New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Griffin Injured During Team USA Scrimmage, Davis Recalled

By Ryan Raroque | at July 12, 2012 10:15 pm

10:15pm: Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that the injury is a meniscal tear that will require arthroscopic surgery.

9:15pm: Yahoo's Marc J. Spears says that although Blake is done with the Olympics, he should be ready for training camp (Twitter link).

4:32pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted earlier that Blake Griffin hurt his knee during a scrimmage with Team USA and will return to Los Angeles for further examination by team doctors. Just yesterday, Griffin signed a five-year maximum extension to remain with the Clippers.

Team USA officials have summoned Anthony Davis back to Las Vegas immediately to fill in as Griffin's replacement, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

0 comments Los Angeles Clippers New Orleans Pelicans Anthony Davis Blake Griffin

Odds & Ends: Nets, Villanueva, Warriors, Bulls

By Luke Adams | at July 12, 2012 11:03 am

As busy as the Nets have been so far this month, we haven't heard much out of majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. That changed today, however, as Prokhorov released an official statement discussing the team's offseason:

"I'm thrilled with the way our team has come together. My congratulations and appreciation go out to general manager Billy King, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Avery Johnson for their tenacity, nerve and heart throughout this process. With the re-signing of Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson, we go into our new home led by an All-Star backcourt and with every hope of a great season for the Brooklyn Nets. I can't wait until opening night."

While Prokhorov starts counting down the days until opening night, we'll round up the rest of the morning's odds and ends right here:

Free Agent Rumors: Nets, Pacers, Green

By Luke Adams | at July 11, 2012 9:57 pm

The July moratorium came to an end late last night, and a number of teams didn't waste any time in finalizing moves. The Lakers' acquisition of Steve Nash was the first transaction to become official, followed closely by the Knicks' signing of J.R. Smith, Deron Williams' contract with the Nets, and Blake Griffin's five-year extension with the Clippers. We're expecting more deals to be formally announced today, but there are plenty of free agents still on the market too. We'll be tracking the latest news on those guys right here, with the newest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….

The Nets are considering Kenyon Martin and Craig Smith and discussing a sign-and-trade for Antawn Jamison, clouding Kris Humphries' future with the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Pacers are targeting unrestricted free agent Gerald Green as their wing player off the bench, and are expected to offer him a three-year, $10MM contract, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star. O.J. Mayo and Courtney Lee are out the team's price range at the moment (All Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

1 comment Brooklyn Nets Chicago Bulls Golden State Warriors Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Clippers New Orleans Pelicans New York Knicks Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Washington Wizards C.J. Watson Courtney Lee Craig Smith Eric Gordon Gerald Green Kenyon Martin Sr.Kris Humphries Marco Belinelli Maurice Evans Michael Redd Nate Robinson O.J. Mayo Pablo Prigioni Roy Hibbert Ryan Gomes

Warriors Acquire Jarrett Jack; Wright To Sixers

By Luke Adams | at July 11, 2012 9:27 pm

9:26pm: The deal has been finalized, according to a press release by the Warriors. The Warriors receive Jack from New Orleans, the Sixers receive Wright from Golden State and center Darryl Watkins from New Orleans, and the Hornets receive the rights to Bavcic from Philadelphia.

2:35pm: Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group reports that the deal is getting close, but cautions that it's "fragile" and could fall apart. Still, Jack himself seems to acknowledge he'll be moved, tweeting: "Well new Orleans it's been real like to thank all the fans u treated me great during my time as a hornet. ‪#movingon."

15 comments Golden State Warriors New Orleans Pelicans Philadelphia 76ers Transactions Darryl Watkins Dorell Wright Jarrett Jack

Hornets Acquire Ryan Anderson In Sign-And-Trade

By Michael Pina | at July 11, 2012 10:40 am

WEDNESDAY, 10:40am: The Magic have officially announced the completion of the Anderson/Ayon sign-and-trade in a press release.

SUNDAY, 3:21pm: The Hornets will acquire Ryan Anderson in a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic, writes Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. Once the moratorium ends, Anderson will agree to a four-year, $36MM deal with New Orleans, and the Magic will receive Hornets center Gustavo Ayon.

