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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/31/16

December 31st, 2016 at 12:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

The Magic assigned center Stephen Zimmerman to the Erie BayHawks, the team tweets. The 7’0” center has appeared in eight games this season with the Magic, averaging 1.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 4.0 minutes. This is his third assignment to the BayHawks. He’s averaged 17.3 points, 13.5 rebounds 1.5 blocks in 34.2 minutes over six games with them.
The Suns recalled forward Derrick Jones Jr. from the Northern Arizona Suns, eight days after he was assigned to the D-League for the third time, the team tweets (Twitter link). He has averaged 14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in 32.1 minutes over 14 games with Northern Arizona.
The Knicks recalled guard Ron Baker and center Marshall Plumlee and they will rejoin the team in Houston, according to their Twitter feed. They were assigned to the Westchester Knicks on Friday and started their game against Fort Wayne. Baker had nine points, four assists and four steals in 30 minutes, while Plumlee posted 16 points and six rebounds in the same amount of action.
The Hornets recalled guard Aaron Harrison and forward Christian Wood from the Greensboro Swarm, they announced in a press release. Harrison has appeared in 13 Swarm games over three assignments, recording averages of 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 36.5 minutes per game. Wood has appeared in 11 Swarm games during two D-League stints, averaging 17.2 points, 9.3 boards and 2.1 blocks in 29.3 minutes.
The Lakers recalled Ivica Zubac from the D-Fenders, one day after assigning him to the D-League, Harrison Faigen of SB Nation tweets. The 7’1” center had 17 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes against Northern Arizona on Friday.
The Jazz recalled forward Joel Bolomboy after he appeared in one game with the Salt Lake City Stars during his latest assignment. the team announced in a press release. He recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes against Sioux Falls on Friday.

Could It Be Magic If Cousins Goes On Block?

December 29th, 2016 at 10:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic could emerge as the best trading partner if the Kings ever get serious about moving DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Mannix of The Vertical speculates in his latest column.

The Kings have shown no inclination to trading Cousins, particularly since they’re in the running for a playoff spot, as Mannix emphasizes. If that dynamic changes, Orlando has enough young pieces and expendables bigs to make an attractive offer for Cousins, Mannix continues. A package that includes Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic would hold some appeal to Sacramento and give the Magic a clearcut franchise player to build around, in Mannix’s view.

Orlando’s glut of power forwards and centers has left Mario Hezonja, the fifth overall pick in 2015, scrounging for minutes despite a lack of floor spacers, Mannix adds. Hezonja would benefit from Orlando paring some frontcourt players.

Naturally, we’ve heard all kinds of rumors and proposals regarding Cousins. The Celtics have been prominently mentioned as another logical trading partner, given their glut of guards and extra draft picks, including the Nets’ first-rounder in June. The Magic are loaded with former lottery picks, so it’s fair to put them in that group of teams with enough assets to entice the Kings.

Cousins recently said he expects to remain put and there’s no rush for the Kings to cash in their biggest asset. He doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent until after the 2017/18 season.

Magic Roster Starting To Jell?

December 28th, 2016 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton sat in on the Magic‘s recruiting pitch for Bismack Biyombo this past summer, and some of the things they talked about during that meeting are starting to come to fruition, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Robbins pointed to Monday night’s win – in which Gordon scored 30 points, Payton added 16, and Biyombo had a double-double – as an example of Orlando’s roster beginning to jell.

And-Ones: Booker, Embiid, Karl

December 27th, 2016 at 9:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nets landed Trevor Booker during the offseason by selling him on the opportunity to expand his role, as he tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (video link). Booker said the Hornets, Magic, Suns, Mavericks and Wolves were among the teams to reach out to him, but his relationship with GM Sean Marks made him feel comfortable joining Brooklyn.

Here’s more from around the league:

Joe Harris is enjoying the opportunity to play for the Nets, as he tells Scotto in a separate piece (video link). Harris, who signed with Brooklyn on a two-year deal during the offseason, is seeing a career-high 23.5 minutes per game this season.
Joel Embiid is the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award, but it’s partly due to the struggles of the 2016 rookie class, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details. Kennedy notes that there isn’t a single 2016 draft pick who is averaging at least 10.0 points per game.
In his book, George Karl claims that the NBA has a steroid issue, suggesting that performance-enhancers are the reason that players have longer careers in today’s NBA, as Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. It’s worth noting that in the book, Karl doesn’t present specific evidence of any particular player using PEDs nor does the former coach even acknowledge the advances in league-approved medicine or the increased awareness in players’ dietary needs, both of which have been proven to increase the length of an average career.

Payton May Get Starting Job Back; Fournier Hurting

December 26th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic point guard Elfrid Payton may have played well enough to win his starting job back, according to John Denton of NBA.com. Payton was among three players demoted when coach Frank Vogel changed the starting lineup November 27th. But Payton has raised his scoring average, assist totals and shooting percentages since the move, and Vogel is thinking about making him a starter again. “He’s competing and it’s my job to figure out if it’s best to keep him where he is and where he’s having success or to move him back in the starting lineup,’’ Vogel said. “I’m sure that we’ll probably look at that [starting him] at some point. I’d like to see him do this over a consistent stretch and I still might keep him where he is because he’s having success there. It’s just one of the things that I’m monitoring game to game.’’

The Magic have been without leading scorer Evan Fournier since Thursday because of a bruised right heel, Denton notes in the same story. Fournier has been trying ice, massages and stimulation to ease the pain on the heel, but he was forced to miss another game tonight. “It’s definitely getting better, but one of the bad things about the NBA is that when you have so many games and it takes a week or so, in that time you have three games,’’ he said.

Magic May Try To Trade Vucevic, Payton

December 24th, 2016 at 5:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic would like to find a taker for center Nikola Vucevic, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Appearing on a podcast with Zach Lowe, Windhorst said Orlando is hoping to make major changes that may also include point guard Elfrid Payton.

After trading for power forward Serge Ibaka over the summer and signing center Bismack Biyombo, the Magic are off to a disappointing 14-18 start. Coach Frank Vogel made some lineup changes last month that included sending Vucevic to the bench. Vucevic, who protested the demotion, is now averaging 27.8 minutes per night, the fewest in his five years in Orlando. His scoring has dropped dramatically, from 18.2 points per game a year ago to 12.8 this season.

Vucevic signed a four-year extension in 2014 and still has two more seasons and $25MM left on his contract.

The Magic are also “down” on Payton, Windhorst adds. The third-year point guard lost his starting job to D.J. Augustin in the November shakeup. Payton is still on his rookie contract and is under team control through the 2017/18 season.

Windhorst says Payton caused a lot of friction between the Orlando front office, which traded two first-round picks to acquire him, and former coach Scott Skiles, who didn’t believe he was good enough to play. The reporter adds that the Magic could be a potential destination for Goran Dragic if the Heat decide to move him.

Magic And Kings Have Discussed Rudy Gay

December 24th, 2016 at 8:47am CST by Austin Kent

The Magic have had conversations with the Kings about Rudy Gay, says Steve Kyler over Twitter. In his 11th season as a pro, the 30-year-old forward has shown an ability to produce despite turmoil and instability in Sacramento.

In 23 games so far this year, Gay has posted 18.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Kings and he does so with a reasonable $13.3MM contract, positioning him as a possible answer to the Magic’s offensive woes.

With so much going sideways in Orlando after an aggressive offseason of acquisitions, the decision to kick the tires on another established veteran falls in line with the approach they’ve been taking to their rebuild. Over the summer the Magic brought aboard veterans Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green, all with hefty contracts.

It’s unclear who would be on the way out of Orlando in such a deal, but there would need to be something significant exchanged as the Magic currently sit above the 2016/17 salary cap.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 12/19/16

December 19th, 2016 at 9:55pm CST by Luke Adams

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

9:51pm:

The Warriors have recalled Damian Jones from their D-League affiliate, says the team in a press release. The center posted 17 points and nine rebounds in his lone game with the Santa Cruz Warriors Sunday night.

3:20pm:

The Raptors have sent Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet back the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Neither player has seen much action this season for Toronto, but with Cory Joseph and Delon Wright on the shelf, VanVleet was Kyle Lowry‘s backup on Sunday and played a career-high 23 minutes.
The Jazz have recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a team release. During his most recent game with Utah’s D-League affiliate over the weekend, Bolomboy helped lead the team to a win with 28 points and 19 rebounds.
The Magic have recalled C.J. Wilcox and Stephen Zimmerman from their D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Both players were sent down on December 15.

J.J. Redick Open To Returning To Magic

December 18th, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Austin Kent

J.J. Redick will be a free agent this summer and may consider returning to the Magic. According to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, the sharp-shooting two-guard “hasn’t ruled out” returning to the club that drafted him back in 2006. Redick played parts of seven seasons in Orlando, before bouncing to the Bucks and eventually the Clippers.

Biyombo Has Fond Memories Of Toronto

December 17th, 2016 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic center Bismack Biyombo has great memories of the single season he spent with the Raptors, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Biyombo helped Toronto advance to the Eastern Conference finals last season before a signing a four-year $72MM deal with Orlando in July. The 6’9″ center, who will face his former team for the first time Sunday night, said he was exchanging messages with Kyle Lowry DeMar DeRozan and other teammates all the way up to the start of free agency. “The expectation that everybody [had] was that I was going back there,” Biyombo said. “I had conversations with teammates before free agency was open. An hour before free agency was open I was still talking to all my teammates. Ten minutes before free agency opened they were still talking to me. So the expectations was high. But in the end, it was tough.”