New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Pitino, Giannis, A. Davis, 2019 Draft

December 20th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Celtics and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is making a coaching comeback, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Agent Drew Rosenhaus tells Wojnarowski that Pitino has agreed to a deal to coach Greek club Panathinaikos for the rest of the 2018/19 season. He’s expected to make his debut on December 27.

Pitino’s lengthy stint at Louisville came to an abrupt end in 2017 as a result of the FBI’s probe into college basketball recruiting. He had spent most of the last two decades heading up the program, having previously coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001. Since leaving Louisville, Pitino has been looking to re-enter the coaching ranks in the NBA, telling Wojnarowski earlier in the fall that he just wants to be “a part of an organization.”

“I want to develop young players,” Pitino said in October. “I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.”

While his new job isn’t an NBA position, Pitino is hoping that Panathinaikos can be a stepping stone back to the NBA, writes Wojnarowski. He’ll take over a club that ranks 10th in EuroLeague play so far, with a 6-7 record.

Former NBA players Nick Calathes, Georgios Papagiannis, and Keith Langford are among the players on Pitino’s new roster, along with Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Here are a few more basketball odds and ends:

Asked whether he’s ever had an issue like the Suns, Grizzlies, and Wizards did last week, when there was confusion over which “Brooks” was involved in a proposed trade, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck told NBC Sports Boston that he has. “With the same team, by the way, that was involved [in last week’s failed three-team trade],” Grousbeck said. “That’s another story – that I’m not going to tell.” Grousbeck didn’t go into any more detail, so it’s not entirely clear which of the three teams he was referring to.
In the wake of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo openly recruiting Anthony Davis to their respective teams, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores whether their comments constitute tampering, and whether commissioner Adam Silver is likely to step in.
Speaking of Antetokounmpo and Davis, they’re the NBA’s two most valuable trade chips, in the view of Bill Simmons of The Ringer, who ranked his top 55 players in the league in terms of trade value.
SI.com’s Jeremy Woo has published his latest 2019 mock draft, with Duke prospects holding the top three spots.

Pelicans Had Interest In Kelly Oubre

December 20th, 2018 at 12:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Following last week’s failed three-team trade drama and an eventual move to Phoenix, Kelly Oubre spoke to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News about his new NBA home, suggesting that he’s “excited” about the change. Sources tell Deveney that Oubre drew interest from multiple teams, including his hometown Pelicans, before the Suns acquired him.

Latest On Anthony Davis

December 20th, 2018 at 9:37am CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James made some headlines earlier this week when he said it would be “amazing” to play alongside Anthony Davis. However, while Davis was flattered by the praise, he wasn’t willing to entertain any ideas about teaming up with LeBron in Los Angeles, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com relays.

“I don’t really care,” Davis said of LeBron’s comments. “Obviously, it’s cool to hear any high-caliber player say they want to play with me. But my job is to turn this team around. If we’re 15-17, that means I’m not doing my job.”

The Davis rumor mill has followed a familiar pattern over the years — a report or a public comment will stir up speculation about the Pelicans star moving to a team like the Lakers or Celtics, prompting Davis or the Pelicans to try to shut down that speculation. This week, that job fell in part to head coach Alvin Gentry. As Steve Aschburner of NBA.com tweets, Gentry once again reiterated that the Pelicans have absolutely no intention of trading Davis.

“We’re not trading him,” Gentry said. “I can say that to the world. We’re not gonna trade him, no matter what. That’s not an option. It doesn’t matter what anybody says or does. We’re not trading Anthony Davis.”

Still, as long as Davis doesn’t verbally commit to remaining in New Orleans long term, the rumor mill figures to keep following its same pattern. The 25-year-old will become eligible for a super-max extension during the 2019 offseason, and teams around the NBA will be watching closely to see whether he signs that deal or remains on track to reach free agency in 2020.

“When that time comes, of course we will see,” Davis told Lowe. “I love my teammates. I love New Orleans. I love the fans. I talk their slang. I love their food.”

Despite Davis’ love for New Orleans and the Pelicans’ adamant opposition to trading him, they can’t stop players like James from making indirect pitches to their All-NBA big man. According to Aschburner, Giannis Antetokounmpo jokingly made a more direct pitch to his fellow All-Star on Wednesday night, when he ran into Davis after the Bucks’ win over New Orleans.

“Come to the Bucks, man,” Antetokounmpo said with a smile. “Come to the Bucks.”

Pelicans Have Trade Targets In Mind

December 19th, 2018 at 6:19pm CST by clarkcrum

As we relayed just last week, the Pelicans are among a handful of teams who have been active prospective buyers on the trade market so far this season. Additional details have emerged from Jordan Brenner of the Athletic, who notes that the Pels are primarily interested in obtaining a long, defensive-oriented swingman/small forward before the trade deadline.

Some of the names that Brenner hears as potential targets in New Orleans from conversations with team executives, scouts and an assistant coach are the Pistons’ Stanley Johnson, Bulls’ swingman Justin Holiday, Hawks’ swingman Kent Bazemore, Nets’ veteran DeMarre Carroll, and even J.R. Smith – players who can knock down open threes and use their length on defense. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders also adds Lakers’ trade candidate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to that list.

And while none of these players may push the Pelicans to the next echelon of NBA teams, a trade for one of them would at least represent progress as the front office stares into the possibility of losing Anthony Davis to free agency or a trade demand if they do nothing.

Right now, the Pelicans have E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill playing the 3, but while Moore is vastly undervalued and on a team-friendly contract, he’s only 6’4” and not a viable small forward defensively. As Brenner notes, New Orleans has acknowledged as much by moving Moore to the bench and giving Hill another run in the starting lineup. But Hill has not shown he’s a capable piece moving forward either.

Unfortunately for the Pelicans, they have few assets to offer in any trade. Hill’s contract runs through 2020, Wesley Johnson and Darius Miller are on expiring deals but are only making $6.1MM and $2.2MM, respectively, and young assets like Cheick Diallo and Frank Jackson haven’t shown enough promise to net a real return.

LeBron James Talks Carmelo, AD

December 19th, 2018 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers fell to the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, completing a 1-3 road trip, and LeBron James showed visible signs of frustration during the loss, as Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports and ESPN’s Dave McMenamin note.

After a few Lakers flaws were exposed on that road trip, Goodwill wonders if James may be getting a little antsy for the team to upgrade its roster in preparation for a second-half playoff run. While there’s no indication that LeBron is pushing the front office to make moves, he was willing to discuss a couple specific players – Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis – on Tuesday.

“I don’t run the team and obviously there’s some things that need to be worked out on both sides,” James said when asked about the possibility of the Lakers adding Anthony, according to McMenamin. “But I’ve always wanted to play along Melo and if the opportunity presents itself, it would be great. So we’ll see what happens.”

LeBron was less equivocal when McMenamin inquired about the idea of the Lakers trading for Davis: “That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible.”

As Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes, the Pelicans have shown no willingness to move Davis, and the star big man still appears very committed to New Orleans for now, so any trade scenarios involving AD are unlikely to become viable until at least the 2019 offseason. Carmelo, on the other hand, is a more realistic target, though reports have indicated that the Lakers’ front office doesn’t share LeBron’s enthusiasm for adding the 10-time All-Star.

According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, James’ comments about Anthony came after the two friends dined at a Manhattan steakhouse earlier in the day. Carmelo is still technically under contract with the Rockets, but has been away from the club for more than a month as Houston’s front office decides whether to trade or release the veteran forward.

The Lakers have been exploring the trade market in search of an upgrade on the wing, having discussed Trevor Ariza with the Suns before he was sent to Washington. However, if they decide to go the free agent route, the Lakers would have to trade or release a player — they have a full 15-man roster, with all 15 players on guaranteed contracts.

