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Northwest Notes: Durant, Blazers, Stiemsma

December 5th, 2012 at 7:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the Northwest Division on Wednesday evening:

Kevin Durant tells Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman that he feels the Thunder have played well in adjusting to James Harden's absence.
Abby Chin of CSNNW.com writes that Blazers coach Terry Stotts is trying to instill confidence in the team's bench, which has underperformed this season.
Timberwolves center Greg Stiemsma reflects on his rookie season in Boston as they prepare to play the Celtics.

Odds & Ends: Dwight, Shved, Hornets, Boykins

December 3rd, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard opened up this weekend about his parting with the Magic, in advance of Orlando's meeting with the Lakers last night, and he talked about his willingness to change teams if that's what the pursuit of a championship requires. John Denton of Magic.com interprets that comment to mean D12 might be willing to leave the Lakers as a free agent next summer, but it seems more logical that Howard was referring to his departure from the Magic. Either way, there's plenty of room for pessimism about this year's Laker team, which takes an 8-9 record on the road for seven of its next eight games. Here's more from around the Association:

Injuries to other Timberwolves have thrust rookie Alexey Shved into a prominent role, and the Russian guard is surprised at how quickly NBA success has come, writes Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Wolves coach Rick Adelman believes Shved will eventually become a mainstay in the backcourt alongside Ricky Rubio, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune documents.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler, who noted earlier that the Hornets are not shopping Ryan Anderson, says the team isn't looking for an immediate solution to its troubles this season, preferring an approach predicated on draft picks and cap space (Twitter link).
Earl Boykins, linked to the Mavericks last week before they signed Derek Fisher, has been working out in Denver and is in great shape as he awaits interest from teams, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
DaJuan Summers, who last played in the NBA with the Hornets in 2011/12 and was a training camp invitee of the Bobcats, has signed to play with the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, who notes the Red Claws let go of Brian Cusworth.

Northwest Links: Rubio, Iguodala, Burks, Jeffries

December 2nd, 2012 at 7:42pm CST by Sean Highkin

Here are the latest updates from around the Northwest Division:

Ricky Rubio practiced with the Timberwolves for the first time since tearing his ACL in February. He told reporters that his knee felt good. (Associated Press link via the New York Times)
Since coming to the Nuggets, Andre Iguodala's defense has exceeded its already high expectations, observes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that young players such as Alec Burks have been taking advantage of the minutes opened up by injuries on the Jazz.
Jared Jeffries has had a positive impact as a veteran presence on a young and rebuilding Trail Blazers team, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

Timberwolves Notes: Rubio, Injuries

November 30th, 2012 at 8:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes around the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday evening:

Ricky Rubio is expected to practice with the Wolves for the first time on December 1, reports Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Wolves coach Rick Adelman tells Richardson that the team is not clear on Rubio's conditioning.
Adelman told reporters that the many injuries to his players this season would prevent him from taking after Gregg Popovich and resting healthy starters.

Western Notes: Gasol, Lillard, Williams, Mavs

November 30th, 2012 at 7:54pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes around the Western Conference on Friday evening:

Robert Silverman of the New York Times wonders what sort of return the Lakers could get if they decided to trade Pau Gasol.
Nicole Auerbach of USA Today has a feature on Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and the impact he is having on other players hoping to make it to the NBA from mid-major schools.
HoopsWorld.com's Bill Ingram thinks it's too early for the Timberwolves to give up on Derrick Williams.
Ingram also thinks the Mavericks will be able to get a couple more high-level seasons out of Dirk Nowitzki.
John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Hornets coach Monty Williams is urging guard Brian Roberts to shoot more.

