Week In Review: 12/29/14 – 1/4/15
Last week it was reported that LeBron James would not rule out leaving the Cavs in his next trip through free agency if it was the appropriate business decision. James is understandably frustrated by the team’s disappointing start and might not be wild about coach David Blatt, but he told reporters that talk of him leaving Cleveland (again) is “outlandish.” Here’s our look back at the week that was..
- Emeka Okafor might not return until 2015/16.
- LeBron is expected to miss the next two weeks of action thanks to injuries to his back and left knee.
- The Bucks worked out Kenyon Martin and the Cavs have an eye on him.
- All three of the Hawks ownership groups have agreed to sell their respective shares of the team.
- Kings coach Tyrone Corbin had the interim tag lifted from his title.
- The Cavs have been granted a disabled player exception due to Anderson Varejao‘s season ending injury.
- The Nets expressed interest in acquiring Nik Stauskas from the Kings when discussing Deron Williams but Sacramento was reluctant to part with him.
- Hornets center Al Jefferson has been diagnosed with a strain of an adductor muscle in his left groin and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks.
- The Jazz announced that Alec Burks will have left shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season.
- Kings forward/center Eric Moreland will undergo surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder and miss the rest of the season.
- The Cavs front office might have some concerns about Blatt.
- Several GMs around the league believe that the Cavs coaching job is the one that Mark Jackson would like to have.
- Sixers guard Jason Richardson said that he expects to return to the court in late January after being sidelined for nearly two years.
- Miroslav Raduljica still seems likely to join the Wolves.
- The Wizards are likely to cut second-year guard Glen Rice Jr.
- The Jazz are preparing to bring Elijah Millsap up from the NBA D-League.
- The Jazz will waive Toure’ Murry.
- Paul Pierce will probably speak with Danny Ainge and Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck this summer about a role with the organization after his playing career is done.
Hoops Links: Draft, Smith, Celtics, Smart
On this date in 1995, Mavs coach Dick Motta became the third NBA coach to win 900 games when the Mavericks topped the Grizzlies in double-overtime. He joined Red Auerbach (938) and Lenny Wilkens (then with 1,014) atop the leaderboard. Today, Motta stands as the tenth all-time winningest coach in league history.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- Six Championship Drive gives us their mock for the 2015 draft.
- At The Hive weighed the pros and cons of Josh Smith before he signed in Houston.
- Celtics Blog discusses Boston’s starting point guard battle.
- Celtics Hub talks Evan Turner.
- Posting And Toasting talks Quincy Acy and the tough guy myth.
- Peachtree Hoops doesn’t like this year’s Christmas jerseys.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Atlantic Notes: Aldrich, Nets, Williams, Covington
Cole Aldrich could have a future with Knicks president Phil Jackson thanks to his ability to play in the triangle offense, a league source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I personally love the triangle, being able to have more opportunities to post up but also have the ball in your hands in the pinch post with the guard coming off,’’ Aldrich said after putting up 18 points and seven boards against the Kings on Saturday night. “There’s a lot of opportunities to get assists and easy buckets down.” More out of the Atlantic..
- The Nets have all but given up on Deron Williams just two years after making him their franchise player, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Williams, who signed a ~$100MM deal with the Nets not long ago, has been benched for Jarrett Jack amid weeks of trade talk surrounding him. Mikhail Prokhorov hasn’t been seen in Brooklyn in a while, but he’s surely unhappy about paying the league’s highest payroll without having a true franchise player to show for it.
- It’s clear the Brook Lopez–Mason Plumlee front court pairing isn’t working for the Nets, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. During the 61 minutes that the duo has played together, the Nets have been outscored by over 17 points per 100 possessions. The team has made Lopez available in trade talks. Plumlee, meanwhile, was brought up by the Kings in recent trade discussions surrounding Deron Williams, but Brooklyn is very reluctant to part with the second-year center.
- Robert Covington is in the midst of a breakout campaign has been particularly impressive lately, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Covington, who is signed to team friendly four-year $4.2MM contract, could be a very interesting trade piece for the 76ers as many teams looking for long distance shooting. The forward is shooting 43.3% from the three-point line, which is good for 11th best in the league.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals
This week’s original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff..
- Once, Jeff Green was to have been one of the anchors of a fast-rising Thunder team full of youthful talent. Now, he’s a trade candidate for the Celtics, as Chuck Myron writes.
- Eddie Scarito ran down the playing time that this year’s second-rounders are getting.
- Eddie gave us the 2015/16 salary rankings for shooting guards and point guards.
- Wondering how the Corey Brewer trade worked financially? Chuck has you covered.
- Here’s how you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
- Chuck hosted the live chat on Christmas Eve.
- More than 30% of you felt that Josh Smith‘s best fit was in Houston.
- Look back on all of the trades that have gone down so far this season.
Lakers Claim Tarik Black, Waive Xavier Henry
6:00pm: The Lakers made the move official, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
4:22pm: The Lakers have claimed Tarik Black off waivers from the Rockets, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). To make room, the Lakers are saying farewell to Xavier Henry (link).
Just minutes ago, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that the Hornets were planning on putting in a claim for Black. However, thanks to their record, the Lakers had waiver priority over the Hornets and other potentially interested clubs.
Black, who was signed to a non-guaranteed deal by the Rockets prior to being waived, averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games for Houston. The Kansas product reportedly had interest from several clubs when the Rockets decided to sever ties.
Henry, 23, saw time in nine games for the Lakers this season, averaging 2.2 PPG in 9.6 minutes per contest. For his career, Henry has averaged of 5.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG across five seasons with the Grizzlies, Pelicans (née Hornets), and the Lakers. Henry is out for the year, meaning that it’s highly unlikely that anyone will claim him and take that $1.082MM salary off of the Lakers’ books.
With Black off the books, Stein tweets that the Rockets have now dipped back below the luxury-tax line.
Hornets Plan To Make Claim On Tarik Black
The Hornets are planning to make a waiver claim on center Tarik Black, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski on Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Black was waived by the Rockets late last week to make space for the addition of Josh Smith.
The waiver system gives priority to the team with the worst record then works its way up. The Pistons could have added Black without dropping anyone from the roster thanks to their vacant spot, but they’ll pass on the big man (link). The 76ers, Knicks, and Timberwolves are among the teams that have priority over the Hornets and could theoretically beat them to the punch.
Last week, the Rockets worked feverishly to find a suitable deal for Black, Nick Johnson, Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey, or Clint Capela, but they could not find a trade to their liking. Of the five, Black was the only one without a fully guaranteed contract, making him the choice to get cut. Rockets coach Kevin McHale said he was sorry to see Black go, but he also said he was confident that he wouldn’t be out of work for long. McHale, it seems, has been proved correct.
Black averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games with the Rockets, and started 12 games when Dwight Howard was out of the lineup with knee pain. He earned a roster spot with the Rockets after an impressive performance in the summer leagues.
Week In Review: 12/22/14 – 12/28/14
This isn’t quite how the Pistons envisioned things working out when they signed Josh Smith to a four-year, $54MM deal. In a shocker, the Pistons opted to waive Smith on Monday using the stretch provision. While his contract was unpalatable, teams quickly circled their wagons to pick up the high-flying forward. Ultimately, the Rockets won out, beating out the Mavericks, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Lakers, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Kings. More from the week that was..
- Ray Allen is leaning toward retirement.
- Anderson Varejao will be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.
- The Heat are eyeing Andray Blatche.
- The Rockets signed Kevin McHale to an extension.
- Right now it sounds like the Nuggets would prefer to hang on to Wilson Chandler.
- Talks between the Nets and Kings regarding Deron Williams aren’t completely dead. The Nets apparently decided months ago to break up their core and they’re more focused on moving Williams than Brook Lopez or Joe Johnson. There are conflicting reports on whether execs around the league expect Lopez to turn down his player option for next season.
