Southwest Notes: Davis, Barnes, Perkins
Anthony Davis is still behind in voting for All-Star Game starters, as returns that the NBA released today show, so his chances of triggering higher salaries on the extension he signed this summer are fading. He’d need to make up a deficit of 173,877 votes that separates him from the final starting spot by the close of voting Monday to trigger the Derrick Rose rule, which would give Davis a salary of a projected $24.9MM instead of $20.4MM next season. The difference would amount to $25.875MM over the life of his contract, based on those same projections. He could still invoke the rule if he earns an All-NBA nod or wins the MVP award in the spring.
Here’s the latest from out of the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies small forward Matt Barnes isn’t optimistic that the appeal the NBPA filed on his behalf regarding the two-game suspension he received for an off-court incident involving Knicks coach Derek Fisher in October will bear fruit, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “I appreciate the support I’ve got from not only my peers throughout the NBA but NFL and from the entertainment world,” Barnes told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “It means a lot that the NBPA has filed an appeal on my behalf, but I won’t hold my breath. I’ve never had so much as a tech rescinded. I highly doubt I’ll be reimbursed a dime of that suspension money!“
- Kendrick Perkins, who signed with the Pelicans as a free agent this past offseason, is frustrated by the lack of effort exhibited by some of his teammates, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports relays. “It’s very disappointing. At the end of the day, this is not what I signed up for,” Perkins told Spears. “I signed up after I looked from the outside, coming in to a good young team that has been making strides in the right direction. We got real comfortable. We ain’t got long to make a push. At this point in time, we are all just searching to find the right lineups and who is going to come out and compete at a high level every night. That’s been our main problem before anything else. We just come out too many nights and don’t compete at the level we need in order to win. What really is the key to everything is our level of competitiveness.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Scotto’s Latest: Anderson, Gay, Morris, Motiejunas
The Pelicans rejected a trade proposal from the Kings of Ryan Anderson for Rudy Gay, league sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, a signal that Sacramento is making Gay available. New Orleans has reportedly been listening to offers about Anderson but not shopping him, and coach Alvin Gentry has said it’s unlikely the Pelicans trade him this season. A straight-up exchange of Anderson for Gay trade would move the Pelicans to within $1MM of the luxury tax threshold, so it’s not surprising New Orleans said no. Scotto heard more about Anderson and several other trade candidates, as we’ll summarize here:
- The Pistons are expected to pursue Anderson in free agency, league sources told Scotto. Stan Van Gundy said in October that Anderson, incumbent Pistons power forward Ersan Ilyasova and Kevin Love are in a class by themselves among those who combine effective rebounding and 3-point shooting.
- The Suns, who reportedly engaged in talks with the Pelicans about a swap of Markieff Morris for Anderson, now prefer young players or draft picks in exchange for Morris, Scotto’s league sources say.
- The Clippers are making Josh Smith available for a trade, according to Scotto, essentially a reprise of earlier this season, when Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported the Clips had gauged interest in him. Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denied that earlier report, however.
- The Rockets have taken Donatas Motiejunas off the trade market, but Terrence Jones remains available, Scotto reports. Houston earlier had talks with Phoenix about a swap of Jones and Corey Brewer for Morris, as Scotto revealed, and those discussions were serious, Marc Stein of ESPN.com later added. Brewer becomes eligible to be traded Friday.
- Scotto adds the Mavericks to list of teams with interest in trading for Timberwolves shooting guard Kevin Martin.
And-Ones: Wall, D-League, Pelicans
Wizards point guard John Wall expressed appreciation for what agent Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports did for him, but is excited about the possibilities his new agent, Rich Paul, will provide, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic writes. “The people I was with, it was a great partnership for the five years I was with it. Did a lot of great and positive things for me but it’s just a situation where I felt me and my team wanted to go different ways in how we wanted to build out team,” Wall told Michael. “It was a decision I made to part ways with them. … I think just getting it off my chest was kind of a relief.”
Wall, whose shoe deal with Adidas expired earlier this season, says the agent change wasn’t about that particular endorsement opportunity, Michael adds. “It doesn’t factor in at all. That wasn’t even part of the decision why I wanted to make that. It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about for a while and I’m still open to every shoe company,” Wall said. “I’m going to talk to all those guys through the process, figure out what I can do. I still have interest in Adidas. … I’m just wearing what’s comfortable for my feet and protecting my feet for right now. I’m still weighing my options.”
