Carmelo Anthony Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Summers, Atkins

September 26th, 2015 at 11:15am CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks president Phil Jackson is focused on 2015/16, and he isn’t dwelling on next offseason’s potential crop of free agents, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “It’s too much between then and now — or now and then — that goes along,” Jackson said. “There’s just a whole season to go through. Teams develop rapidly. I’ve seen multiple teams in the NBA over the years [that] had this chemistry that just brings it together. That’s what we’re looking for, to find guys that have the chemistry that activates them as players and their team effort together.”

“So we’re not going to hold anything out about this year, next year,” Jackson continued. “We’re going to continue to try to bring the best talent here to Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks. So that kind of goes unstated.”

Here’s more from New York:

Coach Derek Fisher doesn’t believe that Carmelo Anthony is disgruntled with the current state of the Knicks, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays (via Twitter). Fisher told Begley regarding ‘Melo’s feelings, “I think he actually enjoys and likes working with these guys.“
Anthony, who underwent surgery on his left knee back in February, will enter training camp without any medical restrictions, Begley writes in a separate piece. “Medically, he will be fine,” Fisher said. “I think we will still gauge how much we want to put him under in terms of workload and stress in training camp and in the preseason. But we don’t have to artificially hold him back from working hard. We just have to kind of gauge how it is responding to how hard we plan to work in training camp, and let’s be smart along the way.“
DaJuan Summers‘ one-year deal with the team is non-guaranteed and for the league minimum, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The minimum salary deals that Darion Atkins and Wesley Saunders signed are partially guaranteed for $75K, while Travis Trice‘s minimum salary pact includes a partial guarantee of $50K, Pincus confirms (Twitter link).
You can view the Knicks’ full preseason roster here.

Central Notes: Dunleavy, Morris, Bulls

September 25th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls small forward Mike Dunleavy underwent a successful low back microdiscectomy procedure earlier today at Rush University Medical Center and he is expected to be out of action for 8-10 weeks, the team announced. Dunleavy had experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer which had recently worsened, according to the release. If his recovery goes as planned, Dunleavy will likely miss between 12-15 contests.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Marcus Morris views his new start with the Pistons as a means to finally carve out a niche for himself in the league, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “In Phoenix, I thought I should have started at the three,” Morris told Langlois. “The guy that’s there now [P.J. Tucker] might have been a better defender, but as an all-around three, I thought I was the best we had. And I thought a lot of players thought that, too. But there’s a lot of opportunity here. I have a chance to come in and start right away. I’ve been in the league for five years. It’s nothing new to me. I have started my share of games. It’s not like I’m new to it. The only thing that’s new is that it’s the East Coast now.”
The Bulls return virtually the same core as last season, and if the change in coaches from Tom Thibodeau to Fred Hoiberg doesn’t nudge the team to the next level, it may be time for Chicago to attempt to pry Carmelo Anthony away from the Knicks, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Friedell does note that the size of Anthony’s contract would be a gamble for Bulls, and the team would likely have to part with a number of talented players to make the deal work financially, which would make such a trade a risky proposition for Chicago.
If the Cavaliers can remain healthy as a unit and are able to secure home court advantage in the playoffs, the team is likely to secure the NBA title in 2015/16, the crew at Basketball Insiders opine in their season preview.

Injury Notes: Jennings, Melo, Durant, Love

September 21st, 2015 at 8:17pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Brandon Jennings is “not close” to being cleared, sources tell David Aldridge of NBA.com. He is currently shooting and running on a treadmill at 60% of his body weight, but the Pistons need to see more before he’s cleared to begin non-contact drill on the court, Aldridge adds. Jennings ruptured his left Achilles tendon last January and the Pistons have made a few additions at the point guard position since. Detroit traded for Reggie Jackson at last season’s deadline and handed him a five year, $80MM deal this offseason. The team also added Steve Blake to reinforce the position. Jennings will make slightly over $8.34MM during the 2015/16 season, which is the last year of his current deal.

Here are some more injury notes that Aldridge passed along in his column:

Carmelo Anthony looks like he’ll be ready for the start of training camp. He has been playing full-court, 5-on-5 with his Knicks teammates for the last few weeks.
Kevin Durant has been cleared to participate in training camp. The expectation is that he will be ready to handle a full workload of minutes once the regular season starts.
Kevin Love has not yet been officially cleared to return from a dislocated left shoulder injury that he sustained in the first round of the playoffs last season, but he has made significant progress.
New addition Wesley Matthews has not done any full-court work yet, but the expectation is that he will be cleared to start doing some work on the floor when Dallas opens camp next week.

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, McRae, Larkin

September 11th, 2015 at 6:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite some speculation that the Knicks would be willing to entertain the idea of trading away Carmelo Anthony to the Suns in exchange for disgruntled forward Markieff Morris, it’s not a deal that is likely to ever come to fruition, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. New York hasn’t had internal discussions about trying to get Anthony to waive his no trade clause and hitting the reset button on the franchise, Berger notes. Team president Phil Jackson is also likely aware of the value of a superstar like ‘Melo in the league, and how it would be virtually impossible to recoup an acceptable return for the star, the CBS scribe adds.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers have made their required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum salary offer to Jordan McRae, which will allow the franchise to retain his draft rights, Derek Bodner of DraftExpress relays (Twitter links). McRae, who was selected with the 58th overall pick in 2014 by the Spurs and was dealt to the Sixers on draft night, has not signed the tender yet, though he is expected to attend training camp with Philly, Bodner adds.
The appeal of playing in New York and the team’s system are two reasons why Shane Larkin felt comfortable signing with the Nets this offseason, Brett Pollakoff of The Sporting News writes. “At the end of the day, the Nets situation was the most appealing for me, just because of the way they play. Their style of play really fits my game well, and I like the New York area,” Larkin told Pollakoff. “I like being in the city. So staying up here was definitely a plus, and just the opportunity that the Nets presented me with — what [GM] Billy King was telling me, what coach [Lionel] Hollins was telling me, how they want me to play, what they want me to do for the team — it just put everything over the top. That’s pretty much why I decided to stay in New York and play for the Nets.“

Pacific Notes: Morris, Curry, Teletovic, Huertas

September 10th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek expressed optimism about the potential for a resolution that would see Markieff Morris back off his trade demand, as Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com relays. Several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe that the Suns don’t seem especially motivated to make a move, despite the bluster from the power forward.

“I know Markieff,” Hornacek said. “I know that when he gets here and starts playing, he’s a competitor and he’s going to try to win. Hopefully, he can get whatever he has off his chest with us and get back to business and help this team win.”

Lowe speculates about potential trade scenarios involving several teams around the league, opining that the Knicks are among those who should look into trading for Morris and writing that while New York isn’t ready to talk about dealing away Carmelo Anthony, who has a no-trade clause, the team is getting closer to that point. While we wait to see what happens, there’s more on the Suns amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Seth Curry resisted overtures from overseas the past two years, but he and agent Alex Saratsis had planned for him to take one of those offers if he couldn’t find his footing in the NBA by this fall, writes Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated. An impressive summer league in July drew NBA interest from the Pelicans, Hornets and Warriors, as well as the Kings, who made the best offer and signed him to a two-year guaranteed deal, as Jenkins details. Golden State would have given him the chance to play with his brother, MVP Stephen Curry, but Seth looked the other way. “I didn’t want to go to Golden State,” Seth said. “I didn’t want to go back in Steph’s shadow.”
Hornacek is high on the game of free agent signee Mirza Teletovic, who seems in line to start at power forward if Morris isn’t in Phoenix, but the Suns coach wants to see better conditioning out of the former Net, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic chronicles. “He can shoot the ball,” Hornacek said of Teletovic. “The big thing is he can also makes some plays and he’s got a good eye of the court and good court sense. He’ll drive in there a little bit on a roll and look one way and pass it another way. He understands how to set things up. He probably needs to get in better shape. I don’t think he was used to the running that we do here but he toughed it out and kept going. He just got off a plane the other day from Bosnia.”
The contract that Marcelo Huertas signed with the Lakers is for one year and non-guaranteed, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. It’s worth the minimum salary with limited injury protection, adds Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, so it appears that it’s an Exhibit 9 contract.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Anthony, Scott

