Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Q&A With Harvard Guard Wesley Saunders

June 4th, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Throughout the spring and summer, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft. Today, the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with Harvard point guard Wesley Saunders.

Many notable figures in U.S. history have cut their teeth at Harvard, but there haven’t been a ton of high-level professional athletes to come out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Point guard Wesley Saunders, however, could be an exception. After leading the Crimson to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and two memorable upsets, Saunders is now looking to continue his career at the highest level. Saunders, who is racking up serious frequent flyer miles as he auditions for teams all across the country, spoke with Hoops Rumors at the airport before heading to Atlanta to work out for the Hawks.

Zach Links: What workouts do you have scheduled?

Wesley Saunders: When all is said and done I’ll have worked out for the 76ers, Hawks, Mavericks, Clippers, Bulls, Magic, Bucks, and Knicks.

ZL: Do you think it’ll be tough bouncing around from city to city so quickly and giving 100% for each of these?

WS: I don’t necessarily think it’s too much pressure, really. In the Ivy League we used to play games back-to-back on the weekends, so I have a bit of an advantage over some of the other guys from different conferences because I’m used to it. I’m used to going out there one night and giving my all on the court and doing it all over again the next night.

ZL: How did the 76ers workout go?

WS: It went well. It was my first one so I was a little bit nervous. I didn’t know what to expect going in but I think that those guys have a really great workout plan laid out. It was fast-paced, quick, and efficient. I did a lot of shooting drills, some 1-on-1, some 3-on-3. This is fun for me, we’ve been working out and getting ready for these workouts so I’m well prepared.

ZL: Where are you working out of? Are you working out with other players?

WS: I’ve been in the Los Angeles area, mostly at USC and Westchester High School. I’ve mostly been doing it solo but I’ve also worked out a bit with Dwayne Polee since we’re in the same agency.

ZL: If you had to compare yourself to an NBA player, who would it be?

WS: I’d say Wesley Matthews. I think that coming out of college we have some similar skill sets. We’re around 6’5″ and 220 pounds. A lot of people say we’re not super athletic, but we’re certainly athletic enough. [Matthews] was by no means a lights-out shooter like he is now. He developed that later on and I think I can develop in the same way that he did. He created a great career for himself and he’s one of the best shooting guards in the league right now.

ZL: What do you think makes you stand out over other point guards in this class?

WS: I think it’s my versatility. I have the ability to make plays for myself or for others and I have a high basketball IQ. I’m good at playing out of the pick-and-roll and that’s like 80 or 90% of the game in the NBA right now. I can defend against 1s, 2s, or 3s on defense and I just think that I have that jack-of-all-trades quality. I can fit into a lot of different roles.

ZL: What do you want to work on?

WS: I definitely want to work on my shooting consistency from three-point range. I shot about 42% from outside this year, but that’s the college three. The NBA three is a whole different animal. I also want to improve my lateral quickness and my explosiveness so that I can really stay in front of those quick 1s.

ZL: In the last three years your Harvard teams have wound up on the national stage in the NCAA tournament. What was your anxiety level like going into each tourney?

WS: I was the most nervous for the first one against New Mexico. I think that was because we had never been there before, so everything was kind of brand new. We were playing against a really good team and people said they were a possible FInal Four team. They were a really popular tournament pick. We were an underdog. Nobody really knew about us. We just got into a rhythm and we were able to pull out the win.

The next year against Cincinnati was a little bit different. Going into it we were really confident. We felt like with the type of team they were, we could definitely have some success against them. We went in, we executed our game plan and came out with a victory.

This year against North Carolina, that was another one where we had a lot of nerves. That’s obviously a program with a storied history and so many great players have come through there. Obviously we were all familiar with Roy Williams and all the great players they had; at the same time, we’ve been there before. We’ve been the underdogs, so we knew we could get it done. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it out, but we gave them a good battle.

ZL: I imagine that the academic pressures of playing at Harvard can be pretty overwhelming for some guys.

WS: Honestly, it really wasn’t for me because I went to a great high school and that prepared me for the academic load at Harvard. It all just came down to time management.

ZL: Was that a concern for you before you committed to Harvard?

WS: I don’t think I had any hesitations about Harvard from that standpoint. The real hesitation for me was from a basketball standpoint: Was Harvard good enough athletically for me to really achieve my dream in the NBA? But, after talking to Coach [Tommy] Amaker and getting a feel for his vision of the program and where I would fit in, I felt comfortable that if I worked hard and believed in his system that I would be able to achieve my dream.

ZL: What led you to choose Tandem Sports and Entertainment to represent you?

