Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

New York Notes: Nets, Dinwiddie, Knicks, Carmelo

March 21st, 2017 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

As we noted on Monday, CSKA Moscow guard Milos Teodosic is mulling a move to the NBA this summer, and will be seeking a team that can give him playing time, a competitive contract, and – most importantly – a chance to contend. Brooklyn has been linked to Teodosic, but as Brian Lewis of The New York Post observes, the lottery-bound Nets can probably only offer two of the three things on the Euroleague star’s wish list.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:

  • With Jeremy Lin sidelined again, unheralded young guard Spencer Dinwiddie will take over as the Nets‘ starting point guard down the stretch. As Ryan Lazo of The New York Post writes, Dinwiddie only has a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, but hopes to prove in the coming weeks that he belongs on the roster for the long term.
  • The Knicks are on track to miss out on a playoff spot for the fourth straight season, and Carmelo Anthony admits that he has been forced to consider his future with the franchise and whether he can win in New York, writes Jovan Buha of ESPN.com. “I try to put everything into perspective,” Anthony said. “I think about it all. I think about here. I think about the postseason. I think about my teammates. I just think about everything. It’s not just one specific thing that I think about. I think about it a lot.” Anthony, of course, has a no-trade clause that he could waive if the Knicks were to approach him with a trade scenario he liked.
  • Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek noted on Monday that his team often doesn’t make the extra pass necessary to get a higher-percentage shot, prompting Marc Berman of The New York Post to wonder if the comment was a dig at any specific Knicks players.
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Adam Silver: Resting Marquee Players A “Significant Issue”

March 20th, 2017 at 10:32pm CST by Milo Taibi

10:32pm: USA Today has obtained a full copy of Silver’s memo, Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick report (link). In his statement, Silver implored team owners to be mindful of “business ramifications of sitting players.”

“Decisions of this kind do not merely implicate issues of player health and team performance on the court; they also can affect fans and business partners, impact our reputation, and damage the perception of our game.  With so much at stake, it is simply not acceptable for Governors to be uninvolved or to defer decision-making authority on these matters to others in their organizations,” the memo read.

Per Zillgitt, the commissioner indicated there would be a “full discussion of this issue in our Executive Session” on April 6.

8:14pm: NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t happy with the growing trend of teams resting star players in nationally televised games. According to a report from Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Silver issued a memo to league owners on Monday, detailing “significant penalties” for teams that don’t provide sufficient notice of rest games.

Silver’s memo argued these games of rest affect “fans and business partners,” alike, while having a negative impact on the consumer’s “perception of our game.” Per Shelburne,  teams must provide “notice to the league office, their opponent, and the media immediately upon a determination that a player will not participate in a game due to rest.” Silver’s memo is certain to be a point of discussion at the NBA Board of Governors meeting on April 6th.

Shelburne relayed a statement from ESPN on the subject:

“As always, our aim is to serve NBA fans with the best matchups involving the league’s top stars and we share the fans’ disappointment. We understand this is a complex issue and we’re working closely with the NBA to best address it going forward from a media partnership standpoint.”

Clearly, the league will face resistance in their efforts at reducing rest games. According to an earlier report from Shelburne, Cavs GM David Griffin received a call from the league after he’d opted to rest three starters in a nationally televised game. Griffin doubled-down on his decision, however, citing injuries to core players Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and Kyle Korver. Griffin summed up his argument: “I can’t make [LeBron James] drag himself through this tonight by himself and then have everybody else play tomorrow and still not win.

Yeah, it sucks from a timing perspective. I feel bad for the league. I really do. I feel bad for the league, but it is what it is for us, from an injury standpoint.”

Retweet 7 Share 0 Send via email0

Southwest Notes: Parker, Pelicans, Selden, Mavs

March 20th, 2017 at 10:16pm CST by Milo Taibi

Tony Parker spoke about his role on the Spurs with Jabari Young of MySanAntonio.com, saying he’s “blessed” to still have fun playing the game.

“Guys have worse (injuries); you know? Knees, Achilles, stuff like that,” Parker said. “I’ve been playing for 16 years. All season long for the Spurs, and then all summer internationally. And the way I play, with speed and going into the trees (the paint), getting hit so many times and going to the ground so many times, I feel very blessed to still be out there.”

