Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Waive Jamaree Bouyea

September 15th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

1:50pm: The Spurs have officially waived Bouyea, per a press release from the team.

10:40am: The Spurs will open up a two-way roster spot by waiving Jamaree Bouyea, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The 25-year-old guard signed a two-year contract with the team in March and appeared in three games. He spent most of last season in the G League, averaging 17.1 points, 7.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks per game with Austin and Sioux Falls.

Bouyea’s NBA career began in 2022 when he signed with Miami after going undrafted following five collegiate seasons at San Francisco. He appeared in five total games with the Heat and Wizards during the 2022/23 season.

Bouyea inked a two-way contract with Miami last summer, but was waived before the start of the season. He joined the Trail Blazers on a two-way deal in November, but was released 10 days later.

The move provides the Spurs with a little bit of roster flexibility heading into training camp. David Duke and Harrison Ingram hold the team’s other two-way slots.

Isaiah Thomas Discusses Desire For Another NBA Comeback

September 14th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas has been overcoming long odds throughout his NBA career, so he’s not going to let his age and injury history spoil his hopes of another comeback, writes Dylan Ackerman of Cronkite News. The 35-year-old guard, who participated in workouts with the Kings last month, talked about what motivates him to keep going during a recent appearance with some other NBA stars at the ZekeEnd Tournament in Tacoma, Washington.

“I just enjoy the process, but I know what I’m fighting against,” Thomas said. “I understand it, but I’ve had that same fight my whole life. This is just normal to me. It’s just another stage I have to get by. I really want to just play two or three more years and then focus on my kids. That’s the ultimate goal and we’re just going to keep fighting until the end.”

Thomas has already put together a remarkable career for a 5’9″ guard who wasn’t selected until the final pick of the 2011 draft. After three years in Sacramento and a half-season in Phoenix, Thomas found stardom after being traded to the Celtics in 2015. He made his first All-Star appearance during the 2015/16 season, averaging 22.2 points and 6.2 assists per game. He was even better the following year, earning second-team All-NBA honors and finishing fifth in the MVP voting while putting up 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per night.

However, a hip injury in that year’s playoffs caused his career to spiral as quickly as it ascended. He was sent to Cleveland during the offseason as part of a Kyrie Irving trade, but only appeared in 15 games before being shipped to the Lakers at the trade deadline.

Thomas has spent time with eight teams since the injury, but has only cracked the 40-game mark with one of them. That happened with Washington in 2019/20, which Ackerman notes is the last time Thomas has been able to land a contract before the start of a season.

Thomas earned two 10-day deals with the Suns last season and signed a standard contract in April that made him eligible for the playoffs. However, he only appeared in six games with Phoenix and made one brief postseason appearance.

“Basketball has been my life,” Thomas said. “I’ve focused on one thing my whole life. Most don’t really focus on one single thing that long. I’ve loved the game of basketball, and it’s done wonders for my life. I’ve been across the world, I made tons of money around basketball. I just love it. I love everything about the game. I love the process. I love the good, the bad. I’m still at an age where I can still play at a high level. I always say that I have the same feeling going to the gym now that I did when I was a kid. I know when that goes away, it’s time to just try to find something else.”

It’s not clear if Thomas made a strong impression on the Kings during his workouts or if the team ever considered signing him. Sacramento has one spot open on its training camp roster and just 12 players with fully guaranteed contracts. Thomas also worked out for Milwaukee in July, but the Bucks have a full roster and there’s never been any indication that they made him an offer.

Regardless of whether he winds up in somebody’s training camp, Thomas is determined to keep pursuing his NBA dream.

“I believe in myself more than anybody would,” he said. “I just feel like why not keep going and why not show the world what perseverance looks like, what fighting through adversity looks like. Then being able to do it with a smile on your face.”

Family Rift Over Payroll Reportedly Led To Decision To Sell Celtics

September 14th, 2024 at 8:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

A family disagreement over the Celtics‘ rising payroll was behind Wyc Grousbeck’s decision to put the majority stake in the team up for sale, sources tell Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Ninety-year-old Irving Grousbeck controls about 20% of the franchise and is unwilling to absorb the projected financial losses that will be necessary to keep the team in title contention, according to Kosman. After winning the championship in June, Boston handed out several new contracts that will bring the total cost of the roster for the 2025/26 season to about $500MM in salary and tax payments.

“That’s what happens when dad puts in most of the money,” a source told Kosman.

Kosman cites another source close to the sale process who says the team is projected to lose about $80MM this season. That amount will be much higher in the following season when repeater tax penalties become harsher.

The Celtics handed out a record-setting contract to Jaylen Brown last summer, and then topped that with a five-year, $314MM super-max extension for Jayson Tatum in July. Jrue Holiday also received an extension and several players were re-signed, pushing the total 2025/26 team salary north of $225MM and setting up a projected $280MM luxury tax payment.

“Wyc says we’ll spend whatever it takes, but dad wasn’t into losing money,” another source told Kosman, who hears that the team barely broke even last season while winning its 18th NBA title.

The Grousbeck family claimed it was unloading its share of the team for “estate planning purposes” when the surprise announcement was made in early July. Wyc Grousbeck reiterated that stance in a statement to Kosman.

“The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations. To say the sale is in any way related to losses is completely incorrect,” he stated. “There has not been a capital call from ownership, or any additional investment of any kind, in the 22 years since Boston Basketball Partners bought the team and we don’t anticipate there being one.”

The NBA is hoping to have the Celtics valued at a record-setting $6 billion for the sale, but there are complications in reaching that figure. Sources tell Kosman that the team’s projected losses and the fact that it doesn’t own TD Garden to provide revenue from other events could make prospective buyers reluctant to bid that high.

The Grousbecks are hoping to sell a 51% stake either later this year or early in 2025 and then continue to run the team until the full sale is completed in 2028.

There has been little movement toward a sale in the two-and-a-half months since the Grousbecks announced that the team was available, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Banks helping with the transaction are still reviewing the team’s assets and liabilities to provide an accurate report for interested buyers, which Himmelsbach says is typical in this type of transaction.

Landry Shamet Signs Exhibit 9 Deal With Knicks

September 14th, 2024 at 3:18pm CST by Tristan Tucker

3:18pm: Shamet signed a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract with New York, the team announced (via Twitter).

9:29am: Free agent guard Landry Shamet agreed to a one-year contract with the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

It’s unclear exactly what type of deal Shamet is signing with the Knicks, but I’d be somewhat surprised if it was fully guaranteed. New York signed Chuma Okeke to a non-guaranteed one-year deal earlier this season. Shamet, Okeke and perhaps other players seem poised to battle it out for New York’s final standard spot on the 15-man roster.

Shamet, 27, has spent time with the Sixers, Clippers, Nets, Suns and Wizards in six NBA seasons. He holds 348 games of NBA experience after being the 26th overall pick by Philadelphia in 2018.

The Wichita State product is a career 38.4% three-point shooter, averaging 4.9 attempts per game. He also holds averages of 8.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest, with 97 career starts under his belt.

Shamet has been involved in several blockbuster trades throughout his career. In his rookie season, he was part of the trade that brought Tobias Harris to Philadelphia. In the following year, he was moved in a three-team deal involving Bruce Brown. Then, in 2023, he was part of the trade that sent Bradley Beal from Washington to Phoenix.

The Knicks have 14 players on standard guaranteed deals. Kevin McCullar, Ariel Hukporti and Jacob Toppin hold two-way deals while Okeke and Alex O’Connell are on training camp deals. Shamet seems likely to be part of that latter group.

Rockets’ AJ Griffin “Seriously Considering” Leaving Basketball

September 12th, 2024 at 3:46pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets wing AJ Griffin is “seriously considering” leaving basketball, sources tell Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania and Iko, both Griffin and the Rockets are “preparing for his departure from the game.”

The 16th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Griffin had a promising rookie season in which he averaged 8.9 points per game with a .465/.390/.894 shooting line in 72 contests (19.5 MPG).

However, he missed time due to leg and ankle issues and personal reasons in 2023/24 and didn’t play much when he was available, averaging just 8.6 minutes per contest in 20 appearances. The former Duke Blue Devil’s scoring numbers cratered to 2.4 PPG on 29.0% shooting (.256 3PT%).

