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Southwest Notes: Okafor, Spurs, Odom

May 4th, 2012 at 9:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The three Southwest Division teams that made it to the playoffs find themselves in three different positions at the moment. The Spurs look to take a 3-0 lead on the Jazz tomorrow in Salt Lake City, while the Grizzlies rebounded from their collapse in Game 1 against the Clippers to even that series at 1-1. The Mavs, meanwhile, are staring at the historically impossible 0-3 hole against the Thunder. Here's the rest of what's up in the Southwest:

Hornets coach Monty Williams says Emeka Okafor's recovery from a knee injury that ended his season will help determine the team's long-term plans for the center, John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports. Earlier today, Luke Adams wondered whether the Hornets would use the amnesty clause to waive Okafor this summer as he previewed the team's offseason.
In a Q&A on FIBA.com, Manu Ginobili says he thinks depth has been critical to the success of the Spurs this year (hat tip to Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News).
Thunder point guard Derek Fisher believes former teammate Lamar Odom is headed in the right direction as he looks to move past this year's lost season with the Mavs, as Jeff Caplan ofESPNDallas reports.

Odds & Ends: Chandler, Jackson, Kidd, Cavs

May 1st, 2012 at 10:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Tuesday night:

The Nuggets' official website notes that Wilson Chandler is recovering successfully from his recent hip surgery. Chandler signed a five-year deal with the Nuggets in March after returning from his stint in China.
MySanAntonio.com's Buck Harvey wonders how Stephen Jackson's career would have differed had he remained with the Spurs the entire time.
The Bay Area News Group's Marcus Thompson speculates that the Warriors may look at Jason Kidd as an option at backup point guard this offseason.
Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico compares the Cavaliers' current roster and financial flexibility to that of the rest of the Eastern Conference lottery teams.

Gregg Popovich Named Coach Of The Year

May 1st, 2012 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Gregg Popovich has been named the NBA's 2011/12 Coach of the Year, the league officially announced today. It's the second Red Auerbach trophy for the longtime Spurs coach, who also took home the award in 2003.

Popvich's Spurs entered the season as something of an afterthought in a Southwest Division that also featured the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Although the Spurs didn't receive much recognition in experts' preseason predictions, San Antonio finished the season tied for the NBA's best record at 50-16.

Popovich led the team to three separate 11-game winning streaks and a number one seed in the West, while managing to rest his stars frequently during the lockout-shortened season. He also integrated other teams' cast-offs like Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson into his rotation over the season's final few weeks, and was responsible for arguably the box-score highlight of the year.

Tom Thibodeau of the Bulls, Frank Vogel of the Pacers, Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies, and Doc Rivers of the Celtics were among the other candidates for the award, finishing second through fifth respectively.

Injuries Take A Starring Role In 2012 Playoffs

April 29th, 2012 at 12:04pm CST by Daniel Seco

With horrific injuries spelling an early end to the season for Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert, let's take a look at the other 14 playoff teams to see how a missing player may mean the difference between a Finals appearance and a first-round exit.

