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Amick On Clippers, Nuggets, Davis, Raptors

December 20th, 2012 at 2:37pm CST by Sean Highkin

Sam Amick of USA Today has posted a new notebook column covering a variety of topics of interest from around the NBA. Among the subjects touched on are the progress of several Western Conference teams and an update on the Rookie of the Year and MVP races.

Amick is buying the Clippers as a contender, and points out that head coach Vinny Del Negro is making a strong case for himself as deserving of a contract extension. Del Negro appears to have the support of Clippers owner Donald Sterling as the team's long-term head coach.
Following a slow start to the season, the Nuggets are starting to improve following high expectations in the preseason, Amick writes.
Amick catches up with top overall pick Anthony Davis, who says that he is 100 percent healthy following missing several weeks with an ankle injury.
Amick writes that the latest slate of injuries have been a mixed blessing for the Raptors as they attempt to move certain players. Andrea Bargnani has sunk his value on the market by being sidelined with a torn elbow ligament, while Jose Calderon has raised his by doing an excellent job filling in for the injured Kyle Lowry.
Michael Beasley has seen his role diminish with the struggling Suns since signing a three-year, $18MM contract this summer, Amick writes.

Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Lin, Davis, Selby

December 18th, 2012 at 7:38pm CST by Alex Lee

Mavericks beat writer Eddie Sefko, from the Dallas Morning News, answered questions today in a chat. Among the topics Sefko touches on: why O.J. Mayo may not be in Dallas long, why the Mavs must build through free agency, why Tyreke Evans would be a good fit in Dallas and what the Mavs offseason looks like. The Mavs host the 76ers tonight, and the Spurs and Hornets are also in action. Here are some other things going on in the Southwest division:

While the proper fit of teammates and system in New York
has helped Raymond Felton thrive with the Knicks, the same can't be said for
Jeremy Lin with the Rockets, observes Beckley Mason of The New York Times, who
wonders if Lin might perform better as a bench player for Houston.
Hornets rookie Anthony Davis, still working his way back to health, is content coming off the bench while his ankle gets stronger writes John Reid of the Times Picayune. The Hornets are on an 11-game losing streak, 4 of which have seen Davis out of the starting lineup.
Gina Pilato of Ridiculous Upside writes that the Grizzlies are looking for Josh Selby to recapture the form that made him the NBA's Summer League Co-MVP by sending him back to the D-League. Chris Wallace announced today that Selby will return to Memphis after two games in Reno.

Western Notes: Evans, Wolves, Williams, Davis

December 6th, 2012 at 9:14pm CST by Luke Adams

There's only one game on the Western Conference schedule tonight, so as we wait for the Mavericks and Suns to tip off in Phoenix, let's round up a few notes out of the West….

Tyreke Evans' play of late shows why he could either be an integral part of the Kings' rebuild or a valuable trade chip later in the season, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
The Timberwolves are finding success with bringing in international players from overseas, as an Associated Press report details (link via NBA.com). "To me, it's just a natural extension of scouting," said team president David Kahn. "Just as you can't afford to be negligent about the domestic side, you can't afford to not be on top of matters internationally."
Andrew Perna of RealGM.com spoke to Derrick Williams about trying to live up to the expectations of being a second overall pick.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's John Hollinger takes a look at some long-term deals signed this summer that have been money well spent so far. Ryan Anderson, Omer Asik, and Alexey Shved are among the names on Hollinger's list.
Anthony Davis tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that he's looking forward to a bright long-term future with the Hornets.

Latest On Anthony Davis

December 2nd, 2012 at 6:27pm CST by Sean Highkin

John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports that Anthony Davis is expected to be out at least another week after suffering a stress reaction in his left ankle on November 17. Hornets coach Monty Williams addressed Davis' current status to reporters:

"If I have to guess, I think he’s a week away from us thinking about him ramping up his conditioning; let alone playing,'' Williams said. "So I just think it's still far off.''

Davis, the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, has appeared in just six games this season for the Hornets after suffering a concussion earlier in the season before this ankle injury. He is averaging 16.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.2 BPG this season.

Southwest Notes: McHale, Livingston, Mavs, Rivers

November 25th, 2012 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets announced that coach Kevin McHale's daughter Sasha died Saturday afternoon, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports the 23-year-old had recently been hospitalized with a condition related to lupus, a disease she had long battled. Assistant coach Kelvin Sampson has been in charge of the team since McHale took a leave of absence on November 10th to tend to his daughter. The news is especially jarring, considering Sampson indicated a few days ago that the situation was improving. Hoops Rumors sends its sincere condolences to the McHale family. Here's more from the Southwest Division.

Anthony Davis could be out two more weeks while recovering from a stress reaction in his ankle, reports Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports hears Wizards point guard Shaun Livingston, who was in camp with the Rockets, often outplayed Jeremy Lin while in Houston, where several Rockets players and coaches tried to convince the front office not to let Livingston go.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has shuttled offseason acquisitions Elton Brand and Chris Kaman in and out of the starting lineup, but neither player is pouting as they've put their trust in the coach, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
Paul Flannery of SB Nation examines the struggles of Hornets rookie Austin Rivers, and agrees with coach Monty Williams that it's too soon to judge this year's 10th overall pick.
Flannery also passes along Williams' praise of former Hornets power forward David West, who's playing improved ball for the Pacers, and points to the emergence of Marcus Morris for the Rockets this year as a sign the D-League's true value is in the seasoning and development it provides for NBA first-round picks.

