New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Charania’s Latest: CP3, Klay, Harris, RHJ, Randle, More

June 26th, 2019 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

League sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that Chris Paul never demanded a trade from the Rockets, but suggested at season’s end that he’d understand if the club decided to go in a different direction. According to Charania, Houston told Paul it remained committed to him, and he has reciprocated that commitment.

While Paul and James Harden haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, Charania hears that the two Rockets guards have been communicating since the season ended and had a positive conversation on Father’s Day.

Even if the Rockets wanted to move Paul, there would likely be no market for him, as the Rockets discovered when they quietly gauged his value in recent weeks, Charania writes.

Charania’s latest round-up at The Athletic includes several other noteworthy tidbits on 2019’s upcoming free agent period, so let’s pass along some highlights…

The Warriors and Klay Thompson will meet in Los Angeles at the start of free agency, per Charania. While Charania – like ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski – has heard that Thompson could speak to the Clippers if talks with Golden State break down, the Warriors and Thompson’s camp expect a quick agreement if the team puts a five-year, maximum-salary offer on the table.
After Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer named the Clippers as a possible suitor for Tobias Harris, Charania says the same thing, noting that the two sides still have a good relationship. Charania also adds the Pelicans – who now have significant cap room – to the list of teams expected to express interest in Harris.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who didn’t receive a qualifying offer from Brooklyn, is expected to draw interest from the Suns, Timberwolves, and Rockets as an unrestricted free agent, reports Charania.
The Bulls, Knicks, and Nets are viewed as potential suitors for Julius Randle, sources tell Charania.
Teams in need of some help at the point guard spot – including the Suns, Bulls, Wizards, and Kings – have shown interest in Cory Joseph, says Charania.
If the Knicks miss out on their top free agent targets, they’ll plan on trying to sign “high-level rotation players” to one- or two-year deals, according to Charania, who suggests that Celtics RFA-to-be Terry Rozier may be one target.

Details On Draft-Night Trade With Warriors

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

The Warriors sent an even $1MM and their own 2021 and 2023 unprotected second-round picks to the Pelicans in order to acquire the rights to No. 39 pick Alen Smailagic, Pincus tweets.

Zion Williamson Is Match Made In Heaven For Pelicans

June 23rd, 2019 at 10:02pm CST by JD Shaw

Zion Williamson is a match made in heaven for the Pelicans, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. New Orleans drafted Williamson No. 1 overall and plans to add him to a young core that includes Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and others.

Lakers Notes: Irving, Russell, Horton-Tucker, Adams

June 22nd, 2019 at 5:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving or D’Angelo Russell? The Lakers may wind up chasing whichever free agent point guard doesn’t sign with the Nets, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Rumors have had Irving headed to Brooklyn for a few weeks, but there were rumblings recently that the Nets’ front office isn’t sold on Irving without Kevin Durant.

If Brooklyn adds Irving, that means Russell, a restricted free agent, will likely be renounced. If Irving goes elsewhere, the Nets are expected to work out a new deal with Russell. Either way, that puts a talented guard on the market for the Lakers, who are looking for someone to pair in a Big Three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Russell had a checkered history during the two years he spent in L.A., but Nick Young is gone, along with the other former teammates he feuded with.

Irving has championship experience and has played with LeBron before. However, at 27, he’s four year’s older than Russell and probably much more expensive. He won’t take less than a max deal, while Pincus suggests the Lakers may be able to land Russell for about $80MM over four seasons.

There’s also a sense that Irving is more difficult to handle, with a rival executive telling Pincus, “They’re both divas, but Irving takes it to another level. Russell may be high-maintenance, but he’s no Kyrie.”

There’s more from L.A.:

The Lakers are trying to convince the Hawks to become part of the Davis trade, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on Sports Center (video clip tweeted by Lakers Outsider). Lakers GM Rob Pelinka wants to open more cap room by sending Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to Atlanta in a three-team deal. The Hawks agreed to a trade with New Orleans for the No. 4 pick on draft night, so it’s possible those moves will turn into a single transaction.
L.A. sent $2.2MM to the Magic for the rights to the rights to the 46th pick, McMenamin tweets. They used that selection to take Iowa State’s Talen Horton-Tucker.
The Lakers received permission from the Warriors today to talk to assistant coach Ron Adams, according to Ohm Youngmisuk and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. There’s no indication that Adams is interested in leaving Golden State, but L.A. could change his mind by making a large offer.

