2015 January | Hoops Rumors

Hoops Links: Celtics, Duncan, Raptors

January 18th, 2015 at 8:59pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in in 1972, “Mr. Clutch” himself, Jerry West, sank a last-second, 20-foot jumper to lead the West team to a 112-110 All-Star victory over the East, as he garnered MVP honors. The Lakers star and Hall-of-Famer made a whopping 14 All-Star game appearances over the course of his career.

Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…

Green Street wonders if the Celtics can pattern themselves after the Hawks.
Slam Dunk Zone gives credit to Tim Duncan.
Raptors HQ examines Toronto’s defensive woes.
Swish Appeal runs down WNBA free agency.
Sonics Rising shows some love for Danny Fortson.
OT Nation sizes up four trade candidates.

Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.

Categories:
Hoops Links

Hoops Rumors Originals

January 18th, 2015 at 7:59pm CST by Zachary Links

A look at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week…

Chuck Myron ran down the teams with disabled player exceptions.
Eddie Scarito delivered the 2015/16 salary rankings for centers.
If you missed out on Chuck’s chat this week, check out the transcript.
Brook Lopez‘s name has been a hot one in rumors of late, and Chris Crouse examined him as a trade candidate.
Eddie gauged the market for a former No. 1 overall pick when he gave Andrea Bargnani the trade candidate treatment, too.
Wondering how the three Celtics trades from the past week worked financially? Chuck broke it all down.
Eddie took reader questions in the first edition of the Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Originals

Jeff Adrien To Play In China

January 18th, 2015 at 7:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jeff Adrien has reached agreement on a deal to play in China for the rest of the season, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Adrien is headed to Guangdong, Charania says, and it appears as though that’s the Guangdong Southern Tigers rather than the Guangdong Foshan Dralions, since Charania also tweets that he’ll be joining Will Bynum, who plays for the Tigers. There’s no word on specific financial details, but it’s a lucrative arrangement and his salary is guaranteed, according to Charania.

Adrien’s addition to the Tigers would be an ominous sign for marquee draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay, who also plays for the team. Teams in the Chinese Basketball Association are allowed to have only two healthy American players. Mudiay has been planning to remain in China all season as he works his way back from a sprained ankle that he suffered in November, but it appears Guangdong isn’t going to wait on him as the Chinese playoffs approach.

Adrien was drawing interest from NBA teams before agreeing to the Chinese deal, Charania reports. The Timberwolves waived Adrien earlier this month, shortly before his prorated minimum salary would have become guaranteed for the rest of the season. The Aaron Mintz client is poised to go back on the market after his Chinese team is eliminated, and thanks to the accelerated Chinese schedule, that should happen with enough time left for him to attract NBA teams looking to bolster their rosters in the final weeks in the regular season.

Suns Actively Shopping Miles Plumlee

January 18th, 2015 at 6:32pm CST by Charlie Adams

6:32pm: Phoenix is believed to be looking for at least one first-round pick for Plumlee, and agent Mark Bartelstein is working together with the team to find a trade partner, Stein writes in a full story. That’d be quite a high return for a player who’s slipping out of his team’s rotation, but the two first-round draft picks that the Nuggets acquired for Timofey Mozgov appears to have inflated the market for big men.

6:24pm: The Suns are actively shopping Miles Plumlee, a league source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stein doesn’t provide any indication that Phoenix has found a team interested in acquiring Plumlee, but it’s fair to infer there would be a club who wouldn’t mind acquiring the third-year big man out of Duke who’s making just $3,279,174 combined over this season and the next one.

Plumlee has appeared in each of the Suns’ games this year after playing in all but two last season. He’s put in an impressive 56.2% of the shots he’s taken this year, but his 13.2 PER ranks below the league average. Already 26 years old, Plumlee is not brimming with superstar upside, but he’s definitely capable of providing solid minutes off the bench for a contender in need of a backup big man.

