NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 2/7/17
Here are Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the league:
- The Celtics have assigned Demetrius Jackson to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Jackson, who was the 45th overall pick in the 2016 draft, has played in 21 games for the Red Claws this season and he’s averaging 16.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.
Sixers Notes: Valentine, Okafor, Brown
The Sixers should try to acquire Denzel Valentine from the Bulls if they are going to send Jahlil Okafor to Chicago, Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. The Bulls reached out to the Sixers regarding an Okafor trade last week.
The details of their talks have not been made clear, though it presumably involves at least one prospect heading to Philadelphia. Valentine or Doug McDermott are potential trade pieces and Brookover believes the former is the better option should the Sixers have to decide between the two. The scribe envisions Valentine developing into a playmaker whom can stretch the floor, while he views McDermott as a career bench player.
[RELATED: TRADE CANDIDATE: JAHLIL OKAFOR]
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders why Okafor hasn’t improved all that much since coming to the Sixers. Murphy points out that Nerlens Noel and T.J. McConnell have improved considerably, while Okafor has plateaued.
- Brett Brown is impressed with the way Okafor has handled hearing his name in trade rumors, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The coach said that Okafor should be proud of his work both on and off the court. “We remind him, ‘Go read your resumé,’ “ Brown said. ” ‘You go have a look at who you are.’ And he’s got a lot to be proud of on the court.”
Southwest Notes: D’Antoni, Ferrell, Beverley
The Rockets have won just six of their last 14 games entering Tuesday’s contest, but coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t believe the team should make a trade to get itself back on track, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 passes along via Twitter. “I like what I got,” D’Antoni said. “I’m sure [Daryl Morey] is going to do his job. You’re always trying to better the team. I’m real happy with what we have.”
Here’s more from the Southwest:
- Yogi Ferrell nearly signed in Turkey to play for Darussafaka, the team coached by David Blatt, before the Mavs swooped in to sign him to a 10-day deal, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated writes. The point guard has been impressive for Dallas and the team officially signed him to a two-year deal earlier today.
- Ferrell style of play is a perfect fit for Mavs coach Rick Carlisle‘s system, Fischer writes in the same piece. “You have to attack the rim, you have to know how to score, you have to be a threat on offense, so that it can create not only for yourself and for your teammates as well,” Ferrell said.
- Patrick Beverley was not pleased when Dwight Howard entered the Rockets‘ locker room prior to a game against his former team, David Aldrige of NBA.com relays. “Get Dwight Howard out of our locker room,” Beverley said forcefully, as several witnesses told Aldridge. “I’m serious.” Howard and Beverley were teammates in Houston for three seasons.
Trade Candidate: Jahlil Okafor
As the February 23 trade deadline nears, Hoops Rumors will be taking a closer look at several players we consider trade candidates, discussing their value, speculating on potential destinations, and explaining why they are – or should be – available. These players won’t necessarily be dealt in advance of the deadline, but it won’t be surprising if they are.
Jahlil Okafor, C
Philadelphia 76ers
2016/17 salary: $4,788,840
Team holds an option for the 2018/19 season; eligible for restricted free agency in 2020
Trade restrictions: None
Jahlil Okafor knows he’s in a unique situation. He’s heard his name in trade rumors since he was drafted by the Sixers with the No. 3 overall pick. He’s seen his role on the team fluctuate and he’s handled it all like a professional should.
“I know I’m not the type of player that’s DNP,” Okafor said earlier in the month about a game in which he was a healthy but didn’t see the court. “But that’s what it is right now. Coach Brown has been phenomenal with communicating with me. I know in the long run, I’ll be fine.”
