NBA Rumors - HoopsRumors.com

Nuggets Notes: Offseason, KCP, Braun, Cancar, MPJ

May 23rd, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing reporters at his end-of-season press conference on Thursday, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth didn’t say anything that would suggest major roster changes are in the cards for the franchise this offseason, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. While Booth suggested some tweaks will be necessary, he stressed that continuing to develop the team’s young players will be crucial to improving the roster as a whole.

“I think (the 2023 draft picks) need more seasoning,” Booth said. “They need to get in the gym. They need to play Summer League. They need to get stronger. Obviously, maybe in our top seven, we can use a little bit more talent. Maybe there’s a way to upgrade one or two positions. … Get a guy that’s a more accomplished NBA player for whatever (roster) slot they’re taking. But I don’t see anything that’s, like, crazy out of sorts for our roster.”

After losing key rotation pieces like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green last offseason, the Nuggets relied primarily on recent draftees to replace them, adding three rookies (Julian Strawther, Jalen Pickett, and Hunter Tyson) to the roster and assigning 2022 first-rounders Christian Braun and Peyton Watson larger roles.

Of those players, Braun was the only one head coach Michael Malone trusted in the postseason, resulting in some questions about whether Booth and Malone are in the same page when it comes to filling out the roster and distributing minutes. That’s a subject that has been discussed within the organization, as Durando relays.

“We’ve talked about this a lot upstairs,” Booth said. “The general manager, front office job oftentimes is to make sure the long-term view is something that we’re satisfied with. And Coach Malone’s down there in the trenches trying to win every night. And a lot of times, those things are aligned, but sometimes they ebb and flow away from each other.”

Here’s more on the Nuggets, via Durando:

Asked about the possibility of surpassing the punitive second tax apron in order to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, both team president Josh Kroenke and Booth expressed a level of comfort with operating above the aprons if it means maximizing the potential of a championship-caliber roster. “We spend a lot of time looking at the second apron and all this other stuff,” Booth said. “I think for me personally, it’s win a championship, one. Two, we have to look at the overall financial picture. And three, second apron. And I know the second apron is daunting, and there’s all kinds of restrictions, but I don’t think that’s first on our priority list. KCP’s been a great addition the last couple years. We obviously would love to have him back. We’re gonna take a hard look at what that looks like.”
If the Nuggets do lose Caldwell-Pope, it would likely thrust Braun into a starting job. Booth and Malone said they’re confident the young wing could succeed in that role if he continues to improve as a shooter. “I think Christian Braun, it’s all gonna come down to one thing. To be a shooting guard in the NBA, you’ve gotta be able to make shots,” Malone said. “That’s the bottom line. So if you want to simplify CB’s future as a starting two guard in the NBA, it’ll be determined upon his ability to be a 38% or above 3-point shooter.” Braun made 38.4% of his three-pointers in 2023/24, but didn’t shoot them at a high volume, converting just 63 in 82 games.
Booth said he expects Vlatko Cancar, who missed the entire season due to a torn ACL, to be able to suit up for Slovenia in the Olympic qualifiers, noting that the tournament will be a “great chance” to evaluate the big man. The qualifying tournament won’t begin until July 2, however, and the Nuggets will have to decide by June 29 whether or not to exercise Cancar’s $2.35MM team option.
The Nuggets signaled multiple times during Thursday’s presser that they likely won’t explore trading Michael Porter Jr. this summer, writes Durando. Kroenke expressed faith in the team’s current starting lineup (which includes Porter) and Malone refuted the idea (expressed by Porter himself) that MPJ was to blame for the second-round loss to Minnesota.

Tyrese Haliburton Exits Game 2 With Hamstring Soreness

May 23rd, 2024 at 9:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was removed from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals vs. Boston with 3:44 left in the third quarter and didn’t return. The team announced (via Twitter) that Haliburton was dealing with left leg soreness, while ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) specifies that it was hamstring pain that forced the 24-year-old out of action.

It’s a concerning development for the Pacers, given that Haliburton strained his left hamstring in January and missed 10 games as a result of that injury — he attempted to return after just five games, but ended up missing five more following that lone appearance.

There’s no reason yet to think that his new hamstring issue is as significant as the previous one, but with the Pacers facing a 2-0 deficit in the series following Boston’s victory on Thursday, they’ll be in real trouble if the All-NBA guard has to miss any additional time.

After battling low back spasms, a right ankle sprain, and a sacral contusion during the Eastern semifinals, Haliburton once again had to deal with multiple health issues on Thursday. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets, the Pacers star underwent imaging on a sore chest at halftime of Game 2. According to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link), when Haliburton was warming up at halftime, he was shaking his head and slamming the ball on the floor in frustration.

