New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Batum, Finley, Kerr, Green

August 5th, 2021 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The five-team trade the Spurs are involved in continues a trend of the teamstockpiling draft picks, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News notes. The Spurs will gain a 2022 second-round pick along with Chandler Hutchison from the Wizards in the agreed-upon multi-team swap, highlighted by the Lakers’ acquisition of Russell Westbrook. San Antonio is also acquiring three picks – a first-rounder and two second-rounders – in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade with the Bulls.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks were among the teams interested in Clippers forward Nicolas Batum before he agreed to re-sign with Los Angeles, Marc Stein of Substack tweets. The Warriors also checked in on Batum before he chose to take a two-year deal with a player option from the Clippers.
The Mavericks have officially announced the promotion of Michael Finley to assistant GM/VP of basketball operations, the team’s PR department tweets. Finley will work under new president of basketball operations Nico Harrison in his expanded front office role.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is ecstatic that one of his former assistants, Willie Green, got the Pelicans‘ head coaching job and believes he’ll have little trouble growing into the role, Kerr told William Guillory of The Athletic. “There’s just kind of this quiet dignity and intelligence about him that the players will really appreciate,” Kerr said. “And then I think, like all coaches, he’s going to have to find his voice and find his style. I’m sure he’s going to hire a great staff to help him do that. And he’ll grow into the job, but I think he’ll be fantastic.”

Free Agency Rumors: R. Jackson, Cavaliers, Suns, Wizards

August 4th, 2021 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

Reggie Jackson is getting a lot of interest on the free agent market after his strong playoff run, but the Clippers remain hopeful about re-signing him, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN.

Jackson, 31, is coming off a strong season and playoff run with the Clippers — he topped 20 points nine times during the playoffs and shot a career-high 43.3% from three-point range last season. Los Angeles holds his Early Bird rights and can offer him a starting salary worth up to nearly $10.4MM.

Money will be a key factor in Jackson’s decision, according to Schultz (via Twitter), who adds that the Pelicans may be a “sleeper team” in the race for the veteran point guard. New Orleans general manager Trajan Langdon is known to be a fan of Jackson.

There’s more news on free agency:

After completing a trade for Ricky Rubio, the Cavaliers are still searching for another point guard, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor that Cleveland has looked at Raul Neto, who played for the Wizards last season, and Brad Wanamaker, who finished the season with the Hornets. Fedor lists a few other names still on the market, such as Frank Ntilikina, Ryan Arcidiacono, Tim Frazier, Jeff Teague, Elfrid Payton and Mike James. The Cavs still have their $9.5MM mid-level exception left, along with the flexibility to open spots on the roster.
Neto is among the backcourt options the Suns might consider in completing their roster, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. Some others are Elfrid Payton, Dante Exum, Quinn Cook and Ryan Arcidiacono. Up front, Phoenix will likely look at Paul Millsap and possibly Isaiah Hartenstein, although Gambadoro isn’t sure about a potential reunion with Aron Baynes (Twitter link).
The Wizards have remade their roster in the past week, but the major moves may be done for now, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). He notes that the Spencer Dinwiddie trade will leave Washington too close to the luxury tax line to consider using its mid-level exception.

Pelicans Hire Mike D’Antoni As Coaching Advisor, Jarron Collins As Assistant

August 4th, 2021 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have reached a deal with veteran coach Mike D’Antoni that will make him a coaching consultant to Willie Green and his staff in 2021/22, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The plan is for D’Antoni to periodically spend time with the Pelicans’ coaching staff during Summer League, training camp, and the season, according to Wojnarowski.

Word broke last week that D’Antoni, who spent last season as an assistant on Steve Nash‘s staff in Brooklyn, would be stepping away from his role with the Nets. However, reports at the time indicated that he wasn’t retiring and still hoped to land a head coaching job in the future.

D’Antoni, whose most recent head coaching gig was with the Rockets up until 2020, has coached five different NBA teams and ranks 21st on the league’s all-time list with 672 regular season wins. However, at age 70, he may be running out of time to get another shot. Only two head coaches in NBA history – including current Spurs coach Gregg Popovich – have held that role into their 70s, according to HoopsHype.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans are also hiring Jarron Collins as an assistant coach, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com. He’ll be the team’s lead assistant, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.

