Jrue Holiday Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Cummings, Holiday, Gordon

September 12th, 2015 at 8:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Will Cummings, who will join the Rockets in training camp after signing with the team, understands Houston has well-established point guards on the roster, but hopes to learn as much as possible from them, Colby Giacubeno of SB Nation writes.

“It’s going to be a great experience going against [Patrick Beverley and Ty Lawson] in practice. Pat has been back in Houston, so I’ve been able to work out with him a few times now and putting me through different types of workouts, which definitely helps give me a jump-start going to training camp,” Cummings said. “It’s really just a blessing to be playing at the highest level and learn as much as I can from the guys who have been there and want to be the best.”

Cummings went undrafted after leading Temple University in points (14.8), assists (4.2) and steals (1.9) per game as a senior last season.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Jrue Holiday is still rehabbing from the surgery on his right leg, but the point guard is optimistic about returning to the court full-time, John Reid of the Times Picayune tweets. ”I’m not doing everything that [the team] is doing [in volunteer workouts], my time is limited which I think is really good,” Holiday said.
The stakes are high for Eric Gordon this season, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders opines. Gordon will be a free agent after the season and Blancarte believes if the shooting guard can stay healthy, he will have a big contract waiting for him next summer. Shooting guards Wes Matthews and Khris Middleton just received $70MM each on their contracts this summer and Blancarte believes Gordon’s potential deal next summer could top both of those.

Southwest Notes: Holiday, Aldridge, McGee

September 4th, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday has made sufficient progress in his recovery from the surgical procedure he underwent in May that the team expects him to be cleared to participate in basketball related activities when training camp begins, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. ”What I think we’re trying to do is not push him anywhere,” coach Alvin Gentry said. ”We’re going to monitor obviously his practices. I doubt there will be a situation where we’ll let him go two-a-days. It’s just doesn’t make sense right now.” Holiday has missed a combined 90 games over the past two campaigns because of recurring problems with his right leg. The NBA had ordered the Sixers to pay $3MM to the Pelicans last season for not fully disclosing the extent of Holiday’s injury prior to shipping him to New Orleans.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Rick Barnes, who coached LaMarcus Aldridge at the University of Texas, doesn’t think that his former player will have any difficulty adapting his game to the Spurs‘ system, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News relays. “What he wants is to win an NBA championship,” Barnes said. “He’ll do whatever he feels he has to do to make that happen.” Aldridge had expressed some level of concern to San Antonio assistant Ime Udoka about him being more of a scorer than the Spurs typically feature during the team’s recruitment of him, McDonald adds. “He’s a tremendous teammate. He’s a team player,” Barnes continued. “He knows he’s a franchise-type guy, but he also has to have people around him. Credit to him for wanting to be part of something special.”
Mavs big man JaVale McGee believes that his athleticism will set him apart from the other centers on Dallas’ roster, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “Well, I definitely feel like we’re different players, the centers that we have, so it’s definitely going to be good competition,” McGee said. “But that’s what basketball is for, competition, so it’s definitely going to make us all better. It’s definitely a positive thing, being a leaper as I am and a shot blocker and a dunker, so that’s definitely what teams need. I’m just somebody who keeps it simple, who dunks the ball, blocks shots and is just a presence in the paint. … [coach Rick Carlisle] just wants me to keep it simple, and just play as hard as I can and be a presence in the paint.”

Kings Eye Jrue Holiday, Schröder, Jeremy Lin

June 30th, 2015 at 12:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are eyeing Jrue Holiday and Dennis Schröder among potential trade targets as they seek a point guard to play along with Darren Collison, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link), who confirms the team’s interest in Ty Lawson, too. Broussard adds Jeremy Lin to the team’s list of free agent targets and confirms that Sacramento is still high on Rajon Rondo. Kings ownership is making a hard push to sign Rondo and fellow reported target Monta Ellis, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (on Twitter), pointing out that Sacramento, with about $53MM in guaranteed salaries against a $67.1MM salary cap, can likely afford only one of those two.

Ellis, a shooting guard, would appear the lower priority, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee says the team is making point guard and small forward more of a priority (Twitter link). The team appears to be casting a wide net as it seeks a new point man. Coach George Karl has long seemingly been enamored with the idea of trading for Lawson, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck wrote months ago, though the Kings are reportedly investigating the idea of firing Karl as they gauge John Calipari‘s interest in joining the team. Lawson is set to make approximately $12.404MM next season on a contract that runs through 2016/17. Holiday’s deal with the Pelicans runs through the same season, though he’ll make only about $10.596MM next season. Schröder, whose rookie scale deal with the Hawks also goes through 2016/17, is by far the cheapest trade option, as next season he’s in line for roughly $1.763MM.

