Eric Moreland Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets, Heat Pursuing Kings’ Eric Moreland

June 25th, 2015 at 12:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Nuggets and Heat have discussed deals with the Kings involving forward Eric Moreland, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. Moreland underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder back in January, shutting him down for the season.

The talks involving Moreland are expected to be a part of larger trade possibilities. Moreland had a strong summer league showing for the Kings a year ago but appeared in just three regular-season games before his January surgery. Moreland, who went undrafted one year ago, played his college basketball at Oregon State. Later that summer, the Kings inked the 6’10” shot blocker to a multi-year pact.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Kuzmic, Barbosa

January 15th, 2015 at 7:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns‘ three point guard attack has resulted in the team playing at an increased pace on offense, which was one of the team’s goals heading into this season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “They’re so unique,” Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said. “They do have three point guards or, I don’t know, three two-guards. They want to score. It’s not like they’re running a point guard-oriented offense where the one guy is coming down, setting everyone up and directing everybody. They’re playing at a pace and spreading the floor so I think that’s a little bit easier. It’s still hard, my guess, for all of them because they’re all used to having the ball. They seem to have figured it out. They sure don’t have a problem scoring.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Warriors have assigned Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This will be Kuzmic’s fifth trip to the D-League of the season.
Leandro Barbosa‘s impact for the Warriors has been about more than his on court production, as the veteran has been an invaluable source of leadership for the team, Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group writes. “He’s been a solid voice in this locker room,” Stephen Curry said. “I know he has been good for me. Sometimes he’ll call a play in my ear when he’s on the sideline, and when he comes in, he always has some idea about how we can keep the flow going. But even with the experience he brings, all that would kind of be for nothing if he didn’t have the attitude that he has, being a positive guy regardless of the situation.“
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders looks at the journey of Kings forward Eric Moreland, and how he made it into the NBA after being passed over in the 2014 NBA draft. Moreland will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder.

Eric Moreland To Miss Rest Of Season

January 1st, 2015 at 12:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Kings forward/center Eric Moreland will undergo surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder and miss the rest of the season, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The rookie first injured the shoulder while in college at Oregon State but had been playing through it this season, Kennedy adds. Moreland appeared in just three games for Sacramento and seven contests for the team’s D-League affiliate.

The 23-year-old, whose rookie minimum salary is partially guaranteed for $200K, is set to be on a de facto non-guaranteed contract by Wednesday, the final day on which teams can waive players who don’t have fully guaranteed deals without guaranteeing their salaries for the rest of the season. Moreland will have earned in excess of $200K if he remains on the roster through Saturday. The Kings, who already have an open roster spot, would need to keep Moreland on the roster to receive a disabled player exception. That exception, which would be worth $253,668, wouldn’t be a sizable financial asset, but it would give the team a financial advantage to sign a player later this season to a contract more lucrative than the minimum salary, which prorates, could provide.

The news isn’t much of a blow to the Kings, who seem primarily focused on a long-shot playoff run rather than player development. Moreland is on a three-year contract that’s non-guaranteed in 2015/16 and 2016/17, so the Kings can cheaply keep him on the roster for the long term.

Western Notes: Crawford, Moreland, Brewer

December 16th, 2014 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Clippers guard Jamal Crawford is being mentioned quite a bit in exploratory trade talks, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports (Twitter link). According to Amico, the Kings, Nuggets, and Thunder may take a run at acquiring the veteran guard, though no serious discussions are talking place just yet. In 23 appearances this season, Crawford is averaging 16.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26.7 minutes per game.

Here’s the latest out of the West:

The Kings have once again recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was Moreland’s fifth sojourn of the season to Reno, and in seven appearances for the Bighorns he has averaged 13.7 points and 1.4 assists per contest.
For the second time this season the Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate, the team announced. The 6’10” rookie has made four appearances for the Rockets this season, recording a total of six rebounds, one assist, a steal and a block in 12 total minutes of playing time. In his first stint with the Vipers, Capela played in six games averaging 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 14.1 minutes per contest.
The Rockets‘ coaching staff is enamored with Corey Brewer and are still pursing a trade with the Wolves for the swingman, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. No deal is imminent, Wolfson adds.
Kevin Durant refuted the notion that players around the league don’t want to play with Kobe Bryant, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. When asked if this perception is why the Lakers have been unable to make a splash in in free agency lately, Durant said, “Excuse my language, but that’s [expletive]. I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I’d want to play with a guy like that every day. His style may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think [the accusation] is BS.”

Western Notes: Suns, Wolves, Bryant, Kanter

December 14th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns can blame their lackluster defense for their current four game losing streak, opines Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. New addition Isaiah Thomas feels the team’s mentality is reason for the current slide. “We’re just not bringing it every night, plain and simple,” said Thomas. “I don’t know what it is but we’re not bringing it. We’re not playing with that attitude like,’We need this win.’ That’s got to change or we’re going to dig ourselves a hole.” Even with Phoenix’s current struggles, the team resides in eighth place in the Western Conference with a record of 12-12.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Kings assigned Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, according to the RealGM transactions log. Moreland, who has been yo-yoed a bit this season, was with the Kings for just one day on this latest stint.
Although Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders doesn’t agree with Magic Johnson’s plea for the Lakers to lose in order to secure a high draft pick, he understands the benefit to the strategy, writes Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. “I’m never a proponent to just say tank games or lose games. You’re letting players off the hook. Depending on who you have out there, you might not have to worry about it. … I know what Magic is saying, and I’m sure it’s how most people look at it: If you’re not going to be a playoff team, you’re better off getting as high a (draft) pick as you can,” said Saunders during an interview with Rand. Minnesota currently sits in last place in the Western Conference with a record of 5-17.
Kobe Bryant may be on the verge of a huge milestone, being only eight points behind Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer, yet he had bigger plans for the season when he signed his two year $48.5MM extension, writes Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Daily News. Heisler opines that Bryant’s quest for another title is a lost cause due to the team’s current roster and Bryant’s expected retirement at the end of the 2015/16 season. The team certainly thinks this contract will be the last for one of the greatest Lakers of all time. “All indications are to me, from him, that this is going to be it,” GM Mitch Kupchak said. “If somebody’s thinking of buying a ticket three years from now to see Kobe play, I would not do that.”
Center Enes Kanter is making huge strides this season for the Jazz, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Kanter, who is set to become a restricted free agent after the season, enjoys playing under first year head coach Quin Snyder.

And-Ones: Poythress, Thunder, NBA Draft

December 13th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kentucky junior forward Alex Poythress suffered a torn left ACL during practice and will miss the remainder of season, the University announced via their official website. “Our team was devastated for Alex when I told them,” coach John Calipari said. “There were tears throughout the room because this hurt them to the core. How they will respond I really don’t know, but I will do my best to be there for each of these kids. I told them, this is a big blow to our team. No one will be able to replace Alex and what he did for this team. I go back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Without Alex, we don’t win those games. No one will be able to replace him, but now everybody has to do a little bit more as we try to circle the wagons.” Poythress is currently the 47th ranked college prospect by DraftExpress.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Thunder have once again recalled Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
The 2015 NBA draft is loaded with talented big men, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Kennedy spoke with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who believes that the lack of top point guard prospects is opening the door for a lot of bigs to potentially go in the first 30 picks. “I think that part of the reason why you’re seeing so many big men in our [DraftExpress’] top 30 is because this is a really weak class for point guards,” Givony told Kennedy. “There might be one point guard in our top 20 right now and maybe two in the first round, period. That just leaves a lot of spots open for the four other positions, including power forwards and centers. I think that’s why we’re seeing some of these bigs [in the top 30]. But it’s a nice class for big guys too. I do think this draft, as a whole, is much better than advertised so far.”
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders ran down which players are his picks for the top 10 prospects in the NBA who are 23 years old or younger. Topping Duncan’s list are Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Kyrie Irving (Cavs), and Jabari Parker (Bucks).
The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

D-League Notes: Mitchell, Adams, Ledo

December 12th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League is becoming an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Pistons have sent Tony Mitchell to the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). This will be Mitchell’s fourth D-League assignment of the season.
Jordan Adams has been re-assigned to the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies‘ affiliate, the team announced in a press release. In his three previous jaunts to Iowa, Adams has averaged 14.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 30.0 minutes per contest.
The Mavericks have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends of the D-League, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). This was Ledo’s fourth assignment of the season to the D-League. In seven appearances for the Legends, he has averaged 13.3 PPG.
The Kings have re-assigned Eric Moreland to their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, the team announced via Twitter. This will be Moreland’s fourth trip to Reno of the season, and he’s averaging 14.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks for the Bighorns this season.

Kings Notes: Moreland, D-League, Casspi

November 28th, 2014 at 5:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The much-improved Kings are back in action tonight as they head to San Antonio to take on the defending champs. But Sacramento won’t be at full-strength tonight since big man DeMarcus Cousins will be sitting out the game due to a virus. The Kings will certainly miss Cousins’ services, especially since the 24-year-old is playing at an All-Star level, averaging 23.5 points and 12.6 rebounds through the team’s first 15 contests.

