Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Ricky Rubio Expected To Commit To Pacers Today

June 30th, 2019 at 11:13am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers are expected to get a verbal commitment from Ricky Rubio shortly after free agency officially opens later today, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. There has been talk all week that it is a “virtual done deal.”

Rubio, 28, would provide some stability at point guard for Indiana, which saw free agent starter Darren Collison surprisingly announce his retirement Friday night. Rubio posted a 12.7/3.6/6.1 line in 68 games for the Jazz this season, but his future in Utah was sealed when the team traded for Mike Conley earlier this month.

With free agents making up most of their starting lineup, the Pacers have a chance to set the course for their future this summer. With up to $50MM in cap room available, Indiana will have room for another significant signing or two in addition to Rubio.

Jazz Emerging As Threat For Bojan Bogdanovic

June 30th, 2019 at 12:33am CST by Arthur Hill

JUNE 30, 12:33am: The Jazz are emerging as a significant threat to sign Bogdanovic, according to Tony Jones and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell the Athletic duo that Utah could have a competitive offer on the table for the free agent forward as soon as Sunday night.

JUNE 29, 8:08pm: The Jazz have “significant interest” in Pacers forward Bojan Bogdanovic, sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Bogdanovic is among the best shooters on the free agent market and would give Utah a significant threat on the perimeter. He shot a career-high .425 from 3-point range this year while averaging 18.0 points per game. He is also extremely durable, playing 80 and 81 games in his two seasons with Indiana.

With most of their rotation headed for free agency, the Pacers have hard decisions to make on who to keep, which could make Bogdanovic an easier target for someone else. Indiana’s situation was complicated by Friday’s unexpected retirement of starting point guard Darren Collison.

Free Agent Rumors: Randle, Gibson, Bullock, Bulls

June 29th, 2019 at 4:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings will be among the teams in pursuit of Pelicans forward Julius Randle, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. He cites the Nets, Knicks and Bulls as other expected suitors.

Randle, 24, had a career-best season after signing a one-year deal with New Orleans last summer. He averaged 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds in 73 games while shooting 52% from the field. He also improved as a long-distance shooter, hitting 34% of his shots from 3-point range.

Here are more rumors as we move to within 24 hours of the start of free agency:

The Timberwolves will have plenty of competition for Taj Gibson, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who lists the Clippers, Nets, Bucks, Bulls, Warriors, Raptors, Trail Blazers, Hornets and Lakers as having interest in the veteran forward (Twitter link). Gibson has averaged 11.5 PPG and 6.9 RPG during his two years in Minnesota.
There’s mutual interest between the Knicks and shooting specialist Reggie Bullock, according to Ian Begley of SNY.TV. Bullock averaged 11.3 points per game while splitting last season between the Pistons and Lakers.
The Bulls are looking for a point guard, but want to limit the contract to two years, reports K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. That may take them out of the running for Malcolm Brogdon or Patrick Beverley, Johnson notes, but he cites other options such as Cory Joseph, Tyus Jones and George Hill who might be willing to accept a shorter contract. The Bulls are counting on first-round pick Coby White to take over the position within two years and want the free agent’s contract to expire in the summer of 2021 at the same time as Otto Porter‘s and Cristiano Felicio‘s.

Pacers Decline Edmond Sumner’s Option, Issue QO

June 29th, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pacers have declined the $1.6MM team option on Edmond Sumner‘s contract, Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports relays (Twitter link). However, the team has tendered a qualifying offer to the former second-round pick.

Despite having his team option turned down, Sumner was eligible to receive a QO and become a restricted free agent because he has fewer than four years of NBA experience.

Scott Agness of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms Smith’s report and adds that the Pacers and Sumner are working on a new, multiyear deal. The move to bring Sumner back on another contract was expected.

Sumner was selected with the No. 52 overall pick by New Orleans in 2017 before the franchise traded his rights to Indiana. The 6″6″ point guard, who can also play on the wing, appeared in 23 games for the Pacers last season.

Lowe’s Latest: Walker, Brogdon, Mavs, Rubio, Butler

June 28th, 2019 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics might be the frontrunner for Kemba Walker‘s services but devoting most of their cap space to the All-Star point guard would leave them without any proven frontcourt players and limited ways to acquire them, ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes in an in-depth look at free agency. The addition of Walker would force coach Brad Stevens to use either Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum or Gordon Hayward at power forward, Lowe notes. Walker also ran more pick-and-rolls with the Hornets than Kyrie Irving did with the Celtics, yet Irving was sometimes accused of being a ball hog, Lowe adds.

Here are some other interesting tidbits from Lowe’s column:

Bucks restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon will lose a suitor if the Celtics ink Walker. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers could potentially extend Brogdon an offer sheet but some teams are concerned about his foot issues.
The Mavericks are not looking to sign any high-level free agents.
The Pacers are looking to make a run at point guard Ricky Rubio. They are also likely to let power forward Thaddeus Young walk and go with a frontcourt of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Indiana rejected trade offers for Turner at the draft.
The Heat could get involved in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes via a sign-and-trade.
The Nets have no interest in doing a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves involving restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell if it means taking back Jeff Teague or Andrew Wiggins.

Free Agent Rumors: Wolves, Cousins, Sumner, KP

June 28th, 2019 at 3:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Timberwolves don’t project to have cap room, though that won’t stop them from attempting to make major moves this offseason, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic notes. The team will have major stakeholders in Los Angeles for meetings on Sunday with an eye on recruiting free agents.

Karl-Anthony Towns has taken on the role of a recruiter. D’Angelo Russell appears to be a target with Krawcynski citing the two players’ friendship as just part of the reason a pairing makes sense. Much has to be done before Minnesota can truly become a threat to land Russell, as he is still technically a restricted free agent and the franchise can’t compete with some of the other organizations with max cap space already on hand.

As we wait to see what moves the Timberwolves have in store, let’s take a look at some rumors from around the league:

Seven teams have expressed “varying levels” of interest in DeMarcus Cousins, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated hears. The Knicks are among the teams with serious interest and the Clippers are “intrigued,” Spears writes.
The Pacers have yet to exercise or decline the option on Edmond Sumner, as they are discussing a long-term deal with the point guard, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star relays. The former second-round pick appeared in 23 games for Indiana last season.
Sources tell Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) that it’s unlikely that there will be an update on Kristaps Porzingis‘ sexual assault allegations before free agency on Sunday. The Mavericks and Porzingis are still expected to come together on a full, five-year max contract, Townsend adds.

Free Agent Rumors: Knicks, Pelicans, Looney, Satoransky, More

June 27th, 2019 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on recent reports that have linked the team to Julius Randle and Bobby Portis, Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms that the Knicks will have “strong interest” in those young bigs if they can’t land their top free agent targets. However, as we’ve heard repeatedly in recent days, New York prefers not to offer contracts longer than two years to its secondary targets, according to Begley, who acknowledges that either Randle or Portis could get a longer-term offer from another team.

Begley also confirms that the Knicks have weighed the idea of pursuing DeMarcus Cousins in free agency, as was previously reported. According to Begley though, some in the organization have indicated that going after a younger player like Randle or Portis is a higher priority than pursuing Cousins, who is entering his age-29 season.

The Pelicans are among the teams expected to show interest in free agent big man Kevon Looney, writes former Sporting News reporter Sean Deveney (Facebook link). As Deveney notes, New Orleans will have cap flexibility and could use another veteran big man in the frontcourt with Anthony Davis and potentially Julius Randle departing.
Tomas Satoransky, who will become a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer from the Wizards, is expected to receive interest from the Mavericks, Pacers, Magic, and Celtics, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. According to Hughes, the Jazz also had Satoransky on their list of targets before swinging a deal for Mike Conley. I’d imagine the Celtics would be out of the running as well if they can land Kemba Walker.
Appearing on a recent ESPN podcast with Zach Lowe, Brian Windhorst said he got word a month ago that the Spurs were interested in free agent forward Bojan Bogdanovic. As Windhorst notes though, San Antonio doesn’t have the cap room to make a play for Bogdanovic and would need to make a cost-cutting move for it to be a realistic possibility.

Bucks Rumors: Brogdon, Lopez, Hill, Mirotic

June 26th, 2019 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After entering the exclusive 50/40/90 shooting club in 2018/19, Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon will be a sought-after target this offseason. Sources tell Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.com that the Sixers and Pacers are among the teams considering making a play for the restricted free agent.

Four NBA sources who spoke to Woelfel predicted that Brogdon would receive an offer in the range of $16-21MM per year. And while most of those sources have heard that the Bucks plan to match any offer on Brogdon, they’re not all entirely convinced that will happen.

“They can say that now, but I’m sure the Bucks, just like any team, have a cutoff point where they won’t go over to keep him,” an Eastern Conference executive said to Woelfel. “I still think he (Brogdon) is the odd guy out in Milwaukee.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe expressed a similar sentiment during the network’s free agency special on Tuesday night. As relayed by Sagar Trika (via Twitter), the two ESPN insiders discussed whether Milwaukee would be able to retain all three of Brogdon, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez, and agreed that Brogdon might be the trickiest to bring back.

Here’s more on the Bucks:

The Bucks and Brook Lopez are both motivated to get a deal done, a source tell Chris Mannix of SI.com. Woelfel’s sources believe Lopez will get an annual salary in the range of $10-13MM in free agency, and view Los Angeles as a potential fit for the big man if he doesn’t stick with the Bucks. “I’ve been hearing a quite a bit about the Lakers and Lopez,” one executive told Woelfel.
Executives who spoke to Woelfel view George Hill as a candidate to receive an offer in the neighborhood of $7-10MM if and when he’s released by the Bucks. That would make him a target for teams with the full mid-level exception available.
One NBA executive predicted a salary in the $13-15MM range for Nikola Mirotic, while another league official split the difference and projected $14MM, Woelfel writes. Mirotic is considered more likely to leave the Bucks than to re-sign, given the club’s cap limitations.
Veteran guard Xavier Munford, who has previously appeared in NBA games for Memphis and Milwaukee, will suit up for the Bucks’ Summer League squad in July, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN.com.

Details On Draft-Night Trade With Jazz

June 25th, 2019 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter), the Jazz sent their own unprotected 2021 second-round pick along with $1MM in cash to the Pacers in order to acquire the No. 50 overall pick. Utah used that selection to nab Charleston forward Jarrell Brantley.

Lowe: Pacers Have A "Walk-Away" Number For Bogdanovic

June 25th, 2019 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

According to Lowe, the Bucks and Pacers have “walk-away” numbers for Brogdon and Bojan Bogdanovic, respectively, if the bidding gets too high, though he’s not sure what those specific numbers are.

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