In the long-run, Okafor will likely be playing for another team. GM Bryan Colangelo has reportedly been in contact with eight other franchises regarding an Okafor trade and the strong play of both Joel Embiid and Dario Saric have increased the likelihood that the team deals either Okafor or Nerlens Noel, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
It appears that Okafor is more likely to be dealt than Nerlens Noel, as John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote last month. Two months ago, the opposite was true. Noel wasn’t seeing regular minutes and Philadelphia was investing time in the Okafor-Embiid pairing. The team didn’t like what it saw and it stopped using the combo together. Okafor has seen his role diminished since the team split up the centers, while Embiid has thrived, which led one anonymous league executive to claim that the Cameroon native could eventually become a top-3 player in the league.
Okafor will likely never reach that pinnacle, though that doesn’t mean he can’t have a great career. Over his first season and a half, he’s shown promise on the offensive end, aggressively taking the ball to the basket either by backing defenders down or driving at them from the elbow. It’s been inconsistent, but that’s expected; he’s a 21-year-old kid who has only appeared in 88 career games. Teams looking for a young big man certainly see what’s there. He isn’t a blank canvas on the offensive end.
Okafor’s defense remains a work-in-progress. He’s the league’s second-worst center on defense, per ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus. Karl-Anthony Towns is the league’s worst, according to that metric, so we should remember that it takes time and experience in this league to become a good defender in the post. Rim protectors need to learn how to properly position themselves during the offensive attack. Once a player learns that, simply being a massive near 7-footer is enough to be an adequate defender; just ask Nikola Vucevic. Magic coach Frank Vogel vowed to install his defensive principles and coach up Vucevic so that he can improve on his defense. This year, the Swiss behemoth has been defending opposing bigs at a top level. He’s the 15th most impactful defender this season, according to NBAMath, and there’s hope that Okafor can take similar strides with the right amount of experience and coaching.
That’s not to say coach Brett Brown isn’t doing a great job with Okafor and with this team. The issue is that there are only so many coaching hours available and Brown has so many young guys on the roster. Gregg Popovich was always able to get the best out of non-star players because his top players were experienced and didn’t need as much attention. Popovich could devote the time to the role players and coach them up to help them improve. Brett Brown has no such luxury. Examine the Sixers’ roster; How many players are self-sufficient and don’t need a considerable amount of coaching?
Okafor will get to an acceptable level on defense, but he’s not going to substantially improve without seeing more court time. He’s barely cracked 800 minutes so far this season (232 players have seen more minutes than Okafor this year, including Anthony Tolliver and Corey Brewer among others). He’s firmly behind Embiid on the depth chart and both Noel and Richaun Holmes have seen action ahead of him at times when everyone is healthy.
Philadelphia is being cautious with Embiid’s knee injury, which opened up an opportunity for Okafor to start (and audition for other teams) tonight against the Pistons. The game could end up being one of Okafor’s final contests with the Sixers, as the team was reportedly heavily engaged in talks with the Pelicans to send the Duke product to New Orleans. Philadelphia was set to receive a 2018 first-rounder in addition to center Alexis Ajinca and there was a 5:00 pm EST deadline today to complete a deal, presumably because Philadelphia played tonight and needed to know whether or not to have Okafor suit up. The teams didn’t consummate a deal before that cutoff, but the two sides remain engaged in talks, as Keith Smith of RealGM reports (Twitter link).
Anthony Davis would be an excellent frontcourt partner for any player in the league, but his skillset particularly suits Okafor. At this point in his career, Okafor doesn’t have much range. He can’t play outside the paint and that, coupled with his defensive issues, makes pairing him in the frontcourt a tough task. He needs to be aligned with someone who has an outside shot and is able to help cover up his defensive imperfections. The potential Davis-Okafor pairing is arguably the best-case scenario for any franchise looking to build around the 2015 ACC Player of the Year.
The Pelicans are shopping their 2018 first-round pick around the league with an eye on acquiring a center, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link), so they could ostensibly make another deal and miss out on acquiring Okafor.
“Obviously at this time of the year all the GMs are talking,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said earlier tonight. “In that situation right there it’s best that you guys ask [GM Dell Demps]. I don’t want to get misquoted or anything. Like I said, all the GMs are talking back and forth.”
