Willie Reed Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Reed, Pistons, Noel

April 8th, 2014 at 10:36pm CST by Cray Allred

While the names of former NBA head coaches Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Van Gundy pop up each year as rumored candidates for coaching vacancies, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says that both brothers have promised their families they won’t move (via Twitter). Of course, that doesn’t rule out every opening, and restless coaches often return to the bench despite similar family vows. Here’s more from around the league:

LaQuinton Ross plans to sign with agents Jeff Schwartz and Sean Kennedy of Excel Sports tomorrow, per a tweet from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. The small forward out of Ohio State announced his plans to enter the draft late last month, and is considered a second round talent.
Daniel Orton reflects on his time with the Maine Red Claws this year, telling Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside that he chose to play in the D-League to give himself a better shot at finding an NBA roster spot. “The decision (to play in the D-League) was all about trying to get back into the NBA,” Orton said. “I’m trying to get a call-up. I had offers to go overseas and make some money, but I’m trying to get back into the NBA more so than anything.” The big man has only managed to play in 51 NBA games across his three-season career, and was waived by the Sixers earlier this year.
Sixers coach Brett Brown says that Nerlens Noel has made major developmental gains despite sitting out all year. Brown tells Mark Narducci of Philly.com that he envisions Noel becoming polished offensively over a three to five year window. “How many opportunities do you have like this when you have a whole year where you can invest time with somebody?” Brown said. “I think it is a huge part of his development and I am thrilled he is with me and I am glad I am the guy who has the chance to help him.”
The Kings have recalled Willie Reed from their D-League affiliate, per a team release.
While the Pistons would never embrace the notion of tanking, interim coach John Loyer tells Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News that being out of contention does give him some flexibility to play and evaluate younger players. “Like I said the other day, you hope to play some of the younger guys,” Loyer said. “But you see how the game goes, how the matchups go.”

Kings Sign Willie Reed

March 28th, 2014 at 11:26am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 11:26am: The Kings have signed Reed to a deal for the rest of the season, the team announced. The team’s statement doesn’t make mention of it being a multiyear arrangement, as had previously been reported, so perhaps it only covers the balance of 2013/14. In any case, the team has also assigned Reed to the D-League, as Pilato reported they would.

THURSDAY, 6:24pm: The move was made in part to help the Reno Bighorns (Sacramento’s NBDL affiliate) as they make a late season push for the playoffs, reports Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest. As Pilato explains, there is a rule that states that if an NBA team assigns any player called up within 21 days of the end of the NBA regular season or at any subsequent point during the NBDL regular season or playoffs, the player will return to the D-League team that he was previously playing for.

The Kings barely made the deadline to sign Reed with the option of sending him to their own affiliate, and that’s exactly what the team plans on doing, a source tells Pilato.

9:08am: The Kings are signing D-Leaguer Willie Reed for the rest of the season, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. Charania’s full story indicates that the deal includes a team option for 2014/15, though I suspect that’s simply a non-guaranteed season, since team options are rare outside of rookie scale contracts.

Reed also inked a multiyear deal with Memphis in mid-April last year, but he never made it into a game, and the Grizzlies cut him and his non-guaranteed contract in training camp this past autumn. Reed appears to represent Plan B for the Kings, who were reportedly set to sign Chris Johnson on Wednesday before the deal fell through.

The 6’9″ Reed has been playing with the D-League affiliate of the Nets this season, averaging 14.8 points and 10.1 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per contest. Rebounding is his most significant area of improvement over last year, when he averaged 7.8 per contest in similar minutes for the same D-League club.

The Kings gave Reed his first NBA contract in 2012, but he failed to make the team out of camp. Still, Sacramento is high on his activity and athleticism, Charania notes, though most of the team’s management has changed since Reed’s first stint with the Kings.

Grizzlies Cut Barrett, Ely, Gaffney, Reed

October 26th, 2013 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have waived Andre Barrett, Melvin Ely, Tony Gaffney and Willie Reed, the team announced via press release. All four were on non-guaranteed deals, and without them, Memphis is carrying just 13 players, the NBA minimum.

Gaffney had the best chance of sticking, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, but the team will instead carry only its 13 fully guaranteed contracts (Twitter link). The 28-year-old Gaffney, a 6’9″ big man, saw the most action of any of the Memphis camp invitees, averaging 2.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game in seven preseason tilts. Still, it wasn’t enough for him to make his first NBA regular season roster.

The Grizzlies signed Reed late last season, but he didn’t get into a game, and like Gaffney is still waiting to make his official NBA debut. Ely is the most seasoned of the cuts, but his attempt to revive an NBA career that’s been dormant since the 2010/11 season falls short. Barrett’s been out of the league even longer, not having appeared in a regular season game since 2007/08, but he, too, will remain out of the league for now.

Grizzlies Sign Willie Reed

April 17th, 2013 at 2:01pm CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 2:01pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Reed, the team announced in a press release.

SUNDAY, 5:27pm: Reed's deal will be a multi-year, non-guaranteed pact, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (on Twitter).

3:17pm: The Grizzlies have signed Willie Reed for the remainder of the season, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter). Reed, 22, played two seasons at St. Louis before going undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft.

Reed averaged 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for the Springfield Armor of the NBA Developmental League. Terms of Reed's deal beyond the 2012/13 season are currently being worked on between the Grizzlies and Bell.

Kings Waive Mitchell, N’Diaye, Reed

October 26th, 2012 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are the latest team to make roster cuts, announcing today in a press release that they've released Tony Mitchell, Hamady N'Diaye, and Willie Reed. The moves leave the Kings with 14 players under contract.

None of the three players received much playing time in the preseason, each averaging under two points per game in less than six minutes per contest. Since Mitchell, N'Diaye, and Reed were the only three Kings on non-guaranteed contracts, it appears all but certain that Sacramento will head into the season with its current 14-man roster.

Kings Sign Willie Reed, Cyril Awere

September 25th, 2012 at 8:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have officially announced their roster for training camp, and there are a couple of new names on the list, in addition to signees like Tony Mitchell and Hamady N'Diaye, which we already knew about. The team has also added a pair of bigs, Willie Reed and Cyril Awere, on non-guaranteed contracts.

Reed, 22, is a 6'9" forward that played his college ball at St. Louis University. He was suspended by the school and entered the NBA draft pool early after sitting out a season, but went undrafted in 2011. ESPN.com's Chad Ford had ranked him as the 70th-best prospect of the class. Awere, meanwhile, is a 6'11" center from Nigeria. The 27-year-old had been playing for Stade Nabeulien in Tunisia.

The Kings head into camp with 18 players on their roster, including 14 on guaranteed deals, so it's unlikely that either Reed or Awere makes the cut. At least one of Mitchell and N'Diaye appears to be a decent bet to earn a roster spot in Sacramento, however.