And-Ones: Love, Wolves, Ayon
Trading Kevin Love may have been an inevitability, but Wolves General Manager Milt Newton is glad that the team didn’t jump at the first offer they got, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. “We told all the teams from Day 1, we’re happy to coach him for this last year,” Newton said. “They realized we weren’t going to give him away. What that did was made teams put their best foot forward to start with and see if it could get better from there.” More from around the NBA..
- Gustavo Ayon previously hinted that he had his eye on an NBA deal, but it doesn’t sound like that’s in the cards, at least so far. The big man told Basket4US (translation courtesy of HoopsHype) that he only has an offer from China at the moment. Late last week he told another Spanish outlet, Récord, that he had no NBA offers.
- There are still a few notable players left on the free agent market, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders runs down the remaining salary cap room for each franchise.
- Ojars Silins had his contract with Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia of the Euroleague extended until June 2015, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Silins went undrafted this year despite being projected as a possible second round pick. This extension will still allow Silins to try and catch on with an NBA team next summer.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Heat, Cavs, Andersen
In light of all the roster additions the Cavs have made this summer, the only way this coming season can be gauged a success is if Cleveland wins a title, writes Chris Fedor of The Plain Dealer. More on LeBron James‘ current team as well as his former club..
- Chris Andersen says that he re-signed with the Heat, in part, because Miami feels like home to him, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “It was definitely the loyalty from the fans and from the team,” said Andersen who signed a two-year, $10.3MM contract with the Heat last month. “That had a big part of it. And it’s matter of me ending my career in a place that I’d be happy at and am familiar with.”
- With the Heat trying to prove they can make the playoffs without LeBron James, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel doesn’t think that the younger players on the roster, such as Shabazz Napier, Justin Hamilton, or James Ennis, will see significant minutes this season.
- With Cleveland the prohibitive favorites to win the East, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders looks at how the new-look Cavs stack up against the Western Conference contenders.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here’s a look at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Chuck Myron reviewed Kawhi Leonard as an extension candidate.
- Charlie Adams checked in on the free agent stock of the troubled Dante Cunningham.
- There are a number of rookie scale option decisions to be made between now and Halloween and Chuck told us which ones are more likely than others.
- Here’s a look at the undrafted players in the Association, courtesy of Chuck.
- Chuck asked readers who the best Eastern Conference team is after the Cavs and Bulls.
- Need some long distance shooting? Here are the top three point shooters left on the open market.
- I checked in on the stock of free agent Jermaine O’Neal.
- If you need boards, here are the guys that can clean the glass.
- A look at the largest expiring contracts for 2014/15.
- Play nice, everyone. Read up on our Commenting Policy here.
- Eddie Scarito looked back at the trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat.
- Alex Lee asked readers to grade the Wolves’ haul for Kevin Love.
- If you missed out on this week’s chat, read the transcript here.
- Chuck looked at the top spenders in 2014 free agency.
- Follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and your RSS feed.
- Eddie also examined the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers.
Hoops Links: Heat, Teletovic, Parsons, Allen
On this date in 2008, the USA basketball team — the Redeem Team — dropped Spain in a closer than the score indicates final, 118-107. The win brought the gold back to USA basketball after a disappointing bronze medal showing in 2004. Team USA was led by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
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…
- Heat Beat says the Heat need major help from the younger players.
- Red Rock Basketball likes Mirza Teletovic in fantasy basketball.
- Mavs Moneyball looks at Chandler Parsons‘ offensive tendencies.
- Grizzly Bear Blues has some advice for Tony Allen.
- At The Hive wonders how much Kemba Walker is worth.
- Red94 expects big things from James Harden.
- Cavs: The Blog considers a few different lineups for this season.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Week In Review: 8/18/14 – 8/24/14
The Kevin Love trade was finally made official. Love was sent to Cleveland; Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young will head to Minnesota; and Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved and the Heat’s 2015 first-round pick was sent to Philadelphia.
Here’s our recap of the rest of the week that was…
- There’s mutual interest between the Heat and Leandro Barbosa.
- Raptors CEO Tim Leiweke will step down sometime before the end of June 2015.
- The Rockets re-signed Francisco Garcia.
- The Wolves and Dante Cunningham are talking.
- Anthony Randolph signed with a Russian team.
- Tony Mitchell will play in Italy.
- Toney Douglas is headed to China.
- The Mavs are close to re-signing Bernard James.
- Jarnell Stokes signed with the Grizzlies.
- Justin Cobbs will join the Hornets for camp.
- The Celtics have signed Rodney McGruder and Christian Watford to one-year deals.
- Tim Frazier will join the C’s for camp.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo will join the Knicks’ D-League affiliate.
- The Bucks signed 31st overall pick Damien Inglis.
- The Jazz have signed Jack Cooley.
- Aron Baynes may sign in Europe.
- Darius Morris will join the Blazers for camp.
- The Hornets signed P.J. Hairston.
- Adonis Thomas will join the Pacers for camp.
- Louis Labeyrie will stay overseas.
- The Cavs signed Dwight Powell.
- The Spurs plan to audition Hakim Warrick.
- The Suns made an Eric Bledsoe-for-Kevin Love trade offer.
- The Hawks officially re-signed Shelvin Mack.
- The Suns explored possible sign-and-trade offers for Eric Bledsoe.
Mutual Interest Between Heat, Leandro Barbosa
TUESDAY, 4:10pm: A source who spoke with Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel acknowledged the team’s interest in Barbosa but downplayed the connection, saying that the guard is one of several veterans the team is considering. No signing is imminent, Winderman hears.
MONDAY, 8:20pm: There’s mutual interest between Leandro Barbosa and the Heat, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Kennedy adds that he wouldn’t be surprised if he ultimately signs with Miami.
