Damian Lillard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Spagnolo, Lillard, Nuggets Arena, SGA

August 29th, 2023 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves draft-and-stash prospect Matteo Spagnolo is playing for Italy in the World Cup. The combo guard, selected in the second round of the 2022 draft, could develop a rotation player if/when he plays in the NBA. The Timberwolves are confident that Spagnolo – who is still only 20 years old – will eventually join them.

“He’s certainly a guy that every time he gets out there, you see, I think, a kid that’s getting better,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “At his age, the physicality of this competition really stands out. To be comfortable with that level of physicality and the expectations of your national team, and you still produce relative to being so young, I think it’s really encouraging.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

It’s generally assumed that if the Trail Blazers trade Damian Lillard, he’ll wind up with the Heat. Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype takes a look at some potential alternatives, including the Pelicans, Jazz, Raptors and Magic, noting that each club has a variety of assets that could satisfy the Blazers.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Nuggets, announced Monday it is exploring potential renovations to Ball Arena, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post reports. KSE is conducting “market due diligence to evaluate opportunities to enhance the fan experience,” according to a statement. The company is sending out a survey, seeking fan feedback to help determine the future of the arena.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points as Canada routed Latvia in World Cup action on Tuesday. The Thunder star scored 16 of his points in the third quarter. “I didn’t start the game the way I needed to, the way the team needed me to,” he told The Canadian Press. “Just with my energy level, my activeness on both ends of the floor. I looked in the mirror and tried to be better from that point on. Tried to make that my focus, to be better every possession for my team. If I do that, it would set the tone and the tide would turn.”

Western Notes: Kings, Brooks, Jones, Lillard, Timberwolves

August 28th, 2023 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings decided to tweak the roster rather than make major changes this offseason after finally reaching the postseason in the spring. They acquired Chris Duarte in a trade and re-signed Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles. They also signed EuroLeague star Sasha Vezenkov.

Kings coach Mike Brown is excited to have his core group back and is eager to see how they respond to the newfound respect they’ve gained after snapping the franchise’s long playoff drought.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how we can handle the pressure,” the Kings coach said. “It’s flipped now. We’re no longer hunting people; people are hunting us. And there are expectations, so how do we handle that? I believe our guys are ready for it, and with the fans that we have here and the juice they brought last year – let’s go. Let’s get it. I’m excited for Sasha, I’m excited for Chris Duarte, I’m excited about our young guys. It’s good to have the new guys, but I’m more excited about having our guys to be able to run it back and give them the opportunity to grow as a nucleus than anything else.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Grizzlies allowed Dillon Brooks in free agency and traded Tyus Jones. So what have they lost? Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal explores that topic. The Grizzlies have become known for their flashy style and trash talking and Brooks was a major reason for that. Jones was a locker room leader and led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio in each of his four seasons with the club.
Trail Blazers fans want the Damian Lillard saga to be resolved soon. In a poll conducted by Jason Quick of The Athletic, 80.4% want the front office to take the best offer for their longtime All-Star and prioritize the team ahead of Lillard. However, the high-scoring guard was voted as the franchise’s greatest player (51.9%), ahead of Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton.
Anthony Edwards (United States), Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic), Rudy Gobert (France), Kyle Anderson (China), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Canada) and draft-and-stash prospect Matteo Spagnolo (Italy) are participating in the World Cup, while Luka Garza played for Bosnia and Herzegovina in a pre-qualifying Olympic tournament. That should give those Timberwolves players a head start to the NBA season, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Alexander-Walker agrees with the notion. “I want to use it to propel me for the season,” he said.

Drew Eubanks Talks Suns, Lillard, Beal, Durant, Booker

August 27th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After drawing interest from several playoff hopefuls in free agency this summer, Suns center Drew Eubanks decided to ink a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Phoenix in the hopes of winning his first NBA title. The agreement features a player option for the 2024/25 season.

The 6’9″ big man recently sat down with Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic for an extensive interview.

“It was kind of a no-brainer to go with Phoenix when the time came,” Eubanks said. “They’ve been high on me really since I had a pre-draft workout with them back in the day and they’ve always kept in touch with my agent [James Dunleavy of Excel Sports Management] throughout my career.”

