Alec Burks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Alec Burks To Undergo Surgery

December 29th, 2015 at 11:45am CST by Will Joseph

TUESDAY, 11:45am: Burks has elected for surgery on his fractured left fibula, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The hope is that this procedure will expedite Burks’ return to the court, and the Jazz are hopeful that the guard will be able to rejoin the team after the NBA All-Star break in mid-February, the Yahoo scribe adds.

4:13pm: Burks is in line to miss about eight weeks, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 2:06pm: Jazz shooting guard Alec Burks will be out at least six weeks after suffering an ankle fracture, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). The Jazz, in a statement on its website, said Burks suffered a fractured left fibula. The team adds he is out indefinitely and no surgery is required.

It’s a significant loss for the Jazz because Burks, who is in his fifth year, is enjoying his best season. He is averaging a career-high 14.3 points on a career-best 38.7% 3-point shooting. At 12-16, the Jazz have been hit hard by injuries. Both Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert remain out indefinitely.

The Jazz signed Burks to a four-year extension worth $42MM plus incentives in October 2014. Two months after that, a left shoulder injury forced him out for the remainder of the 2014/15 season. After learning the news of Burks needing to miss time, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweeted that the Jazz must make a move in order to stay relevant in the playoff picture. Rodney Hood and Joe Ingles are expected to have increased roles in Burks’ absence, Wojnarowski writes in a full story.

Jazz GM On Burks, Extension, Roster

December 31st, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz delivered some tough news Tuesday, announcing that Alec Burks will have left shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season. That the team just two months ago signed Burks to a four-year extension worth $42MM plus incentives makes his absence even tougher to swallow. GM Dennis Lindsey spoke with reporters, including Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune, shortly after making the announcement, and Lindsey let the media in on his thoughts about the extension as well as what comes next for the team. The entire question-and-answer session that Falk shares is worth a look, but we’ll pass along Lindsey’s three most noteworthy comments here:

On whether the team knew about Burks’ shoulder issues when he signed his extension:

“Yeah. We knew because we knew about it during the draft. This is an [injury] that predated Alec and the Utah Jazz. … Really, I think as much as anything, the reason why he was so durable is a credit to Alec, [trainer Gary Briggs and strength coach Mark McKown] and all the pre-hab.”

On whether he’s disappointed that he signed Burks to the extension:

“I don’t think so. Every contract signing and certainly extension signing, our medical staff does a [thorough] review — X-rays, MRIs, physical examinations — and Alec, at that point in time, passed. So no disappointment because we don’t think this is going to impact his long-term playing career, either from a length standpoint or a quality standpoint. So we’re very comfortable with the decision that we made and the knowledge we had at that particular time.”

On whether the absence of Burks will prompt a roster move:

“So we have 15 [players] now. Some are partially guaranteed, some are non-guaranteed, so we do have some flexibility. We’re comfortable with where we’re at. Again, someone’s misfortune is another’s opportunity. Certainly Rodney [Hood] will get a lot of those minutes. We wanted to see Rodney as a two-guard so here’s a little bit of his opportunity. Last night, Dante [Exum] played a lot with Trey [Burke] and Dante’s certainly big enough to [handle] the position as well. And then there are some guys who haven’t received as much opportunity, Ian Clark, Toure’ Murry, Patrick Christopher, that we’ll be able to kick the tires [on] a little bit and take a look at. And as you can imagine, we’ll be evaluating what’s available to us. But frankly, [coach] Quin [Snyder]’s very comfortable with where we’re at and we’ll see how the young guys do.”

Alec Burks Will Miss Rest Of Season

December 30th, 2014 at 5:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:36pm: Burks will miss the remainder of the season, the Jazz have announced. “Alec’s long-term health has been our top priority throughout this process, and although it is unfortunate that we will be without his services on the court the rest of this season, we commend Alec’s commitment and continued effort to play through considerable pain to this point,” said Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey. “After continued consultation with our medical staff, Alec and his representation, we have unanimously agreed that it would be most prudent for Alec to have this procedure performed now in order to ensure that he will be healthy and ready for the start of next season.”

3:36pm: The Jazz are concerned that continued shoulder problems for Alec Burks will knock him out for the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Burks has missed the team’s last two games with a strained left shoulder. He also missed a pair of games earlier this month with trouble in the same shoulder, and there were conflicting reports about whether he would need surgery. The 23-year-old shooting guard signed a four-year, $42MM extension, with incentives that could push the value to $45MM, in October. He’s making a little more than $3.034MM in the final year of his rookie scale contract this season, but the Jazz couldn’t apply for a Disabled Player Exception, which would be worth $1,517,178, since they’re under the cap.

