Michael Carter-Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Irving, Rondo, 76ers

January 30th, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, we made note of the rumblings that Kyrie Irving privately wants out of Cleveland. Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown told Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer that Irving has never approached him to complain about the team or wanting out (Twitter link). Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio may not be sure of what Irving has or hasn’t said behind-the-scenes, but he does know that Drederick Irving – Kyrie’s father – has been very vocal about his irritation with how the Cavaliers are utilizing his son this year. As the plot thickens in Ohio, you can read more of what’s going on elsewhere in the Eastern Conference tonight:

As recently as Tuesday, Schmitt Boyer writes that Irving came to Brown’s defense when reporters asked if Cavs players were starting to tune out their head coach: “I’m leaving my trust with coach Brown…I’m riding and dying with coach Brown. We’re going through ups and downs together. We’re all in this together, everybody in the locker room. We’re all going through this together. I have my teammates backs and I know they have mine.”
Howard Beck and Ric Bucher of the Bleacher Report discuss Rajon Rondo‘s future and tackle the topic of whether the Celtics should trade or build around the four-time All-Star.
Marc Narducci and Keith Pompey of the Inquirer talk about Michael Carter-Williams‘ historic rookie season and the mood of the 76ers locker room as the team has gone 3-10 over their last thirteen games. More from Pompey about the roster: “A lot of these (guys) are marginal NBA players and they came here for the opportunity to (showcase themselves) for next year…they know it’s not about wins and losses at the end of the day, it’s about attracting the eye of another GM so you can get another job somewhere else.”
The Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett says to look for Vitor Faverani to have a two-day stint with the Red Claws on Friday and Saturday before being called up again to the Celtics on Sunday (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Anthony, Carter-Williams, Kelly

December 27th, 2013 at 9:02am CST by Jonathan Nehring

This weekend appears to be a big weekend for the Knicks and head coach Mike Woodson as they have the opportunity to finish the weekend one game out of first place in the Atlantic Division. Some have speculated this is also a prime opportunity to replace Woodson if the 9-19 Knicks don’t turn things around. If they do in fact replace Woodson, Ian Begley of ESPN New York recommends the Knicks inquire who Carmelo Anthony will want to play for if they want a chance at his pending free agency next summer. The Knicks have said they want to re-sign Anthony and having a coach he favors could go a long way in achieving that goal.

A few other morning notes around the league.

Although there is still a lot of the season left, the Sixers are in rebuilding mode and any roster moves will, and should, focus on how they complement breakthrough star of 2013, Michael Carter-Williams. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks this will be the Sixers plan for the rest of the season. With only seventeen game opportunities, Carter-Williams has proven he is a pro the team can build around and Cooney believes they will treat him just like they did Jrue Holiday in previous seasons.
Ryan Kelly has embraced his role as a bench player for the Lakers. The 48th overall pick in last summer’s draft was limited in pre-draft activities due to an injured foot but is hoping to make the most of his rookie minimum salary deal with the goal of it becoming vested after the new year. Kelly told Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles he is “taking [every possession] like it’s his last” in order to “make it past Jan. 10”.
Former Mavericks GM Gersson Rosas has officially returned to his prior role with the Rockets as executive vice president. Rosas expressed to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle it is “good to be home” and that he is returning from Dallas with “some unfinished work to do”.

Atlantic Notes: Woodson, Rondo, Brown

December 26th, 2013 at 7:44pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Since Knicks owner James Dolan gave Mike Woodson a public vote of confidence on November 20 (while the team sported a 3-8 record), New York has gone 6-11 over their last 17 games. Among those losses include a 41-point defeat to the Celtics at home, a 15-point loss to the Cavaliers two days later, and a one-point heartbreaker at the hands of the Wizards, in which the Knicks failed to call a timeout with ample time left to set up a final play. Ian Begley of ESPN New York writes that no one from the team’s ownership or front office has commented publicly on Woodson’s status over the last few days, although it appears that the players – especially outspoken center Tyson Chandler – still offer their support.

