Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Dudley, Morris, Baynes

January 14th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Jared Dudley believes the Bucks made the right move for themselves when they traded him to the Wizards and Zaza Pachulia to the Mavericks this past summer, even though they did so for virtually nothing in return other than cap space, observes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Dudley thinks he came out well, too, lauding the Bucks for placing Pachulia and him in “great situations,” Gardner relays.

“Even if me and Za were there, you have to incorporate Jabari [Parker] back in,” Dudley said. “He still would have been playing 28, 29 minutes. For the long-term approach for them, they’re doing it the right way. You have to see if Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Jabari can coexist.”

See more from the Central Division:

Marcus Morris is fond of Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, whom he believes has given him a more clearly defined role than Jeff Hornacek did with the Suns, as Morris told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Morris responded harshly when Washburn asked him about Suns owner Robert Sarver’s criticism of “millennial culture” and Morris’ twin brother, Markieff, saying the owner “doesn’t even know basketball.” Marcus also hinted that the Suns will indeed trade his brother. “He’s in good spirits,” Marcus said to Washburn about Markieff. “Whatever team he ends up going to, he’s still going to be that same player. He’s just excited to see what’s next and where he’s going. Some things were said about him in the press and I know that’s totally wrong. People talk about adversity; coming from where we come from [Philadelphia] is adversity. This is small stuff. He’ll get over it fast.”
Van Gundy was quick to point to Aron Baynes‘ strong free-throw shooting as one of the reasons the Pistons signed him to a three-year, $19.5MM deal this summer, and that’s indeed been paying dividends to offset Andre Drummond‘s struggles at the line, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press notes.
The Bulls don’t have enough to put a scare into the league’s true title contenders, so it’s imperative for the team to make a trade, posits Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com. No NBA team has gone longer without making a trade than the Bulls, who haven’t pulled off a swap since July 14th, 2014, though they’re reportedly gauging interest in Pau Gasol and others.

Western Notes: Teletovic, Wolves, Grizzlies

January 14th, 2016 at 10:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Mirza Teletovic wondered if his career was over after experiencing blood clots in his lungs that led to his hospitalization last January, notes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Teletovic was initially expected to miss at least the rest of last season for the Nets, though he returned for the playoffs. He wound up signing a one-year, $5.5MM contract with the Suns in the summer that looks like a bargain now that he’s playing a prominent role in the Phoenix rotation and is leading all NBA big men in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage, Coro points out.

“I never have got the chance that I’ve got here and the chance [coach] Jeff [Hornacek] has given me,” Teletovic said.

That’s a vote of confidence for the Suns coach, who’s job was reportedly in jeopardy a few weeks ago, from a soon-to-be free agent. See more from the Western Conference:

The sale of 30% of the Timberwolves to private equity investor and Grizzlies minority owner Steve Kaplan is on track to be complete by the end of next month, according to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The transfer is reportedly a precursor to Kaplan and his partners eventually taking over majority control from Glen Taylor, though the stipulation that the team remains in Minnesota would be a part of any deal, Walters notes.
The Wolves initially operated on the premise that the late Flip Saunders would be back coaching sometime in November after he took his leave of absence in September to recover from cancer treatment, as interim coach Sam Mitchell recently revealed to Britt Robson of MinnPost. Saunders died in October.
Jeff Green didn’t play in the second half of the Grizzlies‘ loss to Memphis on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the trade that brought him to Memphis, a signal that the time has come for the team to trade him, argues Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal.

Western Notes: Barnes, Stotts, Scott

January 13th, 2016 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is pleased with coach Byron Scott‘s tough-love approach with the team’s younger players and takes offense at the notion that Scott is stifling their development, writes Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. “If you asked our young players, I think there would be a mutual respect, as you might expect maybe between a parent and a child,” Kupchak said. “In other words, I’m going to love you, I’m going to bring you along, but every now and then, I’ve got to teach you the right way to do things.”

