Scott Perry Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Maxey, Ujiri, Mazzulla

June 1st, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

With general manager Scott Perry set to leave the Knicks later this summer, his replacement will likely come from within the organization if the position is filled at all, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Popper states that the team already has the structure in place to handle Perry’s job duties, and his role has been diminishing for more than a year.

Senior basketball consultant Gersson Rosas could be named the new GM if ownership wants to appoint someone, Popper adds. Rosas spent 16 years in the Rockets’ front office, followed by shorter stays as general manager of the Mavericks and president of basketball operations for the Timberwolves. He served as the primary contact as the Knicks negotiated a Donovan Mitchell trade with the Jazz last summer, according to Popper.

Perry’s contract is believed to run through August, but sources tell Popper that he’s already being left out of pre-draft workouts. Perry’s duties are being handled by assistant GMs Frank Zanin, who’s in charge of pro scouting, and Walt Perrin, who handles college scouting. Rosas is performing most of the GM work, so Popper believes giving him the title would just be “a formality.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks are in position to benefit from not paying a premium price to acquire Mitchell, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst states on his Hoop Collective podcast (video link). Windhorst notes that New York has the trade assets to pursue any star who becomes available this offseason, with a parcel of future draft picks and Evan Fournier‘s contract for salary-matching purposes.
Reaching an extension with Tyrese Maxey should be a priority for the Sixers this summer, contends Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He notes that Maxey has been a bargain after being selected with the 21st pick and states that the Sixers shouldn’t gamble by letting him reach restricted free agency in 2024. Maxey is eligible for a five-year deal worth up to a projected $213MM.
Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic is still in the mix to be the Raptors‘ next head coach, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Rajakovic has been an assistant since 2014 and spent time with the Thunder and Suns as well.
Raptors executive Masai Ujiri remains passionate about winning 10 years after joining the organization, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Smith also looks at Ujiri’s five best and worst moves over the past decade.
Joe Mazzulla appears likely to return for another season as the Celtics‘ head coach, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

GM Scott Perry To Depart Knicks’ Organization

May 30th, 2023 at 9:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks general manager Scott Perry will leave the organization once his contract expires this summer, Steve Popper of Newsday reports.

Perry joined New York’s front office in 2017. Current president of basketball operations Leon Rose, who was hired in 2020, gave him a contract extension two years ago.

However, Perry’s influence in the front office has waned as executive VP William Wesley and senior basketball consultant Gerrson Rosas have taken a bigger role in personnel moves.

Perry was instrumental in drafting RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson and signing Julius Randle as a free agent.

Perry has been a front office mainstay in the league since 2000, when he was hired by the Pistons. He was also an executive with Seattle in its last season before the franchise moved and had stints with Orlando and Sacramento. Before he was hired by the Knicks, Perry was part of the Kings group that drafted De’Aaron Fox.

Southeast Notes: Isaac, Adebayo, Perry, Wizards’ Draft

May 7th, 2023 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jonathan Isaac only appeared in 11 games this season but the Magic forward is optimistic he’ll be fully healthy by training camp, according to Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel. Isaac’s career has been marred by lower body injuries.

“This is really going to be the first summer I have to fully work,” he said. “Every other summer I’ve been rehabbing trying to get back onto the court. So I’ll hopefully in the next few weeks be a full go. And doing everything I need to do to have a healthy next season.”

Isaac’s contract for next season has a base salary of $17.6MM. It is partially guaranteed for $7.6MM before it becomes fully guaranteed on Jan. 10.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Bam Adebayo racked up 17 points and 12 rebounds in Game 3 of the Heat’s playoff series against the Knicks and coach Erik Spoelstra said his impact went beyond the numbers, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald relays. Adebayo also hounded Julius Randle defensively, among other contributions. Spoelstra feels players who don’t put up big offensive numbers often get overlooked. “The average eye might not realize how dominant Bam’s game was to impact a win. He was dominant,” Spoelstra said. “And the shame of it is in today’s day and age, people only view that as dominant if you score 40 points or more or have some kind of gaudy stat line.”
The Wizards should seriously consider longtime NBA executive Scott Perry to be their next GM, Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post opines. The current Knicks GM is the type a multidimensional talent evaluator who could give the Wizards an identity, according to Brewer, who says Perry also has the skill set and personality to lead the organization.
What would the Wizards do if they wound up with the No. 10 pick in the draft for the second consecutive season? Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores that question using the RealGM draft simulator. The Wizards ended up with Kentucky point guard Cason Wallace in that simulation, which would fill their biggest need at a great value, Hughes notes.

Southeast Notes: Young, Murray, Wizards, Bridges, Love

April 22nd, 2023 at 6:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks still face long odds in their first-round series with the Celtics, but they have to be encouraged by the way Trae Young and Dejounte Murray played together Friday night, writes Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. Atlanta avoided a 3-0 deficit as the backcourt combination turned in one of its best games since Murray was acquired last summer. They combined for 57 points in the Game 3 victory, with 38 of those coming in the second half.

“At one point, I was just like, I should just keep quiet and let them do it,” coach Quin Snyder said. “They had some isolation situations where they created for themselves and for other guys, and a lot of that was them just figuring it out. People feed off that.”

Schultz notes that there have been questions about whether they can be effective together ever since the Hawks sent three first-round picks and other assets to the Spurs in exchange for Murray. Former general manager and team president Travis Schlenk reportedly didn’t support the deal, and the results hadn’t been positive during a 41-41 season.

A recent report indicated Atlanta will consider trading Young this summer, but Schultz states that Friday’s performance may show that he and Murray can find a way to make things work.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards may dream about landing a big name like Raptors president Masai Ujiri or Warriors general manager Bob Myers to replace fired GM Tommy Sheppard, but they’re better off pursuing someone who has succeeded in building a team in a mid-level market, contends Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. She names Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon, Knicks GM Scott Perry, Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly as potential targets.
The NBA was too lenient with former Hornets forward Miles Bridges when it agreed to reduce his 30-game suspension to 10 games for next season, argues David Aldridge of The Athletic. Aldridge disagrees with the league’s reasoning that Bridges would have served 20 games of that suspension if he had signed with a team this year and notes that the CBA gives commissioner Adam Silver the power to invoke a harsher penalty under its “misconduct” section.
Kevin Love is back in the Heat‘s starting lineup for tonight’s Game 3 against the Bucks, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Chiang observes that the new starting five of Love, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo has only played together for two minutes in the series and 13 minutes during the regular season.

Knicks Notes: Randle, Fox, Perry, Arcidiacono

February 1st, 2022 at 12:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has admitted to associates that he hasn’t been able to get Julius Randle to exhibit the same selflessness he had last season, an NBA source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Randle’s downturn has been a major reason why the team has fallen into the race for the play-in tournament after finishing fourth in the East a year ago.

Many observers believe the $117MM extension that Randle signed during the offseason has changed his approach to the game, as he now feels that he has to take on a greater part of the scoring load to justify the contract. Berman also cites incidents where Randle has looked disinterested — he didn’t join a team huddle in a game last week and he has walked away from teammates who have been knocked to the ground rather than helping them up.

The Knicks are willing to consider everything heading into the deadline, sources tell Berman, even a deal involving Randle, who emerged as a team leader last season while capturing Most Improved Player honors. Berman suggests that Randle’s regression, along with his battles with fans and media, may convince team president Leon Rose that he’s no longer suited for a leadership role.

There’s more from New York:

The Kings‘ De’Aaron Fox may be a natural target for the Knicks, who have been searching for a point guard for years, Berman adds in the same piece. New York general manager Scott Perry drafted Fox when he worked in Sacramento, but Berman says it’s no longer clear how much influence Perry has in the organization. He doesn’t accompany the team on the road, and the only executive currently making road trips is William Wesley, who Berman said has surpassed Perry in the team’s power structure.
Derrick Rose needs to be active at the trade deadline to have any hope of turning this season around, argues Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Vaccaro considers RJ Barrett, Rose, and Quentin Grimes to be the team’s untouchable players, along with Cam Reddish, only because the Knicks just gave up a first-round pick to acquire him. Everyone else, Vaccaro adds, should be available in the right deal.
Ryan Arcidiacono‘s 10-day contract expired over the weekend, Berman tweets. The Knicks will keep the roster spot open for now, which could be an advantage heading into the deadline. Arcidiacono didn’t see any game action during his time with the team.

Blazers Notes: Billups, Olshey, Roster Moves, Lillard, Eversley, Perry, Prince

December 3rd, 2021 at 9:35pm CST by Rory Maher

In a fascinating piece released mere minutes before former president and general manager Neil Olshey was fired by the Trail Blazers, Jason Quick of The Athletic details how he views head coach Chauncey Billups as a poor schematic fit with Portland’s flawed roster — constructed by Olshey.

Even before star Damian Lillard was announced as being injured, it was clear that Portland was not functioning as a cohesive unit. Quite the opposite, in fact. Quick writes that the team had grown accustomed to ex-coach Terry Stotts‘ freedom on both ends of the court, and Billups wants to instill more structure and accountability, with a more aggressive defense and more ball movement on offense.

However, Billups’ stern exchanges have seemingly demoralized the group, and Quick asked Billups how he thought it was going over with the players.

“I think pretty good, but at the end of the day, it’s not easy,” Billups said. “It’s not easy all the time to hear when you are not doing what you are supposed to do, especially from the coach. All I care about is I believe we should play one way. I know what wins, I know what’s important. When we don’t do it, obviously I’m going to always bring it to the table, to those players, to those people. And I know it’s not always going to be well received.

“But I know it’s the best thing for the team, it’s the best thing for the player and at the end of the day, if you are mad or upset, if you actually really want to win and be a good teammate, you go home and think about that, look yourself in the mirror, and you are going to realize what I was saying was right, you know? With no agenda at all other than for us to try and get better. So, I can ride with that. That’s just kind of who I was as a player, who I am as a person, and I will be consistent there.”

Quick believes that while it is a talented group of players, the roster that Olshey built doesn’t make sense under Billups. He mentions the fact that the Blazers have three 6’3″ guards (Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Norman Powell) all starting, which leads to them being exploited defensively. Quick also says that Olshey’s infatuation with McCollum and refusal to trade him hurt the team. He thinks a roster shakeup is absolutely necessary in order to break the team out of its early season funk. The Blazers are currently 11-12.

It’s a great article from Quick and worth reading in full for subscribers of The Athletic.

Here’s more from Portland:

ESPN’s Bobby Marks thinks the Blazers should explore trading Lillard (video link). He believes Lillard may have peaked as a player, pointing to his age (31), huge contract, and the high number of minutes he’s played over the years. Marks thinks it could be worth it to try and extract maximum value for Lillard before it’s too late. However, he acknowledges that the situation will be very tricky for whomever takes over the front office, as Lillard is one of the best players in franchise history.
John Canzano of The Oregonian is happy the Blazers pulled the plug on the Olshey, and believes that it will galvanize the organization and fan base.
Bulls general manager Marc Eversley and Knicks general manager Scott Perry are both candidates to replace Olshey as GM, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
A source tells Quick of The Athletic that Grizzlies VP of basketball affairs Tayshaun Prince, who had previously been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Olshey, is not in the running for the role (Twitter link).

Knicks Notes: Trades, Vaccinations, Robinson, Walker

September 25th, 2021 at 9:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose indicated the club is well-positioned to make a big trade and he’s ready to pounce when the opportunity arrives, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

“We’re going to be aggressive as far as knowing what’s going on and as far as being on top of things and looking at opportunities,’’ Rose said. “But at the same time, we’re going to be prudent and disciplined in decisions that we make that are going to take into account positives and negatives, short term, long term, all those factors in a decision-making process.’’

The Knicks own 15 picks in the next four drafts, which could come in handy in trade talks.

We have more on the Knicks:

Players must be fully vaccinated to practice or play in New York City unless they are granted a religious or health-related exemption. That won’t be an issue for the Knicks, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. GM Scott Perry said everyone on the team and staff has received the shots. “They took this thing very seriously and took the responsibility to get that done,” Perry said.
The club is taking a wait-and-see approach regarding Mitchell Robinson and contract extension talks, according to Berman. Robinson’s return from a broken foot is still “a work in progress,” according to Rose. That gives the front office pause in terms of an extension until Robinson returns to the court. “As far as a contract goes, we love Mitchell Robinson and we look forward to seeing him play,’’ Rose said.
Kemba Walker was slowed by knee injuries over the last two seasons with the Celtics and coach Tom Thibodeau said Walker will have input regarding load management, Bondy writes. “This guy has managed his career a long time. So what’s the best for him? … Was it better for him (to sit in back-to-backs) in the end or was it not?” Thibodeau said. “So I think you have to take the information in, you have to talk to him, you have to see how it feels. You have to talk to the medical people and go from there. I don’t want him to limit himself in terms of what he can do.”

Atlantic Notes: DeRozan, Dragic, Celtics, Simmons

September 11th, 2021 at 9:39am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Knicks general manager Scott Perry had contemplated pursuing swingman DeMar DeRozan in free agency this summer, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. DeRozan eventually joined the Bulls through a three-year, $81.9MM sign-and-trade with San Antonio. The Knicks ultimately decided to add sharpshooting wing Evan Fournier on a four-year contract that could be worth up to $78MM.

The 28-year-old Fournier, who connected on 41.3% of his 6.7 three-point attempts per game for the Magic and Celtics last year, is potentially a cleaner offensive fit with the Knicks than the 32-year-old DeRozan would have been. DeRozan, a four-time All-Star while with the Raptors, is an excellent ball handler and an elite mid-range jump shooter, but lacks a reliable outside shot.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The fate of new Raptors point guard Goran Dragic is one of the prime subjects of a detailed new mailbag with Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Koreen contends that, because Dragic is on an expiring $19MM deal, he may have value in a trade. Koreen adds that a buyout would only transpire if Toronto team president Masai Ujiri is unable to find a suitable trade partner for Dragic before the 2022 deadline. Koreen also addresses the team’s thinking in not extending offers to free agent centers Jarrett Allen and Richaun Holmes.
After undergoing some significant behind-the-scenes changes during the offseason, the Celtics also made some notable changes on the court. In a new article, Zach Harper of The Athletic recaps and grades the club’s summer. The club added point guard Dennis Schröder on a team-friendly one-year, $5.9MM deal. Boston also traded away oft-injured point guard Kemba Walker in exchange for former Celtics All-Star big man Al Horford. The team also moved on from swingman Evan Fournier, decided to take a flyer on 3-and-D wing Josh Richardson, and added former Boston reserve Enes Kanter to their forward and center rotations, respectively. Harper forecasts that Boston ultimately upgraded its roster and could become a threat in the East again.
With training camp fast approaching, it is quite possible that the Sixers will now be affected by an extended Ben Simmons holdout ahead of a blockbuster trade, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice writes. If a deal can’t be reached before the preseason starts, Neubeck wonders if the rest of the club can deal with the drama. Neubeck opines that, should a teammate, coach, or executive besmirch Simmons to the media, it could adversely affect Philadelphia’s potential return package in a trade. Neubeck also speculates about how an on-court absence for Simmons could expand the roles of Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle.

Knicks To Sign GM Scott Perry To Extension

July 22nd, 2021 at 6:16pm CST by Luke Adams

6:16pm: It’s a two-year extension, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets.

3:08pm: The Knicks will sign general manager Scott Perry to a contract extension, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Perry, who worked in the team’s previous front office regime alongside former president of basketball operations Steve Mills, was retained last spring on a one-year contract extension following the hiring of Leon Rose, so his deal had been set to expire this offseason. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported in May that the Knicks were expected to sign him to another extension.

It seemed entirely possible a year ago that Perry would be looking for a new job in 2021, but New York’s success this season reflected well on the GM — according to Charania, Perry led the 2019 free agent signing of Julius Randle, who was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for 2020/21.

The terms of Perry’s new contract aren’t yet known, but it’ll be a multiyear deal, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

New York Notes: Harris, Nets, Perry, Payton

May 19th, 2021 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to having their Big Three ready to go for Game 1 of the first round of the postseason this Saturday, the Nets also anticipate having Joe Harris (left gluteal strain) available, writes Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post.

“We expect Joe to be ready for the weekend,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said of Harris, who missed the last three games of the regular season due to his injury. “When he practices and how much he practices is to be determined, but I think he’s feeling better, looking better, and he went through our very light, half-speed practice and did his shooting (Tuesday), so all signs there are good.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Mike Mazzeo of Forbes takes a closer look at just how expensive the Nets‘ roster will get if and when the team signs Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving to contract extensions.
When general manager Scott Perry signed a new contract with the Knicks last May, it was just a one-year extension that locked him up through 2020/21. However, there’s an expectation that Perry will work out a new deal to stick with the team beyond this season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on a recent episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM).
As Marc Berman of The New York Post writes, Knicks point guard Elfrid Payton played some of his worst basketball of the season during the final few games of the regular season, raising questions about his postseason role. Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post argues that it’s time for the club to bench Payton, who averaged 1.8 PPG on 19.2% shooting in his last six contests (14.3 MPG).