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Atlantic Notes: Ibaka, Raptors, Knicks

February 19th, 2017 at 8:53pm CST by Austin Kent

When the Raptors return from the All-Star Break they won’t have long to incorporate newly acquired Serge Ibaka into their lineup. Team leaders DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are well aware of the fact that they’ll have to hit the ground running, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

“With a veteran like Serge who understands fitting in and everything about the league, I don’t think it should take long,” Raptors guard DeRozan said. “It’s on us to hop out the gate and take advantage. […] It’s given us a jolt.”

The Raptors currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-24 record but a recent slide has pushed the club out of the No. 2 spot that they occupied for the first few months of the season. The decision to ship core guard Terrence Ross to the Magic in exchange for Ibaka raises the stakes for the franchise.

“We ain’t got time. You know that,” Lowry said. The Raptors return to action Friday.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the Raptors are seriously pursuing a swingman now that they’ve acquired Ibaka.
The 2016/17 campaign has been a rough one for the Knicks but Marc Berman of the New York Post has quantified it anyway in a midseason report card. Receiving the best grade of the first half of the season is Willy Hernangomez, while Phil Jackson was graded ‘F’.
Top free agents are unlikely to consider the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday, citing Kyle Lowry as one such example. Lowry is aware of the drama between Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony and Iannazzone suggests that could be a deterrent.

Woj: Butler Trade To The Celtics Still Possible

February 18th, 2017 at 10:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

A potential trade sending Jimmy Butler from the Bulls to the Celtics will loom over deadline week, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).

In a video interview, Wojnarowski says the teams have discussed a deal involving Butler, but talks haven’t progressed very far. He adds that Chicago officials have to to fully commit to the rebuilding process before they would be willing to give up Butler.

Wojnarowski says the trade would involve one of the Nets’ first-rounders — but probably not both — that Boston owns in the next two drafts. If the Bulls get this year’s pick, Wojnarowski states they can find a replacement for Derrick Rose, who was traded to the Knicks last summer. Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball are point guards mentioned as likely choices at the top of the draft.

Teaming Butler with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford would give the Celtics enough firepower to challenge Cleveland for supremacy in the East, Wojnarowski states, not just this season but for years to come.

Other highlights from the interview:

The Clippers and Thunder are both potential landing spots for Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler. However, both teams are low on draft picks and may not have the assets that Denver would want in return.
The Thunder were trying to acquire Kings forward Rudy Gay before a season-ending Achilles injury.
The Wizards would like to add another wing player to their bench, with the Lakers‘ Lou Williams and the Nets‘ Bojan Bogdanovic as possibilities. Wojnarowski says Washington is willing to part with a draft pick to get veteran help.
The Suns have been shopping P.J. Tucker, Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight, hoping to get picks or young players in return.
Chandler is one of several centers on the market, along with the Sixers‘ Jahlil Okafor, the Mavericks‘ Andrew Bogut, the Bucks‘ Greg Monroe and the Nets‘ Brook Lopez. However, there is limited interest in back-to-the basket centers. Wojnarowski speculates that one or two of them may be traded this week, but cautions that there aren’t enough buyers for all of them to be moved.
Unless something changes, Carmelo Anthony will remain with the Knicks. New York management hasn’t presented him with any deals that would tempt him to waive his no-trade clause. Most of the teams that were interested in dealing for Anthony are now “looking in other directions,” but Wojnarowski thinks the Clippers might revisit their attempt to land Anthony this summer.

Weekly Mailbag: 1/30/16 – 2/5/16

February 5th, 2017 at 10:14am CST by Arthur Hill

We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:

I keep reading about a Carmelo Anthony to Cavs trade. If the Cavs won’t give up Kevin Love, I don’t see what they have that would interest the Knicks because they can’t trade a #1 for a long time. Am I missing something? — Michael Hecht

Cleveland won’t trade LeBron James or Kyrie Irving, so if they want to deal for Anthony, Love is the only player who gives the Knicks a worthwhile return — unless a third team gets involved. Cleveland could try to match salaries by offering Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and a couple of others, but Shumpert and Frye have already been Knicks and they don’t offer enough value for Anthony. It’s the same problem with a rumored Clippers deal involving Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford. Unless Phil Jackson can get a player to build the future around, he’s better off waiting to deal Anthony.

What will Danny Ainge do with another point guard if [when] the Celtics get the first pick in the draft? — William D. Baskind

Boston has the option to swap picks with Brooklyn, and the Nets are pulling away with the top spot in our reverse standings. The Celtics would still have win the lottery to get the top pick, but this year’s draft is heavy in point guards, with Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball projected as the top two selections. It’s a dilemma for Boston, as Isaiah Thomas is playing at an MVP level. The Celtics may seek to trade the pick or they could take Fultz and try to convert him into a shooting guard.

We can all agree that the Thunder need another playmaker now that Enes Kanter is out. Can you name three players that are possible targets at the trade deadline? — Casey Becker

Oklahoma City was reportedly “intrigued” about chasing Anthony, but that seems like a remote possibility. Kanter will be missed after breaking his forearm, but with a four- to eight-week recovery time he should be ready for the playoffs. The need that the Thunder might try to address before the deadline is 3-point shooting, where they are one of the league’s worst teams. Someone like Nick Young could be possible if the Lakers decide to cut salary and commit further to their young core. If they’re looking strictly at playmakers, three names to watch are Sacramento’s Darren Collison, Dallas’ Deron Williams and Orlando’s Elfrid Payton.

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Central Notes: Hoiberg, Smith, Maker, Pistons

January 29th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Fred Hoiberg plans to get tougher with players as he tries to fix the Bulls, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. That was one of the points made at a team meeting Friday that capped a tumultuous week in which Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo all went public with comments about problems in the locker room. “His message was, ‘I’m going to hold you guys more accountable. I give you guys a lot of leeway because I care about you and I understand how hard it is to be an NBA player and to go home at night with so much on your back. I was there. I’ve been there. But now I have to do a better job.’ And I can respect that,” said Taj Gibson.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

Injured guard J.R. Smith isn’t worried about the recent turbulence in Cleveland, relays Chris Fedor of The Plain Dealer. The Cavaliers have been suffering through a losing skid that prompted LeBron James to call for management to add a backup point guard and then question whether the roster was good enough to repeat as champions. Cleveland was also tied to Carmelo Anthony trade talks, with rumors floating of an Anthony for Kevin Love proposal. However, Smith notes that last season also had its hectic moments –including the firing of coach David Blatt last January –before the team regrouped to win its first NBA title. “We’ve been here before,” Smith said. “We was in the same situation last year. We were losing games. I believe it was Brooklyn, we were in New York, and had a huge team meeting — a lot of team meetings last year about us losing and quote unquote stuff within the team and whatever. But it’s all good. It’s all love and we love each other.”
Thon Maker‘s start at center Saturday night could be part of a trend, according to Matt Velasquez of The Journal Sentinel. Bucks coach Jason Kidd said Maker’s playing time will probably increase as the season wears on. “We would like to see more [of Maker] so someone has to sit,” Kidd said in explaining why Miles Plumlee was pulled from the starting lineup. “I thought the second group yesterday did a really good job of getting us back in the game and when he’s been on the floor for us he’s been positive so we’ve got to figure out how to get him more minutes on the floor.”
Injuries through the first half of the season make it difficult for Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy to make informed decisions before the trade deadline, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The Pistons are a disappointing 21-26, but only a game-and-a-half out of a playoff spot.

Southwest Notes: Capela, Gordon, Daniels

January 15th, 2017 at 7:48pm CST by Austin Kent

After two long months, Clint Capela is set to make his return for the Rockets. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Capela could return as early as Tuesday, depending on how he feels after Monday’s practice.

On December 17, Capela fractured his left tibula and has been sidelined ever since. Though the Rockets have continued to win ball games in his absence, they’ll welcome the 22-year-old center back with open arms. Before going down with the injury, Capela had been averaging 11.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

Halfway through the 2016/17 campaign, it appears as though the Rockets found themselves a bargain in Eric Gordon. Scott Cacciola of the New York Times writes that the shooting guard has thrived in head coach Mike D’Antoni‘s system. “I think he knew, more or less, the type of basketball we’d be playing, with the free rein on 3-pointers and all that,” D’Antoni said. “But I don’t think I could even articulate in the summertime exactly what we’d be doing, because I didn’t know we’d be doing this.”
Unheralded offseason addition Troy Daniels has given the Grizzlies little choice but to expand his role with the organization, writes Blake Meyer of FanSided’s Beale St. Blues. Through 31 games, Daniels has given Memphis 10.1 points in less than 20 minutes per game and, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN, has had a dramatic impact on the team’s plus-minus.
It’s been nearly two years since Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles and over a year since he returned, but Zach Lowe of ESPN thinks the Mavs veteran is continuing to make progress.

Magic Notes: Dragic, Crabbe, Vucevic, Harkless

January 13th, 2017 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Orlando is among several teams that have contacted the Heat about Goran Dragic, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The Magic are looking to solidify their point guard position, which belonged to Elfrid Payton when the season began, but was taken over by D.J. Augustin in late November. Dragic still has three years and more than $54MM left on his current contract. He is averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 assists in 32 games this season, but has missed time recently with back problems.

There’s more news today out of Orlando:

After losing six of their last seven and dropping to 16-24, the Magic need to act quickly to save their season, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Offense has been a problem for Orlando all year, and Schmitz says the team needs to find a scorer who can create his own shot. He suggests Allen Crabbe of the Trail Blazers as a realistic target and suggests offering, possibly with shot-blocking center Bismack Biyombo going to Portland in return.
Nikola Vucevic will be back in the starting lineup tonight, with Biyombo coming off the bench, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Vucevic was demoted along with Payton in the November shakeup. Coach Frank Vogel plans to utilize more “small-ball” lineups with Jeff Green moving to power forward and Mario Hezonja back in the rotation as a backup small forward.
The Magic made a huge error when they gave up on Maurice Harkless two years ago, Robbins argues in a separate piece. After three disappointing seasons in Orlando, Harkless was traded to Portland in the summer of 2015 in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2020. He was a regular starter for the Blazers during last year’s playoffs and has started all 40 games in which he has appeared this season. “It was a tough situation: a lot of guys trying to figure it out, including the staff and the front office,” Harkless said of his time in Orlando. “It was a unique situation. It was tough. Obviously, it wasn’t going to work out for everybody. I think a change of scenery is what I needed.”

Southwest Notes: Anderson, Parsons, Green

January 3rd, 2017 at 4:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

GM Daryl Morey said the Rockets tried to trade for Ryan Anderson multiple times over the past few years, adding that the team was “obsessed” with his game, as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes. Houston signed the power forward to a four-year, $80MM deal during the offseason.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons, who signed a max contract with the Grizzlies over the summer, missed 25 games this season because of injuries and he’s shooting a career low 34.7% from the field in the 11 games he has been able to play. However, Parsons remains optimistic that he can turn the season around, as he tells Sam Amick of USA Today. “I’m obviously not hitting at a high rate, and I’ve been an efficient player my entire career,” Parsons said. “But it’s the law of averages, man. Let me keep playing. I ain’t gonna shoot this bad for the rest of the year.”
JaMychal Green has played well for the Grizzlies this season, but Joe Mullinax of SB Nation wonders if Green should be part of the team’s long-term plans. Green will be a restricted free agent this offseason and Mullinax speculates that the power forward will command an annual salary of at least $10MM, a figure that could be too pricey for Memphis.
Andrew Bogut acknowledges that coming off the bench can be a “little disparaging,” but he’s willing to try new things if it helps the Mavericks win more games, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com passes along. “If that’s the way things are going to go to try to get us wins, I’m all for it. If it doesn’t get us wins, then we have a conversation in five or six games,” Bogut said. “It’s no secret that that lineup just doesn’t work. [Harrison Barnes] at the 4 with Dirk at the 5 or myself at the 5 is way more effective. You don’t have to look at analytics to see that. You can see that with the way the floor spacing is and all of that. We’ll give it a shot and see how it goes.”

New York Notes: Rose, Holiday, Hornacek, Nets

January 1st, 2017 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

As the Knicks ponder their decision on whether to re-sign Derrick Rose, ESPN’s Ian Begley notes that Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday could be part of the equation. Holiday will also be entering free agency this summer, and team president Phil Jackson has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring him before. New York needs just a few small roster moves this summer to create enough cap room for a max contract. Holiday 26, has played 20 games after missing the start of the season to care for his ailing wife. He is averaging 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per night. The 28-year-old Rose is in his first year with the Knicks after being acquired in an offseason deal with Chicago. He is averaging 17.7 points and 4.4 assists in 29 games.

There’s more news out of New York:

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek is asking for maximum effort from his team and hints that rotation changes could be on the way, relays Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. His comments came after the team lost in Houston Saturday night to slip back under .500. “Some of the young guys can really give effort in there. We’ll have to take a look at maybe getting them in the games more, maybe giving our older guys a little bit more rest,” Hornacek said. “So that they have shorter minutes so they can put the full effort out there. We’ll take a look at everything.”
The Knicks should be happy to see a miserable 2016 come to an end, Bondy writes in a separate story. The year started with a coaching change involving Derek Fisher, followed by a 13th-place finish in the Eastern Conference, a surprise hire in Hornacek, a draft night with no picks, a possibly disastrous free-agent signing in Joakim Noah, several ill-considered comments by Jackson and the end of his engagement to Lakers executive Jeanie Buss.
Tensions boiled over for the Nets on the court and in the locker room after Friday’s loss to Washington, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn has dropped seven of its last eight games and is tied with Philadelphia for the league’s worst record. “It was emotional and a frustrating game, and guys were just venting,” said center Brook Lopez. “I don’t know what was necessarily correct or who said what, but the important thing is it happened. It’s not something we’ve had to repeatedly deal with this season. It’s something that happens with every team over the course of the year. We addressed it. It’s an emotional game; obviously emotions were running high. We talked about it as a team. We addressed it as players.”

New York Notes: Galloway, LeVert, Porzingis

December 31st, 2016 at 9:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks made an effort to re-sign Langston Galloway over the summer, but the lure of returning to his home-state propelled the combo guard to join the Pelicans, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “I didn’t think I would leave [New York],’’ Galloway said. “But I had an opportunity to go home. That definitely was big, important for me and my family and wife. It’s definitely been great playing back home, loving the atmosphere New Orleans has.’’

Here’s more from the Big Apple:

Caris LeVert has only played 12 games this season because of a foot injury, but Nets coach Kenny Atkinson likes what he’s seeing from the rookie, Brian Lewis of the New York Post relays. “[LeVert’s play has been] Super positive. I just said that to our coaches, his energy, how hard he plays, how fast he is, his athleticism, how aggressive he is,” Atkinson said. “So that’s the positive we take out of [it], that he’s really starting to grow in front of our eyes. That’s good to see.”
Randy Foye is taking advantage of his playing opportunity this season and he credits his experience playing alongside diverse play-makers for his ability to help the Nets run an effective offense, Lewis writes in a separate piece. “I played with [Blake Griffin in the past], last year being with [Russell Westbrook] and [Kevin Durant], and seeing the double team and just knowing you’ve got to have the right spacing,” Foye said. The shooting guard signed a one-year deal with Brooklyn during the offseason.
Kristaps Porzingis said Anthony Davis‘ game has greatly influenced his own, Berman passes along in a separate piece. “Before I got to the NBA, I was watching him a lot — skinny guy coming out of college, how he was able to adjust to the NBA, at this level,” Porzingis said of Davis. “Obviously, I learned from him — even seeing defensively, able to hold guys in the post. His skill set is his, pretty all-around. He can do everything, but it was more seeing how he can adjust with his physicality.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Bullock, Jackson, George

December 30th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is promising another change in the starting lineup tonight, relays Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Van Gundy made the announcement after this morning’s shootaround, although he refused to say what the change will be. He shook up the rotation a week ago by making Jon Leuer a starter, and Leuer has joined Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris and Andre Drummond in the starting five during Detroit’s past three games.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Reggie Bullock is making progress from meniscus surgery and will start non-contact five-on-five drills Saturday, Beard tweets. Van Gundy said the small forward should be ready to return in about two weeks.
The Pistons didn’t get the boost they expected when point guard Reggie Jackson returned from a battle with knee tendinitis that sidelined him for six weeks, notes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. After going .500 without Jackson, the team has had difficulty adjusting to having him back on the court. “When I came back, I think I had one practice in general, so I didn’t have a lot of time to really get footing with my teammates and myself and know where I was at,” Jackson said. “So these games have been my practice and I’m just trying to get better daily.”
Pacers star Paul George calls this “one of the most frustrating seasons” that he has been through in a video posted on the team’s website. The Pacers were expected to be contenders after adding Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson during the offseason, but have stumbled to a 15-18 start and are 10th in the Eastern Conference. “Maybe I’m just living in the past of how good we used to be, the personnel, the guys I had around,” George said. “I’m still living in that moment, maybe. I gotta put myself into a different team and maybe I have to do more, maybe that’s just what it is, maybe I have to do more now. But whatever is, I’m going to figure it out.”
Since he was in college, Cavaliers guard Kay Felder has been getting advice from the Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas, relays Chris Fedor at cleveland.com. An All-Star despite his 5’9″ stature, Thomas has been an inspiration to other small guards. “Basically said be you,” Felder said of Thomas’ message. “Do what you do. Do what got you here. I’m a scorer and assist type of guy so don’t let anybody change my game.”