MarShon Brooks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Shumpert, Nets, Celtics

February 12th, 2013 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Knicks have slowed down a little since their torrid start to the season, Carmelo Anthony told reporters this weekend that he doesn't think the team should be involved in trade talks, a point he reiterated last night.

"I love this team, I love the chemistry on this team — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," Anthony said, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "Right now we’re tops in our division. That was one of our goals. Second in the Eastern Conference, we’ll take that right now. There’s always a lot of talk around the Knicks come trade time. We don’t need that."

Here are a few more notes from around the Atlantic Division:

Glen Grunwald may not end up moving Iman Shumpert, but he's at least exploring some possibilities, says Berman. According to Berman, the Rockets' director of scouting attended Sunday's Knicks/Clippers game, though it's not clear whether he was there to observe more than just Shumpert.
Steve Popper of the Bergen Record and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com both wonder whether or not Anthony is right about the Knicks not needing to make a deal.
The Nets would like to make a trade in the next nine days, and would be willing to dangle MarShon Brooks and perhaps a first-round pick along with Kris Humphries in the right deal, reports Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. When I examined Humphries' trade candidacy in December, I wrote that he may have to be packaged with Brooks and/or draft picks to draw much interest.
In addition to talking with the Hawks, the Nets have also had exploratory conversations with the Cavaliers, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com looks at four guards playing at the Celtics' D-League affiliate in Maine, noting that they could be candidates to join Boston's roster in the wake of Leandro Barbosa's injury.
While a D-League call-up is one option for the Celtics, Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com points out that there are plenty of others. However, Payne expects the team to stand pat until the trade deadline.

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: Martin, Roy, Allen, Brooks

December 29th, 2012 at 8:56pm CST by Ryan Raroque

If Kevin Martin has his way, anyone other than the Thunder will have a tough time signing him this summer, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The ninth-year veteran is averaging career bests in three point shooting (45.7%) and free throw shooting (93.2%) in addition to producing 15.8 PPG in 30.0 MPG. He is currently in the final year of his contract, and is slated to make nearly $12.4MM this season. Here are some more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

Despite recent reports that Phil Jackson wouldn't be interested in coaching the Nets, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops talks about why we probably haven't seen the last of the Zen Master just yet.
Cavaliers coach Byron Scott is confident about the front office's patience with him, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler tweeted that an Andrea Bargnani trade is inevitable since he is no longer in Toronto's long-term plans, and that the Raptors will only play him when he comes back in order to prove that he's healthy.
Kyler (via Twitter) also says that the Lakers aren't currently looking to trade any of their bench players and are more focused on continuing to establish rhythm, Bargnani's elbow injury effectively hurts any if not all of his trade value right now, and that the current feeling around Brooklyn is that P.J. Carlesimo will get a chance to finish the season if none of the candidates they want are available.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune shared some of David Kahn's comments on Brandon Roy's decision to undergo non-invasive treatment, noting that it would not be the same Regenokine therapy that Roy underwent last spring and that the upcoming process could take three to four weeks (Twitter links).
Shams Charania of RealGM says that Ray Allen was not contacted by the Bucks during the free agency period this past summer and admitted that he probably would not have considered a return to Milwaukee regardless.
Nets guard MarShon Brooks is hoping to capitalize on what appears to be a fresh start with coach P.J. Carlesimo after not being able to mesh with Avery Johnson, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Without much practice time, Carlesimo will have to rely on much of the same offensive schemes that the Nets players have been familiar with up to this point along with additional help from the assistant coaches as he continues to make a transition into his interim head coaching role (Roderick Boone of Newsday reports).
While the departure of Joe Johnson might have signaled a rebuilding year to some, the Hawks' climb to 3rd place in the East after 27 games has definitely contradicted that notion, writes Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.

Nets Notes: Sampson, Van Gundy, Jackson

December 29th, 2012 at 3:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Nets handed the Bobcats their 17th straight loss last night under newly-minted interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo. Here's a look at the latest out of Brooklyn as we wonder how long the former Seton Hall head man will get to keep that mantle..

Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson is not among the candidates to coach the Nets this season, reports Sam Amick of SI.com, despite earlier indication that he was receiving strong consideration. Amick also notes that Jeff Van Gundy, who doesn't want to lobby for the job while Carlesimo is in place, would prefer to stay out of coaching while his daughter finishes her senior year of high school.

