Tristan Thompson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Kidd-Gilchrist, Beasley, Thompson

August 27th, 2015 at 6:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Clifford believes the reasons were numerous for the Hornets to sign Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to his four-year, $52MM extension, but chief among them is Charlotte’s performance with him in the lineup as opposed to without, the coach said Wednesday, according to Steve Reed of The Associated Press. The Hornets went 62-55 when he played and 14-33 when he didn’t the last two season, Reed notes. “As much as anybody that we have had in the two years I’ve been here, he’s been the guy that we can’t play well without for any long period of time,” Clifford said.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Several executives around the league can envision Toronto native Tristan Thompson signing with the Raptors next summer if he signs his qualifying offer with the Cavaliers this year, reports Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops. Agent Rich Paul has said Thompson won’t re-sign with Cleveland in 2016 if he takes the qualifying offer. One Eastern Conference GM said he’d thought Thompson would end up in Toronto this summer. Thompson is friends with Raptors signee Cory Joseph, who’s also from Toronto, Scotto notes.
One Eastern Conference GM who spoke with Scotto estimated Thompson’s worth at $15MM a year, regardless of the expected spike in the salary cap over the next few years. That would put him beneath the max-level salaries he’s believed to be seeking in negotiations with the Cavs.
In a response to a reader question, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel opines that one reason the Heat haven’t re-signed Michael Beasley is that the team is looking to keep its 15th roster slot open for a developmental player who can be shuttled between the main club and the D-League. Miami currently has 12 fully guaranteed pacts on its roster

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Neil Olshey On Aldridge, Batum, Aminu, Kanter

August 27th, 2015 at 1:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey was coy when Grantland’s Zach Lowe asked him why he signed Enes Kanter to a max offer sheet but hasn’t done so with Tristan Thompson, but Olshey expressed contentment and optimism about the roster he’s built even amid the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge. Olshey, speaking on The Lowe Post podcast, believes the revamped Blazers have the potential to grow like the group he had with the Clippers in 2010/11 that featured Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu, all of whom were 22 or younger.

Aminu, who turns 25 next month, is one of the new Blazers, and Olshey talked about the forward’s four-year, $30MM deal, Aldridge’s exit, and a host of other offseason topics. His entire conversation with Lowe is worth a listen, especially for Portland faithful, and we’ll round up a few highlights here:

On the fluctuation of the team’s chances to re-sign Aldridge:

“I think, honestly, because of how unhappy LaMarcus was when we all joined the Trail Blazers, myself, [coach] Terry [Stotts], our regime, it wasn’t like we were put on notice, Zach, but I think we were all aware that it was going to be an uphill battle, and I think it was an uphill battle that we had fought and won right up until [Wesley Matthews] was injured. … We were 100% confident in LaMarcus right up through the trade deadline, and then when Wes got hurt, and we weren’t playing as well, and we realized our margin for error with that group was more narrow than we would have liked to have believed, I think we felt like, you know what? We’re going to have more of a battle on our hands than we had anticipated in terms of keeping LaMarcus.”

On the Nicolas Batum trade, which Olshey said was made independent of Aldridge’s decision to walk:

“There was a three-fold approach there. One, we felt like if we brought in another starter, then Gerald Henderson would have strengthened the bench. We got a bright, young prospect in Noah Vonleh who we were really high on in the draft, and we created a positive variance in our favor in terms of our cap position to go and be more aggressive in free agency to continue to build with the group that was there. So, that deal was done absent anything with LaMarcus other than the fact that he was aware of the deal prior to us making the decision to move forward with Noah and Gerald in lieu of Nicolas.”

On those who would laugh at the team’s financial outlay in the the Al-Farouq Aminu deal:

“If they’re laughing, they haven’t seen him play, and they haven’t realized that in two years, the cap’s going to be $108MM, so you’re basically talking about a deal that’ll be less than what the mid-level was on previous caps. So, this is a guy that I know well. I drafted him. I had him for a year with the Clippers. He’s tracking up. I think his growth was accelerated by playing for Rick Carlisle in Dallas. I think that was like a three-year tutorial crammed into nine months. He’s a better player today than he was then. Look, we had moved Nic Batum. We wanted to get younger at that position and we wanted to get an athletic guy if we chose to push the floor. We felt like, at that point, he could play in multiple roles with LaMarcus or without, depending on what his decision was, and I really believe, look, when you look at a way a contract is structured, we had a lot of cap room this year [and] it’s a descending deal.”

On whether he truly wanted Kanter on the team:

“We did. We absolutely did. We pursued him. Look, it’s not the first time we went down the road of restricted free agency for a starting center and maybe won the recruiting battle but lost the war in terms of adding him to our roster, and that situation played out. You know, look, we’re really happy with the guys we have right now.”

What do you think of the way Olshey has positioned the Blazers for the post-Aldridge era? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Central Notes: Thompson, Landry, Kukoc

August 18th, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Negotiations between the Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson aren’t as contentious as they may seem, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. It simply comes down to Thompson’s desire for a deal approaching the max and the Cavs’ desire to curb their tax bill, as Kyler explains. Indeed, the sides aren’t as far apart financially as it seems, a league source said to Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops last week, as Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays. Thompson doesn’t appear eager to take the team’s qualifying offer and push the possibility of a larger payday back to next year, but insurance policies are available that Thompson could buy if he fears he wouldn’t get the kind of deal he’d be seeking in 2016, Kyler points out. See more from around the Central Division:

Marcus Landry‘s new contract with the Bucks is for one year at the minimum salary and is non-guaranteed, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It has limited injury protection, Pincus adds, so that would indicate that it’s an Exhibit 9 contract that would hold Milwaukee responsible for no more than $6K should Landry get hurt while playing for the team. “It’s not impossible to make [the regular season roster],’’ Landry told Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. “Guys get traded, teams make moves. I just have to hold up my end of the deal. I’m what they like to call a gym rat and I’m going to try to be in their gym as much as I can though training camp. I’m excited for this opportunity, very excited.’’
Playing for the Bucks is a “dream come true” for Landry, as the Milwaukee native also told Woelfel for the same piece. Landry made it clear to agent Keith Kreiter that he he wanted to play for his hometown team, and Kreiter worked with the Bucks over several weeks to engineer a deal, Woelfel writes.
The Bulls have hired Toni Kukoc as a special adviser to president and COO Michael Reinsdorf, the team announced. Kukoc’s duties will be wide-ranging and include “relating to the international players on our team.” The native of Croatia joins former teammate Scottie Pippen, who holds the same title for the organization.

Eastern Notes: Smith, Thompson, Benson

August 16th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

With few options remaining, J.R. Smith will probably re-sign with the Cavaliers for next season, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Smith realizes he made a mistake by declining a $6.4MM option, Pluto asserts, but he’s unlikely to get the offer he wants at this stage of free agency. Only the Sixers and Blazers have enough cap room remaining to give Smith a raise, and neither is likely to come calling. Smith’s best option, according to Pluto, is to take the Cavs’ offer and try to get a better deal when the salary cap soars next summer.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference …

As Tristan Thompson and the Cavs continue to wait each other out, it becomes increasingly likely that the power forward will remain on Cleveland’s roster next season, Pluto notes in the same story. The restricted free agent hasn’t received an offer from another team, and no one has contacted the Cavs about a sign-and-trade deal. If Thompson accepts the team’s qualifying offer, he can’t be traded without his permission. Pluto estimates the sides are at least $10MM apart.
The Heat are reportedly set to sign unrestricted free agent center Keith Benson and the move has more to do with stocking the team’s D-League than bolstering the rotation at power forward and center, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. Benson is expected to be signed to a non-guaranteed contract for training camp, Winderman adds.
Carmelo Anthony is exhibiting a Phil Jackson-like calm when it comes to accepting all the changes in New York, writes Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Anthony has watched Jackson replace all of his teammates and his coach over the past 18 months. Still, the Knicks‘ star accepts the turnover, confident that something better is being built. “The guys that we brought in are great pieces to have on the team,” Anthony said. “They all know their roles. They know what they have to do,” Anthony continued. “It’s just a matter of us coming together.” Anthony also denied rumors that he opposed the drafting of Kristaps Porzingis.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Allen, Morris, Thompson

August 14th, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lavoy Allen received incentive clauses on his three-year deal with the Pacers instead of the $1.5MM signing bonus that was originally reported, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It appears that those incentives call for Allen to get an extra $500K each year if he keeps his weight down, Pincus also tweets. Allen is considered likely to make weight, so the cap hits of $4.05MM this season and $4MM each of the next two years remain the same, unless he fails to hit the target at preseason weigh-ins.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

One of the reasons that the Pistons acquired Marcus Morris was to prevent 2015 first round draftee Stanley Johnson from being pressured to start and produce for the team immediately, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Mayo also notes that Morris’ $5MM salary this season, and the $4.625MM he will earn for the 2016/17 campaign, will make him a bargain as a reserve player once Johnson assumes a starting role.
The Cavaliers need to be careful that whatever the outcome of their contract negotiations with restricted free agent Tristan Thompson, they don’t alienate LeBron James, who is on record as being a big supporter of the forward, Tom Ziller of SBNation writes. Though Ziller doesn’t necessarily believe that James would leave Cleveland again, he doesn’t think it wise for the franchise to roll the dice and risk losing the superstar next summer. Also complicating matters is the fact that Thompson’s agent, Rich Paul, also represents LeBron.
Earlier this evening we broke down the 2015/16 salary cap figures for the Pistons, and previously had done the same for the Bulls and Cavaliers, which can be viewed here and here.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Thompson, Love, Bulls, Douglas

August 14th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James believes the Cavs front office has “done a great job” this summer, but the next step, he added, is to re-sign Tristan Thompson, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com chronicles. James and Thompson share Rich Paul as an agent.

