Brandon Jennings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Brandon Jennings Seeking $12MM Per Year?

July 8th, 2013 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

With many of the top-tier unrestricted free agents off the board already, the focus this week may shift to the big restricted free agents still available, such as Nikola Pekovic and Brandon Jennings. Although we didn't hear a ton of news or rumors on Jennings during the first week of free agency, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times passes along an update today, tweeting that Jennings is seeking an annual salary of $12MM. According to Woelfel, the Bucks are "starting to cave," offering Jennings just over $11MM per year.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported last Tuesday that Jennings' representatives at Excel Sports had presented the Bucks with an undisclosed figure that the 23-year-old would be willing to accept to re-sign with the team. If we connect the dots and assume that the undisclosed amount was $12MM annually, and that Jennings is looking for a long-term deal, that would work out to $48MM over four years, or $60MM for five.

While re-signing Jennings is one option for the Bucks, it sounds as if it's not the only scenario the team is exploring. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported overnight that Milwaukee and Atlanta are discussing a sign-and-trade deal that would send Jennings to the Hawks and Jeff Teague to the Bucks. If the two sides were able to reach an agreement, there'd be a new-look backcourt of Teague and O.J. Mayo in Milwaukee, with Jennings, Monta Ellis, and J.J. Redick all seemingly headed elsewhere.

Stein’s Latest: Ellis, Jennings, Teague, Fredette

July 8th, 2013 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

As we noted already this morning, ESPN.com's Marc Stein was the first to pass along word that the Nuggets and Randy Foye were nearing a verbal agreement. Stein also includes a number of somewhat related tidbits in his latest entry on ESPN's TrueHoop blog, so let's dive in and round them up….

An agreement between Denver and Foye would likely take the Nuggets out of the running for Monta Ellis, which would seem to open up the Hawks' lead for the free agent guard. Stein reported over the weekend that Ellis was Atlanta's top target.
However, an alternative scenario appears to be in play for the Hawks. According to Stein, Atlanta and Milwaukee have discussed a deal that would send Jeff Teague to the Bucks and Brandon Jennings to the Hawks, both via sign-and-trade. If those talks get serious, Stein says Atlanta would likely rescind its interest in Ellis, considering an Ellis/Jennings backcourt didn't take the Bucks far last season. Milwaukee's interest in Teague was reported at the very start of free agency last week.
The Kings also remain in the hunt for Ellis, according to Stein, who says Sacramento has been shopping Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes to the Cavaliers in an effort to clear the necessary cap room.
As Stein notes, Hayes may not appeal to the Cavs, who are attempting to retain as much 2014 cap space as possible. The veteran forward is owed close to $6MM in 2014/15, while Fredette has a team option worth about $3.11MM.

Eastern Notes: 76ers, Rondo, Stevens, Copeland

July 4th, 2013 at 8:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As we continue further into the offseason, the 76ers remain the only NBA team without a head coach. When asked today if the team had begun interviewing head coaching candidates, GM Sam Hinkie was quick to avoid much comment, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pompey points out that their head coaching search might not conclude until after the summer league, and that Michael Curry – one of the candidates for the job – is leading their summer league roster. He also writes that Spurs assistant Brett Brown could still figure to be another candidate, along with other NBA assistant coaches – David Fizdale of the Heat, Melvin Hunt of the Nuggets, and Chris Finch and Kelvin Sampson from the Rockets – who were at some point tied to the job as well.

Here are some more news and notes out of the Eastern Conference:

A source close to Rajon Rondo says that the 27-year-old point guard is approaching the Celtics' hiring of Brad Stevens with an open mind, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Washburn wonders if Stevens would considering bringing his former assistants from Butler – namely Matthew Graves (who was recently named the coach of South Alabama in March) and Drew Cannon – onto his coaching staff in Boston, noting that there may be an update on Cannon tomorrow (Twitter links).
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald confirms that Cavaliers assistant general manager David Griffin reached out to forward Chris Copeland and his agent yesterday. Finnan isn’t sure that the team would look to sign him with Clark now on board, but notes that the team does have the flexibility to sign both players.
Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld speculates that Brandon Jennings could be a candidate to play the upcoming year on a qualifying offer for the Bucks and become an unrestricted free agent next summer (Sulia link).
With the market for small forwards drying up, the Cavs had to overpay a little bit in order to secure Earl Clark from free agency, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Though with Cleveland holding a team option for Clark’s second year, Lloyd adds that the team still has a chance to keep some flexibility next summer.
Jan Vesely would still like to remain in the NBA once his contract expires with the Wizards after this year, according to his agent Alex Raskovic (hat tip goes to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando via Twitter).
J. Michael of CSN Washington thinks that it would be wise for the Wizards to pass on a possible reunion with Antawn Jamison.
In addition to Maz Trakh, John Loyer, and Bernard Smith, the Pistons are expected to add another assistant coach to Maurice Cheeks' staff on Sunday, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

