Kendall Marshall Rumors | Hoops Rumors

D-League Notes: Bulls, Hawks, Celtics, Sixers

November 11th, 2015 at 10:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

GM Gar Forman said the Bulls haven’t used the D-League that frequently because they wanted the players “in our culture,” K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune passes along via Twitter. Earlier today, the Bulls formally announced that they will have their own D-League team starting in the 2016/17 season, so that concern will no longer be an issue.

Here’s more D-League news to pass along:

Edy Tavares is headed to the D-League affiliate of the Spurs, the Hawks announced today, confirming Tuesday’s report from Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Atlanta was sending the rookie on assignment. The Hawks don’t have a D-League affiliate, so it wasn’t initially clear where he’d end up, though it’s no surprise to see him head to the Austin Spurs, given the ties between the Atlanta and San Antonio organizations.
The Sixers sent point guards Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten to their D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, the team announced via press release. The duo aren’t expected to play in any D-League games, but they will work out with the team as they recover from their respective injuries, per John Finger of CSNPhilly.com. These are the first D-League assignments of the season for Philadelphia.
The Celtics assigned James Young to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, and later recalled both him and Jordan Mickey, the team announced (Twitter links). Both players were sent to Maine to log more practice time. It was the third D-League assignment of the season for Young, and the second for Mickey, as our assignment and recall tracker shows.
The Rockets have assigned swingman K.J. McDaniels to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the first D-League assignment of the 2015/16 season for both the player and team.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post

Atlantic Notes: Isiah, King, Sixers, Raptors

October 21st, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t hide his affection for Isiah Thomas, but he can’t envision a scenario in which he ever hires him for the Knicks again, telling Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s Real Sports that he doesn’t think fans in New York would give him a fair chance, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News relays (Twitter link). Thomas, to whom Gumbel also spoke, ruled out coaching the Knicks again, but didn’t say he wouldn’t seek a front office position with the team, Bondy notes. See more from around the Atlantic Division:

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov complimented the job performance of GM Billy King in an interview with NetsDaily, but he wouldn’t address the matter of whether he’ll give King an extension. King is in the final year of his deal and conflicting reports emerged in May about whether he and the team were close to an extension.
Brett Brown has said the Sixers plan to keep only three point guards for opening night, but with top options Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall injured and T.J. McConnell closing in on a regular season spot, Brown suggests the team could keep more because of their ability to slide to shooting guard, observes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “You know you look at [Scottie] Wilbekin … and say he’s a two-guard,” Brown said. “He can shoot, and that’s true. I can look at Isaiah [Canaan] and say he’s not always a point guard. Let him go be, pick him, Lou Williams. He’s a barrel-chested scorer.”
The Raptors had mixed results with two point guards on the floor at the same time last season, but with Cory Joseph having replaced Williams and Greivis Vasquez, coach Dwane Casey is more optimistic about such lineups, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca examines. “The problem last year going small wasn’t Kyle [Lowry], it was the other small guys with him,” Casey said. “Now we have speed and quickness with Kyle, we have toughness with Kyle defensively so you don’t get burned as much defensively when you do go small.”

Atlantic Notes: Reed, Sixers, Antetokounmpo

October 16th, 2015 at 9:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets big man Willie Reed underwent successful surgery today to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, the team announced. Reed is one of seven Brooklyn players without a fully guaranteed deal, but the Nets would have be required pay him until he’s healthy, even if they waived him. He is expected to be out of action for a period of six to eight weeks.

