Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Stoudemire, Powell, Green

March 11th, 2015 at 8:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tyson Chandler believes that Amar’e Stoudemire, who has been with the Mavs for less than a month, has earned the right to publicly criticize his new teammates, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com relays. “I think he’s earned it throughout his career, and he came here because he wanted to win a championship,” said Chandler. “And I encourage more guys to be vocal. I think he’s only been honest to his teammates. He didn’t say anything to you guys that he didn’t say to us personally, so I respect that. I feel like guys will respect that and get things in order.” Stoudemire had chastised his teammates for a lack of professionalism and competitiveness after Dallas was abused by the Cavs on Tuesday night.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks have re-assigned center Dwight Powell to the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). This is Powell’s third D-League assignment by the Mavs, and his eighth trek overall of the season.
Though Jeff Green‘s overall numbers are down since arriving in Memphis, the forward is thriving in the utility role that Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger has carved out for him, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes (subscription required). Green may not have accepted this sort of role with the Celtics, but being on a contending team has reinvigorated the veteran, Tillery adds. “It’s definitely a blessing to be in this position,” Green said. “Not everyone has the chance to say they can play for a championship, especially in the Western Conference. So I’m blessed to be in this position to do whatever it takes to get to that point.”
Green is also aware that Memphis didn’t acquire him to be a star, but rather to augment the Grizzlies‘ chances of advancing in the playoffs, Tillery relays. “I just try to make plays and try to be the player I’ve always been,” Green said. “Just be aggressive. When I first got here, they told me to just be you. I think when they told me that it instilled that confidence that I needed coming into the situation that I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. When they told me that, it just let me play basketball.”

Southwest Notes: Rondo, Pelicans, Howard

March 8th, 2015 at 10:28am CST by ChrisCrouse

Rajon Rondo is still open to re-signing with the Mavs, writes Marc J, Spears of Yahoo! Sports. “It’s a player’s organization. Players first, from our plane, the way we travel. I don’t take that for granted. We eat good. We stay at the best hotels. Of course, it’s the NBA. But this organization has the best. They have PlayStation in the lockers. I don’t play games, but it’s nice to know I got a PlayStation. TVs in your own locker. I heard about it – [Brandon Bass] and J-Terry [Jason Terry] told me – but seeing it and experiencing it,” Rondo said. “I love it here. I don’t dislike anything. I’m not uncomfortable. Of course, the system is different, but I’ve been here for two months. It’s going to take time. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies are leading the division with a record of 44-18 and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times believes that Memphis’ style of play is key to the team’s success. Playing defense has been the Grizzlies’ calling card for the past few seasons. This year, Memphis has the best defense in the league, allowing only 95.6 points per game.
The Pelicans are a half game behind the Thunder for the eighth seed in the Western Conference and Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune wonders whether the team has the right mentality to make the playoffs. Coach Monty Williams is a proponent of a relaxed, one game at a time approach, but Smith believes the team needs to look at the big picture and take every game with a little more urgency.
Dwight Howard has begun his on-court rehabilitation, which is the next step in coming back from his knee injury, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s starting to do a combination of treadmill/floor stuff, which is a good sign, but they’re going slow. They want to make sure they have a handle on it. It’s bothered him really all year,” coach Kevin McHale said. The Rockets are 43-20, which currently puts the team in third place in the conference. The Rockets have a nine game lead over the Pelicans, the conference’s ninth place team, so rushing Howard back for the sake of winning regular season games shouldn’t be a priority.

