Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Boucek, Delfino, Lottery

October 4th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Cray Allred

Dallas doesn’t have any openings on their coaching staff, but that didn’t stopping them from welcoming WNBA coach Jenny Boucek to participate in training camp, reports Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “With Becky Hammon’s hiring [as a Spurs assistant], [female NBA coaching candidates have] become a reality,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. “And I believe it’s going to become even more of a reality going forward, because there are some women who are qualified and Jenny is one of them. A qualified female could bring a unique perspective and perhaps a different set of communication skills.” Here’s more from around the league:

Free agent Carlos Delfino will miss significant time after having foot surgery, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype reports (on Twitter). Delfino hopes to be recovered by February, but doesn’t have a timetable for his return. Delfino missed all of last year while under contract with the Bucks due to injury, and the Clippers waived his 2014/15 salary under the stretch provision after receiving him in the Jared Dudley trade. That timeline will almost surely prevent Delfino from signing anywhere very soon, and he might become a target for 10-day contract offers if and when he recovers, although that’s just my speculation.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com predicts that one of the proposed changes to the NBA lottery system is sure to get approved, and hopes that the league makes the change speedily for the good of the sport.
Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders writes that many of the training camp invites around the league are playing more for a roster spot on a team’s D-League than a regular season role with their NBA club. Pincus notes that players with partial guarantees are likely to be cut and receive D-League invites from their current teams, including Bryce Cotton, JaMychal Green, Josh Davis, and John Holland on the Spurs and Peyton Siva, Seth Curry, Kadeem Batts, and Drew Crawford on the Magic.

Eastern Rumors: Vucevic, Knicks, Westphal

October 4th, 2014 at 7:42pm CST by Cray Allred

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel runs down some of the considerations the Magic will have to make in deciding whether to sign center Nikola Vucevic to a rookie scale extension prior to the October 31 deadline. While Vucevic might not seem like a near-max talent, Robbins surmises that Orlando could regret not securing him in that range if he signs a hefty offer sheet next summer as a restricted free agent. Here’s a look around the rest of the Eastern Conference:

Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops expects Knicks president Phil Jackson to pursue trading for a star from a rebuilding team this year, shopping Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani‘s expiring contracts as cap-clearing assets for such a deal. Scotto pegs Rajon Rondo as a potential target for New York.
Carmelo Anthony nodded to his desire for Jackson to add another star to the Knicks roster in the future, telling Al Iannazzone of Newsday that he envisions another elite weapon, along with the team’s new triangle offense, as necessary elements to reduce his scoring load. “For this season right now, we have what we have,” Anthony said. “We’re going to deal with that. That was a big discussion with me and Phil talking about–that was one of my things. I didn’t want to have to do it night in and night out. I wanted some nights when somebody else can pick up the load.”
Nets assistant coach Paul Westphal tells Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that he returned to the bench primarily to reunite with head coach Lionel Hollins. The pair coached together in Phoenix. “I wouldn’t have [been an assistant] in any situation,” Westphal said. “I wasn’t desperate to go find a situation, but I definitely wouldn’t have said no to Lionel.”

Eastern Notes: Frye, Jerebko, Thompson, Harris

October 4th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Magic newcomer Channing Frye sprained his left knee during a scrimmage and is expected to miss anywhere from 1-2 months of action, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel is reporting. Orlando inked Frye to a four-year, $32 million contract back in July and were counting on him to be a big part of their rotation.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

With Frye out, the player who stands to benefit the most is Tobias Harris, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel opines. Harris is in the final year of his rookie contract and he and the Magic have until the October 31st deadline to sign an extension or else Harris will become a restricted free agent after the season. GM Rob Hennigan says he can’t envision the franchise not keeping Harris, Schmitz notes. Harris’ minutes will increase without Frye in the rotation and it will give him an opportunity to showcase his worth, according to Schmitz.
The Pistons‘ Jonas Jerebko isn’t feeling any added pressure this season despite it being the final year of his current deal, Brendan Savage of MLive writes. “I’d say it’s the biggest season of my career,” Jerebko said. “I’ve been working hard all summer trying to get ready for it. My body feels great, my shot feels great, I’m ready to go. It’s going to be a big year for me and I’m ready for it. Everything is going to fall into place for me.”
Tristan Thompson is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is eligible to sign an extension prior to the October 31st deadline. Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer looked at the pros and cons for the Cavs of giving Thompson an extension.

And-Ones: Butler, Spurs, Magic

September 30th, 2014 at 10:25pm CST by Alex Lee

Let’s round up the latest news and notes from the Association on Tuesday night:

Jimmy Butler said extension talks between his representatives and the Bulls were going in the right direction, telling reporters that he wants to remain with the team “however long it takes,” writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. The deadline for an extension is October 31st, but Butler could instead re-sign with the team as a restricted free agent next summer.
Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News examines the Spurs roster, reminding us that San Antonio already has 15 guaranteed deals on the books, as shown in our 2014/15 Expanded Roster Counts. If the Spurs do decide they want to keep Bryce Cotton, Josh Davis, JaMychal Green or John Holland, McCarney opines that they might consider eating the $1.063MM salary of Austin Daye.
Orlando’s deals with Peyton Siva, Kadeem Batts, Drew Crawford and Seth Curry all contain partial guarantees, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The Magic have promised Siva $100K, Batts $150K, Crawford $75K and Curry $100K despite having room for only one more fully guaranteed deal on their roster (via Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Magic Push For Extensions With Vucevic, Harris

September 29th, 2014 at 5:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 5:06pm: Vucevic and Harris today expressed their desire to strike deals on extensions, too, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes.

“Obviously, I want to be here,” Harris said. “But I think I’ll just go out there and play basketball. I’ll let my agent handle all that. I know they’ve been having some talks, but I don’t really get too involved in it. I don’t want to use that as something to lose my focus. I’m about my team and about winning games this year and helping my team win games.”

FRIDAY, 12:45pm: The Magic have until October 31st to sign Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris to extensions that would keep them out of restricted free agency next summer, and Magic GM Rob Hennigan said the team wants to do so with both of them, as he told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Each are entering the final season of their respective rookie scale contracts.

“We’ve been in discussions with both Tobias’ and Nik’s representatives,” Hennigan said. “We’ll continue to be in discussions with them. We’re motivated to try to get something done if it makes sense for everybody, and our hope and intention is to do so.”

Hennigan and Vucevic last season expressed mutual interest in a long-term future together, but this is the strongest indication to date that the Magic envision the same commitment with Harris. Orlando acquired both via trade, obtaining Vucevic in the Dwight Howard blockbuster before the 2012/13 season and coming away with Harris in the J.J. Redick swap at the 2013 trade deadline, and both have thrived with increased playing time since joining the Magic. Still, the development of both appeared to plateau last season, as the Magic once more finished near the bottom of the standings, and Hennigan made it clear to Robbins that he believes it important that the team’s rebuilding effort start showing more progress this season.

Still, the Magic don’t have the benefit of seeing how Vucevic and Harris play in the regular season if they want to sign them to extensions, given next month’s deadline. When I profiled Vucevic as an extension candidate, I surmised that the BDA Sports Management client would come away with a four-year, $48MM extension similar to the one the Jazz gave fellow big man Derrick Favors last year. I didn’t think the team would be as enthusiastic about Harris when I examined his case, predicting that the Magic and the Henry Thomas client would pass on an extension for the combo forward, in part because of the other options the team has at the positions he plays.

Still, that’s just my speculation, and it’s unclear just what sort of money the team and the players have in mind. The Magic have only about $15MM in commitments for next season, not counting about $13MM in rookie scale team options for other players, so they have plenty of flexibility to accommodate deals for both, particularly with the salary cap projected to rise sharply in the coming years.

