Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sale Of Hornets Finalized

August 3rd, 2023 at 9:34am CST by Arthur Hill

The purchase of Michael Jordan’s majority stake in the Hornets by a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall has been finalized, the team announced in a press release. The sale was approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors last month.

Plotkin and Schnall will immediately take over controlling interest in the team. They will serve as co-chairmen of Hornets Sports & Entertainment and will rotate the governorship every five years, starting with Schnall.

“Our vision is to take the Hornets to the next level, both on and off the court,” the new owners stated in the release. “We will look to build a highly competitive basketball team, develop innovative business practices, give back to our community and connect with our fans. We plan to further invest in the team, the facilities and the fan experience, with the goal of delivering a winner to our fans throughout the Carolinas. We are confident that our successful business backgrounds and our previous experience as NBA minority owners will be beneficial as we shape the future of the franchise as a best-in-class organization.”

Schnall had been a minority owner of the Hawks and an alternative on the league’s Board of Governors since 2015. Plotkin has held a minority stake in the Hornets since 2019 and served as a Board of Governors alternate as well. Their ownership group includes entertainers J. Cole and Eric Church, who are both from North Carolina.

Jordan, who has owned the team since 2010, will remain a minority owner and an alternate governor, the press release confirms. The purchase price isn’t disclosed, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the franchise is being valued at $3 billion for the sale.

“The opportunity to be the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets in my home state of North Carolina for the last 13 years has been a tremendous honor,” Jordan said. “I’m proud of all that the organization accomplished: the exciting on-court moments, the return of the Hornets name, Charlotte hosting the 2019 NBA All-Star Game and HSE becoming a true pillar of this community. Through the years, the unwavering commitment, passion and loyalty of our Hornets fans has been incredible.

“As I transition into a minority ownership role, I’m thrilled to be able to pass the reins to two successful, innovative and strategic leaders in Gabe and Rick. I know the Hornets organization is in great hands moving forward. I’m excited about the future of the team and will continue to support the organization and the community in my new role in the years ahead.”

Sixers’ Montrezl Harrell Has Torn ACL, Meniscus

August 2nd, 2023 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Montrezl Harrell underwent an MRI on Wednesday to evaluate swelling in his right knee following offseason workouts, and the results weren’t good. According to the team, Harrell has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and a medial meniscus tear (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer).

It’s a brutal blow for both Harrell and the Sixers, who re-signed the big man to a guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract last month after he turned down a player option to reach free agency.

Harrell, 29, didn’t see significant playing time in Philadelphia’s rotation last season, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in just 11.9 minutes per game across 57 appearances.

However, the 76ers will have a new head coach in 2023/24, with Nick Nurse replacing Doc Rivers, so Harrell wasn’t necessarily in line for the same limited role going forward. In his previous five seasons, he had put up 14.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 361 games (23.3 MPG), earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2020.

The Sixers’ announcement today didn’t include any sort of recovery timeline for Harrell, but a torn ACL typically requires upwards of a year – if not more – to come back from. We’ll have to wait more clarity on the veteran’s prognosis and the team’s plans for him, but if the injury is deemed season-ending and Philadelphia is comfortable eating the salary and accompanying luxury tax hit, Harrell could be waived to open up a roster spot for another player.

The 76ers should still have a good amount of depth up front with or without Harrell. Mohamed Bamba, Paul Reed, and Filip Petrusev are expected to compete for frontcourt minutes behind reigning MVP Joel Embiid.

Devonte’ Graham Suspended Two Games By NBA

August 2nd, 2023 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Spurs guard Devonte’ Graham has been suspended without pay for two games by the NBA, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

The suspension stems from a 2022 misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired. Graham pleaded guilty to the charge in June and was subsequently sentenced to 12 months of probation, per TMZ Sports.

As TMZ details, Graham was initially charged in July 2022 after police alleged that he was driving 63 miles per hour in a 40 MPH zone while intoxicated in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. The incident occurred at around 3:00 am.

Graham was a member of the Pelicans at the time of his arrest but was traded from New Orleans to San Antonio at the 2023 deadline in a deal involving Josh Richardson. He appeared in a total of 73 games for the two teams last season, averaging 7.4 points and 2.7 assists in 18.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .374/.352/.748.

Graham remains under contract with the Spurs on a guaranteed $12.1MM cap hit for 2023/24; his contract also covers ’24/25, but only $2.85MM of his $12.65MM salary for that year is guaranteed.

The two-game suspension, which Graham will serve during the first two games of the 2023/24 regular season as long as he’s healthy and remains under contract, will cost him $166,897. That figure represents 2/145ths of his $12.1MM salary.

If the Spurs, who are facing a potential roster crunch this fall, waive Graham prior to the season and he doesn’t sign a new contract right away, he’ll be considered to have served his suspension following San Antonio’s third game of the season.

Celtics Waive Justin Champagnie

August 1st, 2023 at 4:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics have waived swingman Justin Champagnie, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Champagnie, 22, appeared in two regular season and four postseason games for Boston last season. The front office had a deadline today regarding Champagnie’s contract. He had a $50K guarantee if he remained on the roster through Tuesday.

Champagnie signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract in April but it was non-guaranteed for next season. By shedding Champagnie, the Celtics now have two openings on the 15-man roster.

He could benefit in the long run, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet notes (Twitter link). This frees him up to seek a two-way or camp deal where he could conceivably end up with more guaranteed money — the maximum Exhibit 10 bonus and the partial guarantee on a two-way contract are each worth $75K.

After going undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2021, the 6’6″ swingman inked a two-way deal with the Raptors for the 2021/22 season. The team brought him back aboard for 2022/23, but after he had appeared in just three games for Toronto, he was cut in December.

Latest On Damian Lillard

August 1st, 2023 at 11:09am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Trail Blazers remain “disinclined” to engage with the Heat about a potential trade package to send Damian Lillard to Miami, according to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson (Twitter link), who says that Portland is “acting disinterested” in dealing the star guard to the Heat.

Jackson’s update comes on the heels of a TV appearance by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski in which he reported that there has been little traction on a deal involving Lillard with Miami or any other team. According to Wojnarowski, the biggest impediment to a deal is Lillard’s contract — he’s due $45.6MM in 2023/24 and will make an average of $60MM in the final two years of his four-year deal — rather than his desire to end up in Miami.

Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Shams Charania hears that the Heat are preparing an offer for Lillard that would include three or four first round picks going to Portland. According to Charania, the framework of a potential Lillard-to-Miami deal would involve the aforementioned picks, expiring contracts, at least one young player, and Tyler Herro being re-routed to a third team, as well as possibly pick swaps and second-round picks.

The Heat only have one expiring contract with a significant salary, Kyle Lowry‘s $29.7MM deal. Miami’s 2023 first round selection Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic fit the bill for young players who could interest Portland.

Miami is currently ineligible to trade more than two of its own future first-round picks due to the Stepien rule, but there are scenarios in which the club could free up an extra first-rounder or two — a third team that acquires Herro may also be willing to send a first-round pick to Portland.

All of this reporting comes in the wake of a July 28 memo sent out by the league warning Lillard and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, about discouraging non-Heat teams from pursuing the seven-time All-Star.

Portland general manager Joe Cronin is clearly in no rush to send one of the best players in franchise history away, especially if Miami’s package isn’t strong enough. With training camp just under two months away, Cronin could opt to hold Lillard until the last minute or, if nothing comes to fruition, could even hold him into the season. As Jackson notes (Twitter link), it took two other recent prominent trade demands (Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis) around seven months to be moved following their requests.

On the other hand, if Lillard and his camp continue to make things uncomfortable, you’d think Cronin would begin to become more receptive to Miami’s offers. The Heat lost key contributors from their 2023 Finals roster in free agency and haven’t been able to add many other players from this year’s free agent class due to not knowing how many roster spots will be up for grabs if a Lillard trade occurs. In other words, the Heat’s push for Lillard could get more urgent, allowing the Blazers to extract more value. If Cronin wants more picks, the Heat could look to trade pieces like Caleb Martin for assets, for example.

Regardless, it doesn’t appear as though anything on the Lillard trade front is imminent or even close to it, at this point.

Raptors Sign Garrett Temple To One-Year Deal

August 1st, 2023 at 9:23am CST by Rory Maher

AUG. 1: Temple’s deal with the Raptors is official, per team release.

JULY 31: The Raptors are signing free agent wing Garrett Temple to a one-year deal worth $3.2MM, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Based on the terms of the agreement, Temple will be receiving the veteran’s minimum in 2023/24 for a player with 10+ years of experience. We’ll have to wait to see whether or not the contract is fully guaranteed.

Temple, 37, was waived earlier this month by the Pelicans before his $5.4MM salary became guaranteed. He reached unrestricted free agency a couple days later when he wasn’t claimed off the waiver wire.

Toronto will be Temple’s 12th team as he enters his 14th NBA season, having spent the past two seasons in a limited role with New Orleans. He holds career averages of 6.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.7 APG on .402/.345/.740 shooting across 716 regular season appearances (288 starts, 20.9 MPG).

Temple is known for being a good locker room presence, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). The Raptors currently have 15 players signed to standard contracts (14 guaranteed), so Temple will fill the 16th roster spot and potentially the 15th on a guaranteed deal.

If his contract is guaranteed, the team would be about $1.9MM below the luxury tax line, Murphy adds. Toronto also has all three of its two-way slots filled, as shown by our tracker.

Amir Coffey Arrested For Misdemeanor Gun Possession

July 31st, 2023 at 2:15pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers wing Amir Coffey was arrested in Hollywood, California, at approximately 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning for misdemeanor possession of a firearm, according to TMZ (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports).

Coffey was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over for speeding. When police approached the vehicle, they reportedly smelled marijuana and subsequently searched the car. They found a loaded gun, which Coffey conceded was his.

According to TMZ, the 26-year-old was subsequently arrested for the misdemeanor charge, booked into jail, and released four hours later on his own recognizance. Coffey’s court date is scheduled for August.

The Clippers have yet to comment on the matter, Helin notes.

Coffey, who reportedly would have been sent to the Wizards in June in a three-team trade that fell apart at the last minute, has been with the Clippers since he went undrafted in 2019 out of Minnesota.

He had a breakout third season in 2021/22, averaging 9.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 1.8 APG on .453/.378/.863 shooting in 69 games (30 starts, 22.7 MPG), which led to him being promoted from a two-way deal to a standard contract in March 2022. He signed a three-year, $11MM contract with L.A. last summer — he’ll earn $7.6MM over the next two seasons.

Last season, Coffey struggled to produce at the same level in a limited role. He averaged just 3.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG and 1.1 APG on .386/.275/.778 shooting across 50 contests (nine starts, 12.5 MPG).

Players Who Signed July 1 Are Now Eligible To Be Traded

July 31st, 2023 at 9:22am CST by Arthur Hill

The peak of the NBA’s transactions season has calmed down after an active start to July, but a few more players have become eligible to be traded on the final day of the month, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 30-day trade restriction window has expired for draft picks who signed their contracts on July 1, along with six players who inked two-way contracts on that date.

The designation won’t matter for those at the very top of the draft, as the Spurs and Trail Blazers obviously won’t consider trading Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, respectively. However, it could come into play for a few others, especially if more big-name players are on the move as the summer winds down.

In addition to those top-three picks, first-rounders who signed on July 1 are the Magic’s Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the Pacers‘ Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, the Trail Blazers‘ Kris Murray and the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez. The No. 18 pick out of UCLA, Jaquez has been mentioned as a potential asset in a trade to bring Damian Lillard to Miami.

Two-way players who signed on July 1, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, are the Sixers‘ Terquavion Smith and Ricky Council, the Heat‘s Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea, the Trail Blazers‘ Ibou Badji and the Rockets‘ Trevor Hudgins.

Most veteran free agents who signed this summer won’t become eligible to be traded by their teams until December 15 or January 15, depending on their circumstances. Those signings didn’t become official until July 6 or later because of the NBA’s summer moratorium.

Willie Cauley-Stein Signs With Italian Team

July 31st, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran center Willie Cauley-Stein will continue his career in Italy, according to Eurohoops. The 29-year-old has signed with Pallacanestro Varese, which plays in the LBA (Lega Basket Serie A).

Cauley-Stein didn’t appear in any NBA games last season, even though he signed three contracts with the Rockets, including one that covered just the final day of the regular season. He averaged 8.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 13 regular season games with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Cauley-Stein was taken by the Kings with the sixth pick in the 2015 draft and earned second team All-Rookie honors. He eventually became Sacramento’s starting center and enjoyed his best NBA seasons with 12.8 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 2017/18 and 11.9 PPG and 8.4 RPG in 2018/19.

He signed with the Warriors as a free agent in 2019, but was traded to the Mavericks midway through the season. He remained with Dallas until being waived in January of 2022, then appeared in two games for the Sixers on a 10-day contract.

Varese will be Cauley-Stein’s first venture into international basketball. His notable teammates will include former Grizzlies forward Sean McDermott and ex-Michigan State and G League forward Gabe Brown.

Mavericks Not Pursuing Jaylen Nowell?

July 30th, 2023 at 9:07am CST by Arthur Hill

A recent report indicated that the Mavericks are considering an offer for Timberwolves shooting guard Jaylen Nowell, but Marc Stein hears that may not be true. In a podcast Saturday, the veteran NBA reporter said Dallas’ interest is exaggerated (hat tip to RealGM).

“I know there were some recent reports that Jaylen Nowell from Minnesota is a potential target. I was actually told the Mavericks are not really in that race at this point,” Stein said. “So, to this point, I would scratch Nowell as a target for the Mavericks, at least that was that’s what I was told yesterday.”

Nowell, 24, is an unrestricted free agent after spending the last four years in Minnesota. He is coming off his best NBA season, appearing in 65 games and averaging 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 19.3 minutes per night.

Nowell has developed into a reliable bench player for the Wolves since being selected with the 43rd pick in the 2019 draft. He’s seeking his second NBA contract after signing a four-year deal at the time and is hoping for a raise after making $1.93MM last season.

With 14 players holding standard contracts, the Timberwolves have one open roster spot, but committing money to Nowell may not be in the team’s plans. They recently gave a three-year, $42MM extension to Naz Reid and signed Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr. as free agents. An extension is also expected for Jaden McDaniels at some point this summer.