Odds & Ends: Cousins, Melo, Rivers, D-League
As we look forward to a full Wednesday night slate of NBA action, let's check out a few odds and ends from around the Association:
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton tries to find a potential trade partner for the Kings and DeMarcus Cousins, eventually concluding that it'd be hard to find a package whose value exceeded Cousins' own value.
- ESPN.com's Joe Kaiser also explores some hypothetical deals in an Insider piece, identifying the ideal trade targets for the Celtics, Nuggets, Nets, and other teams.
- Fab Melo confirms (via Twitter) what ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg predicted earlier today — the rookie was recalled from the D-League so that the Celtics' training staff can check on his concussion. According to Melo, he'll likely be headed back to the Maine Red Claws later this week.
- With Austin Rivers' NBA career off to a very slow start, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com advises us not to be surprised if the Celtics reach out to the Hornets to see if New Orleans is interested in moving the rookie guard.
- Over at The Basketball Jones, Mark Deeks of ShamSports takes an in-depth looks at current D-League players who are candidates to be called up to the NBA this season.
D-League Moves: Bazemore, Tyler, Melo
We'll track Wednesday's D-League assignments and recalls right here:
- The Warriors have once again recalled Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler from the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team announced today in a press release. Golden State has taken advantage of its nearby D-League affiliate to shuttle Bazemore and Tyler between Santa Cruz and the NBA team, as each player has already had four D-League assignments this season.
- The Celtics have recalled Fab Melo from their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Melo has spent most of the season with the Maine Red Claws, with his most recent stint having begun on December 12th. Melo, one of two players selected in the first round last June by the Celtics, had a particularly impressive pair of games for the Red Claws last week, posting a triple-double on December 22nd (15 points, 16 rebounds, 14 blocks), and then recording 32 points, nine rebounds, and nine blocks on December 26th. Melo is currently day-to-day with a mild concussion, and Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com speculates that the big man was recalled to ensure that he's treated by the Celtics' training staff (Twitter link).
D-League Moves: Warriors, Wroten, Samuels
Today's D-League assignments and recalls:
- Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler continue to bounce back and forth between Golden State and Santa Cruz, having been re-assigned to the D-League by the Warriors. The team announced the move in a press release.
- The Grizzlies have recalled Tony Wroten from their D-League affiliate, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). The rookie guard had just been sent to the Reno Bighorns last Wednesday.
- The Cavs announced that they have recalled Samardo Samuels from the D-League's Canton Charge. Samuels, who turns 24 in January, has seen time in 18 games for Cleveland so far this year.
- The Mavericks announced today that they have recalled Jared Cunningham from the Texas Legends of the D-League. During his seven game stint with the Legends he averaged 18.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 37 minutes per contest.
- The Hornets announced that they have assigned forward Darius Miller to the D-League's Iowa Energy. Miller has appeared in 23 games this season for the Hornets, averaging 2.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. New Orleans drafted the 6'8" Kentucky product with the 46th overall pick in the 2012 draft.
Royce White Not Accepting D-League Assignment
9:29pm: According to a tweet from Yahoo! NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets have no intention of releasing White.
2:19pm: Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that if the Rockets wanted to part ways with White, their best option would be simply to cut him and eat his salary. He notes that White has a considerable amount of leverage in any prospective buyout negotiation.
12:58pm: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has posted White's full statement on the Chronicle's blog.
12:41pm: Rockets rookie Royce White has issued a statement saying that he will not accept his assignment to the D-League, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (via Twitter). White had been assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers yesterday by the Rockets.
White's anxiety and fear of flying have been well-documented this season, as his mental health issues have postponed his NBA debut and perhaps even put his NBA career in jeopardy. When news broke yesterday that White would be sent to the D-League, Berman and TNT's David Aldridge both reported that the assignment was part of a "multi-week plan" for the first-round pick, with a D-League stint merely the first part of that plan.
However, according to Berman, White's publicist China Myers has indicated that the 6'8" forward will not report to Rio Grande "until a mental health protocol is in place" (Twitter link). According to Aldridge, White's statement indicates he wants to play, but is uncomfortable with team officials making mental health decisions, calling instead for "the collaboration and recommendation of trained professionals." (Twitter links).
D-League Notes: Hayward, Alabi, Call-Ups
The latest on various moves and happenings from around the D-League on Sunday afternoon:
- The Los Angeles D-Fenders have acquired former NBA player Lazar Hayward, reports ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin.
