Pelicans Sign Mike James To Two-Way Deal
JANUARY 14, 9:17am: The signing is official, according to the Real GM transactions log.
JANUARY 13, 1:34pm: The Pelicans will fill their remaining two-way slot by signing former Suns‘ point guard Mike James, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. James will move into the opening created by the Pelicans earlier this week when they waived two-way player Jalen Jones.
James, the 27-year-old rookie who went undrafted in 2012, and was the first player in league history to have his two-way contract converted into a regular season contract, was waived by the Suns last month to make room on the roster for Isaiah Canaan.
Before being waived, James put up respectable numbers for the Suns, averaging 10.4 points and 3.8 assists in 20.9 minutes per game. He will likely get a shot at showing fans in New Orleans that his stint in Phoenix was not a fluke, as the Pelicans currently have four players sidelined with long-term injuries.
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Fultz, Colangelo, Simmons
Sixers center Joel Embiid may have interest in playing for the French national team, according to Orazio Cauchi 0f Sportando. During this week’s trip to London, the Cameroon native indicated he might be open to the possibility. Patrick Beesley, the head of French federation, will come to the United States next month to meet with Sixers forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and plans to address the idea with Embiid.
“Playing with France? You never know,” Embiid said. “Of course I’m not from France, if I ever play intertionally there’s Cameroon, but France could be a good opportunity. I have many relatives and friends in France.”
There’s more this morning out of Philadelphia:
- Rookie guard Markelle Fultz has gotten past his physical ailments, but his shooting form still appears to be broken, writes Dennis Chambers of Basketball Insiders. The muscular imbalance in Fultz’s shoulder has been corrected and he has been cleared for five-on-five practices, but the problems with his shot haven’t gone away. Even so, Sixers coach Brett Brown can’t wait to get the first overall pick back on the court. “I’m excited,” Brown said. “Because he completely connects the dots to what we don’t have. Anybody that can create their own shot, anybody that can create something for somebody else, is of extreme value to the collection of what we have, and that is his skill set. And what we can get out of him, how is he going to be integrated into the team when he gets back, that’s yet obviously to be seen, but I remain highly positive and highly optimistic.”
- President of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo believes the Sixers are still a playoff team, but admits inconsistent play has been a problem, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Colangelo is counting on a boost from the return of Fultz and the possibility of using Embiid in back-to-back games, which was originally targeted for January or February. Colangelo said a trade is possible before next month’s deadline, but he won’t be disappointed if one doesn’t materialize. “We’re very consistent with our patient approach to developing the core players that we have,” he added, “and putting them in the best possible environment to succeed.”
- Ben Simmons is an exceptional talent, but he still has to learn how to succeed without Embiid on the court, writes Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated. Opponents aren’t afraid to double team Simmons without the threat of Embiid, and lineups with Simmons alone lose about nine points per 100 possessions.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/13/18
Here are the G League moves from around the NBA today:
- The Knicks recalled guard Damyean Dotson from their Westchester affiliate, the team tweeted. Dotson has appeared in 20 NBA games during his rookie season.
- The Hornets recalled rookie guard Dwayne Bacon from their affiliate in Greensboro, the team announced on its website. Bacon is averaging 26.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists with the Swarm.
- The Thunder recalled rookie center Dakari Johnson from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to the team website. Johnson has played 19 games for the Thunder, averaging 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 14.6 minutes.
Kings Notes: Cauley-Stein, Giles, Draft, Bogdanovic
As losses continue to pile up for the Kings, Willie Cauley-Stein suggests that Dave Joerger run the team like a college coach, relays Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings are now 1-7 in their last eight games with a roster that features 10 players with three or fewer seasons of NBA experience.
“If you’re not doing your job right, next man up, you get your turn next time it comes around,” Cauley-Stein said. “I think it’s got to happen like that, even for myself.”
The Kings have fallen to last in the West and are third in our latest Reverse Standings.
There’s more tonight out of Sacramento:
- The team is being careful with first-round pick Harry Giles, who has yet to play this season because of physical concerns, Jones notes in a mailbag column. Giles hasn’t practiced much in front of the media, but team sources say he has shown impressive athleticism and shooting range in controlled settings. He is also a fast learner who has picked up the game through film sessions. Jones reports that Giles’ knees are in good shape and the Kings are focused on building up his strength to start playing.
- The Kings’ only shot at picking up a first-round pick before the trade deadline is if a contender wants to take a chance on George Hill, Jones adds in the same piece. Hill is making $20MM this season, so matching salaries would be an issue, especially since Sacramento already has a full roster. Jones thinks the Kings might make a stronger effort to acquire a first-rounder next year, when their pick will be sent to the Sixers or Celtics.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic isn’t a typical rookie, and the Kings aren’t treating him like one, Jones writes in a separate story. The Serbian shooting guard is 25 and has years of international experience, making him one of the leaders on a young team. The former draft-and-stash prospect agreed to a three-year, $27MM deal last summer. “He’s not a rookie,” Hill said. “To you guys he is, but to us, he’s a seasoned vet. He’s been battle tested and been playing high-level basketball his whole life now. He just knows how to play the game the right way. We feed off that. He plays with that edge, that grit, he just wants to win.”
Community Shootaround: Cleveland Cavaliers
A total collapse in Cleveland is almost unthinkable, especially with LeBron James putting up MVP numbers, but the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions are coming off a nightmarish week.
It began with a 28-point loss in Minnesota, followed by a 34-point loss in Toronto. Last night, an early 26-6 lead turned into a 97-95 loss at Indiana. Those games wrapped up a 1-4 road trip for a Cavs team that is now a distant third to the Celtics and Raptors in the race for the best record in the East.
The problems in Cleveland start with defense. The Cavaliers are the second-worst team in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions (109.5), and the roster doesn’t contain many outstanding individual defenders. There’s no rim protection with Kevin Love starting at center, and opponents are taking advantage.
With less than four weeks to go before the trade deadline, Cleveland has to be considering deals to bolster its defense. Rumors have linked the Cavs to Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, but he may not be available now that L.A. is back in the playoff race. The Clippers reportedly want the Nets’ unprotected first-rounder in return, and the Cavaliers are reluctant to part with it.
The core of this Cleveland team has been through mid-season swoons before and has always rebounded in time for the postseason. It’s possible that things will get better on their own, but the Cavs have another tough stretch ahead with the Warriors, Thunder and Spurs coming up in the next 10 days. Cleveland’s lead over the ninth-place Sixers has shrunk to four games in the loss column, and a sense of urgency seems to be developing in the organization.
“We all got to be accountable for our actions, accountable for how well we play, how we play, how hard we play, and what we do for one another,” James said after the blowout in Toronto. “And there were just some plays that you should come up with, that you should make, and when you’re losing, you tend to not wanna make those plays, or tend to let some plays get away from you. And we can’t afford that right now the way we’re playing ball. So just trying to hold everybody accountable and move on, which we did.”
We want to get your input. What moves do the Cavaliers need to make before the deadline to keep their spot as the East’s best team? Jump into the comments section below and give us your feedback.
Buss, Johnson Tweet Support For Luke Walton
Lakers majority owner Jeanie Buss and team president Magic Johnson offered public support to coach Luke Walton today for the first time since last week’s disparaging comments from LaVar Ball, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Buss went first, tweeting a photo of herself with GM Rob Pelinka and Walton, accompanied by the hashtag #InLukeWeTrust.
Johnson followed with a pair of tweets, reading “So proud of my @Lakers players and Coach Walton for winning their 4th game in a row against the Mavericks” (Twitter link) and “Coach Luke Walton has the @Lakers playing some of their best basketball of the season right now.” (Twitter link)
L.A. has won four straight games since Ball, the father of rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, claimed Walton has lost the team and that players no longer support him.
Rumors emerged Friday that the Lakers might have interest in former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale. Sources told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN that Buss was concerned about the situation and wanted to make her support for Walton clear.
“Jeanie has always been great,” Walton said. “There is no doubt that they support me. I haven’t seen the tweet, but again, I don’t have Twitter. But I know they support [me and the coaching staff].”
The front office tried to ignore LaVar Ball’s comments so it wouldn’t be seen as responding to the parent of a player. A Lakers source recently told Shelburne there’s “not even a conversation” about replacing Walton, who still has three seasons left on a five-year contract reportedly worth $25MM.
Central Notes: LaVine, Mirotic, Felder, Bucks
Zach LaVine will be in the starting lineup when he makes his debut with the Bulls tonight, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. LaVine’s recovery from a torn left ACL took about 11 months, which is about two months longer than originally projected, but Chicago wanted to be sure he was fully healthy before letting him play.
“Extremely excited, ready to get back to playing again,” LaVine said. “You wait all this time, do all this rehab. It doesn’t simulate actual games. Going through practices and scrimmages don’t give you that full itch. Now I have something I can go after.”
LaVine will take over the starting spot occupied by Denzel Valentine, who has started 31 of the team’s 42 games. Justin Holiday will stay in the starting lineup, but will move to small forward. Coach Fred Hoiberg said LaVine will be restricted to 20 minutes per game for about a week, then his playing time will slowly expand.
There’s more news from the Central Division:
- Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic is refusing to discuss his trade prospects, writes Chris Kuc of The Chicago Tribune. Mirotic, who has been linked to deals involving the Jazz, Pistons and Trail Blazers, will become eligible for a trade Monday. “To be honest I don’t listen too much to what is going on outside,” he said. “I just focus on what is going on here and up to my last day try to be the best player possible and be professional and help this team to be able to win.”
- Kay Felder, who signed a two-way deal with the Pistons today, has been talking to the organization for a couple of weeks, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The Pistons first contacted Felder when starting point guard Reggie Jackson suffered a sprained right ankle in late December. Felder, who has previous NBA experience with the Cavaliers and Bulls, will have 23 NBA days under his new deal and may spend most of that time filling in for Jackson, who isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break.
- Bucks ownership remains hopeful for a 50-win season despite an up-and-down first half of the year, relays Rich Kirchen of The Milwaukee Business Journal. The Bucks hit the midpoint at 22-19, but there are reasons for optimism with the expected return of Jabari Parker next month and a possible trade for a center before the February 8 deadline. “I think 50 [wins] is tough,” said co-owner Marc Lasry. “We’ll be over 45. Hopefully we get to 50. That would be great. I hope so, but it’s going to be hard.”
Jazz Waive Naz Mitrou-Long
JANUARY 13, 4:46pm: Mitrou-Long has been waived, the Jazz announced on Twitter.
JANUARY 11, 1:03pm: The Jazz will waive two-way player Naz Mitrou-Long in order to create room to sign Georges Niang to a two-way deal, per Cody Taylor of FanBuzz.com (Twitter link). Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune had indicated earlier today that Utah may waive Mitrou-Long from his two-way contract but try to bring him back to the Salt Lake City Stars.
[RELATED: Jazz to sign Georges Niang to two-way contract]
Mitrou-Long, 24, signed a two-way pact with the Jazz in December after the team waived Nate Wolters. The 6’4″ shooting guard made his NBA debut on December 26, but played just 31 seconds in that game and didn’t see the court again for the Jazz. He has spent most of the season in the G League, where he has averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 3.9 APG in 22 games.
The move is somewhat bittersweet for Mitrou-Long. Although he’ll surely be disappointed to see his two-way deal come to an end, the man replacing him was his teammate for several years — Niang and Mitrou-Long were both at Iowa State from 2012 to 2016.
Thabo Sefolosha To Miss The Rest Of The Season
Jazz forward Thabo Sefolosha will have surgery on an MCL injury in his right knee that will sideline him for the rest of the season, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.
Preliminary estimates give Sefolosha a recovery time of at least six months, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), which means he should be ready for training camp next season. A final decision on surgery won’t be made until later this week, adds David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Sefolosha, who suffered the injury in Friday’s game, has been an important rotation player for Utah, averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 38 games. He will have a non-guaranteed $5.25MM salary for next season under the two-year contract he signed with the Jazz last summer.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 1/6/18 – 1/13/18
Every week, we at Hoops Rumors strive to create interesting original content to complement our news feed. Below are our original segments and features from the last 7 days:
- Chris Crouse offered fantasy hoops advice focusing on Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson in the wake of Dion Waiters‘ season-ending injury, as well as Eric Gordon and Jabari Parker, among others.
- In two different Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- After being waived by the Lakers, which team is now the best fit for Andrew Bogut? Do you believe he can still help a contender?
- In other Lakers news, what should the team do, if anything, in response to LaVar Ball?
- In a Weekly Mailbag segment, Arthur Hill answered questions involving trade targets of the Wizards, Pistons, and Blazers.
- Luke Adams recapped in detail the recent non-guaranteed contract decisions around the NBA.
- We reminded our readers of the 10-Day Contract Tracker feature.
- Our Free Agent Stock Watch focused on the Sacramento Kings.