John Jenkins To Play In D-League
After being waived by the Suns last month, veteran shooting guard John Jenkins has reportedly signed a D-League contract. According to Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link), the Westchester Knicks, New York’s NBADL affiliate, have claimed Jenkins off waivers.
When an intriguing player become available in the D-League, a team with a high waiver priority will sometimes claim that player with the intention of flipping him to another club for an asset, so it’s not clear if Jenkins will remain with Westchester. So far, the club has not officially confirmed the move, so we’ll have to wait and see whether he remains a D-League Knick.
Wherever he ends up, it appears Jenkins will get an opportunity for more playing time than he ever received in the NBA. A first-round pick in 2012, Jenkins spent three seasons with the Hawks before splitting time between Dallas and Phoenix over the last couple years. In 145 career NBA games (12.8 MPG), the former Vanderbilt standout averaged 5.1 PPG on .448/.364/.849 shooting. He was cut by the Suns this season before his full 2016/17 salary became guaranteed.
Jenkins, who will turn 26 next month, received more minutes and put up better numbers during brief D-League stints with the Bakersfield Jam, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and Idaho Stampede throughout his career — in 17 D-League games, he averaged 19.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG.
Cavs Notes: Stephenson, LeBron, Wiggins, Love
The Cavaliers brought in several free agents for an audition today, with players like Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, and Jordan Farmar earning a look from the team. Of the names on that list, Stephenson’s was one that immediately stood out, given his on-court history with LeBron James. The former Pacer faced James and the Heat in three consecutive postseasons, serving as an agitator and memorably blowing into LeBron’s ear during one playoff game. Nonetheless, the reigning Finals MVP tells ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he’d have no problem with Stephenson joining the Cavs.
“I just want to win, man,” James said. “That’s all that matters to me. I got no personal problems with nobody.”
Here’s more out of Cleveland:
- Asked about the four veteran free agents listed above, James pointed out that he has a history with all of them except for Farmar. “I got a history with all those guys except Jordan,” LeBron said, per McMenamin. “I got a history with Lance too, obviously. I got a history versus Kirk. I played him in a lot of playoff series. And I got a history with Rio [Chalmers]. … At the end of the day, Rio is recovering from his Achilles tear. I hope he’s been doing everything he needs to do just to get back on the floor. He loves to play the game. … I’m a supporter of what this franchise wants to do, no matter what it’s doing. But my focus right now is to get our guys playing championship-level basketball.”
- As the Cavs struggled on the court in January, LeBron was as vocal as ever off the court, publicly airing his frustrations about Charles Barkley, Phil Jackson, and the Cavs’ roster in recent weeks. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explains why James has been more agitated than usual as of late.
- In a separate piece for ESPN.com, Windhorst explores whether Andrew Wiggins will ever make the Cavaliers regret the deal that sent the No. 1 pick to the Timberwolves in a package for Kevin Love. As Windhorst observes, the fact that the Cavs won a title with Love makes it unlikely that the team would ever want a mulligan on the move.
- Speaking of Love, an MRI on his injured back revealed no structural damage, as Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. He’ll miss tonight’s game, but the injury isn’t expect to sideline him for too long.
- Earlier this afternoon, we heard that the Knicks haven’t given up their pursuit of Love, despite resistance from the Cavs.
Knicks Haven’t Given Up Pursuit Of Kevin Love
Despite the Cavaliers’ unwillingness to move Kevin Love in a deal involving Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks continue to pursue Love, league sources tell Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Shelburne and Stein first reported last week that Cleveland had rebuffed New York’s efforts to work out a swap involving Love and Anthony.
According to the ESPN duo, the Cavaliers do have some interest in Anthony, but would only be interested in such a deal if it didn’t mean surrendering Love. Without any of the Cavs’ Big Three in a trade, the team would likely have to include at least two players out of a group that includes Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Channing Frye in order to make the salaries work. That’s my speculation though — there’s no indication the two sides have specifically discussed those players.
As Stein and Shelburne report, the Knicks have been focused on engaging the Cavaliers, Clippers, and Celtics in trade talks, believing that Anthony would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to accept a move to one of those teams.
However, Cleveland and Los Angeles are both in tax territory, with the Cavs reluctant to add much more salary and the Clippers up against a hard cap, which will make it difficult to complete a deal with either team. Anthony’s 15% trade kicker further complicates trade discussions, as it would add approximately $9.6MM to his remaining salary.
