NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Hornets To Hire DJ Bakker As G League Head Coach

August 25th, 2024 at 9:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets are hiring DJ Bakker as the head coach of their NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets.

Bakker was on the Bucks’ coaching staff last season. He was hired as an assistant under first-year head coach Adrian Griffin, who was replaced in midseason by Doc Rivers. Milwaukee didn’t retain Bakker after the season.

Previously, Bakker was on the Pistons’ staff. He was an assistant under Dwane Casey and had a stint as the head coach of their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. Bakker was also on the Raptors’ staff when Casey was the head coach there.

Community Shootaround: Kings’ Offseason

August 25th, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

One of the surest things in major professional sports was a losing season for the Kings.

After making the playoffs eight consecutive seasons during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Kings were annual visitors to the lottery. They missed the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons, finally ending that drought during the 2022/23 campaign.

Sacramento was eliminated in the opening round by the Warriors but failed to build off that breakthrough season. The Kings were relegated to the play-in tournament last season, knocking out the Warriors before getting bounced by the Pelicans.

Expectations of a major roster shakeup this offseason were quickly squashed. Instead, the Kings essentially settled for the status quo, save for one big addition. They acquired DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade and dealt away Harrison Barnes in the process.

DeRozan slots in to the small forward spot and, at least from an offensive standpoint, the Kings should pack plenty of punch. DeRozan, perhaps the league’s most noted mid-range scorer, averaged 24.0 points and 5.3 assists per game for the Bulls last season. He turned 35 this month but he remains an offensive force.

He joins a lineup that features De’Aaron Fox (26.6 PPG, 5.6 APG) and Domantas Sabonis (19.4 PPG, 8.2 APG). Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter round out that unit and Sacramento also shelled out big bucks (four years, $78MM) to retain sixth man Malik Monk.

Sacramento made relatively minor additions to its bench, picking up Jordan McLaughlin, Jalen McDaniels and Orlando Robinson via free agency or trade. The Kings suffered a tough blow when first-round pick Devin Carter suffered a severe shoulder injury that could keep him out for most or all of his rookie season.

The Kings were among the top 10 in scoring and field goal percentage last season, though oddly at the bottom in free throw percentage. What held them back was a defense that ranked 21st in field goal percentage and second-to-last in 3-point percentage.

That brings up to today’s topic: Where do you think the Kings rank in the Western Conference pecking order? Did the acquisition of DeRozan move them into the top six in the conference? What else do they need to do to become serious contenders?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Eastern Notes: Okoro, Council, Bey, Ball

August 25th, 2024 at 7:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There’s been very little movement in negotiations between the Cavaliers and the only restricted free agent left on the market, Isaac Okoro, Brian Windhorst reported during NBA on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective (video link). The Cavaliers hold the upper hand, since no team except the Pistons is in a position cap-wise to make a competitive offer to Okoro.

“I think there’s only been a little bit of talking back and forth,” Windhorst said. “I’m sure it will increase as we get closer to camp. But the Cavs are realizing that all the money is spent out there. Okoro has the option of taking his qualifying offer. I am told the Cavs made a multiyear offer, whatever that’s worth.”

Okoro’s qualifying offer is worth a little over $11.8MM.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Ricky Council IV brings diverse skills to the table and Paul Hudrick of Liberty Ballers argues that he should be part of the Sixers’ rotation once again during the upcoming season. Council just needs to become a respectable three-point shooter to earn playing time on one of the Eastern Conference’s premier teams, Hudrick adds.
Forward Saddiq Bey signed a three-year contract with the Wizards this summer as a free agent despite suffering a torn ACL in March. Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network breaks down Bey’s skill set using analytics.
Lonzo Ball continues to defy the odds in his latest attempt to come back from knee surgery, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Ball was recently cleared to start full-contact scrimmages and has started that process on schedule with no setbacks, Cowley reports. The veteran point guard has been participating in scrimmages in Los Angeles. The next step for Ball will be to run with his Bulls teammates at the team’s practice facility, which will allow Chicago’s medical staff to evaluate him and devise a plan for him heading into the preseason.

And-Ones: Dragic, Petrovic, Wiggins, King

August 25th, 2024 at 5:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In Marc Stein’s latest Substack post, he details Goran Dragic‘s retirement party and charity contest in Slovenia. Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Chris Bosh, Kevin McHale, Nikola Jokic, Robin Lopez and Boban Marjanovic were among the former and current players who made the long excursion to participate in the festivities. The longtime NBA guard announced his retirement on New Year’s Eve.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

Current NBA players Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric will participate in a game next month to remember former NBA star Drazen Petrovic, who died in a car accident in 1993. The game will be held in Zagreb on September 5, Sportando relays via a Eurohoops report. The event will be organized by Aleksandar Petrovic, the brother of the former NBA player. Drazen Petrovic averaged 15.4 points in 290 NBA games while playing for the Trail Blazers and Nets.
Aaron Wiggins, Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Nesmith head up the list of players on team-friendly contracts for their respective clubs, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report opines. Wiggins tops the list as a rotation player for the Thunder on a five-year, $45MM deal that includes an additional $2MM in unlikely incentives. His salary also declines year-to-year, including a team option at $8MM for the 2028/29 season.
Forward Louis King is the latest player to commit to G League United for the Fall Invitational that will take place next month, according to the G League’s Twitter feed. King played for the South Bay Lakers and had a stint in Puerto Rico after the NBA Lakers waived him last October.

Boban Marjanovic Looking To Play For New NBA Team

August 25th, 2024 at 3:19pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent center Boban Marjanovic is still hoping to land with an NBA squad this summer, he relayed to Milun Nesovic of Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops for the translation).

Marjanovic was in Slovenia to partake in a star-studded tribute game to retiring former All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic. Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh and Steve Nash were all also in attendance, as was reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic.

“I’m waiting for the NBA, but if it doesn’t happen, there is a lot on paper going on,” Marjanovic said. “Every time you make plans, it doesn’t work out. Plans always change.”

Since entering the league with the Spurs, Marjanovic has bounced around the league as a reserve center. He’s played for the Pistons, Clippers, Sixers, and Mavericks. Marjanovic most recently suited up for the Rockets from 2022-24.

The full interview is an interesting one. Here are some other comments from Marjanovic:

The 36-year-old did not play for his native Serbia during this summer’s Olympics, but he was clearly invested while watching Jokic and co. almost upset Team USA during their semifinal matchup. “First of all, it’s an amazing experience to watch your friends fight,” Marjanovic said. “There is still regret for that lost match against America, since we all saw it as, ‘Well, we’re winning!’ That’s why it hurts a little. But bronze is bronze, a medal! An extraordinary success for us as a country, for them as individuals and, of course, for our basketball.”
In reflecting on Dragic’s retirement game, the 7’4″ big man remarked on the scope of the event, in terms of its attendees. “I saw people here that I haven’t seen in a long time,” Marjanovic said. “It’s fascinating how many people and faces there are in one place. It will be a nice event. Gogi is a fascinating guy, not to mention what kind of player he was, you all know that. He deserves this. The organization is really at the top level.”

Nikola Vucevic Talks Lonzo Ball, Changes In Chicago, Retirement

August 25th, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Speaking at All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic‘s farewell game in Slovenia, Bulls center Nikola Vucevic reflected on the team’s disappointing results over the past three seasons. The 6’10” big man noted that everything changed after point guard Lonzo Ball suffered a left meniscus tear midway through the 2021/22 season, per Milun Nesovic of Meridian Sport (hat tip to BasketNews for the transcription).

Chicago went 22-13 during the 35 games Ball was healthy, and hovered around the top of the Eastern Conference. The club then fell to the No. 6 seed and was eliminated by the Bucks in a brisk 2022 first-round playoff series. Ball has undergone three knee surgeries, but has yet to return to the hardwood.

“Since Lonzo Ball’s injury, we haven’t been able to achieve the results we could have,” Vucevic said. “When he played, we were at the top of the East for a while, which maybe wasn’t a realistic result, even though we were playing well, but with him, we would have fought for anything between third and sixth place in the end.”

Chicago hasn’t had Ball available since January 2022. It’s probably not realistic to expect him to contribute at the same level he did, if he ever can come back.

