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Month: October 2024

Nuggets Rumors: Hickson, Barton, Lauvergne

February 6th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

J.J. Hickson has handled trade rumors and reduced playing time in the best possible way, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The Nuggets have been shopping the 27-year-old center/forward, who has been with the team since signing as a free agent in 2013. Hickson, who has fallen out of the rotation, is making nearly $5.614MM this season in the final year of an expiring contract. Coach Michael Malone has acknowledged the difficult situation that Hickson is in and complimented him for approaching it professionally and keeping himself ready to play.

Dempsey lists several other Nuggets who are attracting interest as the February 18th trade deadline nears:

  • Denver is getting numerous inquiries about Will Barton but doesn’t seem interested in making a deal. The 25-year-old shooting guard has taken a step forward this season, averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Dempsey says the Nuggets know they have a “gem” in Barton, who is signed through the 2017/18 season.
  • The Nuggets began getting calls on second-year center Joffrey Lauvergne before the season started. Denver turned down those offers, and Dempsey believes the team will keep Lauvergne, in spite of a report that the Nuggets are seeking a late first-round pick for him. The Post scribe acknowledges that it’s not a certainty the Nuggets will hang on to the big man, but Malone has stated more than once that he considers Lauvergne part of the future, Dempsey notes. Lauvergne, who was the 55th pick in 2013, is also signed through 2017/18.
  • Kenneth Faried isn’t on the trade block, but Dempsey believes a “too good to be true” offer might change the Nuggets’ minds. The 26-year-old power forward has three years and nearly $39MM left after this season on the extension he signed in 2014.
  • The Nuggets were mentioned in Blake Griffin trade rumors last week, but Dempsey doesn’t think the Clippers will be dealing their star forward this season. He says L.A. has a “win now” philosophy, but that could change with another playoff disappointment. If that happens, the Nuggets would still be interested in Griffin this summer.
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Pacific Notes: Karl, Griffin, Russell

February 6th, 2016 at 6:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rumors are again swirling of a possible coaching change in Sacramento, but firing George Karl now might not be the Kings‘ best move, contends Sam Amick of USA Today. The columnist warns that an immediate change could make it difficult for the team to conduct a thorough search for Karl’s replacement. He adds that Sacramento has been looking at former Thunder coach Scott Brooks, ex-Bulls mentor Tom Thibodeau and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson for a while.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

  • The Kings should get rid of Karl right away because they have barely improved despite raising their talent level, argues Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Sacramento is just 21-29 and falling out of the playoff picture even though it signed Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Caron Butler in free agency and drafted Willie Cauley-Stein sixth overall. Ziller also slams Karl for trying to get rid of DeMarcus Cousins, for having an up-tempo game plan that doesn’t fit the team’s talent and for having a poor defensive team.
  • Clippers coach Doc Rivers didn’t waste words when asked about Blake Griffin‘s future in L.A., tweets Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “Blake’s ours,” Rivers said, “and he’s going to stay ours.” There have been rumors that the Clippers may consider dealing Griffin in the wake of an incident with an equipment manager that the team reportedly believes could keep him out of action for two months.
  • Lakers coach Byron Scott has been trying to make rookie D’Angelo Russell feel like he’s earning his minutes, according to Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. In what he says was an effort to keep Russell’s ego under control, Scott pulled him and Julius Randle from the starting lineup on December 7th. “I didn’t want him to just feel, ‘This is who I am. I should be starting on the Lakers because I’m the second pick,’” Scott said. “No, you’re starting because you work hard and you earn it.”
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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

February 6th, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and some names have become the frequent subject of rumors. Hoops Rumors lets you keep up with your favorite teams as they plot their moves, and we also provide ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players and trade candidates. If you want to stay up to date on Markieff Morris rumors, you can find Morris’ page right here. Updates on Jeff Teague are found on this page. For intel on Rudy Gay, go here.

You can get news about players wherever you go with our Trade Rumors app, available for iOS and Android devices. The app is free and allows you to add a feed for any player and set up notifications that will alert you whenever we write about him.

Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Dwight Howard’s page is hoopsrumors.com/dwight-howard.

You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/david-lee/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice should enable you to get updates whenever we write about David Lee. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Celtics fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/boston-celtics/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from Boston.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. You can keep tabs on news related to the draft right here. Items about the salary cap can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here. Again, you can set up a feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.

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Latest On Nets GM Search

February 6th, 2016 at 4:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets will begin formally interviewing candidates for their vacant GM position on Monday, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com reports. Nets team owner Mikhail Prokhorov will attend the sessions along with chairman of the Nets board of directors Dmitry Razumov, Prokhorov’s Russian confidant Sergey Kushchenko, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment Brett Yormark and president of ONEXIM Sports & Entertainment Irina Pavlova, Mazzeo notes. The interview process is expected to take a few days, according to the ESPN scribe.

The search committee’s interview candidates are expected to include Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Rockets executive vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, Nets assistant GM Frank Zanin and former Hawks GM Danny Ferry, Mazzeo writes. The inclusion of Ferry in this group runs counter to a report filed by Brian Lewis of the New York Post which relayed that Ferry was no longer a viable candidate for the vacant post. Mazzeo also implies that Bryan Colangelo, who’s reportedly been under strong consideration, will receive an interview, too, though he doesn’t say so directly.

Not among the names listed in Mazzeo’s report is Wizards senior VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard, whom Brooklyn reportedly asked the Wizards for permission to interview. Washington had denied a June 2014 request from the Grizzlies to interview Sheppard, as Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis reported at the time, so there’s no guarantee that the Nets were given the green light to speak with him regarding the position. The Nets have received permission to speak with Karnisovas and Rosas from their respective organizations.

The Nets reportedly want to hire a GM before the trade deadline, which is less two weeks away.  All signs point to the organization hiring someone by that target date, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post relays in a series of tweets. Bontemps also notes that Brooklyn is expected to hire someone with previous GM experience, though there are some candidates who don’t fit that prerequisite who are also being considered. Assistant GM Frank Zanin has been running the front office since the team removed Billy King from the GM job nearly a month ago.

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Atlantic Notes: Rondo, Ainge, Brand

February 6th, 2016 at 3:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics executive Danny Ainge is expected to be active leading up to this year’s trade deadline and would be willing to deal away significant assets, but only if it would land a “special player,” A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays. “It depends on the player and it depends on his age and it depends on the probability of us re-signing him,” Ainge said during an appearance on 98.5 the Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” show. “But most of the time I would say no, I would not give up [significant assets]. If you’re risking very little, it might be worth the risk. But I would never risk a lot for a small chance unless that player’s one of the top four or five players in the game.” Boston owns the Nets’ first-rounder in this year’s NBA draft, a pick that is likely to be in the top five. The team has reportedly been involved in recent trade talks with the Rockets regarding Dwight Howard and with the Nuggets about Danilo Gallinari.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Knicks are going to attempt to upgrade their point guard position this offseason, but Kings playmaker Rajon Rondo likely won’t be the solution, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. At issue for Rondo is New York’s triangle offense, which isn’t a point guard dominated system, Begley notes. When asked if the Knicks were a possibility for him in the future, Rondo, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, said, “The triangle’s not really a good look for me, I don’t think.”
  • Elton Brand wound up with the Sixers because of his value as a leader, something that Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer says the veteran excels at being, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He is going to bring [leadership to the 76ers] in multitudes of hundreds or thousands,” Budenholzer said. “He’s one of the most incredible leaders I’ve ever been around. And as a person. To have person like that in your locker room every day, in your practice every day, on your bench every day, I think it’s huge value. It was a move that made sense for both of them. For the organization, it’s a really smart move. For Elton, to decide he wanted to get back and help the Sixers organization and help these young players and give back speaks a lot to his character and what kind of guy he is.”
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Poll: Should The Kings Fire George Karl?

February 6th, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, the Kings are seriously considering firing coach George Karl. Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive and team executive Vlade Divac were livid enough after the team’s 128-119 loss to the Nets on Friday night, which was the team’s sixth defeat in its last seven outings, that the embattled coach’s job status is now seriously in question. Of course, this isn’t necessarily an earth-shattering revelation given that Sacramento was reportedly pondering Karl’s dismissal last June, merely six months after hiring him to replace interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who had in turn replaced the fired Michael Malone.

Karl has reportedly lost the support of the front office as well as a number of his players. Center DeMarcus Cousins seemingly called out the coaching staff for the team’s continued flaws on the defensive end after the loss to Brooklyn, telling reporters, “I’m not going to keep blaming these guys in the locker room. Energy and effort is a huge part of the game, but I’m not going to keep blaming it on that. We got a bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team. I’d rather keep [problems] in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort. That can’t be the excuse every night. … We’re going to work it out as a team, and hopefully we can fix this.”

With the NBA All-Star break a week away, the timing is certainly ripe for Sacramento to make a move as it would give whomever was named interim coach a bit more time to prepare for the second half of the campaign. It’s unclear who would be in line to take the reigns in the event of Karl’s dismissal, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com relayed that current assistant coach and former player Corliss Williamson would be under strong consideration for the post.

Just how much of the team’s woes Karl is responsible is certainly up for debate. The Kings have played .500 ball when Cousins has been in the lineup, which is a winning percentage certainly in line with the franchise’s current level of talent. Sacramento is a deeply flawed team on the defensive end, a problem more to do with the team’s personnel than Karl’s system, though he is primarily known as an offensive-minded coach. Changing coaches isn’t likely to make the Kings an instant playoff contender, as the same holes and flaws in the roster will still exist no matter who is calling the sets out from the sideline. Dismissing Karl may make the locker room more harmonious in the short-term, but it won’t fix many of the team’s on the court issues.

But that’s my take on the situation and now we’re asking for yours. Should Karl be fired, or are other changes needed instead? Cast your vote below and then head to the comments section to share your thoughts on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

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Hoops Rumors Originals 1/31/16-2/6/16

February 6th, 2016 at 12:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…

  • If you missed the week’s live chat, you can view the transcript here.
  • I ran down the complete list of 2016 free agents.
  • Zach Links highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
  • Chuck Myron broke down the status of each current NBA head coach.
  • Chris Crouse examined David Lee as a trade candidate and Dana Gauruder looked at Rudy Gay.
  • We updated our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings.
  • I broke down the dead money on the books for the teams in the Pacific Division. You can view the summaries for each division here.
  • Will Joseph answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag.
  • If you missed any of our daily reader-driven discussions, be sure to check out the Community Shootaround archives.
  • Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
  • You can keep track of where your favorite team currently stands in relation to the 2016 NBA Draft lottery with our reverse standings tracker.
  • We reviewed our commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
  • Here’s how you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
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Eastern Notes: Caldwell-Pope, Anthony, Mayo

February 6th, 2016 at 11:19am CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to be out of action until after the All-Star break due to a strained core muscle, David Mayo of MLive relays (Twitter links). The team is still awaiting the results of an MRI, but Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy didn’t rule out making a deal before the trade deadline as a result of Caldwell-Pope’s injury woes, Mayo adds. If the young swingman’s injury is deemed to be a long-term one, it would significantly increase the chances that the Pistons will make a move, though it is doubtful that any deal will net a significant player in return, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays (on Twitter).

Here are the latest happenings in the East:

  • Hawks director of international scouting Himar Ojeda has left the team to accept a position with the German club Alba Berlin, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution writes. The team issued an official statement that read, “On behalf of the Hawks organization, we want to congratulate Himar Ojeda on his new position with Alba Berlin. Personally and professionally, we are thankful for the significant contributions and tireless commitment Himar made to the Hawks as our Director of International Scouting. We’d like to wish Himar the best and congratulate Alba on an outstanding hire.”
  • The Bucks would likely find suitors willing to acquire shooting guard O.J. Mayo prior to the trade deadline if the team is willing to take back a player-friendly contract in return, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes in his deadline primer for the franchise. Mayo, who is earning $8MM this season, will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Also having trade value is Miles Plumlee, who could fit the bill for a team seeking bench depth, Marks adds.
  • Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony has been dealing with knee issues, but a recent MRI revealed no structural damage and the team says the knee is merely sore and not a new injury, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “There’s no injury or new injury in terms of a traumatic or acute situation,” coach Derek Fisher told reporters. “I think he’ll be fine long term. We just have to get into these next set of days into the [All-Star] break and hopefully we can kind of re-evaluate him from there in terms of it not being something that’s reoccurring.“
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Week In Review 1/31/16-2/6/16

February 6th, 2016 at 9:49am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek earlier this week and named Earl Watson as interim coach. The move to part ways with the coach was no shock, as Hornacek’s job was reportedly under immediate threat in late December, when the team instead fired assistants Mike Longabardi and Jerry Sichting and shifted fellow assistants Watson and Nate Bjorkgren to more prominent roles. The future of the 52-year-old Hornacek was up in the air even as the season began, with a contractual decision on his team option for 2016/17 looming. Little had gone right since, as the Suns compiled a 14-35 record under Hornacek in spite of realistic preseason hopes that they would make the playoffs for the first time since losing the Western Conference Finals in 2010. The Suns were 101-112 overall under Hornacek.

Here’s more from the week that was…

Miscellaneous News

Signings

You can stay up to date on all the 10-day deals handed out with our 10-day contract tracker.

D-League News

  • Former Hornets point guard Jannero Pargo signed to play in the D-League and was claimed by the Thunder’s affiliate.
  • Power forward Cory Jefferson returned to the Suns D-League affiliate following the expiration of his 10-day contract with Phoenix.
  • Sean Kilpatrick went back to the Sixers D-League affiliate after the shooting guard’s pair of 10-day deals with the Nuggets lapsed.
  • The D-League affiliate of the Pistons saw the return of point guard Lorenzo Brown after his two 10-day contracts ended.

You can stay up to date on all the D-League assignments and recalls for the season here.

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Kings Mull Firing George Karl

February 6th, 2016 at 8:20am CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive and team executive Vlade Divac were livid enough after the team’s 128-119 loss to the Nets on Friday night, which was the team’s sixth defeat in its last seven outings, that they are strongly weighing firing coach George Karl, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports. A league source who was involved in discussions regarding the coach’s job status described the situation as, “An overreaction to the loss,” Wojnarowski adds. The momentum to fire Karl waned enough in the hours following Friday night’s defeat that he will likely be on the sideline for Sunday’s contest in Boston against the Celtics, according to the Vertical scribe.

Regardless of whether or not Karl is calling out sets on Sunday, the issue remains that the embattled coach has lost management’s support as well as some members of the team’s locker room, sources told Wojnarowski. Center DeMarcus Cousins seemingly called out the coaching staff for the team’s continued flaws on the defensive end after the loss to the Nets, telling reporters, “I’m not going to keep blaming these guys in the locker room. Energy and effort is a huge part of the game, but I’m not going to keep blaming it on that. We got a bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team. I’d rather keep [problems] in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort. That can’t be the excuse every night. … We’re going to work it out as a team, and hopefully we can fix this.”

It was just under a year ago that Karl was hired to replace interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who had taken over for fired coach Michael Malone in December of 2014. Things have not gone smoothly during Karl’s tenure, with the coach and Cousins seemingly at odds from the very beginning of Karl’s time with the team. The franchise reportedly considered parting ways with Karl last June, mere months after signing him to a four year deal, because of his difficulties with Cousins and Divac. Firing Karl could cause issues with Sacramento’s ownership group as Ranadive has progressively lost the support and belief of the other owners after the past few years of instability within the organization, Wojnarowski notes.

The amount of guaranteed money still owed to Karl could factor into the front office’s decision-making regarding the coach, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Karl is earning $3.25MM this season and he is owed $5MM for each of the next two campaigns, though his salary for 2017/18 is only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM.  If the team does make a coaching change, league sources have told Stein that assistant coach Nancy Lieberman would not be named interim coach, as had been rumored, but current assistant and former Kings player Corliss Williamson would be a possibility.

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