Cody Zeller Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Beal, Wittman, Bazemore, Zeller

March 5th, 2016 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal seems certain to return to the Wizards next season, but coach Randy Wittman’s future is in doubt, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic said on an interview this morning with SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.com.) Michael said Washington plans to match any offers for Beal, who will be a restricted free agent after failing to reach an extension agreement with the team in November (Twitter link). However, Wittman’s job is in jeopardy unless the 30-31 Wizards make a significant improvement by the end of the season (Twitter link). Michael says Wittman was forced to change his system to the floor-spacing approach that Washington currently uses. (Twitter link). He has a 167-189 record in nearly five full seasons as the team’s head coach.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford established a winning tradition in Atlanta, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks made the playoffs in eight straight seasons after drafting Horford third overall in 2007, and they can stretch that streak to nine with a decent finish. Horford has stayed silent on the topic of free agency, trying to keep it from being a distraction, but Vivlamore notes that Atlanta is in position to make the best offer: five years at about $146MM.
Horford will be the Hawks‘ free agent priority this summer, but they would like to keep Kent Bazemore as well, according to Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Both will be unrestricted, and Atlanta would like to avoid losing talented wing players two years in a row. DeMarre Carroll left the Hawks last summer to sign with Toronto. Atlanta has Early Bird rights on Bazemore, meaning it can only exceed the salary cap to keep him if his contract starts at less than about $6MM annually. Any additional salary for next season would have to come out of cap room.
The Hornets may have benefited from a mid-season knee injury to Al Jefferson, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Jefferson, who is headed toward free agency this summer, has missed a significant part of this season with calf and knee problems, but his absence showed that Cody Zeller could handle the rigors of being a starting center.

Southeast Notes: Whiteside, Zeller, Horford

January 16th, 2016 at 12:17pm CST by Will Joseph

Hassan Whiteside is set to become a free agent this summer and he conceded he factors that in a bit when determining whether or not to play through certain injuries, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post details in a Q&A with the Heat center. When asked if he weighs his upcoming free agency into his decision-making regarding the fine line between resting and playing through injuries, Whiteside told Lieser, “It has something to do with it, but I’m not really thinking about that too much. I’m just trying to think of now.” Whiteside is battling tendinitis in his right knee, but he has missed only two of the Heat’s 40 games this season.

Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

Speaking of Whiteside, who is one of the league’s top big men, the 26-year-old said he will be looking to sign with a team that will give him the best opportunity to secure a championship, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders relays. “I want to go to a team that’s about winning,” Whiteside said. “[A team] that has a good understanding of what it takes to win and a good city with a good fan base.”
Cody Zeller, on whom the Hornets exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option in November, has a decent shot to secure the role of Charlotte’s center of the future, Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer opines. Zeller is thriving as the team’s center because of his unusual quickness at the position, Fowler writes. Adding to the idea that Zeller will be the team’s center for the long haul, Fowler surmises that Al Jefferson, who is out with a knee injury and is set to be a free agent this summer, likely won’t be back with the team next season.
There will be shortage of teams to compete with for the services of Al Horford, a 2016 free agent, but the Hawks remain as good a bet as any to re-sign him because of their solid management structure and recent success, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders writes.

Eastern Notes: Irving, Porzingis, Zeller

December 13th, 2015 at 7:11pm CST by Will Joseph

Kyrie Irving is ready to play, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin, but Cavs coach David Blatt told reporters the star point guard won’t see the court Tuesday. Despite Irving practicing well and looking good, according to Blatt, the Cavs prefer to use extreme caution with Irving, McMenamin details. While it was reported that Irving would play before January, a Cavs source told McMenamin that the he wouldn’t mind if Irving sat out until February if it meant Irving’s chances of being healthy for an extended playoff run would increase.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Cody Zeller, whom the Hornets exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option in November, is thriving in the role of center after playing his first two years in the league as a power forward, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.
Kristaps Porzingis has likely hit a rookie wall, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News opines. The Knicks‘ European sensation went scoreless for the first time in his NBA career on Saturday and finished a three-game road trip with averages of 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 24% shooting, Bondy writes. Porzingis played in only 50 games last season in Spain over nearly seven months, and he is already more than halfway toward reaching his minutes total from last season, according to Bondy.

Hornets Opt In With Zeller, But Not With Hairston

November 2nd, 2015 at 4:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:31pm: The team isn’t planning to pick up Hairston’s option barring an 11th-hour change of heart, a league source told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). If so, the Hornets couldn’t re-sign Hairston next summer for more than the value of his option.

3:16pm: The Hornets have exercised their 2016/17 rookie scale team option on Cody Zeller, the team announced (on Twitter). The team has yet to announce its intentions regarding P.J. Hairston, who also has a pending rookie scale team option, seemingly a signal that Charlotte will decline that option. The Hornets face a deadline of 11pm Central tonight to opt in with Hairston. Zeller’s option is worth more than $5.318MM, while Hairston’s is in excess of $1.253MM.

“We are excited to keep Cody Zeller as a part of our core for another season,” Cho said as part of a press release from the team. “We have been very pleased with Cody’s development on both ends of the floor and look forward to him continuing to expand his game as a member of our roster.”

Zeller, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, started about half the season for Charlotte last year, though his 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game from 2014/15 hardly justify his draft position. The 23-year-old’s scoring is off but his rebounding is up so far this season. He’s come off the bench in all three of Charlotte’s regular season games.

Hairston was the 26th overall pick in 2014, but unlike the more highly drafted Zeller, he’s started all three of Charlotte’s games this season, in part because of the absence of the injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The 22-year-old Hairston has put up only 4.3 points in 19.3 minutes per game so far this year, a slight uptick from the 15.3 minutes per game he averaged as a rookie last season.

The addition of Zeller’s option gives the Hornets only about $39MM in salary commitments for 2016/17, not counting the team’s three-year, $21MM extension with Jeremy Lamb. Agents and executives around the league reportedly believe the salary cap will go up to $95MM this summer. Charlotte’s cap figure for next year doesn’t include any money for Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum, who come off the books at the end of this season, though it would still be somewhat surprising if Charlotte indeed elects not to pick up Hairston’s option. I considered both options as generally likely to be exercised when I took a leaguewide look at options in September.

Hornets Rumors: Batum, Zeller, Cho, Clifford

July 28th, 2015 at 9:55am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics offered the Hornets a package that included four first-round picks to entice Charlotte to give up the No. 9 pick last month, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Boston was willing to give up its own pick at No. 16, the No. 15 pick that they would tentatively have acquired from the Hawks, an unprotected future first-round pick from the Nets (presumably the 2018 pick Brooklyn owes Boston) and a future first-rounder from either the Grizzlies or the Timberwolves (presumably the ones those teams already owe Boston), as Lowe details. Some front office members in Charlotte liked the idea, but owner Michael Jordan preferred to roll with Frank Kaminsky, whom the Hornets took at No. 9, several sources said to Lowe. The Grantland scribe delves into the implications of that choice, and he touches on more, too, as we highlight amid the latest from the Queen City:

Nicolas Batum‘s camp has been talking about how much he’d like to play with the Raptors, given the international appeal of Toronto, several league sources tell Lowe. The native of France, whom the Hornets traded for last month, is set to become a free agent after this coming season.
The Hornets have been willing to talk about Cody Zeller when they discuss trades with other teams, sources tell Lowe. That jibes with a report from shortly before the draft that Charlotte was aggressively shopping the big man.
GM Rich Cho and coach Steve Clifford have had a chilly relationship since last year’s departure of president of basketball operations Rod Higgins, sources familiar with the situation tell Lowe, yet Cho, Clifford and Hornets vice chairman Curtis Polk all downplay the notion. “I would say it’s a good relationship now,” Cho says. “I value his input. We’re not always going to agree, but I wouldn’t expect to.”
Polk, Jordan, Cho, assistant GM Chad Buchanan and director of player personnel Larry Jordan, Michael’s brother, are the primary decision-makers for the team, according to Lowe.
Charlotte shopped Noah Vonleh and the No. 9 pick in a package to try to move up in the draft before abandoning that pursuit and trading Vonleh in the Batum deal, as Lowe details.
The Hornets had interest in Rodney Hood going into last year’s draft, Lowe hears. Hood wound up going at No. 23 to Utah, and Charlotte had an opportunity to move down into a spot where it might have nabbed him instead of Vonleh, as Lowe explains.
Hornets brass likes Elliot Williams, whom the Hornets have reportedly agreed to sign to a camp deal, but they see him as an insurance policy and don’t view him as a replacement for backup point guard Brian Roberts, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).

Hornets Shop Cody Zeller, Seek Wing Players

June 24th, 2015 at 4:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hornets are aggressively shopping big man Cody Zeller, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Charlotte is seeking wing players in return for the second year center in an effort to improve the team’s offense in advance of the NBA Draft, Wojnarowski adds. If the team is successful in dealing away Zeller, Charlotte will give strong consideration to drafting slick-shooting Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky with the No. 9 overall pick, the Yahoo! Scribe relays.

Quite a few mock drafts peg the Hornets to target a wing who can stretch the floor with his shooting, so it’s not a shock to learn that Charlotte is actively looking to upgrade at that spot. If GM Rich Cho were able to address that need prior to Thursday night’s big event, it would allow the organization greater freedom to maximize the pick by taking the best player available, rather than trying to plug a specific hole in its roster.

Zeller underwent surgery back in April to repair damage to his right shoulder, and is expected to be able to resume basketball activities in July. The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. His career numbers are 6.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.3 APG, with a slash line of .443/.500/.750.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Zeller, Gordon

April 22nd, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran guard Ben Gordon became the odd man out in the Magic‘s rotation once James Borrego took over as the team’s interim coach, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida writes. Borrego preferred to see what the backcourt pairing of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton could accomplish, which left Gordon on the outside looking in, Hornack notes. Gordon’s $4.5MM salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. In 56 games this season Gordon averaged 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hornets big man Cody Zeller had successful surgery today to repair damage to his right shoulder, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. Zeller is expected to resume basketball activities in three months.
Grant Hill‘s presence as part of the Hawks‘ new ownership group could aid GM Danny Ferry in retaining his position within the organization, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines (Twitter link). Ferry and Hill have ties through Duke University, which both men attended, Bontemps notes.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweeted that Hill’s involvement with the Ressler group should provide a good indicator of how Kevin Garnett could function as part of the Wolves’ ownership when he retires. Garnett has acknowledged an interest in buying the Wolves at some point, and owner Glen Taylor said that his return as a player enhanced his chances of becoming a part-owner.
Heat rookie point guard Shabazz Napier showed promise during his rookie season, but needs to be a more consistent player moving forward, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida writes in his profile of the player.

And-Ones: Kings, Allen, Lopez, Wolves

February 11th, 2015 at 10:33am CST by Chuck Myron

DeMarcus Cousins and Tyrone Corbin both called the latest round of Kings coaching upheaval a “distraction,” as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter link). Cousins released a statement through his agency saying that he hadn’t been consulted when the team fired Michael Malone and isn’t being consulted now, expressing hope for a quick resolution and support for George Karl should the team choose to hire him. Still, Cousins decried the public chatter of a coaching move while Corbin remains in place. Rudy Gay, who’s hinted at dissatisfaction with Corbin in the past, instead expressed admiration Tuesday for the job Corbin’s done under trying circumstances, as Jones also notes in his story.

While we wait to see how it all plays out in Sacramento, here’s more from around the league:

A Nets source tells Windrem that no deal with the Hornets involving Lopez, Stephenson and Zeller was ever that close (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

