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Southwest Notes: Barea, Ball, Davis, Capela, Conley

June 3rd, 2019 at 5:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Point guard J.J. Barea‘s recovery from a ruptured right Achilles tendon is going well and he’s hopeful of playing for Puerto Rico in the FIBA World Cup this summer, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweets. The Mavericks veteran suffered the injury on January 11th and underwent surgery three days later.

“The way I feel right now, it looks pretty good,” Barea told MacMahon. “But I’m not going to make a decision until it gets closer.” Barea is doing non-contact basketball activity under the supervision of Mavericks staff members, MacMahon adds, and took 600 shots in an hour last week.

Barea, an unrestricted free agent this summer, is expected to re-sign with the Mavericks.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • While Anthony Davis‘ representatives said he still wants out after meeting last week with executive VP David Griffin, there’s no need for Griffin to rush out and trade the superstar big man, Scott Kushner of the New Orleans Advocate writes. Griffin can wait as long as February’s trade deadline to deal Davis, leaving open the possibility that the team can convince him to change his mind. If Davis remains firm, his wish is more likely to come to fruition if he’s willing to make a commitment to the trade partner, Kushner adds.
  • Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is intrigued by the possibility of a Lonzo Ball–Jrue Holiday backcourt if Davis is dealt to the Lakers, Andrew Lopez of the Times-Picayune reports (hat tip to the Sporting News).
  • The Hawks, Spurs, Mavericks and Kings are possible destinations for center Clint Capela if the Rockets deal him, Frank Urbina of HoopsHype opines. The Rockets reportedly have made everyone on the roster available at the right price.
  • The Grizzlies should swap veteran point guard Mike Conley while his value remains high after he averaged a career high in points this season, Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic argues.
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NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2019 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2018/19 season, with Jazz center Rudy Gobert once again coming in as the leading vote-getter.

Gobert, a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, was listed on 99 of 100 ballots, with 97 of those ballots giving him a First Team vote, for a total of 196 points (two points per First Team vote; one point per Second Team vote). The All-Defensive nod ensures that the big man receives a $500K bonus, which had been considered likely since he was named to an All-Defensive team last season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Gobert was closely followed by fellow Defensive Player of the Year candidates Paul George (Thunder) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), who received 195 and 193 total points, respectively.

[RELATED: NBA Announces 2018/19 All-Rookie Teams]

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday secured a $100K bonus by earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team, notes Marks (via Twitter). Like Davis, he was an All-Defensive player last season as well, so that bonus had been considered likely — his cap hits for this year or next won’t be impacted by him earning it.

Here are the full voting results for the All-Defensive First and Second Teams, with each player’s point total noted in parentheses:

First Team:

Second Team:

Raptors guard Danny Green actually totaled 66 points, including 19 First Team votes, while Clippers guard Patrick Beverley had 48 points (14 First Team votes). However, All-Defensive teams are determined by position, so they didn’t make the cut because they ranked fifth and sixth in voting among guards.

Pacers center Myles Turner (39 points), Rockets forward P.J. Tucker (38), Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (24), and Spurs guard Derrick White (15) were the other leading vote-getters.

You can find the full voting results right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Southwest Notes: Holiday, Rockets, Dorsey, Mavericks

April 20th, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by JD Shaw

Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin referred to star guard Jrue Holiday as a “building block” in his first press conference with the franchise this week, praising the 28-year-old and expressing confidence that the team can create a competitive roster with him at point guard.

Should New Orleans change course and gauge the market for Holiday in the coming weeks, several teams would have interest in his services, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News. Deveney lists the Bulls, Magic and Suns as three clubs that would want Holiday, with Phoenix widely considered a top contender.

Griffin and his staff will soon meet with disgruntled All-Star Anthony Davis to determine their next course of action, and you could expect multiple teams to register interest here as well. These choices task Griffin with a major workload heading into the summer, something many around the league have expressed confidence in his ability to control.

“Griff is a guy who, when you call him, he calls you back,” one prominent NBA agent told Sporting News. “He’ll listen to whatever your issue is, whatever your player’s issue is, no matter how small. So he has that reputation, and that’s not something that New Orleans has had over the years.

“I think he wants to get that team back to that basic thing, just showing how you treat players day in and day out. That’s what you want a team and an organization to be.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division today:

  • The Rockets promoted key front office members to various positions this week, general manager Daryl Morey announced. Rafael Stone was promoted to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Counsel, while Eli Witus was elevated to assistant general manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Both will work closely with Morey on the draft, free agency and more.
  • Grizzlies guard Tyler Dorsey hopes his post-trade spark will trigger an opportunity to gain a bigger role with the team next season, Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com details. Memphis acquired Dorsey, who averaged 9.8 points in 22 contests, from the Hawks in exchange for Shelvin Mack back in February. “For me, this was all about taking advantage of my opportunity, because I didn’t get much of an opportunity before I got traded here,” Dorsey said. “So to get here and gradually build into it was great. Some unfortunate injuries happened, so I got a lot more opportunities and tried to take advantage of it and finish strong, the right way to keep building.” Dorsey is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, where he’ll be free to sign with any interested team.
  • The Mavericks are now heading into a pivotal offseason for the organization, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas struck a major trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis, a restricted free agent this July, in a shocking deal before the trade deadline. “It’s going to be a very interesting and opportunistic summer,” Mavs president Donnie Nelson said, according to Townsend. “We certainly are positioned to make some noise… We’re ridin’ the Luka wave and the Kristaps wave and trying to surround these guys with the right young core.”
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Pelicans Notes: Davis, Griffin, Holiday, More

April 17th, 2019 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Making his first public appearance today as the Pelicans‘ new executive vice president of basketball operations, David Griffin offered an interesting take on the Anthony Davis situation.

As Will Guillory of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), Griffin said that after meeting with agent Rich Paul, he believes that Davis could be open to staying in New Orleans. Griffin has yet to speak to Davis directly, but plans to do so in the hopes of establishing whether AD is all-in or all-out on the Pelicans (Twitter link). He’s committed to convincing the 26-year-old that it’s possible to win in New Orleans (Twitter link).

It still seems like a long shot that Davis will be a Pelican to start the 2019/20 season, but Griffin made it clear today that he won’t let the All-NBA big man go without a fight, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. As Kushner notes (via Twitter), New Orleans’ new head of basketball operations doesn’t think the Davis well is poisoned, and believes Paul is excited to work together.

Here’s more from Griffin’s introductory presser:

  • According to Griffin, he made some “outrageous” demands during his meeting with the Pelicans, and the team was on board, giving him confidence that owner Gayle Benson is 100% committed to the franchise’s success (Twitter link via Kushner). Griffin provided some clues at the changes he wants to make, mentioning his desire to invest in areas such as analytics, player performance, and the medical department (Twitter link via Kushner).
  • Griffin is excited about several of the players currently under contract with the Pelicans, singling out Jrue Holiday as someone who represents everything the Pelicans want to be (Twitter link via Guillory). The former Cavaliers GM said he “absolutely” feels as if Holiday is a foundational piece for the club (Twitter link via Kushner).
  • Responding to the idea of New Orleans as a small-market team, Griffin said that it would mean more to win in a “small” market, adding that it’s “bulls–t” to say winning in New Orleans isn’t possible (Twitter link via Guillory).
  • Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha said the Pelicans looked at more than 100 candidates for the job before hiring Griffin (Twitter link via Kushner). Obviously, the club narrowed that list down to a much smaller group before beginning interviews. Griffin, who has been a candidate for other front office openings, said it took him about a half-hour in the interview room for him to realize that the Pelicans’ job was the one he really wanted (Twitter link via Kushner).
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Pelicans Notes: Davis, Holiday, Payton, Randle

April 10th, 2019 at 12:16pm CST by Luke Adams

While it has long been considered a formality that the Pelicans will move Anthony Davis during the offseason, the star center acknowledged today that, with his contract set to run through at least 2020, it’s not a given that he’ll be playing for a new team next fall.

“I’m under contract still,” Davis said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “I have a year left. Obviously it’s a possibility it could happen. I don’t have ill will towards anybody. I know that it’s a possibility that next year I could be here as well. So I can’t be mad if I’m here next year.”

Davis, who said that he has no regrets about requesting a trade from the Pelicans earlier this year, admitted that the saga was a “wild” experience, but said he’s excited to see what the future holds. Davis’ future figures to be in the hands of New Orleans’ next general manager — while Danny Ferry assumed interim GM duties, Dell Demps‘ permanent replacement has yet to be hired.

“Seeing who the Pelicans make their GM and having a conversation with that person about the future,” Davis said when asked about his next step. “My time here has always been great. I love playing here. It’s something that I will definitely hold in my heart forever, but the next step is waiting on the Pelicans [to fill] that GM job.”

Here’s more on Davis and the Pelicans:

  • As Friedell details within the same article, Davis also attempted to sidestep responsibility for wearing a Looney Tunes shirt reading “That’s All Folks” on the day of what could have been his final game as a Pelican. “I didn’t choose it,” AD said. “I actually didn’t choose it. It was hanging for me already when I put my clothes on.”
  • Addressing the Davis situation, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said the 26-year-old is a “great kid” who got some “bad advice,” Friedell writes in another ESPN.com story. “We’re going to move on regardless of what [happened],” Gentry said. “We’ve got great ownership. We’re going to have great leadership. We got a bunch of guys in there that believe in each other. So it doesn’t matter what [happens], we’re going to be good next year.”
  • In his end-of-season presser, Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday said that Demps used to keep him in the loop on major decisions, adding that he hopes the franchise will continue soliciting his input (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic).
  • Holiday also offered his two cents on free-agents-to-be Elfrid Payton and Julius Randle — he’d like to see the team bring both players back, if possible (Twitter link via Guillory).
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Southwest Notes: Bzdelik, Conley, Davis, Holiday

April 7th, 2019 at 7:50pm CST by clarkcrum

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni missed a second consecutive game with the stomach flu today, but fortunately for the Rockets, associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik has been able to pick up the slack in D’Antoni’s absence.

Unfortunately, the Rockets do not yet know whether Bzdelik, 66, will return to the team next season after he told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he hasn’t yet thought about his future beyond this season.

“That’s a really good question. I don’t know the answer to it,” Bzdelik said when asked whether he intended to return to the Rockets next season. “First of all, none of us have any guarantees on tomorrow… I work for a great organization, great ownership, great management. I work for a great, great man and basketball coach in Mike. I work with great people. I thoroughly enjoy my job.”

Bzdelik, who retired after the end of last season due to an unspecified personal issue, returned to the Rockets in November.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division this evening:

  • Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian takes a detailed look at the value of Mike Conley to the Memphis franchise in the wake of what could be the final few games of the 31-year-old point guard’s career with the Grizzlies. Additionally, Herrington analyzes some variables that may affect whether the team ultimately trades Conley.
  • While recognizing that Anthony Davis is the greatest player in franchise history, Scott Kushner of The Advocate writes how Davis’ connection with the Pelicans franchise and the city of New Orleans imploded the second he demanded a trade. Both Davis and the Pelicans are sick of losing, but were never able to come up with a joint solution to the problem.
  • In another article for The Advocate, Kushner details how Davis’ inevitable departure may lead to Jrue Holiday being the new face of the Pelicans, a role and challenge that Holiday is ready to embrace. “I’m going to go with it,” Holiday said. “I’m excited to run with it. I guess I’d like to be more involved with decisions and decision-making moving forward.”
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Southwest Notes: Holiday, Pelicans, Rockets

March 27th, 2019 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Although he has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2018/19 season, Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will still receive a $255K bonus for appearing in at least 66 games and averaging at least 7.3 assists per contest, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes. Holiday averaged 7.7 APG in 67 games, and also achieved three separate bonuses for his games played, total minutes, and rebounds per game.

