Commenting Policy
We strongly encourage commenting at Hoops Rumors, but we do have basic rules of civility. Comments of this nature are not allowed at Hoops Rumors:
- Attacks or insults toward other commenters, the post author, journalists, teams, players, or agents.
- Inappropriate language, including swearing and related censor bypass attempts, lewdness, insults, and crude terms for body parts, bodily functions, and physical acts. In essence, we don’t want any language that parents would not want their kids to see.
- Juvenile comments or extensive use of text message-type spelling.
- Writing comments in all or mostly caps.
- Spam-type links or self-promotion.
- Comments about how you’re sick of this topic or it’s not newsworthy.
- Inappropriate avatars or images.
- Anything else we deem bad for business.
If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us. Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances. Remaining civil is not that difficult, and most commenters have no problems doing so, nor with helping rein each other in. We are grateful for long-time commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure.
All comments on Hoops Rumors or the Hoops Rumors Facebook page may be repurposed as a part of the Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback series. In these instances, comments may be edited and abridged.
This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.
Dwight Howard On: Hawks, Perceptions, Free Agency
Dwight Howard, who signed a three-year deal with the Hawks this offseason, is upset at the perceptions about him around the league and with fans, that he is a bad teammate and underachiever who doesn’t care enough about winning. In an interview with Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, the center addressed a number of topics. The entire piece is definitely worth a look, but here are some of the highlights:
On what a new beginning in Atlanta means to him:
“I changed up everything around me. I hold myself more accountable in certain situations. I try to be a better man, a better father, a better teammate. I know a lot of the stuff that’s been said about me that I can’t really control and has been false, but at the same time, I just want to show this city who I really am and show my teammates what kind of teammate I am. They’ve been great to me, and I think it’s a great situation for me to be in.”
On what changes he has made over the summer:
“Just things off the court, a lot of the stuff that was happening around me, just personal things. I tried to change that up and just really start over, get a clean slate. No offense to the people that I had around me, but I just wanted to start over, start fresh. Like I said, it’s a new beginning, so I wanted everything to be fresh. I didn’t want to bring any old baggage or anything from my past to this organization. They believe in me, this city believes in me, so I just wanted to make sure that when I’m out there on the court that I’m free, that I can give this city and this team everything that I’ve got.”
On why his pairing with James Harden in Houston didn’t work out:
“Well, sometimes things don’t work like they should. I’ve never had an issue with James. I wish him nothing but the best. I just think the timing of everything was a little bit different. That’s OK. All that stuff did was just mold me for this moment here, this organization, this team. They’ve asked me to be a leader. It’s my job to come in here every night and provide physicality and the leadership that this team needs.”
On if he was surprised that he didn’t receive any maximum salary offers in free agency this summer:
“Well, I knew all the situations that was going on. I really only looked into one place and that was the Hawks. I didn’t go to other teams. As soon as free agency opened, I met with Coach Bud [Mike Budenholzer] and [GM Wes Wilcox]. After the meeting, I went back to my car and I was like, “Man, this is where I want to be.” I didn’t need to meet with other teams. I didn’t care about what offers were on the table. I wanted to be in Atlanta. I wanted to represent for this team.”
On if he feels pressured not to be himself:
“Yeah, a lot of times I do feel like that. When I’m smiling, I’m supposedly not taking the game seriously. When I’m not smiling, then it’s like, “He don’t care. He’s just out there.” When I was in Orlando and everything was going well and we were winning, even in L.A. when we won those games and stuff like that, me smiling didn’t bother people. But like I said, you really can’t please people. I know everybody’s attention is on what I’m doing on the floor. My job is to be the best teammate I can be, push these guys to the limit every day, make sure that I’m being the right type of leader.“
Atlantic Notes: Booker, Okafor, Hornacek
The Nets signed unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker to a two-year, $18MM deal this offseason. In an interview with Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, the forward noted it was his faith in GM Sean Marks that led him to take a chance on joining the rebuilding franchise. “Brooklyn was one of the teams pursuing me from the beginning and I knew Sean Marks because we had a short stint together in Washington when he was still playing,” Booker told the scribe. “I know what kind of a guy he is and what kind of an organization he came from with the Spurs, which is an A-1 organization. Coach [Kenny] Atkinson came from a great organization in Atlanta too. After doing a little research on him, I was comfortable with him and I was comfortable with the whole situation. I bought into what they are doing.”
When asked if he had any reservations about leaving the Jazz, Booker said, “It was definitely tough. I miss those guys already because I was very close with my teammates, the coaching staff and the front office. Everyone there was great. The fans were tremendous. I loved the city too. It was definitely tough. But at the same time, I saw an opportunity in Brooklyn for myself so I rolled with that opportunity.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers center Jahlil Okafor, who is dealing with knee issues related to his surgery back in March, is getting closer to making his return to the court, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. One issue that will likely keep the big man from seeing any game action in the near future is his lack of practice time during the preseason, Pompey adds. “What you saw on the floor [during pregame] is more than we’ve seen at practice in a while,” coach Brett Brown said. “People shouldn’t get nervous about that. It’s part of bringing him back into the mix. Our anticipation is he is not that far away.“
- New Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek hasn’t been forced to run the triangle offense by team president Phil Jackson and is a bit surprised that it hasn’t been pushed by the front office, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. Hornacek acknowledged that it’s not a popular offense in today’s NBA, and says that he plans to blend “triangle aspects” with his faster-paced scheme, the scribe notes. “If it slows you down, I think that’s where most guys are probably coming from,” Hornacek said. “You end up being a slow-down team and never get easy buckets, and you’re running that half-court set all the time. First of all, guys don’t like to run it. Secondly, it makes it very difficult to get easy buckets early in the offense. And I think in today’s game, those early buckets are nice to get. So we’re not running it every time. We’re mixing it in here and there.“
Kings Intend To Keep Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay?
Despite numerous reports relaying that the Kings are shopping Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay, team executive Vlade Divac stated during an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio that Sacramento intends to hang onto both players this season.
Regarding McLemore, Divac said, “You’re going to receive a lot of calls, you’re going to make a lot of calls. We’re very happy with Ben [McLemore], the way he’s progressing this summer. He’s a very young player that we like a lot, so we’re going to keep him.” The Kings reportedly turned down an offer from the Bucks last week that would have shipped McLemore to Milwaukee in exchange for point guard Michael Carter-Williams. At one point during the summer it appeared that the shooting guard was a lock to be dealt, but the coaching staff has reportedly connected with McLemore and believes that they can maximize his talents. The 23-year-old is eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end.
The situation with Gay is a bit more muddled, with the small forward announcing in September that he plans to opt out of his contract next summer. The veteran hasn’t sounded all that enthusiastic to still be a member of the Kings moving forward, but the franchise has no obvious replacement for him at the three spot and wouldn’t be guaranteed to receive one vie trade either. Regarding Gay, Divac said during his radio appearance, “Rudy is a tremendous talent, he’s somebody that’s beautiful to watch the way he plays. We think Rudy is a big part of this team to be successful, so we decide to go with him. If he decides to stay next year, that’s great. If he decides to leave, that’s fine. But we want to make sure we compete this year.” Gay is earning $13,333,333 this season.
Neither player has looked especially sharp in the preseason thus far. McLemore is averaging 8.5 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 34.8% from the field overall and 14.3% from three-point range. Gay has notched 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists to go along with a shooting line of .308/.333/1.000.
Western Notes: Ranadive, Cousins, Chalmers, Durant
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive told Sam Amick of USA Today that he is confident the DeMarcus Cousins situation can be resolved. Cousins has repeatedly expressed unhappiness with the direction of the franchise and had frequent clashes with former coach George Karl last season. Ranadive thinks the hiring of Dave Joerger as the new coach will help smooth over the bitterness. “When I first bought the team I had to make one decision, which was ‘Do I give [Cousins] a contract [extension] or not [in September 2013?’ and I made the decision to give it to him,” the owner said. “I feel like that was the right decision. But other than that, I haven’t really made any basketball decisions, because after that I hired a GM and a coach and everyone else. But I expect that [GM] Vlade [Divac] will make the right calls. I think DeMarcus truly looks up to Vlade. I think he truly likes the coach.”
Ranadive also addressed the status of Rudy Gay, who recently announced that he plans to opt out of his contract next summer. “He’s a professional,” Ranadive said. “It’s his last year, and I’m sure he’s going to go out there and do his best and we’ll see. But I have confidence that Vlade and him and everyone else will work it out.”
There’s more out of the Western Conference:
- Free agent addition Raymond Felton said the rumors of discontent in the Clippers‘ locker room are untrue, relays Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The 12-year veteran, who came over from the Mavericks in July, said stories of personality clashes involving Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are greatly exaggerated. “You hear a lot of negative stuff through the years about this team when you’re on other teams,” Felton said. “But being here, this team is actually closer than you think. That surprised me. To see that, and add the couple of things I feel like I can add personality-wise off the court, I think we’re going to be all right.”