Here’s the latest from around the league
- Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry isn’t sure how active the team will be at the trade deadline because the rash of injuries the roster has suffered makes it difficult to discern the team’s needs, Sam Amick of USA Today relays. “Well the first thing is that, you know, we’ve never really had our entire team on the floor, not for one single day,” Gentry told Amick. “So to anticipate that we would like to make changes or do something like that is really difficult to do because we really don’t know the team that we have, and one of the things we felt like is that last year the success they had is something that we could build on and grow on, so we’re not so eager to just all of a sudden start making trades. Now if there’s something that makes sense for our franchise, or is going to make us a much better team, I’m sure it’s something that [GM] Dell [Demps] and I will talk about and there will be a decision made, obviously, that we think is in the best interests of our club.”
- The Hawks have assigned swingman Lamar Patterson and center Edy Tavares to the D-League, the team announced via a press release. Both players will report to the Austin Spurs as part of the league’s flexible assignment rule since Atlanta doesn’t possess its own affiliate.
- The Bulls have recalled power forward Cristiano Felicio from the D-League, the team announced (via Twitter). This was Felicio’s first trip to the D-League on the season.
Southwest Notes: Withey, Cunningham, Green
Former 39th overall pick Jeff Withey is seeing significant minutes with the Jazz this season after a parting of ways with the Pelicans that cast him into uncertainty, as Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders details. Executives from other teams have speculated about whether the Pelicans dealt fairly with the center, who said GM Dell Demps told him during the playoffs that the team wanted him back, Dowsett reports. The team made a qualifying offer to him but withdrew it shortly before re-signing Alexis Ajinca, making Withey an unrestricted free agent and leaving him “really confused,” as he said to Dowsett. Withey ultimately landed with Utah on a partially guaranteed deal that last week became fully guaranteed for the rest of this season, and he’s pleased with his new surroudings.
“In New Orleans, it was a tough place for me, just because the coach [Monty Williams], he didn’t really give me a shot, you know what I mean?” Withey said to Dowsett. “Even if I was playing, if I screwed up one time or anything like that, he would just take me right out. Here, Coach [Quin Snyder], he’ll come to you … it’s just a different type of coaching. More player-friendly, for sure.”
Withey has one more year left on his deal, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season. See more on the Pelicans and the rest of the Southwest Division:
- Dante Cunningham is shooting more 3-pointers than ever this season, and while he’s making a passable 30% of them, it’s still not enough to give the Pelicans the spacing necessary to prevent double teams on Anthony Davis, as John Reid of The Times Picayune examines. New Orleans re-signed Cunningham in the offseason to a three-year deal worth nearly $8.935MM. Backup and fellow offseason signee Alonzo Gee is nailing just 27.3% of his 3-point looks, compounding the absence of Pondexter, as Justin Verrier of ESPN.com examines.
- The Raptors were one of the teams that pursued Danny Green this summer, according to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Given the four-year, $58MM deal that Toronto gave fellow wing player DeMarre Carroll, it seems Green was liable to end up with much more than the $40MM over four years he got from the Spurs, Harvey writes. However, unlike other places in the NBA, San Antonio affords him the comfort of knowing the team has a history of supporting him through slumps like the one he’s in now, as Harvey details.
- Baron Davis, who’s set to play in the D-League, reportedly worked out for the Mavs recently, but coach Rick Carlisle laughed off the notion and owner Mark Cuban clarified that the team has an “open door” as far as its D-League affiliate goes but doesn’t harbor NBA-level interest in him. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News relays Cuban’s comment.
Russ Smith To Play For Sixers D-League Affiliate
WEDNESDAY, 11:14am: The affiliate of the Sixers has claimed Smith’s D-League rights, so he’ll play for the Delaware 87ers, Reichert hears (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 10:50am: Former Grizzlies and Pelicans point guard Russ Smith has signed with the D-League, a league source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has spent plenty of time on D-League assignment during his season and half in the pros, but this is the first time he has a D-League contract instead of an NBA deal, so the D-League waiver system will determine which affiliate he plays for. He’ll remain eligible to sign with any NBA team regardless.
