National Basketball Players Association Rumors

Odds & Ends: Knicks, Salmons, Bobcats

December 12th, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks were bent on injecting youth into their team, and they brought Josh Powell and Ike Diogu to camp with no intention of retaining them for opening night, no matter how well the two veterans played in preseason, a source tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. For now, New York seems engaged in a pursuit of Kyle Lowry as it tries to unload Raymond Felton, who made Ben Golliver of SI.com‘s “All-Atrocious Team.” Here’s more from around the league:

New Raptors small forward John Salmons is a “prime candidate” to be dealt again before the trade deadline, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, pointing to his de-facto expiring contract. No Raptors appear off-limits for a trade.
The Bobcats released James Southerland on Wednesday, but not because the organization was disappointed with him, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “He was brought in as a developmental player. We like him a lot,” coach Steve Clifford said. “Nothing he did he could have done better. We just needed someone more ready to play.” Charlotte signed veteran Chris Douglas-Roberts to replace Southerland.
Pau Gasol hinted that there’s a chance he could sign an extension with the Lakers, during his recent interview with Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The possibility of an in-season agreement has seemed like a long shot.
A Prim Capital investor was found guilty of obstructing a grand jury investigation into the firm’s ties to the players union, reports Nate Raymond of Reuters. The son of former union executive director Billy Hunter has served as a Prim executive.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports profiles freelance trainer Rob McClanaghan, who works with some of the NBA’s top players and has exerted influence on front office decision-making.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports examines several free agents and D-Leaguers who could be on the radar of NBA teams in a piece for the Score, calling Drew Gooden perhaps the most talented among available big men. Deeks looked at guards on Wednesday.

Odds & Ends: Waiters, Knicks, NBPA, Vucevic

November 28th, 2013 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers! There may not be any games on the NBA schedule tonight, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few updates from around the league to pass along. Let’s check out the latest….

While Dion Waiters may be available, don’t expect to see him in a Knicks uniform, says Marc Berman of the New York Post. According to Berman, New York is seeking frontcourt help rather than another shooting guard as the team explores the trade market and gauges Iman Shumpert‘s trade value.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today rounds up recent union developments and passes along the highlights of fellow USA Today scribe Sam Amick’s Q&A with former NBPA president Derek Fisher, who isn’t wavering on his plans to retire.
Nikola Vucevic doesn’t hold any hard feelings toward the Sixers, who traded him to the Magic a year ago. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has the details and the quotes from Vucevic.
Pierre Jackson is in an unusual situation this season, playing for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede despite the fact that his NBA rights are held by the Pelicans. Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside takes an in-depth look at the former Baylor guard, attempting to determine whether he has an NBA future.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Union, Isiah Thomas Have Spoken About Top Job

November 22nd, 2013 at 9:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The National Basketball Players Association has had talks with Isiah Thomas about the possibility that he could be its next executive director, Thomas tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Thomas was “aggressively pursuing” the job at one point, but that’s no longer the case, according to Berman. Thomas served as president of the union for several years during his playing career with the Pistons.

The 52-year-old said this spring that he was “definitely” interested in returning to basketball as either a coach or a GM, but he tells Berman that he’s now more focused on business ventures. Still, Thomas said he’d listen if a team asked him to join its front office. He also left the door open for a return to the Knicks, though he’s not anxious to see that happen.

“I want to be clear about it today,’’ Thomas said. “I have really moved on, and I moved on years ago. Everyone else should really do the same.”

Knicks owner James Dolan said he wouldn’t hire Thomas back, as we passed along today. Berman hears that even if Dolan wanted to do so, Thomas would only work as Knicks GM if the owner would lift his policy of not allowing his executives to freely address the media.

Billy Hunter Accuses Derek Fisher Of Conspiring With NBA

November 21st, 2013 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Billy Hunter claimed that former players’ union president Derek Fisher conspired with the NBA on a 50-50 revenue split during the lockout, in a new court filing, tweets Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Hunter names Kobe Bryant as the source of this information, saying Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka called to say the veteran point guard had to cut a deal at a 50-50 split of revenues (link).

The court filing includes statements of support for Hunter from Theo Ratliff, Etan Thomas and Maurice Evans, who were executive members of the NBPA, saying that Fisher had secret dealings with the owners during the lockout of 2011 (Twitter link).

Hunter was ousted as executive director in February amid accusations of him misappropriating funds. The former union head was said to have given cushy jobs to to his daughter, daughter-in-law, and other people close to him while raking in a $3MM yearly salary. That salary was higher than union chiefs in the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball and it appears that he raised it from $2.4MM without proper union consent.

