2012 March | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Rumors: Hickson, Fisher, Miles

March 28th, 2012 at 7:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Three Northwest Division teams are playing tonight, all of them on the road, while the first-place Thunder await their showdown with the Lakers tomorrow night. Here's what's news around the Northwest:

New Thunder point guard Derek Fisher is spilling his vast knowledge of the Lakers to Oklahoma City coach coach Scott Brooks and his staff in advance of tomorrow night's meeting, but Brooks downplays the value of such insight, given the advanced scouting and video study that teams do on their opponents, writes John Rohde of The Oklahoman.
Jazz swingman C.J. Miles will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe thinks he'll be a bargain the Celtics will pursue (Twitter link). Still, Utah has Bird rights on Miles, who's on the last year of a four-year, $14.8MM contract and putting up 9.3 points a game and a 13.1 PER this season.
In addition to rounding up the available free agents, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy checks in with J.J. Hickson, who's averaging 13 points a night and shooting 65.4% since the Blazers claimed him on waivers last week.

Atlantic Notes: Ewing, Rivers, Nets, Bayless

March 28th, 2012 at 6:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers are off, but the other four Atlantic squads will host games tonight, including the Celtics, who can pull into a tie for the Atlantic Division lead with a win against Utah. Here are a few updates out of the division:

Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing reiterated his desire to become a head coach, and said if the Knicks don't retain Mike Woodson and the opportunity arises this summer, he'd like to coach the Knicks, with whom he starred as a player, writes Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com.
It's no surprise, but Doc Rivers would jump at the chance to coach his son in the NBA. He remarked that if Austin Rivers comes available when GM Danny Ainge and the Celtics are drafting this June, "I am going to say, 'Danny, you better draft him,'" tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The coach also said his son always had eyes on the NBA, and indicated the plan all along was to be a one-and-done player, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link).
For his part, Austin Rivers said on The Dan Patrick Show that he wouldn't mind playing for his dad if the Celtics were to draft him. CSNEE.com has the details.
Deron Williams tells Fred Kerber of the New York Post that he could definitely see himself playing alongside Kentucky's Anthony Davis. Of course, two big ifs are left unspoken here: The Nets would have to luck into the first overall pick to land Davis, and Williams would have to re-sign or opt into the final year of his contract.
According to coach Dwane Casey, as relayed by Eric Koreen of the National Post, Jerryd Bayless' season-ending oblique injury won't affect how the Raptors view him in free agency.
Playing in Canada for the Raptors hardly feels foreign for the well-traveled Alan Anderson, as Koreen writes in a separate piece for the Post.

Traded 2012 First-Round Picks

March 28th, 2012 at 6:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

With college underclassmen beginning to declare their intentions and the end of the regular season four weeks away, the draft picture is beginning to get a little clearer. We won't know the full order of selection until the May 30 Draft Lottery, but we'll soon know whether some traded draft picks will be changing hands or not. Teams commonly build protection into their draft-pick trades so they minimize the risk of losing out on a top prospect, meaning that if a pick falls into one of the top slots, it stays with its original team. There are ways to protect a draft pick, and one seems to be causing some confusion.

Back when the Clippers owned both their own 2012 first-round pick and the Timberwolves’ pick, they traded the less favorable of those picks to the Thunder for Eric Bledsoe. The Thunder then sent that pick to Boston in the Kendrick Perkins trade last year. The Clippers sent the other pick to the Hornets in the Chris Paul trade. It’s been widely reported simply that the Hornets get the Wolves’ pick; that's what most of the stories about the CP3 trade have said. For most of the season, it seemed clear the Clippers would finish with a better record than the Wolves, making the matter of the switch irrelevant. But, the Clippers have been sliding, and the Wolves, even without Ricky Rubio, are just four games in back of them. So, in the event that the Wolves’ pick is inferior to the Clippers’ pick (which they sent to the Celtics), it seems like the picks would switch places – the Celtics would get the Wolves’ pick, and the Hornets would get the Clippers’ pick. But it's not entirely clear, as Draft Express, NBADraft.net and RealGM all seem to be in disagreement. For our purposes, we'll include the possibility of a switch, but those picks are italicized to set them apart.

Below is a list of the first-round picks that could be coming and going to and from teams. In some cases, there are protections that extend to subsequent years (the Cavs, for instance, could still get a pick from the Heat down the road if, as expected, they don't choose to switch picks this year), but for simplicity's sake, only this year's protections are listed.

