Paul George Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: George, Mohammed, Pistons

April 10th, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Paul George is looking at the remaining games on the Pacers‘ schedule as a “test drive” to see how well he has recovered from the devastating leg injury he suffered last summer while scrimmaging for Team USA, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. “That’s exactly what it is [a test drive], it’s just seeing where I’m at and then getting ready for more rehab this summer and getting ready to build off these last couple of games of the season,” George said. “It’s been tough. There were days when I told myself I wanted to shut it down and get ready for the summer. But it’s great having the staff that we have here to push me here and keep my going. I’ve had days when I’m sure they hated me. And I hated them. But we got through it and they did a great job with being in my corner.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

Veteran big man Nazr Mohammed has been making his presence felt on the Bulls with his vocal leadership, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Mohammed’s spark and guidance was integral in snapping Chicago out of its stupor after a terrible second quarter against the Heat last night when the Bulls were outscored 33-12, Friedell adds. “I think you got to be accountable and you got to play for each other,” guard Aaron Brooks said. “I think one thing that Naz brought up was you’re letting your teammate down when you’re not getting back or you’re not helping. You’re not letting the coach, you’re not letting the fans. You’re letting your teammate down, and you got to have your brother’s back.” The center is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Pistons are likely to target a forward in the first round of this year’s NBA draft, David Mayo of MLive.com opines in his weekly mailbag. Detroit currently is in line for the No. 8 pick, according to Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings. Potential targets at that spot for the team could include Justise Winslow, Stanley Johnson, and Frank Kaminsky, Mayo notes.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy hopes to go to Spain after the NBA season ends to get a first-hand look at guard Mario Hezonja and power forward Kristaps Prozingis, both of whom are projected top 10 picks this year, Mayo adds.

Central Notes: Middleton, George, Jackson

March 23rd, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Khris Middleton refuses to bring up the subject of his impending restricted free agency even with his agent, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. “It’s a little awkward” to share an agent with Bucks coach Jason Kidd, Middleton also admits. The forward’s agent is Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports Management, while Kidd’s relationship with Excel founder Jeff Schwartz has been a flashpoint for controversy. Union executive director Michele Roberts indicated in November that she would take a tougher stance on a rarely enforced rule that bars agents from representing both coaches and players. Kidd also has a significant measure of player personnel control for the Bucks. There’s more on Middleton amid the latest from the Central Division:

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird tells Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com that he expects George will play for the Pacers at some point this season, adding that he believes George has received medical clearance to do so (Twitlonger link).

Earlier updates:

Middleton told Lowe for the same piece that he loves living in Milwaukee but expressed reservations about the Bucks‘ deadline-day trade that sent out Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall and netted Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee and Tyler Ennis. “Yeah. It was tough, man,” Middleton said about learning of the trade. “We had things rolling before the All-Star break. We thought we’d just get back on track rolling after the break, too. But it’s a business. They thought it was a good trade for the team, so, I mean, we’ll see.”
The Bucks prevailed upon the Pistons to include Middleton in the 2013 Knight/Brandon Jennings trade, and the experience of getting traded left Middleton with some painful feelings at first, as Lowe also details.
Paul George insisted today that there is no timetable for his return as he continues to recover from his broken leg, and he denied a report that the Pacers were targeting this week for his comeback, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
Reggie Jackson says Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is “making it easy” as he’s turned him loose for Detroit, observes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Jackson hinted that he would have been OK with staying on the Thunder, who have a better shot at the playoffs, but he’s glad that his duties are more well-defined on the Pistons, notes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “It’s good,” Jackson said of knowing his role. “That’s one less monkey on my back. Wherever I got my shot was where I was going to get my shot. I was just vocal about what I wanted my shot to be, and some people were mad about that. Some people understood where I was coming from. But it’s always been about getting out there and competing.”

Central Notes: George, Bucks, MCW

March 20th, 2015 at 8:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Paul George could return to the court within the next week and possibly as early as Saturday against the Nets, multiple sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “A lot of guys know I’m pushing to come back,” George said. “It’s a matter of how I’m feeling and [how] the medical staff thinks I look. I definitely want to play still. … But I want to be fully healthy.” The Pacers are currently tied with Boston for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-37.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The plan for the arena in Milwaukee is slow moving, yet progressing. A source familiar with the Bucks‘ plan said the team is expected to come up with better cost estimates in the next week or two, which will allow the city of Milwaukee an opportunity to make adjustments to its plan, according to Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel. Walker notes that the franchise is signalling that its owners will not go beyond their $250MM commitment for the project.
On the court, the Bucks have struggled since acquiring Michael Carter-Williams, but coach Jason Kidd stresses that success will not be measured by wins this year, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. “We’re here to build something, not to do something in six months. There’s a bigger picture. We feel we have a core here that will be around for a long time and have success,” Kidd said. Milwaukee is 3-9 since the Syracuse product made his debut, but the team still owns the sixth seed in the conference with a record of 34-34.
Reggie Jackson will be a restricted free agent this offseason and about 45% of our readers believe the point guard will land a starting salary of less than $11MM in his next contract, according to latest poll by Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors.

Central Notes: George, Miller, Jackson

March 13th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pacers fans may have to wait a bit longer than anticipated for Paul George to make his return to the court, Matthew Glenesk of USA Today writes. The swingman has been increasingly hesitant to discuss when or if he’ll be playing this season, Glenesk notes. The 24-year-old has been experiencing increased soreness in his injured leg as he attempts to work his way into game shape. George also worries about disrupting Indiana’s team chemistry, the USA Today scribe adds. “I’m on the fence,” George said. “Part of me is, they’re playing so well, they’ve come together, to shake up the chemistry and add another body, another player in there. I don’t want to be that guy that destroys what these guys have going.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Pistons wouldn’t have made the Reggie Jackson trade if Brandon Jennings hadn’t torn his Achilles tendon, and the team would likely match an offer of $13-14MM a year to Jackson when he’s a restricted free agent this summer, as MLive’s David Mayo writes in his mailbag column. Mayo also figures the team will target Paul Millsap this summer.
Quincy Miller showed the Pistons enough potential in practice that the team inked him to a deal that includes the remainder of this season, the summer league, and training camp next season, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “We’ve seen a couple of practices and we know what we had before,” Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said of Miller. “He’s a guy with size and length and athletic ability and can shoot the ball. He’s somebody that we want to see.“
Van Gundy noted that inking Miller wasn’t a high-risk move on the team’s part, Langlois adds. “It’s not a huge investment for us,” Van Gundy said. “We’re getting it set up so we have him through the summer and through training camp next year, so we get a good, long look at him. He’s a guy that’s got great potential to develop. He’s a really, really hard worker, so we’ll see where it goes.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Paul George Targets Mid-March Return

February 13th, 2015 at 11:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:12pm: The Pacers have released an official statement regarding the possibility of George returning to action in March. The team said that the decision for George to return to practice and game action remains with the Pacers’ medical staff, and the team won’t clear him to resume playing until the appropriate time.

FEBRUARY 13TH, 4:21pm: George says that he is eyeing a mid-March return to game action, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The swingman hinted that he could return as early as the March 14th contest against the Celtics, Spears adds. George had previously stated that he would like to be back by March, but also acknowledged that timeframe was unlikely. If the 24-year-old is to make the March 14th target date, this would mean that George would need to start practicing with the team at the conclusion of the All-Star break, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets. This would give George approximately 12 practices to work his way into game shape, Buckner adds (Twitter link).

FEBRUARY 3RD, 12:33pm: Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said he’s taking a win-now approach and left the door open to Paul George returning to play this season after breaking his leg over the summer, as Bird spoke with reporters today (Twitter links via the team’s official account). There have been hints about the vague notion that George would return near the end of the season from his gruesome injury, but Bird’s comments marked the first occasion that a team official went on the record about the possibility that he’ll return, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (on Twitter). Still, coach Frank Vogel reiterated that he doesn’t believe George will play this season, Buckner tweets.

“If he gets healthy and they say he can play and he wants to play, we’ll let him play,” Bird said, according to the Pacers team account, pointing out that doctors told him George’s led would be healed within seven months from the injury (Twitter links). “That will be in March and we’ll go from there.”

Bird cautioned that he has “no clue” whether George will return this season, as Buckner points out in a full story, and the Hall-of-Famer is disappointed with the way his team has played even amid injuries to George and others this year, Buckner notes (Twitter link). The Pacers, who sit four and a half games out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are seeking upgrades via trade as they attempt to make the playoffs this year, and Bird identified a shooting guard as the team’s greatest need, Buckner relays (Twitter link). Bird also indicated that he’d like add a big man, the Star scribe notes.

“We’re always looking to improve the team; there’s a lot of improvement that needs to be done,” Bird said, according to Buckner’s story. “Hopefully we can do something that makes us better. If not, we’ll stand pat and this summer do the rest of the work.”

The Pacers are gauging the value of the players on their roster as they place frequent calls to teams around the league, Bird said, according to Buckner (Twitter link). Indiana reportedly engaged in preliminary talks about Lance Stephenson, their former shooting guard, with the Hornets in December, but Pacers officials as well as current Pacers players apparently weren’t enamored with the idea of bringing him back.

A pair of key Pacers can opt for free agency this summer, and Bird said David West and Roy Hibbert hadn’t given him an indication of whether they’d exercise their player options worth $12.6MM and more than $15.5MM, respectively, Buckner tweets. Still, Bird anticipates that they’ll return, and is focused on adding youth around the team’s core this summer, as Buckner relays. (All Twitter links). The Pacers have only $36MM committed for 2015/16 against a projected $66.5MM cap, but if Hibbert and West opt in, Indiana will be on the hook for more than $64.1MM, so Bird acknowledged the direction for the offseason ahead isn’t entirely clear, Buckner points out (Twitter link).

Central Notes: George, Cavs, Tolliver

February 5th, 2015 at 2:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Paul George would like to be back by March, a timeframe that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird hinted at earlier this week, but George indicated that it’s nonetheless unlikely as he spoke today with reporters, including Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (three Twitter links). He’s targeting March 1st to be back in full practices with the team and said that if Indiana still has a shot at the playoffs later this season, it’d help sway him to return if he’s on the fence, as Buckner notes (three Twitter links). The Pacers are three and a half games out of the playoffs, but they’d have to pass four teams to get there. Here’s more on their Central Division rivals:

Executives around the league wondered if teams in the East would more aggressively try to make deals that would help them fill the void atop the conference as the Cavaliers failed to live up to expectations earlier this season, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com hears. Now, with the Cavs having won 11 in a row and the trade deadline two weeks away, Berger wonders if those teams will abandon that strategy. The Pacers are nonetheless in “win-now mode,” Bird said this week.
The Cavs have assigned Joe Harris to the D-League, the team announced. It’s D-League stint No. 5 for the 33rd overall pick in the 2014 draft, and all of those assignments have taken place since January 20th.
Anthony Tolliver fondly recalled his time with the Warriors when MLive’s Brendan Savage asked the well-traveled eighth-year NBA veteran to name his favorite stop aside from the Pistons, with whom he’s under team control through next season. Tolliver also said that Miami, where he played for the Heat during the 2009 preseason, is his favorite NBA city, responding to another question from Savage.

Western Notes: Kobe, Love, Baynes, Sessions

December 3rd, 2014 at 11:02am CST by Chuck Myron

The Western Conference is a remarkable 68-27 against the Eastern Conference this year, though only eight Western teams have winning records as of today. The Nuggets, Kings and Pelicans are all outside the playoffs as it stands with .500 records, but those marks are better than only one team in the top eight in the East. While we wait to see how it shakes out with plenty of season left, here’s the latest from the West:

Kobe Bryant says the idea that he’s impatient with the Lakers is off-base and praises the Buss family in a conversation with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Bryant doesn’t rule out playing past his current deal, which expires in the summer of 2016, Wojnarowski notes. The Yahoo! columnist also suggests that it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Kevin Love would bolt the Cavs for the Lakers, in spite of his insistence otherwise, and that Bryant will join the Lakers’ pitch to recruit him. A recent report cast Bryant as a turn-off for such star free agents, but the dispatch, which indicated that Paul George signed his extension with the Pacers last year in part because he didn’t want to join Bryant on the Lakers, left George “mortified,” Wojnarowski writes.
Aron Baynes is on pace to prove his one-year, $2.077MM deal a bargain for the Spurs as he improves offensively and contributes physical play in the absence of Tiago Splitter, opines Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News.
Offseason signee Ramon Sessions has had an uneven start to his first season with the Kings and needs to improve or else he’ll risk losing his minutes to Ray McCallum, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “He’d [Sessions] be the first one to admit he hoped and wished he was playing better and at a more consistent level,” coach Michael Malone said. “He’s had some games where he’s played very well for us, he’s had some games where he hasn’t played as well, but I still believe in Ramon. I know what he is capable of doing. So I’m going to give him some opportunity to grow into that backup role and feel comfortable and confident in that role.”

