NBA Teams – Page 1136 – NBA Blog

Giannis Antetokounmpo still earning his spot in Bucks rotation

The Bucks have what appears to be a talented new player. That his name is hard to spell and pronounce just adds to the fun. Here’s Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A buzz is building about Milwaukee Bucks rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Already he is being compared to Nicolas Batum, Paul George and Kevin Durant.

Not bad for a skinny 18-year-old from Greece, a player who is getting his first taste of NBA action during the current exhibition season.

But wait a second.

Coach Larry Drew is not ready to commit to putting the 6-foot-9 youngster into the playing rotation when the regular season begins next week.

The Bucks may want to be cautious when it comes to a player they value so highly.

Gerald Wallace calls out Celtics for being too laid-back

It’s just NBA preseason, but still, credit goes to players who want to set a winning tone early:

Gerald Wallace called out his new team for its sub-standard effort following Sunday night’s loss to the Timberwolves in Montreal, and the Celtics forward backed up those words following today’s practice.

Coach Brad Stevens supported those Sunday critiques from Wallace and Jeff Green, saying today that the result was one of the best practices of training camp.

But, according to Wallace, the coaches have asked him to rein in his words a bit.

“I’m getting fussed at by the coaches every time,” said Wallace. “They’re trying to tell me to relax and ease up. But the main thing is I want the guys to compete. If we lose all 82 games, but we lose them going down fighting and competing hard. I can live with that. I can’t live with losing and we didn’t compete, we didn’t give our best effort and we just gave the game away. I don’t want that for these guys and this team.”

Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Can’t knock a player for trying to make sure his squad competes, even in preseason.

Nuggets face upcoming decision on Jordan Hamilton

The Nuggets have a more difficult decision to make on [Jordan] Hamilton. He has a team option that needs to be picked up by Oct. 31. Picking up that option will guarantee Hamilton is back and paid more than $2 million next season. But, the Nuggets have to ask themselves whether that is a cost-effective move.

Hamilton plays small forward — where the Nuggets have Danilo Gallinari (when he returns from a torn ACL), Wilson Chandler, Miller and Anthony Randolph, who has opened eyes in training camp. This decision, then, ultimately comes down to if the Nuggets A) see him in their future and/or B) want to retain him as an asset that can be used for trade purposes.

Reported by Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post

Trail Blazers waive Dee Bost, E.J. Singer, Richard Howell

The Portland Trail Blazers have placed guards Dee Bost and E.J. Singer and forward Richard Howell on waivers, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey.

Bost appeared in four preseason games averaging 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds, while Singler averaged 1.0 point and 1.0 assist in two appearances and Howell averaged 1.0 rebound and 1.0 assist in one appearance.

Portland’s roster now stands at 15.

Orlando Magic: Glen Davis making progress with foot rehab

Glen Davis and Orlando Magic officials are reluctant to estimate when Davis will return to practice or play a regular-season game. But Davis says he’s making progress in his return from a July surgery on his left foot.

Davis hasn’t participated in contact drills, practices or scrimmages yet.

But he’s running up and down the court and is taking jumpers.

“They’re watching me as much as possible, making sure that I don’t skip any steps in this process,” Davis said Monday, before his teammates began practice at Amway Center.

Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Anthony Randolph has been pleasant surprise in Nuggets training camp

The days became months and years, and Anthony Randolph was beginning to square himself with the fact that a legitimate chance to play significant minutes might never come again.

So forgive him if he was a little skeptical when new Nuggets coach Brian Shaw arrived in town preaching competition all over the court.

But a funny thing happened: Shaw wasn’t playing. The competition was on. And because of that, something else is happening: Randolph is playing himself into the lineup.

He arguably has been the biggest surprise of camp, though he’ll tell you he has always had it in him. Signed by the Nuggets in 2012 for depth, he’s making a serious push to be in the regular rotation when the season begins in eight days.

Reported by Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post

Phoenix Suns starting small forward spot still up for grabs

This is the sort of thing that makes NBA preseason worth watching: Position battles, even on bad teams:

The Phoenix Suns are a little more than a week away from their 2012-13 season opener against the Portland Trailblazers.

First-year head coach Jeff Hornacek is still tinkering with his roster and player rotations, but says there’s a pretty good position battle brewing.

“Probably the three spot, I’d say,” Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 620 Tuesday. “Marcus (Morris), P.J. (Tucker) and Gerald Green all lend different things.

“Obviously, P.J. is great defensively, he’s a guy that gets physical with other teams and really pulls up the defensive energy on our team. Then you have Gerald Green, who can really light it up offensively — I think we saw that in the San Antonio preseason game. And then Marcus is kind of a combination of both guys, he can score some, he’s working on his defense at the three spot.”

Reported by Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports

Whichever player gets to start may or may not actually play big minutes. Time could be split up pretty evenly. In which case, starting isn’t a big deal.

Wolves to pick up Derrick Williams, Ricky Rubio contract options

The Wolves will pick up Derrick Williams’ $6.7 million contract option for 2014-15 and do the same with Ricky Rubio’s $5 million option as well, a team source confirms.

The decision on Rubio’s contract before next week’s season opener is nothing but a formality.

The Williams’ decision pretty much was one, too, despite all the Internet chatter whether they’d really commit to another contract that could leave them fairly handcuffed right near the luxury tax.

Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Blog)

Starting 76ers lineup appears set

There are only two definites about the 76ers’ roster.

The first thing is that Michael Carter-Williams, James Anderson, Evan Turner, Thad Young and Spencer Hawes are the clear starters. The second thing is that power forward/center Lavoy Allen is an experienced NBA talent that’s finding his way back into shape.

“And after that, who knows?” Sixers coach Brett Brown said before Monday’s 104-93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Schottenstein Center.

“You have six NBA players and then you have a bunch of guys who are fighting for spots and want to be seen and need opportunity,” Brown added.

Reported by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Los Angeles Lakers will fast-break this season, but nothing crazy

Which kind of pace does D’Antoni envision the Lakers running this season?

“It won’t be crazy,” he said, “but we want to push it and get a nice pace. We want to get some easy buckets before the defense sets up, so we’ll be up in the top five probably in pace, but it won’t be breakneck speed.”

Playing at a faster tempo seems to be more of an option this season because the team got younger and more athletic with the additions of Nick Young, Jordan Farmar and Wesley Johnson.

“I think we have to utilize our wings, their speed and athleticism,” forward Pau Gasol said, “but not too much faster than we did last year because I think we still have to play at somewhat of a controlled pace and a pace that everybody’s comfortable with.”

Reported by Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times