Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pistons Hiring Luke Walton As Assistant Coach

July 12th, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons are hiring Luke Walton to join J.B. Bickerstaff‘s coaching staff as the lead assistant, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). As noted by Charania, Walton has spent the last two seasons serving as an assistant coach in Cleveland under Bickerstaff.

Walton played in the NBA for the Lakers from 2003-12 and then spent the 2012/13 season with the Cavs before retiring. He then enjoyed brief stints as an assistant for the University of Memphis and the now-South Bay Lakers of the G League.

Walton got his first NBA coaching job in 2014 as an assistant for the Warriors for two seasons. He helped the organization win a title in ’14/15 and earn an all-time best 73-9 record in ’15/16. Filling in as Golden State’s interim head coach at the start of the ’15/16 season while Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery, Walton led the Warriors to a 24-game winning streak and a 39-4 overall record. He was hired by the Lakers the following season as a first-time head coach.

The Lakers went 98-148 in three years under Walton. After leaving the Lakers, Walton was hired as the head coach in Sacramento, where he won 68 games in a little more than two seasons. In all, Walton owns a 166-241 record as a head coach.

Groups Revealed For 2024 NBA Cup

July 12th, 2024 at 7:28pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The NBA has announced the five-team groups for this year’s in-season tournament, now renamed the Emirates NBA Cup, the league announced in a release on Friday (Twitter link).

Like last year, there are six groups — three each from the Western Conference and Eastern Conference — and each conference was split into five groups based on last year’s standings. One team was selected at random from each group to determine the group round matchups.

The results are:

West Group A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets and Trail Blazers
West Group B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Spurs
West Group C: Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors and Grizzlies
East Group A: Knicks, Magic, Sixers, Nets and Hornets
East Group B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors and Pistons
East Group C: Celtics, Cavaliers, Bulls, Hawks and Wizards

The NBA Cup begins with group play, which runs from Nov. 12 to Dec. 3. Each team plays one game against each of the four opponents in its group. The NBA released a matchup matrix to help fans follow along (Twitter link).

Just like last season, the winner of each group advances to a knockout round alongside the team with the best record in each conference that didn’t win a group. The semifinals and finals will again be played in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Last year, the Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament over the Pacers. LeBron James was named the tournament MVP after dropping 24 points in the title game.

The full game and broadcast schedule for group play will be announced next month.

Jalen Brunson Signs Four-Year Extension With Knicks

July 12th, 2024 at 4:55pm CST by Tristan Tucker

4:55pm: Brunson’s extension with the Knicks is now official, according to a team press release (Twitter link).

“Jalen signing his extension to remain with the Knicks for the long-term shows the dedication and passion he has for the organization, the fans and this city,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Jalen has often called the Knicks his family and we are beyond proud to have him wear and represent our orange and blue for years to come. Jalen has embraced every challenge since he’s come to New York and has been committed since day one to the vision and plan we set forth for the future of this team.

“Since Jalen joined us two years ago, he has consistently led by example and continues to show a willingness to sacrifice for this organization, his teammates and everyone in the Knicks family.”

4:10pm: Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson has agreed to a four-year, $156.5MM contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski observes, the deal is a massive financial concession for a contender, since Brunson could have been eligible for a five-year, $269MM deal next offseason. By signing an extension now, Brunson is allowing the Knicks to maintain some spending power to retain a contending core — highlighted by Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and more — for at least the next few seasons.

Because Brunson can’t receive more than a 40% raise on his 2024/25 salary of $24,960,001 in the first year of an extension, his new deal will start at $34,944,001 in ’25/26, replacing the player option on his current contract.

It’s an unprecedented move for the All-Star guard who finished fifth in MVP voting last season. The deal does cost Brunson $37.1MM over the next three years, but there’s a way for the Villanova product to recoup the value he’s sacrificing in the short term down the line. Brunson’s deal includes a fourth-year player option. He could sign a four-year, $323MM extension in 2028 or a new, five-year, $418MM deal in 2029.

The Knicks signaled their belief in this being a championship core when they traded multiple first-round picks to acquire Bridges earlier this summer. Bridges is only under contract for two more seasons at a modest AAV of $24.1MM over those two seasons. With Brunson taking this short-term paycut, the Knicks have more flexibility to re-up Bridges for the long term. Bridges is eligible for a four-year, $156MM deal next offseason — if he were to sign that deal, it would represent another below-market rate to help keep this Knicks team together.