WS: I just felt like I really fell in line with the players that they have already in their agency. They have some really high character guys and I really felt like they do things the right way.

Everybody in the agency is honest and trustworthy and they’re people that really want to help me with my career going forward. I think they’re very professional and, at the same time, they really have a vested interest in my success. They’re helping me to have not only a great basketball career, but a great life just moving forward, so I definitely felt comfortable with them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Okafor, Towns, Carmelo, Coaches

June 2nd, 2015 at 4:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves coach/executive Flip Saunders likes Jahlil Okafor better than Karl-Anthony Towns, but most of the rest of the team’s staff prefers Towns, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears for his latest Insider-only mock draft. Ford believes those those pro-Towns staffers will ultimately win Saunders over and lists Towns atop his mock, also passing along word from sources that the Magic are zeroing in on Kristaps Porzingis at No. 5. There’s plenty more on the draft and other NBA issues amid the latest from around the league:

Zach Links of Hoops Rumors adds the Hawks, Clippers, Bulls, Magic, Bucks and Knicks to the list of teams working out Harvard point guard Wesley Saunders (Twitter link).
The Mavericks were willing to bring Chris Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, onto their summer league team as part of their effort to woo Carmelo Anthony, a former teammate of the brothers, this past summer, a source told Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling. Anthony instead re-signed with the Knicks and Chris didn’t end up with the summer Mavs, but Chris is aiming for a return to the league after a period in which he was hospitalized with anxiety attacks. Those episodes stemmed in part from his exasperation with the notion that the Knicks signed him only because his brother was on the team, and the criticism he endured because of it, as Zwerling explains.
College coaches who jumped directly into NBA head coaching jobs haven’t had much success in the NBA of late, aside from Brad Stevens, but NBA GMs are open to them, and with Billy Donovan and Fred Hoiberg on winning teams, there’s ground for a new trend, as Dana O’Neil of ESPN.com examines. Still, that depends on how well Donovan’s Thunder and Hoiberg’s Bulls fare, O’Neil cautions.
Longtime NBA front office executive Joel Litvin is stepping down from his post as the NBA’s president of league operations and will assume a role as a consultant, effective September 1st, as the league announced and as a source originally told Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Litvin, whose wide-ranging duties included work on the collective bargaining agreement, was an innovative force in his 27 years with the NBA, Lowe tweets.

Bulls To Name Fred Hoiberg As Coach Tuesday

June 1st, 2015 at 8:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

8:36pm: Hoiberg will receive a five-year contract worth nearly $25MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That affirms what Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported on Saturday.

8:10pm: The Bulls will announce Hoiberg as their head coach at a press conference on Tuesday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets.

5:21pm: Hoiberg has already told several of his players and members of his staff that he is leaving Iowa State for the Bulls, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

4:31pm: Hoiberg boarded a Chicago-bound plane at the Ames airport, telling media that he was off to finalize things without mentioning the Bulls specifically, as Bobby La Gesse of The Ames Tribune relays (Twitter link; hat tip to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com).

MONDAY, 9:41am: Hoiberg will be in Chicago today to finalize his deal, a source tells Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com. The Bulls would like to announce the hiring today and hold a press conference Tuesday, Parrish also hears.

SATURDAY, 8:22pm: A deal between Hoiberg and the Bulls is already in place, reports Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. The contract is believed to be somewhere around $25MM over five years, and Hoiberg, who recently underwent his second heart surgery, is waiting for medical clearance before signing it.

SATURDAY, 8:08pm: Hoiberg will be introduced as the Bulls’ new coach next week, according to Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register. He cites three unidentified sources who say the hiring will probably be announced Tuesday, but could be pushed back until Wednesday.

SATURDAY, 10:38am: There are varying reports on when a formal announcement will be made, but Hoiberg is expected to officially accept the Bulls coaching position prior to the NBA Finals beginning on Thursday, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. There is the possibility that Hoiberg won’t be introduced as coach for a few weeks, so he can tend to “family schooling considerations,” Johnson adds. There is also speculation that the two sides already have a verbal agreement in place, but still need to iron out the exact contract details, the Tribune scribe notes.

FRIDAY, 10:00pm: The Bulls are “quietly confident” that Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg will accept an offer to become the team’s new head coach, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. It was relayed earlier by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the Bulls and Hoiberg had reached an understanding and that he would accept an offer from Chicago, prompting the team to fire former coach Tom Thibodeau.

There have been some doubts about whether Hoiberg, coming off heart surgery last month, would head to the Bulls this year. But several sources close to Hoiberg expressed confidence that he’s ready for the challenge of the NBA, and there was no way Hoiberg would turn down the opportunity to coach in Chicago, Friedell notes. As for the Bulls, the franchise’s interest in Hoiberg isn’t a recent development, since according to league sources who spoke to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, the team had already spoken with Hoiberg about his potential interest in coming to Chicago earlier this season.

Hoiberg certainly seems like he’s ready to leave Iowa State for the NBA. He was one of the candidates interviewed by Magic GM Rob Hennigan for the team’s coaching vacancy, which has now been filled by Scott Skiles, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports. The timetable on exactly when Hoiberg could formally sign a contract is still being determined, Friedell notes. The Bulls are giving extra consideration to the time frame because of Hoiberg’s recent heart surgery, team sources told Friedell.

Reaction To Magic’s Hiring Of Scott Skiles

June 1st, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic’s announcement of Scott Skiles as their new coach late Friday afternoon didn’t linger for long atop the headlines, as the Pelicans followed with their hiring of Alvin Gentry the next day and rumors mounted about the Bulls and their seemingly inevitable partnership with Fred Hoiberg. Orlando made a nonetheless significant move, and we’ll pass along some of the ripples still emanating from it here:

GM Rob Hennigan didn’t directly answer a question from Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel about whether Tom Thibodeau was ever a factor in Orlando’s coaching search, but Thibs wasn’t among those the team interviewed, as the Sentinel’s Josh Robbins reported earlier. The Magic didn’t land a marquee name, but they ended up with a coach who’s well-respected among his peers, including Pistons boss and former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, and who’ll lend the team a tenacious personality, Bianchi writes.
Skiles was confident that he’d get another NBA head coaching job after his third such stint ended when the Bucks fired him midway through the 2012/13 season, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The former Suns, Bulls and Bucks coach indicated that he spoke with NBA teams that showed interest in him during each of the two offseasons that passed between the end of his time in Milwaukee and Friday’s hiring in Orlando.
He doesn’t have a reputation as a player’s coach, but Elfrid Payton and Maurice Harkless told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders for his NBA AM piece that they’re on board with the hire, and Harkless, about to enter the final season of his rookie scale contract, was particularly effusive.

Magic Rumors: Skiles, Harris, Martins

May 30th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic players will have to earn their minutes under new coach Scott Skiles, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Skiles, who was hired by the team Friday, earned a tough-guy reputation during his 10 years as a player in the NBA, and he brings that same philosophy into coaching. “Under the umbrella of developing guys comes a bunch of different things,” Skiles said. “Accountability is one of them. You’re short-changing guys if you don’t think that you can challenge them and that they’ll rise to a challenge.” One the challenges Skiles issued during his first press conference was for Orlando to finish in the top five in defensive efficiency next season. The Magic ranked 25th this year.

There’s much more from Central Florida:

Skiles is doing his best to quell rumors that there are problems between him and Tobias Harris, who will likely become a restricted free agent in July. Skiles tells Robbins (Twitter link) that he has stayed in touch with Harris, whom he coached in Milwaukee, and their relationship is strong.
GM Rob Hennigan held face-to-face interviews with three other candidates before hiring Skiles, Robbins writes in a separate story. They were former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg and Clippers assistant Mike Woodson, who has served as head coach of the Hawks and Knicks. “I truly wanted this to be an objective decision about his coaching ability,” CEO Alex Martins said of the hiring process. “I didn’t want my personal past with Scott and my experience with him of having been a player here and our relationship to enter into that.”
Skiles’ record of success with young teams in Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee appealed to the Magic, according to John Denton of nba.com. Skiles said he expects players to be on time, play hard and play to win, and he addressed his hard-nosed reputation. “I won’t deny that there have been a handful of times when I may have butted heads with a guy,” Skiles said. “I’m never looking for confrontation, but I’m not afraid of it.”

Eastern Notes: Skiles, Wizards, Varejao

May 29th, 2015 at 7:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The big news of the day is the Magic‘s hiring of Scott Skiles as the team’s new head coach. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports previously reported that Skiles’ arrangement with the team was for four years, and Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link) adds that the fourth year (2018/19) is a team option. Robbins also tweets that Skiles said he would like to keep former interim coach James Borrego on his coaching staff.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards have workouts scheduled for this Monday with Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Darian Hooker (New York Institute of Technology), Cady Lalanne (UMass), Stefan Nastic (Stanford), Juwan Staten (West Virginia), and Delon Wright (Utah), Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports (via Twitter).
Cavs big man Anderson Varejao, who has been out of action since suffering a torn left Achilles tendon, could be activated for the NBA Finals if something were to “go bad” for Cleveland, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said in an appearance on ESPN Cleveland radio (Twitter link).
Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t deserve the shots he took on the way out the door from the franchise, but he did deserve to be fired because of the team’s lack of offensive creativity and production despite having a potent roster and rotation, Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports opines.
Working out for the Sixers today were T.J. McConnell (Arizona), Chasson Randle (Stanford), Jarvis Threatt (Delaware), K.T. Harrell (Auburn), and Gabe Olaseni (Iowa), Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers.com relays (Twitter link).