Odds & Ends: Nets, McHale, Felix

November 14th, 2013 at 11:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Shortly after the Nets’ 21-point loss in Sacramento on Wednesday night, Brooklyn GM Billy King had a closed-door meeting with head coach Jason Kidd and Kevin Garnett to presumably discuss (as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News surmises) why almost nothing seems to be going according to plan in Brooklyn right now. In another Nets-related piece, Lenn Robbins of NBA.com writes that the current roster hasn’t shown they deserve a player’s coach like Kidd.

Here’s more of the miscellaneous links to pass along tonight:

When asked further about why Omer Asik didn’t play during tonight’s game in New York, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said that Asik told him that he wasn’t feeling well earlier (Sean Deveney of the Sporting News via Twitter). It should be noted that this was Asik’s first DNP-CD of his NBA career.
Cavaliers shooting guard Carrick Felix recently returned to the practice floor after being out with a sports hernia, but head coach Mike Brown made it clear that the 23-year-old rookie would find his minutes in the D-League once he’s ready to play (Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal).
Zach Harper of CBS Sports details why Andre Iguodala may be the ultimate role player.
Although Michael Beasley may be a ways away from being a contributor with consistent playing time on the Heat, NBA.com’s Couper Moorhead tells us how the former second-overall pick continues to work hard and has taken a significant step forward to improve his overall game.
Joseph Lombardo, who founded the investment firm Prim Capital (which previously handled the investments and finances of the NBPA), has been charged with fraud, according to the Associated Press. Authorities say that Lombardo used a signature stamp to forge the signature of a deceased general counsel for the NBPA and another employee that awarded Prim Capital a $3MM fee over five years.
Nate Duncan of Hoopsworld goes in depth about what to make out of the Timberwolves’ and Pacers’ hot starts this season.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Turiaf, Bobcats, Beasley

November 2nd, 2013 at 4:05pm CST by Charlie Adams

Here’s a quick rundown of some notes around the NBA this Saturday:

Josh Howard was named to the training camp roster for the Austin Toros, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The 10-year veteran, who underwent season-ending ACL surgery last winter, will play for the Spurs’ D-League affiliate as he rehabs his knee. The Spurs signed and waived Howard just last Saturday to ensure that they would retain his D-League rights.
McDonald adds that San Antonio camp invitees Courtney Fells and Myck Kabongo will join Howard in Austin.
The Timberwolves announced today (via Twitter) that Ronny Turiaf has undergone an MRI revealing a fracture of his right elbow. No timetable for his return has been given. The Wolves are already missing forward Chase Budinger, who is sidelined indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic surgery. We heard last night that no Wolves roster moves were brewing, but if Turiaf and Budinger miss significant time, the team may need to reconsider its options.
Bobcats owner Michael Jordan oversaw a summer in which the team hurt its chances for next year’s No. 1 pick, but he finally showed that he has a legitimate plan in place for the team, argues Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes that Michael Beasley and Roger Mason of the Heat need to prove they can provide value off the bench since their non-guaranteed contracts can be waived until the January 10th NBA guarantee date. Beasley in particular needs to demonstrate that he has grown out of his off-the-court issues that caused many NBA GMs to look past him during free agency.
The NBA Player’s Association has started to narrow down candidates for the executive director position, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The NBPA aims to have finalists selected by All-Star weekend.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Burke, Jefferson, NBPA

October 12th, 2013 at 10:57pm CST by Spencer Lund

Jazz rookie Trey Burke fractured his right index finger and will be evaluated on Monday tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Genessy notes, via Twitter, that Scott Machado has been given the most time behind Burke and John Lucas III at point guard this preseason.

Genessy also wonders, in a tweet, whether the Jazz will bring someone else in depending on the severity of Burke’s injury, and mentions Jamaal Tinsley as a possibility. Marc Stein of ESPN tweets that he’s heard of interest from the Jazz about the Bulls’ Marquis Teague, and postulates they may revisit that with Burke going down. The Jazz will find out Monday whether Burke’s fractured finger will require surgery, Stein adds (Twitter).

Here are a smattering of other links from around the league tonight:

After the Bobcats‘ big free agent, Al Jefferson, severely sprained his ankle, he told the AP in Milwaukee that he’s trying to be back for opening night, tweets the Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell.
That’s 18 days away, Bonnell adds on Twitter, and he wonders in his next tweet whether the Bobcats might look to add a center in the interim.
The Mavericks pickup of DeJuan Blair this summer might be huge for them, as we noted earlier tonight. Blair is looking forward to playing his former team, the Mavs intra-state rival Spurs, writes the Star-Telegram’s Dwain Price.
Blair’s bitterness about his time in San Antonio is evident when he tells Price, “[the Spurs] didn’t give me nothing when I was there. I mean, the fans gave me everything, but everything else, it is what it is. I don’t look at that. I look for us to get a win.”
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reports that the NBPA will not pay their new union head the $3MM annually that former executive director Billy Hunter made before he was ousted. Union sources say the annual pay will be around $1.5MM for the new executive director.
The Knicks lost to the Celtics by 30 tonight in preseason action, but Touré Murry and Ike Diogu both made a case for a roster spot, writes ESPN New York’s Ian Begley.

