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Month: November 2024

Central Notes: Pistons, Ayon, Bulls, Rose

March 11th, 2013 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Only one Central Division team is in action tonight, as the Pistons visit the Jazz in Utah. The good news for a Jazz team looking to snap a four-game losing streak? The Pistons have lost their last two road games, against the Spurs and Clippers, by a combined 71 points. As we wait to see which team can snap out of its recent funk, here are a few updates on Central clubs:

  • Pistons owner Tom Gores is disappointed that the team isn't in the hunt for a playoff spot this year, but is pleased with Detroit's cap flexibility going forward, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
  • Gustavo Ayon made comments on Spanish radio suggesting he isn't thrilled by his role with the Bucks, as Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype passes along in English. Ayon's contract with Milwaukee includes a team option for next season, but it sounds as if the big man would be interested in a buyout that would allow him to join Spain's FC Barcelona.
  • Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune is suspicious of the Bulls' motives after news leaked that Derrick Rose has been medically cleared to play. While the Bulls' public stance is that they're not putting any pressure on Rose to return, Rosenbloom suggests the leak creates "precisely the kind of pressure the Bulls said they were not applying."
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John Wall Believes He’s A Max-Salary Player

March 11th, 2013 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

John Wall still has a year remaining on his contract after this season, but he'll be eligible to sign a contract extension with the Wizards as of this July. In a conversation with Zach Lowe of Grantland, Wall says he hasn't started thinking about contract negotiations, but that he's enjoying playing in D.C. Asked if he felt like he was worthy of a maximum-salary extension, Wall replied, "I feel like I am. I do, definitely."

For a player who was selected first overall in the draft, the response isn't surprising. It also doesn't necessarily mean Wall will be demanding a max deal — like Josh Smith before him, the Wizards point guard was asked a question about his worth and answered it honestly. Whether or not the Wizards believe he's worth that amount will be the primary factor in the terms of Wall's next contract.

Wall, 22, is earning about $5.92MM this season and will make $7.46MM in 2013/14. If the Wizards choose to make him the team's designated player, like the Clippers did with Blake Griffin and the Rockets did with James Harden last offseason, Washington could extend his contract for five more years for any amount up to the max.

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Odds & Ends: Wolves, Rockets, Balkman, Draft

March 11th, 2013 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves had been looking into obtaining an injury exception to sign a 16th player, but the team is unlikely to add anyone to the roster at this point, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. That includes Dominique Jones, whose camp has been reaching out to teams. David Kahn isn't interested in the ex-Maverick, says Wolfson (Twitter links). Here are a few more updates from around the Association:

  • The Rockets have "quietly been sending out signals" that they'd be willing to trade Omer Asik and/or Jeremy Lin this summer in a deal that would upgrade their roster, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
  • Former Knick and Nugget Renaldo Balkman has been banned from the Philippines' professional basketball league following an altercation with a teammate, according to a Reuters report (via the New York Times). The 2006 first-round pick had been playing for the Petron Blaze Boosters.
  • Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com isn't buying the narrative that borderline draft prospects should enter this year's draft because the class is weak. According to Givony, while the 2013 draft looks weaker than normal at the top, it seems to have "great depth" outside of the top five (Twitter links).
  • Amare Stoudemire's contract, which continues to look worse, represents the "Original Sin" of the present Knicks' era, writes Howard Beck of the New York Times.
  • With Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard scheduled to face their old teams this week, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits the blockbuster deals that sent the two stars to their current clubs.
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Hoops Rumors On Facebook/Twitter/RSS

March 11th, 2013 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

With draft season just around the corner and free agency to follow, Hoops Rumors figures to be busy over the next few months. There are a number of different ways you can follow us to keep tabs on the latest NBA news and rumors this spring and throughout the year.

You can Like us on Facebook, and receive headlines and links for all our posts via your Facebook account. You can also follow us on Twitter to have all our posts and updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. And our RSS feed is located here, if you'd like to follow us using your RSS reader of choice.

If you prefer to receive updates only on roster moves such as signings, cuts, and trades, you can follow our transactions-only feeds via RSS and Twitter.

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Pacific Notes: Howard, Gasol, Kings, McMillan

March 11th, 2013 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

With the Lakers preparing to play the Magic in Orlando tomorrow night, Dwight Howard will be returning to the city where he spent the first eight years of his NBA career. In advance of the game, Howard spoke to Sam Amick of USA Today and expressed some regrets about the way he handled the situation in his final year with the Magic.

"In Orlando, I handled a lot of stuff the wrong way," Howard said. "If any of those people in Orlando are upset with how I did it, I apologize for the way I handled it and the way it was handled in the media."

Here's more from Howard and the rest of the Pacific Division:

  • Howard and Amick spoke about several other topics, including his recovery from back surgery and his recent comments about his former Magic teammates. USA Today has a transcript of the Q&A.
  • Amnestying Pau Gasol this summer may be an option for the Lakers if the team can't find a suitable trade, says Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (via Sulia). Clearing Gasol's near-$20MM cap hit from the books wouldn't get the Lakers out of the tax, assuming they re-sign Howard, but it would greatly reduce their bill. Still, I'd be pretty shocked if it came to that for the Lakers and Gasol.
  • Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee takes a look at the transition Patrick Patterson has been making as he takes on a new role with the Kings.
  • Appearing on 710 ESPN in Seattle, Nate McMillan said he's "definitely looking to get back into coaching" and suggested that if the Kings were moved to Seattle, that job is one that would interest him. Eric Schmoldt of Sports Radio Interviews has the details.
  • Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis, and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee provide an update on the latest news related to the Kings sale.
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Eric Maynor Hopes To Remain With Blazers

March 11th, 2013 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

After spending most of his NBA career with the Thunder, Eric Maynor is just seven games into his stint with the Trail Blazers, but is enjoying his time in Portland so far. As he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Maynor hopes the team tenders him a qualifying offer, and is very open to the idea of remaining a Blazer beyond this season.

