Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latvian Basketball Denies Kristaps Porzingis Injury Rumor

August 10th, 2023 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

A tweet from the Latvian Basketball Association refutes a rumor circulating Wednesday that Kristaps Porzingis may miss the FIBA World Cup because of injury concerns.

The original report came from Rupert Fabig of BIG Deutschland, who said sources told him that Porzingis was experiencing “something with his foot” and that he and the Celtics were working with Latvian officials on a final decision. Porzingis didn’t participate in Latvia’s first two exhibition games.

Latvia has denied Fabig’s report, stating that Porzingis continues to train in anticipation of playing in the international tournament.

“There has been information that questions the participation of Kristaps Porzingis in the FIBA World Cup,” the tweet reads. “LBS denies this information. Both the players’ individual preparation plans and the team’s overall training process are ongoing. The line-up for the match against the Dominican Republic will be announced on August 12.”

Porzingis has been affected by injuries frequently throughout his career, starting with an ACL tear that caused him to miss all of 2018/19. He played 65 games for the Wizards last year, the most since his second NBA season.

The Celtics are counting on continued good health from Porzingis after parting with Marcus Smart to acquire him in a three-team trade and giving him a two-year, $60MM extension.

Anthony Edwards Fined $50K By NBA For April Incident

August 9th, 2023 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $50K by the NBA for an incident that occurred on April 25 following a playoff game in Denver, the league announced today (via Twitter).

As we detailed at the time, while exiting the court following the Timberwolves’ season-ending loss to the Nuggets, Edwards allegedly picked up a folding chair and swung it, striking two bystanders who were working at Ball Arena. The NBA’s statement today refers to Edwards as “recklessly swinging a chair in frustration.”

Typically, the punishment in situations like this one would be announced within a day or two. According to the league, the delay in this case was due to a desire to let the legal process play out. Edwards was cited at the time for two counts of third-degree assault, but those charges were dismissed following a criminal investigation.

Although Edwards won’t face any sort of suspension as a result of the incident, $50K is the maximum amount the NBA can fine a player without opening the door for the player to appeal the decision and take the issue to a grievance arbitrator.

Edwards is currently with the Team USA squad that will compete in the 2023 World Cup later this month.

Kings Re-Sign Neemias Queta On Standard Contract

August 8th, 2023 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

9:40pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

7:35pm: The Kings are re-signing Neemias Queta to a standard contract, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets.

Queta has been on Sacramento’s roster the past two seasons, appearing in a total of 20 NBA games. The 7’0” Queta was a second-round pick in 2021 out of Utah State.

Queta entered the summer as a restricted free agent after finishing last season on a two-way deal. He was eligible for another two-way contract but ineligible for a two-way qualifying offer after having played on a two-way with the Kings for consecutive seasons.

As a result, Queta’s qualifying offer was equivalent to a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a $75K partial guarantee. It’s unclear whether he’s accepting that QO or if he negotiated different terms with Sacramento.

Queta’s health is a question mark. He was diagnosed with a stress reaction and a metatarsal capsule sprain in his right foot last month. That injury occurred during a Summer League game against the Clippers.

Queta only appeared in five NBA games for Sacramento last season, but thrived at the G League level, earning a spot on the All-NBAGL First Team and finishing second in MVP voting. He averaged 16.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.9 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game across 29 regular season appearances for the Stockton Kings.

Prior to the agreement with Queta, Sacramento had 13 players on guaranteed deals and another — Nerlens Noel — on a partially guaranteed contract.

Warriors To Work Out Six Veteran Free Agents

August 8th, 2023 at 8:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors are working out numerous veteran free agents over the next two weeks, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater report (Twitter link).

That group includes Dion Waiters, Tony Snell, Kent Bazemore, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Harry Giles and Trey Burke. The Warriors have two vacancies on their 15-man roster and a camp competition is expected among several candidates, Slater tweets.

Waiters, now 31, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2019/20 season. He attended a mini-camp with the Mavericks last summer, but wasn’t able to land a job.

Snell, also 31, wasn’t in the league last year after playing a combined 53 games for Portland and New Orleans in 2021/22.

Bazemore, 34, was also out of the league last season after appearing in 39 games with the Lakers in 2021/22. Bazemore was waived by the Kings last October.

