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Western Notes: Randolph, Goodwin, T’Wolves

February 10th, 2014 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns are interested in the Zach Randolph, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com notes. With the Suns looking to be buyers at the deadline, and having Emeka Okafor‘s expiring contract, along with as many as four first-round picks in this year’s draft, they have some ammunition to acquire a significant piece to help them advance in the playoffs this year. The team had been pursing the Pau Gasol of the Lakers, but his recent injury as well as the Lakers’ insistence on receiving a high draft pick have cooled those talks. David Aldridge of NBA.com also weighed in on the possibility of the Suns trying to obtain Randolph. The Grizzlies aren’t shopping him, but that doesn’t mean the right offer couldn’t pry him loose. Randolph is averaging 17.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 2.6 APG.

More from the west:

      • In the same article, Kennedy also notes that the Timberwolves would most likely be quiet on the trade front. He referenced this interview from the team’s president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, via the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. According to the article, Saunders and his staff did a study of 189 trades made over the last 10 years. Saunders stated, “Of the 189 trades, teams that were at or below .500, only 14 percent made the playoffs. With teams above .500 making a trade, only 55 percent stayed at the same position or improved.” The math on the study indicated that 45 percent of the teams making trades came out worse in the standings after making a move. The Timberwolves are currently 24-27, and according to the team’s numbers, the odds are against them making a trade.
  • The Rockets announced via Twitter that they’ve recalled Robert Covington from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League.  Covington, who has been assigned to the D-League twice this season, will be in action for tonight’s game against the T’Wolves.
  • Guard Archie Goodwin has been recalled from the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, the Suns announced. During his second and most recent assignment with Bakersfield, Goodwin appeared in three games, averaging 24.3 PPG on 55.1 percent field goal shooting and 4.7 RPG in 29.7 minutes. The 19-year-old has played in 37 games for Phoenix this season and is averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.5 minutes per contest.
  • This time next year, we’ll know how serious the Warriors ownership group is about winning, writes Daniel Leroux of RealGM. By then we’ll have a sense of whether the club is actually willing to pay the luxury tax and what they’ll do with coach Mark Jackson.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

 

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Pacific Notes: Jackson, Henry, Hill

November 14th, 2013 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

When asked about already losing to the Clippers, Spurs, and Grizzlies – three teams considered to be among the league’s elite, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson was straightforward: “Are those three elite? Then, we’re in the discussion…We’re a very good team that has continued to develop, continued to grow…I certainly like my team, when we’re at our best” (hat tip to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle for the Twitter links).

Here are more miscellaneous tidbits to pass along out of the Pacific Division:

  • Xavier Henry‘s breakout performance thus far is remarkable considering that his NBA career may have been hanging in the balance only several months ago. Hoopsworld’s Yannis Koutroupis gathered the former lottery pick’s thoughts on playing for the Lakers and how he’s handled his early success this season.
  • Jordan Hill not only provides badly-needed toughness but has played a pivotal role in helping the Lakers win four out of their first ten games, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Bill Dwyre, also of the L.A. Times, suggests that Matt Barnes‘ ejection from last night’s game may have provided the impetus for turning the Clippers’ defense in the right direction. Eric Patten of Clippers.com writes that the team’s brilliant second half last night was proof that strides are being made on the defensive end.
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Pacific Rumors: Kings, Vasquez, Warriors

October 31st, 2013 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns and Kings aren’t expected to be contenders in 2013/14, but both teams got off to good starts in their home openers last night, defeating the Trail Blazers and Nuggets, respectively. Two more Pacific teams are in action tonight, as the Clippers aim to become the last team in the division to get in the win column when they host the Warriors. While we look forward to that game, let’s round up a few items out of the Pacific….

