Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Amico On Gay, Kings, Millsap, West, Oden

January 20th, 2013 at 8:38am CST by Chuck Myron

The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is brimming with juicy material, so let's dive right in.

Even though the Grizzlies are reportedly in a "holding pattern" regarding trades, Memphis is still talking to other teams about moving Rudy Gay. The clubs engaged most heavily in those discussions are the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Suns and, more recently, Hawks. Nonetheless, a source tells Amico not to expect a Gay trade until after the All-Star break.
Speaking of holding patterns, that appears to be the current state of any potential Kings sale, Amico writes. Whatever happens, it's "pretty clear" this is the final season for Geoff Petrie as GM. He's in the final year of his deal, and the 64-year-old reportedly wants to retire.
We heard Friday about the Nets' possible interest in Paul Millsap, and Amico confirms Brooklyn, along with the Bucks and Nuggets, are among teams that could make a push for Millsap at the deadline. Most of the teams in that mix would want to offer Millsap an extension immediately upon acquiring him, since he's in the final year of his contract.
Like Millsap, David West is another power forward set to hit the unrestricted free agent market, but the Pacers are confident they can re-sign him, Amico reports. That's why the team is largely ignoring trade offers for him.
Greg Oden hopes to sign with a team around the All-Star break or right after the trade deadline. Interested clubs include the Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Cavaliers.

Odds & Ends: Union, Gay, Magic, West, Adelman

January 18th, 2013 at 11:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's been quite an evening in the NBA, as a third of the nine games on the docket went to overtime. It was also a rare night when both the Wizards and Bobcats recorded wins. As we wait to find out more about trade candidates and the Suns coaching situation tomorrow, here's the rest of the news from around the Association.

A day after the release of a report detailing abuses of power by players union executive director Billy Hunter, Nets star Deron Williams called for changes from "top to bottom" in the organization, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler says the Magic aren't interested in Rudy Gay, but wouldn't be surprised to see the team get involved in a trade that sends Gay elsewhere. Orlando's $17.8MM trade exception allows Orlando to get involved as a middleman, as Kyler points out (All Twitter links).
In a piece that looks back on the Magic's in-season trades from years past, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel argues that Nikola Vucevic has become the team's No. 1 trade chip and urges the front office to hold on to him.
David West won't let his impending free agency distract him from his work with the Pacers, as HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy documents via Sulia.
Wolves coach Rick Adelman won't be returning to the team anytime soon as he continues to tend to his ailing wife, GM David Kahn told reporters, including Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Assistant coach Terry Porter will continue to lead the team in Adelman's stead.

Pacers Re-Sign Dominic McGuire

January 17th, 2013 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have re-signed Dominic McGuire to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. McGuire was initially signed by the Pacers on January 7th, the first day teams could sign 10-day deals, so his contract expired last night.

McGuire, 27, appeared in just two games for the Pacers, averaging six minutes per contest and failing to score a single point. However, he was productive at times for the Raptors and Hornets earlier this season, appearing in 24 games for the two teams, including nine starts for Toronto.

Besides playing for Indiana, New Orleans, and Toronto this season, the well-traveled McGuire has also played for the Warriors, Bobcats, Kings, and Wizards in his six-year NBA career, averaging 2.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 342 total contests. The Pacers won't need a corresponding move to make room for the former second-round pick, since a roster spot opened up when his first 10-day deal expired.

D-League Moves: Pittman, Jones, Plumlee

January 16th, 2013 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves posted to the top of the list throughout the day:

The Heat will recall Dexter Pittman from their D-League affiliate in time for tomorrow's game, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. When I examined potential solutions for Miami's rebounding woes earlier today, I noted that giving Pittman and other internal frontcourt options more minutes could be a short-term approach for the club.
Terrence Jones has been re-assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets announced today in a press release. Jones was recalled from the D-League on Monday, but wasn't active for Houston's game against the Clippers last night.
The Pacers have re-assigned Miles Plumlee to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. It's already the fifth time this season that Plumlee has been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. While he's barely seen the court for the Pacers, the 2012 first-round pick has averaged a double-double in eight games with Fort Wayne, posting 13.4 PPG and 11.5 RPG.

Central Links: Cavaliers, James, Pacers

January 15th, 2013 at 9:01pm CST by Alex Lee

The latest news and notes from around the Central Division on Tuesday night:

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opines that even with all the recent LeBron James talk with regard to the summer of 2014, the Cavaliers must put a winner on the floor next year to prove to everyone they're not the perennial doormat they've been of late. We've heard the team will do nothing to jeopardize their 2014 financial flexibility, but Pluto warns against putting all their eggs in that basket.
Meanwhile, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio writes that while the Cavs aren't remotely banking on James returning to Cleveland, there seems to be a lot of arrows pointing in that direction. Amico says, depending on the development of the pieces in Cleveland, it could be a perfect fit and based on what he hears from around the league, the animosity over "The Decision" won't be nearly as big an obstacle as one might think.
Grantland's Zach Lowe breaks down the dominant Pacers defense, which he describes as "potentially historically great." However, Lowe says, no team as offensively challenged as Indiana has been this year has ever won the NBA title. The imminent return of Danny Granger should help, but to have a chance at dethroning the Heat, the Pacers will probably need other players, like Roy Hibbert, to step up without losing much on the defensive end of the floor.

Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Most Improved, George

January 15th, 2013 at 6:49pm CST by Alex Lee

With six games on the NBA docket tonight, let's round up any odds and ends from around the Association here:

In HoopsWorld's NBA PM column, Alex Kennedy summarizes some of the trade chatter we've heard recently from the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Raptors, Rockets, Lakers, Magic and Jazz.
Speaking of the Mavs, despite Mark Cuban's recent bold proclamations, Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas writes that it is business as usual in Dallas. While some of the Mavs players admit that swirling rumors can be a distraction, Rick Carlisle says it has always been the norm in his time under Cuban.
In a Yahoo Sports video, Greg Anthony and Marc J. Spears discuss the leading candidates for the NBA's Most Improved Player award, specifically mentioning Paul George, James Harden, Greivis Vasquez, Nikola Vucevic and Jrue Holiday as the current contenders.
In the New York Times' Off The Dribble blog, Jim Cavan writes that the Pacers have been one of the few teams that has arguably benefited from losing a superstar to injury this year, citing the emergence of Paul George as a franchise player in Danny Granger's absence as the reason.

Atlantic Rumors: Bynum, Celtics, Carlesimo, Green

January 14th, 2013 at 7:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers have lost 16 of their last 22 games to fall into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, but Andrew Bynum provided a glimmer of hope Monday, telling reporters, including John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that he's feeling minimal pain in his knees and hopes to make his season debut around the All-Star break. While the Sixers continue to wait for their prize summer acquisition, here's the latest on their Atlantic Division rivals.

Celtics basketball president Danny Ainge believes the five weeks or so between now and the trade deadline will be crucial, but as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe details, Ainge is satisfied with what he's seeing from his squad, which has won five in a row. "Right now we don’t have a real need and we have players like Jason Collins and Leandro Barbosa who we really like and are hardly playing, so I don’t really see a need to bring someone else in, at least at this moment," Ainge said. "We’re happy with our roster and we’re looking for improvement but we feel like we have plenty of bodies and Chris Wilcox should be back in not too long. I don’t think there’s any need to bring in someone right now to sit on the end of our bench."
Joe Johnson doesn't put too much stock in the interim tag on coach P.J. Carlesimo's title and regards him as the full-fledged boss of the Nets, as he tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Gerald Green was squeezed out of the Nets' plans this season when they used their taxpayer's midlevel exception on Mirza Teletovic instead, Bondy notes, but Green nonetheless has affection for recently fired coach Avery Johnson, who helped him resurrect his career.
Mike Woodson has reached J.R. Smith in ways other coaches haven't, Newsday's Al Iannazzone examines.

Eastern Notes: Pierce, Sixers, Bynum, Vogel

January 12th, 2013 at 4:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s more than reasonable for the Celtics to consider cashing out on an aging Paul Pierce for young assets to be used towards rebuilding, opines Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. In another season and a half, the veteran could retire or walk away from Boston with no compensation. His trade value may never be as high as it will be now through the 2013 draft, and this may be the time to act, according to Brigham. Here's more from around the Eastern Conference.

Sixers GM Tony DiLeo told reporters, including Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com, that the team will try to stay in contention for a playoff spot until Andrew Bynum gets back, and may make short-term upgrades that don't cut into next summer's cap space.
DiLeo also said the Sixers "are still looking at Andrew as a long-term solution," indicating they still plan on trying to re-sign him this summer.
The extension Frank Vogel signed with the Pacers this week runs through 2014/15, and will pay the coach $2MM per season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
J.J. Redick doesn’t want to be traded away from the Magic, but after hearing from GM Rob Hennigan that several teams have expressed interest, he's girding himself for the possibility, writes John Denton of Magic.com.
The Heat signed Josh Harrellson and Jarvis Varnado to ten-day contracts simply to stall for time until something better comes along, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The Heat can get a better sense of what might be available to add at either the trading deadline or buyout deadline.
Anderson Varejao's injury isn't devastating to his long-term trade value, as The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer examines.

Zach Links of Hoops Rumors also contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Skiles, Pistons, Vogel

January 8th, 2013 at 10:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

One day after the mutual decision to sever ties with the Bucks, Scott Skiles was quick to shoot down a rumor that he "hated his team." Charles F. Gardner of JS Online drew more comments from the former-Milwaukee coach, who also implied that his phone has been "blowing up" regarding opportunities but would like to enjoy some of the time off he has right now. Todd Rosiak (also of the Journal-Sentinel) explored Skiles' departure from his former players' perspective, namely Larry Sanders, Luc Mbah a Moute, rookie John Henson, and Brandon Jennings, who admitted he was a bit frustrated about how he found out about the news – from Skiles first and not the team. With that aside, here are more news and notes from the Central Division tonight:

With four consecutive drafts in which the Pistons have taken five current rotation players, there is optimism that GM Joe Dumars and his scouts have the right mindset and wherewithal to continue building the team toward a return to prominence (Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports).
Fresh off agreeing to what is most likely a multi-year contract extension yesterday, Frank Vogel expressed optimism and determination in the direction of the Pacers' franchise (ESPN report via the Associated Press).
Mike Wells of IndyStar.com briefly explores Vogel's appreciation for the assistants on his coaching staff and mentioned Dominic McGuire's task of learning the team's offense as quickly as possible.

Pacers Sign Frank Vogel To Extension

January 7th, 2013 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have signed head coach Frank Vogel to a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. Vogel had been in the final year of his contract, though the Pacers held a team option for 2013/14, so it's not clear whether the club simply picked up that option or further extended Vogel's contract.

Since taking over as Indiana's head coach during the 2010/11 season, Vogel has led the team to an 82-56 record and a pair of playoff berths. The Pacers are also off to a strong start (20-14) this season despite not having top scorer Danny Granger in the lineup.

"This is a good deal for Frank and the franchise," said Pacers president Donnie Walsh in a statement. "Frank has done a great job turning our team around since he became coach and deserves the chance to continue the work he and his staff have started."