Anthony Davis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics Trades, Mudiay, Fultz, Noah

January 25th, 2019 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics are unlikely to make a big move prior to this year’s trade deadline, NBC Sports’ Tom Haberstroh reports in a story relayed by NBC Sports Boston’s Darren Hartwell. With Indiana losing Victor Oladipo for the season, the Celtics have less incentive to make a drastic change. They’re hoping Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown bounce back during the second half of the season, then will look to trade for Anthony Davis during the offseason.

We have more from around the Atlantic Division:

Knicks point guard Emmanuel Mudiay will be sidelined at least two weeks with a left shoulder strain, the team’s PR department tweets. Mudiay suffered the injury against Houston on Wednesday and the original prognosis was confirmed by an MRI. Mudiay is averaging 14.7 PPG and 3.9 APG.
Markelle Fultz traveled with the Sixers on their current road trip but the second-year guard has not been cleared for basketball activity, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. It’s not anticipated that Fultz will be cleared during the trip and thus he’s limited to physical therapy as he works his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome.
Joakim Noah takes responsibility for flopping with the Knicks after signing a four-year, $72MM contract, as he told Frank Isola of The Athletic. Noah is playing for the Grizzlies after getting released by New York. “I think these are all life lessons. It was a tough time for me mentally,” he said. “Failing like that on a stage I really wanted to do well on. I take responsibility. It took me a while to digest that.”
Blake Murphy of The Athletic runs down a wide variety of trade scenarios for the Raptors, though they’re also unlikely to make a big move.

Anthony Davis May Return Next Week

January 23rd, 2019 at 4:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis received some good news after meeting with specialists today about his injured finger, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Davis will be evaluated again on Friday and could return to the court by next week, according to his agent, Rich Paul. “It’s a better outcome than we originally feared,” Paul said.

The diagnosis is a volar plate avulsion fracture to the left index finger, and Paul told Wojnarowski that Davis will be “re-evaluated every 48 to 72 hours” after Friday’s examination (Twitter link). “It’s more of an injury of pain tolerance,” Paul explained. “They need to see the swelling go down and the range of motion increase.” He added that the plan is to “proceed with caution” in determining when it’s safe for Davis to start playing again (Twitter link).

Davis displayed “significant improvent” in his range of motion during today’s exam, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Davis’ doctors and the Pelicans‘ medical staff reached the same diagnosis on the injury, he adds.

Davis was hurt last Friday and was projected to miss one to two weeks of action. A complete fracture could have kept him out for a month or longer. The Pelicans need Davis back as soon as possible to keep their playoff hopes alive as they trail the eighth-place Clippers by three games, but are stuck in 12th place.

Reaching the postseason may be crucial to their hopes of a long-term arrangement with Davis, who will be eligible for a supermax extension this summer and can become a free agent in 2020.

Anthony Davis May Miss Additional Time

January 22nd, 2019 at 10:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Anthony Davis is set to a specialist for his injured hand and may miss additional time because of the ailment. According to his agent, Rich Paul, the fear is that he has a fracture in his left index finger, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Davis injured his hand during the Pelicans-Blazers tilt last Friday and was expected to miss one to two weeks. If a fracture is confirmed, Davis could miss up to a month of action.

The 2018/19 campaign has been deemed a pivotal season for Davis and New Orleans, as the former No. 1 overall pick can become a highly-coveted free agent during the summer of 2020. If the Pelicans get a sense that Davis will walk, the franchise will have to consider trading him this upcoming offseason. Dealing him during the 2019/20 regular season wouldn’t provide another team much time to get Davis acclimated and that could drive down the value that rival teams are willing to give up in exchange for the big man.

New Orleans is currently just 3.5 games behind Utah for the eighth seed in the conference, though they’d also have to jump the Lakers, Kings, and Wolves to surpass the Jazz in the standings.

Southwest Notes: Anthony, Smith Jr., Matthews, Davis

January 21st, 2019 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets will improve their luxury tax situation if the proposed trade of Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls goes through, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes. Houston started the day with a projected luxury tax bill of $13.9MM but will see that number drop to $12.4MM if the trade becomes official. It will also create a $1.5MM trade exception and open up a roster spot. Big man Kenneth Faried, signed earlier in the day, will earn $917,271 with the Rockets incurring a $683,661 cap hit.

