Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Lopez, Hawks, Stephenson

May 11th, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks could be in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez if he opts out of his contract this summer, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Lopez’s strong relationship with former Nets coach and current Bucks coach Jason Kidd could factor in his decision if he enters the market, Woelfel adds. Lopez, who holds a player option of approximately $16.74MM on his contract, is likely to opt out but he’s expected to get a max offer from Brooklyn. Milwaukee finished the season with journeyman Zaza Pachulia as its starting center after buying out Larry Sanders in February.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

The Hawks will swap first-round picks with the Nets, allowing Atlanta to move up to the No. 15 overall spot next month, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The Hawks, who informed the league of their decision on Monday, had the option of swapping first-rounders with Brooklyn as part of the 2012 Joe Johnson trade. The Hawks declined that option last season. Brooklyn moves down to No. 29 as a result of the swap.
Lance Stephenson will stay in the Charlotte area over the summer and work with the Hornets coaches to improve his jump shot, Sam Perley of Hornets.com writes. Stephenson wants to prove to the club that he was worth the three-year deal it gave him last summer, Perley continues. Stephenson shot 37.6% from the field and 17.1% on 3-point attempts in his first season with Charlotte. He is due $9MM next season with a team option of just over $9,4MM the following season. “I’m staying here during the offseason and going to have time to spend with the coaches and figure out how I can be successful here,” Stephenson said to Perley. “I’m going to have to come in and figure out how I’m going to be a better shooter. This summer is going to be huge for me [in terms of] getting back into my groove and helping this group.”

Eastern Notes: Haslem, Harris, Bucks

May 10th, 2015 at 3:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Next season could be the end of the line for “Heat lifer” Udonis Haslem, writes Surya Fernandez of Fox Sports Florida. Haslem, who has been with Miami since 2003, will make $2.9MM in 2015/16 during the final season of a two-year contract. Although he can pursue free agency, at age 36 he might find few interested parties outside of Miami. Teammate Dwyane Wade said he would be happy to have Haslem back. “I always feel like we have a great shot when he is on the floor because he will bring something that no one else can bring,” Wade said.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

A New Hampshire mathematics professor has identified the Magic’s Tobias Harris as the NBA’s most underrated player, according to Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Harris, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, got high marks for his ability to shoot three-pointers, drive, rebound and defend.
The Bucks will likely make roster changes this summer, but they would like to keep Khris Middleton, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The team hopes the restricted free agent will choose to stay in Milwaukee and be part of the team’s young core. Co-owner Marc Lasry noted that it’s easier in the NBA to do a one-year turnaround than to maintain success. “Well, I think next year is going to be harder,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be harder. People won’t take us lightly.”
It’s been a long journey for the Hawks‘ Mike Budenholzer to go from a small Arizona town to becoming a successful NBA coach, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Budenholzer’s pro experience started as a film coordinator for the Spurs in 1994. He was promoted to assistant coach two years later, and stayed in San Antonio for 17 more years before landing the head coaching position with the Hawks. “One of the things that’s amazing to me is his demeanor,” said his father, Vince Budenholzer. “The Hawks don’t panic and that’s him staying calm. I think we’ll give the other Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] credit for that.”

Southeast Notes: Carroll, Green, Wall

May 6th, 2015 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DeMarre Carroll‘s play for the Hawks this season has likely tripled the value of his next contract, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes. But the forward’s age, 28, and his lack of a solid performance track record prior to this season could complicate the market for the unrestricted free agent, Powell adds. Interested franchises will need to determine if Carroll’s best years are ahead of him, or if he is a role-player who took advantage of the Hawks’ system, the NBA.com scribe opines. Powell also believes that the Lakers, Knicks, and Mavs will be competitors for Carroll’s services this summer.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Willie Green, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, wants to return to the Magic next season, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel relays. “I feel like I still have a good maybe three or four years — who knows? — or even more,” Green said. “It’s no secret that I met with [GM] Rob [Hennigan] and I met with the coaches and stuff here, and I expressed to them that I’m definitely open to being back here in Orlando. I like the foundation that the team has. I like our young fellas, and I think I can help them on and off the floor. So if the possibility is open, then I’m definitely open to exploring it.”
Wizards point guard John Wall‘s elevated play this season is a result of a commitment to film study and a year round fitness regimen, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes. “It took us a year or two,” athletic trainer Rob McClanaghan said. “I was straight up with John. I can’t have him come to L.A. for four weeks and say, ‘See you next summer.’ It has to be all year. He loves the film and he loves the extra work. All the work he has put in has made him a much more confident player.“
Injuries derailed what was a promising first season with the Magic for Evan Fournier, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida writes in his profile of the player. The 22-year-old was acquired last June in a deal with the Nuggets. Fournier appeared in 58 contests this season, averaging 12.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 28.6 minutes per night.

