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Odds & Ends: Lakers, Pierce, Austin

December 12th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak directly addressed questions about the team’s point guard situation and didn’t seem too confident about finding anyone on the free agent market who could play big rotation minutes immediately (Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles):

“I think for the time being we’re going to roll with what we’ve got…To find a player that doesn’t belong to somebody right now that can come in and play in front of (Kobe Bryant), in front of Xavier Henry), in front of (Jodie Meeks), it’s unlikely…But maybe there’s a player out there that we can take a look at…It’s a good time to perhaps look at a player, but I don’t think there’s somebody that we’re going to bring in and we’re going to start or is going to play big minutes.”

As it stands, the team doesn’t appear to have any immediate plans to add a point guard via trade, free agency, or D-League call up. Here’s more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes, including more from McMenamin’s piece:

  • Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee reports that mayor Kevin Johnson has launched a political campaign aimed at defeating a June ballot measure in Sacramento that would require voter approval of subsidies to sports arenas. The Kings are expected to play a role in the effort along with Johnson, although team president Chris Granger said the role hasn’t been decided yet.
  • When specifically asked about Leandro Barbosa, as well as former Lakers Darius Morris and Chris Duhon, Kupchak said that they’re “all on the list” of players being considered.
  • Whether or not the Lakers decide to make a move to address their backcourt issues, ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne gets the sense that they’ll look for the best available point guard and not necessarily put a priority on those with past familiarity of Mike D’Antoni’s system. She also makes note that the team still has luxury tax considerations to factor into their decision-making (All Twitter links).
  • Clippers coach Doc Rivers weighed in on the Nets, saying he was disappointed in how the situation between Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank developed, endorsed the idea that Paul Pierce would be willing to come off the bench, and suggested that Pierce still has plenty of basketball left in the tank beyond this season (All Twitter links).
  • RealGM’s Jonathan Tjarks examines how Baylor center Isaiah Austin helped his draft stock after his 13-point/5-block performance against a highly touted Kentucky frontline that included Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Alex Poythress last week.
  • ESPN’s J.A. Adande and Israel Gutierrez discuss ideas on how to correct competitive imbalance in the NBA.
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Lakers To Target Leandro Barbosa, Other PGs

December 12th, 2013 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers announced that Steve Blake will miss at least six weeks with a torn ulnar ligament in his right elbow, and while GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t expect to find a player worth signing, he’ll nonetheless look for one, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Kupchak says players with ties to coach Mike D’Antoni, including Leandro Barbosa, Chris Duhon and Darius Morris, are among those the team will pursue, Pincus adds (via Twitter).

The injury to Blake leaves the Lakers without a healthy point guard, as Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar are also hurt. They plan to go with Kobe Bryant as the starter with Xavier Henry backing him up.

Barbosa is scorching the Brazilian league and appears fully recovered from his torn ACL, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com notes (Twitter link). Morris was supposed to work out with the Grizzlies this week, but Memphis appears to be looking in a different direction. There’s been little recent chatter about Duhon, who wasn’t in camp with an NBA team.

The Lakers have an open roster spot, so they wouldn’t have to waive anyone to sign a free agent. If they want to make a splashy trade, Kyle Lowry is available, but the Lakers aren’t among the teams that have reportedly been pursuing him.

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Leandro Barbosa To Play In Brazil

November 19th, 2013 at 5:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Leandro Barbosa will sign with a team in his native Brazil, but the contract will allow him to move to an NBA team if he can find one that’s interested, tweets Fábio Alexio of the Brazlian website Lancenet.com.br (hat tip to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press). The 30-year-old Barbosa will play for Pinheiros after spending last season with the Celtics and Wizards.

Barbosa tore his left ACL shortly before the trade deadline last season, prompting the Celtics to throw him into the Jordan Crawford trade with the Wizards for salary matching purposes. Barbosa never played while on the Wizards roster, and a report in May indicated he was rehabbing at Boston’s facilities, several weeks before his contract was officially up. Still, the Celtics didn’t wind up signing him this summer, though Barbosa’s brother Artur Barbosa, who doubles as his agent, said the Mavs offered the combo guard a contract. The agent also said the Bulls and Rockets had shown interest.

The longtime Sun was an October addition for Boston in 2012, but he wound up playing a fairly significant role as backup point guard, averaging 5.2 points and 1.4 assists in 12.5 minutes per game. The “Brazilian Blur” might have lost a step, but his outside shooting remains a threat, as his three-point accuracy last season came close to his 39.1% career mark.

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Odds & Ends: Nash, Spurs, Barbosa, Hawks

October 11th, 2013 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Friday odds and ends from around the Association….