- Mario Chalmers, who played for the Grizzlies last season before tearing his Achilles in March, is making progress in his comeback, posts Brian Windhorst on ESPN Now. Chalmers said he is about a month away from being ready to return and several teams have been in contact with him.
- Changes in the collective bargaining agreement could be the biggest obstacle to Kevin Durant re-signing with the Warriors next summer, writes Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com. While it would be a virtual certainty under the current CBA, a lower salary cap or changes to non-Bird Rights could complicate Golden State’s effort to keep Durant.
Cavaliers Notes: Roster Spots, McRae, Shumpert
A four-man race has developed for the final two spots on the Cavaliers’ roster, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. With four preseason games remaining, the competition has boiled down to shooting guards Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins, small forward Dahntay Jones and point guard Toney Douglas. Coach Tyronn Lue has promised that those four, plus everyone with non-guaranteed deals, will get a chance to prove themselves before cuts have to be made. Rookie point guard Kay Felder and veteran swingman James Jones are believed to be sure things for the final roster, and another spot will likely belong to J.R. Smith, who has been in a contract standoff with the Cavs all summer. Vardon believes McRae and Liggins are the current favorites to earn the last two positions.
There’s more news out of Cleveland:
- McRae is no longer being considered as a possible backup to point guard Kyrie Irving, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “It’s not fair to him,” Lue said. “It’s something he hasn’t done his whole career. You can put guys in position, they’ve got to come out and just score the basketball. But to tell them they’ve got to get into their sets, little guards picking up full court and just having to think so much when you’re a natural scorer, it is kind of tough.” Lue is looking at a committee approach, with Liggins, Felder and Douglas all logging time as reserve point guards. McRae has been the Cavs’ leading scorer in the past two games with 20 points each night.
- With Smith still absent, Iman Shumpert has been impressive in training camp, Fedor writes in the same piece. The fifth-year shooting guard has started just six games since coming to Cleveland in January of 2015, but he took over the starter’s role in camp and seems likely to begin the season in that position. Shumpert is trying to bounce back from a disastrous season in which he shot a career-low 37% from the field and 30% from 3-point range. “J.R. here or J.R. not here, Shump still has the same role on our team,” Lue said, “and that’s to come out and be a stopper every single night and take and make his open shots.”
Offseason In Review: Minnesota Timberwolves
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Free agent signings:
- Cole Aldrich: Three years, $21.9MM. Third year partially guaranteed
- Jordan Hill: Two years, $8.18MM. Second year non-guaranteed.
- Brandon Rush: One year, $3.5MM.
Camp invitees:
- Rasual Butler: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- John Lucas III: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Toure’ Murry: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
Trades:
- None
Draft picks:
- 1-5: Kris Dunn. Signed to rookie contract.
Departing players:
Other offseason news:
- Hired Tom Thibodeau as head coach to replace interim coach Sam Mitchell. Thibodeau will also serve as the Wolves’ president of basketball operations.
- Nikola Pekovic has been ruled out for the 2016/17 season.
- Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng eligible for contract extensions until October 31.
- Sold approximately 15% of the franchise to minority stake-holders.
- Hired Noah Croom as assistant GM and Brian Pauga as player personnel director.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Minnesota Timberwolves right here.
The Timberwolves haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, but newly appointed president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau isn’t looking to cut corners to get back to the postseason. This team is full of young, promising players and the coach/executive decided not to speed up the process by sacrificing valuable assets in order to acquire veterans whom can help him win now. Instead, he’s going to take some time to evaluate the team’s talent and let the core grow together. 
The Wolves flirted with acquiring Jimmy Butler this summer. The Bulls were reportedly asking for the No. 5 pick and young prospects, such as Andrew Wiggins or Zach LaVine, for their All-Star forward. Butler would dramatically help the Wolves in the win column this season, but Wiggins has the potential to be a perennial All-Star and trading him at such a young age could lead to regrets down the road.
The predicament of whether or not to trade Wiggins is reminiscent of Golden State’s decision to hang onto Klay Thompson back in 2014. While many NBA fans, observers and experts believed the Warriors should move the shooting guard for Kevin Love, the organization was split on the decision and ended up keeping Thompson. Having won 140 regular-season games and a world championship in the two years since, the Warriors are thrilled they decided against going with the sure thing at the time. Thibodeau, who spent part of his year off shadowing Steve Kerr and the Warriors, surely took notice.
Upon arrival in Minnesota, Thibodeau’s mission was to familiarize himself with the roster, so that he wouldn’t make a major mistake as a first-time executive. “I liked the core of the team. I want to get to know them better,” Thibs said recently. “I’m going to focus on the players we have. That gives me a better idea of what our needs are. It’s like building a house. We’re still working on the foundation.” Instead of dealing for Butler, Thibodeau used the No. 5 overall pick to draft Kris Dunn, a player with four years of college experience under his belt.
Dunn impressed during summer league and was voted the player most likely to win the Rookie Of The Year award by his peers. That poll was conducted prior to Ben Simmons‘ foot injury, which threatens to keep the No. 1 pick sidelined for the year, so Dunn has an even clearer path to winning the award than originally believed. If he takes home the hardware, it would be Minnesota’s third consecutive Rookie of the Year recipient, which is a feat no other NBA franchise has achieved.
Dunn’s development will surely factor into Ricky Rubio‘s future with the team. Rubio is the starter here, but Thibs will likely play both point guards in the backcourt together for stretches. That may work initially, but as LaVine and Dunn progress, they’re going to demand a larger share of the minutes, leaving Rubio with less playing time than he’s accustomed to seeing.
Rubio is only 25 years old — he’s just entering his prime and he’ll undoubtedly want to remain a starter throughout it. Although Rubio’s defensive skills fit nicely in Thibodeau’s scheme, Dunn projects to be a better all-around player and will likely take that starting spot should he reach his potential. With three years remaining on Rubio’s deal, the Wolves had no real urgency to move the Spanish point guard this offseason. Still, it would be very surprising if he finishes out his contract in Minnesota.
The team said goodbye to Kevin Garnett this offseason after reaching a buyout agreement with the future Hall of Famer. Minnesota will certainly miss his presence in the locker room, but the club did add a few veterans during the 2016 free agent period. The additions of Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich will give the T-Wolves depth in the paint. With Nikola Pekovic out for the season, both players should see playing time.
Brandon Rush could be the team’s most important free agent acquisition. Minnesota was 29th in the league in three-pointers made and attempted last season. Rush has made 40.3% of his long-distance shots during his career and will help the team improve on those figures. Having viable three-point shooters is key to floor spacing, and Rush’s presence on the court will help open up lanes for Wiggins and the rest of the team’s slashers.
The Wolves didn’t hit any home runs this offseason. When you have a transcendent talent like Karl-Anthony Towns, it’s natural to try to take massive steps toward winning games. Just look at what the Pelicans did upon landed Anthony Davis — New Orleans traded three of its first-round selections for veterans in the ensuing years, hoping those moves would translate to perennial playoff appearances as Davis developed. The franchise has earned a postseason spot just once — and hasn’t made it to the second round — since drafting The Brow.
Conversely, the Wolves remain patient. They’re not necessarily aiming for playoff appearances in the short term; they recognize that they’re destined for Finals appearances. Short-term thinking brings short-term results and with a core of Towns, Wiggins and Dunn, it’s clear Minnesota had the future in mind this offseason.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Weekly Mailbag: 10/3/16-10/9/16
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. Here are this week’s inquiries:
Warriors Waive Elgin Cook, Scott Wood
The Warriors reduced their training camp roster to 18 today by waiving Elgin Cook and Scott Wood, the team announced in a press release.
Both players received $50K guarantees to come to camp, and both were considered long shots to make Golden State’s talent-laden roster. They may get a chance to prove themselves with the Warriors’ D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
Cook signed with Golden State in September after being undrafted out of Oregon. A 6’6″ small forward, he averaged 14.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a senior with the Ducks, and played for the Kings’ team in summer league.
Hoops Links: Parker, Garnett, Suns
Every Sunday, we link to some of the very best work from around the basketball blogosphere. Do you have a link to a great basketball blog post – either your own or someone else’s – that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Then you should send it to us at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s rundown …
- The Hardwood Nation details the reasons why Tony Parker has something left in the tank.
- Sir Charles In Charge says goodbye to Kevin Garnett while appreciating his impact.
- The Game Day Report discusses what the Heat’s rotation will look like.
- The Jump Ball chronicles why the Suns can rise in the Western Conference.
- Blog a Bull wonders what might happen if the Bulls suffer a losing season.
- Detroit Bad Boys offers a look at the bright side of Reggie Jackson‘s recovery.
- Bullets Forever names the Wizards’ biggest surprise performer so far.
- Orlando Pinstriped Post relays what this season could mean for Mario Hezonja.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Will at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.