Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/12/16
The window to cast votes for the the 2015/16 NBA All-Star game closes on January 18th, and the starters for both conferences will be announced on Thursday, January 21st. The league revealed the latest standings this past Thursday, and Kobe Bryant, who is set to retire at season’s end, leads all players in fan votes by a solid margin. While it may be virtually impossible to argue that Bryant deserves to be an All-Star, much less a starter, based on his play this season, the All-Star game is an exhibition for the fans, and by that standard the Mamba should certainly deserve an invite.
The inclusion of Bryant will likely mean that a more deserving player, based on performance this season, will be watching at home rather than participating. But this is hardly a unique situation, and deserving players are omitted every season. Such are the difficulties in playing in a talent-laden league like the NBA. The All-Star game is also a fan-driven event, and as a result there are occasionally some players voted in due to their popularity who haven’t quite performed like All-Stars. This makes for an opportune time to segue into the question/topic for today:
Which Eastern Conference frontcourt player listed below is the LEAST deserving of All-Star consideration?
Listed below, courtesy of the NBA’s official press release, are the top frontcourt vote recipients along with their vote totals:
- LeBron James (Cavaliers) — 636,388
- Paul George (Pacers) — 457,554
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) — 261,158
- Carmelo Anthony (Knicks) 255,536
- Pau Gasol (Bulls) 209,006
- Chris Bosh (Heat) 194,429
- Kevin Love (Cavaliers) 172,517
- Hassan Whiteside (Heat) 168,549
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks) 160,170
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) 48,768
- Jonas Valanciunas (Raptors) 30,023
- Marcin Gortat (Wizards) 27,185
- Joakim Noah (Bulls) 23,121
- DeMarre Carroll (Raptors) 22,797
- Paul Millsap (Hawks) 21,625
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Bucks Interested In Kevin Martin
11:09pm: Milwaukee and Minnesota had talks about Martin, but the Bucks merely wanted to explore the idea, sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, adding that one source described the talks merely as due diligence (Twitter links). The Bucks, like other teams interested in Martin, have reservations about his player option, Scotto also tweets.
10:44pm: The Bucks have expressed interest in acquiring shooting guard Kevin Martin from the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (Twitter link). The 32-year-old was reportedly made available on the trade market by Minnesota last month. The Wolves had spoken with two unnamed teams about Martin earlier this season but were reluctant to move him after getting off to a promising 8-8 start, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press, who reported Martin’s availability last month, after Minnesota fell off its early-season pace. The team wishes to clear up more playing time for its younger wing players like Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, according to Krawczynski.
Milwaukee’s interest in Martin is curious considering that the Bucks are currently the 13th ranked team in the Eastern Conference and seemingly out of playoff contention, though the team has been looking to add some veteran leadership, which Martin could certainly help provide. The Bucks were reportedly interested in acquiring Caron Butler, but they have since apparently cooled on pursing the swingman, and they have also met with power forward Carlos Boozer multiple times in recent weeks, according to reports. The Kings are also interested in Martin, as Wolfson reported earlier, and the Bulls and Grizzlies have looked into trading for him, too, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. However, Memphis has resisted attempts from Minnesota for a swap of Martin for Courtney Lee, as USA Today’s Sam Amick relayed. The shooting guard was also the subject of trade talk last winter, when a series of reports identified the Mavericks, Wizards, Bulls, Kings and Rockets as interested parties, though late Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders didn’t appear willing to part with Martin at the time.
Martin has appeared in 29 games for the Wolves this season, including 12 starts. He is averaging 11.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in just 23.8 minutes per game, which is his lowest amount of playing time since his rookie campaign of 2004/05. Through 688 career regular season games, Martin is averaging 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists to go along with a shooting line of .438/.385/.870. The veteran is earning $7.085MM on the year and possesses a player option for 2016/17 worth $7,377,500. Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Martin’s trade candidacy earlier this week.
And-Ones: Morey, Smith, Prigioni
The Rockets have improved as of late, but the franchise still views the current campaign as a disappointment and GM Daryl Morey believes the team needs to demonstrate more consistency on both sides of the court moving forward, Neil Greenberg of The Washington Post writes. “We’re just volatile,” said Morey. “We’re not very consistent. That’s something we need to keep improving on. We aren’t as good as we need to be on both sides of the ball. Defense is the bigger area we need to improve on, in all facets, especially transition-D and defensive rebounding. Offense – we’ve had better moments lately but we have had long stretches of droughts. A lot of what we were able to do was have our defense turn into offense last year and that has been less prevalent this year.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Ish Smith has performed exceptionally well since being acquired by the Sixers, who are his ninth NBA team in five seasons. While the point guard isn’t sure why he has been unable to stick with one team, he does believe all the movement has made him a better player, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. “You might have to make that phone call to all those GMs, don’t ask me,” Smith responded, when asked why he thinks he has been on the move so often. “I just think it’s part of the process. Everybody has their story. I thank God for what I went through. It’s made me who I am. I wouldn’t want it any other way. When I went through the process, I didn’t understand it. Was it frustrating? Absolutely. But you just have to trust the process. Not everybody is a lottery pick who plays for the same team for 13 years. My story couldn’t be that. Is that the easy way or is that the ideal way? Absolutely. But that’s not my story.“
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers has been impressed with the intangibles that veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni has brought to the team, Robert Morales of The Long Beach Post-Telegram writes. “He’s been great,” Rivers said of Prigioni. “He’s just been solid. He runs the team and that’s so important. I think if you just looked at him, or looked at his numbers, you wouldn’t be that impressed. He goes yesterday without a shot, he goes games without shots; he has assists. But he just knows how to play. He gives that second unit more craftiness.”
Western Notes: Karl, Davis, Cotton
Kings coach George Karl admits that the comment he made at the end of last season that any player on the roster was tradeable didn’t get his relationship with DeMarcus Cousins off to a great start, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “I just can’t stand summer talk,” Karl said. “I mean, free agency, all the money, teams think they saved their organization by signing this guy or making this trade. You have all these obnoxious predictions and it doesn’t mean anything. We got off into that trade innuendo, and I think it hurt Cuz [Cousins]. And I think I made a mistake in making the comment that no player is untradeable. That’s something I might believe, but I shouldn’t have said it. So everything kind of snowballed in the wrong way at the end of last year.”
“My belief was, I never, ever thought I was not going to coach Cuz this year,” Karl continued. “Did you have philosophical discussions? We talk about everything. We meet for 2-3 hours every day and talk about every scenario in the world. And I think Cuz worked his tail off this summer. [Team executive] Vlade [Divac] and I got together with Cuz in the summertime. Vlade’s done a good job of being a good bridge between he and I.”
Here’s more from out West:
- Baron Davis, who agreed to join the NBA D-League earlier today, worked out for the Mavericks last Saturday when the team was in Los Angeles, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), but coach Rick Carlisle laughed off the report, as SB Nation’s Tim Cato relays (on Twitter).
- Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff continues to learn while on the job, something that is vital if he hopes to remain in the position on a long-term basis, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. “Every day you learn something,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s the same as assistant coach and the same as a head coach. You should continue to learn. You watch so much basketball you should see something somewhere from somebody different all the time. I hope I continue to learn. If I don’t then I know everything.“
- Bryce Cotton, whom the Suns waived prior to the leaguewide contract guarantee date, has rejoined the Austin Spurs in the NBA D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor.
Eastern Notes: Dinwiddie, Roberts, Noah
The Pistons intend to keep point guard Spencer Dinwiddie with their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids for the remainder of the season, Peter J. Wallner of MLive relays. “I landed on red eye and was headed to the practice facility and [GM] Jeff Bower called me and said I was going down for the rest of the season, and I said OK,” Dinwiddie told Wallner. As for his reaction to the news, Dinwiddie may not agree with the decision, but he understands it is part of his development process, Wallner adds. “There’s nothing really more to say about it,” Dinwiddie continued. “A lot of people ask me for extended thoughts and I honestly just said, ‘OK.’ When you have a job and your employer tells you to do something, you go do it. You don’t have time to second-guess it because you like your job and want to keep it.”
Here’s more from the East:
- A number of NBA teams have expressed interest in Raptors preseason cut Ronald Roberts, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports relays (Twitter links). The power forward turned down an offer to join the Israel club Maccabi Tel Aviv in hopes of landing an NBA deal, Spears adds.
- The return of Bulls center Joakim Noah from injury could aid in the development of rookie forward Bobby Portis, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com opines. Goodwill notes that pairing Noah and his passing skills alongside Portis’ outside game could make for a potent combo, an assessment that coach Fred Hoiberg agrees with. “They’ll be out there some, together in the second unit,” Hoiberg said. “I think they’ll play well with each other. They’ve developed a really tight relationship and a good bond. Jo has really taken him under his wing and taught him a lot early in Bobby’s career, so I know those two are looking forward to playing with each other.”
