Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Exum, Hibbert, Teletovic, Craft

August 6th, 2015 at 9:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz point guard Dante Exum‘s knee injury is unfortunate, but just because he was playing for the Australian national team when he sustained it doesn’t mean the NBA should keep its players from international competition, argues Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. National teams usually employ trainers and medical staff that could mitigate the damage that might otherwise happen if players were engaging in pickup games or other less organized offseason play, Kyler points out.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

Roy Hibbert‘s mental approach seems key to his performance, so the new Lakers center has hired a sports psychologist, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com, and an Eastern Conference executive tells Holmes he’s optimistic that in a contract year, with Kobe Bryant pushing him, Hibbert will have a bounceback season.
The Suns were badly in need of a stretch-four last season, and with the signing of Mirza Teletovic to a one-year, $5.5MM deal, Phoenix appears to have rectified that deficiency, Samuel Cooper of BrightSideOfTheSun.com writes. In the post, Cooper also breaks down Teletovic’s game using footage from last season to illustrate what he can bring to the team.
Aaron Craft, who made 50 appearances for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate last season, has signed a deal with the Hungarian team Szolnoki Olaj, Craft’s agent Misko Raznatovic announced on Twitter (translation by Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). The 24-year-old averaged 9.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 6.2 assists for Santa Cruz during the 2014/15 campaign. It’s unknown if Craft’s pact contains any NBA outs.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Jazz Confirm Dante Exum Has Torn ACL

August 6th, 2015 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dante Exum has a torn ACL in his left knee, the Jazz announced, confirming initial fears in the wake of the injury he suffered Tuesday while playing for the Australian national team. He’ll inevitably require surgery, notes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (Twitter links), even though the team hasn’t said so. The Jazz didn’t specify a timetable for recovery, either, but it seems likely that the point guard will miss all of the 2015/16 season.

Utah will probably replace Exum in house rather than acquiring another player, as Tony Jones and Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune wrote earlier this week, with Trey Burke seemingly poised to become the starting point guard in Exum’s place. Utah also has draft-and-stash signee Raul Neto at the position, as well as Bryce Cotton, who’s on a non-guaranteed contract. Shooting guard Alec Burks, who’s coming off an injury of his own that prematurely ended his 2014/15 season, also has experience at the point.

The Jazz are ineligible to apply for a disabled player exception since they’re under the cap. Utah has close to $7MM in cap room as it stands and can open more than $10MM if they waive their players with non-guaranteed salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes.

Exum, the No. 5 overall pick from 2014, played in all 82 games as a rookie, starting precisely half of them. His numbers weren’t eye-popping, as he averaged 4.8 points and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes per contest. The injury doesn’t do much to threaten his next contract, since his rookie scale deal runs through 2017/18, provided the Jazz pick up their team options on the final two seasons, a likely scenario. It does thrust Burke into the spotlight in the final season before he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer.

What do you think the Jazz should do in the wake of the injury? Leave a comment to tell us.

Western Notes: Harris, Gallinari, Jazz

August 5th, 2015 at 8:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Devin Harris anticipates a change in his role with the Mavericks after the offseason additions of Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, and the team’s new deal with J.J. Barea, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “I would consider the backcourt crowded, but I think we got solid pieces — one, two and three,” Harris said. “I don’t know how much of a role change I’m going to have, but I think I’ll probably be playing mostly off the ball, you know, with J.J. coming back and with Deron coming in. But we’ll see what happens throughout training camp. You never know what will happen.” Harris also indicated that the franchise has recovered and moved on from what he termed, “the whole DeAndre Jordan fiasco,” Sneed adds. The center had spurned Dallas after reaching a verbal agreement in order to re-sign with the Clippers.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Danilo Gallinari admits that he was pleasantly surprised by the Nuggets‘ renegotiation-and-extension offer, which he has officially signed, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “I was very fast in saying yes to this extension,” Gallinari said. “I’m very happy to stay in Denver. This extension came because of the people in Denver, the fact that I’ve been in Denver for a while now and the fact that I love the city.“
The forward also noted that he was pleased with the Nuggets‘ offseason moves, including the hiring of Michael Malone as coach, Dempsey adds. “I’m very confident in the choices they made this summer in changing the coach and everything,” Gallinari said. “They are doing everything possible in their capacity to win. And I think that they made the right choices, and hopefully we can start winning again starting this season.“
Despite point guard Dante Exum possibly suffering a torn left ACL on Tuesday, the Jazz are more than likely going to rely on Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton, and Raul Neto at the one spot, rather than signing or trading for a veteran player to bolster their depth, Tony Jones and Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune write.

Jazz Fear Dante Exum Has Torn ACL

August 4th, 2015 at 6:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Point guard Dante Exum injured his left knee today while playing for the Australian National Team, and the Jazz fear that he may have torn his ACL, Jody Genessy of The Deseret Times reports (Twitter link). The injury was a non-contact one, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for a quick recovery for the second-year player. If Exum were to miss significant time, the team will be forced to rely heavily on former lottery pick Trey Burke, who was expected to be Exum’s backup. Utah also has Raul Neto and Bryce Cotton in the mix at the one spot heading into training camp.

The Jazz issued a statement regarding Exum (on Twitter), saying, “Exum suffered a left knee injury today while playing for the Australian National Team in a game against the Slovenian National Team in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Exum was initially treated on site and will now return to Salt Lake City for further medical evaluation by the Utah Jazz medical staff and official healthcare partner University of Utah Health Care.”

Exum, 20, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He appeared in 82 games as a rookie, including 41 starts. His numbers for the 2014/15 campaign were 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 22.2 minutes per contest. Exum’s slash line for last season was .349/.314/.625.

The injury to Exum is likely to rekindle the debate regarding whether or not NBA players under contract should be allowed by their teams to participate in National Team games during the offseason. Paul George was lost for all but six contests during the 2014/15 season after breaking his leg during a Team USA intrasquad scrimmage last Summer.

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Utah Jazz
Dante Exum

Northwest Notes: Christon, Brown, Wolves

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Semaj Christon, the 55th pick in the 2014 draft, has signed with Italy’s Vuelle Pesaro, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Christon leaves the Thunder’s system after having spent this past season playing for Oklahoma City’s D-League team, but the Thunder retain his NBA rights as a draft-and-stash prospect. Check out our freshly updated list of draft rights held players here, compiled by Mark Porcaro.

In other news around the Northwest Division:

Lorenzo Brown‘s minimum salary is partially guaranteed for $75K, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Brown was in line to receive $200K if he had remained on the Timberwolves roster through Saturday, as Hoops Rumors reported, before he and the Wolves changed the guarantee structure as part of a deal that would keep him on the roster for training camp, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities heard.
The Timberwolves will keep shooting coach Mike Penberthy around, president of basketball operations Flip Saunders told of Dan Barreiro KFAN Radio (hat tip to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press and Andrew Renschen), a move that will likely please Ricky Rubio, Krawczynski observes (Twitter links). Rubio, the team’s most highly paid player, had developed a bond with Penberthy, who hadn’t been certain to return, the AP scribe notes.
The first two years of Tibor Pleiss‘ contract with the Jazz are fully guaranteed, with a $500,000 guarantee for the third season, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Pleiss signed a three-year, $9MM contract on July 14th.

Western Notes: Jazz, Kanter, Davis, Donovan

August 2nd, 2015 at 3:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The National Basketball Players Association plans to file the action next week after the Kings voided Luc Mbah a Moute‘s contract over a failed physical. Meanwhile, we learned earlier today that the Kings are standing by their medical findings, which indicated a problem with the forward’s right shoulder. While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s more from the West..

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com looked back at the Jazz‘s decision to move Enes Kanter. Kanter received a max deal from the Thunder, and while he was worth those big bucks to OKC, the Jazz simply didn’t value him the same way. It would seem that many teams shared Utah’s opinion as Kanter sat on the restricted free-agent market for most of the free agency period without receiving an offer sheet, before the desperate Blazers offered up the max. Meanwhile, Moore says that there are compelling reasons to think Kanter’s attitude and defensive limitations will make the deal look like a bad idea for OKC.
Big man Glen Davis is still talking to the Clippers but he’s open to playing overseas if he doesn’t sign a contract in the NBA, a source told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. On Friday it was reported that there was “optimism” on both sides that a pact could be reached. The eight-year veteran averaged career lows in points and minutes per game in 2014/15. Still, the John Hamilton client was one of only eight players to average more than 10 minutes per game in the playoffs for the Clippers this spring.
The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater profiled the path of Billy Donovan, who was appointed as the new coach of the Thunder in April. Donovan was hired as the coach of the Magic for a cup of coffee years ago before bailing on the agreement and returning to Florida. Now, Donovan says that he’s ready for the challenges of the NBA.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Papanikolaou, Jazz

August 1st, 2015 at 8:02pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Denver will drop to about $7MM below the salary cap once they officially waive Kostas Papanikolaou, former Nets exec Bobby Marks notes on Twitter. Marks adds that Milwaukee, Minnesota, Cleveland and Golden State have trade exceptions while Philadelphia and Portland have the cap space to claim the forward’s salary, which is worth slightly less than $4.8MM.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

If claimed, the 24-year-old’s contract will become guaranteed should he remain on the roster past October 4th. Any team that claims Papanikolaou off waivers cannot trade him until the 30th day of the regular season, as Marks notes on Twitter. With the season set to kick-off on October 27th, claiming the forward will not provide a potential suitor with the same type of valuable trade chip that the Nuggets previously possessed.
The Jazz didn’t sign any outside free agents because they didn’t want to block any of their young players’ development, Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM writes. Tjarks argues that most year-to-year improvements come from internal development rather than transactions in the offseason and the Jazz could end up being the team that improved the most due to their up-and-coming, young core.
Utah knew Enes Kanter was probably not going to be worth the mammoth contract he was set to receive this offseason and with the number of young players on the roster set to earn raises over the next few seasons, the team could not afford to add an ill-advised contract, Tjarks adds in the same piece.

Northwest Rumors: Burke, Huestis, Donovan

August 1st, 2015 at 1:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trey Burke views the Jazz’s logjam at point guard as a source of motivation, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. This summer and upcoming season is crucial to Burke’s future with the club, Falk continues. Burke was a lottery pick in 2013 but lost his starting spot to 2014 lottery selection Dante Exum. The Jazz also have point guards Bryce Cotton, Raul Neto and Olivier Hanlan on the roster. Burke shot just 36.8% from the field and 31.8% on 3-point attempts last season while averaging 12.8 points and 4.3 assists in 30.1 minutes. His shooting percentage was the lowest of any player attempting at least 1,000 shots since 1965, Falk adds. “I just look at it as another test. A stepping stone. You can use it as motivation going into training camp,” Burke said during a conference call. “Right now, I’m really dedicating myself and, come training camp, I know I’ll be prepared, and that’s all that matters.”

In other news around the Northwest Division:

The Thunder gave Josh Huestis the full 120% bump on his rookie scale contract and thus he will make about $1.1MM this season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Huestis made a pre-draft arrangement with Oklahoma City in 2014 to be taken in the first round and then delay signing a rookie contract. He spent last season with the Thunder’s D-League affiliate while making approximately $25,000. Huestis, who signed a four-year deal with a team option after the second season, is glad he took that gamble, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. “Obviously I was the first to do it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a more common practice,” Huestis said to Mayberry of the domestic-draft-and-stash route. “Not only does it give you an opportunity to stay close to your organization and stay in America, but you get to play against great competition and learn from great coaches and a great staff.”
The focus on the Thunder this offseason has centered on new head coach Billy Donovan, Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman writes. Donovan has already drawn rave reviews from people around Oklahoma City for his personality and seems to be a good fit with the community, Carlson adds.

DeAndre Kane Signs In Germany

July 30th, 2015 at 12:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Germany’s Ratiopharm Ulm announced the signing of guard DeAndre Kane, as writes. The Hawks had Kane on their Summer League team this year and had plans to discuss a free agent deal with the 26-year-old, but that apparently won’t be taking place.

The Celtics, Kings, and Jazz all had their eyes on Kane back in January while he was playing for the Antwerp Giants in Belgium. However, due to a contract that ran through the remainder of the NBA season, he wasn’t eligible to come over as an in-season addition.

In his senior season at Iowa State, Kane averaged 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists across 36 games. After helping to vault the Cyclones to the Sweet Sixteen, Kane hit the workout circuit hard and auditioned for a number of teams, including the Kings and Jazz.

Kane first established himself as an intriguing prospect at Marshall, where he played his first three seasons of collegiate ball. He also made a transfer of sorts in his first year overseas – Kane signed on with Russia’s Krasny Oktyabr but joined up with Antwerp following his November release.

Kane averaged 14.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 5.4 APG in the EuroChallenge last season.

Hornets Rumors: Batum, Zeller, Cho, Clifford

July 28th, 2015 at 9:55am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics offered the Hornets a package that included four first-round picks to entice Charlotte to give up the No. 9 pick last month, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Boston was willing to give up its own pick at No. 16, the No. 15 pick that they would tentatively have acquired from the Hawks, an unprotected future first-round pick from the Nets (presumably the 2018 pick Brooklyn owes Boston) and a future first-rounder from either the Grizzlies or the Timberwolves (presumably the ones those teams already owe Boston), as Lowe details. Some front office members in Charlotte liked the idea, but owner Michael Jordan preferred to roll with Frank Kaminsky, whom the Hornets took at No. 9, several sources said to Lowe. The Grantland scribe delves into the implications of that choice, and he touches on more, too, as we highlight amid the latest from the Queen City:

Nicolas Batum‘s camp has been talking about how much he’d like to play with the Raptors, given the international appeal of Toronto, several league sources tell Lowe. The native of France, whom the Hornets traded for last month, is set to become a free agent after this coming season.
The Hornets have been willing to talk about Cody Zeller when they discuss trades with other teams, sources tell Lowe. That jibes with a report from shortly before the draft that Charlotte was aggressively shopping the big man.
GM Rich Cho and coach Steve Clifford have had a chilly relationship since last year’s departure of president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, sources familiar with the situation tell Lowe, yet Cho, Clifford and Hornets vice chairman Curtis Polk all downplay the notion. “I would say it’s a good relationship now,” Cho says. “I value his input. We’re not always going to agree, but I wouldn’t expect to.”
Polk, Jordan, Cho, assistant GM Chad Buchanan and director of player personnel Larry Jordan, Michael’s brother, are the primary decision-makers for the team, according to Lowe.
Charlotte shopped Noah Vonleh and the No. 9 pick in a package to try to move up in the draft before abandoning that pursuit and trading Vonleh in the Batum deal, as Lowe details.
The Hornets had interest in Rodney Hood going into last year’s draft, Lowe hears. Hood wound up going at No. 23 to Utah, and Charlotte had an opportunity to move down into a spot where it might have nabbed him instead of Vonleh, as Lowe explains.
Hornets brass likes Elliot Williams, whom the Hornets have reportedly agreed to sign to a camp deal, but they see him as an insurance policy and don’t view him as a replacement for backup point guard Brian Roberts, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).