2023 July | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Summer League, McClung, Motiejunas, NBAGL Showcase

July 21st, 2023 at 10:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets‘ poor play was one of the worst parts of Las Vegas Summer League, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Despite having eight players on the roster attending (and a ninth, James Nnaji, as one of a handful of remaining unsigned draft picks), Charlotte went 1-6 and was minus-55 overall. No one played particularly well, with Hollinger noting that the team may end up regretting not taking Scoot Henderson instead of Brandon Miller, if their brief Summer League performances were any indication.

Of more immediate concern for the Hornets are the fourth-year team option decisions on 2021 first-round picks James Bouknight and Kai Jones, which are due by late October. Neither looks like a sure bet to have his option picked up, as both players struggled in Vegas despite entering their third seasons, Hollinger adds. Bouknight’s option in 2024/25 is worth $6.1MM, while Jones’ is worth $4.7MM — not exactly team-friendly rates given they haven’t contributed much thus far.

Nnaji showed some defensive promise, but may be a draft-and-stash prospect while he develops his offensive game, says Hollinger.

Among the other players who struggled in Summer League were Pistons center James Wiseman (poor screening and defense), Nets first-rounder Noah Clowney (looked overmatched) and Lakers draft picks Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis, according to Hollinger.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

On the other end of the spectrum, Hollinger also revealed his under-the-radar Summer League standouts for The Athletic, including Javon Freeman-Liberty, who just agreed to a two-way deal with the Raptors, and Cavaliers guards Sam Merrill and Craig Porter Jr., the latter of whom went undrafted and signed a two-way contract with Cleveland. Hollinger says he would have given Merrill, whose contract for next season is non-guaranteed, the Summer League MVP award over Cam Whitmore.
Free agent guard Mac McClung, who finished last season on a two-way deal with the Sixers, tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com he’s focused on making another NBA team, but he’s open to going to Europe if he can’t find a roster spot. “We’ll see,” McClung said. “I am in free agency right now, my agent is talking to some teams, back and forth. We’re just trying to evaluate what is the best situation for me. Hopefully, I will be in the NBA next year and finding my way.”
Former NBA big man Donatas Motiejunas has signed a two-year extension with AS Monaco Basket, the team announced (via Twitter). Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com had the scoop on Motiejunas’ extension (Twitter link). The 32-year-old spent six seasons in the NBA, ending with a brief stint with San Antonio back in 2018/19. He was productive on a per-minute basis for Monaco, which won France’s LNB Pro A and finished third in the EuroLeague playoffs.
In 2023/24, the NBA G League’s Winter Showcase event will be held in Orlando instead of Las Vegas, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Showcase has been held Vegas for several years, but will be moving due to the NBA’s new in-season tournament, as the semifinals and final will be held in early December in Vegas.

Central Notes: Dosunmu, Jones, I. Mobley, Pistons

July 21st, 2023 at 7:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Re-signing restricted free agent guard Ayo Dosunmu to a three-year, $21MM contract was a shrewd business decision by the Bulls, writes K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

The Bulls like Dosunmu’s aggression, competitiveness and work ethic, according to Johnson, and bringing him back at $7MM per year could be valuable if Chicago decides to make moves in the future, as mid-sized deals can come in handy when negotiating trades. That isn’t to imply the team wants to deal away a player it is retaining — it’s just a reality of the business.

With Zach LaVine, Coby White, Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter, Dosunmu, Dalen Terry and the injured Lonzo Ball already in the backcourt, Johnson believes Carlik Jones will likely be released. Jones’ deal is currently non-guaranteed, but becomes partially guaranteed for $250K if he makes the Bulls’ opening night roster. The team’s next free agent addition will “almost certainly” be a frontcourt player, Johnson adds.

Here’s more from the Central:

He may not be as well-known as his younger brother, but Cavaliers big man Isaiah Mobley, who is on a two-way deal with Cleveland, made his mark during Las Vegas Summer League, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Mobley hit an overtime game-winner in the team’s fifth game against Brooklyn, with the Cavs going on to finish 6-0 and leaving with a championship. He averaged 17.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 BPG and 1.0 SPG on 49.3% from the field in 28.3 MPG in Vegas. Mobley is the older brother of Evan Mobley, who finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting this past season.
James L. Edwards of The Athletic recently took a stab at projecting the Pistons‘ depth chart entering 2023/24, with a possible 10-man rotation of starters Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, alongside reserves Monte Morris, Alec Burks, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Livers and Marvin Bagley III. Notably, that group does not include James Wiseman, with Edwards writing that Bagley is the superior screener and roller and better at creating his own shot. It also doesn’t include Killian Hayes or Joe Harris. That said, with the obvious caveat that it’s only July, I agree with Edwards.
In another article for The Athletic, Edwards evaluates trade proposals from readers. One fake trade was a complex four-team deal where the Pistons receive Tobias Harris; the Clippers receive James Harden and a 2029 first-round pick (from Philly); the Sixers receive Bogdanovic, Norman Powell, Marcus Morris, Danilo Gallinari and 2028 and ’29 first-rounders (from the Clips); and the Wizards receive Bagley and a 2024 second-rounder (from L.A.). Edwards thinks the Sixers would decline that proposal, and likely the Wizards too, though the latter might be more interested if another second-round pick or two were added.

Reid, Murphy, Grimes, Pritchard Joining USA Select Team

July 21st, 2023 at 5:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves big man Naz Reid, Pelicans forward Trey Murphy, Knicks guard Quentin Grimes, and Celtics guard Payton Pritchard are among the young players joining the USA Select Team in a couple weeks to practice and scrimmage against the main Team USA roster ahead of the FIBA World Cup.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojanrowski reported that Pritchard, Murphy and Reid would attend the American team’s training camp (Twitter links), while Shams Charania of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) Grimes would be present.

Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren of the Thunder, Rockets guard Jalen Green, Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, and Kings forward Keegan Murray will also be part of the Select Team, as The Athletic reported on Thursday.

Reid, who signed a three-year, $42MM extension at the end of June to remain with Minnesota, averaged career bests of 11.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG last season. Murphy had a breakout second season in 2022/23, averaging 14.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.1 SPG on a stellar .484/.406/.905 shooting line.

Grimes started the majority of ’22/23 for New York, averaging 11.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.1 APG on .468/.386/.796 shooting while playing solid defense. Pritchard had the most modest role of the four new players reportedly joining the Select Team, averaging 5.6 PPG on .412/.364/.750 shooting in 13.4 MPG last season.

It’s possible a player or two on the Select Team could be used as an injury replacement for someone on Team USA’s 12-man roster. For example, Keldon Johnson, who was a Select Team member ahead of the Tokyo Olympics a couple years ago, replaced Bradley Beal when the star guard contracted COVID-19.

The Americans will start training camp for the World Cup on August 3 in Las Vegas, with their first game scheduled later that month in the Philippines.

Celtics Notes: Brogdon, Williams, Brown, Champagnie

July 21st, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics are turning away trade inquiries on Malcolm Brogdon, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. A source from a rival organization told Bulpett that his club wasn’t able to make any progress when it called Boston about Brogdon.

“They said he’s a valued member of their team, and that’s where it ended,” the team official said. “I don’t know if that changes down the line, but we didn’t get anywhere. And I’m pretty sure we aren’t the only team that got that response.”

Brogdon captured Sixth Man of the Year honors in his first season with the Celtics, but they were willing to consider sending him to the Clippers in an early version of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. L.A. pulled out of the deal because of medical concerns over Brogdon, who suffered a right elbow and forearm injury in the conference finals, so the Boston traded Marcus Smart to Memphis instead. With Smart gone, Celtics officials are less willing to part with another important part of their backcourt.

“They didn’t want to move him in the first place,” another source said to Bulpett. “They really like Malcolm. But they had to balance out their roster. They didn’t want to go into another season having to rely so heavily on (Robert) Williams and (Al) Horford. They had a bit of a logjam in the backcourt, and they really needed some insurance up front.”

There’s more from Boston:

Williams is working to expand his offensive game this summer, and the Celtics want him to be more aggressive about seeking his own shots, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. After missing 47 games last season, Williams is following a program designed by the team’s director of rehabilitation to give him a better chance at staying on the court.
The Celtics are expected to resume contract talks next week with Jaylen Brown, who recently returned from an NBPA retreat in Spain, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens expressed optimism about working out an extension with Brown, who is eligible for a five-year super-max contract worth an estimated $295MM, but negotiations have been on hold while Brown, a union vice president, was out of the country.
Stevens faces an upcoming decision involving Justin Champagnie, who has a $50K guarantee on his contract if he remains on the roster through August 1, notes Brian Robb of MassLive. That guarantee increases to $350K on opening night, and Robb points out that either figure will cost the team much more due to luxury tax penalties.

Hawks Waive Tyrese Martin

July 21st, 2023 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

3:31pm: The move is official, the Hawks announced in a press release.

10:51am: The Hawks intend to waive swingman Tyrese Martin, reports Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com and HoopsAnalysis.net (Twitter link). A league source confirms the news to Hawks reporter Brad Rowland (Twitter link).

The 51st overall pick in the 2022 draft, Martin appeared in just 16 games for the Hawks as a rookie after signing a standard contract with the team. He scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his 66 total minutes at the NBA level.

Martin saw more frequent playing time for the College Park Skyhawks in the G League, averaging 18.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .503/.366/.805 shooting in 23 regular season contests (33.9 MPG) for Atlanta’s G League affiliate.

Although Martin’s contract covered the 2023/24 season, his minimum ($1.72MM) salary was non-guaranteed. He had a July 21 salary guarantee date, so the Hawks would have been on the hook for that full amount if they had kept him on the roster beyond Friday.

Waiving Martin will reduce Atlanta’s roster to 15 players on standard contracts, but the team is reportedly signing Wesley Matthews, so at least one more player will have to be waived or traded before the regular season begins.

International Notes: Neto, Edwards, Bone, Brazdeikis, Cornelie

July 21st, 2023 at 3:00pm CST by Tristan Tucker

After spending the past eight seasons in the NBA, free agent guard Raul Neto could be headed to an opportunity overseas. Turkish club Fenerbahce is reportedly working on a deal with the 31-year-old point guard, who averaged 3.3 points and 1.6 assists in 48 games with the Cavaliers last season, tweets Shot Vetakis of LiveSport and SDNA.

Neto signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Cleveland in the summer of 2022 after spending the previous two years with the Wizards. The Brazilian guard’s best statistical seasons came in Washington, where he averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 assists in 134 games across two seasons.

Before his successful stint with the Wizards, Neto also had stops with the Jazz and the 76ers. Neto didn’t end up playing big minutes for the Cavaliers last season as a third-string point guard and he entered unrestricted free agency this summer.

There’s more from the international scene.

Point guard Carsen Edwards officially signed with FC Bayern Munich of Basketball Bundesliga, the club announced. Edwards, the No. 33 overall pick in the 2019 draft, played two seasons with the Celtics. The Purdue product wound up making a stop in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars before briefly joining the Pistons at the end of the 2021/22 season, his most recent NBA team. Edwards holds NBA career averages of 3.7 points and 1.1 rebounds in 72 NBA games. He spent last season with Fenerbahce.
Former Pistons and Magic guard Jordan Bone officially signed with Vanoli Cremona of Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A, the club announced (hat tip to Sportando). Bone hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2020/21 season, when he appeared on a two-way contract with the Magic. Before that, he was on a two-way deal with the Pistons after being selected with the 57th pick in the 2019 draft. Bone holds career averages of 2.8 points and 1.1 assists per game at the NBA level but played more extensively in the G League, where he averaged 15.6 points and 5.8 assists.
Zalgiris Kaunas of the EuroLeague announced that it has retained former Magic, Knicks and Sixers wing Ignas Brazdeikis. Brazdeikis spent last season with the Lithuanian club, averaging 11.6 points and 2.9 rebounds. The Knicks acquired Brazdeikis’s draft rights after he was selected with the 47th pick in the 2019 NBA draft, and he spent two seasons there before making stops with the 76ers and Magic. Brazdeikis has 64 games of NBA experience and holds career averages of 5.0 points and 1.9 rebounds. The club also retained guard Keenan Evans, who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game but was briefly on a two-way contract with the Pistons in 2018.
Petr Cornelie, the No. 53 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, signed a three-year contract with AS Monaco Basket of the EuroLeague, according to a tweet from the club. Cornelie is fresh off winning the EuroLeague with Real Madrid last season, averaging 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds during the Spanish team’s run. Cornelie was drafted by the Nuggets in 2016 but didn’t come stateside until the 2021/22 season, when he signed a two-way contract with Denver. The French big man only played in 13 games with the Nuggets, averaging 1.1 points and 1.1 rebounds, but he played a much bigger role with Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, where he averaged 17.7 points and 12.8 rebounds.

Nuggets Re-Sign Reggie Jackson, DeAndre Jordan

July 21st, 2023 at 2:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 21: Jordan’s contract is also official, the Nuggets announced in a press release.

JULY 16: The Nuggets have officially re-signed Jackson to a multi-year contract, according to a team press release.

JUNE 30: The defending champion Nuggets are bringing back two of their free agent veterans.

Point guard Reggie Jackson is staying in Denver on a two-year, $10.25MM deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Jackson’s new contract will feature a second-year player option, Charania adds.

Center DeAndre Jordan has also reached an agreement to remain with the Nuggets, Chris Haynes of TNT and the Bleacher Report tweets.

Jackson, 33, has been in the league since 2011. He appeared in 16 regular-season games and six postseason contests for Denver after signing with the franchise as a free agent. He was bought out and waived by the Hornets after he was dealt by the Clippers at the trade deadline.

Jackson started 38 of 52 games for the Clippers prior to the trade. Denver has younger backcourt options off the bench behind Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, most notably Christian Braun and Peyton Watson, but Jackson won’t simply be an insurance policy.

The Nuggets, who lost Bruce Brown to the Pacers in free agency, are hopeful that Jackson can be more effective with a full offseason and training camp to adjust to their system and personnel, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. His salary could also come handy in a potential trade down the road, Wind adds.

Jordan didn’t play much for the Nuggets — 39 regular-season appearances and four playoff cameos — but he’s a highly-respected locker room and bench voice. He averaged 5.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in those regular-season games. He’ll be the third — or even fourth — option behind franchise player Nikola Jokic.

Kings Sign Nerlens Noel To One-Year Deal

July 21st, 2023 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 21: Noel’s new contract is official, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

JULY 18: The Kings and free agent center Nerlens Noel have agreed to a one-year contract, agent George Langberg tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski refers to it as a $3.1MM deal, which suggests it’s a minimum-salary agreement. The veteran’s minimum for a player with 10 years of NBA experience in 2023/24 is $3,196,448.

Noel, who has appeared in 467 career regular season games since being drafted sixth overall in 2013, didn’t play much in 2022/23. After being traded from New York to Detroit during the 2022 offseason, the 29-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Pistons, who bought him out at the end of February. He signed a 10-day contract with Brooklyn and played in three games for the Nets, but didn’t get a second 10-day and finished the season as a free agent.

Known as an athletic frontcourt defender who has the ability to generate turnovers and protect the rim, Noel enjoyed his best season in recent years in New York in 2020/21, when he averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in 24.2 minutes per night across 64 contests.

