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Southeast Notes: Ibaka, Hawks, Wall, Wizards

November 12th, 2016 at 9:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Serge Ibaka is asking Magic fans to be patient with his slow start in Orlando, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Ibaka came to the team in a June trade with the expectation that he would become the rim protector the Magic needed while providing offense like he did with the Thunder. He has shot 43% from 3-point range in his first nine games in Orlando, but has been a disappointment defensively. “There’s new teammates, there’s new coverages,” coach Frank Vogel said. “The whole system is new. That’s just a part of all of our newness. I think we’re all trying to grow and figure each other out on the defensive end. But he’s certainly given us a presence. When we’re playing against big teams, he can match up with those guys and hold his own one-on-one and be a shot-blocking presence at the rim.” Ibaka will return to Oklahoma City on Sunday for the first time since the trade.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The offseason addition of Dwight Howard has helped the Hawks become of the NBA’s best shooting teams, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Journal Constitution. Howard is third in the league at .622, joining teammates Mike Muscala and Thabo Sefolosha in the top five. Overall, Atlanta is second in shooting at .478. “I think it’s just sharing the ball,” Muscala said. “A lot of it’s getting more offensive rebounds, getting some steals, pushing it in transition, getting those easy buckets. It all helps in getting in a good rhythm. It’s about not overthinking it. It’s about finding the open guy because we do have good shooters, we have good finishers.”
Wizards point guard John Wall will be held out of back-to-back games for at least another week, tweets Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. The Wizards are bringing Wall along slowly after he had operations on both knees during the offseason. Coach Scott Brooks said he will consider changing the plan next week.
Washington’s early-season struggles are a sign that the organization should start over, which may mean trading Wall, writes Sam Amico of Amicohoops.net. Amico suggests a total makeover, with the team rebuilding around Otto Porter. He adds that the coaching change from Randy Wittman to Brooks hasn’t had the desired effect. Amico also cites an anonymous GM who believes the Wizards should waive Markieff Morris.

Hawks Notes: Howard, Koonin, Reserves

November 10th, 2016 at 5:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The addition of center Dwight Howard and a change in coach Mike Budenholzer’s approach has dramatically improved the Hawks’ offensive rebounding, KL Chouinard of the team’s website relays. The Hawks ranked at the bottom in the NBA in that category last season but sit No. 3 in the early going. Howard leads the league with a 4.9 offensive rebounding average, as the Hawks’ bigs have been given greater freedom to pursue those caroms, Chouinard adds. “I would call it a slight tweak or an emphasis, but not at the expense of transition defense,” Budenholzer told Chouinard. “[It’s] an emphasis of ‘Can we be better on the offensive boards? Can we take advantage of who we have and be more committed there?’ I think the guys have done a nice job of doing that and they have been rewarded.”

In other news regarding the Hawks:

CEO Steve Koonin signed a new three-year contract with the team this summer, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Koonin signed a contract with the previous ownership group in April 2014. Principal owner Tony Ressler, who purchased the team in June 2015, decided to keep Koonin on board. He oversees the team’s business, financial and strategic operations, Vivlamore adds.
The Hawks didn’t spend heavily on their reserves but that unit is paying big dividends, Vivlamore writes in a separate story. Swingman Thabo Sefolosha ($3.85MM salary this season) ranks second in the league in steals (2.6 per game), sixth in field goal percentage (60.0) and sixth in plus/minus rating (plus-78) despite averaging 25 minutes per game. Big man Mike Muscala ($1MM) leads the league in field goal percentage at 66%, while guards Malcolm Delaney ($2.5MM) and Tim Hardaway Jr. rank among the top 20 in plus/minus rating. “Everyone on this team can play, a guy in the starting five, a guy from the bench, everybody can contribute big time,” Sefolosha told Vivlamore. “Different night, different guy steps up.”

Southwest Notes: Howard, Parsons, Hill, Matthews

November 6th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwight Howard may be gone, but the Rockets are still benefiting from the teaching he did with younger players, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Howard signed with the Hawks this summer after three seasons in Houston, but he left an impression on Rockets big men Clint Capela, Montrezl Harrell and Sam Dekker. “Dwight was a great guy; nobody gets to really see the type of person he is off the court,” Harrell said. “Everybody sees him on the court and thinks he’s childish or he’s a big kid. He’s a great guy with the time I spent with Dwight. He cares about everybody on and off the court. He has a heart that’s so big. Whenever I came out of a game, we were always communicating.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons will make his Grizzlies debut this afternoon instead of Tuesday as originally expected, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Parsons, who signed a four-year, $94MM deal with Memphis, hasn’t played since he had surgery on his right knee in March. “Felt great in workout. I’m ready to rock,” Parsons wrote in a text message. “No reason to wait.”
Solomon Hill signed with the Pelicans over the offseason, but coach Alvin Gentry had his eye on the fourth-year small forward for a long time, relays Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Hill played college ball at Arizona while Gentry was the head coach in Phoenix, and Gentry wanted to trade for him last season. “I just think he’s a good, solid guy,” Gentry said. “He’s a guy who is trying to find himself in what we’re doing. I told him I think he’s trying to fit in too much. He’s a guy who just needs to be who he is. That’s why we signed him.”
Wesley Matthews, who joined the Mavericks in 2015, appears to be one of the building blocks for the team’s future, writes Adam Grosbard of The Dallas Morning News. Matthews is adopting an increased leadership role as Dallas tries to rebound from its slow start. “He’s become one of the faces of our team,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “Just his intensity, his presence out there as our best perimeter defender and just his attitude and stuff like that is a big part of who we are. He’s knowledgeable and relentless and he has great pride [on defense].”

Southwest Notes: Harden, Howard, Parsons

November 5th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden insists he had no “beef” with former teammate Dwight Howard, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Howard, who signed with the Hawks in the offseason, will face Harden and the Rockets tonight in Atlanta. There were many stories of discord between the two stars during last year’s 41-41 season, but Harden says there are no lingering bad feelings. “I know what the truth is,” Harden said. “There’s no beef. We never got into a heated argument or anything. It just didn’t work out.”

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

New Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who was hired at the start of June, never made an appeal to Howard to stay with the team, Feigen adds in the same piece. Houston focused on former Hawks center Al Horford in free agency, and there was a feeling that a low-post player like Howard wouldn’t be effective in D’Antoni’s system. “I don’t think I was the right guy to have conversations,” said D’Antoni, who briefly coached Howard with the Lakers. “I’m sure there were conversations with [GM] Daryl [Morey]. If he wanted to come back, great. That wasn’t my role to have conversations.”
Chandler Parsons is expected to play his first game for the Grizzlies on Tuesday, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. It will be the small forward’s first time on the court since undergoing right knee surgery in March when he was still with Dallas. Memphis signed Parsons to a four-year, $94MM contract this summer.
The Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki will be “shut down” for at least a week after aggravating an Achilles problem Friday, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Nowitzki said he has been experiencing pain in that area since the season opener. “He’s going to be out for a while,” explained coach Rick Carlisle. “We’ll update [things] in about seven days. He didn’t reinjure the Achilles, it’s just lingering. It’s not getting better the way it needs to, so we got to shut him down. Is it bad news, yes. But we’ll get through it. His health is the most important thing. He’s more than willing to continue playing, but it’s pretty obvious that things just aren’t right. We’ve got to do the right thing here and get it fixed.”

Rockets Exercise Clint Capela’s 2017/18 Option

October 26th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 26: The Rockets have officially picked up Capela’s 2017/18 option, according to RealGM.com.

OCTOBER 24: The Rockets will exercise their 2017/18 team option on Clint Capela‘s rookie contract, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Capela’s fourth-year option is one of three rookie-scale decisions the team has to make before October 31 — Tyler Ennis and Sam Dekker also have ’17/18 options to be picked up or turned down.

Capela, 22, enjoyed a modest breakout season in 2015/16 after playing sparingly in his rookie year. Capela averaged 7.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.2 BPG in 19.1 minutes per contest last season, starting 35 of the 77 games he played for Houston.

If Rockets management had their way, Capela would have had an opportunity to play even more in 2015/16. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff resisted complying with the wishes of GM Daryl Morey and owner Leslie Alexander, who wanted to see Capela receive more minutes at the expense of Dwight Howard.

With Howard and Bickerstaff no longer in Houston, new head coach Mike D’Antoni is presumably on board with the plan to give Capela an expanded role going forward. The young big man, who will earn a guaranteed $2,334,528 salary in 2017/18, will be extension-eligible during the 2017 offseason and eligible for restricted free agency during the 2018 offseason.

In other Rockets news, rookie guard Gary Payton II, who was waived by Houston earlier today, confirmed to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link) that the team has expressed interest in having him join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Payton said there are a couple other teams interested in his services, so he’ll talk to his agent to determine his next move — he’s open to the idea of joining the Rockets’ D-League squad, per Berman.

Dwight Howard On: Hawks, Perceptions, Free Agency

October 10th, 2016 at 11:31am CST by Eddie Scarito

Dwight Howard, who signed a three-year deal with the Hawks this offseason, is upset at the perceptions about him around the league and with fans, that he is a bad teammate and underachiever who doesn’t care enough about winning. In an interview with Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, the center addressed a number of topics. The entire piece is definitely worth a look, but here are some of the highlights:

On what a new beginning in Atlanta means to him:

“I changed up everything around me. I hold myself more accountable in certain situations. I try to be a better man, a better father, a better teammate. I know a lot of the stuff that’s been said about me that I can’t really control and has been false, but at the same time, I just want to show this city who I really am and show my teammates what kind of teammate I am. They’ve been great to me, and I think it’s a great situation for me to be in.”

On what changes he has made over the summer:

“Just things off the court, a lot of the stuff that was happening around me, just personal things. I tried to change that up and just really start over, get a clean slate. No offense to the people that I had around me, but I just wanted to start over, start fresh. Like I said, it’s a new beginning, so I wanted everything to be fresh. I didn’t want to bring any old baggage or anything from my past to this organization. They believe in me, this city believes in me, so I just wanted to make sure that when I’m out there on the court that I’m free, that I can give this city and this team everything that I’ve got.”

On why his pairing with James Harden in Houston didn’t work out:

“Well, sometimes things don’t work like they should. I’ve never had an issue with James. I wish him nothing but the best. I just think the timing of everything was a little bit different. That’s OK. All that stuff did was just mold me for this moment here, this organization, this team. They’ve asked me to be a leader. It’s my job to come in here every night and provide physicality and the leadership that this team needs.”

On if he was surprised that he didn’t receive any maximum salary offers in free agency this summer:

“Well, I knew all the situations that was going on. I really only looked into one place and that was the Hawks. I didn’t go to other teams. As soon as free agency opened, I met with Coach Bud [Mike Budenholzer] and [GM Wes Wilcox]. After the meeting, I went back to my car and I was like, “Man, this is where I want to be.” I didn’t need to meet with other teams. I didn’t care about what offers were on the table. I wanted to be in Atlanta. I wanted to represent for this team.”

On if he feels pressured not to be himself:

“Yeah, a lot of times I do feel like that. When I’m smiling, I’m supposedly not taking the game seriously. When I’m not smiling, then it’s like, “He don’t care. He’s just out there.” When I was in Orlando and everything was going well and we were winning, even in L.A. when we won those games and stuff like that, me smiling didn’t bother people. But like I said, you really can’t please people. I know everybody’s attention is on what I’m doing on the floor. My job is to be the best teammate I can be, push these guys to the limit every day, make sure that I’m being the right type of leader.“

Southwest Notes: Matthews, Williams, Barnes

September 17th, 2016 at 6:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks feel like they have an all-new starting backcourt this season, even though Wesley Matthews and Deron Williams are both returning, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs signed both players during the summer of 2015, but they were dealing with injuries that limited their effectiveness. Matthews was coming off surgery for a ruptured left Achilles tendon and was noticeably slower throughout the year. Williams, who received medical clearance this week to participate in the start of training camp, underwent surgery for a sports hernia after Dallas was eliminated from the playoffs.

“I hope D-Will can stay healthy,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “I think when he was healthy last year, he was a key player for us, at times even our best player, so hopefully he can stay healthy. And I’ve heard Wes was a beast in the gym basically since we lost [in the playoffs]. I hear he’s in unbelievable shape and ready to go. It should be another fun, hopefully exciting and competitive year.”

There’s more news out of the Southwest Division:

Harrison Barnes hasn’t been a featured scorer since high school, but Dallas is counting on him to be one this season, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com. After Barnes became expendable when Kevin Durant committed to the Warriors, the Mavericks gave him a four-year, $94MM contract and projected an expanded role for him in their offense. Barnes averaged 10 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in four years with Golden State.
Monty Williams, who joined the Spurs Friday as vice president of basketball operations, hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching someday, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. In the meantime, the Spurs will groom Williams for a front office role.
The Rockets swapped out one frequently injured player for three, write Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders in the site’s season preview of Houston. Dwight Howard may have taken his back problems to Atlanta, but Rockets signed three free agents in Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene who have long injury histories of their own.

Thabo Sefolosha Talks Contract, Hawks, Rookies

August 22nd, 2016 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Atlanta’s roster underwent some major changes this offseason, with longtime Hawks Al Horford and Jeff Teague departing and Dwight Howard among the incoming additions. However, the team managed to re-sign Kent Bazemore, and may end up undergoing even more roster turnover in 2017 — only five of the Hawks’ 17 current players have guaranteed salaries for the ’17/18 season.

