Brandon Knight Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Extension Rumors: Thompson, Cavs, Butler

October 31st, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie scale extensions is fast closing in. Here’s the latest on talks around the league, with any additional updates that come in throughout the evening added to the top:

Final-hour talks are taking place between the Cavs and representatives for Tristan Thompson, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). The team has offered more than $40MM, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter). A deal was a 50-50 proposition as of this afternoon, as Amico heard (Twitter link).
Butler struck a somewhat different tone before the Bulls‘ game against the Cavs tonight than his agent did when he indicated that talks were through (below), as Sam Smith of Bulls.com relays. “We still want a deal,” Butler said. “I still want to be here. I still want to have nothing to worry about. So we have until 11:59 [Eastern time] to figure it out. I’m not a personal guy. I don’t take everything to heart. I understand it’s a business. I just have to be a great basketball player. I think this team is really good, championship caliber. I am a part of this team; I am going to produce. I’m going to guard. I will take care of myself. I think there’s not too much I can do right now. I’m done talking about it.”
Still, Bulls GM Gar Forman said that both sides had agreed to end discussions for now and pick back up again in restricted free agency next summer, Smith notes.
Butler also said that he believes he’ll remain with the Bulls whether it entails signing an extension or a new deal next summer, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

5:40pm updates:

Butler has rejected the Bulls‘ “final offer” and plans to enter restricted free agency next summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Butler’s agent, Happy Walters, said, “All the [rookie extension] deals done so far have shown that teams are building around their stars of the future, and they’re compensating those players as such. I was under the impression Jimmy was also viewed as one of those future building blocks with the Bulls. We tried like heck to get something done, but ultimately, the Bulls wanted a ‘hometown’ discount. While understandable, I doubt their GM or coaches give Mr. Reinsdorf a discount when negotiating their own deals.”
Butler had told his teammates that he was willing to play out the season unless the team upped their “final” offer, K.C. Johnson tweets.
The Wolves and Rubio are making progress on a four-year extension, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski’s sources, there’s optimism, but no deal in place yet.

3:58pm updates:

The Wolves are now willing to go higher than $52MM in four-year offers to Ricky Rubio and the team is on board with a deal as long as Rubio is, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune believes that a deal would have to be for at least $55MM over four seasons (Twitter link).
The Bucks and Brandon Knight weren’t too far apart in extension talks before ending them today, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
Conversely, the gap appears wide between the Bulls and Jimmy Butler, and the chances of a compromise don’t appear to be high, as Goodman also hears (Twitter link). Chicago has been willing to consider a player option in his deal, something the franchise doesn’t ordinarily do, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter), but talks aren’t progressing, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).

Bucks, Brandon Knight Call Off Extension Talks

October 31st, 2014 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks and Brandon Knight have ended negotiations about an extension, setting up the fourth-year point guard for restricted free agency in the summer, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). An extension had reportedly been unlikely even though the team and agent Arn Tellem planned to keep talking until the deadline. They took discussions close to tonight’s 11:00pm Central cutoff, but it appears there’ll be no deal.

Milwaukee’s brass appeared enthusiastic early this month about reaching an agreement as the sides opened talks, and coach Jason Kidd spoke of his desire to keep the player taken eighth overall in the 2011 draft. Knight nonetheless had seemed an odd candidate for an extension based on his inability to establish himself as a front-line point guard during his first three seasons in the league. He scored 17.9 points per game last season, but they came for a Bucks team that finished with the league’s worst record.

I suggested that Tellem would attempt to capitalize on Milwaukee’s desire to reach an extension with proposals involving eight-figure salaries, though it’s unclear just what sort of numbers were on the table from either side. The Bucks made an unusual commitment this week to Knight’s backup, Kendall Marshall, when they guaranteed what had been a non-guaranteed contract for the former 13th overall pick. Perhaps that’s a sign that Milwaukee decided at some point that it prefers to evaluate his performance against Knight’s, with both poised to hit free agency in the summer, though that’s just my speculation.

Extension Rumors: Butler, Rubio, Thompson

October 31st, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie-scale extensions is only about half a day away, and there’s sure to be action in the hours ahead as decisions loom for the remaining eligible players. Here’s the latest as of this morning:

The Bulls and Butler were apart by $2.5MM in average annual value as they talked Thursday, Johnson reports. Butler’s camp doesn’t see a deal happening before the deadline, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter), which isn’t surprising considering the gap.
The Wolves are willing to sign Rubio to a four-year extension worth $52MM, and the team would perhaps be on board with going up to $54MM, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). Agent Dan Fegan has reportedly been seeking the maximum salary for his client, which would likely entail at least $66MM over four years, but Rubio would take $58MM, Wolfson says.
There’s “plenty of pessimism” surrounding the talks between Tristan Thompson and the Cavs as a gap remains in their proposals, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Ricky Rubio is more likely than not to sign an extension with the Wolves as advanced negotiations have taken place between the sides over the past few weeks, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That echoes an earlier report from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who heard from people outside the organization who believed Rubio and the team would ultimately settle on a four-year, $52MM deal.
Agent Brian Elfus has been in San Antonio negotiating with the Spurs this week, as Stein writes in the same piece, but Kawhi Leonard is nonetheless unlikely to sign an extension, Stein says, seconding a report from ESPN colleague Chris Broussard. Stein hears the Spurs prefer to take Leonard to restricted free agency next summer to maintain maximum financial flexibility. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote earlier this week that the Spurs were reluctant to give Leonard the maximum salary he’s seeking.
Talks are continuing between the Warriors and Klay Thompson and the Cavs and Tristan Thompson, Stein reports.
Brandon Knight and Norris Cole appear unlikely to receive extensions, according to Stein, though talks are still going on between the Bucks and Knight’s agent, Arn Tellem, a source tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Stein seconds earlier reports indicating that Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson and Iman Shumpert also seem unlikely to sign extensions.
The Bulls are going to have to increase their offer to Butler to entice him to sign, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. It’s unclear what the Bulls have on the table, but as of a week ago the sides were “millions apart,” as Johnson wrote then.

And-Ones: Allen, Thabeet, NBPA

October 30th, 2014 at 10:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In response to commissioner Adam Silver’s statement that a third of the teams in the league are still losing money, new NBPA head Michele Roberts said, “The NBA’s cries of poverty will not work this time,” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes.”I can say that I was more than surprised,” Roberts told Yahoo Sports. “I am not suggesting that Adam is telling a lie. I am sure that the owners told him that. But it’s difficult for me to believe that, especially after looking at the 2011 CBA negotiations and seeing all the money the players don’t have now. There’s $1.1 billion that the players would’ve been otherwise entitled.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Mavs owner Mark Cuban left open the possibility that Dallas could add either Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis later on in the season, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reports. “We haven’t talked to him, but I think he’s doing it the right way,” Cuban said of Allen. “He’s waiting to see who’s doing well. If it comes down to it, we’d always consider it. We’re always open to improving the team. But you don’t want to mess up a good thing, either. That’s when Caron Butler got hurt and Roddy [Beaubois] got hurt. But Peja Stojakovic is a good example of us adding a veteran in season.” In regards to Lewis, Cuban added, “Rashard Lewis is working out here. We’ve stayed in touch with him and worked with him.”
Hasheem Thabeet has passed on playing in Europe and instead will play for Grand Rapids in the NBA D-League this season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It appears that the Pistons, who had waived Thabeet, will retain his D-League rights as franchises can retain the rights of up to four players that they have waived.
The NBA D-League Draft is scheduled to be held this Saturday and the crew over at DraftExpress ran down the complete list of eligible players.
The Bucks will keep working toward an extension with Brandon Knight up until Friday’s deadline, David Alarcón of HoopsHype tweets. It’s unclear how far apart the two sides are in their discussions, but in his look at Knight in our extension candidate series, Chuck Myron opined that the two sides could compromise on a four-year, $41MM arrangement similar to what the Sixers gave Jrue Holiday two years ago.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Hawks, Knight, Ware

October 23rd, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat front office wasn’t deflated when they learned that LeBron James and his talents were returning to the Cavs, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Miami’s brass looked at the departure as a new opportunity and a fresh chapter, notes Zillgitt. The team wasn’t interested in a long rebuilding process, and Zillgitt points to the team bringing back Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, as well as signing Josh McRoberts and Luol Deng as proof that the team still intends to be contenders in the Eastern Conference.

