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Odds & Ends: LeBron/Melo, J.R. Smith, Deng

January 9th, 2014 at 9:16pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Both Al Iannazzone of Newsday and Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News passed along some of LeBron James‘ comments on Carmelo Anthony with regards to free agency:

“You got to do whatever makes you happy…When you’re happy, the game of basketball is going to be fun for you. Strive to be great every day and live with whatever else happens. So we’ll see.”

Asked further if he’d recommend Anthony leave some money on the table when he signs his next contract, LeBron had this to say:

“I recommend it to me…It doesn’t work for everybody. The way I live my life don’t work for everybody. All I care about is winning. I came to Miami to win. Money didn’t make me happy. Winning made me happy, and it still does. That’s what matters to me.”

We’ve got more links to pass along out of the Association tonight, and you can find them below:

  • Not surprisingly, George Karl deplored J.R. Smith‘s recent behavior, telling Michael Kay on 98.7 ESPN radio in New York that his former player is going to wake up one day and realize how much he’s wasted great opportunities because of this “mockery he brings to the game.” In spite of that, Karl added that Smith still has a “skill that championship teams need” and suggested that a team like the Heat or Spurs may be able to corral the erratic shooting guard: “There’s that possibility…I think right now that’s the position if I was J.R.’s agent [I would take]. I would be looking at a culture where there would be more peer pressure…I know San Antonio has always liked (J.R.) and I know they’ve thought about bringing him in…San Antonio doesn’t make a lot of mistakes” (Ian Begley of ESPN New York).   
  • Although Luol Deng‘s agent Herb Rudoy didn’t expand upon how far apart the numbers were with the Bulls regarding contract extension discussions, he mentioned Andre Iguodala‘s contract with the Warriors (four years, $48MM) as one that would be commensurate with Deng’s ability, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.
  • When asked about a potential return to Chicago for his client in the near future, Rudoy responded: “Never discussed…I have no idea. We didn’t talk about it.” 
  • Tom Haberstroh of ESPN explores the topic of whether or not Andrew Bynum would be a good fit with the Heat (Insiders only).
  • Ian Begley and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York, Robert Silverman of Knickerblogger, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of TrueHoop, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN have a roundtable discussion on the Knicks and Nets‘ chances of making the playoffs, winning the Atlantic Division, getting to the second round of the playoffs, and which has the brighter future.
  • K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune goes in-depth about how the Deng trade presents an enormous opportunity for Bulls rookie Tony Snell (Subscribers only).
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Knicks Rumors: Woodson, Karl, Tyler, Smith

December 3rd, 2013 at 9:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mike Woodson‘s name came up in Coach of the Year talk around this time a year ago, but that’s certainly not the case now, with the Knicks tied for the league’s worst record entering tonight. Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com believes that it’s time for Woodson to show whatever mettle he has if he’s to save his job, but I’m not so sure more effort from the coach will solve the team’s myriad problems. The man who won last year’s Coach of the Year award doesn’t envy Woodson, as we note in our roundup from Madison Square Garden:

  • George Karl wants another NBA head coaching gig, but he wouldn’t want the Knicks job if it came open, as he recently told Dave Krieger of Denver’s KOA Radio (hat tip to Brian Lewis of the New York Post). “I mean, I watch the Knicks play and I wouldn’t want to be in that hell for a million dollars,” Karl said. “It’s just New York City and the Garden and the immensity of the pressure. I think Mike Woodson is standing up to it with tremendous integrity.
  • Jeremy Tyler, who was with the Knicks in training camp, has recovered from the injury that prompted New York to cut him, but there’s no pressing need for the Knicks to re-sign him, argues Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
  • Statistics suggest J.R. Smith has been one of the league’s worst players so far this season on his new three-year, $17.9MM deal, so it’s no surprise the Knicks have struggled accordingly, writes HoopsWorld’s Tommy Beer.
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Western Notes: Turner, Nuggets, Asik

October 17th, 2013 at 5:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Richard Hamilton was one name linked to the Timberwolves as they consider adding a wing, but he’s far from the team’s only potential target. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that Evan Turner has fans among the Wolves front office, and that the 76ers would be open to moving him. In a piece for the Star Tribune, Jerry Zgoda also mentions Turner and identifies a few other possible options.

With that aside, let’s take a look at what else is going on around the Western Conference:

  • Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports takes a look at the Nuggets’ offseason, starting with Josh Kroenke’s agonizing decision to fire Coach of the Year George Karl.
  • ESPN’s David Thorpe examines Omer Asik‘s trade value and explores a few potential trades involving the Rockets’ center (Insiders only).
  • Earlier this week, we noted that there has been mutual interest between the Jazz and free agent guard Jamaal Tinsley, although nothing appeared to be imminent. Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune was able to relay some of head coach Tyrone Corbin‘s comments today regarding the 35-year-old point guard: “He’s a guy that’s on the list…We haven’t decided what we’re going to do yet. He’s a guy we’re comfortable with. I really respect what he brings to the team. We’ll look and see if it’s the right fit going forward.”
  • Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (via Twitter) doesn’t expect the Spurs to make any roster cuts until after the team’s road trip ends in Miami on Saturday. McDonald also points out that although San Antonio only has to make one more roster cut, they could possibly opt for two.
  • Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich drew a parallel between Manu Ginobili and new addition Marco Belinelli: “I consider him to have the same mindset as Manu, which means I’m going to have to be patient as I’ve learned with Manu. Manu taught me to shut up and just watch him play a little more, which is a good thing. And Marco is going to be the same way. They both have the same passion for the game. They have no fear, which most of the time is good, but sometimes it can bite you. But I would rather have that than somebody who is timid”  (NBA.com via the Associated Press).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Southwest Rumors: McGrady, Hamilton, Covington

September 3rd, 2013 at 7:35pm CST by Chuck Myron
The Spurs came tantalizingly close in June to giving late-season addition Tracy McGrady a championship ring before his NBA career concluded, but T-Mac's professional playing days might not be over just yet. Sources indicate to the Chengdu Business Daily that there's mutual interest between McGrady and the Sichuan Jinqiang Whale of China, according to China Daily USA. McGrady hinted at a return to China when he announced his NBA retirement last week. Here's more news related to the NBA's Southwest Division clubs:
  • Richard Hamilton is probably looking at no better than the minimum salary, but the Rockets, as well as the Knicks, are among teams that may have interest in the former Bull, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
  • Undrafted small forward Robert Covington scored a full guarantee on the first year of his three-year deal with the Rockets, per Mark Deeks of ShamSports, and the former Tennessee State Tiger tells Jason Friedman of Rockets.com about what set him apart in summer league, his relationship with James Harden, and more.
  • HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis names ex-Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins first on his list former NBA coaches likely to receive an offer the next time an opening emerges. Hollins beat out reigning Coach of the Year George Karl, who'd prefer to take a job with a Western Conference contender. 
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Western Notes: Bryant, Nuggets, D’Antoni

August 24th, 2013 at 8:04pm CST by Spencer Lund

As fallout from the Ric Bucher revelations about Dwight Howard's demands to remain with the Lakers continues, CBS Sports' Matt Moore looks at how Bucher's quotes have been portrayed in the media. While listing the headlines, Moore shows that they've primarily focused on the Lakers protecting Kobe Bryant in lieu of Howard's stipulation that he not be re-signed next summer.

As we already updated, Howard never explicitly said that he'd re-sign with the Lakers if Mike D'Antoni were ousted as coach. The focus in the media, as Moore shows, was on the back-and-forth between Bryant and Howard: two superstars possessing egos that wouldn't allow them to co-exist on the same roster, and how the Lakers would rather let Dwight walk than entertain the idea of Bryant leaving LA.

Here's some more on the Lakers chances next season, and a report card on the Nuggets tumultuous offseason…

  • Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver gives the Nuggets an F in his recent offseason report card grade at SI's The Point Forward blog.
  • Golliver compares the offseason of the Pacers with the Nuggets to show how, despite both teams experiencing impressive regular seasons, the Pacers continued to trend up in the playoffs, and the Nuggets failed to keep everything together this summer. 
  • They lost GM Masai Ujiri – who accepted the Raptors' high-paying GM role – and the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year George Karl – who they did not retain for the final year of his contract. 
  • Not only did the Nuggets lose their coach and GM, but they also lost free agent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors in a three-team deal involving the Jazz, Nuggets and Warriors. 
  • Unlike the Pacers – who were able to re-sign David West this summer and significantly upgrade their bench – the Nuggets signed offense-first players like Nate Robinson and J.J. Hickson and allowed others, like defensive wing-stopper Iggy, to bolt the sinking ship. 
  • HoopsWorld's Jabari Davis put together a plan for the Lakers while pretending to be their GM during a chat with readers earlier today.
  • In his plan, Davis said the Lakers should try and land a top 12 spot in next summer's heralded 2014 NBA Draft. 
  • Davis also discusses the possibility that Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake improve next season, how the additions of Nick Young, Wesley Johnson and Farmer's athleticism will translate well with D'Antoni's uptempo offense and the chances Bryant sits out the full season – similar to Derrick Rose last season with the Bulls – while they attempt to position themselves higher in the the 2014 draft.
  • Davis also believes the Lakers can win between 44-47 games next season and finish with a 6-8 seed in the West if Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Bryant all play at least 70 games together.
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Odds & Ends: Rivers, Nuggets, Roc Nation

June 20th, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald refers to a source that says Doc Rivers had no intention of being a part of an eventual rebuilding process with the Celtics, and that the team knew he felt that way when he signed his latest contract. The same source also said that Rivers did not intitiate the process that led to talks between Boston and the Clippers, adding that he had been contemplating between returning to coach the Celtics and stepping away from the game before team brass asked him if he was interested in any of the coaching opportunities around the league. 

According to Bulpett's source, Rivers then learned that the front office had already held preliminary discussions with the Clippers about making him available (by releasing him from his contract) and seeing what they could get in return. At that point, Rivers was reportedly intrigued at the prospect of moving west and allowed Danny Ainge to try to work out the best possible deal. In the meantime, the 51-year-old coach was given permission to see if he could reach a separate agreement with the Clippers, which he eventually did (most notably, it would allow him to have control over player personnel). 

With the deal now slowed by the fact that the agreement doesn't exactly comply with the rules of the CBA, Bulpett writes that Rivers could choose to do television work for the next one to two years rather than decide between coaching the Celtics or stepping away from the game altogether – that is, if the deal with the Clippers falls through. Interestingly enough, on the notion that Rivers had once said he'd be willing to continue coaching in Boston during a rebuilding process, some sources have called it an obligatory statement that was meant to preserve the stability of the team at the time, all while the front office would work to find pieces to complement Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce accordingly.  

As we gear up for the seventh and deciding game of the NBA Finals, here are more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

  • Mike Bratz, currently the director of player personnel for the Nuggets and former Kings backup point guard, has reached an agreement with Sacramento to become the team's assistant general manager (Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports).  
  • Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that shortly after firing George Karl, the Nuggets had offered the Celtics a first round draft pick as compensation to pry Rivers out of his contract. Once Denver's offer was rebuffed by Danny Ainge, they quickly moved their focus onto Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins, who both are said to have made strong impressions on team president Josh Kroenke and general manager Tim Connelly. Sources have said that at the time Kroenke had made his bid for Rivers about ten days ago, Boston was not ready to start the process of letting Rivers leave, and the negotiations never went beyond one brief conversation between Kroenke and Ainge.  
  • There has been growing confusion (as well as anger, in some cases) among outside agents about who exactly the Roc Nation Sports agency represents and which athletes are part of its partnership with CAA Sports, writes Liz Mullen of SportsBusinessDaily.com. Some agents have privately expressed anger that Roc Nation has been reported to represent athletes who are still clients of other firms. 
  • Janis Carr of the OC Register writes that Dwight Howard is still undecided on his future (subscribers only). 
  • Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News tweets that Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni will be continuing interviews to fill out the rest of his coaching staff through next week, and that much of it will depend on how the head coaching hires around the league turn out. 
  • The city of Sacramento is being asked to write its first big check toward the development of a downtown sports arena, says Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. City development staff is expected to ask the council for $6.5MM in city funds, of which some will be used to hire a team of financial, design, and legal consultants. The team of consultants are said to be needed as the city begins negotiations on "definitive agreements" of an arena financing and construction plan with the private investment team that owns the Kings. 
  • The Grizzlies should strongly consider selecting D.J. Stephens on draft night, opines Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. 
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Latest On Grizzlies’ Coaching Search

June 19th, 2013 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

Yesterday, we heard from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the Grizzlies are expected to complete their search for a head coach by the end of this week. Whether that means the team will have simply finished conducting interviews or whether Memphis will have made a hire remains to be seen, but the process does appear to be accelerating, with multiple candidates being interviewed for a second time this week. Here's the latest on the hunt to replace Lionel Hollins:

  • Bulls assistant Ed Pinckney will interview for the second time with the Grizzlies today, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.
  • Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link) that Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger will also receive a second interview today, while Alvin Gentry's second meeting with the club is scheduled for tomorrow. Tillery wrote yesterday that Joerger remained the favorite for the opening, but that Gentry was very much in the mix.
  • One name that may be falling out of the running is former Nuggets coach George Karl. Memphis conducted a formal interview with Karl this week, but sources tell CSNChicago.com that he's behind Joerger, Gentry, and Pinckney in the process.
  • The Grizzlies will likely mull over their coaching decision through the weekend, according to Tillery.
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Odds & Ends: Clippers, Afflalo, Karl

June 15th, 2013 at 10:51pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Celtics–Clippers saga continues with Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski saying that Eric Bledsoe had been a part of discussions between the two teams until Saturday morning (Twitter). The Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett mentioned earlier that Doc Rivers might feel uncomfortable returning to the Celtics after this flirtation with the Clippers, but Wojnarowski said within the Celtics it hasn't been acrimonious between team and Doc (Twitter).

ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne thinks the Clippers should dare the Celtics to cut Paul Pierce (he's owed $15.3MM if he's not waived before June 30th), and see if Kevin Garnett and Rivers will really hold to their promise to only be moved from the Celtics as a tandem (Twitter). Shelburne goes on to cite an objective league source who proposed the Clippers keep DeAndre Jordan and Bledsoe, sign Pierce after he's waived, and trade Caron Butler and a pick for Garnett (Twitter).

Shelburne also says that the Clippers have been "shaking every tree" looking for a third star to complement Blake Griffin and Chris Paul if he re-signs this summer (Twitter). According to Shelburne, the Clippers have expressed interest in Danny Granger and Arron Afflalo already as a possible third threat on their roster.

Here are some more tidbits about the Clippers and Celtics as well as other teams around the league on this rumor-filled Saturday night with a huge game 5 in the NBA Finals tomorrow.

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Latest On Grizzlies Coaching Search

June 15th, 2013 at 11:59am CST by Zachary Links

Former Nuggets coach George Karl will meet with Memphis brass tomorrow, followed by Dave Joerger on Tuesday, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  They're certainly not the only two people vying for the job, however.  The Grizzlies met with former Suns coach Alvin Gentry about their head coaching vacancy yesterday and came away extremely impressed, the source says (link).

The Grizzlies granted Lionel Hollins permission to speak with other teams earlier this month and it wasn't a surprise earlier this week when they officially let him go.  Former Hollins assistant Joerger was said to be a frontrunner for the job, but he may have his work cut out for him after Gentry's strong showing and the legendary Karl in the mix.

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Clippers Notes: Crawford, Trades, Hollins, Karl

June 14th, 2013 at 10:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

For most of the Clippers' time in Southern California, they've been afterthoughts for the Lakers, but if the Clips' recent success hasn't fostered a rivalry, adding three prominent Celtics would certainly turn up the heat in Staples Center. We're a long way from seeing Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and especially Doc Rivers change from green into red and blue, but the idea has generated plenty of buzz in L.A. Here's the latest: 

  • Jamal Crawford wouldn't be a part of a trade for Garnett and Pierce, sources tell Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who received an assist from Salary Cap FAQ Author Larry Coon to break down the feasible scenarios for a Clippers-Celtics blockbuster. In addition to the trades covered in the piece, Pierce could also become available to the Clippers via free agency if the Celtics decide to waive him by June 30th, as his $15MM+ contract is guaranteed for just $5MM until the end of the month.
  • Lionel Hollins' basketball IQ, demeanor and ability to develop players left the Clippers impressed after a two-day interview, several NBA executives told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
  • In a separate piece summarizing the latest Clippers storylines, Turner passes along word from an unnamed executive who said the Clips "never expressed tremendous interest" in George Karl.
  • TNT's David Aldridge expects Vinny Del Negro, the coach the Clippers are trying to replace, to quickly resurface in connection with another coaching job now that he's hired highly respected agent Lonnie Cooper (Twitter link).
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