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Latest On Russell Westbrook

July 7th, 2019 at 10:38am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat and Pistons are expected to be the top contenders to land Russell Westbrook if the Thunder decide to trade him, according to Sam Amick and Brett Dawson of The Athletic.

Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti will meet this week with Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, to plot out the future for the former MVP. All three were blindsided by Paul George‘s trade request, which was the result of Kawhi Leonard‘s successful lobbying effort to join him on the Clippers.

The Thunder are motivated to move Westbrook, not only because he’s the lone star left in OKC and will make $171MM over the next four years, but also because he plays the same position as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the centerpiece of their return in the George deal.

Miami would like to pair Westbrook with Jimmy Butler and could offer a package built around Goran Dragic, who has one year left on his contract at $19.2MM, and Dion Waiters, who is owed a combined $24.7MM over the next two seasons. Detroit’s offer might include Andre Drummond ($27MM in 2019/20 with a $28.75MM player option the following season), Reggie Jackson (one year left at $18MM) and Tony Snell ($11.39MM next season followed by a $12.18MM player option).

Some executives believe the Rockets could get involved as well, given GM Daryl Morey’s penchant for star chasing. However, pairing Westbrook with James Harden and Chris Paul, two other guards who like to control the ball, may prove awkward, and matching salary wouldn’t be easy. Houston would almost certainly have to part with Clint Capela ($14.9MM next season), Eric Gordon ($14MM), and P.J. Tucker ($8.35MM) in any deal if Paul isn’t included.

Sources with knowledge of Houston’s thinking confirmed to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com that the Rockets have interest in Westbrook. However, one team source described a potential deal as a “long shot,” says MacMahon.

There’s more today on the Westbrook front:

  • The Knicks have been mentioned as a possible suitor for Westbrook, but will have to wait until December to make a move, notes Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York no longer has the cap room to absorb Westbrook’s $37.5MM salary for next season after reaching deals with six free agents, and those new players can’t be traded before December 15. If the opportunity is still there, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington and Taj Gibson will all have expiring contracts that could interest the Thunder as they try to reduce a league-high tax bill. The Knicks can also offer the 2021 and 2023 first-rounders they acquired from Dallas in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, Berman adds.
  • Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated mentions the Timberwolves, Celtics and Magic as other possibilities. A swap with Minnesota would be easy if OKC would accept Andrew Wiggins in return, he states, while the Celtics could offer Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown or wait a year and trade newly acquired Kemba Walker. Orlando has been seeking a point guard for years and has a lot of wings and big men to offer.
  • The Bulls, Mavericks, Nuggets, Bucks, Spurs and Raptors all have the assets to get involved as well, according to Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com.
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Hornets Acquire Terry Rozier Via Sign-And-Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 8:58pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: The trade is official, the Hornets announced in a press release. In addition to swapping Walker for Rozier, Charlotte has received a protected 2020 second-round pick and sent a 2020 second-rounder to Boston. The pick going to the Celtics is coming from the Knicks or Nets through the Magic, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “We’re excited to be able to acquire Terry in this sign-and-trade deal,” Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak said. “He is an up-and-coming player who has shown continued improvement in his four NBA seasons, and we believe he can take that next step as a starting point guard in this league.”

JUNE 30: The Hornets are on track to acquire Celtics RFA point guard Terry Rozier via a sign-and-trade deal, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Charania, Rozier will get a three-year, $58MM deal, and it will be fully guaranteed (Twitter link).

Rozier will replace longtime Hornets point guard Kemba Walker in Charlotte’s backcourt, with Walker reportedly set to join the Celtics. The Hornets entered the offseason projected to be an over-the-cap team with no room available to make a bid for Rozier, so working out a sign-and-trade with Boston involving Kemba will allow them to add a quality replacement at the point.

Rozier, 25, had a down year in 2018/19 as he struggled with an inconsistent role coming off the bench behind Irving. However, he flashed serious upside down the stretch in 2017/18, averaging 16.5 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 5.3 RPG in 19 playoff games that spring. The Hornets will be counting on him to recapture that form in Charlotte.

As cap expert Albert Nahmad details (via Twitter), the Hornets, Celtics, and Nets may complete a three-way deal involving a handful of signed-and-traded players, with Kyrie Irving headed to Brooklyn. While such a deal could theoretically work financially, the Nets would need to be incentivized to cooperate and help out two conference rivals.