After spending his first two seasons with the Hawks, Griffin was traded to Houston in June in a three-team deal that saw Atlanta acquire the No. 43 pick (Nikola Djurisic). The Rockets had reportedly long been interested in the 21-year-old, and in July he expressed excitement about having a fresh start with Houston. But it appears his time with the team could be very brief.

Griffin is on Houston’s books for a guaranteed $3.89MM salary for ’24/25 and the Rockets will have until the end of October to decide whether or not they want to exercise his $5.97MM team option for the ’25/26 season. Based on today’s report, it certainly sounds like that option will be declined.

Griffin is the son of former NBA player and longtime assistant coach Adrian Griffin, who was head coach of the Bucks for part of last season.

Extensions For Warriors’ Kuminga, Moody Don’t Appear Imminent

September 12th, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Rory Maher

In an effort to minimize stress heading into the 2024/25 season, the Warriors decided to hold training camp in Hawaii. As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, that’s not to say there’s no stress, particularly for a couple of former lottery picks.

Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, both members of the 2021 draft class, are eligible for rookie scale extensions until Oct. 21, the day before the season begins. While things could certainly change over the next five-plus weeks, there is currently a gap in negotiations, with no “significant progress” in contract talks for either player, league sources tell Slater.

Kuminga will earn a little over $7.6MM in ’24/25, the final season of his rookie contract, while Moody will earn about $5.8MM. Both players will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025 if they don’t sign extensions.

Slater’s article primarily focuses on Kuminga, who is reportedly seeking a five-year, maximum-salary contract that would pay him 25% of the salary cap starting in 2025/26 (a projected $224MM). According to Slater, the Warriors aren’t inclined to offer that — or any deal that approaches $44.8MM per year.

There’s still a possibility that an extension between Golden State and Kuminga could be reached, assuming the 21-year-old forward is open to accepting less than the max. Slater suggests a deal in the range of “$30-ish” million annually could be a “reasonable middle ground.”

Sources tell Slater the Warriors’ front office has been preaching “patience and pragmatism” this offseason as it focuses on roster flexibility. And extending either player would subject them to the poison pill provision, potentially making it very difficult to move them in a major in-season trade. Again, that doesn’t rule out possible extensions, but it’s certainly something the Warriors are cognizant of.

Nuggets Sign Jamal Murray To Four-Year Max Extension

September 11th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 11: Murray’s extension is official, the Nuggets confirmed in a press release.

SEPTEMBER 7: The Nuggets and star guard Jamal Murray have reached an agreement on a four-year, maximum-salary contract extension that will begin in 2025/26, agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike George tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Assuming the salary cap increases by the maximum allowable 10% next summer, as projected, Murray’s four-year deal will be worth $207,845,568. Taking into account his $36,016,200 salary for the ’24/25 season, the 27-year-old is now on track to earn just shy of $244MM over the next five seasons.

Murray is considered perhaps the most accomplished active player not to have made an All-Star team. He holds career averages of 17.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per game, with a .452/.380/.867 shooting line across 469 total appearances for the Nuggets, who drafted him with the seventh overall pick in 2016.

Murray has been even better (24.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.9 RPG, .459/.389/.911 shooting) in 65 postseason contests and played a key role in helping Denver win the 2023 championship.

Last season, he matched his career high with 21.2 PPG. His 6.5 APG and .425 3PT% were also career bests, though he was limited to 59 games due to health issues.

Word broke in late June that Murray and the Nuggets were expected to finalize a four-year max extension. When more than two months passed without a deal, there was speculation that Denver may be rethinking that $52MM-per-year investment, especially after the veteran guard struggled in the 2024 postseason and at the Paris Olympics as a member of the Canadian national team.

However, it seems the Nuggets’ commitment to Murray hasn’t wavered. His new contract will make him one of the NBA’s highest-paid guards and will run through the 2028/29 season.

Murray, superstar center Nikola Jokic, and forward Michael Porter Jr. will earn a combined $140MM for Denver in 2025/26, with that total increasing to roughly $150MM in ’26/27. Jokic and Porter are each eligible to reach unrestricted free agency in 2027 (Jokic holds a ’27/28 player option).

The Nuggets’ roster may get even more expensive if the team is able to work out a new contract with its other starting forward, Aaron Gordon. Gordon will earn $22.8MM in 2024/25 and holds a player option worth the same amount for ’25/26. He’ll become extension-eligible later this month and would be able to negotiate a new deal at any time this season.

