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Month: November 2024

Celtics Have Talked Extension With Rajon Rondo

January 23rd, 2014 at 10:41am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics and Rajon Rondo have discussed an extension, as GM Danny Ainge told Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb of 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston this morning. Ainge suggested the talks aren’t ongoing, but he said the team would negotiate again this summer and “most likely the summer after.”

“In the collective bargaining agreement, there are limits on what can and can’t be done,” Ainge said. “Really it’s not that Rondo doesn’t want to accept an extension, but it’s just not financially smart for him to accept it right now.”

The Celtics could only add two years onto Rondo’s deal if they sign him to an extension now. They could give him a three-year extension starting July 1st, but that’s still fewer than the five years they could commit to him if they re-sign him when he hits free agency in the summer of 2015. The client of BDA Sports Management could sign a four-year deal with another team in free agency.

Though Ainge acknowledges that an extension is unlikely, it’s a signal that the Celtics intend to keep Rondo through the trade deadline. Ainge has consistently batted down the notion that he’s looking to trade the All-Star point guard, in spite of rival executives who believe the Celtics will shop Rondo.

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Team USA Names Finalists For 2014-16 Rosters

January 23rd, 2014 at 9:51am CST by Chuck Myron

9:51am: LeBron James and Chris Paul will also sit out this summer, Colangelo told media in a teleconference today, though they remain in the mix for 2016.

8:36am: Carmelo Anthony says he’s certain he won’t play in the World Cup this summer, but he left open the idea that he’d play in the 2016 Olympics, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

8:03am: USA Basketball has officially announced the selection of 28 players who’ll compete for a spot on the squad that will play this summer in the 2014 World Cup of basketball, the event formerly known as the World Championships. Those on the list are also vying for selection to the 2016 Olympic team, though USA Basketball may still make additions to the list.

“This is the first step of building the USA Basketball National Team pool of players for 2014-16. This roster is extremely talented, deep and versatile,” said Jerry Colangelo, the executive director of USA Basketball. “We are very fortunate to have 11 of the 12 members who won gold at the London Olympics wanting to be part of the national team program again. To receive that kind of commitment is remarkable and it demonstrates how much it means to our players to represent USA Basketball and their country.”

The Warriors lead the way, with four players who’ll get a look from Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff. Here’s the complete list:

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Poll: Which Hawk Is Most Likely To Be Traded?

January 22nd, 2014 at 11:19pm CST by Cray Allred

The Hawks currently sit at 22-19, good for the third seed in the East. That seeding could hold up, but they are far from secure as a playoff team. Al Horford is gone for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, and the Hawks are only five games away from the nearest non-playoff team at the moment.

The Hawks own the better pick between theirs and the Nets for this upcoming draft, with the worse of the two picks heading to the Celtics. The Nets have been turning things around of late, and that pick (obtained through the Joe Johnson trade) is looking less like a lock for the lottery with every Brooklyn win. The Hawks very well could stay afloat in the dreadful Eastern Conference and gain playoff experience for a fairly young roster, with a chance to advance against atypically weak playoff competition in the East. If they slip, though, it could become tempting to unload some talent to a contender in exchange for assets and a better shot at a premium pick for this year’s hyped draft.

Some players worth a look:

  1. Paul Millsap: Millsap is working on one of the most tradable contracts in the league, with a modest $9.5MM cap hit each season of a short two-year deal, for a highly productive 28-year-old big man.
  2. Jeff Teague: After expressing a desire to leave the Hawks after an extended restricted free agency, the Hawks wound up matching the Bucks’ offer sheet to secure the point guard for $32MM over four years. The Hawks are developing rookie point guard Dennis Schröder, and former Sixth Man of the Year, Louis Williams, is playing his way back from an ACL injury as a point/shooting guard combo.
  3. Kyle Korver: Korver’s contract also stretches over four years, but the cap hit shrinks incrementally from $6.8MM this year to, eventually, $5.2 in the final year. Korver is a historically good three-point shooter, and there are usually contenders in the hunt for a scoring rotation piece as the season progresses.
  4. Al Horford: Horford has three years and $36MM left on his contract, and is sitting out this year due to the aforementioned pectoral injury. The Hawks had also turned away all trade proposals for the center at last report.

What do you think? Will the Hawks make any significant moves before the trade deadline, or hang on to their current foundation?

