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NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Northwest Division

November 8th, 2018 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2018/19 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

Entering the 2018/19 season, all five Northwest teams were projected to finish above .500. That scenario would create a dearth of sellers in the division, but that doesn’t mean there are no trade candidates to be found. In fact, the NBA’s most notable current trade candidate, one who has dominated headlines since mid-September, plays in the Northwest.

Here’s our early-season look at a few possible trade candidates from the Northwest…

Jimmy Butler, G/F
Minnesota Timberwolves
$20.45MM cap hit; $19.84MM player option for 2019/20

Since Butler’s trade request went public on September 19, our archive of Butler-related rumors and news items features a staggering 74 additional stories.

The saga has taken a number of twists and turns along the way, and we don’t need to belabor it in this space. Suffice it to say, Butler is very much available and at this point, it seems like just a matter of when – not if – the Timberwolves will move him.

While the Wolves could drag out the process to the trade deadline, Michael Rand of The Star Tribune offers five reasons why it would make sense for Minnesota to find a deal right now. When the club gets serious about moving its All-NBA swingman, the Heat, Rockets, Sixers, and Clippers are among the likeliest trade partners, though a dark horse suitor could always emerge.

Derrick Favors, F/C
Utah Jazz
$16.9MM cap hit; non-guaranteed $16.9MM salary for 2019/20

The Jazz have insisted for years that the Favors/Rudy Gobert frontcourt pairing can work, and at times it has. But Favors is a better fit at center than power forward, and Utah is a better team with a smaller power forward alongside Gobert — so far this season, the four-man duo of Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, and Joe Ingles has a +18.6 net rating with Jae Crowder filling out the lineup, compared to a -7.5 rating with Favors in that last spot.

Sean Deveney of The Sporting News recently wrote that few people around the NBA expects Favors to remain in Utah in 2019/20, when his $16.9MM salary is non-guaranteed. Deveney suggested that if the Jazz could move Favors for a more versatile forward, an in-season trade would be a possibility.

It won’t be easy to find a forward who would improve the Jazz and whose 2018/19 salary is similar to Favors’, without any guaranteed 2019/20 money. DeMarre Carroll, who has a $15.4MM expiring deal, could be one option, but the Nets wouldn’t have much need for Favors.

Malik Beasley, G/F
Denver Nuggets
$1.77MM cap hit; guaranteed $2.73MM salary for 2019/20

Beasley hasn’t been the subject of any trade rumors this season and there’s no indication that Denver wants to move him, so this is merely speculation on my part. However, if and when Will Barton and Isaiah Thomas get healthy, there likely won’t be enough minutes to go around in the backcourt and on the wing for the Nuggets, so someone like Beasley or Torrey Craig could be the odd man out.

If the Nuggets, who currently rank 28th in the NBA in three-point percentage, go shopping for outside shooting help at the deadline, they have three sizeable trade exceptions they could use to acquire a player without sending out any salary, but they’re only about $7.5MM shy of the luxury tax threshold. In certain trade scenarios, they might want to move a small salary like Beasley’s or Craig’s in order to avoid the tax.

Here’s one hypothetical scenario involving a popular trade candidate: If the Nuggets were to send a draft pick to Cleveland for Kyle Korver, they could use one of their trade exceptions to land him, but his $7.56MM salary would nudge the team slightly over the tax line. Attaching Beasley or Craig to that draft pick would improve the package for the Cavs and allow Denver to stay under the tax.

Previously:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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FAs Signed Now Can’t Be Traded Before Deadline

November 8th, 2018 at 8:44am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prevents a team from signing a player and then turning around and trading him shortly thereafter. If a club signs a free agent, without having reached an agreement on a sign-and-trade deal, then that club isn’t permitted to trade that player until December 15 or for three months after his signing, whichever is later.

Since most top free agents finalize new contracts in July, that December 15 date applies to many recent signees around the NBA. Several others can’t be traded until January 15, since they met certain criteria when they signed their new deals. And a few more, who signed after September 15, have unique dates when they’ll become trade-eligible, since the three-month anniversaries of their signings will fall after December 15.