Toscano-Anderson, 30, appeared in a total of 52 games with the Lakers and Jazz last season. He hasn’t been able to land a contract after entering free agency this summer. He and Bazemore both previously played for Golden State.

Giles, 25, was a first-round pick in 2017 but hasn’t been in the league since the 2020/21 season, when he played 38 games for the Blazers. He worked out for the Magic recently and his scheduled workout with the Warriors was previously reported. Giles could also be a candidate for one of Golden State’s two-way slots.

Burke, 30, didn’t play in the NBA last season after appearing in 42 games with the Mavericks in 2021/22. He was traded twice last summer and then waived by the Thunder. He had a stint with the Kings’ G League affiliate last season.

Suns Sign Udoka Azubuike To Two-Way Deal

August 8th, 2023 at 8:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 8: The signing is official, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets via a team press release.

“Udoka possesses imposing size and the ability to finish around the rim,” GM James Jones said in a statement. “His strength and physicality help add to our team’s depth.”

JULY 31: Free agent center Udoka Azubuike has agreed on a two-way contract with the Suns, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The 23-year-old out of Kansas spent his first three seasons with the Jazz. He appeared in 36 games last year, including four starts, averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.

Overall, he’s appeared in 68 NBA games and has never scored more than 13 points. His career shooting percentage is 76.9%, with most of his buckets coming on layups, dunks and putbacks. The 6’10” Azubuike has never attempted a 3-pointer.

A former first-round pick (No. 27 overall in 2020), Azubuike has dealt with multiple significant ankle injuries, which has impacted his development. Utah declined its fourth-year team option on him before last season started, which is how he wound up in the free agent market.

He played for the Celtics’ Summer League squad this month.

The Suns had two openings for two-way players. Guard Saben Lee occupies the other two-way slot.

Azubuike will have to work his way up the depth chart with the NBA club. He’ll be behind starter Deandre Ayton, Drew Eubanks, Bol Bol and Chimezie Metu.

Hawks Have Reportedly Offered Hunter, Griffin, Draft Compensation For Siakam

August 8th, 2023 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have been the strongest suitor to date for star forward Pascal Siakam, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that Atlanta has offered the Raptors a package that includes forward De’Andre Hunter, swingman AJ Griffin, and draft compensation in exchange for Siakam.

The Raptors have resisted the Hawks’ overtures and are “believed to have upped the price on any possible deal at each turn,” Charania says.

As Charania outlines in his story, it has become increasingly rare for a player of Siakam’s caliber to enter a contract year without some sort of clarity on his long-term future. However, he and the Raptors have yet to seriously engage in negotiations on a potential contract extension, and the 29-year-old also hasn’t requested a trade, sources tell The Athletic.

Siakam has been considered a trade candidate since well before February’s deadline due to his contract situation and his positional and skill-set overlap with rising star Scottie Barnes, the 2022 Rookie of the Year.

Charania suggests that Siakam’s trade value has been limited to some extent by the fact that the two-time All-NBA forward has privately expressed a desire to remain in Toronto and an unwillingness to sign an extension with any team that acquires him.

Siakam is currently eligible for a maximum-salary extension worth up to 30% of the cap — earning another All-NBA nod in 2024 would make him eligible for a super-max contract that starts at 35% of the cap, but he would only be able to sign such a deal with the Raptors. A trade would make him ineligible for a super-max contract.

Atlanta isn’t the only club to express interest in Siakam, Charania notes, but it doesn’t appear that any other suitor has made significant headway with the Raptors. The Pacers are among the other clubs previously reported to be interested.

For what it’s worth, the Hawks’ offer for Siakam as described by Charania appears incomplete, since Hunter’s and Griffin’s combined salaries ($23.8MM) wouldn’t be nearly enough to match Siakam’s $37.9MM cap hit for 2023/24.

There has been some chatter about the possibility of Atlanta sending Clint Capela ($20.6MM) to a third team – like the Mavericks – as part of a trade for Siakam, but such a structure would require that third team to send at least one player to Toronto. Dallas doesn’t have a big expiring contract to close that salary gap and would likely have to include some combination of Tim Hardaway Jr. ($17.9MM), Richaun Holmes ($12MM), and JaVale McGee ($5.7MM), each of whom has two years left on his respective deal.

