Western Notes: D’Antoni, Arseneault Jr., Spangler
The Rockets officially announced the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as head coach today, a move that team owner Leslie Alexander called a mutual decision between he and GM Daryl Morey, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays. “Daryl and I made this choice together,” Alexander said. “I’ve always wanted to play this way.” The team owner is also excited by D’Antoni’s up-tempo style of offense, Watkins notes. “Mike always says players love to play for him,” Alexander said. “Not only because they get better but they get paid. He’ll be a lucrative source for us in free agency.”
Here’s more from out West:
- The Kings will not renew the contract of Reno Bighorns head coach, David Arseneault Jr., Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Sacramento’s D-League affiliate went 33-17 under Arseneault this past season.
- The Trail Blazers have finalized their coaching staff for the 2016/17 campaign, with the team announcing that Dale Osbourne has been promoted to lead assistant and scout John McCullough has been moved to assistant coach.
- The Rockets‘ new defensive coach, Jeff Bzdelik, discussing the criticism levied against James Harden‘s defense, noted that the shooting guard is a capable stopper, provided he demonstrates commitment on that end of the court, Watkins relays in a separate piece (ESPN Now link). “He can defend as all of them can when they want to and that goes back to everybody needs to be committed and there needs to be a trust,” Bzdelik said of Harden.
- The Timberwolves worked out former Oklahoma power forward Ryan Spangler today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). The 24-year-old is a longshot to be selected this June, with Spangler not appearing among the top 100 prospects according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
- Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t made a decision regarding his player option for 2016/17 yet, but has met with members of the front office to discuss his future, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Sixers
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Philadelphia 76ers, whose D-League affiliate is the Delaware 87ers:
The Sixers made 6 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending four players to the D-League for a total of 86 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Philadelphia for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 11th: Assigned Kendall Marshall (1st) — Recalled December 4th
- November 11th: Assigned Tony Wroten (1st) — Recalled December 4th
- December 1st: Assigned Christian Wood (1st) — Recalled December 1st
- December 8th: Assigned Carl Landry (1st) — Recalled December 14th
- December 8th: Assigned Christian Wood (2nd) — Recalled December 14th
- December 18th: Assigned Christian Wood (3rd) — Waived on January 5th
Here’s how Philadelphia’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Carl Landry: Landry was sent to the D-League for rehab purposes and did not appear in any games.
- Kendall Marshall: Marshall was sent to the D-League for rehab purposes and did not appear in any games.
- Christian Wood: In 32 appearances Wood averaged 17.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 28.8 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .529/.253/.707.
- Tony Wroten: Wroten was sent to the D-League for rehab purposes and did not appear in any games.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Magic
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Orlando Magic, whose D-League affiliate is the Erie BayHawks:
The Magic made 3 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 42 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Orlando for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 30th: Assigned Devyn Marble (1st) — Recalled December 23rd
- January 1st: Assigned Devyn Marble (2nd) — Recalled January 17th
- March 5th: Assigned Dewayne Dedmon (1st) —Recalled March 7th
Here’s how Orlando’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Dewayne Dedmon: In one appearance Dedmon scored 17 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and blocked three shots. He connected on seven of his 13 field goal attempts.
- Devyn Marble: In 14 games he averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 30.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .398/.353/.795.
Eastern Notes: Bucks, 76ers, Okafor, Heat
While an Oshkosh wealth management firm is in talks with the Bucks about potentially bringing a D-League team to the city, Milwaukee doesn’t expect to have a D-League franchise in place until at least the fall of 2017, and other midwestern cities are in play, writes Nate Beck of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. The firm, along with local stakeholders, will submit plans to the Bucks by the end of June, and the plan is to fund the project entirely with private money. If Oshkosh is ultimately chosen as the location for the Bucks’ D-League team, it would be the first professional sports team to play in the city since the Wisconsin Flyers, a minor league basketball team, disbanded in 1987.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Appearing on 97.3 ESPN, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (link via Andrew Kulp of CSNPhilly.com) suggested that he doesn’t expect to see Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor both return to Philadelphia next season. In Ford’s view, the 76ers will gauge the trade value of both players, perhaps with a slight preference to keep Noel over Okafor.
- With the possibility of an Okafor trade in mind, John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com examines potential destinations for the Sixers big man, concluding that Boston, Phoenix, Denver, and the Lakers would probably be the best fits.