Kupchak also told Bresnahan that Kobe Bryant‘s retirement tour is actually a benefit to the team’s young roster since the attention paid to the veteran deflects much of the spotlight away from the other players. “I guess there was some backlash to the comment that we can’t move on until Kobe retires,” Kupchak said. “There’s no doubt this season is in great part a tribute to him and what he’s meant for this organization. It’s what he deserves, it’s what we want to give him, it’s what the fans want and it’s a justifiable tribute to his career. Having said all that, to think that we’re not developing our young players? I mean, who’s starting? Larry Nance. Anthony Brown. And Jordan Clarkson. Who’s playing 20 to 30 minutes a game? Julius Randle. D’Angelo Russell. In fact, Kobe gives the younger guys a chance to fly under the radar a little bit. They can make mistakes. Maybe they don’t get the attention they normally get under a normal season. On top of that, they get to learn by being around Kobe.”

Here’s more news out of the Western Conference:

The NBPA has filed a grievance on behalf of Grizzlies small forward Matt Barnes that appeals his two-game unpaid suspension for the off-court altercation he had in October with Knicks coach Derek Fisher, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. Barnes will lose $64,409 in salary because of the suspension if it is upheld. This appeal will ensure that Barnes is able to take the court this Saturday when the Grizzlies square off against the Knicks in Memphis.
Portland GM Neil Olshey raved about the performance of Terry Stotts and cited the coach’s improvement over his time with the Trail Blazers in an appearance on “The Vertical” hosted by Wojnarowski (audio link). Stotts has a team option on his contract for next season.
Suns power forward Markieff Morris is excited about his expanded role in the team’s rotation that’s come about because Alex Len is sidelined with a sprained right hand, though Morris is not sure if he will remain in the regular lineup regardless of how long Len is out, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays.

Western Notes: Karl, Davis, Cotton

January 12th, 2016 at 9:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings coach George Karl admits that the comment he made at the end of last season that any player on the roster was tradeable didn’t get his relationship with DeMarcus Cousins off to a great start, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “I just can’t stand summer talk,” Karl said. “I mean, free agency, all the money, teams think they saved their organization by signing this guy or making this trade. You have all these obnoxious predictions and it doesn’t mean anything. We got off into that trade innuendo, and I think it hurt Cuz [Cousins]. And I think I made a mistake in making the comment that no player is untradeable. That’s something I might believe, but I shouldn’t have said it. So everything kind of snowballed in the wrong way at the end of last year.”

“My belief was, I never, ever thought I was not going to coach Cuz this year,” Karl continued. “Did you have philosophical discussions? We talk about everything. We meet for 2-3 hours every day and talk about every scenario in the world. And I think Cuz worked his tail off this summer. [Team executive] Vlade [Divac] and I got together with Cuz in the summertime. Vlade’s done a good job of being a good bridge between he and I.”

Here’s more from out West:

Baron Davis, who agreed to join the NBA D-League earlier today, worked out for the Mavericks last Saturday when the team was in Los Angeles, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), but coach Rick Carlisle laughed off the report, as SB Nation’s Tim Cato relays (on Twitter).
Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff continues to learn while on the job, something that is vital if he hopes to remain in the position on a long-term basis, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. “Every day you learn something,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s the same as assistant coach and the same as a head coach. You should continue to learn. You watch so much basketball you should see something somewhere from somebody different all the time. I hope I continue to learn. If I don’t then I know everything.“
Bryce Cotton, whom the Suns waived prior to the leaguewide contract guarantee date, has rejoined the Austin Spurs in the NBA D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor.

And-Ones: Nets, Mullin, Stoudemire

January 10th, 2016 at 10:42pm CST by Will Joseph

Current St. John’s coach and former Warriors GM Chris Mullin, who is from Brooklyn, is a name that Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com has heard in regards to the Nets’ new head coaching vacancy (Twitter link). This is the first mention of Mullin in connection to the Nets that we’ve learned of and it is not yet known how serious a candidate he is to consider.

In other news regarding the Nets’ shakeup today, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com hears reports that claim former GM Billy King will advise in the search for his successor are “totally true” (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Amar’e Stoudemire considered signing with the Suns, which is one of his former teams, over the summer before he joined the Heat, opting to instead play on a title contender, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports (scroll down). The Suns drafted Stoudemire in 2002. He captured the Rookie of the Year award and made five All-Star teams with the Suns. “That’s why I chose Miami, but Phoenix is still not ruled out,” Stoudemire said. “I have a lot of basketball left in me.” Stoudemire, 33, will be a free agent again this summer.
Point guard Jordan Farmar, who last played in the league in 2014/15 for the Clippers and is mostly known for his time with the Lakers, wants to be back in the NBA and would not turn down a 10-day contract, international journalist David Pick reports (on Twitter). Farmer parted ways with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv today after signing overseas in July, according to the team’s Twitter (h/t Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Tyson Chandler‘s four-year, $52MM pact with the Suns was one of the summer’s worst free agent deals because the 33-year-old has struggled mightily with his new team, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines. Omer Asik‘s contract with the Pelicans and Kyle Singler‘s deal with the Thunder also made Basketball Insiders’ list.
After making the playoffs last season and then signing Greg Monroe, the Bucks are a disappointing 15-24, but with young stars on the roster, Milwaukee’s position is still an enviable one going forward, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes. There is still a lot of hope that the Bucks can contend beyond this season because Jabari Parker is 20, Giannis Antetokounmpo is 21 and Monroe is 25, Thomsen adds. With another top-10 pick likely coming in June, the Bucks remain in good shape for the long-term, Thomsen contends.

Pacific Notes: Booker, Nance Jr. Wilcox

January 9th, 2016 at 10:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Devin Booker has been one of the better rookies in the league this season and the Suns are enamored with the No. 13 overall selection, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.

“When you look at some of these guys who were great players in the league, their first couple years, it’s some up and down,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “But with Book, he’s been mostly up. He’ll learn things as time goes on but he’s going to have a great career.”

The Kentucky product has seen extended minutes since Eric Bledsoe suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the season. Booker is shooting 47.3% from the field and is averaging 14.3 points and 0.9 steals in 30.6 minutes per game over his last eight contests.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Julius Randle had been pegged as the Lakers‘ power forward of the future, but Larry Nance Jr. has made a case for himself to be the team’s cornerstone big man, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. Coach Byron Scott calls the competition between Nance and Randle “a nice little war,” Baxter adds. “Larry is one of those guys where he’s like the Energizer Bunny — he just keeps playing, and he plays harder and harder and harder,” Scott says. “So if you don’t match his intensity then he can embarrass you.”
The Clippers have recalled C.J. Wilcox from the D-League, according to the team’s website. Wilcox averaged 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists during his stint with the Canton Charge.

Pacific Notes: Randle, Brown, Mbah a Moute

January 9th, 2016 at 3:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One of the Clippers‘ unsung heroes this season has been combo forward Luc Mbah a Moute, whose contract became fully guaranteed when he remained on the team’s roster past Thursday’s leaguewide deadline, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register writes. “Luc is the most under-appreciated person on our team, in all honesty,” point guard Chris Paul told Woike. “We used to talk about DJ [DeAndre Jordan] all the time, but everyone sees what DJ does on a nightly basis. But Luc is the guy. He does everything. He defends. He cuts. He does everything a coach would appreciate but a fan has no idea that he’s doing.”

Coach/executive Doc Rivers is also a big fan of Mbah a Moute’s game, Woike notes. “What I love about Luc also is Luc can play a lot of minutes in a game or he can play very little minutes in a game, there’s still no body language change or anything like that,” Rivers said. “He understands there are nights we need offensive guys on the floor, we need floor-spacers. There are nights where we need a stop, and Luc does it. I’ve always thought it’s easier for guys who are defensive-minded to accept their roles, because that’s what they do. I think Luc does that well.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Despite the reports that their relationship is strained, Lakers coach Byron Scott insists that he and power forward Julius Randle are on the same page, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “If you want to believe all the reports out there, we have a terrible relationship,” Scott said. “But if you want to know the truth, we have a great relationship. Without all the popular demands on me being not a great communicator with my young guys, him and I have a great relationship. I care so much about him as a basketball player and a person, I’m going to be hard on him. I expect him to be disappointed in certain things. But I expect him to be a great player.“
Suns 10-day signee Lorenzo Brown is thrilled to be joining former college teammate T.J. Warren in Phoenix and noted that the two had dreamed of playing together in the NBA during their time spent at North Carolina State, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. When asked what impact he hopes to make for the Suns, Brown told Petersen, “Just to win. Get defensive stops and score when I have the opportunity. I’ll do whatever I can to help us win.“

