Tim Hardaway Jr. Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Rumors: Eddie, Humphries, Hardaway Jr.

December 26th, 2015 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards rookie Jarell Eddie made a strong case for staying in the NBA during today’s win over the Nets, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. In his first action since being signed out of the D-League on Wednesday, Eddie connected on four 3-pointers and finished the game with 12 points. Coach Randy Wittman’s advice to Eddie was,“Know who you are. I put you in there to shoot,” Michael notes (Twitter link). Eddie signed a non-guaranteed deal with Washington at the veteran’s minimum. Michael notes that Eddie can be cut anytime before January 10th without the Wizards owing him anything, but said Eddie should be safe if he keeps playing like he did today.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

A move back to the bench has seemed to help the Wizards‘ Kris Humphries get more comfortable in his “stretch forward” role, Michael writes in a separate story. Humphries has made five of six 3-pointers since the switch, breaking out of a 2 for 19 slump. “I’m still trying to find my niche where I can do what I do really well and also continue to stretch the floor,” Humphries said. The 12th-year veteran is signed through the end of next season.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has barely played since being traded from the Knicks to the Hawks over the summer, but New York coach Derek Fisher is still a believer in the young guard, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He joined a team that already had an identity and has a lot of returning guys,” Fisher said. “It’s difficult to break through in those situations. I think he belongs here in the league and when he gets his opportunity hopefully he’ll make the most of it.” Hardaway has appeared in just four games with Atlanta since the deal. He has been inactive 17 times, including today, and spent two games in the D-League. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said Hardaway is being “very professional” and cites the team’s emphasis on “player development.”
With a core of young talent, the Magic are succeeding ahead of schedule, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. The franchise was expected to have a long road back to respectability after the 2012 trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, but Orlando has drafted well and helped itself with deals that brought in Elfrid Payton and Evan Fournier.

Eastern Notes: Grant, Stokes, Jennings

December 25th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the struggles of Knicks rookie Jerian Grant, the lack of production the Hawks have received from Tim Hardaway Jr. this season makes New York’s draft day acquisition of Grant still appear to be a win for the franchise, Zach Braziller of The New York Post writes. Knicks coach Derek Fisher has praised Grant’s maturity level and work ethic, and he believes the young guard has quite a bit of potential, Braziller adds. “I’ve liked his overall demeanor and composure,” Fisher said. “We loved that about him when we did our due diligence on what type of person he is and his makeup. Not a lot really bothers him. So far, he’s shown the ability to make plays for himself and other people. He really does get a lot of people into the game. He helps us keep our pace up a little bit higher. Defensively, he’s been good. I think he can make a jump there.”

Here’s more from the East:

There is much riding on the play of Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, who is working his way back from an Achilles injury, for both the player and the team, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News. If Jennings can prove he is still capable of being a strong contributor, it will set him up for a larger potential payday in free agency this offseason, according to Foster. Detroit would benefit as well, as a solid comeback from Jennings would serve to boost his trade value in advance of the February deadline if the team decides to deal him, Foster notes.
The Heat assigned power forward Jarnell Stokes to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will mark Stokes’ third trek to Sioux Falls on the season. He is averaging 18.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks in 29.0 minutes of action per contest for the Skyforce thus far.

Southeast Notes: Budenholzer, Anderson, Skiles

December 23rd, 2015 at 11:20am CST by Chuck Myron

It would be nice for the Hawks to add some rebounding, defense and shooting, but that’s not so easily done, coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said, adding that the offseason goal was chiefly to keep last season’s team together as much as possible, as he explained to Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team didn’t have the cap space to retain both Paul Millsap, who re-signed, and DeMarre Carroll, who bolted for the Raptors, and Tim Hardaway Jr., one of the team’s most prominent additions, has barely seen the floor. Budenholzer acknowledges every move he makes in the front office, just like every coaching decision he renders, won’t be the right one, and he told Schultz that it’s fair for people to second-guess the Hardaway trade.

“But I’m very happy with the work [Hardaway] is doing behind the scenes,” Budenholzer said. “The next step is to take it to the court. There’s evolutions with teams and coaches. The first year might not look or feel great but then the light bulb goes on for the coach — like, ‘Hey, I’m the one who screwed up’ — or the light goes on for the player. But he’s put himself in a good position to make it look like a good decision.”

See more from the Southeast Division:

Alan Anderson won’t be available to the Wizards for another three to five weeks as he continues to recover from two surgeries on his left ankle, a pair of sources tell Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Anderson has yet to play for the team after signing a one-year, $4MM deal in the offseason.
Scott Skiles doesn’t necessarily prefer coaching younger teams over coaching other sorts of rosters, but he excels at it, and he has the young Magic in the mix for a playoff spot in the bunched-up Eastern Conference thanks to improved defense, observes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The Magic have recalled Devyn Marble from the D-League, the team announced (on Twitter). The second-year shooting guard had been on assignment since November 30th, and he averaged 13.9 points and 6.4 rebounds while hitting 35.0% of his 3-pointers in eight games with the Erie BayHawks.

And-Ones: Hardaway Jr., Pistons, Williams

December 7th, 2015 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tim Hardaway Jr. took a positive approach to his two-game stint with the D-League’s Canton Charge, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The Hawks shooting guard was back at practice on Monday after averaging 17 points with the Charge. “There is no negativity,” he told Vivlamore. “I knew what the objective was – to go down there and get some reps and help the Canton team out.” The Hawks traded their first-round pick to obtain Hardaway from the Knicks in a draft-day deal but he has appeared in only four games, averaging 2.5 points in 11.1 minutes.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Darrun Hilliard will get sent to the Pistons’ D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids a couple more times in the coming weeks, coach Stan Van Gundy told the assembled media, including Hoops Rumors, on Sunday night. The rookie shooting guard out of Villanova, Detroit’s second-round pick in June, scored 31 points for the Drive in his first D-League appearance on Saturday and was immediately recalled. “He can put the ball on the floor and make plays and we don’t have a lot of that on the perimeter with our wings,” Van Gundy said. “We like what he brings to the table. He’s doing everything he can to impress us and get his chance.”
The Pistons acquired their starting small forwards, Ersan Ilyasova and Marcus Morris, for essentially two expiring contracts and a second-round pick during the offseason. Van Gundy, who made those deals as the team’s president of basketball operations, has been thrilled with the results. “We didn’t give up a whole lot to get either one of them and they’ve both got great contracts,” he told Hoops Rumors and other members of the media last week. “That’s probably two of the best things that have happened to us since we’ve been here.”
Point guard Lou Williams told his ex-Raptors teammate DeMar DeRozan that he’s disappointed things didn’t work out for him in Toronto, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Williams, who signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Lakers after the Raptors let him walk, felt like he ‘found a home’ with Toronto, Lewenberg adds.
The Raptors recalled small forward Bruno Caboclo and rookie combo guard Delon Wright from their D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, the team’s media relations department tweets. Both were on the active roster for Monday’s game against the Lakers.
The Thunder assigned Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team’s website. The second-year power forward has played three games with the Blue and six with the Thunder this season.

D-League Moves: Hardaway Jr., Spurs, Ennis

December 6th, 2015 at 3:02pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks recalled Tim Hardaway Jr., Edy Tavares and Lamar Patterson from the D-League, as Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported they would. The moves were announced in an emailed press release. The Hawks do not have their own affiliate. Pursuant to the flexible assignment rule, Hardaway Jr. and Tavares played games with the Canton Charge (the Cavs‘ affiliate) Friday and Saturday and Patterson played with the Austin Spurs Saturday. It will be particularly interesting to see how Hardaway, who was acquired in an offseason deal with the Knicks, fares in a return to the Hawks. He has appeared in only four games for Atlanta, averaging 2.5 points. In two games with the Charge, as Vivlamore writes, Hardaway averaged 17 points in 32.7 minutes.

Here are some more D-League moves today:

The Rockets assigned rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell to their D-League affiliate. Harrell was the 32nd overall pick in the draft. He has appeared in 15 games with one start for the Rockets this season.
The Spurs recalled Boban Marjanovic from their D-League affiliate. The center averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds per game (two games) with the Austin Spurs. On Saturday, the Spurs recalled Ray McCallum, according to the RealGM transactions log.
The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release. It was the second-year player’s first D-League stint.
The Pistons announced they recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from their D-League affiliate.

Southeast Notes: Hardaway, Whiteside, Heat Picks

December 6th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks have no complaints about Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s performance, even though he was assigned to the D-League this week, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Journal-Constitution. Hardaway, who was acquired in an offseason deal with the Knicks, has appeared in just four games for Atlanta, averaging 2.5 points, but coach Mike Budenholzer said the third-year guard has maintained a good attitude. “He has been great,” Budenholzer said. “The way that he has attacked and worked – before practice, after practice, the weight room, his conditioning, getting stronger, all those things. I think he is understanding some of the things we are doing defensively. I’m very happy with his approach to everything.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

It took Heat center Hassan Whiteside several years to make his mark in the NBA, but he tells Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post that he never doubted it would happen someday. After two seasons out of the league, Whiteside became a force in the middle after signing with Miami last season. “No, I never wondered if it was going to work out,” he said. “I just kept praying on it, and you just kind of hope for the best. I look at things day-by-day. I just feel like, you look at things in the short-term and they don’t seem as long. Like I could have looked at it like, ‘Oh, man, I’m this far from the NBA.’ But I just kind of looked at it like if I do something day-by-day to get closer to your dream, something good’s got to happen.”
Recent visits from the Sixers and Celtics, who are stocked with draft picks over the next few seasons, are a reminder that the Heat are pursuing the opposite strategy, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. This year’s first-rounder is top 10 protected and almost certainly will go to Philadelphia. Miami also owes first-round picks in 2018 and 2021 to Phoenix in the Goran Dragic trade. In addition, four of the Heat’s next five second-rounders are being sent elsewhere.
This week’s trip to Los Angeles had Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton of the Magic recalling their 2014 pre-draft workout with the Lakers, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “It just wasn’t fair,” Gordon said. “Basically, we were just taking turns coming off the pick-and-roll, setting picks for each other. We were dominating.”

And-Ones: Dorsey, Skiles, D-League

December 3rd, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Rockets and Nuggets power forward Joey Dorsey has had issues with Galatasaray coach Ergin Ataman, but he remains committed to the Turkish team, international journalist David Pick writes for Sportando. Dorsey, who inked a one-year pact with Galatasaray in August after reaching a buyout arrangement with Denver, has been heavily recruited by the Greek club Olympiacos, but he intends to stay in Turkey, Pick notes. “Dorsey was almost out of the team, but his last couple of games have been great. He is more committed,” a Galatasaray insider said to Pick.

Regarding his decision to remain with Galatasaray, Dorsey said, “‘Where is the old Dorsey At?’ This is what they been saying all over the news and in the newspaper here overseas. I’m overweight and out of shape and lazy in practice. It hurt me so bad when I heard this, first of all I wanted to leave the team ’cause it was problems and guys being selfish, and after talking to coach nothing changed, so I said [expletitve] it, but after talking to [Vassilis] Spanoulis [who plays for Olympiacos], it wasn’t professional to let my fans down and not play good so I’m dedicating this year to the fans of Galatasaray.”

Here’s more from around pro basketball:

The Hawks have assigned Tim Hardaway Jr. and Edy Tavares to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports (via Twitter). This will be Hardaway’s first trip to the D-League of the season and Tavares’ second. Both players will be assigned to the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ affiliate, since Atlanta does not have its own D-League team, Vivlamore adds.
A third key players union executive hired since executive director Michele Roberts came aboard has resigned, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Evie Goldstein, the director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, is the latest to depart, according to Berger, joining former COO Domonique Foxworth and former communications director Tara Greco.
Magic coach Scott Skiles was hired to improve the team’s discipline and defense, but he’s made a significant impact on Orlando’s offense thus far, Brett Koremenos of RealGM writes. With the team’s personnel largely unchanged from 2014/15, much of the credit should go to Skiles, who has improved the Magic’s execution, resulting in more efficient possessions on the offensive end, Koremenos notes.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Heat, Hawks

November 1st, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Will Joseph

This is an important year for Wizards coach Randy Wittman, who has been referred to as “old-school” with a defense-first philosophy, but has adjusted his philosophy to fit his roster with the implementation of more speed and more shooting, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes in an in-depth piece. The season is key for Wittman, as Castillo points out, because his contract is only partially guaranteed for next season. Players are in favor of Wittman’s approach to having an offense suit the skills of the players he has, Castillo adds.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

While the Heat need Hassan Whiteside, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency in July 2016, as a rebounder and shot-blocker, Miami has enough depth to play the hot hand if the center is struggling or seemingly sulking, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald writes. Such was the case in the Heat’s season opener when head coach Erik Spoelstra elected to go with Udonis Haslem after the Hornets‘ Al Jefferson had his way with Whiteside, Skolnick adds.
Tim Hardaway Jr., whom the Hawks acquired in June in a draft-night trade with the Knicks, was inactive for the season-opener and since Atlanta gave up its first-round draft pick to obtain Hardaway, it will be a move under scrutiny, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
Speaking of Hardaway, the guard told Brian Lewis of the New York Post that he never received a reason for the trade and was surprised by the move. “No, nothing,” Hardaway said. “Just a call that said … I got a call from my agent first that broke the news to me. I was surprised. I was at Clyde Frazier’s. It was myself, Cleanthony Early, Langston Galloway, and some more of my friends. I was there for draft night, to see who we got — well, when I was part of the team, to see who we had. Then later on I didn’t know what was going to happen. It happened 30 seconds before they made the trade.’’

Atlantic Notes: Prokhorov, Sixers, Friisdahl

October 30th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is close to acquiring majority control of the Nassau Coliseum, sources have informed Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The plan is for Brooklyn’s future D-League team to eventually be situated at the refurbished arena, Mazzeo notes. The Nets hope their future D-League team begins play in time for the 2016/17 campaign, but for now they are one of the 11 NBA teams without an affiliate to call their own this season.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

It’s difficult to know for sure, given GM Sam Hinkie‘s unpredictability, but the pairing of No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor with Nerlens Noel appears to give the Sixers a glimpse at what their team will look like in the future, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the Raptors‘ parent company, went in a different direction with their hire of Michael Friisdahl as the new president and CEO, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes. “Quite frankly they [MLSE] looked at it in totality and said what we need is an overall executive to lead the whole organization,” said Friisdahl. “And then we’re going to rely on the very strong leadership in each of the sports organizations and have them focus on that. You will not see me heavily involved in any kind of sports decisions, which is fairly obvious from my background.”
Knicks coach Derek Fisher, speaking about the draft day trade of Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Hawks in return for the draft rights to Jerian Grant, said that Grant has more skills as a guard than Hardaway, which is why the deal was made, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
Point guard Scottie Wilbekin, who was waived by the Sixers on Monday, has signed a two-year, $780K deal with the Turkish club Darussafaka, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter links). The contract does include an NBA out clause, Pick adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Fournier, Cunningham, Hardaway Jr.

October 27th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Swingman Evan Fournier wants to remain with the Magic for the long-term, but he is not stressing the November 2nd deadline for an extension to be worked out between himself and Orlando, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “I don’t even think about it, because in my mind I know we have a game tomorrow, and that’s all that matters,” Fournier said. “A contract, if it happens, that’s great, man. If it doesn’t, it’s going to be next summer. It’s that simple.” If the Magic and Fournier don’t reach an agreement prior to the deadline, then the 22-year-old would be eligible to hit restricted free agency next summer, provided the team tenders him a qualifying offer worth $3,278,998. The two sides are still engaged in discussions, Robbins notes.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Jared Cunningham fought hard to secure the Cavaliers‘ final regular season roster spot on a non-guaranteed deal, and now the team is looking for him to add defense and energy to the second unit, Spencer Davies of AmicoHoops.net writes. “He was aggressive from day number one,” said coach David Blatt. “He played the game with a lot of passion on both ends. He did not shy away from responsibility, and obviously, he performed really well. He earned that spot without question, and he should help us this year.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. is excited to be a member of the Hawks, a franchise that has enjoyed much more recent success than the Knicks, the swingman’s former team, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “It’s a different vibe; everybody is about their business and moves at their pace. It’s not too fast and everybody is serious about their work,” Hardaway said. “I’m coming to a team that made it to the playoffs last year and got deep into the playoffs; they have high expectations of themselves and it’s great to come into an environment like that.” Atlanta announced that it had picked up Hardaway’s fourth-year option earlier this evening.
The unveiling of the Bucks‘ new arena will be delayed by a year, and it is now scheduled to open in time for the 2018/19 season, the Associated Press reports. The team had hoped to have the arena ready by the start of the 2017/18 campaign, but team spokesman Jake Suski said that the earlier date “simply isn’t realistic,” according to the report.