Ben McLemore Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Extension Negotiations

October 30th, 2016 at 1:42pm CST by Will Joseph

The Thunder is negotiating extensions with representatives for Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). Discussions are in the $100MM range for Adams, and the $80MM range for Oladipo. Our own Luke Adams examined the extension candidacy of Adams recently, while Arthur Hill looked at Oladipo’s situation.

There’s more extension chatter as the October 31st deadline draws near:

It is still unlikely that deals for Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. will get done before the midnight deadline, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Wolves are in talks with Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, while the Hornets are talking about a deal with Cody Zeller, Wojnarowski relays (Twitter link). The Jazz are also in discussions with Rudy Gobert.
The Kings will extend a qualifying offer to Ben McLemore after the season, and the team is still not looking to trade him, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets.

Extension Unlikely For Kings’ Ben McLemore

October 19th, 2016 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Ben McLemore is eligible to sign a rookie-scale extension until October 31, but the Kings are unlikely to reach a new deal with the fourth-year guard by that deadline, league sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Assuming the two sides don’t come to an agreement, McLemore would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2017.

The seventh overall pick in the 2013 draft, McLemore has yet to live up to his draft position as an NBA player. The 23-year-old played a career-low 21.2 minutes per game in 68 contests for Sacramento last season, averaging 7.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG in those games, though he did average a career-best 36.2% on three-point attempts.

Given McLemore’s underwhelming NBA production to date, and the fact that he was made available in trade talks for most of the 2016 offseason, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the Kings opt not to extend him at this point.

Still, recent reports have suggested that the team’s new coaches have liked what they’ve seen from McLemore so far, and are excited to see how he performs this season. Despite the question marks Sacramento has at point guard, the club reportedly turned down a recent trade offer from the Bucks that would have sent Michael Carter-Williams to the Kings in exchange for McLemore. So a strong season from the Kansas product could potentially lead to a new deal with the team next summer if he doesn’t get one this month.

McLemore will earn a salary just north of $4MM this season, and if the Kings want to make him a restricted free agent next July, it would require a qualifying offer worth about $5.38MM.

Lowe’s Latest: CBA, Heat, Kings, Hayward, Bosh

October 12th, 2016 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

Despite having long been optimistic about the NBA’s chances of avoiding a lockout, even Zach Lowe of ESPN.com is surprised at how positive the talks between the NBA and NBPA appear to be progressing. As Lowe notes, with so much money at stake, neither the players nor the owners have “the stomach for a work stoppage.”

Having spoken to sources “across the spectrum,” Lowe believes there’s about a 50/50 chance that the two sides will strike a deal before the December 15 opt-out date, adding that there’s even a slim possibility that an agreement is announced before the start of the regular season. If December 15 arrives without a new CBA in place, and either the league or the players’ union opts out, the two sides would still have several months until the July 1 “doomsday date” to work something out.

Within his latest ESPN.com piece, Lowe provides several other interesting tidbits scattered throughout his 30 bold predictions for the coming season, so let’s dive in and round up some of the highlights…

The Heat and Kings have had some “vague” trade discussions since July, sources tell Lowe. It’s not clear which players’ names came up in those talks, but both teams have veterans who have been the subject of trade speculation, including Goran Dragic (Heat) and Rudy Gay (Kings).
While GM Vlade Divac has said he doesn’t plan to move Gay and Ben McLemore, Lowe believes there’s a decent chance the Kings make a deal, adding that the Thunder are one team to watch for Gay.
The Celtics continue to have “real interest” in Gordon Hayward, multiple league sources tell Lowe. However, the ESPN scribe thinks Hayward will ultimately decided to re-sign with the Jazz next summer.
According to sources near the Chris Bosh situation in Miami, the most likely scenario is the Heat waiting until after March 1 to waive the veteran big man, so that he wouldn’t be eligible to appear in the postseason for another team. Lowe believes another team would take a minimum-salary flier on Bosh in that scenario though, which could complicate the Heat’s ability to clear his cap hit from their books.

Kings Intend To Keep Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay?

October 10th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite numerous reports relaying that the Kings are shopping Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay, team executive Vlade Divac stated during an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio that Sacramento intends to hang onto both players this season.

Regarding McLemore, Divac said, “You’re going to receive a lot of calls, you’re going to make a lot of calls. We’re very happy with Ben [McLemore], the way he’s progressing this summer. He’s a very young player that we like a lot, so we’re going to keep him.” The Kings reportedly turned down an offer from the Bucks last week that would have shipped McLemore to Milwaukee in exchange for point guard Michael Carter-Williams. At one point during the summer it appeared that the shooting guard was a lock to be dealt, but the coaching staff has reportedly connected with McLemore and believes that they can maximize his talents. The 23-year-old is eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end.

The situation with Gay is a bit more muddled, with the small forward announcing in September that he plans to opt out of his contract next summer. The veteran hasn’t sounded all that enthusiastic to still be a member of the Kings moving forward, but the franchise has no obvious replacement for him at the three spot and wouldn’t be guaranteed to receive one vie trade either. Regarding Gay, Divac said during his radio appearance, “Rudy is a tremendous talent, he’s somebody that’s beautiful to watch the way he plays. We think Rudy is a big part of this team to be successful, so we decide to go with him. If he decides to stay next year, that’s great. If he decides to leave, that’s fine. But we want to make sure we compete this year.” Gay is earning $13,333,333 this season.

Neither player has looked especially sharp in the preseason thus far. McLemore is averaging 8.5 points and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 34.8% from the field overall and 14.3% from three-point range. Gay has notched 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists to go along with a shooting line of .308/.333/1.000.

Stein’s Latest: Llull, Bucks, MCW, McLemore, Pistons

October 7th, 2016 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA’s regular season inching closer, ESPN’s Marc Stein takes a look around the league and rounds up a handful of noteworthy tidbits from out of training camps. There are plenty of interesting items to pass along, so let’s dive right in…

A recent report out of Spain indicated that the buyout for Sergio Llull‘s contract with Real Madrid has increased to 12 million euros. However, Stein hears that the buyout isn’t “nearly as onerous” as that report suggests — one source describes the cost as “manageable.” As such, the Rockets continue to have strong interest in bringing Llull stateside, and the Spanish guard does have real interest in eventually coming to the NBA, despite his proclamations about spending the rest of his career in Madrid.
The Bucks continue to scour the market for possible Khris Middleton replacements, and have offered Michael Carter-Williams to the Kings in a deal for Ben McLemore, Stein reports. Sacramento turned down that pitch, but Milwaukee continues to explore deals.
One scenario likely not in play for the Bucks is a deal with the Hornets that would involve Jeremy Lamb and Spencer Hawes. According to Stein, Charlotte is said to have no interest in Monroe.
As the Pistons consider potential point guard options with Reggie Jackson ailing, they took a look at Norris Cole before he agreed to sign in China, writes Stein. Steve Blake, given his familiarity with the team, is also an option. However, as the ESPN scribe cautions – and as Stan Van Gundy said himself this week – the Pistons are no lock to add another player at the point, since the club would have to eat a guaranteed contract to do so.

Suns To Seek Trade Partner For Brandon Knight?

October 6th, 2016 at 4:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

If the Suns have interest in moving point guard Brandon Knight, a strong start would help create a “palatable” market for him, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Links here). Knight, who has four years and approximately $57MM remaining on his contract, has become a backup behind Eric Bledsoe and shooting guard Devin Booker.

The Suns’ current blueprint has Knight, who is not a classic point guard, transitioning into a Jamal Crawford, instant-offense type of role player. That wasn’t the original plan when they gave up a protected first-round pick they possessed from the Lakers and forwarded it to the Sixers, Lowe points out. There isn’t much of a market for Knight now, but that could change if he plays well early on, due to the lack of quality wings around the league, Lowe adds. The club is not interested in moving Bledsoe, sources told Lowe.

In other tidbits offered by Lowe in his two-part article:

The next Collective Bargaining Agreement will likely tweak the Gilbert Arenas provision, so that matching teams can distribute salary more evenly across the length of certain contracts. Lowe uses the example of Heat guard Tyler Johnson, whose offer sheet from the Nets this summer jumped his salary from under $6MM during the first two years of the contact to $19.245MM in each of the final two years of the four-year offer. Under the current agreement, the team making the offer could use the average salary of the contract to count against its cap, while the matching team has to go with the actual salary figures for each season.
The Kings are actively involved in trade discussions and since Darren Collison is suspended for the first eight games, they could make a deal for a point guard during training camp, possible as part of a larger package.
The Bucks are seeking help at the wing positions and a swap with the Kings for shooting guard Ben McLemore – a projected backup with the addition of Arron Afflalo — is a possibility. Milwaukee would like to move either center Greg Monroe or point guard Michael Carter-Williams under the right circumstances, according to Lowe’s sources.

Central Notes: Lamb, Love, Marjanovic, Leuer

October 1st, 2016 at 5:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

There have been “whispers” that the Bucks are discussing a deal that would send Greg Monroe to the Hornets in exchange for Jeremy Lamb and Spencer Hawes, according to Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box. Milwaukee needs help on the wing with Khris Middleton likely out for the season with a ruptured left hamstring. The Bucks have reportedly been looking for a taker for Monroe all summer, and it appears Charlotte may be interested. Lamb, a 24-year-old swingman, is beginning his second season with the Hornets after averaging 8.8 points per night in 66 games as a reserve a year ago. Lamb is entering the first year of a three-year, $21MM extension he agreed to last November, and he may be expendable after Charlotte added Marco Belinelli over the summer. Woelfel lists Gary Harris, Ben McLemore, Alec Burks, Terrence Ross and Nick Young as other wings the Bucks may target.

There’s more news out of the Central Division:

Kevin Love has learned to block out the criticism and trade rumors that have followed him since he joined the Cavaliers two years ago, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Love believes he proved his worth to the team during the championship run and he isn’t concerned with what outsiders think of his performance. He is also secure enough with his place in the organization that trade speculation doesn’t concern him. “Trade rumors, you know, I don’t know,” Love said. “You lose a couple games … No, I don’t know how to answer that. No. I’m here, man. I plan on being here a very long time.”
Boban Marjanovic may still be considered a project, but Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy believes the 7’3″ center is “unstoppable” in the low post, relays Aaron McMann of MLive. Detroit is happy with the early returns on the $21MM it gave Marjanovic over the next three seasons. The 290-pounder remains the third-string center on the Pistons’ depth chart, but it sounds like he will be given playing time. “Once he gets established in the half-court, there’s not a good way to play him,” Van Gundy said. “There’s just not. He’s so big and he’s so skilled, that it’s hard.”
Another new Piston who has impressed Van Gundy is Jon Leuer, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. And it’s not surprising, as Van Gundy has tried to acquire the 27-year-old power forward before. “Since he came into the league in Milwaukee [in 2011] and I was coaching in Orlando, there have been three or four times over the years wherever I was, where we were making efforts to try to get him,” Van Gundy said. Leuer signed a four-year, $41MM deal with Detroit in July.

Kings Rumors: Point Guards, Gay, McLemore

September 23rd, 2016 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

As Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes in his latest piece, most NBA teams avoid making trades in training camp, preferring to wait until at least December to give their rosters a chance to mesh. However, the Kings still have multiple trade candidates on its roster, and they don’t have much depth at point guard, so it’s not out of the question that the team could make a move within the next month or so.

Here are a few of the highlights from Jones:

Currently, the Kings have 14 players on guaranteed salaries, and the team’s 15th man is expected to be a point guard — likely either Ty Lawson, Jordan Farmar, or Isaiah Cousins. According to Jones, the decision on which point guards make the regular-season roster could end up being tied to a possible Rudy Gay trade.
Sacramento has made Ben McLemore available in trade discussions for months, but Jones suggests (via Twitter) that the coaching staff has really connected with the fourth-year guard and is excited to see how he performs this season. At one point it seemed like a lock that McLemore would be dealt, but he has impressed the Kings lately, says Jones.
One another Kings veteran expected to be traded this summer was center Kosta Koufos, Jones notes. Koufos, whose name was connected to trade rumors in July and August, is fairly affordable at $8MM, given the free agent prices this offseason, but Sacramento has yet to find an acceptable deal.

