Chris Smith (Louisville) Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Kidd, Knicks, Richardson, Pierce

October 28th, 2012 at 1:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The seismic NBA news in the last 24 hours has come out of the West, but that doesn't mean the East is all quiet with the season two days away. Here's the latest from around the Atlantic Division.

Jason Kidd turns 40 in March, but said he wants to play until the end of his three-year contract with the Knicks, and also spoke highly of his time with the Mavericks in a wide-ranging Q&A with Steve Serby of the New York Post.
Chris Smith was waived by the Knicks this week, but he's rehabbing his injured patella at the team's facility, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Nate Taylor of The New York Times examines the unlikely training camp success story of 28-year-old rookie Chris Copeland, who made the team's opening-night roster on a non-guaranteed deal.
Jason Richardson was pleased with the trade to the Sixers, where coach Doug Collins was sold on Richardson after a glowing recommendation from Grant Hill, reports John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Paul Pierce isn't a trade candidate, and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that the team had no serious discussions about trading Pierce last season, either, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes.
Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, knows he has a long way to go to live up to expectations as he begins his NBA career, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.

Knicks Waive Chris Smith

October 26th, 2012 at 4:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have officially waived Chris Smith, the team announced today in a press release. The brother of J.R. Smith was brought aboard to compete for a spot on the roster, but suffered a patella injury that will keep him out for three to six months.

Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote a couple weeks back that there was speculation that one of the stipulations when J.R. signed with the Knicks was that his brother would earn a roster spot. However, following the injury, Chris probably wouldn't have been able to contribute until late in the season, if at all. As such, the Knicks were highly unlikely to use a roster spot on him.

The younger Smith's contract was believed to be fully non-guaranteed, so it shouldn't cost the Knicks anything to waive him. According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports, the contract would have become fully guaranteed if Smith had remained on the roster through November 1st.

Atlantic Rumors: Smith Brothers, Bynum, Celtics

October 10th, 2012 at 6:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's been a busy day around the league today, especially for Atlantic Division teams. Here's a roundup of the latest.

Chris Smith, who needs patella tendon surgery that will keep him out for three to six months, isn't sure exactly how the injury happened, and had been confident he'd make the Knicks, he tells Mark Berman of the New York Post. Berman, who says there's speculation that Chris' older brother J.R. re-signed with the Knicks for less money on the condition Chris would make the team, reports coach Mike Woodson won't rule out keeping a roster spot open for the younger Smith. Still, such a move would be "highly unlikely," Berman says.
Sixers GM Rod Thorn emailed Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com to deny a report by Howard Eskin of Fox 29 in Philadelphia suggesting the Lakers withheld information about Andrew Bynum's condition before sending him to the Sixers. Bynum is recovering from a bone bruise in his left knee, but the big man says he thinks he'll be ready to play on opening night. Moore points out that Bynum passed a physical after the trade.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers is thinking about using three different starting lineups during the season, writes Mark D'Amico of Celtics.com.
Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal wonders which of the Knicks' multitude of aging veterans will hold up best.

Injury Updates: Roy, Dirk, Smith, Hill, Nene

October 10th, 2012 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Injury news isn't usually our focus here at Hoops Rumors, but with updates today relating to recent free agent signees, roster hopefuls, and NBA superstars, there's too many updates of note not to pass them along. Here's the latest on the injury statuses of a number of players around the league….

In an appearance on KFAN in Minneapolis, Brandon Roy said that his knees are holding up great following his first few "grueling practices" with the Timberwolves (link via Sports Radio Interviews).
According to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, Dirk Nowitzki is fighting knee issues for the second straight year. Nowitzki is hoping a few days of rest will help, but if the problem doesn't improve, it sounds as if he's prepared to undergo a minor procedure: "We’ll see how it responds, but the longer we wait, obviously the worse it is. If we have to do something, it’d be better to do it quick…. But we’re still hopeful that this is a temporary thing. If we relax and rest it for a week and see how it goes, then we’ll have a better idea."
Knicks camp invitee Chris Smith will undergo patella surgery and miss three to six months, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. According to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter), Smith was considered a strong candidate to make the team, so his injury could clear a spot for another player to become the Knicks' 15th man.
Jordan Hill, who re-signed with the Lakers this summer, won't need surgery for a herniated disc in his back and should be ready to play in the team's regular-season opener, reports Adrian Wojnarnowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman couldn't offer a timetable for the return of Nene, as he told Michael Lee of the Washington Post: "All I do is each morning, I come in, I ask the trainer who I got, who I don’t have. And that’s all I can worry about right now. I write down who I got and we formulate a practice plan and we come out here. And I’ll come back tonight and see who I got and who I don’t got. That’s my update."

Odds & Ends: Kidd-Gilchrist, Raptors, 2013 Draft

September 15th, 2012 at 7:01pm CST by Michael Pina

During a University of Kentucky charity game that he originally wasn't scheduled to compete in, Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist appeared to show no ill effects from a knee injury that kept him sidelined during July's Summer League in Las Vegas, writes the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell.

Here's a look elsewhere around the league this Saturday evening.

The Raptors are currently entering stage two of the rebuilding process, writes NBA.com's John Schuhmann. Even though the team's big offseason target, Steve Nash, ended up signing with the Lakers, Toronto continues to build around the strength of their talented youth.
Hoopsworld.com and Draft Express give us their top 100 NBA prospects for the 2013 draft. UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel headline the list.
HoopsWorld.com gives us a season preview for the Trail Blazers, a team that's either rebuilding or already talented enough to compete for the eighth seed in the West. Also from HoopsWorld.com, a preview for the Bucks.
The Jazz will enter the 2012/13 season with a new general manager and new faces on the roster, such as longtime Hawks forward Marvin Williams, writes The Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm.
Chris Smith, J.R. Smith's brother, will fight for a roster spot with the Knicks in this year's training camp, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

Odds & Ends: Smith, Knicks, Rockets, Suns

August 28th, 2012 at 1:12pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2004 at the Athens Olympics, Argentina won its first-ever Olympic gold medal in men's basketball and became the first country other than the United States to win the gold medal since 1988. Luis Scola had 25 points as Argentina steamrolled Italy to win it all, 84-69. Here's this afternoon's look around the Association…

J.R. Smith's brother Chris Smith has a good chance of making the Knicks' roster, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Berman cites Smith's defensive potential and Iman Shumpert's injury as reasons why the younger Smith could be a fit.
According to a Europa Press report (link in Spanish), Sergio Llull is happy with Real Madrid and has no intention of leaving the club. Llull, who played a major role for Spain at the Olympics in London, expressed a desire to finish his career with Real Madrid despite strong interest from the Rockets, the team that drafted him in 2009.
As part of the team's offseason makeover, the Suns are putting a greater emphasis on player development, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
Sixers coach Doug Collins says that he hopes to use Spencer Hawes in a "Pau Gasol role" alongside the newly-acquired Andrew Bynum, writes Max Rappaport of NBA.com. Collins notes that Hawes, like Gasol, has the ability to play on the perimeter thanks to his ability to shoot and pass.
Zach Lowe of SI.com wonders how Kobe Bryant will mesh with the revamped Lakers roster in 2012/13. Bryant's elite basketball IQ and style of play could make his transition to the Princeton offense a smooth one, but he'll have to work more quickly than he's used to.
Hawks GM Danny Ferry will bring back former coach Bob Weiss to join Larry Drew’s staff as an adviser, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Former Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson has also officially been hired as an assistant coach. Atkinson has been in talks with the club since early August.

Knicks Sign Chris Smith

August 1st, 2012 at 9:55pm CST by Luke Adams

9:55pm: The deal is for two years and is partially guaranteed, reports Newsday's Al Iannazzone (Sulia link; hat tip to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com).

3:57pm: The Knicks have officially signed Smith, the team announced today in a press release.

1:43pm: The Knicks likely acquired Smith in order to assign his rights to their D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.

11:49am: The Knicks have agreed to sign Chris Smith, J.R. Smith's younger brother, to a contract, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, who says the deal isn't official yet but should be finalized soon (Twitter links). Marc Berman of the New York Post tweets that the contract will earn the younger Smith an invite to training camp, though I'd imagine there's very little guaranteed money included.

Smith, 24, averaged 9.7 points per game in his senior year at Louisville and played for the Knicks' Summer League squad in Las Vegas in July. His numbers in Vegas weren't too impressive (5.2 PPG on .290/.375/.625 shooting) and he appears to be a long shot to earn a spot on the Knicks' regular season roster.