Bismack Biyombo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lowe’s Latest: Lopez, Biyombo, Davis

April 7th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Most executives around the league expect Brook Lopez to turn down his player option for next season, worth more than $16.744MM, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe. That’s on the heels of his surge over the past month, as he averaged 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in March, and he’s upped those numbers to 22.8 PPG and 9.8 RPG so far in April. Lowe wrote in December that most execs thought Lopez would pick up the option, so it seems his hot streak has changed thinking around the league. Still, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck wrote just a week after Lowe’s report in December that he had heard from many executives who expected even then that Lopez would opt out. The Nets center said a few weeks ago that he hadn’t thought about what to do with the option, so there’s some mystery here. Lowe has more rumors from his latest column, which focuses on players with decent chances of becoming this year’s version of what DeMarre Carroll was in 2013, when he signed a two-year, $5MM pact that wound up a bargain deal for the Hawks.

Bismack Biyombo will almost certainly see the value of his qualifying offer from the Hornets shrink from more than $5.194MM to nearly $4.046MM thanks to the starter criteria that he has virtually no chance of meeting. Executives are “nearly unanimous” that he wouldn’t command annual salaries of that nearly $5.2MM amount in free agency this summer, according to Lowe, though while most people believe a team could snag him for about $4MM a year, no one is sure about that, Lowe adds.
Ed Davis rejected a multiyear contract offer from the Grizzlies this past summer, several league sources tell Lowe. He instead signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal for the minimum salary with a player option that he’s said he plans to decline in search of a long-term deal this summer. Davis turned down a rookie scale extension in the fall of 2013 that would have given him annual salaries of $5-6MM beginning this season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reported this past October.
Derrick Williams doesn’t intrigue front offices as much as he did a year ago, Lowe writes. He, too, is in line for a reduced qualifying offer from the Kings for failing to meet the starter criteria.
Lowe identifies the Spurs as a team to watch on Mirza Teletovic, though it’s unclear if that’s just speculation. The Nets can match offers if they extend a qualifying offer of more than $4.21MM.

And-Ones: Wizards, KG, Stoudemire, Cavs

February 8th, 2015 at 10:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards are looking at free agents from overseas and players who will buy out their contracts before turning to the trade market, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter). The Wizards don’t want to sacrifice their long-term flexibility, so free agents are more attractive to them at this time (link). An attractive trade offer could change that, but that hasn’t come up yet (link).

The Clippers would be interested in Amar’e Stoudemire or Kevin Garnett if they became available on the buyout market regardless of Blake Griffin‘s status, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).
The Cavs announced that they have recalled guard Joe Harris from the Canton Charge. Harris has played in six games for the Charge this season, averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33.2 minutes per game. The 23-year-old guard has played in 36 games (one start) for the Cavs this season, averaging 2.8 points in 10.8 minutes per game.
Bismack Biyombo‘s MRI shows that he’ll miss at least two more weeks of action, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The Hornets youngster was mentioned in trade rumors prior to the season and the latest diagnosis means that he’ll be sidelined through the trade deadline.
The best move the Pistons could make at the deadline is not making one, opines David Mayo of MLive.com. The Pistons merely are on the edge of playoff contention, nothing more, and with so many roster holes after this season, they shouldn’t trade away key pieces for the future to complete the run.
Expect the 76ers‘ core to be intact after the deadline, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

Al Jefferson Out For Minimum Of Four Weeks

December 30th, 2014 at 10:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hornets center Al Jefferson has been diagnosed with a strain of an adductor muscle in his left groin and is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks, the team has announced. Jefferson initially injured his groin last weekend but aggravated it during Monday night’s contest against the Bucks. Initial estimates had Jefferson likely to miss a few games, but an MRI taken earlier today confirmed the strain, though no tear was revealed, which is good news for both the player and the team.

In 32 games this season, Jefferson leads the Hornets in scoring and rebounding with averages of 18.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game. The 6’10” center has scored in double figures in 28 of 32 games this season and has a team-high 10 double-doubles. Jefferson’s career numbers are 17.0 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His career slash line is .500/.103/.713.

The Hornets currently have the league maximum 15 players on their roster, 14 of whom have fully guaranteed pacts. This means that Charlotte would need to trade or release a player if it wanted to bolster its frontcourt depth in the wake of Jefferson’s absence. The lone player on the roster with a non-guaranteed deal is Jason Maxiell, and he’ll likely be counted on to absorb some of Jefferson’s minutes, which would not make him an ideal candidate to be released if Charlotte chooses to add another big, though that is just my speculation.

The player that will most directly benefit from a prolonged absence to Jefferson is Bismack Biyombo. The former lottery pick is only averaging 14.0 minutes per game in 25 appearances this season. Biyombo was mentioned in trade rumors prior to the season, and has also been noted as a possible trade target for the Cavs, who are desperately seeking a rim protecting big man. A strong showing from the 22-year-old could increase the demand for his services and his perceived value in advance of the February trade deadline. Biyombo is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so his play will also have an impact on his next contract as well.

