Taurean Prince Arrested In Miami
11:35am: Police in Arlington, Texas say they found guns and a vape pen with THC oil in Prince’s car when they stopped him in May for an expired registration, according to Eric Chaloux of KSTP-TV (Twitter thread).
Possession of marijuana is illegal in Texas, and it also violates state law “to carry a gun while engaging in a criminal offense,” the police said.
8:33am: Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince was arrested on Thursday in Miami, according to several reports, including from KSTP in Minnesota and Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
KSTP’s report indicates that Prince was booked into jail custody on Thursday evening in Miami-Dade County. According to Hine, Prince was arrested at Miami International Airport on a fugitive out-of-state warrant from Texas. The six-year NBA veteran was born in San Marcos, Texas, was raised in San Antonio, and attended Baylor for college.
Details are still sparse on the possible charges that Prince is facing. Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 South Florida reported (via Twitter) that the Texas warrant was drug-related, but that has yet to be confirmed.
“We are aware of the alleged report regarding Taurean Prince and are in the process of gathering more information,” the Timberwolves said in a statement on Thursday.
Prince, 28, was a regular part of Minnesota’s rotation in 2021/22, averaging 7.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 69 games (17.1 MPG). He’s a solid, versatile defender, as well as a reliable floor spacer (.376 3PT% last season).
Prince had been on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, but the Timberwolves signed him to a two-year contract extension just before the new league year began. That deal includes a guaranteed base salary of $7.1MM for 2022/23, with $195K in likely incentives and another $870 in unlikely incentives for the coming season. The second year of the contract is non-guaranteed.
We’ll have to wait for additional information to get a real sense of how serious Prince’s legal situation is and whether it will affect his availability at all for the coming season.
Lakers’ Beverley Acquisition Makes Westbrook Exit More Likely
The Lakers‘ acquisition of Patrick Beverley on Thursday makes it more likely that Russell Westbrook will be off the team’s roster by the start of the season, a source close to the situation tells Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
According to Buha, a trade involving Westbrook is one possibility. Another would see the Lakers take the approach the Rockets did with John Wall last season, sending him home while the team continues to explore the trade market.
In addition to making Westbrook more expendable by giving the Lakers another veteran point guard to insert into their rotation, the trade for Beverley unites two players who have had their share of issues in the past.
Westbrook suffered a major knee injury in 2013 when Beverley attempted to steal the ball from him as Westbrook was calling a timeout. The two guards have since shared some choice words for one another in press conferences and on social media, with Beverley calling Westbrook “trash” during a game this March.
It’s not out of the question the two guards could make peace, but Buha refers to their feud as one of the NBA’s “most rancid” beefs, suggesting Westbrook has never forgiven Beverley for his role in that ’13 injury. If that’s the case, it would be further incentive for the Lakers to move on from Westbrook before the season begins.
One NBA executive who spoke to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report believes there are three “obvious” trade partners for the Lakers in any Westbrook deal. The Pacers and Spurs have the cap flexibility to make a deal work, while the Jazz have the highly-paid veterans who would be required for salary-matching purposes.
All three of those teams are in retooling mode and could be motivated to trade a productive player or two for Westbrook if significant draft compensation is attached to him — the former MVP would be unlikely to actually suit up for any of those clubs if he’s traded.
Myles Turner and Buddy Hield are the most obvious Lakers targets in Indiana and have been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason. Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson are among the Spurs players who could appeal to Los Angeles. And even after acquiring Beverley, the Lakers could have interest in other vets on Utah’s roster, including Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, and/or Malik Beasley.
All of those teams would be seeking at least one first-round pick – and probably two – from the Lakers in order to give up useful players in exchange for Westbrook and his oversized ($47MM+) cap hit. L.A. only has its 2027 and 2029 first-rounders available to trade due to the Stepien rule.
Reports last month indicated that the Lakers weren’t willing to offer both of those picks to the Pacers for Turner and Hield, but perhaps they would become more inclined to meet Indiana’s asking price after acquiring Beverley without surrendering any draft compensation.
Jazz Trade Patrick Beverley To Lakers
2:10pm: The trade is now official, the Jazz announced in a press release.
5:39am: The Lakers and Jazz are finalizing a trade that will send guard Patrick Beverley to Los Angeles in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Sources tell Wojnarowski that the deal is on track to be completed on Thursday.
Beverley, 34, is a talented perimeter defender who can be a positive contributor on offense as well. He helped get the Timberwolves back to the playoffs last season, averaging 9.2 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game in 58 appearances (25.4 MPG). He’s also a career 37.8% three-point shooter across 10 NBA seasons.
Beverley, who is on an expiring $13MM contract, was traded from Minnesota to Utah as part of the Rudy Gobert blockbuster last month. However, he was always viewed as a candidate to be flipped to a new team, given that the Jazz are in retooling mode.
According to Wojnarowski, Beverley – who was in Los Angeles as a Clipper from 2017-21 – was enthusiastic about the idea of joining the Lakers in a trade and was “thrilled” to learn of the agreement between L.A. and Utah.
The Lakers had long been viewed as a potential suitor for Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, who was considered the team’s top trade target this offseason. However, once Kevin Durant withdrew his trade request and it became clear that Irving would likely remain in Brooklyn, Los Angeles pivoted to acquiring another point guard without having to include Russell Westbrook and draft compensation in the deal.
Johnson, who is on an expiring minimum-salary contract for 2022/23, is an NBA journeyman, so Horton-Tucker is the centerpiece of the package headed to Utah. The former second-round pick had an up-and-down 2021/22 season for the Lakers, averaging 10.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.7 APG in 60 games (25.2 MPG), but struggling to score efficiently, with a modest shooting line of .416/.269/.800.
Horton-Tucker is still only 21 years old, so the Jazz presumably view the athletic wing as a player with some untapped potential. He’s under contract for $10.26MM in 2022/23, with an $11.02MM player option for the ’23/24 season.
Both the Lakers and Jazz are candidates to make additional deals before the season begins.
L.A. still has Westbrook and its 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to dangle in trade discussions, and the idea of making a play for the Pacers duo of Buddy Hield and Myles Turner is even more intriguing now that the club has fortified its backcourt by agreeing to acquire Beverley. For now, the Lakers have $34MM in cap room for the summer of 2023, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), which will be a factor the team considers as its weighs additional trades.
In Utah, meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell remains a trade candidate, and the Jazz would likely be open to discussing deals involving veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Malik Beasley, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gay as well.
Chet Holmgren Out For 2022/23 Season Due To Foot Injury
Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft, will miss his entire rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury in his right foot, the team announced today in a press release.
Holmgren is believed to have sustained the injury during a pro-am contest in Seattle on Saturday. He left the game – which was ended early due to slippery court conditions – after rolling his ankle, and a report on Wednesday indicated that the Thunder feared the injury was more serious than initially thought.
“Certainly, we are disappointed for Chet, especially given the excitement he had about getting on the floor with his teammates this season,” Thunder executive VP and general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. “We know Chet has a long career ahead of him within our organization and the Oklahoma City community.
“One of the things that most impressed us during the process of selecting Chet was his determination and focus. We expect that same tenacity will carry him through this period of time as we work together and support him during his rehabilitation.”
Holmgren, 20, was drafted behind only Paolo Banchero this June after averaging 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game in 32 appearances (26.9 MPG) for Gonzaga during his first and only college season.
Holmgren’s ability to protect the rim and knock down three-pointers (.390 3PT%), along with his rare blend of length and athleticism, made him perhaps the most tantalizing prospect of the 2022 draft class and a cornerstone piece in the Thunder’s ongoing rebuild. While Oklahoma City hadn’t been expected to be in the playoff picture in 2022/23, it’s still a brutal blow to both the player and team that Holmgren won’t get a chance to play at all this season.
As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN observes (via Twitter), a number of top draft picks within the last 10 or 15 years have missed their entire rookie seasons due to injuries and eventually went on to make All-NBA teams, including Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Blake Griffin. The Thunder will hope that Holmgren can follow a similar career path.
Knicks, Nets, Heat Are Donovan Mitchell’s Preferred Destinations If He’s Traded
Donovan Mitchell hasn’t asked the Jazz to trade him, but if he were to be dealt, he would prefer to end up with the Knicks, Nets, or Heat, sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic.
The Knicks, of course, are viewed as Mitchell’s top suitor, and while Brooklyn and Miami have also been mentioned as possible landing spots, those teams aren’t as well positioned to swing a trade for the All-Star guard. The Nets can’t trade for Mitchell as long as Ben Simmons remains on the roster due to the designated rookie extension rule, while the Heat “simply don’t have the assets that the Jazz are looking for,” according to Jones.
The Jazz are said to be seeking a significant haul of first-round picks in any Mitchell deal, which is why the Knicks are viewed as a frontrunner. New York has acquired four protected first-rounders from other teams and also has all of its own picks available.
The Heat, on the other hand, don’t have any extra first-rounders and have traded their own 2025 pick to Oklahoma City. Given the restrictions imposed by the Stepien rule, Miami could only offer three first-round picks in a package for Mitchell, while New York could trade up to eight.
Although the Knicks have long been linked to Mitchell and have had ongoing trade discussions with the Jazz, the two teams aren’t close to a deal, says Jones.
Utah has also spoken to other suitors and has multiple offers on the table that the front office feels are worth exploring if talks with the Knicks don’t work out, sources tell The Athletic. The Hornets, Wizards, and Cavaliers are among the other teams that have been reported by multiple outlets as possible suitors for Mitchell.
If the Jazz don’t get an offer they like from the Knicks or one of those other potential trade partners, they’re comfortable entering the season with Mitchell on their roster. According to Jones, the club believes it’s in a good position to retool the roster around Mitchell and is more inclined to take that route than to accept “90 cents on the dollar” for the three-time All-Star.
Thunder Fear Chet Holmgren Has Torn Ligaments In Foot
No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren is undergoing further evaluation on his injured foot, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), who says the Thunder fear Holmgren has suffered ligament damage.
As Charania explains, exams on Holmgren’s foot have shown potential torn ligaments, and the big man is getting additional opinions to determine the severity of the injury and to set a recovery timetable.
Holmgren’s injury occurred during a pro-am game in Seattle on Saturday — he left the contest after rolling his ankle. Reports at the time indicated the injury didn’t appear serious, but it sounds like there’s cause for real concern now that the young center has undergone more tests. That pro-am game had to be stopped early due to slippery court conditions that were deemed unsafe.
Holmgren, 20, was drafted behind only Paolo Banchero this June after averaging 14.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game in 32 appearances (26.9 MPG) for Gonzaga during his first and only college season.
Holmgren’s ability to protect the rim and knock down three-pointers (.390 3PT%), along with his rare blend of length and athleticism, made him perhaps the most tantalizing prospect of the 2022 draft class, but his slender build raised questions about his ability to stay healthy going forward.
The Thunder aren’t expected to be a playoff team in 2022/23, but view Holmgren as one of the foundational pieces of their franchise in the long term, alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. We’ll provide more info on his foot injury once we know more.
Spurs Re-Sign Joe Wieskamp To Two-Year Deal
AUGUST 24: The Spurs have officially re-signed Wieskamp, the team announced today in a press release.
AUGUST 22: Free agent swingman Joe Wieskamp is re-signing with the Spurs on a two-year, $4.4MM contract, his agents Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wieskamp, 22, appeared in 29 games as a rookie last season, averaging 2.1 PPG in 7.1 MPG. The University of Iowa product was the No. 41 overall pick of the 2021 draft.
Wieskamp was a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer. He spent the bulk of the season on a two-way contract but was signed a standard contract in early March.
He was ruled out of Summer League action due to an ankle sprain.
On a rebuilding team, Wieskamp will fight for minutes at both wing spots. He was a 41.2% 3-point shooter in three seasons with the Hawkeyes and could be a rotation factor if he provides that threat in the NBA.
The terms of Wieskamp’s contract indicate he’ll be earning more than the minimum on his new deal, but it’s unclear whether both years are fully guaranteed.
Nets Eyeing Markieff Morris, Tristan Thompson
With the Kevin Durant saga resolved at least for the time being, the Nets can shift their focus to filling out their projected regular season roster, which currently has a couple openings. According to reports from Chris Milholen of NetsDaily (Twitter link) and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Nets may use one of those spots to bolster their frontcourt with a free agent addition.
Milholen reports that there’s mutual interest between Markieff Morris and the Nets, with Scotto confirming that the team has expressed “exploratory” interest in the veteran forward.
Morris was limited to just 17 appearances last season in Miami due to a neck injury that sidelined him for much of the year, but he has a solid NBA résumé, having appeared in over 700 regular season games for six teams since entering the league in 2011. In his last full season, Morris averaged 6.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 61 games (19.7 MPG) for the Lakers in 2020/21. He’s known for his toughness and defensive versatility, and can also stretch the floor a little on offense (.341 career 3PT%).
Veteran center Tristan Thompson is another potential Nets target to watch, according to Scotto, who says the club would like to add a backup center after losing Andre Drummond in free agency.
Thompson, 31, played for three teams in 2021/22, starting the season with the Kings before being traded to the Pacers, who bought him out, clearing a path for him to sign with the Bulls. In total, Thompson averaged 6.0 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 57 games (15.7 MPG).
While there are a number of other intriguing frontcourt players on the free agent market, Scotto threw cold water on the idea that Brooklyn could sign Dwight Howard or Carmelo Anthony, reporting that the club doesn’t currently have interest in either player.
The Nets are carrying 12 players on fully guaranteed standard contracts. Edmond Sumner, who has a partial guarantee of $250K on his minimum-salary deal, has the inside track to be the 13th man. Even if we assume Sumner will make the regular season roster, that still leaves one or two open slots.
Brooklyn has its full taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.48MM) available, though it’s unclear if any of the players on the team’s radar will command more than the minimum.
Latest On Donovan Mitchell
A report last month identified the Heat, Kings, and Hawks as a few of the teams with interest in Donovan Mitchell, but John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (via Twitter) disputes the notion that those three clubs are actually pursuing the Jazz guard.
Gambadoro’s report doesn’t come as a major surprise. Shams Charania of The Athletic, who first said those teams were among Mitchell’s possible suitors, hasn’t mentioned them since. When Charania and Tony Jones reported last week that the Knicks had re-engaged with the Jazz about Mitchell, The Athletic named the Wizards and Hornets as some other teams with interest. Gambadoro confirmed today that Washington and Charlotte remain in play for Mitchell.
Here’s more on Mitchell, who is now the biggest star available with Kevin Durant off the trade market:
- The Cavaliers, Lakers, and Nets are among the other teams with interest in Mitchell, according to Gambadoro. While that may be true, it’s hard to envision any of those clubs putting together a viable package for the Jazz star. The Lakers only have two first-round picks available to trade (2027 and 2029), while Brooklyn can’t acquire Mitchell as long as Ben Simmons remains on the roster, and Utah seems unlikely to be interested in Simmons as a centerpiece. The Cavs, meanwhile, just signed Darius Garland to a five-year, maximum-salary extension, so it’d be surprising if they gave up a ton of assets for another 6’1″ lead guard.
- Addressing a New York Post report, Gambadoro says the Jazz never asked for seven first-round picks in a package for Mitchell. The Knicks are one of the few teams with the ability to give up that many first-rounders in a trade, since they’ve acquired a few picks from other teams in addition to hanging onto their own.
- Tony Jones of The Athletic weighs how the Jazz would benefit from trading Mitchell and how they’d benefit from hanging onto him.
Udonis Haslem Re-Signs With Heat For 20th, Final Season
AUGUST 23: The Heat have officially re-signed Haslem, the team announced today in a press release.
“From the first day that I saw him compete, to the last day when we retire his jersey at our FTX home, UD will go down in our team’s history as one of the best to ever play for the Miami HEAT,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement.
AUGUST 21: Veteran Heat power forward Udonis Haslem announced on Sunday at his Miami-based youth basketball camp that he will return for a 20th and final NBA season with the club, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Earlier this week, Haslem had indicated he would reveal his decision on his playing future at the camp.
“Got one more in me for Pop,” Haslem said, referencing his late father, as Reynolds tweets. “Got one more in me for the city. Got one more in me for the team.”
Per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald (via Twitter), the 6’8″ big man out of Florida is set to retire from the league following the 2022/23 season. “One more year,” Haslem said.
Chiang adds (Twitter link) that Haslem’s father, who passed away last August, had long hoped his son would suit up for 20 NBA seasons.
After four productive collegiate seasons with the Gators, Haslem went undrafted in 2002. He headed overseas for his first professional basketball experience, joining French club Chalon-Sur-Saône during the 2002/03 season. Haslem joined Miami for the ’03/04 campaign, with his play netting him a spot on the 2004 All-Rookie Second Team.
Only eight players in league history have played for 20 seasons or more. Haslem will join his former Heat teammate, current Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James, as the ninth and tenth such players to reach that benchmark. Additionally, Haslem will become just the third player ever to suit up for just one team for 20 seasons, joining Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki.
Haslem has long since transitioned from being a key rotation player with Miami to taking on a far more limited role. The 42-year-old has appeared in just 58 regular season contests since the start of 2016/17, serving as more of a valuable locker room voice and practice player. Last year, Haslem played 13 times in the regular season, averaging 2.5 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 6.4 MPG. He hasn’t appeared in a playoff game since 2016.
For his career, Haslem boasts averages of 7.5 PPG, on 48.9% shooting, and 6.6 RPG. He was a crucial role player on five Miami teams that made the Finals between 2006-14, winning championships in 2006, 2012 and 2013. In his current role as essentially a player-coach, Haslem helped guide the Heat to another Finals appearance, his sixth with the team, in 2020.
By latching on with Miami for a veteran’s minimum contract, Haslem will be the 14th player signed to the team’s standard 15-man roster. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel tweets that the addition of Haslem will put Miami just $200K beneath this season’s $150,267,000 luxury tax line.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN adds (via Twitter), the Heat will probably leave their final 15-man roster spot unfilled to avoid the tax, unless they can cut costs elsewhere. They’ll be able to sign a 15th man late in the season when the prorated minimum salary dips below $200K.