Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign Kent Bazemore

September 23rd, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is at last official, the team announced via press release.

SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Hawks and Bazemore finally put pen to paper Wednesday, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. It’s likely that the signing took so long to complete because Atlanta wanted to preserve cap space, though that’s just my speculation. The Hawks could have used cap space to acquire other players and circled back to sign Bazemore using the room exception. As it stands, they’re using cap space to ink Bazemore.

JULY 11TH: 9:50pm: Bazemore’s agent, Austin Walton, confirmed the deal and that it is fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.

9:31pm: Kent Bazemore has reached an agreement to join the Hawks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is for two years and $4MM, according to Stein. Shams Charania of RealGM tweets that the deal is fully guaranteed, and contains no options.

The shooting guard was traded along with MarShon Brooks from the Warriors to the Lakers in the Steve Blake deal on February 19th of this year. Bazemore’s career numbers are 4.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG.

The 25 year old who originally went undrafted out of Old Dominion also received interest from the Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors and Celtics.

Lloyd’s Latest: Thompson, Allen, Deng

September 23rd, 2014 at 12:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is set to play a game in a Cavs uniform less than two weeks from now for the first time in more than four years, but that’s far from the only storyline surrounding the team as it prepares for training camp. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal shares 23 mostly Cavs-related thoughts in honor of James’ No. 23 jersey, and the entire piece is a must-read for wine-and-gold faithful. We’ll pass along three highlights here:

The Cavs and Tristan Thompson‘s representatives with Klutch Sports have yet to talk numbers in a potential extension for the former No. 4 overall pick, a source tells Lloyd. Still, the Beacon Journal scribe believes agent Rich Paul will ask for a deal in the neighborhood of the four-year, $44MM extension the Bucks gave Larry Sanders and the four-year, $48MM extension the Jazz granted Derrick Favors.
Cleveland’s brass maintains belief that Ray Allen will sign with the team, as Lloyd wrote Monday, but they anticipate starting camp without him, as their full 20-man roster indicates, Lloyd explains in his latest piece.
The NBA and the Cavs are fairly certain that the racially derogatory remarks in the infamous Luol Deng scouting report that seemed to come from someone with ties to the Cavs emanated from someone who’s no longer with Cleveland, according to Lloyd. Instead, many around the league are directing their ire toward the Hawks for their handling of the situation, Lloyd writes.

Hawks Notes: Silver, Ferry, Owners

September 22nd, 2014 at 4:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s been more than two weeks since Hawks controlling owner Bruce Levenson announced his intention to sell his stake in the club stemming from an investigation that uncovered an email with racially charged statements that he’d written in 2012. GM Danny Ferry helped defuse the controversy when he agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence after his own racist statements became public, but the leadership of the Hawks remains in limbo. Here’s the latest:

A sitting NBA owner told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Hawks will move to a new city “over my dead body,” casting further doubt on the notion that a new principal owner will move the franchise. Commissioner Adam Silver will meet Friday with Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed to discuss the state of Hawks ownership, as Vivlamore reports in the same piece.
Silver said today that he thought Ferry was wise to take his indefinite leave of absence, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal tweets. Silver said earlier this month that he doesn’t think Ferry committed any offense that should prompt the team to fire him.
Vivlamore’s piece also provides a breakdown of the Hawks ownership shares. Levenson owns 24% of the team, but his share combined with those of Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman total 50.1%, and all three are selling. Michael Gearon Sr. and Michael Gearon Jr. own approximately 42% of the team combined, while the rest of the club is in the hands of Rutherford Seydel, Beau Turner and a New York-based investment group that includes Steven Price.

Eastern Notes: Budenholzer, Moore, Sanchez

September 20th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The recent trend in the NBA of coaches doubling as GM’s has made its way to Atlanta where Mike Budenholzer is handling both positions for the Hawks, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. Budenholzer’s circumstances do differ from the Clippers‘ Doc Rivers, Stan Van Gundy‘s in Detroit, and the Wolves‘ Flip Saunders, in that he took over the extra duties due to GM Danny Ferry being forced to take a leave of absence after his racist remarks were made public, and not by design.

Here’s more out of the east:

E’Twaun Moore‘s minimum salary deal with the Bulls comes with a guarantee of $425K for the first year, with the second being non-guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
The Knicks have guaranteed $15K of Orlando Sanchez‘s minimum salary contract, Pincus notes (Twitter link).
JaKarr Sampson‘s four-year, minimum salary deal with the Sixers includes a $50K guarantee for the first season according to Pincus (Twitter link). The remaining three years of the deal come with no guaranteed money.

Eastern Notes: Hawks, Gibson, Cavs, Celtics

September 19th, 2014 at 2:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Scouts and executives admit that front office talk can be brutal, but they say Hawks GM Danny Ferry crossed the line with comments that are far from the usual chatter, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. “I’ve never seen anything like what was in that report, just in terms of the language,” said a former team executive with nearly two decades of front-office experience. “I think most people would tell you that would be surprising. More out of the East..

Privately, Bulls forward Taj Gibson isn’t too thrilled with the prospect of continuing to be a reserve, multiple people familiar with the situation tell Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Still, Gibson is an upbeat, team-first kind of player, Sam writes, and he values winning and chemistry too much to make it a distraction. It sounds like we shouldn’t expect any trade demands to come from Gibson anytime soon, though it might be a situation to monitor.
The Heat took some heat for having too many older players on their roster and the Cavs are getting similar criticism this offseason. That’s not really fair, Zach Lowe of Grantland argues. LeBron’s two supporting stars are 26-year-old Kevin Love and 22-year-old Kyrie Irving, Cleveland has an extra first-rounder eventually coming from the Grizzlies, and there are valuable young guys including Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, and Matthew Dellavedova.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks at three Celtics players who are on the bubble heading into training camp. Shooting guard Marcus Thornton, forward/center Brandon Bass, and forward Gerald Wallace are all in jeopardy as the season draws near.

Eastern Notes: Hawks, Ndiaye, Magic, Raptors

September 18th, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks enter the upcoming campaign with the gloom of a racism scandal hanging over the franchise. In his season preview Adi Joseph of USA Today predicts Atlanta’s record will improve slightly, and the team will snag the No. 7 seed in the east despite the outside distractions that GM Danny Ferry‘s and majority owner Bruce Levenson’s comments have brought.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Hamady Ndiaye‘s contract with the Nets is non-guaranteed until October 25th, but if he remains on the roster past that date a $25K guarantee kicks in, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Raptors have one of the younger teams in the league and every significant player from last season is returning, and Basketball Insiders season preview predicts another Atlantic Division crown is on the way to Toronto.
While the Magic didn’t add any superstar players in free agency this offseason they still have been quite busy tweaking their roster. Ken Hornack of Fox Sports Florida runs down Orlando’s additions and what each brings to the franchise.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Beasley, Hawks

September 18th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, we learned that the Magic are bringing Seth Curry, younger brother of Stephen Curry, in for training camp. Curry had reportedly been weighing overseas opportunities earlier this summer, but he’ll try to stick in Orlando instead. More out of the Southeast Division..

In today’s mailbag, a reader suggests to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that former Heat forward Michael Beasley could become a superstar under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich if he signs in San Antonio. The Spurs have found a way to make things work with guys like Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson that didn’t fit elsewhere, so Winderman could see Beasley enjoying a career renaissance in San Antonio.
The Hawks have dominated NBA headlines in recent weeks but in-fighting amongst their ownership has been going on for years, as Mike Tierney of the New York Times writes. Tierney noes that a year after the current ownership group took over, managing partner Steve Belkin blocked a trade for Joe Johnson that had been negotiated by GM Billy Knight and was favored by Belkin’s colleagues. The dispute wound up in court and Belkin finally sold his share of the team after five long years of bickering.
Even though the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, is still without a head coach, recent hires Chris Quinn and Octavio De La Grana figure to have a hand in the club’s operations, writes Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.

And-Ones: Hawks, Douby, Heat

September 17th, 2014 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The league’s players have mixed opinions on whether or not they would consider signing with the Hawks, Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report writes. The majority of players polled agreed with Carmelo Anthony‘s assessment that players would avoid signing with Atlanta in the wake of GM Danny Ferry and majority owner Bruce Levenson’s racist remarks, notes Bucher. But there were a few that said they wouldn’t let the incident get in the way of their potential earnings, but also added that they “wouldn’t shake Ferry’s hand” when the deal was completed.

Here’s more from around the league:

Former Rutgers star and NBA player Quincy Douby has signed with the Tianjin Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to his agent Bill Neff, Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter link). Douby last appeared in the NBA during the 2008/09 season with the Raptors.
The partial guarantee on Khem Birch‘s two-year deal with the Heat is worth $50K, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Keith Smart and Chris Quinn have been added as assistant coaches to Eric Spoelstra‘s staff with the Heat, the team announced.
The Bulls are hoping for a healthy season out of Derrick Rose, and that their new additions of Pau Gasol and Doug McDermott will help them contend in the Eastern Conference. The crew over at Basketball Insiders previews the upcoming season, and the majority opinion is that Chicago will finish second in the Central Division.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Hawks Rumors: Tuesday

September 16th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s been a tumultuous and unusual offseason, as a pair of race-related scandals have rocked the league’s front offices. The tempest surrounding the Clippers appears to be mostly in the past, with Steve Ballmer firmly in control of the franchise, but the Hawks remain in limbo, with GM Danny Ferry on indefinite leave and the primary stake in the team up for sale. The league “can’t have another summer like we’ve had this year,” as longtime executive Wayne Embry tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post, so while we wait for clarity from Atlanta, here’s the latest on the Hawks situation:

10:30pm update:

Gearon Jr. approached Levenson about selling the franchise within the past year, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, who adds that the controlling owner wasn’t interested at that time.
According to Zillgitt’s sources, Gearon Jr. and Ferry have long been at odds. Ferry was originally hesitant to take the job as Hawks GM before Levenson alleviated his concerns about the front office working environment by making it clear Ferry would report directly to him.
The resulting working relationship between Levenson and Ferry bothered Gearon Jr., who called for Ferry’s dismissal via a letter to Levenson after the GM’s racist comments were discovered internally: “If Ferry’s comments are ever made public, and it’s a safe bet they will someday, it could be fatal to the franchise.”
Only a brief snippet of the audio recorded by Gearon Jr. has been made available and there is no full transcript of the call, Zillgitt reports. The NBA has requested a full transcript but one has not been provided.
Also in the letter from Gearon Jr. to Levenson were accusations that Ferry wasn’t mindful of maintaining racial diversity within the organization: “The racial diversity of our management team has changed for the worse since Ferry took over.” Zillgitt challenges those claims citing statistics from the 2014 Racial and Gender Report Card for the NBA and also hears from an owner, presumably from another NBA team, who expressed concern over the prospect of Gearon Jr. becoming the controlling owner in Atlanta. An agent told Zillgitt that he wonders whether he can trust Gearon Jr. not to record their conversations.

4:39pm update:

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed held a press conference today regarding the Hawks situation and the search for new ownership for the franchise. Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran down the important points from the event.
Reed said that the city would play a role in finding new ownership for the franchise, and that he has already spoken with six potential buyers, all of whom have sufficient resources to acquire the team.
The mayor declined to name the prospective buyers, though he did say that one is from China, Vivlamore tweets.
In regards to the city’s role in finding new ownership, Reed said, “The city is going to play an important role in the buyer who purchases Mr. [Bruce] Levenson’s interest. Obviously, we have a vital interest as the owner of Philips Arena and the holder of the debt on Philips Arena in making sure that we get a terrific partner in the city of Atlanta. We also have an interest in making sure that the new buyer wants to keep the team in the city and in the city. Let me be clear what that means. In the city and in the city. That means that a prospective owner that receives my support, and I believe the support of the Atlanta City Council, will make a long-term commitment to keep the Atlanta Hawks in the city of Atlanta and will make a long-term commitment not to move the franchise. I want to publicly state from the city’s perspective that is going to be our perspective to whomever the prospective owners are.”
According to Reed, Levenson, the team’s controlling owner, owns 24 percent of the Hawks individually. Along with his partners Ed Peskowitz and Todd Foreman of the Washington Group, the trio own 50.1 percent of the franchise. Both Peskowitz and Foreman intend to sell their portions of the team.
The Atlanta contingent of owners, Michael Gearon Jr., Michael Gearon Sr., and Rutherford Seydel, intend to keep their stakes in the franchise.
Reed relayed that the NBA has hired an investment banking firm to begin vetting prospective buyers, and he is scheduled to meet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to discuss the sale on September 26th. Reed expects the sale process to move along quickly.
Dominique Wilkins expressed interest in buying the Hawks, Vivlamore tweets, and that confirms a TMZ report from last week. Wilkins made only slightly more than $20MM during his playing career, according to Basketball-Reference, so presumably he’d be part of a group of investors.
Reed also said that it’s highly unlikely that the Hawks would relocate, and that the city would need to lend assistance to keep the team in Atlanta, Vivlamore tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: World Cup, Ayon, Budenholzer, Hill

September 15th, 2014 at 3:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Support is growing stronger to make both the Olympics and the World Cup of Basketball solely for players age 22 and under, one NBA GM tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who bemoans an existing system that he believes to primarily benefit Mike Krzyzewski. The change would take effect for 2018 World Cup, Wojnarowski writes. SB Nation’s Tom Ziller argues that while the NBA could work with FIBA to implement an age limit, FIBA has shown hesitancy to cooperate, and that the players union would have a case that any league-imposed restriction should be collectively bargained. Nonetheless, it seems there’s a decent chance that even without so many A-level stars, this year’s World Cup champion Team USA squad will be significantly more talented than the next American entry into the competition. Here’s more from around the NBA:

Shandong of China has jumped into the race for Gustavo Ayon as his European rights remain up in the air, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The Spurs are reportedly still in the mix, with Ayon needing to come up with $376K to pay FC Barcelona, which holds his European rights, if he’s to put pen to paper on a deal with Spanish rival Real Madrid.
Mike Budenholzer has never held an NBA front-office job, but he played as much of a role in talent acquisition for the Spurs as anyone outside of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford during his time in San Antonio, writes TNT’s David Aldridge amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Budenholzer is in charge of player personnel for the Hawks while GM Danny Ferry is on indefinite leave.
A group that included Grant Hill as well as billionaires Tony Ressler and Bruce Karsh made a strong impression on the league when they put up a $1.2 billion bid to purchase the Clippers this spring, Aldridge writes in the same piece. The TNT scribe speculates that they could resurface as contenders for the Hawks.