Mo Williams Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Notes: Williams, Love, Liggins, Felder

September 3rd, 2016 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

With training camp a little more than three weeks away, the Cavaliers aren’t sure of the status of Mo Williams, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Cleveland decided this week not to use the stretch provision on Williams’ $2.2MM contract, but no one seems sure if he will be in camp. There have been retirement rumors, but Pluto says neither Williams or his agent have given the Cavaliers any indication that he is quitting. However, there also is no sign that Williams is preparing for another season. He is the only experienced backup point guard on the Cavs’ roster after the sign-and-trade deal that sent Matthew Dellavedova to Milwaukee. A 13-year veteran, Williams battled knee and thumb injuries last season and appeared in just 41 games. Pluto believes retirement is the most likely outcome as Williams has been “disconnected” from the team during the offseason.

Pluto offers a few more Cavaliers tidbits in his latest column:

Cleveland has no interest in trading Kevin Love and hasn’t considered the idea since midseason. Love, who still has four years and more than $93.5MM left on the contract he signed last summer, has accepted his role with the Cavaliers and was an important part of last year’s championship team. He is scoring less than he used to in Minnesota, but is helping the team with better rebounding, defense and other intangibles. Pluto notes that a trade might have been considered if the Cavs had fallen short of a title, but GM David Griffin wants to keep the team together as much as possible.
DeAndre Liggins has an outside shot to make the roster after being named D-League Defensive Player of the Year last season. The 28-year-old swingman impressed the organization during summer league with his aggressive defense. The Kentucky product’s NBA career includes short stints with the Magic, Thunder and Heat.
Another summer star, rookie Kay Felder, has a good chance to make the team, but Pluto doesn’t expect him to be the primary backup at point guard if Williams doesn’t return. The writer says Cleveland will continue to pursue other alternatives.

Cavaliers Decide Not To Stretch Williams’ Contract

August 31st, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers opted to let today’s deadline pass for using the stretch provision on Mo Williams, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The team could have saved luxury tax penalties for the upcoming season by stretching Williams’ contract, valued at $2.2MM, over the next three years.

There have been reports that Williams is leaning toward retirement at age 33, and a team source tells Vardon the Cavaliers are “skeptical” about his return. Williams, who has played 13 NBA seasons, was limited to 41 games last year because of knee and thumb issues, averaging 8.2 points and 18.2 minutes per game.

Vardon notes that the Cavaliers are nearly $24MM over the salary cap and about $4MM over the threshold, and those numbers will rise with the expected signing of J.R. Smith. Stretching Williams’ deal would have saved money in the short term, but added to the tax penalty for the following two seasons.

With Matthew Dellavedova gone to Milwaukee, Williams is the only proven backup point guard on Cleveland’s roster. Vardon speculates that the Cavs may try to find a trading partner if they are concerned about Williams’ health.

Mo Williams Considering Retirement

August 27th, 2016 at 1:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran Cavs guard Mo Williams is strongly considering hanging up his sneakers and retiring from the game, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports. Williams’ balky knee, his desire to coach and the opportunity to go out as an NBA champion are weighing heavily upon him, Vardon adds.

There is also the chance, should Williams hold off on making a definitive decision regarding his future, that the Cavs could seek to trade him in a salary dump or waive him via the stretch provision, Vardon notes. The deadline to utilize the stretch provision is this Wednesday (August 31st), should the Cavs decide to go that route. Cleveland’s projected payroll for 2016/17 currently stands at $116,494,181, which is already over the luxury tax line which has been set at $113.2MM by the league. Williams is due to earn $2,194,500 this season, the final one on his current deal.

For Cleveland, purging itself of Williams’ salary would help alleviate some of its luxury tax burden this season, but it would also leave the team with rookie Kay Felder as the only true point guard on the roster behind starter Kyrie Irving. The Cavs still may re-sign unrestricted free agent shooting guard J.R. Smith, which would thrust the team deeper into tax territory. Not to mention the Cavs will still likely need to add additional backcourt depth should Williams be released or traded, which would increase their payroll and tax hit even further.

The 33-year-old appeared in 41 regular season games for the Cavs a season ago, averaging 8.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 18.2 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .437/.353/.905. Williams’ career numbers, should he decide to call it quits, are 13.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 4.9 APG. His career slash line is .434/.378/.871.

Cavaliers’ Mo Williams To Pick Up Option

June 14th, 2016 at 8:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams will pick up his option for 2016/17, reports Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group. Williams will receive $2.2MM for next season, the last of a two-year, $4.3MM contract he signed with Cleveland last summer.

Williams faces a Thursday deadline to opt out and test the free agent market. Haynes writes that the Cavaliers have been notified that he intends to bypass that option.

Williams appeared in 41 games with the Cavaliers this season, averaging 8.2 points per night while shooting 35% from 3-point range. Physical problems involving inflammation of the cartilage under his left kneecap limited Williams’ availability. Next season will be his 15th in the NBA.

Eastern Rumors: Bulls, Celtics, Pistons, Sixers

April 14th, 2016 at 12:11am CST by Chuck Myron

Bulls GM Gar Forman wouldn’t rule out the idea of trading Jimmy Butler when asked Wednesday night, notes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Both Forman and Executive VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson made it clear no one on the roster is truly off-limits for a trade, Johnson writes, and changes are coming to coach Fred Hoiberg‘s coaching staff, sources tell Johnson. Still, Hoiberg will be sticking around, Paxson confirmed, according to Johnson, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf issued a statement backing Forman and Paxson. Paxson confirmed the Bulls would like to re-sign Joakim Noah, Johnson also notes.

See more from Chicago amid news from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics refused to give up Jae Crowder in trade talks with the Bulls before the deadline, scuttling any realistic possibility of a trade, league sources tell Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago. Jimmy Butler‘s name reportedly was the center of those discussions, though Goodwill hears they spoke with teams about Derrick Rose and confirms earlier reports that they had Pau Gasol trade talks, too.
The Bulls were on board with a trade that would have involved Pau Gasol, Tony Snell and Kirk Hinrich going out and Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore coming in from the Kings, but Sacramento withdrew from those talks when the Sixers, who were to be included as a third team, insisted the Kings relinquish a second-round pick, Goodwill hears. Sacramento was also reluctant to give into the Bulls’ desire to reduce the top-10 protection on the 2016 first-rounder the Kings owe them, according to Goodwill.
The Cavaliers made it a priority to sign a perimeter defender like Dahntay Jones as insurance for Iman Shumpert instead of a point guard to offset the injury to Mo Williams because they envision LeBron James running the point in a pinch, accoriding to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The Cavs inked Jones earlier today as Williams reportedly headed to New York for further examination on his sore left knee.
Coach Brett Brown said the replacement of GM Sam Hinkie with new president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo won’t result in a change to the team’s playing style, and he called for the front office to focus on strong defenders and veteran big men as they seek offseason upgrades, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown also spoke highly of Elton Brand, Pompey notes. Brand is heading back into free agency and isn’t sure he’ll keep playing.

Central Notes: Williams, Butler, Drummond

April 12th, 2016 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Mo Williams insists he has no plans to retire after the season, even though multiple people suggest otherwise, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Williams visited well-known orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Monday, and it’s believed this is the third time he’s seen Andrews about his sore left knee, which has been bothering him for the last couple of years, Lloyd writes. No surgery is planned at this point, but if he were to undergo a procedure, he’d miss the playoffs and perhaps the start of next season, according to Lloyd. Williams, 33, has a player option worth nearly $2.195MM for 2016/17 on his contract with the Cavaliers.

See more from the Central Division:

The Bulls head into the offseason with uncertainty, but they have enough talent to win as constituted, Jimmy Butler said when asked Monday, suggesting that the team instead must work harder and avoid selfishness, as the Chicago Tribune relays via video. That conflicts with the front office’s view, which is that they held the core of the team together one year too long, as the Tribune’s K.C. Johnson relayed earlier.
Soon-to-be free agent Andre Drummond endured criticism for the lack of enthusiasm he showed after Friday’s playoff-clinching win, one in which Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy sat Drummond for much of the fourth quarter because of his poor free-throw shooting, but Drummond was upset about the death of a friend, notes Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link). The center nonetheless apologized to his teammates about his demeanor, as Beard points out (Twitter links here), and Van Gundy isn’t upset, MLive’s David Mayo notes. “I’m sure that getting the criticism he got in the newspapers and things like that, I’m sure it does help him to understand that he’s being watched at all times and part of his responsibility as a cornerstone guy in the franchise is to lead and set an example and everything else,” Van Gundy said. “So I do think it’s a good learning experience. But I think the criticism is — look, I think commenting on it is fine. But to really get deep into that it reveals some flaw in his character or something I think would be going way too far.”
Our latest Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround invites your input on Drummond’s value as a maximum-salary player.
The Cavs have once more assigned Sasha Kaun and Jordan McRae to the D-League, the team announced. Cleveland sent them to the D-League Canton Charge on Monday but recalled them later in the day, reportedly because of the injuries to Iman Shumpert, who’s expected to return to play at the start of the postseason, and Williams.

Central Notes: Novak, Hoiberg, Kaun, McRae

April 11th, 2016 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Steve Novak made it into only three games with the Bucks before a sprained left MCL prematurely ended his season, but the sharpshooter who played his high school and college ball in the state of Wisconsin has a strong desire that those games not be the only ones he ever plays in a Bucks uniform, as he makes clear to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 32-year-old is on an expiring contract but wants to re-sign with the Bucks, even though they won’t have more than non-Bird rights to him, and it appears he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. “Being home has been unbelievable,” Novak said. “I see the team that we have and hopefully I can be a big part of that. I am a free agent this summer, but that’s my goal [to stay with the Bucks].”

See more from the Central Division:

Coach Fred Hoiberg accepts blame for the struggles of the Bulls, pointing to the team’s underwhelming offense and lack of killer instinct, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relays (Twitter link). His willingness to acknowledge and work to remedy those problems endears him to management, Johnson observes.
The Cavaliers won’t rule out signing a player to fill their open roster spot, but it’s likely they won’t, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). That’s even though Mo Williams is suffering from continued soreness in his left knee that’s prompted a visit to noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, the team announced. No surgery is set for Williams at this point, however. Iman Shumpert will miss the rest of the regular season with left knee trouble, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs, according to the team.
The Cavs have assigned Sasha Kaun and Jordan McRae to the D-League, the team revealed in separate announcements. They’ll provide playoff help to the Canton Charge, who are reportedly poised to lose John Holland to an NBA contract with Boston.

Cavaliers Rumors: LeBron, Irving, Williams, Lue

March 27th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

After a week filled with speculation sparked by comments that he would like to team up with three of his friends, LeBron James is expressing confidence in the Cavaliers’ chances at an NBA title, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. James said he dreams of joining forces with Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul for at least one season before they all retire. That came on the heels of a decision Monday to unfollow the Cavs’ official Twitter account. On Saturday, James, who can opt out of his contract this summer, expressed confidence in his current teammates and indicated his long-term future will be in Cleveland. “I believe in what we have,” he said. “And I know we can win a championship with the group we have. And I’m confident in my abilities to lead this group and everything else is smoke and mirrors and doesn’t really matter to me.”

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

The constant hints about his future have turned James into a distraction, contends Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Daily News. Replacing head coach David Blatt with Tyronn Lue was supposed to bring peace to the locker room, but Heisler writes that point guard Kyrie Irving isn’t willing to become a second option to James the way that Wade did in Miami. Irving is seven years younger than James and is signed through 2019, so Heisler thinks he considers himself a cornerstone in Cleveland regardless of what James decides.
Backup point guard Mo Williams returned to the court Saturday for the first time in a month after getting an injection in his left knee, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Williams had just started practicing a few days ago, but Lue asked him to help out with Irving sidelined. “I just started on-court stuff Monday,” Williams said. “In my mind it was next week, that’s what I was telling everyone silently. Every situation is different and I’m the ultimate team guy. I’m not going to put our team in a bind.” Williams said he will probably have knee pain the rest of his career but doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
Lue resumed coaching the defense after the Cavs gave up 122 points last week in a loss to Miami, Lloyd writes in the same piece. He had given those duties to assistant Mike Longabardi after being named head coach.

Central Notes: Augustin, Carter-Williams, Harris

February 16th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons are a bit thin in their backcourt after today’s trade of Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova to the Magic in exchange for combo forward Tobias Harris, Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com writes. As a result of the trade Detroit is now combing the market for a veteran guard it can add to its rotation, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). Some potential targets for the Pistons include Thunder point guard D.J. Augustin, Kings playmaker Darren Collison and Mo Williams of the Cavaliers, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes (Twitter links).

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

Bucks point guard Michael Carter-Williams has been told by the team that he will not be traded prior to Thursday’s deadline, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The 24-year-old, who is said to be “undeniably gettable,” was also told the same thing by the Sixers last season prior to being shipped to Milwaukee, Spears notes, so he’s likely to take any assurances with a grain of salt.
Cavs superstar LeBron James believes he and his teammates need to tune out outside distractions and criticism and focus on the task at hand if the team is to make strides during the second half of the season, Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. “There’s so much talk about what we should be, we should do this, we shouldn’t do that. The only thing that matters is what we come together and talk about and how we prepare every single night and our coaching staff putting us in position to win,” James told Ridenour.
The Pistons are excited by the athleticism and versatility that Harris will provide them, David Mayo of MLive relays.
Orlando likely could have netted a better return if it had waited to deal Harris until this summer, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post opines in his examination of the Harris/Jennings/Ilyasova trade. The scribe notes that the trade was a big win for the Pistons, who now possess a solid core of players who are 25 years of age or younger to build around, and though Orlando did receive the veterans it craved, unless this deal was the first in a series of trades, it failed to improve the Magic as a team, Bontemps concludes.

Central Notes: Ellis, Cavs, Pistons

January 31st, 2016 at 6:26pm CST by Will Joseph

Monta Ellis, whom the Pacers signed this past offseason, is still averaging the fewest amount of points per game since his rookie season, but he has experienced an uptick in scoring recently because of treatment to his right knee, Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star relays. Ellis, 30, is averaging 18.4 points per game over his last 10 outings. Ellis recently had fluid in the knee drained, according to Buckner.

“It’s been night and day with having that knee drained as far as his energy and just the way he’s moving,” Pacers star Paul George said. “It’s a lot easier, and it’s a lot better for him. He went the whole length of this game of constant pressure on their team. You definitely notice that. I think for Monta, this is something that’s been reoccurring, so he’s dealt with it before, and he knows the difference between the two.”

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue has improved the team’s morale because of his straight-forward approach to handling roles, rotations and expectations, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer explains. On the court, the Cavs are playing faster and have scored at least 110 points in four straight games.
Despite referring to this season as the most difficult challenge of his professional career, Mo Williams is not interested in playing for another team and will not request a trade, Haynes reports in the same piece. The Cavs point guard is out of the rotation and played in only five games in January. “Nah, man. I’ve moved my family around enough,” Williams told Haynes. “I’m sticking this thing out.”
Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings is still adapting to coming off the bench after playing in 17 games so far since returning from an injury, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press relays. “It’s basically just me,” Jennings said. “I have to show up with a lot of energy. My role is different and I know that. I have to approach the game differently. I have to be ready and when my number’s called I have to be able to perform.”