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Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag

December 16th, 2016 at 4:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.

Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and likely won’t get to all of them.

If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.

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Community Shootaround: Craig Sager

December 15th, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA world has been deeply affected by the news of the passing of longtime TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager. His brave and prolonged battle with cancer made him an inspiration to many people, whether or not they were fans of the NBA.

Sager went through great lengths to continue his broadcast duties, even driving long distances or flying across the country after undergoing chemotherapy treatments. His speech at the ESPYs this summer, which was as powerful as the 1993 speech made by cancer-stricken former college basketball coach Jim Valvano, will never be forgotten.

Sager had a long and distinguished career as a television and radio reporter. He was the young reporter running onto the field in 1974 after Hank Aaron hit his historic long ball and became the all-time home run king. Sager covered a wide variety of sports during his long and distinguished career but he’ll be remembered the most for his work on NBA broadcasts.

He always took his job seriously, though his attire was often comical. He never seemed to wear the same outfit or sports coat twice, and every one seemed wilder and more outrageous than the previous one.

His in-game interviews with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich were remembered for Popovich’s brief, and often terse, responses. But no one was more supportive of Sager than Pops when Sager’s illness was revealed.

Players, coaches and fans showed their love and support the last few years when they saw Sager. Unfortunately, we’ll never again have the pleasure of seeing Sager doing an interview or giving us an update on an injury or in-game strategy.

This leads us to our question of the day: What will you remember most about Craig Sager?

Jump into the comments section below and share you memories of one of the NBA’s best all-time reporters.

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More Than 120 Players Become Trade-Eligible

December 15th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

December 15 was a key date this year on the NBA calendar for two reasons. It represented the deadline for either the NBA and the players’ union to opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, but that date was ultimately pushed back after the two sides reached a tentative agreement on a new CBA on Wednesday night. The league and the NBPA will now have until January 13 to ratify the new CBA.

Today is still important for a second reason though — it represents the date that more than a quarter of the players in the NBA become eligible to be traded by their respective teams. By our count, 124 players who signed contracts during the offseason fall into this group. Cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link) has the same figure, while The Vertical’s cap guru Bobby Marks (Twitter link) says there are 125. Either way, a significant chunk of the NBA’s players can now be dealt.

The NBA’s rules call for recently-signed players to become trade-eligible three months after they finalized their deals, or on December 15, whichever comes later. That means that players who signed their contracts after September 15 still can’t be traded. There are also certain rules that restrict some players who meet specific criteria from being dealt in January 15. For the most part though, December 15 is the date on which NBA trade season unofficially opens.

[RELATED: Players who become trade-eligible on January 15]

[RELATED: Other players who can’t be traded until specific dates]

Of course, just because teams have more options for trades now, that doesn’t mean we’ll see a flurry of moves right away. As Marks writes at The Vertical, clubs typically know that an offer on the table now will still be available to them in a month or two. And many teams aren’t ready to shake things up.

Still, in the past couple years, teams have been somewhat active in the days following December 15. In 2014 and 2015, four total trades were consummated between December 15 and Christmas Day, including the Mavericks acquiring Rajon Rondo from the Celtics on December 18, 2014. In each season, only one in-season trade has been finalized prior to December 15.

[RELATED: 2014/15 NBA Trades]

[RELATED: 2015/16 NBA Trades]

Not every team will be impacted significantly by today’s newly trade-eligible group. The Thunder, for instance, have no players affected, since none of their offseason free agent signees remain with the club. On the other hand, a team like Miami will see more than half of its players become eligible to be dealt, substantially increasing the club’s trade opportunities.

We’ve previously broken down the full list of players who will become eligible today, but we’ll pass along those names once more, right here:

Atlanta Hawks

Boston Celtics

Read more

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Fantasy Hoops: Grizzlies, Wolves, Hawks

December 13th, 2016 at 11:01pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The 2016/17 campaign is entering its eighth week and Hoops Rumors is examining the fantasy basketball landscape in order to help you dominate the competition.  Check back weekly for more fantasy basketball analysis.

The Grizzlies Keep Grinding

Memphis underwent drastic changes during the offseason with an eye on playing faster. The team brought in several athletic wings and moved Zach Randolph to the bench. David Fizdale‘s arrival in Memphis was supposedly going to change the basketball culture, transitioning the team to a style of play that fits in with the modern NBA.

The Grizzlies are again winning games this season, but it’s not because of a change in style of play. It’s because the team is reverting to its old identity. One of the keys to the Grizzlies’ success is their suffocating defense, as they showcased in their blowout win over the Warriors on Saturday night. Memphis leads the league in defensive efficiency and entering Tuesday’s contests, the team was tied for the league lead in opponent field goal percentage, allowing just 43.1 % of opposing shots to hit the bottom of the net.

The team’s slow, methodical style of play helps the defense arrive at these outstanding metrics. Entering Tuesday, Memphis’ pace factor is 95.7, which is identical to its factor last season. As a result, opposing teams are seeing less offensive opportunity against the Grizzlies than they are against most other teams.

Opposing centers are having a particularly hard time against the team this season, something that comes at no surprise given Marc Gasol‘s defensive ability. Memphis is allowing just 14.1 points to opposing centers, a figure which leads the league, according to Rotowire. Opposing centers are only making 45.4% of their shots, which ranks second in the league, and Memphis is causing opposing centers to turn the ball over 3.7 times per contest (only the Rockets and Suns cause more turnovers to the position).

With a different version of their grit and grind team, the Grizzlies are thriving yet again this season. Despite all the injuries, the team remains a defensive force; one to avoid in fantasy basketball match-ups.

Here’s more fantasy analysis from around the league:

  • The Grizzlies are utilizing Gasol more than ever this season, as his career high 26.9 usage rate indicates. He’s averaging career highs in points (19.9) and assists (4.1) per game and he’s added the 3-ball to his arsenal, knocking down 1.6 shots per game from behind the arc. Those are great numbers, but his play while Conley has been out has been even more remarkable. Over his last six games (contests in which Conley has been sidelined), he took control of the offense, averaging 25.5 points and 5.3 assists per game, while shooting 50.9% from the field. He’ll likely maintain this role while Conley misses games, so he’ll be even more valuable to fantasy owners over the next several weeks.
  • Ricky Rubio, whom Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled as a trade candidate, remains a plus defender, per ESPN’s Real Plus/Minus, but he hasn’t been as effective on that end of the floor as he’s been in the past. In fact, the Wolves haven’t defended opposing point guards very well lately. Minnesota has allowed the most points to the position over the last ten games and opposing point guards are shooting 49.8% from the field during that span, a figure that ranks fourth worst in the league.
  • The Hawks are having their own issues guarding opposing point guards. Over the last ten games, Atlanta has been an excellent match-up, allowing the most rebounds, the second-most points, and the seventh-most assists per game to the position.
  • Last week, we discussed Jeremy Lin‘s potential fantasy impact. On Monday, Lin returned to the court and had a solid game, notching 10 points and seven assists in 20 minutes of action. He’ll likely remain on a minute count, but it won’t be long until he regains the Nets’ starting point guard spot. He’s still available in over 40% of ESPN leagues; Pick him up if he’s available in yours.
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Community Shootaround: Orlando Magic

December 12th, 2016 at 10:22pm CST by Austin Kent

The Magic made several moves over the course of the offseason suggesting they were hopeful to compete for a playoff bid as early as this season. Five games below .500 mid-way through December, however, it’s clear that they may still have some work to do.

With December 15th fast approaching – the first day that offseason free agent signings are eligible to be traded – speculation has picked up that the club could make a move to add more offense. As discussed earlier this month, the Magic rank 29th in points per possession and could benefit from the addition of a scorer or two.

If a deal is in the cards for Orlando, could Mario Hezonja be a part of the outgoing package as implied by implied by Marc Stein? The club also holds a handful of expiring contracts that could similarly appeal to teams looking to make something happen, including summer acquisitions Serge Ibaka and Jeff Green.

Additionally, let’s not forget the criticism the franchise’s front office faced when they added Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to a reasonably healthy front court that already included Nikola Vucevic.

Does something have to give if the Magic hope to turn things around?

Weigh in for yourself in the comment section below!

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Weekly Mailbag: 12/5/16 – 12/11/16

December 11th, 2016 at 11:40am CST by Arthur Hill

We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:

With the Indiana Pacers really struggling despite having a talented team, what are the chances of Monta Ellis being traded? He is having an awful season, but he is also not getting the ball. — Matthew Cho

The Pacers are off to a disappointing 12-12 start and Ellis has been a major reason why. He is averaging just 9.7 points per game, the lowest since his rookie season, and is taking about half the number of shots he did in Dallas two years ago. With Rodney Stuckey, C.J. Miles and Glenn Robinson III as wing options, Indiana would be fine if Ellis were no longer on the roster. The key is finding a team that still believes in the 31-year-old, who still has two more seasons and nearly $23MM left on the free agent contract he signed with the Pacers in 2015. The Magic, with former Indiana coach Frank Vogel, have been mentioned as a possibility, but no trade talks have been reported between the teams.

Where do you think is the next destination is for Bobby Brown, who was recently released by the Rockets? — Eugene Ahn

Brown was the roster casualty when Houston matched the Nets’ offer sheet for Donatas Motiejunas. If the 32-year-old guard wants to keep playing, he will probably have to do it overseas. He has been in the Euroleague, China and Japan in recent years and could probably find another opportunity in any of those places. Brown overcame long odds when he earned a roster spot with the Rockets after six seasons out of the NBA. However, he appeared in just six games and created a minor international incident when he signed his name on the Great Wall of China.

Of the European and Chinese players whose draft rights are held, who is most likely to come over? Alessandro Gentile seemed to be close to signing with Houston until they hired Mike D’Antoni, and Bogdan Bogdanovic seems to be on the rise in Turkey. Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin were drafted last year, but only Qi has seemed to have met with the team that drafted him. Also, would it be worth the Spurs trading for the rights to Bogdanovic to replace Manu Ginobili when he calls time? — Chris Hawkins

It would probably be hard to pry Bogdanovic away from the Kings, who are extremely high on him after acquiring his rights in a draft day trade. At 24, the 6’6″ shooting guard is one of the top players in the Euroleague and was a star on the Serbian national team. He is expected to come to the NBA next season, and will almost certainly be in a Kings uniform. It’s always a guessing game to try and figure out which overseas players are ready for the NBA, but it’s a good idea to keep an eye on first-round picks and monitor their progress.

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/3/16 – 12/10/16

December 10th, 2016 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week:

  • Dana Gauruder provided an extensive primer for Ricky Rubio‘s trade candidacy, explaining why the Timberwolves might consider a deal and which teams could be a fit.
  • When Donatas Motiejunas was engaged in a standoff with the Rockets, I broke down five ways I could see the situation playing out. Ultimately, it was scenario number four that won out.
  • In a new feature, Chris Crouse identified some players worth picking up or targeting in fantasy basketball, with a focus on players in new roles or on new teams.
  • I took a closer look at the teams that have used D-League assignments the most so far this year, and the players that have frequently been shuttled up and down as a result.
  • Will Joseph highlighted a handful of interesting basketball blog posts in the latest installment of his weekly Hoops Links feature.
  • Arthur Hill answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
  • We had a handful of Community Shootaround discussions this week, on the following topics:
  • Be sure to keep tabs on our 2016/17 NBA Reverse Standings feature, which is updated daily to reflect the previous night’s results.
  • Here’s a rundown of a number of the site’s notable features.
  • If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.
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Community Shootaround: 2016 NBA Draft Class

December 10th, 2016 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the 2016 NBA draft, No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons was considered the early frontrunner for the 2016/17 Rookie of the Year award. However, a foot injury derailed Simmons’ chances, and it’s his teammate Joel Embiid that now looks like the heavy favorite to be named this season’s Rookie of the Year.

