Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Green, Davis, Jazz

April 6th, 2015 at 7:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Draymond Green, who will be a restricted free agent after the season, said that being a 2012 second-round pick gave him motivation to prove his skeptics wrong, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Warriors’ versatile forward felt snubbed when he was passed over in the first round, Green told Ellis, and that led him to become one of the league’s most sought-after free agents. “Everybody wants to be a first-round pick. But things have a funny way of working out,” Green said in the article. “Who’s to say I’d be having this season if I was a first-round pick? Who’s to say I’d even be here? But it’s all worked itself out. It’s put me in a solid position and I’m just trying to take advantage of it.” Green is expected to receive an offer sheet worth over $10MM per season, Ellis speculates, but the Warriors have said they will match any offer. Whether Golden State can actually afford to do that is debatable, Ellis adds, and they may have to trade David Lee to create financial flexibility in order to retain Green. Green wouldn’t confirm or deny a recent report that the ex-Michigan State forward would like to play for his hometown Pistons, Ellis adds.

In other news around the Western Conference:

Anthony Davis should decline a maximum extension this summer and instead accept a qualifying offer so that he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2017, Daniel Leroux of RealGM.com opines. By doing so, Davis can maximize his leverage with the Pelicans and position himself to sign two major multi-year deals during his career rather being past his prime after the first one expires, Leroux continues. With the salary cap rising dramatically after next season, the benefits of waiting for his first big contract outweigh the risks, Leroux adds. It also puts added pressure on New Orleans to surround Davis with enough talent by the summer of 2017 to convince him to stay put, Leroux concludes.
Bryce Cotton feels he still has much to prove to the Jazz even after signing a contract for the remainder of the season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports. Cotton, who is backing up Dante Exum and Trey Burke at point guard, received the contract after two 10-day contracts expired. Cotton’s approximately $845K salary for next season is not guaranteed and he doesn’t feel secure, Coro adds. “It’s one of those temporary sighs of relief but you never want to get complacent no matter what your situation is,” Cotton said in the story. “Just keep working hard and do whatever it was that got you to this situation.”

Western Notes: Young, Green, Clarkson

April 6th, 2015 at 2:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers committed more money to Nick Young than to any other free agent last summer, but coach Byron Scott is threatening to reduce Young’s minutes if the team makes a more significant foray into free agency this year, as Mark Medina and Robert Morales of the Los Angeles Daily News write. Scott wants to see Young become less of a gunner when he returns from injury next season, but the swingman, who signed a four-year deal worth more than $21.326MM, feels as though Scott unfairly targets him for criticism. While we wait to see how that dynamic plays out, there’s more on the Lakers amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Rookie Erick Green hasn’t seen much playing time for the Nuggets this season, and he realizes he has to seize the opportunity when he does, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The former second-round pick saw a career high of just 25 minutes Saturday, and his minimum salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
That’s in stark contrast to Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson, a fellow former second-rounder who’ll remain with the Lakers for next season, as coach Scott said directly on Saturday, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. Clarkson, who’s excelled as he’s made 33 starts, also has a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2015/16.
The Jazz have recalled Grant Jerrett from the D-League, the team announced. The power forward hasn’t put up impressive numbers while on assignment, averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game across 19 appearances for both the Thunder and Jazz affiliates this season. He’s knocked down 41.2% of his three-pointers on his frequent D-League trips this year, but he’s only managed to make it into six NBA games.

And-Ones: Kentucky, Ballmer, Clarkson, Burke

April 4th, 2015 at 11:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

There should be a mass exodus of Kentucky players to the NBA after Saturday’s loss in the NCAA semi-finals, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He speculated that the list of departing Wildcats should “minimally” include Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson and Devin Booker.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Steve Ballmer’s bold $2 billion bid to purchase the Clippers last year was an “outlier,” writes Mike Ozanian of Forbes. Ozanian notes that Mikhail Prokhorov has been unsuccessful in his attempts to sell the Nets and the Barclays Center, while the highest current bid for the Hawks is $800MM.
The “Gilbert Arenas provision” applies to the Lakers‘ Jordan Clarkson after next season, note Eric Pincus and Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times, giving the Lakers an edge in keeping the young point guard long-term. Because Clarkson was a second-round pick, the provision limits the offers other franchises can make to four years and a projected $57MM. With a non-guaranteed contract for 2015/16 at the league minimum for a second-year player ($845,059), Clarkson is almost certain to return to the Lakers next year.
Jazz point guard Trey Burke is part of the reason the future is bright in Utah, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The second-year player out of Michigan has been a key part of the team’s second half surge, and he is looking forward to improving this summer. “I know that I have a high ceiling and have more potential to grow,” he said. “Like I said, this summer and this offseason will be very big for me. I look forward to coming back even stronger and even better next season. Being a young player, I know that these offseasons are really important in how much I’ll grow.” Burke is still on his rookie contract, which runs through 2016/17, and he’s under the team’s control through 2017/18.

Northwest Notes: Lawson, Wright, Robinson

April 3rd, 2015 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most executives from teams around the league expect the Jazz to gauge the market for their first-round pick this year, and while front offices usually don’t give much thought to trading lottery picks before the lottery happens, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tosses out some hypothetical scenarios. The Nuggets asked for multiple first-round picks in Ty Lawson trade talks leading up to the deadline, sources told Lowe at the time, and the Grantland scribe speculates that he’s a possible fit for the Jazz. Lowe also names the Kings and Celtics as teams to watch in regard to Lawson, though it’s unclear if that’s also merely speculation. In any case, here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Dorell Wright is expected to miss the next four to six weeks with a broken left hand, the Trail Blazers announced (Twitter link). That’s a blow for Portland, which will seemingly be without him for at least the first round of the playoffs, though the team’s deadline acquisition of Alonzo Gee, who’ll likely see more minutes, and Arron Afflalo continues to pay dividends, tweets Jabari Young of CSNNW.com. Wright will be a free agent at season’s end.
The Nuggets and Thomas Robinson mutually decided against having Robinson stick around Denver for the rest of the season after the midseason trade that brought him aboard, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes in his mailbag column. The Sixers claimed Robinson off waivers from the Nuggets in February.
Enes Kanter has been more productive following the trade that sent him to the Thunder than he ever was with the Jazz, and that’s in large measure because of the on-court chemistry he has with Russell Westbrook, as Josh Kopelman of Daily Thunder examines.

Western Notes: Pekovic, Saunders, Suns

April 2nd, 2015 at 7:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Wolves big man Nikola Pekovic will undergo surgery next week to remove damage and repair his right Achilles tendon, the team announced via Twitter. Pekovic is out of action indefinitely, and it’s not yet known if the injury is career-threatening, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Coach/executive Flip Saunders had all but ruled out Pekovic for the season last week, saying, “We’ve got to do something. We’re not just going to sit there. We tried different ways to let it heal, trying to be as proactive as we can. We have to re-evaluate what we do with him. He’s constantly seeing doctors the last three weeks. We’ll see where it takes us.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Saunders said that he and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor haven’t addressed whether or not Saunders would coach the team next season, Andy Greder of The Pioneer Press relays. “I’m gonna coach until I tell you I’m not the coach, so you can take it that way,” Saunders said. “I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done this year. It’s been a trying year from the injury standpoint, but our staff, we feel when we look at the progress of what our young players have made, that we’ve done what we set out to do when things changed over the first month of the season.” The coach/executive and Taylor reached a deal that’s open-ended in terms of length last offseason. Saunders also serves as the team’s president of basketball operations.
The Suns‘ injury issues have led to increased playing time for rookies Archie Goodwin and T.J. Warren, giving the team a chance to see them shine, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. Phoenix’s president of basketball operations Lon Babby is especially happy with what he’s seen of Warren. “He’s just an amazingly efficient scorer,” Babby said. “Every game, [he shoots] 6-for-9, 5-for-7, he’s just around the basket and it seems to come easily to him. Both of those draft picks [referring to Goodwin and Warren], along with Alex Len…are all doing well and bode well for the future.”
Gordon Hayward said Enes Kanter’s critical comments angered the Jazz and that the players took his remarks personally, Doug Robinson of The Deseret News writes. After defeating the Thunder 94-89 last week, the first time Kanter returned to Utah after his remarks, Trevor Booker said, “I definitely wanted to kick his butt. He got his stats and he got his L [loss] as always.“

