Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Interested In Pacers’ GM David Morway

May 4th, 2012 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The newest reported candidate for the Trail Blazers' general manager opening is another current NBA GM — David Morway of the Pacers. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Portland has requested and received permission to speak to Morway, who is expected to meet with Blazers president Larry Miller in the next week or so.

Morway, who has been Indiana's GM for four years, is considered the right-hand man of Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird. Before he worked for the Pacers, Morway also had a front office MLB job for the San Diego Padres and served as the president of agency Professional Excellence Sports.

Miller said this week that he isn't sure how many candidates the Blazers will interview, noting that he wants the process to be thorough so the team doesn't have to go through it again anytime soon. However, the Blazers president added: "If we talk to somebody and this is our guy, that would be the end of it."

Steve Kerr, John Hammond, Mitch Kupchak, and Geoff Petrie are among the names that have been linked to the Blazers' search.

Kyler On Williams, Nash, Gordon, Mayo, Hibbert

May 4th, 2012 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

In his NBA AM column at HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler shares the latest rumblings on a handful of this summer's top free agents. Here are the highlights:

It's far from a done deal, but the general feeling around the Nets is that they're in the driver's seat for Deron Williams. Kyler names the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic as other teams that figure to aggressively pursue the point guard.
Steve Nash continues to tell people that returning to Phoenix is a "real and viable option." Kyler points out that even if Nash ends up elsewhere, the Suns could work out a sign-and-trade to get something out of it.
It's nearly a lock that Eric Gordon will be retained by the Hornets, but it's not clear how high the bidding will go. The Hornets were unable to agree on an extension with Gordon earlier this season, and while that was due in part to not having new ownership in place yet, there are also questions about the 23-year-old's durability.
According to Kyler, there's a good chance O.J. Mayo doesn't become a restricted free agent this summer, since a qualifying offer would put the Grizzlies over the tax line. If Memphis doesn't extend a qualifying offer, Mayo would be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
Kevin Garnett would like to finish his career with the Celtics.
The Pacers are prepared to match just about any offer for Roy Hibbert, and will let the market set the price for their center.
The Nets hope to deal with Brook Lopez's free agency after working out some of their other situations, but Lopez could disrupt their plans if he signs an offer sheet with another club early in the free agent period.

Anthony Davis To Be Added To Team USA Pool

May 2nd, 2012 at 12:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

12:43pm: Monroe won't be the second addition to the U.S. Olympic pool, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

12:18pm: Anthony Davis will be one of the two finalists added to the Team USA pool, according to SI.com's Sam Amick. Along with Monroe, Al Jefferson is a candidate to be the second finalist, says Amick.

11:08am: Lamar Odom hasn't been ruled out for the 2012 Olympic roster yet, Colangelo tells Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Colangelo also said that Cousins won't be added to the player pool this year, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.

WEDNESDAY, 8:09am: DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, and Anthony Davis are among the big men being considered for the Team USA pool, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Hibbert, unfortunately, is ineligible to play for the U.S. team because he played for Jamaica's senior national squad during the 2010 Centrobasket tournament. FIBA rules prevent players from representing two different countries at the senior level.

TUESDAY, 8:29pm: Jerry Colangelo told reporters (Associated Press link via ESPN.com) that he is leaning towards adding a couple of players to the pool from which the final Olympic team will be drawn. He gave no indication as to who those players might be, however.

7:30pm: With the U.S. Olympic team's projected roster increasingly depleted due to injuries, Jerry Colangelo is reportedly reconsidering his stance against adding new players. According to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, Pacers center Roy Hibbert has expressed interest in joining the team should they look to add new talent.

“It would be nice to be able to do something like that,” Hibbert said. “I always said I wanted to play in the Olympics for the US. I played with Team Jamaica last year. Hopefully I can get a quick release. It would mean the world to me to be able to participate for Team USA.”

With Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge out for the summer, the frontcourt rotation for Team USA is looking thin outside of Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, and Tyson Chandler. If Colangelo does decide to bring on new players, Hibbert, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2011/12, would appear to be a logical candidate.

Injuries Take A Starring Role In 2012 Playoffs

April 29th, 2012 at 12:04pm CST by Daniel Seco

With horrific injuries spelling an early end to the season for Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert, let's take a look at the other 14 playoff teams to see how a missing player may mean the difference between a Finals appearance and a first-round exit.

Heat: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade enter the playoffs healthier than usual thanks to some much needed rest during the final week of the regular season. The Heat stand to benefit the most from Shumpert and Rose's injuries as a sweep against the Knicks means less of a challenge for Wade on the offensive end and an easier path to winning a title. Look for the Heat to advance to at least the Finals if they can duplicate the success they enjoyed during the first half of the season.
Pacers: The Pacers are injury-free heading into Game 2 against the Magic, who pulled off the upset Saturday evening in Indiana. Utilizing seven-foot-two center Roy Hibbert's size to their fullest advantage will be key for the Pacers as their big man only managed to score eight points but blocked nine shots as he dominated the paint defensively. With Dwight Howard on the shelf for the entirety of the playoffs, the Magic are severely undersized with six-foot-nine Glen Davis taking over at center for Superman.
Celtics: Ray Allen is expected to miss Game 1 in Atlanta against the Hawks as he battles bone spurs in his right ankle. If the Celtics had missed the playoffs, Allen would have undergone surgery immediately to help alleviate the pain. The Celtics will turn to Avery Bradley and his burgeoning reputation as a solid three-point shooter for the majority of the series as Allen's status remains unknown.
Hawks: The center position has been an area of concern for the Hawks with Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia currently sidelined with injuries. Horford, who has been out since January 11 with a torn left pectoral muscle, will miss the entire first round of the playoffs but may be able to return if the team advances. A foot injury to Pachulia that caused him to miss the team's last seven games will force the Hawks to rely on Jason Collins in order to solidify their frontcourt.
Magic: The Magic's chances of making a run in the playoffs took a huge hit when Howard called it a season in mid-April as he elected to undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. Without Howard, the Magic will feature an undersized frontcourt against a much larger Pacers squad. Much uncertainty surrounds the future of the franchise given Howard's impending free agency in 2013 and his desire to replace head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Sixers: Aside from rookie center Lavoy Allen spraining his thumb in Game 1, the Sixers feature a healthy roster as they return to action Tuesday night against the Bulls. With Rose out for the remainder of the series, the Sixers will look to capitalize on the perimeter as Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner should benefit from having to guard John Lucas III rather than the league's reigning MVP.
Spurs: After a series of injuries cost Manu Ginobili nearly half the season, the Spurs enter the playoffs with a fresh roster looking to make a title run. Future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, 36, played a career-low 28.2 MPG this season but is still performing at a high level. The addition of Stephen Jackson at the trade deadline along with the subtraction of Richard Jefferson may be enough to lead the Spurs to their fifth title under Gregg Popovich.
Thunder: James Harden returned to action on Saturday night against the Mavs after missing his last two games with a concussion suffered against the Lakers last Sunday. He appeared to be completely recovered as he scored an efficient 19 points in 35 minutes of the bench. Beyond Harden, the Thunder lost backup point guard Eric Maynor for the season due to a torn ACL in January, but remedied the situation by signing veteran Derek Fisher to a contract in March.
Lakers: A healthy Andrew Bynum and a rested Kobe Bryant may allow for the under-the-radar Lakers to make a run in the wide-open Western Conference playoffs. While not an injury, Los Angeles will be without Metta World Peace for the first six games of the playoffs due to suspension.
Grizzlies: Memphis lost Darrell Arthur for the season after the power forward suffered a torn Achilles tendon in practice back in December. A healthy Zach Randolph has played himself back into shape after missing time earlier this season due to a knee injury.
Clippers: Many critics expected the Clippers to implode after Chauncey Billups went down on February 6 with a torn Achilles tendon. While the Clippers slipped to the fifth seed, they reinvented the image of the franchise and gained respect from around the league thanks to MVP-like play from Chris Paul.
Nuggets: After spending the majority of the season abroad in China, Wilson Chandler returned to Denver for a brief stint before suffering a season-ending injury to his hip in mid-April. The Nuggets will open against the Lakers without Rudy Fernandez, who had surgery on his lower back in March to end his season.
Mavericks: A healthy Mavs squad will face a difficult journey in defending their title as they open the playoffs against the Thunder. Saturday night saw a missed opportunity by Dallas to steal Game 1 on the road as they lost in Oklahoma City by the score of 99-98. Any chance of exploiting Harden's concussion was nullified with a strong performance by the Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Jazz: Small forward C.J. Miles may miss the start of the playoffs against the Spurs with a strained calf. The team will look for strong production out of star Al Jefferson, who had the opportunity to rest late last week as the center only played limited minutes in the team's regular season finale.

