Denver Nuggets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Griffin, Jordan, Nurkic, Lakers

March 14th, 2015 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers‘ Blake Griffin will return to action soon, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Griffin, sidelined for five weeks with a staph infection in his right elbow, could be ready for Sunday’s game with the Rockets. If not, the team expects to have him Tuesday against the Hornets. A final decision on Griffin will be made Sunday morning, tweets Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Despite a projected jump in the salary cap after the 2016 season, Clippers free-agent-to-be DeAndre Jordan has no interest in signing a one-year contract, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Jordan, one of the favorites for the Defensive Player of the Year award, is likely to get a maximum deal this summer. “I’m not going to be greedy and sign a one-year deal,” Jordan said. “Nah. I’m just focused on getting it over with and focusing on playing again. I’m just trying to win here.”
Despite being nearly 7 feet tall and weighing 280 pounds, center Jusuf Nurkic fits into the Nuggets‘ running game, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Interim coach Melvin Hunt has increased the tempo since taking over in Denver, and he says Nurkic has no problem keeping up. “Jusuf Nurkic is built to run,” Hunt said. “Don’t let it fool you with the big body he has. He likes a fast-tempo game. Look at the way he guards the pick-and-roll and look how fast his hands are. He has incredible hands and feet. Sometimes he gets a little bored when it’s a slow-tempo game.”
Lakers coach Byron Scott described his team as “selfish” and “not very bright” after Thursday’s loss to the Knicks, writes Jovan Buha in a special report for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Scott didn’t mention any players by name, but expressed frustration that his team is losing winnable games. “I thought we came in with a lack of respect for a team that had beaten us in New York,” he said. “We can’t afford to look at teams’ records and think, ‘OK, their record is worse than us, so we’re a better team than they are.’”

Warriors Rumors: McAdoo, Kerr, Green

March 14th, 2015 at 4:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have sent James Michael McAdoo back to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. McAdoo was recalled Thursday and scored a career-high 16 points in Friday’s loss to the Nuggets. He will report to the Santa Cruz Warriors, where he has played 32 games this season. McAdoo ranks 12th in the D-League in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.4 points and 8.8 boards per game.

There’s more news from the City by the Bay:

Despite the demotion, Golden State remains high on McAdoo’s future, according to Monte Poole of csnbayarea.com (Twitter link). Looking ahead, the young forward has a minimum contract for next season with a partial guarantee, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
After giving many of his best players the night off Friday in Denver, Warriors coach Steve Kerr told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post that he understands the complaints of Nuggets fans. Golden State suffered a double-digit defeat as Kerr rested Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut. Marreese Speights was serving a one-game suspension after pleading no contest to reckless driving. “If I had bought tickets for my family, and I wanted to see Steph Curry play and he sat out, I’d be upset,” Kerr said. “I understand that, but I can’t base my team’s welfare on that. That’s one of the reasons why I do it on the road because we like to look after our own fans.”
Among the many reasons Golden State would like to hold on to free-agent-to-be Draymond Green is his skill at trash talking, writes Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. Kerr compares Green’s verbal abilities to those of Reggie Miller, a Hall of Fame player and a first-class agitator. Green’s taunts are useful both in motivating himself and unnerving the competition. “I understand where it’s coming from,” Kerr said. “Some players need to talk to get themselves going, to motivate themselves. That’s the case with Draymond.”

Western Notes: Durant, West, Hunt

March 11th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

ESPN’s Tom Penn, a former NBA executive, in an appearance on ESPN’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” said that with how well Russell Westbrook is playing, the Thunder could consider trading Kevin Durant, who is set to hit free agency in 2016. “I think this burst from Westbrook makes it much more likely that Durant ultimately gets traded next year,” Penn said. “[OKC GM] Sam Presti has proven that he does not ever want to lose anybody for nothing. So he traded James Harden a year early to avoid a potential luxury tax problem a year later. The Kevin Durant drumbeat next year is going to be so loud because he will not commit early to Oklahoma City contractually because the rules are against that. He can’t get the same contract if he signs early as if he just goes to free agency and resigns. So if Sam Presti doesn’t get that commitment, he’ll look to to trade Kevin Durant. And looking at the performance of Westbrook and the team around Westbrook will make it easier for him to do that potentially.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Delonte West is considering a deal to join the Texas Legends, the Mavs‘ D-League affiliate, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). West’s last regular season NBA action came with Dallas during the 2011/12 season. The mercurial guard’s career stats are 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt has already shown that he should be in the running to be Denver’s coach next season, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “I’ve always viewed myself as a head coach,” Hunt said. “I’ve said before, I’ve been so thankful, I’ve been so blessed that I’ve had coaches and leaders that wanted me to lead. They’ve seen that in me. I was captain of my college team a couple of years. People have always looked at me as a leader, and I take that seriously.“
Hunt said he has done a “handful” of head-coaching interviews in the past, but thanks to this opportunity with the Nuggets his resume will receive a nice boost, Dempsey adds. When asked if he felt any pressure to prove himself worthy of retaining Denver’s coaching job, Hunt said, “Not at all. There’s no anxiety. I go back to my faith. So it’s not like I feel any pressure as far as to win or play a certain way or do this or do that. When the time’s right, whatever God has for me, it will be. So whenever that time is, it will happen.”

Northwest Notes: Malone, Wiggins, Afflalo, KD

March 9th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Charlie Adams

Former Kings coach Michael Malone will be traveling with the Wolves during their next two games, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). This will mark at least the third time this season that Malone has spent time with Minnesota, but Flip Saunders described his presence as merely a “professional courtesy,” according to Zgoda. We’ll round up the latest on the Wolves and the Northwest Division below:

There are those around the league who feel that the Canadian-born Andrew Wiggins might one day join the Raptors, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). Of course, the Wolves have control of the Kansas product until at least 2019, and likely beyond, but Toronto GM Masai Ujiri still hinted at interest in eventually luring Wiggins away from Minnesota, as Eric Koreen of the National Post relays (on Twitter).
Arron Afflalo doesn’t think Brian Shaw can be blamed for all of the problems that the Nuggets found themselves with this season, as the now-Blazer said in an interview with ESPN’s Jim Rome (link via ForwardCenter). “I’m the type of person who feels like everybody should look in the mirror first and hold their own in terms of responsibilities,” said Afflalo. “Obviously Coach Shaw had some responsibilities, but us as players, we have to find a way to connect with each other. It wasn’t all his fault.”
In a piece for DailyThunder.com, ESPN’s Royce Young insists there’s no chance the Thunder trade Kevin Durant next season in spite of Russell Westbrook‘s recent dominance and rumors that Durant might walk from OKC in the summer of 2016.

Northwest Notes: Hunt, Afflalo, Exum

March 8th, 2015 at 10:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Rockets forward Corey Brewer spent two seasons in Denver when Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt was an assistant and believes he will succeed as a head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I’m not saying for sure it’s going to be [with the Nuggets], but I’m certain he’s going to be a good head coach,” Brewer said. “He just has to get a chance. He knows his players. He knows how to coach. And he has a system. It’s a great system, kind of like George (Karl’s) system. You can watch them play fast, get up and down, and guys play hard.“

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

It’s not always sexy to go with the guy who’s holding down the fort, but that doesn’t mean that Hunt might not be the right guy for the job, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Hunt is running a system similar to Karl’s and that’s a game plan that has been proven to work.
The loss of Wesley Matthews is unfortunate, but fortunately, Blazers GM Neil Olshey traded for shooting guard Arron Afflalo right before last month’s trade deadline, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. He’ll be counted on to replace much of Matthews’ production, but what isn’t clear is how much he’ll adopt Matthews’ role, or if he’ll continue to play his usual game.
Jazz rookie Dante Exum said his biggest adjustment to the NBA has been the constant schedule of games and travel, according to Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. The Australian said there were more breaks between games in his homeland. “We had a game Tuesday in Memphis and didn’t arrive at the hotel until 3 a.m. (Wednesday in Boston),” Exum said. ” Just trying to deal with that and having to step back out on the court and play another NBA game, it’s just one of the challenges in the NBA. I learned that I can sleep a lot. Here, that’s the biggest thing. I have to get rest when I can.”

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Clippers, Lin, Nuggets

March 7th, 2015 at 10:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers‘ desire to find a veteran who could play right away led to today’s signing of Nate Robinson, according to Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. Robinson, who agreed to a 10-day contract, is expected to ease the loss of Jamal Crawford, who is sidelined with a calf contusion. “We looked at a lot of different guys,” coach Doc Rivers said. “We looked at another three, we almost brought in a two, there’s a four out there we could’ve brought in. At the end of the day, I just said, ‘Who’s the best player of the group?’ (The staff) said Nate, and I said, ‘Let’s sign Nate,’ and I know Nate.”

There’s much more from the Western Conference:

There were reports this week that Blake Griffin could rejoin the Clippers for Sunday’s game against the Warriors, but that now appears doubtful, Kavner reports in a separate story. Sunday marks the four-week anniversary of the first game Griffin missed with a staph infection in his elbow, roughly the time he was expected to be out of action. But he hasn’t received clearance to play yet from team doctors.
The emergence of Jordan Clarkson virtually ensures a break-up between Jeremy Lin and the Lakers, writes Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. Clarkson’s rise has meant less playing time for Lin, who will become a free agent this summer. Clarkson, a rookie, will earn just slightly more than $845K next season, making him a low-cost solution at point guard. “I’m not going to answer any of those free agency questions until after the season,” Lin said after Friday’s loss to Memphis. “I’ll discuss that later.”
Mike D’Antoni might be the answer to reviving fast-paced basketball in Denver, opines Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. D’Antoni, 63, became famous for his up-tempo style during his time as coach of the Suns, Knicks and Lakers. He said he would love to get back into coaching after a year away from the game and would have strong interest in the Nuggets’ job. “You get addicted,” he said. “There’s some really good basketball being played in the league right now, from Golden State to Atlanta.”

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Hardaway, Draft

March 7th, 2015 at 9:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers fans should expect a more competitive team next season, opines Tom Moore of Calkins Media. After two straight years of tanking and collecting assets, Moore sees the 2015/16 season as a “modified” tanking situation, forecasting something in the neighborhood of 25 to 29 victories. Philadelphia should make several lineup improvements during the offseason. Rookie center Joel Embiid, who hasn’t played this season after undergoing foot surgery, is expected to be healthy, and Philadelphia will have its own pick plus Miami’s and maybe others in June’s draft. The Sixers could also have up to $40MM in available cap space, although GM Sam Hinkie hasn’t committed to using it.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nuggets were interested in Glenn Robinson III, who was claimed today off waivers by the Sixers, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Robinson had been waived Thursday by the Timberwolves to create room for Justin Hamilton, whom Minnesota claimed on waivers.
Tim Hardaway Jr., who was mentioned in trade talks prior to the deadline, has struggled during his second season in the NBA. When discussing the future of the slumping Knicks sophomore, coach Derek Fisher said, “Well, he is under contract for next year,” Fred Kerber of The New York Post relays. Fisher then expanded on Hardaway’s growth, adding, “Timmy has a great deal of potential as a young guard. He is showing more skill in handling the basketball and playing defense. Every guy on every team thinks he can score and there are plenty of guys who are willing to shoot the ball every time they get it. How many guys are willing to play defense every night and be the type of guy that’s going to do some of the dirty work? Tim is turning the corner in that area.”
The Knicks may choose between two Kentucky players if they get an early pick in June’s draft, writes Frank Isola of New York Daily News. Mark Warkentien, the Knicks’ top scout, has reportedly attended nearly a dozen Kentucky practices, presumably for a closer look at Wildcats big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein. The Knicks currently occupy the top spot in Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Robinson, Gasol

March 6th, 2015 at 1:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Flip Saunders, the Wolves‘ president of basketball operations, said it was “unfortunate” the club released rookie Glenn Robinson III when Minnesota claimed Justin Hamilton off waivers, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes. “We really like Glenn,” Saunders said. “It was unfortunate for him he never really had an opportunity, and we didn’t see that changing. When we drafted him, we didn’t have Andrew Wiggins, so the dynamics of that changed. It’s tough to develop three young players at the same position.” More from the Northwest Division..