Lin would also seemingly come relatively cheaply after a largely unsuccessful stint with the Lakers. His scoring average has declined in each of the three years since his “Linsanity” season with the Knicks.

Report: Sixers Ordered To Pay $3MM To Pelicans

June 28th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

SUNDAY, 3:45pm: Pelicans officials refused to comment on whether they received $3MM from the Sixers, tweets John Reid of The Times-Picayune.

The NBA ordered the Sixers to pay $3MM to the Pelicans last season for not fully disclosing the extent of Jrue Holiday‘s injury before his 2013 trade, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers dealt Holiday to New Orleans shortly after the 2013 draft in exchange for the rights to Nerlens Noel.

Two unidentified sources told Pompey that Holiday had stress fractures in his right leg during his last season in Philadelphia, but the Sixers didn’t provide full disclosure of the injury prior to the deal. Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie refused to comment on the report, but a team source said the allegation is untrue.

Holiday appeared in just 34 and 40 games in his first two seasons in New Orleans. He averaged 14.8 points and 6.9 assists this season, while helping the Pelicans reach the playoffs. Noel missed the entire 2013/14 season after the deal, but emerged as a Rookie of the Year candidate this season, averaging 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The sources say the Sixers are pursuing a similar complaint against the Lakers regarding Andrew Bynum, accusing Los Angeles of providing misinformation about Bynum’s injured knees. Bynum was traded to the Sixers as part of a four-team deal in 2012, but never played for Philadelphia because of his knee problems. “They are saying the Lakers didn’t disclose all of the information about Bynum’s knees,” one of the sources said. “They think they should be able to get some type of monetary resolution.”

Southwest Notes: Holiday, Messina, Chandler

May 7th, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to remove a previously implanted screw from his right leg, the team announced. No timetable was announced for when Holiday could resume basketball activities. The 24-year-old appeared in 40 games this past season for New Orleans, averaging 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists in 32.6 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Spurs assistant Ettore Messina is still interested in becoming an NBA head coach, Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “I am seriously thinking about that but I’d ask first [coach] Gregg Popovich and [GM] R.C. Buford for advice,” Messina said. “At the same time I am very happy with the Spurs. I have two years left on my contract with the Spurs. Maybe I finish my contract and I will go back home peacefully.” Messina’s best shot to snag a head coaching position may be to hang on in San Antonio as an assistant until Popovich retires, and then take over the team, McCarney opines.
Tyson Chandler might be the most attractive asset the Mavericks could pitch to prospective free agent targets, opines Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News in his weekly mailbag. Of course, Dallas will still need to make a decision regarding the 32-year-old big man first. Chandler will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and with the team reportedly interested in signing fellow free agents DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge, there likely won’t be room under the salary cap for all three in Dallas.
Pelicans guard Eric Gordon still hasn’t made a decision regarding his player option for 2015/16 worth $15,514,031, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. But the 26-year-old does believe that New Orleans has a bright future as a franchise, Reid adds. ”I just believe when you think about winning, people do things and think positive,” Gordon said. ”I’ve just tried to get healthy, do the things that I can do to help this team. The talent is here, it’s all about us being healthy and playing together.We can only get better at this point. It’s all about guys staying on task and getting healthy. I think we can be really good.”

And-Ones: Holiday, Hibbert, Lawson

February 18th, 2015 at 11:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday could be sidelined for more than another month after reaggravating the stress reaction injury in his lower right leg on Monday, John Reid of NOLA.com reports. The Pelicans announced on Wednesday that he will be re-evaluated in three weeks by the team’s medical staff but New Orleans offered no timetable for his return. Holiday, who suffered the setback while doing light drills, has been sidelined since January 14th. He was averaging 15.2 points and 7.1 assists prior to the injury.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Pacers are open to trading Roy Hibbert, rival executives told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). There is nothing imminent regarding a potential trade of Indiana’s starting center, Kennedy adds.
Gal Mekel is being hotly pursued by Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israel Premier League, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. Mekel, a point guard, appeared in four games with the Pelicans in December this season.
Trade chatter around the Raptors is unusually low, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. The Raptors are looking toward the offseason to make any big moves, Wolstat adds.
Jermaine O’Neal, who has opted not to play this season, hinted that the Warriors and Trail Blazers as well as the Mavs were interested in his services, according to quotes posted by Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com from a Dallas radio interview. The Mavs were expected to sign O’Neal but the veteran delayed his comeback because he felt that the timing wasn’t right, O’Neal explained in the interview on 103.3 FM’s “Friedo and Fitzsimmons” show.
The Nuggets are still considering offers for Arron Afflalo, and some “late charging” teams have expressed interest in the guard, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The Blazers are still strongly in the mix to acquire Afflalo, Wojnarowski adds.
Ty Lawson‘s no-show at Nuggets practice on Wednesday might be a ploy on Lawson’s part to force a trade, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders opines. Lawson’s absence was unexcused by Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
The Timberwolves had checked in on free agent Jamaal Tinsley but never offered him a 10-day contract, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. It was reported earlier that Minnesota and two other teams had offered Tinsley 10-day deals that he had declined.

