Leandro Barbosa Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics To Acquire Jordan Crawford

February 21st, 2013 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

2:16pm: The Wizards will also acquire Jason Collins from the Celtics in the trade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

12:46pm: The Wizards have agreed to a deal that will send Jordan Crawford to the Celtics, reports TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). Boston will send Leandro Barbosa to the Wizards, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The teams are still working on the details of the trade, but Fab Melo will not be headed to Washington, Aldridge hears (Twitter link). Crawford "desperately" wanted the Wizards to trade him, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, and that's in line with previous reports indicating the swingman was unpleased with his reduced role of late.

The Mavs reportedly jumped into discussions for Crawford as well, but the Celtics seemed to have the inside track as the deadline approached. An Eastern Conference executive told Michael Lee of the Washington Post last night there was likely "very little" the Wizards could get for Crawford, and indeed that appears to be the case, as Washington is getting a player who's out for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee. In taking back Barbosa's expiring deal for the minimum salary, the Wizards essentially clear Crawford's salary, worth $1.2MM this year and $2.6MM next season, off their books. The Wizards had an open roster spot going into the trade, but they could waive Barbosa at any point this season to free up more room if they wish, though they'll have to keep paying Barbosa's salary either way.

Adding Crawford for Barbosa adds a little salary to Boston's books, but still allows them to stay below their $74.307MM hard cap for the season. Following his injury, the C's sought to use Barbosa to increase their flexibility, as they considered waiving him to create room on the roster, or, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe suggested, using him as trade ballast as they're doing with the Wizards. Nonetheless, a one-for-one deal involving Barbosa was unexpected, Washburn tweets.

Crawford is averaging 13.4 points and 3.7 assists this year, similar to the third-year player's career numbers. He's seen his minutes drastically reduced, to 12.4 per game this month from 35.8 in December, with the return of John Wall from injury and the emergence of rookie Bradley Beal. He was used on the ball as the Wizards struggled to find a solution in Wall's absence at point guard this year, so perhaps he could help Boston's current shorthanded situation at the position.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.

Celtics Rumors: Pierce, Barbosa, Ainge

February 21st, 2013 at 1:56am CST by Chuck Myron

With the names of Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce all invoked in recent trade chatter, the Celtics could be the most interesting team to keep an eye on Thursday. Following the team's late-night loss to the Lakers, here's the latest on the C's.

A league source told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com on Wednesday that the Celtics have sought at least an All-Star caliber talent in return for Pierce, or a rotation player and a future first-round pick.
Blakely mentioned earlier this week that the Celtics could waive injured Leandro Barbosa if they need extra roster space at some point this season. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe believes the reason they haven't let him go yet is so they can use him as trade ballast, as they did with Marquis Daniels in 2011 (Twitter link).
No player in his tenure as Celtics president of basketball operations has been entirely untouchable, Danny Ainge tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, C’s, Barbosa, Nets, Sixers

February 19th, 2013 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

We've already rounded up a number of Celtics rumors this morning, but there's plenty happening around the rest of the Atlantic Division as well. Let's dive in….

Celtics president Danny Ainge and Knicks coach Mike Woodson both downplayed the possibility of their respectives teams making a trade this week, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links).
If the Celtics get into a position where they need a roster spot, they may waive Leandro Barbosa, tweets Blakely. Barbosa would still receive his full salary in that case. For now, the C's have some flexibility — even with Terrence Williams on the roster, the club still has an open roster spot.

Earlier updates:

Nets GM Billy King told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), that there's a 10% chance the Nets will make a trade this week. I'd probably put the odds higher than that, but I suppose he'd know better than I would.
The Sixers are exploring a few trade avenues, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see them stand pat at the deadline, says John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I don't see anything for us right now," coach Doug Collins said. "If something happens for us right now, I think it would be something that would be very small. [GM] Tony [DiLeo] is on the phone, but I don't think there is anything major that is going to turn our season around. What would be major for us would be to get our guys healthy."
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun doesn't expect the Raptors to find a taker for Linas Kleiza, who figures to be an amnesty candidate this July (Twitter link).
Terrence Williams' 10-day contract with the Celtics could be beneficial for both the player and the team, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Odds & Ends: Noel, Celtics, Barbosa, NBPA

February 13th, 2013 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2013 draft class took a bit of a hit today, when the University of Kentucky announced today that freshman Nerlens Noel has torn his ACL, and will undergo surgery in the coming weeks — he's expected to be out at least six to eight months (Twitter links). Nonetheless, while there's a possibility Noel will return to the Wildcats for his sophomore year, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com hears that NBA people still expect the big man to be a top-five pick if he declares for the draft this summer (Twitter link).

