2016 November | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Grizzlies’ Point Guard Situation

November 29th, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Mike Conley expected to miss at least six weeks of action due to fractures in his lower back , the Grizzlies have a major hole to fill at point guard. It was relayed earlier that Memphis could look to sign Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole or Xavier Munford to boost its depth at the one spot, and now Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical has added a few potential targets to that list — Kendall Marshall, Toney Douglas and Will Bynum. Also, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com has thrown some cold water on the possibility of the Grizzlies signing Chalmers, since the guard is not physically ready to play at this time.

Marshall, who turned 25 this past summer, has played for the Suns, Lakers, Bucks, and Sixers since entering the NBA as a lottery pick in 2012. He was sent from Philadelphia to Utah in an offseason trade, and was promptly cut by the Jazz in August before his salary for 2016/17 became guaranteed. Marshall, who has averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.9 APG in 160 career NBA contests, has been a free agent since then, and is currently playing in the D-League after being claimed by the Reno Bighorns.

Douglas began his NBA career in 2009 with the Knicks. After spending three seasons in New York, the point guard has bounced around, playing for the Rockets, Kings, Warriors, Heat, and Pelicans. The 30-year-old averaged 8.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 SPG, to go along with a shooting line of .411/.399/.848. He was waived by the Cavs during the preseason to clear a roster spot for the re-signing of J.R. Smith.

Bynum, 33, has appeared in 360 total regular season NBA games for three different teams since 2005, though, he hasn’t played in a regular season contest since the 2014/15 season. For most of the last two seasons, Bynum has played for the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China. He averaged 17.8 PPG and 6.5 APG for the CBA club in 2015/16. The guard was among the Hawks’ final preseason cuts this year.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Jazz, Wolves, Thunder

November 29th, 2016 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

After committing about $340MM to new contracts this offseason, the Trail Blazers are off to a slow start so far, and while that’s no reason to panic, it’s cause for some concern, says Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. As Deveney notes, Portland general manager Neil Olshey has a reputation for being fairly cautious with his personnel, so the team is unlikely to shake things up too significantly anytime soon. Still, the Blazers will definitely be a club to watch prior to this year’s trade deadline, particularly if their middling performance continues.

Here are a few more items from around the Northwest division:

As Jody Genessy of The Deseret News details, the Jazz have been a much better team this season when George Hill and Gordon Hayward are playing together than when at least one of the two players are out of action. Utah will have to try to figure out a way to keep the duo together long-term, since both players are eligible to reach free agency in 2017.
With rookie point guard Kris Dunn joining the mix, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine all a year older, the Timberwolves were expected to take a big step forward this season. So far, that hasn’t happened, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.
As the clear leader of the Thunder this season, Russell Westbrook is providing a singular voice for the team, according to Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Meanwhile, Enes Kanter – occasionally mentioned as a possible trade candidate – says he expects head coach Billy Donovan to trust him “more and more” down the road, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

Grizzlies Express Interest In Norris Cole

November 29th, 2016 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

3:17pm: In his full report on the Grizzlies’ point guard options, Scotto confirms Cole has an NBA out in his contract with the Golden Stars, and identifies Chalmers and Xavier Munford as other potential options for Memphis.

2:50pm: With Mike Conley expected to be sidelined until sometime in January, the Grizzlies appear to be exploring ways to fortify their point guard spot. According to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter), Memphis has expressed interest in veteran point guard Norris Cole.

Cole, 28, averaged a career-high 10.6 PPG and 3.7 APG last season in 45 games for the Pelicans, but was unable to land a deal with an NBA team as a free agent this offseason. The point guard, who started his career with the Heat when Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale was an assistant in Miami, ultimately signed with China’s Shandong Golden Stars.

There have been conflicting reports about whether or not Cole’s contract in China includes an NBA out. The fact that the Grizzlies have expressed interest in him suggests the deal may feature an out after all, since Memphis is looking for immediate help. The Chinese Basketball Association season runs through February, so Cole won’t be available until late in the NBA season if there’s no opt-out available in his deal.

With Conley sidelined, Andrew Harrison and Wade Baldwin are the Grizzlies’ go-to options at the point, and neither player has a whole lot of NBA experience. If Memphis is eyeing veteran point guards with connections to Fizdale, Mario Chalmers could also be an option, but he’s still recovering from an Achilles injury and may not be ready to play quite yet.

