Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Adam Silver Unhappy With Durant Situation

July 12th, 2022 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t happy about Kevin Durant‘s trade request after signing an extension last season, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes.

Silver said that players need to “meet their end of the bargain” after a franchise provides them with long-term security.

“This needs to be a two-way street,” Silver said. “Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players, and the expectation in return is that they’ll meet their end of the bargain. There’s always conversations that go on behind closed doors between players and representatives and teams, but we don’t like to see players requesting trades and we don’t like to see it playing out the way it is.”

Silver said there will be negotiations with the Players’ Association regarding possible remedies to discourage players from seeking a trade after signing multi-year contracts, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets.

“Its one of those issues that as we move into this collective bargaining cycle – we intend to discuss with our players association and see if there are remedies for this…We don’t want to see it playing out the way it is now,” he said.

Silver also addressed a number of other topics after the Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday:

With load management increasing every season, Silver would be in favor of rewarding players contractually for playing more often. “I’m all in favor of guaranteed contracts,” he said. “But maybe that on top of your typical guaranteed contracts, some incremental money should be based on number of games played and results of those games.”
He’s pleasantly surprised that league revenue topped $10 billion for the first time and basketball-related income reached a record $8.9 billion. “The numbers did surprise me to a certain degree because it exceeded projections, and the projections represent where we think our business is going,” Silver said. “I think it’s quite remarkable from where we came 2 1/2 years ago.”
The league is nearing “the last stage” of its investigation into the conduct of Suns owner Robert Sarver, Reynolds tweets.
Symptomatic persons will still test for COVID, but Silver could also see “pre-COVID protocols” becoming more of the norm again, Reynolds adds in another tweet.
Silver favors the age limit for the draft dropping from 19 to 18, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets, and is “optimistic” that it could happen during the next collective bargaining cycle.

Pacific Notes: Moody, Kuminga, Wainright, Sabonis

July 11th, 2022 at 9:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The departures of Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. open up playing time for Warriors guard Moses Moody. He could have a 20-minute role as the eighth or ninth man in the rotation if all goes well, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes.

“Try to make myself beneficial,” Moody said of his goals. “Make it to the point where if I’m getting into the game, it’s not because someone likes me. It’s not doing me a favor. I want to be needed. I want you to think ‘I need Moses on the floor.’ That’s on me. I’ve got to make that the scenario.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Moody, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga are all showing signs of rewarding the Warriors’ patience in them during Summer League play, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Kuminga, in particular, sparkled at the end of the Warriors’ one-point win over the Spurs on Sunday, with eight points and an assist in the last four minutes as well as making defensive plays.
Free agent Ish Wainright is hopeful of re-signing with the Suns, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. The undrafted Wainwright appeared in 45 regular season games last season. He had his two-way contract converted into a standard end-of-the-season-deal during the waning days of the season. “Everybody knows I want to be back,” said Wainwright, who is playing Summer League games with the Suns. “It’s out of my hands.”
Domantas Sabonis is happy with the Kings’ moves during the offseason, as he told James Boyd of the Indianap0lis Star. “We’re doing the right things,” he said. “We’ve got a coaching staff that is motivated to get us better and put us in the right direction. We made some good add-ons in free agency (signing Malik Monk and trading for Kevin Huerter), and we still have some time left, so I’m just excited.”

Pacific Notes: Biyombo, Wiseman, Haliburton, Vezenkov

July 11th, 2022 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Suns center Bismack Biyombo, “winning teams” showed interest in him in free agency and he potentially could’ve made more money elsewhere, but he’s comfortable in Phoenix and believes the team’s system allows him to “excel,” writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Biyombo also said that he’s looking forward to being a Sun from day one this season after joining the team midway through the 2021/22 campaign.