Here’s more from the east:

The Hawks have hired Goldman Sachs and Inner Circle Sports to help facilitate the sale of the franchise, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter link).
With 16 players remaining on their preseason roster the Celtics have at least one more personnel move to make prior to the regular season commencing. A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com hands out his preseason grades for the players and notes where each currently fits in Boston’s plans.
New Bucks team owners Wes Edens and Marc Lasry face their first major franchise decision, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times writes. The two have to decide the contract future of Brandon Knight, whom they have until October 31st to work out an extension with or else he is eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer, notes Woelfel. Knight’s numbers and age compare favorably with Eric Bledsoe‘s, but many around the league feel that the Suns overpaid when the re-signed Bledsoe to a five year, $70MM deal, so Knight may be hard pressed to duplicate Bledsoe’s near $14MM per season average, the Journal Times scribe relays.
The Sixers still have 20 players on their preseason roster and a number of decisions to make before Saturday’s deadline to waive players so that they’re off the team by the time opening-night rosters are set on Monday. Casper Ware is in camp on a non-guaranteed deal, but has a very real shot to stick with the team, Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com writes. “I feel good about it,” Ware said. “I don’t know what they have planned, I just control what I can control and play hard.”

Extension Rumors: Leonard, Thompson, Cole

October 17th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for teams to sign rookie scale extensions with their eligible players is two weeks from today, and while only six players came to deals last time around, that number has the potential to be much larger this year, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein has more on many of those extension hopefuls that adds to the storylines we’ve been following throughout the offseason:

Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, and Norris Cole are among the players who are in active negotiations with their respective teams about rookie scale extensions, Stein reports. Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson, Brandon Knight, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks are also in active extension talks, according to Stein, who advances earlier reports that all of them had engaged in talks.
Iman Shumpert and the Knicks are also discussing an extension, Stein writes, countering a report from a few weeks ago that indicated that the sides hadn’t engaged in talks and that New York was content to let the swingman hit restricted free agency next summer.
Klay Thompson’s camp is considering the idea of going after an offer sheet similar to the one the Mavs gave Chandler Parsons if Thompson and the Warriors don’t come to an extension this month, Stein hears. Parsons’ near-max deal runs three years and includes a player option and a 15% trade kicker. Rival GMs have expressed admiration for its structure and Rockets GM Daryl Morey pointed to the difficulty that trading such a contract would entail shortly after he decided against matching it. The player option would allow Thompson to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2017, which is when Stephen Curry‘s deal is set to end, as Stein points out.
The Lakers have attempted to trade for Thompson in the past, Stein notes, though he doesn’t make any suggestion that they’re planning an aggressive push for the shooting guard if he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Extension Candidate: Brandon Knight

October 3rd, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks never seemed to have much of a chance to sign an extension the last time they were eligible to negotiate one with a point guard named Brandon who went in the top 10 picks in the draft, so perhaps it’s only logical that they’re reportedly anxious to reach a deal this time. Milwaukee appears motivated to come to terms with Brandon Knight rather than let him hit restricted free agency, as Brandon Jennings did in 2013, but there aren’t so many similarities beyond their names, pedigree and the position they play on the floor. There’s been no suggestion that Knight is eager to leave Milwaukee, as there was with Jennings. Even though Knight, the No. 8 overall selection in the 2011 draft, went two picks higher in the order than Jennings, the No. 10 choice from 2009, Knight doesn’t seem to have quite as much upside.

Knight’s agent, Arn Tellem, would probably dispute that last point, noting that Knight’s 17.9 points per game in his third NBA season this past year were more than Jennings has posted in all but one of his five seasons in the league. Knight has also proven a more effective three-point shooter over the course of his career, if only slightly so, and his 16.5 PER last season was better than Jennings’ mark of 15.6 for the Pistons. Still, even when Jennings put up the worst assists-to-turnovers ratio of his career, it was better than the one that Knight produced last year, when he recorded career bests in assists (4.9) and turnovers (2.6) per game.

Knight seems sensitive to criticism that he’s not cut out to play point guard, recently insisting to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that it’s his best position. New coach Jason Kidd expressed confidence in Knight’s abilities but cautioned that he may still see time at shooting guard, as Gardner also noted. The Bucks have alternatives at the point, having claimed Kendall Marshall, who’s little more than two years removed from having been a lottery pick and who averaged 8.8 assists per game last season in 54 appearances with the Lakers. That number for Marshall reflects Mike D’Antoni‘s up-tempo scheme as well as the point guard’s own ability, but Marshall’s presence on the roster should serve to motivate Knight to either sign an extension, take command of the point guard position this season, or both. Marshall’s minimum-salary contract is up at the end of the season, and if he proves he can be a better point guard than Knight this year, it’s quite possible the Bucks would choose Marshall instead if they don’t already have Knight on a long-term deal. That threat is tempered somewhat because Milwaukee would have full Bird rights on Knight and only Early Bird rights on Marshall, but it still exists.

Moving to shooting guard would put Knight in a crowded mix on the wings that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, O.J. Mayo, Khris Middleton, Jerryd Bayless, Jared Dudley and Damien Inglis, all of whom are either building blocks or have guaranteed salary on the books for 2015/16. It’s hard to see Knight beating out either Antetokounmpo or Parker for a starting spot long-term. The team’s desire to strike an extension clearly signals belief that Knight can handle the point, but the ability to negotiate from a position of strength no doubt fuels GM John Hammond‘s push for a deal. Fourth-year players who pass on extensions routinely bet on themselves, but in Knight’s case, there’s a lot to lose, particularly considering what happened on the restricted free agency market this summer.

Phoenix’s willingness to come up significantly on its four-year, $48MM offer to Eric Bledsoe, finally striking a five-year, $70MM arrangement, was a positive coda to a tense standoff that cast the market for point guards in a team-friendly light. There weren’t many front offices clamoring for free agents at the position Knight wants to prove he can play, in large measure because the league is flooded with quality point guards. Rajon Rondo is set to hit free agency next summer, and Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker and Reggie Jackson are in line compete with Knight on the restricted market, contingent on whether they sign extensions.

Teams would probably be less anxious to pursue Knight if they instead see him more as an undersized shooting guard than as a point guard, even though smaller backcourts are more common than they used to be around the league. Knight’s wingspan of nearly 6’7″ helps him defensively against larger players, but it’s unclear if his defense is an asset. The Pistons were 7.3 points per 100 possessions better with Knight on the floor in 2012/13 compared to when he wasn’t, as NBA.com shows, but the Bucks were 4.0 points per 100 possessions worse with Knight in the lineup this past year.

The last point guard to sign an extension with an average annual value of less than $10MM was Mike Conley, and that deal has worked out remarkably well for the Grizzlies. Tellem surely doesn’t want a repeat of that situation, and so it only seems logical that he’d respond to the Bucks’ enthusiasm for an extension with proposals involving more than $10MM a year. It’s conceivable that the Bucks envision compromising with a deal similar to the four-year, $41MM arrangement the Sixers gave Jrue Holiday two years ago, an extension that proved tradeable even before it kicked in. Still, I think the Bucks would like to see whether doubts about his place on the roster and the market for point guards around the league lurk in the back of Knight’s mind and motivate him to sign a bargain deal for less than what Holiday received. I don’t think Tellem will let that happen, so it’s tough to see a path to a deal.

Bucks Eye Extension With Brandon Knight

October 2nd, 2014 at 10:27am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks have opened rookie scale extension talks with point guard Brandon Knight, GM John Hammond says, and there’s little doubt that the team would like to come to a long-term deal, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Still, it’s unclear just how much the Bucks would be willing to pay the former eighth overall pick who led the team in scoring last season. Milwaukee has until October 31st to sign the Arn Tellem client to an extension, or he’ll be set for restricted free agency next summer.

Knight saw his scoring average jump to 17.9 points per game this past season after notching just 13.3 PPG in his final year with Detroit, which sent him to Milwaukee in the 2013 trade involving Brandon Jennings. Still, that surge in points was in part because Knight bore a heavier load on offense, attempting 15.2 shots a night, 4.3 more than any other Buck. The 6’3″ former University of Kentucky Wildcat was nonetheless significantly more efficient, with a 16.5 PER, and he set a career high with 4.9 assists per game while his turnovers decreased slightly. The 22-year-old picked up an endorsement from new coach Jason Kidd.

“He’s a piece we want here,” Kidd said, as Gardner notes. “You talk about his work ethic, the way he approaches the game, he’s a professional, on and off the court.”

Milwaukee already has about $42MM in commitments for next season, not counting close to $5MM in team options for Giannis Antetokounmpo and John Henson that the team will almost assuredly pick up, and a $4.25MM player option that Jared Dudley seems likely to exercise, too. Even a reasonably discounted extension for Knight would probably knock the Bucks out of any sort of max-level cap room, and I listed him among those I believed unlikely to receive an extension when I examined the market in late July. Still, Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris are also on that list of longshots, and the Suns signed both to extensions this week.

Ford’s Latest: Bulls, Sixers, Lakers, Afflalo

June 23rd, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The latest Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com is full of rumors, draft-related and otherwise. Let’s dive in and hit the highlights:

The Bulls are offering Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, and the 16th and 19th picks in this year’s draft to the Wolves, Ford hears. That’s presumably as part of a Kevin Love package, though Ford doesn’t make it clear exactly what Chicago wants back in return for those assets.
The Sixers continue to explore the idea of a Michael Carter-Williams trade as they seek another top-10 pick. The Lakers would like to acquire Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young for No. 7 and Steve Nash, but they’ve gained no traction on that proposal, according to Ford.
The Magic have offered picks Nos. 4 and 12 plus Arron Afflalo to the Cavs and Bucks as they attempt to move into the top two, but neither Milwaukee nor Cleveland has bitten. They’re also dangling Afflalo to the Kings and Nuggets for the eighth and 11th selections, respectively.
The Bucks are looking for an additional lottery pick, Ford reports, citing “serious” interest from other teams in Larry Sanders, John Henson and Brandon Knight. The Nuggets have spoken with Milwaukee about the No. 11 pick, according to Ford.
A source close to both the Nuggets and Dario Saric deny that Denver has given him a promise to draft him at No. 11.
There are several other medical issues that came up in Joel Embiid‘s physical in addition to his foot and back, sources tell Ford. It’s unclear how much concern there is regarding them.

Woelfel On Ilyasova, Henson, Knight, Love

June 22nd, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The most likely member of the Bucks to be dealt is Ersan Ilyasova, writes Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. The general consensus among some NBA personnel is that Milwaukee could get a late first-round choice for the 27-year-old and there are teams in the back half of the draft looking for an impact power forward. Woelfel mentions the Suns, Thunder, and Rockets as possibilities. Here’s more from Woelfel’s column..

Bucks forward John Henson is also available and some team insiders claim that new owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens have given their blessing to possibly trading point guard Brandon Knight. Both would undoubtedly would bring back at least a mid-first round pick if dealt.
Bucks center Larry Sanders, who has been saddled by off-court issues and had a disappointing 2013/14, will be entering the first of a fully-guaranteed four-year, $44MM contract next season, making him virtually untradeable. However, some team may be willing to take him on if Ilyasova, Henson, or Knight were involved.
The Bucks hold the No. 2 overall pick plus Nos. 31, 36 and 48, but Woelfel cautions that we shouldn’t expect that to be the case on draft night.
When asked where they thought Wolves star Kevin Love would end up, two execs picked the Lakers, even though the Warriors seem to be the frontrunners
It’s generally assumed the 76ers will pick guard Dante Exum with the third overall pick, but a person close to Philly said Indiana forward Noah Vonleh is drawing interest as well.