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Southwest Notes: Howard, Leonard, McGee

December 19th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Though he acknowledges that center Dwight Howard is unhappy with the current state of the Rockets, interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff refutes any notion that Howard is a disruptive influence in the locker room, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “Since I’ve taken over [for fired coach Kevin McHale], I’ve tried to spend a lot of time with Dwight,” Bickerstaff told Amick. “And Dwight’s mind, his heart, are in the right place. He’s about the right things. Dwight wants to win. He wants to play the right way. He wants to contribute to winning, obviously at a high level. So for me, that’s all I can go on. I trust Dwight. He hasn’t misled me at any point since I’ve known him, since I’ve been working with him. So I can’t hang any value to what other people are saying.”

“I know he’s frustrated, I’m sure,” Bickerstaff continued. “[But] I don’t see him as a guy who’s looking to take the easy way out. … He has been there to perform through all of it. He’s been hurt. He’s been battling the knees, the back, all those things, and never once has he let on that he didn’t want to be a part of it or he was going to take the easy way out. I think he needs to have a bigger role, but I think it’s a combination of how we get him to that point. I’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball in positions where he can score.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard isn’t surprised by his ascent to NBA stardom, because he knows just how hard he worked to get his game to its current level, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com writes. “I worked hard,” Leonard said. “It’s my fifth year. It’s not just about what I did this summer, it’s about the experience I had under my belt for the past four years. It just comes with a mindset. There are a lot of guys that stay in the gym and don’t get any better. It’s about being smart, figuring out your weaknesses and not being scared to do it in the games.“
Despite not seeing much action for the Mavericks as he makes his return from injury, center JaVale McGee remains an important piece for the team given its lack of rim protecting big men, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “He’s not 100% of the player he was before the injury just because he hasn’t had a training camp and he hasn’t had a significant amount of time since being cleared,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Matchups are part of it with everybody playing smaller. It’s just a little trickier getting him minutes.“

Southwest Notes: Ellis, Randolph, Neal

December 17th, 2015 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the decision not to make an offer to Monta Ellis over the summer came down to a desire to clear cap space, not because of Ellis’ age (he turned 30 in October) or any thought that he was in decline, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

“We love Monta as a person, his family. It was one of the times where I went back and forth a lot,” Cuban said. “Not just on the basketball side but on the family side. His wife [plans to attend] law school. His wife has an amazing future as a lawyer and it was hard. That’s the down side of this business.”

Ellis instead signed with the Pacers, though he’s still feeling the effects of offseason surgery, as Buckner also reports and as we passed along earlier. See more from the Southwest Division:

Zach Randolph, now coming off the bench for the Grizzlies, tells Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com that he’s on board with his reduced role, and Randolph agrees with Jackson’s assertion that a dead-eye shooter in the mold of J.J. Redick is the missing element on the Memphis roster.
Gary Neal roots for the Spurs whenever he’s not playing them and has plenty of admiration for the team with which he spent his first three NBA seasons, notes Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. Neal is on a one-year, $2.139MM contract with the Wizards.
The Mavs‘ inability to trade a first-round pick for any draft prior to 2018 and the lack of value their expiring contracts have in a market full of teams with cap flexibility for 2016 make it difficult to envision Dallas pulling off any swap that significantly upgrades the roster this season, contends Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.

And-Ones: Howard, McCallum, Payne

December 16th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets expect that Dwight Howard will turn down his more than $23.282MM player option for next season, a source told USA Today’s Sam Amick. That’s no surprise, since the 30-year-old Dan Fegan client can lock in up to five more years of guaranteed salary with a new contract in free agency next summer, when his maximum salary is projected to come in at $29.3MM. Howard hasn’t expressed any desire that the Rockets trade him, sources told Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, and in the interview with Amick, the center reiterated his public denial that he’s unhappy playing a secondary role to James Harden.

