Eastern Notes: Crowder, Sixers, Dunleavy
The Celtics have completed the paperwork to make Jae Crowder a $1.1MM qualifying offer, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports. The deadline is Sunday. Crowder has expressed a desire to return to the Celtics but is expected to test the free-agent market, Murphy adds.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Mario Hezonja’s buyout with his Barcelona team will be finalized as early as Monday, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Barcelona had reduced the NBA escape clause for Hezonja, whom the Magic drafted with the No. 5 pick, to 1.5 million euros, or roughly $1.675MM, in order to retain his Euro rights, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com. (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem had been negotiating for a lower amount, as Pick reported previously. The most the Magic, who drafted him fifth overall, can pay toward a buyout is $625K, with the rest having to come from Hezonja. Orlando wound up drafting Hezonja despite a report that teams felt his camp might be steering him toward the Pistons. Tellem is leaving the Wasserman Media Group to take an executive position with the Pistons organization later this year.
- The Sixers received second-round picks in 2020 and 2021 from the Knicks in the draft-night trade for Spanish big man Guillermo Hernangomez, according to Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com. The Knicks had already traded away their own second-round picks through 2019, with the picks in 2018 and 2019 potentially headed to the Sixers. Bodner continues. Philadelphia will get a second-rounder from either the Knicks or Clippers in 2018, whichever is higher, Bodner adds.
- The Bulls are hopeful of re-signing Mike Dunleavy, according to a tweet from Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. There’s interest from both sides but it depends on how much money the unrestricted free agent is seeking, Friedell adds.
Pacific Rumors: Cousins, Lakers, Booker
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive gave agent Dan Fegan permission to try to engineer trade proposals that would send DeMarcus Cousins to the Lakers once Fegan made it clear that Cousins, his client, wanted out, but Kings front office chief Vlade Divac is instead trying to see if the Kings can carry on with both Cousins and coach George Karl, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. “I’ll be honest with you, how I think right now, I think [Cousins and Karl] got the message yesterday,” Divac said on KHTK 1140 Friday (audio link), as Amick relays. “So here I am, and if you’re on board, [you’re] more than welcome. If you’re not, I’ve got to go. I can’t wait. We do have everything except time. We have to go forward and try to make it a healthy environment and try to have a good team for next year. Look, we’re going to have ups and downs in the next couple months. And you’re going to hate me, you’re going to love me, but believe me I’m going to do the best I can to make this thing work. With me, with DeMarcus, with George, or without me, without DeMarcus, without George, I don’t know. But we’ll make it work.”
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers made the right move by selecting D’Angelo Russell over Jahlil Okafor, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com opines. Russell’s ability to score and distribute made more sense than a pairing of Okafor with last year’s lottery pick, Julius Randle, which would have clogged up the middle with two low-post isolation players, Howard-Cooper continues. There are also questions about Okafor’s conditioning, which isn’t an issue with Russell, Howard-Cooper adds.
- Suns coach Jeff Hornacek has added Jason Fraser to his staff as a player development coach focusing on the team’s big men, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. The Suns have also added Earl Watson and Nate Bjorkgren as player development coaches since the end of the season, Coro adds.
- The Suns were pleasantly surprised that Devin Booker dropped to their pick at No. 13 overall, Coro writes in a Q&A with Hornacek. Phoenix expected the Hornets to draft him at No. 9 and tried to trade up but Charlotte instead chose Frank Kaminsky and Booker fell into its lap. “We really thought Devin Booker was going to go nine at Charlotte. That was the big talk,” Hornacek said. “You’re always looking to get up to get a guy you want. Nothing like that happened and, as it went on, we said, ‘We might get him anyway.’ So it worked out well.”
Northwest Notes: Favors, Ingles, Lyles, Nuggets
Derrick Favors is not being shopped around the league by the Jazz despite the team’s reported interest in free agent Paul Millsap, a source told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. A source had told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News earlier this week that Favors might be traded to make room for Millsap. While the Jazz are likely to gauge Millsap’s interested in returning to Utah, they like the defensive pairing of Favors and Rudy Gobert along the interior, Falk continues. That duo had a defensive rating of 92.5 points allowed per 100 possessions, fourth best in the NBA, over the last 29 games when the Jazz went 19-10, Falk notes. Favors also has a team-friendly contract averaging $11.6MM over the next three seasons, Falk adds.
