Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Joseph, Daniels, Wizards, Hornets

December 20th, 2024 at 6:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Well-traveled Magic veteran guard Cory Joseph is becoming a valuable locker room presence for a rising young Orlando squad in his first season with the team, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.

“The league’s getting younger and they keep me young, too,” Joseph said of his Magic teammates. “It continues to change and you have to continue to adapt. I’m asking a lot of questions as well, trying to learn from them.”

Rookie forward Tristan Da Silva, the No. 18 pick in this summer’s draft, sang the point guard’s praises.

“He’s a great leader for this team, even though he’s not on the court as much,” Da Silva said. “He still has a huge impact on this team.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

New Hawks guard Dyson Daniels‘s goal is to improve his shooting mechanics and increase his three-point output this season, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Williams notes Daniels has made 30.8% of his 3.4 three-point tries per game overall this season, but also enjoyed a more consistent run between November 18-29, when he nailed 42.9% of 3.5 attempts per game.
Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, home to both the Wizards and the NHL’s Capitals, has gotten the green light for a $515MM renovation, ensuring that both clubs will stick around for the long-term, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic.
Following a Thursday loss to lowly Washington, the Hornets have now dropped nine of their last 10 contests and fallen to a 7-20 record on the year. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer wonders how, or if, Charlotte will be able to right the ship this year, even in a less competitive Eastern Conference — three East play-in teams have records below .500, but Charlotte is 4.5 games back of the No. 10 seed. The Hornets’ “core four” of All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, forwards Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, and center Mark Williams has rarely been able to stay on the court together thus far this season.

Trade Rumors: MPJ, LaVine, Butler, Suns, Nets

December 20th, 2024 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are open to the idea of making a significant trade prior to the February 6 trade deadline, but they’re hoping they’ll see enough from their current group in the coming weeks to feel confident about not having to make a major in-season deal, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post, who takes a closer look at Denver’s trade candidates and potential paths.

Meanwhile, following up on the rumor linking Zach LaVine to Denver and Michael Porter Jr. to the Bulls, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirm the Nuggets are indeed considering whether to trade Porter, whose $35.9MM cap hit would be necessary to complete a trade for a player earning a substantial salary.

According to Stein and Fischer, the Nuggets have “always been somewhat unsure” about Porter’s value on the trade market, due in part to his injury history, and are wary about making the team smaller by swapping him out for a guard like LaVine.

Sources tell The Stein Line that some people in the Nuggets’ front office believe that if the team needs to make a moving involving Porter, trading him for two starting-caliber players instead of a single star would be the best course of action. Fischer and Stein point to the Hawks‘ duo of De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Nets‘ duo of Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith as examples.

I may be unsure about Porter’s trade value myself, but given two years and $79MM left on his contract after this season, I have to think that Atlanta and Brooklyn would require some serious sweeteners to seriously consider those trade ideas. That’s an issue for the Nuggets, who aren’t exactly stocked with draft assets — they’ve traded away three future first-round picks and included protections on all of them, complicating their ability to offer additional first-rounders or swaps in subsequent trades. That’s why targeting a distressed asset like LaVine makes sense in the first place.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

The Suns are Jimmy Butler‘s preferred landing spot in the event of a trade, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links). However, Gambadoro says Phoenix plans to wait until at least mid-January before making any decisions on trades, which includes anything involving Butler. Although Gambadoro believes the Suns like Butler, it’s unclear if they’d have the pieces to acquire him, given that Bradley Beal (who holds a no-trade clause) would have to be included in any deal.
Net Income of NetsDaily rounds up a few recent trade rumors involving the Nets and provides his own analysis on each of them. According to NetsDaily, Brooklyn is believed to be seeking at least one first-round pick and potentially “a prospect or two” for Cameron Johnson and is very reluctant to take on multiyear money in trades unless the accompanying return is “rich.”
Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) has published his pre-deadline trade primer for the 2024/25 season, running through all 30 NBA teams and taking a closer look at the big questions they have to answer, their tradable players and draft picks, and various restrictions they’re facing.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines 10 potential trade candidates, including a pair of Trail Blazers centers (Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams), and considers which landing spots are most realistic for them.

Hawks Reportedly Want To Trade Clint Capela Before Deadline

December 19th, 2024 at 1:52pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks hope to trade starting center Clint Capela before his $22.27MM contract expires in the offseason, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Atlanta has seven weeks to try to move Capela, with the trade deadline set for 2:00 pm CT on February 6.

