2016 March | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Watson, Sacre, Green

March 17th, 2016 at 8:55am CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Suns‘ struggles this season, center Tyson Chandler believes the franchise is heading in the right direction and credits the leadership of interim coach Earl Watson for changing the locker room culture, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I’m excited with the direction we’re going,” Chandler said. “Of late, it’s showing in the win column but I just like what we’re doing. I like the mentality. I like the culture. I think things are really changing around here. It puts a little pep in your step. It’s amazing what the mind can do to you. When you’re carrying so much weight, you don’t have the pep in your step and the excitement that you normally play with. Once you’re able to release some of that stuff and the team starts playing the right way, it’s amazing how much better you feel.”

For his part, Watson credits the team’s veterans for the improvement, noting that change wouldn’t have been possible without their buying in, Coro adds. “The thing about vets is you can’t fool them,” Watson told Coro. “If it wasn’t the right message or the correct teachings, they wouldn’t buy in. We understand it’s a give-take relationship. We want to make sure we enhance everyone. They believe. The young guys believe. That’s the most powerful movement in our program.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers center Robert Sacre says he is trying to remain positive despite having only appeared in 20 games this season while the team plummets in the standings, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News relays. “It’s been really tough,” said Sacre. “That’s the whole point about this. We get paid the big bucks for that reason just to be ready and stay ready. You just have to be ready when your name is called.” The 26-year-old is averaging just 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per contest and will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Jeff Green has provided the Clippers with solid production since being acquired at the trade deadline, but it remains to be seen if he and Blake Griffin can co-exist once the power forward returns from injury and his suspension for striking a member of the team’s training staff, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. The scribe notes that Green, despite being well-suited for a role as a stretch-four, will likely benefit from playing alongside Griffin at small forward, whose consistency and athleticism are sorely missed by his squad. In 13 games for the Clippers, Green is averaging 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.1 minutes per night. The combo froward is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.

Nets Sign Henry Sims To 10-Day Deal

March 17th, 2016 at 8:22am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 8:22am: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

TUESDAY, 2:11pm: The Nets plan to sign Henry Sims to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The former Cavs and Sixers big man has been out of the NBA since the Suns cut him in the preseason, having joined the D-League affiliate of the Pistons this year. The contract will pay $57,726, with the Nets responsible for $55,722 while the league office picks up the rest for the three-year veteran.

Brooklyn already has Sean Kilpatrick on a 10-day contract, which expires at the end of Saturday, but he’s one of just 14 players on the Nets roster, so the team can make Sims its 15th man without offloading anybody. New Nets GM Sean Marks has said he wants to use 10-day contracts to discover players who can be a part of next season’s roster, and like Kilpatrick, Sims holds promise. The 25-year-old started 32 games for the Sixers last season, averaging 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per contest across 73 appearances overall.

Sims put up 15.7 points and 8.9 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game for D-League Grand Rapids this season after limited preseason court time with Phoenix. It was somewhat surprising to see him linger in free agency this summer before he signed his non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Suns in September, and while he drew attention as one of the top prospects in the D-League, it was just as perplexing to see him without an NBA job for most of the season.

Nate Robinson Signs With Israeli Team

March 17th, 2016 at 8:00am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 8:00am: The signing is official, Pick tweets.

MONDAY, 1:51pm: Nate Robinson has agreed to a deal with Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The three-time dunk champion who began the season with the Pelicans had been trying to make a run at the National Football League, but it appears he’s put that effort on the shelf for now. The 31-year-old has remained unsigned since the Pelicans waived him shortly after opening night, failing to hook up with China’s Xinjiang Flying Tigers after reportedly working out for them in January.

The diminutive guard has had a tough time finding NBA work since he did a buyout deal with the Celtics in the middle of last season, after Boston acquired him in a trade with the Nuggets. The Clippers signed him to a pair of 10-day contracts last March, but he suffered a bone bruise in his left knee that prompted the Clippers to turn to Lester Hudson instead.

Robinson was on the opposite end of injury luck this fall, when the banged-up Pelicans signed him to a non-guaranteed contract during the preseason, and when the team made him its opening-night starter at point guard, it appeared Robinson had a place in the NBA for at least a while longer. Instead, New Orleans jumped on Toney Douglas, who’d shaken free from the Pacers, and cut Robinson after only two regular season games.

This would be the first overseas excursion for Robinson, who’s played in parts of 11 NBA seasons, including this one. He’s not far removed from decent production, having averaged 10.4 points in just 19.7 minutes per game for the 2013/14 Nuggets, so a strong closing stretch in Israel is liable to help him back to the game’s highest level.

Do you think we’ll see Nate Robinson in the NBA again? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/16/16

March 16th, 2016 at 10:54pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sources close to Knicks team president Phil Jackson recently floated the notion to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com that the Zen Master would consider coaching home games and have interim coach Kurt Rambis lead the team when on the road next season. Jackson has often cited his health as he’s maintained in recent years that coaching is out of the question, but people around the 70-year-old say he appears to have more energy than usual, and he’s reportedly lost 20 of the 30 pounds he gained since taking the Knicks job, according to Shelburne.

It’s unclear what the chances of this kind of arrangement coming to pass are, but it would certainly make for an intriguing compromise if Jackson meets resistance to the idea of hiring Rambis full-time, according to Shelburne’s report. Jackson hasn’t officially committed to keeping Rambis beyond the season, but he has hinted that he’d like to see him earn the removal of his interim tag, which jibes with an earlier report that Jackson was pulling for Rambis to win the permanent job when he named him interim boss. The executive has yet to give any indication he is considering other candidates besides Rambis and many league executives believe he is the Zen Master’s one and only choice for the slot.

Knicks star small forward Carmelo Anthony wasn’t enthusiastic about the notion of Jackson coaching part time and didn’t think it was a realistic option given the executive’s age and health concerns. “Nah, nah, nah. I don’t think that should be accepted,” Anthony said. “I wouldn’t accept that if that was the case. Phil is cool man. He doesn’t need to be on the sidelines no more. He put so many years into this game. He’s cool. He doesn’t need to be on the sideline. I don’t think he’s thinking about coming back down on the sideline. I hope not. Let him ride on out. Let him sit out and be the president.”

This brings me to the topic for today: Would the Knicks benefit from Phil Jackson returning to coaching on a part-time basis?

Jackson’s coaching resume certainly speaks for itself, but he hasn’t patrolled an NBA sideline since the 2010/11 campaign. The game has certainly changed over the past few years and the jury is still out on whether or not the triangle offense, a staple of Jackson’s, is still a viable system in the league. There is also the matter of how players would respond to two coaches leading them and doling out minutes. It could cause a schism within the locker room, especially if Jackson and Rambis differed on the rotation and substitution patterns. It could also place Rambis in an extremely difficult position if players saw him as just a placeholder while on the road and his authority suffered as a result.

But what say you? Is having Jackson as a part-time coach a better alternative to retaining Rambis or hiring a new coach altogether? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

And-Ones: Roberts, Lin, Ejim

March 16th, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Executive Director of the NBPA Michele Roberts is working to shift the perception that players make too much money, something that will likely be expressed once negotiations begin with team owners over their respective stakes in the league’s basketball related income, as she tells Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports on his podcast (h/t RealGM Wiretap). Roberts believes the amount of money owners make is not being discussed enough.

“We read just recently that the value of these teams, thank you Donald Sterling, we know what a team can make on the open market,” Roberts said. ” If the reality is that as the game is growing financial, owners are holding onto those teams for a reason. There is a great deal of value. And there’s a long line of folks that would love to buy a basketball team.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Jeremy Lin has thrived with the Hornets in his role off the bench, but if he declines his player option for next season, which is worth $2.1MM, it may be difficult for Charlotte to bring him back, Bobby Marks of the Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. Lin is one of many players with looming contract decisions, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors details.
The Erie BayHawks of the D-League have waived Magic camp invitee Melvin Ejim, Chris Reichert of Upside Motor tweets. Ejim will sign with Reyer Venezia in Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The Clippers have recalled C.J. Wilcox from the Canton Charge, according to the Clippers website.

Knicks Notes: Rambis, Anthony on Jackson

March 16th, 2016 at 9:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The 28-40 Knicks are hoping to become the first opposing team to win a regular season game at Oracle Arena in over a year when they face off against on the Warriors tonight. As the teams get ready to take the court in Oakland, let’s take a look at a few notes from the city that never sleeps:

Coach Kurt Rambis says Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson hasn’t discussed coaching on a part-time basis since “years ago” when the Zen Master patrolled the sidelines for the Lakers, Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets.
Carmelo Anthony doesn’t believe Jackson will coach in the league again and believes the idea of someone coaching only homes games to be “silly,” Berman passes along (Twitter link).
Anthony should have influence on the team’s next coaching hire and has every right to demand a say in the process, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News opines. Jackson’s coaching tree hasn’t yielded favorable results and Anthony isn’t out of line for raising the idea of exploring other options, Isola argues.

Eastern Notes: Magic, Harris, Embiid

March 16th, 2016 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Magic had other offers on the table for Tobias Harris, but they opted to take Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova from Detroit because both players had played under coach Scott Skiles previously, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Orlando believed the duo could contribute immediately to the team’s goal of making the playoffs, Kennedy adds.

The Magic are 6-8 since adding Ilyasova and Jennings, sitting five and a half games behind the Pistons, who are currently tied with the Bulls for the eighth seed in the conference entering tonight’s slate of games. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy feels that Harris has masterfully fit in with the team, Kennedy passes along in the same piece. “You feel like he’s been here all year, even in terms of the way he relates to his teammates,” Van Gundy said. “It’s actually been a pretty seamless transition. He’s unselfish.”
Even if Joel Embiid is able to remain healthy, the Sixers should take a patient approach with regard to his development, Bob Cooney of Philadelphia Daily News cautions. Cooney points out that Embiid now 22 years old, has only been playing basketball for roughly six years.
The Pacers have assigned Shayne Whittington to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s website.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Bender, Knight

March 16th, 2016 at 6:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings will listen to offers for DeMarcus Cousins this summer, but it’s unlikely that a trade occurs until they lower their asking price, Sam Amick of USA Today writes.

Last June, Sacramento reportedly wanted Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft and other draft considerations in exchange for Cousins. Some rival executives believed Sacramento’s demands were outrageous, Amick hears, while other executives viewed the proposal differently, speculating that the Kings didn’t value either the draft picks or unproven prospects as enough for Cousins by themselves because they wanted to win immediately.

The Kings are likely to soften their stance on a Cousins trade if the situation doesn’t improve leading up to the 2017 trade deadline, the scribe adds. Cousins is signed through the 2017/18 season, and he’ll make slightly over $35MM during the two seasons that follow this one.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division

The Kings would like to mend their relationship with Cousins, and some within the organization hope that it could be fixed with a coaching change in the offseason, Amick writes in the same piece.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was in attendance for Maccabi Tel Aviv’s practice in Israel today, presumably to watch Dragan Bender, Jake Fischer of SI Now reports (Twitter link).
The acquisition of Brandon Knight hasn’t worked out for the Suns, and the team would be foolish not to consider trading him, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post opines. Bontemps argues that Knight’s five-year, $70MM deal is movable, and that with the emergence of Devin Booker, the team can afford to make a move in the backcourt.

Knicks Sign Tony Wroten To Mulityear Deal

March 16th, 2016 at 5:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

MARCH 16TH, 5:40 pm: The signing is official, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

MARCH 7TH, 12:10pm: The deal isn’t yet done and the Knicks are still evaluating Wroten, according to Beck (Twitter link), while Berman indicates that the sides are continuing to negotiate

11:51am: The contract is expected to cover only this season and next without a full guarantee on next year’s salary, league sources tell Begley (Twitter link). Marc Berman of the New York Post also hears the deal is only a two-season arrangement (Twitter link). Berman’s source reiterates the notion that Wroten might not appear in a game this season because of his health.

11:19am: “Minimal” guarantees exist on the salary in year two and year three, Beck also reports (Twitter link). Still, the Knicks appear to be unable to sign any outside free agent to a three-year deal until July. It’s theoretically possible, given the doubts about his ability to play this season, that the sides are planning to wait until then, but Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears the signing is expected to take place sometime this week (Twitter link).

10:57am: It’s highly unlikely Wroten appears in a game for the Knicks this season in spite of their deal, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck hears. Beck cites concerns about Wroten’s health, though he’s 14 months removed from his torn right ACL (Twitter link).

10:26am: The Knicks and Tony Wroten are finalizing a multiyear contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania refers to it as a three-year deal in his tweet, but the Knicks don’t have the power to sign any outside free agent for more than this season and next, since they’re limited to the minimum salary exception, so it’s unclear where talk of the third year is coming from. In any case, the Knicks have an open roster spot, so they don’t have to let anyone go to bring in Wroten, the ex-Sixers combo guard whose 16.9 points per game in an injury-shortened 30-game stint last season were more than anyone else on his team.

It’s somewhat of a surprise to see New York go for Wroten, despite longstanding mutual interest, since Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported last week that Tim Frazier and Ray McCallum were considered more likely options for the Knicks roster vacancy. The team reportedly had concerns about Wroten’s defense and unfamiliarity with the triangle offense. Still, the Knicks visited recently with him, as Isola also reported, and the team put him through a “workout/physical/interview,” Isola tweets this morning.

The Heat did their due diligence with a check-in on Wroten earlier this season, but the 22-year-old has nonetheless remained unsigned since the Sixers waived him on Christmas Eve. His lingering free agency raised eyebrows, since he has the pedigree of having been the 25th overall pick in 2012. He made his case that he had recovered from a January 2015 torn right ACL when he returned to game action a few weeks before Philadelphia cut him, though he wasn’t quite the same, shooting just 33.8% from the field in eight games, well beneath his 41.3% career mark.

Southwest Notes: Lee, Pachulia, McDaniels, West

March 16th, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Lee was excited about pairing up with Dirk Nowitzki even before he formally joined the Mavericks, according to Adi Joseph of The Sporting News. Dallas was Lee’s first choice after he agreed to a buyout with the Celtics, and he signed almost immediately after clearing waivers. Lee has provided a potent scoring punch off the bench, as the Mavericks’ points per 100 possessions are 4.1 higher with him on the court during his time with Dallas. “I saw the possibilities on paper, thought it’d be a great fit on both sides,” Lee said about deciding to join the Mavericks. “But you know, you’ve just got to make it [happen]. It’s still, until you go out there and play, you never know how you’re going to feel with the guys and how things are going to work. But I think it’s been a tremendous fit here, and I’m just excited — excited to be here and excited to give it everything I have for them this year.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Center Zaza Pachulia, who has played well since being acquired in a summer trade with the Bucks, is trying to be a professional about his recent demotion from the Mavericks‘ starting lineup, writes Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Pachulia had started the season’s first 61 games before coach Rick Carlisle adjusted the lineup Monday to try to stop a losing streak. “As a soldier, as a player, of course I had no problem with it, because we were losing and nobody was happy with the losing streak, including me,” Pachulia said. “… It’s not like I haven’t been in this situation. Yes, I have in previous years, but this year was going so different. I just wasn’t expecting that, but you have to be respectful and represent the right way, and that’s what I’m doing. I care about this team more than my personal stuff.” Pachulia is making $5.2MM this season in the final year of his contract.
Rockets swingman K.J. McDaniels has new representation, tweets Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal. He signed with ASM Sports and his new agents will be Andy Miller and Christian Dawkins.
David West is happy to be with the Spurs, even though he gave up about $11MM from the Pacers to sign in San Antonio, writes Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. “Every moment, every play means something,” West said. “That’s what I wanted. Every game, every possession means the world to us.”

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