Odds & Ends: Thunder, Cousins, Mavs, Brackins
A few links from around the NBA on the last Friday of 2012:
- The Thunder don't have any interest in making trades at the moment, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins were supposed to be the cornerstones of the Kings' rebuilding project, but with Evans injured and Cousins benched, things have been rocky in Sacramento, says Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- The Mavericks' front office is flexible and opportunistic, which could make Dallas a logical suitor for Cousins, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. However, as MacMahon outlines, there would likely to have be a lot of moving parts involved to find a trade between the Mavs and Kings.
- For his part, Mark Cuban tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that the Mavericks are "not going to do something just to do something. It’s got to be something that helps us."
- David Mayo of MLive.com also fielded a question about the possibility of a Cousins trade in his latest Pistons mailbag.
- Former Sixers first-round pick Craig Brackins was waived today by Italian team Angelico Biella, according to Emile Martano of Sportando.
Latest On DeMarcus Cousins
Deron Williams and Avery Johnson may have stolen the day's headlines when it came to potentially dysfunctional player/coach pairings, but DeMarcus Cousins and Keith Smart aren't far behind. Smart told reporters today that he's made a decision about whether or not Cousins will play for the Kings tomorrow against the Knicks, but he has yet to tell the media or the player (Twitter link via Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee). Here are the day's other Cousins-related updates:
- Cousins' answers and body language during his media availability today didn't suggest he's anything but bitter and angry, tweets Bryan May of Sacramento's KXTV-TV.
- Despite teams calling about Cousins' availability, the Kings don't seem all that eager to move him, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. One league executive indicated to Kyler that it's unclear what sort of value Sacramento could extract for Cousins, since many teams wouldn't want to roll the dice on such a volatile and disruptive player.
- In his latest mailbag, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes that he feels the Pistons' interest in Cousins may have been overstated in some reports. According to Langlois, the Pistons were once very interested in Cousins, but have since addressed their frontcourt needs with players like Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.
- Victor Contreras of the Sacramento Bee believes it's time for the Kings to deal Cousins.
Latest On DeMarcus Cousins
The Kings lifted DeMarcus Cousins' suspension on Monday after just two days, but that doesn't mean the big man will immediately return to the court for Sacramento. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter), Cousins is not with the team in Portland for tonight's game, a decision made by coach Keith Smart.
The move seems to signal that Smart wasn't prepared to reinstate Cousins so soon after his "indefinite" suspension ended, something that Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty discussed earlier today. Zeller pointed out that Smart's comments, in which he indicated that Cousins may not play right away, suggested that the coach "isn't on board with bringing D.M.C. out of the corner just yet."
While the Kings figure out what to do with Cousins on the court, there's still speculation that the club could explore trading the former fifth overall pick. In his weekly chat, ESPN.com's Chad Ford predicted that new agent Dan Fegan will be "pushing hard" for a trade, and hears that there's a split between the Kings' front office and ownership about what the team would want in return.
According to Ford, the Celtics are one team that could pursue Cousins, with the Pistons, Heat, and Mavericks among the other clubs that have "a lot of interest."
Pacific Rumors: Cousins, Fredette, Blakely, Paul
Only in Los Angeles could five be greater than 14. That's where the Lakers, winners of five straight, are casting shadows on the Clippers, who are on a franchise-record 14-game winning streak. We passed along some Lakers news earlier, but they aren't the only team making noise in the Pacific Division, as we round up here.
- Agent Dan Fegan may have influenced the Kings’ decision to lift their suspension of DeMarcus Cousins after just one game, writes Mark Perner of the Philadelphia Daily News, who chastises the team for being too lenient.
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty doesn't think coach Keith Smart is behind the decision to reinstate Cousins.
- Victor Contreras of the Sacramento Bee argues that former 10th overall pick Jimmer Fredette deserves a chance to start for the Kings, citing his 16.5 points per game in contests in which he plays 20 or more minutes.
- Clippers training camp invitee Marqus Blakely has signed with the German club Telekom Baskets Bonn, the team announced on its website (translation via Sportando). Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported the move would take place. Blakely, a 6'5" small forward, has been in camp with NBA teams the past three seasons but has yet to make his official debut in the Association after going undrafted in 2010.
- The impact soon-to-be free agent Chris Paul has on the Clippers doesn't always show up in the box score, but J.A. Adande of ESPN.com echoes Nuggets coach George Karl's argument that Paul should be a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.
Odds & Ends: Smart, Cunningham, Mavs, Shved
A holiday for most of us, December 25th is one of the most eventful days of the year on the NBA calendar, with five marquee matchups lined up for Christmas Day. Two scuffling Atlantic Division contenders, the Celtics and Nets, are in action in Brooklyn, while the Lakers look to extend their winning streak to five games later this afternoon against the Knicks. A Finals rematch (Heat/Thunder), an inter-conference battle (Rockets/Bulls), and a Western Conference showdown (Clippers/Nuggets) are also on tap later in the day.
As we enjoy an action-packed slate of games and wish you happy holidays, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Despite Keith Smart's recent issues with DeMarcus Cousins, the Maloofs have "given every indication" that the Kings expect to keep Smart around for the duration of his contract, which runs through the 2013/14 season, according to Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
- The Mavericks don't have any immediate plans to recall first-round pick Jared Cunningham from the D-League, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Cunningham was assigned to the Texas Legends two weeks ago.
- After losing Derek Fisher, the Mavericks figure to explore their options at point guard, but for now coach Rick Carlisle tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that Darren Collison, Dominique Jones, and Rodrigue Beaubois "are our guys."
- Rookie Alexey Shved has emerged as an important piece on a Timberwolves roster that has been hit hard by injuries, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Shelden Williams, who signed with French club Elan Chalon this offseason, has been bought out by Fenerbahce Ulker and will join the Turkish team, according to a TrendBasket.net report.
- Jarvis Varnado, signed by the Celtics this week, tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that he feels "blessed" by the opportunity.
- Nick Gibson of Ridiculous Upside examines the unique contract Gustavo Ayon had signed in Spain before he was bought out by the Hornets and eventually flipped in a sign-and-trade for Ryan Anderson.
Latest On DeMarcus Cousins
DeMarcus Cousins has been making headlines over the past few days, after a run-in with coach Keith Smart resulted in the Kings suspending him. The team announced today that Cousins has been reinstated, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's all smooth sailing going forward. Sacramento isn't said to be actively shopping the big man, but is reportedly willing to at least listen to offers. Here are the latest Cousins-related links:
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld, likening Cousins to Bull Durham's Nuke Laloosh, says the Kings haven't completely given up on the former fifth overall pick, but could decide to move him by February's trade deadline. Ingram also spoke to Smart about a few of the things he has worked on with Cousins this season.
- Cousins is regressing both on and off the court, and the Kings need to "save themselves" from the 22-year-old, opines Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes (via Twitter) that voices were raised between Cousins and assistant coach Clifford Ray today. While there may be nothing to it, it's "not a good look" for Cousins, says Jones.
Kings Listening To Offers On Cousins
12:59pm: The Kings have reinstated Cousins from his suspension, the team announced (via Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter).
10:19am: After a tumultuous week in which he was suspended indefinitely by the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he wants to stay in Sacramento. Following his suspension and the firing of his agent this week, speculation has begun as to whether the third-year center is demanding a trade. However, although he has privately voiced his frustrations with the Kings organization, Amick writes that Cousins has yet to formally demand a trade.
Cousins is no longer considered untouchable in trade talks, Amick writes. At this point, however, the Kings are not actively shopping him as much as they are listening to offers. Although the fifth overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft is coveted by several teams, his recent behavior has resulted in his trade value declining around the league. Amick names the Pistons, Rockets, and Nuggets as teams that have had interest in trading for Cousins in the past.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that teams around the league would be open to exploring trades for Cousins, but are not interested in giving up valuable assets for him. He also adds that the Nets and Rockets, two teams known to have had interest in Cousins in the past, are no longer pursuing him.
Odds & Ends: Cousins, Rockets, Humphries
With one game still in progress from tonight's docket, let's take a look around the Association..
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee notes that the Rockets have had interest in Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins in the past. However, Houston may not want to take on the troubled center at the cost of breaking up what they already have in place. James Harden & Co. are two games above .500 and riding a three game winning streak.
