Pacific Rumors: Bledsoe, Karl, Clippers
The loss of Eric Bledsoe to a season-ending knee injury has forced Suns coach Jeff Hornacek to make several adjustments to his rotation, Greg Esposito of the team’s website reports. Brandon Knight has taken over the role as the main floor leader with Ronnie Price and Bryce Cotton backing him up. Rookie Devin Booker gets the nod at shooting guard, with Sonny Weems and Archie Goodwin in reserve, Hornacek told Esposito. The Suns nearly upset the Cavaliers on Monday and Hornacek felt his new backcourt played reasonably well in Bledsoe’s absence. “Without Eric in the game, it was a little different,” Hornacek told Esposito. “We had gone over a few plays that might be good for the guys. I thought they really came out and executed it. Defensively, we gave up a lot of 3-point attempts that we need to get better at. Some of it was closing out that we need to get better at.”
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- Kings coach George Karl has found it difficult to connect with his players and is frustrated by their lack of consistency, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Karl can no longer be as fiery as he once was because of the way current players react, so he has tried to appeal to them in other ways, Jones continues. “Just tell stories,” Karl told Jones. “You try to bring up situations. My explanation the last couple of weeks is just trying to explain to them how difficult this league is, how tough it is to be successful in this league.”
- The Clippers used a three-guard alignment against the Wizards on Monday and coach Doc Rivers liked the results, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports. Rivers played reserves Jamal Crawford, Pablo Priogioni and Austin Rivers during the first half and the Clippers extended their lead. His son’s versatility allows the three-guard set to work, according to the coach. “The reason we get away with it is because Austin can guard the one, two or the three,” Doc Rivers told the assembled media. “We just put him on them and then we put Pablo on the second-best guy and put Jamal on the third guy. And so it works for us.”
- Chris Paul is impressed how the Clippers are playing without Blake Griffin, according to Robert Morales of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. The Clippers won their first two games after Griffin suffered a partially torn quad tendon. “I just think we’re fighting,” he told Morales. “We know we’re a big man short and so everyone knows that they have to be involved in the game.”
Pacific Notes: Morris, Pierce, Karl
Suspended power forward Markieff Morris could be allowed to return to practice with the Suns today after he meets with members of the front office, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. Morris has also been asked to apologize to his coaches and teammates, make a renewed commitment to the team for games, practices, weight-training sessions and treatment sessions and attend all NBA and Suns community appearances, a source close to the situation relayed to Wojnarowski.
Though Morris is expected to comply, the source also informed the Yahoo scribe that some within Morris’ camp are puzzled by the organization’s requests since the player already apologized via Twitter and sent an apologetic text to coach Jeff Hornacek, at whom Morris threw a towel during a game, prompting his suspension. Morris has also reportedly spoken with his teammates regularly during the suspension that cost him $145,455 in earnings, Wojnarowski adds.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Though Clippers small forward Paul Pierce hasn’t made up his mind about returning for another season or retiring after this campaign, he did drop a hint to which way he may be leaning after Monday’s contest in Washington D.C. when he popped into the Wizards’ locker room and told his former teammates, “This could be my last time in D.C. — as a player,” Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com relays (via Twitter).
- Kings coach George Karl is attempting to motivate his team without resorting to the shouting and bluster that he became known for during his coaching tenure in Denver, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “Just tell stories,” Karl said when asked what tactics he’s utilizing. “You try to bring up situations. My explanation is the last couple of weeks is just trying to explain to them how difficult this league is, how tough it is to be successful in this league.”
Pacific Notes: Morris, Dudley, Rondo
There is too much bad blood for Markieff Morris to thrive with the Suns in Phoenix, but there is belief that he can succeed elsewhere, like his brother Marcus is doing in Detroit, Chris Mannix of SI.com pass along (Twitter links). Mannix adds that several teams still really like the combo forward, especially because of his team-friendly contact.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Jared Dudley wishes he had played better during his lone season for the Clippers, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. “How it ended with us, I can always say that’s the one team I played on I played really, really bad,” Dudley said. “Fans probably look at me, ‘Jared was a failure,’ which is very true. I was at that time. I’d be the first to admit it.”
- The Rajon Rondo–Darren Collison pairing in the backcourt is starting to show improvement, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee observes. “For some reason, the first 10, 15 games, it just didn’t seem like it had much rhythm,” Coach George Karl said. “But it seems D.C. plays off the ball most of the time when that happens. I still like two guys who can run pick-and-rolls and pick and choose your opportunities with two point guards on the court.”
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Cousins, Morris, Nance Jr.
In an interview with Tzvi Twersky of Slamoline.com, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins said that he believes because he’s been on a struggling team for his entire career he doesn’t get the credit for being a tough leader the way that the Timberwolves’ Kevin Garnett has. “This is what I’ve come to conclude: Winning covers up everything,” Cousins told Twersky. “If KG was always losing and was the same person, they would think he was the worst guy ever. That’s basically the situation I’m in. Since I’m losing, no one loves a loser—everyone loves a winner. That’s how it goes. I don’t see a difference between me and Joakim Noah. If anything, I feel Joakim has more crazy moments than I do—but his is passion, mine are an attitude or anger problems.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- It’s unclear if and when the Suns will look to trade disgruntled forward Markieff Morris, but there are a number of teams that are intrigued with the combo forward and his reasonable contract, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays (Twitter links). There is likely too much bad blood between Morris and the Suns organization for that relationship to be salvaged, but there is belief around the league that Morris can thrive in a different environment than Phoenix’s, Mannix adds.
- The Lakers have moved rookie Larry Nance Jr. into the starting lineup thanks to his energy and versatility, but he’ll need to look for his shot more often if he wants to continue in that role, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. “I talked to him today that again when you have an open shot, you got to take the shot,” coach Byron Scott said. “[I told him] ‘You have a nice enough stroke’ and if he can make them on a consistent basis, the defense will start to respect him. But he moves the ball. That’s the only thing about Larry. He doesn’t take a lot of shots; he doesn’t even take the ones that are open. That’s one of the main reasons we changed the starting lineup – to get more ball movement.“
D-League Notes: Hardaway Jr., Ennis, McCallum
The Hawks have assigned Tim Hardaway Jr. to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Atlanta does not have its own affiliate so Hardaway will likely join the Austin Spurs, based on the league’s flexible assignment system and the fact that the Hawks have an on-going relationship with the D-League franchise this season, Vivlamore writes. Hardaway played for the Canton Charge in his previous D-League stint.
It will be the second D-League stint for Hardaway, who has been a non-factor for the Hawks this season after he was acquired in a trade from the Knicks in June. Hardaway has appeared in only four games this season with Atlanta. Still, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer seems to remain optimistic about Hardaway’s development, as Vivlamore writes.
“I can promise you he is doing well and he is in a good place,” Budenholzer told reporters, including Vivlamore on Saturday. “A lot of it has been his approach to it. He’s been very professional. There is a real emphasis on player development with us and we’ve seen guys who have come in and maybe not started out gangbusters but through work, time and effort they find a way. I was say he is following that path in a very good way.”
Here are more moves and notes regarding the D-League:
- The Grizzlies assigned James Ennis to the D-League three days after recalling him, the team announced in an emailed press release. This will be Ennis’ sixth stint with the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ D-League affiliate.
- The Spurs assigned Ray McCallum to the Austin Spurs, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This marks McCallum’s third stint with the Austin Spurs this season.
- The Kings have recalled power forward Duje Dukan from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (on Twitter). It was Dukan’s fourth stint with Reno on the season.
- The Mavericks recalled Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri from the D-League, the team announced in an emailed press release. Anderson has played sparingly in 18 games, including one start, while Mejri has seen action in only five games for Dallas this season.
Kings Notes: Cousins, Hunter, Casspi
Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins have bonded as teammates and the Kings hope that some of Rondo’s ability to shrug off criticism rubs off on the big man, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. “He’s 25 out here with a lot of pressure, the franchise on his back,” Rondo said. “He’s a strong individual. Me coming in, I just want to help him along the way, make some of the right decisions, push forward and continue to be a good person.” One benefit Rondo’s presence provides Cousins is that he removes some of the pressure from the center to be the face of the franchise, a role that the point guard understands and is comfortable with, Jones adds. “With [Cousins’] leadership and responsibility, it’s a big part to our team,” Rondo said. “I can’t put all the pressure on him. He accepts the pressure and I accept a lot of the pressure. It starts with both of us. I’m the quarterback in the front, he’s the quarterback in the back.”
Here’s more from out of Sacramento:
- Kings training camp cut Vince Hunter is on the radar of a number of NBA teams for a possible 10-day contract thanks to his strong play in the D-League, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets. Hunter is averaging 21.5 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s D-League affiliate.
- Omri Casspi, who re-signed with the Kings this past summer on a two-year, $6MM deal, has proven to be a bargain with his solid all-around play and the organization is thrilled with his high-energy style of play, Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee writes. “Omri played great for George [Karl] the second half of last season and we wanted to bring him back if we could,” said Kings executive Vlade Divac. “His threes are like layups now. I’m very happy it worked out so well for both of us.“
The Beat: James Ham On The Kings
Nobody knows NBA teams better than beat writers, save for those who draw paychecks with an NBA owner’s signature on them. The reporters who are with the teams they cover every day gain an intimate knowledge of the players, coaches and executives they write about and develop sources who help them break news and stay on top of rumors.
We at Hoops Rumors will be chatting with beat writers from around the league and sharing their responses to give you a better perspective on how and why teams make some of their most significant moves. Last time, we spoke with Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post about the Heat. Click here to see all the previous editions of this series.
Today, we gain insight on the Kings from James Ham of CSN California and CSNBayArea.com. You can follow James on Twitter at @James_Ham, on Facebook at facebook.com/JamesHamKings and on Instagram at instagram.com/james_ham15/. Check out his stories here.
Hoops Rumors: From DeMarcus Cousins trade rumors to the recent team meeting to reports of frustration with George Karl, the Kings organization has a reputation for turmoil. Are Vivek Ranadivé and Vlade Divac learning any lessons from all this about how to keep situations from getting out of hand?
James Ham: Ranadivé has had to learn on the fly over his two-plus years running the Kings. It hasn’t always been easy. He makes plenty of mistakes, but hopefully he has learned from them.
The addition of Divac has brought a calm to the franchise. From the outside looking in, Sacramento is chaotic and dysfunctional. But the issues are being worked through and Divac is making the best of a situation that very few general managers would even attempt to take on.
Divac has developed a tight bond with Cousins. There is trust between the two big men, which isn’t an easy thing to accomplish when it comes to the Kings All-Star center. The gamble Divac made of bringing in Rajon Rondo has given Cousins a mentor.
As crazy as it may seem, the Kings are in a much better place than most media reports would have you believe. With the backing of Ranadivé, Divac is giving the Rondo/Cousins pairing a real chance to succeed before buying into any narratives concocted from the outside. It may not be a perfect situation, but when you are an NBA outpost, you do what you can to build a winner.
Hoops Rumors: Caron Butler seems like he’s played an important role in the locker room this season, but now the Kings have reportedly promised to trade him so he can see more playing time. If that’s true, who’s next in line to inherit that leadership capacity?
James Ham: It sounds like the Kings will take care of Butler and find a better spot for him to finish out his career. While Butler has been a veteran presence, the Kings have plenty of other experienced players to turn to.
Rondo has quickly risen to the top of the team’s leadership hierarchy. Butler will be missed, but there is a large group of players on this team that are extremely close to one another. Divac added plenty of seasoned winners to the roster.
Hoops Rumors: Recent controversy aside, Rondo has looked so much better this season than he did last year. What’s made the difference for him?
James Ham: There are a couple of reasons for Rondo’s success. First and foremost, he is completely healthy for the first time in a while. You can see that he has his explosive first step back.
Rondo missed training camp the previous two seasons due to injury. When he showed up in San Diego for day one of Kings camp he instantly began to put his personal stamp on the team. That may make some cringe, but the Kings were looking for a floor general and Rondo is a coach both on and off the floor.
There is no question that Rondo has a big personality. When he was traded to Dallas mid-season last year, it didn’t work. He was surrounded by too many veterans. They were already a winning club and they weren’t looking for a leader as much as they were looking for a lead guard.
Rondo is getting a fresh start in Sacramento. For better or worse, this is his team. He has made mistakes, but he has also been a star on plenty of nights.
Hoops Rumors: We haven’t seen too much of Willie Cauley-Stein and Cousins on the court together, thanks to injuries that have kept them both out at different times. Still, how have they meshed when Karl has put them both on the floor at the same time?
James Ham: Cauley-Stein has a ton to learn about the pro game. He is a quick study, but the Kings have had to start from scratch with him. He had very little exposure to the weight room and according to him, he had never really studied film before being drafted to the Kings.
Injuries have kept these two from playing together for much of the season and that will likely continue with Cauley-Stein’s finger injury. This should be a good long-term fit, but the early returns are not great.
Cauley-Stein knows to stay out of Cousins’ way on the floor. On the defensive end he is active when healthy, but he needs to add strength to compete against NBA regulars.
Hoops Rumors: Speaking of tandems, can Rondo and Darren Collison effectively share the floor, and if not, what can the Kings do about it?
James Ham: This is a tough question. On paper, this should work. Collison spent plenty of time playing off the ball with Chris Paul in Los Angeles, but the transition to working with Rondo is an advanced statistics nightmare.
We have seen some developments on this front over the last week or so, but it is a work in progress. Last season, Collison was the man. This season, Rondo is garnering all the acclaim. The Kings need both players to succeed, especially with Karl’s penchant for running dual point guards.
Long term, I think it works. Collison’s early injury forced Rondo into 48-minute-a-night duty. The team became overly reliant on his style of play and when Collison returned from injury, he tried to fit in instead of being himself.
We are starting to see Collison come in and change the pace when he is leading the team and find his spots when Rondo is in charge. It’s a tough transition, but Collison is a quality NBA guard and a very good locker room guy. Chemistry may take a little more time, but this is an important combination for the Kings.
Hoops Rumors: Ben McLemore has looked sharp on occasion, and he’s shooting a higher percentage on 3-pointers, but his minutes, and thus many of his other numbers, are down this season from last year. What has to happen for him to start seeing more playing time and live up to his billing as last year’s No. 7 overall pick?
James Ham: McLemore is in a tough spot. For his first two seasons, the Kings were rudderless and he was given every opportunity to play major minutes. Maybe he wasn’t handled properly during this stretch, but now he is on a completely different team.
The Kings added 10 new faces during the offseason, including three guards. The addition of Rondo has pushed Collison to take time at the two. Marco Belinelli is a seasoned pro with an elite skill and he too needs time.
Karl has tried plenty of three guard sets against smaller clubs, but McLemore’s inconsistency has hurt him. He’s still only 22 years old, but he now finds himself on a veteran-laden team. He has to produce. There are no nights off or bad stretches of inefficient ball. If he wants to play, he has to develop as a defender, a playmaker and continue to play aggressively.
McLemore is a great kid and an extremely hard worker, but he’s fighting for minutes against players with years of experience both in the regular season and in the playoffs. The Kings are dedicated to his development, but they have made a commitment to winning as well. It is up to him show that he can help this team on a consistent basis. If not, Karl has plenty of other options.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Nance Jr., Kerr
Lakers rookie Larry Nance Jr. has impressed the team’s coaching staff with his work ethic and versatility, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “Well, the one thing that Larry does for us is gives us a guy who is going to play the right way every single time on the basketball court,” coach Byron Scott said. “He’s never trying to play outside the box. He’s going to give you everything he’s got. He’s got great athleticism. But he works his butt off, he plays extremely hard. Trying to get him to take open shots when he has them. He’s been reluctant at times to do that. But he’s been one of those guys that just does everything that you want him to do.“
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Kings coach George Karl has settled on the primary eight players in his rotation, but he would still like to find extra minutes for combo guard Seth Curry, who has been solid during his limited playing time this season, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. When asked how he can get Curry on the court more consistently, Karl responded, “That’s a tough question. Every morning, [the coaches] talk about playing more players, but when you get into the nature of the game, it is my instincts. … None of my ones, twos or threes are playing poorly, so there’s no reason to take minutes from anybody. I hope Seth is patient, and I think sometimes experimenting at home is easier to do than on the road.”
- Despite the excellent job done by interim coach Luke Walton, the Warriors need Steve Kerr to return if they hope to repeat as NBA champions, an assessment that star point guard Stephen Curry agrees with, Mark Purdy of The San Jose Mercury News writes. “He just has a way of refocusing guys,” Curry said of Kerr. “And that’s whether it’s in the middle of the game or day to day at practice. Even if we’re playing well or winning games or not, there’s always something we can work on. And he presents it in a way that kind of fuels us as opposed to, like, calling guys out. … There’s a subtle or joking way he gets his point across that we appreciate.“
- The Lakers have recalled Ryan Kelly and Tarik Black from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was the second stint with the D-Fenders on the season for both players.
Eric Moreland Breaks Foot, Out Eight Weeks
DECEMBER 21ST, 11:58am: Moreland had surgery today and is expected to resume basketball activities in eight weeks, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
DECEMBER 16TH, 6:30pm: Power forward Eric Moreland will be out of action indefinitely after sustaining a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during practice today, the Kings announced. Moreland will require surgery and Sacramento will announce the timetable for his return after the procedure has been performed, according to the team’s release.
Moreland’s minimum salary deal includes a partial guarantee of $200K and it will become fully guaranteed on January 10th. Sacramento would still be on the hook for the full amount of his contract if it were to waive Moreland prior to him being medically cleared to play, which isn’t likely going to occur before that deadline given the severity of his injury. The Kings currently possess the league maximum of 15 players on their roster, which means a corresponding move would be required if the team wished to add a replacement player.
The 23-year-old has appeared in five contests for the Kings this season, averaging 0.8 points and 1.2 rebounds on 66.7% shooting in just 4.8 minutes per game.
Celtics Rumors: Stevens, Smart, Cousins, Crowder
Changes appear to be coming to the Celtics, starting with a shakeup of the rotation, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. After three straight losses — and with the impending return of Marcus Smart from a bruised knee — coach Brad Stevens seems ready to try something different. “It’s one of the things that we’ve talked about,” Stevens said. “If we’re going to talk about our depth being a positive, then we should utilize it. So we’ll see. We’ll see what we think is best, not only for this particular game, but more so as we move forward.”
There’s more this morning out of Boston:
- A healthy Smart would certainly help, but it could be after Christmas or even the new year before he’s back in uniform, writes Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com. The injured guard hasn’t played since colliding with the Nets’ Thomas Robinson in a November 20th game. He was able to do some on-court work Friday and Saturday, but Stevens said he is taking a “wait-and-see” approach with Smart’s return.
- It will take a major move from president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to get the Celtics beyond their current level, according to Paul Flannery of SB Nation. There have been rumors for some time about Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, but Flannery writes that Boston’s front office isn’t convinced he’s the player to try to build around. Any move will likely focus on draft picks, with the Celtics owning possibly four first-rounders and several second-rounders for 2016.
- The Celtics have been pleasantly surprised by what they’ve gotten from Jae Crowder since he was included in the Rajon Rondo deal with Dallas last December, writes Taylor Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston has a 43-40 record in games that Crowder has played, and he has averaged 10.4 points per contest in that time. “I knew people had told me they thought he could be a pretty good player,” Stevens said. “I knew he was tough when he played at Marquette. And I knew nothing else.”