One of those players who enters this season on an expiring contract is Thabo Sefolosha, who spoke to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a handful of topics, including the club’s outlook for the coming year, and some of his new teammates. He also addressed his contract, though he’s trying to avoid thinking about 2017 free agency at this point.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t in the back of my mind,” Sefolosha said. “Once it is basketball season, I believe that if you take care of what you have to the rest will take care of itself. I’m going to focus on what I can control, play my game and take it from there.”

Sefolosha acknowledged that it will probably take the Hawks a little time to get used to the roster changes, including Horford’s and Teague’s departures. He also pointed out that the addition of Howard will alter the team’s style of play, particularly on the offensive end, since D12 doesn’t have the same shooting range that Horford does.

“On the offensive end, we have a style of play that we move the ball so much,” Sefolosha said. “I think what Al was doing – catching the ball up top and swinging and going to the pick-and-pop – now it’s going to give us some different options by rolling to the basket a lot more, bringing some force to the basket, maybe giving guys open shots on the outside. It’s going to be interesting.“

Finally, Sefolosha praised the Hawks’ rookie additions, suggesting that first-round pick Taurean Prince should be able to “provide some minutes fairly quickly,” while calling the signing of veteran rookie Malcolm Delaney “a big plus.”

What do you expect for the Hawks this season? Will the team take a step back, or is this still a solid playoff team in the East? Will this be Sefolosha’s last season in Atlanta? Weigh in below in the comment section.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Ibaka, Splitter

August 16th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made no mention of Chris Bosh in two video messages posted today on the team’s website, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The status of the veteran big man remains uncertain after his past two seasons were cut short because of blood clots. Spoelstra singled out Hassan Whiteside, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson as defensive leaders who will define the team in the post-Dwyane Wade era. “You learn pretty quickly in this league that your roster is going to change,” Spoelstra said, “sometimes your staff changes. Expectations change. It’s like that every year. Just when you get comfortable, it will change. This is a new challenge. We’re embracing the change. We’re excited about the future, excited about the guys we have on our team. You also have to have the right kind of players.” Owner Micky Arison named Bosh as part of the Heat’s future in a recent letter to Miami fans.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic can offer an extension to newly acquired power forward Serge Ibaka, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. Ibaka, whom Orlando picked up in a draft-night deal with the Thunder, is about to enter the last season of a four-year, $49MM extension he received from Oklahoma City. Ibaka would be limited to a 4.5% raise from his $12.2MM salary in the first year of an extension because the Magic are over the salary cap, Marks notes, and because he has been traded in the past six months Ibaka can only have two years added to his contract.
Tiago Splitter believes the Hawks will be a much better defensive team with Dwight Howard replacing Al Horford at center, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also cited an improvement in defense at point guard, where Dennis Schroder is taking over for the traded Jeff Teague. “[Howard] is a little bit more of a defensive player than Al, more rebounds, more physical presence on the court,” Splitter said. “That is going to change our team. … Dennis, he is also a great defender. He’s a better defender than Jeff. He will pressure the point guard the whole court.” Splitter, who had hip surgery in February and was limited to 36 games last season, also figures to improve the defense with his return to the lineup.
The Hawks hired Richard Midgley as their west coast scout, Vivlamore writes in a separate story. Midgley has been a coach at Modesto Christian High School in California for the past two seasons.

And-Ones: Salary Record, LeBron, CBA, D-League

August 12th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s record $24MM television deal is playing out just as predicted, writes Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. With LeBron James signing a three-year, $100MM deal with the Cavaliers, a record 17 teams now have the highest-paid players in franchise history on their current rosters. However, most of them are players who re-signed with their current teams or agreed to contract extensions. The only players who earned that distinction by changing teams this summer are Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, Boston’s Al Horford and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

There’s more NBA-related news this afternoon:

Because James has a player option for the third season of his new contract, he can become a free agent in July of 2018, along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. In March, James made headlines by speculating on the possibility of the four close friends one day joining forces.
A “super max” contract is among several changes the NBA and the players union should consider in a new collective bargaining agreement, suggests Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That provision would allow for a contract that is 40% of the salary cap, but would only count as a normal maximum deal against the cap. It would be available only to a player who remains with his current team and it would not be tradeable. Kyler also would like to see a third round added to the draft to help teams stock their D-League affiliates, a two-way contract with different salaries when players are in the NBA and D-League, and minimum qualifications that players would have to meet before being eligible for maximum contracts.
The D-League will holds its national tryouts Sunday in Manhattan, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Among the players who received invitations are Sterling Gibbs of Connecticut, Jonathan Holton of West Virginia, Chris Obekpa of St John’s and Markus Kennedy of SMU (Twitter link).