MarShon Brooks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Rambis, Brooks

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:14am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s the Lakers’ turn to try to impress Carmelo Anthony today as the free agency tour for the Knicks star continues. Kobe Bryant has cut short his European vacation to be in attendance for the pitch, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, there’s plenty of other business for the Lakers to address, since they have just four players under contract and no head coach. We’ll round up the latest here:

The Lakers would like to pair Anthony with Pau Gasol, and if the team were to convince Anthony to sign, Gasol would be far more likely to follow suit, as Shelburne reports in the same piece.
The Knicks have offered Kurt Rambis a four-year contract worth about $1.2MM a year to become the team’s lead assistant coach, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Lakers assistant appeared early last month to be among the front-runners to become the Lakers head coach, but a more recent report indicates that he’s fallen behind other candidates.
MarShon Brooks is the only Lakers free agent whom the team has yet to reach out to, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The Hawks are among the teams that have spoken with Nick Young, as agent Mark Bartelstein tells MeMenamin for the same piece.
Xavier Henry, who’s recovering from wrist and knee surgeries, will work out for the Lakers when healthy before exploring options with other teams, McMenamin also writes.

Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Gasol, Davis, Ariza

June 30th, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) says the Suns and Hawks will be interested in Pau Gasol. The Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, Mavs, and Rockets are also expected to pursue the Spaniard. There should be plenty of options out there for Gasol but Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Thunder are unlikely to be in the running. Here’s more from around the league..

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter) hears that MarShon Brooks is the only definitive Lakers free agent not returning. Everyone else has a chance to return depending on who else is available.
The feeling from NBA sources is that this free agency period could be “uneventful” for the Jazz outside of Gordon Hayward and Marvin Williams, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
The Clippers remain interested in re-signing Glen Davis and his reps have talked with the club, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
Wizards coach Randy Wittman and VP Ed Tapscott are slated to visit their free agent forward Trevor Ariza in his hometown of Los Angeles tomorrow, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, Drew Gooden expects to re-sign with the Wizards on a minimum salary deal, a source tells Spears (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Al Harrington is one of the Wizards’ summer league coaches and still wants to play.
After extending a qualifying offer to Avery Bradley, Danny Ainge made it clear that the the guard “is a big part” of the Celtics‘ future, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle looks at the pitch that the Rockets plan on making to Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul.
Euroleague point guard Bo McCalebb is officially free agent, his agent Eric Fleisher told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). There is no buyout of any kind that needs to be addressed, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets.

Poll: Should Lakers Keep Brooks?

March 4th, 2014 at 7:59pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Since a very productive rookie season with the Nets a little under two years ago, MarShon Brooks has had a difficult time establishing a niche in the NBA to say the least. Following a 2011/12 campaign in which he averaged 29.4 MPG and posted 12.6 PPG, the former Providence guard saw his minutes dip to just 12.5 per game in 2012/13. After being dealt to Boston in the offseason, Brooks saw no more than 7.3 MPG in Brad Stevens’ rotation; a deal to the Warriors after 10 games with the Celtics yielded a paltry 2.1 minute average in seven contests. However, a deadline deal which sent Brooks packing for Los Angeles has brought forth a return to NBA relevance.

Coincidentally, Brooks’ Lakers debut came against Boston less than two weeks ago, and the 6’5 guard made his presence felt, scoring 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting in 23 minutes. Two nights after notching 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 20 minutes against Memphis, Brooks went 9-for-13 from the field en route to 23 points in 26 minutes against Sacramento. Through six games in L.A., the former first-round pick is averaging 12.6 PPG while shooting 51.8% from the field and an uncanny 88.9% from long distance. While those percentages are derived from a small sample size and will arguably move back toward the direction of his career averages sooner or later (44.2% and 32.7% respectively), it’d be difficult to dismiss his production or the idea that he is picking up where he left off in New Jersey a few years ago.