Southeast Notes: D-League, Payton, Wizards

May 4th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

D-League president Malcolm Turner foresees two new D-League teams for 2016/17, a signal that he expects the circuit to remain at 18 teams next season, observes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, though that may be a conservative estimate. The Hawks are once more determined to strike up a one-to-one affiliation, according to Johnson, and the Raptors are in advanced talks about an affiliate of their own, too. The league appears ready to plant teams in the southeastern United States, where there are none now, Johnson writes, and at least one more Southeast Division team has its eyes on securing a one-to-one affiliate soon, as we pass along:

The Hornets today formally announced their intention to own and operate a one-to-one affiliate by 2016/17, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer first reported. Conversely, the Wizards haven’t made much progress toward a one-to-one affiliate, a source tells Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The Heat and Magic already have one-to-one affiliates in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Erie, Pennsylvania, respectively.
Rookie Elfrid Payton showed a surprising level of toughness as he exceeded expectations for the Magic this season, excelling as a passer and rebounder, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel observes. He struggled with his shooting, though that was no shock, as Robbins details about the point guard whose rights the Magic traded for on draft night last June.
Drew Gooden was out of the league at midseason last year, and at the same time Otto Porter languished outside the rotation for the Wizards. Now, they’re key parts of a Wizards team that’s 5-0 in the playoffs, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post examines.

Southeast Notes: Gortat, Sessions, Wittman

May 3rd, 2015 at 10:53am CST by Arthur Hill

After an up-and-down regular season, Marcin Gortat is justifying the Wizards‘ faith in him in the playoffs, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Last summer, Gortat received a five-year, $60MM contract that made him one of the team’s cornerstones. But the relationship began to sour around midseason when Gortat’s playing time and touches both declined. However, the team started using more small-ball lineups — a philosophy that Gortat thrived under in Phoenix — and his numbers improved, especially in the first-round sweep of the Raptors. “I mean, he is 7 feet, so we got to get him the ball whenever he’s open,” teammate Bradley Beal said of Gortat. “You got to throw it to him because he can score.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division on a playoff Sunday:

A midseason trade to the Wizards has reinvigorated Ramon Sessions, Castillo writes in a separate story. Washington sent Andre Miller to Sacramento at the deadline in exchange for Sessions in hopes of bringing a faster pace to its second unit. The Wizards have been pleasantly surprised by his shooting since the deal — 41.4% from the field and 43.9% from three-point range. Sessions admits he was playing the worst basketball of his career with the Kings, which he attributes to a back injury and a changing role on a team that had three coaches before the deal.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis says coach Randy Wittman makes “proper use of analytics,” despite his old-school approach, Castillo writes in another story. One way that Wittman has adapted to the new thinking around the NBA is by using Paul Pierce and Drew Gooden as stretch fours in the series against the Raptors. “I didn’t really understand it, and I mean that sincerely,” Leonsis said of an ESPN report that listed the Wizards as “skeptics” when it comes to analytics. “I read it and I just said, ‘I think that’s because our coach is not driven by PR.’ ”
Jeff Teague‘s emergence as an elite defender helped the Hawks become the top seed in the East, according to KL Chouinard of nba.com. Teague limited opposing guards to just 38.4% from the field this season and 42.8% from two-point range. He is in the middle of a four-year, $32MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2017.

Southeast Notes: Carroll, Wittman, Walker

May 1st, 2015 at 3:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Soon-to-be free agent DeMarre Carroll has benefited from Atlanta’s focus on player development and from playing almost exclusively at small forward, SB Nation’s Paul Flannery details. Some numbers suggest that Carroll, who’s exceeded the team’s expectations on his two-year deal, has been the most important player for the Hawks in their series against the Nets, Flannery points out.

“Player development is big in this league,” Carroll said. “When coaches take time to work kids on their player development, they can succeed. It’s about opportunity and player development. That’s what I believe.”

Atlanta will have Carroll’s Early Bird rights this summer, as we explained. Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

Randy Wittman‘s job has never been in jeopardy this season, even when the Wizards lost back-to-back games to the Timberwolves and Sixers, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, and the Wizards coach looked shrewd in the team’s sweep of the Raptors, as Michael details. Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote shortly after those losses that while Wittman’s job wasn’t in immediate danger, there was increasing pressure on him and others within the organization.
Henry Walker faces a stiff challenge to remain with the Heat into next season on his non-guaranteed deal, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he was an obvious choice when the team sought a midseason addition this year, as Surya Fernandez of Fox Sports Florida relays.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel believes the Heat should avoid their pattern of reuniting with their former players when it comes to Dorell Wright, who will become a free agent when his contract with the Blazers expires at the end of June.

Celtics Likely To Seek DeMarcus Cousins

May 1st, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:21pm: The Celtics have been enamored with Cousins for years, but Ranadive almost certainly wouldn’t approve a trade that sends him out, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

8:23am: The “early word” indicates that the Celtics will try to trade for DeMarcus Cousins this summer, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Indeed, the Celtics will likely be in the hunt for just about every marquee player who might become available in the months ahead, Stein writes, echoing comments that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made Thursday. LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, Paul Millsap and Omer Asik are among the many free agents whom Boston is expected to make a run at, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com details. Reports conflicted about whether Boston made a run at trading for Cousins before the deadline.

A person familiar with Kings coach George Karl‘s thinking told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck in February that the Kings didn’t rule out trading their All-Star center at the deadline, and Karl said last month that there were no untouchables on the roster. However, Vlade Divac, whom the Kings installed in March as the head of their basketball operations, is enamored with Cousins and wants the 24-year-old’s time in Sacramento to continue, and owner Vivek Ranadive has bristled at the assertion that Cousins is a trade candidate.

The Celtics have about $40MM in guaranteed salary for next season against a projected $67.1MM cap, but opening cap space would force the team to renounce its unmatched reserve of trade exceptions. None of them, even the one worth nearly $13MM left over from the Rajon Rondo trade, would be large enough to acquire Cousins and his max deal, though the exceptions could help the Celtics structure a larger-scale multiplayer deal involving Cousins or another star. Boston’s store of draft picks loom as significant trade assets, too, as Stein points out, and those won’t disappear if the Celtics decide to use cap space in July, unlike the trade exceptions.

The Celtics don’t have any player who’s truly off-limits for a trade either, according to Stein, though among the C’s under contract, Ainge has a particular soft spot for Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, the ESPN scribe points out. Sources told Blakely that Smart and Tyler Zeller are the least likely players to leave Boston via trade, as we noted earlier. Ainge is also high on soon-to-be free agents Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko, Stein writes, as previous reports have indicated.

Atlantic Notes: Love, Celtics, Brand, Raptors

April 28th, 2015 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the Celtics were intrigued to hear of what had been Kevin Love‘s growing fondness for the team, and while the C’s plan to pursue him, they believe he’ll back with the Cavs for next season, a league source told Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. That was before Cavs GM David Griffin announced that Love will likely miss the rest of the playoffs and that surgery on his injured shoulder is a possibility. It’s unclear whether the Celtics will land Love or another star, but an active summer is surely ahead, as I wrote today in examining the Celtics offseason, and Murphy has more clues about what’s ahead for Boston amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko are among the Celtics who want to re-sign with the team, Murphy notes in the same piece as he looks at the status of every player on the team’s roster. The Celtics are interested in keeping Crowder but haven’t decided on Jerebko or Brandon Bass, whose desire to remain in Boston is well–documented, as Murphy details.
The Knicks expressed their interest in Elton Brand to the big man immediately after free agency began last July, and he’d consider signing with them if they pursue him again this summer, the 36-year-old New York native tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Brand, who’s also pondering retirement, passed on a minimum-salary offer from the Knicks last year to sign a one-year, $2MM deal with the Hawks, as Berman details. Knicks team president Phil Jackson might have had more than Brand in mind last summer, since Brand’s agent, David Falk, also represents Greg Monroe, a rumored Knicks target, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Sportsnet’s Michael Grange views Kyle Lowry‘s comments about coach Dwane Casey on Monday as a rather tepid endorsement, though those who know the point guard tell Grange there wasn’t any hidden meaning and that there’s no tension between player and coach. GM Masai Ujiri offered praise for Lowry today but wouldn’t commit to bringing Casey back. Grange argues that Casey couldn’t have been expected to take the Raptors much farther.

Southeast Notes: Skiles, Hawks, Jefferson

April 23rd, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scott Skiles is still “very interested” in coaching again but isn’t pushing the issue, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes within his NBA AM piece. Skiles isn’t actively seeking or campaigning for a job with the Magic or any other team, nor would he insist on player personnel power or control if he were to become a team’s coach, league sources told Kyler, a reversal of the narratives from earlier.

Here’s the latest out of the Southwest Division:

The second highest bid for the Hawks came in around $815MM, which includes the approximately $120MM worth of arena debt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. The franchise is awaiting the NBA Board of Governors to approve the sale of the team to the Ressler Group for approximately $850MM, which also includes the arena debt amount.
The Hornets are relieved that center Al Jefferson has decided not to opt out of his contract for next season and become a free agent, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Charlotte did not want to have to commit to a deal for Jefferson beyond this season, even at a reduced cost, Deveney adds. The organization hopes that the big man can give the Hornets another solid year while the team figures out what its frontcourt is going to look like in the future, adds the Sporting News scribe.
Kemba Walker was glad to have had surgery during the season to repair a tear in his left knee, Matt Rochinski of NBA.com writes in his season recap for the Hornets‘ point guard. “[The surgery] was something that I had to do and I’m happy I got it done,” Walker said. “I’m feeling good. I won’t do anything different and will still have a pretty good summer [working out and getting stronger], so I’m looking forward to it.” Walker will be entering the second season of the four-year, $48MM extension he signed with the team last October.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Porzingis, Bjelica, Stevens

April 22nd, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Projected 2015 lottery pick Kristaps Porzingis indicated that he withdrew from last year’s draft because he felt he wasn’t yet ready to compete in the NBA, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype relays. “As soon as I declared for the draft, I knew that I wanted I to stay one more year in Spain to get better,” Porzingis said. “Now looking back I think we made the right decision. I had a bad start of the season – individually and as a team. I could have played much better, but I think I have improved my consistency and I have picked it up since the bad start of the season. This season has been tough, but I want to say thanks to coach [Scott] Roth for the work he did with me in Seville. I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and I wish him the best.” The seven-footer also indicated that he no longer had doubts regarding entering the NBA, Sierra adds.

Here’s more from around the league:

According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter links), two assistant coaches who will be in play this offseason for available head coaching vacancies are the Pacers‘ Dan Burke, and the Hawks‘ Kenny Atkinson.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens has his team ahead of schedule in its rebuilding process, which is a testament to his abilities as a leader, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Stevens stressing unselfishness and creating opportunities for teammates appeals to Boston’s players, Zillgitt adds. “All these guys are in the NBA for a reason, and they’re really, really good at something,” Stevens said. “If you can separate yourself at being one of the best at the things you do well, then you always have a spot where people are going to value you. It just makes sense to a be a superstar in your role.”
Former NBA GM and current coach of the Turkish club Eskişehir Basket Brad Greenberg has high praise for Wolves‘ draft-and-stash pick Nemanja Bjelica, David Pick of Basketball Insiders writes. While Greenberg believes Bjelica is ready to play in the NBA, he’s not sure if the big man will head to the U.S. to play in the near future, Pick adds. “Can Bjelica be on an NBA team? Sure. Will he? I don’t know,” Greenberg said. “Like all high-level Euroleague players who make a lot of money overseas, it has to be a situation that makes sense financially, and where he gets an opportunity to play. Europeans don’t want to give up something that is comfortable, good and financially rewarding for a ‘what if?’ situation. Bjelica is talented enough to be in an NBA gym and not look out of place. That’s for sure.”