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- Utah will make a $1,045,059 qualifying offer to Joe Ingles, giving the Jazz the right to match all offers for the one-year veteran in free agency this summer, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). That’s no surprise, since Tribune scribe Gordon Monson had identified mutual interest this spring between the Jazz and the Australian swingman. Utah is still planning to re-sign him, Jones adds.
- The Jazz selected Trey Lyles with their first-round pick over his Kentucky teammate Devin Booker because of his playmaking ability and defensive versatility, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Lyles can not only back up Favors, he can slide over to small forward and even center on occasion, Jones continues. Booker would have come onto the team as the third shooting guard with no apparent path to playing time, Jones adds.
- The Nuggets let two trade exceptions expire unused Friday — one worth $1.75MM for Anthony Randolph, who went out in the trade that brought in Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, and the other worth $1,422,720 that was a vestige of last summer’s Evan Fournier/Arron Afflalo trade.
- Former NBA point guard Sergio Rodriguez confirmed to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick that he is thinking about returning to the NBA and will gauge the market after free agency begins Wednesday. He called the buyout in his contract with Real Madrid of Spain, worth a reported 2 million euros that comes to almost $2.234MM at today’s exchange rate, a reasonable one, Quick adds. Conflicting reports of late had painted different pictures about whether Rodriguez was considering the NBA, and another report identified the Nuggets as one of three NBA teams with interest.
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Pistons, Knicks, Sixers
Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference, with the start of free agency four days away:
- Carmelo Anthony is more upset about losing Tim Hardaway Jr. via trade than the Knicks‘ decision to draft Kristaps Porzingis, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News had reported that Anthony was ired over team president Phil Jackson‘s selection of Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in the draft, though Isola also noted Anthony wasn’t pleased with the Hardaway Jr. trade. Via his Instagram account, Anthony said he was “far from upset”, and that Porzingis is “a steal.” However, a source told Berman that Anthony wonders how long it will take Porzingis to make an impact.
- Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said that two unrestricted free agent small forwards top his wish list, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Van Gundy didn’t elaborate but it’s expected that the Pistons will pursue DeMarre Carroll of the Hawks and San Antonio’s Danny Green. If the Pistons don’t get one of those two targets, they will pursue two restricted free agents at that position, Langlois’ tweet adds.
- The picks that the Sixers are getting from the Knicks in the Guillermo Hernangomez trade are New York’s 2020 and 2021 second-rounders, reports Derek Bodner, writing for Philadelphia magazine.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Sullinger, Tokoto
Members of the Knicks’ front office were involved in trade discussions with the Magic, Suns, and Celtics in the hours leading up to Thursday night’s NBA Draft, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. Boston discussed a package that included multiple draft picks and Jared Sullinger with New York, and Phoenix also spoke with members of the Knicks about a trade involving Eric Bledsoe in the hours leading up to the draft, Begley adds. Team president Phil Jackson said the Knicks had talked to teams about potential offers but all the offers were contingent on which players were selected ahead of them, the ESPN scribe notes. “Those things fell the way they did. We had what we wanted and we went with it,” Jackson said.
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks coach Derek Fisher indicated that finding frontcourt help will be a priority once the free agent signing period begins, Begley also relays. “I don’t think it’s any secret we need to get some size up front, and I think that’ll be a big focus for us,” Fisher said. Potential targets include DeAndre Jordan, David West, Omer Asik, Greg Monroe, and Marc Gasol, Begley adds.
- In addition to a pair of second round draft picks, the Nets also sent $880K to the Hornets as part of the deal to acquire the rights to Argentinian small forward Juan Vaulet, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily tweets. Brooklyn doesn’t intend for Vaulet to play in the NBA next season, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
- According to multiple sources, the Sixers nabbed North Carolina swingman J.P. Tokoto with the No. 58 overall pick with the understanding that he would either play in the D-League or overseas next season, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers reports (Twitter links). Tokoto will have the chance to compete for a roster spot, but told Philly he would be open to being stashed during the 2015/16 campaign, Fischer adds.
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The Greivis Vasquez trade allowed the Raptors to generate a $6.4MM trade exception, since they gave him up without taking back any salary in return, notes Pincus (on Twitter), though with Toronto possessing only about $42.4MM in guaranteed salary for next season, it seems there’s a fair chance they’ll dip under the cap after the July Moratorium and renounce the exception.
- The Nets could have created a $1,357,080 trade exception for Mason Plumlee if they decided to use their $2,339,131 Kevin Garnett trade exception to absorb Steve Blake, as Pincus presumes they’ve done (Twitter link). That would knock the Garnett exception down to $982,051. Alternatively, they could have taken Blake into the $3,326,235 Andrei Kirilenko exception and reduced its value to $1,969,155, a move the Nets might have preferred because the Kirilenko exception expires more than two months sooner than the Garnett exception does. The trade meanwhile allowed the Blazers to create an exception worth the $719,920 difference between the salaries of Blake and Plumlee, though that exception would vanish if they go under the cap, as they may well do if LaMarcus Aldridge ends up elsewhere.
- The tiny $355,016 leftover portion of the trade exception that the Knicks generated in last year’s Tyson Chandler trade has expired. New York used the bulk of what was once a $3,637,073 exception to acquire Alexey Shved at the trade deadline. The Tim Hardaway Jr. trade afforded the Knicks the chance to create a new $1,250,640 exception for his salary, as we noted, though that will disappear if the Knicks dip below the cap next month, as expected.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
2015/16 Roster Counts: Miami Heat
During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.
With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Heat’s roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Miami’s roster.
(Last Updated 4-12-16, 1:15pm)
Fully Guaranteed (15)
- Chris Bosh (F) — 6’11″/31 years old. Acquired via sign-and-trade from Raptors.
- Luol Deng (F) — 6’9″/30 years old. Free agent signing.
- Goran Dragic (G) — 6’3″/29 years old. Acquired via trade from Suns.
- Gerald Green (G/F) — 6’8″/29 years old. Free agent signing.
- Udonis Haslem (F) — 6’8″/35 years old. Free agent signing.
- Joe Johnson (F) — 6’7″/34 years old. Free agent signing.
- Tyler Johnson (G) — 6’3″/23 years old. Free agent signing.
- Josh McRoberts (F) — 6’10″/28 years old. Free agent signing.
- Josh Richardson (G/F) — 6’6″/21 years old. Drafted with the No. 40 overall pick in 2015.
- Amar’e Stoudemire (F/C) — 6’10″/32 years old. Free agent signing.
- Dwyane Wade (G) — 6’4″/33 years old. Drafted with the No. 5 overall pick in 2003.
- Briante Weber (G) — 6’2″/23 years old. Free agent signing.
- Hassan Whiteside (C) — 7’0″/26 years old. Free agent signing.
- Justise Winslow (F) — 6’6″/19 years old. Drafted with the No. 10 overall pick in 2015.
- Dorell Wright (F) — 6’9″/30 years old. Free agent signing.
10-Day Contracts (0)
- None
TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (15)
And-Ones: Looney, Koponen, Plumlee
The Trail Blazers were extremely high on Arizona swingman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, but could not pass on adding a starting-caliber player like Mason Plumlee, whom the team acquired from the Nets in exchange for Hollis Jefferson and Steve Blake, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. “We really like Rondae. He’s a terrific young player,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said. “But we just felt like, based on some of the moves we have to make [and] some of the uncertainly regarding some of our unrestricted free agents, the opportunity to get a dynamic young center that’s a little bit more accomplished, that we know we can put on the floor this fall, that can help you win games but still has a tremendous upside because of his age and his athleticism, it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The NBA is proceeding with a plan to seed playoff teams one through eight in each conference regardless of division starting with 2015/16, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- The reason that talented UCLA forward Kevon Looney lasted until the Warriors nabbed him with the 30th overall pick is that he was red-flagged with a degenerative back as well as a hip issue, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets. Looney may require surgery at some point in his career as a result, Givony adds.
- There’s only a 10% chance that Finnish guard Petteri Koponen signs with the Mavericks this offseason, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com relays (on Twitter). Dallas holds the rights to Koponen, who was selected with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals 6/21/15-6/27/15
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…
- Arthur Hill looked at the offseason ahead for the Knicks.
- Zach Links interviewed UCLA shooting guard Norman Powell, and LSU big man Jordan Mickey. Mickey was taken with the No. 33 overall pick, while Powell was selected 46th overall during Thursday’s NBA Draft.
- Chuck Myron broke down the offseason ahead for the Cavaliers, while Will Joseph looked at the Kings, and Dana Gauruder the Warriors. You can view the complete series of offseason outlooks here.
- I reviewed the draft pick history of Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.
- If you missed the week’s live chat you can view the transcript here.
- Chris Crouse examined the free agent stock of the Bucks’ Khris Middleton.
- I ran down the Bucks’ 2015/16 roster count.
- We released our final mock draft, as well as our 2015 NBA Draft primer.
- Mark Porcaro caught us up on the international transfer market.
- I answered reader questions in Hoops Rumors’ Weekly Mailbag.
- Zach highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- If you missed our draft night chat you can view the transcript here.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
- We reviewed out commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
Week In Review 6/21/15-6/27/15
The Timberwolves shocked no one when they selected Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. But despite the lack of drama to kick off the big event, there were certainly a number of surprises as the night moved along. The Lakers passed on Duke big man Jahlil Okafor to nab Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell with the second pick, and the Knicks bypassed a number of NBA-ready prospects to take Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis at No. 4 overall. Duke forward Justise Winslow fell into the Heat’s lap at No. 10, and the Celtics may have reached a bit when they grabbed Louisville point guard Terry Rozier with the 16th pick. Those were just a few of the mock draft busting choices made on draft night, and you can view the complete list of draft selections here.
There were also a number of minor deals consummated on draft day, but no major stars changed teams as had been widely anticipated. This sets up what should be an active offseason for quite a few franchises, and an entertaining and potentially agonizing summer for fans as players change addresses. Here’s the rest of the happenings from the week that was:
Trades
- The Grizzlies acquired Luke Ridnour from the Magic in exchange for the rights to 2013 second-round pick Janis Timma. Memphis then shipped Ridnour to the Hornets for Matt Barnes.
- The Hornets acquired Nicolas Batum from the Hornets in exchange for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson.
- The Knicks acquired the rights to 35th overall pick Guillermo Hernangomez from the Sixers in exchange for two future second round picks. Hernangomez is expected to play overseas during the 2015/16 campaign.
- The Grizzlies dealt Jon Leuer to the Suns in exchange for the rights to No. 44 pick Andrew Harrison.
- The Jazz sent the rights to the No. 54 pick, Spanish small forward Daniel Diez, to the Blazers in exchange for cash.
- The Nets acquired the rights to Argentian small forward Juan Vaulet from the Hornets in exchange for Brooklyn’s 2019 second-round pick, a 2018 second-round pick and cash.
- The Timberwolves acquired the rights to Tyus Jones from the Cavaliers in exchange for the draft rights to Cedi Osman and Rakeem Christmas, as well as a 2019 second-rounder.
- The Nets dealt Mason Plumlee and the rights to Notre Dame shooting guard Pat Connaughton to the Blazers in exchange for the rights to No. 23 pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Steve Blake.
- The Clippers acquired the rights to No. 56 pick Branden Dawson from New Orleans in exchange for cash.
- The Bucks acquired Greivis Vasquez from the Raptors in exchange for the rights to Norman Powell and the Clippers’ 2017 first-round pick.
- The Wizards acquired the rights to Kelly Oubre from the Hawks in exchange for the rights to Jerian Grant. The Hawks then acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. from the Knicks in exchange for the rights to Grant.
- The Thunder sent Jeremy Lamb to the Hornets in exchange for Ridnour and a conditional 2016 second round pick.
Pending Signings
- The Sixers intend to sign former Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell to a free agent contract. The deal includes a partial guarantee.
- The Rockets agreed to a free agent deal with UNLV forward Christian Wood, who’s also receiving a partial guarantee.
Option Decisions
- LeBron James is turning down his player option worth more than $21.573MM, and doesn’t plan to immediately re-sign with the Cavs, preferring to wait and see how the team goes about its other business in July.
- Arron Afflalo turned down a $7.75MM player option for next season to become a free agent this summer.
- The Rockets exercised their team option on Kostas Papanikolaou.
- Goran Dragic turned down his $7.5MM player option for next season.
- Brook Lopez opted out of his deal with the Nets and will become a free agent this offseason.
- Kevin Love opted out of his contract with the Cavaliers and will become a free agent.
- Wizards forward Paul Pierce is opting out of his deal with the team for the 2015/16 campaign.
- J.R. Smith opted out of his deal with the Cavaliers.
- Mavs point guard Raymond Felton exercised his $3.9MM player option for next season.
- Monta Ellis opted out of his deal with the Mavericks.
- Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson opted out of his $2.85MM player option for the upcoming season.