We have more from around the Southwest Division:

Dennis Smith Jr.’s decision to rejoin Mavericks on Tuesday was mostly about damage control and protecting his future value, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Smith realized after talking to coach Rick Carlisle it was in his best interests to return, rather than the club making up excuses about him being ill, MacMahon said. It’s unlikely that the Mavs will find a palatable deal before the deadline but those talks can be revisited and new suitors could emerge during the offseason if he finishes strong, MacMahon adds (Twitter links).
Wesley Matthews has heard the trade chatter about getting thrown into a potential deal involving Smith but he’s handling it professionally, as he explained to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. Matthews has an expiring $18.6MM contract and the Mavs are reportedly searching for deals with his contract as bait. “I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me,” Matthews said. “No one’s supposed to feel sorry for me. I didn’t get into this business with people feeling sorry for me. No one felt sorry for me when I wasn’t drafted. No one felt sorry for me when I tore my Achilles. … There’s bigger things than trade rumors and hater fans and all that [expletive]. That’s never going to affect me.”
Anthony Davis‘ finger injury is a body blow to an already scuffling franchise, Scott Kushner of the Baton Rouge Advocate writes. The Pelicans face a tough stretch of games heading into the trade deadline despite beating Memphis by 20 points on Monday. They remain below the .500 mark and are in danger of falling completely out of the playoff picture with Davis expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a left finger sprain.

Anthony Davis To Miss 1-2 Weeks With Left Finger Sprain

January 19th, 2019 at 10:40am CST by marksuleymanov

Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis will miss the next one t0-two weeks due to a left index finger sprain, the team announced in a press release Saturday. Davis’ agent Rich Paul said the big man will re-evaluate the injury in three to four days before deciding on whether or not to see a hand specialist, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Davis suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of New Orleans’ 128-112 loss to Portland on Friday night. He finished the game with 27 points and seven rebounds.

The 25-year-old is enjoying another MVP-caliber season in 2018/19. In 41 games, the five-time All-Star is averaging career-highs with 29.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG and 2.6 BPG

At 21-25, the Pelicans are currently four games back of the Lakers (25-21) for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Playing without their best player, the Pelicans will need a strong effort from the rest of the team to keep pace in the West.

Pelicans Notes: Schedule, Davis, Mirotic

January 11th, 2019 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans will begin a five-game Western Conference road trip on Friday night, kicking off a 12-game stretch that represents a “make-or-break” segment of their schedule, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate.

If the Pelicans perform well during those 12 games – which include matchups against Golden State, Portland, Oklahoma City, Houston, Denver, the Clippers, and San Antonio (twice) – it would send a clear message to ownership and management that the club can contend, says Kushner. The stretch ends on February 4, just ahead of this season’s February 7 trade deadline, so New Orleans should have a better idea by then of whether the team remains a buyer.

On the other hand, if the Pelicans struggle and slip further out of playoff contention during those few weeks, it would be “plainly irresponsible” for the team to trade another future first-round pick for short-term help, Kushner notes.

Here’s more on the Pelicans as they gear up for a crucial portion of their schedule:

Even if the Pelicans slump before the trade deadline, there are no plans to make Anthony Davis available during the season, Kushner confirms. Still, the big man’s future remains a popular topic of speculation. Davis himself spoke earlier this week with Joe Vardon of The Athletic about how he tunes out those rumors, whether his situation has been a distraction, and what he wants out of his NBA career.
In that conversation with Vardon, Davis also addressed a recent report that suggested money wouldn’t necessarily be a deciding factor when he weighs his future: “I never said money wasn’t important. Somebody asked me about money or your legacy. In that case, your legacy lasts forever. Your money comes and goes, but for me I want to build a legacy. In that case, if you have to choose between money or legacy, I think legacy wins every time, in my opinion. … I want winning to be a part of my legacy.”
In a recent, wide-ranging Q&A with Larry Holder of The Athletic, Pelicans owner Gayle Benson spoke about the need to give the team “more time” to gel and touched briefly on the subject of Anthony Davis. “I think [the Pelicans] are young, and we’re going to invest more money and get the big players and do everything we can to keep Anthony here,” Benson said. “I really like what we have in place. I really like Anthony, but if he wants to leave, you can’t hold him back.” Benson took over as the Pelicans’ controlling owner when her husband Tom Benson passed away last year.
The Pelicans’ lineup got on lift on Wednesday night when Nikola Mirotic returned from a month-long absence and looked healthy and productive in 22 minutes vs. Cleveland. However, after missing time due to his right ankle injury, Mirotic likely won’t cash in on any unlikely-incentive money for 2018/19. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks details (via Twitter), Mirotic has three separate $250K performance bonuses ($750K total) that all hinge on him playing at least 65 games. If he misses two more games this season, Mirotic will fall short of 65.

