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Warriors Notes: Kobe, Jones, McGee

December 18th, 2017 at 6:09pm CST by clarkcrum

Despite being the defending NBA champions and holding the league’s second best record so far this season at 23-6, the Warriors will be playing second fiddle during tonight’s contest against the Lakers in Los Angeles, reports Monte Poole of NBCS Bay Area.

Of course, tonight marks the Lakers’ retirement of iconic jersey numbers 8 and 24 in recognition of legend Kobe Bryant, who helped lead the Lakers to five championships during his illustrious 20-year career. And given the circumstances, Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr is willing to allow his team the freedom to leave the locker room at halftime to witness the ceremony.

I want our guys to see it,” Kerr said Saturday. “It’ll be a pretty cool moment. Just to experience of one of the greatest players in the history of the game getting his jersey retired and we happen to be there? I’m not going to keep them in the locker room watching tape from the first half. The players would look at me like I was nuts.”

There’s more from the Bay Area:

The Warriors are happy with the development of young big man Damian Jones, reports Melissa Rohlin of The Mercury News. The Warriors announced that they recalled Jones from the Santa Cruz Warriors on Sunday, one day after assistant coach Mike Brown watched Jones record 20 points, 15 rebounds and six assists against the Westchester Knicks. Asked to discuss Jones mindset on his lack of role with the team thus far in his career, Kerr stated, “He’s handled it really well. He’s such a quiet guy, he doesn’t say a whole lot. It can’t be easy to be gone from the main group so often, but he understands. We talked to him about it. The most important thing is for him to play and gain experience.”
Teams are going to continue selling their second round picks to the Warriors (and other teams) so long as the price and circumstances are right, as Danny Leroux relays in a mailbag piece for The Athletic. Leroux also tackles questions regarding the futures of Jordan Bell and Patrick McCaw, among others.
After being an integral part of the Warriors championship run last season, JaVale McGee has seen his playing time significantly drop so far this season. The reduction in minutes is the result of the way the game is changing, reports Mark Medina of The Mercury News. Despite the challenge for McGee, he appears to be accepting of his new role. “He’s handling it well. I think JaVale has been really good as far as understanding things haven’t gone his way and staying with it,” Kerr said. “He works hard in practice. I tell him all the time things will turn. They always do.”

Los Angeles Notes: Ball, Bryant, Teodosic, Gallinari

December 12th, 2017 at 10:45pm CST by marksuleymanov

After Lonzo Ball‘s outspoken father, LaVar Ball, recently made critical comments of the Lakers and head coach Luke Walton, the organization held a private meeting with LaVar, asking him to tone down his remarks, ESPN’s Ramon Shelbourne writes.

The elder Ball confirmed the meeting — which was organized by Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka — took place and said both sides finding common ground is critical to both his son and the team.

“It was the best thing, man. Everybody’s going to try to make it an ego thing, like I’m trying to tell them what to do or they’re trying to tell me to tone it down,” LaVar said of the meeting. “It’s not about that. It’s about coming together and to get a solution to this problem.”

Among LaVar’s criticisms were Walton not playing Lonzo for long enough stretches, adding that he could coach his son better. Walton downplayed LaVar’s comments in recent days and has praised Lonzo’s team-first mindset and contributions. As the season — and Lonzo’s career progresses — LaVar said he would continue speaking his mind with the goal of helping his son improve.

“It may sound crazy to other people, but I really just want the best for Lonzo, and the best for Lonzo is going to be what’s best for the organization,” LaVar said. “Because if everybody winning, we good.”

Read up on more news coming out of Los Angeles:

Former Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant has made several comments about Lonzo in recent days and his latest take on the 20-year-old point guard directly addressed his father, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. Bryant said that pressure placed on Lonzo is “completely inconsequential” as long as he proves himself on the court. “The only time that matters is when he has to think of an answer,” Bryant said. “What matters is what he does in the gym before practice, during practice and after practice. That’s the only thing that matters.”
Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports profiled Clippers rookie point guard Milos Teodosic, chronicling his journey from one of the most creative passers in the game as an international player to a starter in the NBA.
Danilo Gallinari returned to the Clippers lineup after missing 13 games with a glute injury and he will now likely miss several games with a new glute injury, ESPN’s Lawrence Murray writes. Injuries have allowed Gallinari to appear in just 11 games this season, averaging 13.4 PPG. “It’s been that type of season thus far,” head coach Doc Rivers said. “Things can change. Right now, they are, they keep changing back to somebody getting hurt.”

And-Ones: Saunders, Gordon, Prigioni

October 26th, 2017 at 10:07pm CST by Austin Kent

It’s been two years since Timberwolves icon Flip Saunders, then the franchise’s president of basketball operations, passed away from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The man’s impact on the organization is still felt to this day, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes.