Now that the calendar has turned to November 8, we can add a new category to that list of players with trade restrictions. Because this season’s trade deadline falls on February 7, any free agent who signs with a team between now and February 7 won’t be eligible to be dealt this season. If a player were to sign a contract today, the three-month anniversary of his signing would fall on February 8, the day after the trade deadline.

This restriction won’t impact a lot of players — many of the free agents signed between now and the trade deadline will get non-guaranteed contracts or 10-day deals, and wouldn’t be trade candidates anyway. Plus, different rules apply to players who sign two-way contracts, as their trade restrictions lift after just 30 days.

Still, last season, a number of veterans signed contracts during the three-month period before the trade deadline and made an impact on their respective teams, including Gerald Green (Rockets), Isaiah Canaan (Suns), and Emeka Okafor (Pelicans). Those players were ineligible to be flipped in trades before last season’s deadline, and the same restriction will be placed on any player who makes a similar impact after being signed during the next three months.

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Community Shootaround: Zion Williamson

November 7th, 2018 at 7:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

R.J. Barrett set the Duke record for most points by a freshman in his debut game last night, but on social media all the talk has been focused on his electrifying teammate, Zion Williamson.

Both players were impressive in their first taste of college basketball, with Barrett pouring in 33 points and Williamson adding 28 in a rout of Kentucky in the Champions Classic. But Williamson’s thunderous dunks and stunning athleticism for his 6’7″, 285-frame have captured the imagination of fans — including a few with NBA connections.

“I though LeBron [James] was a one-shot deal,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after seeing Williamson in action. “But apparently the next guy’s coming.”

“He’s very explosive, he’s very quick and he has a very large frame,” said Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr., who played for the Blue Devils last season. “That’s very rare. Not many people can guard that.”

More than 70 NBA personnel attended Tuesday’s game, which was preceded by a matchup between traditional powers Kansas and Michigan State. Adam Zagoria of FloHoops talked to a pair of unidentified scouts who raved about Williamson, but they were impressed by Barrett as well.

“Spectacular talent. No. 1 fan favorite,” one scout said of Williamson. “Great dunker, great explosion. Quick off his feet. Great strength. Surprisingly good passer. He’s a great basketball player. He showed that [Tuesday] night against some outstanding athletes.”

“He’ll end up being the best player in this draft,” the other scout said in assessing Barrett. “Versatile. Can score in three different ways. He can make the 3-pointer. He can get to the basket. He can shoot the mid-range. He’s got great positional size. Most dangerous in the open floor. If he were to come out, I think he’s the best all-around talent this year.”

Barrett, who already has international experience with Canada in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, tops the latest mock draft compiled by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, which was put together in August. Givony slotted Williamson with the No. 3 pick and states that there’s much more to his game than spectacular dunks. He exhibited an ability to drive, pass and play defense during an exhibition tour, but some NBA executives they’re not convinced that he’ll be a dominant player at the next level.

We know college basketball season just started, but we want to get your opinion on Williamson. Do you believe he’s an NBA star in the making? Will he or Barrett be the top pick in June, or will that honor go to somebody else? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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Fantasy Hoops: Moving On From Markelle Fultz

November 6th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

It’s the ninth game of the season. The Sixers have surrendered a 20-plus-point lead to the meandering Clippers, just two days after an embarrassing loss to the division-leading Raptors. The morale is low and Lou Williams sets up pick-and-roll against his home city for a potential game-tying bucket in the closing minutes of the third quarter.

An unlikely defender helps to spearhead a defensive stop. It’s Markelle Fultz, who fights through a pick to stay with Williams and forces him to pass out the ball before grabbing the defensive rebound. Fultz then takes it the length of the court and lays it in. The crowd in the Wells Fargo Center erupts, as it has for nearly every positive Fultz play over the past year. Despite his struggles, the 76ers faithful are fully behind last year’s No. 1 pick, who is showcasing some potential during a season littered with disappointing possessions.

There’s a sense of calm among Philadelphia sports fans, as I explained on NBA Math’s Hardwood Knocks podcast. Maybe it’s the aftereffect of the Eagles bringing the city a liberating NFL championship. Maybe years of Sam Hinkie setting up The Process and fans seeing the fruit of that work have taught the city patience. Whatever it is, a fanbase that may have – in the past – torn apart a player who failed to meet lofty expectations is now supporting him as he attempts to cultivate his game. The team shares the city’s vibe, as it knows Fultz must live up to his potential for the team to reach its ceiling in its current form.

“Any game experience with him is fantastic,” J.J. Redick told the media, including Hoops Rumors, after a recent Sixers home game.

“[Fultz] didn’t get a chance to be in a rhythm last year, so part of that for any young player is, and I had to do this with [Austin Rivers] when he first came to the Clippers, you got to figure out what your base is every night…’Make or miss, these are the things I’m going to do every night’ and I think for Markelle, getting the chance to get 25-30 minutes a game is huge. Gives him a chance to build his base and part of that is going to be playmaking and being on the ball on offense.”

Getting Fultz reps with the ball has been tricky and playing him alongside Ben Simmons hasn’t been successful. The Sixers have been outscored by 6.3 points per 100 possessions when the duo shares the floor. Head coach Brett Brown recognized the issue and adjusted his lineup after the loss to the Bucks by staggering Simmons and Fultz more. The pair hasn’t seen as many as 10 minutes together in any game since that night in Milwaukee.

The rotation change has resulted in less court time for the University of Washington product, as his playing time has dipped by more than two minutes per game since the adjustment. Still, Fultz is likely playing more than his production warrants and that’s a result of his No. 1 pick status and Philadelphia’s (justified) patience with a player it hopes can be a major piece on a championship team.

Fantasy owners should not display the same patience this season. Fultz is a streaky option with low percentages (39.3% from the field, 30.8% from behind the arc), someone who belongs on waivers, far away from fantasy lineups. If you own him, you could hold onto him until his next decent game and attempt to trade him to an owner who buys into the potential.

T.J. McConnell played over Fultz in crunch-time lineups earlier in the season before he saw Mike Muscala take that fifth spot from him. Neither one of those players are long-term fantasy options. Dario Saric could be a nice daily fantasy play with Muscala unlikely to suit up against the Pacers on Wednesday, though the Croatian has struggled this season, making just 33% of his attempts from the field.

Robert Covington is questionable for the contest in Indiana with lower back soreness. He’s been a fantasy asset so far this year, especially in roto leagues. He’s owned in 28% of ESPN leagues but that figure is criminal. Scoop him up if he’s on the waiver wire regardless of whether he suits up on Wednesday.

Wilson Chandler is expected to play a low-usage role for the Sixers, as he recently told Hoops Rumors. He’s on a restriction of 10 minutes per game as he works his way back from a hamstring injury and it’s unlikely he becomes a consistent fantasy option this season.

Philadelphia’s injuries may give Fultz some added time on the court this week and maybe it’s worth waiting it out for that aforementioned decent game before pulling the plug. More likely, it’s best to cut ties and look for someone with a better chance at becoming a quality fantasy contributor this season (like Frank Ntilikina, who is owned in just 6.2% of ESPN leagues).

The 76ers franchise, the city, it’s fans and affiliates reserve the right to have patience with the 20-year-old point guard. It’s not recommended that fantasy owners follow suit.

Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.

Missed an earlier edition of Fantasy Hoops? Check out the entire series here.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Poll: Wizards’ Most Logical Trade Candidate

November 6th, 2018 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are off to a 2-7 start, and while their schedule – which includes upcoming games against the Magic, Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Nets – offers them a path back to .500, it’s hard to get too excited about the long-term outlook for the franchise. Washington was the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference last season and doesn’t appear to be a legit contender this year.

With lucrative long-term contracts committed to John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter, the Wizards could become more and more inclined to break up that “Big Three” if their struggles continue. And in the view of ESPN’s Zach Lowe, trading Wall may be the team’s “only get-out-of-jail card.” Lowe argues that trading Beal would hurt the team, while dealing Porter wouldn’t net a significant enough return to make a difference.

Of course, as Lowe concedes within the same piece, there are plenty of obstacles in the way of a possible Wall deal. His super-max contract will kick in next season and projects to be worth nearly $171MM over four years, running all the way through 2022/23. Wall’s 15% trade kicker would also complicate matters if he were dealt before or after the ’19/20 season.

On top of that, there just don’t seem to be that many potential suitors for the star point guard. Lowe points to the Suns as one plausible trade partner, noting that Phoenix badly needs a point guard and doesn’t have a seasoned GM in place to help keep owner Robert Sarver in check.

Porter has been the Wizards player more frequently cited as a trade candidate, and there are certainly teams that could use a three-and-D wing like him. The Nets, who signed him to an offer sheet in 2017, are one of many, as NetsDaily observes. However, Porter is off to a poor start this season, has a pricey contract (three years and $81.75MM remaining), and may not be more than a very good role player even at his best. It seems unlikely that any club would be willing to give up significant assets for him unless Washington was willing to take on another bad contract or two.

Beal, who also has three years left on his max deal, is easily the most valuable trade chip of the trio. He has missed just five games since the start of the 2016/17 season and has posted 22.9 PPG and 4.0 APG with a .471/.388/.805 shooting line over that same period. The Wizards could theoretically land a star player in a trade if they were willing to make Beal available. However, as Lowe suggests, he’s also the player whose departure would hurt Washington the most, since he’s a star in his own right.

Given how expensive Wall, Beal, and Porter will be for the next three seasons, it’s hard to imagine the Wizards finding a way to add another impact player to that trio to elevate the squad into a viable title contender. At some point then, the team will have to think long and hard about trading one of them — it just won’t be easy to determine which player makes the most sense on the trade block, since there are clear pros and cons to moving each one.

What do you think? Do you view Wall, Beal, or Porter as the Wizards’ most logical trade candidate, given what the team could realistically expect in return for each player? Or do you think it makes more sense for the Wizards to simply hang onto all three and look for another way to fortify their core?

Vote below, then head to the comment section to weigh in!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Southeast Division

November 6th, 2018 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2018/19 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

Viewed as perhaps the weakest division in the NBA coming into the season, the Southeast has been even worse than expected during the first month, with the Wizards and Heat both struggling. Not every Southeast team will be a seller at the deadline, but it looks safe to assume that at least a couple will.

Here’s our early-season look at a few possible trade candidates from the Southeast…

Kent Bazemore, F
Atlanta Hawks
$18.09MM cap hit; guaranteed $19.27MM player option for 2019/20

Frequently mentioned in trade rumors over the summer, Bazemore hasn’t been the subject of many recent reports, but his name figures to surface again in the coming months. The 3-6 Hawks are well on their way to a spot in the lottery, and Bazemore only has one year on his contract beyond this season. He makes much more sense as a complementary three-and-D wing for a contending team than he does as a long-term piece in Atlanta.

Bazemore has struggled with his three-point shot so far in 2018/19 (.326 3PT%), but he made a career-best 39.4% of his long-distance attempts last season, and he has otherwise been solid this year, posting career bests in PPG (14.3) and FG% (.485) in the early going. His cap charge will make a deal tricky for some teams, but if Atlanta is willing to take another unwanted contract back in a deal, there should be teams with interest.

The Pelicans and Rockets were two teams linked to Bazemore during the offseason, and both clubs still have a need on the wing. New Orleans could use Solomon Hill as a salary-matching piece, while Houston could use Brandon Knight‘s contract for matching purposes.

Marvin Williams, F
Charlotte Hornets
$14.09MM cap hit; $15MM player option for 2019/20

Williams checks a lot of the same boxes that Bazemore does — he’s a wing with good size who can knock down a three-pointer and switch between various positions on defense. He’s also a little less expensive. However, there are two roadblocks in the way of a potential Williams deal.

For one, the Hornets – unlike the Hawks – have serious playoff aspirations in 2018/19 and won’t want to surrender a reliable veteran who could help them get there. Secondly, Williams hasn’t exactly been boosting his trade stock so far. His 6.5 PPG and .371 FG% would both be career worsts, and if he doesn’t start playing better, he won’t help the Hornets win or net them anything in a trade.

Charlotte’s forward rotation will be worth watching this season. With rookie Miles Bridges looking great so far, it seems like just a matter of time until the Hornets part with at least one of Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, or Nicolas Batum, if they can.

Dion Waiters, G
Miami Heat
$11.55MM cap hit; contract guaranteed through 2020/21

The Heat were already loaded with shooting guard depth and exploring ways to move Waiters even before Rodney McGruder emerged as a more reliable option early this season. Now the former fourth overall pick looks even more expendable.

Unfortunately for the Heat, the ankle injury that ended Waiters’ 2017/18 season early has kept him out of action so far this fall, and there’s no indication of when he might return to action. The 26-year-old’s contract, which still has two years left after this season, will probably still create negative value even after he gets healthy, but if he’s able to get back on the court and show off some of the talent that earned him that four-year investment in the first place, it’d go a long way toward rebuilding his stock.

The Timberwolves, for instance, might view a Jimmy Butler offer of Josh Richardson, a first-round pick, and Waiters much more favorably if they thought they could count on Waiters to stay on the court and contribute.

Previously:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Community Shootaround: NBA Coaches On Hot Seat

November 5th, 2018 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers‘ firing of Tyronn Lue last month represented the first in-season coaching change of the 2018/19 NBA season, but odds are it won’t be the last. As I outlined last week, six of the last eight NBA seasons have featured multiple in-season coaching changes, with at least three head coaches being replaced during the season in all six of those years.

Those numbers don’t guarantee that two more head coaches will be dismissed during the 2018/19 season, but they suggest it would be a bit of a surprise if the NBA’s other 29 coaches make it through the year unscathed.

So which head coaches may be on the hottest seats this season? The underperforming clubs deserve the first look. That means Scott Brooks, whose Wizards are just 2-7, and Luke Walton, who has led LeBron James and the new-look Lakers to a 4-6 start.

Of course, multiple recent reports have suggested that Brooks still has the full support of the Wizards’ organization. And after word broke that Lakers president Magic Johnson “admonished” Walton following the Lakers’ slow start, Johnson gave his head coach a strong public vote of confidence.

If Brooks’ and Walton’s seats weren’t at least a little warm though, there’d be no need for those votes of confidence in the first place. The Rockets, for instance, are off to an underwhelming 3-5 start, but there has been no chatter about Mike D’Antoni‘s job security — presumably because the organization is confident that he’ll turn things around.

Expectations weren’t terribly high for the Bulls (2-8) entering the season, and injuries have decimated their lineup, but it’s possible we may soon begin hearing some speculation about Fred Hoiberg‘s future if the losses keep piling up.

A former Chicago coach, Tom Thibodeau, also appears to be on the hot seat in Minnesota, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic notes in his latest mailbag. But even with the Timberwolves off to 4-6 start and dealing with Jimmy Butler drama, the team has shown no inclination to make a change at this point.

What do you think? Which coaches around the NBA deserve to be under serious scrutiny? Which coach will be the next one ousted?

Jump into the comment section below to weigh in!

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Trade Rumors App For iOS/Android

November 4th, 2018 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

If you enjoy Hoops Rumors on your smartphone or tablet, be sure to check out our free Trade Rumors app!

Trade Rumors, available for iOS and Android, is the best way to consume our content on a mobile device. Here’s what it delivers, all for free:

  • All the articles from Hoops Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, Pro Football Rumors, and Pro Hockey Rumors in an easy-to-navigate, eye-catching format. Swipe through stories to quickly consume all the news and rumors from our four sites. Not into all four sports? No problem – any sport can be easily removed.
  • Customize what you see. You can create feeds for any team or player across any of our sites.
  • Notifications. For any team or player, you can set up push notifications to ensure you always get breaking news instantly. Notifications can also be set up at the sport level.
  • Commenting. You can read and contribute comments on the app seamlessly.
  • Customer service. If you find a bug, we’ll fix it. If you have a feature request, we’ll consider it. The app is continually evolving and improving.
  • Did we mention Trade Rumors is a free app? What do you have to lose? Download it now!
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Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/27/18 – 11/3/18

November 3rd, 2018 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Every week, our writing team here at Hoops Rumors creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 10/28/18 – 11/03/18

November 3rd, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Every week, our writing team here at Hoops Rumors creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:

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