Demetris Nichols Rumors

Eastern Notes: Bickerstaff, Allen, Travers, Bey, Sixers

July 12th, 2024 at 4:04pm CST by Rory Maher

It didn’t take long for J.B. Bickerstaff to find a new job after being fired by Cleveland, having been hired by the Pistons as their new head coach. At his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Bickerstaff discussed why he found Detroit’s vacancy appealing, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

“It was my conversations with (president of basketball operations) Trajan (Langdon), to begin with,” Bickerstaff said. “I had a great feeling that this organization was heading in the right direction and was being led by the right people. For me, going through some of the things that I’ve gone through in the past, the people that you work with … being of a shared vision and willingness to commit to one another and partner with one another, I thought this group, as a whole, had a great vision. (team owner) Tom (Gores) has given every resource to go out and execute that vision.

“Then, obviously, you study the team. I took a deep dive as soon as I could. Obviously, I have experience of playing against them four times a year for so many years, but I knew the players well. I believed in their ability and talent. There is a steps process that we have to take, and we’re really aware of that and Trajan and I are united in that. It just doesn’t happen for everyone overnight.”

Bickerstaff pointed to his success with Cleveland as proof that he can turn the Pistons around, writes Larry Lage of The Associated Press. Detroit finished with the worst record in the NBA last season. Langdon said he was looking for a veteran coach to lead a young team, as Lage relays.

“You want somebody who can come in here and hit the ground running, and who’s done this before,” Langdon said. “Especially with a young team coming off a difficult season, positivity was important. We felt experience was important. The players needed to feel like the person coming in here knew what he was talking about.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Cavaliers have been receiving trade inquiries on former All-Star center Jarrett Allen, but they continue to rebuff those overtures, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). Allen, who averaged 16.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.1 BPG in 77 games last season (31.7 MPG), will earn $40MM over the next two seasons.
Australian wing Luke Travers, a second-round pick (No. 56) by the Cavaliers in 2022, is dealing with a sore hamstring that sidelined him for the team’s Summer League opener in Las Vegas on Friday, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Travers has expressed a strong desire to come stateside in 2024/25, though it’s unclear if he’ll be able to earn a roster spot.
New Wizards forward Saddiq Bey will earn $6,440,678 in 2024/25, $6,118,644 in ’25/26, and $6,440,678 again in ’26/27, a source tells cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Bey will likely miss most — if not all — of his first season with Washington after tearing his ACL in March. The 25-year-old’s new three-year deal also includes $1MM in incentives.
Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer argues that free agent signee Caleb Martin will bring a much-need infusion of “Heat Culture” to the Sixers, pointing to the 28-year-old’s success with Miami as evidence. According to Sielski, the 76ers have had plenty of talent in recent years, but the team has often lacked an identity, which Martin should help fortify with his willingness to make winning energy plays.
Former NBA forward Demetris Nichols has joined the Sixers as a player development coach, per Mike Waters of Syracuse.com (subscriber link). The No. 53 pick of the 2007 draft, Nichols appeared in 18 NBA games with Cleveland, Chicago and New York before spending several years overseas. The 39-year-old was an assistant with Wake Forest last season, Waters notes.

Demetris Nichols Drawing Interest

June 30th, 2015 at 9:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Demetris Nichols has had discussions with teams about a potential NBA return, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. The Grizzlies are among the interested clubs and the T’Wolves and Pelicans have also inquired on him. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) says that Nichols’ agent has cast a wide net and the T’Wolves haven’t gone much further than a basic inquiry yet.

Nichols, the Euroleague’s reigning leader in three-point shooting percentage, played two seasons in the NBA between 2007 and 2009 without a great deal of success. However, Nichols is coming off a season in which he shot 57.5 percent from three-point range with CSKA Moscow, albeit in limited playing time. The 6’6″ guard has played for the Cavaliers, Bulls, Knicks, in the D-League, and several overseas clubs. In the D-League, Nichols was a former First Team All-D-League selection.

Odds & Ends: Wizards, Splitter, Bosh, Nets, Bucks

June 21st, 2013 at 11:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza from New Orleans to the Wizards in exchange for Rashard Lewis and last year's No. 46 pick (Darius Miller). Lewis celebrated by picking up a championship with the Heat, who acquired him after the Pelicans bought him out. The date was notable for the Wizards, too, since it meant the expiration of a trade exception worth $1,853,491 that the team generated as part of the deal. Washington has until February to use its other trade exception, from the Jordan Crawford swap, as noted in our continuously updated database. Here's more from around the league:

Many NBA executives believe restricted Spurs free agent Tiago Splitter will draw offers in the $8-10MM range this summer, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, who debates the merits of a Chris Bosh trade for the Heat as part of his piece on the aftermath of the Finals.
The agent for former Mavericks guard Dominique Jones has had discussions with the Nets, and Jones is set to take part in a three-day free agent mini-camp the Bucks are holding, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn't return to the NBA next season, Jones would prefer to play overseas rather than hit the D-League again.
Demetris Nichols hasn't played in the NBA since 2008/09, but he was a First Team All-D-League selection this year, and that's prompted the Spurs and Bucks to schedule workouts with the 28-year-old small forward, as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets.
The Timberwolves reportedly believe Derrick Williams and the No. 9 pick could allow them to land a top-three selection next week. However, Wolves exec Flip Saunders told Dan Barreiro of KFAN radio that he doesn't think such a package, plus the No. 26 pick, could pry the No. 2 pick from the Magic, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes via Twitter.
Chandler Parsons says he talks to Dwight Howard every day as he attempts to recruit the Lakers center to the Rockets. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has the details.
Former MSG Sports president Scott O'Neil is close to joining the Sixers in an executive role, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com has the Sixers taking Steven Adams at No. 11 in his latest mock draft.

Odds & Ends: Timberwolves, Murray, Bucks

January 8th, 2013 at 11:14pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Kevin Love's uncertain health status for the rest of the season, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN says that the Timberwolves have made it a "pressing priority" to add another big man to their roster, and that there is a strong likelihood that Minnesota makes a move by the trade deadline. Also, Wolfson writes that the team has not been engaged by the Grizzlies in exploratory trade talks involving Rudy Gay. Here's more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the NBA:

Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com wonders if it may be time for the 76ers to make a drastic move the way Brooklyn did in order to right their ship. Although firing Doug Collins may not be the answer, dealing Thaddeus Young might be a painful-but-necessary move worth considering.
Several months removed from telling the Hornets that he wanted to be in Phoenix, Eric Gordon is ready and willing to take on the leadership role expected from him in New Orleans (Steve Kyler of USA Today reports).
Ronald Murray has signed with Azovmash Mariupol of the Ukraine, according to Basket-Planet.com (credit goes to HoopsHype for the translation). The 6'3 guard's resume includes an eight-year stint in the NBA from 2002 to 2010, last playing for the Bulls and subsequently the Bobcats during the 2009-10 season.
Zach Lowe of Grantland explains why Scott Skiles was not the Bucks' main problem and looks into the bigger decisions ahead with regards to the futures of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. Lowe mentions that if Ellis decides to opt-out this summer, Milwaukee could have max-level cap room to work with at that point.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside examines Demetris Nichols and Sean Evans, two former standouts from New York colleges who have started to make some waves in the D-League. Schlosser thinks that both have shown some characteristics of being possible contributors in the NBA.
Emilio Carchiano from Sportando.net notes that Gary Forbes has officially signed a deal with Atleticos de San German.

Western Notes: T-Wolves, Douglas-Roberts, Kings

November 23rd, 2012 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

After a Thanksgiving Thursday that didn't feature any NBA games, the season resumes in earnest tonight, with 12 games on the slate. Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the evening involves the Lakers, still finding their rhythm under new coach Mike D'Antoni, traveling to Memphis to face the Grizzlies.

Yesterday, I suggested that the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Knicks have all shown signs of being ready to make the leap and become legit title contenders this season. The poll results are still very tight, but for now, the Clippers narrowly edge the Grizzlies as your choice for the club most ready to take that next step.

Here are a few of Friday's updates out of the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves signed Demetris Nichols and Troy Hudson late in October and quickly cut them, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links). The purpose of the moves was to ensure that the T-Wolves' D-League squad could add Nichols and Hudson as "affiliate" players. Sure enough, both guys are currently on the Sioux Falls Skyforce roster.
Chris Douglas-Roberts was another player whose D-League affiliate rights were acquired by the Mavericks toward the end of the preseason. Douglas-Roberts, who is now a member of the Texas Legends, Dallas' affiliate, spoke to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News about the D-League experience: "Sometimes, the NBA isn’t just about basketball. It’s about business and it’s about being in the right place at the right time and the right system at the right time. I feel I’m an NBA player. So instead of going overseas and chasing the money, I’m going to be here for however long I’m here."
Kendrick Perkins still gets emotional when the Thunder head to Boston to play the Celtics, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. "Going against guys that you played with for a long time, won rings, went through wars with, still brothers over there," Perkins said. "But at the end of the day, we're still trying to win games."
Jake Appleman of the New York Times examines the future of the Kings in Sacramento.