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Western Notes: Garnett, Looney, Hayes

September 10th, 2016 at 1:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the start of training camp being less than three weeks away, the Wolves are still awaiting word from Kevin Garnett on whether or not he intends to play this season, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Kevin hasn’t told me or informed me yet if he’s coming back to play or if he isn’t coming back,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Aschburner “I can only assume I’ll be hearing from him in the next three weeks.” The veteran has one year remaining on his contract and is set to earn $8MM if he suits up for what would be his 22nd season in the league.

Here’s more from out West:

  • The Jazz held free agent workouts on Friday for guard Jermaine Taylor and center Henry Sims, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter). Taylor, 29, last appeared in the NBA during the 2010/11 season, while Sims appeared in 14 games for the Nets last season, averaging 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per outing. Sims has also been mentioned as a possible training camp signee for Brooklyn.
  • The Nuggets have named Chuck Hayes as their Associate of Basketball Operations, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports (on Twitter).
  • Warriors forward Kevon Looney, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum on his left hip earlier this year, is on track to make his return to basketball activities by the start of training camp on September 27th, Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle relays (subscription required). “I’m really eager,” Looney said. “I’ve been watching, running and doing drills now for what feels like two years. To be able to get on the court and actually be healthy, I’m really excited for that.”
  • In his look back at the Rockets‘ offseason, The Vertical’s Bobby Marks notes that the team’s medical staff will play a vital role this season in trying to keep new additions Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Nene healthy.
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Pacific Notes: Looney, Casspi, Livingston

April 23rd, 2016 at 11:45am CST by Eddie Scarito

Warriors combo forward Kevon Looney underwent a successful left hip arthroscopy on Friday to repair a torn labrum, the team announced. Looney will begin rehabilitation from the surgery immediately and is expected to be out a minimum of four to six months before returning to basketball activity, per the team. This is the second such procedure that Looney has endured, the first occurring in August of last year. The 20-year-old was the No. 30 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft and he appeared in just five games for the Warriors this year, averaging 1.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 4.1 minutes per outing.  Looney also appeared in 12 games for the team’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, posting averages of 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in 19.3 minutes.

Here’s more from out West:

  • Kings small forward Omri Casspi lamented the firing of coach George Karl and blamed the players for the team’s woes this season, international journalist David Pick relays (via Twitter). Casspi, who is under contract for $2,963,814 next season, believes he will be a part of the team’s plans moving forward, Pick adds. “The Kings want me back next season, I’m not sure who the coach will be, but I’m adaptable, I’m comfortable in most systems,” Casspi told Pick. “I’m confident I’ll be back in Sacramento next season.”
  • Shaun Livingston, whose $5,782,450 salary for 2016/17 is partially guaranteed for $3MM, wants to remain with the Warriors next season and beyond, notes Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group. “I want to stay here as long as I can,” Livingston said. “It’s a unique and special situation. A lot of guys including myself, I want to [be] here for as long as I possibly can depending on the contract situation.”
  • Former Clippers team owner Donald Sterling is appealing the dismissal of his $600MM antitrust lawsuit against the NBA and his wife, Shelly Sterling, as Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin had ruled against Sterling, noting that he was “skeptical Sterling suffered any injury at all, let alone an antitrust injury” by the sale of the team for $2 billion to Steve Ballmer, Fenno adds, also noting that the judge called other parts of the lawsuit implausible.
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Pacific Notes: Griffin, Booker, Looney

March 14th, 2016 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers did not seem to miss power forward Blake Griffin during the initial aftermath of the quadriceps tendon tear he suffered on Christmas, but that has changed, Andrew Han of ESPN.com writes. Point guard Chris Paul told Han and other reporters after the Clippers lost to the Cavs by 24 points on Sunday that Griffin’s extended absence is taking a toll. “[Playing without him] gets real tough,” Paul said. “They have three, four guys out there that [with a] low shot clock can bail you out. Just all that tension that he brings opens it up for all of us.” The Clippers won their first nine games without Griffin but have stumbled recently, losing by double digits in three of their last five games. Griffin’€s hand, which he fractured in a January 23rd fight with assistant equipment manager Matias Testi, has healed faster than his quad. Once he is cleared for game action, Griffin still faces a four-game team-imposed suspension for that incident.

In other news around the Pacific Division:
  • The Clippers are likely to keep their superstar trio of Paul, Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan intact this summer, a panel of ESPN Insider experts opines. As Jeremias Engelmann points out, superstars rarely get dealt unless they request a trade. A majority of the panel also believes the Clippers will be better off when Griffin returns from his injuries and suspension.
  • Rookie shooting guard Devin Booker is often initiating the Suns’ half-court offense, even with the return of point guard Brandon Knight from a sports hernia, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Booker recorded 11 assists against the Warriors on Saturday. “Both of us can bring the ball up the floor, so you get the rest,” Booker told Coro. “If you have to bring it up every time, it’s tough on a team.”
  • Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was instrumental in the Warriors hiring Bob Myers as their assistant GM in 2011, as owner Joe Lacob discusses at length in an interview with Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Myers was promoted to GM the following year.
  • The Warriors recalled power forward Kevon Looney from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, according to the team’s website. Looney has appeared in 12 games with Santa Cruz this season, including two games during his latest assignment.
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And-Ones: Noah, Pressey, D-League

March 12th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed that Joakim Noah will not return to the court this season as he recovers from surgery that that repaired his dislocated left shoulder, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Noah has not played since the middle of January.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Phil Pressey will head to the Idaho Stampede of the D-League after the Suns declined to bring the point guard back after consecutive 10-day contracts, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor tweets.
  • The Thunder have recalled Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. Huestis averaged 12.2 points and 1.32 blocks in 19 D-League games this season.
  • The Warriors have assigned Kevon Looney to their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to Golden State’s website.
  • The Clippers have recalled Branden Dawson from the D-League, per a team press release. Dawson was on assignment with the Erie BayHawks.
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And-Ones: Weems, Mirotic, Augustin

March 7th, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers acquired swingman Sonny Weems to reach the salary floor but they plan to take a hard look at him, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The Sixers claimed Weems from the Suns on Monday, allowing them to reach the minimum team salary requirement for the season since they’ll get credit for his full $2.814MM salary, even though they’ll only have to pay less than $700K, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out (Twitter link). The Sixers made similar moves to reach the floor last season, including a claim of power forward Thomas Robinson, whom they did not re-sign, Pompey notes. Weems may be a different case. Robert Covington, Nik Stauskas and Hollis Thompson are the only true wing players on the roster, and thus Weems should get some opportunities to play, Pompey adds. A league source conceded to Pompey that it looks unseemly for the Sixers to work the system to meet the salary floor two years in a row but argued that the team has a legitimate need for a wing player that Weems can fulfill.

In other news around the league:

  • Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic has to prove he’s part of their future, now that he’s returned from an appendectomy, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times opines. He endured major growing pains during his second season with the team prior to the injury and he now has to work his way back into shape and be productive, Cowley continues. “You can’t play scared that if you get hit, something may happen, or you’ll have a setback,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told Cowley and other members of the Chicago media. “You just have to go out there and react and play. I think it was big step for Niko. Now it’s a matter of getting his lungs in shape and getting his wind back.’
  • Point guard D.J. Augustin has revived his career with the Nuggets, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Augustin averaged 12.8 points and shot 54.3% on 3-point attempts in his first nine games with Denver after he was acquired in a trade deadline deal from the Thunder. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has averaged 16.4 turnovers, fourth-most in the league, since the trade, Horne notes.
  • The Warriors recalled power forward Kevon Looney from their D-League affiliate, as the Santa Cruz Warriors tweet.
  • The Thunder assigned forwards Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. Huestis has already appeared in 16 D-League games this season, while McGary has played 17 games with the Blue.
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Western Notes: McClendon, Looney, Green

March 2nd, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Aubrey McClendon, who was part owner of the Thunder, died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City today, Royce Young of ESPN.com relays. McClendon was indicted Tuesday for allegedly conspiring to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma, Young notes. “He pretty much drove straight into the wall,” Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama said. “The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway, and that didn’t occur.”

McClendon owned an estimated 20% of the Thunder and was part of Clay Bennett’s ownership group that relocated the team from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, the ESPN scribe adds. Here’s more from out West:

  • Despite his halftime outburst Saturday that saw him share heated words with Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Draymond Green‘s fiery nature is normally a benefit to his game and the team in general, Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group opines. Green has apologized for his behavior and insists this incident shouldn’t define perceptions of him, Thompson adds. “It’s one thing when you’re going into an arena and they’re booing you and you’re the villain,” Green said. “I love that. But to paint me as a bad guy? I don’t get in trouble off the court. I don’t disrespect people. Your kid doesn’t walk up to me and I’m the biggest [jerk] they’ve ever seen. I don’t get arrested. You can try to paint me as that, but anybody who knows me knows that’s false.“
  • Mavs small forward Chandler Parsons is thankful that all the hard work he put in while recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee is starting to pay off on the court, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. “It was just a mess,” Parsons said regarding his rehab. “It was something that was very hard to go through, but I’m glad because all the pain, all the struggle, all the work I put in, I use that every time I step on the floor. I realize no one’s worked as hard as me to get here.”
  • The Warriors have assigned combo forward Kevon Looney to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Looney’s third jaunt to Santa Cruz on the season. He is averaging 9.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.9 minutes over five D-League contests.
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Pacific Notes: Durant, Barnes, Scott, Jefferson

February 3rd, 2016 at 9:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors are “the leaders in the clubhouse” for Kevin Durant, an NBA GM recently said to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link), a comment that echoes the Tuesday report from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports that Golden State would be Durant’s preferred choice if he leaves the Thunder. Wojnarowski heard that Durant isn’t leaning one way or another toward leaving Oklahoma City, but Goodwill’s report doesn’t indicate that Durant’s preference for the Warriors is contingent on a decision about the Thunder first. See more from Golden State amid news from the Pacific Division:

  • An “undercurrent of disenchantment” existed within the Warriors organization about the length of time it took for Harrison Barnes to return from a sprained ankle earlier this season, according to Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. Barnes, who missed 16 games with the injury, hasn’t shown enough to prove he’s worthy of a massive contract in restricted free agency this summer, Poole contends. The uncertainty over his future makes it easier to see why the Warriors drafted combo forward Kevon Looney last year, as Poole explains.
  • The second half of the season is essentially a referendum whether the Lakers retain Byron Scott for next year, sources close to the organization tell Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who adds that Scott would help his cause if the team becomes more competitive and if the young players on the Lakers show signs of development. A lot of people around the league expect the Lakers will move on from Scott this summer, but the team says he’s definitely sticking around to the end of the season and will undergo an evaluation after that, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News said on NBA TV this week, as Harrison Faigen of SB Nation’s Silver Screen & Roll transcribes.
  • Power forward Cory Jefferson has returned to the Suns D-League affiliate following the expiration of his 10-day contract with Phoenix this past weekend, notes Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter links).
  • The Suns have formally hired NBA coaching veteran Bob Hill as an assistant coach, the team announced. Wojnarowski reported Monday that the move would take place.
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Pacific Notes: Bogdanovic, Looney, Majerle

February 2nd, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the continued struggles of the Lakers, there is a danger that the losing may have a negative long-term impact on the team’s younger players, something the coaching staff will try to stave off, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “I think the challenge for our young guys is to stay the course,” said coach Byron Scott. “Continue to think positive. Continue to work their butts off and good things will happen. But if we can’t figure it out from a mental standpoint at times too, then we’re going to continue to struggle. And I think we’ve all talked about the lack of experience being a factor, and sometimes the game is a little too fast for some of our guys; and they’ve just got to step that part up, and it’s going to take time.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The cap hold for Suns 2014 first-rounder Bogdan Bogdanovic will impact the team’s salary cap in July, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports in his trade deadline primer for the team. Phoenix can clear the hold, worth $963K by officially notifying the league that it doesn’t intend to sign Bogdanovic, but if the Suns did so, he would be ineligible to ink a deal with the team during the 2016/17 season, Marks notes.
  • Former Suns player Dan Majerle, who was an assistant coach with the franchise during Alvin Gentry‘s tenure, doesn’t expect to be under consideration for the team’s vacant coaching position, Richard Obert of The Arizona Republic relays. Majerle, who is the head coach at Grand Canyon University, when asked if he had a shot at the Suns’ post, said, “We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it. I doubt that we will. But if it happens, I’ll have to sit down and think about what’s best for me. I’m extremely happy being at GCU. I’ve got no reservations or no thoughts about leaving here.“
  • The Warriors have recalled Kevon Looney from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Looney has appeared in seven games with Santa Cruz this season, notching averages of 9.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per contest.
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Western Notes: Griffin, Russell, D-League

January 28th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The incident between Clippers power forward Blake Griffin and equipment manager Mathias Testi occurred when some good-natured teasing turned heated and the pair came to blows as a result, a person close to the situation tells Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. Coach/executive Doc Rivers has indicated that both Griffin and Testi will be welcomed back to the team, Bolch adds. “Everybody will be back,” Rivers said. “We’re a team and we’re still a team and Blake’s part of our team and he’s going to remain part of our team and we have to support him and support everybody. It’s not just the players…. Everyone is part of our team that’s in our travel group.” Griffin is expected to be out of commission for four to six weeks after undergoing surgery this past Tuesday.

Here’s more from out West:

  • The Lakers have been receiving inquiries about the availability of 2015 No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell, but according to Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter links), Los Angeles is not entertaining thoughts of dealing Russell. The franchise still views Russell and Jordan Clarkson as its backcourt of the future despite Russell’s struggles this season, Fischer adds.
  • The Warriors have assigned rookie combo forward Kevon Looney to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Looney made his NBA regular season debut on Wednesday night, scoring two points and snagging two rebounds in six minutes of action.
  • The Jazz re-assigned center Tibor Pleiss to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Pleiss’ second jaunt of the season to Idaho.
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Western Notes: Smith, Booker, Jazz

January 24th, 2016 at 9:12pm CST by Will Joseph

Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff expects Josh Smith to be the same key player he was off the bench last season and added Smith thrives with the team because there is a level of trust and comfort, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details. Smith scored 16 points Sunday in the Rockets’ win against the Mavs.

“I feel comfortable. It might have been a little different story if this were my first time here, but being able to get the opportunity to play for the same team, around the same group of guys is awesome,” Smith said, per Feigen. “It’s definitely a comfortable feeling being able to get back. Seeing the appreciation from the fans and my teammates definitely instills confidence that this is where I belong.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

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