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Month: November 2024

Zhou Qi Meets With Rockets

September 6th, 2016 at 8:14am CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 6, 8:14am: The Rockets don’t expect Zhou to play for them during the 2016/17 season, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com clarifies. According to Watkins, there’s no out clause in the big man’s contract to play in the NBA this season. It seems likely that the two sides will try to work something out in the summer of 2017.

SEPTEMBER 5, 5:01pm: Center Zhou Qi, who was selected 53rd overall in this year’s draft by the Rockets, met with team officials in Houston today, Hupu.com reports (translation via Basketball Insiders). Zhou’s situation is a complicated one, with the 20-year-old under contract with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for another five years. The big man reportedly has an NBA out clause included in his deal with Xinjiang for 2017, with his buyout amount worth $650,000.

What is unknown at this time is the date Zhou is eligible to exercise that buyout. The Chinese Basketball Association’s season ends in early February, with the playoffs typically completed by early March. American players who ink one-year deals with Chinese clubs are able to sign with NBA teams once their seasons are finished. It’s unclear if Zhou would be able to buy his way out of his contract in the spring, or if he and the Rockets are having discussions regarding next summer.

It would make more sense for the Rockets if the discussions were regarding the 2017/18 season. With Houston currently over the salary cap, the team could only offer him a two-year contract in the spring. Going that route would also essentially burn one year of team control for a brief look at Zhou toward the end of the 2016/17 campaign. If both sides were to wait until next offseason to strike a deal, the Rockets would be able to offer him a longer contract, which would put less pressure on the young big man to produce immediately. I should point out that this is merely speculation on my part.

Zhou appeared in 42 games for the Flying Tigers a season ago, averaging 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.2 blocks. His shooting line was .603/.600/.758. Very solid numbers for a young big man, though, some NBA teams reportedly believe that the center is actually three or four years older than his listed age.

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Salary Cap Snapshot: Orlando Magic

September 5th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Magic’s team page accessible here.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Magic currently stand financially:

Guaranteed Salary

Total Guaranteed Salary= $104,110,256

Cash Sent Out Via Trade:  $0 [Amount Remaining $3.2MM]

Cash Received Via Trade: $75,000 from Trail Blazers as part of Shabazz Napier trade; $230,000 from Clippers as part of C.J. Wilcox trade [Amount Remaining $3,195,000]

Payroll Exceptions Available

  • Room Exception — $2,898,000
  • Trade Exception — $2,250,000 (Serge Ibaka trade) — Expires on 2/14/18

Total Projected Payroll: $104,110,256

Salary Cap: $94,143,000

Estimated Available Cap Space: –$9,967,256

Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000

Amount Below Luxury Tax: $9,176,744

Last Updated: 4/7/17

The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.

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Western Notes: Chriss, Jazz, Curry

September 5th, 2016 at 7:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns primary target with the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft was Dragan Bender, due to his combination of size and skill, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes. But the franchise was also enamored with Marquese Chriss‘ potential, which prompted the team to work out a trade with the Kings to allow them to select the forward out of Washington, the scribe adds. “It’s an idea we came up with on the morning of the draft, once we had more information about who was likely to go where,” Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough said. “We felt like if the Celtics took Jaylen Brown at No. 3, which they did, and we took either Dragan Bender or Marquese Chriss, the next three picks would be guards. That’s exactly the way it happened: Kris Dunn to Minnesota, Buddy Hield to New Orleans and Jamal Murray to Denver.”

Discussions between Phoenix and Sacramento regarding the No. 8 pick began a week prior to the draft, Thomsen notes.. “It’s really hard to acquire picks in the mid-lottery,” said McDonough. “We knew Sacramento would consider dropping down from 8 to 13 if we made it worth their while. But both teams wanted to get on the clock in the draft to see who was still available on the board.  We took Dragan and said, let’s see what we can do to get No. 8 and get both of them. We think those two guys are perfect for the modern NBA, where athleticism and shooting and defensive versatility is at a premium, and they were the two best guys in the draft at those things.”

Here’s more from out West:

  • The Jazz have set themselves up for a big season, adding a number of veterans to their solid young core. But the talent the team has accumulated will become markedly more expensive over the next few season if the team wishes to keep the roster together, Tony Jone of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “Post Karl Malone and John Stockton, the Jazz have had some decent years, most notably with Deron Williams and Paul Millsap,” said Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. “They’ve done a great job in building this current team, but now this is a key moment. Gordon Hayward can leave, Rudy Gobert is up for an extension. The front office has to make decisions now for the long term. They need to show who they are, and the players need to show they are a core worth building around.”
  • Warriors guard Stephen Curry finally made himself watch Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, telling Darren Rovell of ESPN.com that he is using the loss as motivation for the coming season. “I was a little mad at myself and getting back into the grind of working out for next season,” Curry said. “I think it was a good motivator to get back into the gym and keep working. I wasn’t 100%, but who cares? I was playing. I was out there trying to help my team win and that’s all that really matters. I’ve taken advantage of the summer to get right and I still have a little bit of work to go.“
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Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 17)

September 5th, 2016 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.

Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.

We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.

We’ve arrived at the No. 17 overall pick, which was originally held by the Raptors. In the “real world” draft, Toronto dealt the pick (which was used to select big man Roy Hibbert) along with T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston to the Pacers in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and the rights to Nathan Jawai (No. 41 overall). Since Hibbert is already off the board, having been snagged by the Suns at No. 15, we’ll nix this trade and Toronto will be selecting for itself.

Cast your vote for who the Raptors select and check back on Tuesday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Wizards should have taken with the No. 18 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.

  1. Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
  2. Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
  3. Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
  4. Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
  5. Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
  6. Knicks — Serge Ibaka  [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
  7. Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
  8. Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
  9. Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
  10. Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
  11. Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
  12. Kings — George Hill  [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
  13. Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
  14. Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
  15. Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
  16. Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick  — Marreese Speights]
  17. Raptors — ?? [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]

If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.

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Community Shootaround: 2017 NBA Free Agents

September 5th, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

With nearly all of 2016’s most notable free agents off the board, it’s time to take an early look ahead to what next summer’s free agent period may look like. Our lists of 2017 free agents by position and by team are up to date, and are packed with interesting names.

We’ll publish the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings later this week, but before we reveal our list, we want to get your thoughts on next year’s potential free agent class.

Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap, Danilo Gallinari, Kyle Lowry, Gordon Hayward, Rudy Gay, and Greg Monroe are some of the players who could hit the open market, and those are just the guys with player options.

Stephen Curry, Zach Randolph, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose, George Hill, Jrue Holiday, and Andre Iguodala will highlight the unrestricted free agent group, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, Victor Oladipo, Nerlens Noel, and several others will be RFAs if they’re not extended this offseason.

Which free agents will be the most coveted next offseason? Which of those premier FAs may actually change teams, like Durant and Al Horford did this summer? Which below-the-radar free agents intrigue you the most? And which potential RFAs do you expect to come off the market within the next couple months, as they sign extensions with their own teams?

Take to the comments section below to share your opinions on the NBA’s free agent class of 2017. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Atlantic Notes: Nets, Rose, Lowry, Knicks, Noah

September 5th, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Six NBA teams are currently below the league’s minimum salary floor of $84.729MM, but a league spokesman tells Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal that the NBA expects all – or almost all – of those clubs to exceed the floor by the end of the 2016/17 league year. Two of those teams, the 76ers and Nets, are in the Atlantic division, with Philadelphia at about $65MM in guaranteed salary while Brooklyn has nearly $76MM in guarantees on its books.

Net Income of NetsDaily is somewhat skeptical that the Nets will add another $7MM+ to their cap by April, pointing to quotes by GM Sean Marks from earlier in the offseason. It’s possible a team will want to dump salary in a trade with Brooklyn, but the rising cap means that fewer teams need to make that sort of in-season move. And as the NetsDaily report notes, there’s not much incentive for Brooklyn to get up to the cap unless the club gets something out of it — the only penalty for failing to spend the minimum is that a team must pay the difference to its own players.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • When the Knicks acquired Derrick Rose in a June trade with the Bulls, the point guard’s legal issues weren’t really a part of the conversation. However, as Steve Popper of USA Today writes, that has changed since Rose’s deposition in a civil suit was released last week. While Rose has maintained his innocence, parts of his testimony are “troublesome” and raise additional questions about the Knicks’ decision to acquire him, says Popper.
  • Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders takes a look at another Atlantic point guard, examining Kyle Lowry‘s situation in Toronto. Lowry will have the opportunity to hit free agency in 2017, and after locking up DeMar DeRozan this summer, the Raptors will have to decide how heavily they’re willing to invest in their other All-Star guard, who will turn 31 in March.
  • Joakim Noah‘s father is excited to see his son joining the Knicks for the 2016/17 season, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “It’s hard to find the words. You just feel blessed basically because when he was young and used to go to games together, that was his dream,” Yannick Noah, a former tennis champion, said at the U.S. Open this weekend. “Posters in the bedroom. Autographs. That was his dream. Knicks.”
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Facundo Campazzo Hopes To Play In NBA

September 5th, 2016 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Facundo Campazzo, who turned some heads with his play at last month’s Olympics in Brazil, is interested in making the jump to the NBA at some point, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Argentinian guard first told Washburn in August that joining an NBA team would be a “dream.”

