Xavier Henry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Faried, Favors, Henry, Cook

August 7th, 2013 at 9:01pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league:

Hoopsworld.com's Yannis Koutroupis has a piece on Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, who enters next season with a crowded front court and serious questions about his team's direction.
SheridanHoops.com's Chris Bernucca wonders if the days of one player making over $30MM in a single season are over.
Hoopsworld.com's Steve Kyler speaks with several young NBA players, including Arron Afflalo, Derrick Favors, and Jerryd Bayless about their expectations for next season, how they deal with trade rumors, and more.
Xavier Henry, a former lottery pick and three-year veteran, has been impressive in Los Angeles pick up games this summer, but still hasn't latched on with a team. That could change shortly, tweets ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling.
Free agent forward Brian Cook has switched agents. He's now represented by Herb Rudoy, according to HoopsHype.com. Rudoy counts Manu Ginobili and Luol Deng as two of his other clients.

Sixers Ready To Explore Free Agent Market

July 31st, 2013 at 11:04pm CST by Alex Lee

It's been more than a month since the Sixers shipped Jrue Holiday and Pierre Jackson to New Orleans in exchange for Nerlens Noel and a 2014 top-five protected first round pick. But outside of trading for the enigmatic Royce White, the team hasn't done anything to fill out its roster and is the only NBA team remaining without a head coach.

One of those things is about to change, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who writes that the Sixers are finally ready to shop in free agency. According to Pompey, on the team's wish list is a point guard to backup and mentor rookie Michael Carter-Williams as well as a perimeter shooter.

"We have needs all around," said Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie. "We are going to look for guys who can be a part of our future and have a chance, some guys who can grow with our team."

"We have needs all around," Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie said. "We are going to look for guys who can be a part of our future and have a chance, some guys who can grow with our team."
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20130801_Sixers_finally_ready_to_shop_for_free_agents.html#AmvLHMYrYrPI64PB.99

At this point the Sixers intentions for next season are pretty obvious, making the addition of even mid-level free agents unlikely despite having the most available cap room in the league. Pompey suggests that the team could bring back free agents Royal Ivey and/or Damien Wilkins, and also lists Ronnie Brewer, Luke Babbitt, Xavier Henry and Cole Aldrich as younger options that could pique the team's interest.

We heard yesterday that Hinkie believes the Sixers cap room enables them to be active trade participants if they choose to be and Pompey reiterates that in this story, specifically mentioning Evan Turner as a player who could be on the block and leaving the door open for the team to move any player on their roster.

"It's a little early now," Hinkie added. "There's a lot of work to do for the team to be filled out. You could see all sorts of things happening."

Renounced Players: Wednesday

July 10th, 2013 at 9:58pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:

Mo Williams is the most prominent name among the several whose rights the Jazz renounced today, according to the RealGM transaction log. Al Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson, who already have deals to join other teams, are also on the list, as are the long-retired Brevin Knight and Greg Ostertag.
Bobcats are set to re-sign Josh McRoberts, but they won't be using their Early Bird rights to do so, as they've renounced his rights, RealGM shows. The team also renounced their rights to Reggie Williams, who's heading to the Rockets, and it cut ties with DeSagana Diop, Byron Mullens and Jannero Pargo, too.
Golden State will sign Jermaine O'Neal, so the Suns have renounced his rights, as well as their rights to Wesley Johnson and Diante Garrett, as RealGM notes.

Earlier updates:

The Hawks have cleared out unwanted cap holds from their books, renouncing their rights to Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Josh Smith, and Etan Thomas, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
RealGM.com also has the Trail Blazers renouncing multiple players, including Luke Babbitt, J.J. Hickson, Eric Maynor, and Nolan Smith.
Most interestingly, according to RealGM.com, the Bucks have renounced their rights to Monta Ellis. That doesn't necessarily preclude a sign-and-trade, but it would mean the team would have to use cap space rather than Ellis' Bird rights to accommodate a deal.
The Pelicans have renounced their rights to Louis Amundson, Xavier Henry, and Roger Mason Jr., the team announced today in a press release.
In order to clear cap room for their signings, the Pistons renounced Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, and Ben Wallace, according to RealGM's transactions log. The Pistons plan to re-sign Bynum, but removing his $6MM+ cap hold and signing him to a smaller figure using cap space makes the most sense.
After renouncing their rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, the Clippers have also renounced Bobby Simmons, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.

Western Notes: Rockets, Perkins, Nuggets, Jazz

May 6th, 2013 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

When discussing potential landing spots besides L.A. for Dwight Howard this summer, many pundits point to Houston as an ideal fit for the big man, given the Rockets' combination of young talent and cap space. Of course, the Rockets already have a solid defensive center in their starting lineup, but Omer Asik tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he's not letting the Howard rumors affect him.

"It’s all things that happen out of my control," Asik said. "I really don’t know and I really don’t care. Whether it happens, we’ll see. I’m just looking forward to rest and getting better for the next season."

Here's more on the Rockets and their Western Conference rivals:

Although the Rockets are unlikely to exercise a team option that would pay him $6.4MM, Francisco Garcia would still like to find a way to return to Houston, as he tells Feigen.
After explaining over the weekend why Kendrick Perkins is unlikely to be amnestied, Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman wonders if the Thunder big man is undervalued, at least by fans.
If the Jazz don't spend heavily this summer, it will be a "strategic decision" rather than an indication the team is financially strapped, according to GM Dennis Lindsey (Twitter link via Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune).
Despite an early exit from the postseason, GM Masai Ujiri isn't worried about the Nuggets, telling 9News in Denver that the team will "get ready for next season and figure out ways to fix it and get better." As Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post points out, a new contract for Ujiri figures to be one item near the top of the club's offseason to-do list.
Following another unproductive season, Xavier Henry doesn't have a clear spot in the Pelicans' future plans, writes Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Hornets Notes: Williams, Forwards, Free Agents

April 2nd, 2013 at 10:03pm CST by Alex Lee

Sitting at 26-48, the Hornets head to Golden State tomorrow night to take on the Warriors. With only eight games remaining, it sounds like the team will have some decisions to make in the offseason. Let's round up all things New Orleans here on this Tuesday night:

Hornets coach Monty Williams does not foresee the Hornets (soon to be the Pelicans) having any problems attracting top talent this offseason, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Along with the name change, the New Orleans franchise has a 55,000 square foot practice facility in the works as well as ample cap space to make a splash. Williams says that multiple free-agents-to-be have suggested to him during games that they'd love to play for him in New Orleans.
Williams addressed the idea of changes to the team's roster over the summer, notes Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (Twitter link). "That’s just the nature of it. When you have a record like we have, you’re not going to settle for this production," Williams said.
Williams expressed his displeasure with the team's small forwards earlier this season, and Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune echoes that sentiment, imploring the team to prioritize an upgrade at the three this summer. As it stands now, the Hornets use Al-Farouq Aminu, Darius Miller and Lance Thomas at that spot, who barely combine for 12 points per night.
The Hornets could have as many as eight players become free agents when the season ends in two weeks, including the entire small forward trio mentioned above, Reid writes. Aminu will become a free agent, along with Xavier Henry, Roger Mason and Louis Amundson. The Hornets must decide whether to extend team options to Miller, Thomas and backup point guard Brian Roberts. Per Reid, this has resulted in an environment where the current players are desperate to make an impression. While Reid doesn't mention him, Terrel Harris has a non-guaranteed deal next season and could also become a free agent.

Hornets Pick Up Option On Greivis Vasquez

October 29th, 2012 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have exercised their 2013/14 option on Greivis Vasquez, according to John Reid of the Times Picayune. However, Reid confirms that the team will not pick up '13/14 options for Al-Farouq Aminu or Xavier Henry.

All three players are heading into their third seasons, meaning the Hornets had to decide on their respective fourth-year options. Vasquez, who figures to see increased playing time this season with Jarrett Jack having been traded to Golden State, will earn about $1.19MM this season and $2.15MM in 2013/14.

Aminu would have been in line for a $3.75MM salary next season, while Henry would have earned $3.2MM. Instead, both players will become unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. According to Reid, the Hornets may still be interested in re-signing both players, but want to keep their options open when it comes to cap space.

Hornets Links: Davis, Gordon, Smith

October 14th, 2012 at 9:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

We've got a handful of links to share from New Orleans tonight, including several injury updates:

Anthony Davis returned to practice Sunday after a groin injury sidelined him from Friday's pre-season game against the Rockets, says John Reid of NOLA.com. The Hornets forward appeared to move without limitations during post-up drills but was held out of contact work.
In another article, Reid mentions that Eric Gordon has continued to rehabilitate his knee, and that Hornets coach Monty Williams hopes to be able to play him in limited minutes before the end of pre-season. Williams added that although he isn't exactly sure if Gordon will be ready between this week and the next, the fifth-year veteran has been participating in drills during practices.
Both Jason Smith (sore back) and Xavier Henry (sore knee) have sat out the last three pre-season games, but Reid writes that both could be close to returning after taking part in practice today.
According to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com, one of Gordon's main goals for this season is to make the All-Star game.
Brian Travis of Hornets.com gathered Al-Farouq Aminu's thoughts on his experiences during the offseason that included being a leader on the Nigerian Olympic basketball team during the summer games in London.

Odds & Ends: Austin Rivers, Cooper, Stoudemire

August 21st, 2012 at 9:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

John Reid of the Times-Picayune writes that Austin Rivers is on schedule to be fully healed in time for Hornets' training camp in October after undergoing surgery on his right ankle three weeks ago. The rookie joins a list of teammates, namely Xavier Henry and Robin Lopez, who are recovering from recent surgeries. Regardless, head coach Monty Williams looks to have all three ready by the time the regular season starts. With that aside, here are more noteworthy tidbits from around the Association:

C.J. Miles elaborated more on the opportunity he has to expand his game with the Cavaliers, especially for a coach like Byron Scott, who believes that Miles has a lot of untapped potential (Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com reports).
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that former Timberwolves and Trail Blazers assistant Dean Cooper is headed to the Rockets to join Kevin McHale's coaching staff.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) mentions that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant is encouraged about Kelenna Azubuike, who looks like he's moving well and could be a contributor this season.
Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that he'll return to the court "stronger than ever" this upcoming season.
76ers GM Rod Thorn acknowledges heightened expectations and says that Philadelphia fans appear to be especially excited because of the acquisition of Andrew Bynum, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly.
Jenni Carlson of NewsOK thinks that James Harden is better suited to thrive in a small market city with the Thunder rather than be potentially distracted in what she terms "hot spots."

Minor Moves: Graham, Harrison, Henry

March 19th, 2012 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll track the latest notable international and D-League-related signings right here:

Joey Graham, a former 16th overall pick, has joined the D-League's Erie BayHawks, tweets Duane Rankin of the Erie Times-News. Graham is a six-year NBA veteran, having played for the Raptors, Nuggets, and, last season, the Cavaliers.
Former Pacers first-round pick David Harrison has been claimed by the D-League's Reno Big Horns, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The ex-University of Colorado big man played four seasons in Indiana after being drafted in 2004. The 29-year-old last appeared in an NBA game in April 2008.
After playing just one game for the D-League's Iowa Energy, Xavier Henry has been recalled by the Hornets, the team announced today.

Minor Moves: Henry

March 18th, 2012 at 1:37pm CST by Michael Pina

The Hornets have sent Xavier Henry to the D-league’s Iowa Energy, according to the New Orleans Times Picayune’s John Reid. Now in his second season, the former lottery pick has appeared in 25 games for New Orleans this season, and is posting averages of 5.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG. He was acquired from Memphis in a three-team trade in January that also included the Sixers.

The move was most likely made because Eric Gordon is soon to return from a knee injury that’s plagued him all season long. There is no expected timetable for Henry’s return.