New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Consider Replacing Gentry, Demps

March 15th, 2017 at 5:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans will need “significant progress” over the final four weeks of the season to save coach Alvin Gentry’s job, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.

The organization is more likely to keep GM Dell Demps, but that isn’t guaranteed, Deveney adds.

The Pelicans were considered favorites to grab the West’s final playoff spot after the February 20th trade that brought DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans. However, the team has gone just 4-6 since the deal and sits five games behind Denver with 15 left to play.

A scout tells Deveney “the writing is on the wall” concerning Gentry’s future, but management isn’t demanding a playoff appearance for him and Demps to stick around. The front office understands that a transition period was necessary for Cousins and Anthony Davis to get used to playing together and to change from an up-tempo strategy to a twin towers approach. Cousins is averaging 20.9 points per game in New Orleans, down from 27.8 with the Kings, and his shooting percentage has dropped from 45.1 to 42.1.

Working in Gentry’s favor may be a lack of proven talent in the coaching market. The team is believed to want someone to serve as both a coach and team president, and there may not be anyone available who has merited that dual role.

Gentry, who has one year left on his contract at $3.3MM, faced similar rumors early in the season. A November 13th report said it might be a matter of days until a coaching change after the Pelicans started the season 1-9. However, Gentry was able to get the team on the edge of the playoff race and save his job, at least temporarily.

Gentry has a 57-92 record in nearly two seasons on the Pelicans’ bench, and the team has made the playoffs just once in Demps’ five seasons as GM.

Hollis Thompson Back On Free Agent Market

March 15th, 2017 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

Hollis Thompson‘s second 10-day contract with the Pelicans expired overnight, giving the team the option of either locking him up for the season or letting him go. According to Scott Kushner of The Advocate (via Twitter), New Orleans has decided against signing Thompson for the remainder of the season, meaning he’ll return to the free agent market.

Thompson, who turns 26 next month, appeared in nine games during his 20 days with the Pelicans, starting eight of those games. However, he struggled mightily with his shot, making just 11 of 41 attempts from the field. Thompson’s shooting percentages in New Orleans (.268 overall, .250 on threes) represented a significant step down from his career averages in Philadelphia (.417/.389).

Assuming Thompson doesn’t catch on with another NBA team right away, there’s a good chance he’ll rejoin the Austin Spurs, his team prior to his stint with the Pelicans. The 6’8″ swingman would remain an NBA free agent even if he headed back to San Antonio’s D-League affiliate.

Having paired DeMarcus Cousins with Anthony Davis in their frontcourt in a trade that cost them three guards, the Pelicans have been looking for ball-handlers and shooters to fill out their rotation, experimenting with a number of players on 10-day contracts. The club initially signed Jarrett Jack and Reggie Williams along with Thompson, but none of those players are on the roster anymore.

Currently, New Orleans is carrying Jordan Crawford and Wayne Selden on 10-day deals, with one newly-opened spot on the team’s 15-man roster.

Casspi Cleared To Play, Talking With Contenders

March 14th, 2017 at 10:11am CST by Arthur Hill

Less than three weeks after breaking his right thumb, Omri Casspi has received medical clearance to “resume basketball activities,” tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Casspi suffered the injury in his first game with the Pelicans after being traded from the Kings as part of the DeMarcus Cousins deal. New Orleans waived Casspi to open a roster spot rather than wait for him to heal. Casspi’s original prognosis put his recovery time at four to six weeks.

Now a free agent, Casspi has been contacted by several contending teams, according to Stein, who names the Clippers and Grizzlies among them (Twitter link). Memphis may need to find a replacement for Chandler Parsons, who could be shut down for the rest of the season with a partial meniscus tear in his left knee.

Casspi played just 22 games with Sacramento before the deal, averaging 5.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per night. He missed more than a month in January and February with a strained plantaris tendon in his right calf.

Checking In On NBA’s 2017 Draft Lottery Trades

March 13th, 2017 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

As our 2016/17 NBA Reverse Standings show, the Celtics – by way of the Nets – have all but clinched the No. 1 spot in the 2017 draft lottery. With a record of 12-53, Brooklyn has a 7.5-game “lead” over the second-place Lakers, who are 20-46. Barring a hot streak that sees the Nets practically double their win total, their last-place finish will ensure that the Celtics have a 25% chance of landing the first overall pick this spring.

