New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Duncan, Ginobili, Simmons

March 26th, 2016 at 9:54pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans are 26-46 on the season, which is good for sixth place in our Reverse Standings, but the team isn’t planning on tanking over the next 10 games in order to secure a better draft pick, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. “We try to play at the highest level that we can,” coach Alvin Gentry said. ”Wherever that gets us in the draft, that gets us in the draft. I’ve never been a guy that thought, ‘Hey let’s get some extra pingpong balls or whatever.’ I don’t know how you sell that to your players.”

Here’s more around the league:

Tim Duncan says he and Spurs teammate Manu Ginobili will make their retirement decisions individually rather than as a group, Melissa Rohlin of the San Antonio Express-News relays (Twitter link).
The Magic are 30-43 on season and unless they go on a historic run, they will be in the lottery for the fourth straight season. Still, coach Scott Skiles hasn’t given up on the season and he’s looking to improve in a few areas down the stretch, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “We haven’t guarded well enough and then we haven’t handled a run well enough by the other team,” Skiles said.
Many believe Ben Simmons will be a star in the league down the road, but A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet (video link) believes Simmons will make an immediate impact. Blakely also predicts that the 19-year-old will be the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft.

Pelicans Sign Tim Frazier For Rest Of Season

March 26th, 2016 at 2:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 2:07pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

FRIDAY, 12:48pm: The Pelicans will sign Tim Frazier to a contract that runs through season’s end, GM Dell Demps told reporters, including Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate (Twitter link). Today is the last day of Frazier’s 10-day contract, and the plan is for the team to re-sign Frazier on Saturday, The Advocate’s Brett Dawson relays (on Twitter). Frazier joined the Pelicans on a hardship exception and is one of 17 players on the roster, including Jordan Hamilton, who signed a 10-day contract today. The league normally hands out hardships in 10-day intervals, which would seemingly prevent the team from signing Frazier for the rest of the season unless it offloads other players first, but with five New Orleans players out for the balance of 2015/16, it appears the league has seen fit to bend its policy.

Frazier has delivered a strong performance for the depleted Pelicans, averaging 14.6 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per game. His 3.2 turnovers per contest are disconcerting, but it’s tough to quibble with the numbers the second-year pro has put up in his brief time with New Orleans since inking the 10-day contract March 16th. The 25-year-old point guard didn’t have the same sort of opportunities with Portland earlier this season, when he saw just 7.8 minutes a night, but Frazier showed glimpses of his capabilities last year, when he averaged 5.5 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 21.7 minutes per game across 11 total appearances for the Blazers and Sixers.

Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter and Bryce Dejean-Jones are the Pelicans expected to miss the rest of the season, while Norris Cole, Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson have also been dealing with injuries, according to the CBSSports.com injury report. Toney Douglas has been starting at the point with Frazier backing him up.

The Pelicans still have portions of their mid-level and biannual exceptions remaining, so it’s unclear what Frazier will make. Frazier would see at least $94,448, the prorated minimum salary, if he formally signs Saturday.

Davis' Shoulder Injury Raises Durability Concerns

March 25th, 2016 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The fact that Pelicans big man Anthony Davis has played the past three seasons with a shoulder injury makes his performance all the more impressive, though it does raise questions about whether he is more injury-prone than previously believed, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. The scribe posits that New Orleans may need to rest Davis more often in the future to help maintain his health but also points to Dwight Howard, who has dealt with similar shoulder issues since 2013, as a reason to believe Davis can continue to log significant minutes without being coddled.

Pelicans GM Dell Demps Questions Gentry Hiring?

March 25th, 2016 at 12:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:23pm: Demps denied Wojnarowski’s report in comments he made today to reporters, the GM’s first talk with the media since October, as Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate and Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relay (See all Twitter links right here). Demps said his confidence in Gentry hasn’t wavered. Gentry stood next to Demps for the impromptu press conference and said he expects to remain the coach and that he and Demps work well together. Demps also addressed his own job security, saying, “I feel great about my job. I come to work every day and feel great about it,” as The Advocate’s Brett Dawson notes (Twitter link).

9:44am: Pelicans GM Dell Demps has expressed reservations on numerous occasions this season about last year’s decision to hire Alvin Gentry as coach, making his doubts known to some of the team’s players and staff, and to opponents as well, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical for a video report. It was Demps who originally chose Gentry for the job, as Wojnarowski casts it, though confusion exists over whether Demps or executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis is in control of the front office, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com touched on in a trade deadline report.

Gentry’s first season in New Orleans has gone much more poorly than expected, as injuries have devastated a roster that was expected to improve on last season’s playoff berth. The Pelicans are 26-45, eight and a half games out of a postseason spot. Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter and Bryce Dejean-Jones have all suffered season-ending injuries. The NBA granted hardship provisions for a 16th roster spot on at least three occasions this season, and it appears the team will use a fourth to sign Jordan Hamilton. That’s on top of a preseason rash of injuries that forced a whirlwind of moves in October.

Loomis was interested in Tom Thibodeau last spring, but Demps was against the idea, wary that the headstrong former Bulls coach would engender more conflict of the sort that Demps endured with former coach Monty Williams, as Wojnarowski reported at the time. Thibodeau, who remains out of coaching, never wound up talking with the Pelicans before they hired Gentry, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.

Gentry is on a relatively cheap contract worth a total of $13.75MM over four years. That figure includes a $4MM team option on the final season. Demps’ contract status is unclear. Rumors have surfaced occasionally over the past two years about former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars joining the Pelicans front office in a similar role.

Who do you think will be coaching the Pelicans next season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pelicans Sign Jordan Hamilton To 10-Day Deal

March 25th, 2016 at 11:14am CST by Eddie Scarito

FRIDAY, 11:14am: The signing is official, the team announced, acknowledging that the deal came via the hardship provision. Frazier’s 10-day contract runs through the rest of today, so the Pelicans have 17 players for now, two above the usual limit. Hamilton’s pact covers five games, against the Raptors, Knicks, Spurs, Nuggets and Nets.

THURSDAY, 7:22pm: The Pelicans plan to sign swingman Jordan Hamilton to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is currently playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s D-League affiliate. New Orleans currently has 16 players on its roster, including Tim Frazier, whose first 10-day pact with the team expires on Friday. It’s unclear if the Pelicans will decline to ink the point guard to a second 10-day arrangement or if the team will be adding Hamilton via a second hardship allowance.

New Orleans should have little difficulty being approved for a 17th roster spot, having been besieged by injuries this season. The team is currently missing Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter, all of whom are out for the remainder of the campaign. Adding to the team’s woes, Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson are both expected to be out of action through the weekend. In order for a team to be granted an extra roster spot, it must have three players who have missed at least three straight games because of injury or illness, plus a fourth player who is also unable to perform.

Hamilton, 25, had signed with the Russian club Krasny Oktyabr, aka Volgograd, back in August but parted ways with the team in November. He joined the Rockets’ D-League affiliate in February and has 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. His career numbers through parts of four NBA campaigns are 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists to accompany a slash line of .405/.366/.671.

All-NBA Voters Say They're Likely To Give Nod To Davis

March 25th, 2016 at 8:40am CST by Chuck Myron

A straw poll of 28 of 129 All-NBA Team voters shows the majority are at least somewhat likely to vote Anthony Davis to one of the teams, which would allow him to trigger the Derrick Rose Rule and make more on the extension he signed with the Pelicans last summer, reveals Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.

Pelicans Have No Intention Of Tanking

March 24th, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Pelicans‘ free fall in the standings this season, the team has no intention to jockey for a better lottery position via tanking, coach Alvin Gentry told John Reid of The Times Picayune. ”What we try to do is that when we walk out on the court, we try to play at the highest level that we can,” Gentry said. ”Wherever that gets us in the draft, that gets us in the draft. I’ve never been a guy that thought, ‘Hey lets get some extra pingpong balls or whatever.’ I don’t know how you sell that to your players. So for us every night we step out, we’re going to try to be as competitive as we possibly can.’‘ New Orleans currently has a 6.3% shot at landing the No. 1 overall pick this June, as is shown by our Reverse Standings tracker.

Anthony Davis Out For The Season

March 24th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

THURSDAY, 7:37pm: Davis underwent successful surgery today on his left knee, the team announced via press release. The power forward won’t require surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, the team also relayed. The timetable given for Davis’ return to action is three to four months, per the release.

5:37pm: Davis has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and a left knee injury, tweets Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. He will have surgeries on both.

SUNDAY, 3:35pm: The Pelicans will shut down Anthony Davis for the remainder of the season, tweets John Reid of The New Orleans Times Picayune. Coach Alvin Gentry made the announcement this afternoon after reviewing medical information on the injured big man.

New Orleans has been considering the move since Davis banged his left knee while setting a pick in Friday’s game. Add that to a shoulder problem that has been bothering Davis for weeks, and the Pelicans decided it was best to shut him down now, rather than take any chances with his long-term health. New Orleans’ disappointing season may also have factored into the move. At 25-43, the Pelicans are eight and a half games out of the final playoff spot in the West.

Gentry said Davis will undergo surgery that could affect his participation in this summer’s Olympics, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. “That I don’t know,” Gentry said, “but if I was a betting man, probably so.” The coach refused to be specific about which procedures Davis might have done on his knee or shoulder (Twitter link).

After earning first-team All-NBA honors last season, Davis signed a maximum extension over the summer worth about $145MM. He has put up virtually identical numbers to a year ago, averaging 24.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per night, but injuries ended his season after just 61 games.

Pelicans, Jazz Held Holiday Talks?; Players Like Gentry

March 22nd, 2016 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com suggests the Pelicans and Jazz held at least cursory trade talks involving Jrue Holiday, though the conversation went nowhere, Lowe writes, with New Orleans setting too high a price for the discussion to advance. Lowe suggests the same about Jeff Teague talks between the Jazz and Hawks, though previous reports indicated that Atlanta and Utah didn’t have contact on the Teague front. The ESPN scribe speculated about Holiday and the Jazz before last month’s trade deadline.
It’s been a rough season for Alvin Gentry, but players around the league like him, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who counts it as a plus for the Pelicans‘ recruitment of free agents. The key will be matching free agents with Gentry’s system and vice-versa, contends Deveney, who wonders about the job security of GM Dell Demps.

Orlando Johnson Back In D-League

March 21st, 2016 at 10:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Orlando Johnson, whose 10-day contract with the Pelicans expired over the weekend, is back with the Austin Spurs in the D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside and Motor.