Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Kings, Turner, Mudiay, Union, Bulls

July 22nd, 2014 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told Grantland’s Zach Lowe that the two keys to his rebuilding strategy are to surrender nothing of lasting value in exchange for capable veterans like Rudy Gay and to be willing to take quality players on inflated contracts.

“There are players that are being paid more than the league thinks they should be paid,” D’Alessandro said. “We see those contracts as an opportunity. Our first question is, ‘Do we like the player?’ If we do, then can we use a contract the league doesn’t look favorably on as an opportunity to make our team better?”

We passed along more on the Kings from Lowe this morning, and we’ve got plenty from around the rest of the league here:

The Celtics had been in contact with Evan Turner almost every day between the start of free agency and Monday, when they reached agreement on a deal, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
Emmanuel Mudiay isn’t the first well-regarded high school player to turn pro overseas rather than play in college, but his $1.2MM pact with Guangdong of China makes him the most highly compensated ever to have done so, notes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Three candidates remain for the players association’s vacant executive director position, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. The job has been open since the union ousted Billy Hunter at the All-Star break in 2013 and installed Ron Klempner in an interim capacity. It’s unclear whether Klempner is one of the finalists.
Cameron Bairstow‘s deal with the Bulls is for three years, starting at the minimum salary, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. That means the team used all but a sliver of its remaining cap space to sign the rookie out of New Mexico, whom the Bulls picked 49th overall in last month’s draft. The first season of Bairstow’s contract is the only one that’s fully guaranteed, Johnson adds.
Chris Andersen‘s two-year deal with the Heat is for a total of $10.4MM, all of which is fully guaranteed, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Latest On Josh Smith

July 22nd, 2014 at 8:21am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:21am: The Smith talks were serious between the Kings and Pistons, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, contradicting part of Wojnarowski’s report. Lowe also suggests there’s a decent chance that they pick up again at some point.

MONDAY, 1:05pm: Van Gundy has told Smith that reports about trade talk with the Kings have been inaccurate and assured him that he’ll begin this coming season with the Pistons, barring an unexpected turn of events, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings had called about Smith, but Detroit never heard an offer it liked, and the discussion never reached a serious stage, sources tell Wojnarowski. Smith likes the idea of remaining with the Pistons, Wojnarowski also hears.

SATURDAY, 2:49pm: A source tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that there are “no legs” to reports suggesting that the Kings and Pistons are discussing a deal involving Smith.

THURSDAY, 8:59am: The idea of a Smith deal didn’t intrigue Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, who says it seems like coach Mike Malone is the catalyst for the talks. Stein noted Malone’s fondness for defense in story, one in which Stein also points to Smith’s defensive capabilities as one of the reasons the Kings are pursuing him. Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy didn’t give Smith any promise that he wouldn’t trade him when they met recently, but while Van Gundy is open to trading the forward, he wants value in return, Goodwill also tweets.

8:14am: The Pistons and Kings are once more discussing trade scenarios involving Josh Smith and are on the hunt for a third team to make a deal work, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Sacramento remains interested in the 28-year-old forward, as the Kings brass is fond of his defensive capabilities and intrigued by the idea of acquiring a player of his talent without giving up a piece of the team’s core, Stein hears.

The teams reportedly had talks last month before the Pistons put a stop to them, and the framework involved then would have seen Jason Thompson and either Derrick Williams or Jason Terry off to Detroit, Stein adds. It’s unclear whether any of that trio are subjects of the latest conversations, but Terry is seemingly agitating for an exit for Sacramento, having spoken of his fondness for the Mavericks and criticized Kings teammates DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay in a recent interview. The Kings would rather trade Terry than let him buy his way out of his contract, according to Stein.

