Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers’ Vanderbilt Out At Least Two More Weeks

October 27th, 2023 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers will be without forward Jarred Vanderbilt for at least two more weeks, the team announced today (Twitter link via Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times).

According to the Lakers, Vanderbilt was reexamined by team doctors on Thursday and is still dealing with left heel bursitis. While he’s improving, Vanderbilt will be reevaluated by the medical staff in two weeks, at which time the club will provide another update.

Vanderbilt, 24, was one of two players sent from Utah to Los Angeles at the 2023 trade deadline, along with Malik Beasley (D’Angelo Russell arrived from Minnesota in the same three-team deal). Vanderbilt started 24 of 26 regular season games for the Lakers down the stretch, averaging 7.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per night while shooting 52.9% from the field and 78.4% from the free throw line.

Although he was one of the few Lakers who wasn’t a free agent this offseason, Vanderbilt still cashed in, agreeing to a four-year, $48MM veteran extension that will keep him under team control through at least the 2026/27 season. He’ll hold a player option for ’27/28.

Vanderbilt was considered a strong candidate to start in the Lakers’ frontcourt alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis to open the season. His injury opened the door for Taurean Prince to claim that starting spot.

Kyrie Irving: Trade Request Out Of Brooklyn Was “Best Decision Of My Career”

October 27th, 2023 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Ahead of Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn, his first as a member of the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving said that asking the Nets to trade him last season was “the best decision of my career,” according to Brian Lewis and Dan Martin of The New York Post.

“I was never on bad terms with the organization,” Irving told reporters on Thursday. “I just think there was a lot of chaos and noise, as usual, from the media. I’m not going to blame you guys or anything, but nobody really knew what was going on behind the scenes. I’m sure that people have their sources they go to [about] what was going on and what really happened.

“… But for me, it was the best decision of my career to ask for a trade. I knew I needed peace of mind.”

Irving, who joined the Nets along with Kevin Durant as a free agent in 2019, had a tumultuous stint with the franchise. He missed 142 of Brooklyn’s 298 total regular season and playoff games during his tenure with the team due to injuries, personal reasons, a refusal to adhere to New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and a suspension related to promoting an antisemitic film.

“It was rough all the way around,” Irving said. “After COVID and after the situations that took place there, there were circumstances that were either in my control or out of my control. And I didn’t want to play the blame game.”

Irving’s inconsistent availability due to his refusal to get vaccinated was reportedly one factor that caused James Harden to sour on playing for the Nets. After Harden requested and received a trade out of Brooklyn in 2022, Durant and Irving eventually followed suit and were both moved a year later, at the 2023 trade deadline.

Irving’s first couple months as a Maverick didn’t go according to plan, as Dallas went just 9-18 following his arrival, including 7-13 in games he played. However, the Mavs reaffirmed their belief in the backcourt duo of Irving and Luka Doncic by re-signing Kyrie to a three-year contract worth at least $120MM in July. The former Nets guard sounds happy to be in Dallas.

“Brooklyn should have just released me, and it would’ve made things a lot easier on everybody,” Irving said with a laugh when a reporter pointed out how much differently Texas handled COVID-19 than New York did. “But, [that’s] 20/20 hindsight.”

NBA Investigating James Harden’s Unavailability

October 26th, 2023 at 5:04pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The NBA is investigating the Sixers for guard James Harden‘s lack of availability for Thursday night’s game against the Bucks as it relates to the league’s new player participation policy, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Harden returned to the 76ers on Wednesday after being away from the team for 10 days due to what he and the team described as a personal matter.

Wojnarowski adds in a follow-up tweet that because Philadelphia is playing a national television game against Milwaukee, the new player policy rules state the Sixers have to provide a valid reason for why Harden isn’t playing since he’s healthy and a recent All-Star (within the last three years).

“We’re looking into the facts around James Harden’s availability tonight to determine whether an approved reason exists for his lack of participation,” said NBA spokesman Mike Bass.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, a star player is excused for national TV games due to injury, personal reasons and rare or unusual circumstances. While Harden isn’t necessarily hurt, Marks points out that he probably isn’t in game shape since he hasn’t been with the team in 10 days and the team likely feels the same way.

In a separate but related story, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report details Harden’s return to Philadelphia on Wednesday, which he says came as a surprise to Sixers officials. According to Haynes, Harden was approached by team officials, who told him it would be “beneficial” for him to remain in Philadelphia to continue to get re-acclimated with the team rather than travel for Philadelphia’s two-game road stretch to begin the season.

Harden interpreted the officials’ words as a suggestion, not a demand, according to Haynes, who writes the star guard traveled to the airport following practice to board the team flight, but was stopped by a security official who told him he wasn’t permitted to join the team.

The 10-time All-Star departed the airport frustrated by the incident, leading him and his camp to perceive the incident as the Sixers trying to remove a potential distraction, while the club insists it’s prioritizing his ramp-up to play, Haynes writes.

Harden’s trade request hasn’t wavered, according to Haynes, though reports surfaced Wednesday that the Clippers were pausing their pursuits of the star guard. Philadelphia officials are holding out hope the situation will become manageable, but it’s important to keep an eye on how this situation affects both star center Joel Embiid and coach Nick Nurse, Haynes writes. For what it’s worth, Haynes notes rival teams are monitoring how much Embiid is willing to endure.

Even though teammates and coaches described Harden as handling the situation professionally before his absence, the saga is already creating a distraction on the outside looking in, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscriber link). Despite that, Nurse is attempting to keep his team focused, Pompey writes. The head coach said he hasn’t seen his team distracted by the situation, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.

“My concerns right now are really going to be focused on the game [Thursday] night,” Nurse said. “We put a lot into this, and we’re in a great space I think mentally and preparation-wise, all that stuff. That’s what I’ll continue to do.“

Rick Carlisle Signs Multiyear Extension With Pacers

October 26th, 2023 at 11:14am CST by Arthur Hill

11:14am: Carlisle’s extension is official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

“It goes without saying that Coach Carlisle is one of the most creative and successful coaches in the history of the league, so there was never a question that he continues to be the right person to lead our team,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard. “His ties to this organization and community run deep, his guidance and leadership are invaluable to our players and staff, and we’re looking forward to working together for years to come as we build something special for our fans.”

8:56pm: The Pacers have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract extension with head coach Rick Carlisle, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Carlisle has posted a 60-104 record over the past two seasons after taking over a rebuilding Indiana team in 2021. It marks the second stint with the Pacers for the 63-year-old coach, who also guided the team from 2003-07.

Wojnarowski didn’t reveal any terms of the new contract, but it ensures that Carlisle will get to continue molding a promising collection of young talent. The 2022 trade for Tyrese Haliburton gave Indiana a franchise player to build around, and Myles Turner has become one of the NBA’s most productive centers.

Bennedict Mathurin is coming off a strong rookie year, and players such as Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin and Jarace Walker give Indiana a solid young foundation. The offseason signing of Bruce Brown in free agency is an indication that the Pacers want to start contending, and Carlisle provides the experience to guide them in that direction.

Carlisle is one of a handful of active coaches with an NBA title, which he won as head coach of the Mavericks in 2011. He was named Coach of the Year with the Pistons in 2002 and served as the Eastern Conference head coach in the 2004 All-Star Game.

After playing in the NBA for six seasons, Carlisle moved into coaching in 1989 as an assistant with the Nets. He also spent time as an assistant with Portland and Indiana before getting his first head coaching opportunity with Detroit in 2001. He coached the Pistons for two seasons before moving on to the Pacers in 2003 and the Mavericks in 2008. Carlisle has a career record of 897-793.

Bulls Hold Players-Only Meeting Following Season Opener

October 25th, 2023 at 11:06pm CST by Rory Maher

Head coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, that the Bulls held a players-only meeting on Wednesday night following the team’s season-opening loss to the Thunder. The Bulls were blown out at home, losing 124-104.

Donovan said the players requested more time amongst themselves when he entered the locker room. He added that he liked that the players were taking ownership of the poor performance.

“I mean guys want to win,” Zach LaVine said. “You put up a game like this in Game One and you don’t have some conversations … guys are frustrated. It sucks to have to happen Game One. It happened. We’ve got to go from there.”

Center Nikola Vucevic said he hopes it’s a learning moment for the team, Johnson adds.

“A lot of guys said a lot of good things, things that needed to be said,” Vucevic said. “I think we can really use this to learn and change some things that we need to change.

“It wasn’t anything crazy, no fighting or none of that. It was really constructive. It was maybe one of the first times since I’ve been here that this was like this. And it was really needed.

“I started saying some things. I really liked that so many guys jumped in and said so many good things. Not one guy is 100 percent right. Everybody had something to say and sees things differently. And when you have these constructive conversations, they can only bring positive things. I think communication is very important.

“I’ve been on teams in the past where we’ve had those, and it worked almost every time where we were able to really fix some things and move on.”

As Johnson writes, Vucevic also had a heated exchange with Donovan during the third quarter. He touched on what transpired following the game.

“Just unhappy in some of the stuff we’re doing,” he said. “Obviously, I expressed it a little bit more aggressive than I should’ve in the moment. Those happen in the heat of the moment. You’re trying to win and do what you can to help the team. I didn’t like what was going on. We talked it out. And it’s over with.”

For his part, Donovan said he had no issue with the exchange, though he admitted both parties could have handled it differently.