The conversation is well worth reading in full. Here are some more highlights:

Vucevic also blamed constant trade chatter for distracting the team during its subsequent two seasons, when Chicago made very few transactions and ultimately missed the playoffs. “Trade talks also affected us, preventing us from achieving the results we thought we could, but when results don’t follow, changes come,” Vucevic said.
The team parted ways with two of its top players, six-time All-Star swingman DeMar DeRozan and All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso, this summer. DeRozan inked a lucrative three-year deal with the Kings via sign-and-trade, while Caruso was dealt to the Thunder for Josh Giddey. Vucevic is aware that the club is trying to pivot. “DeRozan left, Caruso left, the team got younger, and they wanted to go in a different direction,” Vucevic said. “We’ll see how the season goes, and then decisions will be made based on that.”
The 33-year-old center, who is owed $41.5MM over the next two seasons, also addressed his own future in the league. “I’m aware that I’ve been in the NBA for 13 years now, that the end is not that far off,” Vucevic acknowledged. “I don’t believe I’ll play another 13 years, but I have two more years with Chicago, and I’d like to play two more after that… I think I can play at a high level for that long, and then I’ll see.” A two-time All-Star while with the Magic, Vucevic has seen his shooting efficiency fall off somewhat in recent seasons. After connecting on 40% of 6.3 three-pointers per game in 2020/21, he has averaged 32% on 4.3 long range attempts across the ensuing three seasons. Though he averaged a respectable 18.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 76 games last season, Vucevic’s lack of athleticism has made him a major defensive liability, unable to switch in pick-and-roll situations and incapable of effectively protecting the rim. Offensively, the ball often sticks in his hands and disrupts the club’s scoring.

Alex Caruso Discusses Expectations For Thunder

August 25th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

After spending the last three years in Chicago, Alex Caruso is facing much higher expectations as he prepares for training camp with the Thunder. Oklahoma City, the top seed in the West last season, upgraded this summer by acquiring Caruso, an elite perimeter defender, in a trade with the Bulls and signing free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein.

Caruso, who played four seasons at Texas A&M, talked about the outlook for his new team in an interview this week with TexAgs Radio.

“I think that the Thunder’s success last year speaks for itself,” he said. “Being first in the West is a tall task because of the buzzsaw and how much talent is in the Western Conference. It is weird now because we added some pieces in the offseason and re-signed some of the young guys. Isaiah Harteinstein and I are phenomenal basketball players who can fit really well within the team. Looking at it on paper, we do a lot of stuff that those guys need that will help us be successful.”

After going undrafted in 2016, Caruso got his first NBA opportunity with the Thunder, signing a training camp contract that fall. He was waived before the start of the season and joined the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue, where he played for current Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault.

Caruso is thrilled to be reuniting with Daigneault as an NBA veteran.

“We have a great relationship,” he said. “I know what to expect out of him and he knows how to coach and push me. If there was one word to describe it, just excited.”

Caruso’s career began to take off when he joined the Lakers on a two-way contract in 2017. He appeared in 37 games as a rookie and gradually worked his way into a rotation role.

He credits LeBron James, who signed in L.A. a year later, with helping to build his confidence and convincing him that he could be a productive NBA player.

“Coming from someone of that stature, someone who is that smart and skilled and the face of the NBA, and arguably the greatest of all time, that means a lot,” Caruso said. “It gave me the confidence in myself to believe that what I was doing was right. It helped me believe that what I was good at could contribute and be a deciding factor in NBA games. All I ever wanted was to be out there at the end of the game and have a chance to win.”

Caruso returned to College Station to host a golf tournament that will help set up his new foundation. The idea of being an established NBA player and having his own charitable organization seemed far away when he played for the Aggies.

“There is so much I want to do to give back,” Caruso said. “I am learning as I go, just figuring out the best way to set up for success so people can benefit from it and help it grow.”

And-Ones: Nash, Petrovic, Campazzo, Olympics

August 25th, 2024 at 10:33am CST by Arthur Hill

Steve Nash isn’t looking to return to coaching after his experience in Brooklyn, writes Mindaugas Bertys of BasketNews. Nash was somewhat of a surprising hire when the Nets tabbed him to be their head coach in 2020, overseeing a team that expected to contend for a title with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. He compiled a 94-67 record in a little more than two years, but parted ways with the organization early in the 2022/23 season after the team got off to a 2-5 start.

“Coaching was a great experience for me and my family. I didn’t want to be a career coach. I just wanted to help that project,” Nash said during an appearance Saturday at Goran Dragic‘s farewell game. “I don’t feel like coaching is necessarily in my future. I’m very focused at this time on having as big an impact on my kids as possible.”

With five children, Nash told reporters that his duties as a father are his top priority. He compared the experience to being an “Uber driver,” but added that he hasn’t fully removed himself from basketball.

“At this stage of my life, it has been really rewarding,” Nash said. “That’s really where my focus is, but there are always projects, affiliations and partnerships, and things that are interesting, so I always have something going on.”

