D-League Notes: McCollum, Cunningham, Brooks
At this point, 18 of the 30 NBA teams have sent players on D-League assignments this season and we have three more today. Below are the details. Don’t forget to reference our D-League assignment tracker to keep tabs of all of the moves this year.
- The Blazers have assigned C.J. McCollum to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced today via press release. Portland selected McCollum with the No. 10 pick in June’s NBA Draft and the rookie fractured his left foot in training camp in October. He was just cleared to resume practice, and will play for the Stampede on Friday and Saturday, according to the team.
- The Hawks have assigned guard Jared Cunningham back to the Bakersfield Jam, the team announced today via news release. Cunningham, who has appeared in three games for Atlanta this season, was recalled from Bakersfield on December 29. This is the third time the team has assigned him to the Jam this season.
- We heard earlier today that the Celtics assigned MarShon Brooks to the Maine Red Claws. While many will assume the move represents a demotion, Brad Stevens and the Celtics don’t see it that way, writes Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com. Brooks hasn’t been playing much in Boston, and with a busy game schedule in the near future, the assignment will allow Brooks to get on the court somewhere.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Tyler, Celtics, Brooks
It’s a new year, and both the Knicks and the Nets will be looking for fresh starts. The two New York clubs have failed to meet expectations after being preseason favorites to compete for the Atlantic Division title. While there’s plenty of time left to make a run, the solid play from the Raptors since Rudy Gay‘s departure has many believing both NYC teams will fall short of making the postseason. Let’s take a look at some notes from the Atlantic Division..
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post discusses whether the Nets are a bad team, or just one riddled with injuries. While it’s tough to draw any definite conclusions, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich seems to believe that latter: “They’ve had everything hit them,” Popovich said. “They’ve had a gazillion new players. They’ve had injuries that are ridiculous. You can almost not even begin to deal with that. You have to have all your bodies there.”
- It’s been a turbulent professional career for the recently signed Knicks big man Jeremy Tyler, and the latest piece from Scott Cacciola of the New York Times revisits the events that led up to New York signing the once promising center.
- The Celtics will have quite a bit of financial flexibility this summer, and Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com predicts that the C’s are going to have a good opportunity to beef up their already surprisingly solid roster.
- Speaking of the Celtics, the team announced via press release this morning that they’ve assigned MarShon Brooks to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Yesterday, Chuck Myron labeled Brooks as a possible candidate to see a D-League assignment.
Odds & Ends: Kidd, Parker, Dwight, Iguodala
Former Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy had a lot to say about the Nets, calling them “bush league” in a recent radio interview, but Jason Kidd took the high road rather than blasting him back. “I think we have one of the best owners and so I’m confident,” said Kidd, according to Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record (Twitter links). “Everybody has their right to their opinion, but the guys in that locker room are fighting.” More from around the Association as we look ahead to 2014..
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com checked in with execs from around the league to draw up his top 30 for the June draft. Jabari Parker is in the top spot, followed by Andrew Wiggins and Julius Randle. The No. 4 spot doesn’t belong to Dante Exum or Marcus Smart – it instead belongs to Cameroonian center Joel Embiid.
- USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt gives us his best and worst free agent signings of this past offseason based on what he’s seen so far. Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala are among those thriving in their new homes while things aren’t working out quite as well for Josh Smith and Andrew Bynum.
- D-League standout Willie Reed spoke with Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside about what he can bring to an NBA team.
- We don’t know much about this Nuggets team yet, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.
- The Pistons need to do some serious introspection with many futures and the direction of the franchise on the line, writes David Mayo of MLive.com.
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports has five NBA storylines to follow in the New Year.
Western Notes: Dudley, Thompson, Spurs
Jared Dudley was the glue that helped hold the Suns together and this season he’s brought his chemistry-boosting power to the Clippers, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Meanwhile, the Suns’ acquisition of Eric Bledsoe has made them a surprisingly solid team this season and turned them into a much more athletic squad. More from the Western Conference..
- Kings forward Jason Thompson is struggling in his sixth NBA season and while his name has been involved in trade rumors, he’s determined not to let them become another roadblock. “All of my teammates over the years give you different advice and tell you how other organizations are,” Thompson said in a conversation with Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. “I have been on this team a good amount of years, so there’s nothing — like trade rumors — I haven’t seen before. “If a team wants to get rid of you, another team wants you. It’s good that you’re wanted. You only control what you can control. We’ll see what happens. I’ll play to the best of my abilities no matter how the situation goes.”
- The Spurs announced that they have recalled guard Nando De Colo and forward Malcolm Thomas from the Austin Toros of the D-League. Both players made their fourth appearance for the Toros this season on Sunday when they led Austin to a 96-93 home victory over the Tulsa 66ers.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com if Andrew Bynum is worth the risk for the Mavs if he becomes available.
Dominic McGuire To Play In D-League
Six-year NBA veteran Dominic McGuire is set to join the D-League, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. The 28-year-old swingman was in camp with the Jazz this fall. He’s still free to sign with any NBA team.
It’s not clear which D-League team McGuire will play for, since he’ll first have to go through the D-League’s waiver process before he lands with a club. It’ll be the first D-League stint for the former second-round pick who’s managed to play in the NBA every season since the Wizards made him the 47th overall selection in 2007. He’s averaged 2.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game over his career, and his most significant action came back in 2008/09 with Washington, when he started 57 games.
McGuire last appeared in the NBA with the Pacers in 2012/13 on a pair of 10-day contracts. A 10-day deal could be McGuire’s path back to the Association, since teams will once more be allowed to give out those short-term deals beginning Monday. The timing of McGuire’s move may also be tied to the D-League showcase, a five-day gathering of the league’s teams in front of scouts in Reno, Nevada, starting Sunday.
Players Who Could See Time In D-League
As the 2013 part of the 2013/14 season draws to a close, 16 of the 30 NBA teams have made at least one D-League assignment, as our log shows. At this point, it’s apparent how (or if) most clubs intend to use the D-League, but there’s still plenty of time for more teams to get involved. The Celtics haven’t sent anyone to the D-League this season, but they’re reportedly considering doing so with Rajon Rondo.
All-Stars like Rondo don’t make the likeliest candidates for a D-League assignment, of course. Since he has more than two years of experience, he’d have to sign off on the move, and so would the players union. Usually, guys who are sent down are in their first, second or third years, since teams can unilaterally assign those players, and there’s more to be gained from a development standpoint.
I’ve compiled a list of each player with less than three years of experience seeing fewer than 12 minutes a game on the 14 teams that have yet to make a D-League move. No players fit those criteria for the Bobcats and Heat, but the Trail Blazers have five such players, perhaps reflecting an organizational unwillingness in Portland to use the D-League. The same may be true for the Suns and Timberwolves, who have four such players apiece. Some of the candidates here have been seeing more minutes of late, but we’ll include them nonetheless:
Celtics
- MarShon Brooks — third year, 6.8 MPG
Bobcats
- No players fit the criteria
Nuggets
- Quincy Miller — second year, 6.1 MPG
- Evan Fournier — second year, 11.5 MPG
Clippers
- Reggie Bullock — rookie, 10.3 MPG
Grizzlies
- Jamaal Franklin — rookie, 9.1 MPG
Heat
- No players fit the criteria
Bucks
- Miroslav Raduljica — rookie, 10.6 MPG
Timberwolves
- Shabazz Muhammad — rookie, 3.9 MPG
- Gorgui Dieng — rookie, 5.5 MPG
- Alexey Shved — second year, 10.6 MPG
- Robbie Hummel — rookie, 11.2 MPG
Pelicans
- Darius Miller — second year, 10.4 MPG
- Jeff Withey — rookie, 5.7 MPG
Magic
- Doron Lamb — second year, 7.7 MPG
- Kyle O’Quinn — second year, 10.1 MPG
Suns
- Viacheslav Kravtsov — second year, 3.4 MPG
- Dionte Christmas — rookie, 7.3 MPG
- Alex Len — rookie, 7.8 MPG
- Archie Goodwin — rookie, 11.1 MPG
Trail Blazers
- Victor Claver — second year, 1.3 MPG
- Allen Crabbe — rookie, 4.9 MPG
- Will Barton — second year, 5.1 MPG
- Meyers Leonard — second year, 8.2 MPG
- Thomas Robinson — second year, 11.1 MPG
Raptors
- Julyan Stone — third year, 7.3 MPG
- Dwight Buycks — rookie, 10.1 MPG
Wizards
- Otto Porter — rookie, 11.7 MPG
- Glen Rice Jr. — rookie, 9.9 MPG
Los Angeles Notes: Pau, Williams, Bledsoe
As the Lakers prepare to host a New Year’s Eve contest against the Bucks, let’s check in on the latest items on Los Angeles’ two NBA teams….
- Following up on ESPN’s report that the Lakers and Cavs have discussed a trade centered around Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes that such a move would represent a “fundamental shift in [the Lakers’] competitive and financial DNA.” Rival executives are dubious that the Lakers would really make a drastic cost-cutting move, and Berger doesn’t believe it would benefit the team in the short- or long-term, though I think he may be underselling the benefit of getting out of the tax this season — in that scenario, the Lakers could be a tax team again by 2015/16 and avoid paying the repeater penalty.
- For what it’s worth, the early returns on Hoops Rumors’ poll today suggest many of our readers believe the Lakers‘ best strategy for Gasol involves a salary-dump trade.
- In his list of potential fits for Bynum, ESPN.com’s Amin Elhassan (Insider link) classifies the Clippers as strong contenders, and doesn’t mention the Lakers. Of course, Elhassan’s piece is focusing more on logical on-court destinations for Bynum, rather than the best trade partners for the Cavs.
- In a separate ESPN Insider piece, Tom Haberstroh writes that the Lakers should embrace 2014’s Tankapalooza.
- Terrence Williams‘ D-League team will be the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers‘ affiliate, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest. Williams, who played for the Celtics last season, signed to play in Turkey this year, but returned stateside in November for family reasons.
- Eric Bledsoe spoke to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com about returning to the Staples Center to face the Clippers for the first time as a Sun. Doc Rivers discussed Bledsoe as well, referring to the three-way trade involving the Clippers and Suns as a deal that should ultimately help both clubs.
- More Rivers on Bledsoe: “He was ready to be a starter. There’s no doubt about it. We really only had one talk and I talked to his representatives, and they made that very clear. If it wasn’t starting, it was playing a lot of minutes. That could have happened here. I just didn’t know if it was going to happen here, and I didn’t know if he would be happy or not. I think he would have handled it, but it would have been no fun.”
Pacific Notes: Suns, Bledsoe, Warriors
Earlier today, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that the Lakers approached the Nets earlier this month to see if Brooklyn had any interest in a deal centered around Pau Gasol and Brook Lopez. The exploratory talks, which happened before Lopez’s injury, didn’t go anywhere, as the Nets balked at the idea. With Lopez out for the year, that possibility is dead, but it does show that L.A. might be willing to take on contracts beyond 2015. Tonight’s look at the Pacific..
- Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld looks at five pending free agents due for raises this summer, including Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe. Before the season, they likely could have locked him to to an extension with an average annual value of $9-11MM, but the way the guard has played in his first full season as a starter, it looks like he’s headed for a max or near-max contract offer.
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough watched Bledsoe for years, first in college as the kid who played alongside John Wall at Kentucky, then with the Clippers where he was Chris Paul‘s understudy, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “You just saw these flashes of what he could do,” McDonough said. “He doesn’t have a lot of holes in his game. There’s not a lot of things he can’t do, just with his strength, his athletic ability and his shooting.“
- The Warriors announced that they have recalled center Ognjen Kuzmic from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League. Kuzmic was assigned to Santa Cruz on December 28 and played 16 minutes in last night’s game against the Bakersfield Jam, registering two points, nine rebounds, and one blocked shot. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments and recalls, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
Rajon Rondo Could Spend Time In D-League
Rajon Rondo practiced again with the Celtics on Monday and is slowly returning to basketball shape. However, he could take a pit stop elsewhere in New England before rejoining the C’s. Coach Brad Stevens says his rehabilitation may include a stint with the team’s D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Stevens said Rondo likely wouldn’t return to the Celtics during their five-game West Coast road trip beginning on Jan. 5 and could spend time with Maine practicing and playing in D-League games before coming back to the varsity squad. Rondo has not played since Jan. 25 because of a torn right ACL.
“I would make that a decision on him and our staff,” Stevens said following today’s practice. “That is something that has been discussed, probably some positives and negatives to that, but at the end of the day, it is an option as part of his rehabilitation.”
Stevens’ former point guard at Butler, Ronald Nored, is a player development coach in Maine and he and Rondo have discussed the possibility of Rondo spending some time there. Stevens acknowledged that having Nored there to help ease Rondo back in could be a positive.
The Celtics have not used their D-League affiliate for rehabilitation over the past few years and the last regular to see a stint there was Avery Bradley during his rookie season. Stevens says that he envisions the D-League being used more for rehab assignments going forward, similar to how baseball teams use their farm system to bring players back into the fold.
Eastern Rumors: Deng, Knicks, Bucks, 76ers
When a report surfaced earlier in December suggesting that Luol Deng and the Bulls had been about $5-6MM per year apart in extension talks, I speculated that perhaps Deng was looking for an annual salary in line with his current $14MM+, while the Bulls may have preferred something in the $10MM range. However, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the actual figures discussed were a little lower. Cowley reports that Deng and agent Herb Rudoy were seeking $12-13MM annually, while the Bulls slotted the All-Star forward at $7-8MM per year.
With Deng still a year away from free agency when the two sides talked about an extension, perhaps the Bulls were just driving a hard bargain, knowing that they still had plenty of time to work something out. But if Chicago stays committed to something in the neighborhood of $7-8MM annually, it seems highly unlikely that the club will be able to retain Deng beyond this season.
Here’s more from around the East….
- James Dolan is right not to scapegoat coach Mike Woodson for the Knicks’ poor performance this season, since the team’s struggles are the result of years of moves overseen by the owner, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, the fact that Dolan told his players there won’t be any trades simply means that the Knicks don’t have any deals imminent — it doesn’t mean the team won’t make moves before the deadline.
- The Bucks and 76ers continue to sit atop Chad Ford’s Tank Rank list at ESPN.com, though Ford says Milwaukee owner Herb Kohl hasn’t totally given up on the idea of contending for the playoffs. Ford adds that the Sixers are among the NBA’s most active teams in trade discussions.
- In his weekly Morning Tip piece at NBA.com, TNT’s David Aldridge spoke to Kohl about finding investors in the Bucks and the possibility of both private and public funding for a new Milwaukee arena. Aldridge also explored the subject of why the Knicks and Nets feel compelled to avoid undertaking a full rebuild.
- The Cavaliers have recalled rookie forward Sergey Karasev from the D-League, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer (Twitter link). During his weekend stint with the Canton Charge, Karasev averaged 14.0 PPG in two games, making six three-pointers in total.