Nets To Decline K.J. McDaniels’ Team Option
The Nets intend to decline their team option on K.J. McDaniels, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). The move will ensure that McDaniels becomes a free agent on July 1.
The 32nd overall pick in the 2014 draft, McDaniels began his career with the Sixers but was acquired in a trade deadline deal in February 2015 by the Rockets. McDaniels remained in Houston until this year’s trade deadline, when the Rockets and Nets worked out a deal that sent him to Brooklyn.
For his career, McDaniels has averaged 5.3 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 148 regular season contests. Following his move from Houston to Brooklyn earlier this year, the 24-year-old played well in limited minutes, averaging 6.3 PPG and shooting 45.5% in 20 games (14.7 MPG). However, the Nets likely viewed his $3.477MM option as a little too pricey.
Team option decisions for 2017/18 can be found right here.
Knicks Notes: Rose, Artis, Porzingis
After impressing the Knicks in his exit interview, Derrick Rose may have secured himself a spot with the franchise next season, Charley Rosen of FanRag Sports writes. The free agent guard will, however, have to make some adjustments should the team re-sign him.
Rosen notes that Rose will have to learn to make quicker decisions with the ball and limit the amount of times he penetrates without a plan, something he was able to do with ease during the early stages of his career.
Should the veteran enthusiastically buy into the triangle and hone up his defense in a follow up season with the franchise, he could be the team’s short-term answer at point guard until rookie Frank Ntilikina is ready to take on a larger role.
There’s more out of New York:
- When the Knicks signed undrafted rookie Jamel Artis to a partially guaranteed deal this week, they landed a player who is eager to fill a role in the triangle offense, Adam Zagoria of FanRag Sports writes. “I’ll fit in that system very well. I’m a versatile player and I’m a shooter, so I can space the floor in the triangle,” he said.
- Count Malik Monk‘s poor fit within the triangle as one of the major reasons why the Knicks didn’t select him with their eighth overall pick, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. Frank Ntilikina, on the other hand, is precisely the type of player Phil Jackson prefers as his lead guard.
- Team president Phil Jackson is wary of building a future together with Kristaps Porzingis after the 21-year-old famously blew off his exit meeting with the franchise, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The worry, Berman notes, is to what extent Porzingis could damage the organization with future acts of rebellion.
Mavericks Exercise Team Option On Yogi Ferrell
The Mavericks have officially exercised their 2017/18 team option on Yogi Ferrell‘s contract, according to RealGM’s transactions log. A Saturday report had indicated that the Mavs informed Ferrell his option would be picked up.
An undrafted free agent out of Indiana, Ferrell was a revelation on his first 10-day contract with the Mavericks last winter, stepping right into the starting lineup at the point and recording 32 points in his fourth game with the club. Ferrell’s impressive first week with the franchise earned him a rest-of-season deal with a second-year option.
For the season, Ferrell averaged 11.3 PPG, 4.3 APG, and a .412/.403/.877 shooting line in 36 games (29 starts) in Dallas. He also appeared in 10 games for the Nets earlier in the season, though his numbers in Brooklyn were more modest (5.4 PPG, 1.7 APG).
As our team option tracker for 2017/18 shows, the Mavs had to make decisions on three club options before the end of the month. The club has elected to turn down its options on Dirk Nowitzki and DeAndre Liggins, though Nowitzki figures to be back on a renegotiated contract.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Adebayo, Satoransky
While he may be years away from reaching his true potential, the Magic are pleased with their Jonathan Isaac pickup in Thursday’s draft, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes.
In order to fully develop the sixth-overall choice, however, Orlando’s new front office will need to avoid some of the mistakes that their predecessors made, namely giving prospects playing time before they earn it.
Robbins adds that president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond should look to add quality players that will be able to compete with Isaac for minutes, something current and past Magic players like Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris and Elfrid Payton could have benefited from over the course of the last few seasons.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- A particularly impressive workout helped Bam Adebayo convince the Heat to take a chance on him with their 14th pick in Thursday’s draft, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes. “We had already seen enough after 20 minutes. But he wanted to stay out there. He was the last one in the gym. We notice things like that,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said.
- The Magic would be wise to mind the tone of their fan base and field a decent roster as soon as possible, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes. While a new front office may be just embarking on a five-year tenure with the organization, fans of the franchise have already endured five years of losing seasons.
- On the surface, the Wizards trading for a backup point guard would appear to hurt Tomas Satoransky‘s stock with the franchise but Tim Frazier is a short-term solution, Chase Huges of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. Satoransky remains the only guard on Washington’s bench signed past 2018/19.
- In a podcast with Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype, Wizards point guard John Wall that he’s like to remain with Washington for the rest of his career. The eight-year veteran and All-NBA Third Team guard also says that he still feels as though he’s underrated.