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Odds & Ends: Wright, D-League

January 22nd, 2014 at 9:50pm CST by Cray Allred

As All-Star Weekend approaches, ideas for improving the All-Star events always resurface. USA Today Sports asked multiple writers to pitch their ideas, which include a one-on-one tournament and a half-court shooting contest. Here are some notes from around the NBA:

  • Dorell Wright wanted to join the Thunder this year, but ended up choosing the Trail Blazers because they offered a better contract, he tells Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK. “They couldn’t really do what Portland did for me as far as on the contract end,” Wright says. He decided against playing with former high school teammate Russell Westbrook and took Portland’s offer: “Maybe down in the future, I could probably play with Russ. But I’m pretty happy with the decision I made to come here to Portland.”
  • Richard Howell has bought out his D-League contract with the Idaho Stampede, and will be signing on with the Talk ‘N Text team in the Philippines, per Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Howell spent training camp with the Trail Blazers, but didn’t make the regular season roster and hasn’t played an NBA minute.
  • The Cavs D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, has acquired Ben Uzoh for a third round D-League draft pick from the Texas Legends, per Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Uzoh hasn’t played in the NBA since short stints with the Cavs and Raptors during the 2011/12 season.
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Mavs Notes: Ledo, Free Agency

January 22nd, 2014 at 8:56pm CST by Cray Allred

The Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavs had a tough loss tonight, blowing a 21-point lead to the Raptors while their star sat out for some scheduled rest. Some more notes from Dallas:

  • The Mavs recalled guard Ricky Ledo from their D-League affilate Texas Legends, per Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Ledo has played 10 games with the Mavs this year, averaging just 3.3 MPG.
  • Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News answered reader questions in a chat, writing that he expects the Mavs to “shoot for the moon” in free agency again this summer.
  • In a chat of his own, Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News agrees. Sherrington says Omer Asik would be a great fit for the Mavs’ needs this year, but doesn’t envision owner Mark Cuban taking on his $14.9MM salary (only $8.4MM of which hits the salary cap) to preserve their flexibility heading into the offseason: “Cuban wants to save all the money he can to make a push for a free agent this summer.”
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Pacific Notes: Plumlee, Green, Kings

January 22nd, 2014 at 8:13pm CST by Cray Allred

Rudy Gay has been playing some of the best basketball of his career since joining the Kings, and DeMarcus Cousins has also been on a tear, so hopefully the injuries both suffered in tonight’s game aren’t devastating. Both went out and will not return, per Jason Friedman of Rockets.com (via Twitter). Here are some more notes from around the Pacific Division:

  • The Suns have gone from a presumed tanker to playoff contenders. Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck details how Phoenix has stayed competitive with a roster built for the future, even after losing breakout guard Eric Bledsoe to injury. The positive outlook still extends to the future: “The Suns could have six first-round picks over the next two drafts, including four this June. They could have $30 million to spend on free agents this summer, and more in 2015. Their rookie head coach, Jeff Hornacek, is the leading candidate for Coach of the Year.”
  • A big part of the Suns‘ sooner-than-expected success has come from the additions of Miles Plumlee and Gerald Green, and Matt Peterson of Suns.com credits Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough for swinging the smart trade that landed those two players and a pick from the Pacers for Luis Scola.
  • Kings rookie Ray McCallum benefited from the team’s use of the D-League while spending time with the Reno Bighorns before his recent call up, writes The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones. The Kings designate specific developmental areas for players sent down, working with the Reno coaching staff to ensure those areas are focused on. “For him to go down there and get minutes was well needed,” coach Mike Malone says. “And I think if there’s an opportunity for him to play during the rest of the season, he definitely will.”
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Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Brown, Noel

January 22nd, 2014 at 7:06pm CST by Cray Allred

While the Knicks have returned to their losing ways of late, the Nets appear to be stabilizing as a winning team. Star point guard Deron Williams credits Jason Kidd‘s development as a coach for the change, per Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News. “I think since [former assistant coach Frank Lawrence] has left…He was leaning on (Frank) a lot,” Williams said of Kidd. “Now I think he’s coaching the way he wants to and doing things the way he wants to so that’s what you’re seeing.” Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Ian Begley of ESPN New York thinks that Knicks head coach Mike Woodson could soon be back on the hot seat, wondering if he has lost the locker room during their current four-game losing streak. He has been at odds with multiple players, most recently with star center Tyson Chandler.
  • Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders thinks that it’s time for the Knicks to trade away both Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, citing the team’s mediocrity and the salary burden that could come with Melo even if he did re-sign with New York. Since the team would likely have to give a max contract under his Bird Rights, they would be committing to over $26MM a year for one player through his early thirties. Beer thinks a wiser course is to get something in return for him now, struggle for two years (the Knicks have their 2015 draft pick, but not their 2014 pick) and maintain large cap space heading into the potentially huge free agent market of 2015.
  • Sixers coach Brett Brown used the time afforded by the team’s lengthy coaching search to research the job and ponder whether he wanted to take it, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Brown also says he sees “Ryan Anderson-type” stretch power forwards as a lasting innovation.
  • Brett Brown also said that it’s possible that Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel, who they took 6th overall in last year’s draft, could miss the rest of the season despite recently gaining medical clearance to play, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “I mean, anything’s possible,” says Brown. “I mean at this stage, we’re moving forward and he’s doing a good job.”
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Central Rumors: Bulls, Green, Scola