If Haliburton is forced to miss any games going forward, the Pacers would have to lean more heavily on guards Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell as ball-handlers and play-makers. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday in Indiana.

And-Ones: TNT Sports, Trades, Santa Cruz, Award Votes

May 23rd, 2024 at 9:06pm CST by Luke Adams

With TNT Sports seemingly on the verge of losing its NBA broadcast rights to NBC during the current round of media rights negotiations, it’s possible the 2024/25 season will be the last one that features TNT’s iconic Inside the NBA studio show, featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show (Twitter video link), Barkley admitted it has been discouraging to watch the process play out.

“Morale sucks, plain and simple,” Barkley said (hat tip to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic). “I just feel so bad for the people I work with. These people have families and I just really feel bad for them right now. You know these people I work with (management), they screwed this thing up, clearly. We have zero idea what’s going to happen. I don’t feel good. I’m not going to lie. Especially when they came out and said we bought college football. I was like, well, damn, they could have used that money to buy the NBA.

“… We’ve never had college football, never been involved with college football. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, shouldn’t we be spending every dime we got to keep the NBA?’ So morale sucks, to be honest with you.”

Asked how TNT Sports got to this point, Barkley suggested that the comments made in 2022 by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav – who said his company “didn’t have to have the NBA” – didn’t help matters.

“They came out and said we didn’t need the NBA. I think that probably pissed (NBA commissioner) Adam (Silver) off,” Barkley said. “I don’t know that, but when (Warner Bros. and Discovery) merged, that’s the first thing our boss said. ‘We don’t need the NBA.’ Well, he don’t need it, but the rest of the people — me, Kenny, Shaq and Ernie and the people who work there, we need it. So, it just sucks right now.”

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

They were overshadowed by bigger deals at their respective trade deadlines, but the Celtics‘ 2022 acquisition of Derrick White and the Knicks‘ 2023 addition of Josh Hart are examples of non-blockbuster trades that helped turn good teams into contenders, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link). Lowe provides some interesting tidbits on those deals, citing sources who say the Jazz were also interested in White when Boston was pursuing him and that the Trail Blazers didn’t open Hart talks to the rest of the league because New York was his preferred destination.
The Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s affiliate – have been named the G League Franchise of the Year for the third time in the past four years (Twitter link). The team went 31-19 during the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup and regular season and ranked first in the league in both ticket sales and partnership revenue, according to the press release.
The NBA has officially released the full ballots from all the media members who voted on the major awards for 2023/24, including the All-NBA, All-Defensive, and All-Rookie teams. You can view those ballots – and find out which voters made this year’s most surprising selections – right here.
The Ringer’s staff ranked the NBA’s top 25 players who are 25 years old or under, with Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander topping the list.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Gobert, Turner, Thunder, Blazers

May 23rd, 2024 at 7:51pm CST by Luke Adams

It was a “rough” film session for the Timberwolves on Thursday following their Game 1 loss to Dallas, head coach Chris Finch told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Finch, who spoke post-game about the team’s lack of composure and disappointing performance in clutch moments, was even harsher when he revisited the Game 1 loss a day later.

“I told the guys, ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been this disappointed in your effort. Your performance, your attitude, your application and attention to detail just wasn’t there,'” Finch said. “The Western Conference finals started. Not sure if they got the memo. But they got it this afternoon.”

According to McMenamin, one team source said Thursday’s session was “about as fired up as he’s ever seen Finch.” The coach’s goal, the source explained, was to encourage his team to recognize what a rare opportunity it is to play in the conference finals and to urge them to increase their urgency and capitalize on that opportunity.

Finch also pointed out that the team’s three home losses in the postseason – Games 3 and 4 vs. Denver and Game 1 vs. Dallas – came after longer-than-usual layoffs, and with the Wolves coming off of big wins.

