Author: clarkcrum

Hoops Rumors has you covered in case you missed any of this past week’s NBA headlines. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last 7 days.

The Sixers and Robert Covington reached an agreement on a four-year extension valued at $62MM. The Sixers made the news official yesterday with a press release from President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo, who hailed Covington as a prime example of someone whose hard work has paid dividends.  Covington is expected to receive a raise to this season’s salary for all of the Sixers’ remaining cap room (roughly $15MM).

The Knicks waived Mindaugas Kuzminskas in order to clear a roster spot for newly reinstated Joakim Noah. The Lakers, Bulls, and Hawks are all reportedly said to have interest in Kuzminskas now that he has cleared waivers and become an unrestricted free agent. Given his salary figure, Kuzminskas was not originally expected to be a casualty of Noah’s return, but a public declaration of unhappiness from earlier this month seemed to be the beginning of the end of his tenure in New York.

Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a bone bruise in his right knee. Interestingly, the injury occurred on a play in which the big man collided with Heat guard Dion Waiters, and Gobert suggested after the game that he believed the play was “dirty”. Gobert will be reevaluated in early to mid-December.

Nikola Mirotic has returned to the Bulls after the now-infamous altercation with teammate Bobby Portis. Portis has been open with his willingness to let bygones be bygones, but Mirotic apparently still doesn’t feel the same way, as he and Portis have yet to make contact with one another since the altercation.

Despite impressing the Mavericks during the preseason, Gian Clavell‘s time in Dallas has come to an end.  The Mavericks released Clavell yesterday in order to make room for Antonius Cleveland, who the Mavs have signed to a two-way contract in place of Clavell. The Mavericks were recently reported as looking to make roster upgrades, so perhaps they feel that Cleveland can provide a spark to their roster.

Here are 10 more NBA headlines from the last week.

• Given their lack of frontcourt depth and size, the Cavaliers have “strong interest” in Suns center Greg Monroe.
• D’Angelo Russell was expected to miss “several games” after injuring his left knee. However, after undergoing successful arthroscopic surgery, the timetable for his return is now unknown.
• Metta World Peace has signed on to play in the BIG3 next season. Interestingly, he’ll be playing under his former name – Ron Artest.
• USA Basketball announced its 12-man roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.
• Nicolas Batum, JaMychal Green, and Ersan Ilyasova all returned to action this week for the Hornets, Grizzlies, and Hawks, respectively.
• Also returning to the court this week was perennial All-Star Chris Paul. The Rockets have started the season 11-4 almost entirely without Paul’s services.
• Heat forward Okaro White is out indefinitely after breaking a bone in his left foot during practice.
• The NBA and the NBPA formally discussed the one-and-done rule with the federal government’s Commission on College Basketball.
• In addition to the Lakers, Bulls, and Hawks, the Bucks also have interest in Kuzminskas.
• Mike Conley will remain out of the Grizzlies’ lineup for at least two weeks after missing Wednesday’s game with a troublesome left heel and Achilles.

Hoops Rumors has you covered in case you missed any of this past week’s NBA headlines. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last 7 days.

In the biggest news of the week, Eric Bledsoe was traded from the Suns to the Bucks in exchange for Greg Monroe, a 2018 first-round pick, and a 2018 second-round pick. Both draft selections being sent to Phoenix are Milwaukee’s own, but the first-rounder has some interesting protections, with the pick not wholly unprotected until 2021.

The Pelicans waived Josh Smith after he appeared in only 3 games and logged just 12 total minutes. The move reduces New Orleans’ roster count to 15 and, more importantly, puts the Pelicans back under the luxury tax threshold.

With Joakim Noah‘s return from suspension imminent, both he and Mindaugas Kuzminskas are now on the trade block in anticipation of the Knicks deadline to drop its roster count from 16 to 15 by early Sunday evening. If a trade cannot be completed, it appears that the Knicks will likely waive Ramon Sessions.

The Sixers and Robert Covington are on track for a contract renegotiation and extension. Covington is eligible to renegotiate and extend his current contract (which allows for a more substantial raise than a simple extension) this Wednesday, and multiple reports are relaying that a new deal is imminent.  

