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Coach/GM Rumors: Jazz, Wizards, Raps, Cavs

November 22nd, 2013 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

It may seem a little early in the season for any NBA teams to make a coaching change, but it’s worth noting that each of the league’s 30 coaches have already survived twice as long this year as Mike Brown did with the Lakers a year ago. While there may not be any coaching or front office shake-ups right around the corner, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com examines situations of potential unrest around the league, offering up a few tidbits along the way. Let’s round them up….

  • Despite leading the Jazz to a 1-12 start, coach Tyrone Corbin doesn’t appear to be in any danger, since the focus in Utah is on player development rather than wins and losses. Berger adds that there’s also no logical in-house candidate to serve as an interim coach now that former assistant Jeff Hornacek is in Phoenix.
  • League sources question how much longer Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld “can remain in self-preservation mode,” says Berger.
  • If the Wizards and Raptors continue losing, Randy Wittman and Dwane Casey could be in a dead heat for the first coach to be replaced. According to Berger, the feeling around the league is that new Toronto president Masai Ujiri would be quick to make a change and start putting his own stamp on the franchise if things go south for Casey and the Raptors.
  • Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is on “shaky ground,” sources tell Berger. While coach Mike Brown may have pushed for the drafting of Anthony Bennett, Brown just signed a four-year contract with the team, so Grant’s seat is much hotter than his coach’s.
  • Pelicans GM Dell Demps and Pistons GM Joe Dumars are among the other executives who could be in danger of losing their jobs if their respective teams aren’t in the playoff hunt, writes Berger.
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International Notes: Kings, White, Thornton, Spurs

November 21st, 2013 at 7:15pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Kings are dedicated to expanding their brand internationally, Will Robinson of Reuters reports. Kings president Chris Granger expressed his interest in appealing to NBA fans over in India: “Our overall mission for us is to become India’s home team.” This announcement is hardly surprising since we’ve heard numerous times that David Stern and the NBA as a whole are keen on expanding the league’s presence overseas.

Have a look at the latest international news:

  • Former first-round pick D.J. White will be returning to China. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that the Sichuan Blue Whales are bringing aboard the ex-Bobcats big man. Although White was in Chicago for training camp, he failed to make the Bulls’ opening day roster and most recently saw playing time for the Shanghai Sharks. White will join Hamed Haddadi on the Blue Whales, another former NBA player.
  • Al Thornton inked an international deal today in Puerto Rico. According to Sportando, the Brujos de Guayama have announced his signing. The former lottery pick hasn’t seen NBA action since 2010/11 when he put up a meager 7.4 PPG for the Wizards and Warriors.
  • Dan McCarney over at Spurs Nation takes a look at how the Spurs depth is due largely to the team’s excellent assortment of international players. McCarney notes that with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker aging, great play off the bench from “The Foreign Legion” is critical.
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Odds & Ends: Price, Bennett, Warriors

November 19th, 2013 at 11:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks and Celtics were among the losing teams on a five-game Tuesday in the NBA, and while those clubs fall farther beneath .500, it sounds like they’re thinking about helping each other out via trade, as Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling detailed tonight. Zwerling has a ton of news from New York and Boston, as well as a couple other NBA teams, in the piece we linked to earlier tonight, and there are still more noteworthy items as a busier-than-usual November continues:

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Eastern Notes: Knicks, Gordon, Wittman

November 19th, 2013 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA held internal discussions about the Knicks‘ signing of Chris Smith and ultimately determined the move wasn’t in violation of circumventing the salary cap, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Previous reports have indicated rival agents believe the Knicks signed J.R. Smith and his younger brother as a package deal. However, a league official tells Berman that Chris is “one of those projects” who may not help immediately, but could develop into an NBA player.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • If the Knicks need to add a free agent, Smith may be the player released to make room, but so far the team has been content to stand pat despite frontcourt injuries. The latest player sidelined is Metta World Peace, who had fluid drained from his knee on Monday, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York. However, the procedure was believed to be minor, and MWP is expected back on the court by the end of the week.
  • Bobcats guard Ben Gordon tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that if the Bulls were to call him when he becomes a free agent next summer, he’d definitely listen. “I had a lot of success here, had a great time here,” Gordon said. “I’m not in position to rule anybody out.”
  • According to John Wall, the Wizards’ players believe in Randy Wittman, who isn’t worried that his job is in danger. Michael Lee of the Washington Post has the details.
  • Sam Amick of USA Today hears from a person with knowledge of the Wizards thinking that Wittman will still have the opportunity to right the ship in Washington before the team considers a change.
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Southeast Links: Williams, Nelson, Chalmers

