2014 November | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Smart, Sixers, Mitchell

November 26th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics rookie Marcus Smart has begun practicing but is still limited in what he is able to do on the court, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports. Head coach Brad Stevens is eager for Smart to return to action but stressed that Smart would only return when the player felt comfortable, notes Forsberg. “I think, obviously, you want him to be as close to pre-injury [health] as possible, otherwise he shouldn’t be full-go,” Stevens said. “Is there a transition period? Absolutely. But sometimes in those first couple days, you’re so excited to be back out that you actually play pretty darn well. So it’s just a matter of him getting back out here and it’s more about the conditioning than anything else right now, just because he hasn’t done anything on the court, physically, as far as 5-on-5, in the last three weeks.”

Here’s more from the east:

With the Celtics‘ early-season record a disappointing 4-8, Stevens said that he doesn’t sense any overwhelming frustration among his players, Forsberg writes in a separate article. “I don’t sense the frustration level to be as high as maybe it’s made out to be, because a lot of that is made out after a game where you lose close and, that soon after, everybody’s disappointed, everybody is — you lose a little perspective immediately after a game,” said Stevens.
“Everyone in the league knows” that some sort of lottery reform is on its way, even though the owners rejected the league’s last proposal, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The widespread negative perception of the Sixers‘ radical rebuilding hasn’t changed in front offices around the league, as Berger notes. One GM told Berger that aside from Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams and Joel Embiid, the majority of Philly’s players wouldn’t be claimed off waivers if the Sixers were to release them.
When Detroit assigned Tony Mitchell to the Grand Rapids Drive earlier today he became the first player that the Pistons have sent to their new D-league affiliate, as Peter J. Wallner of MLive.com examines. Mitchell is expected to return to Detroit on Thursday.
Michael Carter-Williams has been struggling for the Sixers since returning to the lineup after his preseason injury. If the young point guard hopes to remain a part of the team’s future he’ll need to improve his decision-making with the ball and his body language when things don’t go well, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Realignment, Jones, D-League, Draft

November 26th, 2014 at 8:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs owner Mark Cuban has come up with a proposal to level the playing field between the NBA’s two conferences that involves realignment, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports. In Cuban’s plan, the Spurs, Rockets, Pelicans and Mavs would shift to the Eastern Conference, and the Bulls, Pacers, Pistons, and Bucks would relocate to the west. Cuban acknowledged that Dallas could benefit from the shift, but added, “It’s not like it’d be the first time we’ve ever realigned. It’s happened many times before, so there’s precedent and I just think it shakes things up and makes things interesting. It’s not like you’re reducing competition. You keep Cleveland, Washington and other good teams in the East. It kind of shakes things up in terms of not just interest but also in terms of how people rebuild.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants have acquired the rights to Dahntay Jones through the D-League’s waiver process, the team announced today. Jones last appeared in the NBA during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 50 games for the Mavericks, and he spent the preseason last month with the Jazz. His career NBA averages are 5.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
With the Lakers receiving a disabled player exception for the season-ending injury to Steve Nash, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times ran down the long list of players who are mathematically attainable via a trade using the $4.851MM exception the league granted the franchise.
With an increase in higher-profile players entering the D-League’s player pool, it is lowering the incentive for fringe players to remain in the league, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. A D-League team source told Pilato, “If you’re in there right now [player pool] and were either undrafted or cut in camp and not picked up yet, there’s no reason to stay. And with an abundance of guys either coming back early from Europe or deciding that the D-League is the best option, there are just too many new faces coming in to really consider the guys that other teams have already decided don’t have what it takes to play in this league.”
ESPN.com draft guru Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) runs down eight college prospects who have raised their draft stock with excellent early-season play, including Kevon Looney (UCLA); Justise Winslow (Duke); Buddy Hield (Oklahoma); and Kennedy Meeks (North Carolina).

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Franklin, Chandler

November 26th, 2014 at 6:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite their early-season success, the Pelicans‘ core isn’t likely to become a championship-contending one, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders opines. One of the main issues with the current roster is the lack of talent on the perimeter, and with Eric Gordon likely to exercise his $15.5MM player option for next season, it will be difficult to upgrade the roster until the summer of 2016, notes Duncan. One option Duncan suggests for the Pelicans to rid themselves of Gordon’s deal earlier is for New Orleans to package its 2016 first-rounder in a trade along with Gordon in order to encourage a team to take on his expiring contract, though the Pelicans owe a protected 2015 first-round pick to Houston, so they would have trouble sending out a 2016 first-rounder, thanks to the Stepien Rule.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Duncan also added that re-signing Omer Asik this offseason will be an organizational priority because of that protected first-round pick that the Pelicans surrendered to the Rockets in order to acquire him.
Jamaal Franklin recently agreed to a one month extension to his contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin’s original agreement with the team was for two months, and this extension will still allow him to return to the NBA in January when teams are able to sign players to 10-day contracts, Wojnarowski adds. The 23-year-old shooting guard appeared in 21 contests for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
It’s possible that if Tyson Chandler had not broken his leg last season, New York’s 2013/14 campaign wouldn’t have been such a disaster and the Knicks wouldn’t have traded the big man to the Mavericks, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Chandler is happy to be back in Dallas and while he stops short of being thankful for the injury, he is pleased with how things turned out for him this offseason, MacMahon adds. “I look at life as like everything happens for a reason,” Chandler said. “There’s no mistakes made. At the time, [the injury] was devastating clearly, but I feel like everything happens for a reason.”
The Iowa Energy have acquired former first round pick Jordan Hamilton via waivers, the team has announced. Hamilton reportedly worked out for the Lakers last week after a brief stint with the Jazz earlier this month. Though he’ll play for the Grizzlies‘ D-League affiliate, Hamilton is free to sign with any NBA team that would desire his services.

Northwest Notes: Lopez, Exum, Shaw

November 26th, 2014 at 4:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

If it weren’t for the 11-3 Blazers, who’ve won eight in a row, the Northwest Division would resemble one of the groupings from the Eastern Conference. Portland is the only Northwest team above .500, thanks in part to the offseason acquisition of backup center Chris Kaman, who’s averaging 10.9 points in 19.1 minutes to boost a bench that was a clear weakness last season. There’s more on another Blazers center who’s made a difference amid the latest from the Northwest:

Robin Lopez has enjoyed his season and change with the Blazers and isn’t thinking about moving on when he hits free agency in the summer, as he tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. That’s just what his teammates want to hear, as many of them let Freeman know of their affection for Lopez, whose arrival last year coincided with the team’s ascent in the standings. “I really love it here,” Lopez said. “I feel like I’ve really found a niche. Nothing is set in stone, but I’m comfortable here, I’m happy here.”
Dante Exum, this year’s No. 5 overall pick, is off to a modest start, averaging just 4.9 points and 2.6 assists in 18.4 minutes per game, but the Jazz and coach Quin Snyder want to bring the 19-year-old phenom along slowly, as Aaron Falk of The Salk Lake Tribune details. Exum is “doing everything that we expected of him” so far, Snyder said.
Nuggets coach Brian Shaw acknowledged the pressure on him earlier this season, but he’s been in too many winning NBA locker rooms to panic, and Denver’s five-game winning streak makes it clear he never lost control of the team, opines Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post.

Lakers Near Deal With Clark, Likely To Cut Henry

November 26th, 2014 at 2:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:03pm: The team would likely waive Xavier Henry to accommodate Clark, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. That suggests that the Lakers aren’t in line to receive a 16th roster spot. Clark’s contract with the Lakers would be guaranteed, according to Bresnahan. Henry, who has a fully guaranteed salary worth $1.082MM, is expected to miss the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

11:49am: The Lakers and Clark are close to agreement on a one-year contract that would be for a pro-rated portion of the veteran’s minimum, reports Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

9:08am: The sides are working toward what would be a one-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

9:03am: The Lakers and Earl Clark have engaged in a “level of dialogue” about a possible deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. The five-year veteran’s name wasn’t among the several who were linked to the club last week, but the Lakers know him well, since he enjoyed a career year in purple-and-gold during the 2012/13 season.

Clark is averaging 28.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 35.8 minutes per game across four appearances so far for the Rockets D-League affiliate this season. Houston briefly had him on its NBA roster after claiming his training camp deal off waivers from the Grizzlies, but the Rockets waived him before opening night. The Rockets reportedly have interest in Al Harrington, another forward whose game is somewhat similar, but there have been no reports indication that Houston is thinking about bringing Clark back to the big club.

The 26-year-old put up 5.3 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 12.5 MPG for Memphis during the preseason, failing to stick even though the Grizzlies began the regular season with an open roster spot. Clark’s career has hit the skids ever since he signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Cavs in 2013, a pact that he and agent Kevin Bradbury were able to land in large measure because of the performance Clark delivered for the Lakers. He averaged 11.6 PPG and 9.2 RPG with 37.8% three-point shooting during a 22-game hot streak in the middle of his year with L.A., but he failed to match that production for Cleveland, which shipped him to the Sixers at the deadline last season. Philadelphia promptly waived him, and apart from a pair of 10-day contracts with the Knicks, Clark hasn’t appeared on a regular season roster since.

