2012 April | Hoops Rumors

Shumpert’s Injury May Impact Knicks’ Offseason

April 29th, 2012 at 9:46am CST by Daniel Seco

The Knicks lost rookie guard Iman Shumpert for the remainder of the season as the former Georgia Tech star tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the lateral meniscus in his left knee on Saturday against the Heat, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Shumpert, 21, faces six to eight months of recovery time which will impact his offseason development and could potentially delay his start to the 2012/2013 season. Already thin in the backcourt after Jeremy Lin tore his left meniscus earlier this spring, the Knicks will have to make adjustments heading forward in the playoffs and during the offseason to help stabilize the shooting guard position.

Billed as the Knicks' premier perimeter defender, Shumpert's absence will make the uphill battle of upsetting the Heat an even more arduous task as play resumes with Game 2 on Monday in Miami. Shumpert, one of the league's leaders in steals per game, was tasked with guarding Dwyane Wade, a responsibility that will now fall on either Landry Fields or J.R. Smith, whom the Knicks prefer to bring off the bench as the sixth man. Shumpert, the Knicks first-round pick in 2011, missed seven games due to injuries over the course of his debut season at the Garden in which the Knicks went 2-5.

Looking ahead to the offseason, the Knicks face a series of decisions surrounding the future of their backcourt with up to five guards potentially heading elsewhere for the 2012/2013 season. Lin and Fields will be restricted free agents while veteran point guards Mike Bibby and Baron Davis are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Smith, who holds a player option for next season at $2.5MM, is the most likely player to leave the Knicks as he should be able to command a heftier contract on the free agent market.

Unless Davis enjoys a complete career renaissance over the course of the playoffs, look for the Knicks to place a high priority on re-signing Lin given his strong performance this season, age (24 in August) and marketability. Bibby should be a cheap option for the Knicks to consider bringing back as his play has been inconsistent in the limited opportunities he's been afforded over the course of the season. The Knicks hold Fields' Early Bird rights, which means the Knicks can offer Fields up to 175% of the league's average salary for up to four years without having to use their mid-level exception.

Prince Wants Pistons To Sign Veteran Point Guard

April 29th, 2012 at 8:42am CST by Daniel Seco

Pistons veteran forward Tayshaun Prince recently stated his desires for the franchise to acquire a veteran point guard as the team heads into the offseason, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The former Kentucky star said he wants rookie and fellow former Wildcat Brandon Knight to have a seasoned player at his position who can mentor him as he heads into his second season. Knight, 20, enjoyed a strong debut as he averaged 12.8 PPG, 3.8 APG and 3.2 RPG in 60 starts for the Pistons.

"There can be times that me and Ben Wallace can mentor and help him out and whatnot, but I think if you have a point guard that's been through the wars, he can help him out a little bit better than we can."

Ellis suggests that the Pistons may elect to use their mid-level exception to sign an experienced point guard as a relatively deep crop of free agents at the position are set to become available this summer. Raymond Felton and Chauncey Billups should be considered among the most viable options for the Pistons as Steve Nash, still a prized signing at 38, would be unlikely to go from one rebuilding effort to another as his career winds down. Beyond Knight, the Pistons employed journeyman Will Bynum and 29-year-old rookie Walker Russell as backup point guards for the 2011/2012 season.

Odds & Ends: Celtics, Lillard, 76ers, Howard

April 28th, 2012 at 10:02pm CST by Zachary Links

A look around the Association as the Dwight Howard-less Magic celebrate their Game 1 victory over the Pacers..

The Celtics managed to stay afloat this season thanks in large part to newcomers Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma, writes Peter May of the New York Times. May also credits Danny Ainge for his signing of Mickael Pietrus before the start of the year.
Damian Lillard was projected as a second-round pick entering his junior season at Weber State but is now out to show that he is the best point guard in the 2012 draft, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The 6'2" scoring threat is widely projected to be a lottery pick.
Doug Collins is looking to lead the 76ers to a first round upset of the Bulls but things could have turned out very differently for the longtime NBA coach if it weren't for Reggie Miller, writes John Finger of CSNPhilly.com. The former Arizona State head coach claims to have turned away from college basketball when he was beat out by UCLA in recruiting Miller.
Josh Howard hits the free agent market again this offseason after inking a one-year, $2.15MM deal with the Jazz before the season and he could be a key player in the Utah's series against the Spurs, writes Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Derrick Rose Out For Remainder Of Playoffs

April 28th, 2012 at 5:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bulls have announced that Derrick Rose will be out for the remainder of the season with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left knee. The star guard suffered the injury with just over a minute to go in the Bulls' 103-91 victory over the 76ers.

The reigning MVP missed a great deal of time this season and was sidelined for 26 games with a total of five injuries. Rose showed some signs of rust early as he shot 1-for-7 from the floor but rebounded from that point forward and nailed 8-of-16 shots. Rose's near triple-double (23 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) looked to be the start of another promising postseason for the 23-year-old, but the guard will now have to watch from the end of the bench.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Bobcats, Jones

April 28th, 2012 at 4:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat appear well on their way to a 1-0 series lead on the Knicks, and tomorrow the Hawks get going against the Celtics. Tonight the Magic open their series with the Pacers. Perhaps Orlando, without Dwight Howard, can take a cue from assistant coach Patrick Ewing, whose Knicks were able to get to the Finals in 1999 despite his absence. Here's the rest of the buzz around the Southeast:

Michael Lee of The Washington Post reports the Wizards aren't on the hook for any money to former coach Flip Saunders next season. While that might make it easier to dismiss current coach Randy Wittman, who has one more year on his deal, Wizards players would like to see him back, Lee writes.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines how the Bobcats can take the first steps this offseason toward fulfilling owner Michael Jordan's goal of becoming a top-four team in the Eastern Conference.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel looks at how union executive committee member James Jones is dealing with the turmoil in the player's association while also getting ready for the playoffs with the Heat.

Atlantic Rumors: Injuries, Celtics, Raptors, Nash

April 28th, 2012 at 4:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

While the Sixers lost the first playoff game of the season this afternoon, their chances against the Bulls may have just gotten a boost after yet another injury to Derrick Rose, who'll have an MRI on his left knee after limping off in the final minutes this afternoon. That's not the only injury impacting an Atlantic Division team, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports Ray Allen is doubtful for the Celtics tomorrow in Game 1 versus the Hawks. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets that Allen will have surgery to remove bone spurs in his right ankle after the season, and that could impact his free agent stock this summer. Plus, Knicks guard Iman Shumpert was helped off the floor after suffering an injury against the Heat. Here's the rest of the day's news from the Atlantic:

A. Sherrod Blakely examines the unlikely contributions of Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma, two under-the-radar pickups by Celtics GM Danny Ainge.
Earlier today we passed along some Raptors rumors courtesy of the Toronto Sun, and Eric Koreen of the National Post adds to that with comments from coach Dwane Casey, who wants to see the team add shooting, and GM Bryan Colangelo.
In spite of the presence Jeremy Lin, who is progressing well enough in rehab to perhaps make it back in time to play in the first round, as Howard Beck of The New York Times writes, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News believes the Knicks should make it a priority to sign Steve Nash in the offseason (Twitter link).

Prospect Profile: Andre Drummond

April 28th, 2012 at 3:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Perhaps no player on the draft board gives teams pause quite as much as Connecticut freshman center Andre Drummond. He has drawn praise for "other-worldly" talent, but has been called the kind of player whose high-risk, high-reward potential gets GMs fired whether they take him or not. His athletic gifts and rebounding prowess make some scouts drool, while his lack of offensive development and inability to lift his team depress his stock. The latest we hear from Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him going somewhere between third and fifth, with some teams ranking him second only to presumptive No. 1 pick Anthony Davis. No. 2 is where Draft Express has him in their mock draft and list of the top 100 prospects, so the media reflects the dichotomy of opinions that teams have.

A heralded prospect coming out of high school, Drummond was supposed to keep defending national champion Connecticut among the elite teams in college basketball. That didn't happen, as the Huskies struggled through the regular season and lost to Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Still, Drummond shouldn't bear the full brunt of the blame for his team's failure's, since UConn had to deal with the health problems of coach Jim Calhoun, uncertainty over their eligibility for next year's postseason because of academic shortfalls, and the loss of Kemba Walker, its best player from the year before.

Drummond averaged just 10.0 PPG, struggling in post-up situations, as Jonathan Givony of Draft Express notes, and settling too often for jump shots, in Ford's eyes. He still shot 53.8% from the floor. He averaged just 7.6 RPG, but 3.4 of them came on the offensive glass. The low numbers are partly attributable to playing just 28.4 MPG. That makes his 2.7 blocks every night that much more impressive. He's listed at either 6'10" or 6'11", but his wingspan is 7'5", according to ESPN.com.

Of the teams likely to draft between two and five, according to the Hoops Rumors draft order tracker, the Hornets seem to be the team most in need of frontcourt help, particularly if they fail to sign free agent center Chris Kaman. They might be more willing to wait for Drummond to develop and learn some offensive moves around the basket now that they have an owner in place. Drummond will be only 18 on draft night, and is the second youngest lottery prospect behind Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. If the Blazers wind up with the Nets' pick and Drummond's still around when they're drafting, don't be surprised if they take him, since they'll have plenty of free agent money to spend on immediate upgrades elsewhere. The Wizards seem least likely to take a flier on another underdeveloped big man, as they have Nene Hilario and Andray Blatche locked up long-term, and Washington fans are still haunted by JaVale McGee's inability to pick up on the game's nuances.

Patience will be key for whichever GM decides to draft him. The stats indicate he's just a one-way player right now, and that's a tough sell for struggling franchises looking for someone to help them turn it around.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Lakers, Warriors

April 28th, 2012 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers and Clippers are tipping off their playoff series this weekend, but the rest of the Pacific Division is turning its attention to the offseason. Here's the latest news from the West Coast:

Among the free agents on Sacramento's roster, Jason Thompson is the most likely to return, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Jones says the Kings will likely extend a qualifying offer that will allow them to retain the right to match any other offer the power forward receives this summer.
Lakers executive VP of player personnel Jim Buss acknowledges how great a player Chris Paul has been for the Clippers, but isn't looking back with regret on the team's failed CP3 trade before the season, according to comments he made to 710 ESPN's Mason & Ireland show (via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com).
If the Warriors get to keep their first-round pick, they'll have four total selections in the draft, but if that's the case, new GM Bob Myers says the team is unlikely to keep them all, notes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.

Assessing The 2011/12 Waiver Claims

April 28th, 2012 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The vast majority of players placed on waivers go unclaimed and become free agents, but this year, there have been more waiver claims than usual, including a pair of players claimed after their previous teams waived them using the amnesty clause. Last month, Luke Adams provided a rundown on how teams can claim players off waivers, so now let's take a look at how this season's waiver claims have worked out.

The most prominent example is Jeremy Lin, who was twice claimed off waivers this season after originally being let go by the Warriors. The Rockets claimed him December 11th, waived him a couple weeks later, and the Knicks made their claim December 27th. Left knee surgery will likely keep him out for the rest of the season unless the Knicks make a deep playoff run, but he'll wind up averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.2 APG, not too shabby for a player twice on the NBA scrapheap.
Knicks GM Glen Grunwald struck gold with yet another waiver claim in Steve Novak, whom they picked up December 21st. Novak’s rise coincided with Lin’s, as he broke loose for 19 points in Lin’s first start, and has kept up his consistent long-range bombing even without Lin on the floor. He led the league in three-point percentage at 47.2%, but his shooting has never been in question. The difference this year was that he did enough in other phases of the game to warrant significant playing time. A career 4.9 PPG scorer, he averaged 10.4 PPG in 21.7 MPG beginning with that 19-point game on February 6th. We can only imagine how much better the Spurs would have been had they not waived him December 19th.
Waiver claims are so infrequent that teams will sometimes agree to terms with players before they clear waivers. That’s what appeared to happen in March, when J.J. Hickson was dressed in Warriors gear and ready for a shootaround with Golden State when word hit that the Blazers had claimed him. We’ll never know how it would have worked out for him with the Warriors, but Hickson has thrived since joining Portland on March 21st, more than tripling the scoring average he put up in the first half of the season with the Kings (15.1 PPG to 4.7 PPG). He averaged 17.6 PPG and 10.6 RPG as a starter over the final eight games, and will be a sought-after commodity this summer, particularly if the Blazers fail to extend a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Chauncey Billups warned teams not to claim him when the Knicks amnestied him before the season, hoping he could sign with a contender as a free agent, but the Clippers claimed him anyway December 12th. It all worked out, as the Clippers became the sort of contending team Billups wanted to play for anyway when they traded for Chris Paul a few days later. Billups slid over to shooting guard and adjusted smoothly to his new position, averaging 15.0 PPG before going down with a season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear on February 6th.
The Kings had much less success with claiming an amnestied player, saddling themselves on Dec. 17th with Travis Outlaw for $12MM over the remaining four years of his contract. He was even less of a factor in Sacramento than he was for the Nets before they waived him, averaging just 4.3 PPG in 12.8 MPG, his worst numbers since he was a rookie in 2003/04.
The Warriors tried to replace Jeremy Lin when they claimed Ish Smith, another backup point guard, off waivers from the Grizzlies on December 16th. Smith was there for only six games and 63 total minutes before the Warriors put him back on waivers on January 14th. He went unclaimed this time, and was signed as a free agent February 2nd by the Magic, with whom he’s played the rest of the season.
The Blazers quietly let go of backup big man Chris Johnson at the trade deadline, and amid rumors the Celtics were interested, the Hornets snapped him up off waivers March 19th. Depleted as the Hornets were along the front line this year, Johnson still only saw 82 total minutes over seven games before New Orleans put him back out on waivers April 18th. He remains unsigned since.
Rod Higgins, the president of basketball operations for the Bobcats, gave son Cory Higgins quite a present on Christmas Day when the team claimed him off waivers from the Nuggets. The undrafted 22-year-old rookie from Colorado stayed on the Bobcats roster the entire season, averaging 3.9 PPG in 11.1 MPG.

Blazers Notes: Batum, Hickson, Offseason Plans

April 28th, 2012 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today we learned that Trail Blazers guard Jamal Crawford will decline his 2012/13 option worth $5.23MM. Here's more on Portland from Jason Quick of The Oregonian..

We learned yesterday that the club is likely to match offers for Nicolas Batum. The Blazers could just sign Batum to a long-term deal but acting GM Chad Buchanan plans to keep the forward in restricted status in order to have more flexibility. Batum's qualifying offer will place a $5.4MM hold onto the Blazers' salary cap, which should be $3-5MM less than what it would take to sign him under a long-term deal.
The club is not yet sure if they'll make a qualifying offer to J.J. Hickson. The forward, picked up off of waivers from the Kings this season, has said that he would like to remain in Portland. The 23-year-old averaged 15.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 19 games for the Blazers this season.
Buchanan said that the club's top two priorities this summer are finding a starting point guard and finding a starting center.

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