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Tobias Harris Declines Clippers’ Extension Offer

July 22nd, 2018 at 7:42pm CST by Clark Crum

After ongoing amicable discussions between player and team, Clippers forward Tobias Harris has reportedly decided to turn down a contract extension offer worth approximately $80MM and play out the final season of his current deal in Los Angeles, according to David Aldridge of TNT.

Because the maximum amount the Clippers could have offered in the first season of an extension is only 120% of Harris’ 2018/19 salary, which equates to $17.76MM, and raises are limited to 8%, the maximum value of the extension offer was $79.56MM. Based upon the $80MM figure reported by Aldridge, it therefore appears as though the Clippers offered Harris the most money they possibly could under NBA rules.

Nevertheless, Harris, 26, will now play out the final year of his current deal and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He will be eligible to sign a five-year, $189.7MM with the Clippers or a four-year, $140.6MM deal with another franchise, whereas as explained above, he could have only earned $94.4MM over the next five years if he had excepted the extension offer.

Still, it’s still a bit surprising to see Harris turn down such a lucrative offer when next year’s free agent crop is turning heads already and big deals like we saw in the summer of 2016 just aren’t coming around as often. Only time will tell whether Harris made the right call.

Turkish Team Targeting Jeff Withey?

July 22nd, 2018 at 6:59pm CST by Mark Suleymanov

Former second-round pick Jeff Withey is reportedly in negotiations with Tofas Bursa, a team in the Turkish Basketball Super League, per Sportando. There is no agreement in place as of this writing but both sides expect a “positive outcome,” according to the report.

Withey spent nine games with the Mavericks last season, but he was waived in mid-December. The 28-year-old averaged just 1.7 PPG and 1.1 in his limited action with Dallas. The Trail Blazers originally drafted Withey in 2013 but he was promptly shipped to the Pelicans, where he spent his first two seasons.

Withey’s most significant playing time came with the Jazz after he signed with the team in August 2015. The 7’0″ big man’s most productive season came with Utah during the 2015/16 campaign when he averaged a career-best 4.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG.

The former 39th overall pick spent four years with the Kansas Jayhawks in college before joining the NBA.

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Jeff Withey

Kawhi Notes: Long-Term Future, Best Case Scenario, Performance

July 22nd, 2018 at 6:23pm CST by Mark Suleymanov

Ever since the Raptors swung a blockbuster deal with the Spurs to acquire two-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard, speculation on his alleged interest — or lack thereof — to play in Canada has been rampant. There have been reports ranging from Leonard having no desire to suit up for Toronto to team president Masai Ujiri saying that the 2014 NBA champion is prepared for next season.

Leonard will hit free agency next summer when his current contract expires. The Lakers have been frequently connected to Leonard as a possible — if not likely — destination for him. However, at least one person believes that Leonard’ tenure with the Raptors will last more than one season. Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune spoke to one close Leonard confidant who believes the superstar will re-sign with Toronto.

“He’s going to fall in love with Toronto – it’s going to happen. He’s not going to leave, I’m telling you,” he said.

There have been so many reports on Leonard’s alleged frame of mind regarding his new team. It’s unlikely we’ll get a clear indication on his future unless it comes directly from Leonard. However, joining a 59-win team that led the Eastern Conference in wins a year ago bodes well for Toronto with a healthy Leonard for next season.

Check out more Leonard notes below:

ESPN’s Andre Snellings examined the best case scenario for the both the Raptors and Leonard. While DeMar DeRozan was the recognized franchise star who improved each season, statistics show that the Raptors scored better with him on the bench. If Leonard is healthy, Snellings writes that his potent combination of elite scoring and defense improves Toronto on both sides of the court.
With Leonard joining the Raptors, a lot of unknowns remain, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes. Leonard is known around the league as a quiet person who prefers to keep himself out of the spotlight. However, in joining a new team, Leonard will have to prove himself by playing his best basketball and when he’s healthy, he’s proven himself as one of the NBA’s elite.
If you missed it, here is a rundown of Ujiri’s press conference from Friday, where he addressed Leonard’s arrival and miscommunication with DeRozan.

Bulls Notes: Parker, Ulis, Blakeney, Paxson

July 22nd, 2018 at 4:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bringing in Jabari Parker is a risk the Bulls may wind up regretting, writes Darnell Maybury of The Athletic. Even though just the first season of his two-year, $40MM contract is guaranteed, Chicago now has 10 players age 24 or younger who may be tempted to put personal concerns ahead of the team agenda.

Bobby Portis and Cameron Payne will both be in their fourth seasons, Maybury notes, and will be looking at a final chance to put up big numbers before restricted free agency. Zach LaVine will try to prove he’s worth his new four-year, $78MM deal and Denzel Valentine has been open about his desire to be a starter. That presents a lot of challenges for coach Fred Hoiberg to balance heading into the new season.

Maybury also warns that the addition of Parker could also be detrimental to the development of Lauri Markkanen, which he states should be the Bulls’ top objective.

There’s more today out of Chicago:

Parker put on a show Saturday at a pickup game organized by the Chicago Basketball Club, relays Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago. Parker was impressive with his shooting, passing and ballhandling and offered hope that he has fully recovered from his latest ACL surgery. Also participating in the game was former Suns point guard Tyler Ulis, a Chicago native whom Walton suggests the Bulls may be interested in.
To clear cap room for Parker, the Bulls waived Sean Kilpatrick and rescinded their qualifying offer for David Nwaba, leading Ben Bokun of NBC Sports Chicago to question the reasoning of cutting ties with those players and signing summer league standout Antonio Blakeney to a two-year deal. A two-way player for the Bulls last season, Blakeney appeared in 19 NBA games and averaged 7.9 points. Chicago’s front office also got a close look at him in the G League, where he was named Rookie of the Year and made the all-star team.
VP of basketball operations John Paxson is happy with how quickly the organization has been able to assemble a group of young talent, although he recognizes that doesn’t automatically make the Bulls a contender, writes Ashish Mathur of AmicoHoops. “This year, a lot of our success will be determined by how big of a jump Zach, Kris [Dunn] and Lauri make,” Paxson said. “We knew that going into this offseason. Now you add Jabari, Wendell [Carter] and Chandler [Hutchison] and you feel like you’re making some progress.”

Rawle Alkins Agrees To Two-Way Deal With Bulls

July 22nd, 2018 at 2:28pm CST by Mark Suleymanov

The Bulls have agreed to a two-way deal with undrafted guard Rawle Alkins, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The Arizona product spent the past few weeks with the Raptors‘ Summer League team.

Toronto liked Alkins’ summer performance where he averaged 9.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.0 APG. The Raptors offered Alkins a camp invitation but he chose the deal with the higher guaranteed money, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg.

As a two-way player, Alkins will spend most of his time with the Bulls’ G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. However, he is permitted to spend up to 45 days with the NBA team. The Bulls have the option to convert Alkins’ deal into a standard NBA deal if they choose.

In his sophomore season with the Wildcats, Alkins averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG. Entering the 2018 NBA Draft, Alkins was ranked as the 49th-best prospect on Jonathan Givony’s top-100 list at ESPN.com.

Chinese Teams Interested In Jahlil Okafor?

July 22nd, 2018 at 1:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jahlil Okafor appears to have offers waiting in China if he can’t find an NBA team to sign him, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

The third player taken in the 2015 draft, Okafor washed out in Philadelphia and didn’t play much after being traded to the Nets in December. He got into just 26 games with Brooklyn and averaged 6.4 PPG in 12.6 minutes per night.

Okafor is working out in Miami, but the Heat aren’t interested in signing him, Carchia writes. We detailed several other franchises that have apparently withdrawn their interest earlier this week, including the Nets, Pacers and Bulls. However, four teams sent representatives to Okafor’s recent workout in Las Vegas and he remains hopeful of catching on with someone before training camps open.

Weekly Mailbag: 7/16/18 – 7/22/18

July 22nd, 2018 at 12:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

We have an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com.

Who do you think got the steal of the draft at the center position? The Celtics with Robert Williams or the Knicks with Mitchell Robinson, who averaged five blocks per game in the summer league? — Greg Dizon

Robinson was the clear winner in summer league and looks like the primary backup to Enes Kanter after his outstanding performance in Las Vegas. Williams, meanwhile, was sidelined by a sore left knee and didn’t see any action. Summer league can be deceiving, of course, and none of this means Robinson will be a better player than Williams, either this season or throughout his NBA career. He still needs to develop an offensive game, and he is behind schedule overall after not playing in college. However, Knicks fans need something to be excited about and the summer performance of Robinson and Kevin Knox certainly provides that.

Who should the Mavericks look at in free agency to account for the loss on the wing with the departures of Seth Curry, Doug McDermott and Yogi Ferrell, or would a trade make more sense at this point? — M.D. Jordan Sports, via Twitter

Dallas is using the last of its cap space to re-sign Dirk Nowitzki and will have just the $4.45MM room exception available, so the options are limited. Rodney Hood is probably the top wing player left on the market, but he’s a restricted free agent and the Cavaliers would happily match an offer that started at $4.45MM. David Nwaba, who is now unrestricted after the Bulls pulled their qualifying offer, could be an interesting option if he doesn’t get a better offer somewhere else. Beyond that, the free agent pool is filled with veterans such as Jamal Crawford, Corey Brewer, Nick Young, Devin Harris and Arron Afflalo, none of whom would have a long-term future with the Mavericks.

I know Chandler Parsons‘ contract is bigger, but with the right adjustments, would a Luol Deng for Parsons trade work? The Grizzlies seem like a team that could at least try using Luol on the court, and an on-point Chandler alongside LeBron James would be awesome. Then again, I’m on the fence with Parsons, I understand why Houston, Dallas and Memphis were willing to pay him, but I also understand why they regret it. — Nicolas Galipeau

The Lakers are still in the business of trying to preserve as much cap space as possible for next year’s free agent frenzy. It’s unlikely they would gamble on Parsons even without the scary injury history. Deng and Parsons benefited from the irrational contracts that were handed out in 2016 and both have become salary cap albatrosses. Deng will make $36.8MM over the next two seasons, while Parsons is due more than $49.2MM. Their salaries make them virtually untradable, even for each other. It’s much more likely that the Lakers will use the stretch provision to make Deng’s deal less of an impediment to their free agent plans.

International Notes: Perrantes, Ennis, Martin, Henderson

July 22nd, 2018 at 11:31am CST by Arthur Hill

Two European teams are hoping to sign former Cavaliers two-way player London Perrantes, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. The French club Limoges has expressed interest in Perrantes, who received a two-year offer on Friday from Olimpia Milano in Italy, which plans to loan him to VL Pesaro during his first season.

Cleveland waived the 23-year-old point guard last month after one season with the organization. Perrantes appeared in 14 games for the Cavs and averaged less than five minutes per night. His G League numbers were much better as he posted an 11.9/3.4/7.8 line while starting 35 games for the Canton Charge.

A four-year player at Virginia, Perrantes got the opportunity in Cleveland just before the start of last season. Prior to that, he had been signed and waived by the Spurs.

There’s more overseas news to pass along:

Former Laker Tyler Ennis‘ decision to sign with Fenerbahce is examined by Kostas Giataganas of Eurohoops. Ennis will join ex-Spur Joffrey Lauvergne on the Turkish club and will follow his brother Dylan, who played in Europe last season. Ennis was waived by the Lakers in June before his $1.7MM contract for next season became guaranteed. He appeared in 54 games for L.A. last year, averaging 4.1 points per night.
Hassan Martin, who had an impressive performance with the Celtics‘ summer league team, is headed to Germany, Lupo relays in a separate piece. The former Rhode Island forward averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game in Las Vegas. He played in Japan last year.
Former Hornets G Leaguer Terry Henderson has signed with Scaligera Verona in Italy, also according to Lupo. The one-time North Carolina State guard averaged 11.3 points in 42 games with the Greensboro Swarm last season.

Pacific Notes: Stephenson, Ariza, Harrell, Ferrell

July 22nd, 2018 at 10:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Headed to his seventh team in five years, new Laker Lance Stephenson is hoping he can land a long-term contract next summer, relays Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Stephenson expected a longer stay in Indiana after appearing in all 82 games last season. However, after teammate Thaddeus Young opted in to a $13.7MM deal and Doug McDermott was added in free agency, the Pacers elected to decline their $4.3MM option on Stephenson. He wound up signing a one-year, $4.5MM deal with L.A.

“I’m definitely looking for a long-term contract after this,” Stephenson said. “I’m trying to find a home. I’ve been moving a lot and to different teams. I’m trying to find a place where I can actually call home and feel comfortable, and actually get a nice place and stay there for a while.”

There’s more this morning from the Pacific Division:

The Suns contacted free agent forward Trevor Ariza in the first minute of free agency, he says in a video interview tweeted by the team. The former Rocket agreed to change teams after receiving a one-year, $15MM offer from Phoenix. “Sometimes things run their course and it’s time for a new start and new beginning,” Ariza explained. “There were a lot of options for me, but the one that … showed the most promise was this one. I’m excited to be here. I’m happy to be here. It’s closer to home [in Los Angeles] for me.”
The new two-year, $12MM contract for Montrezl Harrell leaves the Clippers about $500K below the tax line, but sets up a difficult roster decision, Bobby Marks posts on ESPN Now. Re-signing Harrell gives L.A. 16 guaranteed contracts, along with non-guaranteed deals for Patrick Beverley ($5,027,028) and C.J. Williams ($1,378,242). Neither becomes fully guaranteed until January 10.
The Kings finalized a three-year, $20.5MM contract with Nemanja Bjelica on Saturday, but not an expected deal with Yogi Ferrell, notes salary cap expert Albert Nahmad (Twitter link). He speculates that Sacramento could be examining its options with $14MM in remaining cap space and may use the room mid-level exception to sign Ferrell to a two-year, $6.2MM deal at a later date.

Former Hawk Jaylen Morris Signs In Italy

July 22nd, 2018 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Three days after being waived by the Hawks, Jaylen Morris has found a new home in Italy, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. Fiat Torino has announced the signing of Morris, who played six games for Atlanta last season.

Morris had a non-guaranteed $1,378,242 salary for next season, and the Hawks had to waive him and Antonius Cleveland to clear enough cap room to complete a three-team trade that will bring in Carmelo Anthony from the Thunder and Justin Anderson from the Sixers.

Morris spent most of last year in the G League before signing a pair of 10-day deals with Atlanta and getting a contract in March that covered the rest of the season. He also spent summer league with the Hawks, playing in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

Morris requested a release from the Hawks after learning that he wouldn’t make the 15-man roster for the upcoming season, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta-Journal Consitution. Lupo notes that Morris’ new contract in Italy includes an out clause in case he gets another NBA offer.