2018 June | Hoops Rumors

Hawks’ Delaney, Lee, Magette To Become UFAs

June 27th, 2018 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks won’t tender qualifying offers to Malcolm Delaney, Damion Lee, or Josh Magette, meaning all three players will become unrestricted free agents, tweets Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Michael Scotto of The Athletic first reported the team’s decisions on Delaney and Magette (Twitter links).

Delaney and Lee had been on standard NBA contracts in Atlanta, so their qualifying offers would have been worth $3.125MM and approximately $1.54MM respectively. Instead, they’ll reach the open market and will be free to sign outright with any team.

Delaney, 29, has served as a backup point guard for the Hawks over the last two seasons. In 54 games in 2017/18, he averaged 6.3 PPG and 3.0 APG with a .382/.371/.804 shooting line. Lee, meanwhile, joined the roster late in the season and played well, averaging 10.7 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 15 games (11 starts).

As for Magette, he was one of two Hawks players on a two-way contract last season, splitting his time between Atlanta and Erie. While he averaged a double-double (15.1 PPG, 10.1 APG) in 36 games for the G League’s BayHawks, he struggled with his shot (.374 FG%, .300 3PT%).

Julius Randle Receives Qualifying Offer From Lakers

June 27th, 2018 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have issued a qualifying offer to Julius Randle, making him a restricted free agent, the team announced today in a press release. The move is a procedural one that had been anticipated.

Randle, 23, enjoyed a breakout season in 2017/18, appearing in all 82 games for the Lakers and starting the final 49. In those 49 starts, the former lottery pick averaged an impressive 18.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 3.1 APG with a .560 FG%.

As detailed earlier this offseason in our Lakers cap digest, Randle will receive a qualifying offer worth $5,564,134, though his cap hold will be $12,447,726, eating into the Lakers’ cap space as long as the big man is unsigned and his QO remains on the table.

If the Lakers decide they need to move that money off their books in order to create the space necessary to land a pair of maximum-salary free agents, they can withdraw their qualifying offer and renounce Randle, but for now, the team will keep its options open. Randle is a good bet to be retained by Los Angeles if the club doesn’t need its cap room for other moves.

The Mavericks are among the teams viewed as potential suitors for Randle in restricted free agency.

Cavs Issuing Qualifying Offer To Rodney Hood

June 27th, 2018 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers will tender a qualifying offer to Rodney Hood this week, ensuring that he’ll become a restricted free agent on July 1, reports Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

Because Hood narrowly missed meeting the starter criteria this past season, his qualifying offer will be worth $3,472,887. Hood will have the option of accepting that one-year offer or seeking out a new deal with the Cavaliers or a rival suitor once he reaches free agency. As long as the Cavs don’t withdraw their qualifying offer, they’ll have the right of first refusal on Hood, allowing them to match any offer sheet he signs.

Hood, 25, averaged a career-high 14.7 PPG in 60 total games for the Jazz and Cavs in 2017/18. However, his numbers dipped across the board upon his arrival in Cleveland, and he struggled in the playoffs, refusing to enter one game in the fourth quarter and later falling out of the rotation for several contests.

While Hood’s late-season inconsistency likely hurt his earning potential, it may benefit the Cavs, who still view the shooting guard as part of their future, a source tells Vardon. If Cleveland wants to lock up Hood to a longer-term contract, it probably won’t be as expensive as it once looked.

Mavericks Withdraw QO For Doug McDermott

June 27th, 2018 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Doug McDermott won’t become a restricted free agent on Sunday after all, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the Mavericks have withdrawn their qualifying offer to the four-year veteran.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Mavs, after we heard on Tuesday that the team had extended a qualifying offer to McDermott. According to Lowe, Dallas still has interest in retaining McDermott, but this decision will make the sharpshooter an unrestricted free agent. It will also clear extra cap room for the Mavs, since McDermott’s cap hold as a restricted free agent would have been worth nearly $9.9MM.

McDermott, 26, recorded 9.0 PPG on .478/.494/.857 shooting in 26 games with the Mavericks last season after coming over from New York in a deadline deal. While the former 11th overall pick has never averaged double-digit points in a season, he has been a reliable three-point threat since entering the league, making 40.3% of his outside attempts.

The Mavericks, who added Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson in last week’s draft, have been linked to a number of big men in free agency, including DeMarcus Cousins, DeAndre Jordan, Julius Randle, and Clint Capela. If they decline Dirk Nowitzki‘s $5MM team option, as suggested by Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), the Mavs could get up to approximately $26MM in cap space, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Marks (Twitter link).

If Dallas requires all its available cap room to make a play for one of those bigs, it could offer the $4.4MM room exception to Nowitzki or McDermott. However, since the Mavs will no longer have the right of first refusal, the team won’t be able to stop McDermott from signing outright with another suitor.

