Chris McCullough Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Lee, Anthony, Nets

September 28th, 2015 at 6:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics want David Lee to be an impact player after he accepted a reduced role with the Warriors last season during their championship run, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports. Lee, who was acquired from the Warriors during the summer, averaged 18.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game just two seasons ago, Forsberg points out. “I was very honest with the media last year. If I wasn’t frustrated there was probably something wrong with me,” Lee said during the team’s media day on Monday. “I got injured to start the season; it wasn’t like I lost my job. I got injured and the team went, I think, 19-2 to start the year and, if you’re a rookie head coach and your team is 19-2, I think the last thing you want to do is disrupt the starting lineup.” Boston is also looking for Lee to be a leader, Forsberg adds.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Carmelo Anthony is convinced that Knicks president Phil Jackson still has faith in him as his franchise player, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports. Anthony doesn’t believe his window for a championship is closing or that his career is in decline because of knee issues, Bondy adds. “Even though you guys might not write about it, I think Phil still believes in me,” Anthony said during the team’s media day. “And that goes without even being said because I’m still here. For him to start this process with me, being the centerpiece of this, I respect that and I don’t want to let him down because I know that him putting me at the centerpiece of this is very big.”
Nets rookie power forward Chris McCullough will return to the court sometime in January, coach Lionel Hollins told Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link) and the assembled media in Brooklyn. McCullough, who suffered a torn right ACL in January playing for Syracuse University, is playing it safe with his rehab and does not know of any timetable, Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com adds in a tweet.
Anthony Bennett expected most of the summer that the Timberwolves would work a buyout deal with him and that he would join the Raptors, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets, adding that Bennett is looking forward to the fresh start. Raptors GM Masai Ujiri couldn’t pass up on the opportunity, according to Eric Koreen of the National Post (Twitter link).“For us to get a Canadian 22-year-old power forward that is athletic and can play at the minimum? We’ll take it,” Masai told Koreen.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Zeller, McCullough, Atkins

September 23rd, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Nets GM Billy King said Tuesday that he’s comfortable with Jarrett Jack as the starting point guard, though he admitted he’s unsure if the team is better off without Deron Williams, whom the team waived in a buyout deal. Andy Vasquez of The Record has that and other details from King’s session with reporters Tuesday.

“It’s going to depend on how quickly it jells,” King said. “But I think with the core of guys, proven scorers, proven guys that can win, we have a chance to make the playoffs. And the goal for us going into this is just to try to get better.”

King also made it clear that the team won’t try to improve its record simply to try to keep from forking over draft picks that are too high, as Vasquez also notes. Brooklyn, which owes the Celtics unprotected first-round picks in 2016 and 2018, will rebuild at its own pace, King said. See more on the Nets and Celtics and other Atlantic Division news:

Tyler Zeller confirmed he and the Celtics have engaged in extension talks, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com details, but while the center acknowledged that he’d like to reach a deal before the November 2nd deadline, he doesn’t sound like he’s especially anxious for one. “It would be nice to have an extension, just a little more security,” Zeller said. “But at the same time, you have to approach the year and you can’t be heartbroken if you don’t get it. You have to make sure you’re fully prepared. Either way, I have to do my job this year. I have one more year on my contract. So I have to go out and do as much as I can to help our team this year.” Chris Crouse of Hoops Rumors examined Zeller’s extension candidacy earlier this month.
Nets first-round pick Chris McCullough seemed to make progress over the summer toward his target of a November return for full-contact practice, but he said Tuesday that he’s “nowhere near ready,” observes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. This year’s No. 29 overall pick is unlikely to make his debut until the second half of the season, according to Bontemps. “We’ll give a timetable on exactly where we think he’ll be after [the first] preseason game,” King said. “We’ll sit down with him and his agent and everybody and really just walk through it. I have an idea in my mind of what we want to do with him, but I want to sit down with him and with his agent and explain it.”
The deal between the Knicks and Darion Atkins is partially guaranteed for $75K, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. The team’s interest in the undrafted power forward from Virginia was late-developing, as the Knicks weren’t one of 16 teams to work him out prior to the draft and only turned to him when fellow undrafted rookie Maurice Ndour spurned them for the Mavs, Berman writes.

Atlantic Notes: Porzingis, Celtics, McCullough

August 17th, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks president Phil Jackson expects lottery pick Kristaps Porzingis to play approximately 20 minutes a game in his rookie season, he told Charley Rosen in Part 8 of a nine-part series posted on ESPN.com. “It’s entirely up to [coach Derek Fisher], but it would be great if KP could get as much as 20 minutes a game early in the season, plus maybe a few more later when he’s acclimated to the NBA game,” Jackson said to Rosen. “It also has to be determined whether he’ll be more comfortable at power forward or center.” Jackson is concerned that Porzingis may have trouble putting on enough muscle to play in the low post. “His core strength might never be good enough, and he might not be able to get low enough to get himself into prime defensive position to body power rebounders or drivers,” Jackson told Rosen. Jackson added that Jerian Grant, who was acquired in a draft-day trade with the Hawks for Tim Hardaway Jr., will compete with Langston Galloway for playing time at either guard spot.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Tyler Zeller has a better chance than Celtics teammates Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones III to receive a contract extension before the start of the regular season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports. Out of the trio from the 2012 draft, Zeller was the most effective player last season, averaging 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds with an above-average 19.01 player efficiency rating, Blakely continues. Sullinger has battled weight and conditioning issues during his career while Jones, who was traded by the Thunder to Boston in July, has to establish his value after receiving limited playing time in his three seasons with Oklahoma City, Blakely adds.
Nets draft pick Chris McCullough may return as early as November from the torn right ACL he suffered while playing for Syracuse last season, according to Brandon Bennett of NetsDaily.com. While there is no timetable for McCullough’s return, a November target appears to be right on track, Bennett adds. McCullough was expected to miss the upcoming season when he was selected with the No. 29 overall pick.
Cory Joseph, who left the Spurs and signed a four-year, $30MM deal with the Raptors, wants to display his two-way game while playing for Team Canada in next month’s Olympic qualifying tournament, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.com reports. “Obviously everybody knows I’m a defensive player,” Joseph said to Lewenberg. “I take pride in my defense. Last year, I was able to show a little bit of my two-way game when [Patty Mills] and [Tony Parker] were out early in the season. So I’m looking to continue to show that I’m a two-way player.”

Nets Sign Chris McCullough

July 1st, 2015 at 5:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets have signed Chris McCullough to a multiyear deal, the team announced. The forward out of Syracuse was selected by Brooklyn with the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. There is a chance that the 20-year-old will miss the entire 2015/16 campaign as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn ACL.

The details of the contact were not released, but unless Brooklyn is paying McCullough less than the standard 120% of scale he can expect to earn $1,140,240 the first year, $1,191,480 in year two, $1,242,840 the third year, and $2,243,326 during the final season.

McCullough appeared in just 16 contests for the Orangemen last season, averaging 9.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per game. His slash line was .478/1.000/.563.

Western Notes: Calathes, Jazz, McCullough

June 12th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes has insisted that he prefers to remain in the NBA, but rumors continue to signal that his camp is soliciting his services overseas, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears that he’s seeking a $3.5MM annual salary from international clubs (Twitter link). Calathes can become a restricted free agent this summer if Memphis tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,147,276.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Jazz have two sets of workouts scheduled for tomorrow, the team announced (Twitter links). The first group consists of Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Gabriel Olaseni (Iowa), Charles Jackson (Tennessee Tech), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), J.J. O’Brien (San Diego State), and Marcus Thornton (William and Mary).
The second group working out for the Jazz on Saturday will be comprised of Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Mouhammadou Jaiteh (France), Cady Lalanne (UMass), and Myles Turner (Texas).
The Mavericks brought in Syracuse forward Chris McCullough for an interview on Thursday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
The Thunder will bring in Tennessee swingman Josh Richardson on Saturday as part of a group workout, Scotto relays (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Okafor, Russell, Lyles, McCullough

