Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Chandler, Mavs, Anderson, Sykes

October 22nd, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

It caught Tyson Chandler off guard when the Mavs pursued DeAndre Jordan instead of him, and Chandler felt as though he needn’t take a backseat to anyone, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News details. An extension was on the table before the start of last season, as Chandler and Mavs owner Mark Cuban both confirmed to Sefko, but Chandler elected to become a free agent, since doing so would have allowed him to re-sign with Dallas for five years instead of three, Sefko notes. Instead, the Mavs looked elsewhere, and Chandler signed with the Suns, a turn of events that left Chandler with a right to be bitter about what happened in Dallas, as Cuban said, according to Sefko.

“I would be, too,” Cuban said. “We had extension discussions for a reason. And then we went for it on a player that wasn’t ready to be gone for.”

Still, Cuban added he felt justified in going after Jordan, saying he’d “rather swing and miss than not step up to the plate,” as Sefko relays. See more on Chandler amid the latest from around the NBA:

Chandler made it clear Wednesday that he doesn’t feel animosity toward Cuban, observes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, though comments the center made on Tuesday that Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic conveyed showed that his feelings are still raw. “I definitely felt like, after winning a championship and [helping] bring it there, that I was going to be there for the long run,” Chandler said Tuesday. “I never heard of a championship team being broken up like that. When they traded for me to come back, I sat at the podium with everybody else and heard them say this was going to be a long-term deal and they weren’t going to make the same mistake as last time and blah-blah-blah. Seven months later, the same thing happens again. But I learned in this business that you can’t trust everybody. That’s why it is what it is.”
Ryan Anderson endured personal and physical hardships the last two years, but this summer, he finally had a chance to concentrate on his game, and new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry is impressed so far, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details. Anderson is entering the final season of his contract.
Spurs camp cut Keifer Sykes plans to join the team’s D-League affiliate once he clears waivers, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Suns, Hornets, Blazers Interested In Ryan Boatright

October 21st, 2015 at 11:49am CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns, Hornets and Blazers are interested in Ryan Boatright, whom the Nets waived Tuesday, and it’s possible that Brooklyn circles back to him later this season, reports Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. The undrafted point guard from Connecticut performed well during limited preseason time, averaging 4.2 points, 3.8 assists and 1.0 turnover in 13.9 minutes per game, but Donald Sloan outplayed him for the third point guard job on the Nets. Any NBA team could claim Boatright off waivers, so long as the team is willing to assume responsibility for his $75K partial guarantee. Teams could opt to see if he clears waivers if they want him on a non-guaranteed contract.

Phoenix is also one of the teams Amico hears is eyeing Jimmer Fredette, though the Suns are already down to 15 players. The Hornets have 14 fully guaranteed salaries, but recent addition Damien Wilkins appears to have a clear shot at the last spot on the opening night roster. Portland appears to have a much more open competition, with only 12 fully guaranteed deals.

Boatright helped Connecticut to the national championship in 2014. He spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors before the draft in June, telling Zach that he’d heard from agent Aaron Goodwin that the Blazers, Nets and Clippers had strong interest.

Jazz, Hawks, Suns, Knicks Eye Jimmer Fredette

October 21st, 2015 at 11:26am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz, Hawks, Suns and Knicks are teams with some level of interest in Jimmer Fredette, as Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net hears. The Spurs are set to waive Fredette today, as Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported. Any of those teams could claim his one-year, minimum-salary contract off waivers, though they’d have to assume responsibility for his $507,711 partial guarantee if they did. They could negotiate a contract without a guarantee if he clears waivers.

A return to Utah would be a homecoming of sorts for the former BYU star. The Jazz are already down to 15 players, but three of them are without full guarantees on their deals, so the team has flexibility. Phoenix is in a similar spot, with 15 players, including two with non-guaranteed contracts. The Hawks have 13 full guarantees, but Mike Muscala seems like a “lock” for the regular season roster, and former second-round pick Lamar Patterson, who’s seen plenty of preseason playing time, has a partially guaranteed deal. The Knicks have 13 full guarantees, but Langston Galloway appears secure for the 14th spot, and like Atlanta, they have a former second-round pick in Thanasis Antetokounmpo competing for spot No. 15.

Of course, Fredette is a former lottery pick, having gone 10th overall to the Kings in 2011. Still, he didn’t make too much impact in his rookie season, and his numbers have declined since. He shot only 18.8% from three-point range last season with the Pelicans and didn’t make a three-pointer in the preseason this month for the Spurs.

Do you think the Jazz, Hawks, Suns or Knicks make sense for Fredette? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pacific Notes: Bryant, Weems, Moreland

October 20th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jim Buss, Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations, doesn’t regret signing Kobe Bryant to a two-year, $48.5MM extension back in 2013, regardless of how Bryant’s tenure with the franchise ends, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. “You give Kobe Bryant $50MM for two years,” Buss told Amick. “Are you kidding me? What did he bring us? In this day and age, what did he bring us, for 20 years? And if that isn’t what you’re supposed to do, then I have no idea what life is all about. You pay the guy. You believe in the guy. If he ends up [staying healthy], that’s fantastic. Well everybody [in the media] cut me up for that, but I’d say over 200 fans have come up to me and said, ‘Thank you so much for letting my kid see Kobe Bryant for two more years.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what? I’m glad I can see him for two more years.’ ”

Buss also took the time to refute a report by Henry Abbott of ESPN which indicated that the organization was anxious for Bryant to depart so it could begin rebuilding in earnest, Amick adds. “It’s [expletive], that’s exactly what that was,” Buss said when asked about the article. “The organization absolutely loves him. You know why? Because he has made a living, as we [have] with the Lakers for the last 20 years, because of this man. Magic Johnson carried us [to] this part [of their history] … and Kobe Bryant has carried us for 20 years. So every person that works in that organization, why would they hate him? Why would they want him out of there? There’s only a basketball or a Kobe hater that would want that. There’s no other reason.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific:

Sonny Weems has impressed the Suns‘ coaching staff with his playmaking ability, a part of his game that Weems credits his time playing overseas for developing, writes Matt Petersen of NBA.com. “When I first went over there [Europe], I was just the guy they got to score,” Weems said. “I paid attention over there instead of just going over there to play basketball. I learned a few things watching the European guards over there. It’s kind of a thing I picked up these last two or three years when I was in Russia. It just stuck with me.”
Power forward Eric Moreland is fighting long odds to secure a regular season roster spot with the Kings, but the level of hustle and energy he has exhibited has impressed coaches and may help him stick with the team, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Coach George Karl indicated Moreland deserves a roster spot on opening night, Jones adds. “It’s going to be difficult to get minutes between Cuz [DeMarcus Cousins], Kosta Koufos and Willie Cauley-Stein when you want to play forward,” Karl said. “But I think he’s a good insurance policy. I think he and Quincy Acy both will serve as insurance policies and there may be situations where he can get on the court.”

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Young, White, Mitrovic

October 19th, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors have largely the same roster they did when they won the title in June, but with a handful of players entering the final season of their contracts and Steve Kerr on a health-related leave of absence, this year’s team has a different feel, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Stephen Curry says it’s “weird” not having Kerr around and acknowledges the challenges of everyone coalescing once more, as Aldridge relays.

“We are, technically, the same team,” Curry said. “We have everybody minus David Lee back, and Jason Thompson. But we’re different in that regard. Because everybody’s in a different place in their careers. Maybe stuff’s going on off the court. You’ve got to kind of separate what we did last year from this year, even though it’s the same personalities in the locker room. Support each other, encourage each other, figure out how we can mesh all the different storylines together into one goal, which is doing what we did last year.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

Nick Young calls the trade rumors that surrounded him this summer “confusing” and “motivating,” but the Lakers didn’t find a taker, and Young and coach Byron Scott are entering this season preaching optimism about their continued partnership, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details. “Me and Byron are good, but I’m using it as motivation,” Young said. “I’m just trying to do my part and stay alive. I’m trying to do everything he tells me to do. Anything I got to do to stay out there on the court.”
Suns camp cut Terrico White will play for Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, a source tells Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link). White cleared waivers this weekend after the Suns released him Thursday. NBA teams can retain the D-League rights to as many as four players they waive, so White appears to be one of Phoenix’s four.
Kings draft-and-stash prospect Luka Mitrovic is expected to miss several months because of a left knee injury, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi tweets. Mitrovic, the last pick of this year’s draft, signed an extension with Crvena Zvezda of Serbia this summer. Sacramento holds his NBA rights as a result of the cap-clearing trade with the Sixers this summer.

Pacific Notes: Butler, Collison, Redick, Weems

October 17th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Caron Butler, who was signed in the offseason to bring a veteran presence to the Kings, told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee he knows that role very well. Butler, who joined his ninth NBA team in 14 years, agreed to a deal in July that will pay him more than $3MM over two seasons. “Just because you’ve been in so many different environments, you know how to play, you know how to adapt to systems and stuff like that,” Butler said. “And when you play for so long, you have so much insight into the game, and [I’m] playing with young guys now, so that’s the role that you have to take so you can give them information and help them.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

One of the few holdovers after an offseason of change, Darren Collison could play a vital role in how successful the Kings become, writes James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. “If I had to bet, I think Darren Collison probably has as good a chance to have the best year he’s ever had in his career this year,” said coach George Karl. “I think he’s just going to like what we do [and] how we use him.” Collison is signed for more than $10.2MM over the next two seasons.
The Clippers’ J.J. Redick has raised his assessment of the organization’s offseason, according to Kenny Ducey of SI.com. The veteran guard gave it an F when he thought DeAndre Jordan had signed with Dallas, but that grade improved considerably when he saw how all the moves played out. “We had no cap space,” Redick said, “and we re-signed our best player that was a free agent, and we picked up Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, traded for Lance [Stephenson], Wes Johnson, Pablo Prigioni. We have 13 rotation players, so it’s definitely an A.”
Even though much of Sonny Weems‘ basketball experience has come outside the NBA, it may be enough to give him the edge in the battle to be the Suns‘ backup shooting guard, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The 29-year-old hasn’t played in the NBA since 2011, but has become a star in the Euroleague. He is competing for the position with 18-year-old rookie Devin Booker and 20-year-old Archie Goodwin. “I’m not coming in the league all frantic and in a rush to do everything,” Weems said. “I’ve been here before. I’ve been playing professionally overseas. I’m used to everything. It’s just about being me.”

Suns Waive Terrico White, Kyle Casey

October 15th, 2015 at 4:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:13pm: The moves are official, the team announced.

3:20pm: The Suns have waived shooting guard Terrico White and small forward Kyle Casey, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). Both players were inked to non-guaranteed pacts, so Phoenix won’t be responsible for any funds as a result of these moves. The Suns’ roster count now stands at 15 players, the regular season limit, putting Henry Sims and Cory Jefferson, the team’s two remaining players with non-guaranteed salaries, in a strong position to stick for opening night.

White, 25, last season with Enisey Krasnoyarsk of Russia, where he averaged 11.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game, with 37.2% three-point shooting. He’s also played in Israel, Serbia and Turkey.

Casey, 25, spent the past season playing for Helios Domzale of Slovenia, averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game. That was more playing time than he saw as a senior for Harvard in 2013/14, when he put up 9.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 22.0 MPG. At 6’7″, he averaged 1.2 blocks per game as a college senior but fewer than one block per contest in Slovenia last year, and he shot less than 30% from three-point range in both seasons. Casey played for the Nets summer league team in 2014 but didn’t take part in NBA summer league this year.

