Pacific Notes: Lakers, Nash, Blake, Suns
The Lakers are off until Friday night, but when they return to action, they could be with the services of Kobe Bryant. At this point, it’s possible that Bryant will be playing with a limit on his minutes, though coach Mike D’Antoni isn’t certain of that yet. Here’s more on the Lakers and other notes out of the Pacific..
- The Lakers are going to wait and see what Steve Nash has to offer in practice this week before deciding on what to do, if anything, for a backup to Steve Blake, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Ex-Lakers Darius Morris and Chris Duhon may not be sexy options, but Pincus notes that they are both free agents and could probably be inked to non-guaranteed deals (link).
- The Suns are off to a hot start despite starting the year with nine new faces, but they’re not satisfied with their 9-8 mark, writes NBA.com’s Matt Petersen.
- Nick Young has been thriving with the Lakers this season, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Young had a reputation as a chucker when he was with Washington, but he has grown up and adjusted his game to meet L.A.’s needs.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Raptors, DeRozan, Knicks
Will the Knicks trade Iman Shumpert? Two Knicks beat writers who don’t agree on much seem to think that the strong play of Tim Hardaway Jr. coupled with Shumpert’s recent confrontation with star Carmelo Anthony makes him even more available. Tonight’s look at the Atlantic Division..
- When Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett moved on from the Celtics, they warned Avery Bradley that the rebuilding process wouldn’t be easy, writes Shams Charania of RealGM. “They told me this was going to be hard,” Bradley said. “At some point in their careers, they both played on teams that were very young, and that’s how our team is now. It takes time, but if everybody buys into what we’re trying to do, everything works out.”
- With the Raptors‘ struggles starting to wear on DeMar DeRozan, Eric Koreen of the National Post wonders if it’s time for Toronto to trade him. Outside of the struggling Jonas Valanciunas, DeRozan is likely the most valuable commodity on the Raptors’ roster and he is playing the best basketball of his career.
- As if the Knicks didn’t have enough problems, offseason pickup Metta World Peace got into it with teammate Kenyon Martin, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. One has to imagine that the club’s recent discord doesn’t bode well for coach Mike Woodson.
Western Notes: Farmar, Lakers, Pelicans, Spurs
Let’s round up a few afternoon updates from around the Western Conference….
- Jordan Farmar was diagnosed with a torn left hamstring today and is expected to be sidelined for about four weeks, according to the Lakers. Steve Nash is on the mend, but if Nash misses more time, the Lakers will be very shorthanded at the point, perhaps necessitating a roster move.
- Another team that finds itself shorthanded is the Pelicans, who will be without Anthony Davis for the next few weeks. As Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes, New Orleans is in trouble and almost certainly headed for the lottery if Davis misses significant time. With a full 15-man roster and no obvious help available via free agency or trades, the Pelicans may have to make do with their current roster while Davis recovers.
- A day after assigning them to the Austin Toros, the Spurs have recalled Aron Baynes and Nando De Colo from the D-League, the team announced today. The duo combined for 53 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists in the Toros’ win over the Delaware 87ers last night.
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman passes along a handful of interesting quotes from Thunder GM Sam Presti on the evolving identity of the Oklahoma City franchise.
2013/14 NBA Trade Candidates
The 2013/14 trade deadline is still about two and a half months away, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start considering which players will 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 20th, but front offices figure to at least listen to offers on these guys, and perhaps even shop them in the coming weeks and months.
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 before the deadline, such as J.J. Redick and Jose Calderon, along with plenty more players who were eventually dealt in the offseason, including Marcin Gortat, Andrea Bargnani, and Jared Dudley.
