2018 November | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Brown, Davis, Paul, Williamson

November 26th, 2018 at 8:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Longtime NBA coach Larry Brown is having a rough time coaching the Euroleague’s Fiat Torino in Italy. The team has lost 10 straight and Brown is on the hot seat, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Brown was hired over the summer, his first head coaching job since leaving his position at Southern Methodist two years ago.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA big man Glen Davis has drawn interest from multiple teams in Asia and Israel, according to a Sportando report. Davis briefly played for a Croatian team this season. His last taste of the NBA came in 2014/15, when he played 74 games with the Clippers.
Brandon Paul is in serious talks with Greece’s Olympiacos, according to another Sportando report. Paul was waived by the Spurs in late July and failed to hook on to another NBA club. The shooting guard made his league debut last season and appeared in 64 games, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.1 RPG in just 9.0 MPG.
Duke forward Zion Williamson has emerged as the favorite to be the top pick in next year’s draft, according to ESPN’s Mike Schmitz. He’s passed freshmen teammates RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish because of his unique skill set and it’s hard to imagine a rebuilding team choosing anyone else, Schmitz adds.
NBA prospect Akok Akok has withdrawn from Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut and will enroll in college in January, he told Adam Zagoria of 247Sports.com. Akok, a 6’10” power forward, has graduated high school and is eligible for the draft. He is considering Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

Central Rumors: Griffin, McDermott, Markkanen, Oladipo

November 26th, 2018 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

When Blake Griffin was traded by the Clippers to the Pistons in late January, many people wondered how motivated and happy he would be leaving sunny L.A. for chilly Detroit. In fact, Griffin is glad he was dealt just months after signing a long-term max contract, as Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times details. Griffin is averaging 24.8 PPG, 9.9 RPG and 5.1 APG for the Pistons this season and has endeared himself to his teammates and people around the organization, Woike adds. “Yeah, I’m glad it happened,” Griffin told Woike. “I’m not saying I don’t miss certain people. There were some awesome fans that I got to know and I felt like I was very close with them. And there are some people you miss over there, but it was just time for a fresh start.”

We have more from around the Central Division:

Pacers coach Nate McMillan vows to make better use of sharpshooter Doug McDermott, Mark Monteith of the team’s website reports. McDermott was signed to a three-year, $22MM contract as a stretch four over the summer. He is in the rotation but has averaged just 4.6 PPG this month while making 32.1% of his long-range attempts. He’s scored six points or less 13 times this season. “In the flow of the game you have to know who (the shooters) are,” McMillan said. “It’s like playing with a Reggie Miller. The bigs should look to get him open, it doesn’t have to be a set play. … Doug’s going to be OK. We’re going to get him better opportunities.”
Lauri Markkanen is close to returning from the right elbow injury that has sidelined him all season, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune and other media members. Markkanen has been medically cleared and will go through a full practice on Tuesday after participating in Monday’s non-contact morning shootaround. If he doesn’t have any setbacks, the second-year power forward will most likely return on December 4th.
The Pacers feel they are better equipped to handle situations when star Victor Oladipo can’t play, according to J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star. The team went winless in seven games without him last season. Oladipo missed his fourth consecutive game on Monday due to a right knee injury. He suffered the injury in the opening minutes against Atlanta on November 17th and the Pacers managed to win that game. They were 1-2 without him last week. “For us, it really doesn’t make a difference who’s out on the floor. We want to play the game the same way,” McMillan said. “Play the game with a lot of energy. Play the game together. We want that ball movement regardless of who is in the lineup.”

Sixers Aren’t Looking To Deal McConnell

November 26th, 2018 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have stopped listening to trade inquiries on backup point guard T.J. McConnell, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

McConnell has become the primary backup to Ben Simmons in the absence of Markelle Fultz, who hasn’t played the last three games. Fultz will see two specialists in New York this week to examine his ailing right shoulder.

With all the uncertainty surrounding Fultz, the organization knows they’ll need to rely more heavily on McConnell, Wojnarowski continues. A report earlier this month suggested that McConnell was one of the Sixers most likely to be traded but that was before McConnell rejoined the rotation.

McConnell’s $1.6MM contract for this season doesn’t become fully guaranteed until January 10th but that looks like a formality now. His stats have been modest over the last three games — 3.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 15.7 MPG. He had a 16-point, 7-assist game off the bench against Memphis earlier this month when the Jimmy Butler deal was being finalized.

Despite turning away overtures for McConnell, the Sixers still expect Fultz to return and reclaim a backup role, Wojnarowski adds.

Atlantic Notes: Kawhi, Fultz, Celtics, Nets

November 26th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich raised some eyebrows on Saturday when he said that Kawhi Leonard wasn’t a “leader” in San Antonio, with veterans like Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills assuming that role instead. While Popovich acknowledged that Leonard was a great player, he suggested that “leadership wasn’t his deal at the time.”

Responding to those comments on Sunday night, Leonard pushed back, telling reporters – including Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter links) – that he leads by example with the Raptors, as he did for the Spurs.

“It’s just funny to me,” Leonard said of Popovich’s comments. “I don’t know if he’s talking about last year or not. I guess when you stop playing they forget how you lead… It doesn’t matter. I’m here with the Raptors and I’m focused on the season and not what’s going on on the other side.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Sixers won’t be providing an update on Markelle Fultz today, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Keith Pompey of Philly.com (Twitter links). As Woj and Pompey explain, Fultz is now scheduled to see multiple specialists this week in New York, so there likely won’t be any decisions made on his next steps until the latter part of the week.
Within an in-depth piece on the Celtics‘ struggles, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes, “Most executives expect the trade winds to stay quiet, and there are few players who would realistically be available who would be upgrades for Boston.” President of basketball operations Danny Ainge has essentially said as much publicly, as we detailed earlier today.
With Caris LeVert sidelined indefinitely, Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell have been developing chemistry together as the Nets‘ lead guards, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. LeVert remains perhaps the most important long-term piece in Brooklyn’s backcourt, but the knowledge that Dinwiddie and Russell can succeed together would give the team more options next summer, when both players will become free agents.

Rockets Sign Danuel House

November 26th, 2018 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: The Rockets have officially signed House, the team announced today in a press release. Houston now has a full 15-man roster, with Anthony still technically under contract.

12:02pm: The Rockets plan to sign Danuel House to a contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran swingman traveled to meet the team in Washington, where the Rockets are set to play the Wizards on Monday night.

House, 25, has appeared in a total of 24 regular season games for the Suns and Wizards since going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016. He has spent most of his professional career in the G League, playing for Delaware, Northern Arizona, and Rio Grande Valley.

This fall, House spent time in training camp with the Warriors, but was cut by Golden State before the regular season began and returned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate. He has averaged a team-high 20.4 PPG in seven games for the Vipers.

It’s not clear if the Rockets intend to officially make a move with Carmelo Anthony at the same time they formalize their deal with House. Even with Anthony still under contract, Houston has room on its roster for House, so Carmelo may remain in limbo even after the club fills its 15th and final roster slot.

If he were to sign a minimum salary contract today, House would have a cap hit of approximately $1.2MM, increasing Houston’s projected tax bill by another $2MM+. However, he’ll likely get a non-guaranteed contract, which would give the Rockets the flexibility to avoid his full cap charge if they cut him by January 7.

DeMarcus Cousins Targeting Post-Christmas Return

November 26th, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are aiming to get DeMarcus Cousins into their lineup at some point after Christmas, reports Logan Murdock of The Bay Area News Group.

According to Murdock, Cousins had been hoping to make his Warriors debut much earlier, perhaps even during the team’s upcoming five-game road trip. However, the determination to continue taking things slow was made during a meeting last Friday between the veteran center and Golden State’s training staff.

Cousins, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, hasn’t experienced any setbacks, but the Warriors want to ensure that he regains his conditioning and is close to “peak form” by the time he starts playing, says Murdock. The team figures to set a more definitive timeline for Cousins’ debut after seeing how he responds to contact scrimmages. The 28-year-old has been scrimmaging with the team lately, Murdock notes.

The Warriors have had some uncharacteristic struggles over the last week or two, but they’re still 14-7, which puts them percentage points behind the 13-6 Clippers for the No. 1 seed in the West. Once the Dubs get Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Cousins healthy, they’ll be able to run out a starting lineup that features five All-NBA players.

Ainge Preaches Patience For Struggling Celtics

November 26th, 2018 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are still struggling to find their rhythm this season, having now lost eight of their last 12 games to slip back to .500 (10-10). However, with the regular season at its one-quarter mark, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge isn’t worried, telling Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that he’s in no rush to make any trades to try to upgrade his roster.

“You know me. I’m always open to doing something,” Ainge said. “But that doesn’t mean I think we have to go and get something done right now. And it’s not that simple anyway. … Patience wins out more often than not — more than panic. It has to. I know panic is a bad way to react, so I will remain patient and allow our players to find their form. With some teams, it takes time, and some teams get it quicker. But I like a lot of things I see in our team this season, and I’m not going to be impatient.”

The Celtics entered the season with lofty expectations. After coming within one game of the NBA Finals in the spring, the team was getting injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back, and no longer had to deal with LeBron James in the Eastern Conference. The C’s were the preseason frontrunners to come out of the East, and despite their early struggles, they remain a serious threat. After all, as Ainge suggests, there should be plenty of room for internal improvement in Boston.

“Look, I’m always looking to improve our team,” Ainge said. “But every one of our players is capable of playing better than they’ve played.”

Hayward, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart are among the Celtics who are underachieving so far. Hayward, coming off a major ankle injury, has career lows in FG% (.400) and 3PT% (.286), and Brown’s shooting numbers are way down too (..398 FG%, .253 3PT%). Smart, meanwhile, is averaging a career-worst 6.4 PPG after signing a new four-year contract in the summer. All told, Boston currently ranks 27th in offensive rating.

Although we shouldn’t expect any moves from the Celtics anytime soon, Ainge will have no shortage of assets to dangle if and when he eventually explores the trade market. The club projects to have up to four first-round picks in the 2019 draft.

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Boston Celtics

Wizards Notes: Porter, Wall, Morris, Rivers

November 26th, 2018 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

As the underachieving Wizards mull the possibility of making a trade or two to try to turn their season around, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News argues that the man entrusted with making those deals has worn out his welcome in D.C. The firing of GM Ernie Grunfeld is “past due” for the Wizards, according to Deveney, who suggests that the franchise has already kept Grunfeld for about a half-decade too long.

In addition to some questionable roster moves and contract decisions from Grunfeld, player development has also been an issue in Washington, Deveney opines. One rival front office executive suggested to Deveney that Bradley Beal has improved more because of the work he does on his own than his work with the team.

“Otto Porter does some nice things, good role player, but he has been the same player for the last three years, really. He could be better if he were somewhere else,” the executive said. “And [John] Wall, the game passed him by. He has had nine years to learn to shoot, and he still can’t shoot. I can’t go to my coach and tell him we are getting a starting point guard who can’t shoot. Not for $40MM a year.”

Here’s more on the Wizards from Deveney and others:

The Wizards have had a tough time finding value for their players on the trade market, according to Deveney. One executive told Deveney that – outside of Beal – Markieff Morris might be the club’s most interesting trade chip, since many contenders could use a tough, versatile big man. However, that exec was skeptical that any team would be willing to part with a first-round pick for Morris, who is on an expiring deal.
Speaking of Morris, his move to the bench has helped diversify the scoring ability of the Wizards’ second unit, says Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. It’s also an opportunity to get Morris a few more shot attempts, since he’s more of a focal point on offense for the second team than he would be when Wall and Beal are on the court.
Offseason acquisition Austin Rivers believes he’s getting the hang of playing alongside Wall and Beal, as Hughes details in a separate story for NBC Sports Washington. “I have to be more aggressive,” Rivers said. “They actually like that, too, because it makes it easier for them because I will attack and then they get easy shots instead of having to work for every shot.”

Xavier Munford, Bobby Brown Expected To Play In China

November 26th, 2018 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of players who logged NBA minutes last season are expected to sign with teams in China, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. According to Carchia, former Bucks guard Xavier Munford is set to sign with Fujian to replace Eugene “Pooh” Jeter, while Bobby Brown will likely sign with Shanxi to replace Josh Adams.

Munford, 26, was a two-way player for Milwaukee last season, but only appeared in six games for the Bucks. He was impressive in the G League, averaging 24.4 PPG and 5.2 APG on .509/.444/.747 shooting in 34 games for the Wisconsin Herd. That performance earned him a two-way qualifying offer in June, but the Bucks withdrew that QO in September, making him an unrestricted free agent.

