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New York Notes: Rose, Holiday, Hornacek, Nets

January 1st, 2017 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

As the Knicks ponder their decision on whether to re-sign Derrick Rose, ESPN’s Ian Begley notes that Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday could be part of the equation. Holiday will also be entering free agency this summer, and team president Phil Jackson has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring him before. New York needs just a few small roster moves this summer to create enough cap room for a max contract. Holiday 26, has played 20 games after missing the start of the season to care for his ailing wife. He is averaging 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per night. The 28-year-old Rose is in his first year with the Knicks after being acquired in an offseason deal with Chicago. He is averaging 17.7 points and 4.4 assists in 29 games.

There’s more news out of New York:

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek is asking for maximum effort from his team and hints that rotation changes could be on the way, relays Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. His comments came after the team lost in Houston Saturday night to slip back under .500. “Some of the young guys can really give effort in there. We’ll have to take a look at maybe getting them in the games more, maybe giving our older guys a little bit more rest,” Hornacek said. “So that they have shorter minutes so they can put the full effort out there. We’ll take a look at everything.”
The Knicks should be happy to see a miserable 2016 come to an end, Bondy writes in a separate story. The year started with a coaching change involving Derek Fisher, followed by a 13th-place finish in the Eastern Conference, a surprise hire in Hornacek, a draft night with no picks, a possibly disastrous free-agent signing in Joakim Noah, several ill-considered comments by Jackson and the end of his engagement to Lakers executive Jeanie Buss.
Tensions boiled over for the Nets on the court and in the locker room after Friday’s loss to Washington, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn has dropped seven of its last eight games and is tied with Philadelphia for the league’s worst record. “It was emotional and a frustrating game, and guys were just venting,” said center Brook Lopez. “I don’t know what was necessarily correct or who said what, but the important thing is it happened. It’s not something we’ve had to repeatedly deal with this season. It’s something that happens with every team over the course of the year. We addressed it. It’s an emotional game; obviously emotions were running high. We talked about it as a team. We addressed it as players.”

Several Teams Interested In Will Barton

December 20th, 2016 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wizards and Pelicans are among the teams to reach out to the Nuggets regarding the availability of Will Barton, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Haynes adds that the talks are simply exploratory at this point.

Barton is having a solid season, averaging 13.8 points and nearly a steal per game while making 36.8% of attempts from behind the arc. He missed 12 games earlier in the season because of an ankle injury, but he appears to be healthy at the moment.

The shooting guard started for the team in his first 13 games, but he was pushed back to the bench last week with Gary Harris returning to the lineup. In the three games since Harris returned, Barton has seen only 26.3 minutes per game, down from 31.6, which was his average while starting in Harris’ place. With Harris back and No. 7 overall pick Jamal Murray looming as the long-term option in Denver, Barton could see his further reduced as the season progresses.

Multiple teams reportedly offered the Nuggets a first-rounder in exchange for Barton over the summer, but Denver opted to keep the shooting guard. The 25-year-old is on a team-friendly deal, which pays him slightly over $3.53MM this season and the same figure during the 2017/18 campaign.

Gordon Talks About Time With New Orleans

December 20th, 2016 at 5:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Gordon believes the Pelicans‘ uncertain ownership situation and constant changes made it difficult to thrive as a player, Lee writes in the same piece. “I was just getting better year after year with the Clippers, and then you make a major change with New Orleans, ownership and everything, so you had to start all over,” Gordon added. “It was a rough time in New Orleans. Guys can tell you that are still there now. It was a difficult task.”

Gordon Pans Pelicans' Roster Instability; Frazier Returns Early

December 16th, 2016 at 11:19pm CST by Austin Kent

Eric Gordon is enjoying one of the most productive seasons of his nine-year career and while he may not top some of the scoring outputs he registered with the Pelicans and Clippers now that he’s been slotted in as the sixth man of his new club, he’s playing a vital role on a Rockets team in contention for the Western Conference title.

On Friday, Gordon matched up against the Pelicans with whom he played five seasons. Prior to the meeting he was up front and honest about his displeasure in New Orleans, citing roster instability as one of the biggest problems.

”I’m not really worried about what’s going on down there,” the Pelicans guard told John Reid of The Times-Picayune, “but I just know my role changed year by year. We really had only one good year (2013/14), it’s just been tough.'”

Too often the victims of unfortunate injuries, the Pelicans got a taste of the opposite Friday. Despite being initially ruled out for seven to 10 days, per ESPN’s Justin Verrier, backup point guard Tim Frazier opted to return early. According to Jennifer Hale of Fox Sports, Frazier decided to suit up in front of his hometown fans on Friday night and play through a wrist sprain.

Frazier To Be Sidelined At Least A Week

December 16th, 2016 at 11:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Pelicans point guard Tim Frazier will be sidelined with a contusion on a bone in his wrist, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Frazier estimates his recovery time at a week to 10 days.

Gentry On The Hot Seat?

December 14th, 2016 at 10:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Alvin Gentry will find himself on the hot seat if the Pelicans continue to struggle, Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes. New Orleans has won just 38 games since he took over the team, but the lack of success isn’t entirely his fault. Gentry hasn’t been able to implement complicated offensive sets because of a rash of injuries since taking over the job. He’s been forced to use 55 different starting lineups over the last two seasons and Deveney argues that Gentry deserves more time because of the instability.

Omer Asik Remains On Trade Block

December 12th, 2016 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

Nearly a year after the Pelicans first reportedly made Omer Asik available, he remains on the trade block in New Orleans, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. A league source tells Blakely that Asik is “very much available” once again this season.

The news doesn’t come as a real surprise, since Asik was the subject of trade rumors last year as soon as he become eligible to be dealt on December 15. Although his name surfaced again several times before the 2016 deadline, the veteran center ultimately stayed put, with his pricey five-year contract negatively impacting his trade value. A year later, following the NBA salary cap’s jump from $70MM to $94MM+, Asik’s long-term deal may be a little more palatable.

Asik is currently in the second year of a five-year contract that is fully guaranteed through 2018/19. His cap hit for this season is about $9.9MM, as he continues to play a modest role in New Orleans, contributing just 3.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 17.5 minutes per contest.

As Blakely notes, the Celtics are among the teams that have had interest in Asik at various times in the past. However, a league source tells the CSN scribe that Boston is unlikely to make a move anytime soon unless it drastically improves the team’s chances of making a deep playoff run. In other words, the first priority for GM Danny Ainge is to land a star — if that’s not possible, he may circle back to a secondary piece or two closer to the deadline.

While Ainge may be prioritizing an impact player, acquiring a solid rim protector and rebounder would help balance the Celtics’ lineup in the second half of the season. The team has also been linked to Andrew Bogut, though the Mavs aren’t shopping the former No. 1 pick at this time.

Pelicans Sign Reggie Williams

December 10th, 2016 at 12:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DECEMBER 10: The Pelicans have officially signed Williams, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 9: The Pelicans freed up a roster slot earlier today by waiving Anthony Brown and it appears the team will fill that opening by signing Reggie Williams, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The details of the arrangement are unknown, but it is more than likely a minimum salary pact that includes little or no guaranteed salary.

The 30-year-old, who was waived by the Thunder during the preseason, last played in the NBA during the 2014/15 season, when he joined the Spurs during the middle of the campaign. He previously played with the Thunder, signing a 10-day contract with the team during the 2013/14 campaign. The forward only saw a total of 17 minutes of action and OKC didn’t re-sign him once the deal expired.

Williams has been playing for the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA D-League, appearing in 11 games and averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 33.3 minutes per night. His shooting line is .462/.419/.727.

Gentry Not Worried About Job Security

December 9th, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans are off to a 7-16 start to the campaign, but coach Alvin Gentry isn’t concerned about his job status, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays. “I really don’t give a [expletive] about my job status,” Gentry said. “I’m gonna work hard, and I’m gonna coach until the day they tell me I’m not the coach here anymore. It doesn’t matter. I don’t ever worry about that. That isn’t anything that I spend five seconds worrying about. My worry is how do I get the guys in the locker room to play at the level that I want them to. That’s where all my effort goes. It doesn’t go anywhere else.”

Pelicans Waive Anthony Brown

December 9th, 2016 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans have waived Anthony Brown, tweets Justin Verrier of ESPN.

The second-year swingman played nine games for New Orleans, putting up averages of 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per night. He was signed November 21st in an effort to improve the Pelicans’ depth in the backcourt.

The 24-year-old out of Stanford was selected by the Lakers with the 34th pick of the 2015 draft. He spent his rookie season in L.A., averaging 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 29 games, but was waived before the season started.

The move leaves New Orleans with just 14 players, so another roster move may be coming soon.