Across 78 contests with the Trail Blazers in 2022/23, Eubanks averaged 6.6 PPG (on .641/.389/.664 shooting), 5.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, and 0.5 SPG off the bench.

The conversation is well worth checking out in full, but here are some highlights:

On his free agency this past summer:

“I had interest from other teams along the same lines of what Phoenix was offering, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I had an offer from Phoenix right out the gate. They were very high on me. My agent was saying they had the most interest out of anybody. Being able to go play for a contender and to play with guys like [Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal], I just couldn’t turn that down. That’s kind of how I got there.

“I got a little taste of what it’s like playing with a superstar with [former Trail Blazers teammate Damian Lillard]. I feel like every step in my career so far has prepared me for the next. I’m looking forward to the challenge in Phoenix and bringing some of what I learned playing alongside Dame last year and doing that with KD, Book and Beal.”

On what he learned playing alongside Lillard:

“If I had business cards I had to hand out everybody of the one, two or three things I excel at that, it’d be hustling, blocking shots and setting screens – and finishing at the rim. With Dame, you’ve got to respect him as soon as he comes off a screen. My screens are so effective with Dame, he would come off and be able to shoot wide open 3s. When my guy would step up and try to take his 3 away, they might do a hard double team on Dame, I just flip out of it, get in the pocket. He’s a great passer. He’d hit me and then you just go play four on three on the back end. There was a lot of that last year where I never really played with such a dynamic guard coming off a screen where I just got rep and rep of attacking mismatches and having numbers downhill. I’m a great screen setter.”

On how he can help the three star perimeter players on Phoenix:

“I’ll be able to get Book wide open 3s, I’ll be able to get KD wide open 3s, Beal, all those guys and they want to double one of them, that’s fine. They can kick it to me, I’ll drive, I’ll find the shooter in the corner, find the shooter at the wing or I’ll go finish at the rim. There was a lot of that last year that [Portland center Jusuf Nurkic] did well. He was really good at that in years past and last year, too. So I got to learn a lot from him in that regard. Just being able to play off those guys and let them to do their thing and try to make their job as easy as possible.”

Heat Notes: Jovic, World Cup, Lillard, Giannis

August 26th, 2023 at 5:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat have been counting on a productive summer from Nikola Jovic after back issues disrupted his rookie season, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The 27th pick in the 2022 draft displayed flashes of talent, but physical concerns limited him to 15 games, plus seven short appearances in the playoffs.

Coach Eric Spoelstra said the organization put Jovic on a rehab and weight-training program to get him ready for the offseason. He was impressive during Summer League and now is one of the leaders of Serbia’s World Cup team.

“This is exactly the type of summer and offseason that he needed, to be able to play, to be able to participate in all of our Summer League practices and play in those Summer League games against high-level competition,” Spoelstra said. “And we didn’t know necessarily how the Serbian team would shake out. And it’s turned out to be marvelous for him.”

The absence of Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic, along with an injury to Filip Petrusev, means Serbia will need more production from Jovic, who scored nine points in 24 minutes in Saturday’s win over China. The Serbians are playing in Manila, which puts Jovic close to Spoelstra, an assistant coach with Team USA.

“He’s getting a great opportunity,” Spoelstra said. “They had about a two-and-half-, three-week training camp, with the exhibition games included. He’s been able to play in all of those games. We were able to send our staff out and see a week of his training camp. And we’re in the same place right now. He’s only about five, 10 miles away — with traffic that could end up being about 45 minutes. But we are definitely getting together while we’re out here.”

There’s more on the Heat:

The World Cup experience gives Spoelstra a chance to connect with some of the NBA’s best young players, Winderman points out in a separate story. There have been plenty of cases where relationships built in international competitions spilled over to the NBA, with the Heat benefiting from the most famous example of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who played together in the 2008 Olympics.
If Damian Lillard isn’t dealt to Miami before training camp starts, the Trail Blazers could turn into a “circus” with the young backcourt of Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons uncertain of what their roles will be, Winderman states in a mailbag column. He also suggests that the Heat may be better than expected without a Lillard trade, as Tyler Herro will enter camp fully healthy and will be joined by free agent additions Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant, rookie Jaime Jaquez and a better version of Jovic.
As the Lillard standoff continues, the Heat may be preparing for another waiting game involving Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Winderman writes in another piece. In a recent interview, Antetokounmpo said he’ll wait until next summer to decide on an extension and wouldn’t commit to a long-term future in Milwaukee.