And-Ones: Blatt, Trade Details, Toupane

June 27th, 2018 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

After interviewing for multiple NBA head coaching jobs this offseason, David Blatt has reached an agreement that will keep him in Europe. As Orazio Cauchi of Sportando relays, Blatt has signed a two-year contract to coach Greek powerhouse Olympiacos.

The former head coach of the Cavaliers, Blatt has spent most of his career overseas. Over the last two seasons he served as the head coach for Turkish team Darussafaka, and prior to his stint in Cleveland, he coached Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. Now, Blatt – who met with the Bucks and Knicks this spring before they hired Mike Budenholzer and David Fizdale, respectively – will continue his coaching career in Greece.

Here are a few more odds and ends from across the NBA:

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has the details on a couple trades that went down on draft night, reporting that the Rockets bought the No. 52 overall pick from the Jazz for $1.5MM and the Trail Blazers sent the Kings $1.5MM in their deal for Gary Trent Jr.‘s draft rights (Twitter links).
Axel Toupane, who appeared in 25 total NBA regular season games in 2016 and 2017, is working out privately for NBA clubs this week, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). A 6’7″ wing, Toupane played for Zalgiris Kaunas in 2017/18, helping lead the Lithuanian club to a spot in the EuroLeague Final Four.
In an excellent breakdown for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks previews the coming offseason for all 30 teams, detailing each club’s key decisions and cap situation.

Blazers Tender Qualifying Offer To Jusuf Nurkic

June 27th, 2018 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have issued a qualifying offer to Jusuf Nurkic, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The offer ensures that Nurkic will be a restricted free agent when the new league year begins this weekend.

Nurkic, acquired by Portland before the 2017 trade deadline, started 79 games for the Blazers in 2017/18, averaging 14.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 26.4 minutes per contest. While Nurkic was somewhat inconsistent and wasn’t necessarily a game-changing force in the middle for the Blazers, he provided solid production at the five and is still entering his prime — he’ll turn 24 in August.

While the Blazers have indicated they’d like to retain Nurkic, it may be challenging for the club to match a lucrative offer sheet for the young center. Portland already has $110MM+ in guaranteed money on its 2018/19 cap for just eight players, so a big raise for Nurkic figures to put the club over the tax line with several roster spots still to fill.

Because he met the starter criteria in 2017/18, Nurkic’s qualifying offer is worth $4,749,591. The Blazers will also have to make decisions on QOs for Shabazz Napier and Pat Connaughton, who are both eligible for restricted free agency.

Lakers Feeling Pressure To Land Kawhi Before LeBron Decision?

June 27th, 2018 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Pressure appears to be mounting on the Lakers to make a deal for Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard before LeBron James makes his free agent decision, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

As ESPN’s report explains, there’s a belief that James would be reluctant to commit to the Lakers in free agency if he’s the only star headed to Los Angeles. With Paul George no longer viewed as a lock to land in L.A., Leonard may represent the Lakers’ best bet to acquire another star to help convince James to head west.

James’ player-option decision due on Friday, so there’s a race to acquire Leonard by then, per Woj, Windhorst, and Shelburne. The Celtics, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Clippers are among the teams that have made offers for Leonard, and multiple teams in that group figure to be in the mix for James too. If the Lakers were to lose out on Leonard to, say, the Sixers or Cavs, it could reduce L.A.’s chances of recruiting LeBron to L.A.

Of course, the Spurs have stated they won’t rush into any trade involving Leonard, since their preference would be to retain him. It’s possible that they receive an offer this week that they simply can’t refuse, but the Spurs likely won’t be eager to improve another team’s chances of landing James.

Here are several other key updates related to the Lakers, Cavaliers, James, Leonard, and more:

Although the Lakers came away from their initial conversation with the Spurs feeling like San Antonio “shut the door” on them, ESPN’s trio reports that the Spurs haven’t ruled out trading Leonard to any destination in the Eastern or Western Conference.
The Lakers have been on the lookout for a future first-round pick on the trade market and are willing to take on 2018/19 salary, per ESPN. The Lakers could keep a max-salary slot open for a free agent even if they take on some salary, and that pick could be used to sweeten a larger trade package.
While the Cavaliers have been actively exploring ways to upgrade their roster via trades or free agency, they haven’t been given the chance to meet with or discuss scenarios with James, league sources tell ESPN. With LeBron unwilling to commit to the Cavs, it will be tricky for the front office to execute a major trade in the interim. For instance, if George were to consider picking up his player option to accommodate a trade to Cleveland, he’d want to know that James was sticking around.
Although the Cavaliers have inquired about Leonard, they probably don’t have the assets to pull off a deal, given their competition for the star forward, per ESPN’s report.
James is hoping to decide on his free agent destination fairly quickly, according to ESPN.
Some league executives who spoke to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News believe that James would be willing to sign with the Lakers even if the team hasn’t made any other impact moves yet. “They’re doing enough research to suggest that he’s going to be willing to take that plunge and let the roster come together,” one GM told Deveney. “It’s what happened in Cleveland four years ago.” When James signed with the Cavaliers in 2014, he did so before the team had finalized a trade for Kevin Love.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Wizards, Hornets

June 27th, 2018 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

Unlike a handful of other rebuilding clubs, the Magic won’t have cap room available this summer. However, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman tells Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel that the club will have its full mid-level exception available. As Weltman observes, even without any cap space, that full MLE puts the Magic in a better position than many teams round the NBA.

“I think there are dozen or so teams that are facing the tax this year,” Weltman said. “The league is very compressed financially this summer. We’re certainly not in an elite flexibility position, but I don’t think we’re at the other end of the spectrum, either. We’re probably somewhere in the middle.”

While Weltman didn’t offer any real specifics on the Magic’s free agent targets, he said that the team is “hopeful” it can reach an agreement with Aaron Gordon, and added that the front office will talk to Mario Hezonja‘s representatives to see if a deal can be made on that front.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

In a conversation of his own with Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel, new Magic head coach Steve Clifford discusses his thoughts on Mohamed Bamba, the team’s center logjam, and his face-to-face visit with Aaron Gordon.
Following the trade that sent Marcin Gortat to Los Angeles, the Wizards are in desperate need of more frontcourt bodies. Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores some of the club’s options for acquiring more big men.
Although the Wizards traded Gortat, president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld sounds positive about most of the rest of the team’s core. As Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington details, Grunfeld’s comments suggest that the club will make it a priority to maintain continuity heading into 2018/19.
Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer takes a closer look at the Hornets‘ decision to trade Dwight Howard will impact Nicolas Batum, Cody Zeller, and new head coach James Borrego.

Free Agent Rumors: Gordon, Cousins, George, Favors

June 27th, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

Having stated in the past that he hopes to land a maximum-salary contract as a free agent, Aaron Gordon reiterated that stance this week, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. However, Gordon also said that he’d prefer to simply negotiate a deal with the Magic rather than having to procure an offer sheet from another team.

“Hopefully we just get it wrapped up with Orlando,” Gordon said. “That would be fantastic.”

For what it’s worth, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders hears from league sources that the odds of Gordon landing a max deal this summer seem remote. As Kyler observes, two potential suitors for Gordon – the Suns and Kings – addressed their frontcourt with the top two picks in the draft and may be less inclined to be aggressive in pursuing the Magic power forward.

Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors, with the new NBA league year right around the corner…

Kyler’s latest article also includes some items on DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, and Paul George, along with a couple other top free agents. According to Kyler, there’s a sense that Cousins may get a contract like Joel Embiid did last year — Embiid’s extension included guarantee triggers and exit language in the event that he has recurring injury issues. Meanwhile, Kyler also confirms that the Lakers and Thunder are the strong frontrunners in the George sweepstakes.
In conversations with Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune and Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Derrick Favors said that he’d like to remain with the Jazz, but admitted that he’s looking forward to testing his value on the open market. Per Spears, Favors is also into the idea of visiting teams in free agency. “I don’t think you get a really good feel over the phone,” Favors said. “I’d rather be face-to-face in a meeting, ask questions and kind of figure stuff out.”
Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com explores whether the Sixers might be an ideal on-court fit for LeBron James, while Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer outlines how Philadelphia could plausibly sign James as a free agent and acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade.
Free agent shooting guard Chris Babb, who spent last season with Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban, has received a workout invite from the Clippers, per international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link).

Spurs Tender Qualifying Offer To Davis Bertans

June 27th, 2018 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have issued a qualifying offer to Davis Bertans, making him a restricted free agent, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Bertans, who was on a minimum-salary contract, will have a QO worth approximately $1.7MM.

Bertans, 25, played regular minutes for the Spurs in 2017/18, averaging 5.9 PPG and 2.0 RPG with a .440/.373/.816 shooting line in 77 games (14.1 MPG). A 6’10” power forward, Bertans is capable of guarding frontcourt players while also stretching the floor (1.2 threes per game).

Unless Bertans receives an aggressive offer from a rival suitor, he appears to be a good bet to remain in San Antonio. He could choose to accept his one-year qualifying offer, but it’s more likely that he and the Spurs will negotiate a new contract.

Bertans is one of three Spurs eligible for restricted free agency this summer. The team also figures to tender qualifying offers to Kyle Anderson and Bryn Forbes before Saturday’s deadline.

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