Brandon Jennings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern FA Rumors: Bazemore, Crabbe, Nets, Bulls

June 30th, 2016 at 11:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few late-night free agent rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

If the Hawks hope to re-sign Kent Bazemore, the team will have to be prepared to give him a mammoth raise. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link), teams that have inquired on bazemore are under the impression that it might take $19-20MM per year to sign him.
The Nets are making a push for restricted free agent Allen Crabbe, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The Trail Blazers have maintained that they’ll match any offer for Crabbe, but Brooklyn has the cap space to make it hard on Portland.
Another guard on the Nets‘ radar is Brandon Jennings, who will work out for the club on Friday, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter). Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) has heard that Jennings is seeking more than $10MM annually.
While no deal may be reported or announced immediately, the Bulls expect to re-sign E’Twaun Moore without too much drama, per Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link).
The first call Courtney Lee received when free agency opened was from the Knicks, with Phil Jackson calling him personally, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

New York Rumors: Knicks, Mozgov, Nets, Crawford

June 28th, 2016 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Following the trade that sent Robin Lopez to Chicago in a package for Derrick Rose, the Knicks will be focused more on frontcourt players than guards in free agency. Joakim Noah has frequently been mentioned as a target for New York, but he’s not the only free-agent-to-be big man from an Eastern rival that the Knicks will be eyeing.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, some members of the Knicks organization are high on Timofey Mozgov, who will be on the team’s radar during the free agent period. As Begley observes, Mozgov would be similar to Lopez in that he wouldn’t require touches, and would provide rim protection and rebounding. And while his upside isn’t as high as Noah’s, Mozgov is younger and healthier than the longtime Bull.

Here’s more on the two New York teams, as they prepare for free agency:

The Nets will enter July armed with a ton of cap space, and according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), there’s mutual interest between Brooklyn and free agent guards like Rajon Rondo and Brandon Jennings. Having agreed to send Thaddeus Young to Indiana, the Nets could have enough cap room for two max free agents, but it’s probably more likely that they spread that room out to sign a few players.
Another free agent guard, Jamal Crawford, is anxious, but excited, for free agency to begin, as Dan Woike of The Orange County Register details. Woike reports that Crawford has a meeting scheduled with the Clippers, but is also expected to receive interest from the Knicks and Nets, among other teams. The Heat, Raptors, Mavericks, and Magic may also have interest in Crawford, per Woike.
The Nets were one of three teams to have a traded player exception expire within the last few days, with their $1.358MM TPE going unused. The Hornets had two small trade exceptions expire, while the Grizzlies lost a minuscule TPE. The details on those four exceptions can be found here.

Bulls Notes: Noah, Gibson, Gasol, Valentine

June 26th, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent center Joakim Noah is putting together a list of possible destinations and seems increasingly likely to leave Chicago, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Noah and his agent, Bill Duffy, are working though a priority list as they search for Noah’s next team, Cowley reports. In order, those are a winning team, a chance to start and finish games and a franchise that will support his foundation, Noah’s Arc. The Knicks’ prospects for landing Noah improved with the Derrick Rose trade, according to Cowley. The Wizards and Timberwolves, under the direction of former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, will also be contenders.

There’s more tonight out of Chicago:

The Bulls have been talking to a few teams about a trade involving Taj Gibson, Cowley writes in the same piece. The 31-year-old power forward will make $8.95MM next season in the final year of his contract. Cowley says the Bulls also seem likely to lose free agent center Pau Gasol, who will turn 36 soon and doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding project.
Denzel Valentine‘s college coach says the No. 14 pick will be fine in the NBA despite concerns about the condition of his knees, relays K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “I think he’ll be great for the Bulls,” said Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. “I know people are worried about the knees. I’m not saying he’s got 20-year-old knees, but the guy played in 144 of 148 games. He missed some practices when he had surgery on it, but that was it. I used to have to drag him out of games. He practiced. He worked out. He loves the game.”
Free agent point guard Brandon Jennings could help fill the void left by the loss of Rose, suggests Kendall Gill of CSNChicago. Jennings averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 assists this season in 48 games with the Pistons and Magic.

Knicks Notes: Lin, Lawson, Hornacek, Jackson

June 5th, 2016 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks will be looking for a point guard in free agency, but won’t consider Jeremy Lin or Ty Lawson, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman the team isn’t impressed with Lin’s defense and thinks Lawson’s off-court problems, which include two DUI offenses, make him too much of a gamble. Mike Conley is considered the best free agent point guard on the market and will probably be the Knicks’ first target. Berman writes that Carmelo Anthony prefers Rajon Rondo, but many in the team’s front office believes he dominates the ball too much. Some other possibilities are Brandon Jennings, D.J. Augustin and Tyler Johnson.

There’s more this morning out of New York:

New coach Jeff Hornacek, who was officially hired this week, said his three-year contract was timed to coincide with team president Phil Jackson’s deal, Berman writes in the same piece. “He had three years left, so he wanted to make it as mine,’’ Hornacek said. “Phil wants to bring winning basketball back to New York. I’m excited he brought me along to help do that.’’
Another possible answer at point guard is Seton Hall’s Isaiah Whitehead, Ian Begley posts on ESPN Now. Whitehead worked out for the Knicks Saturday and reportedly had an impressive showing. Jackson prefers tall points guards, and Whitehead qualifies at 6’5″, plus he grew up in the New York area, so the pressure of playing in the city shouldn’t affect him. The Knicks are hoping to acquire a draft pick, and Begley speculates that they may have to trade into the late first round to land Whitehead.
Former Knick J.R. Smith, now in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers, says he feels bad that Anthony is stuck in an unstable situation in New York, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. Hornacek will be Anthony’s fifth head coach in nearly seven seasons with the Knicks. “When he first got there, I’m sure he felt they were going to work toward something, which he did being the second team in the Eastern Conference at one point and then the drop-off,” said Smith, who was traded to Cleveland midway through the 2014/15 season. “I’m sure it was disappointing for him. But he’s a soldier. I’m sure he’ll get through it.”
The development of Kristaps Porzingis will determine how successful Hornacek is in New York, contends Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Vaccaro says the new coach’s biggest challenge will be to ease Anthony into a second-fiddle role while building the team around Porzingis.

Rockets Notes: Free Agency, Beasley, D’Antoni

May 28th, 2016 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets should concentrate on shooters in free agency if their primary targets don’t work out, recommends Kevin P. Smith of Real GM. Houston is hoping to meet with Kevin Durant and Al Horford, two of the top names in the free agent class, but if neither player comes to Houston, Smith believes 3-point marksmen should be the priority in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. The writer mentions Brandon Jennings and Jerryd Bayless as possible backups to Patrick Beverley, and suggests Ryan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic as potential front court prospects. Smith also says the Rockets could have interest in Marvin Williams, Jeff Green, Derrick Williams, Marreese Speights and Al Jefferson.

Two late-season additions, Michael Beasley and Andrew Goudelock, are likely to stay in Houston for another season, Smith says in the same piece. Beasley, who played most of last season in China, averaged 12.8 points per night in 20 games after joining the Rockets. Houston has a $1.4MM team option on Beasley for 2016/17. Goudelock only made it into eight games after signing with the Rockets in March, but a $1,015,696 team option gives him a chance to stick around.
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander chose the “big, splashy name” when he hired D’Antoni this week, charges Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Smith writes that the Rockets should have hired Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, and that D’Antoni is the wrong choice to bring the discipline and emphasis on defense that the Rockets need to improve on a 41-41 season.
Free agents will be more likely to consider Houston because of D’Antoni’s history of helping his players land big contracts, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. Adande lists Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jodie Meeks as players who struck it big in free agency after playing in D’Antoni’s up-tempo system.

New York Notes: Conley, Rambis, McCullough

May 8th, 2016 at 1:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets will be shopping for a point guard this summer and may have a better shot at landing Mike Conley now that coach Dave Joerger has been fired in Memphis, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Conley, who averaged 15.3 points and 6.1 assists this season and led the NBA in assists-to-turnovers ratio, has said he wants to see how the Grizzlies’ offseason plays out before deciding to re-sign.

Lewis foresees a point guard shakeup in Brooklyn even if the Nets can’t lure Conley. He expects Jarrett Jack, who started 32 games before tearing his ACL, to be released, allowing the Nets to save all but $500K of his $6.3MM salary. Shane Larkin has a June 29th deadline to decide whether to exercise a $1.5MM option for next season. New coach Kenny Atkinson has a reputation for developing point guards and worked closely with Jeremy Lin when both were with the Knicks. Lin could be an option if he opts out of a deal with Charlotte that would pay him only slightly more than $2.2MM. Lewis writes that Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Seth Curry and Jordan Clarkson could be other targets, along with overseas players such as Milos Teodosic, Nando De Colo, Malcolm Delaney and Sergio Rodriguez.