FA Updates: Jennings, Oden, Calderon, Knicks

July 2nd, 2013 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

The second day of 2013 free agency is underway, and we can probably expect to see a few more agreements reached today. In the meantime, here are a few news items and rumors on some notable free agents:

Brandon Jennings' representatives at Excel Sports gave the Bucks an undisclosed amount on Monday that Jennings would be willing to accept to re-sign with the team, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears, Milwaukee would prefer to sign Jennings outright rather than having to decide whether to match an offer sheet, but it's not clear whether the team is on board with the figure Jennings has in mind.
Free agent big man Greg Oden will likely choose between the Spurs, Heat, Cavs, Celtics, and Grizzlies, a source close to the player told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman. Yesterday, we heard that those five clubs were interested in the former No. 1 overall pick as well as the Pacers, Kings, and Mavericks.
Jose Calderon is meeting with the Kings in Sacramento today, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
The Bucks, Blazers, Spurs, and Hawks are pursuing Zaza Pachulia, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
Nate Robinson and Matt Barnes have notified the Knicks that they're interested in signing with the club, and are waiting to see "where the Knicks are," a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Flip Saunders and the Timberwolves have inquired on Nick Young, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter).

Bucks Make Qualifying Offer To Brandon Jennings

June 28th, 2013 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have formally extended a qualifying offer to Brandon Jennings, GM John Hammond confirmed today (Twitter link via Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Because Jennings met the starter criteria this past season, his QO will be worth $4,531,459, a slight bump up from what it would have been otherwise.

There have been a few rumblings lately suggesting the Bucks wouldn't mind signing-and-trading Jennings, or keeping Monta Ellis over him. However, Hammond indicated today that the team intends for Jennings to remain a Buck, according to Gardner (via Twitter). Hammond went on to say that the club hopes to negotiate with its young guard, and if a deal can't be reached with Jennings directly, the plan would be to match a rival offer sheet (Twitter links via Gardner).

It's unclear at this point whether Jennings prefers to stay in Milwaukee long-term or play elsewhere. While the Bucks have the majority of the control over his current situation, Jennings could accept his one-year qualifying offer, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer. Jennings suggested back in March that he'd consider that possibility.

Bucks Notes: Jennings, Udoh, Ridnour

June 27th, 2013 at 1:07pm CST by Zachary Links

This figures to be a very interesting offseason in Milwaukee following Monta Ellis' decision to opt out and several other moving parts. Here's the latest on the Bucks..

The Bucks are letting it be known that Brandon Jennings is available for the right price, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times (via Twitter). If the Bucks do decide to get rid of Jennings, Woelfel (Twitter link) expects them to make a major push for a point guard in free agency.
More from Woelfel, who hears that a swap involving the Bucks' Ekpe Udoh and the T'Wolves' Luke Ridnour is being discussed. Ridnour spent two seasons in Milwaukee prior to his last three in Minnesota.

Draft Links: Schroeder, Larkin, Cavs, Mavs

June 1st, 2013 at 6:55pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Bucks, who pick 15th and 43rd later this month, are looking seriously at guards and small forwards, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The Bucks worked out six players, all of them guards, on Friday and with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis' uncertain futures, they're looking closely at German import Dennis Schroeder and Shane Larkin from Miami.

Ellis has a player option for $11MM next season with the Bucks, but if he opts out before June 20th, he'll become an unrestricted free agent. Jennings is a restricted free agent looking for a max contract this offseason, but recent reports point towards the Bucks looking to re-sign Ellis instead of Jennings. Another point in Ellis' favor: the Bucks hired former Hawks coach, Larry Drew, when Jennings would have preferred Kelvin Sampson.

Regardless of the Bucks' attempts to bring back J.J. Redick, Ellis and/or Jennings, they're still looking to shore up their backcourt. Here are some more links as we're now inside of four weeks until the big night.

The ostensible top pick on that big night, Nerlens Noel, is part of the pre-draft positional preview focusing on centers by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Cavs, of course, own that first pick, and Boyer keys in on Noel's rehab in Birmingham from that torn knee ligament.
The Mavericks continue to shop the 13th overall pick in an effort to clear cap space this offseason, and they're not asking for much, several executives tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
Mannix also got input from executives from around the league on this year's top foreign prospects, with Dario Saric and aforementioned Schroeder topping the list.
Local product, Doug Anderson, highlighted a group of second-round prospects who worked out with the Pistons, observes Perry A. Farrell of the Free Press. Solomon Hill, Brandon Paul, D.J. Stephens, Will Clyburn, and Carrick Felix were the others in attendance.
Kansas center Jeff Withey will work out for the Knicks and Nets before the June 27th draft, says his agent, Darren Matsubara, to ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling.
The Timberwolves are looking to bring Lehigh senior C.J. McCollum in for a workout, but they still haven't scheduled a time yet, says ESPN1500's Darren Wolfson (Twitter link).
HoopsHype.com just updated their list of players past workouts and future workouts by team.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post

Odds & Ends: West, Cousins, Ginobili, Celtics

May 31st, 2013 at 11:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

David West seems content with the Pacers, as he tells Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida, but the Hawks, armed with plenty of cap space, might be planning to make a run at him in free agency this summer, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That's not entirely surprising, since Atlanta is on track to have enough cap room for a pair of max free agents. The Hawks probably wouldn't make West their top priority, since they seem ready to go after Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, but if they strike out on them, West might not be too far down the list. Here's more as we enter the final month before free agency starts:

Rival teams may have been behind a report that the Kings are ready to trade DeMarcus Cousins, Deveney hears, adding that the team's new owners have yet to decide what they want to do with the turbulent big man. Deveney wonders if the Kings might do some message-management of their own and have incoming coach Michael Malone talk up Cousins to increase his value.
As for Cousins, sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he isn't looking for a trade (Twitter link).
Manu Ginobili's contract is up June 30th, but he told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he has no plans to retire. The 35-year-old seems likely to return to the Spurs and expects to take a paycut to do so, though he and agent Herb Rudoy aren't starting negotiations with the team until July 1st.
The Celtics attempted to acquire either Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson at the trade deadline, but couldn't work out a deal with the Jazz for one of their big men, tweets Greg Dickerson of CSNNE.com. Boston is reportedly interested in Millsap as a free agent.
The Rockets plan to pursue Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, but with the league telling teams to expect a $58.5 million salary cap and $71.5MM tax line next season, squeezing both onto the team will be nearly impossible, as HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram examines.
Kelvin Sampson would have been Brandon Jennings' choice to coach the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. The team hired Larry Drew instead, a choice that was definitely GM John Hammond's call, unlike the team's hiring of former coach Scott Skiles (Twitter links).

Bucks Prefer To Keep Ellis Over Jennings?

May 29th, 2013 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

With three potential big-money free agent guards hitting the open market this summer, the Bucks aren't expected to bring back the entire trio of Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, and J.J. Redick. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com though, there's a "rising belief in exec circles" that the Bucks would prefer to re-sign Ellis rather than Jennings, going with a backcourt of Ellis and Redick (Twitter links).

When I previewed the Bucks' offseason last week, I predicted that the team would look to re-sign Jennings and Redick over Ellis. Since Milwaukee will have the right to match rival offers for the restricted Jennings, the team will have a little more control over his free agency. Ellis, on the other hand, can become an unrestricted free agent if he exercises his early termination option by June 20th, meaning he'd be able to to sign anywhere he wanted without giving the Bucks a chance to make a counter-offer. Ellis also reportedly nearly had a physical altercation with Larry Sanders following one of Milwaukee's playoff losses to the Heat last month.

On the court, the 27-year-old Ellis and 23-year-old Jennings had very similar seasons in 2012/13. Ellis recorded averages of 19.2 PPG and 6.0 APG to go along with a 16.2 PER and .416 FG%, while Jennings posted marks of 17.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 16.1 PER, and .399 FG%. Although Jennings' relative youth would seem to give him a slight edge over Ellis, the team may also believe Jennings doesn't want to be in Milwaukee long-term, since he has suggested as much in various comments over the last couple years.

Bucks Rumors: Jennings, Van Gundy, Ellis

May 1st, 2013 at 6:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Brandon Jennings has gone back and forth about whether he wants to continue playing for the Bucks, and now he says he doesn't know whether he'd like to return, as Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. Getting at the root of the point guard's true intentions appears challenging, but according to the Bucks' Twitter feed, GM John Hammond thinks that Jennings, deep down, wants to be back. We'll find out this summer if Hammond's hunch is right, and in the meantime, here's the latest on the Bucks just hours after their head coaching position came open:

HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy hears the Bucks don't want to lose Jennings, and since they have the right to match offers for the restricted free agent, the decision is ultimately in the team's hands. Kennedy thinks the situation will play out much like the one involving Eric Gordon and New Orleans last summer, when the Pelicans matched Gordon's maximum-salary offer sheet from the Suns.
Gery Woelfel hears from a "Van Gundy associate," presumably in reference to Stan Van Gundy and not brother Jeff, that Van Gundy isn't interested in returning to the bench for next season (Twitter link). The Bucks have been expected to target the former Magic boss for their coaching vacancy.
Hammond says head coaching experience isn't a requirement to become the next head coach of the Bucks, tweets Journal Sentinel scribe Charles F. Gardner.
The GM also revealed that Monta Ellis has until June 20th to decide whether to exercise the early-termination option on his contract, Gardner tweets. Ellis is due $11MM next season if he decides to stay under contract.
Earlier tonight we heard Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman is a finalist to become the GM of the Suns.