“Our No. 1 objective right now is to sign Tristan,” James said Thursday at Cedar Point amusement park. “He’s a huge part of our team. Short term and long term he makes our team more dangerous.”

Keeping him for this season doesn’t appear to be the issue. Paul raised the specter of Thompson signing his one-year, approximately $6.778MM qualifying offer earlier this week, but the agent said that if that happened, Thompson wouldn’t re-sign with the Cavs in unrestricted free agency next season. The Cavs are offering less than the near-max that Thompson seeks, Windhorst notes. See more from Cleveland amid the latest from the Central Division:

James also expressed confidence that Kevin Love, who re-signed on a five-year deal earlier this summer, will function better this season than last, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Love arranged a meeting with James earlier this summer. “He wanted to talk about the season, what could happen with the team going forward,” James said. “I was absolutely open to it. I was one of the people that wanted him there when we made the trade last summer. The fact that he committed to us let me know the type of guy we have. I think he’s going to be great for us. I think he’ll be an All-Star this year and a much more vocal part of the team this season.”
Jimmy Butler knows much hinges on the Bulls‘ coaching change and their ability to take advantage of opportunities, as Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com relays (Twitter links). “We got the same team. Is it enough? We’ll find out. It wasn’t enough last year. Only thing we changed was coach,” Butler said. “We got the same exact team. We had a chance. We were right there. If we’re healthy…we’ll be right in the same position.”
Toney Douglas understands he faces a challenge to make the opening night roster for the Pacers, a team that already has 15 fully guaranteed salaries to go along with his partially guaranteed deal, writes Manny Randhawa of the Indianapolis Star. President of basketball operations Larry Bird used the phrase “having him in camp” twice in the press release to announce the signing of Douglas, but the point guard isn’t discouraged. “We really haven’t gotten into detail about me being here, but I know I’m here for a reason,” Douglas said this week to reporters, including Randhawa. His contract covers one season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Central Notes: Thompson, D-League, Butler

August 13th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite Rich Paul’s proclamation that his client, Tristan Thompson, would not re-sign with the Cavaliers next summer if he were to sign his qualifying offer, worth nearly $6.778MM, Cleveland should not offer the forward a maximum salary deal, opines Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer. Livingston points to the exorbitant luxury tax hit that would go along with such a lucrative contract for Thompson, and notes that prior to the 2014/15 campaign the forward had been considered a disappointment by many. The Plain Dealer scribe also adds that despite the threat by Paul that Thompson would depart, the Cavs would still retain the 24-year-old’s Bird rights, meaning that they could outbid other teams for Thompson’s services next offseason.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pacers will meet with officials from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants next week to discuss terms of the prospective sale of the D-League franchise to Indiana, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets.
Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler acknowledges that the chemistry between he and point guard Derrick Rose needs to improve next season, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. “I think we can,” Butler said during an appearance on “The Waddle and Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000, when asked about his chemistry with Rose. “I think we will. And I think we better, because the way I look at it, I don’t think either one of us is going anywhere anytime soon.”
Toney Douglas said that the presence of Donnie Walsh as a consultant helped him decide to sign with the Pacers, Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com writes. “I love Donnie,” Douglas said. “Donnie has always been a great guy. I loved him when I was in New York. Him being here was really a great situation. I trust him. He’s not going to lie to you; he’s going to keep it real and tell you what you need to do.” Walsh was president of the Knicks when the team swung a deal with the Lakers to acquire the draft rights to Douglas back in 2009.

Eastern Notes: Thompson, Dragic, Pistons

August 10th, 2015 at 10:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Agent Rich Paul may represent both LeBron James and Tristan Thompson, but the influence Thompson’s negotiations have on LeBron’s decision-making is overstated, opines Hoops Rumors contributor Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, who believes Thompson shouldn’t overplay his hand.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Zoran Dragic‘s representatives wanted to secure his release from the Celtics so that he could return to Europe and play regularly, sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Celtics announced on Monday that they had waived Dragic, whom they acquired in last month’s trade with Miami.
The Cavaliers are the Eastern Conference’s top team in terms of roster construction but there are several surprises in the Top 5, according to an analysis by ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle in an Insider-only piece. The Pacers rank second in tier score, which is based on a team’s anticipated 10-man rotation. The Raptors, Pistons and Hawks round out the Top 5 while the Nets, a playoff team last season, are near the bottom at No. 13.
The Pistons could go with a wing trio of Marcus Morris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson against certain opponents, which would mean reduced playing time for Jodie Meeks, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. The production from that trio will have a major influence on the team’s goal to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2008/09 season, Langlois adds.

Latest On Tristan Thompson

August 10th, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tristan Thompson wouldn’t re-sign with the Cavaliers as an unrestricted free agent next year if he were to take sign his qualifying offer, worth nearly $6.778MM, this summer, as agent Rich Paul tells Michael Grange of SportsNet (Twitter links). That would appear to indicate that the Canadian native is adamant about signing a lucrative, long-term deal before the start of this coming season rather than trying his luck next summer, even though the cap is expected to surge. The former No. 4 overall pick is believed to be seeking maximum-level salaries, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, but a starting salary of the $16,407,500 max for a player of his experience would cost the Cavs more than $35MM in tax penalties on top of that amount this year, Windhorst estimates.

The Cavs probably haven’t seen the qualifying offer as their preferred route, Windhorst speculates, and given Paul’s statement today, Cleveland has further reason to strike a long-term deal. Still, the Cavs have been offering significantly less than the max, according to Windhorst, and shelling out the max over the long term for a player who chiefly came off the bench behind the newly re-signed Kevin Love might be reason for pause. Thompson averaged only 8.5 points per game in the regular season this past year, though his strength is rebounding and off-the-ball work.

Paul is no stranger to tough negotiations with restricted free agents after last season’s tense back-and-forth with the Suns that resulted in Eric Bledsoe signing a five-year, $70MM deal. Kevin Seraphin, another Paul client, signed his qualifying offer from the Wizards last summer and wound up inking with the Knicks last week. Still, it’s surprising to see Paul and Thompson take such a hard line against the qualifying offer, even though it would entail a playing for a discount this season, since signing it would set up Thompson to become a member of a fairly thin crop of 2016 free agents, outside of Kevin Durant and a few other notables, just as the salary cap is projected to spike to $89MM.

The Cavs are in a tough spot, since LeBron James, Paul’s marquee client, has expressed that he wants Thompson in Cleveland, and James can opt out of his new contract in a year. Thompson and the Cavs were reportedly close to a deal worth more than $80MM on the first day of free agency, but progress stalled. Thompson reportedly asked for $85MM over five years, after initial reports indicated that Draymond Green received that much from the Warriors, but Green wound up with $82MM instead.

In any case, Cavs GM David Griffin said in mid-July that he remained confident the sides would strike a deal. The Trail Blazers and Sixers are the only teams left with enough cap flexibility to approach the max for Thompson, and Windhorst identified the Blazers as the one team remaining that’s a “remote option” for Thompson this year, aside from the Cavs, who hold his Bird rights.

Do you think Thompson and Paul are wise to dismiss the qualifying offer, or do you think it would be advantageous for him to sign it? Leave a comment to let us know.

Central Notes: Monroe, Blake, Thompson

July 14th, 2015 at 6:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Greg Monroe said former Pistons teammate Khris Middleton was a key recruiter in Milwaukee’s pursuit and made it clear that the Bucks roster seemed appealing as a strong fit, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel chronicles. “While a lot of people will say, ‘Is this a statement about big cities?’ No. It’s just about a statement that this is a good fit for Greg Monroe,” agent David Falk said in part.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pistons view newly acquired Steve Blake as an inexpensive option off the bench at point guard, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “Just insurance,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Ellis when asked how Blake fit with the team. “We’re very hopeful that Brandon Jennings will play at a high level. And can develop Spencer Dinwiddie, but not have pressure on him.“
The Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson are reportedly making progress toward a new deal, and with the two sides now roughly $5MM apart on total value, GM David Griffin is confident the situation will be resolved amicably, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets. “I feel good about the situation where it’s at overall,” Griffin said about the negotiations during an appearance on NBA TV.
Van Gundy indicated that the Pistons would have passed on chasing free agent small forwards if the trade for Marcus Morris had materialized prior to the NBA Draft, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “So we were chasing the small forwards on the free-agent market, but there were only a couple of guys that we really liked,” Van Gundy said. “When those guys, we didn’t get, and the trade came available, we jumped at it. We thought it was something that would have been at the top of our list if it had been available at the very beginning.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.