Western Notes: Holiday, Aldridge, Goodwin

January 21st, 2015 at 8:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday is expected to miss two to four weeks of action after tests revealed that he has developed a stress reaction in his lower right leg, the team has announced. The injury is in the same leg that required surgery during the 2013/14 campaign. In 37 appearances this season, Holiday is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 33.7 minutes per game.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Josh Davis, who was in training camp this season with the Spurs, is leaving the D-League to sign a contract with the Meralco Bolts in the Philippines, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Davis has appeared in 22 games for Austin, San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, averaging 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 34.0 minutes per contest.
The Suns have informed inquiring teams that Archie Goodwin is a big part of the franchise’s future, Charania writes in a separate article. Goodwin’s comments about being frustrated with his playing time were taken out of context, according to his agent, Charles Briscoe, Charania notes. “Archie doesn’t want out of Phoenix,” Briscoe said. “His words have been twisted in a recent article: We’re willing to wait for Archie’s opportunity. Any player in the NBA wants to play immediately, but we understand that Phoenix is in a playoff push. If we have to wait for next year, we’re OK with that. We know he will get his opportunity, and he’ll be ready.”
A number of league executives have brought up the possibility that LaMarcus Aldridge could sign with the Spurs this summer, something that Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News thinks is highly unlikely to occur. Either Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili would need to retire for San Antonio to free up enough cap space to sign Aldridge, and neither player is a safe bet to stop playing, McCarney notes.. Aldridge would also have to sacrifice roughly $30MM in salary to leave the Blazers, which is also improbable, McCarney adds.
The Clippers have recalled C.J. Wilcox from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the Mad Ants have announced. Wilcox has appeared in five games for Fort Wayne this season, averaging 13.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

Pelicans Make Eric Gordon Available

July 3rd, 2014 at 9:22am CST by Zachary Links

THURSDAY, 9:22am: The Pelicans deny that they’re quite so active, as fellow Basketball Insiders scribe Steve Kyler reports in his NBA AM piece. The team is having trade talks with other clubs and there’s a leaguewide feeling as though the team is open to moving Gordon and perhaps Austin Rivers, but the Pelicans don’t have much interest in moving Evans, Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday and especially Davis, Kyler writes.

TUESDAY, 7:58am: The Pelicans are making most of their roster available in trade talks, including Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. It’s not clear exactly who is on the block and who isn’t, but I would surmise that the untouchables list includes 2012’s No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis. From the sound of it, there may not be many more that are safe.

Both guards have value from a talent perspective but their contracts could hinder the returns for New Orleans. Evans signed a four-year, $44MM pact with the Pelicans (via a sign-and-trade) roughly one year ago to this date. Gordon, meanwhile, is in the midst of a max deal with two years to go.

And-Ones: Draft, Celtics, Pistons

May 25th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Joel Embiid‘s medical worries make it a risk for the Sixers to select the talented Kansas big man with the third pick, opines Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey acknowledges that if healthy, Embiid might turn out to be the best player in the draft, but Philadelphia would be safer selecting Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh if Embiid is still available when they pick.

Jrue Holiday To Miss Rest Of Season

February 28th, 2014 at 4:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jrue Holiday has undergone surgery on his fractured right tibia and will miss the rest of the season, reports Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com. New Orleans is already without starting center Jason Smith for the balance of 2013/14, and Ryan Anderson is likely out for the season, too.

The Pelicans received a Disabled Player Exception for Anderson worth $4,154,250, but it’s too late to apply for another such exception to compensate for Smith or Anderson. New Orleans probably won’t use the majority of its Anderson exception, which expires March 10th, since most available players would command only the minimum salary. The Pelicans received the exception shortly before the deadline, but the team didn’t make a move.

There’s little motivation for the Pelicans to push for the playoffs at this point, since they’re 10 games out of the postseason and in 12th place in the Western Conference. They’re four games up on the Celtics, who hold the fifth-worst record in the league, and if the Pelicans’ draft pick winds up in the top five this year, they get to keep it rather than send it to the Sixers. They agreed to surrender the first-rounder to Philadelphia in last summer’s trade to acquire Holiday.

The 23-year-old point guard hasn’t played since January 8th because of the injury. Holiday averaged 14.3 points and 7.9 assists per game with a career-high 17.4 PER this season, the first on a four-year, $41MM extension he signed while still with the Sixers.