Memphis waived Smith on December 29th, despite the existence of a full guarantee on his minimum salary, to clear room for Ryan Hollins, whom the Grizzlies released about a week later. Still, the team filled the roster spot with Elliot Williams on a 10-day contract instead of re-signing Smith. The Grizzlies reportedly believed as of early this season that Smith wasn’t ready to ascend to the role of primary backup behind Mike Conley, which helped precipitate the Mario Chalmers trade. Smith saw playing time in only 21 NBA games for Memphis in between the time it acquired him from the Pelicans in the Jeff Green trade a year ago today and the time of his release. He made it into only six games for New Orleans prior to that deal.
Still, he was a consensus First Team All-American in his senior season at Louisville in 2013/14, when he averaged 18.2 points, 4.6 assists and 2.8 turnovers in 29.3 minutes per game. The Sixers drafted him 47th overall in 2014 and dealt his rights to the Pelicans shortly thereafter.
Do you think we’ll see Smith back in the NBA this season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Pelicans Eye Millsap, Johnson, Dejean-Jones
The Pelicans are expected to consider several wing players for 10-day contracts now that Quincy Pondexter is set to miss the entire season, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who mentions free agents Elijah Millsap, Orlando Johnson and Bryce Dejean-Jones by name. New Orleans has been carrying an open roster spot since trading Ish Smith to the Sixers last month.
Millsap cleared waivers last week from the Jazz, who cut him rather than guarantee his contract for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old brother of Paul Millsap had seen his minutes dwindle this season, to 8.6 per contest in 20 appearances, after he averaged 19.7 minutes a night in 47 games with Utah last year.
Johnson, who was the 36th overall pick in 2012, has been playing for the D-League affiliate of the Spurs for the past month, averaging 15.5 points in 32.3 minutes per game, with sizzling 50.7% shooting on 73 attempts from 3-point range. The 26-year-old last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 season with the Pacers and Kings.
Dejean-Jones signed with the Pelicans in August as an undrafted free agent after winning a spot on the New Orleans summer league team. He averaged 8.8 points in 18.2 minutes per game during the preseason, but a rash of injuries at other positions helped persuade the Pelicans to cut him before opening night. He’s since joined the Jazz affiliate in the D-League and has posted 18.5 points in 31.5 minutes per contest across six appearances.
Which player makes the most sense for the Pelicans, or is there another name they should consider? Share your thoughts with a comment.
Quincy Pondexter Needs Season-Ending Surgery
Pelicans small forward Quincy Pondexter will undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee in New York on January 20th, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports. Pondexter has not played this season. New Orleans is eligible to apply for a disabled player exception worth $1,691,012, which is half of Pondexter’s salary, though the application deadline is Friday. The Pelicans are expected to consider signing wing players to 10-day contracts using their open roster spot, as Charania also writes and as we cover in more detail here.
He underwent surgery to repair damage in the same knee in May but it obviously didn’t heal as sufficiently as hoped. Pondexter was acquired by New Orleans in January as part of a three-team trade with the Celtics and Grizzlies.
The news comes as a surprise, considering the team recently announced a one-to-two week timetable for his return, Charania continues. He was expected to boost the team’s perimeter defense and provide toughness and stability in that area, Charania adds. The team has been using Tyreke Evans extensively at small forward in his absence.
Pondexter, who averaged 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 43.3% from 3-point range in 45 games for New Orleans last season, remains on a four-year contract extension that he signed in 2013 with the Grizzlies. He’s making approximately $3.38MM this season and has guarantees of $3.618MM next season and $3.854MM the following year.
Nets Eye Monty Williams?
Former Pelicans coach and current Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams is among the names in contention for the freshly opened Nets vacancy, as NetsDaily has been told (Twitter link). Much of the attention has surrounded long-ago Nets coach John Calipari, but he reportedly wants a dual coach/executive role, and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a press conference today that he’d prefer to have a separate coach and GM. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com heard that the Nets could consider St. John’s coach Chris Mullin, but it’s unclear whether his source was merely speculating.
Williams has quickly built a strong bond with soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant since joining the Thunder staff in the offseason, which certainly won’t hurt the coach’s candidacy for any NBA vacancy. He’s also close with Anthony Davis, his former Pelicans player, but Davis just signed a five-year extension with New Orleans this past summer, shortly after the team canned Williams.
New Orleans experienced an 11-win improvement last year in its final season under Williams, going 45-37 and grabbing the final playoff spot in the Western Conference before falling to the Warriors in a first-round sweep. It was the first time New Orleans had gone to the playoffs since the 2010/11 season, Williams’ first year as coach, when the then-Hornets lost in six games to the Lakers. The New Orleans job is his only NBA head coaching gig to date, though he spent five seasons as a Trail Blazers assistant before he took it, and he’s also served as an assistant coach for Team USA.
