DeMar DeRozan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Aldridge On Extension Candidates

October 15th, 2012 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

The latest Morning Tip piece from TNT's David Aldridge is up at NBA.com, and focuses on the first round of the 2009 draft class, most of whom are eligible for contract extensions this month. However, Aldridge doesn't expect many new deals to be inked, since the new CBA doesn't give players a ton of incentive to sign early.

"Now (that) you can only give the same amount of years that they can get next summer, the player isn't as interested," one team executive told Aldridge. "Now, you have no advantage. I used to be able to say 'I can give you a year more today than you can get next year. So let's talk about a deal and maybe the number is more realistic.' But they've taken that away."

Here's what Aldridge has heard on a number of extension candidates:

The Kings will "probably not" be offering Tyreke Evans an extension, Aldridge hears from a source.
Things are "pretty quiet" on the Brandon Jennings front, and Aldridge isn't expecting him to work out a long-term extension with the Bucks.
DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors aren't close to a deal, but have been talking for weeks. Aldridge cautions not to rule out the possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement.
Aldridge does, however, essentially rule out extensions for Austin Daye (Pistons) and James Johnson (Kings).
Jrue Holiday's agent will touch base with the 76ers later this week about a possible extension.
Ty Lawson of the Nuggets is the one player that everyone around the league believes will sign a long-term deal by Halloween.
The Hawks are talking to Jeff Teague about a new deal, but Aldridge thinks it's unlikely the team commits to anything yet when it could have so much cap space available next summer.
Agent Mark Bartelstein on Taj Gibson and the Bulls: "They've made it clear they'd like to sign Taj. They're making an effort, and so are we… if we can get something done that everybody feels good about, great. If not, I'm sure he'll have a great year."

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Terry, Richardson, DeRozan

October 12th, 2012 at 7:51pm CST by Alex Lee

Yesterday we heard about the extensive Atlantic Division fallout from the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum trade, which at this point, seems like it will have ramifications in every corner of the NBA. The Atlantic has to be the NBA's most interesting division heading into the season. With the Sixers facing the Nets in Atlantic City tomorrow night, let's look at some other news from the division:

We mentioned Doc Rivers' comments regarding Jason Terry earlier below, and Greg Payne from ESPN Boston has more. According to Rivers, Terry could start for the Celtics, Payne says. While they targeted him with a sixth man role in mind, Rivers is keeping all of his options open. Terry, of course, says he is ready for any role the team needs him in.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York had a Knicks chat today (transcript here). Among the topics discussed, Zwerling said that he considers Raymond Felton a better fit for the Knicks than the departed Jeremy Lin. With an aging roster, it's doubtful that we see much that matters from their regulars in preseason.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers says that free agent acquisition
Jason Terry, "filled a need," according to a CSN New England staff
report. Terry's new teammates all seem to be pretty happy with the
addition of their new sixth man, but no one's endorsement was quite as
strong as that of Rivers: "When you think about the history of the
Celtics and the great sixth man, he's been that in Dallas and he wants
to be that with the Celtics. That makes it a little easier to coach."
Trade acquisition Jason Richardson talked to Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld (via video)
about the new-look Sixers. Richardson calls the Sixers "dark horses"
that have slipped under the radar in terms of title contention.
Richardson says along with himself, the additions Dorell Wright and Nick
Young are key considering that Andrew Bynum is best utilized if
surrounded by shooters.
DeMar DeRozan has the look of a complete player so far this preseason, writes Doug Smith
of the Toronto Star. DeRozan has tons of athletic ability and has
shown a propensity to score in his first three seasons in the NBA.
According to Smith, DeRozan has bulked up and shown a willingness to
defend this fall, which has been a definite weakness in his game. With
the additions of Kyle Lowry, Terrence Ross, Landry Fields and Jonas
Valanciunas, if DeRozan can make the leap, there may be some hope for
the Raptors despite being in a loaded division.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Smith, Prigioni, Melo

October 7th, 2012 at 7:19pm CST by Michael Pina

On this Sunday afternoon, here are a few bits of notes from around the Atlantic Division.