  • In examining which rookie scale players will sign new contracts today, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses a pair of Kings, noting that extensions remain in play for Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez. According to Kyler, the “framework” of a deal for Vasquez is in place, but it’s not clear whether or not Sacramento is interested in finalizing anything today.
  • The Warriors and Mark Jackson have not talked recently about an extension for the head coach, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Jackson is under contract through the 2014/15 season, so extension negotiations could wait until next year.
  • Dwight Howard decided to sign with the Rockets this summer despite “relentless negative campaigning” from rival suitors, including the Warriors, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski hears from sources that Warriors advisor Jerry West was disparaging of James Harden during Golden State’s pitch to the free agent center. Asked about West’s comments on Harden, Howard laughed and replied, “Well, Jerry West said a lot of things.”
  • While Kings minority owner Shaquille O’Neal boldly predicted that the team would earn a playoff spot this season, Vivek Ranadive is more focused on the long term. According to Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee, Ranadive doesn’t plan to judge the season on wins and losses, but rather on whether the new system shows forward progress.
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Warriors Favoring Dedmon?

October 24th, 2013 at 9:22pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said that it was safe to say that center DeWayne Dedmon is the favorite to land Golden State’s final roster spot, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The undrafted center out of USC is currently on a partially guaranteed contract, and has been in the mix with Seth Curry and Joe Alexander to earn a spot on the team.

Golden State currently has 13 guaranteed contracts and a total of 17 on their training camp roster. Three of the remaining players are on partially guaranteed deals (Kent Bazemore, Dedmon, Curry), while Alexander had been playing on a non-guaranteed contract. I think it’s reasonable to assume that Bazemore – who had an impressive summer league run for the team this year – takes up the penultimate roster spot, so it appears that Curry and Alexander may be the odd men out.

Through four pre-season contests, Dedmon is averaging 4.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 10.8 MPG.

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Warriors Notes: Cap, Lee, Picks, TPEs, Jackson

July 11th, 2013 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group passes along a couple more notes on the Warriors' cap situation, via Twitter.

2:07pm: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has conducted a lengthy Q&A with Warriors owner Joe Lacob about the team's approach to the offseason, and its recent moves. Lacob explains how Golden State identified Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala as its top targets and went about acquiring Iguodala. The entire piece is worth a read, particularly for Warriors fans, but here are a few of the most notable tidbits:

  • According to Lacob, the Warriors decided that now was the time to make a big move and add a major piece to the core, rather than letting contracts like Richard Jefferson's and Andris Biedrins' expire and trying to make a splash next summer.
  • Lacob adds that the team was "never going to part with [its] core." While he doesn't name specific players, I'm guessing he's referring to Steph Curry, Harrison Barnes, and Klay Thompson.
  • The Warriors "were always going to keep" David Lee as well, says Lacob, adding that the club never offered Lee to another team in trade talks.
  • Lacob, addressing the fact that Andrew Bogut's and Lee's names surfaced in trade rumors: "These are NBA players; they know trades happen. It’s part of their lives, part of their business…. We didn’t want to trade any of them or give them up in any way. We wanted to do whatever could to add to them."
  • The two first-round picks the Warriors sent to the Jazz are unprotected, Lacob confirms.
  • Asked if more moves are coming, Lacob says he thinks the Warriors are "done for now."
  • If the club does want to add another player, there should be trade exceptions available from the three-way trade with the Jazz and Nuggets. Lacob's words: "I know we have at least an 11 I believe and a 4. There might be a 9 in there too." By my math, the Warriors created TPEs worth $11,046,000 and $4,000,000, but won't have one for $9,000,000.
  • Golden State is prepared to go into luxury-tax territory going forward, says Lacob.
  • Lacob on possible trade options down the road: "We have a lot of assets at this point, a lot of really good players that people want. Bob Myers gets called every day—we had some amazing offers, people calling, not us calling them, on some really good players."
  • Lacob envisions Mark Jackson as the Warriors' long-term coach, but says there's no specific timetable for extension talks.
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Warriors Pick Up 2014/15 Option On Mark Jackson

July 10th, 2013 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have officially exercised their team option on head coach Mark Jackson for the 2014/15 season, the team announced today in a press release.

In 2012/13, Jackson led the Warriors to a 47-35 record and a sixth seed in the Western Conference. It was the team's first playoff berth since 2006/07, and only the second in the last 19 seasons. Overall, Jackson has a 70-78 record (.473) as the head coach of the Warriors, and has one postseason series victory under his belt.

While there have been some rumblings about a potential contract extension for Jackson, the team's decision to pick up his '14/15 option will keep him under contract for at least two more seasons, so there's no rush to negotiate a new deal. Jackson himself indicated last month that he isn't expecting to sign an extension this offseason.

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Coaching Notes: Gentry, Sloan, Jackson

June 18th, 2013 at 7:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A batch of notes regarding the league's never-ending coaching carousel:

  • Former Suns head coach Alvin Gentry will interview with the Grizzlies for the second time on Thursday for their open head coaching position, tweets Yahoo! NBA reporter Marc J. Spears.
  • Warriors head coach Mark Jackson is not expecting a contract extension to come this summer, despite the team's immense playoff success in his second year on the job, writes MercuryNews.com's Tim Kawakami. Jackson also said that with the departure of top assistant Mike Malone to become head coach of the Kings, last year's assistants Pete Myers and Darren Erman will simply move up the depth chart, and no hiring will take place to replace Malone.
  • According to Shams Charania from RealGM.com, Jerry Sloan will continue to consult with the Jazz in an unofficial capacity for the time being. Several of the coaching vacancies that opened up this summer intrigued Sloan, but none were good enough of a fit to bring him out of retirement.
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Odds & Ends: Hawks, Draft, Mark Jackson, Bulls

June 18th, 2013 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to what could be the final game of the 2012/13 season tonight, let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the NBA….

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Pacific Notes: Kings, Mullin, Hornacek, Jackson

May 28th, 2013 at 9:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's the latest out of the Pacific Division..

  • Chris Mullin is in the mix to become the next General Manager of the Kings, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter).  If he pursues the job, Mullin will vie with Spurs President R.C. Buford, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, who are said to be on Vivek Ranadive's wish list for the vacant position.
  • Jeff Hornacek's experience in working with young players should put him in a good position to succeed with the Suns, writes Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune.  The former NBA guard has been considered in the last year by the Magic, 76ers, and Bobcats but finally found the right fit with Phoenix this week.  
  • Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter) hears the Warriors have not begun talks with coach Mark Jackson, though something is expected to get done to avoid lame duck status next year.  In Thompson's opinion (link), the Warriors can't do any better than Jackson and the coach's agent should angle for a multi-year extension.  After Mike D'Antoni got a three-year, $12MM deal from the Lakers, Thompson (link) believes that Jackson is worth at least that much.
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Pacific Notes: Lakers, Howard, Warriors, Jackson

May 20th, 2013 at 5:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we learned that the Clippers aren't going to make a run at Dwight Howard this summer.  That doesn't come as a tremendous surprise when looking at the Clips' cap situation and the maneuvering they'd have to do in order to retain both Chris Paul and lure DH over from L.A.'s other team.  Speaking of which, do the Lakers have the right plan to keep Howard in purple and gold next season?  More on that and other notes out of the Pacific Division..

  • Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com wonders if Howard truly understands the Lakers' legacy and fears that the club isn't making the right pitch to him.  Shelburne feels that the Lakers need to impress upon him just how much he is wanted there, despite the vocal criticisms he has heard from fans.
  • Warriors General Manager Bob Myers confirmed to Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News (via Twitter) that the team has not yet made a decision on coach Mark Jackson's option for 2014/15.  However, Myers will talk with Jackson's agent soon.  Kawakami recently predicted that Jackson would get a new deal in the next few weeks.
  • Myers sounds as though he is willing to stand pat this summer, tweets Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News.  The GM indicated that the Warriors are no longer desperate for a big move.
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