Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Rumors: Hornets, Booker, Wizards

June 25th, 2015 at 2:41pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the Southeast Division..

After taking care of the small forward void with Nicolas Batum and adding Jeremy Lamb, the Hornets are said to be targeting guard Devin Booker at No. 9, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
The Hornets are able to create a pair of small trade exceptions from two trades they completed today. The exchange of Matt Barnes and his $3,396,250 salary for Luke Ridnour‘s $2,750,000 would produce a $646,250 exception, while flipping Ridnour in the deal that netted Lamb and his $2,202,000 salary allows for an exception worth precisely $548K.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (on Twitter) cautions fans not to be surprised if the Hawks decide to cash in on one of the many offers they have for the No. 15 pick in the draft. Many execs feel that this draft only goes 15 deep.
As of this afternoon, the Wizards don’t expect to move up or down from No. 19, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Hawks, Wizards Swapping Picks

June 25th, 2015 at 10:22am CST by Chuck Myron

10:22pm: The deal is official, the Wizards and Hawks announced. The second-rounders going to Atlanta are for 2016 and 2019, according to the Wizards.

8:24pm: The Wizards have a deal to acquire the rights to 15th pick Kelly Oubre from the Hawks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), with the 19th pick going to Atlanta. Two future second-round picks will go to the Hawks, too, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Oubre was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school who endured a tough season at Kansas, averaging fewer than 10 points per game. Still, Washington is banking on the upside that Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors examined in a Prospect Profile. He’ll represent a cap hold of $1,600,200 on Washington’s books.

Atlanta is reportedly flipping the rights to the 19th pick, Jerian Grant, into Tim Hardaway Jr. in a deal with the Knicks.

And-Ones: Batum, Booker, Milutinov

June 24th, 2015 at 11:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A change that would allow underclassmen greater capacity to return to school after declaring for the draft would indeed take effect for next year if the NCAA approves the proposal in January, as Dan Guerrero, chairman of the NCAA men’s basketball oversight committee, said to Andy Katz of ESPN.com. The committee lent its sponsorship to the measure Wednesday, and a formal vote on adoption is to take place in January, according to Katz.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Hawks have discussed moving up from the No. 15 overall pick in the draft with a number of teams, including the Pacers, who sit at No. 11, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter). A number of executives around the league believe that Atlanta is trying to land Wisconsin big man Frank Kaminsky, Kennedy adds. Kaminsky is a draft possibility for the Hornets (No. 9), Heat (No. 10), and the Jazz (No. 12), which could complicate the Hawks’ designs on snagging the talented shooter.
Speaking about newly acquired swingman Nicolas Batum, Hornets GM Rich Cho said, “He is a quality defender and a solid outside shooter who brings versatility and playoff experience,” Mike Tokito of The Oregonian tweets. Batum’s deal includes a trade bonus that will lift his cap hit by about $890K for the 2014/15 campaign and approximately $890K again for 2015/16, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter links). The Blazers also end up with a trade exception, according to Pincus, worth $3,241,300.
Many executives around the NBA believe that Kentucky guard Devin Booker is the player in this year’s NBA Draft who could benefit the most from significant time spent in the D-League during his rookie campaign, Keith Schlosser of SBNation writes. While Booker is regarded as the best pure shooter in this year’s draft, a large number of NBA and D-League executives believe that Booker could stand to improve his agility, quickness, and instincts on both ends of the floor, Schlosser adds.
Serbian big man Nikola Milutinov is climbing up the draft boards and could possibly be selected in the first round, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). It’s doubtful that the Spurs would be the team to select the seven-footer, a league source informed Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News tweets. San Antonio currently owns the No. 26 overall pick.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

League OKs Tony Ressler’s Purchase Of Hawks

June 24th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Private equity mogul Tony Ressler and his partners have officially assumed control of the Hawks after receiving unanimous Board of Governors approval today, the league announced. Controlling owner Bruce Levenson, who last September announced his decision to sell as he self-reported racially insensitive emails that he had sent in 2012, and the rest of an often-divided consortium of co-owners have relinquished the team in the $730MM deal. The Ressler group is also assuming some $120MM in arena-related debt, raising the total purchase price to $850MM, as several reports made clear in April, when Ressler and his partners secured an agreement to buy the team. USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt reported a few days ago that league approval and the transfer would take place today.

“We are pleased that the NBA’s Board of Governors has approved the purchase of the Atlanta Hawks by principal owner Tony Ressler,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “Tony and his diverse and experienced ownership group will bring tremendous energy and passion to the Hawks and the team and its fans will greatly benefit from their commitment to the Atlanta community.”

Former player Grant Hill, private equity investor Rick Schnall, women’s wear magnate Sara Blakely and her husband, entrepreneur Jesse Itzler, are among those in Ressler’s group. They beat out another bid that reportedly involved baseball legend Hank Aaron as well as former Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien and current Grizzlies minority owner Steve Kaplan. Former Suns and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, former player Junior Bridgeman and neuropsychologist Richard Chaifetz also apparently teamed for a run at the Hawks as part of a bid that once included Hill.

The new owners appear poised to work on a deal that would make Mike Budenholzer team president and coach, as well as one that would give assistant GM Wes Wilcox a promotion to GM, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last week. Former GM Danny Ferry received a buyout earlier this week that gave him more than he would have received over the remainder of his contract, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Ferry had been on a leave of absence since September that he began after the revelation that he repeated racially charged comments about Luol Deng that had been written in a scouting report from an outside firm. The departures of Ferry and Levenson allow the team to move on from the scandal that hung in the background amid the team’s 60-win season.

Ressler and the front office face a challenge this summer to retain both Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll with only Early Bird rights on them and perhaps not enough cap space to meet their collective market price, as I examined in our Offseason Outlook for the team. Atlanta holds the 15th, 50th and 59th picks in Thursday’s draft.

Southeast Notes: Ferry, Elie, Heat

June 23rd, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Hawks GM Danny Ferry is relieved at this weekend’s release of the findings of a team-commissioned investigation that found no wrongdoing on his part, though he indicates that the team held onto the results for months, despite his request that they make them public, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Indeed, the team knew the results of the investigation in September, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, a couple of days before Ferry took his leave of absense, and the public release was one of the terms of his buyout, according to Shelburne.

Ferry admitted to Shelburne that he made a mistake when he read racially charged comments about Luol Deng from a scouting report that an outside service had prepared, and while he considered ending his leave at points during the season, he ultimately decided that doing so would have been too much of a distraction. He also told Vivlamore that even as Hawks higher-ups acknowledged the situation was unfair, they pressured him to quit in the immediate wake of the crisis. “They didn’t see a way I could survive this,” Ferry said. “That was hard to take. Fortunately, Wayne Embry, the Rev. Toussaint Hill, Lance Blanks and others were telling me, ‘You can’t quit. If you quit now, you’re admitting you are a racist and you are not a racist.’ Those are people who have experienced racism. My father also was a good voice for me through all of this. I am glad I followed their advice and I am so grateful for the support from them and many others.”

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Magic, who own the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, are considering trading down for a lower first-rounder and a veteran to add to their young core, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I would say we’ve talked to at least a half-dozen teams about it,” Orlando GM Rob Hennigan told Robbins. “So it’s something we’re definitely considering and weighing sincerely: potentially moving back.” You can view Hennigan’s complete draft history as an executive here.
The tense contract relations the Heat organization is currently experiencing with star Dwyane Wade will influence the team’s approach to the NBA Draft, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes.
Mario Elie is a strong frontrunner to be hired as an assistant on coach Scott Skiles‘ staff with the Magic, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Elie has previously been an assistant for the Mavs, Kings, and Nets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Sixers, Blazers, Pacers, Hawks Talk Pick Swaps

June 23rd, 2015 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers and Trail Blazers have spoken about a trade that would send the No. 23 pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the 35th and 37th picks and perhaps more, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The Pacers and Hawks have had exploratory talks about a swap of the 11th and 15th picks, presumably with other assets involved, Kennedy also hears, citing league sources. Philadelphia is willing to trade up from the No. 3 spot to acquire D’Angelo Russell, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who writes within his Draft Buzz column.

Jahlil Okafor earlier this month became the focus of the Lakers at the No. 2 pick, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reported, so a willingness from Philly to trade up for Russell would indicate some doubt from the Sixers that the Lakers indeed prefer the Duke center. Karl-Anthony Towns appears to be headed to the Timberwolves with the No. 1 pick, though he’s denied a report that Minnesota has already told him he’ll be their choice.

Philadelphia leads the NBA with six picks in this year’s draft, five of which are in the second round. The Blazers appear focused on free agency, with LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo among the soon-to-be free agents on the roster, so moving off the nearly $1.004MM cap hold for a first-round pick would presumably have some value to them.

Willie Cauley-Stein has said that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird called him a $100MM player, so it would appear Indiana has strong interest in him. Concerns about Cauley-Stein’s health threaten to push him out of the top 10, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress wrote in his mock draft this week, though it would seem a stretch if he were still available at No. 15. The Hawks are worried that they won’t be able to bring back the duo of Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll in free agency, but trading up for a higher pick wouldn’t help them create more cap space unless they gave up salary in such a deal.

And-Ones: Thunder, Grizzlies, Antic

June 22nd, 2015 at 11:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder have been shopping Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Steve Novak, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Oklahoma City, which has $78.26MM in guaranteed salary commitments for next season, is seeking financial relief but it is also seeking a draft pick, Mannix adds. The Thunder already have picks at No. 14 and No. 48.

In other news around the league:

The Knicks, Kings and Hornets are the teams most likely to trade out of the Top 10 in the draft, Mannix reports in a separate tweet.
Guards Andre Hollins and Deville Smith and forwards Nino Johnson and Aaron White worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday, completing the team’s predraft workouts, according to Grizzlies.com.
R.J. Hunter, Anthony Brown, Olivier Hanlan, Christian Wood, Sir’Dominic Porter and Mouhammadou Jaiteh will work out for the Wizards on Tuesday, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. (Twitter link).
Fenerbahce of the Turkish League is interested in signing Hawks free agent center Pero Antic, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.

