Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Davis, Prince, Matthews

July 1st, 2015 at 6:36am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have contacted free agent Ed Davis, and would like for him to return to Los Angeles next season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. There will be some competition for Davis’ services, as four undisclosed teams have also expressed interest in the big man, Medina notes. Davis is seeking a two or three-year deal worth $7MM-$8MM, or a one-year arrangement worth $9MM-$10MM, the Daily News scribe adds. In 79 games for the Lakers last season, Davis notched averages of 8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 23.3 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Clippers are not optimistic about the idea of Paul Pierce taking less money to come their way, Sam Amick of USA Today Sports tweets.
The Lakers have expressed interest in restricted free agents Jimmy Butler of the Bulls, and Iman Shumpert of the Cavaliers, Medina relays (Twitter link).
The Spurs were among the teams to contact unrestricted free agent Tayshaun Prince, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets.
The Mavericks and Wesley Matthews are still engaged in contract talks, but remain approximately $3MM apart in annual value for the agreement, Amick tweets. Matthews is seeking an annual salary of $15MM per year, while Dallas is offering $12MM, Amick notes.
The Jazz contacted free agent Joe Ingles to express their interest in re-signing the forward, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News tweets. Utah tendered Ingles a qualifying offer worth $1.045MM on Monday, making him a restricted free agent. The 27-year-old appeared in 79 games for the Jazz in 2014/15, including 32 starts, and averaged 5.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 21.2 minutes per contest.
The Mavs have reached out to point guard Nick Calathes, who is a restricted free agent, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Northwest Rumors: Thunder, Mudiay, Jazz

June 30th, 2015 at 5:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The Thunder want a first-round pick to part with Perry Jones, according to two execs who spoke with Chris Mannix of SI. Unfortunately for OKC, however, that doesn’t seem to be a realistic demand. Here’s more from the Northwest Division..

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone spoke with Mannix about the chaos of draft night and the events leading up the selection of Emmanuel Mudiay. Mudiay did not work out for Denver, but the Nuggets did watch a great deal of film on him. Despite the uncertainty, Malone said that he trusted his front office and wasn’t hesitant about the pick.
The Jazz will have a conversation with Raul Neto, the Brazilian point guard they drafted two years ago, to gauge his interest in playing in the NBA next season, according to Aaron Falk, Tony Jones, and Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune. The sense is that the Jazz want the 2013 second round pick to join them sooner rather than later. However, it’s not clear where he’d fit in given the team’s current logjam at point guard.
The Raptors never considered Tomislav Zubčić, a late second-round pick in the 2012 draft whose rights Toronto sent to the Thunder today, to be an NBA prospect, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Apparently, the Raptors drafted him mostly as a favor to help speed up the team’s buyout for Jonas Valanciunas, Wolstat writes.
Blazers GM Neil Olshey is prepared for what’s ahead, regardless of whether LaMarcus Aldridge stays or goes, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes.
The Thunder announced that they have named Monty Williams, Maurice Cheeks, and Anthony Grant as assistant coaches.

Qualifying Offers: Monday

June 29th, 2015 at 7:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors formally made a qualifying offer of $2.725MM to Draymond Green, ensuring the versatile forward will be a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Golden State is expected to match any offer sheet to Green, one of the key players en route to its first championship in 40 seasons. The Pistons, Hawks and Rockets are among the teams expected to pursue Green. The Warriors also extended a qualifying offer of $1.147MM to Ognjen Kuzmic but declined the same amount on Justin Holiday, allowing the shooting guard to become an unrestricted free agent, according to a tweet from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.

In other news regarding qualifying offers around the league:

The Cavaliers made qualifying offers to three of their rotation players, allowing Cleveland to match any offer sheet, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Tristan Thompson ($6.778MM), Matthew Dellavedova ($1.147MM) and Iman Shumpert ($4.334MM) were the players who received them.
The Thunder made a qualifying offer of approximately $7.47MM to Enes Kanter, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
The Jazz gave a qualifying offer of $1.045MM to Joe Ingles and the Timberwolves did the same for about $1.147MM to make Robbie Hummel a restricted free agent, according to Pincus (Twitter links). However, Minnesota declined the same price tag on Justin Hamilton‘s qualifying offer, Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com tweets, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Suns made the qualifying offer of $4.79MM to Brandon Knight while his former backcourt partner, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, got a qualifying offer of $2.275MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links).
The Raptors extended a qualifying offer of $1.829MM to a player who was overseas last season, Nando De Colo, Pincus tweets. De Colo played for CSKA Moscow last season.

And-Ones: Crowder, Gasol, Knicks

June 28th, 2015 at 11:31pm CST by Will Joseph

The Celtics made a qualifying offer to Jae Crowder worth $1.2MM, making the forward a restricted free agent, which means the Celtics can match any offer he receives from another team, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports. Crowder has expressed an interest to return to the Celtics, but also plans to test the market.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Marc Gasol has no interest in joining the Lakers because of the shaky final few years his brother spent with the team, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who cites sources familiar with the situation.
Knicks president Phil Jackson is interested in re-signing Jason Smith as a backup center and combo guard Alexey Shved, who played well late in the season, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports.
The Jazz are expected to make a significant attempt to bring draft-and-stash center Tibor Pleiss, who is from Germany, to the team next season, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Pleiss traveled to Utah to discuss the possibility of joining the team this upcoming season, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes, adding that the Jazz are in need of a solid backup at center for Rudy Gobert.
Luka Mitrovic, a forward from Serbia who the Sixers took with the final pick of the draft, will stay overseas next season, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando tweets.

Northwest Notes: Booker, Lyles, Wolves, Jones

June 27th, 2015 at 8:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have a July 15th deadline for a decision on the second year of Trevor Booker‘s contract, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Booker is due to make nearly $4.8MM next season if Utah retains him, but only $250K of that is guaranteed. Genessy calls the decision a “no-brainer,” saying the Jazz would be wise to avoid the risks of free agency. (Twitter link). He also tweeted about Utah’s decision to extend a qualifying offer to Joe Ingles, noting that he won the Jazz over with his play in the second part of the season, especially by shooting 42.7% from three-point range.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Trey Lyles impressed the Jazz in workouts with his ability in the open floor, Genessy writes. Coach Quinn Snyder said Lyles caught the team’s attention with the way he was able to rebound the ball on the defensive end, then push it up court and create opportunities for teammates. “We’ve alluded to the concept of being unselfish,” said GM Dennis Lindsey. “When I saw him play on tape and then here, that resonated with me.” The GM noted that Lyles posted the highest score on an advanced balance test of 104 players who participated in workouts.
The Wolves aren’t expected to be major players in free agency, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. The team is expected to try to re-sign veteran forward Kevin Garnett and reach a deal with European Nemanja Bjelica, but otherwise won’t be very active. “I’m actually, right now at this point, pretty comfortable,” said Minnesota coach/executive Flip Saunders. Garnett made $12MM last season, but Zgoda estimates his new salary will be around $8MM, and possibly part of a two-year deal that includes an opt-out after the first season. Saunders indicated he would also like to bring back restricted free agent Robbie Hummel, who made $880K last year.
The Wolves had been looking for a veteran point guard before the draft, Zgoda writes in the same story, but those plans changed when they were able to acquire Tyus Jones from the Cavaliers on draft night. Minnesota may try to reach a cost-effective deal to keep fourth guard Lorenzo Brown, but Saunders said he is “pretty comfortable” with Jones and Zach LaVine backing up Ricky Rubio.