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Southwest Rumors: Barbosa, Oden, James

July 20th, 2013 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron
The news today has had a distinctly Southwestern feel, and we've already rounded up a few items from Texas teams. There's still more news from the Lone Star State amid our broader look at the Southwest Division:
  • Artur Barbosa, who doubles as the brother and agent of Leandro Barbosa, tells Terra Brasil that the Mavs have offered the veteran guard a contract, and that the Dallas option is preferable to the Bulls, who've also shown interest (translation via HoopsHype). The agent says he's also engaged in talks with the Rockets. The Mavs wouldn't comment last night about a Brazilian report linking them to Barbosa, so perhaps this is the report in question.
  • Greg Oden is the top big man on the Mavs' radar following the team's signing of Samuel Dalembert and the release of Bernard James, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who names the Heat, Spurs and Pelicans as the other teams still in the mix for Oden (Twitter link).
  • There's a legitimate chance that a team claims James off waivers from the Mavs, Stein writes in the same piece. A source close to James tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he's heard teams are eyeing the big man. The Wolves haven't expressed interest yet, but Minnesota is prepared to waive center Chris Johnson if necessary to make way for a better option, Wolfson reports (Twitter links).
  • Spanish club FC Barcelona announced the signing of Kostas Papanikolaou to a four-year deal (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). The Rockets hold the power forward's NBA rights, but it's unclear what the buyout clauses in his new contract are like. A report last weekend indicated that Papanikolaou "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, but signing a long-term European deal seems to run counter to that.
  • Tyreke Evans is ready to embrace a sixth-man role with the Pelicans, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details. 
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Odds & Ends: World Peace, Jennings, Barbosa

July 20th, 2013 at 12:19am CST by Chuck Myron
Metta World Peace tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News that he has no hard feelings toward the Lakers, who amnestied him last week. The former Ron Artest thinks the move was a shrewd business decision for the team, and while the Lakers will save some luxury tax money, the amnesty wound up helping World Peace's bank account, too. He'll receive his $7.7MM salary from the Lakers as well as the nearly $1.6MM he'll make from his contract with the Knicks this season, minus a small amount taken away from his Lakers paycheck because of set-off rights. There are plenty of other maneuvers, financial and otherwise, happening in the NBA, as we round up here:
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Ainge on Pierce, Rivers, Garnett, Barbosa

May 9th, 2013 at 6:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Danny Ainge made his final weekly appearance on 93.7 WEEI's Salk and Holley Show to share his thoughts on the team heading into the offseason. Ben Rohrbach of WEEI passed along the highlights of the interview, notably mentioning that Ainge feels that Paul Pierce has "a lot of basketball left in him" and that he thinks Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers will be back next season. You can read more about Ainge's comments below:

  • Determining the future of Pierce will be the first difficult decision Ainge will have to make this summer.
  • He downplayed recent rumors which suggested that he and Rivers are questioning whether they can continue to coexist or not: "(Those rumors) are silly. Those are a waste of time to even acknowledge…I think I have the best coach in the NBA, and I'm not the least bit tired of hearing his voice…I think Doc'll be coaching the Celtics (next year)."
  • Garnett will be given some time to himself before the team approaches him about next season: "I'll touch base w/him some time next week…He needs time to chill and contemplate his life. I do anticipate KG will play."
  • On a side note, Leandro Barbosa has been rehabbing at the team's facility, leading Rohrbach to wonder if Boston will consider bringing him back to the team next season. 
  • Rajon Rondo has "looked good" as he continues to recover from his ACL injury and should be ready to go by training camp. 
  • Ainge thinks that the team is more than one player away from contending (unless it's a great player) and added that it would be tough to become a championship team with the way the Celtics are currently constructed. 


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Odds & Ends: Webster, Wright, Pachulia

March 30th, 2013 at 6:20pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In his Weekend Dime piece, ESPN's Marc Stein writes that one of the main reasons for the Wizards dealing Jordan Crawford for Leandro Barbosa's expiring contract – despite Barbosa being out from a season ending injury – was to create more flexibility to increase their chances of retaining Martell Webster this summer. The former Seattle Prep star is arguably having his best pro season in Washington this year, putting up career bests in scoring (11.7), free throw percentage (86.4%), field goal percentage (45.4%), and three-point percentage (43.3%) in 29.3 MPG. Here are a few more tidbits from around the league tonight:

  • Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago (via Twitter) expects Mavericks big man Brandan Wright to be an under-the-radar commodity this summer as an unrestricted free agent.
  • Hawks center Zaza Pachulia – projected to be out six months after season ending surgery next week – says that he hasn't thought about his future and adds, "I'm still part of this team until July 31," tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.  
  • Derek Page of HoopsWorld held his weekly chat with readers this afternoon, discussing how Nerlens Noel and Cody Zeller are his top overall draft prospects and that the Mavericks won't rebuild until Dirk Nowitzki is finished playing, among other topics.  
  • Looking back at the summer of 2010, former Suns GM Steve Kerr says that he, along with Phoenix brass and their medical staff, agreed that a large financial commitment to Amare Stoudemire would not have been prudent considering the possible health issues down the line (Frank Isola of the New York Daily News). 
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Injured Players On Expiring Contracts

March 29th, 2013 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers announced yesterday that Metta World Peace underwent successful surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus, and will miss six weeks. Whether or not the Lakers make the playoffs, World Peace's season could be over, and Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News wondered yesterday if the veteran forward has played his last game as a Laker.

World Peace isn't necessarily in the final year of his contract, since he has a player option for next season. However, if he exercises that option, he becomes a prime candidate to be amnestied. If he declines the option, he'll hit unrestricted free agency. Either way, the man formerly known as Ron Artest may sign a new contract before he plays in his next NBA game.

A number of players are in the same situation as World Peace, with potential free agency looming and an injury keeping them off the court. Here are a few guys who we may not see play for their current teams again, and whose free agent stocks could be affected by their current injuries:

  • Leandro Barbosa (Wizards): If you'd forgotten Barbosa was on the Wizards' roster, you're probably not alone. Acquired for salary purposes in the deal that sent Jordan Crawford to Boston, Barbosa is on an expiring minimum-salary contract, and his ACL/MCL injury may hurt his chances of signing another deal this offseason. Having suffered the season-ending injury in February, he probably won't be healthy in time for fall camps.
  • Rodrigue Beaubois (Mavericks): Eligible for restricted free agency this summer, Beaubois underwent surgery on his hand last week, and is unlikely to return this season. I doubt the Mavs will make him a qualifying offer, and there's a good chance he doesn't return to Dallas.
  • Andrew Bynum (76ers): As well-documented as any non-Derrick Rose injury this season, Bynum's ongoing knee troubles will certainly hurt his earning potential in free agency this summer, and may also ensure he never plays a game with the Sixers.
  • Richard Hamilton (Bulls): While Hamilton remains optimistic that he'll play again this season, his ongoing health problems will likely lead the Bulls to part ways with him this summer. Hamilton's $5MM salary for 2013/14 is partially guaranteed, so he figures to receive a $1MM buyout and hit the free agent market.
  • Sasha Pavlovic (Trail Blazers): Pavlovic's quad injury has kept him out of action for more than a month, but even if he were healthy, he doesn't appear to be part of the Trail Blazers' plans. Although he's under contract for two more seasons, both years are non-guaranteed, so he may find himself seeking a new deal this July.
  • A.J. Price (Wizards): Price earned 22 starts this season for the Wizards, so perhaps the team will have interest in bringing him back next year. He's eager to return to the court to try to improve his free agent stock, but for now, groin issues are keeping him out indefinitely.
  • Brandon Roy (Timberwolves): All the time Roy has missed this season with knee problems ensured that the second year of his contract with the Timberwolves became non-guaranteed, and there's virtually no chance the Wolves will retain him and his $5.33MM salary. If Roy is forced to call it a career at season's end, it would be an unfortunate way for him to go out, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's where we're headed.
  • Brandon Rush (Warriors): After going down during the season's first week, Rush underwent knee surgery in January that ended his year. Fortunately for him, he's got a $4MM player option for 2013/14, so he figures to be returning to the Warriors rather than looking for work next year.
  • Jason Smith (Hornets): Out for the season with a torn labrum, Smith, like Hamilton, has a partially guaranteed contract for 2013/14. The price to keep him wouldn't be exorbitant – $1MM of his $2.5MM salary is guaranteed – so we'll have to wait and see what the Hornets decide.
  • Kurt Thomas and Rasheed Wallace (Knicks): A pair of aging Knicks bigs on expiring contracts, it would be a little surprising to see both Thomas and Wallace playing in the NBA next year, even if they return in the playoffs. Even if Thomas and Wallace wanted to extend their playing careers, their latest foot issues would raise red flags for any interested teams.
  • Elliot Williams (Trail Blazers): Unlike some other players on this list, Williams is no lock to receive an NBA contract, especially if he can't show that he's healthy before the fall. That's probably why, even after surgery on his achilles, he talked about wanting to return to the court in '12/13 and auditioning in the Summer League.
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Recap Of Deadline Trades

February 21st, 2013 at 7:44pm CST by Sean Highkin

A complete recap of trades that were completed before Thursday's trade deadline:

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