2021 August | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Acquire Evan Fournier From Celtics Via Sign-And-Trade

August 17th, 2021 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks‘ have turned their free agent agreement with swingman Evan Fournier into a sign-and-trade deal with the Celtics, announcing today in a press release that they’ve officially acquired Fournier and two future second-round picks from Boston in exchange for cash. Fournier received a four-year deal that includes a fourth-year team option and can reportedly be worth up to $78MM.

Turning the transaction into a sign-and-trade will allow the Celtics to create a traded player exception worth Fournier’s first-year salary. That new trade exception will be worth $17.1MM, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

The Knicks, meanwhile, had the cap room necessary to sign Fournier outright, but will pick up some extra draft assets due to their willingness to work with Boston on a sign-and-trade agreement.

According to Himmelsbach (Twitter link), one of the two second-round picks the Knicks are receiving is heavily (top-55) protected — it’s the Hornets’ 2022 second-rounder. The other pick will be a 2023 second-rounder that originally belonged to Oklahoma City, Washington, Miami, or Dallas.

It’s a similar move to the one the Celtics made last fall when Gordon Hayward left for Charlotte in free agency — the Hornets acquired a pair of second-rounders in that deal, while Boston created a $28.5MM trade exception.

Fournier, who had spent six seasons in Orlando entering the 2020/21 season, was traded from the Magic to the Celtics in a midseason deal that used the Hayward trade exception. He dealt with a handful of health issues over the course of the season, but had a solid overall year when he was available, averaging 17.1 PPG, 3.4 APG, and 3.0 RPG on .457/.413/.788 shooting in 42 total games (30.0 MPG) for Orlando and Boston.

The Celtics explored re-signing Fournier, but recognized they’d face competition on the open market and pivoted to acquiring Josh Richardson (using the rest of the Hayward TPE) to address the wing position. The Knicks ultimately outbid Boston to land Fournier.

“We identified Evan as a key addition as we entered free agency and are ecstatic that he’s joining us,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “He’s a great teammate, a fierce competitor, and a perfect complement to our returning players. He wants to be a part of what we are building here, and we are happy to have him join our family.”

The Knicks have now officially completed their deals with Fournier, Nerlens Noel, and Kemba Walker. The team still has to announce a few other signings, including Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, and Taj Gibson.

Pistons Sign Chris Smith To Two-Way Deal

August 17th, 2021 at 8:10am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 17: Smith’s two-way contract is now official, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Smith and Garza are Detroit’s two-way players.

JULY 30: The Pistons are expected to add UCLA swingman Chris Smith on a two-way contract this season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The 6’9″ Chicago native was a four-year player with the Bruins. In January 2021, Smith tore his ACL after just eight games and missed most of his senior season. Over those eight games, all starts, Smith averaged a solid 12.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, and 0.9 SPG, while shooting .415/.500/.794.

Even without Smith, the Bruins enjoyed a spirited March Madness run in 2021, reaching the Final Four before they fell to Gonzaga.

Smith’s best college season wound up being his fairly healthy junior year in 2019/20. As a junior, Smith was UCLA’s leading scorer with his 13.1 PPG average. The 21-year-old also pulled down 5.4 RPG, dished out 1.5 APG, and made 1.0 SPG across 31 games. He posted a shooting line of .458/.341/.840. He was named a 2019/20 All-Pac-12 First Teamer and that same season’s Pac-12 Most Improved Player.

The Pistons, led by GM Troy Weaver, have had a busy draft day. They selected Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham with the top pick in the 2021 draft. They subsequently picked three players in the second round: Michigan forward Isaiah Livers, Iowa big man Luka Garza and Florida State center Balsa Koprivica.

Pistons Sign Luka Garza To Two-Way Contract

August 17th, 2021 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 17: Garza has officially signed his two-way contract with Detroit, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

AUGUST 16: Rookie big man Luka Garza will sign a two-way contract with the Pistons, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The No. 52 overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Iowa, Garza was named the Player of the Year as a senior in 2020/21 after averaging 24.1 PPG and 8.7 RPG on .553/.440/.709 shooting in 31 games (31.5 MPG). He was a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time consensus first-team All-American as well.

