D-League Moves: Jones, Liggins, Orton, Baynes
Want to keep up with the latest D-League moves? You can check out all of this year's D-League assignments and recalls with Hoops Rumors' running record for the 2012/13 season. Here's the latest..
- The Thunder announced that they have recalled forward Perry Jones, guard DeAndre Liggins, and center Daniel Orton from the Tulsa 66ers. The trio was demoted just yesterday to get some burn against the Iowa Energy.
- The Spurs announced that they have assigned center Aron Baynes to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. Baynes has appeared in five games for Austin this year, averaging 15.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 24.6 minutes. The Australian native has appeared in 11 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.6 minutes.
Central Notes: Cavaliers, Pistons, Frank
The Bulls are nipping at the heels of the Hawks for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and they're hoping to get one win closer with a W over the T'Wolves today. So far, so good for Chicago as they lead 56-43 at halftime behind 14 points from Luol Deng. Here's more out of the Central..
- Lawrence Frank may be out the door if the Pistons’ new owners decide to make major changes, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn writes that the club is running in quicksand, playing a combination of prospects, and players who won’t be there at the end of their contracts. The team's struggles could also mean the end of Joe Dumars' tenure as president of basketball operations.
- The Cavaliers are a team on the rise, writes Richard Hardy of HoopsWorld. This offseason, the Cavaliers could potentially have as many as four first-round picks in the 2013 draft and they only have seven players with guaranteed contracts in 2013-14. On top of that, the Cavaliers will have more than $20MM in salary cap space.
- Earlier today, we learned that Dumars intends to re-sign Jose Calderon this summer.
Pistons Plan To Re-Sign Jose Calderon
Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars made it clear after the late-January trade that brought Jose Calderon over from Toronto that he would make every effort to retain him for the long term. In the 23 games since then, Dumars tells Keith Langlois of NBA.com that nothing has caused him to waver from that stance.
“It’s been very good to have a guy like Jose, who’s a veteran, true point guard, leader, on your team,” he said. “A lot of the stuff he brings is exactly an area that we needed to get better in, so that’s why I really enjoying watching him. The results are not where we want them to be, but in the middle of the season for where your team is right now, it was never the expectation that Jose would come in and just turn everything around for us.”
Some speculated that Detroit would lean towards letting Calderon walk to free up more cap space this summer. The deal that brought Calderon to the Pistons cost the club Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye, so it stands to reason that they would lean towards keeping him. Their cap space could theoretically allow them to pursue someone like Brandon Jennings, but Calderon would obviously be a much more affordable alternative.
In 23 games for the Pistons, Calderon is averaging 11.7 PPG with 6.9 APG in 31.3 minutes per contest.
Week In Review: 3/18/13 – 3/24/13
Kenyon Martin is once again the darling of the Tri-State area and the big man says that he “would love” to extend his stay in New York. It took the former No. 1 overall pick quite a while to find his fit this season, but he certainly has a home now as he helps the Knicks get through their injury woes. Here’s the rest of this week’s news..
- The Wizards might be thinking about a max deal for John Wall.
- There’s mutual interest between Martell Webster and the Wizards in a reunion.
- Rick Adelman might resign this summer.
- Insurance will cover about $6.76MM of Andrew Bynum‘s salary for 2012/13. Philly found out early last week that they were losing the center for the season.
- Royce White left his D-League team.
- Sacramento finalized their arena proposal.
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge doesn’t anticipate trading Rajon Rondo or Avery Bradley.
- Eric Maynor won’t recieve the qualifying offer.
- George Karl wants to finish his career in Denver.
- The Knicks aren’t expecting to make a roster move just yet but that could change.
- Tony Mitchell is jumping to the pros.
- The Heat inked Juwan Howard for the rest of the year.
- Chris Quinn will be with the Cavs for the remainder of the season thanks to their banged up backcourt.
- It sounds like Kentucky will hang on to a few of their talented freshmen.
- The Bobcats expect some serious change this offseason.
- The C’s signed Shavlik Randolph for the balance of the season.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 3/18/13 – 3/24/13
Here's this week's look back at the original analysis delivered by the Hoops Rumors staff..
- I asked you if the NBA should change its draft eligibility rules and nearly half Hoops Rumors readers want to see the age limit bumped up to 20 or 21.
- Luke Adams updated us on Brandon Jennings' free agent stock and even worked in a quote from The Wire.
- Here's a look at D-League assignment trends as compiled by Luke.
- Meanwhile, Chuck Myron gives us the trends on 10-day deals so far this year.
- Chuck updates us on the stock of Paul Millsap.
- Need to get caught up on the draft deadlines for underclassmen? We got you covered.
- Luke brings us the list of teams projected to be taxpayers in 2013/14.
- More than three-quarters of you say that the Heat won't make it to 34 straight wins.
- There are lots of great potential matchups coming our way in the West, but the one most Hoops Rumors readers are really hoping for is Clippers-Nuggets.
- Opinions are split on whether Delonte West will sign with a playoff team.
- Roughly 72% of Hoops Rumors readers don't think John Wall deserves the max.
- We'll be keeping track of all early entrants for the 2013 NBA Draft and we got our first one this week.
Wizards Want To Retain Martell Webster
Recently, Martell Webster made it known that he is extremely happy in Washington and wants to return next season. It appears that the feeling is mutual as all indications point to the Wizards wanting to bring Webster back for 2013/14, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Sulia).
Webster has started 54 of 68 games for the Wizards this season and is averaging a career-high 11.6 PPG to go with 3.8 RPG and 1.9 APG. The swingman reiterated his desire to stay in D.C. to Bucher and explained that while he liked individuals that he played with in Portland, he finds that he’s happy with the Wizards organization in all aspects.
The former No. 6 overall pick is earning $1.6MM this season and will likely seek a pay bump this summer.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Paul, Suns, Dragic
Last night in Los Angeles, the Nets had the upper hand over the Clippers through three quarters but Chris Paul led them to victory with 17 points in the final frame. Paul had a total of 29 points and eleven dimes on the night while DeAndre Jordan chipped in with 12 boards. Here’s a look at today’s news out of the Pacific..
- While people debated whether Paul was a better point guard than Deron Williams for a long time, CP3 has blown by D-Will in recent years, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. However, Bondy notes that the new, slimmer Williams has been pouring it on since the All-Star break and Brooklyn coach P.J. Carlesimo says that his one-guard has re-entered the debate in a big way.
- Paul will be among the top free agents in this summer’s class but Moke Hamilton of Sheridan Hoops still has him as No. 2 next to Dwight Howard in his latest rankings. Hamilton notes that Paul’s stock slipped slightly after last Wednesday’s loss to the Grizzlies, but one has to imagine that his Herculean effort against the Nets will help his case for being ranked over Howard.
- Goran Dragic wasn’t terribly inconsistent in the early goings of his reunion with the Suns but he has found a groove since the All-Star break, writes Zach Buchanan of The Arizona Republic.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Martin, Sixers, Turner
After struggling to find an NBA team for much of the season, Kenyon Martin has found a home with the Knicks. The veteran forward has proven to be a vital piece for New York down the stretch and K-Mart says that he wants to return next season. While one would have thought that he would have gotten a return invite from the Clippers last year, it’s hard to see the Knicks not making an effort to re-sign Martin if he keeps playing like this. Let’s head over to 7th Ave and work our way out to the rest of the Atlantic..
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson sounds confident that Jason Kidd can play out the remaining two years on his contract, but the point guard isn’t quite as sure, writes Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “We’re going to revisit [it],” he said. “We [would] love to make it to 42, but we have to be realistic. If the body and mind can’t compete at the same time, then I got to move to the side and watch these younger guys play. But I feel great.”
- While the Sixers‘ biggest decision this summer may be in regards to Andrew Bynum, they’ll also have to figure out what their future will be with Evan Turner, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Turner doesn’t merit a deal like Jrue Holiday‘s four-year, $44MM contract and he probably won’t want to take something signficantly cheaper. Philly can trigger Turner’s $8.7MM qualifying offer for 2014/15 to give them the right to match anyone else’s deal.
- With the Nets, Kidd and Martin used to get notoriously fired up to beat the crosstown rival Knicks. Martin never imagined that the two would be reunited in blue-and-orange, but he’s happy about it nonetheless, writes Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press.
Hoops Links: Nets, Sonics, Wade, Green
This week 48 years ago, Willis Reed was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, giving the Knicks their first individual award in franchise history. Reed, of course, would only grow from there and became the heart and soul of the Knicks' greatest teams on his way to a Hall of Fame career. The big man's most iconic moment came in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals when he limped out of the tunnel at Madison Square Garden despite an incredibly painful thigh injury and knocked down his first two shots to start the game. Even though you've seen the clip no less than 100 times, I dare you to watch it again on YouTube and not get goosebumps.
Reed also made an impact on the opposite side of the river with the Nets once his playing career was through, first as coach then as General Manager. During his tenure as GM, Reed selected Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson in back-to-back drafts and landed the underutilized Drazen Petrovic from the Blazers via trade.
Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the web..
- The Brooklyn Game counts down the best Nets of all-time, starting with Mookie Blaylock.
- Kingdome Of Seattle Sports gives us some perspective on the Sonics situation.
- Dime Magazine introduces you to Dwayne Wade's secret to success.
- Bleed Green talks Jeff Green.
- HSB Camps praises the efficiency of Marcus Thornton.
- Hoops Addict says the Raptors have to finish strong.
- The Basketball Post is high on Florida as the NCAA tourney gets underway.
- Bucksketball marvels over Monta Ellis.
- Hardwood Paroxysm talks Blazers as one of their top scribes moves on.
- Red94 sat down with the author of "After Artest".
- Rufus On Fire asks if the Bobcats offense is evolving.
- Orlando Pinstriped Post says the Magic are the NBA's least athletic team.
- Blog A Bull defines the Bulls' problems.
- Life On Dumars conducted a roundtable.
- Pounding The Rock says that Tim Duncan is the DPOY.
- SLC Dunk debates which Jazz big man should stay.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Thunder Assign Jones, Liggins, Orton To D-League
The Thunder announced that they have assigned forward Perry Jones, guard DeAndre Liggins, and center Daniel Orton to the Tulsa 66ers. Jones has appeared in 34 games this season with the Thunder while recording averages of 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game.
In 20 games with the Thunder, Liggins is averaging 2.2 points in 4.4 minutes per game. Orton has seen time in just eight NBA games this season with Oklahoma City and recorded a total of 16 points. All three players are expected to be in uniform tonight when the 66ers take on the Iowa Energy.