Allen Crabbe Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Extend QOs To Crabbe, Leonard, Harkless

June 29th, 2016 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have ensured that their three players eligible for restricted free agents will indeed becomes RFAs when July begins. According to Jason Quick of CSNNW.com, Portland has issued qualifying offers to Allen Crabbe, Meyers Leonard, and Maurice Harkless, giving the team the right of first refusal on all three players.

Of the trio, Crabbe appears poised to cash in with the biggest deal this summer, after a breakout 2015/16 season that saw him set new career highs in PPG (10.3), FG% (.459), and several other categories, while shooting 39.3% on 3.5 three-point attempts per game. Three-and-D wings like Crabbe – whose qualifying offer is worth $2.725MM – should do well on the open market this year, so it’s no surprise that he’s drawing interest from several teams already.

Ian Begley of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that the 76ers, Nets, and Kings are among the teams with interest in Crabbe. If he signs an offer sheet with one of those clubs, or another suitor, the Blazers will have the opportunity to match it and bring him back.

The same can be said about Leonard and Harkless, who each receive qualifying offers exceeding $4MM. They’ll have the option of simply signing the QO (which is essentially a one-year contract offer), working out a new contract with the Blazers, or signing an offer sheet elsewhere, which Portland could match.

Both players were solid rotation pieces for the Blazers in 2015/16, though Harkless continued to struggle to shoot from outside, while Leonard’s increased usage came with a career-worst .448 FG%. Of course, Leonard’s dip in field goal percentage was partly the result of an uptick in three-point attempts (3.7 per game), on which he shot 37.7%. His ability to make outside shots and grab boards should generate plenty of interest around the league.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Thunder, Crabbe, Jazz

June 3rd, 2016 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

A two-year contract with an opt-out after the first year has long been viewed as the most likely scenario for Kevin Durant and the Thunder this summer, simply because it would make the most financial sense for the OKC star. However, sources around the league tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that maximizing his future earnings may not be the No. 1 priority for Durant.

“He is not the kind of guy who wants to fiddle around in free agency and sort of play the system that way,” said one source who has worked with the Thunder forward. “That is not his personality. He likes stability and it is kind of a gamble to be taking a short contract and then trying to come back and do it all over again in a year. That’s the other thing. He is not someone who wants to go through this twice, I really don’t think. It’s no sure thing.”

As Deveney points out, we saw several players last year accept long-term contracts, despite the fact that they would’ve been in line for much larger paydays that they waited another year or two to sign those deals. It’s possible Durant will go the same route, which doesn’t mean he’ll leave the Thunder — it just means he could sign a longer-term deal than most of us expect.

As we wait on Durant’s decision, let’s round up a few more items from out of the Northwest…

Within his preview of the Thunder‘s offseason, Bobby Marks of The Vertical breaks down how much more money Durant could earn by staying with OKC and by waiting a year to sign a long-term deal. Marks also looks at a few other issues of interest for the Thunder, including Dion Waiters‘ pending free agency, and potential extensions for Steven Adams and Andre Roberson.
Looking ahead to his restricted free agency and his 2016/17 season, Allen Crabbe acknowledged that he should be in line for a significant raise, as Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com writes. However, the Trail Blazers wing won’t necessarily sign with the team making him the highest offer. “It doesn’t make sense to make a lot of money and go to a team that, if you don’t fit that system, then get paid a lot of money to be frustrated?” Crabbe said. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Forward Talib Zanna, who has spent the last two seasons with the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, is headed to Utah for a Jazz mini-camp, tweets international journalist David Pick. According to Pick, Zanna has received Summer League offers, but is mulling a move to Europe.
The Timberwolves could have drafted Stephen Curry, and later nearly traded for Klay Thompson, but even as they watch both those players in the NBA Finals, the Wolves and their fans should be optimistic about their future and the way things turned out, says Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune.

Blazers Notes: Silas, Crabbe, Draft

May 22nd, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Will Joseph

The Blazers were granted permission Sunday to talk to Hornets assistant coach Stephen Silas about being the top assistant to Portland coach Terry Stotts, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The Blazers have plenty of competition for Silas’ services. Silas will meet with Golden State coach Steve Kerr Monday in Oklahoma City to discuss the top assistant position with the Warriors. Silas also has a growing candidacy to become the Rockets next head coach.