As for Brown, he signed a deal earlier this month with KK Mornar Bar to play in Montenegro. However, as Carchia notes, that agreement included an exit clause, which Brown is expected to take advantage of to make the move to China.

Brown, a former Cal State Fullerton standout, appeared in 25 games for the Rockets in 2016/17 and 20 more in 2017/18. The 34-year-old played a limited role for the club, averaging 2.5 PPG and 0.6 APG in just 5.3 minutes per contest. He finished last season playing for Olympiacos in Greece after being cut by Houston in February.

Two-Way Players Making Bids For Promotions

November 26th, 2018 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

Players on two-way contracts are free to appear in NBA games, but there are limitations on the amount of time they can spend with their respective NBA teams. Each two-way player can spend up to 45 days with his NBA club, assuming he signed his two-way deal before the season began.

With some creative transferring back and forth between an NBA team and its G League affiliate, a franchise can make the most of those 45 days. Still, with the clock having started on October 22, the first day of G League training camp, we could see some two-way players reach that 45-day mark as early as December.

Teams can sign players to two-way contracts through mid-January, so during the 2017/18 season, some clubs simply moved onto a new player once their original two-way players neared that 45-day limit. However, many players who used up their 45 days subsequently received a promotion – signing a standard NBA contract and taking a spot on the 15-man roster – to ensure that their NBA teams didn’t lose them.

It’s a little early in the 2018/19 season to determine which two-way players will ultimately end up being promoted to 15-man rosters, but a handful of players on two-way deals have made strong cases for standard contracts in the early going.

Here are the top candidates to receive promotions among this year’s two-way players:

Gary Clark (Rockets): Clark went undrafted in June, but has shown so far this season why he was one of the first rookie free agents to reach a deal with an NBA team once the draft ended. While his offensive numbers (3.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, .333/.293/1.000 shooting) aren’t great, Clark has been very good defensively, and the Rockets have been a better team when he plays — their net rating is +2.9 when he’s on the court and -2.2 when he isn’t. Clark’s early-season play has helped make Carmelo Anthony expendable, and once Houston officially parts ways with Anthony, the rookie forward looks like the odds-on favorite to take his roster spot.
Allonzo Trier (Knicks): Another undrafted free agent, Trier has been one of the early brights spots for the lottery-bound Knicks. Appearing in all 21 of the team’s games, the former Arizona shooting guard has scored 11.4 PPG in just 23.7 minutes per contest, posting an ultra-efficient shooting line of .491/.459/.826. It seems like a given that he’ll sign a standard contract with New York at some point — it’s just a matter of how the club will create room for him. If they haven’t been able to trade veterans like Enes Kanter or Courtney Lee to open up a roster spot, the Knicks could consider cutting Ron Baker or Luke Kornet, neither of whom has any guaranteed money due beyond this season.
Troy Williams (Kings): Williams’ playing time in 10 games for the Kings has been somewhat sporadic, but he’s made the most of his limited minutes, shooting 50.0% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc while using his athleticism to make a handful of highlight-reel plays. Williams may not be as strong a bet for a 15-man roster spot as Clark or Trier, but Sacramento has a number of veterans – Zach Randolph, Kosta Koufos, and Ben McLemore – who seem likely to be traded or bought out by the end of the season. Williams would be one of the candidates to replace them on the roster.

Here are a few more two-way players to keep an eye on:

Alex Poythress (Hawks): Poythress gave the Hawks some solid minutes earlier in the season. With John Collins healthy again, Poythress’ minutes figure to be limited going forward.
Andrew Harrison (Cavaliers): Harrison is getting regular minutes for the rebuilding Cavaliers, but hasn’t made the most of them so far, shooting 33.3% from the floor and 25.0% on threes.
Damion Lee (Warriors): Lee has played at least 16 minutes in each of the Warriors‘ last five games. That streak figures to come to an abrupt end when the team gets healthier and Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Alfonzo McKinnie are back. Lee’s making a case for a longer look though, knocking down 47.6% of his three-pointers.
Johnathan Williams (Lakers): Williams briefly looked like a revelation for the Lakers earlier in the season, but hasn’t played since the team signed Tyson Chandler.

The full list of players on two-way contracts can be found right here.

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