Dexter Pittman

Grizzlies In Serious Talks To Acquire Pittman

The Grizzlies are in serious talks with the Heat to acquire big man Dexter Pittman, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). The proposed deal would see the Grizzlies land Pittman and a second-round pick using one of their seven trade exceptions.

Because Pittman is only making a minimum salary ($854,389) this season, the Grizzlies could use one of their smaller exceptions to absorb his contract, rather than using a chunk of their $7.49MM TPE from the Rudy Gay trade. From Miami's perspective, the team could clear a roster spot and save some money on its luxury-tax bill.

Morning Rumors: Hickson, Pacers, Heat, Bulls

With the deadline less than five hours away and trade rumors picking up steam, here are a few miscellaneous rumblings from around the league:

  • The Trail Blazers' chances of landing a first-round pick in exchange for J.J. Hickson don't look good at the moment, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
  • In an effort to move below the tax threshold, the Warriors are still attempting to move bench players, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
  • Within the same tweet, Wojnarowski says the Pacers are shopping D.J. Augustin and his expiring contract.
  • Wojnarowski's rumor-heavy tweet also includes word that the Heat are offering Dexter Pittman in deals.
  • The Bulls are "pushing hard" to unload Richard Hamilton, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
  • The Thunder have been seeking a first-rounder for Eric Maynor, but haven't found any takers yet, says Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter).

Heat Re-Assign Dexter Pittman To D-League

Tonight's D-League assignments..

  • The Heat announced that they have re-assigned center Dexter Pittman to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the D-League.  Pittman, 24, was just recalled from Sioux Falls on Wednesday.  After seeing time in 35 games last season, Pittman has seen action in just four contests this year.

D-League Moves: Pittman, Miller, Stone

We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page:

  • Dexter Pittman has been recalled from the D-League by the Heat, according to a team release. Pittman averaged 9.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG in three games during his most recent stint with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
  • The Nuggets have recalled Quincy Miller and Julyan Stone from their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. While Miller has averaged 11.3 PPG for the Iowa Energy in 23 D-League games, Stone struggled during his stint with the club, going scoreless in his last four contests. Neither player figures to see much action with the Nuggets, but they'll provide depth for tonight's game in Brooklyn, particularly if Andre Iguodala, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, and JaVale McGee remain sidelined.

D-League Moves: Pittman, Lamb

We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional movement at the top of the page:

  • The Heat announced they've re-assigned center Dexter Pittman to the D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce. The 6'11" third-year man has seen the vast majority of his playing time with Sioux Falls instead of Miami this season, as he's appeared in 12 D-League games but has logged just 12 NBA minutes. Pittman is averaging 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Skyforce this year.
  • The Bucks are sending rookie Doron Lamb to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, Milwaukee announced via Twitter. Lamb, the 42nd overall pick this past June, has seen a fair amount of playing time with the big club this year, averaging 3.4 points in 12.2 minutes per contest in 23 games this season. He's fallen out of favor since Jim Boylan took over as coach for Scott Skiles, however, and hasn't appeared in a game for the Bucks since January 5th. The 6'4" shooting guard took part in two games for the Mad Ants last month, averaging 7.5 points in 24.5 minutes.

Heat Recall Dexter Pittman From D-League

Two days after being assigned to Sioux Falls Skyforce, Dexter Pittman has been recalled by the Heat, according to a team release.  Pittman will be available for Miami's home game against the Raptors on Wednesday night.

Pittman was recalled to the Heat on January 17 for one game and was then re-assigned to the D-League.  He was initially sent down on December 26 after nearly two months in the NBA.  In 12 games for Sioux Falls, Pittman has averaged 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds and was named to the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase Second Team. 

Heat Assign Dexter Pittman To D-League

We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any further moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Heat have assigned Dexter Pittman back to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team announced today in a press release. It'll be Pittman's second stint this season in the D-League, where he's averaged 12.0 PPG and 8.5 RPG in 10 contests. Pittman had been recalled from Sioux Falls before last night's game to provide frontcourt depth for the Heat, but didn't see any action.

D-League Moves: Pittman, Jones, Plumlee

We'll keep track of today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any additional moves posted to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Heat will recall Dexter Pittman from their D-League affiliate in time for tomorrow's game, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. When I examined potential solutions for Miami's rebounding woes earlier today, I noted that giving Pittman and other internal frontcourt options more minutes could be a short-term approach for the club.
  • Terrence Jones has been re-assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets announced today in a press release. Jones was recalled from the D-League on Monday, but wasn't active for Houston's game against the Clippers last night.
  • The Pacers have re-assigned Miles Plumlee to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. It's already the fifth time this season that Plumlee has been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. While he's barely seen the court for the Pacers, the 2012 first-round pick has averaged a double-double in eight games with Fort Wayne, posting 13.4 PPG and 11.5 RPG.

D-League Moves: Tony Wroten, Dexter Pittman

We'll use this space to track the day's D-League assignments and recalls. If you want to keep tabs on all of this season's D-League moves, be sure to check out our complete list.

  • The Grizzlies have re-assigned Tony Wroten to the Reno Bighorns, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter). It's the second assignment of the season for the first-round pick, who was sent to the D-League on November 27th before being recalled on December 17th.
  • The Heat have sent Dexter Pittman to their D-League affiliate, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). According to coach Erik Spoelstra, Pittman will spent several weeks with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Pittman, Miami's 32nd overall pick in the 2010 draft, played in 35 games for the club last year, even starting six contests. However, he hasn't been able to crack the rotation this season, appearing briefly in just four of the Heat's 25 games so far.

Odds & Ends: Coaches, James, Randolph, Williams

Here's a look around the NBA on this Monday afternoon.

  • Bulls.com writer Sam Smith has several interesting things to say in his latest "News, Notes, and Nonsense" column, but perhaps the most interesting bits of information come when he begins to discuss head coaches who are currently serving on the final year of their contract. 
  • HoopsHype.com has an interview with incoming Mavericks rookie Bernard James
  • Anthony Randolph is with the Nuggets this season. Throughout his career, Randolph's been a player full of untapped potential, and the Denver Post's Benjamin Hochman does a great job explaining why this year could finally be a breakout season. 
  • Nets guard Deron Williams told reporters today that Mark Cuban's decision not to show up to their free agency meeting was a big factor in his decision to sign with the Nets, tweets the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy. 
  • Ridiculous Upside's Gino Pilato asks if Dexter Pittman should go back to the D-League. 
  • The Bobcats coaching staff wants to make sure they don't overload Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's brain with too many plays, writes the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. The rookie swingman has great basketball instincts, and the team's coaching staff just doesn't want to get in his way.