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Eastern Notes: LaVine, Bulls, Heat, Wizards

September 13th, 2024 at 7:58pm CST by Rory Maher

Two-time All-Star Zach LaVine was one of the first players to return to the Bulls for workouts this month at their practice facility, the Advocate Center, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Sports Network. According to Johnson, the majority of the team’s roster has been present for workouts ahead of training camp.

LaVine, who has been the subject of trade rumors for well over a year, was limited to just 25 games last season due to a foot injury, which required surgery. The 29-year-old is owed $138MM over the next three seasons, including a $49MM player option in 2026/27.

Here are a few more notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune poses five questions facing the Bulls prior to training camp, which begins Oct. 1. In addition to pondering what it will take to move LaVine, Poe also wonders if head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is on the hot seat after the team failed to make the playoffs the past two seasons and then lost DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade for a minimal return.
  • On Wednesday, the Heat signed Bryson Warren and Malik Williams to Exhibit 10 contracts. On Thursday, both players were waived. Free agent guard Caleb Daniels is also expected to be signed-and-waived by Miami in the coming days, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The procedural move would allow Daniels to earn a bonus worth up to $77.5K  — on top of his NBA G League salary — if he spends at least 60 days with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate. Daniels, 25, went undrafted in 2023 out of Villanova. After signing an Exhibit 10 deal with Miami last summer and subsequently being waived, he spent his first professional season with the Skyforce, appearing in 47 games (30.1 MPG) while averaging 12.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 2.2 APG on .429/.368/.841 shooting.
  • The Wizards were the worst rebounding team in the NBA in 2023/24. They should be better in that category in ’24/25 after adding Jonas Valanciunas and Alex Sarr, among other players, writes Chase Hughes of The Monumental Sports Network. Valanciunas has been one of the league’s best rebounders on a per-minute basis for most of his career.
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And-Ones: Watson, First-Rounders, Trade Targets, Punter

September 13th, 2024 at 6:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Former Suns head coach Earl Watson is joining Steve Lavin‘s coaching staff at the University of San Diego, sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). It’s a reunion for the two sides — Watson played under Lavin in college at UCLA.

Watson, who played 13 NBA seasons as a defensive-minded point guard, was an assistant with Phoenix before being named interim and then full-time head coach. He was fired at the start of the 2017/18 season. The 45-year-old was an assistant coach under Nick Nurse with Toronto from 2021-23.

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

  • Which NBA teams hold the most valuable future first-round picks? Bobby Marks of ESPN explores that topic (subscriber link), ranking the Spurs No. 1, followed by the Thunder, Nets, Jazz and Rockets. As Marks writes, San Antonio doesn’t have the most picks among those teams, but the selections they do control could be very valuable — in 2025, they control their own pick, the Hawks’ first-rounder (unprotected), a top-10 protected first from Chicago, and a top-14 protected first from Charlotte, the latter of which seems unlikely to convey.
  • Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report lists one “realistic” trade target for every NBA team. According to Pincus, Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin would make sense as a target for the Hawks and Nets, while Jazz center Walker Kessler could be a logical fit for Indiana.
  • Former Tennessee star Kevin Punter has thrived in Europe since he went undrafted in 2016. In an interview posted by his Spanish club FC Barcelona (Twitter video link), Punter said he used to dream of playing in the NBA. Now? He’s not sure. “When I was younger, my dream was to play the NBA,” Punter said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “That’s all you know growing up, when you play in America. That is all we talk about. That is all you watch. That was my dream. Is it my dream now? To be honest with you, I don’t know. It used to be, but as you get older, a lot of things change, a lot of things become different. You realize a lot of certain things that have nothing to do with basketball.” The 31-year-old said he had serious contract talks with the Raptors in 2023.
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Former NBA Guard Mitchell Wiggins Dies At 64

September 13th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA guard Mitchell Wiggins passed away this week at age 64 following an illness, his daughter Agney announced on social media, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscriber link).  The National Basketball Retired Players Association confirmed the news (via Twitter).

The 23rd overall pick of the 1983 draft, Wiggins played for the Bulls, Rockets and Sixers during the course of his six NBA seasons, averaging 10.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.6 APG in 389 games (20.8 MPG). In 1987, he was banned from the league for two-plus seasons for testing positive for cocaine, per Sam Goldaper of The New York Times.

