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D-League Notes: Motiejunas, Dunleavy, Whittington

February 3rd, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams possess one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those 11 NBA teams without their own D-League squads this season have to assign players to D-League clubs affiliated with other NBA franchises. We at Hoops Rumors track all the NBA D-League assignments made during the course of the season and you can view the complete tracker, which is updated regularly, here.

Here are the D-League happenings for today:

The Pacers recalled center Shayne Whittington from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Whittington has appeared in 24 games for the Mad Ants, averaging 12.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game during his four stints with the team this season.
The Bulls have recalled small forward Mike Dunleavy from the Warriors’ D-League affiliate, where the Bulls had sent him via the flexible assignment rule, the team announced via press release.
The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis and Jarell Martin from their D-League affiliate earlier today and later reassigned the pair to the Iowa Energy, the team announced. This will mark Ennis’ eighth jaunt to the D-League on the season and Martin’s fifth.
The Jazz recalled big man Tibor Pleiss from the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
The Rockets have reassigned Donatas Motiejunas to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. As was the case with his previous assignment this season to Rio Grande Valley, both Motiejunas and the NBPA had to sign off on the move because he is a fourth-year veteran.

Grizzlies Rumors: Adams, Ennis, Barnes

January 16th, 2016 at 4:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies shouldn’t write off Jordan Adams as another draft failure despite his knee surgery this week, contends Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal. Adams has only appeared in two games for Memphis this season after averaging 3.1 points and 0.9 rebounds in 30 games during his rookie season of 2014/15. While admitting the Grizzlies have a spotty record in drafting and player development, Herrington argues that it’s too early to give up on Adams considering that he’s only 21, still on a rookie contract and has been promising when he has played. Adams is likely to be out of action six to eight weeks, meaning he will rejoin the team before the season ends. However, Herrington notes that the injury has left his role for next season in question.

There’s more news out of Memphis:

James Ennis hasn’t seen much playing time with the Grizzlies, but he’s too much of a bargain to get rid of, Herrington argues in the same piece. Ennis came to Memphis from Miami in a November 10th deal, but has appeared in only seven NBA games and has made eight trips to the D-League. However, he is signed for next season at a little more than $980K, and Herrington says that value made it a wise decision to keep him over Ryan Hollins last week when Memphis signed Elliot Williams to a 10-day contract. Herrington also speculates that Hollins could be brought back after Williams’ deal expires Sunday.
Matt Barnes hasn’t changed his mind about Knicks coach Derek Fisher in the wake of the October incident that led to a two-game suspension for Barnes, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The former friends haven’t been on speaking terms since an alleged physical confrontation October 3rd at the home of Barnes’ estranged wife, and Barnes said he plans to keep it that way when the Grizzlies host the Knicks tonight. “I just don’t like him, plain and simple. He knows I don’t like him,” Barnes said. “Don’t say nothing to me, I don’t plan on saying nothing to him. Don’t try to shake my hand. There’s none of that. There’s nothing there. There never will be. Just stay away from me basically.”

Western Notes: Suns, Kings, Davis

January 15th, 2016 at 3:47pm CST by Will Joseph

Mirza Teletovic and P.J. Tucker have attracted interest on the trade market, but the Suns are delaying discussions about those two players until they believe they are out of the playoff picture, one league source told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. That time might come soon, however, considering the Suns are 13-27 and four and a half games behind for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Markieff Morris is also still viewed as a valuable stretch-power forward on the trade market, according to Deveney. That’s because Morris’ contract (he has three years and $24MM left after this season) is affordable and he still has plenty of upside, one source told Deveney.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Kings vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac does not make it a priority to return calls from other executives around the league, according to ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst (link to podcast hosted by ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe; h/t Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com). What’s more, Divac was unaware that there was a trade call to the league office when Sacramento sent Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, and Nik Stauskas to the Sixers, according to Lowe.
Ed Davis, whom the Blazers signed to a three-year, $20MM deal in the summer, said Portland differs from his previous team, the Lakers, because the Blazers have a clear-cut rebuilding plan, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details. “Here, we’re trying to build something,” Davis told Kennedy. “I enjoyed my time with the Lakers. Coach [Byron] Scott, [GM] Mitch [Kupchak] and all those guys were good to me, so I don’t really have any complaints. But it’s just different [in Portland]. Obviously in L.A. they want those big stars and they’re not really trying to keep a core together. Now they’re starting to do it because they aren’t getting those top free agents in. Here, there’s just stability. You know that guys are going to be around for a while. You don’t have the feeling that you could get traded any minute or that they’re going to bring a superstar in [to replace you]. You can just focus on doing your job. You know [the plan] and that everything is going to be fine.”
The Grizzlies assigned James Ennis to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Ennis’ seventh assignment to the Iowa Energy.

Southwest Notes: Adams, Pachulia, D-League

January 8th, 2016 at 6:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Grizzlies shooting guard Jordan Adams is scheduled to undergo surgery on his right knee this Tuesday and there is currently no timetable for his return to action, the team announced. The procedure Adams will undergo is similar to the one big man Brandan Wright had back in December, and Wright was given a timetable of six to eight weeks for his recovery, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal notes (via Twitter). The team also relayed in the press release that power forward Jarell Martin sustained a bone bruise in his left foot while on assignment to the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate in Iowa and his condition will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia is currently in his 13th season in the NBA and he appreciates all the opportunities that he has been given throughout his career, the big man told Rainer Saban of The Dallas Morning News. “I wouldn’t change anything, honestly. I would just keep everything because there is a reason why I am here at this point,” Pachulia said. “As you know, the average career for an NBA player is 4.5 years, 5 years. I doubled it so I must be doing something right — not only being out here, but I am enjoying playing basketball and I have great teammates, I am in a great organization with a great coaching staff. And we’re winning the games. I am fortunate to be in this situation. I wouldn’t change anything, obviously.“
The Pelicans have been attempting to replicate the fast-paced offense of the Warriors but have experienced mixed results thus far, Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate writes. “I think it’s been OK,” said coach Alvin Gentry, who was the lead assistant for the Warriors last year. “At the end of the day, we still want to play with more pace than we’re playing with.” The Pelicans are currently ranked 10th in the NBA in pace, averaging 98.8 possessions per 48 minutes, Dawson notes.
The Grizzlies have recalled James Ennis and Martin from their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced. Ennis is averaging 20.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal in 38.1 minutes per game for the Energy this season.

Grizzlies Keep James Ennis, Cut Ryan Hollins

January 7th, 2016 at 4:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:18pm: The Grizzlies announced via a press release that Hollins has been waived.

1:35pm: The Grizzlies will waive Ryan Hollins today, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter), but they’ll hold on to James Ennis, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (All Twitter links here). Memphis needs a roster spot for Elliot Williams, who’s reportedly set to sign a 10-day contract with the team, so it appears that Hollins, who just signed last week, will depart. Ennis, who had already earned more than the partial guarantee on his salary by virtue of remaining under contract as long as he has this season, will see his full $845,059 one-year veteran’s minimum take, since today is the final day for NBA teams to waive non-guaranteed salary before it becomes fully guaranteed.

The details of the contract Hollins signed December 29th remain unclear, but Bobby Marks of Yahoo’s “The Vertical” offered a hint, tweeting that he’ll see about $96K for his time on the Memphis roster. That indicates that Hollins was on a non-guaranteed deal, just like the contract the Grizzlies had him on during the preseason and the one he signed with the Wizards in late November. Memphis waived him before opening night, and Washington cut him loose last month, so his latest release from the Grizzlies represents the third time he’s hit waivers in less than three months.

Ennis came to Memphis in early November via the Mario Chalmers trade, and he’s already gone on D-League assignment six times since then. He’s logged only 27 minutes at the NBA level with the Grizzlies so far, but Memphis apparently thinks he can grow into a productive player, since the team’s interest in keeping him for next season was the reason why it chose Ennis over Hollins today, according to Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Ennis’ contract covers 2016/17 with a non-guaranteed salary. The combo forward was the 50th overall pick in the 2013 draft.

D-League Notes: Hardaway Jr., Ennis, McCallum

December 27th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks have assigned Tim Hardaway Jr. to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Atlanta does not have its own affiliate so Hardaway will likely join the Austin Spurs, based on the league’s flexible assignment system and the fact that the Hawks have an on-going relationship with the D-League franchise this season, Vivlamore writes. Hardaway played for the Canton Charge in his previous D-League stint.

It will be the second D-League stint for Hardaway, who has been a non-factor for the Hawks this season after he was acquired in a trade from the Knicks in June. Hardaway has appeared in only four games this season with Atlanta. Still, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer seems to remain optimistic about Hardaway’s development, as Vivlamore writes.

“I can promise you he is doing well and he is in a good place,” Budenholzer told reporters, including Vivlamore on Saturday. “A lot of it has been his approach to it. He’s been very professional. There is a real emphasis on player development with us and we’ve seen guys who have come in and maybe not started out gangbusters but through work, time and effort they find a way. I was say he is following that path in a very good way.”

