Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks, Clippers Interested In Aleksa Avramovic

August 17th, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Aleksa Avramovic, one of the stars of the Serbian Olympic team, has received interest from the Hawks and Clippers, according to BasketNews, relaying a report from Ozon Press, a Serbian newspaper.

Avramovic, who was named Best Defensive Player in the Paris Games, has an out clause in his contract with CSKA Moscow that permits him to sign with an NBA team. However, the clause will expire Tuesday, so time is limited to get a deal completed.

Avramovic has a buyout fee in his CSKA contract that an NBA team could contribute up to $850K to help cover. Neither Atlanta nor L.A. has made a formal offer so far, according to Mozzart Sport.

Avramovic is currently preparing to travel to Moscow for the start of training camp on August 26, BasketNews adds. He’s expected to continue his career in Russia if he doesn’t sign with an NBA team.

The 29-year-old point guard averaged 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals in six games as Serbia captured the bronze medal in Paris. He averaged 3.4 steals per 40 minutes in the tournament and had four against Germany in the third-place game.

The Hawks and Clippers currently have 15 players on standard contracts, so either team would have to part with guaranteed money before the start of the season to add Avramovic to the roster.

Bulls Sign Kenneth Lofton Jr. To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 17th, 2024 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 17: Lofton’s deal with the Bulls is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.

AUGUST 16: Free agent forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. has agreed to a one-year contract with the Bulls, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While Charania doesn’t provide any other details on the deal, he says Lofton will have the opportunity in training camp to compete for a spot on Chicago’s regular season roster. That suggests it’ll be a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract.

Lofton, who turned 22 on Wednesday, began his professional career with the Grizzlies in 2022 after going undrafted out of Louisiana Tech. The bulky 6’6″ forward spent most of his rookie year on a two-way contract with Memphis, appearing in 24 NBA games.

After being converted to a standard contract in April 2023, Lofton began the 2023/24 season on the Grizzlies’ 15-man roster, but was waived in December when Ja Morant was activated from the suspended list. He spent a couple months on a two-way deal with Philadelphia, then was waived again in March and signed a rest-of-season contract with the Jazz, who cut him last month before his ’24/25 salary became partially guaranteed.

Although Lofton didn’t play much at the NBA level in ’23/24, he finished the year strong in Utah, averaging 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 22.8 minutes per game across four April outings for the Jazz. He also had a big year in the G League, earning All-NBAGL First Team honors after putting up 25.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 1.6 BPG in 19 regular season games (30.1 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats and the Salt Lake City Stars.

The Bulls currently have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with Onuralp Bitim on a non-guaranteed deal, so if Lofton impresses in camp, he could become the team’s 15th man. Chicago also has a two-way spot available, though Lofton would only be eligible to have his contract converted to a two-way deal if it includes Exhibit 10 language.

JT Thor Agrees To Two-Way Contract With Cavaliers

August 17th, 2024 at 11:39am CST by Tristan Tucker

Former Hornets forward JT Thor is signing a two-way contract with the Cavaliers, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).

Thor, the 37th overall pick in the 2021 draft, spent the first three years of his career with the Hornets. He didn’t play a major role with Charlotte, but earned a handful of spot starts across his tenure with the franchise. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 165 games (11 starts; 12.2 MPG) with the Hornets from 2021-24.

The former Auburn standout earned some first-round buzz in the 2021 draft after a freshman season that saw him average 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 0.8 steals while stretching out to the three-point line as a 6’10” forward. At 21 years old, he still has some untapped potential.

Thor most recently impressed in the Olympics, playing for South Sudan’s national team. He averaged about seven points and five rebounds for South Sudan.

Thor is the first reported two-way signing for the Cavs, giving them two other spots they can choose to fill. They have a two-way qualifying offer out for Emoni Bates, who finished last season on a two-way contract with the team.

Pete Nance and Isaiah Mobley also finished the 2023/24 season on two-way deals with Cleveland but are both unrestricted free agents, free to sign with any team.

Damian Lillard: ‘I’m Not A Player That’s Breaking Down’

August 16th, 2024 at 9:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Perennial All-Star Damian Lillard insists he’s still the same player that carved out a Hall of Fame career in Portland despite a disappointing first season with the Bucks.

“I’m not a player that’s breaking down,” Lillard told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a subscriber-only story. “I live a clean, good, healthy life, so I can do it. I can do the same (expletive) I did two, three years ago. I can do it right now.”

The uncertainty surrounding Lillard was the biggest story of last offseason. Lillard was expected to be traded to his preferred destination, Miami. Instead, the Trail Blazers dealt him to Milwaukee.

After averaging a career-best 32.2 points per game in 2022/23, his scoring output dropped to 24.3 PPG in his first season with the Bucks. That was to be expected, considering he was teaming up with another superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo but his shooting percentage was just 42.4%, including 35.4% on 3-point tries, well below his career averages.

“I think when the trade happened everybody was like, ‘Well, Milwaukee’s gonna win it,’ and I think when it didn’t always look the way they wanted it to look or thought it was gonna look, and I wasn’t looking how I looked in Portland, it was like, oh, what’s going on with Dame? Why is Dame not doing this?” he said. “But when for a greater part of the season I was still averaging about 26 points. Like, if you really think about that – what standard do y’all hold me to if I’m scoring 26 points and averaging seven assists and I’m not feeling great? I’m going through a lot of stuff. That’s just the truth.”

Injuries took a toll. During various points of the season, Liullard was dealing with calf, ankle, groin, adductor and Achilles issues. He was also going through a divorce and had to deal with playing and living in a new city after the trade finally came to fruition.

“There was a lot of change, a lot of stress, you know?” he said. “I think now, having an opportunity to get myself in order and kind of start pushing forward to next season.”

The oddsmakers peg the Bucks fourth among Eastern Conference teams heading into 2024/25, behind the defending champion Celtics, Sixers and Knicks. That’s just fine by Lillard as he continues to chase his first ring.

“The fact that we’re there and we’re under the radar is perfect because they’re gonna think nothing of us and then they’re gonna be like…You gotta face the truth, eventually. That’s how that usually works,” he said.

Knicks To Guarantee Jericho Sims’ Full Salary

August 16th, 2024 at 7:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks center Jericho Sims will have his $2,092,344 salary fully guaranteed for the upcoming season, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link).

Friday represented the deadline for the Knicks to decide whether to fully guarantee the contract. Sims, who had a partial guarantee of $1,302,359, would have had to be waived today if New York wanted to avoid being on the hook for the rest of his salary.

Sims, a 2021 second-round pick, has appeared in 138 games during his first three NBA seasons, including 32 starts. Last season, he saw action in 45 regular-season games, including 11 starts. He averaged 2.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes per contest.

Sims projects as the Knicks’ third-string center behind starter Mitchell Robinson and primary backup Precious Achiuwa. The team lost Isaiah Hartenstein to Oklahoma City in free agency.

Sims should come into training camp in better shape than the past two years. He underwent thumb surgery two summers ago, followed by shoulder surgery last offseason.

Magic’s Banchero: ‘We’re Right There’ With East’s Top Clubs

August 16th, 2024 at 5:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paolo Banchero believes the Magic should be in the conversation with the Eastern Conference’s top teams, he declared on ESPN’s First Take (hat tip to Dan Savage of NBA.com).

“We feel like we’re right there,” the Magic’s star forward said. “We’re right there with all those (elite teams in the East). I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-two, top-three seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the fifth seed and had a chance to really grab the two seed at the end of the season. We were right there last year.”

Orlando finished with a 47-35 regular-season mark and was eliminated by the Cavaliers in the opening round of the playoffs.

The best-of-seven series went the distance and Banchero showed why he’d been named an All-Star in February. He averaged 27.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game during the postseason.

Banchero viewed it as a learning experience.

“I learned how to kind of slow the game down in the playoffs,” he said. “The first two games of the series in Cleveland, I felt a little sped up. I turned the ball over a lot. From Games 1 and 2 to Game 3, I think that’s where I made that jump, that adjustment and started to really slow the game down. I started to be really intentional (and) pick my spots on the floor to score and play-make.

“I also learned that you have to be in elite shape – not only physically, but mentally (in order) to deal with a seven-game series. It’s fun to go against the same team over and over, but it’s also a huge challenge. I think that’s something I took and will definitely use for next year.”

The Magic should be a more dangerous playoff team with the addition of shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Orlando brought in the former Nuggets wing on a three-year, $66MM deal in one of the biggest free agent signings this summer.

“Getting KCP is going to help us a lot,” Banchero said. “That’s a guy that’s won two championships in the last five seasons. He’s been around some of the greatest (players) of all-time. So, he’s going to be able to come out and make a huge difference for us. (Also), we’re a really young team and getting that playoff experience (and) a top-five seed last year (gives us) a lot of momentum heading into next season.”

Banchero, who doesn’t turn 22 until November, has lived up to his billing as the top overall pick in 2022. Orlando surprised many people by picking Banchero at that spot after his one-and-done season with Duke.

He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer and it’s a lock that he’ll get a max offer from the Magic.

“Orlando took a chance on me when they drafted me, and I am forever grateful for that,” he said. “I give them my love and respect for that because nobody knew that I was going to go number one. I didn’t know I was going to go number one. So, they put the trust in me to take that chance and take me number one. After that, I felt like it was my job to help them reach heights that haven’t been reached in a long time … We’re trying to take (a huge) jump next year and keep taking it one level at a time.”

Banchero’s appearance on the ESPN show can be viewed here.

Lakers To Retire Michael Cooper’s No. 21 In January

August 15th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers will retire Michael Cooper‘s No. 21 jersey on January 13 when they host San Antonio, the team announced (via Twitter).

A Los Angeles native, Cooper was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in April. He won five championships while spending his entire NBA playing career with the Lakers. Cooper was primarily known for his excellent defense, earning eight All-Defensive nods and winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1987.

Cooper averaged 8.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 4.2 APG and 1.2 SPG while shooting 46.9% from the floor and 83.3% from the free throw line in 873 regular season games from 1978-90. He primarily came off the bench, only starting 94 contests, though he was certainly a valuable sixth man, averaging 27.1 MPG in his career.

Cooper has coached for several different organizations since his playing days ended, including as an assistant for the Lakers and Nuggets. He was briefly interim head coach of Denver as well. Cooper won back-to-back WNBA titles as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002 and also won a D League title with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in 2006 (the D League has since been rebranded as the NBA G League).

Now 68, Cooper is currently a men’s assistant coach at Cal State Los Angeles. The Division II school had its best-ever season in 2023/24, notes Paul Helms of the university’s website.

2024/25 NBA Schedules By Team

August 15th, 2024 at 2:24pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has officially unveiled its full regular season schedule for 2024/25.

The season will begin on Tuesday, October 22 and wrap up Sunday, April 13. The play-in tournament will take place from April 15-18, with the playoffs beginning on April 19.

The league’s announcement highlighted the fact that each team is only scheduled for 80 games at this point. That’s due to the in-season tournament, now known as the NBA Cup, whose schedule was previously revealed.

The league also confirmed several previously reported marquee matchups, including its five-game Christmas Day slate, an opening night doubleheader of Knicks at Celtics and Timberwolves at Lakers, and games taking place in Mexico City and Paris.

Listed below are links to the full 2024/25 season schedules for each NBA team, organized by conference and division. The team-by-team schedules for ’24/25 can also be viewed in a single document right here, while the full schedule by date can be viewed here.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

Central Division

Southeast Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division

Pacific Division

Southwest Division

Veteran Wing Joe Harris Retires

August 15th, 2024 at 11:41am CST by Rory Maher

Veteran wing Joe Harris has decided to retire, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 33rd overall pick of the 2014 draft, Harris spent his first season-plus with the Cavaliers, who traded him to Orlando when he sustained a season-ending foot injury in 2015/16. The Magic released him, and he wound up signing a multiyear contract with Brooklyn as a free agent in July 2016.

Harris had by far the most productive run of his career with the Nets, emerging as a reliable rotation player and one of the best outside shooters in the NBA.

Over a three-season span from 2018-21, Harris averaged 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists, posting an elite shooting line of .497/.458/.782 in 214 games (30.6 MPG). He led the league in three-point percentage in two of those three campaigns.

Unfortunately, Harris’ career was derailed at the beginning of the ’21/22 season when he sustained a major ankle injury. His lucrative long-term contract with Brooklyn turned into an albatross, as the 32-year-old was never able to regain his pre-injury athleticism.

The Nets traded Harris to the Pistons last summer in a salary-dump move. He only appeared in 16 games (10.6 minutes) with Detroit and struggled when he did play in ’23/24. The Pistons released Harris in February, making him an unrestricted free agent.

In 10 NBA seasons, the former Virginia star averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 504 regular season contests, including 283 starts (24.4 minutes). His career mark of 43.6% from three ranks fifth in NBA history. Harris also won the three-point contest in 2019, Charania notes.

Knicks Re-Sign Jacob Toppin To Two-Way Deal

August 14th, 2024 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Restricted free agent forward Jacob Toppin is back under contract with the Knicks, according to the team, which announced today in a press release (Twitter link) that he has been re-signed to a two-way contract.

New York made Toppin a restricted free agent by issuing him a two-way qualifying offer after he finished the 2023/24 season on a two-way deal with the club. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the 24-year-old simply accepted that qualifying offer.

The younger brother of former Knicks forward Obi Toppin, Jacob signed a two-way contract with the organization last July after going undrafted out of Kentucky. He spent nearly his entire season with New York. He had his contract converted to a 10-day deal in February, then returned on a new two-way contract after those 10 days were up.

Toppin played sparingly at the NBA level, appearing in just nine games for New York, but he was a key contributor for the Westchester Knicks in the G League, averaging 17.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 35.1 minutes per game across 42 Showcase Cup and regular season contests. He registered a shooting line of .455/.323/.781.

Toppin also participated in the 2024 dunk contest, though he was eliminated before the final round.

The Knicks have filled all three of their two-way slots, with Toppin joining Ariel Hukporti and Kevin McCullar.

There are now just two restricted free agents left on the market, and both are Cavaliers: Isaac Okoro (standard) and Emoni Bates (two-way).