Nets Hiring Brian Keefe As Assistant Coach
- The Nets are hiring Brian Keefe as an assistant coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Keefe, a veteran NBA assistant, was a finalist for the Thunder’s head coaching job one year ago, Wojnarowski notes. Keefe will replace Mike D’Antoni on Steve Nash‘s staff.
- A potential sign-and-trade for Spencer Dinwiddie won’t be easy to figure out for the Wizards, as detailed by Fred Katz of The Athletic. Washington is operating over the salary cap, meaning Dinwiddie could only join the team via a sign-and-trade, and the Nets won’t be eager to take on any significant salary for a player they don’t love. Dinwiddie missed most of last season after suffering a partially torn ACL. He averaged a career-high 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game the season before, however, shooting 41.5% from the field.
No QOs For Frank Ntilikina, D.J. Wilson, Mike James, Others
Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina is among the players who didn’t receive a qualifying offer in advance of Sunday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
The Knicks’ decision on Ntilikina doesn’t come as a surprise. Despite the years the team spent trying to develop the former No. 8 overall pick into a reliable rotation player, he wasn’t used often in 2020/21, logging just 9.8 minutes per game in 33 contests as he battled some injury issues. A qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent would have been worth $7MM+, a figure he’s unlikely to match or exceed on the open market.
Here are updates on a few of the other players who didn’t receive QOs today:
- The Rockets didn’t issue a qualifying offer to forward D.J. Wilson, who will become an unrestricted free agent, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wilson’s QO would’ve been worth $6.4MM.
- The Nets didn’t issue a qualifying offer to guards Mike James or Chris Chiozza, according to reports from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Both players will become unrestricted free agents.
- Brandon Goodwin didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Hawks, a league source tells Scotto (Twitter link). Goodwin averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.0 APG in 47 games (13.2 MPG) for Atlanta in 2020/21.
QO Roundup: Perry, Stanley, Brantley, Forrest, Coffey
The Nets will extend a qualifying offer to power forward Reggie Perry, tweets Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. The 57th pick in the 2020 draft, Perry was acquired in a trade with the Clippers and earned a two-way contract as a rookie. He appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per night.
Because Perry was a two-way player with just one season in Brooklyn, his qualifying offer is limited to one year with a $50K guarantee. The QO means he will be restricted, giving the Nets the right to match any offer when free agency starts Monday.
There are a few more qualifying offers to round up:
- Cassius Stanley received a QO from the Pacers, according to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The shooting guard was also a rookie two-way player, so his offer is subject to the same terms as Perry’s. Stanely got into 24 games, averaging 1.5 PPG.
- The Jazz extended qualifying offers to Jarrell Brantley and Trent Forrest, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Brantley, a power forward, averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 28 games in his second NBA season, while Forrest, a rookie point guard, appeared in 30 games, averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 assists per night. Both are two-way players.
- The Clippers made a qualifying offer to Amir Coffey, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The second-year shooting guard, also on a two-way contract, got into 44 games, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG.
Dinwiddie Sign-And-Trade With Wizards Gaining Momentum
The idea of Nets free agent Spencer Dinwiddie replacing Russell Westbrook as the Wizards‘ point guard seems to be gaining momentum.
After multiple reporters mentioned the Dinwiddie-to-D.C. possibility earlier in the week, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer writes today that with Chris Paul likely to return to the Suns, Dinwiddie is expected to be the next free agent point guard off the board. A sign-and-trade that sends either Kyle Kuzma or Montrezl Harrell to the Nets and Dinwiddie to the Wizards is a real possibility, Fischer suggests.
Fischer adds that the Nets are continuing to look for ways to move off of DeAndre Jordan‘s contract.
And-Ones: Colangelo, Love, Irving, 2022 Draft, Bleijenbergh
Jerry Colangelo, managing director of USA Basketball, admitted that adding Cavaliers big man Kevin Love to the 12-man roster was a mistake, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports. Speaking to reporters this week, Colangelo was blunt in his assessment of Love, stating that the 2012 gold medalist was not in shape when he showed up to camp. Love eventually withdrew from Team USA before the squad headed to Tokyo.
“I didn’t think Kevin Love was going to play. I wasn’t even sure he had much left to play,” Colangelo said. “He reached out to us and said he was in shape and said he felt he owed us. And on the basis of that, we’re looking at someone with international experience who at one time was a heck of a rebounder and could still shoot the ball. You know, being like a 12th man on a roster. Well, it didn’t work out. He wasn’t in shape. And he was way behind as it turned out. So you move on. Call it a mistake.”
We have more from the basketball world:
- Nets guard Kyrie Irving has fired Roc Nation as his representative, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. It’s unclear why Irving, who can opt out of his contract after next season, made the move. He did rip Nike on social media for its shoe design and marketing of the upcoming Kyrie8 brand.
- Just hours after the completion of this year’s draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN released his 2022 mock draft. Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren heads the list, followed by Duke’s Paolo Banchero and the G League Ignite’s Jaden Hardy.
- Belgian guard Vrenz Bleijenbergh was a candidate to be a second-round pick, but went undrafted on Thursday. Bleijenbergh explained on Twitter that none of the teams interested in selecting him were willing to offer a guaranteed contract and thus, he couldn’t get out of his European deal. “I had multiple teams offering me two-way deals. But because of my contract in Europe, I wasn’t be able to sign them, it was against the rules,” he wrote. “The only option was a guaranteed contract, I didn’t receive it. It really hurts, I was really close.”
Free Agent Rumors: J. Collins, Lowry, Z. Collins, Forbes, Celtics, More
In his latest rumor-packed article for Bleacher Report, Jake Fischer echoes a Marc Stein report from Friday, writing that John Collins is viewed as increasingly likely to return to the Hawks despite anticipated interest from the Mavericks and Spurs, among others.
Collins’ new deal may exceed $120MM in total value, Fischer notes, though it’s not clear if that’d be for four years or five. Collins’ projected maximum with Atlanta is about $126MM over four years (or $163MM over five), whereas his max with a new team would be approximately $121MM over four years.
Here are a few other rumors on 2021 free agents, including several more updates from Fischer:
- With the Pelicans, Mavericks, and Heat all expected to make a strong push for Kyle Lowry, the point’s guard ultimate landing spot could come down to which team includes the most guaranteed money in the third year of its offer, says Fischer.
- The Raptors, Pelicans, Thunder, and Spurs are among the teams known to have interest in big man Zach Collins, sources tell Fischer. Collins isn’t getting a qualifying offer from Portland, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
- The Nets may be the leading candidates to sign free agent sharpshooter Bryn Forbes, according to Fischer, who also names the Bulls, Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Pelicans as teams to watch.
- Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) hears that the Celtics have a list of about seven or eight top free agent targets, including veteran Spurs guard Patty Mills.
- Otto Porter‘s representatives have been targeting a mid-level type contract for their client, but that’s probably a long shot unless a front office bids against itself, says J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter links). The veteran forward is coming off a four-year, $106MM+ deal.
- The Nuggets are expected to add a backup center in free agency, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post, who tweets that a new deal with JaVale McGee is one possibility to address that spot.
Eastern Rumors: Ball, Rose, Tucker, Portis, Allen, Williams, Fournier, Schroder, Horton-Tucker
The Bulls are looking to make to major additions to shore up their point guard position, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
The Bulls have been linked for months to Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball and there’s thought to be mutual interest between the two sides on a four-year deal worth more than $80MM. If the Pelicans extend a $14.36MM qualifying offer to Ball, he’ll be a restricted free agent — the Bulls would have to give him an offer sheet and hope New Orleans doesn’t match it, or work out a sign-and-trade with the Pels.
The Bulls may have some competition from the Celtics, who have been recently mentioned as a potential Ball suitor after dealing away Kemba Walker. There’s increasing speculation the Celtics will not look to re-sign unrestricted free agent Evan Fournier, says Fischer. That possibility increased significantly after the Celtics agreed to acquire Josh Richardson from the Mavericks.
Chicago is also considering another Derrick Rose reunion and there’s mutual interest. It’s uncertain if the Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau can convince Rose, an unrestricted free agent, to re-sign with them if the Bulls make a hard push. However, Chicago will likely need to shed salary in order to bring in both Ball and Rose and the Knicks have plenty of cap room to outbid the Bulls for his services. While that’s a best case scenario in the Bulls’ eyes, they’re intent on adding two point guards this summer, especially with Coby White out indefinitely after undergoing left shoulder surgery, per Fischer.
Fischer offers up a number of other interesting items:
- The Bucks are interested in bringing back two of their prominent free agents. They’d like to re-sign defensive specialist P.J. Tucker on a contract in the neighborhood of two years and $20MM. They are also hoping to re-sign forward Bobby Portis and the feeling is mutual. Since the Bucks only have Non-Bird rights on Portis, they’d have to use their mid-level exception to give him a starting salary higher than about $4.3MM.
- The Cavaliers view the Raptors as their main threat to re-signing restricted free agent Jarrett Allen. Toronto’s interest in Allen surfaced last weekend. However, Cleveland is likely to match any offer sheet for Allen. The Raptors are also eying Kings free agent Richaun Holmes.
- League sources think Lou Williams, one of the league’s top reserves, could re-sign with the Hawks on a veteran’s minimum deal, sys Fischer.
- The Knicks, who need to add scoring punch, have expressed interest in Fournier. They’ve also been linked to Lakers guards Dennis Schroder and Talen Horton-Tucker. Schroder will be looking for a new home after the Lakers agreed to acquire Russell Westbrook. Previous reports have indicated the Knicks’ potential pursuit of Fournier and Schroder. Horton-Tucker is a restricted free agent after the Lakers extended a qualifying offer, though the team has the option of pulling it off the table.
- According to SNY.TV’s Ian Begley, there’s support within the Knicks organization to pursue Nets free agent Spencer Dinwiddie and he’s interested in remaining in New York. Devonte’ Graham, Kendrick Nunn, and Kyle Lowry are some other potential targets at point guard. At the wing, the Knicks have some interest in the Spurs’ DeMar DeRozan and they’ve had discussions with the Magic this week regarding a potential Terrence Ross trade.
Wizards Rumors: Westbrook, Beal, Dinwiddie, Neto, Kispert, Bryant
After spending the 2020/21 season with the Wizards, Russell Westbrook contemplated his future and found he had a growing desire to join the Lakers, according to Shams Charania and Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Westbrook’s desire to play for his hometown team intensified after he spent time with LeBron James and Anthony Davis at LeBron’s home about two weeks ago and the trio discussed the idea of teaming up, according to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Turner says James and Davis spoke in that conversation about changing positions if it’s best for the team, with LeBron willing to play more frequently at the four, with AD at the five.
Westbrook recently informed the Wizards that he’d like to be dealt to the Lakers if they could find a trade that worked, per Charania and Katz, and the two teams did just that on Thursday, reaching an agreement on a blockbuster deal that will send Westbrook and two future second-round picks to L.A. for Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and No. 22 pick Isaiah Jackson. Washington is flipping Jackson to Indiana in a deal that will involve Aaron Holiday and No. 31 pick Isaiah Todd.
One of the primary reasons Westbrook originally wanted to play in D.C. was the presence of head coach Scott Brooks, according to Charania and Katz, who note that the star point guard lobbied for the Wizards to retain Brooks. After the team decided to part ways with Brooks, Westbrook preferred an established coach, sources tell The Athletic, but Washington opted for a first-timer in Wes Unseld Jr.
Here’s more on the Wizards and how the Westbrook trade affects their offseason:
- Bradley Beal had no issues with the Westbrook deal and hasn’t expressed a desire to leave Washignton, sources tell Charania and Katz. For now, the Wizards remain confident they can keep the All-NBA guard long-term.
- The Athletic’s duo reiterates that Spencer Dinwiddie is a potential Wizards target worth keeping an eye on, though a source tells Charania and Katz that the Nets wouldn’t be inclined to sign off on a sign-and-trade of Dinwiddie for Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma alone. Dinwiddie is also expected to receive interest from the Nets, Heat, Knicks, and Raptors, among others, per The Athletic.
- Elsewhere on the point guard front, a reunion with Raul Neto is a possibility for the Wizards, sources tell Charania and Katz. The team also agreed to acquire Aaron Holiday, having grown “enamored” with him prior to the 2018 draft. Washington tried to trade for Holiday a year ago, according to The Athletic.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, one of Beal’s closest friends in the NBA, is the type of three-and-D player the Wizards have long sought, Charania and Katz observe.
- Corey Kispert was 10th on the Wizards’ draft board entering Thursday night, and the team considered the possibility of trying to trade up for him before landing him at No. 15, write Charania and Katz.
- The Wizards are preparing for Thomas Bryant to miss the start of the season as he continues to recover from an ACL tear. A source tells The Athletic the club is hoping Bryant will be able to return by December.
Wizards Rumors: Dinwiddie, Kuzma, Harrell, No. 15 Pick, Bertans
With Russell Westbrook gone from the Wizards, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie is interested in taking his place, according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. Washington would probably have to work out a sign-and-trade to land Dinwiddie, but it’s one of the destinations the free agent is considering.
Dinwiddie likes the idea of playing in the same backcourt with Bradley Beal, Scotto adds, along with the potential of Rui Hachimura and the idea of living in Washington. Dinwiddie believes he can help the Wizards return to the playoffs and that he can recruit other players to the team.
There’s more on the Wizards:
- Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell, who are both headed to Washington in the Westbrook deal, are considered potential assets that can be used to acquire Dinwiddie, tweets Wizards insider Quinton Mayo.
- Washington has gotten calls from the Hawks and Jazz about the 15th pick, Mayo adds (Twitter link). The team landed pick No. 22 in the deal with the Lakers, so their own selection may be available.
- The Wizards have made Davis Bertans available in trade talks, a source tells Mayo (Twitter link). Bertans is coming off a down season, as his scoring average declined from 15.4 to 11.5 points per game and his three-point shooting dropped from 42.4% to 39.5%. He signed a five-year, $80MM contract last offseason.
Eastern Draft Notes: Nets, Cavs, Heat, Raptors, Pacers
The Nets own a first-rounder at No. 27 and three second-rounders, so expect them to be very active this evening, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Multiple teams are interested in guard Landry Shamet and the Nets would love to dump DeAndre Jordan‘s salary. Some of those picks could be dealt in one or more deals involving those players. General manager Sean Marks has developed a reputation of making deals on draft night, Lewis notes.
We have more draft-related news involving Eastern Conference teams:
- The Cavaliers continue to field calls with the No. 3 pick, but they’ll keep it unless they get an overwhelming offer, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. If they hold onto it, the Cavs will take USC big man Evan Mobley, assuming Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green are off the board. Cleveland also believes it can put together a package for another lottery pick in the top 10 by dangling some combination of Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr. and its 2022 first-rounder.
- The Heat do not own a draft pick but that could change, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Miami could not only make a trade, it could also buy a pick with the $5.6MM it has at its disposal for 2020/21 transactions before the NBA calendar flips on Monday.
- There’s growing speculation among lottery teams picking after the Raptors at No. 4 that they’ll pull a surprise and take Florida State forward Scottie Barnes, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets. However, Jonathan Givony of ESPN claims in his latest mock draft that the league overwhelmingly expects them to select Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs, so the Raptors could be playing mind games with their competitors.
- The Pacers brought in Alex Antetokounmpo (Murcia CB in Spain) and Jaquori McLaughlin (UC Santa Barbara) for workouts on Tuesday, according to a team press release.