Harrison Barnes Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Barnes, Brown, Labissiere, Johnson

June 11th, 2016 at 5:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors will stick to their promise to keep the team together, even if that means matching an offer in excess of $20MM per year for Harrison Barnes, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Barnes will be a restricted free agent this summer after turning down a four-year, $64MM offer from Golden State last year. He averaged 11.7 points in 66 games this season and has become an important cog in a team that is one victory away from its second straight championship. Barnes is eligible to receive an offer starting at $20MM per year and could get a max offer in the neighborhood of $23MM. A source in the Warriors organization told Deveney that owner Joe Lacob has not wavered from his promise to hold onto the team’s key players. However, Deveney tweets that if Barnes decides he wants to go somewhere else to have a larger role, the Warriors will try to accommodate him with a sign-and-trade.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Iowas State combo forward Georges Niang and Manhattan power forward Jermaine Lawrence have workouts scheduled today for the Warriors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Golden State’s only pick in this year’s draft is at No. 30.
California swingman Jaylen Brown addressed questions about his shooting after a workout with the Lakers Friday, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “I think the biggest knock on me is if I can shoot the ball,” Brown said. “And I’ve been shooting the ball pretty well in these workouts. … And to shoot it the way I do now, it’s a significant growth.” Brown has been projected as a top 10 pick, but teams are concerned that he shot just 43.1% from the field and 29.4% from 3-point range last season. Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere also worked out for the Lakers Friday and projects himself as a power forward in the NBA. “I think I’ll be a four because of my versatility, both on offense and defense,” Labissiere said. “I can shoot the basketball, score inside, run the floor really well, block shots, guard small defenders.”
The Lakers have a June 18th workout scheduled with Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield, Turner writes in the same piece. L.A. held a private session with Hield two weeks ago.
After four years at North Carolina, Brice Johnson doesn’t think his age will be an issue in the draft, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Johnson, who is about to turn 22, worked out for Phoenix this week and is a candidate for the Suns’ No. 13 pick. “Nowadays, everybody just wants to see me shoot the ball,” Johnson said. “They just want to know if I can shoot. They know I’m very athletic. I can dunk the ball very well. I think about 85 percent of my shots were dunks this year.”

Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Conley, Whiteside

June 9th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler examines a few of this year’s top free-agents-to-be, taking stock of their situations and passing along the latest notes and rumors he’s heard on each player. Here’s a round-up of some of the key info from Kyler’s piece:

Even though Kevin Durant is considered most likely to return to the Thunder, he’s expected to take meetings, and Kyler hears that the Warriors and Spurs are “planning big pitches.” The belief around the NBA is that Durant will return to OKC on a deal that allows him to opt out in a year so that his free agency will line up with Russell Westbrook‘s and Serge Ibaka‘s in 2017.
Sources close to Mike Conley‘s camp have suggested recently that Conley is “more open to new situations” than the Grizzlies would like. According to Kyler, those sources believe that the point guard wants to see signs that Memphis is serious about fortifying its roster with other pieces before committing to the team for the long term. Kyler identifies the “dark horse” in the Conley sweepstakes as the Spurs, who are believed to be willing to make some changes to their core if it means landing another high-level player.
Hassan Whiteside is expected to land a maximum-salary contract, with the Lakers and Celtics among the teams believed to be interested. The Heat remain the favorites for the big man, but if they “try to play games,” Whiteside will shop around for other offers, according to Kyler.
The Raptors and Knicks are among the clubs with interest in Nicolas Batum, but Batum will likely be in line for a max contract or something close to it, and the Hornets are viewed as the team most likely to accommodate such a deal.
DeMar DeRozan is viewed as a near-lock to return to the Raptors on a max deal.
Assuming they don’t land Durant, the Warriors sound prepared to keep their current roster intact, even if that means matching a “crazy offer sheet” for Harrison Barnes, writes Kyler.
The odds of RFA-to-be Jordan Clarkson ending up with any team besides the Lakers are slim, but it’s possible his camp will seek out an offer sheet from another club if necessary, in order to get more favorable terms.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Blatt, Shaw, Crawford

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has earned a raise, but the Warriors can’t afford to renegotiate, writes Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Curry will receive a little more than $12.1MM next season in the final year of his contract, about half of what other top stars make. Working out a new deal over the summer would prevent Curry from reaching free agency, but it would also upend the team’s salary structure, Leroux warns.

Curry is eligible for a new contract because he will be entering the fifth year of his current deal. However, any raise he receives — and it would surely be a maximum contract starting in the neighborhood of $25.9MM — would drain Golden State’s cap space. The Warriors plan to operate under the cap this summer, and a new contract for Curry could cost the team Harrison Barnes or Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli. Also, the NBA limits renegotiated extensions to four seasons, which would include 2016/17. If Curry waits until free agency next summer, he can receive a five-year contract that would run through 2021/22, and he could receive even more money if max deals are increased as part of a 2017 labor renegotiation.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

David Blatt is not on Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s short list to become his top assistant, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Kerr was interested in Blatt for the position two years ago.
Brian Shaw is nearing a return to the Lakers as lead assistant, but the rest of Luke Walton’s staff is uncertain, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Shaw, who was an assistant in L.A. under Phil Jackson from 2005-11, was also rumored to be a candidate for assistant posts with the Pacers and Magic, Oram reports. He adds that no one knows if any members of former head coach Byron Scott’s staff will be retained, as Walton may seek coaches with ties to the Lakers or he may try to lure other assistants from Golden State, where Walton had been serving as lead assistant.
Shaw’s hiring is imminent, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, who says the two sides are finalizing the contract.
It wouldn’t take a playoff team to pry free agent combo guard Jamal Crawford away from the Clippers, tweets Noah Coslov of CineSport. “Definitely money, situation, could be a team on the rise,” Crawford said in listing his priorities in an interview on Bleacher Report Radio. “Doesn’t have to be contender.”

And-Ones: Barnes, Clippers, Briscoe

May 5th, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the reports that the Warriors are planning to make a run at Kevin Durant this offseason, Harrison Barnes, who is set to become a restricted free agent, said during a podcast appearance opposite Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group that he doesn’t take such chatter personally. When asked if he has accepted that Golden State may try to sign Durant this summer, Barnes noted it wasn’t the first time he’s dealt with rumors. “For sure. It was after my first year, was that when Dwight Howard was thinking about leaving? So it was funny, Andrew Bogut texted me and asked me, are we going to L.A.? Because he was going to come here,” Barnes said. We joked about that. And last summer it was [the] Kevin Love thing, is he going to come here? So me and David Lee were joking about the fact that we might have to buy winter coats.”

“You always kind of take it with a grain of salt,” the forward continued. “We’re a great team. And this is a place where people want to play now. Front office is going to do their job, and they’re going to go and try to recruit the best talent, that’s what they’re going to do. You don’t really get too personal about it, or say oh my gosh, they’re looking at other players. Because that’s how business goes.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers noted that the franchise wants to establish its own D-League affiliate in the near future, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com relays. “We’re going to discuss it, for sure,” Rivers said. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to do it by the start of the [2016/17] season, but it’s something we want to do. We’re a ways away from it, but we’ve had discussions with some outside forces that could make that happen, possibly.” Los Angeles was one of 11 NBA teams without its own D-League affiliate this season.
Kentucky point guard Isaiah Briscoe worked out for the Spurs on Wednesday and has workouts scheduled with the Clippers this week and the Lakers after the scouting combine is complete, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets.
Creighton junior point guard Maurice Watson Jr. has withdrawn from the 2016 NBA Draft and will return to school for the 2016/17 season, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Watson is the 70th-best prospect among juniors, according to Givony’s rankings.
San Diego State sophomore small forward Malik Pope has workouts scheduled for later this month with the Celtics and the Jazz, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Pope is the No. 25 sophomore according to Givony and the No. 46 player overall according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

Southeast Notes: Lin, Beal, Horford, Patterson

April 17th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin says Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson helped lay the groundwork for “Lin-sanity,” relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Atkinson, who will become the Nets’ new head coach once Atlanta’s playoff run is complete, aided in Lin’s development when both were with the Knicks. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, one o’clock when I go home,” Lin recalls, “and I’ll say, ‘Hey, can I look at those turnovers? Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick-and-rolls?’ And he’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning. When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice, he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach [Mike] D’Antoni’s system.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Restricted free agent Bradley Beal said he and backcourt partner John Wall both have to play better for the Wizards to be successful, according to J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The fourth-year shooting guard was limited to a career-low 55 games this season and was placed on a minutes restriction after doctors found “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula” in December. “It’s been a rocky year in terms of injuries, offense changing, getting used to playing with new guys on the team and adjusting to a few things,” Beal said. “We both should’ve had a better year than we had. We should’ve carried the team a little better than what we did. We both can attest to it.”
The Hawks‘ Al Horford stands to more than double his salary in free agency and may change the perception of who deserves a max contract, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Horford is making $12MM this season, but when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing his ninth NBA season, he will be eligible for a contract starting at approximately 30% of the salary cap, or about $26MM. Hamilton says that may seem expensive for a player who has never averaged 20 points per game, but Horford will likely define the market for fellow free agents Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Mike Conley and Harrison Barnes.
The Hawks sent Lamar Patterson back to the Austin Spurs of the D-League to finish their playoff series, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Journal Constitution. Atlanta recalled Patterson on Friday after Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a groin injury.

Western Notes: Parsons, Speights, Miller, Harris

March 31st, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s a long shot, but it’s possible that Chandler Parsons returns to play this season, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban revealed Wednesday, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “If we make a run and get to the second round [of the playoffs], there’s a chance,” Cuban said. The team’s press release that followed the right knee surgery Parsons had last week referred to the procedure as a season-ender, but Chandler shared Cuban’s optimism Wednesday, saying on the team’s television broadcast of Wednesday’s victory over the Knicks that rehab will be a “piece of cake,” as Townsend also relays. Parsons said he’d be in a brace for two or three weeks and made reference to a four-to-six week timetable for his recovery. Still, he laughed when told of Cuban’s remark and said he wouldn’t count on his return at any point in the playoffs, Townsend tweets.

See more from the Western Conference:

Andrew Bogut is bullish on the free agent stock of teammate Harrison Barnes, and the Warriors center also thinks reserve big men Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights are in line for major paydays when they hit the market this summer, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays. “[Speights has] been absolutely huge for us this season, and someone’s obviously going to give him a lot of money,” said Bogut, who’s under contract through next season. “Hopefully, it’s us.” Speights spoke with Hoops Rumors about his contract year before it began.
The Timberwolves signed Andre Miller, Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince last summer in part to provide veteran assistance for their young core, but Miller nonetheless criticized the Wolves last week on a podcast with The Vertical’s Chris Mannix for relying too heavily on their young players, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Miller bought his way out of Minnesota and signed earlier this month with the Spurs. “There was no way I was going to stay in Minnesota on a team that never had any goals, from what I thought,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to sit there and let this be my last year. There were no expectations in Minnesota with that team and which way they wanted to go. It wasn’t communicated, so I was like, ‘If this is my last year, I can’t go out like this.’ ”
The Nuggets no longer feel an urgency to make an upgrade at two-guard after Gary Harris delivered in what was a vital season for his hopes of securing a long-term starting position, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Harris, the 19th pick in the 2014 draft, is under contract for two more years.

Pacific Notes: Bryant, Lee, Barnes

March 29th, 2016 at 5:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One of the biggest decisions the Warriors will need to make this summer is whether or not to re-sign Harrison Barnes, who will be eligible to become a restricted free agent at season’s end. Teammate Andrew Bogut believes the combo forward has done more than enough to command a near-maximum salary this summer, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle relays.

“We’re winning. A lot of guys are sacrificing numbers, minutes and roles on this team. That’s why we’re a great team,” Bogut told reporters. “Harrison has had great games, and he’s had bad games — just like everybody else on this roster. I don’t anticipate it affecting his contract situation and all of that. Someone is probably going to give him the max. Let’s be honest. Someone is going to give him close to the max. There’s always a small-market team that would love someone like Harrison as their No. 1 or No. 2 option. I don’t think it’s going to [have] any bearing on his financial future. I think people know that everyone on this team is more valuable than their contract says — just on the basis of what they’ve given up.” Barnes is averaging 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.4 minutes per contest on the campaign.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

David Lee would still be with the Warriors if the team hadn’t won the championship last year, he tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “If we lose the Finals, then I find a way to try to stick around there,” Lee said. “But I feel like, we went from a 23-win team to a championship team in five years. It couldn’t have been a better ending, contributing to helping my team win a championship. It was a fitting ending for both parties. I wanted to play minutes going into a contract year, and there was really no way they could keep me. I think it worked out great for both sides.”
Lakers coach Byron Scott was unhappy with the defensive effort of his younger players against Rodney Hood, who scored 30 points against Los Angeles on Monday night, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake City Tribune relays (via Twitter). The coach pointed to Kobe Bryant‘s willingness to take the assignment when his other players didn’t rise to the challenge, Falk adds. “Kobe wanted to take on the challenge,” Scott told reporters. “It’s a [expletive] shame our oldest player has to take the challenge. It says a lot about him, obviously. It’s what he has done all his life, but nobody else wanted to step up and take that challenge and that’s a shame that the oldest guy our team that is leaving this league in eight games was the one that had to kind of shut him down.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Cauley-Stein, Williams, Wilcox

March 22nd, 2016 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein takes umbrage with those who label him as strictly a defensive player, noting that he has a complete set of skills, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays. “I’m a hooper. I do everything – I do it all,” Cauley-Stein said. “So when that stipulation leaves, it’s going to be cool where you’re just not [a defender], but I don’t think it ever will. People don’t want to see that. People ain’t ready for that. They want it to be, ‘You’re a defensive stopper.’ Well, I’m a defensive stopper, and I’ll go get 20 on you if I get the chance. I haven’t got the chance thus far in my career, but I’ve got it in me. I’ve got a lot of different things. Just waiting on the time to do them or having the green light to just hoop. But that comes; I’m a rookie. I kind of have to just wait and perfect it in practice.” The 22-year-old is averaging 6.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 block per game to go along with a slash line of .592/.000/.622.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Alan Williams‘ multiyear deal with the Suns calls for him to earn $875K next season and that amount is non-guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link). It looks like Pincus is rounding up from the one-year veteran’s minimum salary of $874,636.
Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes is eligible to become a restricted free agent this offseason and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes that he’ll command an average salary of around $20MM per year on his next deal and that the player will receive multiple free agent offers, as he told 95.7 The Game (Twitter link). Golden State, provided it submits a qualifying offer worth $5,194,227, will have the right to match any offer sheet that Barnes signs.
The Clippers have assigned shooting guard C.J. Wilcox to the D-League, the team announced. Wilcox, who is making his fourth trek to the D-League on the campaign, will report to the Canton Charge as part of the league’s flexible assignment rule, since L.A. does not have its own affiliate.

Southeast Notes: Wade, Bosh, Williams, Magic

March 6th, 2016 at 6:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwyane Wade will be a free agent for the second straight year, but there’s virtually no chance he will leave Miami, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Wade is proud of spending his entire 13-year NBA career in one city and persevering through the ups and downs. “It’s not that common in today’s game, but, yeah, you feel very prideful,” Wade said. “It hasn’t all been great, but you continue to stick with it, you continue to fight with it. I’ve been here, good or bad, the Miami Heat stays relevant.” Wade cashed in last summer, earning the highest salary of his career when he re-signed with the Heat for one year at $20MM. He stands to increase that figure this year with the expected jump in the salary cap.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Chris Bosh has been working out with Heat staff members rather than his teammates, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. “Not necessarily with the team. But, yeah, he’ll work out with the staff,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “He’s staying engaged and he’s in great spirits. And that never surprised me with C.B.” Miami is trying to assess Bosh’s chances of returning to action this season after reportedly suffering a blood clot in his calf. The team hasn’t confirmed his condition and is simply putting him on the inactive list without explanation.
The Hornets‘ Marvin Williams is posting some career-high numbers in his 11th season, notes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Williams is having his best season in rebounding and 3-point shooting, and at 10.9 points per game, he has his highest scoring average in seven years. Those figures should be attractive on the open market this summer, as Williams is wrapping up the final season of a two-year, $14MM contract. “One thing my father always taught me is hard work pays off,” Willliams said. “I worked extremely hard this summer and I feel like I’m benefitting from that. It’s helping me and it’s helping our team.”
The Magic could strengthen their presentation to this summer’s free agents with a berth in the playoffs, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando is expected to be aggressive in the free agent market, and Schmitz lists Al Horford, Mike Conley, DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal, Nicolas Batum, Chandler Parsons, Ryan Anderson and Harrison Barnes as possible targets.

Southwest Notes: Howard, Thornton, Dekker

February 28th, 2016 at 5:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks have no interest in signing Rockets center Dwight Howard if he opts out this summer, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Sefko touched on two other free agent centers, stating that Dallas is concerned about “off-court issues” involving Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, while Atlanta’s Al Horford would be a nice fit between Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons. In a question-and-answer session, Sefko also said the Mavericks may pursue Harrison Barnes if Parsons opts out, but he believes Barnes will stay with the Warriors.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Former Rockets guard Marcus Thornton cleared waivers this afternoon, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Houston released Thornton on Friday after he was sent to Detroit in a deal at the deadline that was later voided because of health concerns involving Donatas Motiejunas. Despite trading for Thornton, the Pistons don’t have any interest in signing him.
The Rockets have recalled rookie combo forward Sam Dekker from their D-League affiliate, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston made Dekker the 18th overall pick in last summer’s draft, but he has only appeared in three games for the Rockets because of back surgery. A Wisconsin native, Dekker was called up just in time for the team’s trip to Milwaukee on Monday. “That’s just how it worked out,” he said. “… Now I get to go home, see my family. … I’m sure there will be a lot of Badger fans in Bradley Center tomorrow.”
The versatility of Lance Stephenson, who was acquired in a draft day trade with the Clippers, has helped the Grizzlies deal with the loss of Marc Gasol, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. There were concerns that Memphis might collapse after Gasol’s broken foot, but the team was averaging 108.6 points in five games without their center before Saturday’s loss at Phoenix. “It’s a whole new identity for us with different groups, different guys,” coach Dave Joerger said. “I’m trying to play Lance at four different positions. Matt Barnes is playing two different positions, sometimes three. We can struggle defensively, but we’ll just keep working at it.”