Saunders played a vital role in the club’s recent return to relevance both from a business and personnel perspective. The celebrated executive’s touch can be seen at all levels of the organization from the new practice facility that Saunders helped design to the transactions he made in the wake of David Kahn‘s time at the helm from 2009 to 2013.

Saunders remains the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to the playoffs, having done so eight times from 1997-2004 during his first run with the franchise. Since 2006, the team has cracked a .400 win percentage only once.

“I made a promise to Flip Saunders that we would win and end the playoff drought,” current franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns said on the media day of his rookie season shortly before Saunders passed. “And I intend to keep that promise.”

There’s more from around the league:

Former NBA player Ben Gordon has run into trouble with the law, Jonathan Bandler of The Journal News writes. The 34-year-old wasn’t ultimately charged following a confrontation between himself and a woman at his business but police were called to the scene and he was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation.
The journey into the business world continues for Kobe Bryant. As Darren Rovell of ESPN writes, Bryant has approached his investments with the same obsessiveness that he did his NBA career.
Retired NBA guard Pablo Prigioni is stepping down from his role as the head coach of Liga ACB team Baskonia, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando writes. The team has gotten off to a rocky start and it’s said that Prigioni has lost control of the situation.

Los Angeles Notes: Ingram, Rivers, Hart

September 15th, 2017 at 8:50pm CST by Austin Kent

After an uninspiring rookie season, Lakers forward Brandon Ingram has been devoted to working on his jumpshot and adding to his frame. The 20-year-old has been lifting weights, eating better and intentionally trying to eat more, Mike Trudell of the team’s official website writes.

While Ingram’s numbers slowly improved in the second half of his first campaign, he has a long way to go to live up to the hype that surrounded him following his second-overall selection in the draft. That’s not so much a knock on Ingram’s performance as it is a reminder of his ceiling, he actually ended up averaging a respectable 13.2 points per game on .475 shooting after the break in 2016/17.

Trudell writes that Ingram couldn’t always rely on his jumpshot to open up space on the floor and that, coupled with the inevitable transition from college to the pros, contributed to his less than stellar first season.

“I went into the game [at Summer League] and it all felt natural“, Ingram told Trudell. “I felt like myself again. I felt like I was just playing regular basketball. Now I feel even better. Better conditioned, stronger. We’ve been putting in so much work in the weight room.”

There’s more from L.A.:

Rather than decide which of Kobe Bryant‘s jersey numbers to retire, the Lakers decided to put them both in the rafters, the team’s official website said. The ceremony will take place on December 18.
The Clippers had a busy offseason this summer and shaking things up could serve them well in the long run, Shaun Powell of NBA.com implies. Doc Rivers has been relieved of his roster management responsibilities and will be able to focus on coaching with Blake Griffin now the lone focal point of his offense.
Lakers guard Josh Hart has his priorities straight and knows just how he wants to contribute to his team in Year 1. “For me, defense is personal,” Hart told the team’s official website. “Obviously it’s tough to stop people one on one. But when you have that mind set of taking this personal; it’s just you and the other guy, and there’s one ball. And one person’s gonna eat, and I want that to be me.”

East Notes: Wizards, Brown, Tatum

August 27th, 2017 at 8:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The Wizards have gone all-in on preserving their core and head coach Scott Brooks understands just how important that can be. Brooks has, Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes, seen what happens when a promising young roster falls apart thanks to his time with the Thunder.

“We have our three players that we drafted all wanting to stay here and stay long-term,” the Wizards’ bench boss said. “That’s good. That’s good because if you don’t have your best players wanting to stay here, then nobody wants to stay here.”

Thanks to Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis‘ willingness to commit to their young players, Washington was able to match the offer sheet that the Nets signed Otto Porter to this summer and then follow that up with a supermax contract extension for John Wall.

Under their current deals, Wall, Beal and Porter will be under Wizards control for seven total years. Eight, if Porter ultimately exercises his player option for the 2020-21 season.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

After assigning challenges to Isaiah Thomas and DeMar DeRozan, Kobe Bryant was asked to give one to Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Black Mamba responded with three letters: MVP. An NBA.com report has details.
This will be Goran Dragic‘s last stint with the Slovenian national team, Niki Lupo of Sportando writes. The 31-year-old Heat guard tweeted that he’ll be done with the program following Eurobasket 2017.
If the Cavaliers and Celtics start formally renegotiating the Kyrie Irving trade, the Cavs are expected to inquire about the C’s young players. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, that could include Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, although their involvement in any actual deal remains highly unlikely.