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers’ point guard situation is unsettled, and thanks to injuries to Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten, it is likely to remain that way after the regular season tips off, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “They are a ways away” from playing in games, coach Brett Brown said. “I feel like you always get nervous about throwing out dates. I think it would be fair to say that we are not going to see Kendall for the month of October and beyond. I hope not much further beyond. And Tony [will be sidelined] further along after that, probably not until sometime in December.“
Thanasis Antetokounmpo maintains that he won’t accept a D-League assignment from New York if he doesn’t make the Knicks‘ regular season roster, and he hopes that another NBA team will show interest if he is waived, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “First off, hopefully things works out here,’’ Antetokounmpo told Berman. “If they don’t, hopefully another NBA team. That’s the first goal. And after that, we’ll see. Hopefully everything goes well. I don’t want to think about it now. I can control what I can control — being positive and optimistic.’’ The swingman’s agents have also been in contact with overseas clubs, Berman adds.
Amir Johnson, who inked a two year, $24MM deal with the Celtics this offseason, is impressing the team’s coaching staff with his play on both ends of the court, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders notes. “He just knows how to play both ends,” coach Brad Stevens said of Johnson. “He makes easy plays with the ball, and then on the defensive end, he makes everyone better.”

Atlantic Notes: Sloan, Fisher, Sixers

October 9th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Donald Sloan knew at this point last season that his salary was guaranteed, and he went on to put up career-best numbers across for the Pacers, but now he is one of seven on the 20-man Nets roster without a full guarantee. He’s nonetheless confident, and Nets coach Lionel Hollins is high on the point guard’s ability, too, observes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.

“I thought Donald Sloan’s athleticism, size and quickness could help us,” Hollins said. “We’re looking for a third guard, and he was a guy that was out there that showed a little bit of tenacity and toughness, as well as athleticism and quickness.”

Bontemps suggests that Sloan, who has a partial guarantee of $50K, is fighting for the third point guard job, and ostensibly a regular season roster spot, with rookie Ryan Boatright, who has a $75K partial guarantee. See more from the Atlantic Division:

It was a plane issue that kept Knicks coach Derek Fisher from making it back to New York from Los Angeles for Monday’s practice, not his alleged scrap with Matt Barnes, Fisher contended Thursday, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Fisher added that he’s spoken with his boss, team president Phil Jackson, about what happened. The coach drew criticism for his absence from work.
Nerlens Noel and new addition Jahlil Okafor experienced some growing pains Thursday as they failed to mesh as well as they had two nights before, and Sixers coach Brett Brown admitted, “We’re going to have this conversation for a while, growing these two guys,” observes Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
Brown expects Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten to miss at least the next month as they continue to recover from their injuries, Moore notes in the same piece, further jumbling the point guard picture for the Sixers, who have six point guards on their preseason roster.

Atlantic Notes: Bennett, Sixers, Celtics

September 23rd, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite his Canadian roots, it would be a bad move for both parties if the Raptors were to sign forward Anthony Bennett, provided that he clears waivers, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star opines. The young forward, who reached a buyout agreement with Minnesota this week, would not be a great fit with a Toronto squad that is expected to contend in the East, and would not have time to be patient with his development, Smith notes. As for the Raptors, Smith adds that Bennett would not be an upgrade over the team’s current rotation players, which would relegate Bennett to the bench and potentially make him a distraction.

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has indicated in the past that the team views it as a priority to add Canadian-born players to its roster, which is a major reason why the Raptors are expected to be in the mix to sign Tristan Thompson next summer if he were to hit free agency, and the franchise is being mentioned as a potential landing spot for Bennett.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Brett Brown indicated that point guards Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall will not be ready for the start of training camp, and that there is no exact timetable for their return to full basketball activities, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News tweets. With its top two projected point guards on the shelf for the time being, Philly will enter the preseason with Isaiah Canaan, Pierre Jackson, Scottie Wilbekin, and T.J. McConnell competing at the one spot.
Philly experienced quite a roster turnover throughout the course of the 2014/15 campaign, but Brown says this season will be different, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (via Twitter). “You are going to see more of our own,” said the Sixers coach. “You are going to see less turnover of our roster.”
The Celtics, despite not making a major offseason acquisition, are still expected to be an improved squad this coming season, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. But one issue the coaching staff will have to navigate is what the team’s most effective rotation will be, Himmelsbach notes. “I think that’s going to be a challenge for our coaching staff,” Celtics executive Danny Ainge said. “You’ll probably see a lot of different combinations through training camp scrimmages and in exhibition games and see who plays best together. It’s not always the best players, but the players that play the best together. We have a lot of different options, especially in the frontcourt. I’m anxious to see how that all plays out.”
Himmelsbach recently participated in our interview series, “The Beat.” You can read his thoughts on a number of topics relating to the Celtics here.