Western Notes: Spurs, Fisher, Gasol, Crawford

November 29th, 2012 at 10:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

You can count NBA commissioner David Stern among those who are none-too-pleased about Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's decision to rest his stars against the Heat tonight. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida relayed a statement by Stern which indicated that "substantial sanctions will be forthcoming" as a consequence for San Antonio (Sulia link). Earlier, Popovich told reporters: "It has nothing to do with the Miami Heat, or TV, or anything…You deal with the schedule as best you can and do the wisest thing for your particular team” (Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation reports). On another note, here's what we're hearing out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his column, Ken Berger of CBS Sports credits a source that says Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni would like to have Nate McMillan as his top assistant for the 2013-14 season if he isn't given a head coaching job by then.
Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets writes that if injury-riddled Houston isn't able to get well anytime soon, then "different remedies will be in order." While it may not explicitly imply a roster move, Feigen acknowledges that without Chandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino, the team is short-handed on the wings.
With Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger out, as well as Andrei Kirilenko dealing with back spasms, Timberwolves forward Josh Howard finds himself thrust into the starting lineup yesterday against the Clippers. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes that Howard still considers himself in training camp but remains confident about handling the opportunty for more playing time.
With the Thunder going 6-1 over their last seven games, Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK recognizes Russell Westbrook's passing ability as a major component of the team's recent success.
While head coach Rick Carlisle doesn't see the Derek Fisher signing as a "cure-all" to the Mavericks' challenges, he welcomes the 38-year-old veteran's experience and leadership abilities at the point guard position, writes Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com.
Mike Trudell of Lakers.com writes about the adjustments that Pau Gasol has had to make on both ends of the floor, particularly on defense, where the power forward position in the NBA can provide significantly different types of matchups for the Lakers depending on their opposition.
Clippers guard Jamal Crawford talks to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld about having a career year for a team expected to be a playoff contender.
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com briefly sheds light on rookie Quincy Miller and his opportunity with the Iowa Energy of the NBDL.

Western Notes: Fisher, Collison, Kings, Harden

November 28th, 2012 at 11:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

If the playoffs began today, a team below .500 would make it to the postseason out of the Western Conference, a rare occurance in recent years, when the bulk of the league's better teams have been in the West. Of course, one of the sub-.500 teams right now is the Lakers, who are expected to turn it around sooner or later. The Mavs are another, and there's more news about their expected signing of Derek Fisher and other notes of interest from around the West.

Darren Collison's inconsistent play had the Mavs thinking about a move for the past week or two, and it appears Fisher will take over as the starter in Dallas, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle says Fisher isn't a cure-all for the team, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com notes via Facebook, and Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com believes Fisher's signing is a desperate move that follows a series of mistakes.
Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms hopes to have a binding term sheet with a pro team, presumably the Kings, by March, which would pave the way for the Kings to file for relocation in April, according to Nick Monacelli of WAVY-TV 10.
James Harden shared his thoughts with reporters shortly before tipoff of his return to Oklahoma City as a member of the Rockets tonight, and John Rohde of The Oklahoman provides excerpts.
There's a "decent" chance Nemanja Bjelica, a 2010 second-round pick whose rights are owned by the Timberwolves, winds up in Minnesota next year, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
Blazers COO Sarah Mensah told Joe Freeman of The Oregonian that losing out on the team president job was a factor in her decision to leave.
The Nuggets promoted a pair of front-office mainstays, observes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.

Odds & Ends: Gooden, Aldridge, Gasol, Bulls

November 27th, 2012 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

With most of the Bench Mob gone, this year's version of the Bulls isn't built for 48 minutes, opines Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. However, Luol Deng seems to disagree with that view, as he told reporters today.

"It's not fair to the guys that are here, the new guys, to be compared to the guys from the last two years," Deng said, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. "They’re still getting used to it. Even the Bench Mob, the first year we had them, it took a while to get going. When we got going, it clicked. The year after that, last year, what helped us a lot was we had a lot of guys returning so we knew how we play and how to play with each other. We’re still learning how to play with each other."

Here are a few more Tuesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:

While the Bucks would like to move Drew Gooden's contract, there's no urgency to "dump" him, since he's still a mentor and leader in Milwaukee, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com makes his case for why the Trail Blazers should consider trading LaMarcus Aldridge. Blazers GM Neil Olshey reportedly told Aldridge last month that the team has no intentions of dealing him.
Although Pau Gasol has a 15% trade kicker, he'd actually only receive about a 3.4% bonus if the Lakers dealt him, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times explains.
Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman believes Derrick Williams could be a realistic target for the Thunder if GM Sam Presti gets involved on the trade market again this season.
Several NBA scouts told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that it's unfair to compare Kentucky freshman and potential 2013 No. 1 pick Nerlens Noel to former Wildcat Anthony Davis. "I think Anthony Davis’s IQ is so high that he’s unique that way," said one scout. "This is a guy that was a small player, a two guard, who could handle the ball, do all those things. I mean, Nerlens could never be a ball-handler. He’s not a passer, ball-handler guy."

Odds & Ends: Rubio, Noah, Tucker

November 25th, 2012 at 6:28pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune recently reported that Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio is scheduled to visit with his surgeon on Monday and hopes to be cleared for contact practice by the time the team concludes its road trip on Wednesday night. While GM David Kahn hasn't put a timetable on Rubio's return, Zgoda writes that it doesn't appear too far off based on the vigorous workouts he's seen the young guard participate in recently. Earlier this month, owner Glen Taylor said he expected Rubio to be cleared by mid-December. With that aside, here is where you'll find more of tonight's odds and ends:

Leandro Barbosa has thrived as a scorer for the Celtics in limited minutes, says A. Sherrod Blakeley of CSNNE.com.
Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago takes a look at how Joakim Noah's numbers currently stack up against the Eastern Conference's most productive centers at this point. Without a doubt though, Powers writes, Noah is having his best season yet since being drafted by the Bulls in 2007.
Paul Coro of AZ Central calls P.J. Tucker the Suns' best find since Goran Dragic. With defenses helping off in addition to two straight games with double figure scoring (11 and 15 points respectively), Tucker has begun to shed the label that he's an offensive liability.
Keith Schlosser or Ridiculous Upside says that Troy Hudson can use his opportunity in the D-League to garner attention from NBA teams the same way Mike James did last year to earn an opportunity with the Bulls.
Jon Marks of Sheridan Hoops examines how Kevin Martin has seamlessly accepted his role as a complementary player on a Thunder team which Martin believes is on a "championship level."

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Billups, Batum, Heat, Cavs

November 23rd, 2012 at 11:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni had some harsh words for Pau Gasol in response to a question about the thought process that led him to keep Gasol on the bench in the fourth quarter of the team's loss to the Grizzlies tonight. "I was thinking I'd like to win this game, that's what I was thinking," D'Antoni said, as Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register tweets. The coach also questioned Gasol's conditioning, Ding also tweets, and this will seemingly reignite the off-and-on trade speculation that's surrounded Gasol for the past several months. While we wait to hear more about that, here's the rest of the buzz from a 12-game night in the Association:

Chauncey Billups is targeting the first week of December to return from his torn Achilles' tendon, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Wolves coach Rick Adelman explained the team's admiration of Nicolas Batum that led them to sign him to an offer sheet that was eventually matched by the Blazers, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune documents. "I felt he could do what he's doing, that with the group we had — especially with Kevin (Love) and Pek (Nikola Pekovic) and Ricky (Rubio) — it'd be a good fit," Adelman said. "But it didn't work out. They had control over it, and they got him and we're happy we got Andrei (Kirilenko)."
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel can see the Heat pursuing a center at some point later this season.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio preaches patience on Dion Waiters, and doesn't think it would be worthwhile for the Cavs to trade Anderson Varejao.
College seniors are no longer a commodity in the NBA draft, but several of this year's crop of upperclassmen are making a push to reverse that trend, notes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only).
Croatian small forward Dario Saric is 16th on the DraftExpress.com list of the top 2013 draft prospects, but his new deal overseas doesn't include an NBA out until 2014, reports Toma Dragičević of Jutarnji.hr (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia).