New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Conley, Robinson, Aldridge

October 31st, 2015 at 4:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies have every intention of re-signing point guard Mike Conley when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, and based on Conley’s enthusiastic recruitment for center Marc Gasol to re-sign with the team this past offseason, the veteran playmaker also desires his time in Memphis to continue beyond this campaign, Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports writes. Gasol said he plans to leave Conley alone this season and won’t pester him to stay in Memphis, Lee adds.

“Yeah, but I cannot force him to do anything that he doesn’t feel that is right. He has to do what is right for him, that he believes in it,” Gasol told Lee. “If you feel forced to do something you don’t believe in, then you’re going to regret it. And whenever he makes his decision, whatever his decision is, he knows our relationship goes way beyond basketball and we’ll always be friends, past this five, 10 years left in our careers. As long as we live, we’re going to be friends. It’s not going to affect our friendship.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest Division:

Nate Robinson‘s stint with the Pelicans this season lasted less than two weeks, but his release wasn’t because of anything the diminutive guard failed to do, John Reid of The Times Picayune relays (Twitter links). Robinson was replaced on New Orleans’ roster by Toney Douglas, who was thought to be a better fit for the team’s roster, according to coach Alvin Gentry, Reid notes. ”We just thought it was a better fit [with Douglas], nothing against Nate,” Gentry said. “Nate came in and did everything we asked him to do.”
Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is still finding his footing in San Antonio with his new team, and the player admitts that he’s “not even close” to the player San Antonio signed this offseason, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com writes. “It’s not the same. I’m not the same person here that I was in Portland,” Aldridge said. “I don’t feel like they need me to be that person all the time. It’s learning how to be myself in the offense. I haven’t figured that out yet. I feel like the whole [team philosophy of] ‘good to great passes’ [is] in my head all the time. Hopefully as the season goes on I’ll figure it out. But right now, I’m just trying to fit in.“
Rockets camp cuts Denzel Livingston, Will Cummings, Joshua Smith, and Chris Walker will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, as D-League affiliate players this season, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (on Twitter).

Timeline: Injuries Force Pelicans Roster Shuffle

October 30th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

No team has made more moves since training camps began this season than the Pelicans, who’ve endured a seemingly unending stream of injuries. They began with Quincy Pondexter still recovering from offseason knee surgery, and he’s yet to play this season. It only worsened from that point, and executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis and GM Dell Demps have been shuffling the roster ever since. Here’s a timeline of the past five weeks leading up to today, when the Pelicans made yet another move, their 17th transaction in October.

September 24th — Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry announces that Jrue Holiday will be under a minutes restriction until January as he continues to recover from a stress reaction injury in his lower right leg that cost him 42 games last season, as John Reid of The Times Picayune details. That means no more than 15 minutes in regular season games and no back-to-backs, Gentry says.
September 29th — The Pelicans open camp with 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones on a deal that’s partially guaranteed for $50K, plus non-guaranteed deals with wing players Chris Douglas-Roberts, Sean Kilpatrick and Corey Webster. Power forward Jeff Adrien, also on a non-guaranteed pact, is the team’s other player in camp, giving the Pelicans an 18-man roster.
October 3rd — Backup center Alexis Ajinca suffers a right hamstring strain in the preseason opener for New Orleans. The team announces two days later that it expects him to miss four to six weeks. He misses the rest of the preseason but returns in time for the regular season opener.
October 7th — Starting center Omer Asik suffers a right calf strain in practice. The team announces the next day that Asik is expected to miss three weeks. He hasn’t played yet, though a chance exists that he will Saturday, tweets John Reid of The Times Picayune.
October 9th — The Pelicans sign center Greg Smith, who played for the Mavericks last season.
October 10th — The team voids its contract with Smith, who failed his physical.
October 11th — Jerome Jordan, who played for the Nets last season, signs a non-guaranteed deal with the Pelicans.
October 11th — Backup point guard Norris Cole suffers a high left ankle sprain in practice. He’s reportedly expected to miss six to eight weeks.
October 12th — Small forward Luke Babbitt, a candidate to start, strains his left hamstring in a preseason game. Three days later, the Pelicans announced that he would be out indefinitely. He hasn’t made it back yet, but like Asik, he may also play in Saturday’s game, Reid notes in the same tweet.
October 13th — The Pelicans sign Mirza Begić, a 7’1″ center from Bosnia and Herzegovina who’d never been in the NBA before. He spent last season playing in Spain and Slovenia. His deal is non-guaranteed. The move takes New Orleans to 20 players, the preseason limit.
October 15th — New Orleans waives Webster. The roster goes down to 19.
October 15th — The Pelicans sign former University of New Orleans point guard Bo McCalebb, an NBA neophyte. It’s a non-guaranteed deal with a partial guarantee of $50K that would go into effect if he sticks for opening night. The roster goes back to 20.
October 16th — Begic hits waivers, dropping the roster to 19.
October 16th — The Pelicans sign point guard Nate Robinson, who’d been a free agent since a pair of 10-day contracts with the Clippers expired last spring. That takes the roster up to 20 players again.
October 16th — New Orleans waives Jordan, knocking the roster down to 19 once more.
October 20th — Swingman and occasional point guard Tyreke Evans undergoes right knee surgery that’s expected to keep him out six to eight weeks.
October 23rd — The Pelicans waive Douglas-Roberts and Kilpatrick. The roster is at 17.
October 24th — McCalebb goes on waivers before his partial guarantee kicks in. The team also releases Adrien and Dejean-Jones. That leaves New Orleans at 14 players, one below the regular season limit.
October 26th — The Pelicans claim Ish Smith and his non-guaranteed contract off waivers from the Wizards. The well-traveled point guard was briefly a Pelican last season but never suited up for the team. He finished the season with the Sixers, playing well. The move gives New Orleans 15 players.
October 26th — Dejean-Jones clears waivers, forcing the Pelicans to eat his partial guarantee of $50K.
October 27th — Gentry increases the minutes restriction on Holiday to 20, as Reid detailed. Holiday sits out the opening game of the regular season, the first of a back-to-back for the Pelicans. Robinson starts at point guard at plays 19 minutes. Smith comes off the bench to play 38 minutes.
October 28th — Holiday starts and plays 21 minutes, slighly exceeding his increased minutes limit. Smith plays close to 29 minutes off the bench. Robinson, in a reserve role, appears for only four minutes.
October 29th — The Pelicans waive Robinson, and the roster goes back to 14.
October 30th — Point guard Toney Douglas, who played for the Pelicans last year and whom they waived in July, re-signs with New Orleans. Again, the roster reaches 15 players.

The Pelicans, with playoff aspirations, sit 0-2 heading into their home opener Saturday against the Warriors in a rematch of Tuesday’s opener at Golden State. Still, for all their woes, Anthony Davis remains unhurt, so it could be much worse.

The RealGM transactions log was used in the creation of this post.

Pelicans Sign Toney Douglas

October 30th, 2015 at 11:49am CST by Eddie Scarito

FRIDAY, 11:49pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

THURSDAY, 3:44pm: The Pelicans have agreed to a deal with point guard Toney Douglas, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported that the two sides were in discussions. New Orleans just waived Nate Robinson, which cleared a roster spot to add Douglas. The Pelicans roster count is now back at the regular season maximum of 15 players.

Douglas, 29, is no stranger to the Pelicans franchise, having signed a pair of 10-day contracts and a multiyear deal with New Orleans last season. The Pelicans waived Douglas in July rather than guarantee his salary for 2015/16, which led the former 29th overall pick to sign with Indiana. Douglas cleared waivers from the Pacers this week after being released by the team.

The point guard appeared in 12 contests for the Pelicans last season, averaging 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 14.8 minutes per night. His career numbers through 309 career regular season games are 7.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists to accompany a slash line of .405/.352/.816.

Pelicans Waive Nate Robinson

October 29th, 2015 at 2:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have waived Nate Robinson, the team announced. He was the team’s starting point guard in its opening game Tuesday. However, he only played 19 minutes in that game, and just four in Wednesday’s contest, one in which usual starter Jrue Holiday returned to action. The release of Robinson’s non-guaranteed deal leaves New Orleans with 14 players, one below the regular season limit.

Injuries beset the team during the preseason, and Holiday remains on a minutes restriction. Backup point guard Norris Cole is a couple of weeks into a recovery from a high ankle sprain that’s expected to keep him out for as long as six weeks, and Tyreke Evans, who’s also taken on point guard duties in the past, is about a week into a six-to-eight week recovery from knee surgery. Still, New Orleans has given the majority of its minutes at point guard to Ish Smith, whom the Pelicans claimed off waivers Monday.

The team signed Robinson two weeks ago as part of its effort to offset injuries at the point, but it appears the Pelicans would rather go with Smith and perhaps Toney Douglas, with whom the team is reportedly in talks. In any case, Robinson will receive a sliver of his $1,499,187 for sticking on the roster a few days.

