Pistons Rumors: Hollins, Cheeks, Loyer
There are tough-minded defensive coaches out there, including Lionel Hollins and Kelvin Sampson, but the Pistons didn’t fire Maurice Cheeks with anyone in mind, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. There’s no telling what direction Detroit will eventually go in, but assistant coach John Loyer will be at the helm in the meantime. More out of Motor City..
- Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders wonders if Luol Deng or Evan Turner would be good fits for the Pistons. Deng is known around the league as a leader and a class act and could make sense for Detroit as they look for a culture change. Turner, meanwhile, would give the Pistons the kind of steady offensive production that they need.
- The move to fire Cheeks 50 games into his tenure after consecutive wins shows what kind of patience level owner Tom Gores has, writes David Mayo of MLive.com. The recent nose-to-nose confrontation between Cheeks and guard Will Bynum may have proved to be the last straw.
- Cheeks should be glad that he gets to leave the Pistons’ mess behind, opines Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press.
- Kirkland Crawford of MLive.com weighs in with his memories of Cheeks’ short run in Detroit and it’s not exactly complimentary.
- Not all that familiar with Loyer? Brendan Savage of MLive.com gets you all caught up.
Hawks Interested In Jeff Green
The Hawks are looking to get Celtics forward Jeff Green, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). For Atlanta to pull such a deal off, it’ll cost them DeMarre Carroll plus more, Lawrence adds (Twitter link).
Green’s potential is evident, but he hasn’t been able to produce on a consistent basis this season. For the forward-thinking Celtics, it would certainly make sense to listen to offers on the 27-year-old forward given his contract. Green is making $8.7MM this season and $9.2MM in 2014/15 with a $9.2MM player option for the following year. There has previously been speculation that the C’s would try and package Green with the even more cumbersome contract of Gerald Wallace, but that may be tough to pull off.
Green had an opportunity to stand out in the first half of the season with star guard Rajon Rondo on the shelf, but he was unable to spearhead the offense in the way that Boston management hoped. The athletic forward can make things happen in transition, but he isn’t much of a spot-up shooter and clearly has limitations to overcome.
As a full-time starter for the first tIme in his NBA career, Carroll is enjoying his best season ever. Carroll is averaging a career-high 10.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 31.1 minutes with a PER of 14.1.
Hoops Links: Lowry, Waiters, Asik
On this date in 1992, Magic Johnson, playing for the first time since announcing his retirement on Nov. 7, 1991, scored a game-high 25 points and dished off for a game-high nine assists to lead the West to a 153-113 win over the East in the All-Star Game at the Orlando Arena. For his memorable effort, Johnson was honored with the second All-Star Game MVP award of his career.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere..
- Atlas Bowled talks Kyle Lowry and instant replay.
- Keep It Cavalier comes to the defense of Dion Waiters.
- Legion Report runs down some trade candidates, starting with Omer Asik.
- Go Hard Sports Blog looks at Canada’s 2016 squad.
- Sporty Reporty talks Rajon Rondo.
- Mavs Outsider says Dallas can’t get caught up in scoreboard watching.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, email it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Knicks Notes: Woodson, JVG, MWP
Mike Woodson‘s job security appears to be very much in question and today’s contest against the Thunder probably didn’t help his case. Kevin Durant put up 41 points to lead his squad to victory in OKC, bringing the Thunder to 41-12 and dropping the Knicks to 20-31. Here’s more on Woodson and other notes out of MSG..
- Woodson knows he’s on borrowed time with the Knicks, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. While he thinks that he’ll still be at the helm after the All-Star break, Isola writes that he doesn’t believe that he’ll be coaching the club beyond this season.
- Jeff Van Gundy knows a thing or two about surviving pressure as Knicks coach and he offered up some advice for Woodson. “Just do your job and don’t feel the need to update the media on your feelings because it doesn’t matter,” Van Gundy told ESPN Radio, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “Just do your job. You know how to coach and you’ve done it very well there. I wouldn’t apologize to anyone if I was him because I think he’s handled himself very, very well in a difficult situation.”
- With reports that Metta World Peace is unhappy in New York, Begley wonders if Woodson should give the veteran more playing time.
Hoops Rumors Originals
A look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Chuck Myron examined Arron Afflalo as a trade candidate.
- Shawn Marion could also be on the move, Chuck writes.
- Will it be a busy trade season between now and the deadline? Most of you are on the fence.
- Chuck looked at players up for rookie scale extensions in 2014.
- Wondering how an Emeka Okafor-for-Pau Gasol deal would work? Chuck breaks it down.
- Is Evan Turner worth a 2014 first rounder? 56% of you say yes.
- Here are the teams that can’t deal their first rounders.
- Play nice, everyone. Read up on our commenting policy.
- Did you miss out on Chuck’s weekly chat? Check out the transcript here.
- Check out all of our awesome features.
- Follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook, Twitter, and RSS.
Week In Review: 2/3/14 – 2/9/14
The Pistons came into the season with high expectations but so far, they haven’t delivered. Earlier today, Detroit canned coach Maurice Cheeks in hopes that they can improve upon their 21-29 mark. As it stands, the Pistons are a half-game behind Charlotte for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Here’s more from around the Association..
- The Cavs fired GM Chris Grant and promoted David Griffin to the interim role. Some candidates have emerged for the permanent job.
- Luol Deng is unlikely to re-sign with the Cavs.
- The Lakers and Suns have discussed Pau Gasol.
- The Knicks could fire Mike Woodson and his staff before the trade deadline.
- The Bucks are turning away suitors for Larry Sanders.
- The Bobcats and Mavs like Evan Turner. So do the Suns, Clippers, and Hawks. The 76ers are intensifying their push to move him.
- Adam Silver wants to raise the age limit to 20.
- The Pacers want bench scoring.
- Jason Smith is done for the year.
- The Kings are likely to be buyers at the deadline.
- Jared Dudley is on the block.
- The Grizzlies signed Darius Morris to a 10-day deal.
- The Clippers signed Sasha Vujacic.
- The Knicks seem to think that Rajon Rondo is more available than the Celtics are letting on.
- Jarvis Varnado is picking up NBA interest.
- John Jenkins is done for the year.
- The Pelicans signed Luke Babbitt.
- Metta World Peace was said to be unhappy in New York but he denied that later on.
- The Celtics inked Chris Johnson to a three-year pact.
- Solomon Jones entered the D-League pool.
- Ray Allen isn’t planning on retirement.
- Johan Petro is likely to sign in France.
- The Lakers brought Shawne Williams back on a 10-day deal.
Odds & Ends: Stuckey, Harris, Barbosa
Rodney Stuckey is concerned that the Pistons “aren’t on the same page” as their woes continue this season, but he’s not ruling out returning to Detroit when his contract expires at season’s end. “Detroit is always an option,” he told Sam Amick of USA Today. “It’s going to be a tough situation, the first time I’m going to be able to go out and test the market and see what else is there and what not. It’s going to be all new to me. I’m excited for the opportunity, but right now I’m not trying to focus on that. I’m just trying to live in the moment right now and worry about making the playoffs first and foremost.” More from around the Association..
- The Lakers aren’t expected to retain Manny Harris after his 10-day contract expires tomorrow, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. Unfortunately for Harris, his contract’s end coincides with multiple Lakers point guards returning to action. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles wrote yesterday that Shawne Williams is a player worth keeping an eye on once that roster spot is freed up.
- Suns guard Leandro Barbosa battled his way back from an ACL injury after many had written him off, writes Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) runs down guys that have been identified as trade candidates by basketball people around the league. The rather lengthy list includes Chris Singleton of the Wizards and Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez who is already well-traveled.
- Evan Turner has been all over Hoops Rumors lately, but he’s not letting the trade talk get to him, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media. “I don’t read the papers. If I did, I’d have my bags packed for different weather,” said the Sixers forward.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown says the club will “keep an eye” on Dewayne Dedmon, Moore tweets. Philadelphia elected not to re-sign Dedmon after his second 10-day pact expired.
Bobcats, Mavs Have Interest In Evan Turner
8:04pm: The chatter around the league is that the Mavericks will explore a deal for Turner, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. The name of Shawn Marion, who is sidelined due to injury, has also been mentioned.
7:29pm: The Bobcats have looked into acquiring 76ers forward Evan Turner, an NBA source tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The 76ers are reportedly pushing to move Turner before the deadline and are looking for draft compensation in a deal. However, Bonnell cautions that nothing appears to be imminent between them and the Bobcats.
The 6-foot-7 forward, who is averaging 18.1 points and 6.0 RPG this season, could potentially add the scoring punch the Bobcats need to reach the playoffs for only the second time in club history. However, it’s not clear what Charlotte would give up to get the former No. 2 overall pick since he’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
The Bobcats are an intriguing match for Philly as they could have as many as three first-round picks in the 2014 draft between their own and picks potentially to owed them by the Blazers and Pistons. However, the Bobcats might owe their own pick to the Bulls to complete the Tyrus Thomas trade. As for the outside selections, Charlotte is more likely to see the Portland pick come in than the Pistons one thanks to protections. The Bobcats can also offer Ben Gordon‘s expiring $13.2MM contract in a deal.
Other suitors mentioned in the past for Turner include the Thunder, Suns, Clippers, and Hawks.
Jason Smith Done For Season
Pelicans big man Jason Smith is done for the season after undergoing surgery to remove loose articular cartilage in his right knee, the club announced. The team termed the operation as “successful” which should bode well for his recovery.
The 7-footer has been out of action since hurting his right knee in mid-January. In 31 games this season (27 starts), Smith averaged 9.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 26.8 minutes per contest. That’s a career-high in minutes for Smith but his PER rating of 12.6 is a step back from his production over the last two seasons (16.8 in 2012/13, 16.6 in 2011/12).
Cavs Notes: Irving, Sims, Gilbert
This was supposed to be a bright year for Cleveland but things have not gone their way so far this season. Key pickup Andrew Bynum was supposed to give the Cavs a much needed presence in the frontcourt but his stay was unremarkable to say the least. There was optimism when Bynum was shipped out for Luol Deng, but weeks later things are still in disarray in Cleveland. The latest on the Cavs..
- Everyone wants to know if Kyrie Irving will leave the Cavs, but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders feels that his only decision will be whether to re-sign in black or blue ink.
- Henry Sims, who made the Cavs roster on a non-guaranteed deal out of camp, is seeing time in the absence of Anderson Varejao, writes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer. “He brings some toughness and length,” Brown said. “The ability to change and block some shots. He’s a little bit better offensively than what he’s shown. He hasn’t played a lot of games so it’s tough getting the speed of the game and getting his timing down. But I like his potential.”
- Bill Livingston of the Plain Dealer says it’s time for Cavs owner and comic sans lover Dan Gilbert to step up and lead. Livingston also questions the wisdom of re-hiring Mike Brown, a move that was likely made in part to entice LeBron James to come back to Cleveland.