After his NBA career ended in 1991/92, Wiggins starred for teams in Greece. He also played in France and the Philippines outside of the United States.

Wiggins, who won a silver medal at the 1982 FIBA world championships with Team USA, met his future wife Marita Payne while the two attended Florida State. She won a pair of silver medals in sprinting for Canada at the 1984 Olympics. They had six children together, with their youngest son being Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick of the 2014 draft.

Andrew missed extended time during the past two seasons, particularly in 2022/23, for undisclosed personal reasons. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported in April 2023 (Twitter link) that Andrew’s absence was due to Mitchell’s health.

We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Wiggins’ family and friends.

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Celtics Notes: Tatum, Mavs, Camp Questions, Maine Staff

September 13th, 2024 at 3:34pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on “The Tonight Show” to promote his children’s book, Celtics star Jayson Tatum made a few predictions about the upcoming season, as Max Molski of NBC Sports Boston relays. Notably, Tatum picked himself to win MVP, and said he thinks the Celtics will return to the NBA Finals again in 2025.

“It’s gonna be a rematch. We’re gonna play Dallas again,” Tatum said.

Boston claimed its 18th championship by defeating the Mavericks in the 2024 Finals. Jaylen Brown was voted Finals MVP.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

  • With an early training camp set to open in under two weeks, Jared Weiss of The Athletic lists five questions facing the defending champions entering 2024/25, including how Tatum and Brown will respond to some minor controversies with Team USA this summer. Weiss also wonders which young players will crack the rotation this season, with Jaden Springer and Baylor Scheierman looking like the top contenders entering camp.
  • Former Wizards player development coach Landon Tatum has joined Boston’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, as an assistant coach, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter). Tatum had been with Washington since 2016, Scotto notes.
  • Tatum’s hiring was confirmed in a press release from the Maine Celtics announcing the team’s coaching staff for ’24/25. Tyler Lashbrook, who was a player development assistant on Joe Mazzulla‘s staff last season, has been named Maine’s head coach. “Tyler is a great coach who excels in relationship management and communication,” said Mazzulla. “Last season he led our late game situational prep and took the lead on developing some of our younger players. I am excited for Tyler to have this opportunity to grow as a coach and leader, and to impact the Maine team and community.” Assistant Steve Tchiengang has been promoted to Maine’s associate head coach, while Taaj Ridley is also back for a second season. Tatum and Brendan Baker are the team’s new assistants, per the release.
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Trail Blazers Sign Taze Moore To Two-Way Deal

September 13th, 2024 at 2:52pm CST by Rory Maher

2:52pm: Moore’s two-way deal is official, the Blazers announced in a press release.

12:41pm: The Trail Blazers plan to sign free agent guard Taze Moore to a two-way contract, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Moore, who went undrafted in 2022, spent his first professional season with the G League’s Dallas Legends after signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Mavericks and being waived before 2022/23 began. Last season, he again spent most of the campaign in the NBAGL, splitting time between the Legends and the Rip City Remix, Portland’s affiliate.

The Blazers signed Moore to a 10-day contract in late January, though he only played a total of about 10 minutes over three appearances. In April, they brought him back on a 10-day hardship deal for the final day of the ’23/24 regular season, when he put up 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in 30 minutes during a blowout loss to Sacramento.

In 22 regular season games with the Remix in ’23/24 (30.7 minutes per contest), Moore averaged 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.4 steals on .498/.351/.733 shooting.

Known for his explosive athleticism, Moore joined the Vancouver Bandits in the Canadian Elite Basketball League after the NBA’s regular season concluded. The 26-year-old won MVP of the 10-team CEBL, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report, who notes that Moore recently participated in some exhibition games with G League United as well.

Back in 2022, Chris Baldwin of PaperCity Magazine wrote an interesting story about Moore, who was unable to play basketball for nearly two full years due to a major leg injury, which required five surgeries. The left-handed guard spent most of his college career at Cal State Bakersfield before transferring to Houston for the ’21/22 season.

As our tracker shows, Moore will fill Portland’s third and final two-way slot, joining Justin Minaya and Bryce McGowens. The Blazers will have 20 players under contract once the deal is official, one shy of the offseason limit.