On the flip side, there are a few sobering points worth considering. For one, the Lakers aren’t remotely within playoff contention at this stage as far as this season is concerned, and one may argue that Brooks is enjoying numbers on a team without too many expectations right now. Secondly, the team has plenty of wing players to consider, including Jodie Meeks, Kent Bazemore, and Nick Young, who appears to have a mutual interest with the franchise in staying put for the long-term. Also, with ample cap space this summer and potentially in 2015 (depending on who the team adds this summer), it’s understandable to contend that a higher priority should be placed on preserving as much flexibility as possible for much more worthwhile targets, whether via free agency or trade.

Brooks is slated to hit unrestricted free agency this summer after the Celtics declined his team option for 2014/15. As it stands, the Lakers only have three guaranteed contracts on the books for next season, and will undoubtedly face an offseason of key roster decisions. Considering all this, should the Lakers re-sign Brooks after this season?

Lakers Notes: Young, Bryant, Brooks, Bazemore

February 22nd, 2014 at 8:45am CST by Cray Allred

In their first game with the Lakers, new trade acquisitions MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore both played a season high in minutes, helping lead Los Angeles to a win over the Celtics. It will be interesting to watch whether the young, athletic guards continue to make the most of the opportunities coach Mike D’Antoni gives them. D’Antoni has built a reputation of giving players a chance to shine, even if they haven’t lived up to previous expectations as in the case with Brooks. Here’s some more from L.A.:

The main reason Brooks and Bazemore will have opportunity in L.A. is that the Lakers roster has been in shambles all year. Kobe Bryant will miss at least another three weeks, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. He will be re-evaluated again at the three-week mark, so there’s a strong likelihood he misses more time than that. Even a return this year isn’t a given for the 18-year veteran, and the plummeting Lakers don’t have any competitive reasons to rush him back now that they are all but eliminated from the playoff hunt.
Both Bazemore and Brooks say that playing on Kobe’s team is one of the more exciting aspects of the trade, reports Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “That’s a dream come true, growing up idolizing Kobe Bryant,” Bazemore said. Brooks offered, “I grew up a Lakers fan, a big Kobe Bryant fan, so I’m just excited to get to work.”
Nick Young wouldn’t comment on his player option for next year, which Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak believes the small forward will decline, per Mark Medina of Inside the Lakers (Twitter link). Young’s option is worth approximately $1.2MM, but there is mutual interest for a longer stay in Los Angeles, which will have plenty of cap space to work with should he opt out for a new deal.
In his “GM for a Day” series, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN Insider [subscription only] focuses on the Lakers. Doolittle explores upcoming Lakers decisions, including whether to agree to buyouts with veterans they were unable to move or try and squeeze value out of their Bird Rights this summer. He also touches on whether they will waive the beleaguered Steve Nash at season’s end with the stretch provision and whether they’ll re-sign Pau Gasol this summer.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Bledsoe, Nash

February 12th, 2014 at 5:51pm CST by Cray Allred

Matt Steinmetz of Bleacher Report covers some of the growing concerns around Warriors small forward Andre Iguodala. The team currently sits in the sixth seed for the playoffs, and is on track to finish with about the same number of wins as last year despite inking the former All-Star to a four-year, $48MM contract this offseason. Steinmetz points out that his contract left Golden State no room for the team to retain key rotation players Jarrett Jack or Carl Landry, so the transition wasn’t simple roster addition. Still, Iguodala’s performance has dipped on his new team, with a near-career low in shot attempts a sign of his lack of presence on the offensive end. Here’s more from around the division:

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby echoed earlier remarks from owner Robert Sarver, telling the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that the team intends to match any offer for Eric Bledsoe this summer in restricted free agency. Adam Green of ArizonaSports.com has the transcription.
Steve Nash left last night’s game early with nerve issues in his back and hamstrings, but his appearance nonetheless means the Lakers are ineligible to wipe his contract off their books for next season if he retires for medical reasons. Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times has the details on what would have been a long shot, anyway.
The Warriors have recalled Kent Bazemore, MarShon Brooks, and Ognjen Kuzmic from the D-League, per the team’s site. This comes a day after the team sent the three-man group to Santa Cruz for a one-game stint.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Ellington, Ellis, Warriors

February 12th, 2014 at 12:03am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are some miscellaneous tidbits to share out of the Western Conference tonight:

It doesn’t seem likely that the Mavericks would part with any of their rotation players in a deal right now, according to Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW. One player who does appear to be available is Wayne Ellington, who hasn’t been able to find significant playing time and is owed $2.5MM next season.
Sefko also doesn’t believe there’s any chance that Dallas would consider trading Monta Ellis, adding that the team thinks Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki will make a good recruiting tandem this summer for prospective free agents.
Earlier today, the Warriors announced that they assigned Kent Bazemore, MarShon Brooks, and Ognjen Kuzmic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
The out-of-town owners of the property needed for the new Kings arena are seeking a change of venue in the city’s eminent domain lawsuit, reports Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. City officials recognize that the Kings need swift access to the property and will fight the attempt to move the suit. Kasler adds that the new arena is expected to be completed in 2016; if the building doesn’t open by 2017, the NBA has the right to buy the team and move them out of Sacramento.
Spurs guard Tony Parker told French website BMFT that he’d like to continue playing in the NBA for another six or seven years (hat tip to Michael Rehome of Project Spurs).

Pacific Notes: Williams, Warriors, Brooks

February 2nd, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Sasha Vujacic has been on the Clippers’ radar for quite some time now and it looks like they’re finally on the verge of signing him. The veteran guard has already undergone a physical and he is expected to be in a Clippers jersey tomorrow night when Blake Griffin & Co. take on the Nuggets. The move will give L.A. some extra reinforcements as Chris Paul is sidelined with a separated shoulder. More out of the Pacific..

With Manny Harris‘ second 10-day deal set to lapse and Pau Gasol still on the mend, don’t be surprised to see the Lakers give Shawne Williams another look, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Williams is right around the corner from the Lakers after recently hooking on with the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
The Warriors are putting their plans for a gorgeous new stadium in San Francisco on hold by about a year (and possibly longer), write Philip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. Recently, Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob acknowledged that it would be tough for the club to get to their new home by the original target of 2017.
Speaking of the Warriors, they announced that they have recalled Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League. Both players were assigned to Santa Cruz on Saturday and participated in the team’s 110-105 victory over the Bakersfield Jam at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz. Bazemore registered a game-high 25 points, along with three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in 33 minutes, while Brooks added six points, two assists, one rebound and a steal in 22 minutes. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments and recalls, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.

Odds & Ends: Bynum, Silver, Boozer, Carmelo

February 1st, 2014 at 2:27pm CST by Charlie Adams

News broke this morning that the Pacers officially signed Andrew Bynum to contract that covers the remainder of the season. The former All-Star didn’t find a fit in Cleveland, and a tweet from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reveals that part of Bynum’s frustration with the Cavs was aimed at Kyrie Irving. A source tells Amico that Bynum didn’t believe the team “knew how to win.” Here are a few tidbits from Saturday afternoon around the NBA:

The Bleacher Report interviewed some notable NBA figures to get a bunch of interesting ideas they’d like to see new commissioner Adam Silver tackle, including raising the NBA draft age limit, getting a team in Seattle, and changing salary structures.
Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald believes the Bulls will use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, but suggests that more of a shakeup will be needed to sign Carmelo Anthony. McGraw thinks the Bulls need to move Taj Gibson in order to create room for Anthony.
Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post thinks Nate Robinson‘s season-ending ACL tear will have two definitive effects: the Nuggets will require a guard in return for Andre Miller (on the trading block), and Robinson will likely pick up his $2.1MM player option for next season rather than testing free agency before proving he’s back on the other side of surgery and rehab.
Jodie Meeks tells Mark Medina of L.A. Daily News that he hopes he can stay with Lakers after this season: “I love it here and hope I can stay a long time.” He’s on the last year of a two-year, $3.05MM contract and is one of many Lakers that come off the books for next season.
The Warriors announced in a press release that they’ve officially assigned MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore to the Santa Cruz Warriors. This confirms a report we passed along earlier this afternoon that said the duo would be heading to the D-League.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

D-League Notes: Mavs, Warriors, Murry

February 1st, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Cray Allred

The D-League is producing more and more success stories, and Terrence Williams hopes to be the next to benefit from showcasing his talents there, writes Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Williams has a 50-point game in his pocket, and hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points over his last four games. The NBA veteran has struggled to earn a roster spot or consistent playing time since showing some promise in 78 games as a rookie with the Nets in 2009/10. While his athleticism has never been in doubt, Williams now says he is in a better place mentally: “It’s unfortunate that I’m here, but it is fortunate for me to be humbled. I needed this.” Here is all of the recent D-League movement from around the league:

The Mavs have assigned both Shane Larkin and Ricky Ledo to their D-League affiliate Texas Legends, per a press release from the team. Ledo is moving back down less than 24 hours from his recent call-up, and Larkin is likely only being moved for a one-game stint.
The Knicks’ PR account tweeted the announcement that Toure’ Murry has been recalled from the D-League. Since playing 27 minutes in a December loss to the Raptors, the rookie guard averaged just 8.9 minutes per contest in January, as limits to J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton‘s playing time due to performance and injury, respectively, were relaxed.
The Warriors are expected to send both MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore to the D-League, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Brooks came to the Warriors in the recent trade for Jordan Crawford, and Bazemore has been a end-of-the-bench player in his two years with the club.

Celtics Rumors: Rondo, Bayless, Crawford

January 24th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics GM Danny Ainge denied earlier this season that any team had so much as inquired about Rajon Rondo‘s availability via trade, and while that seemed a little far-fetched, he isn’t changing his story much.

“I actually did have a team call me and say, ‘Hey, would you have any interest in trading Rondo?’ Before he even offered me a package,” Ainge said to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. “And I said no. And that’s it. That’s as long as the conversation happened.”

There’s plenty more from Ainge amid our look at the latest on the Celtics:

The Celtics boss also tells Holmes that the trade rumors about Rondo have emanated from outside the organization. “It’s just people, like I think recently, somebody, one of the national media guys, made a comment like, ‘Oh, I was talking with some NBA people on the road and they all think Danny is going to trade Rondo,'” Ainge said. “Well, it’s not like there’s a source. It’s just people that have their own opinion, sitting around, having a Diet Coke, talking about what I’m going to do with Rondo. Which is fine.”
Ainge says he’s hesitant to build around a single player, whether it’s Rondo or anyone else. “Nobody is ‘the future of the franchise,'” Ainge said to Holmes. “A franchise is bigger than any one individual. But we love him. That’s what [the extension offer] explains.”
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines what Rondo could make on an extension if he signed one now, and compares it to the more lucrative alternatives of signing an extension this summer or waiting to ink a deal as a free agent in 2015.
Jerryd Bayless shares his impressions of the Celtics since coming to Boston via trade earlier this month and reiterates his desire to remain with the team long-term in a blog post on his personal website (hat tip to Forsberg).
Ainge let Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald know that part of the motivation to trade Jordan Crawford was to open up more playing time for Phil Pressey. Still, Ainge says he remains high on Crawford and MarShon Brooks, who also departed in that deal, and Ainge added that he’ll keep an eye on both when they hit free agency this summer.
The Celtics have six extra draft picks between this year and 2018, and that’s a reflection of a long-held philosophy that Ainge explains to Bulpett. “I’ve always believed that you build through the draft,” he said. “And whether those drafted players are Al Jefferson, who you love, and Delonte West, who we developed and loved, and then move them for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — or whether those draft picks turn into Rajon Rondo or Paul Pierce and they’re with you forever.”