Per ESPN’s report, many of New York’s recent discussions with the Clippers and Cavs have had to include a theoretical third or fourth team to create a plausible trade scenario. As for Boston, the Celtics don’t appear to have substantial interest in Anthony, and any talks with the Knicks so far are believed to be exploratory in nature.
[RELATED: Clippers, Knicks Seeking Third Trade Partner?]
Anthony, who has a formal no-trade clause in his contract and has maintained that he prefers to stay with the Knicks, has conceded that he’d be willing to consider approving a deal if New York wants to rebuild. Still, he told reporters on Tuesday that he hasn’t given the Knicks any list of teams he’d approve. Anthony added that his family will be an important consideration if he’s presented with a possible trade opportunity, since he’s not eager to uproot his wife and son.
Matt Barnes Turns Himself In, Booked For Assault
FEBRUARY 1: Barnes turned himself in to the NYPD today, according to Larry Celona of The New York Post. The Kings forward received a desk appearance ticket and was booked for misdemeanor assault before being released without bail. He’ll have to show up in a Manhattan courtroom at a later date.
As we passed along earlier this week, Cousins won’t face any criminal charges relating to the December incident.
JANUARY 27: Kings small forward Matt Barnes is expected to turn himself in as a result of misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a nightclub incident in early December, Rocco Parascandola of the New York Daily News reports. Barnes allegedly assaulted a woman at a Chelsea nightclub on December 5th.
Two people—Jasmine Besiso, a 26-year-old woman, and her boyfriend, Myrone Powell, a 35-year-old man—filed a federal lawsuit last month against Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins, claiming they were assaulted by the NBA players. Besiso said she was sitting with her boyfriend at a table adjacent to Barnes’ and claims she witnessed Barnes get into an altercation with another woman. Besiso claims that Barnes then suddenly appeared near her and began choking her until she was unconscious.
Powell’s lawyer claims Cousins sucker-punched Powell in the head when he tried to intervene. Powell was knocked to the floor at which time other members of Barnes’ entourage hit and stomped him, his lawyer claimed at the time. The claimants’ lawyer has since said that the investigation is taking “way too long” and he claims that his clients have not been kept abreast during the investigation.
Both Cousins and Barnes maintain their innocence. Police tell Parascandola that only Barnes will be charged and the 36-year-old is expected to travel to New York as early as next week.
Barnes is making slightly under $6.13MM this season and he holds a player option worth roughly $6.4MM for the 2017/18 campaign. It would be very surprising if he opts to turn that option down and hit the free agent market, given his current legal troubles.
And-Ones: Draft, Doncic, Villanueva, BIG3
In the view of NBA general managers and scouts, The league’s 2017 draft is poised to be the strongest in a decade, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider-only link), who has updated his big board with profiles of this year’s top 30 prospects. Washington guard Markelle Fultz remains atop Ford’s board, though he acknowledges that it’s no slam dunk that Fultz will be the No. 1 pick in June. Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson, other candidates for that top spot, held their respective positions at Nos. 2 and 3, while Dennis Smith and Jonathan Isaac moved up to round out Ford’s top five.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Givony’s latest prospect profiles for The Vertical include a player who may be the early frontrunner to come off the board first in the 2018 draft. According to Givony, 17-year-old Luka Doncic is making waves in Europe with his play for Real Madrid this season, having become the youngest player to secure a rotation spot for a Euroleague team since Ricky Rubio in 2007. And so far, Doncic’s production is blowing away Rubio’s, Givony writes.
Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…
- After appearing in 62 games last season for the Mavericks, longtime NBA big man Charlie Villanueva didn’t re-sign with Dallas or land with a new team in free agency. However, Villanueva doesn’t appear to be ready for retirement yet. The 11-year veteran issued the following tweet on Tuesday: “I want back in #NBAcomeback.”
- Rashard Lewis and Jason Williams will co-captain one of the eight BIG3 teams this summer, according to a press release from the league. The team featuring Lewis, Williams, and three additional players will be known as the 3 Headed Monsters.
- Cliff Alexander, who was in camp with the Magic in the fall and has spent the season with Orlando’s D-League affiliate, was traded on Tuesday. According to a press release, the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s NBADL affiliate, acquired Alexander from the Erie BayHawks in exchange for Long Island’s third-round pick in 2017. In 22 D-League games this season for Erie, the Kansas product has recorded 11.9 PPG and 8.0 RPG.
