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Western Notes: Jordan, Lakers, Suns, Blazers

October 24th, 2012 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, when we asked Hoops Rumors readers for their Rookie of the Year pick, over 44% of about 1,050 voters selected Anthony Davis, making him the top choice by far. Davis is off to a promising start, averaging a double-double in five preseason games and making a strong impression on Hornets coach Monty Williams.

"He’s just a coach’s dream," Williams said, according to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. "He handles the situations with wisdom that’s beyond his years. He listens, he’s humble, and yet he still has an edge…. He’s going to be pretty special if he continues to work and allow himself to be coached the way he has so far. He’s just an amazing kid."

Here are a few more of today's notes from around the Western Conference:

A number of recent reports have linked Jerome Jordan to teams in China, but for now Jordan is still hoping to make the Grizzlies' regular season roster, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "I know my agent has been talking to a bunch of teams. You know, as a worst-case scenario," Jordan said. "I don't know if there's a deal, per se, in China. But it's about making it in the NBA this year. I'm about trying to make it in the league and establish myself. I want to be around a long time."
The Lakers are expected to waive second-round pick Darius Johnson-Odom soon, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Making an educated guess, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic predicts that Luke Zeller and Diante Garrett will earn spots on the Suns, and explains his reasoning.
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if two players under contract with the Spurs, Wesley Witherspoon and JaMychal Green, will be released soon to join San Antonio's D-League affiliate.
Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts says he expects to keep Nolan Smith as the team's backup point guard over Coby Karl, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets. Karl himself indicated this week that he's bracing for news of his release.
ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) wouldn't be surprised if the Blazers consider moving Wesley Matthews at this season's trade deadline.

NBA GMs Weigh In On 2012/13 Season

October 22nd, 2012 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

The results are in on NBA.com's annual survey of the league's general managers, with all 30 NBA GMs weighing in on dozens of questions about the 2012/13 season and the 2012 offseason. We won't round up all of their answers here, so feel free to check out the full results at NBA.com, but here are a few of the more notable responses:

70% of respondents believe the Heat will repeat as NBA champs, while 96.7% think Miami will win the Eastern Conference. Since GMs aren't allowed to vote for their own teams, that means the rest of the league's 29 GMs picked the Heat to come out of the East.
The Lakers are the favorites to come out of the West, earning 60% of the votes. The Thunder (36.7%) and Nuggets (3.3%) were the only other teams mentioned.
LeBron James is the player most GMs would start a franchise with, earning 80% of the votes.
86.2% of GMs believe the Lakers made the best offseason moves, with Dwight Howard (70%) and Steve Nash (20%) earning the most votes for the summer addition who will make the biggest impact. Los Angeles' sign-and-trade for Nash was also voted the summer's most surprising move.
Besides the Lakers, the other teams receiving votes for the best offseason roster moves were the Nets, Hawks, and Warriors.
The Nets (62.1%) ran away with the votes on which team will be most improved, while Andre Iguodala (16.7%) topped the choices for most underrated acquisition — the Celtics' duo of Jason Terry and Courtney Lee also received support in that category.
Anthony Davis (76.7%) and Gregg Popovich (80%) were the runaway picks for rookie of the year and the NBA's best coach, respectively.

Hornets Links: Davis, Gordon, Smith

October 14th, 2012 at 9:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

We've got a handful of links to share from New Orleans tonight, including several injury updates:

Anthony Davis returned to practice Sunday after a groin injury sidelined him from Friday's pre-season game against the Rockets, says John Reid of NOLA.com. The Hornets forward appeared to move without limitations during post-up drills but was held out of contact work.
In another article, Reid mentions that Eric Gordon has continued to rehabilitate his knee, and that Hornets coach Monty Williams hopes to be able to play him in limited minutes before the end of pre-season. Williams added that although he isn't exactly sure if Gordon will be ready between this week and the next, the fifth-year veteran has been participating in drills during practices.
Both Jason Smith (sore back) and Xavier Henry (sore knee) have sat out the last three pre-season games, but Reid writes that both could be close to returning after taking part in practice today.
According to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com, one of Gordon's main goals for this season is to make the All-Star game.
Brian Travis of Hornets.com gathered Al-Farouq Aminu's thoughts on his experiences during the offseason that included being a leader on the Nigerian Olympic basketball team during the summer games in London.

Amico On Mavs, Clippers, Hornets, Bobcats

October 7th, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio has posted some thoughts from the weekend's preseason action, including impressions of players that have changed teams this offseason:

Amico was impressed with the Dallas debuts of Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo, both of whom signed with the Mavs this summer.
Out of the several veterans the Clippers signed this offseason, Amico says that Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes made positive first impressions, while Lamar Odom looked considerably less impressive.
Amico writes that Hornets rookies Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers had good performances in their preseason debuts.
Second overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and third overall pick Bradley Beal had strong showings in the Bobcats' victory over the Wizards, Amico writes.
New Bobcats acquisitions Ben Gordon and Ramon Sessions also had strong performances off the bench, writes Amico.

