Ryan Anderson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Davis, McDaniels, Lawson

January 7th, 2016 at 10:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Anthony Davis‘ maximum salary extension kicks in next season, and the Pelicans will have five years to show the power forward that New Orleans can be a championship contender, though the organization doesn’t feel like it is “on the clock” with its star player, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “If you look at a situation like that where it is five years,” coach Alvin Gentry said when asked if he feels pressure regarding Davis, “and you’ve got five years to make something happen and keep a guy here — the one thing that [GM] Dell Demps and [team executive] Mickey Loomis have done is that they’ve taken Anthony and surrounded him with really good people, really good players. There is an opportunity for us. When we get everybody healthy, we feel like we can compete with everyone. There is time to get things right.”

Though the team has downplayed the notion that Ryan Anderson will be traded prior to February’s deadline, NBA executives believe that if New Orleans is to make any personnel moves this season it will involve the power forward, Deveney relays. “He is really the only one that has value if you’re a playoff team,” one NBA executive said of Anderson. “I wouldn’t say they’re shopping him, as far as I know, but I would say they’re listening [to offers].”

Here’s the latest from out West:

The NBA has suspended Rockets point guard Ty Lawson three games for the second of his two DUI arrests last year, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays. The league previously suspended Lawson for two games after he pleaded guilty to driving while impaired in Denver last January, and this latest suspension stems from a DUI arrest last June in Los Angeles.
The Timberwolves continue to suffer from a lack of outside shooting and youthful mistakes and interim coach Sam Mitchell has until the end of the season to turn around these deficiencies if he hopes to be named head coach on a permanent basis, writes Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. Mitchell needs to prove to team management that he is indeed the person best suited to develop the franchise’s young talent, Rand adds.
The Rockets have assigned swingman K.J. McDaniels to their D-League affiliate, Feigen notes (via Twitter). This will be McDaniels’ fourth trek to Rio Grande Valley on the season.

Western Notes: Anderson, Gentry, Morris, Butler

January 7th, 2016 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans are unlikely to trade Ryan Anderson this season, according to coach Alvin Gentry, as John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Reid reiterates his earlier report that Anderson’s name was involved in preliminary talks with the Suns about a Markieff Morris trade, though nothing has materialized on that front, Reid says.

”Everyone knows that Ryan’s name is going to be out there,” Gentry said. ”We have made not one call about trading Ryan, nor will we. So those are the kind of things that’s going to happen that people are going to inquire about. Once you’ve been in the league for a couple of years, everyone knows that’s part of it.”

New Orleans has listened to teams that have inquired about Anderson, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last month, so while the Pelicans might not be making calls, it seems they’ve at least taken them. In any case, see more from New Orleans amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Any trade the Pelicans make will come via mutual consent between Gentry and GM Dell Demps, Gentry also said, as Reid notes in the same post.
Suns GM Ryan McDonough thinks the talent on his roster is better than the team’s record indicates, though he feels some change is necessary, as he said Wednesday on the “Burns and Gambo” show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM and as Adam Green of ArizonaSports.com transcribes. McDonough said a Morris trade wasn’t necessarily close but otherwise gave few hints in that regard. “Look, we’re not going to sit here and put our head in the sand and act like everything’s OK and we’re doing everything fine,” McDonough said. “We obviously need to make some changes and we’ll explore those things as aggressively as we usually do.”
Doc Rivers confirmed Wednesday that the Clippers will keep Luc Mbah a Moute and his non-guaranteed contract on the roster past the close of business today, the last day NBA teams have to waive players without guaranteed salary for this season before it becomes guaranteed, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Rivers said a few weeks ago that it was “probably safe” to assume the team would keep Mbah a Moute for the rest of the season. The 29-year-old, who’s making the minimum salary, has been in the Clippers starting lineup since late November.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio News-Express gets the feeling that the Spurs will keep Rasual Butler‘s non-guaranteed contract past today, thus guaranteeing his minimum salary (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Howard, Anderson, Wright

December 16th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard denies that he’s “extremely unhappy” in Houston and said to reporters Tuesday that he hasn’t expressed any discontent with playing a secondary role to James Harden, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. Howard, taking his fewest shots per game since he was a rookie, said last week he’s not worried about his part in the Rockets offense and that he believes his role will increase, Feigen points out.

“I want us to win,” Howard said Tuesday. “We had two upsetting losses. We’re all frustrated because we know we can play better. I haven’t said anything to any reporter or to anybody about being unhappy. That’s only noise. All the other stuff is lies.”

