Carmelo Anthony Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Davis, Douby, Carmelo

November 3rd, 2013 at 6:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Though NBA veteran Ricky Davis was drafted by the Erie Bayhawks (which serves as the Knicks’ D-League affiliate) during this week’s NBDL draft, it doesn’t appear that Davis is part of any larger plan after head coach Mike Woodson didn’t seem to be aware of the move (SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria via Twitter). New York brass had auditioned the 34-year-old swingman in mid-September but did not ultimately extend a training camp invite.

With more than half of the Eastern Conference set to compete tonight, here are some links to pass along from that side of the NBA:

Recently drafted by the NBDL’s Sioux Falls Skyforce (a direct affiliate of the Heat), Quincy Douby tells Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld about how he’s matured after playing internationally for the last several years and that demonstrating how much he’s grown will hopefully lead to another opportunity in the NBA.
With regard to some of New York’s struggles offensively so far, Carmelo Anthony -who insists that he feels good and is just trying to get back into rhythm himself – thinks that his team needs to be more willing to shoot more three-point shots when the opportunities present itself: “I think we’re showing a different dynamic part our team. Last year we took a lot more 3-pointers than we took (now). We got to get guys to used to being in those spots and wanting to shoot those. (We) got guys like Bargnani not used to playing a position like that outside the line taking 3s.’’ (Marc Berman of the Post provides a Sulia link)
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune touches upon the Bulls’ uncharacteristic struggles on the defensive end (subscribers only).
John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes about Maurice Harkless‘ improved mindset as a second-year player.

Knicks Notes: Leslie, Davis, D-League

November 2nd, 2013 at 7:00pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

After falling to the Bulls on a last second Carmelo Anthony miss, the Knicks look to avoid moving below .500 tomorrow when they face the Timberwolves in New York. As we look forward to Sunday night’s game, a few other newsworthy notes around the Knicks organization.

The Knicks began to fill out the roster of their D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks by adding among others, forwards C.J. Leslie and Justin Brownlee. The Knicks continue to show interest in Leslie who was a member of the Knicks training camp until they released him last week. The NBA allows for teams to retain the D-League rights of up to three camp invitees which is how the Knicks were able to add Leslie and Brownlee to the Erie roster.
Ian Begley of ESPN New York reports that another member of the BayHawks’ roster, a former NBA first-round pick and Erie’s sixth-round pick in Friday’s D-League draft, Ricky Davis had a “strong showing on defense” in a workout with the Knicks this summer. Davis will be trying to make his way back on to an NBA roster since the 2009/10 NBA season when he was a member of the Clippers.
Charles Barkley, who previously faulted Carmelo Anthony for starting the conversation about his pending free agency next summer, has now blamed the media for distracting the team.

Carmelo Anthony Wants To Retire With Knicks

November 1st, 2013 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

Carmelo Anthony won’t have the opportunity to hit the free agent market for another eight months, but if the last few weeks have been any indication, there will be rumors and speculation swirling around the Knicks star all season long. Last night, Anthony attempted to dispel the notion that he wants to leave New York, telling TNT that he’s hoping for a long-term stay with the Knicks.

“I want to retire in New York, I mean, let’s just be quite frank,” Anthony said, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I think a lot of people jumped the gun when I said I wanted to be a free agent. And yeah, I want people to come play in New York. I want them to want to play in New York. I want New York to be that place where guys want to come play.”

Anthony’s comments echoed ones he made earlier in the week, when he responded to criticism from Charles Barkley by pointing out that he has a “big rolodex,” which he intends to use to recruit players to New York. As I outlined when I broke down Carmelo’s maximum contract scenarios for next summer, he can secure the most long-term guaranteed money by re-signing with the Knicks in free agency, so it’s no surprise that he’d choose that route over signing an extension, even if he doesn’t plan to go anywhere.