There’s more out of New York:

The Knicks also have interest in Conley and might see their chances improving because of the events in Memphis, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. That’s especially true if GM Chris Wallace, a huge supporter of Conley, leaves the Grizzlies as well, Berman writes.
Knicks president Phil Jackson may be repaying Kurt Rambis after costing him the head coaching job with the Lakers 17 years ago, Berman writes in a separate story. Rambis took over on the Lakers’ bench after Del Harris was fired in 1999 and expected to be named head coach after the season ended. However, late owner Jerry Buss hired Jackson, and Rambis’ coaching career was put on hold. Now the interim coach with the Knicks, Rambis is believed to be Jackson’s choice to lead the team next season.
Nets rookie Chris McCullough showed a lot of promise late in the season, but he will probably be brought along slowly next year, according to NetsDaily. McCullough, the 29th pick in last year’s draft, missed most of the season while recovering from an ACL tear he suffered at Syracuse. A 6’11” power forward with an impressive vertical leap and 3-point range, McCullough gives Brooklyn hope for the future, but the author speculates that Atkinson will phase him in gradually and may even send the 21-year-old to the team’s new D-League team for occasional seasoning.

Southeast Notes: Dedmon, Wizards, Sefolosha

April 8th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s no secret that the Magic are poised to make a qualifying offer to retain the right to match competing bids for Evan Fournier this summer, but they’re also likely to make a qualifying offer, worth nearly $1.216MM, to Dewayne Dedmon, too, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. It’s unclear whether that’ll be the case with Andrew Nicholson, the other Magic player eligible for restricted free agency, Robbins writes. Nicholson, a former 19th overall pick, has yet to have a breakout season, but Robbins identifies Brandon Jennings, set for unrestricted free agency, as the soon-to-be Orlando free agent who’s had the roughest year. “It’s definitely going to be a big summer for me,” Jennings said. “I definitely would’ve wished things would’ve went a little differently, but they didn’t with the trade. So I guess I just have to take it for what it is this summer. Actually, the positive side of it is I get a whole summer. I get a whole three, four months just to get ready and play basketball all summer, work on my game, work on my body.”

See more from the Southeast Division:

Questions about commitment dogged the Wizards this season, one in which the team’s soon-to-be free agents have known they’re essentially rentals amid plans to open cap space to chase Kevin Durant this summer, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. That plus defensive regression, a new and ill-fitting perimeter-oriented attack, the uncertain status of coach Randy Wittman, a lack of leadership and injuries combined to doom the team this season, Castillo observes.
Thabo Sefolosha filed a civil suit this week against five New York City police officers and the city, as expected, notes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. It stems from the incident a year ago today in which Sefolosha emerged with a broken leg after a scuffle with police. The suit levies charges of false arrest, excessive force, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment, and it alleges the incident was a “a racial matter,” as Arnovitz relays. It also claims the encounter and injury jeopardized and shortened his basketball career and negatively affected the market value for his services, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Sefolosha, who saw an increased role for the Hawks this season in the wake of DeMarre Carroll‘s departure, is under contract for next season at $3.85MM.
Tyler Johnson wouldn’t guarantee he’d return this season in the immediate wake of surgery on his left rotator cuff in early February, but this week he pegged his chances of returning for regular season games at a minimum of 70%, notes Jason Lieser of the Miami Herald. The Heat, who are reportedly planning to fill their two open roster spots by Wednesday’s deadline to sign players, have four regular season games left.

Eastern Rumors: Carroll, Lucas III, Jennings

April 4th, 2016 at 10:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors are hopeful of getting small forward DeMarre Carroll back in action for the final three games of the season, Mike Ganter of the National Post reports. Carroll, who hasn’t played since January 3rd after undergoing knee surgery, practiced in full on Monday and coach Dwane Casey wants him to scrape off some rust before the playoffs, Ganter adds. “The last three or whatever games there are when he comes back, we will use those as his test lab,” Casey told Ganter and other media members. “No disrespect to those teams but to get some work in, get some run in, get knocked down a few times, get hit a few times and see where he stands.”

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Veteran point guard John Lucas III could sign with the Heat this week, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The Heat will soon have the financially flexibility to add two players and Lucas nearly made Miami’s roster during training camp, Stein adds. Lucas, who appeared in 21 games with the Pistons last season, was playing for the Pacers’ D-League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, before he was waived last month.
Magic point guard Brandon Jennings would like to re-sign with the club, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Jennings, an unrestricted free agent after the season, is averaging 7.1 points and 4.0 assists in 24 games with Orlando since the Pistons dealt him and power forward Ersan Ilyasova at the trade deadline for power forward Tobias Harris.
A New York City man has been arrested in connection with the December 30th robbery and shooting of Knicks small forward Cleanthony Early, according to John Marzulli of the New York Daily News. Early has averaged 20 minutes over the team’s last two games after a D-League stint.

