Jason Kidd Takes Leave of Absence For Surgery
MONDAY, 8:35pm: Kidd underwent right hip arthroplasty in New York on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery, according to the team’s official Twitter feed. There is no timetable for his return and Prunty will assume the head coaching duties in Kidd’s absence, as Gardner previously indicated, the team adds. (Twitter links here).
SUNDAY, 8:09pm: Bucks head coach Jason Kidd will undergo right hip surgery on Monday in New York and be out indefinitely while assistant coach Joe Prunty will serve as interim head coach, Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports (on Twitter). Four to six weeks is the early estimate for how much time Kidd will miss, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The pain in Kidd’s hip stems from his time with the Mavs late in his playing career, Gardner writes in a full story.
“It’s been chronic for the last three to four years, since I was in Dallas the last time,” Kidd said. “The pain has been to the point where I can’t function. I’ve taken all the medicine I can do. Talking to the doctors, there’s really no good time to do the surgery. I have to fix myself and then we move on and get back to work.”
The Bucks are an underwhelming 11-18 following Sunday’s win in Kidd’s second season guiding the team. Of note, Kidd’s reach with the franchise goes beyond calling the plays, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times recently told Hoops Rumors that Kidd is calling the shots on personnel matters, too. Thus, the timing of Kidd’s news comes at an interesting time given the Carlos Boozer and Caron Butler rumors and the apparent void of leadership among the players in the Bucks locker room.
Prunty, who will take over in Kidd’s place, was an assistant for the Nets while Kidd was the head coach in Brooklyn. Prunty followed Kidd to Milwaukee for the 2014/15 season. Prior to joining the Nets, Prunty served as an assistant for the Cavs, Blazers, Mavs and Spurs.
“We’re all set,” Kidd said, according to Gardner. “Joe Prunty will take over and he will run the team. But nobody gets out of their lane. Joe will still be offense and [assistant coach Sean] Sweeney will still be defense. The guys have to continue to develop. It’s in good hands with the coaching staff. We’re built as a roundtable. Joe is well-qualified to keep these guys going in the right direction.”
Central Notes: West, Jennings, Horford
David West felt that staying with the Pacers would have been a risky move because of his desire to get a championship ring, he told Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star during a Q&A session. The veteran power forward shocked the basketball world by declining his $12.6MM player option with the Pacers to sign for approximately $1.5MM with the Spurs during the offseason. But West couldn’t bear the thought of sitting out another postseason. “It really came down to watching the playoffs for the first time in how many years, not being in the playoffs and then ultimately watching the Finals and just saying: ‘[Forget] it, man. You can’t roll the dice next year.’ Because that’s what I felt I would be doing,” West told Buckner. “People were telling me: ‘Opt in and then demand a trade!’ That’s just not me. I’ve never been motivated by money.”
In other news around the Central Division:
- Brandon Jennings will not jump into the Pistons’ rotation during their two-game road trip prior to Christmas, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. Jennings still hasn’t regained all of his lateral mobility, despite playing 27 minutes for the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Saturday night. “I think more on the defensive end, I’m still having trouble right now pushing off, trying to get through screens, which is still expected,” Jennings told Langlois. “So my lateral movement is something I have to work on.” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy told Langlois that Steve Blake would remain the backup point guard for time being.
- Pistons center Andre Drummond is averaging 18.2 points and a league-high 16.4 rebounds and Celtics coach Brad Stevens expects Drummond to play in his first All-Star game this season. “He’s an All-Star right now, for sure,” Stevens said last week to the media, including Hoops Rumors. “Eighteen-16 is no joke and he’s doing it against the best of the best. Every time the ball hits the rim, you’re fearful he’s going to get it. And his rim runs draw so much attention off of pick-and-rolls that their shooters get more open looks.”
- The Cavaliers’ D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, has acquired power forward Jon Horford off waivers, Adam Johnson of the D-League Digest tweets. Horford, the 24-year-old younger brother of Al Horford, signed with the Bucks prior to training camp but was waived in early October.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 12/18/15
The Bucks were predicted by many to be a force in the Eastern Conference this season after finishing 41-41 a season ago and signing Greg Monroe over the summer. But the franchise has regressed thus far this season, stumbling out of the gate to a record of 10-17 and not looking at all like the budding young powerhouse of a season ago.
