Brandon Knight Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Notes: Knight, Granger, Len

February 24th, 2015 at 9:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brandon Knight acknowledged that remaining with the Suns beyond this season is an attractive option for him, Matt Petersen of NBA.com writes. “They’ve got a lot of good talent, a lot of good pieces here, so I could definitely see myself being here long-term,” Knight said. “A good coaching staff, as well. We’ve just got to see what happens.” The point guard will become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.

Here’s more from Phoenix:

The Suns created a $5.5MM trade exception in their three-team trade with the Heat and Pelicans, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). It’s equivalent to the difference between the salaries of Goran Dragic and John Salmons.
Danny Granger and the Suns have engaged in “positive and open talks” regarding if the veteran will remain with Phoenix or pursue a buyout arrangement so that he can join a contender, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets.
One major bright spot for the Suns this season is the play of Alex Len, whose potential has Phoenix’s front office and coaching staff excited, Ben York of NBA.com writes. “He continues to grow every single day,” coach Jeff Hornacek said about Len. “That’s why we’re so high on him for the future – a 21-year-old kid, the things he’s doing already. He’s going to get bigger, stronger and a better post-up game as these years go on. You’re going to look three to four years down the road – I don’t want to put any pressure on him, but [he has a chance] to be an All-Star.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Dragic, Crawford, Karl, McAdoo

February 20th, 2015 at 5:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby and GM Ryan McDonough had stern words for Goran Dragic following the trade that sent him out of town at his request, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. McDonough said of Brandon Knight, whom the Suns acquired in a separate trade, that “We feel like we got the best player in the trade, coming or going,” Coro notes, though that’s conceivably a shot at Dragic nonetheless. Babby said he wasn’t concerned with Dragic’s feelings when he struck deals with Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas this summer and that, contrary to a report, Dragic hadn’t let the front office know about his feelings about a future with the club, according to Coro. McDonough also said he didn’t receive a list of preferred destinations, which counters another report, and expressed frustration with Dragic’s agents at BDA Sports, Coro writes. There’s more from that piece amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

Babby called Dragic’s statements about a lack of trust in the front office “unfair and unwarranted,” as Coro notes. McDonough responded to the notion that the Suns had traded their best player, saying “Our response to that, I think, is that Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris are still in Phoenix Suns uniforms,” as Coro also observes.
The Clippers looked into trading for Gerald Green and Perry Jones III but never came close to a deal, reports Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
Clippers brass reportedly dangled Jamal Crawford in trade talks, and he seemed glum about it, as Woike adds in the same piece. Crawford, who was reportedly eager to commit to the team in the summer, didn’t jump at the chance to express his those sentiments Thursday, Woike notes. His contract is partially guaranteed next season, the final year of the deal.
Stamina is an issue surrounding new Kings coach George Karl, but the 63-year-old tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that he’s up for the test, in part because he thinks he might get a chance to rest if there’s a work stoppage in 2017.
The Warriors have assigned James McAdoo to the D-League, the team announced. McAdoo just re-signed Thursday with Golden State on a deal that includes partially guaranteed salary for next season.

And-Ones: Bucks, Mekel, Bargnani

February 19th, 2015 at 11:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bucks rejected an offer from the Suns that would have sent Goran Dragic to Milwaukee for Brandon Knight, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, adding that Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis, whom Milwaukee acquired instead of Dragic, were who they wanted all along. Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times disputes that Milwaukee ever turned down a Dragic proposal, however (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the league:

Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if Peyton Siva is being overshadowed with the Erie BayHawks this season. Seth Curry has gotten most of the attention on the team, but Siva is still having a relatively strong campaign in his own right.
Danny Granger says he wanted to rejoin the Pacers when he was a free agent this summer but couldn’t afford to wait for them to decide what to do with Lance Stephenson, as Granger tells Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com (Twitter link).
Unless an NBA offer materializes in the next few days, Gal Mekel is going to play in Europe, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. The point guard has reportedly passed on numerous overseas offers after being released by the Pelicans back in December.
Knicks team president Phil Jackson said there are no immediate plans to reach a buyout arrangement with Andrea Bargnani, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “It’s debatable,’’ Jackson said regarding a buyout. “Now that we have a gap in scoring, this is a guy that is a natural scorer. I think the coaching staff would like to have him on the court and be competitive with his scoring capabilities. Without Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, we are going to need some scorers out there. And we would like to give him a forum. I am not going to hold it against him if he wasn’t here for the first 40-something games.’’
The Sixers almost wound up with Isaiah Thomas in their three-team deal with the Bucks and Suns, but they let the Suns send him to the Celtics in a separate transaction instead, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Zach Links and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Suns Acquire Brandon Knight

February 19th, 2015 at 9:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:16pm: The trade is official, the Suns have announced. In addition to Knight, Phoenix receives Marshall, who will be waived, from the Bucks. Milwaukee gets Ennis and Plumlee from the Suns, and Carter-Williams from Philadelphia, and the Sixers garner the Lakers’ top-5 protected 2015 first-round pick from Phoenix. By the looks of it, the component involving the Celtics will go as a separate transaction.

4:31pm: Phoenix will waive Marshall, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Coro sums up Phoenix’s side of the deal. It’s Knight, Thornton, Marshall and the Cavs’ top-10 protected 2016 first-round pick, which Cleveland had owed to the Jazz (Twitter links). The Suns are sending Ennis and Plumlee to the Bucks, Thomas to the Celtics, and the Lakers’ top-five protected 2015 first-round pick to the Sixers, Coro tweets.

4:10pm: Kendall Marshall, who’s out for the season, is headed to the Suns in the deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’s undecided whether the Suns will keep him or waive him, Charania adds.

2:30pm: The Celtics will send Marcus Thornton to the Suns and the Cavaliers’ first round pick in 2016 to the Suns, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

2:25pm: The breakdown, according to Stein (on Twitter) is as follows: Knight will go to the Suns. Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, and Miles Plumlee will go to the Bucks. The Celtics will acquire Isaiah Thomas. Meanwhile, the 76ers will acquire draft picks.

The Sixers will get the Suns’ protected first round pick via the Lakers, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (on Twitter).

2:15pm: Thomas is headed to the Celtics, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, in what essentially functions as a four-way deal with the Bucks, Suns and Sixers (Twitter link).

2:00pm: The Bucks are trading Brandon Knight to the Suns, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). There are conflicting reports regarding other details Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis are going to the Bucks, and Isaiah Thomas and picks go to the Sixers (Twitter link), according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, while Wojnarowski has Thomas heading from Phoenix to the Celtics (Twitter link). Miles Plumlee is also headed to Milwaukee, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Sixers are getting the Lakers’ protected first-round pick that they owed to the Suns, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

Berger’s Latest: Jackson, Kings, Nuggets, Lee

February 17th, 2015 at 11:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reporters make a habit of emptying their notebooks as the deadline draws near, when rumors that would normally make headlines wind up buried beneath the deluge of news. We already passed along highlights from a jam-packed piece that Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports authored tonight, and we’ll do the same with a dispatch from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who’s also heard plenty:

Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group provides some clarity on Lee, saying that the Warriors have always been willing to trade him for assets of value but that the team almost certainly won’t find what it’s looking for on the market. Golden State isn’t likely to simply give away the veteran, a favorite of co-owner Joe Lacob, unless it’s forced to in the offseason, Kawakami adds (All Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

Teams around the league expect the Thunder to trade Reggie Jackson before Thursday’s 2pm Central time trade deadline, Berger writes, indicating that they believe tax concerns would be the catalyst for Oklahoma City to make a deal.
Sacramento is intent on making an upgrade at the deadline in an effort to please DeMarcus Cousins, sources tell Berger, who identifies Arron Afflalo as the team’s No. 1 target. The Kings are dangling Nik Stauskas to the Nuggets as they seek Afflalo, to the puzzlement of some executives from other teams, Berger hears. The Kings continue to dangle Stauskas to other teams as well, according to Berger.
The Nuggets are in “full-on firesale mode,” and, notwithstanding Sacramento’s focus on Afflalo, Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler are the players on Denver’s roster who are drawing the most interest from other teams, Berger writes.
Berger indicates that the Warriors are trying to trade David Lee, which conflicts with an earlier report that the team would like to keep him through the season to avoid disrupting chemistry. The CBSSports.com columnist also includes Kevin Martin on a list of players that teams are trying to trade, but Flip Saunders is reportedly showing little interest in doing so. Martin would be destined for a buyout if the Wolves don’t trade him, Berger hears.
Milwaukee has fielded offers for Brandon Knight, but the Bucks aren’t biting, sources tell Berger.
The Wizards are more likely to sign a free agent who would fill their desire for backcourt help than to make a trade, the CBSSports.com scribe hears.
The Clippers are still the front-runners for Tayshaun Prince should he and the Celtics do a buyout deal, according to Berger, who adds that Boston is trying to trade Brandon Bass.

And-Ones: Knight, Lopez, OKC, Clippers

February 15th, 2015 at 11:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Impending restricted free agent Brandon Knight says he’s in a “great situation” with the Bucks, but that’s no guarantee that he’ll want to stay put, Susan Bible of Basketball Insiders writes. “Well, speaking for myself, I would want to go into a situation where I can win,” Knight said regarding what factors he’ll consider in free agency. “I think that’s the biggest thing. Winning has to be a priority. I’m pretty sure if you ask any top free agent, winning is going to be the main thing.” Here’s more from around the Association..

An executive told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links) that the Thunder and Nets are the most aggressive teams in trade talks. The two teams want to make a move and they may wind up trading with each other. He adds that OKC’s interest in center Brook Lopez is real and he wouldn’t be surprised to see a deal involving him go down.
The Clippers have been trying very hard to make a trade, but they don’t have the assets to swing a worthwhile deal, so they’ll instead try and sign bought out players to bolster their roster, Kennedy tweets.
When asked whether the frigid weather would scare him off from signing in New York, Blazers big man LaMarcus Aldridge responded, “It’s cold everywhere,” Sean Deveney of the Sporting News tweets.
Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders gathered quotes from Aldridge, Knight, and other prospective Knicks free agent targets regarding their thoughts on the team and the city.
Any deal the Suns make would be made in the name of building an elite team down the line, not a fringe playoff team now, as Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. Meanwhile, both Isaiah Thomas and Goran Dragic have been mentioned in recent trade rumors.

Larry Sanders Contemplating Retirement?

January 5th, 2015 at 7:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:24pm: Kidd told WTMJ’s Sports Central that he expects Sanders will return soon, possibly Tuesday, Gardner tweets.

6:27pm: Agent Happy Walters told HoopsHype that his client is not looking to retire. “I saw that tweet. It is not accurate at all. Rumor unsubstantiated,” Walters said.

4:15pm: Sanders disputes the notion that he told the Bucks that he no longer wanted to play basketball, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter links). According to Kyler, Sanders has been out with the flu and dealing with some personal issues, and is planning to rejoin the team sometime this week.

3:13pm: Bucks center Larry Sanders has recently told team officials that he no longer wants to play basketball, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times reports (Twitter links). Sanders’ potential lack of passion for the game has been building for some time, as some friends of Sanders told Woelfel last summer that they were concerned that Sanders wasn’t committed to basketball and wanted to explore other options. The 26-year-old big man is currently in the first year of a four-year, $44MM extension.

Sanders was previously reported to have left the team due to personal reasons, and was said to be out indefinitely by coach Jason Kidd. At the time Kidd was quoted as saying, “That’s a good question so you don’t have to ask me tomorrow or Sunday or Monday, so there’s no timetable. Being sick, away from the team, guys go on as you see. Charlotte, we played without him. The other night we played without him [in Cleveland]. It’s nothing new to this ball club. Injuries happen. The train keeps moving forward. It’s just personal. There’s nothing I can give you more. That’s the way the question will be answered.”

The Bucks were reportedly interested in dealing Sanders last season, and the talk began mere months after the team signed him to the extension. This was due in part to Sanders missing extended time during the 2013/14 campaign courtesy of a broken hand that was suffered during a brawl at a nightclub. According to Woelfel (Twitter link), Milwaukee had offered Sanders and Brandon Knight to the Pacers this summer for Roy Hibbert. With Sanders’ alleged lack of desire to play any longer, finding a taker for his contract at this point would likely be a near impossibility.

If Sanders’ issue is primarily with playing for the Bucks, rather than wanting to simply walk away from the game permanently, then Milwaukee would potentially be able to threaten him with a suspension on the grounds of intentional refusal to render the services required under his contract. The team could withhold his pay, which would likely bring the NBPA into the fray. But if Sanders is simply determined not to play any longer, then he could attempt to negotiate a buyout in which he would forfeit all, or most of his salary.

Sanders has made 27 appearances for the Bucks this season, averaging 7.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game. His career numbers are 6.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. His career slash line is .480/.000/.550.

Central Notes: Bucks, Knight, Pistons, Pacers

December 9th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks made waves at the trade deadline in 2013 when they shipped Tobias Harris out in the swap that brought in J.J. Redick on an expiring contract, but that sort of move is “not who we are today,” GM John Hammond tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The team’s new owners have instead focused on building around the club’s youth, particularly Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo, though co-owner Marc Lasry insists to Lowe that the team doesn’t just want to see young players get minutes and that the goal is to make the playoffs this year. Still, it would appear that the days of sending recent first-round picks away in trades for short-term help are over in Milwaukee. Lowe has more on the Bucks in his piece, as we’ll highlight amid the latest from the Central Division:

Lasry is confident that the Bucks will secure financing for a new arena and said to Lowe that he and fellow co-owner Wesley Edens won’t think about moving the team to a West Coast city.
The Bucks are high on Ersan Ilyasova, John Henson, and Kendall Marshall, and coach Jason Kidd is especially enamored with Ilyasova, Lowe writes. The Grantland scribe nonetheless believes that Ilyasova and Henson still seem like intruguing trade candidates.
The Bucks would like to retain Brandon Knight at a “reasonable” price, according to Lowe, who pegs that range at $10-12MM a year. Still, the Bucks aren’t completely sold on the idea of Knight as a point guard, as Lowe explains.
Stan Van Gundy has faith that his team can play better, but he acknowledges that it’ll be tough for the Pistons to meet their loftiest of goals this season, and he pointed to a four-day break in the schedule later this month as a point of reckoning, MLive’s David Mayo observes. Van Gundy may use the off days only to make rotation changes, but it wouldn’t be surprising for him to pull off a deal, as Mayo explores.
The Pacers treaded water while many of their players were out early this season, but they’re still missing Paul George and George Hill, and their absences combined with the departure of Lance Stephenson continue to haunt the team, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. Offseason signee C.J. Miles, who’s begun to rediscover his outside shot, is a bright spot, Montieth notes.

Central Notes: Butler, Knight, Gray

November 25th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Few would have imagined that the Bucks, who had the worst record in the NBA last year, would have a better mark nearly a month into this season than LeBron James and the Cavs do, but that’s the case, with Milwaukee at 7-7, a half-game clear of 6-7 Cleveland. Still, it won’t be difficult for the Cavs to climb back into contention for a high playoff seed, since they’re only two games back of the Central Division-leading Bulls in the loss column. Here’s the latest from the Central:

Jimmy Butler tells Ben Golliver of SI.com that it was difficult to pass on an extension with the Bulls last month but that he turned down Chicago’s offer because he believed in his ability to improve his offensive game after a step back last season. Butler has proven wise so far, averaging 20.8 points per game on 49.7% shooting this season compared to 13.1 PPG and 39.7% shooting last year.
Brandon Knight has had three coaches in his four NBA seasons, but his relationship with new Bucks coach Jason Kidd has been positive so far, and a desire for stability is one reason why Knight wants to re-sign with the Bucks this summer, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines.
Aaron Gray won’t play this season because of a heart ailment, and he acknowledges that there’s a chance that he’ll never be healthy enough to return, as he says to MLive’s David Mayo. Still, he’s not giving up hope, and a couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday, Gray is serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Pistons, who waived him last month in part because of his health, as Mayo details. “They brought me here for a service,” Gray said. “Even though I’ve been waived, the type of guy I am, I’m still getting paid for two years. I just wouldn’t feel right not contributing as much as I possibly could.”

Bucks Notes: Knight, Marshall, Extensions

November 1st, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Brandon Knight is disappointed that he and the Bucks were not able to come to terms on an extension by the deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times notes (Twitter link). Knight said, “It’s unfortunate. I wanted to get something done.” By failing to come to terms on an extension Knight will become a restricted free agent next summer.

Here’s more from the land of beer and bratwurst:

Knight relayed that he doesn’t feel any extra pressure to perform well this season despite not inking an extension with the Bucks, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s no pressure. You either get it [a contract] now or get it later, one or the other,” Knight said.
There is no animosity between the two sides, notes Gardner, and the team has said they intend to try and reach an agreement with Knight this summer. When asked if there was any tension between he and the team, Knight said, “No. If we’re going to revisit it [the negotiations], it’s definitely not. I haven’t really spoken a whole lot to my agents about it. They said they were talking. I love the Bucks. It’s a great organization and we’re continuing to improve as you see. It’s definitely something I would like to be a part of. When we revisit it in the future, hopefully it will work at that time.”
When the Bucks decided to fully guarantee Kendall Marshall‘s $915K salary for this season it demonstrated their commitment to the young point guard, Gardner writes in a separate article. “It’s a sense of comfort to see that the organization has that trust in me,” Marshall said of his contract being guaranteed. “I haven’t really seen too much of that since I’ve been in the league. It’s just the beginning. I see it as a great foundation for me and for where I want to be with this team. The main thing is team success. My college coaches always told me, ‘Winners get the awards and the rewards.’ If we take care of things as a team, everybody will look good.”