Stein’s Predictions: Davis, Leonard, Durant, Cousins

January 1st, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis will turn down a “supermax” extension from the Pelicans, setting up a frenzied competition between the Lakers and Celtics to pull off a trade, predicts Marc Stein of the New York Times in his latest newsletter. It’s one of several prognostications the veteran basketball writer offers up in a New Year’s Day column, but it’s the most explosive and one that will dominate NBA headlines throughout the summer if it comes true.

Davis could short-circuit the story by accepting the offer from New Orleans, which would pay him close to $240MM. But Stein expects Davis to value a shot at winning over money and look to join a loaded lineup in either Los Angeles or Boston. Stein also predicts the Lakers will be aggressive in trying to talk the Pelicans into a deal before the February 7 deadline while there’s not another strong suitor in sight. The Celtics can’t trade for Davis until Kyrie Irving opts out of his current deal because of an NBA rule prohibiting a team from acquiring two players currently on designated rookie extensions through trade.

Stein offers a few more significant personnel-related predictions:

Despite Kawhi Leonard‘s success in Toronto, Stein expects him to sign with the Clippers in July. He adds that the Raptors will likely need to win a title to keep their new star from heading home to Southern California in free agency and predicts Toronto will start rebuilding if Leonard leaves, including a trade of Kyle Lowry.
Kevin Durant may spend one more season with the Warriors before looking to move on in free agency. Stein admits there’s a lot of chatter about Durant joining the Knicks, but he believes the allure of playing in the new Chase Center will keep him him around for another year.
A “wise insider” tells Stein that DeMarcus Cousins will consider returning to the Warriors for another season, although they can only offer a modest raise on his $5.3MM salary. Stein expects other prominent free agents, such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson, to stay where they are.
Carmelo Anthony, currently in limbo on the Rockets‘ roster while looking for his next NBA opportunity, may have played his last game. It has been nearly two months since Anthony was last on the court and it doesn’t appear anyone is willing to take a chance on him, even at a minimum salary.
Kevin Love trade talks will heat up soon, and Stein believes the Nuggets should get involved as they try to hold onto the top spot in the West. Love is projected to return from toe surgery this month and will become eligible to be dealt on January 24, a little more than two weeks before the deadline.

NBA Issues Memo Reminding Teams Of Tampering Rules

December 28th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has issued a memo to all 30 of its teams, reminding them about the rules – and warning them of the consequences – related to tampering, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The league’s statement to clubs indicates that “employment contracts are to be respected and conduct that interferes with contractual employment relationships is prohibited.”

The memo is presumably a response to last week’s mini-controversy, which arose after Lakers star LeBron James said it would be “amazing” to play with Pelicans big man Anthony Davis. As Wojnarowski detailed last Friday, the NBA’s lack of response to those comments upset several general managers around the league, especially those in smaller markets. Among those GMs, there’s a perception that the NBA turns a blind eye to tampering violations when big-market teams go after smaller-market stars.

An NBA spokesperson issued a statement to Woj last week to explain why the league didn’t view James’ comments as tampering. Still, it seems the league office found it necessary to further clarify its tampering-related rules as speculation about a possible Davis trade continues.

“Teams should be aware that the scope of the anti-tampering rule is broad, and its application in any given case is based on all facts and circumstances,” the NBA’s memo reads, per Wojnarowski. “Accordingly, conduct that doesn’t violate the rule in any single instance may nevertheless constitute a violation if it becomes repeated or part of a broader collection of improper actions. Teams should therefore refrain from any conduct – including public statements – that could be viewed as targeting or expressing interest in another team’s player.”

The league also warned that respecting other teams’ contracts with players is particularly important in “today’s media environment,” since public comments speculating about potential player movement receive “immediate and widespread” attention and coverage.

“Teams should be entitled to focus their efforts on the competition this season with the players they have under contract, without having to divert attention or resources to conduct or speculation regarding the potential destinations of those players in future seasons once their contracts expire,” the NBA said in its memo.

Pelicans Notes: Davis, Barnes, Mirotic

December 27th, 2018 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

With trade speculation swirling around Anthony Davis, ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes that Davis’ situation is the NBA’s biggest ongoing story, contending that the media didn’t create that story — the calendar did. With the Pelicans now in 14th place in the Western Conference at 15-20 and Davis’ super-max eligibility just over six months away, it’s only logical that NBA insiders – including media, agents, and executives – will start taking a closer look at Davis’ future, says Lowe.

Davis hasn’t expressed interest in a trade. He also hasn’t told people close to him that he wants to join the Lakers or any other specific team if he decides to leave New Orleans, sources tell Lowe.

Still, Lowe – who hears that teams expect Davis to sign a series of shorter-term contracts – is predicting that the All-NBA big man will eventually turn down the Pelicans’ super-max offer when the team puts it on the table in the offseason. If that happens, Davis would effectively become a free agent, according to Lowe, since he’d be on an expiring contract and will have passed on the Pelicans’ best possible extension offer.

Here’s more from Lowe on Davis and the Pelicans:

Explaining why the Lakers and Celtics are most frequently cited as the logical trade partners for the Pelicans if they eventually decide to move Davis, Lowe runs through several other options – including the Heat, Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, and Sixers – and has trouble finding another team with the necessary assets to make it work.
As Lowe details, the Heat, Spurs, Bulls, and Knicks would have to give up virtually all the players Davis would want as teammates, and Klutch’s representation of Ben Simmons would complicate a Philadelphia scenario. The Warriors would have interest, according to Lowe, but they wouldn’t trade Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, and it would be tricky to make a deal work with Klay Thompson (a 2019 free agent) or Draymond Green as a centerpiece.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer covers similar ground in an article of his own, taking a deep dive into the Davis situation and exploring possible outcomes and trade scenarios. One interesting note from O’Connor, who examines whether the Pelicans can improve their roster around Davis: The Pelicans have never gone into the luxury tax, and front office executives don’t expect them to anytime soon.
On the non-Davis front, Lowe revisits some previous Pelicans roster moves, citing sources who say that the team considered spending all its cap room in 2016 on Harrison Barnes. Instead, New Orleans ended up with E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill — the investment in Moore has worked out, but Hill’s contract has become an albatross.
Although the Pelicans’ 2017/18 in-season acquisition of Nikola Mirotic essentially served as a response to DeMarcus Cousins‘ season-ending Achilles injury, they were actually in trade talks for Mirotic even before that injury, per Lowe. Davis, Cousins, and Mirotic couldn’t have all been on the court together, so it’s not clear how New Orleans’ plan would have worked if Cousins hadn’t gotten hurt — it was “the sort of jumble that materializes when a team flings itself from plan to plan,” writes Lowe.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Smith Jr., Cuban

December 25th, 2018 at 5:50pm CST by Austin Kent

There’s no imminent news that would ruin Christmas dinner for Pelicans fans per se, but Kevin Garnett believes that Anthony Davis to the Lakers “has to happen.”

Martin Rogers of USA Today spoke with the former All-Star about the rumors that LeBron James is courting the Pelicans’ superstar center. Garnett, of course, strung together a Hall of Fame-worthy career as a lone wolf in Minnesota before a 2007 trade put him in a position to win a title with the Celtics.

“Anthony Davis playing in New Orleans, I don’t want to say they are wasted days, but they are non-days,” Garnett said. “He needs to be somewhere where he can be with another guy and they can have a run at a championship. He has been [with the Pelicans] long enough. It is time for a change now. This is it. No better time to do this.”

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

The struggling Pelicans blew a 19-point first-half lead and lost to the upstart Kings this week. Point guard Jrue Holiday thinks that the squad and the coaching staff need to get on the same page. “It’s kind of the same story for us,” Holiday told Michael Wagaman of The Associated Press. “Between the coaches and the players, we have to get on the same page when it comes down to the last four minutes.“
The Mavs have only employed the services of Dennis Smith Jr. once since December 4. Fortunately, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News write, the sophomore has shown great progress from his wrist injury and plans to be back in the lineup before the new year.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban and forward Harrison Barnes plan to chat to clear the air after coming away with different stances on a contentious comment made by the former. Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News wrote about Cuban’s implication that American-born players failed to learn fundamental basketball skills at a young age as well as their European counterparts.