Collins spent the last seven years as an assistant in Golden State, but he and the Warriors agreed to part ways in June. Collins, who has received some head coaching interest in recent years, worked with Green from 2016-19 when both men were members of Steve Kerr‘s staff.

The Pelicans have issued a press release confirming the hirings of D’Antoni – whose title is “coaching advisor” – and Collins. The team will also bring back several other assistants, including Fred Vinson, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Casey Hill.

Pelicans Reportedly Offered Chris Paul $100MM Contract

August 4th, 2021 at 1:37pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Pelicans offered Chris Paul a $100MM contract early in free agency, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on today’s episode of The Hoop Collective podcast. Windhorst believes the Pelicans’ offer helped convince the Suns to add a fourth year to their offer — that fourth year is not guaranteed, but it’s not clear if New Orleans’ offer would have been fully guaranteed either.

According to Windhorst, after new Pelicans head coach Willie Green tried to help recruit him, Paul entertained the idea for some time before ultimately committing to the Suns.

Free Agency Rumors: D. Green, Hart, Cavs, Caruso, DeRozan

August 3rd, 2021 at 10:13pm CST by Eli Cohen

Free agent swingman Danny Green has been in contact with the Sixers multiple times over the past two days, according to Harrison Sanford, co-host of Green’s The Green Room podcast (Twitter link).

Sandford said that as of this afternoon, the two sides were nowhere close to a deal, and that the Bucks, Celtics, Bulls and Pelicans have all reached out as well. He adds in a separate tweet that Green has pre-existing relationships with both Ime Udoka of the Celtics and Mike Budenholzer of the Bucks from his time with the Spurs.

We have more free agency rumors:

The Cavaliers have had some discussions about the possibility of a sign-and-trade for Pelicans restricted free agent forward Josh Hart, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Without a sign-and-trade agreement, Cleveland would be limited to offering Hart the full mid-level exception, which New Orleans would presumably match.
Alex Caruso agreed to sign with the Bulls for four years, $37MM, and according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (hat tip to RealGM), the Lakers‘ offer to keep him was nowhere close to what was offered by Chicago. Ramona Shelburne added that – before Caruso agreed to his deal with the Bulls – the Timberwolves inquired about acquiring him in a sign-and-trade that would have included Marc Gasol, but didn’t have any luck.
According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), Bulls general manager Marc Eversley was crucial in securing a commitment from DeMar DeRozan, as the two had a long-standing relationship from when Eversley was the assistant general manager for the Raptors. The Bulls’ GM flew to Los Angeles to meet with DeRozan in person and had a “fruitful” two-hour meeting, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).

Free Agency Roundup: Rose, Bjelica, Suns, Vanderbilt, Niang, Schroder

August 3rd, 2021 at 6:12pm CST by Eli Cohen

Derrick Rose had received interest from the Pelicans, Wizards, Bulls, and Heat before re-signing with the Knicks, write Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today. The USA Today adds that Kyle Lowry signing with the Heat helped usher Rose back to the Knicks and coach Tom Thibodeau. Rose agreed to a three-year, $43MM deal on Monday.

In the same piece, Zillgitt and Medina write that five other teams considered signing Nemanja Bjelica with their mid-level exception, but Bjelica prioritized signing with the Warriors instead. Bjelica agreed to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum earlier today.

We have more free agency rumors:

The Suns have two or three roster spots available, and according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, they expect to fill those spots with another big man, a ball-handler, and a wing. Gambadoro adds that JaVale McGee‘s agreed-upon deal will use part of the non-tax payer mid-level exception, leaving the remainder for another move.
Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reports that the Timberwolves have met with RFA Jarred Vanderbilt. The 6’9 power forward is coming off his best season as a pro, averaging 5.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 1.2 APG and providing an interesting blend of defense and play-making from the forward spot.
Georges Niang may be on the Sixers‘ radar as a backup power forward, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Niang has had a productive last three years for the Jazz, and would give the Sixers another shooter in the frontcourt.
Dennis Schröder was seeking $25MM a year when free agency started, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Now that Schröder is one of the last point guards left on the market, it’s unclear how much that number has come down.

Pelicans Sign Didi Louzada To Four-Year Contract

August 3rd, 2021 at 1:54pm CST by JD Shaw

AUGUST 13: The Pelicans have officially re-signed Louzada, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

AUGUST 3: The Pelicans have agreed to a new four-year contract with swingman Didi Louzada, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

New Orleans had been hoping to keep Louzada after declining his $1.5MM team option for 2021-22 last weekend. By declining the option and re-signing him on a new deal, the team now has the ability to keep him for years to come.

Louzada, 22, was the No. 35 pick in 2019. He signed with New Orleans toward the end of last season after spending two years overseas, appearing in three games.

The Pelicans finished the 2020/21 season with a 31-41 record — the 11th best in the Western Conference. The franchise parted ways with head coach Stan Van Gundy at the end of the campaign, hiring former NBA guard Willie Green in his place.

Young, Satoransky, Brunson Receive Salary Guarantees

August 3rd, 2021 at 12:22am CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls forward Thaddeus Young ($14.2MM) and guard Tomas Satoransky ($10MM) both saw their contracts for next season become fully guaranteed on Monday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Satoransky is reportedly on the way to the Pelicans as part of a sign-and-trade involving Lonzo Ball.

Also having his salary guaranteed Monday was Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson ($1.8MM), Marks adds (via Twitter). Marks identifies Brunson as a potential extension candidate.

All three players will be in line for unrestricted free agency next summer.

Free Agency Rumors: Oubre, Mills, Dinwiddie, Carmelo, More

August 2nd, 2021 at 10:38pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent swingman Kelly Oubre received interest from the Heat after free agency began, but didn’t set a meeting with Miami because he is hoping to net a contract “well above” the mid-level exception, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).

Now that Miami has committed to using most of its mid-level exception on P.J. Tucker, Oubre is almost certainly off the table for the Heat, even if his asking price drops.

Here are more free agency rumors from around the NBA world:

Free agent sharpshooting combo guard Patty Mills has received interest from the Lakers and Nets, per Marc Stein of Substack (via Twitter). Anthony Slater of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the Warriors could also pursue Mills and posits that he may fetch a deal that within range of the taxpayer mid-level. Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets that the Nets are apparently a distant third in the sweepstakes to sign Mills.
Jordan Schultz of ESPN reports (Twitter link) that free agent point guard Spencer Dinwiddie appears unlikely to sign with the Mavericks.
37-year-old free agent forward Carmelo Anthony continues to weigh interest from the Lakers and Knicks, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Before Alex Caruso finalized his four-year agreement with the Bulls, Caruso’s camp checked back in with the Lakers and was told L.A. wouldn’t be putting a counter-offer on the table, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Newly re-signed Nuggets reserve power forward JaMychal Green fielded richer offers in free agency than the two-year, $17MM contract he ultimately signed to remain in Denver, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Singer says the Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Spurs were the other teams most interested in Green.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Pelicans To Acquire Devonte’ Graham Via Sign-And-Trade

August 2nd, 2021 at 8:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans are acquiring restricted free agent point guard Devonte’ Graham in a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Graham will be signing a four-year, $47MM contract with New Orleans, his agents Ty Sullivan and Austin Brown tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, Charlotte is getting a first-round pick back in the deal. Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that it’ll be the Pelicans’ own 2022 first-rounder, with top-14 protection.

Having approached free agency hoping to land a top-tier point guard such as Chris Paul or Kyle Lowry, the Pelicans were forced to pivot as those All-Stars committed to other teams. Instead, the team will end up with Tomas Satoransky (via the Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade with Chicago) and Graham, who emerged as a reliable start during the last two years in Charlotte.

Graham isn’t an especially efficient scorer, having made just 37.7% of his field goal attempts in 2020/21. However, that’s primarily a result of his struggles scoring inside the arc — his three-point mark was a very respectable 37.5%. In addition to his ability to make threes, Graham is an above-average play-maker (6.5 APG over the last two seasons) and a respectable defender.

Moving on from Graham shouldn’t be a major blow to the Hornets, since they still have a solid backcourt that features LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and lottery pick James Bouknight. Charlotte could also now have an extra pick in the first round of the 2022 draft, and with Graham no longer on the books, the club will create a little extra cap flexibility in both the short- and long-term.