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Odds & Ends: Kelly, Lakers, Nelson, Davis

November 14th, 2013 at 4:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Lakers second round pick Ryan Kelly made a strong enough impression on the club to secure a roster spot despite being sidelined for the latter part of the offseason, but there isn’t enough playing time for him on the varsity squad.  Earlier today, the Lakers announced that Kelly and forward Elias Harris have been sent down to the Los Angeles D-Fenders.  To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list for 2013/14.  Here’s more from around the Association..

  • This season Jameer Nelson is one of seven veterans with playoff experience on a Magic roster that includes eight players who are in their third NBA season or fewer, writes jessica Camerato of HoopsWorld.
  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel contends that Glen Davis‘ latest off-court incident “killed” his trade value, and Schmitz wonders whether the Magic will hold Davis out of games for the entire season.
  • A prominent online betting site has Wizards coach Randy Wittman at 2/1 odds for being the first NBA coach to get fired, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni is handicapped at 12/1 odds for being the first to get the heave-ho.
  • Zach Lowe of Grantland took an in-depth look at Lance Stephenson and the impact that he has had on the Pacers.  There’s strong mutual interest in hammering out a new deal in Indiana and that could spell the end of Danny Granger‘s tenure there.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Pacific Rumors: Lakers, Kelly, Warriors

October 22nd, 2013 at 10:15am CST by Zachary Links

The latest from the Pacific Division..

  • The Lakers still aren’t sure if they’ll be carrying 14 or 15 players on their opening night roster, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.  Strong play from Xavier Henry all but guarantees that he’ll get the 14th spot and it looks to be a two-man race for No. 15 between second round Ryan Kelly and Marcus Landry.  Right now, it looks like Kelly might have a slight edge over Landry.
  • For his part, Kelly is optimistic that he’ll make the Lakers‘ cut, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.  “I believe I’ve shown myself enough and I’ll continue to show that I’ve earned a spot on this team,” Kelly said. “But to be honest with you, I can’t worry about it at this point. I’m in a situation where I’m a little bit behind. But it doesn’t matter. I’m out on the court now where I have to prove what I can do everyday. Tomorrow is another day.”  Lakers forward Pau Gasol spoke about Kelly’s role last night and sounded pretty confident that he’ll be a part of the team come opening night.
  • Foreign import Nemanja Nedovic shows a lot of promise for the Warriors, but Andy Fahey of NBA.com cautions that he’s not likely to see major minutes this season with guard Toney Douglas spelling Stephen Curry.  Nedovic could spent a good amount of time playing with the club’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
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Western Notes: Rockets, Asik, Lakers, Kelly, Kobe

October 20th, 2013 at 8:06pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest from the Western Conference..

  • Rockets center Omer Asik has been vocal about his displeasure with taking a backseat to Dwight Howard, but for at least one night, he’ll still have a starting role.  Both big men will be in the starting lineup for preseason action against the Mavericks.  Even though it sounds like he’ll be a key part in the rotation this year and could even see some time as a starter, he doesn’t seem any less disgruntled.  Asik refused to comment on Kevin McHale‘s beefed up lineup idea, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Matt Moore of CBSSports.com looks at the best and worst case scenarios for the new-look Rockets this season.  Expectations will be high for Houston and they could realistically win 55+ games and set themselves up for a title run in their first year together.  However, if their role players don’t contribute and Jeremy Lin disappoints, Moore says they could be a one-and-done six seed in the West.
  • Ryan Kelly is still fighting for a roster spot with the Lakers, but Pau Gasol might know something that we don’t as his comments tonight inferred that he’ll be on the squad, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  “We’ll have to see how much Mike (D’Antoni) is going to use (Ryan Kelly) during the season,” said the Spaniard.
  • D’Antoni wasn’t wild about Kelly’s performance in preseason action in China, but he sounded optimistic about his skills overall, writes Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News (Sulia link).
  • When asked if he had a timetable for Kobe Bryant‘s return, coach Mike D’Antoni said that he has “no idea,” tweets McMenamin.
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Lakers Sign Ryan Kelly

September 20th, 2013 at 5:49pm CST by Luke Adams

5:49pm: It'll be a non-guaranteed one-year contract for Kelly, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. That means he's essentially no more than a training camp invitee.

3:20pm: The Lakers have officially signed second-round pick Ryan Kelly to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Kelly had been dealing with foot issues and it was unclear if he'd be healthy enough to join the team this fall, but it looks like he'll get a camp audition, at the very least.

Kelly, the 48th overall pick in this June's draft, played his senior year at Duke in 2012/13, averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 23 contests. Since the Lakers only have 11 players on fully guaranteed contracts, the 6'11" forward should have a good chance to earn a regular-season roster spot, depending on his health and production in October. In addition to those 11 guys and Kelly, Los Angeles is also bringing Shawne Williams, Marcus Landry, Xavier Henry, and Elias Harris to camp.

Details of Kelly's deal with the Lakers aren't known, but since the team is into tax territory and has used its mid-level exception, it'll have to be a minimum salary contract of some sort for the rookie. It can be for either one or two years, and will likely only have a small partial guarantee.

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Western Notes: Kobe, Kelly, Parker

September 19th, 2013 at 6:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque
As Lakers' star Kobe Bryant continues his path toward recovery, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News hears from team athletic trainer Gary Vitti that the 35-year-old guard is a few weeks away from advancing to full-weight bearing running and hasn't suffered any setbacks. With that being said, Vitti added that there still isn't a projected return date. Here's more out of the Western Conference tonight, including another injury update from Medina: 
  • As for most recent second-round pick Ryan Kelly (whom Vitti says is "asymptomatic"),  the trainers have still decided to take a conservative approach with his rehab and aren't sure when he'll be returning to action either.  
  • Tony Parker tells Mark Woods of ESPN that general manager R.C. Buford wants him to play less minutes at Eurobasket, but added that he has a great relationship with the Spurs and appreciates them letting him play for the French national team. 
  • Dan McCarney of Spurs Nation relays a snippet of Marco Belinelli's interview with HoopsHype, noting that the 27-year-old guard chose San Antonio over several other teams because of the opportunity to play for Gregg Popovich and a chance to win a championship. 
  • Rockets guard Jeremy Lin tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 about how great it was to work out with Hakeem Olajuwon and says that "anybody with (Dwight Howard) is a deadly combination" in response to the 50-year-old's recent comments about Lin and Howard being a potent duo next season (All Twitter links). 
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Western Rumors: Richardson, Barron, Jazz, Lakers

September 17th, 2013 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

With training camps set to open in less than two weeks, let's round up a few of the latest notable items out of the Western Conference….

  • A report from CentralIllinoisProud.com suggests that former Illinois guard D.J. Richardson has earned a "tryout" with the Jazz. It's not clear whether that means Richardson has been invited to camp or that he's just auditioning for the team, since Utah has been working out plenty of players recently.
  • Case in point: Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report tweets that free agent big man Earl Barron worked out for the Jazz yesterday.
  • The Lakers intend to evaluate second-round pick Ryan Kelly in about a week to see how his recovery from right foot surgery is coming, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. It's still unclear whether Kelly will get a chance to earn a spot on the Lakers' roster for the coming season.
  • There should be plenty of competition in Mavericks camp to see who deserves a look at the small forward position, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Vince Carter figures to play more at the three after the team signed a handful of guards in free agency, but Shawn Marion, Jae Crowder, and Devin Ebanks could also be in the mix, as Sneed notes.
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L.A. Rumors: Amundson, Kelly, Beasley, Nelson

September 3rd, 2013 at 10:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers may have caught and passed the Lakers in terms of on-court quality over the past couple of seasons, but that change certainly hasn't been reflected on social media. The Lakers are the most significant presence in social media among the 30 NBA teams, while the Clippers rank last, according to an Emory University study. Of course, the worlds of Facebook and Twitter move swiftly, so the gap between L.A.'s teams might not endure another disappointing season for the Lakers juxtaposed with deep playoff run for the Clips.

As we wait to see how that develops, follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook and Twitter, and catch up with the latest from the City of Angels:

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Western Notes: Lakers, Landry, Blazers, Frye

August 31st, 2013 at 9:16pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Clippers signed Antawn Jamison earlier this week, and Jamison conducted a radio interview with ESPN 710 in Los Angeles on Friday, transcribed and given context by ESPN Los Angeles scribe Ramona Shelburne this morning.

In the interview Jamison spoke about last season under the microscope with the star-studded Lakers, applauded the competitive drive of Kobe Bryant, and discussed his sometimes strained relationship with coach Mike D'Antoni, who removed Jamison from the rotation late in the year. Said Jamison of Bryant:

"I would never count Kobe Bryant out of anything. I've played with some special players. Gilbert Arenas when he was [in Washington D.C], at the top of his game, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal [in Cleveland]. I've played with a lot but never played with an individual player who had the type of mindset, the drive that he has. If [Bryant] says he's going to win a sixth ring, believe me, he's going to do everything possible to get that ring."

Jamison also said there was little communication or rapport between the players and D'Antoni after Mike Brown was fired five games into the season.  

"Mike was pretty much put in a difficult situation. There was no training camp where he could get a feel for guys. There was a breakdown of communication when we first got there. And throughout the season it was kind of up and down."