The Lakers recently received a nearly $4.851MM Disabled Player Exception for Steve Nash to go with the Disabled Player Exception worth almost $1.499MM that they have for Julius Randle, but it seems unlikely that it would take more than the minimum salary to sign Clark. The team has a full 15-man roster, though the Lakers have enough injured players to qualify for a 16th roster spot if they were to apply for one and the league were to grant it. Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington, who have partially guaranteed deals for the minimum, are the only two Lakers without fully guaranteed contracts.

Central Notes: Scola, Bucks, Butler

November 26th, 2014 at 12:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James still hasn’t hit his 30th birthday, which comes next month, but there’s evidence to suggest that he’s already past his prime, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher examines. The four-time MVP hasn’t been able to carry the Cavs to the sort of performances they were expected to have so far this season, but he’s not the only one struggling for Cleveland, which is just 6-7. Here’s more from the Central Division:

Pacers power forward Luis Scola still thinks of what might have been if the Spurs, who drafted him in 2002, hadn’t traded his rights to the Rockets in 2007 before he joined the NBA, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details. Playing with San Antonio would have meant pairing with Tim Duncan, whom Scola calls “my biggest hero,” and fellow Argentine Manu Ginobili. All three are set to hit free agency this summer, but there’s retirement talk surrounding Duncan and Ginobili, and Scola spoke of the chance to play with them as though it wouldn’t come again.
The Bucks are facing an 2017 deadline to break ground on a new arena, lest the league seize control of the team, but commissioner Adam Silver downplayed any urgency surrounding the situation as he visited Milwaukee on Tuesday. Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details. “I didn’t come here to announce deadlines,” Silver said. “We want to work in partnership with the city and the state to get a new arena built. We’re always going to be reasonable.” Silver, who advocated for the repeal of a “jock tax” in Tennessee, expressed measured support for such an arena funding source in Wisconsin, where a jock tax is under consideration, as Walker notes.
Jimmy Butler rejects the idea that he’s a marquee player, but Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is the latest to gush about the swingman poised for restricted free agency this summer, observes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. “He’s been incredible,” Thibodeau said. “He’s a star, and he does it on both ends of the floor. He’s just an amazing player. We’ve had him play the point, we’ve had him play the 2, the 3, and [Tuesday] he played the 4. And he hasn’t had any opportunity to practice the 4. So he just got out there, he’s smart, he’s tough, he does whatever the team needs, and he found a way to help lead us into coming back and having a shot at the end.”

2014/15 NBA Reverse Standings

November 26th, 2014 at 11:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The 2014/15 season is only about a month old, but many scouts and executives around the league are already preparing for the 2015 NBA draft. They’re no doubt cognizant of how their respective NBA teams are doing as they attempt to get an idea of where they’ll be picking, and with our Reverse Standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, you can easily follow along, too. Hoops Rumors will be updating these standings daily to reflect the outcomes of the games that took place the night before.

The Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what the 2015 first-round order would look like with no changes to lottery position. Traded picks are also included via footnotes. For instance, the notes next to the Hawks’ and Nets’ picks indicate that Atlanta has the right to swap its selection with Brooklyn’s. For now, that looks like a plus for the Hawks, since they’d be able to grab the Nets’ lottery pick (currently No. 11) and send their own pick (currently No. 19) to Brooklyn.

The existence of the lottery means there’s no guarantee that teams atop the Reverse Standings will draft in the order in which they finish, but the worse a club’s record, the better shot it has at landing the cream of the 2015 draft class. This year’s group of prospects, which includes Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns, isn’t as highly touted as the 2014 draftees were, but there’s still plenty of star potential.

Our Reverse Standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2015. Be sure to check back often!

Pistons Rumors: Van Gundy, Anthony, Mitchell

November 26th, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Stan Van Gundy admits that it’s been difficult to strike a balance between the demands of the now and preparing for the future, as he told reporters, including Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The coach/executive acknowledged that the last-place Pistons have quite a ways to go.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be overnight,” Van Gundy said of building his team into a winner. “I’d like it to be. [Owner] Tom [Gores] would like it to be, but I don’t think it’s gonna be an overnight thing.”