“I said to our guys, ‘We’re 3-3 at home, and we’ve had two kind of similar performances coming off stints of success,'” Finch said. “There’s a lot of ways immaturity kind of rears its head, and this might be one of them. But they’ve got our attention now, so there’s no reason for us to be feeling ourselves.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

While four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert gets much of the credit for leading the Timberwolves‘ top-ranked defense, assistant coach Elston Turner is a key under-the-radar contributor as the coordinator of that unit, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Describing the dynamic between Gobert and Turner, Finch took a moment to come up with an appropriate analogy. “Like divorced parents trying to co-parent,” the head coach said with a laugh. “A healthy co-parent. My only caveat to that is they’re not divorced. They’re on the same team.”
While there are still holes on the roster, Rylan Stiles of SI.com contends that the Thunder can afford to use the No. 12 overall pick in next month’s draft to take a shot on a higher-upside prospect who may be a year or two away from contributing rather than trying to find a win-now player who addresses a current need on the roster.
In a separate story for SI.com, Stiles wonders if the Thunder should take advantage of their window before paying Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander big raises by taking a swing on a veteran star who is owed significant money for the next couple seasons but who may not stay on the books beyond that.
Raequan Battle (West Virginia), Adem Bona (UCLA), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Ugonna Onyenso (Kentucky), Will Richard (Florida), and Jaylon Tyson (California) participated in a pre-draft workout for the Trail Blazers on Thursday, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. None of those prospects is likely to receive consideration with Portland’s lottery picks (No. 7 and No. 14), but some could end up as second-round or undrafted free agent targets.

Fischer’s Latest: Sixers, George, Mitchell, LeBron, Butler, Kuzma, More

May 23rd, 2024 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

With Joel Embiid at center and Tyrese Maxey heading up their backcourt, the Sixers will enter this offseason with significant cap room and a desire to fill the gap between their two incumbent stars with an elite two-way wing, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. According to Fischer, Philadelphia views its opportunity as something similar to the one Golden State had in 2016, when a huge single-year cap spike allowed the Warriors to create the room to add Kevin Durant to a core that already featured Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.

Whether the 76ers will be able to add a player anywhere near Durant’s level is unclear. Paul George – who has been on Daryl Morey‘s radar since he worked in Houston’s front office, per Fischer – has frequently been cited as the most logical target for the club, but the Clippers remain hopeful they’ll be able to lock up the star forward to a new contract.

As Fischer writes, there are two major factors worth keeping an eye on in regard to George’s situation. One is a belief from rival teams and agents that the Clippers aren’t inclined to commit guaranteed money beyond the three-year window that begins in 2024/25. If that’s the case, a four-year offer from the Sixers or another club could appeal to George.

The second consideration to monitor is whether the Clippers’ ability to give George a no-trade clause could be a difference-maker in negotiations. That would only be an option if George turns down his player option and reaches free agency, but it’s something Philadelphia wouldn’t be able to offer, since a player must have spent at least four years with a team to qualify for a no-trade clause.

In considering other potential suitors for George, Fischer mentions the Magic and the Pacers, though he acknowledges that chatter about the possibility of George returning to Indiana predated the team’s acquisition of Pascal Siakam. The Knicks and Heat are among the other teams expected to go star-hunting, Fischer notes.

For what it’s worth, multiple player agents suggested to Fischer that they’d advise their clients to consider Embiid’s injury history and inconsistent playoff availability before committing to Philadelphia in free agency.

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Sixers are willing to sacrifice draft capital and commit future money in order to chase a title next season, Fischer states. If Philadelphia is unable to land an impact player this offseason, the team will likely focus on shorter-term commitments with little to no guaranteed money beyond this season in order to retain flexibility for when another star becomes available. Sources tell Yahoo Sports that the 76ers “took note” of the two-year, $45MM deal the Pacers completed with Bruce Brown last summer, which was only guaranteed for one year and was ultimately used to accommodate the Siakam trade. Warriors swingman Thompson and Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would be among Philadelphia’s potential free agent targets for similar one-plus-one deals, Fischer reports.
The Sixers would be one of the potential suitors for Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell if he’s made available this offseason, but Cleveland has expressed confidence about extending Mitchell, according to Fischer, who says that firing J.B. Bickerstaff is widely viewed as a move toward the team keeping Mitchell long-term.
Discussing other possible Sixers trade or free agency targets, Fischer says there’s been no indication from league personnel that LeBron James is seriously considering leaving the Lakers. League executives also believe that Jimmy Butler – who may be the player Morey tried to acquire most often in Houston – will stay with the Heat, Fischer continues. Bulls guard Zach LaVine is another possibility for Philadelphia, but likely only if Chicago or another team is willing to attach draft assets to dump salary, Fischer adds.
Kyle Kuzma is expected to be back on the trade block this summer, Fischer writes, though he cautions that the Wizards‘ asking price at this year’s trade deadline was too high for most interested suitors.
While rival executives around the NBA have praised the Celtics and Timberwolves for the rosters they’ve built, many of those execs also believe that tax apron concerns could result in those teams being unable to keep all their core pieces over the long term, per Fischer.

Pistons Intend To Hire Trajan Langdon As Head Of Basketball Operations

May 23rd, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons plan to hire Trajan Langdon away from the Pelicans to become their new head of basketball operations, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are working toward finalizing a deal. That deal likely won’t be completed until next week, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

Langdon has spent the last five years as New Orleans’ general manager, serving as the second-in-command to executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin. According to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link), officials within the Pelicans organization “rave about his talent evaluation skills.”

A former standout as a player at Duke, Langdon was drafted with the 11th overall pick in 1999, though he spent just three seasons in the NBA with the Cavaliers. He went on to become a star overseas, winning a pair of EuroLeague titles in 2006 and 2008 with CSKA Moscow. He made multiple All-EuroLeague teams, earned EuroLeague Final Four MVP honors in 2008, and was named top the EuroLeague’s All-Decade team for the 2000s.

After retiring as a player in 2011, Langdon got his first front office role in San Antonio, working as a scout for the Spurs from 2012-15. Before being hired by the Pelicans, he was an assistant general manager with the Nets for three years under Sean Marks.

Long viewed as a candidate to eventually run a front office, Langdon actually interviewed for the Pelicans’ top job in 2019 before being hired under Griffin. He later received consideration for head of basketball operations jobs in Sacramento and Washington.

After finishing the 2023/24 season with a 14-68 record, marking their fourth straight year at or near the bottom of the NBA’s standings, the Pistons confirmed in mid-April that they were seeking a president of basketball operations who would replace Troy Weaver as the front office’s top decision-maker.

Langdon was named last week as one of four frontrunners for the job, along with Scott Perry, Dennis Lindsey, and John Hammond. According to James L. Edwards and Shams Charania of The Athletic, Lindsey was the other finalist, and both he and Langdon met with team owner Tom Gores multiple times in recent weeks before the club made a decision.

The Pistons considered over a dozen candidates during their search process, per Edwards and Charania. Their list of possible targets reportedly included Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, who will have the opportunity to opt out of his contract with Minnesota this offseason. However, Detroit has decided to move forward with Langdon rather than waiting to see if Connelly will be available.

Previous reports indicated that the Pistons’ new front office executive will have the final say on Weaver – who remains with the franchise for now – as well as head coach Monty Williams. Like Langdon, Williams previously spent five years working in New Orleans, though their Pelicans stints didn’t overlap at all. Williams still has five years and $60MM+ left on his contract, but Gores is willing to eat that money if Langdon decides he wants to bring in a new coach, according to The Athletic.

As for the Pelicans, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that assistant general manager Bryson Graham would likely be the top candidate for a promotion to GM if Langdon were to leave the organization.

Hornets Hiring Chris Jent As Assistant Coach

May 23rd, 2024 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have reached an agreement to hire veteran assistant coach Chris Jent, reports Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Jent will serve under Hornets new head coach Charles Lee, who has begun to put together his staff for his first year in Charlotte as he continues his role as a Celtics assistant during Boston’s playoff run. Previous reports indicated that the Hornets are also hiring Lamar Skeeter from the Jazz and Josh Longstaff from the Bulls.

Jent spent the last two seasons with the Lakers on Darvin Ham‘s staff, but Los Angeles parted ways with all of its assistants in addition to firing Ham earlier this spring, making Jent a coaching free agent.

Prior to his stint in L.A., Jent was an assistant for five years with the Hawks and also spent time with the Sixers, Magic, Cavaliers, and Kings in addition to two separate stints as an assistant at his alma mater of Ohio State. He has some head coaching experience too, having spent a year at the helm of the Bakersfield Jam (now the Motor City Cruise) in the G League in 2015/16, as well as briefly serving as an interim head coach in Orlando in 2005 following Johnny Davis‘ dismissal.

A wing at Ohio State from 1988-1992, Jent had a 10-year playing career before transitioning to coaching. He primarily played in international leagues, but was a member of the 1994 Rockets team that won a title and had a short stint with the Knicks during the 1996/97 season.

OG Anunoby To Hear Rival Offers In Free Agency?

May 23rd, 2024 at 3:51pm CST by Rory Maher

People around the league are convinced forward Pascal Siakam will re-sign with the Pacers in free agency, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, but the situation for Siakam’s former teammate OG Anunoby may not be as “cut and dried.”

Executives left last week’s draft combine believing that Anunoby could end up testing his value on the open market by listening to offers from rival teams in addition to the Knicks, sources tell Fischer.

Fischer acknowledges it could end up being a ploy for negotiating leverage, but the Sixers are among the teams with interest in the 3-and-D standout, who could receive $30-40MM annually on his next deal in free agency. Anunoby holds a $19.9MM player option for 2024/25 that he’s “widely expected to decline,” Fischer writes.