Draft Notes: Lakers, Johnson, Berzins, Payne

June 21st, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers would prefer Karl-Anthony Towns to Jahlil Okafor, but Towns appears to be the player that the Timberwolves are targeting with the top pick, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter link). L.A. has swung and missed on attempts to have Towns in for a workout, while Mark Heisler of Forbes.com heard recently that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders has become enamored with the Kentucky big man. The Lakers have zeroed in on Okafor if Towns is off the board, as Mannix reported earlier. Here’s more on the rapidly approaching draft:

Stanley Johnson is refusing to work out with the Hornets, who pick ninth, in hopes that either the Pistons, at No. 8, or the Heat, with the 10th pick, will draft him, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Latvian small forward Janis Berzins is working out for the Spurs and Celtics in addition to his audition with the Jazz this past Friday, as VEF Riga, his Latvian team, revealed via Twitter (translation via HoopsHype).
Cameron Payne has worked out for the Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Pacers and Thunder, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. In addition, Payne held a meeting with the Celtics.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said earlier this week that he has workouts left with the Jazz, Kings and Hawks, tweets Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
Justin Anderson recently completed his eighth workout, Castillo tweets. He has the Cavaliers and Thunder remaining.
Larry Nance Jr. tells the Associated Press he has worked out for “about a dozen” teams, including the Spurs, Sixers, Celtics, Suns, Heat, Pacers and Knicks. The last workout on his schedule will be Wednesday with the Cavaliers.
Pat Connaughton has managed to fit more than a dozen teams into his workout schedule, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The Notre Dame product has received positive reviews at most of the workouts and has a chance to be a second round pick, Himmelsbach writes.
Kevon Looney has worked out for “nine or 10 teams,” tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. One of those sessions was with the Celtics on June 17th, writes Josh Slavin of WEEI.com.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Southeast Rumors: Hawks, Cauley-Stein, Magic

June 21st, 2015 at 3:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The prospect of losing starting forwards DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap in free agency complicates the Hawks’ decision-making entering the draft, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta may have to consider drafting for a potential need rather than just going with the best player available strategy, Vivlamore continues. The Hawks have two second-round picks this year and next June, which could help them move up from the No. 15 overall spot in a draft-day trade, Vivlamore adds. If the Hawks are confident they can re-sign their top free agents, they will have more incentive to go with a developmental player, as the team’s assistant GM Wes Wilcox told Vivlamore. “You may end up with a 19-year-old where there is positional opportunity or a 22-year-old where there is not a positional opportunity,” Wilcox said. “That is where we believe in our development staff, our assistant coaches, to where we can continue to improve the player and give them a chance to be a good Hawk long-term.”

In other news around the Southeast Division:

Willie Cauley-Stein’s defensive prowess and superior athleticism make him a serious option for the Magic with their No. 5 overall pick, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel opines. The Magic need an upgrade on defense and Cauley-Stein’s shot-blocking and ability to guard all five positions may be too tempting for Orlando to pass up, Robbins adds.
The Hornets hosted Cauley-Stein for a solo workout on Friday, the team’s website reports. That could be a signal that Cauley-Stein will not slip past the No. 9 spot, since that’s the pick Charlotte owns in the first round.
The Magic pulled off a surprise in last year’s draft by selecting Aaron Gordon and that could happen again, especially if they trade down, Robbins writes in a separate piece. Myles Turner, Kevon Looney, Trey Lyles, Devin Booker or Bobby Portis could wind up with the Magic, depending upon their draft strategy, Robbins adds.

And-Ones: Celtics, Bulls, Rodriguez, Frazier

June 20th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are reportedly trying to move out of the No. 28th spot in the draft in an effort to gain more cap flexibility, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link). Earlier today, it was reported that the team would like to move up in the draft in order to select Myles Turner. Boston also owns the No.16 overall pick, so perhaps it could dangle both picks to a team drafting in the back-end of the lottery, which is where Turner is expected to be selected.

Here’s more from around the league on the last day of spring:

Sergio Rodriguez is not contemplating the possibility of making the jump to the NBA, barring an offer he cannot refuse, according to Marca.com (Translation by HoopsHype.com). It was previously reported that the point guard planned to try and secure an NBA deal this summer.
Tom Thibodeau and his coaching staff reportedly lobbied for Draymond Green to be the No.29 overall selection in the 2012 draft instead of Marquis Teague, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Since taking over for Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg has immersed himself in the Bulls’ draft process, according to Johnson in the same piece. Hoiberg is also working finalize his staff with Pete Myers, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm and video coordinator Charlie Henry.
Michael Frazier will work out for the Sixers, Hawks and Rockets, according to Antonya English and Bob Putnam of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Gator has previously worked out for 11 other teams.