Thunder coach Scott Brooks and star guard Russell Westbrook were part of the team’s recruitment efforts for Pau Gasol over the summer, but neither one is sure how close they were to sealing the deal, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Brooks would only say that OKC was “one of a few teams” in the mix for Gasol while commending him on his play this season with the Bulls.
So far, the Enes Kanter trade is looking like a win-win for the Jazz and the Thunder, Doug Robinson of the Deseret News writes. Since the February deal, the Jazz are 5-2 in what has easily been their best stretch of the season and OKC has been getting solid production out of the big man. Utah hasn’t gotten much in the way of on-court impact for this season, of course, but they’re playing better basketball without Kanter and they added assets for the future.
Chauncey Billups joined Woody Paige and Les Shapiro of The Denver Post to address Kevin Garnett‘s comments about the Nuggets and the ouster of former coach Brian Shaw, as Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post writes.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Thunder, Shaw

March 5th, 2015 at 11:10am CST by Zachary Links

After years of heartbreak, the Blazers franchise deserves something special, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com writes. The team has dealt with repeated disappointment on the court and recently the tragic loss of fan favorite Jerome Kersey. Here’s more from the Northwest Division..

In this week’s mailbag, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes that he likes what the Nuggets did at the trade deadline by getting a first-round choice from Portland and then unloading JaVale McGee‘s salary. Dempsey writes that it was never a realistic expectation for Denver to blow up their roster at the deadline and he expects bigger fireworks to go down when we approach the draft.
Sixers coach Brett Brown admires how the Thunder were put together, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for [Thunder GM] Sam Presti; I worked with him for many years,” said Brown, who worked with Presti in San Antonio. “In many levels, I pay attention to this program as much as any on how could we learn from the great things that they have done and things that they may have done differently.”
The Nuggets picked up their second win under interim coach Melvin Hunt when they topped the Wolves 100-85 on Wednesday night. When asked if he expected that kind of energy out of Denver, Wolves veteran Kevin Garnett told reporters, including Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post, “No. To be honest, they quit on Brian Shaw. I thought they’d quit again, A quitter is a quitter. That was my take on that. If you got any kind of self-pride about your future, then you want to anticipate someone playing hard. But, no, I wasn’t really concerned about the Denver Nuggets or how they were going to come out. I was more concerned about us, and us going forward and being better.”
Pacers forward David West recently said that Shaw was fired because the Nuggets don’t have “grown-ups” on the roster and Denver forward Wilson Chandler doesn’t necessarily disagree, as Chris Tomasson writes for The Denver Post.
Hunt is excited to be at the Nuggets‘ helm, but this isn’t how he wanted to get his big break, as Jhabvala writes.

Western Notes: Shaw, Thunder, Hunt

March 4th, 2015 at 8:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw released a statement through his agent, Jerome Stanley, regarding his recent firing by Denver, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “Having been a part of five NBA Championship teams, I know how difficult it is to make the commitment necessary to achieve that goal,” said Shaw. “It takes sacrifice for the greater good … and time, for a club to get to the championship level. Players, coaches, management and ownership all must share that commitment and build toward that goal. It is not an easy task. I am very proud of the effort that my staff and I put in while coaching the team. I also appreciate the support that I received from the KSE group. Finally, I believe that the Nuggets will grow to be a championship level club and give the fans in Denver a much deserved Championship. In time.“

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

The Thunder are attempting the difficult feat of remaining in contention while undergoing a significant overhaul of their roster, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. Seven out of the 15 players on OKC’s roster weren’t with the team at the end of last season, and since the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign, five players have been acquired via trade, Slater notes.
Oklahoma City intends to retain both Kyle Singler and Enes Kanter, who become restricted free agents after the season, Slater adds. The Thunder are operating with the idea that a massive luxury tax bill next season will be softened in 2016/17 when the NBA’s new television deal kicks in and the salary cap increases as a result, Slater notes.
Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt inherits the difficult task of piloting a team that has underperformed all season, and had reportedly quit on former coach Shaw, Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post writes. “It’s bittersweet,” Hunt said. “This is not the way you want it to happen, because there are a lot of people involved that are impacted by this. At the same time, in the pit of my stomach, there is a feeling of excitement because I love to compete and I’m ready for the challenges.“