The former 26th overall pick has seen his playing time cut in his last three games, averaging just 7.4 minutes per night over that trio of contests. His seemingly decreased role in Phoenix’s rotation appears to be an ominous sign when juxtaposed with Stein’s report, as the club has given the recently acquired Brandan Wright a greater amount of burn just as Plumlee’s minutes have dipped.

Week In Review: 1/12/15 – 1/18/15

January 18th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The West continued to get stronger when the Grizzlies acquired forward Jeff Green from the Celtics Monday in a three-team trade that also included the Pelicans. Shortly thereafter, the Clippers reached a deal with the C’s to acquire Austin Rivers. While we wait to see if more Western Conference teams make moves to bolster their depth as the trade deadline approaches, let’s take a look back at the week that was..

Mikhail Prokhorov has reportedly put the Nets up for sale.
The Heat have strong interest in Brook Lopez, but they’re far from alone. The Thunder were active in talks with the Nets and the Rockets are also keeping an eye on things.
The Nets would have strong interest in trying to flip Kendrick Perkins for Thaddeus Young if they acquire Perkins in a Lopez deal with OKC. The Nets and Wolves have spoken about Young in recent weeks.
The Blazers and Clippers are among the many teams who have strong interest in acquiring Wilson Chandler.
The Nuggets are getting multiple inquiries on Arron Afflalo. The Heat, Clippers and Hornets have all called Denver.
Kevin Love plans to opt in and remain with the Cavaliers for 2015/16.
The Nuggets are engaged in trade talks regarding Randy Foye.
The Kings want to upgrade their frontcourt and they’re willing to deal Nik Stauskas.
The Sixers have had exploratory talks regarding Michael Carter-Williams with several other teams.
The Cavs offered Tristan Thompson a four-year, $52MM extension this past fall before the October 31st deadline for rookie scale extensions passed.
The Lakers have asked the Pistons about Greg Monroe and Brandon Jennings in the past month.
The Knicks are active in attempts to trade Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani.
The Celtics and trade acquisition Nate Robinson completed a deal on a buyout. The C’s acquired Robinson from Denver in exchange for Jameer Nelson. Multiple teams have interest in Robinson and the Clippers appear to be in the lead.
The C’s and Tayshaun Prince are discussing a buyout. There’s mutual interest between Prince and the Clippers.
The NBA has suspended Larry Sanders without pay for a minimum of 10 games for a violation of its anti-drug policy.
There is interest around the league in Brandon Bass, but the Celtics have yet to draw any serious offers for him on the trade market.
The Clippers signed Dahntay Jones to a 10-day deal. Originally, it looked like the Clips would be signing Darius Miller, but that didn’t come to fruition.
The Bucks are likely to retain Kenyon Martin for the rest of the season.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan won’t guarantee Jacque Vaughn‘s job security.
The Pelicans signed Nate Wolters to a 10-day deal.
The Heat re-signed Tyler Johnson to a 10-day pact.
The Kings talked about a swap of Ramon Sessions for Jordan Farmar. The deal didn’t go down, however, and the Clippers wound up waiving Farmar with a buyout. The Cavs have interest in the newly minted free agent.
The Pistons are seeking a trade partner who’ll take on Gigi Datome.
Eric Maynor is headed to Italy.
Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t sure that he wants to remain with the Knicks amid a rebuilding effort.
Andre Dawkins has signed with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
The Jazz signed Elijah Millsap to a second 10-day contract.
Glen Rice Jr. has joined the D-League affiliate of the Rockets.
Former Sixers and Nets power forward Brandon Davies signed with Elan Chalon of France.
The Delaware 87ers, Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate, have acquired Jared Cunningham via the D-League waiver process.
Former Nuggets small forward Quincy Miller was set to meet with the Pacers, Hawks, Thunder, and Spurs but ended up signing with the Kings.
The Sixers signed Larry Drew II to a second 10-day deal.
The Knicks signed Langston Galloway to another 10-day pact.
Elliot Williams inked another 10-day contract with the Jazz.
Kendall Marshall is going to miss the rest of the year with an ACL injury.
The Spurs signed JaMychal Green to a 10-day pact and cut ties with Austin Daye to make room.
The Warriors signed James McAdoo to a second 10-day deal.
The Bulls. Pistons, Wizards, and Clippers are among the teams eyeing Damion James.
The Wolves brought Miroslav Raduljica back for another 10-day contract.
Kobe Bryant admitted retirement after this season has crossed his mind, although he doesn’t peg it as very likely.
The Celtics waived Chris Douglas-Roberts

