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Atlantic Notes: Williams, Knicks, Sixers, Guerin

September 14th, 2013 at 8:40pm CST by Spencer Lund

The back-and-forth between the new-look Nets and the Knicks this summer has kept the tabloids afloat. After coming over to the Nets with Kevin Garnett in the mega trade with the Celtics, Paul Pierce appeared to have started the war of words by telling ESPN New York's 98.7 FM he thought it was time "the Nets start running New York."

ESPN New York's Ian Begley asked Nets point guard Deron Williams about the quote, and Williams supported his new teammate, but didn't elaborate much beyond wanting to settle the inter-city rivalry on the court.

"That's my teammate so I'm with him. Of course we want to run New York. The Knicks are our rival. I don't get into too much of the talking. We'll decide all that on the court. We have four games to play against them and then the playoffs so I'll let Paul do the talking and I'll just go out there and play."

Williams also noted that the advanced age of Nets' roster means, "Our time is now," he told Begley. "We have a short window to try to win."

Here's what else is happening around the Atlantic division on a night when most are watching the big fight…

The New York Post, by way of Ben Golliver at Sports Illustrated, confirmed allegations by Brian Tuohy in his book, Larceny Games: Sports Gambling, Game Fixing and the FBI, that Knicks players were fixing games for their drug dealer during the 1981/82 season.
According to the Post, the FBI has confirmed the authenticity of the documents cited by Tuohy in his book. The Knicks would not comment on the allegations.
According to Touhy's book, the FBI "seemed to possess very credible information that three members of the New York Knicks were shaving points as a favor to their cocaine supplier."
Newsday's Bob Herzog profiles former Knick Richie Guerin after he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last weekend.
Philadelphia Daily News' beat writer Bob Cooney originally said the Sixers would win 22 games this season, but now thinks it'll be closer to 18 after talking to a team higher-up (Twitter).

Ainge On Pierce, KG, Rivers, Stevens

September 6th, 2013 at 11:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge presided over a summer of drastic change for his team, trading Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets, arranging a deal that saw Doc Rivers head to the Clippers, and making the surprise hire of new coach Brad Stevens. Ainge spoke with Grantland's Bill Simmons about those moves and other subjects for a podcast, and NetsDaily provides a transcript that covers the Brooklyn-related items. We'll pass along some of the highlights from that, along with a few more of Ainge's quotes:

On how the trade with the Nets came to be:

"Like a lot of trades, it evolved from something completely different into a bigger deal. (It was) something that I really didn't think would happen, simply because it takes sort of a special, unique circumstance in order for a trade like that to go through, and the tax ramifications of Brooklyn are I would call unique in today's day and age in the NBA right now with the new CBA. But (the Nets were) a team that was really going for it, and money was not an object, and that was probably the reason why we got a better offer today than we would've even gotten two or three years ago."

On the influence agent Jeff Schwartz had on the Nets deal:

"I also think that Paul has a connection with having the same agent as Deron Williams and Jason Kidd, and I think there probably was some discussion going on there. I don't know that for sure, but my guess is that they had some conversation about it. I know that Paul was the one who talked KG into wanting to do the deal or letting go of his no-trade clause to make the deal happen and that took some convincing to do."

On the current value of Pierce and Garnett:

"I just think it came to the point where those guys as the best two players on a team aren't going to go very far. Those guys as a 3rd and 4th, or 4th and 5th, however you look at it, are pretty dang good still, and I think (Brooklyn) is going to have a terrific team next year."

On losing Rivers:

"I thought Doc would be our coach for a long time. When Doc signed his new contract (with the Celtics), we'd even talked about him being Jerry Sloan, and Gregg Popovich, and breaking Red Auerbach's all-time record as a Celtic coach. We knew that our guys were getting older, but we thought that this time might come, so I had anticipated Doc being around for a long time. I never had any idea that he would want out, but I understand it, and I understand the Clippers have much more to offer right now than we do on the court. I just thought that Doc wanted to continue to participate with me and (owners) Wyc Grousbeck and (Stephen Pagliuca) and (continue) to try to rebuild this thing as we had done before. At the same time, I do understand that that's not fun, and that's not fun (for) coaches."

On his pitch to Stevens and the new coach's lengthy contract with the C's:

"I think that a six-year commitment might have made a difference. I'm not sure. We never had a negotiation. His wife was his agent, and his wife wanted to understand the language in one paragraph that we explained to her, and that was basically the entire negotiation."

Atlantic Rumors: Rondo, Rivers, Pierce, Celtics

August 18th, 2013 at 12:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Training camps are still about six weeks from opening, but some Nets and Knicks are already gearing up in preparation for another crosstown battle. Nets players are organizing voluntary workouts this week in Los Angeles, with Deron Williams and Paul Pierce the driving forces, Josh Newman of SNY.tv reports via Twitter. Meanwhile, Raymond Felton expects the entire Knicks roster to get together for workouts shortly after Labor Day, the point guard tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Here's more as the offseason starts to dwindle away:

Pierce tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that Rajon Rondo's presence wasn't the force that prompted Doc Rivers to leave the Celtics, and says his goal is to outlast his contemporaries in the NBA, naming Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Nets teammate Kevin Garnett among those he hopes will precede him in retirement.
A source familiar with the Celtics tells Washburn that the team is in dire need of an assistant coach who can form a strong relationship with Rondo. The C's are reportedly targeting an ex-player for the coaching staff, with James Posey a leading candidate, and fellow Globe scribe Baxter Holmes identifies Walter McCarty as another possibility. Boston is also seeking at least one more front office executive to assist GM Danny Ainge, Holmes adds (All Twitter links).
Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams of the Sixers plus Kelly Olynyk of the Celtics are three Atlantic Division rookies among the five draftees from this June whom HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram believes could outperform their draft position.

Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Brown, Pierce, Knicks

August 11th, 2013 at 10:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers and Brett Brown are negotiating the terms of a deal that would end the team's nearly four-month search for a coach, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. That jibes with what Marc Stein tweeted Friday, when the ESPN.com scribe wondered if the Sixers would make their offer tempting enough to pry Brown away from his assistant coaching position with the Spurs. Here's more from Philly and the rest of the Atlantic Division:

Hinkie has been plain about his intentions, so no one should be shocked that the Sixers have waited so long to hire a coach, Pompey argues.
Paul Pierce tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he sensed he was headed out of Boston months prior to the trade that brought him to the Nets, so much so that he told his wife to start packing up their stuff even before this past regular season ended. Pierce still isn't certain of what lies ahead. "Who knows what’s going to happen after this year?" Pierce said to Washburn. "I don’t know what the future is going to bring. I don’t know if I’m going to be back with the Nets. I don’t know if I’m going to retire, you never know what’s going to happen. I feel like I have more in the tank but you never know with injuries, how your body feels. Sometimes those things tell you a lot quicker. Right now, I’ve been feeling good. My legs, my body feels strong."
Washburn had more from Pierce, who sympathizes with Celtics president of basketball ops Danny Ainge. "We were pretty much stuck on a treadmill as far as where we were and people don’t see the financial part of it," Pierce said. "That kind of straps a team from getting better. We were kind of in that position. How do we get better without spending money? So you have to determine if we want to stay right where we are, which is [a] four through eight seed? Or do we want to rebuild and hopefully get a player that can take us to that next level . . . This was pretty much almost inevitable."
David Lee takes a trip down memory lane with Marc Berman of the New York Post to ponder what might have been if Knicks brass had stuck with Lee and others from a fast-starting team five years ago.

Atlantic Notes: Pierce, Nets, Knicks, Udrih

August 10th, 2013 at 12:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley dropped his lawsuit against the Knicks this week in order to help facilitate a comeback to the league. The 37-year-old alleged that the Knicks pressured him into retirement in order to collect insurance on the $19MM owed to him. Now that Mobley v. Dolan is a thing of the past, the 6'4" guard can focus on trying to help a club in 2013/14. Here's more out of the Atlantic Division..

Paul Pierce admitted that uncertainty over Rajon Rondo's health helped influence his decision to get on board with the trade taking him from the Celtics to the Nets, writes Tom Layman of the Boston Herald. “If it’s up to me I would want to rebuild to win a championship by bringing players in. They were looking at the future, down the line. Rajon might not be here for the beginning of the year or however long he takes, so it would be tough for us to be a contender or get in a position to contend. Everybody saw that and I think that helped the decision on both sides," Pierce said.
Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com chatted with the newest member of the Knicks, Beno Udrih. The guard will make significantly less than he has in years past, but he is enthused about the opportunity to play in New York, where he feels that he has a real shot at a title.
Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal posits that the Knicks should hold off on adding anyone else in order to maintain roster flexibility. If the Knicks leave spot No. 15 wide open, then they can be in the mix for any intriguing late cuts that are made from rival training camps. They could also give promising youngsters C.J. Leslie and Jeremy Tyler more room to grow by electing not to add another veteran.

Atlantic Notes: J.R. Smith, Pierce, Murry, Knicks

August 8th, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this afternoon, I asked Hoops Rumors readers to vote on the offseason's best head coaching hire in the Eastern Conference. While several choices are bunched together in the middle of the pack so far, Brad Stevens of the Celtics has emerged as the clear top choice. It seems that many of you are fans of Boston's bold decision to hire the 36-year-old Stevens away from Butler and place him in charge of the team's rebuild. Here's more from around the Atlantic:

J.R. Smith tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) that his free agent negotiations with the Knicks weren't a "long, drawn-out process," since he hopes to eventually retire with the club.
In an interview with Adam Figman of SLAM Online, Paul Pierce says that he and Kevin Garnett didn't want to be part of a rebuilding process with the Celtics, and addresses a number of other topics of note.
Bernie Lee, the agent for Toure Murry, tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that his client remains in discussions with the Knicks, and will visit two other NBA teams within the next week before hopefully deciding on a deal. After signing Beno Udrih, the Knicks may not have interest in Murry on anything more than a training camp invite, though that's my speculation.
The Knicks officially announced Udrih's signing earlier today.

