Newsstand Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Russell Westbrook Sustains Left Hand Fracture

March 1st, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Clippers guard Russell Westbrook sustained a broken left hand on Friday vs. Washington, the team announced (Twitter link via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk).

Head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters after the game that he’s not yet sure whether Westbrook will require surgery or how much time he might miss (Twitter link via Youngmisuk).

The 2016/17 league MVP, Westbrook has made nine All-NBA teams over the course of his 16-year career. After the Clips traded for James Harden, Westbrook has primarily come off the bench in 2023/24, averaging 11.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.5 APG and 1.1 SPG on .451/.268/.672 shooting in 57 games (22.8 MPG).

Unfortunately, Westbrook is the second noteworthy player to suffer a fractured left hand tonight, joining Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.

While Westbrook, 35, is clearly no longer in his prime, he’s still a terrific rebounder for a guard who can get in the paint and make plays. Earlier in the season, he talked about being keyed in defensively.

Before the Harden trade, Bones Hyland was the team’s backup point guard, and now that Westbrook is injured, he’ll likely receive some rotation minutes.

Westbrook holds a $4MM player option for ’24/25.

Scottie Barnes Out Indefinitely With Fractured Hand

March 1st, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward Scottie Barnes sustained a fracture to the third metacarpal bone of his left hand in the second quarter of Friday’s loss to Golden State, the Raptors announced in a press release. He’s out indefinitely.

It’s a tough blow for the former Rookie of the Year, who is averaging career highs in every major statistic this season, including points (20.0), rebounds (8.3), assists (6.1), steals (1.3) and blocks (1.5) though 59 games. His shooting slash line in those contests was .474/.340/.781.

An All-Star for the first time in 2023/24, Barnes has assumed a larger role on both ends of the court for Toronto in 2023/24 after the team lost Fred VanVleet in free agency last summer and then decided to trade impending free agents Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby during the season.

Since the team is now built around Barnes, who was the fourth overall pick in 2020, it’s hard to say who will take on larger roles in his absence. Trade additions Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett seem like obvious candidates, but neither has Barnes’ size or unique skill set.

If the team elects to go with smaller wings, Gradey Dick, Bruce Brown and Ochai Agbaji could receive more run. If the Raptors want to go bigger, they could play Kelly Olynyk more minutes in the frontcourt alongside Jakob Poeltl.

At 22-38, the Raptors were already on the outside looking in of the postseason picture, currently trailing the Hawks by 4.5 games for the final spot in the East’s play-in tournament. With Barnes sidelined, their odds of making the playoffs — slim as they were — are all but eliminated.

Barnes, 22, will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, and there’s a very good chance he’ll receive a maximum-salary offer from Toronto.

Pistons, Shake Milton Agree To Contract Buyout

March 1st, 2024 at 8:28pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pistons and veteran guard Shake Milton have agreed to a contract buyout, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says “multiple postseason contenders” are interested in signing Milton once he clears waivers.

The 54th pick of the 2018 draft, Milton spent his first five NBA seasons with the Sixers before hitting unrestricted free agency last summer. He signed a two-year, $10MM contract with the Timberwolves, with the second year being non-guaranteed.

Despite initial enthusiasm, the deal didn’t work out well for either party, as Milton averaged just 4.9 PPG, 1.6 RPG and 1.3 APG on .400/.264/.818 shooting in 38 games with Minnesota (12.9 MPG), well below his career marks. The Wolves wound up trading him to Detroit last month as part of a package for Monte Morris.

Milton appeared in four games for the Pistons, averaging 6.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 15.8 RPG. He’s only 27 and has been a productive reserve as recently as last season, so it’s not surprising that he’s expected to draw interest from several suitors.

Players must be waived by 11:59pm ET on Friday in order to maintain their postseason eligibility, so we can safely assume Milton be cut before the end of the day.

Nets, Jalen Wilson Finalize Three-Year Contract

March 1st, 2024 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

5:45pm: Wilson’s deal is now official, according to a press release from the Nets.

