Festus Ezeli Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Russell, Kennedy, Kings

June 22nd, 2016 at 7:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers 2015 lottery pick D’Angelo Russell has heard the trade rumors connected to himself but isn’t concerned, especially after GM Mitch Kupchak reached out to re-assure him the team has faith in his abilities, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register relays. “You hear trade talks,” Russell said. “Then you get a text from your GM saying he trusts your work ethic and don’t worry about it.”

The young playmaker has already been picking new coach Luke Walton‘s brain about how Warriors star Stephen Curry was able to develop his game to the level it is now, Medina adds. “Please don’t take this the wrong way,” Russell said. “He didn’t compare me to Steph. But I asked him a lot about Steph. I asked him a lot of Steph questions about how he got to this point.”

Here’s more news and notes from the Pacific Division:

Former SMU power forward Markus Kennedy worked out for the Lakers today, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter). Kennedy is the No. 77 overall senior in this year’s draft according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The Warriors should place a high priority on re-signing restricted free agents Festus Ezeli and Harrison Barnes, Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his offseason primer for the franchise. The scribe cites the team’s lack of cap flexibility and the potential for the duo to turn into high-value trade assets down the line as reasons why.
The Kings hold the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft, yet none of the players projected to be lottery selections worked out for the team, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The highest-regarded prospect who worked out was former Vanderbilt guard Wade Baldwin, who is a projected mid-first round pick, Jones adds. The team downplayed the significance of pre-draft workouts, with assistant GM Ken Catanella saying, “It’s important, but I would always say we’re looking at a guy’s body of work. It is a small piece, but you still want to, if you haven’t had the opportunity to interview a player at the combine perhaps, or you haven’t had the opportunity to see a guy live, it never hurts. But again, you take the available information you have, and you make the most of it.”

Pacific Notes: McLemore, Martin, Barnes

June 21st, 2016 at 7:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There is interest around the league in shooting guard Ben McLemore and with teams aware that he is available, the Kings have been fielding trade inquiries in advance of Thursday’s NBA draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. The 23-year-old saw his playing time diminish this past season under former coach George Karl, with McLemore only averaging 21.2 minutes per outing, down from the 32.6 he notched in 2014/15. If Sacramento does find a taker for McLemore, it would make him the second former lottery pick the team has shipped out in as many years, with the Kings sending 2014 first-rounder Nik Stauskas to the Sixers prior to the start of the 2015/16 campaign.

Here’s the latest from the Pacific Division:

Fresh off of their crushing defeat at the hands of the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, pending free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli say they haven’t begun to contemplate their offseason strategy, nor have they thought about where they might be playing next season, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle relays. If Golden State extends the players qualifying offers, with Barnes’ being worth $5,194,227 and $3,013,123 for Ezeli, the duo would become restricted free agents and the Warriors would have the opportunity to match any offer they were to receive.
The Kings are closing in on an agreement with Darrick Martin that would make him the new coach of the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays (via Twitter).
While the Clippers are expected to look to fill their most glaring roster needs via free agency, coach/executive Doc Rivers has two draft picks to work with for the first time in his tenure with the team and will look to add bench depth with them, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times writes.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Blatt, Shaw, Crawford

May 22nd, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has earned a raise, but the Warriors can’t afford to renegotiate, writes Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Curry will receive a little more than $12.1MM next season in the final year of his contract, about half of what other top stars make. Working out a new deal over the summer would prevent Curry from reaching free agency, but it would also upend the team’s salary structure, Leroux warns.

Curry is eligible for a new contract because he will be entering the fifth year of his current deal. However, any raise he receives — and it would surely be a maximum contract starting in the neighborhood of $25.9MM — would drain Golden State’s cap space. The Warriors plan to operate under the cap this summer, and a new contract for Curry could cost the team Harrison Barnes or Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli. Also, the NBA limits renegotiated extensions to four seasons, which would include 2016/17. If Curry waits until free agency next summer, he can receive a five-year contract that would run through 2021/22, and he could receive even more money if max deals are increased as part of a 2017 labor renegotiation.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

David Blatt is not on Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s short list to become his top assistant, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Kerr was interested in Blatt for the position two years ago.
Brian Shaw is nearing a return to the Lakers as lead assistant, but the rest of Luke Walton’s staff is uncertain, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Shaw, who was an assistant in L.A. under Phil Jackson from 2005-11, was also rumored to be a candidate for assistant posts with the Pacers and Magic, Oram reports. He adds that no one knows if any members of former head coach Byron Scott’s staff will be retained, as Walton may seek coaches with ties to the Lakers or he may try to lure other assistants from Golden State, where Walton had been serving as lead assistant.
Shaw’s hiring is imminent, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, who says the two sides are finalizing the contract.
It wouldn’t take a playoff team to pry free agent combo guard Jamal Crawford away from the Clippers, tweets Noah Coslov of CineSport. “Definitely money, situation, could be a team on the rise,” Crawford said in listing his priorities in an interview on Bleacher Report Radio. “Doesn’t have to be contender.”

