2021 August | Hoops Rumors

Community Shootaround: Which Team Has Had Best 2021 Offseason?

August 25th, 2021 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

A handful of notable players – including Lauri Markkanen and Paul Millsap – remain available on the free agent market, and it’s possible we’ll still get action in the coming weeks on a trade involving a star like Ben Simmons or Damian Lillard. But for the time being, it looks like most NBA teams are finished with their major offseason roster moves.

With that in mind, David Aldridge of The Athletic ran through all 30 teams this week, ranking which clubs had the best and worst offseasons. As Aldridge explains within his piece(s), his list isn’t about which teams have the best roster heading into the 2021/22 season, but rather which teams made the summer moves he liked the most.

Even with that caveat in place, Aldridge’s top pick is still a bit of a surprise. The veteran reporter lists the Rockets as having the NBA’s No. 1 offseason, despite the fact that the team was fairly quiet on the trade market and made just one significant free agent addition (Daniel Theis). Houston’s offseason was primarily about adding four players draft in the top 24: Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, and Josh Christopher.

While I didn’t see Aldridge’s top pick coming, I don’t believe that making big splashes in free agency and via trades is necessarily indicative of having a great offseason. For instance, no team made more noise on the free agent market than the Bulls, who added DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso. However, I didn’t like the price Chicago paid to get DeRozan, who will earn $27MM+ per year for the next three seasons and cost a first-round pick to acquire via sign-and-trade. Your mileage may vary — Aldridge ranked the Bulls at No. 4.

Rounding out Aldridge’s top five are the Clippers at No. 2, the Nets at No. 3, and the Lakers at No. 5. The Wizards, Hornets, Heat, Jazz, and Pistons also made the top 10.

I agree with some of those picks more than others. Aldridge’s rankings suggest a belief that the Russell Westbrook trade was a win-win for Los Angeles and Washington, but I preferred the Wizards’ return, since they badly needed to improve their depth and I’m not entirely sold yet on Westbrook’s fit with the Lakers.

A top-two ranking also seems a little generous for the Clippers, whose major moves were re-signing a star recovering from an ACL tear (Kawhi Leonard) to a four-year, maximum-salary deal and adding Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, and a draft picks. Bledsoe is coming off a bad year and has struggled in the postseason, Winslow has had a hard time staying healthy, and those draftees are pretty raw.

However, I did like the team’s deals to bring back Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum — and if Leonard makes a full recovery and is back to his old self for the 2022/23 season, that investment should be worth it.

What do you think? Which clubs do you believe had the best offseasons in 2021? Are there any potential moves to be made in the coming weeks that could shake up your list?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Kings Notes: Fox, Mitchell, G League Staff, Schedule

August 25th, 2021 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have been identified as one of the teams with trade interest in Ben Simmons, but a July report indicated the team likely won’t include point guard De’Aaron Fox in any offer for the Sixers’ three-time All-Star.

Revisiting that subject, Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer says he has heard from a league source that Fox in “content” in Sacramento. Given the recent history of the franchise, which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006, having a rising young star who is happy to stick around may be too valuable for the Kings to mess with, Uggetti writes.

Here’s more out of Sacramento:

In a subscriber-only article for The Sacramento Bee, Jason Anderson identifies some of the key takeaways from the Kings’ championship victory at the Las Vegas Summer League, writing that rookie Davion Mitchell wants to help change the identity of a defense that ranked last in the NBA in 2020/21.
Coming off his Summer League title, Stockton Kings head coach Bobby Jackson has made several additions to his staff, including Will Scott as associate head coach, the team announced in a press release. The G League club also announced that Sydney Haydel will serve as Stockton’s director of basketball operations and Sacramento’s player development coordinator.
Despite having exciting up-and-comers like Fox, Mitchell, and Tyrese Haliburton on their roster, the Kings won’t get much national television exposure in 2021/22, as James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area details. Sacramento will play five games on NBA TV, but none on TNT, ESPN, or ABC.

Bucks, Mike Budenholzer Agree To Three-Year Extension

August 24th, 2021 at 8:14pm CST by Eli Cohen

The reigning champion Bucks and head coach Mike Budenholzer have agreed to a three-year extension, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Budenholzer, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, helped lead the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years. After the 2020 playoffs, in which the Bucks were defeated in the second round by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Heat, there were questions about how Budenholzer’s regular-season success translated to postseason victories, which went as far back as his days with the Hawks.

