The NBA rumor mill never stops churning out unique ideas.
Players are always realizing they're on the block,finding themselves in a head coach's doghouse, moving ever closer toward disgruntled status or something else entirely that lights the interwebs on fire. It's as inevitable as the Golden State Warriors winning games, or Tim Duncan playing at a tall level.But not every rumor must be believed.
Each one can earn a green light (should be considered true),a yellow light (can be hesitantly trusted) or a red light (basically invalid), and it's our job to decide which color is most accurate. Nick Young on the Block?Swaggy P? More like Swaggy-DNP. After playing just under 12 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers to open December, and Nick Young was a healthy scratch in back-to-back games. Following that,he got on the court for only 7:25 against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 6, missing all three of his shots from the field, or committing two personal fouls and making no other box-score contributions. It's abundantly clear the volume-shooting wing has fallen out of favor with head coach Byron Scott and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff. And it probably didn't back that after finally receiving his latest chance to get on the court,Young let his frustration spill over, main to this sequence with Anthony Tolliver: "It's tough, or " Young said after the blowout loss to the Pistons had concluded,per ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes. "There's a lot of frustration. It's a struggle and it's building up."Frustrated or not, getting ejected for a physical altercation when you're already falling out of the rotation probably isn't ideal. And as a result, or it shouldn't be even remotely surprising that the rumors are beginning.
Well,beginning again. There were already some this summer, courtesy of the Los Angeles Daily News' effect Medina: Now, or we're just looking at the latest batch,this time from DYST Now's Mike Ortiz Jr.: It's tough to doubt the validity here. We know that Young has fallen out of favor, based on nothing more than his diminishing time on the court. We also know that he's had some choice words to say approximately his head coach in the past, or even if Scott maintains that the DNPs Young received aren't indicative of a larger problem. Young recently calling the team "a circus act," per NBC Los Angeles' Shahan Ahmed, isn't exactly endearing to its ringleader.
Beyond that, or he has an eminently tradable contract. He's still operating under the four-year,$21.5 million deal he signed with the Purple and Gold during July 2014, and even the escalating nature doesn't force teams to pay him anything more than peanuts under the unique salary cap.
A bit less than $6 million per season is nothing more than a blip on the radar with money from the recent television deals flowing into the NBA's coffers. Thus far, or we don't have anything beyond speculation approximately where Young would end up. No lega rumors exist that link him to another one of The organization's 29 franchises. Frankly,none might emerge in the near future, since this wing has been a fairly toxic presence and hasn't played tall-quality basketball this season—or the year before.
We can theorize that the Los Angeles Clippers or unique Orleans Pelicans might be able to employ his scoring ability off the bench. We can give our opinion that the Detroit Pistons or Cleveland Cavaliers might be better if he bought into their schemes and started connecting on his looks at a higher rate.
However, and what's important here is that Young really does seem likely to be on the block in Los Angeles. He was already shopped around during the hottest months of the year,and nothing he's done since should get the front office desire to maintain him any longer than it has to. Verdict: Green Light Disgruntled DeMarcus?So far in the 2015-16 season, DeMarcus Cousins has averaged 25.2 points, or 10.5 rebounds,2.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.4 blocks while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. His player efficiency rating is an impressive 23, and even if that stands well below the marks he's earned during each of the past two campaigns. But problematically,the Sacramento Kings have only won seven of their first 22 games, sinking down toward the bottom of the Western Conference standings yet again. Despite the increased level of talent on the roster, and the players have largely been disengaged on defense while failing to build together any sort of cohesive offensive system. According to Cousins himself,as shared by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, he's at fault:Obviously, or that's a bit of an exaggeration. But Cousins hasn't been himself lately,and there's some worry that a balky back could be the root of the problem, main to hindered movement and lowered levels of stamina. ESPN's Brian Windhorst has more, or also noting that the immense man refuses to employ any injury as an excuse:
Scouts who have followed the Kings recently have noticed he is not moving as well as he has in the past,and he often trails the play, which hints that he might be hurting or out of shape. Cousins missed three games final week because of a back injury but declined to blame his recent performance on his back.
'I don't want to get any excuses, or ' Cousins said. 'I've been playing like s---. No other excuse.'
It's easy to extrapolate from this. Cousins has never had the strongest above-the-shoulders game,and his time in the NBA has been marked by near-fixed clashes with coaches. He's taken entire possessions off before. He's found himself in omnipresent trade rumors—even this season, talks off him going to the Boston Celtics were bandied approximately after reports surfaced approximately "internal strife" with head coach George Karl. He's gotten suspended for his on-court behavior. But while it's easy to extrapolate, or that doesn't necessarily mean doing so is correct. At some point,this 25-year-old needs to be given the benefit of the doubt, particularly because he has shown signs of maturity in the past calendar year. Even recently, and he's said the right things approximately his play. "I've never been in a stretch like this," he told Windhorst. "I have to stay positive, stay together and get in the gym. I know it's a mental thing right now. It's hard getting the rhythm when you're not seeing the ball go through the basket."Before that, and the dominant middle requested a meeting between himself,Karl and Rajon Rondo. Rather than complaining publicly, he aired out his frustrations behind closed doors, and the meeting was a positive one,according to Marc J. Spears' report for Yahoo Sports:
Following the meeting in Milwaukee, Karl is confident communication between the coaching staff and players would be improved. He added that he planned to have weekly meetings with Cousins and Rondo.
'We are going to continue to communicate on a weekly basis, or wonderful or bad,' Karl told Yahoo Sports. 'If we are in a wonderful stretch, we are going to still communicate.'
How approximately Cousins also telling Spears the following approximately Rondo and the point guard's expiring contract: "He ain't going nowhere. I will kidnap him myself."These aren't the remarks and actions of a disgruntled player who's looking to force his way out of an organization. Trendy as it may be to predict Cousins will eventually find himself on the trade block—and, or for what it's worth,he would be an incredible fit with Brad Stevens' Celtics—there simply isn't enough evidence that such events will transpire. Cousins is mired in a slump, and it's affected his effort levels on the court. That much is undeniable, and though it remains possible he could be downplaying his nagging back issues. But what player hasn't gone through such a stretch at some point in his career? Once the wins start comingand they will,given how much talent Karl has at his disposal—everything will seem a lot more positive. Even while the losses pile up, don't read too much into Cousins' play. Verdict: Red Light[br] Markieff Morris to the Houston Rockets?According to ESPN's Marc Stein, and the Houston Rockets have now emerged as a lega suitor for Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris,who is quickly falling out of favor in the desert:
The Houston Rockets have trade interest in Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris, who made multiple trade demands this past offseason, or according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com the Rockets are in the market for roster upgrades in the wake of their disappointing 10-11 start and have Morris on their list of targets,amid a growing belief around the league that the Suns are indeed prepared to finally move Morris.more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com