Blazers
Get pick from Nets (top-three protected)

Bobcats
Give pick to Bulls (top-14 protected)

Bulls
Get pick from Bobcats (top-14 protected)

Cavs
Get option to switch picks with Heat
Get pick from Kings (top-14 protected)
Get pick from Lakers (top-14 protected)

Celtics
Get less favorable of Clippers' pick (top-10 protected) and the Timberwolves' pick.

Clippers
Give Celtics the less favorable of their own pick (top-10 protected) and the Timberwolves’ pick.
Give Hornets the more favorable of their own pick (top-10 protected) and the Timberwolves' pick.

Heat
Give Cavs option to switch picks

Hornets
Get more favorable of Clippers' pick (top-10 protected) and the Timberwolves' pick.

Jazz
Give pick to Timberwolves (top-14 protected)
Get pick from Warriors (top-seven protected)

Kings
Give pick to Cavs (top-14 protected)

Knicks
Give pick to Rockets (top-five protected)

Lakers
Give pick to Cavs (top-14 protected)

Mavs
Give pick to Rockets (top-20 protected)

Nets
Give pick to Blazers (top-three protected)
Get pick from Rockets (top-14 protected)

Rockets
Give pick to Nets (top-14 protected)
Get pick from Knicks (top-five protected)
Get pick from Mavs (top-20 protected)

Spurs
Give pick to Warriors (top-14 protected)

Timberwolves
Give pick to Hornets or Celtics, depending on favorability vs. Clippers' pick
Get pick from Jazz (top-14 protected)

Warriors
Give pick to Jazz (top-seven protected)
Get pick from Spurs (top-14 protected)

Categories:
Uncategorized

Bogut Talks Bucks, Warriors, Trade, Injuries

March 28th, 2012 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

In an interview with Sam Amick of SI.com, Andrew Bogut discussed his old team, his new team, his injury history, and a number of other topics. Here are some highlights:

Bogut would've liked to have a backup center in Milwaukee, noting that the Bucks didn't have a true big man backing him up since Jamaal Magloire in 2005/06. He says it was "frustrating" to continue having power forwards backing him up at center.
Added Bogut on Milwaukee's personnel decisions: "I can definitely question the way things were ran there, too, but I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty."
The big man called the decision for the Bucks to trade him "as mutual as it gets." According to Bogut, there were frustrations on both sides, and the time was right for him to move on.
Bogut was lukewarm in describing the medical treatment he received on his injuries in Milwaukee, hinting that perhaps he returned earlier than he should have from his elbow injury: "At the end of the day, it's a trainer's job on an NBA team and team doctors to get you back on the floor. That's how they're evaluated on their performance, so a lot of times you've got to be smart with your body and know your own body."
Bogut is hoping on-court success will make free agents less reluctant to sign with the Warriors going forward: "Obviously, it's not the city, it's not the weather; it's the franchise. We need to get the franchise back where it needs to be."

Odds & Ends: Powell, Lakers, Azubuike, Curry

March 28th, 2012 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few Wednesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:

Josh Powell, who was thought to be drawing interest from a handful of NBA teams, has decided to play in Puerto Rico, as he announced on his Twitter account. According to Sportando, Powell will play for Brujos de Guayama.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson will become the face of Los Angeles Dodgers ownership, after his bidding group reached an agreement to buy the MLB franchise for a staggering $2.15 billion. Check out MLB Trade Rumors' story for more details.
Current Laker Andrew Bynum stirred up some drama when he was benched following a misguided three-point attempt, says Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Bynum, who will have his 2012/13 option exercised by the team, didn't seem to have any regrets: "I guess 'don't take threes' is the message, but I'm going to take another one and I'm going to take some more, so I just hope it's not the same result."
Kelenna Azubuike won't play a significant role on the Mavericks' 2011/12 squad, but Dallas intends to exercise its team option for next season, barring a setback, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes.
Jonathan Abrams of Grantland.com takes an interesting look at the next step for an NBA player when he finds out he's been traded.
Byron Mullens is becoming a larger part of the Bobcats' future plans, according to an Associated Press report (via NBA.com).
The Warriors will re-evaluate Stephen Curry in two weeks to determine if he's ready to ready to return to action, the team announced today. There's been speculation that Golden State would prefer Curry not play this season, in part because the team would like to retain its top-seven-protected pick that's ticketed for Utah. Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group hears that Warriors management wouldn't mind Curry sitting out the season, though they'd be happy to have him return to the lineup if he's healthy.

Kobe Preparing To Recruit Fisher, Odom?

March 28th, 2012 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Kobe Bryant is "planning a hard push" to try to bring Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom back to the Lakers this summer, a source tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Fisher and Odom were both traded by the Lakers over the last few months, but could become free agents in the offseason.