The Hornets will become hard-capped as a result of acquiring Rozier via a sign-and-trade, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Celtics would also face a hard cap if they land Walker via sign-and-trade. Both teams would be prohibited from spending beyond the $138,928,000 tax apron during the 2019/20 league year.

If they can acquire Walker without using cap room and remain an over-the-cap team, the Celtics could retain Al Horford‘s Bird rights and could technically bring him back. Chris Mannix of SI.com and Keith Smith of RealGM suggest (via Twitter) that Boston is aggressively exploring avenues to make that work, but Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) hears from a source close to Horford that he’s still unlikely to return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Kemba Walker Signs Four-Year Deal With Celtics

July 6th, 2019 at 8:18pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Walker’s new deal with the Celtics is official, according to a tweet from the team. Walker was among the first free agents to commit to his new team when free agency began last Sunday.

JUNE 30, 5:24pm: Walker and the Celtics are formally in agreement on a four-year max deal, tweets Wojnarowski. As we detailed in our story of the Hornets’ agreement with Rozier, Boston is working on adding Kemba via sign-and-trade.

JUNE 30, 2:14pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that while talks remain exploratory in nature, the Celtics have shown interest in a three-team sign-and-trade with Irving, Walker, and Rozier (to the Hornets). Per Woj, the Celtics are interested in having the MLE at their disposal as opposed to the room exception. Woj also adds that the Nets would likely command a first-round pick from Boston for agreeing to a S&T.

JUNE 29, 3:39pm: Free agent point guard Kemba Walker has conveyed to the Hornets that he intends to sign with the Celtics when the NBA’s new league year begins, multiple sources tell Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Boston has been viewed as Walker’s likely landing spot in recent days, having emerged as the frontrunner for the All-NBA point guard earlier in the week.

Kemba intends to sign a four-year, maximum-salary contract (worth a projected $141MM), tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. He’ll be in Boston on Sunday night to finalize an agreement with the C’s, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

A three-time All-Star, Walker had perhaps the best year of his NBA carer in 2018/19, establishing a new career-high in PPG (25.6) while also contributing 5.9 APG and 4.4 RPG with a shooting line of .434/.356/.844.

Despite receiving little offensive help in Charlotte, Walker managed to keep the team in the playoff hunt for most of the season, though the Hornets ultimately fell short and finished in the lottery. If Walker had returned to Charlotte, the team would have been up against the luxury tax and would have had a hard time improving its roster around him, so the former UConn star will move on to a potential contender despite the fact that the Hornets could have offered him more money over more years.

Walker will join a Celtics roster that is set to feature Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart, so it will be fascinating to see what he can do in Boston without receiving quite as much attention from opposing defenses. The opportunity to play alongside those Celtics veterans and potentially go deep in the playoffs was a key factor in Walker’s decision, a source tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).

The C’s are expecting to lose Al Horford and, of course, Kyrie Irving, who has been rumored to be focused on Brooklyn. With Walker heading to Boston to replace Irving, the Hornets are scouring the free agent market for possible point guard targets of their own, according to Wojnarowski, who tweets that Elfrid Payton, T.J. McConnell, Ish Smith, and Emmanuel Mudiay are among the options being considered by Charlotte.

Terry Rozier‘s name has also been linked to the Hornets, though it’s unlikely that he’d be a viable option unless Charlotte and Boston can work out some sort of sign-and-trade arrangement, which is a long shot. By withdrawing Rozier’s qualifying offer and renouncing his cap hold, the Celtics will have enough room to sign Walker outright to a max deal, even with Daniel Theis‘ QO still on their books.

In addition to Boston and Charlotte, the Mavericks and Knicks had also been considered potential contenders for Walker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Celtics Trade Aron Baynes, Ty Jerome To Suns For 2020 First-Rounder

July 6th, 2019 at 1:32pm CST by clarkcrum

JULY 6: The trade between the Celtics and Suns is now official, Boston announced today (via Twitter).

JUNE 20: The Celtics, who obtained the No. 24 selection from the Sixers earlier tonight, have agreed to trade the pick to the Suns, who have drafted Virginia point guard Ty Jerome (per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN). The Celtics also included big man Aron Baynes in the deal, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Boston received a future draft pick from Phoenix in exchange for the rights to draft Jerome, and both Woj and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (link) report that the Suns are sending the Celtics the Bucks’ 2020 first-round pick. All told, the Suns will obtain both Baynes and Jerome, while the Celtics, who were said to be looking to move on from Baynes, pick up a first-rounder in next year’s draft.

The Bucks, of course, are expected to be one of the better teams in the league next season, so Boston’s selection will likely fall near the end of the first round, but they were evidently willing to wait a year for the first-round pick in order to move Baynes.

ESPN’s cap guru Bobby Marks notes that Phoenix is now down to a projected $14MM in cap space after accounting for Baynes’ salary and the cap hold for Jerome, which will surely curtail the level of free agent point guard Phoenix will be able to pursue on the free agent market this summer.

As for the Celtics, salary cap expert Albert Nahmad (link) notes that by trading Baynes and both the No. 20 and No. 24 picks away, Boston now has the ability to increase its cap room to $34.8MM, if Terry Rozier‘s cap hold is renounced (h/t to Marks).

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Community Shootaround: Team-Friendly Free Agent Deals

July 4th, 2019 at 6:39pm CST by Austin Kent

It’s the fourth full day of NBA free agency and we’ve finally topped the 100 transaction mark so far this offseason. That means now is as good a time to pore through the deals that have been reported thus far and start analyzing which ones we think may prove to be the biggest bargains.

For a complete list of all the transactions I’m talking about, check out the Hoops Rumors 2019 Free Agent Tracker.

Below are a few of the bargain deals that stand out to me. I encourage you to pore through the complete list on your own and get back to us with the contracts that you think will most favor the NBA teams that inked them.

Young Bigs That Minnesota Bought Low On

MIN – Jordan Bell (1 year, $1.6MM)

MIN – Noah Vonleh (1 year, $2.0MM)

It’s safe to say that there’s a reason Bell didn’t step into significant minutes with the Warriors at any point over the course of the past few seasons. Perhaps he didn’t see eye-to-eye with the coaching staff. In any event, the Wolves will now give the 24-year-old a fresh start in a low pressure environment and perhaps the stark contrast between sunny, 60-win seasons in California and dreary, Minnesota winter slogs to the 35-win plateau will serve as a wake-up call for the talented center.

Vonleh may not have worn out his welcome with any of the teams that he’s played for, but that could be because he hasn’t stuck around long enough with any of them to do it. Vonleh had the dubious distinction of being a raw talent coming out of the draft. That, coupled with his low draft age led to high expectations. Well, we’re four years into Vonleh’s career now and while he hasn’t evolved into much more than a high energy rebound guy, he’s a pretty darn good one. Vonleh has played for four teams in five seasons and is still only 23-years-old.

Guys Who Fill The Stat Sheet When The Stars Align

WAS – Thomas Bryant (3 years, $25MM)

SAC – Richaun Holmes (2 years, $9.8MM)

Bryant didn’t end up sticking with the Lakers team that drafted him but caught on in an infinitely better environment. The 21-year-old’s low-post potential has been evident since his days as a Hoosier but he’s the type of prospect that a team would have to be in an awfully grim position to fully audition in live game action. Enter, the Washington Wizards. The Wiz were so shallow at the five last year that Bryant got the call and immediately developed chemistry with club star Bradley Beal. Don’t get me wrong, I know the NBA isn’t trending in Bryant’s favor, but he averaged 19.9 points and 11.2 rebounds in games where he saw north of 30 minutes and he showed up for the team in crunch time. The fact that Washington will lock him down with an average annual value of $8.3MM is a win. He doesn’t even have to keep the starting spot to outperform that.

