Spencer Dinwiddie Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Silver, Martin, Motiejunas

February 9th, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Commissioner Adam Silver says that he loves the parity that exists in the NBA right now and believes it is good that smaller market teams are able to compete with larger ones for free agents, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today relays. “What we’re seeing now is that players are moving to markets that have cap room and players are moving to markets where they see opportunities to play,” Silver said. “It’s not a function of market size these days. It’s a function of the management of the team and the opportunity in that market. That’s what you want for a league.”

Silver is concerned at how this summer’s anticipated cap spike will change the league’s dynamic, Zillgitt notes. “It will be disruptive and having been around the league for a long time, I only know it’s going to be disruptive in ways that we can’t even predict,” Silver said. “It’s not the way we modeled the CBA going into the last collective-bargaining agreement. We thought we would have more regular increases from year to year [in the salary cap]. You like to have a system where planning is rewarded and management is rewarded. Now, with all this unexpected cap room, teams that should not have had that kind of room [to spend] of course will have it.”

Both the National Basketball Players Association and the league can opt out of the current CBA by December 15th, and Silver noted, “clearly we’re operating under the premise that if we can’t get a new deal negotiated by then, they are likely to opt out. That puts a lot of pressure on both sides to work over the next 10 months, which is a long time, to get an extension done,” the USA Today scribe adds. Here’s more from around the league:

The Grizzlies have recalled power forward Jarell Martin from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Martin has averaged 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30.6 minutes in seven games during his five assignments to Iowa this season.
The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie from their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com tweets. The move was made so Detroit’s team doctors could examine the point guard’s sprained ankle, Langlois adds.
The Rockets have recalled swingman K.J. McDaniels and power forward Donatas Motiejunas from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

D-League Notes: Dunleavy, Dinwiddie, Harrison

February 1st, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have assigned veteran small forward Mike Dunleavy to the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors as he continues to rehab from a back injury that has kept him out all season, the club announced on Monday. Dunleavy will practice there during the Bulls’ West Coast swing but will not appear in a game, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. The most prominent player to appear in a D-League game this season was Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, who played one game with the team’s affiliate in Grand Rapids in December while rehabbing from an Achilles tendon injury.

In more news involving the D-League:

Pistons point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has averaged 16.7 points and 6.1 assists in 10 games since he was assigned to Grand Rapids on January 7th. But coach Stan Van Gundy has no plans to bring him back to Detroit in the near future. “Right now, with three healthy point guards, there’s not much reason to bring him back here and sit in street clothes out there,” Van Gundy told the assembled media over the weekend, including Hoops Rumors. “I think it’s better for his development that he gets a chance to play and practice every day.”
The Hornets reassigned rookie point guard Aaron Harrison to the D-League’s Oklahoma City Blue on Monday, the NBA club announced on its website. Harrison, who played one game with the Blue in January, has appeared in 13 games for Charlotte. The Hornets do not have their own D-League affiliate.
Hawks center Edy Tavares has returned from his D-League stint with the Austin Spurs, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Tavares was assigned to Austin on January 27th.
The Spurs recalled point guard Ray McCallum from Austin, the team tweets. McCallum has appeared in 20 games with San Antonio this season and seven with its D-League affiliate.
The Timberwolves recalled power forward Adreian Payne from the D-League’s Erie BayHawks, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). The team’s PR department later confirmed the move. Payne has appeared in 30 games with the Timberwolves and three with the BayHawks this season.

Eastern Notes: Raptors, Casey, Noah, Pistons

January 13th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri can’t envision the team using all of the four of the first-round picks ticketed to come the team’s way in the next two years, as he told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, essentially confirming an earlier report from Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun that the team doesn’t plan to add four rookies.

“We already have so many young players,” Ujiri said to Lowe. “And those extra picks over the next two years — we can’t use all those picks. So [a trade] is always something you’re looking at.”

Still, most signs point to the Raptors standing pat for now, with Ujiri believing that increased parity will reduce the volume of swaps, Lowe writes. See more on the Raptors amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are advocates for Dwane Casey‘s continued presence as Raptors coach, Lowe notes in the same piece. Toronto has a team option for next season on Casey’s contract.
Joakim Noah has returned from his shoulder injury, but he isn’t playing much, and he remains displeased with where he stands in the eyes of the Bulls, a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, adding that the center isn’t enamored with coach Fred Hoiberg. The source cautioned that Noah hasn’t been a distraction. The Bulls have reportedly made Noah available for a trade, and I examined his trade candidacy last month.
Reggie Jackson is entrenched as the starter, Brandon Jennings and Steve Blake are on expiring contracts and Spencer Dinwiddie appears poised to stay on D-League assignment for the long haul, but Stan Van Gundy is once more casting doubt on the idea of trading a point guard, notes MLive’s David Mayo. “I think there’s a very good chance that we don’t move any of those guys before the trade deadline,” Van Gundy said. The Pistons coach/executive added that the team still has hopes for Dinwiddie, who said GM Jeff Bower told him he’ll be in the D-League for the rest of the season, but Dinwiddie has to show he’s “better than just being a roster guy,” Van Gundy said, as Mayo relays.

Eastern Notes: Dinwiddie, Roberts, Noah

January 12th, 2016 at 8:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons intend to keep point guard Spencer Dinwiddie with their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids for the remainder of the season, Peter J. Wallner of MLive relays. “I landed on red eye and was headed to the practice facility and [GM] Jeff Bower called me and said I was going down for the rest of the season, and I said OK,” Dinwiddie told Wallner. As for his reaction to the news, Dinwiddie may not agree with the decision, but he understands it is part of his development process, Wallner adds. “There’s nothing really more to say about it,” Dinwiddie continued. “A lot of people ask me for extended thoughts and I honestly just said, ‘OK.’ When you have a job and your employer tells you to do something, you go do it. You don’t have time to second-guess it because you like your job and want to keep it.”

Here’s more from the East:

A number of NBA teams have expressed interest in Raptors preseason cut Ronald Roberts, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports relays (Twitter links). The power forward turned down an offer to join the Israel club Maccabi Tel Aviv in hopes of landing an NBA deal, Spears adds.
The return of Bulls center Joakim Noah from injury could aid in the development of rookie forward Bobby Portis, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com opines. Goodwill notes that pairing Noah and his passing skills alongside Portis’ outside game could make for a potent combo, an assessment that coach Fred Hoiberg agrees with. “They’ll be out there some, together in the second unit,” Hoiberg said. “I think they’ll play well with each other. They’ve developed a really tight relationship and a good bond. Jo has really taken him under his wing and taught him a lot early in Bobby’s career, so I know those two are looking forward to playing with each other.”
The presence of rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who has exceeded expectations thus far with his play, has allowed Carmelo Anthony to become more of a team player, which has the Knicks heading in the proper direction as a franchise, writes Kevin Kernan of The New York Post.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Thomas, Dinwiddie

January 11th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers will eventually have to decide between Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, an unnamed league executive told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Daily News. That duo hasn’t played well together, the executive explained, in part because neither has the shooting range to stretch defenses. It will be imperative to shed one of them via trade if Joel Embiid returns next season from foot surgery because it will essentially give Philadelphia three starting-quality bigs, the story continues. In that case, it makes more sense to keep Noel because Okafor and Embiid are limited defensively, the executive opined to Pompey. “They are both centers,” he said. “They both can only guard centers. They can’t defend power forward or stretch fours in this league.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Knicks small forward Lance Thomas could be a candidate for the Most Improved Player Award and that might make it difficult for the club to re-sign him, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Opposing coaches have taken notice of Thomas’ two-way impact off the bench, going out of their way to praise him, Berman continues. Thomas, arguably the team’s best defender, signed a one-year, $1,636,842 contract during the offseason but his price tag going back into the free agent pool this summer is growing and the Knicks will have competition for his services, Berman adds.
The Pistons plan on keeping second-year guard Spencer Dinwiddie with their D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids for the foreseeable future, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. With the return of Brandon Jennings from his Achilles injury, Dinwiddie is the team’s No. 4 point guard on the roster behind Reggie Jackson, Jennings and Steve Blake.
The Heat recalled shooting guard Josh Richardson on Monday from their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the team’s website announced. Richardson has played four games with the Skyforce this season and helped them capture the D-League Showcase Championship.
The Wizards could decide to become sellers nearing next month’s trade deadline if they don’t go on a hot streak or get most of their key pieces healthy before that point, league sources indicated to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

Central Notes: Butler, Christmas, Dinwiddie

January 7th, 2016 at 7:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls have gone 10-4 since Jimmy Butler made his controversial remarks about Fred Hoiberg‘s laid-back coaching style, and the team appears to have rallied together while playing some of its best basketball of the season, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. “We’re just playing good basketball,” point guard Derrick Rose said. “On the offensive side the ball is moving. It seems like we know who is getting the ball at certain times. On the defensive side, it’s all about rebounding. If we rebound it’s like a 90-some percent chance we win the game. So it’s all about just communicating when we’re out there and getting rebounds.”

Rose, who has reportedly been at odds with Butler on occasion, was asked if the swingman was the most talented teammate he’s had since arriving in the NBA, to which Rose responded, “I think so, man. Who knows how good he can become? I just love his patience right now. He’s playing with unbelievable patience. He’s not rushing anything, he knows what he’s getting whenever he’s in the pick-and-roll or whenever he’s in the isolation. He’s reading everything the right way now.”

Here’s more from out of the Central Division:

Free agent Dionte Christmas, whom the Cavaliers waived shortly before the season started, has signed with the Greek club AEK Athens, the team announced (h/t to international journalist David Pick). The 29-year-old shooting guard averaged 6.8 points in 19.9 minutes per game over four contests in the preseason for Cleveland.
The return of Brandon Jennings from injury has created a bit of a logjam at point guard for the Pistons, but according to coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, it’s far from the worst thing a team could be faced with, notes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. When asked if dividing minutes between Jennings and Reggie Jackson could become a problem for him, Van Gundy said, “It will become an issue I’m sure. Anytime you’re dealing with the issue of trying to get enough minutes for more good players, that’s a good issue to have.”
The Pistons have assigned point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release. Dinwiddie has appeared in nine games for Detroit this season and is averaging 4.4 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 12.3 minutes per game.

Pistons Notes: Jennings, Jackson, Dinwiddie

January 5th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy can envision the team re-signing Brandon Jennings if they can agree on a price and a role for the point guard, as Van Gundy explained to reporters today, including MLive’s David Mayo. Jennings confirmed that he and Van Gundy have spoken about the idea of a new contract when Jennings hits free agency in the summer, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).

“We have had talks about this year, and he knows that I’m not looking at this — I’m not — as just a this-year thing,” Van Gundy said, according to Mayo. “Obviously, a lot of that would come down to whether the role would meet his expectations, whether the money would meet his expectations, there’s a lot of things that go into it. But I’m a big Brandon fan. I like Brandon. I’m a big Reggie [Jackson] fan, too. And I think, at times, they could operate very well together. We’ll just have to see where it goes.”

Jennings told Ellis earlier this season that he and Pistons owner Tom Gores had engaged in “a father-son type” chat that appeared to point to a strong relationship between the franchise and the seventh-year veteran who said earlier this week he’d like to stay in Detroit at least through season’s end. See more on the point guards in the Motor City:

Jennings is helping transform the Pistons bench from a drag on the team into a strong second unit, as Ellis examines.
Jackson has experienced ups and downs this season, but on the whole, he’s beginning to justify Van Gundy’s assertion that his much-pilloried five-year, $80MM contract would ultimately look like a bargain, writes Rod Beard of the Detroit News. “You have a lot of opportunities, but you’re the guy who’s going to be criticized a lot because you’re expected to do a lot more than other people,” Van Gundy said. “He’s handled it very well. And he understands and accepts the responsibility and knows there is going to be some good and bad — and he moves on pretty well.”
The Pistons will likely send Spencer Dinwiddie on D-League assignment for this week’s D-League showcase, but Darrun Hilliard and Reggie Bullock will probably stay with the NBA club, Van Gundy told reporters, including Ellis (Twitter link).

Central Notes: Love, Jennings, D-League

December 14th, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Love has long since moved past the sting of the injury he suffered in last season’s playoffs that reportedly short-circuited the interest he had in signing with the Celtics, but Boston wasn’t the only hopeful suitor not in the mix when Love’s free agency began July 1st, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer details. Love insists he never truly considered going anywhere but Cleveland, even as Boston, along with the Suns and Blazers, hoped to meet with him, Haynes writes, confirming reports from this summer that linked those teams to the power forward.

“Truth be told, I didn’t even talk them really,” Love said to Haynes. “Teams have reached out to my agent, but as far as getting on the phone with anybody, the only person I got on the phone with was Griff [Cavs GM David Griffin] right when he called me at 12:01. That’s what people don’t understand that when I say that it was really done, it was really done.”

The thought of leaving did enter his mind, Love admits, even if he didn’t keep it there for long, but the Jeff Schwartz client said he ultimately prioritized winning over stats and felt confident his second season with the Cavs would be better than his first, as he explained to Haynes. See more from the Central Division:

Pistons owner Tom Gores met with Brandon Jennings over the summer to encourage him to return to health and increase his value with free agency looming this coming July, and the rendezvous left an impression on the point guard, as Jennings tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “Yeah, especially during the time of when I was injured, and to hear what he had to say to me definitely opened up my eyes and just really helped me through a lot of stuff I was going through,” Jennings said. “Like a father-son type talk. It was some good things that were said, and he definitely gave me a different perspective on things I need to work on and what I need to come back and do.”
The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard from the D-League, notes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Hilliard scored a game-high 23 points in Sunday’s D-League game while Dinwiddie had only 7 points on 2 for 9 shooting.
Joe Young is back from his assignment to the D-League, the Pacers announced. The rookie averaged 22 points per contest during his two-game stint with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Eastern Notes: Porzingis, Whiteside, Johnson

December 13th, 2015 at 11:58am CST by ChrisCrouse

Kristaps Porzingis is having an outstanding rookie season and Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News argues that the Knicks are becoming his team. While Lupica admits that Carmelo Anthony is the current star and face of the franchise, Porzingis’ play will allow him to carry the team sooner than later. The 20-year-old is averaging 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds, while shooting 35.4% from downtown in 27.3 minutes per game this season.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Although it will only take one team to offer him a max contract, Hassan Whiteside‘s market value may have been overstated, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines in his latest mailbag. Winderman points out that it seems the Heat are not fully committed to making Whiteside a focal point, citing the team’s reluctance to keep him in the game late in the fourth quarter.
While the possibility of trading for Joe Johnson seems unlikely for the Bulls due to the veteran’s $24.89MM salary, if the 34-year-old agrees to a buyout with the Nets, Chicago would be a logical landing spot, Sam Smith of NBA.com argues in his latest mailbag. Smith is merely speculating, as there has been no indication that Johnson or Brooklyn would pursue a buyout.
The Pistons have assigned Spencer Dinwiddie and Darrun Hilliard to the Grand Rapids Drive, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to their Twitter feed. Terry Foster of the Detroit News reported on Saturday that Dinwiddie might be sent down to the D-League today.

And-Ones: ‘Outperformers,’ Bryant, Dinwiddie

December 12th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four Western Conference players join Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis on an “Outperform” Team compiled by Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. The columnist honors the players who have most exceeded expectations during the first quarter of the season. The other team members are the Kings‘ Rajon Rondo, the Warriors‘ Stephen Curry, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki and Wolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant addressed his relationship with former teammate Dwight Howard after tonight’s loss in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “My responsibility when Dwight and I played together was to get him to play his best basketball,” Bryant said. “That involves pushing buttons.” Their rocky relationship was believed to be part of the reason Howard left Los Angeles for the Rockets in 2013.
Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie may be headed to the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Sunday, according to Terry Foster of The Detroit News. A slump and injuries have reduced Dinwiddie’s playing time, and he has dropped behind Steve Blake in the point guard mix. Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy suggested that Dinwiddie might benefit from increased minutes in Grand Rapids. “We have tried to use the D-League a little bit so he gets some game time,” Van Gundy said. “I think he has to take advantage of every opportunity he’s got to work and get better.”
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, the team announced via press release. Huestis has played in seven games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.57 blocks.