“All the structure was set, and you’re kind of catching a rhythm of a team and trying to join the dance,” Biyombo said. “I think it’s always good to start the dance at the beginning, which is training camp. Have a better understanding of the team.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Warriors center James Wiseman looked good in his return to the court on Sunday in Las Vegas, scoring 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and blocking a couple shots in 19 minutes, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. It’s an encouraging first step for the former No. 2 overall pick, who missed the entire 2021/22 season due to a knee injury. “Walking into the locker room after the game and all the players cheering for him I think he can kind of (say), ‘Ah, I can breathe again,'” Warriors Summer League coach Jama Mahlalela told ESPN. “Every conversation I have with him is, ‘I am so proud of you but now the real work begins.'”
Now a member of the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton says he still has love for Sacramento, despite unexpectedly being traded to Indiana prior to the 2022 deadline. Haliburton told Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 in Sacramento (video link) that his feelings toward the Kings organization and Kings fans are “completely different” from one another.
After having his NBA rights acquired by the Kings in June, Olympiacos forward Sasha Vezenkov had reportedly planned to meet with the team in Las Vegas this month. However, Vezenkov isn’t traveling stateside after all, according to Vangelis Ioannou of Eurohoops.net, and he recently made comments hinting he may remain in Greece for the 2022/23 season, per Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.net. Vezenkov has an NBA opt-out deadline of July 20 in his deal with Olympiacos, so he’ll have another nine days to see if he and the Kings can work out a deal. Sacramento has a small portion of its mid-level exception available to offer the 26-year-old more than two years, or could dip into its bi-annual exception to offer a two-year deal worth more than the rookie minimum.

Pacers Continue To Eye Deandre Ayton

July 11th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly 11 full days since the NBA’s 2022 free agent period opened, and Suns restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton still doesn’t have a new deal in place. However, it’s possible that will change soon.

Sources told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic over the weekend that the Pacers are “seriously” interested in Ayton. Indiana’s interest in the former No. 1 overall pick has been reported repeatedly in recent weeks, but it’s notable that the team’s interest hasn’t waned — the Pacers are one of just two teams in the NBA (along with the Spurs) that have the cap flexibility necessary to make Ayton a significant offer.

According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), there’s “great interest” among league insiders in Las Vegas about whether the Pacers will move forward with what Stein refers to as a “widely anticipated” offer sheet for Ayton. Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) on Monday, Brian Windhorst also expressed a belief that Indiana is on the verge of making a play for the young center.

“We believe that the Indiana Pacers are very close to giving Deandre Ayton an offer sheet or executing a sign-and-trade,” Windhorst said. “The Pacers had to do some business over the weekend and complete the Malcolm Brogdon trade. That is now on the verge of happening and that is opening enough cap space to almost give Deandre Ayton the max contract he is looking for. We could see something with the Pacers and Ayton as early as today.”

As James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes, while the Pacers and Celtics announced their trade on Saturday, Brogdon still technically has to pass his physical before the deal is officially irreversible. At that point, Indiana will have approximately $26.4MM in cap room.

Ayton’s maximum salary is about $30.9MM, so Indiana would have to waive-and-stretch multiple players or trade someone to open up a max-salary slot. The team could also present Ayton with an offer sheet that’s a little below the max, but it’s not clear whether he’d be willing to sign such an offer. And of course, the lower the starting salary in an offer sheet, the more likely the Suns are to match it.

A sign-and-trade deal in which Indiana sends out a player or two could potentially get everyone what they want — Ayton could get his max salary, the Pacers could get their man without having to worry about an offer sheet being matched, and the Suns could avoid losing their former top pick for nothing. Myles Turner would be the most obvious trade candidate in that scenario.

However, signing-and-trading Ayton to Indiana would deprive Phoenix of one of its top assets for a potential Kevin Durant trade, so the Suns will likely drive a hard bargain with the Pacers, knowing that if they don’t get a sign-and-trade offer they like, they could simply match any offer sheet Ayton signs.

Still, that may not be an ideal outcome for the Suns, who reportedly aren’t enthusiastic about paying Ayton max money. Additionally, if they were to match an offer sheet, the Suns wouldn’t be able to trade Ayton until January 15, and even then, any deal this season would require his consent.

With so many variables in play, every involved party will have to weigh its options carefully before moving forward. But it sounds like we could get action on the Ayton front sooner rather than later.

Pacific Notes: Wall, DiVincenzo, Lakers, Saric

July 10th, 2022 at 8:56pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first public comments since joining the Clippers as a free agent, John Wall said he’s looking forward to playing on such a talented roster, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays.

