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Anthony Bennett makes sense for Raptors

Anthony Bennett makes sense for Raptors

Here’s the Toronto Sun on the addition of Anthony Bennett to the Raptors:

Signing Anthony Bennett to a league minimum contract — something that will happen any time now, according to sources in the know — was nearly a no-brainer for the Raptors. For Bennett himself, it was less of a slam dunk, though likely still a pretty easy call. Other than possibly having to drown out some outside noise from the fanbase, Masai Ujiri and the Raptors don’t have much to lose on this low-cost gambit. Power forward is the team’s weakest position, with Patrick Patterson the presumptive starter and veteran Luis Scola slated to back him up. James Johnson and DeMarre Carroll also could see some time there, but Bennett provides another option for Dwane Casey — an above-the-rim, open court threat who starred at UNLV and this past summer for Canada. Bennett will never live up to the expectations of being drafted No. 1 overall, but he definitely has the talent and athleticism to be an NBA contributor, provided he is healthy and engaged, which granted, are not certainties based on past history.

A prove-it year for Rajon Rondo

A prove-it year for Rajon Rondo

Here’s the Boston Herald discussing former Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who now finds himself on the the Sacramento Kings, and lower on the league-wide point guard hierarchy than in the past:

Rajon Rondo fully had expected to be the object of a free agent bidding war and come out of this offseason with a maximum contract from a marquee team of his choosing.

Instead, the former Celtics point guard has a one-year, $9.5 million deal — a paycut of nearly $3.5 million — from Sacramento and the burden of proof squarely on his slender shoulders.

And maybe that’s the best possible outcome for Rondo under the circumstances.

Things didn’t work out in a colossal crash-and-burn manner in Dallas after he was dealt there last December. And while we’ve reported that a number of league sources lay a portion of blame for that with coach Rick Carlisle, it is incumbent upon Rondo to find a way to make this work with the Kings. That there already have been issues between George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins may not make it easy, but those who decide how to spend their team’s money when the salary cap rises next summer will very much want to know how Rondo navigates these waters.

Emmanuel Mudiay has big goals for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on talented Nuggets rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who appears to have big potential and will be one of the rookies InsideHoops.com pays consistent attention to as the new season begins:

Mudiay’s not just talking about having nice seasons. He’s talking titles.

“For sure,” he said. “If you ask that to anybody, anybody is going to say ‘Yeah.’ But I actually really mean it. I’ve always kind of been the first to do certain things, so that wouldn’t be nothing new to me.

“I think if I’m blessed enough to get one here, it’s just going to be addictive. I’m just going to want more championships.”

A busy Nuggets summer, which included trading point guard Ty Lawson, ensured Mudiay will be able to start his — and the team’s — growth toward that goal immediately.

At a fresh-out-of-the-wrapper 19 years old, Mudiay has been handed the keys to the team.

When the season opens Oct. 28 in Houston, Mudiay will be just the second rookie to start at point guard in Nuggets history. Bobby Jackson, in 1997, was the first.

The L.A. Clippers announced today the team has signed free agent forward Luc Mbah a Moute and forward/center Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

A seven-year NBA veteran, Mbah a Moute has appeared in 466 career regular season games (301 starts) with Milwaukee, Sacramento, Minnesota and Philadelphia averaging 6.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 24.3 minutes. Born in Yaounde, Cameroon, the 29-year-old spent last season with the 76ers, averaging 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 28.6 minutes of play over 67 games (61 starts). Mbah a Moute played three seasons at UCLA, where he helped the Bruins reach three straight Final Fours. He was the 37th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Bucks.

The former fifth overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, Tskitishvili has appeared in 172 career games (16 starts) for Denver, Golden State, Minnesota and Phoenix averaging 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.3 minutes of play. The Tbilisi, Georgian native has played in Spain, Italy, Iran, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates post-NBA. The 32-year old played for Champville of the Lebanese Basketball League last season.

Mike Dunleavy undergoes back surgery

Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy successfully underwent a low back microdiscectomy procedure earlier today at Rush University Medical Center. Dunleavy had experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer which had recently worsened. Conservative measures failed to satisfactorily resolve his symptoms, therefore, the decision was made to perform the surgery. The timing is unfortunate, but it was imperative that all conservative measures were exhausted prior to making this decision. He is expected to be out 8-10 weeks.

Wizards add five players to training camp

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed guards Jaron Johnson, Toure’ Murry and Ish Smith and centers Josh Harrellson and Jaleel Roberts.

Wizards training camp begins on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University. The team will hold their first three practice sessions (Sept. 29-Oct. 1) in Baltimore before returning to Verizon Center for the remainder of camp.

Harrellson (6-10, 275) is a three-year NBA veteran who holds career averages of 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.8 minutes in 75 career games with New York, Miami and Detroit. He was originally selected by New Orleans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft and then traded the same night to New York. During the 2014-15 season, the Kentucky alum split time between the Chinese Basketball Association, playing 14 games for Chong Qing, and the Puerto Rican professional basketball league (Baloncesto Superior Nacional), playing 44 games for Guayama.

Johnson (6-6, 205) went undrafted in 2014 after spending two seasons at Louisiana Tech. The Tyler, TX native averaged 9.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 21 minutes per game during his senior campaign in 2013-14. Last season, Johnson appeared in 50 games with Rio Grande Valley of the D-League where he averaged 15.1 points, 1.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 29 minutes per game.

Murry (6-5, 195) is a two-year NBA veteran holding career averages of 2.6 points in 7.0 minutes in 56 career games with New York, Utah and Washington. The undrafted Wichita State alum originally signed with the Knicks as a free agent in September of 2013. During the 2014-15 campaign, Murry appeared in five games with Utah and Washington while averaging 1.2 points in 3.6 minutes of action.