- The presence of rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who has exceeded expectations thus far with his play, has allowed Carmelo Anthony to become more of a team player, which has the Knicks heading in the proper direction as a franchise, writes Kevin Kernan of The New York Post.
Cavs Notes: Mozgov, Varejao, Jones
Cavs center Timofey Mozgov is struggling this season, and even LeBron James is at a loss for what it will take to snap the Russian big man out of his funk, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “I’m not sure,” James said when asked what’s wrong with Mozgov. “I’m not sure where he’s mentally. Only he knows that. As a leader of the team, you just give him as much positive energy, give him as much positive notion about what he needs to do for our team. But at the end of the day, like I told you guys last year about Kevin Love, you can give a guy so much but at the end of the day, you got to figure it out yourself too sometimes. I think he’s at that point.”
Mozgov’s name has surfaced recently in trade rumors, though the Cavs’ front office prefers to keep the big man through the remainder of the season with the hope that he can turn his play around, McMenamin adds. Cleveland could save between $15-20MM in tax penalties by dealing away Mozgov prior to February’s trade deadline. Here’s more from Cleveland:
- Anderson Varejao is averaging a career low 8.8 minutes per game this season, but the center says that he won’t request a trade, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “If I go anywhere else and win a championship, it’s not going to be the same,” Varejao said. “I want to win a championship in Cleveland. That’s where I want to stay. I love Cleveland.” When asked why he wouldn’t welcome an opportunity to play more, even with another team, the center responded, “Because Cleveland’s been loyal to me and I’ve been loyal to the team. I had a chance to leave when the team was really bad, going through a rebuilding process when we were losing almost every other game, and it was tough. I said, ‘I’m not leaving Cleveland. I want to win a championship in Cleveland’ and I know now we have a chance.”
- Damon Jones, who is currently an assistant coach for the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, credits James for his newfound career path, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports writes. “He’s been very instrumental,” Jones said of James. “He was the reason why I got the opportunity last [season]. He felt comfortable in me helping him in any way possible. It gave me an avenue to get back in the game. Not only right now, but even when I played we had a great relationship and he did a lot of things for my career. Without him, I don’t know if the opportunities I’m receiving right now would be received.”
Magic Waive Injured Joe Harris
5:04pm: Orlando has waived Harris, the team announced.
3:43pm: The Magic will waive Joe Harris, whom they just acquired via trade from the Cavaliers, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). The shooting guard had been acquired earlier today from Cleveland along with a protected 2017 pick for a future protected 2020 pick. Orlando will be responsible for the remainder of Harris’ $845,059 salary for 2015/16, though Cleveland reportedly included cash as a part of the transaction.
Harris was thought likely to be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his right foot, but his recovery timetable could be in the range of six to eight weeks, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer relays (via Twitter). The procedure took place today, according to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops (on Twitter). Haynes originally reported that Harris was to miss two or three months because of the injury. Agent Mark Bartelstein had earlier told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com that his season was in doubt.
The 24-year-old only appeared in five contests for the Cavs this season, averaging 0.6 points in 3 minutes of action per game. His career numbers through 56 regular season appearances are 2.5 points and 0.8 rebounds on 39.5% shooting.
Baron Davis To Join NBA D-League
Veteran point guard Baron Davis has signed with the NBA D-League, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor reports (Twitter link). Davis will be subject to the D-League’s waiver process to determine which team he’ll play for. The point guard is likely headed to the D-League in order to showcase himself to NBA scouts for a potential 10-day deal.
The 36-year-old last played in the NBA during the 2011/12 campaign when he made 29 appearances for the Knicks, averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 20.5 minutes per night. Davis has also played for the Hornets, Pelicans, Warriors, Clippers and Cavaliers over the course of his career, and he owns career averages of 16.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists to accompany a slash line of .409/.320/.711.
Davis was reportedly preparing himself for a return to the NBA back in July, telling Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report that he felt like he could play 15-20 minutes per game this season. The veteran also noted at the time that he felt that the Clippers and the Warriors would be the best fits for him based on their systems.
