San Antonio Spurs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Knicks, Batum, Cauley-Stein, ‘Melo

December 18th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks have been “very active” in trade discussions this week, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports amid a story on the team’s apparent peripheral involvement in Rajon Rondo talks. That seems to jibe with a report from Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck earlier this week that all the Knicks aside from Carmelo Anthony are available. Rumors are indeed flying fast around the NBA these days, and here’s a look at some of the latest news from around the league:

Nicolas Batum has pondered what it would be like to play for the Spurs, but he doesn’t see much need to leave the Blazers when he hits free agency after next season, as he tells Shams Charania of RealGM. “I still have time and I like low key so there’s no reason to think yet, but why not stay in Portland?” Batum said. “I’ve been here for seven years now, so why not?”
Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein has been on quite a tear recently, and this has catapulted him from No. 16 all the way to No. 8 on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s insider-only Big Board. Cauley-Stein is currently ranked 10th in Hoops Rumors’ 2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
‘Melo would have been better off joining the Bulls, opines Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that the Bulls lucked out when he decided not to, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
Three-year NBA veteran Josh Harrellson has been released by the Chongqing Flying Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports (Twitter link). The Pistons had waived Harrellson in mid-July rather than guarantee his minimum salary for the 2014/15 season.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors In Hunt For Ray Allen

December 13th, 2014 at 8:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:18pm: Doc Rivers said the Clippers are also interested in Allen, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Los Angeles had expressed an interest in Allen over the summer, but Rivers said in October that Allen wasn’t a candidate to join the team.

SATURDAY, 3:28pm: Allen’s agent, Jim Tanner, confirmed that their is a wide range of interest in his client around the league, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. In addition to the previously mentioned teams, the Grizzlies have also expressed interest in the veteran free agent, Charania notes.

4:00pm: Warriors GM Bob Myers told 95.7 The Game today that Golden State did reach out to Allen’s representatives, but Allen isn’t sure about what he wants to do, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group tweets.

THURSDAY, 9:01am: Ray Allen‘s name has drawn mention as the Warriors have engaged in internal discussions about their roster, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). The Warriors have been evaluating their options regarding their backcourt, Kawakami also tweets, though it’s unclear if they’re looking at bringing in someone new or just thinking about giving more minutes to players who are already on their roster. Golden State is a league-best 19-2, so it doesn’t seem there’d be much of a rush to make changes, though the Warriors’ position as a legitimate title threat no doubt gives them a leg up with sought-after free agents.

The 39-year-old Allen has lingered on the free agent market since July as he’s mulled whether to play again or retire. The Cavs, Wizards, Bulls and Spurs were among seven teams that still reportedly had interest in signing Allen as of late last month. Multiple reports from the past few weeks have cast the Cavs as the favorites to land the league’s all-time leading three-point maker should he decide to return to the NBA, echoing similar reports since the summer and an apparent belief that Cleveland’s front office had maintained into the fall. Still, Allen and agent Jim Tanner have shot down several rumors and have consistently maintained that Allen has yet to make up his mind. A report last week indicated that Allen has let teams know that he’ll entertain offers in January and decide about his future in February.

Allen said this summer that he wanted to play for an experienced coach, and while he didn’t rule out playing for the minimum salary, he made it clear that he’s not keen on the idea. That would appear to put the Warriors at a disadvantage should they pursue him, since Steve Kerr is in his first season as a head coach and Golden State is limited to the minimum salary. Kerr is nonetheless the first rookie coach in NBA history to win 19 out of his first 21 games. The Warriors are also one of the few teams in the NBA with an open roster spot. Leandro Barbosa and Justin Holiday are on partially guaranteed deals that are de facto non-guaranteed arrangements, since both have earned in excess of the amount of their partial guarantees. Holiday has seen little playing time this season, and Barbosa, who’s averaged 13.6 minutes per game this year, didn’t see action in the second half Wednesday, Kawakami notes (on Twitter).