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, who breaks down the league’s top rookies on a weekly basis in his “Rookie Ladder” feature, has Embiid atop his most recent list, with Sixers teammate Dario Saric at number two. However, while Embiid and Saric are technically NBA rookies, having never appeared in a game before this year, both players are members of the 2014 draft class. Embiid, the No. 3 overall pick in 2014, missed his first two seasons due to injury, while 12th overall pick Saric remained overseas for two more years before arriving stateside.

The 2016 draft class, sans Simmons so far, is certainly represented on Howard-Cooper’s list. But according to the NBA.com scribe, it’s Malcolm Brogdon, a second-round pick, who ranks as 2016’s most impressive rookie so far. Top picks like Jamal Murray and Brandon Ingram show up a little further down the list, while others, such as Kris Dunn, Jaylen Brown, and Buddy Hield aren’t mentioned at all.

Meanwhile, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders observes (via Twitter), only two rookies – Embiid and Willy Hernangomez – have an above-average PER through the first quarter of the 2016/17 season, with late first-round picks or second-rounders like Pascal Siakam, Tyler Ulis, Brogdon, and Deyonta Davis showing up among the top 10 in PER.

There are typically some growing pains for rookies as they adjust to the NBA schedule and the NBA game, but prospects like Dunn and Hield, who played four years of college ball, were expected to have an impact right away. And Ingram was right there with Simmons as a consensus top-two player in the draft. So far, their play has been up and down.

That brings us to today’s discussion question: Which top picks in the 2016 draft class have impressed or disappointed you so far? Will those top picks who are struggling in the early going turn things around, or have you altered your view of their long-term outlook at all? And which of the later picks in the draft have stood out to you?

Jump into the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts on this year’s draft class!

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Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag

December 9th, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.

Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.

If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.

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Trade Candidate: Ricky Rubio

December 8th, 2016 at 5:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In the months leading up to February’s trade deadline, Hoops Rumors will be taking a closer look at several players we consider trade candidates, discussing their value, speculating on potential destinations, and explaining why they are – or should be – available. These players won’t necessarily be dealt in advance of the deadline, but it won’t be surprising if they are.
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Ricky Rubio, PG
Minnesota Timberwolves
2016/17 salary: $13,550,000
Eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2019
Trade restrictions: None

There seems to be an uneasy truce these days between the Timberwolves and their starting point guard. The way that the Timberwolves’ offseason unfolded, it’s somewhat surprising that Ricky Rubio remains their floor leader. It probably won’t be that way much longer, though Rubio has done little to enhance his trade value through the first six weeks of the season.

Once Tom Thibodeau was hired as the head coach and president of basketball operations, Rubio’s exit seemed like a foregone conclusion. Rubio was shopped prior to the draft, as Thibodeau pursued a deal for the Bulls’ Jimmy Butler. One of the reasons that that potential deal fell through was the Chicago wanted Zach LaVine, instead of Rubio, as part of the package.

The Timberwolves wound up with their fallback plan, which was to select the top point guard in the draft to presumably take Rubio’s job. Kris Dunn dropped to the No. 5 spot, which Thibodeau didn’t mind since he was reportedly atop his draft board.

Supposedly, Thibodeau got some offers for Rubio during the summer, but nothing that compelled him to pull the trigger. Eventually, the Timberwolves opted to take a wait-and-see approach, giving Dunn time to acclimate himself to the NBA game while Rubio held the fort as the starter during the early portion of the season.

What’s happened since the season began may not be a worse-case scenario, but it’s pretty close. First, Rubio missed five games with an elbow injury. Upon returning, his play has been substandard while the Timberwolves, who were expected to be one of the most improved teams in the Western Conference, have floundered.

His shooting, never his strong suit anyway, has been woeful. He’s made 34.5% of his field-goal attempts and 22.9% of his 3-point tries. His assists are down to an average of 6.7 per game over 30.6 minutes, though his turnover numbers (1.9) remain respectable. His current 12.1 PER is well below the league average of 15.0.

By comparison, Rubio has averaged at least 8.6 assists per game the past three seasons while playing a comparable amount of minutes.

Perhaps the only reason why Rubio has kept his starting position is that Dunn struggled in the early going himself, though that appears to be changing. According to Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Dunn’s shot looked as good as it has all season on Tuesday, when he made all but one of his field-goal attempts and scored 15 points against the Spurs. Moreover, as Souhan noted, Rubio is the picture of frustration these days whose veteran leadership is being outweighed by his lack of production.

The pairing of Dunn and talented combo guard LaVine as the starting backcourt will probably happen soon. Minnesota also has another recent first-round pick, Tyus Jones, in line to take an expanded reserve role. The only reason to delay the inevitable at this point would be hope Rubio gets into a better groove, which would make it easier to move him.

Rubio’s contract, given the rise in salaries to coincidence with jump in the salary cap, is reasonable. He’s making $13.55MM this season and has two guaranteed years remaining at $14.25MM and $14.95MM, respectively. If another team views Rubio as an upgrade to their current point guard situation, those figures are certainly not prohibitive.

So which teams out there might want a flashy if offensively-challenged point man who at 26 years old should be in his prime? The Kings were reportedly one of his pursuers this summer and their point situation hasn’t improved. Darren Collison is averaging 4.7 assists, compared to 2.2 turnovers, and journeyman Ty Lawson is also getting steady playing time. Sacramento is overloaded with young bigs on its roster and has also been trying to move small forward Rudy Gay, who can become an unrestricted free agent after the season if he opts out.

Which other teams might be a match for Rubio? The Nets, who lead the league in having offer sheets to restricted free agents matched, have been looking to upgrade their roster. Current starter Jeremy Lin has been injured and seems like a short-term fix, anyway, with rookie Isaiah Whitehead behind him.

The suddenly woebegone Mavericks could seek a younger replacement to Deron Williams and the Pelicans might consider such a move, considering Jrue Holiday is oft-injured and heading into the free agent market this summer.

The Sixers, with Sergio Rodriguez currently running the show, could use a heady point guard to feed the ball to their stable of bigs. Another intriguing option might be the Spurs, taking into account Tony Parker‘s mileage and recent injury history. The Hawks chose to hand the controls of their attack to Dennis Schroder but with an offense currently ranked No. 27 in efficiency, they might rethink that plan.

Minnesota could also wait on a contender that suffers a point guard injury — the Grizzlies and Mike Conley already fit that category, though they’re paying Conley way too much to take on a salary like Rubio’s as a fill-in at the same position.

Rubio is undoubtedly a better player than he’s shown this season. In his last two full seasons — he was injured most of the 2014/15 campaign — he had a VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) of 2.3 each time. That translates to approximately six wins per season over a replacement player. Rubio is not only one of the league’s most prolific distributors, he’s typically near the top of the steals categories, generating a couple of easy baskets per game for his club.

What’s apparent is that Rubio is not the long-term starter for Minnesota. By drafting Dunn in the lottery, the Timberwolves basically told Rubio that he was just a placeholder for their preferred option at the point. If Rubio is still wearing their uniform by the end of the season, it will speak more toward his declining trade value than their reluctance to give him a fresh start.

What do you think? Should the Timberwolves trade or keep Rubio? Which team would be the best fit for Rubio? Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts and possible trade ideas.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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