Cleanthony Early Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Baynes, Kilpatrick, Early

March 21st, 2016 at 10:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy cannot understand why Aron Baynes has so many social media critics, he told the assembled media, including Hoops Rumors. Van Gundy signed Baynes to a three-year, $20MM contract last summer to back up All-Star center Andre Drummond and believes he’s gotten his money’s worth. “Some of you guys tell me that some fans on comment boards don’t like him. I don’t know what they’re watching,” Van Gundy said. “He’s certainly one of the top backup centers in the league. You compare him to the other backup centers, he’s been absolutely terrific. He plays with great passion and emotion.” Baynes scored a career-high 21 points against the Nets on Saturday.

In other news around the league:

Sean Kilpatrick‘s offensive ability earned him some long-term security, Nets interim coach Tony Brown told the media, including Hoops Rumors, over the weekend. The shooting guard agreed to a multiyear deal that includes a guarantee for next season after his two 10-day contracts with the team expired. “He’s very effective shooting from deep and he’s been getting some good looks off the dribble,” Brown said. “Obviously, the new deal for him is well deserved. They’re thinking down the road, for the future of the ballclub, that he’d be a nice piece to have on the roster.”
The anticipation for next season is growing in Philadelphia as the current season winds down, Sixers coach Brett Brown told Brian Seltzer of NBA.com. “Names get associated with prospective draft picks that we’re studying now that the [NCAA] Tournament’s going on,” Brown said. “The end is near where you’re looking at our existing players and how we’re going to respond to some of the people that are out of contract. You start talking a little bit more seriously about some of the free agent strategies. You start talking a little more seriously about the Joel Embiid situation, and Dario [Saric] situation, how it all fits.”
Former Bucks and Pelicans point guard Nate Wolters is leaving his Turkish team Besiktas, international journalist David Pick tweets, citing a source. Wolters chose to play overseas in July after playing for the Clippers’ summer league team.
The Trail Blazers recalled shooting guard Luis Montero and power forward Cliff Alexander from the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Sunday, the team informed Mike Richman of The Oregonian. Both rookies appeared in four games with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate during their assignment and have played seven games apiece for the Blazers this season. Alexander will likely be active for the Blazers’ game against the Mavericks on Wednesday because big man Meyers Leonard is out indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder, Richman adds.
The Knicks assigned small forward Cleanthony Early to their D-League affiliate in Westchester on Monday, the team tweets. The Knicks activated him on Sunday for the first time since he was shot in the right knee during a December 30th robbery.

Arthur Hill contributed to this report.

Atlantic Notes: Early, Rondo, Embiid, Scola

March 20th, 2016 at 5:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks activated small forward Cleanthony Early today for the first time since he was shot in the right knee during a December 30th robbery, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Early told police he was robbed and shot when four to six men stopped a taxi he was riding in. The Knicks assigned Early to the D-League two weeks ago to help him prepare for his NBA return.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Kings point guard and impending free agent Rajon Rondo said former Knicks coach Derek Fisher “might have blacked out a couple of times” when he questioned Rondo’s ability to run the triangle offense, Begley relays. Rondo made some comments questioning the triangle earlier this season, and many interpreted them as a sign that he wouldn’t consider New York in free agency. But Rondo sounded different before Sacramento’s game tonight at Madison Square Garden. “I’m not saying I couldn’t master [the triangle]. I think I can put my mind to it, break down a lot of film if that was the case to be,” Rondo said. “I don’t play in the triangle. I can only speak on what I do know and that’s under George Karl’s system. We’re pretty good offensively. We don’t want to talk about the defense.”
The Sixers sent Joel Embiid back to the Aspetar medical facility in Qatar because they were happy with the results of his first visit, according to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly. Coach Brett Brown said the first trip to Aspetar provided positive results for Embiid in the areas of body weight, sleep, body mass assessment and healing. “Maybe more important than anything, Joel bought in, in a large way, and the results were starting to show,” Brown said. “We test drove it, we liked what we saw a lot, led by a group of us that assessed it and Joel’s reaction to it.”
Veteran power forward Luis Scola, who signed with the Raptors in free agency over the offseason, has become a valuable contributor in Toronto, writes Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com. Scola raised some eyebrows around the league with a 17-point first quarter against the Celtics this week. “This is a team that we have a bunch of pieces and they all have their role,” Scola said.

Atlantic Notes: Rambis, Wright, Sloan, Early

March 7th, 2016 at 11:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson hoped Kurt Rambis would prove the right choice to keep the Knicks head coaching job for the long term when he installed him as interim bench boss last month, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, and Rambis has to win to secure his position, Begley writes. A desire to better the team’s record this season is why Rambis is shying away from playing Kristaps Porzingis at center, even though the coach admits the idea intrigues him, as Begley relays. Rambis said he’s spoken to management about whether to give rookie Jerian Grant more playing time but added that the team’s brass hasn’t signaled that it wants to shift focus strictly to player development yet, according to Begley. See more on the Knicks, who’ve reportedly struck a deal with Tony Wroten:

Delon Wright has barely played for the Raptors this season despite having been the 20th overall pick last year, with just 75 total minutes under his belt, but that doesn’t mean coach Dwane Casey is down on him, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. “I think he’s going to be a heck of a player in this league,” Casey said. “His defense is lagging his offense right now. Offensively, he’s an excellent pick-and-roll player, but there’s two sides to the game. … Guarding the speedsters in the NBA is going to be his next challenge on the defensive end. He’s improved tremendously with his shooting, his 3-point shooting.”
Soon-to-be free agent Donald Sloan has been the starting point guard for the Nets since mid-January after fighting in the preseason simply to make the opening-night roster, but he’s not upset with Brooklyn for making him work for his opportunity, telling Steve Simineri of NetsDaily that he didn’t feel “shafted” at any point. The fifth-year NBA veteran has been the most productive among Brooklyn’s cheap finds this past offseason, Simineri observes, positioning himself for more job security to start next season.
The Nets passed on Wroten earlier this season under the direction of former GM Billy King because the Sixers had him under minutes restrictions as he came back from injury and because of his high rate of turnovers, tweets NetsDaily. He’s averaged 3.7 per game the past two seasons.
Cleanthony Early appears closer to a return to game action from having been shot in his right knee in late December, as the Knicks have assigned him to the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link).

Knicks Rumors: Early, Fisher, Porzingis

January 10th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks forward Cleanthony Early, who was wounded in a December 30th shooting, probably won’t return to the court until after the All-Star break, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The second-year player was shot once in his right knee during a robbery. Team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills haven’t made any public comment on the incident, but an unidentified friend of Early’s told Berman that the recovery is progressing well. “He’s feeling better and he’s going to be fine,’’ the friend said. “It was the best possible outcome, and it’s not going to have any effect on his career. There was no structural damage and no infection, so he didn’t need surgery. That was the beautiful thing, not needing surgery. Thank God — his knee could’ve been blown out.’’

With an opening already on the roster, Early’s absence has left the Knicks with just 13 available players, and Berman writes that the team is “exploring several options” to add someone via a 10-day contract. The Knicks are examining the players waived because of this week’s deadline for guaranteed contracts and were keeping an eye on the D-League showcase that ends today. Jimmer Fredette, part of the Knicks’ D-League franchise in Westchester, was considered, but coach Derek Fisher wants a better defender, according to Berman.

There’s more this morning from the Big Apple:

The Knicks’ near-miss Friday in San Antonio and their overall competitiveness during a challenging stretch shows that Fisher has developed an effective combination, Berman writes in a separate piece. Their recent success, Berman notes, coincides with Fisher’s decision to cut his rotation to nine players and limit the playing time of Kyle O’Quinn, Kevin Seraphin, Sasha Vujacic and Lou Amundson.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had good things to say about rookie Kristaps Porzingis, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Porzingis is averaging 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game halfway through his first NBA season. “They were very astute in figuring out what he might be down the road,” Popovich said. “His agility, his sense of the game, his skills, are quite significant. I think he’s going to be a great player.”
New York’s best opportunity for improvement next season will come through free agency, contends Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The Knicks will have approximately $20MM in cap space this summer and won’t have their first-round pick because of the 2013 Andrea Bargnani trade.

Atlantic Notes: Early, D-League, Sixers

December 31st, 2015 at 8:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

With the shooting of Knicks forward Cleanthony Early on Wednesday, plus a number of other unfortunate player incidents over the past year, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opined that free agents may avoid signing with New York based franchises going forward. Nets point guard Jarrett Jack acknowledged that living and playing in New York is different than many other NBA locales, and believes players are targets because of the popularity of the sport in the area, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “Since being in New York for a couple years, and how seriously sports are taken in this city, you’re a lot more visible than your typical team. When the Knicks draft somebody it’s headline news, or when they trade for somebody it’s headline news,’’ said Jack.

“That’s where New York separates itself from a lot of cities. That can be good and bad, but I think you’ve just got to understand what it is and just take it for what it’s worth. Whenever I go somewhere … day or night, we always survey the crowd,” Jack continued. “We always understand what the crowd is wherever we’re going. Like I said, no matter where you go, no one deserves for that to happen. A lot of people want to say ‘It’s his fault, he [Early] shouldn’t have been [out]. How is it his fault?”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Brett Brown is still trying to figure out how too best utilize Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, and admits the answer to this particular riddle still eludes him, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays.”The four-five, five-four you know it’s still a mystery right now,” Brown said of deciding where to play the two big men. “It really is. And I think we are going to have this conversation throughout the whole year. Trying to grow those two guys is a challenge. So for me, it ends up more matchups than this overwhelming responsibility where it hurts the team. You know we want to win games. How I navigate that is a challenge.“
The Celtics have assigned power forward Jordan Mickey, point guard Terry Rozier and shooting guard R.J. Hunter to their D-League affiliate in Maine, the team announced. This will be Mickey’s ninth stint with the Red Claws on the season, the fourth for Rozier and the first for Hunter.

And-Ones: Kerr, Knicks, D-League

December 30th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

There seems to be a slim chance that Golden State head coach Steve Kerr could resume his duties with the Warriors as soon as this weekend, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. Kerr took his first road trip of more than one game when he accompanied the team to Texas for its games against the Mavs and Rockets on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, MacMahon notes.

“It’s obviously a possibility,” interim coach Luke Walton told reporters, including MacMahon, of Kerr’s potential return to the bench this weekend. “He hasn’t said he’s going to. To be honest, I don’t think he knows yet. I think that’s part of why he’s on this road trip, to see how his body handles the travel and getting into Houston at 1 a.m. tonight to turn around and play again then get on another plane and fly home and get in late again. So that’s part of why he’s here on this trip, whether or not this weekend is a realistic return or not.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Cleanthony Early getting shot in his right knee early this morning does not exactly endear New York City to soon-to-be free agents, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News opines. Since April, there have been four highly publicized crimes involving NBA players in the greater New York area, as Isola points out. For the Knicks, who are hoping to be major players this summer, the string of recent incidents likely makes New York City a tougher sell, Isola surmises.
The Hawks assigned center Edy Tavares to D-League, the team announced in an emailed press release. Tavares is headed to the Austin Spurs of the NBA Development League, pursuant to the flexible assignment rule, because the Hawks do not have their own affiliate.
The Spurs recalled Ray McCallum from their D-League, the team announced on its website. McCallum is averaging 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 13 appearances this year with San Antonio.
The Celtics recalled Jordan Mickey from their D-League affiliate, Boston announced (on Twitter).
The Bulls will send Cristiano Felicio to the D-League on Thursday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports (on Twitter). The power forward has not appeared in a game since November 27th.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Raptors

December 30th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Will Joseph

The Celtics nearly drafted Kobe Bryant in 1996 because of his immense talent and impressive knowledge of the franchise’s history, but ultimately passed him up, not wanting to take a chance on a 17-year-old coming out of high school, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes in an interesting read. Boston, of course, drafted Antoine Walker — who went on to have a solid career — with the sixth pick that year while Bryant fell to No. 13.

“When I tell you this — and I don’t like to say a lot of good things about the Lakers — but I am absolutely telling you this straight-up: [Kobe Bryant] was unbelievable in the interview,” former Celtics head coach and executive vice president/director of basketball operations M.L. Carr told Holmes. “He was the best interview that I’ve ever been a part of. Kobe knew the league as well as anyone. He knew the Celtics from a historical standpoint. He knew the Celtics probably better than most Celtics did at 17 years old.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early, who will likely be out three months after getting shot early this morning, was a logical candidate to be included in a trade for a point guard, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News tweets. Early has not been a fixture in the Knicks’ rotation this season. He has scored only seven points in 10 appearances this season.
Bismack Biyombo views the Raptors, the team he signed a two-year deal with in July, as the perfect fit for him in an interview on the team’s website. “Obviously, going back to the draft, they were trying to draft me here so it feels like it was supposed to happen and it finally happened,” Biyombo said. “I just feel like it’s a great opportunity for me and I’m thankful for it and I thank God for it and obviously the organization and the coaches for giving me an opportunity to be here and help the team grow which is something everybody is looking forward to and I look forward to something special.”
Marcus Smart‘s development will have the most profound impact among the Celtics‘ young players on Boston’s reconstruction project, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald opines. Smart, 21, is widely considered one of the top young defenders in the league, as Bulpett notes.

Latest On Cleanthony Early

December 30th, 2015 at 5:35pm CST by Will Joseph

Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early faces a recovery time of six to 12 weeks after getting shot in his right knee early this morning, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter).

Early will not need surgery, however, Charania reports (Twitter links). An MRI revealed no structural damage, Charania adds, and the bullet was not lodged, going straight through Early’s knee. Early is being closely monitored for any infection, a source told Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Early, who will become a free agent this summer, is still in the hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery, though, Charania writes in a full story. Early had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee during his rookie season in 2014/15, as Charania points out. The second-year player has not been a fixture in the Knicks rotation this season. He has scored only seven points in 10 appearances this season.

Knicks Notes: Early, Jennings, Conley

December 30th, 2015 at 8:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early was shot once in his right knee early this morning, Thomas Tracy of The New York Daily News reports. The injury occurred when a taxi Early was riding in was set upon by four to six armed men wearing ski masks, who then robbed the player, according to the Daily News’ report. Early was wounded during the course of the robbery and his injury is reportedly not life-threatening, though no prognosis has been released regarding its potential effect on his NBA career. The Knicks released an official statement on the matter which read, “We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation. We will not comment any further until we receive more information.”

Early is the second Knicks player to have allegedly been targeted by grifters in recent days, with combo forward Derrick Williams having reportedly been robbed of approximately $600K to $750K in jewelry by two unidentified women this past weekend, albeit not at gunpoint. Here’s more from New York:

The Knicks should seek to acquire Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings prior to this season’s trade deadline, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News opines. Though Jennings’ season debut on Tuesday night was merely average, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy still believes Jennings can make an impact in the league, Isola notes. “Oh yeah, I don’t think there is any doubt,” said Van Gundy. “Brandon is coming back well off of the injury and he’s a guy who just absolutely loves to play, loves to be in the gym. He’s still young, he’s still 26. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll be a starting point guard in this league again.”
Acquiring Jennings could be problematic for New York, Isola adds. The Knicks don’t have much in the way of talent or draft picks to offer Detroit, and the team may want to hold off adding a playmaker since the Grizzlies’ Mike Conley is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Daily News scribe notes. There is no guarantee that Conley will leave Memphis, but his talent level may warrant the Knicks taking a pass on Jennings, Isola writes. It should be noted that Jennings’ contract is set to expire at the end of this season, so there wouldn’t be any salary cap implications for 2016/17 if the Knicks acquired him, unless Detroit insisted on New York taking on a less than desirable contract as part of any trade.

New York Notes: Prokhorov, Teletovic, Fredette

December 2nd, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov and real estate developer Bruce Ratner’s Forest City Enterprises have reached an agreement that will give Prokhorov sole ownership of the team and the Barclays Center, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com reports. The terms of the potential sale have not been disclosed, and the NBA is in the process of reviewing the proposal, Soshnick notes. Gaining full ownership of the Nets and Barclays Center would make it easier for Prokhorov to sell all or part of either asset if he desired down the line, the Bloomberg scribe adds. The franchise is still undergoing a valuation to assess its worth, but sources have informed NetsDaily (via Twitter) that the team itself, minus the arena, will be second to only the Clippers, which sold to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion.

Here’s more from the Big Apple:

Mirza Teletovic, whom the Suns signed to one-year, $5.5MM deal this past offseason, didn’t shut the door on a potential return to the Nets in the future, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). When asked if he’d consider playing in Brooklyn again, Teletovic said, “Yeah, why not? I enjoyed the time here. Like I said before, I love the city, I love the atmosphere, I love the way people treat basketball and they show respect to it. I really wouldn’t mind.“
Jimmer Fredette, who recently returned to the Knicks‘ D-League affiliate after the Pelicans waived him, hopes he can catch the eye of an NBA team and return to the league this season, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “I know I can play in the NBA, and I can be a very good player in the NBA. I’m excited to be able to start here,” Fredette told Begley. “Sometimes you’ve got to be able to go backwards in order to get back up to where you want to be.“
The Knicks have recalled Cleanthony Early from their D-League affiliate, the team announced, just hours after sending him down. This was Early’s second trip of the season to Westchester.