Stein’s Latest: Melo, Bazemore, Ross, Davis

December 18th, 2018 at 8:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets continue to search for a taker for Carmelo Anthony, Marc Stein of The New York Times reports in his latest newsletter. Moving Anthony’s $2.4MM salary – which has a cap hit of $1.5MM, would afford the team roughly $2.6MM in luxury tax savings.

Stein notes that the Sixers and Lakers—two teams often mentioned as potential landing spots for Melo—appear uninterested in bringing the prolific scorer aboard. The Hornets have also resisted the idea of adding Anthony despite the connection between team owner Michael Jordan and Anthony through the Jordan Brand.

Anthony became trade-eligible on the weekend and perhaps as NBA clubs gather in Las Vegas for the G League showcase, a rival team will strike a deal with Houston.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest newsletter.

Kent Bazemore is generating interest from contending teams looking for a swingman, Stein reports. Bazemore has one more year and $19.3MM left on his deal with the Hawks after this season and the interest in the wing at that price speaks to how highly he’s regarded in the marketplace, Stein writes.
Hawks veterans Jeremy Lin and Dewayne Dedmon are also receiving interest from around the league. Both players are on expiring deals.
Terrence Ross is the Orlando wing who is generating the most interest. However, the Magic would prefer to trade Jonathon Simmons over Ross, who is on an expiring $10.5MM contract.
It’s unlikely that the Pelicans deal Anthony Davis this season but a critical point is approaching. New Orleans can offer Davis a massive contract extension worth over $200MM in total value this summer and should the big man decline it, the Pelicans will realistically have to trade him.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/16/18

December 16th, 2018 at 8:10pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Warriors have recalled rookie guard Jacob Evans from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a press release. Evans has appeared in 18 games for the Warriors this season.
The Pelicans announced in a press release that they have recalled Kenrich Williams from the Texas Legends. Williams has averaged 13.9 points per game across seven G League games this season.

Woj: Lakers Keeping Young Players To Pursue Anthony Davis

December 15th, 2018 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers refused to break up their young core to acquire Trevor Ariza from the Suns because they’re saving their assets for a run at Anthony Davis, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said today on ESPN (Hat tip to Real GM).

Davis will be eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension from the Pelicans next summer, which could pay him a record-setting $239.54MM over five seasons. However, if Davis decides not to accept that offer, he is guaranteed just one more season in New Orleans before his player option arrives in the summer of 2020.

The Lakers are among several teams preparing for that scenario, stockpiling as much young talent as they can to offer the Pelicans in a potential trade.

“Here’s the line they have to walk: they’re not going to give away picks and their top young players in some deal that makes them incrementally better this season,” Wojnarowski said, “because they have to save all those assets for Anthony Davis, a big trade this summer either pre or post free agency.”

L.A. has been careful about preserving cap room for next season to be able to make a max offer in a talented free agent class that will include Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and several other stars. The pursuit of Davis won’t affect that plan, according to Wojnarowski.

“The absolute dream scenario, people talk about (how) they can trade for Anthony Davis or sign a free agent,” he said. “The dream scenario is they do both.”

ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who co-hosted the show with Wojnarowski, explained that the Lakers plan to take a shot at free agency first, then will try to swing a deal for Davis. If it works, that could produce a Big Three that would eclipse what LeBron James had in Miami or Cleveland.

Assuming none of them are traded away during the season, L.A. will have Lonzo Ball ($8.72MM for next year), Brandon Ingram ($7.27MM), Kyle Kuzma ($1.97MM) and Josh Hart ($1.93MM) available to offer in a potential deal for Davis.

Pelicans Recall Frank Jackson From G League

December 15th, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans recalled rookie guard Frank Jackson from the Texas Legends, according to a press release from the team. Jackson was assigned to play for the Legends last night and contributed 20 points in a win over Austin.

Pelicans Assign Jackson, Williams To G League

December 14th, 2018 at 8:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have assigned Frank Jackson and Kenrich Williams to the G League, the team announced today in a press release. Since New Orleans doesn’t have an NBAGL affiliate of its own, Jackson and Williams will join the Texas Legends, Dallas’ affiliate, and are suiting up for the Legends tonight against Austin.