Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/29/16
The NBA officially announced the reserves for the 2016 All-Star game, which will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday, February 14th. The starters for both conferences were announced last week, with Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard voted to tip off the exhibition in the West and LeBron James, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Kyle Lowry slated to represent the East.
Here’s the list of the 2016 NBA All-Star game reserves:
Eastern Conference
- Chris Bosh (F) — Heat
- Jimmy Butler (G/F) — Bulls
- DeMar DeRozan (G) — Raptors
- Andre Drummond (C) — Pistons
- Paul Millsap (F) — Hawks
- Isaiah Thomas (G) — Celtics
- John Wall (G) — Wizards
Western Conference
- LaMarcus Aldridge (F) — Spurs
- DeMarcus Cousins (C) — Kings
- Anthony Davis (F) — Pelicans
- Draymond Green (F) — Warriors
- James Harden (G) — Rockets
- Chris Paul (G) — Clippers
- Klay Thompson (G) — Warriors
While the All-Star game is merely an exhibition for the fans, it is also a form of validation for many players to be named to the squad for their respective conferences. As is the case with any All-Star game roster, a number of deserving players were omitted. That segues into the topic/question that I’m posing today: Who was the biggest All-Star snub this season?
Take to the comments section to voice your opinion on whom you believe should have made the cut. But don’t just give us a name; if there’s someone you feel who should be added, that also means another player needs to be removed to accommodate the addition. Tell us who you feel that should be. We look forward to what you have to say.
D-League Notes: McCallum, Christmas, McDaniels
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams possess one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those 11 NBA teams without their own D-League squads this season have to assign players to D-League clubs affiliated with other NBA franchises. We at Hoops Rumors track all the NBA D-League assignments made during the course of the season and you can view the complete tracker, which is updated regularly, here.
Here are the latest NBA D-League assignments and recalls:
- The Pacers recalled Rakeem Christmas from their D-League affiliate and assigned Shayne Whittington to the Mad Ants, the team announced. This concludes Christmas’ second stint in Fort Wayne on the season and commences Whittington’s fourth.
- The Spurs have reassigned point guard Ray McCallum to their D-League affiliate in Austin, the team announced. McCallum will be joining the junior Spurs for the sixth time this season and he is averaging 17.1 points, 4.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 37.7 minutes in seven total appearances.
- The Rockets have recalled Montrezl Harrell and K.J. McDaniels from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This concludes Harrell’s third stint with Rio Grande Valley and McDaniels’ fifth.
Western Notes: Gay, Martin, Motiejunas
The Kings are holding out for a “quality young player” or someone whose contract runs beyond this season in return for Rudy Gay as they entertain offers for the combo forward, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relayed earlier this evening that there is significant interest around the league regarding multiple players on Sacramento’s roster, including Gay and Marco Belinelli. While we await more trade rumblings, here are the latest happenings from out West:
- The Timberwolves are demanding more in a Kevin Martin trade than a simple offloading of salary, Stein notes in the same piece. The Bucks, Mavericks, Bulls, Grizzlies and Kings have all reportedly expressed interest in Martin to some degree, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron noted when he examined the shooting guard’s trade candidacy.
- Rockets power forward Donatas Motiejunas is slated to join the team’s D-League affiliate this weekend to continue rehabbing his injured back, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. As a fourth-year player, both Motiejunas and the NBPA needed to give their permission for the big man to head to Rio Grande Valley, Feigen notes, something Motiejunas was more than willing to do. “I’m excited,” Motiejunas said about joining the Vipers. “I know that I need to go there. I know that’s what I want. For catching a rhythm, that’s the thing that I will like to go, catch my rhythm back, catch my game flow, get back into shape. I’m happy with it and just to go play, get my confidence back, is a really good decision by me and my agent to go there. I asked them to send me. I know it’s going to be much harder for me if I don’t go there and not get reps. Then I have to work into the rotation somehow and maintain my condition. I really think it’s the best solution for me to go to the D-League, check on my body, get high minutes, get in a rhythm, get in a game shape and be ready to play.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Noah, Anderson, Turner
The Bulls would have preferred to have traded Joakim Noah rather than Taj Gibson, hoping to extract value of some sort from Noah before he has the chance to depart in free agency this summer, executives from around the league said to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The injuries to Noah and Nikola Mirotic have made a Gibson trade even less likely, sources confirmed to Stein. Noah is expected to be out four to six months while Mirotic isn’t likely to return until after the All-Star break.
Here’s the latest from out of the Central Division:
- The Pistons have interest in Ryan Anderson as a free agent this summer but not as a trade candidate, preferring not to have to relinquish assets to snag him, sources tell Stein in a separate piece. ESPN colleague Zach Lowe of ESPN.com previously reported that Detroit was eyeing the Pelicans stretch four.
