Robert Covington Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Nets, Thomas

April 11th, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nerlens Noel’s rookie season with the Sixers has not established whether he will be in the team’s long-term plans, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. While he has shown offensive improvement by recording double-doubles in 11 of his last 22 games, Noel is shooting just 29% from the field on attempts more than three feet from the basket, Ford points out. Noel has yet to prove he can play power forward and mesh with Joel Embiid, who can only play center, Ford adds. The deadline trade of Michael Carter-Williams shows that Philadelphia is capable of shifting gears despite management claims that Noel is a major building block, Ford concludes.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Robert Covington‘s scoring ability may have earned him a role with the Sixers next season, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Covington is slated to make approximately $2MM over the next two seasons but the money is not guaranteed. His long-range shooting ability, which creates space for big men Noel and Embiid, may convince the Sixers to keep him around, Pompey opines. “You need people to stretch the floor,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said to Pompey.
The Nets will need to continue paying the luxury tax to remain competitive and majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to do that, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. The Nets are approximately $11.6MM over the tax line this season and could exceed it again if Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young exercise their player options and the club retains restricted free agent Mirza Teletovic, Bontemps continues. Lacking a first-round pick in 2016, the Nets don’t have the option of selling off assets to remain competitive, Bontemps adds. Prokhorov has shown a willingness to spend whatever is necessary to have a contender and vowed to continue that strategy, according to Bontemps. “If we need to pay a little bit more than any other teams, it’s not an obstacle,” Prokhorov said during a press conference this week.
Isaiah Thomas has significantly improved the Celtics’ pick-and-roll offense and given them a reliable fourth-quarter option, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. Using Synergy Sports Data, Forsberg points out that Thomas ranks in the 93rd percentile among all NBA players as a pick-and-roll ballhandler while the Celtics ranked 28th in that category before the Thomas acquisition. Thomas had also scored a larger percentage of his points in the fourth quarter than any player who has scored at least 800 points, Forsberg continues while using Elias Sports Bureau data. Boston’s offensive rating is significantly better with Thomas on the court and that tends to outweigh his defensive shortcomings, Forsberg adds.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Walton, Celtics

February 5th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The success of the Sixers’ 2014/15 campaign will be gauged by the amount of players the team finds who are “keepers,” Sam Donnellon of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. Two players who just might fit that description are Hollis Thompson and Robert Covington, Donnellon notes. Both players are proving themselves to be valuable assets who could play large roles in Philadelphia’s future, the Daily News scribe adds.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics have assigned Andre Dawkins and Phil Pressey to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the fourth trip of the season to the D-League for Dawkins, and the first trek for Pressey.
Luke Walton was all set to join Derek Fisher‘s staff as an assistant this past offseason, but with the blessing of Knicks president Phil Jackson, who is Walton’s mentor, Warriors coach Steve Kerr nabbed Walton first, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. The Knicks could have used Walton’s expertise with the triangle offense to help ease the transition, one that hasn’t gone smoothly, Berman adds. “It’s definitely tough,’’ Walton said. “I think Derek knows that. I know Phil knows that. It’s about patience and building. And I don’t think you come in right away and teach a brand-new team who has never known the triangle and executing it the way it needs to be executed in the first season. When we played triangle [in LA], we had the same core and then added a couple of new guys each year. And it was the same coaches running practice with it every day, drilling. Even then it takes players a while to fully grasp it.’’
The Sixers are making progress as a franchise but still have quite a bit of work to do before they can become a winning team, Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes. The primary void that the team has is in its distinct lack of a star player who GM Sam Hinkie can build around, Moore notes.

And-Ones: Russell, Malone, Covington

January 20th, 2015 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell is quickly becoming a potential top five pick in the upcoming NBA draft, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Scouts believe that Russell has the tools to excel at both guard positions in the NBA, and he could be the next guard selected after Emmanuel Mudiay, who is a likely top three pick, Ford notes. “There’s so much to love about his game,” an NBA GM told Ford regarding Russell. “Even when he has a bad game, it looks like a good one because every time the ball leaves his lands, it looks like it’s going in. He plays with such great confidence and has a terrific feel. I think he could be a James Harden-type player at the next level. That’s what kind of scorer and playmaker he could be.” Russell is currently ranked No. 9 in the Hoops Rumors 2015 Draft Prospect Power Rankings.

Here’s more from around the league:

Michael Malone‘s stint as a special observer with the Wolves is ending, but the former Kings coach will be visiting other teams in the near future, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link).
A number of NBA teams have made trade inquiries regarding the Sixers‘ Robert Covington, but Philadelphia intends to hold onto the forward, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. The 24-year-old Covington is averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 27.2 minutes per game this season, and he is a core part of the franchise’s long-term plans, Charania notes.
The Russian team Krasny Oktyabr has decided to part ways with DeAndre Liggins, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports. Liggins signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Heat last season, but he only appeared in one game for Miami. Liggins averaged 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in Russia this season.
Former Sixers swingman James Anderson, who is playing for Lithuania’s Zalgiris Kaunas, was asked in interview with Erildas Budraitis of RealGM about what it was like to be a part of Philadelphia’s alleged tanking last season. Anderson said, “With the players and the coaches, we had the same mindset all year. Who likes to lose? We were not going out and trying to lose on purpose. We had a lot of close games actually that we should have won. It was the same mindset; our coach [Brett] Brown did a great job of keeping everybody together and keeping the locker room close. Everybody continued to improve. We just could not get over the hump for a while. It was tough but it was not a mindset of trying to lose.“

And-Ones: Cousins, Clifford, Knicks, Covington

December 8th, 2014 at 9:56pm CST by Alex Lee

We heard yesterday that DeMarcus Cousins has been out for the past two weeks with a case of viral meningitis and could miss another week or two as he recovers. Kings head coach Michael Malone said today that Cousins is out “indefinitely,” reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). After a 9-5 start, Sacramento has lost four of five without its emerging superstar. Let’s take a look at what else is going around the Association:

The Hornets‘ playoff appearance last season automatically triggered a team option for the third year of head coach Steve Clifford‘s contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Clifford, hired in May 2013, signed a three-year, $6MM deal with Charlotte that is now officially fully guaranteed through next season.
While the disappointing Knicks might not be ready to turn their focus toward the draft, team president Phil Jackson also said that he doesn’t plan to make any in-season moves that might jeopardize the team’s long-term flexibility, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “I’m not going to make movement for movement’s sake,” Jackson said. “There is sometimes addition by subtraction but I don’t see anybody that doesn’t want to be part of this organization, doesn’t want to play with his teammates, doesn’t want to learn… What we have to do is protect our future… If we evaluate a player and see he’s going to be a long-term player who is going to fit in our organization, we’ll do that.”
Duke center Jahlil Okafor remains the top prospect in the latest update to Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, while high school senior Jaylen Brown, a small forward, is No. 1 on Givony’s 2016 mock draft.
Robert Covington has quickly worked his way into Brett Brown‘s rotation in Philadelphia, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers added Covington in mid-November and he has averaged 9.5 points in 11 games since arriving in Philly. However, the Tennessee State product has scored 63 points and played significant minutes in Philadelphia’s last three contests, two of which the success-starved Sixers have won.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: West, Draft, Butler, Jackson

November 18th, 2014 at 9:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Delonte West has been released by the Shanghai Sharks after making only four appearances for the team, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. West had played for the Clippers‘ summer league squad this year but was unable to secure a training camp invite. The 31-year-old guard had hoped to play his way back into the NBA but this latest setback in his career doesn’t bode well for that possibility, Amick notes. West last played in the NBA during the 2011/12 season when he made 44 appearances for the Mavericks.

Here’s more from around the league:

With the college season underway we are getting our first good look at a number of prospects who are expected to fill out next year’s NBA draft lottery. Basketball Insiders’ Yannis Koutroupis has released his first mock draft of the season and it is headlined by the Sixers selecting Emmanuel Mudiay, who is currently displaying his wares for Guangdong of the Chinese Basketball Association, first overall.
It originally appeared that University of Kentucky would keep NBA personnel out of their practices for much of the season after the Wildcats held an unusual October combine, but the school has let NBA teams know they’re welcome again, a source tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders runs down the 10 biggest surprises in the NBA so far this season, which include the stellar play of the Bulls‘ Jimmy Butler, the Cavs’ defensive woes, and Reggie Jackson putting up career-best numbers for the Thunder. Both Butler and Jackson are set to become restricted free agents next summer and the competition for their services should be increased if they can continue their early-season performances, notes Kennedy.
Robert Covington‘s four-year, $4.2MM deal with the Sixers will pay him $1MM for the first year which includes a partial guarantee of $400K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Covington’s second year is also slated to pay him $1MM but is non-guaranteed, and the last two seasons are for the league minimum and include no guaranteed money, notes Pincus.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Sixers Sign Robert Covington, Waive Johnson

November 15th, 2014 at 2:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:35pm: The deal with Covington is official, the team announced in a press release. Johnson has also been waived, the team relayed in the same announcement.

SATURDAY, 11:50am: The Sixers are going to waive Chris Johnson to make room for Covington, who is expected to join the team today, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link).

12:27pm: Covington will make $1MM this year, Pick writes in a full piece for Basketball Insiders.

THURSDAY, 12:17pm: The value of the contract will be $4.2MM, Pick tweets. That’s slightly more than the $3,925,706 that a four-year minimum-salary contract would entail for the one-year veteran if he signed today.

WEDNESDAY, 8:19am: It’ll be a four-year pact, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 7:08pm: The Sixers are intending to sign free agent Robert Covington this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Covington came close to inking a deal with the Sixers earlier, but decided to take the D-League route to begin the season. He was selected first overall by the Grand Rapids Drive in this year’s NBA D-League draft.

Covington spent much of last season with Houston’s D-League affiliate despite being on the team’s NBA roster the entire year. He earned himself a trip to the D-League’s All-Star game by averaging 23.2 PPG and 9.2 RPG in 34.1 minutes per game in 42 D-League appearances. He spent the preseason on Houston’s roster, though he was away from the team for weeks mulling offers to play in Europe before being waived.

Philadelphia had recently waived the injured Malcolm Thomas in order to clear a roster slot to ink Drew Gordon to a multi-year deal. With the Sixers current roster count sitting at the regular season maximum of 15 players, a corresponding move would need to be made in order to accommodate the addition of Covington. It’s unclear who the odd man out will be, but one of the non-guaranteed deals for Brandon Davies, Chris Johnson, Henry Sims, or Hollis Thompson seem likely candidates, though that is just my speculation.

Robert Covington Tops D-League Draftees

November 1st, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA D-League Draft was held today and the event was kicked off with Robert Covington being selected first overall by the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons D-League affiliate. Covington’s selection was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old forward was arguably the most talented player in the D-League draft, though he isn’t expected to spend the full season in Grand Rapids, notes Chris Reichert of SB Nation, since he is on the radar of numerous NBA teams.

Covington spent much of last season with Houston’s D-League affiliate despite being on the team’s NBA roster the entire year. He earned himself a trip to the D-League’s All-Star game by averaging 23.2 PPG and 9.2 RPG in 34.1 minutes per game in 42 D-League appearances. He spent the preseason on Houston’s roster, though he was away from the team for weeks mulling offers to play in Europe before being waived. Covington came close to inking a deal with the Sixers, but decided to take the D-League route to begin the season.

Elliot Williams, a former 2010 first round pick of the Blazers, was selected by the Warriors affiliate with the second overall pick. The 6’5″ guard was a rotation player for the Sixers last year, averaging 6.0 PPG in 17.3 MPG, but was waived by Philadelphia when the team needed to pare its preseason roster count down to 15 players.

Other players selected in the opening round who had prior NBA regular season experience were Marquis Teague, Ben Hansbrough, Erik Murphy, Carrick Felix and Damien Wilkins.

One other player to keep an eye on is Milos Milisavljevic, a 21-year-old Serbian point guard who was selected by the Texas Legends, who serve as the affiliate of the Mavericks. Milisavljevic will be NBA draft-eligible in 2015, and is on the radar of NBA scouts, though he isn’t currently projected to be taken in either round by DraftExpress.

Here is the full list of first round selections:

Grand Rapids Drive (via Delaware) — Robert Covington
Santa Cruz Warriors (via Erie) — Elliot Williams
Austin Spurs — Erik Murphy
Santa Cruz Warriors (via Maine) — Carrick Felix
Grand Rapids Drive — Ben Hansbrough
Texas Legends — Milos Milisavljevic
Idaho Stampede — Tre’ Bussey
Bakersfield Jam — Robert Vaden
Oklahoma City Blue — Marquis Teague
Reno Bighorns (via Westchester) — Joonas Caven
Reno Bighorns — Brady Heslip
Canton Charge — Michael Dunigan
Santa Cruz Warriors — Melvin Johnson III
Rio Grande Valley Vipers — Chane Behanan
Sioux Falls Skyforce — Fuquan Edwin
Iowa Energy — Damien Wilkins
Los Angeles D-Fenders — Eloy Vargas
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (via Fort Wayne) — Justin Jackson

Minor Moves: Covington, Mekel, Heat, Warriors

October 30th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Robert Covington nearly had a deal with the Sixers this week shortly after the Rockets waived him, but talks broke down over contract length and the 23-year-old forward is expected to sign with the D-League instead, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Philadelphia offered a four-year arrangement with a “high” amount of guaranteed salary, Charania writes, but Covington apparently passed on that. The sides were unable to forge a deal on a shorter contract, Charania notes. Covington joins K.J. McDaniels, the 32nd pick in this year’s draft who inked with the Sixers for just one year, among those resisting Philly’s efforts to tie up young players on long-term deals. The deluge of players hitting waivers in the past week has led to news around the D-League and international circuits, and we’ll pass along the latest here:

Gal Mekel isn’t thinking of heading overseas to play in the wake of the Mavs‘ decision to waive him Wednesday, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com, so he’ll remain free to sign with another NBA team providing he clears waivers.
Khem Birch, Larry Drew II, Tyler Johnson and Shawn Jones have agreed to join the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Miami is using its ability to reserve the D-League rights to up to four of its preseason cuts to keep Birch, Johnson and Jones out of the D-League draft, but Drew played with the Heat’s D-League affiliate last year, so he wouldn’t have been subject to the draft. That allows the Heat to preserve their ability to retain the D-League rights to one player they waive during the regular season. Andre Dawkins seems a likely candidate for that sort of maneuver, Winderman suggests (on Twitter).
Sean Kilpatrick will play for the Warriors D-League affiliate, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who confirms an earlier report that Aaron Craft will do the same. That means Golden State retained the D-League rights to both after waiving them last week.

Rockets Waive Robert Covington

October 27th, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 9:44am: Houston has officially released Covington, the team announced via press release.

SUNDAY, 5:31pm: The Rockets have waived Robert Covington, as is reflected by the RealGM transactions log. There has been no formal announcement by the team yet, but this news doesn’t come as a surprise. Covington has reportedly been away from the team for the last two weeks weighing some guaranteed offers to play in Europe.

Waiving Covington will cost Houston $150K, which was the amount of his partial guarantee. The Rockets still have some trimming to do on their preseason roster which stands at 17 after Covington’s departure. The team will have until tomorrow afternoon to whittle down their numbers to the regular season maximum of 15.

Covington spent much of last season with Houston’s D-League affiliate despite being on the team’s NBA roster the entire year. He earned himself a trip to the D-League’s All-Star game by averaging 23.2 PPG and 9.2 RPG in 34.1 minutes per game in 42 D-League appearances.

Western Notes: Blazers, Covington, Jackson

October 23rd, 2014 at 8:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder GM Sam Presti said the team wants Reggie Jackson to remain a piece of the franchise’s puzzle, Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press writes. “I think we’ve been really clear about his importance to the team, that we see him as a core member of the team, as a core member of the organization,” Presti said. “We’re going to put our best put forward, and I believe he will as well. We’ll see if we can figure something out.” If he and the Thunder don’t sign an extension by the end of next week, Jackson can become a restricted free agent next summer and could command big money on the open market. It remains to be seen if Oklahoma City would match any offer sheets that Jackson inks with other teams. The Thunder’s cap commitment for the 2015/16 campaign is already approximately $63.6MM.

Here’s more from out west:

The Rockets still haven’t waived Robert Covington, despite the player not being with the team for the last two weeks, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Covington is currently weighing some guaranteed offers to play in Europe, Feigen notes.
The remaining players on the Grizzlies‘ preseason roster all fit the team’s system rather well, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. This includes Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas, the team’s lone remaining players in camp whose deals aren’t fully guaranteed, notes Tillery. Both players are likely headed to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, according to Tillery.
The Blazers still have decisions to make regarding their 2015/16 team options for C.J. McCollum, Thomas Robinson, and Meyers Leonard. Portland has until the October 31st deadline to exercise those options or the trio will become unrestricted free agents next summer. Joe Freeman of The Oregonian examines what the Blazers might do regarding each player’s contract.
Donald Sterling’s lawyers have begun talks with the NBA about dismissing Sterling’s federal antitrust lawsuit against the league, as Sterling attorney Maxwell Blecher revealed in a declaration filed in U.S. District Court today, reports Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. The former Clippers owner has sought more than $1 billion in damages in the suit, which became the primary thrust of his legal efforts against the league when he recently withdrew a different suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the NBA, his wife and Adam Silver.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.