But during this year’s run to the championship, Budenholzer showed more willingness to adapt and to lean on his stars for heavy minutes, playing all of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton 38+ minutes a night, a stark contrast to the 30.8 MPG he played Antetokounmpo in the 2020 playoffs.

Budenholzer had been on the final year of his deal, but this extension will keep him with the Bucks through the 2024/25 season.

And-Ones: Buyouts, Hearn, Beauchamp, Morrison

August 24th, 2021 at 7:15pm CST by Eli Cohen

In a piece for BasketNews.com, Donatas Urbonas explores how Real Madrid is able to secure such lucrative buyout deals for its players, such as Facundo Campazzo, Gabriel Deck, and Usman Garuba, among others.

The Spanish powerhouse made over 10 million Euros in buyouts in the last nine months alone, more than the total budget of Euroleague teams such as Zalgiris, according to Urbonas, who explains that because of its pedigree as a championship team, Real Madrid is able to attract top talent, but also institute their own conditions. There’s also the appeal of living in Madrid and the top-flight amenities the club is able to offer.

Finally, Urbonas writes that the team invests tens of millions in its youth development program, which is renowned for getting the attention of NBA teams, making the exorbitant buyouts a tradeoff of that exposure and unrivaled development system.

We have more from around the world of hoops:

Former Piston Reggie Hearn has signed with German team Fraport Skyline, reports Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw (via Twitter). Hearn spent last season with the G League Ignite, averaging 3.9 PPG in just 13 MPG.
MarJon Beauchamp, a top-5o recruit in the class of 2020, has signed with the G League Ignite, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. After COVID-19 disrupted his ability to train in San Francisco, Beauchamp enrolled in Yakima Valley junior college, where he averaged 30.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 4.8 APG per game while shooting 40% from three. Beauchamp joins a loaded Ignite team that may get even better, with top 2023 recruit Emoni Bates set to make his recruitment decision tomorrow.
Former Celtics assistant Scott Morrison has signed on to be the head coach of the NBL’s Perth Wildcats, per an NBL announcement. The deal will span three years. Morrison, who had spent the previous three seasons with the Celtics, reportedly interviewed for Washington’s head coaching job this offseason.

Celtics Sign Robert Williams To Four-Year Extension

August 24th, 2021 at 6:21pm CST by Luke Adams

August 24: The Celtics have officially extended Williams, per a team press release.

“Rob has embraced being a Celtic from day one,” team president Brad Stevens said in a statement. “He is a great teammate and is completely committed to getting better. We’re excited that he will continue to do so here in Boston.”

August 20: After agreeing to a four-year contract extension with Marcus Smart earlier this week, the Celtics have reached a deal to extend another rotation player through 2025/26. The team is in agreement with big man Robert Williams on a four-year, $54MM deal, agent Kevin Bradbury tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Williams, who will turn 24 in October, saw limited playing time in his first two NBA seasons, partly due to injuries, but emerged as a regular contributor for Boston in 2020/21. In 52 games (18.9 MPG), including 13 starts, he averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per contest. His impressive .721 FG% was right in line with his career rate (.720).

Despite only having appeared in 113 regular season games to date, Williams has flashed promise on both ends of the court and brings plenty of athleticism to the Celtics’ frontcourt.

As Wojnarowski notes, the new four-year deal will put the former Texas A&M standout in the top half of NBA centers by annual salary, but he has the potential to outplay it if he stays healthy and continues to improve.

The timing of the deal is interesting. Typically, players eligible for rookie scale extensions reach deals closer to the October deadline, unless they’re obvious max-salary players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams – the fourth player to receive a rookie scale extension in 2021 – is the first one of those four to agree to a deal worth less than the max.

The fact that the Celtics were willing to sign off on a new deal for Williams nearly two months ahead of the deadline suggests they were eager to get the young center locked up and were comfortable with the price point.

The extensions for Smart and Williams all but assure Boston will enter the 2022 offseason as an over-the-cap team, barring some major roster moves between now and then.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Heat Youth, Hawks, Wagner

August 24th, 2021 at 6:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

In a recent piece for The Athletic, Fred Katz and John Hollinger broke down the Wizards’ offseason, and what may still be in store for the new-look Washington team.

In the piece, the writers look at the team’s greatest strengths heading into the 2021/22 season (guard shot-creation and depth), possible defensive concerns stemming from the lack of defense-minded bigs behind 2021 standout Daniel Gafford, and how the team could cobble together mid-size contracts and young players in lieu of picks in order to find trades that help rebalance the roster.

