Atlantic Notes: Rose, Zizic, Bradley, Iguodala
The Knicks have legitimate interest in re-signing Derrick Rose, reports Ian Begley of ESPN. At 28 years old, Rose will be a free agent for the first time in his career in the coming days. The report also states that the Knicks are not interested in paying large salaries for any free agents, so that may play a role in whether Rose re-signs with the team. The Knicks are also keen on ensuring Rose’s health, as the point guard’s career has been riddled with injuries both major and minor.
Here’s what else you need to know from the Atlantic division:
- The Celtics‘ 2016 draft pick, Ante Zizic, arrived in Boston and will begin practicing with the team this week, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Zizic was drafted 23rd overall and played the 2016/17 season in the EuroLeague with the Turkish club, Darussafaka Dogus, where he was coached by David Blatt. “I took him downtown last night a little bit,” Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge said. “He’s just doing things like getting workouts in, getting medical stuff, physicals done, all that type of stuff. He’s ready for summer league.”
- Despite being named in several blockbuster trade rumors, Avery Bradley remains unfazed, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England. “I try not to worry about it too much because it’s out of my control at the end of the day,” Bradley said, adding, “It’s part of the business, man. You just got to accept and understand that your name is going to be thrown in trade talk. You can get traded at any time. You just have to be prepared and focus on just being the best player that you can be.”
- As passed along earlier, the 76ers are one of the seven teams from which Andre Iguodala is drawing interest. Iguodala spent the first eight seasons of his career in Philadelphia.
Free Agent Rumors: Lowry, Paul, Teodosic, Pachulia, Heat
Michael Grange of Sportsnet spoke to NBA team sources, as well as longtime player agents, to delve into Kyle Lowry‘s free agency. Grange writes that “it is becoming increasingly evident that Lowry will take the opportunity to test the market.” He also adds that the Raptors are the only team that can guarantee a fifth year in a contract offer to Lowry and can pay more over four years than any other suitor. Grange finds a consensus among his sources that Lowry will not be receiving a max deal out in the market and that “his ceiling will top out at $30 million annually, although that would most likely be on a shorter deal.”
Here are some other relevant free agent rumors:
- According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (link via Twitter), Chris Paul and his agents met with the Clippers on Tuesday and discussed the player’s future. Paul’s camp and Clippers officials will speak again soon.
- Milos Teodosic announced that he will likely leave his Russian team and wishes to play in the NBA, via Novosti by way of Sportando: “I will not stay with CSKA Moscow almost for sure. But I don’t know yet where I will continue my career,” Teodosic said. “Going to the NBA is my wish but when I will know where, I will say that.”
- Zaza Pachulia back with the Hawks? The reunion is an interesting idea that Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution floats, as the team has just one center at present (Miles Plumlee) and Pachulia is an unrestricted free agent and likely to move on from the Warriors. Furthermore, Vivlamore points out that Atlanta’s new GM Travis Schlenk knows Pachulia from his time with the Dubs.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald asks and answers key questions about the Heat‘s free agency. If Miami were to land Gordon Hayward or Blake Griffin, could they still keep James Johnson or Dion Waiters? Jackson says it would be difficult but not impossible. Click through for his detailed answer.
Nuggets Pick Up Coach Mike Malone’s Option
The Nuggets have picked up their option on head coach Mike Malone‘s contract, per Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports (link via Twitter). Dempsey adds that the contract runs through the 2018/19 season.
Malone has served as Denver’s head coach for the past two seasons, going 40-42 this past season after posting a 33-49 record in 2015/16. Malone previously captained the Sacramento Kings, but was fired a mere 24 games into his second season with the club after beginning the campaign 11-13. As an NBA head coach, Malone has yet to witness his team qualify for the postseason.
Southeast Notes: Howard, Billups, Frazier, Wade
Dwight Howard, recently traded to the Hornets from the Hawks, discussed his excitement to be in Charlotte, relays Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Howard spoke glowingly about his new owner, Michael Jordan:
“I’d just done a 2 ½-hour workout. After I was done talking to him, I wanted to jump back into the gym. That’s how he motivated me. You’re talking about the greatest basketball player to ever play. For him to call you on the phone and say, ‘I believe in you!’ ”
Howard also discussed his reunion with head coach Steve Clifford, his disappointment of lasting just one season with him hometown team, and how he will make a difference in the Charlotte community.
