Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Seriously Interested In Markieff Morris

December 18th, 2015 at 2:16pm CST by Will Joseph

DECEMBER 18TH, 2:16pm: The discussions about a trade that would send Morris to Houston for Brewer and Jones have been serious, and a distinct possibility exists that such a deal will happen, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who nonetheless points to Brewer’s ineligibility for inclusion in a deal before January 15th. Morris is nonetheless “very available,” Stein writes.

DECEMBER 15TH, 1:46pm: The Suns have talked about a deal with Houston for Corey Brewer and Terrence Jones, a source told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops. Brewer is ineligible for inclusion in a trade until January 15th.

DECEMBER 7TH, 8:04am: The belief around the league is growing that the Suns are prepared to trade Morris, Stein writes in a full piece. Houston would likely deal away Jones in any swap that brings in Morris, sources tell Stein. Stein and Coro point to Marcus Morris calling Brandon Knight “soft” after the Suns-Pistons game last week as a potential signal of turmoil for Markieff in Phoenix. Still, after Friday’s game, one in which Markieff played but came off the bench, he seemed OK with no longer starting, as Coro noted in a separate piece.

“It’s cool,” Morris said. “Me and Coach [Jeff Hornacek] talked about it. Try to catch a rhythm with the second unit. Whatever’s good for the team is what I’m good with. It is what it is. Jon [Leuer] and Mirza [Teletovic] have been playing really well. If you ask me if I deserve it, I haven’t been playing too well. I’m with whatever the team wants.”

DECEMBER 6TH, 11:23pm: The Rockets are interested in acquiring Markieff Morris from the Suns, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links).

Morris received his first benching by coach’s decision since 2011/12, the power forward’s rookie season, on Sunday. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic described Morris’ situation as “reheated.” Morris, Coro notes, did not speak with reporters Sunday. Morris issued a trade demand in August after his brother, Marcus, was shipped to the Pistons. When training camp started, however, Morris declared he wanted to be in Phoenix. All along, the Suns seemed to want to repair his hurt feelings and retain him on the roster. Still, trade rumors have swirled with the Pistons reportedly interested in acquiring his services and reuniting him with his brother. Marcus observed that he looked unhappy last month.

The Rockets have struggled this season and currently own an underwhelming 10-11 record. Despite his inconsistency this season, Morris is averaging 12.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game — numbers in line with his career averages. Interestingly, the Rockets are reportedly mulling the idea of trading power forwards Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas. As Stein points out, trades will become easier after December 15th, the first day that most of the players who signed new contracts over the summer can be traded.

Western Notes: Wright, Ellis, Miller

December 16th, 2015 at 9:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Grizzlies big man Brandan Wright says that he expects to miss six to eight weeks after a knee surgery he’s scheduled to undergo Thursday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. This confirms an earlier report by Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM. Memphis GM Chris Wallace, discussing Wright’s scheduled surgery, said, “There is a need to do the procedure at this time. We tried the rest and rehab route,” Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays (Twitter links). Tillery also notes that the team had believed that Wright, prior to his latest diagnosis, was merely suffering from tendinitis and was “soft” for sitting out.

Here’s more from out West:

Nuggets swingman Mike Miller had considered retirement after the 2011/12 season, but the veteran says that he feels rejuvenated and may continue his playing career for longer than expected, Chris Tomasson of The Denver Post writes. “If my body feels the way it is right now, I want to play a couple of more years for sure,“ Miller told Tomasson. “I never would have believed [in 2012] that I’d still be playing now,” Miller added.
Despite competing with each other for minutes, Suns centers Tyson Chandler and Alex Len work well together, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. “Those guys have a great relationship,” GM Ryan McDonough said. “They’re two of the most unselfish guys we have on the team. I’m not really as concerned about that. It’s a nice luxury for us and the coaches that they can go with whoever’s playing better, especially if somebody is either in foul trouble or has an off night.”
Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki says he wasn’t surprised that Monta Ellis opted out of his deal after last season in order to become an unrestricted free agent, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets. “I mean, you figure since he had two good years for us and he’s [30 years old] now … you figure he’s going to get out and sign one more deal,” Nowitzki said. “I’m happy for him. He signed a four-year deal, got some good money, obviously. He is on a very good team in Indiana that is playing well, well-coached and well-run. I’m happy for him.“

Southwest Notes: Howard, Anderson, Wright

December 16th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard denies that he’s “extremely unhappy” in Houston and said to reporters Tuesday that he hasn’t expressed any discontent with playing a secondary role to James Harden, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. Howard, taking his fewest shots per game since he was a rookie, said last week he’s not worried about his part in the Rockets offense and that he believes his role will increase, Feigen points out.

“I want us to win,” Howard said Tuesday. “We had two upsetting losses. We’re all frustrated because we know we can play better. I haven’t said anything to any reporter or to anybody about being unhappy. That’s only noise. All the other stuff is lies.”

See more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans have listened to teams that have called with interest in trading for Ryan Anderson, and while they’re actively exploring trade possibilities and engaging teams on other matters, they’re not shopping the power forward, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter links). The Rockets have reportedly “kicked the tires” on potential deals involving Anderson, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, while the team would consider giving up Anderson for Markieff Morris, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported. The Suns and Pelicans have had preliminary talks about Morris, Wojnarowski and Charania wrote, and Anderson’s name is involved in that discussion, too, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune.
An initial timetable has Grizzlies big man Brandan Wright back in six to eight weeks after a knee surgery he’s scheduled to undergo Thursday, reports Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM in Memphis (Twitter links). Wright, a key offseason free agent signee for Memphis, hasn’t played since November 7th as he and the team held out hope that his sore right knee would heal without the procedure, Vernon adds.
Jonathon Simmons made the D-League affiliate of the Spurs through an open tryout in 2013, but he averaged fewer than 10 points a game in 2013/14 and thought about quitting pro basketball in the summer of 2014, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News details. Now, the 26-year-old is in the Spurs rotation after signing an NBA deal this past summer that includes a fully guaranteed salary for this season.

Pacific Notes: Scott, Rondo, Len, Chandler

December 15th, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The plan is for Lakers coach Byron Scott to continue the player development strategies he’s using, Scott said Monday, according to Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Scott revealed that he and GM Mitch Kupchak met recently about the issue, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reported they likely would. Part of the team’s plan is to use Kobe Bryant as an example of the sort of work ethic they want their young players to adopt, as Morales details. The front office acknowledges the conflict between Bryant’s high usage and the need for young players to see minutes and touches. See more on the Lakers and other Pacific Division teams:

Sources who spoke with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com are split on whether the homophobic slur Rajon Rondo directed at referee Bill Kennedy, who is gay, will dissuade teams from pushing to sign the point guard when he hits free agency again in the offseason. Multiple executives told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News before the controversy that Rondo was back in the discussion for a maximum-salary deal because of his strong early-season play. The 10th-year veteran who turns 30 in February signed a one-year contract for $9.5MM with the Kings this summer after a disastrous stint with Dallas last year. We made the topic of whether the incident will affect Rondo’s free agency the subject of our Community Shootaround discussion on Monday.
Alex Len delivered a clunker of a performance in Monday’s game, but his play of late has otherwise been the best of his career, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. That’s led Suns coach Jeff Hornacek to continue starting Len over free agent signee Tyson Chandler, even though Chandler has been healthy the past two games. That’ll likely change, Hornacek concedes, as the team continues to look for a fit between Chandler, Len and offseason acquisitions Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic, Coro notes.
Chandler, in the first season of a four-year, $52MM deal, is one of the most overpaid players in the NBA this season, Deveney argues in a slideshow. Two Lakers — Bryant and Roy Hibbert — and Lance Stephenson of the Clippers also make Deveney’s 15-man list.

Western Notes: Howard, Pachulia, Teletovic

December 13th, 2015 at 8:01pm CST by Will Joseph

It’s been an unusually quiet season for Dwight Howard, who can opt out of his current deal after the season and become an unrestricted free agent, as the Rockets center is averaging only 12.7 points per game, the fewest since he averaged 12 as a rookie in 2004/05, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle observes in an explanatory piece. For his part, Howard, as Feigen points out, has had no complaints about his seemingly diminished role in the Rockets’ offense.

“To us, it’s important that Dwight serves his role,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Dwight’s not a one-dimensional player. Dwight knows how to impact winning in a bunch of different ways. He’s not a guy who has to score the basketball to be effective. As long as he understands how important he is to us and his teammates let him know how important he is to our success, I think he’s confident he’ll go out and do what he’ll have to do to help us win.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Zaza Pachulia, in a Q&A with Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype, said he initially had mixed feelings regarding his trade to the Mavs from the Bucks, but warmed up to the idea rather quickly. “Here it’s a totally different situation for me,” Pachulia told Sierra. “I was one of the oldest guys in Milwaukee, now I’m coming here and I feel like I’m one the younger guys. So many veterans around me.”
Nicolas Batum believed the Blazers, as they were constructed last season, had at least another run in them, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes. Things changed, of course, when LaMarcus Aldridge decided to sign with the Spurs. “I understand his choice,” Batum said. “He had done a lot of things for the Portland franchise, but to get a chance with the Spurs to win a ring right away? I think a lot of people would have done the exact same thing. He wanted to go to another place to win a championship, and I respect that. I’m not mad about it, but I was surprised. It was a good run, and it was fun, but it’s time to move on.”
Mirza Teletovic is enjoying a strong bounce-back season with the Suns after inking a one-year deal following his issue of blood clots, Howard Megdal of USA Today Sports details.

Pacific Notes: Morris, Russell, Mitchell

December 13th, 2015 at 6:11pm CST by Will Joseph

Trade speculation continues to grow the more Markieff Morris sits on the Suns‘ bench, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Morris, as Coro notes, has seen only seven minutes of action in the past four games after being removed from his role as the team’s starting power forward. Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic have played over Morris during this recent stretch.

“We had a couple games where Markieff’s been out where the ball has moved around a little bit differently,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said, per Coro. “We have no real post-up threat we can go to in those situations. Markieff will get back. It’s a struggle for him right now but we all feel he’s a good player and he’s going to get it back. Right now, Jon and Mirza are playing better.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The development of rookie D’Angelo Russell has hit a curious snag because of Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour, Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports writes. Lakers coach Byron Scott‘s decision to sit Russell late in games is confusing to some members of the Lakers’ front office who were convinced to forget about Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor because Scott favored Russell, Lee reports.
On the other hand, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com argues that Scott’s handling of Russell makes sense because he is allowing the young player to remain hungry for minutes. As Adande points out, Russell is actually fourth among rookies in minutes played at 28.4 per game so it seems as if Russell is not being singled out or anything along those lines.
Tony Mitchell, whom the Warriors waived in October, signed with Venezuela’s Cocodrilos de Caracas, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays.

Pacific Notes: Chandler, Casspi, Lakers

December 13th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by ChrisCrouse

Tyson Chandler hasn’t played in nearly three weeks because of a hamstring injury, but the veteran is taking an optimistic view to the time off and he believes his time on the sideline will help him gel with his new team once he is able to return, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.

“Everything happens for a reason sometimes and the injury gave me a different perspective,” Chandler said. “A lot of times, when you’re in the mix, you can’t pinpoint what’s going on because everything is going so fast and you’re out there too. Being out and watching Alex [Len], I see things. I see a lot of areas where we can improve.”

Chandler joined the Suns last summer, signing a four year, $52MM deal to be the team’s starting center. Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Omri Casspi re-signed with the Kings on a two, year $6MM deal last summer, but the money was not the main reason he returned, as he tell Rob Mahoney of SI.com. “No. 1, I just like Sacramento. It’s the team that drafted me, and I just felt a good energy around the team and the fans and everything that was going on,” Casspi said. “I feel like it’s really a second home for me outside of my country, outside of Israel. And number two, when Coach [George] Karl stayed and signed a long-term deal, I felt like we had the right base to start winning games this year. DeMarcus is our go-to guy and he’s our star. It’s been a drought in Sacramento. I want to be a part of a winning situation and a team that’s building toward an NBA championship. I feel like we’ve got the right pieces, the right coach, and the right system in place. Now it’s about us coming together to start winning games.”
Sacramento has had more than its share of turnover in the front office in recent years, but Casspi believes the right people are in place now and he is a fan of what the front office did this offseason, as he tells Mahoney in the same piece. “Now we have a new GM in place. We need to get some stability from the top, and I feel like now we have everything in place. Vlade’s running the show and has a good team with him. I feel like he’s doing all he can to make this team successful. You bring in the right pieces, the right players — players that have been in winning situations — and you can have a winning culture. But right now we’re building it, and I think Vlade is the guy that it starts with. He brought in Rajon [Rondo], who won a championship, Kosta [Koufos] being in Memphis a few years and Denver where he won a lot of games, Marco [Belinelli] won in San Antonio. So you bring in the right pieces and you start building a winning culture, a winning mentality. That’s how you really go back to where the Kings need to be.”
The Lakers are just 3-20 on the season, but Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders believes the win-loss record isn’t the only reason Byron Scott is failing as a coach. Blancarte cites Scott’s choice for the rotation, which has given heavy minutes to veteran players, and his tendency to bench youngsters, like D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle, for mistakes they make in games rather than letting them play through their mistakes as reason for the pessimism.

Southwest Notes: Cole, Anderson, Pachulia, Jenkins

December 11th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

John Reid of The Times Picayune suggests that it’s doubtful that either Ryan Anderson or Norris Cole will re-sign with the Pelicans as unrestricted free agent this coming summer. The qualifying offer that Cole received from the Pelicans in restricted free agency this past offseason was the best he had, according to Reid, who points out that it still took him until the middle of September to agree to come back to New Orleans. The team is making Anderson available to other teams for a trade, Reid confirms, advancing a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that said the Pelicans would consider dealing Anderson to the Suns for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson signaled he wouldn’t re-sign. The team is looking for a quick fix after starting 5-16, Reid adds. See more from the Southwest Division:

DeAndre Jordan‘s flip-flop on his decision to sign with the Mavericks led Dallas to trade for Zaza Pachulia, and while Pachulia is no Jordan, he’s had success this season and has won over a key teammate, as Ian Thomsen of NBA.com details. “After we didn’t get DeAndre we moved on pretty quick, and getting Zaza was a really good move,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “He is one of the smartest centers I ever played with. He can pass, he can shoot a little bit, he can put it on the floor. He may be undersized some nights, but he’s got a big heart, he fights and he is very, very smart. He will compete for us and I love him to death.”
Mavs offseason signee John Jenkins hasn’t put up the same flashy numbers in the regular season that he did during the preseason, but the opportunity Dallas gave him to excel during exhibitions was a key boost, he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was huge,” Jenkins said. “I knew I had that in me. I was just showing everybody else. For me to do that was a lot of fun. They gave me the ball and said ‘Do what you do.’ Which is different. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Boban Marjanovic credits his recent D-League stint with helping his game, and his Spurs teammates are urging the free agent acquisition to use his 7’3″ size to his advantage on the court, observes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

Western Notes: Garnett, Fournier, Morris

December 9th, 2015 at 8:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves don’t expect Kevin Garnett to end his playing days with much fanfare, and the veteran intends to make the twilight of his career more about helping the younger players around him, Andy Greder of The Pioneer Press writes. “He’s never gonna go out on a Harley,” said Clippers head man Doc Rivers, who coached Garnett in Boston.”He’s really into it with his guys, loves the young guys. Kevin loving young guys is really good, because if you don’t have the right kind love of the game, for Kevin, he’s not gonna love you back, and that’s a fact. Clearly, he feels like they got it right with the young guys, not only guys with talent, but guys that want to be winners.”

“My choice in coming back here had a lot more of a plan and a future involved in to it,” Garnett said. “I understand that it’s not about me, it’s about Andrew Wiggins, it’s about Karl-Anthony Towns, it’s about Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine and these young guys in here,” Garnett said. “I’m just trying to teach the things I know and teach the things that I’ve experienced since I’ve been here.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Denver “will always be in my heart,” said Evan Fournier, who spent his first two NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but as far as basketball is concerned, he’s moved on, as he told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Fournier is poised for restricted free agency this summer, with his camp having reportedly asked the Magic, who apparently offered $8MM annually, for salaries well in excess of $10MM a year.
Markieff Morris says that he is still happy to be a member of the Suns despite his reduced role on the team, though he wouldn’t directly answer questions about whether he still wanted to be traded and whether his relationship with the organization had gotten better, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays. “I’ll contribute any way I can, whether it’s cheering my teammates on or being in the game,” Morris said after Monday’s game. “Coach [Jeff Hornacek] is a great guy. Our team fought real hard. He put me in for a little bit of time and I just wanted to go out there and play hard and contribute any way I can. I didn’t score but I got a couple stops. We got the win. That’s what is important. I keep in high spirits and keep my confidence. Whenever my number is called, I’ll be ready always.”
The Kings have assigned Duje Dukan to the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Dukan’s third trek to Reno on the season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Max Deal In Play For Ryan Anderson?

December 8th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

A source within an NBA team told Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times and Basketball Insiders that he expects Ryan Anderson will be able to command a maximum-salary contract this summer (Twitter link). The Pelicans are willing to consider trading Anderson for Markieff Morris, especially if Anderson indicates he doesn’t want to sign a new deal with the Pelicans, as Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported earlier today. Pincus’ source, who isn’t with one of the Los Angeles teams, cited the 2016 free agent market, which isn’t particularly strong past the top few names.

Anderson is making $8.5MM in the final season of his contract. He’ll be a veteran of eight years by this summer, so he’d be eligible for the middle-tier max of a projected $24.9MM. New Orleans, which has his Bird rights to exceed the cap to re-sign him, already has more than $63.8MM in guaranteed salary for next season, as Pincus notes, so a new max deal for Anderson would make it difficult for the team to open significant cap room. Phoenix has about $60MM in guaranteed salary for 2016/17, including $7.4MM for Morris.

Two executives recently told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Rajon Rondo is in play for a max deal next summer, just one year after he signed a one-year, $9.5MM contract with Sacramento. Those executives cautioned that it’s not a certainty, particularly with so much of the season remaining, and that’s likely the case with Anderson, too. Driving such talk about lucrative deals is the rising cap, projected to surge to $89MM with many reportedly believing it’ll go as high as $95MM. It will leave many teams with max-level cap flexibility to either retain their own players or pay a premium to nab free agents from others.

How much do you think Anderson should see on his next deal? Leave a comment to tell us.