And-Ones: Wiseman, Barrett, Dedmon, Barbosa, DeMarco

June 22nd, 2019 at 11:58am CST by Dana Gauruder

The latest 2020 mock draft has Memphis freshman center James Wiseman going to the Knicks with the No. 1 pick. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Georgia guard Anthony Edwards going to the Cavaliers at No. 2 and North Carolina guard Cole Anthony heading to the Suns at No. 3.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Top pick Zion Williamson and his former college teammate R.J. Barrett could face each other in the Las Vegas summer league opener, the Associated Press reports. The Pelicans’ summer squad will face the Knicks on July 5.
Dewayne Dedmon, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay are among the underrated free agents heading to the market, Ameer Tyree of the Sporting News writes.
Former NBA guard Leandro Barbosa will return to the Brazilian league and re-sign with Minas Storm, Sportando reports.
Warriors assistant Chris DeMarco has agreed to become the head coach of the Bahamas Basketball Federation’s national team, according to a report from ESPN’s Marc Spears. The Bahamas did not qualify for the FIBA World Cup this summer but it does have some NBA talent, including Deandre Ayton and Buddy Hield.

Jalen Adams To Receive Exhibit 10 Deal With Pelicans

June 21st, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Undrafted University of Connecticut point guard Jalen Adams will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pelicans, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.

Adams averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 3.4 APG during his senior year, which was limited to 26 games due to a knee injury. He posted averages of 18.1/4.2/4.7 in the same categories as a junior. The 6’3” Adams started 99 of 124 career games with the Huskies.

He made the rounds prior to the draft, working out for a number of teams. He’ll look to earn a roster spot with New Orleans during camp.

Griffin: Zion Not Face Of Franchise -- Yet

June 21st, 2019 at 7:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ top executive, David Griffin, is trying his best to keep the pressure off top pick Zion Williamson. He said on Friday to ESPN”s Malika Andrews and other media members that Williamson doesn’t have the burden of “saving this franchise.” Griffin added that Williamson is not yet the face of the franchise. “This is Jrue Holiday‘s team,” Griffin said. “Zion is going to be learning how to win at a really high level. At some point, if there is a time that the baton gets passed in terms of who is expected to carry us to win games, it will. That is not now.”

Pelicans Sought Covington In Trade Talks With Wolves

June 21st, 2019 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Krawczynski, the Timberwolves might have had an opportunity to move up to No. 4 before the Pelicans made a deal with the Hawks, but Minnesota was seeking the No. 11 pick and Robert Covington and would’ve wanted to dump Solomon Hill‘s unwanted contract on the Wolves.

[SOURCE LINK]

Warriors Acquire No. 39 Pick, Select Smailagic

June 20th, 2019 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

11:13pm: The trade is now official. The Warriors gave New Orleans second-round picks in 2021 and 2023 and cash, Mark Medina of the San Jose Mercury News tweets.

10:43pm: The Warriors acquired the rights to the No. 39 pick from the Pelicans and selected Alen Smailagic, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The Pelicans received two future second-rounders and cash in the trade, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.

This was an unusual case of Golden State gaining the rights to a player it had on its G League team last season.

The Serbian power forward played for Santa Cruz but wasn’t draft-eligible until this year. He was shut down early in the pre-draft process and stashed in Serbia from the rest of the NBA. He averaged 9.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 17.4 MPG over 47 G League appearances, mostly off the bench.

Anthony Davis Trade Likely To Become Official July 6

June 20th, 2019 at 7:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ decision to move the No. 4 pick to the Hawks today makes it likely that the Anthony Davis trade to the Lakers will be finalized on July 6, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The Lakers emerged from the lottery with the No. 4 pick and agreed to trade it to the Pelicans as part of the Davis deal. New Orleans reached an agreement to forward the pick to the Hawks just prior to the draft.

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and the Pelicans’ top executive, David Griffin, agreed that if a third team was looped into the Davis trade, the teams would make the deal official on July 6.

The Davis deal could theoretically be delayed until July 30, as newly-drafted players can’t be dealt for 30 days after signing a contract. Waiting those 30 days would be advantageous to the Lakers for cap-related reasons. However, it would have been unrealistic for the Lakers to expect the Pelicans and Hawks to wait that long to bring in those traded players.

Pelinka was already on board with making the trade official on July 6 before New Orleans came to an agreement with Atlanta, according to Wojnarowski.

Thus, the Lakers won’t be able to count the No. 4 pick’s salary slot for salary-matching purposes in the AD trade. In order to maximize their cap room, they’ll have to use the cap room first by signing free agents, then make the Davis deal as an over-the-cap team under salary-matching guidelines.

The Lakers are offering the contracts of Moritz Wagner, Jemerrio Jones, and Isaac Bonga to teams as part of the Davis deal in order to make the salaries match up. The Hawks don’t necessarily have to be part of the Davis deal, since the Pelicans could make that trade separately after the trade with the Lakers becomes official.

Davis could also waive most or all of his $4MM trade bonus, something that he’s not necessarily expected to do. In a scenario where the Lakers get Davis to agree and find a taker for each of the three aforementioned players as part of a larger AD deal, Los Angeles could have roughly $32MM in cap space.