Charlie Villanueva Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Pacers, Villanueva, Bulls, Watson

November 23rd, 2012 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Central Division cellar-dwellers have winnable games on their schedules tonight, as the Pistons prepare to host the Raptors while the Cavaliers face the Magic in Orlando. The Pacers will have a tougher time making up ground on the division-leading Bucks, with a matchup against the Spurs on tap. As we look forward to a busy evening around the NBA, let's round up a few notes out of the Central….

The Pacers are off to a slow start without Danny Granger, but head coach Frank Vogel doesn't feel like major changes are needed, as he tells Paul Flannery of SBNation.com. "I like the guys we have on our team," Vogel said. "Obviously we're missing Danny, there's no question about that, but I think we have the pieces to become a really good team and I think we're close."
Although Charlie Villanueva has only appeared in three games for the Pistons, shooting 1-of-10 from the field, David Mayo of MLive.com still doesn't believe Detroit should have used its amnesty provision to release the forward in July.
In his latest mailbag on Bulls.com, Sam Smith weighs in on Tom Thibodeau's extension and early-season performance, Taj Gibson vs. Omer Asik, and plenty more Bulls-related topics.
Smith also adds that the Bulls would've liked to bring C.J. Watson back for the same minimum-salary contract the point guard received from the Nets.
We're in the midst of examining Central Division teams in our Offseason In Review series, with recaps of the Cavaliers' and Pistons' summers having been published earlier this week.

Central Notes: Pacers, Villanueva, Jaric, Pargo

September 27th, 2012 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Cavs reportedly put the finishing touches on a training-camp contract for Kevin Anderson, their division rivals are staying active as well. Here's the latest on a few Central Division teams:

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star examines the Pacers' final couple roster spots, predicting that Sam Young will earn one, while Blake Ahearn and Sundiata Gaines will compete for the other.
After a forgettable 2011/12 season, Charlie Villanueva is fighting to bounce back for the Pistons this year, as Vince Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. Asked about the amnesty rumors that surrounded him in July, Villanueva admitted that it was hard not to notice: "It burns me up. It just drove me. Instead of being upset, I said, this will pass and I will let my game do the talking."
Marko Jaric was in recently to work out with the Bulls, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter). Jaric has seven years of NBA experience under his belt, but hasn't played in the league since 2008/09, with the Grizzlies.
Jannero Pargo expects to finalize a deal within the next couple days, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com (via Twitter). Charania adds that Pargo is "sticking around Chicago," but I would assume that's just where he's working out, rather than an indication he'll sign with the Bulls.

Central Rumors: Bucks, Villanueva, Pacers

August 13th, 2012 at 10:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carlos Delfino agreed to sign with the Rockets tonight, and it's no surprise he's leaving the Bucks, who never made a push to retain their incumbent starting small forward. His departure opens up minutes at the three for Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Dunleavy and gives 2011 19th overall pick Tobias Harris a chance to crack the rotation, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We've got more on the Bucks and their Central Division rivals here:

John Hollinger of ESPN.com wonders if the Bucks will try to turn Delfino's deal with the Rockets into a sign-and-trade, which would create a trade exception for Milwaukee (Twitter link). The Bucks, who hold Houston's 2014 second-round pick, could entice the rebuilding Rockets by offering it back to them, while the Bucks could take back one of the 21 players Houston is slated to bring to training camp. There would have to be a third season tacked on to Delfino's two-year deal per sign-and-trade rules, but that wouldn't be hard for the Rockets to do if they made it a non-guaranteed year, Hollinger tweets.
The Pistons may look to move Charlie Villanueva or Austin Daye to free up roster space for Ben Wallace to return to the team, Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. The team could also use Villanueva as a trade chip next summer, when he'll be entering the final season of his five-year, $37.7MM deal, but the 6'11" power forward is determined to prove he's worth keeping around.
The Indianapolis Capitol Improvement Board and the Pacers are in the early stages of negotiations on a new deal to provide money for the day-to-day operations of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the board's approval of a new budget that doesn't specify any payment to the Pacers complicates the issue, as Jon Murray of the Indianapolis Star writes.
Former Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa is still looking for a job, but Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld argues that he'll be a valuable addition where ever he winds up.
The Bulls aren't bringing back Brian Scalabrine next year, but the 11-year veteran refuses to end his unlikely NBA career, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com chronicles. He has an offer from a team in Europe, and the Celtics want him to do some TV work, but Scalabrine is holding out for one more chance to play in the NBA.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Przybilla, Gentry, Villanueva

July 30th, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

With Olympic basketball underway in London, new Timberwolves Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved led the Russian squad to a victory over Great Britain in each team's first game. Former NBA veteran Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 22 points for Britain, and has also reportedly agreed to play in Israel for the coming season. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter) confirms an Israel Today report suggesting that Mensah-Bonsu has agreed to terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv. The 28-year-old had played in regular-season games for the Mavericks, Spurs, Raptors, Rockets, and Hornets in four NBA seasons.

Let's round up a few more Monday odds and ends….

