2015 January | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Dragic, Whiteside, World Peace, Kobe

January 25th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Charlie Adams

Goran Dragic reportedly feels better about his situation with Phoenix now than he did during the 2013/14 campaign, but he admits that there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the Suns once he becomes a free agent this summer, as he tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “Every team in the NBA is an option to me, because it is a privilege to play for any team in the NBA,” Dragic said. “When the time comes I’m going to sit down with my family and my agent and try to make the best decision for myself.” We’ll round up more from around the NBA below:

Hassan Whiteside is opening eyes with the Heat, having posted a triple-double today with 14 points, 13 boards, and 12 blocks. The Knicks had some interest in the big man last year but eventually signed Lamar Odom instead, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.
Metta World Peace‘s stint in China has come to an end, as the veteran forward passed along on Twitter. The Clippers were rumored to have interest in inking World Peace to a late season deal.
Kobe Bryant spoke and said he would be a major part of the Lakers’ recruiting efforts this upcoming summer, observes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “It’s a pretty simple message. It’s the best organization in the world, best brand in the world,” Bryant said of the Lakers. “We win championships. That’s what we do. It would be much more than … X’s and O’s and style of play, things of that nature. There’s no place like winning in Los Angeles, man.”
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express released his latest prospect rankings, with Jahlil Okafor unsurprisingly still topping out the list.

Brandon Jennings Out For Season

January 25th, 2015 at 4:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:07pm: The Pistons have confirmed that Jennings will miss the rest of the season via press release.

3:32pm: Jennings has indeed suffered a torn Achilles and will miss the remainder of the season, as Wojnarowski writes in his updated piece. Shams Charania of RealGM passed along this morning that Detroit was considering bring aboard Lorenzo Brown, and a source tells Wojnarowski that the club will indeed look to add a guard, either through a trade or free agent signing.

9:05am: The Pistons have “significant fear” that Brandon Jennings suffered a torn left Achilles tendon during Saturday’s game, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll undergo an MRI today. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy acknowledged late Saturday that the injury “doesn’t look good.” A tear would be season-ending.

Detroit doesn’t have the ability to apply for a disabled player exception, both because the team is under the cap and because the deadline to apply for disabled player exceptions passed earlier this month. The Pistons have less than $100K in cap room, but they do have a prorated portion of their room exception, and they have an open roster spot.

The injury would come with unfortunate timing for both Jennings and the team, who’ve enjoyed a mutual renaissance since the Pistons waived Josh Smith last month. The 25-year-old Jennings is averaging 19.8 points and 7.0 assists since Smith’s departure, and the Pistons are 12-4 over the stretch, rising from a 5-23 start to just a half game out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Jennings makes $8MM this season and has one more year worth nearly $8.344MM left on his deal.

A report earlier this month indicated that Detroit was still making Jennings available for a trade after there were conflicting reports about whether the team was shopping the point guard. Van Gundy denied that he was initiating talks with anyone, though the Lakers apparently called the Pistons about Jennings and Greg Monroe. More recently, Van Gundy expressed contentment with his roster as it stands.

D-League Notes: Harris, Green, Capela

January 25th, 2015 at 3:50pm CST by Charlie Adams

A report earlier today indicated that the Pistons are mulling the prospect of signing D-League standout Lorenzo Brown. While we wait to see if Detroit makes a move to supplement its ailing backcourt, let’s round up the latest news pertaining to the D-League..

The Cavs recalled Joe Harris from the D-League this morning, the team announced. This was the rookie guard’s second stint with the Canton Charge this season, though he’s still yet actually log any minutes with Cleveland’s minor league club.
Erick Green‘s trip to the D-League has come to an end, as the Nuggets announced that the rookie guard has been recalled to the NBA. Green performed well with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, averaging 21 points per game across a pair of contests.
The Rockets recalled Clint Capela from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, the team announced via Twitter. Capela, the 25th overall pick in last June’s draft, averaged 14.9 points and 8.7 boards across 18 games for Houston’s minor league affiliate.

Jazz Sign Elijah Millsap To Three-Year Deal

January 25th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Charlie Adams

SUNDAY: The Jazz have officially signed Millsap, the team announced.

SATURDAY: The Jazz and Elijah Millsap have agreed to a three-year deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). While Charania doesn’t disclose financial details, he does add that the final two years of the deal are team options, although that might simply mean they’re non-guaranteed. Utah has about $4.8MM in cap space.

Millsap’s second 10-day contract with the Jazz was set to expire at day’s end tomorrow, and in order for Utah to keep the Hazan Sports Management client around, they needed to come to terms on a deal that covered at least the rest of this season since teams can only hand out two 10-day pacts per player each season. Clearly, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey was impressed with Millsap’s performance this year, so much so that he’s extended him a multi-year offer.

Utah’s roster will stand at the league-maximum 15 players once Millsap signs his contract, but Elliot Williams is with the club on a 10-day contract set to expire January 27th. Millsap, the younger brother of Paul Millsap, spoke with Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links prior to the start of the 2014/15 season. The 27-year-old swingman went undrafted out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2010 and has spent the last four seasons prior to 2014/15 in the D-League.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Wolves, Nuggets

January 25th, 2015 at 1:05pm CST by ChrisCrouse

LaMarcus Aldridge‘s surprise decision to play through an injured thumb, that was reportedly going to sideline the power forward for six to eight weeks, was partially made with the team in mind, as he tells Mike Richman of The Oregonian. “With me not being out there and not having [Nicolas Batum] definitely hurts us even more. So I just wanted to do some things today. Things went well. And I did some things yesterday late and it felt decent so we feel like we have a little plan to wrap it and strap it in and we’ll see, ” Aldridge told Richman. Aldridge played 36 minutes in his first game back from the injury and accumulated 26 points, nine rebounds and two steals in the victory over the Wizards on Saturday night.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The time has come for the Wolves to start looking to next season and maintain their good lottery odds, opines Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Zgoda takes a look at the top prospects in the upcoming draft including Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. Minnesota is 7-35 on the season, which puts the team atop our reverse order rankings. If the season ended today, the Wolves would be guaranteed a top four pick in the 2015 draft.
Ty Lawson remains in the Nuggets‘ future plans at the present time, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Lawson will return to the court after sitting out Friday’s game against the Celtics because of his arrest for suspicion of drinking and driving. The Nuggets sit at 18-25 on the season and remain a long shot, at best, to make the playoffs. Some of the Denver’s key players have been discussed in trade conversations with an eye on the future, including Wilson Chandler, who our own Chuck Myron looked at as a trade candidate.
Kendrick Perkins is an advocate of his new Thunder teammate Dion Waiters, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. “It doesn’t matter what you heard [in the media],” Perkins said of Waiters. “I’ve been impressed with his ability on the defensive end. The way he gets physical on the defensive end. The way he locks in. I have been more impressed with that. We already know he can score the ball. But I have been impressed with the commitment he’s shown on the defensive end.” Oklahoma City is 5-3 since Waiters’ arrival and in my latest poll, Hoops Rumors readers believe the move was the least impactful of the major Western Conference trades this season.

Knicks Shop Prigioni, Clippers, Pistons Interested

January 25th, 2015 at 12:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 12:35pm: The Pistons are among the teams to show exploratory interest in Prigioni, in wake of losing Brandon Jennings to injury, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 8:53am: The Clippers have held an interest in Prigioni, a source tells Zagoria, adding that the Clips don’t have the second-round pick New York is looking for. The earliest second-round pick that the Clippers can guarantee New York is for 2019. The point guard has drawn interest from three or four European clubs, agent Claudio Villanueva told Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype, though Villanueva cautioned that he and his client haven’t pursued those possibilities and that they’re not worried about his situation in New York.

WEDNESDAY, 1:17pm: The Knicks would like to trade Pablo Prigioni in exchange for a second-round pick, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The 37-year-old point guard doesn’t have much of a role at present, having fallen out of the team’s rotation the past three games, and he’s not a part of the club’s future, either, according to Zagoria. He’s making nearly $1.663MM this season, but his salary of almost $1.735MM for next season is only partially guaranteed for $290K.

New York reportedly considered attaching Prigioni to a deal that would unload Wayne Ellington this past summer. Knicks officials were apparently nonetheless fond of Prigioni, though it seems they continued to mull trading him even after they were able to keep him when they shipped Elliington to the Kings. The Knicks opened the season with playoff aspirations, but their need for an aging backup isn’t great with the team at 6-36. New York is reportedly shopping starter Jose Calderon, but Shane Larkin has moved ahead of Prigioni on the Knicks depth chart.

