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Central Notes: Love, Jennings, D-League

December 14th, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love has long since moved past the sting of the injury he suffered in last season’s playoffs that reportedly short-circuited the interest he had in signing with the Celtics, but Boston wasn’t the only hopeful suitor not in the mix when Love’s free agency began July 1st, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer details. Love insists he never truly considered going anywhere but Cleveland, even as Boston, along with the Suns and Blazers, hoped to meet with him, Haynes writes, confirming reports from this summer that linked those teams to the power forward.

“Truth be told, I didn’t even talk them really,” Love said to Haynes. “Teams have reached out to my agent, but as far as getting on the phone with anybody, the only person I got on the phone with was Griff [Cavs GM David Griffin] right when he called me at 12:01. That’s what people don’t understand that when I say that it was really done, it was really done.”

The thought of leaving did enter his mind, Love admits, even if he didn’t keep it there for long, but the Jeff Schwartz client said he ultimately prioritized winning over stats and felt confident his second season with the Cavs would be better than his first, as he explained to Haynes. See more from the Central Division:

Pistons owner Tom Gores met with Brandon Jennings over the summer to encourage him to return to health and increase his value with free agency looming this coming July, and the rendezvous left an impression on the point guard, as Jennings tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “Yeah, especially during the time of when I was injured, and to hear what he had to say to me definitely opened up my eyes and just really helped me through a lot of stuff I was going through,” Jennings said. “Like a father-son type talk. It was some good things that were said, and he definitely gave me a different perspective on things I need to work on and what I need to come back and do.”
The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from the D-League, notes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Hilliard scored a game-high 23 points in Sunday’s D-League game while Dinwiddie had only 7 points on 2 for 9 shooting.
Joe Young is back from his assignment to the D-League, the Pacers announced. The rookie averaged 22 points per contest during his two-game stint with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

And-Ones: Brand, Martin, D-League

December 11th, 2015 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers are now likely to look to add veterans to the roster for additional leadership now that Jerry Colangelo is officially a member of the front office, and one name to keep an eye on is veteran power forward Elton Brand, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com opines. The 36-year-old was pessimistic about his chances for playing a 17th season in the NBA back in August, when he told Al Coqueran of The Examiner News, “I could get in shape if I got the call but this looks like the end of the run for me, right now it is family time.” Brand made 36 appearances for the Hawks last season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.5 minutes of action per contest.

Here’s more from around the league:

Cartier Martin, who was cut by the Pistons during the preseason and is currently a member of the Grizzlies‘ D-League affiliate in Iowa, is expected to miss several months due to a wrist injury, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter).
Knicks combo forward Derrick Williams indicated that communication between he and coach Derek Fisher isn’t great, which is something he misses about George Karl, who took over as Kings coach late last season, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Williams appreciates the brief time he had under Karl, saying, “He’s a good coach. He wasn’t really tough like that. That was one game. He expects a lot of things out of me. I think that’s always good, when you have a coach that really expects things out of you, wants to bring out the best in you. Myself and him, we talked about it. It was no hard feelings with the quotes. That happens when a coach expects a lot of you. At the end of the day, he wasn’t too, too hard on me. He wanted the best out of me.“
The Grizzlies have assigned small forward James Ennis to their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced. This will be Ennis’ third stint with the Energy on the season, as our D-League tracker shows.
The Mavericks have assigned Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri to the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (Twitter link). This is the second jaunt to the D-League on the season for both Anderson and Mejri, while Evans is making his initial trip.
Mitch McGary has been assigned to the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). This is McGary’s third assignment to the Blue on the season.
The Pacers have assigned Joe Young to their D-League affiliate in Fort Wayne, the team announced.

Central Notes: Hill, Cunningham, Antetokounmpo

December 11th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Solomon Hill is one of Pacers coach Frank Vogel‘s favorite players because of his versatility and work ethic, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. That’s in spite of a report last week that Indiana has made the swingman available for a trade and the lack of playing time Hill has seen since the team declined his rookie scale option for next season.

“He knows the fact that he’s not in the rotation to start the season does not mean his days are numbered here,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “We made that very clear that we’re going to give some other guys looks at that position to give us an offensive boost. We’re trying to improve on the offensive end this year and he’s got to stay ready. There are going to be times when he’s needed and he’s going to have an opportunity to get back into the rotation at some point.”

Hill’s best work comes on defense, so the notion that at least some of the Pacers braintrust isn’t sold on him is another sign of the team’s shift toward more offense, Buckner posits. Here’s more from the Central Division:

LeBron James has quickly formed a bond with Jared Cunningham off the court, but it’s unlikely to play much of a role when the Cavs must decide next month whether to guarantee Cunningham’s salary for the rest of the season, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Bucks gave Greg Monroe a max deal and Khris Middleton a new five-year, $70MM contract, but the executives and scouts who spoke to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times are higher on Giannis Antetokounmpo than any other player on the Milwaukee roster. Antetokoumpo, making slightly less than $1.954MM this season, becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer ahead.
Bulls management basically said this summer that they believe they have a roster with a real chance to win the championship this year, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes in a mailbag column, one in which he says he doesn’t think the team will make a trade this season.

Clippers Gauge Interest In Stephenson, Smith?

December 9th, 2015 at 7:56am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 7:56am: Rivers denies that he’s reached out to anyone about Stephenson and Smith. The coach/executive addressed the issue in an appearance on “The Fred Roggin Show” on The Beast 980 radio in Los Angeles.

“Not true,” Rivers said of the initial report. “It’s amazing how silly this stuff is. I don’t comment on it much obviously but I can tell you, I think I’m the president of basketball and I’ve yet to have a conversation with any team about anyone right now. These reports come out and there’s nothing you can do about it.

An NBA executive told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times that the Clippers indeed placed calls about Stephenson and Smith but that they were exploratory and routine for this time of year (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 8:30am: The Clippers measured the trade market for Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith last month, league sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, but they’ve withdrawn from that effort more recently amid a spate of injuries, Spears adds. The team doesn’t have anyone on its injury report currently, but it’s unclear if trade talks will resume. Spears also suggests the Clippers remain open to trading Jamal Crawford, a frequent subject of trade rumors in the offseason, though coach/executive Doc Rivers said in September that he’d be “very surprised” if Crawford doesn’t remain a Clipper throughout the season. Smith becomes eligible for inclusion in trades a week from today, while Stephenson and Crawford are already trade-eligible.

Two NBA executives indicated to Spears that the Clippers probably found a weak market for the pair. One exec suggested that the two are more likely to work buyouts than end up in trades, further speculating that Stephenson ends up back on the Pacers, his original team. The other executive who spoke with Spears alleged that Stephenson and Smith have negatively affected team chemistry in L.A. Smith recently shouted back and forth with assistant coach Mike Woodson following a loss, Spears reports. The second executive also said he believes it’ll be tough for the Clippers to find trade partners for either Smith or Stephenson since few had interest in either before they joined the team, Spears adds.

Still, the Kings, Mavs and Rockets were reportedly interested in signing Smith as a free agent this past summer, when he took a discount and joined the Clippers on a one-year, minimum-salary deal. The Nets apparently talked about trading for Stephenson on two different occasions last season, when he was with the Hornets, and the Heat were apparently among the teams with interest last year, too. It’s unclear if those teams were still eyeing him when the Clippers struck a deal to acquire him in June. He’s making $9MM this season and has a $9.405MM team option for next season.

What teams do you think would be strong fits for Stephenson, Smith and Crawford? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Central Notes: Portis, J.R. Smith, Pacers, Bairstow

December 7th, 2015 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg says Bobby Portis will have a chance to play extensive minutes at some point this season, likely soon, but this year’s 22nd overall pick has seen just 22 total minutes all season, observes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Portis admits it’s difficult to sit on the bench but understands the level of talent in front of him, which includes Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, Johnson notes. Portis is anxious enough to play that he’d welcome a D-League assignment.

“People hear D-League and think, ‘Oh, man, he’s in the D-League,'” Portis said, according to Johnson. “It’s not about the D-League. It’s about getting reps and getting ready. The D-League’s great for getting better.”

The Bulls are instead making other D-League moves, as we detail amid the latest from the Central Division:

J.R. Smith says it’s not time for the Cavs to panic yet, but he’s nonetheless concerned, with the Cavs having lost three straight and four of their last six, as he explained to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The team was without the resting LeBron James in Saturday’s loss, but it’s a matter of competitiveness, and not roster composition, Smith contends. “Just overall competing,” Smith said to Haynes. “We have all the talent. We got all the skills. It’s just competing.”
Indianapolis and Fort Wayne are close enough to allow the Pacers to frequently shuttle their D-League assignees back and forth, but they’ve instead kept Rakeem Christmas, who’s the D-League Performer of the Week, and Shayne Whittington in Fort Wayne from November 2nd on, notes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest. That’s a longer stretch of time than any other NBA player has spent on D-League assignment this season, and it’s helped Christmas and Whittington gain a sense of consistency, as Pacers D-League GM Brian Levy told Johnson. “Giving the players the greatest chance to succeed in turn gives the team the greatest chance to succeed,” Levy said. “The Pacers have embraced that idea.”
The Bulls have recalled Cameron Bairstow from the D-League, the team announced. The second-year big man was with San Antonio’s affiliate since Chicago is without a D-League team of its own. Bairstow, whose salary is partially guaranteed for about half its value this season, averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game across five contests for the Austin Spurs.

Central Notes: Morris, Noah, Pacers

December 6th, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Will Joseph

With increased minutes this season, Marcus Morris is making the most of his opportunity with the Pistons after being acquired by Detroit in a summer trade with the Suns, Rod Beard of the Detroit News details. Morris is a focal point of the offense and has been a workhorse, Beard writes. Morris is playing 37 minutes per game this season. In comparison, he saw 25.2 minutes per game last year, which set a career-high for the 26-year-old. Morris has played well lately and is averaging 14.8 points per game. There is a strong chance the trade turns out to be the Pistons’ best move of the offseason, Beard adds.

“Marcus can do a lot of things and I have to create more and more things for him. He’s a [expletive]-good passer too. We’re really fortunate to have him,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We thought he was good when we got him and he’s better than I thought he was.”

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

Joakim Noah, a 2016 free agent who is now coming off the bench for the Bulls, has had a string of solid performances for the first time this season, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune writes. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” Noah said. “I just stay positive and keep my focus on what I can control. Overall, I think I’m in a good place and I just have to keep building.”
Pacers rookie shooting guard Joseph Young has played in only seven games so far this season, but the former Oregon star isn’t frustrated about being left out of the rotation, Tyson Alger of The Oregonian relays in a Q&A. “I asked coach, ‘Coach what do I need to do to get in the rotation?’ And coach said, ‘Son, you’ve done everything you need to do to get in the rotation. But right now, we need to play the players we’re paying,'” Young told Alger. “He’s saying that he’s got to get Monta Ellis 30-plus minutes. Rodney Stuckey, you got to get him minutes. They’re paying them and they want to play them. I’m a rookie. I just got to keep working hard and my time is going to come. Just paying my dues.”

Southwest Notes: Hill, Bickerstaff, Lawson, Lee

December 5th, 2015 at 8:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Alvin Gentry refused to directly address rumors that the Pelicans are interested in the Pacers’ Solomon Hill, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. It was reported Friday that Indiana is making Hill available for a deal, and New Orleans is believed to be among the suitors. ”I’ve got enough problems coaching the team,” Gentry said today. ”We got really competent guys with [GM] Dell [Demps] and his whole group that handle all of the personnel part of it.When it comes time or a situation where they are going to do that, they always talk to me about it. As of right now, all my energy and everything is going towards trying to figure out how we can get this whole thing straightened out.”

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons believes J.B. Bickerstaff has a bright future as a head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Parsons, a former Rocket, worked closely with Bickerstaff during his time in Houston and says the coach has what it takes to be successful. “The biggest thing with a coach is how to manage players, how to get along with players, how to manage egos,” Parsons said. “He’s going to have respect from his guys. X’s and O’s he was always great. Time outs when I had him he was always able to draw something up on the fly. I think he’s going to be a really, really good young coach in this league.”
Kings coach George Karl says things will get easier for Ty Lawson in Houston, Feigen writes in a separate story. Karl coached Lawson in Denver and contends the point guard just needed to make it through the adjustment period. “Ty is one of these guys, he needs a comfort zone,” Karl said. “I don’t think he’s found it yet. Once he finds it, you’re going to see a much better player than you’re seeing so far.”
Courtney Lee has turned into a productive reserve for the Grizzlies, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. After shooting 34% from the field and 19% from three-point range in the season’s first 10 games as a starter, Lee has improved those numbers to 48% and 31% since moving to the bench. “It’s part of being a professional,” said Lee, who will be a free agent next summer. “Throughout your career, everybody has a role either as a starter or they come off the bench. It’s just about how you handle it.”

2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Indiana Pacers

December 5th, 2015 at 10:13am CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.

The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Indiana Pacers:

Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $57,230,006
Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $2,030,931
Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $59,260,937

If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Indiana would have approximately $29,739,063 in cap space, or $35,739,063 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.

Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Pacers Make Solomon Hill Available For Trade

December 4th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:30pm: The Pelicans have expressed interest in Hill, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets.

11:25am: The Pacers have made Solomon Hill available to other teams who might be interested in trading for him, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports within a column. Indiana declined its 2016/17 rookie scale option on Hill before the season, so he’s set for unrestricted free agency in the offseason ahead, when he’ll be just three years removed from having been the 23rd overall pick. The Pacers are ineligible to re-sign him next summer for a starting salary of more than $2,306,019 because they declined the option, which was worth precisely that amount. That restriction would transfer to any team that might trade for the 24-year-old small forward.

Hill led an injury-racked Pacers team in total minutes last season, when he averaged 8.9 points in 29.0 minutes per game, but he’s outside the rotation this year, notching just 6.3 minutes per night across seven appearances. That’s in spite of a revamped Pacers attack that puts a greater emphasis on wing players like the 6’7″ former University of Arizona player, who’s making slightly less than $1.359MM this season.

It’s no shock to see Hill in trade rumors, since all four of the players whose rookie scale team options were declined in 2014 are no longer with the team that declined the option. Hill and swingmen Sergey Karasev of the Nets and P.J. Hairston of the Hornets are the only three players who didn’t have their rookie scale options picked up this year, and trade chatter has already surfaced surrounding Karasev, too, though he denied reports that he wanted the Nets to deal him away. I speculated in a recent mailbag column that Hill would become a trade candidate.

It’s unclear if any team has interest in Hill. He’s eligible to be traded immediately, but most in-season deals don’t happen until the majority of the players who signed in the offseason become trade-eligible on December 15th. The Pacers are more than $12MM clear of the luxury tax threshold, so they have no shortage of financial flexibility.

Central Notes: George, Noah, LeBron, Mozgov

December 2nd, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

New teammates and a new, more open attack make Paul George harder to guard, coach Frank Vogel contends, and the willingness of C.J. Miles to defend power forwards, a duty George was reluctant to assume, has the Pacers clicking, as TNT’s David Aldridge examines in his NBA.com Morning Tip.

“I would say it bothered me a little bit,” George said to Aldridge about the idea of guarding fours. “I was like, man, I worked so hard to get back, playing the three, and now you’re putting me at a new position. You guys don’t trust me? So it took some time to get that through my head. But now, everything is working out fine, and I’m happy with what we’ve got going right now.”

George, in his interview with Aldridge, called Miles a “lifesaver” for his willingness to step into the power forward role, and Miles, a full-time starter for the first time since 2008/09, doesn’t seem to mind. See more from the Central Division:

Joakim Noah seemed to make it clear when he spoke to reporters Tuesday that he wants to play more and that he’s frustrated that Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg won’t give him more minutes, but he’s also careful not to publicly criticize Hoiberg, observes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter links). The 2016 free agent who’s now coming off the bench tempered his comments by calling it a “blessing to play for this franchise,” notes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (All Twitter links). “I never want to come out,” Noah said. “But I understand this is my role now and I have to accept it and be the best that I can with what I have.”
LeBron James didn’t think the Cavs would be able to trade for Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert last season, but when they did, he found their acquisitions reassuring signs of GM David Griffin‘s mettle, as the four-time MVP tells Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. Their additions have been part of James’ struggle to change the culture of the Cavs into a winning one. “Coming back has been everything I thought,” James said to Jenkins of his 2014 return to Cleveland, “only a lot harder. I can’t tell you it’s been comfortable. But that’s O.K. I don’t really like to be comfortable.”