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Odds & Ends: Shaq, Howard, Gladness, Harrellson

September 9th, 2012 at 12:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

Shaquille O'Neal, speaking with Rachel Whittaker of The Times-Picayune, refuted reports that he would play a couple of games for a team in the Mexican league next month while still leaving the door open for such a cameo to take place, saying "we could talk, but nobody has contacted me." While the future Hall of Famer ponders a cameo south of the border, he said he's had little time to consider the implications of Dwight Howard with the Lakers. Shaq is "flattered" that D12 followed his footsteps from the Magic to the L.A., but he said, "I don't have a reaction. You have to care to have a reaction. I've got businesses to run. I always tell people that in order to step in my shoes you have big shoes to fill. For him, he's going to have to at least win three to get people's respect." 

Here's more news from around the Association:

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Knicks Rumors: Isiah, Camby, Giddens

September 9th, 2012 at 8:25am CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks owner James Dolan would like to have former coach and executive Isiah Thomas formally rejoin the organization in some capacity, but Thomas is reluctant come back, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Thomas might fear media backlash if he is rehired, and he has lingering resentment of some MSG executives from his previous tenure with the team, Isola writes. Thomas, who was college teammates with GM Glen Grunwald and coach Mike Woodson, is serving as an unofficial adviser to the team, according to Isola's report, and an eventual return in a official capacity seems likely. Here's more from the Big Apple: 

  • We passed along an item about Marcus Camby's enthusiasm for the Knicks roster last night, and in the piece Keldy Ortiz wrote for Newsday, Camby also talked about how close he came to signing with the Heat. Camby said it was a phone call from former teammate and current Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston that persuaded him to come to New York. "I knew that it would have been very hard for me to put on that Miami Heat uniform, especially all the battles we used to have back in the days with Houston and those guys," Camby said. "I'm happy things worked out."
  • Camby also spoke about reuniting with some of his old Nuggets and Blazers teammates who are now with him on the Knicks, and adjusting to a bench role after starting for so long, as Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of the New York Post writes.
  • Former Knicks guard J.R. Giddens, who the Celtics took with the final pick of the first round in the 2008 draft, could be headed to the Italian league to play for Centrale del Latte Brescia, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. 
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Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Cavs, Nelson, Heat

September 8th, 2012 at 12:03pm CST by Zachary Links

While there has been a great deal of championship talk surrounding the Heat, Lakers, and Thunder this summer, the Bobcats have a more modest goal of not repeating as the NBA's worst team in 2012/13.  While the Bobcats are still a work in progress, this year's team in Charlotte isn't nearly as bad as last season's group, writes Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld.  Offseason acquisitions including rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Ben Gordon, Brendan Haywood, and Ramon Sessions should all help lift the team a little bit further out of the basement.  As for the new cellar dweller?  Brigham suggests that the Magic seem to be a likely candidate.  Here's today's look around the Association..

  • The Cavs brought former University of Richmond point guard Kevin Anderson in for a workout this week, a source told Sportando.  Anderson spent last season with French team SIG Strasbourg, averaging 12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 4.0 RPG.
  • From Lithuania to the Lakers, forward Reeves Nelson truly has come full circle, writes Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside.  Nelson was once viewed as a first-round talent, but off-court trouble led to him being kicked out of the UCLA program and a brief stint overseas. The Lakers signed Nelson to a non-guaranteed deal earlier this week.
  • In today's mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel opines that the Heat did not make a "mistake" by whiffing on Andray Blatche, as he wouldn't have been a player of major consequence in the rotation anyway. 
  • David Mayo of MLive.com isn't sure what Ukrainian big man Vyacheslav Kravtsov brings to the table for the Pistons.  Detroit signed the 24-year-old over the summer as their third center behind Jason Maxiell and rookie Andre Drummond.
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Odds & Ends: Lakers, Young, Heat, Beyer

September 7th, 2012 at 10:23pm CST by Alex Lee

It has been a busy day and night for the Lakers on this early-September Friday, which is certainly nothing new considering the influx of material since they landed Dwight Howard.  Today they signed their second round pick, finalized their offseason coaching staff overhaul and their GM, Mitch Kupchak, spoke with SI.com's Sam Amick about all things Lakers.  In addition to the earlier stories, Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN Los Angeles gives his take on three of the small, but meaningful issues facing the team. 