Bulls Rumors: Butler, Front Office, Valentine
During a segment on ESPN Radio this week (audio link via Aldo Soto), Ryen Russillo passed along an interesting story he had heard about Jimmy Butler and the Bulls’ front office, explaining why the star forward doesn’t trust the team’s decision-makers. According to Russillo, after Butler passed on signing a rookie-scale extension in 2014, Chicago’s front office threatened to reduce his minutes to diminish his value heading into restricted free agency. As Russillo tells it, Tom Thibodeau stepped in to make sure that didn’t happen, and the Bulls and Butler ultimately got a deal done in free agency, but Butler’s mistrust of the team’s front office has endured, and has extended to current head coach Fred Hoiberg as well.
Asked today about Russillo’s story, Butler said that he doesn’t really remember “what went on” during extension negotiations, adding that it happened a long time ago and that it’s no one’s business anyway (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com). While that’s not exactly a confirmation of the report, it’s hardly a strong denial either, which suggests there may be some truth to Russillo’s account.
Here are a few more Bulls notes:
- When he was specifically asked today about his relationship with Bulls executives Gar Forman and John Paxson, Butler insisted that it’s “good,” per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “They’re my bosses,” Butler said. “We talk like men if I have a problem [or] if they have a problem, we talk like we’re supposed to. I think it’s very professional.”
- There’s a “growing sense among league insiders” that a Butler trade may be the best course of action for the Bulls’ future, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That’s not the same thing as the Bulls themselves sharing that view, but Kyler notes that Chicago sources admit the team is at something of a crossroads. As Kyler writes, the young players the Bulls anticipated would evolve into complementary players around Butler haven’t developed as the team hoped so far.
- With this year’s trade deadline just over three weeks away, Mark Schanowski of CSNChicago.com takes a closer look at some of the Bulls’ trade options.
- According to Hoiberg, rookie guard Denzel Valentine will remain in the D-League with the Windy City Bulls for the team’s next three games, and will be re-evaluated by the NBA club after that (link via Nick Friedell). Chicago’s D-League affiliate is in action this afternoon in Long Island.
Celtics’ Stashed 2016 Draftees Drawing Interest
Most Celtics-related trade speculation focuses on players on their current roster, or their collection of future draft picks, but the team has another group of assets that is drawing trade interest around the NBA, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. According to Deveney, potential trade partners are keeping a close eye on the Celtics’ 2016 draft-and-stash players, including Ante Zizic and Guerschon Yabusele.
“They did a nice job of getting guys they could develop, and if you know you can’t get the big picks they have this year or next year, [then] the players they took last year, that is where you can get a lot of value,” one NBA general manager told Deveney.
Zizic, in particular, has attracted attention from teams and scouts around the league. After starting the season with Cibona Zagreb in Croatia, the 20-year-old made the move to Darussafaka, David Blatt‘s team in Turkey. It was a step up in competition for Zizic, who was selected 23rd overall in the 2016 draft, and he has responded well so far. In fact, the GM who spoke to Deveney believes Zizic would be a lottery pick if he were draft-eligible in 2017, even though this year’s draft class is viewed as deeper than 2016’s.
As for Yabusele, the 16th overall pick in 2016 has played second fiddle to Jimmer Fredette on the Shanghai Sharks this season, as Fredette has averaged a CBA-best 37.0 PPG. However, Yabusele has been a key piece for the CBA’s top team, averaging 21.1 PPG and 9.4 RPG in 31 contests.
“He is built sort of like Jae Crowder, he is big up top and is a physical player,” an international scout said of the French forward. “But he has more offensive potential. He is already a pretty good shooter from the perimeter, and he is athletic, but he needs to get smoother with his game. He is not going to back anyone down, even at his size, so he needs to work on his ballhandling. But he can rebound and he can score, he will be a very solid NBA player.”
In addition to their two first-round draft-and-stash prospects, the Celtics selected Abdel Nader in the second round of last year’s draft and had him sign an NBADL contract, stashing him in the D-League. Nader isn’t receiving the same sort of trade interest as Boston’s first-round selections, but he has arguably been the D-League’s best rookie so far this season, averaging 22.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 3.6 APG.
The Celtics, already stacked with young players and future picks, are unlikely to overload their roster next season with more first-year players, so Zizic and Yabusele will be worth keeping an eye on as this month’s trade deadline nears.
Larry Sanders Hires Agent, Schedules Team Visits
Former NBA big man Larry Sanders announced last week on Twitter that he was officially moving forward with an attempted comeback, paying a visit to the Celtics in the process. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Sanders continues to ramp up those efforts, having hired agent Joel Bell to represent him. Sanders also has team visits scheduled with three additional clubs, per Charania.
It’s not yet clear which three teams Sanders will be visiting, but he could appeal to a number of clubs seeking frontcourt help. We’ve heard that the VCU product is on the Wizards’ radar, and the Timberwolves are in the market for a big man. Additionally, Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net reports (via Twitter) that the Cavaliers will be bringing in at least one free agent big man for a workout, though Amico says that player is yet to be confirmed. It’s not known whether Sanders will visit any of those teams, but they’d be among the possible fits.
Sanders hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2014/15 season, when he announced that he was leaving the game for personal reasons. The Bucks waived him under the stretch provision, and he remains on the team’s cap at about $1.866MM per season through 2021/22. That figure would be reduced by setoff if he signs with another organization.
Sanders, now 28, flashed promising upside during his initial stint in the NBA, so teams bringing him in for a look will be interested to see if he still looks like that same player. In the 2012/13 season, the last time he was fully healthy, Sanders averaged 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. Injuries and off-the-court problems limited him to 50 games over his last two seasons in the NBA.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Latest On Cavaliers’ Playmaker Search
FEBRUARY 1, 10:00am: The Cavs have been putting in a lot of work on Chalmers and Stephenson, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, who tweets that those may be the free agents drawing the most interest from the Cavs.
JANUARY 31, 8:14pm: The Cavs are looking for outside help and on Wednesday, several free agents, including Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers, and Lance Stephenson, will work out for the team. Jordan Farmar will also audition for the Cavs, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Farmar played two games for the Kings earlier this season before the team waived him.
Sam Amick of USA Today reports that Baron Davis has lobbied for himself to be considered for Cleveland’s open “playmaker” position. Davis hasn’t played in the NBA in over four years, but he believes he simply needs two weeks to get himself into peak shape, Amick relays.
Coach Tyronn Lue will be at the free agent auditions on Wednesday and he is expected to have heavy influence when it comes to selecting a player to fill the team’s 15th roster spot. The team could potentialy add two free agents if it decides to waive Chris Andersen, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed earlier today.
Cleveland could also look to the trade market to bring in a playmaker and the team has inquired about Mavs point guard Deron Williams, according to Amick. Dallas is reportedly reluctant to move Williams even though he will be a free agent at the end of the season. Amick notes that the Mavs had expressed interest in signing Iman Shumpert when the guard was a free agent during the summer of 2015. Shumpert has three seasons and over $31MM left on his contract, though his deal contains a player option worth slightly over $11MM for the 2018/19 campaign.
Heat Have Explored Derrick Williams Trade
The Heat are currently exploring ways to keep Okaro White on their roster when his second 10-day contract expires, and one avenue the team has looked into involves trading Derrick Williams, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. If Miami can’t find a taker for Williams, releasing him is also something the club will consider, says Jackson.
Williams, who signed a one-year deal with the Heat last summer, has appeared in 24 games this season, making 11 starts. He has averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.0 RPG in those contests, with a career-low .393 FG%, and has fallen out of the rotation in Miami in recent weeks, despite the fact that the team is missing a handful players due to injuries.
The Wizards are among the teams that might have interest in Williams, a source close to the player tells Jackson. But Washington would likely only seriously consider Williams if he were released. Jackson points out that teams below the salary cap floor could also take a look at claiming Williams off waivers if he’s cut, since more than half his $4.598MM salary has already been paid, but his full cap hit would count toward the salary floor.
As for White, he has emerged as a potential keeper for the Heat after having played a key role during the team’s recent winning streak. The rookie forward has averaged 4.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in seven games (17.1 MPG), with an impressive shooting line of .526/.455/1.000.
White joined the Heat as a 16th man after the team was awarded a hardship exception. Such an exemption is available to clubs who have at least four players out with long-term injuries. Miami will likely continue to meet the criteria to carry a 16th player, since Justise Winslow, Chris Bosh, Josh Richardson, and Josh McRoberts aren’t close to a return.
However, an NBA spokesman confirmed to Jackson that league rules prevent Miami from simply signing White to a rest-of-season deal as a 16th man, meaning a roster move will be required if the club wants to hang onto him. White’s second 10-day deal will expire on Sunday night.