A complete list of the players we’ve examined so far for the 2013/14 season is below, in alphabetical order. This list, which will be updated many times before February 20th, can be found in our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” Be sure to keep checking back and clicking on each player’s name to read our thoughts on his trade candidacy:
- Arron Afflalo (Magic)
- Ryan Anderson (Pelicans)
- Omer Asik (Rockets)
- Brandon Bass (Celtics)
- Andrew Bynum (Cavaliers): Traded
- Luol Deng (Bulls): Traded
- Rudy Gay (Raptors): Traded
- Ben Gordon (Bobcats)
- Danny Granger (Pacers)
- Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
- Shawn Marion (Mavericks)
- Andre Miller (Nuggets)
- Jameer Nelson (Magic)
- Emeka Okafor (Suns)
- Iman Shumpert (Knicks)
- Jason Thompson (Kings)
- Evan Turner (Sixers)
- Thaddeus Young (Sixers)
Eastern Rumors: Shumpert, Afflalo, Cavs
Following up on Carmelo Anthony‘s recent comments suggesting that the Knicks were missing the veteran leadership of players like Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, and Kurt Thomas, Mike Woodson agreed, but stressed that the team must move on.
“They’re not here this season and they’re not going to walk through that door,” Woodson said of those ex-Knicks, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “We’ve got to go with what we have. And I think what we have is good enough to win with.”
Let’s round up a few more stories on the Knicks and several other Eastern Conference teams…
- In their stories on the Knicks‘ Sunday loss to the Pelicans, Marc Berman of the New York Post and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News both suggest that the strong play of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Iman Shumpert‘s confrontation with Carmelo Anthony might make Shumpert even more available.
- Arron Afflalo is playing the best ball of his career so far this season, which could put him in the All-Star conversation, but also means his trade value may never be higher. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel takes a look at Afflalo’s unusual situation with the Magic.
- In addressing the possibility of the Cavaliers starting Anthony Bennett at small forward, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio passes along a tidbit from a scout this past offseason. In the scout’s opinion, no matter what other moves the Cavs made, “if they’re still starting [Alonzo Gee] at small forward, they’re not gonna be that great.”
- While many Bulls fans would like to see the team tank and grab a pick near the top of a strong 2014 draft, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times cautions against that approach. Speaking to Cowley, Bulls GM Gar Forman suggests it’s possible to find value in the first round no matter where the team’s pick lands.
L.A. Notes: Kobe, Clippers, Wayns, Pau
Following last night’s loss to Portland, the Lakers aren’t in action again until Friday night, and by the time the team returns to the court, Kobe Bryant could be in the lineup. However, even if he makes his comeback on Friday, Kobe may see limited minutes, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times observes.
“That would come from inside [the medical department] and him and whatever they tell me,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “If that’s a restriction, then they’ll tell me.”
Here’s more out of Los Angeles, where both teams are dealing with injury woes:
- The Clippers’ wing depth was considered perhaps the team’s greatest strength heading into the season, but the team will likely be without Matt Barnes for another two weeks and J.J. Redick for up to eight weeks, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). With Jamal Crawford, Jared Dudley, Reggie Bullock, and Willie Green still in the mix, the Clips shouldn’t need to add any reinforcements. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on, since the club has an open roster spot.
- Speaking of injured Clippers, Maalik Wayns remains on the team’s roster, which means his 2013/14 salary has become fully guaranteed. As I noted on Friday, the injured Wayns would be assured of his full $788,872 salary if the Clips didn’t waive him on or before December 1st.
- Meanwhile, Bryant and Steve Nash are on the comeback trail for the Lakers, but Pau Gasol is slated to undergo an MRI on his sprained right ankle, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLA. As McMenamin writes in a separate story, while help is on the way for the Lakers, Gasol’s health, Jordan Farmar‘s hamstring strain, and the possibility of Chris Kaman rocking the boat loom as potential concerns.
- Tom Ziller of SBNation.com wonders if either Jodie Meeks or Nick Young could find himself out of the rotation and/or on the trade block when Kobe returns.
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
As we’ve outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Hoops Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don’t want to follow all the site’s updates, you can subscribe to team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don’t have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, you can also easily follow all our updates on your favorite player.
If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on LeBron James as he plays a potential contract year, you can visit this page. If you’re interested in keeping tabs on the latest trade rumors involving Iman Shumpert, you can find Shumpert’s page right here.
Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find your player of choice by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post where he’s discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, LeBron’s page is located at hoopsrumors.com/lebron-james.
