2018 October | Hoops Rumors

Larry Drew “Very Disappointed” In Negotiations With Cavs

October 30th, 2018 at 9:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

9:47pm: The Cavaliers have not been aggressive in searching for another coach, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

Drew, who is earning nearly $1MM this season, is one of the league’s highest-paid assistants. However, he’s looking for a raise on his salary in return for becoming the interim coach. The ESPN duo adds that it’s unclear how long Drew is willing to act as the coach without an agreement.

Windhorst and Wojnarowski also report that the Cavs again talking with teams about Kyle Korver trades, noting that the club could be more active in looking to deal other veterans in the coming weeks.

5:23pm: Larry Drew made it clear he was yet not the Cavaliers interim coach, telling the media earlier this week that he’s simply the “voice” of the team. He had hoped to reach an agreement with the Cavs to become the new floor leader. Prior to tonight’s game with Atlanta, there is still no deal in place and Drew is “very disappointed” in the lack of progress, Joe Varden of The Athletic tweets.

Drew added that he will “never quit” on the team and will “remain professional,” as Sam Amico of Amico Hoops relays via Twitter. Drew has been told the Cavaliers may bring another person in to be the head coach and he may be moved to his previous role.

“I’m fine with [the team bringing in another coach] … my contract is up in July. Maybe Larry Drew isn’t part of the future,” Drew said.

Drew has a career 143-169 record as a head coach. It was previously reported that there was a push within the organization to make Drew a long-term commitment.

Rockets “Leaning Against” Picking Up Chriss’ Option

October 30th, 2018 at 9:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets are leaning against picking up Marquese Chriss‘ fourth-year option, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

Chriss came to Houston along with Brandon Knight in a deal that sent out Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton. The former No. 8 overall pick has yet to play this season because of an ankle injury, though he is expected to make his debut tonight against the Blazers.

Chriss won’t be the only young prospect from the 2016 draft to have his option declined. Dragan Bender and Henry Ellenson are among those who will see the same fate. Jahlil Okafor and Wesley Johnson are among the other recent top draft picks who have not made it through year four of their rookie deals.

Chriss has seen action in 154 games in his NBA career. He’s averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/30/18

October 30th, 2018 at 7:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Pacers have assigned Ike Anigbogu to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, according to the team’s website. Anigbogu, who was the 47th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, received only three minutes of action for Indiana so far this season.
The Grizzlies have recalled Jevon Carter from the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, per a team press release. Carter is available for tonight’s tilt with Washington.
The Hornets have assigned Devonte’ Graham to the Greensboro Swarm, according to the team’s website.

Suns To Decline Dragan Bender’s 4th-Year Option

October 30th, 2018 at 6:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns will decline Dragan Bender‘s fourth-year option, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports. The move will free Phoenix of Bender’s $5.8MM salary that he would have received during the 2019/20 season.

“Of course I wish they picked up the option, but I am not going to let this stop me from reaching my goals,” Bender said. “I am 20, and I will keep working to be the best NBA player I can be and make it in this league whether it’s with Phoenix or another team.”

Bender was one of the top prospects in the 2016 Draft and one of the most heavily-scouted European prospects in recent memory. He was expected to form a young, up-and-coming frontcourt combo in Phoenix with fellow first-rounder Marquese Chriss. Chriss has since been traded to Houston and Bender has failed to live up to expectations.

Phoenix has the ability to re-sign Bender after the season, though the team would be limited to offering him a starting salary of $5.8MM. Woj notes that Bender playing with the Suns beyond this season is a “doubtful outcome.”

Pistons Exercise 2019/20 Option On Luke Kennard

October 30th, 2018 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have picked up their 2019/20 team option on former lottery pick Luke Kennard, the team announced today in a press release. As a result, Detroit will carry a guaranteed cap hit of $3,827,160 on its books for Kennard next season.

Kennard, the 12th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, may never reach the level of the player selected one spot after him (Donovan Mitchell), but he’s developing into a reliable contributor for the Pistons. In 76 career games so far, Kennard has averaged 7.6 PPG with an impressive .416 3PT% in a part-time role.

Kennard’s option was one of two that the Pistons had to make a decision on by Wednesday, and it seems his will be the only one exercised. A report from earlier today indicated that Detroit has opted not to pick up Henry Ellenson‘s fourth-year option for 2019/20.

Wizards Sign Chasson Randle

October 30th, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

3:07pm: The Wizards have officially signed Randle, the team announced today in a press release. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks outlines, Randle will earn $7,624 per day on his new minimum salary deal, which will increase Washington’s projected tax bill by $14,956 per day.

1:09pm: The Wizards intend to sign point guard Chasson Randle to an NBA contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Randle was in camp with Washington this fall, but was waived by the club just before the regular season began. Two and a half weeks later, he’ll be re-added to the roster.

As we explained earlier today, NBA teams are generally required to carry at least 14 players on their 15-man regular season rosters, but league rules allow clubs to carry less than that amount for up to two weeks at a time. Because the Wizards only had 13 players on their roster for the first two weeks of the season, a transaction to add a 14th man was required.

Washington was considered likely to stay in-house to fill that roster spot, and it will be Randle who gets the call after having reported to the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go. The 25-year-old last appeared in the NBA during the 2016/17 campaign, when he played eight games for the Sixers and 18 for the Knicks. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.3 APG in 11.5 minutes per game during his brief NBA stint.

While Randle will fill the Wizards’ 14th roster spot for now, he’s not locked in for the rest of the season. His new one-year contract will be non-guaranteed, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The league-wide salary guarantee date is January 10, so Randle will have to stick on the roster through that date in order to fully guarantee his salary.

Hornets Pick Up Malik Monk’s 2019/20 Option

October 30th, 2018 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have formally exercised Malik Monk‘s third-year option for the 2019/20 campaign, the team announced today in a press release. The move, which was expected, guarantees Monk’s $4,028,400 cap hit for next season.

Monk, 20, joined the Hornets last year as the 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft. The former Kentucky standout averaged just 6.7 PPG on .360/.342/.842 shooting in 63 games as a rookie, but has seen an increased role in the early going this season. While Monk’s shooting percentages so far have been about the same as last year’s, he has bumped his scoring average to 11.0 PPG through six contests.

The Hornets’ next contract decision on Monk will be due a year from now, when the team will either exercise or decline his fourth-year option for 2020/21. Assuming that option is picked up, the young guard will become extension-eligible during the summer of 2020, and would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2021.

The full list of 2019/20 rookie scale option decisions can be found right here.

Bucks Exercise 2019/20 Options On Maker, Wilson

October 30th, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have picked up the 2019/20 rookie scale options for former first-round picks Thon Maker and D.J. Wilson, according to Matt Velazquez of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Velazquez suggests that the Bucks “love” both players and consider them important parts of the club’s present and future.

Maker, the 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft, had a promising rookie season, but didn’t take a noticeable step forward in 2017/18 and has seen inconsistent minutes so far this season. Still, the 21-year-old big man has plenty of upside and his fourth-year option isn’t expensive, with a cap hit of $3,569,643, making the decision a fairly easy one for the Bucks.

The decision to pick up Wilson’s $2,961,120 third-year option is a little more surprising. The second-year forward played just 71 total minutes in his rookie season and hasn’t seen any action so far this season.

Wilson, the 17th pick in the 2017 draft, has been slowed by a hamstring issue this year, but it’s not clear if he’ll be part of the rotation even when he gets healthy, as there were rumblings during the preseason that he wasn’t even a lock for the regular season roster. However, the Bucks are apparently still high enough on him to guarantee his 2019/20 salary.

NBA teams must make their final decisions on rookie scale options for 2019/20 by Wednesday.

Cleveland To Host 2022 NBA All-Star Game

October 30th, 2018 at 2:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers will host the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, league sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Kevin Kleps of Crain’s Cleveland Business first reported that an upcoming All-Star Game will be played at Quicken Loans Arena, adding that an official NBA announcement could happen as soon as this Thursday.

Cleveland had been a candidate to host the league’s 2021 All-Star weekend, but renovations on Quicken Loans Arena ran into some roadblocks, resulting in a delay. With a deal for those renovations now completed and construction underway, the league appears comfortable committing to the Cavs for the 2022 event. As Kleps notes, the arena renovations are expected to be completed before the start of the 2019/20 season.

The NBA All-Star Game hasn’t taken place in Cleveland since 1997, back when the Cavs’ building was known as the Gund Arena.

The next three NBA All-Star Games are set to take place in Charlotte (2019), Chicago (2020), and Indianapolis (2021).

Warriors Pick Up Damian Jones’ 2019/20 Option

October 30th, 2018 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

1:26pm: The Warriors have officially exercised Jones’ fourth-year option, the team confirmed today in a press release.

10:01am: The Warriors anticipate picking up their fourth-year team option on center Damian Jones, a league source tells Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group. The team has until Wednesday’s deadline to make the move official.

Exercising Jones’ option would add $2,305,057 in guaranteed money to Golden State’s books for 2019/20. While that’s not a huge cap charge, it will likely be about $700K higher than the cap hit for a veteran’s minimum salary. That difference would increase the projected tax bill for a Warriors team that will be way over the luxury tax threshold if Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson return.

Still, it should be a worthwhile investment for the Warriors, who turned down Kevon Looney‘s rookie scale option a year ago and then watched him outperform his contract during the 2017/18 season. The Dubs were fortunate to retain Looney anyway, but they apparently don’t want to roll the dice again with Jones, who is off to a solid start in 2018/19. In eight games (all starts), the 23-year-old has averaged 6.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.4 BPG with a league-high .778 FG%.

We’re tracking all of the 2019/20 rookie scale option decisions right here.

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