Western Notes: Edwin, Bjelica, Christopher, Kerr

December 13th, 2014 at 8:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

Through the first eight games of the D-League season Fuquan Edwin has averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, and according to a representative for Edwin, these numbers are garnering him interest from the NBA, Chris Reichert of Ridiculous Upside writes. Edwin’s representative told Reichert, “Three teams proactively called in the last three days regarding Fuquan, and several others have inquired with preliminary interest.” Edwin was in training camp with the Spurs this year prior to being waived.

Here’s more from out west:

Serbian forward Nemanja Bjelica, whom the Wolves own the draft rights to, could be looking at making the jump to the NBA either next season, or in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). The 2010 second-rounder had inked a deal with the Wasserman Media group back in September.
Patrick Christopher, who was recently signed by the Jazz, credits his time overseas for allowing him to pursue his dream of making it to the NBA via the D-League, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “I got some experience over there [Europe]. I was able to put a few coins away and give myself an opportunity,” Christopher said. “Because when you play in the D-League, it’s somewhat of a sacrifice. That’s why you do take that opportunity, and it’s paid off.”
Steve Kerr had a difficult task ahead of him in taking over as coach for Mark Jackson, who was very popular with the Warriors‘ players, Marcus Thompson II of The San Jose Mercury News writes. Kerr’s first move upon being hired was to reach out to the team’s star, Stephen Curry, who was one of Jackson’s most fervent supporters, Thompson notes. When asked how Kerr won him over, Curry said, “How he’s handled the whole situation. He understood the fragileness of that whole transition. He was never arrogant, never saying ‘I’m the best coach in the world, and I’ll take you guys to the promise land.'”
With Wilson Chandler off to a solid start to the season, Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari is finding playing time difficult to come by thus far, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “I think he’d [Gallinari] be the first one to say it’s tough for him because he’s used to playing the role that he’s always played,” coach Brian Shaw said. “The guy was out 19 months. He understands that if Wilson wasn’t playing as well as he is playing at that position, then maybe I’d let him out there and try to play through it a little bit more. But Wilson is playing well, and he’s not, so that’s why Wilson is out there.”

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Spurs, Fredette

December 8th, 2014 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

It would be surprising for the Grizzlies to make a trade anytime soon in spite of reported interest from the Cavs in Tayshaun Prince and Kosta Koufos, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal writes in his “Pick and Pop” column. Prince has played well and removed the reasons for the Grizzlies to trade him since the start of the season, and Dion Waiters, whom the Cavs are apparently willing to give up, would be a poor fit in Memphis, Herrington believes. There’s another Grizzlies tidbit amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

The Spurs like the players they bring in to have a sense of humor, as witnessed by the continued presence of Matt Bonner, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News examines. “We look for a guy that is mature enough to laugh at himself,” coach/executive Gregg Popovich said. “You’re on the bus, you’re on the plane, and you want to be able to enjoy each other. If a kid doesn’t have a sense of humor or the ability to be self-deprecating, it doesn’t work as well.” Bonner, who re-signed this summer, is the longest-tenured Spur outside of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, McDonald notes.
The addition of Gal Mekel to the Pelicans seems like a signal that the team is ready to move on from Jimmer Fredette, as Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune believes. Fredette, with New Orleans on a guaranteed one-year contract for the minimum salary, saw just one minute of action in Sunday’s 17-point win against the Lakers.
The Grizzlies have recalled Jordan Adams from the D-League, the team announced. This year’s 22nd overall pick had been in the D-League since November 25th, as our log of assignments and recalls shows. The shooting guard has averaged 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game across four contests for the Iowa Energy.

Southwest Notes: Davis, Howard, Mavericks

December 7th, 2014 at 10:26am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans are building their team around Anthony Davis in the same way the Spurs built their dynasty around Tim Duncan nearly two decades ago, writes Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated in a piece that chronicles Davis’ journey to the NBA. Jenkins notes that the team acquired Ryan Anderson in part because of how the Spurs sustained success with floor spacing.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The injury-plagued Rockets shouldn’t count on Dwight Howard returning to the court soon, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Feigen said coach Kevin McHale is pessimistic about a quick return from Howard or any of Houston’s other injured players.
Nobody in Dallas is surprised Jason Kidd made such a quick transition from on-the-floor leader to the head coaching ranks, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle isn’t the least bit surprised with Kidd’s career moves. “Let’s face it; he was always coaching, anyway, when he was out there,” Carlisle said. “I felt like he had a very good idea coming off his playing career, as to how he felt the game should be played. And he’s coaching it that way. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich continued his long-distance jousting with Knicks president Phil Jackson this week, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Jackson said in April that San Antonio didn’t qualify as a dynasty because the team hadn’t won two titles in a row. “Ooh that makes me mad,” Popovich said sarcastically when asked about the comments. Jackson made the remarks when talking about whether Carmelo Anthony would accept less money to stay in New York, similar to what Tim Duncan has done with the Spurs.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Kerr, Nuggets, Spurs, Clarkson

December 6th, 2014 at 7:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Sacrifice is a key component to the Warriors‘ success, according to head coach Steve Kerr, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Andre Iguodala has arguably sacrificed the most for the team by taking a reduced role as the team’s sixth man off the bench. “It’s a good fit, but not something Andre is thrilled about. The fact he has accepted it and sacrificed has kind of set the tone for our team. They look at him and see an All-Star and Olympian and guy who’s been around the league and willing to step back; that’s pretty powerful,” said Kerr. Smith notes that Kerr set the example for sacrificing by signing for less money than the team offered because as a rookie coach he believed he didn’t warrant the same level of pay as accomplished veteran coaches.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Nuggets have one of the deepest rosters in the league but their depth can be viewed as a blessing and a curse, writes Adi Joseph of USA Today. Point guard Ty Lawson is the only player on the team averaging more than 31 minutes per game. While a decrease in playing time may not sit well with some players, USA gold medalist Kenneth Faried understands the team’s situation. “There’s a whole bunch of competition for minutes,” Faried said. “Everybody on this team either has been a starter or has played on a team where they were the man. It’s kind of like coming from college to the NBA. That’s what this team feels like. Everybody wants to play. Everybody wants to get minutes. But it’s tough right now.”
The Spurs are both new age because of their rich blend of international cultures and old school because they have retained their core players in a way that predates free agency, writes Harvey Araton of The New York Times. Head coach Gregg Popovich credits the team’s environment as reason for the unprecedented continuity. “All these guys, the core guys, they’ve made less money in San Antonio than counterparts all across the league–people who will say they gave up this,” Popovich said. “But these guys have given up real money with every new contract to stay together. These guys care about quality of life, and it falls into the way they play.”
Jordan Clarkson has been re-assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, the team announced (Twitter link). This will be the third appearance in the D-League for Clarkson this season.

Southwest Notes: Cunningham, Spurs, Pelicans

December 4th, 2014 at 6:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans reached out to the NBA to determine if the league would punish Dante Cunningham before they decided to sign him earlier today, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports. As was noted earlier, the NBA is unlikely to discipline Cunningham for the domestic assault charges against Cunningham that were dropped over the summer. “We have commenced an independent review of the matter and the charges that were subsequently dropped against Mr. Cunningham, but at this point we have no basis to conclude that he engaged in conduct that warrants discipline from the NBA,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Cunningham sees the Pelicans as the ideal team to restart his NBA career with, Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com writes. “It’s a great opportunity to get here, sign and be part of this great organization,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a rough couple months, but at this time, it’s definitely behind me. I’ve learned, I’ve grown and I’m a stronger person for it. Being back where I love to be [playing basketball], it’s definitely a weight off of my shoulders. My name is cleared. I’m now just trying to rebrand it and make sure it’s ‘Dante Cunningham’ once again.”
Kyle Anderson, the Spurs‘ first round pick this season, has a unique opportunity to learn from the storied veterans in San Antonio’s locker room, Andy Vasquez of The Record writes. “I landed in a really good situation,” Anderson said. “Every day I walk into this locker room I’m among Hall of Famers, I’m among real pioneers of the game, guys I’ve watched my whole life. So it’s big time for me. I don’t take any day for granted that I’m in this locker room.”
One of the reasons New Orleans signed Cunningham is because head coach Monty Williams was an advocate for Cunningham’s character, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. Williams’ relationship with Cunningham dates back to the 2009/10 season, when Williams was an assistant coach with the Blazers and the forward was playing in Portland, notes Wojnarowski.

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.

Southwest Notes: Leonard, Gasol, Rockets

December 2nd, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Kawhi Leonard will hit restricted free agency in the summer, but Gregg Popovich isn’t moving away from his plan to make the small forward the focal point for the Spurs, as he explains to Michael Lee of The Washington Post.

“We’re trying to loosen up a bit and give him more of a green light,” Popovich said. “He’s getting more license. When you’re a young kid, you’re going to defer to Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and [Tony Parker]. Now it’s like, ‘To heck with those guys. The Big Three, they’re older than dirt. To [expletive] with them. You’re the Big One. You’ve got to go do your deal.’ So, we’re trying to get him to be more demonstrative in that regard.”

Popovich was speaking tongue in cheek about Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, but it’s not hard to see that he continues to view the 23-year-old Leonard as a building block. Here’s more on Leonard amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

Leonard was non-committal when Lee asked about his upcoming free agency, though it’s the Spurs who can ultimately decide if he returns, since they can match all offers. “I feel like they like me here and I’m going to come back, but we’ll see,” Leonard said, as Lee notes in the same piece. “We’re going to see this summer.”
Zach Randolph expressed confidence during an ESPN appearance Monday that Marc Gasol will re-sign with the Grizzlies, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter links), but Randolph admits to USA Today’s Sam Amick that sometimes he worries that Gasol will leave. In any case, Randolph said to Amick that he talks to Gasol a bit about the summer ahead, presumably in an effort to get him to stay.
The summer front office upheaval in Memphis that nearly saw coach Dave Joerger leave for the Wolves job didn’t prompt worry for Gasol, Amick reports in the same piece. “I was in contact with everybody [during that time],” Gasol said. “I was in contact with [owner] Robert [Pera], and I was in contact with Coach, and they told me that everything was going to be fine, and I believed them. There was no reason for me not to believe them.”
The Rockets have recalled Clint Capela from the D-League, the team announced. This year’s 25th overall pick put up 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and an eye-popping 3.2 blocks in just 14.1 minutes per game across six contests for the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Western Notes: Gasol, Parker, Nuggets

December 1st, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Gasol becomes eligible for a veteran extension next week, though it’s unlikely he’ll sign one, since free agency would be a much more lucrative proposition. Regardless, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is vowing to retain his star center, as he tells Billy Witz of The New York Times.

“Speculation really is not a concern of mine,” Wallace said. “The whole free-agency period is a long way off, but what we’ve obviously made known to him is, the first priority of the organization is to keep him. He’s extremely important to us, and we’re going to get him re-signed one way or another, regardless of when that occurs.”

The team’s track record of keeping its core players and Gasol’s ties to Memphis fuel Wallace’s confidence, as Witz notes, and there’s more from his piece on the No. 4 man in our 2015 Free Agent Power Rankings amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Just how strongly the team commits to winning will be the top consideration for Gasol as he decides whether to re-sign, as he tells Witz for the same piece. “That’s going to be huge for me,” Gasol said. “Because you’ve got to go to work every day and feel good about it, knowing that everyone is seeing the big picture, which is having the biggest chance to win a championship.”
Faith in the front office is a key for Tony Parker, too, coming off a summer in which he signed a three-year max extension with the Spurs, observes Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. “Even though one day I’ll be without Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and [Gregg Popovich],” Parker said, “we’re still going to try to compete and bring in good players and try to be a franchise that wins games . . . I trust the Spurs. I trust [GM] R.C. [Buford] and [owner] Peter [Holt], that we will still have a competitive team.”
Trade acquisition Arron Afflalo and extension recipient Kenneth Faried allowed the offseason activity to affect their games during the slow start for the Nuggets, as Ty Lawson tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The point guard credits coach Brian Shaw for helping set Afflalo and Faried straight amid Denver’s sudden turnaround.