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Rivers, Lakers

October 14th, 2015 at 6:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The reports that Kings point guard Rajon Rondo is already butting heads with coach George Karl are not true, and are simply the result of Rondo having fun with members of the media, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (via Twitter). Jones insists that there are no issues between the strong-willed pair. The rumors of a disconnect between the point guard and coach began as a result of comments that Rondo made to Manny Vieites of Cowbell Kingdom in which Rondo said in response to a query about his relationship with Karl, “It’s not been going too well. We got into a couple of arguments the last couple of days, but hopefully we continue to talk and get better.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Austin Rivers believes that his career has been righted since arriving in Los Angeles to play for the Clippers, as well as his father, Doc Rivers, writes Jonathan Abrams of Grantland. “I was just myself,” Austin said of his time with the Clippers during the 2014/15 season. “I stopped thinking. I stopped trying to show everybody I could play. I don’t need to show anybody anything. Just go be myself, and if I do that, then I can really show how good of a player I can be. I almost was mad at myself. I was so pissed that for the past two years, I’ve been putting so much pressure on myself, just for no reason.”
Despite several key additions during this past offseason, the Lakers still are significantly behind the rest of the pack in the Western Conference playoff picture, opines Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com in his season preview for the franchise.
The Suns are experimenting with utilizing 6’9″ power forward Cory Jefferson at the center position, a move that may aid him in making the regular season roster, Zach Buchanan of The Arizona Republic writes. “He’s that guy who puts pressure on the basket and on the rim and it opens a lot of things up,” coach Jeff Hornaceck said. “He sets screens and, defensively, he can come from the weak side and block shots. He’s a little outsized for maybe that position, but he handles it pretty well.”

Pacific Notes: Kerr, Jackson, Price, West

October 13th, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Warriors coach Steve Kerr suffered a spinal fluid leak during his July 28th back surgery on a ruptured disk, which has led to his absence from the team during the preseason. Dr. Neel Anand, the director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles, believes that Kerr is likely to make a full recovery, though the exact timetable still remains unclear, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle relays. When discussing Kerr’s prognosis, Anand said, “The body forms spinal fluid constantly. As long as it doesn’t continue to leak, he’ll make a full recovery and be back to normal. It’s like 99.9% that he’ll probably make a full recovery.” That’s certainly encouraging news for Kerr and the Warriors, and now here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Warriors team consultant Jerry West, in an interview with Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com, noted that one reason Mark Jackson, who was Kerr’s predecessor as Golden State coach, was let go after the 2013/14 campaign was his inability to adapt the offense to better suit the team’s personnel. “Coaches who have been players in the league, they get so attuned to playing how they were successful, and who their coaches were,” said West. “Mark was a real pick-and-roll guy and very, very good at it. Steve played for two championship coaches, and I think the coach obviously he has replicated is [Gregg] Popovich. He liked his style of play, even if he had great success in Chicago. Moving the ball, moving your body, all the little things you do to get defenses to make mistakes and to try to be able to counter. I think that’s been his philosophy offensively.“
While Ronnie Price may have been signed with designs on him being a mentor to the Suns‘ young backcourt duo of Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe, Price has found them to be more talented and prepared than he anticipated, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “They don’t need to learn anything from me,” Price said. “I’m just here to be a brother and a teammate and to help them get through the season with a clear mindset. These guys are gifted. You don’t often have a chance to compete against two All-Star caliber point guards in practice. It’s been a joy. I have a newfound respect for Bled and B-Knight. You don’t have a chance to know how talented people are until you play against them every day. I respect their games even more. I’m just happy they’re on my team.”

Cavs Lead With 16 Free Agent Signings

October 12th, 2015 at 5:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers have drawn plenty of attention the past few months for a free agent they haven’t signed, but even though Tristan Thompson lingers in free agency, Cleveland has taken care of more free agent business than any other team in the league during the 2015 offseason. They signed 16 free agents, three more than the Spurs, the team that recorded the next most free agent signings. The Cavs just made their latest signing this weekend, replacing Michael Dunigan with Dionte Christmas on the camp roster.

It might be easy to presume a direct correlation between free agent activity and success, given the teams at the very top and bottom of the list below. The Cavs and Spurs are strong bets to win their respective conferences this season, while the Jazz, Timberwolves and Sixers are nowhere near the title picture. The presence of the Warriors and Thunder on the bottom half of the list and the Kings and Nets close to the top debunk that theory, however. It has more to do with the fact that the Cavs had only four players signed for 2015/16 when they ended last season, while the Jazz had 13. Cleveland simply had more jobs to hand out.

Still, other factors are at play, since free agent signings don’t encompass draft picks, draft-and-stash signings, trades or waiver claims. The Trail Blazers made significant changes to their roster, but they did much of their work via trade instead of free agency. The Rockets had 10 players under contract on July 1st, but they still wound up making 11 free agent signings.

Here’s a look at the number of free agent signings for each team. Click the team’s name to see the names of each of their signees via our 2015 Free Agent Tracker.