2015 January | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Embiid, Millsap

January 19th, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has shown no hesitation to make major moves, as Josh Smith‘s release made clear, and Van Gundy also pulled off a trade last month, swapping Tony Mitchell for Anthony Tolliver. The Lakers have apparently inquired about Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings and the Pistons are reportedly shopping Luigi Datome, but Van Gundy doesn’t sound like he wants to make a move with the team having won 11 of its past 13.

“I’m really, really happy with the guys we have here right now,” Van Gundy said. “I’m really, really happy with our culture and how guys are working. We’ve got the right things going for our future.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference as the Pistons clash with the first-place Hawks, who’ve won 12 in a row:

It’s believed that the Sixers would be content with 2014 No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid missing the entire season, just as Nerlens Noel did last year after he went sixth overall, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Some inside the Sixers organization question Embiid’s work ethic, and the former Kansas big man has clashed with a member of the Sixers’ training staff, Pompey hears. A source tells Pompey that Embiid’s weight has ballooned to 300 pounds, but Embiid denied that to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com.
Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick of USA Today imply that there’s mutual interest in a new deal this summer between the Hawks and soon-to-be free agent Paul Millsap. Atlanta was eyeing a longer deal than the two-year pact Millsap signed in 2013, but the power forward who turns 30 next month, wanted to engineer a shot at another payday not long into the future, Zillgitt hears (Twitter link).
A trade that would have sent Lance Stephenson to the Nets appeared close last week until the Nets grew skittish about him, but the Brooklyn native isn’t anxious to leave the Hornets, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “I want to be here,” Stephenson said. “I feel I can definitely help this squad… It’s really not up to me.”
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, has been “sniffing around” the idea of making a run at purchasing the Nets, sources tell Robert Windrem of NetsDaily. She was part of a group that came up short in pursuit of the Clippers, as the NetsDaily scribe notes.

Celtics To Meet With Andre Dawkins

January 19th, 2015 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics are bringing former Heat long-range marksman Andre Dawkins to Boston this week and meet with him as they consider signing him to a 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The rookie shooting guard joined Miami’s D-League team last week after the Heat released him from their NBA squad earlier this month, and his performance at this weekend’s D-League Showcase has the Celtics intrigued, according to Stein.

The undrafted Dawkins is shooting an eye-popping 53 for 104 from behind the three-point line in the D-League this season over 11 appearances. He was only 1 for 6 in limited action during four games with the Heat in regular season, though he shot well during the preseason and in summer league.

The Heat have expressed interest in re-signing the John Spencer client to a 10-day contract later this season, but it appears the Celtics have eyes on beating them to it. Boston has an open roster spot, and Tayshaun Prince‘s future with the Celtics appears up in the air.

Heat Put Norris Cole On Trading Block

January 19th, 2015 at 11:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Norris Cole is on the trade block as the Heat prefer to forge ahead with 2014 first-round pick Shabazz Napier, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who writes amid his leaguewide roundup. Cole “pretty much knows” the Heat are ready to move him, Amico says. The former 28th overall pick out of Cleveland State didn’t sign a rookie scale extension with Miami before the October 31st deadline to do so, so he’s poised for restricted free agency this summer.

Miami made Cole part of a trade proposal to the Nets for Brook Lopez that also included Chris Andersen and Josh McRoberts, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last week. Cole began the season as a starter for the Heat, but Mario Chalmers, whom the Heat re-signed this past summer for two years and $8.3MM, took back the starting job in December. Cole has seen more than 20 minutes just twice since New Year’s Day, and with Dwyane Wade out the past two games, coach Erik Spoelstra has elected to go with Napier instead of Cole alongside Chalmers in a dual point guard starting lineup. The Heat apparently rebuffed teams asking about Cole at the deadline last year, but they reportedly made him “very available” around draft time this past summer.

Cole changed agents later in the summer, joining Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, the same Cleveland-based representation that boasts LeBron James as its centerpiece client. The Cavs are on the lookout for a backup point guard and have interest in Jordan Farmar, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported Friday, and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports hears that Cleveland is particularly interested in veteran point guards. Cole is 26 and in his fourth NBA season, but it’s unclear if the Cavs have interest in him.

Warriors Sign James McAdoo To 10-Day Deal

January 19th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 11:40am: The signing is official, the Warriors announced via press release.

SUNDAY, 12:16pm: James McAdoo has agreed to sign a 10-day deal with the Warriors, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). McAdoo was also offered a 10-day contract by the Grizzlies, but chose Golden State “because of their initial investment in his development and career,” according to his agent, Jim Tanner.

McAdoo was undrafted out of North Carolina last June, but played with Golden State’s summer league team and earned an invitation to training camp. He failed to make the regular season roster, but joined the team’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz after clearing waivers.

McAdoo was ranked sixth on the NBA D-League’s Prospect Watch. He averaged 17.7 points and 9.4 rebounds in 22 games with Santa Cruz.

Wolves Sign Raduljica To Second 10-Day Pact

January 19th, 2015 at 11:13am CST by Charlie Adams

MONDAY, 11:13pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 2:08pm: The Wolves have signed Miroslav Raduljica to a second 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter), although there’s been no official announcement from the team yet. The big man from Serbia inked his first 10-day deal with Minnesota on January 8th, so he became a free agent when that contract expired at the end of Saturday.

It’s no surprise that the injury-riddled Wolves are electing to bring back Raduljica, since the club is without starting center Nikola Pekovic, and reserve big man Ronny Turiaf went down for the remainder of the season with an injury shortly before the team shipped him off to Philadelphia in the Corey Brewer trade.

Raduljica has appeared in three contests for Minnesota, tallying just 19 total minutes. His best game came against his former team, the Bucks, where he put up four points and nabbed a pair of rebounds in just eight and a half minutes on the floor. If the Wolves want to retain Raduljica after his second 10-day deal expires, they’ll need to ink him for the rest of the season since a player can only sign a pair of 10-day contracts for a team in a given season.

Bucks Ink Kenyon Martin To Second 10-Day Deal

January 19th, 2015 at 10:47am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks have signed Kenyon Martin to his second 10-day contract with the team, Milwaukee announced. The move is no surprise, since the Bucks are reportedly likely to keep the former No. 1 overall pick for the rest of the season. They can’t sign him to any more 10-day contracts once this one expires, so Milwaukee would have to ink him for the rest of the season if the team wants to extend his stay.

Martin appeared in three games for a total of 15 minutes during his first 10-day contract with the Bucks, which expired Sunday night. The Bucks had been dealing with multiple injuries in their frontcourt when they first began to go after the 37-year-old, and they waived guard Nate Wolters to open a roster spot for him. Power forward Ersan Ilyasova returned to the lineup for the same game in which point guard Kendall Marshall tore his ACL last week, but it appears the Bucks are content to keep Martin around rather than bolster their backcourt.

Milwaukee’s roster is once more at 15 players with the readdition of Martin, who’s a former teammate of coach Jason Kidd. The Bucks are about $7.2MM under the cap.

Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback

January 19th, 2015 at 9:58am CST by Chuck Myron

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There are differing opinions on the Celtics’ strategy of collecting draft picks, as our comments reflected while Boston was poised to send Jeff Green to the Grizzlies for a protected first-round pick. Reader dc21892 is optimistic about Danny Ainge‘s plan.

It gives them some serious flexibility. They can either choose to keep the picks, or trade up for a potential star in the draft, possibly even a rising star in the NBA. The core of young pieces, such as Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk and Avery Bradley, mixed in with what they could do the next four years is incredible. It won’t be the fastest rebuild ever, but it’s looking extremely promising.

The Bulls passed on a chance at a discount when they failed to sign Jimmy Butler to an extension before the October deadline to do so, but Trock applauds Chicago for its apparent willingness to shell out the maximum salary for Butler this summer.

The Bulls have a great core right now. It would be a huge loss to see Jimmy go. Glad they are coming out saying they want to get this done sooner rather then later. In the end, they may have cost themselves a few extra million each year but they weren’t too far off what they will end up paying him with the max.