Here’s what we’ve heard out of the Atlantic Division tonight, including more from Begley’s piece:

Despite the Knicks struggles, Woodson is still confident that the team can and will win the Atlantic Division title: “Eventually, we’ll get healthy and we’ll see how it all plays out. The beauty about all of this that we’re going through is nobody’s running away with it in our division, and I’m pushing our team to win our division still…We won it last year, and I expect us to win it this year.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post thinks that the four-day break between New York’s upcoming home-and-home series against Toronto and their Texas triangle trip would be the window in which Dolan could make a coaching change if he ultimately decided to. Otherwise, the Knicks owner could wait until the offseason, where names such as Jeff Van Gundy or Lionel Hollins may become available.
Conditioning is deemed to be the biggest hurdle between Rajon Rondo and his return from rehab. Though Rondo was reportedly “huffing and puffing” after practice, the 27-year-old point guard participated extensively in drills today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston details: “Rondo raced up and down the court during sprint-heavy drills, tried to take charges as teammates attacked in odd-man breaks, and even dunked off his left leg at one point. He seemed to be pushing himself hard as Boston engaged in its first practice after a three-day holiday break.”
A source confirms to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the 76ers have assigned Lorenzo Brown to their D-League affiliate, the 87ers. Earlier today, we noted that Bob Cooney of the Daily News was the first to relay notice of those plans. You can read the team’s official press release here.
RealGM’s Shams Charania writes about how Michael Carter-Williams‘ young stardom has reminded Philadelphia of the way Allen Iverson once carried the Sixers franchise. The 6’6 point guard also offered his thoughts about how outside talk of tanking helped motivate him to compete hard this year.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post notes the Nets’ inability to respond when challenged with adversity this season, shifting focus on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce‘s inability to instill the toughness and fortitude expected of them after being acquired from Boston this past summer.

Odds & Ends: Hayward, Jazz, Nash

November 3rd, 2013 at 10:12pm CST by Ryan Raroque

While the Jazz and Gordon Hayward fell short of agreeing on a contract extension last week, both Hayward and the franchise are still interested in getting something done eventually. Hayward told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: “(Not reaching an agreement) in no way changes the way I feel about Utah at all…I love being here. I love playing for them…Hopefully (an extension) will get worked out next summer.”

Utah GM Dennis Lindsey had this to say about Hayward’s agent Mark Bartelstein and future negotiations: “Mark’s been one of the best agents in the business because he negotiates hard. He was fair. He played by the rules. He’ll continue to play by the rules. We’ll be fair as well, and we’ll come back and start talking in July…Just because (Hayward) said no to our last offer, his character hasn’t changed. He is an outstanding person…He’s someone we can see being in a Utah Jazz jersey until he retires. That’s our hope. We think we’re great fits.”

We have a handful of miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight, and you can read them below:

ESPN LA’s Arash Markazi weighed in on some of the rumblings which suggest that Steve Nash could eventually wind up in Toronto, saying that a deal between the Raptors and Lakers makes sense but isn’t sure if something gets done. Markazi opines that L.A. would like to clear Nash’s salary off their books while the Raptors would enjoy increased ticket sales by bringing the Canadian legend back to his home country (All Twitter links).
Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld tweeted a list of players who may be traded this season, including: Omer Asik, Jameer Nelson, Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis, Evan Turner, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Bass, and Gerald Wallace.
Kennedy also shared what 76ers rookie Michael Carter-Williams told him about his chances on winning the Rookie of the Year Award: “I think I have a pretty good chance at it. I’m just going to go out there, play my game and hope for the best” (Twitter link).
Entering tonight’s game with a record of 1-2 before their win against the Wizards, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade acknowledged that some minor chemistry issues are affecting the team (Michael Wallace of ESPN.com). More specifically, Wade had this to say: “Let me give you an example…If you’re in a relationship with a woman for a long time, you start getting comfortable. You stop doing the little things that you should do, that you did in the beginning. It’s just like a relationship. We got a little comfortable. Now we have to get back on that edge a little bit.”
Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes that Knicks forwards Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin will have their own individualized schedules as far as playing or sitting out games, a decision meant to preserve the health of both in the long run.
Mavericks point man Jose Calderon appears to be regaining his groove after a sluggish start to the season, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.

Sixers Notes: Noel, Carter-Williams, Roster

October 22nd, 2013 at 8:08pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes about the Sixers, a team many believe will be the league’s worst this season

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey writes that the Sixers have six players who they know will contribute during the regular season. Beyond that, the rotation is a complete question mark.
Sixers head coach Brett Brown isn’t sure whether Nerlens Noel will play this season, but he’s hoping the rookie center is able to contribute, writes the Inquirer’s Pompey.
Hoopsworld.com’s Alex Kennedy writes that Philadelphia’s rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams is in an unlikely position, being that he’ll be a starter from day one, with almost no expectations despite being a lottery pick.

