Inside Hoops – Page 1297 – NBA Blog

Carl Landry signs four-year deal for $26 million to return to Kings

Kings principal owner Vivek Ranadive was pleased with the team’s first free-agent signing since his group took over in May.

It also helps that Ranadive knows Carl Landry well. He signed a four-year, $26 million contract Monday.

Ranadive saw Landry up close as a minority owner with the Warriors last season and spoke highly of Landry as a player and person.

“(Landry) is symbolic of the new era of the Kings – Kings 3.0,” Ranadive said. “Excellence on the court, excellence off the court. To me, the power forward position is a 21st-century position. It’s a big man with skills, and Carl is really the personification of everything that is good about our sport.”

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Paul Pierce closes door on Boston

Paul Pierce came up with a unique way to salute the city of Boston yesterday.

Pierce publicly addressed the trade to the Nets for the first time yesterday afternoon when he announced on his Twitter account, “I’m going to share some of my favorite Boston memories on new Instagram account. #THANKYOUBOSTON”

For the next two hours, Pierce then posted 44 pictures chronicling his history in Boston, ending with a picture of him holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy at Fenway Park in 2008, with a message that read, “Boston, you’ve been my home for the last 15 years. Together, we’ve been through it all. I could not be more grateful for all of your support and Boston will forever be a part of who I am.”

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Knicks claim to not be concerned about J.R. Smith knee surgery

Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald claims that the club had no reservations about giving J.R. Smith a long term contract despite Smith needing knee surgery.

“We’re pretty comfortable this is something that is fixable and won’t present any problems in the foreseeable future over the next four years,” Grunwald said. “We’re okay with that.”

Although Grunwald talked about four years, Smith’s agent, Leon Rose, insisted that his client, despite given the option to sign a four-year deal, had instead inked a two-year deal with a player option.

Smith underwent surgery to repair a patellar tendon and torn meniscus in his left knee on Monday, just five days after he signed the deal worth $17 million. Grunwald maintains that the Knicks were aware of the severity of the injury dating back to October and that once the season ended on May 19 they allowed Smith to decide the next course of treatment.

Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Grunwald clarified that it was Smith’s decision for initially choosing rest over surgery, and then finally going under the knife. During the process, he consulted with the Knicks’ medical staff.

“The decision is J.R.’s and he wanted to give it a chance to heal, which is perfectly understandable,” Grunwald said. “We went through a period of rehab and it didn’t get better.”

Reflecting on the season, Grunwald admired Smith for his perseverance to play through pain.

“He struggled towards the end there, but to his credit, he battled through it and I think a lot of players might not have played with the pain that he had with it,” he said.

Reported by Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York

Detroit Pistons open to making NBA trades

The Pistons have been a busy team this offseason, upgrading their talent and various obvious needs that culminated with bringing back Chauncey Billups.

But despite having 16 players on the roster, counting their three draft picks this season, Pistons president Joe Dumars isn’t yet done shopping.

“The only thing left is trade possibilities, and that door will continue to be open,” Dumars said. “It’ll continually stay open.”

As for the rumor mill that’s linked the Pistons with point guards Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks) and Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics), he coyly debunked both reports — which had Brandon Knight as the common denominator as trade bait.

“Bogus, bogus. No conversations.” said Dumars about the Jennings theory before turning his attention to Boston. “I haven’t had any conversations with (Celtics GM) Danny Ainge about Brandon (Knight).”

Reported by Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News

Joe Dumars wants Detroit Pistons to win now

Dumars is in the final year of his contract and making the playoffs now seems essential, with a new owner in Tom Gores, a half-empty arena and five straight losing seasons. The Pistons have fine young pieces in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but trying to win with an unproven point guard is tough. It’s partly why Dumars bypassed Trey Burke in the draft, and why the Pistons are mentioned in every trade rumor involving the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, even though Dumars denies them.

It’s why the Pistons drafted someone who appears more NBA-ready, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and why they doled out $54 million for mercurial but talented forward Josh Smith.

“I know we can compete for (the playoffs) now,” Dumars said. “We’ve upgraded the talent, the shooting, the leadership, the athleticism. I’m really comfortable if we had to go into the season with this roster. But you can’t shut the door and say, ‘OK, we’re done.’ ”

Reported by Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News

Ed Pinckney is a 76ers coaching candidate

Three years ago, the 76ers decided to bring back a beloved basketball figure to coach their basketball team in Doug Collins. Could they be going a similar route in hiring Collins’ successor?

A report yesterday by ESPN’s Chris Broussard said that the Sixers were going to interview former Villanova great Ed Pinckney for their head-coaching position. Pinckney, of course, was the leader of the Villanova team that won the national championship in 1985. He is an assistant with the Chicago Bulls.

Pinckney was an assistant coach at Villanova and the Minnesota Timberwolves before being the color analyst for Sixers games on Comcast SportsNet for the 2009-10 season.

He joined the Bulls coaching staff in 2010. Pinckney played 12 years in the NBA after that magical Villanova run, which resulted in his being drafted 10th overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1985.

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Chris Kaman happy to join Lakers

Chris Kaman excited about joining Lakers

Veteran center Chris Kaman gushed about Mike D’Antoni’s offense that centers on pick-and-rolls at a fluid tempo. Kaman expressed excitement about playing with Kobe Bryant. Kaman offered no preference as to whether he will start or come off the bench.

For all the talent the Lakers lost in Howard going to the Houston Rockets, it appears Kaman’s versatility in the post and team mindset could mitigate Howard’s void and eliminate the drama surrounding his lone season with the Lakers.

“I’m here to do a job. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. It just depends on whatever the coach needs me to do is where I’ll be at,” said Kaman, who accepted a one-year deal at the mini-mid level exception ($3.2 million to play for the Lakers). “I’m confident I’ll get along with coach and have a good relationship. It’s a two way street. But I’m not a controversial kind of guy. So I don’t think it will be that big of a deal.”

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Milwaukee Bucks waive Drew Gooden via amnesty provision

The Milwaukee Bucks have waived forward Drew Gooden and designated him as the team’s amnesty player as allowed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

Gooden originally signed with the Bucks as a free agent prior to the 2010-11 season. The 11-year NBA veteran appeared in 107 games over three seasons with the Bucks, averaging 11.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.

Houston Rockets sign Omri Casspi

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed unrestricted free agent forward Omri Casspi from the Cleveland Cavaliers to a multi-year deal.

Casspi (6-9, 225, Israel), who was the NBA’s first Israeli-born first-round pick, has averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists over 256 career games (94 starts) with Sacramento and Cleveland. Originally selected by the Kings in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft, Casspi was acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade on June 30, 2011. He had his best season in 2009-10, averaging 10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per game over 77 outings (31 starts) with the Kings.

As a starter during his rookie campaign, Casspi posted averages of 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 30.6 minutes per contest.

Prior to the NBA, Casspi played with Hapoel Galil Elyon and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League. He actually finished fourth in voting for the 2008-09 FIBA European Young Men’s Player of the Year Award (Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari and Kosta Koufos).

Dallas Mavericks rookie Shane Larkin out 3 months after ankle surgery

Dallas Mavericks 2013 first-round draft pick Shane Larkin underwent surgery today to repair a fractured right ankle. The surgery was performed by team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal and Dr. Richard Levy at Texas Sports Medicine. The recovery time is approximately three months.

Dallas acquired the draft rights to Larkin, the18th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, from Atlanta in a draft night deal that sent Jared Cunningham and the draft rights to the 16th overall pick Lucas Nogueira to the Hawks.

Larkin (5-11, 176) led the Miami Hurricanes to the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and postseason championships last season en route to being named the ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, Lute Olsen National Player of the Year and Second Team All-American by Associated Press.

The 5-11 point guard averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 36 games as a sophomore in 2012-13. He led his team in points, assists and steals while placing in the ACC’s Top 10 in assists, steals, minutes and three-point field goals.