2014 September | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Budenholzer, Moore, Sanchez

September 20th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The recent trend in the NBA of coaches doubling as GM’s has made its way to Atlanta where Mike Budenholzer is handling both positions for the Hawks, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. Budenholzer’s circumstances do differ from the Clippers‘ Doc Rivers, Stan Van Gundy‘s in Detroit, and the Wolves‘ Flip Saunders, in that he took over the extra duties due to GM Danny Ferry being forced to take a leave of absence after his racist remarks were made public, and not by design.

Here’s more out of the east:

E’Twaun Moore‘s minimum salary deal with the Bulls comes with a guarantee of $425K for the first year, with the second being non-guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
The Knicks have guaranteed $15K of Orlando Sanchez‘s minimum salary contract, Pincus notes (Twitter link).
JaKarr Sampson‘s four-year, minimum salary deal with the Sixers includes a $50K guarantee for the first season according to Pincus (Twitter link). The remaining three years of the deal come with no guaranteed money.

Denzel Bowles In Talks With Chinese Team

September 20th, 2014 at 1:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Free agent center Denzel Bowles is closing in on a deal with the Jilin Northeast Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). This continues what has become a suddenly robust Asian market for free agents, with Andray Blatche and Jordan Crawford recently inking deals with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

The 6’10″ Bowles is familiar with Jilin, having played for the Tigers last season, averaging 26.0 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 32.5 MPG in 34 appearances. He played for the Nuggets in this year’s NBA summer league, logging 5.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per contest.

Bowles had recently worked out for the Pistons, and Charania also reports that Detroit invited him to training camp. But as we saw with Blatche, who received a one-year, $2.5MM deal, playing five months overseas and then trying to latch onto an NBA team in March can be much more financially rewarding than competing for a roster spot with little-to-no guaranteed money to bank on. Bowles had also reportedly displayed his wares for the Spurs, but likely wasn’t offered a deal or a camp invite.

DeAndre Liggins To Join Clippers For Camp?

September 20th, 2014 at 12:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 20TH, 12:38pm: An NBA executive has told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), that Liggins will not be with the Clippers in training camp, contrary to earlier reports.

SEPTEMBER 2ND, 4:01pm: Three-year NBA veteran DeAndre Liggins will sign a deal for training camp with the Clippers, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). That means he’ll almost certainly be on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary, allowing the team to continue to chase veteran targets with guaranteed money.

Liggins saw just one minute of playing time in the NBA last season while he was on a pair of 10-day deals with the Heat, and he didn’t see much more action in earlier stints with the Thunder and Magic after Orlando drafted him 53rd overall in 2011. The 26-year-old swingman has played primarily in the D-League, earning an All-Star selection on that circuit this past season. The Clippers caught a look at him while he played for their summer league team in July, when he averaged 7.2 points in 23.2 minutes per contest. He also suited up for the Pistons summer league squad this year.

The addition of the Henry Thomas client gives the team deals with 12 players, though the Clippers are reportedly close to agreements with Chris Douglas-Roberts and Hedo Turkoglu. Reports have also indicated that the club has interest in Ray Allen and Ekpe Udoh.

And-Ones: Papanikolaou, Draft, Pacific Division

September 19th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kostas Papanikolaou is ready to make the jump from the Euroleague to the NBA, Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle writes. Papanikolaou signed with the Rockets back in August though the deal hasn’t been formally announced yet. On his decision to join the NBA, Papanikolaou said, “I didn’t want to be thinking like five years later that I had this opportunity and didn’t do it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I didn’t want to miss it. I thought, ‘This is the time.’ I spoke with the GM (Daryl Morey). The coach himself (Kevin McHale) called me. That means a lot to a player. But I just didn’t want to be stupid and lose this opportunity to be here, to live this dream to go to the NBA.”

Here’s more from around the Association:

The staff over at NBA.com previewed the Pacific Division, as well as provided their opinions on the division’s best offseason moves, which player they believe will have a breakout season, and much more.
It’s not too early to start thinking about next year’s NBA Draft, especially if you are a fan of a team that isn’t expected to compete for a playoff spot. The crew over at DraftExpress preview the top NBA prospects in the Pac-12 Conference, with Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Norman Powell topping the list.
The staff over at DraftExpress also ran down the top NBA prospects in the Big 12, with Kelly Oubre, Cliff Alexander, and Myles Turner snagging the top spots on the list.

Western Notes: Bledsoe, Wolves, Warriors

September 19th, 2014 at 8:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If Eric Bledsoe doesn’t end up with a different team and he ends up signing a qualifying offer from the Suns, then Phoenix is the best possible place to play out the season, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes. Brigham notes that the Suns have the best training staff in the league, which significantly reduces the risk of Bledsoe incurring an injury that would impact his earning potential next Summer.

Here’s more from out west:

Brigham also notes that Bledsoe might not have the same opportunity this year as he did last season to showcase his talents since the Suns are so deep at the point guard position with Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, and Tyler Ennis all potentially cutting into Bledsoe’s minutes.
The Timberwolves have a tough decision on their hands when it comes to Ricky Rubio, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Minnesota is a team in transition and Rubio has proven to be an effective, but not spectacular, floor general. The T’Wolves could either invest in Rubio’s upside or wait for next summer where another franchise could choose to overpay and put pressure on Minnesota to match a max deal.
With versatile guard Shaun Livingston in the fold, the Warriors may be closer to title contention than anyone thinks, writes Moke Hamilton in Basketball Insiders‘ season preview of the Warriors. Golden State has one of the league’s very best starting fives (if healthy) and the bench is strong too, but Hamilton’s chief concern is first-year coach Steve Kerr. In his estimation, the effectiveness of Kerr will be one of the most compelling storylines of the year.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Allen, Chandler, Sixers, Celtics

September 19th, 2014 at 6:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards have reached out to Ray Allen once again, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reports. Washington is still waiting to get a concrete answer from Allen as to whether or not he’s returning for another season, but one possible note of encouragement is that Allen’s agent Jim Tanner hasn’t told the Wizards that they wouldn’t be a free agency option for the veteran shooting guard.

Here’s what else is happening in the Eastern Conference:

Tyson Chandler takes exception to the rumors that he was traded because he was causing chemistry issues in the Knicks locker room, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “I did nothing but try to help the culture there the three years I was there,” Chandler said. “You can say I didn’t live up to whatever or you didn’t like the way I played or anything. But to ever question who I am and the type of leader I am in the locker room, I don’t even know where that came from. I honestly don’t know where that came from. I don’t know if Phil put that out there or who put that out there, but to me, that was the ultimate shock. And you don’t have to say that to get rid of me or to trade me. The trade is over. So to judge my character and what I’ve done, you can go look at all my teammates and ask all of my teammates in the past, and the coaches I’ve played for, and I’ve never been a problem and never had a problem. So that was a shock to me that I didn’t appreciate.”
The 2014/15 season is all about player development for the Sixers and not the won-loss record, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com opines. This development includes their unsigned overseas talent like Dario Saric, Jordan McRae, and Vasilije Micic as well, notes Kaskey-Blomain.
The crew over at HoopsHype previews the Celtics‘ 2014/15 campaign, projecting Boston to finish 4th in the Atlantic Division, and 12th overall in the Eastern Conference.

Wolves Offer Eric Bledsoe Max Deal

September 19th, 2014 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

4:53pm: The Suns have no interest in a sign-and-trade deal with Minnesota, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. According to Wojnarowski’s sources the Suns are only interested in trading Bledsoe for an All-Star, or a potential All-Star player, and had only considered Kevin Love in a possible sign-and-trade scenario with the Wolves.

3:53pm: The Suns own the Wolves’ 2015 first-round pick but it’s top-12 protected. Removing or reducing the protection could be a part of the Bledsoe talks, tweets Windhorst.

3:25pm: The Wolves are offering Eric Bledsoe a four-year, $63MM maximum level contract, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The offer turns up the heat on the Suns, who have offered the restricted free agent a four-year, $48MM deal. The Wolves don’t have the necessary cap room to sign the guard outright, so they’d have to swing a sign-and-trade deal with Phoenix.

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported yesterday that the Wolves were still in talks with the Suns on a sign-and-trade deal even after the completion of the Kevin Love deal. The possibility of the Wolves making a play for the 24-year-old seemed somewhat remote after Love was shipped to the Cavs, but it’s now very much a reality.

While the Suns and the Rich Paul client have been in a stalemate this summer, Phoenix was reportedly willing to dial up their offer if necessary. An increase of roughly $15MM probably wasn’t what they had in mind, however. Bledsoe’s camp made it known to Phoenix and every other team that he was only interested in signing a max contract. Otherwise, he said he was prepared to sign a one-year, $3.7MM qualifying offer with the Suns that would enable him to become an unencumbered free agent next summer. Fellow restricted free agent Greg Monroe made the same threat to the Pistons and made good on his promise earlier this summer.

In a sign-and-trade deal, the Suns would want Andrew Wiggins, according to Wolfson (on Twitter). That’s less-than-preferable for the Wolves, however, and that wouldn’t be a match, according to Wolfson. This is purely speculative, but since the Wolves were entertaining a Love-for-Bledsoe swap and Wiggins was the primary haul of the Love deal with Cleveland, it’s seems possible that the Wolves would consider including the No. 1 overall pick.

The Suns obviously want to keep Bledsoe (at the right price) but they would still have a very strong backcourt without the Kentucky product. The Suns have a highly-talented guard in Goran Dragic and the addition of free agent guard Isaiah Thomas on a four-year, $27MM deal would also lessen the sting. Phoenix also has first-round guard Tyler Ennis in reserve.

Bledsoe averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 assists across 43 games for the Suns last season after being traded from the Clippers. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury which cost him a good chunk of his 2013/14 campaign.

Jude LaCava of FOX 10 in Phoenix (on Twitter) first reported that the Wolves were prepared to offer Bledsoe a max deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: Hawks, Gibson, Cavs, Celtics

September 19th, 2014 at 2:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Scouts and executives admit that front office talk can be brutal, but they say Hawks GM Danny Ferry crossed the line with comments that are far from the usual chatter, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. “I’ve never seen anything like what was in that report, just in terms of the language,” said a former team executive with nearly two decades of front-office experience. “I think most people would tell you that would be surprising. More out of the East..

Privately, Bulls forward Taj Gibson isn’t too thrilled with the prospect of continuing to be a reserve, multiple people familiar with the situation tell Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Still, Gibson is an upbeat, team-first kind of player, Sam writes, and he values winning and chemistry too much to make it a distraction. It sounds like we shouldn’t expect any trade demands to come from Gibson anytime soon, though it might be a situation to monitor.
The Heat took some heat for having too many older players on their roster and the Cavs are getting similar criticism this offseason. That’s not really fair, Zach Lowe of Grantland argues. LeBron’s two supporting stars are 26-year-old Kevin Love and 22-year-old Kyrie Irving, Cleveland has an extra first-rounder eventually coming from the Grizzlies, and there are valuable young guys including Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, and Matthew Dellavedova.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks at three Celtics players who are on the bubble heading into training camp. Shooting guard Marcus Thornton, forward/center Brandon Bass, and forward Gerald Wallace are all in jeopardy as the season draws near.

Pelicans In Talks With Samad Nikkhah Bahrami

September 19th, 2014 at 12:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Pelicans are in talks with the representatives for Iranian small forward Mohammad Samad Nikkhah Bahrami (more often referred to as Samad Nikkhah Bahrami), sources tell Enea Trapani of Sportando. Bahrami was on the verge of a deal with French club Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, but that’s now on the back burner thanks to the possibility of joining New Orleans.

The 31-year-old has years of experience in international competition and has played for clubs in France, Iran, and China. Most recently, Bahrami played for the Fujian SBS Sturgeons in Chinese Basketball Association. Given his age, lack of NBA experience, and the Pelicans’ 18-man roster, one would assume that the Pelicans are looking at Bahrami as a non-guaranteed training camp possibility. Trapani writes that Bahrami is a consideration for the Pelicans since they’re thin at the three.

New Orleans currently has a dozen fully guaranteed contracts, three partially guaranteed deals, and three non-guaranteed deals on their roster.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Rondo, Nets, Ndiaye

September 19th, 2014 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Rebuilding isn’t fun, but Celtics forward Jeff Green is staying upbeat about it, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. “You can’t really put a timetable on the rebuilding process,” said Green. “As long as you continue to get better each day — going to practice and just get better — that’s what it’s going to take for us to get better as a team and to increase wins. I think we ended the season well and this whole summer each guy took it upon themselves to get better, which is going to make our team better.” More from the Atlantic Division..

A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter) believes a Rajon Rondo trade is possible for the Celtics, but he doesn’t see it happening before training camp.
The Nets voided Hamady Ndiaye‘s deal after discovering an elbow injury that needs 2-4 weeks of rest, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The former Rutgers center played well through the injury for his native country of Senegal in the World Cup, but he would’ve needed to miss camp (link). The Nets, meanwhile, wanted to use that time to look at him for their third center spot.
Ndiaye will most likely sign in China once his injury recovers, with several CBA teams in mix, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).

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