“I don’t have to do it every night, I don’t have to be Batman every night for us to win,” Wall said on Saturday at the Las Vegas Summer League. “That’s the ultimate goal for me is [at] this part of my career, I don’t want to have to be the Batman every night to try to win. On our team that we have, I think anyone can be Batman.”

Wall also said he never seriously considered joining another team besides the Clippers, according to Youngmisuk.

“I really didn’t care about all the other teams,” Wall said of his other potential suitors. “The other teams are great, and I’m glad teams wanted to come after me, but I kind of looked at the picture of like, where can I go [where] I don’t have to be the John Wall from 2016 and have to carry the load and do all those [things] and have the pressure on me. I think [LA] was missing a piece of having a point guard, and it’s a great situation for me to be there.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Recruitment calls from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green helped Donte DiVincenzo land on the Warriors as his free agent destination, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Once I had the conversation with Steph and Draymond, everything kind of slowed down for me a little bit because I got away from the numbers, the dollar signs and everything,” DiVincenzo said. “I was more so focused on what is best for Donte and what is best for me going forward. With that culture and environment, it’s something that I want to be a part of and it’s something of who I am. I don’t have to change who I am. I can just totally fit in and become a Warrior.” DiVincenzo signed a two-year deal with Golden State with a player option in the second season. He reportedly had offers for more money, but the ability to join a contender and possibly build up his value next season appealed to the 25-year-old.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham recently expressed confidence in his coaching staff’s ability to get the most out of the team’s newly-signed free agents, per Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. “There’s various circumstances as to why people have a dip in shooting,” Ham said. “Sometimes it’s injury-related, sometimes it’s minutes, who you’re out on the floor with, how many touches. So only thing we’re worried about is what we’re doing going forward, and we feel we’ve got a good group – a good young group of free agents that’s gonna come in and make an impact.” The Lakers have added Lonnie Walker, Troy Brown Jr., Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant thus far in free agency, prioritizing youth and athleticism over older veterans.
Suns big man Dario Saric, who missed the entire 2021/22 season after suffering a torn right ACL in the 2021 Finals and underwent arthroscopic surgery in May to repair a torn meniscus in the same knee, recently gave a positive update on his status, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Saric just started doing contact work with coaches and hopes to play a couple of games with the Croatian national team prior to training camp. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling really good,” said Saric. “I’m moving better, moving faster. I was one year out of basketball. I’ve had time to settle my mind to really dive into this extra positive. Working to be as best as I can.”

Mavericks Notes: Hardy, Brunson, Cuban, Harding, McGee

July 10th, 2022 at 3:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks rookie shooting guard Jaden Hardy, the No. 37 pick in the 2022 draft, enjoyed a stellar Summer League debut on Friday, finishing with 28 points on 9-of-19 field goal shooting during a 100-99 overtime loss to the Bulls. Selby Lopez of the Dallas Morning News details Hardy’s big night.

“Jaden did a great job,” Mavericks assistant coach and Summer League team head coach Greg St. Jean said. “I think that’s part of the process here of putting him in those situations, then being able to review the film and talk through it… I think it’s a great start for him, and we’re going to learn a lot from the film.”

The 6’4″ guard averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG while with the G League Ignite during the 2021/22 season. His efficiency left something to be desired, however, as he connected on just 35.1% of his field goal attempts.

There’s more out of Dallas:

Dallas team owner Mark Cuban expressed his excitement for former Maverick Jalen Brunson agreeing to sign a lucrative four-year, $104MM new deal with the Knicks, but revealed that Dallas was not able to counter with a potential contract of its own in free agency this summer, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “It really wasn’t about the amount of money,” Cuban said while at the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League. “We really didn’t get a chance to make an offer. It was Jalen’s choice. And I understand it. He knew those guys his entire life. He grew up there. It makes perfect sense… We wanted him to stay, but he had his reason, and I respect that.” The latest intel on the contract suggests that the Knicks will sign Brunson using cap space, rather than via a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks.
Mavericks Summer League point guard Jerrick Harding is hoping to latch on at the next level, writes Eddie Sefko of Mavericks.com. “I ended my senior year [at Weber State], and this was in 2020, so COVID hit and all that was going on,” he said. “So basically the whole summer I was waiting. There were no workouts, no summer league, there was no anything.” Harding signed on with Czech National Basketball League club ERA Nymburk in 2020 and has played with them for two seasons. “[They’re] the best team in the Czech Republic. They play in the Champions League. So I figured it would be a good spot for me. I didn’t want to sit and wait. I might not have a job, know what I mean if I stayed in the states.” Now with Dallas’s Summer League club, the 6’1″ guard is eager to prove himself.
Following two seasons played on one-year contracts, new Mavericks center JaVale McGee opted for a bit more security this time around in free agency, inking a three-year, $20.4MM deal with Dallas. “The past couple of years, I really wanted to focus on consistency and comfortability,” McGee said of his new opportunity, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Though the three-time champion fit in well with a 64-18 Suns team and seemed a safe bet to return for 2022/23, the team’s uncertain future this summer compelled him to look elsewhere for a long-term contract. “I think it was more of having to wait for [restricted free agent] Deandre Ayton and now [Kevin Durant], trying to figure it out,” McGee said. “For me, it was just like at this stage of my career and what I’m looking for, I don’t have time to be waiting on somebody else.”

Contract Details: Booker, Towns, Magic, Oladipo, Anderson, Hardy

July 9th, 2022 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The new super-max extensions for Suns guard Devin Booker and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns each come with a different perk.

Booker’s deal includes a 10% trade kicker, but is fully guaranteed for all four years, with no player option in 2027/28.

Towns’ new contract, conversely, doesn’t feature a trade kicker, but has a fourth-year player option, giving Towns the ability to opt out and reach free agency in 2027.

Here are several more contract details from around the NBA:

Both Mohamed Bamba and Bol Bol received one guaranteed season and one non-guaranteed season on their new two-year contracts with the Magic. Bamba has matching cap hits of $10.3MM on his deal, while Bol’s cap hits are $2.2MM apiece.
Victor Oladipo‘s reworked two-year deal with the Heat came in at $18.2MM in total. It’s worth $8.75MM in 2022/23, with a $9.45MM player option for ’23/24.
As previously reported, Kyle Anderson‘s two-year contract with the Timberwolves is worth exactly $18MM. It features a first-year salary of $8,780,488 and a 5% raise to $9,219,512 for 2023/24.
Jaden Hardy‘s three-year contract with the Mavericks is, as expected, worth the minimum in all three seasons. It’s fully guaranteed in the first two years, with a partial guarantee of $400K in year three.

Rockets Notes: Frontcourt, Tate, Gordon, Martin

July 7th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Whether or not they hang onto Boban Marjanovic, the Rockets would like to add one more big man to their roster, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, who says the club may use a two-way contract slot to add more depth up front. Trevor Hudgins currently occupies one of Houston’s two-way slots, but the other is empty.

Iko names Moses Brown, Freddie Gillespie, Bruno Fernando, and Mfiondu Kabengele as players who could be of interest to the Rockets as they look to add another frontcourt player.

According to Iko, Houston had some interest in Isaiah Roby after he was waived by Oklahoma City, but the Spurs ultimately claimed him off waivers. The Rockets were ahead of San Antonio in the waiver order and had a trade exception available to claim Roby, but they already have 18 players on guaranteed contracts for 15 spots, so they likely weren’t eager to bring in another.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

The $500K annual bonus in Jae’Sean Tate‘s new three-year contract are tied to the Rockets winning at least 35 games, Iko reports. So Tate would earn an extra $1.5MM if Houston wins 35 or more games in each of the next three seasons.
The Rockets were close to trading Eric Gordon on draft night, possibly to the Sixers, but the deal fell apart, according to Iko, who says the Heat, Bucks, and Suns also pursued Gordon before the draft. Sources tell The Athletic that Philadelphia re-engaged Houston on the veteran shooting guard at the start of free agency, but there’s certainly no guarantee he’ll be moved before the season begins.
The Rockets aren’t in any rush to trade Kenyon Martin Jr. either, says Iko, noting that Martin may “need to mend some internal relationships” if a trade doesn’t materialize and he remains in Houston.