As a result of flipping some unlikely to bonuses to likely for 2019/20, Holiday will see his cap hit for next season increase to $26,231,111, according to Marks, who adds that the number could increase by another $100K if the standout guard is named to one of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • While the Pelicans are no longer vying for a postseason spot, the final couple weeks of the season could go a long way toward determining which players fit into the club’s plans beyond this season, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate.
  • Elfrid Payton is one Pelicans players whose future remains uncertain. William Guillory of The Athletic takes a closer look at what the future may hold for Payton, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
  • The Rockets‘ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, recently claimed Daniel Hamilton off waivers, tweets Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. Hamilton will be eligible to participate in the postseason for the Vipers, who finished atop the NBAGL’s Western Conference.
  • With the regular season winding down, the Rockets are aiming to trim their rotation to nine players in preparation for the playoffs. However, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle details, the club is still figuring out who those nine players will be.
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Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday Out For Season After Surgery

March 26th, 2019 at 12:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday had surgery this morning to repair a core muscle injury, the team announced on Twitter. He will be sidelined for about six weeks before returning to basketball activities, well past the end of the regular season.

Holiday hasn’t played since March 6 after being diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain. The Pelicans had considered ruling him out for the rest of the season, but no official announcement was made before today’s operation.

The 28-year-old was having his best NBA season, posting career highs in points (21.2), rebounds (5.0) and assists (7.7). He is under contract for two more years, with a $26.865MM player option for 2021/22.

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Southwest Notes: Brunson, Vucevic, Pelicans, Holiday

March 15th, 2019 at 9:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jalen Brunson‘s play in recent weeks has made the Mavericks look even wiser for dealing second-year guard Dennis Smith Jr. as part of the Kristaps Porzingis blockbuster, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.

A high second-round pick, the rookie guard out of Villanova has averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.3 APG over the past 10 games for the Mavericks. Brunson, who has become a starter since the trade, signed a partially-guaranteed four-year, $6.1MM contract last summer.

“He does everything right,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Brunson. “He works at his craft and pays attention to detail. … This guy was the 33rd pick in the draft. Pretty good.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Signing Magic free agent center Nikola Vucevic would make the Mavericks an offensive powerhouse but also create defensive concerns, Townsend opines.  Dallas will have ample cap room to pursue free agents this summer and have been linked to Vucevic. “Vucevic would be a great fit in terms of being able to space the floor offensively and when you’re talking about potentially (Kristaps) Porzingis out there at the same time and Luka (Doncic), you’re talking about potentially an offensive team that’s unstoppable or about as close as you can get,” Townsend said in a podcast. “And Vucevic can score with his back to the basket he’s really rounded into an all-around player this year. Is he going to protect the rim for them? No, he’s not.”
  • Making the right lottery pick, determining the business and basketball impact of an Anthony Davis trade, figuring out whether to retain or trade Jrue Holiday and deciding whether to retool or rebuild are the biggest challenges for the Pelicans front office this summer, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes. Marks takes a long look at all of these issues as part of a series that breaks down every team’s offseason moves.
  • The Pelicans might eventually shut down Holiday and E’Twaun Moore for the rest of the season, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Holiday is nursing an abdominal injury and Moore is dealing with a quad issue. Coach Alvin Gentry told Guillory the team would be  “overly cautious” during their recovery.
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Jrue Holiday To Be Re-Evaluated In 7-10 Days

March 7th, 2019 at 4:36pm CST by JD Shaw

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will be re-evaluated in 7-to-10 days after being diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain, the team announced. Holiday underwent an MRI on Thursday morning which revealed the injury.

Holiday, a top-tier defensive guard who’s in his sixth season with New Orleans, has averaged a career-high 21.2 points, five rebounds and 7.7 assists in 67 starts this season. Guards Frank Jackson and Ian Clark could see more playing time during his absence.

The Pelicans have games against Toronto, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Portland and Phoenix in their next 10-day stretch, with four of those five contests set to be at home. The team currently holds a 30-37 record, good for the No. 12 spot in the Western Conference.

To this point, Holiday hasn’t missed any time this season and sat just one game last season after multiple years with injury concerns. The Pelicans’ injury report for Friday against Toronto also includes Dairis Bertans (personal), Trevon Bluiett (right thumb surgery) and E’Twaun Moore (left quadriceps contusion) as out, with Jahlil Okafor (right ankle sprain) listed as questionable.

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