And-Ones: Kobe, Ball, Wanamaker, GM Meetings

May 11th, 2017 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Isaiah Thomas revealed earlier in the postseason that he has been communicating with Kobe Bryant before and after every playoff game, but Thomas is just one current NBA player who has been in touch with Bryant. As Jackie MacMullan of ESPN details, Bryant said he also talks regularly to players like Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.

“I’m around for all the guys,” Bryant told MacMullan. “Anybody can reach out. It’s an open book.”

While Kobe may be willing to give advice and guidance to current players, don’t expect LaVar Ball to call up the future Hall-of-Famer anytime soon. Despite wanting his son Lonzo Ball to land with the Lakers, the elder Ball didn’t sound eager to reach out to one of the best players in Laker history.

“I don’t need no advice from Kobe Bryant,” LaVar Ball said during an appearance on ESPN Radio 710 L.A. “I don’t need advice from Kobe Bryant. Zo’s got to play his game. … If they’re at practice and he sees something and Lonzo listens to him or whatever, he’s good. … But it’s just not, ‘OK, I’m talking to Kobe, so now I’m going to be good.’ If Kobe sees something that Zo is doing, then go from there. But I’m not trying to pattern after nobody.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

All-Euroleague guard Brad Wanamaker is receiving “serious” NBA interest and could make the leap from Europe to North America this summer, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick. Wanamaker, palying for David Blatt’s Darussafaka Dogus team in Turkey, averaged a team-high 16.7 PPG in 34 Euroleague games this season.
Two topics under discussion at this week’s general manager meetings in Chicago involved the trade deadline date and the buyout/waiver process, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Wojnarowski first reported last month that changes may be coming to the buyout/waiver process.
Should the draft lottery happen before the draft combine? Should the draft come before free agency? Tom Ziller of SBNation.com wonders if the NBA’s offseason schedule needs to be re-adjusted.
Josh Martin of Bleacher Report identifies several free agents that NBA teams would be wise to avoid this summer, and his list features a handful of big-name players.

Knicks Notes: Noah, Porzingis, Kobe, Livingston

April 27th, 2017 at 11:55am CST by ChrisCrouse

Joakim Noah, who signed a four-year, $72MM deal last offseason, underwent rotator cuff surgery on Wednesday, Al Iannazzone of Newsday relays. Noah was suspended by the league for taking a banned substance at the end of this season. He was able to serve eight of his 20 games since he was deemed healthy enough to play toward the end of the 2016/17 campaign. He’ll serve the remaining 12 games of the suspension once he’s recovered from his left shoulder surgery and ruled healthy enough to play. The Knicks didn’t give a timetable for his return, but coach Jeff Hornacek previously said the rehab process should take approximately five months.

Team president Phil Jackson remains hopeful that Noah can return from his injury and live up to his current contract. “We talked a lot about, ‘Can you get yourself back into this condition? Hamstrings, hamstrings, hamstrings,” Jackson said earlier this month. “‘Eventually it ended up being the knee that was creating ultimately other problems. So we hope going forward – he expresses great dedication in getting back to what he was and who he is as a basketball player. So I have to trust him in that.”

Here’s more from the city that never sleeps:

Kristaps Porzingis may be frustrated with the Knicks‘ organization, but that doesn’t extend to assistant coach Joshua Longstaff, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Longstaff will join Porzingis in Latvia this summer and Bondy hears that the big man wants Longstaff to be an assistant coach for the Latvian National Team. New York previously offered to approve Porzingis’ participation in the European Championships if the Latvian team allowed the assistant to be on its staff.
Can Jackson and Carmelo Anthony coexist in New York after a season of turmoil? Kobe Bryant believes there’s a chance the two parties can, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. “Michael [Jordan] had his rough times with him as well. The history is you get through rough times after you win a good amount of championships. We certainly had our rocky times, but we still stuck to it, we figured out our way through it and came out better because of it. I think the most important thing is sticking to it, being patient. Sometimes things work out. Sometimes they don’t,” Bryant said.
Shaun Livingston, who will be a free agent this offseason, is a longtime favorite of Phil Jackson and could be a reasonable target for the Knicks to go after this summer, Keith P. Smith of RealGM writes. Smith argues that Livingston would be a good fit in the triangle offense.

And-Ones: All-NBA Teams, Hayward, Kobe

April 24th, 2017 at 10:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The All-NBA teams were scheduled to be announced during the league’s inaugural award show on June 26th. However, because the selections may impact teams’ offseason plans, the league will unveil the winners in the weeks leading up to the draft, as Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes.

The newly created Designated Player Exception drove the change. Being selected on an All-NBA is a criterion for the massive extension and players such as Paul George and Gordon Hayward will be eligible for as much as $70MM more in an extension should they make one of the three teams.

