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Ben McLemore Signs With AEK Athens

August 6th, 2023 at 5:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Free agent shooting guard Ben McLemore has signed a one-year contract with Greece’s AEK B.C., also known as AEK Athens, the team announced today (via Twitter).

It will be the first European stint for McLemore, who was the seventh overall draft pick in 2013. McLemore’s last NBA stop came with Portland in 2021/22, when he averaged 10.2 points while shooting 36.2% from three-point range in 64 games (20.1 minutes).

Last season, McLemore played in China after he was unable to find an NBA opportunity. He held a private workout last month during Las Vegas Summer League, with several teams — including the Knicks — reportedly attending. Obviously nothing came of that, so the 30-year-old will be heading to Europe to continue his professional career.

McLemore played for the Kings, Grizzlies, Rockets, Lakers and Trail Blazers over the course of his nine-year NBA career, which spanned from 2013-22. In total, he appeared in 556 regular season games (267 starts, 22.5 minutes), averaging 9.0 points and 2.3 rebounds on a .414/.363/.780 shooting line.

AEK Athens is a member of the Greek Basketball League, which has been dominated by Olympiacos and Panathinaikos over the past 30 years. AEK also competes in the Basketball Champions League.

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Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Harden, Lillard, Reed, Wall, Knicks

July 10th, 2023 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers center Joel Embiid admitted being disappointed in James Harden‘s trade request during an interview Sunday with Rachel Nichols of Showtime (Twitter link). Embiid also said he understands that it’s the “business” side of the league and expressed hope that Harden’s “mindset can be changed.”

It was Embiid’s first public comment on the situation since Harden expressed a desire to be traded after deciding to pick up his $35.6MM option for next season. The Clippers are reportedly his preferred destination, although there has been little indication of any progress in trade talks.

Embiid also said he and Harden will remain friends no matter what happens with the trade request, but he would like to have him stay in Philadelphia and see what they can accomplish under new head coach Nick Nurse.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sixers don’t have the assets for a Damian Lillard trade, even if president of basketball operations Daryl Morey decides to include Tyrese Maxey in his offer, argues David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Murphy points out that recent trades involving the NBA’s top stars have involved parcels of draft assets, which Morey doesn’t have available. The Sixers are limited to offering one future first-round pick, plus four pick swaps, which is unlikely to interest a team like the Trail Blazers, who will be hoping to build around young talent if they move Lillard.
  • The decision to match Utah’s offer sheet for Paul Reed leaves the Sixers $6.6MM over the tax threshold with 13 players holding guaranteed contracts, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
  • The Celtics were among the teams that attended John Wall‘s private workout Sunday in Las Vegas, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. However, Brian Robb of MassLive doesn’t see Wall as a good fit in light of the team’s recent moves. Boston signed free agent point guard Dalano Banton this summer and already has Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard on the roster. The Celtics are already facing a significant tax bill, Robb adds, and any free agent addition would bring millions more in tax penalties. Iko identifies the Trail Blazers as another team that sent representatives to watch Wall.
  • Knicks officials were at a private workout for free agents Alize Johnson and Ben McLemore, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Johnson played four games for the Spurs last season before being waived in December, while McLemore most recently played in China.
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Scotto’s Latest: Beasley, Bucks, Plumlee, Spurs, McDaniels, McLemore

July 6th, 2023 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he agreed to join the Bucks on a minimum-salary deal, free agent swingman Malik Beasley received interest from several teams, including the Mavericks, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. According to Scotto, Dallas considered the possibility of acquiring Beasley from the Lakers via sign-and-trade, but it didn’t work out.

New Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin was a factor in getting Beasley to Milwaukee, having spoken to the veteran wing during the team’s recruiting pitch, sources tell Scotto.

The Bucks currently have 12 players pencil in for standard contracts in 2023/24. Scotto hears that Thanasis Antetokounmpo and No. 36 pick Andre Jackson are candidates to end up on the 15-man roster. The team also needs to decide what type of contract No. 58 pick Chris Livingston will sign, Scotto notes. Currently, Lindell Wigginton and Omari Moore are on two-way contracts with Milwaukee, leaving one open two-way slot.

Here’s more from Scotto:

  • Veteran center Mason Plumlee drew interest in free agency from a number of playoff teams, including the Warriors and Hawks, before deciding to remain with the Clippers, league sources tell Scotto.
  • The Spurs, having already agreed to get involved in deals that will land them Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, and Reggie Bullock, remain open to taking on unwanted contracts in order to add more draft assets, reports Scotto.
  • Before signing forward Jalen McDaniels as a free agent, the Raptors tried to trade for him multiple times, including at the 2023 deadline, according to Scotto, who says Toronto has been closely monitoring McDaniels since he was at San Diego State.
  • Veteran guard Ben McLemore, who was out of the NBA last season, will work out for multiple NBA teams during the Las Vegas Summer League, per Scotto. McLemore played in China last season after averaging 10.2 PPG in 64 games for Portland in 2021/22.
  • In case you missed it, we also rounded up several Knicks-related rumors from Scotto.
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Ben McLemore To Sign With Chinese Team

January 31st, 2023 at 8:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ben McLemore has agreed to a one-year contract with the Shandong Heroes of the Chinese Basketball Association, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

McLemore spent the past nine seasons in the NBA but there’s been little news regarding the veteran shooting guard since he became a free agent in the offseason. He participated in a free agent workout with the Warriors in September but obviously didn’t get signed by them or any other NBA squad.

