Bradley Beal Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Nash, Beal, Lakers

November 17th, 2012 at 10:27pm CST by Michael Pina

Here's a look around the NBA this Saturday evening.

The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell wonders if the Bobcats can get anything of value for DeSagana Diop's expiring contract.
Steve Nash and Dwight Howard are teammates with the Lakers, but both of them could easily have ended up in New York with separate teams, writes Howard Beck of the New York Times.
NBA.com's Jeff Caplan has a piece on Wizards rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal, who currently leads his struggling team in scoring.
A quick recap of the Bernie Bickerstaff era as head coach of the Lakers, from ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin.
With James Harden flourishing as a starter with the Rockets, the Oklahoman's John Rohde wonders who will win the Sixth Man of the Year award this season.

Southeast Notes: Smith, Livingston, Beal, Wade

November 17th, 2012 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Southeast teams will be in action tonight, with the Wizards aiming to finally record their first win of the season against the Jazz while the Heat look to extend their division lead in Phoenix. As we wait for the start of those games, let's round up a few notes out of the Southeast….

Following up on yesterday's Marc Stein report that indicated the Hawks have no interest in trading Josh Smith, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld agrees, suggesting in a series of tweets that it's far more likely that Smith will re-sign in Atlanta next summer.
Wizards head coach Randy Wittman pushed for Washington to sign Shaun Livingston when he became available, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post. According to Lee, Livingston attracted interest from a few other teams, but chose the Wizards because they provide the opportunity to play in a familiar system.
Bradley Beal spoke to Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld about the expectations he places upon himself in his first season with the Wizards.
Of the three Heat stars with an early termination option available in the summer of 2014, Dwyane Wade is probably the least likely to opt out, opines Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Poll: Most Impressive Rookie

November 2nd, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Through three days of the NBA season, most of the heavily hyped rookies have made their debuts. In particular, five have had standout first games as pros: New Orleans' No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, Washington's No. 3 overall pick Bradley Beal, Cleveland's No. 4 overall pick Dion Waiters, Portland's No. 6 overall pick Damian Lillard, and Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas, drafted in 2011. Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist makes his debut tonight.

Which of the five rookies who have made an impact so far have impressed you the most?

Western Notes: Harden, Grizzlies, Mavs, Seattle

October 29th, 2012 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

In dealing James Harden to the Rockets, the Thunder ensured that the gold medalist will likely remain in the Western Conference for years to come. In his weekly Morning Tip piece at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge notes that while that may come as a surprise, there weren't many logical fits with Eastern Conference clubs.

The Thunder liked Bradley Beal, but the Wizards weren't interested in dealing the third overall pick. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, meanwhile, tweets that the Magic had some pieces that could have enticed Oklahoma City, but Orlando probably wouldn't have given Harden the max. The Magic ended up not getting involved in the Harden sweepstakes, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

Here are a few more Monday afternoon updates from around the Western Conference, with just over 24 hours until the NBA regular season gets underway:

Within his NBA.com column, Aldridge reports that the final sale price of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera's ownership group was $377MM.
Wayne Ellington remains unlikely to be extended by the Grizzlies before Wednesday, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if carrying so many players in contract years could blow up for the Mavericks.
NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper spoke to Seattle mayor Mike McGinn about the possibility of the NBA returning to his city. McGinn said that he's rooting for Sacramento to keep the Kings, since he knows what it feels like to lose a team, but is still hopeful about professional basketball coming back to Seattle.
Nuggets center JaVale McGee is going to have to learn how to deal with the burden of having a big contract and the attention that brings, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
The Lakers and Clippers both head into the 2012/13 season hoping that revamped benches will help them contend for a title, says Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com believes that, even without Harden, the Thunder are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
Luke Zeller's contract includes a $50K guarantee, so if he opens the season with the Suns, that doesn't mean he'll be with the team all year, says Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links).

Warriors, Jazz, Others Discussed James Harden

October 29th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

10:56am: Suns president Lon Babby confirmed to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that Phoenix had been engaged with the Thunder in trade talks for Harden, though he says that no proposal ever gained serious traction.

"We were engaged in discussions on numerous occasions," Babby said. "We most recently met in person when we played them [on October 19th]. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a deal that was workable for both sides."

8:53am: According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, Thunder GM Sam Presti had at least "semi-serious" trade conversations involving James Harden with a number of teams before eventually accepting the Rockets' offer. Lowe says the Warriors, Jazz, Wizards, and Raptors were among the teams that Presti spoke to before sending Harden to Houston. We heard yesterday that the Suns also pursued a trade for Harden.

The Thunder were seeking a sure-thing player who was still in the first year or two of his rookie deal, according to Lowe. That means Presti figures to have inquired on players like Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Bradley Beal, and Jonas Valanciunas. Lowe adds that the Thunder GM likely started the process by reaching out to the Hornets about Anthony Davis, though I imagine that conversation didn't last too long.