Rajon Rondo tells CSNNE.com that this year's Celtics team has the most talent of any he's been a part of.
Raptors rookie Terrence Ross will be expected to push fourth-year guard DeMar DeRozan, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
After finishing their second preseason game with a better performance than their first, the Celtics are looking like a very strong basketball team, writes WEEI.com's Paul Flannery.
Being that the Celtics have no true backup point guard on their roster, Jamar Smith has a great chance at making the team if he can fill that role, tweets the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.
Knicks rookie point guard Pablo Prigioni is ready to put his disappointing Olympics performance behind him as he heads into his first NBA training camp, writes the New York Post's Marc Berman.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if the Celtics would be wise to send Fab Melo to the D-League.

Jennings, DeRozan Unlikely To Land Extensions

October 6th, 2012 at 10:43am CST by Zachary Links

With 25 days until the extension deadline, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that Denver's Ty Lawson and Philadelphia's Jrue Holiday are likely to get new deals. Meanwhile, Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings and Toronto's DeMar DeRozan are not likely to get extensions done with their respective teams.

Jennings is set to earn $3.18MM in the final year of his rookie scale contract but the dynamic point guard is said to be seeking a maximum deal. While the one-guard has shown a great deal of promise, it seems unlikely that Milwaukee would spend that much to keep him in the fold, especially with Monta Ellis holding an option at the end of the year. Jennings has expressed dissatisfaction with the Bucks in the past but over the summer he publicly said that he hopes to reach a new deal with the club.

Earlier this week, we heard that the Raptors still view DeRozan as a key part of their future and have had extension talks with the guard. However, Bryan Colangelo said that he wasn't sure if he'd get a deal done with DeRozan prior to the deadline. For his part, the 23-year-old has said that he is happy with the Raptors.

It was reported that Holiday was seeking a max extension earlier this summer, an expectation that seemed overly ambitious at best. However, the 22-year-old recently clarified those remarks, explaining that it is simply a goal of his to be on that level as a player.

Lawson recently followed LeBron James' lead and opted to leave the powerful Creative Arts Agency as he enters his final year under contract. Luke Adams recently looked at what it'll take for the Nuggets to lock the point guard up and sees a deal with a ~$10MM average annual value.

Other 2009 draftees in the mix for extensions include Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Bulls forward Taj Gibson, and, of course, Thunder guard James Harden, Stein tweets. We've already seen fellow '09ers Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka sign lucrative contract extensions with the Clippers and Thunder, respectively.

Odds & Ends: Roy, Pekovic, Hibbert, Bynum

October 5th, 2012 at 3:25pm CST by Michael Pina

Brandon Roy decided to sign with the Timberwolves because of former teammate Will Conroy, who has a relationship with Minnesota general manager David Kahn, writes the associated press.

Here's some more notes from around the league.

The Timberwolves are expecting more minutes from Nikola Pekovic this season, writes TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
Roy Hibbert is heading into this season with a new maximum contract, but he's convinced the large pay day isn't going to change him in any way, writes NBA.com's Mark Montieth.
Sixers head coach Doug Collins says even though Andrew Bynum will be sitting out the next three weeks resting his knees, the new franchise center is progressing nicely, writes PhillyBurbs.com's Tom Moore.
NBC ProBasketballTalk's Kurt Helin gives a season preview for the Bobcats.
CBSSports.com's Ken Berger wrote a column about Lamar Odom's return to Los Angeles with the Clippers, and why that should mean great things for the team.
TheStar.com's Doug Smith believes a healthy Andrea Bargnani should do great things for DeMar DeRozan's confidence.

Raptors Notes: Rookies, Calderon, DeRozan

October 1st, 2012 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors are holding their media day in Toronto, and a number of interesting tidbits have already come out of the session. Here are the day's Raps notes, both from the media session and elsewhere:

Raptors president Bryan Colangelo expects all three of the team's rookies — Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, and Quincy Acy — to contribute this season, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Asked about Jose Calderon as a trade candidate, Colangelo said he must explore every avenue to upgrade the roster, but nothing is imminent with Calderon and no trades involving the point guard were ever close (Twitter links via Wolstat).
For his part, Calderon acknowledged recently in an interview with Marca.com (passed along by Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld) that the team has indicated he could be on the block because of his contract situation — he'll become a free agent next summer.
The Raptors view DeMar DeRozan as a key part of the team's future and have discussed an extension, though Colangelo isn't sure something will get done by Halloween (Twitter links via Wolstat).
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star asks five questions that could be crucial to the Raptors' 2012/13 season.

Raptors Notes: Iguodala, Trades, Calderon

September 12th, 2012 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors officially announced their signing of Dominic McGuire this morning, and deals for Jamaal Magloire and Chris Wright are expected to follow. With 14 players already on guaranteed contracts, the Raptors figure to have McGuire, Magloire, and Wright in camp to battle for the team's 15th and final roster spot. Here are a few more of today's Raps-related items:

Lang Greene of HoopsWorld passes along comments made by Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo to Michael Richards on TSN Radio (.mp3 link), which included a handful of interesting tidbits. Among them: Colangelo said the Raptors had a chance this offseason to jump into some trade scenarios, and still have some trade possibilities that they're exploring.
Colangelo singled out Andre Iguodala as a player the Raptors could've been in on, but said the asking price was too high for a guy that can become a free agent as early as next summer. According to Greene, the Raptors would have had to give up DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis, Jose Calderon, and a first-round pick to land Iguodala.
Colangelo also noted that Calderon's expiring contract makes for a valuable trade asset.
Toronto's GM on the team's offseason: "Maybe we failed this summer to make the sexy move, but I tell you that we have gone about this building it the right way, taking a patience approach which is not easy for me to do. I want to turn things around very quickly sometimes — all of the time. But sometimes you really do have to wait. You have to do it the right way."

Atlantic Notes: Lin, Nash, DeRozan, Celtics

May 8th, 2012 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Celtics and Sixers look to close out their respective first round series tonight, let's round up a few odds and ends out of the Atlantic Division:

Speaking to reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post, Knicks coach Mike Woodson ruled out Jeremy Lin for the rest of the team's series against the Heat, even if it goes seven games.
Steve Nash was officially named the general manager of Canada's national team today, and talked to ESPN.com's Marc Stein about his new role. During the press conference in Toronto, Nash said he hasn't made any decisions about free agency yet, but that he wouldn't rule out signing with the Raptors (Twitter link via Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun).
Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan has been named to the Team USA select team, Jerry Colangelo announced today (link via Jay Satur of Raptors.com). DeRozan will join Kyrie Irving, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and others on the squad, which will scrimmage against the U.S. Olympic team this summer.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe thinks it would be premature for the Celtics to break up their Big Three this summer.

Atlantic Links: Lin, Nash, Knicks, DeRozan, Nets

April 4th, 2012 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Here's the latest out of the Atlantic, as the division-leading Celtics prepare to host the Spurs in one of the many intriguing matchups on tonight's NBA's schedule….

Ian Begley and Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com debate whether the Knicks would be better off re-signing Jeremy Lin or pursuing Steve Nash in the offseason. Currently, 65% of nearly 8000 ESPNNewYork.com readers have voted for Lin.
DeMar DeRozan, who will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2012/13, suggests to Eric Koreen of Postmedia News that he'd like to remain with the Raptors longer than that.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov will make a rare appearance in New Jersey to watch his team next week, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. The Russian billionaire will also meet with commissioner David Stern and may be on hand at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings in New York, where the board will officially vote on the Nets' move to Brooklyn.

Smith’s Latest: Celtics, DeRozan, Daye, Beaubois

March 5th, 2012 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

After previewing the Bulls' upcoming matchups with Eastern Conference contenders, Sam Smith of Bulls.com checks in on some rumors from around the league. Here are a few highlights from Smith's latest column:

Celtics talk should pick up over the next week and a half, but Smith wonders if, rather than trading Rajon Rondo or the Big Three, GM Danny Ainge could try to move Brandon Bass to clear more cap space for two major free agents this summer.
DeMar DeRozan "isn't as untouchable as once believed," writes Smith. Given DeRozan's lack of improvement this season, that isn't a huge surprise, but I doubt the Raptors would sell low on him.
Austin Daye has played just over six minutes in the Pistons' last eight games, and Smith thinks he could be an intriguing gamble for some team, if Detroit makes him available.
According to Smith, if the Mavericks want to create summer cap space by moving Shawn Marion's contract either during or after the season, packaging him with Rodrigue Beaubois could make it easier to find a taker. The 24-year-old Beaubois has averaged 13.8 points and 2.0 steals per game in four games since the All-Star break.