In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags we use at the bottom of posts. Items related to the NBA D-League, for instance, can be found on this rumors page. If you want to follow early updates on the 2014 NBA draft, those are all available here.
Odds & Ends: Beasley, Wilkins, Claver, Lakers
If it looks like Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is only now starting to formulate a plan for offseason pickup Michael Beasley, you’re not far off, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “With Michael,” Spoelstra said, “it was more about, initially, we felt he was part of our family. We drafted him. We spent a lot of time with him, not only during those two regular seasons, but during the offseasons and we just wanted to open up our arms back into our family,” the coach said. Here’s more from around the Association..
- Damien Wilkins, who was in training camp with the Hawks over the summer, has reached agreement on a deal with Beijing in China, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Victor Claver spoke with El Mundo after the rumors about his future published by Spanish media and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando provides the translation. “Portland is the team where I want to play. But at the same time I want to play more and here I don’t have chances to. The season is very long, let’s see if something will change. Right now I am not thinking about returning to Europe. I have no idea if there is a chance to be traded. But if it happened, I hope it is for the better,” said the Spanish forward.
- Nick Young has jokingly touted himself as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate at times this season, but coach Mike D’Antoni believes the swingman has a legitimate shot at the award, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- D’Antoni is overseeing a locker room with ten players on expiring contracts, but he appears much more effective at building camaraderie with this Lakers team than with last year’s, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times observes.
- In this week’s mailbag, Mary Schmitt-Boyer of the Plain Dealer fields questions on the possibility of the Cavs trading for Luol Deng and more.
Hoops Rumors Originals
This week, we put the finishing touches on our critically acclaimed Offseason In Review series for all 30 teams. In the final week, we examined the Clippers, Pelicans, Grizzles, and Mavericks. Here’s this week’s look back at the original analysis produced by the Hoops Rumors staff..
- Chuck Myron looked back on the six December trades that went down in December 2009 and 2010.
- Ryan Raroque broke down Iman Shumpert as a trade candidate.
- Luke Adams looked at upcoming contract guarantee dates.
- Here’s a look at top five picks that were traded while on their rookie deals, courtesy of Chuck.
- What would a disabled player exception look like for the Bulls in the wake of Derrick Rose‘s injury? Luke breaks it all down.
- I asked Hoops Rumors readers how they think things will play out for the Nets and Knicks. Most of you say at least one of the New York teams will make the playoffs.
- Several players have been dealt multiple times this year.
- Chuck dug up some info on partially guaranteed deals and found that most of them have already been paid.
- Should the Cavs trade Dion Waiters? Most of you say yes.
- Opinions are split on whether the Lakers will add a max player.
- December 15th is the magicial date when most players have trade restrictions lifted, but there are some players who still can’t be moved by that time.
- In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Chuck looked at the free agent signees who have the most to be thankful for.
- Bookmark this link to keep up with Hoops Rumors’ running list of trades in 2013/14.
- If you missed out on Luke’s chat, check out the transcript here. Luke fields your questions every Monday at 4pm CT.
Hoops Links: Bobcats, Rockets, Pelicans, Blazers
On this date in 1991, Isiah Thomas became Detroit’s all-time leading scorer, with 15,493 points, after scoring a game-high 22 points in the Pistons’ 94-87 win over Houston at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Thomas passed previous leader Bob Lanier on Detroit’s all-time scoring chart.
Got a great blog piece that you want featured in next week’s edition of Hoops Links? Send it to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere..
- Queen City Hoops tips their cap to Jeff Adrien, a pleasant surprise for the Bobcats.
- Red94 says the Rockets have forged an identity for themselves.
- Bourbon Street Shots explores some ways the Pelicans can fix the small forward position.
- Blazer’s Edge wonders if tankers will become trade partners for Portland.
- RaptorsHQ explains the Raptors’ struggles step-by-step.
- SBNation has some ideas for how the Knicks can bounce back.
- Celtics Life says the Boston vets know their role.
- The Brooklyn Game wonders if things will improve from this point for the Nets.
- Keep It Cavalier is finding it hard to keep it positive.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.