Kevin Durant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Durant, Nedovic, Warriors

May 31st, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Durant, fresh off the Thunder being eliminated by Golden State in the playoffs, said it was too soon for him to start thinking about where he will be playing next season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. “I mean, we just lost like 30 minutes ago, so I haven’t even thought about it,” Durant, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, said. “I’m just embracing my teammates and just reflecting on the season. I’ll think about that stuff, I don’t know when. But we just lost an hour ago, 30 minutes ago, so I don’t know.”

“There’s no moral victories in our locker room after the game,” a frustrated Durant continued. “We’re all upset. We wanted to get a chance to play for a championship in the Finals, so that hurts. But when you sit down and look back at what happened throughout the season, you can be proud of not just the players, but everybody in the organization, from the top to the bottom, people that you guys don’t know or ever see contribute to what we bring out on the court. That’s just pride, effort, passion, love for the game. Pure love for the game every single night, and that comes from just walking into our practice facility every single day and feeling those vibes and feeling that energy from everyone. I’m just proud of what we’ve all been through this season. We stuck together and we sacrificed for each other. That’s just what makes this game so special.”

Here’s the latest from out West:

Former Warriors point guard Nemanja Nedovic inked a two-year contract extension to remain with the Spanish club Unicaja Malaga, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 24-year-old former first-rounder last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 campaign. Nedovic had given up $599,760 of his $1.104MM guaranteed salary in a buyout deal to secure his release from Golden State after he had grown unhappy with his lack of playing time.
Golden State has been rumored to be “significant” frontrunners for Durant should he leave the Thunder this summer, and current Warriors forward Andre Iguodala noted that it would be entertaining to play alongside the “Slim Reaper,” Jimmy Durkin of The Mercury News relays. “He made some really tough shots, which is what I expected,” Iguodala said of Durant. “He’s a fighter and competitor and fought to the end. It must be fun playing with a guy like that. Unless I’m not playing with him.” Of course, the rub for Iguodala is that it would be extremely difficult for the team to retain him and his 2016/17 salary of $11,131,368 and sign Durant to a max deal. This is regardless of whether or not Golden State retains restricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, though keeping both would make adding Durant virtually impossible without some significant corresponding roster moves.
Speculating on Durant’s impending free agency, ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links) noted that many league insiders predict the forward will ink a two-year deal to remain with the Thunder that includes an opt-out after the first season. The scribe lists the Wizards, Heat, Celtics, Rockets, Knicks, Lakers, Spurs and Warriors as the teams expected to make the most aggressive pitches for Durant this summer.

Rockets Notes: Free Agency, Beasley, D’Antoni

May 28th, 2016 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets should concentrate on shooters in free agency if their primary targets don’t work out, recommends Kevin P. Smith of Real GM. Houston is hoping to meet with Kevin Durant and Al Horford, two of the top names in the free agent class, but if neither player comes to Houston, Smith believes 3-point marksmen should be the priority in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. The writer mentions Brandon Jennings and Jerryd Bayless as possible backups to Patrick Beverley, and suggests Ryan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic as potential front court prospects. Smith also says the Rockets could have interest in Marvin Williams, Jeff Green, Derrick Williams, Marreese Speights and Al Jefferson.

Two late-season additions, Michael Beasley and Andrew Goudelock, are likely to stay in Houston for another season, Smith says in the same piece. Beasley, who played most of last season in China, averaged 12.8 points per night in 20 games after joining the Rockets. Houston has a $1.4MM team option on Beasley for 2016/17. Goudelock only made it into eight games after signing with the Rockets in March, but a $1,015,696 team option gives him a chance to stick around.
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander chose the “big, splashy name” when he hired D’Antoni this week, charges Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Smith writes that the Rockets should have hired Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, and that D’Antoni is the wrong choice to bring the discipline and emphasis on defense that the Rockets need to improve on a 41-41 season.
Free agents will be more likely to consider Houston because of D’Antoni’s history of helping his players land big contracts, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. Adande lists Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jodie Meeks as players who struck it big in free agency after playing in D’Antoni’s up-tempo system.

And-Ones: Rose Rule, Noah, Draft, Roc Nation

May 27th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

Two standout NBA players were significantly impacted by Thursday’s announcement of this year’s All-NBA teams, with Damian Lillard receiving some good news while Anthony Davis got hit with bad news. By earning a spot on the All-NBA second team, Lillard ensured that his max extension, which goes into effect for the coming season, would increase from 25% of the Trail Blazers‘ cap to 27.5%, guaranteeing him an extra $12MM+ over the life of the deal. Conversely, since he missed out on All-NBA honors this year, Davis will have his max extension count for 25% of the Pelicans‘ cap rather than 30%, costing him nearly $25MM over the next five years.

In a column for The Vertical, Bobby Marks takes a closer at Lillard’s and Davis’ situations with the Blazers and Pelicans, respectively, and argues that the NBA needs to revamp what’s known as the Derrick Rose Rule. As Marks points out, the criteria for the Rose Rule hinges on fan and media votes, and it doesn’t seem right that those votes should have such a huge impact on a player’s earnings.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders identifies five potential landing spots for Joakim Noah if he leaves the Bulls, starting with Minnesota, where Noah’s former coach Tom Thibodeau is set to take the reins.
Chad Ford’s latest Insider-only dispatch at ESPN.com includes plenty of interesting notes on prospects like Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, Marquese Chriss, and others. Among Ford’s tidbits: Chriss is generally viewed as a candidate to be picked in the No. 7-10 range, but teams as high as the Suns (No. 4) are considering the power forward out of Washington.
Within an in-depth look at Roc Nation Sports, Jay-Z’s sports agency, Rick Maese of The Washington Post speaks to Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant‘s agent at Roc Nation. “We know this is a big deal and a big moment in his career,” Kleiman said of Durant’s impending free agency. “We also have to be his guiding light in this. We can’t let the pressure of the situation be bigger than it is. Obviously, we understand all eyes are looking at him and looking at his decisions, and people want to see how we’re going to handle it, too.”
In a piece for Basketball Insiders, Eric Pincus takes an in-depth look at how the NBA’s playoff pool works, and which teams are benefiting most from the postseason bonus money.

Western Notes: Howard, Felton, Thomas

May 26th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets guard Jason Terry doesn’t believe that center Dwight Howard is a lock to opt out of his deal this summer and test free agency, as he told Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “He has yet to opt out,” Terry said. “Again, it’s just going to depend on if you get the right coach in there. At this point in his career, he’s not going to be the focal point offensively. They’ve made that clear. He’s gonna have to, if he remains in Houston, buy into the role fully, commit himself to setting screens, rebounding, running the floor, blocking shots and working on his free throws, obviously.” Terry’s comments were made prior to the reports that Mike D’Antoni would be the team’s new head coach, which may significantly impact Howard’s thinking given the two did not mesh well together in Los Angeles.

Here’s more from out West:

The Mavericks could benefit by re-signing Raymond Felton this summer after his solid 2015/16 campaign, though the team should only do so if he is willing to accept the salary of a backup player, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Felton made 80 appearances this season, including 30 starts, and he averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 27.4 minutes per outing.
Former NBA player Adonis Thomas will attend mini-camps with the Rockets, Spurs and Jazz, his agent Travis King informed Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype (Twitter link). The 23-year-old swingman appeared in six games during the 2013/14 campaign for the Sixers and Magic.
If Kevin Durant leaves the Thunder as a free agent this offseason, he will also be leaving behind Russell Westbrook, whose presence has played a significant part in Durant’s success thus far in his career, Ben Alamar of ESPN.com writes.

Heat Notes: Durant, Deng, Johnson

May 23rd, 2016 at 9:17am CST by Dana Gauruder

Oklahoma City’s surprising playoff run means there’s virtually no chance that Kevin Durant will land with the Heat as a free agent, Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel opines. Unless he’s desperate to get out of Oklahoma City, Durant has no real incentive to leave a team that can win championships, Hyde continues. While the Heat still must make an effort to contact Durant during free agency, it’s now clearcut that re-signing center Hassan Whiteside is their biggest offseason priority, Hyde adds.

In other news regarding the Heat:

Retaining free agent small forward Luol Deng will be difficult if the Heat manage to retain Whiteside, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. It will be tough to make the salary-cap math work in that scenario, as Deng likely will have suitors willing to immediately pay a number the Heat would hesitate to match while wooing Whiteside, Winderman continues. Starting point guard Goran Dragic could be traded to free up cap space, while Dwyane Wade is likely to finish his career in Miami, Winderman adds while examining the roster.
Restricted free agent Tyler Johnson might interest the point-guard starved Knicks, Marc Berman of the New York Post speculates. Johnson is quite versatile and would be a good fit if New York continues to run the triangle offense under new coach Jeff Hornacek.
Continuity under team president Pat Riley and a stable coaching staff are the Heat’s greatest assets, Hyde writes in a separate piece. The belief that the Heat will regain their status as a prime title contender starts with Riley, according to Hyde, adding that Riley’s biggest decision this summer is whether the team should splurge on an outside free agent or wait until next year.

Heat Notes: Durant, Whiteside, McRoberts, Johnson

May 22nd, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are treating Kevin Durant like a long shot and concentrating their free agency efforts on keeping Hassan Whiteside, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami intends to make an offer to Durant, but Jackson says the team’s intentions were clear when president Pat Riley called Whiteside the priority this week.

Miami might have a better shot at signing an outside free agent next summer, Jackson writes, even if Whiteside returns at a max or near-max contract. Dwyane Wade can free up some money if he agrees to another one-year contract or a two-year deal with an opt out after one season. Even if Chris Bosh is able to keep playing and his $25.3MM counts against the Heat’s cap, the franchise could have about $26MM to use next summer, possibly closer to $32MM if it can find a taker for Josh McRoberts. That would be enough to re-sign Wade and add a player such as Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Danilo Gallinari, Taj Gibson, Andre Iguodala, Tony Allen or J.J. Redick.

There’s more out of Miami:

The Heat will gauge the trade market for McRoberts, but the front office recognizes his value in case Bosh can’t play, Jackson writes in the same story. Miami might prefer to keep Luol Deng, who filled in for Bosh this season, but the offers he will get in free agency might be more than Miami can afford. “When you watch players play with [McRoberts], who know how to play with him, they’re very effective,” Riley said. “… We’re still high on him. We’re praying all the time he stays healthy.”
Joe Johnson may not stay with the Heat if he wants a quick decision in free agency, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Winderman expects many variables to play out, including whether coach Erik Spoelstra wants to make Justise Winslow his starting small forward. If that happens, the Heat would prefer to add another shooter to the starting lineup, a role Bosh can fill if he’s healthy. The Heat may want to fill their salary cap with other players first and then offer Johnson its $2.9MM “room” mid-level exception. However, he could get a better offer from another team before that happens.
After passing on Devin Booker to draft Winslow last year, the Heat need to concentrate on finding shooters this summer, Winderman contends in a separate piece. Their 7-for-25 performance from 3-point range in Game 7 against the Raptors underlined the need for improvement, but Spoestra said the team won’t be searching for just one skill. “Teams are built differently; teams can win in different ways,” he said. “… The most important thing is finding the best fits around the players you currently have, and can players bring out the best in each other?”

Heat Rumors: Whiteside, Durant, Free Agents

May 16th, 2016 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Following their Game 7 loss to the Raptors on Sunday, the Heat will begin their offseason preparation in earnest, and Hassan Whiteside – who was sidelined for most of the team’s series against Toronto – will play a key role in Miami’s summer. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes, there will be “considerable debate” within the organization over the next several weeks about whether or not to offer Whiteside a max deal.

Of course, before the Heat can even move forward in negotiations with Whiteside, the club will have to determine whether Kevin Durant will be a realistic free agent target, says Jackson — the Oklahoma City star would be Miami’s top priority in free agency if he’s available, and if the Heat could land Durant, the odds of keeping Whiteside would decline significantly. So the team may need to get a read on Durant’s intentions before getting serious about retaining Whiteside.

Let’s check in on a few other notable issues and decisions facing the Heat this summer…

Even if Chris Bosh isn’t healthy enough to return to the Heat next season, the team wouldn’t be able to excise his cap number from the books until at least February 2017, notes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. If Bosh remains on the cap but is unable to play, the Heat will essentially be operating with about 75% of the salary cap flexibility of the rest of the league’s teams, says Winderman.
We rounded up some postgame comments from the Heat’s pending free agents after Sunday’s game, and Winderman goes a little more in-depth on those comments in his own Sun Sentinel piece, with Udonis Haslem, Joe Johnson, and Amar’e Stoudemire among the free-agents-to-be who offered their thoughts on a potential return.
Within a pair of recent mailbags, Winderman explored whether Joe Johnson has a future in Miami beyond this season, whether or not Whiteside deserves a max deal, and whether there would be a market for Goran Dragic if the Heat made him available via trade.

Thunder Notes: Durant, Free Agency, Adams

May 8th, 2016 at 11:54am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant, who is expected to be the most sought-after name on this summer’s free agent market, respects David West for passing up millions to pursue an NBA title, relays Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. West declined a $12.6MM option with the Pacers last year and signed with the Spurs for the $1.5MM veteran’s minimum. The move raised eyebrows around the league, but Durant found it admirable. “Money isn’t everything in this life,” Durant said. “I know we tend to think about taking care of your family and being financially stable, but from the outside looking in, it looked like he said, ‘I’ve been blessed enough to make X amount of dollars, and I want to be happy chasing something that is the grand prize in this league.’”

There’s more news from Oklahoma City:

The Thunder are the favorites to keep Durant, but their chances would decline if they can’t get past the Spurs, writes Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Daily News. That largely falls in with a Friday report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Heisler expects Durant to sign a one-year deal with Oklahoma City or possibly a two-year pact with an opt-out clause for next summer. That will enable him to earn about $40MM more and time his free agency with Russell Westbrook‘s. “I think he’s going to test the water,” said former Thunder teammate and current Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie, “but at the end of the day, Oklahoma City is something dear to his heart.” In order, Heisler lists the Spurs, Warriors, Wizards, Clippers, Knicks and Lakers as the top contenders if Durant does decide to leave OKC.
Because he was drafted with a pick the Thunder received in the James Harden trade, Steven Adams has been dealing with huge expectations from the start of his NBA career, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Adams averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this year while splitting time at center with Enes Kanter. Before the start of last season, Oklahoma City picked up Adams’ $3,140,517 option for 2016/17. “He’s not easily impressed, he doesn’t take things too seriously,” said teammate Nick Collison. “I think that’s the culture from his background. He’s all about, ‘Get over yourself.’ He didn’t grow up with the dream to play in the NBA, and it shows.”

Latest On Kevin Durant

May 6th, 2016 at 11:10am CST by Chuck Myron

The theory among the teams eager to pursue Kevin Durant this summer is that the Thunder’s second-round series against the Spurs will decide whether he leaves Oklahoma City, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Durant would stay if the Thunder win and leave if they lose, Stein relays, stressing that it’s merely an assumption among the front offices. The Spurs, with the series tied 1-1, indeed have designs on luring Durant to San Antonio, Stein hears, echoing what several rival executives suggested to Chris Mannix of The Vertical in March.

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com recently compared the talk about Durant joining the Spurs as “eerily similar” to the early rumblings that connected LaMarcus Aldridge to San Antonio last year. Still, the Warriors loom as another powerful suitor, and The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in February at that they would be significant front-runners for Durant if he were to leave the Thunder. Golden State is optimistic about its chances, and chatter has gone on since the Warriors’ record 24-0 start about the kinship Durant formed on Team USA with Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala, Stein writes. The Wizards, Heat, Celtics, Rockets, Lakers and Clippers are planning hard pushes for Durant, too, according to Stein, who cautions that it’s premature to peg any team aside from the Thunder as the favorite to land him.

Neither the Warriors nor the Spurs have the cap flexibility to sign Durant for his max of an estimated $26MM for next season without making trades, waiving players via the stretch provision, or both. The Vertical’s Bobby Marks illustrated a scenario involving maneuvers that would give the Warriors enough room to sign Durant, and Danny Leroux of The Sporting News laid out San Antonio’s path. The Clippers would have to offload either Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, as I noted in our offseason outlook for the team earlier today.

The teams who assume Durant will stay with the Thunder if Oklahoma City advances to the next round of the playoffs suggest he’d go for a two-year contract with a player option on year two, the same sort of contract LeBron James favors, according to Stein. That would allow Durant the flexibility for him to hit free agency again next summer, when Russell Westbrook‘s contract expires, and it would represent the most lucrative path for the former MVP, as I examined. Still, Durant told Stein at the All-Star break that he hadn’t considered such a contract structure.

Northwest Notes: Donovan, Jazz, Barton

May 3rd, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder coach Billy Donovan made a successful transition from the college coaching ranks to the NBA this season, with Oklahoma City notching a 55-27 record for the season. Donovan, reflecting on his rookie campaign, chalks up much of his success to film study and input from a number of current NBA coaches, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “I watched an enormous amount of NBA film in the preseason and an enormous amount in the playoffs,” Donovan told Zillgitt. “I always felt from an NBA perspective, just because of the amount of time coaches spend on the game, they’re a lot further along than college coaches in terms of the nuances.”

Donovan also offered up praise for Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, noting that without their willingness to sacrifice, the team’s offense wouldn’t be effective, Zillgitt adds. “The one thing that helps with that is that Kevin and Russell are unselfish players,” Donovan said. “I know they score a lot of points. I know they get recognized for their ability to play isolation basketball. Sometimes they get criticized for it, and I’ve never really understood it because they’re willing passers. When you’re a willing passer, that’s what you’re looking for as a coach. We have to play to our identity and because Russell and Kevin are so good offensively, we give them that opportunity to beat their man. That’s a good thing. You need to be able to take advantage of that as a coach and let them take advantage of it as a player.”

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The Jazz have predraft workouts scheduled on Wednesday with Wyoming guard Josh Adams, Louisiana Tech guard Alex Hamilton, Fairfield small forward Marcus Gilbert, Texas A&M swingman Jalen Jones, Arkansas-Little Rock point guard Josh Hagins and Utah small forward Jordan Loveridge, the team announced.
Nuggets swingman Will Barton had a strong 2015/16 campaign that saw him notch career-highs in scoring (14.4 points), field-goal percentage (43.2%), 3-point percentage (34.5%) and rebounds per game (5.8), but the 25-year-old needs to improve his defense and reduce his turnovers if he hopes to continue to progress as a player, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Barton is signed for only about $3.5MM each of the next two seasons.