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Eastern Notes: Monroe, Mahinmi, Spoelstra

October 28th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite meeting with the Knicks first during the free agent signing period this offseason, Greg Monroe dispelled the notion that New York was ever the frontrunner for his services, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. “That was just the way it was scheduled,” Monroe said. “There was nothing extra. I wasn’t the only player teams were meeting with and that’s just how it fell in place.” David Falk, Monroe’s agent, regarding why his client chose the Bucks over the Knicks, told Bondy, “It wasn’t about presentation or marketing, It was about what Milwaukee already brought to the table.”

“The interest was definitely there [with the Knicks],” Monroe told the Daily News scribe. “I took an interest in everybody that was willing to meet with me. I don’t like to take anybody’s time for granted. I definitely didn’t take their time for granted. I made a decision based on the things that I was looking for and I wanted. At this point, I’d rather not [talk about it]. It doesn’t matter anymore. Any questions anybody has, I could honestly not care less. I’m happy with where I’m at. I definitely feel like I made the right decision.”

Here’s more from out of the Eastern Conference:

Ian Mahinmi, entering the final season of his contract and with the Pacers starting center job now his, worked tirelessly over the summer on his offensive game, particularly his shooting touch, as Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star examines.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens has been the exception to the rule for college coaches coming to the NBA, as most of them have struggled, so Billy Donovan of the Thunder and Fred Hoiberg of the Bulls face a challenge to defy history, as Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune examines.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is the second longest tenured coach in the NBA behind Gregg Popovich, yet he enters this season needing to prove himself all over again now that the team has overhauled its roster and is in need of a new identity, Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Joseph, Nets

October 28th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Talk about a scenario in which Knicks team president Phil Jackson would return to work for the Lakers and fiancee Jeanie Buss has resurfaced in NBA circles over recent weeks, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Jackson can reportedly opt out of his five-year deal with the Knicks after this season, Isola notes. Speculation emerged earlier this year that Jackson won’t finish out his contract, though he said in June that he wanted to stay around long enough to help the Knicks turn around their fortunes. While we wait to see what the Zen Master does, see more from around the Atlantic Division:

Raptors offseason signee Cory Joseph is planning to play a role for Toronto that’s similar in some ways to the one his former Spurs teammate Manu Ginobili has long embodied for San Antonio, as Sportsnet’s Donnovan Bennett details. “There was no big exchange when that first and second group switched off the court because of him,” Joseph said of Ginobili. “That’s what I want to do here. I want to bring energy with that second unit and uplift because that’s what we are going to need. Manu brought energy, but also a sense of calmness to the second group and managed time and score.”
Nets GM Billy King didn’t factor Andrea Bargnani‘s long history of injuries into his decision about whom to keep for the opening night roster, observes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter links). Bargnani is healthy for now, as is shooting guard Markel Brown, so King didn’t feel the need to keep power forward Justin Harper and swingman Dahntay Jones, whom the Nets waived, as Bontemps explains.
Fellow Nets power forward Willie Reed‘s partial guarantee of $500K increased to a fully guaranteed $947,276 when he stuck on the Nets roster for opening night, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link) and as our leaguewide schedule of salary guarantee dates shows. Reed is about two weeks into a six-to-eight-week timetable for recovery from thumb surgery.

Central Notes: Lopez, Pistons, Bulls, Petteway

October 28th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks coach Jason Kidd confirmed reports that the team had interest in Robin Lopez and Brook Lopez in free agency this summer, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Neither ended up in Milwaukee, with Robin going to the Knicks and Brook re-signing with the Nets, though the Bucks did well enough, landing Greg Monroe.

“We liked both of those guys,’’ Kidd said. “They both do something and they’re very productive. I think both teams got maybe the guy they wanted. Looking at the Lopezes, I’ve coached one of them and recruited another. They’ve always played the game the right way. The Knicks ended up with [Robin] Lopez, which is a good pickup for them.”

See more from the Central Division:

The Pistons have no shortage of players with contractual motivation to prove their worth this season, making “the disease of more” and the potential for selfishness a concern in Detroit, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press details.
Other Eastern Conference teams improved their rosters in the offseason, but short of adding Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio, the Bulls stood pat, making it fair to wonder about Chicago’s apparent determination that the most pressing need for change was at head coach, opines David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune.
The contract that Terran Petteway was briefly on with the Pacers was non-guaranteed for the minimum salary and covered one season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Indiana absorbed a small cap hit for signing him after Saturday’s deadline to remove non-guaranteed salary without it counting against the cap. The Pacers inked Petteway on Sunday and waived him on Monday to secure his D-League rights.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Wilbekin, Stackhouse

October 27th, 2015 at 8:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Count GM Billy King among those curious to see how the retooled Nets roster will fare this season, writes Andy Vasquez of NorthJersey.com. “We know we’re not a finished product at this point, and the goal is to get better,” King said. “We’ve revamped, got some youth, and now I want to see how we play, see how some of the pieces we acquired fit, how they go. We’ve got some young guys and it’s going to take time. They have to play and they’re going to make mistakes and we’ve got to live with them because the only way we’re going to get better is applying it on the court. We have the ability to get better as a team because we do have some inexperience with some guys. But we need our main guys, our veteran guys to carry us, to do their part to allow the young guys to sort of blend in and help.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Point guard Scottie Wilbekin, who was waived by the Sixers on Monday, has lucrative overseas offers lined up, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays.
Despite being a rookie assistant coach this season, Jerry Stackhouse is fitting in well with the Raptors and notes that he doesn’t feel like a newcomer to the coaching ranks, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “Man, it’s nothing new to me,” Stackhouse told Lewenberg. “I’ve been coaching for the last 10 years and I don’t feel any different. It’s just about trying to get guys better, better prepared for what they’re going to see during game action. The best way to do that is to build more repetition, more repetition. And that’s the key, being creative to come up with ideas everyday so things don’t get stagnant and guys [don’t] get bored.“
Coby Karl and Derrick Alston were officially hired by the Knicks‘ D-League affiliate in Westchester as assistant coaches, the team announced.
You can view the opening night regular season rosters for the Celtics, Nets, Knicks, Sixers, and Raptors by clicking on the link beneath each team name.

Knicks, Nets Lead East In Newcomers

October 27th, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks and Nets might not have made any particularly splashy acquisitions, but they certainly engineered their share of changes. The two New York teams lead the Eastern Conference with eight newcomers apiece for the 2015/16 season, meaning that the majority of the players on their respective rosters weren’t there at the end of 2014/15. Some will be familiar to fans in the Big Apple, as the Nets signed Andrea Bargnani and Shane Larkin away from the Knicks. Still, both teams in the NBA’s largest market will feature decidedly different-looking teams as the season begins.

By contrast, the roster in the East’s second largest market is nearly intact from the end of last season. Rookies Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio are the only players who weren’t around for the team’s playoff exit last spring, though new coach Fred Hoiberg will bring a fresh approach.

See the newcomers in the Eastern Conference and how the teams stack up in terms of roster turnover:

Knicks (8) — Arron Afflalo, Jerian Grant, Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn, Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Seraphin, Sasha Vujacic, Derrick Williams.

Nets (8) — Andrea Bargnani, Wayne Ellington, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Shane Larkin, Chris McCullough, Willie Reed, Thomas Robinson, Donald Sloan.

Hornets (7) — Nicolas Batum, Tyler Hansbrough, Aaron Harrison, Spencer Hawes, Frank Kaminsky, Jeremy Lamb, Jeremy Lin.

Pistons (7) — Aron Baynes, Steve Blake, Reggie Bullock, Darrun Hilliard, Ersan Ilyasova, Stanley Johnson, Marcus Morris.

Pacers (7) — Chase Budinger, Rakeem Christmas, Monta Ellis, Jordan Hill, Glenn Robinson III, Myles Turner, Joe Young.

Raptors (7) — Anthony Bennett, Bismack Biyombo, DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Norman Powell, Luis Scola, Delon Wright.

Sixers (7) Richaun Holmes, Carl Landry, Kendall Marshall, T.J. McConnell, Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas, Christian Wood.

Celtics (5) — R.J. Hunter, Amir Johnson, David Lee, Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier.

Hawks (5) — Tim Hardaway Jr., Justin Holiday, Lamar Patterson, Tiago Splitter, Edy Tavares.

Bucks (4) — Chris Copeland, Greg Monroe, Greivis Vasquez, Rashad Vaughn.

