2016 May | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Magic, Wizards, Beal, Hawks

May 26th, 2016 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic‘s in-season moves in 2015/16 signaled that the team was prepared to be ambitious in free agency this summer, and new head coach Frank Vogel didn’t shy away from that topic in his introductory news conference, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “We’ve got cap flexibility to add a key veteran or two or three,” Vogel said.

In the view of Magic CEO Alex Martins, Orlando’s rebuilding process has been leading up to this phase, which will revolve around adding veterans to the club’s young core. “We always believed that this summer and next summer were going to be the two summers of free agency for us that we needed to focus on after developing our young guys,” Martins said. Still, as Robbins details, the Magic won’t be the only NBA team armed with plenty of cap space this summer, and it remains to be seen whether Orlando will be able to attract the sort of veteran free agents it wants to add.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Wizards “remain determined to keep their core intact,” multiple sources tell J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com. That means the team will likely pony up to retain Bradley Beal this summer, even if it means making him a max player or something close to it.
Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com believes the Wizards should take a long look at free-agent-to-be Nicolas Batum this offseason, breaking down the forward’s pros and cons and making the case for why he could be a fit in Washington.
Former Maryland center Diamond Stone has a workout scheduled today with the Hawks, a league source tells Chris Haynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). Stone is one of many NCAA underclassmen who didn’t withdraw from draft consideration before Wednesday’s deadline.

NCAA Early Entrant Decisions For 2016 NBA Draft

May 26th, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for NCAA underclassmen to withdraw from the 2016 NBA draft and retain their remaining college eligibility came and went on Wednesday night, giving us a much clearer picture of which prospects are still draft-eligible and which ones are returning to school for at least one more year. International prospects have until June 13th to make a decision on whether or not to remain in this year’s draft, but this year’s NCAA draft class is mostly set.

As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweeted this morning, Valparaiso’s Alec Peters was the last remaining NCAA underclassman of note who had yet to make his intentions clear after last night’s deadline — sources tell Goodman that Peters has withdrawn from the draft and will go back to school for his senior season after testing the waters.

Now that all those draft decisions are in, let’s go through the list of NCAA early entrants and check in on which players can still be drafted this year.

Will Barton Changes Agents

May 26th, 2016 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Less than a year after signing a three-year contract with the Nuggets, Will Barton has made a change to his representation. Agent Travis King of Relatively Sports tells HoopsHype (Twitter link) that he now represents Barton, who had been repped by Brian Elfus of Impact Sports Basketball, per our agency database.

Barton remains under contract for two more seasons after enjoying a career year in 2015/16. The 25-year-old played a career-high 28.7 minutes per game in his first full season in Denver, and was a key piece off the bench for the Nuggets, averaging 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals while appearing in all 82 games.

If he had inked a shorter-term deal last July, Barton would potentially be in position to cash in this summer, but his three-year pact ensures that he’s under team control through 2017/18, at a modest rate of about $3.53MM per season. I’m speculating, but it’s possible Barton isn’t thrilled with his contract situation, motivating his decision to make an agent change.

There’s little that King can do about Barton’s contract for now, but if Relativity’s new client continues to play at this level for the next two seasons, he’ll be in a good position to land a much larger deal in the summer of 2018. Unless Barton makes another change to his representation before then, King figures to negotiate that next contract.

Bismack Biyombo To Command $16MM+ Per Year?

May 26th, 2016 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

Bismack Biyombo and his Raptors teammates had a poor showing on Wednesday night in Cleveland, but Biyombo’s performance over the course of the postseason – and particularly in the Eastern Conference Finals – has increased his value significantly as he prepares to enter free agency. Biyombo is unlikely to command a maximum contract, but at least one Eastern Conference general manager believes the big man will land a deal worth $16MM+ per year, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.

“For someone like (Biyombo), I think when you look at a guy like Tyson Chandler and what he got from Phoenix last summer (four years, $52MM), that’s where you start for a contract,” the GM said. “But you factor in the cap spike and it’s probably going to be high, I’d say, $16-17 million. It’ll be a heck of a $17 million-per-year gamble.”

Another Eastern Conference exec predicted to Deveney that Biyombo will receive an even higher annual salary in free agency, suggesting that a three-year, $60MM deal is within the realm of possibility. Meanwhile, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets that he was also told yesterday that the Raptors center figures to be in line for $16MM+ per year.

Biyombo technically has a player option for 2016/17, which he could exercise to remain with the Raptors, but since that option would pay just $2.94MM, there’s no chance he won’t elect to test the market instead. And since Biyombo has been in Toronto for just one season, the team only holds his Non-Bird rights. That means that, unless the Raptors renounce DeMar DeRozan‘s rights or get creative elsewhere on the roster, there’s virtually no chance that the club will be able to retain Biyombo if his price gets anywhere close to $16MM annually.

So which teams might be fits for Biyombo? Deveney suggests a few possible suitors, including the Celtics, Lakers, Trail Blazers, and potentially the Bulls and Rockets. Whichever team lands the former seventh overall pick would likely be expecting him to start, given his projected salary, which is something Biyombo probably wouldn’t do in Toronto as long as Jonas Valanciunas is healthy.

“Tyson Chandler, Ben Wallace, someone like that, that is what you hope he becomes next year,” the aforementioned Eastern GM said of Biyombo. “He is never going to be a big-time offensive guy. But as much scoring that goes out to the perimeter, that would not matter on a lot of rosters. He can be a starter somewhere.”

Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 6)

May 25th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

With the first few picks out of the way, things have begun to get interesting. We’ll continue with the Pelicans, who have plenty of needs to address. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for New Orleans’ pick and check back Thursday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Nuggets will select with the No. 7 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 6 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)

And-Ones: Borrego, Onuaku, Swanigan

May 25th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Grizzlies reportedly offering their head coaching spot to David Fizdale, the Rockets are set to be the lone NBA team without a head coach in place for the 2016/17 campaign. Spurs assistant James Borrego, who appears to have emerged as a serious candidate for Houston’s post, had his scheduled second interview today with team owner Leslie Alexander, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Houston is also believed to be considering Magic assistant coach Adrian Griffin, Sixers assistant Mike D’Antoni, and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas for its head coaching opening.

Here’s more from around the league:

Louisville sophomore center Chinanu Onuaku will remain in the NBA draft and will not return to school for his junior campaign, coach Rick Pitino informed Jeff Greer of The Courier Journal (via Twitter). The 19-year-old is a projected second round pick with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him as the No. 38 overall prospect.
New Mexico State sophomore power forward Pascal Siakam intends to remain in the 2016 NBA draft, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets. Siakam is the No. 54 overall prospect according to Givony.
Purdue freshman power forward Caleb Swanigan is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school next season, Rothstein relays (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is ranked No. 83 overall by Givony, who projects Swanigan as a late first-rounder in 2017.
Former Michigan State swingman Denzel Valentine is working his way up draft boards and is now a potential lottery pick, writes Michael Singer of USA Today. Valentine appeared in 31 contest for the Spartans this past season and averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 33.0 minutes per outing.
Nebraska junior small forward Andrew White will return to school for his senior campaign, Rothstein relays (via Twitter).
Sophomore point guard Melo Trimble is withdrawing from the draft and will return to Maryland next season, Rothstein tweets.

2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Knicks

May 25th, 2016 at 9:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.

This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.

We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the New York Knicks, whose D-League affiliate is the Westchester Knicks:

The Knicks made 4 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending one player to the D-League for a total of 26 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by New York for the 2015/16 campaign:

November 30th: Assigned Cleanthony Early (1st) — Recalled December 1st
December 2nd: Assigned Cleanthony Early (2nd) — Recalled December 2nd
December 7th: Assigned Cleanthony Early (3rd) — Recalled December 8th
March 21st: Assigned Cleanthony Early (4th) — Recalled April 1st

Here’s how New York’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:

Cleanthony Early: In seven appearances Early averaged 15.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 33.4 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .446/.333/.607.

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Community Shootaround: Joakim Noah

May 25th, 2016 at 7:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls big man Joakim Noah is eligible for free agency this summer, and one teammate told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Noah has been saying recently that he’s done with the organization once free agency begins, with the big man also adding that he “has no trust in the front office getting this in the right direction.” Noah, who has spent all of his nine NBA seasons in Chicago, won’t officially hit the open market until July, so if the Bulls want to re-sign him, there’s time to change the player’s mind. Chicago reportedly wants to retain Noah, with an April report indicating that the team may favor keeping Noah on a short-term deal rather than making a strong effort to re-sign Pau Gasol.

Noah underwent surgery on his separated left shoulder back in January, and while he should be ready to go for the 2016/17 campaign, he hasn’t played a game since that procedure. In 2015/16, he appeared in just 29 games, averaging 4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per contest. The center also brings with him a number of intangibles that don’t show up in the box score on a nightly basis, which increases his overall value, but age and injury concerns may hamper Noah in landing a long-term deal this summer.

This brings me to the topic for today: Where will Joakim Noah be playing next season?

Will Noah be wearing a Bulls jersey in 2016/17 or do you see him heading elsewhere? What team is the best fit for the big man and what sort of contract will he land this offseason. Take to the comments section to share your thoughts, opinions and predictions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.

Pacific Notes: Hornacek, Bogut, Lemon Jr.

May 25th, 2016 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jeff Hornacek, who is reportedly set to become the Knicks new head coach, was sabotaged during his tenure with the Suns by injuries and a toxic environment created by the trade demands of Markieff Morris, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “There were circumstances around him that caused us to not meet expectations more than his style of coaching or ability to coach,’’ Mark West, Phoenix’s vice president of player relations, told Berman. “If you look at a thin slice of the pie and not the whole body of work, [Knicks president] Phil Jackson is smarter than that. I’m sure he didn’t judge it over Jeff’s career in basketball. He was in a tough spot. It unraveled. We won 48 games his first year, lost some of those players that helped achieve those goals, and it went the other way.”

Discussing what Hornacek has to offer as a coach, West said, “He has a combination of different influences since being in the league — Cotton Fitzsimmons with the up-and-down, run-and-gun the Suns played — and playing for Philly in the East, more grinding, half-court set-it-up. With Utah, it was a blend of both. The best thing about Jeff is incorporating different styles, but he’s better coaching the up-and-down. He’ll morph the team to what they need to do.’’

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Clippers held workouts today for A.J. English (Iona), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Danuel House (Texas A&M), Marshall Plumlee (Duke) and Josh Scott (Colorado), Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times relays (via Twitter).
The Warriors saved $4MM in luxury tax penalties as a result of Andrew Bogut not being named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Bobby Marks of The Vertical notes (on Twitter). Golden State’s tax bill for 2015/16 is now $14.9MM and Bogut’s cap hit for next season drops to approximately $11MM, Marks adds.
The Clippers are bringing in point guard Walter Lemon Jr. for their veteran mini-camp, Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report tweets. Lemon Jr. spent last season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ D-League affiliate, averaging 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 24.7 minutes per outing.

Grizzlies Offer Coaching Post To David Fizdale

May 25th, 2016 at 5:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images

The Grizzlies have officially offered their vacant head coaching post to David Fizdale, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). The two sides are currently negotiating contract details with an agreement likely to be reached shortly, Wojnarowski adds.

Fizdale, who turns 42 next month, has been a part of the Heat’s coaching staff since 2008, with the club earning two NBA Championship teams during his tenure. Fizdale previously served as an assistant coach for the Warriors (2003/04) and the Hawks (2004-2008).

The Heat assistant is one of several candidates who have reportedly spoken to the Grizzlies, with Spurs assistants James Borrego and Ettore Messina, Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing, Grizzlies assistant Jeff Bzdelik and Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts also believed to have been under consideration. Fizdale is the only one of the candidates to score an interview with team owner Robert Pera, who was present during Fizdale’s second meeting with Memphis.

The Grizzlies have been seeking a replacement for former coach Dave Joerger, who was fired after requesting permission to interview for other coaching jobs. The Kings hired him last week, giving him a four-year deal worth $16MM.

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