It appeared this past summer that the Jazz were in the mix for Prigioni as the Knicks and Kings looked for a third team to facilitate the Ellington trade. It’s unclear whether Utah still has any interest, even in the wake of Tuesday’s announcement that shooting guard Rodney Hood will be out until at least the All-Star break. Prigioni had been seeing fairly consistent minutes before his recent downturn in playing time, and he’s averaged 4.8 points, a career high, in 19.1 minutes per game this season.

Bucks Notes: Knight, Bench Unit, Sanders

January 25th, 2015 at 11:01am CST by ChrisCrouse

Everyone assumes Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo will fill two of the spots on the Bucks‘ future core, but Brandon Knight may have put himself in the team’s long-term plans with his spectacular play this season, writes Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (insider piece). “You hear this cliché about guys always being the first one on and [last] off the court,” said Bucks GM John Hammond. “Brandon really is like that.” Knight has become the leader on the court late in games. During the last five minutes of games this season, the point guard sports a 37.1% usage rate, which is the best on the team. The Kentucky product understands the progress he made this year but he is more concerned with the team’s 22-21 record this season. “You have to learn from [mistakes],” Knight said. “We still have a long way to go in the season and a lot of home games. I don’t think we can be frustrated. The main thing is to learn from it and get better at it.”

Here’s more out of Milwaukee:

Knight’s play might warrant him a maximum value contract this offseason, speculates Bill Simmons of Grantland.com. Simmons cites the anticipated rise of the salary cap as well as the point guard’s exceptional shooting as reason for Knight’s expected raise in salary. The 23-year-old is shooting 51.1% from the field and 40.2% from behind the arc, which ranks in the top 20 of all players in the league. Knight will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
The bench unit of the Bucks deserves more recognition for the team’s improvement this season, opines John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders. The unit, led by new additions Jared Dudley and Jerryd Bayless, tops the league in many statistical categories. They rank first in the league in minutes played, averaging 22.3; assists, averaging 10.9; and steals, averaging 4.0 per game.
Former NBA player Vin Baker believes the Bucks have a good mix of young talent, write Charles F. Gardner and Todd Rosaik of the Journal Sentinel. Baker, who was a first round draft pick of the Bucks in 1993, spoke to the team this weekend. Baker told the team “to take every day as a blessing” and to not take the opportunity for granted. Baker offered simple advice for Larry Sanders, who was absent from the team’s facilities and hasn’t played in a game in over a month. “I think the most important thing is to take life as the priority,” Baker said. “Take that first. Everything falls into place when you put life as the priority. Sanders was originally out for personal reasons but now is serving a 10-game suspension for his fourth violation of the league’s anti-drug policy of his career.

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Milwaukee Bucks

Cavs Interested In Will Bynum, Bobby Brown

January 25th, 2015 at 9:18am CST by Eddie Scarito

SUNDAY, 9:18am: The interest between Brown and the Cavs is mutual, reports Jorge Sierra of Hoopshype. “I will say this about Cleveland: How could anyone not want to play with LeBron [James]? First off, he is the best player in the league and second, you have a chance to be a part of a championship team. Plus, playing in Europe, I was a big fan of [David] Blatt] and always wanted to play for him. Also, I have known [David Griffin] since I was in the draft and have always been a huge believer in him,” Brown said.

SATURDAY, 8:43am: With the Cavaliers still seeking to add depth at the point guard spot, Will Bynum and Bobby Brown are two players whom Cleveland is keeping an eye on, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal reports. Both are currently playing in China, and neither will be available until after the Chinese Basketball Association’s playoffs conclude in March, Lloyd notes. If the Cavs are unable to land a player via a trade before then, either Bynum or Brown could be brought aboard, Lloyd adds.

Bynum, 32, is a seven year veteran who will likely have a number of NBA offers to choose from, Lloyd writes. The Cavs will only be able to offer the guard the prorated veteran’s minimum, but a shot at an NBA title could be a strong draw for Bynum, Lloyd notes. Bynum has been playing for the Guangdong Southern Tigers since early December after being signed to replace the injured Emmanuel Mudiay, who is a likely 2015 lottery selection.

