Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Woj’s Latest: Durant, Conley, Pacers, Draft Rumors

June 12th, 2019 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday night, we relayed a pair of rumors from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who said on the network’s televised mock draft special that the Lakers, Mavericks, and Knicks are among the teams interested in pursuing point guard Kemba Walker, but also cautioned that the Lakers aren’t considered frontrunners for any top free agents.

During ESPN’s draft special, Wojnarowski offered up several more tidbits worth passing along, so we’ll round them up in the space below (all links via Sagar Trika unless otherwise indicated):

Picking up his 2019/20 player option with the Warriors is probably a “last resort” for Kevin Durant, since he should still receive maximum-salary or near-max offers as a free agent, Wojnarowski said this morning on Get Up (video link via ESPN). We heard on Tuesday that Durant’s Achilles injury isn’t expected to deter suitors, even if it keeps him out for all of next season. Marc Berman of The New York Post confirmed today that the Knicks remain very interested in signing Durant.
Wojnarowski identifies the Jazz, Pacers, and Celtics as potential suitors for trade candidate Mike Conley (Twitter link). Of course, Boston would only make sense as a trade partner for the Grizzlies if Kyrie Irving leaves.
According to Wojnarowski, the Pacers are interested in bringing back Bojan Bogdanovic and would also like to re-sign Thaddeus Young, assuming the price is right (Twitter link).
The Hawks are a team to watch on draft night and may be a candidate to move up to No. 5, in Wojnarowski’s view (Twitter links). Woj expects GM Travis Schlenk to be creative and would be surprised if Atlanta ends up using both the No. 8 and No. 10 overall picks.
Even if the Suns and Bulls draft point guards with their first-round picks, they’d each likely try to sign a veteran in free agency, says Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The Thunder are in “absolute win-now mode,” and Wojnarowski believes they’ll be aggressive with the No. 21 pick in trade talks (Twitter link).

Kyler’s Latest: Celtics, Capela, Kyrie, Sixers, More

June 11th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After reporting earlier this week that the Celtics had “engaged pretty seriously” on Rockets center Clint Capela, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders has provided a few more details today. Sources tell Kyler that Boston has “expressed considerable interest” in Capela. However, he may be more of a Plan B or C for the Celtics, particularly if they’re still serious about pursuing Anthony Davis.

As Kyler details, league sources are skeptical that the Celtics will keep and use all three of their first-round picks (Nos. 14, 20, and 22). Meanwhile, Houston has been trying to get first-round prospects in for workouts despite not currently holding any draft picks — Kyler writes that the Rockets have been suggesting to agents that they have the ability to acquire a pick in the top 20.

It’s possible that the Celtics could trade one of their first-rounders to another team, and the Rockets are likely exploring deals with clubs outside of Boston. Still, it’s worth watching to see if those two teams end up getting something done on or before draft night.

Here’s more from Kyler:

Although Kyler, like others, has heard that the Celtics are operating as if Kyrie Irving probably won’t return, he writes that the club is prepared to offer Irving a maximum-salary deal to see if he’ll turn it down.
There’s a sense that Philadelphia will make full maximum-salary offers to Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, per Kyler. The Sixers are making sure that their players and other teams know they’re serious about keeping their core intact, according to Kyler, who adds that there’s a belief that Butler and Harris would re-sign if the team does put those offers on the table.
Kyler says that the Cavaliers, Suns, Hawks, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Heat, and Celtics are all viewed as candidates to trade top-20 picks in the draft, either for veteran players or to move up or down in the draft.

Hawks Waive Power Forward Deyonta Davis

June 10th, 2019 at 4:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks have waived power forward Deyonta Davis, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.

Davis had a non-guaranteed salary of $1,645,357 for next season. He would have received a partial guarantee if he remained on the roster through July. Letting him go early gives Davis a better chance to hook onto another team, rather than keeping him on the roster after most free agents around the league had already signed.

Davis signed a multi-year contract with Atlanta late in the season after a pair of 10-day stints.

The 31st overall pick in the 2016 draft, Davis spent his first two NBA seasons with the Grizzlies before playing primarily for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League this season.

Davis appeared in nine games with the Hawks, averaging 4.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 13.1 minutes per contest.

Hawks Conducting Several Pre-Draft Workouts

June 10th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With six of the top 44 picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Hawks have been understandably busy when it comes to bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. While Atlanta is unlikely to keep all six of its selections, the club is doing its due diligence on players who might be available at each spot — or as undrafted free agents.

