Philadelphia 76ers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers To Work Out Anfernee Simons

June 6th, 2018 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

IMG Academy guard Anfernee Simons, projected as a possible first-round pick, has a busy workout schedule leading up to the 2018 NBA draft. Having already auditioned for the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Suns, and Bulls, Simons will reportedly work out for the Magic as well, as we heard on Monday. During Simons’ Tuesday workout with the Lakers, he added several more teams to that list, confirming that he’ll also get a look from the Jazz, Knicks, Sixers, and Bucks, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com relays.

While Simons has a wide range of potential landing spots, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has the youngster coming off the board at No. 38 to the Sixers in his latest mock draft.

Sixers Ownership Met To Discuss Colangelo’s Future

June 6th, 2018 at 7:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers‘ ownership group convened in New York on Tuesday evening, talking for several hours about whether head of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo should be fired based on the findings in an investigation into several burner Twitter accounts, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the 76ers could reach a decision on Wednesday.

As Wojnarowski has previously reported, the investigation into those Twitter accounts, which published tweets critical of Sixers players and revealed sensitive information, has increasingly focused on Colangelo’s wife Barbara.

Both Colangelo and his wife were interviewed by investigators for several hours on Sunday and Monday. While those interviews took place separately, Sixers ownership is struggling to separate Colangelo from his wife when it comes to the tweets in question, if she did in fact post them, Wojnarowski writes.

With Colangelo’s future up in the air, the Sixers are looking ahead to next month’s free agent period with the intent of putting Brett Brown “front and center” in presentations to top players, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that the hiring of Monty Williams as Brown’s top assistant could have an impact on discussions with free agents too. Both Brown and Williams have strong reputations with players around the NBA.

The 76ers could also rely on assistant GMs Marc Eversley and Ned Cohen to help navigate the coming offseason if they decide to move on from Colangelo, Woj observes.

Monty Williams Agrees To Become Top Sixers Assistant

June 4th, 2018 at 7:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Monty Williams has reached an agreement with the Sixers to become Brett Brown’s top assistant, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Williams emerged last week as a candidate to join Brown’s staff. He’ll replace Lloyd Pierce, who was named the Hawks’ head coach. Brown agreed to a three-year extension with the Sixers last week.

Williams will be leaving his position as the Spurs’ vice president of basketball operations. He spent five seasons as a head coach with the Pelicans, compiling a 173-221 record and reaching the playoffs twice, and wanted to return to coaching.

Williams served as associate head coach with the Thunder during the 2015/16 season before the Spurs hired him.

Latest On Bryan Colangelo Investigation

June 4th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers hired the law firm of Paul/Weiss to independently investigate a potential connection between president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo and a handful of burner Twitter accounts, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the 76ers are pushing for a resolution on the situation within the next few days.

The law firm is the same one that was hired by the National Basketball Players Association in 2013 to look into the business practices of former executive director Billy Hunter. According to Wojnarowski, Paul/Weiss is believed to be using cyberintelligence consultants to aid the investigation, with Colangelo giving up his electronic devices as part of the probe.

Wojnarowski reports that the Paul/Weiss investigation has become primarily focused on Colangelo’s wife Barbara as the possible author of a number of tweets that criticized Sixers players and revealed private information about them. The tweets from the anonymous accounts also discussed proposed trades, former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, and Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, who took over for Colangelo in Toronto.

While Colangelo continues to insist that he had no previous knowledge of any of the tweets, which may have been published by his wife, there’s skepticism “inside and outside” the Sixers in regard to that claim, says Wojnarowski.

Describing the Philadelphia ownership group as “angry” and “embarrassed,” Woj writes that there have been discussions about firing Colangelo, adding that team ownership “has been reluctant to separate Colangelo from any family member or close associate responsible” for the tweets.

Mikal Bridges Working Out For Bulls, Knicks, Sixers

June 4th, 2018 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Having already worked out for the Hornets, former Villanova small forward Mikal Bridges auditioned for the Bulls today, and also has workouts scheduled with the Knicks and Sixers, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com.

Bridges could end up adding more teams to his list of pre-draft workouts, but the current group is a reflection of his draft stock, as those four teams range from No. 7 (Chicago) to No. 11 (Charlotte). Bridges is viewed as a probable lottery pick who has a chance to come off the board in the top 10.

Speaking today to reporters, including Friedell, Bridges said he thinks he’d fit in “perfectly” with the Bulls’ young core. However, Chicago is far from the only good fit for the 3-and-D wing. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony wrote that Bridges is “an easy player to slot on almost any NBA roster,” given his role-player potential.

Bridges took a major step forward during his junior year at Villanova, increasing his PPG from 9.8 in 2016/17 to 17.7 in 2017/18, en route to a second championship in three years. He also contributed 5.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.1 BPG for the Wildcats, with a very efficient shooting line of .514/.435/.851.

And-Ones: 2018/19 Odds, Fredette, Hensley, USA Basketball

June 3rd, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have already been set as the favorites to win the 2018/19 title, relays Ben Fawkes of ESPN, but there’s a huge variable that hangs over the equation. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook gives Golden State 5-4 odds to capture the championship, followed at 7-2 by the Rockets and Sixers, two teams believed to be in the running to sign LeBron James.

“When you have LeBron in free agency, you have to be careful,” oddsmaker John Murray said. “You’ve got Philadelphia, Miami, the Lakers and even Houston as potential destinations [outside of Cleveland]. We cut all of those teams’ odds down, and we’ll raise back up the teams he doesn’t sign with.”

Murray adds that the Rockets would take over as favorites if they are able to add James and keep Chris Paul and Clint Capela. The Celtics, who come in at 8-1, will be favored to win the East if James leaves Cleveland and goes anywhere but Philadelphia. The Lakers and Heat are tied for fifth place at 20-1, followed by the Spurs at 25-1 and the Cavaliers at 30-1.

There’s more basketball-related news to pass along:

Former lottery pick Jimmer Fredette hopes to use The Basketball Tournament this summer to get another shot at the NBA, writes Myron Medcalf of ESPN. The 10th selection in the 2011 draft, Fredette played for four teams in five years before heading overseas. “I would always love to get another chance in the NBA,” Fredette said. “I’ve gotten better in China and improved every year. … You hope somebody takes notice.” He has another year remaining on his Chinese Basketball Association contract.
J.R. Hensley, a prominent NBA agent, has been placed on 18 months’ probation, tweets Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal. The action came because Hensley refused to fully cooperate in an investigation of potential violations, according to a press release from the NBPA.
The USA Men’s Under 18 National Team made its first round of cuts this morning, trimming the squad from 33 players to 18. Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog has the complete list of players who advanced.

Sixers Notes: Colangelo, Free Agents, Embiid

June 3rd, 2018 at 9:08am CST by Arthur Hill

If president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo gets fired over an alleged Twitter scandal, he will be remembered for several important decisions that set the direction of the franchise, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey states that Colangelo’s best move in his two-year tenure has been drafting Ben Simmons with the top pick in 2016. Although it seems like an easy choice now, Pompey recalls a debate over whether Simmons or Brandon Ingram was the better selection.

On the downside, Colangelo will be remembered for a bold move to trade up to No. 1 in last year’s draft. He wound up with Markelle Fultz, who played just 14 games as a rookie, while the Celtics landed a potential star in Jayson Tatum, along with another first-rounder in 2019.

Colangelo also got very little in return when he traded lottery picks Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, Pompey adds. Opposing GMs knew he wanted to unload both young centers and took advantage of his position. Colangelo sent Noel to Dallas for Justin Anderson and Andrew Bogut, who was bought out, plus a pair of second-round picks. Okafor was dealt to the Nets along with Nik Stauskas and two second-rounders for Trevor Booker, who asked to be waived two months later when the Sixers signed Ersan Ilyasova.

