New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Waive Dairis Bertans

July 7th, 2019 at 4:27pm CST by clarkcrum

4:27pm: Bertans’ release is now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log. According to Lithuanian journalist Donatas Urbonas (Twitter link), the 29-year-old has already reached an agreement to sign with Russian club Khimki.

3:04pm: According to his agent, Arturs Kalnitis (Twitter link), the Pelicans will waive guard Dairis Bertans. Per Kalnitis’ tweet, it appears unlikely that Bertans will be claimed off waivers by another NBA team.

The news isn’t entirely unexpected, as the Pelicans would have had 17 players on standard contracts after the team’s trade for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart, reported trade for Derrick Favors, and reported signings of J.J. Redick, Darius Miller, and Nicolo Melli all came through.

Teams are permitted to have as many as 20 players on their roster during the offseason, but the Pelicans didn’t have the necessary cap space to sign Redick and trade for Favors without trimming some salary from their roster. By waiving Bertans, the Pelicans now figure to be able to complete those two deals, depending on the value of the first-year salary of Redick’s new contract.

Based on my math, the Pelicans can sign Redick to a starting salary of $12,853,641 after waiving Bertans (assuming Melli is signed with the room exception). With standard 5% raises, the total value of Redick’s contract would be just under $26.35MM, which is in line with the reported $26.5MM value.

As for Bertans, the 29-year-old Latvian will likely return to Europe after his one-year stay in the NBA, where he averaged 2.8 PPG in 12 games with the Pelicans.

Darren Erman Leaving Team

July 7th, 2019 at 4:01pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Scott Kushner of The Advocate, associate head coach Darren Erman is leaving the Pelicans coaching staff. Per Kushner, Erman remains a candidate for other NBA coaching jobs.

Pelicans Acquire Derrick Favors For Two Second-Rounders

July 7th, 2019 at 3:37pm CST by JD Shaw

JULY 7: The Jazz have officially traded Favors to the Pelicans, according to press releases issued by both teams.

Utah’s press release features a statement from owner Gail Miller praising Favors and thanking him for his “immeasurable contributions” to the organization. Meanwhile, Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin said in a statement that New Orleans is “ecstatic” to acquire a “player and person of Derrick’s caliber.”

“As a selfless, 27-year old elite rim protector, with what we believe is untapped offensive potential, he is just entering his prime,” Griffin said of Favors. “We believe he will be a vital piece of our nucleus moving forward.”

JULY 1: The Pelicans will send Utah the Warriors’ 2021 and 2023 second-round picks in the swap, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. New Orleans had initially acquired both picks in a draft-night deal with Golden State.

JUNE 30: The Pelicans have agreed to acquire forward Derrick Favors in a trade with the Jazz, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). New Orleans will send draft picks in exchange for Favors, Jones adds.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe was first to report Utah’s desire to move Favors to New Orleans, with the two sides reaching a deal hours into the first night of free agency.

The Jazz worked to trade Favors’ contract after reaching agreement on a four-year, $73MM deal with free agent Bojan Bogdanovic earlier in the night.

Favors, 27, has spent the past nine years of his career with the Jazz. He averaged 11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 23.2 minutes per game last season, starting in 70 of a possible 76 games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pelicans Sign Hayes, Alexander-Walker

July 7th, 2019 at 3:19pm CST by clarkcrum

The Pelicans have inked their two first-rounders from the 2019 NBA Draft not named Zion, agreeing to terms with both big man Jaxson Hayes (No. 8 overall) and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17 overall), per the NBA.com’s transactions log.

Assuming both players signed for the standard 120% of the rookie-scale, Hayes will earn $4,862,040 in his rookie season and $22,118,492 over the life of the contract, while Alexander-Walker will earn $2,964,840 in his first season and $14,349,113 over four years.

In his lone season at Texas, Hayes appeared in 32 games, averaging 10.0 PPG. 5.0 RPG, and an impressive 2.2 BPG en route to being named the 2018/19 Big 12 Rookie of the Year.

As for Alexander-Walker, he averaged 16.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.0 APG during his sophomore season for Virginia Tech after averaging 10.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a freshman. For his efforts last year, he was named 2018/19 Third Team All-ACC.

Free Agency Notes: Cap Holds, Williams, Magic, Wizards

July 7th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Nearly half the teams in the NBA renounced their rights to multiple free agents this week as they prepared to make new roster moves official, per RealGM’s transactions log. In some cases, like when the Clippers renounced the rights to Garrett Temple and Wilson Chandler, those free agents already new homes lined up, and removing their cap holds was simply a formality to create cap room for incoming additions.

In other cases, the housekeeping moves were a bit more noteworthy. The Pacers, for instance, renounced Darren Collison‘s Bird rights, so if the 31-year-old – who announced his retirement before the start of free agency – ever attempts an NBA comeback, Indiana will no longer have a leg up to re-acquire him.

Besides those two teams, the Hawks, Bucks, Nets, Jazz, Sixers, Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers, Kings, Celtics, Wizards, and Bulls also renounced various free agents, according to RealGM’s log.

