Xavier Henry

And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion

There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.

More from around the league:

Lakers Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Rambis, Brooks

It’s the Lakers’ turn to try to impress Carmelo Anthony today as the free agency tour for the Knicks star continues. Kobe Bryant has cut short his European vacation to be in attendance for the pitch, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, there’s plenty of other business for the Lakers to address, since they have just four players under contract and no head coach. We’ll round up the latest here:

  • The Lakers would like to pair Anthony with Pau Gasol, and if the team were to convince Anthony to sign, Gasol would be far more likely to follow suit, as Shelburne reports in the same piece.
  • The Knicks have offered Kurt Rambis a four-year contract worth about $1.2MM a year to become the team’s lead assistant coach, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Lakers assistant appeared early last month to be among the front-runners to become the Lakers head coach, but a more recent report indicates that he’s fallen behind other candidates.
  • MarShon Brooks is the only Lakers free agent whom the team has yet to reach out to, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • The Hawks are among the teams that have spoken with Nick Young, as agent Mark Bartelstein tells MeMenamin for the same piece.
  • Xavier Henry, who’s recovering from wrist and knee surgeries, will work out for the Lakers when healthy before exploring options with other teams, McMenamin also writes.

Free Agent Rumors: Melo, Love, Henry, Sessions,

The Knicks are still viewed in league circles as the favorites in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is confident that it will get the final sales pitch with Anthony, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The latest free agent rumors from around the league..

  • The Rockets, Suns, Bulls, and Warriors are all expected to make plays for Kevin Love if they miss out on LeBron James and/or Anthony, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
  • The Pacers are targeting Xavier Henry in free agency to replace Evan Turner, tweets Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth.
  • Bucks free agent guard Ramon Sessions‘ camp received calls from three teams in the first hour of free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
  • The Grizzlies, Nets, Spurs, and Thunder have expressed in free agent point guard Sebastian Telfair, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Telfair played in China last season. For the Nets, Telfair could be a potential replacement for Shaun Livingston if he goes elsewhere.
  • The Nets reached out as soon as the negotiating window opened to their own free agents Paul Pierce, Livingston, and Alan Anderson, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • The Blazers have strong interest in signing a stretch four, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Spencer Hawes, Boris Diaw, and Josh McRoberts are among their targets.
  • Blazers GM Neil Olshey met with Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
  • Channing Frye would be open to returning to the Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “Of course coming back would be an option,” Frye wrote in an e-mail. “I love the city, the fans, and the players they have are top notch.”
  • Nick Young was contacted by the Lakers and a number of other teams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter).

Pacific Rumors: Suns, Love, MCW, Henry

The Suns have brought in a multitude of point guards to their pre-draft workouts, and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press suggests (on Twitter) that such a strategy might be indicative of the team’s willingness to ship off Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic in a trade for Kevin Love. Phoenix has been identified as a potential suitor for Love, but the club hasn’t been labeled as serious candidate to land the big man. Here’s more from out west:

  • The Warriors have been attempting to find a third team to include in a potential deal for Love, but a source close to the situation said it’s been “difficult,” passes along Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).
  • Meanwhile, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter) that the Warriors could land Love without involving a third team if they included both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in an offer.
  • Michael Carter-Williams has not been included in any of the rumored trade discussions between the Lakers and the Sixers, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
  • There’s mutual interest in a reunion between Xavier Henry and the Lakers, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that LA hopes to hang on to all of their role players with one-year, minimum salary deals.
  • Alvin Gentry‘s departure to Golden State opens up the Clippers’ top assistant spot to Tyronn Lue, and LA’s fondness for Lue is a major reason the team was open to letting Gentry walk, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News.

And-Ones: Knicks, Wolves, Draft

The Knicks won tonight but their playoff chances took a hit when the Hawks also were victorious, reducing their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one. New York has had its share of issues this season, but the one that sunk the team the most was the trade for Andrea Bargnani, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Besides acquiring his large and difficult to trade contract, the team could have potentially used the 2016 first rounder they gave up for Bargnani in a deal for the Raptors Kyle Lowry, writes Berman.

More from around the league:

  • The Timberwolves plan to trade for help this offseason, but according to owner Glen Taylor, it won’t be a “big trade”, tweets Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
  • The crew at Basketball Insiders take at look at what steps are needed to fix the Wolves.
  • The NBA Players Association has formed a brand new search committee to ensure they have a new executive director in place by the start of the 2014/15 season, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
  • Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports believes that the 2014 freshman class might be better than this year’s highly touted group.
  • The next international draft sensation from Switzerland could be Clint Capela, writes Spears. DraftExpress.com has Capela ranked as the 14th-best prospect in this year’s draft. He’s projected as a first-round prospect in the 20-30 range, but he could improve his standing at the Hoop Summit, opines Spears.
  • Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Video) breaks down draft prospect Dante Exum.
  • Xavier Henry‘s surgeries on his left wrist and right knee were successful the Lakers announced. Henry is a free agent after the season ends.

Western Notes: Lakers, Saunders, Henry

The Lakers know their fans and Kobe Bryant aren’t sold on Mike D’Antoni, but with the team’s free agency focus on 2015, they’re hesitant to bring on a new coach who might not mesh with the players they target then, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. They’re also not sure that D’Antoni has performed poorly enough to warrant his dismissal, Ding adds, suggesting assistant Kurt Rambis as a possible replacement if D’Antoni is ousted.

