Brook Lopez Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Eastern Notes: Williams, Nets, Wizards

February 12th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mo Williams was traded to the Hornets on Tuesday but their interest in the veteran point guard dated back to last summer when he was on the free-agent market, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The Hornets were shopping for a backup to Kemba Walker but ultimately settled on Brian Roberts, Bonnell adds. Their interest in Williams was rekindled when Walker suffered a knee injury that will sideline him until at least early March, Bonnell notes.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Nets coach Lionel Hollins expects to have the same roster after the trade deadline, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Any move by the Nets would likely involve Deron Williams, Joe Johnson or Brook Lopez but the market for them is underwhelming because of their salaries and, particularly in Williams’ case, a lack of production, Bontemps adds. The fact that the Nets must swap first-round picks with the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks, courtesy of their acquisition of Johnson in 2012, leaves them no incentive to strip the roster to increase their chances of moving into the lottery, Bontemps notes.
John Wall feels the Wizards need to add another play-making guard or wing player to the second unit, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports. Rather than making a deal, the Wizards could wait to fill that spot with a free agent bought out of his contract after the trade deadline or an overseas pickup, Castillo notes. Former Pistons point guard Will Bynum, who is currently playing in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers, could fill the void when the CBA playoffs end, Castillo adds. Wall told Castillo that he endorses Bynum’s skill set and competitive nature.
Brandon Bass and Marcus Thornton could be moved before the trade deadline as the Celtics continue their quest to shed salary and stockpile draft picks, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Both will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Bass, who is averaging 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds, is making $6.9MM this season. Thornton, who is averaging 8.9 PPG, has a $8.575MM salary.
The Hawks will have to give All-Star Paul Millsap a substantial raise to retain him, according to Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. That’s just what Millsap planned when he left the Jazz to sign with Atlanta for what turned out to be a bargain rate of two years and $19MM, Newberry adds. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Northwest Notes: Chandler, Afflalo, Jackson

February 12th, 2015 at 1:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Denver’s demands for Wilson Chandler are higher than they are for Arron Afflalo, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, and some believe that he’s among the few Nuggets the team isn’t shopping, Stein writes. There are conflicting reports about whether Denver has been shopping Chandler, though the general belief has been that GM Tim Connelly and company are seeking a first-round pick in exchange, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported. Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported that a first-rounder is the Nuggets’ asking price for Afflalo, too, so there may be a more nuanced difference between what they’re asking for each. In any case, the Nuggets appear to be active, as Stein writes, and there’s more from his piece amid the latest from the Northwest Division:

Afflalo and Reggie Jackson are two of the three players whom GMs mentioned most frequently when Stein asked about the biggest names likely to move at the deadline. Brook Lopez, whom the Nuggets and Thunder have reportedly sought, is the other.
Adreian Payne went from the best team in the Eastern Conference to the worst team in the West in Tuesday’s trade that sent him from the Hawks to the Timberwolves, but he doesn’t mind that, as Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. Instead, last year’s No. 15 overall pick is excited about the chance to play after going on four D-League assignments and appearing in only three NBA games with Atlanta.
Minnesota’s futile attempts to surround a young Kevin Garnett with veterans during Flip Saunders‘ first stint at Wolves coach gave Saunders, now both coach and president of basketball operations, a lesson about what not to do, argues Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. Tuesday’s pair of trades were further indication that Saunders intends to follow a different path with Andrew Wiggins and surround him with young talent, Rand believes.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Nets, Stoudemire, Drew

February 4th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Phil Jackson‘s hints to Harvey Araton of The New York Times that his stay as Knicks president might not be a lengthy one lead Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com to wonder if the door is ajar for a return of the Zen Master to the Lakers, where Jim Buss is on a three-year timetable to succeed. Still, Jackson told Brian Lewis of the New York Post within the past week that “I’ve kind of just divorced myself from them,” in reference to the Lakers, so it seems a purple-and-gold reunion is almost certainly not in the cards. Here’s more from Jackson’s current division:

Trade rumors have swirled around Brook Lopez, and a recent report cast some doubt about the long-term job security of coach Lionel Hollins, but Lopez and Hollins have begun to forge a better working relationship, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News details. Hollins’ public criticism of Lopez and others had bothered Nets ownership, as sources recently told Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
Amar’e Stoudemire said today that he doesn’t anticipate he’ll be traded this year, and that while he hasn’t had a conversation with the Knicks front office about a future with the team beyond this season, he expects one to take place soon, observes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Larry Drew II‘s 10-day contract with the Sixers expires tonight, but coach Brett Brown made it plain Tuesday that he’s a fan of the point guard, notes Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). Drew is on his second 10-day arrangement with Philadelphia, so any subsequent deal between the sides would have to cover the rest of the season.
Sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia that former Knicks guard Chris Smith is headed to play for KB Peja in Kosovo. The Knicks signed Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, to a minimum-salary contract with a fully guaranteed salary for last season, but they waived him a little more than two months into 2013/14.

Nets GM Billy King On Trade Talks

February 2nd, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The trade deadline is weeks away and the Nets have been featured prominently on the pages of Hoops Rumors. Nets GM Billy King admits that the phone is ringing in Brooklyn, but he insists that he’s not the one doing the dialing.

“Are we aggressively shopping our guys? No. Have we had a lot of conversations with people? Yes,” said King in an interview with Sarah Kustok and Lenn Robbins of BrooklynNets.com earlier tonight (via Roderick Boone of Newsday on Twitter).

King went on to explain (link) that he wants to “see this group play” before making any deals. In fact, King said that he wants to sit back and evaluate things between now and the All-Star break before doing anything at all, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). “Then, if a deal makes sense, we’ll do it,” the GM said. The Nets will play their last game before the break on February 10th and won’t resume action until February 20th.

Despite the Nets’ struggles so far this season (they’re 18-28 heading into tonight’s tilt against the Clippers), King says that he still believes that the Nets have enough talent to make it to the playoffs. With that in mind, King says that he will not make a deal just for the heck of it (via Andy Vasquez of The Bergen Record on Twitter). Still, he has spoken to Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, and Deron Williams about the possibility being traded (via Boone on Twitter).

Recently, the Nets have been discussing Lopez with the Nuggets, though it appears that things have been dormant for the last week. The Nets could also upgrade their roster in the coming weeks without making a trade as they are looking into old friend Andray Blatche.

Nuggets Offer Hickson, McGee For Lopez

February 2nd, 2015 at 12:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

12:11pm: The Nets and Nuggets haven’t spoken about Lopez in a week, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

MONDAY, 7:47am: Denver’s offer included one of the 2015 first-round picks the team received in return for Timofey Mozgov last month, sources tell Stein, who writes in a full piece. The Mozgov trade gives Denver the rights to Oklahoma City’s first-round pick this year if it’s No. 19 or lower and Memphis’ first-rounder if it’s anywhere from No. 6 to No. 14.

FRIDAY, 11:20pm: The Nuggets are continuing to attempt to pry Brook Lopez away from the Nets, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Denver has been offering Brooklyn a package of JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson for Lopez, a deal that the Nets have firmly refused, Stein adds. Chris Mannix of SI.com had reported earlier today that the Nuggets were pursuing Lopez, but were unwilling to part with Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic or Wilson Chandler in a trade. Denver had reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Lopez earlier this month as well.

Denver’s proposed swap would work under the salary cap rules without requiring any additional players to be included. Hickson is making $5,381,750 for this season and is set to earn $5,613,500 in 2015/16. McGee’s 2014/15 salary is $11.25MM, and he is due $12MM for the following season. On the Nets side of the would-be deal, Lopez is earning $15,019,762 this year, and has a player option for 2015/16 for $16,744,218.

The oft-injured McGee has only appeared in 15 games this season for the Nuggets. He is averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest. His career numbers are 8.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG. His slash line is .542/.200/.586 in 374 career games. The 29-year-old Hickson has appeared in 39 games for Denver, including five as a starter. He is logging 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. His shooting numbers for the season are .494/.000/.618.

Lopez has been the subject of numerous trade rumors the past few weeks. The Thunder, Hornets and the Nets were reportedly close to a three-way deal for the center, but the Nets decided that they didn’t want Lance Stephenson in return. The Heat were also noted to have made a bid for Lopez, offering Brooklyn a proposal that reportedly included Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts. The organization appears to be undecided on whether or not to keep Lopez, but it will likely take a more enticing package than Denver had offered in McGee and Hickson for Brooklyn to budge, though that is just my speculation.

Atlantic Notes: Garnett, Lopez, ‘Melo, Sampson

February 2nd, 2015 at 9:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors have a whopping 14-game lead in the Atlantic Division, leaving the intrigue for the bottom of the division. The Knicks and Sixers are tied for last place in the division and, as our Reverse Standings show, for the second spot in the draft lottery. The future is the focus for those teams, but time may be running short for another prominent name in the Atlantic, as we detail:

Kevin Garnett says he’s “all in” with the Nets, and while he downplayed the idea of buying out his contract, he won’t rule it out, as Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal writes. “I don’t know what management is going to do,” Garnett said. “When my situation comes up, I’ll obviously give it some attention. Other than that, my attention is trying to get us on a winning streak, get us on a road where everybody’s playing together.”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post believes JaVale McGee would be part of any Nets-Nuggets swap involving Brook Lopez, no matter the other parts involved.
The “prevailing theory” is that Carmelo Anthony will sit out for the balance of the season once the All-Star break is over to rest his sore knee, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. For what it’s worth, the Knicks star won’t commit to playing in mid-March, Berman notes.
The Sixers had considered sending JaKarr Sampson on D-League assignment a couple of weeks ago, but two strong defensive games led the team to move him into the starting lineup instead, coach Brett Brown said, as Max Rappaport of Sixers.com writes. Sampson, an undrafted rookie, is in the first year of a four-year contract that doesn’t include any guaranteed money beyond this season.

Mannix’s Latest: Allen, Lopez, Nuggets, Thunder

January 30th, 2015 at 11:17am CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league increasingly believe that Ray Allen already knows the team he would like to play for this season, and that he’s simply deciding whether he wants to play at all, Chris Mannix of SI.com writes. Allen has hinted within the past two weeks that he’s coming back to the NBA, but another more recent report indicated that he’s enjoying time with his family. Mannix has a ton of noteworthy items in his latest weekly column, many of them with a Thunder-centric theme, and we’ll hit the highlights here.

The Nuggets are still trying to pry Brook Lopez from the Nets with a package centered on JaVale McGee, according to Mannix. Still, Denver doesn’t want to put Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic or Wilson Chandler into any deal, Mannix cautions.
The Thunder are willing to go deep into the luxury tax this season to acquire Lopez, the SI.com scribe writes. Oklahoma City is unwilling to give up any of its top present-day talent, nor will the team make a move that damages its future as the Thunder look for trade partners who are “desperate,” an opposing GM tells Mannix.
Reggie Jackson turned down an extension offer from Oklahoma City that would have made him the most highly paid backup in the NBA, a source tells Mannix. Just what sort of salary that would have meant is unclear, since Amar’e Stoudemire has made more appearances off the bench than he has starts on a deal that gives him in excess of $23.4MM this season. Some teams believed at the beginning of the season that there was a decent chance that Jackson would command offers of between $13MM and $14MM in restricted free agency this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote in October.
Several executives from around the NBA believe it’s conceivable that a five-year max deal for Kevin Durant will be worth some $200MM when he hits free agency in 2016, according to Mannix. Durant will be eligible for a max worth about 35% of the salary cap as a 10-year veteran that summer. Those execs also believe that Durant likes playing in Oklahoma City, as he’s said, Mannix writes.
Markieff Morris believes he and brother Marcus Morris might have made more money in restricted free agency this summer if they hadn’t signed extensions with the Suns, but Markieff can’t envision ever playing without his twin again, as he tells Mannix.