Markieff Morris Re-Signs With Mavericks

September 11th, 2024 at 5:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 11: The agreement is now official, the Mavericks have announced. It’s a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for Morris, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The deal includes an Exhibit 9 clause for Morris, who gave up his right to veto a trade as part of the agreement, Hoops Rumors has learned.

SEPTEMBER 7: Markieff Morris has reached an agreement to return to the Mavericks, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal was confirmed by Morris’ agent, Yony Noy of LAA Partners, Charania adds (Twitter link).

Even though he didn’t see much playing time, the 35-year-old power forward was a strong veteran leader for Dallas during its run to the NBA Finals. Morris appeared in 26 games during the regular season and averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per night. He was only used in one postseason game.

Re-signing Morris was an offseason priority for the Mavs, Charania states. They currently have 14 players with fully guaranteed contracts, along with A.J. Lawson, whose $2.1MM salary for this season is non-guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date of January 10.

Dallas will be at the limit of 21 players for training camp once Morris’ new deal is finalized.

This will be the 14th NBA season for Morris, who was selected by the Suns with the 13th pick in the 2011 draft. After four and a half seasons in Phoenix and three years in Washington, Morris has become somewhat of a journeyman, spending time with six teams in the past five years.

He came to the Mavericks from Brooklyn at the 2023 deadline as part of the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas. He was also a free agent last summer and signed a one-year deal in September.

Former NBA Lottery Pick John Henson Confirms Retirement

September 11th, 2024 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA big man John Henson has no intentions of attempting a comeback, confirming to Spencer Davies of RG.org that he has retired as a player and has moved onto the next stage of his life.

“I was so blessed to play this long,” Henson said. “It’s a lot of opportunities, man. It’s just a matter of one step at a time. I’m only 33, so I have time to explore and figure out what I want to do next. This is just the next phase, and we’ll see where it takes me. But so far, so good.”

The 14th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Henson spent his first seven seasons with the Bucks, then played for the Cavaliers and Pistons during the 2019/20 season. He averaged 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 19.7 minutes per game across 445 career outings (160 starts) from 2012-20. Health issues, including wrist and hamstring injuries, slowed him down and limited his availability during his final seasons.

Though he inked a 10-day contract with the Knicks in April 2021, Henson didn’t appear in any games for New York. The 6’9″ center also signed with Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico in March 2022, but ended up not suiting up for the team.

“I could’ve fought. I could’ve went the G League route and tried to work my way back, but I’ve always just been a guy that basketball’s never life or death for me or my life,” Henson said. “I’m not gonna sit here and bang my head against the wall. My first initial thought was let me finish my education and let me see what happens, and then we’ll go from there.”

According to Davies, Henson has passed on offers in recent years to be a veteran mentor on the G League Ignite’s roster and to join the Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards‘ G League affiliate) as an assistant coach.

Henson’s focus has been on media jobs — he’ll provide color commentary for ACC games and serve as an analyst on SiriusXM’s ACC Today program during the 2024/25 season, per Davies. The big man previously spent two seasons appearing on The Bettor Half Hour on MSG Network.

Montrezl Harrell To Sign With Australian Team

September 10th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Free agent big man Montrezl Harrell is headed to Australia, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reports.

Harrell has agreed to a short-term deal with the Adelaide 36ers. The 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year will be an injury replacement for another former NBA forward, Jarell Martin.

Martin is still recovering from a patellar tendon injury and isn’t expected to be available until later in the year, according to Uluc. While Harrell could stick with the 36ers after Martin returns, the team would need to deactivate a local player to make that happen, Uluc adds.

Harrell played eight seasons in the NBA, most recently with the 76ers during the 2022/23 regular season. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game that year.

Harrell was waived by Philadelphia in October 2023. He underwent knee surgery last August after he suffered a torn ACL and medial meniscus tear earlier that summer.

The 30-year-old’s best season in the NBA was with the Clippers during the 2019/20 campaign, where he averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. In 515 career regular season outings, Harrell has averaged 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.5 minutes.

Before reaching a deal with Harrell, Adelaide also considered former NBA players Justin Jackson and Thon Maker, sources tell Uluc.