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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/27/16

November 27th, 2016 at 7:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

Forwards Anthony Bennett and Chris McCullough were recalled by the Nets after being assigned to Long Island earlier today for the D-League team’s game against Grand Rapids, the team announced in an email. Bennett had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while McCullough put up 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Raptors have recalled Jakob Poeltl, Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet from Raptors 905, according to The Toronto Sun. All three had been sent down to participate in Satuday’s game against Maine.
The Spurs assigned rookie guards Dejounte Murray, Bryn Forbes and Nicolas Laprovittola to Austin, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio News-Express. They are expected to be recalled in time for San Antonio’s game on Tuesday.
The Pelicans have recalled rookie forward Cheick Diallo from Austin, the team announced in an email. He has played six games in the D-League and just one for New Orleans.
The Mavericks recalled rookie center A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, according to an email from the team. He was assigned Saturday for a game against Salt Lake in which he scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
The Bulls have recalled forward/center Cristiano Felicio and guards Jerian Grant and R.J. Hunter from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced in an email.

Holiday, Davis Spark Pelicans Improved Play

November 25th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have been much improved since the return of Jrue Holiday, but much of the credit still goes to Anthony Davis, who has elevated his game to another level this season, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.

Stein, Lowe Discuss Pelicans' Greg Monroe Rumors

November 24th, 2016 at 5:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Lowe confirms a couple trade rumors that have been reported in the past, noting that the Raptors and Sixers discussed a possible deal that would have sent Nerlens Noel to Toronto for Terrence Ross and at least one other piece. The Pelicans have also had “semi-serious talks” with the Bucks about Greg Monroe over the course of the last six to 12 months. Nothing is imminent on either front though, and Lowe isn’t sure exactly what New Orleans would give up for Monroe.

[SOURCE LINK]

Dante Cunningham Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks

November 24th, 2016 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After leaving Wednesday’s game with an apparent knee injury, Pelicans forward Dante Cunningham has been diagnosed with a non-displaced right proximal fibula fracture, the team announced today (via Twitter). According to the Pelicans, the injury is expected to sideline Cunningham for the next four to six weeks.

It’s a tough break for a team that was hit hard last season by injuries and has already had to deal with some health issues this season. New Orleans’ backcourt has been impacted more by injuries in the early going, with Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter having missed the first month of the season. However, Anthony Davis has also been a little banged up, and now Cunningham may not return until the new year.

Although Cunningham isn’t one of the Pelicans’ top scorers, averaging just 5.6 PPG, he has started 10 of his 15 games for the team so far, averaging 23.5 minutes per contest. The 29-year-old, who missed a game earlier in the season due to a suspension, has also chipped in 3.9 RPG and has shown off an improved three-point shot, making 41.0% of his attempts from long range.

Terrence Jones, Solomon Hill, and even newly-signed wing Anthony Brown are among the players who could see an uptick in playing time during Cunningham’s absence.

Pelicans On Right Path After Poor Start?

November 22nd, 2016 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans got off to a horrible start to the 2016/17, losing their first eight games, but they seem to be trending in the right direction lately, writes Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders. As Maroney points out, the club has looked particularly effective since Jrue Holiday‘s return, and will get another boost when Tyreke Evans gets back on the court, which could happen soon. With Anthony Davis reaffirming his loyalty to the franchise, things in New Orleans don’t look quite as bleak as they did earlier this month.

Anthony Davis Reaffirms Loyalty To Pelicans

November 21st, 2016 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

A second straight disappointing start by the Pelicans has trade rumors swirling around star big man Anthony Davis, but he told The Vertical’s Shams Charania he has no desire to leave New Orleans.

The shorthanded Pelicans have won just four of their first 14 games and have been mired near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. The rash of injuries that ruined last season has not only continued, it has expanded to other misfortunes such as the offseason death of Bryce Dejean-Jones and the family health crisis that led Jrue Holiday to take a leave of absence.

Still, Davis has refused to complain about the situation and remains committed to seeing the franchise through its bad times.

“My desire to win here is the same,” he said. “I go out there and play. I don’t care what the record is. I just go out there and play. I have to lead this team and make sure my guys are always happy and high energy. I don’t care what people say about our team. They’re not in our locker room seeing us, not part of our group. That’s all white noise. I just try to control what I can: go out there and compete.”

Davis has been an early MVP candidate with averages of 31.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. His talent would have virtually every NBA team salivating if the Pelicans ever did put him on the market, even after shoulder and knee injuries that limited him to 61 games last season. Davis also has one of the league’s richest contracts, being owed about $104MM over the next four seasons.

Trade speculation emerged last week involving the Celtics, with one writer suggesting Davis might be acquired for a package made up of Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley and three first rounders, along with taking back Omer Asik‘s contract. However, there is no sign that New Orleans was ever considering such a deal.

Davis said his top priority for now is to leave the injury problems behind him and play an 82-game season for the first time since entering the NBA.

“Injuries happen, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” he said. “I just wanted to get my body right to be able to play all 82 [games] this year and then play the postseason. I know how important it is to take care of my body and stay on the floor as much as possible. I know this team and what people say is noise. We just want to compete and get wins.”

Pelicans Sign Anthony Brown

November 21st, 2016 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

A day after opening up a roster spot by waiving Archie Goodwin, the Pelicans have filled that opening, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Anthony Brown. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported on Sunday that New Orleans was “closing in” on a deal with Brown.

Brown, 24, was selected 34th overall in the 2015 draft by the Lakers, and appeared in 29 games for the team during his rookie season, starting 11 of them. In 20.7 MPG, he averaged 4.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG, shooting just 31.0% from the field. The Stanford product had a guaranteed $875K salary for 2016/17, but the Lakers decided to move on from him anyway, eating that guaranteed money when they waived him last month.

Because the Lakers didn’t hold Brown’s D-League rights after cutting him, he entered the draft pool and was the first overall pick, joining the Erie BayHawks. Brown appeared with three games for Erie, averaging an impressive 29.3 PPG on 55.8% shooting, including 65.0% from three-point range.

New Orleans was forced to make a roster move earlier this month when Lance Stephenson went down with a groin injury. The Pelicans were already missing Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter, and needed to add some shooting guard depth, prompting them to cut Stephenson and sign Goodwin. Now, Brown will take Goodwin’s spot on the 15-man roster.

Terms of Brown’s agreement with the Pelicans aren’t yet known, but a non-guaranteed minimum salary pact seems likely.

Pelicans Talking With Anthony Brown

November 20th, 2016 at 12:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans are “closing in” on signing former Lakers guard Anthony Brown, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. New Orleans has a roster spot open after waiving Archie Goodwin earlier today.

Brown, who was released by L.A. last month, averaged 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in his rookie season with the Lakers.

Brown was the first player selected in the October 30th D-League draft. Through three games with the Erie Bayhawks, he is second in the league in scoring with an average of 29.3 points per contest to go with 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

Pelicans Waive Archie Goodwin

November 20th, 2016 at 11:28am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans have waived guard Archie Goodwin, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. Goodwin appeared in just three games with the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points and 10.0 minutes per contest.

New Orleans signed Goodwin on November 7th after an injury to Lance Stephenson left the team with a shortage of backcourt players. Starting point guard Jrue Holiday returned from a leave of absence over the weekend, lessening the need for another guard. Stephenson was cut to make room for Goodwin in a move that drew criticism from some players even though the Pelicans promised to help with Stephenson’s recovery.

The time Goodwin spent with New Orleans will count $96K against the team’s salary cap, according to The Vertical’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). His contract for 2017/18 was not guaranteed.

Goodwin, who played his first three seasons with the Suns, was a surprise cut last month after averaging 8.9 points per night in 57 games.

Holiday Happy To Be Back

November 19th, 2016 at 7:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jrue Holiday is thrilled with how the Pelicans handled his absence and he’s happy to be back on the court, James Varney of USA Today writes. “I’m blessed, man,” Holiday said earlier this week. “Blessed to have my family back, blessed that we’re OK. So blessed for the support, especially from the team. This team was there for me and my family. A lot of people were. I just can’t put it on one group of people. So many showed faith and support.” Holiday helped the team get its third win of the season on Friday night, scoring 21 points in 23 minutes off the bench.