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Northwest Notes: Roberson, Gallinari, Onuaku

January 25th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andre Roberson will miss at least three weeks with a right knee sprain, The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater reports, and because of the timing of the All-Star break, it means he’s not expected to play again until February 19th at the earliest. The Thunder will seek to find ways to mitigate the loss of Roberson’s defensive prowess in the meantime, with Kyle Singler seemingly his most likely replacement in the starting lineup, Slater writes. The trade deadline is February 18th, one day before Roberson would return. See more from the Northwest Division:

Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post rates Danilo Gallinari below only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony among NBA small forwards, placing Gallo above Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gay and Harrison Barnes as he writes in his mailbag column. The Nuggets signed Gallinari to a renegotiation-and-extension this past summer that gives him $45.15MM from this season through 2017/18.
Former Timberwolves power forward Arinze Onuaku has decided against signing in the D-League, according to international journalist David Pick, who hears he might be headed for the Philippines instead (Twitter link). Onuaku, who joined Minnesota with a week to go in the 2014/15 season, had been set to return to the D-League affiliate of the Cavs.
The Timberwolves have assigned Adreian Payne to the D-League affiliate of the Magic, Minnesota announced (Twitter link). The plan the Wolves have for the former 15th overall pick is for him to play five D-League games before returning to Minnesota, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Orlando’s affiliate is involved because the Wolves don’t have a D-League team of their own.

Nets Consider Karnisovas, Rosas For GM Job

January 25th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Rockets executive VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas have become serious candidates for the Nets GM vacancy, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. They join Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry, whom earlier reports identified as candidates. Karnisovas and Rosas have separated themselves from other candidates, Wojnarowski writes, but the Yahoo scribe also indicates that Colangelo and Ferry remain in “prominent consideration.” Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has so far not shown a willingness to lay out the 10-year, $120MM contract that John Calipari is seeking, according to Wojnarowski.

The Nets want to hire a GM before the February 18th trade deadline, which is three weeks from Thursday, and they plan to begin formal interviews early next month, Wojnarowski hears. Nets officials want a greater emphasis on international scouting, feeling as though the team lacked that under former GM Billy King, as Wojnarowski also reports, detailing the history that Karnisovas and Rosas have with players from overseas.

Karnisovas just signed an extension with Denver, though teams generally don’t stand in the way if someone in the organization seeks a higher-level job elsewhere. Rosas thought that’s what he was doing when he left the Rockets to become Mavericks GM in 2013, but Dallas envisioned him as a clear subordinate to president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, and Rosas resigned just three months into the job. He returned to the Rockets two months after that. Karnisovas has strong relationships with Prokhorov associates, while Rosas is tight with coaches Tom Thibodeau, who’s already reportedly a candidate to become Brooklyn’s next head coach, and Jeff Van Gundy, according to Wojnarowski.

And-Ones: Del Negro, Lue, D-League

January 23rd, 2016 at 4:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The rash of injuries the Heat have suffered this season are taking a toll on the players, who have been asked to log significantly more minutes than normal as a result, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “The toughest part about it is that you always worry about the health of your teammate, first and foremost,” Chris Bosh said. “You always want guys to be as healthy as possible, but when it’s another guy going down, it’s just tough. Two weeks ago, we were going into a West Coast road trip, really trying to prove ourselves with a whole roster and now we’ve got six guys out. It’s just a tough pill to swallow.”