- In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explains why he doesn’t see Mike Conley as a great fit for the Heat, and why Mario Chalmers probably isn’t all that likely to return to Miami.
- The odds of Kevin Durant joining the Celtics in free agency this offseason are long, but New England Patriots defensive lineman Terrance Knighton, who is friends with the Thunder star, says he’ll be “in [Durant’s] ear a lot” once the season ends, trying to encourage him to come to Boston. Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com has the quotes and the details on Knighton’s recruiting efforts.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Thunder
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose D-League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue:
The Thunder made 27 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 98 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Oklahoma City for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 13th: Assigned Josh Huestis (1st) — Recalled November 15th
- November 18th: Assigned Josh Huestis (2nd) — Recalled November 22nd
- November 25th: Assigned Josh Huestis (3rd) — Recalled November 25th
- November 30th: Assigned Josh Huestis (4th) — Recalled December 6th
- November 30th: Assigned Mitch McGary (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 5th: Assigned Cameron Payne (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 7th: Assigned Mitch McGary (2nd) — Recalled December 10th
- December 11th: Assigned Mitch McGary (3rd) — Recalled December 13th
- December 12th: Assigned Josh Huestis (5th) — Recalled December 13th
- December 14th: Assigned Mitch McGary (4th) — Recalled December 31st
- December 15th: Assigned Josh Huestis (6th) — Recalled December 16th
- December 15th: Assigned Cameron Payne (2nd) — Recalled December 16th
- December 20th: Assigned Josh Huestis (7th) — Recalled December 21st
- January 5th: Assigned Josh Huestis (8th) — Recalled January 8th
- January 22nd: Assigned Mitch McGary (5th) — Recalled January 26th
- January 22nd: Assigned Josh Huestis (9th) — Recalled January 26th
- February 19th: Assigned Mitch McGary (6th) — Recalled February 21st
- February 26th: Assigned Josh Huestis (10th) — Recalled February 27th
- February 26th: Assigned Mitch McGary (7th) — Recalled February 27th
- March 4th: Assigned Josh Huestis (11th) — Recalled March 6th
- March 4th: Assigned Mitch McGary (8th) — Recalled March 6th
- March 7th: Assigned Josh Huestis (12th) — Recalled March 12th
- March 7th: Assigned Mitch McGary (9th) — Recalled March 17th
- March 14th: Assigned Josh Huestis (13th) — Recalled March 22nd
- March 21st: Assigned Mitch McGary (10th) — Recalled March 1st
- March 25th: Assigned Josh Huestis (14th) — Recalled March 26th
- March 31st: Assigned Josh Huestis (15th) — Recalled April 2nd
Here’s how Oklahoma City’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Josh Huestis: In 25 appearances Huestis averaged 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 32.1 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .397/.312/.474.
- Mitch McGary: In 26 appearances McGary averaged 14.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.9 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .457/.239/.763.
- Cameron Payne: In two contests Payne averaged 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 34.0 minutes per night. His shooting line was .439/.429/.833.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Timberwolves
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the 11 NBA franchises without their own D-League affiliate:
The Wolves made 2 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 23 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Minnesota for the 2015/16 campaign:
- December 5th: Assigned Tyus Jones (1st) [Idaho Stampede] — Recalled December 22nd
- January 25th: Assigned Adreian Payne (1st) [Erie BayHawks] — Recalled February 1st
Here’s how Minnesota’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Tyus Jones: In six appearances the point guard averaged 24.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 35.2 minutes per outing. Jones’ shooting line was .487/.426/.923.
- Adreian Payne: In three appearance Payne averaged 26.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 35.1 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .444/.286/.808.
And-Ones: D-League, Blatt, Dragic, NBPA
Oshkosh officials are mulling the possibility bringing a D-League franchise to the city, according to a report from NewsTalk 1150 WHBY. The Bucks, in search of their own D-League team, would like to have an affiliate within two hours of Milwaukee, and put out a request for proposals — Oshkosh city officials are considering whether or not to move forward with the idea and submit a proposal to the NBA.
Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt doesn’t intend to take the 2016/17 season off, and is currently more likely to accept a head coaching job overseas than to take an assistant job in the NBA, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “I don’t see myself not being a head coach somewhere but you never know,” Blatt said. “I’m going to coach next year. I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work,” he said. “I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.”
