Alex Abrines Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Stephenson, Hayward, Ezeli, Cole

March 6th, 2017 at 5:36pm CST by Milo Taibi

After appearing in four games with Minnesota earlier this season, Lance Stephenson appears likely to rejoin the team on a second 10-day contract. According to Jon Krawczynski‏ of The Associated Press, Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said Stephenson is “coming along” in his recovery from an ankle sprain and should sign a new contract soon (Twitter link). Injuries have sidelined Stephenson’s 2016/17 campaign; “Born Ready” has played in a combined 10 games with the Pelicans and Wolves.

Northwest Rumors: Mudiay, Thunder, Dieng, Jazz

December 22nd, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay admits he plays better when he’s paired with Gary Harris, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post relays. In six games they’ve started together, Mudiay is averaging 19.0 points on 50% shooting overall. Without Harris, he averages 11.4 points on 32.5% shooting. “Me and him have a great feel for each other,” Mudiay told Dempsey. “That’s the person I’ve been playing with since Day 1. … That’s one of my best friends in the NBA. So, it is a comfort level there.”

In other news around the Northwest Division:

Thunder swingman Alex Abrines has made a strong impression on franchise player Russell Westbrook, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman reports. The Euro import scored 18 points, including five 3-pointers, against the Pelicans on Wednesday. Westbrook has taken note of Abrines’ shooting ability and work ethic, Dawson relays. “He works out every day, works on his game, and that’s the best part about him,” Westbrook told Dawson. “And it’s his first year, man. He’s gonna learn the ups and downs. There’s gonna be ups and downs throughout the whole season.”
Gorgui Dieng has become the defensive stopper for the Timberwolves, according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Coach Tom Thibodeau assigns Dieng to the opponent’s top frontcourt scoring threat. “I think he’s getting better with his team and individual defense. And he has the right mentality for it. He’s a defense-first guy,” Thibodeau told Youngblood. “And, a lot of times, he’s giving up size. He’s small for a center, and he ends up banging with those guys quite a bit. But he’s good fronting the post. He’s a multiple-effort guy. Very good at pick-and-rolls. So he sort of anchors our defense right now.”
Jazz center Rudy Gobert‘s four-year, $102MM extension kicks in next season and he’s playing like an All-Star, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News notes. Although head coach Quin Snyder has been reserved in his praise for Gobert, the fourth-year center has recorded nine straight double-doubles.

Northwest Notes: Faried, Abrines, Lucas, Butler

October 2nd, 2016 at 6:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kenneth Faried has the inside track to remain the Nuggets’ starting power forward when the season starts, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Coach Michael Malone wanted to have a competition at that spot, but no one appears to be a serious threat to Faried. Darrell Arthur is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and will be phased in slowly. Denver sometimes uses Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at power forward, but usually just in short bursts to speed up the game. It’s possible that Malone will decide to start Jusuf Nurkic at center and slide Nikola Jokic over to the four spot, but Dempsey believes the most likely outcome is Faried starting on opening night.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets may get their own D-League team again, possibly by next season, Dempsey writes in a separate story. Denver last had a direct affiliate in 2009 with the Colorado 14ers, who moved to Texas and hooked up with the Dallas Mavericks.
Alex Abrines waited to make the leap to the Thunder until he saw an opportunity for playing time, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. That chance came when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City for Golden State and created a huge opening on the wing. OKC has owned Abrines’ rights since 2013, when it took him 32nd in the draft. The 23-year-old shooting guard has been playing in Spain ever since, but now he believes there’s a chance to make an impact with the Thunder. “Once KD left, I think there was a spot at the three position,” Abrines said. “Also I can play the two. I thought I had a chance to come here and grab some minutes. I don’t want to be here and just practice.”
Two veterans fighting for spots on the Timberwolves‘ roster, John Lucas III and Rasual Butler, know what to expect from coach Tom Thibodeau because they’ve played for him before, notes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. Both players are 37 and have non-guaranteed contracts, but they came into camp with a decent shot to make the team. Minnesota has 17 players in camp, including Nikola Pekovic, who will be kept on the roster but won’t play this season because of injuries. Butler played for Thibodeau in Chicago briefly in 2010/11, and Lucas and Thibodeau teamed up with both the Rockets and Bulls.

Northwest Notes: Hill, Jazz, Abrines

September 10th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

When George Hill attended a basketball camp in early June in Highland, Utah, he had no idea that he was close to his next NBA home, relays Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Later that month, the Pacers shipped him to the Jazz in a three-team deal. The trade may have taken Hill by surprise, but he’s settling into his new surroundings and looking forward to the upcoming season. The Jazz like Hill’s mix of shooting and defensive prowess and are hoping he will serve as a mentor to Dante Exum, who showed promise as a rookie before missing all of last season with a knee injury.

Hill is eligible for a contract extension in October and will become a free agent next summer if one is not reached. “I haven’t really talked about that much with anyone,” Hill said. “My whole focus is to come in here and be the best player that I can possibly be. I feel that the contract situation will work itself out, once you do that.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz should be a contender in the West after adding a mix of veteran players to their young core, writes A.J. Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today. Along with Hill, Utah picked up Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw.
FC Barcelona executive Manel Arroyo said the team is “upset” about losing Alex Abrines, even though he understands the allure of playing in the NBA, according to Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Abrines left the Spanish club in July to sign a three-year deal worth roughly $17.1MM with Oklahoma City. Horne adds that the move probably wouldn’t have happened if Kevin Durant had remained with the Thunder. “Sometimes it is a situation where we are discussing how we manage the future of the team and how we must be the model of the other basketball teams because for the players the target is always to be in the United States,” Arroyo said. “Clearly when he [Abrines] receives a call and proposal from the NBA, he wants to be in the main league in the basketball world.”

And-Ones: Stackhouse, Labor, Olympics, Garnett

August 1st, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are expected to name former All-Star Jerry Stackhouse as head coach of their D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, sources told Chris Reichert of UpsideMotor.com. Stackhouse, who played for eight teams during a career that lasted from 1995-2013, spent last season on Dwane Casey’s staff. He would replace Jesse Mermuys, who is now an assistant to new Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton. Stackhouse coached the Raptors’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month. Raptors 905 was an expansion team last season and had several players that also saw action in the NBA, including Anthony Bennett, Bruno Caboclo, Delon Wright and Lucas Nogueira, Reichert adds.

In other news around the league:

NBPA executive director Michele Roberts is optimistic a new labor agreement will be reached before a potential lockout, she told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Our teams have been in discussions for some months now and we have made progress and we’re inclined to continue along those lines,” she said. “We have meetings this summer and we’re meeting next week and [consistently] after that. We’re trying to get a deal as quickly as we can, ideally before the start of the season.” Roberts added that if an agreement isn’t reached by the Dec. 15th deadline, the union would likely opt out, triggering the possible lockout following the season.
American fans will get their first look at a lot of foreign players during the Summer Olympics, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. There will be many players whose names are familiar because teams hold their draft rights, such as Croatian star Dario Saric, who recently signed to play for the Sixers next season. Other prominent names include Lithuania’s Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Spain’s Willy Hernangomez, who will both be part of the Knicks; Nigeria’s Michael Gbinije, a second-round pick of the Pistons; China’s Zhou Qi, a Rockets’ second-rounder; Spain’s Sergio Llull, who the Rockets have been trying to convince to come to the NBA, Lithuania’s Domantas Sabonis, who was traded to the Thunder on draft night; and Spain’s Alex Abrines, who recently signed with the Thunder.
Kevin Garnett met with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor but no final decision materialized regarding Garnett’s future, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The 40-year-old Garnett, who appeared in 38 games last season, has one year and $8MM remaining on his contract.
CAA Sports signed NBA free agent guards Sergio Rodriguez and Ish Smith and negotiated deals with their new clubs, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. The Sixers signed the 30-year-old Rodriguez to a one-year, $8MM contract. Smith received a three-year, $18MM deal from the Pistons.

Thunder Rumors: Westbrook, Payne, Abrines

July 25th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Russell Westbrook doesn’t want to be traded, sources told Royce Young of ESPN.com. Westbrook isn’t sure what he wants to do long-term but he wants to remain with the Thunder at least one more season, Young continues. The Thunder aren’t interested in a full rebuild and have told other teams that Westbrook is untouchable, but they want him to sign an extension so they don’t risk losing him in free agency, as they did with Kevin Durant, according to Young. Oklahoma City’s front office has avoiding signing any major free agents until Westbrook gives them an answer, Young adds.