January 22nd, 2014 at 5:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls could take a couple of different paths regarding trade exceptions from Tuesday’s deal with the Nets. Chicago could absorb Tornike Shengelia’s $788,872 salary into the $2,025,000 exception they received in the Luol Deng trade, leaving that exception at $1,236,128 and creating a new exception worth the equivalent of Marquis Teague’s $1,074,720 salary. It seems more likely that they would leave the Deng exception alone and create a tiny $285,848 exception from the difference between Teague and Shengelia’s salaries, simply because a roughly $2MM exception is more useful than two exceptions worth about $1MM. Still, their choice remains unconfirmed. Here’s the latest from the Central:

  • Gerald Green isn’t upset with the Pacers for burying him last season or trading him over the summer, and says he has no intention of ever leaving the Suns, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
  • Luis Scola says the memories of his time with the Suns are painful, as Coro passes along in the same story. Scola nonetheless had concerns about how much of a role he’d have on the Pacers when the team traded for him this summer, observes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Frank Vogel assured the longtime starter he’d be a major part of the team, and Scola appears content as a key player off the bench.
  • The trade talk surrounding Greg Monroe is starting to bother him, as he tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. “It does, to be honest. We’re still trying to get things right, here,” Monroe said. “To see that stuff … I just focus on what we’re doing here. I’m here. If that changes, then I’ll move forward. If it never does, I’ll focus on playing these games and trying to win these games.”
  • The Cavaliers have assigned Carrick Felix and Sergey Karasev to the D-League, the team announced. It’ll be the fourth D-League stint this year for Felix, who just returned from the Canton Charge on Tuesday, and the third for Karasev.
  • No other NBA teams made an offer to Mike James, who jumped on a 10-day contract from the Bulls and harbors no ill will toward the team for waiving him earlier this season, as he tells reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
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Ivan Johnson Becomes Free Agent

January 22nd, 2014 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:01pm: The Clippers might have interest in Johnson, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

10:13am: The Zhejiang Golden Bulls have waived Ivan Johnson, the team announced, allowing the power forward to become a free agent and pursue reported NBA interest from several teams, including the Hawks (translation via Shaopeng Shen on Twitter; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The team also announced the signing of small forward Mike Harris, whom the Jazz waived earlier this month, in a corresponding move.

Johnson was averaging 26.0 points and 9.9 rebounds in China, so it’s unclear why the team released him other than as a favor. Perhaps Johnson and the team agreed to a buyout, though that’s just my speculation. He’d become a mainstay in Atlanta’s rotation the past two seasons before signing with the Chinese team in late August. The Knicks seemed to be the most engaged among the NBA clubs that eyed the Jeremiah Haylett client this past summer.

Any NBA team that signs Johnson will have to arrange for FIBA clearance before the move can become official, but that shouldn’t be too much of a hurdle. He could be in the market for a 10-day contract, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he commanded a deal for the rest of the season right away.

Harris made the Jazz out of camp, and while he averaged 4.2 points in 11.3 minutes per game for Utah, the team decided to waive the fourth-year NBA veteran before his contract became guaranteed. Unless he signed a multiyear deal, which ex-NBA players rarely do with Chinese teams, he could return to the NBA in another month or two, once Zhejiang’s season is complete.

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Odds & Ends: Deng, Dwight, Union, Gay

January 22nd, 2014 at 3:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Luol Deng had a sarcastic response to a question about whether he’d consider returning to the Bulls in free agency this summer, poking fun at the team’s three-year, $30MM extension offer that he rejected, notes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Still, Deng won’t rule out a Chicago homecoming.

“I have nothing against (anyone),” Deng said. “What happened, happened. I love Chicago. I’ve been there 10 years. There’s no bad blood or anything. What happened, happened. It is what it is. But for me to sit here and say, ‘I’m taking Chicago out of the equation,’ that’s stupid. I was there for 10 years.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Dwight Howard is returning to USA Basketball after a six-year absence with eyes on being a part of the Team USA squad in the basketball World Cup this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • A judge has dismissed the remaining charges in the lawsuit that former players union executive director Billy Hunter brought against Derek Fisher, and Hunter could be on the hook for Fisher’s legal fees, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com explains. The ruling doesn’t affect Hunter’s litigation claiming the union owes him $10.5MM.
  • A report last month indicated the Kings would engage Rudy Gay in extension talks if he performed well, and in spite of his improved play, the team and his reps at Octagon Sports have yet to have that discussion, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Gay scored a career-high 41 points last night.
  • The Grizzlies have no interest in trading for Pau Gasol, and the Lakers won’t compromise their cap flexibility in any Gasol swap, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who thinks the Spanish center will stay put through the deadline (Sulia link).
  • The extension that two-year NBA veteran Charles Jenkins signed with his Serbian team includes an escape clause in case he finds work in the NBA, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia tweets.
  • Marc Stein of ESPN.com details the convoluted maneuvers that have allowed the D-League affiliate of the Mavericks to acquire Fab Melo. The 2012 first-round pick signed a D-League contract last week.
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