Garza’s professional career got off to a solid start in Las Vegas, where he has averaged 13.5 PPG and 8.3 RPG in just 19.8 minutes per contest (four games) for Detroit in Summer League play.

The Pistons already have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, with Hamidou Diallo‘s restricted free agency still to be resolved, so it makes sense that the team would dedicate one of its two-way contract slots to Garza rather than trying to squeeze him onto the 15-man regular season roster. Undrafted UCLA swingman Chris Smith is expected to occupy Detroit’s other two-way spot.

The Pistons’ No. 57 overall pick, Balsa Koprivica, remains unsigned without a clear path to a spot on the regular season roster or a two-way deal. It’s possible Detroit intends to stash Koprivica overseas or in the G League.

New York Notes: Toppin, Weatherspoon, Edwards, DeAndre

August 16th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Knicks forward Obi Toppin is hoping to earn a bigger role with New York next season, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

During his first Summer League, Toppin is averaging 23.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG across 36.5 MPG and has proven to be an adept scorer from everywhere on the court, driving inside for dunks and easy looks around the basket plus converting his three-point attempts at a solid 35.5% clip. The eighth pick in the 2020 draft out of Dayton, Toppin averaged just 11.0 MPG across 62 games in his rookie season.

“I feel like I know my role,’’ Toppin said of how he’ll slot in as the main reserve behind All-Star forward Julius Randle during his second season in the league. “I tried to focus on rebounding and defense mostly. Just improving in that, offensively things will come to me. I feel like defense is the most important thing when playing for coach [Tom Thibodeau] — and playing anywhere.”

There’s more out of the Big Apple:

Nets Summer League standout Quinndary Weatherspoon has impressed during his time in Las Vegas this year, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Yeah, Q’s great,” Summer League coach John Ott said of the 6’3″ shooting guard. “We’ve asked him at times to pick up full court. He’s accepted that, bringing some of the defensive mentality that we were hoping to find in Summer League. He’s definitely shown more than capable to guard on the basketball at this level.”
Rookie Nets forward Kessler Edwards knows how the Nets want him to contribute after signing a two-way deal with Brooklyn, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “(The Nets) told me they just want to see me doing all the little things, along with rebounding the ball, crashing the glass, run the floor, spacing the floor, knocking down open shots and then really just guarding 1-through-5,” Edwards said. “Those 3-pointers and that defensive ability and versatility is what I take pride in. That’s what I like doing the most when I play.”
Veteran Nets center DeAndre Jordan may not start the 2021/22 season with Brooklyn, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The Nets continue to consider possible trade routes for the final two years and $19.7MM left on the 33-year-old big man’s current deal.

California Notes: Iguodala, Bledsoe, Metu, Longabardi

August 16th, 2021 at 8:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is excited to have veteran swingman Andre Iguodala back for his second stint with the club, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“He means the world to us,” Kerr told Poole, echoing a sentiment he recently expressed to The Athletic. “The last two seasons, we’ve been somewhat rudderless in many ways. I suspect we’re going to get our rudder back with Andre.”

Iguodala signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Golden State after spending the last two seasons with the Grizzlies (for whom he never played) and Heat.

There’s more out of California:

The Clippers‘ reunion with point guard Eric Bledsoe received an A-minus grade from Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Bledsoe was re-acquired in a trade this week that sent point guards Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo and center Daniel Oturu to the Grizzlies. Pelton praised the cost savings of the deal, which will amount to a reduction of about $30MM off L.A.’s luxury tax bill. Pelton also notes that the younger, more durable Bledsoe could prove to be an on-court upgrade for the Clippers as well, though he struggled in recent playoff appearances with the Bucks.
Fourth-year Kings center Chimezie Metu has been suspended for one Summer League game after punching two-way rookie Mavericks forward Eugene Omoruyi in the head during the fourth quarter of an eventual 86-70 win Sunday, per an NBA press release (Twitter link). Metu will miss the Summer League title game on Tuesday against the Celtics.
The Kings will be hiring Mike Longabardi as a front-of-bench assistant coach, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link). Longabardi, most recently an assistant with the Wizards since 2019, won the 2008 title as a Celtics assistant and the 2016 championship as a Cavaliers assistant.