- Gino Polato of Ridiculous Upside looks at former Raptors center Solomon Alabi, currently with the Idaho Stampede, as a player who could help an NBA team in need of big-man depth.
- David Scrivenes of Ridiculous Upside lists D.J. Kennedy, Henry Sims, and Keith Benson as D-League players with the potential to be called up to the NBA.
Rockets Assign Royce White To D-League
8:30pm: David Aldridge of NBA.com mentions that the D-League assignment is part of a "multi-week plan", and Berman clarifies that the workouts in Houston along with the stint in Rio Grande Valley represent steps one and two of that plan, respectively.
8:02pm: The Rockets have sent rookie forward Royce White to their D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (according to a tweet by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle). White is yet to appear in a regular season game for Houston this season and should have a better opportunity to develop more in the NBDL.
Mark Berman of Fox 26 (via Twitter) mentions that the 6'8" forward had worked out with a member of the Rockets' organization this past week, and Feigen adds that the assignment is part of a plan in which White is on board with to ultimately get him ready for the NBA.
D-League Moves: Pacers, Warriors, Cavaliers
Here are Friday's D-League assignments and recalls:
- Miles Plumlee is headed to the D-League, while fellow rookie Orlando Johnson has been recalled to the Pacers, the team announced. It's the third assignment to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for Plumlee this year, who's averaged 14.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in five D-League contests so far. Johnson led the Mad Ants to victory tonight with a game-high 24 points.
- The Warriors have recalled Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler to the D-League after being assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors yesterday, the team announced today in a press release. The duo combined for 49 points in Santa Cruz's 113-101 win last night.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Samardo Samuels to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Samuels will join the Canton Charge in time for tonight's game against the Tulsa 66ers. Samuels, 23, has seen his playing time in Cleveland reduced this season, as he's averaging career-lows in MPG (10.9), PPG (3.2), and PER (6.4), among other categories.
D-League Moves: Thursday
We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls right here:
- The Pacers have re-assigned Orlando Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). Johnson had a brief stint in the D-League last month before he was recalled to Indiana on November 26th.
- The Warriors have re-assigned Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler to the D-League just three days after recalling them, the team announced today in a press release. Both players appeared briefly in Golden State's game last night against the Jazz.
- Quincy Miller is heading back to the Iowa Energy for his second D-League stint of the season, the Nuggets announced today in a press release. Miller, who was originally assigned to the D-League on November 13th, has been back with the Nuggets since December 2nd. He's only appeared briefly in three games with Denver, however.
- Three Thunder players are becoming increasingly familiar with the route between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Perry Jones III, DeAndre Liggins, and Daniel Orton have been re-assigned to the Tulsa 66ers, the Thunder's D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. It's the fourth D-League assignment of the season for Orton, and the third for both Jones and Liggins. Starting this season, there are no restrictions on the number of times that NBA teams are allowed to assign players to the D-League, so the Thunder have been taking full advantage of the geographical proximity of their Tulsa affiliate.
James Anderson To Sign In D-League
James Anderson, who was recently waived by the Spurs and worked out for the Timberwolves, is heading back to the D-League, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Anderson will sign with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.
It's not clear whether or not the Timberwolves are still interested in signing Anderson, but for the 23-year-old, there's little to lose by returning to the court in the D-League. Because no NBA team holds his rights, he's still essentially a free agent, so if the T-Wolves or another club wanted to sign him, there'd be nothing standing in the way.
Anderson, who appeared in 10 games for the Spurs this season, was on the Valley Vipers' roster during the D-League preseason, but was signed by San Antonio before the regular season got underway. The Wolves were eyeing the 2010 20th overall pick as one candidate to replace the injured Josh Howard on the wing.
D-League Moves: Tony Wroten, Dexter Pittman
We'll use this space to track the day's D-League assignments and recalls. If you want to keep tabs on all of this season's D-League moves, be sure to check out our complete list.
- The Grizzlies have re-assigned Tony Wroten to the Reno Bighorns, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter). It's the second assignment of the season for the first-round pick, who was sent to the D-League on November 27th before being recalled on December 17th.
- The Heat have sent Dexter Pittman to their D-League affiliate, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). According to coach Erik Spoelstra, Pittman will spent several weeks with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Pittman, Miami's 32nd overall pick in the 2010 draft, played in 35 games for the club last year, even starting six contests. However, he hasn't been able to crack the rotation this season, appearing briefly in just four of the Heat's 25 games so far.