As for where the Wizards end up in the Eastern Conference hierarchy this season, Hollinger says that after the top eight teams in the East, the Wizards are in a group of four where they are as good or better than any of the rest of their peers. Barring a Bradley Beal trade demand, he writes, they’re likely to return to play-in action.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

In a piece for the Miami Herald, Barry Jackson talks to two veteran scouts to get their takes on Heat youngsters Omer Yurtseven, Max Strus, Marcus Garrett and KZ Okpala. Of Yurtseven, one scout says, “I’m not sure that (he) will be a rotation guy this year. But they have something there.” Both scouts agree that Strus can be a situational, end-of-rotation player, and that Okpala has a lot to prove before he’s considered a lock to remain with the team.
In an offseason review, Chris Kirschner of The Athetic profiles where the Hawks are now and where they could be going. Within the article, Kirschner quotes president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk as saying, “Those who want to get traded, they want to go somewhere they think they can win. And I think now that perception of us is out there, because we do have a young core that did show success in the playoffs. So the hope would be when a star player does ask to be traded, we’ll be one of the destinations he’ll be open to coming to.”
Keith Smith of Spotrac has the official numbers for Moritz Wagner‘s contract with the Magic: two years at the veteran’s minimum, with the second year non-guaranteed. Wagner joins his brother, eighth overall pick Franz Wagner, as part of Orlando’s young rotation.

Nerlens Noel Sues Rich Paul, Klutch Sports

August 24th, 2021 at 5:23pm CST by Eli Cohen

Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed a lawsuit against agent Rich Paul and the Klutch Sports agency, reports Darren Heitner of SportsAgentBlog.com.

The suit, which was filed in Dallas, Texas, claims that in a birthday party for the Klutch-represented Ben Simmons in 2017, Paul convinced Noel that he was a “$100MM man,” and that if Noel fired then-agent Happy Walters and signed with him, Paul would get him a max contract. Noel subsequently left Walters and signed with Paul.

As part of the same pitch, Paul allegedly told Noel to cut off negotiations with the Mavericks, who had offered Noel a four-year, $70MM extension, and instead sign his one-year, $4.1MM qualifying offer. After a season plagued by injury, however, his free agency proved unsuccessful, as he claims that no one from Klutch presented any ideas for how to pursue long-term contracts, and none were forthcoming on the market, leading him to sign a two-year, $3.75MM contract with the Thunder, which Noel claims was largely orchestrated by Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George, rather than by Rich Paul.

Finally, the lawsuit states that Noel learned that multiple teams, including the Sixers, Clippers, and Rockets informed him that they attempted to get in touch with Paul about offering Noel a contract, but were unable to make contact.

Noel left Klutch Sports in December of 2020, and is suing Paul and the agency for the loss of approximately $58MM stemming from the initial declined extension with Dallas.

Pacers Sign DeJon Jarreau To Two-Way Deal

August 24th, 2021 at 4:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

August 24: The Pacers have made the two-way signing of Jarreau official, per a team press release. The club also confirmed that Brimah has been waived in a corresponding move.

August 21: Free agent guard DeJon Jarreau will sign a two-way contract with the Pacers, a source tells Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

Jarreau had an impressive performance with the Heat‘s Summer League team and was considered a strong candidate to sign with Miami. However, it wasn’t clear if the Heat were planning a two-way or Exhibit 10 deal for Jarreau, so he intends to take the offer from Indiana.

Jarreau, 23, is coming off a Final Four season with Houston in which he was named Defensive Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference and the Most Outstanding Player in the Midwest Regional. He joined the Heat after going undrafted and put up 11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game in Las Vegas.

The Pacers already have a two-way deal in place with rookie shooting guard Duane Washington, so Jarreau would fill the other slot. Amida Brimah technically holds that spot for now, but Indiana doesn’t intend to bring him back. A qualifying offer to Cassius Stanley, who played 24 games last season, was withdrawn last week. It would have amounted to another two-way contract with a $50K guarantee.

Knicks Notes: Robinson, Walker, Bacon, Offseason

August 24th, 2021 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are open to signing Mitchell Robinson to a contract extension before the 2021/22 season begins, “as long as it’s not crazy,” a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Robinson, who is one of the Knicks’ longest-tenured players, is entering a contract year and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2022 if he doesn’t sign a new deal before then.

