2013 February | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Fisher, Korver, Jazz, Coaches

February 27th, 2013 at 4:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Derek Fisher has been activated for tonight's game against the Hornets, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban likely won't be paying close attention to Fisher's debut with the Thunder. Cuban's response was sarcastic when he was asked about the veteran point guard's decision to sign with Oklahoma City two months after requesting his release from the Mavs to spend time with his family.

"His kids are older," Cuban said, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "It’s easier to fly in and out of Oklahoma City than Dallas. I understand that. It’s a decision a parent has to make. Every parent has difficult decisions to make."

Here are a few more Wednesday afternoon items out of the Northwest Division:

Kyle Korver is set to hit free agency this summer, and told reporters today, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, that he'll "definitely listen" if the Jazz pursue him (Twitter link).
The Nuggets received some criticism last August for playing a part in helping the Lakers acquire Dwight Howard and build a supposed powerhouse, but Denver has come out on top in the four-team blockbuster so far, says Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.
SI.com's Chris Mannix names Maurice Cheeks and Kaleb Canales, two former head coaches and current assistants for Northwest teams, as potential head coaches in waiting.
Also at SI.com, Ian Thomsen speaks to LaMarcus Aldridge about the big man's evolution into a team leader with the Trail Blazers.

J.J. Redick Talks Magic, Howard, Trade

February 27th, 2013 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Since being drafted by the Magic 11th overall in 2006, J.J. Redick had spent his entire career in Orlando, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2009. Now a member of the Bucks after last Thursday's trade, Redick spoke to Jeff Caplan of NBA.com about Orlando's post-Finals team, the Dwight Howard situation, and the deal that sent him to Milwaukee. Here are the highlights from Redick:

On how close the Magic were to becoming an Eastern Conference powerhouse after 2009:

"We were very close. I think the big decision was what to do with Hedo [Turkoglu]. We didn’t necessarily want to give him a five-year deal and he had options out there, two five-year deals in excess of $50 million with Portland and Toronto. He made his decision and it was a good decision for him. As a player you have to strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of your small window to make a living.

"We made the trade for Vince [Carter] and for whatever reason we just couldn’t get over the top and beat the Celtics the next year. The following season we had a bunch of injuries and sicknesses early on and got off to a little bit of a slow start, and we made two separate blockbuster trades. And, to me, that was the turning point. We never really got back to elite status after that."

On when the Howard situation started to have an effect on the Magic:

"Dating back to a year and a half, two years ago is when things started to get a little hectic in Orlando. It definitely changed the makeup of the organization and the franchise. And obviously, when you have a player of Dwight’s caliber you’re in contention to win a championship. When you lose a player like that there’s a strong possibility you’re going to have to rebuild and it might get a little ugly."

On Howard having not committed to re-signing with the Lakers:

"I think he’s non-commital, I guess, for a reason. I’m not sure what that reason is, but if he wanted to explore his free agency he could have done it last summer. I’m not sure why he opted in [last year] because he wanted out of Orlando. I’m not really sure."

On having been sent to the Bucks after weeks of rumors and speculation:

"There’s definitely a feeling of relief. My feeling on just being traded in general is it’s part of the business. I’m a guy who just believes in making the best out of any situation. You can’t always change or control your circumstances, but you can change your perspective and your attitude. So no matter where I went, if I had stayed in Orlando, I would have made the most of it."

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Collins, Knicks, Celtics

February 27th, 2013 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

We've already had plenty of news out of the Atlantic Division today, as the Knicks announced Rasheed Wallace will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the regular season, while the Sixers look to bounce back from Doug Collins' post-game rant last night. We have a few more Atlantic-related links to pass along though, so let's round them up below:

Collins is "clearly a very good coach," but when it comes to the Sixers' roster construction and performance, he shouldn't be shifting the blame elsewhere, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland.
Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth believes it would be very risky for the Sixers to offer Andrew Bynum more than a two-year contract in free agency this summer.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton revisits the Knicks' summer decision to bring in Raymond Felton rather than re-signing Jeremy Lin. While Felton got off to a hot start in New York, the fact that Lin may have already pulled even suggests the current Rocket will be the better long-term choice, writes Pelton.
Yesterday, we passed along the key quotes from Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck's WEEI appearance, in which he suggested that Boston had discussed several major deals leading up to the trade deadline. Grousbeck made a number of other interesting comments on WEEI though, including his thoughts on the new CBA and on retiring Paul Pierce's and Kevin Garnett's numbers. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has the details.
In his latest mailbag for ESPNBoston.com, Forsberg also fielded questions relating to the Celtics' non-moves and 10-day signings, among other topics.

