap space, it’s not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.”
- Aquille Carr discussed his hopes for the upcoming draft with Matthew Hochberg of Ridiculous Upside. The 5’5″ point guard chose to forgo college basketball, spending time in China and the D-League in preparation for this year’s draft.
- Two NBA scouts are high on Kentucky’s James Young, telling Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Young will land in the first round (Twitter links). One of the scouts thinks he’s a lottery talent, while the other thinks Jones would be better served to stay in college another year despite his upside.
Pacific Notes: Gasol, Bledsoe, Lakers, Gay
As expected, Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe tells Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic that he will likely return to the court this Wednesday (Twitter link). How well Bledsoe plays following a two month absence will impact both the Suns hopes for the playoffs as well as what kind of offers he will field during restricted free agency this summer. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Rudy Gay has been having the best stretch of his career with the Kings, but it’s a bittersweet accomplishment considering he’s doing it for a losing team in Sacramento. For the second season in a row, Gay has been traded from a playoff team to a non-contender, and he spoke with reporters including James Herbert of SB Nation about being moved from the Raptors, only to see them turn around and contend for the Eastern Conference’s third seed. “They’re a playoff team,” Gay said. “Of course I’d like to be a part of that. I’m in Sacramento now and I have to build this team. We don’t know if that would have happened if I were there, too. It happened early in the season. Nobody knows.”
- Prior to Thursday night’s games against the Clippers game on TNT, Kobe Bryant told Ric Bucher he believes there’s an 80% chance Pau Gasol will return to the Lakers next season, per a broadcast transcription from Matthew Moreno of Lakers Nation. (H/T Serena Winters)
- In a series of tweets, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com laments the fact that Phil Jackson is likely headed to the Knicks instead of becoming a more influential part of the Lakers. The legendary coach was spurned by the Lakers in favor of Mike D’Antoni early last season, and it appears the complicated relationship he has with the Buss family will ultimately prevent a front office reunion.
Atlantic Rumors: Carmelo, Crawford, Gay
Joakim Noah attempted to sell Carmelo Anthony on the idea of joining the Bulls this summer when the two spoke at the All-Star break, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard. The Knicks star was non-committal, though he expressed admiration for the way Chicago plays, Broussard notes, adding that the conversation began with Anthony asking Noah what it’s like to play for Tom Thibodeau (All four Twitter links). Broussard also hears that Derrick Rose, who’s notorious for refusing to recruit other players to the Bulls, would love Anthony to join Chicago and would reach out to him if the team asked him to (Twitter link). I touched on the possibility of the No. 2 player on the Hoops Rumors 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings joining the Bulls when I examined Anthony’s free agent stock Wednesday. Here’s more on Anthony’s current team as we check the latest from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks have been linked to 2015 free agent Kevin Love on numerous occasions, but if Anthony re-signs, Love’s poor defense and an offensive game that’s too similar to Anthony’s would make him a poor fit, opines Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal.
- Soon-to-be free agent Jordan Crawford has fond memories of his time with the Celtics, who traded him to the Warriors in January, and he greeted Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge warmly before Golden State’s game in Boston on Wednesday. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald has the details.
- Rudy Gay will hear plenty of boos when he returns to Toronto with the Kings on Friday, but Raptors ownership deserves blame for setting up the compromising situation that led to Gay’s acquisition last year, argues Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
D-League Notes: Byars, Karasev, Buycks
Derrick Byars has been acquired as a returning player by the Bakersfield Jam, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Byars’ last NBA action came during a call up by the Spurs during the 2011/2012 season. He attended training camp with the Grizzlies this season, and most recently had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktybr, but left the team prior to ever playing in a game.
More from the D-League:
- Former Knicks and Erie Bayhawks guard Chris Smith tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that he left Erie for “personal reasons” and intends to catch on with a team during the Summer League.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Sergey Karasev to the Canton Charge of the D-League they announced via press release. Karasev has appeared in 12 games for the Charge and has averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.2 SPG while logging 30 MPG.
- The Raptors have reassigned Dwight Buycks to the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League (Twitter link). Buycks has appeared in 13 games for the Raptors this year, averaging 3.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 0.8 APG in 9.5 minutes per game.
Odds & Ends: Wade, Colangelo, Deng
The Heat seem to be chief in Dwyane Wade‘s mind as he eyes his early termination option this summer, but the decision won’t necessarily be straightforward, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who shared Wade’s thoughts in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
“Well, I want to be here,” Wade said. “I think that’s always the things I’ve always said and I’ve always expressed. And after that, I want to win. I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m starting over and I’m rebuilding. I want to win. And I want to be on a team that has an opportunity to do that, and feel like I’m a big part of that. This is where I want to be. But as players, [having] options is good. Because you don’t know what is to happen or what is to come. So for us, I think we’re in a great situation. Guys have options as players, and they can exercise those options. Who knows what that means? But right now, for us, we’re on a very good team. We enjoy each other. We enjoy this city and we enjoy playing for this organization, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
Here’s more from Aldridge’s piece and other news from around the league:
- Bryan Colangelo spoke with Aldridge and attempted to walk back his comments from Friday in which he said he tried to tank as GM of the Raptors in 2011/12.