I speculate that a deal will get done with New Orleans and the franchise is just looking to gain leverage during trade talks. However, if Demps decides to trade the team’s pick elsewhere, the Bulls could get back in the mix for Okafor, as they reached out to the Sixers late last week regarding the big man.
Philadelphia is reportedly looking for at least one future first-round pick in exchange for Okafor. He’s under team control for at least two more seasons after this one, so Philadelphia doesn’t necessarily have to deal him before the deadline. Still, regardless of whether it happens this season, this offseason or a year from now, an Okafor trade remains likely. Sam Hinkie’s final first-round selection has the potential to be a solid NBA player and he could even develop into an All-Star-caliber player down the road; it’s just not going to happen while he’s a member of the Sixers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Divac: Kings Won’t Trade DeMarcus Cousins
The Kings deny that any members of front office are advocates of dealing away DeMarcus Cousins and GM Vlade Divac told Marc Stein of ESPN.com that a trade is simply not going to happen.
“We’re not trading DeMarcus,” Divac said. “We hope he’s here for a long time.”
The team recently met face-to-face with Cousins and his representatives to make it clear that the big man would not be dealt and Divac encouraged them to ignore any media speculation leading up to the deadline, Stein adds.
It was previously reported that Sacramento is planning to make Cousins a maximum Designated Player extension offer this offseason once the new CBA becomes effective. Divac confirmed the report, telling Stein that the team is “going in that direction” in regards to offering Cousins the new contract. The extension is estimated to be worth roughly $209MM over five seasons, depending on where the salary cap is set for 2017/18.
Cousins has expressed his desire to stay in Sacramento long-term. The Kings haven’t made the playoffs in the six seasons since they drafted the Kentucky product with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2010 draft. Sacramento owns a record of 20-31 this year and it sits 2.5 games behind the Nuggets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Conflicting Reports On LBJ Pushing For Melo Trade
8:42 PM: Both David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link) and Sam Amico of Fox Sports (Twitter link) hear that the report of James pushing the Cavs to make the deal regardless of whether it includes Love is “not true.”
8:19 PM: LeBron James is pushing the Cavaliers front office to trade for Carmelo Anthony even if it means giving up Kevin Love in the deal, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports. The Knicks have targeted Love in an Anthony deal, but Cleveland is against trading the 28-year-old power forward.
It’s unclear whether James as enough influence to force the franchise to make the deal. He’s under contract for two more seasons after this one, though his contract contains a player option for the 2018/19 campaign, which means he could become a free agent in the summer of 2018.
James has been critical of the front office this season. He recently lobbied for the Cavs to add a playmaker and it was reported that he and the team were at odds over the team’s payroll. Last week, Cleveland held auditions for several players, including Mario Chalmers, but no signings were made.
Isola notes that last season, Anthony and James discussed teaming up on the Cavs, but at the time, Anthony said he wasn’t ready to leave New York. The Knicks are likely to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season and the team’s lack of success could persuade Anthony to waive his no-trade clause to go to a legitimate contender. In addition to the Cavs, the Knicks have also reached out to the Celtics and Clippers regarding an Anthony deal.
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.
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.
Fantasy Hoops: Plumlee, Ferrell, McConnell
We’ve hit the third quarter of the NBA season and Hoops Rumors is examining the fantasy basketball landscape in order to help you dominate the competition. Check back weekly for more fantasy basketball analysis.
Can I Get A Triple-Double?
Mason Plumlee entered the 2016/17 campaign with his mind set on a specific goal. “I would love to have triple doubles because that just means you are playing a complete game, getting everyone involved,” Plumlee said back in October. He had spent the summer working to expand his game in order to become a better shooter and facilitator. Damian Lillard compared Plumlee’s passing ability to that of Draymond Green, and C.J. McCollum predicted that the big man would get multiple triple-doubles this season.
Plumlee has indeed expanded his game. He’s gone from being a one-trick pick-and-roll pony on offense to a player whom coach Terry Scotts can design some offense around. He’s averaging a career-high in assists per game this season and added a midrange shot that forces opposing bigs to leave the paint as they try to defend him.
The Duke product hasn’t reached his goal of a triple-double yet, but he’s come close on a few occasions. He had at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in five straight games entering tonight’s tilt with the Hornets.
He’s been a superb fantasy asset due to his ability to contribute across many categories. He’s making 53% of his shots from the field and he’s adding 1.2 blocks and nearly a steal per contest. He should be owned in all leagues (somehow, he’s available in nearly 20% of ESPN leagues). The only caveat with owning him is that the Blazers could potentially add another frontcourt player in a deal before the deadline. If they make a trade for a player such as Nerlens Noel or Jahlil Okafor, Plumlee will certainly see his role decreased. If Portland refrains from making a significant move, Plumlee will continue to be a solid fantasy contributor.
Here’s more fantasy analysis and notes from around the league:
- Clint Capela recorded a double-double in 20 minutes of action tonight against the Kings. He’s a solid fantasy contributor, as I mentioned in a previous edition of Fantasy Hoops. He’s only going to get more minutes as the season progresses. He’s owned in roughly 55% of ESPN leagues, though that figure should be much higher.
- Yogi Ferrell signed a 10-day contract with the Mavs last week and he’s seen 73 minutes in his two games with the team. As long as Deron Williams remains sidelined, he’ll remain valuable in daily fantasy and useful in season-long leagues. Just don’t drop anyone too valuable for him, as he’s not even guaranteed to be on an NBA roster past February 5th.
- Since MLK day, only three players are averaging more assists per game than T.J. McConnell. The point guard is averaging 9.8 assists, 9.8 points and 1.4 steals per contest while shooting 53.2% from the field over that stretch. He’s available in nearly two-thirds of ESPN leagues.
- Thaddeus Young, who was traded to the Pacers in the offseason, has 27 steals over his last eight games. He leads the league over that stretch by a wide margin. Jrue Holiday and Dwyane Wade are tied for second over that timeframe with 19 steals each, while Robert Covington comes in behind them with 18 of his own.
Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.
Pacific Notes: Booker, Lakers, Durant
The Suns haven’t experienced much success this season, but Devin Booker believes the team’s future is bright, as he tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
“We have a really good young core,” Booker said. “Our young players are developing, including myself, very well. Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Tyler Ulis have been getting some time now. And then we have a mix of really good veterans, Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Leandro Barbosa, P.J. Tucker; they’re leading us on the right way. Each and every day, they push us every day in practice. They’re patient with us. We’re messing up a lot. That’s what you expect coming into this league, playing against grown men. We’re still learning, but at the same time, I think the future is really bright here.”
Phoenix has a record of 15-33 and currently sits in the second spot in our Reserve Standings. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders examines the trade market for Lou Williams and Nick Young, and finds it difficult to envision the Lakers netting a first-round pick for either of the veterans. Pincus believes Los Angeles could flip one of them for a young player with untapped potential akin to the team’s 2014 Steve Blake trade. In that deal, the Lakers brought in Kent Bazemore, a player who flashed promise once he was given meaningful minutes.
- The Lakers may need to move Williams and Young in order to open up the cap space necessary to sign a max-level player, such as Blake Griffin, Pincus writes in the same piece. Young holds a player option for next season worth slightly under $5.7MM and Williams will make $7MM next season in the final year of his deal.
- Kevin Durant told Stephen Curry to stop trying so hard to incorporate him in the Warriors‘ offense, as Chris Haynes of ESPN.com relays. “I just said to [Curry], ‘Don’t worry about me,'” Durant told Haynes. “I’ll figure it out around you. You’re the engine of this team, and I know that. I’m not trying to come over and feel like everything just revolves around me. Just do you, man. I’m going to play around you. I’ve played this game long enough. I know how to score. I know how to find the ball. Just go out there and play your game.’ And that’s what he’s been doing.”