Al Horford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Rumors: Horford, Smart, Knicks, Sixers

October 20th, 2016 at 10:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Al Horford‘s low-post presence provides a perfect complement to the perimeter skills of Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas, Chris Mannix of The Vertical writes. Boston coach Brad Stevens told Mannix that Horford has reinforced that notion during training camp, along with affirming the team’s decision to offer the big man a four-year, $113MM contract this summer. “Before we signed him, we felt like he was the perfect fit for how we wanted to play. And everything has been validated,” Stevens said. “The ability to quickly move the ball and make the right decision — the ball never sticks with him.”

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Celtics point guard Marcus Smart is expected to be out two weeks with an ankle injury, Mannix tweets. Smart has suffered numerous left ankle sprains before, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, but it doesn’t appear to be as serious as some of his previous ones. Since the injury is expected to be a short-term situation, it probably won’t impact the decisions that will be made in the coming days to pare the roster down to 15 players, Blakely adds.
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said point guard Derrick Rose will need to “learn by fire” after spending most of the past two weeks at his civil trial in Los Angeles, Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports. Rose missed five preseason games and seven practices during the trial, in which a jury on found Rose and his two friends not liable in a lawsuit that accused them of gang-raping Rose’s ex-girlfriend. Rose is expected to meet with the coaching staff on Friday to review aspects of the Knicks’ offense that were implemented while he was away, Begley adds.
The Sixers are keeping a close eye on the cuts being made by other teams around the league, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com reports. A report surfaced on Wednesday that Philadelphia was interested in point guard Tyus Jones. The club could also seek help for its banged-up frontcourt, Camerato adds. “The marketplace forces you to pay attention and make sure you’re doing your job and growing your team,” coach Brett Brown told Camerato.

Atlantic Notes: Budinger, Raptors, Sixers, Celtics

September 28th, 2016 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Chase Budinger didn’t receive any guaranteed money from the Nets on his new contract, but he’ll have the opportunity to earn a regular-season roster spot, and if he can crack the 15-man squad, he’ll collect his full salary, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Pincus reports (via Twitter) that Budinger’s contract is an all-or-nothing deal, which becomes fully guaranteed if Budinger makes the team.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman is pleased with the team’s offseason, as he tells Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Weltman pointed to the team’s 10 players who are 25 or under as a sign the franchise has “invested in youth,” and singled out first-round picks Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam as rookies who could establish rotation roles.
In the view of Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Joel Embiid‘s health will play a major part in solving the Sixers‘ logjam at center. If Embiid is healthy, it makes Jahlil Okafor more expendable, since Embiid can produce on offense. If Embiid isn’t healthy, it’s more imperative that the team hangs onto Okafor, who can score in the low post.
Speaking on Tuesday to reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com, new big man Al Horford said that it “feels right” to be playing for the Celtics, adding that he feels like the club is capable of winning a championship.

Celtics Notes: Thomas, Horford, Ainge, Zeller

September 24th, 2016 at 4:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas believes the Celtics might have landed Kevin Durant if they could have gone into their meeting with a commitment from Al Horford, relays Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. In a wide-ranging interview, Thomas discusses the bright future in Boston, the additions the Celtics were able to make and how close he believes they came to getting Durant. “In our meeting, he was a fan of what he had going, was a fan of [coach] Brad Stevens and [president of basketball operations] Danny Ainge and those types of things,” Thomas said. “I honestly felt like we probably didn’t have enough for him in that situation. He’s trying to win a championship now. Like I said, if we had Al Horford going into that meeting, I think that would have been enough.”

There’s more today out of Boston:

The Celtics recognize that they could use another shooter and a rim protector, but Ainge tells The Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett that chemistry is a concern when it comes to making moves. “It would be nice to add a rim protector that didn’t hurt our offense,” Ainge said. “It would be nice to have a shooter that didn’t hurt our defense. But I feel like we have a lot of guys that are good shooters. But the kind of guys you’re talking about, those guys are hard to find.”
After appearing in a career-low 60 games last season, center Tyler Zeller hopes his new contract brings a larger role, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Zeller re-signed with Boston for $16MM over two seasons after becoming a restricted free agent this summer. Even though the second year of the deal is not guaranteed, it represents a significant raise for Zeller, who earned a little more than $2.6MM last year. Zeller often got overlooked in the Celtics’ crowded frontcourt last season, playing 10 minutes or fewer 28 times. “It was a frustrating year for me, but at the same time it was a time where I could work on my game,” Zeller said. “I was able to work out a lot, put a lot of time in the gym. Hopefully I continue to grow as a player and be even better this year.”
Evan Turner‘s decision to sign with the Trail Blazers has created an opportunity for Marcus Smart, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. The third-year guard made it into 61 games last season, mostly as a reserve, but Stevens believes he has earned a shot at more playing time. “I think his greatest strength will always be that he’s a guy that makes winning plays that sometimes aren’t quantified,” the coach said, “whether that’s guarding a [Paul] Millsap for eight minutes, or guarding [Kristaps] Porzingis for six minutes, or guarding the point guard for the next four. He’s just a guy that will do anything you ask to help this team win.”