This move by Brunson also allows New York to duck the second apron in the first year of the extension, thereby allowing them to dodge the restrictive penalties that would have followed.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, Brunson will receive a 50% advance on his salary at the start of each season of the extension (Twitter link).

A solid rotation player in Dallas during the first four years of his career, Brunson has become a star over the past two seasons with New York, averaging 26.5 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 48.4% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc during that time. Those two seasons have been among the most successful in recent Knicks history. The team’s .610 win percentage last season has only been topped once since 2000 (in 2012/13).

Wizards Sign Saddiq Bey To Three-Year Deal

July 12th, 2024 at 5:55am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 12: The Wizards have officially signed Bey, according to the NBA’s transaction log.

The three-year deal includes $19MM in guaranteed money, with another $1MM in incentives, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

JULY 10: The Wizards and free agent forward Saddiq Bey have reached an agreement on a three-year, $20MM deal, agents James Dunleavy and Jordan Gertler tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Bey, who began his NBA career with the Pistons, was traded to Atlanta at the 2023 deadline and spent the past season-and-a-half with the Hawks. In 2023/24, he appeared in 63 games for the club, starting 51. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 32.7 minutes per game on .416/.316/.837 shooting before a torn ACL ended his season in March.

That ACL tear complicated Bey’s free agency this summer. Despite his up-and-down season prior to the injury, a healthy version of the 25-year-old would almost certainly have received his $8.49MM qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent.

However, because Bey could spend most – or all – of the 2024/25 season recovering from ACL surgery, it would have been a risk for Atlanta to put that qualifying offer on the table. The 6’7″ forward could have accepted it, earned $8.49MM while recovering for most of the year, then signed elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent next summer. As a result, the team opted not to issue that QO, making him a UFA this offseason.

While the Hawks and Bey reportedly continued talking after they passed on his qualifying offer, the team is facing a bit of a roster crunch, leaving the former Villanova standout as an odd man out.

Washington, Bey’s hometown team, is going through a significant rebuilding process and won’t need contributions from him right away, making it an ideal fit. If Bey is healthy and productive in the second and third years of the contract, it’ll be a worthwhile investment for the Wizards, who project to be among the NBA’s worst teams in 2024/25 with or without him.

According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wizards view the former first-round pick as a “tough, hard-nosed culture guy” who will be a good addition to the locker room next season and will help on the court once he gets healthy. Bey’s contract won’t include a team or player option, Robbins adds (via Twitter).

The Wizards still have their entire mid-level exception available after using a trade exception to add Jonas Valanciunas on a three-year, $30MM+ contract via sign-and-trade, so it looks like they’ll use a portion of that MLE to sign Bey. Once the deal is complete, Washington will have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, with two more (Eugene Omoruyi and Jared Butler) on non-guaranteed salaries.

Kings’ Devin Carter Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out 6 Months

July 11th, 2024 at 4:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JULY 11: Carter underwent successful surgery and is expected to return in six months, reports Sean Cunningham of KTXL Fox 40 (Twitter link).

JULY 7: Kings rookie lottery pick Devin Carter is slated to go under the knife, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the guard is undergoing left shoulder surgery.

The procedure will take place next week, per Charania. An exact recovery timeline is not yet known, although the availability of the 6’2″ point guard for the beginning of 2024/25 is said to be in question.

It had been previously reported that the former Providence guard would sit out both the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League due to the injury.

The 2023/24 Big East Player of the Year, Carter averaged 19.7 points (on .473/.377/.749 shooting), 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game across 33 contests for the Friars last year, all starts.

Carter was Sacramento’s only draft pick this season, after the club offloaded their rights to the No. 45 pick, former Houston point guard Jamal Shead, to the Raptors.

Jontay Porter Pleads Guilty To Felony, Likely Facing Prison Time

July 10th, 2024 at 7:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Raptors big man Jontay Porter pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a federal felony charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, reports Jennifer Peltz of The Associated Press.

“I know what I did was wrong, unlawful, and I am deeply sorry,” said Porter, who was released on a $250K bond signed by his mother and wife, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Porter’s sentencing is set for December 18 in New York.

Prosecutors estimated that Porter could receive 41 to 51 months in prison, but the final say will come from a judge, who could impose no time or up to a maximum of 20 years. The 24-year-old is also likely to be docked “hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and fines,” per Peltz.

Porter, who told the court he is in therapy and has received inpatient rehabilitation for a gambling addiction, was banned from the NBA in April following an investigation into betting-related irregularities.