Here's more from around the Western Conference, including a possible D-League addition to the Lakers next season…

  • The Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus shares the offseason workout video (via Ryan Ellerbusch of Maximum Exposure) of Lakers summer league standout forward Marcus Landry. 
  • Landry – younger brother of Carl Landry – averaged 15.2 PPG in 5 games this summer and in February was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2013 D-League All-Star Game.
  • Pincus adds that the Lakers are planning to bring 16-20 players to training camp despite having just 12 players under contract. They're expected to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly.
  • Sam Tongue of Blazers Edge wonders whether Blazers President Chris McGowan can enhance fan experience by upgrading their digital properties to "talk with the fans, rather than at them."
  • The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn tweets that Suns GM Ryan McDonough says they'll know whether Channing Frye will play in 2013/14 in the next few weeks, but he's "optimistic he'll be able to play."
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Odds & Ends: Roster Spots, Hunt, Mavericks

August 29th, 2013 at 11:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter) points out that the Lakers, Bulls, and 76ers are the three teams that still need to sign players in order to reach the league minimum of 13 players by opening night, although it's worth noting that L.A. is still yet to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly and Philadelphia is in the same boat with Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. Also, as we pointed out a few days ago, Dexter Pittman accepted a training camp invite with Chicago and could fill that 13th roster spot if they end up offering him a guaranteed contract.

Here are more of tonight's news and notes from around the league:

  • Jeff Haubner of ESPN.com offers a two part preview of the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament.
  • Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel notes that the Bucks/Suns deal keeps Milwaukee about $1.9MM under the salary cap and saves Phoenix around $5.6MM in cap space. Gardner also has more comments from Caron Butler regarding his happiness with the trade. 
  • Former 76ers star Charles Barkley isn't happy with the way his former team handled their assistant coaching situation, saying that those who were released upon the Brett Brown hiring had worked for the team the entire summer and therefore didn't have the opportunity to look for another job (Michael Kaskey-Blomain of The Philadelphia Inquirer).  
  • Keith Schlosser of RidiculousUpside.com takes a look at Kyle Hunt, who while eligible for the D-League draft in the fall is also looking to earn an NBA training camp invite.
  • Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW suggests Mavericks fans should be happy with 45 wins and a 7th seed in the Western Conference next season. 
  • Ben Couch of BrooklynNets.com provides a brief breakdown of the Nets' depth at the center position, profiling Brook Lopez, Andray Blatche, and Mason Plumlee. 
  • Former Knick and now a member of the Canadian men's national basketball team, Andy Rautins tells Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun about how prepared he and his teammates feel heading into the FIBA Americas tournament.
  • NBA.com posted an article from Atlanta-based freelance writer Jon Cooper about Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer. Though he stressed the importance of forming good relationships with each player up to the 15th man, Budenholzer specifically mentioned Al Horford and Jeff Teague as two players that he's very much looking forward to working with.
  • Suns.com passes along an article from the archives which delves into the mind of the late former Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. 
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Draft Updates: Friday

May 17th, 2013 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:52pm: Here are a few more updates out of Chicago:

  • In a series of tweets, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists a number of the prospects the Timberwolves have talked to or will talk to in Chicago. Among those we hadn't already heard about: Alex Len, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tim Hardaway Jr., Ricky Ledo, Archie Goodwin, Reggie Bullock, and Vander Blue.
  • The Trail Blazers will meet with Caldwell-Pope today, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com adds (via Twitter) that the Blazers met with Ledo yesterday.
  • Ryan Kelly has met with the Mavericks, Celtics, and Clippers, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
  • Dennis Schroeder will work out for the Bucks, Jazz, and Rockets, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
  • Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio tweets that there's some speculation at the combine that this could finally be the year the No. 1 pick is traded.

11:44am: It took us multiple posts yesterday to round up all the tidbits trickling out of Chicago, where the NBA is holding its draft combine this week. We'll see if today is as busy, but in the meantime, here are the latest updates on the 2013 draft:

  • Some NBA executives believe that it's possible Shabazz Muhammad falls out of the top 10 and perhaps even the lottery on draft night, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
  • In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford passes along the official measurements on the players in Chicago, and provides a few thoughts on the results.
  • Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link) hears from an NBA source that the Warriors believe they can acquire either a first- or second-round pick in this year's draft, if they so choose. Kawakami adds in a second tweet that a pick would mostly just cost money, but I'm skeptical that the Warriors could pick up a first-rounder without giving up anything of value, or that they'd even want to add a rookie-scale salary, given their proximity to the tax.
  • Alex Len met with the Bobcats last night and will meet with the Cavaliers today, according to tweets from Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal. David Mayo of MLive.com tweets that Len has nothing set up with the Pistons and "wasn't too enthused" when asked about them — perhaps that would change if Detroit jumped into the top three in next week's lottery.
  • The Pistons will meet with Rudy Gobert today, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
  • Steven Adams interviewed with the Magic last night, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Chad Ford heard that Adams was the big winner on the first day of the combine, with "GM after GM" impressed by his showing.
  • Kelly Olynyk has met with the Bucks, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
  • Myck Kabongo met with the Knicks and Trail Blazers earlier in the week, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Mason Plumlee also expects to meet with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
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