Odds & Ends: Heat, Jazz, Bulls, NBPA, Collins

September 30th, 2013 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The potential expiring contracts for the Heat's Big Three will be a major topic of conversation throughout the 2013/14 season, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both downplayed the subject at Media Day in Miami today.

"You have concern when you feel people want to go elsewhere," Wade said, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter). "I don't think nobody is looking to go elsewhere."

Here's more from around the NBA:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey confirmed that the team is still in talks with Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward about possible rookie-scale extensions, tweets Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.
In talking to reporters, including Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, about why he decided to sign with the Bulls, Mike Dunleavy Jr. pointed to the team's "high character."
Dahntay Jones is ready to compete in training camp for a spot on the Bulls' regular-season roster, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details.
Former Illinois guard Brandon Paul, who went undrafted in June, explains to Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside why he's heading overseas rather than to NBA training camp. According to Paul, he received and passed on camp invites from the Wolves, Nets, Blazers, and Heat.
After previously having tackled ten of the best contracts of the offseason, Mark Deeks of HoopsWorld shifts his focus and identifies ten of the worst contracts, including the Bobcats' signing of Al Jefferson, and the Pistons' deal with Josh Smith.
The NBA Players Association is aiming to have a new executive director in place by the 2014 All-Star break, sources tell Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweets that Jason Collins continues to work out "a ton" as he attempts to stay in shape in the hopes that an NBA team will show interest in signing him once the season gets underway.
Evaluating the Kings' signing of DeMarcus Cousins to a max extension, Daniel Leroux of RealGM.com gives the team a grade of D+ and the player a grade of A.

Odds & Ends: Union, Turner, DiLeo, Nowitzki

September 27th, 2013 at 11:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBPA has retained Reilly Partners Inc. to help conduct a search for a new executive director to replace Billy Hunter, the union announced today (link via The Associated Press). Steve Mills was reportedly the leading candidate for the position before he accepted the Knicks' GM job this week. According to Brain Mahoney of the Associated Press (via Twitter), the union may want to build a list of about 10 candidates before making a decision. That's far from the only position up for grabs around the league as training camps open. Here's the latest:

Evan Turner told reporters at Sixers media day today that he "was ready" to be traded at one point and was just hoping it would be to someplace warm, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). It appears as though Turner was bracing for the possibility, rather than hoping for it.
Former Sixers GM Tony DiLeo is set to become a scout for the Wizards, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Dallas GM Gersson Rosas indicated today that Dirk Nowitzki could play another four or five years in a Mavericks uniform, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. "The vision for us is we want to maximize Dirk's career here,'' Rosas said.
Rosas, who has experience as the GM of the Rockets D-League affiliate, also wants to make the D-League a key component of his strategy with the Mavs, Price notes.
Jared Jeffries tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that multiple NBA teams offered him the chance to continue his playing career, but the former lottery pick decided to take a scouting job with the Nuggets that puts him "on the fast track" to becoming a GM.
Three NBA clubs have shown interest in guard Tre Kelley, agent Giovanni Funiciello tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Kelley is without official NBA experience, but he went to camp with the Thunder in 2009 and the Grizzlies in 2010.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Livingston, Oladipo, Beasley

September 13th, 2013 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

It's not as easy as it used to be for NBA players to transition to front office positions, as Sam Amick details in his latest piece for USA Today. Still, the NBA Player's Association has tried to help its players become more familiar with the league's CBA, setting up events like a July seminar that featured presentations from several team executives. Shaun Livingston is one player who is appreciative of the NBPA's efforts.

"I'm really trying to take advantage of it," said the Nets guard. "And learn and soak everything in to where if I can study and meet the right people and stars can align then I can really create some good opportunities."

Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

At a season ticket-holder's event in Orlando, second overall pick Victor Oladipo said that he "really didn't want to go to Cleveland," the team with the No. 1 pick. Oladipo has since apologized for offending Cavs fans, hinting that the comment was meant to reflect how much he wanted to land with the Magic. Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post has the details.
Heat fans are somewhat divided on the signing of Michael Beasley, so Ira Winderman's Friday mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel is an extended all-Beasley edition, breaking down the move.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com provides an interesting take on the concept of tanking and roster-building, with a focus on teams like the Sixers and Bucks.