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Jazz Exercise Option On Head Coach Will Hardy

September 27th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

11:00am: According to Haynes (via Twitter), the Jazz have actually exercised their fifth-year option on Hardy, which would mean he’s now under contract through the 2026/27 season.

10:23am: The Jazz have exercised a team option on head coach Will Hardy‘s contract, according to a press release issued by the club.

A former assistant in San Antonio and Boston, Hardy was hired by Utah in 2022 to replace Quin Snyder. The Jazz have a regular season record of just 68-96 (.415) since then and haven’t made the playoffs under Hardy, but the team exceeded expectations in the first halves of both seasons before the front office traded away veterans at the February deadline.

The Jazz – who traded away stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to jump-start a rebuild during the same offseason that Hardy was hired – are evaluating the head coach’s performance based on the job he has done developing young talent and establishing a positive culture within the organization. By those measures, his first two years have been a success, according to general manager Justin Zanik.

“Will has done a great job of guiding our program and instilling the right values and competitive habits with our young group,” Zanik said in a statement announcing the decision. “The organization looks forward to developing with Will as we strive for long-term success through strategic and deliberate growth.”

Reporting at the time of Hardy’s hiring indicated that he was signing a five-year contract; tweets from Chris Haynes and Michael Scotto today indicate that the option being exercised is Utah’s fourth-year option for 2025/26. It’s possible Hardy actually signed a four-year contract and the details were reported incorrectly back in 2022; the team may also hold another option for the ’26/27 season.

Either way, Hardy is under contract in Utah for at least the next two seasons. If the club’s young core continues to take promising steps forward in 2024/25, it seems relatively safe to assume he’ll be extended beyond 2026.

Hardy is the NBA’s second-youngest active head coach, Scotto notes, having been born just five months before Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.

Warriors Sign Kevin Knox

September 26th, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 26: The signing is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 25: The Warriors and free agent forward Kevin Knox have agreed to a one-year deal, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While Charania doesn’t specify the terms of the contract, Golden State is right up against a first-apron hard cap and can’t sign a player to a standard deal without a corresponding roster move, so it’s safe to assume Knox is inking a non-guaranteed camp contract that won’t count against the cap. It figures to include Exhibit 9 language and possible Exhibit 10 language too.

The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox began last season with the Rip City Remix, Portland’s G League affiliate. He signed with the Pistons in early November and was in the NBA for three months before being sent to Utah at February’s trade deadline. The Jazz immediately waived him, and with no NBA opportunities immediately presenting themselves, the 25-year-old eventually reported back to the Remix.

For the season, Knox appeared in 31 games (11 starts) at the NBA level for Detroit, averaging 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per contest. Those averages aren’t far off from the ones he has posted across 306 career outings for the Knicks, Hawks, Trail Blazers, and Pistons (7.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 18.0 MPG), though his field-goal percentage last season (46.2%) was well above his 39.2% career mark.

Knox suited up for Golden State’s Summer League team in July, playing in six total games in the Las Vegas and California Classic leagues. He averaged 16.0 PPG and 7.2 RPG on .471/.351/.792 shooting in those contests.

There’s technically a path for Knox to make the Warriors’ regular season roster if the team makes a trade or cuts either Lindy Waters or Gui Santos, both of whom are non-guaranteed contracts. However, recent reporting has indicated Golden State will likely hang onto Waters and Santos.

Knox isn’t eligible for a two-way contract and his G League rights are still held by Rip City, so unless the Santa Cruz Warriors trade for those returning rights or Golden State finds room for him on the standard NBA roster, the forward’s stay in the organization may only last a few weeks.

Nuggets, Aaron Gordon Optimistic About Possible Extension

September 26th, 2024 at 3:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will be eligible for a four-year contract extension as of Friday, September 27. A four-year extension would require Gordon to decline his $22.84MM player option for 2025/26, with the first year of a potential new deal replacing that option.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, general manager Calvin Booth said he hopes the former No. 4 overall pick remains a Nugget for the foreseeable future.

“Hopefully we have some productive talks with his representation and are able to find a deal,” Booth said (Twitter link via Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports). “… We want Aaron here for a long time.”

Gordon also sounded optimistic about a deal coming to fruition, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link)

“I really love this organization,” Gordon said. “I love the players on this team. I love the coaching staff. I hope we get it done. It seems like it’s moving forward in the right direction.”

Gordon, who turned 29 years old last week, played a key role in helping the Nuggets win their first championship in 2023. He’s a highly versatile player on both ends of the court and has excellent chemistry with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, Gordon also touched on the tragic passing of his older brother Drew, who died following a car accident at the end of May. Drew played professionally for over a decade, including a stint with the Sixers in 2014/15.

“I always leaned on my brother,” Gordon said. “I understand I can’t take any relationship for granted. My teammates have been there every step of the way. They came to his service and his funeral. These guys have developed into my brothers.”

Gordon changed his jersey from No. 50 to No. 32 to honor his brother, per the NBA (Twitter video link).

“It was my brother’s favorite number, my dad’s favorite number, my sister played in it in college, I played in it in high school… it feels like home,” he said.

Sixers Sign Lester Quinones To Two-Way Deal

September 26th, 2024 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 26, 3:15pm: Quinones has officially signed his two-way deal, the Sixers announced in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 25, 11:41am: Jones has been waived to make room on the roster for Quinones, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).

SEPTEMBER 25, 8:46am: The Sixers and free agent guard Lester Quinones have agreed to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Quinones, who will turn 24 in November, spent last season with the Warriors. He began the year on a two-way deal and then was promoted to Golden State’s standard roster in February. The 6’5″ guard appeared in a total of 37 NBA games, averaging 4.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in 10.6 minutes per contest and posting a shooting line of .397/.364/.690.

Quinones spent more time in the NBA than in the G League last season, but has been an effective contributor for the Santa Cruz Warriors over the past two years, averaging 21.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.9 APG on .448/.362/.772 shooting in 65 total Showcase Cup and regular season games for Golden State’s NBAGL affiliate.

The Warriors opted not to tender Quinones a qualifying offer in June, making him an unrestricted free agent. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported in early July that the former Memphis Tiger was on the Sixers’ radar.

Philadelphia doesn’t currently have an open two-way slot, so either Justin Edwards, David Jones, or Jeff Dowtin will have to be waived in order to make room on the roster for Quinones.

Warriors Waive Plowden, Sign Post To Two-Way Deal

September 26th, 2024 at 12:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 26: Post’s two-way contract with the Warriors is now official, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors have waived two-way player Daeqwon Plowden, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), and are signing second-round pick Quinten Post to a two-way contract, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Golden State was expected to open a two-way spot for Post. Pat Spencer and Reece Beekman hold the other two-way slots.

Plowden was signed to a two-way deal after strong Summer League performances for the Warriors. He averaged 14.6 points and shot 39.6% from three-point range in eight Summer League games combined in the Las Vegas and California Classic leagues.

Plowden, who went undrafted out of Bowling Green in 2022, has spent his first two professional seasons in the G League, playing for the Birmingham Squadron in 2022/23 and the Osceola Magic in ’23/24. In 49 Showcase Cup and regular season outings for Osceola last season, he averaged 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 25.5 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .472/.397/.797.

According to Slater, the Warriors still intend to bring Plowden to camp to compete for a two-way spot, which suggests Spencer and Beekman aren’t entirely safe yet.

The Hawks’ G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, recently acquired Plowden’s returning player rights, so if he doesn’t earn a roster spot with Golden State, he may end up with the Skyhawks.

As for Post, he spent his last three college seasons with Boston College. Post averaged 17.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season. The 24-year-old 7-footer was selected with the No. 52 overall pick.

Pistons Sign Lamar Stevens To Camp Deal

September 26th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Rory Maher

Free agent forward Lamar Stevens has signed a contract with the Pistons, according to his agency, Priority Sports (Twitter link).

Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter) that Stevens has agreed to a training camp deal, which means it will be a one-year, minimum-salary contract that is non-guaranteed and won’t count against the cap. It figures to include Exhibit 9 language and perhaps Exhibit 10 language too.

