Avery Bradley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Hollis-Jefferson, Ntilikina

October 12th, 2017 at 10:18pm CST by Austin Kent

The Celtics had a historically busy offseason, Chris Forsberg of ESPN writes, involved in so many major transactions that it’s hard to pinpoint just one single deal to to summarize the commotion. In early July it was announced that the C’s had agreed to a deal with Gordon Hayward, the only thing they lacked was cap room.

Given that it was a known fact around the league that the Celtics would need to shed salary, Boston executives were swamped with calls from teams looking to facilitate their Hayward signing by helping the club clear space. The eventual deal that was agreed upon – the one that would send Avery Bradley – to the Pistons – was struck at the last minute.

News of the deal was initially kept quiet while the Celtics and Pistons set out to inform the respective players involved but Detroit managed to get in contact with Marcus Morris well before the C’s were able to reach out to Bradley. Bradley, it’s said, had to find out that he was traded through Google.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Entering his third season with the Nets, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has yielded praise from head coach Kenny Atkinson, Greg Joyce of the New York Post writes. “I’ve really been kind of thrilled with his performance and that’s from the first day of training camp,” Atkinson said. “He’s matured. I think he’s more level, even-keeled, I think he’s more consistent. It’ll be huge if he can continue that type of demeanor, that type of approach.“
In response to comments that Isaiah Thomas would, possibly, never talk to Danny Ainge ever again, the Celtics‘ general manager said the guard would forever be a part of franchise history. ESPN’s Chris Forsberg posted a transcript of Ainge’s exact comments on Twitter.
The Knicks have been impressed with Frank Ntilikina‘s eye for Xs and Os, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. The guard apparently picked up on new plays that Jeff Hornacek added to the rotation while watching a preseason game from home as he nursed a knee injury.

NBA GMs Weigh In On 2017/18 Season

October 4th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, with John Schuhmann of NBA.com asking each of the league’s 30 GMs an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. To no one’s surprise, the Warriors are viewed by the NBA’s general managers as the overwhelming favorite to win the 2017/18 championship, with 28 of 30 GMs (93%) picking Golden State to repeat.

While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more interesting ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…

Although half of the league’s GMs picked LeBron James as the 2017/18 MVP winner, LeBron only finished third in voting for the player GMs would want to start a franchise with today. Karl-Anthony Towns (29%) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (21%) were the top vote-getters for that question.
NBA general managers loved the Thunder‘s acquisition of Paul George. George received 59% of the vote for which offseason addition would make the biggest impact, easily beating out Jimmy Butler (17%), Chris Paul (10%), and Kyrie Irving (7%). Additionally, Oklahoma City was chosen as the team that made the best offseason moves, with 43% of the vote. The Celtics (25%), Timberwolves (14%), and Rockets (11%) were runners-up.
The Nuggets‘ signing of Paul Millsap (24%) and the Pistons‘ trade for Avery Bradley (17%) were regarded by NBA GMs as the most underrated acquisitions of the summer.
The Timberwolves (69%) were the runaway choice for most improved team, beating out the Sixers (17%) and a handful of other clubs. Of course, it’s worth noting that Minnesota was also the GMs’ pick for that question a year ago.
While Dennis Smith Jr. of the Mavericks (37%) was voted the biggest steal of the 2017 draft, most GMs expect Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball (62%) to win the Rookie of the Year award.

Central Notes: Galloway, Pistons, Thomas, Nwaba

September 18th, 2017 at 4:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Having received a three-year, $21MM deal, Langston Galloway was the Pistons‘ biggest free agent investment of the offseason, and even he admits that he was surprised how quickly he reached an agreement with the team, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

“I really thought it was going to take a while. I thought I was going to be on the board for a long time,” Galloway said. “My agent was pretty optimistic. We knew there were a few teams talking about me, but nobody really said, ‘We’re going to take a chance on you and go with you.’ But, hey, once 12 o’clock hit and I got an unexpected call from [Pistons president of basketball operations] Stan [Van Gundy], that was amazing.”