- It would not surprise Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) to see the Nets try and deal forward Kris Humphries and two-guard MarShon Brooks. The early returns on tonight's poll concerning Hump's future in Brooklyn show that 85% of Hoops Rumors readers see the Nets shopping him prior to the deadline. Humphries cannot be traded until January 15th.
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle watched a Texas Legends game in order to check out Jared Cunningham and wound up coming away impressed by Chris Douglas-Roberts, who signed with the club earlier today, tweets Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com. The arrival of CDR meant that Dallas had to let Derek Fisher go after his short stint with the club.
- The Knicks may be "stuck" with Amare Stoudemire, but Tommy Beer of HoopsWorld doesn't necessarily see that as a bad thing. The forward was reportedly offered around the league for next-to-nothing this summer but there were no takers due to his contract and injury woes.
- With Fisher gone, now could be the time for Rodrigue Beaubois to steal the spotlight for the Mavericks, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. The 6'0" guard has been mentioned as a trade candidate this season.
Latest On DeMarcus Cousins
Speculation about the future of DeMarcus Cousins is mounting after yesterday's news that the Kings have suspended him indefinitely following his run-in Friday night with Kings coach Keith Smart. The Kings are becoming increasingly concerned about Cousins, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets, and the team reportedly isn't completely closed off to the idea of trading him. Teammates feel as though Cousins has not matured into the better communicator he has talked about becoming, Jones reports, adding that many of them have passed the ball to Cousins during games simply because they haven't wanted to endure one of his tirades if he feels he's being overlooked.
Still, GM Geoff Petrie maintains the Kings are committed to Cousins, and as the Bee's Ailene Voisin writes, the Kings don't want to trade Cousins.
"It's not something that just showed up yesterday, last year or two years ago or five years ago," the GM said. "But he's our player so we want to work with him to get past this so he can be what everyone sees as possible."
If the Kings do shop Cousins at some point, Marc Stein of ESPN.com believes the Heat could have interest, given team president Pat Riley's prior success with troubled players (Twitter link). Yet Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel doesn't think the Heat would break up their championship core to acquire Cousins, and figures the Kings would want young players and draft picks, assets Miami doesn't possess. Yesterday, more Hoops Rumors readers identified the Celtics as the best potential suitor for Cousins than any other team. Though Cousins could certainly shore up Boston's rebounding, and the Celtics' veterans might be able to keep him in line, I'm not sure C's team president Danny Ainge is prepared to rip up his squad's foundation, despite Boston's slow start.
Western Notes: Roy, Conroy, Fisher
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets that DeMarcus Cousins has decided to hire Dan Fegan as his new agent, replacing John Grieg. Two of Fegan's most notable clients include Kevin Martin of the Thunder and Lakers center Dwight Howard (All Twitter links).
- In what should be encouraging news for the Timberwolves and their fans, Brandon Roy returned to practice today and reported that he felt no pain in his knee (Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune reports). The veteran two-guard had been inactive since undergoing surgery on his right knee last month and hadn't played since November 9.
- Will Conroy was at Minnesota's practice today, but attended as a special assistant to David Kahn and not as a candidate to re-join the team as a player, says Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press. The 6'2 guard and close friend of Brandon Roy had been released earlier in the season in order to make room for recently-waived Josh Howard. According to Kahn, Conroy will serve as the team's D-League scout before returning to Seattle to finish his school degree.
- When asked about Derek Fisher being waived, coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters to ask GM Mitch Kupchak if the team had any interest in the former Lakers guard (according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles via Twitter). Although we heard an earlier report that Fisher was contemplating retirement, Ramona Shelburne (also of ESPN LA) tweeted that in the event that he would still continue playing, any team who signs him would have to inherit the non-guaranteed deal he signed with the Mavericks.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas provides the current rundown of Rick Carlisle's point guard situation following Fisher's abrupt departure.
- Alex Kramers of TheKingsBlog.com elicited the reaction from the Kings locker room as they prepare to compete without DeMarcus Cousins. Coach Keith Smart told the media that the situation will be reassessed within the next few days. On a different and much lighter note, Kramers delves a bit into the minor ties between Jimmer Fredette and the Warriors' Stephen Curry.