One change in the new CBA that will take effect this summer is that teams are officially permitted to negotiate with their own free agents the first day after the NBA Finals conclude. The latest that could occur would be June 24, a couple days before the draft.

That theoretically gives incumbent teams an advantage, as teams can begin negotiating with outside free agents on June 30 at 5:00 pm CT. Everyone knows negotiations often begin weeks in advance though, which is why so many deals are reported shortly after 5:00 on June 30.

Anunoby retained his Bird rights when he was traded from Toronto to New York at the end of December. That will allow the Knicks to go over the salary cap to offer him a five-year deal up to his maximum salary for ’24/25. The 26-year-old just finished his seventh NBA season, so his max over five years is projected to be worth $245.34M. The most a rival team could offer him would be $181.89MM over four years.

While he is undoubtedly extremely valuable — including the playoffs, the Knicks went 26-6 in games he played and just 13-14 without him — Anunoby has also missed extended time due to injuries throughout his career. He has only averaged 52 regular season games over the past four seasons, including 50 this season after undergoing elbow surgery. A hamstring injury in Game 2 of the Eastern semifinals essentially ended his season, though he attempted to play in Game 7.

NBA Closes Investigation Into Josh Giddey

May 23rd, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Rory Maher

In January, the Newport Beach Police Department closed its investigation into Thunder guard/forward Josh Giddey. He was not charged with a crime after no corroborating evidence was found.

Sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the NBA has closed its own investigation into Giddey after reaching a similar conclusion (Twitter link).

In November, a series of posts on social media accused Giddey of having an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl who is a student at Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach. That prompted both the NBA and the Newport Beach Police Department to open investigations into the claims.

However, TMZ reported at the time that the alleged minor and her family were unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement officials. Both investigations are now closed.

In addition to the off-court allegations, Giddey had an up-and-down season on the court as well, culminating in being benched in the Western Conference semifinals against Dallas. The Thunder lost the playoff series in six games.

“There’s been days where you don’t feel like getting out of bed for a number of reasons,” Giddey said during his exit interview, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “As I said, I’m just lucky to have people around me that care, that were there for me. Coming in the gym every day, seeing my teammates, that helps.”

The sixth overall pick of the 2021 draft, Giddey will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. The 21-year-old made it clear he’d be thrilled to stay with the team long-term and he’s determined to improve his shooting and defense going forward, according to Lorenzi.

“I can’t wait to get back next season and show that I’m a different player,” Giddey said, “and to never let what happened this series happen again.”

Stein’s Latest: Hawks, Paul, Spurs, Lakers, Cavs, Keefe

May 23rd, 2024 at 12:38pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks won the draft lottery a couple weeks ago, jumping all the way up from No. 10 in the pre-lottery order to No. 1.

Atlanta is “increasingly expected” to select either Alexandre Sarr or Zaccharie Risacher with the top overall pick, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Substack link).

Both French prospects turned 19 years old last month, but they took different professional pathways in 2023/24. Big man Sarr played for the Perth Wildcats of Australia’s National Basketball League, while 3-and-D forward Risacher has been playing for JL Bourg in France’s top basketball league, LNB Élite (previously known as LNB Pro A).

Risacher is No. 1 on ESPN’s best available list, while Sarr is No. 2.

It may not occur before the draft gets underway on June 26, but Stein continues to hear the Hawks are interested in adding a “seasoned personnel executive” to their front office, which is led by GM Landry Fields.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest article:

Warriors point guard Chris Paul‘s $30MM salary for 2024/25 is non-guaranteed. Sources tell Stein Golden State is currently weighing its options on what to do with Paul. One choice would be pushing back his June 28 early salary guarantee date into July, but that would require Paul’s consent, which isn’t a given. If both sides agree, that would give the Warriors more time to explore trades, Stein adds.
If Paul hits the open market as a free agent, the Spurs and Lakers “keep coming up as potential suitors” for the future Hall-of-Famer, Stein reports. As Stein writes, Paul is close with Lakers superstar LeBron James and his family lives in Los Angeles, so there are obvious connections to the team and area.
Could the Lakers‘ slow-moving head coaching search be accelerated by the Cavaliers‘ recent firing of J.B. Bickerstaff? Stein explores that question, writing that L.A. may face some competition for candidates like Kenny Atkinson and James Borrego, as previously reported. Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, one of the “initial leading targets” in L.A.’s search, is another name to watch for the Cavs, according to Stein.
Wizards interim head coach Brian Keefe is viewed as the frontrunner to land the full-time job in Washington, per Stein. That echoes previous reporting from The Athletic.