Magic Notes: Davis, Bench, Turkoglu

April 27th, 2012 at 9:17pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Magic will limp into the playoffs as the sixth seed after Dwight Howard suffered a herniated disk in his back to prematurely end his season. Many pundits have the Pacers easily dismantling the injury-riddled Magic in the first round to send them into an offseason of uncertainty given Howard's desire to play elsewhere and head coach Stan Van Gundy's unknown status. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has the latest news surrounding the Magic as their series gets underway on Saturday in Indianapolis.

The offseason acquisition of Glen Davis from the Celtics appeared to be a bust when he was suspended by the Magic for conduct detrimental to team in February, but the former LSU star has turned heads with his strong play in April. After Howard's season came to a close, Davis was afforded the opportunity to start and demonstrated his ability by averaging 16.4 PPG and 8.8 RPG over his last 12 games. Currently struggling with an ankle sprain, the six-foot-nine Davis will be at a severe height disadvantage when he matches up with the Pacers' Roy Hibbert, who checks in at seven-foot-two.
Van Gundy will need to see strong contributions out of lesser-known bench players if the Magic seek to be competitive against the much deeper Pacers. Earl Clark and Daniel Orton are two names that Van Gundy will have to reluctantly call upon to keep his starters fresh throughout the series. Orton, 21, provides size at six-foot-ten, but has never played in a playoff game after failing to see any action during his entire rookie season of 2010/2011.
The Magic are playing coy with Hedo Turkoglu's status heading into Game 1 against the Pacers. Van Gundy knows whether the former first-round pick will start, but refuses to offer any clues to the media, and in turn, the Pacers. Now in his second stint with the Magic, Turkoglu offers the team size at the small forward position against a Pacers squad chuck full of big bodies.

Central Notes: Bird, Hibbert, Pistons, Skiles

April 27th, 2012 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

In what's becoming a monthly ritual, Pacers president Larry Bird has denied a report suggesting he'll be leaving the team at season's end. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that Bird has told Pacers owner Herb Simon and several friends that he has decided to leave, but the Hall-of-Famer told Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he hasn't made up his mind yet.

"Once again, no decision has been made," Bird told Wells. "I'll sit down with my owner at the end of the season and we'll talk about things."

Here are the rest of the morning's updates out of the Central Division:

Roy Hibbert's playoff performance could have a significant impact on what sort of contract he signs this offseason, Wells writes in a separate piece for the Star. As Wells notes, Dwight Howard's absence will give Hibbert and the Pacers a good opportunity to dominate the Magic in the first round.
Charlie Villanueva is aware that he'll head into the offseason as a candidate to be traded or amnestied by the Pistons, as he suggests to David Mayo of MLive.com: "I would like to stay here. I love it here, I love it here. At the same time, I'm a realist."
Pistons coach Lawrence Frank addressed the team's future in a Q&A with Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
Keith Glass, agent for Bucks coach Scott Skiles, dismissed rumors that Skiles will seek a buyout on the final year of his contract, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. "That’s news to me," Glass said. "I haven’t talked to anyone about that. I’d be surprised if that was true."

Woelfel On Knicks, Ilyasova, Stackhouse, Fesenko

April 25th, 2012 at 8:29am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this morning, we passed along a report from Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times on Beno Udrih's decision to exercise his player option this summer. Within the same column, Woelfel also shared a few other items of interest, so let's round those up:

Woelfel is hearing that the Knicks will make a "major push" to hire Phil Jackson as their new coach if the team doesn't make it through the first round of the playoffs. However, a New York Post report suggests that interim coach Mike Woodson has become the odds-on favorite to earn the permanent position after the Knicks named Glen Grunwald their permanent GM.
The "growing consensus" among some NBA officials is that Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova will land a multiyear contract worth about $8MM annually in free agency this summer.
Hawks veteran Jerry Stackhouse is close to ending his playing career and pursuing a coaching position in either college or the pros. "I’m trying to transition into the next phase of my career," Stackhouse said. "I definitely want to be a head coach some day and I’m willing to pay my dues to make it happen."
The Bucks were interested in Kyrylo Fesenko before the big man signed with the Pacers. Said Fesenko: "I had a good workout with the Bucks. I was interested (in signing with them), but they kept asking me to wait and to wait and to wait and I couldn’t wait anymore. I don’t what they were waiting for, a magic moment or what?"