While the situation is far from ideal, Bosh did note that the team’s younger players were benefiting from the increased playing time, Kennedy adds. “We’re constantly just trying to digest what’s going on, take the hit on the chin and then regroup,” Bosh continued. “Our young guys are trying [to fill in], but they’re inexperienced and they’re really learning on the fly. I think the best part about it is it’s going to help us in the long run because these guys are getting minutes under stressful situations, and that’s how it’s going to be later on.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Celtics big man Jared Sullinger is a big fan of new Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, and he raves about the former Boston assistant’s demeanor and knowledge, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “I like Ty Lue,” Sullinger told Blakely. “He knows a lot about the game. He helped me out big-time when he was here, as far as helping me stay calm, staying confident and just staying ready at all times.”
Vinny Del Negro expects to coach in the NBA again, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports in an appearance on the “The Vertical” podcast. Del Negro confirmed that he has had interviews with the Pelicans, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Cavaliers since the Clippers let him go in 2013, adding that he had extensive player personnel duties in his final year with L.A. “From Jamal Crawford to Matt Barnes to Chauncey [Billups] to Grant [Hill] to everyone, doing the sign-and-trade for Willie Green, everything that was involved. All the front office did was the paperwork,” Del Negro said (audio link, scroll to 28-minute mark).
The Rockets have assigned Montrezl Harrell and K.J. McDaniels to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Harrell’s third trek to Rio Grande Valley and McDaniels’ fifth on the season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Smith, Lauvergne, Booker

January 23rd, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The rash of frontcourt injuries suffered by the Rockets led to the team’s acquisition of Josh Smith from the Clippers on Friday, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The team hopes it will get back the services of Donatas Motiejunas in the near future, but with the big man being at least a week away from resuming basketball activities, GM Daryl Morey decided to add Smith as insurance, Feigen adds. “Long term, we expect D-Mo to be back and be able to help us,” interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Where we are now, we felt we needed to do something to light a fire and keep us afloat. There are so many guys injured, we felt we could use the help at that position and it was an easy one for us because we’ve seen what he can do.”

Here’s more from out West:

Nuggets center Joffrey Lauvergne has seen his playing time drop with the return of Jusuf Nurkic from injury, but the 24-year-old remains a part of Denver’s future, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “With Joffrey, what I told him was whether you play … or you don’t play, I just want to reinforce to you how much we value you,” coach Michael Malone said. “Not just me but also [GM] Tim [Connelly]. He’s a big part of what we’re doing, but long term he’s a big part of what we want to do. We believe in Joffrey Lauvergne. It’s tough for him to hear that and not get the minutes that he’s not getting at the moment, but you feel bad for guys like that because Joffrey is one of our hardest workers.“
Despite being the NBA’s youngest player, Suns shooting guard Devin Booker has shown constant improvement this season and is one of the top performing rookies, something the player credits to coach Jeff Hornacek‘s faith in him, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
With the Timberwolves squarely out of the playoff picture the team should focus on seeing which lineups work the best for their young players, including finding additional playing time for Shabazz Muhammad, who has been underutilized this season, according to Danny Leroux of RealGM. It should be a priority for Minnesota to find out which players and lineup combinations work best heading into the summer, plus, it would also allow the front office to better gauge interim coach Sam Mitchell‘s ability to develop players, Leroux adds.

Nuggets Sign Sean Kilpatrick To Second 10-Day

January 23rd, 2016 at 10:34am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 10:34am: Denver officially announced via press release that Kilpatrick was inked to a second 10-day pact.

FRIDAY, 2:46pm: The Nuggets are expected to bring back Sean Kilpatrick on another 10-day contract, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter link). His first 10-day pact expired Thursday. Denver will face a decision about whether to keep Kilpatrick for the balance of the season when his second 10-day stint expires, since teams can’t sign any player to more than a pair of 10-day contracts in a single season.

The second-year pro has totaled nine points on 2 of 9 shooting in 24 minutes over the course of four appearances thus far with the Nuggets. All of his shot attempts have been 3-pointers, which isn’t entirely surprising, given the 44.5% clip at which he hit treys while with the D-League affiliate of the Sixers earlier this season. He averaged 27.1 points in 38.5 minutes per contest in the D-League, staking his position as a prime contender for a call-up.

Denver has 14 players on contracts that run through at least the end of the season, leaving one open spot for Kilpatrick to re-sign. Kostas Papanikolaou, who was previously in that roster spot, signed this week with Olympiacos of Greece.

Northwest Notes: Mudiay, Singler, Felton

January 21st, 2016 at 3:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Emmanuel Mudiay is taking a cue from Russell Westbrook of late, playing more aggressively and confidently and impressing coach Michael Malone, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post examines. Mudiay’s stock fell in the lead-up to the draft last year, but the Nuggets have empowered the seventh overall pick.