According to Fischer, the Hawks’ willingness to deal Capela is at least partially motivated by their confidence in young backup center Onyeka Okongwu, a former lottery pick who is in the first season of a four-year, $62MM rookie scale extension. Okongwu will miss at least the next four games due to left knee inflammation, but he’s reportedly viewed as a long-term part of the team’s core.

After playing a career-high 33.6 minutes per game during the 2018/19 campaign, Capela has seen his playing time decline in each of the past six seasons. He’s averaging 23.0 MPG in ’24/25, the third-lowest mark of his 11-year career.

Capela’s minutes may have been steadily dwindling over the past several seasons, but he remains quite productive, with his per-36 averages for ’24/25 right in line with his career rates. In 27 games this season, he’s averaging 10.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 1.0 BPG.

A 30-year-old big man from Switzerland, Capela has popped in several trade rumors in recent years. He’s in his sixth season with the Hawks, who acquired him in a four-team deal in February 2020.

As Fischer observes, the tricky part for Atlanta is Capela’s cap hit is pretty significant. It’s understandable that the Hawks would want to get something in return for him if they don’t plan to re-sign him (they already have a lot of money committed to their roster in ’25/26), but it might be difficult to get solid value back for Capela, given his salary, expiring contract, and the fact that center is a pretty deep position in the NBA.

Antetokounmpo Headlines All-Tournament Team For NBA Cup

December 19th, 2024 at 12:24pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA announced the All-Tournament Team for the NBA Cup on Thursday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo headlining the five-player group (Twitter link). The Bucks superstar was named tournament MVP after Milwaukee defeated Oklahoma City in Tuesday’s final.

Here’s the full team, along with the amount of votes each player received (in parentheses) from a group of 20 media members:

Antetokounmpo, Bucks (20)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (20)
Damian Lillard, Bucks (19)
Trae Young, Hawks (12)
Alperen Sengun, Rockets (6)

All five players advanced to at least the semifinals of the league’s second in-season tournament. Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander were unanimous selections, while Lillard fell one vote shy.

According to the full voting results, Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein (5), Magic forward Franz Wagner (5), Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (4) and Thunder forward Jalen Williams (3) narrowly missed out on making the team. Six other players received one vote apiece.

The voting for the team is based on each player’s performance over the entire NBA Cup, including group play and the knockout round games. The Bucks went undefeated (7-0) to claim the trophy.

Hawks’ Okongwu Out At Least Four Games With Knee Inflammation

December 18th, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Center Onyeka Okongwu is dealing with left knee inflammation and will be sidelined for at least four games, the Hawks announced in a press release (Twitter link). According to the team, Okongwu will be reevaluated in about a week.

The Hawks will be in San Antonio on Thursday for a road game against the Spurs before returning home to Atlanta for a four-game homestand. Okongwu will miss Thursday’s contest and the first three home games of that stretch (vs. Memphis, Minnesota and Chicago). The earliest he could return would be next Saturday vs. Miami.

Although he’s technically a backup, Okongwu has actually averaged more minutes per game (23.8) than starting center Clint Capela (23.0) in 2024/25. Through 25 games, Okongwu has averaged 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, with a shooting line of .542/.244/.779 (he’s a low-volume three-point shooter, having converted 10-of-41 looks from long distance).

Hopefully it’s just a temporary setback for Okongwu, who missed several weeks of action last season due to a left big toe sprain. A former lottery pick (No. 6 overall in 2020), the 24-year-old big man is considered part of Atlanta’s young core. Okongwu’s four-year, $62MM rookie scale extension, which he signed in October 2023, began this season.

Unfortunately, Okongwu isn’t the only player on the roster dealing with an injury, as the Hawks announced earlier on Wednesday that second-year guard Kobe Bufkin will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

Reserve big man Larry Nance Jr. will likely rejoin Atlanta’s rotation with Okongwu out.

Hawks Waive Two-Way Player Seth Lundy

December 18th, 2024 at 3:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 18: The Hawks have officially waived Lundy, the team announced today in a press release.

DECEMBER 17: The Hawks are waiving two-way guard Seth Lundy, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto tweets.

Lundy has been sidelined with a left ankle injury and hasn’t appeared in any Hawks games this season.

The 2023 second-round pick out of Penn State saw action in nine games for Atlanta last season but spent the bulk of his time with the College Park Skyhawks in the G League. In those 25 NBAGL games (23 starts), the 6’4″ Lundy averaged 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 32.6 minutes per contest. He shot 46.2% from the field and 40% on 3-point attempts.

Lundy signed a two-way deal prior to last season and was re-signed to another two-way contract in July. The 24-year-old underwent ankle surgery in mid-May.

The left ankle procedure removed a medial ankle bone spur. He re-aggravated his ankle while working out before a Hawks preseason game. He will be reevaluated in January, according to Scotto.

Kobe Bufkin To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

December 18th, 2024 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Kobe Bufkin will miss the rest of the 2024/25 season, according to the Hawks, who announced today in a press release (Twitter link) that the second-year guard will undergo surgery to address right shoulder instability.

The surgery, which was determined to be the best option for Bufkin after “continued evaluation and additional medical opinions,” will take place on January 7. He’s expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of the 2025/26 season.

The 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Bufkin was limited to 17 NBA appearances in his rookie year, having missed a significant chunk of the 2023/24 campaign due to a fractured left thumb and a sprained toe.

He also suited up for 14 games in the G League last season, averaging 23.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.4 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per contest for the College Park Skyhawks, with a shooting line of .444/.356/.829.

Bufkin sustained a right shoulder subluxation (ie. a partial dislocation) during a Summer League practice this past July, then suffered the same injury in a practice just before the regular season began. He made his season debut on November 18 and appeared in 10 games this fall, but that shoulder was apparently never 100%, so he and the team have decided to take the surgical route to address it.

The result will be another lost season for Bufkin, who has averaged 5.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .374/.220/.654 shooting in 27 total NBA outings (11.9 MPG). Hopefully, the surgery will clear up any lingering issues with the shoulder and allow him to begin his third NBA season fully healthy.

Bufkin is under contract for $4.3MM this season and $4.5MM in 2025/26. The Hawks will have to make a decision by October 31, 2025 on his $6.9MM fourth-year option for the ’26/27 season.

Atlanta will have the ability to apply for a disabled player exception as a result of Bufkin’s season-ending injury. It would be worth half his salary (approximately $2.15MM) and would allow the club to sign a free agent to a rest-of-season contract or to acquire a player on an expiring deal via trade or waiver claim.

Warriors Remain Atop 2024 NBA Franchise Valuations

December 18th, 2024 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2024 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $9.14 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $8 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $8.3 billion, while the Lakers come in at $8.07 billion, per Sportico. Only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys – at $10.3 billion – have a higher valuation than Golden State among North American sports teams, says Badenhausen.

While Sportico’s figures suggest the Warriors, Knicks, and Lakers are worth significantly more than the fourth-place team (the Nets at $5.7 billion), the average value of an NBA franchise is up to $4.6 billion, with no team worth less than $3 billion.

That average has increased by 15% since Sportico released its 2023 valuations last December and has nearly doubled since the site published its first NBA franchise valuations four years ago, when the average was $2.37 billion.

The NBA’s new $77 billion media rights deal and a 15% increase in team sponsorship are among the factors contributing to the rising valuations of the league’s franchises, according to Badenhausen, who notes that a post-COVID boom in concerts and other major events has been good news for team owners who also control their arenas.

NBA team owners operated 10 of the world’s 20 highest-grossing concert venues in 2024, with the Nets’ Barclays Center coming in at No. 1, says Badenhausen. The Nets’ valuation is up 43% this year, per Sportico, easily the largest year-over-year increase among the 30 NBA franchises.

When Forbes put out its NBA franchise valuations in October, it pegged the average value of a team at $4.4 billion. In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we begun highlighting Sportico’s projections as of 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2024:

Golden State Warriors: $9.14 billion
New York Knicks: $8.3 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $8.07 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $5.7 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $5.68 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.66 billion
Chicago Bulls: $5.56 billion
Miami Heat: $5 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.77 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.66 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.57 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.46 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4.32 billion
Sacramento Kings: $4.11 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $4.07 billion
Denver Nuggets: $4.06 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.98 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.95 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.91 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.79 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.74 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.67 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.6 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.55 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.46 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.45 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3.39 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $3.29 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $3.09 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $3.06 billion

As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. No NBA franchise saw its majority control change hands in 2024, but that could change in 2025, with control of the Celtics up for sale.

According to Badenhausen, team executives and investors have predicted a sale price ranging from $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion for the Celtics. The final valuation will be determined by a number of factors, including how many bidders are on the mix, what percentage of the team they can buy, and whether current governor Wyc Grousbeck insists on remaining in that role until 2028, which he has indicated is his goal.

The Bucks Players Who Benefited Most From NBA Cup Prize Money

December 18th, 2024 at 7:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks‘ team salary this season is approximately $193MM, which is over the second tax apron and far exceeds the $160.4MM on the Thunder‘s books.

However, only two players on Oklahoma City’s roster are on minimum-salary contracts and just three of 15 Thunder players on standard deals are earning less than $3MM this season. By comparison, Milwaukee has eight players with salaries below $3MM, plus a ninth earning just a hair above $3MM. Seven of those nine players are earning their respective minimums.

While the $514,970 bonus for winning the NBA Cup may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, it represents a significant pay raise for the players on the lower two-thirds of Milwaukee’s cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $257,485 apiece.

The NBA Cup prize money results in at least a 17% raise for each of the following Bucks players, whose 2024/25 salaries are noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $514,970 bonus:

Delon Wright ($3,003,427)
Taurean Prince ($2,988,550)
AJ Johnson ($2,795,294)
MarJon Beauchamp ($2,733,720)
Gary Trent Jr. ($2,613,120)
A.J. Green ($2,120,693)
Andre Jackson ($1,891,857)
Chris Livingston ($1,891,857)
Tyler Smith ($1,157,153)

Players receiving a $257,485 bonus:

Liam Robbins ($578,577)
Ryan Rollins ($578,577)
Stanley Umude ($578,577)

The bonuses for Smith and the Bucks’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.5% on their respective base salaries.

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Bucks’ team salary for cap, tax, and apron purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Oklahoma City and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST. Their prize money is as follows:

Oklahoma City Thunder: $205,988 per player ($102,994 for two-way players)
Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets: $102,994 per player ($51,497 for two-ways)
Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic: $51,497 per player ($25,749 for two-ways)

And-Ones: NBA Cup, Timma, Trade Candidates, Flagg

December 17th, 2024 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA Cup figures to be a regular part of the league’s schedule going forward, there will likely still be some tweaks to the format and the schedule in future seasons, according to stories from Joe Vardon of The Athletic and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Managing the schedule for both the knockout round games and the extra regular season contests for teams not in Las Vegas is a challenge, but Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault isn’t thrilled that his team will play a road back-to-back set on Thursday and Friday on the East Coast after its Cup final in Vegas on Tuesday, as Vardon relays.

“We’re basically on a six-day West Coast road trip right now, and our next game coming out of this is three time zones away, four-hour flight to Orlando and then a back-to-back against Miami — which if you look that as a road trip, is an unprecedented road trip,” Daigneault said. “The NBA would never schedule that. They would never put a team a on six-day West Coast road trip, and then fly them east for a back-to-back.”

Besides considering potential scheduling tweaks, the league may explore a new location for the final four of the NBA Cup. According to Vardon, Abu Dhabi’s public investment fund has expressed interest in hosting the event, though that would create more significant scheduling issues. Cities like Mexico City, Nashville, Tampa and San Diego have also inquired about hosting, per Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.

As for for the format, the NBA and Amazon – which will broadcast the NBA Cup knockout round beginning next season – have discussed possible changes, including possibly moving the tournament later in the regular season, says Bontemps.

Sources who spoke to ESPN cautioned that there’s no guarantee the format will look any different next season, but Bontemps suggests expanding the group-play stage from four games to eight is one idea the NBA may explore, since it would increase the odds of the league’s top teams advancing to the knockout round and create more marquee matchups.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Veteran Latvian forward Janis Timma has been found dead in Moscow, according to a report from the Russian news agency TASS (via Eurohoops), who say that authorities believe it was a suicide. Timma was selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 60 pick of the 2013 draft and had his rights traded to the Magic in 2015 but never signed an NBA contract, having spent most of his career competing in European leagues — in addition to playing in Latvia, Russia, Spain, Greece and Turkey, he also had stints in the G League and in Puerto Rico. Timma won Baltic League and Latvian League titles and was named an All-Star a total of five times in Latvia and Russia.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published his first “trade board” of the 2024/25 season, identifying 30 of the most notable players who are candidates to be on the move by February 6. Vecenie’s list is headlined by Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, and Cameron Johnson and includes three or more players apiece from the Bulls, Nets, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Wizards, and Jazz.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) spoke to NBA executives and scouts about Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, exploring his strengths and weaknesses, what makes him a unique prospect, and why he’s the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Andrei Kirilenko, Jayson Tatum, Franz Wagner, Aaron Gordon and Grant Hill are some of the current and former NBA players Woo’s sources referenced as comparables for Flagg.“I don’t think he’s a generational guy — I think that word started getting used too frequently,” one executive said. “(But) when you look back at this draft, if he goes at 1, regardless of if other people end up better, nobody is going to say that was a bad pick.”