There’s more this morning from Philadelphia:

Colangelo will have a difficult time keeping his job, no matter what happens in the investigation, contends Scott Stinson of The National Post. Even if his wife or another family member was running the Twitter “burner” accounts, the information passed on was too damaging to overlook, Stinson writes.
LeBron James tops the Sixers’ free agent wish list, but the team will have to make moves to improve its bench if he doesn’t come to town, notes Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia. There could be plenty of turnover this summer with Ilyasova, Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson all headed for free agency and the team holding an option on Richaun Holmes. Camerato looks at the NBA Finals rosters and identifies six possibilities for the Sixers: Jeff Green, Rodney Hood and Jose Calderon from the Cavaliers and Nick Young, David West and Kevon Looney from the Warrriors.
Being part of the third annual NBA Africa Game in August will be important for Cameroon-born Joel Embiid, according to an article in More Sport. “I was fortunate to participate in Basketball Without Borders [BWB] Africa first as a camper and then last year as a coach,” he said. “To play in the NBA’s third game in Africa is truly special to me, and I can’t wait to take the floor in front of our fans in Africa.”

Royal Ivey To Join Knicks’ Coaching Staff

June 2nd, 2018 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder assistant Royal Ivey will accept a position on David Fizdale’s coaching staff with the Knicks, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now.

Ivey, who grew up in New York, is in the process of finalizing a deal with the organization. He had interest from other teams, including the Sixers, before the opportunity with the Knicks arose, according to Begley.

Ivey has been part of Billy Donovan’s staff in Oklahoma City for the past two seasons. He played for four teams during a 10-year NBA career, finishing with the Thunder in 2014. He has prior experience with Fizdale, who was an assistant coach in Atlanta when Ivey played there.

How Joel Embiid Is Risking His New Extension

May 31st, 2018 at 11:09pm CST by marksuleymanov

Joel Embiid has gone viral in recent days after he was spotted playing basketball at local South Philadelphia basketball courts over the last few days. However, if Embiid suffers an injury while playing on streetball, it could result in him losing out on serious money, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

Embiid signed a maximum-salary, five-year contract extension with the Sixers last October, one year after a strong showing as a rookie. The 2018 All-Star, however, would risk having part of the deal — which kicks in next season — voided if he suffers a major injury. Pompey notes that Embiid will receive his full pay if he plays at least 1,650 regular season minutes for three consecutive seasons.

After a strong regular season and solid performance in the postseason, the Sixers‘ mix of young talent and cap space makes them a popular destination in free agency. Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes that Sixers head coach Brett Brown‘s mindset when it comes to free agency differs from president Bryan Colangelo.

Bryan Colangelo Expected To Lose Job With Sixers?

May 31st, 2018 at 8:01pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Sixers‘ investigation into team president Bryan Colangelo‘s alleged use of burner social media accounts is expected to conclude shortly and several league sources believe he will lose his job, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Pompey writes that the investigation could wrap up as soon as tomorrow. Due to Game 1 of the NBA Finals taking place tonight, the league did not want the Colangelo investigation to be a distraction, Pompey adds.

On Tuesday, a report from Ben Detrick of The Ringer provided evidence that connected Colangelo to five Twitter accounts that bashed Sixers players and coaches, and disclosed sensitive medical and team information. Colangelo admitted to owning one of the accounts in question but said that the account was used strictly to monitor social media.

Colangelo has unequivocally denied any wrongdoing or tweeting from any of the accounts. Today, Colangelo told John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia that he is “fully unaware of anything” pertaining to the messages. Colangelo added that he had “zero’ knowledge of any tweets being sent from those accounts.

During a press conference before Game 1 of the Finals, NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the Sixers hired a New York law firm to oversee the investigation (per Sixers insider Jon Johnson).

Did the Sixers win? on Twitter presented evidence that Colangelo’s wife, Barbara Bottini, could be behind at least three of the accounts. Bottini’s phone number ends with the digits 91, which matches the final two numbers associated with the accounts. Bottini has yet to issue a denial.

As the Sixers prepare for free agency this summer with eyes on several top free agents, Colangelo’s presence could be a hindrance in luring players to Philadelphia. In an earlier report, one unidentified NBA executive said the damage — unless Colangelo is proven explicitly innocent — has been done.

“I think the damage is done,” an unidentified NBA executive told Pompey. “I don’t know if the players can trust him. I think he lost the trust of the players unless it’s proven definitively that it wasn’t him.”

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