Lakers Likely To Target Festus Ezeli

May 5th, 2016 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers will have interest in signing Festus Ezeli this summer, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, citing a source. Still, Ezeli prefers to re-sign with the Warriors, believing he’ll inherit a job in the starting lineup once Andrew Bogut‘s contract expires after next season, a source indicated to Deveney. Golden State has the ability to match all offers for him as a restricted free agent, though several league executives suggested it’ll take a three-year, $50MM deal for any team to secure the 26-year-old center.

It’s nonetheless unlikely Ezeli ends up with a four or five-year deal, Deveney writes, pointing to his history of injuries. The 6’11” former Vanderbilt player has only appeared in 170 regular season games since becoming the 30th overall pick in the 2012 draft. A left knee surgery helped limit him to 46 regular season appearances this year. Still, he’s impressed when he’s made it onto the court, and his performance in Tuesday’s playoff game was vital to Golden State’s win over Portland.

Agent Bill Duffy reportedly talked Ezeli out of signing what would have been a team-friendly extension with the Warriors this past fall, but the center said shortly after extension discussions broke down that he wants to remain with Golden State for his entire career. Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob, the son of co-owner Joe Lacob, suggested in January that the team would be willing to pay whatever’s necessary to retain Ezeli and fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Harrison Barnes this summer.

Still, the Warriors, like the Lakers and just about every NBA team, have aspirations of signing Kevin Durant, and it may well be necessary for the team to let go of Ezeli and Barnes to create enough cap room for the former MVP, given that the Warriors already have more than $73MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $92MM salary cap. Durant is in line for an estimated max of about $26MM for next season.

The Lakers have much greater flexibility with only $23MM in guaranteed salary. They’ll have an opening at starting center with Roy Hibbert headed into free agency.

Where do you think Ezeli will play next season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Western Notes: Scott, Nelson, Draft

May 4th, 2016 at 6:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers executive Jim Buss was effusive in his praise for the work Luke Walton did while coaching the Warriors in Steve Kerr‘s absence this season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays. “He was thrust into a situation. People might say, ‘Anyone could coach Golden State with their roster.’ No you couldn’t have,” Buss told Pincus. “There’s a lot of pressure in that. There’s a lot of preparation for that.”

Regarding the Lakers waiting 11 days prior to making a decision on former coach Byron Scott‘s fate, Buss told Pincus he thought he was simply being fair to Scott. “There was a lot to go through before that decision was made,” Buss said. “I’m not going to have a knee-jerk reaction because everybody says, ‘You won 17 games, he’s got to go.’ I made a promise to sit with him and [GM] Mitch [Kupchak] and give him a fair shake.”

Here’s more from out West:

The Jazz have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Ryan Anderson (Arizona), Trey Freeman (Old Dominion), Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson), Thomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin), Matt Costello (Michigan State) and Andrew White (Nebraska), the team announced.
Former Oklahoma power forward Ryan Spangler has a workout scheduled with the Thunder on Thursday, Royce Young of ESPN.com tweets.
The contributions from Festus Ezeli, in particular, and Ian Clark were vital for the Warriors in their Game 2 victory over Portland on Tuesday, observes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Both are poised for restricted free agency this summer.
Jameer Nelson still has two seasons remaining on his contract with the Nuggets, but he isn’t keen on remaining on the bench as the team’s third point guard for another campaign, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post in his analysis of the 12th-year veteran. Nelson wouldn’t hesitate to have his agent ask the Nuggets to trade him if it looks like he won’t get more playing time, Dempsey wrote previously. In 39 appearances, Nelson averaged 7.7 points, 4.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. He shot 36.8% from the field overall and 29.9% from beyond the 3-point line.

Western Notes: Parsons, Speights, Miller, Harris

March 31st, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s a long shot, but it’s possible that Chandler Parsons returns to play this season, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban revealed Wednesday, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “If we make a run and get to the second round [of the playoffs], there’s a chance,” Cuban said. The team’s press release that followed the right knee surgery Parsons had last week referred to the procedure as a season-ender, but Chandler shared Cuban’s optimism Wednesday, saying on the team’s television broadcast of Wednesday’s victory over the Knicks that rehab will be a “piece of cake,” as Townsend also relays. Parsons said he’d be in a brace for two or three weeks and made reference to a four-to-six week timetable for his recovery. Still, he laughed when told of Cuban’s remark and said he wouldn’t count on his return at any point in the playoffs, Townsend tweets.

See more from the Western Conference:

Andrew Bogut is bullish on the free agent stock of teammate Harrison Barnes, and the Warriors center also thinks reserve big men Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights are in line for major paydays when they hit the market this summer, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays. “[Speights has] been absolutely huge for us this season, and someone’s obviously going to give him a lot of money,” said Bogut, who’s under contract through next season. “Hopefully, it’s us.” Speights spoke with Hoops Rumors about his contract year before it began.
The Timberwolves signed Andre Miller, Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince last summer in part to provide veteran assistance for their young core, but Miller nonetheless criticized the Wolves last week on a podcast with The Vertical’s Chris Mannix for relying too heavily on their young players, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Miller bought his way out of Minnesota and signed earlier this month with the Spurs. “There was no way I was going to stay in Minnesota on a team that never had any goals, from what I thought,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to sit there and let this be my last year. There were no expectations in Minnesota with that team and which way they wanted to go. It wasn’t communicated, so I was like, ‘If this is my last year, I can’t go out like this.’ ”
The Nuggets no longer feel an urgency to make an upgrade at two-guard after Gary Harris delivered in what was a vital season for his hopes of securing a long-term starting position, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Harris, the 19th pick in the 2014 draft, is under contract for two more years.

Festus Ezeli To Have Surgery On Left Knee

February 8th, 2016 at 6:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:44pm: Ezeli is expected to return to action in six weeks, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. He hasn’t played since January 25th and missed the Warriors’ last five games with knee soreness. Ezeli underwent surgery this morning and will be re-evaluated at the six-week mark, the team announced via press release.

3:11pm: The status of soon-to-be restricted free agent Festus Ezeli is in question as he’s having exploratory surgery on his left knee today, the Warriors announced. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out, notes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). He’s missed the last five games, and the results of an earlier MRI were inconclusive.

Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob hinted last month at the team’s willingness to pay whatever it takes to re-sign Ezeli and fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Harrison Barnes. Lacob is the son of co-owner Joe Lacob. GM Bob Myers said in the wake of failed extension negotiations for Ezeli and Barnes that he was committed to finding a way to keep them, and Ezeli has said he wants to stay with the Warriors for the rest of his career. Agent Bill Duffy reportedly talked Ezeli out of signing what Duffy considered a team-friendly extension deal.

Ezeli has a history of major knee trouble, having sat out all of 2013/14 because of his right knee, so teams interested in signing him will no doubt research the matter thoroughly. Marreese Speights, another soon-to-be free agent, will inherit minutes while Ezeli recovers from his latest surgery, coach Steve Kerr said, according to Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Butler, Barnes, Ezeli

January 11th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rajon Rondo has earned the complete trust of DeMarcus Cousins, which is no easy task, TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Rondo, who’s on a one-year, $9.5MM contract, is “the most unselfish player I’ve ever played with,” Cousins told Aldridge. Rondo said to Aldridge that he signed with the Kings in part to mentor the center, adding that he’s wanted to play with Cousins for the past four or five years. It’s all cast against the backdrop of a Sacramento team that’s just two games out of a playoff spot, and the presence of Caron Butler has had much to do with the team’s improvement, Rondo contends. The Kings reportedly promised to trade Butler last month, but he’s still with the team. See more from the Pacific Division:

Warriors assistant GM Kirk Lacob, the son of co-owner Joe Lacob, hinted at the team’s willingness to pay whatever it takes to re-sign Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli in restricted free agency this summer as he spoke in a recent radio appearance on 95.7 FM The Game’s “NBA This Week” show. Host Matt Steinmetz has the transcription. “Both those guys are a part of the core,” Lacob said in part. “Hopefully we’ll have this team for a number of years to come. If it costs a lot of money, it’s going to cost a lot of money. It probably will. A lot of our players have come up in free agency the last year or two and if they continue to perform we’re going to continue to pay them. We’re 34-2 [now 35-2], we’re trying to get a second championship here. There’s a lot of room for improvement of course, but there’s a lot of power to continuity.”
Numbers suggest that Julius Randle is on track to have a career similar to that of Drew Gooden, a sign that he’s not on the path to stardom the Lakers hoped for him, writes Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com in an Insider-only piece co-authored with Chad Ford. D’Angelo Russell is the only one among the Lakers’ young players who has a strong chance to become an above-average starter, Pelton contends.
The Lakers have recalled Tarik Black and Ryan Kelly from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). They went down to the D-Fenders together on Friday. Black averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in two D-League games this weekend, while Kelly posted averages of 26.0 points and 6.5 boards a night.

Western Notes: Chandler, World Peace, Durant

November 17th, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler underwent successful surgery today to repair a labral tear in his right hip, the team announced via a press release. Chandler initially suffered the injury during the preseason and he will be out for the remainder of the 2015/16 campaign. Despite missing approximately 133 games since 2011 due to hip injuries, the veteran, who signed a four-year, $46.5MM renegotiation and extension with Denver back in July, recently told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post that he isn’t contemplating retirement.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Lakers have assigned small forward Anthony Brown the the L.A. D-Fenders, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the first trip of the season to the D-League for Brown, as our D-League assignments and recalls tracker shows. The rookie has appeared in three games for the Lakers this season, averaging 1.7 points in 3.0 minutes of action per contest.
By not signing Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to rookie scale extensions prior to this season’s deadline, the Warriors have left open the possibility of swinging a sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant this offseason, Danny Leroux of the Sporting News posits. Leroux also runs down a number of other scenarios that could result in Golden State potentially trotting out one of the greatest offensive teams of all-time, though the scribe does note that Barnes and Ezeli, both of whom are eligible to become restricted free agents next summer, would have the right to decline any sign-and-trade agreement.
Lakers coach Byron Scott was worried that Metta World Peace‘s body wouldn’t hold up through training camp, but the 16th-year veteran who just turned 36 says he’s in better shape than when he was with the Lakers the first time, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. World Peace is seeing occasional starting assignments and 19.1 minutes per game. “You have to give him a lot of credit for somebody who was out of the league for a couple of years,” Scott said. “He worked as hard as he worked to get back into the league and be able to be a vital part of what we’re trying to do. It’s been great.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Ezeli, Price

November 6th, 2015 at 8:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings‘ top priority in free agency this past offseason was Rajon Rondo, who was viewed as the perfect fit on a young Sacramento squad, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports writes. “I knew he was going to be available,” Vlade Divac, the Kings’ president of basketball and franchise operations, told Spears. “He was my first choice when I went after some free agents. Honestly, we weren’t a perfect destination in free agency and that was something we could take advantage of. He works well for us. We have things to turn around. I was very honest with him. I knew people were talking. But this is a great opportunity not only for him, but for us. Honestly, we were probably the first ones to approach. Everyone was scared. I wasn’t. As a player, I knew what he could do.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Festus Ezeli hasn’t played much during his time with the Warriors, but an injury to Andrew Bogut is giving him a chance at spot starts this season, and he’s making the most of the playing time he’s getting, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group examines. The rim protector is showing off the strides he’s made as he’s poised for restricted free agency, with extension talks breaking down before Monday’s deadline.
Ronnie Price‘s affection for his time with the Lakers last season is clear, but he instead wound up signing this summer with Phoenix, where coach Jeff Hornacek says he’s been impressed with him since their days together with the Jazz, as Matt Petersen of Suns.com details. “Ronnie’s always been on our list,” Hornacek said. “He’s that veteran guy who understands what his role is. He plays hard in practice. You put him in the game, he’ll be the guy that’s picking guys up full-court. I like that energy.”
The Clippers could have a D-League team by next season if they want to, but coach/executive Doc Rivers isn’t sure whether that’s the choice they’ll make, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. The Clips are one of 11 teams without an affiliate this season but, with the Hornets and Nets already with deals to start their own affiliates and the Bulls not far behind, they’re part of a quickly shrinking group of holdouts. The Clippers, Hawks and Wizards are among the teams close to starting D-League teams, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.