Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Wiggins, Jazz

February 15th, 2015 at 6:55pm CST by Zachary Links

LaMarcus Aldridge figures to be among the most sought-after free agents this summer and it’s safe to say that he’s probably heard a few recruitment pitches this weekend in New York City. On Saturday, Aldridge cited “winning and being happy” as his top priorities in free agency and the Blazers certainly hope that they can sell him on both fronts. A look at the Northwest Division..

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) sees Lorenzo Brown sticking with the Timberwolves for the remainder of the season. However, he doesn’t envision any news on that front today. The Wolves can wait a few days and see if they need that roster spot for trade purposes between now and the deadline. In a later tweet, Wolfson (link) said a new deal “will happen.” Brown’s second 10-day deal expires after Sunday night.
Timberwolves rookie Andrew Wiggins has no regrets about the trade that sent him from Cleveland to Minnesota, Holly MacKenzie of The National Post writes. “I think it was the best move for me,” Wiggins said this weekend. “It gave me more room and put me in a position where I could grow up faster. In the league, that’s always what’s best for you.” Wiggins also noted that the deal has given him a chance to “shine.” The guard is averaging 15.2 PPG with 4.3 RPG and 1.9 APG in 34.5 minutes per game. Needless to say, Wiggins wouldn’t be seeing that kind of burn with the Cavs.
As one of the teams sending multiple players to All-Star Weekend, the Jazz have to feel pretty good about how they’ve been evaluating, drafting, and developing talent, EJ Ayala of Basketball insiders writes. Rudy Gobert seems like a potential cornerstone for Utah and they have plenty of other talented young players who could be a part of their core with Dante Exum, Trey Burke, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, and Rodney Hood.

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Kanter, Muhammad

February 14th, 2015 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

LaMarcus Aldridge figures to be among the most sought-after free agents this summer, but he tells reporters, including Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders that recruiting by other players at All-Star weekend hasn’t started yet. The Trail Blazers forward may be hearing a few pitches at tonight’s festivities. Aldridge is among the most productive players in the league, averaging 23.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and gained a new level of respect by delaying surgery on an injured thumb so he could keep playing. He cited “winning and being happy” as his top priorities in free agency. “I want to like the management and feel comfortable that they are going to do the right things to keep winning,” Aldridge said, “and I want to spend my time with an organization where I love what they’re doing and where they’re going.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Enes Kanter‘s trade request this week caught some of his Jazz teammates by surprise, reports Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. “Sometimes guys hold things in, they bottle things [up] and … just got to let what they really feel go,” said Trey Burke. “I’m not saying I agree with it. At the same time, I’m not one of those guys to get super angry about it.” Kanter, unhappy with his reduction in playing time since the emergence of Rudy Gobert, was on the floor for just 18 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Dallas. Kanter makes nearly $5.7MM this season and can become a restricted free agent in July.
Kanter’s unhappiness isn’t necessarily bad for the Jazz, argues Brad Rock of The Deseret News. Rock contends it’s a sign that the team is improving. Kanter, who Utah took third overall in the 2011 NBA draft, hasn’t fallen in the rotation because he’s playing poorly. It has happened because Gobert and others are contributing more. If the Jazz do find a taker for Kanter, Rock would like to see them pick up a shooting guard to replace Alec Burks, who is out for the season after undergoing surgery on his injured left shoulder.
Getting in better shape and improving his attitude has made Shabazz Muhammad a rising star with the Timberwolves, writes Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders. Muhammad, who has tripled his minutes and scoring average in his second season, said a D-League stint last year helped him gain confidence that he could play at the NBA level.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Prokhorov, Celtics

February 14th, 2015 at 3:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

When asked how quickly the Knicks would be able to improve as a franchise, Carmelo Anthony said he believes that the impetus for change begins off of the court, and not with the players, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “The fate is in the front office now,” Anthony said. “As players, the only thing we can do is go out and try to compete on a nightly basis and try to get wins and try to get better. But I think the onus is on the front office, and they’ve got a task ahead of them to start building for now and for the future.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks team president Phil Jackson says that he won’t be using the All-Star weekend in New York City to recruit potential free agents, Mitch Abramason of The New York Daily News writes. “That can’t be what I do here,” Jackson said. “I’ve got to be even-handed and friendly and this isn’t a recruiting tool.” NBA tampering rules would also prevent Jackson from trying to entice players to join the Knicks this offseason, Abramson notes.
The moves that the Nets have made since Mikhail Prokhorov took over as owner have done more to raise the value of the franchise than to bring the team closer to raising a championship banner, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes.
Jackson says that despite the Knicks‘ considerable struggles this season, he remains confident the franchise is on the right course, Neil Best of Newsday writes. “Things are working out just the way we want them to,” Jackson said. “They may not have gone splendidly in the first month, but you know, whatever. We’re forward. We’re forward thinking.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com doesn’t think that the Celtics should make an attempt to trade for Utah’s disgruntled center, Enes Kanter. The big man doesn’t appear to be a player who could significantly improve Boston’s frontcourt situation enough for Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, to try and get a deal deal done with Utah, Blakely notes.

Northwest Notes: Kanter, Burke, Blazers

February 14th, 2015 at 11:01am CST by Eddie Scarito

Enes Kanter‘s displeasure with his playing time and his reported desire to be traded is actually a good thing for the Jazz, Brad Rock of The Deseret News posits. Rock’s rationale behind that stance is that it means Utah is getting better as a team if a player with Kanter’s talents has to fight for minutes. While many teams interested in Kanter may wish to wait for the summer when the big man will become a restricted free agent, the Jazz may attempt to swap him for some backcourt depth with Alec Burks out for the remainder of the season, Rock adds.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Kanter’s trade request caught his teammates on the Jazz off guard, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “It’s a little surprising as a teammate,” point guard Trey Burke said. “Sometimes guys hold things in, they bottle things [up] and … just got to let what they really feel go. I’m not saying I agree with it. At the same time, I’m not one of those guys to get super angry about it.”
Utah’s coach Quin Snyder is happy with Kanter’s overall progress as a player, and says that Kanter has worked hard trying to improve his defense, Genessy adds. It’s the big man’s defensive faults that have led to him losing minutes to Rudy Gobert, who is a far superior defender, the Deseret scribe notes. “I think Enes is getting better,” Snyder said. “I think he’s committed to the defensive end in a way that pleased me, particularly the progress he’s made from the beginning of the year. That’s been our primary goal.”
The NBPA rejecting the league’s cap smoothing proposal for 2016 could be good news for the Trail Blazers, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian writes. With the contracts of LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews expiring at the end of this season, Portland’s owner Paul Allen may be more willing to re-sign all three and dip into the luxury tax for 2015/16 if he knows that a big bump in the salary cap was due the following season, Tokito opines.

Enes Kanter Desires Trade

February 12th, 2015 at 6:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

FEBRUARY 16TH, 6:28pm: The Jazz plan to hang on to Kanter, barring an amazing offer, sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Jones adds that Kanter is still valued highly by the franchise and is still very much in its long-term plans.

FEBRUARY 12TH, 7:58am: Kanter and his agents believe he’s an elite player, and while it’s common for a player’s camp to tout his worth, some around the league have concerns about the people surrounding the Jazz center, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter links).

FEBRUARY 11TH, 11:52pm: Disgruntled center Enes Kanter hopes that he is dealt by the Jazz prior to the February 19th NBA trade deadline, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Kanter has been frustrated by his role with the team the past three seasons, though it apparently reached its breaking point during Wednesday night’s 87-82 loss to the Mavericks, notes Falk. The big man exited the game with an eye injury and never returned despite claiming that he was healthy enough to play, The Tribune scribe adds. “It was not my eye at all. I don’t know what it was, but it was not my eye at all. So we’ll see what’s going to happen,” Kanter said after the game. Kanter had previously grown tired of empty promises of playing time during his tenure under former coach Tyrone Corbin and remains frustrated by the inconsistency of his role, Falk notes.

Kanter’s desire for an exodus from Utah is not a new development, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News tweets. The 22-year-old’s agent Max Ergul has been requesting that his client be traded for years, and he has turned up the heat on the Jazz front office recently regarding the matter, Genessy notes. Ergul has denied making such claims in response to Genessy’s report (Twitter link). The market for Kanter could increase prior to the trade deadline, but there is little to no interest in the big man currently around the league, Genessy notes (Twitter links). Tony Jones of The Salt Lake City Tribune disputes that notion, tweeting that Utah has been fielding trade calls regarding Kanter for some time.

Kanter is in the final season of his rookie scale contract, and will become a restricted free agent this summer after he and the team were unable to come to terms on an extension this past October. Ergul had sung a different tune at the time regarding Kanter’s feelings about playing in Utah, saying, “We have mutually agreed with Utah to concentrate on the season and look at our options again in the summer. Enes likes Utah and the organization very much, and now he can concentrate on continuing to grow as a player and helping them win.”

The fourth year big man from Switzerland has started in 47 of his 48 appearances this season, after being on the court for the opening tip for just 39 of his previous 216 contests dating back to the 2011/12 campaign. Kanter has been sharing the pivot duties with second year center Rudy Gobert, who is a far superior defender. Him having to split time with Gobert is likely contributing to Kanter’s frustration, though that is just my speculation. Kanter is logging 27.3 minutes per contest compared with Gobert’s 21.8 per game.

Since being selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Kanter’s career averages are 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. His career slash line is .502/.318/.746. Kanter’s numbers this season are a career-high 14.0 PPG and 7.8 RPG, and he is shooting a respectable 49.2% from the field.

Western Notes: Wolves, Murphy, Brown

February 11th, 2015 at 8:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite having desirable veteran trade assets in Thaddeus Young and Kevin Martin, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders isn’t actively looking to make more deals before the February 19th trade deadline, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Saunders is willing to listen to offers, but he said that the team now has plenty of competition for playing time at every position, and the Wolves are focused on trying to get their current roster settled, Zgoda adds.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Kevin Murphy, who was in training camp with the Jazz this season, is considering returning to the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s D-League affiliate, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Murphy had been playing in China for Zhejiang Guangsha, whose regular season has just concluded.
The Suns are expected to discuss a deal with Alec Brown, their 2014 second round draft pick, to join the team for the 2015/16 campaign, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports. Brown has been rehabilitating a dislocated shoulder that he suffered during summer league play in Las Vegas. The big man is set to join the Bakersfield Jam, Phoenix’s D-League affiliate, next week, Charania notes.
Bernard James, who was recently inked to a 10-day deal with the Mavericks, believes that his time spent with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association made him a better player, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “It was huge,” James said of playing overseas. “It kind of got me back to feeling like myself again. I’m not hesitating. I’m believing in my game. It was good to play major minutes and having a team really rely on me.“
Some NBA executives aren’t dismissing the idea of George Karl retaining Tyrone Corbin as an assistant on his coaching staff with the Kings, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times reports (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Afflalo, Chandler, Johnson

February 7th, 2015 at 2:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nuggets continue to seek a first-round pick from teams interested in guard Arron Afflalo, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Afflalo could become a free agent at the end of this season, as he holds a $7.5MM player option for next year. Dempsey adds that teams are hesitant to surrender a first-rounder for a player that could walk at the end of the season and it is a snag that prevented Afflalo from already being traded to Charlotte. Our own Chuck Myron examined Afflalo as a trade candidate recently in which he believes it will be difficult for the Nuggets to get a first-rounder for the guard. He adds that if the team can get equal value to what it gave up when it acquired the UCLA product last offseason, a trade would be a smart move for the franchise.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Interest in Wilson Chandler remains high from teams around the league, writes Dempsey in the same piece. The Nuggets were reportedly shopping the forward with an eye on obtaining future-focused assets. The Blazers and the Clippers are among the teams that have been linked to the 27-year-old.
The Jazz have decided not to bring back Chris Johnson after his 10-day contract expired Friday night, according to the team’s twitter feed. The guard/forward only appeared in two games for Utah in which he accumulated a total of 14 points, three assists and three steals during 38 minutes of action. The team’s roster now stands at 14 players.
The Grizzlies have assigned Jordan Adams to their D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, according to the team’s website. To date, Adams has played 10 games for the Energy, averaging 19.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 48.3% from the field.

Western Notes: Burke, Smith, Pelicans

February 5th, 2015 at 6:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Trey Burke has embraced his new role of coming off of the bench for the Jazz, and the change has benefited both the player and the team, Chad Mobley of NBA.com writes. “There’s this fixation with the bench and starting and to me what Trey has embraced is not so much the bench. I don’t want him to embrace the bench, I don’t want him to embrace starting, I want him to do what’s best for our team,” coach Quin Snyder said. “He’s embraced becoming a better player. I don’t want it to be about the bench for him. If he starts again I want him to keep getting better.”

Here’s more from the West:

The Benson family’s legal squabble over the control of the Pelicans and Saints threatens to ruin the clan’s sports legacy in New Orleans, Margaret Cronin Fisk and Laurel Brubaker Calkins of Bloomberg News write.
Josh Smith is a big fan of playing for the Rockets, and he views his time in Houston this season as a chance to revitalize his career, Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston tweets. “It [Houston] does have a home feel. I can’t stop smiling because I’m in such a good position with a great opportunity in front of me,” Smith told Berman.
Rookie Andrew Wiggins is the Wolves‘ lone ray of hope for a better future, and he is providing Minnesota with an acceptable return for dealing away Kevin Love to the Cavs, Pat Borzi of USA Today writes.
Suns center Alex Len is essentially a rookie after missing most of the 2013/14 campaign due to an injury, and the big man is starting to feel the effects of logging heavy minutes, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “There is going to be some adjustment for him for playing these big minutes,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Eighty-two games is a lot of games. You’re traveling and doing all this and you kind of get worn down. You have to get used to playing like that.“

Draft Rumors: Okafor, Wolves, Knicks, Sixers

February 5th, 2015 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Every team with which Chad Ford of ESPN.com has spoken has Jahlil Okafor atop its draft board, as Ford writes in an Insider-only piece, and that includes the Timberwolves, who have the pole position for the No. 1 overall pick, as our Reverse Standings show. That’s even despite the presence of Gorgui Dieng, whom Ford says the team is high on, and Nikola Pekovic, who’s making about $12MM each season through 2017/18. The ESPN.com draft guru runs down how Okafor would fit with each of the teams in line for a lottery pick, and he tosses in some noteworthy rumors as he does so. We’ll hit the highlights here:

The Knicks like Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell in addition to Okafor, Ford writes, adding that the Jazz are Russell fans, too.
Philadelphia would draft Okafor in spite of the presence of Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, Ford hears. The Sixers aren’t sold that either Noel or Embiid will become an elite player, Ford also hears, as he writes in his chat with readers.
Mudiay is No. 2 behind Okafor as far as the Lakers are concerned, but it’s not close, as Ford says he’s been told.
The Magic won’t hesitate to draft Okafor and believe he has the superstar potential that their other players don’t, Ford hears.
Al Horford would “love to move to power forward,” Ford writes, suggesting that the Hawks, who have the rights to take Brooklyn’s pick, would grab Okafor if given the chance.
Ford speculates that the Pistons are the team in line for a lottery pick that’s least likely to draft Okafor, believing he’d be a poor fit alongside Andre Drummond.

Western Notes: Warriors, Matthews, Mavs

February 4th, 2015 at 9:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Rajon Rondo out indefinitely after suffering two facial fractures, the Mavs are in need of some depth, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas may look to add a player on a 10-day contract while it waits for Jermaine O’Neal to decide when and where he resumes his NBA career, Sefko reports. Owner Mark Cuban said that Dallas will be looking at players returning from China as well as those waived by NBA teams, in order to fill its final roster spot, Sefko adds.

Here’s more from out west:

Soon-to-be free agent Wesley Matthews wants to remain with the Trail Blazers, as he tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders, and the shooting guard makes it clear the team’s success on the court is a factor.
The Warriors have led the NBA in defensive rating from the opening day of the season, and the team’s dominance on defense can be traced back to two personnel moves that the franchise has made, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com writes. The ESPN scribe points to Golden State’s deal with the Bucks that sent Monta Ellis to Milwaukee and netted the team Andrew Bogut, and the sign-and-trade deal for Andre Iguodala, as major reasons for Golden State’s defensive prowess this season.
Rival executives have said that the Nuggets would love to add a star player between now and the trade deadline, but if the team is unable to accomplish that goal, it will seek to trade away some of its veteran players for first round draft picks, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes.
Rudy Gobert has emerged as a defensive force for the Jazz this season, and Wesley Share of RealGM.com profiles the big man’s growth into an impact player.
Quincy Miller, who is on his second 10-day contract of the season with the Kings, has never been short on talent, but poor timing has slowed his career up to this point, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes. Discussing why the Nuggets chose to waive him earlier this season, Miller said, “I think they really wanted a veteran in Alonzo Gee and a defensive player. I don’t think I was the defensive player that they wanted, and I was everything they already had in Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari – a shooter/finisher. They wanted to go in a different direction, which is fine, but I just wish it would’ve been different timing.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.