More from out west:

  • Xavier Henry will indeed miss the rest of the season, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com confirms.
  • Wolves owner Glen Taylor said on WCCO-AM that he doesn’t want president of basketball operations Flip Saunders to coach the team if Rick Adelman doesn’t return next season, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Saunders was reticent to address the issue in an appearance with Dan Berreiro on KFAN-FM today, but he said that he enjoys his front office work, according to Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter).
  • Wolves forward Dante Cunningham was arrested on Thursday and was today formally charged with domestic assault. This will certainly have a negative impact on the pending free-agent’s options, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com. Cunningham is averaging 6.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 19.5 minutes this season. He’s in the final year of his contract, which pays him $2.1 MM. He was jailed and not with the team as it traveled to Florida for a two-game road trip.His attorney’s office said it’s possible that he posts bail of $40,000 this weekend.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pau Gasol, Henry Done For Season?

The Lakers are leaning toward sitting Pau Gasol for the rest of the season, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles times, who adds that Xavier Henry is not expected to return to the lineup either. The news may not seem too significant considering that there are only seven games left on the team’s schedule, but it’s worth noting that both Gasol and Henry are headed for unrestricted free agency this summer.

Gasol is reportedly dealing with a severe recurrence of vertigo, which has caused him to miss five of L.A.’s last six contests. Henry has dealt with knee and wrist injuries this season, and – as we noted earlier today – had recently been playing through pain against medical advice in order to prove his worth. Although Gasol’s desire to stay in Los Angeles remains a question mark, he recently said that he wouldn’t rule out returning to the Lakers if the circumstances are appropriate. On the other hand, Henry has made it publicly clear that he’d like to re-sign with the team this summer.

The 33-year-old Gasol is finishing up the final year of a three-year contract extension that he signed in 2009; his next deal would presumably be much less than the $19.3MM he made this year. Henry – finishing up his one-year deal for the NBA’s minimum salary – has been a bright spot for the Lakers this year, averaging career highs in points (10.0) and minutes (21.1). However, it’ll be interesting to see just how much he’ll be able to market himself if he undergoes wrist surgery this summer as expected.

Lakers Notes: Henry, Meeks, Young

The defeat the Lakers suffered to the Kings on Wednesday was critical for their draft lottery position, giving them their 50th loss, two more than the Kings and Pistons, the teams directly beneath them in our Reverse Standings. The Lakers are right below the Celtics and Jazz, who have 52 losses apiece, but it seems like L.A. has a strong chance of ending up anywhere from fourth through eighth at season’s end. It’s not the usual late-season intrigue for the purple-and-gold, but the team’s final seven games will have meaning nonetheless. Here’s the latest on what lies ahead:

  • Xavier Henry says he would love to re-sign with the Lakers this summer, and he’s playing through a painful wrist injury against doctor’s advice to prove his worth, as Shams Charania of RealGM details.
  • Jodie Meeks, another soon-to-be free agent, reiterates his intention to stay with the Lakers, too, but he also acknowledges there will be more to his decision than that, observes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com“Definitely, I want to stay, but it’s a business,” Meeks said. “So, both sides of the party, it will be interesting to see what happens. … I’ll just kind of play the waiting game.” 
  • Lakers owner Jeanie Buss is a fan of Nick Young‘s ebullient personality, and while there appears to be mutual interest in him returning next season, there’s no certainty he’ll be back, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Young seems likely to decline his nearly $1.228MM player option.

Odds & Ends: Granger, Clippers, Henry

Danny Granger should help to bolster the Clippers‘ thin front line, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  “He hasn’t played a lot over the last couple of years, but I thought before the trade he was starting to round into shape and starting to make shots,” coach Doc Rivers said of Granger. “What I see in him is length. He’s a long small forward who has the ability to add a different dimension to us. The way I look at it is we can have a post game at the 3 spot as well now, which would be nice for us. If gives us another dimension.” More from around the league..

  • The Clippers have one roster spot open and while there are no plans to use it at this time, Rivers didn’t rule out the possibility of a 10-day deal later on in the season, tweets Markazi.
  • Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer looks at 10-day contracts and how they can benefit clubs.
  • There’s a lot of talk about overhauling the NBA draft, but Sheridan Hoops’ Peter May says it’s fine just the way it is.
  • The Mavericks announced that they have recalled Jae Crowder and Shane Larkin from the Texas Legends of the D-League.  Crowder and Larkin were assigned to the Legends yesterday and played in last night’s overtime win against the D-Fenders.  Crowder had his second triple-double in as many games with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, while Larkin added a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds.  To keep up with all of this year’s assignments and recalls, check out our running list.
  • The Lakers announced that they have recalled Xavier Henry from their D-League affiliate.  Henry was on a rehab assignment and spent just a few days in his latest stint.

D-League Notes: Blazers, Mavs, Hamilton

The Blazers are ending their one-to-one affiliation with the D-League’s Idaho Stampede and will share an affiliate with other NBA teams next season, reports Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. GM Neil Olshey prefers to let Portland’s assistant coaches develop talent rather than farm the job out, as Freeman explains.

More D-League news:

  • The Mavs have assigned Jae Crowder, Bernard James and Shane Larkin to the D-League, and they’ve recalled Ricky Ledo, the team announced. It’ll be a one-game stint for the trio of assignees, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who first reported the moves (Twitter links).
  • Xavier Henry will see those three Mavs tonight when the affiliates for Dallas and the Lakers meet up, since the Lakers have sent Henry to the D-League, the team announced. It’s a rehab assignment for Henry, who’s been out since December 29th, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
  • The Wizards Otto Porter had been mentioned as a candidate to head to the D-League, but that looks less likely to happen now, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Porter is needed for depth in case Martell Webster or Trevor Ariza suffer an illness or an injury. The team might also resist sending him down as not to damage his confidence, opines Michael.
  • Dakota Schmidt of SB Nation profiles Sioux Falls 7-footer Justin Hamilton, and thinks that he is the most talented big man still available to make the jump to the NBA. The former second-round pick out of LSU has developed quite the offensive arsenal and could be the next player to land a 10-day contract, opines Schmidt.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.