Here’s more out of Portland:

Allen Crabbe has emerged as one of the most appealing restricted free agents in the league and is sure to receive contract offers exceeding $10MM per year, Haven Kaplan-Miner of RealGM writes. The combination of elite shooting and impressive on-ball defense makes Crabbe stand out, Kaplan-Miner adds. Crabbe’s midrange game, in particular, developed and that opened up the floor for his teammates this year and created the biggest problems for opposing defenses, Kaplan-Miner surmises.
The Blazers need to target a rim protector in the draft and preferably one who can add some scoring, NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper opines (transcribed by John Canzano of The Oregonian). “It’s not about how many points he’ll score for you, but how many points he’ll save for you,” Cooper said, referring to the Blazers’ need for a big man.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Maker, Workouts

May 19th, 2016 at 9:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Timing will be crucial for the Blazers this offseason, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. Meyers Leonard Allen Crabbe and Maurice Harkless are all restricted free agents and leading up to free agency, it will be critical for GM Neil Olshey to understand the market for the trio in order to project how Portland operates this summer, Marks argues. The Blazers have a chance to add other pieces using their cap space and then circle back and sign their restricted free agents. However, if another team swoops in and signs one of them, there’s a good chance they won’t be able to use the cap space they’ve created.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Wolves interviewed Thon Maker last week in Chicago, reports Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Jazz have worked out Anthony Beane, Ethan Telfair, Quincy Ford, Jarrod Uthoff, DyShawn Pierre and David Walker, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Nuggets will work out Anthony Barber, Isaiah Cousins, Nikola Jovanovic, Alec Peters, Josh Scott and Pascal Siakam on Friday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Nuggets also have workouts planned for Saturday. They will work out Ron Baker, Dillon Brooks, Robert Carter, Tyler Dorsey, Marcus Georges-Hunt and Shawn Long on Saturday, Kennedy tweets.

Northwest Notes: Allen, Crabbe, Dudley

May 12th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen regaled his team with an emotional speech regarding how proud it made him by overachieving this season, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com relays. “What he said came from the heart,’’ point guard Damian Lillard said. “You could hear it in his voice. He really meant what he was saying. He saw that we left it out there, and he saw how bad we wanted it. And he felt it, he felt what we did.’’ The players noted that the owner’s faith in them never wavered, even when the team struggled early in the campaign, Quick adds. “All owners aren’t connected to their teams like that,” swingman Gerald Henderson noted. “To a lot, their teams are just an investment. But he is committed and invested into the team, not just with his money. He is a clear basketball fanatic, a Blazers fanatic. I think he loves his players, and that’s pretty cool.’’

It remains to be seen just how impressed Allen was by Portland’s 2015/16 campaign, as the team is reportedly set to open extension talks with coach Terry Stotts this summer. Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Allen Crabbe is excited about his upcoming restricted free agency this summer but had all positives to say about the Trail Blazers, his incumbent team, in exit interviews today, notes Erik Gunderson of The Columbian (Twitter link). Henderson, who’s hitting unrestricted free agency, was a reserve this season for the Blazers but said he places less of a priority on starting than he used to, instead favoring a chance to win and play a role that fits, Gunderson tweets.
The Jazz want to arrange interviews and workouts with University of Utah center Jakob Poeltl and Weber State power forward Joel Bolomboy, as Walt Perrin, the team’s vice president of player personnel, told Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
In response to a fan’s question on Twitter, soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Jared Dudley noted that the Timberwolves‘ young roster reminded him of the Bucks’ and that he could envision himself playing in Minnesota next season if the team is interested in his services.
The Wolves interviewed former North Carolina power forward Brice Johnson today, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relays (via Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Nelson, Mitchell, Davis, Crabbe

December 9th, 2015 at 10:01am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets see Jameer Nelson as more than just someone who can shepherd rookie Emmanuel Mudiay, coach Michael Malone insisted Tuesday to reporters, including Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Denver re-signed Nelson to a three-year deal worth more than $13.6MM in the offseason.

“We believe in Jameer regardless of Emmanuel,” Malone said. “I think everybody thinks that [Jameer is around] just because we have a young point guard. We believe in Jameer because he’s a vet with tremendous experience, a very good leader on the court [and] in the locker room. And now you couple that with a young point guard like Emmanuel Mudiay, so Jameer can not only mentor him but push him. It’s always a competition.”

See more on Nelson amid our check around the Northwest Division:

Nelson had long envisioned finishing his career with the Magic, but he sensed that he and the team were heading in different directions before he left as a free agent last year, as Robbins details in the same piece. Still, the Nuggets veteran has a fondness for his old home. “I’m here in Denver, but I always talk to my wife about moving back to Orlando just because that’s where we basically spent the majority of my adult life so far,” Nelson said, according to Robbins. “Of my 33 years, 10 of it was in Orlando and that’s when I was a real adult.”
Timberwolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell isn’t assured of remaining in his position beyond the season, but Kevin Garnett is a fan of the job his coach and former teammate is doing, as Garnett expressed to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “Fiery, competitive, wants to win, hates to lose,’’ Garnett said of Mitchell. “He coaches really hard, and he wants it, for everybody. He roots for guys. At the same time he wishes he could put a jersey on and [play]. But his spirit is there. You know, you want a coach who has your back, and everybody feels like that. They feel the coach goes out and fights for you, puts you in positions to be successful, too. ‘’
Damian Lillard calls Trail Blazers offseason signee Ed Davis “the ultimate teammate,” and coach Terry Stotts finds a lot to like about Allen Crabbe, two role players who are making a convincing case to be part of the team’s long-term plan, argues Jason Quick of CSNNW.com. Davis is already in place contractually, with a three-year, $20MM deal, but Crabbe is set for restricted free agency at season’s end.

Western Notes: Jazz, Nash, Mavs, Crabbe

September 15th, 2015 at 1:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz are content to play through the preseason, at least, with the point guards they have now, rather than trading for a Dante Exum replacement, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah won’t turn down an overwhelming offer, but the team isn’t pushing for a deal as Exum recovers from surgery two weeks ago on the torn ACL in his left knee, as Jones details. The team was reportedly interested in dealing for Garrett Temple and pursued Jason Terry before he re-signed with the Rockets, but Jones and Tribune colleague Aaron Falk wrote shortly after Exum’s injury last month that the Jazz would probably replace him in-house with Trey Burke, Raul Neto and Bryce Cotton. See more from the Western Conference here:

Steve Nash is finalizing a deal with the Warriors to become a part-time player development consultant for the team, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The two-time MVP, now 41 years old, announced his retirement this spring. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was Suns GM during Nash’s time in Phoenix.
Point guard isn’t an issue for the Mavericks, who again feature four players at that position, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com notes. The team replaced Rajon Rondo with Deron Williams, re-signed J.J. Barea and, though the Mavs reportedly planned to shop Raymond Felton, he remains in Dallas.
Allen Crabbe‘s 35.3% three-point shooting last season was respectable but far from elite, and this year is the last on his contract, so the former 31st overall pick spent much of the summer working on his shot with Blazers assistant coach Nate Tibbetts, as Joe Freeman of The Oregonian details. Portland kept Crabbe past the point this summer when his minimum salary for the season ahead became guaranteed.

Blazers To Guarantee Allen Crabbe’s Salary

July 31st, 2015 at 11:19am CST by Chuck Myron

The Trail Blazers have let Allen Crabbe know they won’t be waiving him today, the last day the team can let him go before a full guarantee kicks in on his two-year veteran’s minimum salary of $947,276, sources tell Jabari Young of CSNNW.com. Crabbe is on the mend from a severe left ankle sprain he suffered during summer league, but the team expects he’ll be ready for training camp, Young writes. The season is the last on his deal, and he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

The decision isn’t altogether surprising, since the 23-year-old is just two years removed from having been the first pick of the second round of the draft, and Portland is retooling this summer following the exodus of four-fifths of its starting lineup. Crabbe saw an increased role last season after sparse playing time in his rookie year, even starting one game in the playoffs in place of the injured Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo. The proficient outside shooter from the University of California averaged 15.5 points in 23.8 minutes per game during four summer league appearances.