Northwest Notes: Favors, Ingles, Lyles, Nuggets

June 27th, 2015 at 4:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Derrick Favors is not being shopped around the league by the Jazz despite the team’s reported interest in free agent Paul Millsap, a source told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. A source had told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News earlier this week that Favors might be traded to make room for Millsap. While the Jazz are likely to gauge Millsap’s interested in returning to Utah, they like the defensive pairing of Favors and Rudy Gobert along the interior, Falk continues. That duo had a defensive rating of 92.5 points allowed per 100 possessions, fourth best in the NBA, over the last 29 games when the Jazz went 19-10, Falk notes. Favors also has a team-friendly contract averaging $11.6MM over the next three seasons, Falk adds.

In other news around the Northwest Division:

Utah will make a $1,045,059 qualifying offer to Joe Ingles, giving the Jazz the right to match all offers for the one-year veteran in free agency this summer, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). That’s no surprise, since Tribune scribe Gordon Monson had identified mutual interest this spring between the Jazz and the Australian swingman. Utah is still planning to re-sign him, Jones adds.
The Jazz selected Trey Lyles with their first-round pick over his Kentucky teammate Devin Booker because of his playmaking ability and defensive versatility, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Lyles can not only back up Favors, he can slide over to small forward and even center on occasion, Jones continues. Booker would have come onto the team as the third shooting guard with no apparent path to playing time, Jones adds.
The Nuggets let two trade exceptions expire unused Friday — one worth $1.75MM for Anthony Randolph, who went out in the trade that brought in Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, and the other worth $1,422,720 that was a vestige of last summer’s Evan Fournier/Arron Afflalo trade.
Former NBA point guard Sergio Rodriguez confirmed to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick that he is thinking about returning to the NBA and will gauge the market after free agency begins Wednesday. He called the buyout in his contract with Real Madrid of Spain, worth a reported 2 million euros that comes to almost $2.234MM at today’s exchange rate, a reasonable one, Quick adds. Conflicting reports of late had painted different pictures about whether Rodriguez was considering the NBA, and another report identified the Nuggets as one of three NBA teams with interest.

Northwest Notes: Mudiay, Radicevic, Towns

June 26th, 2015 at 9:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The first round selection of Emmanuel Mudiay on Thursday night all but assures that Ty Lawson‘s time with the Nuggets is up, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post writes. Denver feels fortunate that the young point guard fell to them at the No. 7 overall pick, and the team acknowledges that Mudiay’s limitations as a shooter are why he was still on the board that late in the lottery, Kiszla notes. “If he had a jumper, we’re not getting him. He’s No. 1, with a bullet,” Nuggets GM Tim Connelly said. “His shot’s not broken. He’s confident. And he’s a worker.” Connelly insisted that Mudiay and Lawson could exist in the same backcourt, saying “Absolutely. Excited about it,” when the prospect was brought up. But the team shouldn’t risk exposing Mudiay to the potentially negative influence that Lawson could provide, and must find a trade partner to facilitate the veteran’s departure from Denver, Kiszla opines.

Here’s the latest out of the Northwest Division:

The Thunder had been making a push to acquire the No. 12 pick from the Jazz before the draft, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
The Nuggets‘ plan for Serbian point guard Nikola Radicevic is for him to remain overseas next season with Sevilla in Spain’s Liga ACB, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post tweets. Denver selected Radicevic with the No. 57 overall pick on Thursday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the Timberwolves‘ primary target in the draft from day one, writes Sid Hartman of The Star Tribune. Minnesota coach/executive Flip Saunders believes that the 2015 No. 1 overall pick has only scratched the surface of his ability, Hartman notes. “The thing about Towns is he has great versatility, I mean, he handles the basketball extremely well for a guy that is just under 7-foot,” Saunders said. “He is a two-way player. He can block shots and score offensively. He didn’t show it in college, because [Kentucky coach John] Calipari didn’t ask him to do it, but he’s a very, very good perimeter-type shooter. So I just think his versatility, and then he’s very charismatic.“

Jazz To Pursue Paul Millsap

June 26th, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 26TH: There is a growing sense that Millsap will go where the market dictates, and that the Jazz won’t be able to afford him, according to Checketts (Twitter link).

JUNE 25TH: There continue to be rumblings about how the Jazz want to re-acquire Millsap, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News tweets. Utah, his source adds, might also trade Derrick Favors.

JUNE 12TH: The Jazz will make an active pursuit of soon-to-be free agent Paul Millsap this summer, as Spencer Checketts of 1280 AM The Zone hears (Twitter link). Millsap, who spent his first seven NBA seasons as a member of the Jazz, and agent DeAngelo Simmons dropped hints at the end of Atlanta’s playoff run that the power forward would like to remain with the Hawks, though Utah has brother Elijah Millsap under contract for two more years. A pursuit of Paul Millsap would represent a sharp turn in Utah’s rebuilding effort, one that’s been patient so far, just two seasons after the team watched him go, at a discount, to Atlanta.

Competition will no doubt be stiff for the leading scorer from a 60-win Hawks team this season, and the Hawks face a stiff financial challenge to re-sign Millsap and fellow impending free agent DeMarre Carroll with only Early Bird Rights on both, as I examined when I looked at Atlanta’s offseason. The Hawks nonetheless appear confident that they can accomplish the task.

The Jazz can have as much as $16.6MM in cap room for next season without making a trade, as I noted in their offseason outlook, though that wouldn’t necessarily be enough to lure Millsap, as speculation, at least, has him in line for a max deal that would start at an estimated $19MM. Knicks president Phil Jackson is reportedly intrigued with Millsap, and New York has the cap flexibility to offer the max. Millsap apparently signed his two-year, $19MM deal with Atlanta in 2013 with an eye on putting himself in a better position to sign a lucrative contract this summer. Still, he has a good relationship with Jazz coach Quin Snyder, a Hawks assistant in Millsap’s first year in Atlanta, notes Andy Larsen of KSL.com.

Blazers Acquire Rights To Daniel Diez

June 26th, 2015 at 12:40am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:40am: Utah receives cash, according to the formal announcement from the Blazers.

THURSDAY, 11:09pm: The Jazz are sending the rights to the No. 54 pick, Spanish small forward Daniel Diez, to the Blazers, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (on Twitter). It’s not immediately clear what Utah is getting in return.

Draft Rumors: Lakers, Okafor, Russell

June 25th, 2015 at 3:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lakers are leaning towards taking Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). However, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears that the Lakers are undecided with both Okafor and D’Angelo Russell in play. Of course, the only word that counts will come from commissioner Adam Silver later tonight. Here’s the latest draft news..

Frank Kaminsky is moving up draft boards in the final hours, league sources tell David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). He could very well go higher than No. 9, which is where the Hornets would like him.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was known to be very high on Willie Cauley-Stein but Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (on Twitter) isn’t hearing much of that today.
Several league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) that they expect Cauley-Stein to slip. The big man didn’t shine in workouts or interviews and his ankle is a concern.
The Jazz are targeting Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow at No. 12 and they’re willing to trade up if they feel it’s necessary, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone (via Twitter links). If those trade-up scenarios don’t pan out, Utah could instead move down. If they do move down, Checketts lists the Celtics (No. 16), Bucks (17) and, Rockets (No. 18) as possible partners.
Marcin Gortat during a press conference in Poland said the Pistons asked him about prospect Mateusz Ponitka, according to Sportando (on Twitter). Ponitka worked out for Detroit earlier this week. The shooting guard looks to be a second round (or, undrafted) prospect.
The Bucks like UNLV forward Christian Wood, but feel that he’ll be chosen later in the first round, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times tweets. Milwaukee owns the No. 17 pick in the first round and the No 46 pick in the second.
David Pick of Eurobasket.net (on Twitter) hears that projected second-round pick Shawn Dawson hopes to slide under the radar and go undrafted. Dawson is currently ranked as the No. 66 prospect in the draft by DraftExpress.