This weekend we learned that the veteran guard had discussions with a few NBA teams and is hoping to use the upcoming FIBA World Cup to further prove his health. The 31-year-old (32 in November) appeared in 20 games with the Suns last season, averaging 7.5 PPG, 1.9 PPG, and 1.6 APG, while playing 18.4 minutes a night.
Barbosa suffered a torn ACL before the 2012/13 trade deadline and suffered a hand injury last year with Phoenix. For his career, Barbosa has averaged 11.9 PPG and 2.3 APG in 23.7 minutes per contest.
And-Ones: Monroe, Carmelo, Lakers
New Clippers owner Steve Ballmer won fans over in his introduction earlier today, writes Eric Kelsey of Reuters. “I think it’s going to be a great change, a positive change,” said Clippers fan Teri Renty. “It’s something we desperately needed, and it will really be great for the team in giving them the energy and the momentum to look forward to good things.” More from around the NBA..
- Greg Monroe is maximizing the limited leverage he has in his contract situation with the Pistons, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The only leverage that Monroe possesses is to sign the team’s qualifying offer prior to the October 1st deadline, and then take control of his own destiny next year without the restrictions he faces now, notes Lee.
- Carmelo Anthony, who re-signed with the Knicks on a lucrative deal this summer, is “sure” his team is headed to the playoffs, writes Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Anthony went on to say that he’s happy with the moves the Knicks have made this offseason, though he declined to “get into details about that.” He added that he hasn’t talked much with team president Phil Jackson since inking his new contract.
- The Lakers are expected to add Jim Eyen as an assistant coach to Byron Scott‘s staff, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Eyen was most recently an assistant with the Kings.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Clippers, Rivers, Cunningham, Heat
New Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is making no secret of the fact that he wants to work out a new deal with coach/president Doc Rivers, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “Everything I know about Doc, I’m just 100% behind. I think he’s phenomenal,” Ballmer said. “I’m lucky he’s got a contract that runs a little while longer but we have plenty of time to talk and I look forward to doing that.” We learned last week that Rivers and the Clips are set to discuss an extension soon. More from around the Association..
- Dante Cunningham still wants to return to the Wolves but there haven’t been any developments in terms of his free agency, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). Meanwhile, a source tells Wolfson (link) that the domestic assault charges against him have been dropped.
- Undrafted point guard Scottie Wilbekin has a deal with Australia’s Cairns Taipans that includes an NBA escape clause that’s valid until December, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The Grizzlies reportedly extended a training camp invitation to Wilbekin last month, but it never appeared as though he had accepted it.
- The Heat lost some major pieces this offseason, but they have filled in the gaps with an interesting mix of veterans and youth, writes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. However, Miami’s success will be determined more so than anything by Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Bosh will need to embrace his heightened role and go back to the sort of franchise player he was with the Raptors. Meanwhile, Wade will have to stay healthy and recapture some of his old form after sharing the ball with LeBron James for four years.
Raptors Sign Jordan Hamilton
MONDAY, 1:54pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
FRIDAY, 11:50am: Hamilton’s deal is partially guaranteed, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). He adds that the odds of Hamilton making the team are long.
THURSDAY, 10:46am: The Raptors have reached agreement on a one-year deal with free agent Jordan Hamilton, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).
The Rockets acquired Hamilton from the Nuggets at the trade deadline in exchange for Aaron Brooks. The 23-year-old (24 in October) made eleven starts for the banged up Denver squad and also saw significant playing time with the Rockets. In total, Hamilton averaged 6.7 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 17 minutes per contest last season.
Hamilton drew a surprising amount of trade interest last season as the Knicks were also hot on his heels. The proposed trade would have sent Beno Udrih to Denver but the Nuggets wound up entertaining multiple offers for the youngster and chose to go with the Rockets’ pitch.
Hamilton auditioned for teams roughly one month ago and the Timberwolves were among those in attendance. However, he’ll be heading north of the border to join up with last year’s Atlantic Division champions.
Cavs Notes: Calipari, LeBron, Miller, Marion
As if the Cavs didn’t have enough star power already, they’ve added Shawn Marion and they still have their eye on Ray Allen. Here’s the latest out of Cleveland..
- Even if John Calipari had known LeBron James would eventually return to the Cavaliers, the University of Kentucky coach told Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal he likely still would have signed his seven-year extension to stay with Kentucky in June. “They came back because it was good for them and their careers and they knew they needed more developing and coaching. That was by me. That’s what they wanted,” Calipari said. “So that made it a tough deal to say, ‘I’m just going to leave these guys here.’ With who? It may be somebody I don’t know that wouldn’t do the things for them that they needed to do.”
- James’ return to the Cavs also completes the journey of agent Rich Paul, writes Joe Drape of the New York Times. “He used to listen to me and how I was going to get out of the inner city and make a difference, and I used to listen to him say how he was going to get out and make a difference,” James said. “Those conversations turned to how we are going to do it, and then to, why not do it together? I wanted him to be with me.”
- The Cavs have come a long way. New additions Mike Miller and Marion probably rank in the top six to eight of the best free agent signings in team history, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Before this summer, the highest profile free agents the Cavs signed were Larry Hughes and Andrew Bynum. Otherwise, some of their best free agents pickups were Craig Ehlo and Gerald Wilkins (link).
- The Cavs have been heavily connected to Allen, but that’s not what they need at this time, writes Adi Joseph of USA Today Sports. After agreeing to pick up Marion, Miller, and James Jones, the Cavs should be focusing on adding two much more difficult-to-fill positions: backup point guard and center. Besides, Miller and Jones are great shooters, as are All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.