James Anderson To Sign In D-League
James Anderson, who was recently waived by the Spurs and worked out for the Timberwolves, is heading back to the D-League, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Anderson will sign with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.
It's not clear whether or not the Timberwolves are still interested in signing Anderson, but for the 23-year-old, there's little to lose by returning to the court in the D-League. Because no NBA team holds his rights, he's still essentially a free agent, so if the T-Wolves or another club wanted to sign him, there'd be nothing standing in the way.
Anderson, who appeared in 10 games for the Spurs this season, was on the Valley Vipers' roster during the D-League preseason, but was signed by San Antonio before the regular season got underway. The Wolves were eyeing the 2010 20th overall pick as one candidate to replace the injured Josh Howard on the wing.
Blazers Rumors: Aldridge, Matthews, Hickson
A home win last night over the Kings ensured that the Trail Blazers surpassed the Jazz and Timberwolves in the Western standings, making them the eighth seed in the conference. It's still very early in the season, but Portland has outperformed most expectations so far, and now the team will have to decide whether its performance will affect the way it approaches roster moves as the trade deadline approaches. Jason Quick of the Oregonian has the latest updates on that front, so let's round up the highlights….
- After a veteran reporter told Quick that he'd heard the Blazers are shopping LaMarcus Aldridge, the Oregonian scribe asked Blazers GM Neil Olshey directly whether that was the case. "It was as if I had told Olshey the best joke he had ever heard," says Quick, who adds that the Blazers haven't made a single call about Aldridge, though they did field one exploratory inquiry from another team.
- Olshey has identified a handful of core players in Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard, and Wesley Matthews, and it would be a huge surprise if any of those guys were moved. "The players on our roster who are no-brainers are not going anywhere," Olshey said, referring to that core.
- Of those four players, Matthews represents the most likely candidate to be dealt, but the Blazers GM has come to value the guard more than his stats suggest and wants him around during the rebuild, making a trade very unlikely.
- The Blazers may still make a move before February 21st, but it's unlikely to be a deal that "moves the needle."
- Quick speculates that Portland's top trade candidate could be J.J. Hickson, who has been outperforming his one-year, $4MM contract so far. The Blazers may want to get something in return for him before he hits free agency next July.
- Portland is expected to pursue a center and shooting guard in free agency or the draft next summer, when the team should be working with eight figures in cap space.
Odds & Ends: Wall, Felton, Raptors, Harden
A pair of teams at opposite ends of the standings received news about their point guards that conflicts with the way their seasons have gone so far. John Wall told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he's targeting sometime next month for his return to the Wizards from a left patella injury that's kept him out all season. Raymond Felton of the Knicks, meanwhile, told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link), that he'll likely have surgery on his broken right pinkie finger that will keep him out four to six weeks. While we don't normally cover injuries at Hoops Rumors, we do so when an absence could have an effect on personnel moves, and there's news on a couple more guys whose health could signal change.
- Raptors officials said that center Jonas Valanciunas will miss the next four to six weeks with a broken ring finger on his right hand, as Doug Smith of the Toronto Star notes, which might complicate matters if the team intends to trade Andrea Bargnani anytime soon while remaining competitive this season. With Bargnani still recovering from a torn elbow ligament, Aaron Gray has become a starter.
- Smith also writes that coach Dwane Casey has decided he'll keep Jose Calderon in the starting lineup even when Kyle Lowry returns from a torn right triceps muscle. Calderon has long been a trade candidate, but the team could dangle Lowry instead, as we heard earlier today.
- The Timberwolves had contact with the Thunder about acquiring James Harden, but Minnesota was rebuffed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. It's unclear how far talks got, but it's no surprise that the Wolves at least made an inquiry, as just about every team surely did this summer while Oklahoma City stared down the dilemma over whether to grant Harden an extension.
- The numbers show top pick Anthony Davis has played more efficiently than any other 2012 lottery selection, and he credits some of that success to the mentorship of Ryan Anderson, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com tweets.
How 2012 Lottery Picks Have Fared So Far
It will be a long time before we can truly discern how well the teams that had high picks last June performed in the draft, but early impressions from the season's first two months can tell us a lot. It's also difficult to judge players who play different positions and get varying amounts of playing time, but former ESPN.com writer (and current Grizzlies executive) John Hollinger's player efficiency rating, or PER, gives us as effective a tool as any to do so.
There's no surprise about which rookie has the highest PER amongst this year's lottery picks, as No. 1 pick Anthony Davis claims the top spot. After him, though, the list bears little resemblance to the order in which the players were drafted. For the most part, the picture isn't a pretty one, either. Only four of this year's lottery picks have a PER better than 15.0, which is the mark of an average player.
Last year's lottery selections are listed below in descending order of their PERs. The pick with which they were taken is in parentheses.
- Anthony Davis, Hornets (1) — 21.2: Injuries have limited him to just 14 games so far, but when he's played, he's been about as impressive as advertised.