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Suns, Mamadi Diakite Agree To Exhibit 10 Contract

September 13th, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Rory Maher

The Suns are signing free agent big man Mamadi Diakite to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

While it’s possible that Diakite could impress Phoenix during training camp and earn a spot on the team’s standard roster, it seems more likely the move was designed for him to open the season in the NBA G League. The Suns currently have 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts, but they’re well over the second luxury tax apron — adding a 15th standard deal would be very expensive and inhibit roster flexibility.

Earlier on Friday, the Valley Suns, Phoenix’s new NBAGL affiliate, announced that they had acquired Diakite’s returning player rights from the Westchester Knicks (New York’s affiliate) in exchange for the returning player rights to Theo Maledon and Trevion Williams (Twitter link).

If Diakite is waived before the 2024/25 season begins, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K (on top of his regular NBAGL salary) if he spends at least 60 days with the Valley Suns. As a four-year veteran, he is no longer eligible for a two-way contract.

A 6’9″ forward/center who played his college ball at Virginia, Diakite has appeared in a total of 55 regular season games for the Bucks, Thunder, Cavaliers, Spurs, and Knicks since making his NBA debut in 2021. He holds career averages of 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per contest.

Diakite, 27, finished last season with the Knicks, then was traded to Brooklyn in the Mikal Bridges blockbuster in July. He was flipped from the Nets to the Grizzlies in a subsequent deal that sent Ziaire Williams to Brooklyn and allowed Memphis to re-sign Luke Kennard while staying out of luxury tax territory.

The Grizzlies wound up waiving Diakite last month, using the stretch provision to spread his $1,392,150 partial guarantee over the next three seasons ($464,050 annually through 2026/27).

As Scotto observes, Diakite won a title with Milwaukee in 2021. At the time, the Bucks were led by Mike Budenholzer, who is now Phoenix’s head coach.

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Two CBA Measures Coming In 2025 Will Make Dynasty-Building Even Harder

September 13th, 2024 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's current Collective Bargaining Agreement went into effect fairly recently, in 2023, and many of the more punitive restrictions on tax apron teams weren't implemented until 2024, but we're already feeling the impact of the new CBA on the league's highest-spending clubs.

The Celtics, Bucks, Suns, and Timberwolves, who are operating above the second tax apron in 2024/25, were unable to sign any outside free agents for more than the veteran's minimum this offseason. They've also faced significant limitations on the trade market, including an inability to aggregate salaries, trade cash, use previous trade exceptions, or take back more salary than they send out.

Those restrictions have been a major factor in the clubs' relative inactivity on the trade market. Boston and Milwaukee are two of just four teams around the NBA who haven't made any trades this summer. The Lakers, another one of those four teams who haven't made a deal, are operating just a hair below the second apron).

Meanwhile, of the four second-apron teams, the Suns are the only one to have acquired a player on an NBA contract in an offseason trade. That deal - David Roddy for E.J. Liddell - was a straightforward salary dump that ultimately resulted in the newly acquired player (Liddell) being waived for luxury tax savings, which serves as an important reminder -- on top of their roster-building limitations, those apron teams will be on the hook for substantial tax payments at season's end.

Still, as impactful as the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement has already been on some of the NBA's most expensive rosters, some of the toughest penalties being imposed on the league's biggest spenders are still to come in 2025. Today, we're taking a closer look at a couple more notable ways in which the current CBA will complicate teams' dynasty-building efforts in the coming years by further disincentivizing big spending.

Let's dive in...

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Jimmy Butler Among Stars Warriors Monitoring

September 13th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

After missing out on targets like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen this offseason, the Warriors remain on the lookout for stars who might become available on the trade market, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who said on The TK Show (YouTube link) that Heat forward Jimmy Butler is among the players Golden State is monitoring.

“Jimmy Butler’s going to be a free agent next summer, didn’t get an extension done,” Amick said. “The Warriors, as you know, have interest there and I think probably made a couple calls during the summer.”

As Amick observes, the Warriors aren’t in position to pursue top free agents due to their salary cap situation, so if they’re going to acquire a star to complement Stephen Curry, they’ll almost certainly need to do so via trade. Golden State will be hoping for the “wheels to fall off” for a would-be contender, resulting in an All-Star caliber player seeking a change of scenery, Amick notes.

Butler, who will turn 35 on Saturday, is entering what could be a contract year in Miami. Although by all accounts he remains committed to the Heat, the six-time All-Star has reportedly told the team he won’t sign an extension before next summer and will reevaluate his options next offseason, when he holds a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26.