The Sacramento Kings suddenly have one of the league’s most interesting frontcourts. That’s mostly due to the two sophomores they’ll return in 2019/20, but also because of the addition of chronically underrated center Dewayne Dedmon and the mysterious, springy 25-year-old Holmes, whom they just poached from the Phoenix Suns. Sacramento’s bigs may not be the best in the league, but if Holmes’ is the fourth-best on the roster, then that’s some solid depth. Holmes will make less than $5MM this year to, for the first time in his career, show what he’s capable of on a team that isn’t just spinning its tires. #ThingsYouNeverThoughtYouWouldSayAboutTheKings

Former All-Stars That Maybe, Just Maybe, Have More In The Tank

DET – Derrick Rose (2 years, $15MM)

WAS – Isaiah Thomas (1 year, $2.3MM)

Rose enjoyed an almost inconceivable comeback season in 2018/19, highlighted by a 54-point performance that will go down as one of the most memorable moments of his already dramatic career. Rose’s ridiculous early season production petered off slightly when the Wolves introduced new head coach Ryan Saunders and his fancy rational rotations but we saw enough throughout the year to know that the former MVP was capable of actually contributing at an elite level again. Rose was thrown into the deep end after six seasons of uncertainty and/or chaos. He’ll provide a badly needed offensive punch for a Detroit Pistons team that isn’t afraid to go all out for a semblance of respectability.

Thomas is two years removed from an All-NBA Second Team performance. While we all should have known that 2017/18 was going to be a wash once details of his hip injury came to light, he didn’t have much more of a chance to prove himself in 2018/19 either. The Nuggets saw years of careful drafting and asset accumulation finally start to pay off last year and rode that to their best finished in a decade, there was no room for trotting out Thomas and hoping for the best. Perhaps IT can benefit from a comeback season on the Wizards like Rose enjoyed in 2018/19. The fact that we’re even considering that as a possibility makes his one-year minimum a bargain.

One-Dimensional Bigs That Earned The Room Exception

UTA – Ed Davis (2 years, $9.8MM)

BOS – Enes Kanter (2 years, $9.8MM)

Despite the ancient proverb that board men get paid, that wasn’t the case for Davis, an all around positive force on a 2018/19 Brooklyn Nets team that cleared house to bring in a pair of superstar free agents this week. Davis was reluctantly abandoned by the Trail Blazers last summer too, and will now ply his trade for yet another franchise that’s serious about being taken seriously. Davis just needs 20 minutes of action to pull down 10-12 rebounds a night. He’ll settle in just fine on a Utah Jazz squad that’s betting big on depth.

I am convinced that Kanter was overrated for so long that he became underrated. While anything Kanter does on the offensive end will ultimately be judged by his performance on the other side of the ball, that doesn’t mean he can’t still be utilized effectively on a winning ball club. Kanter averaged 11.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for the Blazers in the 2019 postseason. They made it to the Western Conference Finals. Complemented by returning big man Daniel Theis, whose expertise skews toward defense, and you’ve got a very interesting, very affordable committee at the five.

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Eastern Notes: Lawson, Bulls, Collison, Sirvydis, Magic

July 4th, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics announced three additions to their coaching staff today, including the official hiring of Kara Lawson as their first-ever female assistant. A 13-year WNBA veteran and Olympic gold medal winner, she spent the past two seasons as the primary television analyst for the Wizards and covered games for ESPN Radio.

“This was a good fit,” Lawson said to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be challenged, I wanted to go somewhere where I’d be allowed to coach, and I wanted to go to an organization that was going to be playing in big games to be able to get a sense of that last frontier of coaching, which is being able to do it in pressure situations in the regular season and the playoffs.”

Also added to coach Brad Stevens’ staff were Brandon Bailey, who served as coach of the Celtics’ G League affiliate in Maine the past two seasons, and Joe Mazzulla, a former assistant with the Red Claws.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • It got lost in the shuffle of this week’s free agency frenzy, but according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), there was a belief in league circles that the Bulls were the frontrunners to sign Darren Collison before the free agent point guard unexpectedly announced his retirement.
  • The Bulls have added two new assistants to head coach Jim Boylen’s staff, according to a press release from the team. Chris Fleming announced in May that he was leaving the Nets to come to Chicago, and Roy Rogers, who recently parted ways with the Rockets, officially joined the team Wednesday. In addition, Karen Stack has been elevated to assistant coach, Paul Miller was named assistant to the head coach and former intern Chris Kent is the new video coordinator.
  • Deividas Sirvydis, who was selected by the Pistons with the 37th pick in the draft, will likely spend the upcoming season in Europe, tweets international basketball writer Donatas Urbonas. Rytas Vilnius GM Rolandas Jarutis expects to have the 6’8″ shooting guard back next season unless he has an outstanding performance with Detroit’s Summer League team. Sirvydis, 19, was MVP of the EuroLeague Basketball Next Generation Tournament in 2018.
  • The Magic have probably given up on Fran Vazquez ever coming to the NBA, but there was news this week on their 2005 draft pick, whose draft rights they still retain, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The 36-year-old re-signed with his Zaragoza team in Spain, so his cap hold will be removed from Orlando’s books for another season.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Celtics Aren't Done Making Moves