Here are more moves and notes regarding the D-League:

The Grizzlies assigned James Ennis to the D-League three days after recalling him, the team announced in an emailed press release. This will be Ennis’ sixth stint with the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ D-League affiliate.
The Spurs assigned Ray McCallum to the Austin Spurs, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This marks McCallum’s third stint with the Austin Spurs this season.
The Kings have recalled power forward Duje Dukan from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). It was Dukan’s fourth stint with Reno on the season.
The Mavericks recalled Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri from the D-League, the team announced in an emailed press release. Anderson has played sparingly in 18 games, including one start, while Mejri has seen action in only five games for Dallas this season.

Southwest Notes: Wroten, Pelicans, Grizzlies

December 24th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Sixers offered to send the now-waived Tony Wroten to the Pelicans in today’s trade that shipped Ish Smith off to Philadelphia, but New Orleans didn’t have any interest, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports passes along (via Twitter). The Pelicans will instead end up with two future second round picks: Denver’s in 2016 and Philadelphia’s in 2017, according to fellow Yahoo Sports contributor Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Malone, Leonard, Jones

December 22nd, 2015 at 8:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry declined to discuss how much contact he had with the Nuggets over the summer regarding Denver’s then open coaching position, which ultimately went to Michael Malone, but firmly believes the franchise made a good choice in its hire, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “They got themselves a really, really good coach, a guy that works his butt off,” Gentry said. “I don’t think there’s anybody out there that works any harder [than Malone] or understands the game. He’s been around it his whole life. So, I think they did great.“

Malone noted that Emmanuel Mudiay‘s recent ankle injury is related to the injury the rookie sustained while playing in China last season, Dempsey adds. When asked when Mudiay might return to game action, Malone said, “We trust our athletic training staff to tell us when he can get back on the floor to start practicing. And then obviously he’ll have to get through a practice before he can play in a game. To be honest, I think he’s probably a little ways away from that. So we’ll be cautious. It’s an injury he sustained while in China, and it’s kind of come back a little bit.“

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The reports that Blazers big man Meyers Leonard was offered and turned down a four-year, $60MM extension from the team are “grossly inaccurate,” according to Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). Leonard is eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer provided Portland extends him a qualifying offer worth $4,210,880.
The Timberwolves have recalled point guard Tyus Jones from the Idaho Stampede, the team announced. The rookie had been with the Jazz’s D-League affiliate since December 5th as part of the league’s flexible assignment program.
The Grizzlies have assigned James Ennis, Jarell Martin and Russ Smith to their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced. This will be Ennis’ fifth stint with the Energy and the second for both Martin and Smith.

D-League Notes: Martin, Mickey, Harris

December 17th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies assigned Jarell Martin, James Ennis and Russ Smith to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, and later recalled all three, the team announced. This was the first D-League assignment of the season for both Martin and Smith, and it was Ennis’ fourth. Martin is still recovering from a fractured left foot he suffered back in September, and he is likely a few weeks away from seeing any game action, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal tweets.

Here’s more from the NBA’s D-League:

The Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate in Maine, the team announced. This marks Mickey’s seventh stint with the Red Claws on the season.
Joe Harris has been recalled from the Canton Charge by the Cavaliers, the team announced. Harris has appeared in nine games for the Charge this season, averaging 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 33.9 minutes per game.
The Hawks have assigned Edy Tavares to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. As part of the league’s flexible assignment program, Tavares will report to the Spurs‘ affiliate in Austin, Vivlamore adds.

And-Ones: Shumpert, D-League, Ross

December 13th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

Iman Shumpert, who made his season debut Friday after breaking his right wrist just before training camp, is viewed by the Cavs as more of a long-term part of the team compared to J.R. Smith, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. That is one reason why, according to Pluto, the Cavs re-signed Shumpert, 25, to a four-year, $40MM deal very early in the summer. The Cavs believe Shumpert can be a significant part of a championship team because he is unselfish and is a solid 3-point shooter, Pluto adds. In comparison, the Cavs did not re-sign Smith until late August. Smith’s deal was a two-year pact with a player option for 2016/17.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from the D-League, the team announced. It was the small forward’s third trip to the D-League this season. The 25-year-old has averaged has 23.3 points in 36.8 minutes in three games in the D-League.
The Lakers assigned Tarik Black, Ryan Kelly and Anthony Brown to their D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter).
Terrence Ross, who signed a three-year, $31MM extension with the Raptors last month, has not been able to string together consistent performances since inking the deal, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. Toronto has tried in a variety of ways to spark Ross, including having him come off the bench, but nothing seems to stick, Koreen adds.