It’s unclear whether or not Noel’s new contract with Sacramento will be fully guaranteed, but he should be in position to claim an opening-night roster spot. Prior to their agreement with Noel, the Kings were carrying just 13 players on standard guaranteed contracts.

Although Alex Len re-signed with the Kings this offseason, Richaun Holmes and Chimezie Metu aren’t returning and Neemias Queta is still a free agent, so there could be rotation minutes available at center behind Domantas Sabonis.

Knicks Sign Nathan Knight To Two-Way Contract

July 21st, 2023 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 21: The signing is official, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).

JULY 19: The Knicks are signing free agent big man Nathan Knight to a two-way contract, according to Anil Gogna of NoTradeClause.com (Twitter link). A source confirmed to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link) that an agreement is in place.

Knight, who will turn 26 in September, spent the last two seasons in Minnesota after playing for the Hawks as a rookie in 2020/21. In 108 games across three seasons, he holds career averages of 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per night.

The Timberwolves had a minimum-salary team option on Knight for the 2023/24 season but turned it down and opted not to issue him a qualifying offer, so he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The 6’10” forward/center averaged a double-double (20.7 PPG, 10.5 RPG) at William & Mary during his final college season in 2019/20, but has yet to establish himself as a rotation player at the NBA level. This is his final season of two-way eligibility — his two-way deal will allow him to be active for up to 50 regular season games for the Knicks.

New York previously signed Jaylen Martin to a two-way contract, so Knight will fill the second of the team’s three two-way slots. The Knicks also issued two-way qualifying offers to Trevor Keels and Duane Washington, who are both still restricted free agents — with just one two-way spot still available, it appears that one of those two RFAs may not be in the club’s plans going forward after all.

Heat Notes: Lillard Trade, Cain, Peterson, Summer League

July 21st, 2023 at 1:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat are getting “frustrated” over the slow pace of trade talks with the Trail Blazers regarding Damian Lillard, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report said on the latest edition of the “This League Uncut” podcast (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). It’s been nearly three weeks since Lillard made his trade request and told Portland officials that he wants to play in Miami, but there’s been very little progress toward a deal.

“Portland is telling them to, ‘Bring us your best offer.’ Miami would like to know what does Portland want and Miami is not getting that answer,” Haynes said. “And so they feel like things could be moving on a little bit quicker if Portland would say exactly what it is they want. Because obviously, Miami doesn’t have all the assets that Portland would want in a return for a Damian Lillard trade. So they want to know, okay, what do we have to get out there? What other teams do we have to get involved to make this work? And so far, the communication is just not there.”

On the Heat Check podcast, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald expressed doubt that the Blazers are trying very hard to grant Lillard’s trade request, at least for now. Chiang said a source told him that Portland may be planning to hold onto Lillard for a while to see if he changes his mind about his future with the team.

That thought is echoed by Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who tweets that a team that contacted the Blazers about Lillard is skeptical that they actually want to move him. Jackson suggests that Portland’s goal may be to get Lillard into training camp, unless he makes the situation really uncomfortable for the rest of the summer.

There’s more from Miami:

Jamal Cain has a qualifying offer to return to the Heat on a two-way contract, but he’s hoping for a standard deal, whether it’s with Miami or another team, Chiang writes in a Herald story. The 24-year-old power forward appeared in 18 NBA games as a two-way player last season. Cain is a restricted free agent, so Miami can match any offer he receives, but the QO can’t be pulled because the deadline has already passed. Several teams have interest in Cain, according to Chiang.
Miami can’t sign players to Exhibit 10 deals until it has 14 players with standard contracts, but the team has received some verbal commitments, Chiang adds. One of them is from Drew Peterson, a 6’9″ shooting specialist from USC who played for the Heat’s Summer League team. Chiang suggests that Miami could take several weeks to sign any Exhibit 10 players while the front office waits to see if a Lillard trade materializes.
Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel examines Miami’s Summer League roster and looks at who did the most to help their future with the organization.

Month: November 2024