Jrue Holiday Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Holiday, Knicks, Nets

November 30th, 2013 at 6:36pm CST by Charlie Adams

A recent piece from Keith Pompey at the Inquirer explores the upbringing of rookie Sixers point guard Michael Carter-Williams. Among the interesting details: Carter-Williams’ NBA salary is being deposited into a trust that he can’t touch for three years. The young Syracuse product is currently living off his endorsement deals with Nike and Panini trading cards. Here’s more from the Sixers and the Atlantic Division:

Evan Turner is having a career year for the Sixers, but Tom Moore of the Intelligencer reminds us that GM Sam Hinkie is willing to deal any of his players for the right price, as evidenced by the draft night deal that sent Jrue Holiday to the Pelicans.
Speaking of the Holiday deal, Christoper Vito from the Delaware County Daily Times reports that Holiday was surprised when he received the call to find out he had been traded (Twitter links).
Scott Souza of the MetroWest Daily News reports that Celtics Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, and Kris Humphries understand their roles on the team and don’t expect to see major minutes. Souza notes it’s a difficult situation for the trio of veterans since they can’t display their skills while riding the bench, and each of them figures to be a free agent come the end of the season.
We found out earlier today that most Hoops Rumors readers believe at least one New York team will make the playoffs, but Jason Kidd and Mike Woodson have yet to prove their 2013/14 squads can live up to preseason expectations. Tommy Beer and Alex Kennedy over at HoopsWorld named Kidd and Woodson, respectively, as the coaches that have disappointed them the most so far in the early going of the season.
One of the sole bright spots for the struggling Knicks has been the surprisingly effective play of offseason acquisition Andrea Bargnani. The former first overall pick is putting up much better numbers than he did last year in Toronto, but Keith Schlosser from the Knicks Journal suggests his presence might be having a negative impact on J.R. Smith‘s performance.

Sixers Notes: Holiday Brothers, Silas, Brown

November 17th, 2013 at 11:43am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers slipped below .500 with last night’s loss to the Pelicans, but somehow Philadelphia still leads a woeful Atlantic Division. The team’s 5-6 record is the sixth best in the Eastern Conference, so as we ponder whether the mediocrity of their opponents could allow the Sixers to remain in the playoff hunt all season, here’s the latest from Philly:

Jrue Holiday doesn’t have hard feelings for his old Sixers teammates, but he told reporters Saturday that it took only a “couple minutes” for him to get over his trade to the Pelicans once he realized who his new teammates would be. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details.
Holiday’s older brother is drawing interest from an Italian team. Vuelle Pesaro is eyeing Justin Holiday, though no deal is imminent, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Justin Holiday played for the Sixers last season and was in camp with the Jazz last month.
Another shooting guard who had a cup of coffee with the Sixers is also in the mix overseas. Xavier Silas has signed with Maccabi Ashdod in Israel, tweets Sportando contributor David Pick. Silas played a pair of games for Philly at the end of the 2011/12 season and was in camp this fall with the Wizards.
Sixers coach Brett Brown has brought the player development chops he honed as a Spurs assistant to Philadelphia, observes Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times.

Western Notes: Leonard, Bogut, Holiday

October 16th, 2013 at 7:14pm CST by Michael Pina

A few note from around the Western Conference.

After waiving small forwards Corey Maggette and Sam Young earlier this week, the Spurs will enter the season with no legitimate backup for Kawhi Leonard, writes MySanAntonio.com’s Jeff McDonald.
MercuryNews.com’s Tim Kawakami opines on the Warriors and Andrew Bogut, and what’s a fair extension for the former number one overall pick.
Coming off a breakout season as an All-Star with the Sixers, Jrue Holiday heads into 2014 as the franchise point guard for the Pelicans. Hoopsworld.com’s Yannis Koutroupis takes a look at what Holiday needs to do to settle in to his new environment.