Smith signed a four-year, $54MM contract with the Pistons a year ago, but the team’s decision to line him up next to Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond was ill-fated, and it’s left the club with a dilemma involving Monroe’s restricted free agency. The Pistons had serious talks with the Blazers about a sign-and-trade that would have sent Monroe to Portland, but the Blazers dropped out of the running for Monroe when they struck a deal with free agent Chris Kaman, Stein reports.

Smith has appeal to the Kings based on his relationship with Rajon Rondo, whom the team has long coveted, as Stein points out. Smith would love to play with Rondo, having called him “my best friend” in an interview this spring in which Smith said he and Rondo have had multiple conversations about the possibility of becoming teammates. The Celtics point guard is poised to become a free agent next summer.

Eastern Notes: Williams, LeBron, Love

July 21st, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Nine years after leading the North Carolina men’s basketball team to a national championship, Marvin Williams is thrilled to return the Tar Heel state as a member of the Hornets, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press. Meanwhile, at the introductory presser, head coach Steve Clifford said that while he views the 6’9″ Williams as a combo forward, he believes his best position is at the four. Here’s more out of the East..

Maverick Carter, LeBron James‘ business partner, says he didn’t push James to return to the Cavaliers, nor did anyone else in his inner circle. “This was a decision that LeBron made in his heart,” Carter told ESPN.com’s Jason Whitlock. “We didn’t push him to do it. We don’t push him to do anything. If he asks our opinion or what did we think about the pros and the cons, we help him think through it. We don’t push him.”
Should the Cavs trade for Kevin Love? Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sure thinks so. “There’s absolutely not one second of hesitancy. I’d trade for Kevin Love,” Krzyzewski said on the John Feinstein Show, according to the Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press. “That’s not saying anything bad about any of the other (players reportedly involved in a trade). Love’s an all-star. He’s a double-double guy, but he’s a double-double guy that can spread the floor,” Coach K said.
The Wizards still have $4.3MM of their Trevor Ariza trade exception after using some of it on Kris Humphries, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Speaking of that sign-and-trade deal for Hump, the Wizards sent a 2015 second-rounder to the Celtics. It’ll be top-49 protected, according to Pincus (link).
Sixers second-round picks K.J. McDaniels, Jerami Grant, and Jordan McRae are out to show they were draft steals, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I definitely feel like I can play in this league,” said McRae, who spoke with Hoops Rumors before the June draft. “Just getting a chance to play against guys like [Bulls rookies] Tony Snell, Doug McDermott, it was just playing hard against them and see where I stack up.”

Poll: Evan Turner Vs. Danny Granger

July 21st, 2014 at 5:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, the Celtics reached agreement on a deal for a portion of the mid-level exception with Evan Turner. Of course, the former No. 2 overall pick was shipped from the Sixers to the Pacers mid-season in a trade of NBA notables. Danny Granger, who went to Philly, signed with the Heat earlier this month in hopes of joining up with LeBron James. While that part of the plan didn’t quite pan out, Granger will nonetheless look to get his career back on track in a reserve role for Miami.

In 54 games for Philly last season, Turner averaged 17.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG with a career-high (but still below league average) 13.2 PER. Things wound up dropping off when Turner was sent to the Pacers as he averaged 7.1 PPG and 3.2 RPG with a 9.7 PER – a total lower than any he’s had in any full season.

Granger, meanwhile, came to the Clippers (after his release from the 76ers) with hopes of boosting his stock before hitting the open market in the summer. That didn’t quite pan out. Granger averaged 8.3 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 22.5 minutes per night for the Pacers after returning from injury and his numbers only saw a slight uptick when he headed to L.A. Of course, on a two-year, $4.2MM deal, he’s a very worthwhile risk for the Heat if he can get back to being half the player he once was.

Between Granger and Turner, who do you see having the more successful 2014/15 campaign?

Which Player Will Have A Better 2014/15?

