Darren Collison Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Guard Darren Collison Out 2-3 Weeks

February 5th, 2018 at 4:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers guard Darren Collison will undergo arthroscopic left knee surgery and miss 2-3 weeks, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering Collison hadn’t missed any recent game action. He played 33 minutes against the Sixers on Saturday and 30 minutes the previous night against the Hornets.

Collison has started 52 of a possible 54 games for Indiana this season, averaging 12.8 PPG and 5.3 APG for a team that appears headed for a playoff berth. In his absence, Cory Joseph and Joe Young will likely pick up his minutes.

This could scuttle any trade talk involving Collison. The Nuggets were reportedly very interested in Collison’s services. Collison signed a two-year, $20MM contract over the summer but the second year isn’t guaranteed.

Nuggets Have Serious Interest In Darren Collison

February 1st, 2018 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

With this season’s trade deadline just a week away, the Nuggets are known to be in the market for a veteran point guard, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Two sources with knowledge of the situation tell Amick that one guard on Denver’s radar is Darren Collison, who is drawing “serious interest” from the Nuggets.

Collison, 30, has served as the Pacers’ starting point guard this season and has played well, averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.3 APG in 50 games (30.2 MPG). His .497 FG% and .432 3PT% are career highs.

Indiana is currently tied for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, with a 29-23 record, so it’d be surprising if the team moves its starting point guard. Amick’s report indicates the Pacers have rebuffed the Nuggets’ trade efforts so far. Still, the team has a little depth at point guard — Cory Joseph has been solid as Collison’s backup and could slide into the starting lineup. Joe Young‘s role could be expanded if necessary, and Victor Oladipo and Lance Stephenson are capable of handling the ball too.

The Nuggets currently have Jamal Murray starting at point guard, with Will Barton spending some time at the one as well; Emmanuel Mudiay has seen his role reduced this season. According to Amick, Denver would like to be able to return Barton to his “super sixth man” role rather than relying on him for point guard duties.

Amick suggests that Kings point guard George Hill, who drew interest from the Nuggets in the offseason, might be another potential Denver target at the deadline. However, Hill’s $20MM cap hit and his guaranteed money beyond this season would be a deterrent. Collison is on a more team-friendly contract, at $10MM this season — only $2MM of his $10MM salary for 2018/19 is guaranteed.

According to Amick, the Nuggets also hope to find a way to clear a 15-man roster spot for two-way player Torrey Craig at some point.

Central Notes: Collison, Cavaliers, Thompson

October 27th, 2017 at 8:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pacers have jumped out of the gates with one of the league’s fastest-paced and most potent offenses. Much of that is thanks to their newly acquired point guard, Darren Collison, Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star writes. The guard has taken a substantial leap forward since his last tenure with the franchise.

“I’m a much better player than I was in the past,” the Pacers guard said. “I know the game a little better. I’m more mature. I don’t think I’ve lost a step, but I’m not as fast as I used to be. But my basketball IQ is at higher level than it ever has been.”

In five games with the Pacers so far this season, Collison has averaged 15.6 points and 8.4 assists per game. Indiana, as a team, has averaged 114.0 points per game, the fourth-highest total in the NBA.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers are not in the mix to acquire Eric Bledsoe at this point in time, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes in a question-and-answer with readers. There are no Bledsoe trade scenarios that make sense for the squad so long as Isaiah Thomas returns healthy and Derrick Rose is accountable all season.
In his latest comments about the Nikola Mirotic–Bobby Portis kerfuffle, Bulls executive vice president John Paxson reiterated that they’re feeling out the best way of handling the scenario but noted that they’ll do what’s in the organization’s best interest. As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes, that’s a reminder that both players technically remain under contract, giving the franchise final say in what happens.
The Cavaliers will start Tristan Thompson for the next little while, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com tweets. Head coach Tyronn Lue opted to slot the familiar face in at the five, bumping Jae Crowder out of his role as the starting small forward.

Central Notes: Pacers, Bell, Bulls

October 19th, 2017 at 4:28pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pacers have made a concerted effort to play a faster tempo and managed to do just that thanks to their new-look backcourt spearheaded by Victor Oladipo. As Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes, Indiana managed to up their pace eventually outrunning their opening day opponent altogether.

While Oladipo led the squad in scoring with 22 points in Indiana’s first game, he wasn’t the only guard to post an impressive stat line. Veteran Darren Collison added 21 and 11 of his own while reserve guard Cory Joseph – plucked from the Raptors this offseason – put in 11 points and 4 assists of his own for the victorious Pacers.

“[Pacers coach] Nate MacMillan’s done an unbelievable job of letting us take the onus as point guards and kind of let us run the show,” Collison said. “He was a point guard himself. He knows what it’s like to let us see the game, instead of micromanaging every single play. If we can play like that, call a guard game, play with one another, we’ll be alright.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Bulls have gotten flak for, among other things, selling second-round pick Jordan Bell to the Warriors. Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score tweets that VP of basketball operations John Paxson said that he was “building up equity” with ownership when he sold the No. 38 pick to Golden State for $3.5MM.
After a down year besieged by injuries in 2016/17, Reggie Jackson has recovered and returned to the court for the Pistons. He’s “only going to get better as time goes on” head coach Stan Van Gundy told the media, Brendan Savage of MLive included.
The Bulls are looking to regroup after a fight in practice set the team into chaos before the season even began. Sam Smith of the team’s official website offers an inside account of what happened and what comes next.

Eastern Rumors: Jefferson, Dedmon, Pacers, MCW

October 2nd, 2017 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The roster spot of Cavs veteran forward Richard Jefferson is in jeopardy, according to The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd. The signing of Dwyane Wade gives the Cavs 16 fully guaranteed contracts, along with Kay Felder’s partial guarantee. Even if Felder is traded or released, the Cavs will have to rid themselves of a guarantee contract and Jefferson is a likely candidate, Lloyd continues. Jefferson, 37, has a $2.5MM contract but if he’s released it will cost the club approximately $10.5MM in luxury taxes since it is a repeat offender, Lloyd points out. A second-round pick may have to be packaged to move Jefferson, Lloyd adds.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Center Dewayne Dedmon probably won’t be with the Hawks beyond this season but he can help them in the short term, as Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains. Dedmon, who played with the Spurs last season, will make $6MM this season with the Hawks and holds a $6.3MM player option for next season. But Dedmon would probably benefit from testing the market again if he has a solid season, Cunningham continues. He’s adept at rolling to the basket in the pick-and-roll and he’s efficient in transition but needs to cut down on his fouls, Cunningham adds.
The Pacers will start Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo at guard, Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic at forward, and Myles Turner at center in their preseason opener on Wednesday, coach Nate McMillan told Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star. The surprise on the second unit, as Brown notes, is forward Damien Wilkins. The 37-year-old hasn’t played in the league since the 2012/13 season. He’s signed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.
Hornets backup guard Michael Carter-Williams expects to be cleared for contact early next week, he told the Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell. Carter-Williams received platelet-rich plasma injections in both knees to promote healing of patella tears, Bonnell continues. He’s been restricted to noncontact drills during the first week of training camp.

Contract Details: Tucker, Holiday, Lowry, Collison

July 8th, 2017 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

With more and more of the early free agent contract agreements being finalized, official numbers on those deals are starting to trickle in, and Eric Pincus, who operates Basketball Insiders’ salary database, is passing along the specifics on many of them. In instances where the official numbers are essentially identical to what was reported initially, we won’t pass along that info, but we want to provide updates in cases where new details surface.

Here are some new contract details on this week’s deals, with all links via Pincus’ Twitter feed:

Western Conference:

The Rockets split their mid-level exception between two players, with P.J. Tucker getting about $7.59MM and Zhou Qi getting the remaining $816K or so. Tucker’s contract is partially guaranteed in its fourth year ($2.6MM of $8MM guaranteed), while Zhou’s four-year pact isn’t guaranteed beyond year one (Twitter links).
As was expected based on initial reports, Jrue Holiday‘s total earning potential over five years with the Pelicans ranges from $126-150MM based on bonuses (Twitter link).
Dirk Nowitzki‘s two-year pact with the Mavericks will pay him an even $5MM in each of the next two seasons, with a second-year team option (Twitter link).
The first season of Wayne Selden‘s two-year minimum salary deal with the Grizzlies is fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
The Suns‘ new four-year contract for second-rounder Davon Reed is fully guaranteed for the first year, half guaranteed in the second year, and non-guaranteed in years three and four (Twitter link).

Eastern Conference:

Although Kyle Lowry‘s three-year contract with the Raptors can be worth up to $100MM, the base value is $93MM, with the remaining $7MM coming in the form of unlikely bonuses. Unlikely bonuses don’t count against the cap at this point (Twitter link).
The second year of Darren Collison‘s contract with the Pacers is only partially guaranteed. Currently, $2MM of his $10MM second-year salary is guaranteed (Twitter link).
The Hornets signed Michael Carter-Williams using a portion of their taxpayer mid-level exception. Since he’s receiving an even $2.7MM, the team doesn’t have a hard cap at this point (Twitter link).
Eric Moreland‘s three-year deal with the Pistons includes a $500K guarantee for year one. The deal starts at $1.7MM, which means it was finalized using the amount of the mid-level exception that was left over after Langston Galloway‘s signing (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Hill, Young, Collison, Clippers

July 4th, 2017 at 12:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers believe George Hill could provide backcourt depth, improve their outside shooting and serve as a locker room veteran, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. The 31-year-old free agent met with L.A. officials on Monday, although no deal was reached. Hill could be used as a backup to rookie point guard Lonzo Ball or could be shifted to shooting guard. He averaged a career-high 16.9 points with the Jazz last season and shot .403 from 3-point range.

In their quest for backcourt help, the Lakers also met with Dion Waiters on Sunday and have had several phone conversations with Rajon Rondo. L.A. has spoken to several coaches and players who have worked with Rondo to see how he might handle a mentor’s role with Ball.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

The Timberwolves are the latest team to reach out to Lakers guard Nick Young, Medina notes in the same story. They join the Warriors, Thunder and Pelicans, who have also been linked to the 10-year veteran. Young revived his career this season, becoming a full-time starter and averaging 13.2 points per game.
The Clippers, Knicks and Magic all contacted Darren Collison before he agreed to a two-year deal with the Pacers Monday night, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 in Sacramento. The Kings made no effort to keep Collison, he adds.
A proposed three-team trade that would bring Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers would push the team closer to the repeater tax, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. Adding Gallinari would give L.A. 10 players under contract with $110.4MM in guaranteed salary. The Clippers would hit the repeater tax if their salary tops $119M, so they will have to be careful in assembling the rest of their roster.
Gary Sacks has resigned as Clippers assistant GM, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Sacks’ contract expired Friday.

Pacers Sign Darren Collison

July 3rd, 2017 at 7:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 7: The Pacers have formally announced the signing of Collison.

“Having had Darren here in the past, we obviously knew what we were getting, both on the floor and in the locker room,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “When you bring in a player like Darren, you know you’re not only getting a point guard, you’re adding a veteran presence to your team.”

JULY 3: Point guard Darren Collison has agreed in principle on a two-year, $20MM contract with the Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Collison averaged 13.2 PPG and 4.6 APG in 68 games, including 63 starts, with the Kings last season.

The second year is partially guaranteed, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets. The agreement leaves the Pacers with approximately $13MM in cap space, Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets.

This is Collison’s second stint with Indiana. He was their starting point guard during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons.

Indiana had a big hole to fill at that spot after Jeff Teague reached a three-year, $57MM agreement with the Timberwolves. They also have combo guards Monta Ellis and Victor Oladipo, who will be coming over from the Thunder in the Paul George deal.

The Knicks reached out to Collison but their interest was apparently lukewarm at best.

Collison served an eight-game suspension at the start of last season after a domestic battery incident. He has appeared in 563 career games, averaging 12.7 PPG and 4.8 APG while shooting 38% from long range.

The addition of Collison appears to be a stopgap move for a rebuilding Pacers club in the aftermath of trading their best player.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Notes: Williams, Point Guards, Mills, Baker

July 1st, 2017 at 9:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks may submit an offer sheet to Suns forward/center Alan Williams, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. GM Steve Mills has expressed a desire to get younger, and the 24-year-old Williams fits that blueprint. This was Williams’ second season in Phoenix, but the first time he saw any significant NBA action. He appeared in 47 games, averaging 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per night. Because Williams is a restricted free agent, the Suns can match any offer he receives. Berman states that salary might have been an issue for Phoenix if it had signed Paul Millsap, but it becomes less important now that the Suns are no longer pursuing the All-Star power forward. Berman adds that if the Knicks do acquire Williams, they will seek takers for Kyle O’Quinn‘s $4.5MM salary.

There’s more news from New York:

Entering a free agent market rich in point guards, the Knicks’ options may now be down to George Hill and Derrick Rose, Berman writes in a separate story. Jeff Teague signed with the Timberwolves Friday night and Jrue Holiday re-upped with the Pelicans this morning, taking away two potential New York targets. The Knicks have about $16MM in cap room, which likely won’t be enough for Hill, but Courtney Lee is being shopped to create more. The Nuggets and Pacers are reportedly also chasing Hill, which increases the chances that Rose might return to New York. The Knicks reached out to Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison, but Berman indicates they aren’t serious about either one.
With Phil Jackson out of the way, Mills is free to run the organization his way, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That includes trying to shed salary, get younger and find players who can contribute on both offense and defense.
One of those changes is to make Kristaps Porzingis the focus of the offense, something that Jackson resisted, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. “That’s his next steps in his growth as a player, to be able to handle some of that,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “He’s going to have to take that next step of taking over. I think he’s probably ready for that.” It’s not clear what that means for Carmelo Anthony‘s future in New York.
One Knick who is sad to see Jackson leave is Ron Baker, Berman relays in another piece. Baker agreed to a new two-year deal last night that will probably give him the team’s cap-room exception. “Obviously, I really enjoyed Phil Jackson, he taught me a lot,’’ Baker said. “The past year he wasn’t just a mentor but a really good friend. … That’s how the business goes sometimes.”

Knicks Reach Out To Rondo, Collison

July 1st, 2017 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks’ search for a veteran point guard to pair with rookie Frank Ntilikina continues, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the club has reached out to Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison.

New York has been linked to a number of free agent point guards since free agency opened and in the weeks leading up to July. Many of the team’s rumored trade of free agent targets – such as Jeff Teague, Ricky Rubio, and Jrue Holiday – are already off the board, but the Knicks appear to have no shortage of candidates for their point guard spot.

The Knicks are said to be considering a reunion with Derrick Rose, and are among the clubs with some reported interest in Michael Carter-Williams. George Hill is viewed as the Knicks’ top target, though he’s probably more of a long shot, given the club’s inability to make him the sort of lucrative, competitive offer he’ll get elsewhere. A source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that the Nuggets and Pacers are a little “further along” on Hill.

It remains to be seen which point guard the Knicks will ultimately land, but expect a veteran addition of some sort — the club doesn’t believe Ntilikina is ready to start, per Berman.