Southwest Notes: Asik, Casspi, Mavs, Thomas
On the heels of last night’s loss in Portland, the Rockets will face another tough test tonight, as they travel to Golden State to face the Warriors. Houston is one of four Southwest teams in action tonight, as the Spurs host the Timberwolves while the Grizzlies play the Pelicans in New Orleans. Here’s the latest out of the division:
- The Rockets will almost certainly move Omer Asik within the next week, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle expects it to be a three-team deal (Twitter link).
- Omri Casspi spoke to Feigen about how a summer voice mail from coach Kevin McHale boosted Casspi’s confidence and acted as a catalyst for his signing with the Rockets.
- According to GM Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks have no plans to add a veteran guard to the roster while they wait for Devin Harris to continue his recovery from toe surgery, writes Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Spurs have recalled Malcolm Thomas from the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. In his two-game stint with the Austin Toros, Thomas averaged a double-double (19.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG).
Central Notes: Neal, Teague, Cavs
This past offseason, the Spurs extended then-restricted free agent Gary Neal a qualifying offer worth about $1.1MM, which was significantly below the two-year, $7.5MM agreement he eventually reached with the Bucks. According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News, Neal believes he got a fair shake from Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford and understood that he wouldn’t be retained if he wanted more than what San Antonio was initially offering:
“I figured after three years, the Spurs benefitted me, and I benefitted the Spurs…But it’s a business. I kind of knew after Game 7 in the Finals, unless I signed a qualifying offer, I wouldn’t be back…I have no complaints…If (they didn’t give me the opportunity), they could have found another guy one of those summers to shoot 40 percent from three,..I thank Coach Pop a thousand times for that.”
Here’s more out of the Central Division:
- The rest of the league is confused why the Bulls aren’t willing to give Marquis Teague more playing time, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Chicago reportedly dangled Teague in trade talks during the preseason.
- The Cavaliers have recalled Carrick Felix, Sergey Karasev, and Henry Sims from the D-League, as per the team’s official website.
- Pistons forward Gigi Datome is determined to play for the Italian national team next summer, whether it’d be during the FIBA World Cup or the Eurobasket Qualifying Round, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (hat tip to Tuttosport).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southwest Rumors: Grizzlies, Asik, Dalembert
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reveals the details behind the Grizzlies‘ bizarre parting with assistant coach Barry Hecker in the middle of last season’s playoffs. Hecker butted heads with former head coach Lionel Hollins as well as Dave Joerger, who was then a fellow assistant, and he alleges that Joerger was after Hollins’ job as early as two years ago. There’s more on the Grizzlies coaching situation among the latest news from the Southwest Division:
- The Grizzlies front office is beginning to wonder if they made the right hire with their decision to promote Joerger, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports notes in his weekly power rankings. Joerger’s job is nonetheless safe, Spears adds.
- An executive tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio not to rule out the Celtics and Bucks as possible destinations for Rockets center Omer Asik. Other recent reports have also linked those teams to Asik.
- The Mavericks planned to make Samuel Dalembert their starting center when they signed him to a two-year deal this past offseason, but he’s in danger of falling out of the rotation, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- The Spurs recalled Aron Baynes and Nando De Colo from the D-League today, the team announced. De Colo had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Baynes put up 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Austin Toros last night, hours after the Spurs sent them down along with Malcolm Thomas.
Minor Moves: Baynes, De Colo, Spurs, Conroy
Today’s minor moves..
- The Spurs assigned center Aron Baynes, guard Nando De Colo, and forward Malcolm Thomas to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. Baynes has appeared in 11 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.9 minutes. De Colo has seen action in six contests this season for the Silver and Black, averaging 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 9.0 minutes. Thomas was recently signed by the Spurs on Dec. 3 and will make his first appearance for the Toros this season. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
- Point guard Will Conroy has signed to play in Germany with BBC Bayreuth, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia notes. Conroy appeared in four games with the Timberwolves last season, but the close friend of Brandon Roy wasn’t in an NBA camp this fall.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Rondo, Carmelo, Tyler, Ayres
Rajon Rondo doesn’t put much stock in the rumor that Carmelo Anthony is trying to recruit him to the Knicks, but Anthony has been privately yearning to see Rondo in orange and blue since July, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks attempted to trade Iman Shumpert for Rondo, and Newsday’s Al Iannazzone thinks it’s critical that New York continue to see if it can pry the All-Star point guard away from the Celtics or make some kind of splash, lest Anthony bolt in free agency. Here’s more on the Knicks and the rest of the NBA:
- Berman, in the same piece, also suggests the Knicks may look to re-sign camp invitee Jeremy Tyler in another week as he continues to round into form after a preseason injury.
- Unlike some free agents who were happy to leave their former teams behind, Spurs big man Jeff Ayres told Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News that he feels “no animosity” toward the Pacers and is “still really cool with all the guys on the team.”
- Kendall Marshall is off to a fast start with the D-League affiliate of the Sixers, and Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks the big club should consider signing last year’s 13th overall pick to an NBA contract.
- Doubts about the ability of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe to play together left some executives around the league believing the Suns would trade Dragic, but early returns show the pairing has been successful, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Joel Embiid is developing into a potential No. 1 overall pick, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, joining ESPN colleague Chad Ford on the Kansas center’s bandwagon.
- Knee troubles have sidelined Al Harrington for a good chunk of this season, but he remains involved with the Wizards. As he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Harrington can imagine himself coaching after he retires and has been acting as a de facto assistant in Washington while he recovers.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Spurs Sign Malcolm Thomas
8:07pm: The signing is official, according to a press release from the Spurs. The team didn’t announce the terms of the deal, but it’s likely a minimum-salary contract without a guarantee. The addition of the Aaron Mintz client brings San Antonio’s roster to the 15-player limit, as our updated roster counts show.
TUESDAY, 7:43pm: The Spurs have finalized their deal with Thomas, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, though there remains no official announcement from the team. Thomas is set to join the team after it returns from Wednesday’s game against the Timberwolves in Mexico City.
SUNDAY, 7:29pm: The Spurs are set to sign power forward Malcolm Thomas, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Thomas, who has been with the D-League’s L.A. D-Fenders, was pulled from tonight’s game against the Bakersfield Jam.
The Spurs and Thomas are quite familiar at this point as Thomas has suited up for both the Spurs and their D-League affiliate in Austin. The 25-year-old has 15 career NBA games to his credit, including three with San Antonio in 2011/12. In 27 D-League contests, Thomas has averaged 13.2 PPG and 9.6 RPG in 32.7 minutes per contest. Thomas was in summer league and training camp with the Bulls this summer, but Chicago didn’t have the room to keep him despite some impressive play.
Southwest Notes: Hollins, Roberts, Spurs
Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins reportedly spoke with Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks about joining his staff as assistant, and Hollins confirms to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he was offered the job. He turned it down, however, intent on seeking out another NBA head coaching gig. Here’s more out of the Southwest Division..
- Pelicans point guard Brian Roberts is on a fully guaranteed minimum-salary contract, but he’s fallen out of the rotation, and that might put his roster spot in jeopardy, as Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune examines.
- The Spurs announced that they have assigned center Aron Baynes and guard Nando De Colo to the D-League’s Austin Toros. Baynes has appeared in ten games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.1 minutes. De Colo has seen action in six contests this season for the Silver and Black, averaging 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 9.0 minutes. To keep track of all of this year’s D-League assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
- Jeff McDonald of the Express News (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised to see Baynes and De Colo back in San Antonio tomorrow.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Parker, Ohlbrecht, Grizzlies
The Spurs saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, but they’ll look to begin a new streak tonight when they visit the Magic in Orlando. As we look forward to that matchup, here are some items on the Spurs and their Southwest rivals:
- Assuming Kobe Bryant plays out his new contract, he’ll have spent 20 years with the Lakers, and that’s a feat Tony Parker would like to accomplish with the Spurs, as he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News. “Why not?” Parker said. “The way I play, I think I can definitely play that long…. I take care of my body, and I’ve already told Coach Pop that after 2016 I will be done with the (French) national team. So I think I can play a long time.”
- Tim Ohlbrecht‘s agency announced today that the big man has returned to the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Ohlbrecht was claimed off waivers from the Rockets by the Sixers over the summer, but he was subsequently waived by Philadlphia, and his D-League rights remained with Houston’s affiliate.
- In his latest piece for USA Today, Sam Amick explains why the Grizzlies should have no regrets about the Rudy Gay trade and talks to Mike Miller about his move from Miami to Memphis.
Central Links: LeBron, Deng, Bulls, Scola
It’s not easy to build a six-and-a-half game lead in less than a month, but that’s what the Pacers have done in the Central Division, where they’re the only team above .500. The Bulls are in second place, and the hole they’re in would have been somewhat of a challenge to overcome even if Derrick Rose were coming back this season. It’s probably impossible now that he’s done for the year, though Chicago at least has a strong chance of making the playoffs in the watered-down Eastern Conference. Here’s more on Indiana and the Central Division also-rans:
- Anderson Varejao would welcome former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James if the four-time MVP decides to re-sign with Cleveland this summer, a prospect Varejao believes could become reality, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio observes. The Brazilian big man thinks James will likely return to the Cavs at some point, even if it’s not for next season.
- Other reports suggest Luol Deng isn’t going anywhere soon, but executives from around the league who spoke to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune expect trade talks involving the Bulls small forward to pick up.
- Johnson also notes in his piece that the Bulls chose to sign Mike Dunleavy over Marco Belinelli because they believed Dunleavy was a better fit with Rose. That points to the challenge the team faces opposed to last year, when they went into the season knowing Rose would be out. Despite his latest injury, Bulls GM Gar Forman says he’d be OK with Rose playing in the basketball World Cup this coming summer, according to Johnson.
- Pacers coach Frank Vogel is impressed with offseason acquisition Luis Scola, and didn’t expect the 33-year-old would defend as well as he has so far, writes Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star.
- The Bucks had the most turnover of any NBA team this summer, but they didn’t expect to have the worst record in the Eastern Conference a month into the season, as Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel examines.
Odds & Ends: Cunningham, Odom, Fisher
No one expected either the Suns or the Sixers to have half a dozen wins less than a month into the season, but both teams captured their sixth victories tonight. Stories about tanking have been few in the wake of their success, but there’s plenty other news to pass along:
- The Spurs and Lakers inquired with the Timberwolves about Dante Cunningham in the offseason, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who figures those teams will be after him again when he hits free agency next summer (Twitter link).
- Neither the Clippers nor Lamar Odom are rushing toward a deal, and after a few weeks both sides will probably have a better idea of whether he’ll join the team, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Derek Fisher re-signed with the Thunder for just the minimum salary, but he’s played an outsized role for the team so far, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry examines.
- Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com looks ahead to next summer for Jimmy Butler, who’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension. Sam speculates that the Bulls will offer Butler a deal for about $8MM a year, and the scribe registers a few more guesses about what other top wing players approaching free agency will see on their next contracts.
- The Mavericks made lots of changes to their roster in the offseason, and several newcomers are playing key roles in the team’s fast start. One of them is Jose Calderon, who discusses the smooth transition with HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy.
- The Wolves renounced their rights to former second-round picks Tanguy Ngombo and Loukas Mavrokefalidis, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links).