2018 October | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Korkmaz, Kanter, Marks, Wallace

October 29th, 2018 at 5:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are still mulling whether to pick up swingman Furkan Korkmaz‘s option for next season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Philadelphia has a Wednesday deadline to make a decision. His option for the 2019/20 season is slightly over $2MM. If the Sixers decline, Korkmaz will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. The 6’7” Korkmaz has made four brief appearances this season after seeing action in 14 games last season.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks center Enes Kanter isn’t thrilled about being demoted to the second unit, Howie Kussoy of the New York Post reports. Kanter came off the bench against Golden State on Friday even though he’s the team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder. Coach David Fizdale is determined to develop his younger players. “We all understand where our team is at and what we’re trying to accomplish right now,” Fizdale said. “One way or another we do have to bring our puppies along.” Kanter’s $18,622,514 salary comes off the books at the end of the season and the Knicks are expected to pursue higher-level free agents.
Warriors GM Bob Myers believes Nets GM Sean Marks has a blueprint for future success, as he told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Brooklyn has hoarded cap space to be a major player on the free agent market next summer. “I think they’re on their way,” Myers said. “They play in a great city, and Sean is smart. They’re in a position now with their picks and cap space where they’ll be able to make some change, and it’ll probably be positive.”
Rasheed Wallace, who won a championship with Detroit in 2004, was invited to Knicks practice on Sunday to instruct the big men, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports. Wallace, who was invited by GM Scott Perry, gave rookie Mitchell Robinson plenty of food for thought. “He pushed me to talk more on defense. I have a tendency to be a little quiet. And him, he brings it,” Robinson told Bondy. Fizdale plans to invite another ex-Piston, Chauncey Billups, to deliver tips to his young guards.

Recent History Of In-Season NBA Coaching Changes

October 29th, 2018 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

When he was fired by the Cavaliers on Sunday, Tyronn Lue became the 24th NBA head coach to be replaced during a season since 2010/11, by our count.

NBA head coaching changes have historically happened far more frequently in the offseason than during the season, but teams haven’t hesitated to make changes on the fly over the course of this decade. Outside of 2016/17, which represented the rare season in which no head coaches were fired, there have been in-season changes made every year since 2010/11, with most seasons featuring multiple firings.

With the Cavaliers and “acting” coach Larry Drew still trying to figure out whether he’ll officially take on the interim role or whether he’ll get a longer-term deal with the team, we’re going to take a look back at the other in-season changes from the last several years to get a sense of how those situations compared to Cleveland’s and how long the replacements panned out in those scenarios.

Let’s dive in…

2017/18:

January 22, 2018: Bucks replaced Jason Kidd (23-22) with Joe Prunty (interim).
November 27, 2017: Grizzlies replaced David Fizdale (7-12) with J.B. Bickerstaff (promoted to permanent role).
October 22, 2017: Suns replaced Earl Watson (0-3) with Jay Triano (interim).

No team this decade has made an in-season coaching change faster than Phoenix did last season. The Suns, like the Bucks, installed an interim coach who was eventually replaced in the spring, but the Grizzlies have stuck with Fizdale’s interim replacement, signing Bickerstaff to a new multiyear contract at season’s end.

2015/16:

February 8, 2016: Knicks replaced Derek Fisher (23-31) with Kurt Rambis (interim).
February 1, 2016: Suns replaced Jeff Hornacek (14-35) with Earl Watson (9-24) (promoted to permanent).
January 22, 2016: Cavaliers replaced David Blatt (30-11) with Tyronn Lue (promoted to permanent role).
January 10, 2016: Nets replaced Lionel Hollins (10-27) with Tony Brown (interim).
November 18, 2015: Rockets replaced Kevin McHale (4-7) with J.B. Bickerstaff (interim).

Blatt’s dismissal still stands out as one of the most shocking on this list, given his club’s win-loss record — the Cavaliers were on pace for a 60-win season at the time of his ouster. Of course, that move ultimately ended up paying major dividends, as Lue’s Cavs won the title five months later. Lue and Watson were the only in-season replacements in this group who kept their jobs past the end of the season. Less than three years later, both of them have been let go.

Nuggets To Pick Up Malik Beasley’s Option

October 29th, 2018 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets will exercise their 2019/20 team option on Malik Beasley in advance of Wednesday’s deadline, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It’s a fourth-year option for Beasley, who was the 19th overall pick in the 2016 draft. By picking it up, Denver will lock in his $2,731,714 cap hit for next season.

Beasley, who turns 22 next month, played sparingly in his first two seasons in Denver. He’s picking up a little extra playing time so far in 2018/19, averaging 4.8 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 12.2 minutes per contest. All of those numbers would be career highs.

The Nuggets have several option decisions to officially finalize by Wednesday’s deadline. Jamal Murray and Juan Hernangomez look like locks to have their fourth-year options exercised, but Tyler Lydon‘s third-year option is more of a question mark.

Cavaliers Notes: Drew, Lue, Love

October 29th, 2018 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Cavaliers announced on Sunday that Larry Drew had taken over as the team’s interim head coach in the wake of Tyronn Lue‘s dismissal, Drew insists that title isn’t quite accurate. Speaking today to reporters, Drew attempted to clarify his role.

“I’m not the interim coach. I’m the voice right now,” Drew said, per Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. “As I’m sure you know, there is no agreement right now. Me and my agent have in talks about restructuring my contract. No decision has been made and I’m not sure if one will.”

It’s an odd situation, one that Drew likens to being a “substitute teacher,” as Amico relays. Drew is interested in being the Cavaliers’ coach, but he also wants a restructured contract and a longer-term commitment.

That’s a reasonable stance — if the Cavs go into full-fledged tank mode this season, those wins and losses would go on Drew’s official record and could make it more difficult for him to find another head coaching job in the future. His last head coaching gig was in 2013/14, when he led the Bucks to a 15-67 mark. At the time, it was his fourth consecutive season as an NBA head coach, but he was fired just one year after being hired by Milwaukee and has been back in an assistant role ever since.

Here’s more from out of Cleveland:

There is a push within a faction of the Cavaliers’ organization to make a longer-term commitment to Drew, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). It remains to be seen if the two sides will work something out.
Explaining his decision to move on from Lue, GM Koby Altman said today that “this is a different group and we feel it needs a different voice.” Altman added that the Cavs had hoped to “overachieve” this season, but that hasn’t happened (Twitter link via Amico).
Altman also said that a timeline for Kevin Love‘s return has yet to be determined (Twitter link via Amico). Altman still believes it could be a “short-term” absence, though a report from earlier today suggested that Love could miss a month.
Firing Lue won’t solve the Cavaliers’ problems, according to Bill Livingston of Cleveland.com. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News agrees, arguing that the team’s real issues lie with its players. Meanwhile, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes that the Cavs’ history of burning through coaches and front office executives has prevented the franchise from establishing stability.
Coaches from around the NBA weighed in on Lue’s firing, with Clippers coach Doc Rivers saying it “makes no sense” and Warriors coach Steve Kerr suggesting that if Lue “wants another shot, he’ll get one” (links via Andrew Grief of The Los Angeles Times and Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press).

Sixers Pick Up Options On Simmons, Fultz, Saric

October 29th, 2018 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers have exercised their 2019/20 team options on Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, and Dario Saric, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Those decisions, which were due on October 31, don’t come as any surprise.

Simmons’ fourth-year option will lock in his $8,113,930 cap hit for 2019/20, though it’s Fultz’s third-year option, worth $9,745,200, that is the priciest of the bunch. Saric’s fourth-year option is more modest, with a value of $3,481,986. In total, the three options will tack on about $21.34MM in guaranteed money to Philadelphia’s cap for next season.

Simmons and Saric are now on track to become eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2019 offseason. The 76ers will have to make one more option decision on Fultz, with that decision on his 2020/21 option due a year from now.

Philadelphia must make one more rookie scale option decision by Wednesday, with Furkan Korkmaz‘s $2,033,160 third-year option for 2019/20 also outstanding. A recent report suggested that option was a good bet to be exercised, but if the team announces its decisions on the other three options without mentioning Korkmaz, that won’t bode well for him. The cap hit on his option wouldn’t be much higher than the minimum salary, but declining it would help the Sixers maximize their cap space.

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

Injury Updates: Theis, Giannis, Harkless, Harris

October 29th, 2018 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics may be without big man Daniel Theis for the next few weeks, head coach Brad Stevens acknowledged today (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston).

While Stevens said Theis’ injury won’t require surgery and isn’t necessarily as bad it sounds, the 26-year-old is dealing with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot and has been ruled out indefinitely (Twitter links via Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald and the Celtics’ official account).

Theis doesn’t play a major role for the Celtics, but has been productive in limited minutes. So far in his second season with the franchise, he has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in just 12.2 minutes per contest.

Here are a few more noteworthy injury updates from around the NBA:

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who initially returned to Saturday night’s game after taking a blow to the head, has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol and will miss at least Monday’s game against Toronto, the Bucks announced today. The Raptors will be without their own star player, having announced that Kawhi Leonard will rest in the first game of the club’s back-to-back set.
Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless continues to deal with the effects of the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in March. As Joe Freeman of The Oregonian details, Harkless’ left knee pain recently resurfaced and will keep him out of Monday’s game against Indiana. It’s not clear whether Harkless will continue to miss more time beyond that contest.
Mavericks guard Devin Harris, who remains out of action due to a hamstring injury, has been targeting Wednesday’s game against the Lakers as a potential return date, but that’s not set in stone, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “I ran on it for the first time,” Harris said on Sunday. “The next step is to run on it comfortably. It didn’t feel quite right.”

Thunder Exercise Option On Terrance Ferguson

October 29th, 2018 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have exercised their 2019/20 team option on Terrance Ferguson‘s rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release. The move locks in Ferguson’s $2,475,840 cap hit for next season.

Ferguson, the 21st overall pick in the 2017 draft, appeared in 61 games for the Thunder in his rookie season, averaging 3.1 PPG in 12.5 minutes per contest. The Tulsa native has moved into a starting role this year with Andre Roberson still sidelined, but has struggled in the early going, posting just 2.8 PPG on .273/.077/.500 shooting in 20.8 MPG. Still, he’s just 20 years old and his affordable contract provides value for an Oklahoma City team above the luxury tax line.

Interestingly, the Thunder’s announcement today doesn’t mention Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who has a fourth-year 2019/20 option worth $2,529,684. Oklahoma City has until Wednesday to pick up that option, but teams often announce all their rookie scale option pickups at the same time, so the club may be opting to make Luwawu-Cabarrot an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Cavs Pick Up 2019/20 Option On Ante Zizic

October 29th, 2018 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have exercised their third-year option on center Ante Zizic, a source tells Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team had until October 31 to pick up the option, which guarantees Zizic’s salary for the 2019/20 season.

Zizic, 21, was one of the players acquired by Cleveland in last year’s Kyrie Irving blockbuster. The Croatian big man didn’t see much action in his rookie season, but could be in line for a larger role in 2018/19, particularly if the Cavaliers go into full-fledged rebuild mode. So far this season, Zizic has posted 3.4 PPG and 2.0 RPG in five games (7.2 MPG).

With veteran players occupying many of the roster spots in Cleveland, Zizic’s was the only rookie scale option decision the Cavs had to make by this fall’s deadline. The move will add another $2,281,800 in guaranteed money to the club’s books for next season.

Cleveland will have one more option decision to make on Zizic by October 31, 2019. Assuming the team exercises his fourth-year option for 2020/21 before that deadline, the young center will become extension-eligible during the summer of 2020 and would be on track for restricted free agency in 2021.

We’re keeping tabs on all of the 2019/20 rookie scale option decisions from around the NBA right here.

Scott Brooks Has Wizards’ Full Support

October 29th, 2018 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are off to a 1-5 start this season, but head coach Scott Brooks doesn’t appear to be on the hot seat at this point, writes Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, Brooks continues to have the “full support” of the organization.

The Wizards managed to eke out an overtime win in Portland last Monday, but have lost the rest of their games this season, including home contests against the Heat and the Kawhi Leonard-less Raptors, as well as road games against the Kings and Clippers.

As Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington writes, the club’s defense has been historically bad so far, having surrendered 750 points through six games (125.0 PPG). No team has given up that many points through six regular season games since the 1990/91 Nuggets. The Wizards are hoping that Dwight Howard – who is expected to make his debut with the team this week, per Haynes – can help stabilize the defense a little, but one player can only do so much.

Austin Rivers, who referred to the team’s defense as “horrendous” after Sunday’s loss, said that Brooks is putting the Wizards in position to succeed and that the club’s early-season struggles on “not on” the head coach (video link via Ben Golliver of SI.com). John Wall and Bradley Beal spoke over the weekend about some players on the team possibly having their “own agendas.”

While the Wizards’ position on their head coach could change if their struggles continue, it appears Brooks will get every opportunity to right the ship. He still has three years left on his five-year, $35MM contract, Haynes notes.

Rick Pitino Hoping For Return To NBA

October 29th, 2018 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino plans to use the 2018/19 season to “immerse himself” in the NBA game in the hopes of returning to the league’s coaching ranks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski details, Pitino would like to become a candidate for NBA head coaching positions that open up in the spring of 2019.

“I just want to be a part of an organization,” Pitino told Wojnarowski. “I want to develop young players. I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.

“I think the league is going to get younger and player development will become even more important to every organization,” Pitino continued. “That’s my forte. I believe I can help an organization find a pathway to success.”

Pitino’s time at Louisville came to an abrupt end about a year ago as a result of the FBI’s probe into college basketball recruiting. Pitino had spent most of the last two decades heading up the program, having previously coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001.

We heard as recently as September that Pitino appeared to have given up on the idea of returning to the NBA — he admitted in his book, “Pitino: My Story,” that his agent had reached out to NBA teams but had generated no interest. The veteran coach seems to be approaching the idea with renewed enthusiasm now though, with Wojnarowski reporting that Pitino has hired NFL super-agent Drew Rosenhaus to represent him.

Even if NBA front offices overlook the multiple scandals that took place at Louisville during Pitino’s tenure, it will likely be difficult for him to convince an NBA team that he’d be a “willing partner with a front office,” Wojnarowski writes. According to Woj, multiple GMs say they’d be reluctant to hire Pitino due to concern about coexisting with him, especially during a rebuilding process. For his part, Pitino is saying the right things.

“I’m not looking for any of that [power/control] at this stage of my life,” Pitino told Wojnarowski. “I want to develop teams and develop players and build a winner. I value analytics. I want to fit into an organization. At this stage, that’s all I’m interested in.”

Month: November 2024