Stevens played for four years at Penn State prior to going undrafted in 2020. He spent his first three NBA seasons with the Cavaliers, initially on a two-way deal before receiving a promotion to a multiyear standard contract at the end of his rookie campaign.

Known for his strength, toughness, athleticism and defensive versatility, Stevens was traded from Cleveland to San Antonio last summer in the three-team deal that saw the Cavs acquire Max Strus from Miami. San Antonio waived Stevens last July, but he caught on with the Celtics last fall for training camp, and was one of three players on Exhibit 9 contracts to make an opening night roster in 2023/24.

Not only did Stevens make Boston’s opening night roster, but he had his salary fully guaranteed in January. However, he rarely received playing with the Celtics, who traded him to Memphis — along with two second-round picks — for Xavier Tillman at the February deadline.

The 27-year-old played pretty well for an injury-ravaged Grizzlies squad, averaging 11.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.9 BPG on .446/.289/.791 shooting in 19 appearances with Memphis (23.0 MPG). The team chose not to re-sign him this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Overall, Stevens has appeared in 203 regular season games over the course of his four seasons in the league, averaging 5.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG on .463/.286/.726 shooting in 15.7 MPG.

The Pistons currently have 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with big man Paul Reed on a non-guaranteed deal. Stevens will likely be vying for the 15th and final standard roster spot in training camp, assuming Detroit chooses to carry a full roster.

Junior Bridgeman Purchases 10% Stake In Bucks

September 26th, 2024 at 11:15am CST by Rory Maher

SEPTEMBER 26: Bridgeman has officially become a part-owner of the Bucks, the team confirmed in a press release (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).

“I’m overjoyed to return to the Bucks, where I spent the heart of my NBA playing career, to join their world-class ownership group,” Bridgeman said. “… I hope that my life journey serves as an aspiration to current and future players who dream of joining an NBA ownership group. I look forward to cheering the Bucks on this season alongside our great fans.”

SEPTEMBER 12: Junior Bridgeman, who played 12 NBA seasons from 1975-87, including 10 in Milwaukee, is purchasing a 10% stake in the Bucks, three sources familiar with the deal tell Michael Ozanian and Jessica Golden of CNBC.

According to CNBC’s report, the transaction values the Bucks at $4 billion but Bridgeman is receiving a “preferred limited partner discount” of 15%, or a $3.4 billion valuation. That means Bridgeman will pay approximately $340MM for his minority share.

Bridgeman, who turns 71 years old next week, starred in college at Louisville prior to being selected No. 8 overall in the 1975 draft. The 6’5″ wing averaged 13.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor and 84.6% from the line in 849 regular season games with the Bucks and Clippers (25.0 minutes per contest).

In late July, Baxter Holmes of ESPN wrote a feature story on Bridgeman and how he has built his wealth over the years. Bridgeman earned a total of just under $3MM in salaries during his playing career and has been extremely successful as a businessman, with a net worth of nearly $600MM.

As Ozanian and Golden observe, when the Haslam Sports Group purchased its 25% stake in the Bucks in April 2023, the team was valued at $3.2 billion. This new deal — which is the first time a portion of a team has been sold since the media rights agreements were announced — shows the franchise continues to increase in value.

Bridgeman was rumored to be interested in buying a stake in the Bucks back in 2014. His No. 2 jersey was retired by the Bucks in 1988.

Derrick Rose Announces Retirement

September 26th, 2024 at 6:16am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose has announced his retirement as a basketball player.

Rose confirmed the decision in a post on Instagram and, according to Malika Andrews and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, by taking out full-page ads in local newspapers of the six NBA cities he played in: Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis.

“Knowing that I gave my all to the game, I feel confident in my decision,” Rose told ESPN. “Basketball was just the beginning for me. Now, it’s important that I give my all to my family — they deserve that.”

Rose added in a statement to Shams Charania of The Athletic: “The next chapter is about chasing my dreams and sharing my growth. I believe true success comes from becoming who you were created to be, and I want to show the world who I am beyond basketball.”

