The Pelicans have been hit hard by injuries this season and currently have seven players who are out for the season. As a result, the team has been forced to cycle through players inked to 10-day deals, a difficult coaching task that Alvin Gentry has handled well, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. “I know what they’re going through,” point guard Toney Douglas said. “Always night in, night out, you’ve got to prove yourself. But Coach Gentry, man, he did a great job of bringing these guys in and making them feel comfortable. Because sometimes you come in on a 10-day and you’re all, ‘Oh, I’ve got to put pressure on myself and do something.’ But here it’s not the case. Be who you are within the system, play freely.”
The decision to hire Gentry, as well as his job future, were reportedly called into question earlier this week, though GM Dell Demps later denied that the front office had lost its confidence in the coach. Here’s more from out West:
- Both Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell are under contract for the Lakers next season and coach Byron Scott noted that the pair coexisting for another year shouldn’t be an issue despite the current tension, Jovan Buha of ESPN.com relays. “At the end of the day, we’re all grown men in here,” Scott said. “People make mistakes and you have to understand that and you have to just kind of move on. Now, will they ever be buddy-buddy again? I don’t know. But they do have to coexist as long as they’re both here, and I think they can.“
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has failed Dirk Nowitzki and has not rewarded the power forward’s willingness to accept a below-market deal by surrounding him with championship-caliber players, Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News writes. The scribe also opines that Nowitzki couldn’t be faulted if he declined his player option worth $8,692,184 for 2016/17 in order to latch on with a contending team this summer.
- The Thunder recalled small forward Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This concludes Huestis’ 15th assignment this season to the Blue. He has appeared in 25 games and is averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.44 blocks in 32.1 minutes.
Well Cuban you got one more chance of getting star caliber players to surround Dirk in for next year. Are you going to go after Kevin Durant and LeBron James or are you going to go get someone else? Heck you can probably go after Mike Conley or re sign Deron Williams. Re sign Dirk and maybe a few bench players as well like Powell, Harris, and Felton. If you can do that then you can surround star caliber players around Dirk. You just have to extend your cap space or release some players on the roster. Zaza is probably not coming back along with Parsons so getting both LeBron James and Kevin Durant fit that bill and maybe go after Hassan Whiteside or Dwight Howard. Realistically Whiteside because of his height and skills. Do all of this and Dirk will have star players around him. Results need to happen Mark
These are ridiculously unrealistic goals. Only half of these could be completed with only dirk’s cap hit.
That’s why results need to happen because of the Mavericks let Parsons go then you sign LeBron James. If you reduce dirks cap, then you sign Kevin Durant. Its simple really
And Raymond Felton is absolutely terrible.