Heat Notes: Richardson, Bryant, Swider, Bouyea, Lillard

August 25th, 2023 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

After briefly discussing the Heat‘s offseason moves during an ESPN interview last week, head coach Erik Spoelstra went into more detail while taking part in a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday. As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, Spoelstra is looking forward to having former Heat wing Josh Richardson back on the roster in 2023/24.

“To be able to get somebody like J-Rich, who we are all really comfortable with, who we spent so many hours and years spending time developing him and where he feels also comfortable in our system and how we operate, we just feel very fortunate that we were able to get him when we were able to get him,” Spoelstra said.

“He’s already been in the gym working and it’s almost like, I mentioned to him the last time I saw him in the gym, it’s like the time away never happened. The relationship just started off right where we left it. That’s when you know you have strong relationships back and forth from our standpoint and his standpoint. Also, his versatility is going to be super important. His ability to play multiple positions.”

Here are a few more notes on the Heat, including Spoelstra’s thoughts on some of the team’s other recent additions:

According to Spoelstra, newly added center Thomas Bryant is a player the Heat have had their eye on for several years. They worked him out prior to the 2017 draft and were fans of the big man at the time. “His time with (the Lakers last season), I thought was really important,” Spoelstra said of Bryant. “You could see how he could be effective in our system and how he can play with multiple guys. He’s big, he’s physical, he plays with a motor and he can also stretch the floor. So he can have a presence at the rim and in the paint, but he also can space the floor and be efficient behind the three-point line. We’re excited to be able to add him to our roster and add some depth to our frontcourt and some versatile depth.”
Spoelstra expressed enthusiasm about forward Cole Swider, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the team earlier this month.“He has positional size, he has exceptional three-point shooting and range and versatility with his three-point shooting,” the head coach said. “He can shoot on the move, he can also space the floor and he has the size to be able to get his shot off with great accuracy. So we’re excited to be able to add him to our mix late into the summer. We’re looking forward to developing him and working with him.” Our Tristan Tucker recently identified Swider as a candidate to eventually earn a two-way or standard deal.
Spoelstra also believes the Heat will see “bigger jumps” from Jamaree Bouyea, who remained with the club on another two-way deal. “He improved being able to run a team, get guys organized,” Spoelstra said, referring to Bouyea’s play in the G League. “And defensively and the things that he can do with his speed are just super unique. So we wanted to have an opportunity to continue his development and have a second year at it.”
Following Damian Lillard‘s public confirmation of his trade request in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald breaks down that interview from a Heat perspective, noting that trade talks with the Trail Blazers have been “largely dormant” for several weeks.

Damian Lillard Confirms Trade Request, Yearns For Title

August 24th, 2023 at 12:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Damian Lillard confirms he has asked to be traded but avoided questions regarding the Trail Blazers and its management team in an interview with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.

Loyal to the organization since he entered the league in 2012, Lillard finally grew weary of the franchise’s direction and requested a trade, which became public on July 1. Shortly thereafter, Lillard’s desire to be traded to the Heat became general knowledge.

“I can say that there was [a trade request] and I would just prefer not to speak on the Trail Blazers,” he told Spears.

Lillard hoped that the Blazers would add several impactful veterans to the bench, according to Spears. Lillard’s request came at the start of free agency, after Portland had declined offers for the No. 3 pick in the draft and used it on Scoot Henderson, another point guard.

Lillard wouldn’t budge when asked what motivated him to be dealt.

“I’m not going to speak on the Blazers. It’s lot of love and respect, but I won’t speak on the Blazers,” Lillard said.

It remains to be seen what Lillard would do if he’s not traded before training camp. The guard’s friends and confidants have advised him to sit back and let the process play out.

“The best word of advice is just that, ‘Everything will come to pass,’” Lillard said. “When you in a little bit of a storm, a lot is going on and you’re being talked about, you get a little bit antsy and you feel like you got to react to stuff sometimes, but I know me. I know the type of principle I stand on. I know that I’ve been solid in everything that I’ve done every step of the way.”

The NBA fined James Harden $100K this week for “indicating that he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless traded to another team.” Lillard hasn’t gone that far, but the Collective Bargaining Agreement gives the league the latitude to fine a player up to $150K for making a trade request public.

Of course, that would be a proverbial drop in the bucket for a player who will make $45.64MM next season and nearly $48.8MM in 2024/25 before his two-year, $121.8MM extension kicks in.

What’s paramount for Lillard at this stage of his career is to get a ring.

“I would say the desire for that now is as high as it’s probably going to be. That’s literally the thing at the top of my list,” he said about winning a title. “When I wake up and I got to get up and go do what I got to do, I got to train, I got to make time for my kids, I still got to lift, I got to do all these things and I got to make sure that training and the preparation is still my priority. Even with being a father of three now, not one, and having all these other responsibilities, you need something that you feel pretty strong about to stay committed the way I’ve been committed. It’s as high as it’s going to get. That’s ultimately what I want to experience and that’s what I want to get done.”

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Lillard, Harden

August 22nd, 2023 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat center Bam Adebayo isn’t a fan of the widespread practice of resting players in an effort to keep them fresh. Appearing on the “To Inspire” podcast, Adebayo revealed he’s no fan of load management (hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). He believes it’s unfair to fans who pay to see their favorite players.

“A lot of guys sitting, like load management, that kind of bothers me in a sense. You have a lot of kids and parents who want to see you play,” he said. “You have kids who probably come from the inner city, and their parents make a way to put them all the way up in the stands, and then for you to find out you’re not playing. And it’s because you feel like ‘I gotta load manage and be ready for this.’ I remember as a kid, I would’ve gave my last dollar and my foot to go see Kobe Bryant play. I know if I felt like that it’s a lot of other kids that felt like that.”

We have more on the Heat:

Trade talks with the Trail Blazers in a potential Damian Lillard blockbuster should heat up as training camp approaches, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald opines. That’s the expectation from those close to the situation with the belief Portland would like to avoid the messy situation of having their longtime franchise player at camp when he’d rather be elsewhere. If the Heat are the only team making a serious offer for Lillard, then the Blazers may have more urgency to get something done.
Would James Harden be a fall-back option for the Heat if they don’t get Lillard? Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doubts it, believing a ball-dominant player like Harden would be a bad fit with Miami. Harden could ease the scoring burden, giving Jimmy Butler more time to rest up for the playoffs, but the Heat’s offer for the Sixers guard would be significantly lower than the package they’d be willing to part with to get Lillard.
Don’t expect Lillard to make any public comments about his trade request, given how the league fined Harden $100K for going public about his discontent with the Sixers, Winderman writes in a separate story.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Hagans, Jazz, Snyder

August 19th, 2023 at 9:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Damian Lillard is staying focused on business as he waits to learn where he’ll be reporting to training camp in six weeks, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. It’s been nearly two months since Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, preferably to Miami, but the market has remained quiet throughout the summer.

“Mentally, I’m strong,” Lillard said Friday at his Formula Zero elite basketball camp in Phoenix. “I think the last year and some change in my life overall, it’s not even just sports, it’s been a tough time, but right now, I’m in a strong place. Anytime I can come be in this environment. Like I said, it’s a lot of my loved ones that are here doing what we do at this camp, pouring into people, that brings me joy. That’s something that lifts me up so to be here is helpful.”

Lillard is coming off his best statistical year, averaging 32.2 PPG in 58 games before being shut down late in the season. He’s devoted much of the summer to traveling and family time, but he’s also preparing to help the Blazers, Heat or any other team he winds up with.