Rose, who will turn 36 next Friday, was selected first overall in the 2008 NBA draft by his hometown Bulls. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2009 and was named an All-Star in each of his next three seasons, winning the MVP award in 2011. Over the course of that season, his third in the NBA at age 22, he averaged 25.0 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game across 81 starts, leading the Bulls to a league-best 62-20 record.

The fact that Rose won the MVP award while still on his rookie scale contract resulted in an NBA rule being unofficially named after him. As we’ve outlined in a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry, the “Derrick Rose rule” allows players coming off their rookie deals to sign maximum-salary contracts worth up to 30% of the salary cap instead of the typical 25% if they’ve earned a major award such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or All-NBA.

However, Rose’s career hit a snag following his first four seasons in Chicago, as he missed the entire 2012/13 season due to an ACL tear and only played in 10 games in ’13/14 as he continued to recover from that injury.

The 6’3″ guard ultimately made it back to the court on a more regular basis in ’14/15, but he only appeared in more than 51 games in a season twice in his final 10 NBA seasons as he continued to be affected by health issues that sapped him of the speed and explosiveness he displayed in his first few years.

Rose was still an effective role player when healthy, earning Sixth Man of the Year votes in 2019, 2020, and 2021 for the Timberwolves, Pistons, and Knicks, but his injury woes prevented him from fully delivering on the potential to be a longtime NBA star that he showed early in his career.

Rose will call it a career with averages of 17.4 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 3.2 RPG in 723 career regular season games (30.5 MPG). He also made 52 postseason appearances and put up 21.9 PPG, 6.3 APG, and 4.3 RPG in those outings. He made the Eastern Conference Finals with the Bulls during his MVP year in 2011, though he never played in the NBA Finals. In addition to suiting up for the Bulls, Timberwolves, Pistons, and Knicks, he spent time with the Cavaliers and Grizzlies.

Rose had been under contract with Memphis for the 2024/25 season, but requested his release and gave up his full $3.3MM guaranteed salary for the year as part of that agreement.

As K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Sports Network tweets, there are no immediate plans for Rose to sign a ceremonial one-day contract with the Bulls, but the organization will almost certainly honor its former star at some point this season.

Kawhi Leonard Underwent Knee Procedure This Offseason

September 24th, 2024 at 7:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard underwent a procedure on his right knee in the offseason, Shams Charania and Law Murray of The Athletic report (Twitter link).

It’s a troubling development as the Clippers head into training camp. Leonard will be limited in training camp, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank isn’t sure if Leonard will be ready to play by the season opener. But Frank also indicated during a press conference on Tuesday that he expects Leonard to have a “great year” and that his star forward feels he’s trending in the right direction (Twitter links here).

Leonard was sidelined at the end of the 2023/24 season due to right knee inflammation. He missed the last eight games of the regular season and first game of the playoffs due to the ailment. The 33-year-old returned for Game 2 and Game 3 vs. Dallas, then sat out the final three contests of the Clippers’ first-round loss.

Leonard was on Team USA’s roster but was replaced shortly before the Paris Olympics due to health concerns.

Leonard averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 34.3 minutes per game last season. He started 68 regular season games, the most he’s appeared in since he started 74 games for San Antonio in the 2016/17 season. He signed a three-year max extension with the Clippers in January.

Heat Sign Nassir Little To Non-Guaranteed Contract

September 24th, 2024 at 7:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

SEPTEMBER 24: The Heat have officially signed Little, the team announced today in a press release.

According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Little’s one-year contract is fully non-guaranteed.

SEPTEMBER 23: Nassir Little has agreed to a one-year contract with the Heat, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets.

The free agent forward had worked out for a number of other teams, including the Celtics, Warriors and Kings.

The Heat already have 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, plus others on training camp or non-guaranteed contracts. They have major luxury tax considerations and would surpass the second tax apron threshold by carrying a 15th man, so it remains to be seen what kind of contract Miami offered. It’s likely to be a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deal.

Little, 24, has been a free agent since Phoenix waived him late last month. The combo forward appeared in 45 games for the Suns last season, making two starts and posting 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per night. The former No. 25 overall pick spent his first four NBA seasons in Portland before coming to Phoenix in a three-team trade last September.