Pelicans Looking For Upgrades At Deadline
The Pelicans are seeking trades that will improve the team in the short term, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in his latest Insider-only “Tank Rank” piece. New Orleans (22-28) has the 11th-worst record in the league, as our Reverse Standings show, and Ford speculates that the team has given up hope of landing a top-five draft choice this year, which the Pelicans would need to do to keep the pick from going to the Sixers.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweeted last week that the Pelicans were “extremely active” in trade talks, while Steve Kyler wrote that New Orleans is open to trading Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans. USA Today’s Sam Amick seconded that report on the Gordon front. Coach Monty Williams didn’t play a healthy Evans in last night’s game against the Nets, but Ford’s report makes it seem unlikely Evans or any of the team’s other cornerstones will be moved between now and next week’s trade deadline.
It appeared late last month that the Pelicans were seeking a big man via trade, and that was before the club announced that center Jason Smith will miss the rest of the season. Ryan Anderson is likely out for the year, too, accentuating the need to get help on the inside for All-Star Anthony Davis.
Spears’ Latest: Carmelo, Bobcats, Wizards
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports hears there’s “no chance” the Knicks will trade Carmelo Anthony before the deadline. That’s no surprise, since most reports have suggested that New York’s top priority will be re-signing Anthony this summer, and the Knicks have batted down rumors of a trade with the Clippers. Spears stuffs a lot more into his latest power rankings, and we’ll pass along the best of it here:
- The Bobcats are “actively pursuing” a deal for perimeter shooting, Spears writes. Charlotte is looking to buy at the deadline.
- A source tells Spears that the Wizards will try to trade for a backup point guard, but there’s little optimism they’ll be able to find one. Washington has been using minimum-salary signee Garrett Temple in that role.
- The Kings are high on Isaiah Thomas, but that hasn’t stopped them from pursuing a true point guard, Spears observes.
- The Magic are willing to talk trade about everyone on their roster except Victor Oladipo, but no deals are close, according to Spears.
- The Timberwolves are more focused on making internal defensive improvements than a deadline trade, Spears writes.
Sasha Pavlovic Signs To Play In Serbia
Sasha Pavlovic has signed with Partizan Belgrade, the team announced (translation via Sportando on Twitter). Novosti.rs first reported news of the agreement this weekend. The 30-year-old shooting guard has spent each of the past 10 seasons in the NBA, including last season with the Blazers. He didn’t attend camp with an NBA team this fall, and today’s announcement makes it unlikely he’ll play in an 11th straight NBA season.
Portland waived the Dan Fegan client over the summer a year after acquiring him in a sign-and-trade deal. He averaged 2.6 points in 13.5 minutes per game last season. In spite of his longevity in the NBA, he’s never averaged double-figures in points or started more than 45 games in a single season.
Pavlovic will likely serve as a mentor for Bogdan Bogdanovic, another Partizan Belgrade shooting guard. Bogdanovic is one of the top overseas prospects for the 2014 draft, checking in at No. 31 on the DraftExpress rankings and No. 52 at ESPN Insider.
Johan Petro Signs With French Team
MONDAY, 7:50am: Petro has announced his signing with the team via Twitter (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
SATURDAY, 2:10pm: Johan Petro is likely to sign with the French club Limoges CSP, reports Gwenola Beriou of Limousin (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). There’s no official deal in place, but Carchia says the center is “close to signing.” Petro most recently played for the Guangsha Lions of China, but he parted ways with the club in January.
Petro played on four different NBA teams after being drafted in the first round in 2005. The big man didn’t see much success during his NBA tenure, putting up just 4.7 PPG in 473 career contests. He played in 31 games for the Hawks last season, but the club renounced his rights last summer, and he wasn’t able to secure a deal with another NBA squad.
Since the signing isn’t official yet, it’s not clear whether or not the contract will contain any sort of NBA opt-out clause. Hoops Rumors’ agency database lists Petro as a client of Excel Sports Management.
Odds & Ends: Griffin, Smart, Moultrie
Cavs interim GM David Griffin is looking to establish a positive culture in Cleveland, something his predecessor, Chris Grant, was unable to do despite his best efforts, writes Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Word is that Griffin gave the club a stern message to his underachieving team and when asked about that pep talk during his introductory presser, the exec said, “I wouldn’t want to share what I told them.” More from around the Association..
- When asked if the Cavs will be buyers or sellers at the deadline, Griffin said, “I don’t see how you get better and win more games selling…We are dedicated to getting better,” according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal (on Twitter).
- Will Marcus Smart‘s draft stock take a hit after his incident with a fan last night? Opinions were split amongst execs that Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports spoke with.
- Meanwhile, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter) got no indication from executives that Smart’s stock will take a hit and heard mostly positive things about the Oklahoma State star’s character.
- The 76ers announced that they recalled forward Arnett Moultrie from the Delaware 87ers of the NBA Development League. The move was made in advance of tonight’s contest against the Clippers, meaning that Moultrie was able to suit up in L.A. The forward was assigned to the Sevens on February 4 and appeared in three D-League games.
- D-League guard Tiny Gallon turned down an opportunity in China to continue his pursuit of an NBA contract, writes Shams Charania of RealGM. The 76ers have maintained dialogue with the 23-year-old throughout the season.
Pistons Rumors: Hollins, Cheeks, Loyer
There are tough-minded defensive coaches out there, including Lionel Hollins and Kelvin Sampson, but the Pistons didn’t fire Maurice Cheeks with anyone in mind, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. There’s no telling what direction Detroit will eventually go in, but assistant coach John Loyer will be at the helm in the meantime. More out of Motor City..
- Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders wonders if Luol Deng or Evan Turner would be good fits for the Pistons. Deng is known around the league as a leader and a class act and could make sense for Detroit as they look for a culture change. Turner, meanwhile, would give the Pistons the kind of steady offensive production that they need.
- The move to fire Cheeks 50 games into his tenure after consecutive wins shows what kind of patience level owner Tom Gores has, writes David Mayo of MLive.com. The recent nose-to-nose confrontation between Cheeks and guard Will Bynum may have proved to be the last straw.
- Cheeks should be glad that he gets to leave the Pistons’ mess behind, opines Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press.
- Kirkland Crawford of MLive.com weighs in with his memories of Cheeks’ short run in Detroit and it’s not exactly complimentary.
- Not all that familiar with Loyer? Brendan Savage of MLive.com gets you all caught up.
Hawks Interested In Jeff Green
The Hawks are looking to get Celtics forward Jeff Green, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). For Atlanta to pull such a deal off, it’ll cost them DeMarre Carroll plus more, Lawrence adds (Twitter link).
Green’s potential is evident, but he hasn’t been able to produce on a consistent basis this season. For the forward-thinking Celtics, it would certainly make sense to listen to offers on the 27-year-old forward given his contract. Green is making $8.7MM this season and $9.2MM in 2014/15 with a $9.2MM player option for the following year. There has previously been speculation that the C’s would try and package Green with the even more cumbersome contract of Gerald Wallace, but that may be tough to pull off.
Green had an opportunity to stand out in the first half of the season with star guard Rajon Rondo on the shelf, but he was unable to spearhead the offense in the way that Boston management hoped. The athletic forward can make things happen in transition, but he isn’t much of a spot-up shooter and clearly has limitations to overcome.
As a full-time starter for the first tIme in his NBA career, Carroll is enjoying his best season ever. Carroll is averaging a career-high 10.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 31.1 minutes with a PER of 14.1.
Hoops Links: Lowry, Waiters, Asik
On this date in 1992, Magic Johnson, playing for the first time since announcing his retirement on Nov. 7, 1991, scored a game-high 25 points and dished off for a game-high nine assists to lead the West to a 153-113 win over the East in the All-Star Game at the Orlando Arena. For his memorable effort, Johnson was honored with the second All-Star Game MVP award of his career.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere..
- Atlas Bowled talks Kyle Lowry and instant replay.
- Keep It Cavalier comes to the defense of Dion Waiters.
- Legion Report runs down some trade candidates, starting with Omer Asik.
- Go Hard Sports Blog looks at Canada’s 2016 squad.
- Sporty Reporty talks Rajon Rondo.
- Mavs Outsider says Dallas can’t get caught up in scoreboard watching.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, email it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Knicks Notes: Woodson, JVG, MWP
Mike Woodson‘s job security appears to be very much in question and today’s contest against the Thunder probably didn’t help his case. Kevin Durant put up 41 points to lead his squad to victory in OKC, bringing the Thunder to 41-12 and dropping the Knicks to 20-31. Here’s more on Woodson and other notes out of MSG..
- Woodson knows he’s on borrowed time with the Knicks, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. While he thinks that he’ll still be at the helm after the All-Star break, Isola writes that he doesn’t believe that he’ll be coaching the club beyond this season.
- Jeff Van Gundy knows a thing or two about surviving pressure as Knicks coach and he offered up some advice for Woodson. “Just do your job and don’t feel the need to update the media on your feelings because it doesn’t matter,” Van Gundy told ESPN Radio, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “Just do your job. You know how to coach and you’ve done it very well there. I wouldn’t apologize to anyone if I was him because I think he’s handled himself very, very well in a difficult situation.”
- With reports that Metta World Peace is unhappy in New York, Begley wonders if Woodson should give the veteran more playing time.
Hoops Rumors Originals
A look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Chuck Myron examined Arron Afflalo as a trade candidate.
- Shawn Marion could also be on the move, Chuck writes.
- Will it be a busy trade season between now and the deadline? Most of you are on the fence.
- Chuck looked at players up for rookie scale extensions in 2014.
- Wondering how an Emeka Okafor-for-Pau Gasol deal would work? Chuck breaks it down.
- Is Evan Turner worth a 2014 first rounder? 56% of you say yes.
- Here are the teams that can’t deal their first rounders.
- Play nice, everyone. Read up on our commenting policy.
- Did you miss out on Chuck’s weekly chat? Check out the transcript here.
- Check out all of our awesome features.
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