See more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans have listened to teams that have called with interest in trading for Ryan Anderson, and while they’re actively exploring trade possibilities and engaging teams on other matters, they’re not shopping the power forward, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter links). The Rockets have reportedly “kicked the tires” on potential deals involving Anderson, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, while the team would consider giving up Anderson for Markieff Morris, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported. The Suns and Pelicans have had preliminary talks about Morris, Wojnarowski and Charania wrote, and Anderson’s name is involved in that discussion, too, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune.
An initial timetable has Grizzlies big man Brandan Wright back in six to eight weeks after a knee surgery he’s scheduled to undergo Thursday, reports Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM in Memphis (Twitter links). Wright, a key offseason free agent signee for Memphis, hasn’t played since November 7th as he and the team held out hope that his sore right knee would heal without the procedure, Vernon adds.
Jonathon Simmons made the D-League affiliate of the Spurs through an open tryout in 2013, but he averaged fewer than 10 points a game in 2013/14 and thought about quitting pro basketball in the summer of 2014, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details. Now, the 26-year-old is in the Spurs rotation after signing an NBA deal this past summer that includes a fully guaranteed salary for this season.

Southwest Notes: Anderson, McDaniels, Leonard

December 15th, 2015 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have “kicked the tires” on trade scenarios involving Markieff Morris and Ryan Anderson, though it doesn’t seem likely they’ll deal for either, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. It’s clear the team has shopped Terrence Jones and K.J. McDaniels, though Rockets sources label such talk as routine and due diligence, Kyler adds. Sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com earlier this month that the Rockets were interested in Morris and would likely give up Jones to get him. The Pelicans would consider giving up Anderson for Morris, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, but New Orleans is not anxious to trade him, Kyler wrote earlier this month. McDaniels has appeared for a total of only 39 minutes this season after signing a three-year, $10MM deal in the offseason. See more from around the Southwest Division:

Rookie scale contracts will look “like gold” as the salary cap escalates and their dollar values remain the same, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com in the offseason, a signal that the team knows it must replenish its youth, Lowe writes. Dallas is turning away any teams interested in trading for Justin Anderson, this year’s 21st overall pick, sources tell Lowe.
Kawhi Leonard won the Defensive Player of the Year award last season, and after signing a five-year max deal to stay with the Spurs in the summer, his defense has improved even further, Spurs coach/executive Gregg Popovich acknowledged, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News relays (Twitter links).
The Pelicans have been slow to pick up the ball movement principles in new coach Alvin Gentry‘s offense, observes John Reid of The Times Picayune. New Orleans struggled with injuries throughout the preseason, keeping players from the opportunity to learn the new system. The Pelicans have the NBA’s third-worst record, though that puts them in prime lottery position, as our Reverse Standings show.

Southwest Notes: Cole, Anderson, Pachulia, Jenkins

December 11th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

John Reid of The Times Picayune suggests that it’s doubtful that either Ryan Anderson or Norris Cole will re-sign with the Pelicans as unrestricted free agent this coming summer. The qualifying offer that Cole received from the Pelicans in restricted free agency this past offseason was the best he had, according to Reid, who points out that it still took him until the middle of September to agree to come back to New Orleans. The team is making Anderson available to other teams for a trade, Reid confirms, advancing a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that said the Pelicans would consider dealing Anderson to the Suns for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson signaled he wouldn’t re-sign. The team is looking for a quick fix after starting 5-16, Reid adds. See more from the Southwest Division:

DeAndre Jordan‘s flip-flop on his decision to sign with the Mavericks led Dallas to trade for Zaza Pachulia, and while Pachulia is no Jordan, he’s had success this season and has won over a key teammate, as Ian Thomsen of NBA.com details. “After we didn’t get DeAndre we moved on pretty quick, and getting Zaza was a really good move,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “He is one of the smartest centers I ever played with. He can pass, he can shoot a little bit, he can put it on the floor. He may be undersized some nights, but he’s got a big heart, he fights and he is very, very smart. He will compete for us and I love him to death.”
Mavs offseason signee John Jenkins hasn’t put up the same flashy numbers in the regular season that he did during the preseason, but the opportunity Dallas gave him to excel during exhibitions was a key boost, he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was huge,” Jenkins said. “I knew I had that in me. I was just showing everybody else. For me to do that was a lot of fun. They gave me the ball and said ‘Do what you do.’ Which is different. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Boban Marjanovic credits his recent D-League stint with helping his game, and his Spurs teammates are urging the free agent acquisition to use his 7’3″ size to his advantage on the court, observes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

Western Notes: Booker, Anderson, D-League

December 10th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough is thrilled with the play of rookie shooting guard Devin Booker, who was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, Matt Petersen of NBA.com notes. “We thought he’d be a good player down the line, but he showed on this road trip that despite having just turned 19 years old, he’s a pretty darn good player right now,” McDonough said. Booker is averaging 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 14.3 minutes per night, and the rookie has connected on a ridiculous 71.4% of his attempts from beyond the 3-point line.

Here’s more from out West:

Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson has been the subject of recent trade rumors, but the team hasn’t indicated to him that a deal is close to fruition, John Reid of the Times Picayune tweets. “It definitely has not got to the point where they’re asking me, ‘Ryan lets get a trade going or we want you gone,’ Anderson told Reid.
The Kings have recalled Duje Dukan from their D-League affiliate in Reno, the team announced. This was Dukan’s third stint with the Bighorns this season.
Center Mitch McGary has been recalled from the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, the team announced. McGary has appeared in four games for the Blue this season and is averaging 13.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block in 27.7 minutes per game.
Fans will likely see less of Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarters of Lakers games as the season progresses so that the team can give its younger players more crunch time experience, Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times notes (Twitter links). “Eventually, it’s going to be like this anyway. Just so these guys can grow,” coach Byron Scott said about keeping Kobe on the bench late in games.

And-Ones: Sixers, Stephenson, Anderson

December 10th, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

No one in the NBA expects Sixers GM Sam Hinkie will have the ability to overrule chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo on the team’s personnel decisions going forward, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. It was around the time of Jahlil Okafor‘s autumn off–court incidents that Sixers owner Josh Harris and commissioner Adam Silver first spoke about what one source described to Berger as a “course correction” for the team. Harris asked Silver for advice, and the commissioner gave him a list of people, with Colangelo’s name on top, to consider for the new front office role the owner was considering, Berger explains. Silver reached out to Colangelo to measure his interest in joining the Sixers, introduced him to Harris, and let them work it out from there, league sources said to Berger. We passed along more earlier today on the Colangelo hiring, and we’ll share news from around the league here:

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denies that he’s reached out to any teams about trading Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith, but Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher (video link) hears the Clippers are anxious to move the two. Stephenson and Smith are frustrated with their roles, Bucher adds. “That’s silly talk. Nothing. No truth,” Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, in response to an initial report that the Clippers had gauged the interest that other teams have in trading for them.
Virtually no trade market exists for Stephenson, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece, and the Clippers would have to attach another player to him in any viable trade proposal, one league source said to Kyler. A feeling exists that the Clippers would be willing to take on a sizable contract via trade, so Stephenson’s $9MM salary could come in handy for matching purposes, but for now, the Clippers’ trade talks are exploratory in nature, Kyler hears.
The Pelicans‘ first preference would be to keep Ryan Anderson instead of trading him, but the power forward’s upcoming free agency may force their hand, Kyler adds in the same piece. New Orleans would think about trading Anderson for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson signals he won’t re-sign with the Pelicans when his contract expires this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported this week.

Max Deal In Play For Ryan Anderson?

December 8th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

A source within an NBA team told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times and Basketball Insiders that he expects Ryan Anderson will be able to command a maximum-salary contract this summer (Twitter link). The Pelicans are willing to consider trading Anderson for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson indicates he doesn’t want to sign a new deal with the Pelicans, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported earlier today. Pincus’ source, who isn’t with one of the Los Angeles teams, cited the 2016 free agent market, which isn’t particularly strong past the top few names.

Anderson is making $8.5MM in the final season of his contract. He’ll be a veteran of eight years by this summer, so he’d be eligible for the middle-tier max of a projected $24.9MM. New Orleans, which has his Bird rights to exceed the cap to re-sign him, already has more than $63.8MM in guaranteed salary for next season, as Pincus notes, so a new max deal for Anderson would make it difficult for the team to open significant cap room. Phoenix has about $60MM in guaranteed salary for 2016/17, including $7.4MM for Morris.

Two executives recently told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Rajon Rondo is in play for a max deal next summer, just one year after he signed a one-year, $9.5MM contract with Sacramento. Those executives cautioned that it’s not a certainty, particularly with so much of the season remaining, and that’s likely the case with Anderson, too. Driving such talk about lucrative deals is the rising cap, projected to surge to $89MM with many reportedly believing it’ll go as high as $95MM. It will leave many teams with max-level cap flexibility to either retain their own players or pay a premium to nab free agents from others.

How much do you think Anderson should see on his next deal? Leave a comment to tell us.

Pelicans, Suns Open Talks On Markieff Morris

December 8th, 2015 at 12:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans and Suns have engaged in preliminary dialogue about a trade involving Markieff Morris, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. New Orleans has “significant interest” in acquiring Morris and would consider giving up Ryan Anderson, especially if Anderson, who’s on an expiring contract, doesn’t show interest in signing new deal, Wojnarowski and Charania hear. Morris has continued to push for a trade, the Yahoo scribes write, which casts doubt on what seemed to be a change of heart at the beginning of the season, when Morris professed that he wanted to stay in Phoenix.

The felony aggravated assault charges that Morris faces concern just about every team interested in trading for him, sources told Wojnarowski and Charania. Still, belief around the league is growing that the Suns are warming to the idea of trading him after having resisted since he demanded a trade over the summer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported when he identified the Rockets as another Morris suitor. The Pistons are also reportedly interested, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reported in October.

Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post first connected Anderson and Morris in the offseason, when he wrote that Phoenix was attempting to trade Morris and that Phoenix was targeting Anderson. That report came after the Suns agreed to trade Marcus Morris, Markieff’s twin, to the Pistons, but before Markieff publicly made his trade demand.

Sources close to the Pelicans recently told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that the team values Anderson quite highly and that it would take a “monster offer” for New Orleans to think about parting with him. The Pelicans are enamored with the potential pairing of Morris and Anthony Davis, Wojnarowski and Charania write, so perhaps that’s enough to sway the New Orleans brass.

Morris has indicated on multiple occasions since he backed off his trade demand at the start of training camp that he’s content with the Suns, and he even said after coach Jeff Hornacek removed him from the starting lineup for Friday’s game that he deserved the benching. Morris didn’t comment after Sunday’s game, when Hornacek declined to play him at all.

Anderson’s $8.5MM salary is nearly identical to the $8MM Morris is making, so a one-for-one swap would work. Both are eligible to be traded immediately and aren’t subject to the December 15th date upon which most offseason signees become trade-eligible. The primary difference in their contracts is the remaining length. Morris is in the first year of a four-year extension, while Anderson is poised to hit free agency in the summer ahead.

Who do you think would benefit most from a Morris-Anderson swap? Leave a comment to let us know.

Southwest Notes: Matthews, Lawson, Anderson

December 1st, 2015 at 11:44am CST by Chuck Myron

Wesley Matthews was initially bitter that the Trail Blazers didn’t make him an offer this past summer, but he now understands how GM Neil Olshey and company saw his future with Portland as having been inextricably tied to LaMarcus Aldridge‘s, as Jason Quick of CSNNW.com details. Matthews told Quick he already feels at home in Dallas and is secure in his decision to join the Mavericks, and while his former coach is surprised at how quickly he returned from last spring’s Achilles injury, he thinks it makes sense that Matthews has found the Mavs to his liking.

“Other than staying in Portland, he couldn’t have found a better situation,’’ Blazers coach Terry Stotts said to Quick. “I’m really pleased that everything worked out so well for him, because he deserves it.’’

See more from around the Southwest Division:

Opposing teams believe they’ll be able to trade for Ty Lawson on the cheap, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The Rockets, who have a record of 7-11, have been “sniffing around” for deals, Kyler adds, though it’s not entirely clear whether they’ve had discussions about Lawson, who gave up the guarantee on his salary of more than $13.213MM next season to facilitate the swap that sent him to Houston this past summer.
Ryan Anderson‘s name surfaces more often than any other Pelicans player in Kyler’s conversations with sources, but sources close to the team told Kyler that the organization places a remarkably high value on Anderson and that it would take a “monster offer” for New Orleans to think about parting with him.
It took a while for Matt Barnes‘ offense to catch up with his defense, but the Grizzlies‘ offseason trade acquisition is clicking on both ends thanks to the team’s swifter pace, increased motion and open minutes at power forward, observes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Barnes and coach Dave Joerger appear confident the 35-year-old will continue to flourish even with Zach Randolph back from a five-game absence. “Small ball is where the league is headed. We still have one of the best power forwards in the game,” Barnes said. “[Randolph] is old-school, so we just have to mix small ball in with what this team is accustomed to and what they made their name on. It’s been a learning curve for all of us, but we’re getting the hang of it.”