“I’ve had a great summer of training,” Lillard said. “I do a lot of things now to pour into myself and lift myself up and it’s been really helpful. So I would say I’m in a very strong place. My process has been the same going into the season that it’s been any other time except I’m just getting better as a man. I think that really helps me as far as my career goes. Anytime I can be improving myself as a man, it’s going to be positive for me.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Ashton Hagans‘ agreement with the Trail Blazers will be an Exhibit 10 deal, tweets Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report. Haynes reported on Friday that the 24-year-old point guard is expected to join Portland for training camp.
The Jazz may not have a set rotation at point guard until well into the season, suggests Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker and Keyonte George will all compete for time at the position, and Jordan Clarkson and Ochai Agbaji may run the offense occasionally as well. Todd suggests that Dunn may be the favorite to start if he plays as well as he did last season, but the trade market could factor into playing time decisions.
In a separate story, Todd looks at highlights of the Jazz schedule, including Hawks head coach Quin Snyder returning to Utah for the first time on March 15.

Heat Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Adebayo, Wade, Roster

August 17th, 2023 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Maher

As of earlier this week, the Trail Blazers still hadn’t shown any interest in trading Damian Lillard to the Heat, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Jackson’s report isn’t surprising, particularly during one of the slowest periods of the league year. Perhaps Portland will be more motivated to entertain Lillard deals once we get closer to training camp, considering his presence would almost certainly cause a media circus.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Center Bam Adebayo, who has been named to the All-Defensive Second Team each of the past four seasons, reiterated his desire to win Defensive Player of the Year in an interview with Playmaker (YouTube link). “It takes a will, it takes an effort, a sacrifice, I mean just a mentality to really put your body on the line to really go through that,” Adebayo said. The 26-year-old has discussed the award multiple times in the past.
In a subscriber-only mailbag for The South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman wonders if Miami will eventually try to bring Dwyane Wade back into the fold in an official capacity. The Heat legend, who was a 13-time All-Star and three-time champion with the team, was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, but he currently owns a minority stake in the Jazz.
After a series of minor transactions last week, the Heat have now reached the offseason maximum of 21 players on the roster. However, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, despite the roster being full at the moment, there is still plenty of uncertainty about which players will be on the roster going forward due to the Lillard situation.

Northwest Notes: Yurtseven, Edwards, Thunder, Simons

August 13th, 2023 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Omer Yurtseven tells Semih Tuna of Eurohoops that he received interest from two Turkish teams before deciding to sign with the Jazz last month. The 25-year-old center, who spent his first two seasons with Miami, said he wants to try to establish himself in the NBA before giving consideration to playing in his native country.

“Fenerbahce and Anadolu Efes were interested,” Yurtseven said. “Fenerbahce is my home, and I also love Erdem Can, my former coach, but even if I wanted to come here towards the end of my career, now is not the time.”

Yurtseven, who is spending this summer with the Turkish national team, became an unrestricted free agent when the Heat opted not to give him a qualifying offer. He had a promising rookie year, but was limited to nine games last season after undergoing ankle surgery. He’s happy to get a chance to start over in Utah.

“Having coach Will Hardy at Utah Jazz, playing with Europeans in significant positions, and being a young team, I couldn’t see any negatives, so it was an easy choice among my top three preferences,” Yurtseven said.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Anthony Edwards believes the Timberwolves would been much better if not for a calf injury that forced Karl-Anthony Towns to miss most of the season, per Sam Yip of HoopsHype. “I think if we get KAT for a whole season, we’ll be all right,” Edwards said. He added that the trade for Mike Conley in February brought a much-needed veteran presence to the team and expressed delight that Minnesota was able to reach an extension with Naz Reid.
In a mailbag column, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman projects the Thunder‘s 15-man roster for opening night. Mussatto expects Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Jack White, TyTy Washington and Victor Oladipo to all be waived at some point.
Anfernee Simons expressed support for Trail Blazers teammate Damian Lillard to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link). Asked what it would be like to lose his mentor in a potential trade, Simons responded, “A lot of people ask me that question all the time, obviously, like what’s going on with Dame. I say, ‘They say he asked for a trade, he asked for a trade.’ That was it. Obviously, me and Dame have a close relationship. I’m always going to support him no matter what.”