Al Horford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Eyeing Horford, Noah, Batum, Others

June 24th, 2016 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

With free agency around the corner, the Warriors are prepared to make a run at Kevin Durant, the top player on the market. However, the team has plenty of alternate targets lined up in the event that Durant isn’t interested in coming to Golden State.

Sources tell Marcus Thompson II of The Bay Area News Group that the Warriors are eyeing Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Hassan Whiteside as possible frontcourt additions. At small forward, Nicolas Batum and Evan Turner are among the potential targets Golden State is looking at, suggesting that Durant isn’t the only player that would make the club consider replacing pending free agent Harrison Barnes.

As I discussed when I previewed the Warriors’ offseason earlier this week, the team won’t be shy about upgrading the roster via free agency or trades, having vowed to be aggressive this summer. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green aren’t going anywhere, but anyone else on the roster may be expendable for the right incoming piece, and none of Golden State’s eight free agents – including Barnes and Festus Ezeli – are locks to return.

If the team does look to make a big splash, it will have to take into account Curry’s eventual raise. Even with the salary cap on the rise, the Warriors’ roster would start to get expensive if the team signs a max free agent this summer and inks Curry to a max extension a year from now. That scenario could mean paying more than $90MM combined to Curry, Thompson, Green, and a fourth player in 2017/18, with annual raises to follow.

Still, Warriors ownership has exhibited a willingness to spend into tax territory, so they aren’t about to suddenly start playing it safe now. Golden State will certainly be a team to watch when the free agent recruiting period officially gets underway a week from today.

Deveney’s Latest: Faried, Wolves, Magic, Suns

June 22nd, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Sixers, Celtics, and a few other clubs have been the subject of more trade rumors in recent weeks, the Nuggets may actually be the team most likely to pull off a draft-day deal, sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. As we noted earlier this week, Denver is one of four teams holding three first-round picks, and is the only one of those clubs without a D-League affiliate, which will make it tricky for the Nuggets to use all their selections and carry all those players on their roster.

In addition to holding three top-20 picks, the Nuggets also have Kenneth Faried, who hasn’t demanded a trade, but wouldn’t mind being moved, since he doesn’t feel like he’s a part of Denver’s long-term plans, according to Deveney. The Sporting News scribe adds that the Nuggets have received offers for Danilo Gallinari as well, but would prefer to move Faried.

Here’s more from Deveney, including info on a potential suitor for Faried:

The Timberwolves have spoken to the Nuggets and have some interest in trading for Faried, Deveney writes. New head coach Tom Thibodeau observed Faried first-hand when they were both part of Team USA at the 2014 World Cup, and apparently liked what he saw.
The Magic will have interest in a handful of former Florida Gators in free agency this summer, including Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Chandler Parsons, according to Deveney. With Orlando hoping to make a splash in free agency, Deveney also points out that the team could take a risk on a young project like Skal Labissiere in the draft, with the expectation that they’ll land veteran help a couple weeks later.
The Suns have interest in Kris Dunn at No. 4, and Eric Bledsoe would become very available in trade talks if the team were to select Dunn with that pick. However, Bledsoe’s knee issues could diminish his value, as one GM tells Deveney: “It’s definitely a case of selling low if they trade him now. Those knees are serious red flags and you figure it is only a matter of time before (his left meniscus) will be removed.” Bledsoe previously had his right meniscus removed, and has had his left meniscus repaired.
Spanish forward Juan Hernangomez is projected to come off the board in the 20-30 range in Thursday night’s draft, and Deveney says the Raptors, who hold the No. 27 pick, are particularly interested. Hernangomez seems willing to remain overseas as a draft-and-stash project, but has also said he’d love to come to the NBA immediately.

Magic, Pistons, Lakers To Pursue Al Horford

June 22nd, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks are viewed as the frontrunner to lock up free agent big man Al Horford this summer, since they can offer him the most money and years, and intend to put a max deal on the table. Still, Atlanta will face plenty of competition for Horford. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), the Magic, Pistons, and Lakers are among the other clubs planning to make a run for the four-time All-Star.

Horford, who turned 30 earlier this month, was as effective as ever for the Hawks in 2015/16, starting all 82 games for the first time in his career. He averaged 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per 36 minutes, and shot over 50% from the field for the eighth straight season.

Because he has nine years of NBA experience, all with the Hawks, Horford is eligible for the second-tier max salary this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if that impacts his decision. If he were to sign a contract with an opt-out after the first year, he could potentially return to the market and land a long-term deal with a bigger starting salary in 2017. However, now that he’s in his thirties, he may be content to simply sign a long-term max contract this summer.

The Lakers only have about $23MM in guaranteed salary on their books for 2016/17 at the moment, while the Magic are carrying approximately $36MM in guaranteed money, so it should be no problem for either of those teams to offer Horford the max. The Pistons have a few more commitments — upwards of $65MM, not including their draft picks, non-guaranteed salaries, or free agents. Detroit would have to make a move or two to create the space necessary to sign Horford, unless the team intended to part ways with Andre Drummond, which seems unlikely.

In addition to the Hawks, Magic, Pistons, and Lakers, the Rockets are among the other clubs planning to make a pitch to Horford.

Wizards Notes: Coaching Staff, Durant, Workouts

June 16th, 2016 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

New Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is in the process of putting together his first coaching staff in Washington, and ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link) has an update on some of Brooks’ targets. In addition to confirming the Wizards’ interest in Tony Brown, with whom the team is reportedly finalizing a deal, Stein reports that Brooks is targeting Chad Iske and Sidney Lowe for his bench.

Iske, a former Kings assistant who wasn’t retained when Dave Joerger took over in Sacramento last month, has also drawn interest from Memphis. As for Lowe, he most recently served as an assistant in Minnesota — before that, he was an assistant in Utah and a head coach at North Carolina State.

Here’s more out of D.C.:

Don’t count Jared Dudley among those who expect to see Kevin Durant return home and sign with the Wizards this summer. Dudley, a free-agent-to-be who spent the 2015/16 season in Washington, told Kevin Sheehan on ESPN 980 that he doesn’t envision Durant leaving the Thunder for the Wizards. “I realistically don’t,” Dudley said, per Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post. “I hope for the fans they do, because he’s from there, and he would bring such excitement. They’d be right behind Cleveland, right there with them to be able to contend. I don’t see it though.”
More from Dudley on why he doesn’t expect superstar free agents like Durant to land in Washington this offseason: “It’s the system the NBA built. In general, no star player’s leaving to go to another team. … The system’s built for these guys to stay. Guys like Kevin Durant, Al Horford — the Wizards most likely will be going after these players, as they should. Are they really going to leave that money on the table?”
The Wizards are bringing in prospects D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown), James Webb III (Boise State), Tyler Harris (Auburn), and James Robinson (Pittsburgh) in for a pre-draft workout today, league sources tell Michael Scott of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
The Wizards are also keeping their eye on former Seton Hall and UConn guard Sterling Gibbs, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that Washington is looking at Gibbs for a second time on Monday.
We recently took a closer look at the Wizards’ salary cap situation for the coming offseason.

Rockets Notes: Free Agency, Beasley, D’Antoni

May 28th, 2016 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets should concentrate on shooters in free agency if their primary targets don’t work out, recommends Kevin P. Smith of Real GM. Houston is hoping to meet with Kevin Durant and Al Horford, two of the top names in the free agent class, but if neither player comes to Houston, Smith believes 3-point marksmen should be the priority in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. The writer mentions Brandon Jennings and Jerryd Bayless as possible backups to Patrick Beverley, and suggests Ryan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic as potential front court prospects. Smith also says the Rockets could have interest in Marvin Williams, Jeff Green, Derrick Williams, Marreese Speights and Al Jefferson.

Two late-season additions, Michael Beasley and Andrew Goudelock, are likely to stay in Houston for another season, Smith says in the same piece. Beasley, who played most of last season in China, averaged 12.8 points per night in 20 games after joining the Rockets. Houston has a $1.4MM team option on Beasley for 2016/17. Goudelock only made it into eight games after signing with the Rockets in March, but a $1,015,696 team option gives him a chance to stick around.
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander chose the “big, splashy name” when he hired D’Antoni this week, charges Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Smith writes that the Rockets should have hired Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, and that D’Antoni is the wrong choice to bring the discipline and emphasis on defense that the Rockets need to improve on a 41-41 season.
Free agents will be more likely to consider Houston because of D’Antoni’s history of helping his players land big contracts, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. Adande lists Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jodie Meeks as players who struck it big in free agency after playing in D’Antoni’s up-tempo system.

Rockets Expected To Pursue Al Horford

May 16th, 2016 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

After a disappointing regular season and an abrupt first-round exit from the playoffs, the Rockets figure to make some changes to their roster this summer, and according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, the team’s top target in free agency will be Hawks big man Al Horford.

Horford, who turns 30 next month, will have no shortage of suitors this offseason, with his current team in Atlanta expected to make him a max offer in July. However, it’s not yet clear whether the Hawks intend to offer Horford a full five years to go along with a max salary. While Atlanta appears to be the strong frontrunner to lock up the nine-year veteran, Houston and other clubs figure to make pitches as well, if given the opportunity.

According to Deveney, Ryan Anderson will be a potential target for the Rockets this summer as well. General manager Daryl Morey also figures to be creative when it comes to exploring possible sign-and-trades involving stars like Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler, or Carmelo Anthony, Deveney writes, though any of those scenarios would be longer shots.

The Rockets currently only have about $46MM in guaranteed salary on their books for the 2016/17 season, per Basketball Insiders. That figure doesn’t include Dwight Howard‘s $23MM+ salary, since Howard has a player option and is widely expected to opt out.

In Hoops Rumors’ most recent free agent power rankings, Horford ranked fourth, one spot ahead of Howard.

And-Ones: Spurs, Celtics, Sixers, Pistons, Nuggets

May 13th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili aren’t certain whether they’ll retire, as Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, but they’re not the only Spurs liable to hang it up in the wake of the team’s playoff elimination Thursday night. Andre Miller has strongly considered retirement, though he, too, hasn’t made up his mind yet, as he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). San Antonio’s contract with the 40-year-old Miller expires at the end of next month while Duncan, also 40, and Ginobili, who turns 39 in July, have player options. David West also has a player option, and though he turns 36 over the offseason, the talk surrounding him isn’t of retirement but of the lack of regrets he has about sacrificing roughly $11MM to sign his two-year minimum-salary contract with San Antonio last summer, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio News-Express relays (Twitter links).

“It’s been a great experience,” West said of his season with the Spurs. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

See more from around the NBA:

The Celtics, Sixers, Pistons, Nuggets, Pacers and Trail Blazers all benefited this season from set-off rights, reducing their obligations to waived players who had guaranteed salary remaining on their contracts, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details. Boston saved $620,306 from the money it owed David Lee because he signed a deal with the Mavs that paid more than $845,059, a figure equivalent to the one-year veteran’s minimum salary, Pincus writes. The Sixers saved $227,241 on JaVale McGee the same way. The Nuggets were spared $68,144 on Pablo Prigioni, the Pacers avoided paying $159,900 to Toney Douglas and the Trail Blazers shaved $327,064 from their bill for Mike Miller, according to Pincus. The Pistons saved $341,353 on Josh Smith, though that figure will be spread evenly over each season of the five-year obligation Detroit still has to him because the team used the stretch provision.
The Pistons also got cap relief for Aaron Gray, whom they owe $452,049 each season from 2015/16 through 2017/18, Pincus points out. Gray had to retire because of a heart condition, but a team can remove the cap hit for a player who had to retire because of a medical reason one year after his final game. Gray last played in 2014. Detroit still must pay the money to Gray, but it doesn’t count against the team’s cap, Pincus notes.
Agent Jason Glushon and the Wasserman agency mutually agreed to part ways, and Glushon will start his own agency, a source told Spears (Twitter link). Glushon has a short list of clients, with none more prominent than Hawks soon-to-be free agent Al Horford, who left Wasserman, Glushon and B.J. Armstrong to sign with Bill Duffy of BDA Sports last fall only to rejoin Wasserman a couple of months later. Jrue Holiday and Norman Powell are other Glushon clients.

Southeast Notes: Horford, Millsap, Wall

May 10th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer deflected a question about whether he intends to make a max offer to soon-to-be free agent Al Horford, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Still, Budenholzer’s reluctance to give a direct answer is probably because the sides technically can’t have negotiations on a new contract until July 1st, when Horford’s existing deal expires, and Vivlamore has said before that the Hawks indeed plan to make a max offer. “It is the day after the season,” Budenholzer said Monday. “All those things, you will have to call his agent. He is incredibly valuable to us.”

See more on Horford, who sits No. 4 in our latest 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings, amid other news from the Southeast Division:

Paul Millsap, who re-signed with the Hawks last summer, will take a hands-off approach rather than put on a hard press to recruit Horford back to the team, Vivlamore notes in the same piece. “If he wants my two cents, he’ll ask for it,” Millsap said. “I don’t like to butt into other people’s business but I think he knows from talking to me last year what the process is going to be like. I think Al knows that every player on this team appreciates everything that he did. Love him like a brother. We know how important he is to us but it’s up to him to make his decision.”
The Wizards said John Wall is expected to be ready for the start of next season after undergoing procedures on both knees last week, but it’s not entirely clear whether he’ll recover in time for training camp, which begins in late September, observes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
The Hornets should offer the max to Nicolas Batum and pursue rim protectors, including Charlotte-area native Hassan Whiteside, instead of a new deal with Al Jefferson in the offseason ahead, opines Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer, who lists seven items on his proposed to-do list for the team.

Southeast Notes: Horford, Teague, Walker

May 9th, 2016 at 9:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford isn’t leaving any doubt about his fondness for Atlanta and the Hawks, answering affirmatively Sunday when Zach Klein of WSB-TV asked whether he wants to be back with the team next season (Twitter link). The Jason Glushon client expressed his faith in Mike Budenholzer’s system, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com relays. “I believe it in my heart,” Horford said. “I believe that the way that we play makes us successful, and we have to figure out how we can take that next step as a group.” Those weren’t the only remarks Horford made in the wake of Sunday’s playoff ouster that sound encouraging to Atlanta’s hopes of re-signing him, but players on expiring contracts often speak well of their incumbent teams at season’s end, only to head elsewhere in July.

See more from Atlanta amid the latest from the Southeast Division:

Trade candidate Jeff Teague doesn’t think the Hawks will pull the trigger on a deal this summer, expressing confidence Sunday that he’ll be back next season even after the Hawks sat him the entire fourth quarter of Game 4 in favor of Dennis Schröder, notes Ray Glier of USA Today. “Yeah, I’ve been here my whole career, why wouldn’t I?” Teague said.
Hornets star point guard Kemba Walker underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the team announced on its website. Walker is expected to resume basketball activities in early July, according to the release. This was Walker’s second procedure on the knee in 16 months, but it was more elective than urgent, a source told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Walker has experienced soreness in the knee since his high school days, Bonnell adds.
The Wizards will attend the predraft camp in Chicago this week and have asked permission from the league to interview 30 prospects, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com reports. The team will be looking at mainly second-round prospects who could go undrafted with their primary focus being power forwards and centers, Michael adds. Washington must convey its first-round pick to the Suns unless it has lottery luck and has also traded away its second-rounder.
Budenholzer resists the notion that consecutive sweeps at the hands of Cleveland should prompt the Hawks to tear apart their roster, observes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Losing to Cleveland twice is tough,” Budenholzer said. “But to the fanbase, to people who think [about blowing it up], if we want to find a way to beat whether it be Cleveland or whoever the great teams in the league or our conference are, blowing it up is probably not the way to beat a team like Cleveland or whoever it may be that is very good.”

Southeast Notes: Horford, Hawks, Powell, Batum

May 8th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford will be among the most popular free agents this summer, but he didn’t sound ready to leave Atlanta after the Hawks were eliminated today, relays Chris Vivlamore of the Journal-Constitution. “My main priority tomorrow is to meet with the team and the coaches one last time [for the season] and go from there and figure out how we can be a better group,” Horford said. The Hawks are planning to offer Horford a maximum contract, and several other teams are expected to bid on him. The nine-year veteran made $12MM this season but could more than double that amount in free agency.

The Hawks are the only team Horford has played for, and he has developed a strong attachment to Atlanta. “I’ve set up here with my family,” he said. “We all live here. We live here in the summer. We live here year-round. I’m very grateful for all the people here. They have taken me in from the very first day, even though I was a [Florida] Gator. They loved me. I really love the city.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Hawks need “major change and major improvement,” starting with a go-to scorer who can carry the team late in games, writes Jeff Schultz of The Journal-Constitution. Schultz says Paul Millsap disappeared too often in the playoffs, and Horford isn’t strong enough in the paint or reliable enough outside to be a dependable scorer. The writer adds that Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder are too inconsistent, while Kyle Korver is headed toward reserve status and Kent Bazemore may be leaving as a free agent.
The Wizards would have drafted Dwight Powell in 2014 and may take another shot at the Dallas big man in free agency, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Washington was one pick away from landing Powell when he went at No. 45 to the Hornets. The Wizards sold their pick to the Lakers after he was taken. Powell, who earned $845K this season, will be a restricted free agent and could fill a backup role in Washington.
Small forward Nicolas Batum plans to make the Hornets his top priority when free agency arrives, as the The A ssociated Press relays. Batum, who has played one season in Charlotte after being traded from Portland, is encouraged by the team’s potential. “I want to talk to [the Hornets] first, for sure,” Batum said. “July 1st will be a crazy day, but will Charlotte be my first call? Yes.” Hornets starters Courtney Lee, Marvin Williams and Al Jefferson will also be unrestricted free agents, and reserve point guard Jeremy Lin is expected to opt out.