Eastern Notes: Knight, Pierce, McMillan

August 3rd, 2013 at 10:04pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Eastern Conference.

Despite struggling in his second season as a professional with the Pistons, then getting traded to the Bucks for Brandon Jennings, University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari still believes Brandon Knight can be a successful point guard in the NBA, writes the Detroit Free Press' Perry A. Farrell.
Doc Rivers says Paul Pierce was extremely hurt after the Celtics traded him to Brooklyn, but that the move could give him a boost, writes Newsday's Roderick Boone.
Pacers.com writer Scott Agness writes that former Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan believes he's in a great place with the Pacers next season. After spending a year out of the league, McMillan will be on Indiana's sideline in 2014 as an assistant coach.

Rivers On Pierce & Garnett’s Chances With Nets

July 27th, 2013 at 8:39pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Celtics sent Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and GM Billy King a gift-wrapped invitation to the Eastern Conference elite by dealing Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn. Before the mammoth trade went down, though, Doc Rivers was trying to get his two former players to join him with the Clippers.

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe spoke with the new Clippers head coach to ask him about how his former players will do with the Nets and rookie head coach Jason Kidd. Pierce turns 36 in October and Garnett turned 37 in May, so many are wondering how much they have left for a possible Nets title run.

On whether he's given any thought to his Clippers playing the Nets:

"I hadn't thought about the Brooklyn part of it. That's the first time I've been asked that question. I don't know, that's going to be strange. I get very emotional whenever I talk about Kevin and Paul. To see them somewhere else, our business sometimes it's tough. I leave (Boston) and people get upset at me and I don't think there's a lot of difference in their case but it was obvious the Celtics decided to move on.

"So Paul and Kevin had to go and that's a tough part of the business. But that will be strange for me, I want them to do well. For a lot of reasons I want them to do well, they could knock off Miami. But it will be interesting. It will be a while different feeling."

On what sort of role Garnett and Pierce will play for the Nets next season:

"I think obviously Paul's younger and in tune to play more minutes than Kevin. But I think they're still at the top of their games. I think Paul is still one of those guys who can go off for big nights and still have big scoring nights. Kevin is a culture change. He won't play but 20 to 25 minutes a night and there'll probably be nights when he doesn't play but his presence there alone will absolutely change the culture of Brooklyn. There's no doubt about it. I think for some of the young guys, even some of the veteran stars, Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, will learn and understand what a winner is and looks like and professionalism and being prepared.

"That's what I was most impressed with Kevin, how every game he prepared himself for games. That's what I told our young guys that I just wanted them to watch him prepare for games. It was why he was so consistent. I thought it was that important."

On how rookie coach Jason Kidd will dole out minutes for Garnett and how assistant coach, Lawrence Frank, will help:

"I think Jason [Kidd] will be fantastic in that because he probably when through that a little bit himself last year He'll be able to relate to that 100 percent. I think Lawrence Frank will be so important for Jason as well. You think about Lawrence, he worked with (the Celtics) staff, so he's worked with Kevin and he's knows Kevin as well as anybody. So I think that combination will be great for Kevin."

Odds & Ends: Nets, Celtics, Mavs, Barea

July 13th, 2013 at 12:07am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets and Celtics had agreed last month to the framework of a trade that involved Paul Pierce, but not Kevin Garnett, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Then, Brooklyn GM Billy King asked Boston counterpart Danny Ainge whether Garnett would be available, too, and the deal began to morph into the nine-player swap that was finalized today. Here's more on an ever-changing NBA landscape:

The Mavs lost a pair of guards to injury, but they aren't interested in a trade that would bring back J.J. Barea, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities.
According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), it's
worth keeping an eye on Jordanian forward Zaid Abbas, who may be NBA-bound next
month. Amick adds in a second tweet that Abbas is holding off on signing with a
Chinese team due to optimism about potential NBA workouts in August.
The Rockets hold the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou after acquiring him as part of the Thomas Robinson trade, but the Bucks are among other NBA teams with interest in the 6'9" Greek small forward who "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).
With Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Omri Casspi all joining other teams, the Cavaliers renounced their rights to the trio today, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Cavs did the same with Luke Walton, who remains a free agent.

Celtics, Nets Officially Complete Trade

July 12th, 2013 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics and Nets have officially completed the trade that will send Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn, the teams announced today in a pair of press releases.

"Today, the basketball gods smiled on the Nets," said Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov in Brooklyn's statement. "With the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, we have achieved a great balance on our roster between veteran stars and young talents. This team will be dazzling to watch, and tough to compete against."

The Nets receive Garnett, Pierce, Jason Terry, and D.J. White in the deal, while the Celtics receive Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, and Keith Bogans (signed-and-traded), along with 2014, 2016, and 2018 first-round picks. The '14 pick will be the Hawks' or Nets' selection, whichever is worse. The '16 and '18 picks are unprotected. The Celtics also have the ability to swap first-rounders with Brooklyn in 2017.

The deal couldn't be formally finalized until today because Joseph wasn't eligible to be traded within three months of signing with the Celtics on April 12th.

For more details on the swap, check out our initial post on the agreement.