Andrew Nicholson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Notes: Harkless, Nicholson, Canada

September 7th, 2013 at 7:23pm CST by Spencer Lund

Hoops World's Alex Kennedy wrote about the young core Rob Hennigan has acquired since his term as Magic general manager started in 2012. The Magic's roster has been growing closer this offseason, akin to the young Thunder team Hennigan worked for before joining the Magic.

The youthful Magic players mentioned in the piece, Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic, rookie Victor Oladipo, Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O'Quinn, and Doron Lamb only took a couple weeks off after the season concluded in April before returning to Orlando.

Once in town, they all work out, lift weights and scrimmage five-on-five together before hanging out off the court to grab food, play cards or watch TV at someone's house at night.

Said Harkless of all the time spent together, “I think it’s really important. We pretty much spend all of our time together, whether it’s in the gym or just hanging out at a guy’s house playing video games, watching TV or playing Spades. We just spend a lot of time together. I think it’s really good. It’s going to help us build chemistry, on the court and off of the court.”

It's that same chemistry Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green, James Harden and Eric Maynor developed while they were all growing together in Oklahoma City with Hennigan looking on. Whether the Magic go on to reach the upper-tier as one of the NBA's true title-contenders, remains to be seen, but Magic fans have to like the growing bond between their young players.

This summer, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Magic were going to pick up the options on four of the players mentioned in Kennedy's piece who are all on their rookie-scale deals: Harris, Vucevic, Harkless and Nicholson.
Picking up the options on all four – they have until October 31st, but Robbins believed the options could be picked before the 1st of October – means they'll be under contract in Orlando through the 2014/15 season. Next summer, the Magic will decide on fourth-year options for Harkless and Nicholson and an extension for Vucevic.
Nicholson played well for team Canada tonight during their 81-74 loss to the Dominican Republic at the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament, tweets the Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat. Nicolson's play was one of the only bright spots in the game for Canada (Twitter).
According to another Wolstat tweet, Canada needs Puerto Rico to beat Venezuela tonight and Mexico tomorrow while Canada also needs to defeat Argentina tomorrow to grab a spot in the 2014 FIBA World Championships in Spain next summer.

Magic To Pick Up Options On Four Players

July 26th, 2013 at 4:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic will exercise their 2014/15 options on Maurice Harkless, Andrew Nicholson, Nikola Vucevic, and Tobias Harris, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). For Harkless and Nicholson, the options are for their third years, while for Vucevic and Harris, they're fourth-year options.

Given the promise shown by Orlando's young players on rookie-scale contracts, none of these decisions comes as any surprise, and the moves may not become official for a while. The deadline to exercise team options on rookie-scale contracts is October 31st, so the Magic aren't in any rush. Still, Robbins says the moves could become formally completed prior to October 1st.

Picking up all four options will ensure that Vucevic (due $2.75MM in 2014/15), Harris ($2.38MM), Harkless ($1.89MM), and Nicholson ($1.55MM) will all remain under contract until at least the summer of 2015. In the 2014 offseason, the Magic will face decisions on fourth-year options for Harkless and Nicholson, and will have the opportunity to sign Vucevic and Harris to contract extensions.

Kyler’s Latest: Bledsoe, Marion, Warriors, Deng

June 25th, 2013 at 9:37am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2013 draft now just two days away, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tackled some of the most frequently mentioned trade rumors, passing along the latest updates he's heard on Eric Bledsoe, Shawn Marion, and others in today's NBA AM piece. Here are the highlights:

A rumored deal that would send Bledsoe and Caron Butler to the Magic in exchange for Arron Afflalo may also include Andrew Nicholson and/or a 2015 draft pick going to the Clippers, says Kyler. L.A. appears to be exploring all its options for Bledsoe, but if no team tops Orlando's offer, a trade could happen on draft night.
While the Mavericks are denying that Marion would be attached to a deal involving the No. 13 pick, Kyler is hearing that there are two scenarios on the table that include Marion and the pick. One is with the Cavaliers, while the other is with the Pelicans. A Marion deal isn't necessarily Cleveland's top priority, however, and the fact that Marion has yet to officially exercise his 2013/14 player option may also be complicating discussions.
The Warriors would like to trade into the draft and pick up a late first-round pick, but given the team's proximity to the tax line, adding a guaranteed rookie salary to the books may not make sense for Golden State.
Breaking down the latest Luol Deng rumors, Kyler notes that it makes sense for Deng to play out the final year of his contract with the Bulls, but adds that he's heard a couple sources describe an eventual Deng trade as "inevitable."
Following up on the rumor that the Cavaliers tried to acquire LaMarcus Aldridge, Kyler says there are rumblings the Suns made a play for Aldridge as well. It seems unlikely that the Trail Blazers would move the big man at this point, but there's certainly a market for him.
Kyler confirms that the Timberwolves, who have been very aggressive over the last few weeks, tried to make a play for MarShon Brooks involving the No. 26 pick.

Eastern Notes: Rich Paul, Magic, Hibbert

December 22nd, 2012 at 11:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

You can find the miscellaneous links we've gathered up out of the Eastern Conference below:

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via Twitter) says that Rich Paul, who is currently the agent of Heat star LeBron James, may have violated Texas agent laws as it relates to the investigation regarding college sophomore Myck Kabongo.
Magic rookie Andrew Nicholson is showing signs of a promising career as he continues to be a productive player for Jacque Vaughn in Orlando, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. Another impressive young player has been second year center Nikola Vucevic, who Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel points out is among the double-double leaders among sophomore players as well as top 15 overall in rebounding. Lastly, Schmitz talks about how the team has adjusted while Glen Davis deals with a shoulder injury.
Roy Hibbert spoke about how the weakness in his right wrist has significantly hindered his shooting touch as of late (Mike Wells of IndyStar.com reports).
Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver had nothing but good things to say about Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and his tenure in Chicago, says Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago. In what also could be perceived as an indirect compliment to Thibodeau, Atlanta's Jeff Teague admitted that he was happy that his brother (Bulls guard Marquis Teague) had been drafted by a team with a reputation for hard work.

Southeast Links: Biyombo, Davis, Nene

November 25th, 2012 at 9:46pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says that during the pre-season, the Bobcats' coaches may have overloaded Bismack Biyombo with so much detail to think about that it had hindered his instincts and effectiveness. Now, coach Mike Dunlap and Charlotte brass have placed an importance on letting the second year big man play through his mistakes, which is a significant part of the team's plan to foster his development in the NBA. Here's more out of the Southeast Division:

Although Magic forward Glen Davis has been known in years past to be a highly emotional player, A. Sherrod Blakeley of CSNNE.com hones in on the leadership role that Davis has taken as a co-captain in Orlando and how the forward's experiences with the veteran-laden Celtics helped prepare him for this situation.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today says that while the Wizards have been winless, Nene's return is expected to help steer the team's ship in the right direction.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks that Magic rookies Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson should keep their roles once Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu are healthy enough to return from injury. Harkless has been averaging 16.2 MPG, while Nicholson has been averaging 13 MPG this season.

Odds & Ends: Team Canada, Harrellson, Magic

August 23rd, 2012 at 2:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

A handful of players with NBA ties have been invited to a weekend training camp that will take place soon to give Team Canada officials a first glimpse at candidates for their national team, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reports (Sulia link). Tristan Thompson of the Cavs, Joel Anthony of the Heat, Cory Joseph of the Spurs, Andrew Nicholson of the Magic and Kris Joseph of the Celtics are on the list. Robert Sacre, the 60th pick in this year's draft by the Lakers, remains unsigned, but he's been invited as well. The team has officially named former Raptors head coach and current Blazers assistant Jay Triano as head coach, Wolstat also writes, and Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson will also be an assistant with Team Canada. Lakers guard Steve Nash, serving as Team Canada's GM, said he wouldn't have accepted the position if Triano wasn't coming aboard, too, Wolstat notes. Here's more from around the Association this afternoon:

The Heat conducted a workout with Josh Harrellson today, as we heard earlier, but the Timberwolves have no interest in the 6'10" University of Kentucky product, as they prefer a center with more length, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes that Harrellson is just one of several big men the Heat are considering (Sulia link).
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the options the Magic have at power forward to replace Ryan Anderson.
The Bulls, Lakers, Clippers, Timberwolves and Warriors all have some significant injury issues with training camp about a month away, and Sam Amick of SI.com checks in on the status of Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and others.
Robin Lopez is recovering from left knee surgery that took place a week after the Hornets acquired him in a sign-and-trade, but he's expected to be ready for training camp, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune reports. Lopez expressed his enthusiasm about coming to New Orleans, saying, "I’m excited to be here. We’ve got a young, energetic group. The good thing is we’ve got some youth that has a little bit of experience as well. Hopefully we can parlay that into something special.’’
Joe Dumars, Pistons president of basketball operations, traveled overseas with assistant GM George David to watch Jonas Jerebko and Slava Kravtsov in FIBA Eurobasket qualifying, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes.

Hornets Acquire Ryan Anderson In Sign-And-Trade

July 11th, 2012 at 10:40am CST by Michael Pina

WEDNESDAY, 10:40am: The Magic have officially announced the completion of the Anderson/Ayon sign-and-trade in a press release.

SUNDAY, 3:21pm: The Hornets will acquire Ryan Anderson in a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic, writes Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. Once the moratorium ends, Anderson will agree to a four-year, $36MM deal with New Orleans, and the Magic will receive Hornets center Gustavo Ayon.

Magic Sign Andrew Nicholson

July 3rd, 2012 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have signed 2012 first-round pick Andrew Nicholson, according to a team release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the 19th overall pick has a rookie scale amount of about $1.18MM, so Nicholson could sign for up to about $1.42MM (120%) for year one.

Nicholson, 22, spent four seasons at St. Bonaventure, averaging 18.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game in his senior season.

Draft Rumors: Thursday

June 28th, 2012 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Well, we're here. After weeks of following draft rumors and speculating on which player will be picked by which team, we're just hours away from the 2012 draft. Before things get underway tonight though, we're sure to hear plenty more draft rumors, so be sure to follow this page for the latest updates throughout the day. And to fully immerse yourself in tonight's draft, you can also check out our most recent mock draft, the complete draft order, our Prospect Profiles series, and all the rest of our draft content. Here are today's updates, with the latest up top:

The Kings and Warriors will make decisions on whether to trade their picks while they're on the clock, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says (Twitter link).
It's highly unlikely the Grizzlies use the 25th pick on a point guard, the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
The Grizzlies, Rockets and Celtics are all interested in Royce White, says Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Warriors may trade up from No. 30 to land him, Rothstein also tweets.
The Bobcats are "getting closer" to trading the No. 2 pick, tweets ESPN.com's Andy Katz (hat tip to Tom Ziller of SBNation).

Earlier updates:

Draft Updates: Saturday

June 23rd, 2012 at 8:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

We've already covered a few draft rumors today, and Zach Links went in-depth on West Virginia power forward Kevin Jones in our latest Prospect Profile. There's plenty more going on as the draft approaches, including news from John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Sixers put point guard Marquis Teague through an "exhaustive" individual workout this morning. Bookmark this post for the rest of the day's draft news, with latest on top.

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star has an article on the Pacers' scouting staff as they prepare to pick 26th overall in Thursday's draft.
Kurt Helin of NBC Sports looks at several players with the potential to become the second-best talents in the draft.
Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News suggests Meyers Leonard as a possible fit for the Warriors.
The Lakers are in talks to acquire a first-round pick, and could be after the Heat's selection at No. 27, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer offers his thoughts on the implications of a rumored swap of the second and fourth picks by the Bobcats and Cavs.
Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group thinks the Warriors could trade down from No. 7 and still get the player they want, unless it's Damian Lillard or Dion Waiters. He also believes the team will give serious consideration to Andre Drummond (Twitter links).
We have the latest from Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com in a separate post.

Earlier updates: