Amir Coffey Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Trail Blazers Trade Powell, Covington To Clippers

February 4th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

5:37pm: The trade is now official, Portland announced in a press release.

1:29pm: The Trail Blazers and Clippers have agreed to a trade that will send swingman Norman Powell and forward Robert Covington to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and Detroit’s 2025 second-round pick, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

It’s a fascinating move for a Clippers team that is currently missing Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and Paul George (elbow). As we relayed this morning, there’s a belief that Leonard probably won’t return this season, while George’s recovery timeline remains up in the air.

However, there’s little reason for the Clippers to throw in the towel on this season. Despite its modest 27-27 record, the club is firmly in the play-in picture, holding the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Additionally, Los Angeles doesn’t control its own 2022 first-round pick, having sent it to Oklahoma City in the George trade, so there’s no incentive to finish in the lottery.

Powell is a talented scorer and shooter who is averaging a career-high 18.7 PPG in 40 games (33.3 MPG) this season, along with a .406 3PT%. His three-point rate has been at 39.9% or higher in each of the last four seasons. Covington, meanwhile, is more limited on offense and has been inconsistent as a shooter this season (.381 FG%, .343 3PT%), but is a versatile defender with plenty of postseason experience.

Powell, a Southern California native who will reunite with former Toronto teammates Leonard and Serge Ibaka, signed a five-year, $90MM contract with Portland in August, so the Clippers will control him for the long term. Covington will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but L.A. will have his Bird rights, allowing the team to go over the cap to re-sign him.

The Clips already project to be way over the luxury tax line next season, so the club may be reluctant to commit to Covington beyond 2021/22 without moving off another contract, such as Marcus Morris‘. That decision won’t have to be made for at least a few months though. In the meantime, this deal will increase L.A.’s projected tax bill this season by about $19MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The move will also open up a spot on the Clippers’ 15-man roster, potentially allowing them to promote Amir Coffey from his two-way contract. That had been a goal for the team as it approached the deadline, tweets Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

It looks at first glance like a modest return for the Blazers, but they’ll get a chance to take a flier on a young prospect in Johnson and will benefit financially from the move. According to Marks, the deal takes Portland out of tax territory for this season.

Moving off Powell’s long-term money and taking back Bledsoe’s pseudo-expiring contract (only $3.9MM of his $19.4MM salary next season is guaranteed) will give the Blazers more financial flexibility going forward and will create more room in the backcourt for emerging guard Anfernee Simons, who is in the midst of a breakout year and will be a restricted free agent in the offseason.

I wouldn’t expect Bledsoe to be part of the Blazers’ long-term plans, but Winslow could stick around beyond this season. He’s under contract for about $4.1MM in 2022/23. Johnson’s rookie contract runs through 2024/25.

Having parted ways with one of their leading scorers and one of their top defensive players, the Blazers will see their playoff odds for this season dip a little. The team currently holds a play-in spot, but only has a 1.5-game cushion on the 11th-place Pelicans and has an underwhelming record of 21-31.

Portland would send its 2022 first-rounder to Chicago if the pick lands outside of the lottery. Taking a longer-term view, the front office – led by interim general manager Joe Cronin – may actually prefer to miss the playoffs, since it would allow the team to keep that first-rounder and would give Damian Lillard more time to recover from his abdominal surgery — it’s a safe bet Lillard won’t rush back from that injury to join a lottery-bound squad for the home stretch.

It’s unclear what this deal will mean for CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, two of Portland’s other top trade candidates. The club still has six more days to continue making trades, but it wouldn’t be shocking if one or both of those longtime Blazers stays put through the February 10 deadline. McCollum is under contract for two more seasons beyond this one, while Nurkic will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Portland will create a $6.5MM trade exception in the deal, tweets Marks.

Pacific Notes: Fox, Moody, Warriors, Coffey

February 2nd, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said his injured left ankle is improving and he hopes to play tonight against the Nets, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Fox, who is listed as questionable after missing the last five games, said an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage, but he still experiences pain on cuts and lateral movements.

“It’s getting better,” Fox told reporters after this morning’s shootaround. “I want to come back as close to 100% as I can.”

Sacramento dropped all five games that Fox missed, part of an overall seven-game losing streak that has the team three games out of the play-in tournament. The Kings are just 1-8 this season without Fox in their lineup.

Fox said the injury occurred in a January 19 game against Detroit. He was able to finish that game, but was held out three days later against the Bucks due to problems with the ankle.

“I’ve twisted my ankle a lot of times,” he said. “That’s the reason I wear ankle braces, and usually I’m fine and it will hurt for a little bit, but in Milwaukee it just felt different. Tried to do a move and it hurt, so I was out and it’s kind of been lingering … so for me it’s just trying to be able to come to a stop without feeling pain.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors rookie Moses Moody has been putting up big numbers in the G League all season while waiting for his chance to show he can score at the NBA level. With Golden State’s starting backcourt sitting out Tuesday’s game in San Antonio, Moody hit six three-pointers on his way to a 20-point night, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Yeah, it’s an opportunity,” Moody said. “I’ve been waiting patiently on it, I knew it would come. Now that it’s my time to shine, I’ve been preparing. When preparation meets opportunity, that’s when things happen.”
The Warriors were missing seven rotation players on Tuesday, providing a glimpse at how they believe they can be successful in the future while contending for a title now, notes Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. “We want this franchise to be special for a long time,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I want this team to succeed for long after I’m gone from coaching. … Tonight was a great high for us.”
Amir Coffey, in his third season as a two-way player, was an unlikely candidate to save the Clippers‘ season, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. But since he joined the starting lineup following an injury to Paul George, Coffey is playing a team-high 31.4 minutes per night and averaging 14.7 PPG.

Clippers Re-Sign Amir Coffey To Two-Way Contract

September 27th, 2021 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 27: Coffey’s deal is now official, the Clippers confirmed in a press release announcing their 20-man training camp roster.

SEPTEMBER 24: The Clippers are re-signing free agent wing Amir Coffey to another two-way contract, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters today (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times).

Coffey, who was the last remaining restricted free agent on the market, received a qualifying offer from the Clips back in July to make him a restricted free agent, so his options were limited. He’ll likely get a little guaranteed money on his new two-way deal, and Frank suggested he’ll also get a chance to compete for the 15th spot on Los Angeles’ regular season roster.

Coffey, 24, has spent the last two seasons on a two-way contract with the Clippers, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .433/.387/.673 shooting in 62 total games (8.9 MPG). He appeared in 44 regular season games and another 10 playoff contests in 2020/21.

The Clippers will now have a full 20-man roster for training camp, with 14 players on guaranteed contracts, four on non-guaranteed deals, and Coffey and Jay Scrubb on two-way contracts.

Given how far the team is over the tax line, I wouldn’t be surprised if L.A. only carries 14 players on its standard roster to start the season. Even if the club opts for a 15th man, Coffey may be hard-pressed to beat out camp invitees like Harry Giles and Isaiah Hartenstein, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he simply remains in the two-way slot to start the year.

Checking In On Remaining Restricted Free Agents

August 31st, 2021 at 1:36pm CST by Luke Adams

When Lauri Markkanen finally came off the board over the weekend, it left just two standard restricted free agents who are still unsigned, as our FA list shows. Both of those players are Timberwolves free agents: Jordan McLaughlin and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Restricted free agents never have a ton of leverage, especially this deep into the offseason. Some players who remain on the market for weeks, like Markkanen, can still land player-friendly deals, but if McLaughlin or Vanderbilt have been drawing interest around the NBA as coveted sign-and-trade candidates or potential offer sheet recipients, we probably would’ve heard about it by now.

McLaughlin looked like he might be in position to secure a favorable commitment from the Timberwolves after the team traded Ricky Rubio to Cleveland, but Minnesota’s recent move to acquire Patrick Beverley adds depth to the point guard spot and clouds McLaughlin’s future.

A year ago, McLaughlin ultimately decided to accept his qualifying offer and play on a two-way contract for a second consecutive season. This time around, his QO is the equivalent of a one-year, minimum-salary deal, but only a very small portion of that offer (about $84K) has to be guaranteed, so accepting it isn’t a great option.

The Wolves are likely willing to offer a more significant guarantee in 2021/22, but probably want to tack on at least one or two non-guaranteed, minimum-salary years to any deal for McLaughlin. With two-way player McKinley Wright in the picture as a potential third point guard, Minnesota has the roster flexibility to play hardball in its negotiations with McLaughlin.

Vanderbilt may be in a slightly better negotiating position, since he’s likely a higher priority for the Wolves. He started 30 games last season, earning a regular rotation role and showing the ability to handle minutes at power forward, the team’s most glaring weak spot.

Minnesota has a few options at the four, but Taurean Prince and Jake Layman won’t move the needle much, and Jaden McDaniels remains pretty raw. Vanderbilt would be a useful depth piece at the right price, which – in the Wolves’ view – is probably something not far above the veteran’s minimum.

As we wait to see what happens with McLaughlin and Vanderbilt, it’s also worth noting that there are technically four other restricted free agents still on the market. The following four players were made RFAs after finishing the season on two-way contracts:

Keita Bates-Diop (Spurs)
Amir Coffey (Clippers)
Anthony Lamb (Rockets)
Brodric Thomas (Cavaliers)

For these four players, accepting a qualifying offer would mean getting another two-way contract with a $50K partial guarantee.

Signing that qualifying offer would provide no security, even though the Spurs, Clippers, Rockets, and Cavaliers do all have two-way slots open right now. Given the modest guarantee, a team likely wouldn’t hesitate to replace one of its two-way players in October with a camp invitee who has an impressive preseason. And as McLaughlin’s situation shows, even playing out a second year on a two-way QO wouldn’t necessarily give a player additional leverage in his next foray into restricted free agency.

QO Roundup: Perry, Stanley, Brantley, Forrest, Coffey

August 1st, 2021 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets will extend a qualifying offer to power forward Reggie Perry, tweets Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. The 57th pick in the 2020 draft, Perry was acquired in a trade with the Clippers and earned a two-way contract as a rookie. He appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per night.

Because Perry was a two-way player with just one season in Brooklyn, his qualifying offer is limited to one year with a $50K guarantee. The QO means he will be restricted, giving the Nets the right to match any offer when free agency starts Monday.

There are a few more qualifying offers to round up:

Cassius Stanley received a QO from the Pacers, according to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The shooting guard was also a rookie two-way player, so his offer is subject to the same terms as Perry’s. Stanely got into 24 games, averaging 1.5 PPG.
The Jazz extended qualifying offers to Jarrell Brantley and Trent Forrest, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Brantley, a power forward, averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in 28 games in his second NBA season, while Forrest, a rookie point guard, appeared in 30 games, averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 assists per night. Both are two-way players.
The Clippers made a qualifying offer to Amir Coffey, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The second-year shooting guard, also on a two-way contract, got into 44 games, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.0 RPG.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Metu, Holmes, Wiseman, Coffey

February 18th, 2021 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings remain upset about a play in their game on Sunday against Memphis, when Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas threw Chimezie Metu to the ground following a dunk. Metu, who is on a two-way contract with Sacramento, fractured his wrist while trying to break his fall and will miss at least the next month.

After dunking, Metu hung on the rim with Valanciunas underneath him and the Grizzlies’ big man responded by grabbing Metu’s legs and throw him to the court. Memphis contends that Metu was trying to show up Valanciunas by hanging over him following the dunk, while the Kings insist the 23-year-old had no place to safely land. Valanciunas was assessed with a technical foul, not a flagrant, a ruling the NBA upheld after reviewing the play, much to the Kings’ displeasure.

“I thought it was a dirty play — still do,” Kings coach Luke Walton said, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “Watched it a lot since and just disappointed. … He hooked him by the leg and tried to throw him down, so I didn’t understand how that is not, in what today’s NBA is, is not even considered a flagrant foul. I don’t see how that’s a basketball play.”

“There are people who think that was right or (Valanciunas) was in the right by any means, which is also ridiculous,” Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton said. “It’s hard to understand if you think that, because Mezie has nowhere to go. He can’t land on the ground there and the timing between him being thrown to the ground and the timing of the dunk, there’s not a lot of time there. It’s not like he wrapped his legs around and tried to taunt. We were down 20. He’s not trying to taunt him. He’s trying to stay safe.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Asked about his priorities when he reaches free agency this summer, Kings center Richaun Holmes told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, “I want to be able to take care of my family.” While that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll simply accept the most lucrative offer available, it sounds like Holmes won’t be eager to accept any sort of home-team discount.
The Warriors issued a formal update on James Wiseman on Thursday, announcing that they hope he’ll return from his left wrist injury at some point during the team’s four-game road trip that begins Friday in Orlando. While it remains to be seen if he’ll be available on Saturday in Charlotte, that game will represent the first checkpoint in what figures to be an ongoing Wiseman/LaMelo Ball redraft debate, notes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State picked Wiseman second overall, leaving Ball – the standout rookie so far this season – for the Hornets at No. 3.
Amir Coffey hasn’t played much for the Clippers since signing a two-way contract in the summer of 2019, but injuries have cleared the way for him to earn major minutes this week — he has averaged 14.0 PPG on 76.9% shooting in the last two games (29.0 MPG). As Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register writes, Reggie Jackson observed that Coffey is “trying not to be sent back down” to the G League bubble once L.A.’s roster gets healthier.

Clippers Sign Amir Coffey To Two-Way Deal

July 9th, 2019 at 7:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Clippers will add Amir Coffey to the team via a two-way contract, according to a team press release. The combo guard has been playing for the franchise’s Summer League team in Las Vegas.

Coffey was not selected in the 2019 draft. He spent three seasons at the University of Minnesota where as a junior, he led the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game.

Each team is allowed to have a pair of players on two-way deals. After signing Coffey, the Clippers have one remaining.

Wolves Notes: Vanterpool, C. White, Doumbouya, Terrell

June 8th, 2019 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves hired David Vanterpool as associate coach to improve the defense and motivate Andrew Wiggins, which might be the toughest jobs in the organization, suggests Michael Rand of The Star-Tribune. Team president Gersson Rosas interviewed Vanterpool for the head coaching slot before deciding to stick with Ryan Saunders, so the former Trail Blazers assistant obviously made a good impression.

However, Rand points out that Vanterpool will be taking over a defense that has ranked in the bottom third of the league for the past five seasons and that even defensive specialist Tom Thibodeau couldn’t fix. Vanterpool has a solid relationship with Wiggins from coaching him with Team Canada in 2015, but raising his level of play has been a concern even before the club signed him to an extension two years ago.

There’s more news out of Minnesota:

North Carolina guard Coby White held an individual workout for the Wolves Friday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. White is listed at No. 8 in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, and Minnesota doesn’t pick until No. 11, so the Wolves may be thinking about trading up. The team held a separate six-player workout yesterday that included Rayjon Tucker (Arkansas-Little Rock), Amir Coffey (Minnesota), Dedric Lawson (Kansas) and Kris Wilkes (UCLA) (Twitter link).
French standout Sekou Doumbouya held a pro day today and will pay a visit to Minnesota for a workout early next week, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). The 6’9″ forward comes in ninth on Givony’s list .
Aaron Brooks, who ended his playing career with the Wolves during the 2017/18 season, attended a free agent camp with the team this week as a coach, Wolfson adds. At age 34, Brooks is hoping to make the transition into coaching. He played for seven teams in an 11-year career.
Two-way player Jared Terrell did well in the G League, but didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his skills at the NBA level in his rookie season, writes Kyle Ratke of NBA.com. Terrell, who averaged 7.9 minutes in 14 games with the Wolves, will now wait for an invitation to be part of Minnesota’s Summer League team.

Draft Notes: Washington, Konchar, Thomas, McQuaid

June 4th, 2019 at 6:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Former Kentucky Wildcat PJ Washington is fully healthy and will have his first pre-draft workout on Sunday, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). The first of his five upcoming visits will be with the Heat.

Here are more workout notes on the upcoming draft:

John Konchar (Purdue) recently worked out for the Suns and Magic, a source tells Jordan Schultz of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Konchar will work out for the Warriors on June 6.
Elijah Thomas (Clemson) has worked out for the Pacers, Michael Scotto of The Athletic relays. Thomas will participate in drills for the Wizards on Friday.
Matt McQuaid worked out for the Pistons and Grizzlies, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. The Michigan State product will also work out for the Cavaliers.
Amir Coffey (Minnesota) has worked out for the Raptors and Hornets, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Coffey will also work out for the Pelicans and Timberwolves.

Southeast Notes: Wizards Workouts, Hornets, Hawks Offseason

June 3rd, 2019 at 8:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Wizards brought in three guards and three forwards during a pre-draft workout on Monday, according to the team’s website. They took a look at backcourt candidates Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin), Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple) and Jamall Gregory (Jacksonville State) and forwards Trey Mourning (Georgetown), Ed Polite Jr. (Radford) and Trey Porter (Nevada).

The Wizards will be looking at six more prospects on Tuesday, including four guards — Matt Morgan (Cornell), Marcquise Reed (Clemson), Garrison Mathews (Lipscomb) and B.J. Stith (Old Dominion), according to another website post. They’ll also work out big men James Thompson IV (Eastern Michigan) and Raasean Davis (N.C. Central).

We have more Southeast Division news:

The Wizards have a workout scheduled with USC shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr., Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. They’ll also bring in forward Jordan Caroline (Nevada) in the near future, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. Porter ranks No. 20 overall on ESPN’s Jonathan Givony’s draft board.
Arkansas big man Daniel Gafford heads the list of six prospects the Hornets will bring in on Tuesday, according to a team press release. Gafford sits at No. 41 on Givony’s board. They’ll also take a look at guards Ky Bowman (Boston College), Amir Coffey (Minnesota), Miye Oni (Yale) and forwards Cody Martin (Nevada) and Chris Silva (South Carolina).
Should the Hawks dive into free agency? Should they deal their two lottery picks to move up in the draft? These are some of the questions that ESPN’s Bobby Marks tackles in Atlanta’s offseason preview.