If the Heat get off to a poor start this season, it’s possible they’ll consider the idea of moving Butler at the trade deadline, though there’s no indication they’ve seriously considered that possibility to this point.

Should Butler finish the season in Miami, there would be myriad options available to him next summer — he could re-up with the Heat (either on an extension or a new contract), he could decline his option to sign elsewhere, or he could work out an opt-in-and-trade deal that sends him to a new destination. That last scenario would be the most viable path for him to land in Golden State. The Warriors explored a similar arrangement with George before he declined his player option in June.

Amick also names Lakers forward LeBron James, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as some other players the Warriors are likely monitoring. However, he acknowledges that they’re long shots and could only emerge as possible targets if they sour on their current situations.

“It’s that level of a player, where you just kind of hope that one of them starts looking out for greener pastures,” Amick said.

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2024/25 NBA Over/Unders: Central Division

September 13th, 2024 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2024/25 NBA regular season set to tip off next month, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2023/24, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’24/25?

We’ll continue our series today with the Central Division…

Milwaukee Bucks

Cleveland Cavaliers

Indiana Pacers

Chicago Bulls

Detroit Pistons

Previous voting results:

Atlantic

  • Boston Celtics (58.5 wins): Over (69.7%)
  • New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (58.8%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (52.5 wins): Under (51.7%)
  • Toronto Raptors (30.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (19.5 wins): Over (54.3%)

Southwest

  • Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins): Over (78.0%)
  • Memphis Grizzlies (47.5 wins): Under (65.6%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans (46.5 wins): Under (60.6%)
  • Houston Rockets (43.5 wins): Under (51.4%)
  • San Antonio Spurs (36.5 wins): Under (52.9%)

Southeast

  • Orlando Magic (47.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
  • Miami Heat (44.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
  • Atlanta Hawks (35.5 wins): Under (66.4%)
  • Charlotte Hornets (29.5 wins): Under (63.1%)
  • Washington Wizards (20.5 wins): Under (56.6%)

Northwest

  • Oklahoma City Thunder (56.5 wins): Over (68.1%)
  • Minnesota Timberwolves (52.5 wins): Over (65.2%)
  • Denver Nuggets (51.5 wins): Over (54.3%)
  • Utah Jazz (29.5 wins): Under (60.1%)
  • Portland Trail Blazers (22.5 wins): Under (54.7%)
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International Notes: Marjanovic, Musa, Petrusev, Collet

September 12th, 2024 at 9:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA center Boban Marjanovic is receiving interest from Turkish club Besiktas, according to a report from Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops).

Marjanovic, 36, has spent the past nine seasons in the NBA and reportedly continues to seek a new opportunity in the league. However, he’s no stranger to European competition, having played in Serbia, Russia, and Lithuania from 2006-15 before making the move across the Atlantic.

The big man led the EuroLeague in rebounding and was named to the All-EuroLeague first team in 2015 during his last season overseas as a member of Crvena Zvezda. He also won a Serbian League (KLS) title that year.

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

  • Former first-round pick Dzanan Musa, who has been with Real Madrid since 2022, said he turned down NBA interest this offseason in order to stick with the Spanish club, as Kevin Martorano of Sportando relays. “I am very happy in Madrid and to stay here I turned down some offers from the NBA,” Musa told Ricardo Gonzalez of AS.com. “I never closed that door completely, but I would not leave here for any reason. I am a winner, I want to play to win.” Musa, 25, appeared in 49 games for Brooklyn from 2018-20.
  • Greek club Olympiacos had been expected to loan out former Sixers big man Filip Petrusev to Crvena Zvezda this season, but Petrusev appears likely to stick with Olympiacos for now as a result of injuries to centers Moustapha Fall and Nikola Milutinov, Martorano writes for Sportando. Crvena Zvezda assistant Giannis Sfairopoulos said Petrusev isn’t in the Serbian team’s plans at the moment, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.
  • After coaching the French national team for 15 years and winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, Vincent Collet has – as expected – stepped down from the position, transitioning to an advisory role on the French Federation of Basketball, per a press release. Under Collet, France also won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and took home a pair of World Cup bronze medals in 2014 and 2019.
  • After returning to Europe this offseason, will Cedi Osman, Omer Yurtseven, and Furkan Korkmaz eventually find their way back to the NBA? Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required) spoke to NBA sources about the odds of each player returning stateside in 2025 or further down the road.
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