There’s no guarantee that Ray Allen makes his decision on whether or not he’ll return to the NBA this season within 10 days of All-Star Weekend, as Jim Tanner, Allen’s agent, tells Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link). It was rumored that the 39-year-old sharpshooter was going to make a choice regarding his future shortly after the All-Star break.
The Hornets offered Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller to the Nets last month and were ready to call the league office to finalize the trade, reports Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (All Twitter links). The sides were quite close to agreement, Windrem adds, and so close that people at the D-League Showcase, which was taking place at the time, thought it was a fait accompli, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. It was the closest Brooklyn has come to trading Lopez, Joe Johnson or Deron Williams this year, according to the NetsDaily scribe.
The Wolves sent the Hornets $344,462 in cash Tuesday in the Mo Williams trade, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows on his Wolves salary page (Twitter link). Minnesota created two trade exceptions in that deal, one worth Troy Daniels‘ $816,482 salary and another worth the $500K difference between the salaries for Williams and Gary Neal, Pincus tweets.
That means the Wolves had to take Adreian Payne into one of their existing trade exceptions to make their trade with the Hawks work, and that’s just what Minnesota did. The Wolves absorbed Payne’s $1,855,320 salary into their $4,702,500 Corey Brewer exception, leaving the $6,308,193 Kevin Love exception untouched and reducing the Brewer exception to $2,847,180, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Wolves salary page.
The Hawks would wind up with Minnesota’s second-round picks for both 2020 and 2021 if the lottery-protected 2017 first-rounder the Wolves gave up in the Payne trade doesn’t convey to Atlanta by 2019 at the latest, Pincus also reports on that page.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Hornets Opt In With Kidd-Gilchrist, Zeller

October 29th, 2014 at 5:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hornets have exercised their fourth-year option on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and their third-year option for Cody Zeller, the team has announced. These moves don’t come as a surprise since both players factor heavily into Charlotte’s current rotation and their future plans as well. Kidd-Gilchrist is set to earn $6,331,404 in 2015/16, and Zeller will take home $4,204,200, which brings the team’s current total salary commitment for that season to approximately $33.2MM. That figure doesn’t take into account Al Jefferson‘s $13.5MM, nor Gerald Henderson‘s $6MM player options.

Kidd-Gilchrist was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he hasn’t quite lived up to being selected that high, averaging just 8.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.2 APG for his career. His defense has always been a strength, but it’s on the offensive side of the game where Kidd-Gilchrist has lagged, with a career slash line of .464/.167/.682.

The 7’0″ Zeller was chosen with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and averaged 6.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG during his rookie campaign last season. His shooting numbers were .426/.000/.730, not an excellent percentage of makes for a player of his size. Zeller was the only player to appear in every game for Charlotte last season and was one of just two rookies to play in all 82 contests.

Southeast Rumors: Heat, Hornets, Gooden

June 28th, 2014 at 6:15pm CST by Cray Allred

Heat president of basketball ops Pat Riley shared his thought process behind the decision to trade up in the draft for Shabazz Napier, telling reporters including Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel he heard a team was set to pick the point guard ahead of Miami. “You don’t want to get sort of left at the altar,” Riley said. Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

While the cap holds for the Heat prevent the team from making significant additions without renouncing the rights to recent opt–outs Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Udonis Haslem, Miami could obtain a $2.5MM room exception for being at least temporarily below the cap, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com notes. The exception is only likely to come into play if the trio of James, Wade, and Chris Bosh re-sign at a discounted rate, or if one of them leaves.
The Heat have engaged in trade talks to deal away Norris Cole and his $2MM salary, Windhorst adds.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford made it clear to Josh McRoberts and Cody Zeller that the team’s selection of Noah Vonleh does not impact Charlotte’s plans for either player, he tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “When we drafted Noah, the first thing I did was clap, and then I texted (McRoberts and Zeller) that this doesn’t affect their status, their playing time,” Clifford said. “Josh is the starter, coming off a great year. We need him back. I made sure he understood that.” McRoberts declined his player option for next season, but the team has maintained their desire to retain him moving forward.
The Hornets will look to improve upon last year’s playoff berth with pieces acquired this summer. “We’ve been preparing for the draft and free agency for the last year,” Charlotte GM Rich Cho tells Bonnell in a separate article. “We have a definite game plan for free agency.” In the same piece, Bonnell looks at some of the free agents the Hornets could target with their cap space this summer.
J. Michael of CSNWashington.com says it’s a “win-win” for free agent Drew Gooden to return to the Wizards. Michael notes that Gooden is still being paid by Milwaukee for his amnestied contract, so it would behoove him to sign a modest deal with Washington in order to preserve his Early Bird Rights for the 2014/15 season.