Pelicans Talking With Toney Douglas

October 29th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans and Toney Douglas are discussing a possible deal, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New Orleans just waived Nate Robinson, opening up a roster spot and ostensibly some time at point guard. Douglas cleared waivers from the Pacers this week.

Douglas, 29, is familiar to GM Dell Demps and the Pelicans front office, having signed a pair of 10-day contracts and a multiyear deal with New Orleans last season. The Pelicans waived Douglas in July rather than guarantee his salary, which led the former 29th overall pick to turn to the Pacers. Now, with both Douglas and the Pelicans in a position of need, it appears a reunion is in the works.

New Orleans has made a madcap series of moves over the past several weeks as the team has dealt with more than its share of injuries, particularly at point guard and center. Backup Norris Cole and Tyreke Evans, an occasional point guard, stand fair chances to miss most if not all of November, while starter Jrue Holiday is on a minutes restriction. Robinson began the season as the starter Tuesday while Holiday sat out, but Robinson saw only four minutes in Wednesday’s game and the majority of the minutes at the position have gone to Ish Smith, whom New Orleans just claimed off waivers last week. New Orleans also signed and cut former University of New Orleans player Bo McCalebb over a 10-day span this month.

Douglas received a $600K partial guarantee from the Pacers, so he shouldn’t be hurting for cash. New Orleans has its $2.139MM biannual exception available, but it would be surprising if the Pelicans committed more than a partially guaranteed minimum-salary contract to him.

Do you think Douglas is a better option for the Pelicans than Robinson was? Leave a comment to let us know.

Pelicans Claim Ish Smith Off Waivers

October 27th, 2015 at 7:18am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 7:18am: The move was a waiver claim, not a signing, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) and the RealGM transactions log show, so Smith is on a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum salary contract.

6:02pm: New Orleans announced that it has signed Smith, and doesn’t say anything about a waiver claim. Either way, Smith is with the Pelicans now, though the terms of his contract could be different if the team signed him rather than claiming him.

MONDAY, 4:10pm: The Pelicans have claimed Ish Smith off waivers from the Wizards, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That means the Sixers took a pass on claiming him, a move Philadelphia was reportedly considering. New Orleans inherits the one-year deal that’s for the minimum salary without guaranteed money that Smith signed before the start of camp with the Wizards.

Smith was waived Saturday by the Wizards, along with four other players. He spent much of the first half of last season with the Thunder, but he looked especially strong as he played 25 games down the stretch with the Sixers, averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 27.1 minutes per contest. In five preseason games with the Wizards, his averages were 2.2 points, 4.0 assists and 1.0 turnover in 11.5 minutes.

The signing brings the Pelicans up to the roster limit of 15. Smith gives the Pelicans some added depth at point guard with Norris Cole on the club’s inactive list, according to the opening-night rosters released by the league on Monday night. Cole suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp and could be out several more weeks.

And-Ones: Kings, Pelicans, Mavs

October 25th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

Point guard Marshall Henderson, who was waived by the Kings two weeks ago, plans to accept an offer to play for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). Henderson, 24, went undrafted out of Mississippi in 2014. During his final season at Mississippi, Henderson averaged 19.0 points per game.

Here’s more from around the league:

Cory Jefferson‘s versatility was key factor in him making the Suns‘ regular season roster, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “Guys like Cory and Jon Leuer are primarily power forwards but, the way the NBA is going, teams are placing premiums, as we are, on mobility, the ability to move your feet, guard multiple positions on the perimeter and switch, the ability to make an open shot and help with your spacing, the ability to run the floor and get out in transition,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough said. “The game is going more and more position-less. We try to balance the roster as much as we can but we look for guys who can potentially play multiple positions.”
If Chuck Hayes, who was waived by the Clippers on Saturday, doesn’t get picked up by another NBA team, he is expected to turn to coaching, his agent Calvin Andrews tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Hayes has received assistant coaching interest from several teams, including the Rockets, according to Spears (Twitter link).
While veteran Nate Robinson has moved into the top backup spot behind starting point guard Jrue Holiday, the Pelicans might still be looking to acquire another guard, John Reid of The Times-Picayune reports. Tyreke Evans and Norris Cole are out with injuries.
While many seem ready to write off Deron Williams, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News opines the point guard’s talent — and desire — has not disappeared since a few years ago, when Williams was considered one of the league’s best. While Sefko seems to think Williams is ready for a rebound season in his home state, the scribe also concludes that Williams is likely the most important part of the Mavs this season.
Backup center Jeff Withey, whom the Jazz signed in August, has turned out to be a solid player and there is a good chance he sees a lot of minutes this season, Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News writes.