Heat: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade enter the playoffs healthier than usual thanks to some much needed rest during the final week of the regular season. The Heat stand to benefit the most from Shumpert and Rose's injuries as a sweep against the Knicks means less of a challenge for Wade on the offensive end and an easier path to winning a title. Look for the Heat to advance to at least the Finals if they can duplicate the success they enjoyed during the first half of the season.
Pacers: The Pacers are injury-free heading into Game 2 against the Magic, who pulled off the upset Saturday evening in Indiana. Utilizing seven-foot-two center Roy Hibbert's size to their fullest advantage will be key for the Pacers as their big man only managed to score eight points but blocked nine shots as he dominated the paint defensively. With Dwight Howard on the shelf for the entirety of the playoffs, the Magic are severely undersized with six-foot-nine Glen Davis taking over at center for Superman.
Celtics: Ray Allen is expected to miss Game 1 in Atlanta against the Hawks as he battles bone spurs in his right ankle. If the Celtics had missed the playoffs, Allen would have undergone surgery immediately to help alleviate the pain. The Celtics will turn to Avery Bradley and his burgeoning reputation as a solid three-point shooter for the majority of the series as Allen's status remains unknown.
Hawks: The center position has been an area of concern for the Hawks with Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia currently sidelined with injuries. Horford, who has been out since January 11 with a torn left pectoral muscle, will miss the entire first round of the playoffs but may be able to return if the team advances. A foot injury to Pachulia that caused him to miss the team's last seven games will force the Hawks to rely on Jason Collins in order to solidify their frontcourt.
Magic: The Magic's chances of making a run in the playoffs took a huge hit when Howard called it a season in mid-April as he elected to undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. Without Howard, the Magic will feature an undersized frontcourt against a much larger Pacers squad. Much uncertainty surrounds the future of the franchise given Howard's impending free agency in 2013 and his desire to replace head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Sixers: Aside from rookie center Lavoy Allen spraining his thumb in Game 1, the Sixers feature a healthy roster as they return to action Tuesday night against the Bulls. With Rose out for the remainder of the series, the Sixers will look to capitalize on the perimeter as Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner should benefit from having to guard John Lucas III rather than the league's reigning MVP.
Spurs: After a series of injuries cost Manu Ginobili nearly half the season, the Spurs enter the playoffs with a fresh roster looking to make a title run. Future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, 36, played a career-low 28.2 MPG this season but is still performing at a high level. The addition of Stephen Jackson at the trade deadline along with the subtraction of Richard Jefferson may be enough to lead the Spurs to their fifth title under Gregg Popovich.
Thunder: James Harden returned to action on Saturday night against the Mavs after missing his last two games with a concussion suffered against the Lakers last Sunday. He appeared to be completely recovered as he scored an efficient 19 points in 35 minutes of the bench. Beyond Harden, the Thunder lost backup point guard Eric Maynor for the season due to a torn ACL in January, but remedied the situation by signing veteran Derek Fisher to a contract in March.
Lakers: A healthy Andrew Bynum and a rested Kobe Bryant may allow for the under-the-radar Lakers to make a run in the wide-open Western Conference playoffs. While not an injury, Los Angeles will be without Metta World Peace for the first six games of the playoffs due to suspension.
Grizzlies: Memphis lost Darrell Arthur for the season after the power forward suffered a torn Achilles tendon in practice back in December. A healthy Zach Randolph has played himself back into shape after missing time earlier this season due to a knee injury.
Clippers: Many critics expected the Clippers to implode after Chauncey Billups went down on February 6 with a torn Achilles tendon. While the Clippers slipped to the fifth seed, they reinvented the image of the franchise and gained respect from around the league thanks to MVP-like play from Chris Paul.
Nuggets: After spending the majority of the season abroad in China, Wilson Chandler returned to Denver for a brief stint before suffering a season-ending injury to his hip in mid-April. The Nuggets will open against the Lakers without Rudy Fernandez, who had surgery on his lower back in March to end his season.
Mavericks: A healthy Mavs squad will face a difficult journey in defending their title as they open the playoffs against the Thunder. Saturday night saw a missed opportunity by Dallas to steal Game 1 on the road as they lost in Oklahoma City by the score of 99-98. Any chance of exploiting Harden's concussion was nullified with a strong performance by the Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Jazz: Small forward C.J. Miles may miss the start of the playoffs against the Spurs with a strained calf. The team will look for strong production out of star Al Jefferson, who had the opportunity to rest late last week as the center only played limited minutes in the team's regular season finale.

Assessing The 2011/12 Waiver Claims

April 28th, 2012 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The vast majority of players placed on waivers go unclaimed and become free agents, but this year, there have been more waiver claims than usual, including a pair of players claimed after their previous teams waived them using the amnesty clause. Last month, Luke Adams provided a rundown on how teams can claim players off waivers, so now let's take a look at how this season's waiver claims have worked out.

The most prominent example is Jeremy Lin, who was twice claimed off waivers this season after originally being let go by the Warriors. The Rockets claimed him December 11th, waived him a couple weeks later, and the Knicks made their claim December 27th. Left knee surgery will likely keep him out for the rest of the season unless the Knicks make a deep playoff run, but he'll wind up averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.2 APG, not too shabby for a player twice on the NBA scrapheap.
Knicks GM Glen Grunwald struck gold with yet another waiver claim in Steve Novak, whom they picked up December 21st. Novak’s rise coincided with Lin’s, as he broke loose for 19 points in Lin’s first start, and has kept up his consistent long-range bombing even without Lin on the floor. He led the league in three-point percentage at 47.2%, but his shooting has never been in question. The difference this year was that he did enough in other phases of the game to warrant significant playing time. A career 4.9 PPG scorer, he averaged 10.4 PPG in 21.7 MPG beginning with that 19-point game on February 6th. We can only imagine how much better the Spurs would have been had they not waived him December 19th.
Waiver claims are so infrequent that teams will sometimes agree to terms with players before they clear waivers. That’s what appeared to happen in March, when J.J. Hickson was dressed in Warriors gear and ready for a shootaround with Golden State when word hit that the Blazers had claimed him. We’ll never know how it would have worked out for him with the Warriors, but Hickson has thrived since joining Portland on March 21st, more than tripling the scoring average he put up in the first half of the season with the Kings (15.1 PPG to 4.7 PPG). He averaged 17.6 PPG and 10.6 RPG as a starter over the final eight games, and will be a sought-after commodity this summer, particularly if the Blazers fail to extend a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Chauncey Billups warned teams not to claim him when the Knicks amnestied him before the season, hoping he could sign with a contender as a free agent, but the Clippers claimed him anyway December 12th. It all worked out, as the Clippers became the sort of contending team Billups wanted to play for anyway when they traded for Chris Paul a few days later. Billups slid over to shooting guard and adjusted smoothly to his new position, averaging 15.0 PPG before going down with a season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear on February 6th.
The Kings had much less success with claiming an amnestied player, saddling themselves on Dec. 17th with Travis Outlaw for $12MM over the remaining four years of his contract. He was even less of a factor in Sacramento than he was for the Nets before they waived him, averaging just 4.3 PPG in 12.8 MPG, his worst numbers since he was a rookie in 2003/04.
The Warriors tried to replace Jeremy Lin when they claimed Ish Smith, another backup point guard, off waivers from the Grizzlies on December 16th. Smith was there for only six games and 63 total minutes before the Warriors put him back on waivers on January 14th. He went unclaimed this time, and was signed as a free agent February 2nd by the Magic, with whom he’s played the rest of the season.
The Blazers quietly let go of backup big man Chris Johnson at the trade deadline, and amid rumors the Celtics were interested, the Hornets snapped him up off waivers March 19th. Depleted as the Hornets were along the front line this year, Johnson still only saw 82 total minutes over seven games before New Orleans put him back out on waivers April 18th. He remains unsigned since.
Rod Higgins, the president of basketball operations for the Bobcats, gave son Cory Higgins quite a present on Christmas Day when the team claimed him off waivers from the Nuggets. The undrafted 22-year-old rookie from Colorado stayed on the Bobcats roster the entire season, averaging 3.9 PPG in 11.1 MPG.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Dragic, Batum, Terry

April 27th, 2012 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Southwest Division will be well represented in this year's postseason, with the defending champion Mavericks getting their series underway tomorrow night in Oklahoma City. The Spurs and Grizzlies will join the action on Sunday, hosting Game Ones against the Jazz and Clippers, respectively. While we look forward to what should be some excellent series, let's round up the latest news and rumors out of the division….

Following Thursday's regular-season finale, there was a sense in the Rockets' locker room that the team could look much different next season, says Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. According to Feigen, Houston's primary goal, to find a star player to be the team's foundation, remains unchanged.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey seems very interested in re-signing Goran Dragic, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Morey took to Twitter last night to lobby for Dragic's return, tweeting: "Rockets fans,tell Goran Dragic how much U want him 2extend his time with Hou. I will get your message 2him."
Nicolas Batum talked to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com about the possibility of signing with the Spurs this summer.
Rick Gosselin and Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News discuss Jason Terry's contract situation with the Mavericks, and whether the free-agent-to-be will be "playing for his money" during the postseason.

Spurs Sign Derrick Byars

April 26th, 2012 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have officially signed Derrick Byars, the team announced. San Antonio had an extra roster spot, so the team didn't need to make a corresponding move to clear room for Byars.

Byars, who turns 28 today, has played for the D-League's Bakersfield Jam for the past three seasons, averaging 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 35.3 minutes per game in 104 career contests for the team. The wing player was selected in the second round of the 2007 draft by the Trail Blazers and was in camp with the Heat this preseason, though he has never appeared in a regular season NBA game.

It would be surprising if Byars received any playing time in the postseason for San Antonio, but he'll provide extra depth at the end of the bench in a spot that otherwise wouldn't have been used. The Spurs also recalled Cory Joseph from their own D-League squad Wednesday.

Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside first reported that the Spurs would sign Byars. According to RealGM's transactions log, the 28-year-old inked a multiyear deal, so there's likely a non-guaranteed year in addition to the remainder of this season.

Minor Moves: Eyenga, Joseph, Wright

April 25th, 2012 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll track the latest notable international and D-League-related transactions right here, with the newest up top:

Christian Eyenga practiced with the Lakers today and is expected to play tomorrow in Sacramento, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. Eyenga, who was acquired along with Ramon Sessions at the trade deadline, had been playing with the D-League's D-Fenders since the deal, but persumably has now been recalled.
The Spurs have recalled Cory Joseph from their D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, the Spurs announced today. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News first tweeted that the move was expected, noting that it wouldn't bode well for the Toros in the D-League Finals. As our log of D-League assignments and recalls shows, Joseph has been optioned to Austin three times this season, so he won't be able to rejoin the Toros again for the end of their season.
Former 15th-overall pick Antoine Wright has signed with Venezuelan team Guaiqueries de Margarita, the team announced (hat tip to Sportando). Wright, 28, had joined the D-League earlier this season in hopes of making it back to the NBA.

Spurs Eyeing Nicolas Batum

April 24th, 2012 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

Nicolas Batum will become a restricted free agent at season's end, and it's not clear yet how the Trail Blazers will value him, since the team could have a new general manager in place in a matter of weeks. However, one team that figures to make a "hard push" for Batum is the Spurs, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

When Batum entered the league in 2008, he expected to be drafted by the Spurs and was "confused" when he was selected by the Rockets, who traded him to Portland. Batum is close friends and international teammates with Tony Parker and would love to play in Gregg Popovich's system, says Haynes.

Since Batum will be a restricted free agent, the Blazers will have the option of matching any offer sheet the 23-year-old signs. Team president Larry Miller has said the plan is to retain Batum, as long as another club doesn't make him a "crazy" offer. While we don't know how high Portland would be willing to go to keep its starting small forward, the team will have plenty of cap space this summer. Haynes hears from league executives that Batum could command as much as $10-11MM per season.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Batum's free agent stock last night.

Minor Moves: Justin Dentmon, Derrick Caracter

April 21st, 2012 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll round up today's news from the D-League and international circuits here, with the latest up top:

Guard Justin Dentmon has been named D-League MVP, RealGM.com reports. Dentmon, playing for the Austin Toros, was D-League's fourth-leading scorer at 22.8 PPG, and also racked up 5.5 APG and 1.6 steals a night. As our 10-day tracker shows, the University of Washington product signed a pair of 10-day deals with NBA teams this season, averaging 4.3 PPG and 1.7 APG in a total of six games with the Spurs and Raptors.
Former Laker Derrick Caracter has signed with the Puerto Rican team Mets de Guaynabo, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports. Caracter, a 2010 second-round pick who appeared in 41 games for the Lakers last year, was waived by the team in February and let go by the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers last month.