Atlantic Notes: Galloway, Marshall, Nets

September 10th, 2015 at 8:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Langston Galloway‘s emergence for the Knicks through a pair of 10-day contracts was one of the most surprising stories of last season, but even after he made 41 starts last season, the Knicks aren’t completely sold, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News details. He’ll compete with first-round pick Jerian Grant for playing time behind Jose Calderon, Bondy notes.

“I’m not satisfied at all. I’m just trying to make my mark each game that goes by and I’m definitely still trying to prove myself to the world that, ‘Hey, I can continue to belong in this league and continue to do the same thing I did last year,'” Galloway said.

Galloway’s latest contract is partially guaranteed for $220K, and that amount increases to $440K if he sticks on the roster through Tuesday, which seems a likely outcome. Galloway figures to remain on the team for opening night even though New York has reportedly reached a camp deal with undrafted point guard Travis Trice. See more from the Atlantic Division:

Kendall Marshall‘s new contract with the Sixers covers four years and is worth an even $8MM, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s front-loaded with a fully guaranteed $2,144,772 salary for this season, as Pincus also shows.
The Nets traded $500K in cash to acquire the draft rights to Xavier Thames, to whom they declined to make the required tender by today’s deadline, forfeiting those rights, as NetsDaily notes. Brooklyn has sent out $7.5MM in trades for draft picks since the start of owner Mikhail Prokhorov era in May 2010, and of those picks, only Bojan Bogdanovic and Markel Brown are on the roster, and the Nets retain the draft rights to only Juan Vaulet, this year’s 39th overall pick, NetsDaily also points out.
The Nets expect to have a D-League affiliate in Brooklyn for 2016/17, league sources inform NetsDaily for a separate piece, though GM Billy King said in June that the process will take a couple of years. In any case, the lack of an affiliate for this season, with so many young players on the Nets roster, is not ideal, as NetsDaily explains. Brooklyn sent two players on D-League assignment last season, both of whom ended up with the Celtics affiliate, as I noted earlier today.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Knicks, Kaun

September 9th, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One of the main reasons that the Pacers decided to forge ahead with the purchase of the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants was the rising salaries of NBA players, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter links). Team owner Herb Simon said that the Pacers will need young players to go along with the higher paid players on the roster, and that those young players would need development, which purchasing the Mad Ants would help facilitate, Buckner adds.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks are unquestionably a better team than a season ago, but just about every other team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference also improved this offseason, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Facebook link). Bontemps also noted that he expects New York to struggle to compete for the final playoff spot in the East, which would result in the possibility that the team would look to deal small forward Carmelo Anthony to a contender at the trade deadline.
The majority of the Pistons‘ roster is now comprised of players acquired by executive/coach Stan Van Gundy, and this season’s focus will be in determining which of those players will have long-term futures with the team, writes Shaun Powell of NBA.com in his 30 Teams, 30 Days series.
Sasha Kaun‘s two-year deal with the Cavaliers will see him earn $1,276,000 in 2015/16 and $1,333,240 during the final season, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Both seasons are fully guaranteed, Pincus adds. Reports initially conflicted on whether the contract would include a player option, and Pincus confirms that it does not.
Kendall Marshall will earn approximately $2.1MM this season courtesy of his deal with the Sixers, and his salary is fully guaranteed, Pincus tweets.

Sixers Sign Kendall Marshall

September 9th, 2015 at 5:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 9TH, 5:48pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 4TH, 5:34pm: The Sixers are set to sign unrestricted free agent point guard Kendall Marshall, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The deal is said to be a multiyear arrangement, and Marshall’s salary for the 2015/16 campaign will be fully guaranteed, Wojnarowski adds. Philadelphia currently has a roster count of 19 players, though only 12 possess fully guaranteed deals.