The guarantee will have little impact on Portland’s financial flexibility. The team is still some $20MM beneath the cap. It will be the 14th fully guaranteed contract on the books for the Blazers, though they appear likely to let go of Mike Miller.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Mudiay, Blazers

July 25th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz have a logjam at point guard behind Dante Exum that they must sort out prior to next season’s opener, Randy Hollis of the Deseret News reports. The trio of Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton and Raul Neto could be fighting it out for two roster spots during training camp, though GM Dennis Lindsey indicated that it’s possible the team could carry four point guards into next season, Hollis continues. Cotton’s quickness and entertaining style make him a candidate to be the second-stringer and displace Burke, a lottery pick whose shooting issues have pushed him to the bench, Hollis adds. The logjam could be broken by trading Burke, who is rumored to be on the block and doesn’t seem to fit coach Quin Snyder’s system, Hollis concludes.

In other news around the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets’ lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay will be the starter at point guard, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post opines. While Denver has a safety net in veteran Jameer Nelson, it’s clear that the Nuggets are committed to making Mudiay their floor leader in his rookie season, Dempsey adds. The only concerns are monitoring his workload and allowing him to work through his mistakes, something Nuggets GM Tim Connelly addressed with Dempsey. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Connelly said. “He’s a 19-year-old kid. We saw some good in summer league and we also saw some bad. I thought that he struggled shooting the ball. We’ve got to improve his free throw line percentage. But I think you see things like positional size, natural playmaking ability, and kind of the will and the approach to be great that excites us.”
Blazers coach Terry Stotts spent a sizable portion of the summer league evaluating five players under contract with the team — Allen Crabbe, Noah Vonleh, Luis Montero, Pat Connaughton and Tim Frazier — and was particularly pleased with Crabbe and Vonleh, Mike Richman of The Oregonian writes. The Blazers added nine new players and are entering a transition season after LaMarcus Aldridge‘s departure. Portland does have some young and athletic talent, however, which has Stotts optimistic, Richman adds.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Hayward, Nuggets, Blazers

March 30th, 2014 at 8:06pm CST by Cray Allred

Meyers Leonard hasn’t seen much playing time in his second year with the Trail Blazers, and tells Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com that he believes focusing on his defensive play over the summer will help him earn his way back into the rotation. “This year has been hard for me. I have to learn to play defense. I’ve rebounded the ball a lot better. But my defense has to continue to improve.” says Leonard. Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Allen Crabbe has been recalled by the Trail Blazers after his latest D-League assignment, the team announced.
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin would like to have Marvin Williams back next year, as Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders notes. “I think it would be great [to bring Williams back]. Who knows what will happen, but he’s a great guy to have on the squad,” Corbin said. Williams will be an unrestricted free agent, and the Jazz reportedly turned away an offer of a first round draft pick for the forward near the trade deadline.
Jazz forward Gordon Hayward tells Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune that his summer as a restricted free agent is in the back of his mind. Hayward believes he has what it takes to be paid and perform like the team’s primary option. “You definitely have to have a swag,” Hayward said. “You have to play with confidence. You have to know that you’re one of the best guys on the court and play like it too. … It’s something that I embrace. It’s a challenge, but it’s something that I’m excited about.” Hayward and Utah were unable to agree upon an extension before this season, setting up this summer’s uncertainty.
Nuggets GM Tim Connelly hasn’t ruled out re-signing either Aaron Brooks or Jan Vesely next year, he tells Terry Frei of The Denver Post. “Aaron’s been fantastic,” Connelly said. “We were really fortunate that he showed some faith in us by waiving that no-trade clause. I think with Jan, that last game (against Washington on Sunday) was the best game he has played for us. Unfortunately, he went down with an injury. Both those guys were brought here to help us get through the season, but also to evaluate them for next season as well.” Denver acquired both at the trade deadline.