As for the Hawks’ movable draft assets, they owe two of their own future first-round picks to San Antonio as part of the Dejounte Murray trade, but they could offer Sacramento’s lottery-protected 2024 first-rounder as well as their own first-rounder in either 2029 or 2030.

For now, trade talks between Toronto and Atlanta are “at a complete pause,” according to Charania, who says the Hawks are “fully prepared” to enter the 2023/24 season with their current roster.

Scoot Henderson: “I Will Win Rookie Of The Year”

August 8th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

After being selected third overall in the 2023 NBA draft, Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson is confident that he’ll have a big rookie season in Portland.

“My goal, obviously, is to win Rookie of the Year,” Henderson told Playmaker (YouTube link). “And I will win Rookie of the Year. … My goals for the season are to help win a lot of games, to embrace the position I’m in, to embrace my role on the team, to be a great listener, and watching film and applying it to the next game.”

Henderson’s assertion that he’ll be the 2023/24 Rookie of the Year is just one of the lofty goals he expressed during the Playmaker interview. He also said he wants to eventually “be remembered as the best point guard to ever play the game.”

Henderson’s professional career got off to a promising start at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he put up 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds in just 21 minutes before exiting the Trail Blazers’ first game due to a shoulder injury. There’s no indication that he won’t be fully healthy by the time training camp begins this fall.

Still, before he begins chasing his most ambitious career goals, Henderson may have to achieve a more modest one: cracking Portland’s starting lineup. Even if Damian Lillard is traded, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe appear to be the favorites to open the season as the starters in the Blazers’ backcourt, a league source tells Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian.

Of course, Henderson figures to have a major role even if he’s coming off the bench, and it’s possible he’ll show enough this fall that it will be impossible for the club to keep him out of its starting five.

Henderson also figures to face stiff competition in the ’23/24 Rookie of the Year race. The betting favorite is No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama, while last year’s No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren is also considered a strong contender for the award.

Clippers Sign Jordan Miller To Two-Way Deal

August 7th, 2023 at 3:10pm CST by Rory Maher

The Clippers have signed Jordan Miller to a two-way contract, the team announced (via Twitter).

A versatile guard/forward, Miller was the 48th overall pick of June’s draft. He was one of six 2023 second-round picks who had yet to sign an NBA contract; that list is now down to five players, two of whom are expected to play overseas.

Miller, 23, had a strong “super senior” season for Miami (FL) in 2022/23, averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals on .545/.352/.784 shooting in 37 games (35.0 minutes per night). He helped the Hurricanes reach the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, where they fell to eventual champion UConn.

The Clippers currently have 16 players on standard contracts, with 15 of those deals being guaranteed. Miller will occupy the second of three possible two-way slots; Moussa Diabate holds the other.

Wyc Grousbeck Explains Celtics’ Decision To Shake Up Roster

August 7th, 2023 at 9:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics reached the NBA Finals in 2022 and fell one game short of returning last season, but management decided changes were needed after the playoff loss to the Heat, co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said in an interview with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Grousbeck characterized the last two seasons as “missed opportunities,” even though he admitted his team lost to two good opponents. Following the playoffs, he had a meeting with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and head coach Joe Mazzulla in which they decided to explore chances to revamp the roster. That led to a three-team trade in late June that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.

“The general tone was, how do we take this energy we’re feeling right now that was built up over having two good seasons, but then didn’t get all the way,” Grousbeck said. “The whole point is, how do we get to banner 18? If we’d all agreed we should keep things the same, that would have been fine. But the idea of bringing in another talented big popped up early in the conversation, and we ended up executing on that idea.”

They decided to focus on Porzingis, who was facing a decision on a $36MM player option after a productive season with the Wizards. Porzingis had other interested teams if he had opted for free agency, but Grousbeck said he was eager to join the Celtics.

“He is a committed and now seasoned and effective player. He’s a real force. I’m really impressed with his commitment to being part of a winning Celtics team,” Grousbeck said. “I met with him when he came up for the press conference and spent some real time with him, and he’s so happy to be here. He’s so ready to shine at this stage of his career. But he sees a team concept, not the KP show. He’s continually improved over his career, and he thinks this is his prime. But he’s about the team, his teammates and the banner. He chose us. There were other people, I hear, that wanted him. And he chose us. He wants to be here and he wants to win a ring.”

