John Wall Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Irving, Bulls, 76ers, Wall, Heat

July 23rd, 2013 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas, including Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, Kyrie Irving was dismissive of a recent report suggesting he wants out of Cleveland.

"I’m a Cavalier right now, I’m happy to be a Cavalier," Irving said. "I kind of had a sarcastic approach to [the report] because it was a rumor starter. I don’t think he knows anybody in my camp and I don’t know who the guy is. That type of stuff I don’t pay any attention to. Right now I’m a Cleveland Cavalier and I’m happy to be here."

Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

Malcolm Thomas' release doesn't necessarily mean the Bulls are clearing room to sign Marcus Camby, a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie confirmed to Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com (Twitter link) that the first-round pick the team will receive from the Pelicans is top-five protected over the next six drafts, starting in 2014.
John Wall confirmed to Shams Charania of RealGM.com that his reps and the Wizards have begun discussions on a contract extension, but Wall says he doesn't plan to get too involved in those talks.
After passing along a few Joe Dumars quotes on the amnesty provision and his team's offseason yesterday, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has a few more items from the Pistons GM on Rasheed Wallace's new gig as a coach, and the trade that sent Chauncey Billups to Denver five years ago.
The Magic signed Jason Maxiell in part so he can act as a mentor and leader for the team's younger players, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Ira Winderman's latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel includes questions on a potential Joel Anthony trade and the possibility of the Heat signing Greg Oden. Winderman adds (via Twitter) that Miami was among the teams in attendance at Oden's workout today.

Wizards Rumors: Wall, Bynum, Haynes

July 15th, 2013 at 9:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Over the weekend, John Wall spoke with Michael Lee of the Washington Post about his expectations for the upcoming season. While many are wondering about his future with the Wizards, he claims that his focus will be reaching the postseason for the first time in his NBA career. Could he be headed to the negotiating table sooner rather than later? Here's more on that and other notes on D.C..

The Wizards have began talking with Wall's agent, Dan Fegan, regarding an extension before the regular season, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Wall will make $7.259MM this season and if he and the team don't reach a deal on an extension by October 31st, the Wizards have the option of extending him a qualifying offer of $9.698MM in the spring. The Wizards star believes that he is deserving of a max deal, but many in the basketball world do not agree.
Guard Will Bynum said that he had an offer from the Wizards and was drawing heavy interest from the Knicks and Clippers, but the Pistons were always his preference, tweets Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit re-signed Bynum to a two-year, $5.75MM deal earlier this month.
Wizards summer league invite Marquez Haynes is impressing people in the organization, including assistant coach Sam Cassell, Michael writes. The guard had interest from other clubs this summer, including the Mavs and Jazz, but wound up with the Wizards' squad.

Southeast Updates: Wall, Harrington, Bobcats

July 13th, 2013 at 9:36pm CST by Spencer Lund

Michael Lee of the Washington Post spoke with John Wall today about his expectations for this upcoming season, which will be Wall's fourth in the league. Wall was matter-of-fact about his focus for next season tell Lee (via Twitter):

"My whole goal is, this is my 4th year & I need to be in the playoffs. Nothing more & nothing else needs to be said about that.”

Wall will make $7.259MM this season with the Wiz and if he and the team don't reach a deal on an extension by October 31st this year, the Wizards have the option to extend him a QO of $9.698MM in the spring.

Here are some more notes from around the Southeast division…

Lee also writes at the Washington Post that third pick Otto Porter's versatility will be put to the test.
Heat President Pat Riley says the team will try to find young veterans who can supplant the team's stars when they move on, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel notes.
The Magic will likely buy-out Al Harrington tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Louis Williams missed a large part of last season after he tore his right ACL, but as Lang Green at HoopsWorld finds out he's still a big part of the Hawks' plans after talking to coaches and executives. If the Hawks were to trade Williams to free up cap space, Mark Deeks of Shamsports.com says they would have no problem doing so.
The Bobcats finally made a splashy free agency signing by getting Al Jefferson with a three-year $41MM deal earlier this summer. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes that Jefferson has special skills as one of the last dominant low-post big men in the game today.
Bonnell's colleague, Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler sounds off on the hysteria over the Bobcats/Hornets name change.

Odds & Ends: Barea, Kenyon, Sampson, Copeland

July 6th, 2013 at 12:41am CST by Chuck Myron

Here's more from the NBA on an landmark night in free agency:

A Dallas source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that the Mavs' agreement with Jose Calderon likely knocks them out of discussions for J.J. Barea. Still, the Wolves remain upbeat about their chances of a Barea deal with the Mavs, in what would be a salary dump enabling Minnesota to clear money for a defensive-minded wing player (All Twitter links).
The Spurs have been one of many teams reportedly interested in Kenyon Martin, and now they're "in hot pursuit" of the veteran big man, though the Knicks and others remain in play, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game heard that Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson wouldn't return to the team, but Sampson tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that he'll be back in Houston. (Twitter links). "That's just a bad rumor," Sampson said. "I'm looking forward to a great year with the Rockets."
The Pacers and Chris Copeland discussed a third year that would have been a team option, but settled instead on their two-year, $6.12MM agreement, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group briefly looks at what the Warriors could do with the trade exceptions they'll acquire as part of their deal with the Jazz. He also hears that the W's see Andre Iguodala as capable of handling backup point guard duties, so the team will prioritize finding a backup center over a backup point guard (Sulia link).
In a separate piece, Thompson recounts the steps Iguodala took on the way to his agreement with the Warriors, noting that Iggy has long considered Golden State a desirable destination.
Lately, agent Dan Fegan has been preoccupied with other free agent clients, such as Dwight Howard, so he and the Wizards have yet to begin discussing an extension for John Wall, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Wall is extension-eligible this season, and will hit restricted free agency next summer if he and the Wizards don't strike a deal by Halloween.
In an interview with DraftExpress.com, Dario Saric suggests that the Mavericks were interested in making him a promise at No. 13 had he not withdrawn from last week's draft.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Wizards GM Talks Wall, Webster, Satoransky, 2014

April 23rd, 2013 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

A year ago today, the Wizards were on the verge of announcing a contract extension for team president Ernie Grunfeld. After a disappointing season in which early-season injuries to John Wall and others killed Washington's chances of contending for a playoff spot, Grunfeld spoke to the media about the direction of the club. Michael Lee of the Washington Post and the Wizards' official Twitter account shared the highlights from Grunfeld, via Twitter….

The team will "have conversations" with Wall and his reps this summer to see if the two sides can work out a contract extension. Grunfeld stressed again that the Wizards want to keep the former first overall pick long-term and build around him.
The Wizards would like to add another veteran to the roster for next year if the opportunity arises. Grunfeld also said Martell Webster complemented Wall and Nene well, and that the club would try to bring him back.
The team hopes to have 2012 second-round pick Tomas Satoransky on its Summer League squad, and will make a decision after that on whether to try to bring him stateside for the season.
"Nobody's happy" about being in the lottery, and the goal for next season is to not be in that position again.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Wall, Watson, Musselman

April 22nd, 2013 at 8:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have called a "major" press conference for tomorrow morning, leading Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com and HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy to speculate that Paul George will be named the league's Most Improved Player (Twitter links). While we wait to find out exactly what the presser is about, here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

John Wall is eligible for an extension to his rookie-scale contract this summer, and has repeatedly expressed his belief that he's worthy of a max. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote last month that "all the signals" indicate the Wizards would be open to such a deal. Now, Michael thinks Wall's recent comments suggest he'd be willing to take less if it meant greater flexibility for the team to pursue free agents.
C.J. Watson told Stefan Bondy he'd love to return to the Nets next season, though Bondy doesn't believe that will happen (Twitter link). Watson has a player option for the minimum salary next season, but if he opts out, the most the taxpaying Nets could offer would be 120% of the minimum under Non-Bird rights.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio thinks former Kings and Warriors coach Eric Musselman would make sense for the Cavs, and points out that Musselman once offered Cleveland GM and fellow University of San Diego product Chris Grant a job on his staff in Golden State.

Odds & Ends: Jackson, Wall, Hunt, Sixers

April 18th, 2013 at 11:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few more miscellaneous notes to pass along tonight:

With the Nets basketball operations staff on expiring deals, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter) wonders if Mikhail Prokhorov is preparing to offer Phil Jackson an offer to run the team and make his own hires.
Wizards guard John Wall tells J. Michael of CSN Washington that he won't be one to recruit free agents, and would rather have players want to join his team.
RealGM's Sham Charania mentions Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt as someone who could draw interest from teams with head coaching vacancies (Twitter link).
Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs outlines a list of potential coaching candidates for the 76ers, mentioning team assistant Aaron Mckie, Villanova coach Jay Wright, Michael Curry (who will be interviewed for the head coaching job), Warriors assistant Mike Malone, and Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer as names that could be considered.
Grantland's Bill Simmons says that when Thunder GM Sam Presti was quietly shopping James Harden last October, he was quickly rebuffed after calling the Raptors to inquire about a deal involving a package centered on Jonas Valanciunas.

Eastern Notes: Turner, Sixers, Gordon, McRoberts

April 18th, 2013 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2012/13 season officially over for 14 NBA teams, it's been a busy Thursday around the league, as teams look toward the offseason changes on the way in the coming weeks and months. Three Eastern Conference teams have parted ways with their head coaches, but that's not all that's going on in the conference today. Here are a few more Eastern updates:

Speaking to Philadelphia media today, Evan Turner said he believes he'll still be a Sixer next season, and that his name has come up in trade rumors because he has value. He added that he isn't worried about potential extension talks — he'll be extension-eligible as of July 1st (Twitter links via Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com).
Sixers owner Josh Harris has confirmed that Philadelphia is in "advanced discussions" to buy a D-League franchise, tweets Moore. A report back in November suggested that the 76ers may be targeting the suspended Utah Flash team.
Ben Gordon can't see any reason to opt out of his contract for next season, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Considering his 2013/14 player option is worth $13.2MM, Gordon's stance is hardly a surprise.
Another player who would like to return to the Bobcats for 2013/14 is Josh McRoberts. However, Bonnell tweets that McRoberts "made it clear" money will be the biggest factor for him in free agency.
John Wall isn't planning on doing much recruiting this summer, telling J. Michael of CSNWashington.com that he's not going to "beg" free agents to sign with the Wizards (Twitter link).
Al Harrington, who has two half-guaranteed years remaining on his contract, recognizes he probably doesn't have a future with the Magic, but isn't 100% sure, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Jeffries, Coaches, Kahn, Raptors

April 17th, 2013 at 11:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Blazers owner Paul Allen spoke to reporters this evening about the offseason for his team, which begins tomorrow, and it seems one decision will have to be made fairly quickly. Jared Jeffries is under contract for the next two seasons, but neither is guaranteed. Next season would become guaranteed if he's not waived by the fifth day following Portland's final game this season, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com believes it's likely that Jeffries won't be back, judging by the 31-year-old's lack of playing time this season, so it appears the Blazers could be cutting him loose soon. Jeffries wants to remain in the NBA next season, however, and tells Haynes that he'll be looking for more playing time wherever he winds up.

As we wait to learn the fate of Jeffries and others as the offseason begins for nearly half the league, there's plenty more NBA news:

Sam Amick of USA Today examines which coaches are most likely to be out of work soon, placing Mike Dunlap among those in the greatest danger of losing their jobs, along with Keith Smart, Byron Scott and Lawrence Frank. He also suggests that if Rick Adelman returns to the Wolves, GM David Kahn will as well, but if the coach isn't back, Kahn may be on the outs, too.
Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo insists to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun that he never tried to fire coach Dwane Casey this season, as Simmons had previously reported.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, speaking with the team's broadcasters during tonight's game, said retaining unrestricted free agent Martell Webster will be key, confirming a pair of recent reports. CSNWashington.com has the video, in which Leonsis also expresses a desire to keep John Wall long-term.
Executives around the league who spoke to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game are widely split on how much O.J. Mayo could command if he turns down his $4.2MM option for next season. Some figure he can't expect much of a raise, and others believe he could easily make $10MM-$12MM (Sulia link).
Point guard Josiah Turner, who played professionally in Canada this year after leaving the University of Arizona, will enter the draft, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com rate Turner as a top 100 prospect.

Wizards Notes: Wall, Okafor, Beal

April 1st, 2013 at 3:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wizards players were among the many notables at the White House this morning for the annual Easter Egg Roll, and while Bradley Beal made his pitch for lower taxes to President Obama, a couple of his teammates appear focused on other ways to keep their bank accounts in order. Here's the latest on Washington's team:

John Wall believes he's the ninth-best point guard in the league, but tries to explain to TNT's David Aldridge, who writes his Morning Tip column for NBA.com, why he believes he deserves a maximum-salary contract. "Well, I feel like I get what I deserve," the third-year point guard said. "I know what I play like. I think (the Wizards) understand what I've been through the first two years, having what I had. Not to talk bad on any of my teammates or any of the guys I've had. I just feel like some of them weren't very professional about their job. They didn't care about winning, to be honest."
Wall feels better about his teammates this year, and said Washington's acquisition of veterans in the offseason has helped him warm to the idea of a long-term commitment to the Wizards. All things being equal, Aldridge doesn't believe Wall is a max player, but given the circumstances in Washington, he thinks a five-year deal worth $68.75MM, which would make Wall the team's designated player, would fit the bill.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld also caught up with Wall, who offered further explanation on why he should get the max. "I’m not just going to base it on my play lately," he said. "I’m just talking about me in the future and how I want to change the organization around, making the playoffs and hopefully winning a championship here."
Unless Emeka Okafor wanted to risk a significant paycut to sign with a contender, there's been little doubt he would elect to stay with the Wizards for next season and collect his $14.488MM salary rather than exercise his early-termination option for 2013/14. Okafor confirms his plan is to stay in D.C., as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com observes.
Beal gave Grantland's Zach Lowe a wide-ranging interview that touched on his adjustment to the NBA and rumors earlier this season linking him to the Grizzlies in a potential Rudy Gay deal. "It is what it is. It’s a business. But I knew the (team) wasn’t going to trade me," Beal said.