Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Wallace, Kirk, Pistons, Draft

November 30th, 2014 at 9:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is glad to be back in the driver’s seat, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. “I basically stepped aside. No one told me to step back,” Wallace explained. “My role was reduced, but I intentionally stepped back from the players and the coaches. I did not want to be seen as someone that was a meddler last year. I went to games, but I did not interact with the players or coaches during that time. I stayed involved in the game. I was watching the college game closely and the NBA game and attending games at both levels, because I planned on getting back. I didn’t know it was going to be here.” More from around the NBA..

The Cavs announced that they have assigned center Alex Kirk to their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. Kirk averaged 23.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG in three games for the Charge this season. He has also appeared in three games for the Cavs this season.
The Pistons recalled Tony Mitchell from the Grand Rapids Drive of the D-League, according to the RealGM transactions log.
If the draft was tomorrow, Kansas guard/forward Kelly Oubre might not be a top pick, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Oubre has been seeing limited minutes so far for the Jayhawks, but there’s still plenty of season ahead for the frosh. He’s currently rated No. 5 in DraftExpress’ 2015 mock.

And Ones: Green, Hornets, Lakers, Grizzlies

November 29th, 2014 at 10:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows he has something special in Draymond Green, writes Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s fantastic. He’s a winner,” Kerr said about Green, who worked this summer to transform himself into a stretch-4. “We love what he does for our team. In a lot of ways, he’s our heart and soul. He plays with such passion at both ends, and I think it’s contagious.” Still on his rookie contract, Green is under the Warriors’ control through the 2015/16 season, though with their limited financial flexibility, GM Bob Myers and company could have trouble matching an offer for him in restricted free agency.

There was more Saturday night from the NBA:

Hornets coach Steve Clifford blasted his team as unprofessional after Saturday’s 30-point loss to the Hawks, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer details. Charlotte trailed 64-28 at halftime and never made a serious run,. “Effort night in and night out is always going to be the responsibility of the head coach and the best players,” Clifford said. “The basic nightly intensity of your team comes down to that, and I’m the person most responsible. That is obviously unacceptable – for the franchise to the fans to ever play a game with that little intensity.”
The Lakers could be headed for years of suffering, but Jim Buss shouldn’t stick around to join in, opines Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. Calling the team “last in the NBA in defense, last in the Western Conference standings, last in watchability,” Bolch called on Buss, the team’s executive VP of basketball operations, to step down before the three- to four-year timetable Buss gave himself to rebuild the team. Bolch said the Lakers have little chance to land any of next summer’s top free agents like LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love and Marc Gasol.
One explanation for the Grizzlies‘ early success is the sophisticated two-man game executed by Gasol and Mike Conley, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. The pair overwhelmed Portland in the fourth quarter of Friday’s clash of Western Conference powers. “We’ve pretty much seen any kind of defense you can throw at us, so we pretty much have counters for everything,” Gasol said. “Once we make a couple of jumpers, you have to totally change your scheme and play us a different way.”

Western Notes: Wolves, Carter, Harrington

November 28th, 2014 at 8:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wolves president Flip Saunders said the team is still considering filing for a hardship exception which would allow Minnesota to temporarily add a 16th player to their roster, Andy Greder of The St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. The franchise has lost the services of Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, and Ronny Turiaf to injuries. Martin is out six to eight weeks after having wrist surgery, and Rubio isn’t likely to return until January at the earliest after injuring his ankle. Both Pekovic and Turiaf will both be reevaluated next week, Greder adds in a separate tweet.

Here’s more from out west:

After meeting with head coach Dave Joerger and his staff during the free agent signing period this summer, Vince Carter knew playing with the Grizzlies was the right choice, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com writes. “I like playing with guys who want to win,” Carter said. “At this point in my career, that’s what it’s about. I met with the coaching staff and ownership and you can just see the direction they were trying to go in – just winning – and I felt like I can bring a presence on and off the court and that’s what I’m looking for. I know this was a great opportunity for both sides and it worked out.”
Carter was also asked if the Blazers reached out to him during the summer, and he replied, “I never really heard from them. They’re established, man. They are going to be fine. I don’t think they needed my services.”
Despite reports that the Rockets are interested in signing Al Harrington, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Harrington isn’t likely to end up in Houston. Harrington had recently left his Chinese team because of apparent interest from NBA clubs

Pacific Notes: Suns, Lakers, Butler

November 27th, 2014 at 4:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Isaiah Thomas called the Suns backcourt timeshare “a tough situation” that’s “not what I expected” when he spoke this week to James Herbert of CBSSports.com, but Goran Dragic isn’t upset about the logjam and told Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that he accepts his minutes reduction. Eric Bledsoe said the team is growing more comfortable with the situation, Coro adds. Bledsoe and Thomas signed long-term deals with Phoenix this past summer, but Dragic can opt out of his deal at season’s end and is reportedly planning to entertain pitches from other teams.

Here’s the latest from the Western Conference:

The Lakers have a few players still young enough to hold promise for the future, like Jeremy Lin and Ed Davis, but with Julius Randle and Xavier Henry shelved for the season, there’s little in the way of developing talent on the club, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding examines.
Caron Butler signed a two-year, $9MM deal this summer with the Pistons, his third team since the Clippers traded him in 2013, but he still has a soft spot for his former teammates in L.A., writes Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. “Chris Paul, that’s my brother,” Butler said. “DeAndre [Jordan], Blake [Griffin], all those guys. I pull for those guys secretly. I hope that they all do well. They’re my brothers.”
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders looks at seven recent trades that some NBA franchises should be thankful for, including the Kings landing Rudy Gay, the Rockets snagging James Harden, and the Grizzlies acquiring Courtney Lee.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Chandler, Lee, Mills

November 27th, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Trevor Ariza and Tyson Chandler were probably the most significant newcomers to the Southwest Division this past summer, but even devoid of an influx of star talent, every team in the Southwest has a winning record so far. I covered Ariza’s impact earlier today in my look at what the Rockets did over the offseason, and there’s more on Chandler amid the latest from around the division:

Anthony Davis is up for a rookie scale extension in the offseason ahead, and he seems comfortable with his surroundings, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports details. “I love it here in New Orleans,” Davis said. “Great city. Great atmosphere. …We’re getting the fans back and New Orleans back buzzing for the Pelicans, a great organization. I love my team here. We’re definitely moving in the right direction. I don’t know what the future holds, but right now I’m definitely loving the team and the organization.”
Knicks president Phil Jackson deferred to GM Steve Mills when it came to communicating with Chandler, as the now-Mavs center told reporters on Wednesday, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I just don’t think I was in the [Knicks’] future plans to be honest,” Chandler said, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
The Celtics sought to clear salary when they traded Courtney Lee to the Grizzlies less than 11 months ago, but his hot three-point shooting is one reason he’s proven well worth his $5.45MM salary this year for Memphis, as Ronald Tillery of The Commericial Appeal examines (subscription only).
A clause in the Spurs‘ contract with Patty Mills gives him an extra $333K if he meets conditioning benchmarks throughout the season, according to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News. The incentive is considered likely to be met, so that $333K is already included in his cap hit of more than $3.842MM, Monroe notes. It’s unclear if the torn right rotator cuff that’s kept Mills out all season so far will keep him from meeting those benchmarks.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Franklin, Chandler

November 26th, 2014 at 6:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite their early-season success, the Pelicans‘ core isn’t likely to become a championship-contending one, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders opines. One of the main issues with the current roster is the lack of talent on the perimeter, and with Eric Gordon likely to exercise his $15.5MM player option for next season, it will be difficult to upgrade the roster until the summer of 2016, notes Duncan. One option Duncan suggests for the Pelicans to rid themselves of Gordon’s deal earlier is for New Orleans to package its 2016 first-rounder in a trade along with Gordon in order to encourage a team to take on his expiring contract, though the Pelicans owe a protected 2015 first-round pick to Houston, so they would have trouble sending out a 2016 first-rounder, thanks to the Stepien Rule.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Duncan also added that re-signing Omer Asik this offseason will be an organizational priority because of that protected first-round pick that the Pelicans surrendered to the Rockets in order to acquire him.
Jamaal Franklin recently agreed to a one month extension to his contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Franklin’s original agreement with the team was for two months, and this extension will still allow him to return to the NBA in January when teams are able to sign players to 10-day contracts, Wojnarowski adds. The 23-year-old shooting guard appeared in 21 contests for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 1.9 points in 7.7 minutes per game.
It’s possible that if Tyson Chandler had not broken his leg last season, New York’s 2013/14 campaign wouldn’t have been such a disaster and the Knicks wouldn’t have traded the big man to the Mavericks, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. Chandler is happy to be back in Dallas and while he stops short of being thankful for the injury, he is pleased with how things turned out for him this offseason, MacMahon adds. “I look at life as like everything happens for a reason,” Chandler said. “There’s no mistakes made. At the time, [the injury] was devastating clearly, but I feel like everything happens for a reason.”
The Iowa Energy have acquired former first round pick Jordan Hamilton via waivers, the team has announced. Hamilton reportedly worked out for the Lakers last week after a brief stint with the Jazz earlier this month. Though he’ll play for the Grizzlies‘ D-League affiliate, Hamilton is free to sign with any NBA team that would desire his services.

Western Notes: Dragic, Adams, Moreland, Smith

November 25th, 2014 at 8:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Zoran Dragic will receive $1.5MM in base salary this season and next, but he’ll count for more than $1.706MM against the Suns‘ cap each year because of his nearly $413K signing bonus, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The bonus went toward the part of Dragic’s buyout from Spain’s Unicaja Malaga that wasn’t covered under the $600K that teams are allowed to keep off their books when they buy players out of their overseas contracts. Here’s more from the western half:

The Grizzlies have re-assigned Jordan Adams to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Adams’ second trip to the D-League this season. During his first assignment, Adams appeared in one contest, contributing 20 points, seven rebounds and one assist in 31 minutes. The 20-year-old is averaging 1.5 points, 1.3 assists and 0.75 steals in 10.1 minutes per contest in four appearances for Memphis this season.
Eric Moreland has been recalled from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, the Kings have announced. This was Moreland’s second stint in the D-League this season, and he’s averaging 13.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 1.7 APG in three appearances for Reno this season. Moreland has yet to appear in a regular season contest for Sacramento.
The Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League have claimed Nolan Smith off of waivers, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Smith had cut ties with Turkey’s Galatasaray back in October and intends to use the D-League to showcase his talents for NBA teams. Smith’s last taste of the NBA came during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 40 games for the Blazers and averaged 2.8 points and 0.9 assists.
Mavs big man Tyson Chandler said that he felt like a scapegoat for the Knicks’ failures last season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. When asked whether his leadership attempts were unappreciated in New York, Chandler said, “At times, at times, at times. But I feel like New York made me a lot stronger, a lot stronger of a person going through trials and tribulations there. But that’s life. It also depends on where your mind is. If everybody is locked in and they want to win and they know I’m in it 100% and they’re in it 100%, nobody’s sensitive. But if there’s other agendas, it’s going to make things sensitive.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Anderson, Ledo

November 24th, 2014 at 12:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Anthony Davis is way out in front in the MVP race, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News sees it. There’s certainly a compelling argument to be made, as Davis is averaging 26.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and a league-high 3.5 blocks so far this season. The Brow will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer to come, and surely the Pelicans will jump at the chance to secure him for the long term. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division.

Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal takes a Grizzlies-centric look at the market for small forwards who can become free agents in 2015. Memphis passed on a deal that would have sent Jerryd Bayless to the Suns for Gerald Green, one of those 2015 free agents, and the Grizzlies have had interest in the past in Dorell Wright, another player on an expiring deal, Herrington writes. The Grizzlies have had internal discussions about whether Thaddeus Young is more of a small forward or a power forward, though coach Dave Joerger told Herrington recently that Young is probably best suited as a four, as Herrington adds in his subscription-only piece.
The Spurs have recalled Kyle Anderson from the D-League, the team announced. Anderson, the 30th overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, put up 18 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday, the same day that San Antonio sent him down.
Mavs guard Ricky Ledo is back from his D-League assignment, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Ledo averaged 12.5 points and shot 42.9% from three-point range during his two-game D-League stint.
The Grizzlies have hired Glynn Cyprien as a basketball operations assistant and a scout, the team announced. Cyprien has spent much of his career as a high-level college assistant coach, most recently at Texas A&M.

Celtics Notes: Green, Rondo, Lee, Bass

November 22nd, 2014 at 6:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier in the month, Hoops Rumors’ own Chuck Myron broke down the Celtics’ offseason moves. While Boston added some nice pieces, no acquisition moved the needle in the win column as the team started the season with a 4-7 record. It hasn’t been all bad this season as the team owns the fourth best offense in the league, scoring 106.2 points per game.

Here’s more from Boston:

Jeff Green‘s frustration with the Celtics’ losing is at an all-time high, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “I’m tired of losing,” Green said. “[Friday] we let them get whatever they wanted, so we deserved to lose.” The forward can opt out of his current deal at season’s end and become a free agent. Blakely adds that the market for Green is as strong “if not stronger” than it is for fellow teammate Rajon Rondo, according to talks with a league executive. Green is averaging 18.4 points per game and is sporting a player efficiency rating of 16.5.
Courtney Lee liked playing for the Celtics but understood why he was traded to the Grizzlies, writes Blakely in a separate piece. “I enjoyed my time in Boston,” Lee said. “The organization, my teammates, coaching staff; everybody was top-notch. It just didn’t work.” Lee signed in Boston while the team had title aspirations but a year later, the Celtics traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets to begin their rebuilding efforts. Lee, who most would describe as a complementary player, is thriving as a catch-and-shoot wing in the Grizzlies offense. “Just square up, lick my fingers and knock down shots,” Lee said. “It works for me.”
Brandon Bass is still familiarizing himself with his new role of coming off the bench for the Celtics, writes Blakely in another piece. “I’m adjusting,” Bass told Comcast SportsNet’s Abby Chin. “I’ve been a starter and I’ve come off the bench in the past … I’m adjusting.” Although he would love to start, he understands the importance of making a positive impact when he gets in the game. “It’s important for the guys off the bench to lift the starters each and every night; try to contribute in a major way each and every night,” Bass said. The power forward has begun the season on a positive note, averaging 8.4 PPG and with a player efficiency rating of 16.35.

Grizzlies Waive Kalin Lucas, Hassan Whiteside

November 20th, 2014 at 5:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In what is rapidly becoming a repetitive trend between the team and these two players, the Grizzlies have announced in a press release that they have waived Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside. These moves will reduce Memphis’ current roster count to 14 players, one below the league maximum. Both players were signed just yesterday because five Grizzlies were sidelined for last night’s contest against the Raptors with stomach viruses.

This concludes Lucas’ third stint with the Grizzlies this season, as he was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night. Lucas was then re-signed to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. He was waived for the second time on November 9th. Lucas recorded one steal in six minutes of action in his NBA debut last night.

This was Whiteside’s second deal with the Grizzlies this season. He was originally signed on September 25th and he appeared in five preseason games averaging 3.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks before being waived on October 22nd. Whiteside did not enter last night’s game, and has not seen a single minute of NBA action this season.