Earlier updates:

If Phil Jackson doesn't agree to coach the Nets this season, as he is reportedly relucntant to do, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that the Nets may decide to finish the season with Carlesimo on the bench and renew their coaching search in the offseason, when Jackson would be more willing to come aboard. The list of coaching hopefuls could be longer by then, but at the moment, GM Billy King is expected to propose Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, Nate McMillan and Mike Dunleavy as candidates to owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
Gerald Wallace, who was said to be one of Avery Johnson's biggest supporters, isn't thrilled with how his tenure came to an end, according to the Associated Press. "To me, it's kind of frustrating and sad because that's the first time in my career that a coach's been let go in the middle of the season like that," Wallace said. "But I understand the business part of it. We move on and obviously regardless of who's sitting at the head of the chair, we know what we got to do as players."
Avery Johnson was said to be surprised by the Nets' move to fire him, but he shouldn't be, writes HoopsHype's Peter May. Johnson should have seen the writing on the wall when Prokhorov denied his request for a contract extension, May opines.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) spoke with guard MarShon Brooks, who is excited about a new opportunity to play after being buried on the bench by Johnson. Brooks and Kris Humphries both seemed to be strong trade candidates as their roles were significantly reduced this season.

Atlantic Notes: Amare, Nets, Celtics, Brooks

December 22nd, 2012 at 10:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks expect to have Amare Stoudemire back in action early next week and coach Mike Woodson says that they intend to plant him in the post, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. It was reported this week that the Knicks were practically looking to give Stoudemire away this summer, but after flying the Erie BayHawks to New York for the express purpose of practicing with the forward, it would appear that they are committed to him. Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division, including the cross-town rival Nets.

MarShon Brooks has been buried on the Nets bench after a breakout rookie campaign, but the youngster says he isn’t unhappy with the franchise over it, writes Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. Brooks scored 12.6 PPG in almost 30 minutes per game last season but is now averaging 5.3 PPG in eleven minutes per contest as he plays behind Joe Johnson.
The Celtics‘ Leandro Barbosa is another guard who would like to see some more burn, Brigham writes. Barbosa isn’t sure why the Suns and Pacers didn’t look to bring him back this year, but he says that he was happy to join the Celtics, even if it meant seeing less time on the floor. “They called me,” Barbosa said. “They gave me the opportunity and I was very appreciative that they wanted me to be a part of this team… I knew that my game would fit with this team. I wasn’t really worried about the amount of minutes I would play.”
Nets coach Avery Johnson says that he isn’t concerned about job security, but he is willing to point the finger at himself somewhat, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday. The coach confessed that he is the man to blame for the club’s inability to close out quarters.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Bradley, Collins, Copeland

December 20th, 2012 at 11:18am CST by Chuck Myron

Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger takes Deron Williams to task for his recent criticism of the Nets offense, believing that if Williams has issues with coach Avery Johnson just as he did with longtime Jazz boss Jerry Sloan, the problem lies with the player, not the coaches. Nonetheless, Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News questions whether Johnson can keep his job amid the signs of friction with Williams and the team's slump. The Brooklyn honeymoon appears to have ended for the 13-12 Nets, and here's more on a few of their Atlantic Division rivals.

While Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks are "the most disgruntled players of the bunch," Moke Hamilton of SNY.tv hears that Johnson is on solid footing with most of the Nets, including Williams.

Earlier updates:

Avery Bradley, on the mend from surgery on both shoulders, said team trainers are targeting January 2nd for his return to the Celtics, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers had been planning to wait until Bradley came back to make a lineup switch, but he went ahead and made changes last night, and minimum-salary signee Jason Collins temporarily solved the team's need for an inside presence in his first start. A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com has the story.
Rookie Chris Copeland returned to the Knicks bench last night with Carmelo Anthony back in the lineup, but it's been quite a journey for the 28-year-old rookie, and Nate Taylor of The New York Times points out that assistant GM Allan Houston was the first within the team's front office to take notice of him.
Tom Ziller of SB Nation provides his take on five players who would be better off if they were traded, suggesting Raptors power forward Amir Johnson would be a fit for the Spurs.

Nets Pursuing Ersan Ilyasova

December 17th, 2012 at 8:26am CST by Chuck Myron

Ersan Ilyasova is off to a disconcerting start after re-signing with the Bucks for five years and $40MM this summer, having been benched amid declines in just about every statistical category. It would be reasonable to expect that the Nets, one of Ilyasova's suitors in the offseason, would feel thankful they're not the ones stuck with his contract, but according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, Brooklyn is still trying to acquire the 6'9" Turkish big man. Woelfel spoke about the Nets' renewed pursuit with Robert Haack Diamond of WSSP radio in Milwaukee, and NetsDaily provides the transcript.

Woelfel speculated that the Bucks might want to take back MarShon Brooks and Tyshawn Taylor as part of the deal, though there'd have to be more players going the Bucks' way to make the salaries match. Brooks "would love coming to Milwaukee," Woelfel said, suggesting that would still be the case even if Brooks hadn't seen his minutes cut drastically with the Nets this season.

The Nets turned their attention to Kris Humphries over the summer once Ilyasova was off the market, but Humphries, too, has been a disappointment and finds himself benched after signing a two-year, $12MM contract. He might be someone the Nets send the other way in a deal, though that's merely speculation as well. If Humphries were part of the deal, the Bucks would be the team that had to add players to the mix in order to make the salaries match.

Most players who signed a contract became eligible to be traded on Saturday, but Ilyasova is one of several players who can't be traded until January 15th. He's averaging 8.9 points per game, down from 13.0 last season, 5.5 rebounds per night, off from last year's 8.8 RPG clip, and he's shooting just 39.9% after hitting on 49.2% of his field goal attempts in 2011/12. Though he's only 25 years old, Diamond and Woelfel went over a few of the other names in the Bucks frontcourt, reasoning that Milwaukee might prefer to go with Larry Sanders, John Henson, Tobias Harris and Ekpe Udoh, all of whom are the same age or younger than Ilyasova.

Spears On Trade Candidates

December 14th, 2012 at 7:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

In addition to the well-documented cases of Pau Gasol, Jose Calderon and Anderson Varejao, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports shares a litany of tidbits from high-ranking executives on trade candidates from around the league. Here's the chatter going on about each player:

Andrea Bargnani, Raptors — "Toronto definitely wants to move Bargnani," a GM told Spears.
MarShon Brooks, Nets — The Nets put him on the trading block over the summer, but his rookie-scale contract is making it hard for the team to part with him, since there are few more valuable players on the market with a matching salary.
Andrew Bynum, Sixers — The Sixers are trying to find another starting center, according to Spears, who hears from a GM who figures the team is starting to get panicked about Bynum health. "They could get a really interesting deal for (Bynum)," the GM said. "I could see them doing that."
Tyreke Evans, Kings — Despite a meeting with GM Geoff Petrie that went well, according to a source close to Evans, the Kings will trade him if they don't think they can afford to re-sign him as a restricted free agent this summer.
Tyler Hansbrough, Pacers — Spears speculates that the team could trade him for help at the wing.
Gerald Henderson, Bobcats — Like Evans, Henderson will likely be dealt if the team decides against re-signing the restricted free agent over the summer.
Kevin Love, Timberwolves — "I don't think that's a match that is permanent in Minnesota," an assistant GM tells Spears. "I'm not saying they're shopping, but if they can get the right deal they would look at it. And I don't think he wants to be there."
Paul Millsap, Jazz — The Jazz are more likely to trade Millsap than Al Jefferson because Millsap, who makes almost half as much money, will "go to the highest bidder" in free agency next summer, according to a GM.
Timofey Mozgov, Nuggets — With Mozgov a restricted free agent next summer, the Nuggets are likely to go with Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee in the middle instead, and with other Nuggets set to hit the market, a rival GM tells Spears that Denver won't pay the luxury tax.
Derrick Williams, Timberwolves — Both player and team would be pleased with a trade, and an executive for another team warns that Williams' value is shrinking as he continues to sit on Minnesota's bench.

Atlantic Notes: Barbosa, Stoudemire, Wallace, Brooks

November 24th, 2012 at 6:40pm CST by Michael Pina

The main motivation the Celtics had for signing veteran guard Leandro Barbosa was his ability to score. According to CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely, they may be getting more than they bargained for.

As Damian Lillard makes his first trip to Brooklyn, the Nets are left to wonder what could have been had they not traded for Gerald Wallace, writes the New York Times' Benjamin Hoffman.
Again from the New York Times, Beckley Mason talks about the Knicks fortune without Amare Stoudemire.
Nets second year guard MarShon Brooks is getting inconsistent playing time so far this season, and the New York Post's Tim Bontemps tries to figure out why.

Nets Exercise Option On MarShon Brooks

October 19th, 2012 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have officially picked up their 2013/14 option on MarShon Brooks, the team announced today (Twitter link). Brooks, who will earn about $1.21MM in '13/14, will have one more team option on his contract for 2014/15.

Brooks, 23, had a strong rookie season for the Nets, averaging 12.6 points in 56 contests. His upside and his inexpensive rookie-scale contract made him an attractive trade target this summer, and he'd likely be playing elsewhere in 2012/13 if Brooklyn had been able to land Dwight Howard from the Magic. He remains under contract with the Nets though, flying under the radar as an important bench piece after a busy offseason in Brooklyn.

As our rookie contract option tracker shows, Brooks is the 15th player to have a 2013/14 option exercised by his team this offseason.