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Central Notes: Dudley, Morris, Baynes

January 14th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Jared Dudley believes the Bucks made the right move for themselves when they traded him to the Wizards and Zaza Pachulia to the Mavericks this past summer, even though they did so for virtually nothing in return other than cap space, observes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Dudley thinks he came out well, too, lauding the Bucks for placing Pachulia and him in “great situations,” Gardner relays.

“Even if me and Za were there, you have to incorporate Jabari [Parker] back in,” Dudley said. “He still would have been playing 28, 29 minutes. For the long-term approach for them, they’re doing it the right way. You have to see if Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Jabari can coexist.”

See more from the Central Division:

  • Marcus Morris is fond of Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, whom he believes has given him a more clearly defined role than Jeff Hornacek did with the Suns, as Morris told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Morris responded harshly when Washburn asked him about Suns owner Robert Sarver’s criticism of “millennial culture” and Morris’ twin brother, Markieff, saying the owner “doesn’t even know basketball.” Marcus also hinted that the Suns will indeed trade his brother. “He’s in good spirits,” Marcus said to Washburn about Markieff. “Whatever team he ends up going to, he’s still going to be that same player. He’s just excited to see what’s next and where he’s going. Some things were said about him in the press and I know that’s totally wrong. People talk about adversity; coming from where we come from [Philadelphia] is adversity. This is small stuff. He’ll get over it fast.”
  • Van Gundy was quick to point to Aron Baynes‘ strong free-throw shooting as one of the reasons the Pistons signed him to a three-year, $19.5MM deal this summer, and that’s indeed been paying dividends to offset Andre Drummond‘s struggles at the line, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press notes.
  • The Bulls don’t have enough to put a scare into the league’s true title contenders, so it’s imperative for the team to make a trade, posits Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com. No NBA team has gone longer without making a trade than the Bulls, who haven’t pulled off a swap since July 14th, 2014, though they’re reportedly gauging interest in Pau Gasol and others.
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And-Ones: Wall, D-League, Pelicans

January 13th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wizards point guard John Wall expressed appreciation for what agent Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports did for him, but is excited about the possibilities his new agent, Rich Paul, will provide, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic writes. “The people I was with, it was a great partnership for the five years I was with it. Did a lot of great and positive things for me but it’s just a situation where I felt me and my team wanted to go different ways in how we wanted to build out team,” Wall told Michael. “It was a decision I made to part ways with them. … I think just getting it off my chest was kind of a relief.”

Wall, whose shoe deal with Adidas expired earlier this season, says the agent change wasn’t about that particular endorsement opportunity, Michael adds. “It doesn’t factor in at all. That wasn’t even part of the decision why I wanted to make that. It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about for a while and I’m still open to every shoe company,” Wall said. “I’m going to talk to all those guys through the process, figure out what I can do. I still have interest in Adidas. … I’m just wearing what’s comfortable for my feet and protecting my feet for right now. I’m still weighing my options.”

Here’s the latest from around the league

  • Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry isn’t sure how active the team will be at the trade deadline because the rash of injuries the roster has suffered makes it difficult to discern the team’s needs, Sam Amick of USA Today relays. “Well the first thing is that, you know, we’ve never really had our entire team on the floor, not for one single day,” Gentry told Amick. “So to anticipate that we would like to make changes or do something like that is really difficult to do because we really don’t know the team that we have, and one of the things we felt like is that last year the success they had is something that we could build on and grow on, so we’re not so eager to just all of a sudden start making trades. Now if there’s something that makes sense for our franchise, or is going to make us a much better team, I’m sure it’s something that [GM] Dell [Demps] and I will talk about and there will be a decision made, obviously, that we think is in the best interests of our club.”
  • The Hawks have assigned swingman Lamar Patterson and center Edy Tavares to the D-League, the team announced via a press release. Both players will report to the Austin Spurs as part of the league’s flexible assignment rule since Atlanta doesn’t possess its own affiliate.
  • The Bulls have recalled power forward Cristiano Felicio from the D-League, the team announced (via Twitter). This was Felicio’s first trip to the D-League on the season.
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Beal Likely To Have Minutes Cap For Rest Of Career

January 13th, 2016 at 12:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bradley Beal acknowledged to reporters today that he’ll “probably” have to deal with a minutes limit for the rest of his career as he continues to have trouble with injuries, according to TNT’s David Aldridge and J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com (Twitter links). Concern about his health reportedly played a role in Washington’s part of a mutual decision not to extend his rookie scale contract this past fall, though Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported then that the Wizards were planning to offer Beal a new maximum-salary contract when he hits restricted free agency in July.

The minutes limit will keep Beal to no more than 35 minutes per night going forward, Michael hears (Twitter link), a fairly generous cap that nonetheless represents fewer minutes than he’s averaged this season and in both of Washington’s postseason appearances the past two years. Beal hasn’t played in a game since December 9th because of what the team called “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula,” though it’s likely that he returns to action tonight against the Bucks, Michael tweets. Beal told reporters that he could play tonight as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks during a pregame workout, Aldridge tweets.

Beal is only 22 years old, so any notion of an injury that affects the balance of his career is disconcerting. The fourth-year pro missed 26 games his rookie season, nine the next year and 19 last year with various ailments, though it was a high right ankle sprain Beal played through as a rookie that led to the stress reaction he’s dealing with now, as Michael explains in a full story.

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Eastern Notes: Sixers, Thomas, Dinwiddie

January 11th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers will eventually have to decide between Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, an unnamed league executive told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Daily News. That duo hasn’t played well together, the executive explained, in part because neither has the shooting range to stretch defenses. It will be imperative to shed one of them via trade if Joel Embiid returns next season from foot surgery because it will essentially give Philadelphia three starting-quality bigs, the story continues. In that case, it makes more sense to keep Noel because Okafor and Embiid are limited defensively, the executive opined to Pompey. “They are both centers,” he said. “They both can only guard centers. They can’t defend power forward or stretch fours in this league.” 

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

  • Knicks small forward Lance Thomas could be a candidate for the Most Improved Player Award and that might make it difficult for the club to re-sign him, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Opposing coaches have taken notice of Thomas’ two-way impact off the bench, going out of their way to praise him, Berman continues. Thomas, arguably the team’s best defender, signed a one-year, $1,636,842 contract during the offseason but his price tag going back into the free agent pool this summer is growing and the Knicks will have competition for his services, Berman adds.
  • The Pistons plan on keeping second-year guard Spencer Dinwiddie with their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids for the foreseeable future, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. With the return of Brandon Jennings from his Achilles injury, Dinwiddie is the team’s No. 4 point guard on the roster behind Reggie Jackson, Jennings and Steve Blake.
  • The Heat recalled shooting guard Josh Richardson on Monday from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s website announced. Richardson has played four games with the Skyforce this season and helped them capture the D-League Showcase Championship.
  • The Wizards could decide to become sellers nearing next month’s trade deadline if they don’t go on a hot streak or get most of their key pieces healthy before that point, league sources indicated to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
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Southeast Notes: Kidd-Gilchrist, Fournier, Heat

January 8th, 2016 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hornets decided in the offseason to emphasize offense at the expense of defense as they made their personnel moves, and Charlotte has indeed taken a step back on the defensive end, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines. Part of that has to do with the absence of prime defender Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but his return, which he’s promised to make before season’s end, won’t solve all of the club’s defensive problems, Bonnell writes. Nonetheless, the Observer scribe wouldn’t be surprised if the former No. 2 overall pick is playing within a month’s time. See more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Magic aren’t entirely sure about keeping Evan Fournier in restricted free agency this summer, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. It’s expected they’ll at least look into other options before recommitting to him, just as with the team’s courtship of Paul Millsap that preceded the Tobias Harris re-signing this past summer, according to Kyler. In any case, the team’s use of Fournier at shooting guard instead of Victor Oladipo doesn’t signal that the franchise has lost faith in the former No. 2 overall pick and instead shows that the team is adjusting the way it’s developing young players as it focuses more on the present, Kyler explains.
  • Soon-to-be free agent Hassan Whiteside‘s style of play, personality and general way of going about his business is “not congruent” with the way of the Heat, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com opined on a recent edition of “The Lowe Post” podcast with ESPN colleague Zach Lowe (audio link; transcription via RealGM).
  • Wizards draft-and-stash prospect Tomas Satoransky has a deal on a four-year extension with Barcelona of Spain that includes NBA outs, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). He’s put pen to paper, Pick reports, though Javier Maestro of Encestando counters that he hasn’t officially signed it yet (translation via HoopsHype). In any case, Satoransky is in no hurry to come to the NBA, Maestro writes.
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Southeast Notes: Kilpatrick, Skiles, Schröder

January 4th, 2016 at 9:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards strongly considered signing shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick prior to inking Jarell Eddie back in December, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relays (via Twitter). Kilpatrick, 25, was in training camp with the Pelicans this season, and he is currently lighting up scoreboards for the Delaware 87ers, Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate. The guard has made 20 appearances for Delaware this season and is averaging 26.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 38.1 minutes per contest. With teams becoming eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts Tuesday, look for Kilpatrick to end up in the NBA at some point this season, Wolfson adds.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Magic have slowed since getting off to a solid start to the 2014/15 campaign, and coach Scott Skiles may have run out of buttons to push with the current roster, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. The team’s lack of elite talent has made it difficult for the coach to maintain a consistent rotation, and there appears to be no obvious solution with Orlando’s current crop of players, Schmitz opines.
  • Despite Shelvin Mack taking over backup point guard duties during the Hawks‘ last two games, coach/executive Mike Budenholzer insists that Dennis Schröder is not in the doghouse, Matt Winkeljohn of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “No. He keeps competing in practice, doing what he’s doing,” Budenholzer said when asked if Schröder has fallen out of favor. “Part of it is Shelvin’s been busting his butt, working hard. I think to give guys opportunities and to develop all 15 guys is important. Dennis will get his opportunities.”
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Western Notes: Pierce, Knight, Morris, Jackson

January 4th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Paul Pierce has re-emerged as a starter for the Clippers, save for his game off for rest Saturday, and his basketball IQ is helping fuel a resurgence for a team that struggled to start the season, even with Blake Griffin injured, as TNT’s David Aldridge examines in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Pierce enjoyed his time with the Wizards last season, but the chance to play in his hometown was too enticing for him to pass up the chance to sign with the Clips in the summer, as he tells Aldridge.

“I think that I looked at the team and I thought that they really had the chance to win the championship, and for me, on top of that, my family,” Pierce said. “It was a combination of things.”

The Clippers have won six straight have only a Wednesday game at Portland before a five-game homestand that begins Saturday. See more from the Western Conference:

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Southeast Notes: Wade, Udrih, Lamb, Wizards

January 3rd, 2016 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s Dwyane Wade isn’t ready to give up his starting spot yet, but the idea may be discussed in negotiations next summer, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. The columnist doesn’t believe Wade would agree to such a move in a contract year, but with his 34th birthday coming up this month it will likely be part of his future. The emergence of Tyler Johnson and Justise Winslow gives Miami other options on the wing, along with the possibility that Gerald Green will be brought back for another season. Winderman also suggests that Goran Dragic could benefit from having a different partner in the starting backcourt.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

  • Beno Udrih has been productive since the November deal that brought him to Miami, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be with the team past the trade deadline, Winderman writes in the same piece. Udrih is averaging 3.4 points and 1.9 assists with the Heat, mostly in a backup role, but Winderman could envision his $2.077MM salary being moved to help get Miami under the luxury tax.
  • The Hornets‘ Jeremy Lamb, who was acquired from the Thunder in an offseason deal, tells Erik Horne of The Oklahoman that playing in Oklahoma City wasn’t “a great situation” for him. Lamb is averaging career highs in minutes, points and rebounds in Charlotte after spending his first three years with the Thunder. He said the OKC front office was “very encouraging of me, just saying I’m going to be a good player in the league and it was best that I could go somewhere and play, so I was excited about it.”
  • Out of necessity, the Wizards have figured out a way to make the Otto Porter–Kelly Oubre combination work, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. A rash of injuries has forced the two small forwards to take the court together, and they are finding success. Porter has registered three straight 20-point games since returning to the starting lineup, and Oubre’s versatility has helped cement his spot in the rotation. “We both gel on the court,” Oubre said. “We both kind of feed off each other’s energy while we’re on the court so you can expect big things from us when we’re on the court.” 
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And-Ones: Knicks, Rondo, Oubre

January 2nd, 2016 at 11:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks currently sit three and a half games behind the Celtics for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and Ian Begley of ESPN.com examines what the team needs to do in order to reach the playoffs this season. Begley suggests that the team add help in the backcourt, and he names Tony Wroten as a possibility, as the team has interest in the former Sixer.

Brandon Jennings is on the team’s radar, but the franchise wasn’t impressed with Jennings’ play during a game against the Knicks earlier this week, Begley adds. In addition to the trade market, Begley notes that the team is keeping an eye on the D-League for a potential addition.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Rajon Rondo has played extremely well this season and his success may have the Kings viewing him as a long-term piece, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders speculates.
  • Kelly Oubre has become a key contributor for the Wizards this season and his intensity is a major reason why, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. “He’s a kid that has to go out there and just play one way,” coach Randy Wittman said. “And that’s getting after it defensively. Rebound the ball. Running the floor. All the other things will come. … Those things will come if you play with that intensity and energy.”
  • The Lakers have assigned Tarik Black, Anthony Brown and Ryan Kelly to their D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, per Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link).
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Eastern Notes: Middleton, Gooden, Grant

January 2nd, 2016 at 6:37pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Khris Middleton has enjoyed a good season so far, but his shooting of late has been especially impressive, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes.

“Khris has played well for a stretch here and he is feeling comfortable within the offense,” Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty said. “The guys are finding him in his sweet spots and he’s getting clean looks. Guys are setting good screens. In his case, it’s not always catch-and-shoot situations. Sometimes it’s plays off the dribble.”

Middleton, who re-signed with Milwaukee for five years and $70MM last July, is averaging 16.3 points and 1.2 steals per game this season, while shooting 42.0% from behind the arc and 88.8% from the foul line. The Bucks own a record of 13-21, but Middleton believes the team can turn the season around if they start playing like a cohesive unit.

“Once we move the ball from side to side, we’ve got so many guys who can score and make plays that we’re a dangerous team,” he said. “We just have to play together after we get stops.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Drew Gooden aggravated his calf injury against the Magic on Friday night and his MRI reveals a strain and a slight tear in his calf, Marc. J Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. The former No. 4 overall pick has only played seven games with the Wizards this season, totaling just 16 points and 28 rebounds.
  • Jerami Grant‘s ability to play either forward spot is proving to be valuable for the Sixers, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Grant has been tasked with guarding the opponent’s best forward this season, something the 21-year-old views as benefit to his development. “I definitely like it,” Grant said. “I’m versatile. So it kind of helps my game out.”
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