And-Ones: Williams, Curry, Green, Draft

March 5th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Will Joseph

Since being acquired in a February trade, Mo Williams has been thriving with the Hornets, who have won three straight and are currently clinging to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, writes Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders. The Hornets are planning on playing both Williams and Kemba Walker together once Walker, who has been cleared to resume all basketball activities, returns to the lineup, Taylor adds. Williams, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is averaging 21.6 points and 8.9 assists in 35.0 minutes per game, and, as Taylor notes, his leadership has been valued by Hornets coach Steve Clifford.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Venezuelan club Marinos de Anzoategui tried to sign former NBA lottery pick Eddy Curry, but visa issues scuttled the deal, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (Twitter link). The 32-year-old big man last played in the NBA for the Mavs during the 2012/13 campaign.
JaMychal Green‘s three year deal with the Grizzlies will pay him $134,295 for the remainder of this season, $845,059 in 2015/16, and $980,431 for the 2016/17 season, Eric Pincus of Basketball insiders notes (Twitter link). Green’s deal comes with a partial guarantee of $150K for next season, Pincus adds.
Texas freshman center Myles Turner’s decision to play for embattled coach Rick Barnes has hurt the NBA prospect’s draft stock, writes Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.
University of Wisconsin sophomore forward Nigel Hayes might be headed to the NBA, writes Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. Woelfel has heard Hayes is viewed as a late first-round pick with upside. Hayes is not currently listed in the top 100 players by DraftExpress, and is the No. 80 prospect on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) big board.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Green, Johnson, Hamilton

March 5th, 2015 at 7:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Grizzlies going on a 13-2 run after acquiring Jeff Green from the Celtics the forward has been a mild disappointment so far in Memphis, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (subscription required) writes. Herrington cites Green sinking multiple three-pointers in a game only once in February, and the starting lineup with Green in it being 12 points worse offensively, per 100 possessions, than when Tony Allen was the starter.

Here’s more from the Western conference:

The Rockets are sending Nick Johnson down to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Johnson will likely rejoin the Rockets in Portland on Wednesday, he adds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was coy when asked if Golden State had interest in signing free agent big man JaVale McGee, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group relays. Kerr did say that he didn’t want anything or anyone to disrupt the team’s excellent chemistry, Kawakami adds.
Justin Hamilton, whom the Wolves claimed off of waivers from the Pelicans, has been on Minnesota’s radar for some time Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets. The Wolves tried to work out a trade with Miami for the big man before he was dealt to New Orleans, Krawczynski adds.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Ray Allen Says He Won’t Play This Season

March 4th, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ray Allen will not play this season, as he says in a statement released through agent Jim Tanner and the Tandem Sports and Entertainment agency. He’s not ruling out a return for 2015/16 but adds that he’ll take rest of this season and the offseason ahead to decide about that, suggesting that it’ll again be a long wait before we know if, much less where, Allen will play again. The 39-year-old has languished as the most sought-after free agent since the start of training camp, though the Cavs, long the front-runner for the friend and former teammate of LeBron James, recently appeared to drop out of the running. They were one of of 14 teams who expressed serious interest, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

“Over the past several months, I have taken a lot of time to deliberate what is best for me,” Allen said in the statement. “I’ve ultimately decided that I will not play this NBA season. I’m going to take the remainder of this season, as well as the upcoming off-season, to reassess my situation, spend time with my family and determine if I will play in the 2015/16 season.”

The Grizzlies, too, appeared no longer to be in the Allen sweepstakes as of this weekend, not long after executives around the league reportedly began losing faith that he’d sign. The Warriors, Wizards, Spurs, Heat and Hawks were keeping in touch with Allen’s camp as of early February, and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said at about that time that he’d recently spoken to him.

Just about every playoff-bound team reportedly reached out to Allen at some point this season. The Wizards were apparently the most aggressive suitor as of January, though LeBron visited Allen’s home in Miami to woo the sharpshooter while the four-time MVP was in town for rehabilitation.

The Bulls were another suitor, though a trip he made to Chicago earlier this season wasn’t basketball-related, Tanner said. Tanner batted down reports that indicated his intentions regarding one team or another all throughout the process that began when he became a free agent in July. Allen said over the summer that it would take a “perfect storm scenario” for him to play this season, and he pointed to a desire for a veteran coach and more than the minimum salary.

Allen was seemingly leaning toward retirement in late December, though he indicated during the middle of last season that he wasn’t planning to retire so soon. If he doesn’t return, he’ll walk away as the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made and career earnings in excess of $184.356MM, according to Basketball-Reference.

Kyler’s Latest: Love, Monroe, Gasol, Leonard

March 3rd, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The trade deadline is in the past and the focus is shifting to the draft and this year’s class of free agents. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders takes a broad look at free agency for the summer ahead, passing along a number of noteworthy tidbits from his conversations around the league. His entire NBA AM piece is worth a read as he examines the outlook for several teams, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

The Celtics are planning to target marquee free agents this summer, with Kevin Love atop their list, followed by Greg Monroe, Kyler writes. Marc Gasol and restricted free agents Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler are others in Boston’s sights, sources tell Kyler. It appears the Celtics will look to re-sign Brandon Bass to a salary lower than the $6.9MM he’s making this season, Kyler suggests, also indicating a likelihood that the Celtics renounce Jonas Jerebko‘s rights. That wouldn’t preclude a new deal with Jerebko, something that Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported earlier that the Celtics would like, though it does indicate that the C’s aim to open cap space. That’s a path of questionable merit, as I examined.
There’s a “sense” that the Sixers will make a play for Monroe, too, as well as Butler, Tobias Harris and Reggie Jackson, according to Kyler.
Monroe, Love and Rajon Rondo are at least willing to meet with the Lakers this summer, Kyler hears, though Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are long shots for the team, the Basketball Insiders scribe cautions. Still, chatter is connecting the Lakers to just about every would-be free agent, including Jackson and Brandon Knight.
It’s unlikely that Rondo gets a full maximum-salary deal in free agency this summer, league sources tell Kyler, who surmises that teams would float short-term max offers instead. A full max from the Mavs would entail a five-year deal with 7.5% raises, while other teams can offer four years and 4.5% raises.
Sources also tell Kyler that they believe Monta Ellis will opt out this summer, which is no surprise given his level of play and the $8.72MM value of his player option.
Kyler also gets the sense that Paul Millsap is content with the Hawks and would like to stay for the long term, though it appears Atlanta is eyeing an upgrade at DeMarre Carroll‘s small forward position.
The Spurs will make Gasol their top free agent priority this summer, Kyler writes, though the team will have trouble signing him if Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili return at salaries comparable to the ones they’re making. In any case, San Antonio was believed to be the team with the most interest in Monroe last summer, Kyler adds.

Grizzlies Sign JaMychal Green To Multiyear Deal

March 2nd, 2015 at 5:25pm CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 5:25pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release. It includes partially guaranteed salary beyond this season, as we passed along earlier from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

“Before first coming to Memphis, JaMychal was the top prospect in the NBA Development League, and he has impressed us both in games and in practice during his tenure with the Grizzlies,” GM Chris Wallace said in the team’s statement. “JaMychal is not only a gifted athlete with tremendous upside but he is a humble, very hard working individual who has quickly earned the respect of his new teammates.”

SUNDAY, 1:05pm: The Grizzlies and JaMychal Green have reached agreement on a three-year deal, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Green completed his second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies on Saturday night.

One has to imagine that the final two seasons are not fully guaranteed, but details of the pact are not yet known. The deal probably called for Memphis to use a portion of its mid-level exception since that’s the only way that the deal could span three years.

Green, 24, averaged 23 PPG and 10.7 RPG in 20 games for the Austin Spurs this season. He didn’t see nearly as much burn in his four games with the Grizzlies, however, notching a total of eight points and five boards in 15 minutes of action. Green first joined the Grizzlies on February 2nd as a free agent after a 10-day stint with San Antonio.

In total, Green has inked three 10-day deals this season between the two with the Grizzlies and his previous stint with the Spurs.

Western Notes: Green, Stockton, Grizzlies

March 2nd, 2015 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Draymond Green offered an ominous comment for Warriors fans to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, saying he wants to savor the feeling of being a part of a fun, winning team while it lasts. Green, who’s set for restricted free agency this summer, is the only member of the team’s core who isn’t signed through at least next season, as Washburn points out.

“I’ve said it multiple times this year, we know how good we are,” Green said. “We’re having so much fun. It’s a fun group to be around. It’s easy to capitalize on this, when you enjoy being around the people you’re around every day. This is a special group, a special bond, so let’s make the best of it, because this team will probably never be together again. That’s just the nature of this business. One addition, one subtraction, and the team isn’t together no more. So take advantage of it while you’ve got it because I’m sure this team will never be together again. It’s a fun time. One of the funnest times of my life. Live in the moment.”

Golden State executives have given plenty of signals that they intend to match any offer for Green, who reportedly has interest in signing an offer sheet with the Pistons. So, it’s ultimately up to the Warriors to decide if he comes back, though his price may prompt the team to let someone else go. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Kings have decided against signing David Stockton to another 10-day contract, tweets James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom. Sacramento’s deal with Stockton, son of Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, expired Sunday.
The three-year contract that JaMychal Green reportedly agreed to sign with the Grizzlies will include partially guaranteed salary that extends beyond this season, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Nuggets players didn’t seem to give coach Brian Shaw much of an endorsement when they broke a huddle with a “six weeks” chant Friday, but Shaw today told reporters, including Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, that it wasn’t a reference to the time left in the season. They were instead talking about the weeks that had elapsed since the team’s last win at home, Shaw said.

Western Notes: Allen, Grizzlies, McDaniels, Shaw

March 1st, 2015 at 9:58pm CST by Zachary Links

The Mavericks, who currently hold the sixth seed in a tight Western Conference, must improve their level of play and toughness in order to make the playoffs, opines Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. After losing two straight, the Mavericks will face the Pelicans on Monday in a game Sefko called “urgent,” given the level of competition the Mavericks play against afterward. The Mavericks play winning teams in 10 of their next 12 games.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Ray Allen will not be joining the Grizzlies, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). Late last month, Tillery reported that Memphis was still maintaining interest in the veteran guard. Of course, at this stage, it’s not clear if Allen will sign with anyone at all. If he does come back, he apparently won’t be suiting up for the Cavs, either.
K.J. McDaniels bet on himself last summer by turning down a four-year contract from Sixers GM Sam Hinkie and instead signing for a single season, as Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes. Over the first portion of the season in Philly, the Clemson product was getting tons of playing time and exposure. Now with the Rockets, he’s not seeing nearly as much playing time and isn’t getting a chance to really showcase himself.
It sounds like the Nuggets players are still restless under head coach Brian Shaw. In the fourth-quarter late into Denver’s 104-82 loss to the Jazz, the team broke a huddle with the phrase, “1-2-3…six weeks!,” according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Of course, there are roughly six weeks to go in the regular season.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Green, Rondo, Brewer

February 28th, 2015 at 7:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Memphis is leading the Southwest Division with a record of 41-16 and Jeff Green‘s seamless transition to the team has helped the Grizzlies remain in good position to make a run at an NBA title, writes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. “I don’t have to adapt,” said Green. “They just want me to go out there and be myself. Be aggressive, because if I’m aggressive that’s going to take a lot of pressure off of other guys, so we’re out there sharing the ball, just playing team basketball.” The Grizzlies are 15-5 since acquiring Green from the Celtics.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Coach Rick Carlisle has clashed with new addition Rajon Rondo, but his experience coaching Jason Kidd should help steer the relationship in the right direction, opines Fran Blinebury of NBA.com. Blinebury suggests that relationship is repairable and notes that Kidd had virtually the same issue with Carlisle that Rondo is having over ceding the play calling duties to the coach. Two seasons later after their power struggle, Carlisle and Kidd had established a level of trust and the franchise won its first NBA championship.
Rondo isn’t a good fit for the Mavs and there is a chance he doesn’t remain in Dallas long-term, opines Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News. Cowlishaw names Brandon Knight and Goran Dragic as potential offseason targets if Rondo does indeed leave town. The Mavs have approximately $44.26MM in salary commitments for the 2015/16 season. That figure includes player options for Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton and Al-Farouq Aminu. I would speculate that Ellis declines his $8.72MM option in search of a more lucrative offer. Dallas may have to worry about a new contract for Ellis, as well as a contract for soon to be free agent Tyson Chandler. Knight and Dragic will both likely require near maximum salary contracts and if the team wants to retain the majority of its nucleus, the pair of point guards may be out of Dallas’ price range.
Houston’s bench has become a strength for the team, opines Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. Corey Brewer, who was acquired in a December trade with the Wolves, is enjoying his role. “For me it is all about winning,” Brewer said. “I love coming off the bench. I love having fun. I love giving starters a boost, love giving them that energy. That’s what it’s all about.” The Rockets have made quite a few changes to their roster since last season’s loss to the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. In my latest poll, readers of Hoops Rumors were split on whether the changes will allow the team to advance further in the playoffs this year.