Remember when Greg Monroe signed his qualifying offer to stay with the Pistons for one year?
Did anyone really think that was going to turn out well?
The Pistons’ frontcourt is still ridiculously clogged, and now Monroe’s going to leave next summer, possibly for nothing. Any chance of him being coaxed into staying by a great season seems impossibly remote at this point.
Shams Charania of RealGM has more on the Monroe conundrum:
Over a dozen teams should have the necessary cap space to attract Monroe. The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks are two perspective suitors for the 6-foot-11 center, with the Knicks’ possibility to move onto Monroe should Marc Gasol re-sign with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Hawks already placing an interest in the offseason. Despite speculation in top markets of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, neither were an interested party when Monroe sought offer sheets, sources said. For now, Monroe and these Pistons have staggered to a 3-16 record and everyone is responsible.
To say Monroe has checked out on the locker room may be too harsh, but no one in his position is as fully engaged to a team, a program, as someone who sought and received a long-term contract. For Monroe, this is about being a professional, a steady producer, surviving the year healthy, and likely move on.
Across the roster, Josh Smith continues to compete, to try to buy into Van Gundy’s coaching, Drummond has taken a step back in offensive stats despite a four percent increase in usage and everywhere has been a fluctuating struggle. This team is better than needing a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night to record four victories through 1½ months of the season.
When asked about reasons to pinpoint one crumbling season after another, about why this compiled roster and coaching staff has already fallen out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, Monroe looked up to the ceiling and returned centered, shook his head and had nothing.
“I mean, I don’t know,” he said. “I mean … it’s just … it’s … I don’t have any answers.”
Monroe has tried to avoid discussion of his free agency status, sidestepping questions, and he’ll remain a pro under Van Gundy. Still, Monroe has been part of this team problem — far under .500 and a scattered group. The Pistons haven’t won 30 or more games since Monroe’s rookie season in 2011.
KIRILENKO BACK TO UTAH? MAYBE NOT
First, let’s go to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News:
Andrei Kirilenko might be moving back into his Salt Lake City home soon.
It’s “very possible” that the small forward, who spent the first 10 seasons of his NBA career in Utah, will be traded to the Jazz by the Brooklyn Nets later this month, a source told the Deseret News.
In exchange for Kirilenko, the Jazz would send seldom-used forward Jeremy Evans and offseason acquisition Toure’ Murry to Brooklyn.
ESPN.com’s Marc Stein first reported the possibility of this trade last month.
The deal wouldn’t take place until at least Dec. 15, which marks the first day teams can trade players who signed in the offseason.
The 33-year-old Kirilenko played for the Jazz from 2001-11 and was somewhat of a lightning rod throughout his Utah tenure because of a massive contract, injuries and inconsistency.
And now, over to NetsDaily, who say there’s nothing to that rumor:
Jody Genessy, Jazz beat writer for the Deseret News is quoting a “source” Saturday that it’s “”very possible” that Andrei Kirilenko could be dealt to Utah for Jeremy Evans and Toure’ Murry, both seldom used bench players. However, league sources familiar with Kirilenko’s situation shot the rumor down. Its the second time the rumor has arisen and second time it’s been shot down.
Marc Stein first reported the rumored deal on November 24 as an “intriguing option” for the Nets, but insiders said neither the Nets nor his agent had spoken to the Jazz. Such a trade would be ideal for Kirilenko who played eight years in Utah and still has a home there, which he frequently visits in the off-season. The Nets, on the other hand, hope and expect to get more for Kirilenko. Adrian Wojnarowski identified the Clippers and Cavaliers as two possible suitors but did not discuss who either team might give up.
LACOB: WARRIORS ‘COULDN’T BE GREAT’ WITH MARK JACKSON
Lacob speaks impressively candidly in this piece, from Diamond Leung of the Oakland Tribune. Well worth your time. Here’s a snippet:
While crediting Jackson for changing the Warriors’ culture, Lacob said he didn’t think the team “could be great” without removing a coach he characterized as unwilling to hire better assistants and disliked by many in the organization.
“Right now, (Kerr) looks great,” Lacob said at the Western Association of Venture Capitalists/National Venture Capital Association luncheon Wednesday. “I think he will be great. And he did the one big thing that I wanted more than anything else from Mark Jackson he just wouldn’t do, in all honesty, which is hire the very best.
“Carte blanche. Take my wallet. Do whatever it is to get the best assistants there are in the world. Period. End of story. Don’t want to hear it. And (Jackson’s) answer . . . was, ‘Well, I have the best staff.’ No you don’t. And so with Steve, very, very different.”
