Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Qualifying Offers: Friday

June 29th, 2012 at 10:43pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA's 2012 free agent period just two days away, teams continue to extend qualifying offers to free agents in order to make them restricted. If a qualifying offer is not tendered to a player eligible for restricted free agency, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Players who are tendered qualifying offers have the option to accept the one-year contract and hit unrestricted free agency a year from now, but the primary purpose of the offers are to ensure that the player's team can match any offers for him this summer. We'll track today's qualifying offer updates right here, with the latest added to the top of the page….

The Cavs have made a qualifying offer to Luke Harangody, according to the joint Twitter account of Plain Dealer writers Mary Schmitt Boyer and Jodie Valade. The tender is expected to be around $1.05MM.

Earlier updates:

O.J. Mayo To Become Unrestricted Free Agent

June 29th, 2012 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies will not extend a qualifying offer to O.J. Mayo to make him a restricted free agent, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter). The decision means that Mayo will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team, without the Grizz having the opportunity to match offers.

More Draft Rumors: Thursday

June 28th, 2012 at 9:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Our previous round-up of Thursday's draft rumors was getting a little unwieldy, so here's a new post for the evening's rumors. Even with the draft underway, the rumors continue to pour in, so we'll round up the latest updates right here. Here's the latest draft buzz, with the newest items up top:

After trading three picks for one to land Tyler Zeller, the Cavs are trying to trade back into the draft, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
The Grizzlies intend to keep Tony Wroten, the 25th overall pick, but are working on a trade, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Earlier updates:

The Mavericks shopped the No. 24 pick they acquired from Cleveland and were "very open" to moving it, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. However, Stein adds in a second tweet that the Mavs will draft Jared Cunningham for themselves with the pick.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com says he wouldn't be surprised if the Celtics packaged their picks to trade for Royce White, who the Rockets selected at No. 16 (Twitter link). According to Givony, Boston was "very worried" about another team drafting White.
The Celtics' interest in Austin Rivers was fueled more by GM Danny Ainge than Doc Rivers, says Chris Mannix of SI.com (via Twitter).
The Cavaliers are still "aggressively pursuing" a second lottery pick, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Warriors GM Bob Myers says his phone "almost blew up" with teams trying to trade up to No. 7 to draft Harrison Barnes, says Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Sulia link).
While Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was a surprise pick for the Bobcats at No. 2, multiple reporters, including David Aldridge of TNT and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com tweet that Charlotte isn't expected to trade MKG. However, Givony adds in a second tweet that that door isn't entirely closed.
Though they couldn't complete a trade with the Kings, the Rockets are still trying to get into the top 10, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Despite plenty of talks, the Bobcats and Cavaliers "never had anything close," tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
If Austin Rivers and Damian Lillard come off the board within the first nine picks, the Hornets are "strongly leaning" toward Meyers Leonard, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Cavs and Bobcats are still engaged in "deep discussions" involving the No. 2 pick, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
The Rockets are talking to the Bobcats and Kings and pushing hard to acquire a top-five pick, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
If the Cavs trade up to No. 2 to land Bradley Beal, the Wizards will likely decide between Harrison Barnes and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No.3, with Barnes having the slight edge, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com.
Teams interested in Fab Melo may be looking to trade into the late teens, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
The Pistons may attempt to trade back into the end of the first round, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Detroit has its eye on a couple players that could slip.
Several teams believe that there is starting-caliber talent in the second round and are trying to buy second-rounders, tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.
The Wizards (No. 3), Kings (No. 5), and Blazers (No. 6) all appear likely to stand pat, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
The Cavaliers are offering the Bobcats the 4th, 24th, and 33rd picks for Charlotte's 2nd and 31st picks, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link), the Bobcats still appear set on making Cleveland take a contract in the deal.
The Blazers are putting out "serious signs" that they might draft Dion Waiters over Damian Lillard at No. 6, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
The Rockets are showing interest in guards like Austin Rivers and Terrence Ross, along with centers like Andre Drummond and Meyers Leonard, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. Berman adds in a separate pair of tweets that the Rockets are also interested in high-upside players like Perry Jones III, and that Houston doctors don't believe Jones' health concerns are serious.
If the Bobcats can't find a trade partner who will take on Tyrus Thomas' contract, they may look to move Matt Carroll's deal instead, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Speaking of the Bobcats, they've narrowed their five offers for the second overall pick to just two offers, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link via Marc Stein). The Rockets and Cavaliers are still in the mix for the No.2 pick.
The Cavs have also talked to the Warriors at No. 7 and the Rockets at No. 12 about trades involving Anderson Varejao, says Broussard (via Stein on Twitter).
Austin Rivers tops the Hornets' wish list for the 10th overall pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

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Celtics Maintain Interest In O.J. Mayo

June 28th, 2012 at 6:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics reportedly made a play for O.J. Mayo at this year's trade deadline, and according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, the C's still have interest in the Grizzlies wing heading into free agency.

Southeast Rumors: Smith, Howard, Odom, Wizards

June 28th, 2012 at 5:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

We've heard Josh Smith's name surface numerous times this week in trade discussions, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports the Magic are interested in bringing Smith aboard to curry favor with Dwight Howard, who is friends with Smith. New Hawks GM Danny Ferry is reluctant to move Smith, Stein says, despite the fact the athletic forward has said he'd welcome a trade and is entering the final year of his contract. Here's more from around the Southeast Division as the draft draws near:

Draft Rumors: Thursday

June 28th, 2012 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Well, we're here. After weeks of following draft rumors and speculating on which player will be picked by which team, we're just hours away from the 2012 draft. Before things get underway tonight though, we're sure to hear plenty more draft rumors, so be sure to follow this page for the latest updates throughout the day. And to fully immerse yourself in tonight's draft, you can also check out our most recent mock draft, the complete draft order, our Prospect Profiles series, and all the rest of our draft content. Here are today's updates, with the latest up top:

The Kings and Warriors will make decisions on whether to trade their picks while they're on the clock, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says (Twitter link).
It's highly unlikely the Grizzlies use the 25th pick on a point guard, the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
The Grizzlies, Rockets and Celtics are all interested in Royce White, says Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Warriors may trade up from No. 30 to land him, Rothstein also tweets.
The Bobcats are "getting closer" to trading the No. 2 pick, tweets ESPN.com's Andy Katz (hat tip to Tom Ziller of SBNation).

Earlier updates:

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets the Rockets aren't as close to a deal with the Kings for the fifth pick as an earlier report suggested (see below). Sam Amick of SI.com agrees, as has the Kings taking Harrison Barnes at No. 5 in his latest mock.
The Warriors will likely keep the No. 7 pick after talks with the Rockets broke down, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, via Twitter.
Part of the reason the Celtics are trying to move up into the lottery is because they'd like to draft Austin Rivers, son of coach Doc Rivers, Sam Amick of SI.com reports (Sulia link). Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN.com say the team is pessimistic about its chances to get Rivers (Twitter link).
If the Warriors trade down to No. 12 or lower, the team would consider Moe Harkless, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
Thomas Robinson appears to be the preferred target of the Kings, who will wait as long as possible to decide whether to trade the No. 5 pick, Marc Stein and Chad Ford of ESPN.com report. If they do trade it, the Rockets are "in position" to acquire that pick, the report says. Stein and Ford suggest that means the Kings are in line to get even more thanKyle Lowry and a package of first-rounders if the deal is done.
Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group hears the Warriors will take Dion Waiters at No. 7 if he's there.
Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer passes on the latest on the Cavs' interest in Waiters and more from around the draft.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) and Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com have updated their mock drafts, both of which cover all 60 picks.
The Warriors are leaning away from Andre Drummond, writes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
The Blazers appear to be holding on to the sixth and 11th picks for now, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is in the process of selling the team, and he would also like to trade the team's first-round pick, at No. 25, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal's Twitter account. The team's execs, however, like Royce White and John Jenkins.
There is a "growing expectation" the Bobcats will swap the No. 2 pick, Chris Mannix of SI.com tweets.
Teams drafting before pick No. 20 have little interest in Jared Sullinger, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Sullinger is "falling like a rock," says Mannix (Twitter link).
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee looks at what the Kings can do to upgrade at small forward through the draft, and speculates via Twitter that the team could trade down to draft a player at another position and re-sign Terrence Williams.
The Cavs are actively pursuing another lottery pick, says Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Sulia link). Discussions with the Warriors for No. 7 have stalled, but the No. 12 pick, held by the Rockets, is in play. Lloyd speculates it will be tough to trade for a pick that high without including Anderson Varejao in the deal.
Jared Sullinger's stock was slipping even before word came out about the medical red flag on his back, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the league's recent small ball trend doesn't mean prospects like Fab Melo and Festus Ezeli won't be highly valued.
The Nets could bundle Johan Petro and $3MM in cash to try to acquire a second-round pick and clear cap space, according to NetsDaily.com via Twitter.
Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Blazers are eyeing Damian Lillard and Dion Waiters with the No. 6 pick, with a "hard lean" toward Lillard. Smith also says the Jazz still have hopes of moving into the lottery, and may be targeting a "draft-and-stash" international player in the second round (Sulia link).
Chad Ford of ESPN.com unveils the site's final top 100 ranking before the draft (Insider only).
Vin Parise of NBC Sports is hearing that the Bulls intend to draft Tyshawn Taylor at No. 29 (Twitter link).
Besides liking Thomas Robinson at No. 5, the Kings are also high on Harrison Barnes,tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Sam Amick shares a number of draft tidbits in his latest piece for SI.com, including items onJared Sullinger, the Kings, and the Rockets.
According to ESPN's Chad Ford, the Cavaliers have narrowed their choices at No. 4 toBradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Harrison Barnes. While the team has interest in Dion Waiters (as linked below), that interest doesn't extend to the fourth overall pick, says Ford.
As for the Cavs' second-round picks, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says the team has "strong interest" in Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir (Twitter link). Aldemir doesn't have an NBA out clause until 2014.
Temple center Michael Eric is drawing interest from teams in the second round, including the Warriors, Sixers, and Nuggets, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
The Kings won't decide whether or not to trade the No. 5 pick until they see who is available, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears, the Kings loveThomas Robinson, so if he slips past the first four picks, Sacramento is unlikely to trade down.
While Evan Fournier has long been considered the only international player that will go in the first round, interest in Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou is intensifying. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Heat and Thunder are considering Papanikolaou with their late-first-round picks, and Al Iannazzone of Newsday says theKnicks could try to acquire another pick to draft him.
Wojnarowski's piece also includes a few other updates, including the Bucks seriously considering Terrence Jones at No. 14, and Andrew Nicholson drawing interest from the Rockets and Nuggets.
Perry Jones III may have a knee issue that's causing his slide down draft boards, reportsESPN.com's Chad Ford.
The Bobcats have five "legit offers" for the second overall pick that they're considering, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
Rumblings that the Cavaliers are seriously considering Dion Waiters at No. 4 continue to gain momentum. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Cavs are losing interest in dealing with the Bobcats if taking Tyrus Thomas is a requirement in any trade, and are leaning toward Waiters if Bradley Beal and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are off the board at No. 4.
According to Wojnarowski, the Raptors are also looking into trading up for Waiters, and there's plenty of members of the Warriors' front office that like him a lot too.
The Grizzlies have talked to a number of teams about trading the No. 25 pick, according toRonald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. However, Tillery tweets that there's a major internal push for Memphis to select John Jenkins or Royce White.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) has released version 10.0 of his 2012 mock draft. Ford also heard from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who explained to the ESPN.com draft expert why he shouldn't be down on Austin Rivers.
In a pair of tweets, Ford reports that the Pistons conducted a last-minute workout withAndre Drummond and that Detroit would likely take the big man if he slips to them at No. 9.
Marc Berman of the New York Post has the details on the players the Knicks are eyeing with their second-round pick.

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Suns Interested In Ray Allen

June 28th, 2012 at 4:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns will pursue unrestricted free agent shooting guard Ray Allen, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. There's mutual interest, and Allen would consider the Suns even if they don't re-sign Steve Nash, Wojnarowski says. Allen is a former client of Lon Babby, who worked as an agent before taking over basketball operations for the Suns.

The Heat have been linked to Allen of late, but they're not the frontrunners, Wojnarowski writes. ESPN.com's Stephen A. Smith said earlier today there's a good chance both Allen and fellow unrestricted free agent Kevin Garnett return to the Celtics.

Amico On Lakers, Mayo, Rockets, Varejao

June 28th, 2012 at 3:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

With the Lakers holding only the 60th pick in the draft, much of the talk surrounding the team has had to do with Pau Gasol. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears much more from L.A. and shares it along with a number of tidbits from around the Association. A source tells Amico the Lakers will look to dump salary this offseason and sign Spencer Hawes, Nick Young, Kirk Hinrich and Kris Humphries. The Lakers may also look into trading for Jordan Crawford if the Wizards draft Bradley Beal tonight. Here's more from Amico:

Celtics Aggressively Pursuing Lottery Pick

June 28th, 2012 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are "aggressively" working to move up in tonight's draft, says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Celtics currently hold the 21st and 22nd picks in the first round, but are looking to land at least a late-lottery pick, if not something higher, according to Wojnarowski.

Odds & Ends: Magic, Ellis, Turiaf, Bulls, Garnett

June 27th, 2012 at 10:39pm CST by Alex Lee

Earlier today we heard that the Magic general manager Rob Hennigan spoke with the media and addressed the plethora of issues he has on his plate in his first few weeks on the job. Following Hennigan's availability, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel put together a comprehensive story on the rapid rate of change with which the Magic have overhauled their organization. By Schmitz's count, the Magic have dispatched of 17 important pieces of the organization since December. Starting as early as tomorrow night's draft, it is Orlando roster's turn for a makeover.

Here are some some odds and ends from around the NBA on this Wednesday night: