Dell Demps Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Monty Williams

March 31st, 2015 at 9:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Monty Williams declined to elaborate today after telling reporters that he and the Pelicans haven’t spoken about an extension on his deal with the team, which runs out after next season, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune relays. New Orleans plans an evaluation of Williams as well as GM Dell Demps after the season, Reid hears. Demps’ contract has a team option for 2015/16, but the Pelicans haven’t given any indication about whether they’ll pick that up, according to Reid.

Williams did point to the team’s accomplishments this season, one in which New Orleans has a chance at the playoffs if it can make up a deficit of two and a half games to catch the Thunder for the final playoff spot. Ryan Anderson also offered his support, saying that Williams has “handled everything perfectly,” Reid notes.

”Look at the improvements we’ve made — we were 34 wins last year,” Williams said. ”I don’t want to think that far ahead, but we’ve overcome a lot. I don’t think our guys get enough credit for what they’ve been able to do under some weird circumstances. We’ll see how we finish up. One of our goals this year was to have a winning record and we want it badly to make the playoffs. We have a chance to do both, so I would say we have come a long way.”

Williams has reportedly been under pressure this season, his fifth as coach of the Pelicans, who haven’t appeared in the playoffs since his first year in charge of the team. There was a perception around the league at midseason that he and Demps were on “thin ice,” as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders wrote at the time. Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher reported in January that there was talk around the NBA that owner Tom Benson, who’s since been embroiled in a legal battle regarding control of the team, was eyeing former Pistons president of basketball ops Joe Dumars and former Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson. Still, Bucher heard that New Orleans hadn’t contacted either and that there were no definitive signs that the Pelicans wanted to move on from Demps and Williams.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Parsons, Randolph

January 29th, 2015 at 1:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a perception around the NBA that GM Dell Demps and coach Monty Williams are on “thin ice” in New Orleans, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders wrote this week, corroborating an earlier report from Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher that linked the team to former Pistons exec Joe Dumars. Still, the Pelicans are hanging around the playoff race, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference and two and a half games out of the final postseason spot. There’s more on the Pelicans amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons doesn’t have a role that’s expansive as he envisioned when he signed with the Mavs for three years and $46.085MM this past summer, but he’s not complaining, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details.
It would be “crazy” for the Mavs to make an offer to Rajon Rondo that even approaches the maximum salary, MacMahon opines in a roundtable piece with other ESPNDallas.com writers, adding that he’d hesitate to give the point guard more than $10MM a year.
John Reid of The Times-Picayune chronicles the ascent of Dante Cunningham from languishing in free agency two months ago to starter for the Pelicans today. Cunningham signed with New Orleans in early December.
Zach Randolph would stand to draw offers this summer for more than the two-year, $20MM extension he signed with the Grizzlies last year if he had played out his contract instead, as Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal speculates in a subscription-only piece. Still, the power forward believes the extension was worth signing. “It definitely is, man,” he said. “It’s about sacrificing. I sacrificed. This is what it’s all about, sacrificing for your team, your teammates and your organization.”
The Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to the D-League, the team announced (on Twitter). It’s the fourth time that Houston has sent the No. 25 pick from the 2014 draft to its affiliate.

Bucher’s Latest: Kings, Pelicans, Cavs

January 9th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s no secret that the Nets trio of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are available on the trade market, and they’re among a long list of players that GMs say teams are open to trading as the February 19th deadline approaches, according Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Jeff Green, Brandan Wright, Lance Stephenson, Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Goran Dragic, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Arron Afflalo and most of the other Nuggets are also on that list, with Bucher, in many cases, confirming earlier reports. Still, Bucher hears plenty of new rumbles, as he passes along in his piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive unilaterally made the decision to fire former coach Michael Malone, sources tell Bucher, even though GM Pete D’Alessandro claimed the decision as his own. Most of the Kings organization was pleased with the direction the team was headed in and believed the team was overachieving, though there were doubts that Malone was the long-term solution, Bucher writes.
Ranadive wanted to make a splash with Malone’s successor, but Kings front office executives prevailed upon him to keep Tyrone Corbin as head coach, according to Bucher. Ranadive would relish the chance to turn the screws on the Warriors, of whom he used to be a part-owner, by hiring Mark Jackson, the ex-Warriors coach, a source tells Bucher, who nonetheless believes that the team won’t hire Jackson during this season.
Talk “circulating around the league” suggests that Pelicans owner Tom Benson is eyeing former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and former Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson if he decides to make changes, Bucher writes. Still, Pelicans sources tell Bucher that the club hasn’t contacted either Dumars or Johnson, and that there are no signs that Benson is definitively displeased with either GM Dell Demps or coach Monty Williams.
Several executives from around the league don’t believe the pair of trades the Cavs made this week assure the team of any more than a second-round appearance, according to Bucher. One exec tells Bucher that the Cavs “overinflated” the market with what they gave up for Timofey Mozgov.