The original injury didn’t appear to have a profound effect on his performance, as his scoring and three-point shooting percentage have both gone up since he missed those two early-December games. His numbers overall this season, his first as a full-time starter, have been similar to the ones he posted last year when he saw 5.2 fewer minutes per game. Burks is shooting a career-worst 40.3%, though that percentage has remained steady since his brief absence earlier this month.

The Jazz are 10-21 and without legitimate playoff hopes in the Western Conference, so the loss of Burks wouldn’t derail any grand plans for this season. Still, the team surely hoped he could develop further under new coach Quin Snyder to help the extension look less like the player-friendly arrangement that it appeared to be when Burks put pen to paper. The Jazz only have 12 players with fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster counts show, so they have flexibility to find a replacement for Burks if they wish. However, all of their contracts would become guaranteed if they’re still on the books come January 10th, the leaguewide guarantee date.

Northwest Notes: Burks, Aldridge, Shaw

December 6th, 2014 at 4:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz guard Alec Burks met with specialists on Friday to have his injured left shoulder examined and the results were positive, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski’s sources, Burks won’t require surgery and will undergo rehab that could allow him to return in as little as two weeks. Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link) has heard differently, and his sources inform him that Burks will definitely require surgery, either now or at the end of the season.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

LaMarcus Aldridge is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and has said that his comfort level with the Blazers organization, the city, and the media, will play a big factor in making his ultimate decision, Jason Quick of The Oregonian writes. “The relationship I’ve built here is invaluable,” Aldridge said. “I definitely value it a lot because it took work on both ends. I’m definitely comfortable here, but this is all I know. I can’t say I would be uncomfortable in those other environments you talk about, but I can say I’m comfortable here, because I’ve been here so long and I understand this market, this city, this organization. So there’s that extra level of comfort here.”
Aldridge’s teammates say that his legacy might be a factor in making his free agent decision as well, Quick adds. “We haven’t talked about this stuff, but I’m just speaking if I were him,” Wesley Matthews said. “If I were him, seeing my name creeping up on the ranks in the all-time lists … that changes stuff. That’s big time. That’s legacy. I don’t know. I can’t speak for him. But that might be a factor, a role.”
Brian Shaw‘s 100th game as Nuggets head coach was Tuesday night, and the former player reflected on how the league has changed since he last put on a uniform, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “Understanding that it’s a different day and age that we live in,” Shaw said. “Some of the things that we have to deal with that weren’t around. For instance, when I played, cell phones, social media, things of that nature that are just different.I tell the guys that when I first got in the league in 1988, we didn’t have cell phones; I don’t even know if we had computers. “

Northwest Notes: Thunder, Jackson, Jazz, Ingles

November 4th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The league has proposed setting the 2016/17 salary cap between $78MM and $82MM in discussions with the union about phasing in the increases that the league’s new TV revenue will bring about, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. Those figures would still be quite a leap from next season’s projected $66.5MM cap, and they’d set up lots of teams with flexibility for the summer of 2016, when Kevin Durant is poised to hit free agency. Some teams are optimistic that Durant will consider a wide array of suitors, while others have heard that he’s already down to the Thunder and the Wizards, according to Lowe. In any case, there’s much on the line on Oklahoma City in the next 19 months or so left before Durant’s contract expires, as Lowe examines. Here’s more on the Thunder and their Northwest Division rivals:

The Thunder are confident that they’ll be able to match other clubs’ offer sheets for restricted free agent-to-be Reggie Jackson next summer, sources tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Given the roughly $63.57MM of guaranteed salary the Thunder already have on their books for the 2015/16 season, retaining Jackson might require exceeding the luxury tax threshold, something they’ve been reluctant to do in the past.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey isn’t planning simply to let his team’s young core grow on its own, and he says he’ll use it as a draw to attract free agents, as he tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, promising to be “very aggressive” in free agency next year. Still, Alec Burks tells Genessy that the team’s commitment to youth is one reason why he was eager to sign his extension with Utah.
The Clippers weren’t pleased when the Jazz claimed Joe Ingles off waivers, as coach/executive Doc Rivers admits his club had designs on re-signing the 27-year-old rookie, Genessy tweets.
Thaddeus Young, who can become a free agent in the summer, sees a bright future ahead for the Timberwolves, as he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Warriors, Thompson, Rubio

November 2nd, 2014 at 11:28am CST by ChrisCrouse

Golden State knows what Klay Thompson means to their team and didn’t want to risk ruining their relationship with the shooting guard by waiting until the offseason to make a reasonable offer, writes Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press. Gonzalez notes that before the $70MM extension was agreed to, players on the Warriors would look at GM Bob Myers, rub their fingers together and say; “Pay the man,” in reference to Thompson. “I’ve never see a team rally around a player so much to get him paid,” Myers said. “It says a lot about Klay and what he means to this franchise.” With the league’s television contract set to expire and the new deal expected to increase the salary cap, the Warriors are expecting Thompson’s performance to exceed the value of this deal.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Even though negotiations went to the deadline, Myers said giving Thompson a contract extension was an easy decision, according to Diamond Leung of The San Jose Mercury-News. Thompson received a four-year max deal that makes him the first Golden State player signed through the 2018/19 season. “This contract is well deserved, and I think that’s the best compliment I can give Klay,” Myers said, giving a nod to Thompson’s work ethic. “He earned it.”
Wolves owner Glen Taylor’s relationships with Ricky Rubio made the decision to open up his checkbook easier, writes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “[Taylor’s] a great guy who really stepped up in this situation,” Rubio said. “Me and him talking, just man to man, clears things up.” When Rubio’s extension kicks in, he will be the team’s highest paid player, earning about $14MM per year.
Alec Burks had no intention of leaving Utah and is excited to be part of the Jazz’s bright future, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. “I had him tell the Jazz I wanted to be here. I want to be a part of the future,” Burks said of his discussions with agent Andy Miller. “I see something bright in the future.” Utah and Burks signed an extension worth $42MM over four years, with “reachable” incentives that could bring the value of the deal to $45MM.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post

Western Notes: Bryant, Barea, Burks

November 1st, 2014 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kobe Bryant isn’t known for his patience, but that’s what he has been preaching through the Lakers‘ disastrous start, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I’ve been trained really well by the Yodas of the world,” he said. “The thing they’ve always talked about, just looking at the game, looking at the things you can correct.” The Lakers opened the season with embarrassing losses to the Rockets and Suns before keeping it closer in Friday’s defeat against the Clippers. Even worse, rookie Julius Randle suffered a broken leg that will likely keep him sidelined for the season, joining an injury list that includes Steve Nash and Nick Young. Randle’s injury could allow the Lakers to file for a disabled-player exception with the NBA that would give them another $1.499MM to spend, but that’s far from enough to vault the Lakers back to their usual position near the top of the Western Conference. Here’s more from around the West:

After returning to Dallas this week, J.J. Barea tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he wishes he had never left. Barea signed a $1.3 million veteran’s minimum deal with the Mavericks on Monday after negotiating a buyout of the final season on his contract with the Timberwolves. “I’m excited to be back,” said Barea, who was part of the Mavericks’ championship team in 2011. “The best five years of my life were here. Hopefully we can get this going again.” MacMahon reports that Barea had no discussions about his role with the team before signing with Dallas.
Mavericks management is equally happy about the reunion with Barea, according to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. “It’s pretty exciting stuff,’’ Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. “It’s a homecoming and we’re just really, really excited about having him back. Clearly, he’s a big chemistry guy and he’s a winner in every sense of the word.’’ Barea will battle for playing time with Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris and Raymond Felton, who is recovering from a high right ankle sprain.
In Utah, Alec Burks is looking forward to building a contender with the Jazz, he tells John Coon of the Associated Press. Burks signed a contract extension Friday that will give him $42MM over four years, with incentives that could stretch the value as high as $45MM. Utah GM Dennis Lindsey is ecstatic to have his young trio of Burks, Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward all signed to long-term deals. “We’ve got the future flexibility next year to be very aggressive in the free agent market,” Lindsey said. “Certainly, with expectations of a new cap in lieu of a TV deal, we’ll have great flexibility. When you have a core in place, it’s much easier to attract a significant talent.”

Jazz Sign Alec Burks To Extension

October 31st, 2014 at 3:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:22pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

“We have great regard for Alec’s work ethic and dynamic athletic ability as well as his growth potential,” Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said. “Alec is a young player with a unique skillset and true passion for basketball who consistently finds the gym and has displayed the characteristics and desire to continue to improve his game. He is a high-character individual who, throughout his time with the Jazz, has expressed his love for Salt Lake City and Jazz fans, so we are thrilled to know that he will be a core piece of our future as we continue to grow.”

12:42pm: There is no team or player option in the deal, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter links). Genessy indicates the extension has been finalized, though the Jazz have yet to make any formal announcement.

10:50am: Alec Burks and the Jazz have agreed to a four-year, $42MM extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The arrangement includes “reachable” incentives that could push the value to $45MM, Wojnarowski writes, but it’s unclear if those incentives will be deemed likely ones that will count in initial cap calculations. Enes Kanter‘s agent said earlier this week that he, his client and the Jazz had made a mutual decision to call off talks on an extension for the Swiss-born center, but Utah had continued talks with Burks and agent Andy Miller in advance of tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline. The deal for Burks must become official before that time.

GM Dennis Lindsey indicated a desire about a month ago to keep both Burks and Kanter long-term, whether via extension or in restricted free agency next summer. Today’s deal assures the team of keeping at least one of its 2011 lottery picks. Burks, the 12th overall selection that year, becomes the team’s second swingman on a lucrative long-term deal, joining Gordon Hayward, who signed a four-year max offer sheet with the Hornets this past summer that the Jazz matched.

Burks saw an increased role for the Jazz last year, averaging 28.1 minutes per game, but he still made only 12 starts. He was nonetheless more efficient in his playing time than he had been in the past and continued playing effective defense, as I outlined when I examined the 23-year-old’s extension candidacy. Still, I figured the Jazz would only hand out an extension that wasn’t worth much more than the four-year, $14MM deal that the Grizzlies gave Quincy Pondexter last fall, given Utah’s depth at the wing and guard positions.

It’s unclear whether the salaries for Burks will be evenly distributed across the four years, but adding the deal’s average annual value of $10.5MM gives the team roughly $51MM in commitments for 2015/16, the first season the extension will take effect. That doesn’t account for any new deal with Kanter or most of Trevor Booker‘s $4.775MM salary, which is partially guaranteed for only $250K.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jazz, Enes Kanter Break Off Extension Talks

October 29th, 2014 at 12:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:49pm: Ergul cited Kanter’s potential for growth this season with new Jazz coach Quin Snyder as well as the influx of TV money into the league as reasons why he and his client walked away from negotiations, as Ergul told Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). Ergul praised Lindsey and Snyder and pointed to Kanter’s satisfaction with the franchise’s direction, Falk notes, which suggests strong interest in a deal next summer.

12:11pm: The Jazz and Enes Kanter have decided against signing an extension by Friday’s deadline, agent Max Ergul tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That sets the forward/center up to become a restricted free agent next summer. The Jazz continue talks with fellow extension-eligible Alec Burks, according to Wojnarowski.

“We have mutually agreed with Utah to concentrate on the season and look at our options again in the summer,” Ergul told Wojnarowski. “Enes likes Utah and the organization very much, and now he can concentrate on continuing to grow as a player and helping them win.”

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey acknowledged extension talks with both Kanter and Burks a month ago and spoke of his desire for a long-term commitment to the two of them, suggesting that he’d continue to pursue that even if they weren’t able to close on extensions. Still, neither has the sort of star potential that’s usually associated with players who sign rookie scale extensions, as I noted when I examined the extension candidacies of both Kanter and Burks.

Fellow big men Derrick Favors, who signed a four-year, $48MM extension a year ago, and Rudy Gobert, who’s entering the second season of his rookie scale contract, complicate the notion of Kanter’s future in Utah, since there’s only so much playing time to go around. The Jazz have about $40.3MM on the books for 2015/16, and while deals for both Kanter and Burks would probably leave the team with significant leftover cap room, Utah has several other former first-round picks who’ll become extension-eligible in the years ahead, which threatens to put a squeeze on the club’s flexibility.

Extension Rumors: Leonard, Thompson, Cole

October 17th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for teams to sign rookie scale extensions with their eligible players is two weeks from today, and while only six players came to deals last time around, that number has the potential to be much larger this year, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein has more on many of those extension hopefuls that adds to the storylines we’ve been following throughout the offseason:

Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, and Norris Cole are among the players who are in active negotiations with their respective teams about rookie scale extensions, Stein reports. Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson, Brandon Knight, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks are also in active extension talks, according to Stein, who advances earlier reports that all of them had engaged in talks.
Iman Shumpert and the Knicks are also discussing an extension, Stein writes, countering a report from a few weeks ago that indicated that the sides hadn’t engaged in talks and that New York was content to let the swingman hit restricted free agency next summer.
Klay Thompson’s camp is considering the idea of going after an offer sheet similar to the one the Mavs gave Chandler Parsons if Thompson and the Warriors don’t come to an extension this month, Stein hears. Parsons’ near-max deal runs three years and includes a player option and a 15% trade kicker. Rival GMs have expressed admiration for its structure and Rockets GM Daryl Morey pointed to the difficulty that trading such a contract would entail shortly after he decided against matching it. The player option would allow Thompson to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2017, which is when Stephen Curry‘s deal is set to end, as Stein points out.
The Lakers have attempted to trade for Thompson in the past, Stein notes, though he doesn’t make any suggestion that they’re planning an aggressive push for the shooting guard if he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.