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Western Notes: Wolves, Lakers, Blazers

September 27th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Will Joseph

Wolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune in a wide-ranging Q&A that the team did not stop believing in Anthony Bennett and instead reached a buyout deal with the young player because the team had enough depth.

“I wouldn’t say we gave up on him,” Mitchell said. “Look at the sheer numbers at that position and even take K.G. out of the equation and we have three, four guys who can play power forward. We just felt we had an overabundance of people at that position. It wasn’t us giving up on A.B. I think A.B. came to us. His representative felt like they’d have a better chance somewhere else with a fresh start. We never approached A.B. with that [a contract buyout].”

The entire interview is worth a read because it is as entertaining as it is informative.

Here’s more on the Western Conference:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak dismissed the idea that the franchise is concerned about Nick Young‘s personality and instead, Kupchak pointed out that Young suffered through injuries and a career-worst shooting season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. The Lakers tried trading Young this offseason, only to keep him after failing to find any suitors.
After signing the richest contract in Blazers history — a five year, $120MM extension — and now without LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews on the team, Damian Lillard is ready to take on a leadership role with Portland, Jason Quick of The Oregonian writes in a lengthy profile that is definitely worth a read. Lillard, as Quick points out, got off to a good start with a big team-building event during the summer.
Maurice Harkless, who was acquired by the Blazers from the Magic in July, is only 22 and has plenty of room to grow in Portland’s system, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. Harkless will make $2,894,059 in the final year of his rookie deal, as Richman points out.

Pacific Notes: Ezeli, Butler, Crawford

September 26th, 2015 at 1:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Warriors center Festus Ezeli, who is eligible to sign a rookie scale extension prior to the deadline this fall, wants to remain with Golden State long-term, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. “I don’t want to leave,” Ezeli said. “I love this team. I love my teammates. The fans here are unbelievable. I’m inspired to come in every day and see even our best player, Stephen Curry, just working really hard. So this whole team and being here, the chemistry that we have, you can’t buy this anywhere. You can’t get it anywhere else.” Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron took an in-depth look at Ezeli’s extension candidacy earlier this month, which can be viewed here.

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Metta World Peace‘s one-year, minimum salary deal with the Lakers doesn’t include any injury protection or guaranteed salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Kings swingman Caron Butler, who signed with the team this offseason, says he is looking forward to the challenge in Sacramento, and noted that he was offered more money from other teams, Deuce Mason of Sports 1140 relays (on Twitter).
With the Clippers‘ offseason additions adding depth to the team’s rotation, swingman Jamal Crawford‘s minutes are likely to suffer, a sacrifice that he is willing to make for the good of the team, Robert Morales of InsideSoCal.com relays. “I think it will be a lot of sacrifice, obviously, to sacrifice minutes, whatever it may be,” Crawford said. “Your common goal has to be winning.“ The Clippers were reportedly exploring trades involving the two-time Sixth Man of the Year shortly before the draft, with other reports this summer indicating that the Heat, Cavs and Knicks have held interest, but Doc Rivers recently said that the team was unlikely to deal Crawford.
Rivers noted that the Clippers now possess the most talent that they have had since he’s been a part of the organization, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.

Rockets To Sign Jeremy Tyler

September 25th, 2015 at 6:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets have agreed to a deal with unrestricted free agent power forward Jeremy Tyler, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The length and terms of the pact are unknown, though Wojnarowski does refer to it as a training camp deal, meaning it likely is for the minimum salary and includes little or no guaranteed money. The addition of Tyler gives Houston a roster count of 19 players, including 14 with fully guaranteed deals.

The 24-year-old’s last NBA regular season action came during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 41 contests for the Knicks, averaging 3.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks in 9.7 minutes per outing. The Lakers signed him for the preseason last fall, waiving him shortly before opening night. His career numbers through 104 regular season games are 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 0.4 BPG to accompany a slash line of .450/.000/.557. Tyler was the No. 39 overall pick back in 2011.

Tyler played for the Mavericks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League this year, notching averages of 11.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.8 SPG in six contests. He reportedly worked out for the Lakers back in August, but no deal was struck.

Latest On Steve Nash

September 25th, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 25TH, 3:53pm: The Warriors have officially hired Nash, confirming that he’ll serve as a player development consultant, the team announced via press release.

“Steve Nash was one of the best guards to ever play in this league and we are so happy to add him to our staff and have him working with our players,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in the team’s statement. “Even though he possessed incredible individual skills and abilities, Steve always played the game with a team-first mentality, which is something that we emphasize greatly within our group. Steve and I have a great relationship from our time together in Phoenix while I was general manager, and we share a lot of beliefs about how the game should be played and about the work ethic that goes in to being great. I can’t wait to work with him again and have him around our team.”

The two-time MVP also expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership.

“I look forward to joining Coach Kerr and his great staff and helping out in any way that I can,” Nash said. “The Warriors played such a beautiful style of team basketball last season and it’s a style that I am very familiar with and enjoyed playing throughout my career. This team is extremely talented, as they proved in winning the championship last season, but they also have a number of core players who are relatively young in their careers. That is a very unique blend and I’m excited about the opportunity to work with these guys and hopefully pass along some of the lessons that I learned during my career.”

SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1:00pm: Nash seemed to confirm in a video with Sportsnet Central’s Caroline Cameron that he’ll be working on the Warriors staff this season, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group transcribes. Nash answered a question about how he can help Stephen Curry and said that “hopefully I’ll learn as much from him as he will from me.”

SEPTEMBER 15TH, 1:58pm: The Mavericks held out hope as recently as late June that they could convince Steve Nash to come out of retirement to play for them this coming season, sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 41-year-old is nearing a deal to join the Warriors as a part-time player development consultant, as Stein also reports. The point guard announced his retirement in March, months after a nerve ailment had sidelined him for the season and made it seem doubtful, at best, that he would ever return to action. The Lakers held on to his contract until waiving him in April.

Nash spent six seasons in Dallas between 1998 and 2004, blossoming along with Dirk Nowitzki, who remains a close friend and whose charity softball game Nash took part in this summer, as Stein notes. Mavs owner Mark Cuban told Kenneth Arthur of Rolling Stone last year that his worst move as an owner was letting Nash sign with Phoenix in 2004. Nash’s level of play reached even higher levels when he was with the Suns, the team with which he won both his MVP awards.

Dallas had only spot duty in mind for Nash this time around, but Nash made it clear last year that if he were to play again, he would only do so as a Laker, as Stein points out. The Cavs tried and failed to convince Nash to push for a buyout from the Lakers last season that would have allowed him to finish up 2014/15 in Cleveland, as Stein reported in March. Nash said then that he wanted to live in Southern California forever, but while he’s poised to join a Northern California team, he’d only spend a few days each month with the Warriors, Stein writes.

The Mavs, as they stand, have no shortage of point guards, with four on the roster. That includes offseason addition Deron Williams and J.J. Barea, who re-signed with the team this summer, as well as holdovers Devin Harris and Raymond Felton.

What do you think Nash’s greatest legacy as a player will be? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Lakers Rumors: Playoffs, Buss, Hibbert, Huertas

September 25th, 2015 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers roster is strong enough for the team to have legitimate playoff aspirations, GM Mitch Kupchak contends, as USA Today’s Sam Amick writes. “The goal every year, of course, is to win the championship,” Kupchak said. “I’m really hopeful that we can be fun to watch, and certainly win a lot more games than we won last year. I don’t know why hopes of a playoff position shouldn’t be in the picture. That’s kind of where it stands.” Still, Kupchak was more guarded than he was a year ago, when he declared that the expectation for last season’s squad was to win a championship, observes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The Lakers instead finished a franchise-worst 21-61. See more on the purple-and-gold:

Kupchak downplayed the idea that co-owner Jim Buss will resign from his job as the team’s executive VP of basketball operations if the Lakers don’t make the Western Conference Finals by 2017, a standard to which primary owner Jeanie Buss has said she’ll hold her brother. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News has the details. “If he felt that way and I agreed, we would’ve traded our picks for veteran players,” Kupchak said. “But we didn’t.” Jim Buss has seemingly tried to soften the parameters of his pledge that he’d step down if the Lakers aren’t contending by the end of the 2016/17 season.
The GM sees D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle as starters for the future, and he also expressed high hopes for Roy Hibbert, who’s on an expiring contract, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays. “Hibbert is young enough to be included,” Kupchak said. “If Roy has a good to great year, and we can bring him back at 28 years old, I don’t know why he can’t be part of that core.”
Lakers players are impressed with what they’ve seen from Brazilian rookie Marcelo Huertas during voluntary team workouts, and the point guard has a legitimate chance to make the opening night roster, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Huertas signed a contract with no guaranteed money, and while the Lakers have plenty of flexibility with only 12 fully guaranteed deals, the team is open to offloading one of those full guarantees if someone on a non-guaranteed pact proves a better player, Kupchak said, as Pincus notes in his piece.
Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson thinks it’s possible Kobe Bryant will play for a team other than the Lakers in 2016/17, as we detailed earlier.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Kobe, Lopez, Jerebko

September 25th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Chuck Myron

It sounds like Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher would like to have former Lakers colleague Kobe Bryant join the Knicks next season, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post observes based on Jackson’s comment today (Twitter link). Jackson said that he doesn’t think Bryant will retire at season’s end but added that it might be his final year with the Lakers, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (on Twitter). Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if Jackson was just making a subtle joke (Twitter link), as he is wont to do, and though Bryant’s contract with the Lakers expires this coming summer, Marc Stein of ESPN.com can’t see him playing for any NBA team other than the purple-and-gold (All Twitter links). If Bryant does suit up for a team aside from the Lakers, it would be an overseas team, Stein believes.

While we wait to see how the latest Kobe storyline develops, see more from the Atlantic Division:

Jackson said that he’ll be more involved with Fisher this year, at Fisher’s request, observes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’ll mean more frequent observations from the Zen Master and perhaps more time that Jackson and Fisher will spend watching film together, as Herring relays (via Twitter).
Robin Lopez will fit better with the Knicks than Greg Monroe would have because of his superior defense, Jackson once more insisted, in comments that Bontemps and Herring relay (Twitter links).
The Nets have little reason not to try to win as much as they can this season, since they owe their 2016 first-round pick to the Celtics without protection, and coach Lionel Hollins confirmed Thursday that the team will remain focused on wins and losses this year, as Roderick Boone of Newsday details. Hollins said veterans would get the first chance at minutes. “Nobody’s said, ‘Wait until next summer,'” Hollins said. “We’re going out and trying to win. Whether we can or not remains to be seen. But it’s not my mindset. And the players’ mindset is not going out there [thinking], ‘We don’t have to try to win this year because it’s a gap year, and the expectations have changed because we broke this group up versus that group up.'”
Danny Ainge doesn’t foresee a major shakeup before the start of the season, meaning competition for minutes figures to be fierce among the Celtics, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Jonas Jerebko, who re-signed with the team this summer, welcomes the challenge, Forsberg also notes. “Competition just makes everyone better,” Jerebko said. “You are supposed to have competition on the team. We have a lot of guys that can play multiple positions so that’s just a plus for us. We can mix it up and have a great coach to mix it up with, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Lakers Sign Metta World Peace

September 24th, 2015 at 6:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

6:18pm: The signing is official, the Lakers announced.

4:31pm: The Lakers and unrestricted free agent forward Metta World Peace have agreed to a deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. It will be a one-year, minimum salary arrangement that’s non-guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds. The contract is expected to be signed today and the veteran will take his physical on Friday, notes Wojnarowski.

The 35-year-old did not play in the NBA last season. He appeared in 29 games with the Knicks in 2013/14. Last season, he played 15 games for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association before a knee injury sidelined him. He finished out the season with Pallacanestro Cantu in the Italian League, averaging 13.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. World Peace does have a history with the Lakers, having played four seasons with them before joining the Knicks after Los Angeles used the amnesty provision to cut him loose. He appeared in 75 games with the Lakers in 2012/13, his final season in L.A., averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while making 66 starts.

World Peace is expected to make the regular season roster and play a role as a small forward off the bench, as well as to act as a veteran extension of coach Byron Scott in the young Lakers locker room, Wojnarowski writes. The addition of World Peace gives Los Angeles a roster count of 19 players, 12 of whom have fully guaranteed pacts.

Pacific Notes: Butler, Hibbert, Leuer

September 23rd, 2015 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings‘ locker room could be rather volatile this season given some of the strong personalities present, and the team is likely to rely on veteran forward Caron Butler to act as a stabilizing influence, Alec J. Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today writes. Butler, who inked a two-year, minimum salary deal with Sacramento this offseason, understands that he was brought in more for his intangibles than for his statistics, the USA Today scribe notes. “Off general principle, you get a certain respect for being around for so long and guys just respect you,” Butler said. “But at the same time, you gradually come to the position to address issues vocally. I’m more of a guy that likes pulling guys to the side to just talk to them one on one and educate them.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

One storyline for the Lakers during the 2015/16 campaign will be how well center Roy Hibbert will fit in with the team, and if he’ll play his way into being either a part of the franchise’s future, or become a possible trade deadline asset, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes.
Jon Leuer, after having spent the last month working out in Phoenix, is excited about what he can do in the Suns‘ offense given his strong outside shooting, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “Seeing how we can get up and down, just being able to run the floor and play at this pace are things that will really help,” Leuer said. “I feel one of the undervalued parts of my game is how I can get out and run. And seeing where the shots will come and how they come is something I feel really comfortable with.” The 26-year-old was acquired in a draft day trade with the Grizzlies. Coro recently took part in our interview series, “The Beat,” and weighed in on a number of topics related to the Suns.
With the team’s stars now surrounded by a solid and versatile supporting cast, the Clippers will be expected to advance deep into the playoffs, writes Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) in his season preview. If Los Angeles is unable to do so, it may be time for the franchise to consider making significant roster changes, Bontemps adds.

Dwight Buycks To Play In China

September 23rd, 2015 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 23RD, 1:29pm: Buycks has signed with Fujian, Pick hears (Twitter link). That team featured Al Harrington, John Lucas III and DJ White last season.

SEPTEMBER 7TH, 9:59am: Former Raptors and Lakers point guard Dwight Buycks has turned down multiple non-guaranteed offers from NBA teams to agree to play in China instead, a source tells international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The Lakers apparently had interest in re-signing him earlier this summer, as Pick reported in June. It’s unclear which Chinese team Buycks will be joining, nor is it known how much he’ll make.

Buycks was a late addition to the Lakers this past season, signing a 10-day contract in early April. He saw a decent chunk of playing time for the injury-hit purple-and-gold and averaged 8.7 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 turnovers in 20.5 minutes per game across six appearances, but the broken hand he suffered on the final night of his 10-day deal scuttled the team’s plan to sign him for at least the rest of the season. The 26-year-old managed only 0.5 PPG in 10.5 MPG for the Lakers summer league squad in July.

His lack of summer league success was surprising, given his track record in that venue. Buycks averaged 19.7 PPG in 29.9 MPG for the summer Raptors in July 2014, a year after Toronto had signed him to a deal that gave him a guaranteed salary for his rookie season. However, he saw action in only 14 games for the Raptors in that 2013/14 season, and the team waived him last July in spite of his strong summer performance.

The Chris Patrick client is no stranger to turning down NBA offers to go overseas. He reportedly did so last summer to sign with Valencia of Spain, though he and the club parted ways early last season as NBA teams showed renewed interest. Buycks also saw action with China’s Tianjin Steel and the Thunder’s D-League affiliate.

Do you think Buycks belongs in the NBA? Leave a comment to share your opinion.

And-Ones: CBA, Revenue Sharing, Thompson

September 21st, 2015 at 9:37pm CST by ChrisCrouse

There’s reason to believe that neither the owners or the players will opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement after the 2016/17 season, David Aldridge of NBA.com writes in a piece that’s worth a read. Aldridge cites the new television deal, the rising salaries of players, and the success of the current revenue sharing system among the reasons to be optimistic. There’s also hope among the parties involved.

“Can’t imagine either [side] opting out”, one extremely high-ranking team official texted Aldridge last week. “Never know what the player’s union will do but the dollars are getting so big.”

Many players are beyond angry about the billions in salaries they have conceded and they want to recoup some of those losses, but there are some on the players’ side who think the current CBA is providing enough incentive to prevent a lockout.

“Way too much economic prosperity right now for the Owners and the Players with continual Global growth,” a prominent player agent texted Aldridge. “There is NO basis whatsoever for a work stoppage.”

Here’s more from Aldridge’s latest piece:

Sources told the scribe that even though the Lakers are consistently major contributors to the plan, the franchise is in support of the current revenue sharing system. The team understands the need for some level of revenue sharing and it isn’t seeking substantial changes to the current system “because it’s working.”
Aldridge switched gears to talk about the NBA on the court. He doesn’t believe Tristan Thompson will come to terms with Cleveland on a long-term deal, citing the $14MM schism between the two sides.
Aldridge is surprised that Jamal Crawford remains a Clipper and predicts that the guard will be dealt by the trade deadline. Earlier this month, coach/executive Doc Rivers said that it’s unlikely the team will trade the 35-year-old.