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Rumor Roundup: Williams, Cavs, Bucks

So the Cavaliers have added a Cavs ink former top-two pick Derrick Williams ">new player. Will Derrick Williams last? More on that and the rest of the goings-on
Sam Amico|

So the Cavaliers have added a Cavs ink former top-two pick Derrick Williams

">new player. Will Derrick Williams last? More on that and the rest of the goings-on in the world of pro hoops:

Per Cleveland.com: "A team source said Williams has a strong chance to make the team for the rest of the season. His salary-plus-tax number for this 10-day contract is $200,000. He can get a second 10-day contract for the same number, and then the Cavs would have to sign him at a pro-rated salary for the rest of the season." (Full report.)

Per Cleveland.com: "The Cavs really like his size and quickness, his ability to defend multiple positions and play behind LeBron James." (Full report.)

Per Cleveland.com: "Before the game, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said WIlliams was signed in part because of injuries to J.R. Smith (fractured right thumb) and Iman Shumpert (sprained left ankle), leaving the Cavs limited athletically on the wing." (Full report.)

Per Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Amico Hoops: "Williams finished with 12 points in 22 minutes on 3-of-3 shooting. Everyone says the Cavs needed a playmaker or another inside presence. Williams is neither of those things — as he also finished with 1 assist and 0 rebounds." (Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Full report.)

Per Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Amico Hoops: "So why bother with Williams, a 6-foot-8 combo forward? Well, because the Cavs think he’s a fine athlete and a good basketball player who could flourish in the right situation. The game has become so position-less, with 7-footers shooting 3-pointers and guards crashing the glass for rebounds. Auditioning a hungry and athletic player like Williams is without question a low-risk, high-reward type of deal." (Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Full report.)

Per ESPN: "Now, the Cavs could find a point guard or a true rim protector on the market in the next two weeks before the Feb. 23 deadline and render Williams a nonessential player." (Full report.) Per ESPN: "Or Williams could play like he did Thursday and prove himself so valuable in the extended audition that he'll get picked up for the rest of the way." (Full report.) Per Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Amico Hoops: "Yeah, I know. I hear it all the time: “LeBron is playing too many minutes!” Let me just say this — it must be what he wants. And if LeBron is OK with it, everyone else should be, too." (Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Full report.) Per Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Amico Hoops: Other than that, I think reporters and fans tend to overreact when it comes to players’ minutes. James is 32, not 102. He knows his body. He makes millions upon millions of dollars to go out and play basketball for 82 regular season games a year. So let’s keep quiet and let him play." (Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

">Full report.) Per the Akron Beacon Journal: "Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has reached an agreement with the Cavaliers to place a patch on their jerseys beginning next season, according to a Bloomberg report." (Full report.) Per the Akron Beacon Journal: "The Cavs are believed to be the fifth NBA team to reach agreement on a sponsorship patch, joining the Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets." (Full report.)

Per HoopsHype: "If a trade partner is interested in acquiring more experienced players, Denver also has veterans such as Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton, Darrell Arthur, Jameer Nelson and Mike Miller. These vets could also help when it comes to making salaries match in a potential deal." (Full report.)

Per HoopsHype: "Rival executives believe Denver’s front office wants to be active at the deadline and they certainly have the pieces to make a move, so they’re a team to keep an eye on." (Full report.)

Per HoopsHype: "Trading off veterans like Nick Young, Lou Williams, Luol Deng or Jose Calderon would give the young core more playing time, allow the Lakers to acquire more picks and young prospects, and increase the likelihood that they’ll keep two very important first-rounders going forward." (Full report.)

Per HoopsHype: "Despite head coach Luke Walton’s negative comments about tanking, executives believe the Lakers will strongly consider this route. If they do, other teams will certainly be calling about L.A.’s veterans." (Full report.)

Per HoopsHype: "One name that has surfaced quite a bit in recent trade rumors is Jahlil Okafor. ... I’ve talked to a number of executives who are still intrigued by Okafor and believe he can thrive in the right situation. Buying low on him now is seemingly a low-risk, high-reward move." (Full report.)

Per HoopsHype: "For months, Vlade Divac has been telling executives, agents and anyone willing to listen that the Kings aren’t going to trade DeMarcus Cousins. He’s adamant about this and hasn’t budged from that position." (Full report.)

Per the Miami Herald: "One name we’ve been told is on Miami’s radar: Orlando forward Serge Ibaka, an impending free agent for whom the Magic reportedly is willing to consider offers." (Full report.)

Per the Miami Herald: "It’s unclear whether the Heat has assets that the Magic wants, or how aggressively Miami will pursue this. But Ibaka intrigues the Heat." (Full report.)

Per Sports Illustrated: "The great fear Wednesday night was Jabari Parker, a former No. 2 overall pick, had torn the ACL in his left knee for the second time in three seasons. When Bucks coach Jason Kidd confirmed that diagnosis Thursday, pegging Parker for a full year of rehabilitation, an even greater fear crystallized: Will Milwaukee’s flirtation with life as the NBA’s Next Big Thing end before it ever truly started?" (Full report.)

Per Sports Illustrated: "While Khris Middleton’s return still looms large for Milwaukee’s playoff hopes, the balance of the season now becomes a salvage job rather than the possible coronation of a new NBA darling." (Full report.)

Per Sports Illustrated: "Even if the Bucks do push back into the East’s top eight, Parker will be missing out on his first taste of the postseason, the Bucks won’t get a chance to see how their young core holds up together under the lights, and casual fans will miss out on the full force and fury of one of the league’s most potent up-and-coming duos." (Full report.)

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer: "It's no secret that the Sixers have been shopping Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor since last summer. And there's a great chance that one of them will be on another team by 3:01 p.m. on deadline day." (Full report.)

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer: "I don't even approach it," Noel said inside the visitors' locker room at Amway Center. "I just play my game. If that's what they decide, that's what they decide." (Full report.)

The Clippers should consider trading Blake Griffin to land Knicks star Carmelo Anthony in a three-way deal, per a column from The Ringer.

Per The Ringer: "Swapping Griffin for Melo would be an upgrade for Los Angeles. When healthy, Griffin is a Hall of Fame talent, but the Clippers historically aren’t much better with him and Chris Paul than they are with just Paul." (Full report.)

Per Basketball Insiders: "As of today, none of the teams linked to the Knicks feel like they have any traction on a deal, according to sources near each team, mainly because any deal would have to be approved by Anthony himself and the Knicks have yet to bring a deal to him to approve." (Full report.)

Per Basketball Insiders: "One veteran NBA executive said recently that moving off Anthony’s teammates might be more effective in getting Anthony to agree to a deal than anything they are trying to accomplish publicly, as Anthony has routinely said he’s committed to his teammates more so than the front office." (Full report.)

Five teams would make sense as potential landing spots for Anthony: the Celtics, Hawks, Wizards, Clippers and Raptors, per a column from The Undefeated.

The Grizzlies have signed point guard Toney Douglas to a second 10-day contract, per the team.

Rookie big man Diamond Stone has been recalled from the D-League by the Clippers, per the team.

Per USA Today: "The NBA’s footprint was already expanding at an unreal rate, what with its massive television rights deal, games being played on international soil, Development League expansion, virtual reality offerings and the like." (Full report.)

Per USA Today: "And now, by way of the expected announcement on Thursday about their new 'NBA 2K eLeague' partnership with Take-Two Interactive Software, that profile will include a wing for the video game community." (Full report.)

Dribbles: Even in defeat, Cavs looking a-OK

Thursday's News

In case you haven't yet heard, the Cavaliers have signed former No. 2 overall draft pick Derrick Williams to a 10-day contract. You can read the Cavs ink former top-two pick Derrick Williams

">full post here.

Per ESPN: "One month and one day after the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Kyle Korver in the surprise trade of the NBA season so far, the assassin went out and put on a performance unlike anything we've seen out of him in almost 10 years." (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "Korver will continue to become part of the Cavs' culture, whether it be through experiencing his first postgame awards ceremony, where Cleveland honors whatever achievement a player reaches -- tonight it was James congratulating Korver in front of the whole locker room for passing Jason Kidd for seventh all-time in 3-pointers -- or even picking up a new nickname." (Full report.)

Per the Akron Beacon Journal: "Korver is 18 of 29 on 3-pointers during this four-game winning streak. He shot 41 percent from deep in January after joining the Cavs, so he wasn’t exactly terrible, but he missed a lot of shots he normally makes in what has certainly been an adjustment for him." (Full report.)

Per the Akron Beacon Journal: "James and Irving spoke recently about getting back to their defensive identity, which begins with pick-and-roll coverages. The Cavs got away from their principles and began changing too much of what they wanted to do too often. James recently went to Lue and told him he thought it was time to start simplifying things and Lue agreed." (Full report.)

Per Amico Hoops: "In the end, the Cavs halted the Pacers’ seven-game winning streak. They did the same to the Wizards at Washington on Monday. That makes the Cavs (36-15) the first team in NBA history to win two straight road games against an opponent that was riding a win streak of at least seven games." (Full report.)

Per Yahoo Sports: "New York Knicks president Phil Jackson’s public campaign to pressure Carmelo Anthony into waiving his no-trade clause is working to harden Anthony’s resolve to remain with the franchise, league sources told The Vertical." (Full report.)

Per Yahoo Sports: "Anthony has privately told teammates, too: He refuses to let Jackson run him out of the Knicks. The Knicks have contacted three teams – the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers – about possible Anthony trades. The Clippers and Cavaliers have interest, but only in cobbling together packages that include role players, league sources told The Vertical." (Full report.)

Per Yahoo Sports: "There was an expectation around the NBA that Knicks management would start to search elsewhere for trade possibilities and bring Anthony different scenarios for his approval, but that process doesn’t appear to have begun, league sources said." (Full report.)

Per Newsday: "As much as he is tired of losing, Anthony is tired of having to talk about why Jackson keeps taking shots at him." (Full report.)

Per Newsday: "Jeff Hornacek was asked about the level of dysfunction surrounding the team and if it was 'worse' than he expected. 'I was warned,' he said. 'But it was expected that there was going to be something all the time. It’s lived up to the billing.'" (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "Reasonable people can disagree if it’s wise to deal Anthony. Several people in the organization believe the best approach is to deal Anthony and move forward with Kristaps Porzingis and fellow young big man Willy Hernangomez, per sources." (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "Multiple prominent agents said on Tuesday afternoon that the way Jackson has handled Anthony would turn off their clients and others to the idea of signing with Jackson’s Knicks." (Full report.)

Per the New York Post: "Austin Rivers, whom the Knicks would like as part of an Anthony package, is now the Clippers starting point guard with Chris Paul out with a thumb injury until March." (Full report.)

Per the New York Post: "The Knicks want more assets than Rivers, who met with Jackson in July during free agency." (Full report.)

Per the New York Post: "To make a deal work under the collective bargaining agreement, the addition of Jamal Crawford’s contract is needed." (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "NYPD police source told ESPN that Charles Oakley was making comments towards Knicks owner James Dolan and eventually Dolan had security escort him out."

Per the New York Post: "A security man was trying to calm him, and Oakley shoved the security man’s arm out of the way. Then he pushed the security man. And pushed him again. And now, this wasn’t quite so funny anymore." (Full report.) Per the New York Post: "Oakley wound up on the ground, cuffed, read his Miranda rights, and then arrested. This is what the Knicks have become." (Full report.) Per the New York Post: "Oakley has criticized Dolan regularly since he was exiled to Toronto almost 20 years ago, and reportedly started chattering in Dolan’s direction at the start of this fiasco; some called it “heckling,” others asserted it was more sinister, more vulgar." (Full report.)

Per Amico Hoops: "Calvin Watkins of ESPN revealed Wednesday that the Houston Rockets have shown interest in free-agent point guards Mario Chalmers and Jarrett Jack as possible backups for James Harden and Patrick Beverley. Watkins also writes that the Rockets have shown “some interest” in trading for Orlando Magic power forward Serge Ibaka." (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "According to sources, the Rockets expressed interest in acquiring another shooter and were in serious discussions with Cleveland for a Mike Dunleavy Jr. deal which would have included K.J. McDaniels but pulled out. Dunleavy Jr. was later traded to Atlanta." (Full report.)

Per Amico Hoops: "Celebrated NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski is close to leaving Yahoo Sports for ESPN, according to a report from Deadspin." (Full report.)

Per Amico Hoops: "A Deadspin source coined Wojnarowski’s possible exit as 'complicated, and will likely take months to fully sort out.'" (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "According to sources close to the situation, Magic Johnson has already heard from agents and executives from other teams that Mitch Kupchak's deliberate style can be frustrating to deal with and has probably cost the Lakers in free agency in recent years, missing out on a list of names that includes Isaiah Thomas, Kent Bazemore, Kyle Lowry, Ed Davis, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Eric Gordon." (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "As the trade deadline approaches, we'll hear more about the possibility of moving starting shooting guard Nick Young and super-sub Louis Williams." (Full report.)

Per ESPN: "Of course, the Lakers will listen to any and all offers for Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng, though they shouldn't expect to hear any unless they are willing to package them with one of their younger players such as Ivica Zubac, Larry Nance Jr. or one of the three former lottery picks." (Full report.)

Per the Chicago Tribune: "Despite some outside perception to the contrary, the jobs of executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman are safe, sources familiar with ownership's thinking told the Tribune." (Full report.)

Per the Chicago Tribune: "In fact, ownership's trust in Paxson and Forman remains so intact that they would be retained even if the Bulls miss the postseason for a second straight season, one source said." (Full report.)

Per the Trail Blazers: "Further medical evaluation confirms that Portland guard Evan Turner sustained a fracture of the third metacarpal in his right hand. He is expected to be sidelined for 5-6 weeks. The injury will not require surgery." (Full report.)

Hornets guard Ramon Sessions is expected to miss 4-6 weeks following surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear, per the team.

Free agent guard Nate Robinson has been claimed by the Delaware 87ers of the D-League, per the team.

The Pacers have recalled forward Georges Niang from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, per the team.

The Heat have signed guard Marcus-Georges Hunt to a 10-0day contract, per the team.

The Hawks have signed forward Lamar Patterson to a second 10-day contract, per the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The Timberwolves have officially signed veteran guard Lance Stephenson to a 10-day contract, per the team.

Former Cavaliers and D-League forward Jawad Williams (North Carolina) is nearing a contract agreement with Italian club Grissin Bon, per Amico Hoops.

Former D-League forward Tiny Gallon (Oklahoma) has agreed to a deal with Limoges of France, per Amico Hoops.

Former D-League forward Deng Deng (Baylor) agreed to a contract with Al Shamal of Qatar, per Amico Hoops.

Former D-League forward Brandon Costner (NC State) has agreed to a contract with Puerto Rican club Humacao, per Amico Hoops.

Cavs ink former top-two pick Derrick Williams
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Sam Amico
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