McLemore spent most of last season in the Trail Blazers’ rotation, averaging 10.2 points in 20.1 minutes while appearing in 62 games.

The seventh overall pick of the 2013 draft, McLemore has 556 NBA games on his resume, with stops in Sacramento, Memphis, Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers as well as Portland. He’s averaged 9.0 points in 22.5 minutes during his career while making 36.3% of his 3-point attempts.

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Warriors Working Out Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Others

September 6th, 2022 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are bringing in a number of veteran free agents this week for workouts, league sources tell Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

According to Charania and Slater, some of the free agents taking part in the workouts are Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Kenneth Faried, Miye Oni, Ty-Shon Alexander, Wesley Saunders, and Jon Axel Gudmundsson.

Golden State also held similar free agent workouts in August, according to Charania and Slater, who say that Shabazz Muhammad, Solomon Hill, Tyler Cook, and Kelan Martin were among the players who participated in those sessions about two weeks ago.

The purpose of this week’s workouts is twofold — as Tim Kawakami of The Athletic tweets, the players currently on the Warriors’ roster are beginning their informal pre-camp work at the team’s facility this week, so the free agents who join them will help ensure there are enough bodies to play 5-on-5 scrimmages. Additionally, there’s an expectation that the Warriors could sign one or more of the auditioning veterans to their 20-man training camp roster, per Charania and Slater.

Golden State currently has 18 players under contract (13 on guaranteed standard deals), with Jerome Robinson expected to be the 19th. That leaves one spot available for now.

Andre Iguodala has yet to decide whether he’ll retire or return to the Warriors for another season, so it’s possible he could fill that 20th and final roster spot (and become the 14th man on the team’s projected regular season roster). Robinson, Mac McClung, Pat Spencer, and Trevion Williams are among the camp invitees who could compete for a place on the 15-man regular season roster, especially if Iguodala doesn’t return.

Charania and Slater also note that that, while Lester Quinones and Quinndary Weatherspoon are currently on two-way deals, those roster spots are flexible. According to The Athletic’s duo, the Warriors are high on Weatherspoon, who is a candidate to join the 15-man roster either this fall or later in the season

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Northwest Notes: Favors, Barton, McLemore, Gobert, Mitchell

May 6th, 2022 at 11:55am CST by Arthur Hill

At age 30, Derrick Favors may seem out of place on a rebuilding team, but he said spending this season with the Thunder helped him enjoy the game again, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Favors, who was acquired from the Jazz in a salary dump trade last summer, only played 39 games and sat out the final month of the season with back soreness, but he still says the experience was important.

“It brought back that fun,” Favors said, “that joy of playing basketball and not worrying about the business part, not worrying about personal life stuff, just having fun and … feeling that energy of being around 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds.”

Favors has already indicated that he will pick up his option for next season, which is worth $10.18MM, much more than he would make in free agency. However, that doesn’t guarantee he’ll back. Mussatto expects Oklahoma City to explore a trade this summer and possibly waive Favors to open a roster spot for one of its four picks in this year’s draft. However, Favors said at his exit interview that he “expects to be back.”

“I’m glad I’m here,” he said. “It opened my eyes to a lot of things. I just enjoy watching these young guys. I enjoy watching them come out and improve every game. I enjoy talking to (coach) Mark (Daigneault), and I enjoy being in this atmosphere.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Nuggets might have to consider trading Will Barton this offseason to help upgrade their defense, suggests Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Barton, who has spent eight years with the team, has an expiring $14MM contract for next season and Denver may need a stronger defensive guard to pair with Jamal Murray as he returns from his ACL injury. Singer identifies Monte Morris and JaMychal Green as other players who might be moved.
  • The Trail Blazers could be tempted to re-sign Ben McLemore to serve as a veteran shooter, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. McLemore averaged 10.2 points per game and connected at 36.2% from three-point range after signing with Portland last offseason, and he can provide valuable roster depth for a team that hopes to bounce back next season.
  • It’s time for the Jazz to break up the combination of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, argues Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports, who examines the potential trade market for each player.
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Western Trade Rumors: Covington, Nurkic, Beverley, Culver, Lakers

February 2nd, 2022 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Of the veteran Trail Blazers who are candidates to be traded by the February 10 deadline, Robert Covington has been described as the most likely one to be moved, says Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Ben McLemore‘s name has also emerged in recent trade discussions, Fischer adds.