Kyler’s Latest: Rivers, Bobcats, Sixers

February 5th, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that the Pelicans have had a deal in place all season to trade Austin Rivers if he didn’t start seeing minutes. His playing time has perked up of late, and Kyler wonders if the Pelicans are merely showcasing him for other trades. The Pelicans are also open to trading Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, according to Kyler, who shares plenty more in his latest piece. We’ll hit the highlights here:

The Bobcats are “kicking around” the idea of trading for Greg Monroe, Kyler writes. He also hears they’d be willing to throw Bismack Biyombo into a Ben Gordon trade to convince teams to take on Gordon’s inflated deal, but as Kyler notes, that wouldn’t do much to persuade reluctant trade partners.
The Sixers could wind up dealing away all of their three veteran trade candidates — Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young — by the deadline, Kyler writes, adding that the Rockets have been targeting Young all season. We heard Young connected to Houston in December, but this is the first report suggesting the Rockets have had interest in him since.
Dion Waiters and Alonzo Gee are the names most frequently mentioned around the league when the subject of Cavs trade candidates comes up, according to Kyler. Cleveland is reluctant to make Anderson Varejao a part of its talks, but the Cavs are coming around to ideas they hadn’t previously considered, Kyler observes, adding that the team looks like it will be a seller, either at the deadline or around draft time.
Almost everyone on the Bucks, outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo and John Henson, is fair game for a trade, according to Kyler, who hears that the Rockets have been eyeing Ersan Ilyasova.
Marcus Thornton and Jimmer Fredette are the Kings that Kyler keeps hearing in trade chatter, but there’s little market for either, he writes.
Rival teams are getting the sense that the Pistons will stand pat at the deadline, which Kyler finds vexing.
Sources close to the Raptors tell Kyler that their trade talk is simply due diligence, and that they’re only considering overwhelming offers.

Bobcats Pick Up 2014/15 Options On Three

October 31st, 2013 at 8:51pm CST by Luke Adams

8:51 pm: The Bobcats have officially announced in a press release that they have exercised their 2014/15 options on Biyombo, Walker and Kidd-Gilchrist.

3:15 pm: The Bobcats have exercised their 2014/15 options on Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Biyombo and Walker are now locked up on fully guaranteed deals through 2015, while the team will hold one more option on Kidd-Gilchrist in ’15/16.

Kidd-Gilchrist’s option is for his third year, as opposed to Biyombo’s and Walker’s fourth-year options, but the Kentucky product will be in line for the largest ’14/15 salary due to his draft position. Kidd-Gilchrist will earn a little over $5MM next season, while Biyombo will make about $3.87MM and Walker will earn about $3.27MM. Biyombo and Walker will be extension-eligible next summer.

As our rookie contract option tracker shows, with tonight’s deadline looming, only a couple more teams still need to make decisions on whether to exercise or decline 2014/15 rookie contract options.

Eastern Notes: Biyombo, Diogu, Beasley

October 13th, 2013 at 3:12pm CST by Michael Pina

A few notes from around the Eastern Conference.

Bobcats center Bismack Biyombo is not worried about the team picking up his team option by October 31, reports RealGm.com’s Shams Charania.
Knicksjournal.com’s Keith Schlosser asks what it will take for Ike Diogu to make the Knicks final roster.
Sun-Sentinel.com’s Ira Winderman examines the possibility of Michael Beasley infiltrating Miami’s rotation.

Bobcats Notes: Jefferson, Zeller, Biyombo

September 24th, 2013 at 4:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer spoke to Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins and GM Rich Cho today about a few of the team's offseason moves, including the signing of Al Jefferson. Let's dive in to Bonnell's piece and check out the highlights from the Bobcats brass….

Kemba Walker, who shares an agent with Jefferson, played a significant role in helping to recruit the former Jazz center to Charlotte, reaching out to him prior to the July free agency period. According to Higgins, when the team president told Walker that Jefferson had agreed to sign with the Bobcats, the point guard said that he "almost shed a tear."
Higgins suggested that Charlotte's decision to amnesty Tyrus Thomas opened up the door to land Jefferson: "Once we decided to amnesty Tyrus Thomas, ownership gave us the green light to find a difference-maker. [Jefferson] is a difference-maker."
Discussing Cody Zeller, Cho raved about the big man's basketball IQ, and said the NBA player who reminds him most of Zeller is LaMarcus Aldridge.
Signing Jefferson and drafting Zeller doesn't mean the Bobcats are losing faith in the development of Bismack Biyombo, according to Higgins. "Biz fits in well with us. He’ll get opportunities to grow," Higgins said. "Biz still has a tremendous upside."

Bobcats Pick Up Options On Walker, Biyombo

October 26th, 2012 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bobcats have officially exercised their third-year options on Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo, according to a team release.

Walker and Biyombo, both top-ten picks in 2011, will now make a guaranteed $2.57MM and $3.05MM respectively in 2013/14. The Bobcats will have an additional team option on each player for 2014/15, $3.27MM for Walker and $3.87MM for Biyombo, before both players become eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2015.

Walker's and Biyombo's were the only 2013/14 options on Charlotte's plate this summer, but that doesn't necessarily mean the team is done with its contract decision-making for the month. The Bobcats have until next Wednesday to potentially work out contract extensions for Gerald Henderson and/or Byron Mullens, though neither player is expected to be locked up.