NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Cedi Osman Signs With Panathinaikos

September 7th, 2024 at 12:11pm CST by Tristan Tucker

12:11pm: Panathinaikos has officially announced its one-year deal with Osman.

9:23am: Former Cavaliers and Spurs wing Cedi Osman is leaving the NBA to sign with Greek club Panathinaikos, as detailed in a report from Eurohoops.net.

Earlier reports from this month suggested Osman was in advanced talks with Spanish club Real Madrid, but the two sides were ultimately unable to get a deal done. Eurohoops.net also says Osman had an offer on the table from the Lakers to join the team for training camp, but he turned it down without having assurances he’d make the regular season roster.

Osman was just one of three players left on the Hoops Rumors’ top 50 available free agents list this offseason, having been ranked at No. 46. Only Isaac Okoro (No. 26) and Markelle Fultz (No. 43) remain without teams from that list.

The former Cavaliers wing is a seven-year pro who spent his first six seasons in Cleveland. He was sent to the Spurs last offseason in the sign-and-trade deal that re-routed Max Strus from the Heat to the Cavs. In 476 games (186 starts), Osman holds averages of 9.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game on 35.7% shooting from deep.

Although his per-minute production was his lowest since his rookie year last season in San Antonio, Osman set a career high with a .389 3PT% and offers value as a sharpshooting veteran wing. However, with roster spots dried up around the league, he’s making the move overseas.

According to a separate report from Sportando, the deal between Osman and Panathinaikos happened quickly. Reportedly, the deciding factor was a conversation between the forward and Panathinaikos head coach Ergin Ataman, who also coaches Osman on the Turkish national team.

Heat Notes: Young Players, Jovic, Jaquez, Training Camp, Rozier

September 7th, 2024 at 12:00pm CST by Tristan Tucker

While winning the summer league championship was a boon for the Heat‘s development system, reality’s soon to set in on which of their pieces will actually be factors in the regular season rotation, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. The Heat have differed in their approach to playing time for their young players over the years, taking a more patient approach to developing Bam Adebayo but inserting Jaime Jaquez into the rotation right away.

In Winderman’s view, Nikola Jovic and Jaquez will almost certainly be shouldering heavy minutes, while rookies Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson might take more time to break in to the rotation.

In a separate article, Winderman evaluates what to expect this season from Jovic, who averaged 9.5 points on .476/.390/.815 shooting after being named a full-time starter last year. As the Heat prepare for the possibility of life post-Jimmy Butler, Jovic is one of their key pieces moving forward.

We have more from the Heat:

With Jovic and Jaquez both having their rookie-scale options picked up, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald evaluates the state of the future roster. The Heat currently have 10 players under contract for 2025/26 and that number would increase to 11 if Butler picks up his player option.
The Heat are holding training camp at Baha Mar in the Bahamas from Oct. 1-5, according to a team release. The club will travel following media day on Sept. 30 and the camp will not be available for public viewing.
Terry Rozier might benefit from having a full offseason to work with the Heat after being acquired at the trade deadline. Winderman writes in a mailbag that he isn’t sure it will have an impact on the guard’s role with the team. Rozier struggled in his first 10 games with the Heat, averaging 12.6 points and 35.9% shooting. However, he settled in and averaged 19.0 points on 45.2% shooting over his next 20 outings.

Bulls Agree To Deal With E.J. Liddell

September 7th, 2024 at 11:30am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Bulls have agreed to a contract with forward E.J. Liddell, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). While the details of the contract aren’t yet known, it’s probably safe to assume it’s an Exhibit 10 deal, with Chicago having also signed Talen Horton-Tucker and Kenneth Lofton Jr. to such contracts in recent weeks.

Liddell, the No. 41 pick in the 2022 draft, spent two years with the Pelicans. He missed what would have been his rookie season in 2022/23 with a knee injury before playing eight games with New Orleans last season.

This offseason, Liddell was moved to the Hawks as part of the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans. He was then re-routed to the Suns before being waived.

In 29 G League games last season, Liddell averaged 17.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 50.8% from the floor and 27.0% from deep. The Ohio State product averaged 14.1 points across 92 career collegiate games as well.

If Liddell’s contract is an Exhibit 10 deal, he’ll be competing for one of the Bulls’ last remaining roster spots. As noted above, Chicago has Horton-Tucker and Lofton alongside Marcus Domask on training camp contracts. Chicago has 15 players on standard contracts but Onuralp Bitim‘s contract is non-guaranteed. The Bulls also have one two-way spot open.

It looks as though the Bulls are fielding an open competition heading into training camp. Bitim will battle to hold his 15th spot on the roster while the Exhibit 10 players compete for either that spot or the Bulls’ open two-way. It’s important to note that Liddell, Lofton and Domask are eligible for two-way deals while Horton-Tucker is not.

Davis Bertans No Longer Working Out For Warriors, Received Overseas Offer

September 7th, 2024 at 10:56am CST by Tristan Tucker

After initially planning to accept an invitation to work out for the Warriors, forward Davis Bertans will no longer audition for Golden State, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link), who confirms the veteran free agent has received a contract offer from Dubai BC. While Stein’s tweet doesn’t indicate Bertans has already signed this offer, all signs seem to point toward him doing so.

Some details about Bertans’ contract offer are already in and an earlier report from Sport24.gr (relayed by Sportando) indicating Bertans would sign with Dubai BC signals the deal is on track to being finalized. According to Stein, the offer is for a multiyear contract with “out” conditions that would allow him to make an NBA return down the line.

Bertans, 31, is an eight-year NBA veteran who has played professionally since he was 19. The Latvian forward debuted in the NBA in 2016/17 and has made stops with the Spurs, Wizards, Mavericks, Thunder and Hornets. In 475 career games (41 starts), he has averaged 7.7 points while making 39.6% of his 2,234 career three-point attempts.

After beginning his NBA career with the Spurs, Bertans showed promise before being traded to the Wizards. With Washington, Bertans had the most prolific year of his career, averaging 15.4 PPG and 4.5 RPG while making 42.4% of his 8.7 three-point attempts per game, developing into one of the premier outside threats in the league.

Bertans was rewarded with a lucrative contract extension, but after a year in which he finished in 11th for the Most Improved Player award and eighth in Sixth Man of the Year voting, his production gradually declined. He bounced between the Wizards, Mavs and Thunder as a fringe rotation piece before landing with the Hornets this past season.

Bertans rebuilt his value in 28 games with the Hornets, averaging 9.3 points on a 36.7% clip from deep in his last 24 appearances of the season. While that led to some reported NBA interest from the Warriors, Bertans is ultimately heading overseas for the first time since 2015/16.

And-Ones: Eastern Contenders, Amazon, Tax Teams, Regrettable Contracts

September 6th, 2024 at 9:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Sixers‘ projected starting lineup (Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre and Caleb Martin) is versatile defensively and features plenty of shooting, Martin projects to be the NBA’s shortest starting power forward this season, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, who suggests that Philadelphia could benefit from adding some more size to its frontcourt.

Philadelphia is one of five Eastern Conference threats to Boston discussed by Bontemps as he identifies one piece each of those teams is missing. Some of those pieces are positional — the Knicks could use another center, while the Cavs would like to add a two-way wing, Bontemps writes.

Other missing pieces are more general traits. For example, Bontemps says the Bucks are lacking “dynamism,” pointing to the team’s dearth of dunks by players besides Giannis Antetokounmpo last season as a sign that Milwaukee would benefit from adding more athletic, explosive pieces to its roster.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Although Amazon reportedly scrapped plans to make a $115MM investment in Diamond Sports Group, it sounds like the mega-corporation and the parent company of the Bally Sports networks are still in discussions. As Josh Kosman of The New York Post reports, Amazon is exploring a deal to stream Bally Sports broadcasts of 12 NBA teams for the coming season. According to Kosman, under the proposed deal, Bally Sports would continue its local broadcasts, but Amazon would give customers the option of paying approximately $20 per month to access their home team’s games through Prime Video.
Keith Smith of Spotrac takes a look at how the teams operating in tax apron territory approached the offseason, breaking down the moves they made and considering how the apron-related restrictions affected them.
While few teams have a contract as onerous as Zach LaVine‘s on their books, the Bulls aren’t the only club carrying a deal they may regret. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report identifies one possible such contract on the books for all 30 teams, ranking each one out of 10 in terms of “potential regret level.” LaVine’s deal is the only one that scores a 10/10, but Pincus gives a 9/10 to Bradley Beal (Suns), Jordan Poole (Wizards), and Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets).

