Bruno Fernando Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Convert Bruno Fernando To Two-Way Contract

September 30th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets have converted Bruno Fernando‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal, our JD Shaw reports (via Twitter).

The 34th overall pick of the 2018 draft after a couple of college seasons at Maryland, Fernando spent his first two pro season with Atlanta before being traded to Boston last year. The Celtics later sent him to Houston as part of a multiplayer deal.

The big man played some of the best basketball of his NBA career down the stretch with the Rockets in 2021/22, albeit in a limited role. Fernando averaged 6.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 0.8 BPG on 70.7% shooting in 10 appearances (9.4 MPG) for Houston. In 119 career games (9.2 MPG), the 24-year-old holds averages of 3.2 PPG and 2.8 RPG.

The Rockets are facing a roster crunch to start the ’22/23 regular season, as they currently have 18 players on standard contracts. That number needs to be reduced to 15 before the season starts.

After the conversion of Fernando’s contract, both of the team’s two-way spots are currently occupied; rookie Trevor Hudgins holds the other.

Western Notes: Marjanovic, Cauley-Stein, Lakers Arena, Warriors

August 22nd, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

What is the status of the ever popular Boban Marjanovic? According to Marc Stein in a Substack post, Marjanovic has a place on the Rockets’ opening night roster despite an excess of big men.

Marjanovic was dealt by Dallas as part of its package for Christian Wood. He has one season left on the two-year, $7MM contract he signed last offseason.

Alperen Şengün is projected as Houston’s starting center, with Bruno Fernando and Willie Cauley-Stein also vying for spots on the regular season roster.

We have more from the Western Conference:

The addition of Cauley-Stein isn’t official yet, as Houston must clear a roster space to sign him. He’s a low-risk, potentially solid-reward addition, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag. Over the past five seasons, Cauley-Stein’s teams defended nearly five points better with him on the floor, Iko notes. He’s still athletic enough to play in Houston’s up-tempo system and should help the team defensively.
The home arena for the Lakers and Clippers in undergoing major renovations over the next three summers, according to David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times. Upgrades are being made at every level of Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center. The upgrades include new jumbo screens, updated concession stands, a better sound system and an enhanced “fan experience.” The Clippers are scheduled to leave for their new arena in 2024.
Which member of the Warriors’ big three will leave? In a mailbag post, Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett speculates that Draymond Green is the only one who might depart in the near future. Stephen Curry has four years left on his deal and is the face of the franchise, while Klay Thompson has two years left on his contract and will likely sign another with Golden State. Green can opt out of his contract after next season and the heavily taxed Warriors may pin their hopes on one of their young frontcourt players emerging at a lower cost, Bulpett writes.

Rockets Re-Sign Bruno Fernando

July 26th, 2022 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

1:43pm: Fernando received an Exhibit 10 contract, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The deal could be converted into a two-way contract prior to the season or would entitle Fernando to a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins the Rockets’ G League team.

1:31pm: The Rockets have re-signed free agent big man Bruno Fernando to a new contract, the team announced today in a press release. Houston now has a full 20-man offseason roster.

Fernando, who will turn 24 next month, was the 34th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He began his career in Atlanta, was sent to the Celtics in a 2021 offseason trade, then was flipped to Houston at the 2022 deadline in February.

The former Maryland standout played some of the best basketball of his career down the stretch with the Rockets, albeit in a limited role. He averaged 6.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 0.8 BPG on 70.7% shooting in 10 appearances (9.4 MPG) for Houston.

The terms of Fernando’s new deal are unclear. The Rockets already have 18 players on guaranteed standard contracts, so it seems unlikely they’d want to bring in a 19th without clearing that logjam.

Fernando is technically eligible for a two-way contract, but there’s no indication in Houston’s announcement that he got a two-way deal. That makes a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed standard contract the likeliest outcome, but we’ll wait for confirmation on the details.

Rockets Notes: Frontcourt, Tate, Gordon, Martin

July 7th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Whether or not they hang onto Boban Marjanovic, the Rockets would like to add one more big man to their roster, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says the club may use a two-way contract slot to add more depth up front. Trevor Hudgins currently occupies one of Houston’s two-way slots, but the other is empty.

Iko names Moses Brown, Freddie Gillespie, Bruno Fernando, and Mfiondu Kabengele as players who could be of interest to the Rockets as they look to add another frontcourt player.

According to Iko, Houston had some interest in Isaiah Roby after he was waived by Oklahoma City, but the Spurs ultimately claimed him off waivers. The Rockets were ahead of San Antonio in the waiver order and had a trade exception available to claim Roby, but they already have 18 players on guaranteed contracts for 15 spots, so they likely weren’t eager to bring in another.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

The $500K annual bonus in Jae’Sean Tate‘s new three-year contract are tied to the Rockets winning at least 35 games, Iko reports. So Tate would earn an extra $1.5MM if Houston wins 35 or more games in each of the next three seasons.
The Rockets were close to trading Eric Gordon on draft night, possibly to the Sixers, but the deal fell apart, according to Iko, who says the Heat, Bucks, and Suns also pursued Gordon before the draft. Sources tell The Athletic that Philadelphia re-engaged Houston on the veteran shooting guard at the start of free agency, but there’s certainly no guarantee he’ll be moved before the season begins.
The Rockets aren’t in any rush to trade Kenyon Martin Jr. either, says Iko, noting that Martin may “need to mend some internal relationships” if a trade doesn’t materialize and he remains in Houston.

QO Decisions: Nwora, T. Brown, Rockets, Moon, More

June 29th, 2022 at 10:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks have tendered a qualifying offer to Jordan Nwora, making the 23-year-old a restricted free agent, a league source tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Nwora’s QO for 2022/23 is worth a projected $2,036,090.

The 45th pick of the 2020 draft, Nwora saw his role expand in his second season with Milwaukee, appearing in 63 games (19.1 MPG) with averages of 7.9 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .403/.348/.837 shooting. He’s No. 43 on our list of top 50 free agents.

Let’s round-up some more qualifying offer decisions…

The Bulls won’t extend a QO to Troy Brown ($7,228,448), making him an unrestricted free agent, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). Brown, who turns 23 on July 28, was the 15th pick of the 2018 draft but didn’t leave much of an impression with Chicago, averaging 4.3 PPG and 3.1 RPG on .419/.353/.769 shooting in 66 games (16 MPG) in ’21/22.
The Rockets aren’t giving qualifying offers to either Bruno Fernando ($2,228,276) or Anthony Lamb (two-way), according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Fernando, the 34th pick of the 2019 draft, has seen scant NBA minutes, appearing in 119 contests with an average of 9.2 MPG over his three seasons with Atlanta, Houston and Boston. His QO was worth more than the minimum and the Rockets have lots of players already under contract next season after sending Christian Wood to Dallas for the No. 26 pick and four veterans.
Xavier Moon (two-way) won’t receive a qualifying offer from the Clippers, as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times relays (via Twitter). Moon will be an unrestricted free agent after reaching the NBA as a 27-year-old rookie last season. He has plenty of international experience, having made stops in France, England, Israel and Canada before earning three 10-day hardship deals and later a two-way contract with L.A. in ’21/22.
A couple of two-way players received QOs from their respective clubs, sources tell Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter links). Nathan Knight received his offer from the Timberwolves, while the Magic extended a QO to Admiral Schofield. Both players will be restricted free agents.

Rockets/Mavs Rumors: Gordon, Schröder, Wood Trade, Pinson

June 15th, 2022 at 11:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets held firm in their asking price of a first-round pick in exchange for Christian Wood and landed the 26th selection after agreeing to a trade with the Mavericks, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Sources tell Fischer that Houston’s asking price remains the same for Eric Gordon, with the team seeking yet another first-rounder.

Gordon was productive for the rebuilding club in 2021/22, averaging 13.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists on .475/.412/.778 shooting in 57 games, including 46 starts (29.3 minutes). Although his points per game were tied for a career-low, the veteran shooting guard posted a career-best true shooting percentage of 61.4%.

The 33-year-old is essentially on an expiring $19.57MM contract in ’22/23, as his $20.92MM figure for ’23/24 is non-guaranteed.

Here’s more on the Rockets and Mavs:

As Keith Smith of Spotrac observes (via Twitter), if the Rockets keep all of their first round picks (third, 17th and 26th), they’ll have 19 players on guaranteed contracts for ’22/23, so Houston will have to make additional moves to get down to 15 prior to next season. Smith also notes that Dennis Schröder and Bruno Fernando are likely out of the picture due to the roster crunch. While this is an assumption on Smith’s part and not a report, his logic certainly makes sense, as neither player figures to be in the team’s long-term plans. Schröder is an unrestricted free agent this summer, while Fernando could be restricted if Houston tenders him a $2.2MM qualifying offer, which seems very unlikely at this point.
In his video breakdown of the trade, Bobby Marks of ESPN says the Rockets will generate a $4MM trade exception as part of the deal. Zach Harper of The Athletic grades the swap, giving the Mavs a B-plus and the Rockets a B.
Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle says (via Twitter) that Wood’s character concerns are overblown, calling him a “stand-up guy in an unbelievably tough two-season stretch.” Feigen believes Wood will “flourish” in Dallas.
The timing of the trade was interesting, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link), who notes that Paolo Banchero worked out for the Rockets earlier in the day and then the team decided to trade a starting big man in Wood. Banchero is widely projected to go third overall to Houston.
The four-for-one swap creates an unexpected amount of roster room for the Mavs, and league sources tell Marc Stein (via Twitter) that Theo Pinson is “strongly expected” to be re-signed on a standard deal. Pinson was viewed as the unofficial ring leader of the Mavs’ bench mob that earned the team $175K in fines during the playoffs due to its “bench decorum” violations. Stein reported a few weeks ago that Dallas wanted to retain Pinson, who is no longer eligible for a two-way contract after obtaining four years of NBA experience.
One of Dallas’ top priorities entering free agency is acquiring a wing capable of receiving rotation minutes in the playoffs, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The Mavs will be a luxury tax team in ’22/23, so their main tool to sign a free agent will be the taxpayer mid-level exception, which is projected to be worth $6,392,000.

Rockets Trade Daniel Theis To Celtics For Schröder, Two Others

February 10th, 2022 at 8:27pm CST by Rory Maher

8:27pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from both the Celtics and Rockets. As expected, Houston has officially waived guards D.J. Augustin and Armoni Brooks in order to complete the deal.

2:03pm: The Rockets are sending Daniel Theis back to the Celtics, Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that it will be for a package including Dennis Schröder.

Sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando are also be headed to Houston in the deal. Woj reports that the Rockets will waive Freedom (via Twitter).

After sending Bol Bol and PJ Dozier to Orlando, agreeing to trade Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford to San Antonio in exchange for Derrick White, and now dealing three players for one, the Celtics have opened five roster spots today and figure to be aggressive on the buyout market.

Theis, 29, started his NBA career in Boston, appearing in parts of four season with the club prior to being traded to Chicago at last season’s deadline.

He signed a four-year, $35.6MM contract with Houston as a free agent last summer, with the 2024/25 season being a team option. It was a strange signing for a rebuilding Rockets team that had just used two first-round picks on young big men Alperen Sengun and Usman Garuba. Theis had fallen out of the team’s rotation as it prioritized youth, averaging 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds through 26 games (22.5 minutes).

Theis will provide a major defensive upgrade over Freedom and should see some backup center minutes for his old team. Obviously, the Celtics have a high level of familiarity with the German big man, and he’s been teammates with the majority of the roster after just being dealt away last year.

For the Rockets, the move is mostly about clearing their books. Schröder is having another decent year, averaging 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists through 49 games (29.2 minutes), but he’s on an expiring $5.9MM contract, which was the main appeal. Freedom and Fernando are also in the final year of their respective deals.

Fernando can become a restricted free agent this summer if Houston tenders him a qualifying offer, but that seems unlikely given the limited contributions he’s provided this point in his career. Still, the Rockets get a look at 23-year-old big man to see if they want to keep him around beyond this season.

It will be interesting to see if a market develops for Schröder this summer after he failed to secure the large contract he was hoping for in 2021. I suspect he’ll still fall in the mid-level exception range, as not many teams will have cash to spend on free agents in 2022.

COVID-19 Updates: Sixers, Celtics, Rondo, Blazers, More

January 3rd, 2022 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers wing Danny Green cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Sunday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Jaden Springer and Matisse Thybulle are both in the protocols now, joining two-way player Myles Powell.

In the latest injury report for the Sixers’ Monday game vs. Houston, Powell and Springer are both listed as out, while Thybulle is considered questionable. That suggests that the team is likely waiting for the results of Thybulle’s latest COVID-19 test before determining whether or not he’ll be available.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:

Dennis Schröder and Bruno Fernando returned to action for the Celtics on Sunday after a stint in the health and safety protocols. Jayson Tatum has exited the protocols, but remained sidelined for Sunday’s game — he’s expected to return on Wednesday, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
On the Lakers‘ Sunday injury report, Rajon Rondo was listed as out due to return to competition reconditioning. Rondo had been in the COVID-19 protocols since December 26, which presumably delayed the official completion of the trade sending him to Cleveland. Now that he has cleared the protocols, the Cavaliers and Lakers should soon officially announce that deal.
Robert Covington, Trendon Watford, and Keljin Blevins are no longer in the health and safety protocols for the Trail Blazers, per the injury report.
Knicks center Jericho Sims remained out of action on Sunday, but he was listed on the injury report as taking part in return to competition conditioning, so he has exited the protocols.
McKinley Wright (Timberwolves), Jarrett Culver (Grizzlies), and Jay Scrubb (Clippers) are among the other players who have recently cleared the COVID-19 protocols, according to the league’s injury report.
Our full health and safety protocols tracker can be found right here.

COVID-19 Updates: Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

December 25th, 2021 at 12:27pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Celtics reserve point guard Dennis Schröder has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will not play in today’s Christmas game against the Bucks, the team has announced (Twitter link). He joins eight other Celtics in the protocols.

In a more positive twist, Juancho Hernangómez, Jabari Parker, and Brodric Thomas have exited the league’s COVID-19 protocols and are available for today’s game, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (via Twitter). Guards Marcus Smart, who has been dealing with a hip injury, and Romeo Langford, who has missed time due to an Achilles injury, are also available. Boston center Al Horford is out of the league’s coronavirus protocols but is still working on his conditioning and has been ruled out for the contest.

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

Lakers guards Avery Bradley and Malik Monk have left the league’s COVID-19 protocols and will be able to suit up today for Los Angeles against the Nets, per Bill Oram of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Raptors players Khem Birch, Isaac Bonga, and Justin Champagnie have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols, though Dalano Banton has apparently exited, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link). A total of 10 Toronto players are now in the protocols. Toronto’s previously-scheduled game on Wednesday, against the Bulls, was canceled as a result of the Raptors not having enough players available. The team’s next game is scheduled for tomorrow against the Cavaliers. Lewenberg adds (via Twitter) that Raptors rookie shooting guard David Johnson (calf) and veteran point guard Goran Dragic (personal) also continue to be unavailable.
Keep track of all the NBA players within the league’s health and safety protocols on our tracker here.

COVID-19 Updates: Hawks, Blazers, Celtics, Bucks, Nets

December 24th, 2021 at 6:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Wesley Iwundu, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Hawks on Thursday, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Iwundu played 23 minutes in the Hawks’ 98-96 victory over the Sixers Thursday night, scoring two points and grabbing five rebounds. ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets that the Hawks will need to sign another replacement player to replace Iwundu — himself a replacement player.

Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, who made his season debut last week, has entered the protocols as well, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. In three games this season (22.3 MPG), Okongwu is averaging 10.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG. The Hawks now have nine players in the protocols.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates:

Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and two-way rookie Trendon Watford have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers and the rest of the team will now be re-tested, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). DSJ and Watford are the only players currently in the protocols for the Blazers.
The Celtics have four new players entering the protocols: C.J. Miles, Justin Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, and Bruno Fernando, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. However, Al Horford, Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, and Brodric Thomas, who’ve all been in the protocols, are listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Milwaukee, so they could be exiting the protocols soon. Until those four are cleared, the Celtics will have 12 players in the COVID-19 protocols — the largest outbreak in the NBA.
In addition to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis has exited the protocols for the Bucks, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Like Horford and the other Celtics, Donte DiVincenzo, who’s also been in the protocols, is listed as questionable to make his season debut Saturday.
Meanwhile, Bruce Brown and James Johnson have exited the protocols for the Nets, but seven others, including star Kevin Durant, remain in the protocols for their game Saturday against the Lakers, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Warriors rookie Moses Moody has entered the protocols, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Golden State now has four players in the protocols.