Fisher, who was traded to and then bought him by Houston, signed with the Thunder on a rest-of-season contract. Odom, meanwhile, was dealt to the Mavericks in December and has one more season left on his deal. His final year is only partially guaranteed though, and his play this season makes it unlikely the Mavs would want to pay him $8.9MM to return.

It's unclear whether returning to the Lakers is something either player wants, and team management would have to be on board as well. However, Howard-Cooper hears that Bryant will use his friendship with both players to try to convince them a return is in everyone's best interests. Asked about a potential reunion, Bryant remained fairly noncommittal.

"I don’t know," Bryant told NBA.com. "I would hope so. But I don’t know. When Fish and I talk, it’s about personal things because we’ve known each other for so long. Lamar too. We keep that other stuff out of it. It’s family, how are you doing, stuff like that."

2012/13 NBA Non-Guaranteed Contracts

March 28th, 2012 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of NBA players are currently on contracts that are not fully guaranteed for the coming season. These contracts essentially amount to another form of team option — teams can choose to release these players before their contracts become fully guaranteed, a deadline that varies from player to player.

Listed below are the non-guaranteed contracts for 2012/13. Unless otherwise indicated, these are minimum-salary deals with no buyouts attached — players with partial guarantees of unknown value are marked with an asterisk. Partial guarantees count against the team's cap for 2012/13.

Updated 1-10-13

76ers: None
Bobcats: None
Bucks: None
Bulls: None
Cavaliers: None
Celtics: None
Clippers: None
Grizzlies: None
Hawks: None
Heat: None
Hornets: None
Jazz: None
Kings: None
Knicks: None
Lakers: None
Magic: None
Mavericks: None
Nets: None
Nuggets: None
Pacers: None
Pistons: None
Raptors: None
Rockets: None
Spurs: None
Suns: None
Thunder: None
Timberwolves: None
Trail Blazers: None
Warriors: None
Wizards: None

Storytellers Contracts, ShamSports, and HoopsWorld were used in the creation of this list.

Categories:
2012/13 NBA Free Agents

Draft Updates: Moultrie, Mock Draft, Cavaliers

March 28th, 2012 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA officially announced today that this year's draft will be held at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. With exactly three months until the June 28th event, let's round up the latest news and rumors….

Arnett Moultrie, who projects as a mid-to-late first-round pick, intends to enter the draft, as he tells Brad Locke of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. "I… have decided to explore my options and enter my name into the 2012 NBA Draft," the Mississippi State big man wrote in a text message. "I have not signed with an agent, as of yet. However, I do anticipate doing so."
Moultrie's declaration will prevent him from returning to Mississippi State for his senior year. However, there's one loophole that could allow him to withdraw and play one more year of college basketball, as Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com explains.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford released his second mock draft today (Insider-only link) and fielded draft-related questions in a chat. In another Insider piece, Ford previews the best of the 2012/13 NCAA freshman class.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio also answered a number of draft questions in his latest chat, with a strong focus on the Cavaliers' draft prospects.

Wizards Sign Cartier Martin To 10-Day Contract

March 28th, 2012 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards have officially signed Cartier Martin to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Martin will take Edwin Ubiles' spot on the roster, after Ubiles' 10-day deal expired.

Martin played 30 games in China this season, averaging 26.3 points per contest. He joined the Dakota Wizards after returning from overseas, and averaged 18.3 PPG with a .556 3PT% in seven D-League games. The 27-year-old has appeared in 103 NBA games over the course of his career, including 52 for Washington last season.

Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside first reported that the Wizards were expected to sign Martin to a 10-day contract.

Injury Updates: Stoudemire, Hamilton, Gordon

March 28th, 2012 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

With the season winding down, health and injury issues loom larger than ever. Teams with injured players may look to find reinforcements via 10-day contracts or rest-of-season deals, while free-agents-to-be with injury woes could see their stocks affected by their health problems. Here are a few Wednesday morning updates on a few such situations:

The Knicks announced today that Amare Stoudemire will undergo non-surgical treatment on a bulging disk, and will miss two-to-four weeks (Twitter link). With Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin also battling nagging injuries, New York could look to the D-League or free agency to add depth.
Richard Hamilton is "very close" to returning for the Bulls and there's a chance he plays tonight, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. I'd imagine Mike James' contract status relies on Hamilton's health to some extent, though the Bulls have the roster space to bring James back for the rest of the season either way.
The Hornets could have Eric Gordon back in their lineup in "a matter of days," writes Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A centerpiece in the Chris Paul trade and a restricted free agent at season's end, Gordon has played just two games for New Orleans. A healthy final few weeks for him could make a significant impact on the contract he signs this summer.

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