As Berman notes, there are reasons both sides may want to wait on an extension. Robinson is coming off a season in which he suffered a broken hand and broken foot, so the Knicks might want to see him at full health again before making a major investment. The team’s multiyear commitment to Nerlens Noel in free agency also reduces the urgency to lock up Robinson.

Robinson, meanwhile, could significantly boost his stock in the coming months if he shows he’s back to 100% health and continues to improve on both ends of the court. For now, Berman says, league insiders consider the big man’s value to be around the mid-level or slightly higher. Berman suggests $44MM over four years could be a fair price for both sides.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

During his introductory press conference last week, Kemba Walker said he came “pretty close” to signing with the Knicks as a free agent in 2019 before heading to Boston instead. A source tells Berman that Walker had been interested in teaming up with Kevin Durant for the Knicks, but Durant – of course – chose to go to Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving instead. Berman says the Knicks and Walker decided at that point that a union wouldn’t make sense without another star on board.
According to Berman, multiple sources believe the Knicks decided to add Dwayne Bacon to their roster due to a recommendation from his former coach Steve Clifford, who is close with Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. However, as Ian Begley of SNY.tv noted last week (via Twitter), Bacon is on an Exhibit 10 contract, so he’s no lock to make the regular season roster.
In his ranking of all 30 teams’ offseason moves, David Aldridge of The Athletic places the Knicks at No. 13, praising the team’s signing of Walker but arguing that losing Reggie Bullock will hurt.

Longest-Tenured Players By NBA Team

August 24th, 2021 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

It hasn’t even been nine months since we last checked in on the NBA’s longest-tenured players by team. Since then though, there has been some major roster turnover around the league. Of the NBA’s 30 teams, 12 have bid farewell to their longest-tenured player since last December.

That list includes Patty Mills, who left San Antonio for Brooklyn after being with the Spurs for over nine years. Nikola Vucevic and James Harden had been in Orlando and Houston, respectively, since 2012 until they were traded earlier this year. And Kyle Lowry left Toronto for Miami this summer after nine seasons with the Raptors.

Of course, some of the teams with a new longest-tenured player didn’t exactly lose a franchise legend. Blake Griffin, for instance, was the longest-tenured Piston until he was bought out this year. And no Thunder player had been in Oklahoma City longer than Hamidou Diallo before he was traded in March.

Here are the NBA’s current longest-tenured players by team:

(Note: This is a snapshot as of August 2021 and won’t be updated throughout the season.)

Miami Heat: Udonis Haslem (free agent), August 2003
Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry (draft), June 2009
Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal (draft), June 2012
Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard (draft), June 2012
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (draft), June 2013
Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert (draft trade), June 2013
Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid (draft), June 2014
Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart (draft), June 2014
Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic (draft), June 2014
Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love (trade), August 2014
Dallas Mavericks: Dwight Powell (trade), December 2014
Minnesota Timberwolves: Karl-Anthony Towns (draft), June 2015
Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner (draft), June 2015
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker (draft), June 2015
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam (draft), June 2016
San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray (draft), June 2016
Houston Rockets: Eric Gordon (free agent), July 2016
Brooklyn Nets: Joe Harris (free agent), July 2016
Orlando Magic: Terrence Ross (trade), February 2017
Sacramento Kings: Buddy Hield (trade), February 2017
Atlanta Hawks: John Collins (draft), June 2017
Chicago Bulls: Zach LaVine (draft trade), June 2017
- Note: Lauri Markkanen was acquired by the Bulls in the same trade as LaVine and would share the title of Chicago’s longest-tenured player if he re-signs with the team.
Memphis Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks (draft trade), June 2017
New York Knicks: Kevin Knox (draft) / Mitchell Robinson (draft), June 2018
- Note: Knox (No. 9 pick) and Robinson (No. 36) were drafted by the Knicks on the same night.
Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges (draft trade), June 2018
Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James (free agent), July 2018
New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson (draft), June 2019
Los Angeles Clippers: Ivica Zubac (trade), February 2019
Detroit Pistons: Sekou Doumbouya (draft), June 2019
Oklahoma City Thunder: Darius Bazley (trade) / Luguentz Dort (free agent), July 2019
- Bazley and Dort officially joined the Thunder on the same day (July 6, 2019). The team reached agreements on draft night (June 20) to acquire Bazley and sign Dort.

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