- Andre Drummond, Pistons (9) — 21.0: The Pistons have kept their center of the future under wraps, playing him less than 20 minutes per game. In that time, Drummond has looked like a steal.
- Damian Lillard, Blazers (6) — 17.6: He's receiving early consideration for Rookie of the Year, though he may have a hard time holding off Davis as the big man gets more games under his belt.
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2) — 17.3: He was known for his defense coming out of college, but the small forward is shooting better than 50% so far.
- John Henson, Bucks (14) — 14.4: His playing time has been sporadic, as he's made five starts but is averaging only 10.1 minutes per game. Still, Henson is grabbing 10.1 rebounds per 36 minutes.
- Meyers Leonard, Trail Blazers (11) — 13.1: Though he's consistently part of the Blazers' rotation, he's yet to have much of an impact, with season highs of 12 points and nine rebounds.
- Jeremy Lamb, Thunder (12) — 12.5: His inclusion in the James Harden trade that brought him from the Rockets has done nothing for his playing time, as he's totaled just 41 NBA minutes so far.
- Dion Waiters, Cavaliers (4) — 11.8: Waiters has started in all 21 of his appearances for the Cavs, unlike college, where he was a reserve for Syracuse.
- Bradley Beal, Wizards (3) — 11.7: Beal was touted as a long-range shooter, and his 29% three-point shooting is just one of many ugly stats on the team with the league's worst record.
- Terrence Ross, Raptors (8) — 10.3: Injuries to others forced Ross into the rotation, but he's put on an uneven performance.
- Harrison Barnes, Warriors (7) — 10.1: It's a little surprising his PER is so low considering he's started all 28 games for Golden State, but many of his other numbers (8.8 PPG, 40.7% shooting, 31% three-point percentage) suggest his subpar PER makes sense.
- Thomas Robinson, Kings (5) — 9.4: He's seeing only 16 minutes per night, but he hasn't done much while on the floor to earn coach Keith Smart's trust.
- Austin Rivers, Hornets (10) — 6.7: His 35.1% field goal percentage looks even worse when you consider he's shooting 36.7% from three-point range.
- Kendall Marshall, Suns (13) — 0.7: Here's where PER is a little bit unfair, since the sample size covers only 38 NBA minutes. What's more disconcerting is Marshall's 9.6 points and 7.6 assists in 31.0 minutes per game in nine D-League contests.
Southwest Rumors: Mavericks, Gordon, White
Four of five Southwest Division teams are in action tonight, and the Hornets started the evening off on a postive note by breaking their 11-game losing streak with a victory over the Magic. The Mavericks, in the midst of a three-day layoff surrounding Christmas, are probably in a festive mood, considering Dirk Nowitzki saw his first action of the season in Dallas' last outing. Here's more news on the Mavs and another star making his way back into the lineup.
- The Mavs "will be listening to anybody and everybody who wants to make a move" between now and the trade deadline, and they're particularly interested in finding a point guard, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Sefko chatted with readers about a litany of Mavs-related subjects, and says that although the team will look to make moves, it isn't ready to dismantle the core and give up on making the playoffs just yet.
- Hornets coach Monty Williams believes Eric Gordon could make his debut this season as early as Saturday, as John Reid of the Times Picayune notes. Gordon has been out all year with a patella tendon disorder and a bone bruise in his right knee after a contentious back-and-forth between him and the team during restricted free agency this summer.
- The Associated Press reports that Rockets coach Kevin McHale is "unsure" about Royce White's future with the team, though it sounds like McHale simply hasn't been briefed on the very latest concerning the 16th overall pick, who's yet to play for Houston as he works through his generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Trade Candidate Series
The 2012/13 trade deadline is less than two months away, which means it's time to start exploring in earnest which players could be on the move this season. Leading up to the deadline, Hoops Rumors will take an in-depth look at a number of players we consider to be trade candidates. These aren't players who necessarily will be traded by February 21st, but front offices figure to at least listen to offers on these guys, and perhaps even shop them in the coming weeks.
Our Trade Candidate pieces explore why a trade might happen, the likelihood of a deal going down, and potential suitors, along with other relevant details. Last season, we profiled guys who were moved by the deadline, such as Leandro Barbosa and Stephen Jackson, along with plenty more players who were eventually dealt over the summer, including Andre Iguodala, Devin Harris, and Kevin Martin.
A complete list of the players we've examined so far during the 2012/13 season is below, in alphabetical order. This list can be found in our right sidebar under "Hoops Rumors Features" and will continue to be updated until the deadline:
- Andrea Bargnani (Raptors)
- Leandro Barbosa (Celtics)
- DeJuan Blair (Spurs)
- Carlos Boozer (Bulls)
- Jose Calderon (Raptors)
- Jared Dudley (Suns)
- Tyreke Evans (Kings)
- Pau Gasol (Lakers)
- Marcin Gortat (Suns)
- Richard Hamilton (Bulls)
- Kris Humphries (Nets)
- Andrei Kirilenko (Timberwolves)
- Timofey Mozgov (Nuggets)
- J.J. Redick (Magic)
- Josh Smith (Hawks)
- Anderson Varejao (Cavaliers)
- Derrick Williams (Timberwolves)
Latest On Wolves, Anderson, Potential Signings
5:56pm: Coach Rick Adelman said this evening that there are no new updates on the free agent front, adding that he hasn't seen anyone come in yet (Twitter link via the T-Wolves' PR account).