Nets, Hornets Discuss Joe Johnson

January 26th, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

10:12pm: A source tells Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal that the conversations between the Nets and Hornets have ceased. Still, the door remains open for the talks to pick back up closer to the deadline, and Charlotte has spoken to Brooklyn about Stephenson at least three times, Raskin hears.

MONDAY, 4:15pm: The Johnson talks date back to the three-way negotiations Brooklyn and Charlotte had earlier this month with Oklahoma City about Lopez, and no deal is imminent, a source tells Marc Stein and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com.

SUNDAY, 7:51pm: The talks are somewhere in between exploratory and serious, according to Michael A. Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter). The Nets could also part with a smaller piece in the deal, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).

7:45pm: The Nets and Hornets have restarted their trade talks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. This time, the discussions are focused on Brooklyn guard Joe Johnson.

The two sides are discussing a larger package that would likely include guards Lance Stephenson and Gerald Henderson and forward Marvin Williams. The Nets have been linked to Stephenson in the past. A recent report indicated that they didn’t have much interest in the guard, but it would seem that they do in fact have an eye on him.

Hornets owner Michael Jordan has been intrigued with the possibility of acquiring Johnson, who has struggled recently with tendinitis. The Nets, meanwhile, would like to unload the 33-year-old’s lucrative contract. Johnson is set to make $23.1MM this season and $24.9MM in 2015/16, his walk year.

At the end of the day, the Nets wouldn’t appear to be saving a ton of money with this deal as Stephenson, Henderson, and Williams also have undesirable deals. Stephenson is making $9MM this season and $9MM in 2015/16. Henderson is earning $6MM this year with a $6MM player option for 2015/16. Williams, meanwhile, is scheduled to make $7MM in both 2014/15 and 2015/16.

The Nets revamp could also extend beyond Johnson as they explore deals for big man Brook Lopez. Wojnarowski hears that the Nuggets, who have long been connected to Lopez, remain an interested trade partner.

Johnson, 33, has been averaging 15.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG per game. His PER of 14.3 is well below his career average of 16.1. Overall, the numbers show that he hasn’t been as efficient in his three years in black and white as he was with the Hawks.

Eastern Notes: Kobe, Wizards, Durant, Lopez

January 26th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant wanted to join the Wizards more than a decade ago when Michael Jordan was with the team, Bryant acknowledged to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. While Jordan was playing with the Wizards, Bryant told him several times that he wanted to come to Washington, assuming that Jordan would again head basketball operations for the Wizards as he did before his comeback, sources tell Lee. Jordan was confident he would sign Bryant when he became a free agent in 2004, Lee hears, but the current Hornets owner never got that chance, since then-Wizards owner Abe Pollin decided against letting Jordan run the front office upon his final retirement from playing in 2003. The Wizards missed out on a star then, but they have their sights set on acquiring one a dozen years later, as we detail:

It’s a long shot but more than a pipe dream that the Wizards would land Kevin Durant when he hits free agency in 2016, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. A D.C. income tax loophole would allow Durant to save more than $700K per year in tax payments if he played for the Wizards instead of the Thunder, as Aldridge explains. However, the Thunder, who hold Durant’s Bird rights, can offer better annual salary raises than the Wizards or any other team can.
J.R. Smith got over some initial mixed feelings about the trade that sent him from the Knicks to the Cavs and calls playing for Cleveland “the best situation for me as a person,” as he told Aldridge for the same piece. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season.
Trade candidate Brook Lopez would prefer to stay with the Nets, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes amid his weekly power rankings.
Scouts, coaches and GMs at the D-League showcase were puzzled when the Sixers signed Larry Drew II, who had been playing for the Heat’s affiliate, to a 10-day contract earlier this month, as Gino Pilato of D-League Digest hears (Twitter links). Drew put up strong numbers, with 10.1 assists per game and 40.4% three-point shooting in 21 D-League appearances this year, but there were other, more intriguing prospects, Pilato believes. Drew signed his second 10-day deal with Philly earlier today.