- The Cavs have interest in twins Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez, but their respective salaries mean the acquisition of either is unlikely.
- The Kings are one of multiple teams to have called the Grizzlies about Kosta Koufos.
- The Rockets waived center Tarik Black after they couldn’t find an acceptable deal to open up a spot for Smith. The Rockets made Black, Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, and Clint Capela available, but couldn’t get anything to their liking.
- The Cavs and Celtics talked three-team trade ideas.
- The Pistons acquired Anthony Tolliver from the Suns in exchange for Tony Mitchell.
- The NBA granted the Heat a disabled player exception this week because of the injury to forward Josh McRoberts.
- Kenyon Martin would have interest in joining the Cavs.
- Free agent center Miroslav Raduljica is finalizing a deal to play with Minnesota for the remainder of the season.
- The 76ers re-signed Malcolm Thomas.
- Reggie Williams will join the Thunder’s D-League affiliate.
- The Sixers have asked Andrei Kirilenko to report to the team, but he continues to hold out.
Hoops Links: Rondo, Pistons, Celtics
On this date in 1980, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became only the fifth player in NBA history to notch 25,000 points as he scored a season-high 42 points in the Lakers’ 135-102 win over San Antonio.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- The Daily Dribble gave their take on the Rajon Rondo trade.
- Six Championship Drive looked at the trade value of the Pistons’ frontcourt.
- Green Street says the Celtics made the right move but waited too long.
- Blazer’s Edge wonders if there are dollar signs in Robin Lopez‘s future.
- Celtics Blog reflected on a favorite Rondo memory.
- At The Hive wonders how much of the Hornets’ troubles are Steve Clifford‘s fault.
- Denver Stiffs went manimal hunting.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Stevens, Knicks
We saw one notable point guard traded out of the Atlantic Division last week – could we see another shipped out soon? The Nets and Kings have reportedly had trade talks about Deron Williams with Darren Collison, Derrick Williams, and Jason Thompson mentioned as names from Sacramento’s side. However, a deal doesn’t sound imminent and the Nets do not want to part with Mason Plumlee in a deal, which could be a stumbling block. More from the Atlantic Division, where the Raptors hold a comfortable lead..
- Even though the Celtics are in a transitional period, coach Brad Stevens tells Paul Flannery of SB Nation that he’s not interested in jumping ship for the University of Indiana. “I’ve committed to being here,” Stevens said. “I’ve already left a situation once and that was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to choose to do. This is something that as long as they want me to be here, this is what I want to be doing and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I know it’s all specific to the rumor mills and the discussion of one spot. I think they’ve got a good coach who’s done a helluva job. He doesn’t deserve that speculation…I’m the head coach of the Boston Celtics. This is the job. This is where I am. This is what I want to do really well and I’m committed to being as good as I can every single day for the Celtics.”
- Phil Jackson is responsible for nine of the 15 players on the Knicks roster, meaning that he is largely responsible for the team’s shortcomings, opines Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News. Knicks fans seem to be sold on Jackson but Lupica argues that if no one else in New York City gets a pass, neither should he.
- Knicks guard Iman Shumpert won’t require surgery after suffering a painful shoulder injury, writes Peter Botte of the New York Daily News. The Knicks staff will reevaluate Shump in two weeks to see how his dislocated left shoudler is doing.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here’s a look at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Chuck Myron explained how the Rajon Rondo trade worked financially.
- Chris Crouse asked Hoops Rumors readers if they believe the Mavs will win a title with Rondo.
- Here are the NBA players that can’t be traded this season.
- We featured the best of your comments in this week’s edition of Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback.
- Most of you say the Pacers would be the best fit for Lance Stephenson right now, according to Alex Lee’s poll.
- Chuck ran down the players on de facto non-guaranteed deals.
- If you missed out on this week’s chat, check out the transcript here.
- Here’s how you can follow your favorite team on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.