"That would be great for me," Maynor said of potentially receiving a qualifying offer. "There's a bunch of cool dudes that work hard and want to get better. I'm used to that and those are the type of guys I want to be around. This is the type of team that I want to be on."

General manager Neil Olshey is keeping his options open when it comes to filling out the roster this summer, so it's not clear yet whether Maynor will be re-signed. But according to the Blazers GM, the club had the future in mind when it traded for Maynor last month.

"We acquired Eric because we felt he could be a long-term solution at a position of need," Olshey said. "Obviously we are pleased with the impact he has made and how quickly he has fit in. We plan to use the remainder of the season to evaluate how he, and all of our potential free agents, fit into our roster composition."

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Jazz Sign Travis Leslie To 10-Day Contract

March 11th, 2013 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

MONDAY, 7:44am: The Jazz officially finalized Leslie's 10-day deal yesterday after releasing Bell, announcing the signing in a press release.

FRIDAY, 10:56pm: It appears Raja Bell will indeed be waived in order to make room for Leslie, Kennedy tweets, adding that Leslie will join the Jazz tomorrow. Earlier tonight, Bell's agent, Herb Rudoy, told Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune that he has yet to hear anything from the Jazz about his client.

1:49pm: It's already been a busy day for D-League call-ups, with Terrel Harris receiving a 10-day deal from the Hornets, Maalik Wayns signing a 10-day contract with the Clippers, and Malcolm Thomas expected to finalize a 10-day contract of his own with the Warriors. The Jazz will get in on the action as well, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who tweets that Utah is expected to sign Travis Leslie to a 10-day deal. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld first tweeted word of Leslie's agreement.

Leslie, 22, appeared in 10 games for the Clippers last season, but hasn't played in the NBA this year. The 6'4" guard has spent the season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 16.1 PPG and 7.4 RPG while shooting 51.5% from the floor in 28 games for Golden State's D-League affiliate.

The Jazz currently have a full roster of 15 players, so the club will have to release a player to clear a spot for Leslie. The most likely candidate to go is Raja Bell, who is on an expiring contract and hasn't played for the Jazz this season. If Bell is released, another team could pick him up, but he wouldn't be eligible to play in the postseason with a new club.

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Odds & Ends: Bulls, Gasol, Nuggets, Kings

March 10th, 2013 at 10:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's tonight's look around the Association..

  • The Bulls may have the best trade package for the Lakers if they try to trade for Pau Gasol, but Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) can't really see the big man playing for coach Tom Thibodeau.
  • The Nuggets roster has been shaped by the club's blockbuster Carmelo Anthony deal of 2011, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.  "It was a great trade," said former NBA guard Steve Kerr. "The pieces all fit really well with a coach who is renowned for player development and up-tempo basketball… In the end, it's not as if the team was winning in the playoffs with Carmelo anyway." 
  • There's an eight-figure gap between the bids being put up by the Sacramento group and the Seattle group for the Kings, sources close to the situation tell Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.  
  • The Mavericks cut guard Dominique Jones over his unwillingness to go to the D-League, but Dirk Nowitzki hopes that Jones finds new work rather quickly, according to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram (on Sulia).
  • Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Sulia) hears from sources that the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is adopting an NCAA tournament-style elimination format.
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Hoops Links: Celtics, Harden, Humphries, Jennings

March 10th, 2013 at 10:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Finally, after months of back-and-forth talks between the two sides, the Jazz finally reached agreement with Raja Bell on a buyout.  The 36-year-old is now free to go wherever he wants, but he won't be able to join a team for their postseason run as he didn't sign his name on the deal prior to the March 1st deadline.  Some might wonder if the big hold up was Utah being stingy, but that's reportedly not the case.  The team simply stood their ground and refused to give Bell what essentially would have been a reward for his difficult behavior.

In a time when the NBA is unquestionably a player's league, its extremely refreshing to see a team put their foot down and make sure that they avoid setting a bad precedent going forward.  In the Association, players always seem to get their way, whether that means getting a front office gutted, having a coach canned, or getting dealt to the team of their choice.  Bell wanted to bolt for a contender rather than play out his deal in Utah.  He'll eventually get to do that, but it won't be on his terms.

Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors?  Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  Here's this week's look around the web..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

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D-League Moves: Thunder, Heat, Lamb, Varnado

March 10th, 2013 at 10:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page.

  • The Heat announced that they have recalled Jarvis Varnado from the Sioux Falls Skyforce after a stay that lasted less than two weeks.  In 15 D-League games this year, Varnado has averaged 12.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.67 blocks, 1.1 assists and 29.9 minutes while shooting 52.2 percent from the field.
  • The Thunder continue to make liberal use of their nearby D-League affiliate, announcing they've assigned forward Perry Jones III and shooting guard Jeremy Lamb to the Tulsa 66ers. It's the sixth time Jones has been sent down this season, and the seventh assignment for Lamb, who's put up slightly better numbers over his time in Tulsa. Lamb is averaging 21.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the D-League, while Jones has posted 14.8 PPG and 6.9 RPG. 
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