2 comments New Orleans Pelicans Orlando Magic Transactions Andrew Nicholson Gustavo Ayon Ryan Anderson

Offer Sheets To Watch

By Luke Adams | at July 10, 2012 3:38 pm

Restricted free agents that have agreed to sign offer sheets with new teams can begin doing so as soon as 11:00pm CST tonight. When a player officially signs an offer sheet, his old team has a three-day window to decide whether or not to match it and bring him back.

When a player formally signs an offer sheet, it means only two options are in play for him: He either ends up on the team whose offer he signed, or returns to his old club. Sign-and-trades are no longer an option. So, for restricted free agents like Eric Gordon and Nicolas Batum, who seem to prefer to change teams, it may be worthwhile to explore sign-and-trade possibilities once more before locking into those offer sheets and putting their futures in the hands of the Hornets and Trail Blazers, respectively.

Here are a few restricted free agents that reportedly agreed to sign offer sheets whose situations are worth keeping an eye on:

Roy Hibbert
Current team: Pacers
Agreed to sign with: Trail Blazers
Terms: Four years, Maximum salary
It sounds as if Hibbert may not even ink an offer sheet with the Trail Blazers after all. With the Pacers planning to match the deal, it makes more sense for Hibbert to just sign outright with Indiana. That way, perhaps the team could tack on a non-guaranteed fifth year — at the very least, it would give the Pacers increased flexibility to try to improve the roster around him.

Eric Gordon
Current team: Hornets
Agreed to sign with: Suns
Terms: Four years, Maximum salary
It seems Gordon's clear preference is to play with the Suns. After agreeing to the team's offer sheet, he released a statement indicating that "Phoenix is where my heart is now," and later told the Times Picayune that if the Hornets match the offer, he'll play in New Orleans, but won't be happy about it. It's a tough spot for the Hornets, who clearly don't want to lose the primary piece of last year's Chris Paul trade, but also probably don't want an unhappy player in New Orleans long-term. Maybe these two teams could negotiate a sign-and-trade, but I'd expect the Hornets to simply match the Suns' offer sheet and hope Gordon warms to New Orleans. John Reid of the Times Picayune confirmed today that New Orleans is expected to match the offer.

Nicolas Batum
Current team: Trail Blazers
Agreed to sign with: Timberwolves
Terms: Four years, $45MM
While Batum, like Gordon, appears to want to move on from his current team, it seems Batum's agent Bouna Ndiaye is pushing that stance more than the player himself, as his comments over the weekend suggested. Still, Batum told David Aldridge of TNT today that Minnesota is where he wants to be. Batum also mentioned, interestingly, that the two teams are working on a possible sign-and-trade deal. According to one earlier report, the T-Wolves pitched a sign-and-trade deal involving Derrick Williams, but the Blazers weren't interested in a trade involving the younger, more affordable Williams. I wouldn't be surprised if Portland reconsiders that stance before all is said and done — a sign-and-trade that sends Batum to Minnesota and Williams to Portland could be a win-win for the involved teams and players alike.

Jeremy Lin
Current team: Knicks
Agreed to sign with: Rockets
Terms: Four years, $28.8MM (fourth-year team option)
We've already heard that the Knicks, predictably, are expected to match this offer sheet. Another team could have more pressure on New York with a more significant third-year raise and a guaranteed fourth year, so the Knicks will get off relatively easy when they match this offer.

Omer Asik
Current team: Bulls
Agreed to sign with: Rockets
Terms: Three years, $25.1MM
Here's a trickier case. The Bulls have said all year that they don't want to lose Asik and that they expect to match any offer for him, but Daryl Morey and the Rockets are making it difficult with a third-year salary of nearly $15MM. Still, I think there's a good chance the Bulls match this offer sheet. Asik's first- and second-year salaries are in the $5MM range, which is manageable, and allows the Bulls a couple seasons to figure out how to clear long-term salary off their books for 2014/15. This decision could easily go either way though.

Landry Fields
Current team: Knicks
Agreed to sign with: Raptors
Terms: Three years, $19MM
When Fields and the Raptors agreed to this offer sheet, it seemed like a savvy tactical move to block the Knicks from making a sign-and-trade deal for Steve Nash. Now, with Nash headed to Los Angeles, it just looks like an overpay. The Knicks are unlikely to match this one, so the Raptors are likely stuck with Fields, but that's not the end of the world for Toronto. Fields just turned 24, and while he experienced a bit of a sophomore slump in 2011/12, he still has the makings of a solid, if slightly overpriced, rotation player.

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1 comment Chicago Bulls Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans New York Knicks Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Toronto Raptors Derrick Williams Eric Gordon Jeremy Lin Landry Fields Nicolas Batum Omer Asik Roy Hibbert

Ryan Anderson Likely Won’t Re-Sign With Magic

By Michael Pina | at July 8, 2012 2:47 pm

2:47pm: In a tweet from Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski, Anderson's contract will be four years, approximately $36MM. Also, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the trade for Anderson is not expected to interfere with New Orleans decision on whether or not they'll match the Suns offer sheet with Eric Gordon. But it does affect the futures of Chris Kaman and Carl Landry, two big men who played for the Hornets last season who are almost certain to find a new team shortly.

2:10pm: According to a tweet from the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins, the Magic are discussing a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets centered around Ryan Anderson. Also, in a tweet from the New Orleans Time-Picayune's Jimmy Smith, the deal is close to being done, and involves current Hornets big man Gustavo Ayon.

1:29pm: Magic forward Ryan Anderson likely won't re-sign with the Magic, and will be dealt in a sign-and-trade, according to a tweet from Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. Anderson is currently a restricted free agent. The Kings have reportedly been extremely interested in the sharp shooting forward's services, with hopes of playing him at the small forward position.

3 comments New Orleans Pelicans Orlando Magic Gustavo Ayon Ryan Anderson

Lawrence On Bird, Hibbert, Gordon, Brooks

By Chuck Myron | at July 7, 2012 4:59 pm

Larry Bird was leaning toward a return as Pacers president, former Celtics teammates tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, until owner Herb Simon nixed the idea of adding a scorer to the team during a meeting with Bird in late June, shortly before Bird resigned June 26th. Bird was considering an offer for Eric Gordon, Lawrence writes, but Simon, who has a net worth of $1.8 billion, doesn't want to pay the luxury tax. Though Indiana has only about $36MM in guaranteed salaries for next season, the Pacers likely couldn't have brought aboard Gordon, who's signed an offer sheet with the Suns for the maximum four years and $58MM, and retained all their free agents without becoming a tax team. Bird's concerns about his shoulder and back were also reasons he stepped down, but the 55-year-old NBA legend left the door open for a return to another team's front office. Lawrence has more from around the league, and we've got the highlights here:

2 comments Indiana Pacers Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans Oklahoma City Thunder Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Larry Bird Roy Hibbert Scott Brooks

Eric Gordon Unhappy With Hornets

By Zachary Links | at July 6, 2012 5:49 pm

Shortly after receiving an offer sheet from the Suns and flatly stating that his "heart is in Phoenix," free agent Eric Gordon expanded on those comments while speaking with reporters today. The two-guard says that he will play in New Orleans if the club matches the four-year, $58MM offer sheet but won't be happy about it, writes Jimmy Smith of the The Times-Picayune.

12 comments New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns Eric Gordon

Free Agent Rumors: Redd, Camby, Stiemsma

By Luke Adams | at July 6, 2012 2:38 pm

Brandon Roy, Jason Kidd, and Jamal Crawford were among the players to reach agreements with new clubs yesterday, while Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lin agreed to lucrative offer sheets that their current teams are expected to match. What will Friday bring? Here are the latest rumors on a number of free agents still on the market:

The Suns and Bulls are the two teams "most heavily in the mix" for Michael Redd, says Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
Marcus Camby will meet with the Heat tomorrow and the Knicks next, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Feigen adds that Camby likely won't meet with the Rockets until there's resolution on Omer Asik.