Conversely, there doesn’t seem to be any momentum toward a trade involving Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, according to Fischer. Marc Stein said something similar in a recent Spotify Greenroom session, suggesting he hasn’t heard Nurkic’s name mentioned much in his recent conversations with teams. Stein gets the sense there’s not a “huge amount” of interest in the veteran center (hat tip to HoopsHype).

Nurkic himself recently told Jason Quick of The Athletic that he doesn’t think he’ll be traded this season. If the latest reports from Fischer and Stein are accurate, he may be right.

Here are a few more items from around the Western Conference:

  • The Timberwolves are exploring some possible trade avenues involving Patrick Beverley ahead of his upcoming free agency, Fischer reports. Responding to that report, Minnesota-based reporters Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links) said that head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta is casting a wide net and is willing to discuss anyone besides Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. However, neither Wolfson nor Krawczynski expects Beverley to be traded.
  • The Grizzlies aren’t considered likely to make any major moves at the trade deadline, but they may receive inquiries on fourth-year swingman Jarrett Culver, Fischer writes. There’s so much leaguewide interest in wings who can play defense that Culver – who isn’t currently part of Memphis’ rotation and will be a free agent this summer – could appeal to another team, Fischer explains.
  • The Lakers, who continue to shop veteran wing Kent Bazemore, have been mentioned as a potential suitor for big man Paul Millsap if he reaches the buyout market, says Fischer. Brooklyn is still looking to trade Millsap.
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COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Trail Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Sixers, I. Thomas, More

December 30th, 2021 at 8:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:

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D’Angelo Russell, Three Blazers Enter Protocols

December 25th, 2021 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell has joined the growing list of Minnesota players in the health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Timberwolves now have eight players affected, including stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. They’ve already signed a pair of replacement players – Chris Silva and Rayjon Tucker – using hardship exceptions, but will likely make at least one more roster addition before their next game on Monday.

Here are more COVID-19 protocol updates from around the NBA:

  • Three Trail Blazers players – Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, and Keljin Blevins – have entered the health and safety protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). That brings Portland’s total count to five affected players, all of whom have been placed in the protocols in the last two days.
  • Kevin Knox has exited the protocols, but Jericho Sims has entered, so the Knicks still have three players affected, according to the team (Twitter links). RJ Barrett is back in the starting lineup for New York today and Quentin Grimes is also expected to play, but Immanuel Quickley and Knox will need a little more time to ramp up their conditioning, says Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
  • Mavericks wing Josh Green has tested out of the protocols, but didn’t travel with the team to Utah and won’t play tonight, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
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Blazers Notes: Lillard, Free Agency, Roster, McCollum

August 6th, 2021 at 10:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Friday in Tokyo about the Trail Blazers‘ moves in free agency, star point guard Damian Lillard suggested that the team missed out on some of its top targets, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic relays.

“You never know where guys are going to end up and why they go there. You just try to have conversations and convince guys to be a part of our team,” Lillard said. “And obviously, this go around, we weren’t able to go out there and just get some of the guys that we would have liked.

“(So) you go down the list and you go through the guys that are out there that you like who haven’t committed to a team or were a part of your plans in free agency and you get the ones that want to be a part of what you’re doing. And I think that’s what we did.”

The Trail Blazers’ free agent additions include Cody Zeller, Tony Snell, and Ben McLemore. According to Jason Quick of The Athletic, the team also had interest in Nicolas Batum, and made an effort to lure Kelly Oubre to Portland with the taxpayer mid-level exception. Oubre ended up elsewhere even though Damian Lillard made a pitch to him at the end of the regular season.

“It wasn’t anything deep other than ‘Would he be open to it?’ and he said he was,” Lillard told Quick. “I liked Oubre as a complement to other guys I thought we would be able to get. We didn’t get them.”

As Quick outlines, the Blazers’ “real” offseason will begin when Lillard finishes his Olympics run and returns to Portland to evaluate the roster and assess his options. There are three roads the rest of the Blazers’ summer could take, in Quick’s view: Portland convinces Lillard that running it back and being patient is the right approach; the team makes a major trade that changes Lillard’s view of the Blazers’ trajectory; or the All-NBA guard asks to be traded.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

  • Quick confirms that the deals Zeller, McLemore, and Snell are signing are all worth the veteran’s minimum. The Blazers still have the taxpayer mid-level exception available, but aren’t aggressively pursuing any players left on the market and will likely hang onto that exception for now, Quick adds.
  • The Blazers have 13 players projected for the regular season roster for now. They plan to enter the season with 14, but they’re keeping that 14th spot open for now to maintain flexibility, according to Quick, who notes that the spot may be useful for a trade in which Portland takes back more players than it sends out.
  • While CJ McCollum is perhaps the most obvious trade candidate on the Blazers’ roster, it doesn’t sound like he’s being actively shopped, says Quick. Quick isn’t sure whether other teams simply don’t value McCollum like the Blazers do, but says the club won’t move him just to shake up the roster — a deal would have to improve the roster. So far, no opportunities fit that bill.
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