Donald Sloan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Maxiell, Bucks, Bird, Sloan

April 19th, 2012 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Central Division plays a prominent role in a pair of tonight's most intriguing games, as the Bucks look to keep their postseason hopes alive with a win in Indiana, while the Bulls will aim to lock up the East's number one seed by beating Miami. Before we get to tonight's games, let's check in on the latest out of the Central:

Jason Maxiell holds a $5MM player option for next season, and is undecided on whether to exercise it, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. "I want to talk to [Pistons' management], see where everybody's head is at," Maxiell said. "[Exploring free agency] could be the smart thing to do, but Detroit's my home and the security I have with them could be great for next season."
The jobs of coach Scott Skiles and GM John Hammond could be on the line if the Bucks miss the playoffs, says Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
It doesn't make sense for Larry Bird to leave the Pacers after this season, argues Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
Donald Sloan has turned into a capable backup point guard, according to a piece at FOX Sports Ohio. The report adds that "many seem to think" Sloan has a better chance of earning a spot on next year's Cavaliers roster than Lester Hudson. Based on contract statuses alone, it's hard to argue that point — Cleveland has Sloan under contract for 2012/13 on a non-guaranteed deal, while I believe Hudson's second 10-day deal with the team expired last night.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com fielded Pistons-related inquiries in a mailbag.

Central Notes: Lucas, Thibodeau, Hudson

April 6th, 2012 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls and Cavs are two teams heading in opposite directions of late, but there's some news coming out of both camps. Here's the latest:

The impending return of Derrick Rose will likely send John Lucas III back to the end of the Bulls bench, but Lucas believes his performance this season has proven his ability to play in the league, writes Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lucas, averaging 7.0 PPG and 2.1 APG in 14 minutes a game this year, is on a minimum-salary deal expires at the end of the season.
It's no surprise, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers would like to see the Bulls extend the contract of coach Tom Thibodeau, a former assistant to Rivers in Boston, reports Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com. The Bulls have a team option on Thibodeau for next season.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com answers reader questions on the Bulls, free agency and the draft, among other topics.
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald examines the impact of guard Lester Hudson, who's with the Cavs on a 10-day contract. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal recounts Hudson's long journey to Cleveland.
Both Manny Harris and Donald Sloan have non-guaranteed contracts for next season, according to the joint Twitter feed of Plain Dealer reporters Tom Reed and Mary Schmitt Boyer. Storytellers Contracts has the non-guaranteed contracts extending out another year, ending in 2014. Neither is slated to make as much as $1MM in any season.
Sloan and presumably Harris will play for the Cavs' summer league team in the offseason, Reed and Boyer also note, via Twitter.

Odds & Ends: Rose, Perkins, Smith

April 1st, 2012 at 9:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

One interesting note about NCAA championship as it relates to the upcoming draft: The last time the winner had a player that would subsequently go on to become that year's number one pick was in 1988, when Danny Manning of the Kansas Jayhawks was selected first overall by the Clippers. With a win tomorrow, Kentucky's Anthony Davis (currently projected to go first among several draft boards) could have a chance at ending the 23-year streak.

Should Kentucky lose, Davis could join Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Elton Brand, and Chris Webber as number one picks who had been on the runner-up team that season. With less than 24 hours until tip-off, here are a few interesting notes to think about from the basketball news wire:

As per Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times, Derrick Rose's injury could be worse than initially thought.
Kendrick Perkins' has had a profound impact on Russell Westbrook this season and can be credited for the young guard's further emergence as a special player, writes Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK.
In an exclusive interview with Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype.com, Kenny Smith indicated that he feels he'll "inevitably be coaching someday."
Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer provides a more in-depth look at Donald Sloan, the Cavaliers reserve guard who has begun to find minutes under Byron Scott.
According to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel, Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. believes that teammates' trust in each other will be key in Milwaukee's pursuit of New York for the eight and final playoff spot.
Mavericks guard Jason Terry is alarmed by Dallas' habit of falling behind in the third quarter, only to rally in the fourth but come up short, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.
The Toronto Sun's Richard Zussman gives a primer for tomorrow's NCAA Title game and what to expect.

Odds & Ends: Sloan, Azubuike, Sessions, Heat

March 24th, 2012 at 2:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for players to be waived in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team passed last night, and Chris Kaman, who would have been on the radar of just about every team needing a big man had he been bought out, is still with the Hornets. New Orleans "desperately" tried to trade him before last week's trade deadline, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, but didn't get a worthy offer. He'll be a free agent at season's end, and wants to sign with a contender then, Kennedy said. Here's the rest of what's shaking around the NBA:

Guard Donald Sloan, who signed last week with the Cavs, gave reporters a little insight on his contract, as the end of this video on Cavs.com shows. His deal extends into next year, but is guaranteed only until the end of this season.
Newest Mav Kelenna Azubuike, who drew raves from owner Mark Cuban last night, will start off with the Texas Legends, the Mavs D-League affiliate, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
The Hawks expressed interest in trading for Ramon Sessions before the Cavs wound up dealing him to the Lakers, Kennedy tweets.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel answered reader questions about the Heat. Despite this week's signing of Ronny Turiaf, much of the talk still revolves around the center position.
Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld rounds up the players who could sign contracts worth as much as $10MM a year as free agents this summer.
Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll enter the NBA Draft just yet, but he says the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz have called him in case he wants to give it a go, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY. He's projected to go in the middle of the first round, and could climb into the lottery, Zagoria writes.

Cavaliers Sign Donald Sloan

March 16th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

Moving quickly to fill the point guard hole left by Ramon Sessions' departure, the Cavaliers have signed Donald Sloan to a contract for the rest of the season, according to the team. Duane Rankin of the Erie Times-News initially reported that the Cavs would sign Sloan.

"This is a result of everything I did last year up to now," Sloan said. "It's paying off…. Anything I can do to come in and help, I'm going to try to make sure I do that and a little bit more."

Sloan, 24, played for the Hawks earlier this season, then signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets, but only saw action in eight games for the two teams. He had been playing for the Erie BayHawks of the D-League, averaging 22.8 PPG and 7.4 APG in eight contests for the 'Hawks.

Sloan hears from his agent that the Knicks and Rockets also had some interest in signing him.

Hornets Re-Sign Donald Sloan

February 22nd, 2012 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have re-signed Donald Sloan to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. The contract became official on Monday, so the Hornets will have to sign Sloan for the rest of the season if they want to hang onto him past March 1st.

Sloan, 24, has not played in the team's last three games, and a good chunk of this 10-day deal will be consumed by the All-Star break. After playing the Cavs in Cleveland tonight, the Hornets won't see action again until next Tuesday in Chicago.

John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune first reported that the Hornets were expected to re-sign Sloan.

Hornets Expected To Re-Sign Donald Sloan

February 20th, 2012 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets are expected to re-sign Donald Sloan to a second 10-day contract, reports John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (via Twitter). New Orleans initially signed Sloan on February 8th, so his contract expired over the weekend.

In three games for the Hornets, Sloan averaged 4.0 PPG and 2.7 APG in 14 MPG. Earlier this season, the 24-year-old appeared in five games for the Hawks before being released.

Hornets Sign Donald Sloan To 10-Day Contract

February 8th, 2012 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have signed Donald Sloan to a 10-day contract, tweets John Reid of the Times-Picayune. Sloan is the second player to sign a 10-day deal with the Hornets, who added Lance Thomas earlier this week.

Sloan, 24, appeared in five games for the Hawks earlier this season before being waived. That was the first NBA action for former Texas A&M guard, who went undrafted after graduating in 2010.

NBA teams were allowed to sign players to 10-day contracts as of February 6th. For a breakdown of how the deals work, check out our primer.