Here’s more from Sacramento:

The Kings have assigned Eric Moreland to their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, the team announced. This will be Moreland’s third assignment of the season to Reno, and he is averaging 13.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three D-League games this season.
Two years after he’d been traded by the Kings, Omri Casspi returned to Sacramento as a free agent and found the atmosphere around the team had changed for the better, Bryan Horowitz of Dime Magazine writes. With the Kings no longer in danger of being moved from Sacramento and a new arena on tap for 2016, the energy around the team is the best since the halcyon days of Chris Webber and Jason Williams notes Horowitz. “Right now, it just felt like the right energy and the right atmosphere for me to be in,” Casspi said. “Sacramento always had a different vibe — it has my first NBA game, my first preseason and all of that. I was fortunate enough to come back.”
Casspi has also changed his game this season, and is attacking the basket much more so than in the past when he was content to fire away from the outside, Horowitz adds. Casspi sees the return to his old stomping grounds of Sacramento as what has motivated him this season. “More than anything, it’s just being comfortable — comfortable in the role, comfortable in the system, comfortable in the city,” Casspi said, “I like to be able to not just be a three-point shooter, to penetrate and get into the lane and create. It’s just fun, you know? It’s pretty simple.”

Western Notes: Dragic, Adams, Moreland, Smith

November 25th, 2014 at 8:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Zoran Dragic will receive $1.5MM in base salary this season and next, but he’ll count for more than $1.706MM against the Suns‘ cap each year because of his nearly $413K signing bonus, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The bonus went toward the part of Dragic’s buyout from Spain’s Unicaja Malaga that wasn’t covered under the $600K that teams are allowed to keep off their books when they buy players out of their overseas contracts. Here’s more from the western half:

The Grizzlies have re-assigned Jordan Adams to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Adams’ second trip to the D-League this season. During his first assignment, Adams appeared in one contest, contributing 20 points, seven rebounds and one assist in 31 minutes. The 20-year-old is averaging 1.5 points, 1.3 assists and 0.75 steals in 10.1 minutes per contest in four appearances for Memphis this season.
Eric Moreland has been recalled from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League, the Kings have announced. This was Moreland’s second stint in the D-League this season, and he’s averaging 13.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 1.7 APG in three appearances for Reno this season. Moreland has yet to appear in a regular season contest for Sacramento.
The Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League have claimed Nolan Smith off of waivers, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). Smith had cut ties with Turkey’s Galatasaray back in October and intends to use the D-League to showcase his talents for NBA teams. Smith’s last taste of the NBA came during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 40 games for the Blazers and averaged 2.8 points and 0.9 assists.
Mavs big man Tyson Chandler said that he felt like a scapegoat for the Knicks’ failures last season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. When asked whether his leadership attempts were unappreciated in New York, Chandler said, “At times, at times, at times. But I feel like New York made me a lot stronger, a lot stronger of a person going through trials and tribulations there. But that’s life. It also depends on where your mind is. If everybody is locked in and they want to win and they know I’m in it 100% and they’re in it 100%, nobody’s sensitive. But if there’s other agendas, it’s going to make things sensitive.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Smith, Moreland, Sampson

November 21st, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Minnesota is the latest team to be besieged by injuries, with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin out indefinitely and Ronny Turiaf also expected to miss time. Also among the Timberwolves to sit on the sidelines in street clothes tonight is Nikola Pekovic, who has a sprained wrist. With the league-maximum 15 players on their roster, the Wolves would not be able to sign another player without being forced to release someone. But if at least three of the players miss three consecutive games and an independent physician declares that they and a fourth player are likely to continue to miss time, Minnesota could apply to the league for a hardship provision that would grant them the ability to temporarily carry a 16th player. Still, “they don’t hand those things out like candy,” as Flip Saunders noted of the league’s willingness to grant 16th roster spots, in spite of recent allowances for the Thunder, Pacers and Grizzlies, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Kings have sent Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns, the team announced. This will be Moreland’s second assignment to the D-League this season. The 22-year-old power forward has yet to make a regular season appearance for Sacramento
The Sixers have assigned JaKarr Sampson to the Delaware 87ers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Sampson’s first trip to the D-League this season, and the rookie is averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in nine NBA appearances.
Former Blazers first round pick Nolan Smith is headed back to the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports. Smith had cut ties with Turkey’s Galatasaray back in October and intends to use the D-League to showcase his talents for NBA teams, Pilato notes. The D-League will assign Smith to one of its teams through its waiver system. The 26-year-old point guard spent 2011/12 and 2012/13 with Portland, averaging 3.3 PPG and 1.2 APG in 9.9 minutes per contest. Smith had received partially guaranteed offers from the Bulls and the Thunder this summer but instead chose to try his luck in Turkey.