Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

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:

lakers

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.”

A glance at Magic training camp

A glance at Orlando Magic training camp

Here’s the Orlando Sentinel with insight on Magic training camp, which is set to open:

The team will have 19 players in training camp, although two of them could be limited early on. Gordon is still recovering from a fractured jaw that he suffered in mid-July and likely won’t begin participating in full-contact, 5-on-5 drills until mid-October. Magic officials recently learned that Fournier tweaked one of his ankles during France’s final game in EuroBasket 2015, and the team could proceed cautiously with him.

On Thursday, the Magic announced the signing of four new players who will attempt to earn a roster spot: point guard Keith Appling, center Nnanna Egwu, guard Jordan Sibert and center Greg Stiemsma.

Appling will compete against newcomer Shabazz Napier for the role as Orlando’s third point guard, while Egwu, Sibert and Stiemsma likely will compete against forward Melvin Ejim for the 15th spot on the roster.

Guard Tyler Harvey, whom the Magic drafted late in the second round in June’s draft, will not attend training camp and instead will spend the season with the Magic’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks. The Magic will retain Harvey’s draft rights.

Some key Mavs still recovering from injury

Some key Mavs still recovering from injury

With NBA training camps opening soon, preseason around the corner, and the regular season beginning in late October, some key Dallas Mavericks are coming off major surgeries. Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting:

Some key Mavs still recovering from injury

With the NBA regular-season opener a mere 34 days away, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban isn’t sure if two of his starters will be in the opening-day starting lineup when his squad plays at Phoenix on Oct. 28.

Shooting guard Wesley Matthews underwent surgery to repair a left torn Achilles tendon on March 11 while he was playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. Matthews signed a four-year, $70 million free-agent contract with the Mavericks on July 9.

Small forward Chandler Parsons had surgery on May 1 to address a cartilage injury to his right knee. Parsons signed a three-year, $46 million free-agent contract with the Mavericks in the summer of 2014.

The Mavericks are expecting both players to be leaders in their quest to help the team recapture its glory years. But will they be available for the season opener against Phoenix?

“They’re on schedule, so there’s a chance,’’ Cuban said Thursday afternoon. “But we’re not going to rush them.

Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis takes a stroll around NYC

Here’s the New York Post with a fun feature on 7-3 Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who took a stroll around NYC and joked to one young fan that he’ll “be 8-feet by the end of the season.”

“Since I’ve been like 15, I can’t really hide, you know?” Porzingis says. “I always stand out. At one point, you’re just like, ‘I can’t be hiding my whole life. I gotta get used to this.’ Now I’m enjoying it.”

He is wise beyond his 20 years and a 7-foot-3 cutup. As he stares straight ahead and smiles for a photo with a short young man named Adam Eliassof, he startles him by telling him, “I’m gonna be 8-feet by the end of the season.”

Before more stargazers and curiosity seekers can flood the Seventh Avenue entrance to his next basketball home, Porzingis, with his older brother Martin and Knicks staffer Gregg Schwartz and several security men in tow, begins walking through the 33rd Street Plaza, where a man shouts out: “Kristaps, I need you to put on some weight.”

Truth be told, Porzingis already has bulked up, to 240 pounds, likely on his way to 250. He sneers at the stereotypical perception of European players as soft and uses it to fuel the fire that burns within him to be great. He doesn’t intend to let stronger, meaner opponents bully him.

A glance at new Clippers additions

The Los Angeles Clippers will be deeper this upcoming season. It’ll be interesting to see how the chemistry develops. Here’s the Orange County Register reporting:

A glance at new Clippers additions

Joining fellow newcomers Lance Stephenson and Paul Pierce, and holdovers Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford, [Josh] Smith gives the Clippers a versatility they’ve lacked.

“The whole goal was we needed multiple positions,” Rivers said. “I wanted the second unit to be guard-less, meaning Austin isn’t a point guard, Lance isn’t a point guard, Jamal’s not a point guard. But all of them can dribble. Josh can dribble. That was our goal. We wanted four (guys). If we could somehow come up with five in the second unit where they literally could all bring the ball up, the versatility they create for that unit … We can play a unit of Josh and Paul at four and five and Lance, Jamal and Austin.

“That’s just chaotic. Who do you guard? Paul will just stand out by the 3 and dare you. Jamal can do his things. Austin and Lance are downhill players. We had a vision of how we wanted to play. That always helps when you’re building a team. We thought, this year, the pool of players you could go after was so much larger than the year before that we had a chance to accomplish our goal.”

Lakers sign Metta World Peace

Lakers sign Metta World Peace

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed forward Metta World Peace, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

According to the Orange County Register, “the contract essentially confirms the endorsement Coach Byron Scott gave World Peace last week, when he trumpeted the former champion’s virtues in an interview with the Register. “We know what type of defender he is,” Scott said. “He’s a guy who’s going to get on you. “He’s strong, he’s physical, he’s tough. He’s made Julius work, which I think is great. Then when the game is over he’s always talking to Julius about certain things that he feels Julius can do better.”

A 15-year NBA veteran who spent four seasons in Los Angeles between 2009-13, World Peace holds career averages of 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 steals in 33.0 minutes per game over 931 contests (833 starts) with the Bulls, Pacers, Kings, Rockets, Knicks, and Lakers. Born Ron Artest before changing his name during the 2011 offseason, World Peace was an integral member of the Lakers’ 2010 NBA Championship team, starting all 23 playoff games and averaging 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals in 36.5 minutes per game during the postseason.

Selected with the 16th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft by Chicago, the 35-year-old was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2003-04 in addition to being chosen as an All-Star and member of the All-NBA Third Team that same year. He has also garnered four NBA All-Defensive Team selections and made the postseason nine times (including all four of his seasons in L.A.) with four different franchises.

His most recent NBA action came during the 2013-14 season when he appeared in 29 games for the New York Knicks, and has since played in the Chinese Basketball Association and Lega Basket Serie A, Italy’s top division.

World Peace was honored with the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2011, and is actively involved in mental health awareness initiatives.

Jusuf Nurkic will not be ready for start of training camp

Here’s the Denver Post with an update on Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic, who averaged 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks — impressive considering he played just 17.8 minutes per game last season:

Jusuf Nurkic will not be ready for start of training camp

Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic will not be ready for the start of training camp as he continues to rehab his left knee, general manager Tim Connelly said Wednesday.

“We’re going to take our time with him,” Connelly said.

Nurkic underwent surgery in May to repair a partially torn left patella tendon. The original timetable was three to four months. Connelly, however, did say that Nurkic was “ahead of schedule,” but he wouldn’t “put a firm timetable on when he’ll be back.”

Jason Richardson retires from NBA

Jason Richardson, aka J-Rich, was a dunk phenom and a mighty fine basketball player. Between 2001 and 2015 he averaged 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. A fantastic NBA career is in the books. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer blog reporting:

The thought was that Jason Richardson would extend his career as a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

But the shooting guard, who was with 76ers the past three seasons, announced his retirement Wednesday on his personal Instagram page.

“Today is a bitter sweet moment for me,” he wrote. “ I’m officially announcing my retirement from pro basketball. I like to thank the organizations and fans in Charlotte, Phoenix, Orlando, Philly and especially The Bay Area for their loyal support the past 14 years. Walking away was the hardest decision I had to make but choosing my health and spending time with my family is more important to me! God bless!”

This announcement comes after Richardson had signed a non-guaranteed, one-year deal with the Hawks for the league minimum back in August.