- In the wake of Jeff Hornacek‘s offer from the Knicks, who are expected to formally hire him as their head coach soon, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits Hornacek’s time in Phoenix and provides an interesting tidbit related to a former Suns player. According to Berger, Hornacek spoke to Goran Dragic and secured a commitment from the point guard, who said he’d re-sign with the Suns when his contract expired — days later, Phoenix traded him to the Heat.
- The National Basketball Players Association has hired Jefferies, an investment banking firm, to advise the union during labor talks with the league, tweets Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports. Jefferies will identify current and future revenue for the NBPA, per Soshnick.
- Within his weekly Morning Tip feature, NBA.com’s David Aldridge explores the impact of the draft lottery results and takes an in-depth look at how teams approach head coaching searches.
- A pair of ESPN.com articles profile two prospects projected to come off the board at the top of the draft, with David Thorpe examining Ben Simmons‘ potential, while Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton (Insider link) take a closer look at whether Dragan Bender has the potential to crack the top two picks.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Bucks
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Milwaukee Bucks, one of the 11 NBA franchises without their own D-League affiliate:
The Bucks made 3 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 65 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Milwaukee for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 21st: Assigned Damien Inglis (1st) [Canton Charge] — Recalled December 5th
- January 16th: Assigned Damien Inglis (2nd) [Westchester Knicks] — Recalled February 29th
- March 18th: Assigned Rashad Vaughn (1st) [Canton Charge] — Recalled March 26th
Here’s how Milwaukee’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Damien Inglis: In 16 combined appearances Inglis averaged 10.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .435/.333/.643.
- Rashad Vaughn: In four D-League games Vaughn notched averages of 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.1 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .304/.062/.375.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Heat
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Miami Heat, whose D-League affiliate is the Sioux Falls Skyforce:
The Heat made 8 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 55 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Miami for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 25th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (1st) — Recalled November 29th
- December 3rd: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (2nd) — Recalled December 15th
- December 25th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (3rd) — Recalled January 3rd
- December 30th: Assigned Josh Richardson (1st) — Recalled January 3rd
- January 5th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (4th) — Recalled January 16th
- January 5th: Assigned Josh Richardson (2nd) — Recalled January 11th
- February 4th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (5th) — Recalled February 7th
- February 10th: Assigned Jarnell Stokes (6th) — Recalled February 15th
Here’s how Miami’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Josh Richardson: In four appearances Richardson averaged 23.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 38.2 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .473/.393/.706.
- Jarnell Stokes: In 28 appearances Stokes averaged 20.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30.7 minutes per outing. His shooting line was.665/.444/.667.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Grizzlies
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Memphis Grizzlies, whose D-League affiliate is the Iowa Energy:
The Grizzlies made 16 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 86 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Memphis for the 2015/16 campaign:
- December 4th: Assigned James Ennis (1st) — Recalled December 6th
- December 8th: Assigned James Ennis (2nd) — Recalled December 9th
- December 11th: Assigned James Ennis (3rd) — Recalled December 13th
- December 17th: Assigned Jarell Martin (1st) — Recalled December 17th
- December 17th: Assigned Russ Smith (1st) — Recalled December 17th
- December 17th: Assigned James Ennis (4th) — Recalled December 17th
- December 22nd: Assigned James Ennis (5th) — Recalled December 24th
- December 22nd: Assigned Jarell Martin (2nd) — Recalled December 24th
- December 22nd: Assigned Russ Smith (2nd) — Recalled December 24th
- December 27th: Assigned James Ennis (6th) — Recalled January 3rd
- December 28th: Assigned Jarell Martin (3rd) — Recalled January 3rd
- January 15th: Assigned James Ennis (7th) — Recalled February 3rd
- January 25th: Assigned Jarell Martin (4th) — Recalled February 3rd
- February 3rd: Assigned James Ennis (8th) — Recalled February 18th
- February 3rd Assigned Jarell Martin (5th) — Recalled February 9th
- February 25th: Assigned Jarell Martin (6th) — Recalled February 29th
Here is how the Grizzlies’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- James Ennis: In 24 appearances Ennis averaged 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 33.3 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .454/.321/.697.
- Jarell Martin: In 10 appearances Martin averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .492/.286/.565.
- Russ Smith: In 22 combined appearances with Iowa and Delaware (the Sixers’ affiliate), Smith averaged 27.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 37.0 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .460/.304/.778.