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Year: 2017

Wolves Consider Adding Healthy Body To Roster

By | at March 17, 2017 12:38 pm

The Timberwolves have a full 15-man roster, but a handful of those spots are being occupied by players currently unable to contribute. Nikola Pekovic won’t play this season, Zach LaVine is out for the year, and this week Nemanja Bjelica and Lance Stephenson have gone down with injuries as well. The latest injuries to rotation players have left the Wolves considering adding a new healthy body to their roster, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune.

As Zgoda notes, it’s possible that Tom Thibodeau will look at in-house options as he considers how to replace Bjelica, who will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury. Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad, or Cole Aldrich could be asked to take on larger roles, and perhaps a player like Adreian Payne or Jordan Hill will rejoin the rotation. For his part, Thibodeau says he thinks his roster has “more than enough to win with.” Still, Minnesota’s head coach and president of basketball operations acknowledged that an outside addition is possible.

“We’re just looking at where we are and who’s available,” Thibodeau said. “With Pek being out, too, you’re down roster spots. You want to be sure you have enough bodies just so you’re able to practice and handle foul trouble and things like that.”

Stephenson’s second 10-day contract with the Wolves will expire tonight, and as long as he remains on the shelf with an ankle injury, he won’t be a candidate for a full-season deal. However, Thibodeau indicated that it’s “premature” to say whether Minnesota is ready to part ways with Stephenson, since the extent of his injury hasn’t yet been determined.

Although the expiration of Stephenson’s 10-day contract will open up one spot on the Wolves’ roster, the team likely wouldn’t be eligible for a hardship exception that would allow for a 16th man. To be awarded that exemption, a team needs to have at least four players who have missed at least three straight games and will continue to be sidelined. In Pekovic, LaVine, and Blejica, the Wolves have three of those players. Payne likely doesn’t qualify as a fourth, since he was cleared to practice more than a week ago and seems to be available to play if needed — he’s just not in the club’s rotation at the moment.

1 comment Minnesota Timberwolves

2017 NBA Draft Early Entrants List

By | at March 17, 2017 12:10 pm

With the college basketball season over for 2016/17, the top American early-entry candidates for the NBA draft faced decisions about whether to turn pro. As was the case a year ago, NCAA rules changes allow underclassmen to “test the waters” before officially committing to the 2017 NBA draft.

Players were able to declare for the draft until April 24, and can now withdraw at any time up until May 24 while maintaining their NCAA eligibility, as long as they don’t hire agents. That means that prospects testing the waters can take part in the NBA draft combine from May 9-14 – if invited – and can work out for individual teams starting in late April. Meanwhile, international early entrants have until June 12 to decide whether or not to remain in the draft.

A year ago, a whopping 162 NCAA and international players declared their intent to enter the draft early, but 91 of those players eventually withdrew, per ESPN’s Chad Ford. This year, the NBA’s list of early entrants including a record 182 names, but once again, many of those players figure to withdraw before the May and June deadlines. The final draft list will be set after the early entrant withdrawal deadline for international and other non-NCAA players passes on June 12.

In the meantime, we’ll use this post to keep track of reports and announcements on early entrant prospects and their decisions. We’ll archive them all in a running list here, which will be accessible anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on the right sidebar.

The players below are listed in alphabetical order. For an idea of how they stack up against one another, check out the lists of the top prospects on DraftExpress and ESPN.com. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Last updated 6-14-17 (8:37am CT)

College Underclassmen:

Hiring agent and staying in draft:

Withdrawing from draft after testing waters:

International early entrants:

Staying in draft:

  • Simon Birgander, F/C (born 1997)
  • Luka Bozic, SF (born 1996)
  • Vlatko Cancar, SF (born 1997)
  • Wesley Alves da Silva, SF (born 1996)
  • George de Paula, PG (born 1996)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein, PF (born 1998)
  • Jonathan Jeanne, C (born 1997)
  • Alpha Kaba, F/C (born 1996)
  • Tidjane Keita, SF (born 1996)
  • Frank Ntilikina, PG (born 1998)

Withdrawing from draft after testing waters:

  • Ege Arar, F/C (born 1996)
  • Laurynas Beliauskas, G (born 1997)
  • Terrence Bieshaar, C (born 1997)
  • Laurynas Birutis, C (born 1997)
  • Leo Cizmic, SF (born 1998)
  • Berkan Durmaz, PF (born 1997)
  • Martynas Echodas, F/C (born 1997)
  • Cyrille Eliezer-Vanerot, SF (born 1996)
  • Aquiles Ferreira, F (born 1998)
  • Diego Flaccadori, SG (born 1996)
  • Tolga Gecim, SF (born 1996)
  • Yoan Granvorka, SF (born 1997)
  • Egemen Guven, F/C (born 1996)
  • Karlis Helmanis, F/C (born 1998)
  • Aleksa Ilic, PF (born 1996)
  • Verners Kohs, SF (born 1997)
  • Antonios Koniaris, PG (born 1997)
  • Arnoldas Kulboka, SF (born 1998)
  • Rodions Kurucs, SF (born 1998)
  • Axel Louissaint, SF (born 1996)
  • Michalis Lountzis, G (born 1998)
  • Gytis Masiulis, PF (born 1998)
  • Lovro Mazalin, SF (born 1997)
  • Regimantas Miniotas, C (born 1996)
  • Kostja Mushidi, SG (born 1998)
  • Margiris Normantas, G (born 1996)
  • Elie Okobo, PG (born 1997)
  • Viny Okouo, C (born 1997)
  • Ayberk Olmaz, F/C (born 1996)
  • Lucas Pereira, C (born 1998)
  • Martynas Sajus, C (born 1996)
  • Borisa Simanic, PF (born 1998)
  • Nik Slavica, SF (born 1997)
  • Berk Ugurlu, PG (born 1996)
  • Zou Yuchen, F/C (born 1996)
  • Kristupas Zemaitis, G (born 1996)

The following players were reported to have declared for the draft prior to April 24, but weren’t named on the NBA’s official list of early entrants:

8 comments 2017 NBA Draft Hoops Rumors Originals

International Notes: Boozer, Teodosic, Hollins

By | at March 17, 2017 11:26 am

Could a return to the NBA be in the cards for Carlos Boozer? According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the veteran big man is playing his way into contention for an NBA job. Boozer, who signed a deal last summer to play in China for the 2016/17 season, is a member of the Guangdong Southern Tigers, who are currently just one win away from a spot in the Chinese Basketball Association Finals.

Booazer, who is playing on a team with other former NBA players Donald Sloan and Yi Jianlian, has averaged 17.7 PPG and 10.6 RPG in 45 games for the Tigers this season. Still, it’s hard to imagine a current NBA contender clamoring to sign him when the CBA season ends, unless one of those teams suffers a frontcourt injury or two down the stretch.

Here are a few more updates and notes from international basketball leagues:

  • Nets general manager Sean Marks is headed overseas to scout a game between CSKA Moscow and Darussafaka Dogus on March 22, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Standout CSKA guard Milos Teodosic, who has expressed a desire to make the leap to the NBA later this year, is one player Marks will likely have his eye on in that matchup.
  • Pick also notes (via Twitter) that former Pittsburgh guard Brad Wanamaker, who is currently playing for Darussafaka Dogus, has an NBA out in his deal. Wanamaker tells Pick that he met with Brett Brown last summer and was “real close” to signing with the Sixers.
  • Former NBA center Ryan Hollins, who was recently cut by CB Gran Canaria in Spain, is headed to Italy after agreeing to terms with Fiat Torino, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. If Hollins remains overseas for the rest of this season, it will be the first year he hasn’t played an NBA game since he entered the league as a second-round pick in 2006.
  • After receiving a pair of 10-day contracts from the Hornets earlier this year, rookie center Mike Tobey returned to the team’s D-League affiliate. However, Tobey has now left the Greensboro Swarm and signed with Valencia in Spain, as Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets.
0 comments Brooklyn Nets International Philadelphia 76ers

2016/17 NBA Reverse Standings

By | at March 17, 2017 10:12 am

Throughout the 2016/17 NBA season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on how the 2017 draft order will look. Our 2016/17 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, will be updated daily to reflect the previous night’s outcomes.

Our Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what 2017’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. In addition to not considering the results of the lottery, our tracker lists teams in random order when they have identical records. At the end of the year, those ties would be broken via random drawings.

Traded picks – and conditionally traded picks – are mentioned via footnotes. For instance, the note next to the Kings‘ pick says that Sacramento will send its pick to the Bulls if it’s not in the top 10. If the Kings’ pick is in the top 10, the 76ers would have the right to swap selections, so that footnote is included next to the Sixers’ pick as well.

As of today, the 27-41 Kings are tied for the league’s seventh-worst record, which means their own pick should be safe, and the Sixers (24-43, fifth-worst record) likely won’t want to swap. That could change quickly, however — the gap between Sacramento and the team with the 11th-worst record (the 29-38 Mavs) isn’t huge, nor is the gap between the Kings and Sixers.

Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2017. So be sure to check back often!

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Dwight Howard Discusses Failed Magic/Nets Trade, Wants To Play 20 Seasons

By | at March 17, 2017 9:01 am

Dwight Howard signed a three-year, $70MM deal with the Hawks last summer that represented a homecoming for the Atlanta native. As Howard explains to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the possibility of playing for his hometown Hawks was an idea that long intrigued him. However, even though Atlanta “has always been special” for the 31-year-old, he feels as if he wasn’t ready earlier in his career and the timing was never right until 2016.

As his first season with the Hawks nears its end, Howard also opened up about several stops in his past, explaining how things went wrong during his time in Orlando and Houston. Spears’ conversation with D12 is worth checking out in full, but here are a few highlights from the interview:

On the chaos and drama that followed him from Orlando to L.A. to Houston:

“After the situation in Orlando, I never really came out and said my side of the story about what was going on there while I was there and the reasons for me wanting to leave. After that, people just decided that, ‘He’s not going to talk about it, so we might as well come up with a narrative and what we think went on in L.A. and what went on with Kobe [Bryant] and what we think happened with James [Harden].’

“I never had a personal vendetta with either one of those guys. People took it as me having a problem with them being on a team with another superstar. … I’ve never been the one to say, ‘OK, I want to talk about this because it was an issue with me.’ But everyone else kind of made it a storyline. And here in Atlanta, there is no storyline.”

On what happened during his final year in Orlando:

“There were a lot of different things that happened in Orlando that people never talked about. Before the season even started during the lockout, I asked them privately, I even talked to [teammate] Jameer [Nelson] and [then-GM] Otis [Smith] and I said, ‘Hey, I just want a change in my life. It has nothing to do with [then-coach] Stan Van Gundy. This has nothing to do with the players here in Orlando. It has nothing to do with Orlando itself.’ I just felt I was too comfortable and I wanted more for myself and more for basketball.

“It had nothing to do with the team. They said they were going to try to move me. I thought it was going to happen. They came in and said, ‘We’re going to trade you.’ They shook my hand and said, ‘God bless you. You were here for eight years and you did a great job.’ They asked me to go shake my teammates’ hands. I went and shook their hands and told them that the team was going to trade me. I woke up the next day and they said, ‘We’re not going to trade you.’

“This was right after the [2011] lockout. I was supposed to get traded right before training camp. I had asked them to trade me to Brooklyn and I thought that was going to happen. They decided they weren’t going to trade me and that was when all hell broke loose.”

On his time in Houston:

“I don’t think it ended the way it should have. I thought in my time in Houston we did some really good things. For us to go to the Western Conference finals after not being there for 20 years, that’s a great accomplishment because nobody expected us to do that. The issues they say happened between me and James were small communication issues. Instead of us coming together and talking about it, we allowed other people to do talking. The lines of communication were twisted.”

On how long he wants to play in the NBA, and whether he wants to finish his career with the Hawks:

“I want to get to 20 years. Now I’m at 13. … I would love to [play all those years in Atlanta]. I just got a nice place out in the country. I don’t want to leave it for eight months out of the year and just see it for three. I would love to.”

6 comments Atlanta Hawks Brooklyn Nets Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic

Western Notes: Clippers, Cousins, Harden, Chandler

By | at March 16, 2017 10:46 pm

Clippers coach and team president Doc Rivers indicated there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll bring in another player in the near future, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register reports. The player could come from the D League or from the buyout market, Oram continues, and would require the club to waive someone from the current 15-man roster. Forward Omri Casspi, who was bought out by the Pelicans, isn’t a likely target despite a recent report that the Clippers had an interest in him, Oram adds.“We’re looking at everything,” Rivers told Oram.

In other developments around the Western Conference:

  • The NBA rescinded the latest technical assessed to Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins, sources told ESPN.com’s Justin Verrier. The technical, which he was given during a loss to Miami on Wednesday, would have been his 19th this season. He will receive his third one-game suspension this season from the league if he reaches the 20-technical mark.
  • Rockets guard James Harden said he will hire Diana Day as his agent, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Day previously handled marketing and public relations for his former agent, Rob Pelinka. Day must first receive certification from the players association, Feigen adds. Pelinka relinquished his duties as an agent to become the Lakers’ GM.
  • Veteran center Tyson Chandler could have been dealt to a contender prior to the trade deadline but opted to stay with the Suns, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic. Chandler told team executives in a meeting prior to a deadline he was content to take a reduced role in Phoenix and aid in the development of the team’s younger players. “I didn’t want to go nowhere,” Chandler told Haller. “I wanted to be with these dudes and finish it out.”
  • Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy believes the Jazz’s signing of veteran swingman Joe Johnson was one of the most underrated moves of the past offseason. Johnson, who inked a two-year, $22MM contract as a free agent, is averaging 8.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.7 APG while shooting over 40% from long range in 22.9 MPG. “I think they made a great acquisition with Joe Johnson,” Van Gundy said. “A lot of people thought Joe was really on the decline and he’s really bounced back.”
1 comment Houston Rockets Los Angeles Clippers New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns Utah Jazz

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/16/17

By | at March 16, 2017 9:59 pm

Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

9:59pm:

  • The Raptors recalled small forward Bruno Caboclo and power forward Pascal Siakam from their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, the team’s media relations department tweets. Siakam wound up playing in the Raptors’ 123-102 loss to the Thunder on Thursday, contributing seven points in six minutes. Toronto assigned the same players to their D-League affiliate for practice purposes earlier in the day.

2:48pm:

  • The Cavaliers have recalled newly-signed big man Larry Sanders from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The Canton Charge are in action tonight, but it appears that Sanders will be with the Cavs for their game against Utah instead.
  • The Knicks have recalled forward Maurice Ndour from the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Ndour has appeared in 13 games this season for the Westchester Knicks, averaging 13.8 PPG and 6.8 RPG.
  • Rookie guard Demetrius Jackson has been recalled from the D-League, while Jordan Mickey has been assigned to take his place on the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics announced today (via Twitter). It’s the fourth NBADL assignment of the season for Mickey.
0 comments Boston Celtics Cleveland Cavaliers NBA G League New York Knicks Toronto Raptors Transactions

Lakers Rumors: Brewer, D’Antoni, Zubac, Pelinka

By | at March 16, 2017 9:24 pm

Veteran swingman Corey Brewer hasn’t been sulking over the trade last month that sent him from the contending Rockets to the lowly Lakers, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Coach Luke Walton credits Brewer for being a positive locker-room presence and helpful hand during film sessions despite losing out on a chance to play in the postseason. “He just has a great energy about him,” Walton told Feigen. “He makes the locker room a more enjoyable place to be. He’s been very pleasant to have around since the trade.”

In other news involving the Lakers:

  • Former coach and current Rockets head man Mike D’Antoni has only good feelings toward former GM Mitch Kupchak and previous executive vice president Jim Buss, Mark Medina of the Orange County Register writes. D’Antoni said Kupchak and Buss were fully supportive of him during the two seasons he coached the team, Medina continues. “They did everything for me they could possibly do. There’s nothing else to ask of them,” D’Antoni told Medina. “It was a tough time. We had to deal with a transition period and injuries.”
  • Rookie center Ivica Zubac has been one of the season’s few bright spots and he’ll remain in the starting lineup the rest of the season, Medina reports in a separate piece. Zubac, 19, posted a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds in his third start on Monday against the Nuggets. The team is thrilled with his development, Medina adds. “Zu is a very skilled player,” Walton told the assembled media. “It doesn’t surprise me when he has nights where he’s making shots.”
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey believes president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka will be a formidable duo in the Lakers’ front office, Medina relays in another story. Morey was impressed how Johnson conducted himself as they negotiated the deadline deal that brought Lou Williams to Houston. He also felt Pelinka, who represented James Harden, Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon, was one of the league’s top agents. “When you come from different backgrounds, sometimes that gives you an edge as you come in a new role,” Morey told Medina. “I like the concept. Magic did the smart thing in pairing up with him. I think it’s going to be a good team.”
  • Pelinka told the players that he will be open about the franchise’s direction and ask for their input during individual meetings after the regular season ends, Medina notes in a story posted by the Los Angeles Daily News. “They want us to know what their plan is for the future,” Zubac told Medina. “Whatever we want to find out, good or bad things, we’ll find out when we speak to him. That’s really good we’re involved with him.”
6 comments Los Angeles Lakers

Community Shootaround: Coach Of The Year

By | at March 16, 2017 8:00 pm

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy sang the praises of his Jazz counterpart, Quin Snyder, prior to their teams’ game on Wednesday.

“There’s always a lot of good coaching jobs done in this league but you’d have to put him in the top three or four in what’s he’s done with that team and bringing them [up] from last year,” Van Gundy said.

Certainly, Snyder would have to be on anyone’s short list for the NBA Coach of the Year award. The Jazz are cruising along at 18 games over .500 and have moved into fourth place in the Western Conference, ahead of the much-more heralded Clippers and Thunder. Utah suffered through numerous injuries last season and finished two games under .500, just missing the playoffs.

There are a few other coaches who have emerged as candidates for the honor as the regular season winds down. Certainly, the Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni has re-asserted himself as a major force in his profession. Following failed stints with the Knicks and Lakers, D’Antoni seemed to be at the end of his head coaching career.

D’Antoni got another chance in Houston and found the perfect situation because of its commitment to a high-powered offense and the 3-point shot. His decision to make James Harden the primary ballhandler has turned the Rockets into one of the league’s most feared teams, one year removed from a dysfunctional and disappointing season in which the Rockets finished with a .500 record.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is often taken for granted but he’s got his team in position to snatch away the top seed from the Warriors. San Antonio hasn’t missed a beat despite the retirement of Tim Duncan and a backcourt with only one player (Patty Mills) whose PER is above the league average of 15.0.

Over in the Eastern Conference, Wizards coach Scott Brooks has his team within striking distance of the top seed after it finished .500 last season. The Wizards have dealt with chemistry and locker-room issues in recent years but Brooks has them playing harmoniously.
Brad Stevens has continued to keep the Celtics on an upward trajectory, as they currently sit in the No. 2 spot.

The Heat’s stunning turnaround has moved Erik Spoelstra in the conversation. Left for dead at the midway point with an 11-30 record, the Heat have surged into playoff contention despite injuries to several rotation players.

That brings us to our question of the day: Who do you feel is most deserving of the Coach of the Year award and why?

Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

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Pelicans Re-Sign Jordan Crawford

By | at March 16, 2017 6:48 pm

6:22pm: The team confirmed in a press release that Crawford has been signed through the end of the season.

2:50pm: The second year of Crawford’s new contract will be non-guaranteed, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate.

1:38pm: Rather than signing a second 10-day contract with the Pelicans, Crawford has agreed to sign a two-year deal with the team, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). It’s not yet clear what kind of salary guarantees – if any – would be included for 2017/18.

10:30am: Jordan Crawford‘s first 10-day contract with the Pelicans has come to an end, but he’s expected to sign a second 10-day deal with the team, sources tell Justin Verrier of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New Orleans isn’t in action tonight, so the club will have until Friday’s game against Houston to get Crawford locked up to a new deal.

Few players on 10-day contracts make the sort of impact that Crawford has during his first week and a half with the Pelicans. The 28-year-old has assumed a key role off the bench for New Orleans, averaging 14.2 PPG and 3.2 APG in five games (23.4 MPG). A career .405 shooter (.306 on threes) prior to this season, Crawford has been scorching hot in his return to the NBA, with a .509 FG% and .519 3PT%.

The Pelicans, with 12 players on guaranteed contracts, had been carrying three guards on 10-day pacts to fill out their 15-man roster. Wayne Selden‘s deal hasn’t yet expired, and Crawford will be brought back, leaving just one open roster spot — Hollis Thompson‘s second 10-day contract expired this week, and he wasn’t re-signed by the club.

Assuming Crawford finalizes a new 10-day contract with the Pelicans today or tomorrow, that deal will expire later this month, at which point the team will have to decide whether or not to retain him for the season.

1 comment New Orleans Pelicans Newsstand Transactions
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