Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Hire Darko Rajakovic As Head Coach

June 13th, 2023 at 11:37am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 13: The Raptors have officially hired Rajakovic, issuing a press release to formally announce their new head coach.

“We’re entering a new era – one where we are embracing new ideas, a new attitude, and now a new head coach – but our goals remain the same. A championship. Winning,” Ujiri said in a statement. “Darko shares those goals, and our belief in culture, professionalism, and hard work. His commitment to both learning and teaching our game is elite, and we are all very excited to welcome him to the Raptors family.”

JUNE 10: Grizzlies assistant coach Darko Rajakovic is getting a new job.

Sources inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that the Raptors have offered Rajakovic their vacant head coaching position, and are currently in the process of ironing out terms on a deal.

Toronto team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster fired former head coach Nick Nurse in April after he spent 10 years with the franchise, including five in that role. Nurse led the Raptors to their first-ever title during his debut season as the team’s head coach in 2018/19.

Rajakovic, who originally hails from Serbia and coached in the Spanish EBA League before arriving stateside, got his feet wet in the NBA while working as a scouting consultant and Summer League assistant coach for the Spurs from 2004-11.

He then served as the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers, the then-D League affiliate club of the Thunder. The team has since been rechristened the Oklahoma City Blue, and of course the D League has become the G League in the intervening seasons.

Rajakovic subsequently served as an assistant coach under Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan with the Thunder from 2014-19, then worked with the Suns during the 2019/20 season on the staff of Monty Williams. He joined Taylor Jenkins‘ bench in 2020 with Memphis and soon graduated to become Jenkins’ lead assistant coach.

According to Wojnarowski, Toronto was looking for a head coach that could function either in leading a veteran-laden roster back to the playoffs or in developing a younger core.

Wojnarowski names Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson and Bucks assistant Charles Lee as two other finalists who were given serious consideration.

The Raptors’ opening had been the final available head coaching vacancy on the market this year.

Bruce Brown: “I Want To Stay” With Nuggets

June 13th, 2023 at 8:17am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the Nuggets‘ championship-clinching victory on Monday, Bruce Brown‘s teammates were effusive in their praise of the versatile guard, predicting a significant payday for the 26-year-old this summer in free agency. However, Brown told Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required) that he won’t necessarily accept the biggest offer he gets on the open market.

“I want to stay,” Brown said. “… It’s a perfect fit. And money is not everything. The money will come. So I’m not worried about that right now.”

Brown, who signed a two-year contract with the Nuggets last offseason, holds a $6.8MM player option for 2023/24. If he turns down that option, Denver would only hold his Non-Bird rights and would be limited to offering him a starting salary of $7.8MM — that figure represents a 20% raise off his current $6.5MM salary.

The Nuggets could theoretically use the mid-level exception to offer up to $12.2MM, but they’re extremely unlikely to have the full MLE available since their team salary projects to be over the luxury tax line. ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) expects rival suitors to be willing to offer at least the MLE amount of $12.2MM, and possibly more than that. Brown’s teammates are also forecasting a substantial raise based on his play in the regular season and postseason.

“Bruce has been huge for us all playoffs,” Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said after Monday’s win. “We’re excited for him because he’s going to get paid. He’s going to get paid. … We just kept telling him be aggressive, even though his first half didn’t go amazing making shots-wise. He hit that big bucket down the stretch, made those two free throws. He was amazing for us all playoffs. It wasn’t just tonight.”

In 80 regular season appearances for the Nuggets, Brown averaged a career-best 11.5 points per night on .483/.358/.758 shooting. He also contributed 4.1 RPG and 3.4 APG while handling a variety of defensive assignments. In the playoffs, he bumped his scoring average to 12.0 PPG while shooting 51.1% from the floor. On Monday, the five-year veteran made a key basket late in the game’s closing minutes to give Denver the lead, then knocked down two free throws with 14 seconds left to clinch the victory.

One option for Brown would be to decline his player option, sign another one-plus-one deal with a first-year salary of $7.8MM, then opt out again in 2024 in order to sign a more lucrative, longer-term deal with the Nuggets. Bobby Portis took this route in Milwaukee after winning a title with the Bucks, accepting a below-market deal in 2021 and then inking a four-year, $48.6MM contract in 2022 once the team had his Early Bird rights.

We’ll see if Brown wants to take a similar path once he’s not still basking in the fresh glow of a title. But on Monday, at least, he sounded genuinely enthusiastic about remaining in Denver.

“That’s insane,” he said of the Nuggets’ 16-4 playoff record, per Singer. “That doesn’t happen. … Why not run it back?”

Nuggets Win First Title, Jokic Named MVP

June 12th, 2023 at 10:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets secured their first championship on Monday night, completing a 4-1 series victory over the Heat with a 94-89 victory. The Nuggets joined the NBA in 1976 after the league’s merger with the ABA.

Nikola Jokic, the league’s two-time Most Valuable Player in the regular season, was named the MVP of the Finals, NBA Communications tweets. He had 28 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in the clinching victory. For the series, Jokic averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per night.

Jokic and the team’s other star, Jamal Murray, carried the Nuggets throughout the playoffs. However, the team’s role players made some of the biggest plays in Game 5.

Bruce Brown had the go-ahead put-back in the late going and hit clinching free throws. In between, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a key steal and made two clutch free throws.

Denver is well-positioned to make a run at back-to-back titles and beyond. Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. are all signed through at least the 2024/25 season. Caldwell-Pope has two more years left on his contract, though he can opt out next summer.

There’s a good chance Brown will go elsewhere. He will almost certainly decline his $6.8MM option and the team doesn’t own his Bird rights, limiting its ability to offer much of a raise.

Jeff Green and a handful of other veteran reserves will be unrestricted free agents, though the Nuggets have some quality young players on rookie contracts poised to take on bigger roles, including Christian Braun and Peyton Watson.

The Heat have some key players entering free agency, most notably Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Kevin Love.

With the Finals decided, the 2023 NBA offseason is officially underway. The draft will be held in 10 days with free agency beginning the following week.

Tyler Herro Available To Play In Game 5

June 12th, 2023 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:11pm: Herro is available tonight, according to Erik Spoelstra, but the coach wouldn’t commit to playing him, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

“It’s all hands on deck,” Spoelstra said. “We’re going with our normal rotation, and then we’ll see how things play out.”

11:34am: The Heat have changed Tyler Herro‘s status to questionable for tonight’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals (Twitter link), prompting speculation that he might be ready to return from hand surgery.

Herro is expected to be in uniform and will attempt to play, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Team officials are hoping that he doesn’t suffer a setback before tip-off and that he can manage the pain in his right hand, Woj adds.

The shooting guard has been sidelined since April 16 when he broke two fingers in the opener of Miami’s first-round series with Milwaukee. He had surgery five days later and was projected to miss at least six weeks.

Herro was originally listed as out for Game 5, but he was able to participate in another full-contact practice session on Sunday. His performance apparently convinced team officials that he’s ready to attempt a comeback.

The Heat need a boost in three-point shooting from their backcourt after Gabe Vincent and Max Strus misfired badly in Game 3 and 4. They combined to shoot 4-of-27 from the field in the two losses at Miami while scoring a total of 12 points.

Pelicans Looking To Move Up Draft, Eye Scoot Henderson

June 12th, 2023 at 4:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans are looking to trade up to the No. 2 or No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 draft with their sights set on G League guard Scoot Henderson, Shams Charania of The Stadium and The Athletic reports (Twitter video link).

New Orleans is among several teams seriously pursuing that No. 2 overall pick, according to Charania. The Hornets hold the No. 2 selection and worked out Henderson on Sunday. The 6’2″ guard averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals for the Ignite in 19 games this season. Henderson’s spotty 3-point shooting (27.5%) didn’t hurt his draft stock. He was shut down in mid-March by the Ignite.

New Orleans already has CJ McCollum at the point, though he could swing to the shooting guard spot as he did in Portland. The Pelicans drafted Dyson Daniels with the No. 8 pick last June, but Daniels posted modest stats in 59 games during his first NBA season. They also have Kira Lewis Jr., a 2020 lottery pick who returned from a major knee injury to appear in 25 games this season.

The Pelicans hold the No. 14 pick and have a bevy of future first-rounders owed to them, which they could dangle to Charlotte or the Trail Blazers, who hold the No. 3 selection. The Lakers owe New Orleans their unprotected 2024 first-rounder, which can be deferred until 2025. The Bucks owe the Pelicans their unprotected 2027 first-round pick. New Orleans also has the right to swap 2024 and 2026 first-rounders with Milwaukee.

Beyond those draft assets and McCollum, the Pelicans could offer either of their other stars (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram) or some other young talents (Trey Murphy III, Herbert Jones). It remains to be seen what type of package the Hornets (or Blazers) would pursue in order to part with their high lottery pick.

Fred VanVleet Declines Player Option, Will Become UFA

June 12th, 2023 at 2:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has turned down his $22.8MM player option for next season and will become an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sources tell Wojnarowski that VanVleet would be willing to consider a new deal to stay in Toronto. However, he’ll be one of the top names on the free agent market and is expected to be targeted by plenty of teams with cap space and others that might be interested working out a sign-and-trade.

Wojnarowski notes that several contending teams talked to the Raptors about trading for VanVleet before the February deadline, adding that many of those teams will continue to pursue the 29-year-old guard once free agency beings on June 30.

Teams with ample cap space such as the Rockets and Magic are expected to have interest in VanVleet, which could price some other competitors out of the market, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

An All-Star during the 2021/22 season, VanVleet has played his entire career in Toronto after joining the team when he went undrafted in 2016. He emerged as a full-time starter in his fourth NBA season and was part of the 2019 squad that captured the only NBA title in Raptors history.

Along with scoring 19.3 PPG this season, VanVleet averaged a career-best 7.2 assists per game and ranked in the top 10 in the league in assists-to-turnover ratio. He was also third in the NBA in steals with 1.8 per game and first in deflections.

Most players have until June 29 to make option decisions for next season, but VanVleet’s deadline was Wednesday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Teammate Gary Trent Jr. also has until Wednesday to decide on his $18.6MM option for 2023/24.

VanVleet is still eligible for an extension, Marks adds, but the Raptors can only offer $114MM over four years under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (Twitter link). Changes to the new CBA, which takes effect July 1, would have increased that maximum extension to $133MM with a starting salary of $29.8MM, but VanVleet will be a free agent by that point, making him eligible for a projected maximum salary of $40.2MM.

Warriors Aren’t Shopping Jordan Poole

June 12th, 2023 at 10:11am CST by Arthur Hill

There’s no guarantee that Jordan Poole will be on the Warriors‘ roster next season, but the front office isn’t actively shopping him and there’s not a demand from ownership to reduce salary, sources tell Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater states that nobody from Poole’s camp has received an indication that he will be traded this summer.

Golden State officials would probably listen to trade offers for Poole, Slater adds, but the organization doesn’t mind bringing back the core of the team for another season. The strictest penalties for high-spending teams in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement won’t take effect until the 2024/25 season, and Klay Thompson‘s $43MM salary will be off the books by then.

The four-year, $123MM extension that Poole received last fall will kick in next season, raising his salary from $3.9MM to $27.4MM and providing another financial challenge for a team that’s already well into luxury tax territory. Re-signing Draymond Green could push the organization’s total bill for tax and salaries to more than $400MM. Even so, Slater’s sources say the Warriors aren’t looking at salary-dump trades this offseason and the goal of any moves will be to make the team more competitive.

Poole had a down year after helping Golden State win the NBA title in 2022, leading some observers to question whether he’s able to live up to his new contract. He averaged a career-high 20.4 PPG, but he shot just 43% from the field and 33.6% from three point-range. He saw his playing time fluctuate, both in the regular season and playoffs, and was particularly ineffective during the second-round loss to the Lakers.

However, Poole has strong supporters in Kirk Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr., who are running the team ahead of the impending departure of general manager Bob Myers. Lacob and Dunleavy were both strong supporters of giving Poole his extension, according to Slater, who notes that during his time as a scout, Dunleavy was a proponent of drafting Poole in the first round in 2019.

The Warriors still haven’t named a formal replacement for Myers, Slater adds, but Lacob and Dunleavy are expected to eventually have their roles elevated and will continue running the team.

Rockets Could Pursue Irving If They Strike Out With Harden

June 11th, 2023 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If the Rockets fail in their pursuit of James Harden, could they pivot to Kyrie Irving? According to Marc Stein in his latest Substack post, it’s a possibility.

Stein hears that Irving could be a fallback option for Houston, which enters the summer with the most projected available cap space of any NBA team. Harden is expected to choose between staying with the Sixers and returning to the Rockets for a second stint. There have been conflicting reports on whether the Suns might also join the Harden sweepstakes.

The Mavericks remain the only known team with definitive interest in signing the polarizing Irving, Stein notes. His sources indicate that the Rockets could explore a run at Irving, Harden’s former teammate in Brooklyn, if Harden re-signs with Philadelphia.

It’s unknown whether Irving would consider the Rockets. Houston could sign Irving simply with cap space or work out a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks. The Rockets have a bevy of future first- and second-rounders, plus some young talent, that could entice Dallas in that scenario, but as long as they maintain enough cap room to sign Irving outright, there would be no incentive to give up assets for him.

Houston, with new coach Ime Udoka, seems intent on bringing in some proven, high-level talent to supplement its young core. Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Cameron Johnson (restricted) are some of the other free agents — or potential free agents if they decide to opt out of the final year of their contracts — that the Rockets reportedly may pursue.

Celtics To Hire Charles Lee As Lead Assistant Coach

June 11th, 2023 at 10:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Charles Lee is finalizing an agreement to join the Celtics as their lead assistant coach, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Lee, 38, was one of the hottest names on the coaching market this spring. He was reportedly a finalist for the coaching vacancies in Detroit and Toronto and received consideration from the Bucks and Suns as well. He served as associate head coach under Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee and worked with Budenholzer in Atlanta as well.

Lee is the latest high-profile addition for the Celtics, who were determined to rebuild Joe Mazzulla‘s coaching staff after a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals. The team also plans to add former Sixers assistant Sam Cassell, according to a report last week.

Mazzulla didn’t get the chance to build his own team of assistants after Ime Udoka was suspended shortly before the start of the regular season. Damon Stoudamire left Boston in March to become the new head coach at Georgia Tech, and assistants Ben Sullivan, Mike Moser, Garrett Jackson and possibly Aaron Miles are reportedly headed to Houston to join Udoka.

Trail Blazers Offering No. 3 Pick, Simons In Exchange For Star?

June 10th, 2023 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Numerous trade rumors are circulating about Damian Lillard, but league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Trail Blazers are more inclined to keep Lillard and try to build a contender around him.

According to O’Connor, Portland’s front office is exploring deals involving the No. 3 pick in the draft and would be willing to move Anfernee Simons as well. O’Connor names the Celtics‘ Jaylen Brown, the Raptors‘ Pascal Siakam and the Nets‘ Mikal Bridges as targets that would make sense for that package, but he also cautions that the Blazers might decide to keep their pick.

Simons is coming off his best NBA season, averaging 21.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 62 games. The 24-year-old shooting guard has three seasons left on his four-year, $100MM extension.

The No. 3 pick also carries significant value in a draft that is projected to have three top players. Brandon Miller is widely expected to be taken second by Charlotte, leaving G League star Scoot Henderson available for any team that wants to deal for the third choice. However, Miller and Henderson could easily flip places.

In an interview this week, Lillard identified the Heat and Nets as teams he would be interested in joining if he requests a trade. O’Connor offers a few other suggestions, including the Raptors, who reportedly talked to Portland about an OG Anunoby deal last summer and again before the February deadline. O’Connor also mentions the Grizzlies if they decide to unload Ja Morant or teams rich in draft picks such as the Pelicans, Rockets and Spurs.

Lillard has stated repeatedly that he wants to compete for a championship, and O’Connor believes his best chance to reach that goal is to accept a trade. However, it appears the Blazers are going to make an effort to create an instant contender before they consider that option.