Courtney Lee Wants To Return To Rockets

April 23rd, 2012 at 10:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtney Lee will be a restricted free agent this summer, but he'd "love to stay" with the Rockets, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

“Houston is always going to be my first choice," Lee said. "It’s up to those guys, if I get an offer, whether they match it or if they just come out and give me an offer.”

The Rockets acquired the former first-round pick as part of a four-way trade before the 2010/11 season, and used the 6'5", 200-pound shooting guard primarily as a backup until starter Kevin Martin got hurt midway through this season. Lee has averaged 14.2 PPG in 25 games as a starter this year, well above his career mark of 10.0 PPG.

A few teams, including the Pacers, Bulls and Clippers, were reportedly interested in trading for Lee this season, but the Rockets' price was too high. Houston's qualifying offer on Lee is $3.22MM, but he figures to command significantly more than that. The Pacers, in particular, will have plenty of cap room if they are still interested in pursuing him, and other teams in need of a shooting guard, like the Timberwolves, could get involved. The Rockets will have tough decisions to make on Lee and fellow free agent Goran Dragic. Both entered the season as backup guards, but emerged as starters and played well in the second half of the season.

Odds & Ends: Pacers, Orton, Warriors, T-Wolves

April 22nd, 2012 at 10:09pm CST by Daniel Seco

If the Rockets beat the Hornets on Thursday, it will mark their third consecutive season of missing the playoffs while finishing with a winning record, tweets John Schuhmann of NBA.com. Let the pain of that fact sink in as we take a look around the league to catch up on the latest news and happenings.

Now that the Pacers have clinched the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, head coach Frank Vogel needs to figure out which players he needs to rest before likely facing the Magic in the first round, writes Conrad Brunner of Pacers.com.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says Magic rookie Daniel Orton has taken the criticism he received from head coach Stan Van Gundy in stride as he knows he has a long way to go to becoming a contributing NBA player.
Being out of the playoff race has allowed the Warriors to experiment with different lineups and provide extensive minutes to the team's rookies, reports the Associated Press (link via the San Jose Mercury News).
Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Luke Ridnour has joined Kevin Love on the list of Timberwolves starters who are being shut down for the remainder of the season.
Monday night's game against the Sixers marks the Nets' final game in New Jersey after 35 mostly forgettable seasons, reports the Associated Press (link via NBA.com). The team will move to Brooklyn for the 2012/2013 season where they will play in the brand-new Barclays Arena.
Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com says Sixers head coach Doug Collins wants his team to take care of business against the Nets on Monday so they no longer have to worry about the Bucks sneaking into the playoff picture.

Odds & Ends: Heat, Benson, Pacers, Williams

April 22nd, 2012 at 12:37pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Knicks and Hawks are underway in Atlanta with Tyson Chandler receiving the afternoon off in hopes of getting himself healthier for the playoffs. In making his decision to give his center an opportunity to take a breathier, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson decided that there was little chance of catching the Magic for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. With a full slate of Sunday NBA action ahead, let's first take a look around the league to catch up on the latest news and headlines.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Heat should consider signing a point guard for the playoffs and cut Eddy Curry to make room on the roster. Winderman suggests Anthony Carter or Antonio Daniels as viable options to solidify the Heat's backcourt. Carter, 36, was waived by the Raptors on March 15 after posting 2.0 PPG and 1.4 APG in limited action.
Tom Benson's decision to purchase the Hornets is nothing short of a blessing for the city of New Orleans, writes Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. The Saints owner will ensure the franchise remains in New Orleans, is given a nickname more reflective of the culture of the Crescent City and will foster a commitment to winning thanks to his deep pockets and love for his hometown. Hochman does concede, however, that the team must improve the New Orleans Arena and sign a more favorable television deal in order to reach profitability in what is still a small-market NBA city.
Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star wonders if the Pacers can win an NBA championship without having a superstar on their roster. While the Pistons were able to win it all with a star-less starting lineup in 2004, Kravitz mentions that the 1979 SuperSonics were the most recent team prior to Detroit that didn't feature at least one truly dominant player like a Tim Duncan or Kobe Bryant. The Pacers should be able to knock off a Magic squad riddled with injuries, but will be tested if they face the Heat in the second round of the playoffs.
Calling this season the toughest of his career, Deron Williams chats with Andy Vasquez of The Bergen Record about free agency and his future with the Nets.