Evan Turner 66.65% (1,721 votes)

Danny Granger 33.35% (861 votes)

Total Votes: 2,582

Atlantic Links: Nets, Lin, Williams, Celtics

July 19th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Charlie Adams

Here’s this Saturday’s quick overview of all the latest chatter coming out of the NBA’s Atlantic Division:

Daniel O’Leary of the New York Daily News thinks the Nets missed a perfect opportunity to strike a deal for the now-LA bound Jeremy Lin. O’Leary suggests it would have been keen of Brooklyn to craft a deal for Lin that would have dumped Deron Williams‘ lengthy and expensive contract in favor of Lin’s expiring pact.
Lou Williams is excited to get a fresh start with the Raptors after an injury-riddled stint with the Hawks, as he tells Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Thanks to an ACL-tear, Williams played in just 99 games for Atlanta over the course of two seasons,
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com tracks all of the pieces from last year’s Celtics/Nets trade that send Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn in exchange for assets. Forsberg opines that although it’s been just one season since the deal, it isn’t too early to declare Boston the winner of the trade.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Wizards Acquire Kris Humphries From Celtics

July 19th, 2014 at 3:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:07pm: The protected second-round pick going to the Celtics is for the 2015 draft, the Wizards announced. It’ll be Washington’s own second-rounder, since that’s the only one the Wizards had.

SATURDAY, 12:42pm: The sign-and-trade trade has been officially executed, per a team release from the Celtics.

6:08pm: Michael passes along (via Twitter) that the year in which the Wizards will send that protected second-round pick to the Celtics is yet to be determined.

5:14pm: Boston is receiving a future protected second-round pick in the deal, Wojnarowski reports. It’s so heavily protected that the Wizards are unlikely to ever have to convey it to the Celtics, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

4:25pm: The Celtics and Wizards have reached agreement on the sign-and-trade arrangement, Michael reports. It’s still unclear what Boston is receiving, however.

4:10pm: The first-year salary for Humphries will be $4.3MM, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, so assuming there are no other players involved, that’s the amount of the trade exception the Celtics will receive.

2:14pm: Boston has had only preliminary discussion with the Wizards about a sign-and-trade involving Humphries, but the Celtics nonetheless appear willing to take part, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).

TUESDAY, 1:30pm: Kris Humphries has agreed to join the Wizards on a three-year, $13MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Celtics and Wizards are working to make it a sign-and-trade that would allow the capped-out Wizards, who’ve already used their mid-level exception on Paul Pierce, to give Humphries a deal that large, according to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter links). Washington would use a trade exception from its deal to send Trevor Ariza to the Rockets to accommodate the trade for Humphries, as Zwerling explains. The final season of Humphries’ contract will be a team option, according to Wojnarowski, though it’s possible that it will simply be non-guaranteed.

Houston’s sign-and-trade for Ariza has yet to become finalized, but it’ll allow Washington to create a trade exception worth approximately $8.5MM, depending on the value of the salary in the first year of Ariza’s new deal. That’s more than enough room for Humphries, who’ll replace Trevor Booker after he agreed to join the Jazz earlier today.

It’s unclear what the Celtics would receive in the deal, though it appears they’ll net a trade exception of their own. Humphries recently reiterated his openness to a deal that would keep him in Boston, a stance he took for much of the second half of the season after rumors earlier in the year that he wanted out. The Celtics had interest, as did the Heat, Hornets, Clippers, Mavs and Timberwolves at various points this month, but ultimately Washington won out.

The Arn Tellem client averaged 8.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game for the Celtics this past season, but he’s only two seasons removed from back-to-back double-digit averages in scoring and rebounding for the Nets. Zach Links of Hoops Rumors pointed to Humphries’ track record in predicting that he would end up with a tidy payday, and while he won’t sock away $12MM as he did last season, he still remains well above the minimum salary.

And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew

July 16th, 2014 at 12:25am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:

The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Celtics To Keep Phil Pressey

July 15th, 2014 at 8:45pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Celtics have guaranteed Phil Pressey’s contract for 2014/15, a source tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Today was the last day that the team could waive his non-guaranteed salary for this season before it became fully guaranteed. The 5’11 guard signed a three-year deal last summer worth $2.25MM, although only $490K was fully guaranteed. Pressey will earn roughly $816K this upcoming season.

Pressey appeared in 75 games last season, averaging 2.8 PPG, 3.2 APG, and nearly one steal per game in 15.1 MPG. The 23-year-old guard struggled with his shot however, shooting 30.8% from the field and 26.4% from beyond-the-arc.

Celtics Re-Sign Avery Bradley

July 15th, 2014 at 6:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 15TH, 6:40pm: The deal is now official, according to a team press release.

“We see Avery as a key part of our chase of Banner 18,” said Celtics president Danny Ainge in a statement. “He keeps getting better and is still far from reaching his ceiling. We’re ecstatic to have him back.”

JULY 2ND, 9:28am: It’ll be a fully guaranteed contract with no option clauses, Butler tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

8:47am: The deal is worth $32MM over four years, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.

8:20am: The Celtics will re-sign restricted free agent Avery Bradley, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The terms of the deal for the Mitchell Butler client aren’t immediately clear.

The C’s had been telling other free agents that Bradley would be a part of the club going forward, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), so it appears they were confident all along that the guard would re-sign. Still, the Sixers, armed with tons of cap flexibility, made contact with the 23-year-old Bradley shortly after free agency began. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge nonetheless made reference within the past week to the former 19th overall pick as a major part of the franchise’s future, and stated his belief in the ability of Bradley, Rajon Rondo, and the newly drafted Marcus Smart to co-exist on the team.

Executives who spoke recently to Chris Mannix of SI.com believed Bradley would end up with annual salaries between $7MM and $9MM. That’s after he reportedly turned down a four-year, $24MM extension offer from the Celtics last fall. He proceeded to put up a career year, scoring 14.9 points per game and draining 39.5% of his three-point attempts, proving he’s more than just a defensive specialist. The C’s and Bradley have had a mutual interest in his return, and Bradley has spoken of his affection for playing with Rondo. Perhaps Bradley’s willingness to re-sign so quickly indicates that Rondo, a free agent next year, is likely to remain in Boston, too, though that’s just my speculation.

Eastern Notes: Humphries, Meeks, Patterson

July 14th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Free agent Kris Humphries is still open to returning to the Celtics, writes Ben Rohrbach of WEEI 93.7 FM. Humphries said, “I could definitely see it. My agent handles most of the stuff with free agency. We’ll see what happens. I definitely could see it. I played out last year and didn’t look to jump to a playoff team before the end of the year, so I definitely enjoyed my time there, and we’ll see what happens.”

Here’s the latest from the east:

Jodie Meeks wants to reward the Pistons on the court this season for making his signing a priority, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Meeks said, “I was their No. 1 priority. He [Stan Van Gundy] liked the way I competed on offense and defense. That’s my motto: Not worry about the bad shooting nights. Just play hard and let the chips fall where they may.”
Patrick Patterson never had any desire to leave Toronto, which made his decision to re-sign with the Raptors easy, writes Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. On remaining in Toronto, Patterson said, “Toronto was always one of my top choices as far as coming back. The fans and organization and the team and the friendships I have with these guys — I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to give those up, so there was no real uncertainty or doubt. It was all about coming to the right terms and getting everything situated.”
The Bucks may announce their new partial owners soon, possibly as soon as tomorrow, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
Van Gundy admits that Greg Monroe‘s contract situation with the Pistons has him a “little nervous,” writes David Mayo of MLive. Van Gundy said, “The nervousness is just the unknown. It’s not knowing, beyond this year, especially, where you’re going. But again, we have plenty of time, if something happened, to adjust for next year and everything else.”
The Lance Stephenson free agency situation could drag out for awhile, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. A league executive told Mannix that the Pacers couldn’t increase their offer much more above what they have already presented Stephenson.