Lawrence On Thibs, Irving, Love, Knicks

May 24th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Grizzlies are on a shoestring budget and don’t have the room necessary to bring coach Tom Thibodeau over from the Bulls, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. “Do they realize how much that will cost?’” said one Chicago official, when word surfaced that the Grizzlies will look at Thibs if Memphis winds up allowing Dave Joerger to take the Timberwolves’ head coaching position. An Eastern Conference president, factoring in Stan Van Gundy’s $7MM/year deal in Detroit, estimated that it would cost Memphis $8MM per year to have Thibodeau serve as their coach and president. Here’s more from today’s column…

The Cavs are making noises that they aren’t going to offer Kyrie Irving “max money’’ this summer via a long-term extension. They don’t want to deal the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, but it could come to that, especially if the guard and his family continue to tell people that he wants out. Irving hasn’t been a leader in his first three seasons and he’s also gained the unwelcomed reputation as a locker-room problem. “He was just handed too much, too soon,’’ said one source. “You’ve got to make these young guys earn it, and that’s where this team did a bad job with him.’’
The Cavs are not looking for a coach with a strong veteran presence who wants to do things only his way. That probably rules out Jeff Van Gundy, George Karl, and Lionel Hollins, although Lawrence is a fan of all three. New GM David Griffin is looking for a college or NBA coach who agrees to accept input and instructions from himself and hands-on owner Dan Gilbert.
The Cavs know they can’t get Kevin Love from the Wolves in a deal for the No. 1 pick. If they keep it, they’re expected to take Kansas big man Joel Embiid, unless the stress fracture in his back injury from last season has the chance to become a long-term issue. Meanwhile, agent Arn Tellem might not make his client’s medical records available to teams with which he doesn’t want Embiid to play.
The Nuggets aren’t going to allow coach Brian Shaw to come to the Knicks if they fail to land Derek Fisher, even if the Knicks offer compensation. “We didn’t hire Brian for a one-year position with our team,’’ Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said. “We see Brian being with us for years to come.’’ If Fisher turns Jackson down, Kurt Rambis is the next in line.
Just because Bucks GM John Hammond and Pelicans exec Dell Demps came to New York for the lottery doesn’t mean that they’re going to be around for the long haul. Lawrence gets the sense that both are on the hot seat.

Lowe’s Latest: Bucks, Knicks, Grizzlies, Pelicans

May 20th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Chuck Myron

Grantland’s Zach Lowe looks at instability in the executive suite, profiling the NBA’s six most volatile front offices in the wake of yesterday’s shakeup in Memphis. As usual, Lowe’s work is required reading, but we’ll hit some highlights here:

Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens have held preliminary talks about potential replacements for GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway, but the more likely outcome appears to be that they stay for at least one more year, Lowe writes.
Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo is open to once more becoming an NBA GM, Lowe hears, but that’s no surprise, given that he was reportedly a candidate for the Cavs and Pistons front office searches. Lowe mentions him within his look at the Bucks, which is coincidental given an earlier report that linked him to an ownership group looking to buy the franchise when it was for sale. Still, it doesn’t appear as though there’s any particular link between the Bucks and Colangelo at this point.
The Knicks will likely hire someone within the next year to replace Steve Mills as general manager and shunt Mills off into some other role with the organization, according to Lowe.
Some high-level executives on teams around the league hadn’t heard about Grizzlies attorney David Mincberg, who’s reportedly assumed some power in the basketball operations department, Lowe hears.
The job of Memphis GM Chris Wallace, whom the team has restored to a prominent role after the departures of CEO Jason Levien and assistant GM Stu Lash, is safe “until he wants to leave,” Lowe writes.
There have been few reports alleging that GM Dell Demps is on shaky ground to return next year, but people around the league have been curious about whether the team would bring him back for 2014/15, according to Lowe. There have been disagreements between Demps and coach Monty Williams, and the team’s owners favor Williams, Lowe hears. In any case, he’ll probably return, though there will be pressure on him for the team to improve and perhaps make the playoffs next season, Lowe writes.
Louisiana native Joe Dumars is close to executives with the New Orleans Saints, the NFL franchise that Pelicans owner Tom Benson also owns. That would make him a likely candidate for Pelicans GM job should the team decide to oust Demps, Lowe asserts.
Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy says that the team’s ownership will have just as much say as he does in whom they hire as GM, as he tells Lowe.

