New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Davis Deal Could Be Delayed If Leonard Remains Undecided

July 5th, 2019 at 10:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Anthony Davis trade could be delayed if Kawhi Leonard doesn’t choose a team by noon ET on Saturday, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Bobby Marks report.

The complex, four-way series of deals involving the Lakers, Pelicans, Hawks and Wizards can become official Saturday. The Lakers would lose their ability to give Leonard a max contract if any of the other teams involved decline to delay the trade. However, those teams are expected to cooperate, according to Marks.

The Lakers and Pelicans agreed on the initial trade in which Los Angeles sent Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks to New Orleans for Davis. Los Angeles opened up a $32MM salary slot by agreeing to ship Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones and a 2022 second-round pick to Washington, which sent cash to New Orleans. Davis also agreed to waive his $4MM trade kicker.

New Orleans and Atlanta made a big draft-night swap as an offshoot of the Davis trade. New Orleans agreed to move the No. 4 overall pick, forward De’Andre Hunter, they received from the Lakers as well as a late second-rounder along with Solomon Hill‘s contract to the Hawks for two first-rounders, center Jaxson Hayes and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, an early second-round pick and a first-rounder next year.

Without the delay, the Lakers could only offer Leonard a four-year, $127MM contract — $11MM less than the max over the life of the deal.

Leonard’s indecision also may cause some other delays.

The Pelicans won’t be able to sign free agent guard J.J. Redick until the Hill trade is finished. Hill is ticketed to the Grizzlies in another trade once the Davis deal is completed. The rookies involved in those proposed transactions, as well as the three young players headed to the Wizards, aren’t allowed to play summer league ball until everything is finalized.

Pelicans’ Second-Rounder Louzada To Play In Australia

July 5th, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Pelicans second-round pick Marcos Louzada Silva – aka Didi Louzada – will sign with the Sydney Kings as part of the National Basketball League’s “Next Stars” program, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (Twitter link)

Louzada, a 6’5″ shooting guard, has spent the last two seasons playing for Franca in Brazil, earning a Novo Basquete Brasil All-Star nod earlier this year. The Pelicans will acquire his draft rights in a trade with the Hawks that was agreed upon on draft day. He was selected 35th overall.

With three rookies – Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker – set to join their roster, the Pelicans have opted to go the draft-and-stash route with Louzada, who will have an NBA out clause for next summer in his deal with the Kings, per Givony. He’ll also receive English tutoring while he plays in Australia, Givony adds.

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

The NBL’s Next Stars program, introduced in 2018, gives teams an extra roster spot for import prospects. It paid a salary of approximately $78K in its initial season.

Guillory Explores Brandon Ingram's Fit With Pelicans

July 5th, 2019 at 11:06am CST by Luke Adams

Will Guillory of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at how Brandon Ingram might fit into the Pelicans‘ short- and long-term plans after the team made deals to add J.J. Redick and Derrick Favors to its roster this week.

Williamson, Morant Sign Rookie Contracts

July 1st, 2019 at 5:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The top two picks in the draft, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, have officially signed their rookie contracts, according to a press release from the Pelicans and a tweet from the Grizzlies’ PR department.

Assuming he receives a max of 120% of the rookie-scale salary for the top pick, Williamson will earn approximately $9.757MM in his first year, according to Jeff Siegel of EarlyBirdRights.com (Twitter link). Morant would receive $8.73MM if he received the max for the second pick.

Williamson’s salary numbers for years 2-4 would be $10.245MM, $10.733MM and $13.535MM. Morant would get $9.167MM, $9.6MM and $12.1MM over those seasons.

Williamson appeared in 33 games for Duke, averaging 22.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.1 SPG and 1.8 BPG. With Anthony Davis‘ impending trade to the Lakers, he’ll immediately be the marquee attraction for the franchise.

Morant averaged 24.5 PPG, 10.0 APG and 5.7 RPG for Murray State. Morant should step right into the starting lineup after veteran point guard Mike Conley was shipped to the Jazz.

Pelicans Won’t Bid For Al Horford

June 29th, 2019 at 8:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

New Orleans won’t be among the teams pursuing Al Horford when free agency begins tomorrow, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Horford created some excitement when he followed Jrue Holiday and Zion Williamson on Twitter earlier today, but that didn’t turn out to be a sign that he was planning to join them as a teammate.

The Pelicans won’t sign anyone to a four-year contract this offseason, Stein adds (Twitter link). Horford has indicated that an unidentified team is prepared to offer him a four-year deal in excess of $100MM.

Will Guillory of The Athletic confirmed Stein’s report, adding that the bidding for Horford got higher than the Pelicans were willing to spend (Twitter link).

Horford, 33, was a veteran leader and a source of stability on an otherwise chaotic Celtics team this season. His numbers remained typical at 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 68 games.

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.

Pelicans, Kings Interested In Al Horford

June 29th, 2019 at 12:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans are interested in Al Horford but fear that another team will outbid them for his services, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports (Twitter link).

Sacramento could be the team that the Pelicans are fearing. SI’s Chris Mannix tweets that many around the league see the Kings are a strong threat to make Horford a lucrative offer once free agency begins. Mannix adds that Horford fits what the team needs on the floor and could add leadership in the young locker room.

Stein had previously passed along that there was a sense around the league that Horford had a mystery team willing to make him a four-year offer worth in excess of $100MM. The scribe recently tweeted that the Pelicans may not be that suitor. While New Orleans is interested, the Kings might be the aggressive suitor that rival teams fear will win the Horford sweepstakes.