Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Sign, Waive Terran Petteway

October 26th, 2015 at 3:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers signed Terran Petteway on Sunday night and waived him after practice today, tweets Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com. The moves took place so that Indiana could grab his D-League rights, as Robin Washut of HuskersOnline.com reported that Petteway is joining the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the affiliate of the Pacers (Twitter link). Teams are allowed to claim the D-League rights of up to four players they waive, but usually those players have to spend the majority of the preseason on the NBA roster. That’s not the case for Petteway, whom the Hawks waived last week, through a quirk in the affiliate player rule, one that Adam Johnson of D-League Digest recently pointed out. The Hawks don’t have a D-League team, so any NBA team with an affiliate could have snagged him and quickly released him to gain his D-League rights as the Pacers did.

Petteway, 23, went undrafted out of Nebraska this year but joined the Hawks on a partially guaranteed deal for camp. Lamar Patterson won the open spot on Atlanta’s regular season roster as Petteway saw little time on the floor during preseason games, scoring five points in only about 21 minutes total.

Indiana was one of the NBA teams that worked out Petteway prior to the draft this year. The 6’6″ swingman was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection as a junior last season after earning First Team honors as a sophomore.

He’ll join Indiana’s D-League roster instead of being subject to the D-League draft, assuming he clears NBA waivers. The Pacers trimmed their roster to 15 players today when they released Toney Douglas and his partial guarantee.

Pacers Release Toney Douglas

October 26th, 2015 at 2:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:32pm: The move is official, the team announced.

1:22pm: The Pacers are waiving Toney Douglas, a league source tells Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania indicates the move has already taken place, though the team has yet to make an official announcement. Indiana had 15 other players with fully guaranteed salaries, but Douglas had a sizable partial guarantee of $600K. The move will leave the Pacers with 15 players, the regular season limit.

Douglas, 29, averaged 6.6 points in 11.6 minutes per game over five preseason appearances with Indiana. It appeared he had an uphill battle to stick for opening night despite his partial guarantee, which was the second largest in the NBA this preseason. The former 29th overall pick was briefly with the Pelicans last season after beginning 2014/15 with Jiangsu Nangang of China.

Today’s move is ostensibly a boon for Shayne Whittington, the Pacer with by far the least amount of guaranteed money on his contract aside from Douglas. He’s assured of only the one-year veteran’s minimum of $845,059, though the Pacers just re-signed him in late July, a couple of weeks before their deal with Douglas.

Did Douglas deserve to stick with the Pacers? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Hornets D-League, Final Cuts, Johnson

October 25th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Greensboro, North Carolina, will be the site of the Hornets‘ new D-League team, reports Jeff Mills of the Greensboro News & Record. The new franchise, which will expand the league to 20 teams, will begin play next fall. Charlotte currently has no D-League affiliate. Players on D-League assignment will go to the one-to-one affiliate of another NBA team. “Greensboro’s approach to the process was innovative,” said Fred Whitfield, the Hornets’ president and chief operating officer. “Taking the Pavilion and renovating it into a basketball-style fieldhouse for us was very attractive. Especially when you could have offices for us right across the street.” The move is expected to be officially announced Tuesday. Asheville and Fayetteville were the other finalists.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

After a flurry of moves Saturday, seven NBA teams still have final cuts to make before Monday’s roster deadline, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Mavericks, Pistons, Pacers, Lakers and Grizzlies each have to unload one player to reach the roster limit of 15. The Nets still have 17 players and the Sixers have 20, which is the training camp maximum (Twitter link). The five teams with roster openings are the Rockets, Pelicans, Knicks, Magic and Suns, who each have 14 spots filled. (Twitter link).
Several teams have expressed interest in Nick Johnson, who was waived Saturday by the Nuggets, according to Sam Amico of Amicohoops.net. Citing an unidentified source, Amico says there’s a chance someone could pick up Johnson by Monday. Johnson was one of four players sent from Houston to Denver in the Ty Lawson trade.
The league is looking into the reported confrontation between Knicks coach Derek Fisher and the Grizzlies‘ Matt Barnes, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the investigation, but did not offer specifics regarding possible punishment for either Fisher or Barnes. They were allegedly involved in a physical altercation at the house of Barnes’ estranged wife.

Central Notes: Granger, Noah, Thompson

October 24th, 2015 at 5:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s all but inevitable that the Pistons will waive Danny Granger, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy admits, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). They’re exploring trade options in the interim, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, who cautions that it doesn’t mean a deal will happen (Twitter links). Granger has a fully guaranteed salary of $2,170,465, one of 16 full guarantees on the Pistons.

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

The Pacers‘ new D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, officially hired Harrison Greenberg as Director of Basketball Operations, the team announced.
LeBron James is pleased that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is willing to venture deep into luxury tax territory in an effort to put together a contending team, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “It’s a sign that he’ll do anything to help us go out there and perform,” James said of Gilbert’s spending. “I’m not comparing us to the New York Yankees, because we’re not, we’re so nowhere near compared to the New York Yankees, but they have one of the highest payrolls every year,” James continued. “They don’t win it every year but that’s what they believe in. They believe in going out there and getting the best talent that can play. When you have an ownership group or a collection round that believes what it’s going to take, then money is not an object.“
While Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg has yet to make it official, center Joakim Noah is likely to begin the season coming off the bench, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. “We’ll start the same way,” Hoiberg said. “If it looks good, [that’s] a pretty good chance that’s the way we’ll go on opening night.” When asked about Noah’s response to the potential move, Hoiberg said, “We’ve talked. We talk about everything that he’s done. He was great, he was excited about playing with Taj Gibson last game. I think those two have a very good chemistry out there together. And [Noah] was the one that talked to me about that, about how well he feels he and Taj play together out there on the floor.”
Tristan Thompson is glad to be back with the Cavaliers, but does maintain that he was prepared to miss regular season time if a contract agreement had not been reached, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. “I love playing basketball,” Thompson said. “That’s my love, that’s my passion. But with this business it comes with a business side of it. For me, that’s how I approach it. Business is business and my approach is if a deal gets done before the season that’s great, but if not then so be it. I’m not a rookie no more. I’m a veteran. It’s not something to take lightly. It’s a serious matter.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacers Waive Kadeem Jack, C.J. Fair

October 24th, 2015 at 2:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have waived Kadeem Jack and C.J. Fair, the team announced. Jack was a late addition to the Pacers preseason roster, but his deal didn’t include any guaranteed money, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, and the same is true for Fair, who agreed to sign before camp. The moves leave the Pacers with 16 players, including 15 full guarantees and Toney Douglas, who’s assured of $600K in a partial guarantee.

Indiana signed Jack with an eye on funneling him to its new one-to-one D-League affiliate, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star reported, so his release comes as no surprise. NBA teams can claim the D-League rights to as many as four players they waive. The 22-year-old power forward who went undrafted out of Rutgers this year went scoreless in about four minutes during his lone preseason appearance.

Fair’s D-League rights already belonged to the Pacers before they signed him this summer, so the move wasn’t about securing those. This was the second straight year that the 24-year-old combo forward was with the Pacers for the preseason, though he’s failed to make the regular season roster either time. He averaged 1.6 points in 9.5 minutes per game during five preseason contests this fall, a performance that represented more playing time but decreased efficiency compared to his 2014 preseason.

Central Notes: Robinson, LeBron, Dudley, Noah

October 20th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Pacers coach Frank Vogel said at the start of training camp that Glenn Robinson III would probably spend time on assignment to the D-League this season, but his play in preseason has challenged that idea, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. It’s clear the team is high on him, having been impressed with his performance during informal scrimmages before camp.

“What he showed in September is that he’s real,” coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s not a couple-years-away guy. We have guys ahead of him probably, but there were days in September when he was the best player on the court. That was very, very impressive to me. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s got all the physical tools with the speed and athleticism. He has the tools to be a steal.”

Robinson signed with Indiana this summer on a three-year, $3.241MM deal that includes a fully guaranteed salary for this season. See more from the Central Division:

LeBron James turns 31 in December, but he’s still capable of bearing a heavy load for the Cavaliers, coach David Blatt contends, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “I would hesitate to put Bron in the category of an advanced-age player,” Blatt said. “He’s not. He is in terms of the number of games he’s played or given the fact that he’s constantly deep into the playoffs and his greatness helps his team achieve those levels.”
Jared Dudley complimented the Bucks owners and said that he was on board with the trade that sent him to the Wizards this summer, one that he said he and his agent had spoken about ahead of time, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details.
A decent chance exists that Joakim Noah will begin this season, the last one on his contract, coming off the bench, observes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Noah continues to display a team-first attitude for the Bulls, but removal from the starting lineup with free agency looming would challenge that demeanor, Johnson posits. “Coach is going to have a lot of decisions to make in terms of matchups and things like that,” Noah said recently. “Whatever Coach does, I’m cool with it.”

Central Notes: Jefferson, Vaughn, Pistons, Pacers

October 13th, 2015 at 12:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Richard Jefferson felt uncomfortable with the prospect of playing for the Mavericks once DeAndre Jordan turned his back on the team, and the veteran small forward took agent Jeff Schwartz’s advice to take a delicate approach to undoing his own verbal commitment to Dallas, as Jefferson details to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The 35-year-old signed a guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Cavs after asking Mark Cuban’s permission to break off their deal.

“And so, [Schwartz] was like: ‘Well, Rich, I can call, but we should probably tell the Mavs first. And let’s see. Because I don’t want to call the Cavs and all of the sudden the Cavs call the Mavs about what’s going on and it comes back on me and it looks like I’m trying to do stuff behind their back,'” Jefferson said. “And so, we talked to Mark first and I asked him for permission, and he said, ‘That’s fine.’ And then there was some interest here [in Cleveland] and it was pretty much a no brainer.”

See more from the Central Division:

Rashad Vaughn‘s mature demeanor impressed Bucks coach Jason Kidd before Milwaukee drafted him 17th overall this June, and the rookie is making waves on the court, too, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines. “The Vaughn kid put on a show in the fourth quarter, as he did in Chicago the other night,” Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said after his team’s game against the Bucks Saturday. “We’re going to be dealing with him for a long time in the league. He’s got a quick release and can really, really shoot the ball.”
Detroit has experienced a whirlwind of player movement under Van Gundy, so in spite of their apparent interest in Markieff Morris, the Pistons would be well-served to consider the benefits of roster stability over yet another change, opines Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
The commitment to a traditional lineup that the Pacers made in the past seemed aimed at beating the Heat, but now that president of basketball operations Larry Bird has shifted the team’s roster and on-court philosophy, Paul George isn’t the only one who must fit in, argues RealGM’s Andrew Perna. Coach Frank Vogel, who’s under contract through 2016/17, must also prove he can lead a more potent attack on offense.

And-Ones: Young, Afflalo, Pelicans

October 12th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rookie Joseph Young has earned the Pacers’ backup point guard job, according to Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star. Pacers coach Frank Vogel announced on Monday that the second-round pick had taken that spot after making a strong impression through the first three preseason games, Taylor continues. Young, who is averaging 11.3 points, has displayed the quickness needed to get to the rim and make shots over taller defenders, Taylor adds. “He’s going to struggle at times,” Vogel told Taylor. “We’re committed to getting [Young and first-round rookie Myles Turner] some minutes early on as long as they keep proving themselves and having the right approach. We want to see how they develop early on.”

In other news around the league:

The opportunity to play with Carmelo Anthony again was a major reason why Arron Afflalo signed with the Knicks, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports in his weekly column. Afflalo and Anthony were teammates on the Nuggets from 2009-11. “It was a mixture of individual opportunity, and maybe some unforeseen potential,” Afflalo told Aldridge. “I get to play with ‘Melo again, and I knew the coaching staff. I knew the management. I knew what they were trying to build.” Afflalo signed a two-year, $16MM contract with a player option in July.
The Pelicans could add another point guard to their training camp roster in the next few days, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Backup Norris Cole suffered a high ankle sprain in practice on Sunday which could jeopardize his status for opening night, according to the team’s website.
The NBA is exploring the possibility of having a D-League team in Omaha, Nebraska, Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com reports. Gary Green, who owns a minor league baseball team in Omaha, said in a recent interview with Omaha.com that he has talked to NBA and D-League representatives and a deal is in place, Reichert continues. However, Green is struggling to find an affiliation because NBA teams prefer to have their D-League team close to home, Reichert adds.

Cavs Lead With 16 Free Agent Signings

October 12th, 2015 at 5:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers have drawn plenty of attention the past few months for a free agent they haven’t signed, but even though Tristan Thompson lingers in free agency, Cleveland has taken care of more free agent business than any other team in the league during the 2015 offseason. They signed 16 free agents, three more than the Spurs, the team that recorded the next most free agent signings. The Cavs just made their latest signing this weekend, replacing Michael Dunigan with Dionte Christmas on the camp roster.

It might be easy to presume a direct correlation between free agent activity and success, given the teams at the very top and bottom of the list below. The Cavs and Spurs are strong bets to win their respective conferences this season, while the Jazz, Timberwolves and Sixers are nowhere near the title picture. The presence of the Warriors and Thunder on the bottom half of the list and the Kings and Nets close to the top debunk that theory, however. It has more to do with the fact that the Cavs had only four players signed for 2015/16 when they ended last season, while the Jazz had 13. Cleveland simply had more jobs to hand out.

Still, other factors are at play, since free agent signings don’t encompass draft picks, draft-and-stash signings, trades or waiver claims. The Trail Blazers made significant changes to their roster, but they did much of their work via trade instead of free agency. The Rockets had 10 players under contract on July 1st, but they still wound up making 11 free agent signings.

Here’s a look at the number of free agent signings for each team. Click the team’s name to see the names of each of their signees via our 2015 Free Agent Tracker.

And-Ones: Giannakis, Jennings, Nelson

October 10th, 2015 at 10:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Vaunted European coach Panagiotis Giannakis is looking for an NBA bench opportunity. He visited Bucks camp and has plans to visit the camps of the Pistons and Pacers, international journalist David Pick reports for Basketball Insiders. Giannakis coached the national team of Greece to a second place finish at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, which included a win over Team USA.

Here’s more from around the league:

Brandon Jennings will be a free agent at the end of the season, but Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders believes he could change teams before his current deal expires. The Pistons have talked up the Reggie Jackson and Jennings pairing, but Greene doubts the duo can coexist long-term. He argues that it comes down to the money. Detroit just invested $80MM in Jackson and it might not be feasible to retain Jennings at market value next offseason, which is why the team may opt to get something in return for the point guard rather than losing him for nothing.
Jameer Nelson‘s impact on the Nuggets goes beyond his play on the court, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Nelson has taken on the responsibility of leading the team and he is embracing his role. “To be a leader you have to be uncomfortable,” Nelson said. “You have to get extra shots up, you have to be early to be on time. You gotta hold yourself accountable, so then when you hold somebody else accountable they’re not looking at you with a side eye. [Instead] they’re like, ‘He’s doing it, he’s showing us.’ ” Nelson re-signed with the Nuggets for $13.5MM over three years this offseason.