Grousbeck covers several other topics in the interview, including:

The commitment to Mazzulla, who faced criticism in the playoffs in his first year running the team:

“If Joe had done a poor job, I would have thought about replacing him, but he did a very good job. He took us within one game of the best record in the league and then one game of being in the Finals, as a rookie coach. So I’m comfortable and happy to have Joe as head coach.”

The Celtics’ willingness to spend despite restrictions in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement:

“The league doesn’t allow us to comment on the details of the CBA, but having said that, we’re obviously all in, with the record contract for Jaylen (Brown) and with our payroll this year and in coming years. Eventually, there are basketball penalties for spending, so that will go into the thought process down the road. But at the moment, the best basketball thing we can do is what we’re doing.”

Heading into the future with Brown and Jayson Tatum as franchise cornerstones:

“They’re the best two people I could imagine building a team around. We’ve had them since the beginning. We’ve been very lucky to have them here for their whole careers, and we’re building the team around them. But you add the next eight guys to the list. You take our top 10 and we’ve got a really good team. The focus is naturally on those two because they’re All-NBA players and All-Stars, but I like the whole roster.”

Anthony Davis Signs Three-Year Extension With Lakers

August 6th, 2023 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: Davis’ new three-year extension is now official, the Lakers announced (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin). According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the final year is a player option (Twitter link).

AUGUST 4: The Lakers and star big man Anthony Davis are in agreement on a three-year, maximum-salary contract extension, agent Rich Paul tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The two sides wasted little time in reaching a deal after Davis became extension-eligible on Friday.

Although Wojnarowski refers to it as a $186MM extension, the exact value of the three-year contract won’t be determined until June 2025. Davis will earn a starting salary worth 35% of the salary cap in 2025/26, with subsequent 8% annual raises.

As we outlined earlier today, in order for the deal to be worth $186MM, the cap would have to increase by the maximum allowable 10% in each of the next two seasons, reaching nearly $164.6MM by ’25/26. That would be a best-case scenario, but the NBA is currently projecting more modest cap increases. If the cap is instead at $150MM in ’25/26, for example, Davis’ three-year deal would be worth about $170MM.

Either way, the long-term agreement – which was reached quickly and seemingly without any drama – is good news for both Davis and the Lakers, who are now tied to one another through the 2027/28 season.

Davis has shown a tendency in the past to take long-term guaranteed money when it’s on the table rather than trying to maximize his earnings with shorter-term deals. He’s sticking to that approach here, accepting a max extension offer when it’s available rather than playing out the 2023/24 season in the hopes of signing a bigger deal as a free agent in 2024, when he would have been eligible to opt out of his current contract.

It’s possible that accepting an extension now will cost him a little money in the long run, but for a player who has battled injuries throughout his career, it’s hard to argue with the decision. Davis has been limited to 132 of 236 regular season games over the past three years and hasn’t played more than 62 games in a season since 2017/18.

For the Lakers, meanwhile, it’s a massive investment in a player who has Davis’ injury history, but it’s an investment that could pay dividends, given that the alternative may have been negotiating a maximum-salary free agent contract of up to five years in 2024.

By signing Davis to an extension now, Los Angeles ensures that he’s locked into his current deal through the 2024/25 season, when he’ll be earning a salary ($43.2MM) well below his potential maximum. The team also won’t have to commit to him beyond 2028, when he’ll be 35 years old.

And when healthy, Davis has continued to be one of the NBA’s most dominant two-way stars. The 30-year-old averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game in 56 appearances (34.0 MPG) during the 2022/23 season, shooting 56.3% from the floor.

Davis is also an elite rim protector whose performance on that end of the court was a major factor the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference Finals this spring. He ranked first in the postseason with 14.1 RPG and 3.1 BPG.

Davis will earn $40.6MM in 2023/24, so he’s now in line to make up to approximately $270MM over the next five seasons if the cap continues to rise by 10% annually.

Davis and LeBron James have been the cornerstones of the Lakers over the last few seasons, including in the 2020 championship season. James’ future with the team beyond the 2023/24 season remains up in the air, since he has the ability to opt out of his deal and – at 38 years old – has alluded to the possibility of retirement. But whether or not LeBron remains in Los Angeles for the long term, it appears the franchise is committed to building around Davis for the foreseeable future.