Kings Notes: Gay, McLemore, Cousins, Casspi

August 13th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat could be interested in a Rudy Gay trade if the Kings are willing to wait until after December 15th, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. That’s the date when the free agents that Miami added to its roster this offseason are eligible to be moved. Gay’s salary would require the Heat to send back about $13.3MM, which means point guard Goran Dragic would probably have to be included, and Miami doesn’t seem inclined to part with him. By waiting until mid-December, Winderman notes, the Heat will have a better feeling for how much Chris Bosh will be able to contribute and whether Justise Winslow will have to spend more time at power forward, which would create a greater need to have Gay on the roster.

There’s more tonight out of Sacramento:

The Kings almost certainly won’t negotiate a rookie contract extension with shooting guard Ben McLemore, contends Bobby Marks of The Vertical. McLemore, who was drafted in 2013, is the only Sacramento player eligible for the extension before this year’s October 31st deadline, but Marks says the Kings have been trying to trade him for more than a year. McLemore averaged 7.8 points in 68 games last season and will have a $1oMM cap hold next offseason.
DeMarcus Cousins will become eligible for a contract extension on September 30th, Marks notes in the same piece. The Kings’ all-star center still has two seasons and more than $35MM left on his current deal, but he can agree to an extension at the end of September because it will be three full years from his when the contract was signed. If he takes an extension, Cousins would be limited to 7.5% raises from his $18,063,850 salary in 2017/18, so it’s more likely that he waits for free agency.
Omri Casspi sees improved camaraderie as a key to ending Sacramento’s 10-year run of missing the playoffs, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Casspi is touring Israel this week with Gay and a group of former NBA players and celebrities. “We’ve added some good guys, some good quality players and quality individuals to our locker room, which is important, I think,” Casspi said. “The great teams in the NBA have great locker rooms.Just in general we need to start making strides, try to make the make playoffs. With a new coaching staff, we need to make a big stride forward.”

Pacific Notes: Sanders, Kings, Joerger, Smith

July 10th, 2016 at 10:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

Despite losing two centers this summer, the Warriors haven’t reached out to Larry Sanders, writes Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. The former Bucks big man was an elite rim protector before he walked away from the game in December of 2014, citing anxiety and depression. Sanders is considering a comeback and sparked speculation on Saturday when he sent out two messages on Twitter: an image of a cavalier and a scene from a 1979 movie titled “The Warriors.” Golden State needs to find replacements for Andrew Bogut, who was traded to Dallas to create cap room for Kevin Durant, and Festus Ezeli, who signed with the Trail Blazers as a free agent.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

The Kings are getting plenty of calls from teams interested in Rudy Gay, Kosta Koufos and Ben McLemore, tweets James Ham of CSNCalifornia. So far, they haven’t heard an offer they like.
New Kings coach Dave Joerger doesn’t plan to coach any more summer league games, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Joerger said he started out in that role to set the tone for the rest of the staff.
The Kings and Clippers are among the teams that worked out J.R. Smith‘s brother this weekend in Las Vegas, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Chris Smith‘s only NBA experience came in two games with the Knicks in 2013.
Ryan McDonough’s first plan for a quick turnaround in Phoenix didn’t work, so now he’s rebuilding through the draft, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. With two picks in the top eight, the Suns grabbed highly regarded power forward prospects Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss. Their only free agent pickup so far this summer is veteran shooting guard Jared Dudley for $30MM over three years, a modest sum in this year’s market. “That’s certainly the most sustainable way to do it,” McDonough said about his draft strategy. “If you can draft those guys and have them under control for four years on the rookie scale and then have a bunch of advantages in terms of contract extensions and full Bird rights, that really helps.”