However, once we move past the Nets, there are many interesting lottery situations that are far from decided, which could have significant ramifications for the future of several franchises. Here’s a closer look at a few of them:

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are currently in second place in our reverse standings, with a 1.5-game lead on the Suns. If Los Angeles can hold that position the rest of the way, it would give the team a great chance to keep its 2017 first-round pick, which is top-three protected. If they lose the pick, it’ll be sent to the Sixers.

If the Lakers finish as the NBA’s second-worst team, they’d have a 55.8% chance of landing in the top three and keeping their pick. If they were to slip just one spot in the lottery standings and finish with the league’s third-worst record, those odds would shift below 50/50, to just 46.9%.

This year’s lottery outcome is particularly crucial for the Lakers, since losing this year’s pick would also mean they’d have to send their 2019 first-rounder (unprotected) to Orlando. If the Lakers keep this year’s first-rounder, their commitment to the Magic would become a pair of second-round picks in 2017 and 2018.

Philadelphia 76ers / Sacramento Kings

The Kings‘ 2017 first-round pick is top-10 protected — if it lands outside the top 10, Sacramento will have to send the pick to Chicago. However, a lengthy losing streak has put the Kings in a great position to keep that selection — they’re now 25-41, No. 6 in our reverse standings and four full games ahead of the 29-37 Hornets (No. 11).

With the Kings’ pick looking pretty safe, it’s now worth watching to see where it lands in relation to the Sixers‘ pick. Philadelphia has the opportunity to swap picks with the Kings, so Sacramento won’t necessarily be rooting for lottery luck unless both the Kings and Sixers can jump into the top three. Currently, the 24-42 Sixers are just one game ahead of Sacramento in our reverse standings.

If the Kings and Sixers finish as the league’s fifth- and sixth-worst teams, Philadelphia would have a 15.1% chance of landing the first-round pick, rather than just 8.8%.

New Orleans Pelicans

When the Pelicans acquired DeMarcus Cousins last month, most observers called the trade a coup for New Orleans. However, that early assessment of the deal hinged on the assumption that the Pelicans would improve with Cousins in the lineup, reducing the value of the first-round pick they sent to Sacramento in the swap. That hasn’t happened so far, as the 26-40 Pelicans place eighth in our reverse standings.

If the Pelicans were to finish as the NBA’s eighth-worst team, they’d have a 10% chance to jump into the top three and hang onto their pick. Otherwise, the Kings would be in position to acquire the pick and hold two top-10 selections.

The rest

No other lottery picks for 2017 appear to be in flux — the Mavericks traded their first-rounder to the Sixers, but it’s top-18 protected, and Dallas has essentially no chance of landing outside of the top 18.

Further down in our reverse standings, outside of the lottery, every traded first-round pick should change hands. Of those late-round selections, the most valuable traded pick looks to be the Grizzlies‘ selection, which they’ll send to the Trail Blazers. It currently projects to be No. 19 overall.

RealGM’s list of traded draft picks was used in the creation of this post.

Pelicans Need Reinforcements

March 11th, 2017 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans have struggled since they acquired DeMarcus Cousins, but John Reid of The Times-Picayune believes it’s a result of the talent around Cousins and Anthony Davis. New Orleans has won just three of eight contests since the trade, though Cousins missed one of the wins because he was suspended.

Monty Williams Expected To Coach In 2017

March 11th, 2017 at 5:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Monty Williams is expected to be one of the “elite candidates” on the NBA coaching market once the season concludes, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter links). The University of Illinois offered Williams its head coaching gig and was willing to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NCAA. Williams turned down the offer, as he focuses his attention on making a return to an NBA sideline.

Williams is currently working in the Spurs’ front office. He’s had various roles in the organization over his lifetime, ranging from player to coaching intern.

He was an associate head coach with the Thunder during the 2015/16 campaign. Prior to his time in Oklahoma City, he spent five years as the coach of the Pelicans, where he made the playoffs on two occasions. He owns a 173-221 record as a head coach.

Early Decision Dates For 2017/18 Player Options

March 10th, 2017 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

By default, NBA players who hold player options for the following season generally don’t have to make an official decision on those options until June 29, just two days before the new league year gets underway. However, that date can be altered on a contract-by-contract basis, which is why many of the 25 players who have player options or early termination options for 2017/18 will be making their decisions prior to June 29 this year.

