New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Dennis Schroder

July 5th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks would like to find a trade involving point guard Dennis Schroder, but so far the packages available to them haven’t been strong enough to warrant a deal, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports. According to Schultz, Atlanta is “content” with the idea of starting the 2018/19 season with both Schroder and top pick Trae Young on its roster.

Schultz’s report is in line with the public stance conveyed by the Hawks since last month’s draft. While a report in mid-June indicated that Schroder was on the trade block in Atlanta, general manager Travis Schlenk and head coach Lloyd Pierce each expressed confidence after the draft that the incumbent point guard could co-exist with the incoming rookie Young.

The Pelicans may be one potential suitor for Schroder. According to Fletcher Mackel of WDSU in New Orleans (Twitter link), the Pelicans have “had discussions” about the possibility of acquiring the Hawks’ point guard in a trade.

It’s unclear if those were internal talks or if the Pelicans actually negotiated with Atlanta at all, but either way, nothing appears imminent. Mackel notes that New Orleans is high on Schroder’s talent and potential on-court fit, but has “major” concerns about off-court factors, including his legal issues.

Schroder was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge last September, with Georgia officials recommending in March that he be prosecuted for felony aggravated battery. The 24-year-old figures to face discipline from his team and/or the league when that case is resolved.

With concerns about Schroder’s legal troubles and locker-room fit suppressing his value, the Hawks figure to have a hard time finding a favorable deal for him this offseason, but Schlenk and the front office will likely remain on the lookout.

Pelicans Notes: Cousins, Rondo, Randle, Payton

July 3rd, 2018 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans made a two-year, $40MM offer to DeMarcus Cousins between his Achilles injury in January and the end of the season, Marc Stein of The New York Times states in his latest newsletter. Cousins rejected the offer, and New Orleans’ front office responded by taking it off the table.

Cousins committed to Golden State last night, taking the Warriors’ MLE of $5.3MM for next season. The Lakers had an opportunity to get Cousins for a similar price, Stein adds, but once they passed, it was an easy decision for him to join the Warriors.

The Pelicans hadn’t given up hope of retaining Cousins when free agency began, but the door closed when they signed Julius Randle for $18MM over two years. Stein notes that Anthony Davis played an aggressive role in recruiting Randle to New Orleans.

There’s more Pelicans news to pass along:

The trade with the Kings that brought Cousins to New Orleans will be remembered as a mistake, according to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune. The Pelicans gave up two first-round picks in Buddy Hield and a 2017 selection that turned out to be Zach Collins. In exchange, they got just 65 games out of Cousins.
Rajon Rondo and Cousins both made shrewd business decisions, Duncan adds in the same story. The Lakers gave Rondo more money than the Pelicans were offering, along with the chance to team up with LeBron James. Cousins found a low-stress environment to rehab his injured Achilles while getting an excellent chance to win a ring. The Pelicans also showed they’re not ready to pay the luxury tax, with Randle and Elfrid Payton providing cheaper alternatives to Cousins and Rondo.
The free agent drama in New Orleans could be repeated next summer, writes Scott Kushner of The Advocate. The Pelicans took a little bit of the sting out of losing Cousins and Rondo by agreeing to deals with Randle and Payton. However, Randle can opt out after one season and Payton is only signed for a year. Nikola Mirotic, who fit well alongside Davis after arriving from the Bulls in a midseason trade, will also be a free agent.

More On DeMarcus Cousins’ Deal With Warriors

July 3rd, 2018 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

In a conversation with Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, DeMarcus Cousins explains that he chose to pursue a deal with the Warriors – calling GM Bob Myers himself – because he hadn’t received any offers from other teams, adding that Pelicans GM Dell Demps said New Orleans didn’t plan to re-sign him.

Recognizing that he wasn’t going to get a maximum-salary deal, Cousins opted to play for a title contender for one year, aiming to rebuild his value in advance of 2019’s free agent period. “This was my ace of spades. This was my chess move,” Cousins told Spears.

It’s somewhat hard to believe that no team was willing to offer Cousins a contract before he accepted the Warriors’ $5.3MM offer, and that’s especially true of the Pelicans, who had insisted all along that they wanted to re-sign the star center.

According to Will Guillory of NOLA.com (Twitter link), Cousins never formally met with the Pelicans during free agency and may not have officially made an offer, but general numbers had been discussed and there was an “understanding of what each side was looking for.” It’s not true to say the Pels didn’t want Cousins, Guillory adds.

Still, it’s certainly fair to say that NBA-wide interest in Cousins wasn’t as strong as many observers expected. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link), Cousins’ Achilles injury and a lack of cap space around the league were factors, and so was his image. “There were teams with [cap] space who did not want him in their locker room and didn’t want him in their organization,” Wojnarowski said.

Here’s more on free agency’s most shocking contract agreement:

The Pelicans had a tentative meeting with Cousins scheduled for the coming days, but that meeting obviously won’t happen now, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
Lowe’s piece includes several other tidbits of note — he confirms Woj’s report that a number of teams had a “No Cousins policy,” and hears from sources that Cousins’ people were calling around on Monday and pitching deals to various teams. The big man’s camp proposed a one-year, $15MM deal to one club, but clearly there wasn’t a ton of interest, Lowe adds. For what it’s worth, Lowe is skeptical that Cousins’ deal with the Warriors will merit the kind of “hype” or “anguish” that it’s received so far, since his health and fit are still question marks.
While a previous report indicated Cousins narrowed his choices to the Warriors and Celtics, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears from a league source that the Celtics didn’t get a chance to make a formal offer. The C’s heard Cousins might have interest in coming to Boston, but by the time they began looking into it, his deal with Golden State was done, says Himmelsbach.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer takes a look at the NBA system that allowed the Warriors to add Cousins to their super-team, exploring whether the idea of a hard cap could gain momentum or stop this sort of move in the future.
We rounded up several more Cousins-related notes on Monday night.

DeMarcus Cousins Leftovers: Blazers, Celtics, Warriors’ Recruitment

July 2nd, 2018 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Before DeMarcus Cousins agreed to join the defending-champion Warriors on a one-year, $5.3MM contract, the Trail Blazers and Pelicans discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal that would have sent the star center to Portland, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). However, according to Haynes, the fact that Cousins and Jusuf Nurkic share the same agent was one roadblock in those talks.

Even if not for that issue, it would have been tricky for the Pelicans and Blazers to reach a deal that worked for both sides. Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade would have hard-capped the Blazers, who were already well over the cap, so they likely would have had to send at least one or two players to New Orleans. It’s not clear if talks progressed to the point where the two sides were discussing specific players.

Here’s more on the free agency decision that has practically made LeBron James‘ move to Los Angeles an afterthought tonight:

Cousins had narrowed down his choices to Golden State and Boston before opting for the Warriors, according to Haynes (Twitter link). The Celtics could have comfortably matched Golden State’s offer and would have been a fascinating destination for Cousins — with LeBron out of the East, the C’s already look like a favorite to represent the conference in the Finals in 2019, so the team’s status as the frontrunner would have been cemented with Cousins in the mix.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports takes a look at the Warriors‘ recruitment of Cousins, which was led by his USA Basketball teammates Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, along with GM Bob Myers. Cousins also had “positive phone calls” with head coach Steve Kerr, league sources tell Charania.
The Warriors were initially reluctant to believe in Cousins’ interest, according to Charania, who adds that the big man also received interest from the Pelicans, Mavericks, and Wizards. Golden State’s agreement with Cousins came together so quickly that some members of the organization were “stunned” when word of the deal broke, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
Speaking to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter links), Cousins called his decision to join the Warriors the “smartest move ever,” and said he’s still hoping to return from his Achilles injury for training camp. Reports tonight suggested the Dubs may be eyeing a December or January return to action for their latest acquisition.
Cousins also told Spears that he received no significant contract offers when free agency began, but was prepared for that possibility due to his Achilles injury (Twitter link).
While it’s not impossible that Cousins could end up hurting the Warriors more than he helps, the addition – combined with the Rockets’ loss of Trevor Ariza – appears to have further widened the gap between Golden State and the rest of the NBA, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com in his breakdown of the deal.

Free Agent Rumors: Crawford, Ellington, Bjelica, Williams

July 2nd, 2018 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers are interested in veteran free agent guard Jamal Crawford, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Crawford could fortify a bench that has lost Ersan Ilyasovaand Marco Belinelli since the start of free agency. Crawford, 38, averaged 10.3 PPG in 20.7 MPG for the Timberwolves last season. The Pelicans, Cavaliers, Warriors and Nuggets are also reportedly in the mix for Crawford, who opted out of his contract with Minnesota and left $4.54MM on the table.

In other news regarding the free agent market:

Unrestricted free agent shooting guard Wayne Ellington has drawn significant interest but he’s viewed as a good bet to re-sign with the Heat, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports tweets. Miami has a cap hold of $8.15MM on Ellington, who appeared in 77 games and averaged 11.2 PPG in 26.5 MPG while shooting 39.2% from long range.
The Jazz have a strong interest in Nemanja Bjelica, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The Timberwolves pulled their qualifying offer to the power forward in order to sign Anthony Tolliver, thus making Bjelica an unrestricted free agent.
The Knicks are interested in Alan Williams if he clears waivers, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Suns waived the power forward/center on Monday. The Knicks have also reached out to free agent power forwards Amir Johnson and Trevor Booker, Berman adds.
Williams hasn’t ruled out a return to the Suns but his agent has already heard from a handful of teams interested in his services, according to Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic. Williams, who appeared in only five games last season due to a knee injury, had a non-guaranteed salary of $5.5MM for next season and will likely get through waivers.
The Lakers have renounced their free-agent exception rights to guard Andre Ingram and power forward Travis Wear, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Lakers had a cap hold of $1.338MM on Ingram and $1.5MM on Wear. Ingram appeared in two games with Los Angeles last season, while Wear saw action in 17 games.
The Suns renounced their free-agent exception rights to center Alex Len, according to the RealGM transaction log. The Suns had a $7.96MM cap hold on Len. He appeared in 69 games last season but became expendable when they drafted Deandre Ayton.

Pelicans In Mix For Kyle O'Quinn

July 2nd, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers continue to express interest in free agent center Kyle O’Quinn, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, who reports (via Twitter) that the Clippers and Pelicans are also in the mix for O’Quinn.
Dwight Howard still has to be traded and then bought out before he officially becomes a free agent, but he could hit the market in about a week. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that he keeps hearing the Wizards and Warriors as potential landing spots for Howard. Sam Amick of USA Today reported over the weekend that the former No. 1 pick has interest in the Pelicans, Warriors, and Wizards, though Amick and others have suggested Golden State may not be sold on Howard’s fit.

Pelicans Sign Elfrid Payton

July 2nd, 2018 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8, 6:57pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Payton, according to the NBA’s transactions log. With Julius Randle taking up New Orleans’ mid-level exception, the team is expected to use its bi-annual exception on Payton.

JULY 2, 9:30am: Payton’s one-year deal with the Pelicans will pay him $2.7MM, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter link) first reported that it would be worth more than the minimum, but less than the bi-annual exception ($3.382MM).

JULY 1, 9:57pm: The Pelicans have reached an agreement on a deal with point guard Elfrid Payton, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that it’ll be a one-year contract. Payton, who didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Suns, had been an unrestricted free agent.

Payton, 24, spent the first three and a half seasons of his NBA career in Orlando before being sent to Phoenix in a midseason trade earlier this year. In 19 games with the Suns, the former 10th overall pick averaged 11.8 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 5.3 RPG, numbers that were about in line with his career averages.

While Payton has the ability to fill up the stat sheet on a given night, his shooting and defensive shortcomings have limited his impact throughout his four-year NBA career. During his time in Phoenix, he shot just .435/.200/.685, and the team had a 115.7 defensive rating when he played (108.9 when he sat). He fell out of the Suns’ rotation by the end of the season.

Still, the Pelicans will look to unlock Payton’s full potential, adding him to a backcourt that features Jrue Holiday, E’Twaun Moore, and Frank Jackson. New Orleans also has interest in re-signing free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, and remains hopeful of bringing him back into the fold even after reaching a deal with Payton, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Payton’s deal with the Pelicans represents a homecoming for the 6’4″ guard, who was born in Gretna, Louisiana and played his college ball at Louisiana-Lafayette.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agency Notes: George, MCW, Booker, Parker

July 1st, 2018 at 3:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Thunder and Paul George agreed to a four-year deal worth $137MM at the start of free agency and according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team will have the option to offer George an even bigger raise in two years.

Under the new CBA, the team can offer George an extension after the second anniversary of the deal, meaning PG13 can sign a four-year max deal in 2020 that locks him in for seven seasons. The total value of the potential seven-year pact would come in at an estimated $290MM based off of future salary cap projections.

The team’s ability to re-sign George was shocking to some, as many expected the 5-time All-Star to leave OKC for Los Angeles, a city he’s been linked to for quite some time. It’s possible that the team’s ability to offer the max extension at the halfway point of the four-year contract was part of George’s motivation to stick around, though that’s merely my speculation.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Rockets will meet with Michael Carter-Williams, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). While Houston appears to be looking into ancillary parts for its team, the franchise hasn’t given up hope on pursuing LeBron James.
The Jazz and Pelicans have both expressed interest in Trevor Booker, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link). The Wolves, Rockets, Knicks, and Spurs also have an eye on the big man.
The Bulls have interest in Jabari Parker, Kennedy tweets. Chicago is one of several teams expected to pursue the former No. 2 overall pick.
The Wolves are looking to sign Dante Cunningham, sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Minnesota has eyes for a bevy of veteran free agents to fill it’s five open roster spots.

O’Connor’s Latest: LeBron, Cousins, Lakers, Wizards

July 1st, 2018 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Within his latest piece for The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor focuses primarily on DeMarcus Cousins‘ free agency and his possible fit with the Lakers. Along the way, he relays a few tidbits of note, so let’s dive in and round them up…

The Lakers are still viewed by O’Connor’s sources as the favorites to sign LeBron James, though they aren’t considered locks. O’Connor notes that some executives believe James has already decided on the Lakers and that his “indecision is all theater.”
According to O’Connor, James “remains interested” by the idea of playing with Cousins. If that happens, it would almost certainly be with the Lakers, since no other team has the cap room to sign both players.
If the Lakers make Cousins a contract offer, league sources expect it to be a one- or two-year maximum-salary deal, says O’Connor. That would allow both sides to test out the fit on a trial basis, though it might not be enough to lure Cousins away from the Pelicans if New Orleans makes a longer-term offer.
The Wizards are considered a possible sign-and-trade spot for Cousins, but O’Connor’s sources classify such a deal as a long shot. Alex Len is a more realistic target for Washington, O’Connor adds.

Free Agent Notes: Stephenson, Tolliver, McGee, O’Quinn

July 1st, 2018 at 11:50am CST by Arthur Hill

Plenty of teams will have interest in Lance Stephenson once the higher-profile free agents are signed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. The Pacers remain open to bringing back the 27-year-old swingman after declining their team option on him this week. Wolfson lists the Timberwolves, Knicks, Sixers and Lakers as other interested teams, but says there are more.

Stephenson appeared in all 82 games for Indiana this season, averaging 9.2 points per night. He would have made $4.36MM in 2018/19 if the Pacers had picked up his option.

There’s more free agent news to pass along:

Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has talked to Pistons free agent Anthony Tolliver, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). Tolliver shot 44% from 3-point range this season, and Minnesota sees him as a possible replacement for Jamal Crawford. The Wolves also like his locker room presence, which could be valuable if Cole Aldrich doesn’t come back.
JaVale McGee has said he wants to return to the Warriors, but he is also getting interest from the Lakers, Pelicans and Thunder, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Because of luxury tax concerns, Golden State is unlikely to offer more than a veteran’s minimum contract, while the other teams have more financial flexibility. McGee averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.6RPG this season, but his numbers rose after he became a starter after the All-Star break. This is the third straight summer of free agency for McGee, who has spent the past two seasons with the Warriors.
The new contract for Luke Kornet is a sign that Kyle O’Quinn won’t return to the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. He adds that the Sixers are showing “heavy interest” in O’Quinn, who spent the past three years in New York as a backup center.
The Knicks are hoping to re-sign Isaiah Hicks, who was on a two-way contract this season, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley. New York gave him a qualifying offer last week, making him a free agent and giving the team the right to match any offer. Hicks appeared in 18 NBA games, averaging 4.4 points per night.
A scheduled meeting between Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Clippers has been moved from today to Monday, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.