But there are 29 other teams in the NBA, so let us round up some of the odds and ends from around the Association here tonight:

  • Chauncey Billups is way ahead of schedule in his recovery from a left Achilles injury, writes Helene Elliot of the L.A. Times.  Billups hasn't set a target return date yet, but said, "When my body feels right, that's when I'll be back.  That being said, I'm far ahead of schedule.  It's not even like I had a summer. I've been on the whole time, doing rehabbing and other work every day. I'm looking forward to getting back to playing and being with the guys and resuming my normal life as a player."
  • Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld, via USA Today, writes that with the moves that the Knicks made – getting older and wiser – the team should be better equipped to compete and that the window to win is now.  One interested tidbit from Beer – there are only five active NBA players over the age of 38 and the Knicks acquired three of them this offseason in Marcus Camby, Jason Kidd and Kurt Thomas.
  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News evaluates the chances of the Mavericks ending up with Kevin Martin and/or Josh Smith next summer, both of whom are free agents.  After striking out this summer in free agency, the Mavericks should be in position to try again in a year with a similar level of financial flexibility.
  • Dei Lynam of CSN Philly is doing a player by player breakdown of the revamped 76ers roster, and today she tackles swingman Thaddeus Young.  The small forward position is much less crowded in Philadelphia after the departure of Andre Iguodala, and Young has made it an offseason goal to slide into that position as a starter. 
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside says that while the D-League has been increasingly effective as an NBA farm system, there is additional room for growth.  He uses Andre Drummond as an example of a guy who would never be a D-League candidate, but for his development's sake, should be.
  • Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addresses a few questions about the world champion Heat, including his thoughts on what roles of Rashard Lewis and Udonis Haslem may play on the Miami bench.
  • The NBA coaching carousel continues as the Warriors have reportedly hired Bob Beyer as an assistant coach, who spent the last five years in Orlando on Stan Van Gundy's staff, says Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area.  Beyer will replace Wes Unseld Jr., who joined Jacque Vaughn's staff in Orlando.
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Heat Sign Mickell Gladness, Jarvis Varnado

September 7th, 2012 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have signed a pair of bigs to make-good contracts, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Mickell Gladness and Jarvis Varnado have received invitations to the team's training camp, with a chance to earn a spot on the regular-season roster.

Gladness, 26, made his NBA debut in 2011/12, spending time with both the Heat and Warriors in his rookie season. The Alabama A&M product saw very limited minutes in his eight games for the Heat, but is viewed as a low-cost project, and didn't require a guaranteed contract.

Varnado, meanwhile, was the Heat's 41st overall pick in 2010, and has played overseas for the last two seasons. We heard a month ago from Emiliano Carchia of Sportando that Varnado would be leaving his team in Italy to join Miami's training camp, but the Heat didn't make it official until now.

The Heat now have 15 players under contract, but can continue to add players on non-guaranteed deals, up to a total of 20. Miami may not bring that many players to camp, but according to Winderman, the club is expected to offer non-guaranteed contracts to Terrel Harris and Robert Dozier, a 2009 second-rounder. The Heat have also worked out Josh Harrellson and Jerome Dyson this week.

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Eastern Notes: Nets, Heat, Dyson, Pistons

September 6th, 2012 at 10:54pm CST by Luke Adams

There have been plenty of newsworthy items out of the Eastern Conference today, with the Knicks unveiling new uniforms, the Nets possibly having signed Andray Blatche, and the league's most popular 12th man landing a TV gig with the Celtics. Here are a few more Eastern-related links we've yet to cover:

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Eastern Notes: Heat, Celtics, Knicks, Pistons

September 5th, 2012 at 10:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier tonight, we learned that the Nets have reached an agreement with Andray Blatche on a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary contract. While that removes Blatche from the equation for the Heat, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel thinks it could ultimately benefit Miami, increasing the team's chances of being able to add a "known quantity on the cheap" (Sulia link). Here are a few more evening links from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Coming off a season in which the Celtics struggled on the boards, WEEI.com's Ben Rohrbach looks into whether the team improved its rebounding with its offseason moves.
  • Steve Novak and the Knicks have organized a "pre-training camp" that's set to begin on Monday, the sharpshooter tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • In previewing the Pistons' upcoming season, David Mayo of MLive.com examines the position where the team seems to be thinnest: Shooting guard.
  • Reggie Miller tells Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he wouldn't rule out returning to the Pacers in a front-office role down the line.
  • In a Nets press release, the team announced that tryouts for the Springfield Armor, Brooklyn's D-League affiliate, will be held in New Jersey on September 22nd and in Springfield on October 21st.
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Heat Notes: Wade, Spoelstra, Allen, Point Guards

September 4th, 2012 at 5:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

One of the reasons the Ray Allen signing was such a coup for the Heat is concern about Dwyane Wade's left knee, which required arthroscopic surgery July 9th and forced him out of the Olympics. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel rounded up Wade's comments about his recovery as he makes the rounds to promote his book, "A Father First: How my life became bigger than basketball." Winderman also has a few more tidbits from the defending champs today, and we'll pass them along here:

  • Wade was optimistic during his appearance on "The View," saying, "I'm doing great. I'm ahead of schedule. The knee's OK, so I'm ahead of schedule," as Winderman notes. Wade was more cautious in his remarks to a Houston radio station, and indicated it could be a while before he's 100%. "That's my goal, to be full strength," Wade said. "Obviously, coming off surgery, even in the beginning of the year, [the goal is] to continue to work your way into things and hopeful hit your stride some point midseason, where you feel your best." 
  • Coach Erik Spoelstra, who turned up the tempo last season, spoke on WQAM's Jorge Sedano Show today and said he'll try to get the team to play even faster this year, as Winderman notes. Spoelstra also shared his excitement about adding Allen to the mix. "He's a Hall of Fame-type catch-and-shoot player," the coach said. "We haven't had that element before in our offense. So it's been a lot of fun, trying to X-and-O and come up with new ways to get him open. I don't want to overthink it. I don't want to totally change what we do, but that's a great element to have, that type of weapon."
  • In the same interview, Spoelstra also gave his take on the moves that the Lakers and other teams took to try to knock the Heat from the top of the mountain. "We knew this would be a big summer, one way or another, that there were a lot of teams out there with money, that had an opportunity to make big moves, and some teams did, some teams did improve," Spoelstra said. "The Lakers certainly did, and that's going to make it all the more fun."
  • A third point guard would provide insurance in case either Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole misses any time this season, but the Heat seem willing to experiment with Terrel Harris in that role if the need arises, Winderman says in his mailbag column. Harris remains unsigned, but he's in talks with the Heat about a return.
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Teams Using Taxpayer MLE For 2012/13

September 4th, 2012 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

When it comes to team payroll, NBA clubs can essentially be broken down into three groups: Teams using cap space, over-the-cap (but under-the-tax) teams, and taxpaying teams. Yesterday, we looked at the franchises that fall into the former two categories, including 12 teams using cap space and 13 teams with access to the full $5MM mid-level exception.

That leaves just five teams in the Association that no longer have access to cap space or the full mid-level for 2012/13. It's not out of the realm of possibility that one or more of these teams could dip back below the tax threshold over the course of the season. But since their payrolls have exceeded $74,307,000 already, they're ineligible to use more than the $3.09MM taxpayer mid-level exception from now until next July.