- David West decided to turn down his $12.6MM player option with the Pacers to become a free agent.
- The Cavs picked up their $4.95MM team option on Timofey Mozgov.
- Thaddeus Young opted out of his deal with the Nets for 2015/16.
- Lakers forward Ed Davis declined his player option for the 2015/16 campaign and will become an unrestricted free agent.
- Brandon Rush picked up his minimum-salary player option with the Warriors.
- Mavs forward Al-Farouq Aminu opted out of his deal and will become a free agent.
- Roy Hibbert opted in for next season with the Pacers.
Qualifying Offers
- The Pistons tendered a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683 to Reggie Jackson, making him a restricted free agent this summer.
- The Nuggets tendered Will Barton a qualifying offer worth $1,181,348, making the guard a restricted free agent this offseason.
News/Rumors
- The Lakers and Dwyane Wade reportedly have mutual interest if Wade were to leave the Heat this offseason.
- George Karl reportedly has an intense desire for the Kings to trade DeMarcus Cousins, and he and some members of the team’s front office have expressed to executives and coaches from other teams that they hope to have owner Vivek Ranadive’s blessing to trade the All-Star soon.
- The Heat reportedly plan on making a five-year offer of more than $80MM to retain Goran Dragic. Miami is also reportedly shopping Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen in an attempt to clear salary that they could use on a new contract for Wade, though team president Pat Riley denies this.
- Free agent center Greg Oden worked out for the Hornets, Grizzlies and Mavericks with the hope of landing a deal.
- Euroleague guard Daniel Hackett is voiding his contract with Emporio Armani Milano in order to pursue an NBA contract.
- The Pacers‘ Donald Sloan, who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, has switched agents and is now represented by Byron Irvin and Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports.
- The Kings have reportedly expressed strong interest in signing free agent big man JaVale McGee.
- The NBPA is reportedly looking into the Sixers for any possible breach of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
- The Suns have discussed Eric Bledsoe trade scenarios with other teams, including the Knicks, and are likely to continue to do so after the draft.
- The Celtics were reportedly looking to trade Marcus Smart and the 16th and 28th picks in this year’s draft to the Sixers for Nerlens Noel and the No. 3 pick, but the Sixers were uninterested.
- David West is reportedly likely to sign with the Knicks when he becomes eligible to do so after the July Moratorium.
- The Kings and soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo have mutual interest, as the idea of signing a one-year deal with Sacramento to rehabilitate his value around the league intrigues the point guard.
- Unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews will reportedly seek a multi-year deal that pays approximately $15MM annually.
- The Mavericks are reportedly targeting soon-to-be free agent Danny Green this offseason.
- Private equity mogul Tony Ressler and his partners have officially assumed control of the Hawks after receiving unanimous Board of Governors approval.
- The Celtics plan to pursue Pierce and Robin Lopez as complementary players to sell Love on the idea of signing with Boston.
- The Raptors will have a D-League expansion team stationed in nearby Mississauga for the 2015/16 season.
- The Nuggets‘ plan for Serbian point guard Nikola Radicevic is for him to remain overseas next season with Sevilla in Spain’s Liga ACB.
- The Rockets and Kings are expected to be among the teams with interest when Rodney Stuckey hits free agency next week.
- Mavs GM Donnie Nelson indicated that No. 52 overall pick Satnam Singh will play with the D-League’s Texas Legends this coming season.
- The Bucks are reportedly interested in soon-to-be restricted free agent Enes Kanter.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/26/15
Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ve begun been posting a new topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, which we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day. If you missed our previous discussions you can view them here, or simply head over to the sidebar and select “Hoops Rumors Community Shootarounds.”
Of course, there will be differing opinions from time to time. While we absolutely encourage lively discussion and debate, we do expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So, please refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults or attacks, as well as the other taboo types of discourse laid out in our site’s commenting policy. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Hoops Rumors. Just put in your name, email address, and comment and submit it; there is no need to become a registered user.
Now that the preamble has been taken care of, on to the topic of the day: Who was the most surprising pick in the 2015 NBA Draft?
With the 2015 NBA Draft now complete it’s time to begin critiquing all of the selections. Whose name being called surprised you the most? Was it the Knicks’ selection of Kristaps Porizingis with the No. 4 overall pick? Perhaps the Celtics taking Terry Rozier at No. 16? Or was it another player who you feel had his name called too high or too low during Thursday night’s big event? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and express your opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.