New Orleans is set to acquire point guard Tyshawn Taylor for draft considerations from the Nets, so assuming the Pelicans don’t throw a player into that deal before it becomes official, they would have to include a player in a trade for a big man to stay at the 15-man roster limit. Everyone but Davis and Jrue Holiday is reportedly a candidate to be traded, according to a weekend report from Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, so perhaps GM Dell Demps is willing to engineer a shakeup. The Pelicans are 15-24 in a season that began with playoff aspirations.
Spears also mentions in his report that 6’11” Drew Gooden is working out in hopes of finding a spot on an NBA roster, so the 11-year veteran could be an option for New Orleans if the team goes the free agent route. Still, it doesn’t sound like the Pelicans have any interest in the 32-year-old.
The Bucks are the only team in the league without at least 10 wins, and they sit atop our Reverse Standings with the NBA’s worst record. Teams in their position usually start thinking about the future at this point in the season, but that’s not the case for Milwaukee, which notoriously avoids bottoming out. The Bucks would be “more than willing” to trade for vets who could help them sneak into the playoffs in the moribund Eastern Conference, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who has more from Milwaukee:
Bucks management is still “very open” to trading Larry Sanders before the deadline, Amico writes in the same piece, echoing his report from last month. Milwaukee would want to make draft picks the centerpiece of the package it receives in exchange. The team would still have to absorb a significant amount of salary in a deal for Sanders, thanks to the Poison Pill Provision that was triggered when the Bucks signed Sanders to his extension this past summer.
Milwaukee is enamored with Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart, Amico says, adding that it would nonetheless be tough to envision the Bucks taking him first overall.
O.J. Mayo, like many on the Bucks, has seen his minutes go up and down, and he tells Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel that the inconsistent rotation is partly to blame for the team’s struggles. “It’s hard to get a rhythm when you don’t know what’s going to happen for you night in and night out,” Mayo said. “You may get six minutes, 30 minutes. There’s no staple to what we’re doing. You can hang in there, compete and keep it close.”
Gary Neal left San Antonio this past summer to sign a two-year, $6.5MM deal with the Bucks, but he misses the winning he enjoyed with the Spurs, as he says to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “When you’re evaluating job choices, the financial aspect comes into it,” Neal said. “I think I made the best decision for me and my family.”
Darington Hobson, whom the Bucks selected 37th overall in the 2010 draft, has reached a deal with Migdal Haemek, a team in an Israeli minor league, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Hobson has appeared in just five regular season NBA games, all with the Bucks in 2011/12.
Leandro Barbosa has jumped right into the Suns rotation after signing a pair of 10-day contracts, and it sounds like he’s impressed enough to earn more than a brief stay in Phoenix. The Suns plan to re-sign him to a deal for the rest of the season once his second 10-day deal expires, as the Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro writes in a story for USA Today.
The 31-year-old Barbosa signed his second 10-day contract with the Suns on Saturday, right after his first one had expired. A third deal with the team would have to cover the balance of the season, by rule. Phoenix is missing point guard Eric Bledsoe, and Barbosa, a combo guard, has filled in with 10.0 points in 22.6 minutes per night. Those numbers are close to the averages of 12.6 PPG and 25.1 MPG that Barbosa posted in seven seasons with Phoenix at the beginning of his NBA career.
The Clippers and Lakers both had interest in the client of Excel Sports Management in the weeks leading up to his latest stint with the Suns. Phoenix has 14 guaranteed contracts on its roster, so adding Barbosa for the season would give the Suns 15, limiting their flexibility.
Coaching under Gregg Popvich,a future Hall-of-Famer, is a great start to securing a head coaching position in the NBA. Current Spurs assistant Ime Udoka is working his way towards that goal, writes Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune.
Trey Burke reflected on his brief time as a member of the Timberwolves. His stint as a member of that franchise lasted all of five minutes on draft night, before being traded for Shabazz Muhammad. Burke spoke to Jody Genessy of Deseret News, about his surprise at being drafted by a team that already had Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea on the roster. He also touched on his thoughts on how his rookie campaign is going so far with the Jazz, and how being passed over by the Pistons felt.
Kirk Hinrich says that while he expects to play next season, he’s just not sure where that will be. What he does know is that he wants to finish the season with the Bulls, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Hinrich’s contract is up at the end of this season and he has been the focus of trade rumors lately.
This wasn’t the result that Joe Dumarshad hoped for when he signed Josh Smith to a four-year, $54MM contract, and Brandon Jennings to a three-year, $24MM contract, last summer. The Pistons currently have a record of 17-23, are third in the Central Division, and are tied with the Nets for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. If they hold that seed and make it to the playoffs, they have a first-round meeting with either the Heat, or the Pacers to look forward to. That doesn’t bode well for a deep playoff run.
With the rest of the league trending towards smaller lineups, the Pistons went against the grain with their front court pairing of Andre Drummond (6-10), Greg Monroe (6-11), and Smith (6-9). Josh Smith’s shot selection has come under fire, and Jennings is more of a scorer at the point, than a true facilitator. Currently, the Pistons average 99.4 PPG, good for 20th in the league, while giving up 102.6 PPG, which ranks them 25th overall. The larger front court hasn’t translated into the defensive presence they had hoped for. The Pistons do average 45.1 RPG, which is good for 7th overall.
With the trade deadline less than five weeks away, and the on court results not what they hoped for, the Pistons are expected to be very active on the trade front. Some NBA insiders think the team should take a run at Rajon Rondo, if the Celtics change their minds and make him available. Detroit has a number of assets that may be of value to other teams. Here’s a quick breakdown of the four main players that they could try and use to change their make-up:
Josh Smith, 28 years-old, is playing out of position at small forward, and would be better suited to play power forward. Smith is in the first year of a 4 year, $54MM deal. He’s averaging 15.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 3.3 APG. His slash line is: .406/.423/.592.
Greg Monroe, 23 years-old, earning $4,086,454 MM, and set to become a restricted free agent after the season. Monroe is averaging 14.4 PPG, and 8.8 RPG. His slash line is: .503/.000/.632.
Andre Drummond is only 20 years-old, earning $2,462,400 MM this year, and set to make $2,568,360 MM next season. He also has a team option for 2015-2016, of $3,272,091 MM. Drummond’s numbers are: 12.6 PPG, 12.7 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. His slash line is: .601/.000/.379.
Brandon Jennings, 24 years-old, and just signed to a 3 year, $24 MM deal. He’s the team’s leading scorer at 16.4 PPG, and also leads them in assists, with 8.4 APG. His slash line is: .374/.340/.781.
The Pistons can choose to stand pat, but could find themselves in a similar position next season. In addition, Monroe can leave as a restricted free agent, with the team getting nothing in return. So the Pistons have some difficult decisions to make. They could trade Monroe, and hope to get an impact player, or a first-round draft choice in return, though teams might be hesitant to deal a pick for a player they could lose after the year. Dumars could admit that signing Smith was a mistake, and attempt to deal him to a team that can let him return to his natural position, but that contract will be difficult to move. They could try and trade Jennings, similar to what they did with Brandon Knight, and attempt to upgrade at the point. Jennings’ contract isn’t unmovable, and as a young player under team control for two more years, he has value. The least likely to be moved would seem to be Drummond, who is under contract at a reasonable salary for two more seasons.
The Pistons also have other assets they could use to sweeten any potential deal. They could have a decent first-round selection this year, if they fail to make the playoffs. The Pistons keep their pick if they land in the first eight picks. If they make the playoffs, or if the pick falls between say, 9-14, then the pick goes to the Bobcats. They also have Rodney Stuckey, who is making $8.5 MM in the final year of his deal, as well as Charlie Villanueva‘s expiring $8.58 MM deal. So, let us know which of the four starters mentioned you think is most likely to leave Detroit by the February 20th trade deadline, and fill us in on your choice in the comments.
On this date in 2000, Michael Jordan, who led the Bulls to six NBA championships as a player, returned to the NBA when he joined the Washington Wizards as part owner and President of Basketball Operations, overseeing all aspects of the team. In 2001, No. 23 made his return to the hardwood with the Wizards.
Do you have a great basketball blog post that you want featured on Hoops Links? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. This week’s links..
The Pistons have some tough choices to make as the February trade deadline approaches, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Even though Detroit has Brandon Jennings, he’s not necessarily viewed as a long-term option at point guard and they could theoretically make a step-up at the position like they did when they swapped Brandon Knight for Jennings. More out of the Central Division..
The Pacers currently have the best record in the NBA at 32-7, but there are still a number of questions about the team, writes, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.com. Brigham thinks that Danny Granger is more likely to stay with the team through the end of the season than be traded. In addition to wanting to see what a healthy Granger can provide, the team will need the cap space his expiring deal will provide in order to try and resign Lance Stephenson.
The Pacers want to keep Stephenson beyond this season, but the potential luxury tax hit will be a sticking point, Brigham writes. The Pacers are afraid that his play this season may take Stephenson out of their price range this summer. The team figures to have $8MM-$9MM available to offer him this offseason, without sending them into luxury tax territory. There’s a chance that Stephenson might garner an offer in the $11MM-$12MM range. If that happens, the Pacers will have a difficult decision to make.
The Pacers should consider taking a chance on Andrew Bynum, Brigham argues. Not only to keep him from potentially joining the Heat, but also, if he could find the form that made him an all-star, he would be a major asset for a team contending for a title.
Gary Neal didn’t expect the Bucks to be struggling this much when he signed in the offseason, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinal. Neal stated, “I didn’t know the team would struggle in a manner of being 7-33 (so far 7-32) and I would be getting DNPs. I’m healthy. My family is healthy. It is what it is.“
The Thunder announced that they have recalled forward Andre Roberson from the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League. During his most recent stint with the 66ers, Roberson averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 3.0 steals, 2.5 blocks and 40.5 minutes while helping the team to a pair of road wins at Bakersfield and Los Angeles. Over three assignments this season, the forward is averaging 16.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.3 blocks in 37.1 minutes in seven games (all starts). Here’s more out of the NBADL..
The Spurs today announced that they have recalled forward Malcolm Thomas from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. In 10 games with the Toros this season, Thomas is averaging 15.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.40 blocks in 32.6 minutes. The San Diego State product was signed by the Spurs on Dec. 3.
Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside recaps P.J. Hairston‘s D-League debut. The former UNC forward led the way with a team-high 22 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside checked in with Red Claws coach Mike Taylor to discuss Rajon Rondo‘s recent workout with the team, his relationship with Celtics coach Brad Stevens, and some of Maine’s impact players.
This week, the Warriors, Celtics, and Heat joined up for a three team deal that sent Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks out west to Golden State. The Warriors sent Toney Douglas to Miami in the deal while the heat shipped Joel Anthony, a first-round pick, and its 2016 second-round pick to the Celtics. More from the week that was..
Executives believe the Celtics will shop Rajon Rondo at the trade deadline or this summer.
Dwight Howard says the Magic promised him that he would be traded to the Nets. Whoops.