Categories:
Week in Review

Celtics Waive Chris Douglas-Roberts

January 18th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Celtics have waived the recently acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, the team announced, shortly after Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge broke the news to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). CD-R came to the C’s on Thursday in the trade that shipped Austin Rivers to the Clippers. Fellow Herald scribe Mark Murphy reported at the time of the deal that Boston was likely to cut ties with the 28-year-old swingman.

Douglas-Roberts signed with the Clippers last summer after a solid 2013/14 season with the then-Bobcats, with whom he shot a career-high 38.6% from beyond the three-point arc. The former University of Memphis standout failed to crack the regular rotation in Los Angeles, however, as he averaged a career-low 8.6 minutes per night playing for the Clippers. It was reported that chemistry issues led L.A. to cut ties with Douglas-Roberts, but the six-year veteran denies that he was a negative presence in the locker room.

Unless Douglas-Roberts is claimed off of waivers by another club, the Celtics will be on the hook to pay the remainder of the $915,243 that he’s owed by the team this season. Even though he’s set to make slightly more than that figure this year, the league covers the additional amount owed to veterans of more than two seasons on minimum salary deals. The Celtics roster now stands at 14 players, one short of the league maximum.

California Notes: Kobe, Green, Craft, Rivers

January 18th, 2015 at 3:22pm CST by Charlie Adams

Although Kobe Bryant contends he’ll likely play through his current contract, which expires after the 2015/16 season, he admits that he’s at least considered hanging it up at the end of this year, relays Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. “I’d be lying if I said that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Bryant said of retiring. “Right now I doubt it … but anything’s possible… You have to find new challenges, not playing for a championship, it’s pretty tough.” The Lakers sit near the bottom of the Western Conference at 12-29, but Bryant says the team would never consider tanking, going as far as to call the practice “sacrilegious,” notes Plaschke.

There’s more form the California-based teams:

Lessons that the Warriors‘ Draymond Green learned at Michigan State are going to lead to a huge contract this summer, suggests Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group. A second-round pick three years ago, Green has blossomed into one of Golden State’s leaders and will be a restricted free agent this summer. “The guy really is a coach’s dream,” said Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry. “You can’t place a value on that. Use every cliché you can. His teams always win. The squad you put him on in a scrimmage, his team is going to win.”
Aaron Craft has generated a positive buzz as a result of his performance at the D-League showcase, observes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, who adds that the 23-year-old guard out of Ohio State is on NBA teams’ radars (Twitter link). Craft was cut from the Warriors out of training camp and currently suits up for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s D-League affiliate.
The Clippers‘ Doc Rivers and Austin Rivers are trying to downplay their father/son and coach/player relationship, reports Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “I’m over it,” Austin Rivers said. “[Friday] night was about the son thing and I’m done with that. Now it’s basketball for me.” Los Angeles acquired Rivers from the Celtics Thursday in a three-team deal involving the Suns. The younger Rivers “jumped at the opportunity” to join L.A., as he tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Multiple Teams Eyeing Damion James

January 18th, 2015 at 1:50pm CST by Charlie Adams

At least four teams are considering bringing aboard former Nets and Spurs forward Damion James, according to Shams Charania of RealGM, who identifies the Bulls, Pistons, Wizards, and Clippers among the teams with interest (Twitter link). The former 24th overall pick has put up impressive numbers for the Texas Legends of the D-League this season after failing to make Washington’s roster out of training camp.

James, 27, appeared in five contests for the Spurs last season. He signed a 10-day deal with San Antonio in April and inked a pact that covered the remainder of the season once his first contract was up. The 6’7″ Texas alum hasn’t been able to make much of an impact in the NBA after four strong years playing for the Longhorns.

An earlier report indicated that the Wizards have been keeping an eye on James. Washington’s roster stands at 14 players, one short of the league maximum, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team ink James to a 10-day contract. He was reportedly a better bet to make the team than Rasual Butler out of training camp before the veteran guard impressed Washington brass.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Embiid, Celtics, Nets

January 18th, 2015 at 11:47am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers may be dreaming of the top selection in June’s draft, but Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes that picking Jahlil Okafor could lead to other problems. The Duke center is the consensus choice to be the first player chosen, but Philadelphia already has injured rookie Joel Embiid and second-year big man Nerlens Noel, both of whom are low-post players. “I don’t think they can play together,” an unidentified NBA source said of Okafor and Embiid. “They’re both low-post centers. It doesn’t make sense.” He later added, “The combination of Noel and either one of them doesn’t make sense.” The Sixers currently occupy the third spot in Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Embiid now weighs nearly 300 pounds and the Sixers are displeased with his commitment to conditioning, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He reportedly clashed with assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis and was sent home early from a recent West Coast trip. Embiid is still recovering from foot surgery he had before last year’s draft, and his workouts are limited to things such as an antigravity treadmill and long walks to stimulate his heart rate. An unidentified source claims the rookie has skipped some conditioning drills.
Another team looking to rebuild through the draft is Boston, which could have five first-round picks in June, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune. In addition to their own selection, the Celtics have a top 12 protected pick from the Timberwolves, a top 14 protected choice from the Sixers, the Clippers’ pick that came as compensation for coach Doc Rivers and a top 4-14 protected pick from the Mavericks in the Rajon Rondo deal. In 2016, Boston has the rights to two more first-round selections, along with its own. “Draft picks are always tradable; players are not,” said Celtics president Danny Ainge. “Draft picks are always assets.”
Steven A. Cohen has decided not to make a bid for the Nets, according to Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News (Twitter link). The billionaire hedge fund manager reportedly had meetings with the group handling the sale, but elected not to pursue the team. Cohen has a net worth of approximately $10 billion, but recently pleaded guilty to insider trading charges. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has claimed he hired a group called Evercore simply to assess the team’s value, but many believe he would sell at the right price.

Cavaliers Notes: Blatt, James, Mozgov

January 18th, 2015 at 10:44am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers had internal discussions about firing coach David Blatt, reports Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal, but refused to give into demands by LeBron James. When GM David Griffin sniped at the media recently regarding Blatt rumors, Lloyd said he was sending a message to players that Blatt will remain the coach and they need to commit to him. The team seems re-energized by back-to-back wins in Los Angeles, but James still hasn’t offered much public praise for his embattled coach.

There’s more from Cleveland:

Connecting with James is key to Blatt’s long-term future in Cleveland, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Blatt has let his superstar dictate the terms of the relationship, refusing to clash with him in public or in private, while hoping his vision of winning eventually settles in with James and the team. “He’s got his own opinions and he expresses them,” Blatt said of James. “At times, he can be stubborn. But what I know from him, what he wants from me, is a vehicle to help him win. And beyond that, nothing else is really important.”
Blatt’s persistence may finally be paying off, contends Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. The Cavs’ offense had one of its best games of the sesaon Friday against the Clippers, displaying ball movement and productive sets in a 126-121 victory. It’s a sign that players may be warming up to their coach. “We weren’t great offensively in Miami our first year either,” said Mike Miller. “Just because his philosophies aren’t showing up on the stat sheets right now doesn’t mean they’re not genius. I still think they’re really good.”
Someone who shouldn’t have to worry about his long-term future in Cleveland is newly acquired center Timofey Mozgov, according to Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. The Cavaliers have been pleased with Mozgov’s performance since sending two protected first round picks to Denver to acquire him in a January 7th trade. Mozgov said he was happy with the Nuggets, but welcomes the challenge of changing teams. “Now it’s a new story, a new page, a new part of my life,” he said. “It’s another team. I’m happy to be here playing [with] guys like Kyrie [Irving], LeBron and Kevin Love.”

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