“It wasn’t disrespectful or anything,” Donovan said, per Johnson. “He was just frustrated with the way we were playing. I didn’t blame him. I fell in line with him. But there’s gotta be a way together we can solve those issues and problems.

“I think the confrontation piece is really, really good. I think it’s really healthy. And I think it needs to happen as much as possible.”

Woj: Clippers “Pausing” Pursuit Of James Harden

October 25th, 2023 at 5:59pm CST by Rory Maher

With their season tipping off on Wednesday night, the Clippers have decided to pause their pursuit of Sixers guard James Harden, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on NBA Countdown (Twitter video link).

“I’m told that with the start of the season now, at least for the foreseeable future, the Clippers are stepping back from these trade talks about James Harden — they are essentially pausing them,” Wojnarowski said.

“They have talked with Philadelphia for months about a trade,” Woj continued. “They’ve made their best offer for Harden, and they are now gonna start their season and see what this team looks like with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, a healthy Paul George.

“Now, the Clippers may revisit this at some point. But they know they’re the only bidder for James Harden. They’re the only team that’s made a serious offer. They don’t want to bid against themselves. … I think the Sixers have to wonder, ‘Have we already gotten the best offer we’re gonna get for James Harden?’ Especially as the games start to peel off the calendar. And if you’re the Clippers, why offer more when there are fewer and fewer games that James Harden can play for you?”

Harden, who asked the Sixers to trade him to L.A in June when he picked up his $35.64MM player option for the 2023/24 season, has expressed frustration with the slow pace of the negotiations multiple times in the months since then.

Back in August, he referred to Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey as a “liar” during a promotional event, later explaining to the NBA when the league investigated those comments that the club hadn’t delivered on its assurances that it would trade him “quickly.”

The former league MVP and reigning assists per game leader skipped media day and the first day of training camp before reporting to the 76ers this fall. After spending nearly two weeks away from the team, he departed last Sunday without an excused absence. However, Philadelphia later said Harden was away due to a personal matter, and there has been no indication that the club fined him for missing practices or its final preseason game.

As Wojnarowski reported this morning, Harden has returned to Philadelphia and is back with the Sixers. Various reports indicated that the 34-year-old will need to ramp up his activity before making his season debut, however, which is why he’ll be absent for Thursday’s season opener in Milwaukee.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported last week that the Clippers have offered two protected first-round picks for Harden, but the Sixers want Terance Mann, an unprotected first-rounder and a first-round pick swap, and the Clippers have no interest in trading Mann.

According to Wojnarowski, it seems Harden’s standoff with the Sixers will continue into the season.

Suns Lose 2024 Second-Round Pick Due To Free Agency Gun-Jumping

October 25th, 2023 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns violated league rules related to the timing of free agency discussions and have been forced to forfeit a 2024 second-round pick, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

As we relayed earlier today, the league was investigating possible early contact with free agent Drew Eubanks, the former Portland center who signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Phoenix in July. According to today’s announcement, the league did find that the Suns engaged in discussions involving Eubanks before free agency began.

Eubanks’ agreement with Phoenix was reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic at 5:05 pm Central time on June 30, five minutes after free agency officially opened.

The Suns issued the following statement (via Twitter) in response to the NBA’s ruling:

“We are disappointed with the results of the NBA investigation. If there was a violation, it was inadvertent. We are focused on complying with league rules and competing at the highest level every year. With that being said, we accept the penalty from the league and are focused on looking forward to this season.”

The Suns have traded away all of their own future second-round selections for the next seven years (picks in 2031 and beyond aren’t yet moveable), so they’ll surrender Denver’s 2024 second-rounder, which they acquired from Orlando in July.

Phoenix’s will receive San Antonio’s second-round pick in 2024 if it falls between Nos. 50-54. Otherwise, the club won’t have a second-rounder until 2026, when it will receive either the Pistons’, Bucks’, or Magic’s pick (whichever is least favorable). The Suns have also traded away either their first-round pick or swap rights on their first-round pick for the next seven drafts.

This is the fourth consecutive year that at least one team has had a second-round selection rescinded for free agency gun-jumping. The NBA penalized the Bucks in 2020 (for Bogdan Bogdanovic), the Heat and Bulls in 2021 (for Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball, respectively), and the Sixers and Knicks in 2022.

Philadelphia was forced to forfeit two future second-round selections for early contact with both P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, while New York gave up a single pick for talking to Jalen Brunson before free agency began.