Cavaliers (4) — Jared Cunningham, Richard Jefferson, Sasha Kaun, Mo Williams.

Heat (4) — Gerald Green, Josh Richardson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Justise Winslow.

Magic (4) — Mario Hezonja, Shabazz Napier, Jason Smith, C.J. Watson.

Wizards (4) — Alan Anderson, Jared Dudley, Gary Neal, Kelly Oubre.

Bulls (2) — Cristiano Felicio, Bobby Portis.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, ‘Melo, Ndour, Nets

October 27th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors made a concerted effort to upgrade their defense during the offseason, though the offense is now showing holes, as Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun details. In any case, new free agent arrival DeMarre Carroll believes the Raptors can indeed show the sort of defensive improvement this season that the franchise was going for, as Ganter relays.

“A lot of guys aren’t capable of playing defense,” Carroll said. “Sometimes you’re a guy that just can’t play defense. They just don’t have the effort to play defence. All of these guys are capable of playing defense. Kyle Lowry, I think he’s a great defender. He’s underrated. Just bringing me in and bringing more guys in like Bismack [Biyombo] and Cory [Joseph], we can kind of help guys. We can kind of feed off them, and they can feed off us.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

Carmelo Anthony admits in no uncertain terms that living in New York comes with some degree of frustration, as a Vice Sports video makes clear (objectionable language warning), but ‘Melo isn’t backing away from his enthusiasm about the Knicks, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Knicks aren’t expected to reunite with summer-leaguer Maurice Ndour, even though they have an open roster spot and Ndour is on waivers from the Mavs, Berman writes in the same story. New York reportedly tried to convince Ndour to break his deal with Dallas this summer. In any case, New York is ineligible to claim Ndour off waivers, since his Mavs deal was for three years and the Knicks can’t claim anyone on more than a two-year contract.
The YES Network and the Nets reached a new local television rights deal, the team announced. The agreement, which will kick in for the 2017/18 season, will give the team “substantially more” than $40MM a year and repair a revenue stream that lagged far behind local TV deals for other large-market teams, reports NetsDaily. The deal carries well into the 2020s, NetsDaily adds.
The Nets allowed a trade exception worth $1,120,920 to expire when they failed to use it by the end of Saturday, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It was a vestige of the deal that sent Marquis Teague to the Sixers.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Knicks, Pistons

October 25th, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Will Joseph

The Sixers‘ reputation among several agents around the league likely won’t do the franchise any favors when the team expects to be a player in free agency in the future, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes in an interesting story after speaking with several sources and agents. One agent told Pompey that he doesn’t want his max-level players in Philadelphia, but he is open to his midlevel players signing with the Sixers only if they overpay. Agents also told Pompey that Sixers GM Sam Hinkie is hard to deal with, saying he doesn’t make it a priority to return calls.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

It’s doubtful the Pistons trade Danny Granger, reports David Mayo of MLive.com after asking coach/executive Stan Van Gundy about the possibility. Instead, it seems very likely the Pistons will waive Granger. Granger has a fully guaranteed salary of $2,170,465, one of 16 full guarantees on the Pistons. “We’re probably sort of at the end of the road with him,” Van Gundy said. “We took it as far as we could, hoping to get a look at him, but he hasn’t been ready to come back. So we’ll go with the 15 guys that are here.”
The Knicks‘ D-League affiliate expects to have Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Darion Atkins, Travis Trice and Wesley Saunders to start season, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter). All four players were cut Friday by the Knicks.
The Celtics‘ expected starting five on opening night – Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, David Lee and Tyler Zeller – has been the most successful of the four different starting lineups used in the preseason, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. That lineup, of course, notably does not include Isaiah Thomas.

Atlantic Notes: Joseph, Raptors, Knicks

October 25th, 2015 at 3:02pm CST by Will Joseph

Cory Joseph, who is Canadian, said he has always wanted to play for the Raptors, but the decision to join Toronto on a four-year year deal worth $30MM had more to do with it being the right fit financially and basketball-wise, the point guard told Eric Koreen of the National Post in an interesting Q&A.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

There is a decent chance that Patrick Patterson played himself out of the starting power forward role for the Raptors with a poor preseason, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes. Patterson played well defensively, but he is more of an offensive player. In 19 minutes per game in seven appearances during the preseason, Patterson averaged only three points per game, as Wolstat points out.
From the Knicks‘ point of view, there is plenty riding on Carmelo Anthony‘s ability to recover from major knee surgery this season, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News relays.
In response to a question on Twitter, Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis said he wanted to be with New York for the rest of his career (h/t Sportando.com).

And-Ones: Hornets D-League, Final Cuts, Johnson

October 25th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Greensboro, North Carolina, will be the site of the Hornets‘ new D-League team, reports Jeff Mills of the Greensboro News & Record. The new franchise, which will expand the league to 20 teams, will begin play next fall. Charlotte currently has no D-League affiliate. Players on D-League assignment will go to the one-to-one affiliate of another NBA team. “Greensboro’s approach to the process was innovative,” said Fred Whitfield, the Hornets’ president and chief operating officer. “Taking the Pavilion and renovating it into a basketball-style fieldhouse for us was very attractive. Especially when you could have offices for us right across the street.” The move is expected to be officially announced Tuesday. Asheville and Fayetteville were the other finalists.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

After a flurry of moves Saturday, seven NBA teams still have final cuts to make before Monday’s roster deadline, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Mavericks, Pistons, Pacers, Lakers and Grizzlies each have to unload one player to reach the roster limit of 15. The Nets still have 17 players and the Sixers have 20, which is the training camp maximum (Twitter link). The five teams with roster openings are the Rockets, Pelicans, Knicks, Magic and Suns, who each have 14 spots filled. (Twitter link).
Several teams have expressed interest in Nick Johnson, who was waived Saturday by the Nuggets, according to Sam Amico of Amicohoops.net. Citing an unidentified source, Amico says there’s a chance someone could pick up Johnson by Monday. Johnson was one of four players sent from Houston to Denver in the Ty Lawson trade.
The league is looking into the reported confrontation between Knicks coach Derek Fisher and the Grizzlies‘ Matt Barnes, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the investigation, but did not offer specifics regarding possible punishment for either Fisher or Barnes. They were allegedly involved in a physical altercation at the house of Barnes’ estranged wife.

Atlantic Notes: Antetokounmpo, Knicks, Harper

October 24th, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Thanasis Antetokounmpo is talking with European and NBA teams, but his agent, Nick Lotsos, said he might wind up playing in the D-League if another NBA club doesn’t sign him, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Antetokounmpo’s camp had previously said the 23-year-old would not play another season in the D-League, but perhaps that was just a leverage play to make the opening night roster since New York owns his D-League rights. The Knicks waived Antetokounmpo along with four others on Friday, and they only have 14 players under contract, as our Roster Count page shows.

The team wanted to remain flexible by having an extra roster spot and there’s suspicion that the forward never really had a chance to make the team. “My understanding is they wanted the 15th spot open, because they want it open in case something interesting comes up,” Lotsos told Berman. “I don’t believe [he got an opportunity]. It goes for all the guys [cut].”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Lotsos got no reading on whether the Knicks consider Antetokounmpo a future prospect, Berman writes in the same piece. “I don’t have a feeling if Thanasis has a future [with the Knicks],” Lotsos said. “It’s important wherever he plays [in the D-League], he has an important role. If that’s Westchester, fine. If [there is] not such a plan there, we’d have to find another place. They said he had a good camp, and I believe them.”
Justin Harper wasn’t expected to have any chance to make the team when he agreed to a camp deal with the Nets last month, but injuries to the team’s frontcourt gave Harper an opportunity to showcase his game in the preseason and he made the most of his playing time, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes. Brooklyn currently has 17 players under contract, as our Roster Count page shows, with Harper and veteran Dahntay Jones as the only players with contracts that do not contain any guaranteed money. If Harper makes the team, it appears it will be at the expense of Willie Reed, although that is merely my speculation. Reed, who is recovering from thumb surgery and isn’t expected back on the court for five to seven weeks, has a partial guarantee in his contract worth $500K.
Lionel Hollins means more to Brooklyn now than ever before, Bontemps writes in a separate piece. The Nets don’t have the firepower to consistently compete with the league’s top teams and Bontemps argues that if the team is going to make any noise this season, Hollins will have to out-coach his opponents on a nightly basis.