Channing Frye Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Shopping Channing Frye

February 16th, 2016 at 1:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have been trying to trade Channing Frye, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link), who suggests the effort will accelerate now that the team has reportedly agreed to trade Tobias Harris, who’s Frye’s cousin, to the Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings. Orlando has fielded multiple inquiries on Frye, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported a few weeks ago, adding that an executive from a rival team said interest in the veteran floor-stretcher was high. The Magic apparently denied before the season that they were making Frye available for little in return.

The 32-year-old has disappointed since Orlando signed him to a four year deal during the summer of 2014. He has appeared in 44 games this season, including 29 as a starter, and is averaging just 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per night. His career averages are 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist and Frye owns a career slash line of .438/.387/.820.

Frye is making more than $8.193MM this season, with about $7.8MM coming next season and $7.4MM in 2017/18, the final year of his deal.

Southeast Notes: Frye, Skiles, Pargo, Whiteside

February 1st, 2016 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have fielded multiple inquiries on Channing Frye, league sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Interest in the 32-year-old big man is high, an executive from a rival team told Deveney, adding that it looks like Orlando is moving on from him. The 11th-year veteran, who’s making $8.193MM this season, is averaging 17.5 minutes per game, his fewest since the 2008/09 season, save for 2012/13, which he missed entirely due to a heart condition. Coach Scott Skiles recently removed him from the starting lineup, and Frye didn’t appear in Sunday’s win over the Celtics. Sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com before the season that Frye, whose contract runs through 2017/18, was available for little in return, but Magic officials denied that. See more on the Magic and other teams from the Southeast Division:

Skiles admitted that he wasn’t effectively conveying his messages to Magic players as they struggled through 12 losses in 13 games before Sunday’s win, observes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “This is my responsibility,” Skiles said before the game Sunday. “I’ve got to get these guys to understand what it takes to consistently win in the NBA, and I haven’t gotten that done in the last five weeks. For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened. So I’ve got to find a way to get that done.”
Former Hornets point guard Jannero Pargo has signed to play in the D-League, reports Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link). Pargo has been out of the NBA since Charlotte released him nearly a year ago, midway through his 12th season in the league, while he dealt with a back injury. The 36-year-old has never played in the D-League before, so he’ll go through D-League waivers before landing with a team.
The success of the Heat and backup big man Amar’e Stoudemire during the recent absence of Hassan Whiteside raises further questions about whether the soon-to-be free agent Whiteside is a truly a fit for Miami, argues Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel.

Southeast Notes: Wade, Clifford, Porzingis, Oladipo

November 25th, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwyane Wade has been trying to preserve his body for the long run the past few years, at 33 years old he was still able to corral a one-year, $20MM deal from the Heat this past summer. Still, the 13th-year veteran has no aspirations of matching Kobe Bryant‘s 20 seasons in the NBA, as he tells Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports.

“That ain’t a goal for me. That’s a long time. I’m sure Kobe didn’t think he’d play 20 years. It’s amazing. And he’s been through a lot. He’s been through a lot of injuries but he’s still out there. And he’s still, you know, Kobe Bryant,” Wade said. “It’s amazing to see a guy who has played 20 years in the league. Makes me feel old, for sure, just watching him. I don’t know how many people come in with the goal, ‘I’m going to play 20 years.’ I think you take it step by step. For years I said, ‘I want to make it to 10.’ I made it to 10 and I was like, ‘I’m solid.’ Then, you keep going from there. But 20? No way.”

Bryant isn’t nearly as effective as he once was, and Lee’s piece examines what Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are doing to ward off similar declines in their own games. See more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets coach Steve Clifford, fresh off agreeing to a three-year extension, thanked owner Michael Jordan and vice chairman Curtis Polk, as well as GM Rich Cho, whose relationship with the coach has reportedly been less than ideal. “I like who I’m working for and wanted this to happen,” Clifford said today, according to the Hornets Twitter account.
Kristaps Porzingis said he sensed the Magic would have drafted him with the No. 5 overall pick if the Knicks had passed on him at No. 4, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Porzingis worked out for the Magic shortly before the draft, Berman adds.
New Magic head coach Scott Skiles has decided to bench former No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo in favor of Channing Frye, who was reportedly available on the trade market for little in return before the season, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel relays. Skiles stressed that the move isn’t punishment or necessarily permanent and said Oladipo handled the news well, Robbins notes. Oladipo is eligible for a rookie scale extension after the season.

Magic Make Channing Frye Available For Trade?

October 2nd, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Channing Frye is available for very little in return, sources from around the league tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who nonetheless cautions that Magic officials say that’s not the case as he writes amid a piece on Tristan Thompson‘s situation. A knee injury Frye suffered a year ago plagued him in his first season in Orlando after he signed a four-year, $32MM deal with the team in the summer of 2014. He’ll make more than $8.175MM this season on the front-loaded contract.

Frye, 32, saw averages in points, rebounds and minutes per game last year that were his lowest since the 2008/09 season. Still, he started 51 games and shot 39.3% from three-point range. That marksmanship was the second-best percentage of his career and testament to his value as a floor-stretching 6’11” big man, especially for a team that has trouble with spacing as much as the Magic do. However, his path to more playing time is muddied in Orlando, where Tobias Harris, fresh off signing his new four-year, $64MM contract, Nikola Vucevic, whose four-year, $48MM-plus extension kicks in this season, and 2014 No. 4 overall pick Aaron Gordon crowd the front line.

The Magic appear anxious to win, having fired coach Jacque Vaughn midway through last season, one in which Orlando failed to make a leap forward in the franchise’s rebuilding project, and hired Scott Skiles, who has a history of sparking fast turnarounds when he arrives on a team’s bench. The Magic could open more than $10MM in cap space if they trade Frye for no salary in return, but aside from Thompson, who’s demanding much more than the amount of cap room Orlando could open in a Frye salary dump, the existing free agent market is largely devoid of intriguing options. The Magic could use cap room to position themselves to take on a player via trade, such as Markieff Morris, who makes a salary similar to Frye’s, but it’s unclear if they have any such inclination.

Should the Magic cut bait with Frye now or keep him and find a way to make the most of his outside shooting? Leave a comment to tell us.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Beal, Frye, Heat

September 7th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks have gone through several key changes since Bruce Levenson self-reported racially charged emails he’d sent and announced a year ago today that he was selling the team, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recaps. Tony Ressler took over for Levenson as the principal owner, Mike Budenholzer assumed former GM Danny Ferry‘s responsibilities and received a promotion, and Tiago Splitter and Tim Hardaway Jr. replaced DeMarre Carroll and Pero Antic as key parts of the roster. The team now faces the challenge of improving upon a season that saw “the most remarkable on-court run in franchise history,” as Vivlamore puts it. While we wait to find out where the Hawks go from here, see more from the Southeast Division:

Some people around the Wizards had questioned Bradley Beal‘s work ethic and whether he could become a great player, but the season that Paul Pierce spent in Washington helped Beal more than anyone else on the team, many Wizards insiders feel, reports Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Pierce opted out and signed with the Clippers, so it remains to be seen how Beal, whose extension candidacy I examined in depth Friday, will perform without the veteran mentor.
Channing Frye put up his lowest numbers in five years this past season after signing a four-year, $32MM deal with the Magic, and while he started 51 games, the Magic insisted that they brought him in as more of a complementary player than as a starter, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Next month, the 32-year-old Frye will try to hold off Aaron Gordon, who turns 20 in a few weeks, for a starting spot, but Frye would best serve the Magic in a reserve role that would emphasize his floor-stretching abilities, Schmitz believes.
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel won’t be surprised if the Heat open the regular season with only 14 players on the roster, though he contends in his mailbag column that the team faces depth issues.

Magic Notes: Nicholson, Draft, Frye

May 9th, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Devyn Marble was the only player whom the Magic sent to the D-League this season, as our D-League Usage Report indicates. The guard averaged 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game during three assignments with the Erie Bayhawks, the team’s D-League affiliate.

Here’s more from Orlando:

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel wouldn’t be surprised if the Magic traded Andrew Nicholson this offseason. Robbins cites the forward’s inability to run the floor well, which doesn’t mesh with the strengths of guards Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo, as reason for a trade. The 25-year-old will make slightly under $2.4MM during the 2015/16 season, which is the last year of his rookie contract.
Willie Cauley-Stein and Justise Winslow are among the prospects the Magic should attempt to interview and learn more about at the Draft Combine, Robbins opines in a separate piece. Cauley-Stein is likely the best rim protector in the draft and with his skill set, he would complement Nikola Vucevic nicely. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks the Kentucky product as the sixth best prospect, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him as the seventh. Orlando has a 91.2% chance to receive one of the top six picks, as our Lottery Odds page shows.
Channing Frye, who signed a four-year, $32MM deal with the Magic last offseason, could be an attractive asset to a team that already has a rim protector, opines Robbins in a separate piece. Frye’s salary, which decreases by 4.5% annually, along with his shooting range, should generate some interest on the trade market.

Pacific Notes: Dragic, Frye, Whiteside, KG

March 5th, 2015 at 2:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Goran Dragic likes “everything” about the Heat, but he’ll still consider all options, including the Lakers, when he’s a free agent in the summer, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Dragic did speak highly of the Lakers organization and their history of winning, but he was also highly complimentary of Miami. “I’m really comfortable. I feel great,” Dragic said. “Miami is a nice city. People are nice. The system is good. I like coach. I have all good words for them.” Here’s more from the Pacific Division…

Channing Frye agreed to a four-year, $32MM deal with the Magic in July when the Suns could not commit to him as they pursued the likes of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Later, Suns owner Robert Sarver said in an interview that the 31-year-old only gave him three minutes to match Orlando’s offer and Frye takes exception to that, as Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “We’d been talking for months ahead of time,” Frye said. “I don’t know where that came from. It didn’t go down like that. I just don’t do business like that. That doesn’t even make sense in the realm of business. Orlando did a good job of selling me on the future and showed that they wanted me.”
After the Heat topped the Lakers 100-94 on Wednesday night, big man Hassan Whiteside took the opportunity to remind everyone that his breakout season could have gone down in purple and gold. “I worked out for the Lakers. I thought they could use me. I guess not,” Whiteside said, according to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). Whiteside has become so valuable for Miami that he was made untouchable in trade talks around the deadline along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers would have loved to coach Kevin Garnett again, but he’s happy to see him back in Minnesota, calling the reunion “awesome,” Arash Markazi of ESPN.com writes.

Southeast Notes: Frye, Heat, Wizards

March 3rd, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Channing Frye has struggled to live up to the four-year, $32MM contract he inked with the Magic last July, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I think the first half [of the season] was a little tough,” Frye said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to just automatically get acclimated to what was going on.” In 60 appearances for Orlando this season Frye is averaging 7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 26.9 minutes per game.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

Frye also acknowledges that he had some difficulty acclimating to former Magic coach Jacque Vaughn‘s system, Robbins adds. The veteran is finding things much improved for him under interim coach James Borrego, especially on the defensive end, the Sentinel scribe notes. “Overall, I love the city,” Frye said. “I love this opportunity to play with these guys. After the [coaching] change, I think it’s really for me, in my personal opinion, been a breath of fresh air with J.B. I’m not saying that it wasn’t awesome before. But I’m just saying the way his philosophy is a little different, it’s a little bit more my style.”
When discussing the Heat‘s D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said, “it was responsible of us to invest in the D-League,” Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post relays (Twitter links). Spoelstra acknowledged that the distance between South Beach and South Dakota doesn’t make for the most convenient arrangement, but the most important thing is that the ownership and culture was aligned, Lieser adds.
The Wizards are being patient about filling their lone remaining roster spot, which was created when the team waived Glen Rice Jr., Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. Washington is currently considering various options including players from overseas and the NBA D-League, Castillo adds.

Western Notes: Frye, Leonard, Collison

March 3rd, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Channing Frye is upset with the Suns’ management, who made some critical comments last week regarding the veteran big man’s departure to the Magic as a free agent last summer, John Denton of Magic.com tweets. Phoenix’s owner Robert Sarver had said that Frye didn’t give the Suns an opportunity to match Orlando’s four-year contract offer. “I think we have to take what that front office says with a grain of salt,” Frye said in response to Sarver’s comments. “I think right now they need to focus on their own team. I think we had many negotiations between [us and] the Suns,” Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel relays.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

There’s plenty at stake for the Spurs over the next few months, but nothing that happens this spring will alter the value of the max or near-max contract Kawhi Leonard is set to receive in restricted free agency this summer, as Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News believes.
Former Nuggets coach George Karl feels no sense of glee at Denver’s struggles without him, as he said last week, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Karl has sympathy for Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, Spears notes.
Darren Collison underwent successful surgery today to repair a core muscle issue, the Kings have announced. Collison will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to be out for approximately six weeks.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Hill, Green, Crawford

February 18th, 2015 at 7:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers center Jordan Hill is “highly unlikely” to be traded before Thursday’s deadline, a source told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Hill, who is making $9MM this season and would make the same salary next year if the team picks up his option, said on Wednesday that he would like to stay put in Los Angeles. Many league executives believe the Lakers will pick up Hill’s option if he is not dealt, according to Deveney. Hill’s name has been mentioned in trade talks involving Goran Dragic and Reggie Jackson, Deveney adds.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

The Warriors will likely match any offer sheet for restricted free agent Draymond Green, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. An unnamed Warriors executive, when asked recently if paying Green $12MM per season was too high, told Thompson “we’re keeping Draymond Green.” The Warriors are well aware Green’s value has risen dramatically this season, possibly to the status of a max contract, but there has been no indication they will decline to match any offer.
The Clippers are hesitant to make any deal involving Jamal Crawford unless it would clearly improve the team, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
Rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson has impressed the Lakers so much that they are reluctant to part with him in any proposed deal, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Clarkson, who was selected by the Wizards in the second round last June and was immediately traded to Los Angeles, is averaging 12.4 points, 3.8 assists and 1.9 turnovers over his last 10 contests.
Lakers coach Byron Scott does not appear to be in the loop concerning trade talks, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times reports. Scott said Wednesday he had not talked to GM Mitch Kupchak about trade rumors, including the Lakers’ pursuit of Goran Dragic, and wouldn’t discuss the topic with Kupchak until the GM approaches him, Pincus adds.
The Kings’ main priority is to acquire a power forward who can stretch the floor with his shooting range, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. The Magic’s Channing Frye and Bucks’ Ersan Ilyasova are potential targets, Kennedy speculates. Even if they can’t find a 3-point shooter at the position, the Kings may still look to acquire a power forward before the deadline, Kennedy adds.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.