Western Notes: Warriors, Lakers, Davis

September 27th, 2012 at 9:39pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group summarized Warriors GM Bob Myers' meeting with the local media today, and writes that the team has very important decisions to make in the near future. Thompson mentions that Golden State has the ability to significantly be under the salary cap in two years, but will also have to deal with the possible contract extensions of Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut in addition to deciding the futures of players that are still on their rookie-scale deals. "The players can stay as long as they want if we win…but if we don't win, maybe some things do get turned over," said Myers.

With that being said, we have a few more links to share with you tonight out of the Western Conference:

Andrew Bogut is on schedule to play on opening night and possibly in some pre-season games, although the Australian center has not yet been cleared for five-on-five scrimmages yet, writes Rusty Simmons of SF Gate. GM Bob Myers also talked about Festus Ezeli, adding that he is a "team-first" guy who gives multiple efforts make him a quality prospect. Myers chose to remain neutral on Andris Biedrins not showing up for voluntary pre-training camp workouts, but added that he will have the opportunity to compete in camp and that his role will ultimately be left up to head coach Mark Jackson.
Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles thinks that the last three roster spots on the Lakers will ultimately be decided between Andrew Goudelock, Darius Morris, Darius Johnson-Odom, and Robert Sacre (Twitter link). In another tweet, Markazi says that Goudelock seems to be the odd man out at this point.
Hornets rookie Anthony Davis spoke about what he took away from his experiences at the Olympics, teaming with Robin Lopez this season, and head coach Monty Williams' expectations (Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune reports).
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com spoke with Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt to evaluate Jordan Hamilton's rookie season and what he was told to work on this summer.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Mavericks, Cuban, Davis

September 13th, 2012 at 10:17pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation interestingly points out that eleven NBA teams either have a coach, general manager, or both that have strong ties to the Spurs franchise. Former San Antonio assistant GM and current Thunder GM Sam Presti acknowledged t RC Buford, Gregg Popovich, and owner Pete Holt and the important role they played in his development as a front office executive, saying, "(They) have created an infrastructure that has afforded many of us tremendous learning and development opportunities…It is important to acknowledge that they generally have an even more profound impact on their people on a personal level than simply professionally.”

Here are other rumblings from the Southwest Division tonight…

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW writes that both Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo are ready to take advantage of their new opportunity with the Mavericks. Mayo has already started working out with head coach Rick Carlisle for the last month.
Sefko also documented some thoughts from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who implied that it's refreshing to observe practices and finally see centers on the team, namely Kaman and Elton Brand, being able to knock down a mid-range jump shot. Cuban also commented on the Lakers, adding that he's not sure "if all their guys want to be there."
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated relayed Maurice Evans' take on Hornets number one pick Anthony Davis, saying that the hype surrounding the former Kentucky star has been "over the top" (Sulia link).

Hornets Sign Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers

July 24th, 2012 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have officially signed first-round picks Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers, according to a team release. Rivers was selected 10th overall, with the pick acquired in the Chris Paul trade, while Davis was, of course, the first overall pick.

Terms of the deals weren't disclosed, but both players figure to receive the full 120% of the rookie scale amount for their slots. That would mean a $5,144,280 first-year salary for Davis and a $2,238,360 rookie salary for Rivers. Their contracts will include two guaranteed seasons and two team options.

Griffin Injured During Team USA Scrimmage, Davis Recalled

July 12th, 2012 at 10:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

10:15pm: Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that the injury is a meniscal tear that will require arthroscopic surgery.

9:15pm: Yahoo's Marc J. Spears says that although Blake is done with the Olympics, he should be ready for training camp (Twitter link).

4:32pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted earlier that Blake Griffin hurt his knee during a scrimmage with Team USA and will return to Los Angeles for further examination by team doctors. Just yesterday, Griffin signed a five-year maximum extension to remain with the Clippers.

Team USA officials have summoned Anthony Davis back to Las Vegas immediately to fill in as Griffin's replacement, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Anthony Davis Out Of Olympics?

July 3rd, 2012 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Tuesday 8:48pm: According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Anthony Davis will report to Las Vegas next week despite his ankle injury.

Monday 12:23pm: A source that spoke to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune classified Davis' ankle sprain as "light" and said it could sideline the big man for a week or two. Talking to SI.com's Sam Amick, Colangelo continued not to rule out Davis for the London games until he has more information.

"Just getting a report that his ankle is serious doesn't mean anything to me until we get an official doctor's report on what that means," Colangelo said. "Does it mean he can't practice for a week? Does it mean he's out for a month? You know what I'm saying. I don't like to speculate."

Nine Assured Of Team USA Spot; Odom Withdraws

July 3rd, 2012 at 11:41am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:41am: Blake Griffin is expected to take Chris Bosh's spot on the U.S. roster, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. As Goodman adds in a second tweet, that would leave five players competing for the final two spots.