NBA Rumors: Buzz Surrounding Lance Stephenson Trade, Ray Allen and More
December is a time of reflection for many people as they look back on the calendar year. The same can be said for many NBA franchises. By now, most teams have fallen into the patterns and rhythms that will likely carry them through the rest of the 2014-15 campaign.
It's a safe enough distance from the start of the season that the successful teams can feel comfortable with what they've accomplished thus far and make plans to stay the course or up the ante if the team's initial goals still feel a bit out of reach.
On the other hand, some NBA teams are feeling the blues as we head into winter, bright autumn hopes fading into faint glimmers. Nevertheless, the gears powering the NBA are in perpetual motion. As the temperatures dip, the rumors tend to heat up.
Whispers of trades carry with them the possibility of teams beginning anew or at least becoming secure in the knowledge they have a valuable piece for a later season, while a notable free agent might very well be ready to come in from the cold.
Here are the latest rumors from around the Association.
Lance Stephenson
The Charlotte Hornets' disastrous 6-17 start threatens to undermine the structure and integrity of a team desperate to put the horrid Bobcats era firmly in the past. Head coach Steve Clifford was able to steer this franchise to a 43-39 record last season, and while many of the players from that squad are still on the team, they've been unable to replicate the results.
As it stands, the Hornets could be prepared to excise the squad's biggest offseason acquisition, one Lance Stephenson, in a bid to restore the same chemistry that brought success last year.
RealGM.com's Shams Charania has the latest:
"Lance Stephenson has garnered fresh trade inquiries into the Charlotte Hornets’ front office recently and wouldn’t be opposed to a potential move to the Brooklyn Nets, but hopes to remain part of and succeed in his partnership with the Hornets, league sources told RealGM.
Four to five NBA teams have shown an interest to the Hornets on Stephenson, but no deal is imminent, Stephenson has made clear his desire to help propel a turnaround and both sides believe there’s still time to salvage a productive relationship and run with the franchise, sources told RealGM.
"
Certainly, Stephenson has acted as a destabilizing agent of some sort up to this point with numbers that are well off the pace of his successful 2013-14 campaign with the Indiana Pacers.
| 2013-14 | 78 | 35.3 | 13.8 | .491 | .352 | 7.2 | 4.6 | 14.7 |
| 2014-15 | 23 | 33.4 | 10.4 | .389 | .167 | 7.2 | 5.0 | 10.5 |
Still, he's not all that is ailing the wayward Hornets. It's quite clear that the core of last year's team has degraded in 2014. Kemba Walker's shooting just 36.8 percent, and his scoring has dropped from 17.7 points per game in 2013-14 to 14.9 this season. Al Jefferson's scoring is also down and, perhaps more importantly, the left-block leviathan is averaging 2.8 fewer rebounds per game this year.
As a team, the Hornets have gone from being ranked sixth in defensive efficiency last season to 24th so far this year, per ESPN.com.
Lockdown defender Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has only just recently come back from a foot injury and has missed 16 games in all this season, no doubt a significant blow to the team's defensive stability.
Unless the Hornets can convince a team to part ways with a proven veteran who can fit seamlessly into Clifford's squad or several assets to start what would be a painful rebuilding process, Stephenson should not be shown the door quite so soon.
Clifford believes that Stephenson, who is shooting a robust 44.9 percent in December, is finally getting comfortable with the Hornets.
"I would say that it has been a lot of factors," he said after the Hornets' 114-87 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night, via Fox Sports Carolinas' Brett Jensen. "One has been his (groin) injury in the preseason, where he missed a significant amount of time. That hurt his conditioning. I think now he is just not getting comfortable playing with his new teammates and he has started to play better and better."
He's a young swingman with two-way capabilities who could serve as an effective backcourt partner for Walker for years to come (assuming all goes well and he re-signs with the team).
The 29-year-old Jefferson has a player option for the 2015-16 season—it's possible he could leave if the current iteration of the team lacks any sort of promise, but there's no guarantee that a Stephenson trade would fix everything, and rookies like Noah Vonleh and P.J. Hairston still have time to develop. Scrapping the plans this early would be unwise, and there should still be plenty of opportunities next season in a frail Eastern Conference.
Unless it can be proven that Stephenson is a locker room poison, he should be given time to prove that he can be a remedy for a team off to an anemic start.
Life must be good for Ray Allen. He is a 39-year-old who doesn't need to work, has an unassailable NBA resume and, according to reports, is still getting recruited for his talents like a 5-star prep phenom.
A report from ESPN.com passed along comments made by Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers on 95.7 The Game.
"We threw our team out there at his representation, and I think they're vetting what they want to do," Myers said, via ESPN.com. "Obviously you've got to look at a guy like that. He's a smart enough guy. He's going to look around the league to see what's best for him."
The Warriors are off to a historically great start at 20-2 and could be devastatingly lethal from downtown with a lineup featuring Allen, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Fox Sports' Jimmy Spencer was excited by the possibilities:
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers noted the team was interested in Allen's services, per Dan Woike of the Orange County Register:
Charania noted that several teams beyond those West Coast franchises are interested in the shooting guard, who has shot 40 percent from beyond the arc in his career:
"Ray Allen — the most coveted NBA free agent on the market — has heard from far beyond just five teams to consider, including interest from the Memphis Grizzlies, league sources told RealGM.
Allen’s agent, Jim Tanner, confirmed the wide range of interest on Saturday and added that the 6-foot-5 shooting guard has no timetable to make a decision on his playing future.
Despite a report on Saturday that he was choosing between the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors, Allen has not yet reached the stage to decide on any team. Memphis has gone 18-4 this season and has an open roster spot that could be used toward securing another shooter to the rotation.
"
It seems the list of teams interested in Allen is longer than a Cheesecake Factory menu, and he can certainly be selective if he does decide to come back and play this season.
The Warriors would be a very intriguing fit, but Allen is a step or two slow at his age and could have a negative impact on their top-ranked defensive efficiency, per ESPN.com. Then again, if Allen opens up the floor for the Warriors' second unit, it could offset any decline in defensive play.
The Clippers are another intriguing possibility, but the likes of Jamal Crawford, J.J. Redick and Reggie Bullock are already soaking up plenty of minutes at shooting guard.
Allen should only be playing for championships at this point and could find the most playing time on the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team with Larry O'Brien aspirations that has a very thin bench, one that is shooting just 42.7 percent as a unit (per HoopsStats.com).
Jordan Hill
The 7-16 Los Angeles Lakers have very few options when it comes to making trades, but that apparently hasn't stopped teams from fielding calls about one of their most energetic players.
According to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, power forward Jordan Hill has drawn plenty of interest from teams around the league, but fans perhaps shouldn't expect anything to come of it:
"A contract that once looked overwrought now appears eminently fair, to the point where the Lakers are considered likely to exercise the $9 million option they hold on Hill’s deal next season. On a roster widely viewed as devoid of trade assets, sources told Sporting News that Hill is the one guy about whom the Lakers get realistic trade calls—but that LA has no plans to move him.
"
The Lakers are wise to stay committed to a player like Hlil.
The future is decidedly murky in Los Angeles considering Kobe Bryant's $25 million cap hit for 2015-16 and insatiable desire to win while his body holds up, but the Lakers need players who can bridge the gap to the next era of the team, however uncertain that epoch may be.
| 2013-14 | 72 | 32 | 20.8 | 9.7 | .549 | 7.4 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 19.3 |
| 2014-15 | 23 | 23 | 30.4 | 13.1 | .494 | 9.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 19.2 |
Hill has always been renowned for his seemingly boundless reserves of energy and his play hasn't dropped off at all despite an increase in minutes.
Lakers.com reporter Mike Trudell noted how Hill's hustle helped out in the purple and gold's 112-110 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night:
Once an offensive banger—okay, he still is—who subsisted on a heavy diet of second-chance opportunities to score points, Hill has impressed this season with a strong jump hook and a formidable mid-range jumper/set shot. Hill is shooting 38.1 percent on two-pointers 16 feet or farther from the basket, per Basketball-Reference.com. Hill is yet to add a three-point shot to his game, but he insists that it's well within his capabilities.
“I can shoot 3s,” he said, via Deveney. “I can definitely make them. I am just not worried about making 3s right now because we have got our 3-point shooters on the team. But I know I can knock them down if I have the chance."
He can be frustrating to watch on the defense, especially when it comes to guarding the pick-and-roll, but few of the current Lakers can claim to be a positive impact on that end of the floor. Hill's defensive rating of 113 is tied for the second-best mark on the team and behind only fellow frontcourt player Ed Davis, per Basketball-Reference.com.
The Lakers would be wise to pick up Hill's option for next season. At 27 years old, he can prove to be a valuable building block should the Lakers somehow craft a competitive roster next season or at the very least be a stopgap option or even possible trade chip with an expiring contract.
Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.com unless otherwise noted.