Here are a few more Wednesday odds and ends from around the league:

Danny Ainge shares a couple of Celtics injury updates with Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, noting that Dr. James Andrew performed ACL surgery on Rajon Rondo yesterday. Additionally, Leandro Barbosa suffered MCL damage, and will have to wait until March to undergo surgery on his knee (Twitter links).
According to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter), the Celtics would like to bring back Barbosa next season if they can.
Iman Shumpert has been the subject of a few trades rumors recently, but George Willis of the New York Post believes it would be a mistake for the Knicks to move him.
The Jazz should be in no rush to trade Al Jefferson, writes Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune.
As All-Star weekend approaches, so too do the NBPA's annual meetings, which will include plenty of discussion about executive director Billy Hunter. Tom Ziller of SBNation.com writes that the union owes it to itself to replace Hunter with a director that's more aggressive about challenging issues like the NBA's age minimum.
The latest piece of bad news for Hunter comes from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who reports that the U.S. Attorney's office is investigating a contract that authorized future payment of more than $3MM to a firm that employed Hunter's son. The NBPA's executive committee is required to authorize any expenditures more than $25K, but were reportedly never shown a deal that would have paid Prim Capital $600K+ annually for five years.
An ESPN.com 5-on-5 panel that includes Marc Stein, Chris Broussard, and Chad Ford predict the odds that some of the big-name trade candidates will be dealt within the next eight days.

Leandro Barbosa Out For Season

February 12th, 2013 at 2:55pm CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 2:55pm: Multiple reporters, including ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Twitter link), have confirmed that Barbosa will in fact miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

MONDAY, 9:34pm: After suffering a knee injury in the waning minutes of the third quarter, Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa had to be helped off of the court and was ruled out for the remainder of tonight's game against the Bobcats. Now, Kevin Garnett says that the team was informed that Barbosa will be out for the remainder of the year, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

Losing Barbosa for the rest of the year would be a devastating blow to the C's as he was called upon to fill the void in the backcourt after Rajon Rondo's season ending injury. Boston still has Avery Bradley to pitch in at one-guard, but they will almost certainly look for additional help now that they are paper thin at the position.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Barbosa, Brooks

February 2nd, 2013 at 7:04pm CST by Michael Pina

As a heavy slate of NBA basketball games are already underway on this Saturday evening, here's a closer look at the Atlantic Division.

ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling talks about a lot of Knicks related things, including the health of point guard Raymond Felton and the chances head coach Mike Woodson has at coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star team in Houston later this month.
With Rajon Rondo out for the rest of the season, Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa now has the opportunity step in and fill a ball-handling/scoring void that the team seriously needs, writes ESPNBoston.com's Greg Payne.
Nets guard MarShon Brooks is looking to increase his playing time, writes Newsday's Roderick Boone.

Odds & Ends: Mavs, Van Gundy, Howard, Barbosa

January 31st, 2013 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Shorthanded following the completion of the Rudy Gay trade, the Pistons and Raptors were both beaten in their respective games on Wednesday night. Tonight, in the first game of the post-Gay era in Memphis, the Grizzlies will be tasked with what would be a tough matchup under normal circumstances, as they travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. While we look forward to that game, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:

The Mavericks were never going to be a part of a three-team trade with the Grizzlies and Raptors if it meant giving up Vince Carter, team president Donnie Nelson tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Jeff Van Gundy, who admits that he misses being on an NBA bench, is expected to explore potential coaching opportunities starting next summer, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
Dwight Howard re-aggravated the torn labrum in his right shoulder on Wednesday night, but intends to play through the pain and isn't currently considering surgery, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News wonders if Howard's injury woes could open the door for the Mavericks to buy low on the All-Star center in a trade.
Appearing on WEEI's Mut & Merloni in Boston, Leandro Barbosa said the idea he had asked the Celtics to trade him was "definitely a miscommunication" (link via Victor Barbosa of WEEI.com).
Jeremy Pargo, who was recently waived by the Cavaliers, hasn't ruled out playing overseas, and has drawn some interest from Greece's Olympiacos, reports David Pick of Sportando (Twitter links).

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Gay, Celtics, Sixers

January 29th, 2013 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets pulled a little closer in the standings to the Atlantic-leading Knicks last night, cruising to a comfortable win over the Magic. The two New York teams each have 27 wins so far, though Brooklyn's busier schedule has resulted in three more losses (18) than the Knicks have (15). Here's the latest out of the Atlantic Division:

Despite Monday's report on the Raptors' trade discussions involving Rudy Gay, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star still views a deal as unlikely to get done. According to Smith, the Grizzlies' asking price continues to be too high for Toronto. Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld agrees that Memphis is in no rush to move Gay and says there's a good chance the club stands pat.
With Rajon Rondo lost for the season, the Celtics don't figure to rush into adding another guard to their roster. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Boston is content with the four guards currently on the team — Avery Bradley, Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, and Leandro Barbosa. Barbosa will likely see increased minutes with Rondo out.
After a recent loss to the Bucks, Doug Collins was "apopletic," according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who says some league executives are wondering if the 76ers coach is reaching his breaking point. Mannix points out that in his three previous coaching positions, Collins never lasted longer than three seasons. The Philadelphia job seems to be Collins' as long as he wants it, but it will hard to be succeed without Andrew Bynum, whose return date remains up in the air.
Deron Williams is finally playing like the $100MM man the Nets signed last offseason and coach P.J. Carlesimo thinks his point guard should be making even more, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Trade Candidate: Leandro Barbosa

January 19th, 2013 at 9:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Leandro Barbosa has been no stranger to being on the bench to start games. While at his peak during the 2006-07 season, he averaged 18.1 PPG and 4.0 APG while shooting 47.6% from the field and 43.4% from distance in 32.7 MPG, appearing as a starter in only 18 of the 80 contests he played in that year. Today, the 6'3 guard still starts the game as a reserve for the Celtics, but plays just a fraction of the high-level minutes that allowed him to become one of the league's best bench scorers for a significant portion of his career.

Several seasons have passed since the 30-year-old guard found his niche as a dynamic second unit scorer in Mike D'Antoni's high-octane "Seven Seconds or Less" offense in Phoenix, and since being dealt by the Suns after the 2009-10 season, he's had brief tenures with Toronto and Indiana. While he may not be as spry as in previous years, Barbosa's numbers have shown that he may still have some value to teams that lack guard depth if given the right amount of playing time. During his first season with Toronto in 2010-11, he averaged 13.3 PPG in 24.1 MPG. Before playing the final 22 games of the 2011-12 season with Indiana (averaging 8.9 PPG in 19.8 MPG), he averaged 12.2 PPG in 22.5 MPG with the Raptors. This year, he totals 10.8 MPG through 30 games.

With Doc Rivers having to account for Rajon Rondo, Courtney Lee, Jason Terry, and the recent return of Avery Bradley in his rotation, Leandro has found trouble earning consistent playing time. Since playing 14.3 MPG in November, he earned 6.5 MPG in December, and just 6.8 MPG this month so far. It's also worth mentioning that after appearing in each of Boston's first 16 games of the season, he has accumulated 11 DNP-CDs in their last 23 games. Despite his sporadic role, Barbosa has shown flashes of solid production this year, going 6-for-8 from the field for 16 points in 16 minutes against the Heat on opening night, 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting in 23 minutes against Utah on the first game of a back-to-back, and 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting against the Nets the next night.

The veteran scorer is making about $1.23MM this year on a one-year deal, and became trade-eligible as recently as yesterday. One could only speculate about possible trade destinations, but with the team supposedly interested in J.J. Redick, Barbosa's contract may be included in any potential deal with the Magic. Other teams that could reasonably show interest are the Hawks, who recently lost Lou Williams to a season-ending injury, and the Lakers, who could be granted a Disabled Player Exception after Jordan Hill was ruled out for the rest of the season. A reunion with Steve Nash and Mike D'Antoni would arguably be the most welcome option for Barbosa if given a choice, and should a DPE be granted to the Lakers (worth about $1.78MM), the team will have enough to bring the Brazilian guard to Los Angeles.

Two days ago, we initially heard a report from ESPN Brazil that Barbosa wanted out of Boston (he strongly refuted the rumor shortly after the story was released). Regardless of whether or not he remains a Celtic past the trade deadline, it wouldn't seem likely that the nine-year-veteran factors into the team's plans after this season. With that being said, it could be in the their best interests to shop Barbosa's contract to teams currently in need of guard depth instead of possibly losing him in the offseason for nothing.

Leandro Barbosa Denies Making Trade Request

January 17th, 2013 at 5:28pm CST by Luke Adams

5:28pm: Ainge told Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com that Barbosa has not brought any trade request directly to him. He explained Barbosa's frustration with his playing time but denied that the veteran guard has asked to be traded:

"I think it's been hard for [Barbosa] not to get an opportunity to play as much as he's wanted, but we have said from the beginning, even before he signed here, that minutes might be difficult to come by, because we were deep at that position, and he still chose to come here," Ainge said. "Actually, early in the year he played more than I expected him to play, and he played pretty well. So I think that we have had a couple of conversations, just about his role and where it went and he seemed satisfied with it. But he's never demanded or asked to be traded or any of those things at all."

2:14pm: Barbosa strongly denied that he wants to be traded by the Celtics, and denied making the statements passed along by ESPN Brazil, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter links). "No, I want to play," Barbosa said. "I want to be here. That's it."

1:10pm: In a recent radio interview, Leandro Barbosa revealed that he has asked to be let go by the Celtics, according to an ESPN Brazil report (hat tip to Sportando). It's not clear whether Barbosa is hoping for a trade or a buyout, since he talks about wanting to return to Brazil, but either way, it doesn't seem like it's an option team president Danny Ainge is eager to pursue.

It's possible that some details of the story are being lost in translation, but it's not hard to see why Barbosa may be frustrated with his role in Boston. The 30-year-old is playing just 10.7 minutes per game, by far his lowest mark since entering the league, despite a PER (15.4) that's in line with his career average. Additionally, he's earning a minimum salary for the Celtics after making $7.6MM in 2011/12, the final season of a five-year contract.

Barbosa's comments suggest that the Celtics would like to keep him on the roster for depth purposes, but with Avery Bradley back in the lineup, there aren't enough minutes to go around for all of the team's backcourt players. Barbosa is certainly someone to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches, since he could earn more minutes for a team in need of an inexpensive scorer.