Pelicans Eye Ish Smith; Sixers Mull Waiver Claim

October 25th, 2015 at 12:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:25pm: The Sixers are considering claiming Smith off waivers, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

12:07pm: The Pelicans are nearing a deal with guard Ish Smith, tweets Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate. Kushner reports that Smith is in New Orleans and is waiting to clear waivers.

Smith was waived Saturday by the Wizards, along with four other players. He had a non-guaranteed deal in Washington after performing well for the Sixers late last season. Smith played 25 games in Philadelphia, averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 27.1 minutes per contest. In five preseason games with the Wizards, his averages were 2.2 points, 4.0 assists and 1.0 turnover in 11.5 minutes.

If Smith is signed, he will bring the Pelicans up to the roster limit of 15, with 13 fully guaranteed contracts plus Nate Robinson, who has a non-guaranteed deal. New Orleans would be Smith’s ninth NBA franchise.

And-Ones: Hornets D-League, Final Cuts, Johnson

October 25th, 2015 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Greensboro, North Carolina, will be the site of the Hornets‘ new D-League team, reports Jeff Mills of the Greensboro News & Record. The new franchise, which will expand the league to 20 teams, will begin play next fall. Charlotte currently has no D-League affiliate. Players on D-League assignment will go to the one-to-one affiliate of another NBA team. “Greensboro’s approach to the process was innovative,” said Fred Whitfield, the Hornets’ president and chief operating officer. “Taking the Pavilion and renovating it into a basketball-style fieldhouse for us was very attractive. Especially when you could have offices for us right across the street.” The move is expected to be officially announced Tuesday. Asheville and Fayetteville were the other finalists.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

After a flurry of moves Saturday, seven NBA teams still have final cuts to make before Monday’s roster deadline, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Mavericks, Pistons, Pacers, Lakers and Grizzlies each have to unload one player to reach the roster limit of 15. The Nets still have 17 players and the Sixers have 20, which is the training camp maximum (Twitter link). The five teams with roster openings are the Rockets, Pelicans, Knicks, Magic and Suns, who each have 14 spots filled. (Twitter link).
Several teams have expressed interest in Nick Johnson, who was waived Saturday by the Nuggets, according to Sam Amico of Amicohoops.net. Citing an unidentified source, Amico says there’s a chance someone could pick up Johnson by Monday. Johnson was one of four players sent from Houston to Denver in the Ty Lawson trade.
The league is looking into the reported confrontation between Knicks coach Derek Fisher and the Grizzlies‘ Matt Barnes, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the investigation, but did not offer specifics regarding possible punishment for either Fisher or Barnes. They were allegedly involved in a physical altercation at the house of Barnes’ estranged wife.

Pelicans Waive Adrien, Dejean-Jones, McCalebb

October 24th, 2015 at 12:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans have waived power forward Jeff Adrien, as well as guards Bryce Dejean-Jones and Bo McCalebb, the team announced via a press release. Adrien and McCalebb were both in camp on non-guaranteed deals, so New Orleans won’t be on the hook for any salary for them, but Dejean-Jones’ deal includes a partial guarantee of $50K, which the team will be responsible for unless he is claimed off waivers. The Pelicans’ roster count is now at 14 players, one below the regular season maximum.

Adrien appeared in 17 games with the Timberwolves last season, averaging 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12.6 minutes. The 6’7” forward, who played in China after Minnesota waived him in January, has played for five teams in his five-year career. He appeared in three preseason games this year, averaging 6.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Dejean-Jones averaged 12.8 points in 21.6 minutes per game for the Pelicans’ summer league entry, nailing 61.9% of his shots from the floor and nine of his 18 three-point attempts. Those were better numbers than he posted in his lone season with the Cyclones after having previously played at USC and UNLV. The 6’5″ Dejean-Jones put up 10.6 PPG in 23.0 MPG with 32.9% three-point shooting as a senior at Iowa State.

McCalebb, 30, has played overseas since going undrafted in 2008, save for a summer league stint with the Kings in July of that year. He was the top scorer in the Euroleague in 2011/12, notching 16.9 points per game for Siena of Italy. His assists were up last season with FC Bayern Muenchen of Germany, when he averaged 4.8 per game to go along with 12.4 PPG in 25.7 MPG.