Luc Mbah a Moute, who will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, would like to remain in Philadelphia and he believes the team wants him back as well, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
“Ever since I came here, I didn’t get the sense that it was a one-year kind of deal,” said Mbah a Moute. “We will see what happens this summer, but pretty much what’s been kind of [established] is that I’m part of what they are trying to grow here. I’m part of the culture. When you been through a season like this, when you see ups and downs, you see glimpses of what could be you want to be a part of it. You want to be there when things turn around and we finally get hopefully that right team and become a good team. So yeah, [re-signing is] what I’m thinking now.”
The UCLA product enjoyed his best offensive season in the NBA last year and has worked to improve his shooting. He made 62 three-pointers after only making 24 total during his first six years in the league.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Ish Smith, who has played for eight teams during his five year career, also would like to play for the Sixers again next season, Andy Jasner of NBA.com writes. “I hope so,” Smith said when asked if he’ll be back in Philadelphia. “I really like it here. I knew I had to play and work hard and not worry about all the other things. I figure that will all take care of itself. It was important to me to come in and do my work and take in everything the coaching staff was teaching me. I still have so much to learn.” The speedy point guard averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 assists per contest during his 25 games as a Sixer.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun can’t envision Lou Williams, who earlier today was announced the winner of this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award, playing for Toronto next season due to the sizable contract he might earn in free agency (Twitter link). The Raptors already have slightly more than $49MM on the books for the 2015/16 season, as our Salary Commitment page shows.
- James Johnson, who didn’t play in Saturday’s game against the Wizards, understands his role and why the Raptors signed him, Eric Koreen of the National Post, writes. “Matchups. I’m here for matchup problems,” Johnson said. “I’m here for the long season, when Kyle [Lowry] got hurt or DeMar [DeRozan] got hurt. Those were when I had opportunities to play a lot. I’m the fill-in. And I’m OK with that.” The forward signed a two-year, $5MM deal with Toronto last offseason.