June 2015 – Page 7 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

Hawks face uncertainty as NBA Draft approaches

Hawks face uncertainty as NBA draft approaches

Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution painting a picture of the Atlanta Hawks’ situation as both the NBA Draft and free agency approach:

The Hawks will enter the NBA draft not knowing if they will have two, one or zero gaping holes on their roster.

It’s not an enviable position.

The draft is Thursday, and six days later comes the start of free agency. Two-fifths of the Hawks’ starting lineup — DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap — will hit the open market and are free to sign with any team. Both could be gone. One or the other could depart. Both could return.

Drafting for need is illogical. The prevailing alternative would be to draft the best available player. Not necessarily.

“We do our best to separate the draft from free agency,” assistant general manager Wes Wilcox said. “Certainly, they are connected. Our focus in every draft is to identify the best player who fits us. There is the long-standing debate over drafting the best player versus drafting for a position of need. It’s certainly something we all juggle. We’ve become comfortable with being guided by what we call our draft objective, which remains the same every year, we want to draft a guy who fits without our culture, fits (coach Mike Budenholzer) and his system and can add to and become a piece of our core.”

When LeBron gave Kyrie a good talking-to

When LeBron gave Kyrie Irving a good talking-to

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals, but they still had an amazing season and can expect to compete for the 2016 championship. Here’s the Northeast Ohio Media Group reporting on a key development that took place during the regular season:

On Nov. 5, Irving led the team with 34 points in a loss to Utah. But in 45 minutes he failed to register an assist.

The night before in a loss to Portland, there were reports James and Irving had a dispute in the locker room, prompting Irving to dash without addressing the media. Irving missed 14 of his 17 shots that night. That’s when James said the team was developing “bad habits.”

As the team’s point guard, for Irving to not have a single assist was inexcusable, and James couldn’t stay quiet any longer.

“He came up to me and was like, ‘One, you can never have another game with no assists,’ ” Irving said, describing James’ words. “‘You can damn near have just one, two, three, but you can’t have zero.’ “

Warriors celebrate championship at parade

Warriors celebrate championship at parade

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on the Golden State Warriors championship parade, which took place Friday afternoon in Oakland:

The streets of Oakland were awash in yellow and blue as hundreds of thousands of fans watched and cheered the Golden State Warriors victory parade, which has been 40 years in the making.

In a rare moment of glory, Oakland – a city that usually makes news for crime, corruption, protests and violence- shined in the national spotlight.

On Friday, blue-and-gold-clad fans flooded downtown to see the NBA championship players, MC Hammer, six floats and, of course, the championship trophy, won after the team bested LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

People started lining up as early as 3 a.m., and city officials estimated at least 500,000 fans packed the streets when the parade started about 10 a.m.

Kamala Moore arrived at the parade route at 4:15 a.m. “It’s history in the making,” she said.

“Oh my gosh, I really want to see Riley (Curry),” she said, referring to the 2-year-old daughter of Stephen Curry, her favorite player.

Steve Blake exercises Blazers contract option

Portland Trail Blazers guard Steve Blake has exercised his player option for the 2015-16 season, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.

Blake (6-3, 172) appeared in 81 games for the Trail Blazers last season. In 350 games (232 starts) over five seasons with Portland, Blake holds averages of 7.8 points (41.4% FG, 39.8% 3-PT, 78.2% FT), 2.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

For his career, Blake has averages of 6.7 points (40.1% FG, 38.5% 3-PT, 77.8% FT), 2.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists over 12 seasons with Washington, Portland, Milwaukee, Denver, L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers and Golden State.

Blake, 34, played four years at the University of Maryland, where he won an NCAA Championship in 2002, and was selected by the Washington Wizards with the ninth pick in the second round (38th overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft.

Taj Gibson had ankle surgery Tuesday

Recovery time for Taj Gibson is around four months

Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson underwent an arthroscopy and repair of his left ankle on Tuesday, June 16. The surgery was performed by foot specialist Dr. David Porter in Indianapolis. Gibson’s surgery went as expected and he has begun the rehabilitation process. His estimated time to return to full basketball activity is approximately four months.

The 29-year old Gibson recently completed his sixth season in the NBA, where he appeared in 62 games (17 starts) and posted 10.3 ppg on .502 shooting, 6.4 rpg, 1.21 bpg and 1.1 apg in 27.3 mpg. He also played in all 12 of Chicago’s playoff games (two starts) and averaged 7.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg and 1.00 bpg in 23.0 mpg.

Loss of Kyrie Irving was crucial for Cavs in NBA Finals

Without Kyrie Irving, Cavs were serious underdog vs Warriors

The Warriors won Tuesday’s NBA Finals Game 6 to beat the Cavaliers and win the 2015 NBA championship. Here’s the News Herald reporting on a critical issue that helped ensure Cleveland’s defeat:

Loss of Kyrie Irving was crucial for Cavs in NBA Finals

The loss of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving after Game 1 was probably the last straw for the Cavs.

His broken knee cap elevated Matthew Dellavedova into the starting lineup. Dellavedova had a brief flurry of spirited play, but eventually settled into what he really was: an undrafted backup role player. Pitting him against league MVP Stephen Curry was almost cruel.

Curry was fueled by all the admiration Dellavedova got early in the series. He was irked by the thought of Dellavedova slowing him down. Curry averaged 26 points in the series, 28 in the last three games.

Kevin Love was injured in Game 4 of the Boston series. They shifted Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup to replace Love, and the Cavs’ defense and rebounding intensified.

“The injuries they suffered were just too much,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “This would have been a different series with Kyrie and Kevin Love.”

Jeff Green exercises contract option to stay with Grizzlies

Grizzlies forward Jeff Green will stick with team for 2015-16 season

Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced today that Grizzlies forward Jeff Green has exercised his player option for the 2015-16 season.

Green (6-9, 235) averaged 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31.5 minutes in 78 games (70 starts) last season with the Grizzlies and Boston Celtics. Acquired by Memphis from Boston in a three-team trade on Jan. 12, he recorded 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.3 minutes in 45 games (37 starts) with the Grizzlies. Green shot a team-high .398 from three-point range after the All-Star Break and increased his three-point percentage to .438 over the final 20 games of the regular season.

The 28-year-old posted 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 27.1 minutes in 11 games (two starts) for Memphis during the 2015 NBA Playoffs.

Drafted by Boston in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Green holds career averages of 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 32.6 minutes in 556 games (432 starts) for the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston and Memphis. The Hyattsville, Md. native starred for three seasons at Georgetown University (2004-07), earning 2007 Big East Player of the Year honors as a junior and leading the Hoyas to the 2006 NCAA Final Four as a sophomore, the program’s first NCAA Final Four appearance since 1985.

Eric Gordon exercises contract option to stay with Pelicans

Guard Eric Gordon elects to remain with Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that guard Eric Gordon has exercised the one-year player option on his contract for the 2015-16 season.

Gordon, 6-3, 215, appeared in 61 games for the Pelicans last season, averaging 13.4 points while shooting a career-high .448 from three-point range, and helped New Orleans reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season. In four seasons in New Orleans, Gordon has averaged 15.4 points while shooting .392 from three-point range, 3.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

“I’m really excited to continue playing for the Pelicans,” stated Gordon. “We had a strong finish to last season. And with this core group of young players we have, and with Alvin Gentry’s new leadership and vision, we all expect even bigger things next season.”

Originally selected seventh overall out of Indiana University in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Clippers, Gordon was acquired by New Orleans in a trade on Dec. 14, 2011. In 372 career games with Los Angeles and New Orleans, Gordon holds career averages of 17.4 points on .383 shooting from three-point range, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.

“We are thrilled to have Eric Gordon on our roster for the 2015-16 season,” said General Manager Dell Demps. “Eric was a huge contributor to our success last season and we are excited to have him continue as one of the leaders of our team.”

Will Pelicans, Norris Cole stick together?

Cole has value, but unclear if his future is in New Orleans

Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune reporting on guard Norris Cole, who split last season between the Heat and Pelicans. After becoming a Pelican he played 28 games, averaging 9.9 points and 3.2 assists in 24.4 minutes per outing:

Will Pelicans, Norris Cole stick together?

Cole established his value as a backup point guard in the old Pelicans’ system, and based on the projected product that new coach Alvin Gentry is expected to unleash, Cole could even be considered a good fit as a starter.

He’ll be a restricted free agent on July 1 and the Pelicans will have the opportunity to match any offer Cole might receive on the open market.

Given the uncertain health of Jrue Holiday over the last two seasons, the Pelicans should jump at the chance to get Cole back, depending, of course, on fiscal prudency.

New Orleans has a critical need for a dependable backup at the one, and in the 28 games Cole played with the Pelicans last year he proved he can handle the job.

Gerald Henderson exercises Hornets contract option for next season

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that guard Gerald Henderson has exercised his player option for the 2015-16 season.

Initially selected by Charlotte with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Henderson played in a team-high 80 games with 72 starts last season and averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per game. He shot a career-high .848 from the free-throw line (184-217), ranking 26th in the NBA, and made a career-best 45 three-point field goals. Henderson scored in double figures 51 times on the season, including 11 games of 20 points or more. He had two double-doubles, setting a career high of 14 rebounds in one and a career high of 11 assists in the other.

In six seasons with Charlotte, Henderson has played in 391 career games with averages of 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.5 minutes, while shooting .443 from the field (1783-4029) and .794 from the free-throw line (995-1253).