Heat Notes: Herro, Paul, Robinson, Maten
Tyler Herro has been making a strong impression in Summer League, enough that Miami was reluctant to include him in trade talks for Russell Westbrook, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Herro, who signed his rookie contract earlier this week, was the 13th player taken in the draft. Known mostly as a scorer at Kentucky, Herro has displayed the potential to become a multi-dimensional talent.
A league source tells Jackson that Herro’s Summer League performance has surpassed the expectations of Heat officials, especially in 3-point shooting, passing and ball-handling. He posted a 19.5/4.3/3.8 line during the team’s stay in Las Vegas and shows signs of becoming a rotation player as a rookie.
“If we need a guy that can handle, get us into offense, if we need him to be pick-and-roll, if we need him to come off catch-and-shoots, he’s shown he can do it all, and we feel comfortable in any of those spots,” said Eric Glass, who coaches the Heat’s Summer League squad.
There’s more from Miami:
- The Thunder’s offers in a potential Chris Paul trade haven’t been “enticing enough” to spark the Heat’s interest, Jackson tweets. Miami has been mentioned as the possible next destination for Paul, who is headed to Oklahoma City in a deal with Houston. Heat officials will continue to listen if the offers improve, Jackson adds, but they’re not actively pursuing the 34-year-old point guard.
- Even though Miami’s Summer League season ended today with an overtime playoff loss, Duncan Robinson helped his quest to stay on the roster with a 26-point performance, Jackson notes in a separate story. The guarantee on Robinson’s salary for the upcoming season will jump from $250K to $1MM if he remains on the roster through Monday. Jackson states that it seems likely Robinson will be kept, but he hasn’t received any assurances. His full $1,416,852 salary won’t become guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date of January 10.
- Yante Maten and Kendrick Nunn also have non-guaranteed deals, and the Heat’s hard-capped status may work against them, Jackson adds. Miami is less than $1MM below its $138.9MM cap and can’t add any players, such as veteran free agent Udonis Haslem, without waiving someone first. Maten has a $100K guarantee that will rise to $150K if he is kept through August 1, then another $150K if he makes the opening-night roster. Nunn will also receive a $150K guarantee on August 1, rising to $450K if he’s still around for the first game.
Sixers Notes: Simmons, Butler, Harris, Horford
Don’t expect to see Ben Simmons at the FIBA World Cup, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, tells Woj that Simmons is “doubtful” to suit up for Australia, preferring to spend the summer concentrating on the upcoming NBA season.
Simmons, who was born in Melbourne, also pulled out of the 2016 Olympics so he could prepare for his rookie year. He began representing his home nation in international tournaments in 2012 when he was 15, but was cut from Australia’s World Cup team two years later. One of the NBA’s top young stars, Simmons is currently mulling over a five-year, $170MM extension offer from the Sixers.
There’s more today out of Philadelphia:
- Even though Jimmy Butler‘s stay with the Sixers was short, GM Elton Brand doesn’t regret the trade that brought him from Minnesota, relays Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Philly sent Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a second-round pick in 2022 to get Butler for what turned out to be 55 games. “When we went into it last year, it was hopefully Jimmy found a great fit and hopefully we did also,” Brand said. “I’d make that trade again. He gave us a great playoff run last year.”
- After re-signing for $180MM over the next five years, Tobias Harris has become much more important to the Sixers’ future, Bontemps observes in the same story. Harris often found himself as the fourth or fifth option on offense after being acquired from the Clippers in a mid-season trade, but with Butler and J.J. Redick both gone, the team will rely on Harris to provide more scoring. “I can come into next year with that kind of energy, that kind of fire to improve my game and show different parts of my game, too,” Harris said. “Obviously I’ll have the ball in my hands in more different situations and I’m ready for that. I’ve been working out all summer to get ready for that.”
- Former Celtic Al Horford didn’t expect the Sixers to be among his suitors in free agency, writes Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. He said negotiations with Philadelphia “escalated very, very quickly” once teams were officially allowed to talk to players. “When Elton called and spoke with my agent, he laid down this offer,” Horford recalled. “I was very surprised there was that strong interest for me being here. It made the decision very easy. I’m just excited to be a part of this.”
New Zealand Team Recruiting Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah has an opportunity to play for the New Zealand Breakers next season, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The team is owned by Matt Walsh, Noah’s former teammate at Florida, who has been in charge of the recruiting effort.
The Breakers are pitching Noah on an arrangement similar to what Andrew Bogut had in Australia that enabled him to return to the NBA after his overseas commitment was complete (Twitter link). Bogut earned MVP honors with the Sydney Kings, then joined the Warriors for 11 regular season games and the playoffs.
However, Stein notes that Noah has received interest from a few NBA teams after a surprisingly strong performance once he joined the Grizzlies in December (Twitter link).
Noah averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 41 games for Memphis, helping to erase memories of two nightmarish seasons with the Knicks. At age 34, he is being very “selective” about where he winds up next, Stein adds.
Lakers Introduce Anthony Davis
After months of waiting for a trade, Anthony Davis learned about the deal that sent him to the Lakers on Instagram, writes Chris Bumbaca of USA Today. Speaking today at his introductory press conference, Davis explained that he was watching a movie when the news broke and he missed two calls from his agent, Rich Paul. After a return call was unsuccessful, Davis tried social media, where he found out he was headed to L.A.
The deal was no surprise for Davis, who submitted a trade request to the Pelicans in January. The Lakers were one of his preferred destinations, offering the chance to team up with fellow Klutch Sports client LeBron James. Even so, Davis is happy that the process is finally over.
“That’s the biggest thing for me,” he said. “The relief of not knowing the unknown anymore and not knowing where I was going to be next season.”
GM Rob Pelinka, who closed the deal by offering New Orleans Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and a package of draft picks, called Davis’ introduction “a history-shifting day for the Los Angeles Lakers” and said organization is hoping for “a decade of dominance” from its new big man. Right now, L.A. is guaranteed just one year out of Davis, who is expected to opt out of his current contract next summer.
There’s more from today’s press conference:
- Davis doesn’t regret waiving his $4MM trade kicker, even though the move was designed to help land Kawhi Leonard, who wound up choosing the Clippers. “Any time you’re able to able to acquire a player like Kawhi, you have to do almost everything to get a guy like that,” he said. “Obviously, it didn’t work out for us, but I still wanted to do everything I could to help the team. That $4MM was to add more money to a player’s contract or get another guy, and by all means I was willing to do that.”
- Pelinka frequently sought input from Davis and James as the front office filled out the roster with free agent signings. Once Leonard was off the market, the Lakers focused on making the most of their cap space to build as much depth as possible. “I like our roster,” Davis said. “I like every player that we have, from one through 14. I’m excited about it. I would put our roster against anybody. I think that in a seven-game series we would come out victorious.”
- Davis turned aside a question about his long-term future in L.A., saying he’s “focused on this season,” tweets Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. “When that time comes around next year, you can ask me that question and we can revisit it,” Davis responded. “Right now my focus is on this year and figuring out how I can help this team and help this organization become a championship team.”
- Davis isn’t bothered by negative reaction he got from fans and the media after requesting a trade, relays Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll (Twitter link). “As long as I can sleep at night and live with the decisions that I made, then I’m happy and I don’t really care what anyone else thinks,” he explained. “I have a great team around me who I can talk to about things that’s going on, and they give me great advice and at the end of the day I’ll live with the decisions I make.”
Lakers Sign Talen Horton-Tucker
Second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker has signed with the Lakers, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Horton-Tucker was selected 46th overall with a pick that was acquired from the Magic in a draft-night trade.
Because L.A. is over the cap, the team isn’t able to able to sign Horton-Tucker past two years, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The maximum he could earn on his new deal is $898,310 as a rookie and $1,517,981 in 2020/21.
A 6’4″ swingman, Horton-Tucker averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists during his only season at Iowa State.
Milos Teodosic To Play In Italy
Former Clippers guard Milos Teodosic has signed with the Italian club Virtus Bologna, relays Nicola Lupo of Sportando. The team announced the new contract, which will cover three years.
Teodosic, 32, was a disappointment during his time in L.A. after being a huge star in Europe. He played just 60 games in two seasons, including 15 this year, before being waived in February. He averaged just 10 minutes per night this season and was lamenting his lack of of playing time all the way back in November.
Teodosic is a six-time All-EuroLeague selection and was the league’s MVP in 2010. He helped the Serbian team capture the silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, as well as silvers at the 2009 EuroBasket tournament and the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Five Key Stories: 7/6/19 – 7/13/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
After Kawhi Leonard committed to the Clippers, they acquired Paul George from the Thunder for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and future first-round picks. The Thunder received five first-round picks plus the right to swap two others as the Clippers fulfilled Leonard’s desire to team up with Most Valuable Player finalist George. The Clippers became instant contenders for next season’s title despite giving up their promising young point guard and another starter in the deal.
In a blockbuster swap involving two of the NBA’s biggest names, the Thunder traded Russell Westbrook to the Rockets for Chris Paul along with two future first-rounders and two pick swaps. Once George’s request to be traded to the Clippers was fulfilled, there was no reason for the Thunder to retain Westbrook during a full rebuild. The Rockets are hoping that Westbrook is the final piece to a championship puzzle. It’s likely that Paul will never play for the Thunder. He’ll either be traded again or work out a buyout agreement and become a free agent.
The Knicks reached a one-year agreement with free agent forward Marcus Morris after Morris backed out on a verbal agreement with the Spurs. The former Celtic decided to test the free agent market again next summer instead of signing a two-year deal with the Spurs. San Antonio shifted gears and signed a younger forward, Trey Lyles. New York had the flexibility to add Morris after renegotiating its deal with Reggie Bullock due to health concerns.
The NBA added in-game challenges by coaches and also made changes to the replay rules for next season. The rule will be implemented on a one-year, trial basis. Coaches will get one challenge per game, whether or not it’s successful. Called fouls, goaltending, basket interference, and out-of-bounds plays are the only calls that can be challenged. Uncalled fouls can’t be challenged. Coaches must have a timeout available to use a challenge, and must use that timeout immediately after the call they want to challenge.
Point guard Tyus Jones signed an offer sheet and the Timberwolves declined to match it. Jones, 23, averaged 6.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG last year in 68 games (22.9 MPG) for Minnesota. He’ll join a Grizzlies point guard rotation that will feature No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant, along with newly-acquired youngster De’Anthony Melton. Jones’ three-year deal reportedly has a first-year base value of $8.4MM with $850K in likely bonuses. It has a descending structure but can be worth close to $27MM in total.
Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from the past week:
- Andre Iguodala is drawing interest from at least a handful of teams after he was traded from the Warriors to the Grizzlies in a salary dump.
- The Rockets agreed to a one-year deal with veteran center Tyson Chandler.
- The Hawks signed forward Jabari Parker to a two-year contract.
- The Suns reached a tw0-year, $30MM agreement with restricted free agent Kelly Oubre.
- The Celtics opened up a roster spot by waiving former first-round pick Guerschon Yabusele.
- The Warriors waived longtime second-unit point guard Shaun Livingston.
- The Mavericks acquired Delon Wright from the Grizzlies in a sign-and-trade.
- The Lakers added another backcourt piece by signing free agent Avery Bradley to a two-year contract.
- The Raptors re-signed guard Patrick McCaw to a two-year contract.
- LeBron James is expected to start at point guard for the Lakers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 7/6/19 – 7/13/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our segments and features from the past seven days:
- We took a closer look at the top remaining free agents on the market, including veterans like Joakim Noah and Jeremy Lin. In a related post, we revealed which teams had the most salary cap space available.
- In our latest poll, we asked which Western Conference team deserved to be the favorite entering next season.
- Luke Adams broke down how five teams used the salary-cap rules to their advantage during free agency.
- In our latest Community Shootaround we asked our readers to choose the Eastern Conference team most likely to reach the Finals next season.
Jaylen Adams Waived By Hawks
The Hawks have waived guard Jaylen Adams, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets.
Adams’ $1,416,852 salary for next season would have been guaranteed on July 19 if he hadn’t been waived. The Hawks will only incur a cap hit of $100K.
Atlanta now has $7MM in cap space and 13 players on guaranteed contracts, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes. The Hawks are short on point guards behind Trae Young, so they may be targeting a veteran at that spot.
Adams signed a two-way deal with Atlanta last summer, then had it converted to a standard contract in February. He went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure.
The 23-year-old Adams appeared in 34 NBA games last season, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.9 APG in 12.6 MPG.
Latest On Chris Paul
After the Rockets and Thunder agreed on a trade that sends Russell Westbrook to Houston and Chris Paul to Oklahoma City, the latter’s future remains a big question. Paul wants to play for a contender and after the Thunder parted ways with Westbrook and Paul George, it’s clear the franchise has entered a rebuilding stage.
Once the trade becomes official, the Thunder will likely explore trade scenarios for Paul. To this point, the Heat appear to be the leading suitor – if not the only suitor – for Paul’s services.
“The conversation with Miami was ongoing prior to the deal that got Chris Paul to Oklahoma City,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Friday’s edition of Get Up! “He’s 34 years old, he wants to be on a team that has playoff aspirations.
“The market for Chris Paul is going to be small. But Miami is at the top of that list. They’d like to get a deal done as soon as they can.”
Wojnarowski noted that Miami does not have much cap space or draft assets to give up in a potential Paul trade. However, pairing Paul with their prized offseason acquisition, Jimmy Butler, could make the Heat a more serious threat in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
However, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) relayed that Miami is doing its “due diligence” on Paul, but not aggressively pursuing the veteran.
It remains to be seen where Paul winds up for the 2019/20 season, but as Wojnarowski noted, OKC swung the deal with the intention of flipping the nine-time All-Star.
“Their hope in getting this deal done with Chris Paul was that he doesn’t play a game in a Thunder uniform,” Wojnarowski said.