Atlantic Links: Sixers, ‘Melo, Green, Lopez

October 12th, 2013 at 10:17pm CST by Spencer Lund

Through his first three preseason games, Sixers rookie Michael Carter Williams has 16 assists and just 1 turnover. In Orlando, during summer league action, MCW averaged 4.8 turnovers a game, which was the highest in Orlando.

But Sixers coach Brett Brown wants Carter-Williams to play faster and even more uptempo, he tells the Intelligencer’s Tom Moore: “I actually think we can play faster and he can play faster,” Brown said. “I think we can get it out of the net on makes better. I really feel that’s where we want to place a lot of our focus.”

The risk is MCW’s turnover issues from the summer return if he plays out of control trying to match the uptempo pace Brown is favoring with his young team.

Here are some more links from around the Atlantic division on this Saturday night:

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony told Marc Berman of the New York Post that he took a “huge risk” this season by not having surgery on his left shoulder.
Anthony actually had a torn rotator cuff to go along with a partially torn labrum, but elected not to have the surgery because doctors told him it would be a 4-5 month recovery because of the severity of the tear and he would have missed the beginning of the season.
But now, ‘Melo says he “feels nothing,” as the twin tears healed themselves.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson says he needs to see more toughness from Cole Aldrich, and that he needs to do the “dirty work,” tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Jeff Green has shot just 28.6% from the field (8-for-28) through the Celtics‘ first three preseason games, but coach Brad Stevens says it’s too small a sample size to accurately judge, reports the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy.
Stevens thinks Green needs more paint points for the C’s, and tells Murphy, “Getting an and-one, an offensive rebound – something that’s a more difficult thing to do but with an easier finish. That can open the floodgates.”
Brook Lopez came to camp this year at 290 pounds, tweets Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois. That’s 15 pounds heavier than last year’s playing weight for the Nets center, and Langlois says Lopez “looks massive now.”

Sixers Sign Michael Carter-Williams

September 24th, 2013 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers have officially signed rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams, according to the team's director of public relations Michael Preston (Twitter link). The Sixers also formally confirmed the signing of Nerlens Noel, which we heard about last week.

Noel and Carter-Williams had long been the only two first-rounders who remained unsigned, with the exception of those players who are spending the 2013/14 season overseas. Now that both players are officially under contract, the Sixers are carrying 11 players on guaranteed deals. At least six more players with partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed contracts will be in camp with the club starting next week.

Carter-Williams, the 11th overall pick out of Syracuse, is set to earn about $2.2MM in his rookie season, assuming he signed for the maximum allowable 120% of his cap hold. Our breakdown of rookie-scale salaries has the details.

Odds & Ends: Roster Spots, Hunt, Mavericks

August 29th, 2013 at 11:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter) points out that the Lakers, Bulls, and 76ers are the three teams that still need to sign players in order to reach the league minimum of 13 players by opening night, although it's worth noting that L.A. is still yet to sign second round pick Ryan Kelly and Philadelphia is in the same boat with Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. Also, as we pointed out a few days ago, Dexter Pittman accepted a training camp invite with Chicago and could fill that 13th roster spot if they end up offering him a guaranteed contract.

Here are more of tonight's news and notes from around the league:

Jeff Haubner of ESPN.com offers a two part preview of the upcoming FIBA Americas tournament.
Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel notes that the Bucks/Suns deal keeps Milwaukee about $1.9MM under the salary cap and saves Phoenix around $5.6MM in cap space. Gardner also has more comments from Caron Butler regarding his happiness with the trade.
Former 76ers star Charles Barkley isn't happy with the way his former team handled their assistant coaching situation, saying that those who were released upon the Brett Brown hiring had worked for the team the entire summer and therefore didn't have the opportunity to look for another job (Michael Kaskey-Blomain of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
Keith Schlosser of RidiculousUpside.com takes a look at Kyle Hunt, who while eligible for the D-League draft in the fall is also looking to earn an NBA training camp invite.
Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW suggests Mavericks fans should be happy with 45 wins and a 7th seed in the Western Conference next season.
Ben Couch of BrooklynNets.com provides a brief breakdown of the Nets' depth at the center position, profiling Brook Lopez, Andray Blatche, and Mason Plumlee.
Former Knick and now a member of the Canadian men's national basketball team, Andy Rautins tells Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun about how prepared he and his teammates feel heading into the FIBA Americas tournament.
NBA.com posted an article from Atlanta-based freelance writer Jon Cooper about Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer. Though he stressed the importance of forming good relationships with each player up to the 15th man, Budenholzer specifically mentioned Al Horford and Jeff Teague as two players that he's very much looking forward to working with.
Suns.com passes along an article from the archives which delves into the mind of the late former Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Nets, Deng, Webster

June 28th, 2013 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Based on the direction in which the Sixers are heading, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't expect the Heat to ever see the lottery-protected first-round pick they acquired a year ago for Arnett Moultrie. With Jrue Holiday on his way to New Orleans and the Sixers not expected to re-sign Andrew Bynum, the young roster is unlikely to earn a playoff spot in 2014, thereby keeping its first-rounder. If Philadelphia's first-rounder lands in the lottery in '14, the Sixers will instead convey their 2015 and 2016 second-rounders to Miami.

Here are a few more Friday updates from around the Eastern Conference:

The Nets have agreed to terms with three assistant coaches, the team announced today in a press release. Lawrence Frank, Roy Rogers, and Eric Hughes will join Jason Kidd's staff.
Scott Gleeson of USA Today has an interesting behind-the-scenes look of draft day from Nerlens Noel's perspective, including Noel's reaction to slipping to No. 6 and being traded to the 76ers. Sean Deveney of the Sporting News has a similar look at Thursday's events from the perspective of Philadelphia's other first-round pick, Michael Carter-Williams.
Trade rumors have swirled around Luol Deng in recent weeks, but Bulls GM Gar Forman says Deng remains a "big piece of what we're doing moving forward," as Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald writes.
After the Wizards drafted a pair of wings last night, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wonders if there will be room for the team to bring back Martell Webster.

More Draft Rumors: Thunder, Cavs, Raptors, Jazz

June 27th, 2013 at 6:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers will be on the clock in less than two hours, and we still don't know exactly what they'll do with that No. 1 pick. The rest of the first round only gets more uncertain, so it looks like we're in for a fun night. Here are the latest rumors and rumblings related to the 2013 draft:

The Thunder tried to acquire the Cavs' first overall pick, but OKC's bid failed, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
According to ESPN.com's Andy Katz (via Twitter), the Cavs have made a decision on their first overall pick, assuming they hang onto it. Within the next 15 minutes or so, we'll know what that decision is.
The Raptors are finding no traction in their efforts to acquire a lottery pick, tweets Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
While the Wolves continue attempting to move up in the lottery, teams ahead of them are "hesitant" to move their picks, a source tells ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

While the Jazz could be seeking a point guard at No. 14, don't expect Michael Carter-Williams to fall to them, says Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
The Cavs "definitely" have interest in Lucas Nogueira, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter).
ESPN.com's Chad Ford is hearing that the Pistons will ride things out and keep the No. 8 pick (Twitter link).
The Mavericks continue to shop the 13th pick "as hard as advertised," in hopes of landing a 2014 lottery pick, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
In addition to the Suns (mentioned below), the Timberwolves also remain in play for the No. 1 pick, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
The Suns have offered the Cavs the Nos. 5 and 30 picks for the first overall pick, tweets ESPN.com's Chad Ford. Phoenix is after Nerlens Noel, according to Ford. But given how highly the Cavs seem to value that top pick, I doubt that offer gets it done.
There's "little chance" that the Magic part with the No. 2 pick, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
While the Timberwolves still have interest in trading up from No. 9, the price remains high, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. In the likely scenario that Minnesota remains at No. 9, the team is expected to target Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cody Zeller, and C.J. McCollum, in that order.
The Cavs continue to explore trades involving the No. 1 pick, and Broussard says (via Twitter) that if they take anyone besides Alex Len, it could be part of a deal.
Various reports indicate that the Raptors are looking to acquire a lottery pick. Broussard tweets that they could be trying to get as high as No. 2, while Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com is hearing (Twitter link) Toronto is targeting a late lottery pick with its eye on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Suns are trying to acquire late-first-round picks, hoping to add more young players to the roster, tweets Broussard.
Although the Trail Blazers would like to add veterans more than youth, indications are that they'll keep the No. 10 pick, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
The possibility that the Thunder could draft Antetokounmpo at No. 12 probably scares the Hawks, who have long coveted the "Greek Freak," tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.