Bucks Request Waivers On Terrence Jones
The Bucks have requested waivers on Terrence Jones, the team announced on their official website (link). Jones was inked to a contract on March 3, appearing in just three games as a Buck.
Jones, 25, had been waived by the Pelicans in late February to (presumably) sign with a playoff-bound team looking for depth. While Milwaukee is poised to enter the postseason, Jones was never able to crack Jason Kidd‘s rotation, accumulating 12 DNPs in the month of March.
While his bid to join a contender has gone awry, Jones will surely generate interest as a free agent over the summer. Jones was efficient over 51 games with the Pelicans in 2016/17, averaging 11.5 points with 5.9 rebounds. As a non-playoff eligible free agent, Jones currently holds little value on the open market.
And-Ones: NBA Owners Ranked, Tomjanovich, NCAA Tournament
ESPN concluded their management series with ownership rankings, citing the Spurs (Julianna Hawn Holt), Warriors (Joe Lacob, Peter Guber), and Celtics (Wyc Grousbeck) as teams with the best ownership in the league (article link). ESPN’s panel ranked owners in terms of “performance in guiding the franchise to overall on-court success, both in the short and long term.” To that end, it perhaps isn’t surprising to see the Kings (Vivek Ranadive) and Knicks (James Dolan) round out the list; two owners who have made unfortunate headlines for on-and-off the court stories this season.
More from around the game…
- Rudy Tomjanovich, a five-time NBA All-Star and decorated head coach, wasn’t inducted into the 2017 Basketball Hall of Fame class. Several figures around the league were critical of Tomjanovich receiving the shaft, including former Rocket Calvin Murphy and Jeff Van Gundy. (Twitter links) In an op-ed piece for the Houston Chronicle, Jonathan Feigen chastised Hall of Fame voters who “inexplicably” snubbed Tomjanovich. “Tomjanovich, especially, deflected attention, not just in the way he downplayed his coaching contributions, but even in his coaching style that stripped away excess to get the ball simply and quickly to his best player, turning the Rockets from winners to champions,” Feigen writes. “The exclusion of Tomjanovich and others said nothing about their achievements, and everything about the secret panel’s failure.”
- Tim Duncan‘s ex-adviser, Charles Banks, plans to admit financial misconduct from his business relationship with Duncan (Associated Press link). According to court paperwork, Banks will confess to misleading Duncan into obtaining $6MM in loans.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress provided an NBA prospect guide to the Final Four, naming South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell as the NCAA Tournament’s MVP thus far.
- Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett will put his name in the NBA Draft but won’t hire an agent, Jeff Goodman of ESPN reports (link). Per Patrick Brennan of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Bluiett is “certain to again seek out evaluations from industry experts on his likely draft stock.”
2017 Basketball Hall Of Fame Class Announced
The 2017 Basketball Hall of Fame class was announced this afternoon on ESPN2 (link). Tracy McGrady, Rebecca Lobo, Bill Self, Muffet McGraw, Robert Hughes, Jerry Krause, George McGinnis, Tom Jernstedt, Nikos Galis, Zack Clayton and Mannie Jackson all made the cut as inductees.
A seven-time All-Star whose career spanned 17 seasons, McGrady received the HoF nod in his first year on the ballot. T-Mac, who battled injuries throughout his career, announced his retirement following the 2012/13 season, in which he made six postseason appearances with the Spurs.
Dikembe Mutombo, a Hall-of-Famer and former teammate of McGrady’s, was overjoyed to see Tracy’s selection.
“To have two of my friends, Tracy and Yao [Ming], who competed with me for the Houston Rockets, one of the great organizations, to see them in the Hall of Fame, that means a lot,” Mutombo told Mark Berman of Fox 26. “It’s something I can sit down with my kids and tell them I was not the only Hall of Famer out there with the Houston Rockets. I was lucky and fortunate to play with the other two.”
A pioneer of the WNBA, Lobo had been inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Following a successful career with the UConn Huskies, Lobo played for the New York Liberty in the WNBA’s inaugural season. Lobo would play in parts of six WNBA seasons, playing for the Houston Comets and Connecticut Sun following her time in New York.
Krause, the former Bulls’ GM, was inducted posthumously, as the former executive passed away on March 21. Serving as the Bulls’ GM for over 18 seasons, Krause is credited as the architect of Chicago’s roster during Michael Jordan’s tenure.
Send Us Your Mailbag Questions, Hoops Links Submissions
Every Sunday at Hoops Rumors, we publish a pair of features that rely on input and submissions from our readers. One is our Weekly Mailbag, in which Arthur Hill answers a few questions related to the latest news and rumors from around the NBA. The second is our Hoops Links feature, which showcases a selection of notable NBA blog entries from all over the internet. In each instance, the content for those features comes from you.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can email them here for consideration for our Weekly Mailbag: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. If your question doesn’t get selected for our mailbag, be sure to join us on Monday afternoons for our weekly live chats — our chats will resume after the regular season ends, as we begin to look ahead to the summer in earnest.
Got a new NBA blog post that you’d like to see featured on Hoops Rumors? You can send the URL and a brief description of the piece to hoopslinks@gmail.com for consideration.
Be sure to send us your new mailbag questions and NBA blog posts each week, and check back every Sunday to see if you’ve been featured in that week’s installment!
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/26/17 – 4/1/17
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are some of our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:
- Luke Adams broke down the maximum salaries that players of varying experience can command under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore and Jazz guard Rodney Hood are a couple of under-the-radar players who could help your fantasy team. Chris Crouse dishes out expert advice in his weekly fantasy column.
- The Celtics are not only in position to nab the No. 1 seed in the East, they could make moves this offseason to become a perennial powerhouse. Arthur Hill explains why that could occur in his Weekly Sunday Mailbag. For details on how to submit a question for our next mailbag, click here.
- We keep track of every 10-day contract signed this season. Get all the details here on how to search our database.
- In our weekly Hoops Links roundup of interesting articles from around the blogosphere, Chris Crouse passed along pieces on Draymond Green, LeBron James, P.J. Tucker, and more. For details on how to submit a blog entry for consideration in our next installment of Hoops Links, click here.
Here are the questions we asked you in our Community Shootaround discussions and polls this week:
- Do you think the Nuggets hold onto the eighth seed and make the playoffs?
- Should the Bulls bring back Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic next season or should they look for other players to fill those roles?
- We polled our readers on this hot topic: Who is the best point guard in this year’s draft?
Week In Review: 3/26/17 – 4/1/17
Plenty of prominent freshmen decided to enter the draft, the Pacers re-signed Lance Stephenson and the Suns will reportedly explore the trade market for Eric Bledsoe. Those were just a few items in another very busy week around the NBA. Here’s our recap of what you need to know for the last seven days:
News
- Jeanie Buss reached a legal agreement with her brothers that ensures she will be the Lakers’ controlling owner as long as the family owns the team.
- Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson hasn’t played the last four games and he may be shut down the remainder of the season.
- Pacers star forward Paul George ripped his teammates for lacking a sense of urgency during the stretch drive.
- Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a restricted free agent, was arrested after failing a sobriety test just hours following the team’s one-point loss to the Heat.
- Knicks center Joakim Noah began serving his 20-game suspension for using a banned substance.
- Veteran big man Reggie Evans would like to continue his NBA career.
- The Pelicans will have their own D-League team in operation by the 2018/19 season.
- Spurs assistant Becky Hammon declined an offer to coach the Florida women’s basketball team.
- Dayton hired Thunder assistant Anthony Grant as its head coach.
- The Kings are interested in hiring ex-Sixers executive Sam Hinkie to run the franchise, despite a club denial.
- The Suns will explore trades for starting point guard Eric Bledsoe this offseason.
- A handful of teams that underachieved this season could make front office changes.
- The Bulls could move Jimmy Butler before Dwyane Wade‘s player option decision is due.
- Lakers guard Nick Young is undecided whether to opt in for $5.67MM next season or become a free agent.
- The Pacers reunited with swingman Lance Stephenson on a three-year deal.
- The Pacers waived injured guard Rodney Stuckey, which opened up a spot for Stephenson.
- The Pelicans signed point guard Quinn Cook to a second 10-day contract.
- The Suns signed swingman Jarell Eddie to a second 10-day contract.
- The Mavericks signed forward Jarrod Uthoff to a multi-year contract and didn’t re-sign guard Manny Harris.
Early Entrants
- Harry Giles, Duke (freshman) (link)
- Dennis Smith Jr., North Carolina State (freshman) (link)
- Edmond Sumner, Xavier (sophomore) (link)
- Lauri Markkanen, Arizona (freshman) (link)
- TJ Leaf, UCLA (freshman) (link)
- Kostja Mushidi, Serbia (link)
- This list includes top-60 prospects, based on DraftExpress.com’s rankings. For the full list of early entrants so far, check out our breakdown.
- Kevin Durant will likely be on a minutes restriction when he returns from his knee injury. The Warriors announced he hasn’t had any setbacks.
- The Sixers have shut down center Jahlil Okafor and forward Robert Covington for the rest of the season.
- Bulls guard Dwyane Wade hopes to return in the postseason if Chicago qualifies.
- Hawks forward Paul Millsap is expected to return soon from a knee injury.
- Clippers guard Austin Rivers is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a hamstring strain.
- Lakers center Ivica Zubac is out for the season with a high ankle sprain.
- Pelicans center Omer Asik and guard Quincy Pondexter will miss the remainder of the season.
- The Kings shut down swingman Malachi Richardson for the rest of the season.
- Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic fractured his right leg.
Pacific Notes: Kings’ Rookies, Booker, Nwaba, Ulis
While the Kings have dropped out of playoff contention, Dave Joerger will still seek to build the talent and IQ of his younger players. As Joerger acknowledged in a recent post-game press conference, ensuring proper player development is a large part of his job.
“Having been there with those guys (in Memphis) I felt a great deal of responsibility to maximize every win that we could get,” Joerger told reporters, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “That’s where are these gray hairs popped out. Now the gray hairs are (from) are you playing the right guys with the right group, developing guys, giving them the right experiences?”
Joerger has given valuable playing opportunities to rookies down the stretch; providing Skal Labissiere, Buddy Hield, and Georgios Papagiannis with multiple 20+ minute games over the past week.
More from the Pacific…
- The Suns are tanking “with spirit,” Dan Bickley of AZCentral.com writes. What’s more, Bickley points out Devin Booker‘s 70-point game as proof that he’s Phoenix’s next franchise player. “The Suns should feel blessed,” Bickley wrote. “They’ve lost 60 or more games only once in their storied history, and that was their expansion season in 1968-69. The organization’s commitment to losing is so sturdy and hardcore that they could conceivably end the current season with 60 losses and a 16-game losing streak, and somehow, the season will be perceived as a smashing success.”
- Lakers rookie David Nwaba will be assigned to the L.A. D-Fenders to boost their D-League playoff run (source: Mark Medina, L.A. Daily News). Nwaba has been a pleasant surprise in Luke Walton‘s rotation, averaging 7.8 points with 5.5 rebounds over his last four games. Nwaba, who appeared in 40 games for the D-Fenders this season, figures to receive a considerable workload during the D-League postseason.
- The Suns want Tyler Ulis to shoot more, Doug Haller of AZCentral.com writes. Haller relays an amusing anecdote, in which coach Earl Watson shouted “Shoot it!” at Ulis during Tuesday’s match-up with the Hawks. “He’s very talented,” veteran guard Ronnie Price said of Ulis. “He has a chance to have a long career in the league. He has a lot to his game that people are starting to see, so for him, it’s just getting comfortable and keeping him confident. As a team we all trust him. We all know what he’s capable of doing, but we can’t have him second-guessing himself with shots.”
Jusuf Nurkic Suffers Fractured Right Leg
10:04pm: There is a possibility Nurkic will return in time for the postseason, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Per Wojnarowski, Nurkic’s return is contingent upon the big man being “fully functional and pain-free.” Nurkic’s return would be a boon to Portland’s postseason chances.