As Langlois details, Galloway is comfortable playing at both the one and two, and his ability to handle the point allowed the Pistons to avoid having to go out and sign a third pure point guard behind Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Another one of the new Pistons backcourt additions, Avery Bradley, is already showing signs of emerging as a team leader, Langlois writes in a separate piece for Pistons.com. Bradley’s new teammates are optimistic about the impact the former Celtic will have in Detroit. “When you have a guy that works like that on the defensive end and is that good, it forces you to play harder,” Anthony Tolliver said.
In a mailbag for The Detroit Free Press, Vince Ellis tackles questions on Andre Drummond, Stanley Johnson, and Stan Van Gundy‘s future with the Pistons.
While Isaiah Thomas isn’t expected to be ready to start the regular season due to a hip injury, he’ll attend LeBron James‘ workouts at UC-Santa Barbara this week with his new Cavaliers teammates, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Second-year shooting guard David Nwaba was claimed off waivers by the Bulls in July, but isn’t necessarily guaranteed a roster spot in Chicago. In an interesting piece for The Players’ Tribune, Nwaba acknowledges as much, but points out that he has overcome long odds before and fully intends to stick around as a Bull.

Central Notes: Bradley, Cousins, Cavaliers

September 4th, 2017 at 2:17pm CST by Austin Kent

There haven’t been many people outside of Detroit praising the Pistons for how they handled their offseason, a Detroit News report claims, but one move that’s gotten recognition is the addition of Avery Bradley.

Bradley joins a Pistons team that got off to a slow start in 2016/17 and never fully recovered. When the club breaks camp this October, they’ll look to Bradley as a featured contributor both on and off the floor. The vaunted perimeter defender will step into what could be the largest offensive role of his career and could even, according to at least one reporter, make a case for an All-Star berth.

The report draws attention to a recent feature from CBS’ Brad Botkin. In the piece, Botkin compiled a list of five under-the-radar NBA moves from the summer and thinks that the 26-year-old entering into a contract year could be a major upgrade for the Pistons over the outgoing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

There’s more from the Central Division:

In his list of five under-the-radar offseason moves, CBS’ Brad Botkin writes that the Cavaliers will get a perimeter defender, the likes of which they lacked last season, in recently acquired forward Jae Crowder.
The Cavaliers will remain contenders following the Kyrie Irving trade but uncertainty abounds for the franchise. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com dredges up some of the instabilities that the organization will have to address in the coming months.
We’ve written about how the Pelicans have at least a passing interest in Iman Shumpert. Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype has taken things one step further, amalgamating various hypothetical deals that could unfold between the Pels and Cavaliers. It’s unlikely that a Shumpert trade would escalate to the point of DeMarcus Cousins and the Brooklyn first-rounder changing hands but there’s at least some merit to the speculation.

Pistons Notes: Roster Turnover, New Arena, Leuer

August 22nd, 2017 at 7:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons had the chance to bring back the core of their 2016/17 squad this offseason, but elected to swap continuity for the possibility of a better situation, Keith Langlois of NBA.com explains.

Detroit has undergone serious roster turnover since executive/coach Stan Van Gundy arrived in town with only one player — Andre Drummond — remaining on the roster from the team which Van Gundy inherited. This summer, the franchise had the opportunity to bring back Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and allow the core time to gel. However, by letting KCP walk, trading for Avery Bradley and carving out a bigger role for Stanley Johnson, the team will for the third straight season try to incorporate new pieces.

Langlois believes the team’s offseason moves will allow the Pistons to become more diverse on the offensive end as well as remain flexible in the accounting department. Had the organization inked KCP to a long-term deal, it would have been meant approaching or surpassing the luxury tax and it would have created difficulties if the team needed any substantial changes. As it stands, Detroit has a season to evaluate how Johnson progresses and Bradley fits before making a decision on capping out the roster.

Here’s more from Detroit:

The Pistons are set to move downtown to a new arena next season, though they may face one last hurdle in their efforts to do so. Christine Ferretti of The Detroit News reports. A small group filed a lawsuit against the City of Detroit over the $34.5MM in public funding which will go to the new arena.
Jon Leuer made several changes this offseason as he prepares for his second season with the Pistons, relays Langlois in a separate story. He focused more than ever on three-point shooting and has decided to continue to vigorously lift weights through the season to counter last year’s decline in productivity after the All-Star break. “I lift really hard in the off-season and preseason and that keeps my weight up and keeps me stronger. Jordan was saying there’s even a testosterone boost when you lift more, so I think that’s something toward the end of the season I’ll be conscious of to hopefully maintain a high level of play,” said Leuer. Van Gundy says that he views Leuer as a starter, but that he will have plenty of choices at power forward.
For everything Pistons, check out the team page.

Eastern Notes: Wade, Bradley, LeVert, Pierce

August 18th, 2017 at 12:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A Dwyane Wade reunion with the Heat would create rotation and chemistry issues, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel explains in his latest mailbag. A buyout agreement between Wade and the rebuilding Bulls is possible, though not close to happening. It’s widely assumed Wade would seriously consider returning to Miami but the Heat already have plenty of options at the guard spots, Winderman notes. Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters, who was re-signed this summer, are the starters and Tyler Johnson is being paid lavishly to be the main backup. Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder and Wayne Ellington are also viable rotation options and if Wade were to close out games, coach Erik Spoelstra would have a tough dilemma deciding which player loses those minutes, Winderman continues. In fact, the Heat brass and coaching staff may privately be wishing they’re not faced with the prospect of Wade getting bought out and looking to re-join them, Winderman adds.

In other items involving Eastern Conference teams:

Avery Bradley may be a newcomer to the Pistons’ locker room but coach Stan Van Gundy expects the shooting guard to be quickly embraced as a leader, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. Bradley was traded by the Celtics in their efforts to clear cap space and sign free agent forward Gordon Hayward. Van Gundy wants Bradley’s toughness and defensive approach to rub off on his other players, Langlois adds. “What Avery’s really embracing is a chance to play a bigger role as a player and as a leader,” Van Gundy told Langlois. “That’s something that excites him.”
Nets guard Caris LeVert believes the club can make the playoffs with better health and this summer’s roster changes. “I feel like it’s really realistic,” Levert told Fred Kerber of the New York Post. “Last year, we were like top seven in the East when we had all our players healthy. Just building off that momentum with the pieces we’ve added — obviously we lost a great player in Brook [Lopez] — but I feel with the pieces we’ve added we’ll be in that conversation.”
Paul Pierce will have his No. 34 retired by the Celtics, team co-owner Steve Pagliuca informed Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “It’s going to be fantastic,” Pagliuca said. “For our era, the most recent era, he embodied the Celtics’ leadership, the Celtics’ brand and was the MVP of the championship team.” Pierce’s 34 will be the 22nd number to hang in the rafters at TD Garden.

SVG: Tax Line Won’t Hinder Pistons’ Ability To Re-Sign Bradley

August 14th, 2017 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

After letting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk this summer, the Pistons appear to be more optimistic about the odds of a long-term union with newly-acquired guard Avery Bradley. Bradley will be an unrestricted free agent in 2018, but the Pistons are expected to do all they can to lock him up beyond that, and head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy indicates that cap and tax issues won’t get in the way of a deal, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details.

“The finances will not inhibit our ability to re-sign Avery at whatever it takes,” Van Gundy said. “If we’re in a situation where we want Avery back and Avery wants to be here, we’ll be able to bring him back.”

Allowing Caldwell-Pope to become unrestricted and sign elsewhere last month helped the Pistons to avoid going into tax territory for the 2017/18 season. However, Van Gundy suggests that the franchise – led by owner Tom Gores – is willing to cross that threshold when the time is right.

“In the right situation for the right people, Tom’s more than willing to pay the tax,” Van Gundy said. “I think about half the league’s going to be paying the tax this year. Tom’s not opposed to that.”

Van Gundy’s claim that “half the league” will be paying the tax is a bit of an exaggeration, but as we outlined last week, the number of taxpayers is definitely poised to increase exponentially this season after just two teams were hit with tax penalties in 2016/17.

Currently, the Pistons have about $96MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for the 2018/19 season, per Basketball Insiders. That doesn’t include team options for Stanley Johnson or Henry Ellenson, or non-guaranteed salaries for Reggie Bullock and Eric Moreland. The NBA’s latest cap projections for ’18/19 included a tax line of $123MM, so a lucrative new deal for Bradley next summer could push Detroit across that threshold, depending on what other moves the club makes to fill out its roster.

Pistons Notes: Marjanovic, Backcourt, Kennard

August 11th, 2017 at 7:15pm CST by Austin Kent

Long one of the NBA’s most intriguing reserve big men, Boban Marjanovic will be utilized differently this season than he was during his first under Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy. Keith Langlois of the team’s official website spoke with the Van Gundy about his 7’4″ backup.

“The questions are going to be how [Marjanovic’s stellar play at the end of 2016/17] holds up over time and how many minutes he can take on a nightly basis,” Van Gundy said. “Those we don’t know, but we do know that he’s got unbelievable size and skill and that’s a pretty good combination.”

With Aron Baynes now a member of the Celtics, Marjanovic figures be the primary backup to Andre Drummond, splitting duties perhaps with Jon Leuer when more mobility is required.

There’s more out of Detroit:

Point guard Reggie Jackson made a point of travelling to meet Avery Bradley as soon as possible, Ansar Khan of MLive writes. Jackson said he wants the new-look backcourt to hold each other accountable this season.
Rookie Luke Kennard will need to outplay Langston Galloway and Reggie Bullock for a prominent place in the Pistons’ rotation but in his defense he has already assuaged some concerns about his mobility that Stan Van Gundy had prior to the summer league, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes in a mailbag.
Big man Andre Drummond has shouldered the blame for Detroit’s lousy 2016/17 campaign, Michael Lee of The Vertical writes. “It starts with me,” Drummond said. “I didn’t come out playing the way I was supposed to. I needed to take it upon myself to be a leader this summer, to really take care of myself, take care of my body to make sure my team got better.“

Kyler’s Latest: Bradley, Celtics, Barton, Ariza

August 8th, 2017 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

While Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony have generated the most discussion as trade candidates in recent weeks, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders suggests in his latest piece that there are a number of players entering contract years who could become the subjects of trade rumors over the course of the 2017/18 season. Kyler took a closer look at a few of those players, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

Sources tell Kyler that the Pistons are aware Avery Bradley will be expensive in unrestricted free agency next summer, but will have no problem paying him if he fits in like they hope. As Kyler notes, the Pistons appear more comfortable at this point with a long-term commitment to Bradley than they were with a similar deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
While Isaiah Thomas wants to land a maximum salary contract from the Celtics in 2018, Kyler points to Jrue Holiday and Kyle Lowry as point guards who were believed to be max-salary candidates this summer and ultimately settled for a little less. As Kyler observes, with Thomas and Marcus Smart headed for free agency next offseason, and Terry Rozier not far behind, Boston could explore some backcourt trade options before 2018’s trade deadline.
There’s a belief that the Nuggets “can and would” pay Will Barton when he reaches unrestricted free agency next summer, but if Denver ends up making a big trade, Barton could be a prime candidate to be included, says Kyler.
The Rockets‘ stance this offseason has been that Trevor Ariza isn’t available in trades, including to the Knicks in a potential Carmelo Anthony deal, says Kyler.
The Jazz are taking a wait-and-see approach with Derrick Favors, who could become a trade candidate at this season’s deadline, with his free agency looming. Big men with a skill-set like Favors’ haven’t been valued particularly highly in recent years, which is a double-edged sword for Utah — he may not have much trade value, but he also may not be overly expensive if the club wants to re-sign him.

Central Notes: Monroe, Terry, LaVine, Bradley, Mirotic

July 15th, 2017 at 10:48am CST by marksuleymanov

Greg Monroe‘s name has been prevalent in trade rumors the last 12 months and not much has changed. The former seventh overall pick from the 2010 NBA Draft is still a productive asset but his lack of rim protection partnered with his sizeable salary ($17.8MM next season) make him an expendable player for the Bucks.

Before the Bucks faced the Jazz for Summer League action in Las Vegas Friday, Monroe told reporters, including Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box, that he’s thrilled to be in Milwaukee and doesn’t want to go elsewhere.

“I’m happy,” Monroe, 27, said.“I had no reason to leave. I want to build on what we started last year. I’d like to stay but that’s up to them.”

Coming off the bench last season, Monroe averaged 11.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and shot 53% from the floor in 22.5 minutes per game. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s new extension kicks in and Tony Snell (four years, $46MM) will take up a big chunk of the Bucks’ payroll so shedding Monroe’s salary remains an enticing proposition.

Here are additional notes around the Central Division:

Free agent Jason Terry is drawing interest around the league, Woelfel notes in the same article. The 39-year-old was a solid veteran presence for the Bucks last season but his return to Milwaukee is not certain. Woelfel adds that a Western Conference squad is weighing an offer to the former NBA champion.
After trading Marcus Morris to acquire Avery Bradley from the Celtics, the Pistons have high expectations from their new acquisition, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. Coach Stan Van Gundy expressed his excitement with Bradley joining the team while the Celtics’ second leading scorer last season is ready to maximize his skills under Van Gundy’s tutelage and alongside players like Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond.
Nikola Mirotic wants to remain with the Bulls and the feeling is mutual, Joe Cowley of he Chicago Sun-Times writes. While Chicago has undergone several changes — most notably trading away Jimmy Butler — the restricted free agent and the team are just waiting it out before likely agreeing to a deal. Mirotic also discusses Butler’s exit and his plans for the future.
One of the Bulls’ newest acquisitions, Zach LaVine, is expected to be ready for training camp as he rehabs from knee surgery, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears tweets.