Trade/FA Rumors: Mitchell, Durant, Ayton, Pacers

July 7th, 2022 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on The Hoop Collective (video link) earlier this week that Donovan Mitchell inquired about the Jazz‘s plan following the team’s trades of Rudy Gobert and Royce O’Neale, Brian Windhorst said during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday that the star guard is not believed to be on the verge of asking for a trade (video link).

“After the Gobert trade, there was a belief that maybe Mitchell would be next, and maybe at some point he will be,” Windhorst said. “But for now the Jazz are telling people they don’t intend to trade him, and on Mitchell’s side, he’s going to stand pat. He’s not going to force any action right now.”

Reports at the time of the Gobert trade indicated that the Jazz planned to retool their roster around Mitchell, while subsequent reporting suggested teams still believed the 25-year-old could be had for the right price. If Mitchell doesn’t express any desire to leave Utah, it seems very unlikely that the Jazz will move him this offseason.

Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

Although ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski still believes a Kevin Durant trade is likely to happen, he said during an appearance on NBA Today (video link) that it’s “absolutely” possible the former MVP could end up remaining with the Nets into the fall. “Brooklyn, they don’t have to take a deal that they don’t want to do. They don’t have to talk themselves into a deal,” Wojnarowski said. “At the same time, Kevin Durant, as he looks at the situation, could he look at it differently over time? That’s certainly a possibility.” Wojnarowski explained that he believes Durant could have second thoughts about his trade request if his potential new team would have to gut its roster to trade for him.
During an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday (video link), Windhorst said the Durant sweepstakes may not be creating the frenzy the Nets had hoped for. “When the Nets put him on the market, I think they thought there was going to be a tremendous bidding war,” Windhorst said. “And while there’s a lot of interest, from what I can tell that bidding war isn’t really hot right now. The teams have made their offers and they don’t really feel the need to increase them.”
According to Windhorst, the return Utah received in the Gobert trade has complicated the Durant negotiations: “The Nets responded (to the Gobert trade) by saying, ‘The price for Durant just went higher,’ and the rest of the league is kind of saying, ‘We don’t think so. We don’t want to pay that price. We didn’t like that trade,'” Windhorst acknowledged that talks could heat up when team executives gather at Las Vegas for Summer League starting this week.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) believes we may see action on the Deandre Ayton front before the end of the week, adding that he has heard “rumblings” about the possibility of the Pacers signing the Suns‘ restricted free agent center to an offer sheet.

Suns’ Devin Booker Signs Four-Year Super-Max Extension

July 6th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Rory Maher

JULY 6: Booker has officially signed his contract extension with the Suns, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. Booker confirmed as much, tweeting, “Signed sealed delivered.”

JUNE 30: Devin Booker is set to sign a four-year, super-max extension with the Suns as early as next week, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).

The 13th pick of the 2015 draft, Booker has spend his entire seven-year career with Phoenix. He’s been an All-Star each of the past three seasons, but more importantly, at least from a financial perspective, Booker was named to the All-NBA First Team last season, which made him eligible for the super-max, also known as the Designated Veteran Extension.

The 25-year-old is still under contract for a total of $69.83MM through 2023/24, so his extension won’t kick in until ’24/25. The deal will tentatively be worth $214MM from 2024-28, per Charania.

Booker led the Suns to a 64-18 regular season record last season, the best mark in the NBA by a full eight games. However, the team fell to the Mavericks in the second-round of the playoffs, losing in embarrassing fashion at home in Game 7.

Despite the disappointing ending, in many other ways it was a resounding success for both Booker and the Suns, who set a franchise record for wins. Booker averaged 26.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.1 SPG on .466/.383/.868 shooting in 68 regular season games (34.5 MPG) while showing improved defense.

Booker has also been an impressive postseason performer over the past couple seasons, helping lead the team to the Finals in ’20/21. He’s averaged a combined 26.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 4.5 APG on .448/.356/.900 shooting in 32 career playoff games (39.2 MPG).