Poll: How Long Will Collins Coach The Sixers?

February 27th, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers dropped their sixth straight game last night, an embarrassing 14-point home loss to the 16-41 Magic, and Philadelphia's latest defeat was a breaking point for head coach Doug Collins. As John Schuhmann of NBA.com details, Collins' post-game performance was one for the ages, as the Sixers coach questioned whether his players came back from the All-Star break ready to play and stressed that there's nothing wrong with the team's off-court preparation.

"I don’t want you to feel like I’m up here blaming. I don’t want you to think I’m making excuses," Collins finally said about 10 minutes into the press conference, but the comments that preceded that certainly suggested a significant amount of frustration with his players.

Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote a month ago that Collins was "apopletic" after one particularly bad loss, and that many executives around the league were wondering if the coach was approaching his breaking point, so Collins' post-game speech wasn't entirely unexpected. Mannix added at the time that the Sixers job appears to be Collins' as long as he wants it, but as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News points out (via Twitter), coaches often don't last long after that sort of performance, meaning it could just be a matter of time until Collins and the Sixers "part ways."

The Sixers exercised their 2013/14 option on Collins prior to this season, so the coach will still have a year remaining on his contract at season's end. But as Grantland's Bill Simmons and SBNation's Tom Ziller noted last night (Twitter links), in three previous head coaching stints, Collins has never lasted longer than three years. He's currently in his third season in Philadelphia, and I'd imagine Sixers management will want to talk to Collins about the future after last night's performance.

So what do you think? Will this "rock-bottom" moment for the Sixers lead to Collins and the team parting ways, or will the two sides push through a disappointing stretch and continue their relationship beyond this season?

Pacific Notes: Robinson, Salmons, Lakers, Clips

February 27th, 2013 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Tempers flared near the end of the Pacers' 108-97 win against the Warriors last night, as Roy Hibbert, David Lee, Stephen Curry, and others exchanged shoves and came close to spilling into the stands. While Hibbert figures to be the prime candidate for a suspension, the Warriors are also awaiting word from the league to hear whether they'll lose any of their players for a game or two. In the meantime, here are a few more notes from around the Pacific Division:

According to Thomas Robinson's former teammate Tyreke Evans, 2012's fifth overall pick was frustrated with his role with the Kings and will benefit from a change of scenery. "[Robinson] is going to be pretty good," Evans told Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. "He’s young and got a lot of talent. He was a little frustrated here, but the same thing [happened] with Derrick Favors. He was in New Jersey frustrated, went to Utah and now he’s playing good."
Robinson wasn't the only player frustrated in Sacramento. John Salmons tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that he's not pleased with his reduced role with the Kings, but that he's "not going to be a distraction or complain about it."
Appearing on CBS Radio, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak admitted that management has been impatient with some of its decisions in recent years, in hopes of making one more championship run before Jerry Buss passed away (link via Royce Young of CBSSports.com). The firing of coach Mike Brown five games into the season may have been one of those decisions, Kupchak acknowledged.
Jamal Crawford's tweet yesterday, in which he expressed a desire to remain with the Clippers for the rest of his career, is another sign of the team's changing culture led by Chris Paul, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Blazers Unsure Whether Williams Is Part Of Future

February 27th, 2013 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

When the Trail Blazers acquired Eric Maynor from the Thunder at last Thursday's trade deadline, the club needed to waive a player to make room on the roster for the new addition. Elliot Williams, who underwent surgery on his left Achilles last fall and was expected to miss the entire season, was the obvious candidate to be released, since the team didn't pick up his 2013/14 option, but Portland cut Ronnie Price instead.

While the move may have suggested that Williams remains part of the Blazers' long-term plan, that's not a decision that GM Neil Olshey has made yet, as he tells Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.

"Right now we just don’t have a big enough sample size to make a decision on whether Elliot is a part of the future or he isn’t," Olshey said. "We’ve been able to evaluate everybody else on the roster. But with him, there’s still some uncertainty there and we wanted to keep him in the fold going forward."

For his part, Williams is recovering well and hasn't given up hope that he could return to the court before the Blazers' season is over. While he acknowledges that it may not make sense for him to play this season and that he doesn't want to rush anything, the 23-year-old guard is still working to get to 100% before he becomes a free agent. As Freeman writes, the sooner Williams gets healthy, the sooner the team will be able to evaluate whether he'll be ready to contribute next season, and whether he'll be worth further investment.

Odds & Ends: Coach K, Howard, Harkless, Rookies

February 26th, 2013 at 10:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

A roundup of the latest news and notes from around the NBA on Tuesday evening:

Mike Krzyzewski has issued a statement refuting recent reports that he will return as head coach of Team USA, reiterating that he intends to stay retired (Reuters report via the New York Times).
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes that the Mavericks should be an attractive free-agent destination for Dwight Howard this summer.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld is impressed with Maurice Harkless' recent play as he has been given a greater opportunity for minutes on the rebuilding Magic.
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News ranks the best rookies of this season, headlined by Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard.
Erik Gundersen of TrailBlazers.com chronicles the relationship between Trail Blazers guards Wesley Matthews and Eric Maynor, dating back to their rookie season together in Utah.
Amir Johnson praises Cavs big man Tristan Thompson to Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com wonders whether the Celtics could have traded for Marcus Morris from the Rockets.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Gay, Bynum

February 26th, 2013 at 8:36pm CST by Sean Highkin

With the Knicks, Celtics, and Nets all in playoff contention, the Atlantic Division is one of the busiest and most interesting in the NBA this season. Here are the latest notes and rumors from around the division:

Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun writes that the Raptors cannot afford any more setbacks if they are to become playoff contenders going forward.
Zicarelli also writes that Rudy Gay has taken on a leadership role in Toronto since being traded from the Grizzlies last month.
Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Andrew Bynum's absence and the uncertainty surrounding his return have been a distraction for the Sixers both this season and as they plan for free agency this summer.

Latest On Kings, Sacramento, Seattle

February 26th, 2013 at 7:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Yesterday, we heard that Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson is preparing to unveil his "whales" for the city's competing bid to keep the Kings in Sacramento, with an announcement possible on Friday. As we wait on Johnson's next update, let's round up a few links related to the Kings sale, Sacramento, and Seattle:

Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Sacramento City Council is expected to approve a request for permission to negotiate a new arena.
David Flemmer, the bankruptcy trustee overseeing the sale of a 7% share of the Kings, may accelerate the process, according to Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. Whoever buys the share is expected to have the opportunity to exercise the right of first refusal and make a competing bid for the majority share of the franchise. The auction for the 7% share is currently set for April.
According to an FTXL Fox Sports report, as passed along by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee, another Kings minority owner, John Kehriotis, may be preparing to exercise the right of first refusal and make a bid himself.
When the Sacramento City Council considers its contribution to an arena proposal, it won't be starting from scratch, but it also won't be emulating last year's plan, according to a Sacramento Bee report from Kasler, Ryan Lillis, and Tony Bizjak. The Bee report suggests that City Council will be asked to give top city officials the OK to begin formal negotiations on an arena plan with a private investment group, presumably led by Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov.
Darrell Fong, one of two Sacramento City Council members to vote against a resolution to express support for a city contribution to a new arena last week, explained his no vote, as Lillis details.
Seattle city officials have started readying KeyArena for basketball and scheduling arena time to be available for the SuperSonics in 2013/14, reports Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times.

Zillgitt On Wizards, Rockets, Redick, FIBA

February 26th, 2013 at 7:17pm CST by Sean Highkin

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today has a new column in which he touches on a variety of topics from around the NBA and elsewhere in the basketball world. Here are the highlights:

Wizards head coach Randy Wittman talks to Zillgitt about the difficulty of keeping the locker room engaged as Washington heads towards another losing season.
Zillgitt takes a look at the Rockets' offense, which has vaulted them into the thick of the playoff race behind the explosive play of James Harden.
Zillgitt also gives an update on the status of Royce White, who has struggled in the D-League but does not concern the Rockets organization.
The Magic received excellent value in return for J.J. Redick, Zillgitt writes. He praises the aquisition of cheap, young assets in Doron Lamb and Tobias Harris, as well as a capable veteran with an expiring contract in Beno Udrih.
Many international players in the NBA are looking ahead to FIBA's Eurobasket tournament this summer, Zillgitt writes.

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