Here are a few more notes related to free agency:

The Lakers have withdrawn their qualifying offer to two-way player Johnathan Williams and renounced his rights, according to RealGM. That doesn’t preclude the Lakers from bringing back Williams on a new two-way deal, but he’ll be able to sign outright with a new team if he so chooses.
At least nine teams are now confirmed to attend the Amar’e Stoudemire/Monta Ellis workout taking place in Las Vegas on Monday, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. We previously relayed word of Stoudemire’s and Ellis’ attempts to make NBA comebacks.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks provides salary cap updates on a pair of Southeast teams, tweeting that the Magic and Wizards are both safely out of luxury tax territory for now. According to Marks (Twitter links), Orlando has $3.5MM in breathing room under the tax line, counting Khem Birch‘s $1.8MM cap hold, while Washington is about $4MM below that threshold after cutting Jonathon Simmons.

Hawks, Pelicans Finalize De’Andre Hunter Trade

July 7th, 2019 at 12:39am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The Pelicans and Hawks have officially finalized their trade, which was initially agreed upon on draft night. The deal looks like this:

Hawks acquire Solomon Hill, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick), and a conditional 2023 second-round pick.
Pelicans acquire the draft rights to Jaxson Hayes (No. 8 pick), the draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17 pick), the draft rights to Marcos Louzada Silva (No. 35 pick), and the Cavaliers’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
- Note: The Cavaliers’ protected 2020 first-rounder will become two second-round picks (2021 and 2022) if it’s not conveyed in 2020.

JUNE 20: The Pelicans have reached an agreement with the Hawks on a trade that will send the No. 4 overall pick to Atlanta, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) first reported that the two teams were close to a deal.

According to Wojnarowski, New Orleans is receiving the Nos. 8, 17, and 35 picks in tonight’s draft in exchange for Nos. 4 and 57, along with Solomon Hill‘s expiring contract and a future second-round pick. The Pelicans will also acquire Cleveland’s heavily protected 2020 first-rounder from the Hawks, Woj adds (via Twitter).

League sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the Hawks are focused on drafting Virginia forward De’Andre Hunter with the fourth overall pick. A report earlier this week indicated that Atlanta was “very high” on Hunter, who reportedly didn’t work out for any teams besides besides the Hawks.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Hunter and Duke forward Cam Reddish are the two players Atlanta has targeted at No. 4, adding that the team is leaning toward Hunter. According to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link), Reddish’s camp has believed that the Hawks would keep No. 10 in a trade-up scenario, potentially to draft the Duke prospect with that selection.

Atlanta will indeed keep No. 10 in this deal with New Orleans. Having initially held six picks in the top 44, the Hawks have now traded away five of those picks (and taken on Hill’s unwanted $12.76MM salary for next season), but still hold Nos. 4, 10, and 57. They’re in position to draft a pair of top-10 prospects, including one they were willing to move up four spots for.

As for the Pelicans, new head of basketball operations David Griffin continues to stockpile assets — the team now holds five of the top 39 selections in this draft, including Nos. 1, 8, and 17. New Orleans also got out from under the final year of Hill’s contract, creating additional cap flexibility for free agency.

Technically, the Pelicans haven’t yet officially acquired the No. 4 pick from the Lakers, since the Anthony Davis blockbuster will have to be finalized in July. The same is true of the No. 17 pick, which the Hawks are acquiring in the not-yet-completed Allen Crabbe deal. Those trades will be officially finalized once the new league year begins, then this deal between New Orleans and Atlanta can be formally completed.

The Cavaliers’ pick headed to New Orleans in this swap is currently top-10 protected for 2020 and will become two second-rounders (in 2021 and 2022) if it doesn’t convey next season. It’s not clear if the Hawks added any additional protections, but given Cleveland’s outlook, it looks like that pick probably won’t end up being a real first-rounder.

Speaking of the Cavaliers, they’re receiving a ton of interest for the No. 5 pick, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com, who points out (via Twitter) that that could be the spot for Darius Garland now. The Vanderbilt point guard was previously considered the favorite to be the No. 4 pick.

Lakers Officially Acquire Anthony Davis In Three-Team Trade

July 6th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers, Pelicans, and Wizards have officially completed the three-team trade that makes Anthony Davis a Laker. All three teams issued press releases tonight to announce the deal. The structure of the trade is as follows:

Lakers acquire Anthony Davis.
Pelicans acquire Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick), the Lakers’ 2021 first-round pick (9-30 protected; unprotected in 2022), the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick (unprotected), the right to swap 2023 first-round picks with the Lakers, and cash ($1.1MM; from Wizards).
- Note: The Pelicans will also have the option to defer the 2024 first-round pick to 2025.
Wizards acquire Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, and the Lakers’ 2022 second-round pick.

The long-awaited deal was held up slightly today as the Lakers officially finalized a series of signings using their cap room. In order to maximize its cap space, the club had to sign free agents first before acquiring Davis. Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Quinn Cook, and JaVale McGee all signed their contracts with the Lakers since the July moratorium ended this afternoon.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, will now flip the rights to Hunter to the Hawks in a separate deal, putting the No. 4 pick on track to join his new team for Summer League action. Once the deal is done, Atlanta will also be able to complete its trade with the Sixers involving Bruno Fernando and Jordan Bone, then Philadelphia will be able to flip Bone to the Pistons.

For more details on one of the summer’s biggest trades, be sure to check out our previous stories on the Lakers/Pelicans aspect of the deal, as well as the Lakers/Wizards part of the swap.

Clippers Waive Tyrone Wallace, Sindarius Thornwell

July 6th, 2019 at 5:04pm CST by Luke Adams

5:04pm: The Clippers have officially waived both Wallace and guard Sindarius Thornwell, according to the NBA’s official transactions log. The 48th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Thornwell had a promising rookie season but struggled last year in a reduced role, averaging 1.0 PPG and 0.7 RPG in 64 games (4.9 MPG).

Thornwell’s $1,618,520 salary was due to become guaranteed on July 20, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, so the Clippers won’t be on the hook for it.

3:54am: The Clippers will waive guard Tyrone Wallace, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Per Basketball Insiders, Wallace was on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract which would have become partially guaranteed for $300K in September, then fully guaranteed in January.

The news of Wallace’s release will be significantly overshadowed by other Clippers-related moves tonight, as the team reached an agreement to sign Kawhi Leonard and struck a deal to acquire Paul George during perhaps the most dramatic half-hour in franchise history.

Still, Wallace saw a decent amount of action as a role player for the Clips in 2018/19, averaging 3.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 62 games (10.1 MPG). His performance represented a step down from his 2017/18 showing, when he posted 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 30 games (19 starts) while playing on a two-way contract.

Those rookie-year numbers helped earn Wallace an offer sheet from the Pelicans as a restricted free agent last summer, which the Clippers matched. Because of that offer sheet, New Orleans will be the only team not eligible to claim Wallace off waivers, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The former Cal standout will become an unrestricted free agent if he goes unclaimed.

Zion Williamson To Miss Rest Of Summer League

July 6th, 2019 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson will be held out for the remainder of this month’s Las Vegas Summer League after suffering a bruised left knee in Friday’s game, the Pelicans announced today in a press release.

While fans in Vegas will be disappointed not to see any more of Williamson in action this month, it’s no surprise that the Pelicans will be cautious with their new franchise cornerstone. Based on the club’s announcement, it doesn’t sound as if Zion’s knee issue is serious.

“Zion will move forward from this incident without issue,” head of basketball operations David Griffin said in a statement. “However, in an abundance of caution, we have made the determination that he will not appear in game action for the remainder of the NBA Summer League. He will continue to take part in training and conditioning with our performance team.”

Williamson played just nine minutes in his professional debut on Friday vs. the Knicks, but looked good in limited action, pouring in 11 points and grabbing three rebounds.

Thunder Leveraged Clippers, Raptors In George Trade Talks

July 6th, 2019 at 8:44am CST by Luke Adams

In what ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski describes as a “wild night of negotiations,” Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti leveraged the Clippers and Raptors off one another in Paul George trade talks as the Clippers tried to secure a commitment from Kawhi Leonard.

League sources tell Wojnarowski that the Clippers’ top decision-makers, owner Steve Ballmer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, and GM Michael Winger, “harbored fears” that the Raptors and Thunder were close to reaching a deal that would have sent George to Toronto.

Those fears – and their belief that they’d get a commitment from Leonard if they could land George – prompted the Clippers to surrender a substantial package headlined by young point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round picks (plus two pick swaps), which the Raptors couldn’t match.

According to Wojnarowski’s report, Presti pursued a deal with the Raptors that would have sent both George and Russell Westbrook to Toronto, with Pascal Siakam as the centerpiece of the deal. However, Raps president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri balked.

Woj doesn’t offer additional details on what the Thunder were seeking from the Raptors, but a trade would’ve had to feature significant expiring salaries (likely at least Kyle Lowry plus one of Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka). Given the package the Thunder eventually got from the Clippers, it presumably would’ve had to include a boatload of draft picks as well.

George was believed to be willing to join the Raptors if Toronto had worked out a deal for him and if Leonard was willing to stay, according to Wojnarowski.

As Wojnarowski notes in a tweet though, the Raptors ultimately didn’t have the assets to satisfy the Thunder’s demands, with or without Siakam. In other words, Eric Koreen of The Athletic tweets, the Raptors were being used for leverage and may not have been able to reach an agreement with the Thunder even if they’d wanted to. However, the threat of a potential deal with Toronto helped Oklahoma City get the return it wanted from the Clippers.

Here’s more from Woj:

To Leonard, the cost of a George trade for the Clippers was “immaterial,” according to Wojnarowski, who says that Kawhi believed PG13 was the co-star he needed to do battle with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles. The Finals MVP also had strong interest in playing for Doc Rivers, sources tell ESPN.
The Clippers believed that if they didn’t make a trade for George, Leonard was prepared to sign with the Lakers, per Wojnarowski.
Early in the free agent process, before the Clippers knew that George was the trade target Leonard had in mind, the team inquired on deals for Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday and Wizards guard Bradley Beal, but they weren’t available in trade talks, writes Wojnarowski.