Western Notes: Harris, Blake, Babbitt

February 4th, 2014 at 8:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, the Lakers notified guard Manny Harris that they do not plan to retain him beyond his second 10-day contract, tweets Bill Oram of the OC Register. We noted yesterday that L.A. wasn’t expected to keep Harris on board with a trio of the team’s point guards returning to the lineup.

Aside from a sensational 18-point, 6-for-9 shooting performance against the Knicks a little over a week ago, Harris’ numbers have been underwhelming through his eight game stint for the most part, averaging 6.8 PPG on 33.9% shooting overall and 29.4% from long distance in 19.9 MPG. However, as we speak, the 6’5 guard is leading the Lakers with 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting at halftime against the Timberwolves tonight, and although he might not be on the team tomorrow, Harris is putting together a compelling audition for potential suitors.

Here are some more links to share out of the Western Conference tonight:

In response to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders’ tweet that the Lakers would look to shed another $3MM in the form of Jordan Hill, Steve Blake, or Chris Kaman in a potential Pau Gasol deal, fellow Basketball Insiders writer Eric Pincus (via Twitter) says that L.A. would actually like to keep Blake beyond this season.
Despite Russian-based team Nizhny Novgorod’s initial plan to hold Luke Babbitt to his contractual obligations and prevent him from signing with an NBA team, Pelicans GM Dell Demps managed to negotiate a buyout agreement that took two weeks to get finalized, reports John Reid of NOLA.com. New Orleans head coach Monty Williams is hopeful that Babbitt can be a contributor right away: “We thought having some more depth at our wing spot and there’s a chance he can play some four (power forward) because of his ability to shoot the ball..He’s a young player who had some success in Portland and played really well overseas. We kept our eye on him and have been trying to get it done for a couple of weeks, maybe a little bit longer. Finally it happened for us.”
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shared his thoughts with Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW on current Grizzlies guard and former Mavs draft pick Nick Calathes, who is expected to start in place of the injured Mike Conley when the two teams meet Wednesday night. Dallas reportedly dealt Calathes in order to create a roster spot for Gal Mekel: “They’re similar players…We went that direction and at that point it made no sense to hold onto Calathes’ rights. They both have gotten much better since they got into the NBA. I’m happy for Nick. And we like Gal. It wouldn’t make any sense to have both of them here.”
So far, the 2013/14 season may not have always been ideal as one would hope for Samuel Dalembert, who on separate occasions this season has been called out by Carlisle for lack of conditioning and being undisciplined on the court. In another piece for SportsDayDFW, Sefko notes that with his recent 18-point, eight rebound, and 7-for-8 shooting performance against the Cavaliers, the 32-year-old center is slowly regaining the trust from everyone on the team, including Carlisle, who doesn’t appear to have any choice at this point but to ride Dalembert as much as he can.

Coach/GM Rumors: Jazz, Wizards, Raps, Cavs

November 22nd, 2013 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

It may seem a little early in the season for any NBA teams to make a coaching change, but it’s worth noting that each of the league’s 30 coaches have already survived twice as long this year as Mike Brown did with the Lakers a year ago. While there may not be any coaching or front office shake-ups right around the corner, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com examines situations of potential unrest around the league, offering up a few tidbits along the way. Let’s round them up….

Despite leading the Jazz to a 1-12 start, coach Tyrone Corbin doesn’t appear to be in any danger, since the focus in Utah is on player development rather than wins and losses. Berger adds that there’s also no logical in-house candidate to serve as an interim coach now that former assistant Jeff Hornacek is in Phoenix.
League sources question how much longer Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld “can remain in self-preservation mode,” says Berger.
If the Wizards and Raptors continue losing, Randy Wittman and Dwane Casey could be in a dead heat for the first coach to be replaced. According to Berger, the feeling around the league is that new Toronto president Masai Ujiri would be quick to make a change and start putting his own stamp on the franchise if things go south for Casey and the Raptors.
Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is on “shaky ground,” sources tell Berger. While coach Mike Brown may have pushed for the drafting of Anthony Bennett, Brown just signed a four-year contract with the team, so Grant’s seat is much hotter than his coach’s.
Pelicans GM Dell Demps and Pistons GM Joe Dumars are among the other executives who could be in danger of losing their jobs if their respective teams aren’t in the playoff hunt, writes Berger.

Hornets Sign Dell Demps To Extension

November 16th, 2012 at 4:29pm CST by Luke Adams

4:29pm: Demps' extension is for three years with a team option on the fourth year, a source tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

9:44am: The Hornets have extended the contract of general manager Dell Demps, locking him up to a multiyear deal, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed.

"Dell has a bright future ahead as the GM of our team and Mr. [Tom] Benson and I couldn’t be more impressed with the track this team is on and are excited about the future," said Hornets executive VP Mickey Loomis in the release. "He has helped shape this organization with the current team of young, talented players and we look forward to seeing the growth of the franchise during this exciting time for the franchise."

There was some question when Benson took over as the Hornets' owner whether he'd move forward long-term with Monty Williams as head coach and Demps as GM. However, Williams received a contract extension of his own in August, so it seems the new ownership group has liked what it's seen from both men. Both Williams' and Demps' contracts would have expired in 2013 if they had not been extended.

Since Demps was hired by the Hornets in July of 2010, he has orchestrated a number of major moves for the team, including last December's Chris Paul trade. He is the 18th longest-tenured head of basketball operations in the NBA.

Camp Rumors: Howard, Hornets, Murray, Miller

September 29th, 2012 at 4:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's looking more like the Lakers will have Dwight Howard in the lineup to start the regular season, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports hears the big man is determined to be ready for opening night, and that the progress he's made in recent weeks has upped his chances. Howard says his surgically repaired back is at 85%, Wojnarowski reports. The Lakers still don't have a timetable for his return, but it's just one more reason for optimism in L.A. The mood is upbeat all around the league this time of year, as teams start fresh in training camp. Here's a roundup of news from camps across the Association.

John Reid of The Times-Picayune hears that Hornets GM Dell Demps will work in tandem with executives Mickey Loomis and Dennis Lauscha on the team's basketball-related decisions. It's unclear exactly what role everyone will play, but I imagine Demps will continue to function in the day-to-day role of most GMs.
Ronald "Flip" Murray, who has an agreement to join the Grizzlies, was not on the camp roster released by the team today, but Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says the journeyman guard will indeed be in camp (Twitter link).
This could be the last training camp for Heat swingman Mike Miller, who hinted at retirement after last season and wants to see how his back responds before promising anything beyond this year, Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida writes (Sulia link). Miller's deal has more than $13MM left on it and runs through 2015, with a player option in the final season.
Many of the Celtics veterans have been working out together since early September, while the rookies have been in Boston for most of the past three months. That's led to better chemistry as camp starts, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes.

Draft Updates: Tuesday

June 19th, 2012 at 10:22pm CST by Luke Adams

In case you missed it yesterday, we published our first 2012 mock draft. Be sure to check out our projected first round and jump into the comments section to tell us which choices you like or dislike. In the meantime, we'll continue tracking the latest draft news and rumors. Tuesday's updates can be found right here, with the newest items added up top throughout the day….

John Reid of The Times Picayune writes that the Hornets will likely keep their 10th pick. GM Dell Demps says that he hasn't received any offers warranting any serious consideration to trade the pick and believes that they can come away with a good player at that slot.
Jared Sullinger will work out for the Cavaliers on Friday, writes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. Fab Melo is also scheduled for a workout this week and could join Sullinger.