Magic Hire Scott Skiles As Coach

May 29th, 2015 at 3:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic have hired Scott Skiles as their new head coach, the team announced in a press release. Skiles replaces interim coach James Borrego, who took over the team after former coach Jacque Vaughn was fired. The arrangement is a four year one, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports! tweets. The 51-year-old owns a career regular season coaching record of 443-433, and has a career playoff record of 18-24. He has been a head coach for the Suns, Bulls, and most recently, the Bucks.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

“Scott clearly distinguished himself as a tremendous fit,” said Orlando GM Rob Hennigan. “Our young roster will benefit greatly from Scott’s extensive head coaching experience and commitment to teaching smart, physical, unselfish basketball. We believe in Scott’s ability to establish a culture of winning habits and accountability that will help guide our team in a positive direction.”

“As we began our search, our internal discussions centered on finding a head coach with a solid resume of NBA head coaching experience, great leadership qualities, a motivating communication style, and someone with a strong strategic acumen,” said Magic CEO Alex Martins. “We feel Scott brings a balanced approach in all those qualities and we look forward, with great confidence, to him leading our young men in helping us reach our collective goal of sustainable success.”

Skiles was named the front-runner earlier this week, and he was reportedly the preferred choice of the Magic’s ownership, which has been enamored with him since his stint as a player for the franchise back in the 1990s. The former point guard also fit the criteria that Hennigan had set for the team’s next coach, which included having a successful résumé as a coach, and having a strong background on emphasizing defense and accountability.

One subplot that bears watching regarding Skiles is his relationship with forward Tobias Harris, who will be eligible this offseason to become a restricted free agent, provided Orlando tenders him a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683. Skiles reportedly did not have a good relationship with Harris when the duo were together with the Bucks. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders did note that league sources informed him there is no lingering issue between the two sides, and that Harris would like to continue to be a part of what the team is building.

The Magic had also interviewed Clippers assistant Mike Woodson for the position. Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau had also been rumored to be in contention for the post, though the team was leery of providing Chicago with compensation prior to Thibs being let go. Scott Brooks, formerly coach of the Thunder, had also been mentioned as a possibility, though Brooks is reportedly contemplating taking next season off. Alvin Gentry was another name reportedly in the mix as well.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, Draft, Magic

May 29th, 2015 at 3:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks aren’t quite sure what went wrong in the conference finals, where the Cavs dismantled them in four games, but coach and acting GM Mike Budenholzer tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe that he wants continuity to be a major part of the team’s improvement. Atlanta is apparently sold on its chances to re-sign Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, but Lowe isn’t so sure the Hawks can afford them both. “You can bet” that Atlanta’s front office would consider a sign-and-trade deal involving Millsap and fellow free agent Greg Monroe, Lowe writes, adding that rival executives get the sense that Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is eager to climb up the standings next season. Shams Charania of RealGM reported back in December that Atlanta planned to pursue Monroe. There’s more on the Hawks amid the latest from the Southeast Division:

Lowe, in the same piece, identifies Gary Neal as a “name to watch” for the Hawks in the event the team goes under the cap and has the $2.814MM room exception to spend, though that’s likely just an educated guess. Neal, who finished up the season with the Timberwolves, used to play under Budenholzer, then a Spurs assistant coach, in San Antonio.
Small forwards Justise Winslow from Duke and Stanley Johnson from Arizona as well as former Washington center Robert Upshaw were among the players the Heat interviewed at the combine this month, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes. Heat personnel were also in attendance at an agent-run workout involving Johnson and Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre, while Florida big man Chris Walker and shooting guard Michael Frazier are expected to work out later for Miami, Winderman adds.
Florida Gulf Coast point guard Brett Comer worked out with the Heat earlier this week, as he told Seth Soffian of The News-Press.
The Magic reportedly expect to hire Scott Skiles, but Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel believes a relatively unappealing Magic roster and Tom Thibodeau‘s failure to get along with Bulls management make it tough to envision Thibs in Orlando even if Skiles doesn’t end up in the job.