“People can say what they want about me and James and that whole situation, but I came here and the biggest reason was because of him, because I want both of us to grow and be great basketball players and be great teammates together,” Howard said to Amick.”It’s on us to do it. We are the ones who are held accountable for the good things and the bad things that happen to this team, and I came here with that mission, so that both of us can grow.“

The team still envisions Howard as a key part of its future and isn’t thinking about trading him, according to Amick. Here’s more from around the league:

The Thunder recalled Cameron Payne and Josh Huestis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Huestis has appeared in nine games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game, while Payne has made two D-League appearances, notching 23.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.00 steals in 34.0 minutes per night.
The Jazz have recalled center Tibor Pleiss from the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the first D-League assignment of the campaign for Pleiss, who has been with the Stampede since November 30th.
The Clippers assigned C.J. Wilcox to the D-League, the team announced via a press release. Since the team does not have its own affiliate, Wilcox will report to the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ affiliate, as part of the flexible assignment system.
The Spurs have assigned point guard Ray McCallum to their D-League affiliate in Austin, the team announced. The will be second stint with Austin this season. He logged 12 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds during his first D-League trip of the campaign.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Howard, Anderson, Wright

December 16th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard denies that he’s “extremely unhappy” in Houston and said to reporters Tuesday that he hasn’t expressed any discontent with playing a secondary role to James Harden, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. Howard, taking his fewest shots per game since he was a rookie, said last week he’s not worried about his part in the Rockets offense and that he believes his role will increase, Feigen points out.

“I want us to win,” Howard said Tuesday. “We had two upsetting losses. We’re all frustrated because we know we can play better. I haven’t said anything to any reporter or to anybody about being unhappy. That’s only noise. All the other stuff is lies.”

See more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans have listened to teams that have called with interest in trading for Ryan Anderson, and while they’re actively exploring trade possibilities and engaging teams on other matters, they’re not shopping the power forward, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter links). The Rockets have reportedly “kicked the tires” on potential deals involving Anderson, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, while the team would consider giving up Anderson for Markieff Morris, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported. The Suns and Pelicans have had preliminary talks about Morris, Wojnarowski and Charania wrote, and Anderson’s name is involved in that discussion, too, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune.
An initial timetable has Grizzlies big man Brandan Wright back in six to eight weeks after a knee surgery he’s scheduled to undergo Thursday, reports Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM in Memphis (Twitter links). Wright, a key offseason free agent signee for Memphis, hasn’t played since November 7th as he and the team held out hope that his sore right knee would heal without the procedure, Vernon adds.
Jonathon Simmons made the D-League affiliate of the Spurs through an open tryout in 2013, but he averaged fewer than 10 points a game in 2013/14 and thought about quitting pro basketball in the summer of 2014, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details. Now, the 26-year-old is in the Spurs rotation after signing an NBA deal this past summer that includes a fully guaranteed salary for this season.

Southwest Notes: Anderson, McDaniels, Leonard

December 15th, 2015 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have “kicked the tires” on trade scenarios involving Markieff Morris and Ryan Anderson, though it doesn’t seem likely they’ll deal for either, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. It’s clear the team has shopped Terrence Jones and K.J. McDaniels, though Rockets sources label such talk as routine and due diligence, Kyler adds. Sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com earlier this month that the Rockets were interested in Morris and would likely give up Jones to get him. The Pelicans would consider giving up Anderson for Morris, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, but New Orleans is not anxious to trade him, Kyler wrote earlier this month. McDaniels has appeared for a total of only 39 minutes this season after signing a three-year, $10MM deal in the offseason. See more from around the Southwest Division:

Rookie scale contracts will look “like gold” as the salary cap escalates and their dollar values remain the same, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com in the offseason, a signal that the team knows it must replenish its youth, Lowe writes. Dallas is turning away any teams interested in trading for Justin Anderson, this year’s 21st overall pick, sources tell Lowe.
Kawhi Leonard won the Defensive Player of the Year award last season, and after signing a five-year max deal to stay with the Spurs in the summer, his defense has improved even further, Spurs coach/executive Gregg Popovich acknowledged, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News relays (Twitter links).
The Pelicans have been slow to pick up the ball movement principles in new coach Alvin Gentry‘s offense, observes John Reid of The Times Picayune. New Orleans struggled with injuries throughout the preseason, keeping players from the opportunity to learn the new system. The Pelicans have the NBA’s third-worst record, though that puts them in prime lottery position, as our Reverse Standings show.

Southwest Notes: Joerger, Simmons, Bickerstaff

December 14th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Stein of ESPN.com points to comments that Dave Joerger made recently as “thinly veiled shots” at Joe Abadi (Twitter links), the liaison between owner Robert Pera and GM Chris Wallace, but Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal interprets Joerger’s criticism as somewhat more subtle. The Grizzlies coach has established a pattern of “muted but direct acknowledgement” of the roster’s shortcomings, and his job is not necessarily in more trouble than any other NBA coach’s job is at risk when the team isn’t performing up to expectations, Herrington contends. The Commercial Appeal scribe’s piece delves more into the changing times in Memphis, and we’ll share more on that amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies have had few reasonable options to forestall the end of their “grit ‘n’ grind” run that countered the league’s small-ball trend, and Joerger’s decision to bench Zach Randolph and Tony Allen on Sunday signals the imminent death of the Grizzlies as we know them, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller opines. Ziller believes Joerger’s decision frees Memphis to explore trades for Randolph and Allen, both of whom have contracts that run through next season.
Jonathon Simmons is showing off his athleticism and has averaged double figures in points over his last four games for the Spurs, and coach/executive Gregg Popovich seems impressed so far, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio News-Express details. Simmons has a fully guaranteed salary this season, but next season’s minimum salary is non-guaranteed.
The Rockets have surged since new coach J.B. Bickerstaff moved Clint Capela and Patrick Beverley into the starting lineup, as the team has gone 7-2 with both of them present for the opening tip, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Southwest Notes: Popovich, Simmons, Gentry

December 12th, 2015 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said the franchise used a low-key approach on LaMarcus Aldridge, as it does on all free agents, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Popovich said the Spurs learned a hard lesson about promoting the team to free agents when it tried to lure Jason Kidd in 2003. “If they come, they come,” Popovich said. “If they don’t, I don’t care. Because it’s as simple as that. Especially for a guy who’s been in the league for nine years. You know what he can do, you know what he can’t do. You know what you like, you know what you don’t like. Whatever it might be. But more importantly, he knows who you are, and he knows what team he would like to go to for whatever reasons.” The Spurs’ approach worked on Aldridge, who agreed to a four-year, $80MM deal in July.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Spurs may have found another hidden talent in Jonathon Simmons, according to Quixem Ramirez of SB Nation. Simmons, who scored 9 points in 19 minutes in Friday’s win over the Lakers, spent the last two seasons with the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in Austin. He signed a two-year deal in July with a non-guaranteed salary for the second season.
Even though his former team is 24-0, Alvin Gentry is happy to be in New Orleans, writes Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. Gentry, who left the Warriors to become coach of the Pelicans, probably would be guiding Golden State in Steve Kerr’s absence instead of Luke Walton if he had stayed. However, Gentry doesn’t second guess his decision, even with New Orleans off to a 6-16 start. “I’m truly a believer in that God has a plan for all of us,” Gentry said. “I truly believe I’m where I’m supposed to be, and Luke’s where he’s supposed to be.”
The Mavericks have recalled Justin Anderson from the D-League, the team announced today. The 6’6″ guard is averaging 2.3 points in 6.4 minutes of playing time in 16 games with the Mavericks. He has been sent down and called up twice in the past two days, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Anderson’s latest recall was because Deron Williams missed tonight’s game in Washington with an illness (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Cole, Anderson, Pachulia, Jenkins

December 11th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

John Reid of The Times Picayune suggests that it’s doubtful that either Ryan Anderson or Norris Cole will re-sign with the Pelicans as unrestricted free agent this coming summer. The qualifying offer that Cole received from the Pelicans in restricted free agency this past offseason was the best he had, according to Reid, who points out that it still took him until the middle of September to agree to come back to New Orleans. The team is making Anderson available to other teams for a trade, Reid confirms, advancing a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that said the Pelicans would consider dealing Anderson to the Suns for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson signaled he wouldn’t re-sign. The team is looking for a quick fix after starting 5-16, Reid adds. See more from the Southwest Division:

DeAndre Jordan‘s flip-flop on his decision to sign with the Mavericks led Dallas to trade for Zaza Pachulia, and while Pachulia is no Jordan, he’s had success this season and has won over a key teammate, as Ian Thomsen of NBA.com details. “After we didn’t get DeAndre we moved on pretty quick, and getting Zaza was a really good move,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “He is one of the smartest centers I ever played with. He can pass, he can shoot a little bit, he can put it on the floor. He may be undersized some nights, but he’s got a big heart, he fights and he is very, very smart. He will compete for us and I love him to death.”
Mavs offseason signee John Jenkins hasn’t put up the same flashy numbers in the regular season that he did during the preseason, but the opportunity Dallas gave him to excel during exhibitions was a key boost, he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was huge,” Jenkins said. “I knew I had that in me. I was just showing everybody else. For me to do that was a lot of fun. They gave me the ball and said ‘Do what you do.’ Which is different. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Boban Marjanovic credits his recent D-League stint with helping his game, and his Spurs teammates are urging the free agent acquisition to use his 7’3″ size to his advantage on the court, observes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Brown, Joseph

December 10th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown has already developed a solid relationship with new team executive Jerry Colangelo, who was officially hired on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. When asked how often he communicates with Colangelo, Brown responded, “All the time. I think for me to be able to call upon somebody like him and say, what do you think of that, is a priceless sounding board for me. I love it. I respect his history. When answers come out you immediately respect the history of which that opinion was formed. It’s amazing.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony is frustrated by the team’s struggles this season and isn’t hiding his displeasure, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes. “Losing is frustrating,” Anthony said. “I don’t want this to be an ongoing situation or an ongoing feeling where we have to come into the locker room and explain why we’re losing basketball games.” Anthony is also upset with New York’s pace of play, and wants the team to increase its tempo, a team source tells Begley. “He [Anthony] felt like they were stuck in the half court too much,” the source told the ESPN scribe.
The Raptors are hoping to imitate the long-term success of the Spurs as an organization, which is one reason why Toronto signed Cory Joseph this past offseason, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “You can’t go through a program like that, I don’t care what program you are with in college or the pros, if you’re from a successful program some of those habits come away with you,” said coach Dwane Casey of Joseph. “That’s why bringing a guy in like that from a winning program, that’s won a championship, knows what it takes to win. Those qualities have rubbed off on him.“
The Celtics have once again assigned power forward Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Mickey’s sixth trek to Maine this season, as our tracker shows.

Southwest Notes: Joseph, Terry, McDaniels, Ennis

December 9th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs “badly wanted” to keep Cory Joseph this summer and rejected attempts by the Raptors and others to trade for him in past years, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Still, they knew that they needed cap space to sign LaMarcus Aldridge, and so they pulled their qualifying offer to him a few days into his free agency, a move that didn’t take Joseph by surprise, since they told him it was a possibility, reports Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. Joseph signed a four-year, $30MM deal with the Raptors.

“Obviously I loved, enjoyed, and had a great time in San Antonio,” Joseph said to Young. “I was there the past four years. Everything was great – coaching staff, players, fans; everybody was amazing to me. But it was time to move on, and you know, take a different direction in my career.”

Joseph has thrived in Toronto, where he’s seeing 26.3 minutes per game, and longtime former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, now Hawks coach and president of basketball operations, is a fan, as Wolstat details. See more from the Southwest Division:

Jason Terry‘s production has tailed off since his injury-hit season with the Nets in 2013/14, but he credits that year for helping teach him how to have continued influence in the NBA, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Terry, 38 is on a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Rockets. “It started in Boston, but continued in Brooklyn, watching [Kevin Garnett] and how he interacted with the team and the guys,” Terry said. “Also, Jason Kidd being the head coach here, he gave me a lot of leeway, gave me a voice to kind of help while I was still playing. Being in Brooklyn definitely helped me in Houston the last two years. I have a huge influence, from breaking down film for individual guys to in-game mental management and to be the hype-man so to speak to keep guys motivated and engaged. It’s easy to be engaged when you’re playing a lot, but sometimes you’re not. You still have to know what’s going on out on the court. That’s where I come in.”
The Rockets have recalled K.J. McDaniels, the team announced (Twitter link). McDaniels has averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 38.5 minutes per game across four D-League appearances so far.
James Ennis is also back from the D-League, as the Grizzlies have recalled the swingman from their affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). The assignment was his second since he came to Memphis in the Mario Chalmers deal. The Heat never sent him to the D-League at any point before trading him.