The addition of Marshall comes as little surprise, with Michael Kaskey-Blomain of ESPN’s TrueHoop Network first reporting Philly’s interest in the point guard, and Jake Fischer of SI Now first reported that Marshall had been working out with the Sixers at their practice facility over the past few days. Marshall is still recovering from a torn ACL, and he is expected to be ready to return to action sometime during the first half of the upcoming season, league sources have informed the Yahoo scribe.

Marshall’s 2014/15 campaign was cut short when he tore his right ACL in January while playing for the Bucks, who had made the unusual move of guaranteeing his non-guaranteed salary before the season, more than two months before they needed to make a decision on the matter. The 24-year-old made 28 appearances for Milwaukee prior to his injury, and he averaged 4.2 points, 1.0 rebound, and 3.1 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest. His career numbers through parts of three NBA seasons are 5.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 5.4 APG to go along with a slash line of .405/.377/.593.

Sixers Interested In Kendall Marshall

September 2nd, 2015 at 10:27am CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 10:27am: Marshall has been with the Sixers at their practice facility over the past few days, a league source tells Jake Fischer of SI Now, who speculates that a training camp invitation appears on the way (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 8:45am: The Sixers have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Kendall Marshall, league sources have informed Michael Kaskey-Blomain of ESPN’s TrueHoop Network (on Twitter). The Timberwolves are reportedly eyeing the point guard as well.

Philadelphia currently has a roster count of 19 players, though only 12 possess fully guaranteed deals, which means that Marshall would have a strong chance to make the club’s regular season roster. Also working in Marshall’s favor would be the Sixers’ distinct lack of depth at the one spot. The team currently has Tony Wroten penciled in atop the depth chart, with Isaiah Canaan, Scottie Wilbekin, and Pierre Jackson in the mix as well.

Marshall’s 2014/15 campaign was cut short when he tore his right ACL in January while playing for the Bucks, who had made the unusual move of guaranteeing his non-guaranteed salary before the season, more than two months before they needed to make a decision on the matter. The 24-year-old made 28 appearances for Milwaukee prior to his injury, and he averaged 4.2 points, 1.0 rebound, and 3.1 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest. His career numbers through parts of three NBA seasons are 5.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 5.4 APG to go along with a slash line of .405/.377/.593.

Northwest Notes: Marshall, Blazers, Thunder

July 25th, 2015 at 8:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach/executive Flip Saunders said the Wolves have had no conversations with Kendall Marshall, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press. Minnesota has been rumored to have interest in the free agent guard, whose 2014/15 season was cut short by an ACL tear.

There’s more this evening from the Northwest Division:

It wasn’t entirely by choice, but the Blazers are adopting a youth movement this offseason to build for the future, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Faced with the reality that free agent LaMarcus Aldridge might depart, Portland began targeting young talent. The team signed Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Phil Pressey and Cliff Alexander, and traded for Maurice Harkless, Mason Plumlee and Noah Vonleh. Add in draftee Pat Connaughton and there are a lot of fresh, young faces on Portland’s roster. “I know for myself and the coaching staff, it’s going to be a fun year,” said coach Terry Stotts. “There’s a lot of young talent and I think it’s really exciting for them. We’ve got a lot of guys who are looking for the opportunity to get more playing time and show what they can do in the league.”
Andre Roberson could be cut out of the Thunder’s rotation entirely if he fails to win a starting job, speculates beat writer Anthony Slater in a roundtable for The Oklahoman. Slater’s theory is that if Dion Waiters or Anthony Morrow is the starter, Roberson’s role on the second unit could be seized by Cameron Payne or Kyle Singler. Roberson is slated to earn more than $1.2MM next season, with a team option for nearly $2.2MM in 2016/17.
The Thunder didn’t make any flashy offseason player acquisitions, but they shouldn’t be overlooked as contenders, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com. Oklahoma City’s major moves were the hiring of coach Billy Donovan and the re-signing of Enes Kanter and Singler, but an injury-free year from Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka would put the Thunder back in the title race.