- The Pacers have elected to go with a bigger lineup after experimenting with a small-ball approach earlier in the season, a move that has benefited 2015 draftee Myles Turner, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star notes. “You don’t know when you’re dealing with a rookie, a 19-year-old player, how soon it’s going to come,” coach Frank Vogel said. “There’s going to be some ups and some downs but if you look at this at what we think Myles can be. … This is what this team should look like out there.“
- The Bulls‘ backcourt tandem of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler are still working on developing on-court chemistry, since the two haven’t shared much time on the floor together thanks to Rose’s many injuries, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. Butler is excited about the potential of the duo, telling Johnson, “I love playing with him [Rose]. He’s super aggressive. He’s taking great shots. That’s what we need. As long as I follow his lead in that attacking style, we’re going to be really good.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Dead Money: Southwest Division
Not every dollar of each team’s payroll shows up on the court, as franchises often dish out funds to players who are no longer on their rosters. Players with guaranteed money who are waived, either through a standard waiver release, use of the stretch provision, or when a buyout arrangement is reached, still count against a team’s cap figure for the duration of their contracts, or the amount of time specified by the collective bargaining agreement for when a player’s salary is stretched.
There are even situations that arise, like the one with JaVale McGee and the Sixers, where these players are actually the highest-paid on the team. McGee is set to collect $12MM from Philly, and he won’t score one point or collect one rebound for the franchise this season. The next highest-paid athlete for the Sixers is Gerald Wallace, who was also waived, and he is scheduled to earn $10,105,855 for the 2015/16 campaign. In fact, the total payroll for the Sixers’ entire active roster this season is $32,203,553, which is merely $3,709,857 more than the amount being paid to players no longer on the team!
Listed below are the names and cap hits associated with players who are no longer on the rosters of teams in the Southwest Division, including Jimmer Fredette, who appears on more than one team’s ledger:
Dallas Mavericks
- Samuel Dalembert (Waived) — $947,276
- Maurice Ndour (Waived) — $525,094
- Gal Mekel (Waived via stretch provision) — $315,759
- Brandon Ashley (Waived) — $50,000
- Jamil Wilson (Waived) — $50,000
- Jarrid Famous (Waived) — $10,000
Total= $1,898,129
Houston Rockets
- Chuck Hayes (Waived) — $88,187
Total= $88,187
Memphis Grizzlies
- Russ Smith (Waived) — $845,059
- Fab Melo (Waived via stretch provision) — $437,080
- Ryan Hollins (Waived) — $112,238
Total= $1,394,377
New Orleans Pelicans
- Jimmer Fredette (Waived) — $71,677
- Nate Robinson (Waived) — $44,094
Total= $115,771
San Antonio Spurs
- Jimmer Fredette (Waived) — $507,711
Total= $507,711
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Teams Showing Interest In Kings’ Gay, Belinelli
There is significant interest around the league regarding multiple players on the Kings’ roster, including Rudy Gay and Marco Belinelli, James Ham of CSNBayArea.com relays. Sacramento hasn’t indicated that it is willing to become a seller sitting at 20-26 on the season, Ham adds. With the franchise just a half game out of the final playoff slot in the West, the team would prefer to be buyers at the trade deadline if the right offer were to materialize, Ham notes.
Gay, 29, is owed $13,333,333 next season and possesses a player option for 2017/18 worth $14,263,566. The swingman is enjoying a solid-enough season, though his scoring average is down to 18.0 points per contest after notching 21.1 points per outing in 2014/15. The Pelicans had reportedly offered Sacramento Eric Gordon and Alonzo Gee in exchange for Gay previously, which was obviously declined. New Orleans also reportedly turned down an offer of Gay for Ryan Anderson. Gay has been linked to the Bulls and the Clippers in the past, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The former No. 8 overall pick out of UConn owns career averages of 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists to accompany a slash line of .452/.343/.764.
Belinelli, 29, signed a three-year, $19MM deal with the Kings in July, but he has shot the ball poorly, only connecting on 38.4% of his shots overall. Despite his rough start in Sacramento, Belinelli is a known commodity around the league, Ham notes. His track record of success has teams willing to overlook his slow start, but according to Ham’s source, the team hasn’t been offered much of substance in return for the veteran. Belinelli has made 46 appearances on the year, including one start, and is averaging 10.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.3 minutes per night.
Suns Sign Jordan McRae To 10-Day Pact
FRIDAY, 12:54pm: The signing is official, the team announced. Phoenix plays five games, against the Knicks, Mavs, Raptors, Rockets and Jazz, in the next 10 days.
WEDNESDAY, 9:20pm: The Suns intend to sign free agent shooting guard Jordan McRae to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The Suns currently possess 15 players on their roster but Lorenzo Brown‘s second 10-day deal is set to expire on tonight, thus clearing a spot for McRae. Teams can only ink players to a maximum of two 10-day deals per campaign and Phoenix would have had to ink Brown for the remainder of the season if it wished to retain him.
McRae was the 58th overall pick out of Tennessee back in 2014, though the Spurs promptly traded his rights to the Sixers. The now 24-year-old played for Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate late last season after spending the first part of 2014/15 playing overseas in Australia. In September, he signed the required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal that Philadelphia had to offer to retain his draft rights.
The Sixers waived him during the preseason this year after he averaged 7.1 points over seven appearances. In 28 games for the Sixers D-League affiliate in Delaware this season, McRae has averaged 23.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists. His shooting line is .452/.310/.798.
Keith Bogans Joins Knicks D-League Team
JANUARY 29TH, 11:30am: The Knicks affiliate has added Bogans, the team announced (Twitter link). Bogans signed with the club after he went unclaimed via D-League waivers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
JANUARY 27TH, 4:35pm: Bogans has signed with the D-League and is now subject to its waiver process, Reichert tweets.
JANUARY 14TH, 5:02pm: Veteran shooting guard Keith Bogans intends to sign with the NBA D-League in the near future, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (on Twitter). Bogans, once he officially signs, will be subject to the league’s waiver process to determine which team he will play for.
The 35-year-old last appeared in an NBA regular season game during the 2013/14 campaign when he made six appearances for the Celtics, averaging 2.0 points in 9.2 minutes of action per contest. Bogans’ career numbers through 11 NBA campaigns are 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists to accompany a slash line of .394/.353/.716.
Bogans was on the Blazers’ summer league roster this past offseason, though he failed to impress, averaging just 0.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting an abysmal 11.1% from the field, which likely explains why he didn’t secure a training camp invite. Joining the D-League is likely the best course for the veteran if he hopes to land a 10-day contract in the NBA this season, though he will certainly need to perform better than he did over the summer if he hopes to garner any NBA interest.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 1/28/16
The NBA has released the official rosters for the 2016 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge which will be held on Friday, February 12th. The league’s annual showcase of premier young talent will will pit 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States against 10 first- and second-year NBA players from around the world. The official rosters are listed below:
U.S. TEAM ROSTER
- Jordan Clarkson (Lakers)
- Rodney Hood (Jazz)
- Zach LaVine (Wolves)
- Nerlens Noel (Sixers)
- Jahlil Okafor (Sixers)
- Jabari Parker (Bucks)
- Elfrid Payton (Magic)
- D’Angelo Russell (Lakers)
- Marcus Smart (Celtics)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Wolves)
WORLD TEAM ROSTER
- Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets)
- Clint Capela (Rockets)
- Mario Hezonja (Magic)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Nikola Mirotic (Bulls)
- Emmanuel Mudiay (Nuggets)
- Raul Neto (Jazz)
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
- Dwight Powell (Mavs)
- Andrew Wiggins (Wolves)
Now it’s time for the topic for today: Which player NOT named to the 2016 BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge was the biggest snub?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
And-Ones: Snyder, Wiggins, Parsons
Jazz coach Quin Snyder isn’t focused on trade talk regarding his team and is instead concentrating on winning games, Jody Genessy of The Deseret Times relays (Twitter links). “I really like our group so much, so it’s easy for me to stay focused on the present,” Snyder told Genessy. The coach also noted that he’s “not in that world” where trade talk occurs, Genessy adds. “I’m more concerned about the guys we have,” the coach relayed. Utah has been “poking around” the trade market for a point guard recently, according to a recent report by Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Wolves camp cut Nick Wiggins, who is the older brother of Andrew Wiggins, has signed with the Canterbury Rams of Australia’s National Basketball League for the remainder of the season, the team has announced (h/t to Sportando). Wiggins had been playing for the Raptors‘ D-League affiliate and averaged 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10 appearances before the team waived him about a month ago.
- Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons can opt out of his current deal at the end of the season and become an unrestricted free agent, a move that Parsons is likely to make. Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link) predicts that Parsons will end up re-signing with Dallas on a four-year, approximately $80MM deal. The value of Parsons’ player option for 2016/17 is $16.023MM.
- Joe Johnson has looked like a rejuvenated player under Nets interim coach Tony Brown, Brian Lewis of The New York Post notes. “I enjoy the game of basketball, period,” Johnson said. “In the heat of the battle, in the game, we have our frustrations in the moment; but I enjoy playing. I love the game. I hate to lose, but unfortunately we’re in a tough situation. We’ve got to play, and make do with what we’ve got. If we put it all out there on the line, we can live with the results.’’