Lacob praised associate head coach Alvin Gentry and assistant coach Ron Adams, whom Kerr hired for their experience. Lacob said he thought at the time when he hired Jackson that the key for an inexperienced coach who he said “didn’t know X’s and O’s, really” was to hire the right staff around him.
“You can’t have a staff underneath you that isn’t that good,” Lacob said. “And if you’re going to get better, you’ve got to have really good assistants. You’ve got to have people that can be there to replace you. We all know this from all of our companies. It’s . . . Management 101. A lot of people on the outside couldn’t understand it when we (fired Jackson).”
Only one of Jackson’s five assistants last season, Darren Erman, remains in the NBA. He was fired during the season for violating company policy shortly after Brian Scalabrine was reassigned to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
RONDO UNLIKELY TO HEAD TO LAKERS
At least, not in the near future. Despite what you might think after he had breakfast with Kobe.
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News:
On Thursday, Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo were spotted around town here, having breakfast. So, naturally, that means Rondo is heading to the Lakers. Right?
Uh, no. Asked about the breakfast here at TD Garden on Friday, Bryant smiled and said: “It was delicious.”
Rondo and Bryant have sparked up a friendship in recent years, after playing the part of rivals in the 2008 and 2010 Finals. “We talk about everything,” Bryant said. “We both love the game so much, we wind up talking about the game more times than not.”
Though the Lakers, like many teams, have a standing interest in Rondo, one source told Sporting News any notion of Los Angeles acquiring Rondo is, “all smoke, no fire.” The Celtics and Lakers have had no substantive talks regarding Rondo, and sources continue to maintain that Rondo has not been shopped by Boston in any way.
Bryant said he was not recruiting Rondo on Thursday. Asked about picturing playing with Rondo, Bryant smiled and said, “I have not thought about having potential teammates before.” He added, “We get along extremely well, we see the game in a similar fashion in terms of our aggressiveness and mindset. It was good to get together with him.”
KNICKS UNLIKELY TO LAND GASOL
Marc Berman of the New York Post:
The Knicks are closer to landing Duke center Jahlil Okafor in the draft than they are to landing Memphis center Marc Gasol in free agency, according to an NBA source.
As the Knicks plummet to the bottom of the league, a source told The Post the club doesn’t believe its chances are too good of landing the Grizzlies stud center with their 2015 cap space — not that Knicks president Phil Jackson won’t try like mad.
Filling the center position in the triangle will be the top priority this offseason as the Knicks can lose all of their big men because of expiring contracts. It’s unlikely the Knicks will re-sign any except perhaps Cole Aldrich.
Gasol is thriving in Memphis, having a career year in a city he has said nice things about. The Grizzlies own the second-best record in the NBA at 15-3 and Gasol is averaging 19.4 points per game and eight rebounds, becoming the best center in the game. (He has a bruised knee and is questionable for Friday.) Memphis can give an extra year — and extra $30 million — on a max deal.
The Knicks’ lone edge is Gasol is best friends with point guard Jose Calderon, his teammate on Spain’s national team.
Its just not right to be knocking Mark Jackson after firing him.
Regarding Greg Monroe, I can see the Knicks overpaying for him, after letting Amare walk.
Regarding Andrei Kirilenko, don’t believe anything other than being reported by NetsDaily, as they get their information confidentially from the top sources, such as Irina Pavlova (The President of the larger Sports Entertainment group).
Even there, the local media is keeping quiet (tweet by ESPN’s Mazzeo) about the sensitive situation with his pregnant wife Masha Lopatova. Anyone wanting to know more, can visit her public Instagram site, especially if one can read Russian. There may have been complications with her pregnancy (seen entering Hospital). She (in English) praises her “hubby” for being more supportive than any time in past 13 years. This could be part of the problem between AK and Hollins. It has been mentioned that he doesn’t want to go on road trips, and wants to stay close to his wife. Yahoo’s Woj (without mentioning specifics) said that Kirilenko could hold up any trade until before the trade deadline (consistent with her being about 7 months pregnant now). I have good reason to believe that Hollins and the Nets front office are in disagreement about playing Kirilenko (Hollins has kept him inactive for about 10 days).
By the way, Kirilenko is supposed to be healthy, and he was one of the best defense forwards in the NBA last Jan/Feb, the last time he was healthy and playing significant minutes. However, noone will take him until Hollins lets him play and show it on the court. (To be continued).