August 28th, 2015 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks need to show that the team has some forward momentum this season if the franchise wants to have a shot at landing premier free agents next offseason, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Doolittle points to the Bucks as an example, who despite their small market, managed to sign Greg Monroe this Summer, a player who the major market Knicks had their sights on. If the Knicks are unable to show improvement in the win column over last year’s squad, then no amount of available cap space will be able to convince stars like Kevin Durant that New York is a preferred free agent destination, Doolittle concludes.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

There’s an excellent chance that the Knicks will explore trading Carmelo Anthony this season, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report opines (video link). New York will likely wait to see how the roster performs at the start of the season, and if the team doesn’t look to be headed toward the playoffs, then it could look to deal Melo, possibly to the Bulls, Bucher notes. Anthony’s contract does include a no-trade clause, so the forward would have to be on board with any potential swap.
The Raptors gave recent training camp signee Shannon Scott a partial guarantee of $25K on his minimum salary deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
Despite some skeptics saying that the Nets have the worst starting point guard in the league in Jarrett Jack, forward Thaddeus Young said during an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, that the team has full confidence in Jack’s ability to lead them, Tom Lorenzo of NetsDaily writes.

Atlantic Notes: Randolph, ‘Melo, Nets, Dawkins

August 13th, 2015 at 9:08am CST by Chuck Myron

9:08am: The total value of Randolph’s deal is only $4.5MM, and it includes no NBA outs, according to overseas journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The third season is a team option, Pick adds.

8:59am: Shavlik Randolph is set to earn at least $7MM over three years on his new deal with the Liaoning Flying Leopards of China, one that’s second only to Andray Blatche‘s three-year $7.5MM contract on the list of the most lucrative pacts in Chinese Basketball Association history, reports Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders (All Twitter links). The value of Randolph’s arrangement could swell to $8MM if he triggers bonuses, according to Camerato. Unlike Blatche’s deal, it includes an NBA out after each season, and Randolph, who saw his last NBA action as a member of the Celtics this past season, hopes to again return to the NBA this spring at the end of the abbreviated Chinese season, Camerato adds. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

Part of Carmelo Anthony‘s willingness to stick up for Knicks team president Phil Jackson includes the understanding that ‘Melo’s friends aren’t off-limits for a trade, as was the case in the January deal that sent Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cavs, observes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “On one side,” Anthony said, “guys that we got rid of were close to me and my friends, and on the flip side of that, it’s a business at the end of the day. So I think he had to do that in order to put us in the position we’re in right now from a business standpoint. From a friendship standpoint, if those are my guys, if those are my friends, I’m going to always feel some type of way about losing guys that I played with that I formed a bond with. But I know this is a business and I know he had to do what he had to do to put us in this position.”
The Nets are carrying a lot more partially guaranteed money than they used to, as NetsDaily examines. The difference between the partial guarantees for five Nets players and their full salaries comes to more than $3.4MM, as NetsDaily notes.
Former Celtics 10-day signee Andre Dawkins has inked with Italy’s Auxilium CUS Torino, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Dawkins signed a pair of 10-day pacts with Boston this past season, though he only appeared in games for the team’s D-League affiliate.

Knicks Rumors: Aldridge, Porzingis, Carmelo

August 12th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks cited the presence of Kristaps Porzingis when they let LaMarcus Aldridge know they wanted him to play center, an idea that nixed the scheduled meeting between New York and the marquee free agent, as Aldridge said Tuesday, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

“If they’re going to tell me that I have to play center and I don’t want to play center, then of course it’s mutual after that. But before that I was excited to meet with them. I was interested,” Aldridge said. “But they wanted to have their draft pick play and I get it.”

Aldridge also said he spoke with other players to see if they would have interest in joining him if he were to sign with the Knicks, adding that he also chatted with Carmelo Anthony before the Knicks idea went poof, as Bondy relays. Here’s more on the blue-and-orange:

Carmelo Anthony on Tuesday praised the additions of Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams and Porzingis but didn’t mention No. 19 overall pick Jerian Grant, for whom the Knicks traded Tim Hardaway Jr., notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman reported in June that Anthony was more upset about losing Hardaway than with the team’s decision to draft Porzingis. However, Anthony strongly denied Tuesday that he was upset with team president Phil Jackson‘s offseason moves.
Before his Tuesday remarks, Anthony took to Instagram to defend the Knicks and make it clear that he has no intention of demanding a trade, as had been speculated, observes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. In one comment, Anthony responded to a fan by saying in part, “You are stuck with me buddy.”
Porzingis might have indirectly turned Aldridge away from the Knicks, but another free agent who jumped from the Trail Blazers to New York is impressed with this year’s No. 4 overall pick. “He’s good,” Arron Afflalo said, as Jonah Ballow of Knicks.com relays. “He’s obviously got a lot of talent, some God-given gifts being that tall and that athletic. What I love most about him was his mentality and his humbleness. I really feel like he wants to get better, he wants to be the best player he can be and with that mentality and those tools, it’s just a matter of time.”

Atlantic Notes: Anthony, Sloan, Vaulet

August 11th, 2015 at 6:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Carmelo Anthony has been bothered by the perception in the media that he was unhappy with the Knicks‘ offseason moves, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays in a series of tweets. The forward denied saying anything disparaging about team president Phil Jackson‘s machinations, and though he would have preferred that the team add another star player via free agency, Anthony said that the Knicks made some solid additions, Herring adds. Anthony also acknowledged that New York was put in a difficult spot in this year’s draft by selecting fourth, and that any player picked in that slot would have needed time to develop before being expected to contribute, including Kristaps Porzingis, who he praised for playing with a chip on his shoulder, notes the Wall Street Journal scribe.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks are close to hiring Mike Miller, a former associate head coach at Kansas State, as coach of their D-League affiliate in Westchester, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News tweets.
Donald Sloan‘s deal with the Nets will pay him $1,015,421 for the 2015/16 campaign, and includes a partial guarantee of $50k, with another $150k becoming guaranteed if he remains on the roster past November 1st, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (via Twitter).
Nets 2015 second-rounder Juan Pablo Vaulet will be out of action for four months following surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right ankle, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily relays. There is still no timetable for when Vaulet will make the jump to the NBA, and the 19-year-old is the first to admit that he isn’t ready for the league just yet, Windrem adds.“They [Brooklyn] chose me for later,” Vaulet told La Nueva, an Argentine newspaper. “Everything requires a process. I now do not feel ready to play there. I do not want to rush the process. If one day I can get there, that’s welcome. I have to first recover and then yes. I do not know how long. Maybe I can play in the NBA. Everything depends on me.“

And-Ones: Durant, Conley, Sterling

August 10th, 2015 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Durant plans to to participate in USA Basketball’s workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday during its minicamp in Las Vegas, Durant’s agent Rich Kleiman of Roc Nation Sports, and manager Charlie Bell informed Sam Amick of USA Today. Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony could also participate in Tuesday’s workout, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Durant will not participate in the team’s showcase game on Thursday, Amick adds. Thunder GM Sam Presti released a statement on Monday night saying that Durant had reached the stage where he could participate in non-contact drills, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young (Twitter link). Durant played just 27 games last season because of a fracture in his right foot which required three surgical procedures. Anthony was limited to 40 games because of a knee injury.

In other news around the Western Conference:

Not many people think Mike Conley will leave next summer, when he’s set to hit free agency, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Marc Gasol hinted last month that Conley assured him he’ll be just as committed to the Grizzlies as Gasol was during his free agency process this year.
Former Clippers owner Donald Sterling has filed a lawsuit against V. Stiviano and the website TMZ over the infamous recording made by Stiviano that led to the sale of the team, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports. Sterling and his attorneys maintain the recording in which Sterling made racist remarks was obtained illegally and without his knowledge, Woike adds. Sterling has also filed a $1 billion federal suit against the league.
The league has pushed back its schedule release from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).