Suns Sign Lorenzo Brown To 10-Day Deal

January 8th, 2016 at 12:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:22pm: The signing is official, the Suns announced (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 1:44pm: The Suns plan to sign Lorenzo Brown to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). He’ll ostensibly go into one of the two roster spots the team will reportedly open today with the release of Bryce Cotton and Cory Jefferson.

Brown, 25, has made a total of 55 appearances in two NBA seasons, averaging 3.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists to go along with a slash line of .375/.155/.656. He was in training camp with the Timberwolves this year, but Minnesota waived him prior to the regular season. Brown’s deal with the Wolves included a $75K partial guarantee, giving the player some breathing room financially this season.

The point guard has been playing for the Pistons affiliate in the D-League. Brown made 16 appearances for the Drive this season and notched 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists on 47.8% shooting.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Suns Waive Bryce Cotton

January 7th, 2016 at 4:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:13pm: The Suns have officially announced that Cotton has been waived.

7:51am: The Suns are waiving point guard Bryce Cotton, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The move will formally take place in advance of the close of business today, just as with the team’s release of Cory Jefferson, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Today is the last chance that NBA teams have to cut non-guaranteed contracts before they become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Cotton, like Jefferson, is on a one-year, minimum-salary deal that’s non-guaranteed. The Suns, who’ll be left with 13 players, are expected to fill their two openings with players on 10-day contracts, according to Coro, and Charania points out that Cotton and Jefferson are eligible to sign such deals with the Suns.

Cotton joined the Suns on November 25th, after Bledsoe had missed a game with a sore right knee and Brandon Knight was feeling less than 100% about his left ankle, on which he’d undergone surgery in April, Coro notes. Phoenix kept Cotton around even as Bledsoe and Knight became healthy, and when Bledsoe tore the meniscus in his left knee last week, an injury that knocked him out for the season, it seemed Cotton’s chances of remaining on the roster had improved, but it appears the Suns will let him go anyway. Cotton’s release is poised to leave the Suns with just two point guards, at least temporarily.

Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek used Cotton in only three games, and he totaled four points, three assists, five steals and five turnovers in 33 combined minutes. The 23-year-old who went undrafted out of Providence in 2014 was with the Spurs D-League affiliate before signing with the Suns, so he could go back to them, seek an overseas deal or try to find another NBA job. He’ll nonetheless see a prorated portion of his Suns salary worth 44/170ths of the one-year veteran’s minimum, since he has been with Phoenix for 44 days. That’ll come to $218,721, a figure that will stick on Phoenix’s books.

Which player do you think has a better chance to end up back in the NBA, Cotton or Jefferson? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Suns Waive Cory Jefferson

January 7th, 2016 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 4:10pm: The Suns have officially announced the release of Jefferson.

WEDNESDAY, 11:06pm: The Suns are waiving power forward Cory Jefferson, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The move comes prior to Thursday’s leaguewide contract guarantee date, so Phoenix won’t be on the hook for the remainder of Jefferson’s $845,059 salary for the season.

Jefferson, 25, was the No. 60 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He has only appeared in six contests for Phoenix on the season, averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per game. The 6’9″ forward appeared in 50 games for the Nets in 2014/15 when he notched averages of 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds on 44.9% shooting. Jefferson had been waived by Brooklyn back in July so that the team could avoid his non-guaranteed salary for 2015/16 becoming partially guaranteed for $150K. He inked a training camp deal with Phoenix in August and subsequently made the regular season roster.

The Suns’ roster count will drop to 14 players as a result of waiving Jefferson, which will leave one open slot to add a player via a 10-day signing or a trade.