Do you think Williams would make sense for the Nets? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Latest On Pelicans Front Office
An increasing volume of chatter indicates that it’s “only a matter of time” before the Pelicans hire former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars to run their front office, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis, who also oversees the NFL’s Saints, has exerted greater control of the team lately in his role, which puts him above GM Dell Demps, but rival executives say that’s only temporary, with one exec calling him a football guy, not a basketball guy, according to Berger.
Dumars, a Louisiana native, has a close relationship with Pelicans owner Tom Benson, Berger notes. Loomis and other Pelicans officials reportedly met multiple times with Dumars in the fall of 2014, though the team said in May that it hadn’t had talks with Dumars about any potential job. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote shortly thereafter that people around the league had believed for a while that Dumars would eventually replace Loomis atop the Pelicans basketball hierarchy, and Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote in early May that Dumars was in play for a role that would place him above Demps in the organization. Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher said a year ago that Benson was eyeing Dumars as a possible future hire. Demps said this spring, on the day that the team fired coach Monty Williams, that Loomis had told him the rumors about Dumars were untrue.
The Pelicans are enduring a nightmare season after a rash of October injuries laid waste to many of new coach Alvin Gentry‘s plans. New Orleans is 11-25, though the team appears to be resisting the notion of trading soon-to-be free agent Ryan Anderson, despite reports of talks with the Suns that involved Anderson and Markieff Morris. The Pelicans, who have an open roster spot, reportedly expressed interest in trading for Solomon Hill, though that was more than a month ago. The team has since traded Ish Smith to the Sixers for a pair of second-round picks.
Dumars had high-profile hits and misses in his nearly 14-year tenure in charge of the Pistons, constructing the 2004 NBA champions and drafting Darko Milicic. He stepped down from atop the team’s front office in April 2014.
To find out more about Loomis and his future with the Saints, check out the rumors pages dedicated to Loomis and the Saints on our sister site, Pro Football Rumors, and follow @pfrumors on Twitter.
Western Notes: Evans, Clippers, Mavericks
Tyreke Evans is still having difficulty adapting to the offensive system of first year coach Alvin Gentry, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Reid notes that Gentry’s system requires quick ball movements and at times, Evans is holding onto the ball too long instead of making quick passes. New Orleans is averaging 98.8 points per 48 minutes as a team, but with Evans in the game, the pace drops to 95.6 points per 48 minutes. Evans missed the first 17 games of the season while he was recovering from knee surgery, and the team understands it’s going to take time for him to pick up the system.
”He didn’t have the luxury of even being in training camp or playing in any preseason games,” Gentry said. ”It’s still fairly new to him. It’s not like he doesn’t want to do it. He played a style of basketball we got to try and convert to another style. That’s not easy to do on his part either. I know he wants to do it, I don’t have any doubt about that. We just got to keep working on it. I think we also have to do as coaches adjust and put him in situations also where he’s comfortable.”’
The Pelicans are 11-24 on the season, but they remain only four games back of the Jazz for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Here are some notes from a few teams above them in the playoff race:
- The Clippers could use a small forward upgrade and they should look to the trade market to find it, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders argues. The team has won eight straight, but if Los Angeles is going to compete with the upper echelon of the Western Conference, it needs to add another play-maker on the wing. The scribe names Lance Stephenson, Jamal Crawford and Josh Smith as realistic trade assets.
- The Mavericks could also use small forward help with Chandler Parsons struggling to find his mid-season form, Greene opines in the same piece. Aside from Parsons, Dallas doesn’t have a true small forward on the roster and Greene adds that it could realistically dangle Devin Harris or Raymond Felton in order to find some wing depth.
- Coach Rick Carlisle believes that Parsons, who could become a free agent this offseason if he declines his player option, is making progress on the court, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “I liked his aggression [in New Orleans],” Carlisle said of Parsons’ 21 point performance against the Pelicans on Wednesday. “It’s another step along the way. I said it’s probably going to be late December, early January before you can start keeping stats on him with any accuracy because of the comeback and rehab and conditioning. I feel now that it’s going to be the All-Star break before he really has his legs under him. There are going to be some ups and downs, but we’re seeing a lot more ups than downs.”