On Sunday, the Hawks worked out Darius Bazley (Princeton HS), Robert Franks (Washington State), Matur Maker (Zlatorog Lasko), William McDowell-White (Baunach), Miye Oni (Yale), and Trayvon Reed (Texas Southern), according to the team.

The Hawks conducted another workout on Monday, bringing in Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Brian Bowen (Sydney), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), Jordan Poole (Michigan), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) in for a look.

On Tuesday, the Hawks will host yet another workout, with Charlie Brown Jr. (St. Joe’s), Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Nassir Little (UNC), KZ Okpala (Stanford), and Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) set to participate.

Draft Updates: Matthews, Bol, Porter, Withdrawals

June 10th, 2019 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Michigan guard Charles Matthews suffered some bad luck with the 2019 NBA draft right around the corner, as agent Adam Pensack tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com that his client has a torn ACL. The injury occurred during a workout with the Celtics, Givony adds.

Matthews, who had been ranked as the No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s big board and was receiving second-round interest, will head to his hometown of Chicago to undergo surgery to repair the ACL. He hasn’t given up hope of being selected in next week’s draft.

“Injuries are tough, but Charles is an extremely hard worker and will be back stronger than ever,” Pensack told Givony. “He had a series of outstanding workouts lately and has helped himself. Charles will continue that momentum when he returns to action. As of now, we have interest in the second round as Charles is OK signing a two-way contract like Edmond Sumner did with the Indiana Pacers in 2017.”

Let’s round up a few more draft-related items…

Bol Bol, who is recovering from a foot fracture, will hold an invite-only workout for select teams on Wednesday, according to Jeremy Woo and Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Bol is one of the biggest wild cards in the draft for health-related reasons, so Wednesday’s session could have a major impact on where he’s selected.
Kevin Porter Jr., a probable first-round pick, has worked out for the Nets, Spurs, and Hornets, and has sessions lined up with the Magic and Hawks, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Porter’s previously-reported upcoming workouts with the Heat and Wizards will take place on June 13 and June 17, respectively (Twitter links via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald and Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).
With Monday’s withdrawal deadline looming, several international early entrants are pulling their names out of the 2019 draft pool. According to reports from Givony and Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas (all four Twitter links), the following players are withdrawing: Nikita Mikhailovskii (Russia), Arturs Zagars (Latvia), Henri Drell (France), Tadas Sedekerskis (Lithuania), Gytis Masiulis (Lithuania), and Arnas Velicka (Lithuania).
Lithuanian early entrants Deividas Sirvydis and Matas Jogela intend to remain in the draft pool, sources tell Urbonas (Twitter link). According to Givony (all Twitter links), Sekou Doumbouya (France), Goga Bitadze (Georgia), Luka Samanic (Croatia), Adam Mokoka (France), and Marcos Louzada Silva (Brazil) will also stay in the draft.

Charles Matthews, Five Other Prospects Visit

June 8th, 2019 at 11:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks worked out six prospects on Friday, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The group included guards Jalek Felton (BC Nokia), Joshua Obiesie (Oliver Wurzburg) and Charles Matthews (Michigan), forwards Daulton Hommes (Point Loma) and Nikola Miskovic (Mega Bemax) and center Sagaba Konate (West Virginia).

Latest On Nets, Kyrie Irving

June 7th, 2019 at 9:13am CST by Arthur Hill

The trade that will send Allen Crabbe‘s salary to the Hawks is the first step in the Nets‘ “dream scenario” of signing both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant this summer, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Woj cites “strong mutual interest” between Irving and the Nets, who will have $46MM in cap space once the trade becomes official in early July and can nearly put themselves in position to sign both players by renouncing D’Angelo Russell‘s cap hold.

The Knicks are also interested in an Irving-Durant pairing, but Irving now seems more intrigued about the possibility of playing in Brooklyn, Wojnarowski adds. He states that the Nets haven’t ruled out the idea of signing just one free agent and keeping Russell if Plan A doesn’t work out.

There’s more this morning on Irving and the Nets:

Other teams with interest in signing Irving are now operating as though Brooklyn is the favorite to land him, according to Ian Begley of SNY.TV. An anonymous GM told Begley it’s unlikely that a team would give up two first-round picks without a solid reason to expect that it was signing at least one top-level free agent. “(Brooklyn GM) Sean (Marks) is going for it. The Nets are all in,” the GM said after the trade was announced. Brooklyn is sending the 17th pick in this year’s draft plus a lottery-protected first-rounder in 2020 to Atlanta. Sources tell Begley that the chances of Irving returning to Boston are now “low.” Those close to the All-Star point guard continue to insist that he hasn’t ruled out any potential destination.
The upcoming fight for free agents has finally ignited the Knicks-Nets rivalry, notes Mike Vorkunov of The Atheltic. Both will be in position to offer two max salaries, and the consequences if either team doesn’t hit the jackpot could be felt for years. It’s also more than a two-team race, as the Clippers can also open up a second max slot, the Lakers still have LeBron James to offer and the Mavericks have a promising core built around Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe explains the protections on the 2020 first-round pick the Nets are sending to the Hawks in the Crabbe deal (Twitter link). It will remain lottery protected for three years, then will convert to a pair of second-rounders.

More Names Revealed For Team USA World Cup Tryouts

June 5th, 2019 at 5:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA’s training camp roster for the FIBA World Cup will be announced next week, but four players have already been confirmed, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Anthony Davis, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Kemba Walker will definitely be part of the team, while the other 14 slots are still being worked out. The roster will be trimmed to 12 when the players gather in Las Vegas in early August to prepare for the tournament, which takes place from August 31 to September 15 in China.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski drops a few more names in a full story on the World Cup tryouts, which sources tell him are also expected to include Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Bradley Beal and Kevin Love. Others planning to be part of the camp include Eric Gordon, Jayson Tatum, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Drummond and Kyle Kuzma.

P.J. Tucker will attend training camp as well, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, and league sources tell Woj that Paul Millsap also plans to be there. Other names leaked for the camp are Tobias Harris (Twitter link from Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer) and Myles Turner (Twitter link from Scott Agness of the Athletic).

Zion Williamson, expected to be the first pick in the draft later this month, has been invited to camp as part of the 10-man select team that will scrimmage against the 18-man roster, Stein tweets. Williamson will be given a chance to play his way onto the final roster if he has a standout performance in that role, according to USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo (Twitter link).

The select team will also include John Collins and Marvin Bagley, tweets Tim Bomtemps of ESPN.

The camp will be held from August 5-8, with exhibition games to follow before the start of World Cup play. Gregg Popovich will serve as head coach.

Hawks May Accommodate Salary Dumps, Have Interest In Re-Signing Dedmon

June 4th, 2019 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks may once again be among the teams willing to accommodate salary dumps, according to Charania. Atlanta has acquired first-round picks in each of the past two offseasons by taking on Jamal Crawford‘s and Carmelo Anthony‘s unwanted contracts.
The Hawks also have interest in re-signing center Dewayne Dedmon, per Charania, who suggests that a one-year “balloon” deal or a short-term contract similar to Dedmon’s previous pact (two years, $14MM) would appeal to Atlanta.

[SOURCE LINK]

Draft Rumors: Lakers, Suns, Cavs, Hawks, Health

June 4th, 2019 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

League executives are bracing for the 2019 NBA draft to feature more traded picks than usual, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link). As Givony details, the Lakers (No. 4) and Suns (No. 6) are active in trade discussions and would be willing to part with their first-round picks for the right established veteran(s).

The Cavaliers have also been mentioned by Givony’s sources as a team that has been active in trade talks involving picks in both rounds. Currently, Cleveland only holds the fifth and 26th overall selections, so the team may be looking to trade into the second round.

Additionally, multiple agents representing potential lottery-caliber players tell Givony they’ve talked to teams who say they have the ability to trade for the No. 10 overall pick, held by the Hawks. That’s a signal that Atlanta has been willing to discuss that selection in trade conversations.

Here’s more draft-related buzz from Givony:

Given the lack of consensus on many prospects outside of the top three, this year’s draft figures to be unpredictable even if there aren’t a ton of trades, Givony writes. Health is also a factor that could contribute to draft uncertainty — as Givony explains, prospects like Ja Morant, Cam Reddish, Romeo Langford, Bol Bol, and PJ Washington are currently injured and unable to work out for teams, while a number of healthy players have been unwilling to submit to physicals, with their agents apparently trying to steer them to specific destinations.
NBA teams are becoming frustrated by the increasing gaps in prospects’ medical information, according to Givony, who hears from a source that approximately 25 players at the combine didn’t fully complete the league-issued medical exam. Per Givony, a group of NBA owners have asked commissioner Adam Silver not to lower the age limit for the draft without getting concessions related to medical exams. “This is pretty easy for the NBA to clean up,” one owner said. “Because your physical health is germane to the job, the NBA can just require it in a future CBA.”
International early entrants have six more days to decide whether to remain in the draft or pull out, as the NBA’s official withdrawal deadline falls on June 10. Many of those prospects are in the United States to participate in private workouts for teams in the hopes of receiving assurances that they’ll be drafted, says Givony. Although 59 international early entrants declared for the draft, most of those players figure to withdraw in the coming days.