Roy Hibbert Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Mbenga, Pacers, Pistons

October 8th, 2014 at 8:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks head coach Derek Fisher had good things to say about D.J. Mbenga, his former teammate with the Lakers who was signed by New York earlier today, Marc Berman of The New York Post reports (Twitter link). Fisher said that Mbenga was a solid teammate who has a good knowledge of the triangle offense, and also added that Mbenga could help the “vibe” out in training camp this month, notes Berman. Berman’s wording of “this month” seemingly doubles down on his earlier report that Mbenga was signed purely for preseason purposes.

Here’s more from the east:

Chris Bosh hasn’t spoken with his former teammate LeBron James since James left the Heat to sign with the Cavs, ESPN.com reports. When asked by reporters if he had talked to James, Bosh said, “No. I’m in the mode where I’m trying to lead my team, help these guys out around here. If guys aren’t in this locker room, I don’t have much time for them — if any.” Miami’s first regular season game against LeBron and Cleveland is scheduled for Christmas day.
With all of the offseason turmoil the Pacers organization has gone through, Frank Vogel‘s contract extension will provide some needed stability, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star writes.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, in a video report with CineSport’s Brian Clark, discusses the uncertainties surrounding the Pacers and speculates that while Vogel is sticking around, some of his key players might not be.
With Indiana expected to to take a step back this season, it leaves the door open for the Pistons to improve their standing in the Central Division, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio writes in his season preview for Detroit. Amico believes the talent is there for the Pistons to take the next step toward being a playoff team.

And-Ones: LeBron, Novak, Hibbert, Butler

July 10th, 2014 at 11:53pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Heat and Cavs expect LeBron James to make his decision on where to sign before he gets on his flight to Brazil this weekend, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s likely that any decision James makes will impact where Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, and Chandler Parsons find themselves next season as well. While much is seemingly tied to the four-time MVP’s choice, odds are low anything is decided tonight. Let’s catch up on the rest of the league while we wait on LeBron and the 2014 edition of “The Decision”:

The Raptors are finalizing a buyout with Lucas Nogueira‘s team in Spain, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (on Twitter). We had heard earlier this week that Toronto was likely to bring over Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo prior to the start of 2014/15.
The $9.8MM trade exception that the Warriors had created from the Richard Jefferson deal with the Jazz expired tonight, as David Aldridge of NBA.com observes (via Twitter).
The Steve Novak trade, which became official today, allows the Raptors to create a $3,445,947 trade exception equivalent to Novak’s salary. The three-teamer between the Nets, Cavs and Celtics that was also formalized today allows the Nets to create a diminutive $741,160 trade exception equal to the difference between Marcus Thornton’s salary and the sum of the salaries for Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev. The Cavs could end up with trade exceptions out of the deal, too, but they’re poised to open cap room, so those exceptions would disappear when they officially dip below the cap.
The Bucks and Pacers have had discussions for a trade including Roy Hibbert, writes Gery Woefel of the Racine Journal Times. Milwaukee is interested in acquiring Hibbert, says Woelfel, but it isn’t clear if Indiana is interested in any packages the Bucks could put together.
Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris‘ rookie deals expire after 2014/15, and as a result, the duo became extension eligible this summer. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel hears discussions about new contracts between the Magic and the young big men will pick up some time around Labor Day.
Caron Butler is being pursued by the Clippers and Thunder, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Butler, of course, has spent time with both organizations.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacers Shopping Roy Hibbert

July 6th, 2014 at 2:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Pacers are shopping big man Roy Hibbert, sources tell Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. “I would say they’ve been doing that, but quietly,” one front-office source said.

Of course, with two years and $30MM left on Hibbert’s contract, he’s not a great match for every team out there. The center was erratic in March and April as well as the postseason too, so it’s unclear what kind of return Indiana could expect from a Hibbert deal. Meanwhile, there’s still uncertainty around Lance Stephenson after the club saw their five-year, $44MM offer rejected. Dumping Hibbert’s contract could help facilitate a return for their unrestricted free agent.

“They’re open to making major changes, if they’re there,” one general manager told Sporting News. “I think they’d be disappointed to see that same core group back intact, so it is a matter of, how drastic can the changes they make be? Moving Hibbert for multiple pieces would be a pretty drastic change, but they’re asking.”

One source added that star small forward Paul George is untouchable in any deal with the Pacers while power forward David West is all but off the table. Also, in a Hibbert deal, the source says that they would prefer to send him to the Western Conference. The Blazers have been linked to Hibbert in the past but a source labeled a Portland deal as “unlikely.”

Draft Notes: Exum, Mock Drafts, O’Bryant

June 22nd, 2014 at 10:26am CST by Eddie Scarito

Dante Exum is one of the draft’s most talented, but riskiest prospects, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. One major question surrounding Exum is whether he’s better suited to play shooting guard than point guard, notes Robbins. A talent evaluator for an NBA team told Robbins, “He’s got to learn how to play point guard in the NBA. He’s somewhat similar to a lot of point guards working their way into the league now — guys who are looking to score the ball as well as pass the ball. Are they real point guards? In the traditional sense, no. But he’s the kind of point guard we’re getting into the league now.”

More draft notes and news:

In a separate piece, Robbins released his mock draft, which is topped by Andrew Wiggins going to the Cavaliers.
The staff over at Basketball Insiders released their updated mock draft, and also have Wiggins as their consensus top-pick.
In his mock draft, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel has Wiggins being selected first as well, and predicts a number of trades, including the Lakers shipping the seventh pick to the Pacers for Roy Hibbert, and the Magic selecting Joel Embiid and trading him to the Celtics for Exum.
Johnny O’Bryant had a strong workout for the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).

Joakim Noah Leads All-Defensive Team

June 2nd, 2014 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah, Paul George, Chris Paul, Serge Ibaka and Andre Iguodala make up this year’s All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced in a press release. LeBron James, Patrick Beverley, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Roy Hibbert are on the second team. The news is a boon for the Bulls, who would have had to pay Taj Gibson a $250K bonus for making either the first or second All-Defensive teams. Chicago scrambled late in the season to avoid the possibility that such a bonus for Gibson would force the team to pay the luxury tax. Earning the bonus would have pushed Gibson’s salary cap figure higher for next season, too, since it would have been considered a “likely” bonus for next season.

Noah received 105 first-place votes, far outdistancing George, who with 65 first-place votes earned the second most. Iguodala and James received an identical number of first-place votes (57), but Iguodala’s 34 second-team votes were better than the four-time MVP’s 20, allowing Golden State’s swingman to take the final position on the first team.

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was the highest vote-getter who missed the cut for the second team, followed by Anthony Davis and Tony Allen. Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard were next, directly in front of Gibson.

Stein’s Latest On Pacers

May 31st, 2014 at 8:54am CST by Cray Allred

Now that the Pacers season is in the books, it’s time to look ahead to the offseason. After re-tooling this year, Indiana didn’t put up any better of a fight against the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, and had a tumultuous run to end the season. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported on a team he doesn’t think has any positives to show for the 2013/14 campaign. Some of the highlights:

NBA coaching circles still believe Frank Vogel was coaching for his job in the first round of the playoffs, and perhaps second round, too, but the situation is less cut and dry now that the Pacers made it to a Game 6 in the conference finals.
The ESPN scribe hears whispers in Indiana about Mark Jackson as a potential replacement of Vogel, should Vogel get fired. Jackson has history with both president Larry Bird and front office consultant Donnie Walsh.
The personnel grapevine is indicating to Stein that Lance Stephenson‘s free agency market is already drying up, and he suspects Stephenson is more likely to return to Indiana because of it. While Bird has been committed to sticking with Stephenson until at least last week, a team like the Mavericks–normally open to bringing in risky players–has shown no interest in pursuing the guard as a free agent.
Roy Hibbert would be open to a trade if the Pacers decided to try and move him, sources tell Stein. Hibbert hasn’t asked for a trade, and his contract could be difficult to move if Indiana decided to try and do so.
The Pacers covet a more natural ballhandler to add to a roster that didn’t feature a point guard averaging even 5 assists per game this season.
Paul George is still considered untouchable by the Pacers, but Stein wonders if he will be able to live up to growing expectations and pressures next season.

And-Ones: Draft, Bulls, Pacers

May 7th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Solomon Jones has signed on with Dongguan Snowwolf in the NBL, and will play the next few months in China, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Jones played in 17 games with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League this season. In 17 games, Jones averaged 8.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.4 BPG. He also appeared in 11 games for the Magic this year, averaging 1.3 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 7.7 minutes per contest. Jones will likely be considered for an NBA Summer League roster spot this summer, opines Pilato.

And-Ones: Sterling, Stackhouse, Warriors, Jazz

May 6th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Charlie Adams

The NBA’s legal strategy for ousting Donald Sterling has been revealed, writes Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. According to Rovell, the NBA constitution states that grounds exist to remove any owner that “fail(s) or refuse(s) to fulfill its contractual obligations to the Association.” Among other “morals clauses,” Sterling has signed a document stating he would not “take any position or action that will materially and adversely affect a team or the league,” says Rovell. There’s still expectation that Sterling or his wife will fight the NBA in court, but the league at least has a starting point for Sterling’s removal. Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA:

The Knicks will interview Jerry Stackhouse for a position within the organization, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. It’s not entirely clear what position Stackhouse will interview for, but he expressed interest in coaching at some capacity. It seems highly unlikely his interview would be for anything more than an assistant position, given New York’s strong pursuit of Steve Kerr.
Many around the league think that if the Pacers lose to the Wizards and Roy Hibbert continues to struggle, Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird will “do everything he can” to trade the All-Star center, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard. Broussard made his comments on the Mike & Mike Show (Audio link).
The Jazz will work out draft prospects Taylor Braun, Akil Mitchell, Bryce Cotton, Mike Moser, Stephen Holt, and Ronald Roberts Jr, the team announced (via Twitter).
James Nunnally has signed a contract to play for the Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico, the team announced (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Nunnally spent most of 2013/14 in the D-League but did see NBA action on 10-day deals with the Hawks and Sixers.
Each member of Mark Jackson‘s coaching staff has been relieved of their duties, the Warriors announced (hat tip to Diamond Leung of Bay Area News).
The decision to fire Jackson means that Warriors‘ management will face pressure to win big next season in order to prove they made the right call, opines Tim Kawakami of Mercury News.
In his latest Insider piece, Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks the top point guard prospects in the 2014 draft. To no surprise, Dante Exum sits atop his list. Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links recently profiled the Australian slasher.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Knicks Want To Trade For Rajon Rondo

December 26th, 2013 at 8:41am CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks management is confident it can attract the stars necessary to pull the team out of its malaise, and its first target will be Rajon Rondo, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Knicks hope Rondo will become discontent with the Celtics and attempt to force them to trade him to New York sometime between now and 2015, when his contract ends. If they come up short on trading for Rondo, the Knicks think they’ll sign him in free agency or land one or two of the following potential 2015 free agents: LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, Roy Hibbert, Kevin Love and Tony Parker.

The notion of Rondo joining the Knicks isn’t new, since the point guard’s high school coach claimed earlier this month that fellow former pupil Carmelo Anthony has been trying to recruit Rondo. Anthony pointed out that any such talk could constitute tampering, and both he and Rondo denied that they were discussing the idea of teaming up. It’s not clear how the Knicks could sell Rondo on the notion of pushing for a trade to New York, as Anthony did in 2011, without violating tampering rules. Still, much of the Knicks’ confidence in their future comes from the built-in lure of star-making capital New York, Windhorst writes.

Anthony could leave in free agency himself this summer, and there’s talk that the Knicks may attempt to trade him by the upcoming February 20th deadline if they don’t feel as though they can retain him. Windhorst seems to suggest there’s little chance of that happening, given how certain the Knicks seem about the road ahead. An executive from another team says the Knicks expect to re-sign Anthony and have another star player with him in a year’s time, adding that, “They’re so sure about it you’d think they already know what will happen.”

The same attitude explains why Mike Woodson is still coaching the team, according to Windhorst. The Knicks don’t feel there’s an adequate replacement available during the season, but plenty of intriguing candidates may exist in the summer, Windhorst writes. Having traded their potential lottery pick for 2014, the Knicks may be better off trying to make the playoffs this year with Woodson as coach, the ESPN scribe opines.

Pacers Notes: Bird On Stephenson, West, Hibbert

December 14th, 2013 at 9:15pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

Mark Montieth of Pacers.com sat down with Larry Bird to discuss all things Pacers. Here are a few highlights from that discussion.

Bird thinks the Pacers are the best option for Lance Stephenson and says the Pacers would want to resign Stephenson next summer. Bird claims they will offer Stephenson a “great offer” but doesn’t know what is going to happen next summer.
Bird attributes David West‘s signing with the Pacers for less money than the Celtics were offering, to West’s agent, Lance Young of Excel Sports Management, expressing to him that West was very interested in playing for the Pacers as well as his willingness to meet with Pacers’ doctors regarding his knee injury.
Had it not been for Roy Hibbert‘s agent, David Falk, the Pacers might not have drafted Hibbert. Bird was promised by Falk that he would make sure Hibbert fell to the Pacers 17th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. When Falk kept his end of the deal, Bird followed through and drafted Hibbert.