Lakers Plan To Reduce LeBron James’ Workload

October 25th, 2023 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers star LeBron James played just 29 minutes in the team’s season-opening loss in Denver on Tuesday night, and that relatively modest workload will be a consistent theme for the 38-year-old going forward, head coach Darvin Ham told reporters, including ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Ham said the plan for the start of the season is to keep James in the range of 28-to-30 minutes per game. He acknowledged that, with input from the team’s trainers and medical staffers, that number could fluctuate as the season progresses, but stressed that managing LeBron’s minutes will be a priority.

“It’s easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are,” Ham said.

James said after the game that he’s confident he’ll still be able to make an impact in the minutes he does play and indicated that he’s on board with the team’s plan for him, adding that he wasn’t “surprised or upset” by his playing time on Tuesday.

“Listen, I mean, I always want to be on the floor. Especially when you got an opportunity to win a game or you feel like you can make an impact,” James said. “But this is the system in place and I’m going to follow it.”

LeBron averaged 37.2 minutes per game in 2021/22 and 35.5 MPG in ’22/23, but missed at least 26 games in both seasons due to injuries. It sounds like the goal this year will be to bring down his minutes per game while increasing the number of contests he’s available for.

While it’s certainly not the reason for the move, it’s worth noting that end-of-season awards like All-NBA now have a 65-game minimum requirement — if those rules had been in place in the past, James wouldn’t have been eligible to make an All-NBA team since 2019/20.

James has logged 38.1 minutes per night over the course of 1,422 career regular season games, never averaging fewer than 33.4 MPG in a season (2020/21).

James Harden Reports Back To Sixers

October 25th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

James Harden, who had been away from the Sixers since October 15, has reported back to the team, according to Adrian Wonjarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

As Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets, Harden is expected to take part in Wednesday’s practice before the 76ers leave for Milwaukee for Thursday’s regular season opener vs. the Bucks. Wojnarowski confirms that’s the case (Twitter link).

Harden, who hasn’t played at all in the preseason and reportedly participated in just one five-on-five scrimmage back on Oct. 7, will have to ramp back up to game shape and won’t be active on Thursday in Milwaukee, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link).

Although Harden showed up prepared to travel with the Sixers to Milwaukee, the club will have him remain in Philadelphia to continue his ramp-up process, according to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT (Twitter link). After facing the Bucks, the 76ers will play in Toronto on Saturday before returning to Philadelphia to host the Trail Blazers on Sunday.

Harden, who asked the Sixers to trade him in June when he picked up his player option for the 2023/24 season, has expressed frustration with the slow pace of the negotiations multiple times in the months since then.

Back in August, he referred to Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey as a “liar” during a promotional event, later explaining to the NBA when the league investigated those comments that the club hadn’t delivered on its assurances that it would trade him “quickly.”

Harden skipped media day and the first day of training camp before reporting to the 76ers this fall. After spending nearly two weeks with the team, he departed last Sunday without an excused absence. However, Philadelphia later said Harden was away due to a personal matter, and there has been no indication that the club fined him for missing practices or its final preseason game.

Now that the regular season is underway, Harden could potentially boost his trade value a little by getting into game shape, showing that he’s fully healthy, and playing like his usual self. We’ll see if that’s the next step in this saga or if there are more surprises on tap before he takes the court this season.

Hornets Sign Ish Smith, Waive Edmond Sumner

October 24th, 2023 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

3:03pm: The Hornets have officially signed Smith and waived Sumner, the team announced in a press release.

12:37pm: The Hornets are making an early-season roster change, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will sign veteran guard Ish Smith, waiving Edmond Sumner to clear a spot on the 15-man roster.

Smith, a well-traveled NBA veteran, has played for a record 13 teams, including the Hornets in 2021/22. Last season, the 35-year-old won his first NBA championship in Denver, averaging 2.5 points and 2.3 assists in 9.3 minutes per game across 43 regular season appearances for the Nuggets.

Charlotte presumably felt the need to add some extra point guard depth behind starter LaMelo Ball, with projected backup Frank Ntilikina expected to miss at least four weeks due to a fractured tibia. Smith and Theo Maledon are among the players who will be in the mix for those backup minutes until Ntilikina is ready to return.

While terms of Smith’s deal haven’t been reported, I’d expected a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal. That would give the Hornets the flexibility to swap him out for another player prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January if Ntilikina is healthy by then.

It’s bad news for Sumner, who was on track to be one of four players on non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contracts to make an opening night roster. Instead, it sounds like he’ll be placed on waivers prior to the Hornets’ regular season opener on Wednesday.

Sumner, 26, averaged 7.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 1.3 APG in 53 games (13.9 MPG) for the Nets last season, posting a shooting line of .461/.356/.917. It was his first season back following an Achilles tear that cost him all of 2021/22.

Assuming he’s officially cut on Tuesday, Sumner will receive a small portion ($40,459) of his non-guaranteed minimum salary, since he was on the roster until the first day of the regular season and will spend two more days on waivers.