New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ryan Anderson Out For Season

March 25th, 2014 at 1:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

MARCH 25TH: Anderson will indeed miss the rest of the season, the Pelicans announced.

JANUARY 14TH: It’s doubtful that Ryan Anderson will return this season after he suffered a herniated disk in his neck on January 3rd, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. Anderson spoke to reporters last night and said doctors have advised him to rest for about two months before they determine whether he’ll need surgery to repair the disk, as Brett Martel of The Associated Press details.

“Obviously, I want to get back as soon as possible, but this is something that if I got hit again, it could be more than just career ending. I want to be careful about it,” Anderson said. “We’re going to find out pretty soon how it’s healing and depending on if it’s healing (on its own), then we’ll just keep going with that. But if not, we’ll do the surgery.”

Anderson is nonetheless optimistic that he’ll be able return to action at some point, if not this season. The injury occurred when he collided with Gerald Wallace during a game against the Celtics, forcing Anderson to be taken off the court in traction.

It’s a tough blow for the Pelicans and Anderson, who was having his best season, putting up a career-best 19.8 points per game and leading the NBA in free-throw percentage. Anderson’s name had come up in a few trade rumors over the past several months, though New Orleans was in no hurry to move him, as I noted when I examined his trade candidacy. His injury makes it highly unlikely he’s dealt this season. The 25-year-old is under contract through the 2015/16 season.

Eastern Notes: Vasquez, Miller, Stoudemire

March 21st, 2014 at 8:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune details the close relationship between Pelicans coach Monty Williams and Raptors point guard Greivis Vasquez, who played for New Orleans last season. The trade that split up the pairing last summer stung Vasquez, who’ll be a restricted free agent at season’s end. “It hurt,” Vasquez said. “It really touched me a little bit. I was close not only with Coach Monty, but I was close with (assistant) Fred Vinson, all the coaching staff, the guys, messing around with Austin Rivers, Chief (Al-Farouq Aminu), Anthony Davis . . . . it was hard for me to let it go. But it’s part of the business.”

Players Who Can Earn Higher Qualifying Offers

March 21st, 2014 at 4:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

The stretch run of the season matters a lot to members of this summer’s free agent class. But the effect of what happens between now and the end of the regular season will perhaps be more well-defined for Trevor Booker, Brian Roberts and Jordan Crawford than anyone else. That’s because all three have a chance to trigger the league’s starter criteria and boost the value of their qualifying offers.

Teams must extend qualifying offers to their restricted free agents to reserve the right to match offers that other teams might make. Without a qualifying offer, a restricted free agent becomes an unrestricted free agent. For most players, the amounts of their qualifying offers are set in stone, and they’re usually determined by draft position. Whether or not the starter criteria come into play depends on whether or not a player logs at least 2,000 minutes or 41 starts during the season prior to his free agency, or hits those benchmarks over the average of the final two seasons before he becomes a free agent. Here’s what’s at stake:

A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive the same qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the 15th overall pick.
A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 120% of the amount applicable to the ninth overall pick.
A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to 100% of the amount applicable to the 21st overall pick.

These four players have already triggered higher qualifying offers for this summer:

Avery Bradley, Celtics ($4,677,708) — would have been $3,581,302
Greivis Vasquez, Raptors ($4,677,708) — would have been $3,203,780
Isaiah Thomas, Kings ($2,875,131) — would have been $1,148,163
P.J. Tucker, Suns ($2,875,131) — would have been $1,148,163

Conversely, three will likely see their qualifying offers reduced:

Ekpe Udoh, Bucks ($4,268,609) — would have been $5,962,377
Ed Davis, Grizzlies ($4,268,609) — would have been $4,361,788
Patrick Patterson, Raptors ($4,268,609) — would have been $4,319,474

Booker, Roberts and Crawford are toss-ups, as we explain here:

Trevor Booker, Wizards — This appears to be the most intriguing case. Booker could be in line for a higher qualifying injury because of Nene‘s injury. Booker has been starting in his place, and if he makes 10 more starts over Washington’s final 14 games, his qualifying offer increases from $3,420,443 to $4,677,708. Nene is already in the middle of his original four-to-six week timetable for a return, so if he comes back anytime soon, Booker will end up with the lower qualifying offer.
Brian Roberts, Pelicans — An injury also affected Roberts’ case. He became the starter at point guard when Jrue Holiday went down with injury in January, and with Holiday lost for the season, it looks like Roberts will make the 41 starts needed to raise his qualifying offer from $1,115,243 to $2,875,131. He’s seven starts shy, and the Pelicans have 15 games left.
Jordan Crawford, Warriors — He’d have to average 28.5 minutes over the last 12 games for the Warriors, or start half of those contests. Both are long shots, but if he accomplishes either, his qualifying offer would escalate from $3,206,867 to $4,677,708.

Basketball Insiders and ShamSports were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Bucks, Dedmon, Gooden, Pelicans

March 19th, 2014 at 3:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

A source tells Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Bucks owner Herb Kohl is receiving considerable nationwide interest from investors who’d like to buy at least a minority share of the team, and many of them are in close proximity to Milwaukee. Kohl is reportedly close to selling a majority stake in the franchise, but Walker hears that no deal is imminent. Sports business experts say the team would be more valuable in another market, Walker writes, but Kohl has been insistent that the team stay in Milwaukee. Here’s more from around the league:

Dewayne Dedmon‘s latest contract with the Magic gives him the chance to make the team’s roster next season, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, so presumably that means the deal covers 2014/15 with a non-guaranteed salary.
The Wizards didn’t bring Drew Gooden aboard until last month, but they’d been monitoring him since December, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Gooden followed a pair of 10-day contracts with a deal Tuesday for the rest of the season.
The Pelicans have more than $54MM in commitments for next season, and GM Dell Demps acknowledged that it’s unlikely the team will be a major player on the free agent market, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune observes. Demps also said he doesn’t regret last summer’s Jrue Holiday trade, even though there’s a strong chance it could cost them another lottery pick this year.
The Bulls may have to make a few creative cap maneuvers to entice Nikola Mirotic to sign this summer, depending on the dollars-to-euros exchange rate and Real Madrid’s willingness to negotiate the amount of Mirotic’s buyout. Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders has the details.
Twelve-year NBA veteran Ricky Davis had been attempting a comeback with the D-League affiliate of the Knicks, but the Erie BayHawks announced that they have cut him loose.

And-Ones: Jackson, Draft, Parker

March 17th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Agents aren’t pleased with the notion of raising the NBA’s minimum age, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. They feel shut out of the union’s search for a new executive director and they’re worried that whomever the union picks will be hurried to the bargaining table to discuss the age issue, Deveney writes.

Draft Rumors: Gordon, Parker, Wiggins

March 17th, 2014 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has used his insider-only “Tank Rank” column to pass along rumors connected the plans that teams have for this season, but this week’s edition is all about how clubs view the top prospects for the draft. We’ll pass along the highlights from Ford here:

The Celtics and Jazz are high on Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon, according to Ford.
Ford consistently hears that the Pistons would draft Jabari Parker No. 1 overall if they scored the No. 1 overall pick. That seems to assume that Joe Dumars would still be in charge of the team’s basketball operations, which isn’t a given.
The Pelicans believe Parker would be the “perfect fit” for them, Ford writes.
The Cavs envision using Andrew Wiggins, a small forward, as a shooting guard next to Kyrie Irving if they’re able to land the Kansas star, Ford suggests.
If the Magic wind up with the No. 1 overall pick, they’d probably use it on Wiggins, Ford writes, identifying Dante Exum and Marcus Smart as others the team will likely target.
The Lakers appear to have Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Exum as their top three prospects, according to Ford, who pegs Parker fourth and Julius Randle fifth on L.A.’s board.

Southwest Rumors: Miller, Harris, D-League

March 13th, 2014 at 1:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here’s the latest out of the Southwest Division..

Grizzlies swingman Mike Miller will be a free agent at season’s end, but he calls the experience of playing with Marc Gasol “an absolute pleasure,” just as he found it was playing with brother and fellow soon-to-be free agent Pau Gasol. Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling has more from Miller, who expresses his affection for the Heat, a team he can’t sign with until 2015/16 under the terms of last season’s amnesty waiver.
Mavericks guard Devin Harris, making the minimum salary, is looking like one of the best values in the league right now, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon. Factoring in finances, production, and impact for a probable playoff team, D.J. Augustin of the Bulls is the only backup point guard who could make a strong case for being a better value, MacMahon opines. Harris is averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 assists in 18.6 minutes per game while serving as the Mavs’ best backcourt defender.
The Pelicans and Grizzlies are seeking one-to-one D-League affiliates for next season, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Kyler reiterates an earlier report that the Magic are looking for the same.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

D-League Notes: Cuban, West, Bowles

March 8th, 2014 at 3:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mark Cuban continues to argue that the D-League is a more honest and effective developmental system than college hoops. SportsDayDFW quotes the owner’s response to Larry Brown‘s defense of the college system: “I don’t think it’s a coincidence when a dad, uncle, cousin, an AAU coach and six other relatives find themselves at a university. And it seems like there are a lot of guys taking the easiest classes they can to get through, or correspondence or on-line classes and then get to the second semester,” said Cuban. “It’s a business that, when you look at it, it’s ripe for disruption. When you look for a business to disrupt, you look for one that’s done the same thing for years and everybody knows it’s dysfunctional but nobody’s done anything about it. We happen to be in that industry.”

D-League Notes: Timberwolves, Trades

March 7th, 2014 at 7:56pm CST by Cray Allred

While the NBA’s trade deadline passed over two weeks ago, the D-League’s window for trading players between teams closed today. While deals between D-League teams don’t affect NBA player rights, they can still have an impact on which NBA teams and development staffs get the closest look at prospects at that level. Here are some notes from the D-League, including today’s deadline deals:

The Timberwolves are looking at owning their own D-League team, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Wolfson says the Iowa Energy, who currently serve as an affiliate for the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Bulls, Pelicans, and Wizards, are open to a singular partnership with Minnesota.
Sources tell Gino Pilato of D-League Digest that a multi-team trade sent William Buford to the Canton Charge, Vander Blue to the Idaho Stampede, and Richard Howell‘s returning player rights for next year to the Santa Cruz Warriors, among other D-League draft considerations.
In the same post, Pilato passes along a trade sending Santa Cruz’s Dominic McGuire to the Tulsa 66ers in exchange for Dominic Sutton‘s returning player rights.
Pilato reports one final deal between the Charge and the Delaware 87ers. Kyrylo Fesenko was sent to Canton in a trade that also saw the teams swap second round draft picks.

Jrue Holiday To Miss Rest Of Season

February 28th, 2014 at 4:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jrue Holiday has undergone surgery on his fractured right tibia and will miss the rest of the season, reports Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com. New Orleans is already without starting center Jason Smith for the balance of 2013/14, and Ryan Anderson is likely out for the season, too.

The Pelicans received a Disabled Player Exception for Anderson worth $4,154,250, but it’s too late to apply for another such exception to compensate for Smith or Anderson. New Orleans probably won’t use the majority of its Anderson exception, which expires March 10th, since most available players would command only the minimum salary. The Pelicans received the exception shortly before the deadline, but the team didn’t make a move.

There’s little motivation for the Pelicans to push for the playoffs at this point, since they’re 10 games out of the postseason and in 12th place in the Western Conference. They’re four games up on the Celtics, who hold the fifth-worst record in the league, and if the Pelicans’ draft pick winds up in the top five this year, they get to keep it rather than send it to the Sixers. They agreed to surrender the first-rounder to Philadelphia in last summer’s trade to acquire Holiday.

The 23-year-old point guard hasn’t played since January 8th because of the injury. Holiday averaged 14.3 points and 7.9 assists per game with a career-high 17.4 PER this season, the first on a four-year, $41MM extension he signed while still with the Sixers.