Northwest Notes: Jazz, Nuggets, Faried
The Jazz are struggling quite a bit to start the season, but George Karl seems to think the Bucks will finish in the cellar and have the best odds at the top pick, writes Bob Wolfey of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Milwaukee keeps coming to me. They just don’t have enough talent right now. Injuries have taken their best players off the court. They could get into a position that they dig the hole so deep that, philosophically, it might be in their best interests for a poor season,” said the one-time Milwaukee coach. Here’s more out of the Northwest Division..
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post why the Nuggets would consider trading Kenneth Faried given the production that he has given Denver. Dempsey says that Faried isn’t going anywhere, though it won’t stop other teams from calling.
- Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari, who has been sidelined for quite some time, gets homesick occasionally, but he told Italian outlet Il Corriere della Sera that he wants to play in the NBA for as long as possible, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Justin Holiday signed to play with Hungary’s Szolnoki Olajbanyasz, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Holiday, who was in training camp with the Jazz this summer, spent last season with Idaho Stampede and averaged 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
Northwest Notes: Sefolosha, Thunder, Jazz
Here’s tonight’s look at the Northwest Division as the Blazers, Thunder, and Jazz look for Monday night victories..
- There’s no guarantee that Thabo Sefolosha will return to the Thunder next season, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City has never allowed a player like Sefolosha, a five-year fixture in the rotation, to get to free agency, but the defensively-minded guard could be the first. The threat of the luxury tax looms large over OKC and they have a more pressing deal to try to get done with Reggie Jackson, a rising star who is eligible for an extension on July 1. Sefolosha has previously stated his desire to remain with the Thunder.
- How good is Jabari Parker? One NBA assistant coach says the Duke star would be the best player on the Jazz today, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. While many have said that Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins is the undisputed top talent in the draft for months now, it appears that the tides have shifted in the last month or so with many execs saying that Parker or Julius Randle could be the first man off the board in June.
- Thunder guard Derek Fisher says that he’ll leave nothing on the hardwood this season as it will definitely be his last, writes RealGM’s Shams Charania. “It’s my last season, so I don’t have to worry about pacing myself for next season per say,” Fisher said. “I’m trying to make sure that I’m ready every night for whatever the team needs me to do…it’s just about being a leader by example and continuing to show our guys that you help your team win by doing whatever it takes – not just things that show up on the stat sheet.”
Northwest Notes: Garrett, Durant, Wiggins
After recapping the Wolves offseason earlier today, let’s take a look at some links out of the Northwest Division..
- New Jazz guard Diante Garrett made one heck of a first impression in his debut on Wednesday night, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. The 25-year-old D-League call-up helped lead Utah to a 111-105 over New Orleans on Saturday night.
- Count Thunder star Kevin Durant among those who are impressed with the top talent in the 2014 draft. Durant called Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins the “1A” and “1B” players in the class, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. KD says that Parker is the “real deal” and sees Wiggins as a future All-Star and Hall of Famer.
- While promoting his new book, Jazz legend John Stockton was asked by reporters if he has any plans of returning the organization. “I wouldn’t rule anything out but I’m enjoying what I’m doing,” said the point guard, according to Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter).
Odds & Ends: Asik, Carmelo, Garrett
During tonight’s game between the Knicks and Rockets, Kevin McHale opted to start Terrence Jones at power forward and made second-year man Greg Smith as the first big man to come off the bench. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says that although you could read into Omer Asik‘s trade request as a reason for him not playing much, he underscores that it’s more about how McHale has been unhappy with Asik’s play as of late (Twitter links). While it’s anyone’s guess at this point, I don’t think it would be too far-fetched to argue that Houston would look to get a deal sooner rather than later in order to avoid the situation turning into a possible major distraction for the team.
Here’s more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes from around the league:
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated thinks that two trade calls the Rockets should make regarding Asik would be for the Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson or Thaddeus Young of the 76ers (Twitter link).
- ESPN’s Chris Broussard turned to four long-time executives – two from the Eastern Conference, two from the West – to weigh-in on Carmelo Anthony‘s current standing in the NBA (Insiders only).
- Nate Gagon of the Deseret News ponders what the future holds for recent Jazz addition Diante Garrett and whether or not he’ll follow the same path as Sundiata Gaines, whose career in Utah was short-lived after a promising start.
- HoopsHype presents a slideshow of the top 100 free agents of 2014.
- Michael Pointer of IndyStar.com discusses why not much can be concluded yet from the Pacers’ 8-0 start.
Western Notes: Warriors, Bryant, Jazz
The West has been the stronger of the two conferences so far in the early going of the 2013/14 NBA season. There are nine teams above the .500 mark in the West compared to only three squads with winning records in the East. A conference chock full of winning teams is a recipe for intense and entertaining competition. Here are some notes regarding the West:
- Despite the injury to point guard Toney Douglas, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears from team sources that the Warriors are not expected to make a move to bolster their backcourt. Thompson reports that Kent Bazemore and Nemanja Nedovic will be given a chance to come off the bench and run the team’s offense in Douglas’ absence.
- There’s still no timetable for Kobe Bryant‘s return, tweets Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. The Lakers are paying Bryant over $30MM this season, a total almost $8MM greater than the next highest player on the list.
- The Knicks‘ decision to let Jeremy Lin walk away from the team after the 2011/12 season was a surprise to many, including Rockets GM Daryl Morey: “We didn’t really understand it, and we thought for sure that Lin was going to stay. I thought if any team knew what it had, it was going to be New York.” Harvey Araton of the New York Times breaks down New York’s choice not to match the Rockets’ offer sheet.