Lakers Sign Jordan Goodwin To Camp Deal

September 6th, 2024 at 7:20pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 6: The Lakers have officially signed Goodwin, the team announced in a press release. After signing and waiving Alex Fudge, the club is now back to a full 21-man offseason roster.

SEPTEMBER 3: Free agent guard Jordan Goodwin has agreed to sign with the Lakers, according to veteran NBA reporter Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

Haynes describes it as a “camp deal” for Goodwin, which suggests the contract will be non-guaranteed and worth the veteran’s minimum. It will likely include Exhibit 9 language and possibly Exhibit 10 language too, though that hasn’t been confirmed.

Goodwin, who will turn 26 in October, spent the first half of the 2023/24 season with the Suns before being sent to Brooklyn as part of the three-team trade that landed Royce O’Neale in Phoenix. After being waived by the Nets, the former Saint Louis standout inked a 10-day contract and then a two-way deal with the Grizzlies, finishing the season in Memphis.

In total, Goodwin appeared in 57 games for the Suns and Grizzlies, averaging 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 18.5 minutes per contest. His shooting efficiency dropped off significantly, however, as he made just 36.9% of his field goal attempts, including 29.8% of his three-pointers.

Goodwin previously appeared in 64 games for the Wizards from 2021-23, averaging 6.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG in 17.4 MPG, with a shooting line of .444/.319/.768.

The Lakers have a full 15-man standard roster, with all three of their two-way slots filled, so the club would need to trade or waive one of those players in order to create a path for Goodwin to earn a regular season roster spot. For what it’s worth, if he signs an Exhibit 10 contract, Goodwin would be eligible to be converted to a two-way deal prior to opening night.

New York Notes: Randle, Knicks, Martin, Etienne

September 6th, 2024 at 6:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star Knicks power forward Julius Randle has struggled to stay healthy during New York’s last two playoff appearances, and questions have long lingered about his fit on Tom Thibodeau‘s team.

With All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson now clearly the Knicks’ top offensive option and the team missing center depth, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report pitches an intriguing hypothetical three-team deal involving Randle.

Pincus proposes that the Knicks send Randle and reserve center Jericho Sims to the Hornets and a pair of heavily protected 2025 first-round picks to the Wizards. In Pincus’ suggested deal, the Knicks would acquire floor-spacing combo forward Grant Williams and bouncy center Nick Richards while generating a pair of trade exceptions. Charlotte would also acquire Corey Kispert and Marvin Bagley while Washington would add Josh Green and Cody Martin in Pincus’ hypothetical.

There’s more out of New York:

The Knicks could still be on the hunt for a reserve center, Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes in a new mailbag. New York previously explored signing Omer Yurtseven and Bruno Fernando, both of whom ended up elsewhere.
Heading into the 2024/25 season, the Knicks have one final standard roster spot available. Sources tell Begley that it appears unlikely New York will bring back reserve point guard Ryan Arcidiacono for that spot. The Knicks may instead look to see if anyone stands out in training camp enough to warrant becoming the club’s 15th man.
The Nets‘ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, have traded their 2025 first- and second-round draft picks to the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves‘ NBAGL squad, in exchange for the returning player rights to forward Tyrese Martin. Across 33 contests (28 starts), the 6’6″ wing averaged 17.8 points, 8.0 boards, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals.
Long Island has been active this week. The Nets‘ NBAGL team also shipped out the returning player rights to forward Kaiser Gates to the Hawks‘ G League team, the College Park Skyhawks, to obtain the returning rights for guard Tyson Etienne. In 51 regular season games with the Skyhawks from 2022-24, Etienne averaged 7.6 points on .444/.356/.722 shooting splits, plus 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per night.

