Summer Update - team-by-team
Here are some news and notes for half the teams in the NBA. We like to put this column out on Mondays, but it didn’t happen this week. So better late than never, right? Here’s the first half of the league, alphabetically, while Ryan Knaus should check in on Saturday with the second half. Also, we're shooting for a Rotoworld NBA Draft Guide release date of Sep. 1, tentatively.
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Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks are excited about adding center Tiago Splitter, but the fact they lost DeMarre Carroll is still going to be their biggest problem heading into the new season. Thabo Sefolosha could take his place in the starting lineup and while they have similar defensive skills, the Hawks take a huge hit offensively with Thabo over Carroll. Paul Millsap is going to play some small forward this season as a result, but how much time and how effectively, remains to be seen, obviously.
Possible starting lineup: Jeff Teague, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Al Horford. Or it could be Teague, Korver, Thabo Sefolosha, Millsap and Horford.
Boston Celtics – Marcus Smart left Thursday’s Summer League game with dislocated fingers on his right hand and didn’t return. His summer should be over and the C’s are just hoping X-rays are negative at this point. This is a big deal because he may be the opening-night point guard, but the Celtics also have Isaiah Thomas, which softens the potential blow. R.J. Hunter turned down an invite to the ESPY’s to stay with his new team, which had to thrill Danny Ainge and Coach Brad Stevens. The Marcus Thornton on the Celtics’ roster is a rookie, not to be confused with the other Marcus Thornton, who is now with the Rockets. Be careful with this on draft night, especially in deep leagues. And especially since the Rockets’ Thornton played for the Celtics last season. The Celtics also lost Brandon Bass to the Lakers, traded Gerald Wallace for David Lee, and signed Amir Johnson, who should start at PF.
Possible starting lineup: Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Tyler Zeller. Wildcards: Isaiah Thomas, Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger and David Lee.
Brooklyn Nets – Joe Johnson may come off the bench this season, according to play-by-play man Ian Eagle. For now it’s just a rumor, but worth keeping an eye on, even though my money is on him starting at SF, a clear hole for Brooklyn. Do they really want to start a rookie (Rondae Hollis-Jefferson) at SF? Thomas Robinson had knee surgery, but should be ready for the start of the season. The Nets traded Steve Blake to the Pistons after acquiring him from the Blazers in late June. They also won the Andrea Bargnani sweepstakes, if you want to call that winning. The Nets have a hole at small forward, so maybe Bargs will play some minutes there, which might work since he can’t rebound. And the reason Jarrett Jack is the starting point guard for the Nets is that the Mavericks signed Deron Williams after he was cut by the Nets. They also re-signed Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young.
Possible starting lineup: Jarrett Jack, Wayne Ellington, Joe Johnson, Thaddeus Young, Brook Lopez.
Charlotte Hornets – There hasn’t been much news out of Charlotte lately, other than that they signed Jeremy Lin, and Frank Kaminsky played well in Summer League last week. They signed Nicolas Batum, but you already knew that.
Possible starting lineup: Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller/Frank Kaminsky, Al Jefferson.
Chicago Bulls – Doug McDermott has looked good in Summer League, but the odds of him breaking out aren’t in his favor due to the guys in front of him on the depth chart. Rookie Bobby Portis played well on Sunday, but is in the same boat as McDermott. Jimmy Butler officially re-signed and Aaron Brooks will be back in Chicago this season.
Possible starting lineup: Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah.
Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cavs are hoping to sign some discounted veterans and some names that have popped up are Tayshaun Prince, Dorell Wright and Rashard Lewis. David West (Spurs) is not walking through that door. LeBron James and Kevin Love (should be ready for camp after shoulder injury) have had discussions on how to better use Love this season, and I still think it can work. It’s just going to take time and they now have to learn how to play together, after Love signed his big deal. The Cavs may bring J.R. Smith back, but nothing has happened yet, while Tristan Thompson is their first priority. Anderson Varejao is expected to be ready for camp after his Achilles injury, and the same is true for Kyrie Irving and his knee injury. Mo Williams is back in Cleveland as a backup for Kyrie, and Iman Shumpert has signed with the Cavs and could start.
Possible starting lineup: Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov/Anderson Varejao.
Dallas Mavericks – You may have heard something about Dallas getting snubbed by DeAndre Jordan, so I’m not going to get into that, other than to tell them good luck with Zaza Pachulia starting at center in his place. Forward Justin Anderson has looked pretty good in Summer League, along with forward Dwight Powell. The Mavs re-signed J.J. Barea, and were also able to grab Deron Williams after he was bought out by the Nets, and he’ll start at point guard. Chandler Parsons should be ready to start the season, but his knee is still not at full strength. They also landed Wesley Matthews, who stuck to his word even after DJ bailed. He’s recovering from an Achilles injury, but should be ready to go. The Mavs may also swing for the fences and try to sign center JaVale McGee, which would be entertaining, if nothing else.
Possible starting lineup: Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki, Zaza Pachulia.
Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets are interested in bringing back Danilo Gallinari, but haven’t done so as of yet, and they’d also like to keep Darrell Arthur, an unrestricted free agent. Ty Lawson is still a Nugget, but after a pair of DUI arrests, it’s possible they could dump him at some point. Teams simply aren’t showing interest in acquiring the suddenly troubled point guard. If he goes, rookie Emmanuel Mudiay will get a significant boost. Jameer Nelson has signed with the Nuggets, so they have point guard options if Lawson goes. Wilson Chandler, Randy Foye and Will Barton have been re-signed, and Jusuf Nurkic is recovering well from knee surgery.
Possible starting lineup: Ty Lawson/Emmanuel Mudiay, Randy Foye, Wilson Chandler/Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic.
Detroit Pistons – The Hack-a-Drummond rules likely aren’t changing, meaning Andre Drummond could still shoot a ton of free throws this season, which isn’t great news. But at least he won’t have to deal with Greg Monroe, who is now in Milwaukee. The Pistons are hopeful Brandon Jennings will be fully recovered from his Achilles injury in time to start the season, but it’s still up in the air. They also signed Reggie Jackson to a huge deal, meaning Jennings is going to have to fight for his minutes this season. This is looking like a fantasy headache for the two high-scoring guards. Ersan Ilyasova will likely start at power forward for Detroit this season and will play for Turkey this summer. Aron Baynes will be a back up big man for the Pistons this season and rookie Stanley Johnson should start at small forward, making him one of the more intriguing rookies. They also added Marcus Morris, who will see time at both forward spots, and could even challenge Johnson for the starting job.
Possible starting lineup: Reggie Jackson/Brandon Jennings, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope/Jodie Meeks, Stanley Johnson, Ersan Ilyasova, Andre Drummond.
Golden State Warriors – Andre Iguodala should come off the bench again this season, as Steve Kerr has no reason to change his lineup after winning it all. James Michael McAdoo scored 20 points last week in Vegas and is having a great Summer League, but he’s still not looking like a rotation player. The Warriors moved David Lee for Gerald Wallace, which probably doesn’t mean much, but Lee was a key player for the Dubs in the Finals. Draymond Green is back on an $85 million deal and Leandro Barbosa signed a one-year deal to return. Marreese Speights is also back, along with Shaun Livingston.
Possible starting lineup: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut.
Houston Rockets – Donatas Motiejunas’ rehab from back surgery is going well and he should be ready for the start of the season. Josh Smith is gone and will play for the Clippers next season, which should clear the way for Terrence Jones to start at PF. Glen Rice Jr. lit it up in Summer League on Monday, but I’m not expecting him to do big things once the games start counting. And as I mentioned earlier, the Rockets added Marcus Thornton for a greater 3-point presence (as if having James Harden and Trevor Ariza wasn’t enough).
Possible starting lineup: Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones, Dwight Howard.
Indiana Pacers – The Pacers added Jordan Hill and have said that Paul George will probably play some power forward this season – maybe a lot of PF. Rookie center Myles Turner has turned heads this summer and with Roy Hibbert now a Laker, the starting job is Turner’s to lose. Hill appears to be his biggest threat to the job. Chase Budinger (traded from Wolves) could start at small forward if George finds himself at PF, and Larry Bird comically said “he don’t make the decisions around here” after George didn’t sound thrilled about playing the four. Guard Joseph Young has looked good in Summer League, but shouldn’t be much of a factor after the Pacers added Monta Ellis in free agency.
Possible starting lineup: George Hill, Monta Ellis, Paul George, Jordan Hill, Myles Turner. Or it could be Hill, Ellis, Budinger, George and Turner/Hill on some nights.
L.A. Clippers – As you surely heard, the Clippers pulled off a miracle and were able to keep DeAndre Jordan at the last minute and then signed Josh Smith, who will play behind Blake Griffin. They also added Cole Aldrich, but he takes a hit now that DJ is back, and swingman Wes Johnson is now a Clipper. They added Paul Pierce, re-signed Austin Rivers and we still don’t know where Jamal Crawford will play this season. With Crawford likely gone, J.J. Redick should be in line for a great season for the Clips.
Possible starting lineup: Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan.
L.A. Lakers – Rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell has struggled with shooting and turnovers in Summer League, meaning you might want to harness your hopes on him this season. He’s still going to play heavy minutes and should start for the Lakers, so I’m not fading him too much at this point. He’ll figure it out, but TOs are going to be a problem. Kobe Bryant hasn’t started shooting yet after his shoulder injury, so we’ll have to see when he’ll be ready before assigning his value. Julius Randle scored 17 on Wednesday and should get a ton of minutes, while Nick Young should still be with the Lakers on opening night. Jabari Brown could stay relevant for L.A., who will probably not be very good again this season. And as I mentioned earlier, the Lakers traded for Roy Hibbert to be their starting center, and also added Brandon Bass, who will likely compete with Kelly and Randle for a starting job.
Possible starting lineup: D’Angelo Russell/Jordan Clarkson, Kobe Bryant, Ryan Kelly, Julius Randle/Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert.
Memphis Grizzlies – Nick Calathes will play in Greece this season, but Memphis brought back Beno Udrih to back up Mike Conley. The Grizzlies added Brandan Wright to back up Marc Gasol, who they signed to a five-year, $100 million deal. Gasol won’t play for Spain this summer, which has to please the Grizz. They also ended up with Matt Barnes, who was traded roughly 20 times this summer. No one seems to want Barnes, but it’s also possible he could end up with a starting job if he has a good camp.
Possible starting lineup: Mike Conley, Courtney Lee, Tony Allen/Jeff Green, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol.