- Kenneth Faried declined to comment on the rumors implicating him as a possible early season trade candidate: “No comment on all of that. I just play basketball and do my job, and that’s it.” Faried had been linked to a potential trade with the Knicks‘ Iman Shumpert, but the Nuggets wanted more in return than New York had to offer. Read Christopher Dempsey’s full article about Faried at the Denver Post.
- Earlier tonight, Utah Jazz beat writer Jody Genessy revealed (via Twitter) that Diante Garrett was shopping at WalMart when he received the call offering him a spot on the Jazz. Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune provides further insight on Utah’s acquisition of the young guard and what it means for the team.
Jazz Sign Diante Garrett
The Jazz have officially signed Diante Garrett, the team announced today in a press release. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein was the first to identify Garrett as Utah’s primary target, while Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reported that an agreement had been reached.
Garrett, 25, made his NBA debut for the Suns last season, appearing in 19 games for the club, and averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 APG in eight contests with Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. His rights had been obtained by the Iowa Energy for the upcoming D-League season, before he landed an NBA deal with the Jazz.
For the Jazz, the addition of Garrett comes on the heels of the team’s release of Jamaal Tinsley. Tinsley, who was ineffective in his eight games with Utah this season, was on a non-guaranteed deal and I’d imagine Garrett will get a similar minimum-salary, non-guaranteed contract. He should get a chance to earn some minutes at the point, with Trey Burke still sidelined due to a broken finger.
Western Notes: Pelicans, Warriors, Kings, Garrett
There are only four games on the NBA slate tonight, but Western Conference teams provided plenty of excitement off the court. The Pelicans waived Lance Thomas and Arinze Onuaku so they could bring aboard veterans Louis Amundson and Josh Childress. The Jazz went the opposite direction, dumping vet Jamaal Tinsley as they eye a younger replacement. The Timberwolves are reportedly shopping a pair of players while the Lakers are considering a point guard search. We have more on a couple of those story lines as we check the latest from the West:
- Pelicans coach Monty Williams says the team has been thinking about making today’s roster moves for the past few weeks, but Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune chastises GM Dell Demps for acting out of apparent desperation to win immediately.
- The latest plan for the Warriors‘ new San Francisco arena is reduced in scale, but it’s still likely to face an uphill battle against local political opponents, as John Coté of the San Francisco Chronicle details.
- For all the excitement surrounding the new ownership, GM and coach in Sacramento, the Kings are just 1-5 to start the season, and coach Michael Malone acknowledges the team’s losing habits will be tough to shake, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
- It’s unclear whether Diante Garrett has a job with the Jazz virtually sewn up or if he’ll have to be especially impressive when he auditions, but we might have our answer soon, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Garrett’s workout is set for Wednesday.
Jazz Expected To Sign Diante Garrett
4:06pm: If Garrett is going to become Utah’s 15th man, it may not happen right away, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who tweets that the Jazz plan to work out a few prospects before making a final call.
2:26pm: The Jazz are expected to use the roster spot opened by the release of Jamaal Tinsley to sign Diante Garrett, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Stein reports (Twitter links) that Garrett will audition for Utah and sign with the team if it goes well, while Genessy suggests (via Twitter) that the Jazz have already decided to sign the young guard.
Garrett made his NBA debut for the Suns last season, appearing in 19 games for the club, and averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.3 APG in eight contests with Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam. The 25-year-old is currently on the Iowa Energy’s camp roster, with the D-League season set to get underway in 10 days.
Teams are not yet allowed to sign players to 10-day contracts, but I’d still expect Garrett’s deal to represent an audition of sorts — he’ll likely ink a non-guaranteed contract, meaning Utah would be able to release him anytime before January 7th without committing to his full-season salary. The Jazz will be looking for more consistent production from Garrett than they got from Tinsley, who struggled mightily during the club’s 0-8 start.
Jazz Release Jamaal Tinsley
The Jazz have reduced their roster to 14 players, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived point guard Jamaal Tinsley. The team now has a roster spot available to add a replacement, though no corresponding move has been reported or announced.
Tinsley was signed by the Jazz shortly before the regular season got underway, following the announcement that Trey Burke would be sidelined for several weeks with a broken finger. However, the 35-year-old was ineffective in his eight games with the team, averaging just 1.1 PPG and a 2.3 PER, as well as making only one of 15 three-point attempts.
The Jazz won’t be on the hook for Tinsley’s full salary, since his contract was non-guaranteed, but a pro-rated portion of his minimum salary will count against the cap. According to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (via Twitter), Utah will likely sign a player out of the D-League to replace Tinsley.
Odds & Ends: Head, Corbin, Exum, Mavericks
As we get ready for a Monday evening slate that features nine NBA games, let’s round up a few odds and ends from around the league….
- Luther Head, who last played in the NBA with the Kings prior to the 2011 lockout, is fielding interest from teams in Turkey, Ukraine, and Australia, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. While Head is hoping to return to the NBA at some point, it looks like a trip overseas might be his next move.
- Tyrone Corbin has faced difficult circumstances ever since he took over as Jazz head coach in 2011, and he deserves a chance to coach the current roster after Trey Burke gets healthy, writes Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune. Still, Kragthorpe suggests that if things don’t get any better on the court, the team may eventually have to consider making a change.
- ESPN.com’s Chad Ford fielded both NBA and NCAA questions in his latest chat, discussing some of the early-season developments as well as looking ahead to next year’s draft and free agent period. Within the chat, Ford notes that 2014 prospect Dante Exum is strongly leaning toward entering the draft rather than attending college.
- The Mavericks‘ offseason additions are meshing very well with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas so far, says Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- In his latest piece, Sam Smith of Bulls.com proposes some trade scenarios involving Pau Gasol, Omer Asik, and Evan Turner.