The Trail Blazers will interview their final four coaching candidates today and tomorrow, starting with Steve Clifford today, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Kaleb Canales, Terry Stotts, and Elston Turner are the other finalists.
Joel Przybilla says he's meeting with teams this week and will decide "really soon" where he'll play in 2012/13, though he didn't say if the Blazers are still in the running, according to Quick (Twitter links). We heard last week that the Bucks, Blazers, and Mavericks were all interested in the big center.
Suns coach Alvin Gentry isn't concerned that the team hasn't extended his contract, which will expire at the end of the coming season. "My view is if a person has a three-year contract, you assess it at the end of three years," said GM Lon Babby, and Gentry is on board with that approach, as he tells Randy Hill of FOX Sports Arizona.
Plenty of Pistons fans were disappointed that Detroit didn't amnesty Charlie Villanueva earlier this month, but the veteran forward tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he plans to take advantage of the opportunity and use fans' scorn as motivation.

Odds & Ends: Nets, Villanueva, Warriors, Bulls

July 12th, 2012 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

As busy as the Nets have been so far this month, we haven't heard much out of majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. That changed today, however, as Prokhorov released an official statement discussing the team's offseason:

"I'm thrilled with the way our team has come together. My congratulations and appreciation go out to general manager Billy King, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Avery Johnson for their tenacity, nerve and heart throughout this process. With the re-signing of Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson, we go into our new home led by an All-Star backcourt and with every hope of a great season for the Brooklyn Nets. I can't wait until opening night."

While Prokhorov starts counting down the days until opening night, we'll round up the rest of the morning's odds and ends right here:

Odds & Ends: Hinrich, Bulls, Meeks, Mayo, Tolliver

July 7th, 2012 at 9:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago reported earlier that the Bucks presented Kirk Hinrich with an offer of about $4 MM per year, while the Bulls have made an offer somewhere between the veteran's minimum and around $2 MM per year. The proposed length of either deal is still unknown. Although the Bulls have been relatively quiet at this point during the offseason, Sam thinks that Chicago could eventually become financially viable for free agent point guards such as Ramon Sessions, Raymond Felton, Jerryd Bayless, and Delonte West, who could be available if they are not acquired during the first wave of free agent signings. Derek Fisher and Jonny Flynn were also mentioned as potential additions.

We are currently less than four days away from the end of the NBA's moratorium period, and here is the rest of what we've heard around the league this evening…

Ersan Ilyasova plans to meet with Bucks owner Herb Kohl on Tuesday, which is seen as an important opportunity in the team's effort to retain the 6'10'' forward (Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports). Earlier this week, we reported that Milwaukee offered a deal worth around $40MM over five years.

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweeted that the Lakers are scheduled to meet with unrestricted free agent Jodie Meeks early next week. In another tweet, Amico says that the Celtics have reportedly stepped up their interest in O.J. Mayo, but thinks Boston would likely have to add him via a sign-and-trade.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweeted that although the Timberwolves express interest in Anthony Tolliver, the team has not made any promises. Zgoda also added via Tolliver's agent that there are five other teams that have shown interest.
Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer answered some questions from Cleveland fans about the Cavaliers' offseason. While the team appears committed to keeping Anderson Varejao, Boyer thinks that his name will be brought up by other teams during trade discussions. With regards to free agency, she believes that Anthony Tolliver, Sonny Weems, Jonny Flynn, and Royal Ivey could be targets.
Ben Golliver of the BlazersEdge wonders if there are more front office changes coming after the resignation of Larry Miller, considering that the Trail Blazers still have executives held over from two prior regimes (Twitter link).
Carmelo Anthony publicly endorsed the Knicks' efforts to recruit Marcus Camby, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Bulls forward Taj Gibson told Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago that he'd like the team to keep Omer Asik and would be ecstatic if the team somehow found a way to bring unrestricted free agent Kirk Hinrich back to Chicago. The two had been teammates during Gibson's rookie season.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes about Austin Daye and Charlie Villanueva as two players who will look to stake their claim as the stretch-four in Lawrence Frank's rotation. Both are in Orlando participating in summer league practices, but only Daye will compete on the Pistons' summer league team.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel talked about Jameer Nelson's return to the Magic and what it means for his leadership role moving forward.

—–

Bobcats, Pistons Swap Maggette For Ben Gordon

June 26th, 2012 at 7:08pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted that the Bobcats have acquired Ben Gordon and a lottery-protected first round pick from the Pistons in exchange for Corey Maggette. According to a tweet by David Aldridge of NBA.com, the conditional first-round pick will be lottery protected in 2013, top-eight protected in 2014, first pick-protected in 2015, and unprotected in 2016. Detroit will also receive a trade exception of about $1.3MM in the deal.

Wojnarowski also mentioned (via Twitter) that Detroit will save nearly $15MM by trading the remaining two years of Gordon's contract in exchange for Maggette's expiring deal. Gordon is due $12.4MM next season with a $13.2MM player option for 2013-14, while Maggette will be in the final year of a contract where he is due about $10.9MM.

Viewed as one of Joe Dumars' significant free agent acquisitions during the 2009 off-season, Ben struggled to find the same niche that he established in Chicago. After making the playoffs in four of his first five seasons with the Bulls and averaging more than 31.0 MPG from 2005-06 to 2008-09, the former UConn Husky missed the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the Pistons and never averaged more than 28 MPG.

While Charlotte may not be a team ready to contend for the playoffs just yet, it could present an opportunity for a significant increase in playing time. Gordon averaged 12.5 PPG while shooting 44.2% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range last year, and holds career averages of 43.6% shooting from the field and 40.6% shooting from three. Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap recently spoke about the team's need for shooters, which should bode well for Gordon:

"The ability to make the 3(-pointer) is really important because it allows you to play inside. What happens (in the absence of quality shooting) is the defense collapses and it gets crowded in there…It's always nice to have guys who can shoot a basketball."

Detroit will be Maggette's sixth NBA team in thirteen seasons, and his third consecutive year in which he's been traded. The 32-year-old guard/forward averaged 15.0 PPG, 4 RPG, and 36.4% from beyond the arc, but shot just 37% from the field overall this past season and missed a significant amount of games due to lingering injuries. Although he is slated to undergo minor knee surgery this summer, there is little doubt that he will be ready to play by the start of next season.

With nearly $11MM coming off the books next summer, the Pistons also have the opportunity to clear an additional $8.5MM if they chose to amnesty a contract such as Charlie Villanueva's, who is owed a total of about $16.6MM through 2014. The Bobcats can definitely afford to take on Gordon's deal, as he and Tyrus Thomas (along with at least this year's lottery pick) would be the team's only guaranteed contracts heading into the 2013-14 season.

—–

Odds & Ends: Thunder, Hinrich, D-Will, Garnett

June 12th, 2012 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

We're just hours away from Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals, and much of the coverage leading up to the series has focused on how this may be just the first of many title shots for the Thunder. However, Steve Perrin of SBNation.com doesn't necessarily see it that way, noting that the new CBA that was supposed to help small-market teams compete will work against Oklahoma City when James Harden and Serge Ibaka become free agents. The title window for the Thunder may not be as big as you'd think, at least with the current roster, says Perrin.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA, as we await tonight's opening tip….

Central Notes: Bird, Hibbert, Pistons, Skiles

April 27th, 2012 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

In what's becoming a monthly ritual, Pacers president Larry Bird has denied a report suggesting he'll be leaving the team at season's end. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that Bird has told Pacers owner Herb Simon and several friends that he has decided to leave, but the Hall-of-Famer told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he hasn't made up his mind yet.

"Once again, no decision has been made," Bird told Wells. "I'll sit down with my owner at the end of the season and we'll talk about things."

Here are the rest of the morning's updates out of the Central Division:

Roy Hibbert's playoff performance could have a significant impact on what sort of contract he signs this offseason, Wells writes in a separate piece for the Star. As Wells notes, Dwight Howard's absence will give Hibbert and the Pacers a good opportunity to dominate the Magic in the first round.
Charlie Villanueva is aware that he'll head into the offseason as a candidate to be traded or amnestied by the Pistons, as he suggests to David Mayo of MLive.com: "I would like to stay here. I love it here, I love it here. At the same time, I'm a realist."
Pistons coach Lawrence Frank addressed the team's future in a Q&A with Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
Keith Glass, agent for Bucks coach Scott Skiles, dismissed rumors that Skiles will seek a buyout on the final year of his contract, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. "That’s news to me," Glass said. "I haven’t talked to anyone about that. I’d be surprised if that was true."

Odds & Ends: Van Gundy, Villanueva, Fisher, Magic

April 7th, 2012 at 9:13pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Several of tonight's NBA matchups have intriguing stories to follow. The Sixers, losers of three out of their last four games, collide with the Magic, who have lost five in a row. The Celtics hold a half-game lead over Philadelphia for the Atlantic Division crown, but face a challenge tonight as they play the surging Pacers, who are on a four-game winning streak. Tonight's Grizzlies–Mavericks matchup has a full-game impact on both teams in the Western conference standings. The Clippers and Kings complete their home-and-home series tonight at Staples Center, just a few days after DeMarcus Cousins had some unflattering words for Blake Griffin following Thursday night's game. With that aside, we'll keep you updated on today's miscellaneous stories here:

John Hollinger of ESPN explores the different coaching options Stan Van Gundy has if he leaves the Magic (Insider link). It is worth noting that Hollinger lists a TV gig with ESPN or TNT, the Clippers, and Wizards among several other possibilities.
Charlie Villanueva is "dying to play," writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. The six-year veteran has played in just two games since returning from an ankle injury.
While Derek Fisher hasn't shown a statistical improvement compared to his numbers with the Lakers this season, the Thunder remain hopeful that his intangibles and big-game experience will pay dividends toward the development of the team, says J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.
In what he considers to be a "sneakered soap opera," Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel shares his thoughts on what to expect from the Magic as they finish the rest of the season and head into the summer.
Antoine Walker announced his retirement from the D-League, tweeted Marc J. Spears of Yahoo.
Expected to file for retirement in June, Brad Miller briefly reflects on a storied career with Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Shabazz Muhammad of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School is the only NBA-ready player among the participants at the Nike Hoops Summit, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo.