Reggie Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Wall, Millsap, Stoudemire

July 15th, 2015 at 7:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards‘ signing of John Wall to a five-year, approximately $80MM extension back in 2013 came with risk, but Wall has made the deal look like a bargain compared to a number of recent contracts that have been handed out, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. Wall compared the value of his deal to that of Reggie Jackson, who recently inked an almost identical deal with the Pistons, saying, “Man, everybody talking about me getting $80MM and you got people getting $85MM and $90MM that ain’t been an All-Star or anything like that. I guess they came in at the right time. The new CBA kicked in at the right time. That new CBA kicked in and they’re good now. Like, Reggie Jackson gets five years, 80. Like, I’m getting the same amount as Reggie Jackson right now.”

Jackson averaged 17.6 points and 9.2 assists in 27 games with the Pistons last season, while Wall notched 17.6 points along with 10 assists per contest for Washington. “I can’t control it. That’s what happens,” Wall continued. “But I’m happy for those guys. To see anybody get the opportunity to live their dream out and take care of their family when they can, that’s a blessing. So I’m happy for those guys.”

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer admitted that the team’s offseason revolved around re-signing forward Paul Millsap, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays. When asked if the team had to choose between Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, who departed for the Raptors as a free agent, Budenholzer said, “I don’t know if I would characterize it that you had to choose one or the other. It may just be word play, but ultimately there is not enough for everybody. I think we value DeMarre, and he was a big part of our success. We will miss him. But sometimes you have to make hard decisions. I guess it’s part of the NBA of having a good team and having players who play well and deserve opportunities. I don’t like to think of it as picking one over the other. I like to think of it as sometimes there is not enough for everything that you want.“
Newly signed Amar’e Stoudemire is willing to fill any role the Heat require of him, Michael Wallace of ESPN.com writes. “It’s whatever the coaching staff asks,” Stoudemire said. “I can play however much or however long he [coach Erik Spoelstra] needs me to. You know, it’s whatever it takes to win.“
Wizards second round pick Aaron White is almost certain to play in Europe during the 2015/16 season, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com writes, though his agent doesn’t seem anxious to make any declarations. “It’s too early to say,” Chris Emens, White’s agent, told Michael about whether White will be on Washington’s preseason roster. “We’re talking to [the Wizards] about some of that stuff. We’re also talking to international teams. Right now the biggest thing for Aaron is to develop, particularly when the roster sheds a lot of spots next season, for him and be ready to step in and play a role.“

And-Ones: Cavs, Raptors, Pistons

July 12th, 2015 at 11:03pm CST by Will Joseph

Cavs GM David Griffin told reporters, including Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group, that he is interested in re-signing unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith and restricted free agent Matthew Dellavedova. “In Delly’s case, the restricted free agency is a totally different process,” Griffin said. “With J.R., I wouldn’t want to characterize the discussion or anything, but he’s a player I’d like to have back. We just have to find a way to make it work.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Raptors have hired Andy Greer as an assistant coach, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Greer, who previously was an assistant with the Bulls under former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, will run the Raptors’ defense.
The Raptors let a leftover sliver of the Steve Novak trade exception expire Friday. It was initially a $3,445,947 exception created when Toronto sent Novak to Utah on July 10th, 2014. The lion’s share of it went toward the acquisition of Luke Ridnour last month, a move that failed to be of much efficacy for the Raptors, who simply waived Ridnour this past Thursday.
The Pistons plan to proceed with finalizing Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80 million contract later this week or early next week, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters including David Mayo of MLive.com. At around the same time, Gundy plans to address the topic of Andre Drummond‘s contract extension, Mayo adds. The Pistons expect to lock Drummond into a long-term extension, Mayo writes, though they would have about another $15MM in cap flexibility in 2016/17 if the 21-year-old center agrees to wait until 2016 to sign rather than inking an extension this summer.
Free agent guard A.J. Price, who was formerly with the Suns, is mulling a move overseas and might land with Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter).
Anthony Randolph has decided to return to Russia and the former NBA forward re-signed with Kuban, Pick also tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Rumors: Drummond, Butler, Pacers

July 12th, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons will begin extension talks with center Andre Drummond this summer with the aim of signing him to a long-term deal, most likely for the max, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons want to lock up their franchise player even though they could have more flexibility to sign free agents and make trades next summer by waiting to re-sign him when he’s a restricted free agent, Foster continues. The incentive for Drummond is to get the guaranteed money now in case he suffers a significant injury, Foster adds. Money is apparently no object to get an agreement. “We have until the end of October so we will get into those talks in the next couple of weeks,” Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said during a press conference. “What you are talking about there is more timing than anything. It is not like you will be haggling over dollars, so it is a different situation.”

In other news around the Central Division:

Van Gundy admitted he took “a little bit of a gamble” with his commitment to point guard Reggie Jackson, who has never started a full season, John Niyo of the Detroit News writes. Jackson, a restricted free agent, agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal without any options to be the team’s floor leader going forward. Van Gundy wanted to have Jackson for the long haul. “You’ve got to weigh in future years,” Van Gundy told the Detroit media. “Most of the guys who signed free-agent contracts [this July], they’ve got an out after year three or four. We were willing to pay more money to not have the out.”
Jimmy Butler received a $4.6MM signing bonus when he re-signed with the Bulls, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Butler stayed put with a five-year deal worth approximately $95MM. A 5% trade kicker is another element to the contract, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Pacers will use cap room to re-sign guard Rodney Stuckey since they renounced his non-Bird rights, Pincus reports. They also renounced their rights to Andrew Bynum, David West and Luis Scola, among others, Pincus adds (Twitter links). Stuckey agreed to a three-year, $21MM deal to remain with Indiana.

Eastern Rumors: Jackson, Knicks, Smith

July 6th, 2015 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Reggie Jackson shakes off skepticism about the contract he agreed to with the Pistons and believes he’ll prove to be a bargain, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Jackson will become the highest-paid player in team history when he signs the five-year, $80MM contract that was hammered out on Sunday night. He was a backup behind Russell Westbrook with the Thunder until the Pistons acquired him as their starting floor leader at the trade deadline. “It’s a small sample size; I understand people see the small size and all that,” Jackson said to Ellis. “A lot of these players getting deals have been starters their whole career and are hitting game-winning shots and other things like that. In about two or three years I hope everybody says Reggie Jackson is underpaid.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks may offer their $2.814MM room exception for teams under the cap to Alexey Shved, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. According to the source, Shved, who played 16 games with the Knicks last season, has two other NBA teams interested as well a handful of European offers, a source told Berman. Veterans Caron Butler and Willie Green are two other players that the club is considering with its room exception, Berman adds.
J.R. Smith wants a three-year commitment from the team on his next deal, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Haynes seconds the notion that Smith is unlikely to end up re-signing with the Cavs, as it seems like Cleveland doesn’t want to invest long-term in him. The Plain Dealer’s Terry Pluto wrote earlier that Smith “pretty much signed his exit papers” from Cleveland when he opted out. But Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that the team has not abandoned its pursuit of Smith and desires to keep the 2014/15 core intact.
Bucks coach Jason Kidd and GM John Hammond denied a report that Kidd would take over the team’s operations, Tamira Madsen of the Associated Press reports. The report from onmilwaukee.com also claimed Hammond would be reassigned within the Bucks organization or possibly leave the team but Kidd told the AP that was false. “There is no friction, there is no announcement,” Kidd said.

Central Notes: James, Jackson, Bucks

July 4th, 2015 at 8:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James won’t begin contract talks with the Cavaliers until negotiations with Tristan Thompson are completed, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Cleveland is trying to reach a new deal with the 24-year-old, but talks are currently stalled. Thompson and the Cavaliers discussed a deal this week worth more than $80MM.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Free agent guard Reggie Jackson was part of the crowd for the Pistons‘ summer league opener today in Orlando, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said there is no indication Jackson is negotiating with other teams and the team hopes to meet with him soon to work out a new contract. He took Jackson’s presence today as a positive step. “It is a sign he wants to be here,” Van Gundy said.
After they agreed to terms with Greg Monroe earlier this week, Zach Lowe of Grantland believes the Bucks will look to trade away one of their frontcourt players.
The agreement between Khris Middleton and the Bucks came together so fast that other teams didn’t even get a real chance to speak with the 23-year-old, Lowe writes in a separate piece.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post

Eastern Rumors: Cavs, DeRozan, Celtics, Monroe

June 29th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Chuck Myron

Some sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they think LeBron James will ask the Cavs to change coaches (Twitter link), though he has no intention of pushing the team to fire David Blatt, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported last week. Blatt has made it clear on multiple occasions that he expects he’ll be back. Still, we’ll see what happens this summer in Cleveland. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Chatter continues to indicate that DeMar DeRozan will opt out and seek a maximum-salary deal next summer, and “there is no way” that the Raptors would be willing to pay him that much, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. For this summer, the Raptors will probably have particular interest in Marc Gasol and Paul Millsap, Wolstat also writes.
Celtics don’t find their chances to land a star encouraging, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe hears. Himmelsbach confirms earlier reports of interest in Greg Monroe and Millsap, though he hears from several team sources who say the team didn’t offer Marcus Smart in trade proposals to other teams on draft day.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com believes the new regime in Atlanta isn’t as enamored with Monroe’s game as the team’s last set of higher-ups was (Twitter link). The Hawks, who have a new principal owner in Tony Ressler and have formally cut ties with GM Danny Ferry, aren’t among the teams reportedly meeting with the soon-to-be free agent big man.
Jimmy Butler would like to sign a one-year offer sheet with the Lakers, a league source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, but that would be impossible since offer sheets must be for at least two years and at least three if, as the Bulls have long planned, Chicago makes a five-year max offer. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a couple of weeks ago that Butler’s interest in the Lakers had increased, but the Bulls have the right to match any offer and are expected to do so, Medina notes.
Reggie Jackson turned down an offer worth more than $12MM a year in extension talks with the Thunder last year because he wanted out of Oklahoma City and onto a team where he could start, a source told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Jackson will probably demand the max if the Pistons want him to sign for five years, the same source said to Ellis.
Mario Hezonja and Barcelona, his Spanish team, have reached a deal on a buyout that will allow him to part ways with the club and sign with the Magic, who drafted him fifth overall Thursday, reports Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (translation via Sporando’s Enea Trapani). The buyout is worth 1.6 million euros, the equivalent of about $1.79MM at today’s exchange rate. Orlando will presumably cover the maximum $625K of that amount.

Central Notes: Jackson, Pacers, Bulls

June 24th, 2015 at 10:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons have tendered a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683 to Reggie Jackson, making him a restricted free agent this summer, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Detroit will now have the opportunity to match any offer sheet that Jackson signs, though it is not a given that it will do so. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com had previously relayed that if Emmanuel Mudiay were to be available at the No. 8 overall pick, the Pistons would consider allowing Jackson to depart this offseason. Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) concurs that Detroit would snag Mudiay if he were available, though the franchise doesn’t believe he is ready to run an NBA team just yet.

Here’s more from the NBA’s Central Division:

The Pacers will focus on accumulating talent in the draft, and not on any particular position, Indiana GM Kevin Pritchard said, notes Mark Montieth of NBA.com. “More than ever, it’s not like you’re going after a quarterback or point guard,” Pritchard said. “You’re seeing the teams that really succeed put five guys who can really make plays out there. You try to get the best player you can, because in a small market, it’s your only chance to get special. We’re not New York or L.A., so to get special you have to do it in the draft.“
Pritchard also said that the Pacers are focused on “four or five” players with the No. 11 overall pick, but are prepared to call audibles if a player “drops” during the draft, Montieth adds. The team isn’t opposed to dealing the pick either, the NBA.com scribe adds. “We’re not afraid to trade the pick; we talk about that all the time,” Pritchard said. “We’ve heard a lot about 11. There’s interest in 11. Moving down is tough because then the draft selects for you instead of you selecting the draft.“
The Bulls, who are badly in need of backcourt depth, will have numerous options in the draft to add a rotation piece, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. Playmakers who could potentially be available at the No. 22 overall pick include Delon Wright, Jerian Grant, and Tyus Jones, Johnson adds.

Central Notes: Jackson, Bucks, Draft

June 23rd, 2015 at 7:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If Emmanuel Mudiay were to fall to the Pistons, who hold the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, the team would consider selecting him and letting Reggie Jackson depart as a free agent, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. “They’re not 100 percent sold on Reggie,” a league source told Berger. Detroit also likes Duke’s Justise Winslow and Croatian swingman Mario Hezonja at that spot, Berger’s sources also informed him. Jackson can become a restricted free agent this offseason if the Pistons tender him a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683.

Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Central Division:

Rumors persist that the Bucks would give up Michael Carter-Williams in a package that nets a top-10 pick, writes Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, who suggests the Bucks could dangle John Henson, too, but strong indications are the Bucks are resistant to trading either, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter link). Milwaukee considers both core players, Mannix adds.
The Pistons held pre-draft workouts today for Gabe Olaseni (Iowa), Tekele Cotton (Wichita State), Aaron Harrison (Kentucky), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), Mateusz Ponitka (Poland), and Arturas Gudaitis (Lithuania), Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays (Twitter links). Gudaitis was the headliner at the workout, Langlois notes, and he could be an option for Detroit with the No. 38 overall pick.
With the Bucks still unclear on what kind of player Jabari Parker can be in the NBA, the franchise could benefit by adding more frontcourt depth through the draft, Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press writes. Milwaukee has narrowed its draft wish list to four or five players, Armas notes. The team’s top needs are a big man who can rebound and defend, as well as an outside shooter, according to the AP scribe. “You know you hope you can maybe get a rotation player,” Bucks GM John Hammond said. “Sometimes in that range you can get a little luckier, maybe get a starter in a bit. Hopefully it’s a keeper piece and a player that can be a contributor.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Celtics Rumors: Free Agency, Jerebko, Crowder

April 30th, 2015 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge seeks a talent upgrade this summer and, to no one’s surprise, pledged today to try for a marquee acquisition, MassLive’s Jay King notes (on Twitter). Still, King hears that that the C’s are prepared to chase second-tier free agents if they miss out on stars, and league sources told King that the Celtics are ready to offer a contract that would make it seem like they were overpaying one of those Plan B free agents. The idea is that Boston would do so with someone who it felt would improve enough to justify the hefty salaries and that those paydays wouldn’t seem as large in the context of the surging cap in the next few years, as King explains. There’s more from King amid the latest from Boston:

Reggie Jackson and Enes Kanter are second-tier free agents the Celtics are unlikely to pursue, King writes in the same piece. They fear that Kanter believes he’s more valuable than he is and that such thinking would disrupt the team concept, according to King.
Soon-to-be free agent Jonas Jerebko drew raves today from Ainge, who jokingly called him “the Swedish Larry Bird,” and Ainge dropped hints that he’d like to re-sign the forward, as King observes (Twitter links). “I think I would sign off on the ‘sign the Swede’ hashtag. … But it all depends,” Ainge said.
Ainge confirmed the team will indeed extend the qualifying offer of little more than $1.181MM necessary to match competing offers for Jae Crowder in free agency this summer, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Ainge strongly signaled last week that he’d like to re-sign the swingman acquired in the Rajon Rondo trade.
Ainge again challenged Jared Sullinger to improve his conditioning, as Globe scribe Adam Himmelsbach relays. Sullinger is up for a rookie scale extension this year. “I think he’s hurting the longevity of his career and his play now by not being in as good shape as he can be in,” Ainge said.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Reggie Jackson

April 27th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The long-term outlook for Reggie Jackson took a dramatic turn at the trade deadline when he was dealt from the Thunder to the Pistons, who immediately installed him as their starting point guard. By season’s end, Detroit had emerged as the clear frontrunner for Jackson’s services as the restricted free agent enters his prime. Jackson ranks third among point guards on Hoops Rumors’ 2015 Free Agent Power Rankings behind only Goran Dragic and Rajon Rondo, whose stock has dipped after his disastrous partial season with the Mavericks.

There was plenty of uncertainty surrounding Jackson as he entered the 2014/15 season with Oklahoma City, with the expectation that Jackson could command a yearly salary averaging $13MM or $14MM when he entered the free agent market. Given its salary commitments to superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as well as Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City seemed highly unlikely to match an offer sheet for Jackson.

Jackson started just 36 games in his career prior to the season. Even so, the projections of his future value were reinforced by his play when given the opportunity to be a floor leader. With Westbrook sidelined by an injury, Jackson averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds during the month of November. Once Westbrook returned, Jackson found himself in a backup role again and his relationship with his teammates deteriorated. Jackson asked for a trade and got his wish when the Thunder shipped him to the Pistons, who had lost Brandon Jennings to a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury.

Following a slow start that included a 10-game losing streak which knocked the Pistons from playoff contention, Jackson emerged as an offensive force in coach Stan Van Gundy’s pick-and-roll attack. He developed chemistry with franchise cornerstone Andre Drummond in the final 16 games while averaging 20.0 points, 11.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds and shooting 49% from the field. Van Gundy, who also doubles as the team’s president of basketball operations, made it clear that he views Jackson as his starting point guard going forward and plans to match any offer that may come Jackson’s way. The Pistons will not have any difficult retaining Jackson from a salary-cap standpoint, as they have approximately $27.9MM in guaranteed salary commitments next season.

That may not deter a potential suitor from trying to pry Jackson away from Van Gundy’s grasp. The Nets and Pacers reportedly were close to dealing for Jackson before he wound up in Detroit, and the Kings were also interested. The Knicks are believed to have a strong interest in Jackson as well, though they may be more focused on another Pistons free agent, Greg Monroe.

The Aaron Mintz client has his drawbacks, particularly at the defensive end. Jackson was ranked 41st among point guards on ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus rankings and has received a minus rating in all four of his seasons in Basketball-Reference’s Defensive Box Plus/Minus evaluations.

That won’t deter the Pistons from doing everything possible to keep Jackson, who hinted about his intentions of staying in Detroit right before the season ended. He told the team’s beat reporters he planned to stay in frequent contact with his teammates and organize summer workouts with them. He also feels Van Gundy’s coaching will make him a high-level point guard. It’s possible that Jackson could sign a deal with an opt-out clause to take advantage of the anticipated jump in the salary cap when the league’s new TV contract kicks in during the summer of 2016. In any case, it would be a surprise if Jackson isn’t wearing a Pistons uniform next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.