2:50pm: Wilson’s deal will include a partial guarantee for 2024/25 and a team option on the ’25/26 season, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

2:16pm: The Nets are promoting Jalen Wilson from his two-way contract and will give him a spot on their standard 15-man roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the rookie forward will sign a new three-year deal.

After winning a national championship with Kansas in 2022, Wilson led the Jayhawks in scoring (20.1 PPG) and rebounding (8.3 RPG) as a redshirt junior in 2022/23. He was named a first-team All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year before entering the 2023 draft, where he was selected with the No. 51 overall pick by the Nets.

Wilson didn’t play much at the NBA level earlier this season but impressed in the G League with the Long Island Nets, averaging 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 33.0 minutes per game across 22 appearances in the Showcase Cup and NBAGL regular season. He posted a shooting line of .471/.380/.745 in those contests.

Wilson’s strong play with Long Island has helped earn him a spot in Brooklyn’s rotation in recent weeks. Since February 6, he has played in all 10 of the Nets’ games, averaging 5.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.5 APG on .444/.500/.667 shooting in 18.9 MPG.

The Nets have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for Wilson. Once his promotion is official, the club will have an open two-way slot and will face a March 4 deadline to fill it.

Brooklyn will use a portion of its mid-level exception in order to sign Wilson to a contract exceeding two seasons. Additional details on the deal aren’t yet known.

Nuggets’ Murray Leaves Game With Ankle Sprain, Now Ineligible For Awards

March 1st, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was forced out of action before halftime in the team’s win over Miami, having sprained his right ankle in the second quarter, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Murray exited the game and didn’t return.

“I talked to him right at the half, and he thought he was gonna be able to try to maybe give it a go — see how it warmed up,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. “And it just wasn’t responding the way he had hoped, so I think it was a smart decision not to have him out there. Just trying to be as careful as possible at this point of the season.”

According to Malone, Murray has yet to be ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Lakers, so it remains possible that the ankle sprain won’t cost him any additional games.

However, it’s worth noting that even if he returns to action on Saturday and plays every Nuggets game for the rest of the season, Murray will no longer be eligible for end-of-season awards.

The NBA’s new 65-game rule for award eligibility considers players to have reached 65 games if they play at least 20 minutes in 63 contests and at least 15 minutes in two more. The Nuggets guard has missed 16 games and – after logging just 14 minutes on Thursday – has played fewer than 15 minutes in two additional outings.

That means that even though he could still technically appear in up to 66 games this season, Murray will fall short of meeting the requirements for the 65-game minimum. The rule was written that way in the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement to avoid a scenario in which a player just made cameo appearances in multiple games in order to reach 65.

For what it’s worth, a player who doesn’t meet the 65-game criteria is permitted to appeal his award eligibility in the event of “extraordinary circumstances.” Perhaps if Murray ended up missing out because he played in 14 minutes instead of 15 in one game, that would qualify, but since this is the first time this rule has been in effect, there are no precedents to compare it to. That case would also no longer hold weight if he misses more time as a result of his ankle injury, which remains a possibility.

“If there’s any hesitancy, then he won’t play in L.A.,” Malone said, per Durando. “If the ankle’s not right. … The question is never, ‘Can I go play?’ No, (it’s), ‘Can you play effectively?’ Because if you’re not playing effectively, you’re putting everybody else at a disadvantage. So we’ll see. And if he’s not able to play against the Lakers because of the ankle injury, then we’ll hopefully get him back for Phoenix (next Tuesday).”

Murray is averaging 20.5 points and a career-high 6.3 assists in 31.2 minutes per game for Denver through 44 appearances (all starts) this season. His 47.9% field goal percentage and 42.3% three-point percentage are also career bests.

The 27-year-old may have been a long shot for All-NBA recognition even if he were eligible, given the strong competition he’d face, but the fact that he’ll miss out is notable, since he would’ve met the performance criteria for a super-max extension if he had earned one of those 15 All-NBA spots. Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth said back in October that the team was “anticipating” paying Murray the super-max.

Murray, who will earn approximately $36MM in the final year of his current contract in 2024/25, will be eligible to sign an extension worth up to his standard max (30% of the cap) this offseason. If he wants to play out his current deal, he could still qualify for a super-max contract (worth 35% of the cap) with the Nuggets by making an All-NBA team in 2024/25.

Murray joins Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, and LaMelo Ball as a few of the stars who are no longer eligible for an All-NBA berth or other major awards in 2023/24 due to the number of games they’ve missed. Others, including Trae Young, may join that group before the end of the season.

Marcus Morris Finalizes Buyout Agreement With Spurs

February 29th, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:31pm: The Spurs have officially waived Morris, the team announced in a press release.

4:07pm: Marcus Morris and the Spurs have agreed to a buyout, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets.

Morris will hit the waiver wire before the Friday night deadline for free agents to be eligible for the postseason. He can now look for an opportunity to join a playoff contender.

Morris was dealt from Philadelphia to San Antonio at the trade deadline in a three-team swap involving the Sixers, Pacers and Spurs. It was expected he’d get a buyout from San Antonio, which sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

Morris won’t be able to return to Philadelphia this season. He also can’t sign with the Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Heat, Bucks and Suns since those teams have salaries above the first or second tax aprons.

Morris was on an expiring $17.1MM contract this season. That figure is well above the mid-level exception ($12.4MM), which makes teams above the tax aprons ineligible to sign him under the CBA rules.

A couple of weeks ago, former teammate Patrick Beverley (Twitter link) said Morris was leaning toward the Timberwolves if he was bought out.

Morris didn’t suit up for San Antonio. He appeared in 37 games with Philadelphia this season, including seven starts. The 34-year-old averaged 6.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.2 minutes before the trade to San Antonio.

Morris started regularly for the Clippers the past three-plus seasons before being sent to the Sixers as part of the James Harden trade in November. He has averaged 12.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 820 career games. He’s a career 37.7% 3-point shooter, which should add to his appeal once he clears waivers.

Hawks Waive Patty Mills, Convert Trent Forrest To Standard Deal

February 29th, 2024 at 12:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:30pm: The Hawks have officially waived Mills, the team announced in a press release. Forrest’s promotion to the standard roster is also official, the club confirmed in a second release.

8:14am: The Hawks will place veteran guard Patty Mills on waivers, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Mills, 35, was traded three times last July before winding up in Atlanta. He has appeared in just 19 games this season and hasn’t played since February 7.

In his 15th NBA season, Mills is averaging 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 10.6 minutes per night, but he’s shooting 38.2% from three-point range, so he could have value for a contending team seeking an experienced shooter.

Assuming Mills is waived by the end of the day on Friday, he will be eligible to appear in the playoffs if he signs with another club by the end of the season. He has a $6.8MM expiring contract, so the Hawks won’t owe him any money beyond this season.

The Hawks will use the open roster spot to convert two-way guard Trent Forrest to a standard NBA contract, Charania tweets. The move will make Forrest eligible to play again — he had already reached his limit of 50 active games as a two-way player, even though he has only appeared in 20 of them, averaging 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 10.5 minutes per night off Atlanta’s bench.

Forrest, 25, is in his second season with Atlanta after signing a two-way deal with the team in the summer of 2022. Prior to that, he spent two years in Utah.

The Hawks now have a full 15-man roster and a two-way opening that can be filled through March 4.

Mike Muscala Finalizes Buyout With Pistons

February 28th, 2024 at 4:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

February 28: The buyout is now official and Muscala has been placed on waivers, the Pistons announced in a press release (Twitter link).

February 27: Veteran forward Mike Muscala is finalizing a buyout with the Pistons, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Muscala has some playoff contenders interested in signing him, Wojnarowski adds.

A player on an NBA contract must be waived by the end of the day on Friday in order to retain his playoff eligibility. As our Buyout Market Watch shows, Muscala will join several other veterans recently waived who are seeking to sign with a team in the postseason hunt.

Muscala, 32, had the misfortune of playing for the league’s two worst teams this season. He appeared in 24 games with the Wizards before he was dealt in mid-January to Detroit. Muscala has made 13 games appearances with the Pistons, including four starts, averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per night.

Muscala can play either power forward or small-ball center and his 37.6% career three-point percentage could make him a valuable bench piece for a team looking for frontcourt depth.

Muscala was on an expiring $3.5MM contract this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He has $905,000 remaining on this year’s salary, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, so he’ll presumably be giving up a portion of that figure as part of his buyout agreement.

The other forward Detroit acquired in the deal with Washington, Danilo Gallinari, was waived after the trade deadline and joined the Bucks.

NBA Denies Knicks’ Protest Of Loss To Rockets

February 28th, 2024 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has denied the Knicks‘ protest of their February 12 loss to the Rockets, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

The Knicks lost the game 105-103 after Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was called for a foul on Rockets guard Aaron Holiday as Holiday launched a desperation three-pointer in the game’s final second. Holiday made two game-winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left on the clock (video link).

Both the NBA’s L2M (last two minutes) report and crew chief Ed Malloy later acknowledged that the foul call was incorrect. Had the call not been made, the game would have gone to overtime.

However, as expected, the Knicks’ protest was unsuccessful. Only six protests in league history have been upheld and it hasn’t happened since 2007.

“Under the standard for NBA game protests, New York was required to demonstrate that there was a misapplication of the official playing rules, as opposed to an error in judgment by game officials,” the league said in its statement today. “Because the foul call at issue reflected an error in judgment, New York did not demonstrate a misapplication of the playing rules, and the extraordinary remedy of upholding a game protest was not warranted.”

Had the protest been upheld, the two teams would’ve resumed the game where it left off and played an overtime period. Instead, the game’s result will stand.

The Knicks benefited from a missed foul call on Monday that helped them secure a tight win over the Pistons. Detroit head coach Monty Williams referred to it as “the worst call of the season” in his postgame comments.

Timberwolves’ Lloyd Among Hornets’ Front Office Candidates

February 28th, 2024 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves executive Matt Lloyd is among the “prime names” to watch as the Hornets seek a new head of basketball operations, Marc Stein reports in his latest article at Substack.

Lloyd is the senior vice president of basketball operations under Tim Connelly in Minnesota. He was one of Connelly’s first hires back in 2022 after having previously served in Orlando’s front office as an assistant general manager, interim GM, and VP of basketball operations. Lloyd also had a lengthy stint in the Bulls’ front office earlier in his career.

A report earlier this month indicated that Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Mitch Kupchak would be moving into an advisory role with the franchise. While Kupchak continues to serve as the head of basketball operations while the team searches for his replacement, the expectations is that Charlotte will make a hire by the end of the regular season.

Stein also names Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon and Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson as “prime” contenders for the Hornets job. Both Langdon and Peterson were identified as candidates in multiple previous reports, with Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer referring to Langdon as one of the potential frontrunners.

Langdon is the No. 2 executive in New Orleans’ front office under David Griffin and has been connected to other general manager jobs in the past. Langdon withdrew from the Kings’ front office search following some initial interest from Sacramento back in 2020 and interviewed for the Wizards’ top job in 2023.

According to Stein, the Nets are believed to have strong interest in retaining Peterson as a top lieutenant under Sean Marks and may offer him a promotion and/or a raise, which was previously reported. Peterson was in Atlanta’s front office when one of the new Hornets co-owners, Rick Schnall, was part of the Hawks’ ownership group.

Sixers general manager Elton Brand was named as another possible frontrunner for the Hornets’ position, but a report two weeks ago indicated that he would remain in Philadelphia rather than pursuing the top job in Charlotte.