Here’s more from the Southeast division:
- Hawks GM Travis Schlenk says that three or four teams were interested in trading for Dwight Howard, but the Hornets made the best offer, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal- Constitution.
- While the Cavaliers await a decision from Chauncey Billups, another team covets the former NBA Finals MVP’s wisdom in the front office: the Hawks, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Billups recently interviewed for a front-office position with Atlanta.
- Hornets GM Rich Cho says the team will be looking for a backup point guard and more overall depth in free agency, tweets Jordan Greer of The Sporting News.
- The Magic‘s new president of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman, explains why the team traded two picks in a deep draft, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Weltman explained: “We felt that at a certain point that the draft flattened out, and once we got past that point, we had three more picks, and we didn’t want to bring four rookies in. So what we did is we tried to identify kids that we thought could possibly be there later that we liked as much [as a] higher [pick]. And could we defer those assets [and] move them along to maybe turn them into future pieces and still come up with something that we liked?”
- The Wizards believe that Tim Frazier can contribute right away, reports Chase Hughnes of CSN Mid-Atlantic, in an interesting piece full of great quotes from Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Scott Brooks.
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that Dwyane Wade, who has come up often as a Heat target this offseason, is not necessarily leaving Chicago so soon despite the Bulls’ obvious entrance into rebuilding mode after dealing Jimmy Butler on draft day.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 6/17/17 – 6/24/17
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team compiles original content to complement our news feed. Here are some of our favorite segments and features from the past seven days:
- Here are the 2017 NBA Offseason Trades thus far.
- Luke Adams and Arthur Hill alternated picks in a mock first round ahead of Thursday’s draft.
- Updated Maximum Salary Projections for 2017/18 can be found here.
- Here are the Projected Rookie Contracts for 2017 First Round Picks.
- Here are the NBA G League Affiliations for 2017/18.
- We offer seven more installments in our Five Key Offseason Questions series with the Mavericks, Knicks, Magic, Suns, Pelicans, Hornets, Celtics, and Cavaliers. The entire series can be found here, minus the forthcoming Warriors edition.
- Arthur Hill discusses which stars could be traded on draft night, draftee comparisons, and the likelihood of a specific trade in his weekly Sunday mailbag. Submit your questions via Twitter (@HoopsRumors) or by sending us an email (hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com).
- In his weekly Hoops Links roundup of interesting articles from around the blogosphere, Austin Kent shares pieces on the red carpet being laid out for the Nets‘ new point guard, D’Angelo Russell, the importance of remaining skeptical about unsubstantiated rumors, and the Spurs going for the fences in free agency.
- Check out our free Trade Rumors app available for IOS and Android.
- Here are the questions we asked you in our Community Shootaround discussions this week:
- Is communication necessary between a star player and his owner?
- Who were the winners and losers of the 2017 NBA Draft?
Five Key Stories: 6/17/17 – 6/24/17
In easily the most jam-packed week of the offseason thus far, here are the most newsworthy stories:
The Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves. The trade also included the No. 16 pick in Thursday’s draft going to Minnesota in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the No. 7 pick. The Bulls drafted Lauri Markannen with the seventh pick, while the Timberwolves selected Justin Patton with the sixteenth. The deal reunites Butler with his long-time former head coach in Chicago, Tom Thibodeau.
Dwight Howard was traded to the Hornets. In the trade, Charlotte received Howard and the No. 31 pick for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli, and the No. 41 pick. The Hornets will be Howard’s fifth team in seven years. The move was Hawks‘ general manager Travis Schlenk‘s first large-scale move in his new capacity.
The Lakers and Nets teamed up for a blockbuster trade. Brook Lopez and the No. 27 pick in Thursday’s draft went to Los Angeles in exchange for D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. The Lakers managed to cut long-term costs by dealing Mozgov’s large contract and received Lopez, who has one year remaining on his contract. Meanwhile, the Nets finally get rid of Lopez and acquire a promising point guard in Russell.
Blake Griffin has formally opted out of his contract with the Clippers. Griffin would have earned $21.4MM in 2017/18. The Celtics are Rockets are said to be targeting the athletic power forward. In addition to Griffin, Chris Paul is expected to opt out of his Clippers contract, but he has yet to formally tell the team or file with the league.
Markelle Fultz was selected first overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. In addition to the 76ers‘ top pick, here are the entire draft results. The trade that brought the No. 1 pick to the Sixers via the Celtics was finalized on Monday. In exchange for No. 1, Boston received Thursday’s No. 3 pick, along with the Lakers’ 2018 first-round pick if it falls between No. 2 and No. 5. If it does not, Boston receives the more favorable of the Kings’ or 76ers’ 2019 first-round pick (unless that pick is No. 1 overall, in which case the Celtics would receive the less favorable selection).
Ten More Stories
- Dwyane Wade will pick up his player option and remain with the Bulls.
- David Griffin‘s contract as GM of the Cavaliers was not renewed. Chauncey Billups has been offered the team’s president of basketball operations position.
- Paul George has told the Pacers he plans to leave the team and the Lakers are his top choice.
- Kevin Durant will decline his player option with the Warriors, but plans to re-sign with the team in July.
- Pau Gasol too will decline his player option, while planning to resign with the Spurs.
- Mason Plumlee and JaMychal Green have received qualifying offers from the Nuggets and Grizzlies, respectively. Jonathon Simmons was tendered a qualifying offer by the Spurs.
- Greg Monroe is opting in with the Bucks, while Nick Young is opting out of his Lakers‘ contract.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey signed a four-year extension, The team also plans to offer star player James Harden an extension this offseason.
- The Wizards traded the No. 52 pick in this year’s draft to the Pelicans for Tim Frazier.
- The Kings released Arron Afflalo and the Timberwolves waived Nikola Pekovic.
Southwest Notes: Morey, Rockets, Noel, Ferrell
Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who recently signed a four-year extension, continues to work on large-scale moves after a quiet draft, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. On draft night, the Rockets had just one second-round pick and used it on Isaiah Hartenstein, who will remain overseas next season, Feigen tweets. The Rockets also traded their second-round pick, Dillon Brooks, to the Grizzlies for a second-round pick next season. Morey discussed his approach:
“We were very focused on two things, to get someone who can help us now and in the future. The second, we did a lot of potential discussions with teams that advanced a little bit today. Obviously, we’re focused on the team now, focused on chasing Golden State. Anything we can push in the future to help us upgrade the team, potentially through trade, we’re ready to do.”
The Rockets were discussing Paul George with the Pacers on Thursday and continue to do so, but nothing was considered close on draft day, per Feigen. The team was simultaneously having conversations directed at making cap room available if they needed it for an expensive free agent addition. Morey stated that the team was considering some deals to move into the first round of the draft, but the Rockets prioritized saving cap space to pursue big trades.
What else is going on in the Southwest division?:
- According to The Dallas Morning News, Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson is “fairly optimistic” the team can sign former Baylor power forward Johnathan Motley.
- The Mavericks’ top priority this offseason is not to snag unrestricted free agent Jrue Holiday, but rather to re-sign Nerlens Noel, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
- Stein also tweets that the Mavs are focused on developing and cementing their core of Harrison Barnes, Nerlens Noel, Seth Curry, and now Dennis Smith Jr.
- The Mavs do not intend to exercise their team option on DeAndre Liggins, who was claimed on waivers during the last week of the season, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (link via Twitter).
- MacMahon also tweets that the Mavs have informed Yogi Ferrell that they are picking up his team option for next season.
Western Notes: Wolves, Thunder, Mavs, Spurs, Suns
On Tuesday, the Timberwolves signed a three-year contract with Fitbit to display the company’s logo on a jersey patch, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. The team will also explore ways the wearable technology can help players, employees and fans track their health and fitness during practices, games and everyday activities.
“This is going to change the way teams evaluate these types of deals and relationships going forward,” Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson said. “This is different than anything I’ve seen before.”
The Timberwolves were among five teams bidding for Fitbit’s business.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Frank Mason (Kansas) had a solo workout with the Thunder on Tuesday, his second workout with the team, according to Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (link via Twitter). Sacramento and Orlando also saw Mason twice, per Fischer.
- The Thunder also brought in guard Brad Wanamaker for a workout, tweets international basketball journalist, David Pick. Wanamaker was voted All-EuroLeague as a member of Turkish team Darussafaka under David Blatt this past season.
- The Mavericks have a lot of decisions to make this summer and their decision to either select a point guard on Thursday or pursue one in free agency could change their entire offseason strategy, The Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko writes.
- Veteran Italian coach Ettore Messina will sign a new two-year contract to remain with the Spurs‘ coaching staff, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- The Grizzlies do not have a first or second round pick in the draft — for the first time in franchise history — but general manager Chris Wallace is working around the clock to see if any sensible deals come up, NBA.com’s Michael Wallace writes.
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough said this week that off-court issues will not factor into the team’s selection with the fourth overall pick, per AZCentral’s Doug Haller. That suggests that the team figures to seriously consider Josh Jackson if he’s available at No. 4.
Mark Suleymanov contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Ainge, Celtics, Morrison, Raptors
In an interesting piece devoted to what Danny Ainge and the Celtics might do next, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes that the team’s trade with the Sixers doesn’t necessarily make a ton of sense to him and that Boston seems hardly better equipped to pull off a trade for a star veteran.
Still, Bulpett preaches patience. After all, the last time Bulpett had this feeling of a wasted trade – following the acquisition of Ray Allen – Ainge went ahead and dealt for Kevin Garnett, rendering that previous move more meaningful. In his piece, Bulpett also speculates that there must have been something about Markelle Fultz that gave Boston pause, since, on the surface, he is exactly the type of player the team needs.
Here’s more from the Atlantic division:
- The Celtics have named Scott Morrison an assistant coach for the 2017/18 season, says Chris Reichert of FanSided’s The Step Back (link via Twitter). Morrison had been coach of the Maine Red Claws in the NBA Development League.
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said that there are approximately five different paths or directions the front office has studied and is prepared to take depending on how free agency turns out, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN 1050.
- Lewenberg also tweets that Ujiri says he’s “open-minded” with his use of the 23rd overall pick. He does not expect the Raptors trade the pick, but would consider drafting a project, stashing a prospect, or nabbing a more NBA-ready player.
Draft Rumors: J. Jackson, Celtics, Giles, Mitchell
Josh Jackson is not expected to work out for the Celtics before the draft unless Boston commits to keeping the third overall pick and says it will use that pick to draft him, reports Chad Ford of ESPN (link via Twitter). On Monday, the Celtics finalized a deal that sent the No. 1 pick to the 76ers in exchange for the No. 3 and a future pick.
Jackson is also coveted by the Knicks and Bulls, as reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. However, either team would have to move up to third or fourth in the draft to nab Jackson and that would almost certainly mean trading Kristaps Porzingis or Jimmy Butler, respectively.
Here’s more news concerning the upcoming draft:
- Although not all teams are sold, there has been very encouraging feedback on Harry Giles‘ medical condition after three knee surgeries, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Giles is viewed as one of the most talented players in this year’s draft class, but health concerns may push him out of the lottery, which is perhaps why he turned down an invite to Thursday’s Green Room, per DraftExpress. The full list of Green Room invitees can be found right here, via Adam Zagoria.
- The Trail Blazers are considering trading a first-round pick, but they want to at least keep the No. 15 selection, according to Jason Quick of CSN Northwest (link via Twitter). Portland also possesses the 20th and 26th overall picks.
- Donovan Mitchell worked out for the Mavericks on Monday, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Although Mitchell was scheduled to work out for the Knicks on Tuesday, his audition will now take place on Wednesday, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Mitchell, who also worked out for the Pistons Sunday, could be a special defender because of his athleticism and long wingspan, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
- Teams have started calling agents to gauge second-round prospects’ interest in signing two-way contracts, a new addition under the latest CBA, according to Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (link via Twitter).