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Several current and former NBA players will take part in an exhibition game to honor the memory of Drazen Petrovic, per Johnny Askounis of EuroHoops. The event will take place September 5 in Zagreb to celebrate the legacy of the Croatian star, who was one of the first European players to make an impact in the NBA before he died in an auto accident in 1993. Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric, Ivica Zubac, Damjan Rudez and Gordan Giricek are among the players scheduled to participate.
Facundo Campazzo, who spent three seasons with Denver and Dallas, talked to BasketNews about the differences between the NBA and international basketball and shared some advice he got from Nikola Jokic when he joined the Nuggets in 2020. “He came up to me and said, ‘Forget about everything you learned in FIBA basketball all these years. This is a different sport’ — and it was just like that,” Campazzo recalled. “It’s another way of facing the season, another way of practicing, of playing — also because the rules are different, the game is played in a different way. In fact, Jokic was the point guard. So I had to reinvent my way of playing, but he helped me a lot, it makes you a better player.”
Netflix will air a documentary series next year focusing on the 2024 Olympic basketball competition, according to BasketNews. The IOC granted unlimited access to camera crews throughout the qualification process and the games in France.

EuroLeague May Be An Option For Robin Lopez

August 25th, 2024 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent Robin Lopez is willing to consider playing in Europe if he doesn’t get an offer from an NBA team, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. The 36-year-old center has been on the open market since the Kings acquired and waived him at last season’s trade deadline.

“I’d absolutely consider it,” Lopez responded when asked about the possibility of joining the EuroLeague. “I know how passionate the fans are and how high the level of basketball is.”

Lopez signed with the Bucks last summer to give them another big man off the bench and to join forces with his twin brother Brook Lopez. He saw limited playing time in 16 games before Milwaukee shipped him to Sacramento along with cash considerations on February 8 to open a roster spot and reduce its tax bill. The Kings released him the same day.

Lopez has turned into a journeyman late in his career, changing teams every offseason since 2019. He has played for nine teams since being selected with the 15th pick in the 2008 draft and has career averages of 8.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 992 games.

Lopez spoke to reporters Saturday after participating in Goran Dragic‘s farewell game in Slovenia. They both started their NBA careers in Phoenix in 2008.

“We were rookies together, and he was somebody I could look to because he had been a professional before in Europe,” Lopez said. “Gogi was somebody I could always look up to and model myself after.”

After watching Dragic close out his career, Lopez acknowledged that retirement may not be far away for him as well.

“If it happens, it happens,” he said. “I’ve had a great career so far, not as good as Goran’s, but I’m thankful for everything I’ve been given.”

Chris Bosh Returns To Court In Goran Dragic’s Farewell Game

August 24th, 2024 at 10:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Bosh played competitive basketball today for the first time in eight years, making a brief appearance during Goran Dragic‘s retirement game to honor his former teammate. The Hall of Famer starred for Toronto and Miami during 13 NBA seasons before a blood clot issue brought his career to a premature end. After logging a couple of minutes in Saturday’s contest, Bosh spoke to Mindaugas Bertys of BasketNews about the medical condition that forced him to retire.

“It was very tough,” Bosh said. “It was the death of my career, to be honest. Any time dealing with loss and death and stuff like that, you go through grief. I had to do that for a few years. I got over it. I believe it made me stronger. It made me focus on being more of a father.”

Bosh and Dragic spent a season and a half as teammates with the Heat after Dragic was acquired at the 2015 trade deadline. Bosh won two championships in Miami and played in four NBA Finals after signing there along with LeBron James in the summer of 2010.

Bosh is an 11-time All-Star who averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 893 career games. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Although Bosh would have preferred to play longer, he told Bertys that he has positive memories about his NBA career.

“It all went good,” he said. “A couple of championships. Got to meet some great people, have some great teammates, great stories, great locker rooms. I’m a lucky guy.”

Bosh revealed that he had an opportunity to play in Europe after the NBA refused to give him medical clearance, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. However, he decided it was best to end his career and not take any health risks.

“I wasn’t in a position where I wanted to up and move my family. I had babies at the time,” Bosh said. “I took it as a sign and continued to move on. But I had a couple of offers. It wasn’t Greece. Spain, France. In the EuroLeague.”

Dragic’s team prevailed as he thrilled the Slovenian crowd with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, Milanti adds in a separate story. The star-studded contest featured Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Luis Scola, Dirk Nowitzki, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Steve Nash.

There was also a one-on-one game between Dragic and his brother Zoran with their parents serving as referee and scorekeeper.