July 1st, 2019 at 9:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Celtics have reached agreements with free agents Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter but they’re far from done, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The Celtics are still looking at a number of free agents and potential sign-and-trades that could free up money to get another impact player, Bulpett continues. Interior defense is the biggest area of need, he adds.
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Free Agency Rumors: Mavs, Rockets, Bulls, Wolves, C’s

July 1st, 2019 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

It was a quiet first day of free agency for the Mavericks, but the team still has some irons in the fire and plenty of cap flexibility to work with.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets that he believes the Mavericks are “in the driver’s seat” with Danny Green, though he cautions that could change if Kawhi Leonard decides to stay in Toronto — Green could join him in that scenario.

Besides Green, Townsend identifies Kevon Looney, DeMarcus Cousins, Willie Cauley-Stein, Seth Curry, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as some potential free agent targets to watch for the Mavericks.

Let’s round up a few more notes and rumors related to free agency…

  • The Rockets will be among the teams with interest in Andre Iguodala if the Grizzlies elect to buy out the veteran swingman, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Iguodala is being sent to Memphis from Golden State in a cap-clearing move.
  • Having used their cap room to land Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky, the Bulls will be in the market for a shooter or another big man with some or all of their room exception ($4.8MM), tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
  • The Timberwolves missed out on top free agent target D’Angelo Russell, but did speak to their own RFA point guard Tyus Jones on Sunday, sources tell Jon Krawcznyski of The Athletic, who speculates that a Jones reunion may be more likely with D-Lo off the table.
  • In the wake of their sign-and-trade agreement for Kemba Walker, the Celtics are still working to determine which mid-level exception they’ll have at their disposal, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
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Free Agent Rumors: Middleton, Butler, Kanter, Temple

June 30th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the quietness surrounding the free agency destination of Bucks’ All-Star forward Khris Middleton is because interested front offices are universally presuming that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee on a “monster” five-year deal.

Middleton, 27, is eligible to sign a five-year, $189.904MM maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, while rival suitors can only (relatively speaking, of course) offer up to $140.791MM over four years.

Echoing Stein’s sentiment from rival front offices, Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box reports that Middleton is expected to re-sign with Milwaukee, adding that Brook Lopez and George Hill are also considered good bets to return.

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Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Broekhoff, Bradley, G. Green

June 29th, 2019 at 10:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks’ first two moves when free agency begins tomorrow will involve Tobias Harris and Kristaps Porzingis, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. A source tells Townsend the Mavs will make an offer to Harris that’s below the maximum, and they expect the Sixers to top it with a full, five-year max deal. They plan to make their own max offer to Porzingis, a restricted free agent, paying him $158MM over five seasons. That signing won’t be finalized until all the other moves are in place, allowing the team to take advantage of its $30.3MM in cap room.

Thirteen of Dallas’ top 15 free agent targets remain on the board after a day that featured several reported deals, Townsend adds. The only ones crossed off the list are Kemba Walker, who will join the Celtics, and Nikola Mirotic, who has committed to play in Spain. Walker was the Mavericks’ primary target, according to Townsend, and Harris was secondary, while the rest are divided into various “two- and three-player contingencies.”

There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:

  • Ryan Broekhoff‘s $1.4MM contract is fully guaranteed for next season after the Mavericks let today’s deadline pass without taking any action, Townsend tweets. The 28-year-old shooting guard signed with Dallas last summer and appeared in 42 games as a rookie.
  • Grizzlies guard Avery Bradley has agreed to extend the guarantee date on his contract from July 3 to July 8, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic. The move gives Bradley greater flexibility after the moratorium lifts, notes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian, who adds that there was no financial compensation for the change (Twitter link).
  • There’s a strong possibility that veteran forward Gerald Green will return to the Rockets for another season, according to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (Twitter link). A Houston native, Green signed with the organization midway through the 2017/18 season, then played this year on a veteran’s minimum contract.
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