Magic Sign Curry, Batts, Crawford For Camp

September 29th, 2014 at 10:40am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 29TH: All three deals are official, the team announced via press release.

SEPTEMBER 16TH: The Magic are bringing one-year veteran Seth Curry and the undrafted Kadeem Batts and Drew Crawford to camp, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). They’ll join fellow camp invitee Peyton Siva, who reportedly agreed to his deal in July. Orlando still has cap space available, but while it could give one or all of Curry, Batts and Crawford more than the minimum, it seems unlikely the team would do that. Siva received a partial guarantee in his pact, so it’s a distinct possibility that the other three will see at least nominal guarantees as part of their contracts.

Curry had reportedly been weighing overseas opportunities earlier this summer, but he’ll be in an NBA camp for the second straight autumn after joining his brother, Stephen Curry with the Warriors for the 2013 preseason. Seth Curry later resurfaced briefly with the Grizzlies and on a 10-day contract with the Cavs, but he saw action in just two NBA regular season games and spent most of the season in the D-League.

Batts, a 6’9″ power forward, spent the past four seasons playing at Providence, where he put up 12.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game as a senior before joining the Magic’s summer league team in July. He put up 9.3 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 19.8 MPG for the summer Magic.

Crawford, like Curry, has NBA bloodlines, since he’s the son of NBA referee Danny Crawford. The younger Crawford comes from Northwestern, where he put up 15.7 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 36.6 MPG as a senior. The 6’5″ shooting guard spent summer league with the Pelicans, averaging just 2.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 11.8 MPG.

The Magic had been carrying 16 deals, including 14 fully guaranteed pacts. That leaves Siva’s partially guaranteed arrangement and a non-guaranteed contract for Dewayne Dedmon that becomes partially guaranteed for $250K if he makes it to opening night.

Magic Sign Peyton Siva

September 29th, 2014 at 10:39am CST by Ryan Raroque

SEPTEMBER 29TH: The team followed up with a formal announcement via press release, finally making the deal official.

JULY 29TH: Free agent point guard Peyton Siva has agreed to a deal with the Magic, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old guard recently participated in NBA summer league competition for the Pistons before being waived two weeks ago. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, it appears that Siva will be brought to training camp on a partially-guaranteed contract before eventually being waived and sent to Orlando’s D-League affiliate in Erie. The money from the partial guarantee will be used to supplement his D-League salary (Twitter links).

With the ability of Victor Oladipo to play point guard and the addition of playmaker Elfrid Payton via the draft, there doesn’t appear to be much room left for another young point guard on Orlando’s roster. The team also added veterans Luke Ridnour and Ben Gordon via free agency and traded for shooting guard Evan Fournier, which more or less has the team set in their backcourt rotation. It seems likely that the Magic would look to keep Siva’s rights in the D-League, which would keep him away from the D-League draft if the former Louisville star indeed decided to sign an NBDL contract. The partial guarantee could be an incentive to entice Siva to play for the Bayhawks rather than head to Europe for a more lucrative salary.

After being drafted 56th overall in 2013, the Andy Miller client played out the 2013/14 season for Detroit on a partially guaranteed deal, appearing in a total of 24 games. Siva averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.4 APG in 9.3 MPG, shooting just 31.6% from the field and 28.0% from long range.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Nets, Knicks, Butler, Magic

September 28th, 2014 at 9:41pm CST by Zachary Links

When center Brook Lopez was asked if he knew how many different people had coached the Nets since the team picked him in the 2008 draft, he wasn’t too confident in his answer. “Seven?” Lopez asked reporters, including Andrew Keh of the New York Times. “Or eight? Are you counting interim?” The number, interim coaches included, is indeed seven, and the Nets are hoping that new coach Lionel Hollins will stick around for some time. Here’s more from around the league..

The Knicks appear to be more stable than they did a year ago, and seem to have a clear plan on how they want to build towards being a championship contender, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. “I think it feels much better now,” executive vice president Steve Mills said. “I think the addition of Phil to the team adds a different look in terms of creating a culture. I think that was important to Carmelo and I think it’s important to how we move forward as a unit. So I think there’s a lot more stability. I see the rhythm to how we need to build the team.”
If Jimmy Butler does sign a long-term extension with the Bulls, it’ll probably come at the last minute as it did with Taj Gibson two years ago, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com. It’ll be an especially crucial year on an individual level for Butler if he doesn’t ink a new deal. Butler will look to his long-distance shooting which dipped to 28% last season thanks in part to playing a grueling 38.7 minutes per night.
The Magic have until October 31st to reach contract extensions with Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic, but it wouldn’t be a crisis if deals aren’t struck, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
With training camp set to open for the Mavericks this Tuesday, Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gives a quick rundown of Dallas’ roster and what each player brings to the court.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Taylor, Wizards, Heat

September 27th, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hornets have announced that Jeff Taylor won’t be participating in any team activities while the NBA investigates his part in an alleged domestic violence incident, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter links). The team has spoken with Taylor about their decision and he accepts it, Bonnell notes.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards have one roster spot up for grabs with six players on non-guaranteed deals competing for it. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com analyzes the players and what each can bring to the court for Washington.
The Heat have placed a priority on maintaining cap flexibility for the 2016 free agent class, which essentially makes this year’s squad a rental team, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel opines. The only two players on Miami’s current roster that are sure to be on the 2016/17 team are Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts, Winderman notes.
John Denton of NBA.com breaks down the point guards on the Magic‘s roster, and what to watch for from each as training camps are set to begin.

Zoran Dragic, Suns Nearing Deal

September 24th, 2014 at 9:32am CST by Cray Allred

9:32am: Dragic’s agents have informed the Spanish team that the Suns have a two-year offer on the table and that the guard will buy out his contract, freeing him to head to Phoenix, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 9:11am: Dragic has told Unicaja Malaga that the Suns have made him an offer, Guerra tweets.

TUESDAY, 7:55am: There’s no October 5th deadline in Dragic’s contract with Unicaja Malaga, so he can leave the team to come to the NBA after that date should he choose to do so, reports Rafael M. Guerra of La Opinión de Málaga (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Goran Dragic would likely pick up part of the tab for the buyout necessary to bring his brother to the Suns, Guerra adds.

SUNDAY, 1:30pm: The Suns have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Dragic, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The guard is likely to land a two year deal, notes Stein.

SATURDAY, 9:21 pm: Zoran Dragic is in advanced discussions with Unicaja Malaga to leave the team and come to the NBA, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The Slovenian point guard has a buyout clause of $1.1MM to leave the Euroleague team, so presumably he has an agreement in place with an NBA squad. It’s possible that the team could have relinquished its buyout requirement, or that Dragic is paying for it himself, but it is much more likely that an NBA team is set to foot the bill.

The Suns, Pacers, and Kings have been named as the most aggressive suitors for the younger brother of Goran Dragic, although the Cavs, Heat, Magic, Spurs, Mavs, and Rockets have also registered interest. If Phoenix has struck a deal with the 25-year-old, it could have massive ripple effects around the league. The Suns are at a negotiating standoff with restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe, and adding another Dragic to the already-stacked Phoenix backcourt could signal their willingness to move on from Bledsoe, who Minnesota would bring on with a max contract if they had the room to do so.

Momentum has been building all summer for the younger Dragic, who has until October 5th to exercise the escape clause before becoming locked into another season overseas. At one point, it seemed like a long shot that the point guard would be coming stateside before next season, but he repeatedly stated his desire to find his way to the NBA amid a strong performance in the FIBA tournament spotlight. The hefty buyout payment, which exceeds the $600K max to not count against the cap, could mean that at least one team believes in him as a player who can contribute immediately. If Dragic fetches more than the minimum from a team willing to invest in his services, the Cavs, Heat, and Mavs are unlikely candidates to have snagged him.