Southeast Notes: LiAngelo, Haslem, Cooper, Reddish

August 16th, 2021 at 5:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Multiple members of the Hornets organization have loved what they’ve seen out of guard LiAngelo Ball, a member Charlotte’s Summer League club who is hoping to earn a G League contract, reports Jordan Schultz of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Schultz, Charlotte appreciates the work ethic of Ball, older brother to reigning Hornets Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball. The 6’5″ LiAngelo, 22, is the middle brother in a family of basketball pros. His older brother, Lonzo Ball, just inked a lucrative four-year, $80MM deal with the Bulls this summer.

The Hornets are no doubt hoping that LiAngelo, the only member of the three Ball brothers to not be drafted, can prove to be a diamond in the rough. “Great kid,” Hornets assistant coach Jay Triano raved. “He was at the facility practicing every day for two months to play in the Summer League. Shows a ton of character. He can shoot it, great feel, knack for scoring.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Now that the Heat have re-signed lifer Udonis Haslem to a veteran’s minimum deal for his 19th season in Miami, the rest of the club’s offseason signings can now be completed, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Haslem is the 14th Miami player under a standard contract for the 2021/22 season, meaning the Heat will now be able to ink younger players to Exhibit 10 deals. Those players will compete for two-way deals and could end up playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League affiliate.
Hawks rookie point guard Sharife Cooper sat down for an extensive conversation with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic about falling to the middle of the second round in the 2021 NBA draft and his fit on the team behind star point guard Trae Young. The Hawks drafted Cooper with the No. 48 pick out of Auburn. “It’s extremely motivating,” Cooper said of his slide in the draft. “We’ll see in a couple of years who can really play and who can’t play. That’s what I’ll say.” A high-level ball-handler, Cooper has already shown promise as a distributor and a speedy interior finisher at the next level while in Summer League, writes Kirschner. “I can pass,” Cooper said of his attributes as a player. “I can score. I feel like I’m a leader. I like talking on the floor. My biggest weakness — I definitely want to be more efficient. I definitely want to take care of the ball better.”
Hawks forward Cam Reddish, eligible for an extension to his rookie contract in 2022, has signed with Klutch Sports Group, per an announcement from the agency (Twitter link). Though Reddish only appeared in 26 games with Atlanta during the 2020/21 season due to an Achilles injury, he showed promise during his brief stint with the Hawks in the 2021 postseason, averaging 12.8 PPG on 52.8% shooting (64.3% on threes) in 23.0 minutes per contest.

Nets Sign Kessler Edwards To Two-Way Deal

August 16th, 2021 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets have officially signed rookie forward Kessler Edwards to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

Edwards, who turned 21 last Monday, averaged 17.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG on .491/.378/.876 shooting in 27 games (33.9 MPG) as a junior at Pepperdine in 2020/21. The Nets selected him with the 44th overall pick in the 2021 draft, one of five players the team picked on July 29.

Edwards has struggled a little in Summer League play, averaging just 5.7 PPG on 26.7% shooting, but will fill one of the Nets’ two-way contract slots to open the season. His two-way deal will allow him to be active for up to 50 regular season NBA games — he also figures to spend time with the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate.

The Nets’ other two second-round picks, Marcus Zegarowski (No. 49) and RaiQuan Gray (No. 59), remain unsigned. Brooklyn still has an open two-way slot, so one of those two rookies will likely end up joining Edwards on a two-way contract.

Pelicans Sign Herb Jones To Three-Year Deal

August 16th, 2021 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

3:34pm: Jones’ deal with the Pelicans is now official, the team announced in a press release.

1:17pm: The Pelicans have reached an agreement to sign second-round pick Herb Jones to a three-year contract, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). The third year of the deal will be a team option, Guillory reports.

Jones, 22, is a 6’8″ forward who spent all four years of his college career at Alabama. As a senior in 2020/21, he averaged 11.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 3.3 APG on .446/.351/.713 shooting in 33 games (27.3 MPG). The No. 35 overall pick, who also contributed 1.7 SPG and 1.1 BPG, was named the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

While the exact terms of Jones’ new deal aren’t yet known, two guaranteed years has been the standard for players drafted in his range. The Pelicans will use a small portion of their mid-level exception to complete the signing, so they could go a little higher than the rookie minimum if they so choose.

Once New Orleans officially signs Jones and free agent big man Willy Hernangomez, the team will have 15 players on standard contracts, with Josh Hart still a restricted free agent. If Hart were to re-sign with the Pels, Wenyen Gabriel (who is on a non-guaranteed deal) would likely be the odd man out.

Suns Sign JaVale McGee To One-Year Deal

August 16th, 2021 at 2:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 16: The Suns have officially signed McGee, the team announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 2: The Suns have agreed to a one-year contract with veteran center JaVale McGee, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), who reports that the deal will be worth $5MM.

Perhaps the premier rim-rolling backup center in the NBA, McGee has made it a habit to know his role for some excellent playoff teams over the last several seasons. He has won two titles with the Warriors and one with the Lakers during his decorated career.

McGee, 33, will be fortifying the front line for a Phoenix club that struggled to defend the rim when starting center Deandre Ayton sat during a playoff run that saw the Suns get to within two wins of the franchise’s first-ever NBA title. After Ayton’s primary backup, Dario Saric, left the Suns’ NBA Finals series against the Bucks with an ACL tear, Phoenix had to get creative in trying to steady the ship whenever Ayton rested or got into foul trouble.

With Saric absent, deep-reserve big man Frank Kaminsky gave the club serviceable minutes erratically, but he is not nearly the defender McGee can be. Saric will likely miss most – if not all – of the 2021/22 season due to his injury, so adding a reliable backup who is a true center was a must this offseason.

The seven-foot journeyman most recently suited up for the Nuggets. Denver was swept out of the playoffs during a Western Conference semifinals series against McGee’s new club, the Suns.

McGee was first dealt from the Lakers to the Cavaliers during the 2020 offseason to make room for new L.A. roster additions. After 33 games with Cleveland during the 2020/21 season, he was shipped out to a better fit, a playoff-bound club in need of a backup center upgrade. In 46 total games last year, McGee averaged 7.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG, while shooting 51.1% from the field, in just 14.7 MPG.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jalen Green Wanted To Be No. 1 Pick But “Didn’t Want To Be In Detroit”

August 16th, 2021 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Jalen Green only worked out for two teams, the Pistons and Rockets, leading up to the 2021 NBA draft and was hoping to be the first prospect off the board on July 29. However, while he sought the honor of being the No. 1 pick, Green wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea of beginning his NBA career in Michigan, he tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

“I wanted to be the No. 1 pick, but as for the location, I didn’t want to be in Detroit,” Green said. “I felt a lot more comfortable in Houston. It felt like a real homey environment.

“With Detroit, it felt like I was just going back to the G League bubble, and I just got out of the bubble. That’s pretty much what it was,” continued Green, who played for the G League Ignite at Walt Disney World last winter. “In the bubble, I didn’t really have anything to do but just stay in the gym. I didn’t have any time to get away for myself. The only time I had to get away for myself was in my apartment. That’s what it felt like in Detroit. I wouldn’t be stepping outside in Detroit. There are not many things you can do in Detroit like that. You’re going to stay in the gym and then go back to your apartment.”

Green, of course, was drafted by the Rockets with the No. 2 pick after the Pistons used the first overall selection to nab Cade Cunningham. If Green had been the Pistons’ pick, it’s probably safe to assume his comments to Haynes about Detroit would sound a little different.

By contrast, Cunningham had nothing but praise for the city of Detroit following his pre-draft visit with the Pistons, telling reporters that he appreciated Michiganders’ “underdog, go-get-what-you-want” mentality.

Green, clearly not concerned about endearing himself to Pistons fans, is out to prove the team made a mistake by passing on him. As Haynes relays, the Rockets rookie is looking to beat out Cunningham and the rest of the 2021 draft class to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2021/22.

“I need it. I feel like I’m the best player in the class,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “I didn’t go No. 1, so I’m going to go get the Rookie of the Year.”

Month: November 2024