9:36am: The Timberwolves probably won't make a signing until after New Year's Day, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who confirms that the team is indeed set to work out James Anderson today (Twitter links). Minnesota is compiling a list of targets to replace Josh Howard, whom the team waived after he tore his ACL last week. Donte Greene and Lazar Hayward are reportedly serious candidates for the open roster spot.
Whoever gets the gig will be on a non-guaranteed deal, according to Wolfson, so there could be more movement on the horizon. With the exception of 10-day contracts, which teams can begin signing on January 5th, all contracts on the books become guaranteed for the entire season on January 10th. That means the Wolves could be waiting until the 5th to ink someone to a 10-day deal, or they could bring a player aboard before the 5th on a de-facto 10-day contract and waive him before the 10th.
Minnesota doesn't have any more than the minimum salary to offer, and the team, which has 14 players, probably won't open up a second available roster spot by waiving injured Malcolm Lee, Wolfson tweets. The Wolves are unlikely to seek a disabled player exception for Lee, either, Wolfson notes. That makes sense, since the exception would be worth half of Lee's second-year minimum salary, not enough money to sign anybody, even a rookie making the minimum. The only way the exception would be of any value to the team is if it traded for a minimum-salary rookie. There's no official word on a timetable for Lee, but Wolfson hears the shooting guard is done for the year with a chrondal injury to his right knee.
Odds & Ends: Varejao, Asik, Pistons, Mavs, Mack
After a busy Christmas Day in the NBA, there's no let-up on Boxing Day, with all but six teams in action later tonight — the Bulls and the Pacers will be two of the teams with today off, after Indiana announced that tonight's game would be postponed due to poor weather conditions. As we look forward to a full evening slate, we'll check in on a few updates from around the NBA:
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio answered reader questions about the Cavaliers in a chat, saying that he believes that if Cleveland is to trade Anderson Varejao, it's likely that would happen this season, with the Cavs looking for a big man and multiple first-round picks in return.
- Omer Asik burned his old team for 20 points and 18 rebounds yesterday, and what makes it even more painful for the Bulls is that backup center has been one of Chicago’s weaknesses this season, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes.
- According to coach Lawrence Frank, the Pistons aren't ready to hand over major minutes to Andre Drummond and other young players at the cost of trying to win games now. If the organization goes in that direction later this season, the club will be upfront about the decision, says Frank. MLive.com's David Mayo has the details.
- The Mavericks also continue to prioritize wins over player development, though coach Rick Carlisle tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that player development is a "major focus of our team."
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman told Shelvin Mack that what prompted the team to sign him wasn't his prior experience with Washington, but his play in the D-League, where he was in the top 10 in both scoring and assists, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post chronicles.
- Mo Williams, playing in a contract year, will be sidelined indefinitely with what the Jazz are calling a "severely sprained" right thumb, says Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
D-League Moves: Tony Wroten, Dexter Pittman
We'll use this space to track the day's D-League assignments and recalls. If you want to keep tabs on all of this season's D-League moves, be sure to check out our complete list.
- The Grizzlies have re-assigned Tony Wroten to the Reno Bighorns, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter). It's the second assignment of the season for the first-round pick, who was sent to the D-League on November 27th before being recalled on December 17th.
- The Heat have sent Dexter Pittman to their D-League affiliate, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). According to coach Erik Spoelstra, Pittman will spent several weeks with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Pittman, Miami's 32nd overall pick in the 2010 draft, played in 35 games for the club last year, even starting six contests. However, he hasn't been able to crack the rotation this season, appearing briefly in just four of the Heat's 25 games so far.
Latest On DeMarcus Cousins
The Kings lifted DeMarcus Cousins' suspension on Monday after just two days, but that doesn't mean the big man will immediately return to the court for Sacramento. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter), Cousins is not with the team in Portland for tonight's game, a decision made by coach Keith Smart.
The move seems to signal that Smart wasn't prepared to reinstate Cousins so soon after his "indefinite" suspension ended, something that Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty discussed earlier today. Zeller pointed out that Smart's comments, in which he indicated that Cousins may not play right away, suggested that the coach "isn't on board with bringing D.M.C. out of the corner just yet."
While the Kings figure out what to do with Cousins on the court, there's still speculation that the club could explore trading the former fifth overall pick. In his weekly chat, ESPN.com's Chad Ford predicted that new agent Dan Fegan will be "pushing hard" for a trade, and hears that there's a split between the Kings' front office and ownership about what the team would want in return.
According to Ford, the Celtics are one team that could pursue Cousins, with the Pistons, Heat, and Mavericks among the other clubs that have "a lot of interest."