Parker realizes his limitations at 34 years old, unable to fill the stat sheet the way he did in 2008/09, when he averaged 22 PPG with 6.9 APG. Nevertheless, Parker occupies an important spot in Gregg Popovich‘s rotation, and will be relied upon as San Antonio continues its march toward the postseason.

“It obviously helps if I play well,” said Parker. “I love it. I think the evolution in anybody’s career is, as you get older, you have to adjust to who is the main guys on your team. Try to be a factor just like Manu (Ginobili) did. Just like Timmy (Duncan] did. I just try and do the same thing.”

More from around the Southwest…

  • Having now won four of their last five, the Pelicans are starting to gel offensively, William Guillory of NOLA.com writes. The Pels have reason for optimism following their winning stretch, but must keep up their pace with only 12 games left in the regular season. “When all three of us are playing well like that, we’re tough to beat,” said Anthony Davis, referring to himself, DeMarcus Cousins, and Jrue Holiday. “Guys are stepping up and making big plays, especially at the right time. Guys are doing things that we need them to do. I just feel like we’re gelling and clicking at the right time.”
  • Grizzlies coach David Fizdale told Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal that Memphis’ signing of Wayne Selden was a result of Chandler Parsons‘ season-ending injury. Selden, who had most recently received NBA minutes with the Pelicans, was signed to a multiyear contract.
  • While there’s no “magic wand” to fix the Mavericks‘ problems, there are adjustments Rick Carlisle can make, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas News writes. “Philly’s a team you can learn from,” Carlisle said of Dallas’ recent blowout loss to the Sixers. “They win their games on sheer persistence and hard play. And that’s what’s gotten us wins when we’ve been successful over the last two months. We took a pretty significant step back last night. We watched film. We saw the nightmare of last night. It’s pretty clear we’ve got to adjust our disposition. And we’ve got to move the ball better.”
Retweet 6 Share 0 Send via email0

Sefko’s Latest: Point Guard A “Priority” For Mavs In Offseason

March 20th, 2017 at 8:06pm CST by Milo Taibi

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News discussed the Mavs‘ offseason plans during a live chat Monday, labeling point guard the team’s “No. 1 priority” in the upcoming draft.

“Somebody who can snag rebounds will help,” Sefko explained. “But an athletic wing player is always in demand. Still, Point guard is the No. 1 priority in the offseason. We all think highly of Yogi Ferrell, but he needs help at the position. If Seth Curry‘s handles get a little better…”

Sefko acknowledged Dallas’ minimal playoff chances, citing the Mavs’ upcoming schedule as problematic. Rick Carlisle‘s squad dropped three of four in a recent stretch (including defeats to the Suns and 76ers), putting the Mavs in an unenviable position as the postseason nears. Still, Sefko writes, there’s reason for optimism in 2017/18:

“This franchise still is recovering from the DeAndre Jordan nightmare. But this summer, if they can connect on another solid double like Harrison Barnes or Curry or Wesley Matthews, then they are positioned to have enough young talent to get the attention of star free agents.”

Veteran point guard J.J. Barea was among Sefko’s talking points. While Barea has two guaranteed seasons left his contract, Sefko predicts J.J. will be coaching before too long. With that in mind, it would behoove Barea to act as a mentor to Ferrell and Curry.

When asked about potential draft picks for the Mavs, Sefko pointed out Donovan Mitchell of Louisville, as well as Jonathan Isaac of Florida State.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Will The Heat Add To Their Roster?

March 20th, 2017 at 6:01pm CST by Milo Taibi

In the latest edition of his mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel broached the subject of Miami adding depth to their shaky roster. As one of Winderman’s readers pointed out, the Heat are within striking distance of a playoff spot, but are missing several players due to injury. What’s more, they’ve committed a roster spot to Udonis Haslem– a great clubhouse presence who isn’t an in-game contributor at this point in his career. In response, Winderman wrote:

“The Heat, for at least another week, not only won’t be able to dress the allowable 13 players, but like Sunday, will only be able to dress 11. Yes, I appreciate the ‘we have enough’ mentality that coaches such as Erik Spoelstra stress. But having enough does not mean having the maximum possible resources in a playoff race that will make every game count. Whether it is signing Carlos Boozer back from China or adding a defensive wing, you raise a legitimate point. This team is hemorrhaging roster spots, and if the mantra is to be all-hands-on-deck, then playing with a full deck would be the best place to start.”

Now tied with Detroit for the eighth seed of the Eastern Conference, the Heat enter a vital stretch of their season without Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters, or Josh McRoberts. While the team could pursue Lance Stephenson, whose second 10-day contract in Minnesota recently expired, he won’t be playoff eligible. Aside from reaching out to Boozer, Winderman lists Okaro White– who is “hardly getting off the bench lately”- as a potential source of production.

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Notes: Porzingis, Thomas, Poeltl

March 20th, 2017 at 5:09pm CST by Austin Kent

Second-year big man Kristaps Porzingis knew early on that the Knicks weren’t going to be a competitive team this season, citing a lack of chemistry and teamwork. Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote about the sophomore’s troubling realization as the franchise finds itself staring at a 27-42 record.

“I think it was pretty easy to tell from the inside that we’re not that good of a team,” Porzingis said of the Knicks. “We can win games based on our talent, but it’s not going to last long. [We needed] more work, attention to details, to keep growing as a team. A good team needs time to play together.”

The forward, whose averaged 18.0 points per game across 58 contests so far this season, acknowledged that the transition process can be difficult and that the Knicks did add several fresh faces like starting point guard Derrick Rose, but it was a disappointing year nonetheless.

“Of course, we all expected big things out of this year, but from the beginning it didn’t feel like — I felt we’d make big runs, but we weren’t there at that level where we wanted to be,” Porzingis said. “We can see now we’re not where we want it to be.”

  • After a two-game hiatus, guard Isaiah Thomas is back in action for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of ESPN tweets. The All-Star had been nursing a knee bruise. The 29.2 point-per-game scorer returns as the C’s sit 2.5 games back of the Cavaliers for the top seed in the East.
  • Though sparsely used for the majority of his rookie campaign, first-year big man Jakob Poeltl is earning the trust of Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. “Every time you put him in, he does something positive,” Casey said. “There’s that trust, not only with myself but with his teammates. He’s doing positive things, he plays with physicality.” Poeltl has averaged 16.8 minutes per game in his last five contests.
  • Pressed to talk about the city of Los Angeles, Carmelo Anthony told the New York Post’s Marc Berman that he thinks L.A. is a relaxing place and that his family feels comfortable there. He also said, “Nah, don’t start, I haven’t thought about it,” though, so take it for what it’s worth. “I try not to think about it,” Anthony told the reporter. “Especially now when I’m still playing with the New York Knicks.“
Retweet 14 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/20/17

March 20th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League transactions from Monday:

Retweet 4 Share 0 Send via email0

Wolves Sign Omri Casspi

March 20th, 2017 at 3:41pm CST by Milo Taibi

March 20: The Wolves officially announced in a press release on Twitter that they’ve signed Casspi, though the exact terms have not yet been made available.

March 19: The Timberwolves are closing in on a deal with Omri Casspi, according to Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). Casspi had been cleared to resume basketball activities last week, after suffering a right thumb injury.

Stein shed further light on the deal, reporting Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau met face-to-face with Casspi over dinner this weekend in New Orleans (article link). According to Stein, the Clippers, Celtics, and Grizzlies also showed interest in Casspi.

The Wolves have a need for Casspi, having lost Nemanja Bjelica for the season with a left foot injury. Like Bjelica, Casspi is known as a long-distance shooting specialist, shooting 36.9% on 3-pointers over the course of his career. While Casspi is playoff-eligible- having been released prior to the March 1 deadline- the Wolves face long odds to make the postseason. Thibodeau’s squad is 28-40, receiving 3% odds of making the playoffs according to Five Thirty Eight.

Casspi’s deal is expected to be finalized Monday, Stein reports.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Rockets Sign Troy Williams For Rest Of Season

March 20th, 2017 at 2:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

March 20: According to Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports, the Rockets officially signed Williams for the rest of the 2016/17 campaign today.

March 18: The Rockets plan to sign Troy Williams for the remainder of the season when his current 10-day contract expires, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

The 6’7″ swingman hasn’t seen any action for Houston since signing that deal on March 10th. He was immediately assigned to the Rockets’ D-League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, where he has averaged 18.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 53.2 % from the field (Twitter link).

A 22-year-old undrafted rookie out of Indiana, Williams won a roster spot with the Grizzlies in training camp. He appeared in 24 games for Memphis and started 13 before being waived in late January to open a roster spot for Toney Douglas. Williams averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds during his time with the Grizzlies.

Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts