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Central Notes: Drummond, Felicio, Cavaliers

October 1st, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons center Andre Drummond is cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances heading into the 2015/16 campaign, John Niyo of The Detroit News writes. “I feel like now is the time for us to really do what we set out to do every year,” said Drummond. “We say we’re gonna do one thing, and then one thing leads to another and we don’t do it. But I feel like now, this is our time. We’re on the rise, and we’re gonna do it.” The young big man declined to make a specific prediction for Detroit’s fortunes in 2015/16, but he did say, “It’s just words until you do it. I hate losing. I can’t stand it. It’s the worst feeling. People laughing at our team, that’s not a good feeling. I want to rub it in somebody’s face that we’re a great team.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

With the Bulls already carrying 13 players with fully guaranteed deals, power forward Cristiano Felicio, who is in camp on a non-guaranteed pact, could be a victim of the numbers game in his quest to make the regular season roster, but the team is extremely high on his potential, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets. Coach Fred Hoiberg raved about how strong the 23-year-old is, Johnson adds.
Cavaliers coach David Blatt said that the team intends to carry the maximum of 15 players on its regular season roster, so all of the camp invitees have a shot at making the final cut, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).
Expect Kevin Love to have a more prominent role in the Cavs‘ offense this season, McMenamin writes in a separate piece. LeBron James noted that Love’s importance to the team was illustrated after Love went down during last year’s playoffs with an injury, McMenamin adds. “I think him being out showed even more of what he means to this team, more than him being on the floor for those three and a half games,” James said. “It would’ve been huge for us obviously if he was in the lineup, but it gave him the opportunity to put things in perspective and see what his presence can mean to our team. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to see how important you are.“
The addition of Steve Blake, who came to the Pistons via a July trade with the Nets, makes perfect sense given the uncertainty surrounding the health of Brandon Jennings, who isn’t expected to return to action until December, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “It’s exactly what we wanted,” president/coach Stan Van Gundy said. “A guy that’s good enough to come out and be your everyday backup and mature enough that, when Brandon comes back, that if there’s not as much or any minutes there, can handle that role.“

Cavs Notes: Irving, Love, Bennett

September 22nd, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers are poised to enter the season ahead as favorites to return to the Finals, though that status comes at a cost. They already have about $95MM in guaranteed salary for the season ahead, and a new deal for Tristan Thompson would send that figure, and the tax bill that comes with it, even higher. Thompson on the qualifying offer would give the Cavs a tax bill of roughly $34MM. A max offer, one that Thompson is reportedly insisting upon, would push Cleveland’s tax bill to about $70MM. That would be on top of about $111MM in payroll, bringing the team within hailing distance of Brooklyn’s record outlay of some $190MM in 2013/14. While the Cavs ponder those figures, see the latest from Cleveland:

Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao will all be ready for Cavs training camp when it begins a week from today, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It had previously appeared that Irving, on his way back from the left kneecap fracture he suffered in the Finals, was likely to miss the start of the regular season, with a distinct possibility he’d be out until January. Love said 11 days ago that he was about a month to a month and a half away from returning from shoulder surgery. Mozgov and Varejao are also recovering from surgery.
The Cavs will likely carry the maximum 20 players for camp, Haynes writes in the same piece. That would mean four more deals are on the way, since the Cavs are carrying 16 players, as our roster count shows. Presumably, one of them will be Thompson, whether it’s on the qualifying offer or a new deal, and the Cavs are also reportedly expected to sign former Duke point guard Quinn Cook, though they’ve yet to reach a deal with him as of last check.
No one beyond the Cavaliers considered Anthony Bennett a top-10 pick before the 2013 draft, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Bennett was the No. 6 prospect in that draft a few days before the event took place, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had them ranked, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com listed Bennett fourth in his predraft rankings, so the notion that most teams didn’t have him in the top 10 on their boards is surprising.

Injury Notes: Jennings, Melo, Durant, Love

September 21st, 2015 at 8:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Brandon Jennings is “not close” to being cleared, sources tell David Aldridge of NBA.com. He is currently shooting and running on a treadmill at 60% of his body weight, but the Pistons need to see more before he’s cleared to begin non-contact drill on the court, Aldridge adds. Jennings ruptured his left Achilles tendon last January and the Pistons have made a few additions at the point guard position since. Detroit traded for Reggie Jackson at last season’s deadline and handed him a five year, $80MM deal this offseason. The team also added Steve Blake to reinforce the position. Jennings will make slightly over $8.34MM during the 2015/16 season, which is the last year of his current deal.

Here are some more injury notes that Aldridge passed along in his column:

Carmelo Anthony looks like he’ll be ready for the start of training camp. He has been playing full-court, 5-on-5 with his Knicks teammates for the last few weeks.
Kevin Durant has been cleared to participate in training camp. The expectation is that he will be ready to handle a full workload of minutes once the regular season starts.
Kevin Love has not yet been officially cleared to return from a dislocated left shoulder injury that he sustained in the first round of the playoffs last season, but he has made significant progress.
New addition Wesley Matthews has not done any full-court work yet, but the expectation is that he will be cleared to start doing some work on the floor when Dallas opens camp next week.

Central Notes: Gasol, Gibson, Parker, Love

September 13th, 2015 at 12:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls‘ Pau Gasol may have risked a serious injury Saturday in a Eurobasket game against Poland, according to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. “The doctors told me that Pau couldn’t play more than five minutes straight,” Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo said in his post-game press conference. “But after the first five minutes, when I asked him to come to bench he told me now, ‘I will take the risk,’ he answered me and he had an amazing game.” Gasol scored 30 points in Spain’s victory and expects to play against Greece in Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup, Varlas reports.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Bulls forward Taj Gibson said he played despite a torn ligament in his ankle at the end of last season, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Gibson, who had surgery on the ankle, added that everything is on track with his rehab schedule.
Also bouncing back nicely from injury is the Bucks’ Jabari Parker, according to The Journal Times. Parker’s rookie season was cut short when he tore the ACL in his left knee in a December 15th game. The Bucks aren’t commenting on when Parker might return and allegedly ordered a TV cameraman to stop filming a recent workout. However, many in the organization are privately saying Parker is ahead of schedule and is expected to be ready for opening night.
Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is recovering quickly after shoulder surgery, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Love was expected to be out of action four to six months after being hurt in an April playoff game, but Pluto says he has been working with a team trainer at an Olympic facility in Utah. Love said Friday on Late Night with Seth Meyers that he thought he was about a month to a month and a half away from returning to action (video link; transcription via HoopsHype). Pluto adds that Love never gave serious consideration to leaving Cleveland before signing a new max contract in July. Love has been talking to LeBron James over the offseason about adapting his role in the offense.

Central Notes: Thompson, Love, Bulls, Douglas

August 14th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James believes the Cavs front office has “done a great job” this summer, but the next step, he added, is to re-sign Tristan Thompson, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com chronicles. James and Thompson share Rich Paul as an agent.

“Our No. 1 objective right now is to sign Tristan,” James said Thursday at Cedar Point amusement park. “He’s a huge part of our team. Short term and long term he makes our team more dangerous.”

Keeping him for this season doesn’t appear to be the issue. Paul raised the specter of Thompson signing his one-year, approximately $6.778MM qualifying offer earlier this week, but the agent said that if that happened, Thompson wouldn’t re-sign with the Cavs in unrestricted free agency next season. The Cavs are offering less than the near-max that Thompson seeks, Windhorst notes. See more from Cleveland amid the latest from the Central Division:

James also expressed confidence that Kevin Love, who re-signed on a five-year deal earlier this summer, will function better this season than last, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Love arranged a meeting with James earlier this summer. “He wanted to talk about the season, what could happen with the team going forward,” James said. “I was absolutely open to it. I was one of the people that wanted him there when we made the trade last summer. The fact that he committed to us let me know the type of guy we have. I think he’s going to be great for us. I think he’ll be an All-Star this year and a much more vocal part of the team this season.”
Jimmy Butler knows much hinges on the Bulls‘ coaching change and their ability to take advantage of opportunities, as Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com relays (Twitter links). “We got the same team. Is it enough? We’ll find out. It wasn’t enough last year. Only thing we changed was coach,” Butler said. “We got the same exact team. We had a chance. We were right there. If we’re healthy…we’ll be right in the same position.”
Toney Douglas understands he faces a challenge to make the opening night roster for the Pacers, a team that already has 15 fully guaranteed salaries to go along with his partially guaranteed deal, writes Manny Randhawa of the Indianapolis Star. President of basketball operations Larry Bird used the phrase “having him in camp” twice in the press release to announce the signing of Douglas, but the point guard isn’t discouraged. “We really haven’t gotten into detail about me being here, but I know I’m here for a reason,” Douglas said this week to reporters, including Randhawa. His contract covers one season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Eastern Rumors: James, Wells, Pistons

August 3rd, 2015 at 10:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James will attend the USA Basketball minicamp meeting next week but will not attend the workouts, the team’s executive director Jerry Colangelo told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Colangelo is uncertain of whether James wants to pursue another Olympic gold medal, Joe Vardon of Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. “One thing I need to find out: is he desirous, is he committed,” Colangelo told Vardon. “I don’t know that right now, and I need to find out at some point. An indicator will come next week when we see who shows up.” Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are expected to attend, though neither Cavs star will participate in the workouts or a scheduled scrimmage because they are still on the mend from their playoff injuries, Colangelo added to Vardon.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Dez Wells has been extended a training camp invite by the Wizards but he’s likely to turn it down, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reports. The rookie guard from the University of Maryland was on Washington’s summer league roster but dislocated his right thumb prior to the Las Vegas summer league and did not play. Wells has five other training camp offers and feels his prospects with the Wizards are dim because they already have 15 players with guaranteed contracts, the story adds.
Adonis Thomas is guaranteed $60K of his $845,059 contract with the Pistons, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 6’7” shooting guard will be battling second-round pick Darrun Hilliard, among others, for a roster spot in training camp.

Wolves’ Flip Saunders On Love, Garnett, Bennett

July 30th, 2015 at 1:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Before the D-League, there was the Continental Basketball Association. Like the D-League, the CBA gave a platform to some of the less-heralded players out there to show their stuff and earn NBA deals. In the case of Flip Saunders, the CBA was a springboard to a successful NBA coaching career. This week, the head coach/president of basketball operations/part owner of the Timberwolves spoke with Zach Lowe of Grantland about Kevin Love, Kevin Garnett, his journey, and much more. Here’s a look at some of the highlights..

On Kevin Love:

I didn’t have a problem keeping Kevin into the final year of his deal and coaching him. Guys just don’t turn down the extra year and $30MM. Even though he maybe wanted to leave, I thought we still had an opportunity to re-sign him. When you are patient, you can say, ‘This is what we need to get something done, and if we don’t get it, we’re keeping him.’

Then things kind of fell into place, with LeBron going to Cleveland and [Andrew] Wiggins becoming available…People thought it was [bluster when I said I wanted to keep him]. Thoughts might have changed when I announced I would coach. Because what coach wouldn’t want to coach a guy who was All-NBA? Coaches want to win that night. I’m in a unique situation, because as the coach, I live in the present, but as the GM, I look into the future. I try to steer both courses. But people believed I would coach the guy.

On balancing roles and whether he watches college game film to scout draft prospects:

I do watch a lot, actually. You also have to trust people you hire. I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I have an understanding of players. I have a wide base of college coaches I talk to, so I know a lot about guys before they even come into the league. Look, there are positives and negatives to it. You need checks and balances. You can’t make snap decisions. What helps is, I came up in the CBA, where you did everything. I was president, GM, coach, everything, for seven years there. You get to understand the intermingling of the business and basketball sides, because they both have to be successful. You learn how to deal with agents. Building trust with agents is as important as anything in our league now.

On Kevin Garnett‘s role:

He’s gonna start. That’s who he is. KG is a starter. He’s the best power forward on our team, actually. No one rebounds better. He’s the best help defender. No one communicates better. He knows the offense, and he can pass it.

On whether he’ll exercise Anthony Bennett‘s fourth-year option:

We’re going to evaluate him over the summer. He played a good Pan American Games. There is no question about his talent. It’s about getting in shape. He’s in shape now. But it’s going to be competitive with all those guys, and also Nemanja Bjelica, who no one talks about.

Atlantic Notes: Love, Thornton, Roberts, Nets

July 22nd, 2015 at 1:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love was never close to becoming a Celtic, and his preference since joining the Cavs has been to remain with the team, but if somehow it had fallen apart for him in Cleveland, his second choice would have been Boston, as a non-Celtics source who spoke with Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald believes. Love enjoyed his much-publicized offseason trip to Boston last year, the source said to Bulpett, but the power forward is now locked in long-term with the Cavs, having signed a new five-year contract this month.

