NBA Rumors: Latest Rumblings on Ray Allen, D.J. White and More
At some point, he is going to swoop into a contending city and start splashing three-pointers and stretching opposing defenses. The only question is, which team will he choose?
If the latest rumors from around the league are to be believed, the Chicago Bulls may eventually enter the fold and pursue Allen. While Chicago fans would probably just settle for a healthy season from the pieces already in place, Allen would certainly add some firepower.
Read on for more on Allen and some of the latest whispers from around the league.
Ray Allen to the Windy City?
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune recently passed along an update on Ray Allen and the Bulls: “The Bulls have stayed in contact with Allen’s representatives to see if he will play this season. If he chooses to, they’d certainly add another shooter.”
The rumored interest from Chicago is certainly an intriguing twist to Allen watch, although there is no indication that Allen is definitely going to play.
Allen has been linked to the Cleveland Cavaliers since the moment former teammate LeBron James penned his coming home letter to Sports Illustrated, which is why the Bulls are such an interesting prospect. The Eastern Conference race will likely come down to the Cavaliers and Bulls—pending health—and Allen’s three-point shooting could swing the pendulum one way or the other.
Chicago doesn’t have a lot of depth behind Jimmy Butler at shooting guard, given Kirk Hinrich plays a lot of point guard and Mike Dunleavy and Doug McDermott are small forwards. Allen may be far removed from his prime, but he could still hit critical three-pointers for the Bulls and provide important depth in the backcourt.
Throw in his veteran leadership and postseason experience, and it is no wonder Chicago may want the Hall of Fame-bound sharp-shooter.
D.J. White Heading to the NBA?
David Pick of Eurobasket noted that former Indiana Hoosiers star D.J. White would like to return to the NBA:
"D.J. White's deal in Espana expires this weekend, according to source. He's looking to latch on to an NBA roster.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) November 6, 2014"
White has played in 138 career NBA games, but he is best known for his time at Indiana. He was a second-team All-American in the 2007-08 season, during which he averaged 17.4 points and 10.3 rebounds a night.
Clearly, he has the raw talent to be a contributor at NBA level (you don’t average a double-double in the physically grueling Big Ten without talent), but we haven’t quite seen it yet. White’s best stretch of games came in his 24 contests with Charlotte in 2010-11, when he averaged 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds a night.
White’s best chance at finding a home in the NBA this season may be through injury.
Injuries are always the most unfortunate part about sports, although they do open up opportunities for other players. Over the course of the long season, there are bound to be injuries to big men across the league, which means White could be a legitimate option for a squad attempting to bolster its interior depth down the stretch.
Oklahoma City and Indiana Eyeing Point Guard
David Pick also provided another update, this time regarding Dwight Buycks’ pursuit of the NBA dream:
It is certainly noteworthy that the Lakers are not one of the teams Buycks is talking with, since they need depth at point guard with Steve Nash out for the season with injury. Buycks did make 14 appearances and average 3.1 points a game for the Toronto Raptors in the 2013-14 campaign after an impressive summer league stretch, but he has not yet caught on long term at NBA level.
The Indiana Pacers could also use Buycks in the point guard rotation while George Hill recovers from injury.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey had some praise for Buycks during his time in Toronto, via Doug Smith of the Toronto Star:
"Speed, quickness, still learning the NBA game. Defensively he’s using his speed well, but offensively he’s still learning the nuances of the NBA, the pick-and-roll game, his reads out of that.
Typically rookie things, but he is a scorer, he knows how to get to the rim, how to get into the paint.
"
There is certainly a place in the NBA for a speedy perimeter defender who can come off the bench and make life difficult for opposing ball-handlers. All it will take for Buycks is one team that believes he can fill that role.
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