The Sixers have reportedly held exploratory talks about Michael Carter-Williams with several other teams recently, and Adam Gingrich gives his take on the market for the reigning Rookie of the Year.

Hard to find a good fit for a PG that can’t shoot. Boston? Could potentially play alongside Smart, who appears to be outperforming his scouting profile as a negative shooter. Sacramento seems to be sniffing around for a PG upgrade too. Doesn’t seem like a great fit next to Kobe Bryant or Carmelo Anthony and the Nets don’t have any assets to make a deal. Maybe the Pelicans? Denver seems to be on the verge of blowing things up too.

Check out what more readers had to say in previous editions of Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback. We appreciate everyone who adds to the dialogue at Hoops Rumors, and we look forward to seeing more responses like these from you!

Hoops Rumors On Social Media/RSS

January 19th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s precisely one month to go until the February 19th trade deadline, and the action is off to an early start. Eleven trades have taken place since the start of December, and rumors about Brook Lopez, Miles Plumlee and plenty of others strongly suggest that more moves are on the way. There are a handful of ways you can follow us to keep tabs on the latest news and rumors as these stories unfold.

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Hoops Rumors Originals

And-Ones: Gordon, Stephenson, Singleton

January 18th, 2015 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic rookie Aaron Gordon was back in action Sunday for the first time since foot surgery two months ago, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Gordon contributed eight points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of action in a loss to the Thunder. “I just enjoy the game so much,” Gordon said. “You realize that when you’re not playing, how much you miss it. And then when I got back out there, it’s fun. I learned a lot [when I was injured]. I just move better without the ball now.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Lance Stephenson was back in the Hornets‘ lineup this week, but he may not be there long, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Stephenson was part of a rumored three-team deal that would have sent him to the Nets, and he can expect to hear his name in more trade talks before the February 19th deadline. Lee notes that Charlotte began shopping Stephenson around the league in December before he suffered a pelvic strain that kept him out of action for 14 games.
Former Wizard Chris Singleton is expected to sign with a team in the D-League, according to D-League Digest (Twitter link). Singleton spent three seasons in Washington, averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 148 games. He has been playing with the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association.
D-Leaguer Bryce Cotton has rejected several overseas offers in hopes of getting an NBA callup, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. The high-scoring Austin Spur has reportedly turned down teams in Turkey, Italy and Belgrade. The 22-year-old went undrafted out of Providence last June. He joined the Spurs‘ summer league team and was invited to training camp, but failed to make the regular season roster. After clearing waivers, he joined San Antonio’s D-League affiliate.

Northwest Notes: Robinson, Nelson, Burks

January 18th, 2015 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nate Robinson and his agent pushed for the January 13th trade that sent him from from the Nuggets to the Celtics, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey noted that Robinson wanted more minutes on a different team to help him earn a contract next season. Plus, he was a scorer on a team that needed a playmaker, which is why Denver exchanged him for Jameer Nelson. Robinson was waived by the Celtics Thursday in a buyout deal and is searching for a new team.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nelson and the Nuggets had some mutual interest last summer, Dempsey writes in a separate story. The free agent guard briefly considered coming to Denver before signing with the Mavericks. “Obviously the Nuggets had some guards, a lot of guards here,” Nelson said. “They didn’t know how many minutes I would play. So, I just felt like Dallas was the best spot for me.”
Jazz guard Alec Burks managed to find a bright side to his season-ending shoulder injury, reports Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. For the first time since he was a teenager, Burks’ shoulder will be 100 percent healthy when he returns to basketball next season. Utah is hoping Burks will be ready for the start of training camp in the fall. He signed a four-year $42MM extension in October, with incentives that could push the value as high as $45MM.
The Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb would have been the key pieces in a trade for Brooklyn’s Brook Lopez, according to Anthony Slater of NewsOK.com. The Nets backed off from the deal, at least for now, but it’s an experience that many players will go through as the February 19th trade deadline draws closer. “They’re human beings, so it’s tough hearing your name in trade talks,” said Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. “But we also know it’s a business. You know what you’re getting into. We got a lot of veteran guys that can help guys get through that.”

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