New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Speculation Links Bucks GM To Pelicans Job

April 11th, 2016 at 4:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Some around the league speculate that Hammond will end up with the Pelicans, who’ve long been linked to Joe Dumars, Hammond’s former boss, Woelfel hears. The Bucks signed Hammond to an extension this past September that carries through next season, which is also the last on Kidd’s deal. Lottery-bound Milwaukee has disappointed this year and can finish no better than 35-47 after last season’s 41-41 record.

Woelfel indicates the Bucks plan to shop Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams this summer, though it’s unclear if that plan would persist if neither Hammond nor Kidd is around to execute it. The Bucks reportedly had talks with the Pelicans about Monroe before the trade deadline, and Wojnarowski heard Bucks owners vetoed a would-be trade with the Pelicans that Kidd was spearheading, though it’s unclear if that would have involved Monroe.

Pelicans Sign James Ennis For Season

April 9th, 2016 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 3:33pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

MONDAY, 9:53am: The Pelicans are expected to sign James Ennis for the rest of the season after his 10-day contract expires, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune (Twitter link). That contract is up after Friday’s game against the Lakers. New Orleans is also reportedly poised to sign Jordan Hamilton until season’s end, with his 10-day deal having expired overnight. The moves will presumably come via the hardship provision, as the injury-racked Pelicans had 18 players, three above the regular season limit, until Hamilton’s 10-day ran out. The hardship prevents the team from tacking a non-guaranteed salary for next season onto the deal, so these will likely be true rest-of-season arrangements.

Ennis has played a prominent role for the Pelicans in three games so far, averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 0.7 turnovers in 27.7 minutes per contest. Hot shooting has been a part of that, as he’s gone 8 for 15 from 3-point range. His 83 total minutes have already exceeded the 47 he saw between the Heat and Grizzlies earlier this season, though Memphis gave him extensive time with its D-League team. In any case, Ennis is showing some of the promise that made him the 50th overall pick in the 2013 draft, albeit in a small sample size.

The Pelicans have some exception money remaining, but presumably Ennis will receive the prorated minimum salary, which would give him $24,855. The rest-of-season deal will cover only three games, but it’ll have some lasting value for New Orleans, since it gives the team the chance to make him a restricted free agent and match offers for him this summer. The Pelicans would have to make him a qualifying offer worth $1,080,431 in order to do so.

Ryan Anderson, Norris Cole Likely Done For the Season

April 8th, 2016 at 10:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry noted that while no definitive decision has been made, it is highly unlikely that Ryan Anderson or Norris Cole will play again this season, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Jrue Holiday, Alonzo Gee, Anthony Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Tyreke Evans are all already on the shelf for the year in what was a nightmarish season for New Orleans from an injury standpoint.

Pelicans Want To Keep Frazier, Ennis Beyond This Season

April 7th, 2016 at 10:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans consider it a priority to hang on to Tim Frazier and James Ennis this summer, as Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate hears (Twitter links). New Orleans can make both restricted free agents this offseason with qualifying offers. New Orleans is poised to ink Ennis for the remainder of the season once his 10-day contract expires on Friday.

Pelicans Sign Jordan Hamilton For Rest Of Season

April 4th, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Will Joseph

MONDAY, 2:01pm: The signing is official, the team announced. The move restores New Orleans to an 18-man roster.

SUNDAY, 3:26pm: The Pelicans plan to sign swingman Jordan Hamilton to a deal that will cover the rest of the season, Rod Walker of the New Orleans Advocate reports (Twitter link). New Orleans has six games left to play, not including today’s victory over the Nets. Hamilton’s 10-day contract expires overnight.

The Pelicans first signed Hamilton on March 25th via the hardship provision. New Orleans has experienced a rash of injuries this season. Hamilton, 25, played well in five games. He scored in double figures in all but one outing and averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Hamilton had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktyabr in August but parted ways with the team in November. He joined the Rockets’ D-League affiliate in February and appeared in 14 games, averaging 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 29.2 minutes per contest. The 6’7” Hamilton appeared in 14 games for the Clippers during the 2014/15 season, averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.7 minutes per game.

Little Time For Ennis To Prepare

April 3rd, 2016 at 11:52am CST by Arthur Hill

James Ennis had little time to prepare for his first game with the Pelicans after being called up from the D-League this week, relays Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. “He just got here to the arena about 20 minutes ago,” coach Alvin Gentry said before Wednesday’s contest with the Spurs. “We’ll give him a quick overview of what we try to do, but he’ll definitely be in the game tonight.”

Alvin Gentry Has Managed Roster Turnover Well

April 2nd, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have been hit hard by injuries this season and currently have seven players who are out for the season. As a result, the team has been forced to cycle through players inked to 10-day deals, a difficult coaching task that Alvin Gentry has handled well, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. “I know what they’re going through,” point guard Toney Douglas said. “Always night in, night out, you’ve got to prove yourself. But Coach Gentry, man, he did a great job of bringing these guys in and making them feel comfortable. Because sometimes you come in on a 10-day and you’re all, ‘Oh, I’ve got to put pressure on myself and do something.’ But here it’s not the case. Be who you are within the system, play freely.”

Pelicans Sign James Ennis To 10-Day Contract

March 30th, 2016 at 2:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:05pm: The signing is official, the team announced. The contract will cover six games, against the Spurs, Nuggets, Nets, Sixers, Celtics and Lakers.

1:31pm: The NBA has indeed given the Pelicans another hardship provision for an 18th roster spot, as Jim Eichenhofer of the team’s website confirms. Eichenhofer doesn’t mention Ennis but suggests the team may make a signing as soon as today. New Orleans has a two-day window from the time the league grants the provision to use it.

8:47am: The Pelicans will sign former Heat and Grizzlies swingman James Ennis, sources tell Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate (Twitter links). The move appears to be a signal that the NBA has given New Orleans another hardship exception for an extra roster spot. Seven Pelicans are out for the season with injuries, including Jrue Holiday and Alonzo Gee, whose season-ending maladies the team announced Tuesday. The Pelicans already have 17 players under contract, two over the normal limit.

Memphis waived Ennis on March 2nd to make room on its roster for Ryan Hollins, and somewhat curiously, the Grizzlies and Ennis haven’t circled back to each other even as the team has made a flurry of moves and received multiple hardship exceptions amid a rash of injuries similar to the trouble the Pelicans have gone through. The Grizzlies nonetheless seemed to have little use for the 25-year-old who was the 50th overall pick in 2013, sending him on eight D-League assignments and only putting him on the floor in 10 games at the NBA level.

Ennis began the season with the Heat, for whom he saw much more playing time before they shipped him out in November via the Mario Chalmers trade. The Heat never sent Ennis to the D-League once they signed him in 2014, and he averaged 5.0 points in 17.0 minutes per game across 62 appearances for Miami last season.

He’ll see $49,709 on his 10-day contract with New Orleans and add to a shrinking reserve of healthy Pelicans. Dante Cunningham, Omer Asik, Luke Babbitt, Toney Douglas, Tim Frazier, Jordan Hamilton, Kendrick Perkins and Alexis Ajinca are the only New Orleans players without some sort of ailment, The Advocate’s Brett Dawson notes (Twitter link).

Holiday, Gee To Miss Rest Of Season

March 29th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors assistant Luke Walton is reportedly poised to become a top candidate for the Knicks coaching vacancy, and the Lakers, Suns, Rockets and Kings are expected to target him, too, but former colleague Alvin Gentry thinks Walton still doesn’t gets the credit he deserves, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Gentry, now head coach of the Pelicans, was on Golden State’s staff last year with Walton, who inherited Gentry’s role as lead assistant and guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgeries. “Luke did an unbelievable job of managing egos, of rotations he played,” Gentry said. “Everything that happened there, he pushed the right buttons, so I was disappointed when people said anybody can coach that team. That’s not true at all. He has an unbelievable understanding of the game. I think [Knicks president] Phil [Jackson] knows that. [Luke] stayed in the league for a long time because of the basketball IQ he has. He gets along great with players. He’s going to be a terrific coach in the league – I really do think that.”

Jrue Holiday and Alonzo Gee are out for the rest of the season, which ends two weeks from Wednesday, the Pelicans announced. That means seven New Orleans players are finished for 2015/16. Holiday, who fractured his orbital bone, and Gee, who ruptured a right quadriceps muscle, join Anthony Davis, Quincy Pondexter, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Tyreke Evans on the shelf for the year. Ryan Anderson and Norris Cole are also dealing with less severe injuries, the team said.

Hamilton: Davis Uncertain To Fulfill Potential

March 28th, 2016 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

The premature end of Anthony Davis‘ season and his lack of progress this year serve as reminders that it’s still uncertain whether he’ll fulfill his potential as a superstar, argues Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. A five-year extension with the Pelicans will kick in for Davis next year, so questions about Davis inexorably become questions about New Orleans. Still, Davis said he’s played with a torn labrum in his shoulder for the past three seasons, so it’s fair to wonder if he’ll improve markedly when fully healthy.