The Grizzlies currently have a full 15-man roster, but may not need to waive anyone to add a new player — with Chandler Parsons, Brandan Wright, and James Ennis also on the shelf, the team will soon be eligible to apply for a hardship exception to add a 16th man.

Jimmy Butler, Rudy Gay Changing Agencies?

November 29th, 2016 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

2:47pm: Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders clarifies (via Twitter) that Butler has not changed his representation, though his agent has moved to a different agency. The Bulls forward will continue to be represented by Steve McCaskill, who now works for Catalyst Sports with Happy Walters.

11:50am: A pair of high-scoring forwards are making changes to their representation, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Sportando reports that Jimmy Butler has decided to leave Independent Sports & Entertainment, and that Rudy Gay has opted to leave Octagon Basketball.

Butler, a two-time All-Star for the Bulls remains under team control through the 2018/19 season, with a player option for 2019/20, so he won’t require an agent to negotiate a new contract for him anytime soon. As Cauchi observes, Butler’s agency change may be related to Happy Walters’ latest career move. Walters, who previously represented Butler at Relativity Sports, has launched a new agency called Catalyst Sports & Media, so the Bulls forward could end up with Catalyst.

As for Gay, his contract situation is a little more active than Butler’s at the moment — the Kings forward has already informed the team that he intends to opt out of his contract next summer after playing out the 2016/17 season. Gay has also frequently been cited as a trade candidate, so a new agent could attempt to help accommodate a trade out of Sacramento before negotiating a new contract for Gay in July.

Mike Conley Expected To Miss At Least Six Weeks

November 29th, 2016 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

1:15pm: Conley could “minimally miss approximately six weeks,” but the timeline for his recovery isn’t entirely clear, per Wojnarowski. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that the point guard will likely miss six to eight weeks, which is similar to the timetable reported by Wallace (noted below).

12:52pm: The NBA’s highest-paid player has played his last game of 2016, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com, who tweets that Mike Conley is expected to be sidelined for six weeks with fractures in his lower back. Wallace adds that Conley, who suffered the injury on Monday, will be re-evaluated a month from now.

Conley left Monday night’s game against the Hornets with what the team called a lower back injury. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter), the specific ailment is a transverse process fracture in the vertebrae. Wallace compared the injury to one suffered by Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, tweeting that Conley likely won’t require surgery, but will need rest and recovery to heal the fractures.

Conley, 29, signed a five-year deal worth in excess of $150MM this summer, the largest contract in NBA history. He has responded by producing a career-high 19.2 PPG to go along with 5.7 APG in the early going this season. That scoring average is buoyed by outstanding three-point shooting — he has made 2.5 threes per game so far, at a 46.7% clip.

With Conley sidelined, backup point guard Andrew Harrison appears poised to assume a larger role in the Grizzlies’ rotation for the next several weeks. First-round rookie Wade Baldwin, who has averaged 15.6 MPG in 11 contests so far, may also be relied on for more minutes. The team could make a roster move to add more depth at the position, but currently its 15-man roster is full.

While the Grizzlies expect Conley to make a full recovery, the injury is the latest setback for the 2016 Grizzlies, who have been plagued by health problems during the last calendar year — the team finished the 2015/16 season extremely shorthanded, and has seen Chandler Parsons, James Ennis, and a handful of other players battle injuries already this season.

Poll: Will Westbrook Average Triple-Double For Season?

November 29th, 2016 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

After averaging 9.5 RPG in his first 15 games of the season, Russell Westbrook has dominated the glass over his last four contests, piling up 54 boards in those games, including 18 on Monday night. The hot streak has increased his rebounds per game average to 10.3, to go along with an incredible 30.9 PPG and 11.3 APG. Yes, Westbrook is averaging a triple-double and 30+ PPG through nearly a quarter of the NBA season.

The fact that Westbrook is posting eye-popping numbers so far this season is hardly a surprise. As soon as Kevin Durant departed Oklahoma City and it became clear that Westbrook wasn’t going anywhere, NBA observers – and fantasy basketball players – began speculating about what kind of monster stats the star point guard could rack up as the star of the show for the Thunder.

Still, no player in NBA history has averaged a triple-double since Oscar Robertson did it over 50 years ago, so Westbrook’s current numbers place him in rarefied air. While head coach Billy Donovan says the idea of Westbrook averaging a triple-double for the entire season isn’t a topic of conversation that comes up often within the Thunder locker room, Donovan was willing to entertain the idea, as Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript writes.

“Yeah, he could do it. He could do it,” Donovan said. “I’m not gonna say he is or isn’t because I think the more important thing is Russell is winning, but he’s a guy that has great impact on generating assists. He has a great impact on rebounding the basketball, and he can score. So, there’s certainly a possibility that can happen. Obviously what he’s done this point in time has been pretty remarkable.”

Westbrook set career highs last season with 10.4 APG and 7.8 RPG, so averaging double-digits in assists isn’t out of the realm of possibility for him, but averaging double-digits in rebounds would require a substantial leap from his career rate of 5.7 RPG. It’s also worth noting that the 28-year-old has never averaged more than 28.1 PPG in a season, and his current scoring rate easily eclipses that mark as well.

For Westbrook, his final numbers may ultimately depend on his ability to avoid wearing down over the course of the year. Currently, his usage rate (40.7) easily ranks first among NBA players, and it remains to be seen if he can keep up that pace for 82 games.

What do you think? Will Westbrook make history and average a triple-double this season, or is too unrealistic to expect him to keep up this pace for the entire year?

App users, click here to vote in the poll.

Knicks Not Ruling Out Derrick Rose Extension

November 29th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have not yet approached Derrick Rose about a contract extension, but haven’t ruled out the possibility of discussing a deal later in the season, an NBA source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to Berman, the team wants to make sure Rose can stay healthy for a full season before committing to him for multiple years. As for the veteran point guard, it’s not clear if he’d accept an extension offer, but he sounds open to the idea.

“I haven’t talked to them about it,” Rose told Berman. “It’s been more about winning games. We’ll see. I’m more concerned with trying to win games, but it’s something I’d have to talk about with my family and team.”

Rose is one of about two dozen NBA veterans who is eligible to sign a contract extension during the 2016/17 season. For players who are no longer on their rookie contracts, extensions are rare, but if three years have passed since a player signed his current contract, he’s eligible for a new one. Rose, who is in the final year of his deal, signed it way back in December of 2011.

When I identified five veteran extension candidates to watch earlier this month, I made Rose one of my five picks, despite the fact that the Knicks are currently over the cap. The other four candidates I named are on clubs with cap space, which allows them to renegotiate a contract in addition to extending it, accommodating an immediate salary bump for the 2016/17 season. As a member of an over-the-cap team, Rose wouldn’t be eligible for such a pay bump, but because he’s already making over $21MM+ this year, the 28-year-old could get an extension starting at around $23MM, and worth up to about $75MM over three years.

As Berman observes, Rose would be eligible for a much larger deal if he waits until the summer of 2017 to sign, since his starting salary would be higher and he could sign for four or five years instead of just three. Still, the former MVP recently admitted that the days of “vintage” Rose are behind him, and it seems unlikely that any teams would be willing to make a long-term, maximum-salary investment in the current model. For his part, Rose says he wants to learn more about the specifics of an in-season extension vs. a free agent deal before he makes any decisions, according to Berman.

Having arrived in New York via an offseason trade with the Bulls, Rose has looked solid during his first 17 games with the Knicks, averaging 16.8 PPG and 4.9 APG, while shooting 43.8% from the floor.

Atlantic Notes: Afflalo, Noah, Stauskas, Whitehead

November 28th, 2016 at 11:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Arron Afflalo knew it was time to leave New York after being benched by interim coach Kurt Rambis and learning that the team was pursuing Courtney Lee, relays Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Afflalo spent just one year with the Knicks, opting out of an $8MM deal for this season and reaching a two-year, $25MM agreement with the Kings. His season in New York was marked by a coaching change, the demotion and other turmoil. “It’s hard to get a genuine experience with anything when you haven’t had longevity or there are a lot of changes taking place, whether it’s changes with my individual role or with the coaching staff or the environment as a whole,” Afflalo said. “Six months is a short season when you’re not a playoff team and you’re going through a lot of changes, but they seem to be doing better now. I think as the core group, with Melo [Carmelo Anthony] and KP [Kristaps Porzingis], and the guys that they bring in continuing to get better, New York will be okay.”

There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:

Thunder coach Billy Donovan is still a believer in Joakim Noah despite a difficult first month with the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Donovan, who coached Noah on two national championship teams at the University of Florida, says the center’s competitive spirit will help him overcome a slow start. Noah is averaging 4.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game after signing a four-year, $72MM contract this summer. “He’s going to continue to improve and get better as a player, he’s going to put his work in,” Donovan said. “But he’s one of the guys in my opinion that’s truly all about sacrifice, team and winning. I think he’ll bring that to the Knicks throughout the entire season.”
Nik Stauskas looks like a long-term fit with the Sixers after a rocky start to his NBA career, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. After being picked eighth in the 2014 NBA draft, Stauskas had an unproductive rookie season in Sacramento before being traded to Philadelphia. It took Stauskas time to find his way with the Sixers, but he has developed into a valuable bench player, averaging 10.2 points per game and shooting 44.6% from 3-point range. “I’m just having fun out there again, enjoying myself and kind of figured that when I’m having fun, that’s when I’m playing my best basketball and just been trying to tune out any negativity or any self doubt or anything like that,” Stauskas said.
Rookie point guard Isaiah Whitehead is becoming more of a vocal leader for the Nets, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Brooklyn has needed Whitehead to develop quickly after an injury to Jeremy Lin, and coach Kenny Atkinson is encouraged by how he has responded. “There’s on-court technical development and physical development,” Atkinson said. “But leadership development, all the players are commenting, he’s changing, he’s talking to us, he’s opening up, he’s asking us questions. It’s big.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/28/16

November 28th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

11:00pm:

The Nets have assigned forward Anthony Bennett to their Long Island affiliate, the team announced in a press release. He has played 10 games for Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per night.

2:32pm:

The Warriors have recalled rookie center Damian Jones from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. It’s not clear if Jones is ready to make his NBA debut quite yet, or if he’s just being called up to practice with Golden State for now.
A day after he was on the receiving end of an emphatic dunk by Wayne Selden, forward Rakeem Christmas has been recalled by the Pacers, according to a team release. Christmas contributed 18 points and seven boards to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants’ win on Sunday.
The Magic have assigned rookie center Stephen Zimmerman to the Erie BayHawks, the team announced today (via Twitter). A second-round pick in June, Zimmerman has only appeared in two regular season games so far for Orlando.
Chris McCullough continues to be shuttled back and forth between the Brooklyn Nets and the Long Island Nets. The team announced today in a press release that he has been sent back to the D-League, where he has appeared in four games so far for Long Island, averaging 17.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG.

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Bogut, Curry, Gibson

November 28th, 2016 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks veteran Dirk Nowitzki should be back for another season no matter how this one turns out, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. A strained Achilles has limited Nowitzki to just five games as the Mavs have stumbled to a 3-13 start. In a question-and-answer column, Sefko says the 38-year-old still has a strong desire to play and won’t want to walk away from the $25MM he is owed next season.

There’s more tonight out of Dallas:

Center Andrew Bogut understands that he will only be in Dallas for one season, and maybe less, Sefko adds in the same piece. The veteran center was acquired in an offseason deal with the Warriors when Golden State was shedding salary to sign Kevin Durant. Bogut has started all 13 games that he has played and is grabbing 10.5 rebounds per night, but his expiring contract may make him attractive to a contender before the February deadline.
Seth Curry will take time to develop as a point guard, Sefko cautions in a separate story. After signing a two-year, $6MM deal in July, Curry has been pressed into service because of injuries to Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. Sefko says Curry works on ballhandling as much as his brother Stephen does, and just needs repetition and confidence to improve as a point guard.
Guard Jonathan Gibson and center A.J. Hammons are the players most likely to be let go if Dallas needs to open a roster spot, Sefko says later in the same story. Gibson re-signed with the Mavericks earlier this month after being waived during the preseason, and Hammons is a rookie second-round pick out of Purdue. Sefko adds that everyone except Nowitzki should be considered as trade candidates between now and the deadline.
We rounded up a few more Mavs notes earlier in the day.

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