Porter is tied to another federal case involving four men who are also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The defendants are accused of profiting from prop bets based on the knowledge that Porter would exit a pair of games early. The complaint also alleges that Porter – who isn’t identified by name but fits the description of the player described – was supposed to receive a portion of the winnings. Porter was allegedly pressured by one of the defendants due outstanding gambling debts. The four defendants have yet to enter pleas.

In 26 games for Toronto in 2023/24, Porter averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 13.8 minutes per night. He earned $415K last season while on a two-way contract with the Raptors.

Pistons Sign Cade Cunningham To Five-Year Max Extension

July 10th, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 10: Cunningham’s maximum-salary extension is official, the Pistons announced today in a press release.

Cunningham is the third player to sign a max rookie scale extension this offseason, joining Scottie Barnes of the Raptors and Franz Wagner of the Magic.

JULY 9: The Pistons and Cunningham are in agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension, agents Jeff Schwartz and James Dunleavy tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski says it’s a $224MM deal that could be worth up to $269MM, which means it will include Rose rule language that could bump the starting salary from 25% of the 2025/26 cap to 30% if Cunningham makes an All-NBA team

JUNE 30: The Pistons intend to sign 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham to a five-year, rookie scale max extension, sources tell Shams Charania and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The exact value of Cunningham’s extension is currently unknown. If the salary cap rises by 10% in 2025/26, which is when the extension will kick in, it would be worth approximately $224MM.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks hears (via Twitter) that while Detroit and Cunningham have discussed an extension, a deal doesn’t appear to be imminent. However, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press has sources who say it’s on track to get done. The guard can’t officially sign anything until July 6.

After a promising ’21/22 campaign which saw Cunningham finish third in Rookie of the Year voting, the 22-year-old was limited to just 12 games due to season-ending surgery in ’22/23. Despite the Pistons finishing with the NBA’s worst record in ’23/24, Cunningham had a strong third season, averaging 22.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.5 APG and 0.9 SPG on .449/.355/.869 shooting in 62 games (33.5 MPG).

Assuming Cunningham’s contract comes to fruition, which seems likely, he would join Raptors forward Scottie Barnes as the second player from the 2021 draft class to agree to a rookie scale extension. The full list of players eligible for rookie scale deals can be found right here.

While Barnes agreed to an extension that features Rose rule language, potentially allowing him to earn 30% of the ’25/26 salary cap instead of 25%, the terms Charania and Edwards reported suggest that Cunningam might not have gotten that offer from Detroit. Either way, it’s a major commitment to the 6’6″ guard, who will earn $13.94MM in ’24/25, which is the final season of his rookie scale contract.

NBA Finalizes Media Rights Deals With ESPN, NBC, Amazon

July 10th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has finalized deals with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime, reaching agreements to make the three broadcasters its media rights partners for the next decade-plus, reports Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. According to Marchand, the 11-year contracts – which will go into effect with the 2025/26 season – will be worth a total of approximately $76 billion.

These agreements had been anticipated for quite some time, but they still don’t entirely close the book on the NBA’s latest round of media rights negotiations.

The next step, Marchand explains, will be for the league’s Board of Governors to officially approve the deals with the three prospective TV partners. That’s viewed as a formality and is expected to happen when the board meets in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Once the Board of Governors signs off on the contracts, they’ll be sent to TNT Sports, the NBA’s longtime media partner, which was unable to agree to terms with the league during this round of negotiations. TNT’s previous deal with the NBA reportedly includes some form of matching rights, so the broadcaster will have five days to decide whether it wants to attempt to exercise those rights.

If TNT passes on that opportunity, the NBA is expected to officially announce its new media rights deal prior to the start of the Olympics later this month, according to Marchand.

If TNT opts to match one of the offers – the expectation is that Amazon’s package would be the target, per Marchand – it could extend the process. The expectation is that there could be a legal battle over whether TNT’s matching rights would be valid, given the differences between what a cable channel like TNT and a streaming giant like Amazon could offer the league.