- The Pacers reportedly spoke with the Cavs about Luol Deng before the trade deadline, but Andrew Perna of RealGM hears Indiana had no interest in the soon-to-be free agent (Twitter link).
- The Rockets have recalled Troy Daniels from the D-League, the team announced via Twitter. Daniels had been with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before the Rockets signed him last month. Houston immediately assigned him back there after inking the deal, which is for the minimum salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes in an update to the team’s salary page.
Odds & Ends: Hawks, Raptors, Buyouts
The Hawks are close to adding five investors to their ownership group, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The NBA’s approval process for the addition is underway, and should complete in mid-March. Here’s more from around the league:
- Sources tell Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun that the Raptors are not planning to add any bought out players to the team (Twitter link). This falls in line with earlier reports of Toronto’s lukewarm interest in the buyout market.
- Tim Bontemps of The New York Post takes a look at which buyout players will work out the best for their new team between Glen Davis, Danny Granger, Caron Butler, Jimmer Fredette, and Beno Udrih.
- The Rockets attempted to sign Kostas Papanikolaou mid-season this year, according to Rigas Dardalis of EuroHoops.net. Houston owns the rights of the power forward currently playing in Spain, and will reportedly try to sign him again next summer.
Eastern Notes: Muscala, Jennings, Raptors
Updating an earlier note, former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo reveals that the 2011/12 season is when he tried to tank the team’s performance for a better draft pick, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. Colangelo says the losing mentality was limited to the roster’s assembly. “I didn’t ‘come out and say, ‘Coach (Dwane Casey), you’ve got to lose games.’ I never said that. I wanted to have him establish a winning tradition and a culture and all of that, but I wanted to do it in the framework of playing and developing young players, and with that comes losing.” Here’s more from the Eastern Conference, home to a few teams suspected of tanking this year:
- Dwane Casey is still the Raptors coach, and declined to comment on the tanking season in retrospect, per Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun (via Twitter).
- Mike Muscala spoke with Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constituation about joining the Hawks earlier than expected. “I was surprised. I was playing in Spain and my agent called me and told me about it last week. My whole thought process was to play the entire year (in Spain) so it was definitely a surprise.” Muscala said he is pushing through nerves, uncertainty, and inexperience in an NBA system to gain the most from the final stretch of the season. “I’m not sure in terms of a role but what I should be focusing on is putting more pressure on the rim offensively and defensively, getting rebounds offensively and defensively, playing with the skill I have in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situation.”
- Brandon Jennings doesn’t think fired Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks received a fair shot before Detroit let him go, he tells David Mayo of MLive.com. “You give a coach a half-a-season, with new faces and new chemistry, that’s not enough time, I don’t think. I felt like he was basically in a losing situation.” Jennings is frustrated with Detroit’s struggles this season, after an offseason that was meant to turn them into a playoff team. “It’ll be very disappointing and kind of embarrassing, the fact that with myself coming over here, and Josh coming over here, and us making these moves, and we don’t get it done–it’s going to be real disappointing.”
- Jennings also told Mayo he doesn’t know whether the rumors of Chauncey Billups and Josh Smith playing a part in Cheeks’ firing are true.
Odds & Ends: Nowitzki, Colangelo, Fredette
Rockets GM Daryl Morey said today that he asked Mark Cuban about acquiring Dirk Nowitzki this summer out of fears the Warriors would keep Dwight Howard from coming to Houston, according to ESPN (Twitter link). Cuban didn’t realize Howard hadn’t committed to the Rockets, and interpreted the proposal as a taunt over the Mavs‘ failed pursuit of Howard. Morey made his remarks at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and we’ve got more from that meeting of the minds as we pass along the latest from the NBA:
- Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo admitted that he attempted to tank a few seasons ago, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Presumably, that happened during his Raptors tenure.
- Jimmer Fredette piqued the interest of the Celtics, but it “wasn’t a good fit for either side,” as president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters today, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- The Timberwolves have no interest in Fredette for “myriad reasons,” according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
- Some within the Lakers organization wanted to retain Pau Gasol through the trade deadline to keep his Bird Rights, but Gasol writes in his blog that L.A.’s financial advantage to re-sign him won’t play into his decision (translation via HoopsHype). The 7-footer says he wants to go where he can help a team win a title, but he’s not ruling out a return to the Lakers.
- Caron Butler‘s role on the Heat would have been similar to the one Mike Miller played in recent years, and part of his decision to instead join the Thunder centered on the chance for more playing time, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links).
- The top half of the lottery picks in this year’s draft will be a star-studded bunch, but there are still other potential franchise-changing players in the mix, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com, who examines five potential steals.