Van Gundy had more to say, as we detail amid the latest from the Motor City:

Van Gundy said Gores is overlooking areas of incremental improvement that will need more time to develop, but he reiterated earlier statements that indicate the close working relationship he has with the owner, as MLive’s David Mayo details. “I’m very much aware of what his thinking is, and I think he’s very much aware of what mine is, and we’re on the same page,” Van Gundy said after a 90-minute conversation with Gores on Monday. “But I don’t really think that somebody in my position could have much closer communication with an owner than I do. I can’t even imagine that. I can’t.”
Detroit traded for Joel Anthony just last month, but the 32-year-old big man, whose contract is up at season’s end, has already let Van Gundy know that he wants to re-sign with the Pistons this summer, as Anthony tells Shams Charania of RealGM. “I love the idea of being here, staying here moving forward and having a chance to help them turn this franchise around,” Anthony said. “Stan has been very adamant about wanting to change the culture, so to be part of that … I don’t want to say it’s more special than playing on a contending team that could win it all, but it would be very satisfying and gratifying to be part of a situation where you’re able to turn things around.”
The Pistons have assigned power forward Tony Mitchell to the D-League, the team announced. It’s the first trip to the Grand Rapids Drive this season for Mitchell, who played 11 games on D-League assignment last season. He’s not to be confused with the former Bucks small forward by the same name.

Eastern Notes: Whiteside, Beal, Butler, Cavs

November 25th, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

League executives are confident that Bradley Beal will command a max extension from the Wizards, RealGM’s Shams Charania hears. Washington has made it known around the league that it intends to do whatever’s necessary to secure the shooting guard for the long term, Charania adds, echoing a report from last month indicating that the Wizards were already planning to ink Beal to an extension when he’s eligible for one in the offseason ahead.

Here’s more from the east:

The Heat see new signee Hassan Whiteside as a prospect they can develop for the long term, coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters, including Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The center had worked out two times in three years for the team, including an audition last week, as Jackson writes in a separate piece.
Whiteside’s free agent deal with the Heat is for two years, and includes partial guarantees for each season, Charania reports (Twitter link). It’s presumably a minimum salary arrangement, since the Heat are limited to giving out no more than that.
The Bulls and Jimmy Butler failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension, setting him up to become a restricted free agent next summer. But Butler isn’t letting his contract situation distract him and is continuing to work hard, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes in his profile of the swingman. “I feel like I’ve never been the best player,” Butler said. “I’ve never been highly recruited, so I’ve always had all the chips stacked up against me and I’ve always found a way to make things happen. [The contract talk] is just another obstacle, another hurdle. But I think I’m in the right direction and if I keep my eye on the prize I think I’ll end up successful.”
Not all “superteams” are created equal, and it takes great sacrifices to make a combination of superstar players work, something the Cavs are finding out the hard way, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. “I tell people all the time that it’s easy to say the word sacrifice,” veteran swingman Mike Miller said. “But to sacrifice, whether it’s playing time, shots, things like that, without knowing the outcome, it’s scary. And that’s what you’re asking players to do here in Cleveland again. You got young, talented players that are asked to sacrifice without knowing what the outcome could be. If you don’t win a championship, is it worth it?“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Dragic, Adams, Moreland, Smith

November 25th, 2014 at 8:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Zoran Dragic will receive $1.5MM in base salary this season and next, but he’ll count for more than $1.706MM against the Suns‘ cap each year because of his nearly $413K signing bonus, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The bonus went toward the part of Dragic’s buyout from Spain’s Unicaja Malaga that wasn’t covered under the $600K that teams are allowed to keep off their books when they buy players out of their overseas contracts. Here’s more from the western half:

The Grizzlies have re-assigned Jordan Adams to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Adams’ second trip to the D-League this season. During his first assignment, Adams appeared in one contest, contributing 20 points, seven rebounds and one assist in 31 minutes. The 20-year-old is averaging 1.5 points, 1.3 assists and 0.75 steals in 10.1 minutes per contest in four appearances for Memphis this season.
Eric Moreland has been recalled from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, the Kings have announced. This was Moreland’s second stint in the D-League this season, and he’s averaging 13.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 1.7 APG in three appearances for Reno this season. Moreland has yet to appear in a regular season contest for Sacramento.
The Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League have claimed Nolan Smith off of waivers, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Smith had cut ties with Turkey’s Galatasaray back in October and intends to use the D-League to showcase his talents for NBA teams. Smith’s last taste of the NBA came during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 40 games for the Blazers and averaged 2.8 points and 0.9 assists.
Mavs big man Tyson Chandler said that he felt like a scapegoat for the Knicks’ failures last season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. When asked whether his leadership attempts were unappreciated in New York, Chandler said, “At times, at times, at times. But I feel like New York made me a lot stronger, a lot stronger of a person going through trials and tribulations there. But that’s life. It also depends on where your mind is. If everybody is locked in and they want to win and they know I’m in it 100% and they’re in it 100%, nobody’s sensitive. But if there’s other agendas, it’s going to make things sensitive.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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