“I love how aggressive he’s playing,” Malone said. “Obviously he’s got to be able to make his free throws. In the last couple of games he’s not converting at the foul line. But I think the art of finishing is something that comes with time, experience, and getting used to playing against the size and length that they have in the paint, and he’s only going to get better. I just like how aggressive he’s playing right now.”

See more from the Northwest Division:

Kyle Singler played sparingly earlier this season even though the Thunder re-signed him to a five-year, $24.3MM deal, but the desire for more defense has led coach Billy Donovan to put Singler back in the rotation in place of Anthony Morrow, who’s in the final guaranteed season of his contract. The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel has the details.
The Mavericks tried to entice the Timberwolves into trading for the No. 21 overall pick this past June, with Raymond Felton attached, but the late Flip Saunders turned down the proposal, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter links). Minnesota wound up trading with the Cavs instead to nab 24th overall pick Tyus Jones.
The Trail Blazers shrewdly signed Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis to deals that will give them salaries below league average and decline in value over time, allowing the team to benefit from their production at a relatively cheap cost as they move into their primes, contends Keith P. Smith of RealGM. GM Neil Olshey has Portland ahead of schedule on its rebuild, which provides a refreshing contrast to the tear-down efforts of other teams, Smith writes.

Nuggets Notes: Connelly, Arthur, Karnisovas

January 20th, 2016 at 2:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, fresh off signing his extension Tuesday, said he plans an aggressive approach as the trade deadline nears and added that he doesn’t like to see the team, which lost Tuesday to fall to 16-26, as far below .500 as it is, as Matt Moore of CBSSports.com relays. Still, he cautioned that he doesn’t want to rush the process of building a contender and wouldn’t rule out trading for another first-round pick, Moore notes, even though the team is likely to have at least two and could have as many as four this June. Denver also has the right to swap picks with the Knicks. Rumors have linked the Nuggets to the unprotected pick that the Nets owe the Celtics, but indications are Boston doesn’t intend to trade that selection, Moore writes. See more from Denver:

Nuggets signees this past season lauded the culture that Connelly and his staff are building, and the extension was a sign that the franchise believes it’s found the right direction for itself after a 2014/15 that Connelly on Tuesday called an embarrasment, Moore relays in a separate piece. Denver is on track to succeed, though the missing piece is a superstar, Moore opines. “I think we’ve turned the corner,” Connelly said, “and now we have to be aggressive, opportunistic, but also patient.”
Darrell Arthur was one of the Nuggets who signed this summer in part because he liked where the Nuggets were headed, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, and retaining the power forward has paid dividends for the team this season, as Dempsey examines. That’s in large measure because Arthur has been healthy, Dempsey notes.
The Nuggets had been working on extensions for Connelly as well as assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and others in the front office staff for months, according to Dempsey, who adds that the franchise has long intended to keep Connelly and his aides (Twitter link).
Denver is reportedly shopping J.J. Hickson while ex-Nuggets combo forward Kostas Papanikolaou has officially signed overseas. See details on those stories and more on our Nuggets team page.

Kostas Papanikolaou Signs To Play In Greece

January 20th, 2016 at 9:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Former Nuggets and Rockets combo forward Kostas Papanikolaou has officially signed with Olympiacos of his native Greece, the team announced via Facebook (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). Barcelona of Spain had the right to match European offers for him, but declined to do so, according to Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (on Twitter; translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Sport24 first reported the sides had a deal that runs through June 2019. The 25-year-old was reportedly deciding between a shorter offer from the team and a deal through June 2018 from fellow Greek club Panathinaikos, so perhaps the lengthening of the Olympiacos offer was what convinced Papanikolaou to sign. In any case, it’s unclear what, if any, NBA outs the contract includes.

The Nuggets waived Papanikolaou twice this season, once at the start of training camp while he was on a non-guaranteed contract and again earlier this month, when Denver let go of the $350K partially guaranteed deal he signed in early November. He averaged 2.6 points in 11.3 minutes over 26 games with the Nuggets, including six starts, modest stats that nonetheless exceeded the 1.8 points per game he produced for the Greek national team at this summer’s Eurobasket tournament.