Marchand provides some additional details on the broadcast plans, assuming ESPN, NBC, and Amazon ultimately move forward as the NBA’s partners:

ESPN would slightly reduce its total number of games, from about 100 to 80 per season. During the NFL season, ESPN would air games on Wednesday and Sundays, with ABC getting Saturday night games. ESPN would also air Friday games after the NFL season concludes.
NBC would air Sunday night games after the NFL season ends, emulating its “Sunday Night Football” broadcasts. NBC is also expected to broadcast games on Tuesday throughout the season, with Monday games on Peacock, its streaming service.
Amazon Prime Video is expected to air games on Thursday nights after the NFL season wraps up, similar to its “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts during the NFL season. Amazon will also likely broadcast games on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the season.
Amazon will be the home of the NBA’s in-season tournament.
All three broadcast partners will air playoff games. Amazon and NBC will each have a conference finals every other year, while ESPN will have one every year. ESPN/ABC will also get the NBA Finals each season.

ESPN is expected to pay about $2.6 billion per season for its rights, while NBC will pay $2.5 billion and Amazon will pay $1.8 billion, per Marchand.

The NBA’s previous media rights agreement with TNT and ESPN, which began in the 2016/17 season, was worth $24 billion over nine seasons. The new money that came in as a result of that deal generated a significant salary cap spike in 2016 (approximately 35%), but the NBA and NBPA have taken steps to ensure that won’t happen again this time around, with annual cap increases capped at 10%.

Team Canada Finalizes 2024 Olympic Roster

July 10th, 2024 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Canadian national team has formally announced its 12-man roster for the Paris Olympics, making its final cuts ahead of Wednesday’s exhibition games against Team USA.

Team Canada’s 12-man squad is as follows:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G (Thunder)
Jamal Murray, G (Nuggets)
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G (Timberwolves)
Andrew Nembhard, G (Pacers)
RJ Barrett, G/F (Raptors)
Luguentz Dort, G/F (Thunder)
Dillon Brooks, F (Rockets)
Melvin Ejim, F (Unicaja)
Trey Lyles, F (Kings)
Kelly Olynyk, F/C (Raptors)
Dwight Powell, F/C (Mavericks)
Khem Birch, C (Girona)

While the group obviously isn’t as star-studded as the U.S. roster, it’s headed up by a 2024 MVP finalist (Gilgeous-Alexander) and a guard who was the second-best player on the 2023 NBA champions (Murray). In total, it features 10 active NBA players, and all of them played regular roles for their respective teams in 2023/24.

The only two non-NBA players are Birch, who spent six seasons in the league but now plays in Spain, and Ejim, a former Iowa State standout and a Team Canada veteran who has been a productive contributor for several teams in Europe since 2014.

Andrew Wiggins is among the notable names missing from Team Canada’s squad for Paris. He was on the original training camp roster but withdrew right before camp began due to what the Warriors referred to a mutual decision. Various reports, however, suggested that Golden State was the party driving that decision.

Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey also removed his name from the training camp roster in order to focus on Summer League and his first NBA season.

Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe and Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, both of whom were coming off injuries that ended their 2023/24 seasons, were among the players who attended training camp but weren’t in the mix for roster spots for the Paris Olympics. Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller was in that group too.

This will be the first time Canada has been in the men’s basketball event at the Olympics since 2000.

Derrick White Replaces Kawhi Leonard On Team USA Roster

July 10th, 2024 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

11:05am: As first confirmed by Spears (via Twitter), White has officially replaced Leonard on Team USA’s roster, according to a press release.

“I am happy to announce that Derrick will compete at his first Olympic Games on the heels of a championship season in Boston,” managing director Grant Hill said in a statement. “We look forward to him joining the team in the coming days as we continue preparations for Paris. “I want to thank Kawhi for his commitment to the USA Men’s National Team. He earned the opportunity to represent the United States, but USA Basketball and Clippers leadership felt it’s important to allow Kawhi to prepare for the NBA season.”

Team USA now features three members of the defending champion Celtics, with White joining teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.

9:57am: Star Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will withdraw from Team USA’s roster ahead of the Olympics in Paris, sources tell Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link).

USA Basketball intends to name a replacement for Leonard on the 12-team roster that will travel to Paris, with Celtics guard Derrick White considered a strong candidate, according to Charania and Vardon.

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, returned for Game 2 and Game 3 vs. Dallas, then sat out the final three contests of the Clippers’ first-round loss.

After reporting to Team USA’s training camp, he said over the weekend that his knee had improved in recent weeks enough for him to play this summer. Neither The Athletic’s report nor USA Basketball’s official statement (Twitter link) on Leonard’s exit from the team specifically mentions that knee, but it sounds as if the forward’s health is the motivating factor for the decision.

“Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” Team USA’s statement reads. “He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”

While that statement suggests the decision was made by the Clippers and Team USA, Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link) hears from a source that Leonard’s camp reached out a couple days ago to USA Basketball to express concern.