Here's a look at the five teams that fall into this category, and where their payroll situations currently stand:

  • Brooklyn Nets: Their offseason spending spree resulted in an overall 2012/13 payroll of about $81.8MM, which included using the $3.09MM mini mid-level on Mirza Teletovic. In their first year in Brooklyn, the Nets are unlikely to try to cut costs, so I'd expect that $81.8MM figure to increase, if anything.
  • Los Angeles Lakers: Despite sitting at almost exactly $100MM in player salaries this season, the Lakers actually still have about half of their MLE to use, after spending $1.5MM+ on Jodie Meeks. We'll have to see if the Lakers are done spending or if they're ready to head well into triple-digits and increase their tax hit even more.
  • Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies are the likeliest of these teams to try to sneak below the tax threshold later in the year. Their $74.9MM payroll isn't far above the apron, and most of their players are on reasonable salaries, making a deadline deal a possibility. The team's approach will probably depend on how the ownership situation is looking by the new year.
  • Miami Heat: Like the Nets, they're slightly over the $80MM mark, and don't figure to be cutting salary as long as they have a shot at the title. They used their entire $3.09MM mini MLE to sign Ray Allen.
  • New York Knicks: For all the hand-wringing this summer about the Knicks' future tax payments if they'd retained Jeremy Lin, their 2012/13 payroll isn't catastrophic — the team is below the $80MM mark, and that includes some non- or partially-guaranteed deals, which could reduce payroll a little more by season's end. The Knicks used their $3.09MM taxpayer mid-level on Jason Kidd.
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Free Agent Stock Watch: Josh Harrellson

September 3rd, 2012 at 7:38pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier this afternoon, we relayed a report that the Heat were inviting Josh Harrellson to a pre-camp tryout for a spot on the team's official training camp roster.  Although his season averages of 4.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 42.3% shooting from the field in 14.7 MPG may not stand out very much, the former Kentucky Wildcat has shown flashes of how he could be a contributor for teams needing depth in the frontcourt. In his 37 games as a Knick, Harrellson appeared to be a blue-collar role player that didn't need to score to have an impact on the game. Having watched nearly every Knicks game last season, here are some of my observations of what he can do:

While he may not be a standout post-player, I wouldn't consider Harrellson to be an offensive liability either.  He found most of his attempts in the painted area (58 FGA out of his total 148 FGA), finishing at the basket with a 53% clip; not to mention finding success with the corner-three point shot, where he averaged 39.1% on 23 attempts last season. Albeit that may not be a great sample size to consider, it still offers some intrigue as to whether he can maintain that type of production with consistent playing time. Without question, his performance from everywhere except the corners (11-for-36) had a significant impact on his overall shooting percentages. However, proper coaching might help direct Harrellson's shot selection more toward his areas of efficiency from last year.  

At nearly 6'10 and 275 lbs, Harrellson has enough strength to absorb contact and maintain his position defensively near the basket. By no means is he much of a shot blocking threat, but more often times than not he appeared disciplined enough to remain grounded and not fall for pump fakes in the post, instead raising his hands high and actively denying a good look at the basket. His rebounding abilities also looked solid, and as we pointed out last week, Harrellson is still among the top rebounders available in free agency with an average of 9.6 rebounds per 36 minutes. 

Although he may not be the most ideal prospect with regards to big men, the former Knick has enough attributes to viably compete for a spot in an NBA rotation, much less be kept on board as a reserve to round out a roster. As a player who does not need the ball to be effective, Harrellson could fit well in a lineup with multiple scorers and his potential as a corner three-point shooter can be used to help space the floor. On the flip side, there's certainly a chance that he may not be able to find playing time, struggles in his second year, or even remains unsigned. At the very least, such an addition could be very affordable and low-risk for any team looking to add size at this point. 

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