Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Anthony, Marks, Lucas, Tavares

March 6th, 2016 at 11:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Five years later, no clear-cut winner exists in the blockbuster trade that sent Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets to the Knicks, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The teams have combined to win just one playoff series since the 12-player deal, Bondy notes, when New York defeated the Celtics in 2013. The Knicks got the superstar they wanted, but Denver wound up with two young but frequently injured players in Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. The Sixers benefited, as the Knicks’ first-rounder was sent to Denver, which later traded it to the Magic, which dealt it to Philadelphia, which ended up with the rights to Dario Saric.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Sean Marks, whom the Nets hired as GM last month, said he has tried to learn something important during every stop in his NBA career, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. As a player, Marks spent two seasons under current Heat president Pat Riley from 2001 to 2003. “The vision of it’s not about me,” Marks said. “Pat Riley’s, ‘The disease of me,’ I’ve obviously taken that from him.”
John Lucas III, who played briefly with the Pistons last season, has been waived by the Pacers affiliate in the D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor. The move took place because he has plans to sign with an overseas team, Reichert hears.
The Hawks sent center Edy Tavares to the Austin Spurs in the D-League, the team announced today. Tavares has appeared in 12 games with Austin this season, but also two with Canton and two with Bakersfield because the Hawks don’t have a direct affiliate. He is averaging 9.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in D-League play.
The Clippers have assigned guard C.J. Wilcox to the Cavs affiliate in the D-League. The Clippers also don’t have a direct affiliate, so Wilcox has played for Canton and Bakersfield in two prior D-League stints this season. His D-League averages are 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 15 games.

Eastern Notes: Turner, Humphries, Knicks

March 6th, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Evan Turner will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but he would like to return to the Celtics, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. “I like Boston,” Turner said. “It’s my favorite place to ever play. My career has been on the up and up since I’ve been here.”

The 27-year-old added that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is a major reason for his admiration of the team. “What I respect about Danny is he’s all about winning championships,” Turner said.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Kris Humphries, who signed with the Hawks last week, is excited about playing for a team that could do some damage come playoff time, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This is a really good team,” Humphries said. He added that he feels comfortable with the system that coach Mike Budenholzer has in place. “You look at most of their principles,” the big man said. “It’s something I’ve been involved in so it should work out. I’ve played in this kind of system before.”
It may be time for Knicks owner James Dolan to decide if team president Phil Jackson has a future with the organization, Mike Lupica of the Daily News writes. Lupica is critical of Jackson’s choices since coming to New York, including his hiring of Derek Fisher.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Wittman, Bazemore, Zeller

March 5th, 2016 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal seems certain to return to the Wizards next season, but coach Randy Wittman’s future is in doubt, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic said on an interview this morning with SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.com.) Michael said Washington plans to match any offers for Beal, who will be a restricted free agent after failing to reach an extension agreement with the team in November (Twitter link). However, Wittman’s job is in jeopardy unless the 30-31 Wizards make a significant improvement by the end of the season (Twitter link). Michael says Wittman was forced to change his system to the floor-spacing approach that Washington currently uses. (Twitter link). He has a 167-189 record in nearly five full seasons as the team’s head coach.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford established a winning tradition in Atlanta, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks made the playoffs in eight straight seasons after drafting Horford third overall in 2007, and they can stretch that streak to nine with a decent finish. Horford has stayed silent on the topic of free agency, trying to keep it from being a distraction, but Vivlamore notes that Atlanta is in position to make the best offer: five years at about $146MM.
Horford will be the Hawks‘ free agent priority this summer, but they would like to keep Kent Bazemore as well, according to Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Both will be unrestricted, and Atlanta would like to avoid losing talented wing players two years in a row. DeMarre Carroll left the Hawks last summer to sign with Toronto. Atlanta has Early Bird rights on Bazemore, meaning it can only exceed the salary cap to keep him if his contract starts at less than about $6MM annually. Any additional salary for next season would have to come out of cap room.
The Hornets may have benefited from a mid-season knee injury to Al Jefferson, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Jefferson, who is headed toward free agency this summer, has missed a significant part of this season with calf and knee problems, but his absence showed that Cody Zeller could handle the rigors of being a starting center.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Jennings, Johnson