Several of those player option decisions are due either on a specific date or a certain number of days following a team’s final regular season game. For instance, Rudy Gay‘s player option calls for him to make a decision either on June 10, or five days after the Kings’ last game — whichever comes later. Kyle Lowry, meanwhile, has to make a decision on his player option by June 19, or within seven days of the Raptors’ last game — whichever comes earlier.

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has done an excellent job keeping tabs on these early player option decision dates, so we’ll use his data to break down the schedule of upcoming decision dates. If a player who holds a 2017/18 player option isn’t listed here, that means his decision is due on June 29, or his decision date hasn’t been reported.

Here’s the list of early decision dates for 2017/18 player options:

Potentially dependent on when team’s season ends:

June 10 (or five days after team’s last game): Rudy Gay (Kings)
June 19 (or seven days after team’s last game): Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
June 20 (or two days after team’s last game): Aron Baynes (Pistons), C.J. Miles (Pacers)

The rest:

June 21: Dante Cunningham (Pelicans), Nick Young (Lakers)
June 22: Greg Monroe (Bucks)
June 23: Paul Millsap (Hawks)
June 24: Langston Galloway (Kings)
June 26: Spencer Hawes (Bucks)
June 28: Blake Griffin (Clippers) (early termination option)

For details on how much these player options are worth, check out our list of 2017 free agents by position or by team.

Pelicans Notes: Cousins, Davis, Crawford

March 9th, 2017 at 8:52pm CST by Milo Taibi

The Pelicans‘ “new-look” roster is struggling, Justin Verrier of ESPN writes. While the blockbuster trade for DeMarcus Cousins brought peak national interest, the Pels currently sit 4.5 games behind Denver for the eighth seed. Anthony Davis had no answers for the team’s recent shortcomings.

“I don’t know the reason. We’re just not making shots,” Davis said. “Guys are in the gym every day practicing those shots and making those shots. But it’s not disrupting everything else we’re doing. Of course, it helps when we make them. Whoever’s shooting, if they’re open, we tell them to keep shooting. That’s the only way it’s going to help our offense.”

The team’s period of adjustment with Boogie and AD has been “jarring,” despite the modest resources the team gave up to acquire Cousins.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/9/17

March 9th, 2017 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

Shortly after he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks, Manny Harris was sent right back down to the D-League, the team announced in a press release. Harris figures to get a shot in Dallas at some point during his current 10-day deal, but with the Mavs not in action until tomorrow, Harris will remain with the Texas Legends for the club’s Thursday night game against Northern Arizona.
The Rockets have recalled Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today (Twitter link). Houston had needed to get up to 12 active players by today, necessitating the call-up of Wiltjer, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
Rookie big man Georgios Papagiannis has been sent back to the D-League by the Kings, per James Ham of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link). Papagiannis is one of 16 first-round picks from 2016 who have been on D-League assignments this season, as we detailed yesterday.
The Pelicans have assigned rookie Cheick Diallo to the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Diallo will head to the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’ D-League squad, via the flexible assignment rule.

Pelicans Sign Wayne Selden To 10-Day Contract

March 8th, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 8: The Pelicans have officially signed Selden to a 10-day contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).

MARCH 7: The Pelicans continue to rotate through free agent guards, and are lining up a 10-day deal for another new addition. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the club is expected to call up Wayne Selden from the D-League to fill the current opening on the roster.

Selden, a former Kansas guard who went undrafted in 2016, caught in with the Grizzlies last summer and was a member of the club for training camp and the preseason. However, he didn’t earn a spot on Memphis’ regular season roster and ultimately landed with the team’s D-League affiliate in Iowa. In 34 games for the Energy, Selden averaged 18.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.9 APG, with a shooting line of .451/.357/.660.

After sending Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, and Langston Galloway to the Kings in their deal for DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans have experimented with a number of new guards on 10-day contracts. Hollis Thompson, Jarrett Jack, and Reggie Williams were the team’s original signees, and of the three, only Thompson earned a second 10-day deal. Jack suffered a meniscus tear, while Williams, whose 10-day contract expired overnight, apparently won’t be re-signed.

The Pelicans signed Jordan Crawford to a 10-day deal on Monday and he made an immediate impact for New Orleans by scoring 19 points last night. Selden, who worked out for the team last month, should be active for Wednesday’s game, assuming the two sides finalize a deal today or tomorrow.

Once the signing of Selden becomes official, the Pelicans will once again have a full 15-man roster, with 12 guaranteed contracts and three players on 10-day pacts.