Quinton Crawford Joining Kings As G League Head Coach

September 6th, 2024 at 4:35pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Kings are hiring longtime NBA assistant coach Quinton Crawford to guide their G League affiliate in Stockton, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

After reaching the Sweet Sixteen with the Arizona Wildcats as a guard, Crawford transitioned to the coaching side with Pepperdine in 2013/14, serving as the club’s graduate manager and video coordinator. He subsequently worked as an assistant video coordinator with the Kings, then had assistant coaching jobs with the Hornets, Magic, Lakers, Mavericks, and – most recently – the Suns in 2023/24.

A frequent flyer under head coach Frank Vogel, Crawford won a championship on Vogel’s staff with the 2019/20 Lakers. All told, Crawford served under Vogel in Orlando, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Last year’s Vogel-led Suns run was fairly short-lived. Despite fielding three multi-time All-Stars in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, Phoenix finished with just the Western Conference’s No. 6 seed and a 49-33 record. The Suns were quickly swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Timberwolves. Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia quickly jettisoned Vogel and his staff, bringing in the man who beat the Suns in the 2021 Finals, ex-Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.

Under former head coach Lindsey Harding, the Stockton Kings went 24-10 in G League regular season play, earning the West’s No. 1 seed. Stockton bested the Santa Cruz Warriors before falling to the Oklahoma City Blue. For her efforts, Harding won G League Coach of the Year honors and now is an assistant coach on J.J. Redick‘s Lakers staff.

Lakers Waive Alex Fudge

September 6th, 2024 at 3:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After announcing on Thursday night that they’d inked free agent small forward Alex Fudge to a contract, the Lakers announced on Friday that they’ve waived the 6’8″ Florida alum (Twitter link).

Fudge went undrafted last summer, but quickly latched on with L.A. via a two-way contract. He suited up for four contests with Los Angeles last season and 24 with the team’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. After being waived by the Lakers in January, Fudge joined the Mavericks on another two-way agreement, but was cut in August.

Between Los Angeles and Dallas, Fudge appeared in a grand total of six NBA contests in 2023/24, averaging 2.5 points and 0.8 rebounds. In 33 NBAGL total games for South Bay and Dallas’ affiliate, the Texas Legends, Fudge averaged 8.2 points and 4.4 boards across 18.5 minutes a night. He posted a shooting line of .480/.235/.550 during his G League tenure.

Because he almost certainly received an Exhibit 10 contract, Fudge is on track to rejoin South Bay as an affiliate player. Assuming he sticks with the team for at least 60 days, he’ll earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Kings Signing Terry Taylor To Training Camp Deal

September 6th, 2024 at 3:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Kings are signing free agent forward Terry Taylor to a training camp contract, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

Exact terms of the agreement have not been reported, but it seems likely to be an Exhibit 10 deal.

Taylor, 24, spent parts of the last two seasons with the Bulls, where the 6’5″ vet played as an undersized small forward.

After going undrafted in 2021, Taylor began his pro career as an affiliate player for the Pacers’ NBAGL team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He inked a two-way deal that December with the Pacers, who converted his contract to a standard deal in April of that same season. Indiana eventually waived him in February 2023.

Taylor was quickly snatched up by the Bulls, on a two-way deal. Ahead of the 2023/24 season, his agreement was converted into a standard contract.

Last year with Chicago in a deep-bench role, Taylor averaged just 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds across 31 games in 2023/24.

The Kings have 14 players on their standard roster, and all three of their two-way slots occupied. Power forward/center Skal Labissiere and guard Boogie Ellis are currently signed to training camp agreements for Sacramento.

If waived and then signed by a club’s G League affiliate, players who ink Exhibit 10 contracts are eligible for bonuses worth up to $77.5K should they stick around with those affiliate squads for at least 60 days.