Pistons Notes: Leuer, Smith, Johnson, Blake

September 14th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pistons players concentrated on recruiting this summer and wound up with two of their main targets, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy entered the offseason wanting an experienced backup point guard and a power forward with size who could make 3-pointers. Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson took care of the first one by convincing former teammate Ish Smith to come to Detroit. Tobias Harris landed the power forward through his connection to Jon Leuer, who broke into the league along with Harris with the Bucks in 2011/12. “Just having a good relationship with Tobias and knowing that he’s been with these guys and knows what it’s like in the locker room and what it’s like to play for coach Van Gundy, it had a big impact on my decision,” Leuer said. “Just somebody that I trust and know has a good sense of what would be good for me.”

There’s more news tonight out of Detroit:

Leuer and the Pistons didn’t fully commit to each other until Al Horford eliminated Detroit from his consideration, Langlois writes in the same piece. When Horford made Boston, Washington and Atlanta his finalists in free agency, the deal was finalized. “Once Al made his decision, it was, ‘OK, let’s figure out how we can get this done,’ ” Leuer said. “We actually came to an agreement before he even landed, so it was more of a celebratory lunch than a meeting.”
After a long learning experience during his rookie year, Stanley Johnson hopes to show the NBA what he is capable of, relays Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Johnson said being a first-year player is like going from kindergarten to being a high school senior. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 73 games, but he believes he can do better in 2016/17. “As much as athleticism is involved in the NBA game, it’s more mental than anything,” Johnson said. “You’ll see with the rookies when you watch them play, they’re not behind but they’re making plays slower than everybody because they haven’t seen it yet. That’s where I was last year — except I was playing, I was in the fire, I was in front of everybody and they were watching me make my mistakes on a grand scale.”
Steve Blake, who spent last season with the Pistons, has been working out at the Trail Blazers’ facility, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The 36-year-old point guard is staying in shape and hoping for another opportunity, she added.

Eastern Notes: Horford, Ellis, Green

September 6th, 2016 at 10:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics entered the offseason looking to add talent, which the team did by signing Al Horford to a four-year, $113MM deal. But coach Brad Stevens notes that he wanted Horford for how well he fits within the team’s system in addition to his skills, Michael Pina of Vice Sports relays. “We played [Atlanta] ten times [last season], so we had a pretty good idea of what they were doing and they had an idea of what we were doing,” Stevens told Pina. “One of the reasons we went after Al really hard on day one was because we thought that he fit in really well with how we play.”

“The part that’s great about Al is he gives you a lot of flexibility to play in different actions,” the Celtics coach continued. “Whether it be pick-and-roll, off-the-ball screens. Whether they are two-man game or more motion type concepts. He’s a good player in all of those situations. There are different ways to play, obviously, but the more skill, the more ability to dribble, pass, and shoot you have on the floor … people are going to play smaller at times against us, [so] the ability to move laterally at the five and guard smaller guys while at the same time being able to pass it from the top of the key out of a pick-and-roll, or out of the post versus a switch, is important.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Pacers‘ starting lineup appears set entering the preseason with the exception of shooting guard, which may see last year’s starter Monta Ellis shift to a role off the bench, Greg Rappaport of NBA.com writes. The move may be necessary due to the addition of Jeff Teague, who, like Ellis, is not known for his ability to consistently hit shots from deep, Rappaport notes.
The Raptors locking up the front office trio of Masai Ujiri, Jeff Weltman and Bobby Webster for the foreseeable future is good news for the franchise because it allows for continuity and the continuation of the team’s current plan, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.
Stevens is also excited by the Celtics‘ offseason addition of swingman Gerald Green, whose offensive skills will add a needed dimension to the roster, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). “I’ve been a big Gerald Green fan because I’ve been scared of him,” Stevens said. “And I think that that’s a great way to figure out how good a player is. When you go into a game, he’s on your scouting report, maybe in a highlighted way because he could go off for a lot of points in a short amount of time. He can change the course of a game. Does he do it every night, historically? No. But he’s had moments and times where he has done that. So I think he brings a spurtability to us that we clearly needed from a scoring standpoint.”

Kyler’s Latest: Teague, Pelicans, Gay, Millsap

September 1st, 2016 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

Jeff Teague is eligible for a contract extension, and the Pacers hope he can become the team’s long-term answer at point guard, but they may not be able to extend him before he reaches free agency next July. As Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders details, Indiana currently has just over $6MM in cap room, and likely wants to retain that space for a possible new deal for Paul George, who becomes extension-eligible later this month. To entice either player to ink a new deal sooner rather than later, the Pacers will almost certainly need to provide a raise in addition to an extension, and George figures to be a priority over Teague.

That doesn’t mean that a new, in-season deal for Teague is out of the question. However, unless George decides not to sign an extension this year, a trade would likely be necessary to clear the cap room necessary for a Teague extension. And as Kyler writes, the Pacers don’t seem overly concerned about making a deal at the moment.

Here’s more from Kyler on a few players entering potential contract years:

According to Kyler, the Pelicans are seeking backcourt depth, having eyed Ty Lawson and Lance Stephenson recently, and the backcourt may not just be a short-term concern. With Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans entering contract years, it seems unlikely that they’ll both still be on New Orleans’ roster a year from now, particularly since both players have had health issues.
Rudy Gay‘s 2017/18 player option has been a complication in trade talks, since some potential suitors don’t want to take on that option, and others would want assurances he’ll opt in, per Kyler. Still, the Kings appear ready to move on, with Kyler suggesting it’s probably “a matter of when rather than if” Gay gets traded.
Source close to the Hawks tell Kyler that the relationship between Paul Millsap and the team is “actually pretty good,” despite the fact that Atlanta seriously explored trading him this offseason. The two sides have had talks about Millsap’s role and his future with the franchise, but Kyler wonders if the Hawks would become more inclined to trade him if they play poorly in the first half. After losing Al Horford this summer, Atlanta may want to avoid repeating that situation in 2017.
Kyler also has notes on Zach Randolph and Greg Monroe, so be sure to check out his column for the full details.

Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Ibaka, Splitter

August 16th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made no mention of Chris Bosh in two video messages posted today on the team’s website, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The status of the veteran big man remains uncertain after his past two seasons were cut short because of blood clots. Spoelstra singled out Hassan Whiteside, Josh Richardson, Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson as defensive leaders who will define the team in the post-Dwyane Wade era. “You learn pretty quickly in this league that your roster is going to change,” Spoelstra said, “sometimes your staff changes. Expectations change. It’s like that every year. Just when you get comfortable, it will change. This is a new challenge. We’re embracing the change. We’re excited about the future, excited about the guys we have on our team. You also have to have the right kind of players.” Owner Micky Arison named Bosh as part of the Heat’s future in a recent letter to Miami fans.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic can offer an extension to newly acquired power forward Serge Ibaka, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. Ibaka, whom Orlando picked up in a draft-night deal with the Thunder, is about to enter the last season of a four-year, $49MM extension he received from Oklahoma City. Ibaka would be limited to a 4.5% raise from his $12.2MM salary in the first year of an extension because the Magic are over the salary cap, Marks notes, and because he has been traded in the past six months Ibaka can only have two years added to his contract.
Tiago Splitter believes the Hawks will be a much better defensive team with Dwight Howard replacing Al Horford at center, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also cited an improvement in defense at point guard, where Dennis Schroder is taking over for the traded Jeff Teague. “[Howard] is a little bit more of a defensive player than Al, more rebounds, more physical presence on the court,” Splitter said. “That is going to change our team. … Dennis, he is also a great defender. He’s a better defender than Jeff. He will pressure the point guard the whole court.” Splitter, who had hip surgery in February and was limited to 36 games last season, also figures to improve the defense with his return to the lineup.
The Hawks hired Richard Midgley as their west coast scout, Vivlamore writes in a separate story. Midgley has been a coach at Modesto Christian High School in California for the past two seasons.

And-Ones: Salary Record, LeBron, CBA, D-League

August 12th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s record $24MM television deal is playing out just as predicted, writes Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. With LeBron James signing a three-year, $100MM deal with the Cavaliers, a record 17 teams now have the highest-paid players in franchise history on their current rosters. However, most of them are players who re-signed with their current teams or agreed to contract extensions. The only players who earned that distinction by changing teams this summer are Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, Boston’s Al Horford and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

There’s more NBA-related news this afternoon:

Because James has a player option for the third season of his new contract, he can become a free agent in July of 2018, along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. In March, James made headlines by speculating on the possibility of the four close friends one day joining forces.
A “super max” contract is among several changes the NBA and the players union should consider in a new collective bargaining agreement, suggests Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That provision would allow for a contract that is 40% of the salary cap, but would only count as a normal maximum deal against the cap. It would be available only to a player who remains with his current team and it would not be tradeable. Kyler also would like to see a third round added to the draft to help teams stock their D-League affiliates, a two-way contract with different salaries when players are in the NBA and D-League, and minimum qualifications that players would have to meet before being eligible for maximum contracts.
The D-League will holds its national tryouts Sunday in Manhattan, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Among the players who received invitations are Sterling Gibbs of Connecticut, Jonathan Holton of West Virginia, Chris Obekpa of St John’s and Markus Kennedy of SMU (Twitter link).

Eastern Rumors: Noel, Celtics, Pistons, Horford

August 11th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Jahlil Okafor has been the Sixers big man who has been the subject of the most trade rumors and speculation this offseason, but he hasn’t been the only frontcourt player in Philadelphia mentioned in those rumors. Teammate Nerlens Noel has also been considered a trade candidate, with the 76ers needing to clear a logjam up front and add a little more talent in their backcourt.

According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, Noel hasn’t asked to be traded and nothing tangible is in the works at this point. However, multiple sources tell Blakely that the former Kentucky Wildcat would be “very open” to being dealt if the Sixers choose to go in that direction. One league source also informed Blakely that the Celtics continue to have interest in Noel.

The Sixers will be faced with a decision soon on Noel — they’ll essentially have to determine this offseason or next summer whether he’ll be a part of their long-term future. The 22-year-old is extension-eligible this year for the first time, and will reach restricted free agency in 2017 if he and the Sixers don’t come to an agreement on a new deal. Odds are that Noel probably isn’t going anywhere before the 2016/17 begins, but it’s still a situation worth keeping an eye on.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Although the Pistons‘ free agent moves the summer – with the exception of Andre Drummond‘s new deal – mostly involved adding complementary players, the team did have its sights set on one of the premier stars available. As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details, Detroit was one of a handful of clubs to land a meeting with Al Horford. Stan Van Gundy explains that the Pistons could have fit in Horford and still added a backup point guard, but the team was ultimately happy to end up with Jon Leuer and Boban Marjanovic after Horford went to Boston. “It’s like a power hitter being able to take a swing at the home run and let it all go, but end up not striking out,” Van Gundy said.
In an interview with ESPN’s Marc Stein, Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony suggested that if his professional basketball career ends without an NBA championship, he’ll still consider it a success if he walks away with three Olympic gold medals and an NCAA title. “I would be very happy walking away from the game knowing that I’ve given the game everything I have, knowing I played on a high level at every level: high school, college, won [a championship at Syracuse] in college and possibly three gold medals,” Anthony said.
Paul George tells Sean Highkin of ProBasketballTalk that he’s excited about the Pacers‘ new direction, including the addition of veteran point guard Jeff Teague. “[Pacers president] Larry [Bird] has put it on display that he wants to get us back to the Eastern Conference [playoffs], see where we can take it from there,” George said.

Eastern Notes: Ainge, Kuzminskas, George, Scola

July 24th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge was able to quickly rebuild the Celtics by maximizing the return for his stars when the team got too old, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Ainge sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets for a package of draft picks and traded Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks instead of letting him become a free agent. This summer’s signing of Al Horford accelerated the building process, and Hamilton believes it makes the Celtics legitimate contenders in the East. Boston is also set up well for the future, with only Horford, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas under contract for 2017/18. Even if the Celtics pick up their team option on Marcus Smart, they may have more than $50MM to spend on free agents next July.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

Mindaugas Kuzminskas provides enough offense to become a rotation player for the Knicks, according to Trevor Magnotti of Upside and Motor. The 6’9″ Lithuanian forward signed with New York earlier this month after playing in Europe for the past five seasons. Knicks president Phil Jackson said the team wanted to find a mobile small forward who could shoot from distance. That describes Kuzminskas, who gets most of his points on cuts to the basket, but is also a streaky shooter from 3-point range. However, there are questions about his defense, which Magnotti warns might limit his playing time until he proves he can contribute on that end.
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski says Paul George is playing the best basketball of his life two years after the broken leg that had many concerned about his career, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. The Pacers‘ star, who had 18 points in Friday’s exhibition win over Argentina, said he had to put that scary incident out of his mind to be effective again. “It’s behind me,” George said. “I don’t play the game expecting to get hurt. I know it’s a possibility. But there’s no thought in my mind I’m going to get hurt. I play this game because I love it. I just play hard.”
Newly signed Nets power forward Luis Scola will be Argentina’s flag bearer at the Summer Olympics, according to the Associated Press. “I had the chance to play four Olympics, to play 10 years in the NBA, to carry the flag for my country, win an Olympic gold medal,’’ Scola said. “I mean, different things that happened along those days that I couldn’t even dream of those because it would be too wild to dream.”