Marcus Thornton appeared to be a reach when the Celtics picked him 45th overall, but he assured them before the draft that he was willing to play overseas, a priority for the team, which wouldn’t consider others who refused to make the same promise, Bulpett tweets. Thornton signed this week to play for the Sydney Kings in Australia, in a league that would allow him enough time to return stateside and join Boston’s D-League team or even the NBA roster near the end of the season, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
The Raptors inked Ronald Roberts this week, and at least one sign points to the team having more than the D-League in mind for the former Sixers power forward. The Warriors own his D-League rights, so Toronto’s new D-League affiliate would have to trade for them if Roberts were to remain in the Raptors system should Toronto waive him at the end of training camp, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter links).
The Nets made a number of changes to their coaching and basketball operations staff this week, and they serve to further signal the franchise’s belt-tightening, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com examines.

Pacific Notes: Jordan, Love, Pierce, Cousins

July 13th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

DeAndre Jordan often returns the purchases he makes, friends tell Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, who note that he’s on his third agent in seven years. Thus, perhaps the Mavs might have known that Jordan wasn’t quite in the bag until he put pen to paper. They triumphantly celebrated when it seemed Jordan was on his way to Dallas, as Shelburne and MacMahon detail.

“I hear this scream in the backyard and it’s [Mavs owner Mark] Cuban, walking inside with his hands up like, ‘We got him!'” Chandler Parsons said. “It was unbelievable. I was so hyped, because he really is a franchise-changing type player. They don’t come around very often. It was awesome. His mom was crying. I think Cuban might have even cried.”

Parsons called Jordan’s decision soon thereafter to instead return to the Clippers “very unethical and disrespectful,” as the Mavs small forward said to the ESPN scribes. Still, the Jordan saga isn’t the only storyline that’s changed during NBA free agency. A few more are amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:

The Lakers reportedly had a meeting planned with Kevin Love before he recommitted to the Cavs, but the purple-and-gold were never under the impression they would get that visit, a Lakers source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
Paul Pierce doesn’t have a team option on the final season of his three-year deal with the Clippers, as originally reported, but he does have a partial guarantee of $1,096,080 on the final season, which is worth a total of $3,679,840, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The deal is the most the Clips could have given him using their taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
Wesley Johnson‘s contract with the Clippers covers two years, instead of just one as originally reported, Pincus reports (Twitter link). Both seasons are at the minimum salary, and the second season is a player option, according to Pincus.
DeMarcus Cousins expressed his enthusiasm this weekend for playing alongside Rajon Rondo, notes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Cousins reportedly wants a trade to the Lakers, but Rondo has committed to sign with the Kings.
The Suns had been eyeing Sonny Weems for more than a year, but Phoenix’s two-year, $5.8MM offer shocked him, and when he jumped on it, he turned down a fully guaranteed two-year, $6MM offer from Barcelona, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. The Phoenix deal reportedly includes a team option on year two, but the Suns think he can become the first guard off their bench, Coro writes. The Spurs also had a level of interest in the 29-year-old swingman, according to Coro.

Cavaliers Rumors: Love, Thompson, Smith, Haywood

July 11th, 2015 at 5:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

A pool-side meeting with LeBron James and a 12:01 a.m. phone call on July 1st helped convince Kevin Love to stay in Cleveland, according to Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. “We talked everything out,” Love said of the session with James. “A lot of stuff was very honest. We came to a very good place and agreed on a lot of things.” Love added that the early phone call from the organization let him know he was a priority. He agreed to a new five-year, $113MM deal with Cleveland.

There’s more news regarding the Cavs:

The newly signed James reminded the Cavaliers that they still have offseason work left to do, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. While filming a movie Friday, James talked about moves the team has made this summer and some that are still left to finish. “We still got to re-sign Tristan Thompson,” he said. “Hopefully we can bring back J.R. Smith as well and see if there’s some other free agents out there that’d love to come here and play if we’re able to do that.”
Thompson and the Cavs were reportedly close to reaching a five-year, $80MM deal, but talks stalled when he asked for the $85MM that the Warriors’ Draymond Green received, according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. He also notes that Smith, who turned down a $6.4MM option for next season, has found few suitors in free agency. Cleveland is reluctant to give him a large raise or a long-term deal, two things Smith is seeking.
Turning Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed $10.5MM contract into a trade exception might be the best option for the Cavs, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Today’s release of Deron Williams by the Nets eases Brooklyn’s financial strain and removes another potential suitor for Haywood, Lloyd writes. One possible alternative is to send Haywood to the Clippers for Jamal Crawford, but L.A. officials have denied they are dealing Crawford, and Cleveland won’t need him if Smith re-signs. Haywood is expected to be dealt before his contract becomes fully guaranteed August 1st.