November 15th, 2013 at 7:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks didn’t get the full return on their mid-level investment in Lou Williams last season, as the sixth man went down in January with a torn ACL. Still, he didn’t take nearly as long to come back as Derrick Rose and others who’ve suffered similar injuries, as Williams is playing in Atlanta’s game tonight against his former team, the Sixers. Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

  • Jameer Nelson has never played for a team other than the Magic, and he tells Ian Thomsen of SI.com that he’d like that to remain true when he calls it a career. He acknowledges that he could be traded this season and understands he’s powerless to stop the Magic if they want to make that happen. Nelson envisions being the one making those decisions as a GM once he retires and can also see himself as a coach.
  • In today’s mailbag, a reader asked Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel if impending free agent Mario Chalmers could be playing himself out of the Heat‘s price range with his performance this year. Chalmers, who is making $4MM in the final year of his deal, could be a casualty as the Heat are mindful of luxury tax implications. Miami has already exercised its 2014/15 option on the cheaper Norris Cole.
  • Martell Webster finds himself in a familiar position as Trevor Ariza is once again sidelined with a leg injury, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Webster stepped into the starting lineup in Ariza’s place last season and went on to post career-best numbers and earn a four-year, $22MM deal from Washington.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Rockets Have Sought Omer Asik Trade

November 15th, 2013 at 5:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:38pm: Wojnarowski clarifies that the Rockets have discussed possible Asik trades with teams over the past few months, but those talks aren’t necessarily active (Twitter link).

5:17pm: The Rockets have asked for an “impact player” in return for Omer Asik in trade talks with multiple teams, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That’s in spite of a report last night indicating that Houston had denied Asik’s trade request.

Teams have deemed GM Daryl Morey‘s asking price too high so far, Wojnarowski writes. The GM would prefer to acquire a frontline player who can help the team compete for a championship this year, but if he can’t find someone like that for Asik, he’d like to get a largely unprotected 2014 first-round pick. The Rockets were in talks with the Wizards before they traded for Marcin Gortat last month, but Morey was unwilling to take back Emeka Okafor, as the Suns did.

Morey and Andy Miller, the agent for Asik, have been regularly discussing how the Rockets can offload the 7-footer, as Wojnarowski reports. Asik’s camp this week reiterated the trade request they originally made back in July, when the Rockets were closing in on signing Dwight Howard. A rumor around that time suggested the Rockets might trade Asik for Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson, but New Orleans never showed much interest, and Wojnarowski hears the Rockets have been unwilling to get the Pelicans to reconsider.

Just as Woj’s report surfaced, the Pelicans announced center Greg Stiemsma will be out six to eight weeks with a left knee injury that he suffered Tuesday. Perhaps his absence will prompt GM Dell Demps to listen more closely to what Morey has to offer, though that’s just my speculation. It’s unlikely that any deal will take place before December 15th, when players who signed this past offseason may be included in deals, Wojnarowski points out.

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Odds & Ends: Kelly, Lakers, Nelson, Davis

November 14th, 2013 at 4:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Lakers second round pick Ryan Kelly made a strong enough impression on the club to secure a roster spot despite being sidelined for the latter part of the offseason, but there isn’t enough playing time for him on the varsity squad.  Earlier today, the Lakers announced that Kelly and forward Elias Harris have been sent down to the Los Angeles D-Fenders.  To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list for 2013/14.  Here’s more from around the Association..

  • This season Jameer Nelson is one of seven veterans with playoff experience on a Magic roster that includes eight players who are in their third NBA season or fewer, writes jessica Camerato of HoopsWorld.
  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel contends that Glen Davis‘ latest off-court incident “killed” his trade value, and Schmitz wonders whether the Magic will hold Davis out of games for the entire season.
  • A prominent online betting site has Wizards coach Randy Wittman at 2/1 odds for being the first NBA coach to get fired, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni is handicapped at 12/1 odds for being the first to get the heave-ho.
  • Zach Lowe of Grantland took an in-depth look at Lance Stephenson and the impact that he has had on the Pacers.  There’s strong mutual interest in hammering out a new deal in Indiana and that could spell the end of Danny Granger‘s tenure there.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Odds & Ends: Wizards, Pelicans, Nash

November 12th, 2013 at 11:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has said he expects his club to be a “playoff-caliber team” this year, but today he backtracked from the notion that the Wizards face an ultimatum of making the postseason, observes Joseph White of The Associated Press.

“Playoffs or bust, what does that mean?” Leonsis said in an interview that also touched on his ownership of the NHL’s Capitals. “Shut the team down if we don’t make the playoffs for the Wizards? We would certainly, if we don’t make the playoffs, for both teams we would do our due diligence in a more hypersensitive manner, right? Because we didn’t meet our expectations. But the team’s not going bust. The fan base isn’t going bust. It would just heighten the scrutiny that we have to do.”

The Wizards, with GM Ernie Grunfeld and coach Randy Wittman on expiring contracts, fell to 2-5 with tonight’s loss to the Mavericks. Here’s more from around the NBA:

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Odds & Ends: Expansion, Wizards, Turner

November 10th, 2013 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Even though the NBA has 30 franchises, there are still plenty of North American markets that are deserving of teams.  Of course, Seattle is at the top of anyone’s list as the rabid Sonics fan base is starved for a new team.  Kansas City has also made a strong case for an NBA club in years past and they already have a ~19K seat NBA-ready arena in the Sprint Center.  However, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) says that the league is not going to expand under the current labor agreement.  That might change under the new TV deal though, which is currently being worked on.  Here’s more from around the Association..

  • Speaking of expansion, commissioner David Stern told Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Radio (Twitter link) that the NFL will likely have a team in Europe before the NBA because “it’s relatively easy for a team to play eight home games there.”  Stern has said in the past that he is optimistic that there will be a team in Europe in the not-too-distant future.
  • Nene and new Wizards center Marcin Gortat have formed a bond in the front court, writes MIchael Lee of the Washington Post.  “It’s one thing to have two skilled big men in the block. It’s another thing for those big men to play off each other, and that’s big,” forward Martell Webster said. “When you have big guys down there that have a relationship and a chemistry, it makes it a little bit easier to occupy.”
  • Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld reflects on the four-team deal that sent Nikola Vucevic to the Magic last year.  At the time, it seemed like the Lakers (Dwight Howard) or the Sixers (Andrew Bynum) would be the big winners, but it turns out that Orlando got the best haul of anyone.
  • The price of winning in the NBA varies, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.  The 7-0 Pacers are doling out less than $853K per victory while the 2-4 Nets are paying $7MM for each win.
  • In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Mary Schmitt-Boyer of the Plain Dealer if the Cavs should give up on the Dion Waiters experiment and trade him.  Even though the guard appears to have taken a step back from last season, Cleveland isn’t as down on him as some fans might be.
  • While many thought that Sixers GM Sam Hinkie would either deal Evan Turner at the trade deadline or allow his $6.7MM salary to come off the cap next summer, the former No. 2 overall pick is making a case to stay, writes Thomas Moore of the Courier Times.  Turner has been a model of consistency, scoring at least 20 points in six of the 4-3 Sixers’ first seven games.  Earlier tonight, Sam Amico of FOX Sports suggested that the Mavericks, Thunder, and T’Wolves could be among the teams with interest if the Sixers decide to shop Turner.
  • If the Knicks continue to lose, there’s no telling how owner James Dolan might react, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report.
  • Magic rookie Victor Oladipo is embracing the challenge of handling the basketball, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
  • Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t expect Kobe Bryant to return in the next two weeks, writes Pincus for the Los Angeles Times.  Kupchak also touches on the ill-fated Chris Paul trade and says that he still hasn’t forgiven Stern for the way things played out.
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Knicks Rumors: Barron, Woodson, Collins

November 6th, 2013 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been an eventful day for Knicks content so far at Hoops Rumors. In addition to discussing the club in a pair of notes posts, I also explored possible solutions for the team’s depleted frontcourt. News of Tyson Chandler‘s injury has plenty more updates coming out of New York, so let’s round up the latest:

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