Anthony Davis Out With Ankle Injury

November 20th, 2012 at 6:02pm CST by Sean Highkin

John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports that Anthony Davis has a stress reaction in his left ankle, and will sit out the Hornets' game against the Knicks tonight. He is listed as day-to-day going forward.

Davis, the top overall pick in the 2012 draft, has already missed time in his short NBA career with a concussion suffered at the beginning of November. He is averaging 16.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.2 BPG this season.

Western Notes: Morris, Murphy, Thunder, Thabeet

November 3rd, 2012 at 5:40pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With news of Steve Nash's leg fracture keeping him out for another week, Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles thinks that this will be a good opportunity for Darius Morris to prove himself, noting that that his potential is what helped the Lakers decide to keep him over recently-cut guard Andrew Goudelock. McMenamin also cited Mike Brown's postgame comments last night about Morris, who also appeared to be encouraged about the second year point guard's ability to change the tempo of the game and apply good defensive pressure (Sulia link). Here are more of this evening's links out of the Western Conference:

Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram writes that Troy Murphy's familiarity with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle's system made the 6'11 forward an ideal fit with the team. Although Murphy is not yet in 'great' shape, Price says that he will be expected to help stretch the floor with his shooting ability.
Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK shared a handful of notes from Thunder practice today, mentioning that Kendrick Perkins should be ready to play the Hawks on Sunday after spraining his ankle last night, discussing the growing confidence of Hasheem Thabeet amidst concerns about the team's depth at center, Serge Ibaka's early shooting struggles, and coach Scott Brooks' effort to get minutes for Jeremy Lamb, among other topics.
Nick Gallo of NBA.com looks at the Thunder's emphasis on protecting the paint this season and how center Hasheem Thabeet can be used effectively in that role against bigger lineups.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweeted that Hornets coach Monty Williams credits Knicks center Tyson Chandler for Anthony Davis' development during the London Olympics this past summer. Williams also weighed in on the league's concussion policy, addressing the notion that Davis could miss several games because of league protocol after suffering a mild concussion yesterday: "It's just that now you treat everybody like they have on white gloves and pink draws. It's just getting old, but it's just the way the league is now…I'm not saying I don't like it; we've got to protect our players…but as a coach I’m a baby about it. I want my guys ready to play.'' (John Reid of NOLA.com reports).

Injury Notes: Rush, Davis, Turkoglu

November 2nd, 2012 at 10:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

A few injury notes from around the league on Friday night.

Brandon Rush suffered what appears to be a serious knee injury in the first quarter of the Warriors' game against the Grizzlies.
In his second game in the NBA, top overall pick Anthony Davis left with a possible concussion. He will be tested, and it's unclear whether he will miss games (AP link via ESPN.com).
Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu broke his hand in the Magic's season-opening 102-89 win over the Nuggets. It would appear that rookie Moe Harkless, acquired in the Dwight Howard trade, will replace him in the rotation.

Poll: Most Impressive Rookie

November 2nd, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Through three days of the NBA season, most of the heavily hyped rookies have made their debuts. In particular, five have had standout first games as pros: New Orleans' No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, Washington's No. 3 overall pick Bradley Beal, Cleveland's No. 4 overall pick Dion Waiters, Portland's No. 6 overall pick Damian Lillard, and Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas, drafted in 2011. Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist makes his debut tonight.

Which of the five rookies who have made an impact so far have impressed you the most?

Warriors, Jazz, Others Discussed James Harden

October 29th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

10:56am: Suns president Lon Babby confirmed to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that Phoenix had been engaged with the Thunder in trade talks for Harden, though he says that no proposal ever gained serious traction.

"We were engaged in discussions on numerous occasions," Babby said. "We most recently met in person when we played them [on October 19th]. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a deal that was workable for both sides."

8:53am: According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, Thunder GM Sam Presti had at least "semi-serious" trade conversations involving James Harden with a number of teams before eventually accepting the Rockets' offer. Lowe says the Warriors, Jazz, Wizards, and Raptors were among the teams that Presti spoke to before sending Harden to Houston. We heard yesterday that the Suns also pursued a trade for Harden.

The Thunder were seeking a sure-thing player who was still in the first year or two of his rookie deal, according to Lowe. That means Presti figures to have inquired on players like Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Bradley Beal, and Jonas Valanciunas. Lowe adds that the Thunder GM likely started the process by reaching out to the Hornets about Anthony Davis, though I imagine that conversation didn't last too long.

Here are a few more Harden-related links, as reactions continue to pour in on one of the year's most surprising trades:

Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder made a last-ditch offer to Harden on Friday, proposing a four-year, $53MM extension. The team gave him a one-hour window to accept it, telling him that if he turned it down, he'd be traded to Houston. According to Tramel's sources, Harden said he needed three days to make a decision, but because the Rockets wanted time to negotiate an extension before Wednesday's deadline, Presti stuck to the one-hour window.
The pieces the Thunder acquired for Harden are the same sort of assets the team used to initially build itself into a perennial contender, opines Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
Members of the Spurs, a team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs earlier this year, were surprised by the deal, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. "It's kind of weird to look at OKC and think of them without their Big Three," Danny Green said. "Things are different. Obviously they're still going to be a good team."