Knicks GM, Carmelo Agree Not To Talk Contract

October 30th, 2013 at 9:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks GM Steve Mills said he and Carmelo Anthony have agreed not to discuss a possible extension or Anthony’s upcoming early termination option, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. It’s unclear whether the pact between Mills and Anthony covers the entire season, but it could mean Mills won’t even offer Anthony an extension when he becomes eligible in February, Berman writes.

“Carmelo and I, the first day of training camp, we both agreed we wouldn’t have any more conversations about his ability to opt out or us negotiating an extension,” the GM said. “I’ll stick to what I had agreed to and not talk about his contract status.”

It’s unlikely in any case that Anthony would sign an extension, as he did when he came to the Knicks from the Nuggets in an extend-and-trade deal at the 2011 trade deadline. The new CBA put in place later that year gives players like Anthony much greater incentive to hit free agency, as our Luke Adams explained when he detailed what Anthony could make in his next deal. Anthony has made it clear he wants to become a free agent, which he can do next summer, so the idea that he wouldn’t discuss an extension isn’t a surprise.

Still, it seems odd that Mills won’t at least be talking to Anthony about his plans for free agency, especially considering Mills’ ties to the Creative Artists Agency that represents Anthony. Part of the reason Mills was hired was to help keep Anthony in New York, Berman notes.

Anthony said today that he intends to try to recruit players to the Knicks this summer, a possible sign that he intends to stick around, as Berman surmises, so perhaps Mills and the Knicks are confident they can re-sign the star forward.

Western Notes: Westbrook, Kobe, Carney, Rosas

October 29th, 2013 at 8:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s some auspicious news for the Thunder on opening night, as it appears Russell Westbrook could be back as early as two weeks from now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Thunder originally projected he’d miss at least the first month of the season. Here’s more from the West:

Kobe Bryant addressed extension talks with the Lakers during a Q-and-A session with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, indicating that discussions have yet to begin but will soon. Lakers co-owner Jim Buss said last week that negotiations had already begun.
Bryant also told Spears that he hasn’t spoken to Carmelo Anthony about free agency next summer. A recent report suggested Anthony would be open to a recruiting pitch.
Rodney Carney, fresh off a camp stint with the Pelicans, has signed to play in Puerto Rico with Capitanes de Arecibo, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports.
It appears philosophical differences were at the root of Gersson Rosas‘ decision to resign as Mavs GM today, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, while Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hears the Mavs shared the concerns Rosas had about the fit.
Jazz CEO Greg Miller says he’s OK with the front office’s plan to endure a rough season this year as long as it helps move the team toward a title down the road, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune examines.
Wolves camp invitee Othyus Jeffers is set to join the team’s D-League affiliate, while second-round pick Lorenzo Brown, whom the team also cut last week, will not, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Sanders, C’s, Heat, Knicks

October 29th, 2013 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in August, prior to signing a long-term extension with the Bucks, Larry Sanders changed agents, moving from Andy Miller and ASM Sports to Dan Fegan and Relativity Sports. While the switch seemed fairly innocuous at the time, ASM has filed suit against Relativity, claiming that the agency stole Sanders away with “flights on private planes, expensive dinners, invites to pre-ESPY awards parties, acting classes and trips to Disneyland for his family.”

According to Dareh Gregorian of the New York Daily News, ASM Sports is seeking the commission on Sanders’ new $44MM contract with the Bucks, claiming that “even in the hypercompetitive world of sports agents there are rules and boundaries that must be followed.” Sanders’ earnings shouldn’t be affected by the suit, but it’s a peek at what goes on behind the scenes at sports agencies when a big-name player is about to cash in.

As Sanders and the Bucks prepare for tomorrow’s opener in New York, let’s round up a few more items from around the Eastern Conference….

Celtics GM Danny Ainge continues to discuss a possible extension with Avery Bradley‘s camp, but won’t extend Jordan Crawford, tweets Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Ainge emphasized today that Bradley remains a big part of Boston’s future, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
In his latest piece for Grantland, Zach Lowe explores the Heat‘s roster-building options going forward, concluding that, as creative as Pat Riley is, it will be tricky for the team to make significant upgrades around LeBron James in the next couple years.
Chris Smith believes he earned his spot on the Knicks with his play, but some rival agents believe he came as a package deal with older brother J.R. Smith, says Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
Responding to criticism from Charles Barkley, Carmelo Anthony said today that he thinks players would love to come play with him in New York, and that he has a “big rolodex” for when the time comes to recruit (Twitter links via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News).
According to Gigi Datome‘s agent (Twitter link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando), the Pistons didn’t offer the most money to his client this offseason, but they did offer the best opportunity for the Italian sharpshooter.
While news of his trade to the Wizards initially caught him off guard, Marcin Gortat is excited to join a team with playoff aspirations, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Anderson

October 24th, 2013 at 10:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

According to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, Knicks coach Mike Woodson plans to meet with GM Steve Mills and team brass either tonight or tomorrow to determine the five cuts he has to make before Monday’s deadline. In another piece, Braziller writes about how Carmelo Anthony took it upon himself to have a heart-to-heart talk with J.R. Smith about the importance of staying focused and keeping out of trouble moving forward.

You can find more of tonight’s links out of the Atlantic Division below:

Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston notes that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is “very proud” of Rajon Rondo‘s progress in rehab: “I think he’s working as hard as he can. I’ve been very proud of him of how he really wants to get out there and I think he wants to get out there, not for his own benefit, but he wants to really help the team. He sees how he’s missed and he just loves to play. He wants to get back for all the right reasons.”
Ainge also elaborated on why he wants to keep the team under the luxury tax: “Right now we’re barely under the luxury tax, so we really have no choice…If there are deals made later in the year, that would open up roster spots and open up to keep us under the tax. But we will stay under the tax this year. We have to. As we’re rebuilding, not just from a standpoint of the financial budget, but as a competitive advantage.”
Yesterday, we heard that James Anderson was one player who had “all but wrapped up” a spot on the 76ers’ roster. Today, Tom Moore of The Intelligencer discusses how Anderson secured a spot in Philadelphia after establishing himself as a starter and the team’s top perimeter threat.
Former NBA executive and current NBA analyst Steve Kerr explains why he thinks the Knicks are the fifth-best team in the East (Justin Terranova of the New York Post).
Clippers coach Doc Rivers took time to defend current Nets Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from the criticism hurled at them by LeBron James last week, who insinuated that they had abandoned Boston: “Paul and Kevin were traded…They were traded. Paul was traded whether he wanted to be or not. Kevin was the only one who had to agree to be traded even though he had already been traded. He had to agree to the trade. That’s completely different…You could make more of a case for me leaving than Paul and Kevin” (Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News [hat tip to ESPN Radio in Miami]).

Odds & Ends: ‘Melo, LeBron, Popovich, Harrison

October 19th, 2013 at 11:01pm CST by Spencer Lund

Here are some links from around the Association as we come inside 10 days before the regular season starts:

The New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence compares and contrasts the different ways LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony have handled their possible impending free agency next summer. That’s when both can opt-out of their current deals with the Heat and Knicks, respectively.
Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich told the Miami Herald’s Joseph Goodman he dreams about LeBron James and Ray Allen almost every night after the Spurs’ tough loss to the Heat in the Finals last season.
Austin Daye told the Toronto Sun’s Ryan Wolstat he chose the Raptors this offseason in free agency – despite receiving some interest from the Heat – because he believes in the organization and thought he’d get more playing time.
Sixers coach Brett Brown will “deal with” Lavoy Allen missing practice today after he claimed to have overslept, writes the Intelligencer’s Thomas Moore.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter against the Pacers on Friday night and will be out indefinitely.
Harrison Barnes expects to play in the Warriors season opener against the Lakers on October 30th, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Barnes has missed the last three preseason games with a left foot inflammation, and there’s no word on whether he’ll dress for the remaining two preseason games.
Ridiculous Upside’s Keith Schlosser reports that D-League players want to be paid more.
Foreign clubs routinely offer more money than the NBA’s D-League, so the impetus to stay and compete is low unless a certain club expresses direct interest in a player and asks them to play.
Schlosser suggested individual NBA teams could pay the salaries instead of the NBA itself, but there are only 17 D-League franchises right now with a number of teams sharing the same affiliate, so it’s unclear which team would pay which salaries.