And-Ones: Jennings, Pistons, Draft, Suns

March 24th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he’ll “keep an eye” on Brandon Jennings this summer in the hopes that the soon-to-be free agent finds the right situation, as MLive’s Aaron McMann relays. Van Gundy said in January that he could envision re-signing the point guard, despite the presence of entrenched starter Reggie Jackson, before Detroit traded Jennings to the Magic last month. It’s unclear whether Van Gundy is thinking about a reunion with Jennings, but it’s nonetheless apparent that the Pistons boss has affection for him, lauding his commitment and positive locker room influence. “The one thing, and some people probably think you’re full of crap,” Van Gundy said. “We said to him all along — he and his agent [Jeff Schwartz] — that if we traded him, we would try very hard to get him into a good situation. He had played for [Magic coach] Scott [Skiles] before, and the Magic really wanted him. It sounded to us like he was going to get an opportunity there. That was important to us because I’ve got great respect for Brandon and for what he did for us last year.”

See more from around the NBA:

University of Iowa shooting guard Peter Jok is entering this year’s NBA draft but won’t immediately hire an agent, thus allowing him to retain his college eligibility, the school confirmed via press release, according to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Marty Tirrell of KBGG-AM radio first reported the news (Twitter link). The junior has only long shot pro hopes, as he isn’t among the many prospects in either Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings or Chad Ford’s ESPN.com listings. Early entrants have until May 25th to withdraw from the draft and retain their college eligibility.
Givony, writing for The Vertical, examines the impact of the rules changes that allow underclassmen to enter the draft, gauge their stock and retain their college eligibility if they pull out, noting that existing NBA rules let players withdraw from the draft only twice. Prospects become automatically eligible for the draft the year following their second withdrawal, Givony points out, so that means freshmen take a slight risk if they enter with the intention of pulling out, since they’d become automatically draft-eligible after their junior seasons if they entered and withdrew again as sophomores.
Suns affiliate player Terrico White has backed out of an agreement with Israel’s Maccabi Rishon and will play for Israeli rival Nes-Ziona instead, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). White, the 36th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, has spent the season with Phoenix’s D-League team since a training camp stint on the NBA roster.

Central Notes: Blake, Motiejunas, McRae

March 11th, 2016 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy downplayed the idea of a Brandon Jennings trade in the weeks leading up to the deadline, but Steve Blake nonetheless readied himself for more playing time in case a Jennings trade happened or a deal that sent Blake himself to another team took place, MLive’s David Mayo notes. Of course, the Pistons traded Jennings to the Magic and kept soon-to-be free agent Blake, who’s glad he’s stuck around.

“I easily could have ended up somewhere else,” Blake said, according to Mayo. “I was praying it wouldn’t happen but I knew it could happen. I knew it was a possibility.”

Reggie Jackson is a fan of his backup, acknowledging that he seeks advice from Blake, a 13th-year veteran, as Mayo also relays. See more on the Pistons amid news from the Central Division.

The Pistons aren’t worried about the implications of a grievance that the union is reportedly giving strong consideration to filing in the wake of the voided Donatas Motiejunas trade, Van Gundy said, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons want to cultivate a reputation as a player-friendly organization, but they don’t think the flap over the failed deal, which prompted some harsh words from Motiejunas, will hurt the team.
Jordan McRae‘s potential to develop was one of the reasons the Cavaliers signed the 58th overall pick from 2014 to a two-year deal this week, GM David Griffin told Sam Amico of Amico Hoops. The sides decided against a second 10-day contract to strike a long-term deal after only a single 10-day stint. “He has fit in well, understands his role and embraces the opportunity he has to improve,” Griffin said. “Jordan has a unique combination of length and scoring ability, and we are intrigued by his versatility and upside.”
The Bulls have fallen flat this season, but injuries have played a major role in that, and the team would be unwise to execute a major overhaul in the summer, argues Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Jimmy Butler is a legitimate centerpiece and Derrick Rose is probably better than anyone they could trade him for, so the Bulls should concentrate on marginal changes instead, using their rookie contracts and Taj Gibson as trade bait, Berger contends.