June 10th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Duke center Jahlil Okafor was atop most draft rankings for most of the season, but Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns eclipsed him during the NCAA Tournament, and now Ohio State combo guard D’Angelo Russell has leapfrogged him for No. 2 on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider Board. There isn’t unanimity on Russell’s ascension, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him going fourth to the Knicks, with the Sixers taking Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis third. More clear is that this year’s draft isn’t hurting for intrigue with two weeks and one day to go before teams start picking. Here’s the latest:

The Pistons, who hold the eighth selection, are the team picking highest among those interested in Kentucky power forward Trey Lyles, Ford hears and writes within his rankings (linked above). There’s almost no chance that Syracuse power forward Chris McCullough slips past the Nets at pick No. 29, Ford also hears.
Slovenian center Ziga Dimec has worked out for the Sixers and will do so for the Mavericks, Celtics and Bucks, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Dimec, who’s automatically draft-eligible as a 22-year-old from overseas, is Ford‘s No. 96 prospect, but he’s outside the top 100 for Givony, who has him as the 19th-best international prospect born in 1993.
Josh Newman of SNY.tv adds the Jazz, Nuggets, Rockets, Wizards, Cavaliers and Bulls to the list of teams reportedly working out Syracuse big man Rakeem Christmas.

Draft Notes: Spurs, Grizzlies, Payne

May 27th, 2015 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors has a full log of 2015 draft news that you can see anytime at the link here. You can also set that page up as an RSS feed to receive constant updates. All you’d need to do would be to add /feed to the url, like so: hoopsrumors.com/2015-nba-draft/feed. Other draft-related resources include our latest Mock Draft, the full list of early entrants, as well as our ongoing Prospect Profile series. Here’s more news regarding the 2015 NBA Draft:

League sources have suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that Murray State guard Cameron Payne has a draft promise from a team, and that there is a very good chance he is going to be a lottery pick. If Payne has indeed been targeted by a lottery team, his most likely destination is the Thunder, whom I predicted would be selecting the guard in my latest mock draft, though this is merely my speculation of course.
The Spurs brought in Syracuse forward Chris McCullough for an interview today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Scheduled for workouts this Friday with the Grizzlies are Josh Richardson, Ky Madden, Aaron Thomas, Pat Connaughton, Chris Walker, and Brandon Ashley, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (subscription required) relays.
Arkansas forward Bobby Portis has workouts scheduled with the Thunder, Heat, Pistons, Raptors, Pacers, Hornets, Bucks, Suns, and Jazz, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe tweets.
Former Colorado guard Askia Booker worked out for the Suns on Tuesday, and has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Lakers and the Jazz, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post relays (Twitter link).
Booker said that he was asked about his refusal to play in this year’s College Basketball Invitational tournament by the Sixers, and also expects the subject to come up in other interviews, Dempsey relays in a series of tweets. “It’s something I’m willing to address no doubt. I have no issue addressing that. When the question comes I’ll be able to answer it,” Booker said. “It was a mutual decision. We came to an agreement, and the decision was made.” Booker reportedly passed on playing in the tourney to prepare for the upcoming draft instead.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Knicks

May 16th, 2015 at 10:56am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers could be in the mix to draft Arizona forward Stanley Johnson if their first round pick falls out of the top few selections, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “They’re a winning franchise,” Johnson said of the Sixers. “They told me the facts about how much they’ve won thus far [in franchise history] and the players that they’ve had and what they are trying to do. They are trying to make players get the work ethic part down and that’s what I’m about, so [the interview] was awesome.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Atlantic Division:

Arkansas forward Bobby Portis has six scheduled pre-draft workouts, including one with the Celtics, Jay King of MassLive tweets.
The Sixers sat down for interviews at the Chicago combine with Duke’s Justise WInslow, UCLA’s Kevon Looney, and injured Syracuse big man Chris McCullough, Pompey reports in a series of tweets.
Winslow attended a Yankees game last week with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, and the freshman said that he would have no problem fitting in alongside ‘Melo if drafted by New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Of course Carmelo loves playing for the Knicks — I know he loves playing for the Knicks,’’ Winslow said. “Our conversation wasn’t how I’d fit in with the Knicks. Our conversation was the adjustment from college to the league and how my workouts were going. He’s being a mentor for a similar guy, similar path, national champion freshman year. It’s great to have a guy like that who accomplished so much to look out for you.’’

Northwest Notes: Freeland, Jazz, Draft

May 15th, 2015 at 9:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Center Joel Freeland can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Blazers tender him a qualifying offer worth $3,766,890, and Sean Meagher of the Oregonian, along with a panel of writers, runs down the case for the team to retain the big man. While Freeland’s numbers don’t stand out, he can be a solid backup when healthy, the panel notes. Working against Freeland is the fact that he is relatively easy to replace, though there is mutual interest in the 28-year-old returning to Rip City next season, the writers add.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz interviewed UNLV’s Christian Wood, Arizona’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Chris McCullough of Syracuse, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune relays in a series of tweets. Also scoring an interview with Utah was Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant, Jones adds.
Arizona forward Stanley Johnson is set to interview with representatives from the Jazz on Saturday, Jones tweets.
The Jazz also have an interest in Cameron Payne, and the team is expected to bring him in for an individual workout, Jones adds (Twitter link). Utah also wants to schedule individual workouts with Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky and Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre, Jones relays.
The Trail Blazers interviewed Arkansas’ Bobby Portis and Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, both forwards, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links).
Duke point guard Tyus Jones met with the Timberwolves today, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Jones, who is a native of Minnesota, dished on his excitement about joining the NBA, Zgoda relays. “Every kid who plays basketball dreams it, but it’s one of those things that might not seem realistic,” Jones said. “You don’t necessarily see a lot of guys from Minnesota go to the NBA. Especially for me, being out of Apple Valley, it doesn’t seem like it’s possible. But it’s just one of those things: If you work hard, put your mind to something, you can do it. I’m proud to be from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and I’m very excited about this opportunity.”

Magic Notes: Draft, Harris, Marble

May 15th, 2015 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

An offseason of uncertainty for the Magic should become somewhat clearer soon, with the lottery set for Tuesday and the season over in Chicago, where apparent No. 1 coaching choice Tom Thibodeau seems on the verge of a divorce with the Bulls. Many other questions will remain even after the team’s draft position and coaching situation are settled, and here’s more on a few key topics in the Magic Kingdom:

The Magic met with Frank Kaminsky, Anthony Brown, Chris McCullough and Jordan Mickey at the combine earlier this week, with Rashad Vaughn and Kevon Looney on today’s docket, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (See all six Twitter links here).
Ken Hornack of Fox Sports Florida suggests there’s a strong possibility that soon-to-be restricted free agent Tobias Harris will end up signing his qualifying offer this summer to hit unrestricted free agency when the cap surges in the summer of 2016. Harris has said he and his representatives haven’t discussed the idea, but GM Rob Hennigan has said he intends to re-sign the forward no matter the cost, a signal that he would match any offer Harris might fetch from another team. The former 19th overall pick triggered the starter criteria to boost the value of his qualifying offer by more than $1MM, as I explained.
Former Magic coach Jacque Vaughn inserted Devyn Marble into the starting lineup ahead of Harris in January, but aside from those seven straights starts, last year’s 56th overall pick only played in nine games the rest of the year, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel points out. That, combined with the injuries that helped cut his season short, leaves plenty of questions as Marble faces a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season, as Schmitz examines.