Eastern Notes: Watson, Billups, Taylor, ‘Melo

October 18th, 2013 at 7:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy looks at the upgraded bench in Indiana, and hears from C.J. Watson that the team’s desire to reach a deal with him on the first day of free agency influenced his decision to join the Pacers.

“I wanted to play for a contender and I wanted to go to a team where I could get playing time,” Watson said. “Also, I felt like I could help this team. They were a very good team already, they’re very young and getting better each and every year, but I felt I could help. I just want to come off the bench and score and defend and change the tempo whenever they need me to and also be a leader.”

In the same NBA PM piece, Kennedy checks in with Pistons offseason addition Chauncey Billups and Cavaliers camp invitee Jermaine Taylor. Here’s more from the East:

A recent report suggested Carmelo Anthony would be open to a recruiting pitch from Kobe Bryant next summer, but Anthony told reporters today, including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, that he doesn’t expect Bryant to try to influence his decisions. It’s not clear whether Anthony isn’t expecting to hear a pitch from Bryant during the season — which would constitute tampering — or whether he doesn’t think he’ll hear from Bryant at all.
The Heat weren’t one of the teams that called on the league to investigate the Nets‘ signing of Andrei Kirilenko, notes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who also revisits the animosity over Ray Allen‘s decision to leave the Celtics for the Heat in 2012.
Josh McRoberts, who re-signed with the Bobcats this summer, is extra valuable on a team like Charlotte because of his passing and his veteran presence, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.

Odds & Ends: Adams, Carmelo, Wiggins, Pistons

October 18th, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Few NBA teams use their D-League affiliate more actively than the Thunder, who shuttled players like Jeremy Lamb, Daniel Orton, and Perry Jones III back and forth between OKC and Tulsa throughout the 2012/13 season. However, it doesn’t sound like the team is currently planning for rookie big man Steven Adams to spend significant time with the 66ers, as Royce Young of Daily Thunder details.

“It’s something that we never talked about,” coach Scott Brooks said of Adams and the D-League. “We just focus on what we do here. If players go down and play in the D-League in Tulsa that decision is made during that time. But right now, I’m not even going that way with any of our guys.”

Brooks’ comments leave the door open for Adams to join Tulsa at some point this season, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t make at least one D-League stop, but perhaps the team intends to get the Pittsburgh product more involved in OKC than rookies Lamb and Jones were a year ago.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

In his latest piece for SBNation.com, Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com identifies a few contract trends, concluding that teams are less inclined than they were a few years ago to tie up their cap with long-term, overpriced contracts for mid-level type players.
Carmelo Anthony made a few more comments about his potential free agency today, noting that he’s assured coach Mike Woodson it won’t bother him during the season, and adding that he doesn’t expect to receive a recruiting pitch from Kobe Bryant this year. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com has the details.
Andrew Wiggins is an excellent prospect, but he’s not a mortal lock to be the No. 1 pick in 2014, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Insider-only link).
Mark Porcaro of Secret Rival takes a look at Nikola Mirotic, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Kostas Papanikolaou, three notable overseas prospects who have been drafted (or acquired) and stashed by the Bulls, Nets, and Rockets, respectively.
In his weekly mailbag at MLive.com, David Mayo explores whether the Pistons need to acquire more shooting, among other questions.