Dwight Howard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Deng, Dwight, Union, Gay

January 22nd, 2014 at 3:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Luol Deng had a sarcastic response to a question about whether he’d consider returning to the Bulls in free agency this summer, poking fun at the team’s three-year, $30MM extension offer that he rejected, notes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Still, Deng won’t rule out a Chicago homecoming.

“I have nothing against (anyone),” Deng said. “What happened, happened. I love Chicago. I’ve been there 10 years. There’s no bad blood or anything. What happened, happened. It is what it is. But for me to sit here and say, ‘I’m taking Chicago out of the equation,’ that’s stupid. I was there for 10 years.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Dwight Howard is returning to USA Basketball after a six-year absence with eyes on being a part of the Team USA squad in the basketball World Cup this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
A judge has dismissed the remaining charges in the lawsuit that former players union executive director Billy Hunter brought against Derek Fisher, and Hunter could be on the hook for Fisher’s legal fees, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com explains. The ruling doesn’t affect Hunter’s litigation claiming the union owes him $10.5MM.
A report last month indicated the Kings would engage Rudy Gay in extension talks if he performed well, and in spite of his improved play, the team and his reps at Octagon Sports have yet to have that discussion, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Gay scored a career-high 41 points last night.
The Grizzlies have no interest in trading for Pau Gasol, and the Lakers won’t compromise their cap flexibility in any Gasol swap, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who thinks the Spanish center will stay put through the deadline (Sulia link).
The extension that two-year NBA veteran Charles Jenkins signed with his Serbian team includes an escape clause in case he finds work in the NBA, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia tweets.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com details the convoluted maneuvers that have allowed the D-League affiliate of the Mavericks to acquire Fab Melo. The 2012 first-round pick signed a D-League contract last week.

Dwight Howard Promised Trade To Nets

January 18th, 2014 at 8:24pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

In a discussion with Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders Dwight Howard revealed the Magic promised he would be traded to the Nets in the summer of 2012. Howard was eventually traded to the Lakers that August.

Howard was “upset for a while” that he was not sent to Brooklyn but didn’t sign with them when he became a free agent this past summer. If Howard had been traded to the Nets, Brooklyn would have held his Bird Rights and been able to offer him a larger and longer contract than any other team this summer. Howard instead chose to sign with the Rockets, where he has averaged 17.9 PPG and 12.5 RPG so far this season. The Nets acquired Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and others in the blockbuster trade of the summer.

Rockets Notes: Rosas, Howard, Canaan

December 24th, 2013 at 1:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets are in sixth place in the Western Conference after last night’s loss to the rival Mavericks, but Houston is regaining an asset it lost to Dallas in the offseason, as we detail:

Former Mavs GM Gersson Rosas is rejoining the Rockets front office, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He’ll serve as executive vice president of basketball operations under GM Daryl Morey. Rosas worked nine years within the Rockets organization before departing this summer for Dallas, where he spent only a few months before leaving amid confusion over his role.
Mike D’Antoni has presided over plenty of tough breaks in his time with the Lakers, but he doesn’t think there was any more the team could have done to persuade Dwight Howard to pick L.A. over the Rockets. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the details.
Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle catches up with Isaiah Canaan, whose lengthy D-League assignment finally ended with a recall to the Rockets, paving the way for his NBA debut.

Odds & Ends: Bynum, Warriors, Howard, Draft

November 7th, 2013 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Bynum has returned to the court for the Cavaliers this fall after a lost season in Philadelphia, but as the big man prepares to suit up against the Sixers tomorrow night, the news coming out of his camp isn’t exactly positive. Bynum indicated earlier this week that he doesn’t expect to ever regain his old explosiveness, and acknowledged that he’s still getting “little sharp” pains in his knees.

Today, speaking to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal and other media members, Bynum admitted that he considered retirement, and still thinks about it occasionally (Twitter link). I’m hopeful that the 26-year-old will get healthy and have a productive year in Cleveland, but his latest comments are a little ominous.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

While eventually signing Klay Thompson to a long-term extension should be tenable, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com questions whether the Warriors will or should retain Harrison Barnes beyond his rookie contract.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports spoke to current and former Lakers in an attempt to determine why the marriage between Dwight Howard and the Lakers was destined for a divorce. Sources tell Spears that the Lakers’ brass told its employees to make Howard feel “special and important,” but that Dwight still felt undervalued by the team.
Howard cites Kelvin Cato as the first person to suggest that he should join the Rockets, well before D12 neared free agency, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Over at ESPN.com, Chad Ford’s Insider-only list of the top wings for the 2014 draft is headlined, unsurprisingly, by Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Howard, Redd, Martin

November 6th, 2013 at 7:48pm CST by Charlie Adams

It’s been an exciting night around the NBA. Let’s take a look at some headlines that have surfaced throughout the league:

Lakers forward-center Pau Gasol wishes Dwight Howard luck in Houston and respects his decision to leave L.A., reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles. Gasol, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2013/14 season, will have the opportunity to follow in Howard’s footsteps if he wants a change of scenery. It’s been reported that Gasol has expressed interest in remaining in Los Angeles, but it’s too early to make any assumptions.
Speaking of Howard, the dominant big man sat down and told Sam Amick of USA TODAY that he was tired of talking about his decision to leave the Lakers: “It’s time for everybody to get over it. It happened. It’s in the past. I’ve gotten over it. It didn’t work out (with the Lakers last season). The timing was off. It just wasn’t (there). Everybody was injured.”
Michael Redd has officially retired tonight tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. He goes on to say that several teams tried to lure Redd to camp last summer, and among them was the Spurs.
Redd has interest in rejoining the Bucks in some capacity, but not in a coaching role, Woelfel also tweets.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that Kevin Martin has clarified he was not speaking ill of former teammate Kevin Durant on Sunday when he said of the Timberwolves: “This is such a fun team to play on. Nobody is trying to lead the league in scoring here.” Wednesday morning, Durant told local reporters in Oklahoma City: “I know K-Mart. He’s not that type of guy.” Martin signed a four-year deal with the Wolves this offseason after a one-year stint with the Thunder.

Western Notes: Westbrook, Nash, Lakers

November 3rd, 2013 at 7:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Rejoining Oklahoma City for his first game since getting injured during last season’s playoffs, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook sat down with NewsOK’s Darnell Mayberry to discuss his return. When asked if he feels just as explosive as he was before the injury, Westbrook replied:

“Yeah. I feel great. I feel I’m in a good spot. I’m happy and blessed to be able to be able to play basketball again and go on the floor and fight for my teammates. First, I want to thank all the fans and all my family and friends and maybe some of you guys for your support throughout this period. It’s been a tough one, but I’m happy to be back.”

With that aside, here are some more links to share from around the Western Conference tonight:

Though Steve Kyler of Hoopsworld had earlier intimated that Steve Nash has little trade value as of now, Alex Kennedy (also of Hoopsworld) tweets that the former MVP could indeed be traded and hears from multiple sources that the Raptors are a possible landing spot.
Responding to his followers on Twitter, Kyler downplayed the likelihood that Pau Gasol and/or Nash get traded this season. Kyler reasons that Gasol and Nash make too much money for other teams to be interested, and that clearing Pau’s salary off their cap next July is much more valuable to the Lakers than shopping his expiring contract at the trade deadline (All Twitter links).
Sam Amick of USA Today talks about what Westbrook’s return means for the Thunder.
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times provides a brief parallel between Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and the Rockets’ Dwight Howard as far as struggling to mesh with their respective coaches last season and being in better situations now. On a much lighter note, Howard credited “playing slower songs in his head” for his recent minor streak of improved shooting from the free throw line (Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets).
Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw might consider re-shuffling his starting lineup to include Kenneth Faried at power forward, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.

Odds & Ends: Asik, Howard, Irving, Jack, Sixers

October 31st, 2013 at 10:50pm CST by Alex Lee

The 11 pm CT deadline for extensions and team options for players still on their rookie contracts should steal most of the headlines tonight, but let’s look at some of the other buzz from around the league:

Rockets officials “continue to privately insist” that Omer Asik won’t be available via trade this season if he and Dwight Howard can be productive alongside one another in the Houston frontcourt, reports ESPN.com’s Marc Stein.
Speaking of Howard, Mark Cuban says the Houston center made “a mistake in judgement” by joining the Rockets over his Mavericks, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, who pulls several other interesting quotes from Cuban and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle about how the team is faring with their “Plan B.”
Meanwhile, Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram tweets that Cuban believes Howard had already decided on Houston as his destination before he sat down with the Mavericks last summer.
While the Cavaliers can’t offer star point guard Kyrie Irving an extension until next summer, the strong relationship between Irving and owner Dan Gilbert should reassure Clevelanders still sore over losing LeBron James, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Valade also writes that, while the Andrew Bynum addition received most of the headlines, it is Jarrett Jack who will have the biggest impact among the new faces in Cleveland this season.
Sixers advanced scout and former assistant Ron Oliver won’t return for a third season with the team, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter).

Pacific Rumors: Kings, Vasquez, Warriors

October 31st, 2013 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns and Kings aren’t expected to be contenders in 2013/14, but both teams got off to good starts in their home openers last night, defeating the Trail Blazers and Nuggets, respectively. Two more Pacific teams are in action tonight, as the Clippers aim to become the last team in the division to get in the win column when they host the Warriors. While we look forward to that game, let’s round up a few items out of the Pacific….

In examining which rookie scale players will sign new contracts today, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses a pair of Kings, noting that extensions remain in play for Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez. According to Kyler, the “framework” of a deal for Vasquez is in place, but it’s not clear whether or not Sacramento is interested in finalizing anything today.
The Warriors and Mark Jackson have not talked recently about an extension for the head coach, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Jackson is under contract through the 2014/15 season, so extension negotiations could wait until next year.
Dwight Howard decided to sign with the Rockets this summer despite “relentless negative campaigning” from rival suitors, including the Warriors, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski hears from sources that Warriors advisor Jerry West was disparaging of James Harden during Golden State’s pitch to the free agent center. Asked about West’s comments on Harden, Howard laughed and replied, “Well, Jerry West said a lot of things.”
While Kings minority owner Shaquille O’Neal boldly predicted that the team would earn a playoff spot this season, Vivek Ranadive is more focused on the long term. According to Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee, Ranadive doesn’t plan to judge the season on wins and losses, but rather on whether the new system shows forward progress.

Odds & Ends: Kobe, LeBron, Cavs

October 24th, 2013 at 11:11pm CST by Ryan Raroque

T.J. Simers of the OC Register writes that Lakers executive Jim Buss believes he has an understanding with Kobe Bryant regarding next summer, in which he’ll let him hit free agency, spend the money accordingly on free agents, and offer whatever’s left to the Lakers’ star afterwards. When Simers asked him to elaborate, Kobe “vaguely” responded: “We’ve probably talked (about it)…but I’m putting off any thought of that.”

In another piece, Kobe spoke with Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times about his inability to mesh with Dwight Howard last season: “We saw different ways of going about leading this team…Dwight wanted to do it one way and he felt like it was effective. I wanted to do it another way. It was constant tension the second half of the season.”

Here are a handful of tonight’s links to pass along from around the Association:

LeBron James remained diplomatic when asked if winning a third consecutive ring would provide an answer to whether or not he’ll stay in with the Heat beyond this year: “When that bridge comes, I’ll cross it with my family…And we’re going to make the right choice. We’ve been in this position before, I’ve been in this position before, and I’ll be excited about it, but we’ll see what happens” (Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald).
LeBron was also quick to assert that his focus is on the upcoming season, and later emphasized Dwyane Wade‘s health as the key to Miami’s success: “Winning, that’s my only concern right now, winning…I want to put a third ring on the guys that have two. I want to put a first ring on the guys that don’t have any and I want to put a fourth on [Udonis Haslem] and D-Wade. So, that’s my goal…Without (Dwyane), this ship doesn’t continue to move without him, and I hope he knows that,..I think he knows that because he’s a big part of what we do.”
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is still undecided about how he’ll handle the rotation at small forward this season, having been torn between Alonzo Gee and Earl Clark: “Nobody’s really separated themselves drastically from the other guy…One game, one guy’s played pretty good, then another guy’s played pretty good. … I told those guys, it can go into the regular season, just keep yourself ready to go in case your number’s called” (Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer).
Steve Nash spoke with Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com about the challenges of staying healthy at this point in his career.
USA Today’s Sam Amick goes over what he’s learned so far after watching the pre-season.
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News says that the Jazz’ signing of Jamaal Tinsley makes Lester Hudson and Scott Machado longshots to make the final cut.

Western Notes: Wolves, Bogut, Blazers, D12

October 18th, 2013 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Friday items out of the Western Conference….

The Timberwolves have internally discussed the possibility of signing Hedo Turkoglu if he’s waived or bought out by the Magic, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). However, Wolfson adds that it sounds more like due diligence than anything serious.
Andrew Bogut exited the Warriors‘ game today in China early with back spasms, but head coach Mark Jackson said he’s not concerned, and that Bogut wanted to check back in (Twitter link via LetsGoWarriors.com). While it doesn’t sound like an issue that should significantly impact extension negotiations between the two sides, it may give the team some pause.
After shoring up their bench this offseason, this incarnation of the Trail Blazers is “officially on the clock,” writes Kevin Arnovitz in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com. As GM Neil Olshey acknowledges, whether or not the Blazers have a successful season will dictate whether the club stays its current course or aggressively attempts to retool the roster.
Dwight Howard spoke to Sam Amick of USA Today at length about his decision to sign with the Rockets this summer, and a Dark Knight Rises scene that inspired him.