The Lakers and Luol Deng are discussing buyout and trade options for the 32 year-old veteran. Including this season, Deng still has 3 years and $54MM left on the contract he signed last summer. Despite the high salary, however, Deng has only appeared in one game so far this season.

Here are 10 more NBA headlines from the last week.

• In addition to being traded, Bledsoe was also fined $10K for the tweet that ultimately led to the trade.
• The Suns are doubtful that Monroe will remain on their roster until the end of the season.
• The Hawks filled their second two-way roster spot with 23 year-old undrafted rookie Tyler Cavanaugh.
• The two franchises that appear to be most interested in the services of Jahlil Okafor are the Hawks and Bulls.
  • But, don’t count out the Suns either.
• The Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis may need offseason surgery to alleviate chronic inflammation in his right elbow.
• Ben McLemore is set to make his debut with the Grizzlies tonight against Houston.
• Given the Lakers‘ desire to make a big splash in free agency next summer, Julius Randle is unlikely to figure in to the team’s future plans.
• The Windy City and the Bulls will host the 2020 NBA All-Star Game.
• The Cavaliers will keep Derrick Rose on a minutes cap of 28-31 minutes per game for the remainder of the season.

In case you missed any of this past week’s NBA headlines, we have you covered. Here are some of the more noteworthy stories from the last 7 days.

The Sixers opted not to exercise Jahlil Okafor‘s fourth-year team option for 2018/19. The decision will maintain the Sixers’ cap flexibility for next summer as they try to secure some notable free agents, re-sign Robert Covington, and pay for Joel Embiid‘s max extension. In light of the Sixers’ decision, Okafor confirmed to reporters that he would like to be bought out or traded as soon as possible.

The Magic explored trading Mario Hezonja before ultimately deciding not to exercise his fourth-year option for 2018/19. The decision by the Sixers and the Magic to decline the options of Okafor and Hezonja, respectively, marks the first time in six years that a pair of players selected in the top six of the draft both had their final season’s options declined.

Despite rumors to the contrary, the Pistons are apparently not interested in trading Reggie Jackson for Eric Bledsoe. Reports surfaced earlier this week that the Suns, Pelicans, and Pistons were involved in trade discussions that would have sent Bledsoe to Detroit and Jackson to New Orleans, but Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy says no deal is in the works.

Both the Warriors and head coach Steve Kerr are confident that the two sides will finalize a new contract in 2018. Kerr, who has battled some health problems over the last few seasons, says that he opted to table extension talks until next summer so that he can be sure his health will allow him to make a long-term commitment to the franchise.

Cavaliers starting center Tristan Thompson is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with a calf injury. Thompson, 26, sustained the left calf strain during the second quarter of Wednesday night’s game vs. Indiana.  Despite the loss of Thompson, the Cavs are not expected to make a roster move at this time.

Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:

• The Kings exercised all five of their available rookie-scale options — on Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield, Georgios Papagiannis, Malachi Richardson, and Skal Labissiere.
• The Celtics picked up 2018/19 rookie-scale options on Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier.
• After nearly being waived in the preseason, Jarell Martin had his fourth-year option exercised by the Grizzlies.
• The Bucks picked up their third-year option on Thon Maker, but have decided to turn down Rashad Vaughn‘s fourth-year option.
• The Clippers have declined Brice Johnson‘s rookie-scale option after deciding to exercise the fourth-year option of Sam Dekker.
• In addition to Okafor, Hezonja, Vaughn, and Johnson, three other players on rookie-scale contracts (Josh Huestis – Thunder, Chris McCullough – Wizards, and Kevon Looney – Warriors) also had their options declined.
• According to his brother, Kristaps Porzingis is not a guarantee to re-sign with the Knicks.
• Glen Davis is returning to the G League in an effort to resurrect his NBA career.
• Lakers forward Larry Nance has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a fractured hand.
• The Rockets waived point guard Isaiah Canaan less than a week after he signed with the team.