In other news involving the Thunder:

The Thunder can now give Westbrook a max-level extension because of Dion Waiters‘ decision to sign with the Heat, Young writes in a separate piece. Oklahoma City rescinded Waiters’ $6.8MM qualifying offer last week but did not renounce him, leaving a $12.8MM cap hold on its books. The Thunder will be approximately $14MM under the cap without that cap hold, giving them sufficient room to ink Westbrook to a maximum extension, Young continues. Westbrook is scheduled to make $17.7MM this season, but that could be upgraded to approximately $27.5MM on a renegotiated deal, under Young’s calculations. Westbrook would receive a higher salary via an extension than he could make on the free agent market next summer, Young adds.
Cameron Payne had surgery for a Jones fracture in his right foot on Monday but the reserve point guard should be ready by training camp, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman reports. Payne had some discomfort with the foot throughout last season but continued to play despite using a walking boot after practices, beginning in mid-March, Slater continues. Payne led the Orlando summer league with an 18.8 scoring average but when tests revealed that his foot injury could be a long-term issue, the club opted to get the surgery done immediately, Slater adds.
The team used $5.99MM in cap room this season to sign Euro swingman Alex Abrines and $17.18MM over three years, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Abrines, who turns 23 next month, averaged 9.3 PPG and shot 41.7% from three-point range in 25 Euroleague games this past season.

Western Notes: Rockets, Brown, Abrines, Suns

July 23rd, 2016 at 10:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon are gambles for the Rockets, but they’re probably risks worth taking, writes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. Both players are sharpshooters who should fit well into new coach Mike D’Antoni’s system, but both have an extensive history of injuries. Anderson missed a significant stretch last season with an MCL sprain in Feburary, and had a season-ending neck injury in 2014. Gordon has been through a long string of injuries that have limited him to an average of 53 games per season over the past four years. Assuming they are reasonably healthy next season, Blancarte expects them to be valuable additions because of their ability to stretch the defense and Gordon’s talent for driving to the basket.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

High-scoring European player Bobby Brown will attend training camp with the Rockets on a non-guaranteed deal, tweets international journalist David Pick. Brown spent time with the Kings, Clippers, Hornets and Wolves from 2008-10.
The signing of Alex Abrines has helped the Thunder begin to lift the dark cloud caused by Kevin Durant‘s departure, writes Bery Tramel of The Oklahoman. Abrines will give Oklahoma City a 3-point threat and may take Dion Waiters‘ spot as a reserve guard behind Russell Westbrook and Victor Oladipo. The biggest question on the European star is whether he can defend well enough to earn significant playing time.
The Suns‘ collection of young players has produced renewed optimism in Phoenix, according to Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic. Part of the confidence came from GM Ryan McDonough’s draft-night deal with the Kings that gave Phoenix Marquese Chriss along with Dragan Bender. In addition, McDonough likes the commitment he is seeing from his veterans this summer. “I think we’ve seen a powerful change over the past few months in terms of players buying in,” he said. “Our guys like being around each other. They like being in Phoenix. A lot of our core players have basically made Phoenix their home and stick around all summer. It’s 115 degrees and those guys could be anywhere in the world. They choose to stay in Phoenix. And that says something.”

Thunder Sign Swingman Alex Abrines

July 23rd, 2016 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 23rd, 2:19pm: Abrines has signed a multi-year contract, according to the team’s website.

JULY 18th, 9:37am: Since losing Kevin Durant to the Warriors, the Thunder have been fairly quiet, opting not to make a splash in free agency. According to multiple reports, however, it appears Oklahoma City will use some of the spending flexibility created by Durant’s departure to bring over draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines.

According to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops, Abrines and the Thunder have agreed to a deal that will pay the Spanish forward nearly $18MM over three years. Chema de Lucas (via Twitter) pegs the value at $17MM over three years. The Thunder will be able to pay up to $650K of Abrines’ buyout from Barcelona, which is believed to be in the range of $2.2MM — he’ll have to cover the rest of that buyout himself.

Abrines, who turns 23 next month, was drafted 32nd overall in 2013 using one of the picks the Thunder acquired from Houston in the James Harden trade. He averaged 9.3 PPG and shot 41.7% from three-point range in 25 Euroleague games this past season.

As Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman details, a source had told him earlier this summer that Abrines was unlikely to make the jump to the NBA for the 2016/17 campaign, but with Durant gone and Dion Waiters‘ restricted free agency still up in the air, it makes some sense for Oklahoma City to bring him over now.

Although the Thunder only have about $72MM committed to player salaries for next season prior to Abrines’ deal, Waiters’ cap hold is worth nearly $13MM, and there are other cap holds on the books for first-rounder Domantas Sabonis and some former OKC players. Throw in a trade exception and the team’s mid-level exception and the total increases to more than $94MM, so there’s a chance the Thunder could remain an over-the-cap team this year rather than using cap room.

As such, it makes sense that Abrines’ three-year deal is reported to be worth nearly $18MM — if Oklahoma City signs him using its full mid-level exception, he would earn $17,643,780 over three years. If the Thunder end up losing Waiters or going under the cap for another reason, they could sign Abrines to a similar deal using cap room.

Western Notes: Pachulia, Abrines, Babby

May 5th, 2016 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Zaza Pachulia is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but the big man wants to return to Dallas and he hopes his strong 2015/16 campaign made an impression on the Mavs‘ front office, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “Well, I wish I had a lifetime contract, but it’s not the first time. You know, I’ve been a free agent a couple of times now, and it’s a process. You’ve got to be smart with the decisions, so I’m looking forward to it,” Pachulia said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. I feel real confident. And once the time comes, I think I have made all the right decisions in my career, whether to stay or whether to go. But I’m confident. And with the use of my experience, I hope I’m going to make the right decision that’s best for me and my family. Whoever would come here for this team and for this organization would love it. I mean, very few percentage of the players wouldn’t like here. You know, it’s the city, the fans, the organization, the personality and the heart. This team is all about winning. And if you’re a winner, then definitely this is the place to be.”

Here’s more from out West:

The Thunder are extremely high on draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines, who beat out Dario Saric for the Euroleague’s Rising Star award, as Royce Young of ESPN.com and international journalist David Pick relay (Twitter links). The 22-year-old signed an extension last May with Barcelona of Spain that carries through the 2018/19 season, and it isn’t known if that pact includes an NBA out clause that would allow Abrines to join Oklahoma City in 2016/17.
After spending the past season as a part-time advisor for the Suns, former team president Lon Babby is ending his tenure with the team this week, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports. “I’m very appreciative for the opportunity to come to Phoenix, be part of a wonderful community and see and learn a lot of things that have been very gratifying,” Babby said. “I look forward to staying involved here in the community and being more involved with my family. I turned 65 in February and consider myself a full-fledged snowbird.”
Former Lakers coach Byron Scott said he was shocked that he was fired by the team, adding that he believed management would give him at least one more season to try to turn around the rebuilding squad, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “When you have conversations with guys [team management], you take them for their word,” Scott said. “And that’s what I did. Our conversation a couple of years ago was, ‘This is a rebuilding process. It’s going to take two to three years. It’s going to be very tough. Are you OK with that?’ And as I stated, I said, ‘Yeah I’m OK with it. Are you guys OK with it? If you can deal with it, I can deal with it.’ And so when I said I was ‘blindsided’ by it, I figured I at least had another year to get this thing turned around, and I was preparing for that and looking forward to next year. And then boom, that happened, and I said, ‘Wow.’“

Northwest Notes: Garnett, Aldridge, Abrines

May 19th, 2015 at 11:20am CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves got their apparent wish to receive Thaddeus Young in the final version of the Kevin Love trade instead of the Heat’s protected first-round pick this year, and Minnesota flipped Young for Kevin Garnett at this year’s trade deadline. The Sixers, who ended up with that protected Miami pick instead, have about a 9% chance to end up with it as a lottery pick this year, as the lottery odds show. Still, it’s more likely that it ultimately winds up going to Philadelphia next year as a late first-rounder, given the Heat’s strong chance to field a better team next season. Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders doesn’t have any regrets about trading for a aging superstar who’s mentoring rookies and veterans alike, as he told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck in part two of a lengthy oral history on Garnett.

“What KG brings, the other things, how he might help these other guys analytically be better, is more important than a low first-round pick or whatever it is,” Saunders said.

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

LaMarcus Aldridge finally had the surgery on his left thumb that he put off in late January, the Trail Blazers announced. He’s expected to be able to return to basketball activity in about eight weeks, and while that would carry into July, when he’s set to become a free agent, it shouldn’t affect his stock, given how well he played while he was dealing with the injury, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Spurs, Mavs, Knicks, Lakers and Celtics are reportedly among the teams gearing up for a run at the Blazers star.
Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines has officially signed an extension with Barcelona of Spain that carries through the 2018/19 season, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo first reported the deal, though it remains unclear what sort of NBA outs, if any, are in the contract.
The Thunder let some of the top shooting prospects know that shooting is an area of need for the team, and Oklahoma City’s interviews at the combine also revealed that the club is focusing on point guards, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry examines.