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Southeast Notes: Ball, Highsmith, Muscala, Magic

July 20th, 2023 at 8:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball signed a five-year, maximum-salary designated rookie extension, worth up to a projected $260MM, with Charlotte earlier this summer.

During a press conference with gathered reporters, Ball and team president and general manager Mitch Kupchak spoke about the new agreement, as Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports.

“The decision, it wasn’t really hard,” Ball, the third draft pick in 2020, said. “All my years here I’ve had a good time. Life wasn’t bad. The basketball aspect, that’s not really going well. You kind of want to live your life and just have fun and just be living well. So in Charlotte I was doing that, so it just all felt like a great choice.”

Ball was limited to just 36 contests with the Hornets in 2022/23 due to ankle injuries, but was prolific on offense when he did play. The 6’7″ guard averaged 23.3 PPG on .411/.376/.836 shooting splits, along with 8.4 APG and 6.4 RPG. Charlotte has yet to make the playoffs during Ball’s NBA career.

“To have a player of LaMelo’s caliber with his game, with his youth, we know he is going to get better as a player,” Kupchak said. “He’s here every day. He certainly had a setback last year, but in terms of healing, he’s been 100 percent healed and he’s been on the court working out every single day trying to get better.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Heat forward Haywood Highsmith recently saw his $1.9MM salary for the 2023/24 season become fully guaranteed, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It’s a good step in the right direction for me,” Highsmith told Chiang. “Still developing, still trying to get better and big things coming for me, I hope. I’ve been working hard this offseason, so it’s definitely a good step in the right direction.” Former Miami teammate Udonis Haslem, now retired, unpacked how Highsmith approaches the game. “Undersized, not a guy who you’re going to run a lot of plays for, has to be efficient,” Haslem said. “His approach is a defensive-minded approach, so he takes the challenge every night. He’s just my guy.”
  • Despite a winless five-game 2023 Summer League run, the Magic were able to learn about their two rookie lottery selections, while in turn educating No. 6 pick Anthony Black and No. 11 pick Jett Howard about the team’s own approach to its internal dynamics, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “From everybody in the front office to the coaching staff to the players, everybody’s locked in,” Howard said, “We just met each other but we still had the willingness to keep fighting and sticking together. “Even down the stretch when we’re losing, we’re still cognate for one another. We showed up and worked hard in training camp. All of those things just make a culture.”
  • On the cusp of his 11th NBA season, 32-year-old Wizards big man Mike Muscala isn’t taking his longevity for granted, writes Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune. “As a young athlete, you’re always striving for something,” Muscala said. “It’s like, ‘I want to do this. I want to compete against this person.’ There’s still a lot of value in that. But once you kind of check those boxes, it’s like, now what? When you’re grateful for whatever situation you’re in and the opportunities you have, that’s been motivating me.”
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Heat Promote GM Elisburg To Executive VP Of Basketball Operations

July 20th, 2023 at 1:57pm CST by Rory Maher

The Heat have promoted senior vice president of basketball operations and general manager Andy Elisburg to executive vice president of basketball operations, the team announced in a press release. In addition to his new title, he will retain his dual title of GM.

Elisburg has been with Miami since the team’s inception in 1988. He has served as senior VP of basketball ops and GM for the past 10 years.

“Andy is so deserving of this promotion,” said president Pat Riley. “Working together for 28 years has brought so many great transactions that have improved the franchise multiple times over the years, both on and off the court. More importantly, Andy’s knowledge and work ethic are second to none, he’s been involved with everything we do at the HEAT and we look forward to continued success.”

While Riley is frequently (and justifiably) credited for the Heat’s success over the past two decades, Elisburg has been an instrumental behind-the-scenes figure who is said to be a shrewd negotiator and a CBA expert. Miami has won three championships and made seven NBA Finals appearances since 2006, when the team won its first title.

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Trade Rumors: Harden, Clippers, Lillard, Embiid

July 19th, 2023 at 7:07pm CST by Rory Maher

While the Sixers may be holding out hope that James Harden will rescind his trade request and return to Philadelphia next season, the former league MVP remains steadfast in his desire to be dealt to the Clippers, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

According to Fischer, Harden and his camp are confident he’ll end up playing for Los Angeles in 2023/24. Sources tell Fischer that the Sixers have discussed Harden trades with teams other than the Clippers, but none of those talks were serious, as rivals are aware of Harden’s “unwavering focus” on joining L.A.

The Sixers haven’t shown any interest in a potential Clippers deal though, and the Clippers aren’t interested in parting with Terance Mann, Fischer writes. Daryl Morey‘s recent comments suggest that the two sides aren’t natural trade partners.

If Harden is still on the roster by media day in early October, the 10-time All-Star is expected to join the Sixers in training camp. That might not be ideal for Philadelphia, however, as Fischer notes that Harden successfully forced his way out of Houston and Brooklyn in recent seasons when he was unhappy without needing to hold out.

Here are more trade rumors from around the NBA:

  • In his analysis of Fischer’s story, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com wonders if Morey will eventually cave on his high asking price and accept an offer from the Clippers, as having Harden cause problems — in training camp or during the season — could hurt the Sixers‘ on-court results. The fact that Harden is on an expiring contract and Philadelphia is firmly in win-now mode makes it a complicated situation, because the team can’t afford to punt on a year of Joel Embiid‘s prime, Neubeck adds. That much was clear even before Embiid’s recent comments about wanting to win a championship no matter what team he’s on.
  • Talks between the Trail Blazers and Heat on a Damian Lillard trade are “stagnant,” according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. While the two sides have spoken, Charania hears the conversations weren’t serious. Portland has told Miami to make its best offer, Charania writes, but the Heat don’t appear to be in any rush to do so.
  • As Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote a couple days ago, there’s no indication that Embiid has any desire to leave the Sixers at this point, and Philadelphia certainly doesn’t want to trade him, to the Knicks or any other team. Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports that when Embiid and Morey met after the comments went viral, both sides envisioned a “Derek Jeter-type trajectory” for Embiid, with the reigning MVP remaining the face of the organization until he retires. In short, don’t expect an Embiid trade anytime soon, says Begley.
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Latest On Christian Wood

July 19th, 2023 at 11:53am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Lakers are in the market to add another big man to their roster and, on paper, free agent forward Christian Wood makes the most sense, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

However, Woike writes that factors outside of the Lakers’ control could determine Wood’s landing spot. According to Woike, the Bulls are viewed as a “potential threat” to sign Wood to a contract after being granted a $10.23MM disabled player exception due to point guard Lonzo Ball‘s season-ending knee injury.

Woike adds that the Lakers are only able to offer the veteran’s minimum – worth $2.7MM for a player with seven years of service time – which is significantly less than what Chicago can offer.

Wood is Hoops Rumors’ highest-ranked remaining unrestricted free agent who has yet to agree to a deal. Despite averaging 16.6 points in 67 games (17 starts) last season for the Mavericks and at least 13.0 points per game every year since 2019, Wood is still unsigned nearly three weeks after free agency began.

We have more on Wood:

  • While the Lakers are looking for additional frontcourt depth, they are being picky about what kinds of bigs they’re targeting. “We don’t want to sign someone who replicates the skills that Jaxson Hayes has,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “So if we can diversify the big position and have different looks, that would be good.” Woike adds that Wood fits that bill and has a skill set that could complement Anthony Davis and LeBron James. In the last three seasons, Wood averaged 18.1 points and shot 38.1% from three. Other floor-spacing big men are available, Woike writes, but there aren’t many with as much upside as Wood. While Bismack Biyombo has previously been mentioned as a Lakers option, the team may ultimately view his skillset as too similar to Hayes’. Other unrestricted free agent bigs who could be in line for minimum deals include JaMychal Green, Blake Griffin and Markieff Morris.
  • The Lakers have done “significant background work” on Wood, according to Woike. Head coach Darvin Ham and Wood overlapped in the 2018/19 season when Wood played with the Bucks for 13 games. Anthony Davis played with Wood in New Orleans at the end of the ’18/19 season and Lakers assistant JD DuBois was with Wood in Detroit in 2019/20.
  • The Heat could be suitors for Wood’s services, according to Woike. Miami is still in a holding pattern with remaining free agents while it pieces together a potential Damian Lillard trade offer, but if the Heat land Lillard, Wood makes sense as an impact free agent signing who could play big minutes. The Heat were rumored to be in on floor-spacing big Dario Saric before he signed with the Warriors.
  • While teams love Wood’s offensive play, there are reasons he is still available, potentially on a veteran’s minimum. According to Woike, sources around the league point to Wood’s subpar defensive contributions, despite his impressive 1.1 blocked shots per game last season. There also may be a disconnect between what Wood thinks his value is and what teams think his value is, Woike writes, along with concerns related to his professionalism. Even though their roster could use a floor-spacing big man, the Mavericks didn’t attempt to bring back Wood after trading a first-round pick for him last summer.
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12 Two-Way Restricted Free Agents Remain Unsigned

July 18th, 2023 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

The action on the NBA’s free agent market has slowed since the start of July, but there are still many FAs seeking new deals, including a notable group of under-the-radar players whose situations will need to be resolved in the coming days, weeks, and months.

A total of 12 two-way restricted free agents are still available, as our up-to-date list shows. Those players are as follows:

That group doesn’t include a 13th player, Neemias Queta, who is also a restricted free agent after finishing last season on a two-way deal. Although he remains eligible to sign another two-way contract, Queta was ineligible for a two-way qualifying offer after having played on a two-way with the Kings for consecutive seasons — his QO is a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a small ($75K) partial guarantee.

For the rest of these players, their qualifying offer is simply another one-year, two-way deal, which limits their leverage to negotiate a more lucrative standard contract.

Some two-way RFAs have managed to earn standard deals this offseason. A.J. Green of the Bucks was one. Julian Champagnie of the Spurs was another. Ty Jerome (Warriors) and Jack White (Nuggets) received standard contract offers from the Cavaliers and Thunder, respectively, that their former teams were unwilling to match, so Golden State and Denver simply withdrew their respective qualifying offers, making Jerome and White unrestricted free agents.

Offer sheets for two-way restricted free agents essentially never happen though. And in general, unless a team has earmarked a 15-man roster spot for a two-way free agent, it’s an uphill battle for these players to earn offseason promotions.

As a result, the majority of the dozen restricted free agents listed above will likely end up accepting their qualifying offers and hoping that their play in 2023/24 forces their clubs to find 15-man roster spots for them later in the season.

Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on this group to see if any of them can do better than another two-way — and to see how long some of them might be willing to wait in the hope of earning that opportunity.

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Rockets’ Cam Whitmore Named Summer League MVP

July 17th, 2023 at 2:46pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets forward Cam Whitmore has been named the Las Vegas Summer League Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced (via Twitter).

The NBA also announced its All-Summer League First and Second Teams, which are as follows (Twitter links):

First Team

Second Team

According to the NBA (Twitter link), Christie and Moon received the same amount of votes, which is why there is an additional backcourt player on the second team.

Whitmore, a projected lottery pick in last month’s draft who fell to Houston at No. 20, averaged 20.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.2 APG and 3.0 SPG on .465/.293/.625 shooting in his five Vegas Summer League games, per NBA.com.

Houston faces Cleveland at 8 p.m. CT tonight in the Summer League championship game. Both teams are undefeated, holding identical 5-0 records.

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Robinson Completes Stellar Summer Showing

July 16th, 2023 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Orlando Robinson had his two-way contract upgraded to a standard deal at the beginning of the month and it appears to be a prudent move by the Heat. Robinson thrived during Summer League action, as The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang notes. Robinson averaged 20.5 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field. He also showed an improved 3-point shot, making 8-of-21 in six games.
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Heat Notes: Lillard, Peterson, Jaquez, C. Butler

July 16th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Although Heat rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. played in just one full Summer League contest and less than half of a second before being shut down due to a shoulder ailment, Miami already likes what it’s seeing out of the UCLA alum.

Heat general manager Andy Elisburg raved about Jaquez’ fit during an interview on WQAM, as recounted by Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“I think he’s our type of guy,” Elisburg said. “I think he comes from the same kind of ethos that we think we value, with players that we value. He has that kind of competitiveness and the work ethic that you want to see.

“… You’re excited to see what he’s able to do as he takes his game and grows it. At this point in time, he’s got things he does well, things he can do better at. And the great players take the things that they can do better at, and become better at that.”

There’s more out of Miami:

  • Given how pricey the final two years of Damian Lillard‘s contract are, the Heat are currently not particularly inclined to increase their offer for the Trail Blazers point guard, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN recently revealed during an interview on the network (Twitter video link via ClutchPoints). “The Miami Heat, the team that is most motivated to trade for Damian Lillard, where he wants to end up, they don’t want to be in a situation where they’re bidding against themselves right now,” Woj said (hat tip to HoopsHype for the transcription). “They look out into the marketplace, they see teams that are – they know the market does not love the idea of paying Damian Lillard a $60MM average at 35 and 36 years old over the last two years of that deal. If this was a contract with two years left, it would be different, perhaps. So there’s no rush for either side to be real aggressive in their conversations with each other.”
  • Drew Peterson, an undrafted combo forward out of USC, has been making waves as a sharpshooter while playing for the Heat’s Summer League club. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald wonders if the 6’9″ prospect could become Miami’s latest undrafted diamond-in-the-rough discovery. He will reportedly sign an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the team. His size and shooting ability already appears to be intriguing the club. “Because he caught on to the team continuity and understood the concept of what we were trying to get accomplished,” assistant coach and Summer League head coach Caron Butler said. “From the spacing standpoint, playing off the other guys, the handlers, catch-and-goes, he’s done a remarkable job with that.” Across his three games with the Heat, Peterson is connecting on 57.1% of his 4.7 long range tries per contest.
  • Butler, an All-Star in his playing days, has unexpectedly fallen in love with coaching, Chiang writes in another Miami Herald story.  “I didn’t know that I was going to fall in love with the game and the teaching and all those things,” Butler told Chiang. “But it’s something that I just can’t see myself not doing now because of the connection with the players and seeing them get it and the information that you instill in them. That feeling is priceless.” After retiring from the league in 2016, Butler served as a TV analyst, first for the college game with ESPN in 2017, and subsequently for the Lakers, Wizards and the NBA at large with various networks. He joined Erik Spoelstra‘s coaching staff for the 2020/21 season.
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Raptors Rumors: Herro, Siakam, Point Guard

July 15th, 2023 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors are among the teams that have conveyed “exploratory” interest in Heat guard Tyler Herro as part of the multi-team trade discussions involving the Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Toronto lost Fred VanVleet in free agency, and lottery pick Gradey Dick is just 19 years old and may not be ready for a significant rotation role as a rookie, so it makes sense that the team would be on the lookout for another backcourt player who can make outside shots.

The Raptors’ 33.5% three-point percentage last season ranked 28th in the NBA. The club also possesses the sort of expiring contracts that might appeal more to the Blazers in a Lillard trade than Herro’s four-year deal would.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Given how frequently the Hawks have been frequently linked to Pascal Siakam this offseason, rival executives are curious about how Atlanta might build an offer for the Raptors forward, Scotto says. Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic are currently ineligible to be traded due to recently signed extensions, and Clint Capela likely wouldn’t appeal to a Toronto team that just re-signed Jakob Poeltl. It’s unclear if a package centered around De’Andre Hunter would be strong enough for the Raptors, Scotto notes, especially since the Hawks have limited draft capital to offer after having already traded away multiple future first-round picks.
  • Although the Magic have been rumored as a possible suitor for Siakam, a league source who spoke to Scotto believes that’s more “noise than substance,” since Orlando has Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner locked into the forward spots and wouldn’t be inclined to move either player.
  • There was some skepticism among league personnel at the Las Vegas Summer League that the Raptors will ultimately trade Siakam, according to Scotto. “Toronto always does the same thing,” one scout told HoopsHype. “They dangle their guys, and then they pull them back.”
  • The Raptors are mulling the possibility of adding another point guard in free agency, per Scotto. The team signed Dennis Schröder, who will presumably replace VanVleet in the starting lineup, but doesn’t have a reliable backup at that spot.
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Heat Notes: Dragic, Lillard, Vincent, Smith

July 14th, 2023 at 7:47pm CST by Rory Maher

In an interview with local media in Slovenia, free agent point guard Goran Dragic revealed he had knee surgery during the 2022/23 season, which is why he was released by the Bulls and only played seven games after he signed with the Bucks, per Špela Lenart of Siol.net. Dragic previously said he was dealing with left knee soreness.

“I played really well until the middle of the season, then I had problems with a knee injury, so after that, it was kind of all agreed that they would bring Patrick Beverley to Chicago, and I went to Milwaukee. Then I also underwent knee surgery, which until now no one knew,” Dragic said (hat tip to BasketNews.com).

The 37-year-old said he’d like to return to the Heat if he’s able to, writes Lenart.

“The main desire is to return to Miami,” Dragic said. “Now everyone is waiting for Damian Lillard to decide where he will go next, so everyone is off to a slow start. When this is known, the movement for the other players will open as well.

“We are in talks with a few clubs, but much more will be known in a few days when the news will be released. You will see.”

However, there’s “nothing imminent” on a deal between the Heat and Dragic, a source tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter). If a deal were to happen, it would likely be closer to training camp, according to Jackson.

“The Dragon” played seven seasons with Miami from 2014-21, making his lone All-Star appearance in ’17/18. He played 58 total games last season, averaging 6.3 points and 2.6 assists on .421/.359/.689 shooting.

Here’s more out of Miami:

  • As of mid-week, apparently the Trail Blazers had been “unmotivated” to seriously engage with the Heat on a potential Lillard trade, according to Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Jackson’s reporting isn’t very surprising. Blazers GM Joe Cronin recently said a deal could take “months,” while other reports have stated there hasn’t been much progress in talks.
  • Appearing on JJ Redick‘s The Old Man and the Three podcast, Gabe Vincent discussed his decision to join the Lakers and leave Miami, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes. “It was very difficult,” Vincent said of leaving the Heat. “The relationships that I have with those guys are, to me, lifelong. Even the guys that I played with, to the staff, to the front office. I got to know all of them very well and closely. So it wasn’t an easy decision.” Financial constraints were the obstacle, with Vincent later telling Chiang he’d miss his teammates and will always look back fondly on his time with the organization.
  • Dru Smith is back with the Heat, on his fourth two-way deal in under two years, after finishing last season with the Nets on a two-way contract. He spoke this week about why he keeps ending up in Miami, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required). “I think it’s because I’m a good fit,” Smith said. “I think just the way the Heat like to play, the style of basketball they like to play, I think it fits my game well. I think I’m lucky to be here. I’m thankful to have this opportunity again.”
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