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Durant, Contracts

April 1st, 2015 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

LaMarcus Aldridge feels as though the Blazers didn’t always support him the way they do now, as he explains to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The soon-to-be free agent, who pledged this past summer to re-sign with the Blazers in the offseason ahead, wonders what it would have been like if he felt they were behind him for his entire career, and if the team still finds him expendable on some level.

“It’s bittersweet,” Aldridge said of his ascendance to a superstar level with the Blazers. “I think God has a plan for everybody. Maybe my plan wasn’t to be loved right away. My role was a little tougher than other franchise players, but it happens. I think it helped me build character and not take anything for granted. I know that I had to really earn it, so it makes me appreciative. It also makes me wonder how easily they can move on, too.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Kevin Durant recently said perhaps his most encouraging words to date for the Thunder regarding his free agency in 2016, but the matter of which team he’ll sign with remains far from decided, observes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
The three year, minimum salary deals that Chris Johnson and Jack Cooley inked with the Jazz contain no guaranteed salaries beyond this season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
Tim Frazier‘s two year deal with the Blazers calls for him to make $845,069 for the 2015/16 campaign, and includes no guaranteed salary beyond this season, Pincus tweets.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Clark, Hunt, Leonard

March 30th, 2015 at 5:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ian Clark is on an expiring contract, but the Nuggets didn’t claim him off waivers on Saturday simply with the hopes of having him around for the last few weeks of the season, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The shooting guard says he’ll be in summer league with Denver, a hint that there’s mutual interest between the sides in a more formal new deal. Denver can match any offers that Clark receives from other NBA teams this summer if it extends a qualifying offer of about $1.147MM. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt is a popular and well-liked figure around the league and shares a longstanding connection with Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey, who nearly hired him for Utah this past offseason, as Dempsey details in a separate piece. Hunt wasn’t widely mentioned as a candidate for Utah’s head coaching job, so presumably Lindsey was talking about an assistant’s position, but that’s not entirely clear.
Meyers Leonard is hiring the Creative Artists Agency for his representation ahead of the offseason, when he’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Blazers big man had been with Excel Sports Management and Jeff Schwartz.
It’s a critical summer ahead for the Thunder and GM Sam Presti, who have one last full offseason of roster construction before Kevin Durant‘s contract runs out, as SB Nation’s Tom Ziller examines. The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in Friday’s poll believe the Thunder should look to make significant changes around Durant this summer.

And-Ones: Towns, Okafor, Vaughn, Jazz

March 30th, 2015 at 4:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

Duke center Jahlil Okafor has long been considered the favorite to become the top pick in the 2015 draft, but for the first time since Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has been compiling his prospect rankings for this year, he’s slipped to No. 2, as Givony notes via Twitter. That means Kentucky forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns has overtaken Okafor in his rankings as well as the ones Chad Ford of ESPN.com puts together. Of course, there’s still nearly three months to go until draft night, and much can change between now and then. It nonetheless sets up what would surely be a dream matchup in the NCAA tournament final for NBA scouts and executives if Kentucky and Duke are to win their respective semifinals on Saturday. There’s more draft news amid the latest from around the league:

UNLV freshman shooting guard Rashad Vaughn has signed with agent Omar Wilkes of Octagon Sports, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Vaughn last week denied a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that he was planning to declare for the draft, but signing with an agent wouldn’t allow him to return to school, which suggests that Vaughn is indeed draft-bound.
Three dozen of 59 NBA executives who spoke to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com support playoff realignment, with the vast majority of the opposition coming from Eastern Conference teams (Twitter link).
Elijah Millsap landed his three-year deal with Jazz thanks to an agent who is four years younger than he is, and Cameron Chung of the Sports Agent Blog chronicles the sudden emergence of 23-year-old Daniel Hazan and his Hazan Sports Management agency.
The glut of high-level point guards in the NBA is a severe impediment to teams that don’t have one, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examines in an Insider-only piece, suggesting that clubs like the Knicks and Sixers should prioritize finding point guards in the offseason.

Thunder Rumors: Kanter, Durant, Brooks

March 29th, 2015 at 12:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder center Enes Kanter offered no apologies for comments about his time in Utah, even after Saturday’s loss to the Jazz, reports Royce Young of ESPN.com. Kanter, who was traded from Utah to Oklahoma City on February 19th, was loudly jeered by the Salt Lake City crowd, starting in warmups. He had incited the crowd’s wrath with a statement that he didn’t enjoy his time in the NBA until he got to the Thunder. “The boos didn’t mean nothing to me,” Kanter said. “It was just a regular game. I never felt like I was a part of this thing, so it was just a regular game. We came and we leave and that is it. I am not taking nothing back.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

The Thunder had a plan for keeping Kanter, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, when they brought him in from Utah, writes Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman. He expects Kanter to land a deal somewhere in the range of $88MM over five years.
History hasn’t been kind to big men with foot problems like Kevin Durant‘s, according to Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News. The Thunder announced this week that Durant will have bone graft surgery on his right foot and will be sidelined for four to six months. Citing Bill Walton, Sam Bowie and Yao Ming as examples, Monroe noted that foot injuries can be career killers.
Durant isn’t the team’s only injury concern, Young writes in a separate story. Andre Roberson, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka are all currently out of action, and every player on the team’s roster in training camp has missed games with injuries. “When you lose KD, Serge, Andre, Nick, you’re not a better team overnight,” said coach Scott Brooks, “but you still have to work on ways you can put yourself in position to win and our guys have done a good job of that.”

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Kanter

March 28th, 2015 at 8:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

During the 1996 draft, the Wolves nearly drafted Kobe Bryant with the No. 5 overall pick, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We teetered on the idea of getting another [player right out of high school] because we had success with [Kevin Garnett],” said Flip Saunders, who was the coach of the team that year, just as he is now. “But we kind of thought it would be too much having two of those guys who were young at that time and still in the process of developing KG as a young player.” Minnesota ended up drafting Ray Allen and subsequently trading him to Milwaukee for Stephon Marbury.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division

The request to commit another $24.5MM in public money in order to further renovate the Target Center, which is the Wolves‘ home arena, passed a City Council panel vote, reports Eric Roper of the Star Tribune. Roper notes that there are still potential roadblocks in securing the additional funding, but the latest news is reason for optimism. The city of Minneapolis previously committed $50MM toward the renovation.
Executives of the Nuggets are “very happy” with the job done by interim coach Melvin Hunt, sources tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix notes that although the team will conduct a thorough search for a new head coach after the season, Hunt’s performance will earn him some consideration for the job.
Enes Kanter didn’t enjoy being an NBA player until he got to the Thunder, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “The difference is I like playing basketball [in Oklahoma City], that’s the most important thing,’’ Kanter said. “I never liked playing basketball before in my NBA career. That’s the first time I felt like playing basketball for my team, for the fans, for my teammates, for coaches — everybody.’’ The center spent his entire career with the Jazz before being traded to the Thunder at this year’s deadline.