Roberts (7-1, 225) went undrafted in 2015 after playing three years at UNC Asheville. Last season as a senior, he averaged 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game. Roberts was a member of the Wizards 2015 Summer League roster that competed in Las Vegas.

Smith (6-0, 175) is a five-year NBA veteran who holds career averages of 3.6 points, 2.3 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 12.3 minutes in 246 career games with Houston, Memphis, Golden State, Orlando, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Philadelphia. The Wake Forest product was undrafted in 2010 and signed as a free agent with Houston on August 23, 2010. During the 2014-15 season, Smith appeared in 55 games with Oklahoma City and Philadelphia, averaging 6.1 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game.

The Wizards’ training camp roster currently stands at 20 players.

Celtics complete training camp roster

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guards Levi Randolph and Corey Walden, as well as forwards Coty Clarke and Malcolm Miller. Each contract is likely non-guaranteed and just for training camp.

Randolph played in five contests for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.2 minutes per game. During his senior year at Alabama, the 6’4” guard averaged a team-high 15.4 points, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals, while also averaging 5.1 rebounds, in 35.3 minutes per game. Randolph was the first player in the program’s history to be named to the CoSIDA/Capital One First Team Academic All-District Team for three consecutive years. He was also named the 2015 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and second team All-SEC.

Walden appeared in two games for the Celtics during the Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 2.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals in 16.5 minutes per game. The 6’2” guard out of Eastern Kentucky averaged 18.6 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals in 34.6 minutes per game during his senior year. Additionally, Walden earned a spot on the Lou Henson All-America Team and the first team All-Ohio Valley Conference for the 2014-15 NCAA season.

Clarke, a 6’7” forward, spent the 2014-15 season playing for Hapoel Kazrin in Israel and averaged 19.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per game over that span. As a senior at the University of Arkansas, he averaged 9.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game.

Miller appeared in seven games for the Celtics during summer league play and averaged 4.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game. The 6’7” forward was named to the All-Patriot League second team and averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocks in 31.7 minutes per game during his senior year at Holy Cross.

Kobe Bryant minutes-per-game should decrease this season

Kobe Bryant minutes-per-game should decrease this season

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News reporting on the Lakers, who must decide how much to use Kobe Bryant this season. The squad is mostly about the future. But Kobe’s still on the roster. And despite being close to the end of his career, he’s is still a big draw. Fans want to see him be Kobe. Which will only happen if he stays healthy.

[Lakers general manager Mitch] Kupchak maintained “there hasn’t been any formal discussions” with Lakers coach Byron Scott, trainer Gary Vitti, Lakers president Jeanie Buss and Bryant himself on a number of things surrounding Bryant’s workload. Kupchak said the Lakers have not decided Bryant’s minute and practice limitations as well as if he will sit in any of the team’s 17 sets of back-to-back games. Kupchak only sounded certain that Bryant would sit out in portions of any of the Lakers’ two-a-day sessions in training camp beginning next Tuesday in Hawaii.

Kupchak sounded aware that Bryant played only 41 games in the past three years amid season-ending injuries to his left Achilles tendon (April 2013), left knee (Dec. 2013) and right shoulder (Jan. 2015).

“It’s important for us to keep that in mind and see how he progresses and how he responds to training camp,” Kupchak said. “I would imagine he would not practice twice a day every day. He’s earned the right to really progress in training camp at a certain pace that works for him and works for us.”

Still, Scott has said he hopes to play Bryant in the mid 20-minute range and rest him on back-to-back games, a contrast to last season when he averaged 22.3 points on a career-low 37.3 percent shooting in 36.4 minutes.

Change of scenery may help Deron Williams

Change of scenery may help D-Will

Here’s the Dallas Morning News commenting on the Mavericks’ addition of Deron Williams and departure of Monta Ellis:

Change of scenery may help Deron Williams

Fan question: What does Deron Williams have left in the tank? Does he stay after this season?

Columnist Eddie Sefko: “That’s one of the many ifs we mentioned earlier. He signed for two years, so I’d say that will be a fair amount of time to see if he can revert to the kind of player he was a few years back. Perhaps this change of scenery will serve him well. But he’s been a curious player for a couple years and he’s never been the easiest player to coach. Perhaps this is a perfect situation for him because there won’t be a ton of pressure since this team doesn’t have championship aspirations at the moment.”

Fan question: Why did the Mavs let Monta Ellis get away? He was playing great before the Rondo trade.

Sefko: “He was scoring great. I’m not going to say he was a great player. He has holes in his game. But the Mavericks needed his scoring. You’re right about that. I think the biggest problem with Ellis is that he was the Mavericks’ best player. And if he’s your best player, the first round of the playoffs is probably your ceiling. If he’s your third-best player, then you can talk about deep playoff runs.”

Lakers have interesting mix of players

Built around Kobe Bryant, Jordan Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, Lou Williams, Julius Randle, Brandon Bass and Roy Hibbert, the Los Angeles Lakers should be far more interesting this season than last. Making the playoffs in an extremely difficult Western conference is a very tough goal to achieve, but this squad has young talent worth watching. As for expectations? Here’s ESPN Los Angeles reporting:

The Los Angeles Lakers strive to win championships, and any season that doesn’t end with champagne is considered a failure. Such is their success.

But after missing the playoffs for two straight seasons and coming off a franchise-worst 21-61 mark last season, expectations are different entering the 2015-16 campaign.

“There’s always going to be pressure to win a championship — and every year that’s going to be our goal,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said at the team’s facility here Thursday, a few days before the Lakers head to Hawaii to open training camp next week.

“But we’re realistic in who we are and we do feel we do have an interesting mix of older players and younger players and we think we can win a bunch of games and hopefully be in the mix somewhere down the line.”