Here are a few more Harden-related links, as reactions continue to pour in on one of the year's most surprising trades:

Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder made a last-ditch offer to Harden on Friday, proposing a four-year, $53MM extension. The team gave him a one-hour window to accept it, telling him that if he turned it down, he'd be traded to Houston. According to Tramel's sources, Harden said he needed three days to make a decision, but because the Rockets wanted time to negotiate an extension before Wednesday's deadline, Presti stuck to the one-hour window.
The pieces the Thunder acquired for Harden are the same sort of assets the team used to initially build itself into a perennial contender, opines Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
Members of the Spurs, a team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs earlier this year, were surprised by the deal, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. "It's kind of weird to look at OKC and think of them without their Big Three," Danny Green said. "Things are different. Obviously they're still going to be a good team."

Amico On Mavs, Clippers, Hornets, Bobcats

October 7th, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio has posted some thoughts from the weekend's preseason action, including impressions of players that have changed teams this offseason:

Amico was impressed with the Dallas debuts of Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo, both of whom signed with the Mavs this summer.
Out of the several veterans the Clippers signed this offseason, Amico says that Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes made positive first impressions, while Lamar Odom looked considerably less impressive.
Amico writes that Hornets rookies Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers had good performances in their preseason debuts.
Second overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and third overall pick Bradley Beal had strong showings in the Bobcats' victory over the Wizards, Amico writes.
New Bobcats acquisitions Ben Gordon and Ramon Sessions also had strong performances off the bench, writes Amico.

Odds & Ends: Bynum, Seattle, Suns, Beal

October 7th, 2012 at 4:40pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are a few pieces of news from around the league.

Philly.com's John Mitchell writes that the fact that players on the Sixers think Andrew Bynum is better than Dwight Howard is good for the team's future.
David Stern says "if everything works perfectly" that the city of Seattle should have an NBA team and new stadium within five years, according to the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn. (Sulia link)
When the Suns acquired several players from last year's Rockets roster, they also took on the team's offensive strategy, writes AZCentral.com's Paul Coro.
The Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones has a piece detailing rookie Thomas Robinson's possible role at the small forward position.
Wizards rookie guard Bradley Beal isn't nervous for his preseason debut against fellow rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee.
DeseretNews.com's Randy Hollis writes about newly signed guard Randy Foye, and how he's fitting in nicely with the Jazz.
The Hawks are in search of a consistent small forward to fill in the void left by Marvin Williams, writes HoopsWorld.com's Lang Greene.
The Chicago Sun-Times' Seth Gruen has a nice feature on Bulls second year forward Jimmy Butler, and how he's ready to fill in for the departed Ronnie Brewer.
ESPNNewYork's Jared Zwerling on Timberwolves forward Andrei Kirilenko, and why he didn't sign with the Nets.
Injuries throughout the league could be a huge positive for would-be D-League players fighting for roster spots on NBA teams, writes Gino Pilato on Ridiculous Upside.
Stephen Brotherston from Hoopsworld.com writes that Cavaliers forward Jon Leuer is searching for a spot in the team's starting rotation.

Wizards Sign Bradley Beal

July 8th, 2012 at 6:19pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Wizards have officially signed Bradley Beal, the third-overall selection of this year's NBA Draft. Michael Lee of The Washington Post reports that the 19-year-old shooting guard is guaranteed around $7MM over the first two years of his contract, with two consecutive team options in his third and fourth year.

Draft Rumors: Thursday

June 28th, 2012 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Well, we're here. After weeks of following draft rumors and speculating on which player will be picked by which team, we're just hours away from the 2012 draft. Before things get underway tonight though, we're sure to hear plenty more draft rumors, so be sure to follow this page for the latest updates throughout the day. And to fully immerse yourself in tonight's draft, you can also check out our most recent mock draft, the complete draft order, our Prospect Profiles series, and all the rest of our draft content. Here are today's updates, with the latest up top:

The Kings and Warriors will make decisions on whether to trade their picks while they're on the clock, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says (Twitter link).
It's highly unlikely the Grizzlies use the 25th pick on a point guard, the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
The Grizzlies, Rockets and Celtics are all interested in Royce White, says Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Warriors may trade up from No. 30 to land him, Rothstein also tweets.
The Bobcats are "getting closer" to trading the No. 2 pick, tweets ESPN.com's Andy Katz (hat tip to Tom Ziller of SBNation).

Earlier updates:

Thunder Interested In Bradley Beal

June 28th, 2012 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 12:57pm: The Thunder likes Bradley Beal, but they're not willing to give up James Harden, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Earlier today we heard from fellow HoopsWorld scribe Steve Kyler who said a significant trade involving the Thunder is very unlikely.

WEDNESDAY, 4:18pm: Charlotte's second overall pick has drawn plenty of trade interest, and while it's possible the Bobcats trade it, it would take a "really enticing" offer for the team to seriously consider it. Most teams talking to the Bobcats about the No. 2 pick are targeting Bradley Beal, and according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com, that list of interested teams includes the Thunder.