Cavs Trade Joe Harris To Magic
The Cavaliers have traded Joe Harris to the Magic along with a protected 2017 pick for a future protected 2020 pick, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link) and the Cavs and Magic officially announce. The picks going both ways are second-rounders, and the Cavs are also sending cash to Orlando, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). That cash comes to about $1MM, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The 2017 pick headed to Orlando is Sacramento’s, which Cleveland acquired in a previous trade, while the 2020 pick going to Cleveland is Portland’s, which Orlando had from a prior deal. Both picks are top-55 protected, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
Harris is likely out six to eight weeks after undergoing right foot surgery, Haynes reports (Twitter link), so it would appear the cash is the main asset going to the Magic, who will release Harris, according to Robbins. The $845,059 salary Harris is making was set to cost the Cavs four times as much in luxury tax payments, so even though Cleveland is sending out cash in the trade, the deal is liable to have saved owner Dan Gilbert between $3MM and $4MM.
The Cavs made Harris available in trade talk last month, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reported, hoping to land a second-rounder with greater value than one that’s top-55 protected and, most of all, save money against a gargantuan tax bill that’s poised to push Cleveland’s total outlay past the $170MM mark. The injury to Harris made the effort more difficult. The Cavs didn’t end up netting a pick without heavy protection, but they were at least able to find a taker for Harris, as Orlando used its empty roster spot to accommodate the swingman. A desire to keep Jared Cunningham past the date that his contract would become guaranteed also drove Cleveland to put Harris on the block, according to Lloyd, though the Cavs kept Cunningham past last week’s guarantee date anyway, perhaps confident they could make the trade they’ve just pulled off.
The deal gives the Cavs an open roster spot, an asset they’d aimed for with the idea of having the flexibility to add a player in the buyout market after the February 18th trade deadline, as Lloyd wrote. Harris, whom the Cavs drafted 33rd overall in 2014, wasn’t contributing much at the NBA level for Cleveland this season. He appeared in twice as many D-League games as he did NBA games.
The deal allows Cleveland to create a trade exception equivalent to Harris’ $845,059 salary. The Magic likely used the $1,599,619 trade exception they have from offloading Maurice Harkless to the Trail Blazers this past summer, posits Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Orlando had little choice other than to use the exception, since Harris is on a three-year contract and the minimum-salary exception can only accommodate two-year deals, as I explained last month using Harris as an example. The Magic are just barely over the cap, so they could have opened cap room if they renounced the trade exception, a move that would have allowed them to absorb Harris into that cap space. Doing so would have wiped out the entire trade exception, however. Using the trade exception to absorb Harris would preserve a $754,560 sliver of it that could prove useful if the Magic want to trade for a player who’s making the rookie minimum salary on a contract that runs more than two seasons.
Which team do you think makes out better in the deal? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Nets Notes: Free Agents, Brown, Wolf, Zanin
Thaddeus Young said he and Brook Lopez have already begun trying to recruit free agents to the Nets, hinting that they’re trying to get in the ear of some superstars, notes Andy Vasquez of The Record (Twitter link). It figures to be a tough sell, given Brooklyn’s poor on-court performance this season and lack of a 2016 first-round pick. The team was reportedly eyeing DeMar DeRozan and Nicolas Batum, both of whom appear in line for max deals, though those reports emerged before the Nets reassigned former GM Billy King. Young could also try to convince John Calipari to come to Brooklyn, since the power forward has a relationship with the college coach who made a strong push to recruit him before he went to Georgia Tech instead, notes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), though it’s unclear if Young will indeed make such an effort. Here’s more from Brooklyn:
- Owner Mikhail Prokhorov doesn’t see the Nets as being that far away from the top, touting Lopez, Young and the team’s developing players and saying “we need one or two players to make a championship contender” in a televised interview with YES Network’s Sarah Kustok (transcription via NetsDaily).
- Prokhorov wants interim coach Tony Brown to “find out what we have,” Brown said to reporters, indicating that the young players will get plenty of chances to play, Vasquez tweets.
- Assistant Joe Wolf will serve as Brown’s primary aide, notes Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Nets assistant GM Frank Zanin is a quiet type with close ties to King and was a strong advocate for acquiring the rights to draft-and-stash prospect Juan Vaulet, as NetsDaily writes in a profile of the man who’s in charge of the front office while the team searches for King’s replacement.
- TNT’s David Aldridge, writing in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com, wouldn’t be surprised if King recommends former Cavs and Hawks GM Danny Ferry, who was King’s teammate at Duke, for the GM job with the Nets. King will reportedly have input on his successor, though Prokhorov downplayed the idea.