8:53pm: Jusuf Nurkic has been diagnosed with a fractured right leg and will miss at least two weeks, the Trail Blazers announced through a press release (link). Nurkic’s career had taken off after being dealt from the Nuggets, averaging 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 20 games with Portland.
While the injury effectively ends his regular season, it remains to be seen whether Nurkic would recover in time to play in the postseason. Meyers Leonard, who has averaged 15.7 MPG in 2016/17, should receive a stark increase in minutes as the season winds down.
Nurkic’s injury occurred during Thursday’s match-up with Houston.
Stan Van Gundy: We Believe In KCP
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy briefly discussed the OWI arrest of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, speaking to KCP’s character while declining to mention a potential punishment from the team.
“You know, obviously we’re aware of it,” Van Gundy told reporters, including Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “Look, I’ve been around KCP for three years. He’s a guy we really believe in, not only as a player but a high-character guy. We’re aware of the situation, and we’ll let things run its course.”
The decision on whether Caldwell-Pope faces discipline may very well come from Van Gundy, who is not only the Pistons’ coach but also president of basketball operations. According to an Auburn Hills police report, Caldwell-Pope was alleged to have smelled of intoxicants when pulled over, and fumbled with his words after being asked to recite the alphabet (source: David Mayo, MLive.com).
Caldwell-Pope was in action tonight against the Bucks; perhaps an indication that a stern punishment isn’t to be expected. As Aaron McMann of MLive.com points out, the league has shown a no-tolerance policy when it comes to drunk drivers. Former Pistons big man Greg Monroe received a two-game suspension after driving impaired in 2014, and Detroit assistant coach Tim Hardaway was docked three games over the summer following a DWI charge.
Reactions To Lance Stephenson Signing
Lance Stephenson‘s tumultuous season reached its apex Wednesday, when “Born Ready” inked a three-year, $12 million deal with the Pacers. Stephenson, who has battled injuries throughout 2016/17, had been waived by the Pelicans and played through two 10-day contracts with the Timberwolves. As could be expected, Stephenson’s multi-year deal sparked discussion throughout the league.
The 26-year-old Stephenson held court with the press following his return to Indiana, discussing his unusual path back to the team that drafted him.
“I was in New York rehabbing,” Stephenson said (Associated Press link). “I was like: ‘Man, I keep getting hurt. I guess I’ll worry about next year.’ When I got the call, I said: ‘Are you kidding? The Indiana Pacers? I’m going home.’” Later in the discussion, Stephenson lauded Pacers president Larry Bird (“probably the only guy who believed in my game”), and vowed to bring a “tough edge” on defense.
Paul George was thrilled to have Stephenson back with the Pacers, talking up Lance’s value as a teammate.
“We had special memories,” George told Nate Taylor of IndyStar.com. “We’ve definitely got a bond on that court. Hopefully we pick up where we left off. He’s excited. He’s always considered Indiana home, so he’s very excited to play with me and us again. This is where he made his name and made his mark. He’s got that in the back of his mind. He definitely thinks he can help this team.”
Mark Bartelstein, one of Stephenson’s two agents, said Lance’s relationship and history with Bird was crucial to the deal’s completion.
“Larry and Kevin are genuine guys and they believe in relationships,” Bartelstein told IndyStar.com. “I think Larry, being a player in this league, knew what Lance was looking for at that time and I think there was always respect. When Larry believes in you, he’s always going to be a fan and he doesn’t hold grudges.”
Andrew Perna of RealGM was more critical of the signing, wondering if Lance is the same player was three years ago.
“There is, however, a fair amount of risk as Stephenson begins his second term in Indiana,” Perna writes. “Groin, ankle and foot injuries have robbed him of the ability to stick somewhere over the past two years. If he’s unable to stay healthy, the Pacers won’t have a chance to rekindle some of the magic we saw in 2013-14…the Pacers are hoping Lance Stephenson will help them play better right now and look better on paper in a few months.”