Pelicans, Sixers Finalize Trade

July 12th, 2013 at 8:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans and Sixers have officially announced their swap involving Jrue Holiday and Nerlens Noel, a trade that was agreed upon on draft night but held up until after the July Moratorium. The Pelicans bring aboard Holiday and Pierre Jackson, the 42nd pick in last month's draft, in exchange for Noel and a 2014 first-round draft choice. The 2014 pick will remain with the Pelicans if it falls in the top five.

The delay in finalizing the trade stemmed from the Pelicans' inability to absorb Holiday's $9,213,484 salary until the NBA's calendar flipped over to 2013/14 this month, and the newlywed Holiday's honeymoon caused a further holdup. The 23-year-old point guard is now finally entrenched in New Orleans, where he'll begin drawing paychecks from the four-year, $41MM extension he signed last October with the Sixers a few months before making his first All-Star appearance.

Noel, who seemed the odds-on favorite to become the No. 1 pick last month, heads to Philadelphia after slipping to the No. 6 spot in the draft. The 7'0" center from Kentucky will miss the first part of the season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in his only collegiate season. The 5'10" Jackson, the other 2013 draftee involved in the swap, heads to New Orleans after distinguishing himself as a point guard at Baylor.

That protection attached to the 2014 first-rounder extends in perpetuity, so if the Pelicans wind up with a string of top-five picks over the next few years, they won't have to give them up, as Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. For additional details about the swap, see our post about the initial agreement.

Pelicans To Acquire Jrue Holiday For Noel, ’14 Pick

July 10th, 2013 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10TH, 2:08pm: The trade between the Pelicans and Sixers is now official, according to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). However, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News says (via Twitter) that it won't be finalized until at least tomorrow, since Holiday is on his honeymoon and is unavailable to complete the paperwork.

JUNE 28TH, 6:17pm: Sixers GM Sam Hinkie has confirmed that the 2014 first-rounder headed from New Orleans to Philadelphia is top-five protected, reports Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).

1:07am: The deal won't become official until July 10th, tweets Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. That makes sense, since the Pelicans won't have room to absorb Holiday's salary until their cap room becomes available in July.

JUNE 27TH, 7:52pm: Ford now tweets that the pick headed to Philadelphia is top-five protected for 2014, and ESPN.com's Marc Stein backs up the report (via Twitter).

7:33pm: ESPN.com's Chad Ford tweets that the 2014 first-rounder headed to Philadelphia is top-three protected, while TNT's David Aldridge tweets it's lottery-protected. Given Wojnarowski's assertion that the protection is "light," Ford's report makes more sense, but we'll have to wait for confirmation.

7:26pm: The Pelicans will also receive this year's 42nd overall pick from the Sixers in the deal, tweets Wojnarowski.

7:22pm: After unexpectedly snagging Nerlens Noel sixth overall, the Pelicans will send him to the 76ers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (all Twitter links). The Pelicans will receive Jrue Holiday and will also send a 2014 first-round pick in 2014 to Philadelphia, Wojnarowski reports, adding that the pick is expected to have "light protection" (Twitter link). Chris Broussard of ESPN.com first tweeted that Noel would be on the move.

Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Most Improved, George

January 15th, 2013 at 6:49pm CST by Alex Lee

With six games on the NBA docket tonight, let's round up any odds and ends from around the Association here:

In HoopsWorld's NBA PM column, Alex Kennedy summarizes some of the trade chatter we've heard recently from the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Raptors, Rockets, Lakers, Magic and Jazz.
Speaking of the Mavs, despite Mark Cuban's recent bold proclamations, Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas writes that it is business as usual in Dallas. While some of the Mavs players admit that swirling rumors can be a distraction, Rick Carlisle says it has always been the norm in his time under Cuban.
In a Yahoo Sports video, Greg Anthony and Marc J. Spears discuss the leading candidates for the NBA's Most Improved Player award, specifically mentioning Paul George, James Harden, Greivis Vasquez, Nikola Vucevic and Jrue Holiday as the current contenders.
In the New York Times' Off The Dribble blog, Jim Cavan writes that the Pacers have been one of the few teams that has arguably benefited from losing a superstar to injury this year, citing the emergence of Paul George as a franchise player in Danny Granger's absence as the reason.