Frank Kaminsky Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Baynes, Saric, Wolves, Nuggets

November 18th, 2020 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

Multiple playoff teams are hoping to sign Aron Baynes in free agency, league sources tell Zach Harper of The Athletic. The big man is coming off perhaps his best season as a pro, despite being limited by health issues in the bubble and not getting a chance to contribute to the Suns‘ 8-0 summer run.

While Harper hears that the Suns have plenty of interest in bringing back Baynes, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) predicts that the club will ultimately let Baynes, Frank Kaminsky, and Cheick Diallo walk. Gambadoro’s expectation is that Phoenix will be focusing on re-signing RFA forward Dario Saric to a multiyear deal.

Here’s more from around the West:

The Timberwolves will officially be on the clock to make the No. 1 pick later tonight, assuming they don’t trade it. Chris Hine of The Star Tribune examines the importance of the pick for the franchise, while Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune makes the case for Minnesota drafting Anthony Edwards rather than LaMelo Ball.
The Nuggets won’t be drafting for need tonight, according to president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who says the club will target the best player available at No. 22. He added that there may not be any minutes available right away for that player. “If you’re a rookie in Denver next year, you’re probably not going to play,” Connelly said, per Alex Labidou of Nuggets.com. “When you do play, every minute, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on those minutes.”
Western Union has renewed its multiyear jersey sponsorship ad agreement with the Nuggets, the team announced today in a press release.

Latest On Chris Paul/Suns Rumors

November 11th, 2020 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

After co-authoring a Tuesday report revealing that the Suns and Thunder have discussed a potential Chris Paul trade, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst appeared on The Drive with Jody Oehler on FOX Sports 910 Phoenix on Wednesday morning to go into more detail on the possibility of a CP3 deal between the two Western clubs.

According to Windhorst, the Thunder have given Paul permission to talk to the Suns, which suggests that Oklahoma City is unlikely to complete a trade with Phoenix unless the veteran point guard is comfortable with it. And Windhorst does believe that CP3 has interest in becoming a Sun, pointing out that Phoenix’s proximity to Los Angeles – where Paul has a home – helps give the team a leg up.

Pressed to place odds on the two teams finalizing a trade, Windhorst told Oehler that he thinks the Suns and Thunder have better than a “50-50” chance to work something out.

Here’s more on the rumors connecting Paul to the Suns:

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) wouldn’t expect the Suns to include the No. 10 pick in any offer for Paul. He adds that Phoenix may have to take advantage of its cap flexibility to complete a deal, noting that Frank Kaminsky and Aron Baynes aren’t expected to return to the team, which will free up some space (Twitter link).
Gambadoro has also heard that the Thunder don’t want to take back any multiyear contracts, which would make a trade difficult, since Ricky Rubio almost certainly has to be included for salary-matching purposes (Twitter link). Oklahoma City doesn’t have real interest in Rubio – who has two years and $34.8MM left on his deal – or Kelly Oubre, per Gambadoro. That doesn’t mean a deal is impossible, but it means the Thunder and Suns could be motivated to try to get a third team involved.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic weighs the pros and cons of acquiring Paul from the Suns’ perspective.

Suns Notes: Offseason, Oubre, Johnson, Akyol

August 17th, 2020 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns will have to decide this offseason whether they want to try to bring back known commodities like Aron Baynes, Dario Saric, and Frank Kaminsky, or whether they want to opt for an unknown commodity via cap room, writes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link). Baynes is an unrestricted free agent, but Saric is restricted and the club holds a team option on Kaminsky.

Kelly Oubre‘s expiring contract will be another factor to watch for the Suns this fall, according to Marks. On paper, it seems like a slam dunk that Phoenix would want to make the 24-year-old wing a part of the club’s long-term future, Marks writes, but Oubre wasn’t part of the team’s 8-0 run in Orlando this summer, and there’s some positional overlap with young Suns like Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson.

Here’s more on the Suns:

The Suns have faced criticism for a number of their roster moves in recent years, but the club showed this summer in Orlando that the roster was built with a purpose, according to Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer. Tjarks singles out last year’s drafting of Cameron Johnson at No. 11 as a decision that was panned at the time, but seems to be working out well.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic explores what’s next for the Suns after their success in Orlando, wondering if the summer represents a jumping-off point for making Phoenix a desirable destination for NBA players.
Turkish wing Cenk Akyol has announced his retirement at age 33, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Akyol, the 59th overall pick in the 2005 draft, never played in the NBA, but his rights were held by the Suns, who acquired them in a 2017 trade with Atlanta.
Earlier today, we broke down the Suns’ odds for this Thursday’s draft lottery.

Pacific Notes: Bagley, Hield, Kaminsky, Suns

May 26th, 2020 at 10:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Trading Marvin Bagley III might be a prudent move for the Kings, Richard Ivanowski of the Sacramento Bee contends in a piece that looks at a hypothetical trade for each player on the team. While he acknowledges that Sacramento is unlikely to consider such a move, Ivanowski pitches the idea of sending Bagley to the Wizards for their 2020 first-rounder (Washington is currently ninth in our Reverse Standings) and Thomas Bryant.

Bagley, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft, hasn’t been able to stay healthy since coming into the league. That, coupled with the presence of Richaun Holmes, could make Sacramento more comfortable with moving on from the 21-year-old, Ivanowski writes.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Buddy Hield has been the subject of some trade speculation, and Ivanowski believes that dealing him to the Magic for Aaron Gordon would be a solid move for the Kings (same piece). Sacramento could pair the 24-year-old with Harrison Barnes as the team’s starting forwards.
Suns big man Frank Kaminsky isn’t too concerned with the logistics of the NBA’s return; he just hopes to be able to participate now that he’s healthy, as Gina Mizell of The Athletic passes along. “I’ll go to Saturn to play basketball at this point,” Kaminsky said. “I’ll go pretty much anywhere. You tell me where to be and I’ll be there, ready to play.”
The Suns hold a $5MM team option on Kaminsky for 2020/21 and the former No. 9 overall pick said the team hasn’t really discussed it with him, as Mizell adds in the same piece. “Obviously, I really like it here,” Kaminsky said. “I really like this staff. … I’d really like to be back, but that’s something that’s gonna have to be talked about once everything (with the rest of this season is) figured out.”

Injury Updates: Gordon, Kaminsky, Blazers, Isaac

May 22nd, 2020 at 8:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon expects to be able to play if the 2019/20 NBA season resumes, per Fox 26 Houston’s Mark Berman (Twitter link). Gordon, who underwent November right knee surgery, has been in and out of the lineup since then. The extra two months off (and counting) provided by the pause in NBA play has been beneficial for Gordon’s health.

“I’ll be ready to roll (if play resumes),” Gordon said. “I can only focus solely on this team and basketball.”

There are further health updates from around the NBA:

Suns big man Frank Kaminsky, out since January with a right patella stress fracture, claims that he is now “ready to make a push towards playing again” if the NBA resumes regular season play, according to Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Trail Blazers frontcourt will be getting some serious reinforcements if the NBA’s regular season returns, The Athletic’s Jason Quick reports. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic, sidelined since breaking his leg on March 25, 2019, and starting power forward Zach Collins, out of commission since undergoing surgery for a dislocated left shoulder three games into his season, are now both fully healthy. Blazers All-NBA guard Damian Lillard expressed excitement for their return to what had been an injury-ravaged Portland roster. “It’s going to be a completely different situation, and we’ll be close to full strength,” Lillard said.
The status of Magic forward Jonathan Isaac for the rest of the 2019/20 season remains up in the air, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). A serious knee injury paused Isaac’s third season on January 1st. Isaac, one of the team’s most promising young players, ran on an Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill earlier this week. This marked the first time he had run at all since the injury.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Paul, Draft, Oubre, Kaminsky

April 16th, 2020 at 10:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Warriors‘ dynasty almost didn’t happen. Golden State was looking for an All-Star back in 2011 and the franchise offered Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to New Orleans in exchange for Chris Paul, Ethan Strauss writes in The Victory Machine (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports).

Paul, whose contract expired at the end of that season, reportedly told the Warriors that he would not re-sign with them, which nixed the negotiations. Paul was later dealt to the Lakers in a trade that was vetoed. He ultimately ended up on the Clippers via another trade.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

If the NBA doesn’t resume, the Warriors are guaranteed a top-five pick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines the team’s options with that selection. As Slater details, trading it away for a proven vet is worth exploring, especially if there are no surefire prospects in the draft, as some believe.
Trading down is an option for the Warriors in the draft and Slater (in the same piece) proposes a fun hypothetical deal that sends Kelly Oubre and the Suns‘ pick (projected to be No. 10) to the Warriors for their top-five pick. Oubre would fit in nicely with the team’s core and his salary would fit into the team’s $17.2MM trade exception.
Suns GM James Jones said that Oubre, who underwent meniscus surgery back in February, and Frank Kaminsky, who was dealing with a patella stress fracture, have both medically healed, Gina Mizell of The Athletic tweets. Both have “kind of pressed the pause button” though, as they can’t participate in traditional sports rehab.

Western Notes: Mitchell, Kerr, Anthony, Suns

March 13th, 2020 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Mitchell is “extremely frustrated” with Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert after testing positive for the coronavirus, league sources told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. Gobert has apologized for his careless actions earlier in the week, prior to being the first NBA player to test positive. The team has a solid young core but how Mitchell responds when play resumes could make or break their relationship, Mannix continues. The Jazz were rising up the Western Conference standings but if this leads to locker room issues, it could have a major impact on the franchise’s playoff expectations, Mannix adds.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is upset at himself for not taking the coronavirus more seriously earlier this week and believes social distancing is now paramount, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports. “I was coaching in a basketball game with 15,000 fans like four nights ago. So I feel like a fool,” Kerr said. “But this goes back to our human condition of denial and vulnerability. But we’ve crossed that threshold now and it’s important that everybody understands what they can do.”
Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony said on teammate CJ McCollum‘s podcast that he was “embarrassed” that he was a free agent for so long until Portland signed him, according to Casey Holdahl of the team’s website. “I started questioning myself why. Why? What happened? What did I do? Did I do something wrong? Was it me? Am I good? Can I still play? It was like all of these thoughts started to come in and that stuck with me for about four, five months.”
The Suns could have all their injured players back in action if and when the season resumes, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic relays. That group includes forward Kelly Oubre Jr., who underwent knee surgery earlier this month, and Frank Kaminsky III, who missed the last 32 games due to a knee injury. “You try to make a positive out of a negative,” GM James Jones said. “It could end up being a really good thing for us and if that’s the case, I know our guys will be excited. I know our coaches, myself, I’ll be excited to have our team full strength or close to it, contending and playing in some meaningful games.”

Cameron Johnson Sidelined With Mononucleosis

March 10th, 2020 at 11:44am CST by Arthur Hill

Suns rookie Cameron Johnson has mononucleosis and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, according to Arizona Sports 98.7.

Johnson sat out the last two games, but was a regular part of the rotation before that. The 11th pick in the 2019 draft, he’s averaging 8.1 PPG in 49 games and shooting 39.7% from 3-point range. The illness comes at an unfortunate time as Johnson had a chance to further establish himself with Kelly Oubre possibly missing the rest of the season following meniscus surgery.

The Suns also provided an update on Frank Kaminsky, saying he remains out indefinitely while recovering from a stress fracture in his right patella.

Kaminsky is putting up 11.0 PPG and 4.9 RPG in his first season in Phoenix, but hasn’t been able to play since late December. He has a follow-up consultation with his doctors scheduled for this week.

Free Agent Stock Watch 2020: Pacific Division

March 9th, 2020 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Pacific Division:

Marquese Chriss, Warriors, 22, C (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $2.48MM deal in 2019
The eighth overall pick of the 2016 draft flamed out in Phoenix, Houston and Cleveland, but he’s taken advantage of his opportunity in Golden State. His playing time has gradually increased and so has his production. He averaged 13.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.8 BPG last month; In his first four games this month, he’s posted a stat line of 14.5/10.0/3.8/1.5 in those categories. Golden State has until mid-July to guarantee his $1.824MM salary for next season. That’s a dirt-cheap price for a young rotation big man.

Marcus Morris, Clippers, 30, PF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $15MM deal in 2019
Morris has jumped right into the Clippers’ rotation since the Knicks traded him. He’s started all 11 games since the deal became official, averaging 28.9 MPG. Unfortunately, Morris seemingly left his jump shot in the Big Apple. He’s made just 37.3% of his field-goal attempts and 26.3% of his 3-point tries with his new team. In the big showdown with the Lakers on Sunday, Morris clanked all nine of his shots. His defensive versatility will keep him in the rotation, but he needs to regain his perimeter touch to stay on the court in crunch time. Otherwise, he may have to drop his price tag this summer.

Quinn Cook, Lakers, 26, PG (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $6MM deal in 2019
Cook was a steady presence with Golden State last season, as he appeared in 74 regular-season games and 17 more in the postseason. He’s gotten lost in the shuffle with the Lakers. He’s the de facto No. 4 point guard behind Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso, and has only played 22 minutes since the All-Star break. Cook is a solid 3-point shooter — 41.2% for his career — which would make him a valuable reserve on many rosters. The Lakers have until June 29 to guarantee Cook’s $3MM salary for next season. It seems likely he’ll become an unrestricted free agent, despite a $1MM partial guarantee.

Frank Kaminsky, Suns, 26, PF (Down) – Signed to two-year, $9.77MM deal in 2019
Kaminsky was in and out of Charlotte’s rotation last season, but he got a chance to reboot his career in Phoenix. The early returns were promising — he had four 20-point games in December. Shortly after Christmas, Kaminsky suffered a stress fracture in his right knee and he hasn’t seen the court again. The team holds a $5MM option on his contract next season. With Dario Saric and Aron Baynes headed to the open market, the Suns will have tough decision to make regarding Kaminsky, since that option must be exercised before free agency begins.

Alex Len, Kings, 26, C (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $8.5MM deal in 2018
Len has generally been productive since being dealt to Sacramento. He had a double-double in 21 minutes against Oklahoma City, an 8-point, 13-rebound, 5-block performance against Detroit and a 15-point, 7-rebound outing in 15 minutes against Toronto. His playing time will continue to fluctuate in the Kings’ crowded frontcourt. Sacramento’s motivation to acquire him was his expiring contract, but he definitely hasn’t hurt his value since the deal. He’ll head into unrestricted free agency this summer and should be able to hook on with a team seeking another big body to fortify its bench.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Frank Kaminsky III Out Indefinitely With Patella Stress Fracture

January 4th, 2020 at 11:55am CST by marksuleymanov

Suns big man Frank Kaminsky III has been sidelined indefinitely with a right patella stress fracture, the team announced via press release on Saturday. There is no timetable for Kaminsky’s return and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks, the release noted.

Kaminsky, 26, had missed Phoenix’s previous three contests due to a right knee injury. Before he went down, the 2015 first-rounder draft pick was enjoying a solid season statistically off the Suns’ bench, averaging 11.0 PPG and 4.9 RPG. However, he had seen his minutes decrease in recent weeks, failing to play 20 or more minutes in a contest since mid-December.

With Kaminsky on the shelf for the foreseeable future, Cameron Johnson and Cheick Diallo are among the players who could see increased playing time, assuming the Suns don’t bring in outside reinforcements.