Scott Skiles, Magic Negotiating Toward Deal

May 29th, 2015 at 10:01am CST by Eddie Scarito

10:01am: The Magic expect, in addition to hope, that they will soon reach a deal with Skiles, Stein writes in a full story.

FRIDAY, 9:38am: Skiles and the Magic have begun to talk contract, and Orlando hopes to reach a deal as soon as today, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

THURSDAY, 8:21am: The Magic are convinced that Skiles is the guy they want and the sides are on the verge of negotiating a contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Skiles and the Magic will continue to converse today in Orlando, Wojnarowski adds, though the Magic apparently have competition for Skiles from the Pelicans. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel suggests that Skiles will have to meet with the DeVos family, who own the Magic, before receiving an offer, as is typical with Magic head coaching searches, though the owners already like Skiles, as Wojnarowski noted earlier.

SATURDAY, 11:09am: Scott Skiles has emerged as the front-runner to become the next head coach of the Magic, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Orlando GM Rob Hennigan has discussed the opening with several possible candidates, but Skiles has clearly separated himself in the process, league sources told Wojnarowski. Although the team hasn’t been in a rush to make a coaching hire, discussions could soon advance into contract negotiations, Wojnarowski relays.

The 51-year-old Skiles is the preferred choice of the Magic’s ownership, which has been enamored with him since his stint as a player for the franchise back in the 1990s, the Yahoo! scribe notes. The former point guard also fits the criteria that Hennigan has set for the team’s next head coach, which includes having a successful résumé as a coach, and having a strong background on emphasizing defense and accountability, Wojnarowski adds.

Skiles owns a career regular season coaching record of 443-433, and has a career playoff record of 18-24. He has been a head coach for the Suns, Bulls, and most recently, the Bucks. The former player has developed a solid reputation of turning bad teams into competitive ones, and improving his team’s defensive numbers, Wojnarowski writes. But Skiles also carries with him the reputation for burning out his teams and eventually wearing out his welcome.

One other subplot that bears watching regarding Skiles is his relationship with Magic forward Tobias Harris, who will be eligible this offseason to become a restricted free agent, provided Orlando tenders him a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683. Skiles reportedly did not have a good relationship with Harris when the duo were together with the Bucks, so that could be a situation worth watching if Skiles is indeed hired by the franchise, Wojnarowski adds. The Yahoo! scribe also estimates that Harris will likely command a salary in the $12-$14MM range on his next deal.

The Magic’s coaching vacancy has also been linked to current Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, though recent reports stating that the Orlando job is Thibodeau’s for the taking are said to be off-base. The Bulls are widely expected to demand significant assets in return for letting Thibodeau walk away from his contract, which runs two more seasons, and another report indicated that Orlando would be willing to give up one or two second-round picks for the right to hire coach Thibs. But Wojnarowski’s sources have informed him that the Magic don’t want to give up any compensation in return for Chicago’s current head coach.

Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks has also been mentioned as a possibility, though Brooks is reportedly contemplating taking next season off. Alvin Gentry is another name reportedly in the mix as well.

Southeast Notes: Millsap, Skiles, Brand

May 28th, 2015 at 5:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hawks forward Paul Millsap, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, said that his shoulder won’t require surgery, just rest, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays (Twitter link). There have been reports that Millsap might need surgery to repair damage to his sprained right shoulder. Should the veteran ultimately require surgery, it is unclear how or if it would affect the market for the 30-year-old, who is expected to command a max salary or close to it on his next contract.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

New Mexico State guard Daniel Mullings worked out for the Heat today, his agent Matt Slan of Slan Sports Management tweeted.
With Scott Skiles reportedly the front-runner to become the Magic‘s next head coach, it had been noted that Skiles had a poor relationship with forward Tobias Harris when the two were with the Bucks. But sources have told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links) that there is no lingering issue between the two sides, and that Harris would like to continue to be a part of what the team is building. Harris can become a restricted free agent this summer if Orlando tenders him a qualifying offer.
Hawks big man Elton Brand said that he will take several weeks to decide if he will return to the NBA for his 17th season, or call it a career and retire, Vivlamore writes. “I’ll see if I [have] another year of trying to get prepared and what it takes to be on an NBA roster,” Brand said. “There is a lot of work you have to put in. … After two or three weeks, I’ll know. See if I have that itch. This time I might not and just lay back on the couch. We’ll see.” The 36-year-old appeared in 36 games for Atlanta this past season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per contest.