The early unveiling arguably helps the Pacers the most. If PG13 lands on one of the teams, Indiana will have the inside track to signing him long-term as soon as this summer. If he doesn’t earn one of the spots, the organization can begin to seriously consider whether or not it should deal the small forward. George has long been linked to the Lakers and the Pacers may look to deal him rather than see him leave for L.A. without receiving any compensation in return.

Here’s more from around the league:

Several NBA executives told Mitch Lawrence of Sporting News that they would choose Hayward over George if both were available to sign with their team. None of the executives said Hayward was the superior player based on talent alone, though they chose the Jazz star because he doesn’t come with the baggage that George comes with.
Kobe Bryant doesn’t miss playing the game of basketball, as he discussed on recent episode of Good Morning America (h/t James Dator of SB Nation). “No, I don’t,” Bryant said about missing the sport. “No, it’s crazy but I started playing when I was 2, and so after playing for 20 years in the league — what I have now is, everything I’ve learned from the game I carry with me to this day. So, the game’s never truly left me.”
Team USA announced who will be on the committees for the country’s men’s and women’s teams. Jerry Colangelo will continue to be the managing director of the Men’s National Team, while director Carol Callan will head the Woman’s National Team. Each committee will have an athlete representative. Shane Battier will serve as the men’s representative and Katie Smith will be the woman’s representative.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Capela, Mavericks

April 18th, 2017 at 10:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans will look to add outside shooting this offseason, John Reid of The Times-Picayune relays.

”We’re going to look at all options,” GM Dell Demps said. ”We’re going to be broad in our search to find the best possible outcome for the season. Obviously shooting, I think that’s the big importance. We have to be creative and you know putting the right mix around those guys is going to be important.”

Reid names J.J. Redick, Kyle Korver, Andre Iguodala and P.J. Tucker among the unrestricted free agents who could be a fit in New Orleans. It’s worth noting that Iguodala coming to Louisiana is unlikely, as the Warriors plan on keeping him in Golden State beyond this season.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Clint Capela is both a long-term project and a key piece to the Rockets‘ chances at success this postseason, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. The center scored 14 points in Game 1 against the Thunder and protected the rim with great defense. The big man is eligible for rookie scale extension this offseason.
Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com believes the Mavericks will have trouble landing marquee free agents while Dirk Nowitzki is still on the team (h/t The Dallas Morning News). The analyst compares Nowitzki’s situation to Kobe Bryant‘s in that it’s hard to build a winning roster around an aging superstar who’s getting paid like a current one.

Lakers Notes: Draft Pick, Walton, Ingram, Robinson

April 14th, 2017 at 12:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka says the organization has a plan in place whether it gets to keep its first-round pick or not, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. The Lakers will learn their fate at the May 16th lottery, where they need the pick to fall within the top three to prevent it from being sent to Philadelphia. At 26-56, L.A. had the third-worst record in the league, which gives the franchise a 47% chance of keeping the selection. “If we get the lottery balls to bounce our way, yes, we have a great attack plan for the draft,” Pelinka said. “But if we don’t, just like [many famous] sports moments, we have to find a way, and we do have a plan, to still get to where our ultimate destination is without the draft pick.”

There’s more Lakers news out of Los Angeles:

The Lakers would like to add talent this summer without disrupting the young group of players they have in place, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Now that the season is over, coach Luke Walton plans to join Pelinka and president of basketball operations Magic Johnson to develop a strategy for the future. “They both believe in the young core we have. They believe with time we’ll be able to get it done,” Walton said, “But at the same time, they’ll be looking for different ways to make the team more successful sooner rather than later. It’s kind of a fine line in balancing all of that.”
Pelinka and Johnson have told rookie Brandon Ingram to work out with Kobe Bryant this summer, Medina relays in a separate piece. They also want the 6’9″, 190-pounder to add muscle over the offseason, but the organization believes Ingram could benefit most from being exposed to Bryant’s mental approach. “He had a curiosity for the game,” said Pelinka, who was Bryant’s former agent. “I think for a young player like Brandon to tap into the highest level of obsession with excellence and learn what that means is critical.”
Another summer of uncertainty awaits free agent Thomas Robinson, but he was happy with what he heard during Thursday’s exit interview, Medina notes in another story. Robinson averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per night in 48 games after earning a roster spot in training camp. “They were impressed with the way I handled myself this year,” Robinson said of the meeting with Pelinka, Johnson and Walton. “They’re happy with that part with who I am as a person and as a player. I take that as a good thing. Hopefully it turns into me coming back as a Laker.” He added that there was no commitment from the team about bringing him back next season. The No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft, Robinson has been with six organizations during his five NBA seasons.