When things are going bad for a team everything becomes magnified, and this week Monroe, Khris Middleton, O.J. Mayo and Miles Plumlee showed up in TMZ Sports videos depicting them in a Los Angeles strip club late at night before the team’s loss to the Lakers this week. Coach Jason Kidd said he didn’t think their partying was a contributing factor to the loss, but, coincidentally or otherwise, the Bucks are reportedly the likely trade destination for veteran leader Caron Butler. The team also reportedly met with free agent Carlos Boozer to discuss a potential contract, as the team looks to add veteran leadership to aid its young core.
This brings me to today’s topic: Should the Bucks add veterans to the roster this season, or stick with the younger players and allow them to develop and mature on their own?
Adding veteran leadership could certainly improve the locker room culture and provide the younger players on the team with role-models, provided they are willing to listen. But the addition of veterans like Boozer and Butler could also cut into the minutes of some members of the team, and that could serve to hinder their on-court development. With this season likely a bust for the Bucks, the argument could be made that the team would be better served to play its younger players as much as possible in an effort to not only develop them, but also to allow the franchise to assess who can be a building block for the future.
But what say you? Should Milwaukee augment its roster with veterans no matter the cost of valuable minutes for the younger players who will be counted on in the seasons ahead? Or do you believe adding veteran leadership can only serve to improve the team in the long-run? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Bucks Meet With Carlos Boozer
Bucks management and Carlos Boozer have met about the possibility of a deal, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Sources who spoke with Charania described the tone of the meeting as positive. Boozer has lingered in free agency since going unsigned over the offseason. The meeting took place in Los Angeles, with GM John Hammond and coach Jason Kidd in attendance, Charania adds (on Twitter).
It’s the latest signal of the organization’s desire to add veterans to the roster a few nights after four Bucks players were observed partying at a Los Angeles strip club in the wee hours of the morning on the day of the team’s loss to the Lakers. Milwaukee is also the likely destination for Wisconsin native Caron Butler, whom the Kings have promised to trade, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Wednesday.
Boozer, 34, apparently drew interest from no shortage of teams over the summer, with reports citing the Clippers, Knicks, Rockets, Mavericks, Spurs, Raptors, Pelicans, Nuggets, Nets, Lakers and Heat among those eyeing the Rob Pelinka client. Still, Boozer held off, with his market value seemingly having taken a hit since the 2014 offseason, when the Lakers bid $3.251MM to claim him off amnesty waivers from the Bulls.
The Bucks can’t give him any more than the $1.664MM sliver of the room exception left over from signing Chris Copeland to his one-year, $1.15MM deal over the summer, though it would pay Boozer more than a prorated veteran’s minimum deal would. Still, it’s uncommon for any free agent to sign for more than the minimum salary during the season.
A Boozer signing would make it two years in a row that the Bucks picked up a well-known veteran free agent power forward in the middle of the season. Kenyon Martin signed a pair of 10-day contracts last winter and a deal that covered the rest of 2014/15. However, he didn’t last quite that long on the Bucks roster, in spite of his relationship with Kidd, as Milwaukee waived him at the trade deadline.
The team already has 15 players on its roster, and all of them have fully guaranteed contracts, so Milwaukee would have to make a corresponding move to add Boozer. However, the Butler news and Stein’s report from last week that the team is willing to deal Miles Plumlee, one of the players who was later seen at the strip club, indicate that the Bucks are unafraid of a shakeup after a disappointing 10-17 start.
Do you think Boozer could help the Bucks? Leave a comment to let us know.
Central Notes: Jennings, Ellis, Bucks
Brandon Jennings plans to return to the lineup for the Pistons on December 29th in a game against the Knicks in New York, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link), but Jennings said Wednesday that an 80% chance exists that he plays on D-League assignment first, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has appeared to publicly encourage Jennings to accept a D-League assignment, which would require both Jennings and the union to consent because he has more than two years of experience, but the point guard appears willing.
“I don’t care. I just want to play, man. I just want to get out there and hoop and see where it’s at,” Jennings said, according to Ellis.
A D-League trip for Jennings would represent the fifth time this season that a veteran player and the union have given the OK to a D-League trip. That happened with three Sixers, as I noted earlier this month, and this past weekend with Jeremy Evans of the Mavericks. See more from the Central Division:
- Pacers free agent signee Monta Ellis is still recovering from offseason knee surgery, he told Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star, and he and assistant coach Nate McMillan are confident he’ll start playing better as the season goes on, as Buckner details. Head coach Frank Vogel believes the struggles of Ellis are a result of adjusting to a new role, not his advancing age, Buckner adds.
- Bucks coach Jason Kidd said he spoke with Greg Monroe, Khris Middleton, O.J. Mayo and Miles Plumlee, all of whom showed up in TMZ Sports videos depicting them in a Los Angeles strip club late at night before the team’s loss to the Lakers this week, relays Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Kidd said he didn’t think their partying was a contributing factor to the loss, but, coincidentally or otherwise, the Bucks are reportedly the likely trade destination for veteran leader Caron Butler.
- Bucks preseason cut Marcus Landry has signed with San Sebastián Gipuzkoa of Spain, a source told international journalist David Pick. Radio Marca Donostia first reported the signing would take place (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Kings Looking To Trade Caron Butler
The Kings have promised small forward Caron Butler that they will trade him in the near future, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The impetus for a potential trade is to send Butler to a team that can offer him more playing time than he currently receives in Sacramento, Stein adds. A deal is expected to be completed within the next two weeks, and the Bucks have emerged as the likely destination for Butler, according to the ESPN scribe’s sources.
Butler played a half-season for the Bucks back in 2013/14 and was briefly on their roster following this year’s Ersan Ilyasova trade. He is earning $1,499,187 for the season, and his contract includes a player option for 2016/17 worth $1,551,659. It’s unclear who or what Milwaukee would send to Sacramento in return for Butler if a deal were to be agreed upon between the two parties. With Eric Moreland likely to miss significant time after suffering a fracture in his left foot today, the Kings could look to add some depth in the frontcourt, though that is merely my speculation.
The 35-year-old has appeared in just eight contests for Sacramento this season, including one start. He is averaging 2.5 points in 10 minutes per game on 39.1% shooting. His career numbers through 13 NBA campaigns are 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. His slash line is .434/.349/.847.
Pacific Notes: Kerr, Monroe, Kobe, Lieberman
Steve Kerr isn’t thinking at all about sitting out the entire season and believes he’ll return from his leave of absence at some point before it’s over, as he said to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The progress the Warriors coach has made of late in his recovery from two back surgeries is plain to see, observes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
See more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers focused on basketball in their free agent pitch to Greg Monroe, unlike their ill-fated business-oriented approach to LaMarcus Aldridge, Byron Scott said Tuesday, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News relays (Twitter link). “There wasn’t anything they did wrong. I just made the best decision for me,” Monroe said to Medina about his choice of the Bucks over the Lakers and others. “It wasn’t anything they didn’t do or did do.”
- Kobe Bryant is playing much better of late, and that has to do with his greater comfort with the Lakers‘ young players, Scott believes, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register details. No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell is also looking improved, and that has Scott looking smart, at least for now, Oram writes. “So [Kobe]’s kind of … stepping to the side a little bit and letting them have a little more say in what they do out there,” Scott said. “There’s a lot of times in the game where he just kind of defers to those guys.”
- George Karl had thought about hiring a female assistant coach for years before he and the Kings brought Nancy Lieberman onto the staff this past summer, notes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. “I think it’s been good,” Karl said. “Sometimes I think we [head coaches] have been too macho about this for too long. Everybody connects with people differently, and some players communicate better with women. That’s why you want three or four assistants. With Nancy, obviously she knows the game. But the best thing she does is connect one-on-one with the players. She can take hard subjects and go to a player, and that’s very unusual in a young coach.”
Greivis Vasquez To Miss Three Months?
Greivis Vasquez underwent surgery today to remove a bone spur and loose bodies from his right ankle, the Bucks announced. Milwaukee hasn’t officially announced a timetable for Vasquez’s return, but coach Jason Kidd indicated that the veteran would be out of commission for at least three to four months, the Associated Press relays. Milwaukee currently possesses the league maximum of 15 players on its roster, meaning a corresponding move would need to be made in order to add backcourt depth, if the team so desired.
Kidd hasn’t shut the door on Vasquez returning to the court this season, saying, “He’s going to compete, hurt or healthy. He tried and did everything he could, but it just didn’t work out, so the next step was to have surgery. The next step for him is to have a speedy recovery, get ready for free agency and then go from there. We’re not going to rule him out for the season, but we’ll see.”
The 28-year-old is earning $6.6MM this year and is due to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. In 16 appearances for the Bucks in 2015/16, Vasquez is averaging 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 22.6 minutes per contest. His slash line is .348/.259/.880.
Central Notes: Monroe, Gibson, Rose, Jennings
The Bucks handed the Warriors their first loss of the season on Saturday night and offseason addition Greg Monroe was a key component to the team’s success. Monroe scored 28 points while adding 11 rebounds, five assists in 35.5 minutes of action. Monroe was expected to take Milwaukee to the next level, but the team has struggled up to this point, especially on the defensive end. The team now sits at 10-15, good for last in the Central Division, but the all-around effort during the win may serve as a momentum builder for the rest of season.
Here’s a look at a few of Milwaukee’s Central Division foes:
- Taj Gibson is playing well in the starting lineup and he is too valuable for the Bulls to trade him away, Sam Smith of NBA.com opines in his latest mailbag. Smith cautions while it may seem like Chicago has a glut of big men and could easily make a trade, the threat of losing Joakim Noah, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, and Pau Gasol, who will likely opt out of his current deal, makes keeping Gibson on the team imperative.
- Smith, in the same piece, believes a Derrick Rose trade is highly unlikely. The Bulls currently have no intention of trading Rose and even if they did, getting value back for a player with as much injury history as the point guard has will be difficult, the scribe adds.
- Brandon Jennings will be a free agent at season’s end, but the point guard is just focusing on playing at a high level as he returns from a torn left Achilles tendon, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. “If I don’t come back the way I was last year, I’m going to be very upset with myself,” Jennings tells Ellis. “I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself first right now. I’m not thinking about re-signing here, not re-signing here. I’m just thinking about getting back on the court and taking care of business.” Jennings was the subject of trade rumors before the injury and once he returns to the court, those kind of talks will likely resurface again. Dana Guaruder of Hoops Rumors examined the chances of a Jennings deal in his Trade Candidate piece and speculated that the Nets and Knicks would be good fits if the Pistons decide to ship out the 26-year-old.
Central Notes: Smith, Pistons, Curry, Thompson
The release of Josh Smith nearly a year ago was coach/executive Stan Van Gundy’s “watershed moment” with the Pistons, according to David Mayo of MLive. Calling the move both “symbolic and structural,” Mayo notes that Van Gundy wanted to put his stamp on the team and get rid of players brought in by former President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars. The Pistons didn’t find much of a trade market for Smith, who had two years and $27MM left on his contract, so they waived him on December 22nd, 2014. Mayo adds that it’s unlikely the move would have been made without the stretch provision, which let Detroit pay the $27MM over five seasons.
There’s more news from the Central Division:
- Expect the Pistons to listen to early-season trade talk, but the team probably won’t make a move until closer to the February deadline, Mayo writes in a separate column. Detroit made seven trades in nine months from October of 2014 through July, but the team is in a much stronger position now, Mayo contends. He cites team needs as scoring punch in the backcourt and depth at power forward.
- As the Bucks hope to snap Golden State’s winning streak tonight, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times recalls that Milwaukee had the opportunity to obtain both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Milwaukee was one of several teams Thompson worked out for in 2011, but the Bucks decided to move their pick for veterans in a three-team deal. Milwaukee wound up with Stephen Jackson, Shaun Livingston and the draft rights to Tobias Harris from Charlotte and Beno Udrih from Sacramento. In addition, Milwaukee sent Corey Maggette to Charlotte and John Salmons and the draft rights to Jimmer Fredette [the 10th pick] to Sacramento. The Warriors took Thompson 11th. In 2012, the Bucks traded Jackson and Andrew Bogut to Golden State for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown. Woelfel says Curry could have been included in the deal, but Milwaukee was concerned about the status of his ankle after season-ending surgery.
- New coach Fred Hoiberg still believes in the Bulls despite an uneven start to his first NBA season, according to the Associated Press. The Bulls are 12-8 under Hoiberg, who took over for Tom Thibodeau during the offseason. “We’ve got to get more consistent,” Hoiberg said. “We show flashes. The biggest thing is consistency with our group as far as getting out and playing with pace. When we do play with pace, we’re pretty darn good.”