March 4th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal says he has no issues coming off the bench for the team and understands it is a way for coach Randy Wittman to manage his minutes and not a demotion, Spencer Davies of AmicoHoops.net relays. “I mean it’s not like it’s a punishment,” Beal said. “I think guys are taking it as the wrong way as [Wittman] benching me or something like that. It’s just his way of following my minute restriction. It’s the safest way, smartest way for me to be in down the stretch. I don’t look at it as anything other than that.” A minutes restriction was imposed on the pending restricted free agent after doctors discovered what was termed “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula” in December.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

The Heat never asked small forward Joe Johnson to wait until March 8th to sign with the team, as he told Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Waiting until that date, or March 6th at the earliest, would have allowed Miami not to have to rely on Beno Udrih agreeing to a buyout in order to add Johnson in a tax-free scenario, Jackson notes. Miami wanted Johnson available immediately, and Udrih’s agreement to relinquish $90K of his $2,170,465 salary allowed Johnson to be available for five additional contests, the Herald scribe notes.
Brandon Jennings has struggled to find his game since the Magic acquired him, and coach Scott Skiles concedes it will take time, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I think he’s still adjusting a little bit to the guys,” Skiles said. “It’s difficult to be traded midseason, anyway. But it’s more difficult if you’re a point guard, I think — [that’s] just my personal opinion — because you’re asked to come in and run a team that you don’t even know. You’re not even familiar with the players that much. We’ll keep putting him out there and try to get him minutes and try to get him to feel a little bit more comfortable.“
The Hawks have recalled center Edy Tavares from the Suns D-League affiliate, where he had been sent as part of the flexible assignment rule, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Swingman Lamar Patterson remains on assignment to the Canton Charge, the Cavs affiliate, Vivlamore notes.

Southeast Notes: Morris, Humphries, Fournier

March 3rd, 2016 at 9:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards are giving Marcin Gortat more minutes down the stretch of late, and he prefers playing with Jared Dudley and Wizards trade acquisition Markieff Morris at power forward instead of Kris Humphries, who went out in the trade for Morris, notes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic.

“It’s opportunities, being the guy who’s pretty much played the whole fourth quarter. I didn’t have that opportunity in the first 50 games,” Gortat said. “I’m definitely excited about playing more minutes. I think just having Markieff or Jared next to me in the starting lineup it’s a much better fit for me than Kris Humphries. Not picking on him but he just didn’t fit with me well. He’s a totally different player than Keef or Jared. I feel more comfortable playing with them.”

Gortat called Morris “a great teammate” and said the controversy surrounding him in Phoenix was overhyped, quipping that “we’re not giving him towels to throw at people,” a reference to the towel Morris tossed in former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek‘s direction in the midst of a December game, as Michael also relays. See more on the Wizards, and on Humphries, amid news from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards are likely to allow their $2,806,750 disabled player exception expire, Michael hears, writing in a separate story. Washington couldn’t use the majority of it anyway without going over the tax line. The deadline to use it is a week from today.
Soon-to-be restricted free agent Evan Fournier would like to re-sign with the Magic, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. GM Rob Hennigan has refuted the idea that the team isn’t entirely sold on the swingman, and reports indicated the Magic were hesitant to trade him at the deadline. “I really like to play for this team. I’m having my best year so far. There’s no reason for me to leave,” Fournier said.
The Hawks dipped into their room exception to sign Humphries to his deal for the rest of the season, giving him an even $1MM and not the prorated minimum salary as previously reported, reveals Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That gave Humphries an even exchange on the buyout market, since he gave up $1MM to secure his release from the Suns, Pincus notes (on Twitter). Atlanta has about $900K left on its room exception in the wake of the Humphries signing.

And-Ones: Marks, Thibodeau, D-League

March 2nd, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets received a glowing endorsement regarding new GM Sean Marks from New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “It’s an easy call to make when it’s about Sean Marks,’’ Cashman told Lewis. “We developed a good relationship. … Sean Marks was clearly a graduate of Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] University, a disciple. What an asset, an asset the Nets were smart enough to acquire.’’

“I recently spent two days in San Antonio, me and our mental coach Chad Bohling,” Cashman continued. “We were with Pop, [GM] R.C. Buford, Sean Marks, their performance-science analytics team. We had a chance to watch shootaround, watch the game, and Sean was someone I spent a lot of time with, developed a relationship. He’s an extremely impressive individual. I walked out of there thinking this individual will be a success. I’d want him on my team. He’s an extremely intelligent, compassionate leader. You could tell there was something special there, and shortly thereafter there were the Nets knocking on his door. There were probably going to be more knocks.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Timberwolves still have one open roster spot after inking Greg Smith to a 10-day pact earlier today and interim coach Sam Mitchell said the team will look to bring in a player with NBA experience who would attend training camp this fall, Andy Greder of The Pioneer Press tweets.
At the request of coach George Karl, the Kings have brought in former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau as a defensive consultant, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relays (via Twitter). Thibodeau is expected to work with the players over the next few days, Ham adds. Sacramento is ranked dead last in points allowed, surrendering an average of 109.6 per contest.
The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo and Norman Powell from their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
The Hawks have assigned center Edy Tavares to the D-League, the team announced via press release. Tavares will report to the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns’ affiliate, pursuant to the NBA’s flexible assignment rule, since Atlanta does not have its own D-League affiliate.

Wolves Waive Kevin Martin In Buyout Deal

March 1st, 2016 at 11:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

11:28pm: The Wolves have waived Martin, the team announced (Twitter link). Presumably, the official transaction took place before the 11pm Central time deadline, as previous reports indicated it would.

11:11pm: Some pessimism exists about the Mavs’ chances at Martin once he clears waivers, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

10:38pm: The Timberwolves and shooting guard Kevin Martin have come to an agreement on a buyout deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The move comes prior to the 11pm Central time deadline, so Martin will be eligible for the playoffs with any postseason-bound team he might sign with before the end of the regular season. It’s not immediately clear just how much salary the shooting guard gave up to secure his release. Martin is scheduled to earn $7.085MM this season with a $7,377,500 player option for next year. The move will give Minnesota a roster count of 13 players, two under the league maximum.

Martin was available for a trade prior to the February trade deadline, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press first reported, but potential suitors were apparently reluctant to take him on without knowing what he’d do about his player option for 2016/17. GM Milt Newton said after the deadline passed without a Martin trade that a buyout discussion would probably take place between Martin and the team in the near future, and that’s apparently come to fruition.

The veteran scorer shouldn’t be out of work for long with a number of teams reportedly showing interest. The Mavericks, Cavaliers, Hawks, Heat, Rockets and Thunder are all potential suitors for the shooting guard, though the Spurs are reportedly the favorites to sign him, as Stein reported last week. The Spurs remain in front, with the Mavs, Rockets and Hawks in pursuit, according to Stein’s latest dispatch (Twitter link). San Antonio currently has the league maximum of 15 players on its roster, so a corresponding move would be required if the team inks Martin.

The 33-year-old has appeared in 39 games for Minnesota this season, including 12 starts. Martin is averaging 10.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.4 minutes of action per appearance. His career numbers through 698 games are 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists to go with a shooting line of .438/.385/.870.

Wolves, Kevin Martin On Track For Buyout

March 1st, 2016 at 9:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

TUESDAY, 9:48pm: The two sides are expected to reach an agreement on a buyout prior to the midnight deadline this evening, Stein tweets.

SATURDAY, 2:10pm: The Spurs are emerging as the favorite to sign Martin if a buyout deal is reached, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

FRIDAY, 3:47pm: The Rockets would also be interested if Martin shakes free from Minnesota, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).

9:56pm: The Mavericks are interested in Martin if a buyout is arranged, but the shooting guard is more likely to sign with a contender, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (ESPN NOW link). The ESPN scribe’s source also relayed that the Cavs, Hawks, Heat and Thunder are all potential suitors for the shooting guard depending on where Joe Johnson lands.

THURSDAY, 9:22pm: The Timberwolves and Kevin Martin are engaged in advanced discussions regarding a potential buyout arrangement, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Minnesota reached a buyout arrangement with veteran point guard Andre Miller earlier today and it would appear that Martin is the next veteran the team will set free so that he may catch on with a playoff-bound club.

Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relayed earlier today that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor would be open to discussing a buyout with the veteran shooting guard, but Martin’s side would have to initiate such talks. Martin is earning $7.085MM this season with a $7,377,500 player option for next year. To be playoff eligible for another team Martin would need to hit waivers no later than Tuesday.

It was widely reported that Martin was available for a trade before last week’s deadline, but potential suitors were apparently reluctant to take him on without knowing what he’d do about his player option for 2016/17. GM Milt Newton said after the deadline passed without a Martin trade that a buyout discussion would probably take place between Martin and the team in the near future, which has apparently come to pass. Several teams were linked to Martin before the deadline, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron noted in his trade candidate piece, including the Bucks, who reportedly made a run at him as the deadline neared.

The 33-year-old has appeared in 39 games for Minnesota this season, including 12 starts. Martin is averaging 10.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.4 minutes of action per appearance. His career numbers through 698 games are 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists to go along with a shooting line of .438/.385/.870.

Eastern Notes: Marks, Johnson, Novak

March 1st, 2016 at 8:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

New Nets GM Sean Marks reiterated the need for patience as he attempts to rebuild the franchise, noting the hasty approach is what led the team to its current state, NetsDaily relays. “It may be a little bit different from what we’ve done in the past here in Brooklyn,” Marks said in a video on the team’s website. “I have some empathy for the way they went about it in the past and said, look, ‘He’s committed to winning. He’s gone about it with a willingness to spend money and so forth.’ I’m not saying it’s the wrong way, but it didn’t work! So maybe this time, we’ll go about it in a little bit of a different way. We won’t skip any steps along the way.”

“Mr. [Mikhail] Prokhorov is committed to doing that and that’s what sold me in the interview. When he said, ‘Look, I want to win. I want to put this behind me. You make some of these decisions and you tell me what’s best.’ We talked about the process,” Marks continued. “We talked about this not being, look, in two weeks we’re not going to have a totally revamped organization. It’s going to take time. Its about bringing in the right people at the right time.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Joe Johnson is now a member of the Heat and back in the playoff hunt after signing with Miami, but despite the difficulties that the Nets endured the past few seasons, he still had good things to say about the organization as a whole, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes. “Obviously we had some ups and downs, but I think the good outweighed the bad for me,” Johnson said of his time with the Nets. “I think the changing of the GM and coach, it’s pretty tough but not really. I’ve been through quite a few coaches in my career in Brooklyn, so it was kind of second nature for me. But just losing, us playing hard and losing was probably the toughest part for me.”
Steve Novak‘s deal with the Bucks is a minimum salary affair that runs just through the rest of the season, so Milwaukee retains a prorated portion of its room exception, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the NBA D-League, the team announced via press release. Patterson will report to the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ affiliate, pursuant to the league’s flexible assignment rule.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Hawks Sign Kris Humphries

March 1st, 2016 at 6:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

TUESDAY, 6:56pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. “As we explored opportunities to add to our team after the trade deadline, we felt it was important to prioritize experience and versatility,” coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said in the team’s statement. “Kris is a versatile veteran with playoff experience who fits well with our group and within our system. We are fortunate to have Kris join our team and would like to welcome him to the Hawks family.”

10:29pm: Humphries plans to sign a minimum-salary contract with the Hawks for the rest of the season, according to Spears.

SUNDAY, 4:31pm: The Hawks will sign power forward Kris Humphries, whom the Suns waived this afternoon, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Spears confirmed that Humphries has committed to joining the Hawks once he clears waivers.

Today’s move ends Humphries’ short stay in Phoenix, where Washington traded him in a deadline-day deal for Markieff Morris. Terms of the buyout have not been released, but Humphries is making $4.6MM this season and was due to get the same amount in 2016/17.

Humphries’ contract for next season would have been guaranteed if he had not been waived by June 30th, tweets Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. He also notes that if any team decides to claim Humphries, it would only have to pay about $1.1MM for the rest of this season, although it would absorb this season’s full salary on its cap (Twitter link).

Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops first reported Saturday night that Atlanta was the front-runner to land Humphries. The Hawks are seeking a replacement for center/forward Tiago Splitter, who will miss the rest of the season after having hip surgery.