Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Shaw, Ariza, Hennigan

March 15th, 2013 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

While Charles Barkley continues to be one of the NBA's most outspoken and entertaining TV analysts, Sir Charles has indicated in the past that he'd love a chance to be hired as general manager of the Suns. If Barkley were running another one of his former teams, the Sixers, he'd be facing a big decision this summer, and he'd prepared to let Andrew Bynum walk in free agency, as John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Here are a few more items from around the Eastern Conference:

In a Q&A with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Pacers assistant Brian Shaw says his goal is to become a head coach someday. However, Shaw says he's in a "great situation" in Indiana, so he won't pursue a head coaching job that wouldn't be a good fit.
In a week that featured Carmelo Anthony playing in Denver and Dwight Howard playing in Orlando, Trevor Ariza's first game against his former team, the Hornets, unsurprisingly isn't drawing much attention, and that's fine with him. "I’ve been on a number of teams," the Wizards forward told Michael Lee of the Washington Post. "Treat it like it’s a regular game. Not really worry about me, or individual things, but this is not an individual sport. It’s a team sport. Just stick to our game plan and do what I need to do."
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details the close relationship between Thunder GM Sam Presti and Rob Hennigan, his Magic counterpart and former employee.
Sam Smith's latest mailbag at Bulls.com is predictably heavy on Derrick Rose questions and answers.

Pacers Top David West’s Offseason Wish List

March 12th, 2013 at 10:57am CST by Luke Adams

His impending free agency isn't drawing the headlines that players like Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, and Josh Smith are receiving, but David West will be hitting the open market this summer after two seasons with the Pacers. If it's up to West, he and the Pacers will reach an agreement that keeps him in Indiana, as he tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link).

"Oh yeah," West said. "For what I want to do in terms of this point in my career, I want to win and Indiana is going to give me an opportunity to win and compete. And I enjoy being around this group of guys."

West is in the second and final season of a two-year, $20MM contract with Indiana. There's reason to believe that the 32-year-old should land at least a similar deal as an unrestricted free agent this July. Although he saw his scoring average dip last season with the Pacers, he's upped it from 12.8 PPG to 17.5 PPG in 2012/13, and has recorded a career-high 20.8 PER to date. West has also been remarkably durable, starting all but one game for the Pacers over the last two seasons.

Having committed long-term money to Roy Hibbert and George Hill, and with Danny Granger under contract for one more season, the Pacers have about $49MM in guaranteed money on the books for 2013/14. That should still leave plenty of room to re-sign West without approaching tax territory, depending on who else the Pacers want to add or bring back.

Free Agency Links: Millsap, Smith, Bynum, West, Oden

March 9th, 2013 at 12:21pm CST by Sean Highkin

With the trade deadline behind us, some teams are already looking toward this summer's free agent class. Here is a roundup of the latest buzz on that front:

Acknowledging that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard aren't likely to leave their respective Los Angeles teams, Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld looks at a list of free agents who are more obtainable by other teams, including Atlanta's Josh Smith and Utah's Paul Millsap.
Ben Golliver of SI.com runs down a list of free agents whose stock has risen or fallen this season. He points to Andrew Bynum as someone who has hurt his chances at a big payday, and Smith and David West as likely candidates for a big payday.
Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer reports that Greg Oden, who is gearing up for a second attempt at an NBA career, recently attended a Cavaliers game and had positive impressions of the organization.
Valade also profiles Rich Paul, a former member of LeBron James' marketing team who is finding success running his own sports agency.

Jazz Discussed Millsap Deals With Pacers, Clippers

March 9th, 2013 at 8:02am CST by Sean Highkin

The Utah Jazz did not move Paul Millsap before the February 21 trade deadline, but Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports that they discussed deals for the forward with the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers, neither of which ended up coming to fruition.

Kennedy tweets that the Jazz and Pacers discussed a trade that would have sent Millsap and Alec Burks to Indiana for Danny Granger and Lance Stephenson. In a separate tweet, Kennedy reports that the Jazz and Clippers discussed a trade of Millsap and DeMarre Carroll for Eric Bledsoe and Lamar Odom.

Millsap, 27, is averaging 15.2 PPG and 7.4 RPG this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Odds & Ends: Draft, Oden, Greene, Kings

February 27th, 2013 at 7:01pm CST by Alex Lee

The news of the night so far in the NBA is that Pacers' Roy Hibbert and Warriors' David Lee have each been suspended one game without pay for their roles in last night's skirmish (Twitter links from Yahoo's Marc Spears). In addition, Lance Stephenson, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were each fined $35,000 for "escalating the altercation." Hibbert already told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he will pay Stephenson's fine for being a good teammate, tweets Wells.

Lee will serve his suspension tonight, as the Warriors visit in the Knicks in one of 10 games on tonight's schedule. Mark Jackson, back in Madison Square Garden as head coach of the Warriors, has already expressed his displeasure with the league's decision, tweets Adam Zagoria of NBA.com. Here are some other odds and ends from around the league:

Chad Ford of ESPN released his latest draft blog, available to insiders only and complete with an updated top 30. Ben McLemore of Kansas tops his big board but as Ford asserts, this year's top 10 promises to be as ever-changing as any in recent memory.
Greg Oden will not decide on his next team until July, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports. This agrees with last week's report from Marc Spears of Yahoo that Oden won't sign until the offseason, though it sounds like this came directly from Oden's agent, Mike Conley. Amico writes that Oden came close to signing with the Cavaliers earlier this month, but an agreement couldn't be reached. Conley believes that once Oden works his way into game shape, he will again have All Star potential.
Free agent forward Donte Greene, now healthy after fracturing his ankle in August, will work out for teams at Eastern Michigan University on Sunday, tweets Marc Spears of Yahoo. Spears reported last week that the Nets, Pacers, Hornets, Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, Magic, Rockets, and Cavaliers have all checked in on Greene, who played the last four seasons in Sacramento. Citing a league source, Nets Daily has reported the Nets are not currently interested in filling their open roster spot by adding Greene.
As was rumored yesterday, it appears that Kings minority owner John Kehriotis does in fact intend to submit a "back-up offer" to the Maloofs to buy the Kings, reports Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. Kehriotis apparently has the capital to match the offer from the Seattle group and believes he has the legal right to counter their attempt to buy the team, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento city council voted on Tuesday night to approve the request made by city officials to begin negotiations over the financing of a new arena, reports Bizjak. These negotiations are a crucial element to Sacramento's bid to keep the Kings.

Brigham On Future Contenders

February 23rd, 2013 at 10:13am CST by Sean Highkin

Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld has a new column examining which teams have a chance to be title contenders five seasons from now, taking into account possible moves in free agency and the ages of the teams' core players.

Brigham believes the Thunder still have the brightest future, given that Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka will all be under 30 in five seasons.
LeBron James' free agency will play a major role in determining the next title contender, Brigham writes. The health and effectiveness of Dwyane Wade will determine whether James stays with the Heat, but the Cavaliers and Lakers are also possible destinations.
On that note, Brigham writes that, although Kyrie Irving is blossoming into a superstar, the Cavs will not be a contender unless James signs in Cleveland.
The Bulls will still be contenders if Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah stay healthy, Brigham writes. He also notes that Nikola Mirotic will have come over to the NBA by then.
The trade for Thomas Robinson added another young piece to the James Harden/Jeremy Lin core the Rockets have built, Brigham writes. Additionally, the team is still well under the cap and can add another high-level player via free agency.
Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge give the Blazers a solid core to build around, writes Brigham.
Brigham writes that there will be uncertainty every year for the next five as to whether Chris Paul will still be with the Clippers.
Even if Stephen Curry's ankles don't hold up, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes give the Warriors a good young core, Brigham says.
Brigham writes that the Pacers have excellent cornerstone players in Roy Hibbert and Paul George.

Odds & Ends: Deadline, Nets, Colangelo, Hibbert

February 21st, 2013 at 10:39pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Thursday evening:

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes that the Collective Bargaining Agreement has restricted player movement, resulting in an underwhelming trade deadline.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News laments the Nets' inability to find Deron Williams more help at the deadline.
Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun writes that Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo deserves a contract extension.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star writes that Roy Hibbert is looking to ramp up his performance as the Pacers gear up for a playoff run.
The Oklahoman has a primer on Georgios Printezis, acquired by the Thunder on Thursday.
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel praises the Bucks' acquisition of J.J. Redick.
Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW.com writes that the Mavericks' relative inactivity at the trade deadline puts increased pressure on the team to have a successful offseason.
John Canzano of The Oregonian praises the Blazers' acquisition of Eric Maynor from the Thunder.

J.J. Redick Rumors: Thursday

February 21st, 2013 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Based on reports late last night, it sounds like the Magic are still on the fence about whether or not they'll trade J.J. Redick. While the team is clearly fielding offers, Orlando also seems willing to hang on to Redick for the season if no suitable proposals are made. We'll track today's Redick rumors here, with the newest items added throughout the day:

The Pacers are out of the running for Redick, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
The Redick talks are coming "down to the wire" with the Pacers, Sixers, and Bucks still involved, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The Spurs are out, according to Aldridge.
A source involved in the Redick talks now believes there's a strong chance the sharpshooter will remain in Orlando, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

Earlier updates:

Pacers Shopping Augustin, Green, Hansbrough

February 21st, 2013 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported this morning that the Pacers are "pushing" D.J. Augustin in trade talks, and according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, Augustin isn't the only player being shopped by the team. The Pacers are also looking to move Gerald Green and Tyler Hansbrough, tweets Wells.

Wells reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers had an offer on the table involving Hansbrough, but the club wasn't thrilled with the return. The Pacers are also a little reluctant to move Augustin in a deal that doesn't net them a point guard, since they're not sure they want Lance Stephenson backing up George Hill at the point, tweets Wells.

As for Green, we heard yesterday that the Pacers wouldn't mind moving him, but with two more years remaining on his contract beyond 2012/13, the swingman doesn't have much trade value at this point.

Morning Rumors: Hickson, Pacers, Heat, Bulls

February 21st, 2013 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

With the deadline less than five hours away and trade rumors picking up steam, here are a few miscellaneous rumblings from around the league:

The Trail Blazers' chances of landing a first-round pick in exchange for J.J. Hickson don't look good at the moment, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
In an effort to move below the tax threshold, the Warriors are still attempting to move bench players, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
Within the same tweet, Wojnarowski says the Pacers are shopping D.J. Augustin and his expiring contract.
Wojnarowski's rumor-heavy tweet also includes word that the Heat are offering Dexter Pittman in deals.
The Bulls are "pushing hard" to unload Richard Hamilton, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
The Thunder have been seeking a first-rounder for Eric Maynor, but haven't found any takers yet, says Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter).