Ray Allen Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Odom, Allen, Carroll, Mavs, Moultrie

December 4th, 2012 at 11:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lamar Odom, preparing to face the Mavericks on Wednesday for the first time since they traded him to the Clippers, called his season in Dallas "a blur," as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times documents. "Sometimes we make pit stops in some places," Odom said. "I remember the people and the city. Basketball just wasn't there for me at that time." Odom added that he has no hard feelings for owner Mark Cuban, and spoke highly of the Mavs to former teammate Derek Fisher after the point guard signed with Dallas last week. If the reunion of Odom and the Mavs along with the rest of tomorrow's slate can live up to the drama of tonight's six-game schedule, we're in for a treat. Here's more from around the Association.

The Heat have gotten plenty of return on their investment in Ray Allen, as he's fit in seamlessly as a complement at shooting guard to Dwyane Wade, who tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that he was always on board with the signing and never concerned that Allen would take his minutes.
Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune chronicles the arduous journey DeMarre Carroll took to becoming a valuable part of the Jazz rotation on a minimum-salary deal.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News chatted with readers to discuss the ripple effect of the Fisher signing and the possibility of trades involving the Mavericks.
Sixers coach Doug Collins and GM Tony DiLeo will meet to determine the best time to send this year's 27th overall pick, Arnett Moultrie, to the D-League, as Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com notes.
Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney of SI.com delve into several reasons why the Cavs shouldn't trade Anderson Varejao, and offer up some trade ideas that would offer fair value to Cleveland if the team were to pull the trigger.

Heat Notes: Chalmers, Miller, Allen, Lewis

November 25th, 2012 at 3:55pm CST by Sean Highkin

At 10-3, the defending champion Miami Heat own the best record in the Eastern Conference. Here are the latest notes and rumors surrounding the team on Sunday afternoon:

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders whether the Heat will pick up the $4MM option on guard Mario Chalmers' contract for next season.
Winderman also notes that Mike Miller is likely to be waived at some point using the amnesty clause.
Winderman writes that the Heat's decision to use Ray Allen as a sixth man is paying off for the team.
Signed for the veteran's minimum, it was unknown what kind of contribution Rashard Lewis would make to the Heat, but Winderman says that he has been a valuable part of Miami's rotation thus far.
Jeff Zillgett of USA Today notes that Udonis Haslem is the first undrafted player ever to lead his team in rebounding this season.

HoopsWorld On Best NBA Contracts

November 11th, 2012 at 4:50pm CST by Sean Highkin

The staff of HoopsWorld.com has posted a new roundtable in which several of their staff writers weighed in on which players have the best contracts in the NBA.

Joel Brigham writes that as the best three-point shooter in NBA history, Ray Allen is a steal for the Heat at $3MM per year.
Bill Ingram believes the Spurs got an excellent value in Tony Parker. Parker is making $12.5MM this season, considerably less than other elite point guards such as Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
Robert Wing calls Kyle Lowry's contract a "complete steal," saying the Raptors got a major upgrade at starting point guard over Jose Calderon for cheap.
Eric Pincus thinks the Knicks were able to take advantage of Raymond Felton's low stock after his poor performance in Portland last season to land the point guard for $14.9MM over four years.
Alex Kennedy points out that Rajon Rondo would be worth much more on the open market than the five-year, $55MM extension he signed with the Celtics in 2009.

Odds & Ends: West, Allen, Garnett, Stiemsma

November 11th, 2012 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reaction has been largely negative to FIBA's announcement of changes to the basketball World Cup. John Hollinger of ESPN.com characterizes the moves as a "money grab" that degrades the tournament (Twitter link). With qualifiers taking place in the middle of the season instead of during summer, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com believes Team USA may only have non-NBA pros at its disposal for those games (Twitter link). Tom Ziller of SB Nation tweets that Team USA could simply circumvent the qualifiers by winning the World Cup and Olympic gold every time, though that might prove a difficult standard to maintain. While we await more fallout on the international basketball scene, here's what's going on around NBA. circles.

David West wants to remain with the Pacers after this year, but he acknowledges the team's other financial commitments could make that difficult, reports HoopsWorld's Lang Greene.
Ray Allen was open to signing an extension with the Celtics during last season, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn also notes the $12MM final season of the three-year contract Kevin Garnett signed this summer is only guaranteed for $6MM, per ShamSports.
Greg Stiemsma credits his work with Al Jefferson and Garnett for helping him establish his NBA career, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Gino Pilato of Ridiculous Upside runs down a list of seven-footers in D-League camps, while fellow Ridiculous Upside scribe Keith Schlosser observes that the Warriors affiliate is well-stocked with talent.
Omer Asik is the primary reason for the strong defensive play of the Rockets so far this season, concludes Jason Friedman of Rockets.com.
A source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that the "odds aren't great" that top 2013 draft prospect Shabazz Muhammad will play for UCLA anytime soon. The NCAA has declared Muhammad ineligible for an unspecified number of games.

Eastern Notes: Jennings, Fesenko, Allen, Celtics

November 5th, 2012 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

When we asked you earlier this afternoon which rookie scale contract extension will work out best for the team locking up its player, one fourth-year guard was notably absent from the list: Brandon Jennings. Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth calls the young Buck the most talented player from the 2009 draft class not to receive an extension from his club, and examines the outlook for the 23-year-old, who admits he's "kind of auditioning for other teams." If that's the case, his audition is off to a good start — Jennings was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the league this afternoon (Twitter link).

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

Kyrylo Fesenko had a strong workout for the Hawks, but the team has yet to indicate whether it will sign him, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The big man also isn't ruling out a return to the Bulls, the team that waived him in October, tweets Charnia. Chicago isn't eligible to sign a veteran to a minimum-salary deal for another two weeks.
Marquis Daniels tells Charania that he feels like stories and rumors of the alleged feud between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen have been blown out of proportion. Daniels, Rondo, and Allen all played in the Celtics' backcourt from 2009 to 2012.
In order to get Allen the minutes he was promised when he signed with Miami as a free agent, the Heat may have to play him at the point from time to time, says Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Appearing on WEEI's Big Show in Boston, Celtics president Danny Ainge spoke about the team's offseason, and about the Allen controversy. Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.
In a piece for the News-Herald, Bob Finnan express some concerns about the Cavaliers' bench.

Odds & Ends: Warriors, Spurs, Allen, Flynn

November 4th, 2012 at 10:07pm CST by Alex Lee

At 2-1, the Warriors have started off what many believe to be a promising season on the right foot, despite losing Brandon Rush to a torn ACL on Friday night. Because it is so early in the season, the Warriors have the good fortune of having some options if they want to replace him, writes Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area.

One reason they may not need personnel reinforcements has the been the surprising play of Carl Landry, who has provided scoring (20 points per game) and toughness off the bench in the team’s first three games, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.

Let’s take a look at what else is going on in the NBA on the first Sunday night of November:

As the veteran core of the Spurs ages, the roles of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard will continue to grow. Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation writes that right now, Gregg Popovich has told the two youngsters to “bring the energy.”
Couper Moorhead of Heat.com provides a detailed analysis of the developing offensive dynamic between Ray Allen and LeBron James. Between James’ ability to score efficiently at the hoops and Allen’s lethal stroke from the corner, defenses are forced to make an impossible decision against the Heat, Moorhead says.
The staff of writers at HoopsWorld goes around the horn to discuss which player was the most underrated offseason acquisition. The results: Jamal Crawford, Jason Terry, Carl Landry, Antawn Jamison, Andrei Kirilenko, O.J. Mayo, Gerald Green and Nikola Vucevic.
Jonny Flynn, waived by Pistons in October, has agreed to sign with the Melbourne Tigers, an Australian team, says Daniel Eade of the Back Page Lead. The contract with the Tigers is reported to have an out clause should Flynn get an NBA offer.

Odds & Ends: D’Antoni, Clippers, Lakers

November 3rd, 2012 at 10:53pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News stirs up an interesting talking point about Mike D'Antoni and speculates whether or not a head coaching job with the Rockets would appeal to him down the line with James Harden now on board. In July, Lawrence wrote about how the former Knicks coach was worth keeping an eye on for Houston because of Jeremy Lin's success under his stewardship (all this under the premise of head coach Kevin McHale not being able to thrive with Lin this year). Again, this is purely speculation, and with McHale just beginning the second year of a three-year deal, nothing we've heard at this point would indicate that he's on the hot seat. With that aside, you'll find tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the league below:

Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK describes how Kevin Martin is fitting in with the Thunder as he looks to transition from being the main guy in Houston to the sixth man in Oklahoma City.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports that Nets guard Keith Bogans suited up for tonight's game against the Raptors after being out with an injury since February.
The following three links are all courtesy of the Los Angeles Times: Firstly, Broderick Turner discusses Vinny Del Negro's task of finding minutes for all five of his rotation big men at the power forward and center positions, adding that doing so through the Clippers' first two games was easier because of foul trouble. Secondly, Ben Bolch reflects on current Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey's tenure with the Clippers, his departure, and the ties that Olshey still feels with some of their players. Lastly, Eric Pincus says that today's day off for the Lakers was needed, considering that Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Jordan Hill are all trying to play through injuries. Metta World Peace agreed, saying that the team had already gone through seven or eight straight days on their feet and that it had "hurt them a bit."
Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes about how Nikola Pekovic and his physical play during Timberwolves' practices have played a vital role in the development of Greg Stiemsma.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune talks about how veteran additions Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko have fared in Minnesota so far.

Odds & Ends: Allen, Pistons, Jazz, Curry, Lawson

November 1st, 2012 at 12:20am CST by Chuck Myron

While most of the night's news has centered around extensions for a flurry of fourth-year players before the 11pm Central deadline, there's sure to be fallout over the lack of extensions for Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and Jeff Teague, who will headline a class of 2013 restricted free agents that won't be as strong as first expected. In the meantime, there are plenty of other interesting tidbits from around the league.

Before deciding on the Heat, Ray Allen was serious about joining the Clippers this summer, but believes the Clips thought he was using them as leverage, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
Pistons owner Tom Gores, who won't rule out someday moving the team from the suburban Palace of Auburn Hills to a downtown venue, is anxious for his team to make the playoffs, but said the jobs of basketball operations president Joe Dumars and coach Lawrence Frank aren't necessarily riding on a postseason berth, as David Mayo of MLive.com observes.
Jazz executive vice president Kevin O'Connor says the team structured its contracts so most of them would end after this season, Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Grantland's Zach Lowe examines the extensions for Stephen Curry and Ty Lawson, believing the Warriors could trade Curry if he gets off to a fast start next season, while wondering if the Nuggets will make a cost-cutting move some time next year to fit Lawson's deal into their budget.
Cavs forward Luke Walton, who played under Phil Jackson with the Lakers, believes his former coach won't return to the sidelines, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson didn't dismiss the possibility that the team could re-sign Dominique Jones as an unrestricted free agent next summer after deciding against picking up his 2013/14 option, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News notes.

Eastern Notes: Stoudemire, Fesenko, DeRozan

October 29th, 2012 at 7:55pm CST by Michael Pina

Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire will miss at least the first six weeks of the season with a previously diagnosed knee injury, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.

On the eve of opening day, here are a few bits of other news from around the league.

Recently waived by the Bulls, center Kyrylo Fesenko will work out for the Hawks on Tuesday, according to a tweet from RealGM.com's Shams Charania.
DeMar DeRozan won't be receiving a contract extension before tomorrow's deadline, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to continue his career with the Raptors, writes The Toronto Star's Doug Smith.
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers went on Boston's Sports Hub radio station to say that he did in fact reach out to current Heat guard Ray Allen when free agency started in July, but that the future Hall of Famer didn't return his calls.

Atlantic Rumors: Rivers, Allen, Nets, Knicks

October 27th, 2012 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics coach Doc Rivers weighed in on Ray Allen's departure from the team in a radio interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, as Brian Robb of Celtics Hub transcribes (hat tip to ESPNBoston.com), but Allen is anxious to move past his acrimonius departure from Boston, as Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com writes. Here's the rest of the day's news from Atlantic Division clubs.

A spokesperson for Mikhail Prokhorov insists the billionaire's return to politics won't have any bearing on his ownership of the Nets, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Deron Williams believes the Knicks got a better point guard when they switched out Jeremy Lin for Raymond Felton this summer, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post documents.
With Amare Stoudemire sidelined up to five weeks, Rasheed Wallace would seem to be in line for a more significant role than originally planned for the veteran who appears to have made the Knicks on a non-guaranteed deal, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Still, it's unclear whether Wallace will be in condition to play by this week's opener.
While delivering some parting shots to outgoing commissioner David Stern, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News says the Sixers face as significant a decision as any in the league about whether to re-sign Andrew Bynum, and adds that the team would be "crazy" to commit major money to him right now.
Andray Blatche has made the Nets opening-night roster on a non-guaranteed deal, but in the wake of taunts from Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, Blatche knows he'll continue to face criticism for last year's subpar play with the Wizards, as Roderick Boone of Newsday examines.
Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com passes along Rivers' reflections on the last five seasons with the Celtics.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks at how a deep bench could serve the Celtics well.