“I would love to,” Campazzo said. “I would like to, but I know that it is not easy, not easy to [get there and play] in the best way possible. It is a dream for me.”

Campazzo was one of the highest-scoring players for any country in Rio, averaging 15.8 PPG over the course of six contests. His 33-point outburst against Brazil represented the second-highest single-game point total for any player during the Olympics — only teammate Andres Nocioni, who scored 37 in the same game, was better.

A 5’11” point guard, Campazzo is under contract with Real Madrid for one more year, per Washburn. Last season, the 25-year-old was on loan to CB Murcia and was the team’s leading scorer and distributor in Spanish League play, averaging 12.6 PPG to go along with 5.3 APG. Campazzo went undrafted in 2013, so his NBA rights aren’t currently held by any team.

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David Fizdale Wasn’t Interested In Rebuilding Project

September 5th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

New Grizzles head coach David Fizdale will be taking over a playoff roster this year in Memphis, and the amount of veteran talent on the team’s roster, including notable free agent signee Chandler Parsons, is rare for a first-time head coach. As Fizdale explains to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, he may not have left his assistant job in Miami for a team that was still in the rebuilding stage.

“That was the only way I wanted it, to be honest with you,” Fizdale said of the Grizzlies. “I didn’t want to take over a restart. I’m not afraid to coach guys. But I am going to coach them to win and I am going to hold them to a high standard. I was OK with that. If I don’t have any other strength, I’m pretty good at building relationships.

“I don’t know if people were looking at that Memphis job the way it should have been looked at. A lot of guys in my situation very rarely get a situation with this many proven players. … I saw an opportunity to take a team from being good to great. If I could have any situation, that was the one I wanted.”

The Grizzlies finished with a modest 42-40 record, and were quickly dispatched from the postseason after finishing as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. However, the club’s roster was decimated by injuries down the stretch, and the team that fell to the Spurs in the first round wasn’t the same team that started the season.

In his first year in Memphis, Fizdale will be taking over a roster that includes longtime Grizzlies like Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, and Marc Gasol, in addition to newcomers such as Parsons and incoming rookies Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis. With the new head coach looking to take the team from “good to great,” a top-four seed in the West figures to be the goal.

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2017 NBA Free Agents By Team

September 5th, 2016 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2017 free agents by team is below. These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2016/17 season.

Players with team or player options for the 2017/18 season are listed, unless they’re still on their rookie scale contracts. Restricted free agents are marked with (RFA).

This list will continue to be updated throughout the 2017 offseason, so be sure to use it and our list of 2017 free agents by position as points of reference throughout the year. Both lists can be found anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our right-hand sidebar. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 10-11-17 (10:06am CT)

Atlanta Hawks

  1. None

Boston Celtics

  1. None

Brooklyn Nets

  1. Randy Foye

Read more

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Gallinari Declined Trade Opportunity At Deadline?

September 5th, 2016 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

With training camp still a few weeks away, Danilo Gallinari was in Italy this past week, and attended an event called NBA-Evolution. As relayed by Jeffrey Morton of DenverStiffs.com, Gallinari revealed at the press conference for the event that the Nuggets explored trading him at the 2016 trade deadline, but he declined the opportunity to be moved.

“In Denver I am very well,” Gallinari said, per a translation, when he was asked about the possibility of leaving Denver and potentially returning to Europe. “There was a chance last year to go to some other team before the deadline in February, but I refused. If I return to Italy would be back to Olympia but with the intention of winning, I don’t like the idea of nostalgic revisiting.”

Gallinari didn’t go into specifics, and it’s possible something was lost in translation, but as Morton observes, it sounds like the Nuggets had potential trade opportunities involving the veteran forward and asked him if he wanted to be dealt — he apparently declined. The Celtics were among the teams believed to have strong interest in Gallinari at the deadline, so he certainly attracted attention around the NBA.

Unlike teammate Darrell Arthur, Gallinari didn’t have the ability to formally block a trade at last year’s trade deadline. The contract extension he signed last August prevented him from being dealt for six months, since the raises on that deal exceeded 4.5%, but the Nuggets still had a window at the deadline to move him if they wanted to. Still, the fact that Gallinari signed that extension in the first place was an indication that he likes playing in Denver and wants to stick around there.

Gallinari remains under contract for two more years, though he can opt out of his deal next summer. He’ll earn $15.05MM in 2016/17, with a player option worth $16.1MM for 2017/18.

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