The Celtics had waived Bynum and his guaranteed contract, worth nearly $2.916MM, in order to free up roster space shortly after acquiring him from the Pistons in a preseason trade. Bynum’s career numbers in 353 NBA appearances are 8.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. His career slash line is .443/.280/.800.

Adding Brown would be a more complicated matter for the Cavs, Lloyd notes. The 30-year-old still has two years remaining on his contract with DongGuan, but there have been reports that Brown’s deal contains an NBA out clause. Brown went undrafted back in the 2007 NBA draft, and he has played for four NBA teams during his career. Brown had worked out for the Lakers prior to the season, but he had already inked his deal to head overseas prior to that display. Brown’s NBA averages over 113 career games are 5.1 points and 1.8 assists. His career slash line is .384/.311/.810.

Rockets Notes: Motiejunas, Beverley, Smith

January 25th, 2015 at 8:56am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets scored 64 points in the paint in the win over the Suns on Friday night but their strategy isn’t new, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “We push the ball into the paint off the dribble, off of offensive rebounding and off of passing. That’s what we try to do. We try to get the ball into the paint. If you’re pretty committed to getting the ball into the paint, you can get some fouls on your way there or once you get there,” coach Kevin McHale said. Houston, with a record of 30-14, is seventh on the season in scoring, averaging 103.1 points per game.

Here’s more from Houston:

Donatas Motiejunas is one of the league’s more valuable trade assets, writes Bill Simmons of Grantland.com in part 1 of his nearly annual trade value column. Simmons believes that Motiejunas is one of a few young big men who could play heavy minutes in the playoffs. The Lithuanian power forward is scoring 10.9 points in 27.7 minutes per game this season, both career highs.
Patrick Beverley has taken it upon himself to carry more of the team’s offensive burden, writes Feigen in a separate piece. “James gets so much attention so just kind of trying to take some pressure off him to make every play. He’s a human being, gets tired sometimes. I take it upon myself to be aggressive and it worked out,” Beverley said. The point guard is averaging 11.5 points per game and sporting a player efficiency rating of 13.4 this season, which is below league average.
Inconsistent play has plagued Houston in recent weeks but fans should expect better play to come internally rather than from new additions to the team, writes Feigen in a separate piece. “We’ve been up and down the last four or five weeks,” McHale said. “We’ve got to settle in and start playing better basketball. One thing we’ve been the last four or five weeks is wildly inconsistent. We have to shore that up.” The team is 7-6 in January and only 10-7 since acquiring Josh Smith in late December. It seems as if the team needs time to gel with all of its new parts and with a seven and a half game lead over the Pelicans and Thunder, who remain out of the playoff picture, the Rockets’ playoff chances do not yet seem to be in jeopardy.

Eastern Notes: Jennings, Waiters, Patterson

January 24th, 2015 at 11:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons‘ Brandon Jennings will be evaluated Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with pain in his left leg, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter links). There are fears that it is an Achilles injury, but nothing can be certain until he undergoes some tests. Jennings said he felt like he had been kicked in the back of his lower leg. “It doesn’t look good,” said Detroit coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, who expressed concern that Jennings will be out of action long-term. The Pistons have an open roster spot and can sign a player to a 10-day contract to replace Jennings.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Dion Waiters may have a productive NBA career, but it was time for him to leave the Cavaliers, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland had been listening to offers for Waiters for more than a year, according to Lloyd, but couldn’t find the right deal until the January 5th trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. LeBron James was a defender of Waiters when he returned to the Cavaliers, but gave up by the end, Lloyd writes. “I ain’t really care what nobody say,” said Waiters, who will return to Cleveland with the Thunder on Sunday. “It ain’t affect me. I slept good every night.”
The Hawks and Lamar Patterson are still watching each other closely, reports KL Chouinard of Hawks.com. Patterson, a second-round pick by Atlanta last year, is spending this season in the Turkish Basketball League. He still talks to many of the Hawks players and hopes to eventually be part of Atlanta’s team. “I’m over here working, just trying to become the best player I possibly can,” Patterson said. “Hopefully I can suit up in a Hawks uniform next season.”
Former Buck Carlos Delfino hopes to resume his NBA career next season, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Delfino, who also played for the Pistons, Raptors and Rockets, underwent foot surgery in December of 2013. Milwaukee traded his rights to the Clippers on August 26th, 2014, but Los Angeles waived him three days later.

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