Denver originally acquired him from the Rockets this past summer in the Ty Lawson trade. Houston signed him in 2014 to two-year deal that gave him a sizable salary of nearly $4.798MM last season. Papanikolaou had a chance to play fairly significant minutes for the Rockets early in the 2014/15 campaign, but he only notched 4.2 points in 18.5 minutes per game that season and never lived up to the contract. He came to the NBA as a draft-and-stash prospect, having been the 48th overall pick in the 2012 draft.

Do you think we’ll see Papanikolaou in the NBA again? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Nuggets Shop J.J. Hickson

January 20th, 2016 at 8:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets are actively in pursuit of trades that would send out J.J. Hickson, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported last month that Denver was said to be making the power forward available. Hickson is pulling down nearly $5.614MM this season on an expiring contract.

It’s no surprise that the Nuggets would try to see what they can get for the 27-year-old, since he’s appeared in only one game since December 8th. A root canal forced him out of Denver’s landmark win over the Warriors last week, but he’s otherwise sat because he’s been out of coach Michael Malone‘s rotation. That’s a change from early in the season, when he made nine starts, averaging 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per contest in those games. He’s produced 7.6 points and 4.8 boards in 16.8 minutes per game in 18 appearances overall this year, numbers similar to last season but down from 2013/14, the first on his three-year, $16.145MM deal.

Freshly extended GM Tim Connelly has the Nuggets slightly below the salary cap and just two and a half games behind the Jazz for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, though they’d have to pass the Trail Blazers and Kings to catch Utah in the crowded standings. It’s unclear whether the Nuggets will buy or sell as the February 18th trade deadline approaches. Kyler wrote last month when he reported that both Hickson and Randy Foye were said to be available that the belief around the league was growing that the Nuggets might be close to offloading talent. However, Denver has won four of its last six after losing nine of its previous 10.

The Nuggets are likely to receive the protected 2016 first-round pick the Rockets owe them, though the one headed their way from Portland is a toss-up and the one from Memphis is unlikely to convey this year, as I noted last week. Denver also gets to swap picks with the Knicks if New York’s pick is better.

What do you think the Nuggets should prioritize receiving in a Hickson trade? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Nuggets Sign GM Tim Connelly To Extension

January 19th, 2016 at 5:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets and GM Tim Connelly have agreed to a multi-year contract extension, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Connelly’s front-office staff, including assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, will also receive new contracts, sources told Wojnarowski. The Nuggets confirmed the extensions in a press release.

Connelly and his staff have earned the trust of Denver president Josh Kroenke as they work to reconfigure the roster under first-year coach Michael Malone, Wojnarowski continues. Through trades, Connelly has acquired three potential lottery-protected first-round picks over the next two drafts, Wojnarowski points out.

Connelly drafted center Jusuf Nurkic in the first round in 2014 and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay in the lottery last summer. During Connelly’s tenure since he replaced Masai Ujiri in 2013, he also traded for starting shooting guard Will Barton and reached extensions with small forwards Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler and power forward Kenneth Faried.

Connelly has focused on unearthing talent that others have overlooked and that strategy has led the Nuggets to draft many international players, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post recently reported. “We’ve put a lot of emphasis in international scouting. … We want to be very well informed with any player in the world,” Connelly told Dempsey. “Certainly the more well informed we are, hopefully we make better decisions. It just so happens that when we’ve selected guys, signed guys, traded for guys, we’ve had a pretty big international influence.”

Connelly was the Pelicans’ assistant GM for three years prior to joining the Nuggets. He came through the ranks with the Wizards, working for that franchise for 10 years.

“Over the past few years Tim, Arturas, and the rest of our front office staff have worked tirelessly in reshaping our roster and our entire organizational vision for the future,” Kroenke said in the release. “Whether through the draft, trades, or free agency, we have an excellent mix of players and are extremely well positioned moving forward.”