Kings Notes: Joerger, Fox, Giles
With as many as five rookies on board for 2017/18, the only way to gauge head coach Dave Joerger‘s performance as the club’s head coach will be with time.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that the the 43-year-old bench boss will need to show discipline and patience with his young roster, traits that would have serve him well during his stint as a minor league coach in the G League.
It could be years before Kings fans see just what players like De’Aaron Fox and Justin Jackson are capable of and that’s never a good thing for coaches at the professional level. As Jones notes, Joerger’s three predecessors didn’t even last two seasons.
Still, there’s been a culture shift in Sacramento and, in addition to this year’s rookie crop, the roster boasts numerous development projects ranging from 2016/17 mid-season acquisition Buddy Hield to sophomore Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis.
“There aren’t many teams who have had nine players in the first or second years of their contract,” Joerger said. “It hasn’t been done, but you have to give them time and keep our expectations that guys go out and compete hard every night and they get better everyday in practice.”
There’s more from the Kings:
- When fifth-overall pick De’Aaron Fox goes to work with his new Kings teammates he’ll do so with one big advantage; he actually knows his fellow rookies well already. Fox spoke with the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones in a recent media scrum.
- It didn’t take long for the basketball world to notice that the Kings brought home a good haul from the NBA Draft and, unsurprisingly, general manager Vlade Divac is happy with who they got. Divac spoke with the media, including Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
- For better and worse, 20th-overall pick Harry Giles is drawing comparisons to former Kings forward Chris Webber, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes.
Stein’s Latest: George, Rockets, Spurs, Nuggets
News broke Sunday that the Cavaliers, Nuggets and Pacers had discussed a three-way deal that would have sent Paul George to the Cavs and Kevin Love to Denver ahead of the draft. As we wrote about earlie, one variation of the potential deal would have sent Kenneth Faried to Cleveland as well.
In an article published at ESPN shortly thereafter, Marc Stein – who sent the initial tweet Sunday night – goes into more details, sharing information about the pre-draft conversations that took place surrounding the Pacers forward.
Here are some highlights from Stein’s latest piece, co-written with Haynes:
- While the conversations between the Cavaliers, Nuggets and Pacers didn’t amount to anything before the draft, Cleveland haven’t abandoned its pursuit of the two-way All-Star. The Cavs legitimately believe that they could convince George to abandon his dreams of playing for his hometown Lakers, something he is expected to pursue when he hits free agency in 2018.
- In addition to Cleveland’s ongoing pursuit and the Celtics discussions that came to light on draft day, Stein and Haynes note that the Rockets and Spurs both aggressively pursued George deals before the draft as well.
- The Nuggets are looking to upgrade at power forward and it’s the reason why Love was included in the possible three-team deal. Denver similarly intends to make plays for pending free agents Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap.
- All of Faried, Wilson Chandler and Emmanuel Mudiay are said to be available. Big man Nikola Jokic and second-year guard Jamal Murray are supposedly untouchable.
- The pair also confirm what we wrote about on Friday following a Joe Vardon column at Cleveland.com; the Cavs are expected to pursue Carmelo Anthony should he be bought out by the Knicks.
Cavs, Pacers, Nuggets Discussed George, Love
7:32pm: Nothing appears imminent, as the aforementioned Vardon tweet implied, but Stein and Haynes have published an article with more information about what went down and some of the underlying motives. We’ve recapped it here.
7:12pm: An article published by Haynes and Stein over at ESPN specifies that the Cavs, Nuggets and Pacers discussed Love and George leading up to last Thursday’s draft. The Nuggets, the article states, were brought in to supply Indiana with young assets.
Stein and Haynes note that while this particular discussion didn’t end in a deal, the Cavs won’t abandon their pursuit of the Pacers All-Star.
6:48pm: The clubs are said to have had discussions involving Denver on draft night, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com tweets. Vardon also adds that his source said it was “nothing serious”.
6:31pm: The Cavaliers, Pacers and Nuggets are in the midst of trade discussions involving Paul George and Kevin Love, Marc Stein of ESPN tweets. The three clubs have discussed a deal that would land George in Cleveland and Love in Denver.
Per Stein and ESPN’s Chris Haynes, the Cavs have “continued to pursue” George, something they were initially reported to be doing prior to the draft.
In one version of the potential deal, the Cavaliers could land forward Kenneth Faried, Haynes tweets.
News of the ongoing discussion comes after a week of speculation following George’s declaration that he would not be returning to the Pacers when he hits free agency next summer. When he informed Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard of his intentions, he revealed that he’d like to sign with his hometown Lakers in 2018.
Unless the Lakers make a move for him before then, however, a number of other clubs – including the Cavaliers – will eagerly look to acquire him as a one-year rental, the Celtics being a notable example that has already made an aggressive push to land him.
Jazz Possible Frontrunners For Teodosic
The Jazz could be the frontrunners to land the services of international free agent Milos Teodosic, Jody Genessey of the Deseret News writes. A Serbian publication recently declared as much and Genessey suggests that the point guard’s ties to head coach Quin Snyder could help facilitate a deal.
As we wrote about last week, Teodosic is said to be seeking a three-year contract worth between $25MM and $30MM. That’s a considerable raise over what he would likely receive from his current CSKA Moscow squad in Russia.
In addition to the fact that Snyder was CSKA Moscow’s assistant coach in 2012/13, the Jazz boast another connection in current assistant coach Igor Kokoskov, a native of Teodosic’s Serbia.
Finally, Genessey notes that of the three teams previously linked to Teodosic by ESPN – Utah, Brooklyn and Sacramento – the Nets have since traded for a point guard in D’Angelo Russell. Similarly, it’s worth noting that the Kings drafted point guard De’Aaron Fox fifth overall in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Ramon Sessions Appears Finished In Charlotte
Ramon Sessions‘ brief stay in Charlotte seems certain to end by Thursday, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
That’s the deadline for teams to make decisions about options for next season. Sessions is due to make $6.27MM, and Bonnell doesn’t think the Hornets want to commit that much cap space to him.
The veteran guard, who turned 31 in April, signed a two-year, $12.27MM deal last summer that included a team option. He will probably be kept on the roster until Thursday in case Charlotte wants to use him in a trade, Bonnell adds.
Sessions played just 50 games this season before being sidelined in February with a meniscus tear in his left knee. Even before that injury, which required surgery, Sessions’ numbers were declining. He averaged a career low in minutes at 16.2 per game and assists (2.6), while his scoring average of 6.2 points per game was the second worst of his career.
Sessions has played for seven organizations during his 10 years in the NBA, including both the Bobcats and Hornets in Charlotte.
GM Rich Cho has limited options to find a new backup for Kemba Walker. The Hornets took shooting guard Malik Monk and swingman Dwayne Bacon in the draft, and although Monk may be given some minutes at the point in summer league, it’s not his natural position. Briante Weber, who will also be on Charlotte’s summer league squad, is a potential option.
The Hornets have their mid-level exception, worth about $8.4MM, and could find a decent backup on the free agent market in that price range. Bonnell suggests Darren Collison, Patty Mills, Shaun Livingston, Brandon Jennings or Raymond Felton.
Weekly Mailbag: 6/19/17 – 6/25/17
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:
What happens to LaMarcus Aldridge? — Terrance, via Twitter
Words like “unhappy” and “frustrated” were used this week to describe Aldridge, who signed with San Antonio two years ago in hopes of winning a title, but now appears to be looking for a way out of town. The Spurs made some calls ahead of the draft to see if they could land a top 10 pick in exchange for Aldridge, but came away empty. That’s not surprising, as lottery teams in the midst of rebuilding don’t have much need for a 31-year-old who might be a short-term rental. If San Antonio can get a commitment from Chris Paul, look for Aldridge and his $21.46MM contract to be shipped somewhere, along with a generous sweetener, to clear cap room. More likely, he spends another unhappy season with the Spurs, then opts out next summer.
Who will Gordon Hayward sign with? — Peter Chiu, via Twitter
The Celtics and Heat are the top threats to the Jazz. Boston offers an instant contender, along with a reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens. Miami has a clear need at small forward, a history of swinging for the fences in free agency and no state income tax, which lessen’s Utah’s financial advantage. It’s going to be interesting to watch how many big-name free agents leave the Western Conference over the next few years if the Warriors continue to dominate. Hayward might lean that way, but he reportedly likes the security of a five-year deal that only the Jazz can offer. The best guess is he stays in Utah.
The Timberwolves were clearly the draft day winners with the acquisition of Jimmy Butler. With Butler in the fold, is Minnesota a legitimate free agent destination? If so, what are some potential free agent targets to complement the trio of Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins? — Matt Trapp
The Wolves plan to pursue point guards, with Kyle Lowry as the top choice, followed by Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague and George Hill. Lowry will demand a maximum deal for sure, and the others will be at least close. Minnesota needs to shed roughly $10MM in salary to be able to afford that, and the obvious candidate is Ricky Rubio, who will make $14.25MM next season. If they can’t find a taker for Rubio and don’t want to part with Gorgui Dieng, the Wolves will have to find someone willing to deal for Cole Aldrich ($7.3MM) and Jordan Hill (a little more than $4M).