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Love, Kirk, George, Sixers

November 24th, 2014 at 7:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are confident Kevin Love will be in Cleveland for the long run, but rival GMs aren’t so sure, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger notes that when the Heat formed their “Big Three” four years ago, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all signed six-year deals that contained opt-outs after four. But under the new CBA, there’s a disincentive for a player to accept an extension before becoming an unrestricted free agent. Love has a $16.7MM player option for next season. There’s more on the Cavs amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Cavs are actively seeking immediate help in the frontcourt, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Cleveland would love to pry Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets, but so far those efforts have been fruitless.
Cleveland made a roster move Monday, recalling center Alex Kirk from the D-League’s Canton Charge, the Cavs announced. Kirk has played two games for the Cavaliers this season and three games for the Charge.
The Pacers have begun to lose hope that Paul George‘s broken leg will heal in time for him to play this season, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who writes amid his weekly power rankings.
A source suggested to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that the Sixers would probably trade one of their existing big men if they had a chance to draft top prospect Jahlil Okafor this summer. A “bidding war” for Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel would ensue if the Sixers wind up with the No. 1 pick this year, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Smith has nonetheless heard opposing GMs say they’re reluctant to trade for any Sixers because of the losing environment those players have been a part of.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Brand, George

November 22nd, 2014 at 10:41am CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Cavs‘ early struggles LeBron James insists that he isn’t losing patience, and while he doesn’t like losing, he is happy with the effort the team is giving, something Cleveland fans took as signaling this was a rebuilding year for the Cavs, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. James acknowledged that in a way, the franchise was rebuilding, notes Haynes.

“We put a lot of pieces together that weren’t here last year,” James said. “I don’t want to say rebuilding. I think when people think of rebuilding, they think of starting from the ground up. We are a team that wasn’t together last year so [we] have the same struggles as the 76ers or teams like the Miami Heat right now. And us, we have some of the same qualities as far as putting new guys together. Obviously the talent is a little bit different on every team, but coming together and going through a new system [is the same]. We have a new coach, we have a new staff, and we have new players.”

Here’s more from the east:

Though he’s only made two appearances thus far for Atlanta this season, Elton Brand is happy that he chose to re-sign with the Hawks this past summer, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “It’s kind of what I expected coming here,” Brand said. “I look at the teams that I could have been with. Some are doing well. Dallas said ‘What do you want to do? Do you want to come back?’ Some other teams I could have played a lot of minutes with are doing really bad. So, would I want to be there? I believe in our talent, what we have and I’m glad I’m here.”
Paul George still believes that he can recover from the broken leg he suffered while playing for Team USA this summer in time to return to the Pacers by April, Michael Marot of The Associated Press writes. “It’s a goal, for sure, to have an opportunity to play this year,” George said. “We have a good team and one of my goals is to come back and try and help this team out any way I can.”
But Indiana’s head coach Frank Vogel continued to preach caution regarding his star, Marot adds. “It’s up to the doctors to see where he’s at,” Vogel said. “He [George] really hasn’t done much activity other than walking around and shooting around. It’s still very unlikely he’ll play this season.”

And-Ones: Kobe, Lottery, Bosh, Hawks

October 20th, 2014 at 4:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Henry Abbott of ESPN The Magazine hears from agents and team sources who say Kobe Bryant‘s rough-edged personality is driving free agents away from the Lakers. The Buss family receives more income from the team’s local TV deal if ratings are better, and that helped persuade the team to sign Bryant to his lucrative two-year extension 12 months ago and to eschew an aggressive rebuilding project, Abbott hears. Bryant’s popularity with powerful front-row celebrities also played a role, and co-owner Jim Buss is just “waiting for [Bryant] to leave,” a source tells Abbott, fearful of engaging in a public spat with the superstar. Steve Nash nearly decided against approving his sign-and-trade to the Lakers and Paul George signed his extension with the Pacers in part because of Bryant, sources tell Abbott. Chris Bosh was one of the Lakers’ missed free agent targets this summer, and there’s more on him amid the latest from around the league:

The Thunder will join the Sixers in voting against the changes to the lottery, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but Wojnarowski seconds Lowe’s report (below) that the measure still has enough support to pass.

Earlier updates:

Bosh spoke of a desire to be paid at his full market rate as he explained his decision to turn down a four-year max deal from the Rockets for five years at the max from the Heat to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “It’s always business,” Bosh said. “Nothing is ever personal. I think 100% of those dudes would have taken the deal I took.”
Another NBA team has joined the Sixers in opposition to the league’s lottery reform proposal as the Board of Governors meet today, but the measure is still expected to receive approval, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports (Twitter links).
Players union secretary-treasurer James Jones is an opponent of shortening games and believes, as teammate LeBron James does, that players would instead like to see fewer games on the schedule, as Jones tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Former Hawks All-Star Dikembe Mutombo has met with a group of investors about joining their effort to buy the team, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.